Chapter 31- Malachite and company's escape quest begins
Meanwhile
Back where Malachite and company were staying, all the young Talking Beasts and Magical Creatures were asleep. The Aquatic individuals that could only half-sleep due to being totally-aquatic but air-breathing creatures like Dolphins and Plesiosaurs continued to swim around in the tank since complete sleep would be fatal to them since they could not breathe while unconscious, unlike most land creatures and would end up drowning. The room was filled with the sleeping forms of various young creatures as they filled the air above them with snores. Well, nearly all of the young creatures in the room were asleep. Among the sleeping forms, some forms crept towards each other and converged in an area. Malachite met with Elsa, Seishan, Yardang, Rainbow Quartz, Lymphocyte and Sisu quietly. Yardang the young Cheetah flinched when he saw some Talking Chicken youngsters release a short burst of a snore, thinking he had disturbed them. However, he resumed going over to Malachite after the Chickens resumed their usual rhythmic snoring. As soon as the seven had gathered, Malachite began to look around for Rei and Akari the Red Panda's group. Trepidation was boiling within them as they prepared for the most perilous quest they had EVER embarked. Sisu gazed worriedly and with concern at the sleeping forms of Kosmochlor, her cousin; the half-Unicorn half-Talking Zebra Hypersthene, and the grey Talking Dog Emori. The latter was one of the granddaughters of a Dog friend of her grandfather Kushanku. Malachite, together with Seishan and Elsa and the rest of their contemporary cousins, did not have the chance to meet Molayne as the Talking Dog had died of old age when Emori and her littermates were born. Sisu then recalled and replayed Emori's story of how she ended up here; being lured by a Siren-Head mimicking the voice of her mother after becoming separated from her pack during some outing and then captured by monster before being rescued and brought here. Sisu then remembered Emori's hope of returning home but the Kiriness wasn't sure. But Sisu's main concern was her cousin Kosmochlor who also seemed assured that everyone present here was safe, both here and in the knowledge that they will soon return to the mainland and the Sea to be reunited with their families and friends. However, the Kiriness felt something amiss about this place. Putting aside these concerning thoughts, Sisu resumed meeting with the other six.
As soon as the main seven had gathered, Malachite began to look around for Rei and Akari's group as they also assembled to prepare for leaving this room. Lymphocyte wore an exasperated look on his face.
"None of Rei and Akar's friends, not even Laminin the Skvader, would even explain the reason of why we're escaping," grumbled the young Terror Bird, "But based on their leaving those reason s in the dark, I'm itching to get outa here myself. I feel I've been in here long enough and I DEARLY miss my clan, especially my brother Monocyte and cousins Neutrophil, Basophil and Eosinophil..."
"So am I," said Seishan angrily, "What Hypersthene and the others told us about Madame Dolores' methods of punishment on us still gives us the creeps and makes me feel nauseated. That incident in which Akari was thrown into a room of scorpions, her most HATED creepy-crawly, STILL angers me to my core."
"And I can't believe Hypersthene and company are nonchalant about it," put in her twin sister Elsa.
"I wouldn't say they're nonchalant," said Sisu, "I think they're just as afraid but they are concealing their fear."
"Then how do you know?" asked Yardang. Rainbow Quartz then opened her mouth to speak when suddenly, a strange bird appeared. This bird was a flightless bird and was tubby, was yellow on the back and white at the front and had clawed feathered wings like an Archaeobird. Its body was like a tubby penguin's and it had three clawed toes on each foot with two pointing forward and the other back. Its beak sported two appendages rising from it and creeping up the bird's face and ended in two clubs, like antennae. This strange bird was called a 'Rappy' and it came in a variety of breeds. One was the yellow variety such as this one, but there were aqua blue, larger white and the pink or 'love' Rappy variants too. This Rappy was another friend of Rei and Akari and was itching to leave this room as well. Rei and Akari's group had additional members who had tried to escape this room only to be caught and punished by Dolores and her Teddy grunts. There was a Spix macaw, several Eclectus Parrots (who were strongly sexually dimorphic like their non-talking counterparts in our world with the males being emerald green with orange beaks and indigo wingtips and the females being red, blue, purple and maroon with black beaks. Unlike our world's eclectus parrots which were polygamous and polyandrous and like every other Talking Beast and Magical Creature, the Talking Eclectus were monogamous as decreed by the Lion of Lions), a Peregerine Falcon and a Pitohui present in Rei and Akari's group.
"Are you seven ready to embark on this perilous quest to out of this place?" it spoke in a chirp-like voice for Rappies' voices sounded like bird chirps. However, decipherable words were clear. "Rei, Akari and the rest of the group are waiting for you."
"Rei and Akari?" repeated Rainbow Quart in confusion.
"I-I-I thought they were locked up in solitary confinement," put in Yardang.
"Kovu, one of the Slugcats had managed to knock that Teddy guard out with a pole to the head and Friede the Cassowary has unlocked the door to release them with the Teddy's keys," replied the Yellow Rappy, before its glare hardened, "Hurry, we don't have time for chitchat."
Malachite, Elsa, Seishan, Yardang, Rainbow Quartz, Lymphocyte and Sisu exchanged curious looks and then followed the Rappy to Rei and Akari's group.
"By the way, what's your name?" asked Elsa as she and her twin Seishan carefully navigated the terrain of various sleeping young creatures. Nearby, Lymphocyte stepped over a few sleeping Rabbits and Guinea Pigs.
"It's Sofanthiel," replied the Rappy, "But we have NO time for introductions. We MUST be outa here at once."
The seven followed Sofanthiel to a relatively large gathering near the entrance and to their surprise; they saw a number of other creatures that they hadn't properly met. There were those that Malachite and the other six were already familiar with, like Cubozoa the Ichtyo-Centaur, Laminin the Skvader with her pet Spitfire Bird Scoville, Misty the Gannetwhale, Louie the young Babookari, Eleven the Windrunner and Arezu the Kangaroo who was from Laventon's clan. But many of the others in the gathering were unfamiliar to Malachite's group. Lymphocyte examined the young blue macaw as it trembled. This macaw was definitely a Spix macaw, no different from the rare blue macaws in our world. It had royal blue plumage, black beak and feet and a white face and neck. Its eyes were laced with UTMOST fear and trepidation and it nervously looked around the dark room.
"What's up with that blue macaw?" asked Lymphocyte.
"Tulio's one of the unfortunate prisoners to have been BADLY traumatised by the wicked Dolores and her underlings," replied Sofanthiel angrily, "The way they punished him had been abhorrent. They had locked him in a room with terrifying images for several hours after he had been offensive to Dolores but that's enough on the reason why Tulio is so afraid. Let's focus on getting out of here. Remember, it's for the sake of the others in here, many who aren't aware of this place's true nature and also the young Aquatic Creatures who cannot walk on land at all, such as the Dolphins, Orcas, Plesiosaurs, Ichtyosaurs and Mosasaurs."
Malachite and the other six looked on in confusion but Sofanthiel refused to disclose why. Frustrated once again, the seven followed the Rappy to Rei and Akari's group. However, HEATED anger boiled within the seven at what they had just heard about the Spix macaw named Tulio and Lymphocyte gazed sympathetically at the blue macaw chick as he continued to tremble.
As soon as the seven was with the group, the two fraternal twin Red Pandas who had appointed themselves as leaders called the attention of the group. Nearby, Lucius the Yellow Teddy lay out cold near the entrance to the confinement room in which the two Red Pandas had been and Rei and Akari knew they didn't have much time.
"Right, everyone, listen up," called Rei, pulling the attention of the group to him and Akari, "This escape-and-rescue expedition is gonna be EXTREMELY perilous so it is important that we stay together and work as a team..."
Malachite gazed at Seishan, Elsa, Rainbow Quartz, Lymphocyte, Sisu and Yardang as they looked on with the other creatures. Among them were Laminin the Skvader and her pet Spitfire Bird Scoville and her belt satchel around her waist, Arezu the Kangaroo, the black six-legged Mountain Cat named Tektite, a Wampus Cat and a grandson of Obsidian, Cubozoa the Ichthyo-Centaur, Eleven the Windrunner, Louie the Babookari, Misty the Gannetwhale, Nanachi the half-Moon, half-Regular Talking Viscacha and the group of Slugcats including Kovu who was pinkish-red and of the Hunter breed. Many of the other unfamiliar creatures included a bright orange and black bird Lymphocyte identified as a Pitohui who, like our world's pitohui, had toxic feathers, a strange creature with a highly elongated neck and lower body and flippers in the middle and on the tail such that it resembled a cross between a Sea Serpent and a Seal (this creature was called a Tizheruk), a strange bird with bat-like wings, a diminutive ape with red fur, and several large bat-like creatures, two of a species called the Ahool, a giant monster bat which were able to interbreed with the slightly larger Deathgleaners to produce hybrids called 'Deathhools', and there was one present as well. Rei continued.
"We MUST get out of here as quickly but as carefully as we can," the male Red Panda continued, "And once we are out of this place, we're gonna seek help to get the rest of the children out of this place FAST before Dolores and her 'assistants' plan to use them for things that we will NOT mention..."
Another wave of frustration rose within Malachite and the other six. They were clearly getting sick and tired of the vagueness of what Rei and Akari had been keeping from them and demanded to know what they were talking about. Rei continued still.
"But on the way, we MUST stay together and NOT let our curiosity get the better of us otherwise we would all be caught and the consequences are gonna be dire, and the last thing we want is ALL of us landing in trouble with that pink monster spider..."
Nervousness made the insides of Malachite and company jolt and Seishan and Elsa actually trembled. They did not want to face a traumatic situation like Akari and Tulio the Spix macaw did. Rei then finished the plan discussion. "Does everyone understand what we are about o face?"
Nods rolled throughout the gathering. On one side of the group, some Slugcats and the Tizheruk kept an eye out for the Camera Eye as it continued to float about the room. The latter was armed with a tube and a satchel of stones and this combination could bring to mind a peashooter, only larger. Rainbow Quartz gazed at the strange Pinniped-like Sea Snake and the Slugcats as they kept keen watch of the room for any floating spheres with a red eye, the Tizheruk clutching the pipe in the fore-flippers spreading from the middle of its long body. Rainbow Quartz deduced one obvious thing; the Tizheruk was poised to fire a rock at the Camera Eye to shoot it down in case it floated past. Then the rainbow-winged Pegasus Mare heard Akari call for Louie and two others. She turned her attention to the female Red Panda as the Babookari, the small red-furred Ape and the brown Viscacha with pink patches on her body came forward.
"Nanachi, Louie, Roux, gather the sticks, the balls of paper and the box of matches Friede had also taken from Lucius and make the makeshift torches," commanded Akari. The three nodded and began to use the sticks and paper balls to make these light sources. The red-furred ape named Roux was an Oran Pandek, a type of small Ape capable of walking on two legs similar to its larger Apelike relatives, the Sasquatch or Bigfoot, and the Yeti. Roux, who was female, was quite a skilled torchmaker for her age and knew how to make makeshift torches using the paper balls and the sticks gathered, so she guided and instructed Louie and Nanachi in making them. While the trio set to making the torches, Rei spoke again.
"Once we are out of this room, we MUST move fast and find well-hidden places to sleep or rest as Dolores will no doubt conduct a stringent search the moment she hears of our disappearance," the male Red Panda said.
"How long until that happens?" asked Yardang nervously, the other six including Malachite looking on with slight trembles. Rei turned a dour glare to the Cheetah.
"It could be any time," replied the Red Panda, "That is why we MUST move fast. We also must move fast for the sake of the other kids as Dolores' underlings will be selecting a few more of them to take somewhere."
"Somewhere?" repeated Sisu. Rei just turned round to check on the Tizheruk and the Slugcat lookouts.
"Just prepare for our escape, Kirin," replied the Red Panda rudely to Sisu's eye blink of offense. He then went over to the lookouts. "Kenai, Slugcats, is that Camera Eye..."
Suddenly, the Tizheruk, a male named Kenai, and the Slugcats reacted. Tektite and Cubozoa, who had been sent by Akari to look for a vent entrance, immediately stopped dead as the Tizheruk spoke.
"Oh, here it comes," cried the Seal-like Sea Serpent and with that, he seized a stone from his belt satchel and placed it into his large blowpipe and prepared to fire it at a floating eye-sphere as it hovered towards the group. Malachite and company shot alarmed gazes in the direction of the Camera Eye as it floated towards the group, its menacing red eye aimed at them. Slight panic ignited within the escapees-to-be and some of them fled to get out of the field of view of the Eye.
"Hurry, Kenai," called one of the Slugcats as the Tizheruk prepared his blowpipe. The Tizheruk then aimed his pipe at the Camera Eye, closed his mouth on the opposite side and blew HARD. The stone shot out the other end of the pipe like a large bullet and flew towards the Camera Eye. However, it just struck the top rim of the Eye's metal shell and bounced to one side. Kenai released a Seal-like grunt in frustration and reached a flipper into his belt satchel to grab another rock. Then Lymphocyte took action. A scowl forming on his face, the young Terror Bird dashed over to the approaching Camera Eye.
"LYMPHOCYTE!" cried Malachite. Then to the astonishment of Rei and Akari's group and also to Malachite, Rainbow Quartz, Yardang, Seishan, Elsa and Sisu, Lymphocyte leaped at the Camera Eye and kicked it away from the group with a powerful leg. Then the young Terror Bird pounced onto the floating Eye, turned its eye towards him and with a quick raise and drop of his head, the young Terror Bird plunged the tip of his beak right into what we would call a CCTV watch camera device's glass eye dome. Malachite and the others flinched violently as a buzzy explosion erupted from the Camera Eye as Lymphocyte performed the Axe-Beak technique on its dome eye and shattered it. Then Lymphocyte tossed it aside. Sofanthiel the Yellow Rappy and one of the male (green) Eclectus Parrots then rushed in with two rocks and smashed up the Camera Eye to destroy it further for good measure. Sparks and pieces of Narnia-exclusive metal alloy flew everywhere as the two birds continued bashing the Eye to bits with their rocks. Then as soon as the Camera Eye was nothing more than a pile of metal, glass and crystalline wiring, Rei and Akari fired commands at the group to prepare for their departure from this room faster. The group then scattered to gather a few things. some of Rei and Akari's group rushed to the kitchen to gather some food while Roux the Oran Pandek, Louie and Nanachi finished making as many stick-torches as they could while the others gathered some things they thought they might need as weapons to protect themselves during the perilous quest. Malachite came to Akari.
"Are we gonna escape through the door?" asked the bright and dark green-striped Nekomata.
"No, Tiger-Stripes, we're gonna escape through that vent," replied Akari and with that, she nodded in the direction of a certain Ichthyo-Centaur and Wampus Cat as they struggled against a large set of metal bars covering an entrance to a tunnel leading into the wall. Malachite shot Akari an annoyed look at her calling her 'Tiger Stripes' but Akari commanded her to get prepared to leave, which Malachite did and she left to gather a few things. Then as soon as the group was ready, they prepared to enter the vent once Cubozoa and Tektite had managed to remove the grate to the vent's entrance. As the group queued to enter the large vent, Roux handing some finished makeshift paper ball-and-stick torches to some of them including Nanachi, as well as a few matches to light them an cautioning them to be VERY careful with the fire devices, Eleven the Windrunner came to Malachite and the other six of her group with a bag.
"Here, you'll need this bag of food we managed to snaffle from the kitchen for the journey," said the reflective bluish four-winged Crane, "The food throughout this place will NOT be suitable for us to consume."
Malachite gazed at the Great Blue Windrunner while Rainbow Quartz took the bag.
"Why, Eleven?" asked the green Nekomata. Eleven just glared back at her with a VERY dour glare and left without answering. Yardang looked on in surprise.
"That look she gave us in response to your question ain't good, Malachite," the Cheetah said.
"Is there something wrong with the food outside this room?" asked Sisu.
"I'm wondering if the food outside this room could either be poisonous, unsanitary, or worse..." Rainbow Quartz said but she trailed off, not wanting to say it. She remembered her grandmother Milky Way's story of how she, Obsidian (the grandmother of Tektite) and Thundersparx the Raiju had seen where the White Witch's minions had sourced most of their meat and she winced. Malachite, Elsa, Seishan and Sisu, however, didn't understand why the colourful-winged Pegasus flinched like this but Lymphocyte and Yardang, however, had drawn one conclusion, one they didn't like. Then the seven heard Rei call the group to get moving, which they did.
Within a short time, the group was within the vent and as soon as the last of the group members were inside, a Peryton and a Deathgleaner checked the area to make sure no shed feathers or fur was left behind and then entered the vent and replaced the grate to prevent any searcher sent by Dolores from potentially following them. Inside the vent, the torch carriers including Roux and Akari, their hands and paws grasping the stick-torches led the way. As the group ventured through the vent, Rei and Akari began to discuss about Dolores' underlings with Malachite, Seishan, Elsa, Yardang, Rainbow Quartz, Sisu and Lymphocyte. At the front of the line, the torch holders led the way, their makeshift torches providing light in the dark tunnel.
"So are those lanky-limbed Teddies the only minions Dolores has?" asked Malachite.
"No," said Rei as he gazed ahead at the lead torch holders, "Dolores has other types of minions working for her here. One other sort of minions are what we have dubbed the 'Candy Woodland Creatures'."
"Living food-based creatures sort of like Krampus's gingerbread men but shaped like common animals you'd find in woodland like a squirrel?" asked Lymphocyte.
"No, they're organic creatures but they are indeed woodland creature like," replied Akari, "They resemble brightly coloured woodland creatures of exotic colours, like pink beavers and yellow rabbits," the female Red Panda's glare then hardened, "But they are essentially woodland creature form of the psychotic and murderous Blue Mice. For all their cuteness and innocence at first glance, they are ABSOLUTELY psychotic and bloodthirsty."
"And there are many of them at work here," added Sofanthiel nearby as he led the other Rappies through the vent, "I witnessed a Lemon Rabbit turn feral and kill one of the..." however, the Yellow Rappy trailed off. Confusion bubbled within Malachite's group.
"Lemon Rabbit?" asked Seishan as she walked with her twin sister Elsa. Sofanthiel glared at the identical twin Nekomata sisters darkly. "We have named each of the Candy Woodland Creatures based on their resemblance to said creatures and their colours, for example, the Lemon Rabbits are very cute yellow bunnies while the Raspberry Beavers are pink beavers. There are others including the Blueberry Skunks and Moose which are blue, skunk and moose-like creatures, and Strawberry Squirrels which are red squirrels."
"You'll see some of those hideous beasts when we have to sneak through the rooms," said Akari, before her face turned dark, "But don't be taken in by their cuteness. They are EXTREMELY feral with a taste for the blood and meat of Talking Beasts and Magical Creatures."
Malachite and the others winced at this. Then Eleven the Windrunner came in. "Other minions of Dolores include small spider-like creatures with shells resembling a transport device Humans call a locomotive. There was one large Boss Spider Train which was FAR larger and was loyal to the White Witch during her reign, according to what my parents told me and it and its underlings lived like ants with the Boss Spider Train being the dominant individual and the smaller Spider Trains, its workers. Some of the Worker Spider Trains work here as part of Dolores' oppressive workforce and they are VERY ravenous."
"There are also some of the cursed toys made by Krampus that also work here, including the aforementioned cursed Gingerbread Men," added Rei, "plus some additional toy-like creatures in charge of various jobs here."
"What do you mean by 'here?" asked Elsa. Rei, however, refused to answer the question once again to Elsa's chagrin. Then Akari continued but with a different subject. "We also believe that Dolores is not the overall boss here and could be working for someone else. Who, we don't know but we daren't investigate that as we don't have time. The sooner we're out of this place, the better, especially for the sake of the other victims back in that room."
"Yes, we need to find rescue as soon as we leave this place and get those other youngsters out of here before something happens to them," added Akari. These statements opened up even MORE holes and company for Malachite and company but again, the two Red Pandas refused to disclose what they were talking about to their UTMOST chagrin again. Then Sisu asked a question.
"Did you have anyone else accompany you during your previous escape attempts?" asked the young blue Kiriness.
"Yes," said Rei, "It was a young female Elf who wore a yellow overall with a hood. She used to be friends with us, even helpful but," anger then boiled within the Talking Red Panda, "She eventually revealed herself to be an INCREDIBLY selfish, self-centred coward and traitor who displayed personality traits and tendencies that were no different from many of Dolores' minions."
"She eventually abandoned us and left us dead in the predators' jaws when Dolores and some of her minions managed to locate and catch us while she fled to save her own skin," squeaked Tulio the Spix macaw youngster.
"And she never sought help for us either," put in Akari, "To add more vinegar to the wound."
"This Elf girl displayed some horrific traits and tendencies?" asked Lymphocyte nervously. Akari glared at the young Terror Bird with a very dark look. "Yes. She had uncontrollable hunger fits and subdued and ate some of the dumb rats that live here and some of Dolores' minions. She initially accepted the food we had pinched from the kitchen but then she blatantly refused so that she could eat more 'live prey'."
"And she often consumed Dolores' minions alive, gruesomely and sadistically, right in front of us," put in Sofanthiel who winced in disgust from the Elf girl's feral antics, "Honestly, she acted like a dumb beast in that regard."
"And when we restrained her and told her to NOT touch another of Dolores' minions, she attempted to eat some of us," added Kovu the Slugcat nearby to the wincing of Malachite and her group. He then nodded to Tulio and Sofanthiel, "Those two were almost her next victims and prey as was Nanachi and some young Talking Rats, Ducks and Chickens and even a young Unicorn Foal."
"She once had me pinned against the wall of a vent and tried to bite my neck like a dumb cat," added Sofanthiel, "But I countered with a NASTY bite to the lip to the point of drawing blood but even that peck didn't deter her from trying to turn other members into a murderous meal."
"How GHASTLY," grunted Lymphocyte with disgust.
"Eating a Talking Beast or Magical Creature is tantamount to Humans eating their own kind," added Sisu whose stomach lurched from the vile habits the former Elf girl friend had when travelling with Rei and Akari's group before abandoning them.
"Indeed it is," said Rei, "Our elders have taught us how the Great Lion has commanded the Talking Beasts to be more than mere animals lest we return to being dumb animals if we don't behave. The same applies to the Magical Creatures like Elves and Dwarves."
"But enough on that beastly Elf girl and more concentration on our quest," said Rei and with that, he, Akari, Sofanthiel, Kovu and Tulio resumed their journey through the vent with the others. Malachite exchanged a dreaded look with Elsa, Seishan, Yardang, Rainbow Quartz, Lymphocyte and Sisu before continuing with the others.