Day – May 20

Rion’s awake now. Not talking or able to move, but he’s awake.
His eyes are open and he looks around the room, but I’m not sure what he may be
seeing. After his little delusional spell a few days ago, I’m not sure if he’ll
be 100% all right when he completely comes out of this thing.

Jack was talking about how Rion might "act differently due
to the trauma" or "not be his usual self" afterwards. I can’t be
mad at anyone but myself for letting Rion out of my sight that day in the woods
with the snake. If only I’d kept him in my sight, Victoria wouldn’t have gotten
him.

Speaking of which, Victoria tried to escape her holding room
last night. She was yelling about ghosts and demons trying to get her. I
wouldn’t be surprised if they were the same demons that had plagued Jenner’s
mind for all those years. At least Victoria’s being vocal about them and not
suppressing it. I guess she wizened up after she saw her boyfriend get killed
because of it.

In the HAPPY world, Justin’s got a nice girlfriend. Her name is
Kat. Short for Katrina, naturally. Kind of ironic, a rat named Kat. Heh.. It
rhymes, too.

She’s not exactly up there when it comes to politics – she works in the
sewing department. Justin doesn’t seem to mind, though. She’s a little shy, but
she loves Justin quite a bit. I guess she considers herself lucky. After all,
back at the rosebush all the girls were always saying, "Ooh, Justin! I
wonder if I’ve got a chance with him!" Kat didn’t think like that, though.
She likes Justin because he’s a funny guy and they have a lot in common. What
that stuff is I have no clue.

She’s a first generation, if I remember correctly. You’d think I would know
something like that, but the truth is my memory isn’t too great from that long
ago. I remember things perfectly if they’re in this journal, but things that
aren’t... Well... They don’t stick.

I probably should have done myself a favor and not mentioned my stomach
cramps in the earlier sections. I stopped writing about them for a long while,
trying to forget about them. But then I realized... I can’t just forget about
what happened. The cramps will always come when I think about those damn
needles...

There... Another one. I hate them. I wish they’d just
go away...

But they won’t. They’ll always be there. They’re the one thing keeping NIMH
in my mind, not letting me forget. You’d think I’d consider myself in debt to
NIMH for giving me intelligence. The truth? I don’t want it.

If NIMH was going to make me smart, they should’ve made me
human, too. What’s the point of being smart if you can only use it to make
survival seem like a chore? With intelligence, we had aspirations for peace,
equality and acceptance. Jenner had aspirations to take over the universe.

Without intelligence, we just worried about where our food was going to come
from, aimlessly wandering about like robots. I’d rather be a robot than...
whatever I am now. Not a rat, that’s for damn sure.

I remember when Nicodemus told me something right when we were about the
leave the sewer all those years ago when we were on our way to the rosebush. I
haven’t forgotten it, which is strange. I haven’t written it down yet.

He said, "Leon... You said we wouldn’t get a fairy tale ending
yesterday. You know, you’re absolutely correct. However, you can’t let that
knowledge ruin your life. You have to use your knowledge as a tool to a greater
good. You will see, Leon. You will see how good it can be to know what is going
on and to not be so ignorant to the facts as we always were."

He said I shouldn’t let the knowledge ruin my life. How can I not? Now that
I’m no longer an ignorant street rat, I have bigger things to worry about than
food and play.

Finding this journal was the beginning of a greater story. It was the start
of my change. I began changing before NIMH, right when I found this journal.
The journal was the only thing that mattered. After only having it for a few
hours, it became the most important thing in my whole life. It wasn’t food (at
NIMH, food was always given to me when I needed it) that was important anymore...
It was writing and learning. NIMH forced me to learn, and this journal was a
stepping stone of some kind.

I remember my first entry so vividly. I was young and scared, I was still
rather ignorant. I had the information, but I didn’t have the necessary strings
to tie everything together. I knew that the curves and lines were letters, but
I didn’t know that they were kept in huge tomes known as "books". I
thought my journal was the first one in existence. I didn’t know. I didn’t know
ANYTHING.

And I liked it. Now look at me. Sure, I can do math and I know how to write,
but what good is it doing me? Maybe for a greater good in a hundred years. Who
knows? Maybe the NIMH rats will create their own state and serve with the
humans. It’s all ridiculous, isn’t it? But then again, so is this whole
situation. I’m starting to upset myself... I need to rest.

I need to go talk with Isa about work. Yeah... That’s not harmful information...

Day – May 23 (Early morning)

Incredible...

I had a nightmare. I haven’t had one since the whole Daniel
thing...

I was walking through the halls of the fourth floor (I haven’t even been
there yet, but I knew they were the fourth floor’s hallways). I was kinda
gliding on the floor, drifting this way and that. It was like I was sliding on
ice, or I was on roller-skates. I could hear a disembodied voice,
"Viiictoriaaaaa...." It said.

Suddenly, I was inside Victoria’s holding cell. She was asleep. At least..
She LOOKED asleep. Suddenly, I saw a flash of red, and Victoria was up. Her
eyes were glowing red and her teeth were sharper than usual. Her back was
arched in a familiar way. She looked almost like... Jenner!

Victoria then grabbed Jenner’s wavy sword from thin air and
bared her teeth at me, "Care to join me in HELL, Leon??" She screamed
and swung the sword at me head. If it were real, I’d be missing my head.
Fortunately, it wasn’t.

I woke up with a scream. Tallor was in a deep sleep and I fortunately didn’t
wake him. My internal clock (which is usually no more than an hour off) said it
was some time around 1 or 2 in the morning.

"Wonderful.." I mumbled. I tried to get back to sleep, but for
some reason, I was too hot and I couldn’t get comfortable. I tried to get back
to sleep for another half hour before I moaned and rubbed my eyes.

"Wonderful..." I repeated again. I sat up in bed, leaning against
the headboard. I gazed out the window and just zoned out for a few minutes. I
was hoping that maybe if I just shut down my conscious thought, I’d fall back
asleep.

No such luck. I only got into a half sleep before I got really hot again. I
sighed and threw the covers off, laying in bed still. This wasn’t working at
all.

I moaned and got up out of bed, grabbing my vest but not my shirt. No need
for me to go through buttoning the thing when all I wanted to do is get some
fresh air.

I quietly opened up the big wooden door leading to the hallway
and crept out. Moonlight was streaming in through the windows a little further
down the hall. It was strangely chilly in the main hallway. I looked back at
the door to my room and considered simply opening a window, but I decided
against it. Tallor wasn’t too keen on letting insects fly around our room.
Maybe when we get some screens I’ll be able to open the window at night...

Anyway, I threw on my vest and walked slowly down the hallway, trying to
keep the tips of my feet from making contact with the floor. Rat claws can be
pretty loud when you don’t want them to be, as I’d figured out with Dragon back
in the farmhouse.

I didn’t make it too far when I began to get the feeling that I
was being watched. I quickly spun around and saw nobody. The stone hallway
seemed to stretch on for eternity, the moonlight dotting it with small pockets
of knowledge that lets you actually know if there’s something in the hallway.
The pockets of ignorance, or should I say the darkness, were much more present
in the hallway than the knowledge. I guess I wished it was the other way around.
A bit hypocritical of me, I guess, considering in my last entry I was going on
and on about not wanting to be smart.

I quickly turned around, expecting to find a horrific face an
inch away from me. But yet again, as I returned to my original course, I saw
nothing but.. well.. nothing. I quickened my pace down the hall, trying to
recall what direction I might have been going in. After a minute or so, I
thought I heard a scrape behind me. I turned around and saw nothing. I focused
my eyes a bit and a form began to take shape in the ignorance. My heart leapt
into my throat and I stepped back a bit, "Who’s.. Who’s there?"

I was expecting a lot of things. I didn’t expect this.

"I am." Said Rion.

I gasped, "Rion!? Y... You’re all right?"

He walked into the moonlit area I was standing in. His aura had changed a
bit from before. He seemed more down to Earth now. Poor guy.

Rion shook his head, "No. Not entirely. Jack says I still need more
time to rest. Actually, he doesn’t even know I’m up. He doesn’t even know I can
talk."

I frowned lightly, "How long have you been... You know...?"

Rion nodded a little. I might have mistaken it for a small spasm or even a
swallow. It was hard to tell in the dark, "I just got up an hour ago and
felt fine. I felt good enough to walk, so I did."

I nodded and then raised a brow, "You doing all right, then?"

He nodded, "I feel all right. A little groggy, but I’m sure it’ll
pass." He looked me over, "What’s wrong with you? Half dressed and
disheveled like this... You ARE the Captain, aren’t you?" He grinned a bit.

I grinned as well, "Even a Captain gets to have his off days. Or
mornings. Or whatever it may be now."

I sat down at the closest bench. It was directly in the middle of a ray of
moonlight that was streaming in from the window across the hall. Rion sat down,
too.

He looked at me, "How long have I been out? A few days?"

I frowned. This was going to be tough...

"Er.. Try a month."

His eyes shot open, "What!?" He looked around quickly, realizing
that others were still sleeping, "A MONTH!? What’s happened since
then?"

I shrugged, "A bit. First thing’s first. Who knocked you out?"

Rion blinked and then look directly into my eyes, "I remember Victoria
dragging me away from the snake, then I remember waking up a few minutes ago.
You mean to tell me that a whole month has passed in that short millisecond of
nothing I experienced?"

I nodded, "About that. The ninth of May. It’s the 22nd or 23rd
now."

He nodded slowly and then looked around nervously, "Where’s Victoria
now?"

"She’s locked up on the third floor." I replied.

Rion looked at me, puzzled, "Huh? How’d you know?"

I shrugged, "You told us. You came out of your coma for a few seconds
and you said something about, "Jenner’s girlfriend" being upset at
Justin and wanting to get back at him."
Rion nodded, then he put a paw to his forehead, "Hey... Yeah... I... I think I’m
starting to remember..."

I waited silently for him to continue. Rion gazed off into space as he
spoke:

"I was watching you... You set that snake on fire. Don’t tell me how,
it’ll be too weird. After what happened at the rosebush, I don’t need any
explanations. But I was watching you, then I felt a hand clap over my mouth and
I was pulled behind a tree, where Victoria was. It wasn’t just her, though.
There was somebody else. Someone with a gruff, disembodied voice. I can’t
remember who it was. I didn’t actually see him. Victoria had grabbed me and she
must have hit me over the head with something hard. It knocked me out. I woke
up on the sand by the river. I was all tied up, head to toe. Victoria was
sitting near me with a sword. JENNER’S sword. You know... The wavy one?"

Of course I knew it. I’d just had a nightmare about it.

Rion continued, "She told me about how Jenner wasn’t finished. How he
hated Justin for cutting his plans short. Victoria smiled at me and traced all
these weird lines into the sand, saying how I should pay special mind to them.
I think I still remember them. I’ll have to write them down sometime... But she
looked at me and said, "You may not be Justin, but I think you’ll make a
fine substitute for now. Once you’re gone, Jenner will be pleased for the time
being. When he wants more, I’ll find someone else to please him. And then the
feral will come back, too. She’ll make a fine trophy. And once the Brisbys are
gone, I’ll keep killing citizens until Justin is in my grasp." And then
she grabbed her sword and.... and... and..."

He stopped and his eyes got really big, "Oh God! She started slashing
and stabbing and... Oh God! The PAIN!!" He screamed and began to shake. I
shook his shoulders, "Rion! Snap out of it!"

He didn’t snap out of it. He was in some kind of shock. "The PAIN!! The
PAIN!! MAKE IT STOP!!"

Heads began to poke out of doors. Isa was coming down the stairs from the
second floor where her apartment is. She blinked in surprise when she saw the
culprit of the screams, "Leon? Why’s Rion out of bed? Why’s he screaming
so loudly..?" Her questions were based completely in shop and profession
and didn’t reflect her personal wants to know what the hell was going on. I
shook my head and put Rion’s arm around the back of my neck, "He’s going
BACK to bed, but I heard something from him that Justin needs to hear."

Justin was less than pleased to be woken up at three in the
morning. When I knocked on his door (now fully dressed, along with Isa), I’m
pretty sure he kept quiet in hopes that I might go away. Unfortunately, Justin
wasn’t so lucky this particular night.

"Justin?" I said loudly, "Justin, wake up.
Something important’s come up."

There was some shuffling around inside the apartment, the sound
of papers falling to the ground in a whoosh, and then the clicking of
the door being opened. Justin half opened the door, eyeing Isa and me. He was
wearing his white long-sleeved undershirt. Strange, that Justin would wear
something that guaranteed excessive heat.

Justin gave me a sour look, half concealed by the wooden door, "I hope
this is good. You’re going to have to do some fast talking to convince me that
what you have to say is better than the dream I was just having."

I thought about grinning, but decided against it.

"Well..." I started uneasily, "Rion’s up and about. Well... He
WAS up and about."

Justin sighed, "What do you mean? Has he injured himself?"

Isa shook her head, "No, sir. He’s in some kind of shock."

Justin frowned, "Shock? Whatever for?"
I rolled my eyes, "You’re forgetting he was violently assaulted and he
almost drowned in a river."

Justin shook his head and looked a little sheepish, "No... It’s just been
so long with him getting better..." He trailed off.

Isa shrugged, "Whatever, sir. Leon’s got some information on Victoria,
though."

Justin raised a brow, "Leon? That true?"

I nodded and told him what Rion told me.

When I was done, Justin shook his head and walked slowly back into his
apartment, leaving the door open for us to enter through, "Victoria... Why
are you so crazy?" he asked nobody.

He lay down onto (more like INTO) the sofa and gazed up at me and Isa,
"If you want to question Victoria again, be my guest. I don’t think you’ll
get anything new out of her, though. Instead, try to focus your efforts on
finding-"

I interrupted, "The disembodied voice, yes I know."

Justin nodded and stuck his index finger at me, like a gun, "Of course
you do. You’re Leon."

I nodded and we both laughed a little. Isa just grinned a little, not being
fully in on the joke. If she’d known me as long as I knew Justin, she would
have laughed, too.

Justin finally looked up and saw that Isa was in the dark about the joke and
he decided to press onward, "I don’t know anybody here with a gruff voice
except for Brutus and..." He paused, not exactly wanting to continue. I
already knew who he was going to say, though. Apparently, Isa did as well.

"Sullivan!" Isa looked at me with a grin, "It MUST be him!
He’s been in league with Jenner since day one!"

I frowned, "Isa... Quiet for a second." I looked down at Justin, who
looked like he was on the verge of saying something profound. I beat him to the
punch, "What’s Sullivan’s physical state right now?"

Justin shook his head, "He’s still healing. His whole gut was slashed
open. You don’t heal from things like that overnight." He looked at me and
rasied his brow, realizing who he was talking to, "Alright... Maybe you
do. But he doesn’t."

I nodded, a small grin on my face, "Yeah. What’s he doing now?"
Justin shrugged, "Odd jobs. He works in the kitchen, the sewing
department... Y’know, Kat might know something about him. Suspicious behavior...
That sort of thing."

Isa nodded, "Sounds good. Where is she now?"

I frowned and shook my head at Justin, who returned the gesture. I looked
over at her, "Isa, this may be urgent, but we can’t go waking up everyone
at three in the morning to ask them questions. Not only is it rude, but do you
honestly think that anybody’s mental capacity will be full this early in the
morning?"

Isa nodded, then looked at the ground like a child that had been caught with
a hand in the cookie jar, "Oh yeah...Kinda foolish of me."

I nodded, "Justin here can help us out."

Justin sat up and shrugged, "Yeah, I know her well enough."

I grinned, "I think you know her more than well enough."

Justin smirked, "You’re just jealous, CAPTAIN."

I sighed, "No, sir, just want to get to the bottom of this."
Justin grinned and leaned closer, "Is the captain jealous?"

I shook my head, "No, Justin, the captain is not jealous."

He grinned, shook his head, and looked back at me, "Sorry."

Isa bowed her head a little, apparently unfazed by Justin’s little bit of
wierdness, "Goodnight, sir. Sorry to wake you."

Justin sighed, "I think I see why Leon asked you to stop calling him
'sir.' It’s driving me nuts."

Isa’s eyes widened a little, "Am... I doing it wrong?"
Justing grinned widely, "No, you’re doing it all too well. Just... Just call
me Justin from now on, okay? We’re friends."

She nodded and headed for the door. Before I could get there, Justin called
out to me, "Leon?"

I turned, "Yeah?"

His gaze was serious, "Victoria said something about the Brisbys. Get
to the bottom of it tomorrow. I want to know what they plan to do to that poor
family. They’ve had to put up with us for too long. I don’t want them in danger
because of us."

I nodded and left. When I returned to my room, it wasn’t so hot in there
anymore.

Day – May 25

What a day! As usual, I need to start from the beginning! Well,
on with it, then.

Yesterday was another surreal day of questioning Victoria. I
decided to take a short break halfway through my fifth hour of asking,
"What do you intend to do with the Brisby family" and go outside for
a walk. As I trudged out of Victoria’s holding cell, I nodded to Isa who was
waiting patiently outside the door, "Try another approach." I
informed her, "She’s in some kind of daze where she refuses to be the
least bit cooperative."

Isa nodded "Sure thing. Where’ll you be?"

I shrugged and gazed down the hall, wondering why I wasn’t down there
already, "I’m going to stop by the dining hall, then I’m going to go for a
walk. Maybe I’ll head over to the fields or check out the new running
track."

Isa nodded again and defiantly looked at the door to Victoria’s holding
cell. "Well, here goes nothing..." and she went in.

I grinned a little bit to myself at Isa’s determination, then walked to the
dining hall.

The food is monumentally better now than a few weeks ago. Besides the apples
and berries we get to eat, we also have fish! Fresh FISH! Some of the
engineering rats (like Tallor) crafted a net that can catch relatively small
fish for our consumption. There seem to be a limitless supply of fish in the
streams and lake, but we still need to monitor how much we eat.

I sat down at the Guards’ table, thankful that there was nobody there. I
looked around the dining hall to see who was there and found nobody. I looked
out the window at the sun, it must have been around three or four in the
afternoon.

I sighed and muttered, then I stood up to get a cup of water. There was only
one cook on duty right then, and I didn’t recognize him. He was light
brown-furred, like me, but he had a black face and bright blue eyes. A strange
combination.

I leaned over the countertop where we usually get our food and whistled,
"Excuse me?"

He turned and flashed a smile, "Ah, Captain, how nice of you to drop
by."

I looked away for a split second. This guy knew who I was and I didn’t know
him. Big problem...

I grinned back at him, "Yeah, well, the holding cells were getting
kinda lonely."

The cook chuckled a bit and turned back to what he was doing, which was
hidden from my view by a partition, "They seem lonely from the outside.
Sure wouldn’t want to see them from the inside. So, why’re you coming around
here at such a strange hour?"

I tapped my paw on the countertop, "Well, just dropping by for a drink
of water."

The cook nodded, "Ah, good. If you’d wanted food, you would’ve had to
fix it yourself. I’m kinda busy at the moment."

I nodded and waited. The cook had immediately gone back to whatever it was
he was doing. I cleared my throat loudly and the cook looked up at me, a glint
of irritation in his eyes, "Yes?"

I waved a paw at the rack of cups next to him. He laughed and grabbed one
for me, "Oh yeah! Sorry."

I took the cup from him, went to a nearby basin and filled it up, then I
walked back to the counter, casually leaning against it, "So, why are YOU
here at such an odd hour?"

The cook looked up at me again, "Well, I need to prepare everything for
the other cooks who come in here at around five. They make the meals, I just
get everything ready for them."

I pondered for a moment, then said, "Is Sullivan one of those cooks...?"
I held up a paw in a familiar gesture that asked "Your name is...?"

The cook cleared his throat, "Chauncy. Everyone here calls me Chance. I
hate Chauncy."

I chuckled and nodded, "Uh huh. Nice to meet you, Chance."

The cook looked back to his work for a moment, though he didn’t make a move
towards it, "Likewise."

I grinned lightly, "I was under the impression that you knew me."

Chance shrugged, "Well, when I hear our new Captain of the Guard looks
a lot like me except he’s a tad thinner and doesn’t have a black face, I get
the general idea of what he looks like."

I nodded again, "Gotcha. So, what about Sullivan?"

Chance went back to his work, "He’s a lunch cook. Pansy’s way out if
you ask me. You don’t cook salads and berries. I think he’s just going for the
easy work."

I leaned up against the countertop again, "So you think he’s
able-bodied enough for a tough job like cooking dinner for all the rats
here?"

Chance nodded, "Oh yeah, if he can toss a salad and swing a sword, he
can cook dinner."

I ingested this information, then my eyes subconsciously bulged. I need to
work on that habit. "Wait, you said he can swing a sword?"

Chance nodded, "Yeah. Not too well, but he told me one day that he’s
been working on his defense. I wouldn’t trust the guy with a spatula, but, you
know... He’s got a right."

I frowned, "He might not for long... Did he say anything about
Rion?"

Chance paused for a moment, most likely wondering about what I meant by
"not for long", then continued by shaking his head, "Nope,
nothing about him... Well," he looked up at me, pausing from his work,
"there were a coupl’a times after the incident where he’d get all nervous
and say things like, "Ooh, I hope he gets better" or, "I’d feel
horrible if he didn’t make it" or something like that. We all thought it
mighta meant something, but we didn’t follow up on it or report it."

I took a sip of water, "Why?"

Chance went back to his work, "Sullivan couldn’t hurt a fly. He used to
at least have the talk, y’know? He’d boast about something but not go through
with it. Now... He doesn’t have the talk or the walk."

I paused, trying to interpret the human jargon, "So his ego’s taken a
hit after Moving Day?"

Chance nodded and looked at me grimly, "That’s an understatement."

I nodded and opened my mouth for effect, "Aaah, gotcha." I knew
that Sullivan needed to be questioned by now.

First thing’s first when it comes to interrogation: Get someone who’s
intimidating. Brutus was my best bet, of course.

I went to the Guardhouse and found out that Brutus was working on the Third
Level. Construction, apparently.

Taking my time, I strolled through the hallways, up the ramps and finally
smelled the all-too-familiar smell of the rock powder and dust from the
construction.

A few rats were busy carting rocks away down the ramps in wheelbarrows as I
walked up, so I stopped them quickly and asked them where Brutus was. One of
the rats nodded idly, "Yeah, he’s over near the western end. We’d be
working on the east end but you guys said not to..."

I cut him off, "Because Victoria’s there – right. When we find a better
place to put her, you can restart construction over there."

The worker shrugged, "Just get the rest of those followers quickly,
would ya?"

With a sigh, I started walking up the ramp again, "I’m doing the best I
can."

Brutus was, not surprisingly, doing more work than any three rats combined.
He was carrying a huge load of rock deposit that would need to be tossed
outside.

He grinned a bit when he saw me and he put his bag down, "Leo! To
what’s do ah owe ‘de pleasure?"
I returned the grin (who couldn’t?) and jerked a thumb behind me,
"Something’s come up. We need to have a little chat with Sullivan."

Brutus nodded slowly, "Sullivan?" His gaze darkened suddenly,
"Why’s ‘dat?"
I shook my head quickly, "He’s not a suspect yet, Brutus. Just some gossip
I want cleared up before anybody jumps to conclusions."

He saluted, "’Den ahm yer man, sah!"

It took me a short moment to interpret the speech, but I insinctively
returned the salute, "Great. Where’s Arthur?"
I felt a tap on my shoulder and I quickly spun around to find myself
face-to-face with the Chief Engineer himself. He gazed at me, then Brutus,
"Leon, what’re you doing taking away our best worker?"

I chuckled a bit, "Beyond my control, Arthur. He needs to turn back
into a Guard for a few minutes."

Brutus grinned but Arthur shrugged, looking a little put off,
"Whatever, Leon. Just remember, Brutus here’s important in the
construction."
He leveled a finger at the huge Guard, "You make sure you get back here as
soon as possible, okay?"

Brutus nodded, "Absolutely!"

The two of us sped through the Thorn Valley halls and wound up in the
cafeteria. Chance was there still, and he was less than surprised to see me
again, "Captain, hello again. Brutus." He nodded to the Guard and he
nodded back. I cleared my throat, "Uh, Chance, we need to find Sullivan.
You know where he is?"

Chance looked up at the ceiling, "Ooh, lemme see..."

A second passed.

Two. Three.

"Ah! I remember!" He grinned, feeling proud of his accomplishment,
"He’ll be at the gym now!"

We quickly left Chance and went to the gym. It was completely empty. Except
for Sullivan.

The short rat was doing sit-ups near the far corner of the gym. He seemed
obsessed with fitness now for some reason. It wasn’t helping with his
physique... Not much anyway. He looked quite similar to the loudmouthed coward
from the rosebush, but we knew that up in his head, a lot more was going on
than in previous years.

He saw us almost immediately and stood to greet us. He stuck out his paw for a
handshake. I looked at his paw with a light grin, "No offense, Sullivan,
but the last time I shook a paw, I almost lost mine."

He grinned as well, "Victoria? At the rosebush? Yeah. I rem.." He
stopped when the present caught up to him.

Victoria was taboo. Victoria was a criminal. Victoria was crazy now.

Sullivan retracted his paw and nodded to me and Brutus. Brutus crossed his
arms and grunted. Still not quite the social type.

Sullivan started looking nervous, "So, um, what brings you here?"

I crossed my arms as well, "I have some questions for you."

He nodded, "Before you start, I just want you to know that I had
nothing to do with Victoria and what she did."

I was silent. Brutus was being himself. That is to say, silent as well.

Sullivan forced a laugh, "Leon, you’ve got to believe me, I’ve been
trying to live a normal life ever since what happened. Ever since Moving Day.
You’ve got to believe me..."

I shrugged, "We’ll see. I hear you’ve been feeling guilty about what
happened to Rion. Why would someone with no connection to the crime feel
guilt?"

He looked away and shook his head, "Victoria was Jenner’s creation. He
molded her into a near perfect likeness of himself... She’s a lot like he used to
be. And now that I see her do these things, I realize just how crazy Jenner
himself was. And how I followed him to the end. It’s not guilt, Leon... It’s
foolishness."

I nodded slowly, "Understood. What about the swords?"

Sullivan grew visibly uncomfortable, "What... What swords?"

I shook my head, "You know what I’m talking about. I hear you’ve been
playing around with swords. Relearning old habits, Sullivan?"

He gasped, "No! Never! I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

I grit my teeth, "Sullivan, tell me."

The pudgy rat was silent, then shook his head, "I can’t..."

I cut him off, "Brutus?"

Brutus moved forward, not grabbing him, but merely advancing on him.
Sullivan yelped and started to retreat back. He quickly bumped into the wall,
"Leon! Stop him!"
I shrugged, "I don’t know how."

Brutus was about a foot from Sullivan when he finally cracked, "Okay,
okay! I’ve been getting some written threats from the followers about my
safety, I was learning the sword for my own defense! I didn’t report the
letters because there’s no way you can track them – Whoever wrote them did it
messily, disguised their handwriting or something - Leon, stop him!"

Brutus stopped on his own, moving back behind me. I nodded to Sullivan, who
was peeling himself off of the wall, "Thank you for telling us. If the
followers bother you again, let us know, okay?"

He nodded slowly, "Y... Okay."

Brutus and I turned and left the gym. Brutus went back to the Third Level,
and I decided to take a short break outside to get some fresh air.

I stopped as Brutus and I parted company. Sullivan’s interrogation didn’t
really turn much up. The followers had harrassed him, but not badly enough for
him to tell a Guard. Other than that, the guy was pretty clean. So much for
that lead.

I moaned. I was back in square one. Again. The fresh air would DEFINITELY
feel good right about now, I thought.

On my way out, I stopped into the Guardhouse to see who was on duty. As
usual, Isa and I were assigned to Victoria’s holding cell, along with Ash, who
monitored all of the going ons around there. Constelle was positioned on the
second floor and Brutus was signed up for construction all day.

I walked over to my chair and sat down, trying to decide if a walk was
really necessary. I mean, my chair was comfortable enough.

I sighed and shook my head, "I need to go look around the outdoor
portions of the community.." I said to myself, like I was some kind of
narrator, commanding where I needed to go next.

I stood up reluctantly and headed outside again.

This time, the fields were more pleasant. No snake this time, no sir. The
tall grass kept getting in my face at my slow pace, so I quickened it somewhat,
taking a couple of short turns every now and then. In my directional bliss, I
almost ran into a marshy pond. Actually, I DID run into a marshy pond, but not
completely. My feet were soaked, but I was otherwise unscathed. I looked around
to get a feel for the surroundings. This was new... Nobody had told me about this
place. I backed up onto completely dry land and sat down, looking around. The
swamp’s waters were quite low, practically hidden by the long grass. A small
clearing in and around the immediate area of the swamp made it easy to spot
trees a short distance away. The swamp was obviously a side-track of the main
river, but I couldn’t spot any water-runs. I stood up and paced around the
whole swamp, curiously looking for a little river where the swamp may have been
born from. There was nothing.

I paused and looked up at the sky. Perhaps it was just a swamp from
rainfall. That was an accurate enough guess. At the very moment I finished that
thought, I saw a flash of red over my eyes.

I started to feel dizzy and weak – The swamp began to spin around me like I
had vertigo, then I fell to the ground and all went dark.

When I awoke, I was in some kind of cave. The wall wasn’t cave-like, though.
It was smoothed to a mirror surface. I could see my reflection from about four
of five yards away. I looked around quickly, then tried to stand up. I was a
bit more than surprised to find that I couldn’t stand up. I wasn’t tied to my
seat (which, I deducted, was a seat coming up from the floor and made from the
same mirror-like rock), but I certainly couldn’t vacate it. I could turn in my
seat, but it seemed that whenever I thought about leaving the seat, I found myself
stuck on it.

There was nobody in the room. At least, that’s what I THOUGHT.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I screamed, "Who’s there!?" I
whipped around expecting a demon with flaming eyes to be right in my face.
Instead, I saw the smiling face of Jonathan Brisby.

He laughed a bit and then stepped back, revealing the slightly transparent
forms of Nicodemus, Daniel, and Alyssa, the first victim to Dragon’s appetite.
Jonathan’s smile faded into a serious gaze and he looked at Nicodemus before
speaking, "Leon... Um... Hello again."

I blinked, "...Uh hello to you, too..."
There was a long awkward pause. I was absolutely certain that I was
hallucinating or dreaming.

Jonathan gulped, "It’s been a long while. I haven’t seen you in
months..."

I nodded and considered what I’d do for fun in this little lucid dream of
mine, "Dying’ll do that to you."

Jonathan looked at the ground, "Yeah, I know..." He looked up at me,
"If I’d known about Jenner..." He stopped and got visibly upset. He
stepped back and Nicodemus came forward, "Leon, in case you did not
observe, Jenner is not with us."

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, but I’m not wondering about him right now. I’m
wondering about YOU, and everyone else."

Nicodemus smiled, "We’re dead, Leon. We now only exist in the deepest
recesses of the mind. As Jenner would say, a kind of "New
Dimension."’

I nodded slowly. I DID remember Victoria saying something about that.
"So, when you die, you go this new dimension? Is that what you’re
saying?"

Nicodemus shook his head, "No, Leon, no... This dimension is like a... Ooh,
what can I relate it to..." He looked around, looking for inspiration.
Daniel stepped forward, "It’s like we’re using a bullhorn, but only
certain people can hear it."

Hearing Daniel’s voice brought a tear to my eye, but I was still sure I was
hallucinating or dreaming. I sighed and played along, "And I’m one of
those people?"

They all nodded, "Not just you, though. A few others. Most of them need
the stone to channel the energy, though." Jonathan said.

Nicodemus cleared his throat, "Jenner, as I said, is not with us. His
presence is... Less than savory. His appearance in this Dimension is not one of
character, but one of force. Yes, he is more of a force now than a rat."

I frowned and looked around, "Where is he now?"

Alyssa stepped near me, "He is communicating with Victoria. He tells
her things. Horrible things, about what he’ll do to everyone when he comes
back."

I moaned, "But he CAN’T come back!"

Jonathan nodded, "That’s right, he can’t. Not by himself."

They all nodded. Jonathan continued, "Jenner is actually quite weak
right now. His skill of speaking threateningly to those who are weak-minded or
fearful is still with him. Why, even Rion heard him speaking. That’s the gruff
voice you’re looking for." Nicodemus smiled.

I chewed the inside of my mouth, surprised I was taking this so well.
Perhaps it was because I KNEW I was dreaming. Or, at least I THOUGHT I knew,
"So why am I here?"

They were silent, then Nicodemus came forward, closer to me than before.
Seeing his face up close again reminded me of all those meetings I’d had with
him at the rosebush. It was a surreal instant when I realized with a jolt that
he had been dead for a few months.

The aged rat’s eyes (glowing even in death, which I found as odd) were
leveled at my own, and he began to speak, "Leon, there is something that I
have been meaning to give to you."

I shrugged, "Okay..."

He produced a small hunk of rock from the folds of his robes. It looked
familiar. Suddenly, it hit me, "Nicodemus... That looks like a piece of the
stone that the Great Owl gave you."

He nodded, "Yes, my boy, it is. This piece was the one I first held in
my paws – The piece that awakened my powers."

I shook my head slowly, "You just... Had your powers when you held
it?"

Nicodemus looked at the dull rock, "Not exactly. It was almost as if my
powers went into it, and came out more powerful. Like it is some kind of
conductor."

I was pretty sure that I knew where this was going, "Ah, I see. So this
is like the raw stone before it was cut into the amulet, and that’s why it’s so
powerful?"

Nicodemus smiled, "Something like that, yes. I believe that if you held
it your powers would be released as well."

I chuckled, "Wouldn’t I need the stone to use them? And wouldn’t it
make me older?"

The old rat laughed a little, "No, your powers have manifested
themselves on their own over time without any kind of conductor. If you held
this, I believe that your mitochondria’s energy would be under your full
control."

I raised a brow, "Full control?"

He nodded.

Jonathan rolled his eyes "Nicodemus, you make it sound so
surreal." He looked at me "You won’t need the stone, Leon, and you
won’t get old like our friend, Nicodemus here, either."

I shrugged, "If you and Nicodemus are right, then I’ll just end up a regular
David Copperfield, won’t I? Minus the aging, of course."

Nicodemus grinned at me "You don’t think any of this is real, do
you?"

I nodded and chuckled "I KNOW it’s not real. You’re all dead."

Jonathan laughed first, then the rest followed. I had a frown on the whole
time. Daniel looked at me closely "After you wake up from this dream,
you’ll have powers you’ve only dreamed of. You’ll need to use them for a
greater good."

Nicodemus nodded "Yes, a greater good. There are many things you need
to do in this life, Leon. However, the one thing you need to worry about right
now is protecting Justin’s son."

I rolled my eyes "All this mumbo-jumbo about Justin’s son and the
unrests... What’s he do that’s so important!"

Another long pause. For such a theoretically huge moment in my life, you’d
think more talking would have been going on.

Jonathan scratched his head and looked up at Nicodemus, Daniel and Alyssa,
"I’ll tell him." He said.

They all nodded and Jonathan stepped forward. Funny, I’m sure they wouldn’t
have been so agreeing in real life. Jonathan slowly bobbed his head, as if he
was thinking of what to say. After a moment, he started, "Jenner... as
Victoria.... is amassing a small group of sympathizers to Jenner’s cause. You
won’t know them, but they’ll be around. They’ll try to kill anybody who could
stop Victoria."

I shrugged matter-of-factly, "Why don’t I just keep Victoria locked up
forever?"
Jonathan grinned "Besides the fact that it’s too EASY is the fact that
you’ve got no proof, and as of right now she is completely innocent."

I frowned, "Innocent? She sliced up Rion! Almost killed him!"

Daniel nodded and responded, "But while Jenner had taken control!
Victoria’s not to blame! It’s Jenner! He’s trying to destroy everything!"

I shook my head, "Would you mind explaining why he’s so evil?
Nicodemus, you know him from the rosebush... Jonathan, you went on expeditions
together at the mansion... Surely you know what happened to him!?"

There was another long pause. Finally, Nicodemus spoke in a slow, calm,
quiet voice, "At NIMH, Jenner’s mitochondria were partially awakened,
along with all of ours, correct?"

I nodded. He continued, "As you found out, Leon, the mitochondria are
actually living organisms that can choose how their hosts behave. Almost all of
the partially awakened mitochondria in the rats decided to keep their hosts
alive and well by not making them hostile to one another. Jenner’s mitochondria
were part of another experiment. While MY mitochondria were fully awakened over
time, Jenner’s fully malfunctioned over time."

I nodded in half-comprehension.

Nicodemus continued to elaborate, "By the time my mitochondria had
fully woken, Jenner’s had lost all sense of morality. They began to crave
animal-like reinforcements, like food and power. Remember how many of Jenner’s
arguments against the Plan were based on grain or food shortage?"

I nodded, this time I understood completely, "So," I started,
"you’re saying that Jenner’s mitochondria were altered and tampered with
so that they would... go insane?"

Nicodemus nodded, "And Jenner knew this. That is why he hated the
humans so much. Especially NIMH. He knew his time was running out, and when he
latched onto the Inetris and Stark theory, he thought he could get back at
NIMH."

I blinked in confusion, "But Jenner told me he wasn’t going after NIMH.
He said he wanted to go after the Balance."

Nicodemus nodded, "True, true. He wasn’t lying to you, Leon. He was
going to go try and destroy the Balance. Jenner wanted to destroy the Balance,
become all powerful, and make the NIMH scientists, like Schultz, suffer for all
eternity."

I gulped, "Sick bastard. I may fantasize about killing Schultz, but I
don’t think I’d have the guts to go against a force that can be compared to
God." I raised a brow, "So, was Jenner right about the Balance, Stark
and Inetris? It seems too strange to be true..."

Jonathan smiled, shook his head and sighed, "There was never an Inetris
or a Stark. As sad as it sounds, we’re just lab rats and mice with a gift to
end all gifts. The mitochondria are Earth-bound, as strange as that may be for
you to fathom."

I shrugged, "Not really... I kinda doubted the whole thing anyway. I
guess it WOULD have been kinda neat to know that a whole world of people like
you existed. It helps put a damper on the loneliness."

Daniel smiled, "You’ve gotten along just fine without us, Leon. You’ve
got Justin, Isa, all the Guards look up to you! Loneliness may have been an
issue at Boniface, but not here."

I nodded slowly. Another long pause. Where had this whole thing started?

I looked up slowly, "Does Jenner know about Stark and Inetris being
fake?"

Alyssa sighed, "Yes. But you know Jenner... He’ll keep at it even if it
IS futile."

Daniel nodded, "He is a dangerous one. He shouldn’t be able to bother
you in his present state, but Victoria can be dangerous when Jenner assumes her
form."

I frowned, "Assumes her form?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "All right, all right, he possesses her. There,
I said it. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but it’s the truth. Victoria really
wouldn’t do anything bad. At least, I don’t THINK she would..." he looked at
Nicodemus, "Would she?"
Nicodemus nodded, "Of course she would. Victoria is a bad seed. She will
flower into a thorn bush that you can prick yourself on. You must be
careful."

I nodded again. Nicodemus held up a paw and pointed behind me, "Now you
must go back."

I looked at all of them, the dream concept slipping away ever-so-quickly. A
question popped into my head, the one I’d forgotten to ask before the
conversation turned all Jenner, "Justin’s son! How does Justin’s son fit
into this?"

Jonathan looked down at the floor, "He’s already been conceived. While
we were talking. Just wait a bit and he’ll be born. Remember to watch him
closely. He grows up into a great person. He’ll save the valley. He’ll have a
great gift, similar to yours. That’s why you need to teach him, Leon. Justin
may be his father, but Justin’s knowledge stops where yours continues. We will
be paying Justin a visit in due time." He stopped and got noticeably
tense, "Watch him, Leon. And... my wife... My... wife and kids..." He
suddenly burst into tears and fell to his knees. I considered going to help
him, but Nicodemus, Daniel, and Alyssa were already there. Jonathan calmed down
after a minute or two. Dream or not, I felt horrible knowing that Jonathan
never told his wife his secret of NIMH. Jonathan sniffled a little and then he
continued, "Timothy will be his friend, remember? And my wife will be a
great asset to the Valley. Martin, Teresa and Cynthia will do their parts,
too." He smiled, "Don’t let me down, Leon."

I nodded, "I won’t. But why would she want to come to Thorn Valley?
She’s already got a home."

Jonathan sighed and gazed off into space, "She’s lonely. I can feel it
all the time. She won’t grow old, you know. Something about my DNA inside her
from the kids... All that worrying for nothing, eh?" He gave me a weak smile
and continued, "Elizabeth has nothing but the kids. She wants more to life
than that. After seeing all of you, she knows she can be more than just an
average mouse. You know?"
I shrugged, "I guess. We’ll be ready to greet her when she comes."

Jonathan nodded, "Thata boy."

Nicodemus smiled at me, then, "Goodbye, Leon. And good luck."

Alyssa smiled, "Yes, good luck."

Daniel stepped forward, up close to me, "Good luck, brother." He
embraced me and I could help but cry a little. After a moment of silence, I
looked him in the eyes, "I didn’t want to kill you... I still try to think
about ways I could have avoided it..."

Daniel shed a tear, "No, Leon... I forgot to thank you. Living the way I
was... It was maddening. Always craving revenge, thirsting for blood. I camped
out under a convenience store one night when I was following you to the
rosebush, and some big ordinary rats attacked me.. I KILLED them all! I didn’t
leave a single one alive... And I didn’t even think about it. I just said
"Unwanted Visitors..." and I went through with it. I was a machine,
Leon... You freed me. Thank you." He didn’t hug me again, but instead he
returned to the others. They all smiled at me, "Good luck, Leon."

And I felt a warmness and I saw a flash of red...

And I woke up back in the swamp. It must have been around 7 or 8 at night,
considering that it was beginning to get dark.

I wondered idly if Isa had had any success with Victoria? I stumbled onto my
feet and looked around. Being stuck out at night in a strange place isn’t a
very good situation to be in. Especially for a rodent.

I took several whiffs of the air to see if there were any predators about.
From what I could smell, nothing had come this way for hours. One of the things
I was keeping a look out for were owls. I sighed when I didn’t smell any. That
usually means they’re up in a tree, watching you, ready to dive down and...

I grimaced. The thought of those claws and that beak gave me the chills. I
considered just sleeping near the swamp, but if I rolled over, I’d drown. Not a
good choice. Staying awake all night wasn’t too good an idea, either. If I’d
just had a hallucination, there might be more of them to come. I paused and
tried to think about what had just happened...

Was it all a hallucination? It was so vivid, and I was pretty much an active
participant in it, so it must have been a lucid dream of some sort.

I rubbed my eyes. I was getting pretty tired. The tall grass was a little
stamped from where I’d come in, so I decided to try and guess my way back to
the colony. If I came out of the tall grass and the colony wasn’t there, I’d
just go back another way. Owls were probably out hunting, so I’d need to be
extra careful. No cats. Thank goodness.

I walked for about five or six minutes before sleep really started taking
footholds. I moaned, "C’mon..." I said to myself, "I just passed
out for a couple of hours and now you want MORE sleep?" I shook my head,
"I should go find some caffeine so I can stay up a whole night just to
tick you off!"

At that point, I stumbled into a clearing, the main entrance only a couple
of yards away. Brutus was on night duty tonight and he was more than surprised
to find me coming in so late. He threw up his poleaxe in an attack position and
growled at me. When the only thing he got was a tired grin from me, he began to
relax, "Leon! What’re yous doin’ out dere ‘dis late!??"

I sighed and stumbled past him, "I... Fell asleep outside."

Brutus gaped in confusion, "Excuse me? Am I’s ta believe ‘dat ‘da
Captain can’t control when he falls asleep and whens he don’t?"

I blinked and took a moment to translate the banter, "You only need to
believe it tonight. It won’t happen again, I’m sure of it. It’s a one time
thing."

Brutus nodded, "Gotcha. Well, g’night Cap."

I nodded and did a halfhearted salute, "G’night Brutus. Remember to get
some sleep when you’re done with your shift."

Brutus nodded and went back on alert.

I stumbled into my room and fell into bed, not caring about undressing or
even waking up Tallor. It had been a strange day. And as I was to find out, the
days were only going to get stranger.

Day – May 26

What a strange (what’d I tell you?) morning. Allow me to
extrapolate.

When I woke up this morning, I found a note on my
bedside table from Tallor, who wasn’t in the room, I noticed. It read:

"Leon,

What the hell happened last night? I tried finding you to show you some
stuff I’ve been working on, but what did I hear? "Oh, Leon? He went for a
walk." A WALK? You of all people had to go on a walk, all day for that
matter!! I kept thinking you’d get eaten or die some other horrible death before
I got to show you what I did with some of the spare metal. In any case, you’re
here now. Well, you’re still conked out, of course. Don’t know what got into
you. Well, talk to you soon. Remember to drop by the tech area before you do
anything!

Tallor

I crumpled up the letter and moaned, "Yeah, good morning to you, too,
Tallor."

Suddenly I felt something weird down by my waist inside my belt on my left
side. I squirmed a bit and felt something small and hard wedged between my
tunic and the belt.

I reached in and pulled out a small hunk of rock that I’d swear wasn’t there
the night before.

I stared at it for a minute, then remembered from the night before...
Nicodemus gave me a rock...

I couldn’t remember what the rock had looked like the night before, but this
thing I held in my paw looked pretty familiar. I shook my head slowly, "A
dream... It must have been." I put the rock in my drawer, a slight tingling
sensation jolting my paw as I let it drop into the drawer. I shook it off and
sat down on the edge of the bed.

The time slowly slipped by as I just sat on the edge of my bed, trying to
think things through about the night before. Jonathan, Daniel, Nicodemus, and
Alyssa. They were all there... They said something about my powers being fully
unlocked...

I grinned, "Well, no better time than the present." I held up a
paw and aimed my claws at my journal, which was only a foot away. I smiled and
jokingly said, "Come to me, my little journal... You will come to me!"

And the journal proceeded to follow my paw movements. I gasped in shock when
I saw the journal slide left and right in accordance to where my paw was
moving. I fell (in surprise and shock) back over the bed, landing between the
frame and the wall. I lay there for several minutes, "What... just...
happened??" I asked myself over and over again...

I peeked over the edge of the bed. The journal was still on the desk, but it
was where it had been after I fell off the bed. It had really moved.

I slowly got up and walked around the bed, stopping in front of the table. I
held my paws out in front of my face. What powers were inside of them?

I held my paw out in front of me and scooped it up, like I was conducting an
orchestra to ready their instruments. The journal lifted up about a half a foot
into the air and hovered there, shaking about as much as I was. I clenched my
paw and the journal dropped back onto the table. I looked at it curiously for a
moment, then I picked it up and skimmed through the pages. Ehh, Thorn Valley
Day 1, Isa, Captain of the Guards, Brutus, Constelle, Justin’s sofa, Victoria...
It was all normal. No trick here.

I frowned and tried lifting it up again with my paw. Not my physical paw,
the apparently MYSTICAL paw of the mind. The... super-paw or whatever it was. I
didn’t even have a name for it. I moaned. I sounded like an idiot.

When I moved my paw upward, the book hovered into the air in due accordance
with my paw. I shook my head, "Impossible..."

I clenched my paw and the book dropped.

Justin needed to hear about this, I concluded.

I went to Justin’s apartment, but nobody answered my knock. Maybe Justin was
asleep? I knocked louder. Nothing.

I sighed and reluctantly tried the handle. The door didn’t open and was
apparently locked from the other side. Justin did bolt his door regularly, but
he couldn’t bolt the door if he wasn’t in his apartment. I knocked loudly
again. This time I heard some papers falling from inside the apartment.
"Justin!?" I shouted, "Justin, I know you’re awake! C’mon, open
the door!"

Nothing.

"Justin?" I leaned my ear against the door and listened,
"Justin, are you in there?"

Still nothing. Suddenly my memory blared over my retinas, the memory of
Jonathan and Nicodemus looking deep into my eyes, telling me about Jenner
sympathizers... About a group that would break off and form another colony inside
our own, one that lives and breathes revenge.

And Justin wasn’t answering his door.

I grimaced and stepped back, probably in a state of half-delirium,
"Don’t worry, Justin!"

I leaned back and kicked the door as hard as I could. The catch in the door
flew across the room, the bolt unaffected, since it was still in its cradle. I
unfortunately didn’t catch that. The door swung open and rebounded off the
wall. I caught it in time before it hit me in the nose. I looked quickly around
the room, "Justin? Justin are you in here?"

Nobody. The room was completely empty.

Then from behind me, outside the apartment from the hallway, I heard a
familiar voice, "Leon!?? What are you doing!?"

I turned around and saw a very mad Justin standing in the doorway,
"Leon, WHAT’S GOING ON!?"

I looked around again quickly. The window was wide open. The breeze had
knocked over the papers that I heard. It was here when I saw that the bolt
hadn’t been drawn. The door catch had apparently gotten stuck. Oops.

I had goofed up, big time.

I had to say SOMETHING... I searched for an excuse. ANY excuse.

"I, uh... fixed your door." Justin glared at me. I cleared my
throat, "It was sticking."

Justin was seething, "Fixed!? You destroyed it! What would make you
think that I was in so much trouble that you had to kick the door down??"

I gulped, "I heard that Victoria is amassing a group of Jenner
sympathizers..."

Justin glowered, "And from WHOM did you hear THAT? Certainly not
Victoria."

I shrugged, "An insider, let’s say. Nobody dangerous. Some people just...
Want to help."

Justin crossed his arms. His glare was back, "Who?"

I sighed and held up my paws, "I... don’t think... Not now, Justin... Please?
Just trust me?"

Justin’s glare slowly disappeared and he began to soften noticeably,
"Okay... I trust you. As long as you’re on the right track in getting this
whole mess figured out." He looked down at the latch that had flown across
the room when I kicked the door, "Did the door jam on you, and you thought
it was locked?"

I nodded slowly, "I... guess so."

Justin shook his head and went to go pick up the latch, "In the future,
Leo, if the door sticks, ask a carpenter to fix it. You may be good at some
things, Leo, but I don’t think I’d want you to fix the window if it got
stuck." He grinned. Was he insinuating I’d break his windows? He’s gotten
a little rusty at the comedy lately.

I nodded and grinned to show that I understood his "joke," though
I really didn’t, "Yeah... Sorry about that. Really. I’ll help fix it."

Justin nodded, "I know that, Leon. Even if you didn’t want to help,
you’d have to."

I shrugged, "Then it all works out. Now, about the problem..."

Justin nodded, "Oh, right. Sorry that I wasn’t around to receive that
report."

I was about to ask, "What report?", then I suddenly remembered, I should
have filed a report. I figured I should play along, "Uh, why’s that,
Justin?"

His eyes kinda trailed away and his mouth curled into a grin, "I was...
busy last night. DISCUSSING Sullivan’s character with Kat."

I almost gasped audibly, "Oh... I see. I hope you didn’t get carried
away..."

Justin shot me a horrible, horrible look, "What do you mean?"

I shied away from my true motives, "I mean, I hope you didn’t force any
questions on her..."

Justin sighed in relief, nodded, and then gave me a small grin, "Well...
Maybe one."

I nodded immediately in return, "Oh."

Then it hit me suddenly. My eyes widen a bit, "OH!"

Justin laughed and put his paw over my mouth, "No telling. Now, you
were talking about something that’s going to ruin my perfect morning? Something
about Jenner sympathizers?"

I looked away, "Uh, actually... Yeah. Sorry."

Justin sighed, "Okay. Forgive me if I’m not entirely clued in. I’m
still a little tired, you see. I had a long night last night."

I nodded, "You and me both."

Justin held up his paws in a defensive gesture, like he’d been forced to
apologize for one of his pranks back at the rosebush, "No, no, I don’t
think your night can compare to mine." He smiled.

I shook my head, "Wanna bet?"

He grinned, "Sure. You’ll have to go first, though."

I nodded and looked over at Justin’s bed. I held out a paw and scooped
upwards like I had with the journal. Justin’s pillow raised itself into the
air. I moved my paw and the pillow quickly shot towards Justin and smacked him
in the face.

He grabbed the pillow and yanked it out in front of him, his face twisted
into a look of fear and astonishment. He was staring at the pillow in his paws.
The look most likely mirrored his first realization that Nicodemus could move
things with his mind. I suppose in the big picture I shouldn’t have shown him
my powers yet – he was just getting over Nicodemus and that night at the
rosebush.

"L... Leon!" He slowly managed to break his gaze from the pillow
and his eyes immediately fixated on me, "Leon! Did you just..." He nodded
at the pillow, "Did you..?"
I nodded, "Yes. I did."

Justin wouldn’t break his gaze with me, probably fearing that I’d disappear
if he moved his eyes around, "But... How..?"
I looked out the window, "I’m... Not exactly sure... Something to do with what
I saw last night."

Justin was still in a semi-shock state, "Wha-? What happened last
night?"

I swallowed, "Uhm... It... Uh..." I frowned and muttered, "Cripes...
Some people came and told me that my powers were..." I fumbled around for
the right word, "... they were ‘unlocked’, okay?"

Justin raised a brow, forcing a small half grin, "Leon... Just tell me
what happened. Please."

I was silent. How would I say this? Justin was frozen in his spot, waiting
for me to make a decision. "All right," I started, "Justin, you
may want to sit down for this..."

The story didn’t take too long to tell. Justin took it surprisingly well.
Perhaps too well, as I feared that when I finished he’d take me for a nice long
walk to Jack’s infirmary where I’d go through all sorts of psychological tests
to see if I was sane. When I finished, I waited until Justin had noticeably
ingested all of the information. He looked up at me after a moment of silence,
a serious gaze on his muzzle, "Leon... Back at the rosebush I probably
wouldn’t have believed a word you just said... But I must confess... Your words are
a little frightening to me because they must be true."

I tilted my head, "Why’s that?"
He looked down at the floor and slowly kicked at the air with one of his feet,
like a child, "Well... You know... Kat and me..."

I nodded and held up a paw, "You don’t need to go any further. That’s
none of my business. All I’m interested in is this group of sympathizers that
Nicodemus spoke of."

Justin wasn’t paying attention though. He looked off into space, "It’s
going to be a boy, they said?"

I nodded, "Yeah."
He gave a half grin to whatever he was looking at, "I forgot about what
Nicodemus said at the rosebush. I guess I kinda forced it out of my head."

He looked up at me with a mellow expression, "If Nicodemus could
predict all this, why the hell couldn’t he have predicted his own death?"

I was silent. I was the one who had predicted his death, when I first looked
into his spinning mirror. Nobody believed me. I felt sick on the inside for a
moment. I thought it might have been my fault.

I merely shrugged in response, "I... don’t know."

Justin shook his head, "Yeah... Neither do I. It’s strange... Knowing that
this morning was destined to happen all those months ago... Nicodemus knew we’d
be standing here..."

I sighed, "I suppose he did."

Justin was silent for a moment again. I waited. After a few minutes, he
looked back up at me, "I feel so strange... No matter what I did, this
morning was destined to happen."

I shook my head, "No... You could’ve lost to Jenner at the
rosebush."

Justin grimaced and shut his eyes. I finished, "You’d be dead. And
everyone else along with you. Jenner would have kept us there. I’d certainly be
dead. Still buried in that rubble pile."

Justin smiled a bit. The compliments were putting him into a better mood,
"Thanks."

I nodded, "Yeah. You need some time?"
He looked at me and ran a paw over his head, "Just a little bit if you
don’t mind. This is... A lot of info... Should I tell Kat?"
I mused, "Well... Maybe not. She doesn’t strike me as the type who would
believe that."
He shrugged, "She’s very resilient..."

I laughed, "You’d need to be as resiliant as a rubber band to take this
kind of news in stride! I mean, just TRY to imagine that you’re her. You are
told that you’re pregnant, and that the ghosts of Nicodemus, Jonathan Brisby,
Alyssa, and my brother insist that the child will be the savior of us all! I
don’t know about you, but I’d be pretty freaked out."

Justin nodded and grinned at my word choice, "Yeah... I guess you’re
right..."

I stood up from the chair I’d been sitting in since I told Justin about the
night before, "I’m going to meet up with Tallor. He had some stuff he
wanted to show me."

Justin grimaced, "Ooh, not the art..."
I raised a brow, "Huh?"

Justin held up a paw, his mind momentarily off his emotional burden,
"His art. He’s using the spare metals to make art sculptures. They look
AWFUL. Try talking some sense into him, okay?"
I nodded, "Sure. I’m not a big fan of sculpture, anyway." I made my
move for the door. I stopped in the doorway and turned, "You need anything,
I’ll be with Tallor."
He nodded and spread out on the sofa, about as deep in thought as he was deep
in the cushions, "Thanks."

I walked over to the tech room in about two minutes flat. I must have passed
three rats on my way there. Not a very busy day I figured.

When I entered the room, Tallor was hunched over a large table, big sparks
coming from in front of him. (Either he was welding something together, or we
were dealing with some very sub-code wiring. Not that we have codes, but safety
first, right? Right? C’mon, agree with me!)

He stood up and turned to face me. He must’ve seen my reflection in the huge
array of metals that consumed the desktop. He stood to the side and pointed to
a sculpture on the desk, "Well, Leon... What do you think?"

I frowned and took a step towards the thing on the table, "Aren’t you
not supposed to think when you look at art?"

Tallor rolled his eyes, "Well, yeah, but WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

The thing on the desk resembled a dog of some kind. It had a cylindrical
body and four sticks that might have been legs. The head was a funnel, and two
pieces of cloth suggested ears. It was... How do you say... Tasteless.

I merely shrugged, "It looks like a... dog or something."

Tallor smiled and nodded, "Yeah, that’s right! It’s a dog, but I
couldn’t find anything for a head. I used a funnel.

I laughed and jibed, "Hey, I had a dog with a funnel for a head when I
was a kid!"

Tallor cleared his throat loudly, "Hey, I don’t need to go for realism.
Art is art."

I raised a brow, "And... WHY did you feel compelled to make this...
thing?"

He shrugged, "I can’t really explain it. It was an inspiration. I HAD
to do this, I just thought it and I had to make it real."

I nodded slowly, "Ah... I see. So... When you get inspiration... You make
this?"

He chuckled, "I don’t spend my free time holed up in a room making
things that have no purpose." He reached over and picked up one of his
newer crossbow prototypes and handed it to me, "When I’m not making puppy
dogs with funnel heads, I’m working on keeping us well protected." He
pointed to a large jut in the crossbow’s design, "That’s where the extra
bolts are. They’re spring loaded on a nitch-based clip. The clip takes about 15
seconds to reload, and the clip can hold a maximum of 5 bolts. The trade-off in
the prolonged time it takes to reload and the small clip size comes with
accuracy. The sights on the top are accurate to about 25 feet. It took me a lot
of field work to get them perfect on every model. Each one has different specs.
I can’t mass produce them."

I held the crossbow in my paws and aimed it at the dog sculpture on the
table, "What did you mean when you said it had a ‘niche-based’ clip?"
Tallor produced an empty crossbow clip and gave it to me. He stuck his finger
inside the bolt slit at the top, "Run a finger along the edge and tell me
what you feel."

I nodded and did so. The inside had little pieces of thin wood coming out of
the sides, spring loaded. I looked up at Tallor quizzically, "How are you
supposed to get the bolts in, then?" He grinned and held up a spare bolt,
"Watch."

He took the clip and stuck the thin piece of wood in the side of the clip.
There were little slits in the side that I hadn’t even seen before. "The
ammo goes in any of these slits," he said, "and they go up one slit
every time you pull back on these strings here." He proceeded to pull back
the strings and I could hear the bolt click one slit up in the clip. Tallor ran
a paw along the strings, "It’s like a rat’s revolver. A little less sightly
and it won’t pick up beautiful women, but it’s going to work. It’ll replace the
swords for the scouts and watchmen. And a few of these to go around as...
emergency options should be feasible, too. In other words, this is the real
deal."

I frowned, "Jenner’s true vision, in other words?"
Tallor gulped and he put a paw to his chest, "Leon, that hurts. Forget
Jenner, he may have had the idea and meant it to be used for evil, but we can
use his design for our own benefit! There’s really nothing that can go
wrong."

I nodded, "Right. Famous last words. How easy is it to learn to fire
this thing?"

Tallor pointed to a hole-filled targeting board in the far corner of the
room, "Try it yourself."

I gave the crossbow a quick once-over and quickly realized that the only
bolt in the clip was still a click away from getting into firing position in
front of the strings. I pulled back on the strings and it popped into place.
Cool.

The strings were tight, the bolt was in place, and my finger was over the
trigger. I looked over at the board and held up the crossbow, looking through
the sights. I leveled it, and fired. By the time I pulled my eyes away from the
sight to see what had happened, the bolt had buried itself at the dead center
of the bullseye target.

Tallor smirked, "See? A baby could use it."
I frowned and gave the crossbow back to him, "But they won’t. I think you
should make it a little harder to use, so that only with training someone can
use it, like a Guard or a trusted adult."

Tallor’s eyes widened, "What!? You want me to mess up my
picture-perfect sights? I spent so mu-"

I cut him off, "Tallor, something’s going to happen here in Thorn
Valley very soon. Something bad. I’m not playing devil’s advocate, but having
deadly marksman weapons lying around that require no training to use is
dangerous. If a kid ever got one..."

Tallor moaned, "Yes, SIR." The SIR rolled off his tongue about as
easy as a bowling ball. He sullenly put the crossbow down on the table and
picked up his dog sculpture, "You don’t like my crossbow or my dog. I just
can’t get it right today, can I?"
I grinned with half of my mouth, "It’s not your fault. I just don’t like
sculpture too much. It’s too blunt."

"I know you don’t like it, I know you hate sculpture." Tallor
said, "Would you prefer to see this metal go to waste? I could trash this
fine piece of art right now."

I couldn’t help but grin, "You could try to kill it, but I don’t think
it would die."

Tallor shook his head and lifted up the dog sculpture, "Like all bad
artwork?"

I shrugged, "Like all artwork, period."

Tallor raised an eyebrow, "You don’t like any form of artwork?"

I held up a paw, "I didn’t say that. I said art doesn’t die."

He nodded and shrugged, "It’s certainly better than writing. A picture
is worth a thousand words."

He’d gone a bit too far. Writing was one of my life’s little perks,
"You ever try reading a picture to someone?"

I had him there. He gave me a long pause for a response and then said
quietly, "...No."

I threw up my paws, "Well, there we go. Writing is more universal than
art."

Tallor sighed and put the dog back on the table, "Art is a form of
expression. Some people don’t get it like others do. I have to say that I don’t
fully agree with you..."

I laughed and patted Tallor on the back, "Hey, what’re friends for,
eh?"

He laughed, too, "Hey, were you joking the whole time?"

I shrugged, "Eeeh, I wouldn’t go that far. Your dog is pretty bad, I
hate to say."

Tallor shrugged, "I’m making it from scraps. It’s not going to be a
Kandinsky or anything."

I nodded. Kandinsky was an artist who painted on both sides of a canvas.
Chaos on one side, control on the other. Impossible for them to live in
harmony. I sighed, "Two colonies.. One thrives on chaos... One thrives on
control..."

Tallor grunted, "You feeling okay?"

I nodded, "It’s been a hectic morning."

Tallor nodded, "Gotcha."

Speaking of which, I’ve got the rest of the day ahead of me. Time to get
moving.

Day – June 1

Well, the time’s come. This is the last page of my journal. Now
I’m really stuck in a rut. I can’t steal another book, so I’m not exactly sure
how I’m going to continue writing. I’ll think of something, though. It will
take some time, I’m sure.

It’s hard to believe how long this journal lasted. It survived the move from
the rosebush, which is a feat that deserves more merit than I can give. Give to
a book, at least.

Perhaps it’s anticlimactic, but I’ve got a shift at the main
entrance in five minutes. I think that it's time to put this journal down and
get to work. Hey, maybe Justin’s got a spare book in that room full of papers?
Only time (and proper time to let him forgive me for kicking down his door)
will tell.

Until then!