The new Guardian of the Forest part 3

Ted and the Once-ler left the lerkim in search of the lorax. They walked all over the recovering  valley calling out for the mustache. They looked in every nook and crany. No stone was left unturned. But it seemed like the Lorax had disappeared.

"I can't find him any where." Ted reported back to the Once-ler.

"This is too strange. In all the time that I've known him I've never been able to avoid the lorax. But now I can't find hide or hair of him…" The Once-ler pondered

"Maybe we're just not yelling loud enough?" Ted offered.

"Ted not all problems can be fixed by yell-"

"HEY LORAX COME OUT! THE ONCE-LER WANTS TO TALK TO YOU! IT'S IMPORTANT!" Ted screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Ted, that did nothing but make me deaf in one ear." The Once-ler said holding his ear.

"Hey!" They finally heard the lorax reply. Ted smirked in the Once-ler's direction.

"Shut it." He growled.

"I didn't say a word man." Ted replied with the smirk still plastered on his face.

"I'm over here!" he called. Ted and Once-ler followed the sound of the Lorax's voice. When they found him they were smacked in the face with another surprise.

"Hello." The Lorax said normally. "I see your body is starting to change! That's great. That means my powers are moving to you no problem!"

"Uh, Lorax?" The Once-ler started while Ted looked on wide eyed.

"Yes?"

"There's no right way to ask this but-"

"Why have legs been replaced with a tree trunk?" Ted blurted out.

"Real smooth there, Tedster. " Once-ler rolled his eyes at the boy. But Ted had not been mistaken in his assuming. Where the Lorax's short stubby legs would have been had been swallowed up by a grey and black stripped tree trunk.

"Well, since I'm gonna stop being the guardian of the forest  I'm reverting back to my normal non magical self."

"Which is…" Ted started.

"Isn't obvious? I'm a truffula tree and a very exceptional one at that." The Lorax laughed.

"That explains a lot actually." The Once-ler nodded. "Well how long before you turn back into a truffula? I mean I'm going to need someone to teach me how to be the mystical guardian of the forest."  

"Well at the rate I'm going, I'll be back to my regular self in three days." The Lorax stated.

"THREE DAYS!" Ted and the Once-ler exclaimed.

"I just met you and you're already going to leave? You just got here!" Ted cried.

"Not mention that is no where near enough time for you to show me how to do this job." The Once-ler added.

"Whoa, Whoa! Don't you two gang up on me. Ted I'll always be here as long as you keep the message of protecting the valley alive and beanpole, you're gonna have to find your own method of being the new guardian. There's no strict set of codes on how to keep this place safe." The Lorax shrugged. The Once-ler's expression hadn't changed much however.

"If you're that worried about it then I'll help you all I can these next few days.And if that isn't enough there is a book that might be of use."  The lorax assured.

"There's a book that teaches you how to be a mystical creature as old as time itself?" Once-ler inquired.

"Well, it's book that chronicles the history of different Guardians of the forest as far back as can be remembered. Maybe it'll give you a start." The Lorax offered.

"Great! Where can I find this book?" Once-ler smiled.

"Heck if I know. I heard a lot of copies of it were destroyed." The Lorax replied.

"Then what was the point if telling me about it?" Once-ler sighed

"Well if it's a book you guys are looking for maybe it'll be in the old part of the town's library." Ted presented.

"See beanpole? With a kid like this at ya side you won't go wrong! Now go get that book!" The Lorax commanded.
"Wait will you be okay here all by yourself?" The Once-ler queried

"Of course I'll be fine! I was a tree much longer than I was the guardian." The Lorax assured. "The real challenge is going to be adjusting back to tree life. Anyways you two better get going. I heard that in Thneedville at this time of day is a nightmare."

"How do you know that?" Ted asked.

"Being the guardian of the forest grants you a sort of omnipotence. Ya hear about a lot things that you didn't know. Sometimes you hear about things you didn't want to know."
"Well I'm certainly not looking forward to that part of the job."

"Trust me slight mind reading isn't goin to be your biggest worry."

Ted and the Once-ler walked back to the lerkim to retrieve Ted's scooter and head out on the road.

"Alright, so you expect me to ride with you all the way back to Thneedvile on that?" The Once-ler pointed at the scooter.

"Well, yeah unless you want to walk." Ted offered. The Once-ler looked at the distance in between the lerkim and Thneedvile. Walking would be completely illogical when they had a perfectly fine motor vehicle at their disposal.

"Come on! It'll be fine! I've seen this scooter survive some pretty amazing things! Even one of your old tree chopping cars could take this thing down." Ted mounted his scooter. The Once-ler sighed.

"Fine. Do you at least have another helmet?" Ted  shook his head.

"I think I might have one in my closet." The Once-ler walked back towards the lerkim.

"You might want to changes clothes while you're in there." Ted remarked. "The ratty old green housecoat isn't very becoming of you."

"I'll take your fashion suggestion under consideration. " The Once-ler said sarcastically.

"I'm just saying."

The Once-ler entered the lerkim. It seemed so dark and hopeless now. But  there was time when he felt the same way. He was once burdened with the shame having ruined the lives of some many directly and inadvertently. From the animals forced from their homes to the people in Thneedvile who almost went their entire existences without knowing the joys of nature. Now he was burdened with an even heavier responsibility, to ensure the forest world be safe . But for some reason it felt better to carry this burden than the other.

The Once-ler walked  to an old closet and pulled open the door. He was assaulted with a cloud of dust and stale air. The Once-ler hacked and coughed as the foul substances entered his lungs. When the dust finally settled the Once-ler looked in the top of the old closet. There he saw three pieces of head wear.

One was the helmet he came in the building to find in the first place. He'd long since forgotten why he had this thing . It was a little silver helmet that was just begging to be used again (or ever).

Then the green top hat. Once in time when it was first made it was a symbol of his supremacy and pride. It used to stand erect lengthening his already impressive height. When he wore it everyone knew he was dealing in business. Now it was faded and bent over it self and a humble slump.

Then there was the grey fedora. It surprised him to even see it in this closet. He hadn't seen it in literally ages. He reached for it. As the Once-ler held it in his hand he could almost hear himself strumming a guitar.

"Na. Na. Na. Na. Na. Na." he could hear the echo of that song in the back of his mind. He was reminded of all those times before. Those times in the forest just hanging out with the animals. He now regarded them to be the happiest memories.

He looked down at the old green house coat.

"The kid might have a point." He started to rummage through the closet more looking for something a little bit more "becoming" as Ted put it. He found his outfit little by little. The grey vest, then the stripped pants, and finally the white button up shirt. He dressed quickly. Then he turned to head out of the lerkim.

"Whoa! Look who dressed to the nines? Where ya going Mister? You got a hot date or something?" Ted chuckled.

"Ted, just take me to Thneedville." The Once-ler sighed as he got on to the scooter.

"Right away Mr. Once-ler! Certainly don't want you late to the big fancy thing you dressed up for!" Ted started his scooter and revved it a bit.

"Hang on tight man!" Ted remarked eagerly. At that moment the Once-ler realized that in his change of clothes he forgot the real reason that he'd entered the lerkim in the first place. The helmet.

"Ted wait don't-" But Ted was off like a rocket toward the city with the Once-ler clinging to him. His legs forced into an awkward position to keep them from dragging on the ground.

As Ted and the Once-ler rode away from the lerkim they didn't notice the little dot that was floating the sky. They didn't notice the little dot growing bigger and more defined as it came close to the lerkm. They didn't see that the now big looming shadow of the "dot" was actually a blimp. And they certainly didn't catch that on the side of this blimp written in big blue letters was the logo of the former O'Hare Air INC.

From the blimp a pair of cold gray eyes watched as Ted and another man sped off towards Thneedville leaving the lerkim completely unprotected. Behind the eyes people in the blimp were teeming. They were carry things to other places, hurrying calculations to the pilots, crunching numbers, working out scenarios, and basically make sure this big airship stayed afloat and hidden. They all did this by walking on huge dizzying  catwalks that ran everywhere throughout the blimp like blood vessels through an animal. They all hung above the bottom floor of the blimp which was a huge spacious area where the blimp was piloted and where a huge window cast a blinding glare from the sun. From there the eyes watched cold and judging.

"Boys, do you know what my husband's biggest mistake was?" requested the gray eyes as they turned from the window to face the people piloting the blimp. Everyone in the blimp froze. The pair of eyes continued to stare at everyone in the most feral manner.

"Well? Anyone going to answer my question?"

Finally someone worked up enough nerve to say something.

"W-was he too confident in his ability to keep people in Thneedville subdued?" A shaky high pitch voice responded. Everyone held their breath to see how the eyes would take the answer.

"That's a very good guess…" The eyes started to move out of the shadow being cast. Now you could make out that the eyes were attached to a woman with a very shapely figure.

"It's not entirely wrong…" The figure remarked moving even closer to the man who had spoken, like a panther getting ready to strike. Soon you could see all of the young woman. Her jet black hair pint up in a pony tail. Ruby red lips fixed in a terrible smile revealing teeth that look so pointed they looked almost like fangs. She wore a black pants suit with a light blue camisole under the blazer.

"But…" she said as she was right at the man who was stupid enough to open his mouth.

"It's not the answer I was looking for." She growled as she pushed the man on to the ground. She then turned back to face the window and glared at the lerkim in a way that made you believe looks really could kill.

"No, his mistake was not tying up all of the loose ends. Like the old fool who lives in this stupid building. O'hare should have made sure he was dead. He didn't and now Thneedville is in a revolt. " she said with venom in her voice.

"But on top of that stupidity, somewhere in that house is the deed to the land where Thneedville stands. My dearest husband, where ever he may be…" She said in a sort of sarcastic concern.

"… Failed to actually get the deed to the land so as far as legal matters are concerned, that old coot still owns Thneedville and since we're trying to take it back we need to make sure the old man won't get it the way again. So, here's what's going to be done, some two goons, I don't care who, are going to storm that lerkim, find that deed, and kill that old man, then burn that heap…." She said motioning to the lerkim.

"… To the ground!" she stressed.

"M-Mrs. O'hare," said the man she pushed to the ground. "What you're talking about here is murder and arson." he was tripping over his own words.

"Your point?" she sneered.

"Well it's just that's wrong, isn't it?" she looked down at the man with complete hatred. Of course it was bad but she didn't care. She wanted what belonged to  her returned at any cost. And wanted the people responsible for her loosing it in the first place hurt and dead. She couldn't say that though or else she'd come off as a monster. She had the entire blimp as an audience to this spectacle. So she thought before finally replying

"Why of course it is wrong you poor confused man. Never in my life would I ever want to cause some one harm or hurt. Under any normal circumstances I would never ever ask anyone to do such horrible acts of violence." she feigned worry and innocence.

"But, these are not normal circumstances." she said, the tone in her voice turning deadly serious.

"This is a revolt! And this means war! In war terrible deeds have to be committed all for the greater good. These people believe that trees create air but they take more than they give! They are parasites that suck up air as well as making it! I promise you, this violence won't last long, and when it ends you will be held as heroes! Heroes who saved Thneedville from down fall! You will be the people who saved Thneedville from those poisonous society ruining trees! Save your children and future generation from this horrible plague." The room broke into crashing applause and cheering and chanting and ranting and raving.

"So tell me? What are you going to do with that old coot?"

"Burn him!" the crowd cheered.

"To that lerkim?!" she teased.

"Burn it!"

"To this valley?!"

"BURN IT!" they cried at as if demanding it. Then they began to recite the word "burn" over and over in a terrible rhythm.

"Yes we'll burn it all to the ground!"

"Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!" they continued. Mrs. O'hare smiled at the favor she created.

"Then we will go after the boy who started this whole mess!" she smiled a horrible smile that would make even the most savage predators turn pale.

"Theodore Wiggins."