Vonde and the Mutant Yooyu Conspiracy: Part Two

     Vonde looked down. It consisted of metal plates that were screwed together by large bolts. Vonde tried to use his claws to make them turn, but when his nails threatened to break, he stopped.

     Who knew what was underneath it anyway. Maybe the piping, or electric wiring, or maybe a bottomless pit. Thinking about it did make him more curious.

     'I've never seen a bottomless pit before. I wonder how they know a pit is bottomless. Do they send somebody down and wait until they have no more rope to say it has no bottom? Or do they throw something in it and wait for echoes?'

     He stared at one of the bolts.

     'If only you would turn a little. Then I would be able to find out what's under this floor. Maybe Captain Scarblade's treasure.'

     That made him chuckle. He stared at the bolt again.

     If only you would move...

     The bolt turned a little to the left.

     Vonde's mouth just hit the metal flooring.

     Okay, Vonde, keep it together. This doesn't have to mean anything. Just focus and you'll see the bolt won't move.

     He took a deep, calming breath and turned his attention back to the bolt in front of him.

     Okay, bolt... turn!

     The bolt once again pivoted to the left.

     Vonde blinked. Once could just be a trick of the eye, but twice can't be a coincidence.

     Well, that's clear now. Turns out I have psychic powers.

     This thought made Vonde feel happy and excited. Wait until the others could see. Maybe with training, he would be able to move far bigger objects than just these bolts. That way he would be able to send every Yooyu on the yooyuball field flying to the goal. No goalkeeper would be able to stop them. And all the other things he would be able to do. Just think of the possibilities!

     Vonde shook his head.

     I'll have to think of all the possibilities later. Now I have to escape and get my hands on those post-its.

     He turned his attention back to the bolts and watched how one by one, they loosened and fell to the floor until one entire plate was cleared.

     And now, for the grand finale, let's lift that metal plate!

     Just as Vonde commanded in his mind, the plate began to tilt to the side, but it was not a bottomless pit that came into view. Neither Captain Scarblade's treasure or electric wiring. Instead, Vonde found himself staring into the red eyes of a Mutant Yooyu. Flabbergasted, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

     “So I'm not psychic? But I wanted to move the metal plate with my mind to look at the bottomless pit!”

     “How old was that intelligence they gave you? This here Yooyu is already delirious. How long has that evil mastermind Kargemor been keeping him here?" the Yooyu cried out in shock to someone behind him.

     Way to go, Vonde. Now they think you've gone mad. Remember what Leera told you: think first, put a foot in your mouth later. Or something like that.

     The Yooyu suddenly started laughing.

     “Sorry, friend! By the look on your face I seem to have offended you. Don't mind my strange sense of humor. Ivor already told me a thousand times nobody thinks it's funny except for me.”

     “And yet that hasn't stopped you from trying!" an irritated voice sounded from behind the smiling Mutant Yooyu.

     An arm was stretched towards Vonde and after clearing his head, he offered his paw and they shook hands. The Yooyu winked at him.

     “Well, Vonderbi, I'm Maxen. And we're here to spring you from this cell.”

     Now it was Vonde's turn to smile.

     “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, Maxen. Well met.”

     “We can do the rest of the introductions later when we're somewhere SAFE, Maxen!" the voice that, Vonde presumed, belonged to Ivor hissed at Maxen, who blinked lazily before turning back to Vonde.

     “What do you say, friend, you want to come with us?”

     There really wasn't much to think about between the option to stay and wait for his punishment as a traitor, or to go with these Yooyus and find out why they would want to save him. Somebody they didn't even know.

     With a nod of his head, Vonde agreed to their offer and a split second later both the Yooyu and the Wocky dressed as a Yooyu had disappeared beneath the metal plating of the floor.

     The tunnel was small and Vonde had to move on hands and knees to follow the Yooyus in front of him. One of them was apparently holding a lamp or torch, since he saw a bright and warm glow near the front of the row. They appeared to be inside an intricate venting system and Vonde was happy he was here with these Yooyus, since he would have gotten lost in a heartbeat if he had to find his own way, seeing how many pipe-crossings they had already passed. Going up, going down, up again, then a long slide downwards and finally they reached a small door.

     The headquarters of the resistance.

     “Give today's code!" hissed the voice Vonde recognised as belonging to Ivor. And three slow knocks were heard, followed by two fast ones. He could hear a couple of deadbolts moving on the other side and the door up to a spacious and well-lit room. Vonde stared. He had expected a lot of things, but not that it would be so... cosy. The floor was littered with colourful cushions of different shapes and sizes. There were some Yooyu-sized cupboards and closets with games and drawing materials. But what caught Vonde's eye the most, were the posters on the walls. They had every single yooyuball-team on there, both the team-posters and some screenshots of individual players. Vonde saw his own face smile back at him on a picture made right after he scored a winning goal against Brightvale.

     Looking good, Vonde, he thought to himself.

     “I think he likes it," the voice of Maxen interrupted his thoughts and brought him back to the present time.

     “I hadn't expected this place to be like this," Vonde admitted.

     The Mutant Yooyu started to frown.

     “I really like it," Vonde continued.

     “You do? That's so nice of you to say!" a metallic voice suddenly erupted from the side. Alarmed, Vonde turned and saw a Clockwork Yooyu standing there looking at him, its clockwork key spinning rapidly. Maxen jumped in front of it.

     “He meant, it's nice. Nothing special. He has probably seen better," he said with a voice as bland as Vonde had ever heard the Yooyu use.

     “Oh... nice... right," the Clockwork Yooyu mumbled and sat down, its key turning at a much more subdued pace. Vonde just realised Maxen had saved him from causing an unintended explosion.

     “Maybe you should have warned our guest to mind his words around Clicks before asking him questions," the voice Vonde knew to be Ivor growled.

     “Come on, Ivor, don't be like that. No harm, no foul," a new voice butted in.

     Vonde turned towards the two speakers and blinked as he saw an irritated Ice Yooyu throw a murderous glare at a happy-looking Fire Yooyu.

     “Vonderbi," Maxen started proudly, "allow me to introduce you to the Mutant Resistance."

     “It's the Yooyu Alliance!" the Ice Yooyu yelled. "We're not all Mutants. Not even half of us are Mutants, just you. Therefore we should be called the Yooyu Alliance!”

     “Don't bother, Ivor, everybody already knows us as the Resistance since we are resisting against the Mutant plan." The Fire Yooyu grinned.

     Maxen released a bark of laughter.

     “As I was saying, let me introduce to you the Resistance. I am Maxen. The angry Ice Yooyu looking as if wanting to kill me is Ivor. The fiery fiend and Yooyu who knows no fear next to Ivor is Flare.”

     The Fire Yooyu gave Vonde a big smile, not intimidated by the Icy glare he was still receiving from his companion.

     “Don't worry, I won't shake hands," he added with a wink. That was a good thing, Vonde contemplated, since his Yooyu costume wasn't fire-proof.

     “And the last one is our explosive friend, Clicks. Make sure he doesn't get excited. It took us two months to piece him back together last time. A lot of small parts, you see. Wouldn't be surprised if we have forgotten something. Clicks can be a bit different from time to time.”

     Maxen gave his Clockwork colleague a quick sideways glance, but Vonde had seen the care and friendship in that look and knew Maxen only wanted to help protect the other Yooyu the best he knew how.

     “Together we try to stop Kargemor and break the hold he has on the majority of the Mutant Yooyus. You see, ever since he came he managed to convince most Yooyus that Mutants are different from all the others, and not just in outward appearances, and that they are considered as unimportant or even less because of it. He managed to make them believe Mutants should only befriend Mutants. We started the Resistance as friends, showing how all Yooyus can work and live together peacefully and have fun together. And now Kargemor has taken things even further and took the joy out of yooyuball by convincing the others to stop playing the game for fun and make it almost impossible to score for the players. By putting you in that cell he has shown that he has complete control over his followers and acts like a tyrant. You are free to go wherever you want, Vonderbi. But we were hoping you would be willing to join us since you were the first in a long time to dare oppose Kargemor.”

     Maxen's Yooyu-face was completely sincere and serious. Ivor and Flare took their places beside him.

     “What do you say, Vonderbi. Are you with us?" Ivor asked, no irritation in his voice for once.

     “You can deflate some evil tyrant ego and save the day at the same time." Flare grinned.

     Even Clicks looked almost hopeful, what must be a defect, since Vonde had never seen a machine look hopeful before.

     “I'll join on one condition," he announced. "I get to help with the making of the plan.”

     Cheers and laughter erupted from the hideout, quickly replaced by a scream of "Clicks, calm down!" and three Yooyus and a Wocky were heard trying to take the excitement out of their voices.

     The plan to overthrow Kargemor could begin.

To be continued...