Wow that was a long delay. There wasn't much I can do about it though; with my wedding being right around the corner and school, it felt like people were grabbing me by the arms and pulling me back and forth.
But at least the chapter is nice and long for everyone to enjoy! This is indeed the last chapter before the epilogue so a lot of loose ends are being tied together. Hope everyone loves!
The Tree with a Tongue
Chapter 20: Let it Grow
"There's no dirt anywhere Ted."
Ted was on his hands and knees, futilely clawing and banging on the plastic coated ground. How in the world did he forget about this? What the heck were they going to do?
Everyone turned their heads as a car screeched to a halt not too far from them. Helen practically threw herself out of her car followed by Norma, who came out of the passenger seat in a slower, more careful fashion.
"Oh Ted!" Helen shouted, throwing her arms tightly around her son, "I was so worried! We drove all over town but we couldn't find you!"
By then, Norma caught up to her daughter, "Nope, just the trail of destruction you left behind," she said with a giggle. She nudged him lightly with her cane, "Good job."
Helen snapped a glare at her, "Mom!"
Meanwhile, while hiding in the background of the commotion, the Once-ler got down on one knee and placed a gloved hand on the ground. He wasn't sure how, but he could not only feel the soil beneath this plastic prison but the nutrients within it. The soil beyond the walls of Thneedville was dead and stale; the long years of sour air and acid rain had damaged it; nothing could grow out there even if he did try.
But here…here the soil was very rich and fertile; the plastic coating most likely protected it from the years of pollution and environmental decay and was able to restore itself. As much as he'll never admit it out loud, O'Hare's attempt to hide anything natural had helped make it stronger. How ironic.
"I can…." He finally gasped out loud, "I can feel the soil beneath here, and it's healthy enough for the seed. We just need to break through this plastic." He held a gloved hand up to his head; his vision was beginning to black out…
"But how?" Kyle asked.
Norma gazed around the park area and noticed there was a small construction site not too far away with a small wrecking ball. An idea formed in her head.
"Grammy?" Ted asked, "Grammy what are you doing?"
Helen stepped forward, "Mom?"
Grammy didn't respond to either of them, instead she hummed a little tune in her head and with the help of her cane; she bounced up the stairs and planted herself on the seat. After a scan around the controls and a little twiddling of her fingers, she reached down and felt underneath the seat; she smiled brightly when she felt the pair of keys being held by a strip of Velcro. She thrust the key into the ignition and the engine roared to life.
The group watched as the metal contraption headed in their direction, however judging by how unsteady Norma's steering was, it was a good idea to avoid its path.
As the kids helped the Once-ler to his feet, Helen shouted, "Mom, get out of there! You're not even allowed to drive a car anymore!"
Norma waved her off in a huff, "Oh please, that eye doctor was a quack, and stop babying me! I know what I'm doing."
It took Norma all her strength but she managed to push one of the levers upward, lifting the wrecking ball higher. She then thrust it back down and the metal ball was dropped down hard onto the ground, breaking through the plastic and sending the pieces flying everywhere.
The rest of the group crouched and shielded their heads from the flying pieces. When they regained their posture, Ted smiled, "You're awesome Grammy!"
Norma hopped off the machine and smiled, "Of course I am." She pointed her cane to the dirt that showed through the shattered plastic, "See, easy."
Ted felt hope and excitement for the first time this entire day, "Great! We can plant the seed and…."
"Ted," Audrey spoke fearfully.
Perhaps he spoke too soon….
When he turned to face his two friends, he noticed Kyle was shaking the Once-ler. Audrey spoke again, "Ted, something's wrong; the Once-ler he's….he's not responding!"
o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o
There was so much damage; the people of Thneedville were not used to this kind of chaos. Several residents were scattered about, observing the property damage all around them. Many lost their vehicles, their businesses; even the homes of some had been damaged due to debris.
And it's all because of that Wiggins kid.
He brought that horrid Once-ler in and now no one was safe; they've been stricken in fear all this time and now they've had enough. Some shouted that they saw the Wiggins kid and the Once-ler heading towards the park in the center of town.
They all gathered in numbers and with newfound bravado, they headed towards the park.
o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o
Sadness filled the air as the group gathered around the Once-ler. Ted placed his hands on the Once-ler's shoulder and arm and gave it a shake, "Mr. Once-ler….Mr. Once-ler!"
The Once-ler stirred slightly, "T-Ted."
The kids helped lay the Once-ler gently on the ground; he was as limp as a doll. The Once-ler weakly attempted to lift his head but he didn't have the strength to keep it up and with that, it fell back on the ground. He spoke again, "I'm sorry Ted…but….I think this is it for me…."
Ted kneeled down in front of him; fresh tears beading up at his eyes, "You…you can't. We….we finally….the seed…..we made it, we did it."
The Once-ler smiled weakly, "You've done so much for me….all of you did." He motioned to everyone else standing around him with equal sadness. "I know the seed will be safe with you guys, and I know now that….someday….someday the valley will come back. The barbaloots….the swamee swans…..the humming fish…..you'll love them; they're really playful." He tried to chuckle, but all that came out was a violent cough, "And the Lorax….mustache…..I know you and him will be good friends Ted. I know many can't see him, but I'm confident you will be able to…..though I'd suggest hiding your….toothbrush from him….."
"Stop….just stop it…." Ted choked; the Once-ler's words sounded too final, he couldn't stand it.
The group heard voices from the distance; they turned and watched the angry crowds slowly approaching them. The Once-ler managed to lift his arm and grab Ted's, "Please, plant the seed and protect it; don't let them…..don't let him…"
His arm fell limp. His words stopped.
Ted hung his head low; his face hidden from the rest of the group. Norma gently kneeled down and placed her gentle hand on top of the Once-ler's head; tears trailing down her aged face.
Helen, Audrey and Kyle meanwhile, approached the group and form a protective line between them and Ted.
"Stop this!" Helen shouted angrily, "Stay away from my son!"
One person snapped back at her, "Your boy has been nothing but trouble!"
"He brought that Once-ler into our town!" Another shouted.
Audrey stepped forward with a firm look on her face, "Listen to me everyone! I know we have caused a commotion throughout all of Thneedville, but that's because we have been trying to share a wonderful truth with you!"
"Truth? What truth?" A lady responded.
"About trees!" Kyle exclaimed.
When he saw Audrey stand up to the huge crowd of people, it gave him a little inspiration to speak up as well. But when all he got were glares and a few people muttering, that inspiration was short lived. Kyle lost his confident posture and stuttered, "I mean….you know, real trees."
"Real tree? What exactly is a real tree?" One man asked snidely.
Kyle left his mouth open, but no words came out. He wasn't entirely sure himself, with that he turned to Audrey for help. Audrey took another step forward again with a soft smile, "Real trees are one of the most wonderful things in the world; something this land hasn't enjoyed in a long time. But with your help, we can bring them back! We can plant the very last seed and take care of it so it will someday give us more seeds to plant." She gently pulled the seed out of her pocket and showed the sprout to everyone….it seemed a little wilted.
The whole town stood there in silence, unsure of how to respond to the seed the girl was holding. After a full minute, one man stepped forward; his features bristled with anger, "Are you kidding me?! You've caused all this commotion and damage to our town just for that…that thing?!"
The man's comment was quickly followed by an uproar of agreements and angry shouting. Audrey shrank back to where Helen stood, the seed now being cupped protectively in her hands as Helen placed supportive hands on her shoulders. All three slowly backed up as the crowd of angry people pounded them with questions.
"What is so special about real trees?!"
"What do they even do?!"
"We have all these nice plastic trees in town already!"
"Why do we even need a real tree anyways?!"
A sharp bark of laughter cut through the words of the townsfolk, rendering them silent. They all turned to their right and noticed O'Hare leaning against a park bench; his large toothy grin widened with amusement after watching the entire scene earlier.
"Exactly," O'Hare sneered.
He pushed himself off the bench, dusted off his suit that has been ripped slightly from the chase and smoothed his messed up hair the best he could. As he began to walk around the crowd, Kyle grumbled, "Oh great."
Audrey looked over her shoulder, "Ted?"
Ted didn't move; he was still hunched over the Once-ler's motionless body. Norma, with one hand still on the Once-ler's head she put her other hand on Ted's shoulder to comfort him.
O'Hare cleared his throat as if preparing to preach out one of his big promotional speeches, "You guys want to know about real trees? Well there's a reason why there aren't any in town, they're awful! There these horrible dirty things that pop out of the ground all over the place! If you let them just grow wherever then they'll take over your parks, your businesses, your homes!" O'Hare made expressions with his hands as if he was telling a horror story, and the people in Thneedville were eating it up with a spoon.
Audrey had a fearful look on her face; things were not looking well for them. She gazed down at the sprout; now that it was beginning to wilt she wondered if it was too late to plant it. She turned to Ted but he still wasn't responding to O'Hare or anyone.
O'Hare meanwhile, continued his rant, "They make all these filthy leaves! They grow on their branches and then they just….die! They wither away and fall all over the place, making a horrible mess!" The gasps from the residents was music to O'Hare's little ears, "And don't get me started on the kinds of pesky bugs they attract; like bees! They just buzz around and sting you for no reason!" O'Hare turned his head away, pretending to look scared, "But that's not even the worst part."
"There's more?!" One person shouted.
"Oh yes," O'Hare replied grimly. He took a deep breath, "If you're around trees for far too long, you could…..you could…end up like THAT!" He pointed his stubby finger over at the Once-ler.
The entire crowd shouted in fright.
Audrey was so becoming so angry she could almost feel the tears of frustration forming in her eyes. She walked out of Helen's comforting hold and stepped forward again with newfound fire in her eyes, "Stop it! He's lying to all of you!"
O'Hare shrugged innocently, "Why would I dare lie?" He gestured to the Once-ler again, "I never wanted you all to know the horrid facts about trees, I've tried so hard to keep them safely away from all of you but now as you can see, these troublemakers are trying to let trees infest our perfect town. Who's with me in putting a stop to it?!"
The crowd erupted in cheer.
O'Hare pointed at the Once-ler, "We can start by getting rid of that horrid thing and the seed it brought with!"
o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o
Ted heard everyone's words around him but they sounded like they were miles away. He felt like such a failure; shouldn't dramatic heroic events have a happy ending? He looked at the corner of his eyes and saw his Grammy silently sobbing for a life-long friend she had not seen in so many years; a friend who she wanted to help as much as he did, now laid lifeless before them. Her sorrow made his feeling of failure even worse.
Then he heard the cheers from the people; people who were blinded by O'Hare's propaganda. The people had to learn the truth; there was nowhere to run anymore. When he heard all their footsteps marching towards him, he swiftly got to his feet and firmly walked up and spread his arms out.
"Don't touch him!" he shouted with a snarl.
The anger from Ted's voice thankfully made the people stop in their tracks; however their faces still showed their determination. If there was any time to speak his story, now was it.
Ted took a calming breath, "Listen, I was once like all of you; I went through the days in my life only worrying about my own problems, cause why should anything else be my problem if it doesn't affect me?" He paused, "Well, I quickly realized how wrong I was. This whole thing started by trying to find a real tree for Audrey on her birthday, then with a little help…" he turned and gave his Grammy a smile, "I found a way to get one, but it involved doing something I never thought I would do in a million years…I had to venture outside of town and find the dreaded Once-ler." He took a breath, "I could've easily had just given up right from the beginning and got Audrey something different, but when I saw how much the thought of seeing a real tree made her happy, I knew I had to at least try….and I did."
He took a quick glance over his shoulder at the Once-ler.
"When I finally found him, I expected the very worst; like getting maimed or eaten. Instead, I found a person who was just as scared of us as we were of him. Sure he may look….different but when he told me a very sad, yet moving story of how he came to be this way, I understood why. What you see behind me is a man who has big dreams just like we do; a man who has let greed and lack of responsibility cloud his judgment and almost rendered Truffula trees to the point of extinction, he wanted to do whatever it took to prevent that from happening and he got that chance. Throughout these years he's desperately wanted to save the trees, he's even come to O'Hare for help….and he pushed him away." He shot a dark glare at O'Hare, "All just so he can continue to make his fortune."
Some people in the crowd in began to mutter to each, others glanced over at their mayor. O'Hare's face twitched as his nerves got a little rattled, then quickly composed himself with a chuckle, "Please, I have no idea what you're talking about."
Ted kept his glare firm on him, "Why don't you tell them another reason you didn't want trees in Thneedville….the real reason." That caused more mutters from the crowd. "You guys are wondering what is so special about real trees? Real trees are able to produce fresh air!"
The crowds were definitely taken aback from that answer. While O'Hare listened to the curious words of the people, he began to sweat, "Oh come on! He's lying to you guys!"
Audrey stepped forward again to help Ted, "No he's not! We breathe oxygen and release carbon dioxide, just as trees breathe carbon dioxide and release oxygen. It's a cycle! We need trees as much as trees need us! And right now this little seed needs our help."
As she held up the seed to show everyone, she could've sworn it straightened up slightly.
Ted continued to usher onto the crowd, "The only thing O'Hare wants to protect is his own assets, if enough trees are growing then we wouldn't have to pay for fresh air, we can have it for free!"
The somewhat upbeat tones from the crowd told Ted that they were beginning to believe him, or at least were putting some thought into it. Everyone including Ted turned to O'Hare as he began to laugh.
"Please, are you trying to tell me a simple weed is able to produce what my advanced machines can do? It's crazy! Who are you going to believe? A young reckless kid who had no problems endangering your lives today while ranting about what sounds like something from a science fiction movie, or me?! Your honest and kind hearted mayor, who has made sure this whole town ran like clockwork? The mayor who allowed you all to feel safe and secure; the mayor who made sure you always had everything you wanted whenever you wanted. You're lives were just fine weren't they? Things are perfect in Thneeville! Why should we risk changing all of that just for something as trivial as real trees? Why fix what's not broken?"
The crowds slowly began to switch sides again.
Audrey muttered to him, "What are we going to do Ted?"
Ted stared at the crowd firmly; he wouldn't be able to use words to argue with what he assumed was O'Hare's trump card. At that point, he couldn't use words anymore; for them to know the truth, they had to see it for themselves.
There was only one thing left to do.
Ted turned heel and ran towards the Once-ler, "Kyle, give me a hand with him. Everyone follow me to that bulldozer over there."
The group had little time to think as Kyle lifted one arm while Ted lifted the other and they rushed over to the parked bulldozer as quickly as they could.
As the crowd shouted out in protest against them, they slowly began to follow them. O'Hare chuckled amusingly at them as he shouted, "Where ya going Ted?"
The two boys set the Once-ler down on the passenger side and Norma sat beside him to keep him up. Ted rushed over to the driver's seat and turned the key that was left in the ignition and started the bulldozer, Audrey and Kyle squeezed up front with him while Helen sat on the other side of the Once-ler. Ted made a slow wide 180 degree circle, spooking the approaching crowds and causing them to back away.
"Ted, what are you doing?" Kyle asked.
"Something I should've done sooner."
As he slowly drove up the ramp, O'Hare shouted mockingly, "I'm not sure what you're trying to pull Teddy, but no one's impressed! Just give up already!"
Audrey tensed up when she noticed where Ted was steering the massive machine, "Ted….Ted you're going to crash into the wall!"
Ted only smirked, "Yeah…..I know."
Everyone flinched as they braced themselves for the upcoming collision. They all jerked forward followed by a loud thundering noise rippling through the air; the wall shuttered violently but it remained intact. He backed the machine and tried again.
"That boy's gone crazy!" One person shouted, "He's going to destroy us all!"
O'Hare's blood ran cold when he suddenly realized what Ted was doing, "Someone stop him!" he roared.
It was too late.
The bulldozer collided again, this time it was a success. Wires snapped and metal groaned as a piece of the wall slowly began to fall backward. The first to go was the giant Thneedville sign; sparks erupted from it as it broke off its stand and crashed down onto the ground on the other side. Giant pieces of the wall fell apart as it timbered down like a chopped tree.
All that remained was a giant fog of dirt.
He felt warm again; as if he was sitting underneath the sun he had missed so much. He slowly stirred and opened his bright blue eyes; he couldn't believe it! He wasn't crazy! He was no doubt staring up at the sun itself. But that wasn't all; what accompanied the sun was crystal blue skies, another thing of beauty he thought he would never see again.
He sharply sat up and looked at his surroundings, he was gazing out into the same Truffula Valley he had remembered; the soft green grass, the clean rivers and of course the endless colors of the Truffula trees. However, he quickly noticed that something was missing.
There were no animals.
He tried to get up but he stumbled hard onto his knees. He barely recalled what happened before he woke up here; he was with Ted and his family and friends, he remembered evading from O'Hare's clutches, driving through every inch of the town of Thneedville, and talking to Ted as he laid flat on the ground.
"I'm…I'm dead." He muttered.
"No you're not."
The Once-ler jumped at the painfully familiar voice; a voice he had missed so much. He sharply turned his head in all directions trying to find him.
"You're not dead kid, but you are hanging on by a thread."
The Once-ler finally spotted him leaning against a Truffula tree; the Lorax.
He felt pressure building up on his face as tears formed in his eyes, he fought against every fiber of his being to not run up to his old friend and crush him in a bear hug.
"M…mustache!" he shouted in a shutter, "Wh….what is this? Is this heaven?"
The Lorax rolled his eyes, "I told you kid, you're not dead; this isn't heaven."
"But then….what is this place?"
The Lorax spread his long arms out, gesturing to the fields, "This is what the valley will look like someday…or it would have at least."
It was then that the Once-ler noticed small patches of the valley were as dry and dead as when he last left it; it seemed like they were slowly spreading.
"Wait? What do you mean?"
"This bright green valley is slowly fading away, along with you."
The Once-ler panicked, "B…but I've given Ted the seed! I…..I did what was right, the Truffula seed should be safe!" He trusted Ted with the seed…did he choose wrong?
The Lorax shook his head sadly, "The seed will be safe, but the very last of a species always has a very rare chance of surviving, I have seen it happen a lot."
The Once-ler ran a hand through his red hair, "I don't understand, what was the point of it all if it doesn't matter in the end!?"
The Lorax gave him a gentle look, "Kid, I did a lot more than just fuse you and that tree together." When he got nothing but a blank look from the taller man, he continued, "I was just fulfilling your wish. From my own choosing, I gave you a gift."
"A gift?"
"Magic is something I seldom use; if I use it too much, nature and all living things would become too dependent on it. They have to find their own strength, otherwise they can't survive on their own." He gazed down at his feet sadly, "I could've easily used my magic to restore the valley but…."
"….That's not how it works." The Once-ler finished softly.
The Lorax nodded with a small smile; the kid finally understood, "If I used my magic to restore the valley, then you and your family would just continue to chop down trees. You wouldn't have learned anything from it."
"But the animals…." The Once-ler whimpered.
"The Lorax sighed, "I never said it was easy. I knew it wasn't fair to let them go through all that but they did find their way and found a new home. It's like I said….."
"So they made it okay."
"Of course, and Melvin made sure of that."
The Once-ler closed his eyes to keep the emotion in; he was so glad Melvin found a safe place to live….he missed him so much.
"That must have been really hard for you." The Lorax looked at him sadly, "But it was that selfless act and your willingness to sacrifice anything to help the valley that showed me I could trust you with my gift."
The Once-ler shrugged, "What gift?"
"You are all that's physically left of the valley. In a way, you are the valley. The gift I gave you is the ability to restore and ensure that the valley can re-sustain itself, you've used the gift once if I recall….."
Then it clicked in the Once-ler's head. He remembered now; it was in O'Hare's office after he was found and caught, how a seed magically formed in front of him…before O'Hare crushed it under his shoe.
"I can create Truffula seeds."
"Bingo."
The Once-ler glanced down at his hands, "But…..how come I was never able to use it before? And why then of all times?
The Lorax frowned; his mustache drooped, "Because ever since you've locked yourself up in that Lurkum, you've been unwilling to trust any other human being…..especially yourself. That one incident was the very first time you truly had hope and trust for someone."
"But I….I couldn't just give anyone the seed….."
"Maybe not, but what about that young girl? Despite all the bad things that have happened in her life during and after your success of the Thneed, she put all that aside to forgive you and be your friend. If she was willing to forgive someone after that, don't you think you can too?"
The Once-ler looked away miserably.
The Lorax continued, "I don't blame you, a lot of ill has happened to you that day. Your family; the only set of people you should be able to trust took complete advantage of you and you lost everything you cared about in one big sweep." The Lorax also looked back on the hurt filled words the Once-ler said to him, "And also, some of it is my own fault."
The Once-ler looked at him confused.
"Like what you've been doing, I also did not trust humans. I've seen them disrespect nature far too much that I ended up being bitterly judgmental on them. When I first saw you and your strong desire to make your invention a success at whatever cost; to me, you were just another selfish human. But throughout the days, I began to see the other side of you; like your heroic, if not stupid, act to save Pipsqueak in risk of your own life. How the animals warmed up to you almost instantly when they have never done something that like before. But I think the biggest thing of all that made me second guess you was that you were able to see me."
He paused for a moment, "Only those who truly express caring feelings to nature can see me, I suppose that alone encouraged my dislike for humans. I will admit, throughout that time I began to see a friend in you but then I thought I was threatening the safety of the valley by letting you stay, especially after your family came along. I had to force myself to distrust you again in order to do what I thought was right at the time…..and I was wrong."
The Once-ler looked down sadly, "I didn't think those words you said back then would hurt me as much as they did. All my life I never had a single friend except for Melvin, but he was more family than he was a friend. After hearing you say that we were never friends, I got so angry that I decided to revert back to my old way of thinking; thinking only about myself." He smiled, "But hearing you say all this now, I'm glad to know at one point we actually were friends."
The Lorax smiled, "We still are. But you need to get your butt back up and help Ted."
The taller man frowned, "I'm too weak, I've been getting nothing but weaker throughout the years. What good can I do at this point?"
The Lorax shook his head, "That's because you're letting yourself get that way. You've kept yourself and the Truffula seed hidden from the world, nature can't be kept locked away like a caged pet, it has to be shared to the whole world; to everyone, that's its whole purpose for being.
The Once-ler became agitated, "Why couldn't you tell me this before?! After all this time?!"
The Lorax smirked, "You had to figure it out for yourself Beanpole, and I did leave you a clue."
The Once-ler growled, "I don't consider one word a clue, and I still don't understand what it means!"
The Lorax gave him a confident smile before he slowly began to vanish away in a sparkle, "Well, why don't you wake up and listen to what the beansprout has to say, then it will all make sense."
The valley began to slowly disappear until there was nothing but white around the Once-ler. He too felt himself begin to fade away.
"Beansprout?"
The Once-ler slowly stirred and as he opened his eyes, he discovered he was sitting in the backseat on a giant metal contraption. The first thing he saw was Ted getting up from the front seat, climbing out the window and standing on top of the machine as he faced the crowd of the awe struck residents. He felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder; he turned and saw Norma staring at him tear-filled eyes of joy. She seemed to be the only one that noticed his renewed state, as they were too focused on Ted as he began to shout.
"Listen to me everyone!" His voice began to fill with emotion, "O'Hare is wrong! Things aren't perfect here in Thneedville! While we lived in this tiny little haven, the rest of the land suffered and we ignored it!" He gestured out to the darkened wasteland, the crowd did nothing but stare with shock and sadness; there was no words to describe what they were seeing.
Norma smiled proudly at her grandson while she and the Once-ler listened in.
"And it's only going get worse unless we do something about it!"
Something seemed to have sparked to life within the Once-ler. He gasped out a whisper, "Unless…."
"Unless we change our ways!"
The Once-ler managed to get a good look at the crowd; he could see the emotion and sadness in their eyes; not only from the reality and truth from the situation but also he could sense empathy, it's as if they could feel the pain the rest of the land was feeling.
He whispered as a smile began to grow on his face, "Unless someone like them….."
He looked up at Ted, "Unless someone like you…."
He then looked over at Norma and put a gloved hand over hers, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better, it's not." Norma smiled as she placed her second hand on top of his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
It's amazing; with everyone here, in an instant the word of the Lorax was perfectly clear.
Ted took the wilted seed and held it up high for everyone to see, "And we can start by planting this!" At that moment, something wonderful happened; the seed that had slowly wilted throughout the entire encounter suddenly began to gain strength and sit straight up, the little cotyledons that protected the sprout began to peel off and fall to the ground, revealing a small vibrant ball of pink tuft on top of the shoot.
The whole crowd stared in awe at the little plant; the eyes of one little girl in particular sparkled. Trees can be pink? Pink was her favorite color!
The emotional atmosphere of the scene was then interrupted by O'Hare's angry shout, "Alright I had enough of this! Bot! Do your job and take care of him!" He stepped out of the way as the final spybot slowly trotted forward with its red eye glared straight at Ted. The crowds cried out in fright and scattered out of the creature's way while Ted took a careful step back, just as the spybot was ready to fire its net, a stern yet calm voice spoke out from the crowd.
"Alright that's enough."
Luke emerged from the crowd and intervened the bot. Before it could respond defensively, Luke opened a compartment on its back and roughly yanked out a couple cords, the spybot's spider like legs gave out as it shut down, collapsing onto the ground.
O'Hare eyes widened with rage, "What are you doing?!"
Luke glared at him, "Putting a stop to this. I've worked with you for a long time, and the only thing we knew was that you desperately wanted to catch the Once-ler; not once have you ever told us why. But whatever the reason was, there is one thing I know for sure; nothing is worth risking the lives of your own residents." He spoke louder so all of the people can hear, "How many times has your mayor crashed into you businesses, you cars and your homes throughout this incident? All just to catch this kid here? Don't you think maybe our mayor; our leader could've handled this in a much safer and more rational manner?"
That statement caused a stir in the crowd as O'Hare began to receive increasing glares from them.
"No. Instead he jeopardized our safety in a reckless frenzy; no one would do that unless they had something to hide." Luke walked up onto the bulldozer and gazed down at the shoot in Ted's hands, "And I don't know about the rest of you, but if trees can really do the things they say then I think they are worth a try."
One man slowly nodded, "He's right."
A woman agreed, "It would be interesting to see a real tree."
"It would be nice to not have to pay for air."
Ted smiled broadly at the nods and positive words coming from the crowd. He turned to face his friends and family but he silently gasped when he saw the Once-ler smiling at him with tear filled eyes.
He couldn't believe it, he was alive! He was okay!
As the group helped the Once-ler out of the bulldozer, Ted jumped off followed by Luke. They all smiled at the crowd as they slowly approached all of them warmly.
O'Hare simply stood there looking completely deflated, it was at that moment that he lost; he was seeing his creditability and ultimately, his fortune flying out of his reach. "No…" he whispered while he shook his head. He then turned his sights on Ted and the Once-ler, who was standing beside him; at this point all he could see was red as he began to charge at the two of them with a snarl, "YOU!" He fingers tightened and curled, all ten of them prepared to strangle the little brat's neck.
Ted took a step back; he was surprised at the shorter man's sudden advance. The Once-ler however was not fazed, instead he created a hardened glare, puffed up his chest and stood in front of Ted right before O'Hare could do anything. He roughly grabbed the front of his business suit and lifted him up to eye level.
Angry blue eyes met shocked black ones.
"You hurt Ted," he snarled, "It will be the last thing you ever do. I'm done running away from you; the seed and I are here to stay."
O'Hare got over his initial shock and glared back at him, "Do you think I'm going to let that happen?! I'm still the mayor of this town and whatever I say goes!"
The Once-ler clenched his finger into a fist, wanting to punch the smug look on the shorter man's face. He couldn't do it though, despite his verbal threat he would never go through with it; it just wasn't in his nature and he would imagine getting punched by something made of bark would hurt…..a lot.
Just then, a large hand clamped down on O'Hare's head and pulled him out of the Once-ler's grasp. Being held like a rag doll, O'Hare meekly looked up and saw his bodyguard and recently fired bodyguard glaring down on him through their shades.
"Wh…what are you doing!?" He shouted.
Ted smirked, "You say you're the mayor of the town but I have a feeling everyone here now has a second opinion."
One guard whipped out a jet pack from behind his back and strapped it around O'Hare's waist. He squirmed, "NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M ALOYSIUS…" At that point, the guard activated the jet pack.
Ted couldn't help but laugh as O'Hare flew wildly throughout the town before he eventually went over the wall and out of sight. The Once-ler could only smile with a deep relief; the man's corruption and greed had finally caught up to him and got what he deserved.
He felt Ted tug on his coat sleeve to get his attention, when he looked down the very first thing he saw was the little Truffula sapling that caressed in the boy's hands, he barely had time to cup his own palms before Ted passed it over to him. He took the time to gaze down and take a long look at the revitalized sprout, he could feel how happy it was; seeing the world for the first time and more than ready to embrace it.
'Nature can't be kept locked away like a caged pet; it has to be shared to the whole world; to everyone, that's its whole purpose for being.'
A small stab of guilt hit the Once-ler's chest, he finally understood and realized that after all these years of hiding the seed from the world wasn't the right thing, it was nothing but a selfish act. Ted led him and everyone else back to the center of the park with the crowd following closely behind.
They approached the broken piece of the ground that revealed the fertile soil, but before anything can be done they heard someone from the crowd shout out.
"Excuse me!"
Ted, Audrey and the Once-ler turned sharply towards a little girl that squirmed her way in between the crowd of people; her mother's hand that tried to reach out and grab her missed by an inch. The little girl slowed to a halt before the Once-ler, the two stared at each other for a moment while everyone else watched in anticipation.
The little girl smiled shyly and shuffled, "Can….Can I see the tree Once-ler sir?"
The Once-ler held his breath; his first instinct was the say no but a little voice told him that he couldn't do that anymore, it's time to leave the past behind and move onward to the future.
With that, he smiled at the little girl, "You sure can."
He got down to one knee and gently held it up for her to see. She smiled excitedly, "It's so pretty! I love pink! Are there other colors?"
"Of course, there's pink, orange, yellow, purple, red…."
"Like you!" she giggled as she pointed at his head.
The Once-ler chuckled as he ran a hand through his red hair, "Yeah, you're right."
The crowd relaxed and smiled in awe at the touching scene before them, if that little girl can warm up quickly to the Once-ler then they can too.
The little girl smiled widely, "I wish I had a tree, I would put it in my backyard and take care of it every day!"
It was then that the Once-ler remembered his gift; he could give the little girl a seed! But he still wasn't sure on how to do it.
'Trust in her.'
He could've sworn the Lorax just spoke to him, knowing the kinds of things mustache was capable of he probably did. With that, he tried closing his eyes and picturing the little girl taking care of the tree in her backyard; planting it in the ground, then watering it, talking to it…
Just then he felt a surge of energy stir inside him; a little ball of light formed between him and the girl and soon enough a seed formed. Everyone around them gasped at the first form of magic they had ever seen in their lives, even Ted and the group stared in shocked as the Once-ler gently caught the seed. He smiled down at it before he handed it to the little girl, "Here you go, promise me you'll take care of it?"
The little girl was so awed by what had happened; it was just like her fairy tale books! Magic is real! She smiled excitedly and took the seed into her little hands, "I sure will! I'll take good care of it!"
The Once-ler beamed at her then looked up at everyone else, "And there's plenty more where that came from!" He handed the little sprout back over to Ted, "Here Ted."
Ted took it with a confused look, "Shouldn't you plant it?"
The taller man shook his head, "No….this is your moment, not mine." He glanced over at the crowds, "I have to have faith in everyone," He looked back at Ted and the others, "Just like I have faith in you guys."
Ted smiled at him with a nod. With that he, Audrey and Kyle all knelt down in front of the dirt while Helen and Norma stood behind them. As Kyle and Audrey began to dig deep into the soil using their fingers, random members of the town picked up rocks from nearby and placed them around on the edge of the broken plastic, forming a circle.
Once the soil was broken up and softened, Ted gently handed Audrey the seed and whispered to her with a warm smile, "Happy Birthday Audrey."
Audrey held back tears as she placed the seed into the dirt followed by Ted gently filling up the hole around the seed and patting it down. He smiled in satisfaction, "I know I'm a little late on the gift but….."
He felt a warm pair of lips rest on his cheek.
At that point, his train of thought flush away like water down a drain. He was so shocked and love struck that he didn't acknowledge anything around him; not the townsfolk, not Kyle's laughter towards him or the Once-ler's rolling eyes.
The only thing that snapped him out of his blurry daze was his Grammy nudging him in the back of his shoulder. He turned his head and leaned out of the way for her as she walked up beside him with a watering can.
Everyone smiled at the baby Truffula as it received the first of many helpings of water. The Once-ler slowly eased his way out of the crowd and watched the town in admiration, never in all the decades of lonely isolation had he felt such inspiration; such hope from this small town. Even though he still felt hints of doubt linger at the back of his mind, he had to remember that things are different now; for the better.
"Okay," he whispered to himself. He felt that warm feeling again as a small glow of light appeared on his chest. He held up his gloved hand and grasped the light gently; when it faded, he opened his palm and it revealed another Truffula seed.
His smiled widened, "Everything's going to be okay."
Suddenly he felt Ted grab his arm and drag him back into the crowds, stumbling slightly. It was going to take some time; he and Ted knew that, but one thing they knew for sure was that things were finally looking up.
It was a brand new beginning.
To Be Continued….
All that's left is the Epilogue!