Before you read, let me warn you there will be references to every other TOS thing I wrote (other than "Just Once?" that was stupidly random silliness, and "Time", the alternate ending to Crimson) in this fic. If you haven't read, read them now so you don't say "Who the hey is (blank)!?" later on.
Things you need to have read to understand this chapter: Crimson
No, I don't own TOS, Mr. Copyright Police. Now put that gun down before I gets medieval on yer heiny.
The Head Penguinist observed the table. Many brave souls were seated there. Some would probably die in the upcoming war, but war was like that. He sighed.
"I'm sure you've heard the news," he started. "Now that both the worlds have fused, we're having a bit of a Katz problem."
The Penguinists and the occasional Penguineer nodded.
"They want war. Why, we don't know, but we have no choice. If you'd look at this map, I've marked our forces in blue, and theirs in red." He gestured to a map on the table.
There was an awful lot of red on that map...
"Holy..." a Penguinist gasped. "Are you sure you didn't spill red ink on that thing?"
"Believe it or not, it is our current situation," the Head Penguinist sighed. "However, now that all the Katz have been squashed together, they're having trouble with supplies. We, however, are accustomed to having the occasional Penguineer drop by. A few hundred won't hurt us."
"We can starve them out?" someone at the table offered.
"No," another, a pale blue one interjected. "They're too cunning for that, especially now. They'll put us under siege."
"Exactly," the Head Penguinist growled, slamming a flipper onto the table. "It's like as if they've suddenly multiplied their brains by a factor of ten!"
"Then what do we do?" a squeaky, fearful voice asked.
"We could try settling this, ya know. Peace, love, all that stuff," the Head Penguineer suggested.
"No!" the pale blue one shouted. "They don't understand that! They're thieving bastards, and now they want our heads and steal our lives! We have to fight!"
There was a gloomy silence that hung over the table.
"Thank you, Sam," the Head Penguinist said. "I think that's enough for now. Everyone, I want you to gear up-prepare for the worst. Dismissed."
Everyone filed out quietly, murmuring.
"Wait," the Head Penguinist halted a mauve Penguinist. "You, you know of the oracle, right?"
The purple one nodded. "Name's Violet. You want me to go see her?"
The Head Penguinist nodded.
"What if it's only bad news?" Violet asked carefully.
The Head Penguinist shaded his eyes for a moment, but when he looked up, he glowed with confidence.
"Then we will go down fighting."
Violet waddled throughout Flanoir, returning any greetings directed to her. It was rare a Penguinist would stop by, and when one did, they were warmly welcomed.
She shuffled over to the inn, found the room, and entered.
"Ehem...Byruu?"
"Wo hey," the half-Katz said boredly, nose in a book. "What is it now, mew?"
"I need to see the oracle," Violet said firmly.
"Pay up," Byruu meowed, holding out a paw lazily. "What's it for?"
"We need to know the outcome of the upcoming war between the Katz and the Penguinists," Violet answered, digging for gald in her pocket.
"Uh-huh," Byruu sighed. "Wait...war?" she asked, looking up from her book.
Violet nodded.
Byruu squinted in thought, and gestured to her. "Come, oracle's this way."
"Aren't you gonna take this?" Violet questioned, holding out a small sack.
"We'll talk money issues later," Byruu said, climbing into a fish pot nearby. "Come into the pot, now, mew."
"I won't fit," Violet said stupidly, wondering how the little halfling fit herself.
"You will, trust me," Byruu's tail peeked out of the pot. "You wanna see the oracle or not, mew?"
Violet shrugged, closed her eyes, and jumped in. She landed in a dark tunnel.
"Ow," she said, stupidly, again.
"Congratsulations," Byruu growled blandly. "Now, then, follow the melodious sound of my voice..."
"Keep talking," Violet called out, feeling in the darkness. She grabbed a hold of Byruu's tail. "Okay, I gotcha."
"It's always the tail, mew!" Byruu mumbled, opening a door. "Here we are."
The tunnel opened up into a wide chamber, illuminated by a few candles. There were books piled up to the ceiling, each carefully marked with a date. At a desk was a cloaked figure, scribbling away at a book much larger than it was.
"Oracle," Byruu addressed the figure. "This Penguinist would like to speak with you."
"Ak weel, Violet isn't it? I've been 'specting yew," the figure took off its hood, revealing an elderly Katz. She leaped agilely from her desk and shuffled over to a stack, searching for a book. "I knew this war would happin. Saw it all long time agoes. Blurry...quite strange. N'rm'lly I see things clear. No matters. Here 'tis."
She pulled out a book, dusted it, and flipped to a page. Violet wondered how she knew what she had wanted to know, but then again, she was an oracle.
"Now, dahling, I sed already it wain't veddy clear to meh, so don't go asking whad it means.
The beast of blood will rise once more
And seek again their hosts
The wings and the leader;
Two siblings that will never forgive.
The endangered Golden-Eye
Will run free anew
Swift, quiet, and dangerous,
Like the wind in so many ways.
A crystal of Cruxis will begin, and end
The strife between the two quarrelling races.
That's all," the oracle finished.
Violet pondered the meanings of the prophecies. While the oracle had been reading them, she spoke without her accent, almost trancelike.
"Is zat all?" the oracle questioned.
Violet nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
"Then shoo," the oracle swept them out with a broom.
Byruu lead the way out of the tunnel in silence.
"Uh, here...your payment," Violet held out the bag of gald.
Byruu looked thoughtful. "Nah, mew. Keep it."
Violet blinked in surprise. "You don't want it?"
"Just tell me...do any Penguinists you know about this blonde angel? She has really big, whitish wings," she flapped her arms for emphasis.
Violet looked up to the ceiling, thinking.
"Come with me, and we'll see."
"Who is this?" the Head Penguinist asked, examining Byruu.
"She's the half-Katz that knows where the oracle is," Violet explained.
"Ah...Cairo, is it?"
"Byruu, mew," Byruu corrected.
"Byruu...we have so much to thank you for. Now, what brings you here?"
Byruu's tail lashed about. "I need to find a blond-haired angel. She's kinda...well, not kinda, mew, flat, used to be the Chosen of Mana."
"Chosen?" the Head Penguinist repeated. "Well, she should be around Iselia. A friend told us she was there not long ago."
"Great!" Byruu burst, leaping up and down. A few Penguinists nearly jumped out of their suits at the noise. She recovered quickly and assumed a calmer posture. "Next favor, mew. Can you take me there?"
"Yes, of course," the Head Penguinist nodded. "I think one of our warriors was heading there to get all our supplies there so that the Katz don't get to it. Those sneaky, thieving bastards...oh, pardon," the Head Penguinist said quickly, remembering Byruu was still around.
"Oh, say whatever you want about them," Byruu waved airily. "I'm not one of them, so I'm not offended, mew."
"Good. Oh, here she is now," the Head Penguinist looked up to see the pale blue Penguinist ready to leave. "Sam...Sam, come here a moment."
The pale blue one turned. "Oh, boss!" the Penguinist waddled over. "What is it?"
"Sam, this is Byruu," the Head Penguinist gestured. "She needs to get to Iselia."
"Hey there, Byruu," Sam knelt and shook her hand. Byruu liked her immediately.
"I hear about you sometimes. Is it true you know the oracle?"
Byruu nodded modestly.
"That's really cool!" Sam smiled. "Are you ready to go?"
Byruu nodded, her tail swishing.
"Alright then, let's go." Sam waddled down the hall, turned a corner, and opened a door. "After you."
"This isn't Iselia," Byruu snorted, walking in. "It's just a dark room."
Sam closed the door behind her.
"Now it's an impossibly dark room, mew."
Sam pulled a lever and the floor vanished from underneath them.
"Meeeeooooow!" Byruu screamed.
"Wheeeeeeeeee!" Sam cheered.
"Whee?" Byruu wondered. "Oh well. Meeeeooooow!"
They landed on a hard floor with a thunk.
"Here we are," Sam opened a trapdoor above them. "Iselia!"
Byruu gasped. Being a city Katz, she'd never seen the country before.
"It's so...empty," she said in awe. "In a good way."
"That's nice. Anyway, do what you like; I'll be gone for a while." Sam waddled away.
Byruu nodded and realized that what she was looking for was in Iselia, but she didn't know where. And they had said "she was there not long ago", so she might even be gone.
Byruu kicked at and missed a rock. "Darn. Darn darn darn darn darn darn darn."
She, out of boredom, kept saying "darn" to random tunes she'd picked up somewhere, kicking rocks and peeking into people's windows to see if Colette was there.
She passed by one with delicious smells wafting from it and remembered that she hadn't eaten anything that morning.
Ah well, I'll just nip in, grab some vittles and be on my way...
She leapt in through an open window, crawled into the kitchen, hung over the pie for dramatic effect...
And was tacklepounced by beige blur.
"Byruu!" a familiar voice squealed.