Part III [2/2]
Knick Knack scans the coop with caution, and spots a rooster resting atop a small pile of hay. "Suck it up, will ya?" Knick Knack's jaw drops as the words leave the rooster's beak. "Yeah, that's right. I'm talkin' to ya." Knick Knack smacks himself across the face with his hoof to reaffirm himself that what he's seeing is in fact real. "No need to beat yourself up, kid. That little heifer out there seems to be doin' the job just fine." The rooster chuckles. "But in all seriousness, you got some sure-fire spunk, kid. I'm surprised you got up for round two to be honest with ya. You landed some good hits, but it ain't no secret that this is most likely your first rodeo. . ." The rooster holds back a sudden burst of laughter. "Get it? Rodeo! 'Cause theys cows--ah never mind. My point is: you probably need some help, am I right?" Knick Knack hesitantly nods. "Of course ya do. See, this is where I come in." Knick Knack raises an eyebrow. "What? Ya think just 'cause I'm small I can't put up a fight! I'll have you know I used to be the most feared--!" The rooster pauses, then sighs. "Let's just say I made a name for myself back in the day, but that doesn't mean I've lost my touch. What you need is someone with some experience by your side. Lucky for you, I've been through more brawls you can probably count! And can ya guess how many I won?!" Knick Knack awkwardly shrugs. "All of them! Except . . . one. It's a day I prefer not to dwell on too long." The rooster turns his head, as if to hide his shame from recalling his loss. "Anyway, I'm gonna offer you a deal. See this chain?" The rooster lifts up one of his legs to reveal a metal cuff around his ankle, and a chain leading all the way to a link attached to the wall. "These mad-cows have been keeping me prisoner here, and let's just say the living conditions are below average at best. If you can bust me outta here, then I'll help you with your little 'girl-problem'." Knick Knack puts his hoof under his chin in thought. "Look, let's be honest. I like your style and all, but you need some serious work; and I can be a real valuable asset to ya. Not only that, but it wouldn't hurt to have a partner, now would it? So, what do you say? We got a deal?"
"That's my girl!" The bull congratulates Arizona with a rough rub atop her head. "That's one down, now ya only need to worry about any other champions you might come across on your journey. Now, ya gotta head up north. There you'll find--" The bull halts his speech upon noticing the chicken coop wobbling about.
"Pa?" Arizona asks. "What's goin' on with our coop?"
"I don't know, but I got a feelin' that Pack Mule thinks he's still in the fight." The chicken coops wobbling intensifies to a rapid shaking and teetering. "Uh-oh, everyone get back!" The cattle all disperse, but Arizona stays firmly planted where she stands. The coop's shaking stops for but a brief moment, leading the cows in to a false sense of security before exploding into pieces. Pieces of wood fly through the air as rogue chickens make their escape. Knick Knack launches into the air like a rocket by the sheer pressure of a pair of large, shaken-up soda bottles extending from both sides of his bag. "Alright, kid! Now, when we get down there, just follow my lead!"
Arizona watches as Knick Knack dives straight down towards her with a gleeful smile on his face. Realizing the danger she's in, she leaps out of the way to avoid any collision. Just before Knick Knack meets the ground, a propeller pops out from the tops of his backpack spinning wildly. It helps slow him down to a hovering state just above the ground before retracting, allowing him to touch the ground safely. "How long are ya gonna keep this up?" Arizona asks.
"As long as it takes, girly!" The rooster taunts as he climbs out from the backpack and stands atop Knick Knack's head with his chest puffed out. "And if you were smart, you'd back away now before things get real ugly!"
"You devil bird!" The bull shouts. "I thought we locked you up nice an' good!"
"Well, you thought wrong you old cow!" The bull growls, blowing steam from his nostrils.
"Pa. .? What is that?" Arizona asks in bewilderment.
"I'll explain it to ya later, darlin'. Right now, ya gotta make sure neither of these two set hoof outside this here prairie!"
"Oh, yeah, like we're scared!" The rooster leans down to whisper into Knick Knack's ear. "Alright kid I know this might be a little scary, but we got this under control. Just keep your ears open for me, and be ready." Knick Knack nods affirmingly to him before the rooster jumps back inside the bag. Arizona pulls back out her lasso, and whips it toward him to try and catch him off guard like last time, but Knick Knack is somehow able to dodge her lasso.
"Huh, lucky! Let's see if ya can do it again!" Arizona taunts. She twirls and releases her lasso several more times, but Knick Knack leaps and dives with an agility that was not present during the previous round, baffling Arizona.
"Nice moving, kid! Hmm, now what does this lever do?" The rooster asks himself. On the last whip of her lasso, Knick Knack catches the rope in his mouth; and with one strong tug, yanks Arizona toward him. Hurdling headfirst in his direction, Knick Knack twists his body as a wooden bird bursts from one of his side pockets by an extendable arm. The bird clashes with Arizona's face with a loud 'dinging' sound going off from within the bag, and she is sent to the ground. "I don't know how it works, but I don't care! That was fun!"
"Ya hangin' in there, Arizona!" The bull calls.
"I'm fine!" She affirms as she gets back to her hooves. "This is just startin' to get fun now." Arizona takes in a deep breath, raises her front legs, and smashes them straight into the ground. Cracks and fissures shatter the ground beneath Knick Knack, throwing him off balance. Arizona scrapes the ground with hoof, then charges headfirst into Knick Knack. Her skull is as hard as iron, and Knick Knack feels the blow crush his chest as he tumbles backward onto his side. Laying motionless, barely able to keep a steady breath, the rooster pops out from the bag.
"Hey, what are you doin'? Sleepin'? Now's not the time for that!" The rooster smacks Knick Knack in the cheek. "I've got an idea," The rooster puts a helmet he found in Knick Knack's bag over his head. "But you gotta get up to show you're still in!" Knick Knack grinds his teeth as he presses his hooves against the soil to force himself up. "There you go, shake it off!" The rooster climbs back inside the bag, and Knick Knack manages to straighten his back as he stands tall.
"Are ya done?" Arizona sympathizes as she observes his bruised and trembling body. "Keep this up an' I think ya might need to see a doctor mighty soon." Knick Knack spits out the hay in his mouth, then bends down to pluck a fresh one from the ground. With a big smile on his face, he shakes his head. "Pa . . . Pa, I can't keep doin' this."
"You have to, honey," says the bull. "The fight's not over 'til he can't take anymore. If he wants to keep goin', then it's his choice. Remember, he's after the same thing you are. Ya can't show any sympathy, they might use that to their advantage!"
". . . Yes, Pa." Knick Knack breathes in and closes his eyes. Arizona, washing over with guilt from the damage she's caused to him, isn't ready to disobey her father's word. She gallops toward him, ready to deal a final blow that'll keep Knick Knack down for good. Listening to her hoofsteps growing closer with each passing second, Knick Knack takes a bow, and a cannon ejects from the top of his backpack. With the fuse lit, and the rooster nestled inside the cannon as he secures his helmet, Arizona's eyes dilate as she tries to come to a screeching halt. The rooster shoots out like a cannonball, knocking into Arizona's head with a loud 'bonk' from his helmet. Fluttering and flapping his wings, he pecks madly at Arizona as she desperately swats at the air to rid herself of him. "Git away from me! You rat with wings!"
"Hey, now! I hope your 'Pa' didn't teach you that kind of language!" The rooster sarcastically scolds.
"Just. . ! Git outta here!"
"With pleasure! 'Cause it's gonna be quite a lightshow!" The rooster flutters away, allowing Arizona to finally get a look at Knick Knack who has his hooves planted firmly on the ground with a dubious smile. Arizona's face fills with dread as she notices an enormous bottle rocket sticking up from his backpack, and it's pointed directly at her. The fuse is quickly consumed by the flame, and Arizona's body is frozen in fear. "Fire!" The rocket shoots from the metal base holding it in place, and collides with Arizona arcing her upward into the sky. The rooster salutes his wing to his forehead, and Knick Knack follows suit as they both watch the rocket carry Arizona high into the sky. An explosion of shimmering colors cause some gasps from the crowd of cattle. Arizona's body falls to the ground absolutely covered in soot and ash.
"Arizona!" The bull rushes to her motionless body. "Darlin'? Can ya hear me?" Arizona's eyes fly open as she hacks up clouds of soot. She scrambles to her hooves and charges at full-speed toward Knick Knack.
"Hey, easy there, girly! There's more where that came from. . ! You do have more of those fireworks don't you, kid?" Knick Knack shrugs. "Uh-oh." Knick Knack shuts his eyes, bracing for the pain to come. He listens as Arizona's steps suddenly silence, and a cloud of dust and dirt blow against his fur. Cautiously opening up one of his eyes, he is stunned to find Arizona smiling and holding out her hoof.
"That was some mighty fine tusslin'." Arizona compliments. "Put 'er there, partner." With a big smile of his own, Knick Knack bumps her hoof with his. "Say, what's yer name anyhow?"
"Eh, well judging by all the doodles he keeps in his bag, I'm guessing his name is Knick Knack since it's the name written on all of 'em. It's fitting I suppose." Knick Knack's cheeks redden at the thought of the rooster rummaging through his private belongings.
"Knick Knack, huh? I kinda like that. My name's Arizona . . . in case my Pa hasn't made that clear. Anyways, you two make a mighty fine team. I had no idea we had a talkin' chicken hidden in our coop!"
"Umm, not a chicken, I'm a rooster." The rooster corrects. Knick Knack suddenly jolts as his mind is struck with a realization. He grabs hold of a twig and starts to draw a shape in the dirt. He scrawls the shape of a large bird with its wings stretched out, and Arizona tilts her head as she examines the figure.
"A bird. . . Say, you ain't talkin' 'bout that big, ol' monster of a bird that flew overhead our prairie, are ya?" Knick Knack excitedly nods his head. "Oh! Well, it flew just east of here. Right over the horizon 'til we couldn't see it no more. Gave us all a fright, I tell ya."
"Arizona!" The bull calls. "What's goin' on over there?!"
"I've got a bad feelin' my Pa ain't gonna let y'all leave so easily. Ya might have to make a break for it."
"Hey, you don't gotta tell me twice," says the rooster. "You heard the lady, let's get the hay outta dodge." The rooster climbs back into Knick Knack's bag.
"Good luck findin' the key. I'm gonna be startin' my journey fer it pretty soon I reckon." Confused, Knick Knack raises his hoof, ready to inquire more about this 'key' she speaks of.
"Arizona!" The bull and crowd of bovine approach them.
"Okay, ya gotta hurry on outta here now; but you come back after all this is over, ya hear? I wanna have a rematch someday. You bring yer little chicken friend along too."
"Rooster!" The rooster shouts from inside the bag. "Alright, now where was that lever. . ?" The herd of cattle are now shifting to a full-on gallop towards Knick Knack, demanding they stay put.
"You . . . are gonna come back, aren't ya?" Knick Knack confidently nods, and the both of them smile.
"Ah! There's that lever!" The propeller bursts from Knick Knack's bag spinning wildly, lifting him up into the air. Saddened by the departure, Knick Knack waves goodbye as his body is helplessly carried away into the night sky. Arizona also waves farewell as the furious mob of cattle come to a screeching halt as they find their target is too far and too high to possibly catch up to. Arizona looks up at her father, who sighs as he looks down to her with disapproval. She can feel it in the pit of her stomach, as she braces herself for the long talk they're surely about to have.
But now's not the time for sad faces! The game is right around the corner!
