"You've taken from me everything I ever wanted in this life," the rat king was saying to Crominus and Crunket. "So now... I'll take yours." He gave an experimental thrust of the sword. With a violent shudder, I came to my senses and turned to Rastokk. "My good rat," I whispered, "Can you go to free my other friends and bring them here?" "Yess," said Rastokk, frowning at the rat king's sword. But still he stood, unmoving. I looked down at my left hand--and instantly regretted it. My claws were a mess; my stomach churned. "And--and about this bloom..." Rastokk cringed as if someone had slapped him. "Friends first, friends first," he said, then raced for a tunnel opening across the chamber. While I was talking to Rastokk, Worriz had found the pile of armor, weapons, and other belongings the rats had taken from us before; and now that I looked up, I saw that he was tossing the items back to their owners. (Not-so-mysteriously absent from the pile were all money pouches....) Thus, when the rat king swung his sword in an arc towards Cragger's mother and father, it was brought to a crashing halt when Eris's axe met it. And as I watched the rat king turn to face Eris fully, I realized: he had begun to cry again, bitter tears wetting his bristly fur. For what reason could this rat be so terribly upset? My stomach churned again, and I couldn't come up with an answer. Ever since I had lost the feeling in my hand, my mind seemed unable to function quite right. Dimly, I knew it had something to do with the infection, but meanwhile, the happenings in the chamber whirled around me, light and color and sound.... "Rizzo!" I turned towards Worriz's voice, and something flew at my face.
I subconsciously recognized it as a Chi harness, my Chi harness, and I flung out my left hand to catch it. That was a dreadful mistake, as I soon found. I managed to snatch it out of the air ere it hit me, but then the hand erupted into pain, as if it had burst into flames. I let out a shriek that halted all the chaos around, though I knew it not at that moment. All I could see, hear, feel, taste, and smell was that horrific pain. Finally, although the pain did not lessen even in the slightest, I slowly became more aware of my surroundings. A rat was holding my wrists behind my back, pushing me towards the rat king. Groggily turning my head this way and that, I saw that all the others were being held by rats as well (all excepting Rastokk, Laval, Gorzan, and Ewar, who had yet to turn up). "What are you looking for?!" said the rat king, no longer trying to hide his anger. "Well?! Step forth and look at me!" Gulping and shivering, I looked up into his wretched eyes. The escape plan became a distant memory, a useless, broken dream. It had gone wrong even from the start, and now all hope seemed lost. All this I saw reflected in those eyes. "You are hurt?" said the rat king, swiping at his tears. I nodded. "Then step forth!" The rat behind let go of my wrists, and I wobbled forwards on my false leg. "You're probably wondering why I am so terribly upset," said the rat king. "And I'm going to tell you, before I take your head." My mind was too clouded to process this, and so I let it pass. "But first," said he, "you were the one who wanted the bloom, yes...?"
Bloom.... When had I heard the rat king say that before? I knew he had; it was the only clear thought in my head. "Hmmm?!" At the sharp grunt, I opened and closed my chipped beak noiselessly, trying (and failing) to come up with a proper response to his query. But the rat king took an uneven breath and reverently lifted the yellow--nay, golden--flower from the pedestal to his right. Then he snatched up my left arm and held the flower over my ruined hand; and all signs of infection vanished. "What...is that?" I asked, as the fog in my mind was dispersed as well. The king pulled the flower away. "This," said he, "Is the Bloom of Eternal Beauty." There came a gasp from behind, but it was silenced ere I could turn my head. The rat king tightened his jaw. "This bloom," he went on, "Is utterly unique. And it was given to me by a certain lion long, long ago." "Loradus," I whispered. The rat king nodded sadly. "That might have been his name. Anyhow, back then, these rats--" he gestured to all those in the chamber "--lived above ground. They were a shy sort, and kept to themselves. One gorilla thought he could change that, though, as he possessed the bloom. "So one day he brought it to the rats as an offering of peace, and friendship. But the rats could not bear to look upon a thing of such beauty, and so they beat the gorilla to within an inch of his life, and took the bloom to destroy it." My eye widened. Already this wasn't quite the same story Ewar had told of the rats, yet somehow I knew the rat king was not lying. And, that being the case, Ewar had not even told half of the story....
"That gorilla knew he had made a terrible mistake," continued the rat king. "The bloom couldn't be destroyed; he was aware of this. He wasn't worried about the bloom. No, he was worried about the rats. "He had changed their lives for the worse, and now he meant to return things to normal." The king sighed. "And so, later, the gorilla crept into the rats' encampment to take back the bloom. He almost did it, too. But..." At the pause, I leaned so far forwards that my false leg slipped from beneath me, and I stumbled ere regaining my balance. The rat king didn't seem to notice, however, and held a hand to his head. "But," he said at last, "there are consequences to stealing items of such beauty, no matter what the intention. "As soon as he touched the bloom again, his form began to change. He grew taller and thicker, the bruises and scars he'd been left with earlier becoming a natural part of his being. "He became one of those from which he stole." I narrowed my eye again. The rat king seemed to have wandered away from the subject with this story. And I was just about to ask him why he was so terribly upset, when Eris's voice came from behind (apparently she was unable to contain her knowledge): "You're the gorilla." I turned my head to look at her, then back at the rat king, stunned. Could this flower truly alter one's form so drastically? Was it possible that the giant rat sitting before us had once been an honest and helpful creature? There was nothing at all left to indicate such a thing, but somehow it all fit together.... "That's correct," said the rat king. "And tonight, the same lion who gave me this cursed bloom promised he would come here to rid me of it and this beastly form."
"Where do my parents come in?" asked Cragger, who (much like myself) seemed to have been shocked into being unafraid. The rat king pulled forth his sword again and frowned. "Oh yes, them. The lion also promised to tell me their worth, about their uses. But when he slipped in here earlier, he wouldn't talk about them, and he refused to take the bloom. All--all he said was--" He swallowed, more tears filming his eyes. "He said: 'It's not worth my time, or yours. And yours is catching up to you, I'm afraid.' Those exact words!" This was rather difficult to take in. If Loradus really had been here, he would have taken Ewar with him, what with the price he had set.... "And what of the eagle?" I asked, before I could stop myself. The rat king turned his murderous gaze down at me. "Lion wouldn't take him," spat he. Now I was truly confused. If Loradus had done nothing while he was here, why had he come at all? Or was he here still...? A sharp clatter cut into my thoughts, and I whipped about in time to see Worriz put his paws behind his back, the others glaring at him. Then I was swept to the side by the rat king as he advanced on Worriz, sword raised, eyes burning with hatred. "What have you done?!" he thundered. "Tell me right now!!" Having no choice, Worriz pointed to a tunnel opening, just inside of which was Laval's Valious. "I threw it," said the wolf quietly. The king snarled and held the edge of the sword to Worriz's throat. "Your head goes first!"
At that moment, Rastokk rushed in with Ewar and Laval (who had, of course, picked up his Valious), and they beat their way through to us. The rat king let his sword drop when he looked upon them. For a brief moment, his eyes cleared, becoming those of a gorilla. "Rastokk? Why are you helping them escape?" Rastokk swallowed and set his face, offering no reply. Then the king's eyes hardened again, and he bellowed, "Destroy them all!" And with that, the multitude of rats charged from every side. My thoughts were in total disarray as Rastokk and Worriz tossed weapons and armor every which way to be caught by the rest of us, and to meet the oncoming force. I turned a circle on the spot, sidestepping when Razar and a rat fought up to where I stood. Soon, however, sidestepping would not be enough. Two rat daggers whizzed towards my face and I leaned back to avoid them, then tripped and fell dodging another. It was then that Rastokk came up to me, out of breath and bearing two shields. "Take this'n c'mon!" he puffed, handing me a shield and running off again. Gingerly, I got to my feet and ran after, cringing every time something sunk into my shield. At one point, a rat snatched my throat in its gnarled hands, and I let out a horrified gurgle; but, wielding his broadsword expertly and brutally, Laval drove the rat away, dealing stinging blows even as the rat cowered and fell to the ground. My path temporarily forgotten, I stared as Laval continued to battle through the rat forces, a lump forming in my throat. "Rizzo!" I turned numbly towards the voice, and Ewar took my shoulder. "Rizzo, look!" I looked where he was pointing--and my stomach flipped over.
Rastokk had drawn a sword of his own and was approaching his former king, who stood alone and unopposed in the center of the chamber. "He'll die," said Ewar, "if he faces that rat all by himself!" But at this point, he seemed ready to die. Ready to die for our freedom. Pushing the images of the battle around from my mind, I hefted the wooden shield and strapped it in place on my arm. "Yes, he will," I said quietly. "And I'll not sit idly by and watch while he does." All around us, the others were locked in mortal combat with the rats, and meanwhile, the one with the power to stop it all remained unnoticed by many. I nodded at Ewar and ran to Rastokk's side. And that was when the rat king caught sight of us, and charged. The first stroke of his sword cut Rastokk's shield cleanly in half; the second buried itself in mine. I quickly dropped the shield and jumped back in shock, and the rat king pulled his sword free. Soon he and Rastokk were battling fiercely, bright blades ringing against each other faster than one could blink. I felt a hand at my shoulder and whipped about, but it was only Ewar. "Are you hurt?" he asked. I turned back around and shook my head slowly, eye fixed on Rastokk. Nothing I could do would help him now; and I despised watching others die through my fault.... There was a thunk! as a shield thudded into the king's head; and before I could search for the one who had thrown it, Rastokk swept the giant rat's legs out from beneath him, and he held the sword to his throat, screeching at the top of his voice, "Stop!" And around the chamber, the sounds of battle halted. Rastokk hesitated, the swordpoint quivering.
Whoops, I only went months without posting this because I'd accidentally closed my tabs at one point and thus forgot about the archive site. Anyway, let's continue with The Rizzo Files by Epicninja1: "Go on," said the rat king. "Be done with it." But Rastokk whimpered slightly and looked to me. I in turn, looked to the rat king. Wicked though he was, did he deserve to die? Forcing my thoughts to come together, I decided the answer was no. A kind creature he had once been, and a kind creature he could be again. "Don't do it," I said softly. Rastokk's eyes shifted, and he began to draw his sword away. The rat king laughed and sobbed at the same time. "You must be weak," said he, "If you won't end my miserable life--" Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Laval ran up and ran his Valious through the king. My insides dropped away for a moment. "What have you done?" I breathed. He pulled the sword free and shrugged, somewhat uncomfortably. "What had to be done." "I beg to differ...." Peering around the chamber dazedly, I realized one of our number was missing: Gorzan. I limped over to Rastokk to inquire as to his absence when another rat held me back. Glaring at him, I pushed past to Rastokk, who put a hand on the rat king's head solemnly. "Rastokk?" I said. He slowly turned his blue gaze on me. "I'm th' new king," said he, taking the tree-bark crown from the rat king and placing it betwixt his own ears. And as all the rats bowed in recognition of this, I could hold in my shock and confusion no longer, and wept openly.
After what seemed like a long, long time, I raised my swollen eye and said, "Can you show us to our gorilla friend, and our way out?" Rastokk smiled, his face shining with a sudden beauty. "A' course."
First, however, certain matters needed to be settled. Under Rastokk's orders, the rat king's body was dragged away for a burial, and once it was gone from the chamber the mood became considerably lighter. As for Crominus and Crunket, well, Cragger begged them to come with us, but they would not. Rastokk said he would be happy to have them stay, and that ended it. And Lennox.... He was to stay behind as well, but the descision hadn't been his to make. He swore revenge on us all ere he was taken back to the cell. Rastokk lifted the yellow bloom from its pedestal and tucked it in his belt, but no transformation overcame him. Then he turned to us. "Ya ready?" We all nodded, and Rastokk started down the tunnel from which he had emerged with Ewar and Laval earlier. Within ten minutes, we reached a cell, the only cell in the entire tunnel thus far. At first it appeared empty, but looking closer, I saw Gorzan curled up in a corner. "For some reason he's afraid of rats," Ewar said to me. I nodded, now knowing the reason for this. After the rat king, it made sense that all gorillas would have a fear of rats. As Eris and Laval tried to convince Gorzan to leave the cell, I asked Ewar, "Was it you who threw the shield at the rat king?" Ewar sighed. "Yes. I was thinking I could buy us some time..." "I thought as much." At the sight of Rastokk, Gorzan began to scramble back to the cell, but the rat held out the bloom for him to take, and he stopped. "Dude," said Gorzan. "For me?" Rastokk nodded, and Gorzan took it, staring into its radiance. It was fitting, I thought, for the bloom to be in gorilla hands once again. Suddenly cured of his fear, Gorzan joined us; and after several more hours of walking (ever-so-slightly upwards), Rastokk turned back, and we reached the end of the tunnel.
At long last, we came out into the air. It was night time, and the slight breeze that riffled through my now-oily feathers was more than welcome, the sounds of the rustling leaves like music. Through the minimal covering of the trees, the stars glimmered, as if they, too, were glad to be out that night. Ewar whipped out his spyglass and hopped into the shadows for a moment, and I smiled and closed my eye. "Eagles have to go at the weirdest times, don't they?" said Laval's voice. I heard Worriz snort, but not in amusement. "And lions say the stupidest things, don't they?" A tap on the shoulder told me Ewar had finished reading the stars and returned, and I opened my eye to look at him. "Yes?" "We were in those caves for three days," said he. I raised an eyebrow. Three days? It had felt like so much more.... "So...where do we go from here?" Razar asked. No one answered immediately; but as soon as one did, all relief at being aboveground again faded. "Well--" said Eris. "Without the map--we're--we're lost." A grim silence descended upon us. So focused had we been on escaping, that maps and bearings (or the lack thereof) had been entirely forgotten--until now. "D'you remember any parts of the map?" asked Cragger quietly. For whatever reason, at this Eris looked offended, and would only shake her head. "Well then--" began Laval, but Eris turned her back and sat, halting any further questions. Worriz's eyebrow arched in a worried fashion. "You know," he said, "I could do with a meal about now...."
"Anyone else hungry?" he asked, pulling a sack from his belt. "We still have food?" asked Cragger. Worriz nodded, looking uncomfortable (though I couldn't imagine why). Wordlessly, he opened the sack. It was filled with turnips. I stepped over and drew one out. "Was it Rastokk who packed these?" Again, Worriz nodded. I tore the turnip in half and placed a piece in my beak; and, as I had expected, the taste was wonderful. No sooner did I finish it off when the others began to move in and help themselves, Eris included. Of a sudden, realization struck me, and I narrowed my eye. Worriz was still holding the sack, face averted from everyone. I stepped forwards and took him by the shoulder, walking him a slight distance away. "Why are you having us eat?" I asked, growing rather suspicious. Worriz was looking anywhere but at me. "'Cause it looked like you were hungry...." But once he saw that I wasn't satisfied with his answer, his shoulders dropped. "Well, I thought, we definitely can't go anywhere with empty stomachs and bad feelings...I mean..." "This is one of your pack tricks, is it not?" I took Worriz's stubborn silence to mean yes. "Well then..." I spread my hands. "Why so uncertain?" He tightened his jaw. "'Cause I'm not certain. You guys're hard to predict. With my pack, whenever we start to get angry with each other, we'll eat. That usually helps...after, we feel better about things enough t'put them behind us. I just don't think you're all the same way...." I stood and gave this thought before saying gently, "We are no different than your wolf companions. Give us a chance, and I believe that is what you will find."
When we strode back to the others, it was to find Eris talking to Gorzan animatedly. I smiled at Worriz, who grunted and snatched up a turnip of his own. I then dropped my smile and sighed, for I again realized that we were completely lost, with nothing to be done for it. The rising sun could perhaps help the next morning, but I knew not which direction we had been heading to begin with. "Hey raven-dude, how's it going? You look bummed." I looked up at Gorzan, the light of the bloom illuminating his kindly features. "Oh," I said. "Hullo Gorzan. I was wondering about how to find our way again." He widened his eyes in apparent confusion, lowering the bloom slightly. Being used to this sort of reaction when conversing, I opened my beak to repeat myself when Gorzan said unexpectedly, "But we're not lost." I stepped back. "You're quite sure?" "Mm-hm." My heart began to beat faster. "So you can lead us on the morrow?" "Mm-hm." "Brilliant!" I clapped him on the shoulder excitedly. "And how do you do it?" Gorzan shrugged. "Just follow the earth," said he, and I left it at that, my excitement fading slightly. But there was something else I needed to know... "That bloom you hold," I said. "Are you aware of its history?" "What, this pretty flower?" He stared at its head. "Yeah, I was just talking about it with the dudette." (I assume he meant Eris.) "Poor brother Gozzog...turned into a rat-dude." And now he was dead. I looked over to Laval, who was sharpening his Valious. Gorzan looked over to him as well--then collapsed to the ground, his breathing ragged.
Instantly I knelt beside him to see what was wrong, but just as quickly, he got back up. "Lion dude's not happy," he said, eyes wide. I glanced at Laval again. "Er...how do you mean?" But all Gorzan would say was, "Not happy, not happy!" Nervously, I placed a hand over my eye covering, then gestured to Laval. "Shall I...? Gorzan shook his head and fell to a sitting position. I knew not what to do. The last time Gorzan had acted in this way, the rats had taken us. But if something was wrong with Laval, it would not do to ignore it. Gorzan began to hum in meditation next to me, and so, looking to him one last time, I strode over to Laval and sat. When he took no notice of me, continuing only to sharpen his Valious, I (loudly) cleared my throat. His head clicked up almost mechanically. "Yes?" I shook out my wings, not at all liking the look in his eye. "Gorzan...seems to think something is troubling you." A thought struck me then, and I added, "Perhaps...to do with the rat king?" Laval went back to sharpening and said nothing, yet I felt I was onto something. "His death, perhaps?" Laval groaned and threw up his hands. "Enough about this! I did what had to be done, OK? You would've done the same in my place." But had I not been the one to speak out against it at the time? I took a slow breath. "How can you rest with that on your conscience?" Laval smirked, and in that instant, something about him changed. "It becomes second-nature..." "Second nature? Wh-what do you mean?" Being rather frightened at that point, I had the sense to slide myself away from him. But I had not gotten nearly far enough when he turned his blazing eyes onto me and leaped.
Scrabbling at the ground with my claws, I managed to pull myself clear of his sword stroke, which buried itself in the earth near my middle. "Laval!" I shouted. "Control yourself!" "I have lots of control," he spat back, glaring. "Constantly I try to get rid of you, and every time, you tell me something about my father and change my mind. It takes control not to give up." He turned on the energy beam of his Valious then, blowing clumps of grass and mud everywhere and freeing his broadsword in the process. Wiping the filth from my eye, I spread my wings and flew out of reach ere he could strike again. Thankfully, the others had come to realize the threat by now and were moving in on the crazed lion; but something Laval had said gave me pause.... I caught my breath, then landed near where Cragger was now holding Laval down (though not without difficulty). "This is Lennox all over again...." Worriz groaned. I stepped lightly forwards. "Laval?" The red eyes swivelled towards me. "Yes, that's my name. What is it?" "You miss your father, do you not?" My heart sank when he smiled nastily and shook his head. "Not a bit," said he. I looked to Cragger, who raised both eyeridges in a hopeful sort of way. "I cannot help him," I said sadly. "The Anti-Chi has grown too strong. We shall have to let the spell run its course." Eris stepped forth, her bright eyes fixed on Laval. "But Cragger can't hold him all night, or however long it takes," said she. "What do we do about that?" Worriz grunted. "Tie 'im to a tree." And that was that--or so I thought. We were just settling down to rest when Laval let out a terrible roar that was answered by another deep in the jungle. Thus we drifted into an uneasy sleep.
Next morning, Gorzan put his hand to the earth, informing us of our way onward. According to him, the distance we had travelled in the rat caves had left the better part of the jungle behind us, and we were still headed in the right direction. How he gathered all this, I hadn't the slightest idea, but when he started off through the thinning trees, we followed (some more enthusiastically than others). Laval trudged along at the very back of the group, having gotten no sleep the previous night (he had, however, recovered from the Anti-Chi's control). As we walked on, I noticed that the jungle was eerily devoid of sound. Nothing moved to indicate life in any form; and dark clouds began to move in overhead. But, unlike the storm-clouds I had seen before, these clouds seemed more natural and less threatening. Suddenly remembering something, I moved up alongside Eris. "Do you believe he knows where he is going?" I asked, nodding at Gorzan. Eris sighed. "I honestly don't know. But from what I remember of the map, this way seems right." Which led me to what I had really wanted to know: "If you don't mind my asking," I said, "What was it that so upset you when Cragger and Laval wanted you to recall the map?" There was a pause, during which a droplet landed on my beak. Unsure of what exactly it was, I quickly brushed it off. "Well..." said Eris, the corners of her beak turning down, "I did look over that map a lot, and I do remember a bit of it. But...I've found that I don't like being a walking book, with everyone demanding information from me. "Eventually, I feel like that's all they expect from me, and they forget who I am." She blinked, then turned her head to look at me. "Why did you want to know?" "Because...I care," I said, remembering Worriz and finding that I truly did.
Anyway, let's continue with The Rizzo Files by Epicninja1: