A/N: This chapter made me sad. I felt bad for the butterfly. :( This hopefully means that I have a soul and am in fact not going to hell. Yay?

LOL - well anyway, all my reviewers totally rock and stuff! Thanks a million! XD

Also, Skumm drops a F-bomb here, just FYI.

"Big or small, all creatures have a right to survive," the Yeti said solemnly.

Dr. Blight folded her arms across her chest and slowly shook her head in disbelief at his words. "That's probably the single most idiotic thing I've ever heard anyone say. And trust me, coming from someone who is forced to listen to Captain Planet's puns on a regular basis, that's not something to take lightly."

Plunder groaned. "You're telling me. God, his jokes are absolutely...horrible..."

Greedly made a face. "Kinda makes me want to pollute more."

"Yeah, and kill stuff."

"That too."

The large Cryptid fixed Dr. Blight with a calm yet slightly severe look. "Why do you say that my words are 'idiotic'?"

She snorted contemptuously. "I'm not going to stand here and claim that humanity knows everything there is to know about nature. But I do have the confidence to state that we know enough, and that implying is that there is somehow a kind of morality in the natural world is wrong. It's complete hippie bullshit. It's.. just..." she trailed off in exasperation.

"Just...?" the Yeti prompted.

"Just...everything about that statement was like ten different kinds of wrong. And about eleven different kinds of stupid."

Dr. Blight started to pace restlessly, hands clasped behind her back, while launching into her rant.

"What does that even mean, anyway? 'All creatures have a right to survive'? Do they all have a right to try to survive? Or that they all have a right to live? But that wouldn't make much sense, because then you would be excluding carnivores from that 'right'. On the other hand, if you meant 'try to survive' in terms of merely having an equal chance, then that logic falls apart once one starts to scrutinize the reproductive strategies of the majority of invertebrate-"

She suddenly cut herself off as she turned to stare at the Yeti.

"I mean, honestly, do you even listen to yourself?"

The Yeti did not answer; he glanced at the jury of animals seated near him, and nodded at one creature in particular. It quickly took to the air and after gliding a few feet, landed gracefully on Verminous Skumm's hand. The rat was so startled at the sudden presence of bright color so near him that he jumped upright from his previously causal stance against the wall. Looking down, he was a little embarrassed to see that the source of his apprehension was a harmless butterfly. Skumm glared down at it in a huff.

And unfortunately for him, his reaction didn't go unnoticed by the others.

"Aw, whatsa matter, did the big bad butterfly scare you?" Nukem jeered, laughing hysterically.

Blight was snickering to herself, Plunder smirked, and Greedly was grinning like an idiot. Skumm's lip curled a little.

Sometimes he really, honestly hated them all.

One of these days...

Shaking the subsequent murderous thoughts from his head, he addressed the tiny insect. "What do you want? Gonna show me what horrible things humans have done to you? What makes you think I care?"

"It's not just about my habitat, it's much worse!"

And at that, they were gone in a brief flash of light.

"Where are we?" asked Skumm as the butterfly glided through the huge flowers of the field. For a moment they appeared to be mutated, but after a few seconds Skumm realized that it was a matter of perspective. They had been shrunk, or at least Skumm had been, to the size of an insect. It was interesting albeit a bit discombobulating for him; however he mused that experiencing something like this would be useful to be able relate a bit better to his closest relatives.

"This is my home."

He sneezed. He didn't like pollen, and although he didn't have a true allergy to it, the tiny grains did irritate his sinuses. Skumm felt his heart rate increase a little. He was naturally uncomfortable in open, bright areas like this, and he wished that the insect would hurry up with whatever point it was trying to make.

"Yeah, so?"

"It's being destroyed and-" The butterfly's words were drowned out by the roar of a nearby airplane engine. Skumm squinted as he looked into the bright sky at it, noting with interest a large cloud of chemicals that started to deploy from the tail. Quickly, the cloud descended upon them. Unconcerned, he wondered exactly what type of pesticides they were. The butterfly started to cough.

"What's...what's happening?" it exclaimed piteously, it's wing strokes becoming more spasmodic and irregular.

"Um, it's a crop duster. It's an airplane that spreads chemicals over farmland to kill insects."

"That's...horrible!"

Skumm's brow furrowed. "Insects eat crops that people need to eat. How is that horrible?"

"I don't eat crops!"

The rat had nothing to say to that, although the butterfly's continued struggles were starting to concern him. It wasn't that he cared that it lived or not, but the thought of it dying in midair and him plummeting a couple of thousand feet to his death wasn't something he relished.

"You might want to veer over to the left, the air seems cleaner there." The insect complied, and although it seemed to be feeling better, the craft suddenly doubled back, close enough to them that the wind-wake of the machine cause them to spiral crazily out of control. Despite himself, Skumm covered his eyes.

A few moments later, he sensed that his host had seemed to level off, and the scent of something very familiar, and something very close to home filled his nostrils. Somewhat eagerly, he uncovered his eyes. They were in a city. He grinned a little.

Finally.

He inhaled deeply.

Then that damned butterfly started hacking again, so much so that it was almost hit by an oncoming truck. It managed to flutter aside at the last second.

"Where have all the flowers gone?" it asked mournfully.

"We're in a city. You don't have flowers in a city. At least, not usually."

Suddenly, a large diesel tractor trailer released a large cloud of thick, black exhaust as it passed by underneath them.

"How can you humans live in such an awful place?" the butterfly asked, coughing. Skumm stared, briefly focusing on his filthy, cracked claws that he had rested on the insect's back. He unconsciously inhaled the truck exhaust as they passed overhead, his body indifferent to the poisonous gases entering his lungs and his bloodstream.

"I'm not human," he finally said in a distant voice, gazing longingly down at an open sewer line.

"...why? Why? Why did this happen...?" The butterfly's strained and tinny voice was acutely loud to Skumm's sensitive ears.

"Why what happened? You mean the poisons?"

"Yes..."

"You mean you can't live around them?"

"Of course I can't."

"Why not?"

Even Greedly had to scoff at his question. "Why do you think, Skumm? Most life on this planet can't survive in the same conditions you can."

Suddenly, a very irate expression appeared on Skumm's face as he glared at the other Eco-villain. He snarled a little.

"I'm a part of nature too! I evolved on the same STUPID planet YOU all have, and I'm here because of the same forces that made everything else! I can't believe you self-righteous assholes can just sit there and judge me about the things I have done – and for the most part, have needed to do – to live my own life!"

He made a few frustrated slashing motions in the air with his claws as he ranted.

"You know what? I'm sick and tired of this – and I'm not just talking about this whole stupid trial, either. I'm sick and tired of being told over and over again that I'm the freak, that I'm the deviant, that I'm the unnatural monster here! Who in the fuck are you – ANY of you – to say that what I need to survive is wrong?"

Nukem blinked. "Hey, yeah! What's with that?"

Angrily, Skumm looked over at the Yeti.

"So, let me tell you something, you hypocrite. Let me tell you that, although it might be a huge surprise to you and all of your animal friends, there are other forms of life that don't thrive in the same conditions you do, that don't live the same way you do, and that don't value the same things you do."

Skumm pointed to the butterfly. "You need open, bright, unpolluted fields to survive."

Then he gestured to himself. "I need enclosed, filthy, underground tunnels to survive."

Verminous Skumm then folded his arms across his chest. He sneered at the jury.

"Now, tell me...who's more right?"