Cruncher!
The cyber rat Dot had thought was her least favourite person in Networld!
But now, he was definitely a hero – because, Dot remembered, Nohtacra had been thrown by him!
Of course – it was Cruncher who’d sent the little medallion spinning down just from where he’d been hiding, high up in the wall of the cyber rats’ lair! So it was the cyber rat who’d taken them hostage who’d saved them!
But why?
Cruncher swaggered forward. No-one had seen just where he had come from – they’d been too busy listening to Thoranon and Carvelia, the Children of the Casement, explaining how Arcathon and Nohtacra worked together.
It was a mystery. And was Cruncher enjoying seeing them all looking so puzzled!
“Seems to me” he said in his grating cyber rat voice “Seems to me I’m the one who should be getting the choccies and champagne round here! Who’s the daddy now, eh?” He waggled his head so that the little bells on the end of his beard went tinkle tinkle tinkle.
Wizzie gave himself a shake and padded forward, his feathery tail high up in the air waving like a flag from side to side. He’s always been a very polite dog, so –
“Thank you very much Mr Cruncher!” he said, making a bow low down to the ground in front if the cyber rat. “We are all deeply in your debt, and always will be! When the story of the Net is told, your deed will live in fame! We - ”
Dot sighed. She knew this was going to take some time, but she didn’t want to stop her best friend from saying thank you in his own way, first of all because it would have been unkind, and secondly because if you stopped him, he sometimes started all over again!
It only happened sometimes, but when it did – Wizard making a thank you speech was something to hear!
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Drindel Zildith and Thoranon and Carvelia looking on and listening in a rather puzzled way. Cruncher himself was staring at Wiz with his mouth wide open. She grinned to herself. You’ll all just have to wait, she thought!
“It was most extremely kind of you, Mr Cruncher, to take such a dramatic risk for us” Wizzie was saying (his speech was going nicely now. Mr Mouse had gone to sleep.) “And one if I may say so, you carried off with such daring, such cunning, such aplomb!”
(?? A plum? No, aplomb – it means being really sure of yourself, “self-possession” as the dictionary says. What a wacky language English is… )
“To sum up” Wizzie went on (hurray, he’s nearly finished thought Dot. That
was quite a quick one! Mr Mouse let out a little snore, snearrghppuff!) “To sum up – you will always be in our thoughts, and we will never forget the day that Cruncher, most noble of the cyber rats, came bravely to our rescue!”
Wizzie bowed low, again, and then sat down with his tail neatly curled round behind him, gazing up at Cruncher with his big brown friendly eyes.
Suddenly a loud sob filled the air, followed by a big nose blow and then another sob.
Whaaat! Cruncher was CRYING!
“That’s it!” he sniffled. “That’s why! No one ever said a kind word to me, not since I was a little ratlet, no matter what I did! It’s always been Cruncher do this, and Cruncher do that, and get off my back you stupid rat! And that Mr Fruity, he was the worst! Twisting my ear like that! It SO hurt! After all I’ve done for him!”
He did another mega nose-blow, FFFFRRRRPPPP!
“SO I thought: “Cruncher - it’s time you got your own back! Get ‘em good! Now or never! They’ve always wanted to take over Phargon – well now they can’t have it! Never! THAT’LL teach them to be horrid to Cruncher, that will, SERVES THEM RIGHT! Waa ha ha ha!” – he was REALLY crying now – “Waa HAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
It was sad – Dot wanted to put her arm round him to make him feel better, even though he had been a bad guy. Poor Cruncher! What a horrible life he’d had!
She could see Drindel Zildith and the Children of the Casement were feeling the same – Drindel had even started bringing a hanky out of his sleeve, which kept changing colour and getting longer and longer.
But there was no time for that!
Here came that cyber rat party tune again – quiet and muffled just now, but getting louder by the second!
