The Adventures of Lando Erif :: The Day I Banned Chocolate (Pt. Two)

FIRST DAY OF CAMP NANO TOMORROW. Who's staying up until midnight to write? *raises hand*

But anyway. I haven't really decided whether I'll be continuing Lando during the next month. At this point, I'm thinking not because I have quite a bit that's happening and no back up stories for if I forget to write one and not enough time to pre-write four week's worth. Basically you'll just have to wait until next Friday to see what happens. :P

For today, though, we have the second part of the story with the controversial name of 'the day I banned chocolate.' (I really just wanted to have everyone's reactions to me titling something like that. xD)
I hope you enjoy!

I don’t like chocolate.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re all thinking. ‘But Lando, how can you not like chocolate???’

Honestly though. A) it doesn’t actually taste as nice as it’s made out to. And b) I’ve had some bad experiences.

After the shopping trolley incident, I’d hoped that I was finished with Fate for good. But apparently it was not to be.

Fate paced up and down in front of me, the bars of the cage around me making his long trench coat look like it had stripes. He’d been pacing for the last few minutes, ever since his dragon dropped me into the cage. And he still hadn’t said anything, and I was starting to get bored. Not to say a little nervous.

“Soo…” I ran my tongue over my teeth and shifted, fiddling my fingers together. “Why am I here?”

Fate turned on me with a growl. “Shut your mouth, you fool,” he snarled.

Rude.

“You are here because I have a question to ask of you,” he continued anyway and I looked up again.

“Ookay?”

“Silence.” He glared at me and then continued pacing.

Well fine then. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for him to continue in his overly dramatic villain-speech.

“My cousin is still missing.” Fate grabbed the bars between us, leaning toward me as far as he could.

“Oh.” A frown creased my forehead. “Should I know this cousin?”

“Zey Nabra,” he shrieked, his voice cracking and slipping into a very un-villainous tone. Recovering, he cleared his throat and returned to pacing. “Where did you send—Zana Bradford, as you call her.”

“I have no idea,” I replied in complete honesty. “We ReLocated her and—”

“LIES,” his voice broke again and he subsided into low muttering. “Ah. I know just the thing to make you talk.” He looked up at me and smirked, sliding his hand into his pocket

I tensed, waiting for him to pull out…whatever it was.

“I can see you shivering with fear already,” he smirked, leaning towards me.

“I am not,” I protested.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Fate shook his head. “You’re about to start, then.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket again, something clenched between his fingers. Sending me a half grin, he uncurled his fingers.

It was a piece of chocolate.

Well. That was slightly anticlimactic.

I looked up at Fate, scrunching my eyebrows. “Is it, like, a grenade in disguise or something?”

His eyes narrowed. “Of course not.”

“A gun? A magic spell?” I stared at the square of chocolate on his palm.

“No.” Fate shot me a scornful glare. “It’s chocolate.”

Was I meant to be terrified? Was there something about chocolate that was meant to make me quake in my boots?

I mean, sure I didn’t like it a heap, but it didn’t terrify me.

“I think I’m missing something…” I squinted at the chocolate and then up at Fate again.

Then the chocolate flew off Fate’s hand, right at me.

I threw myself flat on the ground, feeling the chocolate whiz past right over my head. Pushing up, I twisted over my shoulder. Fate’s dragon pounced on the chocolate.

Chocolate had dairy.

Dragons were intolerant to dairy, some worse than others.

Fate yelped and ran forward, waving his arms about. “No no no, you know that’s not good for you.”

Something bounced against the back of my head and I ducked, letting out a yelp as another chocolate bar bounded past toward the dragon.

“Hey, you don’t want to do this. Remember what happened last time?” Fate held his hands out toward the dragon, slowly advancing.

The dragon didn’t listen.

It ate both chocolate bars in one swallow.

I ducked behind my hands, tense and waiting. Something bad was going to happen, I knew it. But what?

Fate backed away rapidly, getting back and cringing down behind the other side of my cage. But still no crazy dragon. I looked at Fate and at the dragon and then lowered my hands.

“I kinda expected something bad to happen—”

I never finished.

The dragon spat a ball of fire at the warehouse door, exploding it into smithereens.

A blast of smoke swept over me and I clapped my hands over my mouth and nose, trying not to breathe it in. The dragon roared from the side of the warehouse and sent another fireball at the opposite wall.

I blinked rapidly as the smoke cleared, unable to hold my breath much longer. Fate stood from behind the bars, clapping his hands together as he looked toward the now-smashed doorway.

“Well well well,” he said slowly. I followed his gaze.

The twins stood, half crouched and shielding their faces behind their hands. And looking slightly singed.

“I’m honoured. So many visitors in the one day.” Fate stepped to the side and reached up, tugging a rope that hung just beside his head.

“Watch out—” I was just too late in my warning. A rope net snapped up around the twins, tangling them into the impossible trap.

“Hey. That wasn’t nice,” Thomas’s voice came from somewhere in the kicking pile of twins.

Fate ducked to a crouch as a ball of flames rushed past over his head. “I wasn’t trying to be nice.” He advanced across the floor and grabbed the net, dragging it, Thomas and Titus yelling protests inside, over to me. He dropped them, sniffing disdainfully as an unidentifiable foot kicked at his leg.

“Leave them alone.” I stood up, only just able to in the cramped space of the cage. “They don’t know the answer any more than I do.”

Fate turned on me. “Wait. Did I ask a question? Ohh yes, so I did.” He narrowed his eyes and glared down at me. “Then there’s only one option left.”

The twins stopped kicking, and for a moment the warehouse was silent.

Except for the rampaging dragon about to blow us all sky-high, but that was entirely beside the point.

Fate waited another dramatic moment and then smiled. “You are all caught in the snares of Fate, and Fate will oversee your demise.” And then he laughed.

Talk about over dramatic.

But it worked. I was worried. I’ve had enough experience with manic fairies to know that they will carry out their threats or die trying.

Fate straightened himself and lifted his hands, closing his eyes. “Prepare to meet your—”

“Fate!” A yell came from above and the fairy spun around. A blur swung down and smashed into Fate, sending him flying backward into my cage. The metal bars broke like cardboard when his back hit them.

My leg barely avoided the same fate.

Scarlette continued swinging over our heads and then she dropped, releasing the rope and landing neatly on the floor.

Fate scrabbled for a moment and then shoved up from the wreckage, turning to face Scarlette. “You will regret that, girl. I will destroy—”

Scarlette crossed the space separating them, flipping a pocket knife open with a twist of her wrist. “Say that again?”

The fairy stopped short, raising his hands defensively. “I wasn’t going to hurt them,” his voice changed to a more conciliatory tone.

She snorted. “Back up and put your hands flat on that wall there.” She pointed with the blade of the knife.

Fate moved backward slowly and then turned and pressed his palms against the warehouse wall. I held my breath, but he didn’t make any move. Scarlette stood behind Fate, watching narrowly for a moment.

Still nothing.

She snapped her knife shut and pocketed it. Brushing her hands together briskly, she turned back to me. 

“You three quite finished—”

“Watch out!” I blurted as Fate moved.

He clenched his fingers into claws and ripped a wooden board from the wall. Spinning, he brought it down at the back of Scarlette’s head.

She would’ve been dropped right then and there. If she’d been any ordinary Recruit.

But no one ever accused us as being ordinary.

Scarlette lifted her hands behind her head, catching the board before it hit. She ducked and twisted sideways, wrenching the wood from Fate’s grasp. And then in a beautiful swipe, she smacked it right in his face.

Needless to say, Fate collapsed.

I snapped myself out of the shocked freeze and clambered out over the remnants of the cage, hurrying to the twins. “You guys okay?” I grabbed at the weave of the rope net, trying to work out where the opening was.

“Yeah, we’re good.” Titus wriggled, and Thomas let out a yelp.

“You’re kicking my face,” he protested.

“Sorry—”

A fiery explosion almost knocked me back with the blast of heat and I looked up. Scarlette waves her hand. “Don’t worry! I got this.” She charged forward at the dragon.

I nodded, even though she wasn’t looking anymore, and turned back to the net. “There’s an opening somewhere.” I gritted my teeth and tugged at the ropes.

Another explosion and half of the warehouse wall started crumbling.

“Not good,” Thomas muttered from beneath Titus somewhere.

I finally found the opening and jerked it up, pulling the net far enough to let the twins get out. Titus rolled up to his hands and knees and scrambled out, followed closely by Thomas.

“Phew,” I said, shoving a hand through my hair.

But Thomas was already sprinting toward the dragon.

Scarlette wasn’t doing so well, and as glanced over, the dragon pounced on her, trapping her between it’s paws like the piece of chocolate. Thomas dived forward and shoved her sideways, ending up on his knees right beneath the dragon’s opening jaws.

On his knees with a squashed looking sandwich held in his hands above his head.

I stared, unable to look away as the dragon’s mouth opened wider above Thomas and started going down. Toward him. I started running, not knowing what I could do, but just running toward them anyway.

And then the dragon paused and —very daintily— took the sandwich between its teeth and gulped it down.

I skidded to a stop, panting. The dragon straightened, shook itself and then dived through the burning wall with a sweep of its wings.

Thomas staggered to his feet, wiping his hands against his shirt and looking like he was either going to start laughing or throwing up. Titus ran forward and grabbed his twin’s arm. “You okay?”

Thomas nodded, leaning against Titus’s shoulder. “Got rid of the psycho dragon.”

“I thought you were going to be eaten alive,” I blurted.

“No such luck.” Thomas grinned and bumped his fist into my arm.

Scarlette rose from her crouch, shoving her messy hair back over her shoulder. She gave Thomas a glance. “Well. I guess your weirdness actually turns out to be useful sometimes,” she said, her voice holding an admiration that was only slightly grudging. 

“Oh. Thanks. You never know when you might need a vegemite sandwich. I always carry one, although normally I eat it.” Thomas flushed. “Sorry about your chocolate.”

“I think I’ve been put off chocolate for a while actually.” She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “It just doesn’t have the same appeal anymore.”

“I concur,” I agreed wholeheartedly.

- end -

So how was that?? I half feel like this story was a bit of a mess and half feel like it's just my brain that's a bit of a mess at the moment really.

Hard to tell sometimes.


Are you staying up for a midnight write to start of Camp?
(join me??)
Do you have any ideas for more possible Lando stories?