by Justin Sloan
Gruff turned from the group of chained bears, the fight in his eyes gone. “He’s right, cub. Give it up.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because unlike you with your boy standing here, our children threw us away long ago.”
Ari stood with his mouth open for a moment. He shook off his confusion. “No, it’s not like that. Children don’t stay young forever, they grow older and they move on. But that doesn’t mean they ever stop loving us, or we them. Now the children of the world are in trouble, and they’ll become monsters unless we take a stand!”
The bears turned to each other, whispering.
Aldis shoved a goblin forward. “Take care of this, and call me when it’s done.” He turned to the orc king. “Destroy that one, then make a lesson out of his boy here.” He raised his paws to the stone ceiling and light emanated from his body. It swirled above him, creating a vortex that shot down like a tunnel, engulfing him. “I want this Rick to be the most grotesque monster we’ve ever seen.”
Aldis and the grizzly bears laughed as they walked into the tunnel of light.
“Stop!” Ari yelled as he ran for Rick.
Ari slid through a giant’s legs and vaulted himself over the ledge. A second giant reached for him, but Ari rolled over its hand and pushed off. The ground thundered as the giants pursued. The goblin grabbed the orc and three nearby monsters, and they moved for Ari. They met in a clash as small wisps of light streamed from Aldis’s tunnel to form around Ari’s paws.
Each strike seemed filled with the power of ten bears! The monsters toppled, with a punch to one’s head, an elbow to the stomach of the next, and a flying back kick to the last. A light-filled punch exploded into a shadow monster, but the exploding attack sent it nowhere—the monsters were already home.
The goblin’s belly absorbed a punch and he laughed. He stopped laughing when Ari pulled at the tunnel of light until his paws shone like the sun. Ari kicked out the goblin’s legs and punched his face to send him into the rock wall.
The shadow of a giant’s foot covered Ari, but he rolled to safety as the foot slammed into the ground. Vibrations shook Ari’s body as he raised his paws to shield himself from flying pebbles.
The orc prepared to attack, but a chain wrapped around his neck, the other ends held by Gruff, who nodded to Ari.
“Save your boy,” Gruff said.
The other bears cheered and joined in the fight, Mia’s brother Brutas first to pummel into a giant’s legs and take it down. Others swarmed over the giant as Ari ran, seeing Rick close by.
Rick used his shoulder to shove the orc king, who stumbled and fell on his back.
Unable to stand, the orc king lay kicking his legs in the air. “Help! Someone help me!”
Mia and Brutas pushed monsters out of Ari’s way to let him get to Rick, but everyone froze as the largest shadow monster ever seen, larger than a house, crossed above them. Its red eyes glowed like fire, tendrils of shadow flowing in the stale air like groping hands.
The shadow monster turned on Rick, who backed away with a whimper. Ari pulled at the light from the tunnel and it faded slightly, but that was all Ari needed. He advanced, paws flickering, as the shadow monster seemed to grow even larger. Ari pulled at the light more, as did Mia and Brutas, who broke away from the fray to join him. Their paws glowed brighter and the tunnel of light vanished. Ari’s paws were like balls of fire now as he launched himself at the shadow monster. However, just as he struck the monster, it swung out of his path and tiny shadow monsters appeared where the enormous one had just been, swarming over the bears.
The bears fought the shadow monsters, light fading from their paws with each strike.
Mia grabbed Ari by the shoulder and pointed to Rick. “Go!”
He started to run, and Brutas grabbed him and spun to launch Ari through the air. He flew with both arms forward, ready to strike, light streaming behind him. With an explosion of light and darkness, his fists connected with the shadow monster. The humongous shadow monster shrieked, twisting and convulsing, until it exploded into the darkness.
Ari slammed into the rock ground with a thud and skidded to a stop, mere feet from Rick.
“Ari!” Rick helped him up. The two shared a look that showed they were there for each other, and then turned to their attackers.
More monsters were closing in, pushing the defending bears back into a small circle.
“Are we going to escape?” Rick asked.
Ari looked around them, at the overwhelming number of monsters and the looks of hopelessness in his companions’ eyes. The chances weren’t great, but he couldn’t say that to Rick. Instead he just nodded and balled his paws into fists.
Screeches filled the cavern. More monsters approached and Ari knew that there was no way out of this. Perhaps he should tell Rick, so they could say their goodbyes.
Just as he had resigned himself to his fate, Ari saw that the approaching monsters were led by Harpner. The familiar harblin and its followers wrestled the shadows to the ground! The others stared in confusion, and soon the fighting stopped. Harpner swooped in and landed before Ari. Rick backed up, defensively, but Ari grabbed his boy’s hand with a nod of confidence.
Ari turned to the flying monster. “You’ve reached a decision?”
“We have,” Harpner said. “But first, would someone help the orc king up?”
“Gladly.” Gruff wrapped his chains around the orc king’s arms and, with a mighty heave, flipped the orc onto his knees, keeping him in a position where he could restrain him. “What is all this, exactly?”
“We hear the orc king out,” Ari said.
“Who makes that decision?”
Ari looked to Rick, who nodded.
Gruff stared at Rick and his expression softened. Gruff took a step back. “Only because a child said so.”
“Everyone listen,” Harpner said. “Many children have already begun transforming. They are becoming monsters.” The harblin paused as everyone gasped. “The bear Aldis promised us we’d have children to play with, but we can’t go on, not like this. We will destroy them. Then who will we play with? I promise you, bears, turning the children to our kind was never our intention.”
The orc king struggled in his chains to stand. “You’re mad! They’re ours, they—”
Several children stepped forward from among Harpner’s followers, and indeed they had horns on their heads and tails coming from their rears.
The orc king stared, astounded. “But I—I….”
“I believe there is hope, that we may be able to put a stop to this.” Harpner turned to Ari. “If we can end this and live in peace, will you teach us to play in a way the children will enjoy?”
“I’ll do my part,” Ari said. “The rest is up to you. And the children.”
Rick cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him. “Um, I’d just like to say... I think you all could be quite fun, if you weren’t so scary. I’d be happy to teach you how to be more fun.”
“Thank you. That is appreciated,” Harpner said before turning to his fellow monsters. “You heard the boy!”
The monsters cheered and the shadows cowered, returning to the dark. Everyone looked to the orc king to see what he would say. His eyes took in the monster children, then settled on Rick.
“Let’s do it!” the orc king said with a smile.
The monsters cheered again, this time joined in their cheering by the teddy bears as the orc king and his helpers removed the chains from the bears and Rick.
Ari held up a paw. “We must stop Aldis. How do we find him?”
Everyone stared at him, the excitement failing.
“Can’t we just take a passage or something?” Ari asked. “Isn’t there a way?”
“From above to down here, but never the other way,” the orc king said. “Something about you bears not trusting us.”
Ari looked around, and his eyes rested on Mia.
She turned from him, sheepish. “Ari, I’m so sorry about befo
re, I—”
“No time for that,” he said. “I’ve put it behind me.”
“I thought.... My brother.” She held Brutas’s hand and her lower lip trembled.
Ari nodded. “I know, I would’ve done anything to save Rick.” Ari assessed the air above him, where the tunnel of light had been. “We still have to get up there, to stop them. There was something Klide said, about light. It comes from within.”
He knelt, eyes closed, concentrating. But nothing happened. Ari hung his head in failure, but an arm wrapped around him and he looked up to see Rick. He tried again, focusing on the love he felt for his Rick.
A brilliant light emanated from Ari’s chest, growing brighter and larger, soon enveloping him and Rick.
Ari pushed forward and the light flowed to form a tunnel leading up. Ari took the first step, disappearing into the light as he said, “Follow me.”
Chapter Twenty-One: Bringing It
The misfit bears marched through the green grass of the Elder Forest, the newly-allied monsters following close behind. Ari led his small army through the dense foliage, Rick at his side.
Teddy bear cubs and all the fun-loving teddy bears shrieked and ran to hide at the sight of the monsters.
Ari stepped out of the woods to find a line of grizzlies standing before his army. They guarded the way to a palace of marble and gold columns, a palace with domes at the top that shone like the sun. A spiraling staircase led up to massive golden doors on the face of the palace. Ari knew they were going through those doors or they would die trying.
“Don’t let them stand in our way!” he yelled as he charged.
The others followed, bears and monsters colliding with the grizzlies. Shouts filled the air as wooden swords clashed with monster claws. Light streamed from the sky as the bears on both sides pulled from it, their fists like darting fireballs.
Harpner swept down from above, distracting a grizzly as Ari swept at the bear’s feet. Ari recovered and superman-punched another. Rick, taller than all the grizzlies (since they were just toys, after all), kicked several at a time.
An especially nasty-looking grizzly pulled the light into his wooden sword. He turned and struck at a monster, banishing it back into the Shadowlands. A massive paw grabbed Ari by the throat and tossed him into a nearby tree. Ari slid to the ground with a groan. He lay there for a moment, trying to remember where he was.
A pink paw reached for him—Mia. She motioned to her brother nearby, who was using his bagpipes to fight off three grizzlies at once.
“Ready?” she called out to her brother.
“Yeah!” he replied as he broke one of the pipes over a grizzly’s head.
Mia pulled Ari and they followed behind Brutas as he pummeled through the fighting to clear a path.
“Rick, on me!” Ari yelled.
Rick joined the charge toward the palace, which was straight ahead, unobstructed.
Massive doors burst open with Rick’s kick, and the three bears stormed in after him. They found themselves in an antechamber, with carved marble bears representing the Elder Bears of old. Tapestries depicting the old monster wars hung from the sparkling walls. In the center of the room, on the far side, marble stairs led to a raised level.
Aldis stood atop the staircase, a brilliantly shining bear before him that could only have been Father Moroz.
“Here he is now,” Aldis said, his eyes burning into Ari. “The traitor.”
Father Moroz stepped to the railing and looked down upon the intruders while Aldis leered from behind. Ari and the other bears knelt while Rick watched, confused.
In a booming voice, Father Moroz said, “What brings you barging into my palace?”
Ari raised his eyes to meet the Elder Bear’s, but his heart clenched. “I…. We....”
“They saved me, from him!” Rick said, pointing at Aldis.
“It’s a lie!” Aldis said. He leaned close to Father Moroz. “Little boys tend to lie, no doubt. They’re made of snails and puppy dog tails, as everyone knows.”
“Is that so?” Father Moroz descended the steps, a long cape of light trailing behind him.
Aldis followed, trying not to step on the cape.
“And why would they need to save you from Aldis?” Father Moroz asked when he reached the bottom step. “My second in command?”
“He had the monsters—but we really shouldn’t call them monsters anyway, they aren’t all bad,” Rick said. “He had them take me from my room, me and many other children. Including my sister.”
“Is this true?” Father Moroz asked Ari.
Ari nodded, eyes on the ground.
Father Moroz walked to Mia and Brutas, assessing them. “And my children, how did they wind up in this mess?”
“Your children?” Ari asked.
Aldis looked equally stunned as he looked from Father Moroz to Mia and Brutas. “I.... Had I known….”
“No, Aldis. You knew. You’ve known for too long now.”
“I swear—”
“Enough! It is time.” Father Moroz’s expression faltered to one of regret for a moment before returning to pure regal. “Time for you to leave.”
Aldis took a step back, as if hit. “No!”
“Be gone!”
Aldis glared, chest heaving. “You don’t have that authority anymore.” He motioned and a group of grizzlies entered from the surrounding halls. They wore horned armor and carried three-pronged spears. Aldis pointed at Father Moroz, his eyes full of hatred. “I will have your power. I will be gone of these pesky children and the days of protecting them. Instead of protecting them, we could be protecting our own! But you never saw that, did you? Your days are done, old bear.”
Father Moroz’s eyes sparkled, humored. “Old bear?”
Mia stepped forward, fists at the ready. “Nobody talks to my father like that.”
She charged for the staircase, dodging strikes from two grizzlies. Ari moved to protect Rick while Father Moroz blasted light from his hands, taking down two more grizzlies. More grizzlies streamed into the room, spears striking and punches flying. Soon Ari and his friends were backed into a corner, while Father Moroz held the grizzlies and Aldis off.
Mia lunged for Aldis when he drew close, but a kick caught her mid-air and sent her back.
Aldis smiled as he circled Father Moroz. “As I was saying—”
His words were cut off by the two shadowed forms that appeared in the doorway. Everyone stopped their fighting to see Klide and Rusty.
“How...?” Aldis asked in shock. “You were banished!”
Klide entered first, with a cautious glance to Father Moroz. “Something tells me times have changed.”
Rusty entered behind him. “We’ll not be putting up with this.”
Aldis backed away. He slammed his staff into the ground and giant shadow monsters rose from the ground, surrounding the bears.
Father Moroz looked at Aldis as if he no longer knew him. “So be it.” He led the charge and the others followed.
A loud roar sounded from the doorway and the other misfit bears came flowing in like a river of wrath to strike at the grizzlies. Monsters followed, doing their part to banish or turn the shadow monsters.
Father Moroz turned, ready to strike at the new monsters, but Ari stepped into his line of attack.
“They’re with us,” Ari said, and Father Moroz nodded before returning to the fight.
Grizzlies attacked with wooden weapons, while Father Moroz and his followers struck with light. Good monsters fought bad and, in the chaos, Aldis fled up the stairs.
Ari prepared to give chase, but stopped when he saw Rick trembling, his eyes on the shadow monsters. “We have to stop that bear,” Ari said. “Can I count on you?”
Rick didn’t seem to hear him. He was too scared.
“Come on, Rick.” Ari reached up and took Rick’s hand. “We have to overcome our fears. Together.”
Rick looked at Ari and a change happened in his eyes. Slowly, a smile appeared on hi
s face. “With our powers combined, they don’t stand a chance.”
Rick grabbed Ari and threw him over the stairs to collide with Aldis. The two bears rolled across the floor as Rick bounded up the stairs after them. Aldis faced Ari, ready for a strike, when Rick’s kick sent him flying into the wall. Aldis bounced back as Ari leaped up and clotheslined him.
Rick grabbed Aldis by the scruff of his neck and Ari picked up the staff Aldis had dropped.
“Everyone, stop!” Rick yelled, and they did.
Ari tossed the staff to Father Moroz, who caught it and turned to Aldis with disappointment.
“I trusted you. I loved you like a father loves his son.” Father Moroz’s eyes lowered to the staff. “You know what must be done.”
Father Moroz traced a pattern in the sky with the staff. Light formed into circular waves, moving to Aldis, encircling and binding him.
“You can’t hold me forever,” Aldis said, spittle flying from his snout. “I’ll find a way, and when I do, I’ll destroy you!”
“There will be no escape.” Father Moroz said, then faced the horde of monsters.
The orc king stepped out from among the others and dipped his head in a slight bow. “We will guard him with our lives.”
“I should never have listened to his counsel,” said Father Moroz. “Maybe then our wars would never have come about. Please, forgive me.”
“Only if you can forgive us for taking the children. We did not understand.”
Father Moroz embraced the orc king.
Ari cleared his throat. “Speaking of the children, Rick’s sister is still down in Shadowland. Shall we?”
Father Moroz smiled brightly. “Indeed! We can celebrate later. Ari, grab as many bears as you can from the woods, the children will need them for comforting.”
Ari knelt. “As you command.”
“And you all will be more than welcome,” Father Moroz said to the orc king. “Here at our feasts. Or to play with the children in their rooms, when invited.”
The orc king looked hopefully at Rick, who nodded.
“This way, Ari!” the orc king said, brimming with excitement as he led the way back to the Shadowlands.
