About the Author: The Revenge

Matthew Michael Murray, born November 15th, 1989, has been called by some "the literary mastermind of our generation". By most, however, he has just been called a dork. Either one is cool with him though; "you say tomato, I say Sour Patch Watermelons" has always been his mantra. His favorite activities include (but are not limited to) hugs, watching TBS when Legally Blonde isn't on, and not being harassed by gang members. Writing is just a temporary gig until he has enough money to buy a candy factory and a hovercraft, and not necessarily in that order. And, contrary to popular belief, he is not a fan of Burt Reynolds, so stop asking.

Chapter 14: Mother

Soundtrack: NiGHTS into Dreams... 'Escape into the Twilight' by Skrypnyk

The doctors had said Abner's mother only had a few months to live. Sometimes, however, doctors can make mistakes.
She lived to take Abner to his driving test. Both times. She was there to fawn and ask embarassing questions when Abner informed her that he was bringing a girl home for dinner for the first time. She was around to cry and take pictures when her son graduated high school. She was still in well enough health to worry about Abner's when he broke his leg. She was the first person Abner broke the news to when he asked his girlfriend to marry him, and the first to squeal with delight at the news. Now, however, it became apparent that she would not be there to see the two married or the inevitable grandchildren. It hurt her, much more so than she let on to Abner, but she wouldn't, could not, let him know.
Abner's mother had been hospital ridden for the past few weeks, and her condition was in a clear and obvious decline. There was simply not much time left.
Abner himself had barely left her side the whole time, choosing instead to sleep at her bedside. As a man of 25 with a career and a fiancee at home, it was hard, but he flat out refused to leave his mother by herself when it happened.
As he awoke on the 23rd day of her hospitalization, Abner looked into her eyes and his heart broke; she was weakened to such a state that it was clear it was a struggle simply to look at him, and yet he knew that she had been for hours, waiting for him to get up. It was time.
"You will al..ways be...always be loved...my Ab..." she said weakly, still looking directly into his eyes and smiling.
"I know mom...you too...no matter what," Abner replied. As he took her fragile, cold hand into his of strength and warmth, a single tear broke through Abner's resolve. Still smiling at him, his mother closed her eyes, and within seconds, the grip of her hand went limp in his.
He knew he should get up and inform a nurse, or maybe a doctor, but decided that he would sit there for just a little while longer, holding her hand. Sure, there were other things that should be being done at this point, but none of it mattered much at the moment; it would all still be there for him later.

Chapter 13: And He Returned Home

Soundtrack: Final Fantasy 8 - 'Fisherman's Revelation' by Bladiator and Tepid

He was flying. Towards what, he didn't know, but he was warm, and that was all that mattered. As the bright whiteness started to get to Abner, colors suddenly burst into view on all sides; the sky was a clear and pleasant azure; for the first time in weeks there were green trees; and to top it all off, he could see the metallic glint of what surely had to be cars in the road below. Before he could stop taking in these welcome sights and wondering how on earth he was supposed to survive such a fall, Abner noticed that he was slowly floating downwards, and decided not to worry about where he was being taken, instead feeling very much so like Charlie Bucket in the Wonkavator, noting that the only thing that could have made this situation even better was to have Gene Wilder with his spiffy top hat and purple coat with him on this magical descent back to a civilization he had been a part of.
After a few minutes of more pleasant downward floating, Abner found his feet making contact with the veranda of the apartment where he and his mother lived. Barely able to contain his excitement at seeing her again, he quickly slide the door open and ran into the apartment, expecting her to be waiting there for him in her favorite seat on the shabby couch. Looking around, however, he could see that she wasn't there, and proceeded to do a quick check of every room. Considering the size of the apartment, this did not take long. Realizing she simply wasn't there at all, Abner ran out into the hallway, down the steps and out into the street, not entirely sure of where he was going, only knowing that he was going somewhere.
Running along street after street, Abner was only vaguely taking in the familiar sights and people; some greeted him with shock or glee, but Abner just ignored them and kept running, farther and farther along a path that he did not know the outcome to.
Stopping, finally unable to run any farther and grabbing at the stitch in his chest, Abner looked around. Then, his heart skipping a beat, he saw his mother's car heading his way. Knowing full well what he was about to do was the epitome of silly, he ran into the middle of the street, waving his arms above his head, signaling to his mother. She came to a screeching halt, jumping out of the car to run towards him.
Behind him, Abner could hear the sounds of a great deal of cars honking at him, but as his mother hugged him like she hadn't seen him in years, he found them easy to ignore. She held him for minutes, and he held her back, not caring about anything else in the world but the warmth he felt on both the inside and the out. Finally, she slowly pulled apart from Abner, looking him up and down with the widest eyes he'd ever seen on her.
"Ab...how, where have you...that was a ridiculously dangerous thing to do!" she finally managed to get out.
Abner couldn't help but smile.
"Mom, sometimes there just comes a time for throwing caution to the wind."

Chapter 12: Santa Claus

Soundtrack: The Great Giana Sisters - 'Giana's Homecoming' by Polar

After everything that he had been through, Abner could only stare in numb disbelief at the sight that was before him - Santa sitting in a comfortable chair in front of a cozy fireplace. It was hard to even believe that there were still such things in this world as warmth and comfort.
"Ho ho ho," Santa chuckled as Abner continued to stare. "Why don't you take a seat dear boy, while I get us some refreshments."
As Abner sat down, Santa moved up from his seat with a surprising amount of speed for someone so old and plump; it was almost supernatural. Then again, Abner thought to himself, to do all the things that Santa did he must have some kind of magic about him.
Just as supernatural seemed to be this house. It was small and on top of an invisible mountain that stretched well beyond the sky's limits, and yet Abner felt like he was home. It didn't hurt that he hadn't sat in a chair or been warm enough to take off his jacket in over a week, either.
"Here we are," Santa said as he brought in a tray of hot cocoa, freshly baked cookies, and a pack of Sour Patch Watermelons, setting it on the table between them. Taking a cup of cocoa for himself, Santa smiled at Abner. "The rest is all yours, my boy."
Only now, looking at the tray full of goodies did Abner realize just how hungry he was. Muttering a quick "thanks", Abner immediately hulked out all over the food, devouring every last bit of it, while Santa looked on happily. As Abner masticated the final cookie, Santa set his cup of cocoa down.
"Now, how about we talk about why you've come, Abner," Santa said. "As good as my cookies are I'm relatively sure you didn't come just for those."
Abner nodded, finishing his cookie as he did so. After having come so far, all the challenges he had faced and somehow overcome, he figured it would have been easy to tell this story, but if anything it was even harder. Taking a deep breath and looking directly into Santa's eyes, he began.
"Sir, it's my mother. She's been sick for the past couple years, and she finally went into the doctor's last month, and it's terminal. They said she only has a few months left, and there's nothing anyone can do. She's the only family I really have left, and I don't know what I'd do if I lost her. She's always been the only one I have, and if she's not there anymore, I don't know how I'm supposed to go on. And she's always been such a good person, it's not fair that she has to go now. Please, Santa, there has to be something you can do, I've come all this way, I've been through so much, all just to give her some kind of chance." Tears were in Abner's eyes as he finished, not just because of the tale he had just told, but because as he looked at Santa, he somehow knew that not even he could do anything.
"My dear boy, I'm sorry, but there's nothing that I can do," Santa said, and Abner could tell, despite his anger and disappointment, that he genuinely was sorry. "You are not the first to come to Mount Qaf looking for a miracle, and nor will you be the last. I understand why you hurt so much, and why you've come here. And for someone so young, you have a much better handle on the ways of things than most men three times your age, and so I will say this, knowing full well that you will be able to understand it. Maybe not now, but eventually.
"The real miracles in this world are the ones with no form; even if you obtain or lose it, you do not notice. Yes, the miracle that you're asking for is something that is impossible; but the miracle that you're going to get is that, despite how much you hurt, despite how much you want to give up, you will find the will to go on. Even when you lose someone you care deeply about, you will still, somehow, manage to find it in you to love, despite the fear of losing them."
"So you're saying that I'll have to always live with pain and loss, regardless of the choices I make? Then what's the point? It comes down to the same thing then." Abner could barely refrain from shouting.
"It absolutely does not come down to the same thing," Santa responded warmly. "Look at what happened to Karmel; he suffered many losses similar to yours. But he did not know the love that you do; his mother was not anywhere near as strong or as kind as yours is."
Abner considered this for a while. It was true; as much as he had hurt lately, he could never let himself become anything like Karmel.
"But what about my mother? She doesn't want to die, and you're telling me she has to?"
"Ho ho ho, of course she doesn't want to die, Abner. But you know as well as I do that your mother is someone who is not afraid of death. She of course does not want to leave you, but my guess is that she is quite confident in your ability to carry on, and my guesses are usually right. Of course, I feel the need to remind you that her great love for you coupled with your current absence is causing her a bit of heartache."
The two continued to look at each other in silence, Santa smiling benignly, Abner lost in thought but starting to understand.
"So, all I have to do is have inner-strength, is what you're saying?" Abner asked after a while.
"That, coupled with action," Santa said, nodding. "As long as you have those things, the rest should always fall into place."
Abner stood up abruptly.
"I have to go home."
"Ho ho ho, that you do my boy," Santa said, standing up as well. "And that, I'm happy to say, is a request with which I can give desired results. There is, however, one thing I'd like you to do for me Abner."
Abner looked questioningly at Santa.
"Everything you've learned, the friends you have lost, all of your dreams that have faded...never forget them, Abner."
Before he could respond, everything suddenly became blindingly white.

Chapter 11: Weepy Mount Quaffle

Soundtrack: Donkey Kong Country 2 - 'Lanterns' by Radiowar

Abner stared at the spot where Bumpty's face had disappeared. Surely this could not be happening, none of it could be real. This was impossible, there was no way that Bumpty could be gone.
"BUMPTY!" he screamed with every ounce of strength still left in his lungs, as if he was dying. "BUMPTY, PLEASE, YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T BE-" Abner stopped, refusing to say the word; saying it outloud would only make what had just happened final, and he couldn't handle facing the simple, horrifying truth. Instead, he ran, stumbling, to the edge where Bumpty had fallen, simply to look down. Peering over the mountain, he expected Bumpty to somehow still be there, alive and with that same old penguin smile. But as he looked downwards, seeing nothing but smooth rock and the cloudline below, he knew. Bumpty would never keep him waiting, especially when Abner was screaming for him as if his life depended on it. The truth was that Bumpty was gone.
'No, not gone,' Abner thought to himself. 'He hasn't left to go the grocery store to pick up some milk and Sour Patch Kids; he's dead. He'll never laugh, or cry, or have hopes and dreams again. He's dead, and he's left me here, and I can't do this anymore.'
The boy sank to his knees, and the tears streamed freely on to his face, the harsh North Pole winds stinging. None of it mattered anymore, it was all pointless; his quest to find Santa Clause suddenly seemed even more childish than it already had. He just wanted to go home to his mother; surely she would understand that he couldn't do it, and that he had tried. These thoughts, however, just made Abner cry even harder. Shuddering, he completely collapsed to the ground; his will was completely shot.
'Please, just let me die here. There's nothing left, I tried everything, and instead of making things better I've just made them worse. I don't deserve to live; it's my fault Bumpty's gone.'
Before these thoughts could consume Abner, he heard Bumpty's voice in his head.
'My dear boy! Nothing is your fault; I chose to give up my life for your sake. Without you, I'd have never returned to Shiver City to redeem myself and liberate my fellow penguins. To top it all off, you're the first friend I've had in years, and the only true one I feel I've ever had. Ensuring your safety to Santa Clause is the least I could do to repay you. But you won't be doing either me or yourself a service by just sitting here moping about it. Now get up!'
Smiling despite himself, Abner slowly got to his feet. Looking at the path ahead of him leading up the mountain while ignoring the rather sickly sight of the torn apart Wise Seal, Abner realized that he had come too far to give up now. It was true; his greatest protector had died for him, but that sacrifice would be in vain if he were to stay here now. Carrying onward was really the only option.
Abner walked onward. The pain of loss still tore at him from the inside, but it was somehow lesser, more distant; a terrible storm somewhere far off on the horizon. As much as he wanted to not only grieve, but give up on the world entirely, Abner knew he couldn't. Not when so many people depended on him.
And still he walked onward.
His mother was in desperate need of him now, and regardless of what Mount Quaffle and Santa Claus had in store for him, he had to get home as soon as physically possible. And then there were all the other people in his life; his friends, who had always known Abner as the consummate optimist - what would they say to him if he were to let the world back him into a corner like this?
The trail was becoming wider.
If there was one thing he had learned while on this insane, non-sensical journey to the North Pole, it was that he had to be his own umbrella through the weather. As much love as he had for the people in his life, and even though he knew they would do anything for him, the childish dream of always having someone there to protect him had to die along with Bumpty. Loving is a strength, yes, but he no longer could live for other people; he had to live for himself.
Abruptly, the path ended, and Abner looked upwards; the aurora borealis had come into view, and a flock of seagulls drifted lazily by (how these things were happening so high up was anyone's guess). And there, a mere 50 feet from where he stood, stood a small house made out of what appeared to be emerald. Somehow, Abner knew he had made it; this was not some final trick of Mount Quaffle's. Elated with having finally made it, Abner seemed to float over to the door. He reached up to knock on the door, and immediately, as if he had been expected, a deep, warm voice called "Come in."
Abner opened the door, and walked into a small yet unbelievably cozy room. Looking around, Abner saw two inviting seats facing each other in front of a fireplace with a table in between them. One of the chairs was empty, and in the other sat-
"Santa!" Abner gasped.
"Ho ho ho," the jolly red clothed plump man answered. "Yes, my dear Abner."

Chapter 10: Angry Mount Quaffle

Soundtrack: Cheetahman II - 'Livin' Large!' by Another Soundscape

"But you-" Abner started.
"Were grotesquely torn limb from limb by a chainsaw?" Karmel finished humorlessly. "Yes. Yes I was. Where is my beloved Bumpty, by the by?"
"You can't be here though, you're dead," Abner said, ignoring the question in the hopes that it would go away with the sudden reappearance of Bumpty.
"I had matters to attend to before I could go on," Karmel continued in the same casual voice, as if this simple explanation could account for his rise from the dead.
Abner could only stare at the horrible little penguin in awe; surely this was just another test of Mount Quaffle. And yet, something told him that that wasn't the case. Attempting for stall for time, for what reason he didn't know, Abner carried the conversation.
"Matters...like what?"
Colonel Karmel looked at Abner with a look of restrained anguish for a few moments, the first sign of emotion he had shown since his reappearance, and finally spoke.
"I was born into a family that was stationed at the bottom of the social ladder, thanks to a broken Shiver City. The leader at that time was regarded as kind and caring; he never waged war, always tried to help the lower class, and was a gentle speaker. But when my older brother grew sick, my parents couldn't afford the medical treatment for long. Our entire savings were gone within weeks in a futile attempt to make things better. As we sat in the hospital room at his side for days at a time, I would look out the window and see the other side of town; the rich penguins, the ones who didn't have to worry about their children growing sick, the ones who were blind to our plight, all because of a leader who refused at all costs to ever wage war, keeping our economy down. His gentle speaking did nothing to heal my brother; his inaction cost my brother his life.
"After my brother died, my parents both lost their will to carry on at all, let alone take care of a less talented younger child such as myself. My mother died within weeks, and my father drank himself to death. I was alone; alone in a world that favored those who could disregard the feelings of others and only worry about their own needs. At last, I could take care of only myself, every other penguin be damned.
"Not having to worry about anyone's happiness but my own, I was able to rise in the social ladder quite quickly. As a good looking, reasonably skilled orphan penguin, people were very quick to sympathize with me, you see. In less than 10 years of my whole family's death, I found myself within inches of a seat of power. Naturally, I did what I felt was best; I killed that old fool of a leader, and then became ruler of Shiver City. After that, I destroyed the social ladder, by striking everyone down into poverty. If I had lived through such a thing, then the others could too. And that's what I've come back for; I can't let that fool Bumpty lead what is rightfully mine."
Abner felt sick; he wished that Karmel would stop talking. As much as he had detested this penguin before, he couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him now. Karmel lost everything, and possibly at the same age that Abner was about to lose the only family member left to him. Would he, too, ultimately end up as a crazed, Snuffleupagus riding, chocolate chip cookie throwing maniac, losing all sympathy for the rest of humanity in the process? As these thoughts rushed through Abner's head, a noise came from the entrance to the cave, and the two looked towards it.
"So, that's why I felt your presence here," Bumpty said, waddling forward, looking tired but completely in charge of the situation as per usual.
At the sight of Bumpty, all of Karmel's prior composure seemed to melt instantaneously, replaced by a cold, hard fury. Wasting no more time with words, he pointed his chainsaw gun directly at Bumpty, who could only sigh.
"We've done this before, and the result will be the same as last time you foolish fellow!"
Ignoring this, Karmel immediately fired shot after chainsaw infused shot at the heroic Bumpty, who proceeded to do his ridiculously awesome tango through said chainsaws. Leaping into the air, and once more pulling a spatula out of seemingly thin air, Bumpty came down, slicing the gun in half like a hot knife through butter, and kicked Karmel in his adorable little penguin chest, sending him sliding several feet forward. Turning away from Karmel, Bumpty looked at Abner with a smile.
"Now that that's over with, let's say we finish this epic quest off, my dear boy." Seeing the look of incredulity on Abner's face, Bumpty spun around to see the most awesomely horrifying thing in the history of ever.
Colonel Karmel was writhing on the ground in what looked like pain. Letting out a blood curdling scream, he started transforming before their eyes. Demonic wings sprouted out of his back; his flippers exploded, leaving seven foot long lobster claws in their wake; a freakishly long neck extended his head upwards, and his bulk increased dramatically. And, for some reason, he had a pirate's eye patch over his right eye. Opening his beak, he shot a stream of high velocity boots directly at Bumpty, who couldn't dodge the footwear in time, and whose right leg broke from an assaulting, highly stylish cowboy boot.
Abner ran forward to grab Bumpty, but a stream of boots heading his way forced him to drop down on to the ground.
"Abner my dear boy, RUN! It's me he wants, you have to get to Santa!" Bumpty screamed, all the while desperately rolling to avoid the latest boot attack headed his way.
"No, I won't!" Abner called out. Leaping upwards, he ran towards his beloved penguin friend, jumping over and ducking over every boot assault. As he was about to reach Bumpty, one of Karmel's newly sprouted lobster claws cold cocked Abner, sending him flying. Landing hard on the mountain's summit, Abner could only look hopelessly on the scene as the lobster clawed demon pirate penguin beared down upon Bumpty. Strangely enough, as Abner's eyes met Bumpty's, the penguin bore only a sad little smile on his face. Understanding between the two was instantaneous, and there where was nothing Abner could do to stop what his friend was about to do.
As Karmel raised his crazy lobster arm, preparing to make a fine penguin paste with it, Bumpty launched himself off the ground with his spatula, ramming straight into Karmel's chest, sending him staggering backwards dangerously close to the edge. Not wasting a second, Bumpty once more launched himself into Karmel, this time hanging onto his head, covering his non-pirate patch'd eye with his free flipper. The monster-ized Karmel could only give a terrible roar, and then Bumpty had jabbed his spatula into the giraffe sized neck, replacing his mighty bellowing with a sickening gurgle. Abner watched in horror as the creature staggered backwards, falling off the edge of Mount Quaffle with Bumpty still hanging on to the creature's head. Somehow, Bumpty managed to grabbed a hold of the edge of the cliff, but even as Abner ran forward to try and help him out, he could tell that something was wrong; Creature Karmel, in one last act of spite, was holding on to Bumpty's already weakened leg.
Before the boy could reach his beloved penguin, Bumpty looked into his eyes one last time.
"Fly, my dear boy!" And at that, Bumpty was pulled off of the edge of Mount Quaffle, disappearing from sight forever.