"Idiot!" A voice muffled. Commander Moon wasn't sure if she was still among the living as everything sounded so distant.
"Maggot!"
"Fox-breath!"
"Stupid head!"
Is that Flowerseed? wondered Commander Moon and she opened her eyes to find two bright pink eyes shoved into her face. "Yo! Privacy!" She shrank back and felt dizzy. Did whatever spell Porphyry cast kill her?
Flowerseed snorted. "Well, Dummy, I had to make sure you were alive."
Foxsoul joined her Commander. "Your insults were a bit excessive," she pointed out. She sat down and swished her tail around the den. There was a small smile on her face, surprising Commander Moon since she usually saw the fox shouting at others.
"I never knew you were nice," Commander Moon blurted out. She looked away when Foxsoul glared at her.
"Things have been tough," the vixen muttered. "Especially whenever this man appears."
Commander Moon tilted her head. "What man?" She never once seen any human men around the Flower Meadow since Flower Family moved in.
"There have been two," Flowerseed continued. "One appears with his face obscured. The other is some distorted shadow."
At once, Commander Moon started trembling. The second man sounded like some sort of ghost story. When the two girls noticed her trembling, they started laughing a bit making her feel a bit uncomfortable being around them. "Don't worry, kiddo, the second one was a joke."
Foxsoul agreed. "Yup, he comes from an infamous legend about a man who dissipated one day, leaving the world in utter chaos." After saying that, her and Flowerseed continued in their fit of laughter.
"Can I go?" Commander Moon asked. She stood to her wobbly paws. She needed to get away from these dark humored animals.
"Just be careful," Foxsoul barked. "I accidentally made a mouse extremely angry."
Like I believe you, Commander Moon snorted. Slowly, she left the Doctor's Den.
***
Upon her return to Moon Family territory, Commander Moon stopped when she spotted someone standing at the border. A tall young man wearing a dark blue coat had his face obscured by some shadow hood. Oh heck no, I'm not dealing with you right now!
She scurried past the man but felt her paws freeze and started cursing in her head in case a Trainee was nearby. Commander Moon turned her head and saw the man staring back at her. His presence was quite overwhelming as she felt beads of sweat form on her face.
"What do you want from me?" Commander Moon spat. Pain hit her throat and she started coughing a bit of blood up. Those Flower Family cats must not have a Doctor as she felt pain still.
"Follow the path," an ominous voice said. "His death is near." There were dark sparks forming around the man's hand as a strange blue and gray weapon appeared in his hand.
I can't lose another life! Commander Moon screeched inwardly. I've already been reckless enough. But the more she struggled to run, the more she felt sweat forming.
"Accept the gift."
"I don't want any stupid gifts," Commander Moon snarled. "I want to go home!" She stopped when she felt a chill go up her spine when she was hit by a dark purple beam. A pressure released off her paws, and she blindly made it back to camp.
"Your course has already been written. There's no escape."
***
"Where have you been?" Stormwing meowed. He hopped over to his mate who collapsed on the ground.
Spice Jr was sitting in front of the Doctor's Cave, playing on his game. His legs were wrapped up in leaf bandages that had sticks to keep his legs bound for the bones to heal. Some of Commander Moon's Campmates were murmuring among each other. She wasn't sure what happened, but she believed that man must've done something to her.
Riverbird shoved Stormwing aside and helped Commander Moon get to the Doctor's Cave to be treated. Inside the cave, Trainee Crow and Trainee Ice were chatting happily and looked to have minor wounds. Commander Moon assumed it must've come from Porphyry's coup he tried pulling off.
Once at the end of the cave, Commander Moon sat down to allow Riverbird to perform her work. As the light blue molly placed one paw on Commander Moon's chest, she smiled and took a couple pawsteps back. "Everything seems fine besides the small cuts around your throat."
She continued dipping her paw in some blue goo before slathering it around Commander Moon's throat. At first, it felt cold, but it was also very soothing. "I'm concerned about this one man I met," Commander Moon meowed. "He kept mentioning something about our course being written."
Riverbird scowled. "I visited Sparkle Pond when those strange humans first showed up," she growled. "All they said was that they were unsure and that the future can change."
Commander Moon sat there and stared at her paws. I thought Shining Skies knew everything, she thought to herself. Commander Leaf then came to mind, and she remembered what she said at Sparkle Star. "Don't be stupid and get lead on, okay?"
Lionpool had her suspicions about those people as well, Commander Moon realized. Then why do they bother helping us?
"Have you visited Sparkle Pond recently?" Commander Moon asked standing up.
Riverbird spat some leaves out of her mouth. "The meeting there is coming up, I'll see if I can find some answers," she muttered frowning.
"Thanks, tell me if Shining Skies has anything new to say," Commander Moon meowed as she padded away to see Trainee Crow and Trainee Ice. "How are you two doing?"
Trainee Ice gave a warm smile. "We're doing fine," she purred. "Trainee Crow saved my life from that purple fox." She started blushing while Trainee Crow looked away as he smiled.
Trainee Crow gave a sly smile and chuckled. "It was nothing." Although, Commander Moon could see a small blush on the side of his face. There was obviously a young love blossoming between the two.
Deciding to leave them be, Commander Moon left the cave to get some fresh air. She was about to pad over to the berry pile when Trainee Will appeared in front of her. His orange eyes were wild with terror. "You okay?"
"Are you free tonight?" Trainee Will asked shaking a little. He kept taking quick glances left and right making Commander Moon's heart race a bit.
Commander Moon flicked one ear. "Sure, is there something going on?" She sat down and waited for the Trainee to answer.
Trainee Will gulped. "Nobody believes me about those nightmare training sessions," he began. "I... I was hoping maybe you could come with me and get some proof."
Sounds dangerous, Commander Moon examined. However, I've been curious about the Dark Realm since that voice mentioned it. She then gave Trainee Will a warm smile. "Meet me in my den once night comes."
***
The moon was a half-moon clearly standing out in the sky without the clouds to cover its shining beauty. Commander Moon was laying in the Commander's Den waiting for Trainee Will with her tail wrapped around her paws. Her heart was beating a little from being a little anxious at what this place was like.
I'm sure we'll be fine, Commander Moon told herself. Her thoughts vanished when a shadow appeared in front of her den before revealing it to be Trainee Will.
"Are you ready?" Trainee Will whispered.
"I was born ready," Commander Moon purred, keeping her voice steady as not to worry the young brown tom. She scooted over a bit so that he could lay right beside her. Both cats closed their eyes, allowing darkness to take them away.
Sounds of rustling and the skidding of paws caused Commander Moon to open her blue eyes. She instantly jumped to her paws when she noticed two large monsters towering over her and Trainee Will. They didn't look ready to attack but that didn't stop them from surprising her.
"Don't worry about those guys," Trainee Will meowed as he laid his tail on her back. "They're just guards in case anyone tries to escape early."
Commander Moon stared at him in bewilderment. How long do these sessions last? She couldn't get the words out to her Campmate.
Soon more animals started showing up. Some of them looked to be from Families but Commander Moon didn't recognize any of them. She followed Trainee Will as he led her away from the Dark Guardians and over to a tall rock where a muscular gray-white tom with dark brown jagged stripes sat. Beside him, a humanoid figure stood with a ragged robe on.
Has that man always been here? Commander Moon wondered. She could see claw marks cleanly sliced here and there on the robe.
The purple molly jumped when two boys stood by her side. "Lucky? Mouse Floyd? What are you guys doing here?" Was the voice right when he told her about them being part of the Dark Realm?
"Training to get a Magickeeper like our uncle," Lucky whispered. "That big cat on the rock said this is a shortcut to obtaining one." He smiled wide as he said this.
Mouse Floyd was smiling too. "Our visits are always cut short because our pony friends hate our late-night training."
"That's....unfortunate?" Commander Moon mewed in confusion. If Trainee Will described this to be a nightmare, why did these two boys think otherwise? Hopefully there would be more evidence to go along Trainee Will's statement.
All of them fell silent when the big tom on the rock cleared his throat. From what Commander Moon noticed, this guy's eyes looked different and had a black sclera. Is he a spirit? That would mean...
Her thought didn't continue when the gray-white cat started speaking. "Are you Guardians and non-Guardians ready for another session?" Everyone besides Commander Moon erupted in loud cheers of excitement.
"That's Commander Bear," whispered Trainee Will when the cheering died down. "He rallied up other baddies shortly after his death."
"Who's the man then?" Commander Moon asked pointing one paw at the man in the ragged, clawed up robe.
Trainee Will lowered his gaze. "Mouse Floyd told me once but it's strictly forbidden to speak of his name while here," he explained shaking a bit.
As he said that, Commander Moon stared at the man and wondered if he was conscious about the surroundings. If he was a ruthless man, I doubt he would be letting a bunch of punks claw him up like that.
"Trainee Will, you have the honors of the dummy along with your new friend," Commander Bear sneered. He took his large paw and whacked it on the back of the man's head for him to stumble over to Trainee Will and Commander Moon.
All the others started to spread out while choosing their training buddy. Before Trainee Will lifted his paw, Commander Moon stared straight at the man. "Why are you letting yourself be pushed around like this?"
"It...is my...punishment," a raspy voice came out. "I... have failed...to see this coming from them."
Punishment?! How could anyone accept this as punishment? Commander Moon lashed her tail out and grunted. "Come with us. We can take you out of here."
"We can't," Trainee Will suddenly hissed. He kept his jaw shut when Commander Moon raised her tail to cover his mouth.
To her disappointment, the man also disagreed with her sayings. "I am bound here for as long as my student wishes it to be," he explained in a clearer voice. He then shifted a bit forward and stood still. "Do as you want with me, I deserve it."
Anger boiling in her chest, Commander Moon slashed her claws across the hood that covered the man's face. No blood stained her claws, only the leather that was sewn onto the fabric of the robe. It wasn't enough to reveal his face though.
"I'm not hurting nobody!" Commander Moon hissed. "This is stupid! Why would anyone train here?" She stopped when Trainee Will gasped.
Another molly appeared beside the man in the robe with a sinister smile. "Everyone comes here to claim their reward after the Grand Trial," she meowed in a sly voice. At first, Commander Moon thought she was dead, but her eyes appeared normal.
"Reward? Like a Magickeeper?" Commander Moon asked, remembering what Lucky and Mouse Floyd told her.
The orange molly flicked her turquoise tail. "Anything you want, dear." Her sly smile made Commander Moon a bit uncomfortable. However, her sharp tiny pupils kind of made her think of Riverbird.
I want to go home, Commander Moon thought shuddering. No wonder Trainee Will calls this a nightmare. "Why do we have to beat this man up?"
The orange molly stood in front of the robed man and wrapped her long fluffy turquoise tail around his leg. "Honey, he's a Training Dummy, at least, that's what Commander Bear thinks of him," she purred.
Commander Moon flinched back and watched Trainee Will approach the man. He started muttering inaudible words before taking his claws across the man's legs. Blood stained his claws and the orange molly started laughing.
I need to get out of here, Commander Moon breathed. She placed one on her chest and tried to take deep breaths. Ba-dump was all she could hear from her heart as she watched Trainee Will continuously claw at the man with his eyes closed. Why...are you letting yourself do this, Will?
A bright yellow circle appeared around Commander Moon causing her to yelp in surprise. What was going on? Trainee Will stopped, his paws now covered in blood and hopped backwards when the light consumed Commander Moon, blocking out all possible sounds around her before she blacked out. Be safe, Trainee Will...
***
"Commander?"
"You're not hurt, are you?"
The first thing Commander Moon saw were stars dotted across the sky. Everything still sounded fuzzy, and she barely reacted when two faces appeared in her vision. One was a blue cougar while the other was a familiar gray tom. "Lostleap?" She then sat up.
Beside her, the blue cougar was settling down sniffing at her. "She doesn't appear hurt," she roared softly.
Lostleap stared at Commander Moon. "You just suddenly dropped out of the sky in a ball of light," he explained. "It surprised us both." The cougar nodded her head.
Ball of light? Did Shining Skies save me? Commander Moon wondered. She then stared at Lostleap and the cougar who were purring and sitting close to each other. "Is she your mate?"
"She just gave birth to our kits," Lostleap meowed excitedly. "Hope and Laser, aren't they cute names?"
Commander Moon smiled. As Lostleap and Crescentfire were purring, the purple molly couldn't help but think about that one man in the ragged robe. Clearly, Trainee Will was only attacking since they were being watched and not out of his own desire. Shining Skies, keep Trainee Will and that man safe. I'll get more answers from the boys.
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