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The Power of a Name (Art & Story)
The Power of a Name
This is the third in final part of this round of my characters's origin story. More is to come but that will have to wait until after I am done rebuilding my brother's website. But anyway I have done my painterly experiment with the background again. And like the previous installment I am really liking the results. I just need to keep dialing in a few things about the new techniques and this will be good to go.
Anyway enjoy the story and the art X33
Part 1 http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15400743/
Part 2 http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15596064/
A month had passed since Norman was revived by Doc Ocelot and his cryogenics team. They had worked tirelessly in caring for the recovering chipmunk. The intense nanobot therapy administered once a week to repair his body cells along with hi-nutrient packets fed to him intravenously had restored his muscle tone erasing all the signs of malnourishment from his appearance. Through coordination was still a work in progress for the chipmunk due to his nervous system and brain needing to reestablish neural-network bonds to muscle silenced by stasis, Doc smiled as the chipmunk despite his scars was turning out to be quite a handsome one.
Norman progressed to a point where he was beginning occupational therapy. For the occupational therapy Doc hired on a couple of chipmunk specialists from the Chipmunk Kingdom itself to help Norman’s nervous system to regain control of his muscle and for him to relearn his body. Everything from walking properly to hand eye coordination. The chipmunk specialists even planned for Norman to learn how to run and move on all fours which maximizes a chipmunk’s innate speed and agility something that the Inner Circle forbade when they were still in charge of the Chipmunk Kingdom. Though that advance part of the therapy would need to wait until Norman was ready for it. At this point the chipmunk still needed handrails to hold himself up to stand. let alone manage a few wobbly steps.
For Norman it was a surreal sight to see other chipmunks like himself full of health and not a single scar upon their bodies. As they demonstrated their incredible speed and agility. Norman was captivated by quick yet graceful movements. Their hands manipulated objects with meticulous precision. Was amazed him even more was that they told him that he had those abilities within. They just needed to be reawaken.
It was a challenge for Norman to pursue that goal. Even with continued nanobot therapy helping him along as was the encouragement from Doc and the two Chipmunk specialists, the regiment of the occupational therapy was hard. He had to do constant exercising, physical therapy, stretches to make his muscle limber once again and to spur his brain to make the right connections with his body. But progress he did. Eventually with the aid of a pair of crutches and a bit of effort he was able to stand on his feet and move around for short distances.
However even though Norman was making tangible progress with his physical body which did boost his morale, it was that horrific dream he had of the cub inside that black sphere that still bothered him. Norman knew it was more than just a dream. It was something more. Far more. He knew that it was tied to his past. He felt that something had completely and utterly destroyed him a long time ago leaving him feeling empty, a body without a soul. Who was he? Why was he revived? He knew that this care he was receiving would only last until he was strong enough to sustain himself under his own power and mental faculties. What would he do then after he was well?
That afternoon Norman was laying in his hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling contemplating on on that dream and what it meant. He hashed and rehashed things over and over trying to figure out who he was. Though he was called Norman by Doc and his staff, he just felt like that name somehow just didn’t fit. It was not right. Everytime he tried to remember his past and who he was, all he saw was utter pain, a pain he had no wish to unbury. In fact he just felt as he had always felt since he was revived, an empty shell.
Another question that now rolled through Norman’s head was the Chipmunk Hero action figure. He remembered in his last fleeting glimpses of his vision before the pain of that maelstrom overtook him was of the Hero figure and the scares on its belly and chest not glowing. His scars were glowing, the cub’s were also. The same was said for the “sick one” action figure. But the Hero’s scars were not. What did that mean?
Doc came in to the room to do some quick checks on Normans vitals. The observant cat clearly saw the hard, contemplative look on the chipmunk’s face. The cat pulled out a chair and sat down at Norman’s bedside.
“Everything okay Norman?” Dic asked. His voice was like that of a concerned parent.
The chipmunk looked at Doc with distant and tired eyes.
“I….I don’t know.” Norman sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Doc’s voice grew more concerned as he leaned forward closer to the chipmunk.
“I really don’t know who I am.” the chipmunk answered.
“You are Norman Lee, of course.” Doc assured the chipmunk.
“Well maybe that’s my name. But that’s not what I mean.” Norman said. “Who am I?”
“Well chipmunk” Doc sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “I was hoping to hold off telling you this until I feel you are well enough to handle the not so good things about your past. Trust me its not pretty.”
“I’m listening.” Normans said.
Reluctantly Doc divulged what he had researched of Norman’s past. He told him of the Inner Circle that once ruled the Chipmunk Kingdom and how that fanatical cult nearly wiped out Chipmunk Kind’s rightful culture. He told the chipmunk of his brother Jerry Lee and how he spearheaded the overthrowing of the Inner Circle and opening the door for the restoration of the Kingdom and Rightful Culture. Doc could see from the smile on the chipmunk’s face that Norman liked the heroic bravery of his brother and the outcome of chipmunk kind’s fight for survival and cultural identity.
However it came time for Doc to explain to Norman that his fate was much different than that of his brother. Smiles gave away to dismay as Doc told Norman of his incarceration by the Inner Circle and brutal torture by the Grand Bishop the head of the cult himself.. What hit Norman the hardest though was learning about the abysmal state he was left in by the time he was rescued from his captors and placed into stasis. His rescuer’s remarks of him being left as an empty shell, a body without a soul barely clinging to life was a stoic description that matched perfectly how he felt right now and ever since he was revived.
Doc expected Norman to be in tears given how hard it was for him to divulge the chipmunk’s past to Norman. Instead the chipmunk was quiet. His eyes closed as he took all of this in and processed on it.
A moment had passed. Norman looked down at his arms and hand paws , first his palms, then the back of his hand paws. He then slid his hand paws up his arms to his shoulders and then down his chest and belly where his scars are located feeling and inspecting every last square inch of his being, a body that had endured incredible savagery that what he now felt was responsible for the utter decimation of its soul. What else could it have been that made him feel empty inside?
“A body without a soul.” Norman sighed as the full weight of what he had just heard settled upon his shoulders. He laid back down on in his bed. Mentally exhausted, his head slumped in his pillow. He turned his gaze to Doc with eyes like that of a child who lost his family.
“If that is what I am. Now what?” the chipmunk said to the feline.
“Norman.” Doc said as he took a gentle hold of the chipmunks hand-paw. “I know it was hard to hear what I have said to you. But those things that happened to you are in your past. Plus you will not be hurt by the Inner Circle anymore. You brother sacrificed himself to overthrow that cult and the Chipmunk Kingdom’s rightful culture was restored. You are living in the here and now. Biologically you are still young and if I have my way about this you will have a full life ahead of you. Plus you will live far longer than any normal chipmunk thanks to the nanobot treatments we have been giving you since I revived you, a very good side effect of nanobot therapy.” Doc then gazed into Normans eyes. “Lets say that if you are indeed a body without a soul, then think of it this way. You are a blank canvas. You can rebuild yourself into who you want to be.”
Norman looked puzzled at Doc’s words. But the cat continued this time in a more direct and to the point way. “Basically chipmunk, you have two choices. You can either let your painful past keep you in misery or you can shape your own future by rebuilding yourself into who you want to be. The choice is yours.”
The chipmunk was silent as he thought about doc’s words. Doc was right in that he faced those two choices, choices that would shape his future. But which to make? He did not want to hurt any more. But on the other hand there was an overwhelming devastation within him he would have to mend.
“I...have allot to think about.” Norman said.
“Take your time” Doc said patiently as he stood up.
The cat was about to leave the room, when….
“Doc” Norman called out.
“Yes” the cat returned to Norman’s bed side.
“I guess its the first time in a long time someone has helped me instead of hurt me.” Norman said. Doc raised his eyebrows. “For what its worth…..Thank You.” The cat smiled warmly. He thought about his friend that he defended from his tormentors and how he wanted that second chance to save him but could not despite his best efforts. Hearing those words from this chipmunk felt that there was hope he would have his second chance to save someone from the damage done by bullies.
“You are very welcome chippy.” He said with an affectionate voice. He glanced out the window and noticed that night had fallen.
“Its time for you to get some sleep” Doc said. Like a caring parent he pulled the blanket over norman’s chest.
“Good night chipmunk” Doc said as he smiled once more as he gave the chipmunk a gentle pet to his head.
“Good Night” Norman smiled as he closed his eyes.
Suddenly sometime in the middle of the night Norman’s sleep was cut off by loud popping sounds emanating from outside. The chipmunk sat upright in his bed. His ears acutely attuned to even the slightest sounds that would give way the presence of a stalking predator, picked up the the sounds of growns, yells, and frantic footsteps shuffling on the floor just outside his room. His hands tightened their grips on the handrails on each side of his bed as his sense of hearing made clear that there was some kind of struggles outside his room. The chipmunk winced from a fearsome thud slamming against a wall causing a nearby picture to come off its hanger and fall to the floor with a crash. His eyes widen and heart raced as fear the same kind of fear that grip him and the cub in that dream when the meastrome penetrated the sphere containing the den.
Then the door burst open and in came a menacing figure wearing black paramilitary armor and pointed a Glock handgun at the chipmunk. The lazer amazing device affixed the gun shined a laser light on the frighten chipmunk’s forehead. That long life and a chance to rebuild himself was now only one headshot of being snuffed out. But that was only a small contributor to the terror that enveloped the chipmunk. It was something else far darker and much more terrifying that dug itself into the mind’s eye of the chipmunk.
In place of that paramilitary figure flashed the sinister image of Grand Bishop. The huge figure was made even larger by thick shoulder armor. A long cape bellowed and waved in the winds of the surrounding maelstrom the same one in that dream. The Bishops face was covered by a metal mask that showed no emotion but only an intense gaze that seem to burn a hole through the chipmunk’s body. What struck utter terror into the chipmunk was the Grand Bishop’s sharp claws revealing themselves from under the cap and loomed closer and closer to the chipmunk like some predator about to make the final kill.
All of the memories of the Grand Bishop brutalizing and torturing Norman in the chipmunk’s past came flooding back into his mind all at once. He put his arms up in vain attempt to shield himself from yet more of the same that was about to come. The Bishop raised his claws high above his head. However Norman felt that unlike everything else this menace did to him there was something different. The Bishop was not going to torture this time. He was going to finish him off once and for all. The claws came down fast and swift slashing into scares of Norman’s chest.
In an instant Norman found himself back in that dream turned nightmare pick up where he left off laying on the floor of the cub’s playroom reeling in utter pain. He screamed loudly as the pain from his glowing scares sheared through his body without end. Lighting flashed all around the den as thunder shook the ground. It was then he caught a glimpse of Tamias the Chipmunk Hero action figure laying on the floor. Its scars did not glow. It was as if the figure was immune to the what was going on all around.
Then he heard the calm soothing voice of Doc cut through the chaos and pain all around “Basically chipmunk, you have two choices. You can either let your painful past keep you in misery or you can shape your own future by rebuilding yourself into who you want to be. The choice is yours.”
Now Norman understood. He was at a crossroads. He could either die in misery or let the past die and embrace the future by being who he wanted to be. If he did not want to die in misery he would have to fight back.
The Chipmunk Hero action figure seem to beckon him. Norman somehow mustered enough will to fight back the pain tearing through his body as he clawed his way across the room with every ounce of strength towards the figure, his childhood hero, the one named Tamias. Lighting struck again and again bring wave after wave of pain upon the chipmunk. However despite the assault the chipmunk kept clawing his way toward that action figure. Memories of being beaten, whipped, verbally abuse, and every act of brutality imaginable inflicted upon him raced through his mind each one of those horrid memories trying to discourage him from moving towards that figure. However Norman realized that this time he was in a do or die situation, and he was not about to die a soulless chipmunk.
Norman crawled and struggled against the full wrath of the maelstrom fighting against everything it could throw at him. He could even feel the Grand Bishop above him slamming his fist down on his back again and again trying to stop him dead in his tracks. But fueled by a yarning to survive, endure, and cease the future that beckon him he kept going until he was within reach of the figure.
Just as the Grand Bishop raised his claws high above his head ready to make the killing blow. Norman grasped the action figure. The figure glowed a bright kaleidoscopic aura. Norman quickly rolled on his back as the aura enveloped him filling him with new found strength and vigor.
“I...won’t...suffer...any...MMMMMORRRREE!!!!” Norman yelled with a mighty voice that boomed loudly as the aura around him exploded. The bewildered Grand Bishop was instantly vaporized as the blast of light erupted from the den filling the black sphere enclosing it. Norman glowing in the blinding epicenter screamed not of fear but from the starburst frenzy of rebirth electrifying every fiber of his being! Shattering the black sphere like glass dishware dropped on the floor, the blast of light flickering and dancing with every color in the spectrum, blew outwards in all directions like the stellar winds fervently gusting from a newly born star. The cloud and the maelstrom within quickly eroded away as the brilliant and joyful light propagated in all directions until the entire void became a blinding white light.
The Chipmunk snapped back to his sense find doc and the gunman struggling and fighting in the room. The gunman drove his combat boot into Doc’s bad knee. He let out a pain filled scream as he buckled to the floor. The gunman picked up his gun which had fallen to the floor and aimed it at the cat.
“God damn you cat! I’ll kill you right now!” The enraged gunman growled. However before he could squeeze the trigger, the gunman suddenly found himself struggling against an angry chipmunk holding a tight grip around him with his arms and legs. The gunman's helmet was knocked off as he flailed and struggled to get the chipmunk off of him. Immediately, the chipmunk bit the gunman's ear. Powerful jaws geared for crushing nuts and seeds as well as to pulverize vegetation bored the chipmunk’s chisel like incisors into flesh with 1500 pounds per square inch of bite force. The gunman yelled out in agony as he continue struggling to get the chipmunk off of his back. However the chipmunk still held on and maintain his bit on the gunman’s ear. But then the gunman slammed himself along with the chipmunk against the wall. WIth the chipmunk’s wind knocked out of him he finally released his hold and slumped to the floor.
The gunman drew out a combat knife and raised it over his head. But before he could send that knife slashing down at the chipmunk, a pop echoed off the walls of the room. The gunman froze for a moment stunned. The knife fell out of his hands. Then he melted to the floor and life drained away until his was nothing but a corpse.
The chipmunk regained his senses to see Doc propped up against the back of a chair panting from exhaustion from his struggle. His smoking colt 45 still pointed at his now dead target.
“Are you okay Norman?” Doc said as he limped over to the chipmunk still slumped on the floor exhausted as well.
“Please...don’t call me by that name anymore.” the chipmunk said as he put hand out refusing to be helped up. He was still weak and had a ways to go before he was fully recovered. However with every ounce of strength he could muster. He strained against relentless gravity to stand under his own power. “I….know...who I….want to be!” the chipmunk said in a determined voice as he slowly rose as did the raising sun shining through window bathing the chipmunk in its golden rays. The chipmunks legs strained to lift him higher and more upright. Then at last, his knees locked into place and for the first time in 150 years he was standing under his own power. Only a hand holding undo the counter beside him lent some support and balance.
“I am Tamias!” the reborn chipmunk boldly declared pointing to himself with the fingers of his free hand.
“Heh...Tamias it is.” Doc replied. Though he thought that name to be strange but he liked the sound of it. He too knew of the Tamias the Chipmunk Hero toyline and its popularity during its time and of the caring nature and bravery of that toyline’s main character thanks his research into Norman Lee. He also knew the Tamias is the latin name given to chipmunks. A satisfied smile appeared across his face. It appeared the chipmunk made the right choice. He freed himself from the chains of his past and opened up an opportunity to rebuild himself. Though Doc did not ever get a chance to see that happen in his past friend. Seeing this chipmunk who suffered far worse fighting that battle and standing before him triumphant in the warm morning light more than made up for that loss.
Truly chipmunks were made of far tougher stuff than Doc anticipated. After all Chipmunk Kind as a whole had its back against the wall before during the Inner Circle’s Oppression. Yet with this chipmunk’s bother spearheading the fight chipmunk kind fought back and won.
To see this chipmunk standing before him, to know that he endured a hellish life, slept in 150 years in what amounts to being death only without decomposition, and then fight back against the pains of his past and win the dawning of a new day was a testament to that same resiliency that give his kind the resolve to not just recover from oppression, but spawn the rebirth of the Chipmunk Kingdom and its later assent to be the most powerful animal nation on earth. The name of a hero and another name describing chipmunk kind Maybe the name “Tamias” would prove fitting after all.
However Tamias would need all of the endurance and resilience he found within himself as the road ahead would not be an easy one. Not only he would have to complete his recovery but also rebuild himself. Then he would have figure out what he must do with his life renewed. Not to mention face a new and much bigger problem. Obviously judging by the armor and how well armed the deceased gunman was, he was no random psychopath. There was a sinister force much bigger than the chipmunk and the cryogenic specialist at play and the attempt on Tamias’s life and that of Doc was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Who was this force and what wicked motives did they have in store? Will the chipmunk now reborn as Tamias have what it takes to tackle the challenges within himself as well as the challenges that now lay ahead?
These, my friends, are for another story.
Epilogue:
Hereafter follows an extract from the personal journal of Doctor James H. Ocelot, current whereabouts and status unknown:
It is the 25 of December of the year 9989,
Christmas Day, unfortunately not a happy one for some people, the facility was broken into last night by what I can only assume were would be assassins since one of them, possibly the best trained and certainly the best equipped bolted straight for Normans room, whom has rather oddly taken to calling himself “Tamias” , but I digress, it was lucky I got to the room and tackled the man when I did, luckier still my newfound friend Tamias had the will and strength to distract him while I was immobilized.
“Cat” thats what he called me… obviously some sort of elitist, in any case his short and rather angry life is over now. I really must do something about my physique, it and my crippled leg have gotten me into more trouble than i'd like to admit. I doubt even the entire magazine from that pop gun he was wielding could put me down, but that wouldn’t have been the point, he would have succeeded in what he came to do… and I would have failed yet another friend.
As it is however its christmas morning and Tamias is about to open his gift I have…..acquired for him. A rather old and valuable japanese ceremonial drinking or “tea bowl” with a twist, it has been broken at one stage in its long life and subsequently repaired using a technique called Kintsugi.
I can’t help but chuckle even now as he looks at it puzzled at his new possession even as I write this, but he’s a smart one and I’m sure with a little bit of research on his behalf he will get the message.
P.S. A long life to everyone and anyone who may read this in the future, after all it is, (currently at least) Christmas.
This is the third in final part of this round of my characters's origin story. More is to come but that will have to wait until after I am done rebuilding my brother's website. But anyway I have done my painterly experiment with the background again. And like the previous installment I am really liking the results. I just need to keep dialing in a few things about the new techniques and this will be good to go.
Anyway enjoy the story and the art X33
Part 1 http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15400743/
Part 2 http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15596064/
A month had passed since Norman was revived by Doc Ocelot and his cryogenics team. They had worked tirelessly in caring for the recovering chipmunk. The intense nanobot therapy administered once a week to repair his body cells along with hi-nutrient packets fed to him intravenously had restored his muscle tone erasing all the signs of malnourishment from his appearance. Through coordination was still a work in progress for the chipmunk due to his nervous system and brain needing to reestablish neural-network bonds to muscle silenced by stasis, Doc smiled as the chipmunk despite his scars was turning out to be quite a handsome one.
Norman progressed to a point where he was beginning occupational therapy. For the occupational therapy Doc hired on a couple of chipmunk specialists from the Chipmunk Kingdom itself to help Norman’s nervous system to regain control of his muscle and for him to relearn his body. Everything from walking properly to hand eye coordination. The chipmunk specialists even planned for Norman to learn how to run and move on all fours which maximizes a chipmunk’s innate speed and agility something that the Inner Circle forbade when they were still in charge of the Chipmunk Kingdom. Though that advance part of the therapy would need to wait until Norman was ready for it. At this point the chipmunk still needed handrails to hold himself up to stand. let alone manage a few wobbly steps.
For Norman it was a surreal sight to see other chipmunks like himself full of health and not a single scar upon their bodies. As they demonstrated their incredible speed and agility. Norman was captivated by quick yet graceful movements. Their hands manipulated objects with meticulous precision. Was amazed him even more was that they told him that he had those abilities within. They just needed to be reawaken.
It was a challenge for Norman to pursue that goal. Even with continued nanobot therapy helping him along as was the encouragement from Doc and the two Chipmunk specialists, the regiment of the occupational therapy was hard. He had to do constant exercising, physical therapy, stretches to make his muscle limber once again and to spur his brain to make the right connections with his body. But progress he did. Eventually with the aid of a pair of crutches and a bit of effort he was able to stand on his feet and move around for short distances.
However even though Norman was making tangible progress with his physical body which did boost his morale, it was that horrific dream he had of the cub inside that black sphere that still bothered him. Norman knew it was more than just a dream. It was something more. Far more. He knew that it was tied to his past. He felt that something had completely and utterly destroyed him a long time ago leaving him feeling empty, a body without a soul. Who was he? Why was he revived? He knew that this care he was receiving would only last until he was strong enough to sustain himself under his own power and mental faculties. What would he do then after he was well?
That afternoon Norman was laying in his hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling contemplating on on that dream and what it meant. He hashed and rehashed things over and over trying to figure out who he was. Though he was called Norman by Doc and his staff, he just felt like that name somehow just didn’t fit. It was not right. Everytime he tried to remember his past and who he was, all he saw was utter pain, a pain he had no wish to unbury. In fact he just felt as he had always felt since he was revived, an empty shell.
Another question that now rolled through Norman’s head was the Chipmunk Hero action figure. He remembered in his last fleeting glimpses of his vision before the pain of that maelstrom overtook him was of the Hero figure and the scares on its belly and chest not glowing. His scars were glowing, the cub’s were also. The same was said for the “sick one” action figure. But the Hero’s scars were not. What did that mean?
Doc came in to the room to do some quick checks on Normans vitals. The observant cat clearly saw the hard, contemplative look on the chipmunk’s face. The cat pulled out a chair and sat down at Norman’s bedside.
“Everything okay Norman?” Dic asked. His voice was like that of a concerned parent.
The chipmunk looked at Doc with distant and tired eyes.
“I….I don’t know.” Norman sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Doc’s voice grew more concerned as he leaned forward closer to the chipmunk.
“I really don’t know who I am.” the chipmunk answered.
“You are Norman Lee, of course.” Doc assured the chipmunk.
“Well maybe that’s my name. But that’s not what I mean.” Norman said. “Who am I?”
“Well chipmunk” Doc sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “I was hoping to hold off telling you this until I feel you are well enough to handle the not so good things about your past. Trust me its not pretty.”
“I’m listening.” Normans said.
Reluctantly Doc divulged what he had researched of Norman’s past. He told him of the Inner Circle that once ruled the Chipmunk Kingdom and how that fanatical cult nearly wiped out Chipmunk Kind’s rightful culture. He told the chipmunk of his brother Jerry Lee and how he spearheaded the overthrowing of the Inner Circle and opening the door for the restoration of the Kingdom and Rightful Culture. Doc could see from the smile on the chipmunk’s face that Norman liked the heroic bravery of his brother and the outcome of chipmunk kind’s fight for survival and cultural identity.
However it came time for Doc to explain to Norman that his fate was much different than that of his brother. Smiles gave away to dismay as Doc told Norman of his incarceration by the Inner Circle and brutal torture by the Grand Bishop the head of the cult himself.. What hit Norman the hardest though was learning about the abysmal state he was left in by the time he was rescued from his captors and placed into stasis. His rescuer’s remarks of him being left as an empty shell, a body without a soul barely clinging to life was a stoic description that matched perfectly how he felt right now and ever since he was revived.
Doc expected Norman to be in tears given how hard it was for him to divulge the chipmunk’s past to Norman. Instead the chipmunk was quiet. His eyes closed as he took all of this in and processed on it.
A moment had passed. Norman looked down at his arms and hand paws , first his palms, then the back of his hand paws. He then slid his hand paws up his arms to his shoulders and then down his chest and belly where his scars are located feeling and inspecting every last square inch of his being, a body that had endured incredible savagery that what he now felt was responsible for the utter decimation of its soul. What else could it have been that made him feel empty inside?
“A body without a soul.” Norman sighed as the full weight of what he had just heard settled upon his shoulders. He laid back down on in his bed. Mentally exhausted, his head slumped in his pillow. He turned his gaze to Doc with eyes like that of a child who lost his family.
“If that is what I am. Now what?” the chipmunk said to the feline.
“Norman.” Doc said as he took a gentle hold of the chipmunks hand-paw. “I know it was hard to hear what I have said to you. But those things that happened to you are in your past. Plus you will not be hurt by the Inner Circle anymore. You brother sacrificed himself to overthrow that cult and the Chipmunk Kingdom’s rightful culture was restored. You are living in the here and now. Biologically you are still young and if I have my way about this you will have a full life ahead of you. Plus you will live far longer than any normal chipmunk thanks to the nanobot treatments we have been giving you since I revived you, a very good side effect of nanobot therapy.” Doc then gazed into Normans eyes. “Lets say that if you are indeed a body without a soul, then think of it this way. You are a blank canvas. You can rebuild yourself into who you want to be.”
Norman looked puzzled at Doc’s words. But the cat continued this time in a more direct and to the point way. “Basically chipmunk, you have two choices. You can either let your painful past keep you in misery or you can shape your own future by rebuilding yourself into who you want to be. The choice is yours.”
The chipmunk was silent as he thought about doc’s words. Doc was right in that he faced those two choices, choices that would shape his future. But which to make? He did not want to hurt any more. But on the other hand there was an overwhelming devastation within him he would have to mend.
“I...have allot to think about.” Norman said.
“Take your time” Doc said patiently as he stood up.
The cat was about to leave the room, when….
“Doc” Norman called out.
“Yes” the cat returned to Norman’s bed side.
“I guess its the first time in a long time someone has helped me instead of hurt me.” Norman said. Doc raised his eyebrows. “For what its worth…..Thank You.” The cat smiled warmly. He thought about his friend that he defended from his tormentors and how he wanted that second chance to save him but could not despite his best efforts. Hearing those words from this chipmunk felt that there was hope he would have his second chance to save someone from the damage done by bullies.
“You are very welcome chippy.” He said with an affectionate voice. He glanced out the window and noticed that night had fallen.
“Its time for you to get some sleep” Doc said. Like a caring parent he pulled the blanket over norman’s chest.
“Good night chipmunk” Doc said as he smiled once more as he gave the chipmunk a gentle pet to his head.
“Good Night” Norman smiled as he closed his eyes.
Suddenly sometime in the middle of the night Norman’s sleep was cut off by loud popping sounds emanating from outside. The chipmunk sat upright in his bed. His ears acutely attuned to even the slightest sounds that would give way the presence of a stalking predator, picked up the the sounds of growns, yells, and frantic footsteps shuffling on the floor just outside his room. His hands tightened their grips on the handrails on each side of his bed as his sense of hearing made clear that there was some kind of struggles outside his room. The chipmunk winced from a fearsome thud slamming against a wall causing a nearby picture to come off its hanger and fall to the floor with a crash. His eyes widen and heart raced as fear the same kind of fear that grip him and the cub in that dream when the meastrome penetrated the sphere containing the den.
Then the door burst open and in came a menacing figure wearing black paramilitary armor and pointed a Glock handgun at the chipmunk. The lazer amazing device affixed the gun shined a laser light on the frighten chipmunk’s forehead. That long life and a chance to rebuild himself was now only one headshot of being snuffed out. But that was only a small contributor to the terror that enveloped the chipmunk. It was something else far darker and much more terrifying that dug itself into the mind’s eye of the chipmunk.
In place of that paramilitary figure flashed the sinister image of Grand Bishop. The huge figure was made even larger by thick shoulder armor. A long cape bellowed and waved in the winds of the surrounding maelstrom the same one in that dream. The Bishops face was covered by a metal mask that showed no emotion but only an intense gaze that seem to burn a hole through the chipmunk’s body. What struck utter terror into the chipmunk was the Grand Bishop’s sharp claws revealing themselves from under the cap and loomed closer and closer to the chipmunk like some predator about to make the final kill.
All of the memories of the Grand Bishop brutalizing and torturing Norman in the chipmunk’s past came flooding back into his mind all at once. He put his arms up in vain attempt to shield himself from yet more of the same that was about to come. The Bishop raised his claws high above his head. However Norman felt that unlike everything else this menace did to him there was something different. The Bishop was not going to torture this time. He was going to finish him off once and for all. The claws came down fast and swift slashing into scares of Norman’s chest.
In an instant Norman found himself back in that dream turned nightmare pick up where he left off laying on the floor of the cub’s playroom reeling in utter pain. He screamed loudly as the pain from his glowing scares sheared through his body without end. Lighting flashed all around the den as thunder shook the ground. It was then he caught a glimpse of Tamias the Chipmunk Hero action figure laying on the floor. Its scars did not glow. It was as if the figure was immune to the what was going on all around.
Then he heard the calm soothing voice of Doc cut through the chaos and pain all around “Basically chipmunk, you have two choices. You can either let your painful past keep you in misery or you can shape your own future by rebuilding yourself into who you want to be. The choice is yours.”
Now Norman understood. He was at a crossroads. He could either die in misery or let the past die and embrace the future by being who he wanted to be. If he did not want to die in misery he would have to fight back.
The Chipmunk Hero action figure seem to beckon him. Norman somehow mustered enough will to fight back the pain tearing through his body as he clawed his way across the room with every ounce of strength towards the figure, his childhood hero, the one named Tamias. Lighting struck again and again bring wave after wave of pain upon the chipmunk. However despite the assault the chipmunk kept clawing his way toward that action figure. Memories of being beaten, whipped, verbally abuse, and every act of brutality imaginable inflicted upon him raced through his mind each one of those horrid memories trying to discourage him from moving towards that figure. However Norman realized that this time he was in a do or die situation, and he was not about to die a soulless chipmunk.
Norman crawled and struggled against the full wrath of the maelstrom fighting against everything it could throw at him. He could even feel the Grand Bishop above him slamming his fist down on his back again and again trying to stop him dead in his tracks. But fueled by a yarning to survive, endure, and cease the future that beckon him he kept going until he was within reach of the figure.
Just as the Grand Bishop raised his claws high above his head ready to make the killing blow. Norman grasped the action figure. The figure glowed a bright kaleidoscopic aura. Norman quickly rolled on his back as the aura enveloped him filling him with new found strength and vigor.
“I...won’t...suffer...any...MMMMMORRRREE!!!!” Norman yelled with a mighty voice that boomed loudly as the aura around him exploded. The bewildered Grand Bishop was instantly vaporized as the blast of light erupted from the den filling the black sphere enclosing it. Norman glowing in the blinding epicenter screamed not of fear but from the starburst frenzy of rebirth electrifying every fiber of his being! Shattering the black sphere like glass dishware dropped on the floor, the blast of light flickering and dancing with every color in the spectrum, blew outwards in all directions like the stellar winds fervently gusting from a newly born star. The cloud and the maelstrom within quickly eroded away as the brilliant and joyful light propagated in all directions until the entire void became a blinding white light.
The Chipmunk snapped back to his sense find doc and the gunman struggling and fighting in the room. The gunman drove his combat boot into Doc’s bad knee. He let out a pain filled scream as he buckled to the floor. The gunman picked up his gun which had fallen to the floor and aimed it at the cat.
“God damn you cat! I’ll kill you right now!” The enraged gunman growled. However before he could squeeze the trigger, the gunman suddenly found himself struggling against an angry chipmunk holding a tight grip around him with his arms and legs. The gunman's helmet was knocked off as he flailed and struggled to get the chipmunk off of him. Immediately, the chipmunk bit the gunman's ear. Powerful jaws geared for crushing nuts and seeds as well as to pulverize vegetation bored the chipmunk’s chisel like incisors into flesh with 1500 pounds per square inch of bite force. The gunman yelled out in agony as he continue struggling to get the chipmunk off of his back. However the chipmunk still held on and maintain his bit on the gunman’s ear. But then the gunman slammed himself along with the chipmunk against the wall. WIth the chipmunk’s wind knocked out of him he finally released his hold and slumped to the floor.
The gunman drew out a combat knife and raised it over his head. But before he could send that knife slashing down at the chipmunk, a pop echoed off the walls of the room. The gunman froze for a moment stunned. The knife fell out of his hands. Then he melted to the floor and life drained away until his was nothing but a corpse.
The chipmunk regained his senses to see Doc propped up against the back of a chair panting from exhaustion from his struggle. His smoking colt 45 still pointed at his now dead target.
“Are you okay Norman?” Doc said as he limped over to the chipmunk still slumped on the floor exhausted as well.
“Please...don’t call me by that name anymore.” the chipmunk said as he put hand out refusing to be helped up. He was still weak and had a ways to go before he was fully recovered. However with every ounce of strength he could muster. He strained against relentless gravity to stand under his own power. “I….know...who I….want to be!” the chipmunk said in a determined voice as he slowly rose as did the raising sun shining through window bathing the chipmunk in its golden rays. The chipmunks legs strained to lift him higher and more upright. Then at last, his knees locked into place and for the first time in 150 years he was standing under his own power. Only a hand holding undo the counter beside him lent some support and balance.
“I am Tamias!” the reborn chipmunk boldly declared pointing to himself with the fingers of his free hand.
“Heh...Tamias it is.” Doc replied. Though he thought that name to be strange but he liked the sound of it. He too knew of the Tamias the Chipmunk Hero toyline and its popularity during its time and of the caring nature and bravery of that toyline’s main character thanks his research into Norman Lee. He also knew the Tamias is the latin name given to chipmunks. A satisfied smile appeared across his face. It appeared the chipmunk made the right choice. He freed himself from the chains of his past and opened up an opportunity to rebuild himself. Though Doc did not ever get a chance to see that happen in his past friend. Seeing this chipmunk who suffered far worse fighting that battle and standing before him triumphant in the warm morning light more than made up for that loss.
Truly chipmunks were made of far tougher stuff than Doc anticipated. After all Chipmunk Kind as a whole had its back against the wall before during the Inner Circle’s Oppression. Yet with this chipmunk’s bother spearheading the fight chipmunk kind fought back and won.
To see this chipmunk standing before him, to know that he endured a hellish life, slept in 150 years in what amounts to being death only without decomposition, and then fight back against the pains of his past and win the dawning of a new day was a testament to that same resiliency that give his kind the resolve to not just recover from oppression, but spawn the rebirth of the Chipmunk Kingdom and its later assent to be the most powerful animal nation on earth. The name of a hero and another name describing chipmunk kind Maybe the name “Tamias” would prove fitting after all.
However Tamias would need all of the endurance and resilience he found within himself as the road ahead would not be an easy one. Not only he would have to complete his recovery but also rebuild himself. Then he would have figure out what he must do with his life renewed. Not to mention face a new and much bigger problem. Obviously judging by the armor and how well armed the deceased gunman was, he was no random psychopath. There was a sinister force much bigger than the chipmunk and the cryogenic specialist at play and the attempt on Tamias’s life and that of Doc was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Who was this force and what wicked motives did they have in store? Will the chipmunk now reborn as Tamias have what it takes to tackle the challenges within himself as well as the challenges that now lay ahead?
These, my friends, are for another story.
Epilogue:
Hereafter follows an extract from the personal journal of Doctor James H. Ocelot, current whereabouts and status unknown:
It is the 25 of December of the year 9989,
Christmas Day, unfortunately not a happy one for some people, the facility was broken into last night by what I can only assume were would be assassins since one of them, possibly the best trained and certainly the best equipped bolted straight for Normans room, whom has rather oddly taken to calling himself “Tamias” , but I digress, it was lucky I got to the room and tackled the man when I did, luckier still my newfound friend Tamias had the will and strength to distract him while I was immobilized.
“Cat” thats what he called me… obviously some sort of elitist, in any case his short and rather angry life is over now. I really must do something about my physique, it and my crippled leg have gotten me into more trouble than i'd like to admit. I doubt even the entire magazine from that pop gun he was wielding could put me down, but that wouldn’t have been the point, he would have succeeded in what he came to do… and I would have failed yet another friend.
As it is however its christmas morning and Tamias is about to open his gift I have…..acquired for him. A rather old and valuable japanese ceremonial drinking or “tea bowl” with a twist, it has been broken at one stage in its long life and subsequently repaired using a technique called Kintsugi.
I can’t help but chuckle even now as he looks at it puzzled at his new possession even as I write this, but he’s a smart one and I’m sure with a little bit of research on his behalf he will get the message.
P.S. A long life to everyone and anyone who may read this in the future, after all it is, (currently at least) Christmas.
Category All / All
Species Rodent (Other)
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File Size 214.4 kB
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