Back at Moon Family, Baruti Landson had just arrived and told them that Mr. Heart was in the area and that he was planning to do something to the cats. As much as Commander Moon didn’t want to believe him, she also didn’t want it to be true and the other Families suffer because of her. The tall black man placed the box of fireworks in camp.
“Are we planning to murder Mr. Heart or stop him?” Puppylove asked as she sniffed at the box. She instantly cringed back and wrinkled her nose.
“These bad boys will put him in a daze,” Baruti explained as he held one up. Commander Moon hasn’t seen fireworks in a year. It made her stomach twist as she thought about the family she left behind. “And then I’ll unmask him and finally learn the truth!”
“Is unmasking him necessary?” Commander Moon asked. “Why don’t we just lock him in jail?”
“They need-” His voice was cut off when a fluffed up brown molly bolted into their camp with twigs and branches sticking to her fur. Her yellow eyes were wide with fear.
“Fawn, what are you doing here?” Commander Moon asked. She glanced around and didn’t see her mother nor any of her siblings around in sight. Did something happen to them?
“My brother was kidnapped!” Fawn screeched. She started quivering like mad. “Mr. Heart took him and Giovanni!” She eventually crumpled to the ground from exhaustion.
Riverbird and Trainee Feather rushed over to gently pull her into their den to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Commander Moon pawed her face at the fact that Baruti Landson was right about Mr. Heart being real. “Let’s get these stupid fireworks and take Mr. Heart down!”
***
Since there was no scent trail of Mr. Heart in sight, Commander Moon chose to follow Fawn’s scent instead. Alongside Baruti, Commander Moon brought Puppylove, Lionpool, Trainee Yoshe, Michaeltail, and Willshade to help launch these fireworks.
All of them stayed quiet as they entered Bluberry, making Commander Moon slightly nervous as she wasn’t so familiar with this place as she was with Darkfall. The scent was getting stronger, and a hint of lavender could also be found.
“We’re near,” Commander Moon told her Guardians and Baruti. She quickened her pace and they stumbled upon a cage that was sitting in the forest by itself.
Inside the cage, Commander Moon recognized Bluebell and Kong and guessed that the child was Giovanni. There was also a blue pig Unique Creature knocked out while in the cage.
Suddenly, Giovanni woke from his slumber and saw the cats plus Baruti staring at him and the other prisoners inside of the cage. “Sup,” he said. He fell backwards when the cage shook.
“Mr. Heart!” growled Baruti. He then pointed one finger at the young man. Something seemed off though. Commander Moon had expected Mr. Heart to be older. “Free those prisoners or die!”
“Dude, that’s not going to work,” Willshade told the black man. He had his ears lowered as he scanned the area for anyone else to pop up and strike at them.
Laughter erupted from Mr. Heart causing the whole patrol except for Baruti Landson to appear confused. The voice was…deep, but there was hint of a child’s voice also mixed in with it. “Is it me or is he creepy?” Lionpool asked.
“You fools, you dare approach me and demand to have your friends handed to you?” Mr. Heart asked. He then held one fist up and a gauntlet had appeared covering his fist. “Who wants to go first?”
“Go? Go where?” Trainee Yoshe squeaked. He flinched when his mother approached Mr. Heart. Scared, he bolted forward and Lionpool blocked him with her tail. “Mama!”
Commander Moon faced Mr. Heart with narrowed eyes. “Take me then,” she mewed. She kept her tail held high to show that she was confident in her decision. Trainee Yoshe started whimpering and she couldn’t help but lower her ears.
“Are you sure?” Mr. Heart asked. Commander Moon nodded her head slowly. Hopefully Baruti wasn’t standing there in shock and was getting the fireworks ready. “You make this so easy for the boss.”
Commander Moon closed one eye when Mr. Heart started to reach for her face with his gauntlet. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen when he covers her face with his hand, but it didn’t look pretty. Baruti quickly grabbed one of the fireworks and used his lighter to light it.
Searing pain shot through Commander Moon’s head when Mr. Heart had covered her face with his hand. She started feeling dizzy and everything started to dim out as if her mind was slowly being sucked away from her. Suddenly, one the fireworks blasted and hit Mr. Heart as well as Commander Moon.
“Moon!” yowled Lionpool. She then whipped around and slashed her claws across Baruti’s arm. “You idiot! Can’t you aim right?”
“Stop yelling at me!” Baruti cried.
However, Michaeltail took a couple steps forward and tilted his head. Even though the firework hit, Commander Moon was standing there with a blank stare as if it never happened. “Commander, are you alive?” He asked.
No answer.
“Blast it,” grunted Mr. Heart. “Let go of me now or you’ll be sorry!”
Puppylove joined her friend’s side and squinted her eyes to see through the smoke. As the smoke died away, the Moon Family Commander stood there unmoving while Mr. Heart was being held in the air by some Shadow. Baruti ran past the cats. “Now’s my time to steal the mask!” Baruti laughed.
“Baruti, wait!” Willshade screeched. Something was not right at all with this setup. As the prisoners were waking up, they stared with round eyes at the commotion taking place.
“Come near and you’ll be a goner,” Mr. Heart growled. The detective didn’t listen as the villain held his fist out the same manner he had done with Commander Moon.
As Baruti reached out to grab Mr. Heart’s mask, he was blasted backwards by an icy cold wind. “Someone’s here,” Willshade told Puppylove and Michaeltail.
Lionpool and Trainee Yoshe left their sides to go see what was up with Commander Moon. The Shadow eventually took Mr. Heart and slammed him to the ground. Shakily, he held his hand out and sent the cage away with a Shadow Portal.
“The prisoners!” Baruti screamed. He scrambled himself up and pointed his firework at Mr. Heart. “Make them reappear with your Dark Magic.”
“Heh, catch me if you can,” Mr. Heart laughed before snapping his fingers. He too was engulfed in a Shadow Portal.
Lionpool kept poking her paw at Commander Moon with no response. She lowered her ears and pulled Trainee Yoshe close. The young gray tom was already close to tears. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” she mewed.
“Girl, wake up!” Puppylove hissed in Commander Moon’s face. She stopped when something brushed past her. “Oh shoot, a ghost!” The orange molly backed away from Commander Moon.
“No need to fret, it’s just me,” said a smooth voice as he started to show himself.
“No, it’s him,” Michaeltail groaned lowering his ears. His friend was giving Enki the stink eye while keeping a good distance from him. Why was he here? To try and win them over.
Enki placed one hand on Commander Moon’s forehead. “Is that some way to treat your Commander’s friend?” He asked.
None of them answered his question as they stared at him. Lionpool gave a low growl as she scooted away with Trainee Yoshe reaching out to his mother. She had heard enough from her father to know this guy was up to know good.
“Hmph, I see you rather believe stories that come from secondary sources,” Enki growled. He stepped back to allow his magic to work and heal Commander Moon of her shock.
The purple molly blinked several times as she gazed around her surroundings, not noticing Enki. “As you can see, I healed her,” he told them darkly.
Willshade kept his ears lowered. “That’s great, but you seem so entitled about it,” he meowed. He then closed his eyes as if expecting to be attacked. “Correct me if I’m wrong.”
“Enki, when did you get here?” Commander Moon asked purring. She stopped when she noticed her friend narrowing her eyes. Looking back, she noticed her Campmates appearing uneasy. “Did I miss something?”
“Take care, Commander,” Enki told her as he turned around.
As he walked away, Commander Moon was slightly confused on what just happened. Taking a closer examination, she realized that both Mr. Heart and the prisoners were gone. “Gah! What happened?”
“Mr. Heart got away,” Baruti said bluntly. “I hope that funny looking man ain’t his friend.”
Commander Moon shook her head. “Nah, he’s my friend,” she purred. She didn’t notice Lionpool growling a bit or Puppylove rolling her eyes. “Let’s get back and tell the news.”
***
On their way back, a dog and cat were sitting at the edge of Moon Family territory. Commander Moon doesn’t remember ever meeting these two, but their scent was kind of familiar to her. Luckily, Lionpool might know who they are as she stepped forward.
“It’s Liontail and Birdtail,” exclaimed Lionpool. She then laid her lion-like tail on Commander Moon’s shoulders. “They’re the ones who snapped those mind-controlled wolves out.”
Liontail takes the compliment as he smiles while blushing. “Is it okay if we join?” He stared at Commander Moon with pleading eyes while Birdtail stuck close to his friend while pawing at the ground.
“The more members, the merrier,” Commander Moon purred. She hoped these two weren’t joining on terms of spying on Enki. She had suspected that’s what Blueapple and his gang were plotting to do anyway.
***
Back at camp, Commander Moon and her patrol find Riverbird pushing some herbs close to the near unconscious Lightheart. Birdtail crinkled his face at the stench of sickness and the purple molly wondered if it was a good idea to have a highly sick cat in their camp.
“Mommy has the flu!” Holly proudly announced. She was a lot bigger than what she was months ago when Commander Moon met her as a newborn. Her brother and sister didn’t make a sound as they stayed back at the medicine cave.
“Why is a Light Family Guardian here?” Puppylove asked with round magenta eyes. “With kits no less.”
Riverbird seemed slightly irritated as she lifted her head to stare at the orange molly. “As you heard, Lightheart has the flu,” she snapped. “Apparently she collapsed with high fever while on a walk.”
Birdtail frowned. “Isn’t Light Family a couple territories away?” He asked. Commander Moon was surprised to hear that an outsider knew so much about other Family territories. Was he one of Wolf Fang’s friends?
“Don’t know, I’m just treating her like any patient,” Riverbird hissed causing the black dog to cower behind Liontail and Trainee Peach.
“How long will she be here?” Commander Moon asked ignoring the light blue molly’s expression. As Commander, she really didn’t want a battle with Light Family if they think they kidnapped Lightheart and her kits.
“A day or two, whenever Phoenixblaze arrives,” Riverbird mewed with edge. Her eyes then darkened. “Don’t need any magic users harming her.”
Offended, Commander Moon slowly walked away from Riverbird. While never saying it straightforwardly, Riverbird also had a bit of distaste towards Enki which annoyed the purple molly as she wished her Doctor could move on from the past.
Tired from everything that happened, Commander Moon was ready to get some sleep. Hopefully Lightheart leaves by tomorrow as she didn’t need any snarkier remarks from Riverbird about her friend. Why can’t anyone see the good in Enki?
***
When the next day came, Commander Moon leaves her den to find Bushy Plant in the center of camp with his three kids dashing around him. Maybe he would listen to her vent about her Campmates issues with Enki. It’s not like he’s voiced his own opinions yet.
As she approached the Plant Usino, she heard someone grunt and turned around to see Nurse Molly enter camp. There was an annoyed expression all over her face and the purple molly wondered what was wrong this time. “Is everything alright?” Hopefully she didn’t have bad news about Tigergrowl.
“No! Your stupid friends attempted to find Mr. Heart’s hideout!” She shouted. She then stopped her heels on the dirt and scowled at the ground. “That stupid Baruti and weird orange haired kid want to see you.”
Zeval? Echoed Commander Moon, her blue eyes sparkling. She hadn’t expected the teenager to even want to see her after what had happened a couple months ago.
“I’m coming too,” Riverbird’s voice caused Commander Moon’s fur to crawl as the light blue molly joined her side. “I don’t need a pregnant cat venturing far.”
Why does she have to come? Commander Moon thought her heart beating.
Nurse Molly whipped around. “Ugh, I would’ve kept her safe, but whatever,” she grumbled as she led the two Moon Family cats out of camp to go meet with Baruti Landson and Zeval.
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