Rebellion Stirs!

“So let me get this straight.” Mary lashed her tail, pacing from side to side in the abandoned warehouse that the rebels had apparently set in. Her wounds and bruises ached, and she couldn't help but send a glare towards the red iguanodon sitting in the center of the room. It was quite a tight fit with all of them- Flurry and Oboe were sat in the far corner, the tapejara nestled into the albertosaurus’s feathers and angrily glaring at the large herbivore. The two oviraptors sat close by each other, leaning against each other. Java looked terrified and yet overjoyed, while Snowdrop had an almost guilty expression on her face. 

“You two were mates.” Mary pointed at the pair of oviraptors “And Snowdrop was sent up to the surface to scout and drop seeds. Instead, she faked her own death to work with… him.” At this point Mary lost a bit of steam, facing the very unimpressed, grumpy iguanodon. “And what's your deal? Why are you attempting to work against Atlantis- your queen? Don’t you want them to escape and survive?”

“Not my queen.” The massive iguanodon shook his head, snorting again. Flurry felt phantom pains as she saw him flex his massive claws, shuddering and instead lowering her head to lick at her recent wound. Snowdrop had been quick to press healing herbs onto it, but it still stung.

Snowdrop took over once it was clear he was done talking. “Still mates.” She sent a look towards Java, who nodded in confirmation. “And I never faked my death- I was attacked, and Barbatus saved me. It was then I realized how wrong Atlantis is- how cruel was it, to send us up into a world we know nothing about? Us oviraptors receive no combat training, no armor. So many of us died… those I was traveling with didn’t last the night.” The oviraptor scoffed. “The Queen may want the best, but the best is for the elite- the iguanodons. Us oviraptors are worked to the bone, and sent to our death. I know many others feel the same way- but there is no arguing. While the Queen does not like to punish us, those who attempt to rebel are snubbed by the court and the guards until their spirit breaks. But with Barbatus… now we have a fighting chance.”

Oboe chirped from where she was nestled on Flurry, flapping her wings and jumping down onto the floor as she circled Barbatus slowly. The large herbivore hardly batted an eye- and he sure was impressive. Huge and scarred, with dark red hide. “So what’s your story? If you want us to help you out, you need to tell us why you're doing this. I'm sure it's not out of the kindness of your heart for those of us that live up here.” She scoffed.

“Indeed.” Barbatus rumbled. “I was once a loyal Atlantian. I served the previous king as one of the strongest generals- we were very close to each other. I was there when he died in the earthquake that broke the dome. The Atlanteans were thrown into a civil war for some time after his death, amongst the flooding and the cracking of the dome. There were several contenders for the throne- I was one of them. However, Rhys had more support amongst the court and was chosen to ascend the throne. She insisted on sending oviraptor scouts to the surface- I argued against it, for I knew they could not defend themselves and we had no clue what was up there. She forbade me from even leaving, not wanting to give our existence away. I snuck away to check it out anyways. I returned to the queen after a month to beg for her to reconsider her plans. She refused- then ordered for me to be arrested for breaking my vow of knighthood. I fled once more, and found sanctuary up here.” The large herbivore fixed Oboe with a stare. “Let me be clear- I hold little to no love or affection for the surface. However, the Atlanteans know how to fight plants, not carnivores. We would be destroyed if her plan came to fruition. I aim to stop it, whatever the cost- for the sake of those who cannot fight back.”

Silence rang out for a few long seconds before Flurry cleared her throat and spoke. “Up here on the surface, it is extremely brutal. Most carnivores will kill just to have a food surplus… I cannot blame them, not for their anger when it comes to the toxic plants brought up. We do not want this war to happen either- if Atlanteans continue to bring up too much plant matter, the island itself may be consumed. Even herbivores will starve.”

Mary nodded, stepping forward. “This plan of the Queen’s puts everyone on both the islands and Atlantis at risk. We came down to Atlantis to try and stop it, but to no avail. While Im… hesitant to give my trust over to another iguanodon, we do not have the time to wait. What do you want from us?”

Snowdrop stepped forward again. “Barbatus has been all but banned from the dome, but there is still rebellion brewing. Several members have been recruited, but most of them still live below the dome. We need you to go back to Atlantis and gather them, then bring them here. It is too dangerous for them to remain any longer.”

“Before we trust you with their lives, however, we do need you to prove something to us.” Flurry, Mary, and Oboe tensed- was this another knighthood instance? Would they be forced to swear fealty to this new king? Barbatus hauled himself to his feet, before gesturing for them to follow. Nervously, the trio trailed after them.

The large iguanodon stopped after a few minutes of travel through the surrounding forest. “Here is one of the places already infected by Atlantis.” He nodded at the nearby grove- Mary instantly noticed what he meant. The native plants were almost completely choked out by long, tangling green vines that the trio had repeatedly encountered in Atlantis. They seemed to already have very little use in the dome- so why did the Atlanteans bring them up here if not for malicious reasons? “Destroy it, and you will earn our trust. Break your oath- and be free. Once you are done, rejoin us at the warehouse.”

Flurry, Mary, and Oboe shared a look- before matching grins split across their face. Oboe was the first to attack, shrieking wildly as she dove into the infected grove. Her beak stabbed deep into the plants, grabbing and attempting to tear them away from the soil.

Mary was quick to join in, beak sinking deep into one vine as she reared up on her hind legs to yank it from the ground. She angrily thrashed it around, stomping into it with her hooves to make sure it was good and dead- didn’t want any more of it spreading around the area. Flurry moved in afterwards, grabbing the ripped out vines and piling them in the center of the clearing. They would have to find some way to dispose of them- maybe dragging them back to the warehouse and using them as bedding? The albertosaurus did not trust a simple stomping to be enough to destroy the genetically beefed plants.

The three ripped and tore at the plants for hours. It was almost never ending- every leaf they overturned, every branch they poked, they found more. By the time they were sure they had gotten all of it, they were a mess. Flurry's white feathers were splattered with green, and no matter how much she spat she could not get the disgusting taste from her mouth. Oboe had a bit of vine stick to her beak she couldn’t get off no matter how much she swiped for it, and Mary was the one carrying all the plants back- piled high on her back, tied together with its own vines to not fall off.

“Good!” Snowdrop chirped when they arrived, quickly taking the bundles of plants from Mary. “These are useless for the most part, but should make ok bedding once we dry them out!” Java quickly moved forward to help pull them over, and the two began to spread them out on the building floor.

“Well done.” The trio jumped as Barbatus walked behind them, taking in their ruffled and green feathers with an amused expression. “Rest for the night… and then you’ll get all the details you need to succeed. Oh, and dont forget to wash- kudu does not wash out with no effort.”