Subject:  Okay, okay, here's the last part. :P |
Author:
Checkery
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Date Posted: 19:34:24 12/14/03 Sun
In reply to:
Jade
's message, "Ooh! Evil cliffie! **whacks cliffie with sword of Martin**" on 12:20:06 12/09/03 Tue
Part Four
The Redwallers had panicked when the dibbuns were found missing. Every beast of them serached the Abbey from top to bottom and found nothing, except for the mess in the dibbuns' dorms and the missing food. Abbess Ziara plunked wearily on the south wallsteps near noon that day with a sigh. It was obvious to her what had happened. They had gone to find Pit and Nalati. The good hedgehog was joined by a limping Quejack and a young mouse named Ember. "Mother Abbess, I think we searched just about everywhere. There's only one place the little nippers could be..." Ember was very worried. She had two younger sisters among the missing dibbuns. "Should we make a search party? Round up everybeast who can go?" Ziara pursed her lips. "Yes, though the only decent tracker we have is Quejack here, and he injured. The others have gone off to find those dratted vermin."
Tears sprang to Ember's eyes. "What if something happens to them? What if they do catch up ...With that sword...? Those vermin were armed!" Ziara put an arm on Ember's shoulder, and the young mousemaid leaned her head on the Abbess's soft belly fur. "Hush, my child, all will be well. Those dibbuns have most likely merely gotten lost. The search party must have caught those foul vermin already, or perhaps found the dibbuns instead, and are heading back here as we speak. But in case they haven't, you and me and some others will go out and search. Does that sound good?" Ember sat up, sniffled, and nodded. "Yes. Shall I gather the beasts for the serach?"
Ziara nodded her spikey head. "Yes. I'll need those old Trung brothers, Ark, Marlo, and maybe Gavak as well." When the mousemaid had left, Quejack hauled himself up. "Arr, well, I s'pose I won't be of much use 'round here. I'd best get t'those ole kitchens; with Restwick out, I can finally snack in peace."
The small serach party was soon out on the lawns. As Ziara led them through the gatehouse, most of them grabbed some staves on the way. The hedgehog abbess and her Redwallers set out, alone, into the late noon day.
Scotch and his dibbuns were fired up. There was a general moment of confusion after the scuffle, and the dibbuns seperated into small groups to cry about their self-inflicted 'boo-boos'. Quetza set up an extra loud yell, crying shrilly. "Look, it's bleed! It's bleed!" Of course, the 'bleed' was only a slight scratch, and not even any real blood.
After they had calmed down, they started chattering excitadly. They had defeated the vermin! They had won the battle! The only ones who hadn't joined in were Tion and Dika, who sat apart from the rest and still pouted over their bumps and bruises. Soon, Scotch rounded them up. "We gotta go! They still got the sword! We hafta get it still. Foller me!" The dibbuns picked up their various weapons and charged after Scotch and Rally, who had joined him. Rally kept talking as they went. "We'll find 'em again, an' we gotta around them. Then we'll frow rocks at 'em and biff 'em up good afore attacking 'em an' getting the sword." Everybeast was excited now, even Dika and Tion, who kept forgetting that it was their parents they were fighting. Then, disaster struck.
Since the dibbuns were searching for the vermin, and the vermin for the dibbuns, it wasn't long before they ran into eachother. Rally saw the vermin first. His halted, causing Quetza to bump into him from behind. The little vole's face went pale. "Lotsa varmints! Dere!" Since Scotch and Rally were older than the others, they could realize the danger. But Quetza, Dika, Tion, and the rest all thought this was one big game, especially after having chased Nalati and Pit off earlier. With a yell, they charged Shove and his gang of vermin.
Nalati scooped up Tion by her belt and stepped away from the scuffle; Pit did the same. As the two yelled and struggled in their parent's grasps, Shove and his gang went at the dibbuns. It wasn't long before one little mole went down with a real cut howling and blubbering piteously, and the dibbuns realized that this was real. These vermin were really trying to hurt them! Scotch and Rally jumped into the fray, squeaking and shouting. "Run aways! Atreat! Atreat!" The dibbuns did so with all speed, and the vermin stumbled after them in the dark. Scotch and Rally were left behind, grappling with a weasle who had dropped his ax. They punched with their little fists, and kicked and bit and scratched at him. Then Rally hopped down and hefted the ax, found it too heavey to carry, then followed the retreating dibbuns. "Come on Scotch!"
Squirrelbabes shot up into trees. Molechildren buried themselves in the loam, hoping not to be discovered. The one or two leverets there dodged through the legs of the vermin, their eyes wide with fright, while the other dibbuns dodged and ran and fought as best they could, using the deepening dark to their advantage.
Tion was still struggling in her mother's hold. The little weasel bowed her head and bit Nalati's paws viciously, then darted away when she was dropped. Nalati howled in pain, sucking her paw. Dika copied his friend, and soon both weasel and fox adults were sucking and rubbing their paws. The vermin babes ran not away from the fighting, but towards it!
Quetza's fear-fed run had slowed to a weary hop-jog. The little shrewmaid was about to give up when first Tion and then Dika showed up. Dika pointed to a hole in a hollow tree nearby. "Looky, we go in dere! Come on!" Shove spotted the three of them in the night and grinned, weilding the sword. This was too much fun! He was having a fine old time, chasing dibbuns, tiring them out, then catching them and tying them up with their own little belts. The tall rat made for Quetza, but an angry Tion hopped in front of him, her paws curled to tight little fists. "You a big meaniebully! You go away!" Shove kicked her aside. "Yew stay outta me way, brat!" The weaslebabe flung herself on him, biting and scratching. Shove kicked her off again and raised the sword, snarling. "Yew liddle....We'll see what you think o' this!"
Nalati was actually the one who saved Tion. The weaslemother jumped for the sword, trying to stop its swing. "NO!" Whack! Nalati and Shove hit the ground amid a cloud of dust and leaves. Nalati was wounded, and quite angry about it. She grabbed the sword and started swinging wildly at Shove. "You idiot! Look what you've done to me!"
The commotion stirred up by the battle alerted some other beasts in Mossflower. The serach party that had set out that dawn had been following the trail of the dibbuns for some time now. When the dibbuns had complained, there had been that group who decided to return to Redwall on their own. They stumbled upon the seach party and told all. Restwick took charge. "Right, you dibbuns, stay t'gether behind that tree. I don't want you runnin' amuck all over the flippin' place." Now he directed the others. "Come on chaps, up'n'at 'em! Zither an' Twilla, rescue the little tied up chappies over there. Everybeast else, kill any vermin y'find and rescue those dibbuns! Ready chaps? Chaaaarge!"
It was over in a flash. No vermin had been left, save for Nalati, who lay bleeding near the slain rat Shove. The others were all killed quite swiftly. And Pit had gone. After Dika had escaped, the fox thought no more about the safety of anybeast except himself. He had hefted his sack of plunder and headed north through Mossflower, planning never to return again.
Mother Twilla had about seven dibbuns stuffed on her lap, and many more perched on her shoulders and head, all crying about booboos and hurts. The squirrels who had hid in the trees had mostly been unhurt, and they sat in silence with Zither. The other Redwallers set about rolling slain vermin into the loam, so they wouldn't upset the young ones further. Tion felt her way over to the still form of her mother, cocking her head curiously. "Mummy? What happended? You gonna wakeyup?" Restwick spotted her and picked her up. "You let your mum, er, sleep. Yes, rather, sleep. She'll be snoozin' a while now, then she'll have to go away. Er...oh dash it all...Just stay clear of all this flippin' mess, eh?"
Abbess Ziara and her search party were not about to give up, even though it was dark, and they had to return to the Abbey for torches and lanturns. Ember was beginning to get upset again, and Ziara called for a break. "If we don't find them before dark, we'll go back and gather some torches and lanturns. Don't start crying now, Ember, they've still got time. They may have merely strayed farther than we first thought." All sat silent a while, rubbing their footpaws and catching their breath. They'd been quite worn out, trekking willynilly all over the woods and shouting themselves hoarse trying to find the dibbuns.
Then, Ziara hopped to her footpaws, a strange look on her face. Marlo, an old squirrel, stared at her. "Mother Abbess? Are you all right? What is it?" The hedgehog abbess blinked, shaking her spikey head. "Zither....We have to return to Redwall." Ember gasped. "Oh, Abbess, please no! You said they still had time..." Ziara placed a paw on the mousemaid's shoulder. "Hush now, Ember, it's not that. Sometimes Zither and I can kind of, well, communicate with eachother. Strange, really, but I just had this feeling that we should go back, and he'll meet me there with news. I still remember, this happened a few times while we were dibbuns." She shook her head, a faint smile on her face. "I'd get that odd feeling that, say, I'd meet him at the pond, and he'd always be there, waiting for me, to sail boats or skim pebbles...."
Ember picked up her torch and ventured back through the woods. "Well, come on then! If you're to meet Zither there, we'd best get moving! Maybe they found the dibbuns!"
Sure enough, when the abbess and her search party arrived at the gate, Restwick was there to open it. He ushered them in quickly. "Well, thank the seasons you chaps are back! Would've had to send out another search partyhad y'been missin' a moment longer. Just to put y'minds at rest, we found the dibbuns, they're mostly alright, and we have Martin's sword back safe'n'sound now." Ember gave a cry of delight and dashed out to the Abbey building to reunite with her lost sister. The rest of them traveled to Great Hall at a more stately pace. Abbess Ziara was full of questions. "Well, what happened? Where were the dibbuns? Did they get into any trouble?" Restwick snorted. "Huh, trouble ain't the word for it, marm! The word is, er, well, somethin' worst than trouble, though a bit less'n catastrophe. Troubtrophe? Anyway, y'must get y'self inside an' hear the whole bally thing, beginnin' to end."
And the whole thing Ziara did hear, seated near the fire and eating a late meal in the company of Restwick, Quejack, Zither, Mother Twilla, and the gloomy Dika and Tion. After the searchers had assesed the situation, they'd gathered up the dibbuns and headed for home. Most of them were now in the infirmary, but half only because they excagerated their hurts and wanted special treatment. Dika and Tion hadn't said a word since the incident, and just sat through the whole tale, staring into the fire and poking at their food.
"Restwick and the rest were all for goin' out and searching for you, but I wanted to see if our old twin thing would still work. That's it flat out...except one of the dibbuns....erm...uh..." Mother Twilla grunted the word. "Died." Abbess Ziara's paw flew to her mouth. "Oh my word! Which one?" Restwick wiped away a tear. "That dear little scamp, Loopa. I'll not forget that, not ever!" Ziara gulped and sniffled. "I-I think we'd best get to bed." Twilla glanced at the vermin babes. "I'll stay down here with those two. Sleep by the fire, keep 'em company. I don't think they're feeling too great just about now." With a few nods, sniffles, and sighs, the Redwallers bedded down for the night. So much had happened through the past few days, and emotions had run high. Now, as quiet descended in Great Hall, the great sword caught the light of the fire and gleamed bright, and Martin's tapestry likeness smiling eternally serene upon the slumbering verminbabes.
From the Ritings of Scotch, Recorder of the DAIM, the Dibun Armee in Mosflowerr,
Abess Ziara called this the Sumer of the Derring Dibuns! Lots of stuff happened since that scary spring nite. Loopa the skwirl was buried in the orchard, under the pare tree she likked to clime so much. All us dibuns went 2 the funeral, and Restwik said a nice poem made up by himself. Me and Rally, leeders of DAIM, wisht her fun and games 4ever. We R reely sad abowt her dieing. Restwik was 2.
Tion and Dika werr sad 4 a wile. Tion was sad longer becuz her mommy dieed. But at the namDay feest, shee was happy agan. I no I was with all that good food.
Wen us dibuns werr sent to bed, we staid up and mad the DAIM. We R sapost to patrole Mosflowerr and fite badnes. Wen we cant do that, we patrole the lauwns of Redwall Abeyy. Me and Rally R the leeders. Quetza mad a nis pikcher of a fosk, a weesul, and a skwirl. That is R simbol; Qjack, hoo is better now, told me that. At furst I wunderd Y there was a fosk and a weesul on it, but Quetza sed that if Tion and Dika hadent com to Redwall, this wudd not hav hapend, and we wuddent hav mad the DAIM. I had 2 think abowt that 4 a wile, but now it makes sens. This wuddent hav hapend, if it wasent 4 those 2 dibuns.
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