Rath of Liberty

Summary: Whether Rath is searching for his long lost love Liberty, being beaten close to death or dodging kisses from his love struck ape master Zimmer, Rath never seems to get any Trankuility.

Four gray horse snorts gruffly as they trudge through a dusty dirt road which cuts through the menacing dark Sabador Forest. The moderate sized Conestoga weighs down hard against the steel wheels, then the huge ape in the driver's seat pulls the steeds to a quick halt. The dark furred ape gazes down at the path a few feet ahead of him, where a large ape lays face down in the middle of the dusty road, it's powerful limbs folded neatly under its bulky body. The ape driver slows then snaps the breaks on, then quickly springs five feet in the air and his buckle boots lands with a thump next to the ape in the road. He leans over and sniffs the body gently, but the body was as still as a log, hesitantly he reaches out a big hand and slowly flips the body over to find it's stomach sliced open and it stuffed with leaves, like a big dead teddy bear, every opening in the ape's body exploding with blood stained leaves even the eye sockets.

The ape jerked back with wide eyes and his jaw hanging ajar. "Oh my…." he began to gasp but before he could finish a sword blade emerged out from the darkness behind him and slid across the front of his neck, leaving a gushing opening.

"Pathetic creatures…" sneered a deep voice from the darkness. The assailant stepped forward from the darkness, but his face was hidden beneath the shadows from the hood of his jet-black cloak. But vivid, glowing and easily cutting through the darkness beneath the hood were sharp bold green T shaped markings on both cheeks. The hood hung carelessly over his shoulders and bared his shirtless torso, and loose black pants from the front.

The huge bleeding ape fell before the hooded creature with a thump as his knees made impact with the ground, then a louder thump as the front of his body fell flat against the ground. "I know it's not our style to attack in broad day light, but we have no choice since the ape's rarely come out during the night anymore, since that's our usual hunting hours." the hood seemed bowed down to where the ape lay, and his solemn yet jeering words seemed to hang in the silent air, just as four other hooded creatures emerged from the darkness without disturbing the unnatural muteness. The sword's dripping vivid red blade was brought up to the black hole in the hood, and a long pink tongue snaked out and ran the length of the sword and leaving it glimmering like new, then it was placed back in the scabbard at the waist in the same smooth motion. "Let's see what's in the wagon." said a hood with a skinny II shape on his forehead, which glowed a brilliant lemon lime green as well. His arm began to raise up the white cloth which covered the wagon, but before it was uncovered the hood with T's on his cheeks shoved him to the side, just as a sword stabbed through the cloth of the wagon from the inside, nearly missing the II hood's abdomen.

"Another one of Worren's traps..." muttered the T hood lowly, almost in a sigh, but his voice promptly filled with vigor as he called out. " It's time for a slaughtering, men!" His face being held high enough to shed light on a wide wolfish grin, as his sword was swung out from his waist and twirled like a ballerina a few times in his palm..

"YAH! Slaughter! Slaughter!" chanted porcelain white jaws from beneath the dark hoods, as each drew a sword out from beneath their cloaks.

Twenty muscular, warrior apes, three times bigger then the hooded creatures, and sporting heavy armor swarmed out from the Conestoga with swords, bows, maces, and blunt axes.

But the hooded ones flowed and swooned through the small army, with swift gleaming steel splatting puddles of entrails and blood behind them. Just when an ape lifted it's weapon it was already relinquished of it's life, and soon most apes where brought to their knees with grunts, deep throaty gurgles and a lasting thud to the dusty dirt. Till there remained only two apes still standing with their fur matted with blood of their own and some from their fallen comrades. The hoods were circling around them, their movements not even disturbing the air enough to make a single sound, and their hoods not swaying at all even as they circled faster around.

"Come on now, apes. Try to bring a lasting blow against Me." taunted a hood, it's impish jeering smile beaming like a crescent moon. Then just as the neat circle moved in uncomfortably close; "BANG!" deafened the forest for a moment, forcing the birds from their trees, and the hoods promptly froze where they stood. Both the apes and hoods began to turn their heads from side to side, curious and befuddled.

But suddenly their attention was grabbed when a hooded creature with s on his temples started to give off a powerful lime green light from every crevice in his body, his eyes and mouth widened enormously as they filled with the blinding light, then the flash reached it's peak and was gone, leaving the body drained and dead against the ground.

"Up there!" shouted a hood with a small Z on his chin, his finger pointing to a nearby hill about 30 feet away, where a gargantuan ape stood on a buff black horse, with a smoking pistol in his bulky hand.

"Back to "Sabador forest"!" ordered the T guy with his gaze never leaving the hill. The hooded guys obediently disappeared into the dense tree filled forest, leaving their dead comrade where he lay.

The muscular ape at the top of the hill was scowling back down at him with his face set like stone, his arm placing the pistol back in it's hoister at his waist, his eyes never shifting from the hooded T creature far below him.

A smirk twitched on to the T hood's face. "You will die soon enough, Worren." he promised his voice gentle and almost under his breath. With that he took a long step back and was gone in the protection of the dark Sabador forest.

"No, you're the one who will die, Butch…." replied Worren low in his throat, his lengthy glare still focused in the spot the shadow creature had stood.

"That was an amazing shot, Captain! I didn't know shadow demons gave off a lime green light before they died! That's the second time you've killed a "Shadow Demon", and no one's ever killed a "Shadow Demon" before, except you." praised a scrawny, orange ape smiling and nodding brightly.

"No, it's only the first time I've killed a "Shadow Demon"; I shot Butch right in his heart last time we fought it was a fatal blow, I was sure I had disposed of him once and for all, but only a few years later I find not only is he still alive, he's more powerful then ever!"

"Oh, right, the "Shadow Demon" with the glowing green T's on his cheeks named Butch, the one that killed your father." Replied the orange ape in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I told you never to speak of that! Must I remind you, Safu!" roared Worren, grabbing the orange ape by his orange chest fur and holding him up to his snarling face.

"Sorry Captain! I'm sure you'll kill Butch very soon, you can just shoot him with that "gan"." Stated Safu in fear.

"It's called a "gun"! Given to me by my father! The only one of it's kind left on the planet, it's from the past when those despicable humans used to dominate the planet." Worren's rabid narrow wide eyed stare grew tender as it moved to gaze at the pistol being raised up in his free hand. "It only has four bullets left, and I've promised myself that one of which will take the life of the filthy, flea-bitten, "Shadow Demon" Butch! And this time he will die!" boomed Worren, slamming Safu to the ground and caressing the pistol tenderly in both hands, and watching his blurry reflection against it's silver barrel.

No one has a exact record or date of when it happened, but apes managed to take control of the entire planet with the element of surprise on their side, after all, who could have guessed that all of a sudden all the apes would show their true intelligence and start a war. In the end the apes were victorious. So now the apes are the dominant species of the earth, they are faster and stronger then ordinary humans. The only exceptions are Shadow Demon humans who are far superior then the apes, but there are only few of them. Most all human technology such as cars, electricity, CD players, heaters, stoves, etc, were destroyed by the apes, because they feared the humans would use these things to over power them. Occasionally "lost technology" will be found, but it is exceedingly rare, and even so, most humans are ignorant of their usefulness, but the technology is likely to be useless once it is finally uncovered. However if a rare case occurs where an item is not broken and the human knows how to use it, they still will lack the materials necessary to replicate the item

The humans that don't wish to become an ape's house-pet must use their wits to out smart the apes, but the human's greatest weapon against the apes is water.

The ape's bodies were not designed for swimming so they sink right to the bottom, so they naturally fear water greatly, which is why humans build their homes near, by, or on the water. Most humans in the world live in small villages and hardly ever have contact with humans from other communities. The humans that live in Sabador forest live in a fort that is surrounded on all sides by a man made moat, with a wood blockade ten feet high to protect them further from the ape's rampages. But the small fort has limited food, shelter and space which cause conflicts that usually break out into small riots which occur on daily bases, so some humans choose to live apart from the chaotic human community.

Human's had to learn to live all naturally like in the good old days...but life isn't very simple.

Now it begins

In a small clearing in the "Sabador forest" there is a small wood house that is tied to a large wood raft, which looks like a floating log cabin smack in the middle of a large river bank, near a titanic waterfall.

A barely 14 year old boy with short black hair that spiked out in random messy directions, with pointy bangs that came down past his forehead and into his bright lemon-lime green eyes. His small torso was wearing a gray shirt, with sleeves that were attached by safety pins, with brown elbow-long gloves made from the same rough material as his shoes. With torn and ripped loose black pants tied to his waist by a thick black rope tied into a bow in the front.

The boy slides a thick quilt aside from the doorway in the little one room raft house and takes a step out. His face blank, as his vacant lime-green eyes scan the surrounding 15 foot deep, transparent, clean green-blue waters that made his floating home an island. Gleaming scaled fish shine like colorful gold as the gentle sun filters through the leaves of the lengthy branches.

"Rath!" hollers a stern female voice from inside the house.

"Yah, mother?" replied Rath dryly, his gaze still focused on the fish infested deep waters.

"I told you not to go anywhere with out me knowing where you're going." stated Rath's mother sharply.

"I'm staying around our "territory." Lied Rath, flinging himself into the cool smothering water arms first. His eyes opened up quickly to stare down at the darkening shades of green turn into blue as the waters sink further down. Then his feet begin to kick and his hands and body glide him through the waters, and he shoots on to the shore like a bullet.

Most humans in these times can swim as fast, or faster then they can run. People that don't embrace and make allies with water are quickly caught.

"Be back soon, it is your birthday!" called R.M. her voice taking in a slightly tender tone, as her deep violet eyes watch Rath slip leisurely into the dark forest, then her jaws and eyes clench shut as she clutches her stomach in pain and hunches over letting a weak moan slip out. She wore a fluffy brown robe over an old white dress that had laces running the length of the front, the dangling ends of the dress were tied to her legs like pants to prevent it from dragging on the ground or trip her when she went hunting, which she hadn't done for a while now.

"Damn, my condition's getting worse….." she growls through her tightly compacted jaws, her hip-long straight silver-white hair bordering around her face as it twisted in pain. Her thick bangs dangling almost over her squeezed eyes.

Rath had only walked a few miles away from his "territory" when he heard something coming toward him from behind, without turning around he grabs hold of a thick tree trunk and promptly climbs up into the high branches, as the noise rushed closer, then "SWOOP!" a unusually large, black crow lands on the branch in front of Rath.

"Scope! You scared the crap out of me!" Rath never knew why the crow he named Scope always fallowed him around, but it always did ever since he could remember, but it hardly ever made contact with him, and it wasn't very affectionate(nothing now a days was affectionate anyway) but it always kept a watchful eye on him.

Scope dropped a small heavy card board box in Rath's lap, it flew off on soundless delicate wings. Rath blinked down bewilderedly at the gift. The crow had never done that before. He picked up the box and it fit in the palm of his hand, then pried opened one flap and peeked inside to find silver bullets ( there is only one gun left in the world, so bullets are the rarest and most valuable thing a person could have besides a actual gun of course, even though most humans and apes don't know what a gun is)

"What the hell is this?" exclaimed Rath, holding one of the bullets up to his face, which were as long as his pinky.

" This must be lost technology from years ago, back when humans were the dominant species of the earth." Exclaimed Rath in aw, his mouth hanging slightly ajar as he gazed deeply at the cold heavy sleek thing.

Then the bushes under the 30-foot tree Rath sat sprawled in began to rustle. He promptly slid the bullets in his pants pocket and took out his trusty pocketknife, pulling out the biggest, double-edged, blade, and prompted himself on all fours with his head bowed with focused eyes directed at the ground.

Bounding out of the bushes came a deer three times bigger then a normal full-grown deer, and it had a stunning, glossy, brown coat that shone even with the limited sunlight.

"Wow…." cooed Rath with fixated wide lime green eyes (most animals were extinct, since the apes wanted to be the dominate species of the earth they wiped out most all other species, meat-eating animals were the first to go, then all the herbivores. The apes had no use for animals, except horses and oxen for working purposes, since apes are vegetarian. For more intellectual labor, the apes used humans. But it will only be a matter of time before the apes try to wipe out the human raise as well, but they know it will be difficult, because humans won't die off as easily as the other species.)

Then Rath noticed that the deer had a dark red stain on her, it looked like a deep gash.

Rath clung on to the tree's thick branch then swung his body gently against the tree trunk and slid down with one arm clinging to the trunk and his feet skidding down beneath him. "Are you alright?" he asked gently, as his feet silently met the ground. Rath took small steps toward her slowly, hoping she wouldn't run, but the deer simply turned to glance at him dauntlessly her dark eyes deeply tranquil, as she bent her swan like neck down and began to nibble a small patch of unhealthy yellow-gold grass.

Just when Rath was within arms length of the deer something sprang out of the bushes and tackled him onto his back. The creature moved so swiftly Rath would have sworn he had been tackled by a yellow, black spotted, fur ball.

The creature swung a clawed paw at his face, but Rath kicked the creature off of him before it had a chance to make impact with his face, then he sprang back to his feet, standing between the deer and the leopard furred monster.

"Go away from deer!" hissed an angry young girl voice, coming from the leopard skinned creature, but now Rath had a good look at the animal and realized it was only a girl about eleven years old, wearing the hallowed out leopard skin like a cloak, with the leopard's head as a hood, the front of the leopard cloak hung open so you could see she had on a furry brown sleeveless shirt, and brown strips of rags that made-up a skirt dangling from her waist down almost all the way to her knees. Tied to the back of her hands were jagged sharp, black, spears that made her look like she had claws. She also had short brown hair and no shoes. Her fists where in the air with her claws read to strike.

"I'm not going to let you eat this deer! It's one of the few animals this earth has left!" snapped Rath as he spread his arms out at his sides, his lime green eyes glaring intensely.

"You say….no want eat deer?" asked the girl, her savage face growing blank and her head cocked to one side curiously.

"That's right and I'm not going to let you eat her either!" replied Rath, still protectively standing in front of the deer; who was still eating peacefully like she didn't notice the scuffle happening.

"Trankuility, come" cooed the cat girl sweetly, then to Rath's astonishment the deer stopped it's munching, picked up it's head and galloped happily to the cat girl's side.

"Oh I get it, it's a scam, you purposely put the red stain on the deer to lure creatures to her, so you can eat the creatures that try to eat her, like a worm on a hook." Said Rath, still on the defensive side.

"My name Miu, and this Trankuility." Said Miu, petting Trankuility down her head, Trankuility would be about three times taller then Rath if she stood on her hind legs.

"A cat and a deer working together….never would have thought of that." Replied Rath blandly.

Then Miu's fur stuck up (even though it wasn't her own) she raised her chin, got up on her tip-toes and sniffed the air and then landed down on all fours, with a long hiss seething from her throat.

"That "bounty of apes" in forest! FLEE!" exclaimed Miu as she pounced like a cat and landed softly on Trankuility's back, the deer jetting off like a graceful blur.

Mostly everyone lived by the rules of sabador forest; all for one and one for all/ survival of the fittest and smartest.

Rath remained where he stood like a statue, his arms hanging loose by his sides and his silent gaze still peering out where Miu and Trankquility had slipped away to.

"The bounty of apes" runs through the "sabador forest" capturing humans to sell for profit.

Rath closed his eyes gently with his dark sharp lashes against his cheeks, then folded his arms impatiently across his middle.

Rath's six senses filled with anxiety as something stalked up from behind him, they screamed at him to run or attack, but Rath wouldn't allow himself to budge. After what seemed like an eternity, a huge pair of hairy arms wrapped around his torso and lifted him off the ground, and his back was held tightly against an ape's firm armored chest, like it was giving Rath a big bear hug from behind. Rath instincts automatically told him to struggle against the ape's firm grip, but getting captured was the easiest way to get into the ape's village, even though it was degrading.

"That's right come quietly and I won't have to do the honor of beating the senses out of you." Sneered the ape's mocking voice. (We'll call this ape ape #2)

Rath's heart raced in fiery spite. "If you don't shut up soon you're not going to be able to reproduce…." he snarled under his breath. Rath didn't believe in killing and never killed a single creature in his life (his mother killed fish and cooked it but that's all the meat he ever ate), why kill someone if you can make their entire life a living hell? Torture was always the best method.

Just when Rath felt he couldn't contain his contempt, he was shoved into an itchy burlap sack. Rath jerked around inside, till he brought himself into a twisted slumped sitting position, then he brought out his pocket knife and stabbed a small eye hole in the side. Then the sack was lifted up and swung around in mid air, making Rath dig his nails and clench handfuls of the sack as the speed increased. Finally the movements slowed to a normal pace and Rath peeked out the hole to see a large clearing in front directly in front of the enormous stone wall which surrounded the ape village. There were a few dozen clusters of warrior apes grunting and muttering to one another. These weren't "bounty of apes" these were "warrior apes".

"Did you find anything?" asked ape 1, as ape 2 walked out of Sabador forest.

"No, but I did find a human child, it's better then coming back empty handed." Replied ape two proudly.

"It's not putting up a fight, which means it's either sick and or injured, so it won't be worth DIRT!" roared ape 1 insultingly.

"SHUT UP!" roared ape 2 angrily, as he dropped the burlap sack and attacked ape 1 in rage (apes claim to be more evolved and tame then humans, but they are basically at the same low level; violent and stupid.)

Then ape 1 let out an eardrum piercing roar of pain, then he held his bloody hand out, which now only had empty stubs where there should have been fingers.

"If all the apes on this force are as pathetic as you two then it's no wonder we haven't found the "Shadow demon's" hiding place…" snarled the unmistakably harsh voice of the captain of the ape army, and the ape's village Governor, Worren, as he licked the warm copper tasting blood from his sword's blade clean off.

"Ha, no kcufing way you dratsabs will ever find the Shadow Demon's hiding place…." snickered Rath to himself, a satisfied smirk curling one corner of his lips smugly. Rath idolized the "shadow demons", even though most humans along with apes feared them immensely. Rath's mother continually told him they were dirty, bloodthirsty, monsters, but it didn't matter to Rath, they were the only force that fought triumphantly against the apes, and that's all that counted.

"Those damn Shadow Demons are ruining this Community's reputation and keeping tourists away! Not to mention eating our people! And as the community's governor this makes me look like horse-shit!" boomed Worren in blinding rage.

Ape two took a few slow steps backward and picked up the burlap sack. "Well Sir, I did manage to catch a human child." he said nervously.

"One filthy human child can't make up for even an arm of a Shadow Demon!" roared Worren grabbing the sack from ape 2.

"You're all as worthless as "It" is!" spat Worren, slamming the bag to the ground, Rath braced the impact with his arms and legs and now they were beginning to sting with pain. His brain seemed to spin in his skull and he began to crawl blindly forward from the sack.

When Rath opened his eyes he found himself starring up at Worren, the meanest, ugliest looking ape you would hopefully never have to see. Worren eye's were wide and narrow, but not in rage as they normally where, they seemed almost petrified in fear as he stared silently down at the boy on his hands and knees.

"What the hell is this?..." muttered Worren lowly with a bit of hostility, as he reached down one hand and grabbed Rath from the front of his neck and raised him up to his face.

Rath shut his eyes tightly, he felt his throat closing in yet he kept totally calm and his body made no suggestion that he was the least bit afraid, as his hand began to reach slowly for his pocketknife, it was his only chance of survival if Worren planned to kill him.

"Open your eyes, OPEN THEM!" ordered Worren squeezing Rath's neck even more then he was, forcing a gurgling groan from his throat.

Rath could easily enough stab Worren with his pocketknife, but if he did Worren would probably not flinch long enough for him to get away and Worren would definitely kill him dead right there, and he would never be able to get into the ape village, so Rath decided to give the psychopath what he wanted, and he opened his eyelids, but made sure not to look into Worren's eyes, ape's didn't like to be looked in the eyes by humans.

Worren examined Rath's face slowly and carefully, with his vice like grip never slacking, then he finally let released his hold suddenly, and Rath landed down on his butt and began inhaling violent greedy amounts of air.

"…assjack…" muttered Rath between breaths (all swear words are spelled and said differently, cause that's how you swear in the future, and it keeps the rating for this story low, plus it's funnier that way

Worren didn't seem to hear the insult, yet his cold studious gaze was still on the boy. "Why did you let yourself get caught so easily if you really are…" began Worren thoughtfully, but an approaching horse stopped his train of thought.

"Worren, you're needed at the "meeting house" said Safu, stopping his horse in front of Worren, separating the ape from the boy.

"I'm on my way, and Safu, take that human to my home and keep a powerful watch on him." ordered Worren strictly, jumping on his black buff steed.

"Should we get him "tagged" with your symbol?" asked Safu picking a beetle out of his fur and popping it in his mouth.

"Yes." he answered, then turned an ominous glare down at Rath. "I'll be watching you…" just before he rode off on his might horse.

"What bit your ass and gave you rabies?" muttered Rath glaring sourly as Worren stomped away..

"Oh my badness, no wonder Worren looked so shaken! You look just like…" began Safu when his horse with out warning bucked up on its hind legs, throwing Safu off it's back.

"Err…curse you Charl!" growled Safu scowling at his brown horse, then got up, dusted himself up then began walking toward Rath, but he froze when Rath lifted a hostile glare up at him.

"Um...Cerfee, please take the human to Worren's house for me…I have to…go to an appointment…." stuttered Safu, backing away from Rath with fear growing rapidly in his eyes, which were still locked on Rath's loath filled lemon-lime eyes.

"Better hurry! Before you wet your fur!" mocked Cerfee, as the other three apes snickering and jeering along with him. Safu was too frightened to comment as he pounced upon his horse and rushed away leaving a heavy cloud of dust.

"What did they think it looked like?" asked ape 2 to the three other apes (ape 1 went to get his wound treated in the village, before he got gangrene)

"I don't know, all humans look the same to me." replied Cerfee starring at Rath along with the other three apes, while Rath scowled back at them with silent irked eyes. Rath hates having the spot light on him, especially with apes.

"He doesn't look scary to me, his eye color is unusual but that's about all." commented ape 3 peering into Rath's hostile bright lemon lime green eyes.

Rath couldn't handle the deep stares any longer and blurted out. "Shouldn't you take me to your village already!" more as a demand then a suggestion.

"Shut up you little vermin! If you didn't belong to Worren I would beat you for talking back to an ape!" spat ape 3 aggressively.

Rath's eyes flashed wide in shock, but not from the threat." WHAT!" then his eyes grew dull and bitter. " Just my luck I would end up belonging to the most, insane, holeass ape there is." he muttered to himself.

"We better get to the village already, I hear the "shadow demons" kill ape's during the day now, not only at night." stated ape 2 grabbing Rath roughly by the back of his shirt and dragging him along as Rath fought against his forceful pulling and managed to stay on his feet as they skidded forward, until he was lifted up and dropped into a wood cage in the back of a wagon.

"what the hell did those dumb apes think I looked like?" wondered Rath out loud, as the titanic gates of the huge 90-foot stonewall which confined the ape village opened up for the wagon and the marching apes.

Rath's vivid lemon-lime green eyes wondered all over the huge village, there was so many houses, big ones, small ones and even enormous mansions. Stores of every kind, hospitals, schools, barber-shops, and even more. It caused Rath's hate for apes to burn even brighter thinking about how comfortably the apes lived, while all the other species suffered, starved and died away.

The ape's community was about a million times bigger then the human's chaotic, dilapidated community, ironically apes learned how to build, farm, cook and almost everything else from the humans……

Rath continued to gaze around, he let out a small sigh, and with a determined chin he uttered. "Finding her won't be easy…..Liberty…."

Please review in detail what things confused you, or things that can be improved.

You'll find out about Liberty in the next chapter.

Thank you