Chapter 8: House of Torture
The Enigma took Perry and put him in a cage. This cage he put in the back of a carriage. This carriage was black with two black horses at its head. Had it not been for the obvious sound of the carriage and the horses leading it, they might have blended in with the darkness. The Enigma was taking Perry to the most dreaded place in all of France.
When the carriage came to a stop, Perry was already awake. The cover that was on his cage was removed by the Enigma. He gave out a "Hey, there! Hi, there! Ho, there! You're as welcome as can be," before cutting loose into some strong evil laughter. The Enigma was at the epitome of his victory. He carried Perry's cage to a pit and dropped it in.
"Ow," said Perry. The cage had broken during the fall and it did indeed hurt.
"I am such a butterfingers," said the Enigma, a malicious smile on his face. He went down and picked up Perry from the wreckage of his cage.
"Hey, put me down! Don't make me have to bite you!" Perry said, eyes shining brightly with defiance.
"Okay, okay, fine. Just hold still..." the Enigma took Perry's squirming form and snapped a chain around his waist. He pulled back to check his handiwork and, despite the bondage, Perry looked as able as ever. "Well, mate, it looks like this is the end of the line." The Enigma laughed.
"You think so, huh? My friends will be right behind us!" Perry said, standing at the furthest point of his chain.
"Oh, yeah, sure, sure; the dog dumped you! Remember?" Perry's face went sad a moment.
"Well, Doofy then!" He was sure Doofy would come.
"The Doof? He's getting fitted for a halo," the Enigma said darkly.
Perry's hope dropped like a ton of bricks on his heart. He couldn't believe it. Doofy... dead? It was almost too much to bear. "No... no, no," he said.
"Yes, yes, yes! Face it, Perry, it's all for one and you are on your own!" The Enigma knocked Perry against the wall with his crutch. "Enjoy your brief stay at the Mont St. Michel. You know, they say the tide comes in faster than horses!" He removed a snuffer from his pocket and put out the only candle in Perry's cell. "So long, tiny," he said as he climbed the ladder. "I got myself tickets to the opera. It's a little thing called: 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King'!" He got out of the cell, slammed the door shut, and Perry heard the deep, evil laughter fade away.
Perry was all alone. He took his hat from his head and looked at it. The symbol of hope and friendship seemed so meaningless now. He threw his hat aside, wanting nothing more than to be proven wrong, to be proven that he wasn't alone and never would be. He brought his knees to his chest and put his head down and began crying.
Meanwhile, at a river bridge overlooking a deep death river, the Silver Viper had Doofy wrapped shoulder to ankle in chains. This spot was often used by evildoers wanting to forever dispose of do-gooders. This bridge was where many men, women, and animals alike had been drowned at the bottom. No friends. No hope. The Silver Viper snickered her hissing snicker and pulled Doofy close to her and directed his view to the waters below.
"This is it, handsome. Get ready for the big sleep, the river of no return, the long day's journey into night!" the Silver Viper declared. The waters sloshed about below and no one was near except them. The Silver Viper did her most obnoxious hissing then. Victory seemed to be certain... but there was one thing no one could have predicted nor prevented: the pull of love.
Doofy was enchanted by the hissing laugh of the Silver Viper's and said so: "What an evil sound... it makes me feel... musical," said Doofy, his voice filled with a mesmerized tone. The Silver Viper, however, did not catch his meaning. If anything, it was only confusing... and a little bit creepy. Yet, true to his word, Doofy was feeling musical... musical enough to express his feelings through song. "Your chains of love now hold me tight. Your serpentine beauty makes my heart take flight," he sang.
"You will not change my mind one smidge. I'm going to drop you screaming off this bridge!" the Silver Viper was still set on her plan. She hoisted him onto the railing of the bridge, but he only laughed and switched them around so that he was looking down at her. Her back was to the railing and he was back on solid ground.
"Silver Viper, you drive my crazy," said Doofy.
It was then that the Silver Viper's consciences were speaking to her. "His love's so sweet, his love's so blind. You have to kill him or you'll change your mind. Say farewell to that so-called grunge 'cause it's your duty that he take the plunge!" they sang. All the while (particularly after "blind"), the Silver Viper sang something similar.
"Poor Doof, poor grunge, farewell... take the plunge!" she sang. She tied an anvil to his chains and tossed him over. She was heaving the anvil further and further over the edge, but it was slow going since the thing was so heavy. The only chance he'd survive is if a miracle happened.
Undeterred, Doofy continued: "My venom-miss, you charm my soul! You leave me utterly beyond control. Call me a doof, but one thing's clear your serpentine hiss is music to my ears."
The Silver Viper's consciences went on: "He's no Don Juan!"
The Silver Viper crooned, "He's not real smart and yet he's touched my little scaly heart. He loves my hiss, my snake-like gaze." She hauled him up and held his chain in her hands. They were inches apart as she continued, "His numskull charm... has set my heart... ablaze!" On that one final note, high enough to shatter the very moon above them, they came close together and the chorus sang to hide their kiss. When they parted, the two sat close together on the railing of the bridge, giving each other only looks that lovers would give each other. Unfortunately, the weight was too much on the railing and it collapsed from underneath them. Doofy fell, but the Silver Viper was able to wrap his chain around a bit of rock to save him from falling into the water. She then slid down to his level.
"Hurry, my love, you don't have much time. Your friend, Perry, is in dire peril," said the Silver Viper once she was level with him.
"No, he's not. He's in the musketeers!" said Doofy.
"I mean he's in danger!" she said. Perry wasn't the only one "in danger" though. The bit of rock that the chain was tied to broke, causing them to fall more. They might have both been goners had it not been for Pinky rowing a boat below. He was rowing right toward where they were falling.
"I'll be a musketeer when snakes fall from the sky," Pinky declared as he rowed. He didn't know that this would become true very soon. He heard screams and looked up to see Doofy and the Silver Viper falling straight for him. "Uh oh," he said just before the two humans crashed into the boat and made it break on impact.
Meanwhile, the tides were coming in... and fast. Perry looked at his situation and gulped at the amount of water rushing in. Over on the wall was a height chart mockingly telling him he wouldn't survive due to his small stature. In his panic he thought, Who on this earth is ten and a half feet tall anyway? If it wasn't obvious before, it certainly was now: anyone sent to this cell was sent there to die.
Meanwhile, Steve had found Pinky and Doofy (who had been released from his chains, leaving everyone survivors) and was tracking down where Perry was with his chameleon tongue darting everywhere. His pace was almost too fast for Doofy to keep up, especially with a protesting chihuahua slung over one shoulder.
"We're coming, Perry!" said Doofy.
"Put me down! Put me down!" Pinky protested. His protests were in vain though. Steve had found a boat to the island and climbed in. Doofy climbed in after the little reptile and slammed Pinky down in one of the other seats. "Doofy, the Enigma's gonna kill us, man!" Pinky tried to speak to the man, but Doofy was stuck on saving their friend... despite the danger.
"Enigma or no Enigma, Perry's our friend and we're gonna rescue him! Now, I know it's the most hideous house of torture in all of France, but we're going in there!" Doofy proclaimed. Lightning flashed across the island in the distance, painting a menacing picture for the little chihuahua. Pinky scrambled to the beach and dug himself a burrow into the sand. When Doofy saw this, he was discouraged. "Steve... are you thinking what I'm thinking? Could this be the end of the three musketeers?" he cried.
Out of nowhere (so suddenly it scared Steve and Doofy), Terry the Troubadour belted out in song: "This is the end! This is the end! That Pinky dog has left his friend Perry to drown and Doofy trusted him, but Pinky let him down! We all berate him because we hate him. He is a traitor, vacillator, he's a lousy second-rater! Mangy dog, he's a coward! Pinky's destiny has soured. It's the end!" As the music ended, Pinky took Terry's lute and beat it upon the ground, breaking it into pieces.
"I'll show you not to mess with me, you dirty tortoise," said Pinky, seething with anger.
"That way, tiger," Terry said, pointing in the other direction where Doofy and Steve were heading to the island.
Pinky realized what he had to do. He had to do what was right... even if he was afraid. "Wait for me!" he called out. Before going to them, he went to Terry and shook his hand saying, "Thanks for the song." Then, Pinky dived into the water and swam toward the boat with all his speed.
When he got in the boat, Doofy let out a happy cry of "Pinky!" at seeing his friend had come to help after all. Steve croaked happily and Pinky knew he had made the right choice. Now, it was time for the final touch. He removed his hat and, with a magician's flair, he shook the hat and made his musketeer gear come out. He put it on and gingerly removed the feather from inside his hat and donned it on the outside brim of it. He was a musketeer again, more so now than before.
"Come on, we've gotta save Perry!" he said. Doofy nodded and pulled at a chord which happened to be attached to one of his inventions: a motor that would propel them through the water. It whirred to life and sent them toward the island at high speed. It was all the three passengers could do to hang on.
Perry, meanwhile, wasn't doing so well. He tried biting the chain off or pulling it apart in some way, but it was too strong for him. He swam up and got some air, but he knew he didn't have much left. He coughed, getting in as much water as he did air. It wouldn't be long before his chain would reach his limit and he wouldn't be able to get anymore air.
Doofy, Pinky, and Steve, meanwhile, had made it to the island. Unfortunately, they were going too fast to be able to stop the motor in time and they crashed, splitting the boat into pieces. Though shaken, they all got up and rushed inside. "We're coming, Perry!" said Doofy.
Poor Perry. The water had come in so fast. He had gotten in his last breath some time ago and he knew he only had ten minutes before he'd drown. He couldn't risk swimming up from underneath the rock to get air since there was no air left. He looked frantically to the surface, wishing that someone would save him, but alas, his ten minutes were up. He couldn't hold it anymore and as his last bit of air went out, water came in and he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. It seemed to be over.
Then, into the water dived Doofy and Pinky. While they knew they couldn't hold their breaths for as long as Perry could, they were going to try their best to save him. They pulled hard at the base of the chain on the wall and, after a bit of initial struggle, the chain came loose. Once that was done, they got Perry out from under the rock and carried him to the surface. Once Doofy and Pinky had gotten a few good gulps of air in, they pulled the chain off of Perry and they all got onto solid ground. Pinky turned Perry onto his stomach and began pumping the water out. Then, he flipped him over and Doofy listened for a heartbeat. There was still something there. So, he pumped at Perry's chest with his hands. Soon, Perry's heartbeat was coming back to normal.
"Perry?" asked Doofy.
"Perry?" said Pinky.
"Perry, come back to us!" said Doofy. As they called to him, Perry's eyes slowly opened and he regained consciousness. He gagged up some water and tried to get the blurriness out of his vision. "I think he's coming out of it," Doofy said happily.
After a few more water-filled gags, Perry got in some more air. He breathed shakily and looked up at his rescuers. "Pinky? Doofy?! The Enigma told me you were a goner!"
Doofy scoffed. "I'm not going-" he was interrupted by a very grateful platypus hugging him. "-going anywhere without you, Perry."
"Hey!" said Pinky.
"Aw, Pinky," said Perry, embracing his friend. "You came back."
As they parted, Pinky said, "Of course I did, man."
"We wouldn't let you down, Perry," said Doofy. "We're your friends."
"Yeah. Come on," said Pinky, pulling out Perry's hat from his and handing it to him. "We've got to save the princess. Don't you remember? All for one."
"Yeah," said Doofy.
Perry sighed, "Aw, guys, we're not even real musketeers."
"Not real musketeers? Who says so? Listen, Pinky might be a quivering coward..." said Doofy.
"Hey," said Pinky, feeling only a little insulted by the remark.
"...And you're just a little guy..." Doofy continued, rustling the fur on Perry's head playfully. Perry laughed, feeling confidence coming back to him.
"...And I'm not a genius, but I know one thing: when the three of us stick together-" Doofy continued.
"We can do anything!" said Pinky.
"And not the Enigma-" said Perry, putting his hat back on his head.
"Or no one else can stop us!" Doofy finished. The three put their hands together. They were a team again.
"Musketeers, we've got a princess to rescue," said Perry. His gaze held that old steely, determined look to them. Yes, the Enigma was about to come against a force to be reckoned with.
Phew! Perry's safe :D I do not own the rights to the songs "Chains of Love" or "This is the End." I am merely using them for entertainment purposes and they should be treated as such. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Apparently, platypuses usually stay underwater for two minutes, but they can stay under the water for ten only if they are underneath something. This is due to their natural buoyancy. So, it's nearly impossible to drown a platypus under normal circumstances and this is Perry we're talking about here! He's got friends that have his back :D Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)