"Where are they?!"
HighRoller's shout rolled across the city, but the animal citizens didn't pay much attention to it. They were well used to his temper tantrums, and they went about their business in East Citadel without looking up. But as the day wore on and the shouts became louder and more frequent, they grew uneasy. The Zebras never displeased HighRoller if they could help it, and there might be blood this time when they came back. But they didn't all that day and the next. By the third day, HighRoller had stopped shouting, and now, on the fifth day, a deathly quiet descended upon the city.
HighRoller paced the throne room, growing more and more agitated. He was waiting for news. Bearstomp had gone to search for the Zebras. If he brought them back, HighRoller was going to lose his mind. But the feeling in his heart that his plans were continuing to unravel told him that wasn't likely. The curse would have brought them back if it were possible. That left two options. Either the Zebras were dead or something had happened with the curse. It wasn't broken, that much he knew. He would have been alerted. But there was no alert and there were no Zebras groveling at his feet for forgiveness. That didn't bode well. And so he paced and waited for news.
HighRoller wondered what he would do if they were dead. It wouldn't really matter, he decided. That curse had not done what he'd hoped. Yes, it had made them obedient to his command and had given them a deep urge to please him and follow his orders no matter what. But it had had unintended consequences, too.
The wise Zebras had turned into idiots. There was no other way to put it. They had turned from respected temple guardians to buffoons that needed looking after. He hadn't expected it and had eventually come to the conclusion that he'd underestimated the gods' gifts to the Zebras. The curse should have simply changed their allegiance to him, but the alterations to their personalities and knowledge simply hadn't been worth it. He'd been looking after them for years, regretting ever trying to take them for himself. He'd often sent them on missions, half expecting them to die, but somehow the two had always come out on top. So maybe they had finally run out of luck.
But no, HighRoller thought fiercely. That didn't make sense. They had been going to explore, to see if any gleams of magic or symbols would activate the lore that lay dormant in their minds. Often they came back with news of a treasure or some other item or beast that could be twisted to his purposes. If they had found anything, surely they would have brought it to him. And if they had found something to break the curse, he would have known it. So they had to be dead.
It was sunset on the fifth day when Bearstomp came lumbering in. His expression was wary as he approached, and HighRoller's stomach tightened. "Well? Where are they?" he demanded.
Bearstomp huffed and spoke in Bear speak. "They appear to have awakened some beast. There is damage to the forests north of Big Green, a lot of damage."
HighRoller's whole demeanor relaxed. "Oh," he said dismissively, waving his hand. "So they're dead. Ah well. Good riddance."
Bearstomp didn't speak. HighRoller looked at him to see that his expression was more wary than before. His heart began to race.
"They are dead, aren't they?"
There was a long pause before Bearstomp replied. "No, HighRoller. They are at Big Green and appear to be working with them."
All the wind was knocked out of his sails, and HighRoller sank down into his throne, the throne that was rightfully his after the humiliation he'd suffered at the hands of the former emperor. He looked around, suddenly feeling as if all of his work was teetering on a single point. He was losing more and more animals, and there were fewer and fewer to recruit. The brutal truth was most of the animals chose Big Green, including his loyal Chameleon Queen. He was running out of animals, running out of time. There had to be some way to take down ApeTrully and his people. He had to have a weakness.
"There's more," Bearstomp said.
"More?" HighRoller demanded. "What more?"
"They appear to no longer be cursed. The faces on their lanterns have been replaced by full moons again, and they are no longer fighting with each other."
HighRoller sat very still, horror crashing over him at the realization that he was going to lose the war. There was no way that he could withstand the Zebras unlocked knowledge of legend and lore. He had to disband Big Green. Certainly there was something that would get the animals to leave them and consider rejoining him. But what could that be?
"Ugh! ApeTrully! I hate you!" HighRoller screamed, kicking his feet as he writhed with emotion. He stood up and began to pace again, a fierce expression on his face. He wanted to make that man pay dearly for what he'd done. Taking Chameleon Queen had stung, but to take the Zebras and to have their full knowledge at his command made something snap inside of HighRoller. He stopped and turned to Bearstomp. "There has to be something we can do about that man!"
"Man?" Bearstomp asked.
"ApeTrully!"
"But he isn't a man."
HighRoller stopped pacing and turned to Bearstomp. "What did you just say?"
"I said that Commander ApeTrully isn't a man."
"He isn't?" HighRoller stepped forward, intrigued. "How do you know?"
"I've often heard the humans talking about him. They wonder what he is because they know he isn't human."
"They know this?" HighRoller asked slowly. "Tell me more."
"I've discovered what they say is true. He doesn't look like any human I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them. Yes, there is variety, but he's got a square head."
"Mr. No Hands has a square body," HighRoller said.
"True," Bearstomp replied. "But that's because of the stocks his hands are in. Beneath his drape, he is not square."
"So…" HighRoller said slowly, a grin crossing his face. "ApeTrully is not human? He's actually an animal?" He began to laugh and skip around. "This is it! This is how we can destroy Big Green! Because no human will follow an animal! Not willingly! All we have to do is find out what animal he is!"
"Well, he did give us a hint," Bearstomp said thoughtfully. "Though I only noticed just now. What's his name?"
"ApeTrully. But how does that help?"
"Because if you switch it around, it's Trully Ape. He's telling everybody he isn't human. And if we look at it, we can narrow down his species."
HighRoller slowly felt excitement fill him. "Are you telling me he's a Monkey?!"
"Somewhere in that family, yes."
"He's a Monkey," HighRoller said, sure of himself. "Why else would he hide? After what those brutes did to Hidden Kingdom after it was formed, they became enemies of every animal and human here!" He began to clap and dance as he laughed and laughed. "Ooh! That's it! We've got it! We're going to destroy Big Green!"
"But we'll need proof," Bearstomp said.
HighRoller stopped skipping and looked at Bearstomp, his eyes flashing with anger and delight. "Oh that's easy enough. We just need to find the Monkeys and speak with their king."
"How do you know he's not the king?" Bearstomp asked.
"Because no king of the Monkeys would be a namby-pamby pacifist who cares for other species," HighRoller said. "So let's come up with a way to find them." He leaned back and grinned, gazing at Bearstomp with glee. "Because I'm going to make sure that Monkey can never show his face in any society ever again. Once the animals and humans find out he's not only not human, but a Monkey, they'll want to listen to reason again. After all," HighRoller leaned forward, a nasty smirk on his face, "the animals are to be ruled by a human, not an animal. The gods said so. And if there's one thing I definitely am and he's not, it's human."
Leaning back in his throne, HighRoller reveled in the thought of showing ApeTrully to be the animal he was. He had been a nuisance long enough. Now he finally had the chance to end Big Green once and for all, and after losing the Zebras, he was going to take it.
"Watch out, commander," he laughed to himself. "The end of Big Green is coming. Once I find the Monkeys, you will pay for everything you've done."
And this is the end of The Cursed Eater. Thanks to Guestspirit for requesting the story. It has given me ideas to springboard into the major Hero: 108 project idea I have. It will be set after this story, which is after the second season, and the ending of this one should give you some idea as to where the next part is headed. I don't know when I'll be able to start writing the story, as there are several smaller projects I want to focus on now that I've finished Growing Pains. This was one of them, and I hope that you all enjoyed it.
Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments, and thanks so much for reading. God bless. :)
