When they reached the Night Train it was clear, by word of mouth, that the Fire Army had retreated eastward and that Drake and his cronies had taken the train to the city. A beggar told them of a woman he’d seen, whose description closely matched Naya’s. Twinkie gave him some of her coins in exchange for the information, and they boarded the Night Train eager to reach their destination after many days of traveling.
Marlana was a city of many unusual buildings. A circular moat surrounded it, which fed several channels that led toward its center. There, a water-blue building rose to the sky. It had fountains that sprouted upwards and vines that dangled downwards. It seemed to posses the simultaneous character of being an architectural geyser and a living tree made of offices and hallways. At its bottom, where another moat ran in a circle- this time at the heart of the city- it was surrounded by mammoth turbines that propelled the water into a rotating sprinkler. Another building was yellow and had lines of palm trees growing on each successive terrace the higher up it went. At the top there was a golden-helmeted sun, which stood as an emblem of tropical paradise to the city below. From the top of it, waterfalls cascaded down the sides of the building. Other buildings had spheres that stood on top of one another like ice cream cones. On one of these spheres was an enormous smiley face that alighted the skyline with happiness. Others had candy-cane cylinders and whipped-cream spiral totems at the top of their summits. The most eye-catching of them all was a crimson mammoth that rose in a succession of M-shaped terraces. At the top of the highest M there was placed a finely polished sphere that settled nicely into the crib of the building. Even Twinkie, a veteran of the jungle who was familiar with all things in it, stood mesmerized by the skyline of Marlana, the Paradise City.
Balloons and Ferris Wheels welcomed the visitors through the suburbs, which seemed to be an endless sprawl of carnivals and festivals. When Managua stepped off the train and looked into the streets of downtown, he immediately noticed that all the women were topless and in fine shape. The men all wore sunglasses, dressed in V-cut shirts that exposed their abdomens. Strange music that made one feel zesty and proud blared from the stereos of streetlights on every street corner of the city. People seemed to be dancing and laughing everywhere they looked. All the cars were waxed, their chrome tattooed with fire on the sides. The aromas of enchiladas and fruit pies wafted through the air, tickling their senses with hunger. Twinkie and Managua had to constantly keep Jingo and Mango’s focus on finding Naya instead of looking at food and women.
Around a corner, the group came upon a gathering that was listening to a man speaking out against oppression in the city. Drake and Naxis were mentioned, as was an unnamed woman. As he spoke, a sizable crowd filled up the square. Twinkie was especially captivated by his speech, and when he saw her he was intrigued by the small glow of her being. After he finished speaking he approached the travelers, introducing himself as Stubob.
They spent a few days together and Twinkie found herself torn between her love for the two young men. Stubob was courageous, spontaneous, a magnificent orator, and had the type of charisma that could lead men into battle. Managua was reserved, mysterious, and full of wisdom. She couldn’t tell them why she’d been turned into a pixie; she liked being one anyway. For her, making people happy was what made life worth living, and she didn’t think she could make people happier by becoming human again. But sometimes she wished she was human again, if only just to experience the normal sensations her kind longed for. Maybe if she were human, Managua and Stubob would look at her differently. Maybe Managua would look at her the same way he did when he talked about Naya.
One day Stubob told them, “The time for waiting is over. An informant has told me that Naxis asked Drake to help him in his fight against us. We must strike quickly, before they develop a strategy! Listen, here’s what we’ll do; Jingo, Managua and I will dress up as city reserves. Then we’ll lure the reserve squadrons out onto the streets for an ambush. Huzzah!”
A roar rang through the room, which was also occupied by Stubob’s most trusted advisors. Over the days he’d developed a tight bond with the visitors, and felt that their motivation to find the girl was almost as virtuous as him helping city’s struggle against class inequality. He’d put the fate of their movement in the hands of people who hadn’t even been from Marlana. A part of him shunned himself for having such confidence in them, but next to someone like Managua, his intuition was strong that things would work out.
When the time came, and all of the men were dressed in costumes, they snuck into the King’s palace with greater ease than they’d anticipated. Stu, Jingo, and Mango looked for the control room, while Managua and Twinkie looked for Naya. They alerted the guards and said that a counterforce was organizing in a square down the street. Ramakavin, their commander, ordered them all to suppress the uprising. Guster, his grotesque sidekick, spotted Mango’s tail underneath Jingo’s armor, pointing out the oddity to his commander. Ramakavin might have suspected they’d been baited, but by then it was too late, and his curiosity exceeded his intelligence.
The guards were ambushed by the rebels after they rushed into the empty square. The Panther King Naxis saw it all from above, in his viney-blue tower. He ordered Drake to send reinforcements. He didn’t want any fire destroying his beautiful city, so the general told them to only use their swords.
Meanwhile, Twinkie and Managua found the Star Dancer. It was hidden inside a vault that had been sealed up. The pixie’s magic dust couldn’t open it, because the airways that allowed it to open curled around in circular directions. Managua told her to put some dust inside his flute, and when he blew it the dust traveled up its airways, unlocking the vault. Star Dancer gleaned like an icicle right in the middle of all the various treasures the Panther King owned. Immediately he changed her back into a human and was awestruck by her physical appearance. She wore a blue dress with flowers on it. A tiara stood on the rivulets of her hair, filling out a smile that traced a circle of white around her face.
Out on the streets, Ramakavin had slain Jingo and Guster was dueling Stubob. Drake’s reinforcements seized the rebels, and all seemed hopeless. Suddenly Twinkie appeared on the balcony, dancing above them with the wand in her hand. Out of the sky came flashes of lightning-dust, and all the soldiers were turned into monkeys. Guster became mad and neurotic trying to defeat Stu, and his thrusting became erroneous. Drake lunged at Twinkie on the balcony, so she jumped off it and landed on her back on the ground. Stubob left Guster to aid his injured friend. Meanwhile Guster started killing the monkeys because he mistakenly thought they’d been Mango's troop. Ramakavin smacked him to his senses as Drake ordered them all to get the elephants; they were leaving the city.
Inside the palace, Managua found Naya lying in a cell on some hay. King Naxis entered and tried to kill him, but Managua’s alertness helped him dodge the attack, and he sliced off the King’s hand when he lunged at him again. The boy, breathing heavily and knowing he was just moments away from being reconciled with his lover, demanded that the king give him the key to the cell.
“Right here”, said Drake, entering the hall from the darkness beyond. His armor made him larger than before, and he wore a golden pith helmet forged from the fires of Dragonmount. Managua guessed he must have had little hair, for none of it was visible over the sweat of his brow. His face was punctuated by bone and muscle. The holes that were his eyes looked like abysses that lead straight to Hell.
When Managua fought, he moved with the grace of poetry set into motion. He had a gift, a physical inheritance that made him move through the air as easily as the wind itself. No, he could not fly, but he could impress the illusion of it. He leaped through the air, slashing at Drake’s neck with a miniature dagger, showcasing a speed greater than the general had ever seen before. Landing with the majesty of a hawk, he seized a sword that had fallen out of his foe’s hand and wielded it in front of him, daring him to attack. The general paused and looked at him curiously, as if he’d seen him somewhere before.
Guster, a ghostly devil of a man, suddenly crushed him over the back with a 2 by 4. Naya screamed in horror as she saw Managua fall to the ground. Guster was old, with long and white hair that tangled up in bunches as it fell out of the skullcap he wore. Jewels on his earrings bedazzled his rawboned face. He wore tight red overalls that were pungent from the flood of sweat coming from his body. “Hey-lo son. Have ye met the devil? If so then ye’ll soon be reuinited. Give im’ me regards!” He chuckled as he unleashed a sword that was about to end Managua’s life.
Then Mango reared up from out of nowhere and bit the assassin on his wrist. The monkey proved to be skilled with a blade himself, stabbing Guster in the eye with a knife he’d stolen out of his overalls. Guster let out a cry of agony.
“I’LL GET YEE MANGY TWERP MONKEY IF IT’S THE LAST THING I EVER DOOOONE!”
Before Managua could take advantage of the situation, he was thrown out the window by Drake, who’d taken the opportunity to end the scene. Mango fled into the shadows, Naxis grinned, Naya wept.
Managua had survived the fall, but not without serious bruisings. It would take days for him and Twinkie to heal their wounds. Meanwhile, Drake and Guster expedited the king eastward, where their army was waiting. Naya was their sole prize. All the riches they’d pillaged from villages in the jungle had been left in Marlana. Stubob and his comrades had slain Ramakavan and the guards that had been turned into monkeys by the Star Dancer.
With the departure of the king, peace and equality returned to the city. Stubob was hoisted up as the new king. But he needed a Queen, and now that Twinkie was a full grown woman, he knew exactly who to marry.
As for Managua, his days were spent in misery. He’d suffered defeat, lost a friend, and was losing ground on the woman he loved. Twinkie visited him often in those days of recovery. She would hold him and nurture him, tell him fairy tales about the jungle, until he was finally ready to leave. She wanted him to stay and protect the city with Stubob, in case Naxis ever came back. But she already knew he would say no.
Managua and Mango took their belongings and headed east, to the Limestone Mountains.
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