30 Day Writing Challenge Chapter 9: Of Blood and Honor, a hey arnold fanfic

I love this challenge because it has part of my username in it. LOL!

It's such an… honor. ROFL! All right, enough puns. Enjoy the story.

Challenge 9: Of Blood and Honor

I just couldn't believe it. After all this time, all these years. I had never known what had happened to them. I often had wondered what had happened to them after that fateful, rainy day. The questions of their whereabouts had frustrated, upset, and ultimately puzzled me for as long as I can remember. I had always wanted to go to San Lorenzo to find them, to bring them home and complete my family, to finally have a mother and father.

Now I knew what had happened to them.

When we had arrived in San Lorenzo, I immediately knew something was up with Arnold. We've been friends since Pre-K; I could almost read the guy by now. He has been carrying around that journal he says his father had since he found it. It's like his Bible; he never lets it out of his sight. So when the class made camp for the night, he pulled out the journal and made some excuse about going to sleep earlier.

I followed him to the tent and played along with his little game, but I feigned sleep after a few minutes. He opened the tent and left, his stuff gone. I sat up and peeked out of the tent just in time to see him wander to the forest edge. I got dressed, grabbed my bag, put on my shoes and followed him at a distance. I heard him mumbling to himself, something about "the next path" or "it's a river".

I finally was done with this. I caught up with him and called his name. I heard rustling leaves as Arnold turned around. He was seemed surprised to see me.

"Gerald? What are you doing here? Go back to camp, you shouldn't be out here."

I raised my eyebrow and frowned. "Really Arnold? YOU shouldn't be out here either. I'm following you through this crazy jungle." I paused and added, "Are you going to find your parents?"

He looked down, his face unreadable. I guessed that I was right.

"Listen Arnold. You're going to need help finding them. You can't do this by yourself."

"But I don't want you to get hurt Gerald. I don't want to risk that."

"Don't you remember when we stopped FTi from destroying the neighborhood? Or when we saved Mighty Pete, or when we fixed Geraldfield, or went out with those 6th grade girls? Running Mrs. Vitelo's flower shop? Finding the haunted train? We did all of that together, through thick and thin." I looked at Arnold for a second; then I held out my hand. "WE'LL find them, together. I'm with you all the way man."

Arnold smiled and held out his hand. We wiggled thumbs and he led the way while I followed close behind.

Our map had shown the river would be within a few hours hike. I closed the book and continued with Gerald north. I checked my compass every few steps, not wanting to be so close to them and to mess up by getting lost. We continued at a walk, often hearing the jungle's noises as we continued until dawn broke the sky.

I found a cave ahead that we could use to rest for a little while. Gerald and I sat down at the entrance for a little while. I pulled out the journal and rechecked our position, wondering if there could be an easier or faster, or both, way that we could get to the formally uncharted forest that was the home of the Green Eyed People. While holding the journal, my eyes fell out of exhaustion, and I went to sleep while clutching the journal close to me…

I couldn't help but pity Arnold. He was willing to drive himself until he dropped for his parents. He was a bold kid, no doubt about it. I knew that he would find them; he just had something right going for him.

I decided to examine the cave while he slept. It was deep and dark, kind of reminding me of the cave on Elk Island when we had gone for the treasure of Wheezin' Ed. I grabbed a flashlight from my bag, and turned it on. Mr. Simmons had said to be prepared for anything in San Lorenzo, and man was I glad I had listened to him.

I maneuvered the flashlight around while creeping deeper and deeper into the cave, taking in the beautiful stalactites. That's right, I'd been listening to Phoebe. Mmm mmm mmm, that girl was smart. Anyways, I came across some small tunnels and decided to check one out. I followed it, the cave becoming smaller and smaller until I had to crouch to move in any direction.

Then, I came to a room. The room that would forever change Arnold's life.

"ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD!" I called as I shuffled, then ran to him again. I was afraid of his reaction, but I knew he had to see it.

I woke up to someone yelling my name. Out of habit, I had swung my hand up to put my clock on silent. But it wasn't my alarm, nor was it there. It was Gerald, and he was sweating hard from running.

He dragged me up while he kept saying, "Arnold, they're here. They're here."

"Who's here Gerald?" I shook my head to wake myself up. But he didn't answer me, but dragged me until we got to some tunnels. He selected one and ran down it. It took me a minute to finally catch up with him, but that was because the tunnel had gotten smaller and smaller, forcing him to slow down.

"Gerald, why are we going down this tunnel? What's down here? Who's here?" He didn't say anything. He kept shuffling toward the exit, or what I had thought was the exit. He stood up inside the room and stepped aside, allowing me to fully see the room.

The walls were decorated with crude painting and drawings of a man and woman. Some drawings depicted them fighting men with guns and swords, some depicted them nursing the sick and wounded. On the main wall of the room stood a mural divided in half. One half showed a depiction of Mom and Dad at the alter, standing and facing each other while the San Lorenzo officiant bonded them in holy matrimony. The other half depicted a child in Stella's arms, the baby sleeping in a temple. This child had a football-shaped head and unruly blonde hair. I smiled at the beautiful room, until I saw the middle of the room.

On the floor were two life-sized statues of Mom and Dad. Two green smoke trails circled around the statues, and words were written at the base of both of the statues. Mom was kneeling down, her face calm and almost soothing, as if tending to a patient. Dad was in a fighting stance, a sword in his hand and pistol in his other. His face, arms, and clothes were all slashed from battle, his face a contortion of anger and another emotion. Sadness? Revenge? Joy? I couldn't tell.

At the ground of their feet were two necklace amulets and what looked like a First-Aid kit and my father's real sword and scabbard. The amulets were set on top of each of the items that my parents had carried with them. I didn't know what the amulets were at the time, but I figured it out.

I fell to the ground, convulsing as the truth of the room's real purpose came over me. It was a memorial. These paintings were to glorify them, these statues to immortalize them.

Now I knew what had happened to them. I knew now why they had never come home. It was because… because…

Because they were dead.

I have seen Arnold battle amazing odds. He has always come out on top, despite everyone, even me at times, giving up on him and whatever situation had been going on. He never gave up, he saw the bright side of everything. He always found some way to pull it off, no matter what.

My own words rushed to my head as I yelled at him, telling him that in real life, you don't always win. I was glad to be wrong that morning when we had saved the neighborhood. But what if I was right? I didn't want to be right.

But this time, I was right. And it was not a good feeling.

I stepped forward carefully and calmly said, "Come on Arnold. We have to go to camp. We can't do anything."

He rose from the ground, not letting me see his face. But I knew he was crying. I knew I would be. I'll admit it. But what I didn't expect was what happened next.

Arnold walked up to his father's statue and took off the amulet/token off of the scabbard and sword. He put on the scabbard and slid the sword into the scabbard. Then he went to his mother's and took the First-Aid kit lying at her feet, leaving the amulet at the feet of the statue.

"Uh, Arnold? What are you doing man?" I asked nervously. When I saw his face, I became afraid. I saw revenge on that bold, bold kid's face. I knew what he was about to do was WAAAAAY beyond anything we have done so far. His next words confirmed this feeling.

"I'm taking them. I'm taking them because I will need them. I'm going to avenge my parent's deaths. My father's sword was used with honor. Now, I will use it for honor, and blood. The blood of the men who tore them away from me."

He walked silently back toward the tunnel and ducked inside. He didn't look back. I shook my head and sighed, and followed him inside.