His Furbiness, Pope Furbus I

Chapter 4: A Special Cave

The sunrise over Thneedville is breathtaking. You are so amazed by the sky, that you hardly notice the cave you and Furbus approach. You have been walking all night, and as soon as you transformed back into your human self, Furbus carried you on. "This should be a good stopping place!" Furbus says, and at that moment, you notice the vast expanse of cave in front of you both.

"Where are we?"

"This is the home of a few old friends," he says as you both enter the cave. A short orange furby and a tall human sit on some makeshift cushions fashioned from the Truffula tufts.

"Furbus! My dear friend! What brings you here!" The little orange fluffball asks.

"My friend (YN) has just been adopted as a child of Gary, and we are here to seek refuge from Martine's tireless plot to take (YN) for his own dark agenda". The orange furby turns to you and looks you deep in the eyes.

"Hello, (YN). I am Lorax, and my friend and I have been fighting Martine for a very long time, but he is too powerful for us to make any progress. Maybe with your help, we can finally take him down".

"Me? But I- I have hardly any experience!"

"But you have potential and heart," he says as he stretches his tiny hand to his heart. "Martine's efforts have hurt many, but we can stop him with your help". Then his tall friend strolled over to you. His long, lanky arms swayed gently. He must give very nice hugs, you think to yourself.

"We all have unique gifts and even though we aren't perfect, we do what we can to protect your homeland. I am from there as well, and Martine's plague breaks my heart. I hope we can end this once and for all!" You open your mouth to respond, but before a word comes out he adds, "Ooops! I almost forgot! I am Once-ler!"

"Nice to meet you, Once-ler! While I am happy to do anything to stop Martine, I don't think I quite understand this war. How can we stop him?" If he is powerful enough to start a plague that is ripping through nations, how could 2 furbies and 2 humans do anything to get everything back to normal?

"It is quite interesting, the power of the squishies. While some like Gary are exceptionally strong, conflicts like this that are rooted in two distinctly contrasting moral positions cannot just be 'won' by 1 side overpowering the other. It has to be mutual; to defeat Martine's darkness, we must convince him to stop plaguing our land, and he must do so willingly. Lorax and I have just been around for too long for him to listen to us, but maybe you can sway him more. There are still physical battles, but it is the heart that has the most power for this one". Once-ler's piercing blue pools pleaded into your somber (EC) orbs and at that minute, you know that this is your destiny. Soon, you notice that Once'er starts to fidget with the tufts. His fingers are masterful and it looks like they are well-trained at some tactile trade. His eyes dart back and forth and you can see a deep longing in his soul windows as he turns his gaze to the fluff in his hand.

Breaking up the intensity in the air, Lorax warmly calls out to you. "Come, (YN)! We have much to show you!". You follow him to one of the tunnels in the cave. The tufts of Truffula emit a soft glow that lights your way. "This is my room," Lorax gestures to a tiny offshoot from the cave on his left. "And this is Once'er's. You both can take those rooms across from us!". The 2 rooms for you and Furbus replicate the others. There is a colorful pad of Truffula fluff as a bed and some primitive furniture made from Truffula wood. So that must be Once'ler's work, you assume after noticing his reverence for the Truffula.

"Did you make this?" You ask in awe. Once'ler just blushes and glances down to his feet.

"He sure-as-a-squishy did! He has always been quite passionate about the amazing Truffula tree, but with the constant conflict against his homeland, he has little time to pursue it. Still, each day he tends to a nursery of baby Truffula to ensure he plants more than he harvests. It is just about time to check on them. Care to join us?" You nod eagerly, excited to see the passionate crafter at work.

You accompany the other 3 down a new exit of the cave. It opens up to the most luscious garden covered in small Truffula bushes. Each plant has support beams lovingly placed to ground the tiny trees. Once'ler goes over to the nearest plant and waves his hand over the plant. A light pink liquid falls from his hand and soaks into the plant. Once'ler's whole body relaxes as if he was meditating. He hums a little tune and the truffula seems to sway to his voice. "What's happening?" You whisper to Lorax.

"Onece'ler's powers help him nurture the Truffulas. That is the Truffulan rose elixir. It helps them grow up strong. He also can talk the them. He wasn't always as attuned to the natural world as he is now, but with my teaching, he has taken to it quite enthusiastically!" He winks as he chuckles about his protégé and you continue to watch the dedicated Truffula Nurturer with great fervor.