Stop Crying Already!

Izuzu rolled over, uncovering Churo, to get a better look at what was going on. The coffee table had been turned over and the floor was littered with flowers and shattered glass.

"Nero!" Blipp called over to Nero furiously.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? That's no way to treat your son." Nero pressed his forearm deeper into the man's neck and he gasped.

Nero was hit by the bag that Blipp was holding and let go of the man and fell over. "Blipp? What are you doing?"

"Relax. We shouldn't get involved in family matters." Blipp crossed the room and tried to lift the man up.

"Get your hands off of me!" He brushed her hand away. "Do you know who I am? I am the mayor of the oldest city in the world. I have connections with all kinds of rulers, all over the world."

"I don't see any reason for you to react this way." Blipp stood up straight. "We are Retainers and we are here to help someone escape this forest."

The woman gasped and Izuzu stood up. "You're Retainers."

"Its true." Nero got up and slung the bag over his shoulder. "We are."

Izuzu looked from Nero to Blipp. "What are you doing here. Are you here for them?" Izuzu burst through the door and out onto the large branch that the home was carved into.

"Wait!" Nero jumped to stop him, dodging the falling door. When he stepped out the Bubonic hornets had cleared out. The many flowers that lined the branches of trees were missing their pedals and the pollen floated up in the air. It covered the circle of shops at the top of Iyagdrasil in a cloud of multicolored mist. He rushed down the branch after Izuzu into the circle of shops.

Izuzu found the local bar and burst through the door. "Retainers." Izuzu said out of breath. All of the patrons stopped and stared. He pointed at the bartender. "He's a Retainer. They all are. Him and his two friends that supposedly stumbled into this forest. You welcomed them with no questions five years ago."

He pulled his sling from behind his back and whirled a rock at him and it cracked him in the head and he fell over. The bartender slapped his bar rag down on the counter. "What is this kid talking about!"

"I'm talking about the Rosetta." Izuzu raised his voice.

Nero and Blipp walked into the bar behind him. Blipp grabbed Izuzu's shoulder. "What's going on?"

He pulled away from her. "You guys are together. You came to help them escape. They're going to try to steal the Rosetta again."

"Just shut up already. You and you're father are fakes. You cant speak to the tree. You've never heard its voice."

"Yeah your dad was caught trying to steal its pollen before the ceremony to keep the bubonic hornets away."

"You're dad was a fake you should be happy that Geo accepted you and your mother. The son of a traitor."

"Traitors son!" The bar went wild yelling jeers and insults.

"That's not true!" They all went silent. "My father was a great man and he could speak to the tree and all of the creatures of the forest even without touching the tree. He was able to fend off the hornets on his own. He didn't steal the Rosettas pollen."

"Then what was he doing standing holding the heart, covered in the pollen? How do you explain that?"

"He wrestled it away from him and his friends." Izuzu pointed at the bartender again.

"They weren't seen there. It was just you and your father."

Izuzu ran out of the bar and up the street. Nero and Blipp chased after him. "Wait!"

Izuzu stopped and unslung his sling shot. In one fluid motion a pebble flew at Nero and he caught it in front his face. Izuzu dropped to his knees. "I can't beat you. I can't stop them." He cried into his hands. "You'll help them, and they will escape then I'll never clear my fathers name."

"We're not here to help them. Whoever they are." Blipp crouched down in front of him. "Tell us what's going on?"

"My father was framed." Izuzu said through sobs.

"How are we supposed to understand you? Stop crying already." Nero said agitated and vigilant for the hornets return.

"Nero!" Blipp berated.

Izuzu wiped his eyes and sniffed. "It's a crime to disturb the Rosetta at the top of the tree. It keeps the dangerous animals away that live at the bottom of the tree and throughout the forest. One day my father took me out to see the Rosetta. It lights the tree and nourishes the gardens but when we got close to the tree, we saw the bartender and his friends pulling the Rosetta from the tree. My dad stopped them but after the fight the light had gone out. The town guards and the people Iyagdrasil had come out to see what was going on and they saw my father holding the Rosetta and the men ran away."

"Why do you think we have anything to do with them?" Nero snorted.

"She said it." Izuzu gestured towards Blipp. "You guys are here to help someone escape the forest."

"We don't know who we're here to help but we would never help scum who would try to steal someone's livelihood." Nero stomped his foot.

"Then who are you here for?"

"That doesn't matter. We can help you if you need help." Blipp said.

Nero looked to the edge of the town expectiong his friends to reappear any moment, "First we have to find Frides, Elle, Ouran, and Urs."