Randy stumbled through the sewer tunnels; running and climbing were far more difficult now that he carried the extra weight of all those sweets. His mind was a swirling mess of confusion and fear. He didn't know where to go or what to do. He sank to the damp, grimy floor of the sewers, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
After his eyes accustomed to the darkness and he regained his breath, he thought about his options. He decided he had to go to Capo’s palace to try and barter for Karnel’s life somehow. He would beg for forgiveness and plead for a chance to make amends. Surely, Capo would understand.
A cold dread settled in his stomach as he thought of Karnel’s fate. Had Capo waited? A moon, or perhaps even more, had passed since he had been at the candy shop. He had to hope that Capo had been patient.
He followed a tunnel that hummed with activity, a busy thoroughfare for the city’s rodents. Not knowing where to go, he asked a scrawny mouse limping along the tunnel. The mouse eyed him with a flicker of jealousy. It wasn't every day a rodent saw such a fat mouse, especially in the sewers. Perhaps he thought Randy was a palace resident, used to Capo's lavish feasts. The mouse pointed down the tunnel with a disdainful flick of his head, and Randy followed the direction. He asked a few more mice, each with the same mix of suspicion and envy in their eyes. Finally, he reached his destination, where he hauled himself out of the gutter, his chubby legs straining under his weight.
At the palace gates two Invincibles stood guard.
“Who are you, fat mouse?” one of them demanded with contempt.
“I’m Randy,” he said with bated breath. “I came to see Capo.”
“Randy?” the other Invincible asked, his brow furrowed. “That name sounds familiar.”
“Oh, yes,” the first one said, a smirk stretching from ear to ear. “We heard the story. You tried to talk to a human, didn’t you?”
The guards burst into laughter.
“We thought you were dead already,” said the other rat. “Come in, Capo will want to see you before he decides what to do with you.”
That last part didn’t sound so good, Randy thought.
They led him into the palace towards the audience hall, the old hotel reception. Three hundred Invincibles lined the sides of the hall, framing Capo’s throne. Randy walked down the middle, his head bowed, the guards flanking him. Karniga stood beside Capo, his eyes narrowed in disapproval.
“So…” Capo said, a thin smile playing on his lips. “Here we have Mr. Fat Randy, the mouse who ate too much candy. Or shall we call you, the Human Whisperer?”
The audience hall erupted in laughter.
“I’m sorry,” Randy said, abashed. “I didn’t mean to…”
“Didn’t mean to what?” Capo asked, his tone suddenly cold. “To try and talk to humans like a fool? To stay and gorge yourself on our candy instead of doing your duty?”
Randy’s stomach churned, a knot of guilt and fear tightening inside him.
“I hope you have good news for me,” Capo continued, his eyes nailing Randy to the ground. “Do we have a tunnel with a large opening fit and ready for extraction?”
“I…” Randy stammered. “I couldn’t…”
“Oh, you couldn’t?” Capo leaned forward in his throne, his anger palpable. “Why is that? Too fat from eating too much candy? My candy — our candy!” Capo said, waving at the room.
“No — I — you don’t understand,” Randy stammered.
“Oh, I don’t understand? Am I too dumb for you now?”
“No — no, Sir Capo — I mean I am sorry, I just couldn’t — how is Karnel?”
“I am asking the questions now. Why didn’t you dig a tunnel, Randy?”
Randy opened his mouth to speak, but instead he just grimaced, showing his toothless mouth. Capo recoiled, his own mouth contorting in disgust.
“What sort of abomination is this?” he hissed. “Fat and toothless, what use are you to us like this?”
“Please, I can make it up to you somehow.”
“You have proven to me you cannot be trusted. You are a selfish mouse, a mouse that only thinks of himself. You betrayed me and you betrayed the city — you are a traitor.”
“Traitor, traitor, traitor.” repeated the invincibles, hitting their tridents on the floor.
“Please,” Randy wailed. “Don’t hurt Karnel. It’s all my fault. Punish me but don’t punish him.”
“Oh, it’s too late for that, my toothless friend,” Capo said, flashing a smile of his gold teeth that sent a shiver down Randy’s spine. “Karnel is gone. I fed him to the beast in the Pit of Doom just three days ago.”
“But why?” Randy cried, tears welling in his eyes. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“Wait for what?” Capo snarled. “For this insult? You came here, I treated you with kindness, and you repaid me by stealing from the city. Or did you think you were exempt from the Golden Rule because you are from Villagloriosa?”
“No…” Randy despaired. He felt utterly helpless, consumed by guilt.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Capo said, his eyes glittering in the dark, “you’ll be joining Karnel soon. Tonight, we feed the beast again. Looks like all that extra fat will be of some use.”
Randy turned and tried to run, but the guards seized him.
“Please, Mr. Capo,” Randy pleaded. “Be reasonable!”
“My justice is reasonable, your mistakes are not,” Capo said dismissively, as Randy was dragged away.
Randy spent his last hours in a cold, damp cell alone. The echoes of pain from other cells filled the air, a constant, mournful chorus. He couldn’t talk to anyone, couldn’t find any comfort. His last meal was a bowl of cream cheese, a cruel joke, no doubt, but Randy ate it with a desperate hunger. For the first time since he'd entered the candy shop, that meal felt clean, almost pure. Perhaps cheese was better than candy after all.
As dusk fell, Karniga and two Invincibles came to fetch him. They led him towards a large promenade, a hallway of the hotel that led to a laundry chute on one end. Invincibles lined the sides of the hallway, and behind them, a jeering crowd of rodents had gathered. Randy was placed on a moving cart and carried towards the far end of the hallway where the chute was. As the cart reached its destination, Randy saw a platform that led upwards to an old laundry chute. Invincibles lifted him onto a makeshift lift, and with a series of creaking pulleys, hauled him upwards.
At the top, Capo stood, flanked by Karniga and his jester. Capo waved to the crowd, and a hush fell over the hall.
“Blessed is the Golden Rule, and cursed are those who break it.” Capo proclaimed, his voice booming across the hallway.
“All hail Capo and his Golden Rule.” Karniga said, raising his Golden Trident. The crowd echoed his cry.
“Randy,” Capo continued. “You stand accused of conspiring with Karnel against the Golden Rule, and stealing valuable resources that belonged to the rodents of this city. You are hereby sentenced to the Pit of Doom.”
As he spoke, the Invincibles pulled more ropes, and the laundry chute opened, revealing a dark, gaping maw. From within, terrifying roars echoed through the hallway, the sounds of a monstrous beast. Randy trembled, his body shaking with fear. The crowd chanted, “Beast! Beast! Beast!”
“Capo, please!” Randy wailed, in a last desperate plea. “I never meant to offend you — please, be reasonable!”
“Hear the traitor’s wails and cries before he dies!” sang the jester, mockingly stringing his lyre.
The crowd roared with laughter, which made Randy’s fear turn into a burning rage. If he was going to die, it was better to die angry than a coward.
“Tell everyone your name, Tiny Hops!” he shouted at Capo, roaring with defiance. “Tiny because you’re a little, petty mouse! Go on, then! Kill me if you must, but it won’t change who you are, a nobody pretending to be somebody. Tell everyone how your gold teeth are fake. YOU ARE A FAKE, TINY — A DECEIVER!”
The audience booed Randy, no one believed his words… and yet, the seed of doubt had been planted in some; yes, was it possible for a mouse to have natural gold teeth?
Capo’s face flushed with anger, but then he composed himself and forced a golden smile. “You know, this feels like déjà vu… I wonder why… Ah, yes. This is how Will died too. A traitor, just like you. Runs in the family, I suppose.”
Randy opened his mouth to protest that Will hadn’t died like this, but a sudden thought struck him. If Capo believed Will had died in the Pit of Doom, and Will made it back to Villagloriosa, then there had to be a way to survive. He looked at Capo’s shining golden smile one more time, and a strange, hysterical laugh bubbled up from his throat. He couldn’t stop.
Karniga, the jester, and Capo exchanged confused glances. The crowd looked on, disconcerted. What was so funny? This mouse must be raving mad.
“You are a nobody, Tiny!” Randy kept laughing. “A nobody!”
“Throw him in already!” shouted Capo to his Invincibles, unable to contain his anger.
Two Invincibles grabbed Randy, and with a powerful shove, threw him into the chute. Randy’s laughter died in his throat as he plummeted, the darkness swallowing him whole. It felt like an eternity before he finally landed. Surely at this speed he would be dead even before the beast got him. But he didn’t die, he wasn’t even hurt; he landed onto something soft and yielding, a big pillow.
Before he could gather his bearings and look around, he saw the gaping jaws of a massive beast closing around him. The beast shook him, tossing him from side to side, and Randy cried out in pain. Except that it wasn’t pain; it didn’t really hurt. The beast’s jaws were holding him gently, almost tenderly. The only unpleasant part was the thick, sticky drool that covered him.
After a moment, the beast dropped him back onto the soft surface, and Randy lay there, dumbfounded, wiping the drool off his face. When he looked around, he saw a group of rodents watching him from a short distance away. They held fingers to their lips, urging him to be silent. Above him loomed the beast, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, its tail wagging with a friendly thump-thump-thump.
The crowd above began to disperse, their footsteps echoing through the chute, and then the heavy door slammed shut. Only then did the strange rodents approach, circling him with cautious curiosity. There were about twenty-four rodents, a mix of mice and rats, their eyes gleaming in the dim light. One of them, an old mouse with a wise, weathered face, leaned heavily on a cane.
The old mouse spoke first, calm and reassuring. “Welcome to the Pit of Doom. My name is Zeno, and you’ve already met Houdini.” He gestured towards the large, friendly-looking dog, whose tail thumped against the ground with enthusiastic wags.
“Am I… am I dead?” Randy asked with a shaky whisper. Confusion swirled in his mind.
“No,” a familiar voice said behind him. “But you are surrounded by a bunch of fools.”
Randy turned to see Karnel standing behind him, rolling his eyes. Before Randy could express his joy at seeing his friend alive, a strikingly beautiful and athletic she-rat waved an angry fist at Karnel.
“I’m getting a little tired of your bad attitude and snarky comments, Karnel. Try to be a little appreciative that we saved you, at least.”
“Oh, forgive me, Antiope,” Karnel said, sending a tender look in her direction. “Don’t mistake my comment for a lack of appreciation. You are all excellent rodents, the best I’ve met in this city. Which is precisely why it pains me to see you throw your lives away after getting a second chance.”
Zeno remained unfazed by Karnel’s cynicism. He spoke calmly, with a quiet, comforting certainty. “Be patient, Karnel. The moment will come soon. In fact, it is already here.”
A wave of anticipation swept through the group. They stared at Zeno as if they had waited for this moment for a very long time. Zeno smiled, a broad, knowing smile. “Come now, everyone. A little attention to detail goes a long way.” He gestured towards Randy. “It’s not me you should be looking at. It’s Randy. Or have you not noticed?”
They stared at Randy, who grinned sheepishly, displaying the gap in his mouth. Everyone gasped; they stared at each other.
“Oh wow,” Karnel said mockingly. “We have a toothless mouse in the house. The Invincibles will surrender immediately at the sight.”
“Have a bit of imagination, Karnel,” said Zeno. “Don’t you see why this matters?”
“No, I don’t,” Karnel snapped. “The prophecy said the mouse with Golden Teeth will liberate the city, which would be Capo. It didn’t say anything about the toothless mouse reconquering the palace.”
“I think… I know what you mean,” Randy stammered looking at Zeno.
“Do you?” Zeno asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
“You want me to steal Capo’s fake gold teeth and wear them,” Randy said, gaining confidence. “The moment his soldiers see his teeth aren’t real, he’ll lose all his power.”
A collective gasp filled the air. Even Karnel, usually so quick with a cutting remark, was speechless.
“Well done, Randy,” Zeno said, his smile widening. “Very well done.”
“How did you know?” Antiope asked Randy, her admiration for this little mouse rising.
“The idea came to me in a flash,” Randy explained. “Before Capo threw me down the chute. He said that this was how he killed my uncle Will. But I knew Will didn’t die here. Then I remembered that Will also wore fake teeth. So, I guessed Capo’s golden teeth might be fake too — that’s how he deceived everyone to believe he was the mouse from the prophecy.”
“Everyone believes Capo’s teeth are real,” Karnel said bitterly. “Even I believed it; I am still not sure. We all had so much faith in the prophecy of the mouse with Golden Teeth that we wanted it to be real.”
“The prophecy is real,” Zeno corrected him gently. “You just got the wrong mouse.”
“But you’re suggesting that Randy steal Capo’s teeth, which would also make his teeth fake,” Karnel retorted. “So it’s fake prophecies all the way down…”
“The teeth were always supposed to be fake, dear Karnel,” Zeno said, patiently. “No one has natural gold teeth; it’s just not possible. But Randy is the mouse from the prophecy. I’m sure of it. He’s the one who will liberate the city.”
“Yes, that’s what we all thought about Capo too,” Karnel said, heavy with irony.
“Did he liberate the city?” Zeno asked, his eyes fixed on Karnel.
“Clearly not,” Karnel muttered.
“Then he wasn’t the mouse from the prophecy.”
Karnel stood there, his brow furrowed, lost in thought. The others remained silent, their eyes fixed on Randy, as if he were a rare and precious artefact. Randy, breaking the tense silence, spoke to Karnel, his voice thick with an anguish he had withheld for a long time now.
“I’m so happy to see you alive, Karnel. I’m so sorry. I was first stupid, then I was weak, then I was too fat. I kept making excuses not to dig, eating candy every day, and then I lost my teeth… I lost them. I have no teeth… so I couldn’t save you.” He broke down, his body shaking with sobs, wracked with guilt.
But Karnel, his expression softening, pulled him upright.
“Hey, hey, kid, come on,” he said gently. “It all worked out in the end. After all, you can’t go around living up to prophecies with a full set of teeth, right? If you hadn’t eaten all that candy, these guys would probably have pulled your teeth out by force, and that would have really hurt.”
The group erupted in laughter. Randy couldn’t help but chuckle along too, shaking off a few tears along the way.
“I don’t believe prophecies anymore,” Karnel said, his eyes scanning the group and then fixing on Randy. “But I believe in all of you, and I have faith in Randy. Please, just please — don’t make me regret it this time,” he winked at Randy.
“So, what now?” Antiope asked impatiently. She had waited too long for this moment.
“We have Randy, and we are ready,” Zeno said, his eyes gleaming. “But Randy isn’t ready yet. He’ll need to learn our ways first. Also, he’s going to need to lose a bit of weight if he’s going to be skulking around in the shadows, stealing gold teeth.” He winked at Randy and the rodents laughed.
“You also assume that all three hundred Invincibles will suddenly turn their backs on Capo the moment they see his teeth aren’t real,” Karnel said. “There aren’t enough of us to fight them all.”
“Capo also commands a small army of cats,” Randy frowned. “What if he uses them against us?”
Houdini barked at the suggestion, his tail wagging furiously. The group burst into laughter, their spirits lifted. Even Karnel set aside his initial reservations and looked genuinely happy. A sense of hope filled the air.