Gummadoon Corridors

Plucki frowned, in deep thought. He knew how cunning a cub could be and he also knew how stubborn Toni could be. He was hardly the type of cub that would ask for help. He also knew from the boy's previous actions that he needed help, probably more than he or the other knights could give him. He and Gumlittle, as well as Blastus, knew Toni fairly well but there was still only so much they could perceive.

"Gumlittle, why don't you and I continue looking. Blastus, perhaps it is best if you go and retrieve his mother. She may have some information we don't. We can surely figure this out together."

Blastus nodded, though he had to admit he was not overly fond of Toni's mother. Still, given the potential danger of the situation, she as his mother, had a right to know what was going on anyway. He hoped that she had some insight that they didn't. After all, while he had been sick, the squires and pages had gone home. She had been with Toni for a long while, so she may have some idea what was bothering his mind as of late. So, he could stomach her for some time.

It wasn't that she was a horrible person but she was a fairly isolated gummi, had been so since her husband's death. Blastus had to admit that when Toni's father had been around, she had been something else all together! She had been a nervous new mother as he had been a nervous new father but they had fed off of one another, figuring things out. Then, he had died and she had all but cut off all contact with her fellow gummies.

Blastus headed out the door, while Plucki and Gumlittle went down the halls. As they did so, Blastus turned and called,

"Mes amis!"

Plucki turned as did Gumlittle and Blastus added, "Let me send in Corvi. Mon ami knows these halls better than even the architects."

Gumlittle nodded; he could take any help offered right now.

Blastus darted back outside, tearing towards the small farm in Gummadoon's city walls. He paused briefly as he passed through the courtyard, chuckling at the mess of boys wrestling in the faint light. Still a jokester at heart, he whistles through his teeth and called

"Attention!"

Corvi and Martinni about killed themselves jumping to their feet and Cubbi stood up as well, slamming his head on Corvi's elbow and accidently jarring Martinni in the side. The two elder cubs yelped and glared at their younger counterpart until Blastus' deep laughter drew their eyes. Corvi, somehow, knowing Blastus the longest, asked,

"What's up Blastus?"

"Perceptive as ever, mon ami." Blastus praised the young squire. "Young Toni is missing. I need to retrieve his mother. Perhaps you can help Plucki and Gumlittle look—"

"What about us?"

Blastus turned his attention to the voice. Surprisingly, it was Martinni, who was usually pretty soft spoken but now, the squire of Gumlittle was full of fire. His hands clenched and his eyes determined, he said, "We can help look!"

Blastus smiled, as he saw the other squires, Cubbi and Corvi, looking just the same…all but Flynn whom was not out just yet but that didn't surprise him. Flynn was usually the last out and he surmised that, having just been promoted from page to squire, he was feeling a bit shy. He addressed all of the boys,

"We would gladly accept any help, loyal garcons." He smiled with pride. He addressed Corvi first, "Plucki and Gumlittle will tell you where they are looking. I put these two additional sets of eyes in your care, Squire Corvi."

Corvi beamed and then smirked wider as Martinni gave a firm nod and Cubbi gave Blastus a full hearted salute. It wasn't the right position or even the right hand but it was the spirit behind it. Corvi smiled as Blastus headed out, towards Toni's home then turned to the younger boys whom took off with a run ahead of him, plowing inside, calling for

"PLUCKI! GUMLITTLE! WHERE DO WE LOOK?!"

Lady Bane's Castle

This certainly complicated things.

She was beginning to see another direction, namely with that dead brother of the little sorceress but the possession of Toni's mother had certainly opened her eyes to many things. First, the gummi spirit, especially of Toni was especially fragile. Oh, how she wanted to see it crack the rest of the way. Or, as the idea had currently occurred to her, see the Gummi Mother's spirit break when she withdrew her possession.

The Gummi Knight's arrival and ask for aid to find Toni opened too great an opportunity to ignore. So, taking on the façade of a worried mother she rushed off with him toward Gummadoon's Castle.

Within Gummadoon's Walls

Toni wanted to be left alone. Forever.

It was a suiting ending for him. To stay holed up here forever until he died. Of what he didn't know nor did he care. It would be a proper ending for him. To suffer and wither away for all the trouble he had caused everyone. He would have liked a swift death, perhaps one by gumlittle' hands but he was not worthy of it.

He curled up, tightly, hidden in the old hidden room in the walls. He wanted to be alone, forever—

"Toni?"

"What?" he demanded, rather coldly but without bite. He didn'thave the spirit to muster up enough bite to frighten a bug.

He blinked as Flynn;s head poked into view.

"whatta you want, Flynn?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin, you just leave me alone."

Taken aback slightly, the younger gummi crawled into the small room and planted himself at Toni's feet. "No! Everyone's looking for you—"

"why?"

"because they're worried about you!" Flynn declared, his own heart crying. "And I am too! What's wrong?"

"I said it was nothing."

"It isn't nothin'"

"It is. Now, why don't you go play with Blastus and them?"

The squire of Blastus shook his head firmly. "Nope! I ain't leaving until you do."

Toni growled. Standing up, he made his way out a second door. Flynn was swift though and darted through it before Toni slammed it shut. The older squire growled but he ignored Flynn and started to walk among the forgotten corridors. Flynn made up his mind right then to pursue the elder squire and force him out into the open again. There had to be a lot of people looking. Maybe once they had a hold of Toni, they could figure him out. For right now, well…

Flynn didn't want to leave him alone.

Gummadoon Corridors

Cubbi didn't like her.

Walking with Plucki and Toni's mother, the others had split to look. Plucki was patient and polite and Cubbi tried to imitate his mentor by using "yes Ma'am" whenever she addressed him but it was hard. It wasn't anything she said but rather HOW she said it. Cubbi couldn't place it but there was a certain falseness to her. Something that reminded him of Zorlock and that scared him.

Still, what was important right now was finding Toni.

Focus on that.

Lady Bane frowned. She could easily see where Toni was, using a view spell but figuring out how to get there once inside Gummadoon's walls was slightly harder. She was determined however and after asking Sir Plucki a few questions, under guise of being concerned of course, she could hear slight voices inside the walls. Fingering the stone, she pressed one and as she suspected, a door opened and Toni stumbled out, followed closely by Flynn.

"Antonius!"

Oh, how she looked to see faces contorted in terror like that…

Toni's heart froze in his chest. He froze in mid step and Flynn fell into his back as they spilled out of the wall. He could hear both Cubbi and Plucki call to him but he couldn't focus on it. All he could focus on was his mother. She was here. Gumlittle wasn't here. Was…was this it? Was she going to kill him? Finally put him out of her misery and his?

Flynn stared at Toni completely baffled. His mother was here. Why wasn't he happy? That was something Flynn was nervous about becoming a squire. He wouldn't see his parents every night. He would have ambushed his mother if she showed up. And Toni didn't have a father. Why wasn't he happy?

Cubbi was frightened but not for himself. For Toni.

It wasn't just his own feeling on Toni's mother now he was certain. Toni's face was frozen in a look of pure terror. Cubbi and Plucki had called to him several times but he only stared at his mother. It wasn't a kind of stare that Cubbi knew either. Usually, he knew the stare of being in trouble and he knew the stare of being surprised. He knew the stare of regret and the stare of mischief…

This was none of those.

Toni's mother took a step, "You scared us all to death Antonius!"

Toni wet his pants.

Cubbi smelled it and he saw it. Saw the boy's face pale and saw him step back only for his leg to give out and for him to collapse on his backside, scooting backward on his bottom, his arms shaking. He licked his lips, started to pant. He swallowed, twice then stammered "M-m-m-Mother…"

Lady Bane frowned; this was not how she planned it to happen but she judged that she would have to surrender possession soon in any event. She would need all her energy to focus on her resurrection spell. Plucki and Cubbi were looking at her already with looks of doubt and suspicion. She supposed that there was little point at trying to hide it. Rather, why not use this opportunity to drive both Toni and the gummi woman's spirit into the dark abyss?

"yes, it's me. What are you doing? Wandering off, running off, not listening and causing everyone a headache?" She threw her arms out for emphasis and Toni covered his face, trembling. It was coming ,he was certain. The end…

"And look at you now? Wetting your pants like a stupid little baby? Is that all you are, Antonius? A stupid little baby? Completely useless to anyone?" she rolled her eyes for emphasis. "A lot of damn good you've done anyone. Failing me, failing all these knights here, wasting their precious time with your stupid little problems!"

Cubbi was stunned, shocked and angry. He had never heard anything like that, not even from humans! How could Toni's mother be so…

Cubbi ran from Plucki's side and dropped to his knees by Toni, holding the boy tightly and faced the woman, "Hey! You don't hafta be so mean!"

Lady Bane fixed eyes with the cub turning the gummi woman's face, her eyes burning through the gummi woman's. She saw Cubbi's eyes narrow, trying to focus—

He had been through possession and she couldn't risk it being revealed, not right here in any event. Later, when her task had been completed and she fled the body but not here! Later, when the two gummies, both mother and son, had been reduced to little more than shattered shells, but not here. Too many gummi magicians here…she had to distract the brat had to keep him from saying anything…

And her hate for him was certainly strong enough to make this enjoyable.

"You stay out of this, brat." She grasped Cubbi by the throat and slammed him into the nearby stone wall with all her strength. Cubbi's head erupted with pain at the contact. Ringing shot through his ears and he yelped in visible pain.He felt a faint wetness in the back of his head but not a lot, mainly small droplets. The pain was more horrible than anything else. It felt like a branch had been taken to his head with the force of Gumlittle and Gritti Barbic combined. It caused his brain to feel like it was bubbling in hot fire. But almost as soon as the pain started, he felt it stop as the gummi woman's hand was yanked away.

Cubbi grasped his head instantly, rubbing it to try and ease the hurt and he was faintly aware of the woman demanding "-Release me right now, Sir Plucki!"

He opened his eyes, trying to clear his vision. His head hurt but he wasn't worried about that. This woman wasn't his mother. But she was Toni's! How could he stand it-- His eyes focused on Toni.

Toni stared, stunned.

He…he had done it again! Caused someone else pain, suffering because he was a stupid worthless piece of—

No more, he couldn't let this happen anymore. No one else suffering because of his presence. Cubbi was bleeding, Flynn was crying, all because he was still here! All his fault! All his fault! All his fault! Gumlittle…his favorite gummi would only be put through more torment because he was here, making his life a misery.

"N…no more."

He stood and ran down the hall. Flynn pursued him.

After a moment, Cubbi ran after him as well, leaving the gummi woman screaming after him but with a completely livid Plucki restraining her.

Gummadoon Weapon Room

The cub turned, regarding Flynn with empty eyes.

Flynn didn't like this. Toni had run into the secret passages and had emerged into the weapons' room, a definite no-go. Even he knew that and he had only been a squire a few days!

The small cub regarded the passage into the weapons room that Toni had taken. There were passages all over Gummadoon and Corvi had pointed this one out a long time ago. Just mainly to show the others different ways out they had if need be.
Toni turned back around and looked around, ignoring his pursuer. After all, in a few minutes, they wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. He would only be troubling Flynn and the others a little longer. He took a breath but didn't pick a weapon, not here anyway. Rather, he started to walk down the aisles, slowly, one at a time. He never looked ahead of him, only at his sides or at the floor. Mostly, he focused on the shields which reflected his dark eyes back at him.

Toni's mind regarded these images with disgust. Just a stupid, ugly, clumsy ...thing. Mother said it enough, Father had left when he was two. Surely, they were true! Was it true what Mother had said? That Father was alive but didn't come back because he was here? Did his own father really despise him so much? What had he done? He must have done something.

The cub kept walking, things running through his head.

Was there no way to make this pain stop? Not the pain in his body. He was accustomed to it now but his soul and heart never got accustomed to the pain that they felt with every word Mother said.

Normally, Gumlittle's words would ease the pain but even their kindness felt empty now. Nothing dulled the pain. Mother had said he was a burden to this world. That he was unwanted, that he caused everyone he met nothing but agony.

Toni paused in his onward march, regarding the spears and swords and arrows hanging from the wall. The cub unhooked one sword from the wall but found it too heavy and replaced it. He took a lance instead. The cub eyed it over, mainly the end.

Sharp and shiny.

The cub pondered some more things. Mother's comments and Father's absence.

Her cries:

Better off without you...

Burden to everyone...

Nothing but pain and embarrassment...

Waste of air and gummi blood...

...as bad as the humans who drove our ancestors away in the first place...

Pitied and humored, never loved...

All the things she said were running through his head. His nightmares, or were they visions of his own incompetence...running through his mind. All his faults, all his failures.

The cub pricked his finger on the end and just stared at the drop of red blood that appeared underneath his fur and then dripped down his wrist to drop onto the marble floor. The cub stared for a moment, not even hearing Flynn's calls nor the cub's hands rip the lance away. Toni sat down and stared at the pricked finger a long time. He felt nothing but a strange compulsion driven by an alien presence that seemed to enhance his already strong feelings or hopelessness and worthlessness.

He would be delivering them all from a useless burden after all wouldn't he? He would be doing them all a favor. He would be freeing them all. He was not worth freedom. They all were. Truly, could he do this one thing right and free them all from the slavery his own uselessness and stupidity cast them in?

The cub rose to his feet, walked past Flynn, not hearing his pleas to stop and come back with him, to talk to Gumlittle and towards the back racks where the daggers hung. Flynn called after him but Toni's eyes were focused and intent.

When Flynn got no answer, he followed the cub, not sure what to think. He felt scared through.

Toni studied the blade of one for a moment with a morbid look. He studied his reflection in the blade for a long moment, considering, knowing full well that it was sharp. It caused small cuts on his hands when he ran his hand along the side.

"Freedom." He said softly and Flynn froze in his steps and stared. What was Toni doing…

With a swift hand, the blade's tip drove into Toni's wrists, right below where the hand started and the cub ripped straight down. Blood erupted in a steady spill, like a fountain. Toni didn't delay and cut his other arm in the same fashion, ignoring the pain that erupted through his arms as his body tried to repair the inflicted damage.

Toni held the blade up to his neck, ready to do the final one, one he knew not even he could mess up…

With a swift oof, he met the marble floor and Flynn screeched, kicked Toni's hand hard, knocking the dagger across the floor. He met Toni's eyes a moment and cried, tears running,

"Toni! What are you doing?! You'll die! That's a lot of blood and-"

"Sorry it took me so long to do it."

Then it was silence and Toni closed his eyes of his own will. Better this way, he kept saying to himself. Better this way. Gummie'll be happier and Cubbi and Plucki and..

Flynn screamed.

And screamed and screamed and screamed.

Cubbi paused, hearing the faint yelling from the room he'd just passed. Plucki had called some kind of command and all the available knights had started to scurry, some calling for the councilors, some rushing to where Cubbi had just run and some still searching for Toni, some were looking for the other squires but Cubbi was sneaky and plowed right through them.

So he heard Flynn's cries for help and with quite a bit of effort pushed open the heavy doors. He normally would have gasped at the massive amount of weapons but now, his eyes went wide and his breath caught in his throat.

Flynn was sitting on the ground, holding Toni's hands across the wrists, crying. Blood had pooled out on the ground and slid down Toni's arms in long streams, staining the boy's sleeves and Flynn's hands. Flynn saw the elder cub and called to him desperately for help. Cubbi stared at the pooled blood a moment, wanting to panic.

"A knight does his people best by staying calm. A knight uses what he knows to help all he can."

What did he know about this…a gummi hurting themselves? Deliberately? He didn't know nothing about that!

But…wounds? This deep…did he-

Yes, he knew about this…

Several Months Prior, Ursalia

"Really? You drove 'em all out on your own, Gritti?"

The big barbic chuckled at the small cub's interest. The Glenb cub ate up anything he said. It made Gritti feel proud, not of himself but that Cubbi had such desire to listen and learn.

"Yep, they ran—"

"Gritti?"

Gritti interrupted his own story and turned as did Cubbi when the door opened and Buddi stumbled in, clutching his left arm, which was pouring out blood. The boy was walking weird though, he had his arm raised over his head like he was being robbed or something. Gritti was at his side in a minute and pulled him to the table. The older barbic wrapped some kind of tie on Buddi's arm and tied it tight but not so tight it completely cut off the blood flow. He tied it near the top and then started to wipe the boy's arm, revealing a jagged wound on the lower arm. Gritti pulled off the small sack he always carried and pulled out what looked to Cubbi like small wooden needles and leather strips.

"Partner, what did you do?"

"Slipped and cut my arm on an arrow."

Gritti shook his head but still keeping the boy's arm up in the arm, he started to push the needles through the skin, dragging the leather with it. It pulled the pieces of skin together. Gritti was quick. Buddi winced the entire time but he never cried and Cubbi stared. As Gritti got about two-thirds through, he pulled the tie a little looser and when he finished, he wrapped it in some kind of cloth covering and untied the boy's arm entirely.

Cubbi blinked. He didn't know why Gritti had done that: made Buddi keep his arm up, tied his arm but he knew it had worked…

He bet Buddi was gonna have a cool scar!

Present

Cubbi looked around then looked at Flynn.

"Pull his arms up, hold 'em up high!"

Flynn blinked but was grateful that someone was telling him what to do! He did what Cubbi said then stared at the cub ripped at his squire uniform, making small strips of cloth. The boy dropped to his knees, getting blood all over his knees then tied the ties on Toni's arms, up around his upper arm. He pulled them tight but left them slightly loose to let some blood through. Cubbi clamped his own hands over Toni's wrists and met Flynn's panicked face.

Truth be told, Cubbi wanted to run himself. He didn't like the feel of Toni's warm blood pouring down his hands but was grateful it seemed to be not so much. He wished he knew how to do those stitches like Gritti had done! He wanted to go and get Plucki or someone but…well, he couldn't leave Toni! And Flynn would know better where to go and who to get.

Besides, Flynn looked like HE would pass out.

"Flynn! Go get help! I dunno who, I don't care…just someone!"

Flynn didn't need to be told twice. He jumped up and ran, leaving the door open. Cubbi tightened his grip on Toni's arms and screamed himself,

"PLUCKI! GUMLITTLE! ANYBODY! HELP! IT'S TONI! PLEASE! HELP!"