Explorer's Ultimate Disaster Story/Chapter V

Chapter V:Crysis
"Explorer? We've got to get going."

Explorer started, then turned around to see Barc standing right behind him, looking at him wth an irritated face.

"Why? I'm acctually starting to have some fun here!" grumbled Explorer, and Barc frowned.

"We're loosing focus. We've GOT to find Fred and get outta here! Don't you care about your brother?"

The memories flooded back, and Explorer groaned.

"You're right. Let's get moving."

And with that, Explorer picked up a cell phone and phoned for a taxi.

"We should be out of Snowzerland in little over an hour." Explorer said happily, and he petted his hat, which he had nicknamed "Tittle" a few years back.

"Tittle"'s propellers started to turn, and Explorer smiled and sat down on a park bench, waiting for the taxi to arrive.

A FEW HOURS LATER...

"Alright, where's that taxi?" asked Explorer, in a bored tone.

"I dunno." replied Barc, "We've been waiting for over two hours, and there's still no sign of a ta-"

"THERE'S IT NOW!" shouted Explorer, as a taxi passed by and didn't stop for them, disappointing the two friends.

"Wait, what number did you dial?" asked Barc, saddened.

"437-290-5813." grumbled Explorer, and Barc moaned.

"I think that was the local pizzaria you asked to send a taxi." gasped Barc with surprise.

Suddenly, a pizza van pulled up, and a rough-looking dude stepped out with a pizza.

"Here's the special taxi edition pizza you ordered, weird lamo guy with funky hat!" he called out, and he tossed out the pizza to Explorer, who caught it and looked down at it.

It had a large chunk of cheese shaped as a taxi on it, with amazing detail.

Explorer, red with anger and frustration, shouted at the pizza deliverer, "HEY YOU? WHAT'S YOUR STINKIN' NAME? I'LL BET MINE IS BETTER THEN YOURS!"

The pizza deliveryman glared at him, and said "Sue", and Barc began to giggle.

Sue swung his fist at him, hitting him right in the jaw, and Barc sank to the ground, groaning.

Explorer, stunned, stumbled back, before Sue shot forward his huge fist right at Explorer, barely missing him.

Sue spun dizzily, then collapsed.

"I..I...don't get it." mumbled Sue, "How did you beat me?"

"Uhhhh....I threw the toilet back at you, remember?" grumbled Explorer back, and he winced as his black eye gave a burst of sharp pain.

Clearly Sue's brain didn't match his brawn.

"Speaking of which, do you know where I can call a taxi?" asked Explorer, and Sue smilled.

"Sure. It's 437-290-6470."

Explorer picked up his cellphone, dialed the number, and managed to call a taxi sucessfully.

"Oh, and I'm really sorry about that," spoke Sue, "I'm just tired of people making fun of my name."

Explorer nodded, as Barc began to slowly stir and open his eyes painfully.

Sue seemed to have cracked his beak, and he groaned in pain.

"Ohhhhhh....what happened?" moaned Barc, and Sue growled.

"YOU made fun of my name, looser!" roared Sue, and Barc winced.

"Look, the taxi'll be here any moment, why not just forget about it?" asked Explorer, and Barc nodded.

Sue, however didn't think the same.

"Hey, what's that weird-looking shop over there?" asked Sue, and the two friends turned around.

The building was an old wooden shack, with a sign stating that it was a "teleporter shop".

The windows were smashed, the roof had holes, and the door was cracked.

Out of curiosity, Explorer waddled towards the shop, and Barc nervously followed.

Sue however, hesitated.

"Wait, nobody in this town goes inside that building, and those that did never come out."

"Come on!" exclaimed Explorer, "We're not frightened of old superstitions like that, are we Barc?"

"But don't forget," Barc reminded Explorer, "the evil mutant puffle that lived here turned out to be real. Why might this rumor not be true?"

But Explorer shrugged it off and dragged Barc into the store.

It was filled with dusty old machines that Explorer did not recognize, and at the counter sat an evil-looking penguin.

He was robed in black, and his face was covered by his black hood, with only his beak and eyes showing.

His eyes glowed in the darkness, and his beak seemed to be covered in strange, glowing tattoes.

Explorer shivvered.

He had never known a penguin that wore tattoes, but he summoned up all his bravery and walked up to the counter.

"Excuse me, but do you really sell teleporters?"

The penguin looked at him evily for a moment, then grinned

"Yes, they are right over there. See for yourself." the penguin spoke in a deep, evil-sounding voice.

Explorer and Barc stepped over to one of the teleporters, and Explorer picked it up, examning it carefully.

Meanwhile behind them, the mysterious penguin pulles out a strange looking remote, and pressed a big red button on it.

The teleporter began to whir and sputter, and before the two friends could escape they were sucked into it's dark, swirling vortex.

"Hehhehehehehe." laughed the penguin, "Now to let out the REAL shopkeeper!"

And with that, he swung open a closet door behind him, and out of it fell a coughing, rather chubby penguin.

"I hereby release you. And if you dare interfere with me again-" growled the fake shopkeeper with fierce intensity, and he pointed a pistol at the shopkeeper.

His flippers fingered the seductive trigger, and he was tempted to pull it.

It was too strong to not give into, and he squeezed the trigger.

BAM!!

The shopkeeper fell over in a heap, killed instantly by the lead bullet that penetrated his head, and the hooded penguin slowly walked out of the shop, laughing quietly to himself.

All went black for a moment, then Explorer and Barc tumbled out of the portal onto a sidewalk.

"Stupid teleporter." mumbled Explorer, and as he looked up, he gasped.

They were right smack in the middle of a demolished city, and it looked just like a warzone.

"I don't think this was happening in 2010. This must be 2011!" screamed Barc, and he jumped into the air, just missing a peice of shrapnell that flew from a nearby exploding tank.

"We gotta get outta here!" shouted Explorer above the racket of exploding artiliry shells.

And with that, he grabbed Barc and ran into a store.

It read:"Welcome to Geneva, capital of Snowzerland".

Explorer turned around, and just as he did a bullet flew past him and embedded itself into the wall.

He grabbed hold of Barc and was just about to run out the door when a frightened voice called to them.

"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!"

The two friends rushed over to where the voice was comming from, and found a pile of rubble.

Out of the pile was sticking a single flipper, holding what appeared to be a purple bottle.

"Quickly, dispose of this! It's a danger to the entire city!" screamed the voice, and Explorer groaned.

"Why? What's so dangerous about this drink? Is it super fizzy?" asked Explorer, giggling.

"Of course not!" the crazed voice screamed indigintly, "It's really a MACARONI superweapon in disguise. Another one of these already leveled the other half of the city, and this one is about to do the same to this!"

"It's true!" shouted a citizen across the street. "I barely escaped with my life. Now hurry, take it and run!"

Even though it seemed almost suicidicial to do it (and they didn't know what MACARONI was), Explorer grabbed the bottel and began to run, with Barc following him.

They made quick progress, but soon they began to hear a strange stomping noise behind them, and Barc turned and looked, then screamed.

Explorer was too afraid to look, and they both fled even faster then before.

Pretty soon they began to hear swift footsteps in front of them, and in the smog surrounding them they saw glowing eyes.

One of the eyes came closer and closer, and soon emerged from the smog.

It belonged to a evil, cyborgic penguin that carried a massive gun.

Soon, more of these penguins emerged from the smog, and they were surrounded.

"Hehehehe...we come in peace. Yeah, we do-"

BAM!

One of the troopers fired it's gun at Explorer, barely missing him and singing Explorer's feathers.

"He has the superweapon. EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

And with that, the others charged and began firing their guns too.

"RUN! I'LL HOLD OFF THE OTHERS!" screamed Barc as he fired at a trooper, exploding it's head in the process. Explorer sprinted off, leaping over lazers and dodging shots from troopers, and in the background he heard Barc screaming in agony as a particulary loud explosion sounded.

Risking his life, he turned around and ran right back at the troopers, heroicly punching and kicking them out of the way as he headed toward Barc.

And then, he saw him.

Barc was laying on the ground, motionless, his eyes closed, and his bearing an expression of sheer terror and pain.

He was dead.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Explorer, ignoring the chaos surrounding him, as he wept for his friend.

But there was no time to grieve for his loss, and Explorer again turned and fled from the troopers, carrying away his dangerous cargo away from the city.