Chapter 3 - The Hunt for a Crew

Mousy and the others fled the cave and walked through dozens of scratchy, burnt trees and spiky black grass. Then, in the middle of the forest, they found an abandoned, overgrown zoo. Suddenly, from the top of the trees, a lion dropped down.

“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous, ya know!?” the lion said. He leaned in, looking a bit secretive. “I’m Liony, and one of the most evil, mad scientists lives here: Dr. Hyde. He enslaved me to guard this place - or he’d blow my guts out, rip my brain into shreds, and use me for experiments!”

Mousy looked horrified. Through one of the smashed windows behind the rusty gate, he saw a bear with a nametag that said Dr. Hyde, mixing some kind of potion. It was purple and fizzy, with silver bubbles and golden sparkles.

Then Dr. Hyde looked out and saw them…

He charged through the gate, ripping it in two. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Dr. Hyde roared.

Mousy, Liony, QueQue, and Batzy sprinted away. When they finally got to safety, a little frog crawled out of a very shallow pond.

“Hello there! I’m Bob,” the frog said, jumping up into a tree.

“Excuse me, sir, do you have any Breathstone chargers?” Liony asked.

Bob looked horrified and leapt down, landing right on Liony’s head. “I’d never carry such a thing for such a horrid addiction!”

Liony’s ears twitched; he looked embarrassed - then angry. His breaths grew faster and faster.

“LISTEN HERE, YOU LITTLE SLEGEK!” Liony roared, pinning Bob to a rock. His eyes twitched with fury, glowing a dangerous purple.

Smoke started to curl out of Liony’s mouth.

Batzy smacked him across the face. “LIONY! SNAP OUT OF IT!” she yelled.

Liony staggered back, his eyes fading back to normal.

Bob straightened his scarf and brushed himself off. “See? Horrid addiction,” he muttered.

Liony turned sharply, claws extended.

“LIONY!” Batzy yelled again.

“Hey Bob,” QueQue said gently, “why don’t you join us? We’ll keep you safe. Don’t worry about Liony.”

“Uhm… sure,” Bob croaked.

“We need to gear up for whatever’s happening,” Mousy said firmly.

“I agree,” Batzy nodded.

Mousy led the way, and the others followed. They pushed through the roughest berry bushes, the tallest pines, the spikiest brambles, and the deepest caves until they reached an old cabin. Vines and ivy covered it from roof to ground.

Mousy opened the door. Inside, gleaming in the dim light, were rows of shiny silver weapons and armor.

“Woah, what’s this place?” QueQue whispered.

Mousy smirked. “My dad’s armory. He built this place in case anything bad ever happened.”