The streets were eerily silent as Penny walked, devoid of cars and lit only by street lamps and the stars in the sky. Her companions traveled up above, in the Ranger Wingamathing to get to the roof of NIMH, following Penny's lead. Wilbur the albatross flew alongside the plane in case anything went wrong. They decided he could stay on the roof and provide a quick getaway if they needed it. With a few pointers from Zipper, Bernard learned to steer the flying machine. Bianca sat beside him, while Abigail, Michelle and Willy sat in the middle working the wings. Brutus loomed in the back, staring down at the landscape below in silent contemplation upon returning to what he regarded as Hell.
"I can't wait to see Uncle Cornelius again," Michelle remarked, "Do I get to come in with you this time?"
Abigail looked down at her friend, "This place is the most dangerous one of all Michelle…"
Michelle crossed her arms, not the least bit surprised at Abigail's response. Abigail looked to Willy, who silently cranked the wings as quick as he could.
"Are you scared, Willy?"
"A little," Willy admitted, "Are you?"
"I'm a little scared too," Abigail said.
"I know it probably would have been a lot more useful if the humans had taken me instead of Gadget. I don't feel like I can really do much."
"That's not true Willy," Abigail urged, "I know you'll be giving this your all. And if so much of this rests on me, I'm just happy to have someone to share the burden. You've helped keep me going since the beginning. I…I love you."
Willy blushed, "I love you too, Abigail. It's been quite a journey too. I've learned so much."
"Ve'll be alright," said Bianca, "Our Rescue Aid Society vill talk of this daring rescue for years to come. Your name vill be in all the history books about our group, Abigail."
Abigail gave a flattered giggle, though inside she couldn't feel more stressed.
"Penny's walking toward that building," said Bernard, "It must be the one."
"Yes, it is," said Brutus, his voice betraying nervousness for the first time that Abigail could hear.
Everyone got a sense of foreboding fear as the plane approached the building. Here countless rodents had met their demise, and now they were going straight to the belly of the beast. There was a reason neither the Rescue Aid Society nor the Rescue Rangers had attempted a rescue here before. It was a struggle between man and mouse, one which never boded well for mice.
"Land along the side of the door up there," said Brutus, "That's where we escaped."
"Alright," Bernard said, taking the plane down for a landing.
The air vent there stood upright rather than it being flat on the surface. But it wasn't the way Brutus remembered it. NIMH had learned from their mistakes. Brutus hopped out of the plane, the air coming from the vent blowing through his fur and the cape he wore. He drew his spear and tossed it against the metal grating, and it exploded in sparks, giving off smoke when it hit the ground and he knelt down to pick it up.
"It's electrified. Makes me wish we had been better about covering our tracks when we escaped NIMH," said Brutus, "Of course, we didn't think we'd ever be coming back here."
Bianca asked, "How else can ve get inside?"
Brutus turned around, "The fly. He may be able to squeeze in without touching any of the metal wire, and somehow undo the electrical circuits powering this thing. If he doesn't get blown to his death."
"Hm…hate to say it but he is the smallest of us," said Bernard.
Zipper gulped and hovered toward the vent, having to fight against the air current.
"You can do it Zipper!" Michelle cheered.
"Yeah, everyone's counting on you," Willy added.
Zipper fought against the air until he was through the grating, batting his wings as hard as he could. He could see the wires at the top corner of the air shaft, and he grabbed ahold, yanking at it with all his little might. After a tense wait, finally Zipper managed to yank the wire free of the grating, its copper innards pulling free of where it had been connected to a device on the grate. To be safe, Brutus threw his spear at it again. It fell to the ground with an empty clank.
"Great work Zipper," Abigail said, smiling and walking up to the vent, "So now we just need to get this off."
"We'll unscrew the bolts at the top," said Bernard, beginning to climb the vent. Bianca followed, and the two of them put all their strength into unscrewing the bolts, wrapping their arms around and twisting. It took a lot of effort but soon they had them loose. The grate dropped down with a clatter, and Zipper flew out to join them.
"Stay here Michelle," said Abigail, stooping down to her height, "When we come out you'll have your uncle Cornelius back, 'kay?"
"What if you don't come back?" Michelle asked, her voice trembling, "I'd be all alone."
"I will come back, don't you worry."
Michelle wiped her eyes, not fully believing her.
"Vilbur's right on the other side of the building, Michelle," Bianca said as she climbed down, "If something happens, go to him."
She nodded silently, and huddled close to the plane.
"I guess this is it," said Willy.
Abigail took his hand and held it tightly, "Let's go."
"After me," Brutus interjected, stepping into the vent, holding his spear, "And be careful, the wind current is strong. There's a reason Thorn Valley is mostly rats."
Zipper held onto Abigail's shoulders, and Bernard and Bianca held hands and brought up the rear as the group continued in, their fur waving in the cold air. It was hard to breathe, and completely dark, save for Brutus' electrically charged spear. Edgar would be able to see down this vent perfectly, Abigail thought sadly. If only he were here.
When they neared a place where the tunnel split in a fork, the air current was so overwhelming Abigail could feel her feet start to slide against the cold metallic ground. She and Willy both began to stumble back before Brutus gripped Abigail's wrist and yanked her forward roughly.
"Take a deep stance," Brutus yelled over the rushing air, "There's a fan down that tunnel, don't let it suck you in!"
Bianca and Bernard had to hold hands and fight the wind currents, and their feet began to slip. Bianca gave a shout as she lost her footing, and Bernard tried desperately to pull her up, sliding himself in the process.
"Grab my tail!" Willy shouted over the blowing air.
Bernard reached and grabbed Willy's tail. It hurt, but with him holding Abigail's hand and Abigail being dragged by Brutus, they were safe.
"I can see I have to do this myself," Brutus grumbled.
The trip down the vent was long and perilous, but finally, the winds began to cease, and the mice could stand on their own two feet again. Willy rubbed the base of his tail and winced when Bernard let go.
"Thanks Willy," Bernard said.
"You saved our lives," Bianca said, grateful to the boy.
"Aw, it was nothing," said Willy.
"Don't line up to thank me now," said Brutus.
"Thank you too," Bianca added, "So good ve have a big rat vith us."
"What happened to me being a brute?" Brutus said with a snort, "This way. The vents will be at the ceiling, a different way from the rout we took to escape but I don't think we want to try a straight drop down to those."
"Just lead the way, Brutus," said Bernard, "I hope Penny can wait…"
Penny paced back and forth at the front door, looking at her watch.
"Damn," she whispered, "What's taking so long? I hope they weren't sucked into the vents…"
"How's it going down there?" Wilbur shouted from the roof.
"Nothing yet," Penny answered, "Did they get in?"
"I was watching them," said Wilbur, "It took some doing, I think the vent may have been electrified or something, but they made it inside a little bit ago."
"Good…" she sighed.
It was then that she heard the door unlock on its own.
"What?" Penny stepped back.
The intercom inside crackled to life, "Do we have a guest tonight? Oh it's awfully late, or early depending on how you look at it, but please, do make yourself at home, heh heh heh ha ha…."
Penny frowned. It was Nimnul. She'd hoped that he wouldn't know she was here just yet, but she'd forgotten the security camera at the front door. Did she dare walk into what was likely a trap?
Abigail gasped when the voice on the intercom rang through the vents.
"Came home and found your key card missing? You poor darling. You know it's a 25 dollar fee to replace those, don't you? Anyway, we can discuss that later. There is more I wish to discuss with you too."
Brutus frowned, but continued on down the vent.
"Penny's been spotted," Bianca whispered, "Does he know about us?"
"Keep going," said Brutus, "Either way, we'll make him a dead man."
Penny opened the door, and with hesitation, stepped through into the waiting room and the front desk, looking about in the dark for signs of an ambush.
"You know that you'll never get away with this, don't you?" Nimnul asked over the intercom, "Breaking free of a mental hospital? Breaking into NIMH? Of course, I know that I haven't long before the law catches up to me either. I know…I know too much now."
Penny walked the darkly lit halls, silently heading for the laboratory.
"You see Penny, that's just one more thing we have in common, you and I. After this is all said and done we're probably both going to jail, or maybe back to the loony bin."
"We have nothing in common," Penny muttered.
"That's where you're wrong Penny, you and I see reality differently from the rest of humanity. We're unique. We have our own way of looking at reality. Yes, reality…that's something I've thought a lot about these past couple days."
Penny got to the door, and tried to open it. But it was locked. She banged on it and kicked it in frustration.
"Hurry up guys…" she whispered to herself.
"You see where the average moron sees an ugly, furry, disease-carrying rat, we see a living, thinking, intelligent being. Capable of language, compassion, love, fear, pain. Hell, they even wear clothes! How does the rest of the world miss that? Are we the crazy ones? Or are they?"
Brutus pulled Abigail along and the rest of the mice ran along behind as he searched for the right vent, the one that led to the laboratory, right above the furnace that the rats had escaped through those many years ago.
"I'll tell you what it is, Penny Stacy. It's perception of reality. The average human has such a narrow perception of reality. We see only what we expect to see. We blot out anything that we're told doesn't fit. The hive mind of humanity has decided what reality is by rule of majority. We are told what is real, and that becomes real. We are told what is imaginary, and it becomes imaginary. And when you give someone else the authority to shape your perception of reality for you, you surrender anything you see that runs contrary to their version. "
"There it is," Brutus said, stopping at a vent.
Abigail peered through, seeing a room with rows upon rows of cages, steel doors with a water bottle sticking out of each.
"Looks like the locking mechanisms on the doors aren't as easy to undo as they were before," Brutus remarked, "We may need that human to open them."
"Vell vhat are ve vaiting for? Let's open zis vent," said Bianca.
Penny stared into the security camera above the laboratory door.
"So what are you going to do now that you know I'm here? Lecture me to death?" she asked with bitterness.
"Put it another way. Ever heard of Plato's Cave Allegory? Surely you had to take at least one philosophy class to earn that degree, hm? The rest of the people in this world are like the poor fools tied to a chair in a cave all their lives seeing nothing in front of them but shadows on the walls. You and I Penny, are the ones who escaped the cave into the blinding sunlight and saw reality for what it really is. If we were to return to the cave and tell the others what we saw, they'd call us mad. They see only shadows, and accept it as reality. And they have no desire to escape the cave."
"So you knew that rodents and animals could speak and feel all along."
"No, no." Nimnul gave a light chuckle into the speaker, "You've discovered this fact on your own, Penny. I applaud you. It is truly an amazing feat. You see one other, rather large group of people who can think outside the box enough to experience the other layers of reality is children. Like the little girl you used to be when you were saved by those mice. Us grown-ups may humor children, or laugh at them for speaking to their pets, toys, imaginary friends. But maybe, just maybe…they're seeing something the rest of us have blinded ourselves to. And in time we force those children to blind themselves to it as well. You, Penny, overcame this barrier. I don't know how, but you've done it. You see things other scientists can only dream of…but something a scientist would laugh you out of the establishment for if you tried to convince them any of it is real. You have a brilliant mind. The perception of a child and the intellect of an adult…how I wonder about that wonderful brain of yours."
Nimnul may have been completely mad, and evil…but he was making sense, Penny thought. Something was different about him now. What was it?
"And if I discovered this on my own, how did you discover it?" Penny asked.
"Ah, ahem, well…I was just getting to that, heh heh heh…"
The speaker clicked. Penny stared up at the camera with a cocked eyebrow. She heard a doorknob open down the hall, coming from Strauss' office. She turned. A black, deformed silhouette stood in the doorway with glowing yellow eyes. Penny gasped at the sight, turning to defend herself.
"You see Penny," came the voice of Nimnul, "I've done a lot of thinking over the past couple days. But I cannot call this deep epiphany on reality my own. Not really. No…it was the serum that gave me that."
The serum?! Penny's eyes widened.
"You've injected yourself with that…that…"
"Yes Dr. Stacy, it was time someone tried it on a human," Nimnul said, walking closer, his new form slowly revealing itself, "Strauss was an idiot, tucking the serum away at the first sign of trouble. If he ever wakes up from that drug-induced coma I put him in I'll owe him a swift kick in the pants for that."
"You're a monster," Penny breathed, in fear.
"If you're going to be called a monster anyway you might as well become one," Nimnul said, flipping on a light switch.
Nimnul's skull was bulging, his cranium warped and twisted to accommodate the added brain mass. He had a hunched back, and muscular arms, as the serum had not only enhanced his intelligence but his strength as well.
"Ever since taking the serum I've been able to see things no human could see. Imagine it Penny, colors you've never seen before, details that only a microscope could unveil, and yes, I even see those vermin the same way you do now. But Penny…I've cheated. Sure I have a higher intelligence, but I've done it with no more honor than an athlete doping themselves up on steroids at the Olympics. You on the other hand, learned to see the rodents as they are completely on your own. And I want to know how. I want to know why."
Nimnul advanced, and she stepped back.
"And as a scientist, you know the quickest way to find that out don't you?" Nimnul asked.
He took out a scalpel from his lab coat. Penny turned, and ran.
Chip listened from inside his cage at the drama unfolding out in the hallway.
"What on Earth is going on out there? Penny…"
There were murmurs coming from all the cages, all of them having woken up to Nimnul's rant over the intercom. Upon hearing the name Penny, many had cheered in hopes that they'd now be rescued. But it wasn't certain anymore.
That is, until a familiar buzzing caught Chip's ear. He peered through the slits in his cage to see Zipper, flying past the cage and searching for this friends.
"Zipper!" Chip shouted.
"Golly, Zipper's here?" came Gadget's voice a few cages down.
Zipper stopped, turning straight back and flying up to Chip's cage. From his insect chatter it was clear he was overjoyed to see his old friend still alive.
"So Penny did bring the rest of you here with her!" Chip said, "Maybe there's still hope!"
Zipper pointed upward toward the vent and verbalized excitedly.
"He says they're trying to get the vent open now," Chip reported so everyone else could hear, "They have Abigail, Willy, Bernard and Bianca from the Rescue Aid Society, and a large rat named Brutus with them."
"Wait, Abigail's here?" Russell asked with excitement.
"I knew it!" Edgar exclaimed, "I wonder if that necklace is gonna come in handy now."
"Haha! We're gettin' out tonight!" Dale cheered from three rows down.
"The Rescue Rangers are going to get rescued by the Rescue Aid Society, hm?" Chip rubbed his temples, "Humiliating, but ah well…"
"I think I can tell you how to get these cages open from the outside,' Gadget called out.
Zipper heard Gadget and nodded, telling her that they'd hear her better once they were down.
Up above, Brutus was working on undoing the first screw with both arms twisting at it, but to no avail. Grunting, the four mice pushed on the vent cover with all their might.
"My friends are down there," Abigail said as she pushed with all her might, "My family too…they're all counting on me."
"Damn! It's no use," Brutus growled, "This thing won't budge, and if I'm the strongest one here how do we ever expect to open it?"
Abigail frowned. She'd come so far. Her friends, possibly her father, were right there, on the other side of the vent. She was not going to be stopped by the grille of an air vent after all she'd been through.
"We'll turn around and get to the front door," said Bernard, "It'll take some time, and we'll have to get through the vent in one piece again, but the door might be open now."
"No…" Abigail said in a low voice.
"What?" Bernard asked.
They all turned to look at Abigail, who had begin to pant through clenched teeth, a deep scowl on her face.
"Abby?" Willy asked.
"Vhat's ze matter?" Bianca asked.
Brutus caught a glimpse of the amulet around her neck. It gave off a yellow flash. He grinned.
"Yeah, it's hopeless," Brutus said, purposely trying to bring out her rage, "We've come all this way for nothing. Ah well. It's not like a pathetic little mouse girl ever stood a chance against NIMH anyway."
The jewel glowed, and Abigail pushed against the grille with an angry yell. The bars began to bend and lurch forward, the screws being pulled out of the wall.
"That's it," said Brutus, "Get desperate. Get angry. Your loved ones are in mortal danger down there. That's when the jewel works."
Soon the whole thing fell to the floor with a clatter. She'd done it all on her own.
"How did you…" Willy ran his fingers through his hair, in shock at what he'd seen Abigail do, "No wonder I can't beat you at arm wrestling."
Bernard and Bianca were speechless. They hadn't been told anything about the jewel yet, as Brutus hadn't allowed it. Meanwhile the room erupted with cheering, none of the rodents in the cage having seen what Abigail had done, but could tell from the clatter that the vent had been opened.
"Now we need some way down," said Brutus, "Girl, use the amulet. Think of the way your friends and family have been tortured. You need them out of here, and you need to be fast or we'll be caught!"
Abigail looked down at the glowing amulet. She didn't know what Brutus was talking about. Use the amulet? She tried to touch it with her hands, but squealed in pain. It burned her hands, but its golden glow remained on her palms for a few moments before fading away.
"What is that thing?" Bernard asked finally.
Abigail bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes before touching the amulet again, picking it up in her hands. Agonizing as it was, she felt its energy course through her body. She opened her eyes, tears welling up in them, and looked down at one of the lab tables. She imagined it sliding across the floor, being lifted, and propping itself against the wall. She thought about it, focused all of her will on it. And it began to happen. It dragged across the floor, shakily lifted up at one end, and propped itself against the wall. If they could make it down to the top of the table unharmed, they could slide the rest of the way down.
"Such power," Brutus remarked, "I've only seen it used once before, when Mrs. Brisby saved her children."
"I think she's hurt," said Bianca, concerned though not understanding what was happening.
"Never mind the pain, Abigail," Brutus said, "You have to do what's right now. Use that power to free the prisoners, and then we'll use that power to kill the scientists and destroy this place!"
Abigail was silent to Brutus' suggestion. Still glowing, she hopped down to the top of the table, and slid to the floor. Willy watched with concern, before climbing after her.
"Abigail! Wait for me!"
Penny's face slammed against the wall, Dr. Nimnul muscling her into a hammer lock after pursuing her through the halls.
"I'm not saying it has to be this way Penny, if you'll only join me we'll eradicate those pests and flee. We can outsmart any lawmen who try to take us."
"N-never! I'll die first!"
"Pity, but oh well," Nimnul said, "Let's see what makes that pretty little head of yours tick then."
Nimnul forced her into a nearby room with an operating table, one normally used for autopsies of people who had donated their bodies for science. The area around the table was surrounded by rows of seats, each higher up than the last. She screamed and struggled, but was no match for Nimnul's enhanced strength. He lifted her and slammed her onto the table, knocking the wind out of her as he strapped her down.
"You know I do regret dissecting fascinating creatures like those rodents and yourself," he said after tightening the belt straps, "It's like explaining a good joke. You find out how it works, but something has to die in the process."
"You bastard!" Penny shouted, trying desperately to break free, "Bernard! Bianca! Help!"
Distant screams could be heard as Abigail stood on the ground looking up at the wall filled with cages. The rodents inside had been put into an awestruck silence at the sight of the table moving on its own. The first one to raise their voice was one that Abigail hadn't heard in weeks.
"Abby!" shouted Abigail's father.
"Daddy…" she whispered, looking for the cage it had come from, "Daddy where are you?"
"I'm up here!"
The others slid down the table one by one, no worse for the wear.
"I think Penny's in trouble," Bianca said, worried about her friend, "Vhat do ve do?"
"There's a way to open these cages," came the voice of Gadget, "You need the combination of the lock. I think I've memorized mine."
You can open any door, if you only have the key.
Abigail thought she was finally learning what the key was. Mrs. Brisby had used the amulet to save her children. Abigail's hands were scorched, but she knew what to do.
"Daddy!" Abigail shouted.
She gripped the amulet tightly and she visualized each of the doors on the cages opening, focusing on Edgar, Russell, Cornelius, Gadget, Dale, and everyone she knew and loved behind those doors, suffering at the hands of NIMH. The cage doors began to rattle. The cage door that Abigail's father was behind spontaneously ripped itself from its hinges, the lock's bolt breaking. One by one down the rows, each door pulled itself free and fell to the floor. Those able-bodied enough jumped out immediately. Those who knew each other had tearful reunions, having probably not seen one another since being locked away in cages. The denizens of Dapplewood rejoiced; Russell reunited with his family (sadly…sans a few of his siblings), while Edgar listened for the sound of his mother blindly, without his glasses, and the two of them found each other. The Rescue Rangers reunited with a group hug, and were soon joined by Tammy.
"My gosh, Abigail!" Gadget said, looking back after the hug, "What was all that? It…defies scientific explanation!"
The rest of the rodents gathered around Abigail, who had now turned to stare at the locked door to the laboratory.
"My…little girl…" said Abigail's father, coming up behind her. He was stopped by Brutus pushing him away with his spear.
"Give her room," Brutus demanded, "She must clear her thoughts."
"But she's my daughter!" he argued.
"Don't touch me daddy," she said, "You'll burn. I have to concentrate."
Her father fell silent, and took a few steps back. He had to take her advice.
"Furlings," came the weak voice of Cornelius from above. He was in a higher cage, unable to jump down.
"Cornelius!" exclaimed Russell and Edgar, who briefly broke away from their families and ran toward his cage, Edgar stumbling without his glasses.
"I can't get down," Cornelius said with a cough.
"Not all of them were able to get down," said Chip, "We need some way to get some of them down from their cages."
"It's too bad Penny can't be in here," said Dale, "Maybe Abigail's magic necklace can help."
"She's busy focusing on the door," Brutus snapped, "Once we get that open the human can take care of the others. Now be quiet, all of you."
"Sure missed the brute after we were kidnapped," Russell muttered.
Abigail did her best to block out all the noise as she shut her eyes and pictured the inner locking mechanisms of the door. As before, she fueled her powers by thinking of someone she cared about, this time Penny. They needed Penny now. Abigail clutched the jewel holding it above her head, her palms badly burned now, the fur singed off. The lights on the device where a keycard would normally have been swiped began to blink, and the knob turned. The door swung open.
Brutus grinned, "Ha! Now then, come on. With this magical amulet on our side we will overpower any scientist still in the building. Come, let us remove the threat of NIMH once and for all!"
"Right, let me at 'em!" said Monterey Jack, pounding a fist into his hand, "I'll pound in da next one of those rotter's faces I see!"
"We should have stopped Nimnul a long time ago," said Chip, "Rescue Rangers, away!"
"Ve need to help Penny!" Bianca exclaimed, taking Bernard's hand and running for the door in a hurry. Brutus immediately followed after them with his spear in both hands.
The crowd cheered, ready to become a mob and following after Brutus, going around Abigail as she stood in the same spot, breathing heavily and holding up the stone. Abigail's arms trembled as she let go of the amulet. She fell to her knees, staring at her scorched hands. Amid the chaos, her father rushed to her side along with Edgar, Russell and Willy.
"Abby! Are you alright?" her father shouted over the crowd, kneeling down to put an arm around her. He winced when he saw her hands.
Willy gave a concerned look, "A-are you Abigail's dad?"
He looked up, "I am. It's good to see Russell and Edgar again, but I don't remember you."
"I'm…another friend of hers…" he said shyly, looking back down at Abigail.
"C-carry me…daddy…" she stammered weakly.
Her father picked Abigail up and held her over his shoulder, "Come on, we had better stick with the crowd and escape."
"We'll be back for you Cornelius!" Russell called out.
"Maybe I'll stay here…" Edgar said, his mother holding his hand.
"Penny will help us out," said Willy, "Let's go find her."
Penny strained against the belts that restrained her, as Nimnul rummaged through a supply cabinet.
"Science will thank me one day for the autopsy I'm about to perform," Nimnul said proudly, taking out a saw, "I could just run a cat scan to check your brain out of course, but it's the darnedest thing, we don't have one here. So that pretty little brain is going straight into a jar for the world to marvel at."
"That serum hasn't made you any less crazy!" she shot back.
"Ah there's that word again. I thought we went over this. You and I might be the only sane ones alive. But, alas, there's not enough room for the both of us. Because you won't join me. I'll admit I was never easy on the eyes, but I thought someone as smart as you would come to appreciate brains over beauty."
"You're still uglier on the inside than on the outside, Nimnul."
Nimnul chuckled, "Defiant to the end eh? Well I'll tell you what. I like you so much I'm going to give you one more chance to join me before I saw your skull open like a jack-o-lantern. What do you say?"
Penny could hear the roaring voice of a crowd in the hallway. She smiled.
"No deal, Nimnul…why not run the question by your other prisoners?"
Nimnul could hear it too.
"No…how could they escape? You never even made it into the lab!"
Nimnul had neglected to shut the door, and a swarm of angry rodents pushed through into the room. The sight of Nimnul in his new form was met with gasps of fear and disgust. But they kept coming.
"Penny!" Bianca cried out, "Hurry ve must save her!"
"Think you can overpower me do you?" said Nimnul, stepping back, "I'm more intelligent than any other human could hope to be! And stronger too!"
"Ha! We'll see how well you fare," said Brutus, turning around, "Where's Abigail? Let's have her kill this one. The other human isn't a threat."
The crowd parted as the ailing Abigail was carried through by her father. He placed her down on the ground.
"Well? Destroy him!" Brutus demanded.
"I can't…" said Abigail.
"What?!"
"The jewel doesn't work like that," she explained in a quiet voice, "I suppose you can't see it. The key to the door…love is the key."
"So…it won't work?"
Abigail shook her head, "I wouldn't be doing it out of love. I could free everyone from the laboratory with love but I can't hurt someone…even him."
Brutus glared at the amulet. He turned around to Nimnul, who was trying to get to the supply cabinet without being noticed.
"There are enough of us. We'll take care of him ourselves," Brutus declared, as he brandished his spear, "We'll swarm him and tear him to bits!"
Many of the former test subjects, bitter and wrathful after enduring such torment, cheered at this idea, and the swarm of rodents charged at Nimnul. Nimnul grabbed for a scalpel but could find no better weapon. They began crawling up his legs. When he'd take a stab at one of them, they'd move and he'd end up cutting himself. He screamed and ran about as they overtook him. Few suffered as he rolled across the floor, but more kept coming. Meanwhile Bernard, Bianca and the Rescue Rangers focused on getting Penny free from her straps, climbing up the operating table to do so. She sat up and watched the rodents swarm him in a mixture of horror and satisfaction. She wasn't quite sure what she should feel. But she resolved not to interfere. Brutus was having at it with his spear; the results were Nimnul's complete mauling at their hands.
"Vermin!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"We have some more rodents who need rescuing," said Bernard, "The ones who couldn't get out of their cages."
Penny nodded, still staring at Nimnul as he writhed in agony, "I can't say he doesn't deserve it. I think I may stick around and destroy some of the research results while they finish up with Nimnul anyway. Let's go."
Abigail, Russell and Willy tried not to look at the bloody spectacle. The others slid down to the ground, and Penny, without looking twice at the man who was about to give her a live autopsy, turned and left the room, walking down the hall as Nimnul's screams echoed through the building. Indeed, it was an end he'd brought upon himself.