Episode 79 - Rain, Rain, Go Away!

### Synopsis

The pets emerged from the Cave Not Travelled holding the crystals given to them by the water. They felt refreshed and stronger than before, and resolved to defeat the Prickled Pest Who Pursues before returning home. As they arrived in Aleton, they saw the streets had been destroyed, buildings were burnt or burning, and any animals lay unmoving or were running and screaming around the streets. They seemed relieved to see the pets as they raced towards the centre of the town. They shouted out to the wind about how much they appreciated it, then watched as strong breezes fanned the fires all around the town as though the air itself was angry with their words.

The continued running until they stood face to face with the Pest. Their golden armour had been polished to a mirror finish, except for a scuffed up inner leg piece, and a missing shoulder piece. It resembled much more closely the murals in the sanctums, with large spikes on its back as well as tiny wings and large horns. It stood in the town square, trying to smash through the large gates that protected the Duke’s mansion. Virgil insisted they should try to talk to the Pest, to make it see that this destruction would never get them the validation they desired. The others agreed it was worth a shot, and Mr Wiggles closed his eyes to concentrate on a spell. Large grey clouds began to obscure the sky as freezing water began to pour in torrents across the square, dousing all the flames in the area.

All of the spectral animals turned in unison towards the pets, followed by the Pest. The sleet from the storm clinched against his armour as he saw the pets in their new glory, adorned with the items left by the previous heroes and the glowing crystals given to them by the water. It gestured to a pile of dead animals to the side of the square and laughed over the sound of the storm.

*“Such heroes to allow people to be killed like this! Is it now time for our prophetic battle?”*

Mr Wiggles yelled back, *“Have you seen a rusty pile of junk walking around? He’s about yea high, he’s pretty full of himself, he’s very stinky?”*

The Pest seemed to deflate slightly. *“I had hoped that we would battle, instead of you standing far away and throwing insults at me.”*

Crowrigami shouted, *“Well come close to us then, and let do it!”*

Virgil asked, *“Just one quick question though, you do realise that fighting is isn’t going to get you what you want right?”*

*“One of the things I do badly desire is to eliminate you heroes and this prophecy!”*

*“You know if you eliminate us, then another you is going to be built, and then another generation of us is going to come here and stop it again. This isn’t going to end the prophecy!”*

*“As long as I live, no others will replace me, and as long as you die, no one will stop me!”*

“*One moment,”* said Crowrigami, *“if you want us to leave, we can go home by eliminating the threat, and if you stop attacking people then the threat is eliminated. We’ve won, we can return home and you can mind your own business and find something nice to do. Perhaps take up baking or rebuilding the towns you’ve destroyed.”*

*“But I wish to destroy towns, not rebuild towns or bake dumb breads.”* The Pest started walking closer to the pets.

Virgil looked at the Pest and pleaded, *“Look, this cycle of violence isn’t going to bring you peace. If you kill us, then a new group that take our spirits or– I don’t know what happened on this journey I’m going to be honest, but like our being is going to be sent to other animals, who are also going to be sent here and they’re going to fight you! Like there’s no end to this if you keep following the line of destruction.”*

Virgil felt something hit the side of his face, as one of the animal spirits threw a lettuce at him. He picked up a tomato and threw it back. The rest of the spirits began to move towards the pets.

Mr Wiggles threw an *Ice Knife* towards two of the spirits, it hit one of them in the side before exploding into shards of ice that hit them both. Virgil’s quills started shimmering with an unknowable light that washed over the spirits and the Pest. For a brief moment, they all stopped in their tracks, charmed by Virgil’s power, then the wind blew stronger throughout the square and they started to move again.

The Pest glared at Virgil. *“Don’t think you can use simple mind tricks on me!”*

Virgil looked up at the sky and shouted out, *“You heard what I said to your creation, this isn’t going to give you the respect and validity the other elements get! This is only going to make them fear you, and you don’t want that! You want to be appreciated and loved by the people of this world, so why try and destroy it? Why keep this cycle going when all you want is to be cared and loved?”*

The wind around them slowed to a gentle breeze. Crowrigami flapped his wings and three duplicate images of himself appeared around him. Ida pulled a piece of stuffing from inside her and flung it towards the Pest, who was still advancing towards them. It stuck to the inside of their leg, but couldn’t get a good enough grip on the other side to stop the Pest from moving. She then climbed onto a nearby building to prepare to jump on the Pest as it went by. It walked forward, then tumbled onto its face as it slipped on a patch of ice. It pointed its finger toward Mr Wiggles, sending out the same beam of crackling black energy as he did back at the Sage’s Hut. It slammed into him, draining much of the energy imparted to him by the raindrop crystal, and causing him to lose focus on the *Sleet Storm* he had conjured.

One of the animal spirits, resembling a bobcat, flew up to Crowrigami and slashed at him with its claws. Shreds of paper fluttered to the ground as the spirit tore through him, before vanishing as Crowrigami lost one of his illusory duplicates. The bear spirit threw another vegetable at Virgil, it slid onto his spikes to no effect. The baboon spirit climbed up to Ida and attempted to shove her off the roof, she twirled her tails to evade the worst of the attack, but some of her stiches were still ripped. The raccoon and pig ran to Mr. Wiggles and slammed him simultaneously. In retaliation he caused long black tentacles to erupt from the group around him, slamming into the spirits and causing them to dissipate.

Virgil stayed hunkered down and glowing whilst pleading with the wind. *"I'm sorry! I'm sorry they've not been appreciative of you for such a long time. You're vital in this world, you help move seas, you help pollinate, you keep this world alive too, and if you help us, we can help you. We can help them give you the respect you deserve, but we can't do that if we're fighting, if you keep destroying things! I want to help you, but this fight has to stop!"*

The slight breeze that remained vanished, leaving the air still and quiet, the remaining fires seemed to dim as well. Crowrigami divebombed the Pest, slashing its armour with his parchment. Ida faced off against the baboon, stabbing her finger into its eye then punching it, the spirit vapourised and disappeared.

The Prickled Pest stood up and glared at Virgil. *"I am your foe, stop addressing the wind and fight me!"* It lifted its arms above its head, so that the polished golden surface reflected the sunlight into a radiant beam of energy that blasted into all of the pets. Ida managed to cover her eyes, avoiding the worst of the blaze, but felt all the loose threads on her body instantly burn. Mr Wiggles and Virgil didn't avert their gaze in time, and were blinded and burned by the power of the sun, throwing them back down the road. The spirit of the bear ran towards another stand, then threw a jar of syrup up towards Crowrigami. it slammed into another duplicate before falling to the ground. The bobcat also lashed at Crowrigami with its claws, connecting with his actual form and sending a burst of necrotic energy through his body.

Virgil was lying on his back, blinded after the Pest shot a sunbeam at them. He rolled onto his front and yelled above him, to where the sky ought to be. *"You know, I've only been doing this for a day and I'm exhausted. I can only imagine how tired you must be, how many times you've watched us come back here– Well not us but versions of us come here and ruin a lot of stuff for you. But I don't really see you as my enemy, I see you as someone who has been ignored, and I want to help you get recognised for what you are, for who you are. So I just want to ask, one more time, because you can see that we're not very strong, and so I guess I'm more asking as a plea of mercy that you let us live, and in return we'll show the people how wonderful you can be if treated with respect! But to do that, you need to show me what you want, you need to show us what it is we can do to help you, and we can't really do that when we're unconscious on the ground."*

The wind returned, but it wasn't the violent whipping gale it was before. Instead a soft breeze swept through the town, putting out some of the smaller fires. The two remaining spirits, the bobcat and the bear, faded into the air like dust. The metal casing around the Prickled Pest began to collapse and fall away. Whereas before the wind had blown away a purple smoke, this time it seemed as though something was stuck beneath one of the large metal plates. The pets gathered around the armour, from which underneath they could see something squirming to escape. Virgil nudged one of the plates to the side, revealing a large, wrinkled, naked mole rat with bright green eyes.

The true form of the Prickled Pest Who Pursues said through gritted teeth, *"It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Get away from me, we're supposed to fight to the death!"*

Crowrigami was circling above and cried out. *"Everything will be alright!"*

He raised his crystal towards the sky, causing a warm, gentle rainfall to shower above the pets, healing and rejuvenating them. The last of the fires in the town were extinguished, and as the rain fell onto the naked mole rat, it began to weep. Small blades of grass and flowers started to grow from the cracks in the ground, left in the wake of the Pest's destruction.

The mole rat was still sobbing on the ground. *"It wasn't supposed to be like this, I was supposed to win..."*

Virgil walked over and hugged them, the rest of the pets soon joined in the group hug. *"We all won."*

The next morning, the four heroes stood in front of the Grand Duke Crazax, along with the rest of the surviving populace. They explained that the animals needed to build a temple in honour of the elements, respecting and remembering how important they were to the Valley. They also suggested that the mole rat formerly known as the Prickled Pest could be the caretaker of this temple, to atone for the damage they did to the town. The Duke discussed this proposal at length with Ribbeton, before agreeing that it would be done. When the meeting concluded, Virgil gave the residents of Aleton a longer explanation of all they had discovered relating to the elements, and why it was so important to care for them in equal measures.

Two weeks passed while the scholars of the Valley devised a way for the heroes to return home, during which time they were granted many gifts as thanks for saving them. Mr Wiggles was given a lakeside mansion, Virgil helped to clean up the town, Ida opened a bakery in her name, and Crowrigami created a library devoted to the history of the world, in addition to the history of their own plane. Crowrigami also commissioned a ring that would allow him to talk to Mira upon their return. When it was time for the heroes to leave, they gathered in the town square before the assembled crowd of pets. A small crack formed in time and space, there was applause and cheers as they stepped through the portal. Just before leaving, Virgil said his farewells to the wind.

The four pets emerged in a dark golem maintenance closet in Wildcliff. Their owners weren't with them, but they were sure to be around, getting into some kind of trouble.