Chapter 4: True's Biggest Fear & Agithar
Meanwhile, when True eventually came to her senses, she felt pressure on her wrists, and when she looked, she discovered that she had been chained to a wall.
"Where am I?" she pondered out loud.
"The dungeon, that's where." said a voice.
It was Ecks.
"What do you want from me?" True asked.
"My Master has something special planned for you." Ecks replied, smiling an evil smile. "And so do I."
Ecks then tapped on his pack.
"Manifesto, awaken." he ordered.
Manifesto flew out of the pack.
"What do you need from me, Master?" Manifesto asked.
"Show this girl her greatest fear." Ecks ordered.
"My greatest fear?" True inquired.
"Yes." Ecks grinned. "Everyone has a greatest fear. Let's see what yours is."
"Um, no thank you." True said.
Ecks frowned with anger.
"That is not an option!" he snapped. "Manifesto, now!"
With that, Manifesto turned himself on and True looked away, but Ecks grabbed her by the chin and turned her head towards Manifesto as the scene faded to show True inside a realm that looked similar to the Rainbow Kingdom, except everything was black and white, excluding herself.
"This looks familiar." True said. "It's the neighborhood where me and Bartleby live. And look, there's our house!"
True then went inside the house that was occupied by her and Bartleby, but found it empty.
"Bee?" True called. "Where are you?"
True then went over to the Rainbow Castle and looked for Bartleby there.
"What are you doing here?" a voice asked.
When True looked, she found Bartleby, who was wearing an outfit just like Ecks, only without the patch, and he had an eyepatch over his right eye.
"Bartleby, it's me, True!" True said.
"That's Agent Hairball to you now." Evil Bartleby said. "Guards! Throw this law breaker out of the gates!"
Two guards then grabbed True by the arms.
"Bee, what are you doing?!" True cried out in alarm.
"Haven't you heard? Bright colors are forbidden by order of King Ecks." Evil Bartleby informed. "Anyone caught wearing bright colors will be banished from the Black and White Kingdom."
The guards started dragging True away from the castle.
"No, Bee, don't do this!" True cried. "Don't! Please, don't!"
The guards soon reached the gates and threw True out and shut them in her face, which made her start to cry.
"Please, don't do this to me!" she sobbed.
The scene then faded back to reality and showed True crying while Ecks looked on, grinnign evilly while he still held True's head in its current position.
"Monster!" she wept. "You're a horrible monster!"
"Get used to it." Ecks sneered.
He finally let go of True and walked away, leaving True to cry alone in her cell. Elsewhere, Zee and Bartleby were making great progress on their walk to Agithar's castle. Great, that is, until Bartleby started walking more sluggishly.
"Hey, Zee, can we stop for a bit?" Bartleby asked. "My feet are getting tired."
"Sure." Zee nodded. "In fact, I'm kind of getting hungry. Let's stop here."
"Great." Bartleby smiled.
With that, the two stopped by a river and while Zee got out some bread and other foodstuffs given to them by the elves, Bartleby soaked his aching paws into the river, and felt a wave of relief wash over him as the water rushed around his ankles. He then thought of something.
"Say, Zee, where does this river lead to?" he questioned.
"Hmm, this area looks familiar." Zee pointed out.
He then got out a map and looked at it. His eyes widened, as he then realized something.
"This is the river that leads to Agithar's castle!" Zee said.
"Really?" Bartleby asked.
"Yes!" Zee replied. "And we don't have to walk the rest of the way now!"
Bartleby gulped.
"We're not going to swim, are we?" he worried.
"No, no, of course not." Zee reassured. "Maybe we could build some kind of boat."
"How?" Bartleby questioned.
"Maybe the elves gave us some tools to use." guessed Zee. "Let me see."
But when Zee looked inside the sack the elves had given him and Bartleby, he did not see any tools. However, he did find a strange green orb the size of a softball. On the back of the orb was an inscription that read "I will transform into anything you ask me to by saying "Shape of...", and then saying what you want me to transform into.".
"Wow, that's convenient." praised Zee, who then cleared his throat. "Shape of a canoe!"
The orb then jumped out of Zee's hands, rolled into the water, and started glowing. As Zee and Bartleby watched with awe, the orb transformed into a canoe.
"Whoa." gasped Bartleby. "That's amazing! Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"
Bartleby rushed towards and was just about to jump into the canoe when Zee stopped there.
"Whoa, now, my feline friend." he said. "Safety first."
Zee then took out two life jackets, one for him and one for Bartleby.
"Oh, right." said Bartleby.
With that, once the life jackets were on, our friends stepped into the canoe and began paddling down the river. At first, everything went as smooth as butter, but then, they started heading towards a current and they paddled furiously against it, but it was no use, as the current was much too strong, and they ended up being pushed off course. And to rub salt on the wound, they lost the oars in the process, thus leaving them to drift helplessly down the river once they reached calmer waters.
"Well, this is just great." groaned Bartleby, crossing his arms. "First we almost get fed to some beast by those elves, and now we're stuck here floating down a river without any kind of propulsion."
Just then, Zee's eyes grew open with shock.
"Uh-oh!" he gasped.
"Don't tell me." Bartleby retorted. "We're about to go over a huge waterfall."
"Yep." replied Zee.
"Sharp rocks at the bottom?" Bartleby quipped.
"Most likely." nodded Zee.
"Bring it on." conceded Bartleby, knowing what was about to come.
And then, as you probably could've guessed already, the canoe careened over the waterfall, taking Zee and Bartleby with it. They landed at the bottom with a mighty crash.
"Yikes, that's cold!" Bartleby hollored. "And wet, too!"
"It's just water, Bartleby." Zee commented. "You'll be fine."
"But I'm a cat!" protested Bartleby. "And you know how cats are about water! And another thing, I'm freezing!"
"Then I think you'll be pleased to hear that we're not too far away from shore." Zee announced.
"Yes, I am." agreed Bartleby.
With that, Zee swam to shore, pulling the upturned canoe behind him and Bartleby riding on top. When they got to shore, Zee took off his wet clothes and hung them on a tree branch while Bartleby gathered some sticks, twigs, and logs to build a fire with a fire-starter and a hatchet from the supply sack, which had managed to stay dry due to being protected by the orb's magic. Soon enough, a bright warm fire was glowing. Once Zee had finished taking off his clothes, he joined Bartleby by the fire. Just as he sat down, he spotted something.
"Hey, look over there." he commanded.
Bartleby did, and the pair saw some sheep with gold-colored fleece grazing in a meadow on the other side of the river.
"Sheep with gold-colored wool?" Bartleby asked. "Now that's something you don't see every day."
"There's only on person I know who raises sheep with wool of that color." informed Zee.
"Who's that?" Bartleby questioned.
"Agithar." Zee replied. "This must mean we're on his land."
Just then, Bartleby spotted a small castle in the distance.
"Is that Agithar's castle?" he inquired.
When Zee looked over at the castle, a burst of elation rushed through his veins.
"It is!" he cried out with joy. "We've made it!"
"Hooray!" Bartleby cheered.
After Zee checked to see if his clothes were completely dry, which they were, he got re-dressed and, after putting out the fire with some water from the river, they grabbed their supplies and walked over to the castle. When they arrived, Zee knocked on the door. It opened, and there stood Agithar.
"Welcome, Zee." Agithar greeted. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Bartleby." Zee replied.
"A pleasure to meet you at last, Agithar." Bartleby smiled.
"The pleasure's all mine." Agithar chuckled. "Please, come inside. I'll fix you a meal. You must be hungry after your trip."
Bartleby's stomach grumbled then.
"Yeah, you could say that." grinned Bartleby, blushing slighty.
Soon, the trio were each having a hot bowl of vegetable stew and hot mugs of mint tea.
"This stew's really good, Agithar." Bartleby complimented. "And this tea's pretty tasty, too."
"Why, thank you, Bartleby." Agithar smiled. "I grow the ingredients out back. Saves me the trouble of going into market."
"Good call." said Zee.
"Now, onto business." Agithar decided. "What brings you two before me today?"
Zee explained to his old teacher about Ecks and how he had taken over the Rainbow Kingdom with aide of his evil Wishes, and about how things were currently over there, including how he had captured True.
"I was afraid he would end up like this." Agithar sighed. "I've told your brother to stay away from that menace many times, but he just wouldn't listen, and now look where he's gotten to. I was foolish to think I could prevent this."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Agithar." Zee smiled. "I just know there's still some good in him."
"Who's this "menace" you speak of?" Bartleby inquired.
"Nocto The Relentless." Agithar explained. "He is a warlock who is responsible for creating the Dark Wishes. Some time ago, he took Zee's brother under his wing as an apprentice in the art of Dark Wish magic. Since then, he has ravaged many lands, leaving thousands homeless, and I have been aiding those affected by restoring their homes with my magic."
"Wow." Bartleby gasped. "This guy sounds like one big bully."
"Yeah, and Ecks has got the whole Rainbow Kingdom in his hands." added Zee. "We need to fight back with your help."
"I'm afraid I can not help you, because I don't know how." Agithar confessed. "But I might have something that could."
Agithar rose from his seat, went over to a chest in a corner, opened it up, reached inside, and pulled out a wooden stick with a peace sign carved out of it at one end.
"What is it?" asked Zee.
"This is the Baton of Harmony." Agithar explained. "This is the only thing strong enough to withstand Nocto's dark magic powers. Take it."
"Thank you, my old Master." Zee thanked as he took the Baton.
"Anytime, Zee." smiled Agithar. "Now, go, and free your home."
And with that, Zee and Bartleby were on their way back to the Rainbow Kingdom, pleased to have finally gotten the long-awaited chance to speak with Agithar and confident in taking back the place they called home.
End of Chapter 4