RJ tumbled down the center of the gorge, screaming. He slammed against the canyon wall and reeled, choking, as he continued falling ... and finally he landed in the river with a loud splash. It hurt, but RJ ignored the pain and batted his paws desperately, seeking the surface. At last his head broke over the water and he gasped loudly.
The rapids carried him down the river, smashing him against rocks and branches mercilessly. RJ tucked a paw over his head and ducked, waiting for the waters to calm and the pain to recede. Upon lowering his hand he discovered this wasn't going to be happening anytime soon.
He was approaching a waterfall.
RJ stared at it for a minute, then sighed. "Of course."
Quickly the raccoon lunged through the rapids, trying to bat the strong waters aside as he swam toward shore, looking for something — anything — to grab onto. His paws reached a large rock protruding out from the riverbank and he grabbed on, hanging tight. The waters whirled around him, continuing to batter at his body ruthlessly. Pain erupted across RJ's back, his arms, his legs — there was not a single part of him that did not hurt. Grimacing, RJ tried to ignore it. His mother had saved him from Vincent ... but had she saved him from death? RJ hugged the rock still tighter and tried not to think about what had just happened.
And then the rock broke off.
RJ hurled down the river once more, the water swirling about him in torrents — and before he had time to do anything, he had hurtled over the waterfall.
As he fell through the air, RJ experienced an eerie calm. Time seemed to slow to a stop as he quietly tumbled downward, curling himself into a ball to minimize the impact. He just hoped that when he hit, the water would be deep enough for him to survive.
But did he want to survive? RJ wasn't sure anymore.
And RJ splashed into the river, the waterfall pouring on him in torrents and forcing him far underwater. He let himself drift for a minute, not really caring if he broke the surface or not; but he did, and he automatically took in a huge gasp of air and batted his paws through the water, trying to swim through the current.
He was still hurtling down the stream, away from the rushing waterfall, but now the water seemed to be slowing down. Part of the river branched off into a small pool, and it was this route RJ was carried through, finally coming to rest on shore, standing on all fours. Panting, RJ rested there for a moment, checking his bag (it had survived relatively unscathed) and catching his breath. Finally, RJ shook himself out and stood up.
Before he had taken two steps, he had been forced back down again.
RJ looked up in terror. "Vincent!" he shouted. The bear had beat him again.
"Now, RJ," said Vincent smoothly, though his grin was maniacal, "did you really think you were going to get away? Don't tell me you're dumb enough to believe that..."
He raised a claw — RJ saw with a chill that it was covered in blood — and ran the sharp edge very gently across RJ's shoulder. RJ felt his skin prickle, and he knew that it Vincent forced the claw any deeper, he could kill him right then and there.
Vincent seemed to read his thoughts. "I'm not going to kill you, RJ," he said, still smiling evilly. "You're no use to me dead." The bear sneered and lean in closer. "Your mother, RJ ... now, I thought she would work, but she proved to be too much trouble. She was spiteful, resistant." He ran his claw across RJ's arm again. "You, however ... you're young. You wouldn't dare oppose me — at least, not yet. And having someone like you at my disposal — that's what would be really useful."
The bear leaned closer, and his hot breath smothered RJ's ear. "I could train you ... build you up so that you'll never learn to resist. And I — I will own you."
The bear's expression hardened and he pulled RJ upward, so that the two of them were eye to eye. "From now on," Vincent growled, "you work for me. You're under my command. You do as I say. I have the power over you. You are at my mercy."
"But —" RJ started.
"Do you want to end up like the rest of your family?" roared Vincent, tightening his grip on RJ. "Well? Do you?"
It'd beat living like this, thought RJ, but the words wouldn't come. Instead what he heard himself say was a weak "...No..."
"Then as soon as I wake up from hibernation," Vincent snarled, as he dropped RJ back onto the ground, "you had better be waiting for me. And RJ, don't even think you can run away from me. You can't beat me. If you disappear, I will track you down."
The bear began shuffling away, but turned around one last time, smiling at RJ evilly. "And then I'll send you on the same path as your family ... death." He gave one last snarl, and was gone.
Slowly, shakily, RJ stood up. He stayed where he was for a moment, trembling, as he held his paws to his head, trying to make sense of something. Anything. Trying to stop his mind from spinning.
Trying to ignore the heavy pain settling in his heart.
It had started to rain; lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rumbled in the distance. RJ began walking through this rain, not caring where he ended up. All that he knew was that he couldn't stay in one place, letting his thoughts overcome him. He had to keep moving.
The walk turned into a run. RJ darted through the rainwater, he dodged trees and branches that dipped under the weight of the rain, his feet padded across the landscape. Suddenly he slipped and fell into a large puddle of water with a splash.
And stayed there.
The rain poured down on RJ as he remained in the puddle, his eyes closed. He was utterly defeated, utterly hopeless — he had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, no one left he could call his family. Slowly RJ pushed against the ground with his hands and raised his head. He coughed as the water dripped down off of him — some of it rain, some of it tears.
One of his paws slipped through the water and RJ fell back to the ground with another splash. RJ let himself lie there as the sky flashed and rumbled overhead. His only movement was the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he slowly breathed in the misty air. Slowly he curled up into a ball, shivering and sobbing.
He didn't get up for a long time.
Gradually the sounds and sights of the rain faded away, to be replaced by the swirling void that RJ now knew so well. Slowly he uncurled himself and stood up. The memory he had just experienced had happened years ago, but the dream made it seem like mere seconds.
And there was Rob again, his expression unreadable. RJ walked toward the wolf, the raccoon's arms folded across his chest. "Rob ... I still don't see the point in having to relive all this."
"You will, RJ," Rob reassured him. "Don't worry, you've only got one left. And this one isn't as ... traumatic. But it's still important."
"Have I blocked it out like the others?" asked RJ, as the void around him began to vanish once more.
"Not quite," said Rob. He gave RJ a small farewell grin, and was gone.
Wildly, desperately, Snowy and John tore through the streets of suburbia, hoping against hope that they weren't too late. Marissa and Katrina struggled to maintain their hold on the cats' backs against the momentum. "Are you sure we'll be able to beat the bulldozer there?" Katrina shouted at John.
"We have to!" John shouted in response, rounding a corner, and Katrina was almost thrown off. "It's the only chance; we're the only ones who know about it!"
"That, and the fact that we took a shortcut should help," added Marissa, seemingly unfazed by everything as she calmly gripped Snowy's shoulders. "Stop worrying, Katrina."
"Oh, I should stop worrying?" came Katrina's response; she sounded on the edge of hysteria. "One of the Hedgies is unconscious and the other ones are about to be run over by a bulldozer, and I should stop worrying?"
"Yes, because you were the one who kept reminding us not to argue in the first place," said Marissa simply, glaring back at her.
"Almost there!" John shouted, silencing Katrina's retort, and as he rounded another corner the Hedge again came into view. The roar of the approaching bulldozer was getting louder; they didn't have much time. "Hold on!" he shouted, and with a wild leap he crashed through the leaves and branches once more, reemerging in the clearing where the gang had placed the unconscious RJ.
They were still gathered around him: Heather was wringing out a damp cloth, Lilly had her hand over his heart, and Verne, along with the rest of the Hedgies, were standing nearby, looking on anxiously. As Snowy, John, Katrina and Marissa rejoined them, however, Verne looked over toward them, bewildered. "Guys?" he asked, blinking at the four of them. "What's going on?"
"His heart rate is increasing!" came Lilly's voice, before any of them could respond, and all of the gang looked over at RJ. He was panting, his breathing labored; he was also sweating profusely. "Heather, where's that cold water?"
"Got it right here!" said Heather, placing the damp cloth back on RJ's head, but it didn't seem to do much good; the raccoon's breathing still came in short gasps and he had started to thrash in his sleep. Hammy immediately zipped forward from his place beside Stella to stand next to RJ; tentatively he reached forward and placed his paws on RJ's arms, hoping to restrain his struggling. "RJ. RJ! It's okay, it's all right, we're here!" he said, his voice pleading. "Please don't die, RJ, please please please ... everything will be fine..."
"NO IT WON'T!" shouted John, and all of the Hedgies jumped. "And do you know why? Because there's a bulldozer headed into the neighborhood, and it's going to kill us! Do you hear me? It's going to wipe this entire place out!"
"John, calm yourself," said Tiger, a tad nervously, as he stepped toward the other cat. "Vat on Earth do you mean?"
"What do you mean, what does he mean?" snapped Snowy. "We're going to lose everything! This entire grove will be gone within hours because a big yellow hunk of metal is about to crash right into it!"
"Well, then we'll have to fight it off!" shouted Bucky, raising a fist in a fighting gesture; his siblings were quick to do the same. "All-out smashdown! Right here, right now, oh yeah!"
"Kids, this is serious!" exclaimed Verne angrily. "Stop playing around!"
"I don't know. I think they have a point," said Stella, placing her paws on her hips.
"I agree," said Ozzie, clenching a fist dramatically. "We have a raccoon to protect, and if some bulldozer is trying to interfere with that, so much the worse for it."
"Buthow are we supposed to —" Verne started, but before he could finish, an enormous crunching sound interrupted him, and the Hedgies whirled around to see part of the Hedge crumbling underneath the treacherous bulldozer. The huge machine lurched forward, roughly pushing aside leaves and branches while crushing more with its wheels, and the roar of its engine increased as it surged forward.
Slowly the Hedgies began backing away as they looked up at the gigantic behemoth. Its constantly roaring engine seemed like a thunderous growl, its shovel like gigantic teeth bent on devouring each and every one of the forest critters. Verne raised a hand, shielding his eyes from the yellow bulldozer's blinding glare, and squinted. Over the roar of the engine an evil laughter could be heard ... and as Verne looked closer, he saw that it was coming from the driver of the machine. There was something quite familiar about that driver ... something all too familiar.
"VEXON!" shouted Hammy.
Sinking into his past for the last time, RJ found himself standing in front of a vending machine, its soft hum the only sound that could be heard in the dark night. How long has it been? thought RJ forlornly as he stared up at the machine. How long since I've had a real family?
It had been years. RJ had lost count of them. Every year it was the same old thing — serving Vincent, making sure the bear got everything he wanted, having the occasional break when the bear went into hibernation — but knowing all the while that running away was futile. He gathered from the humans the entire rest of the time, learning their ways, their mannerisms, their methods of making and protecting food, collecting occasional souvenirs from them which he stored in his bag. His bag, which was now the only real possession he now owned, along with the items inside. The blue canvas had proved incredibly resilient, staying with RJ through thick and thin, the only friend or family he had had for all these years.
Serving Vincent had meant that he wasn't allowed to have friends or family. Once or twice RJ was even forced to harm other critters — more emotionally than physically. There was that incident where that fox had courted him, and he had made off with her wagon — and her heart. And there was a rather nasty scrape with a coyote family, and lots of blood. RJ despised hurting others, but over the years, without realizing it, he had grown numb to it. It didn't seem like such a big deal anymore, because he had convinced himself — not without reason — that he was, for all intents and purposes, alone. And RJ still took comfort in one small thing: No matter how bad things got, he would never be a killer like Vincent.
Unfortunately, if RJ ran away, Vincent would track his scent — hunt him down — and kill him. Just like the bear had killed so many others.
Sighing, RJ removed some coins from his bag and dropped them into the vending machine's slot. He made his selection — a bag of nacho chips — and watched in anticipation as the bag began to move. He hoped it wouldn't get stuck. And thanks to Vincent, that was all he had left to hope for.
The bag reached the end of the prongs holding it, dipped forward — and stayed there.
What?? RJ thought, gasping angrily, as he smashed his fist repeatedly into the machine. Why does everything happen to me?
He jammed himself into the slot and reached upward. Higher ... higher ... higher ... he couldn't get it ... he reached ... and banged on the glass in frustration as he dropped back onto the ground with a sigh. What else? He thought for a minute, then removed a little pointer from his bag and tested it. He had nabbed this in his third trek back into the supermarket, in search of more Spuddies. Vincent had discovered he liked them, much to RJ's chagrin (he had found them first, confound it!). RJ shook his head and concentrated back on the pointer: The tiny plastic dinosaur head on the top made a fine grabbing device.
Grinning, RJ slipped the pointer into the slot and reached up with it. There! It had grabbed the bag. But wait — he pulled, and the bag slipped out of the little dinosaur head's grasp. Fuming, RJ tried again. Again. Again. No luck. Frustrated, he punched the chips bag in anger with the pointer — and the dinosaur's head broke.
Now seething with anger, RJ tossed the head aside. Was everything in his life going to turn out badly? He reached into his bag once more — and came out with the boomerang he had nabbed so long ago.
RJ reared back and threw the boomerang, smiling again. It sailed back and struck the glass. The bag shook — but didn't come loose. RJ stared. WHY??
He stuffed the boomerang back into his bag and went for the machine. He tried everything — pressing the little "coin return" button; scrambling in and out of the slot, punching and kicking the machine — nothing worked. All he achieved was an excruciating pain in his foot.
The frustration that had been building up for years in RJ finally exploded. He removed the little miniature golf club that had come with his bag, and, seething, smashed it into the machine. Nothing goes right — he slammed the club through the glass — Everything's a failure — the vending machine rocked under RJ's force — Why should anyone even try anymore? — the lights in the machine flickered — Nothing ever matters —
RJ smashed into the machine one last time, and the lights in it went out. The bag still remained stuck in its slot, but RJ could now see, under the light of the full moon, something else. There was a reflection in the darkened glass — a reflection of a certain cave on a certain hill, bathed in the cool glow of the moonlight.
"Vincent," RJ whispered, turning around. "No. No. Bad idea." But the rumbling in his stomach was so loud... RJ sighed and stuffed the golf club back in his bag.
Soon he found himself at the base of the cave, looking upward. RJ reached back into his bag and came out with a fishing line that he had found in the yard of one of the humans nearby. A yard that inhabited the area where the forest had been plowed away... RJ shook his head and turned his gaze upward again.
He was either starting the most foolhardy or the most successful mission of his life. His father had failed at it, he realized, and that made RJ pause for a moment; he stared at the end of the fishing line, the hook swaying hypnotically in the evening breeze. As he thought, Tim's words came back to RJ, for the first time in years...
"Any problem can overwhelm you if you look at it from one side like that. But when you start looking for different ways to solve it — that's when it stops being hopeless."
But did thinking outside the box involve risking your life senselessly? Did it involve trying to settle a feud that had existed between Vincent and RJ — and RJ's family — for years? Did it involve trying to put said family out of your mind, trying to deny their existence to lessen your pain — and cursing yourself when you never really could?
Was it better that he couldn't forget his family? Was it better that he didn't know how this ... mission ... would turn out for him? Was it better to just throw caution to the wind for once and do what he felt he needed to do, even if it was for his own reasons, and no one else's?
"Your mother believes in you, RJ. I do too. How can that be hopeless?"
Smiling slightly, RJ made his decision, cast the fishing line up at last, hooked it onto the cave's ledge, and began his ascent.
"That's right," came Dr. Vexon's evil laugh, as he swung open the door of the bulldozer and gazed down at the Hedgies. "I've finally found you! I swore to you I would have my revenge. Well, guess what? Here I am!"
The doctor retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket and held it up for the Hedgies to see. "Do you see this?" he asked with an insane giggle, pointing at the paper. "It's a deed to the entire forest! I've busted out of jail, I've assumed a new identity, and I now own all the land in El Camelot that was reserved for 'future development'! And you know what? That's your little glade, right here!"
Vexon laughed again, stowing the deed safely away in his pocket. "I'm going to wipe you all out!" he shouted, his eye twitching as he cackled with laughter. "I'm not going to just drive you away, I'm going to wipe you from the face of the Earth! You took away everything I had, so I'm just returning the favor!"
"Oh, my heavens, he's gone insane," whispered Penny, terrified, as she clung to Lou and the kids.
"Yeah, well, that doesn't make him any less dangerous, there," said Lou nervously, gripping his wife's paw in his own.
"We have to lure him away from RJ!" said Verne resolutely, though he was shaking slightly as he looked up at Vexon. "We can't hope to get him better if there's an insane doctor after him!"
"This way, y'all!" shouted Stella, gesturing forward, and she grabbed Tiger's paw and bolted through the underbrush, deeper into the forest. Getting the idea, the other Hedgies began following the two of them: Marissa and Katrina jumped on Snowy and John's backs once again; Ozzie took Lilly and Heather's paws and ran ahead; the porcupine kids started a game of "Nah, nah, can't catch us!" as they gamboled about with their fleeing parents; Willow and Jackson hopped like mad over branches and logs; and Frank and George paused only briefly, looking back at Vexon and raising their eyebrows as if to say, "Try us", then they too vanished.
"I don't think so!" shouted Vexon, enraged now, and he dove back into the bulldozer and started it back up. The engine roared to life, and the shovel in front flailed wildly as Vexon darted the joystick back and forth. Laughing again, the doctor floored the gas, and soon the bulldozer was tearing through the trees and undergrowth as it pursued the Hedgies.
Verne looked after them, quite panicked now, and also sweating with nervousness. He and Hammy had remained behind with RJ, and the turtle now went back to the raccoon, taking up the cloth that Heather had been using. RJ was still thrashing in his sleep with several harsh grunts; his forehead was burning hot.
"RJ. RJ, please wake up," said Hammy, his face inches from RJ's as he pleaded with the raccoon. "Please, RJ," the squirrel added with a sob, "we need you."
"H-he'll be fine, Hammy," said Verne, though his heart was not in his words as he sponged RJ's forehead. "Y-you'll see. He's been through worse than —"
Before Verne could finish, there came another crunching sound, this one from behind the three of them. Hammy chanced a look over his shoulder and gasped, a frightened squeak coming from him. Verne also turned around — and for a second, the turtle was certain he had walked straight into a nightmare. This was too much, on top of everything else that had happened so far.
"Vincent?" Verne gasped.
"So you tried to forget them. Is that it, RJ?"
RJ had emerged into the swirling void for the final time; he had been about to say something to Rob, but stopped. "What?"
"You," said Rob, and now his tone was accusational, "tried to pretend you never had a family. You denied their very existence, so much that when Verne asked you about ever having one, you denied it."
"Well, I hadn't had one for years —" RJ started.
"RJ," said Rob gently.
RJ stopped and lowered his head; tears still brimmed in his eyes. "...Yeah ... I did," he said heavily. "But ... it's not like I mind the one I have now..."
"As you shouldn't," Rob acknowledged, nodding. "And that's the point behind all of this, RJ."
"What do you mean?" asked RJ carefully, looking back up at Rob.
"Don't you see?" said Rob, smiling. "All of this — finding out about Vincent, confronting him, serving him — all of these memories can help you, RJ. If you truly understand everything you've learned about Vincent, then you can be rid of him, and your fears of him, once and for all. You just have to know how to apply them. To find the determination in yourself to really make them matter."
"That's ... uh..." RJ was at a complete loss for words. Finally he settled with, "...that's ... interesting."
"You'll figure it out soon enough," Rob said with a grin. "But right now, it's finally time for you to —"
Suddenly the void around the two of them vanished, the swirling colors giving way to an inky blackness. All RJ could see was Rob, who was now looking confused and bewildered. It was obvious that the wolf hadn't been expecting this.
"Rob, what's going on?" shouted RJ as the blackness around him dissolved, to be replaced by a light blue glow. "This is a dream, isn't it?"
"Something's gone wrong," said Rob nervously. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You're — you're being called back."
"Come again?" said RJ, then suddenly noticed he was moving upward. "Hey! Rob, what's happening? You said I'd wake up!"
"RJ ..." said Rob sadly, his eyes brimming, "...RJ, I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" RJ asked, struggling against the invisible force pulling him upward. "Rob, what's going on?"
"RJ ... your heart's stopped beating."