Still going at it strong! 3 chapters posted in 2 days, with this one and chapter two being written in the past two days! Over 25k words already, and we've only just begun! And I'm having fun with writing again. A story that I can plop Atom into without him knowing stuff about it directly, and without having to make it up as I go. And the ride just doesn't stop! I told you guys to expect a lot of this for a while! Enjoy.
Kipo slammed a climbing pick into the wall, hoisting herself up a bit higher. "Today's the day." She said, looking up. "All the way to the ceiling." She started pulling up, but her feet slipped, leaving her hanging by the pick. She quickly grabbed onto it with her other hand as someone called up to her.
"What's the holdup, slowpoke?" Kipo looked down at him.
"No holdup. Why?" She giggled nervously. "Does it look like I'm holding up?"
"No," said the guy sarcastically, "you are clearly not holding up. But, uh, while we're waiting, tell me, what minerals are in most abundance at this stratum?"
"Dad, that's easy! Azurite and Malachite, two of my favorite ites."
"If you can ace a pop geology quiz, then I know you can make it the rest of the way." Kipo looked back at the rock surface, and reached out to another hand hold. She pulled the pick off the wall, and slammed it in again higher up, continuing her climb. As she went, she was suddenly stopped by the ground rumbling. She looked back down at her dad as everyone else below stopped moving around for a few moments. "Whoo, just a Mega Mute passing overhead. Little close, but nothing to worry about." Another step, and Kipo started counting.
"Two, three, four," another step, "five seconds between footsteps."
"Whoa, this one's big! What do you think it is?"
"I'm guessing, a 400 foot tall squirrel with eight tails."
"Maybe it's a giant dolphin that's adapted to walk on land."
"Dolphin?" Asked Kipo. "Well, I did read once they have vestigial leg bones," she continued on even as the Mega Mute roared, and her father's eyes widened, "from millions of years ago."
"They found us." Said her dad.
"Did you know they used to look like horses before they went into the water?" Asked Kipo as her father looked down at the waterway. "Dad? Dad, are you listening to me?" Kipo's dad unhooked himself from her, then pulled on her rope hard, pulling her off the rock wall and sending her down towards the water. She yelled as she fell before splashing down. He then unhooked himself from the wall as the ground above them rumbled even harder. He jumped down as the cliff face started to crumble, diving into the water. He started swimming after Kipo, who looked back at him. "Dad!" She called. "Dad!" She passed into a tunnel as rocks came down, blocking it and her dad. He ran into the rocks and climbed up.
"Kipo!" He yelled. He started trying to dig through the rocks to get to the tunnel, but was interrupted by the Mega Mute pounding into the ground with something. He looked up to see small beams of light going into the burrow, before a gigantic, sharpened log stabbed through, breaking into it. "It's okay." He told himself. "You got Kipo out ok, that's what matters. The rest," the ground rumbled again as the log started rising back up. "Piece of cake?" The Mega peered into the hole it had created and growled.
Fear of humans, fear of what they'll do
Fear of others, no matter where you go
Taken from your home, forever lost
One light in the distance,
But oh so far away,
Run towards the light,
Away from your fear
The cat clanked his axe against the rubble, and a small army of cats walked up. They stared down the group and Kipo looked at them. "Uh, guys?" She asked. "More Mutes! Are these ones friendly or unfriendly?" Wolf stood up.
"There's an entire army of them. Packing axes." She turned to Kipo and gripped Stalkie. "What do you think?"
"Unfriendly. Got it." Atom drew his sword and instinctively reached for Leo, before remembering that he was useless here. The cat stopped clanking his axe against the rock, then moved it forward.
"Charge!" He called. All the cats started yelling as they ran down the pit, axes raised high.
"Oh man oh man!" Said Dave, lifting up a bit. "Those are Timbercats! Cats eat bugs!"
"Dave, you're flying!" Said Kipo. "Fly us out of here!" Dave gasped, then grabbed onto everybody. He started to fly, but suddenly yelled out, dropping everybody. His muscled up form died as an old Dave fell into Benson's hands.
"Yeah, sorry guys!" Old Dave fell into dust as a new cocoon formed. "Dave's got a little bit of, uh, performance anxiety issues!"
"No kidding!" Said Atom as he picked himself up.
"Lesson seven of the surface," started Wolf, looking back at the charging army, "know when to run!" She turned and started running, followed quickly by the others. Atom sheathed his sword as he turned, knowing it would slow him down.
"Now is a perfect time to run!" He added. The Timbercats were hot on their heels as the group dove behind some rubble. The cats passed them by, and Kipo was the first one to peek up. One of the cats screeched.
"The footprints led right here! The monster's got to be here somewhere. Keep looking!"
"Tree stealer! Where are you, hiding?!" Yelled another cat. Some rubble fell over as another cat climbed over it, wielding two axes. She spun them in her hands before stashing them.
"We're wasting our time! Whatever it is, it's long gone by now." One of the cats hissed.
"You can't know that for sure, Molly Yarnchopper!"
"I know what I see." Rebutted Molly. She leaned down to grab something. "You think your tiny axes can stop the thing that did all this?" She held up a piece of wood with some intricately carved designs on it. One of the smaller cats gasped.
"That's from the Scratching Tree! Raise your axes for the Scratching Tree!" She pulled out her axe, along with all the other cats. Molly put hers away again.
"The Mega Mute must have used our tree to make this crater. We're no match for a beast who could do that." She took a breath. "Not with our leader gone. Not without Yumyan Hammerpaw." She scratched the wood a little, and Kipo turned back to the group.
"What'd you find out?" Asked Atom.
"Guys, I think the Mega Mute they're looking for is the same one who destroyed my city!"
"Makes sense to me." Said Atom. "If they're chasing a Mega Mute that came this way, then odds are for it being one and the same." Kipo frowned a bit.
"What if me people didn't get away? What if it took them?" Wolf and Benson looked at each other.
"Kipo, if it did take them, you have us at your side to help you." Kipo smiled at Atom, before taking a breath.
"We should team up with these cats to find it. We have an enemy in common!"
"Oh, Kipo." Sighed Wolf. "Humans and Mutes don't mix unless they're eating us."
"Uh," started Atom, gesturing to Mandu and Dave.
"But they have an army!" Countered Kipo. She looked away from Wolf and moved out of the hiding spot, and Wolf gasped before face palming.
"She's going to do what she's going to do." Said Atom, shaking his head. "She's the most stubborn one out of all of us." Kipo stepped in front of the rubble she was hiding behind and ran up to the cats.
"Hi there." She said. All the cats turned to her as the rest of the group peeked out from behind the rubble. "Um, funny coincidence, the Mega Mute you're looking for, we're looking for it too!" She gestured to the hiding spot, and Wolf and Benson slowly went back into it. "We should totally team up!" She didn't get a response for a few moments. "An-and I know that you're thinking." Some of the cats began to surround her. "Humans and Mutes? Crazy. But I say, peace between the species. Right?" She gave a thumbs up, and the cats looked at each other. They suddenly grabbed her, and some moved towards the hiding spot.
"We need to move!" Said Atom. The three began to run, but were quickly surrounded by Timbercats. Wolf tried to stab one of them, but he blocked it with his axe before knocking Stalkie out of her hands. Atom tried to swing his sword, but met a similar fate. The cats grabbed all of them, and put them in a wooden cage with a grayish sand in it with Kipo. Then, they picked it up and began carrying it.
"I tried." Said Kipo. Benson scooped up some of the sand.
"Something tells me this isn't the kind of sand you find at the beach." He said.
"It's cat litter." Said Atom, looking out one of the slots. "We should just be glad it's not used." Dave's cocoon suddenly moved, and baby Dave popped out of it. He squealed a little before bending down and shoving some litter into his mouth.
"Hey!" Benson picked him up. "Litter is not food!"
"If you had listened to me, we would have gotten away." Scolded Wolf.
"Clearly, the cats need some time to warm up to the idea of working with humans." Countered Kipo. She reached her arm towards one of the slots, and was scratched and hissed at. "Maybe a lot of time. But I will win them over!"
"I don't, work, with Mutes." Reiterated Wolf. Baby Dave suddenly exploded into Teen Dave, covering Wolf and Benson with some goop.
"I tell you, these years go by so fast." Said Benson. Atom sighed.
"Wolf, you say you don't work with Mutes, and yet here you are, with two." He gestured to Dave and Mandu.
"What'd you say about me?" Asked Dave. Benson lowered him down as he noticed something ahead. With his mouth open, everybody turned to see what he was looking at and noticed massive trees with large sections cut out of them as homes. Above were some yarn balls, hanging from some branches. Some cats were working on a tree as some others swung around screeching. One particularly large Timbercat whacked a tree and split it up the center, completely in half. Kipo giggled nervously at the sight of that one, then looked forward again to see what seemed to be a decaying tree stump.
"That looks like something was ripped out." Mentioned Atom. "I wonder." The cage was suddenly put down, and opened.
"Stand at attention!" Said the cat that opened it. "You're in front of the Scratching Tree!" All the cats except him and Molly raised an axe. He raised Stalkie while Molly raised Atom's sword. Everyone except Dave got out of the cage and looked at what remained of the Scratching Tree.
"It looks like it's, um," started Benson, "how do I say, uh, not much of a tree, anymore."
"Hey!" Yelled the smaller cat. "It's sacred to our very way of life!" The cat that opened the cage looked Benson over.
"What's that on your sweater, human?" He glared at Benson. "Is that supposed to be, funny?" Benson looked down at his shirt.
"Oh, this old rag?" He asked, uncomfortable. "It's from a very long time ago, when humans used to keep cats as, uh, pets." The cat didn't drop his glare. "You know, I, I can just wear it like this." Benson crossed his arms over his chest, hiding the cat image on his shirt. Wolf glared at the cat, and specifically at Stalkie. Dave suddenly exploded out of his Teen form, doing a flip as he landed in front of everybody in a fighting pose.
"Ha! I'm back in fightin' shape!" He looked around, then dropped his pose. "Aw man, I just remembered we got caught." Molly walked forward and paced a bit.
"What do we do with these humans? Should we eat 'em?" Kipo and Benson looked at each other, scared, as Atom and Wolf didn't look away from her. "We'd have to clean them first, they rose here in the litter."
"I say we bat them between our paws for several hours until we get bored!" Said the cat holding Stalkie.
"I wish Yumyan were here." Said the small cat, interrupting. "He'd know what to do. He always decides these things for us."
"Eat them!" Said one cat.
"Bat them!"
"Eat them!"
"Bat them!"
"There's only one way to settle it." Decided Molly. The other cat meowed at her.
"Caterbrawl!" He yelled. All the cats suddenly lunged at each other, attacking. The group ducked to avoid the flood of fur and axes as it went over them.
"We need to get out of this madhouse as soon as possible!" Said Wolf. An axe went over her head.
"But look at them!" Countered Kipo, gesturing to a pair of crying cats. "The poor things are lost without their friend Yumyan!" The group looked at them. "We should help them find him! A-and not for selfish reasons, although we do need to win them over, it's just the right thing to do!"
"She's right. If we want to find that Mega Mute and have a chance at fighting it, we'll need the cats." Said Atom.
"Yeah, no." Said Benson. "I'm with Tiny on this one."
"Call me that again and you're a dead man." Threatened Wolf. A few of the cats landed in front of them, and the small one yelled out.
"No!" The cats stopped fighting for a moment. "This isn't right! It's just not the same, not without Yumyan!" Molly walked up to her and dangled a string of yarn at her. She meowed, then started pawing at it. "Ooh!" Kipo stepped forward.
"If you don't mind me asking, who is this Yumyan?" Both cats looked at her.
"This human keeps talking to us." Said Molly. "Why does she keep doing that?" The small cat turned to her, clearly upset.
"Who is Yumyan Hammerpaw?!" She asked rhetorically. "He's the Lord of the Timbercats! Or, at least, he was." She looked up at the trees, followed by Molly.
"Oh, sorry." Said Kipo. She lowered her head in respect.
"So long, Yumyan." Sighed Benson. "Hardly knew ya."
"Someone lost to that Mega." Said Atom. "Doesn't sit right with me." A sudden screeching rang out as a barrel hit the ground in front of everybody. A tree started falling nearby, shaking the ground and knocking the group over when it hit the ground.
"Whoa, what is that?!" Asked Kipo.
"Sounds like Pierre, Yumyan's pet." Said Molly, drawing her axes. "You might want to duck." She took a battle ready stance as something started bouncing from tree to tree above, before losing the cat that was on its back, along with its leash. The tree it had just jumped from started creaking, before its support cracked.
"Timber!" Yelled one of the cats as Molly grabbed the cat that was on Pierre and got him out of the way. It crashed down hard, shaking everybody. Molly, the cat she rescued, and the small cat all peered over it.
"Ok, that tree was not stable! How come no one thought to chop it down? Does Yumyan have to remind us to do everything?!"
"Uh, somebody still needs to get Pierre back on his leash." Said the small cat. She pointed to Pierre as he tossed cats left and right from the trees before jumping at another tree. "Any volunteers?" It only took a moment for Kipo's hand to shoot up.
"We volunteer!" The cats quickly parted to show that she had volunteered, and none of them. Wolf, Benson and Dave glared at her.
"Really?" Asked Wolf. Atom stepped forward.
"I trust her on this." He said. Kipo looked at Wolf and smiled. Molly looked at her surprised, then shrugged.
"Get them up there then!"
The group stood on a long walkway next to Pierre's food bowl, just in time for Pierre to jump down across from them. Wolf looked at Kipo, who was holding Pierre's leash. "I have half a mind to put that thing around your neck." She said.
"Don't you ever do things you don't want to do to help others?" Asked Kipo. Wolf grabbed a branch off the nearby tree and spun it around.
"Nope." Kipo looked at her.
"Are you gonna hit him with that?"
"What do you want me to stop him with, a dirty look?" Atom reached into his pocket and pretended to grab something as he summoned his shield. Pierre squealed at them, before taking a few steps towards them.
"Okay, on the count of three" started Kipo.
"Charge!" Called Dave, Benson, and Wolf as they and Mandu charged. Atom stayed next to Kipo and smiled, before putting his arm forward. His shield extended, ready to block any blows that came at him. Kipo looked at it for a moment before refocusing on the others as they tackled Pierre and jumped on him. They held on tight as he bucked, until Benson, Dave and Mandu were knocked off. They looked up at Wolf as Kipo looked at her surroundings and noticed a tree tap that wasn't completely closed, dripping some liquid. She then looked at Pierre's food bowl, and realized something. Wolf was finally thrown off of Pierre, and her pelt got stuck on a branch above, rendering her impotent. Kipo looked back up and gasped.
"What's the plan?" Asked Atom, standing between her and Pierre with his shield out. Kipo dropped the leash, drawing Pierre's attention from Wolf. Atom looked back at her to see her trying to pull an axe out of one of the barrels. He looked around as she pulled it out, and noticed the food bowl and tree tap. "Oh, I see!" He turned back to Pierre, before stepping back. Kipo pulled out the axe, and Pierre glared at her. She looked at the axe, then semi-hid it behind her. "Kipo, don't waste time!" Pierre charged at them.
"No no no no no no!" Yelled Wolf. Atom held his shield up high, ready to buy Kipo a few more seconds. "Kipo! Tuck and Roll!" Pierre slammed into Atom, knocking him back as Kipo raised the axe.
"You've only got a few seconds, Kipo!" He called. Pierre smashed into him again, knocking him off balance, before a third hit knocked him over completely. Kipo swung the axe, splitting open a barrel as Pierre charged at her again. Syrup gushed out of it, and Pierre started slowing down as quickly as he could. Atom looked up, dazed as Pierre slid to a stop in front of the growing puddle. Everyone stared as Pierre started lapping it up, eating it. Kipo picked up his collar and walked slowly over to him, before slipping the collar around his neck, and clamping it. All the cats gasped, certain that he would attack again, but Pierre just stopped eating for a moment before resuming.
"Oh, you were just a sweet, hungry pet," Said Kipo. Wolf managed to get herself down from the branch and landed next to Benson and Dave as Atom sat up, "who hasn't had a bite in days."
"All right," started Molly, drawing everyone's attention, "maybe we won't eat the humans." She turned to the other cat. "Any other ideas?"
"Oh, here's an idea!" Said Benson, looking up at them. "Just, you know, spitballin'." He took a breath. "Let us go?"
"Ooh! I got it!" Said the other cat. "We trade 'em to Scarlemagne!"
"Of course, Scarlemagne!" Agreed Molly. "That's what Yumyan Hammerpaw would do."
"Wait, you guys can't be serious!" Argued Dave. "Not" before he could say anything else, the cats jumped down at everybody and grabbed them.
"Really?!" Asked Atom. He struggled the most out of everybody as his shield was taken off of him, before everybody was taken back to the cage. It was lifted up and they started moving again. Kipo sighed.
"Scarlemagne." She simply said. "Uh, we need to talk about this. His name keeps coming up, and it's a freaky name." Atom looked out the side of the cage.
"Sounds like one heck of a villain to me." He said.
"Picture the most dangerous, frightening thing imaginable." Said Wolf. "Now imagine something ten times worse. Get the idea?" Atom smirked.
"Please. I've seen things that are very bad. Saying that immediately makes me think less of him." Benson moved to the front of the cage to try something.
"Hey, uh, listen, before you do anything rash here, can we discuss all this syrup you have? Because you haven't lived until you've tried my world famous flapjacks! Right Dave?"
"Oh, they're like magic!" Agreed Dave. "Magic flapjacks!"
"Hm?" Said Molly. She came to a stop, and she and the other cat dropped the cage. "Flapjacks do sound good."
"And how do we know this isn't some kind of trick?" Asked the other cat.
"Ruffles, as long as we keep an eye on them, they can't do anything. Why not see what they can do before we hand them over?" Ruffles sighed.
"Fine. But I still think this is some kind of trick." The two picked up the cage again and turned around, heading back to the settlement. They brought the cage to the kitchen, and opened it. "Okay humans. Get to work." She looked at Ruffles. "And get Dusty to guard them." The two left, and Benson turned to everyone else.
"Okay guys, I know this looks bad, but I've got a plan. Wolf, you're going to stir the batter. Atom, Kipo, you guys are going to make the flapjacks. Leave the rest to me and Dave!" He stepped out of the cage with Dave, leaving the others confused.
"Uh," started Kipo.
"I think we're all in the same boat about this plan." Interrupted Atom. "But, do either of you have a better idea?" Wolf sighed.
"Look, let's just get this over with." She stepped out of the cage next, followed by Kipo, and then Atom. They got to work as another Timbercat was positioned outside, sitting on a sawed branch. Benson looked around to make sure, then reached out to grab a clump of fur from the cat. Wolf glared at him as she stirred the batter. "Next time you guys want to serve cat food, leave me out of it." Benson walked over to her.
"O ye of little faith. We are cooking up more than sustenance." He tossed the fur clump into the batter.
"Just you keep stirring that batter, Wolfy." Added Dave. Kipo looked at the two as Benson came back over, and gasped as she realized the plan.
"You two are plotting an escape, aren't you? Makes sense." Atom flipped another flapjack onto a plate.
"You know, I'm impressed. An escape manipulated by a mastermind."
"But wouldn't it make more sense to, not escape?" Asked Kipo.
"Kipo, reality check!" Warned Wolf. "They're going to trade us to Scarlemagne." Kipo scoffed at that.
"How do you know?" She looked back at her flapjacks. "They haven't seen my special Mister Flappy cakes yet." She flipped another one onto a plate.
"No offense Kipo, but these guys are going to need more than the shape of some food to be convinced." Said Atom as she grabbed two plates to bring out. Mandu grabbed the other plate as Dave picked up Kipo's spatula.
"Just have a little faith." She rebutted as she left the kitchen. She looked around the great hall she found herself in, filled with Timbercats all around. Up in the top were carvings of Timbercats. As she looked back down, she noticed Molly and Ruffles clanking mugs, before looking away from each other and at a chair in the middle of the hall. Laying in it was a large axe. Molly sighed.
"I keep thinking I'll blink, and then magically Yumyan will be there, leading our dinner like he always does!"
"I feel dead inside." Agreed Ruffles. Up and behind them, two cats got into a small fight and rolled in front of Kipo and Mandu as Benson, Dave, and atom brought out more plates of flapjacks. Dave jumped up one level and carried the flapjacks past some cats. The small one nabbed one and ate it whole, and her eyes widened dramatically.
"These are so good! They fill my stomach, but not my heart." Tears began streaming down her face as she slumped down onto the table, sobbing a little. All around, Timbercats were getting plates of flapjacks and were starting to eat them, when Ruffle's elbow suddenly slipped off his table, making him spill his drink all over the floor.
"I miss Yumyan." He said as Kipo put a plate of food in front of him. "We should add his portrait to our dome of great Axe Lords!" He gestured up.
"So he'll always be looking down at us while we eat!" Added Molly. Kipo put her other plate of flapjacks down and looked up.
"I wondered what was up there." Thought Atom as he put a plate in front of Molly, and took notice of his sword.
"No!" Denied the small cat. "That's just for Axe Lords who are already gone!" She flopped down onto her table again, crying. "I'm not ready to hang up his axe." Molly suddenly slammed the table she was at, sending some of the flapjacks flying at Kipo and Atom.
"Let's carve his face up there!" She yelled. All the cats began shouting.
"No, it's too early!"
"Now's the time!" Kipo pulled the flapjack on her off as another one went past her and hit the axe in the chair, where she noticed it was a bit more than just an axe.
"You gotta let go, man!"
"I can't let go!" Atom took the flapjack off of him and followed her gaze. He smiled, realizing what she was thinking.
"Let go! We gotta honor him up there!"
"Go ahead and do it." He whispered. "It can't make our situation worse than it already is." Kipo nodded, and walked up to the chair despite all the arguing. She climbed up, then plucked the strings a little, stunning every cat into silence. Wolf, Benson, and Dave stopped moving and looked at her. She looked up at the sudden silence, and chuckled nervously.
"That's Yumyan's guitar, human." Said Molly, in a threatening tone as she scratched her table and stood up. "Nobody plays it but him!" Wolf face palmed.
"Well, since he's passed on, I figured I could play it for him." Said Kipo, softly. The small cat's eyes opened wide, and she took her fork out of her mouth.
"Passed on? Whoever said that? He's just stuck up in a tree." Atom looked at her, then back at Kipo.
"This is an interesting development." Kipo laughed through her nose a little.
"Wait, what? All this time?" She asked. She looked back at Molly. "Why don't you just climb up there and get him back down?" All of the cats gasped, except for one which meowed at her alarmed.
"He went above the canopy." Said Molly, in a scolding tone. "No Timbercat has ever gone above the canopy!"
"Wow, above the canopy." Said Kipo, showing interest as she looked up. She looked back at Molly. "Why would he do that?"
"When the beast showed up to steal the Scratching Tree," started Molly, "Yumyan ran up there to fight him!"
"Ooh! Yumyan sounds very brave." Said Kipo. "You must have a lot of stories about him." She strummed Yumyan's axe again.
"Oh that's not even half the legend!" Said Molly, as she grabbed her own axe guitar. She plucked the strings to create a rousing background track. All the Timbercats suddenly stood at attention as she began singing. "He was born with an axe in his fur," she began dashing between tables, singing at different pairs of Timbercats, "The toughest cat that you ever saw!" All of the Timbercats began rocking up and down as Wolf looked around, confused. Atom made his way over to her. "Well he can chop down a tree with just one swing" Molly turned back to Kipo and walked towards her, "We call him Yumyan Hammerpaw!" Several of the other cats started pulling out instruments.
"Whoa!" Sang a large group of them. "Whoa!" Kipo joined into playing. "We call him Yumyan Hammerpaw!" Atom stopped his advance towards Wolf, then shrugged and reached into his pocket, summoning an ocarina to his hand. He put it to his mouth and started playing, adding a more muted tone to the song. Wolf suddenly had two Timbercats put their arms around her shoulders as the song continued. Two Timbercats laughed and clanked mugs, before one of them was suddenly punched away by Ruffles.
"He could punch out a thousand grizzly bears, He's mighty tall at seven feet!" Ruffles jumped to a table and kicked off the mugs as she sang, and held Stalkie up high. Wolf glared at him.
"His beard is so tough, It gets in fights, his favorite food is luncheon meat!" The small cat swung around a flapjack like a slice of meat before taking a bite. "Whoa! Whoa! His favorite food is luncheon meat!" Wolf broke free of the two Timbercats and ran into the really big one. He turned to her and glared, with a flapjack in one hand and a plate in the other.
"Everybody!" Yelled one cat as the big one put everything down and picked up Wolf, before throwing her into the air with the song.
"Yumyan, Hammerpaw!" Sang all the cats. One hacked a bit, sending out a tiny hairball. He rubbed his throat a little. "Yumyan, Hammerpaw!" Several more cats began coughing, spitting up small hairballs. Benson looked at Dave.
"How much fur did we put in the batter?" Dave thought back to the cat they were taking the fur from, and remembered that they had picked him clean.
"A lot." All the cats began coughing and choking on the fur as Atom lowered his ocarina to look around. Kipo continued singing and playing, though.
"I hear Yumyan writes manly poems!" She sang. "About chainsaws, cranks and gears!" She climbed higher on the chair. "He also shoots lasers from his eyes, and puts out fires, with, his, tears?" She stopped playing and singing as she looked around to see all the cats coughing and hacking away. "Wait, w-what happened? Were the lasers too much?" One Timbercat walked up to the chair, coughing more than the others, and suddenly spit up a lot of chewed up flapjacks and fur. Kipo gasped and recoiled back. More cats began throwing up.
"Hairball!" Called someone. Benson quickly ran up to the chair and grabbed Kipo, bringing her with to the exit. As they ran, Ruffles tried to stop them, but fell over hacking. Wolf walked up to him as he struggled to hold back the hairball. She grabbed Stalkie and rubbed it against her face, hugging it.
"Stalkie, I missed you." Atom made his way over to Molly to pick up his sword.
"Ruffles was, right!" She coughed.
"I'm sorry about this." Relented Atom. "But you'll thank Kipo later. I feel like you'll see her again soon." He grabbed his sword and sheath from her before running after everybody else. As he ran, the small cat reached out as he passed, before grabbing another flapjack. She stuffed it in her mouth and chewed it up before a hairball came out. She looked around slightly before reaching for another one.
The group was running away from the hall, but not everybody was as eager to leave. "That time I was really making progress!" Said Kipo. "I was lead guitar in a cat band!" She suddenly stopped running as they reached the edge of the platform, and she barely grabbed Mandu before she fell off as Benson and Dave nearly slid into her legs. Wolf ran up to them and just barely stopped before she rammed into them, but Atom wasn't as good.
"Look out!" He called as he rammed into everybody, sending them all over the edge, including himself. Everybody started falling towards a massive yarn ball and landed on it as it began swinging.
"Jump!" Commanded Wolf. Everybody leaped to the next yarn ball, their momentum swinging it as well.
"This is a new way to travel!" Said Benson.
"Focus guys!" Called Atom.
"Feline! Two o' clock!" Yelled Wolf. The cat that they had taken the fur from was swinging at them quickly, axe at the ready. He suddenly tossed the axe at them, and Mandu caught it in her mouth. But that didn't stop the cat from lunging at them. Mandu looked back for a moment, then swung the axe, cutting the yarn ball down. The cat barely went over the top of everybody as they fell. Everyone's knuckles were white as they held on for dear life while the yarn ball hit the ground and bounced forward, before crashing into a tree outside the village. Wolf recovered first and jumped off the yarn ball. "Come on!" She called, heading for some nearby shrubbery. Dave and Benson recovered next and ran after her as Atom helped Kipo up.
"Come on, we need to go!" He said as he pulled her along. She looked back one last time to see a tree fall towards another one, taking them both out and sending up a huge cloud of dust. Atom paused for a moment to let her see it. "I know it's painful to see something like this happen. But if you or I try to do anything right now, one of the others will stop us. Come on!" Kipo whimpered, then followed Atom into the foliage, getting away. They followed Wolf as she charged through the plant life, until they eventually found a ruined building being overtaken by nature. Benson lifted a few mushrooms to reveal an opening, and everyone climbed in.
"We'll camp here." Said Wolf, laying down on a very large mushroom. "In the morning, we'll pick up those Mega Mute tracks, see if they lead to your people." Benson and Dave flopped down on another mushroom, giving out sighs of relief. Kipo laid down on a third one.
"Good idea." She muttered. "We don't need those cats to help us, and they don't," Mandu laid down next to her as she paused, "need our help, either." Atom flopped down on another mushroom, then quietly rolled off of it as Wolf, Benson, and Dave fell asleep. He looked over to Kipo to see that she was still awake, thinking. He shook his head, then quietly made his way to the exit. There, he pulled out Leo.
"I get where she's coming from." He said. "We've seen what happens to a group when their leader is just, gone."
"Agreed." Said Leo. "But, neither of us can do anything about it. I can't fly us up there, and you can't climb a tree that big." Atom sighed.
"I know. And that's the problem." He slumped down. "So far, all I've been able to do is either give some motivational words, or pull others down with me in some way or another." He hit the ground in frustration. "At least with the Awesome Ones, I knew something that was helpful! Or with the Brawlers, and knowing everything that was going to happen. But right here, right now, I'm worthless to everyone around." He groaned, and leaned forward, bringing his legs in.
"Atom, you know you're not worthless. I know it too. We are here for a reason."
"I know." Said Atom. "But I just don't know what reason that could be." Kipo poked her head out of the exit, intent on something, when she looked over to see Atom talking to some kind of figurine. She stayed silent for a moment.
"Well, let's rule some things out." Said Leo. Kipo gasped, then pulled back as Atom looked over towards the opening. He sighed.
"I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Come on out, Kipo." Kipo slowly crawled out.
"I know you were talking to somebody that time!" She accused. Atom shook his head.
"Well, technically you've always known I was talking to someone. I've just managed to come up with an excuse each time." He looked at her. "You remember that friend I told you about?" Kipo nodded, and he held out his hand with Leo. "Meet Leo. My partner." Kipo looked at Atom like he was crazy, then looked at Leo.
"Your friend is a figurine?" She asked.
"I'm just as alive as you." Countered Leo. Kipo jumped back, and scrambled away.
"What the?!" She calmed herself, then came closer again. "So cool." She looked at Atom. "Where'd you find him? Is he some kind of new Mute?"
"Well, that's the part that I don't want to get into. No offense Kipo, but it would shatter your entire perception of the world. Trust me when I say it's a can of worms you don't want to open." Kipo just stared at him.
"Uh, okay?" She sat down on her legs, and Atom looked at her.
"You were about to head back to the village to find Yumyan, weren't you?" Kipo straightened up quickly.
"What? No! What, what gave you that idea?" She laughed nervously, and Atom smiled.
"Don't worry about me stopping you. I want to help them too, I just don't have the capability." He looked away again. "Just like with anything else around here. So far, I've just felt like dead weight. You find friends with everyone, Wolf is a survival expert, Benson is an incredible navigator, and Dave seems to be immortal, allowing you to use him for many things. But me?" He pulled his sword out. "I'm just a guy with a sword and a shield. Nothing else I'm capable of seems to work here, either." He looked down again. "I just feel so," he sighed, "useless." Kipo smiled at him, then went over to him and hugged him.
"You're not useless." She said. "I know it." Atom smiled.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but you have bigger fish to fry." He reached into his pocket again and pulled out his ocarina, before handing it to Kipo. "You're stronger than I am right now. As long as I'm traveling with you, keep that close. I believe in you, no matter what you're thinking, and I've always got your back." He smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Now, go help Yumyan like you were planning!" Kipo nodded, then ran off into the foliage. Leo looked at Atom.
"Are you sure she can?" Atom nodded.
"She's the most stubborn person I've ever known. If she can't, nobody can." He got back up. "Let's head back inside. Wouldn't want them to think that I allowed her to head off on her own."
"Agreed." Leo hid himself in Atom's pocket again as he went back into the building.
Kipo walked into the village and grabbed the axe that was thrown at her only a little while ago. She looked up at the trees. "You up there Yumyan? If I'm doing this, you'd better be." She walked over to a tree, and swung the axe into it like the pick she had used before coming to the surface, pulling herself up before swinging it again. She kept going for a little while. "All the way, to the canopy." She encouraged herself. She took a chance glance behind her to see the ground a dizzying distance away. She gasped, then turned back quickly. "Why'd you look?!" She looked up again, then started mimicking her father. "Kipo, is this tree deciduous, or coniferous?" She pulled the axe out again and brought it higher. "Coniferous. Means the leaves are green year-round." She pulled herself higher. "Not bad for someone who grew up in a cave!" She continued her climb, focused on reaching the top.
Mandu slid off of the mushroom she was on, startling awake. She stood up and started looking around, and didn't see Kipo. She rushed over to Wolf and squealed as loudly as she could, trying to wake her up, but Wolf didn't budge. Mandu frowned, then licked Wolf's cheek. Wolf snapped awake and pushed Mandu away, yelling. "Why would you do that?!" Mandu squealed a little, and Wolf glanced over to the mushroom Kip had laid down on. She looked around a bit.
"Huh?" Asked Benson as he sat up. Wolf groaned as Atom sat up. He feigned surprise.
"Kipo's gone?" He asked.
Kipo continued her climb, finally pushing herself above the canopy. She looked around a bit before gasping at a magnificent sight. In front of her was a massive butterfly with exquisitely colored wings, just like the night sky. "Whoa." Behind her, something opened its eyes and growled. It suddenly jumped towards the butterfly.
"Yumyan owns you all!" Yelled the creature behind her. He jumped over the butterfly, and it flew away as he fell into the leaves.
"Yumyan!" Called Kipo as she raced over. "Oh no! A-are you still up here?" She started digging in the leaves. "I came here to find you!" She was suddenly lifted up as Yumyan stood up under her, growling.
"You know how long I've been chasing that rotten insect?" He asked as he reached up to Kipo and pulled her off. "Three days!" He suddenly threw her to the side. "Oh, but to him, it's all just a dance." Yumyan watched the butterfly flutter around him, seemingly tauntingly. "He flutters around saying 'Look at me, I'm so pretty!'" Yumyan turned to the butterfly as it landed. "Eventually he has to tire out!" He crouched down and started crawling towards the butterfly. "Any moment now." The butterfly suddenly took off again, and Yumyan looked up. "Yumyan owns you all!" He leapt after the butterfly again, and missed again. The butterfly turned around to face him as Yumyan screeched in frustration.
"Hey, what's that you keep saying?" Asked Kipo. "'Yumyan owns you all!'?" Yumyan sighed and stood up.
"It's a new battle cry I'm testing out," he said, turning to her, "to strike fear in the hearts of mine enemies, of which there are many." He turned back to the butterfly. "They will cower when they hear it!" He let loose his claws.
"Speaking, of, enemies," started Kipo as Yumyan moved closer to the butterfly again, jumping at is as it passed overhead, "out there somewhere is the Mega Mute who stole your tree." Yumyan made another few jumps. "I think it may also have my father." Yumyan did a mighty backwards leap, coming within inches of the butterfly before he fell down into the leaves again. "That's why I'm here, to get you back down to your village, so we can all find them together." Yumyan picked himself up and gave her a backhanded glare.
"I don't work with humans, human." He stalked towards the butterfly again.
"It's Kipo." Said Kipo as she followed him. "Out of curiosity, why do you want that butterfly so bad?" Yumyan suddenly stopped.
"He lived on the Scratching Tree. The tree's spirit lives in him now. I hear it speaking to me. I named him Charles." Yumyan held a paw up to his ear. "What's that Charles? You want me to get you? You want me to get you?!" He laughed crazily. "I'm gonna get you!"
"Um," interrupted Kipo, "mind if I try?" Yumyan looked at her. "I'm good with bugs. I got Pierre on his leash earlier." Yumyan pushed himself up.
"You put a leash on Pierre?" He stood up and gestured for her to give it a shot. Kipo walked forward a bit towards Charles, holding out a hand gently as he turned to her. She sat down and slowly waved both hands as Yumyan watched, unimpressed so far. She then held out a hand, and Charles smiled at her. Yumyan gasped as Charles fluttered over to her, landing on her face.
"Oh." Said Kipo. Charles crawled around to the back of her head, then flipped himself upright. Kipo laughed. "See? It just takes a gentle touch, that's all." She turned to Yumyan as he charged.
"Yumyan owns you all!" He jumped at Charles, and he flew off of Kipo's head as she ducked under Yumyan.
"Fly for your life!" Yelled Kipo as Yumyan landed. She gasped as he began digging around the leaves. He lifted his paws, and gasped, then whimpered.
"The tree spirit got away!" He looked up. "Charles!" He screeched. Kipo stood up.
"Ok, that's enough!" She declared. "I'm not the only one who needs your help! You have a whole village down there that's falling apart without you!" She put a hand on her chest. "I know what it's like to lose someone important." Yumyan looked at her. "I just lost my dad." Yumyan's face went from gruff to shocked. "Believe me, it's not, a good feeling."
"A-but. I can't leave!" Wailed Yumyan, burying his face in the leaves. "I lost our tree!" He stood up again. "The great Axe Lords of yore spent years scratching and sculpting it, getting it just right!" He took a deep breath. "And Charles has its spirit!"
"Now you're just making excuses." Accused Kipo. Yumyan put his claws out and turned to her quickly, growling in rage as he brought his paws close to her, before lowering them and sighing.
"You're right." He sat down, mentally exhausted. "I ran. I ran away from the tree thief in fear." Kipo put her hand on his shoulder.
"So that's why you're stuck." Charles landed next to Yumyan, and was looked at. "Wanna tell me about it?" Kipo smiled at Yumyan as he looked back at her. He looked forward again.
"I was having my evening scratch. The next thing, I'm looking up at the biggest monster I've ever seen! Six arms, eyes red as a logger's flannel! So, I ran up this tree." Kipo sat down next to him.
"Any sane person," she started, looking down at the village below, "Mute or human, would have done the same."
"Not a leader of Timbercats." Said Yumyan. "And look at them down there." He looked down as well, and the sudden silence let them hear the hacking of all the cats.
"I am." Admitted Kipo. "And you know what?" She looked at Yumyan. "They need you a lot more than their tree."
"She's right." Said Charles. Kipo and Yumyan looked at him. "They need you man."
"Uh" started Kipo.
"Maybe you're right." Said Yumyan, standing up. "Hmm." He looked back at Kipo.
"So, are you ready to go back down?" She put a hand on his back.
"Gah." Groaned Yumyan. He looked away from her as she got up. "Ok, just, but just give me a minute." He paid no attention to Kipo as she moved back, then charged at him. She yelled.
"Kipo owns you all!" She rammed into him, shoving him off the canopy. He screamed as he fell, the sun slowly rising on a new day. The cats down before were sitting around, lost.
"First the Scratching Tree, then Yumyan, and now the prisoners are gone too." Said Ruffles, saddened as he threw a ball of yarn at Molly. "It's like we're not even Timbercats anymore." Molly threw the yarn ball away.
"As long as we have axes in our paws, we'll always be Timbercats. And as long as we have Yumyan in our hearts, he'll always be"
"Right, there!" Interrupted the small cat, pointing up. "He's right there!" Molly looked up as well to see Yumyan yelling as he fell down a tree.
"Yumyan owns you all!" He rolled down the tree, landing on branches in both graceful and not so gracefuls ways, before he suddenly flipped around moments before hitting the ground, creating a shockwave as he landed that sprayed dirt everywhere and knocked back some cats. He panted a bit as Kipo climbed off of him and landed on the ground face first. All the Timbercats moved up closer, astonished. Kipo looked around a bit, and smiled as they all began cheering. Molly and Ruffles lifted up Yumyan's axe to him, and he grabbed it. "I almost forgot what it was like to hold this." Kipo got up and giggled a bit as the Timbercats continued cheering about the return of their leader. Yumyan lifted his axe up, getting a roar of approval from the other Timbercats as they all lifted their axes as well.
The rest of the group was walking back to the village, and Wolf was berating everyone. "Guys, we had one job! Keep Kipo from dying!" She suddenly stopped and turned to everyone else.
"You're asking us to stop her from doing things of her own accord." Countered Atom.
"Yeah!" Agreed Benson. "Let me see, who was supposed to stay up all night making sure Kipo didn't ditch the camp? That's right, none of us! Because she's her own person who makes her own decisions!" It was clear that tensions were running high.
"If the Timbercats haven't already killed her, I may have to kill her myself." Added Dave. Atom chuckled a bit.
"What's so funny?" Asked Wolf.
"You guys have no faith in her." He stated. "We all know that the only reason she would come back here is if she thought she could make a difference. I trust her judgement, which is more than I can say for any of you!" Mandu began squealing and charged forward, drawing everyone's attention to the next tree as the Timbercats marched forward, with Kipo riding Pierre. Wolf, Benson, and Dave's mouths hit the floor in bewildered shock as Atom grinned. "Told you so! Have some faith in her." Up ahead, Kipo was wrapping some yarn around some of Yumyan's beard.
"This is going to be so cute!" She exclaimed.
"That's not exactly the look I was going for." Mumbled Yumyan. Kipo looked forward and waved.
"Guys! There you are!" She called. Nobody responded. "You know how I said I wanted to hunt down that Mega Mute? And you were all like 'yeah, you and what army?'?" Nobody's face changed, even as Atom gave her a thumbs up. "Well guess what? We have an army!" All the Timbercats suddenly yelled out as they came to a stop.
