Habitarium Adventures: A Pest-scapade

     The Mootix's eyes fluttered open. She rolled over on her little bed made out of a single cotton ball.

     "Berkeley, it's my turn now!"

     "Sorry, Pickles," Berkeley yawned. "My energy's not full up yet."

     "Oh, fine," the Pinchit that had been hovering by her bedside growled. He went over to another bed, where another Pinchit was yawning and stretching. "Poppy, it's my turn now!"

     "Okay," the stretching Pinchit said, scrambling off the cotton ball and scuttling out of the little house.

     "Much better," Pickles sighed. He flopped down on the cotton ball and fell asleep.

     Berkeley rolled off of her cotton ball and grunted as she stretched. Her energy was completely refilled, so she wandered out of the house and into the sunlight. A few other P3s were wandering about the Habitarium.

     "Good afternoon, Berkeley," a big, gruff Pinchit soldier said as he passed by her.

     "Good afternoon, Parry," Berkeley said. The Pinchit soldier gave her a tiny smile and continued to patrol the Habitarium.

     Berkeley headed over to the nearest resource-a patch of grass-and began clipping off little bits. When she was sure she had enough grass, she carried it over to a tall structure woven out of branches, entered the structure, and put the grass on a pile of grass clippings in the corner. She exited the structure and went back to the grass patch, where she harvested more grass.

     "Why d'ya always want to harvest grass?" a voice said. Berkeley turned and saw a Mootix approaching her. He was missing an eye and his tiny feet were calloused and scraped up.

     "Because I don't want to get my paws too filthy by harvesting mud, I can't really chip stone too well, pollen makes me sneeze, and wood gives me splinters."

     "A real Mootix worker ain't 'fraid ta get his or her hands dirty!" the other Mootix said. "Go on, go harvest some mud!"

     "But, Bobby-"

     "No buts!" Bobby snapped. "Go on, I'll take care o' the grass fer ya."

     "I'm not harvesting mud," Berkeley said stubbornly.

     "Ya'd rather harvest stone? Or wood? Or water?"

     "Water?" Berkeley said.

     Bobby jerked his head in the direction of a small spigot near Lake Glub.

     "Is water hard to harvest?" Berkeley asked.

     "Not very," Bobby replied. "Jus' grab a drop and it'll retain its shape enough for ya to put it in the storage-"

     "Swell!" Berkeley said, scurrying over to the water spigot. She held a paw under the spigot, and a big drop of water fell into her hand. Berkeley carried it as if it were glass to the storage, then carefully put it in a big walnut shell that was full of water.

     This is so easy, the Mootix thought to herself as she returned to the spigot, getting another water droplet and returning to deposit it in the storage. As she was collecting more water, she heard a loud roar.

     "Go away, Parry, I'm busy," she said aloud.

     GRRRROOAR!

     That didn't sound like Parry. Berkeley turned around and nearly screamed. Two pests were near her, snapping at her with their big teeth.

     "Shoo! Shoo!" Berkeley growled. Oh, where was Parry? Wait... he was sleeping in the red house, recharging his energy. He was the Habitarium's best soldier and their leader as well. Without him, there was no way to fend off these foul blue monsters.

     RAH! RAH! the pests snarled.

     "Sweet pollen, pests!" she heard a nester shout. "PARRY! PESTS!" The nester charged into the red house.

     Thank Milton, Berkeley thought. Parry'll wake up and deal with these monsters.

     RRR! one of the pests snapped. Berkeley looked down at the water droplet she was holding and splashed it in the face of the nearest pest.

     GRRRAAAA! the pest snarled. It swung its barbed tail at Berkeley.

     "No, you don't!" Berkeley said, jumping aside.

     THWACK!

     She slammed into the metal spigot and tumbled into Lake Glub.

     SPLASH!

     The pests cackled evilly as Berkeley sank in the water. Bubbles trailed from her mouth, and panic pounded in her brain. She thrashed her legs wildly, but she wasn't rising to the surface.

     THWOCK, THWOCK, THWOCK...

     Noises were muffled due to the water filling Berkeley's ears, but she was fairly certain the thwocks were Parry smacking the pests with his claws. Berkeley tried to shout "Parry! Help!" but it came out as a jet of bubbles and "Pbbbbbl! Haaabblll!"

     "Brrrrrbbly?" a deep voice said, but it was probably deeper than normal because of the water. Berkeley was almost to the bottom of Lake Glub when she felt something wrapping around her waist. She tried to scream, but it came out as bubbles. Water filled her mouth rapidly, making Berkeley feel like she was drowning even more quickly. Suddenly, Berkeley's eyes were flooded with sunlight and she spewed water out of her mouth and onto the grass. The P3s of their Habitarium were crowded around Lake Glub as if a monster had just risen from it.

     "Aah... aah... ah..." Berkeley gasped, coughing and sputtering. She was set down on the grass, where she coughed and sputtered more.

     "You OK?" a gruff voice said, a voice that belonged to Parry.

     "I... hope..." Berkeley said. "Thank... you... Parry..."

     "Not a problem," Parry said cheerfully.

     "Stupid... lake..." Berkeley panted. "Not... harvesting water... again."

     "Oh, c'mon," Bobby's voice said. "One li'l accident? 'Sides, it wasn't yer fault-it was that pest's fer tryin' ta attack ya, then he made ya fall inta the water!"

     Berkeley blinked the water out of her eyes.

     "Now what's this?" she heard a feminine voice say.

     "What's what?" Pickles said.

     "This blue egg!" the voice said again. A Larnikin came over with a big blue egg with white polka-dots in her arms. She set it down in the center of the P3 crowd, and the P3s crowded around to investigate it.

     "Could it be a mysterious new species?"

     "Is it edible?"

     "I wanna incubate it!"

     "Polly, you incubated the last egg we had! I call dibs on it!"

     "QUIET!" snapped Parry. The P3s fell silent.

     "I think Berkeley should be in charge of this egg," the Pinchit said.

     "WHAT?" cried all the P3s.

     "She's not even a nester!"

     "She'd eat it before I could get one bite!"

     "I wanna incubate it!"

     "Stop it, Polly!"

     "Now, I found it, I get to incubate it."

     Parry growled under his breath and picked the blue egg out of the P3 crowd. He handed it to Berkeley, who held it tightly in her paws.

     "Take this to the blue house," he whispered in her ear. "Third bed in there should be the best bed."

     Berkeley nodded and went around the arguing P3s to the blue house. She nudged the door open with her foot and entered. Once she reached the third bed, she put the blue egg on the cotton ball.

     What could you be? she thought as the egg twitched. Maybe a strange new species?

     Berkeley sighed as she lay down next to the egg, and within minutes, she was asleep.

     ------

     "Berkeley!"

     The Mootix rolled over in her sleep.

     "BERKELEY!" It was Pickles.

     "Wha?" Berkeley said sleepily.

     "Something awful's happened!"

     "Did someone else drown?" Berkeley muttered.

     "No, it's Parry!"

     "Huh?"

     "He's real sick!"

     Berkeley was awake in a flash.

     "What happened?" she cried.

     "I dunno, another pest came while you were sleeping and Parry must've gotten stung by it or something and now he's in a real bad way... luckily Ralph managed to fight the pest while Rosa and Poppy got him out of the way. Oh, what do we do?"

     "Can you get him into the red house?" Berkeley asked.

     "He's there right now, and Rosa is tending to him," Pickles said. "She's feeding him little bits of apples."

     "Well, thank you for the news, Pickles, but I need to watch this egg," Berkeley said.

     "You need to be in the red house; Rosa said so herself."

     Berkeley gulped as she turned to look at the egg, which was still twitching a bit. She followed Pickles out of the blue house and into the red one. Rosa was standing over one of the cotton balls, dabbing water onto Parry. The old Pinchit's face was purple and he was sweating.

     "Parry..." Berkeley gasped as she approached his bedside.

     Parry said nothing. He was apparently in too much pain to speak.

     "He needs company," Rosa said, "and I'm apparently not enough."

     Berkeley sat down by Parry and put a paw on his forehead. He was very warm.

     "I hope you get better," she whispered.

     "Rrrr..." moaned Parry.

     Suddenly, there was a loud scream.

     "PEST! PEST!" someone outside yelled. Pickles dashed from the red house, Berkeley right on his tail. The P3s were backing up as a tiny blue pest-half the size of Berkeley-sniffed around.

     "Wait... that's just a baby!" Berkeley said. She noticed a tiny piece of eggshell stuck to the baby pest's tail. "It hatched from my egg!"

     A big Larnikin stomped his way over to the baby pest, but Berkeley ran up to him.

     "Don't hurt it, it's only a baby!" she cried.

     "It's still a pest!" the Larnikin growled. "It has to go!"

     The baby pest squeaked happily as it went over to examine one of the bogs where a Pinchit nester was harvesting.

     "Shoo! Shoo!" the Pinchit snapped.

     "Wa wa," the baby pest said, putting out a tiny paw to pat the Pinchit.

     "Go AWAY!" the Pinchit cried, waving his claw.

     "Waaaaaa," squeaked the baby pest. It burst into tears.

     "Oh, dear," Berkeley sighed. She galloped over to the baby pest. "It's OK, sweetie, Potato won't hurt you..."

     The baby pest looked up at Berkeley, its eyes full of tears.

     "Are you a boy or a girl?" the Mootix asked sweetly.

     The baby pest said nothing.

     "Who cares what gender it is?" snapped Potato. "It's evil!"

     "It's not evil," Berkeley said.

     "Ga," the baby pest squeaked.

     "Let's call you Sam," Berkeley said. "It can work for either a boy or a girl."

     "No, no, no, no, no!" Potato moaned. "You name it, you get attached to it. When, or if, Parry recovers, if he sees this thing, he's gonna go after it. And we'll all be happy. Maybe this pest's parents will come tearing into our peaceful Habitarium and smash us all to bits."

     Berkeley ignored him.

     "Come on, Sam, let me show you around," she said to the little blue creature, and headed off towards the storage.

     "Goo," Sam said, hopping after Berkeley. Potato sighed and continued to harvest mud.

     ------

     "This is the storage, where we keep our resources," Berkeley said, pointing a paw at the large woven building.

     "Ga," Sam said happily.

     "That over there is a rock, which the nesters and workers can harvest to add to our resources. With resources, we can build new buildings and stuff. They also can harvest wood from that tree, pollen from that flower, grass from that grass patch, water from the spigot and mud from the bogs."

     "Rock," Sam replied. "Wata. Muh. Wuh."

     "Those big white things are Grarrl's teeth, to make the Habitarium look pretty. There's also a dandelion seed over there."

     "Dan dan see, Grah tee."

     "Those little buildings made of leaves with the lights over them are houses. The red one... has... Parry in it right now, and there's probably some P3s sleeping in the blue one."

     "Ha," Sam squeaked. "Ha, ha."

     "What's so funny?" Pickles said as he passed by with a stone chip on his back.

     "She's trying to say house," Berkeley explained. Sam waddled over to the red house and nudged the door with her forehead. She pushed open the door and entered, Berkeley chuckling and going after her. There was a loud, blood-curdling scream.

     "PEST! PEST! PEST!" It was Rosa. "GET IT OUT OF THIS HOUSE!"

     Berkeley entered the red house and saw Rosa flattened against the wall in sheer terror, Sam gazing at her in awe.

     "What's this?" Parry said. "A baby pest?"

     "She'd better not hurt me!" Rosa cried.

     "How d'you know it's a she?" Berkeley asked.

     "I just do, OK?" Rosa replied.

     Sam scuttled over to Parry's bedside.

     "Hello there," Parry said hoarsely. It was clear the poison was overpowering him, and Sam seemed to understand.

     "Rock," she said, touching the barbed tip of her tiny tail to Parry's arm. Slowly, Parry's face changed from deep purple back to its normal pale yellow color, and when Berkeley put her paw on his forehead, she noticed it wasn't very hot.

     "What's she doing?" Rosa asked.

     "Draining the poison from Parry, I presume," Berkeley replied.

     That was what Sam seemed to be doing. A minute later, Sam backed up, and Parry blinked sleepily.

     "I feel so much better now," he said.

     Rosa cheered; Berkeley couldn't help but join in.

     "Will you be OK, Sam?" Berkeley asked the little blue creature once she was done cheering.

     "Wuh muh," Sam replied.

     "The pests are immune to their own venom," Rosa said. "I've seen many a raid in my time, and some are so confused they just jab at each other. They don't get hurt."

     "Muh," Sam said.

     Someone screamed outside.

     "PESTS! PESTS!" Potato bellowed. "SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"

     "I'm a-comin'!" Parry said, jumping off the cotton ball bed and scurrying outside. Berkeley and Sam ran after him. When Parry came bursting out of the red house, all the P3s dropped what they were doing and cheered.

     "Parry's back!"

     "Hooray!"

     RRRRAAAAR!

     Four pests charged towards Parry, Berkeley and Sam.

     "Ma! Pa!" Sam cried, running up to two of the pests. They screeched and swept her aside, sending her plowing into the rock and knocking her senseless.

     "No!" a Larnikin soldier shouted angrily. "ATTACK!"

     "Let's teach 'em a lesson, Rodney!" Ralph shouted, charging at the pests. His arms were flailing wildly.

     "RAAAAR!" Parry growled, swiping at the nearest pest and knocking it into one of the bogs. As the pest flailed its legs wildly, Rodney yanked it out and gave it a good sock to the nose. Ralph was fighting another pest, and Parry was taking on two pests at once.

     "Sam!" Berkeley cried as she ran over to the rock, where the baby pest was lying. She didn't look very good. "Are you OK?"

     "Wa... ta..." Sam moaned.

     Water, Berkeley thought, rushing over to the spigot and letting a drop of water fall into her paw. She rushed over to Sam and splashed water on her face. "Wake up, Sam, wake up..."

     "Wata!"

     Sam's eyes shot open.

     "Waaataaaa!"

     Sam charged towards the nearest pest and chomped down on its leg.

     "Aaack!" the pest screamed, and was about to sting Sam when Rodney body-slammed it and sent it crashing into Lake Glub. Rodney let out a wild whoop and dove in after it.

     Parry slammed his claw into one of the pests, and it poofed in a cloud of blue smoke. A red gem appeared where it had once been, which vanished a moment later with a bang.

     "Look out!" Berkeley shouted as the other pest raised its tail to sting Parry. The Pinchit swiped his claw and knocked the pest's tail aside, then swept the entire pest near Ralph.

     "Hiyaaaa!" Ralph cried, executing a flying ninja kick and crashing into the pest. Rodney emerged from Lake Glub with a red gem, which poofed a moment later.

     "That was the most epic underwater pest battle ever!" Rodney hollered as he swam ashore. "I totally kicked that pest's tail from here to Kreludor and back again!"

     "I'm sure you did!" grunted Ralph, slapping the pest he was fighting with fists of fury. A moment later, that pest also had disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a red gem that vanished too.

     "That was a close one," Parry said.

     SKRRRRRREEEEEEE!

     The ground began rumbling underneath their feet. Sam squeaked in fright and ducked behind Berkeley.

     "It's OK, Sam, it's not like it's a giant, mutant, three-headed pest with flamethrower breath and wings and..."

     A huge shadow fell over them all, and Berkeley looked up into six gigantic yellow eyes. A horrible odor-like that of rotten meat and mud mixed with decay-swept over the Habitarium.

     "Milton help us," squeaked Rodney. His voice was not much more than a peep.

     ROOOOOAAAAORRRR!

     Three gigantic mouths opened to roar, and spit and food scraps flew everywhere.

     "RUUUN! EVERY P3 FOR THEMSELVES!" Potato bellowed.

     "I was wrong... at least it doesn't have flamethrower breath," said Berkeley.

     HISSSSSS!

     Three jets of fire erupted from the giant pest's mouth and sailed over the Habitarium, barely singing the top of the storage.

     "OK, it does have flamethrower breath," gulped Berkeley. "We're doomed now."

     "Rock," Sam said.

     RAAAAAAR!

     Parry threw himself at the giant pest and swiped at its eye with his claw, but a second eyelid closed over the giant pest's eye and the swipe harmlessly deflected off the clear eyelid.

     "What? How?" Parry cried.

     "Go away, foul monster!" Rodney cried, throwing a water droplet at the giant pest. It was futile, though--he could have been throwing flower petals at it for all it mattered.

     RRRRR!

     The giant pest spread enormous Cyodrake-like wings and hovered over the Habitarium, roaring and snapping at the terrified P3s.

     "Rock!" Sam said, pointing at the rock in the corner.

     "Sam, this is no time for harvesting stone!" Berkeley cried. "We're about to be eaten by a monster!"

     "Rock... throw!" Sam shouted. She scurried over to the rock, chipped off a piece, and threw it into the giant pest's left mouth.

     RRRRRRRRAAAAR!

     The giant pest let out a belch of fire, but this one wasn't nearly as hot as before.

     "Great idea, Sam!" Berkeley said, and ran over to grab a rock chip.

     HISSSSSS!

     A huge, slimy, wet thing wrapped around Berkeley-and a moment later, she found out that slimy thing was the monster's tongue.

     "Gross!" she cried, struggling against the tightening grip of the giant pest's tongue as it pulled her into its left mouth.

     "BERKELEY!" Rodney cried. "I'LL SAVE YOU! HEY, UGLY, EAT ME!"

     GRRRRR! The middle mouth's tongue lashed out, and Rodney seized it. But the tongue slurped Rodney up too fast, and the Larnikin was unable to rescue Berkeley.

     GULP!

     Berkeley was sliding down a slimy pink tunnel which she assumed was the beast's throat.

     "HEEEELP!" she screamed, but no one came to her rescue.

     SPLAT.

     Berkeley landed on something soft and slimy. She stood up and looked around, dazed, to find she was in the creature's stomach.

     I need to get out of here, she thought, panic racing through her little brain. But how?

     Something rumbled, and Berkeley could feel hot, smelly air rushing behind her.

     BURRRRRRRP!

     Berkeley was propelled forward like a cannonball being fired out of a cannon; a moment later she was flying through the air in the Habitarium. Looking behind her, she saw the giant pest being pelted with rocks.

     "Boo! Boooo!" Pickles was shouting. "Booo!"

     "I'll teach ya a lesson, ya big ol' smelly thing!" Bobby cried, throwing rock chips at the monster.

     Berkeley tumbled towards the ground, but Ralph and Potato spread out their arms and caught her.

     "You OK?" they asked. "Yeck, you're all slimy."

     "I know," Berkeley said.

     SPLAT.

     Rodney landed on the ground, covered in spit, a few feet away.

     "Ewwww," he said.

     "It was Sam's idea to throw rocks at this monster!" Pickles said.

     RRRROOOAAAOR!

     The giant pest seemed to be tiring from all the rocks being thrown at it.

     "Ready for this?" Berkeley heard a voice say. She turned and saw Parry and Rosa carrying a very large chunk of rock. "Three... two... one... THROW!"

     The big rock piece went sailing through the air, slamming into the giant pest's body.

     RRRRRROOOAAAAARRRR!

     The giant pest tumbled to the ground and did not get up.

     "We did it!" Rosa cried, and the P3s cheered.

     "All thanks to Sam for the idea of throwing rocks at it," Rodney said, getting up and shaking himself free of spit.

     "Sam should totally be one of our Habitarium members," Potato said excitedly.

     Berkeley couldn't help but nod.

     "So, Sam," Parry said, approaching the little blue creature, "you want to be part of our Habitarium?"

     Sam nodded. "Ya," she said.

     Parry smiled.

     "I pronounce Sam a member of our Habitarium!" he cried.

     The P3s cheered even louder. Berkeley couldn't help but smile and join in.

The End