filled Kit’s ears.

“Cover your eyes!” Buzz shouted over the din.

Kit squeezed his eyes shut just before Buzz pulled the cap off the gauntlet, allowing an uncontrolled stream of fire to shoot out.

When the earthquake and roar subsided, Kit ventured to open his eyes. He peered through the smoke in Buzz’s direction.

“Another failed experiment,” Buzz’s tinny voice said glumly. The charred ashes slipped through his fingers. “I’ll be stuck in the Dark Ages forever without electricity, running water, and worst of all, no Uranium 238. I’ll have to wait until the Renaissance to even read a book...”

“What if we used my watch?” Kit suggested. When he pulled the helmet from the inventor’s head, the visor caught on his beak, causing it to vibrate like a diving board.

“What watch?” Buzz said, shedding the rest of the armor.

“The watch you fixed for me.” Kit retrieved his pocket watch from underneath his sweater.

“My spare!” Buzz cried gleefully. “Now we can get back to Cape Suzette and tell Mr. Khan that his invention works.”

“Why would Shere Khan want a time travel watch?”

“To correct any business mistakes he made in the past and get further ahead in the future.”

Sarcastically, Kit said, “I should have known.”

“Let’s go,” Buzz said, taking the watch from Kit.

“No!” Kit snatched the watch back. “We can’t leave Baloo and the Sea Duck here.”

Buzz looked around. “Where? I can’t see them through this smoke,” he said, coughing a little.

Kit shook his head, marveling at the fact that although Buzz was a genius when it came to inventing, he was a little slow on the uptake when it came to ordinary common sense. “They’re not here in this room, but they’re in the cave, on the other side of the wall. The ceiling came down during one of the earthquakes, and now we can’t get out that way.”

Philosophically, Buzz said, “Then we’ll go the other way.”

“Buzz, you know I’m not a sorcerer,” Kit exclaimed. “I can’t ‘magic’ us outside.”

“I was planning on using the door, but if you know some magic...” Buzz said, his googly eyes shining with excitement.

“Never mind. Let’s just go,” Kit muttered.

They exited the cave using the ‘back door’ and climbed over the top of the hill, to the other entrance.

Meanwhile, Baloo and Dunder were trying to quickly, but carefully, dig through the rock wall separating them from Kit.

“See anything yet?” Baloo asked for the hundredth time.

“Aye,” Dunder replied, using his sword to chip at the rock.

Hope sprung to Baloo’s face. He stopped tugging at a small boulder to say, “Really?”

“I see rocks, rocks, and more rocks.”

Exasperated, Baloo muttered, “That ain’t what I meant.” He returned to wiggling the rock. “If anything happens to my boy, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Just then, Kit strolled up behind them, smirking. “Find anything?” His grin grew wider as he watched his father frantically working.

“Naw, Kit. We’re lookin’ for...Kit!” Wheeling around, Baloo’s eyes moved from Kit to the wall, then back to Kit. The flabbergasted big bear caught his son up in a hug, stammering, “Wha...who...where...how...?”

“Thou made it past the dragon?” Dunder looked impressed. “Indeed, thou art a great sorcerer.”

“Not exactly,” Kit said with a smile. “Here’s the dragon.” He gestured to Buzz, who was standing behind him.

“The dragon has disguised itself as that? Truly, it is a crafty beast.” The knight drew his sword and, after nervously clearing his throat, said as forcefully as he could, “Prepare to meet thy doom, dragon.”

“Eek!” Buzz cried, backpedaling. “I’m not a dragon! At least I don’t think I am.”

To prevent the knight from skewering his friend, Kit said hastily, “Buzz isn’t a dragon. He’s an inventor.”

“Inventor?” Dunder pronounced the strange word uncertainly. He sheathed his sword. “Is that akin to a dragon?”

“Nothin’ like a dragon, Dundee,” Baloo chuckled. “Buzz makes doohickies, thingamabobs...stuff like that.”

“Doohickies?” Dunder said, scratching his helmet with his forefinger. “Methinks I am confuseth.”

“We’ll show you.” As they made their way to the back door and the ‘dragon’s lair’, Kit briefly filled Baloo and Dunder in on Buzz’s welding machine.

A short while later, they stood before the machine as Buzz proudly showed them how it functioned.

“Verily, it is a marvelous doohickey.” Dunder then added dejectedly, “But howeth will I explaineth to Sir Spigot and everyone that the dragon was a hoaxeth?”

Baloo snapped his fingers. “Here’s what ya tell ‘em...”

Hammalot Castle

When the dragon hunters returned to Hammalot, they were surprised to see a line of serfs toting crates into the castle much like ants carrying bread crumbs.

“Hey! That’s my cargo!” Baloo exclaimed. He roughly pushed past the serfs as well as the man guarding the door and stormed into the throne room. He marched over to Spigot, who was directing the placement of the crates, and demanded, “What the heck are ya doin’ with my cargo, Spiggy?”

The diminutive knight proclaimed exultantly, “I, Sir Spigot, at risk to lifeth and limbeth, single-handedly fetched that liniment from the belly of the great yellow dragon and brought it to Hammalot for the benefit of the royal highnesses.”

Clangwent an empty tube of liniment as it bounced off Sir Spigot’s armor.

“Thank ye kindly for thy token of affection, O Gracious Queen,” Sir Spigot said, bowing deeply.

The queen grunted and emptied another tube into her liniment-ringed mouth.

The court jester strummed his lute while he leaned against the king’s throne. He was singing to the tune of Greensleeves: “Oh, liniment be tasty and liniment be keen. The goodly liniment will turn thy mouth green...”

The king, seeing Dunder, Kit, and Buzz standing in the doorway, roughly pushed the jester aside and asked languidly, “Didst thou slayeth the dragon that liveth in the Dragon’s Den, Knight-in-Training Dunder?”

All eyes were on Dunder as he removed his helmet and timidly approached the king and queen. He glanced at Baloo, who nodded in response, before mumbling, “Aye, sire. The great beast is silenced forever.”

Proudly, Sir Spigot said, “I taught him everything he knowest.”

Under his breath, Baloo muttered, “Bet that was a shorteth lesson.”

One of the knights sitting around the Sound Table shouted, “All hail, Sir Dunder! The bestest dragon slayer in Hammalot!”

“Hippeth hooray!” the knights chorused. “Hippeth hooray! Hippeth hooray!”

Sir Spigot, who had crawled on top of the mound of cargo crates, cried in an injured tone, “But I thoughtest that I wast the best dragon slayer in Hammalot.” A wistful, faraway look came into his eyes. “I remembereth the first dragon I slayeth...”

Everyone, save Dunder and Buzz, groaned.

Baloo tiptoed over to Kit and Buzz and whispered, “That’s our cue to skedaddle.”

Kit nodded and started to sidle towards the exit.

Baloo snatched up Buzz, who was glued to the spot, enthralled by every word Sir Spigot spoke.

Buzz was the only one who was interested. The Hammalot citizens’ eyes were fast glazing over as Sir Spigot recounted his favorite tale.

“The battle wast fierce, but I wast fiercer! Again and again the beast breathed its fiery breath at me, but I wast too quicketh...” He broke off when he noticed Baloo, Kit, and Buzz moving towards the door. “The sorcerers are escaping! All their magic will be losteth!”

“Speakin’ of quicketh!” Baloo exclaimed. He tucked Buzz under his arm like a football and broke into a run with Kit on his heels.

“Knights of Hammalot, after them! To arms! Raise the drawbridge!” When he tried to draw his sword, Sir Spigot lost his balance and fell off the crates. “Dunder-her-her...!”

Dunder hurried to pick him up. “I cometh, Sir Spigot.”

Baloo, Kit, and Buzz sped from the castle and through the village, towards the drawbridge that was slowly closing. They scrambled up the squeaking drawbridge to the edge. Below them, the muddy moat was shrinking. Approaching them were knights with drawn swords. Archers on the castle walls fired arrows at them. In another minute, the drawbridge would be completely closed and they would be trapped in Hammalot.

“Authentic knights with authentic swords,” Buzz exclaimed, peeking around Baloo’s arm. “How exciting!”

“Yeah, I’m one big goosebump of excitement,” Baloo said dryly. He looked at Kit. “Pull chocks?”

Giving a thumbs-up, Kit replied, “Pull chocks.”

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