“The Queen of Bavarias confirm alien landing on the southern outskirts,” Quarkey Birdy said from the communications center in the castle. “I have visual confirmation from the yarn bird permeter.”
“I see why Jinx called them green boogers,” Tiel Lover said, staring at the screen with wide eyes. “The Queen of Bavarias haven’t been detected by the aliens. They’re moving in on the ship.”
“Motion from the eastern outskirts,” Misha said. “It’s Clarence. Turning on audio.”
Everybody in the command center gathered around the console to watch as Clarence walked up to the aliens wearing overalls and work boots. “I say, green chaps, I’m wondering if you’ve seen my herd.”
“Herd?” the head alien asked. “Herd of what?”
“Why cattle, good man. I was out here watering the herd, and they just slipped away from me.” He tipped his head. “You aren’t from around here. Or wait, maybe I’m not from around here. Oh goodness, I did it again. I came through the dimensional porthole and now we’re all in the wrong century again.”
“Who is we?” the alien asked, as the ten aliens behind him scratched their heads, looking around.
“Them,” Clarence said, pointing to the woods where Unbuey led the charge of Clarence’s herd from the 1914 time rift toward the aliens.
“Muuh! Muuh!”
The aliens let out a sonic screech and ran, straight toward Anipal Land. The herd gave chase as the aliens scrambled up a hill, then stopped as they hit the crest to face an army of yarn-bird bots with glowing red eyes. They stopped as the herd split in half to flank them on the left, right, and behind, leaving them with nowhere to go but into the yarnbots. The aliens let out some indecipherable chatter amongst themselves before kneeling to look the yarn birds in their glowing eyes. “Hand over your anipals and we will leave in peace.”
The yarnbots started to vibrate and hum. Their red eyes shot lasers at the aliens, shocking them. The aliens danced around, swiping at their gooey flesh where the lasers stung them. The yarn bots advanced, pecking at the aliens who swiped at them. The yarnbots bounced off the ground and nearby trees, resuming their march toward the aliens with their laser eyes.
“Time for the next wave,” Quarkey Bird said. “Activate aerial and ground attacks.”
“Got it,” Jinx said from the cockpit of his airplane. “Air team mobilizing.”
“Got it,” Ninja Harine said from his tank. “Ground team moralizing.”
The yarn bots were joined by a swarm of airplanes and tanks circling the aliens, shooting their own lasers. The aliens swatted at the planes and tanks, which effortlessly slipped through their slimy grasp.
“Utilize tasers!” Zack said.
The planes and tanks swarmed around the aliens, diving in for brief contact to shock the aliens. Kato Q and Shamrock lead the charge against three aliens in the rear, who collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
“Yay!” Shamrock said.
“Toot toot!” Kato Q said. “Time for the second phase. Double up! Deploy cables!”
The planes and tanks paired up around the remaining aliens, deploying yarn cables and circling the aliens. The other seven fell down, tied up on the ground.
“Give up yet?” Jinx asked over his intercom.
“Never!” the aliens said. Three of the aliens stared at him with bulging eyes. Suddenly, their bodies expanded and broke the yarn ties. They stood, grabbing Zack’s plane. “You will be ours now!”
“No!” Shamrock and Kato Q swarmed the alien, who swatted their ships away. They shot lasers, but the alien merely screeched and flinched, still holding Zack’s ship firmly in it’s long, three fingered hand.
“I don’t think so, greeny,” they heard behind them. They turned to see three huge phoenixes standing behind them.
Chloe cackled as she stared at the aliens through the visual modules. “Come on, ladies. Let’s show these guys what happens to people that attack Anipal Land!”
“I’m ready,” Sassy said in the module to her right.
“I’m ready,” Sweet Pea said in the module to her left.
Shamrock and Kato Q backed off to rejoin the fleet as the three hens pecked the activation button in their modules, integrating their motions with the phoenixes.
On the battlefield, the aliens’ eyes bluged. “It’s true! The immortal birds do exist!”
“We must have these birds!”
“Forget the other anipals, these are the ones we want!”
A phoenix approached the alien holding Zack’s ship. “Unhand him you rude goober!” it said, karate chopping the alien’s arm, and knocking Zack’s plan loose.
“Thanks, Chloe!” Zack said, flying to a safe distance with Jinx and the ‘keet crew.
Chloe nodded, then turned back to the alien. “We don’t want to hurt you. Leave now in peace, and we won’t kung-fu you.”
The aliens stared at the three phoenixes then laughed. “Kung-fu us? Oh please. You’re just birds!”
She picked up the head alien, flipping him in the air, banging him around a couple of times, and pinning him with a foot and pecking at him. Sassy approached the other alien, swooping it off the ground with a big beak, flipping it in the air, and catching it with a huge foot. “I’d listen to her if I were you.”
The third alien tried to grab Sweet Pea’s phoenix, but she expertly picked it up by the beak, flipped it in the air, and pinned it with a foot.
“No! Let them go or everybody dies!” they saw one of the stunned aliens had regained consciousness and was holding a ray-gun on them. “It’s dark matter. It will destroy everything.”
Chloe’s eyes glowed. “Killing and destruction are not permitted here!”
“I’m not from around here,” the alien said, “and I have the bigger gun!”
Just then something red fell from the sky and burst water over the alien. They looked up to see the rainbow bridge stretched over Anipal Land, where more balloons rained from the sky and burst on the aliens. They shrieked as their skin sizzled and smoke rose from their bodies. “Stop, please!”
“Are you kidding me?” Jinx said. “You’re allergic to water, so you come to a planet made mostly of the stuff?”
One of the aliens pulled out a red flag and waved it. “We surrender!”
“They challenge us! Charge!” Shamrock shouted as he spotted the flag, not hearing the surrender over the whoosh of the water balloons dropping on their heads. The airplanes, tanks, yarnbots, and phoenix jauggernauts advanced on the aliens.
“Guys, they surrendered! I’d believe their words over their flag,” Quarkey Birdy said on their earpieces. “Our thermal imaging is showing something emanating from their bodies, maybe as a stress reaction. I’m not sure what it is but –“
“What’s that smell?” Kato Q screamed over the intercom. They heard him gag. The keet planes turned away.
“Turn back!” Ninja Harine said. “Toxic substance!”
“That’s not toxic, that’s methane,” Zack said. “Aw man, this is rancid!”
“They surrendered!” Tiel Lover said. “Accept, or it’s going to smell a lot worse out there!”
Chloe put down the head alien. “We accept your surrender.”
The aliens relaxed, causing the stench to recede. “Thank goodness!”
“Yes, thank goodness,” Kato Q said. “That was one heck of a toot toot!”