The map

[Empathy]

“Bido is happy today. Bido has new shinies!” This was an unusual mood for Bido: the sewers were stinky and humid. The mutant clicked with his tongue in disapproval. Oh how he missed his sweet home, in the upper world. And his sister, with whom he always used to play hide-and-seek. Bido's color turned a happy orange at the memory of before the betrayal. But then a drop fell on his small head, and the little man's skin turned gray again.

“Bido should stop daydreaming. Bido has work to do. Bido needs to add the shinies to his hoard.” The mutant went on through the tunnels of Jump underground. He was very cautious, always using his camelon-skin to remain near-invisible, but at the same time betraying himself with his talk. Bido didn't know how to shut up.

“And Bido then was saved by the red-haired titan. The red-haired titan yelled at the big serpent and he let go of Bido. And she gave Bido shinies.”

The chameleon-morlock stopped abruptly. "Did Bido just hear something?" He turned gray again and carefully looked around. “Bido should remain hidden. Bido is stupid to think of happy thoughts. Happy thoughts make Bido flashy. Flashy is not good."

And he went on for another minute or so, looking around in every way while trying hard not to move too much. The mutant's head was the only thing hopping around frenetically though, with his tongue flashing as he talked and talked while his yellow eyes suspiciously observed the dark sewer pipes.

“Bido should really stop imagining things. No one can see Bido. Bido is safe. If you can't see Bido, you can't find him.” The lizard man quickened his pace nevertheless, and his half-torn shoes banged loudly against the ground as he continued his little chat. He kept taking glances behind his back however, which made him miss his turning twice. Eventually, however, he arrived at his intended destination.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that this could only be Bido's lair. No other section of the sewer could contain so many colors per square inch. There was some kind of wooden floor on which mountains of blankets or carpets were forming the most bizarre of local geographies. The walls and ceiling were full of all kinds of posters and shiny objects: mirrors, car pieces, toasters and other random metallic junk. There were teddy-bears, couches, broken tvs lying around in what one had to assume was supposed to replicate a living room. A very colorful living room.

“Bido is home!” The chameleon forgot about any suspicions and precautions he had had until this moment, and merged into the fest of color that was his lair, being careful not to trip over one of the carpet mounds, changing his hue every second, hugging his TV, his teddy bear, before stopping.

He definitely heard some noise behind him.

Breaking out of his trance, he swiftly turned his color to the background one -green with yellow stripes in the lower body and blue in the upper one- and asked:

"Who enters the dragon's lair?”

[Gaunt]

It had taken a while to track this guy down. Gaunt had remained hidden in shadows, lurking on top of pipes and around corners as he tracked the mutant through the sewers. Finally, he had a lead. He could hear a voice not far ahead, speaking in the third person and babbling something about shinies. With a shimmer, Gaunt faded out of sight and followed the chameleon man.

He was easy to spot at first, all bright colors. Gaunt took a few steps forward, and all that changed. The man's skin changed to blend in with the world around him. Gaunt could still see him, but he had to watch him carefully. Gaunt moved cautiously, trying to keep from making another noise that could tip the man off. In case the deal fell through, he would have to be in a position to take the map. That wouldn't work if Bido saw him and scuttled off down a hidden tunnel.

And so he followed the reptilian, trailing him back to his home in the sewers. The place was a mess, even by Gaunt's standards. He was starting to follow the lizard man in when Bido turned, demanding to know who was there. He'd slipped up again. Gaunt maintained the invisibility, slipping around to the side quietly. Remaining hidden, Gaunt spoke. "Just a businessman, Bido. I came here to make you an offer."

[Empathy]

Bido wore a confused frown at the mysterious answer. "Bido does not know this Mr. Businessman." The camouflaged chameleon slipped from his position, careful never to stay in one place too long. "Bido cannot see Mr. Businessman." His voice was irritated, and purple colors briefly flashed. "What kind of offer does the Businessman have for Bido?" The lizard-man wet his lips.

Then a thought struck the little hoarder's mind. This was Bido's home. His lair. Nobody knew about it. Nobody was supposed to know about it. Bido started shivering. "Bi..Bido would like to see Mr Businessman." There was a hint of worry in Bido's tone.

But his eyes now zoomed in on a knife left on top of a broken TV.

"Not many people have seen Bido's lair." The mutant edged closer to the weapon. "Bido is very proud of his hoard." At this point Bido was right next to the TV. "What do you think of Bido's beautiful treasures, Mr. Businessman?"

[Gaunt]

Gaunt kept moving, treading lightly so as not to be heard again. He didn't want to give too many clues as to where he was. His voice was giving too much away already, even with how much this place echoed. Bido's camouflage was hard to follow, but a brief flash of purple let Gaunt get a lock on him again. The guy was crawling around, whether searching for the intruder or for a hiding place Gaunt didn't know.

"I'd like to buy something, Bido. Or at least a copy." he said, still pacing around. "As for seeing me, I'm afraid that's not possible right now. Can't quite tell you why, but trust me this will go smoother this way." He hoped that excuse would calm the lizardman down for now. Bido seemed to be getting nervous, but his sudden appearances tended to be a little startling. The guy might get outright frightened if a fangorious monster appeared in front of him.

"Yes, Mr. Bido. It's a very nice stash. It could be even nicer, though. I'm willing to pay quite well for a copy of that map of yours, and even better for the original." He'd read the briefings on this one, and knew that he wouldn't care much for money. He liked things that were more tangible, and especially the shiny things. He might have even been willing to accept a sack of well-polished pennies, but the Rat's Nest had a reputation to maintain. They'd given Garrett a stock of valuable coins and jewels to pay with.

[Empathy]

Bido froze as the word 'pay' was pronounced. "Pay? Pay for what? Nobody has ever paid Bido." Bido paused for a moment. His face turned all colorful again. "Though Mr. Archer said Bido needs to pay to get more chocolates. Bido likes chocolates." He shook his head, which turned back invisible. "What does Mr. Businessman want? A copy of what?" Bido hissed at the thought of not being able to see the other speaker. He grabbed the knife. Just in case.

Bido smiled brightly as his hoard was praised. "It was hard work for Bido to build up this hoard. Bido's hoard is big and shiny and full of colors." That's when the other voice mentioned his map. Bido clenched his knife very firmly. "Mr Businessman wants a copy of Bido's map?" A copy sounded ok. Bido was quite protective of his map. But copying sounded fine. "Bido can do that. But Bido will keep the original. Bido will make the copy himself." The mutant vaguely remembered the existence of machines that copied pieces of papers for you. He did not trust them with his map, nor anything or anybody else.

"Bido will make the copy for tomorrow. Come back to Bido's lair tomorrow." He sniffed, still unhappy about the thought of a stranger knowing the way to his lair. "Bido will judge if your shinies are enough for the copy of the map then."

[Gaunt]

Gaunt stayed still for now, trying to conserve power. There was enough distance between them that he didn't need to keep maneuvering to avoid detection. He was a bit uneasy that Bido had gone for a knife, but he didn't seem to plan on using it for now. Gaunt could see the wheels in the man's head turning, although he had to admit they seemed a little rusted. He hadn't met many grown men whose understanding of money was limited to buying candy.

He was a bit disappointed that Bido was unwilling to sell the original, but this was still an acceptable outcome. The fact that Bido seemed so unfamiliar with the concept of selling things showed that competition buying the map hadn't been a concern thus far, and it might not be one in the future. He'd just have to control a bit of information, and that was what the Rat's Nest did best.

"All right, Bido. I'll be back here tomorrow at midnight. Now this deal has to stay secret. You can't tell anyone about it, ever. Understand?" As soon as he had an answer, Gaunt was out the door and heading back to base. He let himself go visible again as soon as he felt it was safe, and stuck to shadows the rest of the way.

[Empathy]

"Bido is safe. Bido will hand a copy of the map." The voice came muffled, but you could still sense wariness. Under layers and layers of stuff, the reptile continued to talk to himself. "Then Bido will get shinies and Bido will be left alone. Biiiido." The last word was a sigh as the mutant waited to hear back from yesterday's mysterious voice.

Bido's lair stood in a very transformed state since last night. It still contained the same ridiculous amount of shiny, colorful junk. But the precious day, it was all scattered around in a vaguely, possibly artistic fashion -if you were called Bido and your rule was the more colors you could see, the better-. Today, all was grouped together in a huge mountain. The room looked a lot gloomier with bare naked, grey walls and all the shiny objects safely stored inside Bido's 'cave'.

"Bido's hoard is safe." Inside the hollow walls of Bido's makeshift mountain, you could hear the little lizard playing around with random objects. "Bido can give the copy of the map. Then Bido will have to move." Which would take even more time than building his fort. But no task was too tedious for Bido's shinies. "Bido should double-check his maps. Again." He didn't want the creepy voice to chase him later because there was a mistake.

[Gaunt]

Gaunt was as good as his word. The next night at midnight, he arrived at the lair with two briefcases, both padded to hide the noise of what was inside. As with the night before, he had approached while invisible to add to his air of mystery. The cases were packed to the gills with jewels and coins, proper shiny things for a dragon's hoard. Only one was for the copy. The other was in case Bido changed his mind and decided to sell the original. Unlikely, but as Shakespeare said, "be prepared." Gaunt was pretty sure Shakespeare had said that.

The Nosferatu stepped inside, looking around for the chameleon man. Not seeing him at first, he called out. "Mr. Bido?" He went further in, looking around. "I'm back, as promised. And I have your shinies." He didn't set the case down yet. He wanted to know where Bido was, and do it when his back was turned. He would turn around to find an open case of valuables had been left behind him. Not strictly necessary, but that extra bit of showmanship made things so much more special. "Come out and set the map on the ground, and you'll get your payment."

[Empathy]

"Bido heard it again." The reptile turned his head around inside the makeshift fortress. "The voice!" He poked his head out of the one hole leading outside. "Mr Businessman has Bido's shinies?" The voice's answer caused Bido to turn his head around again. He stared at the two maps for a little while, before safely putting the original back in its pouch, which in turn disappeared into the safety of his mouth.

The invisible lizard then came out of his mountain, waving the map in his camouflaged hand. "Bido has the copy of the map." The mutant still could not see where the voice came from. He stopped a few feet away from his cave. The air shuddered as the chameleon got nervous. "Where on the ground should Bido put it?" Bido was confused. How could he get his shinies if he let go of the map? "Bido can't see his shinies." He looked disappointed. "Are they like Mr Businessman, made out of ghost?" Another shiver in the air. "Ghost shinies aren't as shiny as other shinies." The greedy dragon pointed out.

[Gaunt]

Gaunt was getting a little irritated. This guy was not an easy man to work with. his eccentricities made it a bit difficult to have regular dealings with him. "Just set the map down in the middle of the floor." He circled around behind Bido after he spoke. He'd seen the copy, and he was in a position to take it if Bido tried to back out of the deal. He gently set one case down and opened it. Then he stepped away, letting the case shimmer into sight behind the chameleon man as it left his field of influence. It was quite an impressive sight, they'd put a lot of work into that. Even the chrome exterior of the case was shiny, though he didn't know if Bido would value that as much.

Gaunt started to speak again as he walked back around in front of Bido. "Your payment is behind you. Of course, there could be more. If you give me both maps, I'll double that." He hoped the lizard's greed would get the better of him. Things were a bit unsteady right now, and having someone else with a map of all his secret tunnels and pathways could be a security risk.

[Empathy]

"Bido understands." He let the map drop the floor, then turned around to face his new shinies. "Biiiido!" the excited reptile exclaimed. "My precious shinies." The chameleon turned all kinds of colors as the happiness overwhelmed him. Nobody had every given him such a shiny box. And the inside! There wasa moment's hesitation however. "Both?" He stepped forward. This box was his to take regardless.... but still "Double?" At this point, Bido was already fingering the jewels and the gold. His whole body quivered with all the colors of the rainbow.

"But. Bido only has one other map." A tiny voice inside Bido's head was yelling at him. Don't. Don't. Don't. It was a female voice, much younger than his. "Nobody else has a map of the underground. Bido took years to write it down." Updating it every time a passage collapsed, or a new one was built or discovered. "Bido... Bido wouldn't even know where to get to food wihtout it." Don't. Don't. Don't.

And yet, Bido couldn't take his eyes off the shiny stuff in front of him. The greedy gleam flickered in and out of his reptilian pupils. "Double?"

[Gaunt]

Gaunt smiled to himself. Sure enough, he seemed to be going for it. He picked up the map and pocketed it while Bido was distracted with the shinies, then stepped back to give some room. "Double. I have another case right here. It could be yours, just leave the map where you put the other one. Jewels coins, all sorts of lovely things." He felt a small pang of guilt at robbing the creature of its livelihood, but he brushed it aside. He wasn't too fond of Sewer Gollum anyway, and just wanted to be done with this. Besides, he could always make a new one. It would take a while though, and Gaunt's friends from Rat's Nest could make some modifications before then, concealing some passages so that Bido wouldn't know about them.

He watched the lizardman's reactions carefully. It was hard to judge his facial expressions, but he seemed to be very tempted. Soon enough, the Rats would have a definitive map of the underground. It was a bit rough, but the 3D modeling crew back at the LA office would be able to turn it into a working model to guide agents through the tunnels. He just needed the other one to secure his control. Hail to the king, baby.

[Empathy]

"Bido doesn't know.. doesn't know." Hands were right in front of the reptile's mouth as he nervously bit his nails. Doooon't. "But...but shinies!" and with that he launched himself to the center of the room again. Quickly, before the voice inside his head could berate him again, Bido spit out the plastified bag in his mouth. It contained his one and only original: the master map of Jump underground. Then he moved a few steps back, looking around hungrily for his prize. His head flashed back and forth, his feet tapped nervously. He knew the voice would return soon.

Nooooooooooooooo. The voice inside yelled. Bido winced. Whyy, Bido? Why? Then the mutant man began to sob. "Bido. Bido wants the shinies. Bido needs them." A hoard was sacred to a dragon. Especially a poor, weak one like Bido. "Bido had no choice." You've always had a choice...

[Gaunt]

The looking around was making it difficult, but Gaunt found an opening after a moment. He opened the briefcase, setting it down and stepping away a split second before Bido turned back. To the lizard man, it looked as though the case rippled into existence before his very eyes. It was sitting open, with some of the jewels spilling out from how quickly he'd had to set it down. It almost looked like a pirate treasure chest, if not for the fact that it was a chrome-plated briefcase.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Bido." He slipped around to grab the map while Bido was distracted by the shiny. It was a bit gross picking up the drool-coated plastic bag, but he'd come here through the sewers. He could handle gross. He pulled out the map, pocketing it with the other and throwing the bag aside. "Mr. Gaunt will be very pleased. If you ever need something, ask around about the Rat's Nest. We'd love to work with you again." Without waiting for an answer, he beat a hasty retreat. He had to get clear before Bido had a chance to change his mind. He might come looking later, but by then the maps would be scanned onto the Rat's Nest servers and the originals would have been destroyed. Too late for a refund then.