Photo by Nik Owens on Unsplash
Photo by Pablo Pacheco on Unsplash

Links to the original post and the story so far (in order) can be found in the Tale of Two Pizza's Archive Post

The plot continues to expand and supernatural forces are clearly involved this week in Tale of Two Pizzas. We have taken a turn into uncharted territory as many of our main characters appear to be sitting on the sidelines while we get to grips with the implications of these mystical revelations!

@wrestlingdesires/the-animals-of-the-fall
@wrestlingdesires took us on quite a journey, revealing the history of sentient animals like Mirabel and the role that they have played in the events of this universe- for far longer than we might have suspected! The nature of this revelation suggests something sinister about other members of our cast of characters as well!

@samsmith1971/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-7432ec9cbe67c
@samsmith1971 decided on a similar path- revealing some hidden truths about Mirabel and casting at least some doubt upon Danny and Tolcetta's story about the Pizza Initiative. We also got a glimpse of Mrs. Preda's true self and her disturbing ability to silence the force that has been controlling poor Cyril effortlessly!

Both of you took our tale in similar directions this week and fit together fairly well- I find myself wanting to include both pieces as they really set the stage for the involvement of these supernatural forces into events going forward! My one quibble is the break in conversation that would have to happen in order for these two pieces to flow on from one another! I think it works out well enough though to include both pieces in the plotline as seems to be the norm at this point!

Winners delivery pics

Danny peered at Delilah, concerned. Since the Cat had suddenly turned and gazed up at her she hadn't said a word. They had locked eyes and Delilah occasionally ran her hand through it's fur but the girl seemed oblivious to everything else. It had been several minutes. He glanced over at Tolcetta and Charlie wondering if they had noticed. They had. Both were looking uncertainly from the cat to Delilah to each other and him. Just as he was deciding to step forward and give her a shake the cat suddenly stretched and yawned and Delilah blinked owlishly. She looked around at the three adults and considered them for a moment before beginning to speak.

"At the moment I'm honestly not sure what to make of all this..." She began somewhat uncertainly and her voice faltered and she looked down at the cat again. Just as she did the three adults heard a powerful, ancient voice resonate in their heads.

Listen to what she says! Though you may not understand, it may well be the key to preventing an all out war!

Danny looked at Charlie and Tolcetta in turn and could see the confusion and shock on their faces. He held himself impassive- he had felt something like that voice before- and waited for Delilah to speak again.

Mirabel how can I explain to them? Why should they care about Henry? It will seem so silly with everything that is happening!

Just tell them the truth child, I know you can convince them! She turned from Delilah then and surveyed the three frozen adults serenely. Delilah drew breath again to speak and Danny could see the conviction and fire spark in her eyes. He saw her mother in that fire and felt a twinge of regret at his decision all those years ago. She had grown up well despite it and that made him feel even worse...

"It doesn't matter, this Pizza Initiative doesn't matter right now and whether I believe you are my parents doesn't matter either. Why and how you abandoned me... well that hurts to hear... but it doesn't really matter either." Her eyes blazed with determination as she spoke and she let out some of the pain and frustration she had been feeling ever since her confrontation with Selene. "What does matter is that I believe you are decent people, I have thrown my lot in with you and abandoned the parents who were there for me because I believe that. I know that... Fa.." She faltered again as she began to say it but quickly regained composure.

"I know that Frederick was manipulated into plotting against you- but I believe that is not the end of it... When I went home... my friend Henry wasn't there. He should have been there. I have this terrible feeling that something has happened to him and it's important. There is no reason he wouldn't have made it home unless he was taken. And that means that whoever took him knows about me and may know that I uncovered Fredericks plans. And that means that whoever took Henry has all the information they need to turn all of Fredericks allies and supporters against you! It's all because I couldn't convince him to come with me!" She trailed to a stop and looked slightly embarrassed but stared defiantly at the three of them. Danny glanced at the other two sheepishly.

"I think you are right, we should try to find Henry. You should know that what we told you before was absolutely true. We are your parents, you are right that we are trying to do right by the world. We want it to be better. If you are right about Henry then he may be important to preventing the current tensions from exploding into conflict." He smiled at her wryly. "You certainly have a good head on your shoulders! I am proud of you... and impressed with how strong and compassionate you have been through all of this... I have to ask though Delilah... What was that voice? Before you spoke? I heard something... I think we all heard something." He looked at Tolcetta and Charlie, who both nodded in agreement.

Delilah hesitated, then looked down at Mirabel. Mirabel???? All four of them heard her response.

Yes child, they heard me speak, just as they hear me now. Danny and Tolcetta at least have heard me before... and I believe Charlie may have spoken to another of my kind when he was young. She looked at Danny and Tolcetta. You two would do well to tell her the whole truth when time is not so short! She is stronger than you know and deserves to know the whole story.

She turned and meandered across the space between them towards Charlie, winding sinuously around Delilah's legs along the way. She sat at Charlies feet and licked her paw, then looked directly up at him.

It seems your role in the Pizza Initiative must have been more vital than you let on if you have heard a voice like mine before Charlie. I look forward to talking more with you about the Initiative. She held his gaze uncomfortably until he looked away then spun once more and hopped back into Delilah's lap.

Don't get stuck worrying what or who I am- Charlie should be able to answer some of those questions. I am an ally in this, and have protected Delilah all of her life. That you can trust! We must decide a course of action to find Henry and change the course of events! There isn't much time! The urgency was somewhat ruined as she yawned widely, kneaded Delilah's sleeve for a moment and then curled up comfortably under Delilah's gentle stroke.

All three adults were frozen, gaping and shaken and it took several moments before they realized and shook themselves out of it. They looked warily at the cat and each other, then at Delilah, who looked only slightly less astonished than they did. It seemed for some moments that no one would speak. Delilah broke the silence first.

"How do we find Henry?"

The rules for this week remain the same as previous weeks!

I'd like to continue building on the story of the Pizza Baron and his post apocalyptic world. Each week I'll pick a winner that becomes the next piece of the story and wins 20 $PIZZA and a 2 SBI sponsorship from me. I may award additional prizes if I feel multiple entries expand the story well.

Each week I'll write a post announcing the winner and then I will write another chunk of the story and open it up again for the next weeks competition. I'll compile the winning entry for each week. If we reach a conclusion of the epic tale of the Pizza Baron I'll divide another TBD amount of PIZZA among all the winning entries throughout the whole story and publish the finished story here on Hive with all the contributors as beneficiaries. If this goes well we might have the first open source blockchain novella on our hands! 😂

The first weeks contest established a secondary storyline that may be tied back into the main plot if you so wish!

Bear in mind this is an experiment as well as a competition so we will see how many entries I get and how well it goes!

Rules:

Entries must be more than 200 words.

Entries must use the hivepizza tag

Entries must comment on this post with the link to their entry

Entries must fit in the world/scenario that has developed from the previous weeks contest(s). You are free to develop characters, introduce new ones, invite aliens to the feast, I don't care as long it makes some kind of sense in the context! The Pizza Baron should remain relevant to the plot!
(I've named it a Tale of TWO Pizza's for a reason HINT HINT)