Glare of the Tiger's Eye
Chapters P - 14 By Dayna H*****
Readers Note
Before I write this exciting story, I would like to let anyone who doesn't know our W****** to understand some things our W****** say or do.
First of all, know that when me or my friends buy a W**, we either give them a random name, a name that they look like, or a name that we got out of a movie or book. If they're names are based on someone, then they have that person's personality. If they don't, then they have only a personality that they're owner thinks they should have.
Also me and my friends are making a movie based on Star Wars with our W**s, so the ones that are playing the characters, sometimes start to act like the character they are playing. For example: I own a Endangered Species Signature Gazelle named Faramir. Sometimes he'll act like character from Lord of the Rings, and sometimes he'll act like his Star Wars character, Darth Sidious. (Boy what a change right!?) Also, Togo plays Luke Skywalker, so he's teaching one of the characters on how to use the Force. Stuff like that.
Anyway I just wanted to point that out so you peeps won't get confused about how the characters say or act. In real life however, our W**s don't believe in the Force or anything like that. They believe what they're characters believe and what we believe. And me and my friends believe in God.
Enjoy this story and may it be to you're liking.
Prologue
A Disturbing Vision
It all started like any normal day in the lives of the W******. Especially two clans, the Arem and the Nednil. Except, that is, the Arem was a tribe, not a clan. Togo, a member of Arem, was going to meet his padawan, who was from the Nednil, Goldenpaw. Togo was a Jack Russel Terrier, with black ears, a black spot on his back, and one brown spot over his eye.
It was a beautiful day, with a bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds that drifted with the wind.
Suddenly he saw his apprentice coming toward him. Goldenpaw was a young cat, with gold and white fur. She had a mother and an adopted brother that lived in the Nednil. Her mother was going to marry an Arem cat, but the wedding was long from now. Goldenpaw was a pretty little thing, but today she looked concerned.
"Hello, Goldie. Ready for your training?" Togo asked, taking a remote droid from a pouch he was carrying.
"In a minute. But first I want to tell you about this vision I had," Goldie answered.
"Oh. Okay. Tell me about it." Togo said, sitting beneath a tree and motioning for Goldie to so too.
"It was very bizarre," Goldie began, " I was practicing my meditation, like you told me to, when I had it. It was night and, for some strange reason, my clan was fighting these strange, transparent flying things. The vision wasn't very clear. I want to know whether it was the past or the future."
"It was the future," Togo replied after a slight pause, "and it's worrying me. While I'm mulling it over, why don't you start with your training."
With that Togo pressed a button on the droid, and it hummed into motion, floating in the air and circling around the young apprentice. Immediately Goldie ignited her lightsaber, in time for the orange blade to deflect a laser bullet. The droid circled in another direction, then fired again, but was unable to fool the smart cat.
Finally Togo signaled that the training was over, and shut the droid off. Goldie put her weapon away, and then turned to her mentor.
"Well? Have you figured it out yet?" she asked.
"No. Not fully. Let's go to your clan, I want to ask your mother something."
Goldie nodded, and the two of them headed down the road toward the Nednil camp. It was a large camp, population sixty-four W******, for now at least, and filled with small buildings, each one with different species living in them. The snake who guarded the front gate allowed them in, for the Arem Tribe was well liked around there. Especially now that their new leader was getting married to a member of it.
"Mom! Mom, where are you?" Goldie called going over to the cats' living quarters.
"I'm in here," a voice said from inside, "you need something?"
"No. But Togo wants to talk to you." Goldie answered.
After a few minutes an attractive ginger cat came out. She was a fine orange-reddish color, with faint stripes of a darker shade and had been recently nominated as the new leader of the Nednil.
"Hello, Togo," she said, greeting her old friend, "how is the Arem? And how's Drewberry?"
"Drewberry's fine," Togo said with a grin, "but he's getting a little impatient about the wedding date."
"I know I know," Ginger said, "but remind him that we can't get married until we start on this movie. Anyway, how's Goldie with her training?"
"She's progressing nicely," Togo replied, "but I wanted to ask you something. Have you noticed anything different about her?"
"No. Not really. Although she has been a bit moody lately, but I think that's just a growing up thing."
"Hmm I see. One more thing. How's Orange Majesty doing?"
Ginger sighed in frustration. "Oh he's about the same. THANKFULLY he's gone away on some sort of trip. Although he didn't have the decency to take Glizzard with him! If he did, then this day could be the best one ever! But he didn't and that crabby little whiner is driving me nuts! Let's change the subject. Have you talked to Lilly yet?"
"I would have appreciated it if you had picked a different topic," Togo said uncomfortably.
Lilly was a snow white arctic fox, who, to Togo, was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. She had joined the Nednil about a year and a half ago. The two of them had stayed clear of each other, since they were both shy, but eventually they grew to like one another. But then Togo found himself constantly in a battle over her with a gray wolf named Balto.
Balto had always said that he knew Lilly in puppy-hood, and therefore had the right to be her boyfriend. Balto was handsome, but a little obsessive in his trying to attract Lilly. He had tried several ways to get Togo out of the way, even going so far as to hire Orange Majesty to do his dirty work.
Orange Majesty was a majestic tiger, with bright orange fur, and light orange swirls and designs all over him. He was a member of the Nednil, but was constantly considered a rouge. He always had this evil look in his eye, and Glizzard was his constant companion. Day by day the tiger acted more and more like Darth Maul. (Although everyone there like to make a joke of it and call him Darth 'Meow.')
Balto had hired Orange Majesty to do several things. Like trying to kill Togo, or brainwash Lilly! But Orange Majesty was caught and punished appropriately, but Balto, being from a different clan (the Beagle) was unable to be punished by the Nednil. No one really knew what he was doing now, as they hadn't seen the BeagleClan in a while.
Ever since Togo helped with the un-brainwashing of Lilly, the two of them had become pretty good friends.
There were four clans living in this planet of Earth, the Arem, the Nednil, the Beagle, and the Bear-bear. Sometimes they would all get together and exchange news.
Ginger smiled, for she knew of a secret between Togo and Lilly. A secret that only a few knew.
"Well, if you ever want to talk to her, she's in the Kanine hut. Now I've got to go and take care of some things. Give Drewberry mine and the kits' love! See ya around!" With that Ginger walked away to where the former leader, a black cat named Witchy, stood talking with Charcoal, a silver charcoal cat.
Togo turned around and left the camp, heading for his own clan.
Chapter One
A Glimpse of Nednil Life
As Togo and Ginger were talking, Goldie had gone into the leader's den, where she found her two older cousins, Cally and Kate, wrestling on the floor.
"Why are you two fighting?" she asked, as the two of them stopped for a moment.
"No reason," replied Cally, "we just like it. By the way, did I see Togo out there?"
"Yeah," Goldie said, "he wanted to talk to Mom about something. Where's Silverfur?"
"I don't know. He's probably hanging around here somewhere." Kate answered, once more tackling her sister to the floor.
Goldie sighed. Even though she was more of a tomcat, she still had some of a lady in her. But just barely.
She left the den, and saw that Togo had already left. Disappointingly, she turned to the left, and went over to where Ned the Seahorse stood.
Ned was working on his self constructed computer, CR12. Although with his squiggly hand, or should I say tail, writing, made it look like the word CRIL. He was a nice guy, a fine creamy yellow, with purple stomach and fin, and had one eye. (The other he lost under unknown circumstances.) He talked with a strange dialect, which reminded Goldie of Jar-Jar Binks from Star Wars.
"Hello, Ned. How's CRIL?" Goldie asked, sitting down next to the portable computer.
"If yousa please," Ned replied, "call it CR12. That joke's been gooing on too loong."
"Sorry, Ned." Goldie apologized, "So how is CR12?"
"That's beeter. It's fine, oonly a few circuits needing replacement. So, what has yousa been dooin?"
"Oh...training." Goldie replied, reluctant to tell even Ned about her dream.
"Jeest that? Weel that's true, eets only eleven in zee morning. Weel i need to git back to weerk, Gooldie, sooo see you later okiday?"
"Well OK," Goldie said, "but, by the way. Is Orange Majesty around?"
"Deedint yosa here? Hees ooway on treep. Won't be back in a feew days."
"Oh. Thank you, Ned." Goldie said. Half relived, and half surprised that she hadn't heard about it before.
Leaving Ned to do his circuit replacement, Goldie turned around and went back to where Cally and Kate were chatting. Maybe a few minutes with her friends would help her feel better.
Drewberry walked down the long path that led to the entrance to the NednilClan. He was wanting to get there in time to watch Togo train Goldie. He also hoped to see his fiance, Ginger. He gave a long sigh. Ginger constantly filled his mind. Her fine grayish eyes, the way the sun shone on her ginger coat, and the way her scent filled his nostrils like perfume. Whenever he was around her, he would feel either dizzy, or his heart would pound so fast that he wondered if he was going to have a heart attack. While he had been dating her, he had been confused at how he felt. He had asked Kyrie, the AremTribe's nurse, about it and she had giving him the simplest answer ever:
"You're in love. That's all. Now why don't you go do something, while I tend to someone who's IS sick."
A few days after that Drewberry had proposed to Ginger and she had accepted. Now they were still engaged, waiting for the day when they were going to shoot the beginning of the movie they were making. On that day, along with the filming, they and a few others would get married. The others were two wolves, one red one grey, named Anakin and Padme, and two cats, one a white Persian and the other a tuxedo, named Antoinette and Tux. That day seemed far away now. During the time of waiting, Ginger had adopted a small grey kitten named Silverpaw., recently renamed Silverfur. Even though the kit was adopted, he looked a lot like Drewberry, and because of that the older cat was pleased.
The camp was just around the bend. It wouldn't be long now.
"Hey! Togo! Wait up!" Goldie called, running after the leaving dog. She was relived to see him stop and turn around. Finally she reached him. "I was wondering if you found out about my dream." she said breathlessly.
"I had some time to think about it." Togo replied, "And the name Orange Majesty seems to pop up a lot. I'm starting to think that something big is up."
"Yeah," Goldie said, starting to feel a little nervous, "so what do we do?"
"I've been thinking that maybe that that tiger's hiding something. Not that I'd be surprised if he was. Maybe we should have an uninvited visit to his house."
Goldie gasped, "Is that in the Jedi Code?"
"Only in extreme emergencies." Togo replied, worriedly. "And since he's away on a trip, what better time to do this then now?" With that Togo turned around, and hurried down a trail that would lead them to the private house of Orange Majesty.
Chapter Two
An Attic Full of Junk. Or is it?
The house was more of a mansion. Tall and foreboding, with ivy all over it, intertwining around itself so that it was almost impossible to see through the windows.
Togo went over to the door, and knocked softly. No one answered, so he tried the door.
"Locked, of course." Togo muttered.
"So how are we going to get in?" Goldie asked, trying, unsuccessfully, to get to a window to see if it was open.
"Well, with all this ivy, it should be easy." Togo replied. Before Goldie knew it, he had jumped up and buried his teeth in a large clump of the vines, and was pulling himself up.
"Are you crazy?!" Goldie exclaimed, "Someone might see you through the window!"
"How do you figure that?" Togo asked, with his mouthful of ivy.
"Well, these vines go right over the windows, and if anyone sees you climbing it's a dead giveaway!"
"Can you think of anything better?"
"No--"
"Then stop shouting and come up here! There's a window that leads into the attic, and it's as good a place as any to start."
With a resigned sigh, Goldie jumped nimbly up onto a vine and began climbing. Above her, she could see that Togo had already made it to the window and was working on the latch with his teeth. He still hadn't gotten the window open by the time she had made it up.
"What's the holdup?" she asked, still clinging to a piece of ivy.
"The window latches are hard to turn." Togo answered, "Just give me a minute."
"I'm giving you five." Goldie answered, studying Togo's technique. Finally she said, "Why don't you let me try it?"
"That's not necessary," Togo answered, "I've almost got it."
"Uh huh." Goldie replied, skeptically. "Move over."
Reluctantly, Togo moved to the side so that his apprentice could get to the latch.
Very carefully Goldie inspected the golden handles, then she put one of her white paws on one of them and pushed down. With a creak the window opened, revealing a dark room cluttered with junk, like most attics. Turning around, Goldie gave Togo a triumphant smile.
"Now what was I doing wrong?" Togo asked, as he entered the cluttered room.
"You were pushing the handle UP instead of DOWN." Goldie answered.
"Well they looked like they should have gone up." Togo said as Goldie followed him inside.
"Face it," Goldie said playfully, "cat's are better at opening locks then dogs."
"I resent that."
"Do you deny it?"
"No, but I resent it."
Goldie laughed.
"Enough of this," Togo said, "let's see if we can find anything useful."
"What exactly are we looking for?" Goldie asked, as she began to inspect a large shelf.
"Just something....useful. Like Orange Majesty's personal computer, or Glizzard's personal computer, if he has one that is. Or--"
"How about an eight-sided lightsaber?" Goldie interrupted.
"Yeah, that too. Or---wait? What did you say?" Togo asked, turning quickly around.
"I said, 'how about an eight-sided lightsaber?'" Goldie held up a large metal tube-like thing that looked like eight lightsabers melted together so that the opening pointed evenly in different directions. "I found it up on this shelf."
Togo whistled. "I've never seen one of those before. Does it work?"
With a shrug, Goldie carelessly pressed the button. Immediately, eight red bars of light shot out from the tubes at different angles. It startled Goldie so much she almost dropped it.
"Yep, it works!" She said, sheepishly turning it off. "And that's not the only one in here. There are, let's see.....seven more lightsabers in here. And they all have different numbered sides."
Curious, Togo went over to look. Sure enough there were more lightsabers, each on a different shelf. There was a regular light-saber, a two-sided one (which looked as if it was used most often), a three-sided one, a four-sided one, a five-sided one, a six-sided one, and seven-sided one, and Goldie haeld the eight-sided one in her paw.
"Interesting choice of weapons," Togo said examining each light-saber individually, "although I suspect Orange Majesty uses the two-sided more often. He's more of a Darth Maul type anyway. You'd better put that eight one back where you found it. We don't want to let that tiger know we were here."
As Goldie did so, a thought suddenly occurred to Togo, and he took out a cylinder shaped object from his pocket and pointed it around the room.
"Just as I thought." he said as the object began to beep.
"What?" Goldie asked coming over.
"This place has an alarm system. And if this little machine is correct, the wires that control it are hooked behind that bookshelf."
"So what are we going to do?"
"We'll have to cut the wires. You have your lightsaber?"
"Yeah. But wouldn't that let Orange Majesty know that we were here?"
"Well, we have no choice. If we're going to examine this place in peace, we're going to have to take the chance of him learning of our little escapade. Now I'll move it, and as soon as you see the wires, cut them."
"Okay."
Slowly and carefully, Togo began to shove the shelf, ever so slowly, so that the back would be reachable. Goldie took the time to ignite the orange blade of her lightsaber. Finally two wires came into view, one blue one red, that were attached to the wall and the back of the book container. As soon as she saw them, Goldie swung her weapon around and hacked each wire in half with one blow. The wires sparked a little and smoked, but no alarm sounded. With a sigh of relief, Togo shoved the bookcase back into its original position.
"Glad that's over." he said, "Now let's look for a computer, or letters, or documents, anything that may be useful."
The search continued. Unfortunately, Goldie's enthusiastic searching raised such a cloud of dust that Togo began to sneeze. But thankfully the clouds settled down, as well as the apprentice, and the search got longer, Goldie got more tired and her search got less enthusiastic.
"Whoa!" Togo suddenly said from across the room.
"What? Did you find something?" Goldie exclaimed, immediately at his side.
"Yes I did." he replied, "Those wires weren't just attached to the bookshelf. They're also attached to this box right here. I guess since we cut the wires, we can open it." Very slowly, Togo eased the lid open. Thankfully, Goldie's work had been thorough, and no alarm sounded.
"What in there?" Goldie asked excitedly.
"Books." Togo replied, pulling one out.
"Books!?" Goldie exclaimed, somewhat crestfallen, "All that for books!?"
"Well, they must be pretty important for Orange Majesty to hook them up to a security system." Togo pointed out, "Here you look through this one." He handed her a large book with a strange rainbow symbol on the cover. For a while the attic was silent, with no noise but an occasional page turning. Finally, Togo said,
"This looks like Orange Majesty's diary."
"What does it say?" Goldie asked, still not looking up from her book.
"Well...it says something about a secret panel where he keeps his personal computer.....Hm....According to this diary...the panel should be right about here." So saying he put his paw against the wall, "And to open it, you're supposed to push down, move your paw to the right and then to the left---Aha!" A panel slid open revealing a closed laptop computer.
Carefully, Togo slid it out and ran the small alarm detecting device over it. There was no beeping, so he opened it and waited as the screen lit up, and the computer started to hum.
"Anything in that book?" he asked, as he slid out a disk and inserted it into the laptop.
"Only a few things, but nothing very mysterious...at least for Orange Majesty." Goldie replied, "What I'm wondering is what this symbol means."
"Take a picture of it." Togo suggested.
"With what? I don't have a camera."
"Yes you do. I installed one in your lightsaber's handle, remember?"
"Oh! Right, I forgot." Quickly Goldie took out the long metal tube and snapped a picture with the hidden camera.
"While you're at it," Togo said, "take pictures of every page in that book and in the diary. We'll have them downloaded when we get back."
"Sure thing," Goldie replied, looking momentarily from her work, "what are you doing?"
"Well," Togo explained, "this computer needs a password in order for someone to enter it. I don't know the password, so I've resorted to hacking. It may take a few minutes."
"Do you think we have that time?"
"Orange Majesty is on vacation, and Glizzard didn't appear to be around. All the same, keep your eyes and ears open."
Nothing was said for several minutes, the musty silence only broken by the typing of computer keys and an occasional clicking from the camera as it did its work. Suddenly, Goldie snapped to attention.
"Did you hear that?" she asked.
"No. Should I have?" Togo asked, still working on his hacking job.
Just then a slight rustling sound came from outside the attic window. The two of them froze, not daring to move, as the window slowly opened, and a somewhat familiar figure entered.
Chapter Three
A Surprise and a Mystery
"DREWBERRY!?" Togo and Goldie exclaimed as the light streaming from the window revealed
the light gray tabby pelt and shining blue eyes of their feline friend.
"Hello." the cat said, casually, "What are you doing?"
"What are we doing!?" Goldie repeated, forgetting to keep her voice lowered, "For your information, we're trying to do some investigating! And what are you doing here anyway?!"
"You're investigating Orange Majesty? What for? Is he up to something illegal again?" Drewberry asked, ignoring his future daughter's anger.
"We're investigating him, because we're trying to find out about a dream Goldie had, is all." Togo replied, calmly, "So why ARE you here, Drewberry?"
"Well, I was going to the Nednil to, you know, see my fiancee, and I saw you and Goldie heading toward Orange Majesty's mansion. I was curious so I decided to follow you here. I would have come in sooner, but my leg got tangled up in a vine and I had to chew my way loose. Those vines are disgusting! I don't know how horses do it! Anyway, what have you found out so far?"
"Nothing much," Goldie replied, now forgetting her anger, "but once we break into this computer, we'll find out everything we need to know."
"I don't think we'll find out everything," Togo said, resuming his typing, "but I'm sure we'll find out something."
"What are these here?" Drewberry asked, picking up one of the books.
"They're books, of course." Goldie asked, in a matter of fact way.
"I know that, but what are they about?"
"Well, one's a diary, the other is...well...I'm not sure really."
"They're both in Orange Majesty's paw-writing," Drewberry observed, "I'd recognize those spidery swoops anywhere."
"Got it! We're in!" Togo exclaimed.
"What's in there?" Drewberry asked, now quite curious.
"Hmm....It looks like a scedgual of a trip Orange Majesty took several months ago." Togo answered.
"Trip? What kind of trip?" Goldie asked, reading over his shoulder.
"Well, according to this receipt, Orange Majesty hired a pilot to take him to Mustefar to pick up some mechanical parts."
"Mechanical parts on Mustefar? What does he do? Forge them himself?" Drewberry asked, skeptically.
"Hey, I'm just reading what it says here," Togo answered, "But that's all that's all there is on the subject. Let me see if I can get in deeper, in the meantime, if you want to keep busy, Drewberry, why don't you through one of the books?"
"Sure thing," the cat said, picking up the diary. Almost as soon as he opened it, he put it back down and picked up the other one.
"Wait a minute, Drewberry," Goldie said, "What's wrong with that book?"
"I don't want to go through the headache process of reading that tiger's paw-writing." the tabby answered, not looking up from the yellowed pages. "Interesting symbol on this one. Iris would like it."
Iris was the Arem's psychiatrist, and was constantly practicing her skills on her "mentally disturbed" husband, Night Streaker. She was a rainbow zebra, and named after the goddess of the rainbow.
"You know what it means?" Togo asked.
"Nah. I don't know symbols. Even though I'm an archaeologist, I don't study symbols and signs. More like studying old artifacts and things like that."
"I didn't know you were an archaeologist." said Togo, somewhat surprised.
"Oh yes, I don't make it well known, but I dabble a bit in archaeology. And sometimes I go on expeditions, small ones of course. Although I stay away from rainforests most of the time."
"What's wrong with rainforests?" Goldie asked. She had taken up the job of "deciphering" the diary.
"Too hot and moist for one thing," Drewberry replied, "and too many snakes there for another. How you coming along, Togo? Anything new?"
"No," Togo answered, disappointingly, "Nothing new. I think now would be a good time to focus on something else for now."
"Like what?" Goldie asked, putting down the book.
"The meaning of that symbol would be a good place to start," Togo answered, carefully shutting down the computer, "take a picture, and we'll use CRIL to decipher it."
Soon, the three of them had straightened up the attic, trying to make sure everything look 'casual,' as Drewberry put it, and they heading back down the vines, across the front yard, and back towards the Nednil.
Chapter Four
Hacked
"Ned?.....Ned? Are you here!?" Goldie called, approaching the, now fixed, computer. When there was no answer, she turned to Togo. "Looks like he isn't here. Although I don't think he'll mind if we use CRIL while he's away." So saying, she pressed the computer's power button, and it began to hum.
"Are you sure?" Drewberry asked, "I'd hate to get on the bad side of that sea critter. That annoying accent of his gets even thicker when he's agitated."
"Don't worry," Goldie answered, moving in front of the screen so that she could see better, "He's probably gone off to one of his meetings with his college buddy. I forget his name. Kind of a pain in the neck. (Linden if this isn't true you can correct me). Anyway, if I insert the end of the my light-saber, the end that the laser doesn't come out of, into CRIL then the photos should be downloaded on the computer and we can do a analysis." So saying she did just that. After some more computer hums, the voice of the computer's voice chip said,
"This is CR12. Loading up. What can I do for you today?"
"I'd like to know what the symbol in photo number fifty-one means." Goldie replied, "Please give us a detail account of what you find."
"My voice analysis tells me that this is a member of the Nednil. Although you speak too well to be my maker. And for that I am grateful. Welcome, Goldie, I have been wondering why you almost never use me. The pictures you are requesting are loading, please hold."
Immediately some music began to play.
"Pretty," Drewberry said, sarcastically, "the 'Beautiful Blue Danube.' This computer is just as annoying as Ned!"
"I heard that. My voice analysis tells me this is a member of the Arem. Greetings, Drewberry. But only on the terms that you are engaged to the Nednil leader am I being friendly. Who else is there with you?"
"Me." Togo said, not bothering to tell the computer his name.
"Ah yes. Togo. You are a Jedi Knight, am I correct? Since your clan is friendly with my clan I will be friendly to you. But if you agree with your cat friend about me, that friendship will come to an abrupt end."
"Uh, CRIL---I mean CR12, can you get on with your analysis?" Goldie asked.
"Certainly. The picture you are wanting anilised is the one of a rainbow symbol, typically used on the planet Mustefar. I will download some more information in a moment. Please hold."
The music began to play again.
Drewberry gave a sigh. "This is going to take forever...."
"Well, at least we're getting some help." Togo pointed out.
"Help? If you think insulting remarks and classical music can be described as help." Drewberry retorted.
"Well you did insult it first," Togo replied, trying not to laugh.
Drewberry was about to make some remark, when the music stopped again.
"My analysis tells that this symbol is used on the planet Mustefar. Please stay tuned for more information."
More music began to play.
"At least it changed the style. Although I wish he had chosen someone besides Elvis Presley!" Drewberry said.
"Is that the information it gave us before?" Goldie asked.
"Yes..." Togo said, "is it always this slow?"
"No. Not usually. Why?" Goldie asked.
Without answering, Togo went up to the computer and took out a small metal device from his pocket. Silently he moved the device over the screen and control panel, looking at the readings that appeared on a screen. Finally he stepped back and shook his head. "I'm afraid to tell you this, Goldie, but it looks like CRIL has been tampered with."
"What!?" Goldie and Drewberry exclaimed.
"I mean it." Togo replied, pressing a button on the computer and shutting it down. "The readings on my little device here, tells me that some kind of virus was downloaded onto here and it's messing up the system. So, unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get any help here."
"So what do we do now?" Goldie asked.
"I think we should use Diego's computer," Drewberry said, "It's more advanced than this bucket of bolts, and might be able to tell us more. And besides, he's away today so we can just go in and use it."
Diego was the Arem Clan's security guard. Although very young, he took his job very seriously, and was constantly fining his clan members for tampering with his equipment, and things like that. He wasn't really much liked in the Arem, and everyone, especially another member of the Arem, a red wolf named Anakin, were always having arguments with him.
"That's a good idea," Togo said, replying to Drewberry's suggestion, "although we'll have to go through a lot of security measures. Come on. If we hurry we can get Goldie to the Arem Clan and back before night fall."
Chapter Five
Security, Security and More Security!
Diego, as said before, was away on another trip to get his security license updated, although most Arem Clan members wished that he would fail on all his tests. But he always passed them. His computer was located in a high security room, location known only to him and to clan leader or leaders. Togo and another Arem member, Mc Henry, were both Arem Clan leaders, so they also knew about the location.
And now both Drewberry and Goldie also knew, although they were sworn to secrecy by Togo. Drewberry had to promise not to reveal the location because Togo was his leader, and Goldie promised because she respected the Arem's privacy and that Togo was also her mentor. And since it's not all that important that you know the location, I won't tell you either. All I can tell you is that it's in a cave of some sort. The only important thing is that they found it and were soon going through the first round of security.
Togo approached a high wall, it reaching approximately ninety feet, although why so tall I don't know. At the foot of the wall were two, glowing pads, one on the ground and one in the wall a few feet above it.
"What's this?" Drewberry asked. It was his first time going to Diego's computer, Zenar-K.
"It's a patch scanner," Togo replied, "the security system knows every single patch-print and who it belongs to. Here I'll show you." With that he raised his right paw and placed it on the wall scanner. There was a mechanical humming sound as a line of glowing green passed across the screen, scanning Togo's rainbow W patch. Soon there was a beeping, and the words Russel, Togo Jack: Jack Russel Terrier and a small green light below the screen blinked on. Stepping back Togo motioned to Drewberry.
"Why do I have to do it too?" the tabby asked, "Won't it work for you?"
"It does," Togo replied, "But there are security cameras and censors all over the place, and the gate won't open until all of us are identified."
"Man, Diego needs therapy!" Drewberry exclaimed, putting his paw on the wall scanner.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you," Togo warned, "those cameras also have audio."
Drewberry groaned as the green bar of light began to scan his golden patch, thinking of the scolding he'd get if Diego checked the video and heard that. Soon there was another beeping and the above his paw the name appeared: Pie, Drewberry: Signature Gray Tabby and the green light flashed on.
"Will it work for me, since I'm from a different clan?" Goldie asked, as Drewberry stepped away.
"Yes, it works for anybody," Togo replied, "this just helps keep track of who's been in here and used Zenar-K. Go ahead."
"Okay," Goldie replied. (I forget where her patch is located, I'll fix this as soon as I find out.) Soon the now familiar beeping came, the green light flashed on, and the words read: Stillwel, Goldenpaw: Little Kinz Gold and White Cat.
Finally, there was a grinding of machinery, and the wall began to move up, making a big enough opening for the three of them to crawl through.
After walking down another long, dark hallway, only lit by several dim light bulbs that hung on the ceiling, they came to another high wall. This one had some kind of a lens in it.
"Not another one!" Drewberry exclaimed, "I wish we can get on with this!"
"You want to get on with this?" Togo asked, "Then you go first. Just put your eye to the lens and wait. You'll know when it's done."
"Okay..." Drewberry put one of his blue eyes to the lens and waited. There was a small humming sound, getting gradually louder. Suddenly, there was a flash of a bright light, and before the tabby knew it, he was shaking his head, trying to get back his vision.
"Ow! Hey, what was that!?" he exclaimed, rubbing his white paw over his eyes, "Togo, you knew that was going to happen, didn't you!?"
"Sure I did," Togo replied, trying not to laugh, "I'm sorry, Drewberry, but if I did tell you, you wouldn't want to do it, and then it would have taken hours just to convince you. If you want, I'll go next." So saying, he put his eye close to the lens. Again there was a blinding flash of light, but, when it was done, Togo just backed away, hardly fazed. "Okay, Goldie, your turn."
Bravely, at least to Drewberry, the little gold and white cat also took the flash, and passed. Although she was blinking for a while.
After a while they came to yet another security system. This one was a microphone stuck in the wall.
"Voice command," Togo explained. Going in front of the mike he said, "Togo J. Russel. Second Arem Clan leader." With that he stepped away, and motioned for Drewberry to do the same.
The tabby looked suspiciously at the mike, and then at Togo. Finally he said, obviously not trying to sound professional, "Testing, 123 testing. Is this thing on? Hello? Testing. Hello? 123. Testing, tes---"
"Okay, that's enough!" Togo exclaimed, annoyed.
Drewberry merely nodded, and stepped back.
Goldie marched up to the microphone and said, "I don't care if Diego hears this or not. JUST OPEN UP ALREADY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!"
As if obeying, the door creaked upward, revealing a large room with control panels and computer screens. Togo lead the way, with Drewberry behind him, and Goldie following last, holding her head and tail up victoriously.
Chapter Six
A Dangerous Plot
What did Zenar-K look like you ask? Well, basically, it looked like a small room, with a standing space as big as you can swing a turtle, and keyboards and colorful buttons surrounding it. Across from the doorway, which remained open, was a small screen projector, which would give them a hologram for the information they wanted.
Togo went up to the main keyboard and activated Zenar-K. As the computer whirred to life, Drewberry asked,
"Does 'Zenar-K' mean anything?"
"No," Togo replied, "Diego only chose it because it sounded cool."
"Figures," the tabby muttered, as a blue beam came up from teh hologram. The words: Zenar-K ready for duty. Please download picture, information, or type in what you wish to browse. Security systems, bank accounts, Democratic or Republican sites, Terrorists sites, or the Internet.
"Okay...." Goldie said, stretching the word out. "Odd selection there."
Togo just shrugged it off and answered, "Can I have your light-saber?"
"Why?" Drewberry asked, misinterpreting the question, "Don't you have one of your own?"
"That's not what I meant," Togo replied, with an annoyed glare, "I just want to download the pictures."
Goldie handed her master the weapon, and he inserted the handle a round opening in the computer's side, and rotated it once.
Pictures found. Downloading in progress. Please hold. Immediately music began to play.
"Well!" Drewberry exclaimed, pleased, "That's more like it. I'm glad this computer knows the Star Wars theme music."
After a while the music stopped, and the pictures were displayed on the screen. Clicking on the rainbow symbol photo, Togo typed in the words: "Where does this symbol come from and what does it mean?"
After several seconds, the computer replied,
Symbol used in the Mustafar system. It is actually three symbols meshed together. They mean: Forged. Creatures. Conquest. Words may have meanings in a code of some kinds. Is that all?
"No," Togo answered, "give me a close up on all the pages of books we have."
Certainly.
Almost immediately, all the photos of the pages appeared, just big enough for the group to read them easily.
"Okay," Togo said, leaning back in the chair, "Each of you pick a line of pics, and start looking for anything helpful."
"Roger that," Goldie replied, starting to read.
Drewberry just grumbled that reading wasn't his most favorite thing to do and that reading on computers gave him a headache, but he obliged them by taking the third line of photos.
After several minutes, Goldie frowned and said, "This looks to me like plans for some kind of electronic creature. And," her voice became excited, "They're exactly like the clear, flying things in my vision!"
"Really," Togo tore himself away from his own reading, "Where?"
Goldie pointed to the picture that showed a crudely drawn picture of a weird looking animal, robotic creature.
Drewberry shuddered. "You dreamed about that!? I don't envy your dreams at all!"
"I didn't dream it," Goldie corrected, "I visioned it!"
"Well," Drewberry grimaced, "If you in-vision things like Balto does, we're in trouble!"
Togo ignored the feline's bickering, and focused on the paw-written plans above the sketch. Finally he said, "It looks as if Orange Majesty's given these robots some kind of chemical that can ignite instantly at any time."
"Just thing of all the damage it can do!" Drewberry exclaimed, "It could burn off a tail in a matter of seconds!"
"Not to mention destroy and entire clan!" Goldie said, worriedly. "Do you see anything else in there?"
"No. None that I can see." Togo said. Then, to the computer said, "That will be all. Save these photos in a special file, one that only I can get into."
As you wish. Zenar-K switched off.
"All right, Goldie," Togo said, turning to her, "Can you remember anything else about your vision? Anything at all?"
The young cat thought hard for a minute, and then, "As a matter of fact, yes. I remember...you were leaning against something...I don't remember what. Peter and Silverfur were chasing another one of those creatures...but this one had color...and was WAY bigger that all the others....and...that's all I can remember."
Togo nodded, pondering all the new information. He knew Peter, he was a (what is Peter again?) and was somewhat new to the Nednil. "Is that all you remember?"
"All I can remember now." Goldie replied. "Maybe if I meditate some more I'll get some new information."
"Alright, but don't do it now." Togo ordered, "You need some rest. In fact we all need rest. So you can go back to your clan, you know the way right?"
"Sure I do."
"Wait a minute!" Drewberry exclaimed, "I didn't get to see Ginger yet!"
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait till next time." Togo said.
Drewberry sighed, but didn't want to argue with one of his leaders.
"I'll tell her you said hi." Goldie said.
Togo didn't hear her. Something was bugging him. Sooner or later the prophecy that Goldie had received would come true. He had no doubt about that.
Chapter Seven
It's Happening...
The days rolled by, life in the clans continued as normal, although, even when the period of two weeks had passed, Togo continued to feel the dread and mystery that continued to hang in the air, although it appeared that he, along with Goldie and Drewberry, were the only ones that could feel it. The Arem continued with their normal life, hunting for prey, (except for the vegetarians, who would graze), exchange news, and occasionally meet with the other clans in order to hang out and exchange gossip. (or at least what they called gossip)
On one of these occasions, the Arem and the Nednil met in the Aremclan camp, which was almost too small to hold the 95 plus the Arem's residence. Thankfully the camp had a large clearing, surrounded by woods on one side, and high cliffs on the other.
Togo stared up at the cliffs. He was always worried that, one day, some rock might fall and hurt somebody, and, as one of the leaders of the Arem, he was supposed to take note of it.
Suddenly, and annoyed cry rang through the talking group of W******. "Hey! Hey! Goldie, get off my back! Silverfur, don't you get any ideas! Goldie, why in the world do you like lying on back?"
"Because you're soooo soft!" Goldie replied, snuggling deeper into her soon-to-be-father's silver-and-black striped fur.
"Well then go on your mother's back," Drewberry retorted, "her fur's just as soft."
"Yeah, but she's not as fluffy as you are." Goldie countered.
Togo grinned as he watched Drewberry give him a look that said, "she's YOUR apprentice, get her off me!"
Yeah but she's your soon-to-be-daughter. Togo said, using the Force to send it into his friend's mind.
Drewberry narrowed his eyes, turning his asking look into a no-nonsense glare.
Togo's smiled. "Alright, Padawan, get off him."
"Oh...alright." Goldie said, reluctantly slipping off Drewberry's back, giving him an over-the-shoulder-look that said, "Just wait. I'll catch you when you're not looking."
Suddenly the young cat's head shot up, and she sniffed the air, suspiciously. All of a sudden, her eyes got big and she exclaimed, "Does anyone smell something?"
Togo sniffed the air, catching, immediately, a sharp, acid smell. Putrid, and thick, getting stronger every second. "Yeah....yeah I do. What is it?"
"I think I know." Goldie replied, her eyes wide with fear.
Togo understood her immediately. Glancing at Drewberry he knew at once that he too understood what was going on: the long awaited enemies were about to attack. Orange Majesty's plan was about to unfold.
It didn't take long for Goldie to explain the situation, but of course she had to also tell the clans about her dream. That took several minutes, and, by the time she was done, the fumes had gotten stronger, and, to make matters worse, fire had been spotted on the horizon. Everyone immediately began taking action.
"The first thing we should do is get some of our best fighters here," Ginger suggested.
"Right," Togo agreed, "but we shouldn't use ALL the fighters, some should go to Moonlight Lake with the children and those who can't fight, just to be safe. Decide now who will stay and who will go."
Silverstream, a Silver soft cat of the Arem, stepped forward. "I've had good Warrior training, and I wish to stay behind."
"So do I," Dingo, an Arem kangaroo, announced, "My boxing's gotten pretty good, if I don't say so myself."
Togo turned to his friend. "Drewberry? What about you?"
"Well," the cat replied, "Silverstream's been teaching me some moves, so I think I can last. We'll fight together."
"Good. Goldie," Togo turned to the young cat, "I want you to stay and fight as well. Consider it your first challenge."
"Yes!" Goldie exclaimed, excitedly.
"Faramir?" Togo asked, turning to the Dama Gazelle beside him, "How about you? Are you Darth Sideous now, or that character in Lord of the Rings?"
"You'll be happy to know that I"m living up to my name this time." Faramir replied.
"Good. Then you'll also stay behind and fight."
"I'll stay, too." Iris, the rainbow zebra, said, "I can fight just as well as anyone."
"But you're a psychologist!" Goldie protested.
"So?" the horse-like W****** replied, a challenging light in her eyes.
"Actually, Iris," McHenry, the Old English sheepdog, stepped in, "I want you to set up a hospital in the woods, along with Kyrie, Antoinette, and Dan. Most of us are sure to be wounded, so I don't want to take any chances."
"Oh...alright." Iris agreed, a little reluctantly.
"Ok," Togo said, "These are who I've chosen to stay: Me, Drewberry, Faramir, Ginger, Goldie, Silverfur, Lily, Silverstream, Kora, McHenry, Dingo, Anakin, Padme, Ahsoka, Freddi, Joe, Susan, Diego, and Mace. Any questions?"
"Uh...Togo," McHenry said, "I believe that, since the two of us are leaders, one of us should go and help with those who are going to wait out the battle at Moonlight Lake. Since you seem to be doing so well here, I shall be the one to go to the lake. Besides that, you're the better fighter."
"Very well, McHenry, if that's what you want." Togo replied, "Alright, everyone get to your stations. Those who are fighting, get in a circle, so that we're all positioned in different directions."
"Excuse me, Togo." Carmaleita, a red furred fox stepped forward.
"Yes?"
"I would like to stay and fight if you don't mind."
"No. I think I would prefer you to stay with the ones going to the lake and help protect them."
"Oh...okay." Carmaleita replied, reluctantly.
Everyone scurried to get to their positions, some, mostly Nednil, left with the other Arem deep into the woods, heading for the lake, while the chosen doctors, and one psychiatrist, left for the cave, taking with them medicines and the Aremclan's valuables, which would be safer in the cave.
Drewberry was just about to take his battle position, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, the tabby was surprised to see Night Streaker there.
Night Streaker was the Arem resident lunatic. It wasn't that he was COMPLETELY off his rocker, Iris's psychiatrist talent helped with that. It was just that he could sometimes forget things, or not think straight, or just rattle off about things that were totally off topic. To some people he was amusing, to others he was annoying.
"What are you doing here?" Drewberry asked.
"What do you mean?" Night Streaker replied, "I came over because it's time to eat. Where's the food?"
"How can you think of food at a time like this!?"
"Well, it's 6:00. That's the usual time for dinner."
"No, no, no, I mean we're about to fight a battle!"
"Yeah I know. When you're hungry your stomach fights hard."
"That's not what I meant!" Drewberry was getting frustrated. "We're about to fight Orange Majesty and a bunch of robotic creatures."
"Oh I can understand that. Orange Majesty is usually in a bad mood, but when he's HUNGRY, man he must be M.A.D. and that spells dangerous!"
"Would you cut it out with the food!? This serious!"
"Sorry, Drewberry, but when I'm hungry I can't think straight."
"You can't think straight even when you aren't!"
"When's that?"
Drewberry glared. "Do I have to answer?"
"No. I can understand. When your stomach's empty, talking seems like an energy drain."
Drewberry groaned and rolled his eyes. "Night Streaker, would you kindly go back to Mc.Henry? He's the one with the food."
"Really? Great! I'll be seeing you." With that the zebra bounded off in the direction that McHenry took.
Phew! Drewberry thought, Got rid of him!
Taking his place along with the others, Drewberry scanned their small army. Kora, the robotic puppy stood behind him in the center of the circle, along with Goldie and Silverfur. To his right stood Anakin, the Arem's Red Wolf, and his mate, Padme, a Gray Wolf, stood to his left. Including all the others that made exactly thirteen fighters. With a sigh he watched as the black smoke from the fire got closer. It would take a miracle to come through this unscathed.
Chapter Eight
Attack!
The circle of warriors stood still, sniffing the air as the acrid smell got stronger, coating the roofs of their mouths and seeming to draw out any clean air. The smoke from the approaching flames didn't help either.
Togo glanced behind him at the three young fighters, trying to reassure himself that they would all be fine. Goldie, he knew, could take care of herself. Her Jedi training had excelled so much, that he had quickly run out of things to teach her. It wouldn't be long until the young cat progressed to a fully trained Jedi Knight.
And Silverfur? He had been trained as a Warrior by his uncle, Slitclaw, and seemed to be learning more all the time.
And Kora? She was no ordinary pup. It had only been a few weeks when all the clans found out that she was a robot, which made her a strong, fearless fighter.
According to Goldie's dream, these creatures could pour out chemicals that would ignite instantly, and, with the fire traveling closer and closer every second, promised certain damage to the Aremclan's camp. But who could worry about that when they were about to get attacked? The thing they had to do now was concentrate on the oncoming enemy, a foreseen battle and foes, who only wanted to taste blood and pour it until the water ran crimson and the stench became overpowering.
Suddenly, the ground seemed to remove itself in random places around the clearing, and disappeared. As the hard eath crumbled and dissolved, twisted robotic creatures appeared the size of a W****** toaster oven. Shaking the remaining dirt from their odd, yet animal, like bodies, they leaped, screeching, into the air, and hovered at about thirty feet above the small circle of soldiers.
Drewberry gulped as more appeared in all directions from the line of trees several feet away, never slowing their speed. Although slow, these...whatever they were, showed signs of expert craftsmanship, and, most likely, were programmed for one thing and one thing only: KILL! KILL! KILL!
Glancing to his right, the tabby gave Padme a get-ready-nod and she passed it on to her mate, who passed it on to his padwan, until all the soldiers recieved the signal.
Drewberry crouched, glancing back and forth from the line of creatures who were homing in on them, to the ones who were circling above, each lap bringing them closer to the ground.
Now that he could see them better, Drewberry noticed thin, long figures of cats, with a single horn on their foreheads, spiraling into sharp, needle like points. Their long, curved claws gave the appearences of talons, and their wings glinted silver, reaching several feet long. (I emfesized them so that they'd be more scary sounding)
Drewberry crouched lower, his tail thrashing. Digging his claws into the earth, he imagined how he would go about his attack. This was all like a dream, or perhaps a nightmare, but a very realistic one if it was. Although he highly doubted it. Suddenly, a slight movement among the trees caughts his eye. As the figure became clear, the cat groaned.
Night Streaker was galloping pellmell, towards the huddled Arem and Nednil, eyes wide with fright and awe as he gazed up at the advancing horde. Coming to a stop, he said, breathlessly.
"Hey, Drewberry. What's up?"
This was about all Drewberry could stand. "What's up!? Don't you see we're about to fight a war here!? What are you doing!? You're supposed to be with McHenry!"
"I know, but Peggy's acting up, and I can't stand it when she's all hyped and panicky. Besides, I want to see my wife. Where is she?"
Drewberry was about to retort that she was busy and to go back to McHenry, but he stopped himself. Iris was only a few miles through the woods, and it was too late for Night Streaker to go all the way back to Blue Moon Lake without meeting some of those creatures. He would be safer there than any other place. "She's in that old cave in the woods. She also might need your help, so you'd better hurry."
"Okay! Great!" Without another word, the zebra ran down the nearby path, and disappeared through the trees.
Drewberry sighed with relief. That's got him out of the way. He was jerked from his thoughts when Togo's commanding voice rang out over the whooshing of the enemy's wings.
"Army, Get ready!"
Drewberry crouched low, as did all the others.
"Steady!.....Steady...."
Drewberry felt Silverstream tense and dig her claws into the ground beside him.
"Now! ATTACK!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Drewberry launched himself up towards an advancing creature. He winced as his claws scraped across the metal coating, but, ignoring the painful sound, he scrambled to the creature's back, and, with one deft swing of his claws, ripped some wires out from the back of the creature's neck. With a final screech, the bird-cat-robot crashed to the ground. Drewberry jumped from it before it hit the camp's floor, and whirled around to meet another attack. The battle was on!
Chapter Nine
The Odds are Evened...for the WORSE
Goldie leaped to the side as the sparking remains of another downed enemy crashed to the ground. Looking up, she smiled as Drewberry launched himsel onto another creature. She was proud to, someday, call such a brave fighter her father. But there was no time to think about future happenings. If there was anything Togo taught her, it was to stay focused on the present and not the future.
She ran across the field to where Silverfur and Kora were battling a peticularly nasty winged-cat. Jumping into the line, she joined in, sending well aimed swipes and blows towards the creature's snout.
The mattalic cat's claws, not only metal, were very sharp and very strong. Silverfur's coat was already splattered with blood and dripping onto the grass, making their footing wet and slippery. Kora, on the other hand, was showing no signs of tire. Instead she battle much more strongly, and even the blows from the creature's horn seemed to bounce off from her golden matallic fur.
With a yowl, Goldie, riding the Force, flipped over the enemy's head and landed, nimbly, onto its neck. Trying to imitate Drewberry, she slashed with her claws, ripping several, sparking wires from the creature's neck. She grimaced as her paw tingled from the contact against metal, making her entire leg shiver and her teeth ring, unpleasantly.
Ignoring the discomfort, Goldie drew her lightsaber, ignighted it, and made the hole larger, trying not to cut any vital wires. Finally, when the hole was big enough, she crawled into the creature's head and began the process of hotwireing, a trick Ginger had taught her. Finally, with a whir of mechanics, Goldie was in control.
Signalling for take off, she made the creature leap into the air and steered it towards a nearby enemy, who was lifting a squirming Freddi off the ground. Fusing a red and blue wire together, Goldie sent her transport swooping towards the other creature, smashing it to pieces of scrap in seconds. Freddi dropped to the ground and lay motionless.
Worried, Goldie watched as the as Silverstream picked up the cheeta and carry her towards the medic's cave. Horrified, Goldie realized that the signature wasn't the only one. With her sharp eyes, she saw that several of her friends were either being carryed off the battlefield, lying on the ground, or missing. Making a quick calculation, she figured about six of their army was out of the action: Joe, Anakin, Dingo, Susan, Padme, and now Freddi.
Goldie groaned. Those were some of our best fighters! Which means there were only seven left, including herself.
A howl of distress caught the young cat's attention. Shifting her gaze outside of her weapon, in other words the lenses that made up the creature's eyes, she saw one of the enemies carrying Lily towards a clump of trees.
Putting the creature in full gear, Goldie gave chase. The enemy, as soon as it realized it was being followed, made a sharp turn in midair and slashed out with a clawed paw. Goldie tried to move out of the way, but, with a sickening, mattalic BANG, smoke began to pour into the cockpit.
Time to bail out! She decided. Taking a deep breath, she launched herself out of the creature, hurtling several feet down. Landing hard on her feet, the wind knocked out of her, Goldie rolled to her side, taking deep breaths as she watched her transport collide with the ground with a CRASH. Looking up, she watched Lily and the other creature disappear among some trees. I think we're in trouble...
Chapter Ten
A Phyciatrist a Doctor? I Don't Think So
"Okay, bring him over here." Kyrie directed, as Silverstream brought in a limp Freddi from the battlefield.
Setting the cheeta down next to Anakin, the silversoft feline quickly turned and ran out calling over her shoulder, "If there are any more, I'll bring them!"
Iris turned to the patient she was tending, namely Joe, a signature (Jaguar? Leopard? I forget). "Okay, Kyrie, what am I supposed to do?"
"First we need to find out what the ailments are, and then figure out a way to treat it." Turning to her patient, the signature pug asked, "Okay, Freddi, what's wrong? Any pain? Movement difficulty?"
"Well..." the cheeta's voice came out in short gasps. "I feel very numb...and I can't move. I also...feel...very.....sleepy." With that she passed out.
"Okay..." Kyrie began to ponder the information. "I have a special mixture that could help and also some tranqulizers."
"Tranquilizers?" Iris repeated. "But she's already passed out. Why does she need that."
"Because our patients are tensed up, and that's not healthy." Kyrie replied, matter-of-factly. "Dan." she turned to the rhino behind her. "Go to the back and get out a small clear bottle you'll find on top of the black box. Bring it to me."
"Certainly." The sigature Nednil doctor turned to do the errand. After several seconds his voice came from the back room. "Wow. Kyrie, do you always keep treasure in your medicine storage?"
"Not all the time. I only moved them here because I didn't want these creatures to steal the Arem's most precious possesions."
"What are they?" the rhino asked, curious.
"The scepters of the first king and queen of our tribe." Kyrie replied, proudly. "And the sapphire and emerald that was once in their crowns."
"We have treasures of our own." Dan pointed out as he came over with the bottle.
"Really?" Iris asked. "What kind of treasures?"
Dan winked. "I don't know. Only our leader, Gingerstar, knows." (Uh...Linden. I forget. Is Goldie the leader of the Nednil at this moment, or is it still Ginger?)
"Never mind all that, we have more important matters to discuss." Kyrie said, taking out a relatively large hypodermic needle. Without turning from her patient, the pug shoved the piece of equipment towards Iris. "Here, take this and inject it into Freddi."
"Why me?" Iris protested, gingerly turning the sharp end away from her.
"Why not? You wanted to help, didn't you? So help!"
"Okay, okay." Turning her head, the multicolored zebra pricked the needle into the cheeta's leg and pushed down on the injector handle. "There," she said, drawing the equiment out. "All done."
"Good," Dan said from across the room. "Help me with this."
Iris obligingly did so. "Hey, Kyrie," she asked from across the room. "How goes it? Do you know how to treat this yet?"
"No..." Kyrie said slowly. "I don't."
"I"m sorry," Iris apologized, "I thought for a minute you said, 'I dont.'"
"I did say that."
"What!? But...but you ALWAYS know what's wrong with a patient."
"Well, I don't this time. Although I"m sure that if I could just get to Zenar K, I would be able to figure out an antidote."
"Why don't you?"
"Too dangerous. That fire's getting closer, and I don't want to risk losing anybody. I'm sure we'll manage."
Iris sighed. "I hope so." As she bandaged a cut and bleeding leg, one thought went through her mind. If we don't find out anything soon, I"m going to have to treat myself to the couch.
Chapter Eleven
A Sith Appearance
Togo bit down hard on one of the creature's legs, trying not to gimace as his teeth shivered in protest. His canines severed a wire and the leg was rendered useless. The creature skreetched, and Togo took the chance of leaping over the enemy's head and landing on its neck. Pulling out his lightsaber, he took the liberty of releiving the creature of its head. The remains fell in a smouldering heap of wires and metal and the rest of the body tumbled to the ground.
Jumping off before he was crushed, Togo, after catching his breath, frowned and glanced down at his lightsaber and then to the bitten leg. Running his tongue over his ringing teeth he chided himself. Why didn't I use this sooner? Shrugging, he headed off in a run to where Faramir was clashing his horns against another creature's.
Jumping back-to-back with the gazelle, Togo began to fend off another enemy. "How's things going around here?"
"Fine." Faramir replied shortly, blocking another blow. Gathering himself up, he added, "Excuse me a moment." Lowering his head he launched himself towards his opponent. There was a clanging BANG, and, risking a look behind him, saw that Faramir had, sucessfully, wedged the creature's head between his two horns.
Not giving the mettalic fighter a chance to recover, the gazelle twisted his neck in an odd angle and wreched the enemy's head clean off its shining shoulders. Shaking the disembodied head off, Faramir turned and helped Togo despatch the other creature.
"You know," he said, "I've just come up with a name for these things."
"What?"
"'Sparking Biters.' They're mostly made out of wires, which spark, and they bite with horn and teeth."
"Sounds good." Togo, inwardly, didn't agree, thinking he could have come up with a better name, but he didn't want to waste time in arguing about it. Catching a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye, he turned and saw Goldie running towards them. Waving her over, he asked. "Goldie, how many fighters to we have left?"
Goldie glanced at the sky, mentally counting. "Nine."
"Signal all of them to gather in the middle of the field and fight there together. We can't afford anymore to be scattered."
"Yes, master." she hurried away.
"Goldie, wait!" Togo called her back.
She turned around. "What?"
"Where's Lily? I don't see her anywhere."
"Uhh....Lily?...She....uhh...went 'flying.'"
"She what!?" Togo exploded, understanding immediately. "Where'd she go? What direction were they heading? Did you see Orange Majesty around? Which--"
"Whoa! Whoa!" Faramir exclaimed. "Togo, calm down!"
"Calm down!?" Togo snapped, turning on his friend angrily. "Would you calm down if your fiance had been carried away and you don't know where?"
Faramir's reply was cut off by the sudden appearance of Diego, Drewberry, Silverstream, Silverfur, Kora, and Susan, followed by Goldie.
"My daughter-to-be said that you wanted to see us?"
"Yes." Togo replied. "But now that we're all together, I have to talk fast, because those Sparking Biters are closing in. Now, things are getting worse around here and--" he broke off when he noticed a new figure in the crowd. "Carmalita!? I thought I told you to go to Full Moon Lake with the others."
"You did." the fox replied. "but everything was going fine there, so McHenry sent me back to help you."
"Well...okay. Not that I'm going to say we don't need anymore help. Frankly, it's a good thing you're here. Lily was captured by one of those creatures and carried away."
Silverstream gasped. "That's horrible!"
"What are we going to do?" Drewberry asked.
"As much as I hate to say it, we can't do anything about it. We don't know where it took her, so we can't tell where to go. Besides, out duty is to drive these Sparking Biters away. We'll look for her after that."
"I'M AFRAID THAT'S GOING TO BE HARDER THAN YOU THINK." A voice boomed, coming out of nowhere.
The group whirled around trying to find the scorce. The Sparking Biters all landed in a circle around them, staring into space as if they'd been disconnected or something.
"I know that voice..." Drewberry muttered. Raising his voice he called out, "Where are you, Orange Majesty!?"
"NOWHERE AROUND THERE. I SET UP HIDDEN SPEAKERS AND RECIEVERS ALL AROUND SO THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME AND I CAN HEAR YOU." An evil chuckle vibrated around. "SOON I WILL BRING BACK THE LONG FEARED NAME OF TIGERSTAR, AND WIPE OUT THE CLANS. NOBODY AND NOTHING CAN STAND UP TO ME AND THE DARK SIDE. SURRENDER AND YOU, AND YOUR PRECIOUS WHITE FOX, WILL LIVE."
"What'd you do to her!?" Togo demanded, growling.
"MERELY HID HER SOMEWHERE SAFE. BUT, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW, SHE'S RIGHT UNDER YOUR FEET. UNDER THE AREMTRIBE CAMP, ACTUALLY. BUT SHE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE I'LL HARM IF YOU DON'T AGREE. BUT," he chuckled, "I'M BEING IMPOLITE. LET ME COME DOWN THERE AND TALK TO YOU PERSONALLY. I HAVE MANY SURPRISES FOR YOU ALL..."
Chapter Twelve
A Fiercer Fight
"Great! This is just great!" Drewberry was muttering. Well, not exactly muttering, since everyone could hear him.
"Frankly, I don't see anything 'great' about this predicament." Faramir retorted, stamping the ground impatiently with a hoof. The movement caused the Sparking Biters to hiss and growl. The metallic creatures had surrounded the small band of remaining warriors, making a wide circle around them, as if also waiting for the promised arrival of their master.
"Oh you don't, do you?" Drewberry asked, sarcasm clear in his voice. "Then let me list them for you: first of all, we're outnumbered by these--what'd you call them?--Sparking Biters? Second of all, Lily's been kidnapped and hidden in some underground tunnels even I don't know about, maybe even right under our feet; we're about to meet--well, not exactly 'meet,' since we've met him before--Orange Majesty and his annoying, slinky voiced sidekick Glizzard and we're surrounded by Sparking Biters with no hope of escape. So, you see, things couldn't be better!"
"Yeah..." Faramir replied, stretching out the word. "I see your point. Just not the one I was expecting."
"Would you two stop bickering?" Goldie snapped, obviously tensed up. "You're catching the Sparking Biters' attention."
"Really?" Silverfur glanced around. "What were they looking at before?"
Goldie narrowed her eyes. "That's not what I meant."
"Alright, you two, that's enough." Togo retorted. Although he didn't really blame the two of them. They were in a tense situation, and the two siblings were probably trying to loosen some nerves out on each other. Looking around, he scanned the field for any sign of Orange Majesty. "I wonder where that tiger is?"
Drewberry shrugged. "One thing's for sure, punctuallity isn't one of his strong suits."
"I heard that."
The group whirled around. There, striding confidently through a gap among the Sparking Biters, was Orange Majesty himself. His tawny orange coat and lighter orange designs gleamed in the brilliant sun, and the black clothes he wore made him look menacing.
Beside him, dressed in the same kind of black clothes, but not looking quite as menacing, was Glizzard. His leopard spotted scales, draconic slitted eyes and short, crawling legs made him look more like a multicolored catterpillar than the apprentice of a Sith.
Togo was surprised to see, what looked like to him, a new Sith, walking at Orange Majesty's other side. She was a tiger, which wasn't surprising, with a snow-white pelt striped with black, dressed in the same kind of dark clothing, although more dressy. She would have been more attractive, if not for the muderous gleam in her eyes.
Orange Majesty stopped several feet away from the group, a confident smirk on his face. "Good to see you again, friends." he chuckled. "You too, Goldie."
Goldie growled. The tiger and padawan had been nemises ever since Orange Majesty joined the Nednil.
Togo gave Goldie a warning nudge and said, "Friends, eh? If we're friends, then you won't hurt us or Lily, right?"
"Nice try," Glizzard sneered, "But, frankly, that was more of an offer."
"An offer?"
"Yes." the white tiger stepped in. "Meaning we could be friends, if you would all cooporate with Master Majesty."
"M.M. for short, I'll bet." Drewberry muttered, making Goldie cough in order to hide her laughter.
Orange Majesty made a tsk, tsk, tsk with his tongue. "Again I am being impolite. Let me introduce my new apprentice." he nodded towards the white tiger. "This is Sasha. She is promising to become a powerful Sith, and I wanted her to join me in this final conquest."
"You haven't conquered us yet." Silverfur reminded.
Orange Majesty glanced around at the surrounding Sparking Biters. "Oh really?" his voice carried that syrupy sarcasm that always got under your skin and made you want to plug your ears against it. "Do you want us to try harder?"
Dingo glanced around, his pointed ears back, looking nervous. "Uhh...I think we'll pass."
Orange Majesty chuckled. "You Arems amuse me, as do some of my fellow Nednils. Some of them, anyway." he glared at Goldie, pointedly.
Goldie, growling under her breath, took several steps forward and shoved her face into the tiger's. "You want funny, eh? I'll show you funny!" Before, Togo could stop her, the young cat had drawn her lightsaber and twirled it, expertly, around in her paw, the orange beam humming as it sliced through the air. Widening her legs into a prepared stance, she shouted, "En guard!"
Orange Majest didn't even flinch as the blade swished so close that, if it had been moved a fraction of an inch, it would have sliced off his whiskers. He just stared at Goldie, amused. "I have no intention of fighting you, Padawan." He raised his head and fixed his eyes upon Togo. "I only clash lightsabers with the best of fighters." He unhooked his own lightsaber and scrutinized it critically. "What do you say, Togo? Winner take all?"
Togo, nudging a reluctant Goldie out of the way, ignighted his own weapon, the blue blade humming. Moving into a prepared stance, he gestured for the others to move back and give him room.
The terrier waited as Orange Majesty continued to examine his lightsaber. Suddenly, as quick as a flash, the tiger activated the red blade and, leaping high in the air, brought it crashing down upon Togo. The dog raised his own weapon and blocked it. The Sith and Jedi glared at each other from across the crossed blades. Togo gave a mighty heave, throwing Orange Majesty staggering backwards. The tiger recovered and began to circle around Togo, growling and hissing.
Togo took a deep breath and raised his lightsaber in a ready position. Orange Majesty was a lot stronger and faster than he had expected. Of course the dark side helped with that. The tiger had some weakness...he just had to figure out what it was. Fast.
Chapter Thirteen
Persuasion or Insult?
Orange Majesty snarled and launched forward once again, swinging his lightsaber towards Togo's legs. Togo wasn't caught of guard. He leaped smoothly over the humming blade, and brought his own down towards the tiger's head. But, even as his lightsaber swept under the terrier's legs, Orange Majesty brought it up, so fast that the bar of energy became a blur, and blocked the deadly stroke. Togo landed gracefully on his feet, and, with a sigh of frustration, lashed forward again. This time he tried to relax. To feel the Force flowing through him. Allowing it to control his actions.
Immediately, everything became easier. His strokes became more even and he blocked every move Orange Majesty made. When their lightsabers locked together again, Togo shoved the tiger back so hard that he fell back against Sasha.
Togo stepped back, waiting for his opponent to rise and continue the fight.
He watched as Sasha helped her Master up. Orange Majesty glared at Togo, his gray eyes now that burning yellow of one controlled by the dark side. Snarling, he said, "You haven't beaten me, Togo! And you never will! I am a direct descendant of Tigerstar himself! And he could never be beaten!"
Togo scoffed. "I heard that he was killed with one stroke by a cat that was less than half his size. Let's see, what was his name?" he pretended to look up at the sky, as if racking his brain for the answer. Finally, he looked back at Orange Majesty, a cheeky smile on his face. "Oh yeah. Scourge."
To his satisfaction, Orange Majesty growled and ran his claws along the ground. His directive was to get the Sith angry. That way, clouded by his own anger, the tiger would be easy to defeat. Of course, this also served a risk. For the more anger he had, the more dangerous a fighter he would become. Still, it was worth a try. But how else am I going to him mad?
Orange Majesty growled again, drawing his lips back in a sneer. "Scourge is just a myth! He never existed! Tigerstar lives on through me! I am his legacy! I was destined to conquer the Arem! And I won't stop there!"
The tiger's wild eyes gleamed and he dug all his claws into the earth and started ripping up tufts of grass as if it was a freshly killed prey. His voice rose to a triumphant roar, and his gaze became distant, as if he was looking into the future or something. "I shall destroy all the Tribes and Clans! Wipe out the Jedi once more and replace them with the Sith! No longer shall there just be a Master and an apprentice! No, the Sith shall rule the Clans and I shall rule them all! Glizzard and Sasha are the first, and they shall help me train and bring about more Sith! Nothing shall stop us! Nothing! NOTHING!"
Togo shivered. He couldn't help himself. Orange Majesty sounded so sure. A sense if anxiousness came over him. Was the tiger right? Was this really what was going to happen to the Clans? No! He shook his head.That will never happen! I won't let it happen! Of course, he knew he had no authority over time and what would happen or what wouldn't happened, but, just maybe, if conquering the Clans really was Orange Majesty's destiny...maybe it was his own to stop it. That thought alone gave him courage.
Snapping out of his wonderings, he began to think of ways to get the tiger angry. The possible ways was either mocking him, mocking his plan, or just taunting his pride. Those were all promising possibilities, but which one should he choose? His eyes fell upon Sasha. Wasn't there a story of long ago in the cat kingdom about a feline named Sasha? What was it?......Of course!
Putting on a sly smile, Togo made his voice take on a sing-song-chant. "Aw, isn't that cute." he gestured to both Orange Majesty and the apprentice. "Tigerstar and Sasha getting back together!"
"Oh shut up!" Sasha snapped, drawing her own lightsaber angrily and igniting it.
Togo held back a smile as he saw the light of rage enter Orange Majesty's already flaming eyes. Unfortunately that wasn't enough. The tiger still looked as if he was going to start ranting and raving again about his conquests and that wasn't what was important at the moment. What else could he try? Unable to think about anything as good as the crack about the fabled love affair between Tigerstar and Sasha, Togo did the next best thing.
Twirling his lightsaber, Togo glanced at it nonchalantly. As he spoke, he gradually turned his tone of voice from boredom to impatience. "I for one am getting tired of this little standoff here, Orange Majesty. You said you wanted to fight me, and yet you're just standing there, keeping me waiting. What are you doing? Trying to gather up some more feigned courage to counter me with? Or are you consulting with your apprentices for advice on fighting moves? Oh, I know, you're daydreaming about the conquests that will never happen and how you'll spend the rest of your life in the Nednil prison!"
Orange Majesty growled again, but it wasn't enough. On a role, Togo continued, trying to put as much spite into his voice as he could muster. "Call yourself a Sith? Ha! If your a Sith then Drewberry's a Jedi! Glizzard could beat me with one arm behind his back (and mind you we're talking about Glizzard), yet you can't even relieve me of my lightsaber!"
Orange Majesty seemed to waver, and Togo decided it was time to put the finishing touches on his rant. "So why don't you just bring yourself and that fancy dress you call a Sith's robe and get OVER here, dancing girl!"
That did it. Orange Majesty roared, so loud that it made even the Sparking Biters cringe, and launched forward, his lightsaber igniting even while he was still in midair.
Togo ignited his own and soon found himself fighting and enraged beast and not a Sith. I think I might have overdone it. Still, taking the risk of a momentary distraction, he tapped more strongly into the Force. This was all he needed. He was soon blocking every stroke in fluid motions and adding in some of his own with such ferocity. It was as if he was his own beast, but calm and collected, not wild and bristling with anger like Orange Majesty.
Again and again they traded strokes and blows, each one neither hitting, or even grazing, the other. Neither tiring, nor losing ground.
Finally, Orange Majesty stepped back, eyes blazing in frustration and anger. "Enough!" he roared. Whirling around, he addressed his army. "Attack! NOW!"
The Sparking Biters howled and launched forward once again, bearing teeth and horns and claws with deadly accuracy.
Togo had to wrench his gaze from the attacking hoard in order to block a lash from Glizzard. The Sith apprentice wasn't large, but he was fast, ducking this way and that, swinging his red blade in large strokes.
Togo was slightly aware of Mace fighting against Sasha, but he couldn't afford himself to get distracted.
Suddenly, Faramir, appearing out of nowhere, crashed horn-first into Glizzard, sending him flying several feet before he landed unmoving.
"Thanks," Togo breathed.
Faramir just nodded, and charged over to where Drewberry and Silverstream were having trouble with two particularly ornery Sparking Biters.
"Togo! Over here!"
Togo turned and saw that Mace had, miraculously, pinned the Sith Sasha.
What luck! Togo thought, running towards them. The battle might have just turned in their favor.
Chapter Fourteen
Who's Winning Now?
Togo ran to where Mace continued to hold the struggling Sasha down, having to dodge and cut down several Sparking Biters in order to reach his friend. When he did, he saw, with satisfation, that the white tiger had settled down some.
"Good work, Mace!"
"Thanks," the weimeraner grunted as Shasha made another attempt. "It wasn't easy."
"I'll bet. Now for the obvious question, what are we going to do with her? We can't keep her alive. But, then again, we can't just kill her either."
"I'll leave that decision up to you."
"Thanks," Togo said, sarcastically.
"Boys," Sasha spoke up, "try using your feelings for once. Who do you think I am?"
"You're a Sith apprentice, of course." Togo retorted.
"Nope. Guess again."
"What?" Togo, bewildered, looked closer at the tiger's face. To his surprise, he saw that, instead of the burning hatred he had sensed from her before, he actually felt...what was it...friendliness? No, it couldn't be. From a Sith!?
Sasha, as if sensing his confusion, smiled. Not a decieving smile, but a true amused smile, not twisted by an evil sense of humor. "Had you going, didn't I?"
"That depends what you're talking about."
"Let me up and I'll tell you."
Togo looked up at Mace, questioningly. "What do you think?"
"I don't know. Should we?"
"I asked you."
"It could be risky."
"Oh come on!" Sasha said, annoyed. "You took my lightsaber. And, besides, if I was a Sith, how come you can't sense any of the Dark Side clouding around me? Or clouding your minds? Or hatred, or anger, or fear. You can't sense any of that, can you?"
"Well...no." Togo admitted. "But still, I need to be careful. You could be tricking us. If you're so good at fooling us all that you're the apprentice of a Sith, one of the most dangerous of them all, then you could very well be tricking us to think that you're a..." the realization crashed down upon Togo with such force that he almost fell over. "You're a...Jedi!?"
"Glad you finally figured it out. Now let me up!"
Mace stepped aside, looking just as stunned as Togo was.
"Explain yourself," the Jedi Master ordered. "If you're a Jedi, then why are you training to be a Sith?"
Oblivious to the fighting around them, Sasha began her story. "I never knew my parents, you see. Neither did anyone else, come to think of it. I was taken in by a family who found out that I was extremely strong in the Force and brought me to Courscant to be trained. On the way there, however, their speeder crashed. I was the only one who survived. Thankfully, I was found and taken to the Jedi Temple, where I became the Padawan of Jedi Master (come up with a name). In the Jedi Temple I learned many things, not just the Jedi arts. In fact, it wasn't long before I could do almost anything: fight, spy and I could use the Force with more cunning and strength than anyone had seen before. When I learned of my potential, about three years into my training, I decided that I wanted to do more for the Jedi. I wanted to destroy the Sith, no matter what it took. So I ran away from the Jedi Temple and soon located a Sith called Darth(make up another name) who took me on as his apprentice. Although I never intended to fully turn to the dark side."
"That's impossible," Mace interrupted. "How could you keep up that ploy? Would the Sith sense that you were decieving them?"
Sasha sounded exceptionally pleased with herself as she answered, "But, Master Weimeraner, you forget that I am exceptionally strong in the Force. I blinded their vision of me, making myself appear as evil as they were. One day, however, Darth (?) was killed during a mission, leaving me in need with a new instructer. Surprise, surprise, Orange Majesty steps up to take over my training. That was a year ago." She smirked. "Satisfied now? Or do you need a witness? Because, if you do, that'll be kind of hard, seeing as all of them are Sith."
Togo glanced up at Mace. "What do you think?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, I believe her. What about you?"
Togo hesitated, stretching out his senses towards the tiger. He couldn't sense any lies around her but, as she had said before, she could be clouding their vision. She certainly convinced us that she was a Sith. But, still, she could be telling the truth. And, if she was, she could be a powerful ally to them against Orange Majesty.
Finally, he nodded. "Okay. You've got me convinced. Go back and join the battle. But, I warn you, if you so much as harm any of the Arem or Nednil, I'm going to see to it that you undo that harm. Do you understand?"
Sasha nodded as Mace let her stand, but she also looked puzzled. "How will I do that? Orange Majesty's sharp, he'll be sure to notice that I'm not doing as good a job as I usually do."
Togo stared at her evenly. "Like you said before, you're a good actor. Just don't cross me in battle, or you might be forced to do more than act in order to keep up your cover. Now get out of here."
Sasha, without a backwards glance, turned and dashed back again into battle. She was soon out of sight among the Sparking Biters.
Togo threw a nod to Mace and waited for the Master to return it before he too joined the battle.
The fighting had become more fierce and the Sparking Biters seemed to have multiplied. The Arem and Nednil were scattered here and there, fighting as best they could. Togo smiled proudly as he saw Goldie, with one deft swing of her lightsaber, cut off two of one of their enemy's four legs. The Biter tumbled to the ground and Goldie finished it off by whacking off its head.
Togo didn't have time to marvel at his apprentice's fantastic skill, for, just then, he found himself battling two enemies himself.
One of the Biters struck out at him with its claws but immediately drew it back with a mechanical hiss as Togo sliced them off.
A sudden laser bolt streaked from behind the Jedi and smashed into the creature's eye. With its wires sparking, the Biter crumbled to the ground and Togo, using the sudden distraction, took care of the second one.
Turning, he caught sight of Drewberry, swinging his blaster around in time to down another Sparking Biter.
"Go for the eyes!" Drewberry called to him. "That's their most vulnerable point."
"Got it!" Togo continued to hack and chop his way towards the center of the intensifying battle.
Taking his friend's advice, he, riding the Force, launched up so that he landed right in front of a Sparking Biter's face. Grabbing a handhold, he plunged his glowing blade deep into the creature's eye and then leaped off. Just in time for, apparently, his lightsaber must have cut through something important and the whole head exploded. Without its main part, the creature just stood stock still, frozen, never to move or fight again.
Togo landed neatly on all paws and widened his legs into a prepared stance, holding his lightsaber aloft.Who says dogs can't land on their feet? He thought triumphantly as he twirled to counter the attack of another Sparking Biter.
As soon as he downed that one, however, it was immediately replaced by another one, then another and another, until Togo found himself being driven slowly backwards. Before he knew it, he was among his friends, who had been herded, once again, in the center of the field with him.
He found himself standing next to Drewberry, who was alternating the aim of his blaster at one approaching Sparking Biter to the next.
Togo glanced at his friends and was appalled at how few they were. The only members of their army that were still standing were Drewberry, Silverstream, Silverfur, Goldie, Cora, Faramir, Carmalita and, of course, himself.
Drewberry met his gaze evenly and lowered his blaster as the Sparking Biters hemmed them in, his face a mask of determination. He smirked and said, in that Han Solo tone of his, "I think we're in trouble."
Togo firmed himself as the Sparking Biters halted, abruptly, as one, as if someone had just pressed their 'off' switches at the same time. The Jedi slowly lowered his lightsaber, knowing what was about to come next.
Sure enough, the Sparking Biters parted and Orange Majesty and his two apprentices came towards the group. Sasha stood at the tiger's left and Glizzard as his right.
Orange Majesty halted about ten feet away from them with that same, confident smile of his face.
Togo opened his mouth, but it was Drewberry who spoke first.
"So, M.M.," the tabby retorted, "are you going to kill us now, or are you just going continue this little exercise?"
"Shh!" Goldie hissed from her position next to her brother. "Don't encourage him!"
Orange Majesty chuckled. "You won't be so amusing, Pie, once you see what else I have in store for you." He raised his brow, expectantly. "You are curious, aren't you?"
Drewberry's voice was more than sarcastic. "I'm on pins and needles."
The tiger gestured, dramatically, to something behind them. "Then look."
As one, the Arem and Nednil members turned. As if responding to a silent signal, the Sparking Biters stepped to the side so that they could see what it was they had been hiding.
Togo gasped. There, lying prone and motionless at the foot of a high cliff, was Ginger! Her once lovely red fur was matted and she didn't move or twitch once.
"Mom!" Goldie cried, and dashed towards her mother.
Togo immediately sensed danger and, churning his short legs as fast as he could, he leaped in front of his apprentice, making her crash into him.
Goldie staggered backward and stared at him, both incredulous and angry. "What's the big idea? I've got to get to her!"
"Goldie," Togo said, gently but firmly, "rushing blindly into things is not very wise. Look closer at your mother and tell me what you see."
Goldie glared at him, but obeyed. Togo looked, too, but he was more focused on the space around Ginger.
Even though he could sense it there, Togo still felt a deep sense of anxiety as a forcefield, as visible as a single strand of a spider's web, flashed slightly and then faded, small sparks of electricity running along it, creating a bubble around Ginger.
Goldie's eyes widened and she took a step back. "And electrified shield!"
Togo nodded grimly. "Yep. And you were just about to run into it."
Goldie gulped and, barely above a whisper, asked, "How are we going to get her out of that?"
Togo turned and gestured for the young cat to follow him. "By using our brains. After that I'm not sure. What I do know is that we have to find a way to shut down that forcefield. We'll have a good chance after that."
Goldie nodded, looking more determined than ever.
Togo could feel the anger in her rise but it diminished as she pushes it aside. He inwardly smiled proudly.She's practically a full fledged Jedi Knight, now. A more pressing matter was starting to press into Togo's mind.We have to cause a diversion. Something that will distract Orange Majesy long enough for me to figure out how that shield is getting its power. Then I can destroy its scource and we can get Ginger out of there.
As Togo passed by one of the Sparking Biters, a plan began to form in his mind. It's risky, but it'll have to do.
He slowed as he began to pass it.
The creature hissed and spat, kneading its claws into the soft turf, as if aching to take a swipe at the terrier.
Togo, stopped and gave the creature a hard glare.
The Sparking Biter snapped its fangs just inches from the Jedi's face.
That was all Togo needed.
With a move as fast a lightening, he snatched his lightsaber from his belt and, with a snap-hiss the weapon ignited. With a quick and strong twirl of his wrist, Togo cleaved the creature's head off cleanly.
The wires buzzed and sparked as the metal head rolled away, its mouth open and its eyebeams off.
There was a moment of stunned silence.
Suddenly, one of the Sparking Biters screamed in rage and pounced towards Togo.
Before the creature could meet its target, Goldie, in a fantastically fast move, ignited her own lightsaber. Soon the Sparking Biter was just a pile of scrap metal and wires.
That was enough to draw the creatures into an enraged frenzy. Before Togo knew it, the entire battle had restarted right where it left off.
Okay, Togo thought as he fought back to back with Goldie, now for the hard part: Find out how that shield is getting its power and destroy it.
Risking a moments distraction, Togo reached out with the Force, probing for anything that felt like a generator, or control tower, or something. Before he could stretch his senses far enough, he had to quickly snap from his concentration as he was attacked by another Sparking Biter. With one swipe of his lightsaber he brought it down, but it was quickly replaced with another.
The putrid, but faint, smell of smoke came to the terrier's nostrils and Togo knew without looking that the forest fire was approaching them fast. If the Sparking Biters don't kill us, the fire will.
Goldie dodged and lunged, ducking nimbly between her enemy's legs and, as she passed by, chopped them off with one clean blow. The Sparking Biter, with a mechanical screech, toppled to its side and Goldie finished it off by driving her laser into its 'stomach' That's the tenth time I've used that trick, she thought with a triumphant purr as she headed towards where Kora was fighting. You'd think they'd have caught on by now.
Kora was holding her own against two of the enemy's forces, but, Goldie could tell, that even her mechanical limbs were starting to tire. She must be running out of power.
Jumping up beside her friend, the nimble apprentice, with the cyborg puppy's help, drove the Sparking Biter backwards. Goldie smiled to herself as she saw something behind the enemy that its mechanical eyes couldn't: another Sparking Biter battling Ahsoka and Silverfur not twenty paces away.
Turning her head, Goldie gave Kora a nod, and she instantly returned it. Fighting harder, the two of them drove the creature backwards, gradually shortening the distance between the two Sparking Biters. The creature hissed, spat and swiped at them, seemingly furious that it was being forced to give ground to two smaller opponents.
Goldie, diverting her gaze from the Sparking Biter for an instant, sent a signal to Ahsoka via the Force.
Ahsoka, having caught the message, jerked her head up, made eye contact with Goldie and gave her the briefest of nods.
The two padawans, with the help of Silverfur and Kora, skillfully herded the two Sparking Biters backwards, neither of the creatures knowing that the other was near.
Goldie smiled and triumph as, with startled and angry screeches, the two Sparking Biters collided. The Nednil and Arem members immediately ran out of the way as the first creature tripped over one of its comrade's metal paws and toppled over. The second one, having leaned too far back, collapsed over the other Sparking Biter's back, and the two creatures, their gears whining in protest, began to struggle to rise.
Goldie and Ahsoka, however, didn't give them a chance and dispatched the two of them with their lightsabers.
As the two padawans stepped back from their sparking and smoldering work, they nodded in acknowledgment to one another.
"Good work," Ahsoka praised, "you and I should train together sometime."
Goldie grinned. "Thanks. You didn't do so bad yourself." Determination crossed her face as Silverfur and Kora joined them. Sheathing her lightsaber, she clipped it back onto her belt and strode in the direction of the cliff, muttering in resolve to herself. "Let's go free my mother..."
Chapter Fifteen (second paragraph by Linden)
Sparking, Slashing, and Electric Zapping
Even this far away, Goldie could catch the flashing silhouette of the electric forecfield that surrounded her mother's unconcious form. But she hardly noticed it as her and her friends hacked their way through the troop of Sparking Biters towards the cliff. Goldie's gaze remained fixed on Ginger, straining to see or feel and sign of life. Please don't let her be dead! Please don't let her be dead! She said over and over to herself.
When the group finally reached their destination, Goldie sighed in relief as, reaching out with the Force, she caught the faint traces of a heartbeat. Ginger was still alive! But how were they going to get her out of there?
Experimentally, Goldie struck the blade of her lightsaber against the forcefield, but it just bounced back. Apparently nothing could pass through the electric bubble, even Kora and her nearly indestructable parts. Suddenly, out of nowere, a sparking biter rushed at Goldie, making her body colide with the forcefeild, sending electrical signals throuout her body, and then she colapsed.
Togo saw this, and rished twards Goldie, and was joyed to se that she was actualy awake. She slowly say up, the tips of her chared fur falling to the ground. "are you okay?" togo asked goldie, hoping there was nothing rong. "yeah... --BEEZZZZERRRT- but i-- BEEZZZZERRRT- dont feel so-- BEEZZZZERRT- so well. --BEEZZZZERRRT-" Electricity was still running through her body from the shock. Togo carfuly lead her tward the medicine den, and Goldie fainted. Looking at her with worry, he thought of how bravly she had fought, and that is would be a great loss to lose her, not even for the sake of battel, but she had grown on the hearts of so many. He sighed, and rejoined the battle. Glizzard heald up a remote and evrything stopped. "With this remote, i will drop that boulder up there" pointing with his tail, "onto your beloved Ginger! Surrender, and her life wil be spared, but disagree, and i press the button!"
Togo and the rest all paused in anguished indecision. So did the Sparking Biters, for what felt like the tenth time that day, only they weren't concerned at all. Togo felt like strangling whoever it was that controlled them but, right now, he was torn in two. He would rather die than admit defeat to Orange Majesty. Yet, if he didn't submit to his demands, then he wouldn't be the one to die.
His lightsaber still humming in his paw, Togo looked over to where Goldie still lay, her beautiful golden fur blackened and sparking with electricity. He didn't want to think of how much damage a shock of that size could have caused to her insides, and he couldn't help but wonder how far her vision had stretched through this day. Had she foreseen this? If he had paid more attention to her vision's warnings, would he had been able to prevent this whole disaster.
The Arem leader growled and looked down at the grass, his mind in turmoil. Ginger and practically all of us are hurt or wounded in some way, Lily's gone and Goldie may be dying. Do we dare keep this up?
What's the point anyway? he added to himself as he gazed coolly around at the surrounding Sparking Biters-a vast, almost endless force.Fighting until we fall one by one may be noble, but rather foolhardy against these odds.
"Well?" Glizzard sneered, his claw poised right over the button, with a look that was practically daring Togo to make him push it. He seemed almost gleeful. "I'm waiting…"
Togo sighed and closed his eyes. He could feel everyone's gaze fixed upon him, waiting for his answer-the answer that would determine the outcome of the war. His shoulders felt heavy with this sudden burden, so much that he felt like sinking down the ground beneath the pressure. He wished more than ever that McHenry was here to make this choice instead of him. Why do I have decide everything? Why do I have to decide this!? I'm just an inexperienced pup! Who am I to determine what happens to both Arem and NednilClan!?
The terrier struggled to keep his sudden terror hidden deep inside, but it wasn't easy. His heart pounded, and all he could find himself thinking about was how Goldie was doing. He felt sick. Her bravery can't be remembered being squandered in vain! And what about Ginger? If we don't get taken care of, the Nednil will lose one of their best leaders ever!
And then, of course, there was Lily.
Oh, Lily…Togo pictured her shimmering white coat-just like freshly fallen snow he had always said-her kind, shining gray eyes and sweet smile. She certainly wouldn't want to see her Clan destroyed, would she? Surely surrendering was better than being wiped out. Right?
"Okay," Glizzard suddenly said, abruptly snapping Togo out of his reverie, shrugging in mock disappointment. "If that's the way you want it."
"No! Wait!" Togo shouted, just before the leopard-spotted lizard could press the button.
"Yes?" Glizzard gazed at the dog expectantly, his forked, blue tongue (a stark contrast to his dreary complexion) flicked in and out of his mouth, almost hungrily.
"I…I…" Togo glanced at the others, silently begging them for help. I don't want to say it! I don't want to surrender! But I also don't want Ginger to die…or Goldie…or Lily…or any of us!
To Togo's infinite relief, Drewberry stepped toward him, but his face showed something that Togo had only seen on the cat's countenance on rare occasions: sternness. And grave seriousness.
"Togo," he said, his tone of voice hard as he came face to face with the terrier. They were both about the exact same height as one another, so direct eye-contact was easy. "You're not seriously going to wave the white flag on this whole thing, are you?"
"I don't know what else to do!" Togo burst out, allowing some of his anxiety to show. He didn't care if Orange Majesty and his Clanmates saw his state. He was tired to trying to appear in control of everything.
"Do?" Drewberry repeated, looking incredulous at his leader's answer. "Do? I'll tell you what we're going to do! We're going to stand, you hear me? We're going to stand and we're going to fight! And not stop until this Darth Alexander the Great wannabe is driven all the way to Timbuktu!"
Togo was confused. Surely Drewberry would be all for rescuing his fiance at all costs. "But what about-"
Drewberry raised an abrupt paw, halting his friend in mid-sentence. "I understand what's at stake here, Togo. But you don't know Ginger like I do." Drewberry glanced briefly at where the she-cat lay, still caged in her threatening, hovering prison and a brief wave of emotion darkened his eyes. But they flared up, blue with passion, once again, so quickly that Togo wondered if he had just imagined that brief dimness. "It's not that I don't love her, okay? I love her just as much as you love Lily. But…Ginger made me promise to help preserve the NednilClan, okay? 'Drewberry,' she said, 'when we get married and have kits of our own, I want you to promise me something. Promise that, for as long as you live, you'll aid my Clan as much as you can without compromising your own Clan loyalties.' Well, Togo, I promised her that, I don't mind saying so. And I know that she'd insist upon putting the good of her people before herself if she was…well…coherent." The tabby tried to smile, but Togo could detect the intense pain behind that effort it. Drewberry was in as much anguish as he was, the dog noticed.
"But Ginger is an important part of NednilClan!" Togo protest, not understanding his friend. "To lose her would mean that the Clan would be bereft of a strong leader!"
"They're going to lose her anyway if Orange Majesty takes control," Drewberry reminded him gently.
Togo closed his mouth. He didn't know what to say to that.
"Excuse me…"
Both Togo and Drewberry turned and were surprised to see Silverfur rise up from where he had been crouching beside his sister. He looked as grave as a storm-cloud, but his green eyes shone with strong, firm conviction.
"I may just be a new warrior," he said with a slight smile, "and not all that wise in the ways of the NednilClan yet, but, as a representative of the Nednil, I say that we'll never surrender." He suddenly turned and raised his voice, addressing everyone within a hundred years of him. "You hear me!? NEVER!"
"That's right!" Carmalita joined in, appearing at his side. "I'm also a representative of the Nednil, and I say that we fight on! It may not be in our place to decide whether Gingerstar should be sacrificed, but I'm just saying what I'd know what she'd say. And if that's not viable for a verdict then…well…we might as well just stay here until Ginger wakes up and then let her decide our future herself." The vixen turned and bared her teeth at Orange Majesty, who stood a little ways away with Sasha, watching this whole dramatic exchange in quite scorn. "And I can guarantee that our leader would never give in to a pumpkin-headed, renegade rouge like you!"
Orange Majesty simply snarled, not appreciating the remark.
Togo, however, felt like giving both Carmalita and Silverfur a hug. Especially Silverfur. His bravery, he knew, would go down in Nednil history after this day. Indeed, he could even now see in the young cat the promising character of a true, rare leader: bravery, loyalty, and integrity. The same such traits he'd seen in Goldie a number of times. And they say they aren't related except through adoption! Togo smiled a grateful smile and nodded at him. "Thank you, Silverfur." He turned and dipped his head to Carmalita. "You too, Carmalita,
Carmalita's expression remained grave, but she blinked her amber eyes in what Togo figured was a respectful acknowledgment.
Silverfur nodded in return and managed to a shaky smile, but it was more than a little halfhearted. Looking down sadly at his sister's still form, he laid one white paw on her charred head. "Goldie would have said the same thing…if she could. I guess I was just saying it for her."
Togo understood and sympathized with the young cat. Deep down, however, he was once again impressed silver warrior's strong character.The Creator's certainly touched Ginger's family line, whether it's biological or no.
Turning back to Drewberry, Togo was shocked to see the cat looking at him, his bright blue eyes shining with tears and a sad smile on his face.
Drewberry gave a quivering chuckle at his leader's surprise and laid his paw in his shoulder, ready to support him all the way. "Let's just kick Orange Majesty out of here and rescue our fiances before it's time for dinner. Okay, buddy?"
Yeah, but you might not have a fiance to rescue. Togo didn't have the heart to say his thoughts out loud, however, so he remained silent and once again faced his enemy. The die was cast. It was time to trust the Maker that everything would turn out alright in the end.
Glizzard's glower widened and he glared at them all with contempt. "Are you all finished with your little heart-to-heart?"
Togo took a deep breath and raised his lightsaber, no longer afraid of what he had to say. "You have your answer, Glizzard. We will never surrender to you. Not now or ever."
Glizzard seemed to draw a blank, as if he hadn't really been expecting them to say no and, now that they had, was unsure of what to do.
Orange Majesty, however, wasn't. With strong, quite pads, he strode up beside his lackey, with Sasha close behind. The undercover Jedi looked uneasy for the first time that day, and, Togo noticed, she stood farther apart from Orange Majesty than before, as if disgusted with the very idea of moving any closer to the tiger.
The Sith sneered over at Silverfur, who met his gaze squarely and without fear. "You always allow children to make your decisions, Togo?" he scoffed, once again facing his rival leader, his burning eyes as murderous as ever.
Like Silverfur, Togo didn't look away and he didn't back down. "The future of all Clans always lies in the paws of its young ones," Togo replied. Casting a quick smile over at his fallen apprentice, he continued, "And if NednilClan is destined to contain generations of apprentices and warriors such as these, then creatures like you had better kiss your vast ambitions goodbye."
Orange Majesty's smirk melted into a bare-toothed growl of defiance, but Togo wasn't intimidated. He was already forming a plan on how to rescue Ginger. It was risky but, then, what hadn't been today?
Raising his lightsaber, he positioned the weapon right in front of the majestic tiger's eyes. "Do your worst, M.M.! We're not afraid of you."
A brief flash of fear passed across Orange Majesty's face at the sight of Togo's ignited weapon-but only for a moment. "So be it!" he snarled. Whirling upon his henchman, he roared, "Glizzard! Now!"
Glizzard started and looked around, as if startled at being addressed directly. "Huh? What?" he exclaimed.
Orange Majesty seethed. "Push the button, you imbecile!"
It took barely a fraction of a second for that to register. "Oh! Right!" With a maniacal laugh, the lizard pushed the button down.
There was an immediate explosion at the top of the cliff, and all eyes turned to the source. All the Clan members gasped in horror as the boulder, about the size of an old tree stump, dislodged and, teetering for one tense moment on the ledge, pitched downwards toward Ginger's unconscious form!
Togo immediately reached out with the Force, hoping to nudge the rock into a change of position. He was dismayed at the effort it took, but, even in his exhausted state, Togo managed to slowly move it. He only hoped that he could manage to put Ginger safely in the clear.
Unfortunately, Orange Majesty sensed the change at once. "Oh, no, you don't!" he hissed and Togo suddenly felt some resistance as Orange Majesty pushed back.
It immediately became a gave of tug-of-war as each animal strove to gain mastery of the boulder-and every second brought it closer and closer to the Nednil leader's prone form!
Togo struggled, but, little by little, he could feel himself giving way beneath Orange Majesty's power. He was just too tired. Too drained.
All of a sudden, Sasha was there beside him, pushing against the Sith Lord.
Orange Majesty, his eyes blazing, glared in utter hatred at the white tiger. "How…dare…you!" he growled, his expression strained as he found himself having to contend with two opponents.
"Oh I…so…dare!" Sasha answered as she and Togo worked together but, even then, Orange Majesty was just too strong for them.
Togo began to despair when Glizzard suddenly joined his boss. He suddenly realized that there was no hope now for them to completely change the boulder's course. Their only hope now was to keep it where it was-almost, but not quite, clear of Ginger-and slow its decent. This they strove with all their might to do so with a little more success. Still, even then, they were slowly, half-inch by half-inch, shoved back.
All the other Clanmembers could do was watch them and the rock, barely breathing. The tension in the air was so thick that you could sharpen your claws on it.
All this takes time to describe but, in reality, it all happened in a matter of moments. Crashing down the rock did come and an electrical charge surged through the air as the shield shattered beneath it's impact. A cloud of dust blew up into the atmosphere, concealing any sign of Ginger one might have seen. All Togo could really do was hope that she hadn't shattered as the shield had and wasn't lying dead right now. The boulder's course had been different, not as exact as it had been when it first fell, but that was little comfort.
Togo tried to reach out with the Force and search for any signs of life, but the state of his anxious mind made that nearly impossible.
The sound of an igniting lightsaber sounded behind him.
Togo whirled around and raised his own weapon, expecting one of the Sith to attack him. Instead, however, he saw Sasha pointing her blood-red light-sword at Orange Majesty, who was breathing hard from the exertion of their battle of wills.
"I suggest you surrender, Orange Majesty," she stated coolly. All pretense of the white tiger's Sith undercover was gone. She was Sasha the Jedi now.
Orange Majesty glared at her but then broke into a fit of coughing.
Soon everyone was coughing as a thick screen of smoke suddenly poured down upon them, engulfing the whole battlefield until it was almost as dark as night.
His eyes stinging, Togo looked around, trying to locate the smoke's source. The putrid gas filled his lungs, smothering him, and, immediately, he knew what was happening. The forest fire! Throughout the tensity of last several moments, nobody had noticed the ranging flame's proximity to them, but, now, Togo realized that it was practically on top of them all! We'll be burned alive!
Turning, the Arem leader suddenly saw Orange Majesty ignite his lightsaber but, instead of attacking, he pushed a button the handle. A flash of light suddenly streaked up the blade and exploded into the air like a signal flare of sorts. "Retreat, my troops! Retreat!" he roared.
With a ruckus of screeching, the Sparking Biters came to life and took to the air, one by one, screaming as if the danger of the fire had just registered in their mechanical brains and filled their metal power-boxes with fear.
Togo ducked as one of them swooped right over him and landed beside Orange Majesty. Without a word, the tiger leaped to perch on top of its back. Glizzard attempted to do the same, but he was unable to jump high enough to clamber on top. He wasn't as agile as the tiger, after all, reptile reflexes though he may have.
"Hold it right there, Orange Majesty!" Togo shouted and, joined by Drewberry and Sasha, he confronted their enemy. "Where do you think you're going!?"
"I'm getting out of here!" Orange Majesty retorted, as if the matter were clearly obvious. "I had hoped that you'd all have surrendered before the fire reached us. Looks like you'll just have to burn right here. Unless…" he gazed down at them and a sly smile spread across his face. He didn't have to finish the sentence. They all knew what he was hinting at.
"Dream on, kitty cat," Drewberry retorted. "We're not cowards to give ourselves up to you at the threat of a few sparks!"
Orange Majesty gave a dark chuckle. "Oh, this is far from just a 'few sparks,' my old friend. My Fire Fliers do thorough work. They've drench this whole forest and area within a hundred miles with a special oil I manufactured. It's ten times more potent than ship fuel, and the merest spark can create an inferno! That's what you're dealing with here, Pie-an INFERNO!"
The majestic tiger burst out into an evil laugh as the horror of this statement sank in. "You see," he continued, savagely, and there seemed to be burning flames in his eyes as well, "I've kept my word. I said that I would wipe out the Clans. If I can't do that by ruling it-as I would have preferred-then I'll accomplish my goal by literally destroying it!" With a quick thrust of his paw, he snatched Glizzard up in mid-jump and set the lizard behind him on the Sparking Biter.
The little Sith grinned and practically hopped up and down in his seat in glee. "Goodbye, Loser Clan!" he cackled, waving mockingly down at them.
"Yes," Orange Majesty agreed, looking down at them all. "Goodbye, Togo Jack Russel. You were a formidable opponent. Give my farewells to your lovely apprentice, won't you?"
Togo vision went red with barely-containable rage, but he struggled to keep it down. Anger led to the Dark Side, and there was too much of that around now for his liking.
Orange Majesty's gaze lingered almost regretfully on Sasha. "I'm sorry to have to leave you behind, however," he said, although they could all tell that he didn't mean it. "You would have made a fine Sith warrior."
"Depends on what you mean by 'fine,'" Sasha retorted. She held her head up high. "I'm a Jedi. Always was, and always will be."
Togo expected Orange Majesty to say something scalding in response to such a bold statement. To his surprise, however, the Dark Lord merely looked away and, as if reacting a silent signal, the Sparking Biter took to the air, joining the rest of its crafted kin as they disappeared beyond the dark, billowing clouds.
Drewberry shot several bullets from his blaster after them, but the smoke made it hard to see. He finally gave up, his eyes blazing. "We just let him go!?" he exclaimed in outrage, as if he couldn't believe it.
"In case you've forgotten," Togo retorted, "we have work to do here. We need to evacuate the area-which means moving the wounded and warning Kyrie and the others! That fire could come upon them in mere minutes if something isn't done!"
"Do you think we have any hope to survive?" Sasha asked, surprisingly calm. "You heard what Orange Majesty said. For a hundred yards in all directions, we're trapped. He doesn't say stuff like that unless he means it."
Togo met her gaze steadily. "As long as we're alive, there's hope," he answered.
Sasha studied him for a moment, and then nodded, looking away.
"What do you want us to do, Togo?" Silverstream asked, speaking up for the first time since the accident.
Togo turned to her and realized that all the other remaining fighters (four in all) had gathered around themselves, waiting for orders. His heart warmed pleasantly at the sight of his faithful friends and fellow warriors, although he was forced to cut the sweet moment short. "You, Faramir, Kora and Carmalita start bringing the rest of our wounded back to Kyrie and the other doctors," he instructed, taking charge once more. "Warn them about the fire if they don't know already and start preparing them for evacuation as well. We're all heading for Full Moon Lake. That's the safest place we can go."
"What can I do?" Silverfur asked, anxiously.
Togo had to narrow his eyes against the fumes, which were growing thicker by the moment, and the increasing heat in order to see the cat clearly. "Go with them and bring your sister. Only medical assistance can help her now now."
Silverfur's eyes fell and he lowered his head. "I understand." He suddenly looked up in alarm. "What about Mom?"
Togo froze despite the heat. In all the excitement he had almost forgotten about the Nednil's fallen leader!"
"Don't worry," Drewberry spoke up. "Togo and I will fetch her."
"Just get moving!" Togo added. "All of you! As fast as you can! We haven't a moment to spare!"
Everyone immediately got to work. Kora, with her rocket-propelled speed and super-strength of a robot managed to bring the wounded-Mace, Dingo, Diego and Ahsoka-to her helpers, who immediately hightailed it deeper into the woods, towards the small cave where the makeshift hospital had been set up.
Silverfur, lifting his adopted-sister's still, unconscious form tenderly upon his shoulders, dashed after them, determined to get Goldie to the doctors as fast as possible.
Togo and Drewberry, meanwhile, fought through the stifling fumes and smoke to where Ginger's crumpled figure lay. Togo took one look at her motionless form and grimaced at the sight, hoping that he wouldn't be sick.
Drewberry let the tears flow as he cradled his fiance's broken body, shaking with barely-contained, heartrending sobs.
Togo moved to comfort his friend, but hesitated. Even though it was dangerous to stay in one place, especially since the fire was getting closer and they had no time to waste, he didn't feel right in interrupting the tabby's mourning.
Suddenly, Drewberry's head jerked up and he laid a gentle paw on Ginger's neck. Then, slowly, he turned his head and stared at Togo with wide, dazed, astonished eyes, although renewed hope made them shine bright, even in the dim recesses of the billowing smoke. "She's alive!"
Chapter Sixteen
So Close and Yet So Far…
Silverfur's paws felt as if they would spring up in flames at any second. Every blade of grass his pounding paws trampled down felt as hot as if he were galloping upon the very blaze itself, even though he knew it was behind him. Not far, but also not close enough to be seen. The only evidence of it's existence was the heat (of course), the smoke, and a faint rustling sound that could possibly pass for the peaceful crackle of autumn leaves stirred by the wind if he didn't know what it was already: the snapping of hungry flames that was even now licking up anything-or anyone-in it's path like the frightening monster it was.
Where's the cave? Silverfur thought wildly as he forced his weary limbs to go on. I should have reached it by now? Come to think of it…where are the others? Try as he might, the young warrior was unable to pierce through the thick cloud of smoke that curled and billowed around him like a stifling curtain. Faramir, Kora, Carmalita, Silverstream and their burdens were nowhere in sight.
Shouldn't be too difficult, he figured as he ducked and weaved through shadowed trees-sometimes just in the nick of time. Just look for a big rock, run along the perimeter to the right until you-
"Whoa!"
Silverfur's foot caught on a protruding root and he pitched forward onto his chest, spilling his precious cargo.
The wounded cat was small and light so, naturally, when Silverfur fell, she was thrown over his back and landed about a foot or so away in a thick pile of brush.
"Goldie!" Silverfur shouted and, ignoring the pain of his bruised and aching legs, he leaped up and dashed into the foliage after her.
He shoved his way into the thin leaves and branches-just as a drifting spark suddenly appeared and landed on them. Immediately, the dry underbrush began to smoke, and then lit up into a small flame that gradually grew bigger and bigger. Silverfur just ignored it, and searched wildly for his sister amongst the bush's density. Where's…?Ah! There! To his relief her found her, still unconscious, but also, more importantly, still breathing.
The flames spiked hot against his coat, but Silverfur wasn't about to let himself, or Goldie, burn. With a quick thrust, almost like a cobra, he snatched the smaller cat up by the scruff of her soiled neck and then backed out of there as quickly as possible. He was free from the underbrush in time to watch it go up completely in fire and smoke.
With barely even a pause to breathe, or think about his narrow escape, Silverfur flung Goldie once again over his shoulder and onto his back with reckless abandon and was soon tearing through the forest once more. There wasn't time to be gentle. The fire's getting closer! Where else did that spark come from?
"Ugh…" he groaned as he forced his exhausted, battered body to continue on at a his current vigorous, flying speed. I've had about enough of fire, fighting, sparks and Sith! If I never have to run into any of them ever again it'll be much too soon! "Don't worry, Sis," he added, verbally, under his breath, barely having enough to spare at this point. "We'll make it." Even though he knew the she-cat couldn't hear him, it at least made himself feel better. He needed that assurance, whether she did or not.
The smoke filled Silverfur's lungs, stinging his eyes, and clouding his mind so that every step was a torture. Goldie wasn't usually heavy but, at the moment, it felt as if she were a hundred pound weight across his shoulders. Still, he kept going, not daring to even allow himself a break. Once he halted his movements even for one second, he highly doubted that he would be able to muster up the strength to carry on.
It seemed like forever-when, in reality, it had only been about ten minutes-before he found himself skidding to a halt in order to refrain from running full out into the elusive boulder, which had suddenly seemed to spring up in front of him out of the smoke. Not daring to hesitate even for a moment, Silverfur, dimly remembering the instructions he had gone through just a little while ago, ran around the large rock to the right. Seconds later, he found himself stumbling-practically falling-through the large, but steep opening.
His legs gave way before he even reached the bottom. Giving in to his exhaustion, he slid the rest of the way down and collapsed onto the deliciously cool, earthy floor, his lungs drinking in the clear, non-smoke-saturated air in deep, desperate gasps.
Silverfur was dimly aware of helping paws lifting Goldie from his shoulders and carry her away, as well as the murmur of concerned voices, but they all seemed both dim and insignificant. His entire being was centered on the only thing that mattered at the moment: breathing. In out. In out. It was heavenly to just lie there and breathe pure oxygen, tainted only by the rich scents of soft earth, familiar friends and Clanmates, various medicines, and the damp coolness of the cave itself.
If Silverfur had been in this underground room all day, however, it wouldn't have seemed as wonderful as all that. The whole atmosphere was quite warm, and a tad stifling, with the accumulating body-heat radiating from each creature within the stone walls, and the medicines being used weren't the most nicest smelling in the world. Plus, it was crowded, and there was barely any pacing room, and the sound of the patients' moaning was quite loud in the tight quarters. But, still, because Silverfur had come in from outside-where it was chaotic with fire rampaging throughout the entire forest and barely any air or time to breathe-it was naturally like a safe haven for him.
His momentary peace was slightly interrupted, however, when he found a large leaf with a pool of water cupped in its curled edges being shoved into his face. Before he could stop himself, or practice restraint, he lapped it up so fast that it was gone in mere seconds.
"You just rest now," a gentle, familiar voice, crooned soothingly. "You're safe now, for the moment, and we'll get to you just as soon as a doctor's free, okay?"
Silverfur licked his lips and panted, his swollen tongue begging for more liquid to quench his burning thirst, pacified mildly, for the moment. Blinking his smoke-filled eyes, he stared hazily at his nurse until she came into focus. He was too tired to feel surprised when he realized that she wasn't a nurse. She was a psychiatrist. "Iris?"
Iris' flashed a bright smile from her equally bright blue snout. "Yeppers," the AremClan member replied, perkily. "Nurse Iris, to you, however," she then corrected, pointedly.
Silverfur blinked again, his still-fuzzy mind not comprehending? "Nurse?" he repeated, coughing through his words, a sure sign that his lungs were getting back into proper working order.
"That's right!" she replied, as if the fact was the best thing in the whole world. "And I think it's time that I really start doing my job." Settling herself down in front of him with an air of professionalism, she pulled out a pencil that she had been keeping behind her ear and picked up a small, spiral-bound notebook crafted from leaves that he been sitting beside her. "Let's start discussing any emotional traumas you may have experienced in the last twenty-four hours, shall we?"
Silverfur winced as he slowly, and stiffly, sat up, putting a paw to his head as a dull ache seemed to sweep through both temples like thier own little forest fire. "What?" he asked, not completely listening. Wasn't there something that he was forgetting?
"The latest polls show that mental and emotional traumas can cause more ailments then we might expect," the rainbow zebra replied as she flipped through the book's thin, well worn pages. "It's my duty, both as a psychiatrist-and recently appointed nurse, of course-to deal with every discomfort you may be feeling during this particular situation we now all face."
Silverfur didn't fully know what she was talking about, but he was definitely feeling some discomfort in his brain as he tried to sift through his confused thoughts. Didn't I come here for something? I highly doubt it was this!
"Now," Iris plastered on a well-rehearsed, dramatically concerned tone to her voice and stared at him over her notebook intensely. "When the enemy was attacking, what thoughts went through your head? Fear? Excitement? Malice? The dread of dying and the regret that you hadn't done anything more important with your life? Desire to win the war? To spill blood? To make your family proud? Or, perhaps, maybe…"
Silverfur zoned out as Iris continued to rattle on, one word sticking to his mind like a flea. Family…Goldie! Immediately, everything that had happened-from when he had woken up in his den this morning to when he had just stumbled into this one-crashed over him in a tide of urgent waves.
Without even a word to Iris-or a single answer to her continuous, personal questions-he turned away from her and began to hurriedly shove his way through the random assortments of nests and medical supplies.
Iris didn't even miss a beat as she began to follow close behind him.
As he passed each bed of grass and leaves, Silverfur scanned every single one of them, searching for the lump of singed, blackened, dirty golden fur that would identify his sister. It didn't take him long to find her and, to his relief, he saw that Kyrie-the AremClan nurse, and a real professional-was already working on her.
"If you're feeling some stress at the moment," Iris was saying from behind him, hardly seeming to notice that her patient wasn't even listening as she gazed over her nose and down at her notes, "then that could be hinting towards a lack of patience or composure, which could also mean that-"
"How is she?" Silverfur asked Kyrie as he gazed down at Goldie's still form. Even though the lighting in the cave was usually dim, Kora, standing near the entrance with Ahsoka and Silverstream, had activated her headlights-her eyes, to be more specific-and the fine, strong beams chased away the shadows nicely. Illuminated by this new, bright glow, Goldie's young, lovely, white-furred face almost seemed to reflect it, making her appear almost angelic, even peaceful, despite her battered, bloody, and burned condition.
"Unconscious, suffering from heart disorder because of what I assume is an electrical shock," Kyrie answered, her tone betraying none of her feelings as she reached over to switch on a humanoid robot that was standing beside her. "I won't know for sure until I consult the Medical Droid."
With a hum, the droid's circular eyes lit up within it's dark metal face. It had no mouth-only several small voice modulator slits covered slightly by what almost looked like a metal surgical mask with a small, thin pipe running out of it and down to its side. What that particular accessory was for, Silverfur didn't know, nor did he care. If it could do its job and do it well, than they were best buds for life as far as he was concerned.
"That won't be necessary," he assured Kyrie, as the droid hummed to life. "It was an electrical shock. A pretty big one, in fact."
Kyrie's already wrinkled face scrunched up even more as she frowned. "Hmm…that's what I was afraid of."
"You rang?" the droid asked, his expressive, doctorly voice as precise as ever.
Kyrie turned to him. "Yes. Get me a syringe full of 'Number 23,' please."
"Certainly." The droid turned and headed towards the back, where a number of leaf-wrapped packages and chests stood against the sloping wall.
"What's 'Number 23'?" Silverfur asked, wanting to know.
"It's a psychological condition where the victim-" Iris continued on, diligently going through her numerous notes.
"It's a tranquilizer of sorts," Kyrie responded as she began to draw a blanket, woven from many thin reeds, over the yellow apprentice, tucking it in skillfully. She left her front paws sticking out, however.
Silverfur frowned in confusion and concern. "But why would she need that?" he asked. "She's already unconscious. I really don't see how that would help."
"It's a tranquilizer that slows the heart," Kyrie explained. "When you're electrocuted, you're heart is set into rapid palpitations, so much so that it could cause a heart attack if not treated. What Number 23 will do is calm it down enough so that the body stops going into crisis mode and then, hopefully, recover fully. At least. I assume it will."
Silverfur narrowed one green eye in suspicion. "What do you mean you assume it will?"
"It's a new formula. I came up with it myself, and I'm ninety-nine percent sure it will work."
"Ninety-nine?" Silverfur repeated. He didn't like that. He wanted at least a hundred-percent certainty from Kyrie before the pug even began to consider using his little sister as a guinea pig.
"I tested it on myself many times," Kyrie reassured, immediately sensing his lack of confidence in her claims. "It shouldn't put her to a deeper sleep or anything. In fact, it's not meant to put anybody asleep at all, only relax them."
A loud moan, almost like a growl, sounded from across the room, causing everybody to turn.
Anakin, the red wolf warrior of AremClan, was writhing on his bed in feverish pain, his teeth bared and his breaths coming in shuddering gasps.
Dr. Dan was immediately there to hold him down. "Easy there, sonny," he said as he struggled to keep the convulsing warrior from hurting himself, or any one of his fellow Clanmates that were lying around him.
Silverfur immediately became aware of everyone else and stared at the familiar faces and forms as they lay scattered across the cave's floor. He recognized Joe and Freddi, the two Great Cats of NednilClan, and Padme and Dingo of AremClan-along with the rest of the army that had been left sprawled on the battlefield by the Sparking Biters. Some lay still and quite, while others were wracked with shivers and hacking coughs that were painful and see and just as painful to hear.
"What's wrong with them?" he asked, quickly turning back to Kyrie as a feeling of anguish pierced his heart at the sight of his friends' states.
"Fear of flying projectiles, that's what it is!" Iris proclaimed, almost triumphantly, as if she had just struck upon something profound. Silverfur had almost forgotten that she was there.
Kyrie sighed. "I wish a knew," she said. She faced Silverfur with a serious grimness that scared him. "This sickness is nothing like I've ever seen. I've taken samples, I've had the Medical Droid analyze them, I've tried various herb remedies and medicines but nothing works. I don't know what those Sparking Biters injected into them and, unless I find out, I can't whip up an antidote."
Those words hit Silverfur with a dread that resembled that of a death knell. "You mean…they'll die?"
Kyrie hesitated, as if wondering if she should tell this young, new warrior the truth. "Not if I have an antidote," she finally replied. Those words were little comfort.
"Can I see the sample?" Kora suddenly asked from her place by the entrance, her eyebeams blinking as she did.
Kyrie stared at her for a moment, and then shrugged. "Why not?" Reaching into a small box resting on the ground beside her. She pulled out a vial of red liquid that-Silverfur noted with uneasiness-looked like blood and tossed it over to the puppy-robot. "Here. Catch."
Kora did and stared down intently at it, her strong eye-lamps making the thick red liquid shine through its transparent casing.
Silverfur turned from that slightly disturbing scene, back to Kyrie, just as the Medical Droid returned with the fully syringe in his metallic hand."Here is the syringe, Master Kyrie."
"Thank you." The nurse to the syringe in her tan paw-just as the figure on the bed moaned and stirred.
Silverfur's heart leaped and he leaned forward, staring intently at his sister's face. "Goldie?"
Goldie's eyes fluttered open revealing their deep, lovely green hue. They were dim and unfocused but, at this moment, they were the most beautiful sight in the world. "Silverfur…?" she mumbled, heavily.
"I'm here," Silverfur assured, smiling broadly with relief. She was awake! She was going to be alright.
"Hey, honey," Kyrie said, sounding relieved as well. "How are you feeling."
Goldie shifted, looking as if she was trying to get into a more comfortable position, but immediately stopped, wincing. "My heart hurts…"
Kyrie's expression tightened and she laid a gentle paw on the small cat's chest. "Hmm…" she muttered. "Still fast. I think I'll still administer the tranquilizer and hopefully that will help."
And the sound of the word 'tranquilizer' Goldie's eyes grew wide. "No!" she protested, seeming suddenly full of fight and energy as she struggled to get up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kyrie exclaimed, reaching her free paw out in an attempt to discourage her movements. "Listen, Goldie, calm down. Don't get excited." She turned to Silverfur and, true to her position, took charge of the situation. "Silverfur, hold her down for me while I administer the medicine."
Silverfur swallowed, but nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
Goldie was doing her best to get up and get away, but she was just too weak and in obvious pain with every movement. It was because of her obvious discomfort and possibility of hurting herself that Silverfur was willing to hold her steady with his paws as she continued to struggle, each effort more weaker than the last.
"No!" she cried again, almost wild with desperation. "You don't understand! There's something I need to do!"
Silverfur stared at her, startled, letting up a little on his grip as Kyrie drew in closer. "What do you mean?" he asked, not knowing whether to take her seriously or humor her.
Goldie's gaze swept from her brother to Kyrie frantically as she continued to try and rise, each attempt futile. "The others…" she gasped, her eyes wide and distant, as if she was seeing something beyond them-something that seemed to be prompting her to take action this very second. "They need me!"
Silverfur was now concerned. "What others?" He glanced over at where Dr. Dan had finally managed to pacify Anakin. A possibility suddenly began to dawn on him. Goldie was wise beyond her years, especially in matters of the Force. Was it possible that she knew something they didn't? Something that could help them find the antidote? "Do you mean the wounded?"
"Hold her steady," Kyrie ordered, as she drew the needle closer to Goldie's flailing paw.
"Just a second, Kyrie," Silverfur answered. He had a nagging feeling that what Goldie had to say, even if it made no sense at all, was important. Extremely important. "Goldie," he spoke firmly and clearly, "what is it you need to do? Tell us, so that we can help!"
Goldie seemed to relax at this, either from exhaustion or relief Silverfur couldn't tell. "I need to
go-Ah!"
Silverfur started at Goldie's cry of pain and could only stare in opened-mouthed horror as her eyes suddenly closed and her head fell back onto the pillow of leaves. She had left consciousness once more.
Kyrie stared at her in surprise as well, and then looked down at the now empty syringe in her paw. "I guess it actually can put people to sleep!" she exclaimed, sounding both amazed and satisfied at the same time. "I'll have to make a note of that."
Silverfur was furious. "Why did you do that!?" he exploded, turning on the nurse, feeling both urgency and frustration welling up inside of him. "She was about to tell us something!"
Kyrie fastened a protective cap around the needle and shrugged. "She was in shock," she stated, unperturbed. "She didn't know what she was saying."
"We don't know that!" Silverfur retorted, but he gave up trying to make Kyrie understand. Angrily, he ran his claws across the earthen floor. They had been so close to…something! Something, he felt, would have helped them all-especially those now dying of Sparking Biter Venom.I only hope lives won't be lost now because of Number 23, he thought gravely.
Chapter Seventeen
Evacuate! Wait...Where are you Going!?
“Thank you, Togo,” Drewberry said. As gently as he possibly could under urgent pressure, he latched onto Ginger's scruff and lifted her up as high as his neck could stretch.
Togo blinked and coughed against the smoke, which was growing thicker and thicker, and hurried over to help his friend. “For what?” he asked, suddenly realizing that he had no idea what the tabby was talking about.
Drewberry didn't answer right away because his mouth was full. Quickly letting go of Ginger, he immediately dived beneath her and caught his fiance's falling body across his shoulders.
Togo rushed to his side and gently situated Ginger's rather unsteady perch, careful not to jolt her in any way. He also tried not to stare at the obvious, bloody gash in her back. If he did, he knew that he would be sick.
As soon as he was certain that he had a good hold on her, Drewberry straightened up and turned to face Togo, looking him straight in the eye. “For saving Ginger's life,” he replied, steadily. His voice betrayed no hint of emotion, but his eyes gleamed with sincere gratefulness. “If you hadn't moved that rock while it was falling, she would be dead right now.”
Togo wondered how to respond to this. Drewberry's statement was technically true, but…“Well…I don't deserve all the credit, Drewberry,” he corrected. “I wouldn't have done any good if Sasha hadn't stepped in when she did.”
Drewberry cocked one eyebrow and gave a thoughtful smile. “Yeah, I remember her saying that she was a Jedi…practically caused my brain to short-circuit.” He chuckled, averting his gaze for a moment “Who knew? Still,” he looked up once more and regained eye contact with the terrier, his tone and expression serious, “the fact of the matter is that both you and Sasha saved my fiance’s life. And I'll never forget that.”
Togo smiled at his friend, but the tender moment was broken when a large crackling sound—not close, but not far either—sounded from several yards beyond and behind them.
They both turned in time to see a giant tree—one of the old forest oaks—engulfed in crackling flames, redder than orange and with a hint of green, no doubt caused by the chemicals sprayed by the the 'Fire Fliers.' Slowly, almost seeming to dramatically resist until the end, the giant tree tipped forwards—and then pitched downwards towards the ground, its speed of descent accelerating ever second until it finally crashed in a cloud of smoke and a geyser of sparks.
Togo and Drewberry both flinched, even though it had all happened at a relatively safe distance of about thirty yards or so. But that was a thirty yards too close for Togo.
Turning to the tabby beside him, Togo gave him a worried look. “We should get going. Like, right now!”
Drewberry looked at the tree, still illuminated by ravaging flames that shot up towards the sky as it gorged itself upon the leaves and bark, and gulped. The glow that brightened the fog beyond signaled that the fire was spreading quickly, and at a dangerous rate. “Yeah. Definitely.” Making sure that Ginger was safely secure upon his shoulders, he dashed as best he could away from the approaching inferno, much like Silverfur had done in the last chapter, except that Drewberry's burden was much heavier than the younger warrior's had been.
Togo glanced one more time at the fallen tree, and then broke into a run after him as fast as his short legs to go.
Because Drewberry was a lean cat, naturally he was faster. But, because he had to carry another feline on his back, he and Togo were soon galloping side by side as they entered the line of trees, following the same route Silverfur had. Only now it was far more hazardous.
The forest fire had spread to all over and was beginning to close in. Togo and Drewberry found themselves having to change their course so many times because of the walls of green-tinged flames, which seemed to spring up right in their paths like hidden predators, that they almost lost their way completely. But they continued to press on. They had no real choice.
Togo eventually found himself in front, but he looked back many times in order to make sure that Drewberry was still behind him. The tabby's face was streaked with dirt, sweat, fear but, also, determination. That sort of solid determination one wanted in a companion, especially in these sort of circumstances.
Togo narrowed his eyes against the rising fumes that stung his eyes and burned his lungs with every breath as he turned his attention forward once more. A sharp crackling from above made him halt—just in time, it soon turned out.
A branch, charred black and glowing like a coal with imbedded fire, fell in front of him with a thud and a spray of nipping sparks that burned his nose and face.
Togo yelped in pain and stumbled backwards, practically running into Drewberry, who had, in turn, nearly ran into terrier when he had stopped short. With one paw, Togo wiped his face, trying to brush away the pain, but to no real avail.
“Look out!” Drewberry suddenly shouted, and Togo once again found himself leaping backward, just as another chunk of branch, bigger than the first, tumbled down from above and landed right next to the other one.
“Run!” Drewberry yelled and Togo wasted no time in doing so.
Leaping over the smoldering wood, the AremClan leader tore down the makeshift trail, literally blazing it with Drewberry (still toting Ginger along) at his heels. Flaming chunks of wood and branches rained down on them like gigantic hailstones, along with nipping sparks that bit deep. The ground beneath their pounding paws was so burning hot that Togo felt that he was running molten lava. On the bright side, it encouraged the duo to step on their speed, but the lack of clean air was beginning to take its toll on the two of them. And Ginger…Togo didn't want to think about that. We have to find that cave!
To both the canine's and feline's infinite relief, however, they soon burst out into a clearing—smoke-filled but fire-free, a fact that wouldn't last long as the advancing flames reminded them. At the far end of the clearing, about twenty or thirty feet away or so, stood the large, round boulder that marked the sanctuary of their hurt and, hopefully, healing comrades.
The mere sight of their destination sent renewed energy and strength through Togo and Drewberry's limbs and, without missing a beat, they shot forward and onward, leaving the hungry flames to slowly devour their steps, paw-print by paw print, in pursuit.
{|{
“Isn't there anything I can do to help?” Silverfur asked. He had long since recovered from his heroic scramble through the burning brush and was now feeling as if he'd go crazy if he wasn't useful in some way to help his suffering friends and Clanmates. Goldie had yet to wake up and nobody, not even Kyrie, who had created that Number-whatever serum, knew exactly when she would, so he would be of no use hovering over her nest.
Kyrie looked up from her work over Dingo, who was writhing feverishly beneath her paw, and shook her head grimly. “Not unless you can scrounge up some sort of antidote or mixture that we haven't tried or concocted yet.” She glanced over at where the robotic puppy was still rolling the vial of red-liquid around in her paw. “Any luck, Kora?”
The cyborg gazed down at it for one second more—and then shook her head, a gesture that Silverfur was beginning to find rather annoying. It never told him what he wanted to hear. “Afraid not,” she answered, sounding slightly frustrated. “My databank carries extensive knowledge but, apparently, there are certain subjects and knowledge out there that I'll have to add to my archives once I get my paws on them. I just have no inkling to them at this certain instance.”
“You and the Medical Droid both,” Silverfur grumbled as he shot a quick glare over at the machine, who was, at the moment, the rather unwilling audience of Iris. The Rainbow Zebra had finally given up on the feline warrior and had moved on to the worthy mission of 'reeducating' the robotic doctor. Unbeknownst to her, however, the Medical Droid knew far more about the art of nursing than she did but was unable to get a word in edgewise and becoming quite flustered. Silverfur felt sorry for him, but not enough to go over there and divert Iris's attention to something else.
As it turns out, however, he didn't have to because everyone's attentions were immediately and fully captured by what happened next.
All this time Faramir, having been trying uselessly for the past several minutes to get Dr. Dan the rhinoceros to listen to him, had finally managed to make himself heard. “I'm telling you all,” he shouted, his voice impatient and in no small degree tense, “we have to evacuate immediately! There's no telling how close the fire's gotten by this time!”
Silverfur's heart nearly stopped as he suddenly remembered the threat that loomed, literally, just above them, through a few bare inches of earth. Of course! The fire! A new worry suddenly engulfed his heart. Will we be able to get everybody away in time?
To the young cat's mild and Faramir's great frustration, Dr. Dan didn't seem all that concerned and merely continued on with his work. At the moment, he was bending over Freddi and Joe, nudging and prodding them with scrutinizing, black eyes. “Now don't get yourself in a panic, Faramir,” he finally said, but without looking up. “I'm sure we have plenty of time before we're forced to do anything drastic.”
Silverfur couldn't believe it, and, apparently, neither did Faramir because he just stood there staring at the rhino in apparent shock. Nothing to worry about!? Really!?
“No offense, Doc, but have you stuck your head out of this cave lately?” Silverfur finally challenged. He didn't know if it was his place to speak up in this situation, but he had an advantage over Faramir: the gazelle was Arem, Silverfur was Nednil. I can certainly get my own Clan's doctor to listen to reason, can't I? “There's a wall devastating fire coming to burn us to crispy critters unless we actually do something and get out of here!”
Dan finally glanced up and faced the two of them. Silverfur was surprised and unnerved to see that he was, in fact, quite serious but his countenance was deeply troubled. He seemed to be sifting through every word as he spoke. “Be that as it may,” he was saying slowly, “just how will we transport the wounded? They're too weak and delirious to walk, and the lack of oxygen might only kill them sooner. I'm afraid that…” he looked over at Kyrie, as if in a silent plea for help.
Silverfur glanced at the two doctors in turn, a sick feeling suddenly rising up in his stomach as he felt some sort of silent understanding pass between pug and rhino.
“What's is it?” Faramir asked, and his companions, Silverstream, Carmalita and Kora, gathered behind him in anxious anticipation. “What's the matter? Is something wrong?”
Both Kyrie and Dan hesitated, as if not wanting to be the one to speak up, the latter's eyes dropping to the floor almost ashamedly.
Silverfur immediately felt cold, despite the stuffy confinement of the cave.
“Kyrie,” Silverstream spoke up, her voice slightly trembling in contained fear. “Tell us.”
Kyrie gave a sigh much like Dan's and looked at them all with the expression of a grim doctor about to deliver regretful news. “Well…what with the rate of the approaching flames that Faramir reported, added to that about eleven or so wounded, factoring in equipment and valuables that we stashed away here for safekeeping, and the fact that there are only nine of us or so to transport everything…” She let her voice trail off and took a deep, preparatory breath before continuing. “My point is that we may not be able to evacuate everybody. We might have to—”
“No!” Silverstream cried in aghast protest as her sharp mind caught on to what was being insinuated.
“We can't do that!” Silverfur added, the silver Arem warrior's shock mirrored on his and everybody's else's faces. He was just as clever as Silverstream, although he was hoping that, this time, he was mistaken.
“We may not have a choice,” Dan stated. He looked as if he despised every single one of those words but knew that they needed to be said. Everybody was immediately silent at this. Even Iris had forgotten her pencil and notebook in the seriousness of the moment. “We'd move those who aren't as far gone first—” Dan continued, but fared no better than Kyrie.
“But we can't just leave them here to die!” Carmalita exclaimed, as if the very idea was abhorrent.
“I agree,” Faramir broke in, looking as fierce as his smoke scorched and battle-bruised face could. “These are our friends and fellow warriors we're talking about! I'll carry three on my back and two on my antlers if I have to, but I refuse to leave anybody behind for whatever reason!”
“I understand your feelings Faramir,” Kyrie answered in a deadpan, yet sympathizing tone. “But the odds just aren't for us getting everybody and everything out of here in time.”
“Hang the odds!” Silverfur snapped, not caring anymore whether he was or not overstepping his bounds. “In fact, hang the very idea! I think we should all be focusing on the one thing that's causing us problems.”
“And what's that?” Iris asked, for once voicing an effective question. “The fire?”
“Well…yes. But what I really mean was an antidote. That's all we need. If we can only find that—”
“That's a pretty big 'if', Silverfur,” Kyrie stated doubtfully. “We don't even know where to begin looking!”
“I do…” a weak voice suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention.
Silverfur turned around in surprise and was shocked to see a groggy, bleary-eyed Goldie not lying but standing right behind him, albeit a little shakily.
“Goldie!” Silverfur exclaimed, not sure whether to be relieved or concerned. Turning around to face her fully he flashed her a smile. “How are you feeling?”
Before the 'paw could answer, Kyrie was immediately at her side. “What are you doing out of your nest?” she asked, reproachfully. “Go back and lie down this instant! You're suffering from intense exposure to strong volts of electricity! Do you want to drop dead!?”
“Of course not,” Goldie answered, but her voice and gaze were distant. “And there's no time for lying around. I've gotta go.” With that, she walked past them towards the exit. Even though each step was an obvious struggle, her stride seemed to contain a strength and purpose that made everybody step out of her way, giving her a clear path.
Silverfur stared after her, confused. “'Go?'” he repeated. Is she delirious or something? Where could she possible want to go?
“Don't try to stop me,” Goldie ordered and, reaching downwards, she picked up her lightsaber from where it had been placed against the wall. As her small, white paw closed over the metal cylinder, strength seemed to suddenly be renewed inside her very core. Her eyes blazed with determined purpose and her steps became more steadier. “I'll take that,” she said as she came to a brief halt in front of Kora and snatched the vial containing the sample of Sparking Biter Venom from the startled cyborg's paw.
Silverfur's eyes grew wide. She's not gonna…“Goldie! Stop!” he shouted and dashed towards her.
Goldie, however, jammed the glass-encased sample in her mouth, tightened her grip on her weapon and, with one bound, left the safety of the cave and entered into the hazardous, deadly forest of fire without another word of explanation.
Silverfur was too shocked for a moment to move. She did not just do that! Before he even knew it, he was scrambling to the foot of the hole and preparing to follow. “Goldie, wait!” he shouted after her, although he knew it was no use. “Stop!”Why would she do such a hair-brained thing like that!? Did Number 24 mess with her mind or something!?
Just as the warrior bunched himself up to jump, the dim light around the hold dimmed even darker by a sudden shadow, causing the cat to abandon his reckless plan and step back and away from it. At first Silverfur thought it was Goldie who, having come to her senses, had made the wise decision to return. But that proved not to be the case when Togo's mottled, dirty face appeared. It was quickly followed by the rest of him until the terrier was standing beside the cat in the cave
. “C'mon, guys!” he barked, pausing for a moment to shake himself from head to tail, dislodging puffs of dirt and dust from his fur. “We've got to get out of here now! Grab as many wounded as you can and move!”
“But all our supplies and equipment—” Kyrie began.
“Leave them behind, maybe we'll be able to dig them out later!” Togo snapped, the muted light in his eyes beaming his extreme exhaustion but determined grit to anyone they landed on. “Just focus on transporting any breathing body that can be moved and do it now!”
“Silverfur!”
Silverfur immediately turned to Kyrie, surprised and relieved that neither she nor Dan were going to argue with Togo. The plan now was to get everybody out or die trying. “Yes, Kyrie?”
Kyrie nodded towards the far corner. “Wet any large leaves and rags that you can find. We're going to tie them around the patients' noses and mouths so that they won't suffocate. For the moment at least. Understand?”
Silverfur swallowed but nodded. “Yes, ma'am.” Without daring to pause, he dashed towards the gestured spot and got to work.
“Togo,” Faramir suddenly called from where he was, to the right of the entrance, his voice strained but urgent as he struggled to heave Anakin onto his broad shoulders. “Goldie ran. We don't know where she is!”
Togo froze and his face seemed to drain of all color. “What do mean she 'ran?'”
“She just up and dashed outside,” Kora reported. She had Ahsoka and Padme by their scruffs and was holding them above the floor as she rose up on her rocket propelled back paws. They hung limp from her grips like fresh pieces of prey, which was effective but a tad unnerving. Under any different circumstances the sight would have been humorous. “And she took a sample of Biter Venom with her. Said something about knowing where to find an antidote.”
Togo looked suddenly horrified. “Zenar K…” he said, his voice distant due to some internal distraction within his mind.
Silverfur, having listened in this whole time, looked up from his job, not knowing whether to be alarmed or not at this new piece of information. “Zenar what?”
Togo looked as if he was about to answer but a shout from outside interrupted him. “Togo, pick up the pace! The fire's about twenty feet away and closing fast!”
That's Drewberry, Silverfur realized although, at the moment, he hardly cared.
“Silverfur! Wet rags!” Dan ordered from the other end of the cavern.
Silverfur gathered up the large wad he had managed to accumulate in his mouth and hurried in the doctor's direction, but he couldn't help but halt in front of Togo and put them down. “I've got to go after her!” he said.
Togo immediately snapped back into leader-mode. “No!” he replied, firmly. “You're needed here.”
Silverfur's fear quickly transformed into anger. “My sister's out there in that inferno! She needs my help!”
“So does your mother!”
Silverfur paused and forgot about everything else. “Mom's here!?” A spark of hope ignited in his heart, hotter than the flames outside, as the meaning behind that fact suddenly swept over him like a ray of sunshine. “She's alive!?”
Togo gave a small nod and Silverfur felt his heart soar. “Just barely. But the chance of her—and all of us—surviving will be much better of you stay here and help us evacuate our Clanmates. Alright?”
Silverfur sighed and wrestled with conflicting emotions. Finally, one vanquished the other. “Yes, sir,” he agreed, bowing his head in submission. Even though Togo wasn't necessarily his leader, the warrior had to respect the terrier because he was a leader. And worth respecting. Still he couldn't help but add, with renewed fear, “What about Goldie?”
Togo glanced over at the hole and a brief look of concern flashed across his face. But only for a moment. “We're just going to have to trust and pray that she knows what she's doing and will get out of there. She's an exceptional apprentice and very gifted, so the odds of her surviving out there is higher than they would be with anyone else.”
Silverfur wasn't so sure. She had looked so frail a moment ago before she had plunged into the unknown. “Yeah, but—”
“SILVERFUR!”
Silverfur cringed and immediately picked up the dripping leaves again before rushing over to the impatient rhino. As he hurriedly helped to prepared the sick creatures for evacuation, he struggled to swallow his fear and did just what Togo had suggested: Pray. Hard.
Chapters P - 14 By Dayna H*****
Readers Note
Before I write this exciting story, I would like to let anyone who doesn't know our W****** to understand some things our W****** say or do.
First of all, know that when me or my friends buy a W**, we either give them a random name, a name that they look like, or a name that we got out of a movie or book. If they're names are based on someone, then they have that person's personality. If they don't, then they have only a personality that they're owner thinks they should have.
Also me and my friends are making a movie based on Star Wars with our W**s, so the ones that are playing the characters, sometimes start to act like the character they are playing. For example: I own a Endangered Species Signature Gazelle named Faramir. Sometimes he'll act like character from Lord of the Rings, and sometimes he'll act like his Star Wars character, Darth Sidious. (Boy what a change right!?) Also, Togo plays Luke Skywalker, so he's teaching one of the characters on how to use the Force. Stuff like that.
Anyway I just wanted to point that out so you peeps won't get confused about how the characters say or act. In real life however, our W**s don't believe in the Force or anything like that. They believe what they're characters believe and what we believe. And me and my friends believe in God.
Enjoy this story and may it be to you're liking.
Prologue
A Disturbing Vision
It all started like any normal day in the lives of the W******. Especially two clans, the Arem and the Nednil. Except, that is, the Arem was a tribe, not a clan. Togo, a member of Arem, was going to meet his padawan, who was from the Nednil, Goldenpaw. Togo was a Jack Russel Terrier, with black ears, a black spot on his back, and one brown spot over his eye.
It was a beautiful day, with a bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds that drifted with the wind.
Suddenly he saw his apprentice coming toward him. Goldenpaw was a young cat, with gold and white fur. She had a mother and an adopted brother that lived in the Nednil. Her mother was going to marry an Arem cat, but the wedding was long from now. Goldenpaw was a pretty little thing, but today she looked concerned.
"Hello, Goldie. Ready for your training?" Togo asked, taking a remote droid from a pouch he was carrying.
"In a minute. But first I want to tell you about this vision I had," Goldie answered.
"Oh. Okay. Tell me about it." Togo said, sitting beneath a tree and motioning for Goldie to so too.
"It was very bizarre," Goldie began, " I was practicing my meditation, like you told me to, when I had it. It was night and, for some strange reason, my clan was fighting these strange, transparent flying things. The vision wasn't very clear. I want to know whether it was the past or the future."
"It was the future," Togo replied after a slight pause, "and it's worrying me. While I'm mulling it over, why don't you start with your training."
With that Togo pressed a button on the droid, and it hummed into motion, floating in the air and circling around the young apprentice. Immediately Goldie ignited her lightsaber, in time for the orange blade to deflect a laser bullet. The droid circled in another direction, then fired again, but was unable to fool the smart cat.
Finally Togo signaled that the training was over, and shut the droid off. Goldie put her weapon away, and then turned to her mentor.
"Well? Have you figured it out yet?" she asked.
"No. Not fully. Let's go to your clan, I want to ask your mother something."
Goldie nodded, and the two of them headed down the road toward the Nednil camp. It was a large camp, population sixty-four W******, for now at least, and filled with small buildings, each one with different species living in them. The snake who guarded the front gate allowed them in, for the Arem Tribe was well liked around there. Especially now that their new leader was getting married to a member of it.
"Mom! Mom, where are you?" Goldie called going over to the cats' living quarters.
"I'm in here," a voice said from inside, "you need something?"
"No. But Togo wants to talk to you." Goldie answered.
After a few minutes an attractive ginger cat came out. She was a fine orange-reddish color, with faint stripes of a darker shade and had been recently nominated as the new leader of the Nednil.
"Hello, Togo," she said, greeting her old friend, "how is the Arem? And how's Drewberry?"
"Drewberry's fine," Togo said with a grin, "but he's getting a little impatient about the wedding date."
"I know I know," Ginger said, "but remind him that we can't get married until we start on this movie. Anyway, how's Goldie with her training?"
"She's progressing nicely," Togo replied, "but I wanted to ask you something. Have you noticed anything different about her?"
"No. Not really. Although she has been a bit moody lately, but I think that's just a growing up thing."
"Hmm I see. One more thing. How's Orange Majesty doing?"
Ginger sighed in frustration. "Oh he's about the same. THANKFULLY he's gone away on some sort of trip. Although he didn't have the decency to take Glizzard with him! If he did, then this day could be the best one ever! But he didn't and that crabby little whiner is driving me nuts! Let's change the subject. Have you talked to Lilly yet?"
"I would have appreciated it if you had picked a different topic," Togo said uncomfortably.
Lilly was a snow white arctic fox, who, to Togo, was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. She had joined the Nednil about a year and a half ago. The two of them had stayed clear of each other, since they were both shy, but eventually they grew to like one another. But then Togo found himself constantly in a battle over her with a gray wolf named Balto.
Balto had always said that he knew Lilly in puppy-hood, and therefore had the right to be her boyfriend. Balto was handsome, but a little obsessive in his trying to attract Lilly. He had tried several ways to get Togo out of the way, even going so far as to hire Orange Majesty to do his dirty work.
Orange Majesty was a majestic tiger, with bright orange fur, and light orange swirls and designs all over him. He was a member of the Nednil, but was constantly considered a rouge. He always had this evil look in his eye, and Glizzard was his constant companion. Day by day the tiger acted more and more like Darth Maul. (Although everyone there like to make a joke of it and call him Darth 'Meow.')
Balto had hired Orange Majesty to do several things. Like trying to kill Togo, or brainwash Lilly! But Orange Majesty was caught and punished appropriately, but Balto, being from a different clan (the Beagle) was unable to be punished by the Nednil. No one really knew what he was doing now, as they hadn't seen the BeagleClan in a while.
Ever since Togo helped with the un-brainwashing of Lilly, the two of them had become pretty good friends.
There were four clans living in this planet of Earth, the Arem, the Nednil, the Beagle, and the Bear-bear. Sometimes they would all get together and exchange news.
Ginger smiled, for she knew of a secret between Togo and Lilly. A secret that only a few knew.
"Well, if you ever want to talk to her, she's in the Kanine hut. Now I've got to go and take care of some things. Give Drewberry mine and the kits' love! See ya around!" With that Ginger walked away to where the former leader, a black cat named Witchy, stood talking with Charcoal, a silver charcoal cat.
Togo turned around and left the camp, heading for his own clan.
Chapter One
A Glimpse of Nednil Life
As Togo and Ginger were talking, Goldie had gone into the leader's den, where she found her two older cousins, Cally and Kate, wrestling on the floor.
"Why are you two fighting?" she asked, as the two of them stopped for a moment.
"No reason," replied Cally, "we just like it. By the way, did I see Togo out there?"
"Yeah," Goldie said, "he wanted to talk to Mom about something. Where's Silverfur?"
"I don't know. He's probably hanging around here somewhere." Kate answered, once more tackling her sister to the floor.
Goldie sighed. Even though she was more of a tomcat, she still had some of a lady in her. But just barely.
She left the den, and saw that Togo had already left. Disappointingly, she turned to the left, and went over to where Ned the Seahorse stood.
Ned was working on his self constructed computer, CR12. Although with his squiggly hand, or should I say tail, writing, made it look like the word CRIL. He was a nice guy, a fine creamy yellow, with purple stomach and fin, and had one eye. (The other he lost under unknown circumstances.) He talked with a strange dialect, which reminded Goldie of Jar-Jar Binks from Star Wars.
"Hello, Ned. How's CRIL?" Goldie asked, sitting down next to the portable computer.
"If yousa please," Ned replied, "call it CR12. That joke's been gooing on too loong."
"Sorry, Ned." Goldie apologized, "So how is CR12?"
"That's beeter. It's fine, oonly a few circuits needing replacement. So, what has yousa been dooin?"
"Oh...training." Goldie replied, reluctant to tell even Ned about her dream.
"Jeest that? Weel that's true, eets only eleven in zee morning. Weel i need to git back to weerk, Gooldie, sooo see you later okiday?"
"Well OK," Goldie said, "but, by the way. Is Orange Majesty around?"
"Deedint yosa here? Hees ooway on treep. Won't be back in a feew days."
"Oh. Thank you, Ned." Goldie said. Half relived, and half surprised that she hadn't heard about it before.
Leaving Ned to do his circuit replacement, Goldie turned around and went back to where Cally and Kate were chatting. Maybe a few minutes with her friends would help her feel better.
Drewberry walked down the long path that led to the entrance to the NednilClan. He was wanting to get there in time to watch Togo train Goldie. He also hoped to see his fiance, Ginger. He gave a long sigh. Ginger constantly filled his mind. Her fine grayish eyes, the way the sun shone on her ginger coat, and the way her scent filled his nostrils like perfume. Whenever he was around her, he would feel either dizzy, or his heart would pound so fast that he wondered if he was going to have a heart attack. While he had been dating her, he had been confused at how he felt. He had asked Kyrie, the AremTribe's nurse, about it and she had giving him the simplest answer ever:
"You're in love. That's all. Now why don't you go do something, while I tend to someone who's IS sick."
A few days after that Drewberry had proposed to Ginger and she had accepted. Now they were still engaged, waiting for the day when they were going to shoot the beginning of the movie they were making. On that day, along with the filming, they and a few others would get married. The others were two wolves, one red one grey, named Anakin and Padme, and two cats, one a white Persian and the other a tuxedo, named Antoinette and Tux. That day seemed far away now. During the time of waiting, Ginger had adopted a small grey kitten named Silverpaw., recently renamed Silverfur. Even though the kit was adopted, he looked a lot like Drewberry, and because of that the older cat was pleased.
The camp was just around the bend. It wouldn't be long now.
"Hey! Togo! Wait up!" Goldie called, running after the leaving dog. She was relived to see him stop and turn around. Finally she reached him. "I was wondering if you found out about my dream." she said breathlessly.
"I had some time to think about it." Togo replied, "And the name Orange Majesty seems to pop up a lot. I'm starting to think that something big is up."
"Yeah," Goldie said, starting to feel a little nervous, "so what do we do?"
"I've been thinking that maybe that that tiger's hiding something. Not that I'd be surprised if he was. Maybe we should have an uninvited visit to his house."
Goldie gasped, "Is that in the Jedi Code?"
"Only in extreme emergencies." Togo replied, worriedly. "And since he's away on a trip, what better time to do this then now?" With that Togo turned around, and hurried down a trail that would lead them to the private house of Orange Majesty.
Chapter Two
An Attic Full of Junk. Or is it?
The house was more of a mansion. Tall and foreboding, with ivy all over it, intertwining around itself so that it was almost impossible to see through the windows.
Togo went over to the door, and knocked softly. No one answered, so he tried the door.
"Locked, of course." Togo muttered.
"So how are we going to get in?" Goldie asked, trying, unsuccessfully, to get to a window to see if it was open.
"Well, with all this ivy, it should be easy." Togo replied. Before Goldie knew it, he had jumped up and buried his teeth in a large clump of the vines, and was pulling himself up.
"Are you crazy?!" Goldie exclaimed, "Someone might see you through the window!"
"How do you figure that?" Togo asked, with his mouthful of ivy.
"Well, these vines go right over the windows, and if anyone sees you climbing it's a dead giveaway!"
"Can you think of anything better?"
"No--"
"Then stop shouting and come up here! There's a window that leads into the attic, and it's as good a place as any to start."
With a resigned sigh, Goldie jumped nimbly up onto a vine and began climbing. Above her, she could see that Togo had already made it to the window and was working on the latch with his teeth. He still hadn't gotten the window open by the time she had made it up.
"What's the holdup?" she asked, still clinging to a piece of ivy.
"The window latches are hard to turn." Togo answered, "Just give me a minute."
"I'm giving you five." Goldie answered, studying Togo's technique. Finally she said, "Why don't you let me try it?"
"That's not necessary," Togo answered, "I've almost got it."
"Uh huh." Goldie replied, skeptically. "Move over."
Reluctantly, Togo moved to the side so that his apprentice could get to the latch.
Very carefully Goldie inspected the golden handles, then she put one of her white paws on one of them and pushed down. With a creak the window opened, revealing a dark room cluttered with junk, like most attics. Turning around, Goldie gave Togo a triumphant smile.
"Now what was I doing wrong?" Togo asked, as he entered the cluttered room.
"You were pushing the handle UP instead of DOWN." Goldie answered.
"Well they looked like they should have gone up." Togo said as Goldie followed him inside.
"Face it," Goldie said playfully, "cat's are better at opening locks then dogs."
"I resent that."
"Do you deny it?"
"No, but I resent it."
Goldie laughed.
"Enough of this," Togo said, "let's see if we can find anything useful."
"What exactly are we looking for?" Goldie asked, as she began to inspect a large shelf.
"Just something....useful. Like Orange Majesty's personal computer, or Glizzard's personal computer, if he has one that is. Or--"
"How about an eight-sided lightsaber?" Goldie interrupted.
"Yeah, that too. Or---wait? What did you say?" Togo asked, turning quickly around.
"I said, 'how about an eight-sided lightsaber?'" Goldie held up a large metal tube-like thing that looked like eight lightsabers melted together so that the opening pointed evenly in different directions. "I found it up on this shelf."
Togo whistled. "I've never seen one of those before. Does it work?"
With a shrug, Goldie carelessly pressed the button. Immediately, eight red bars of light shot out from the tubes at different angles. It startled Goldie so much she almost dropped it.
"Yep, it works!" She said, sheepishly turning it off. "And that's not the only one in here. There are, let's see.....seven more lightsabers in here. And they all have different numbered sides."
Curious, Togo went over to look. Sure enough there were more lightsabers, each on a different shelf. There was a regular light-saber, a two-sided one (which looked as if it was used most often), a three-sided one, a four-sided one, a five-sided one, a six-sided one, and seven-sided one, and Goldie haeld the eight-sided one in her paw.
"Interesting choice of weapons," Togo said examining each light-saber individually, "although I suspect Orange Majesty uses the two-sided more often. He's more of a Darth Maul type anyway. You'd better put that eight one back where you found it. We don't want to let that tiger know we were here."
As Goldie did so, a thought suddenly occurred to Togo, and he took out a cylinder shaped object from his pocket and pointed it around the room.
"Just as I thought." he said as the object began to beep.
"What?" Goldie asked coming over.
"This place has an alarm system. And if this little machine is correct, the wires that control it are hooked behind that bookshelf."
"So what are we going to do?"
"We'll have to cut the wires. You have your lightsaber?"
"Yeah. But wouldn't that let Orange Majesty know that we were here?"
"Well, we have no choice. If we're going to examine this place in peace, we're going to have to take the chance of him learning of our little escapade. Now I'll move it, and as soon as you see the wires, cut them."
"Okay."
Slowly and carefully, Togo began to shove the shelf, ever so slowly, so that the back would be reachable. Goldie took the time to ignite the orange blade of her lightsaber. Finally two wires came into view, one blue one red, that were attached to the wall and the back of the book container. As soon as she saw them, Goldie swung her weapon around and hacked each wire in half with one blow. The wires sparked a little and smoked, but no alarm sounded. With a sigh of relief, Togo shoved the bookcase back into its original position.
"Glad that's over." he said, "Now let's look for a computer, or letters, or documents, anything that may be useful."
The search continued. Unfortunately, Goldie's enthusiastic searching raised such a cloud of dust that Togo began to sneeze. But thankfully the clouds settled down, as well as the apprentice, and the search got longer, Goldie got more tired and her search got less enthusiastic.
"Whoa!" Togo suddenly said from across the room.
"What? Did you find something?" Goldie exclaimed, immediately at his side.
"Yes I did." he replied, "Those wires weren't just attached to the bookshelf. They're also attached to this box right here. I guess since we cut the wires, we can open it." Very slowly, Togo eased the lid open. Thankfully, Goldie's work had been thorough, and no alarm sounded.
"What in there?" Goldie asked excitedly.
"Books." Togo replied, pulling one out.
"Books!?" Goldie exclaimed, somewhat crestfallen, "All that for books!?"
"Well, they must be pretty important for Orange Majesty to hook them up to a security system." Togo pointed out, "Here you look through this one." He handed her a large book with a strange rainbow symbol on the cover. For a while the attic was silent, with no noise but an occasional page turning. Finally, Togo said,
"This looks like Orange Majesty's diary."
"What does it say?" Goldie asked, still not looking up from her book.
"Well...it says something about a secret panel where he keeps his personal computer.....Hm....According to this diary...the panel should be right about here." So saying he put his paw against the wall, "And to open it, you're supposed to push down, move your paw to the right and then to the left---Aha!" A panel slid open revealing a closed laptop computer.
Carefully, Togo slid it out and ran the small alarm detecting device over it. There was no beeping, so he opened it and waited as the screen lit up, and the computer started to hum.
"Anything in that book?" he asked, as he slid out a disk and inserted it into the laptop.
"Only a few things, but nothing very mysterious...at least for Orange Majesty." Goldie replied, "What I'm wondering is what this symbol means."
"Take a picture of it." Togo suggested.
"With what? I don't have a camera."
"Yes you do. I installed one in your lightsaber's handle, remember?"
"Oh! Right, I forgot." Quickly Goldie took out the long metal tube and snapped a picture with the hidden camera.
"While you're at it," Togo said, "take pictures of every page in that book and in the diary. We'll have them downloaded when we get back."
"Sure thing," Goldie replied, looking momentarily from her work, "what are you doing?"
"Well," Togo explained, "this computer needs a password in order for someone to enter it. I don't know the password, so I've resorted to hacking. It may take a few minutes."
"Do you think we have that time?"
"Orange Majesty is on vacation, and Glizzard didn't appear to be around. All the same, keep your eyes and ears open."
Nothing was said for several minutes, the musty silence only broken by the typing of computer keys and an occasional clicking from the camera as it did its work. Suddenly, Goldie snapped to attention.
"Did you hear that?" she asked.
"No. Should I have?" Togo asked, still working on his hacking job.
Just then a slight rustling sound came from outside the attic window. The two of them froze, not daring to move, as the window slowly opened, and a somewhat familiar figure entered.
Chapter Three
A Surprise and a Mystery
"DREWBERRY!?" Togo and Goldie exclaimed as the light streaming from the window revealed
the light gray tabby pelt and shining blue eyes of their feline friend.
"Hello." the cat said, casually, "What are you doing?"
"What are we doing!?" Goldie repeated, forgetting to keep her voice lowered, "For your information, we're trying to do some investigating! And what are you doing here anyway?!"
"You're investigating Orange Majesty? What for? Is he up to something illegal again?" Drewberry asked, ignoring his future daughter's anger.
"We're investigating him, because we're trying to find out about a dream Goldie had, is all." Togo replied, calmly, "So why ARE you here, Drewberry?"
"Well, I was going to the Nednil to, you know, see my fiancee, and I saw you and Goldie heading toward Orange Majesty's mansion. I was curious so I decided to follow you here. I would have come in sooner, but my leg got tangled up in a vine and I had to chew my way loose. Those vines are disgusting! I don't know how horses do it! Anyway, what have you found out so far?"
"Nothing much," Goldie replied, now forgetting her anger, "but once we break into this computer, we'll find out everything we need to know."
"I don't think we'll find out everything," Togo said, resuming his typing, "but I'm sure we'll find out something."
"What are these here?" Drewberry asked, picking up one of the books.
"They're books, of course." Goldie asked, in a matter of fact way.
"I know that, but what are they about?"
"Well, one's a diary, the other is...well...I'm not sure really."
"They're both in Orange Majesty's paw-writing," Drewberry observed, "I'd recognize those spidery swoops anywhere."
"Got it! We're in!" Togo exclaimed.
"What's in there?" Drewberry asked, now quite curious.
"Hmm....It looks like a scedgual of a trip Orange Majesty took several months ago." Togo answered.
"Trip? What kind of trip?" Goldie asked, reading over his shoulder.
"Well, according to this receipt, Orange Majesty hired a pilot to take him to Mustefar to pick up some mechanical parts."
"Mechanical parts on Mustefar? What does he do? Forge them himself?" Drewberry asked, skeptically.
"Hey, I'm just reading what it says here," Togo answered, "But that's all that's all there is on the subject. Let me see if I can get in deeper, in the meantime, if you want to keep busy, Drewberry, why don't you through one of the books?"
"Sure thing," the cat said, picking up the diary. Almost as soon as he opened it, he put it back down and picked up the other one.
"Wait a minute, Drewberry," Goldie said, "What's wrong with that book?"
"I don't want to go through the headache process of reading that tiger's paw-writing." the tabby answered, not looking up from the yellowed pages. "Interesting symbol on this one. Iris would like it."
Iris was the Arem's psychiatrist, and was constantly practicing her skills on her "mentally disturbed" husband, Night Streaker. She was a rainbow zebra, and named after the goddess of the rainbow.
"You know what it means?" Togo asked.
"Nah. I don't know symbols. Even though I'm an archaeologist, I don't study symbols and signs. More like studying old artifacts and things like that."
"I didn't know you were an archaeologist." said Togo, somewhat surprised.
"Oh yes, I don't make it well known, but I dabble a bit in archaeology. And sometimes I go on expeditions, small ones of course. Although I stay away from rainforests most of the time."
"What's wrong with rainforests?" Goldie asked. She had taken up the job of "deciphering" the diary.
"Too hot and moist for one thing," Drewberry replied, "and too many snakes there for another. How you coming along, Togo? Anything new?"
"No," Togo answered, disappointingly, "Nothing new. I think now would be a good time to focus on something else for now."
"Like what?" Goldie asked, putting down the book.
"The meaning of that symbol would be a good place to start," Togo answered, carefully shutting down the computer, "take a picture, and we'll use CRIL to decipher it."
Soon, the three of them had straightened up the attic, trying to make sure everything look 'casual,' as Drewberry put it, and they heading back down the vines, across the front yard, and back towards the Nednil.
Chapter Four
Hacked
"Ned?.....Ned? Are you here!?" Goldie called, approaching the, now fixed, computer. When there was no answer, she turned to Togo. "Looks like he isn't here. Although I don't think he'll mind if we use CRIL while he's away." So saying, she pressed the computer's power button, and it began to hum.
"Are you sure?" Drewberry asked, "I'd hate to get on the bad side of that sea critter. That annoying accent of his gets even thicker when he's agitated."
"Don't worry," Goldie answered, moving in front of the screen so that she could see better, "He's probably gone off to one of his meetings with his college buddy. I forget his name. Kind of a pain in the neck. (Linden if this isn't true you can correct me). Anyway, if I insert the end of the my light-saber, the end that the laser doesn't come out of, into CRIL then the photos should be downloaded on the computer and we can do a analysis." So saying she did just that. After some more computer hums, the voice of the computer's voice chip said,
"This is CR12. Loading up. What can I do for you today?"
"I'd like to know what the symbol in photo number fifty-one means." Goldie replied, "Please give us a detail account of what you find."
"My voice analysis tells me that this is a member of the Nednil. Although you speak too well to be my maker. And for that I am grateful. Welcome, Goldie, I have been wondering why you almost never use me. The pictures you are requesting are loading, please hold."
Immediately some music began to play.
"Pretty," Drewberry said, sarcastically, "the 'Beautiful Blue Danube.' This computer is just as annoying as Ned!"
"I heard that. My voice analysis tells me this is a member of the Arem. Greetings, Drewberry. But only on the terms that you are engaged to the Nednil leader am I being friendly. Who else is there with you?"
"Me." Togo said, not bothering to tell the computer his name.
"Ah yes. Togo. You are a Jedi Knight, am I correct? Since your clan is friendly with my clan I will be friendly to you. But if you agree with your cat friend about me, that friendship will come to an abrupt end."
"Uh, CRIL---I mean CR12, can you get on with your analysis?" Goldie asked.
"Certainly. The picture you are wanting anilised is the one of a rainbow symbol, typically used on the planet Mustefar. I will download some more information in a moment. Please hold."
The music began to play again.
Drewberry gave a sigh. "This is going to take forever...."
"Well, at least we're getting some help." Togo pointed out.
"Help? If you think insulting remarks and classical music can be described as help." Drewberry retorted.
"Well you did insult it first," Togo replied, trying not to laugh.
Drewberry was about to make some remark, when the music stopped again.
"My analysis tells that this symbol is used on the planet Mustefar. Please stay tuned for more information."
More music began to play.
"At least it changed the style. Although I wish he had chosen someone besides Elvis Presley!" Drewberry said.
"Is that the information it gave us before?" Goldie asked.
"Yes..." Togo said, "is it always this slow?"
"No. Not usually. Why?" Goldie asked.
Without answering, Togo went up to the computer and took out a small metal device from his pocket. Silently he moved the device over the screen and control panel, looking at the readings that appeared on a screen. Finally he stepped back and shook his head. "I'm afraid to tell you this, Goldie, but it looks like CRIL has been tampered with."
"What!?" Goldie and Drewberry exclaimed.
"I mean it." Togo replied, pressing a button on the computer and shutting it down. "The readings on my little device here, tells me that some kind of virus was downloaded onto here and it's messing up the system. So, unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get any help here."
"So what do we do now?" Goldie asked.
"I think we should use Diego's computer," Drewberry said, "It's more advanced than this bucket of bolts, and might be able to tell us more. And besides, he's away today so we can just go in and use it."
Diego was the Arem Clan's security guard. Although very young, he took his job very seriously, and was constantly fining his clan members for tampering with his equipment, and things like that. He wasn't really much liked in the Arem, and everyone, especially another member of the Arem, a red wolf named Anakin, were always having arguments with him.
"That's a good idea," Togo said, replying to Drewberry's suggestion, "although we'll have to go through a lot of security measures. Come on. If we hurry we can get Goldie to the Arem Clan and back before night fall."
Chapter Five
Security, Security and More Security!
Diego, as said before, was away on another trip to get his security license updated, although most Arem Clan members wished that he would fail on all his tests. But he always passed them. His computer was located in a high security room, location known only to him and to clan leader or leaders. Togo and another Arem member, Mc Henry, were both Arem Clan leaders, so they also knew about the location.
And now both Drewberry and Goldie also knew, although they were sworn to secrecy by Togo. Drewberry had to promise not to reveal the location because Togo was his leader, and Goldie promised because she respected the Arem's privacy and that Togo was also her mentor. And since it's not all that important that you know the location, I won't tell you either. All I can tell you is that it's in a cave of some sort. The only important thing is that they found it and were soon going through the first round of security.
Togo approached a high wall, it reaching approximately ninety feet, although why so tall I don't know. At the foot of the wall were two, glowing pads, one on the ground and one in the wall a few feet above it.
"What's this?" Drewberry asked. It was his first time going to Diego's computer, Zenar-K.
"It's a patch scanner," Togo replied, "the security system knows every single patch-print and who it belongs to. Here I'll show you." With that he raised his right paw and placed it on the wall scanner. There was a mechanical humming sound as a line of glowing green passed across the screen, scanning Togo's rainbow W patch. Soon there was a beeping, and the words Russel, Togo Jack: Jack Russel Terrier and a small green light below the screen blinked on. Stepping back Togo motioned to Drewberry.
"Why do I have to do it too?" the tabby asked, "Won't it work for you?"
"It does," Togo replied, "But there are security cameras and censors all over the place, and the gate won't open until all of us are identified."
"Man, Diego needs therapy!" Drewberry exclaimed, putting his paw on the wall scanner.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you," Togo warned, "those cameras also have audio."
Drewberry groaned as the green bar of light began to scan his golden patch, thinking of the scolding he'd get if Diego checked the video and heard that. Soon there was another beeping and the above his paw the name appeared: Pie, Drewberry: Signature Gray Tabby and the green light flashed on.
"Will it work for me, since I'm from a different clan?" Goldie asked, as Drewberry stepped away.
"Yes, it works for anybody," Togo replied, "this just helps keep track of who's been in here and used Zenar-K. Go ahead."
"Okay," Goldie replied. (I forget where her patch is located, I'll fix this as soon as I find out.) Soon the now familiar beeping came, the green light flashed on, and the words read: Stillwel, Goldenpaw: Little Kinz Gold and White Cat.
Finally, there was a grinding of machinery, and the wall began to move up, making a big enough opening for the three of them to crawl through.
After walking down another long, dark hallway, only lit by several dim light bulbs that hung on the ceiling, they came to another high wall. This one had some kind of a lens in it.
"Not another one!" Drewberry exclaimed, "I wish we can get on with this!"
"You want to get on with this?" Togo asked, "Then you go first. Just put your eye to the lens and wait. You'll know when it's done."
"Okay..." Drewberry put one of his blue eyes to the lens and waited. There was a small humming sound, getting gradually louder. Suddenly, there was a flash of a bright light, and before the tabby knew it, he was shaking his head, trying to get back his vision.
"Ow! Hey, what was that!?" he exclaimed, rubbing his white paw over his eyes, "Togo, you knew that was going to happen, didn't you!?"
"Sure I did," Togo replied, trying not to laugh, "I'm sorry, Drewberry, but if I did tell you, you wouldn't want to do it, and then it would have taken hours just to convince you. If you want, I'll go next." So saying, he put his eye close to the lens. Again there was a blinding flash of light, but, when it was done, Togo just backed away, hardly fazed. "Okay, Goldie, your turn."
Bravely, at least to Drewberry, the little gold and white cat also took the flash, and passed. Although she was blinking for a while.
After a while they came to yet another security system. This one was a microphone stuck in the wall.
"Voice command," Togo explained. Going in front of the mike he said, "Togo J. Russel. Second Arem Clan leader." With that he stepped away, and motioned for Drewberry to do the same.
The tabby looked suspiciously at the mike, and then at Togo. Finally he said, obviously not trying to sound professional, "Testing, 123 testing. Is this thing on? Hello? Testing. Hello? 123. Testing, tes---"
"Okay, that's enough!" Togo exclaimed, annoyed.
Drewberry merely nodded, and stepped back.
Goldie marched up to the microphone and said, "I don't care if Diego hears this or not. JUST OPEN UP ALREADY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!"
As if obeying, the door creaked upward, revealing a large room with control panels and computer screens. Togo lead the way, with Drewberry behind him, and Goldie following last, holding her head and tail up victoriously.
Chapter Six
A Dangerous Plot
What did Zenar-K look like you ask? Well, basically, it looked like a small room, with a standing space as big as you can swing a turtle, and keyboards and colorful buttons surrounding it. Across from the doorway, which remained open, was a small screen projector, which would give them a hologram for the information they wanted.
Togo went up to the main keyboard and activated Zenar-K. As the computer whirred to life, Drewberry asked,
"Does 'Zenar-K' mean anything?"
"No," Togo replied, "Diego only chose it because it sounded cool."
"Figures," the tabby muttered, as a blue beam came up from teh hologram. The words: Zenar-K ready for duty. Please download picture, information, or type in what you wish to browse. Security systems, bank accounts, Democratic or Republican sites, Terrorists sites, or the Internet.
"Okay...." Goldie said, stretching the word out. "Odd selection there."
Togo just shrugged it off and answered, "Can I have your light-saber?"
"Why?" Drewberry asked, misinterpreting the question, "Don't you have one of your own?"
"That's not what I meant," Togo replied, with an annoyed glare, "I just want to download the pictures."
Goldie handed her master the weapon, and he inserted the handle a round opening in the computer's side, and rotated it once.
Pictures found. Downloading in progress. Please hold. Immediately music began to play.
"Well!" Drewberry exclaimed, pleased, "That's more like it. I'm glad this computer knows the Star Wars theme music."
After a while the music stopped, and the pictures were displayed on the screen. Clicking on the rainbow symbol photo, Togo typed in the words: "Where does this symbol come from and what does it mean?"
After several seconds, the computer replied,
Symbol used in the Mustafar system. It is actually three symbols meshed together. They mean: Forged. Creatures. Conquest. Words may have meanings in a code of some kinds. Is that all?
"No," Togo answered, "give me a close up on all the pages of books we have."
Certainly.
Almost immediately, all the photos of the pages appeared, just big enough for the group to read them easily.
"Okay," Togo said, leaning back in the chair, "Each of you pick a line of pics, and start looking for anything helpful."
"Roger that," Goldie replied, starting to read.
Drewberry just grumbled that reading wasn't his most favorite thing to do and that reading on computers gave him a headache, but he obliged them by taking the third line of photos.
After several minutes, Goldie frowned and said, "This looks to me like plans for some kind of electronic creature. And," her voice became excited, "They're exactly like the clear, flying things in my vision!"
"Really," Togo tore himself away from his own reading, "Where?"
Goldie pointed to the picture that showed a crudely drawn picture of a weird looking animal, robotic creature.
Drewberry shuddered. "You dreamed about that!? I don't envy your dreams at all!"
"I didn't dream it," Goldie corrected, "I visioned it!"
"Well," Drewberry grimaced, "If you in-vision things like Balto does, we're in trouble!"
Togo ignored the feline's bickering, and focused on the paw-written plans above the sketch. Finally he said, "It looks as if Orange Majesty's given these robots some kind of chemical that can ignite instantly at any time."
"Just thing of all the damage it can do!" Drewberry exclaimed, "It could burn off a tail in a matter of seconds!"
"Not to mention destroy and entire clan!" Goldie said, worriedly. "Do you see anything else in there?"
"No. None that I can see." Togo said. Then, to the computer said, "That will be all. Save these photos in a special file, one that only I can get into."
As you wish. Zenar-K switched off.
"All right, Goldie," Togo said, turning to her, "Can you remember anything else about your vision? Anything at all?"
The young cat thought hard for a minute, and then, "As a matter of fact, yes. I remember...you were leaning against something...I don't remember what. Peter and Silverfur were chasing another one of those creatures...but this one had color...and was WAY bigger that all the others....and...that's all I can remember."
Togo nodded, pondering all the new information. He knew Peter, he was a (what is Peter again?) and was somewhat new to the Nednil. "Is that all you remember?"
"All I can remember now." Goldie replied. "Maybe if I meditate some more I'll get some new information."
"Alright, but don't do it now." Togo ordered, "You need some rest. In fact we all need rest. So you can go back to your clan, you know the way right?"
"Sure I do."
"Wait a minute!" Drewberry exclaimed, "I didn't get to see Ginger yet!"
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait till next time." Togo said.
Drewberry sighed, but didn't want to argue with one of his leaders.
"I'll tell her you said hi." Goldie said.
Togo didn't hear her. Something was bugging him. Sooner or later the prophecy that Goldie had received would come true. He had no doubt about that.
Chapter Seven
It's Happening...
The days rolled by, life in the clans continued as normal, although, even when the period of two weeks had passed, Togo continued to feel the dread and mystery that continued to hang in the air, although it appeared that he, along with Goldie and Drewberry, were the only ones that could feel it. The Arem continued with their normal life, hunting for prey, (except for the vegetarians, who would graze), exchange news, and occasionally meet with the other clans in order to hang out and exchange gossip. (or at least what they called gossip)
On one of these occasions, the Arem and the Nednil met in the Aremclan camp, which was almost too small to hold the 95 plus the Arem's residence. Thankfully the camp had a large clearing, surrounded by woods on one side, and high cliffs on the other.
Togo stared up at the cliffs. He was always worried that, one day, some rock might fall and hurt somebody, and, as one of the leaders of the Arem, he was supposed to take note of it.
Suddenly, and annoyed cry rang through the talking group of W******. "Hey! Hey! Goldie, get off my back! Silverfur, don't you get any ideas! Goldie, why in the world do you like lying on back?"
"Because you're soooo soft!" Goldie replied, snuggling deeper into her soon-to-be-father's silver-and-black striped fur.
"Well then go on your mother's back," Drewberry retorted, "her fur's just as soft."
"Yeah, but she's not as fluffy as you are." Goldie countered.
Togo grinned as he watched Drewberry give him a look that said, "she's YOUR apprentice, get her off me!"
Yeah but she's your soon-to-be-daughter. Togo said, using the Force to send it into his friend's mind.
Drewberry narrowed his eyes, turning his asking look into a no-nonsense glare.
Togo's smiled. "Alright, Padawan, get off him."
"Oh...alright." Goldie said, reluctantly slipping off Drewberry's back, giving him an over-the-shoulder-look that said, "Just wait. I'll catch you when you're not looking."
Suddenly the young cat's head shot up, and she sniffed the air, suspiciously. All of a sudden, her eyes got big and she exclaimed, "Does anyone smell something?"
Togo sniffed the air, catching, immediately, a sharp, acid smell. Putrid, and thick, getting stronger every second. "Yeah....yeah I do. What is it?"
"I think I know." Goldie replied, her eyes wide with fear.
Togo understood her immediately. Glancing at Drewberry he knew at once that he too understood what was going on: the long awaited enemies were about to attack. Orange Majesty's plan was about to unfold.
It didn't take long for Goldie to explain the situation, but of course she had to also tell the clans about her dream. That took several minutes, and, by the time she was done, the fumes had gotten stronger, and, to make matters worse, fire had been spotted on the horizon. Everyone immediately began taking action.
"The first thing we should do is get some of our best fighters here," Ginger suggested.
"Right," Togo agreed, "but we shouldn't use ALL the fighters, some should go to Moonlight Lake with the children and those who can't fight, just to be safe. Decide now who will stay and who will go."
Silverstream, a Silver soft cat of the Arem, stepped forward. "I've had good Warrior training, and I wish to stay behind."
"So do I," Dingo, an Arem kangaroo, announced, "My boxing's gotten pretty good, if I don't say so myself."
Togo turned to his friend. "Drewberry? What about you?"
"Well," the cat replied, "Silverstream's been teaching me some moves, so I think I can last. We'll fight together."
"Good. Goldie," Togo turned to the young cat, "I want you to stay and fight as well. Consider it your first challenge."
"Yes!" Goldie exclaimed, excitedly.
"Faramir?" Togo asked, turning to the Dama Gazelle beside him, "How about you? Are you Darth Sideous now, or that character in Lord of the Rings?"
"You'll be happy to know that I"m living up to my name this time." Faramir replied.
"Good. Then you'll also stay behind and fight."
"I'll stay, too." Iris, the rainbow zebra, said, "I can fight just as well as anyone."
"But you're a psychologist!" Goldie protested.
"So?" the horse-like W****** replied, a challenging light in her eyes.
"Actually, Iris," McHenry, the Old English sheepdog, stepped in, "I want you to set up a hospital in the woods, along with Kyrie, Antoinette, and Dan. Most of us are sure to be wounded, so I don't want to take any chances."
"Oh...alright." Iris agreed, a little reluctantly.
"Ok," Togo said, "These are who I've chosen to stay: Me, Drewberry, Faramir, Ginger, Goldie, Silverfur, Lily, Silverstream, Kora, McHenry, Dingo, Anakin, Padme, Ahsoka, Freddi, Joe, Susan, Diego, and Mace. Any questions?"
"Uh...Togo," McHenry said, "I believe that, since the two of us are leaders, one of us should go and help with those who are going to wait out the battle at Moonlight Lake. Since you seem to be doing so well here, I shall be the one to go to the lake. Besides that, you're the better fighter."
"Very well, McHenry, if that's what you want." Togo replied, "Alright, everyone get to your stations. Those who are fighting, get in a circle, so that we're all positioned in different directions."
"Excuse me, Togo." Carmaleita, a red furred fox stepped forward.
"Yes?"
"I would like to stay and fight if you don't mind."
"No. I think I would prefer you to stay with the ones going to the lake and help protect them."
"Oh...okay." Carmaleita replied, reluctantly.
Everyone scurried to get to their positions, some, mostly Nednil, left with the other Arem deep into the woods, heading for the lake, while the chosen doctors, and one psychiatrist, left for the cave, taking with them medicines and the Aremclan's valuables, which would be safer in the cave.
Drewberry was just about to take his battle position, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, the tabby was surprised to see Night Streaker there.
Night Streaker was the Arem resident lunatic. It wasn't that he was COMPLETELY off his rocker, Iris's psychiatrist talent helped with that. It was just that he could sometimes forget things, or not think straight, or just rattle off about things that were totally off topic. To some people he was amusing, to others he was annoying.
"What are you doing here?" Drewberry asked.
"What do you mean?" Night Streaker replied, "I came over because it's time to eat. Where's the food?"
"How can you think of food at a time like this!?"
"Well, it's 6:00. That's the usual time for dinner."
"No, no, no, I mean we're about to fight a battle!"
"Yeah I know. When you're hungry your stomach fights hard."
"That's not what I meant!" Drewberry was getting frustrated. "We're about to fight Orange Majesty and a bunch of robotic creatures."
"Oh I can understand that. Orange Majesty is usually in a bad mood, but when he's HUNGRY, man he must be M.A.D. and that spells dangerous!"
"Would you cut it out with the food!? This serious!"
"Sorry, Drewberry, but when I'm hungry I can't think straight."
"You can't think straight even when you aren't!"
"When's that?"
Drewberry glared. "Do I have to answer?"
"No. I can understand. When your stomach's empty, talking seems like an energy drain."
Drewberry groaned and rolled his eyes. "Night Streaker, would you kindly go back to Mc.Henry? He's the one with the food."
"Really? Great! I'll be seeing you." With that the zebra bounded off in the direction that McHenry took.
Phew! Drewberry thought, Got rid of him!
Taking his place along with the others, Drewberry scanned their small army. Kora, the robotic puppy stood behind him in the center of the circle, along with Goldie and Silverfur. To his right stood Anakin, the Arem's Red Wolf, and his mate, Padme, a Gray Wolf, stood to his left. Including all the others that made exactly thirteen fighters. With a sigh he watched as the black smoke from the fire got closer. It would take a miracle to come through this unscathed.
Chapter Eight
Attack!
The circle of warriors stood still, sniffing the air as the acrid smell got stronger, coating the roofs of their mouths and seeming to draw out any clean air. The smoke from the approaching flames didn't help either.
Togo glanced behind him at the three young fighters, trying to reassure himself that they would all be fine. Goldie, he knew, could take care of herself. Her Jedi training had excelled so much, that he had quickly run out of things to teach her. It wouldn't be long until the young cat progressed to a fully trained Jedi Knight.
And Silverfur? He had been trained as a Warrior by his uncle, Slitclaw, and seemed to be learning more all the time.
And Kora? She was no ordinary pup. It had only been a few weeks when all the clans found out that she was a robot, which made her a strong, fearless fighter.
According to Goldie's dream, these creatures could pour out chemicals that would ignite instantly, and, with the fire traveling closer and closer every second, promised certain damage to the Aremclan's camp. But who could worry about that when they were about to get attacked? The thing they had to do now was concentrate on the oncoming enemy, a foreseen battle and foes, who only wanted to taste blood and pour it until the water ran crimson and the stench became overpowering.
Suddenly, the ground seemed to remove itself in random places around the clearing, and disappeared. As the hard eath crumbled and dissolved, twisted robotic creatures appeared the size of a W****** toaster oven. Shaking the remaining dirt from their odd, yet animal, like bodies, they leaped, screeching, into the air, and hovered at about thirty feet above the small circle of soldiers.
Drewberry gulped as more appeared in all directions from the line of trees several feet away, never slowing their speed. Although slow, these...whatever they were, showed signs of expert craftsmanship, and, most likely, were programmed for one thing and one thing only: KILL! KILL! KILL!
Glancing to his right, the tabby gave Padme a get-ready-nod and she passed it on to her mate, who passed it on to his padwan, until all the soldiers recieved the signal.
Drewberry crouched, glancing back and forth from the line of creatures who were homing in on them, to the ones who were circling above, each lap bringing them closer to the ground.
Now that he could see them better, Drewberry noticed thin, long figures of cats, with a single horn on their foreheads, spiraling into sharp, needle like points. Their long, curved claws gave the appearences of talons, and their wings glinted silver, reaching several feet long. (I emfesized them so that they'd be more scary sounding)
Drewberry crouched lower, his tail thrashing. Digging his claws into the earth, he imagined how he would go about his attack. This was all like a dream, or perhaps a nightmare, but a very realistic one if it was. Although he highly doubted it. Suddenly, a slight movement among the trees caughts his eye. As the figure became clear, the cat groaned.
Night Streaker was galloping pellmell, towards the huddled Arem and Nednil, eyes wide with fright and awe as he gazed up at the advancing horde. Coming to a stop, he said, breathlessly.
"Hey, Drewberry. What's up?"
This was about all Drewberry could stand. "What's up!? Don't you see we're about to fight a war here!? What are you doing!? You're supposed to be with McHenry!"
"I know, but Peggy's acting up, and I can't stand it when she's all hyped and panicky. Besides, I want to see my wife. Where is she?"
Drewberry was about to retort that she was busy and to go back to McHenry, but he stopped himself. Iris was only a few miles through the woods, and it was too late for Night Streaker to go all the way back to Blue Moon Lake without meeting some of those creatures. He would be safer there than any other place. "She's in that old cave in the woods. She also might need your help, so you'd better hurry."
"Okay! Great!" Without another word, the zebra ran down the nearby path, and disappeared through the trees.
Drewberry sighed with relief. That's got him out of the way. He was jerked from his thoughts when Togo's commanding voice rang out over the whooshing of the enemy's wings.
"Army, Get ready!"
Drewberry crouched low, as did all the others.
"Steady!.....Steady...."
Drewberry felt Silverstream tense and dig her claws into the ground beside him.
"Now! ATTACK!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Drewberry launched himself up towards an advancing creature. He winced as his claws scraped across the metal coating, but, ignoring the painful sound, he scrambled to the creature's back, and, with one deft swing of his claws, ripped some wires out from the back of the creature's neck. With a final screech, the bird-cat-robot crashed to the ground. Drewberry jumped from it before it hit the camp's floor, and whirled around to meet another attack. The battle was on!
Chapter Nine
The Odds are Evened...for the WORSE
Goldie leaped to the side as the sparking remains of another downed enemy crashed to the ground. Looking up, she smiled as Drewberry launched himsel onto another creature. She was proud to, someday, call such a brave fighter her father. But there was no time to think about future happenings. If there was anything Togo taught her, it was to stay focused on the present and not the future.
She ran across the field to where Silverfur and Kora were battling a peticularly nasty winged-cat. Jumping into the line, she joined in, sending well aimed swipes and blows towards the creature's snout.
The mattalic cat's claws, not only metal, were very sharp and very strong. Silverfur's coat was already splattered with blood and dripping onto the grass, making their footing wet and slippery. Kora, on the other hand, was showing no signs of tire. Instead she battle much more strongly, and even the blows from the creature's horn seemed to bounce off from her golden matallic fur.
With a yowl, Goldie, riding the Force, flipped over the enemy's head and landed, nimbly, onto its neck. Trying to imitate Drewberry, she slashed with her claws, ripping several, sparking wires from the creature's neck. She grimaced as her paw tingled from the contact against metal, making her entire leg shiver and her teeth ring, unpleasantly.
Ignoring the discomfort, Goldie drew her lightsaber, ignighted it, and made the hole larger, trying not to cut any vital wires. Finally, when the hole was big enough, she crawled into the creature's head and began the process of hotwireing, a trick Ginger had taught her. Finally, with a whir of mechanics, Goldie was in control.
Signalling for take off, she made the creature leap into the air and steered it towards a nearby enemy, who was lifting a squirming Freddi off the ground. Fusing a red and blue wire together, Goldie sent her transport swooping towards the other creature, smashing it to pieces of scrap in seconds. Freddi dropped to the ground and lay motionless.
Worried, Goldie watched as the as Silverstream picked up the cheeta and carry her towards the medic's cave. Horrified, Goldie realized that the signature wasn't the only one. With her sharp eyes, she saw that several of her friends were either being carryed off the battlefield, lying on the ground, or missing. Making a quick calculation, she figured about six of their army was out of the action: Joe, Anakin, Dingo, Susan, Padme, and now Freddi.
Goldie groaned. Those were some of our best fighters! Which means there were only seven left, including herself.
A howl of distress caught the young cat's attention. Shifting her gaze outside of her weapon, in other words the lenses that made up the creature's eyes, she saw one of the enemies carrying Lily towards a clump of trees.
Putting the creature in full gear, Goldie gave chase. The enemy, as soon as it realized it was being followed, made a sharp turn in midair and slashed out with a clawed paw. Goldie tried to move out of the way, but, with a sickening, mattalic BANG, smoke began to pour into the cockpit.
Time to bail out! She decided. Taking a deep breath, she launched herself out of the creature, hurtling several feet down. Landing hard on her feet, the wind knocked out of her, Goldie rolled to her side, taking deep breaths as she watched her transport collide with the ground with a CRASH. Looking up, she watched Lily and the other creature disappear among some trees. I think we're in trouble...
Chapter Ten
A Phyciatrist a Doctor? I Don't Think So
"Okay, bring him over here." Kyrie directed, as Silverstream brought in a limp Freddi from the battlefield.
Setting the cheeta down next to Anakin, the silversoft feline quickly turned and ran out calling over her shoulder, "If there are any more, I'll bring them!"
Iris turned to the patient she was tending, namely Joe, a signature (Jaguar? Leopard? I forget). "Okay, Kyrie, what am I supposed to do?"
"First we need to find out what the ailments are, and then figure out a way to treat it." Turning to her patient, the signature pug asked, "Okay, Freddi, what's wrong? Any pain? Movement difficulty?"
"Well..." the cheeta's voice came out in short gasps. "I feel very numb...and I can't move. I also...feel...very.....sleepy." With that she passed out.
"Okay..." Kyrie began to ponder the information. "I have a special mixture that could help and also some tranqulizers."
"Tranquilizers?" Iris repeated. "But she's already passed out. Why does she need that."
"Because our patients are tensed up, and that's not healthy." Kyrie replied, matter-of-factly. "Dan." she turned to the rhino behind her. "Go to the back and get out a small clear bottle you'll find on top of the black box. Bring it to me."
"Certainly." The sigature Nednil doctor turned to do the errand. After several seconds his voice came from the back room. "Wow. Kyrie, do you always keep treasure in your medicine storage?"
"Not all the time. I only moved them here because I didn't want these creatures to steal the Arem's most precious possesions."
"What are they?" the rhino asked, curious.
"The scepters of the first king and queen of our tribe." Kyrie replied, proudly. "And the sapphire and emerald that was once in their crowns."
"We have treasures of our own." Dan pointed out as he came over with the bottle.
"Really?" Iris asked. "What kind of treasures?"
Dan winked. "I don't know. Only our leader, Gingerstar, knows." (Uh...Linden. I forget. Is Goldie the leader of the Nednil at this moment, or is it still Ginger?)
"Never mind all that, we have more important matters to discuss." Kyrie said, taking out a relatively large hypodermic needle. Without turning from her patient, the pug shoved the piece of equipment towards Iris. "Here, take this and inject it into Freddi."
"Why me?" Iris protested, gingerly turning the sharp end away from her.
"Why not? You wanted to help, didn't you? So help!"
"Okay, okay." Turning her head, the multicolored zebra pricked the needle into the cheeta's leg and pushed down on the injector handle. "There," she said, drawing the equiment out. "All done."
"Good," Dan said from across the room. "Help me with this."
Iris obligingly did so. "Hey, Kyrie," she asked from across the room. "How goes it? Do you know how to treat this yet?"
"No..." Kyrie said slowly. "I don't."
"I"m sorry," Iris apologized, "I thought for a minute you said, 'I dont.'"
"I did say that."
"What!? But...but you ALWAYS know what's wrong with a patient."
"Well, I don't this time. Although I"m sure that if I could just get to Zenar K, I would be able to figure out an antidote."
"Why don't you?"
"Too dangerous. That fire's getting closer, and I don't want to risk losing anybody. I'm sure we'll manage."
Iris sighed. "I hope so." As she bandaged a cut and bleeding leg, one thought went through her mind. If we don't find out anything soon, I"m going to have to treat myself to the couch.
Chapter Eleven
A Sith Appearance
Togo bit down hard on one of the creature's legs, trying not to gimace as his teeth shivered in protest. His canines severed a wire and the leg was rendered useless. The creature skreetched, and Togo took the chance of leaping over the enemy's head and landing on its neck. Pulling out his lightsaber, he took the liberty of releiving the creature of its head. The remains fell in a smouldering heap of wires and metal and the rest of the body tumbled to the ground.
Jumping off before he was crushed, Togo, after catching his breath, frowned and glanced down at his lightsaber and then to the bitten leg. Running his tongue over his ringing teeth he chided himself. Why didn't I use this sooner? Shrugging, he headed off in a run to where Faramir was clashing his horns against another creature's.
Jumping back-to-back with the gazelle, Togo began to fend off another enemy. "How's things going around here?"
"Fine." Faramir replied shortly, blocking another blow. Gathering himself up, he added, "Excuse me a moment." Lowering his head he launched himself towards his opponent. There was a clanging BANG, and, risking a look behind him, saw that Faramir had, sucessfully, wedged the creature's head between his two horns.
Not giving the mettalic fighter a chance to recover, the gazelle twisted his neck in an odd angle and wreched the enemy's head clean off its shining shoulders. Shaking the disembodied head off, Faramir turned and helped Togo despatch the other creature.
"You know," he said, "I've just come up with a name for these things."
"What?"
"'Sparking Biters.' They're mostly made out of wires, which spark, and they bite with horn and teeth."
"Sounds good." Togo, inwardly, didn't agree, thinking he could have come up with a better name, but he didn't want to waste time in arguing about it. Catching a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye, he turned and saw Goldie running towards them. Waving her over, he asked. "Goldie, how many fighters to we have left?"
Goldie glanced at the sky, mentally counting. "Nine."
"Signal all of them to gather in the middle of the field and fight there together. We can't afford anymore to be scattered."
"Yes, master." she hurried away.
"Goldie, wait!" Togo called her back.
She turned around. "What?"
"Where's Lily? I don't see her anywhere."
"Uhh....Lily?...She....uhh...went 'flying.'"
"She what!?" Togo exploded, understanding immediately. "Where'd she go? What direction were they heading? Did you see Orange Majesty around? Which--"
"Whoa! Whoa!" Faramir exclaimed. "Togo, calm down!"
"Calm down!?" Togo snapped, turning on his friend angrily. "Would you calm down if your fiance had been carried away and you don't know where?"
Faramir's reply was cut off by the sudden appearance of Diego, Drewberry, Silverstream, Silverfur, Kora, and Susan, followed by Goldie.
"My daughter-to-be said that you wanted to see us?"
"Yes." Togo replied. "But now that we're all together, I have to talk fast, because those Sparking Biters are closing in. Now, things are getting worse around here and--" he broke off when he noticed a new figure in the crowd. "Carmalita!? I thought I told you to go to Full Moon Lake with the others."
"You did." the fox replied. "but everything was going fine there, so McHenry sent me back to help you."
"Well...okay. Not that I'm going to say we don't need anymore help. Frankly, it's a good thing you're here. Lily was captured by one of those creatures and carried away."
Silverstream gasped. "That's horrible!"
"What are we going to do?" Drewberry asked.
"As much as I hate to say it, we can't do anything about it. We don't know where it took her, so we can't tell where to go. Besides, out duty is to drive these Sparking Biters away. We'll look for her after that."
"I'M AFRAID THAT'S GOING TO BE HARDER THAN YOU THINK." A voice boomed, coming out of nowhere.
The group whirled around trying to find the scorce. The Sparking Biters all landed in a circle around them, staring into space as if they'd been disconnected or something.
"I know that voice..." Drewberry muttered. Raising his voice he called out, "Where are you, Orange Majesty!?"
"NOWHERE AROUND THERE. I SET UP HIDDEN SPEAKERS AND RECIEVERS ALL AROUND SO THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME AND I CAN HEAR YOU." An evil chuckle vibrated around. "SOON I WILL BRING BACK THE LONG FEARED NAME OF TIGERSTAR, AND WIPE OUT THE CLANS. NOBODY AND NOTHING CAN STAND UP TO ME AND THE DARK SIDE. SURRENDER AND YOU, AND YOUR PRECIOUS WHITE FOX, WILL LIVE."
"What'd you do to her!?" Togo demanded, growling.
"MERELY HID HER SOMEWHERE SAFE. BUT, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW, SHE'S RIGHT UNDER YOUR FEET. UNDER THE AREMTRIBE CAMP, ACTUALLY. BUT SHE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE I'LL HARM IF YOU DON'T AGREE. BUT," he chuckled, "I'M BEING IMPOLITE. LET ME COME DOWN THERE AND TALK TO YOU PERSONALLY. I HAVE MANY SURPRISES FOR YOU ALL..."
Chapter Twelve
A Fiercer Fight
"Great! This is just great!" Drewberry was muttering. Well, not exactly muttering, since everyone could hear him.
"Frankly, I don't see anything 'great' about this predicament." Faramir retorted, stamping the ground impatiently with a hoof. The movement caused the Sparking Biters to hiss and growl. The metallic creatures had surrounded the small band of remaining warriors, making a wide circle around them, as if also waiting for the promised arrival of their master.
"Oh you don't, do you?" Drewberry asked, sarcasm clear in his voice. "Then let me list them for you: first of all, we're outnumbered by these--what'd you call them?--Sparking Biters? Second of all, Lily's been kidnapped and hidden in some underground tunnels even I don't know about, maybe even right under our feet; we're about to meet--well, not exactly 'meet,' since we've met him before--Orange Majesty and his annoying, slinky voiced sidekick Glizzard and we're surrounded by Sparking Biters with no hope of escape. So, you see, things couldn't be better!"
"Yeah..." Faramir replied, stretching out the word. "I see your point. Just not the one I was expecting."
"Would you two stop bickering?" Goldie snapped, obviously tensed up. "You're catching the Sparking Biters' attention."
"Really?" Silverfur glanced around. "What were they looking at before?"
Goldie narrowed her eyes. "That's not what I meant."
"Alright, you two, that's enough." Togo retorted. Although he didn't really blame the two of them. They were in a tense situation, and the two siblings were probably trying to loosen some nerves out on each other. Looking around, he scanned the field for any sign of Orange Majesty. "I wonder where that tiger is?"
Drewberry shrugged. "One thing's for sure, punctuallity isn't one of his strong suits."
"I heard that."
The group whirled around. There, striding confidently through a gap among the Sparking Biters, was Orange Majesty himself. His tawny orange coat and lighter orange designs gleamed in the brilliant sun, and the black clothes he wore made him look menacing.
Beside him, dressed in the same kind of black clothes, but not looking quite as menacing, was Glizzard. His leopard spotted scales, draconic slitted eyes and short, crawling legs made him look more like a multicolored catterpillar than the apprentice of a Sith.
Togo was surprised to see, what looked like to him, a new Sith, walking at Orange Majesty's other side. She was a tiger, which wasn't surprising, with a snow-white pelt striped with black, dressed in the same kind of dark clothing, although more dressy. She would have been more attractive, if not for the muderous gleam in her eyes.
Orange Majesty stopped several feet away from the group, a confident smirk on his face. "Good to see you again, friends." he chuckled. "You too, Goldie."
Goldie growled. The tiger and padawan had been nemises ever since Orange Majesty joined the Nednil.
Togo gave Goldie a warning nudge and said, "Friends, eh? If we're friends, then you won't hurt us or Lily, right?"
"Nice try," Glizzard sneered, "But, frankly, that was more of an offer."
"An offer?"
"Yes." the white tiger stepped in. "Meaning we could be friends, if you would all cooporate with Master Majesty."
"M.M. for short, I'll bet." Drewberry muttered, making Goldie cough in order to hide her laughter.
Orange Majesty made a tsk, tsk, tsk with his tongue. "Again I am being impolite. Let me introduce my new apprentice." he nodded towards the white tiger. "This is Sasha. She is promising to become a powerful Sith, and I wanted her to join me in this final conquest."
"You haven't conquered us yet." Silverfur reminded.
Orange Majesty glanced around at the surrounding Sparking Biters. "Oh really?" his voice carried that syrupy sarcasm that always got under your skin and made you want to plug your ears against it. "Do you want us to try harder?"
Dingo glanced around, his pointed ears back, looking nervous. "Uhh...I think we'll pass."
Orange Majesty chuckled. "You Arems amuse me, as do some of my fellow Nednils. Some of them, anyway." he glared at Goldie, pointedly.
Goldie, growling under her breath, took several steps forward and shoved her face into the tiger's. "You want funny, eh? I'll show you funny!" Before, Togo could stop her, the young cat had drawn her lightsaber and twirled it, expertly, around in her paw, the orange beam humming as it sliced through the air. Widening her legs into a prepared stance, she shouted, "En guard!"
Orange Majest didn't even flinch as the blade swished so close that, if it had been moved a fraction of an inch, it would have sliced off his whiskers. He just stared at Goldie, amused. "I have no intention of fighting you, Padawan." He raised his head and fixed his eyes upon Togo. "I only clash lightsabers with the best of fighters." He unhooked his own lightsaber and scrutinized it critically. "What do you say, Togo? Winner take all?"
Togo, nudging a reluctant Goldie out of the way, ignighted his own weapon, the blue blade humming. Moving into a prepared stance, he gestured for the others to move back and give him room.
The terrier waited as Orange Majesty continued to examine his lightsaber. Suddenly, as quick as a flash, the tiger activated the red blade and, leaping high in the air, brought it crashing down upon Togo. The dog raised his own weapon and blocked it. The Sith and Jedi glared at each other from across the crossed blades. Togo gave a mighty heave, throwing Orange Majesty staggering backwards. The tiger recovered and began to circle around Togo, growling and hissing.
Togo took a deep breath and raised his lightsaber in a ready position. Orange Majesty was a lot stronger and faster than he had expected. Of course the dark side helped with that. The tiger had some weakness...he just had to figure out what it was. Fast.
Chapter Thirteen
Persuasion or Insult?
Orange Majesty snarled and launched forward once again, swinging his lightsaber towards Togo's legs. Togo wasn't caught of guard. He leaped smoothly over the humming blade, and brought his own down towards the tiger's head. But, even as his lightsaber swept under the terrier's legs, Orange Majesty brought it up, so fast that the bar of energy became a blur, and blocked the deadly stroke. Togo landed gracefully on his feet, and, with a sigh of frustration, lashed forward again. This time he tried to relax. To feel the Force flowing through him. Allowing it to control his actions.
Immediately, everything became easier. His strokes became more even and he blocked every move Orange Majesty made. When their lightsabers locked together again, Togo shoved the tiger back so hard that he fell back against Sasha.
Togo stepped back, waiting for his opponent to rise and continue the fight.
He watched as Sasha helped her Master up. Orange Majesty glared at Togo, his gray eyes now that burning yellow of one controlled by the dark side. Snarling, he said, "You haven't beaten me, Togo! And you never will! I am a direct descendant of Tigerstar himself! And he could never be beaten!"
Togo scoffed. "I heard that he was killed with one stroke by a cat that was less than half his size. Let's see, what was his name?" he pretended to look up at the sky, as if racking his brain for the answer. Finally, he looked back at Orange Majesty, a cheeky smile on his face. "Oh yeah. Scourge."
To his satisfaction, Orange Majesty growled and ran his claws along the ground. His directive was to get the Sith angry. That way, clouded by his own anger, the tiger would be easy to defeat. Of course, this also served a risk. For the more anger he had, the more dangerous a fighter he would become. Still, it was worth a try. But how else am I going to him mad?
Orange Majesty growled again, drawing his lips back in a sneer. "Scourge is just a myth! He never existed! Tigerstar lives on through me! I am his legacy! I was destined to conquer the Arem! And I won't stop there!"
The tiger's wild eyes gleamed and he dug all his claws into the earth and started ripping up tufts of grass as if it was a freshly killed prey. His voice rose to a triumphant roar, and his gaze became distant, as if he was looking into the future or something. "I shall destroy all the Tribes and Clans! Wipe out the Jedi once more and replace them with the Sith! No longer shall there just be a Master and an apprentice! No, the Sith shall rule the Clans and I shall rule them all! Glizzard and Sasha are the first, and they shall help me train and bring about more Sith! Nothing shall stop us! Nothing! NOTHING!"
Togo shivered. He couldn't help himself. Orange Majesty sounded so sure. A sense if anxiousness came over him. Was the tiger right? Was this really what was going to happen to the Clans? No! He shook his head.That will never happen! I won't let it happen! Of course, he knew he had no authority over time and what would happen or what wouldn't happened, but, just maybe, if conquering the Clans really was Orange Majesty's destiny...maybe it was his own to stop it. That thought alone gave him courage.
Snapping out of his wonderings, he began to think of ways to get the tiger angry. The possible ways was either mocking him, mocking his plan, or just taunting his pride. Those were all promising possibilities, but which one should he choose? His eyes fell upon Sasha. Wasn't there a story of long ago in the cat kingdom about a feline named Sasha? What was it?......Of course!
Putting on a sly smile, Togo made his voice take on a sing-song-chant. "Aw, isn't that cute." he gestured to both Orange Majesty and the apprentice. "Tigerstar and Sasha getting back together!"
"Oh shut up!" Sasha snapped, drawing her own lightsaber angrily and igniting it.
Togo held back a smile as he saw the light of rage enter Orange Majesty's already flaming eyes. Unfortunately that wasn't enough. The tiger still looked as if he was going to start ranting and raving again about his conquests and that wasn't what was important at the moment. What else could he try? Unable to think about anything as good as the crack about the fabled love affair between Tigerstar and Sasha, Togo did the next best thing.
Twirling his lightsaber, Togo glanced at it nonchalantly. As he spoke, he gradually turned his tone of voice from boredom to impatience. "I for one am getting tired of this little standoff here, Orange Majesty. You said you wanted to fight me, and yet you're just standing there, keeping me waiting. What are you doing? Trying to gather up some more feigned courage to counter me with? Or are you consulting with your apprentices for advice on fighting moves? Oh, I know, you're daydreaming about the conquests that will never happen and how you'll spend the rest of your life in the Nednil prison!"
Orange Majesty growled again, but it wasn't enough. On a role, Togo continued, trying to put as much spite into his voice as he could muster. "Call yourself a Sith? Ha! If your a Sith then Drewberry's a Jedi! Glizzard could beat me with one arm behind his back (and mind you we're talking about Glizzard), yet you can't even relieve me of my lightsaber!"
Orange Majesty seemed to waver, and Togo decided it was time to put the finishing touches on his rant. "So why don't you just bring yourself and that fancy dress you call a Sith's robe and get OVER here, dancing girl!"
That did it. Orange Majesty roared, so loud that it made even the Sparking Biters cringe, and launched forward, his lightsaber igniting even while he was still in midair.
Togo ignited his own and soon found himself fighting and enraged beast and not a Sith. I think I might have overdone it. Still, taking the risk of a momentary distraction, he tapped more strongly into the Force. This was all he needed. He was soon blocking every stroke in fluid motions and adding in some of his own with such ferocity. It was as if he was his own beast, but calm and collected, not wild and bristling with anger like Orange Majesty.
Again and again they traded strokes and blows, each one neither hitting, or even grazing, the other. Neither tiring, nor losing ground.
Finally, Orange Majesty stepped back, eyes blazing in frustration and anger. "Enough!" he roared. Whirling around, he addressed his army. "Attack! NOW!"
The Sparking Biters howled and launched forward once again, bearing teeth and horns and claws with deadly accuracy.
Togo had to wrench his gaze from the attacking hoard in order to block a lash from Glizzard. The Sith apprentice wasn't large, but he was fast, ducking this way and that, swinging his red blade in large strokes.
Togo was slightly aware of Mace fighting against Sasha, but he couldn't afford himself to get distracted.
Suddenly, Faramir, appearing out of nowhere, crashed horn-first into Glizzard, sending him flying several feet before he landed unmoving.
"Thanks," Togo breathed.
Faramir just nodded, and charged over to where Drewberry and Silverstream were having trouble with two particularly ornery Sparking Biters.
"Togo! Over here!"
Togo turned and saw that Mace had, miraculously, pinned the Sith Sasha.
What luck! Togo thought, running towards them. The battle might have just turned in their favor.
Chapter Fourteen
Who's Winning Now?
Togo ran to where Mace continued to hold the struggling Sasha down, having to dodge and cut down several Sparking Biters in order to reach his friend. When he did, he saw, with satisfation, that the white tiger had settled down some.
"Good work, Mace!"
"Thanks," the weimeraner grunted as Shasha made another attempt. "It wasn't easy."
"I'll bet. Now for the obvious question, what are we going to do with her? We can't keep her alive. But, then again, we can't just kill her either."
"I'll leave that decision up to you."
"Thanks," Togo said, sarcastically.
"Boys," Sasha spoke up, "try using your feelings for once. Who do you think I am?"
"You're a Sith apprentice, of course." Togo retorted.
"Nope. Guess again."
"What?" Togo, bewildered, looked closer at the tiger's face. To his surprise, he saw that, instead of the burning hatred he had sensed from her before, he actually felt...what was it...friendliness? No, it couldn't be. From a Sith!?
Sasha, as if sensing his confusion, smiled. Not a decieving smile, but a true amused smile, not twisted by an evil sense of humor. "Had you going, didn't I?"
"That depends what you're talking about."
"Let me up and I'll tell you."
Togo looked up at Mace, questioningly. "What do you think?"
"I don't know. Should we?"
"I asked you."
"It could be risky."
"Oh come on!" Sasha said, annoyed. "You took my lightsaber. And, besides, if I was a Sith, how come you can't sense any of the Dark Side clouding around me? Or clouding your minds? Or hatred, or anger, or fear. You can't sense any of that, can you?"
"Well...no." Togo admitted. "But still, I need to be careful. You could be tricking us. If you're so good at fooling us all that you're the apprentice of a Sith, one of the most dangerous of them all, then you could very well be tricking us to think that you're a..." the realization crashed down upon Togo with such force that he almost fell over. "You're a...Jedi!?"
"Glad you finally figured it out. Now let me up!"
Mace stepped aside, looking just as stunned as Togo was.
"Explain yourself," the Jedi Master ordered. "If you're a Jedi, then why are you training to be a Sith?"
Oblivious to the fighting around them, Sasha began her story. "I never knew my parents, you see. Neither did anyone else, come to think of it. I was taken in by a family who found out that I was extremely strong in the Force and brought me to Courscant to be trained. On the way there, however, their speeder crashed. I was the only one who survived. Thankfully, I was found and taken to the Jedi Temple, where I became the Padawan of Jedi Master (come up with a name). In the Jedi Temple I learned many things, not just the Jedi arts. In fact, it wasn't long before I could do almost anything: fight, spy and I could use the Force with more cunning and strength than anyone had seen before. When I learned of my potential, about three years into my training, I decided that I wanted to do more for the Jedi. I wanted to destroy the Sith, no matter what it took. So I ran away from the Jedi Temple and soon located a Sith called Darth(make up another name) who took me on as his apprentice. Although I never intended to fully turn to the dark side."
"That's impossible," Mace interrupted. "How could you keep up that ploy? Would the Sith sense that you were decieving them?"
Sasha sounded exceptionally pleased with herself as she answered, "But, Master Weimeraner, you forget that I am exceptionally strong in the Force. I blinded their vision of me, making myself appear as evil as they were. One day, however, Darth (?) was killed during a mission, leaving me in need with a new instructer. Surprise, surprise, Orange Majesty steps up to take over my training. That was a year ago." She smirked. "Satisfied now? Or do you need a witness? Because, if you do, that'll be kind of hard, seeing as all of them are Sith."
Togo glanced up at Mace. "What do you think?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, I believe her. What about you?"
Togo hesitated, stretching out his senses towards the tiger. He couldn't sense any lies around her but, as she had said before, she could be clouding their vision. She certainly convinced us that she was a Sith. But, still, she could be telling the truth. And, if she was, she could be a powerful ally to them against Orange Majesty.
Finally, he nodded. "Okay. You've got me convinced. Go back and join the battle. But, I warn you, if you so much as harm any of the Arem or Nednil, I'm going to see to it that you undo that harm. Do you understand?"
Sasha nodded as Mace let her stand, but she also looked puzzled. "How will I do that? Orange Majesty's sharp, he'll be sure to notice that I'm not doing as good a job as I usually do."
Togo stared at her evenly. "Like you said before, you're a good actor. Just don't cross me in battle, or you might be forced to do more than act in order to keep up your cover. Now get out of here."
Sasha, without a backwards glance, turned and dashed back again into battle. She was soon out of sight among the Sparking Biters.
Togo threw a nod to Mace and waited for the Master to return it before he too joined the battle.
The fighting had become more fierce and the Sparking Biters seemed to have multiplied. The Arem and Nednil were scattered here and there, fighting as best they could. Togo smiled proudly as he saw Goldie, with one deft swing of her lightsaber, cut off two of one of their enemy's four legs. The Biter tumbled to the ground and Goldie finished it off by whacking off its head.
Togo didn't have time to marvel at his apprentice's fantastic skill, for, just then, he found himself battling two enemies himself.
One of the Biters struck out at him with its claws but immediately drew it back with a mechanical hiss as Togo sliced them off.
A sudden laser bolt streaked from behind the Jedi and smashed into the creature's eye. With its wires sparking, the Biter crumbled to the ground and Togo, using the sudden distraction, took care of the second one.
Turning, he caught sight of Drewberry, swinging his blaster around in time to down another Sparking Biter.
"Go for the eyes!" Drewberry called to him. "That's their most vulnerable point."
"Got it!" Togo continued to hack and chop his way towards the center of the intensifying battle.
Taking his friend's advice, he, riding the Force, launched up so that he landed right in front of a Sparking Biter's face. Grabbing a handhold, he plunged his glowing blade deep into the creature's eye and then leaped off. Just in time for, apparently, his lightsaber must have cut through something important and the whole head exploded. Without its main part, the creature just stood stock still, frozen, never to move or fight again.
Togo landed neatly on all paws and widened his legs into a prepared stance, holding his lightsaber aloft.Who says dogs can't land on their feet? He thought triumphantly as he twirled to counter the attack of another Sparking Biter.
As soon as he downed that one, however, it was immediately replaced by another one, then another and another, until Togo found himself being driven slowly backwards. Before he knew it, he was among his friends, who had been herded, once again, in the center of the field with him.
He found himself standing next to Drewberry, who was alternating the aim of his blaster at one approaching Sparking Biter to the next.
Togo glanced at his friends and was appalled at how few they were. The only members of their army that were still standing were Drewberry, Silverstream, Silverfur, Goldie, Cora, Faramir, Carmalita and, of course, himself.
Drewberry met his gaze evenly and lowered his blaster as the Sparking Biters hemmed them in, his face a mask of determination. He smirked and said, in that Han Solo tone of his, "I think we're in trouble."
Togo firmed himself as the Sparking Biters halted, abruptly, as one, as if someone had just pressed their 'off' switches at the same time. The Jedi slowly lowered his lightsaber, knowing what was about to come next.
Sure enough, the Sparking Biters parted and Orange Majesty and his two apprentices came towards the group. Sasha stood at the tiger's left and Glizzard as his right.
Orange Majesty halted about ten feet away from them with that same, confident smile of his face.
Togo opened his mouth, but it was Drewberry who spoke first.
"So, M.M.," the tabby retorted, "are you going to kill us now, or are you just going continue this little exercise?"
"Shh!" Goldie hissed from her position next to her brother. "Don't encourage him!"
Orange Majesty chuckled. "You won't be so amusing, Pie, once you see what else I have in store for you." He raised his brow, expectantly. "You are curious, aren't you?"
Drewberry's voice was more than sarcastic. "I'm on pins and needles."
The tiger gestured, dramatically, to something behind them. "Then look."
As one, the Arem and Nednil members turned. As if responding to a silent signal, the Sparking Biters stepped to the side so that they could see what it was they had been hiding.
Togo gasped. There, lying prone and motionless at the foot of a high cliff, was Ginger! Her once lovely red fur was matted and she didn't move or twitch once.
"Mom!" Goldie cried, and dashed towards her mother.
Togo immediately sensed danger and, churning his short legs as fast as he could, he leaped in front of his apprentice, making her crash into him.
Goldie staggered backward and stared at him, both incredulous and angry. "What's the big idea? I've got to get to her!"
"Goldie," Togo said, gently but firmly, "rushing blindly into things is not very wise. Look closer at your mother and tell me what you see."
Goldie glared at him, but obeyed. Togo looked, too, but he was more focused on the space around Ginger.
Even though he could sense it there, Togo still felt a deep sense of anxiety as a forcefield, as visible as a single strand of a spider's web, flashed slightly and then faded, small sparks of electricity running along it, creating a bubble around Ginger.
Goldie's eyes widened and she took a step back. "And electrified shield!"
Togo nodded grimly. "Yep. And you were just about to run into it."
Goldie gulped and, barely above a whisper, asked, "How are we going to get her out of that?"
Togo turned and gestured for the young cat to follow him. "By using our brains. After that I'm not sure. What I do know is that we have to find a way to shut down that forcefield. We'll have a good chance after that."
Goldie nodded, looking more determined than ever.
Togo could feel the anger in her rise but it diminished as she pushes it aside. He inwardly smiled proudly.She's practically a full fledged Jedi Knight, now. A more pressing matter was starting to press into Togo's mind.We have to cause a diversion. Something that will distract Orange Majesy long enough for me to figure out how that shield is getting its power. Then I can destroy its scource and we can get Ginger out of there.
As Togo passed by one of the Sparking Biters, a plan began to form in his mind. It's risky, but it'll have to do.
He slowed as he began to pass it.
The creature hissed and spat, kneading its claws into the soft turf, as if aching to take a swipe at the terrier.
Togo, stopped and gave the creature a hard glare.
The Sparking Biter snapped its fangs just inches from the Jedi's face.
That was all Togo needed.
With a move as fast a lightening, he snatched his lightsaber from his belt and, with a snap-hiss the weapon ignited. With a quick and strong twirl of his wrist, Togo cleaved the creature's head off cleanly.
The wires buzzed and sparked as the metal head rolled away, its mouth open and its eyebeams off.
There was a moment of stunned silence.
Suddenly, one of the Sparking Biters screamed in rage and pounced towards Togo.
Before the creature could meet its target, Goldie, in a fantastically fast move, ignited her own lightsaber. Soon the Sparking Biter was just a pile of scrap metal and wires.
That was enough to draw the creatures into an enraged frenzy. Before Togo knew it, the entire battle had restarted right where it left off.
Okay, Togo thought as he fought back to back with Goldie, now for the hard part: Find out how that shield is getting its power and destroy it.
Risking a moments distraction, Togo reached out with the Force, probing for anything that felt like a generator, or control tower, or something. Before he could stretch his senses far enough, he had to quickly snap from his concentration as he was attacked by another Sparking Biter. With one swipe of his lightsaber he brought it down, but it was quickly replaced with another.
The putrid, but faint, smell of smoke came to the terrier's nostrils and Togo knew without looking that the forest fire was approaching them fast. If the Sparking Biters don't kill us, the fire will.
Goldie dodged and lunged, ducking nimbly between her enemy's legs and, as she passed by, chopped them off with one clean blow. The Sparking Biter, with a mechanical screech, toppled to its side and Goldie finished it off by driving her laser into its 'stomach' That's the tenth time I've used that trick, she thought with a triumphant purr as she headed towards where Kora was fighting. You'd think they'd have caught on by now.
Kora was holding her own against two of the enemy's forces, but, Goldie could tell, that even her mechanical limbs were starting to tire. She must be running out of power.
Jumping up beside her friend, the nimble apprentice, with the cyborg puppy's help, drove the Sparking Biter backwards. Goldie smiled to herself as she saw something behind the enemy that its mechanical eyes couldn't: another Sparking Biter battling Ahsoka and Silverfur not twenty paces away.
Turning her head, Goldie gave Kora a nod, and she instantly returned it. Fighting harder, the two of them drove the creature backwards, gradually shortening the distance between the two Sparking Biters. The creature hissed, spat and swiped at them, seemingly furious that it was being forced to give ground to two smaller opponents.
Goldie, diverting her gaze from the Sparking Biter for an instant, sent a signal to Ahsoka via the Force.
Ahsoka, having caught the message, jerked her head up, made eye contact with Goldie and gave her the briefest of nods.
The two padawans, with the help of Silverfur and Kora, skillfully herded the two Sparking Biters backwards, neither of the creatures knowing that the other was near.
Goldie smiled and triumph as, with startled and angry screeches, the two Sparking Biters collided. The Nednil and Arem members immediately ran out of the way as the first creature tripped over one of its comrade's metal paws and toppled over. The second one, having leaned too far back, collapsed over the other Sparking Biter's back, and the two creatures, their gears whining in protest, began to struggle to rise.
Goldie and Ahsoka, however, didn't give them a chance and dispatched the two of them with their lightsabers.
As the two padawans stepped back from their sparking and smoldering work, they nodded in acknowledgment to one another.
"Good work," Ahsoka praised, "you and I should train together sometime."
Goldie grinned. "Thanks. You didn't do so bad yourself." Determination crossed her face as Silverfur and Kora joined them. Sheathing her lightsaber, she clipped it back onto her belt and strode in the direction of the cliff, muttering in resolve to herself. "Let's go free my mother..."
Chapter Fifteen (second paragraph by Linden)
Sparking, Slashing, and Electric Zapping
Even this far away, Goldie could catch the flashing silhouette of the electric forecfield that surrounded her mother's unconcious form. But she hardly noticed it as her and her friends hacked their way through the troop of Sparking Biters towards the cliff. Goldie's gaze remained fixed on Ginger, straining to see or feel and sign of life. Please don't let her be dead! Please don't let her be dead! She said over and over to herself.
When the group finally reached their destination, Goldie sighed in relief as, reaching out with the Force, she caught the faint traces of a heartbeat. Ginger was still alive! But how were they going to get her out of there?
Experimentally, Goldie struck the blade of her lightsaber against the forcefield, but it just bounced back. Apparently nothing could pass through the electric bubble, even Kora and her nearly indestructable parts. Suddenly, out of nowere, a sparking biter rushed at Goldie, making her body colide with the forcefeild, sending electrical signals throuout her body, and then she colapsed.
Togo saw this, and rished twards Goldie, and was joyed to se that she was actualy awake. She slowly say up, the tips of her chared fur falling to the ground. "are you okay?" togo asked goldie, hoping there was nothing rong. "yeah... --BEEZZZZERRRT- but i-- BEEZZZZERRRT- dont feel so-- BEEZZZZERRT- so well. --BEEZZZZERRRT-" Electricity was still running through her body from the shock. Togo carfuly lead her tward the medicine den, and Goldie fainted. Looking at her with worry, he thought of how bravly she had fought, and that is would be a great loss to lose her, not even for the sake of battel, but she had grown on the hearts of so many. He sighed, and rejoined the battle. Glizzard heald up a remote and evrything stopped. "With this remote, i will drop that boulder up there" pointing with his tail, "onto your beloved Ginger! Surrender, and her life wil be spared, but disagree, and i press the button!"
Togo and the rest all paused in anguished indecision. So did the Sparking Biters, for what felt like the tenth time that day, only they weren't concerned at all. Togo felt like strangling whoever it was that controlled them but, right now, he was torn in two. He would rather die than admit defeat to Orange Majesty. Yet, if he didn't submit to his demands, then he wouldn't be the one to die.
His lightsaber still humming in his paw, Togo looked over to where Goldie still lay, her beautiful golden fur blackened and sparking with electricity. He didn't want to think of how much damage a shock of that size could have caused to her insides, and he couldn't help but wonder how far her vision had stretched through this day. Had she foreseen this? If he had paid more attention to her vision's warnings, would he had been able to prevent this whole disaster.
The Arem leader growled and looked down at the grass, his mind in turmoil. Ginger and practically all of us are hurt or wounded in some way, Lily's gone and Goldie may be dying. Do we dare keep this up?
What's the point anyway? he added to himself as he gazed coolly around at the surrounding Sparking Biters-a vast, almost endless force.Fighting until we fall one by one may be noble, but rather foolhardy against these odds.
"Well?" Glizzard sneered, his claw poised right over the button, with a look that was practically daring Togo to make him push it. He seemed almost gleeful. "I'm waiting…"
Togo sighed and closed his eyes. He could feel everyone's gaze fixed upon him, waiting for his answer-the answer that would determine the outcome of the war. His shoulders felt heavy with this sudden burden, so much that he felt like sinking down the ground beneath the pressure. He wished more than ever that McHenry was here to make this choice instead of him. Why do I have decide everything? Why do I have to decide this!? I'm just an inexperienced pup! Who am I to determine what happens to both Arem and NednilClan!?
The terrier struggled to keep his sudden terror hidden deep inside, but it wasn't easy. His heart pounded, and all he could find himself thinking about was how Goldie was doing. He felt sick. Her bravery can't be remembered being squandered in vain! And what about Ginger? If we don't get taken care of, the Nednil will lose one of their best leaders ever!
And then, of course, there was Lily.
Oh, Lily…Togo pictured her shimmering white coat-just like freshly fallen snow he had always said-her kind, shining gray eyes and sweet smile. She certainly wouldn't want to see her Clan destroyed, would she? Surely surrendering was better than being wiped out. Right?
"Okay," Glizzard suddenly said, abruptly snapping Togo out of his reverie, shrugging in mock disappointment. "If that's the way you want it."
"No! Wait!" Togo shouted, just before the leopard-spotted lizard could press the button.
"Yes?" Glizzard gazed at the dog expectantly, his forked, blue tongue (a stark contrast to his dreary complexion) flicked in and out of his mouth, almost hungrily.
"I…I…" Togo glanced at the others, silently begging them for help. I don't want to say it! I don't want to surrender! But I also don't want Ginger to die…or Goldie…or Lily…or any of us!
To Togo's infinite relief, Drewberry stepped toward him, but his face showed something that Togo had only seen on the cat's countenance on rare occasions: sternness. And grave seriousness.
"Togo," he said, his tone of voice hard as he came face to face with the terrier. They were both about the exact same height as one another, so direct eye-contact was easy. "You're not seriously going to wave the white flag on this whole thing, are you?"
"I don't know what else to do!" Togo burst out, allowing some of his anxiety to show. He didn't care if Orange Majesty and his Clanmates saw his state. He was tired to trying to appear in control of everything.
"Do?" Drewberry repeated, looking incredulous at his leader's answer. "Do? I'll tell you what we're going to do! We're going to stand, you hear me? We're going to stand and we're going to fight! And not stop until this Darth Alexander the Great wannabe is driven all the way to Timbuktu!"
Togo was confused. Surely Drewberry would be all for rescuing his fiance at all costs. "But what about-"
Drewberry raised an abrupt paw, halting his friend in mid-sentence. "I understand what's at stake here, Togo. But you don't know Ginger like I do." Drewberry glanced briefly at where the she-cat lay, still caged in her threatening, hovering prison and a brief wave of emotion darkened his eyes. But they flared up, blue with passion, once again, so quickly that Togo wondered if he had just imagined that brief dimness. "It's not that I don't love her, okay? I love her just as much as you love Lily. But…Ginger made me promise to help preserve the NednilClan, okay? 'Drewberry,' she said, 'when we get married and have kits of our own, I want you to promise me something. Promise that, for as long as you live, you'll aid my Clan as much as you can without compromising your own Clan loyalties.' Well, Togo, I promised her that, I don't mind saying so. And I know that she'd insist upon putting the good of her people before herself if she was…well…coherent." The tabby tried to smile, but Togo could detect the intense pain behind that effort it. Drewberry was in as much anguish as he was, the dog noticed.
"But Ginger is an important part of NednilClan!" Togo protest, not understanding his friend. "To lose her would mean that the Clan would be bereft of a strong leader!"
"They're going to lose her anyway if Orange Majesty takes control," Drewberry reminded him gently.
Togo closed his mouth. He didn't know what to say to that.
"Excuse me…"
Both Togo and Drewberry turned and were surprised to see Silverfur rise up from where he had been crouching beside his sister. He looked as grave as a storm-cloud, but his green eyes shone with strong, firm conviction.
"I may just be a new warrior," he said with a slight smile, "and not all that wise in the ways of the NednilClan yet, but, as a representative of the Nednil, I say that we'll never surrender." He suddenly turned and raised his voice, addressing everyone within a hundred years of him. "You hear me!? NEVER!"
"That's right!" Carmalita joined in, appearing at his side. "I'm also a representative of the Nednil, and I say that we fight on! It may not be in our place to decide whether Gingerstar should be sacrificed, but I'm just saying what I'd know what she'd say. And if that's not viable for a verdict then…well…we might as well just stay here until Ginger wakes up and then let her decide our future herself." The vixen turned and bared her teeth at Orange Majesty, who stood a little ways away with Sasha, watching this whole dramatic exchange in quite scorn. "And I can guarantee that our leader would never give in to a pumpkin-headed, renegade rouge like you!"
Orange Majesty simply snarled, not appreciating the remark.
Togo, however, felt like giving both Carmalita and Silverfur a hug. Especially Silverfur. His bravery, he knew, would go down in Nednil history after this day. Indeed, he could even now see in the young cat the promising character of a true, rare leader: bravery, loyalty, and integrity. The same such traits he'd seen in Goldie a number of times. And they say they aren't related except through adoption! Togo smiled a grateful smile and nodded at him. "Thank you, Silverfur." He turned and dipped his head to Carmalita. "You too, Carmalita,
Carmalita's expression remained grave, but she blinked her amber eyes in what Togo figured was a respectful acknowledgment.
Silverfur nodded in return and managed to a shaky smile, but it was more than a little halfhearted. Looking down sadly at his sister's still form, he laid one white paw on her charred head. "Goldie would have said the same thing…if she could. I guess I was just saying it for her."
Togo understood and sympathized with the young cat. Deep down, however, he was once again impressed silver warrior's strong character.The Creator's certainly touched Ginger's family line, whether it's biological or no.
Turning back to Drewberry, Togo was shocked to see the cat looking at him, his bright blue eyes shining with tears and a sad smile on his face.
Drewberry gave a quivering chuckle at his leader's surprise and laid his paw in his shoulder, ready to support him all the way. "Let's just kick Orange Majesty out of here and rescue our fiances before it's time for dinner. Okay, buddy?"
Yeah, but you might not have a fiance to rescue. Togo didn't have the heart to say his thoughts out loud, however, so he remained silent and once again faced his enemy. The die was cast. It was time to trust the Maker that everything would turn out alright in the end.
Glizzard's glower widened and he glared at them all with contempt. "Are you all finished with your little heart-to-heart?"
Togo took a deep breath and raised his lightsaber, no longer afraid of what he had to say. "You have your answer, Glizzard. We will never surrender to you. Not now or ever."
Glizzard seemed to draw a blank, as if he hadn't really been expecting them to say no and, now that they had, was unsure of what to do.
Orange Majesty, however, wasn't. With strong, quite pads, he strode up beside his lackey, with Sasha close behind. The undercover Jedi looked uneasy for the first time that day, and, Togo noticed, she stood farther apart from Orange Majesty than before, as if disgusted with the very idea of moving any closer to the tiger.
The Sith sneered over at Silverfur, who met his gaze squarely and without fear. "You always allow children to make your decisions, Togo?" he scoffed, once again facing his rival leader, his burning eyes as murderous as ever.
Like Silverfur, Togo didn't look away and he didn't back down. "The future of all Clans always lies in the paws of its young ones," Togo replied. Casting a quick smile over at his fallen apprentice, he continued, "And if NednilClan is destined to contain generations of apprentices and warriors such as these, then creatures like you had better kiss your vast ambitions goodbye."
Orange Majesty's smirk melted into a bare-toothed growl of defiance, but Togo wasn't intimidated. He was already forming a plan on how to rescue Ginger. It was risky but, then, what hadn't been today?
Raising his lightsaber, he positioned the weapon right in front of the majestic tiger's eyes. "Do your worst, M.M.! We're not afraid of you."
A brief flash of fear passed across Orange Majesty's face at the sight of Togo's ignited weapon-but only for a moment. "So be it!" he snarled. Whirling upon his henchman, he roared, "Glizzard! Now!"
Glizzard started and looked around, as if startled at being addressed directly. "Huh? What?" he exclaimed.
Orange Majesty seethed. "Push the button, you imbecile!"
It took barely a fraction of a second for that to register. "Oh! Right!" With a maniacal laugh, the lizard pushed the button down.
There was an immediate explosion at the top of the cliff, and all eyes turned to the source. All the Clan members gasped in horror as the boulder, about the size of an old tree stump, dislodged and, teetering for one tense moment on the ledge, pitched downwards toward Ginger's unconscious form!
Togo immediately reached out with the Force, hoping to nudge the rock into a change of position. He was dismayed at the effort it took, but, even in his exhausted state, Togo managed to slowly move it. He only hoped that he could manage to put Ginger safely in the clear.
Unfortunately, Orange Majesty sensed the change at once. "Oh, no, you don't!" he hissed and Togo suddenly felt some resistance as Orange Majesty pushed back.
It immediately became a gave of tug-of-war as each animal strove to gain mastery of the boulder-and every second brought it closer and closer to the Nednil leader's prone form!
Togo struggled, but, little by little, he could feel himself giving way beneath Orange Majesty's power. He was just too tired. Too drained.
All of a sudden, Sasha was there beside him, pushing against the Sith Lord.
Orange Majesty, his eyes blazing, glared in utter hatred at the white tiger. "How…dare…you!" he growled, his expression strained as he found himself having to contend with two opponents.
"Oh I…so…dare!" Sasha answered as she and Togo worked together but, even then, Orange Majesty was just too strong for them.
Togo began to despair when Glizzard suddenly joined his boss. He suddenly realized that there was no hope now for them to completely change the boulder's course. Their only hope now was to keep it where it was-almost, but not quite, clear of Ginger-and slow its decent. This they strove with all their might to do so with a little more success. Still, even then, they were slowly, half-inch by half-inch, shoved back.
All the other Clanmembers could do was watch them and the rock, barely breathing. The tension in the air was so thick that you could sharpen your claws on it.
All this takes time to describe but, in reality, it all happened in a matter of moments. Crashing down the rock did come and an electrical charge surged through the air as the shield shattered beneath it's impact. A cloud of dust blew up into the atmosphere, concealing any sign of Ginger one might have seen. All Togo could really do was hope that she hadn't shattered as the shield had and wasn't lying dead right now. The boulder's course had been different, not as exact as it had been when it first fell, but that was little comfort.
Togo tried to reach out with the Force and search for any signs of life, but the state of his anxious mind made that nearly impossible.
The sound of an igniting lightsaber sounded behind him.
Togo whirled around and raised his own weapon, expecting one of the Sith to attack him. Instead, however, he saw Sasha pointing her blood-red light-sword at Orange Majesty, who was breathing hard from the exertion of their battle of wills.
"I suggest you surrender, Orange Majesty," she stated coolly. All pretense of the white tiger's Sith undercover was gone. She was Sasha the Jedi now.
Orange Majesty glared at her but then broke into a fit of coughing.
Soon everyone was coughing as a thick screen of smoke suddenly poured down upon them, engulfing the whole battlefield until it was almost as dark as night.
His eyes stinging, Togo looked around, trying to locate the smoke's source. The putrid gas filled his lungs, smothering him, and, immediately, he knew what was happening. The forest fire! Throughout the tensity of last several moments, nobody had noticed the ranging flame's proximity to them, but, now, Togo realized that it was practically on top of them all! We'll be burned alive!
Turning, the Arem leader suddenly saw Orange Majesty ignite his lightsaber but, instead of attacking, he pushed a button the handle. A flash of light suddenly streaked up the blade and exploded into the air like a signal flare of sorts. "Retreat, my troops! Retreat!" he roared.
With a ruckus of screeching, the Sparking Biters came to life and took to the air, one by one, screaming as if the danger of the fire had just registered in their mechanical brains and filled their metal power-boxes with fear.
Togo ducked as one of them swooped right over him and landed beside Orange Majesty. Without a word, the tiger leaped to perch on top of its back. Glizzard attempted to do the same, but he was unable to jump high enough to clamber on top. He wasn't as agile as the tiger, after all, reptile reflexes though he may have.
"Hold it right there, Orange Majesty!" Togo shouted and, joined by Drewberry and Sasha, he confronted their enemy. "Where do you think you're going!?"
"I'm getting out of here!" Orange Majesty retorted, as if the matter were clearly obvious. "I had hoped that you'd all have surrendered before the fire reached us. Looks like you'll just have to burn right here. Unless…" he gazed down at them and a sly smile spread across his face. He didn't have to finish the sentence. They all knew what he was hinting at.
"Dream on, kitty cat," Drewberry retorted. "We're not cowards to give ourselves up to you at the threat of a few sparks!"
Orange Majesty gave a dark chuckle. "Oh, this is far from just a 'few sparks,' my old friend. My Fire Fliers do thorough work. They've drench this whole forest and area within a hundred miles with a special oil I manufactured. It's ten times more potent than ship fuel, and the merest spark can create an inferno! That's what you're dealing with here, Pie-an INFERNO!"
The majestic tiger burst out into an evil laugh as the horror of this statement sank in. "You see," he continued, savagely, and there seemed to be burning flames in his eyes as well, "I've kept my word. I said that I would wipe out the Clans. If I can't do that by ruling it-as I would have preferred-then I'll accomplish my goal by literally destroying it!" With a quick thrust of his paw, he snatched Glizzard up in mid-jump and set the lizard behind him on the Sparking Biter.
The little Sith grinned and practically hopped up and down in his seat in glee. "Goodbye, Loser Clan!" he cackled, waving mockingly down at them.
"Yes," Orange Majesty agreed, looking down at them all. "Goodbye, Togo Jack Russel. You were a formidable opponent. Give my farewells to your lovely apprentice, won't you?"
Togo vision went red with barely-containable rage, but he struggled to keep it down. Anger led to the Dark Side, and there was too much of that around now for his liking.
Orange Majesty's gaze lingered almost regretfully on Sasha. "I'm sorry to have to leave you behind, however," he said, although they could all tell that he didn't mean it. "You would have made a fine Sith warrior."
"Depends on what you mean by 'fine,'" Sasha retorted. She held her head up high. "I'm a Jedi. Always was, and always will be."
Togo expected Orange Majesty to say something scalding in response to such a bold statement. To his surprise, however, the Dark Lord merely looked away and, as if reacting a silent signal, the Sparking Biter took to the air, joining the rest of its crafted kin as they disappeared beyond the dark, billowing clouds.
Drewberry shot several bullets from his blaster after them, but the smoke made it hard to see. He finally gave up, his eyes blazing. "We just let him go!?" he exclaimed in outrage, as if he couldn't believe it.
"In case you've forgotten," Togo retorted, "we have work to do here. We need to evacuate the area-which means moving the wounded and warning Kyrie and the others! That fire could come upon them in mere minutes if something isn't done!"
"Do you think we have any hope to survive?" Sasha asked, surprisingly calm. "You heard what Orange Majesty said. For a hundred yards in all directions, we're trapped. He doesn't say stuff like that unless he means it."
Togo met her gaze steadily. "As long as we're alive, there's hope," he answered.
Sasha studied him for a moment, and then nodded, looking away.
"What do you want us to do, Togo?" Silverstream asked, speaking up for the first time since the accident.
Togo turned to her and realized that all the other remaining fighters (four in all) had gathered around themselves, waiting for orders. His heart warmed pleasantly at the sight of his faithful friends and fellow warriors, although he was forced to cut the sweet moment short. "You, Faramir, Kora and Carmalita start bringing the rest of our wounded back to Kyrie and the other doctors," he instructed, taking charge once more. "Warn them about the fire if they don't know already and start preparing them for evacuation as well. We're all heading for Full Moon Lake. That's the safest place we can go."
"What can I do?" Silverfur asked, anxiously.
Togo had to narrow his eyes against the fumes, which were growing thicker by the moment, and the increasing heat in order to see the cat clearly. "Go with them and bring your sister. Only medical assistance can help her now now."
Silverfur's eyes fell and he lowered his head. "I understand." He suddenly looked up in alarm. "What about Mom?"
Togo froze despite the heat. In all the excitement he had almost forgotten about the Nednil's fallen leader!"
"Don't worry," Drewberry spoke up. "Togo and I will fetch her."
"Just get moving!" Togo added. "All of you! As fast as you can! We haven't a moment to spare!"
Everyone immediately got to work. Kora, with her rocket-propelled speed and super-strength of a robot managed to bring the wounded-Mace, Dingo, Diego and Ahsoka-to her helpers, who immediately hightailed it deeper into the woods, towards the small cave where the makeshift hospital had been set up.
Silverfur, lifting his adopted-sister's still, unconscious form tenderly upon his shoulders, dashed after them, determined to get Goldie to the doctors as fast as possible.
Togo and Drewberry, meanwhile, fought through the stifling fumes and smoke to where Ginger's crumpled figure lay. Togo took one look at her motionless form and grimaced at the sight, hoping that he wouldn't be sick.
Drewberry let the tears flow as he cradled his fiance's broken body, shaking with barely-contained, heartrending sobs.
Togo moved to comfort his friend, but hesitated. Even though it was dangerous to stay in one place, especially since the fire was getting closer and they had no time to waste, he didn't feel right in interrupting the tabby's mourning.
Suddenly, Drewberry's head jerked up and he laid a gentle paw on Ginger's neck. Then, slowly, he turned his head and stared at Togo with wide, dazed, astonished eyes, although renewed hope made them shine bright, even in the dim recesses of the billowing smoke. "She's alive!"
Chapter Sixteen
So Close and Yet So Far…
Silverfur's paws felt as if they would spring up in flames at any second. Every blade of grass his pounding paws trampled down felt as hot as if he were galloping upon the very blaze itself, even though he knew it was behind him. Not far, but also not close enough to be seen. The only evidence of it's existence was the heat (of course), the smoke, and a faint rustling sound that could possibly pass for the peaceful crackle of autumn leaves stirred by the wind if he didn't know what it was already: the snapping of hungry flames that was even now licking up anything-or anyone-in it's path like the frightening monster it was.
Where's the cave? Silverfur thought wildly as he forced his weary limbs to go on. I should have reached it by now? Come to think of it…where are the others? Try as he might, the young warrior was unable to pierce through the thick cloud of smoke that curled and billowed around him like a stifling curtain. Faramir, Kora, Carmalita, Silverstream and their burdens were nowhere in sight.
Shouldn't be too difficult, he figured as he ducked and weaved through shadowed trees-sometimes just in the nick of time. Just look for a big rock, run along the perimeter to the right until you-
"Whoa!"
Silverfur's foot caught on a protruding root and he pitched forward onto his chest, spilling his precious cargo.
The wounded cat was small and light so, naturally, when Silverfur fell, she was thrown over his back and landed about a foot or so away in a thick pile of brush.
"Goldie!" Silverfur shouted and, ignoring the pain of his bruised and aching legs, he leaped up and dashed into the foliage after her.
He shoved his way into the thin leaves and branches-just as a drifting spark suddenly appeared and landed on them. Immediately, the dry underbrush began to smoke, and then lit up into a small flame that gradually grew bigger and bigger. Silverfur just ignored it, and searched wildly for his sister amongst the bush's density. Where's…?Ah! There! To his relief her found her, still unconscious, but also, more importantly, still breathing.
The flames spiked hot against his coat, but Silverfur wasn't about to let himself, or Goldie, burn. With a quick thrust, almost like a cobra, he snatched the smaller cat up by the scruff of her soiled neck and then backed out of there as quickly as possible. He was free from the underbrush in time to watch it go up completely in fire and smoke.
With barely even a pause to breathe, or think about his narrow escape, Silverfur flung Goldie once again over his shoulder and onto his back with reckless abandon and was soon tearing through the forest once more. There wasn't time to be gentle. The fire's getting closer! Where else did that spark come from?
"Ugh…" he groaned as he forced his exhausted, battered body to continue on at a his current vigorous, flying speed. I've had about enough of fire, fighting, sparks and Sith! If I never have to run into any of them ever again it'll be much too soon! "Don't worry, Sis," he added, verbally, under his breath, barely having enough to spare at this point. "We'll make it." Even though he knew the she-cat couldn't hear him, it at least made himself feel better. He needed that assurance, whether she did or not.
The smoke filled Silverfur's lungs, stinging his eyes, and clouding his mind so that every step was a torture. Goldie wasn't usually heavy but, at the moment, it felt as if she were a hundred pound weight across his shoulders. Still, he kept going, not daring to even allow himself a break. Once he halted his movements even for one second, he highly doubted that he would be able to muster up the strength to carry on.
It seemed like forever-when, in reality, it had only been about ten minutes-before he found himself skidding to a halt in order to refrain from running full out into the elusive boulder, which had suddenly seemed to spring up in front of him out of the smoke. Not daring to hesitate even for a moment, Silverfur, dimly remembering the instructions he had gone through just a little while ago, ran around the large rock to the right. Seconds later, he found himself stumbling-practically falling-through the large, but steep opening.
His legs gave way before he even reached the bottom. Giving in to his exhaustion, he slid the rest of the way down and collapsed onto the deliciously cool, earthy floor, his lungs drinking in the clear, non-smoke-saturated air in deep, desperate gasps.
Silverfur was dimly aware of helping paws lifting Goldie from his shoulders and carry her away, as well as the murmur of concerned voices, but they all seemed both dim and insignificant. His entire being was centered on the only thing that mattered at the moment: breathing. In out. In out. It was heavenly to just lie there and breathe pure oxygen, tainted only by the rich scents of soft earth, familiar friends and Clanmates, various medicines, and the damp coolness of the cave itself.
If Silverfur had been in this underground room all day, however, it wouldn't have seemed as wonderful as all that. The whole atmosphere was quite warm, and a tad stifling, with the accumulating body-heat radiating from each creature within the stone walls, and the medicines being used weren't the most nicest smelling in the world. Plus, it was crowded, and there was barely any pacing room, and the sound of the patients' moaning was quite loud in the tight quarters. But, still, because Silverfur had come in from outside-where it was chaotic with fire rampaging throughout the entire forest and barely any air or time to breathe-it was naturally like a safe haven for him.
His momentary peace was slightly interrupted, however, when he found a large leaf with a pool of water cupped in its curled edges being shoved into his face. Before he could stop himself, or practice restraint, he lapped it up so fast that it was gone in mere seconds.
"You just rest now," a gentle, familiar voice, crooned soothingly. "You're safe now, for the moment, and we'll get to you just as soon as a doctor's free, okay?"
Silverfur licked his lips and panted, his swollen tongue begging for more liquid to quench his burning thirst, pacified mildly, for the moment. Blinking his smoke-filled eyes, he stared hazily at his nurse until she came into focus. He was too tired to feel surprised when he realized that she wasn't a nurse. She was a psychiatrist. "Iris?"
Iris' flashed a bright smile from her equally bright blue snout. "Yeppers," the AremClan member replied, perkily. "Nurse Iris, to you, however," she then corrected, pointedly.
Silverfur blinked again, his still-fuzzy mind not comprehending? "Nurse?" he repeated, coughing through his words, a sure sign that his lungs were getting back into proper working order.
"That's right!" she replied, as if the fact was the best thing in the whole world. "And I think it's time that I really start doing my job." Settling herself down in front of him with an air of professionalism, she pulled out a pencil that she had been keeping behind her ear and picked up a small, spiral-bound notebook crafted from leaves that he been sitting beside her. "Let's start discussing any emotional traumas you may have experienced in the last twenty-four hours, shall we?"
Silverfur winced as he slowly, and stiffly, sat up, putting a paw to his head as a dull ache seemed to sweep through both temples like thier own little forest fire. "What?" he asked, not completely listening. Wasn't there something that he was forgetting?
"The latest polls show that mental and emotional traumas can cause more ailments then we might expect," the rainbow zebra replied as she flipped through the book's thin, well worn pages. "It's my duty, both as a psychiatrist-and recently appointed nurse, of course-to deal with every discomfort you may be feeling during this particular situation we now all face."
Silverfur didn't fully know what she was talking about, but he was definitely feeling some discomfort in his brain as he tried to sift through his confused thoughts. Didn't I come here for something? I highly doubt it was this!
"Now," Iris plastered on a well-rehearsed, dramatically concerned tone to her voice and stared at him over her notebook intensely. "When the enemy was attacking, what thoughts went through your head? Fear? Excitement? Malice? The dread of dying and the regret that you hadn't done anything more important with your life? Desire to win the war? To spill blood? To make your family proud? Or, perhaps, maybe…"
Silverfur zoned out as Iris continued to rattle on, one word sticking to his mind like a flea. Family…Goldie! Immediately, everything that had happened-from when he had woken up in his den this morning to when he had just stumbled into this one-crashed over him in a tide of urgent waves.
Without even a word to Iris-or a single answer to her continuous, personal questions-he turned away from her and began to hurriedly shove his way through the random assortments of nests and medical supplies.
Iris didn't even miss a beat as she began to follow close behind him.
As he passed each bed of grass and leaves, Silverfur scanned every single one of them, searching for the lump of singed, blackened, dirty golden fur that would identify his sister. It didn't take him long to find her and, to his relief, he saw that Kyrie-the AremClan nurse, and a real professional-was already working on her.
"If you're feeling some stress at the moment," Iris was saying from behind him, hardly seeming to notice that her patient wasn't even listening as she gazed over her nose and down at her notes, "then that could be hinting towards a lack of patience or composure, which could also mean that-"
"How is she?" Silverfur asked Kyrie as he gazed down at Goldie's still form. Even though the lighting in the cave was usually dim, Kora, standing near the entrance with Ahsoka and Silverstream, had activated her headlights-her eyes, to be more specific-and the fine, strong beams chased away the shadows nicely. Illuminated by this new, bright glow, Goldie's young, lovely, white-furred face almost seemed to reflect it, making her appear almost angelic, even peaceful, despite her battered, bloody, and burned condition.
"Unconscious, suffering from heart disorder because of what I assume is an electrical shock," Kyrie answered, her tone betraying none of her feelings as she reached over to switch on a humanoid robot that was standing beside her. "I won't know for sure until I consult the Medical Droid."
With a hum, the droid's circular eyes lit up within it's dark metal face. It had no mouth-only several small voice modulator slits covered slightly by what almost looked like a metal surgical mask with a small, thin pipe running out of it and down to its side. What that particular accessory was for, Silverfur didn't know, nor did he care. If it could do its job and do it well, than they were best buds for life as far as he was concerned.
"That won't be necessary," he assured Kyrie, as the droid hummed to life. "It was an electrical shock. A pretty big one, in fact."
Kyrie's already wrinkled face scrunched up even more as she frowned. "Hmm…that's what I was afraid of."
"You rang?" the droid asked, his expressive, doctorly voice as precise as ever.
Kyrie turned to him. "Yes. Get me a syringe full of 'Number 23,' please."
"Certainly." The droid turned and headed towards the back, where a number of leaf-wrapped packages and chests stood against the sloping wall.
"What's 'Number 23'?" Silverfur asked, wanting to know.
"It's a psychological condition where the victim-" Iris continued on, diligently going through her numerous notes.
"It's a tranquilizer of sorts," Kyrie responded as she began to draw a blanket, woven from many thin reeds, over the yellow apprentice, tucking it in skillfully. She left her front paws sticking out, however.
Silverfur frowned in confusion and concern. "But why would she need that?" he asked. "She's already unconscious. I really don't see how that would help."
"It's a tranquilizer that slows the heart," Kyrie explained. "When you're electrocuted, you're heart is set into rapid palpitations, so much so that it could cause a heart attack if not treated. What Number 23 will do is calm it down enough so that the body stops going into crisis mode and then, hopefully, recover fully. At least. I assume it will."
Silverfur narrowed one green eye in suspicion. "What do you mean you assume it will?"
"It's a new formula. I came up with it myself, and I'm ninety-nine percent sure it will work."
"Ninety-nine?" Silverfur repeated. He didn't like that. He wanted at least a hundred-percent certainty from Kyrie before the pug even began to consider using his little sister as a guinea pig.
"I tested it on myself many times," Kyrie reassured, immediately sensing his lack of confidence in her claims. "It shouldn't put her to a deeper sleep or anything. In fact, it's not meant to put anybody asleep at all, only relax them."
A loud moan, almost like a growl, sounded from across the room, causing everybody to turn.
Anakin, the red wolf warrior of AremClan, was writhing on his bed in feverish pain, his teeth bared and his breaths coming in shuddering gasps.
Dr. Dan was immediately there to hold him down. "Easy there, sonny," he said as he struggled to keep the convulsing warrior from hurting himself, or any one of his fellow Clanmates that were lying around him.
Silverfur immediately became aware of everyone else and stared at the familiar faces and forms as they lay scattered across the cave's floor. He recognized Joe and Freddi, the two Great Cats of NednilClan, and Padme and Dingo of AremClan-along with the rest of the army that had been left sprawled on the battlefield by the Sparking Biters. Some lay still and quite, while others were wracked with shivers and hacking coughs that were painful and see and just as painful to hear.
"What's wrong with them?" he asked, quickly turning back to Kyrie as a feeling of anguish pierced his heart at the sight of his friends' states.
"Fear of flying projectiles, that's what it is!" Iris proclaimed, almost triumphantly, as if she had just struck upon something profound. Silverfur had almost forgotten that she was there.
Kyrie sighed. "I wish a knew," she said. She faced Silverfur with a serious grimness that scared him. "This sickness is nothing like I've ever seen. I've taken samples, I've had the Medical Droid analyze them, I've tried various herb remedies and medicines but nothing works. I don't know what those Sparking Biters injected into them and, unless I find out, I can't whip up an antidote."
Those words hit Silverfur with a dread that resembled that of a death knell. "You mean…they'll die?"
Kyrie hesitated, as if wondering if she should tell this young, new warrior the truth. "Not if I have an antidote," she finally replied. Those words were little comfort.
"Can I see the sample?" Kora suddenly asked from her place by the entrance, her eyebeams blinking as she did.
Kyrie stared at her for a moment, and then shrugged. "Why not?" Reaching into a small box resting on the ground beside her. She pulled out a vial of red liquid that-Silverfur noted with uneasiness-looked like blood and tossed it over to the puppy-robot. "Here. Catch."
Kora did and stared down intently at it, her strong eye-lamps making the thick red liquid shine through its transparent casing.
Silverfur turned from that slightly disturbing scene, back to Kyrie, just as the Medical Droid returned with the fully syringe in his metallic hand."Here is the syringe, Master Kyrie."
"Thank you." The nurse to the syringe in her tan paw-just as the figure on the bed moaned and stirred.
Silverfur's heart leaped and he leaned forward, staring intently at his sister's face. "Goldie?"
Goldie's eyes fluttered open revealing their deep, lovely green hue. They were dim and unfocused but, at this moment, they were the most beautiful sight in the world. "Silverfur…?" she mumbled, heavily.
"I'm here," Silverfur assured, smiling broadly with relief. She was awake! She was going to be alright.
"Hey, honey," Kyrie said, sounding relieved as well. "How are you feeling."
Goldie shifted, looking as if she was trying to get into a more comfortable position, but immediately stopped, wincing. "My heart hurts…"
Kyrie's expression tightened and she laid a gentle paw on the small cat's chest. "Hmm…" she muttered. "Still fast. I think I'll still administer the tranquilizer and hopefully that will help."
And the sound of the word 'tranquilizer' Goldie's eyes grew wide. "No!" she protested, seeming suddenly full of fight and energy as she struggled to get up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kyrie exclaimed, reaching her free paw out in an attempt to discourage her movements. "Listen, Goldie, calm down. Don't get excited." She turned to Silverfur and, true to her position, took charge of the situation. "Silverfur, hold her down for me while I administer the medicine."
Silverfur swallowed, but nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
Goldie was doing her best to get up and get away, but she was just too weak and in obvious pain with every movement. It was because of her obvious discomfort and possibility of hurting herself that Silverfur was willing to hold her steady with his paws as she continued to struggle, each effort more weaker than the last.
"No!" she cried again, almost wild with desperation. "You don't understand! There's something I need to do!"
Silverfur stared at her, startled, letting up a little on his grip as Kyrie drew in closer. "What do you mean?" he asked, not knowing whether to take her seriously or humor her.
Goldie's gaze swept from her brother to Kyrie frantically as she continued to try and rise, each attempt futile. "The others…" she gasped, her eyes wide and distant, as if she was seeing something beyond them-something that seemed to be prompting her to take action this very second. "They need me!"
Silverfur was now concerned. "What others?" He glanced over at where Dr. Dan had finally managed to pacify Anakin. A possibility suddenly began to dawn on him. Goldie was wise beyond her years, especially in matters of the Force. Was it possible that she knew something they didn't? Something that could help them find the antidote? "Do you mean the wounded?"
"Hold her steady," Kyrie ordered, as she drew the needle closer to Goldie's flailing paw.
"Just a second, Kyrie," Silverfur answered. He had a nagging feeling that what Goldie had to say, even if it made no sense at all, was important. Extremely important. "Goldie," he spoke firmly and clearly, "what is it you need to do? Tell us, so that we can help!"
Goldie seemed to relax at this, either from exhaustion or relief Silverfur couldn't tell. "I need to
go-Ah!"
Silverfur started at Goldie's cry of pain and could only stare in opened-mouthed horror as her eyes suddenly closed and her head fell back onto the pillow of leaves. She had left consciousness once more.
Kyrie stared at her in surprise as well, and then looked down at the now empty syringe in her paw. "I guess it actually can put people to sleep!" she exclaimed, sounding both amazed and satisfied at the same time. "I'll have to make a note of that."
Silverfur was furious. "Why did you do that!?" he exploded, turning on the nurse, feeling both urgency and frustration welling up inside of him. "She was about to tell us something!"
Kyrie fastened a protective cap around the needle and shrugged. "She was in shock," she stated, unperturbed. "She didn't know what she was saying."
"We don't know that!" Silverfur retorted, but he gave up trying to make Kyrie understand. Angrily, he ran his claws across the earthen floor. They had been so close to…something! Something, he felt, would have helped them all-especially those now dying of Sparking Biter Venom.I only hope lives won't be lost now because of Number 23, he thought gravely.
Chapter Seventeen
Evacuate! Wait...Where are you Going!?
“Thank you, Togo,” Drewberry said. As gently as he possibly could under urgent pressure, he latched onto Ginger's scruff and lifted her up as high as his neck could stretch.
Togo blinked and coughed against the smoke, which was growing thicker and thicker, and hurried over to help his friend. “For what?” he asked, suddenly realizing that he had no idea what the tabby was talking about.
Drewberry didn't answer right away because his mouth was full. Quickly letting go of Ginger, he immediately dived beneath her and caught his fiance's falling body across his shoulders.
Togo rushed to his side and gently situated Ginger's rather unsteady perch, careful not to jolt her in any way. He also tried not to stare at the obvious, bloody gash in her back. If he did, he knew that he would be sick.
As soon as he was certain that he had a good hold on her, Drewberry straightened up and turned to face Togo, looking him straight in the eye. “For saving Ginger's life,” he replied, steadily. His voice betrayed no hint of emotion, but his eyes gleamed with sincere gratefulness. “If you hadn't moved that rock while it was falling, she would be dead right now.”
Togo wondered how to respond to this. Drewberry's statement was technically true, but…“Well…I don't deserve all the credit, Drewberry,” he corrected. “I wouldn't have done any good if Sasha hadn't stepped in when she did.”
Drewberry cocked one eyebrow and gave a thoughtful smile. “Yeah, I remember her saying that she was a Jedi…practically caused my brain to short-circuit.” He chuckled, averting his gaze for a moment “Who knew? Still,” he looked up once more and regained eye contact with the terrier, his tone and expression serious, “the fact of the matter is that both you and Sasha saved my fiance’s life. And I'll never forget that.”
Togo smiled at his friend, but the tender moment was broken when a large crackling sound—not close, but not far either—sounded from several yards beyond and behind them.
They both turned in time to see a giant tree—one of the old forest oaks—engulfed in crackling flames, redder than orange and with a hint of green, no doubt caused by the chemicals sprayed by the the 'Fire Fliers.' Slowly, almost seeming to dramatically resist until the end, the giant tree tipped forwards—and then pitched downwards towards the ground, its speed of descent accelerating ever second until it finally crashed in a cloud of smoke and a geyser of sparks.
Togo and Drewberry both flinched, even though it had all happened at a relatively safe distance of about thirty yards or so. But that was a thirty yards too close for Togo.
Turning to the tabby beside him, Togo gave him a worried look. “We should get going. Like, right now!”
Drewberry looked at the tree, still illuminated by ravaging flames that shot up towards the sky as it gorged itself upon the leaves and bark, and gulped. The glow that brightened the fog beyond signaled that the fire was spreading quickly, and at a dangerous rate. “Yeah. Definitely.” Making sure that Ginger was safely secure upon his shoulders, he dashed as best he could away from the approaching inferno, much like Silverfur had done in the last chapter, except that Drewberry's burden was much heavier than the younger warrior's had been.
Togo glanced one more time at the fallen tree, and then broke into a run after him as fast as his short legs to go.
Because Drewberry was a lean cat, naturally he was faster. But, because he had to carry another feline on his back, he and Togo were soon galloping side by side as they entered the line of trees, following the same route Silverfur had. Only now it was far more hazardous.
The forest fire had spread to all over and was beginning to close in. Togo and Drewberry found themselves having to change their course so many times because of the walls of green-tinged flames, which seemed to spring up right in their paths like hidden predators, that they almost lost their way completely. But they continued to press on. They had no real choice.
Togo eventually found himself in front, but he looked back many times in order to make sure that Drewberry was still behind him. The tabby's face was streaked with dirt, sweat, fear but, also, determination. That sort of solid determination one wanted in a companion, especially in these sort of circumstances.
Togo narrowed his eyes against the rising fumes that stung his eyes and burned his lungs with every breath as he turned his attention forward once more. A sharp crackling from above made him halt—just in time, it soon turned out.
A branch, charred black and glowing like a coal with imbedded fire, fell in front of him with a thud and a spray of nipping sparks that burned his nose and face.
Togo yelped in pain and stumbled backwards, practically running into Drewberry, who had, in turn, nearly ran into terrier when he had stopped short. With one paw, Togo wiped his face, trying to brush away the pain, but to no real avail.
“Look out!” Drewberry suddenly shouted, and Togo once again found himself leaping backward, just as another chunk of branch, bigger than the first, tumbled down from above and landed right next to the other one.
“Run!” Drewberry yelled and Togo wasted no time in doing so.
Leaping over the smoldering wood, the AremClan leader tore down the makeshift trail, literally blazing it with Drewberry (still toting Ginger along) at his heels. Flaming chunks of wood and branches rained down on them like gigantic hailstones, along with nipping sparks that bit deep. The ground beneath their pounding paws was so burning hot that Togo felt that he was running molten lava. On the bright side, it encouraged the duo to step on their speed, but the lack of clean air was beginning to take its toll on the two of them. And Ginger…Togo didn't want to think about that. We have to find that cave!
To both the canine's and feline's infinite relief, however, they soon burst out into a clearing—smoke-filled but fire-free, a fact that wouldn't last long as the advancing flames reminded them. At the far end of the clearing, about twenty or thirty feet away or so, stood the large, round boulder that marked the sanctuary of their hurt and, hopefully, healing comrades.
The mere sight of their destination sent renewed energy and strength through Togo and Drewberry's limbs and, without missing a beat, they shot forward and onward, leaving the hungry flames to slowly devour their steps, paw-print by paw print, in pursuit.
{|{
“Isn't there anything I can do to help?” Silverfur asked. He had long since recovered from his heroic scramble through the burning brush and was now feeling as if he'd go crazy if he wasn't useful in some way to help his suffering friends and Clanmates. Goldie had yet to wake up and nobody, not even Kyrie, who had created that Number-whatever serum, knew exactly when she would, so he would be of no use hovering over her nest.
Kyrie looked up from her work over Dingo, who was writhing feverishly beneath her paw, and shook her head grimly. “Not unless you can scrounge up some sort of antidote or mixture that we haven't tried or concocted yet.” She glanced over at where the robotic puppy was still rolling the vial of red-liquid around in her paw. “Any luck, Kora?”
The cyborg gazed down at it for one second more—and then shook her head, a gesture that Silverfur was beginning to find rather annoying. It never told him what he wanted to hear. “Afraid not,” she answered, sounding slightly frustrated. “My databank carries extensive knowledge but, apparently, there are certain subjects and knowledge out there that I'll have to add to my archives once I get my paws on them. I just have no inkling to them at this certain instance.”
“You and the Medical Droid both,” Silverfur grumbled as he shot a quick glare over at the machine, who was, at the moment, the rather unwilling audience of Iris. The Rainbow Zebra had finally given up on the feline warrior and had moved on to the worthy mission of 'reeducating' the robotic doctor. Unbeknownst to her, however, the Medical Droid knew far more about the art of nursing than she did but was unable to get a word in edgewise and becoming quite flustered. Silverfur felt sorry for him, but not enough to go over there and divert Iris's attention to something else.
As it turns out, however, he didn't have to because everyone's attentions were immediately and fully captured by what happened next.
All this time Faramir, having been trying uselessly for the past several minutes to get Dr. Dan the rhinoceros to listen to him, had finally managed to make himself heard. “I'm telling you all,” he shouted, his voice impatient and in no small degree tense, “we have to evacuate immediately! There's no telling how close the fire's gotten by this time!”
Silverfur's heart nearly stopped as he suddenly remembered the threat that loomed, literally, just above them, through a few bare inches of earth. Of course! The fire! A new worry suddenly engulfed his heart. Will we be able to get everybody away in time?
To the young cat's mild and Faramir's great frustration, Dr. Dan didn't seem all that concerned and merely continued on with his work. At the moment, he was bending over Freddi and Joe, nudging and prodding them with scrutinizing, black eyes. “Now don't get yourself in a panic, Faramir,” he finally said, but without looking up. “I'm sure we have plenty of time before we're forced to do anything drastic.”
Silverfur couldn't believe it, and, apparently, neither did Faramir because he just stood there staring at the rhino in apparent shock. Nothing to worry about!? Really!?
“No offense, Doc, but have you stuck your head out of this cave lately?” Silverfur finally challenged. He didn't know if it was his place to speak up in this situation, but he had an advantage over Faramir: the gazelle was Arem, Silverfur was Nednil. I can certainly get my own Clan's doctor to listen to reason, can't I? “There's a wall devastating fire coming to burn us to crispy critters unless we actually do something and get out of here!”
Dan finally glanced up and faced the two of them. Silverfur was surprised and unnerved to see that he was, in fact, quite serious but his countenance was deeply troubled. He seemed to be sifting through every word as he spoke. “Be that as it may,” he was saying slowly, “just how will we transport the wounded? They're too weak and delirious to walk, and the lack of oxygen might only kill them sooner. I'm afraid that…” he looked over at Kyrie, as if in a silent plea for help.
Silverfur glanced at the two doctors in turn, a sick feeling suddenly rising up in his stomach as he felt some sort of silent understanding pass between pug and rhino.
“What's is it?” Faramir asked, and his companions, Silverstream, Carmalita and Kora, gathered behind him in anxious anticipation. “What's the matter? Is something wrong?”
Both Kyrie and Dan hesitated, as if not wanting to be the one to speak up, the latter's eyes dropping to the floor almost ashamedly.
Silverfur immediately felt cold, despite the stuffy confinement of the cave.
“Kyrie,” Silverstream spoke up, her voice slightly trembling in contained fear. “Tell us.”
Kyrie gave a sigh much like Dan's and looked at them all with the expression of a grim doctor about to deliver regretful news. “Well…what with the rate of the approaching flames that Faramir reported, added to that about eleven or so wounded, factoring in equipment and valuables that we stashed away here for safekeeping, and the fact that there are only nine of us or so to transport everything…” She let her voice trail off and took a deep, preparatory breath before continuing. “My point is that we may not be able to evacuate everybody. We might have to—”
“No!” Silverstream cried in aghast protest as her sharp mind caught on to what was being insinuated.
“We can't do that!” Silverfur added, the silver Arem warrior's shock mirrored on his and everybody's else's faces. He was just as clever as Silverstream, although he was hoping that, this time, he was mistaken.
“We may not have a choice,” Dan stated. He looked as if he despised every single one of those words but knew that they needed to be said. Everybody was immediately silent at this. Even Iris had forgotten her pencil and notebook in the seriousness of the moment. “We'd move those who aren't as far gone first—” Dan continued, but fared no better than Kyrie.
“But we can't just leave them here to die!” Carmalita exclaimed, as if the very idea was abhorrent.
“I agree,” Faramir broke in, looking as fierce as his smoke scorched and battle-bruised face could. “These are our friends and fellow warriors we're talking about! I'll carry three on my back and two on my antlers if I have to, but I refuse to leave anybody behind for whatever reason!”
“I understand your feelings Faramir,” Kyrie answered in a deadpan, yet sympathizing tone. “But the odds just aren't for us getting everybody and everything out of here in time.”
“Hang the odds!” Silverfur snapped, not caring anymore whether he was or not overstepping his bounds. “In fact, hang the very idea! I think we should all be focusing on the one thing that's causing us problems.”
“And what's that?” Iris asked, for once voicing an effective question. “The fire?”
“Well…yes. But what I really mean was an antidote. That's all we need. If we can only find that—”
“That's a pretty big 'if', Silverfur,” Kyrie stated doubtfully. “We don't even know where to begin looking!”
“I do…” a weak voice suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention.
Silverfur turned around in surprise and was shocked to see a groggy, bleary-eyed Goldie not lying but standing right behind him, albeit a little shakily.
“Goldie!” Silverfur exclaimed, not sure whether to be relieved or concerned. Turning around to face her fully he flashed her a smile. “How are you feeling?”
Before the 'paw could answer, Kyrie was immediately at her side. “What are you doing out of your nest?” she asked, reproachfully. “Go back and lie down this instant! You're suffering from intense exposure to strong volts of electricity! Do you want to drop dead!?”
“Of course not,” Goldie answered, but her voice and gaze were distant. “And there's no time for lying around. I've gotta go.” With that, she walked past them towards the exit. Even though each step was an obvious struggle, her stride seemed to contain a strength and purpose that made everybody step out of her way, giving her a clear path.
Silverfur stared after her, confused. “'Go?'” he repeated. Is she delirious or something? Where could she possible want to go?
“Don't try to stop me,” Goldie ordered and, reaching downwards, she picked up her lightsaber from where it had been placed against the wall. As her small, white paw closed over the metal cylinder, strength seemed to suddenly be renewed inside her very core. Her eyes blazed with determined purpose and her steps became more steadier. “I'll take that,” she said as she came to a brief halt in front of Kora and snatched the vial containing the sample of Sparking Biter Venom from the startled cyborg's paw.
Silverfur's eyes grew wide. She's not gonna…“Goldie! Stop!” he shouted and dashed towards her.
Goldie, however, jammed the glass-encased sample in her mouth, tightened her grip on her weapon and, with one bound, left the safety of the cave and entered into the hazardous, deadly forest of fire without another word of explanation.
Silverfur was too shocked for a moment to move. She did not just do that! Before he even knew it, he was scrambling to the foot of the hole and preparing to follow. “Goldie, wait!” he shouted after her, although he knew it was no use. “Stop!”Why would she do such a hair-brained thing like that!? Did Number 24 mess with her mind or something!?
Just as the warrior bunched himself up to jump, the dim light around the hold dimmed even darker by a sudden shadow, causing the cat to abandon his reckless plan and step back and away from it. At first Silverfur thought it was Goldie who, having come to her senses, had made the wise decision to return. But that proved not to be the case when Togo's mottled, dirty face appeared. It was quickly followed by the rest of him until the terrier was standing beside the cat in the cave
. “C'mon, guys!” he barked, pausing for a moment to shake himself from head to tail, dislodging puffs of dirt and dust from his fur. “We've got to get out of here now! Grab as many wounded as you can and move!”
“But all our supplies and equipment—” Kyrie began.
“Leave them behind, maybe we'll be able to dig them out later!” Togo snapped, the muted light in his eyes beaming his extreme exhaustion but determined grit to anyone they landed on. “Just focus on transporting any breathing body that can be moved and do it now!”
“Silverfur!”
Silverfur immediately turned to Kyrie, surprised and relieved that neither she nor Dan were going to argue with Togo. The plan now was to get everybody out or die trying. “Yes, Kyrie?”
Kyrie nodded towards the far corner. “Wet any large leaves and rags that you can find. We're going to tie them around the patients' noses and mouths so that they won't suffocate. For the moment at least. Understand?”
Silverfur swallowed but nodded. “Yes, ma'am.” Without daring to pause, he dashed towards the gestured spot and got to work.
“Togo,” Faramir suddenly called from where he was, to the right of the entrance, his voice strained but urgent as he struggled to heave Anakin onto his broad shoulders. “Goldie ran. We don't know where she is!”
Togo froze and his face seemed to drain of all color. “What do mean she 'ran?'”
“She just up and dashed outside,” Kora reported. She had Ahsoka and Padme by their scruffs and was holding them above the floor as she rose up on her rocket propelled back paws. They hung limp from her grips like fresh pieces of prey, which was effective but a tad unnerving. Under any different circumstances the sight would have been humorous. “And she took a sample of Biter Venom with her. Said something about knowing where to find an antidote.”
Togo looked suddenly horrified. “Zenar K…” he said, his voice distant due to some internal distraction within his mind.
Silverfur, having listened in this whole time, looked up from his job, not knowing whether to be alarmed or not at this new piece of information. “Zenar what?”
Togo looked as if he was about to answer but a shout from outside interrupted him. “Togo, pick up the pace! The fire's about twenty feet away and closing fast!”
That's Drewberry, Silverfur realized although, at the moment, he hardly cared.
“Silverfur! Wet rags!” Dan ordered from the other end of the cavern.
Silverfur gathered up the large wad he had managed to accumulate in his mouth and hurried in the doctor's direction, but he couldn't help but halt in front of Togo and put them down. “I've got to go after her!” he said.
Togo immediately snapped back into leader-mode. “No!” he replied, firmly. “You're needed here.”
Silverfur's fear quickly transformed into anger. “My sister's out there in that inferno! She needs my help!”
“So does your mother!”
Silverfur paused and forgot about everything else. “Mom's here!?” A spark of hope ignited in his heart, hotter than the flames outside, as the meaning behind that fact suddenly swept over him like a ray of sunshine. “She's alive!?”
Togo gave a small nod and Silverfur felt his heart soar. “Just barely. But the chance of her—and all of us—surviving will be much better of you stay here and help us evacuate our Clanmates. Alright?”
Silverfur sighed and wrestled with conflicting emotions. Finally, one vanquished the other. “Yes, sir,” he agreed, bowing his head in submission. Even though Togo wasn't necessarily his leader, the warrior had to respect the terrier because he was a leader. And worth respecting. Still he couldn't help but add, with renewed fear, “What about Goldie?”
Togo glanced over at the hole and a brief look of concern flashed across his face. But only for a moment. “We're just going to have to trust and pray that she knows what she's doing and will get out of there. She's an exceptional apprentice and very gifted, so the odds of her surviving out there is higher than they would be with anyone else.”
Silverfur wasn't so sure. She had looked so frail a moment ago before she had plunged into the unknown. “Yeah, but—”
“SILVERFUR!”
Silverfur cringed and immediately picked up the dripping leaves again before rushing over to the impatient rhino. As he hurriedly helped to prepared the sick creatures for evacuation, he struggled to swallow his fear and did just what Togo had suggested: Pray. Hard.