Okeydoke Before we see where our heroes ended up after they had 'gone to plaid' we will have a brief flashback scene from a few days ago after Matoaka left the Herd in the last story.
Matoaka was furiously shearing her own mane...Apparently among Unicorns, shearing one's mane to stubble and trimming the tail tassel was a sign of pentence...Zander, didn't understand it, but at this point he was beginning to feel he didn't understand anything about Humanimals...Particurally after that awful spat Matoaka had with Fossil before they came to this strange place. Zander watched clumb after clump of ebony locks fall to the soft gray-green grass of this strange etherial dimenstion, where the sky was always grey and cloudy, the food was delectable and everyone who lived here lives to serve you and bring you happiness but Zander could barely be considered happy, as Matoaka began trimming her tail tassel. Zander set the sleeping Amalthia down in a patch of clover...Sullenly he turned so Matoaka wouldn't see his face, ever since this fiasco started with Morgan sending her Pig-Servant to steal his Wife's Crown...Zander had been left by himself tending Amalthia...Of course he hadn't been completely alone, he had the Humanimal Guest Families to speak with...But they weren't the Fellowship Crew...The Herd that had accepted him after he had been exiled from his Birth Planet...Exiled for mating with an Alien...And an Unnatural Lifeform at that...Matoaka had been the one who had requested he sleep with her...And apparently she knew when Aves mate, they are bonded for life to the one they first mate with...He had given everything for her...And for weeks he had been left alone with the Cub while she went off adventuring in another dimenstion...Zander felt nauseous...He began to molt.
Matoaka had finally finished trimming her tail tassel, she looked for her husband "Zander?" She saw him in the distance...Molting...Out of season.
"Zander!" Matoka trotted over to her Alien Avian Husband "Why...Why are you molting?"
Zander exhaled sharply. "I don't know..." He said "...Ever...Eversince this whole fiasco started with your crown being stolen...I've been stuck with Amalthia while you've been out risking your neck in some other dimenstion! I'm stuck worrying about you for days! You come back then leave again...I'm stuck worrying about you again and then you come back with a massive conniption and I don't know why because I wasn't with you when it happened! You fight with your Uncle and then he gives us tickets to this strange resort dimenstion...You are still upset the entire ride over...And here you are shearing your beautiful mane as pentence...And I'm here not knowing anything about anything!"
Matoaka realized her beloved husband...She had been neglecting him...Then she remembered the Awful Truth about the Humanimal People...She began to weep.
"Zander..." She said quietly "...Zander...I have learned the awful truth about the Humanimal Race!"
"Awful truth?" Zander wasn't sure what could possibly be awful about Humanimals...Of course he wasn't prepared for what he was about to hear.
"Zander..." Matoaka said "...From the very beginning the Crystal which creates us from ordanary animals...It does more then transform us physically...The Dark Crystal programs into our very DNA a profound need to serve all naturally evolved intelligent species."
"What do you mean?" Zander asked
"It means..." Matoaka felt herself become very hot under her fur "...We Humanimals feel a need to serve Humans and all other Naturally Evolved Races by loving them...A Humanimals Purpose is to love all others...Zander...This means my love for you is...Not natural...I'm programmed to love you! Just as the Wranglers are programmed to feel hatred I am programmed to love...But is that really true love?"
Zander was taken aback by this...It became crystal clear why Matoaka was so upset...Zander quickly felt shabby for his own bitterness. However some things didn't quite make sense in his mind...Matoaka's claim of her love being preprogrammed and thus she didn't love him of her own accord didn't seem to fit with the Matoaka who came to him because she could think of no one else to mate with...If she was preprogrammed to love all...Couldn't she have chosen anyone for that purpoise? And don't Humanimals choose mates of Fellow Humanimals all the time? While he didn't doubt Matoaka learned an awful truth...Zander couldn't help feeling it wasn't the WHOLE truth.
"Matoaka..." Zander said quitly "Mattie..." The Pet Name only her could call her as he rubbed the tears from her eyes "...I think your love for me isn't something hardwired into your DNA...And I think you know deep down the love we have is truly real...I don't know how I know...But Humanimals aren't the only ones who have Animal Instincts."
Zander plucked Amalthia from her bed of clover. "We'll figure this out...Together." Zander said with smile as he caressed her cheek with a finger.
That had been a few days ago.
Today...Or was it tonight? Leonardo and Donatello were the first to awaken after being sucked into the Vortex after destroying Feral's Portal...The thunder boomed above them...And they both felt rain pouring down.
"Oh...Shell..." Don groaned "What happened? Where am I?"
"I'm here Don!" Leo immediatly called out
It took a few moments before he could see anything "I think we're in some kind of park..."
"Central Park?" Don asked weakly
"No..." Leo said "...I can see Suburbs nearby...This clearly isn't the center of Manhatten."Shell...What happened?"
Don remembering what had happened before he blacked out, began to panic "Belladonna!" He called out.
"She's over here!" Came Ichabod's voice "By this elm tree!"
DOn quickly rused over and saw Ichabod, Marzipan and the rest of the Fellowship Crew besides Belladonna...She wasn't awake and she had a thin trickle of blood running down between her eyes.
"She doesn't seem badly hurt..." Ichabod said "...But we can't seem to get her to awaken..."
Of course then came the voices of the Morning Glories as they awoke,
"I can't move!" Exclaimed Chloe!
"I can't either!" Groaned Nimble
None of them knew help was soon coming...
Three Mutants, were leaping across the roofs...Two of them were Birds, Seagulls in fact but Seagulls of two different species, one was a typical Herring Gull, one was a Black Headed Gull, common in Europe but would be a strange sight in North America.
The Third was an Amphibian...A Handsome Young Leopard Frog...And I do mean young, the rog was 13 Years of Age and he still had the stub of a tadpole tail.
"Oh boy!" The Frog chirped as they rain poured down "This is such a great day!"
"Your you it is." Said the Black Headed Gull..."But we came here today because no Human will see us in this weather."
^If you want to survive Jeff^ The Herring Gull spoke Telepathically ^You need to learn the basics of stealth and secracy.^
"Now listen up
You've got a lot to learn
And if you don't learn you don't eat
But if you're tough
And always use your head
You'll feel right at home on the street
When you've got talent ev'rything is free
Watch how we do things, oooh, I guarantee"
"If you stick with us Jeff." The Black Headed Gull said "We can garantee you'll survive this city."
"You're gonna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
If you do just as you're told
These are streets of gold
Ev'ry boulevard is a miracle mile
You'll take the town and you'll take it with style
If you play it brave and bold
These are streets of gold"
As they neared the park, Jeff heard the sounds of the Mutants and Humansls below.
"Whoa!" Jeff exclaimed "I've never seen so many Mutants in one place before!"
The Two Gulls looked towards the park "Whoa." Said the Black Headed Gull
^I see humans with them.^ The Herring Gull said darkly
"We have Human Friends." Jeff said "What about Goober and Charlene and Roachclip and the Notorious D.I.Y.?"
The two Gulls hesitated.
"Some of those guys look hurt." Jeff said "They probobly need help...I'm gonna talk to them."
Before either Bird could stop him, Jeff leaped down and hopped into the park.
Read and Review