Author's Notes and Disclaimer: Oh, boy, this is it people; this is the big one (well, besides the climax of the story). Secrets will be brought out into the open, and our visiting adventurers are quite possibly in for the biggest scare of their lives. If you know the movie and are uncomfortable with what occurs, then you can breeze over that part or you can skip this chapter altogether, but you'll be missing some critical information about Calamity and the Loonatics, not to mention the origin of the Rats of NIMH. Also, sorry about the truncated title in the Chapter List; apparently there's a word limit. The full one is given below with the chapter's contents.
Here's the disclaimer: I do not own the movie "The Secret of NIMH" (owned by MGM/UA Entertainment Co., Aurora Productions, and Don Bluth Productions), the characters of "Loonatics Unleashed" (owned by Warner Bros), or the "Tiny Toon Adventures" character Calamity Coyote (owned by Warner Bros and Amblin). I also don't own the character Batty (who is mentioned here) from the movie "FernGully: The Last Rainforest", which is owned by 20th Century Fox—oh, wait; that company was bought by (who else?) Disney, so I guess that means that movie's owned by Disney now.
Recap: To save Mrs. Brisby's son Timothy, she, the Loonatics, and Calamity Coyote journey into the rosebush where a colony of rats live. They discover that electricity is running through it, and apparently Mr. Ages has also gained entrance. Calamity hears the mysterious voice from the day before and when Mr. Ages says that Nicodemus is the oldest of the rats, the young, gray-furred coyote correctly deduces that the voice he has been hearing is indeed Nicodemus. The only problem is it seems Nicodemus knows more about the Loonatics and Calamity than just their abilities, which could jeopardize their relationship with Mrs. Brisby. But it turns out that that's not the only problem: Jenner, who is adamantly against something called the "Thorn Valley Plan"—or just "The Plan"—seems to be planning something. Hopefully Calamity, the Loonatics, Mrs. Brisby, and their new friend Justin will find out what before it's too late. But first things first…it's time to meet Nicodemus and find out just why Jonathan Brisby is so well-known.
Chapter 9: Nicodemus and the Secret of the Rats of NIMH
Back in the rats' colony in the rosebush, Mr. Ages was escorting Mrs. Brisby and the adventure group to Nicodemus' room.
"Now, don't tire him out," Mr. Ages instructed.
"No," Mrs. Brisby replied.
"'Course not," Ace added.
"Be brief," Mr. Ages continued.
"Yes," Lexi agreed.
"Say what you want, then leave," Mr. Ages then said.
"We won't be a bother," Tech assured Mr. Ages.
"Promise!" Rev piped up.
'I'll limit my telepathy to him as much as I can,' Calamity promised.
"Justin bothers him enough with all his silly nonsense," Mr. Ages commented with a glance to Ace.
'You really think Justin and Ace have a lot in common?' Calamity questioned the elderly mouse.
A sigh was the audible answer, but the mental answer was "yes".
"Here we are," Mr. Ages then said, indicating a rather ornate door that was the entrance to Nicodemus' chambers.
"Thank you, Mr. Ages," the group said.
"I don't know what Nicodemus sees in that boy," Mr. Ages muttered to himself. He then left, but not before telling the eight, "I'll come back for you. Brief!" he reminded once more.
"Brief. Yesth sthir!" Duck said, striking a salute. "Sheesh! What doesth he think we're gonna do?" he mumbled.
"Sometimes young people need to be reminded that their elders aren't as young and spry as they are," Tech told the duck.
"Well, let's not stand on ceremony," Ace said.
Calamity reached for the door handle, but it depressed before he could touch it. He gasped, sensing something.
Before anyone could ask what was the matter, the door opened and a flood of ethereal blue light accompanied by what sounded and felt like a gale-force wind streamed out for a few seconds, all eight of them bracing themselves against it. Just as it began, the light and wind stopped.
Everyone was scared silent, but another form of communication was taking place between them as they recovered; it was a communication of minds, using Calamity as a willing conduit.
'OK, who left the light show on?' asked Duck nervously.
'Was Nicodemus trying to frighten us?' said a deep male voice. That was the mental voice of Slam Tasmanian, his mind's voice much clearer than his audible one.
'I dunno, but at dis moment anythin' is possible,' Ace said.
'What happened, Cal?' Tech asked.
'He knows we're here,' Calamity said quietly. 'He moved the door handle for me,' he continued, indicating said door handle.
'Den he has powers like yours,' Ace guessed.
Calamity only shrugged. 'Are you OK, Mrs. Brisby?' he then asked the widowed mouse.
'Yes, but I'm afraid,' was the response Calamity picked up when Mrs. Brisby nodded her head.
"Welp…" Ace began quietly, finally managing to get his vocal chords working again. "No turning back now," he said, standing up.
Once everyone was on their feet, they peeked inside the dark room. With his enhanced vision, Ace was able to pick out a figure sitting a ways inside the room.
"Come closer, my children," an elderly voice spoke gently. "Don't be frightened."
Calamity gasped again, recognizing the voice.
'Nicodemus!'
"You sure?" Tech whispered.
'He's very sure, young man,' came Nicodemus' voice in Tech's mind, a slight smile in it.
Tech was startled; it confirmed the thought that he and the others had had about Nicodemus: He was a psychic.
Mrs. Brisby and the visitors slowly walked towards Nicodemus, who was sitting on an ornate throne. The seven visitors looked Nicodemus over, noticing that he had bushy eyebrows, a long mustache, and glowing eyes very much like the Great Owl had. His cape reminded them of the Owl's massive wings. They also grew nervous; now that they were with Nicodemus, he would reveal their true origins to Mrs. Brisby and there was nothing they could do but confess once it was made known.
Nicodemus seemed to sense this from them and looked at them with sympathy; he understood their reluctance and fear, but it had to be done.
"Sir…" Mrs. Brisby began timidly. "Uh, the Great Owl…sent us to you."
"Oh, did he?" Nicodemus asked, his voice still soft and gentle. "He is a dear comrade. Closer," he beckoned the group.
They jumped a bit at the gently-given command, but they all took a step forward.
"Ah, Mrs. Jonathan Brisby. What an honor this is," Nicodemus said, smiling a little. "And welcome to you as well…visitors from another world," the aged leader of the rats continued, addressing the Loonatics and Calamity.
The question that Mrs. Brisby was going to ask about her husband died in her throat at the mention of her friends coming from "another world".
"What…What are you…?" Mrs. Brisby asked, confused. She then turned to the group of seven behind her and asked, "What does he mean?"
Guilt came over the visitors from another place; they couldn't even look at Mrs. Brisby now.
Duck finally mustered enough courage to look at her, and said, his eyes wet, "It's…It'sth true. I'm sthorry, but we kept certain thingsth from you. We can't lie any longer. We are from a different world; six-th of usth are even from a different time."
"That's right," Tech spoke up. "Ace, Lexi, Duck, Rev, Slam, and I come from the future; in a time that occurs long, long after yours. In that time, our world was struck by a meteor, a rock from the sky, and its energies changed us; that's how we got our powers."
"We used these powers to keep people and worlds in our time safe from those who would hurt or destroy them," Lexi continued where Tech left off. "I guess you could call us 'guardians' or 'peace-keepers'."
"And t'ings would have remained at peace…but den…" Ace began, clenching his fists, not wanting to go on.
"The Darkness came," Nicodemus finished for him.
"'The Darkness'? What's that?" Mrs. Brisby asked.
"It is a powerful, evil force that intends to claim all worlds through darkness," Nicodemus explained. "And it will not stop until every last bit of light and resistance against it is destroyed. The Darkness first started appearing in Calamity's world and time, taking many lives in the process, including those of his parents."
Mrs. Brisby gasped in horror, feeling very sorry for the young coyote.
"Someone from these young peoples' time was made aware of what was occurring in the past," Nicodemus continued, now indicating the Loonatics.
"Zadavia, our benefactor and princess of the planet Freleng," Ace said sadly.
Nicodemus nodded and continued, "She arranged for them to be taken to the past to become part of a growing Resistance of Light made up of warriors and other beings from different worlds. But, in doing so, they lost everything they had: their time, their homes, their friends…their families."
Mrs. Brisby felt terrible for them. When they had told her about their families the night before last, she had sensed there was more information than what she was being given…and now she knew why. She didn't completely understand everything that was being said about other worlds and about this "Darkness" and a "Resistance of Light", but she did understand that these young people were protectors, and that they had been brought back to protect the past from a threat that was going to harm a lot of people; maybe even her and her children and the rats if this "Darkness" ever found out about her world.
"We didn't mean to lie to you, ma'am," Ace confessed to Mrs. Brisby. "But we…we thought…we had a feeling you wouldn't…we didn't want to…" the remorseful rabbit was cut off when Mrs. Brisby hugged him. "Mrs. B?"
Mrs. Brisby gently hushed him before moving on to Lexi and embracing her. "You don't have to explain," she said. "I had a feeling that you were keeping things from me, but I know you're all honest young people who care about what happens to others; that's why you did it. And you're right, I wouldn't have been able to understand very much about where and…when you come from," she admitted as she moved on to Calamity, Tech, Rev, Slam, and finally Duck. "But I understand who you are."
"What I wanna know," Ace said to Nicodemus, "is how long you've been aware of this."
"I began feeling strange tremors in the air about two years ago," Nicodemus said. "It seemed that the balance between worlds had been disturbed, and, three nights ago, I was made aware of your coming to and arrival in this world."
Then it appears that the phenomenon that affected the barriers between worlds affected more worlds than anyone thought, Tech realized.
'In the field yesterday, I heard your voice telling us to go to the Great Owl,' Calamity said to the aged rat. 'Then I heard your voice again on our way down here, talking about Jenner and mentioning something about NIMH.'
"So…you've been watching over me?" Mrs. Brisby asked Nicodemus, who nodded.
"You alstho sthaid that our powersth wouldn't be enough, even asth sthtrong asth they are now," Duck pointed out.
"Why did you say that?" Mrs. Brisby then asked.
"I will explain, but there is something more immediate that I wish to tell you all about," Nicodemus said, bringing the conversation to the current situation at hand.
"Oh, yes," Mrs. Brisby then remembered what she had wanted to say when Nicodemus addressed her as "Mrs. Jonathan Brisby". "How…How is it…that everyone kn-knows…knows Jonathan?" she asked.
"Yesth, Mr. Agesth and Auntie Shrew, we can understhtand," Duck said. "But then the Great Owl, then Justhtin, then the other ratsth…Justht what did Mrs. B's husthband do in life to make himsthelf stho popular?" Duck asked, genuinely curious.
"He was a great friend to the Rats of NIMH," Nicodemus explained. "He himself came from NIMH."
"There's that word again," Tech whispered to himself.
"Majesty, my family is-" Mrs. Brisby began.
"As you are currently aware of, I know of your needs," Nicodemus said patiently. "There is a book there," he then gestured to a desk where a book did indeed lay, closed. "Read the words," he instructed.
"Can you read, Mrs. B?" Ace asked the widow.
"I can read, a little. Jonathan taught me," Mrs. Brisby replied. "The children are better-"
The book suddenly opened by itself, a golden light coming out from the pages, amazing the group.
"…at it…than I am…" Mrs. Brisby finished, trailing off in her amazement.
"Read," Nicodemus gently instructed them.
Mrs. Brisby climbed up on a stool so that she could get a better look while Duck had to stand on his webbed toes and lean on the desk to keep his balance. Tech put Calamity on his shoulders so that he could see. The brown-furred coyote genius skimmed the page next to the one Mrs. Brisby was looking at, which read: "Jenner has become cold hearted. He uses his knowledge to fight against the plan of moving to Thorn Valley. I fear other rats may be soon be swayed to his opinions. It is wrong to go on stealing".
When Mrs. Brisby began reading, he turned his attention to the words on that particular page, which spoke about Jonathan.
"'Jonathan…Brisby…made…'" There was a pause as Mrs. Brisby tried to pronounce a word. "'…possible…the rats' escape…from the te…'" Another pause.
"Ter-ri-ble," Ace mouthed for her.
"'Terrible cruelty of NIMH!'" Mrs. Brisby read. "Jonathan…?" she gasped, smiling.
"So this NIMH is indeed a place," Tech concluded.
"And Mr. Brisby helped the rats escape it! Wow!" Rev exclaimed in awe.
"Yeah…but dis next part doesn't look too good," Ace noticed.
Indeed it wasn't, for it revealed the circumstances around Jonathan's death.
"'He was kill…'" Mrs. Brisby hesitated, finding this hard to read, but Lexi put a comforting hand on her back, telling her to try to finish. "'Killed…t-today…while…drugging the farmer's cat, Dragon'," she finished.
'So I was right; Dragon had been drugged,' Calamity said.
"I'm stho…stho sthorry," Duck said slowly, feeling very bad for Mrs. Brisby.
Slam whimpered in the same thought. The others also expressed their condolences.
"Oh I…I never knew," Mrs. Brisby said, growing emotional. "Just what happened." She then turned to Nicodemus and asked, "Why…did he never tell me about any of you? Why?"
"He was probably bound to secrecy, just like we had to be," Rev guessed.
"To answer that, I must tell you about NIMH, and our Plan," Nicodemus answered. He then pointed to a device in the corner and said, "Go. Look there."
At first, to the visitors from another world and time, the device didn't seem like much; just a gyroscope of some kind. But then it began to spin and glow, and they realized that it was a crystal ball, and Nicodemus' way of observing the outside world, and them. It then began to show images, telling, along with Nicodemus' words, the story of the Rats of NIMH.
"In the beginning, we were ordinary street rats, stealing our daily bread and living off the efforts of Man's work," Nicodemus began, the crystal ball showing a rat-infested alley in a city. It then showed the rats being corralled by humans, caught in nets, and being put in trucks. "We were captured," he continued as the scene then changed to a sterile lab room filled with cages, "put in cages, and sent to a place called NIMH."
A sign momentarily superimposed itself over the scene, revealing the true meaning of NIMH.
"Tech, look!" Rev gasped, alerting the coyote.
Tech then read, "'National Institute of Mental Health'." His eyes then widened as he realized something as he read the first letter of each word. "N…"
"I…" Rev spelled.
"M…" Lexi spoke.
"H," Ace finished.
"NIMH," Duck whispered.
Nicodemus nodded and continued, "There were many animals there…in cages."
The group was soon shown that the cages contained various animals, like rabbits, monkeys, and dogs.
"They were put through the most unspeakable tortures to satisfy some scientific curiosity. Often at night, I would hear them crying out in anguish," Nicodemus then said sadly, the memories painful for him to look back on.
Lexi and Mrs. Brisby covered their mouths, eyes wide in horror. Tech nearly choked, feeling his heart stop for a second. Rev felt dizzy. Ace, Slam and Duck were stiff. Calamity's eyes were practically glued to the images, stinging with tears as he remembered an old acquaintance that had described going through an experience very much like what was being shown to him and the others right now.
'Oh, Batty…' Calamity whimpered.
"Friend of yours, young one?" Nicodemus asked gently, having heard Calamity.
Calamity nodded, then explained, 'A fruit bat. Rather funny fella. I met him a long time ago when some friends and I went to a place called FernGully. He told us that he had escaped from a biology lab where he had been tested on and it gave him a negative outlook on humans in general. I was scared to hear something like that had happened to him…but…I don't think I understood…until now,' he said, hanging his head as the tears came.
Nicodemus put a hand on Calamity's shoulder, looking at the images of Batty in Calamity's mind that came along with the memories.
"I am sorry that your friend went through such pain," Nicodemus said. "But he was lucky, compared to what we went through at NIMH," he continued, indicating the images in the crystal ball, which showed rats getting picked up by human hands and being injected with some unknown drug. "Twenty rats and eleven mice were given injections. Our world began changing."
Mrs. Brisby and her friends were then subjected to nightmarish images of rats writhing in pain. Lexi huddled close to Ace. Mrs. Brisby hugged Duck's waist as the mallard covered his ears when a sound that sounded like a heartbeat began to be heard. They then saw strands of DNA, the DNA of the rats, unwinding and exploding. The coyotes and Rev were horrified. Slam squeezed his eyes shut, as soon did the others, not being able to handle the imagery any more.
There was a moment of quiet as Nicodemus paused his story, seeing how scared the group had become, and allowed them a moment to recover.
Slowly, they opened their eyes to find that the living nightmare they had witnessed had thankfully stopped. It was a few minutes before anyone could say anything, but the expressions of horror and disgust on their faces said enough.
"I…I…can't…" Tech breathed, his voice hoarse.
Rev shook his head in similar disbelief, swallowing hard.
The two remembered having read in their time that testing on animals had been declared immoral and illegal a long time ago, before they were born, and was replaced with Test Sims that had been designed with different types of genetic samples to determine if certain products could cause reactions in certain people. This had also been passed because of Toonkind, which were mostly animals themselves, spreading out from Toontown and becoming offended at this practice. Now the two truly understood the reason behind that law, and they were glad for it.
"Well…ahem," Ace said slowly, clearing his throat. "Zooky warned us dat…dere would be some things dat would frighten us,…and we found 'em."
"Yeah, the hard way," Duck commented, trying to keep his voice steady and recover his lost nerves.
Ace then looked over at Nicodemus, who was still patiently waiting for them.
"Our apologies, sir," Ace told him, realizing that they were holding him up. "Please, continue."
Nicodemus gave the young rabbit a look of understanding before directing everyone's attention back to the crystal ball, which now showed a single cage with the words, "TO OPEN DOOR LIFT LATCH".
"Then, one night, I looked upon the words under the cage door…and understood them," Nicodemus said as a clawed hand came out between the bars of the cage and lifted the latch.
"We had become…intelligent. We could read," Nicodemus said as the unlocked door shown swung open. "The miracle was kept a secret from the scientists," he continued as they saw the rats and mice helping each other escape from their enclosures, then saw an open vent. "And, in the quiet of the night, we escaped through the ventilation system."
They were then shown a group of mice blown away by a gust of wind from inside the ventilation shaft, then showing two surviving mice being helped up by the rats. "The mice were blown away…sucked down dark air shafts to their deaths. All…except two: Jonathan…and Mr. Ages."
Duck jumped at the mention of Mr. Ages. "Stho, you mean…th-that cranky…that he came from…Oh, wow!" Duck stammered.
"No wonder he sounded bitter when I mentioned that I was a scientist," Tech said, hanging his head.
Rev put a comforting hand on Tech's shoulder.
"Did you ever…?" Ace asked Mrs. Brisby about whether or not she knew this about Ages, to which Mrs. Brisby shook her head, looking just as surprised as the others except for Nicodemus were.
The eight then saw a young mouse with dark round patches on his left hind quarter and right shoulder whose tuft of fur upon his head and young face reminded them of Timothy and Martin. That was Jonathan Brisby.
"We were trapped by a locked door on the roof. It was Jonathan who made possible the unlocking of the door," Nicodemus said as they saw Jonathan wriggle out of a wire mesh door, climb to the top, and unlock it. The rats and Mr. Ages then scampered out, free at last.
The last image they saw was of Jonathan wiping his forehead in relief, looking very pleased with himself.
Mrs. Brisby sighed as the image of her late husband disappeared, then turned to see her friends still looking rather pale. She was about to ask if they were all right, but her question was soon answered as they slowly sat themselves down, still horrified about what they just saw. Tech had drawn his knees to himself and hid his face, Calamity doing the same thing next to him.
"I'm…I'm sorry, we needed to…to sit down," Ace apologized, trying to regulate his panicking insides.
Mrs. Brisby just nodded. "In the time you come from, there's nothing like that there?" she asked after about a minute of silence.
"Nope," Tech answered simply.
"Looks like we've learned a lot about each other," Lexi said, that statement encompassing the reveal about Calamity and the Loonatics' origins and Jonathan's involvement in freeing the rats and Mr. Ages from NIMH. "I just…I just wish…wish that it was done a bit differently."
"I don't know about you, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep for weeks," Rev stated.
'What I saw just gave me a pretty good reason not to find a career where stuff like that is done,' Calamity added.
"It was very frightening," Mrs. Brisby admitted. "But I'm glad to know that Jonathan did something to help others, just like you all do. And…I am very, very sorry about your families. I don't understand everything that's happened to you, but if there's any way that I could possibly help…"
"Oh, Mrs. B, you've already done so much for us," Ace began to protest.
"Yeah, you don't-" Duck started, but was interrupted.
"Oh, nonsense! I may not know much about other worlds, but there must be something I can do that could help you!" Mrs. Brisby insisted.
The visitors from another place looked at each other, not sure what to suggest. They knew that she couldn't help the fight directly, not while she had children to take care of; besides, in their world, she'd be completely out of place. Not to mention who knows how the story this world was built on would be affected if she left.
Calamity then suggested something to the Loonatics, who smiled and nodded in agreement.
"You're right, Cal," Ace said, standing up. "I guess thinkin' about us once in a while and some prayers wouldn't hurt," he grinned to Mrs. Brisby.
"Of course," Mrs. Brisby promised.
"I have a gift," Nicodemus announced once Ace and the others were back on their feet. "Come."
"A gift?" Duck queried.
"Jonathan meant it for you," Nicodemus finished, addressing Mrs. Brisby as he took out an amulet from a chest before telekinetically sending it away.
Mrs. Brisby, Duck, Ace, and the others came over to see. It was a golden amulet with a shining, red, circular gem.
Lexi gasped, amazed by its beauty. Ace whistled.
"Wow!" Rev and Duck exclaimed softly.
"Oh! It's so beautiful!" Mrs. Brisby beamed.
Calamity let out an audible gasp.
"I know, Cal; it's amazing," Tech said.
'Not just that,' Calamity said. 'I'm sensing…some kind of power within that jewel. It's small, but it's very strong.'
"It sleeps," Nicodemus clarified.
"Sleeps?"/'Sleeps?' the eight asked curiously.
"When worn by one with a courageous heart, the Stone glows red," Nicodemus explained. "It becomes a blinding radiance. Courage of the heart is very rare. The Stone has a power when it's there. Even those without the Stone can find it; it is a power all its own," he added to the superheroes from the future.
"Look! An inscription!" Mrs. Brisby noticed on the back of the amulet. The others gathered for a look as Mrs. Brisby read, "'You can unlock any door, if you only have the key'."
The Loonatics and Calamity looked at each other with smiles, deciding to take that as good advice for life, and possibly to help strengthen the Loonatics' powers.
"Oh, thank you. I will treasure it always," Mrs. Brisby told Nicodemus as he put the necklace around her neck.
"Jonathan couldn't tell you about NIMH because the injections slowed the aging process," Nicodemus explained. "You see, you would have grown old…while he remained young."
"Whoa…" Rev, Tech, Duck and Ace said.
'What about you?' Calamity asked the wise rat.
"Like you, I didn't find out about my powers of the mind until later. But I had to teach myself," Nicodemus told the young coyote.
'That must've been difficult for you.'
"Years of endless practice and control, young one. You are in good hands," Nicodemus said with a gentle smile.
There was a knock at the door to Nicodemus' room before Justin appeared.
"Nicodemus, the boats are ready and waiting. We can leave any time," Justin told his leader.
"Good," Nicodemus said before telekinetically bringing his staff to himself. "My child, shall we journey to your home?" he asked Mrs. Brisby as they walked out of the room.
"Sir?" Mrs. Brisby asked.
"Tonight, we must move your house to the protected side of the stone," Nicodemus explained.
"The lee of the stone!" Rev realized.
"Yes," Nicodemus nodded.
As Mrs. Brisby, Calamity, the Loonatics, and Nicodemus left the chamber, they were unaware that they were being watched.
"I don't get it, Jenner," came the voice of Sullivan to Lexi's sensitive ears, making her stop.
"With Nicodemus out of the way…" Jenner's wicked voice began.
"Lexi?" Ace called from further down the hallway.
"…what's to stop us from taking over?" Jenner finished.
"Jenner, you can't kill Nicodemus!" Sullivan protested, not liking what his colleague had in mind.
Lexi covered a gasp. Jenner was planning to kill Nicodemus! Before she could find out how, she heard Ace's voice call her again and she ran to catch up and warn Nicodemus.
Meanwhile, Jenner continued revealing his dark scheme to his squeamish cohort.
"No taste for blood, huh?" Jenner grinned to Sullivan, flicking his nose. "They've taken the animal out of you," he chuckled.
"What if we're discovered?" Sullivan asked.
"Ach," Jenner grunted dismissively, sure it would never happen. "Listen: The Brisby house is a large, cement block. In the moving, what if it should fall?" he asked, moving a finger down to illustrate.
"An accident?" Sullivan asked, remembering what Jenner had told him back in the council room.
"Of course. Cut the lines, and the weight of it will crush his bones!" Jenner said, grinning wickedly.
"It's risky," Sullivan said, feeling uncomfortable with the idea.
"Once rid of Nicodemus, the Plan will die," Jenner said. "We can stay here as long as we like!"
"But, what…What about Justin?" Sullivan then asked. "And what about those others? They're not like us, Jenner," he added, very nervous.
Jenner smirked darkly. "Leave them to me…"
Going back to the point when Lexi caught up with everyone else, she arrived looking very frightened.
"Wow, Lex. You look like ya saw a ghost or somethin'," Ace commented, looking concerned.
Lexi took a few deep breaths to calm herself before finally speaking, keeping her voice low like she didn't want to be overheard. "I heard Jenner…He…He's planning…" Lexi tried to say.
'You mentioned something about an accident,' Calamity remembered.
"An accident? What accident?" Tech queried, growing concerned.
"Nicodemus, you should stay somewhere where it's safe!" Lexi said, still trying to keep her voice low despite her panic. "I'm afraid that Jenner might…I mean…If you…If he…"
Nicodemus gently took her hands and told her calmly, "My child, I have been aware of Jenner's dark schemes to remain here and continue a life of stealing for a long time now."
Tech nodded, remembering the passage from Nicodemus' book about Jenner that he had skimmed through.
"Even if he manages to succeed or fails to do away with me to ensure the Plan fails…I am old, my dear," Nicodemus continued, looking a bit weary. "Despite the injections slowing the aging process, I can't go on forever. At some point, whether by my own old age…or by Jenner's hand, I will pass on. But, before then, I will help Mrs. Brisby and her family, as Jonathan had helped me and the Rats of NIMH. You are very brave for telling me this, and I thank you, but whatever my fate will be…it will be."
"I understand," Lexi replied softly.
"You're pretty brave yourself, sir," Ace told Nicodemus as the group continued walking to the boats.
Nicodemus smiled at Ace in thanks.
After passing through some more hallways, Mrs. Brisby, wanting to get her mind off that rather distressing subject that had been discussed earlier and to get some questions answered, she asked her friends to tell her about the world and times they came from.
"We won't be able to tell you much about our time, Mrs. Brisby," Tech warned her, referring to the future time he and his fellow Loonatics had come from. "Divulging too much about future events could have significant impacts on those events and on us."
"A wise precaution, my boy," Nicodemus told the coyote genius from he future.
"I understand," Mrs. Brisby replied. She thought about what she wanted to ask first before doing so, "Lexi said that you were…'guardians' in your time. Are you all a team?"
"As a matter of fact, ma'am, the six of us are," Ace answered. "We do have a name for ourselves; I can't remember if it started as an insult or it was because we reminded folks of some characters known as the Looney Tunes, but Lex, Duck, Slam, Tech, Rev, and I are collectively known as 'The Loonatics'. That's L-O-O-N-A-T-I-C-S," Ace spelled.
"The Loo-na-tics," Mrs. Brisby enunciated. "Very strange name," she admitted. "Just…who are these…'Looney Tunes'?"
'I can explain that one,' Calamity volunteered. 'And I can tell you a bit about my world and time as well. I have to warn you, though, I don't know everything, so there might be some questions I can't answer.'
Calamity then told Mrs. Brisby and Nicodemus, to the best of his ability, all about the world of Toons and about the Toons themselves, including the Looney Tunes and the Tiny Toons. He also told them about Zooky, a very close friend of the Looney Tunes, and his youngest cousin Gina, who helped Calamity discover his abilities. By the time Calamity finished, they had arrived at an underground river where the boats were kept and Justin had joined in on the conversation.
"I gotta admit," Justin chuckled in a friendly manner after Calamity finished, "your world kinda sounds like something out of the imagination!"
'In a way, you're right, Justin; it is pretty much a collective of the creations of creative minds brought to life,' Calamity admitted.
"Shame we wouldn't be able to visit," Justin shrugged as he helped Mrs. Brisby, Nicodemus, and the others into a boat. "What with the worlds supposed to be kept secret and all."
'According to what everyone knows, they were, that is, until a human girl came to Zooky's world and began taking his family and herself on adventures,' Calamity said. 'Ever since then, many worlds have been connected, but they're still separate. Then, the Las Vegas Incident of 1992 occurred,' he added.
"The incident you speak of damaged the inter-dimensional barriers between worlds, and the Darkness took advantage of it, leading to events including the Loonatics' travel back in time," Nicodemus finished.
"It's…It's a bit much to take in, but I am glad you're all here to help keep our world and yours safe," Mrs. Brisby said.
"Y'know, bringin' us back to the present," Ace spoke to Justin as the brown rat poled the gondola they were in, "I've been meanin' to ask ya somethin': Before da eight of us came down here, we saw Dragon sleepin' like a baby. Calamity said that he'd been drugged or somethin'. You know anything about that?"
"Sometimes, when we have a long project that takes us into the open, Mr. Ages makes up a sleeping powder to give to Dragon," Justin explained.
"Hey, that must have the 'something very important' that Mr. Ages was working on when we first met him and Mrs. Brisby!" Rev remembered.
"How do you get him to take it?" Mrs. Brisby asked, referring to Dragon.
"Someone…" Justin paused a bit, making Duck nervous. "Must go into the farmhouse kitchen, and put it in his dish. The only way into the kitchen is through a tiny hole in the floor. Ages tried it yesterday, that's how he-"
"Broke his leg," Mrs. Brisby, Ace, and Lexi said along with Justin.
"Well, dat answers why Ages was on crutches," Ace stated.
Duck sighed nervously, turning the information over in his mind. Drugging Dragon was how Mrs. Brisby's husband lost his life. Mr. Ages must have been extremely lucky to only get a broken leg out of it. He knew the answer to a question that he had in mind, but he decided to ask and hear the answer anyway.
"Um, Justhtin, why did y-" Duck was cut off when a large rock fell from the ceiling and hit the water, making the gondola rock slightly.
"That was close," Justin commented.
"Almost too close," Lexi added, one hand on her chest and the other on her stomach.
"What's up dere?" Ace asked.
Rev put his GPS to work and saw an image of a mill, the very mill that he, his friends, and Mrs. Brisby had gone into when they first met Jeremy and been chased by Dragon. "We're under the mill," Rev reported.
Justin nodded. "It's falling apart," he added. "Let's hope it stays up there, at least until we're done with the Plan."
"Y'know, we keep hearing something about 'The Plan'. Just what is 'The Plan'?" Ace asked, using quotation marks.
"Why, to live without stealing, of course," Nicodemus answered.
"It's wrong to take electricity from the farmer," Justin said.
"My children, we can no longer live as rats," Nicodemus told the group. "We know too much."
"I see," Tech said slowly, his genius mind starting to put the details of the rats' Plan together. "You're all going to move to Thorn Valley and set up an independent, self-sufficient colony for yourselves there far from humans to prevent any more stealing! That's brilliant!" Tech beamed to Nicodemus, who bowed his head humbly.
"It should go well; that is, if Jenner…" Lexi hesitated.
Duck finally decided to try again now that there was a pause.
"Um, begging both your pardon, but sthomething'sth been buggin' me about what Justhtin sthaid," Duck said to both rats. "Why wasth Mr. Bristhby, then Mr. Agesth, picked to put the sthleeping powder in Dragon'sth dish?"
"The hole's too small for any rat to get through," Justin explained. "We're almost there," he then said, telling everyone that they were almost at the shore before finishing his answer to Duck. "We found only mice were small enough to get through; that's why they were picked to drug Dragon."
That was the answer Duck's brain had to his own question in a nutshell. Which brought up another question with an answer he felt he knew, but his anxiety wished that it wasn't so.
"But…But with Mr. Bristhby gone and Mr. Agesth on crutchesth, wh-who'sth gonna drug Dragon?" Duck stammered.
It was at this moment that Mrs. Brisby spoke up. "Um, Your Majesty," she said to Nicodemus. "I…We should go prepare the children, for tonight."
"We shall wait here until dark," Nicodemus replied as the boat arrived at the shore near a waterfall, the same waterfall near the mill.
"Uh, about…Dragon…maybe…" Mrs. Brisby started to say as she and her friends got out, but then changed her mind. "Oh, nothing. Goodbye," she said, starting to go.
However, something inside her began to tell her that she had to do something to help; Justin had said that only a mouse was small enough to get through the hole in the kitchen floor and Duck pointed out that with her husband now dead and Mr. Ages' leg broken, the rats didn't have a hope of drugging Dragon successfully. Jonathan helped them once, and she knew Calamity and the Loonatics wouldn't turn their backs on them, so…
She turned and went back to Nicodemus, rushing past Lexi and Slam.
"I volunteer! For Dragon," Mrs. Brisby told the leader of the rats.
"Mrs. B!" Ace gasped.
"Are you sure about this?!" Lexi asked, worried about the widowed mouse.
Slam grumbled in concern.
Justin's reaction was of concern as well. "Oh no, Mrs. Brisby! Nicodemus, this is no job for her!"
Duck's reaction, however, was more expressive; he actually jumped toward her and grabbed her by the shoulders, a look of panic on his face.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Duck practically screamed. "Volunteering yoursthelf for thisth job?! That'sth how your husthband got himsthelf-" Duck cut himself off, releasing Mrs. Brisby. "If you do thisth thing, and you don't make it, then…the kidsth…they won't…Timmy won't…You can't let them losthe their mother like they lostht their father," Duck said in a quieter tone, his back now toward her.
Nicodemus sat like a quiet observer. Justin, Mrs. Brisby, Calamity, and Duck's fellow teammates all looked at the mallard with rather surprised expressions. The other Loonatics had never seen Duck react like this before, at least, not with such genuine, passionate concern for another's well-being. This even went beyond the moments when he defended his former friend Pinkster's actions before the latter was found to be a bad guy.
Mrs. Brisby went toward Duck and took his hands, making him react and look at her.
"If someone doesn't drug Dragon, then the rats can't help move my home, and Timmy won't be safe," Mrs. Brisby told Duck in the tone of a mother telling her child something very important. "Jonathan helped the rats escape NIMH, you and your friends helped stop the tractor and protected me when we went to the Great Owl and encountered Brutus; I won't turn my back on those who need my help…or those I protect, just like you and your friends wouldn't."
Duck looked at Mrs. Brisby, hearing and touched by what she said. He sighed, considered something, then said with a grim, determined expression, "Then you'd better not go alone."
"What are you saying?" Justin asked Duck.
"I'm going with Mrs. Bristhby," Duck stated seriously. "I've got the ability to get her out in a sthnap before Dragon could catch her," he told the Captain of the Guard.
"Ya know what you're doing?" Ace asked the duck.
"Yesth, I do," Duck told his leader.
Rev put on his metaphorical thinking cap and put his quick mind to work. The plan was sound, but there was one factor that was sorely needed here; something that he had in abundance.
"You know, Duck," Rev began, "your Quantum Quack is good for an emergency getaway, but what's really needed here is fleetness of foot. I'll come with you guys," the roadrunner volunteered.
Once again, except from Nicodemus, there was surprise all around.
"Now, wait a minute here!" Ace said, not sure that sending two of his teammates with Mrs. Brisby was a good idea.
"Rev Runner, are you even thinking about this?!" Tech yelped, not liking the idea at all.
"Sure I did: Mrs. B holds the powder for Dragon, I take her and Duck over there, she puts the powder in, and I zip everyone back. And if we run into trouble, Duck can Quack us back," Rev stated calmly. "Look, it's simple: Mrs. B and the powder, zip to bowl, pour powder, zip back, if we have trouble, Quack out," he then said more seriously when Tech tried to object.
"Sounds simple…" Justin had to agree with the roadrunner's plan of action, even if he didn't understand just how Rev was going to "zip" the three over to Dragon's bowl or what was meant by Duck's "Quantum Quack".
"Please," Mrs. Brisby, Duck, and Rev asked of Nicodemus.
"As you wish," Nicodemus replied.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Mrs. B?" Ace asked the widowed mouse.
"Yes," Mrs. Brisby nodded.
"And are you two sure you wanna go with her?" Ace asked the water fowl and the ground avian.
The answer was an emphatic and serious "Yes" from both of them.
The male rabbit sighed. It was clear that their minds were made up, and, he had to admit, Rev and Duck were the best two for the job to protect Mrs. Brisby. Ace sighed again and gave his consent to the two birds.
"All right," Justin said, also realizing that there was no changing anyone's minds, either. "I'll meet you all at the west side of the farmhouse at dusk," he said as he tied off the gondola.
"Thank you," Mrs. Brisby said aloud. "Oh, I must be crazy…" she then muttered to herself as she and her friends went to leave. "Goodbye! I must be crazy…" she muttered again after bidding Justin and Nicodemus farewell for now.
"Well, now you know how I feel every time I put one of my big, flat, webbed feet into my beak. Sheesh!" Duck muttered nervously to Mrs. Brisby as the eight departed.
"Uh, Calamity, are those three sure about what they just volunteered for?" Tech nervously asked the grey coyote.
Calamity hadn't even needed to look into Mrs. Brisby's, Duck's, and Rev's minds to see how they were really feeling about this.
'No,' Calamity answered honestly.
Tech, Ace, Slam, and Lexi exchanged worried glances.
'But they are willing to take that risk, especially with the lives of Mrs. Brisby's children on the line,' Calamity added.
"Well, let's hope whatever luck they feel they've got holds out," Lexi prayed.
Mrs. Brisby, Calamity, and the Loonatics hopped on the stones that went through the millpond, their minds still trying to comprehend everything that happened: Mrs. Brisby learning of other worlds, what they had learned about Jonathan, Mr. Ages, and the Rats of NIMH, and now Mrs. Brisby, Duck, and Rev volunteering to do the very job that had taken the life of Mr. Brisby.
Their train of thought was interrupted when they all noticed a water lily that was floating a bit too fast…and had what looked like a reed sticking out of the water at an angle. Said lily floated in front of them and bumped itself against the rock the group of eight were currently on, making the reed pop up and fall in the water. Seconds later, Jeremy surfaced, gasping for air and apologizing with his signature, "Excuse me, pardon me".
Calamity and Slam face-palmed themselves.
"You again?!" Tech shouted at the crow.
"Jeremy, what on Eoith are you doin' now?!" Ace demanded. "And what's wit' da chapeau?" he added, noticing the water lily on the crow's head.
"Shh!" Jeremy hushed the group. "I'm being followed!" he whispered.
"Followed?" Mrs. Brisby asked the dripping-wet crow.
"Shhh-hhh! There's a crazy lady with a hat! She's got big teeth! She tied me up!" Jeremy panicked.
"Uh-oh, sthoundsth like Auntie Shrew got hersthelf another victim," Duck intoned.
Rev yelped a little and put his hands on his beak, having not forgotten the injury he had received from the shrew.
Jeremy was about to continue with what happened to him when he got entranced by Mrs. Brisby's amulet. "And then I-Oh! Uh, uh-Ooh! A sparkly!"
"A what?" Duck asked the crow.
"Wait a minute; crows…shiny things…" Ace reminded, himself remembering what Calamity had said about crows.
"Great, as if he wasn't bad enough already!" Lexi groaned, rolling her eyes.
"You're wearing a sparkly!" Jeremy said to Mrs. Brisby, still hypnotized by the bright object. "Can I hold? Oh, please, can I?" he begged.
"O-oh, no you don't," Duck warned. "That'sth for Mrs. Bristhby from her husthband."
"Jeremy, listen," Mrs. Brisby told the crow. "I need lots and lots of string," she began.
"Stah-ring," Jeremy enunciated, still entranced.
"To move the block!" Mrs. Brisby exclaimed.
"Move…the block…" Jeremy said slowly before snapping out of his trance. "Hey! I've got string! I've been savin' them!"
"You do?" Mrs. Brisby asked.
"Oh, sure: Red ones, blue ones, green, yellow-" Jeremy began to list rapidly.
"Pay attention!" Mrs. Brisby then told him.
Jeremy snapped back down, focusing back on the sparkly amulet.
"Go get all the string you can," Mrs. Brisby instructed the clumsy crow.
"The more, the better," Ace added.
"OK!" Jeremy agreed, starting to submerge before realizing what he just volunteered for. "But that'll take all day!"
"Good," Lexi smiled to the crow before her expression changed to impatient and she shouted, "Now get going!"
Startled by the female rabbit's loud command, Jeremy jumped and submerged again. Unfortunately, before Mrs. Brisby and her friends could even move, Jeremy jumped out of the water, knocking them over so that he was leaning over them.
"I, uh…" Jeremy chuckled. "I just thought I'd mention in passing: I've always wanted a sparkly of my very own."
The Loonatics and Calamity got up and looked at each with glares that said one thing: They had had enough of this clumsy crow and his antics. Now it was time to resort to slightly more…persuasive methods to get him to leave them alone, and Duck spoke up to take the job.
"Scare 'im, don't hurt him," Ace instructed Duck.
Duck nodded, and turning to Jeremy, he said calmly while readying his hands, "Uh, Jerr? When the lady tellsth you to get going…then you need to…GET GOING!" Duck yelled at the top of his lungs, jumping up with Power Eggs ready in his palms.
Jeremy practically flew backwards into the water with a startled "WHOA!", thinking that Duck had somehow managed to conjure fire out of thin air. That was pretty much scarier than the crazy lady with the hat and the big teeth! Nerves thoroughly rattled, Jeremy stammered a bit before submerging once more and taking off fast, bumping into every rock in the pond.
Mrs. Brisby rolled her eyes at that before she and the others started making their way back home.
"Nice woik wit' the Power Eggs there, Duck," Ace complimented the mallard.
"Well, hopefully, that little performan-th-ce of mine will convin-th-ce him to sthtay away for a while," Duck hoped, extinguishing the Eggs in his hands.
"You wanna bet we're gonna get peppered with questions about where we were when we get back?" Lexi asked.
"I'm expecting it," Tech answered.
"Jeremy…" Rev groaned, realizing that Jeremy most likely told the Brisby kids about where they went even though he had promised not to.
"Grreelabagah Crow screw up," Slam grumbled.
"I have to agree with you, Slam," Mrs. Brisby sighed.
"Yeah, just about asth bad asth me or worsthe," Duck said.
"I'm going to have to go with 'worse'," said Lexi.
"On a side note, I think you're starting to get better in understandin' Tasmanian devil, Mrs. B," Ace told the widowed mouse, having noticed that she had responded to a comment Slam had made without asking for a translation.
"Really? Thank you," Mrs. Brisby said.
Whew! Made it. Thank Jeremy for some comic relief after all that, huh? Anyway, it looks like everything's out in the open now; how the Loonatics really got their powers, what happened to their time and Zadavia, the Darkness, what happened to Jonathan, the origin of the Rats of NIMH as well as what NIMH means and what Jonathan had done to be so well-known. The details of the Plan have also been revealed, as well as Jenner's scheme to kill Nicodemus, what was up with Dragon in the previous chapter and why Mr. Ages was on crutches.
It also seems that the Darkness was able to invade because the barriers between worlds were made weak when something called "The Las Vegas Incident of 1992" occurred. As to how that happened, I'm afraid that's another story that's in the development closet…that uses what's probably considered the WORST animated film ever. I'll leave you to guess what it is, but I can tell you it's NOT "The Black Cauldron".
Mm, Mr. Ages thinks Ace and Justin have a few things in common? I think I sense some foreshadowing here. And as for those details about the design similarities between Nicodemus and the Great Owl, well, it turns out that was exactly what Don Bluth had in mind; according to some research I did, in the 2007 DVD release of the movie, Don Bluth wanted the Owl and Nicodemus to be seen as aspects of the same character. Interesting, huh? And it turns out he is psychic, and possesses telekinesis as well; he did bring his staff over without touching it.
Now…*shudder* I'm sure that if you were in the place of Mrs. Brisby and her visitors you'd be pretty freaked out, too. I realize that this sort of thing is one of those topics that gets discussed back-and-forth a lot, and that while one side of the argument is that it's downright cruel to the animals, we also have to realize that things like vaccines might not have gotten passed without those tests. But the trick here is no-one knows what those injections were for, so I have to say people on the first side of the argument will certainly find a foothold there; I know many animal Toons would, that's why I added that piece of fictional history about animal testing being banned and animal test subjects being replaced with Test Sims. Well think about it; in "Loonatics Unleashed", you don't exactly see Toons/anthros living in a place that isn't also occupied by actual humans, do you?
Oh, and about that passage in Nicodemus' book opposite the one Mrs. Brisby read, if you pause the movie at the beginning where Nicodemus is writing, you can actually see that very passage. Sort of a "you-have-to-have-sharp-eyes-to-see-it" thing, I guess.
There's also a reference to the Disney film "Home on the Range" in here somewhere; kudos if you can spot it and who says it!
Ah, yes, before I forget; the Stone is given to Mrs. Brisby, and the message Nicodemus gives with it is just the answer that the Loonatics and Calamity have been looking for in regards to how to make themselves stronger…and it gives a bit of foreshadowing.
Now, getting back on track, it looks like if the rats are going to be able to move Mrs. Brisby's house, they will need to drug Dragon, but with Mr. Ages on crutches, there's no-one who can do the job…or is there? Well, not only does Mrs. Brisby (reluctantly) volunteer herself for the job, but so do Duck and Rev, which really doesn't sit well with their teammates. But hey, what could go wrong, right?
Oh, what am I saying; of COURSE something's gonna go wrong! But to find out what happens, you'll have to wait for the next chapter.
Until then, please read and review. Thank you.
