The rest of that day and the early part of the evening were spent on training. Cole gave the farmers a crash course in farm defense, using whatever was at hand for makeshift weapons. He held tryouts to see who could throw a corncob the farthest and the hardest. Sally-Bob had a surprisingly good arm. He instructed the farmers how to use hoes as combat staves in case the struggle became hand-to-hand.

That went fine, although the farmers with shorter attention spans kept wandering off to dig furrows that could be used later for planting. Cole cleverly redirected their efforts so they were digging deep trenches in which to hide—or trap Takanagi’s war-tractors.

Together, they all pitched in to tear down the barn, repurposing its wooden planks and tools to construct primitive catapults that were nonetheless capable of launching hay bales several hundred feet. Lou participated in the training as well, hoping maybe he could learn a little something that, if not useful for fighting, might come in handy as, perhaps, a dance move.

When training was over, Cole knew it wouldn’t be enough to stop Takanagi and his men. The farmers simply didn’t have enough firepower to hold out against the invaders. But he hoped desperately that if Sally-Bob and the others could stand strong enough and maybe get in a few licks on Takanagi, he, like most bullies, might decide they were too much trouble and leave them alone.

“Are you ready?” Lou asked quietly, after all the preparations had been made. He and Cole crouched behind Sally-Bob’s house in the last light of the day. The other farmers hid behind their own homes or crouched in newly dug trenches. Sally-Bob was with her neighbor behind his house.

“I think so,” Cole answered finally. “But can I tell you something strange?”

“You can tell me anything,” Lou replied.

“I feel more like the way I was—more like myself—than I have since I lost my powers. You know how you were talking about being grounded? I think that’s kind of how I feel…. Maybe not by this specific place, but by these people. Does that make sense?”

“Absolutely,” Lou told him.

Cole sighed. “I just hope all this work today wasn’t for nothing. I mean, we don’t even know if Takanagi is coming tonight.”

Lou looked beyond the farm’s property line and pointed. “I don’t think you have to worry about that,” he said. The headlights were back at the top of the hill, and Cole could make out the war-tractors’ silhouettes.

One man stepped in between two of the war-tractors. His armor was different from the others’. He spoke into a megaphone. “This is Takanagi! I do not appreciate having to be here, but I wanted you to see the face of the man who will seize your land! With my control of this whole region, everyone will come to me for their vegetables, and I will make them pay whatever I want! Do not resist my forces! I have another weapon besides these…. I do not wish to use it. It is even more horrible and destructive!” He paused, running through a mental checklist. “Okay, I think that is everything! Here we come!”

The war-tractors began moving down the hill.

“Just the way you thought they’d do this,” Lou said to Cole, who nodded.

Takanagi’s forces approached a seemingly flat patch of land leading into Sally-Bob’s farm, but when they tried to cross it, the planks dusted with cut grass disguising the empty trench beneath gave way. With a loud WHOOMPF, the war-tractors fell nose-first, throwing their drivers forward to land on the trench’s bottom.

There was a cheer from behind the other houses as the farmers realized that their defense strategy worked. But the drivers clumsily scaled the trench in their heavy armor, leaving behind their war-tractors and lumbering forward on foot.

Cole waved his hand to signal the farmers, who stepped out of hiding and began hurling their projectiles—corncobs, heads of bok choy, and potatoes they had grown. Many missed their mark, but thanks to their armor, the thugs were too heavy to dodge others (most of which were thrown by Sally-Bob). None did any real damage, but several of the goons overbalanced and fell on impact. They would get up only to be knocked down again. Cole could see them looking at each other with confusion and even fear. What else could the farmers have back there to use against them? After their fifth failed attempt to advance, the exhausted goons chose to turn and run back the way they’d come.

But before the farmers could celebrate, there was another, louder roar from the top of the hill. Everyone turned, and to their horror, they saw an even larger armored vehicle, this time a massive harvester, rumbling toward them. Suddenly, it belched a plume of flame!

“I don’t think the corncobs are going to do too much against that,” Sally-Bob said worriedly as the war-harvester growled across the fields, coming straight for where the group was standing.

“That’s why we have the catapults,” Cole replied grimly. “Get ready to launch!”

The farmers ran to their positions by the catapults, which were already loaded with hay bales, and let fly. The projectiles arced toward the war-thresher…but they either smashed harmlessly against its sides or they were incinerated by jets of flame.

The war-thresher continued its slow advance as Cole, Lou, and the farmers watched. Cole could feel the eyes of the farmers and his father on him, waiting for his orders. There was only one left he could think to give that might do any good. He turned to them. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt. I’ll hold Takanagi off as long as I can while you get to safety. Run!”

Not giving them a chance to protest, Cole turned back around and started marching toward the oncoming war-thresher. He had no idea what he was going to do. But then, out of the corners of his eyes, he could see Sally-Bob, the farmers, and even Lou walking with him!

“What are you doing?” he asked in panic. “I told you to run!”

“Crops don’t run, and neither do we,” Sally-Bob growled in response. “We stand up for our land…like the family we are.”

They kept marching. Whatever they would do, they’d do it together.

The final, terrible resolution seemed inevitable…until the last member of the farm family took matters into his own hooves. Henry the yak lumbered in front of the farmers and into the path of the harvester, then simply stood there. The harvester paused, as if unsure what to do.

“We need a distraction to get Takanagi away from Henry before that thresher turns him into steak,” Lou said. He grabbed up three leftover potatoes, then ran across the field.

“Dad, don’t!” Cole yelled, running after him.

But Lou ran to a spot about fifty feet to Henry’s left…and started dancing the fanciest soft-shoe he knew, while juggling the potatoes! He spun, he twirled, he leapt. In the war-harvester, Takanagi sat mesmerized by the impromptu performance. Who was this fool, defending a stubborn yak? Then he remembered why he was there. Angry at himself, he pushed the button to restart the flamethrower and turned it toward the Royal Blacksmith.

Guess there’ll be no curtain call, Lou thought, bracing himself.

Just before the flamethrower could turn him into ash, however, Cole tackled his father, pushing him out of the way. The flame jet roared over their heads!

“That was a crazy move, Dad!” he said, impressed by his father’s bravery.

“A good performer knows how to improvise,” Lou gasped, out of breath.

They heard the war-thresher rumble past them and past Henry, again trundling toward the farm…and the farmers, who stood fearlessly as the very last line of defense.

“Move!” Cole yelled desperately, waving his arms in hopes of getting the farmers’ attention. “Get away from there, people! Come on! You’re going to get hurt!”

But if the farmers heard him, they showed no sign. They did not turn and run. Instead, they planted their feet firmly and did something unexpected: they joined hands.

When Cole saw this, he was amazed…and then he felt a strange surge within him—adrenaline! But there was also something more. Something…powerful. And oddly familiar. When Cole saw the farmers standing together and supporting each other, he mustered the emotional strength he’d lost during fight with the Crystal King.

Energy shot through his limbs, and his heart thrummed in his chest. Pointing his hands toward the war-harvester and smiling, he wondered if he’d regained anything else he had lost. But he was pretty sure he knew the answer. Just as power coursed in his veins like lava ready to explode from a volcano, a column of rock erupted beneath the war-harvester, flipping it into the air and sending it flying away from the farmers.

His confidence soaring, Cole gestured just as the war-harvester landed. Before Takanagi could take any action, another earthen pillar sent the vehicle flying backward once more, then again and again, until it disappeared over the hill! The farmers celebrated, jumping up and down, whooping and hollering. Lou hugged his son.

“Your powers! They’re back! You restored your balance and unlocked your True Potential again! How did you do it?”

“You did it, Dad…By telling me that story about Mom and how we gave her strength when we held hands and danced in the living room. Seeing the farmers hold hands, supporting each other and grounding each other…I think it grounded me again.”

Lou nodded. “Because you care about these people. Just like you’ve become part of their family, they’ve become part of yours. And family is strength!” He put his hand on his son’s shoulder, filled with emotion. “You were amazing today, but with or without your powers, you’ve always made your mother—and me—very proud.”

Cole and Lou grinned as the farmers rushed to them, slapping Cole on the back. “I have to say, your powers came back with a real sense of timing!” Lou said with a wink. “You must get it from your dad!”