Chapter Twenty-Two

The End Of The Line

 * At long last, the time has come. This is it. End of the line. 
 * Bongo and The Bois stand outside the grand doorway that leads into King Yarham Zorendal’s massive throne room. Everything, every challenge the adventurers have faced in the past has lead up to this very moment. The moment we've all been waiting for. 
 * Aigee-Gorg, Skimp, Kawkrookitar, James Hurley, Bongo, and Thgil have all come a long way from the mere adventurers they once were. The six of them now stand before King Zorendal's throne room as the mighty defenders of Soresia. His red-painted face set with grim determination, Skimp growls under his breath, "It's time for the Main Event." 
 * “Well lads. We’ve come a long way. Looks like this is the end,” James says gravely to her comrades. “It’s been an honor fighting alongside you all. I'm happy to have met you.” Skimp nodded and said, “It’s been a blast, bois. I won’t soon forget the adventures we’ve been on…. Although… I wish I could forget some of it.” he said darkly, thinking of all the times he had to stand near Aigee. 
 * “I've made a decision, fellas,” Kaw croaks, his beak curved into a greasy grin. "If I manage to survive this, I'm finally gonna pop the question to my babe Urgathoa! I've already got her a ring!" The tengu-daemon revealed a severed finger wearing a ring with a bright jewel. "Good luck with that," Bongo grunted at him.   
 * Aigee smiled fondly as he remembered all the fantasmic adventures he and his friends had embarked upon during the past few months. He thought to himself that it had not all been sunshine and rainbows. There had been many ups as well as many downs, but throughout it all, through thick and thin, Aigee's companions had been there for him. He would never forget their friendship. 
 * The bard cast Cure Serious Wounds on the weary-looking Maldrek, mending his injuries. Bongo put his hand on Thgil’s shoulder and cast Heal upon him, bringing the wolf back to full health. Gyystoph awkwardly asked if anybody could heal him. Everyone ignored the metallic duergar, pretending that The Orphan Keeper didn’t exist. 
 * Klistmar, Skimp's oldest, wisest, and truest friend, put his large mechanical hand on Skimp’s forehead and muttered, “This is the water…” as he began to squeeze the rat’s skull. 
 * “Let’s rock, lads.” said James firmly, offering the old construct a final light for his cigarette.
 * Suddenly, a beam of radiant yellow light beamed down onto the bois from the sky. Before their eyes a majestic white staircase spiraled from the heavens down to the earth. Sarenrae, in all her glory, appeared and restored all of the bois’ spells, ki points, etc. Bongo thanked the goddess, then she mosied back to Nirvana, but not before informing The Bois that, "We're all rooting for you."
 * His brow furrowed, Bongo explained his plan of action to the bois. He would alter his face to look exactly like that old Zorendal bloke Terrick, whenceforth he would charge into the throne room and distract the King so that the bois could sneak in. The party agreed to The Treeman's plan.
 * Bongo, disguised as Terrick, busted open the doors and announced, “IT’S YA BOI, TERRICK! HOW DO YOU DO FELLOW ZORENDAL FRIENDS!” to the creeps waiting inside.
 * Inside the throne room, Bongo saw five figures gingle-gangling around. The King, Yarham Zorendal, sat in the middle of the room atop his marvelous gilded throne. A gigantic wall-man made out of adamantine stood to his left. A creepy transparent woman stood next to a column in the corner. An old wizard bloke stood next to the wall-man. And, to the King’s left, stood a man in full body armor crafted entirely out of ice. Across the King's lap lay a massive greatsword.
 * Directly behind the King's throne stood a large, demonic-looking portal that appeared to lead into a different dimension, seemingly where the dreaded Beholder resided. 
 * “Terrick?” The King demanded, his deep voice rolling throughout the room. “What are you doing here?” he glanced briefly to his left. Bongo/Terrick replied, “BOY OH BOY, I SURE DO LOVE THAT BEHOLDER, DON’T YOU?! ITHOLIDS ARE SO GREAT!” The king frowned deeply then demanded once again, “What are you doing here?”
 * “Uhhhh…” Bongo replied, “Look man, there’s some creep tryna assassinate you, a wimp named Lusitae, also known as Terrin Stormwall.” The king stood up and muttered, “Hmm. Is that right?” Bongo said, “Uh, yep!”
 * The king turned to his left and asked the man in ice armor, “What do you think of this guy, Terrick?” The jig was up. Bongo tried to explain himself, “Wow! What a coincidence! We’re both named Terrick!” The king strode up to Bongo and slished him with his giant greatsword. “Alright, fellas, he didn’t buy it, get in here!” Bongo yelled over his shoulder to the bois outside.
 * ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!!!! CUE KEEPER OF LUST!!!!!!
 * The Bois slowly piled into the throne room, weapons drawn and ready to rumble. Bongo and James got to work on the King, beating him around with the Big Weapon and James’ conks. As they battled, the gigantic wall-man approached and challenged Bongo. The wall-man revealed himself to be Lt. Colonel Franc Slate. He bashed Bongo with his mighty warhammer.
 * Aigee slithered into battle, he began playing a beautiful song on his lute that greatly increased the power of his allies and also enhanced their magic attacks with the legendary Aigee Damage. Terrick, the real one, remembered The Goo Fellow as the freak who was brainjacked back in Rockwater, “So, we meet again, sulli!” he hissed as he jabbed Gorg with his rapier. Aigee shrugged off the attack and, without skipping a beat, used a spell to turn James invisible.
 * The old wizard man, named Carl Chalders, flew into the air and blasted the bois with a volley of AOE spells. Klistmar squared off with the wizard, blasting the foe back with various fireballs and lightning bolts, the two of them locking into a wizard's duel.
 * The creepy transparent lady snuck behind Maldrek and slashed at his back, dealing massive damage. The old goon, who said her name was Aunt Celeste, slunk back into the shadows to await her opportune time to strike. Maldrek used a spell to increase the Bois evasive abilities. Gyystoph, still weak from the previous fight, took shots at the floating Carl Chalders.
 * Skimp snuck up behind Terrick and attacked the bloke with his rapier and dagger. The ice-armored lad swung his rapier back to Skimp, but was interrupted by a tentacle slap across the face from Kaw. Terrick turned on his heel to Kaw and, taken aback, snarled, “Woah! What the hell happened to you?” remarking on the crow’s twisted daemon appearance. Without a moments hesitation, Kaw wrenched open his beak as wide as possible and uttered a piercing scream straight into Terrick's face, nearly deafening the bloke and spraying him with thick saliva head to toe. Wiping the saliva out of his eyes, Terrick scoffed then faced off once again against Skimp, their rapiers clashing so quickly that their blades were only blurs of metal.
 * Invisible, James berated the King with blow after blow, honey flying to and fro from her knuckles. King Zorendal slashed at the air blindly, clearly flustered, trying to retaliate against the panda. His eyes gleaming with dark energy, he roared, ”DAMN COWARD. COME OUT AND FACE ME!” in the demonic voice of the Mind Flayer. King Yarham Zorendal was completely under the control of the Beholder, his actions were not his own, his will had been taken over by an evil force. He was but a puppet for the Beholder.
 * Bongo, Thgil, and The Major all chipped away at Franc Slate, but The Wall was too resilient and shrugged off any damage dealt to him. Franc Slate chuckled and bashed The Major on her head. Thgil struck back with his Wooden Warhammer, knocking the freak’s teeth out. But, once again, The Wall chuckled and shrugged off the blow. Bongo transformed into Horum form and bashed the Wall with The BanHammer. “You’re no match for me!” Franc Slate chortled.
 * Suddenly, Aunt Celeste appeared again, directly behind Maldrek and cut the commander’s back open, spilling blood everywhere. As quickly as she appeared, the old woman disappeared back into the shadows. Maldrek was one his last leg, he clutched his back, crouched on the floor and said, “Bois, should I die, I want you go on without me!” The bois all nodded to the commander. Before anyone had a chance to say anything to Maldrek, Carl Chalders used Flamestrike on the tiefling, slaying him with an explosion of flames. Maldrek’s lifeless body collapsed onto the throne room floor. Seeing the death of their friend, the bois felt a burst power surge through them, they promised that Maldrek’s death would not be in vain.
 * Gyystoph, enraged, blasted Carl Chalders with cannonfire from his arm-mounted cannon. The freak was knocked to the floor, onto his back. Aigee whipped out his whip and whipped Carl mercilessly, unleashing his ire. Skimp, happy that he was not being whipped, spotted Aunt Celeste creeping behind Disgusting, ready to slish him.
 * “Gyystoph, behind you!” the rouge cried. But before the robot man could react, the old lady ran him through with her dagger. Gyystoph collapsed onto the floor, just as Maldrek did, bleeding oil. The robot man spoke his final words, “Take care of my orphans…” The lady then ripped off Gyystoph’s head and slammed it into a basketball hoop mounted to the throneroom wall. Everybody gasped. The Orphan Keeper had been slain at last. Aunt Celeste tried to swooce back into the shadows, but, before she could, Skimp threw the pants onto his head and latched onto Celeste’s leg. The rat gnawed at the old woman’s skinny ankle.
 * Kaw darted in front of Terrick and cast Slay Living on the blimey. Terrick slashed off Kaw’s shoulder tentacle, however another tentacle immediately grew back in its place. “Damn you!” Terrick cried as he struck the crow with a massive blow of the rapier, spilling a dark crimson blood upon the floor of the throne room. 
 * Clutching at his blood-gushing wound, Kaw suddenly once again saw the vision of the Phantasmal Killer that had taken the form of Lekkunar. Within his mind, Lekkunar hissed at Kaw, "Little Brother... you let me die... why, Notakar? Why?" Fear consumed his heart, paralyzing him to the spot, as the image of his elder brother's lifeless body forever trapped within Korvinox's fortress filled his mind.
 * Terrick took advantage of the crow’s paralyzing terror and again stabbed his rapier at Urgathoa's Oracle. This blow surely would have slain him, had not Thgil jumped in at the last second to shove Kaw out of the way. 
 * Bongo turned away from The Wall, so he turned his attention to King Yarham Zorendal. He pointed at the king and casted Finger of Death on the man. A small spiral of red energy surged out of Bongo’s hand and onto King Zorendal. The king blocked the attack with his shield, so Bongo bounced it back at Terrick. The attack struck him directly, zapping him right in his chest, dishing out 160 damage. The blimey shrieked in pain, he reeled back, he coughed up blood, he pointed back at the druid and vowed to kill him. 
 * James unleashed her inner woodsman and booshed King Zorendal relentlessly. BIG Nadine and James pummeled the freak with conk after conk, boosh after boosh, goosh after goosh. The King growled back at the pandas, his armor becoming riddled with knuckle-shaped dents. Realizing that their normal states were not enough to wound Yarham, James Hurley and BIG Nadine in unison uttered resounding shouts of fury, both going FURTHER BEYOND. Blinding light erupted from their golden fur, and the pure power radiating from them was so great that the King staggered back in shock. The two legendary Super Pandas lifted their fists and SLAMMED King Zorendal with a massive hammer blow that would have utterly obliterated a lesser man. But the King, having the power of The Beholder within him, was able to survive the devastating blow. 
 * Quickly recovering, Yarham reeled back and viciously slashed at James with his greatsword. James stumbled back in pain, clutching at her grizzly wound. But memories of Tibet and Sensei Cooper instantly flooded her mind, and with another furious cry she lunged back at the King and together with BIG Nadine continued the assault. "YOUR LAND IS MY LAND!" the two Super Pandas roared into King Zorendal's scowling face as they pummeled him.
 * Aigee casted an onslaught of sonic spells on the foes. Rupturing their eardrums with loud, clangorous soundwaves. Carl Chalders seemed especially damaged by the sound attack, he was desperately covering his ears, trying to block out the noise. Aigee saw this as an opportunity to attack and lashed Carl HARD with the whip, leaving massive welts all over his body. Carl pleaded for mercy on the ground, but Gorg was not about to show any. Aigee grabbed a huge wad of goo from his body and stuffed it into the wizard’s mouth. With a large grin, the sulli wrapped his whip around Carl’s neck, tightly held onto the whip’s hilt, and began running in circles around the wizard, slowly severing his neck from the rest of his body.
 * Franc Slate, The Wall used both hands to bludgeon Thgil right on his head, knocking the wolf to the ground. Thgil howled in pain, clutching his head. Bongo’s head snapped around upon hearing his best friend in danger. Franc chuckled to himself and cracked his knuckles, under the impression that he was The Man. Bongo used Heal on Thgil and stared his narrow, red eyes into the laughing face of The Wall. “Stupid wolf. He belongs on four legs!” the Wall snickered. HorumBongo burrowed into the ground, right beneath Franc Slate. He channeled his inner demon powers and cast Damnation. He reached up, dragged The Wall’s ankles and dragged him into the earth. “What the hell!?” Franc exclaimed. Bongo ripped open a massive hole in the ground that lead to The Abyss. A horrible, disgusting myriapod crawled out of the hole. The creature had many long, grotesque legs jutting out of it, and a gaping mouth with thousands of sharpened teeth, this was an aspect of Rovagug himself. The Wall cried in terror as Rovagug consumed him whole, laughing maniacally.
 * Bongo dug back up to the surface, and a few seconds later, The Wall’s desecrated corpse was spat back onto the floor as well, utterly obliterated. Hardly anything was left of Franc Slate save for a heap of bones. Rovagug uttered a loud belch. 
 * On and on the fierce Battle For Soresia raged. 
 * As Bongo and the Boys fought tooth-and-nail against Yarham and his goons, outside the streets of Aurelia were swarmed with soldiers hacking and slashing at each other. The clatter of swords striking shields, the reports of guns firing, and the war-cries of warriors fighting until their last breaths was deafening. 
 * Oakback had taken command of his posse of p.o.w.s and together they aided the Ishandryn troops in pushing back the Zorendal forces. Standing atop a giant mound of dead soldiers, Oakback lifted his pickaxe over his head and challenged the Zorendal soldiers below, blood splattered across the coroner's face. Meanwhile, Lugg and his band of demons were relishing in the bloodshed, roaring with demonic laughter as they slaughtered soldiers left and right. Thgil's army of animals fought savagely with their fangs, claws, and rudimentary weaponry. 
 * Vulkyn appeared to be having a jolly old time, the disgusting vermin. He floated above the battle, wearing a joyous grin on his wrinkled face. Arrows and bullets soared at him, but were knocked away by an invisible barrier that surrounded the Old Man. Through the streets charged Vulkyn's army, which consisted entirely of tiny children fighting with only their bare hands. Amongst the child armada were Tiny Korvinox and Baby James. Tiny Korvinox slished the ankles of his foes with his miniature scythe, while Baby James booshed and conked every opponent that stood in her path. Vulkyn watched as his child-warriors fought. Wiping a tear from his crusty eye, he whispered, "They grow up so fast..." 
 * The squad of pandafolk monks, with Gordon Cole in the lead, battled strategically with their staffs and bare fists, fighting as a group against the hordes of soldiers bearing down upon them. A Zorendal soldier managed to catch Gordon off guard, striking the old pandafolk across his muzzle with his mace. "Ha! You've gone soft in your old age, panda!" the soldier sneered. Gordon shouted back, "NOT WHERE IT COUNTS, BUDDY." before booshing the soldier's head clean off his shoulders.  
 * And all the while, the mighty Brave Bois were getting down to business. They had formed a clever strategy of dealing with their enemies: down into the ground like moles the Brave Bois burrowed, popping out of the ground at random to snatch a surprised soldier and drag them down below. What the Brave Bois did to these poor soldiers once they snatched them from the battlefield can only be imagined.
 * Back in King Yarham Zorendal's throne room, the climactic battle between Good and Evil was slowly drawing to a close. 
 * Skimp, having ceased his assault upon Aunt Celeste's ankle, once again faced off against Terrick. Pushing himself to the very limit, fighting on instinct and adrenaline, Skimp at last managed to best Terrick in their duel; the rogue buried his rapier deep into Terrick's chest and twisted the blade, driving Terrick down to his knees. Blood gushing from his mouth, glaring into the flinty eyes of Skimp, Terrick growled in a voice so low that only the rogue could hear, "This... cannot be... *cough* ... bested... by a dirty ratfolk..." Scowling, Skimp tore his rapier free and kicked Terrick backwards. Laying in a pool of his own blood, Terrick died glaring at the ceiling of the throne room, unable to believe his defeat at the grabby hands of the ratfolk that had once been nothing but a slave. 
 * To take down Aunt Celeste once and for all, Klistmar and Kawkrookitar banded together and fired spell after spell at the old crone, backing her against a wall. Cornered, with no where to run, Aunt Celeste slashed at Klistmar with her blade, but to her immense shock, the construct grabbed her by the arm and pinned her against the wall. "Release me at once, Ishandryn worm!" she hissed, writhing. Chuckling to himself, Klistmar replied, "Well, since you asked nicely..." He released his grip on Aunt Celeste, shoving her straight into Kawkrookitar.   
 * His beak unhinged, Kaw wrapped his shoulder-tentacle around Aunt Celeste and lifted her into the air, slowly lowering her towards his open maw. Aunt Celeste uttered one final, blood-chilling shriek before having her head ripped off by the gore-stained beak of the Oracle. 
 * "Looks like you're out of cronies," Bongo grunted in King Yarham Zorendal's direction. Furious, the King bellowed in the voice of The Beholder, "FOOLS! TREMBLE BEFORE MY POWER!"
 * Having battled the King's henchmen, the Bois were in rough shape. Yet despite their injuries and weariness, Aigee, Skimp, Kaw, James, Bongo, Thgil, and Klistmar crowded around the lone King. "You know what to do, Bois!" Bongo roared to his comrades. "Time for our oldest strategy!" 
 * With the King surrounded on all sides, Bongo and The Boys administered Daddy's Wrath upon him.
 * The Daddy's Wrath Theme blared louder than ever before.
 * Being continuously pummeled from every direction, unable to fight back, without any of his henchmen to assist him, King Zorendal was eventually driven to the ground curled up in a ball, beaten within an inch of his life. "Stop!" Bongo suddenly cried. "That's enough." Reluctantly the rest of the Bois backed off. Slowly the King staggered to his feet, covered with massive bruises and bleeding cuts, holding his greatsword limply in one weak hand. 
 * "Bongo, what are you doing?" Thgil demanded gruffly, eyeing the goliath sharply. "Do you intend to spare this bastard?" Bongo shrugged to his wolf. "Yarham Zorendal is an innocent man," said the druid. "He's been corrupted. Controlled by The Beholder like a puppet. The King is not our true enemy." Pointing a finger at the portal behind the throne, Bongo said grimly, "The Beholder is."
 * "Fine then," the wolf snarled, brandishing his wooden warhammer at the staggering King. "If you won't kill him, Bongo, then I will!" Thgil sprang forward and struck the King straight in his forehead with the handle of his warhammer. The King collapsed to the ground. However, he was still clinging to life, though just barely.
 * The Battle was over. But there was no time to celebrate just yet. There was still The Beholder to be dealt with. Until The Mind Flayer was slain, or the portal closed, Soresia would still be in danger of The Itholids. As the Bois were healing up their injuries, into the throne room floated Vulkyn, only to their surprise, the Old Man was for the first and only time completely serious. 
 * "Well done, brave adventurers," said Vulkyn in a grim, sage-like voice not at all like his usual jolly tone. Gazing down impassively at the unconscious King, the Old Man continued, "It is just as you said, Bongo. Yarham Zorendal has been manipulated this entire time." He looked around at the adventurers, ragged after their fight. "Do you hear that?" he asked. The Bois listened, and realized that the sounds of battle outside had ceased, replaced with the victorious war-cries of the Ishandryn Empire, Oakback and his p.o.w.s, Lugg and his Demons, Thgil's animal army, Gordon and his monks, and The Brave Bois. 
 * "The Zorendal Empire has been crushed," Vulkyn went on. "Thanks to you all. There have been many losses, but victory is at last ours. This is a proud victory. Yet sadly, the battle is not yet over." The Old Man's eyes drifted over to the portal. "I can sense it, you know..." his voice grew dark. "The Beholder. Lurking just within that portal... waiting for you..."
 * "We'll show that Mind Flayer who Daddy is!" Kaw croaked, readying his scythe. Vulkyn gave him a sad look. "No," he said, "I think not. To step through that portal would be sealing your doom. You six have grown much stronger since we first met. But this Beholder... no, you would surely die. It's power it too great..."
 * "Well then, what do you suggest we do?" Skimp growled. Stroking his long silver beard, Vulkyn answered after a pause, "All we can do to ensure the safety of Soresia is close the gateway... but to do that, a soul will be required." Looking firmly at each of the Bois in turn, the Old Man said, "Someone must sacrifice their soul to close the portal. I'm afraid it is the only way..." Silence followed his words. The Bois exchanged meaningful glances. Kaw croaked abruptly, "Not it!"
 * For the following ten minutes or so, there was much squabbling over who should sacrifice their soul to close The Beholder's portal. None of The Bois, as heroic as they may be, desired to sacrifice themselves. Aigee-Gorg argued fervently that it should be someone from The Zorendal army. "How about that jerk Terrick?" The Goo Fellow argued. "He's already dead, Aigee," Thgil sighed at the bard. Undeterred, The Goo Fellow approached Vulkyn and demanded, "Bring back Terrick so we can make him close the portal!" "Very well," Vulkyn agreed, and snapped his fingers. Suddenly there came a scream from outside.
 * Into the throne room barged a soldier none of The Bois had ever seen before. The soldier, looking around dangerously at the adventurers, said aggressively, "What the hell is going on? Why am I not dead? And why am I in this body?" It seemed that Vulkyn had indeed resurrected Terrick, however, the bloke had been put in a different body, the body of a puny soldier.
 * "GET IN THERE!" Aigee-Gorg roared, shoving Terrick towards the portal. "No way!" Terrick squealed, squirming away from the bard and fleeing. After some more argument, the Bois decided to resurrect both Maldrek and Gyystoph to see whether either of them may want to sacrifice themselves for the good of Soresia. Vulkyn snapped his fingers twice more, and once again two more human soldiers wandered into the throne room looking baffled. 
 * "How...?" said one soldier, seemingly Maldrek. "Where are my orphans?!" Gyystoph demanded.
 * The Bois explained the situation to Maldrek and Gyystoph, but both of them were very reluctant to give up their souls to close the portal. "Come on, it's for the greater good!" Aigee shouted. "Then sacrifice yourself!" Grease retorted. Flustered, Aigee grumbled, "I...eh... would really rather not..." 
 * "Well, somebody's got to sacrifice their soul," the loud voice of Bongo said. 
 * "Allow me," wheezed a pained voice. The Bois turned to see that King Zorendal had risen to his feet, swaying from foot to foot, barely alive. "I will sacrifice myself," he went on, coughing up blood. "It is only right for me to do so, after all the pain I have caused."
 * "It was not your fault," said Bongo sternly to the King, "The Beholder--"
 * "Was controlling me," Zorendal wheezed, "yes, I know. But I was the one that invited The Mind Flayer into my body in the first place. This war. All the lives that have been lost today. All the pain and anguish. It is all my fault." With the last of his strength, the King limped towards the portal. "It is time to finish what I started."
 * Standing before the portal, Yarham Zorendal closed his eyes and staggered through, vanishing into the demonic light emanating from the gateway. There was a long pause. Then, with an echoing explosion and a blinding flash, the portal erupted into flames. The Bois took cover as the portal exploded across the throne room. As the dust began to settle, the adventurers emerged to see that the portal was gone.
 * The King had done it. He had closed the Beholder's gateway. The Itholid Uprising was over. At long last, the nightmare was at an end. Stepping outside the throne room, the Bois were greeted by a battlefield filled with Ishandryn troops and their allies, who raised their weapons skyward and cheered in triumph. 
 * "We'll take care of things here," said Maldrek in his new body. "The battle is over, the day is ours, but Aurelia lay in ruin. We'll need to begin reconstruction immediately, and begin searching for any Zorendal troops that may have escaped." Turning to the Bois, Maldrek asked, "So then, now that all of this is over, what will you lot do?" 
 * The Bois did not answer for a moment. They stood on the doorstep of the King's throne room, their clothing and armor damaged by the battle, covered with numerous wounds, their weapons stained with blood, unable to believe that they'd won. They stared out over the destruction of Aurelia as the Ishandryn soldiers cheered at them.
 * They'd certainly come a long way, Bongo and The Boys. They had once been but mere adventurers, normally fighting for the sake of being rewarded with gold. But now here they stood: Heroes of The Ishandryn Empire. The names of The Boys and their deeds would never be forgotten, immortalized in history by the songs of bards all across Soresia. Centuries from now, children would gather around their elders and demand to hear the tale of The Fall of The Zorendal Empire, listening to the epic tale of how the tide of war was turned by a group of mighty heroes. 
 * Aigee-Gorg. Skimp. Kawkrookitar. James Hurley. Bongo. Thgil. Klistmar. These seven names would be forever revered.    
 * "I honestly didn't think I'd survive this long," said Kaw at last. "I don't know what we're supposed to do now. I guess we just go our separate ways. No reason for us to stick together anymore, is there?" 
 * "Yeah, I guess so" said Aigee glumly with a frown. The prospect of his closest friends separating saddened him deeply. He did not want to be alone again. His face suddenly brightened. 
 * "Say, how about before we split up, we go back to Baronel? You know, for old time's sake! We could go see the old spout one last time!" The group agreed that they would return to Baronel for one last journey together, before finally departing. "I could use a drink anyway," said Kaw, thinking of the tavern. "Try not to vomit on the counter again like last time, Aigee!" Skimp scolded The Goo Fellow.
 * "What's this I hear about a spout?" Klistmar inquired curiously. "Oh, you'll see," said Skimp to his oldest friend with a smirk, rubbing his rat hands together. 
 * Thgil said to Bongo, "I really should be returning to Listening Post Alpha. My people will need me." "Oh come on," Kaw croaked at him, "they'll survive without you for a day or two. Besides, after all we've been through, I'd say we could all use some rest and relaxation. Ain't that right, James?" James agreed with the classic thumbs up. She then looked over at Bongo and asked, "You've never been to Baronel before, have you Bongo?" 
 * "Nope," said Bongo. "Neither has Thgil. We met out in the Baronel Woods, remember?"  
 * "I remember!" said Aigee happily. A confused look crossed his grey face and he asked the goliath, "What were you doing out there?" "Yeah," Kaw cut in, "I've been wonderin' the same thing. Why were you just wanderin' around in the woods that day? And what the hell did you whisper in my ear?" 
 * "Why were you acting so strange when we first met?" Skimp piped up, recalling how Bongo had charged out of the Baronel Woods, staring down at them with a blank expression, completely silent. 
 * Bongo sighed deeply, then gazed out at the horizon, the sunlight shining upon the lense of his mechanical eye. "Well, you see Bois," he began, "that's a very long story..." 
 * Listening as Bongo told his long tale, the heroes traveled through the devastation of Aurelia, bound for the small town where Bongo and The Boys had formed all that time ago.
 * And thus, our grand tale ends in Baronel, where it all began. Although their great journey may be over, the legacy of Bongo and The Boys will live on for ages to come. 
 * The End.