Back at camp, Lucky had returned and was standing in the center of camp tapping one foot repeatedly on the ground while keeping one hand on his hip. His eyes brightened when he saw Commander Moon entering camp with Braveleaf and Littletail.

“I found their camp!” Lucky exclaimed. When Commander Moon perked up, he continued with his report. “It was tricky at first but there’s a thistle bush blocking a path in the village outside Petal Forest.”

Shoot, Commander Moon thought frowning. Last time she’s been to that village was when Trainee Ice got captured by a little boy named Joja. Hopefully this time they could get by without being noticed. “We’ll assemble a patrol at once.”

Hopping onto the tree stump near the Guardians’ Cave, Commander Moon let out a loud meow. At once, most cats gathered around to hear what their Commander had to say. “We’ll be leading a patrol to retrieve Bluebell back!” She paused for a second when everyone stiffened. “I’ll be taking Lostleap, Braveleaf, Trainee Fire, Sparrowclaw, Trainee Willow, and Villie!”

“Don’t die out there,” Blacky whimpered to Trainee Fire who looked stoked about going to a battle.

“Pfft, I’m invincible,” Trainee Fire chuckled as he bounced after Lostleap who was following the rest of the patrol.

Commander Moon allowed Lucky to stay up front so he could lead them back to the path he found. Since it was getting dark, she didn’t believe any of the villagers would be up to bother them. At least, not a whole crowd would be bustling around.

By the time they reached the village, the moon was high in the sky. Its light guided the patrol as they walked through the village. Most huts didn’t have their lights on, indicating that the ones inside were asleep already. That gave Commander Moon relief that they would be able to get through with ease.

Soon enough, a thicket bush could be seen without any snow covering it. Commander Moon assumed Lucky cleared it to allow them to be able to see it more clearly. The child went on over to the bush and parted it with his legs. It started ripping at his pants, so Commander Moon rushed the patrol on through to spare Lucky.

It was eerie being in an unfamiliar territory. There were also no trees anywhere but lots of bushes that carried berries. They would get spotted easily if they were not careful. Commander Moon wasn’t sure if she wanted her Campmates to stay low or not.

There was a growl nearby and Commander Moon stopped when she saw Stray Dog fleeing as a Trainee started chasing him. “Help!” The Chihuahua cried. The patrol rushed past him as three more cats followed.

“Why are they here?” A pale blue molly gasped before slashing at Trainee Willow who stopped in front of her. “Back off!”

“Give my son back!” Braveleaf snarled. She charged towards a brown tom with white stripes slashed right at his chest. He tried biting at her paw, but she ducked before swiping under his legs causing him to topple over.

Commander Moon was going to step in, but the pale blue molly even took a step back as her Commander and Braveleaf fought. Eventually Stray Dog joined Commander Moon’s side with cuts across his face and side. All watched as Braveleaf bit at the brown tom’s shoulder and rip a chunk of fur out.

Screeching, he fell onto his stomach and started panting heavily. “Fine, fine, Basketfur, give her son and that pathetic reptile back,” he breathed. He shuffled farther from Braveleaf when she scowled at him.

An orange molly with red paws carried Bluebell over to Braveleaf with Sochi following close behind. The dinosaur with bat wings looked clueless as to why Braveleaf and Commander Football bore many wounds. He rushed over to Stray Dog and caught the puppy when he hopped into his friend’s arms.

“Get out of my territory!” Commander Football screeched. “I never want to see you vile creatures in my sight again!”

Startled, they all ran off while the brown tom watched them with a sour look. Commander Moon wondered if he’s been here a while since she never knew that there were Families on the other side of the village. She just wished she didn’t have to experience all this.

At the village, Braveleaf was purring loudly at the return of her son. “Thank you, Moon, I will never forget this,” she meowed.

“Neither will I,” Stray Dog yipped. “You saved Sochi as well!”

“I’m glad everyone is safe and sound,” Commander Moon mewed. Despite everything that happened today, she was glad to see everyone safe and sound. Although, she was concerned about this Sport Family if they were to start kit snatching again. I just want this day to be over.

***

The next morning came, and Commander Moon felt refreshed after getting some sleep. It was short-lived when she noticed Lionpool pacing around the nursery. Lily was also outside watching her mother with worry. Yoshe was sitting next to her giving comfort.

What was also weird was that Hawkheart and Foxwing were chatting in low voices. Every other second, they kept glancing toward Commander Moon’s mud den as if waiting for her to approach them. Did something happen while she was asleep?

Please don’t tell me something happened, Commander Moon pleaded when she hopped off the hill and landed in front of Hawkheart and Foxwing. “What’s going on?”

Hawkheart cleared her throat. “Trainee Ice and Trainee Crow have not returned since early dawn,” he meowed. His bright green eyes showed no emotion.

Lionpool rushed on over to their conversation. “I believe Sean went with them!” She shrieked. She squinted her eyes as she lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Foxwing, I’m a horrible mother.”

Seeing his mate upset, Foxwing joined her side and brushed his fur alongside her. “Sean has a heart of adventure,” he purred.

No kidding, Commander Moon thought bitterly. It was only last month when Sean left camp chasing after Cole Goose. Where did he go this time? Were Trainee Ice and Trainee Crow with him? “Let’s see if we can pick up a trail outside camp.”

Lionpool lifted a paw, but Hawkheart frowned. “You stay and keep watch of Lily,” he meowed. When Lionpool’s head drooped, he softened his gaze. “If anything happens, Lily will need you.” She gave a small smile.

At once, the three Guardians marched out of camp to begin the expedition of finding their missing Campmates. The more this happens, the more Commander Moon believes that either Bluestep or Porphyry was behind this. If Porphyry uses magic, maybe he enchants Sean to start wandering?

When they left camp, Commander Moon caught a scent of flowers. At first, she thought of Flower Family, but this smelled like that stuff her owner would put on every Sunday. I just can’t stand it when someone uses perfume.

“Smells like perfume,” Foxwing pointed out voicing Commander Moon’s thoughts. “I wonder if the three followed whoever carried that scent.”

“Sounds about right,” Hawkheart agreed. “Let’s follow it.” Him and Foxwing immediately followed the perfume scent. Commander Moon followed and realized that it wasn’t leading towards the neighborhood like she initially thought.

Instead, the perfume was leading deeper into territory that hasn’t been claimed most likely due to trees being crowded together. The farther they walked, the trees started spreading out. It kept getting clearer and clearer until all of them stopped at a two-story house.

“What’s a house doing out here?” Commander Moon asked in awe. Most houses in Darkfall were either in that village or in the neighborhood she used to live in. This must be some private home or something.

Hawkheart’s ears perked up. “I smell our Campmates!” He led the way further down until they were finally at the house. The door was cracked, and he pushed it gently with his nose for all of them to pad inside.

It was brightly lit and the three split up. Commander Moon watched Foxwing approach Sochi and Stray Dog while she went upstairs. She didn’t want to speak with them but almost slipped on one of the steps when she heard gunshots. What in Shining Skies is going on?

As she made it upstairs, one of the nearby rooms housed the repeated gunshots and she could hear a young child screaming gleefully. She crept a bit closer to the door to see if she could hear what the young boy might be saying.

“Losers, you’ll never beat me in Battle Royale!” The boy screeched. There were a couple more gunshots before she heard a thud from the room. “Hacker!”

I don’t think they’re in there, Commander Moon thought to herself as she walked away. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a young man with red hair, wearing an orange cap on cuddling Sean in his arms. The red tom was scowling in the process. Bite him!

Commander Moon snuck her way on closer. She was glad Sean wasn’t hurt but he obviously was not enjoying the cuddling this man was doing. Her owner’s daughter Tina loved to cuddle with her, especially those bad days of school. Shaking the memory away, the purple Commander stuck close to the room.

“Help me,” Sean hissed quietly.

Commander Moon whisked right into the room and lowered herself under the desk the man worked at. Unsheathing one paw, she quickly swiped them at the man’s legs, tearing right through his pants. “Waaah!” He screamed as Sean pounced out of his arms.

The two ran off and stopped at the stairs. Sean jumped onto her back as she scurried on down before hopping at the last few flights of stairs. Once down, her and Sean hid behind a lamppost where a young girl was cooing at a crib nearby.

"My siblings are so cute," the girl cooed. She played with her gold hair as she said this.

Commander Moon took her eyes off the little girl and lifted her nose up to see if she could catch the scent of where Hawkheart and Foxwing went. Sean dug his claws a bit deeper into Commander Moon's shoulder as she sidled over to the kitchen past the stairs. Hopefully they didn't get caught by the other humans that lived here.

I wonder if Foxwing is with Sochi and Stray Dog, wondered Commander Moon as she entered the kitchen. It also made her worry that she hasn't scented Hawkheart anywhere. Did he go outside?

As she dove under the table, she spotted Sochi speaking with a tanned skinned woman with long gold hair. The flower perfume was also strong here, alerting Commander Moon that this was the source of where it came from. Keeping herself from sneezing, she saw that Foxwing was behind a trash can with his ears perked. Is he listening to Sochi's conversation?

"Your excessive perfume is going to irritate the wild animals," Sochi pointed out.

The tanned woman flipped her hair. "They can deal with it," she spat. "Besides, Flowerseed loves the smell of flowers."

How can a cat like that? Commander Moon wondered. She heard faint meowing and slowly turned her head to see Hawkheart tilting his head towards the living room. Nodding her head, Commander Moon crept out from under the table and hurried after Hawkheart. Hopefully Foxwing stayed put until Sochi and that woman was gone.

"Did you find them?" Commander Moon asked.

Hawkheart lowered his gaze. "Trainee Crow left, apparently Trainee Ice left before we even got here," he meowed.

"What?! Where did she go?!" Commander Moon screeched. She placed one paw on her muzzle when she realized how loud she got.

There was a gasp coming from the kitchen so the three of them bolted back outside. Commander Moon didn't turn to see if Foxwing got out, but she hoped that maybe Sochi would recognize him as a Moon Family Guardian and help him out. For now, they needed to get back to Moon Family territory to devise a new plan.