Unlimited Toon Studios: Critters of Bright Valley III, Royal Rabbit Rescue

Art by Jose-Ramiro

“Hey, book-boy, I noticed you didn’t have this book in your library, so I figured I’d share,” Blush the rabbit cheered, holding a triangle box.

“You know Blush, you spoke much more formally when we first met,” Seabright the seal observed matter of fact.

Blush’s eyes nervously shifted for a moment. “No, I didn’t.”

“Blush, I write things down for others to remember, I don’t forget things like that,” Seabright said looking at his room’s wall to wall books.

Blush shifted her weight for a moment before remembering her gift and thrusting it forward and opening the box herself.

The sight of a new book successfully distracted Seabright, he reached in, and took the book out of the triangle box. If someone had been looking through the window, they wouldn’t have been able to see the title with Seabright’s backside blocking the view.

“It’s about a group of refuge rabbits looking for a new home,” Blush said helpfully.

“I prefer going into stories blind,” Seabright said simply.

“Oh! Sorry Seabright, forgot.”

Seabright examined the book for a moment, then asked, “Where did you get this Blush?”

Blush responded automatically, “Does it matter?”

And that should have been the end of it, and Seabright should have accepted that answer. However, their world’s creators spoke in pride of their inhabitants being consistent in their character. And a world without its inhabitants is nothing.

“Of course it matters. Everything happens because something else did, even if we don’t know what that something else is. Where did you get the triangle box from?”

‘At least he didn’t ask about the little box I keep my family ring in,’ Blush thought. “It came with the book.”

“And where did you get the book?”

“It was a gift.”

“From who?”

Blush blurted out. “It just came into my tree-house on my birthday on a little balloon, the day we climbed Mount Crown. It’s nothing to think about.”

Asking Seabright not to think about something was like asking a fire not to burn.

“Then it wasn’t any of us.”

Blush laughed. “Oh come on, of course you guys know when my birthday is.”

“Blush, if we knew it was your birthday, wouldn’t we have held a big party for you? Wouldn’t we have told you ‘happy birthday’ at least once?

Blush felt a sense of worry.

“Maybe Wren did it with her magic?”

“If Wren knew it was your birthday, she’d have kidnapped you and given what SHE thought would be the best party ever, get upset when it wasn’t exactly what you’d want, and we’d then have to rescue you from Ravens Keep. So who knows when your birthday is, when you never told us?”

Blush thought of asking Seabright where he found all his books, but that felt like a level of rudeness that Blush wouldn’t cross.

And now that Seabright’s own question had been asked out loud, it couldn’t be ignored. It grew and grew like yeast in the dough.

Blush made a quick friendly expression and relaxed her stance and shrugged holding her hands up. “Well, I guess we’ll never know. Must be just one of life’s mysteries right?”

Except it wasn’t. No one asked a question out loud without a hint of explanation, without expecting the answer to find their way to them.

Like the gears of a wound-up clock, Blush’s own mind began to turn unbidden. Seabright’s argument made perfect sense. Her friends would never forget her birthday. Therefore she’d never told them. So who would know her birthday? Who would give her a gift? Did they live in Bright Valley? Did they come from beyond the fog? How? And why wouldn’t they give the gift in person?

Blush remembered Faith, and how one question always led to more.

In Seabright’s book collection, was a play about enchanted toys, including a toy knight that didn’t know he was a toy, and yet the audience never questioned why he played possum when adults were about like the rest of the toys, because the audience never had their attention drawn to it.

Now, attention had been drawn, and as Seabright said, all things were justified.

And Blush remembered, she had many relatives, she was a rabbit after all. They’d all come from somewhere before the island right? But none of them knew exactly how long it’d been. None of them had to worry about growing up.

Who’d know it was her birthday, who wouldn’t want to disturb her life here? Away from the royal courts, all the fancy dressed adults? Who’d be happy to just let her live her life here? With her friends?

Unasked, Blush’s memories of her family began to flip through her head. Too fast for anyone who might been looking at her thoughts to catch a full picture. But one rabbit in particular began to take shape.

+++

That night of Blush’s birthday, nearly everyone else was already in bed. So there was no one to see the tiny airboat that came over Bright Valley. Inside, an old rabbit held a triangle package with a balloon. Many had tried to find the little firefly before, but he’d been practically led to her, the Timeless Fog even parting way for his low attitude airboat. Maybe because he was the only one who didn’t want to place the firefly back in a jar.

He’d heard stories of what lay behind the Timeless Fog, and those who’d tried to force their way through. Now he saw its unspoiled beauty with his own eyes. He did not wish to press his luck. He’d never seen her so, happy. But he’d still do what family was supposed to do and help her be happy how he could.

Most of his long life was a blur, but the old rabbit still held his passion for airship design, love for his family, and of course his name, of course he had a name: Write, ‘Old Man Write’ to many. And his courage to cross into unknown land to express those feelings.

Seabright eventually said things that existed tended to have existed before somehow. Once something existed, it couldn’t be causally erased… right?

Something like a spider skittered underneath the airboat unseen by any, its many mechanical legs clung to the side. Atop its legs was a single red crystal in a metal fitting. The gem gleamed in the dark.

From the metal spider’s point of view, it turn in a circle, looking out at everything. Then it saw the present floating down and towards an isolated little tree house. Its vision zoomed in like the shutters of a camera, then again, and spotting Blush through the window. The robot arachnid let out a faint squeal and nearly lost its grip, then zoomed in closer on the rabbit as she opened her birthday gift.

+++

It was a perfect day in Bright Valley. Pretty identical trees stood proudly outside of Faith’s window, her spic and span treehouse studio practically shined. Faith the fox lay in her hammock, reading her comics.

Captain Wonder punched the towering (and ugly) Dr. Muscles in the face, while Horse-Man wrapped up the goons with his horse-hair lasso. Lara Streets cheered for her hero, tied up and hanging in front of the death ray.

Faith turned the page… and was confused to find all the characters were now shackled and bridled in place on the panels.

Faith’s eyes widened, and checked to see if she’d missed a page. To her shock, the characters were now chained up on every page, even the one’s she’d already read!

The characters all turned their heads towards Faith, looking her in the eye. Faith dropped the comic, falling out of her hammock. The comic landed face-up. Faith stared at the comic for a minute before inching closer and picking it back up.

The faces of the characters pushed their way up from the pages like someone on the other side of a drape. Their faces grew until they were life size, then their arms began to push out of the comics as well, reaching out to her as Faith reared back.

Their chains rattles as they moaned out behind the pages, “Save us… free us, save us… free us… please.”

Their arms stretched out further and further towards Faith.

Faith slapped the comic book shut, and took a random storage box and slammed it on top.

“Guys!” Faith called.

“Yes, Faith?” Replied Seabright’s voice on the other side of her door.

“You won’t believe what just happened.” Faith opened her front door.

“It’s okay Faith, I’m here,” said Sweetie Squirrel standing just outside, wearing her jacket, pants, shoes, her sword draped over her shoulders.

The happy masked like machines floated around them, their infinite arms finishing up the others.

Puck was wearing a torn keikogi with bulging muscles and a scar on his face. “Give me something to punch, dangit!”

Seabright stood on mechanical legs, with two extra sets of mechanical arms typing at holographic keyboards around him, lasers and drone launches were wired into his back. He wore a long lab coat. “By jove, I think I’ve got it. I just need to adjust the cosmic alignment shift. And realign the thermal wavelength!”

Sunshize stood with an insane grin on her face, wearing track shirt and short, hopping from one hoof to the other. She lacked detail, looking so… flat.

“Come on gal! Come on! Let’s do a dive inta shark infested watahs! It’ll be the coolest thing evah!”

Blush didn’t even move, she wore an army uniform, and she was made of metal. She stared at Faith without expression.

“This unit is a robot now, I am completely upgraded for action!” The rest of her body didn’t even move as she spoke.

“Time for you to be updated Faith, like the rest of the world,” Sweetie said warmly.

Faith turned and ran… only to run face first into a grinning Wren.

In one claw Wren held glowing skull staff that dripped blood, her beak full of fangs. She rode atop two odd colored tigers snarling and hissing held in check by spiked collars, the chains held by Wren. Faith dimly realized the tigers were Ditty and Mitty.

“Nowhere to run Faith, you can’t escape the future. You’re Sunlightville property.”

Faith felt something around her neck, and realized too late it was a collar.

The masked drones appeared as wireframes before turning solid all around Faith, and swarmed on top of the little fox, she barely had a chance to scream before-

-Faith woke up. She was looking up at her ceiling early in the morning, her hammock violently swinging back and forth, her blanket was tangled up around her. Her heart was pounding her ears, her breath came out in gasps.

Faith waited until her heart was no longer rattling her ribcage before finally rolling out of bed, managing to pull her blanket off her.

No signs of the comic books. Her room floor had the beautiful splatter marks from her various paintings. Her paintings were arranged in a system that made sense only to Faith. The alarm bells for her skylight were in place. Her closet was still stuffed with costumes that were just for plays and fun. Her room door still had a small window, she checked it, no Sweetie, no evil robots, and the trees outside were all beautifully unique.

Her newest paintings lay against the walls: made with grays, blacks, and reds, with jagged angles, and reaching hands. It was the same subject, many times over.

Only then did Faith finally breath in deep, then slowly let it out, and slid down the wall, hugging her blanket. “Just a nightmare, Faith… just a nightmare.”

+++

…

Far away, but to come closer, in a dark room, was placed a large metallic boulder. Adult Critters began attaching giant cable ending in metallic claws to it in a spoke wheel pattern causing the needles of nearby gages to flicker on. A deep humming filled the entire room, and there was a rumbling.

–

In the mind’s eye of the Critters, they heard music, starting at a deep base thumping, before rising up to an optimistic beat with an audience clapping in time with the music and some happy sound vocals.

They imagined a colorful spiral, their view suddenly swooping in an arc downwards to it so was flat below them, and up from the spiral rose outlines of the trees of Bright Valley.

Then their view zoomed up to a big silhouette of something in the sky. Names they didn’t recognize flashing before their vision.

They saw six still silhouettes human children in different panels of a picture like the sections of a clock face, their body language being sad.

Next, through shift still images, they leapt through a length of movie reel film, and came out as six young Critters.

There was a slow motion silhouette of each of the critters, with their primary color filling the background like a big stage light.

The silhouette stills became of their trip up Mountain Crown, and finally, of Faith’s own adventure in Sunlightville, including her fleeing on the flying carpet from the masked machines.

The colorful spiral showed again, becoming a series of slowly spinning clockwork gears as steam rose up, background noise of a busy city faded in, and the Critters’ imaginary vision ended.

–

A seemingly unremarkable airboat docked at one of the skyports of Lepusopolis, atop one of its many elegantly crafted towers (‘borrows in the sky’, some would laugh). From the ship departed an old grey rabbit critter wearing a white scarf covering the lower half of his face and gold/blue goggles covering the top half. Few paid him much mind.

Meanwhile none paid any mind to the brass and bronze mechanical spider that climbed its way off of the airboat. Critters (rabbits and hares mostly) didn’t even look at the clockwork arachnid as it tried to avoid being stepped on. It hurried inside the skyport proper, countless paneled glass windows forming domes and archways, letting in the morning sun hazed by orange clouds.

The spider did its best to stick to the edge of the hallway, avoiding the foot traffic. It dared climb up to the top of a four faced clock to get its bearings before quickly making its way. Not wanting to risk the long walk down via the terminals, the metal spider squeezed through a loose panel in the wall, doing a much better job avoiding the predictable gears and cogs within than the chaotic living Critters.

It climbed down much faster than if it had used the lift, and peaking through a ceiling panel to get its bearings again, it finally squeezed into its destination, blinking its single crystal eye.

The robot spider immediately realized it’d been slightly off when it saw the room was modest in size, but well kept and the furniture all of classical design. One side had a book shelf filled with books on mechanics, magnetics, the steam engine, and economics. The room also had a heavy collection of clockwork toys. Including a few stuffed animals that had been ‘upgraded’ to move on their own when wound up. One side of the room showing a balcony with a beautiful view of Lepusopolis’ towers and airships, crystals glowing and plumes of steam bellowing from its grand machines.

The spider hurried across the polished floor (adorned with an interlocking gear pattern), and went to a small door to the side, just out of sight of the main entrance and the balcony. The spider opening a tinnier door meant exclusively for it built into the side door, hurried inside, and closed the door behind it.

Inside was a workshop kept lit by multiple lamps crystals. The small room was scaled to the size of a kitten (the proper name for a child rabbit if you must know). Adorning the walls were many little drawlers containing many mechanical parts, some so small that they could be lost with a good sneeze. Also was a board covered in notes and sketches of various clockwork gadgets. A pair of fancy silk gloves hung on the side.

On the table also was a copy of ‘Alice In Wonderland’.

The spider went up to the figure sitting in the swivel chair and tapped her on the ankle.

The chair turned around showing a young doe (for your information female rabbits are called does, and male rabbits are called bucks), but appeared quiet older than Blush.

She pushed aside the magnifier she’d been using and looked down to say, “Leggy. Welcome back!”

She reached down and lifted the spider, Leggy, up in her hands. Her hands gleamed off the light of the lamp crystals. Starting around the wrists, it was obvious that her hands were mechanical, finely crafted clockwork marvels that were as delicate as any of flesh and blood.

She had ghostly pale pink fur, her frame was tall and slender. Around her neck being worn like a pedant was a ring engraved with a hare holding a feather and crown.

Her eyes were a sparkling red, for which she’d been named, Ruby.

“So did grandpa see you?”

Leggy shook his head.

“Good. Just imagine Leggy, they said you were just a toy when I showed them to you! But you’re going to be the future for all of us someday!” She said proudly, nuzzling the metal spider, making it chirp.

Then Ruby centered herself. “So did you get anything… interesting?”

Leggy looked this way and that, then leapt off his creator’s hands, and then connected himself to a projector. The light from his crystal shinned into the machine, and the image was blown up on the wall behind him.

Ruby’s jaw dropped. “I don’t believe it… it’s not possible… how is she even… So it is true what they say about the Timeless Land… I thought that was just fairytales!” Ruby sat back in her chair and laughed. “And I wanted to do this just to prove to everyone you were useful. I thought grandpa Write wouldn’t have anything important to hide! Just a prank!” Ruby sighed. She looked sadly at Leggy. “This makes things complicated doesn’t it, Leggy?”

Leggy tilted his head, tilting the image too.

“It would be so much more simple if I pretended you didn’t find anything. Neat. Simple. Easy. Lot less trouble… ” She pinched her muzzle. “But it would feel like cheating. And someway, somehow, it would come out that I’d ‘buried’ the discovery of Blush as the big day is getting close … I can’t do it Leggy. She… she deserves a chance.”

Leggy squeaked again and jumping slightly.

“She didn’t know she was going to HAVE a chance! I didn’t. I’m sorry Leggy, but I have to.”

Ruby looked at her clockwork hands. Being a member of the nobility (and maybe soon more), no one questioned safety standards for the great machines needing upgrades ever again.

“I was so curious, so eager, I wanted to climb inside and see how it all worked. I’m lucky this is all I lost.” Ruby said, everyone knew it was best to speak such things out loud like you had an audience, you never knew if maybe you did after all.

Ruby had once had a nightmare of being a furless monkey, her hands still lost, but only having crude replacement claws that denied her dreams of the fine touch needed for working with micro-clockworks. And having to explain over and over to her family, “My legs are just fine!” “I didn’t hit my head!” “I don’t need you to open the door for me!”

The nightmare had ended with her dreaming of typing on a thinking machine with a projector, asking if she wanted to join a new world, and saying if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have found this message to begin with. And it asked some odd questions about who it was she loved.

It was a dream that Ruby only half remembered, and only enough that she was happy that it was all a nightmare, and she had no intent of sharing it with anyone, including Leggy.

“Come on Leggy… it’s time to talk with the ‘grown-ups’.”

• Faith used to love sunrises, she’d even sacrifice staying up late to paint sometimes just so she’d actually be awake to see them. Faith had recently missed several in a row.

“And now I have a nightmare to thank for catching this one,” Faith said to herself. Faith felt proud of herself for not needing to cling to her blanket going outside.

When seeing a sunrise Faith was used to seeing all the possibilities within it, all the worlds that her imagination could birth from it. The colors and shadows between day and the night, and all the things unseen her mind could fill in.

So where were those possibilities now?

“Why are shadows all I can see? It’s like… monsters, slipping back into the cracks, waiting for their chance to come out again.”

“If the monsters were so scary, they wouldn’t be running away would they?”

“Sunny!” Faith welcomed as the orange and yellow zebra trotted up to the top of the grand tree.

“Nice to see you out of your room.” Sunzhine smiled.

“Couldn’t get back to sleep.” Faith couldn’t look her in the eyes.

“Another nightmare?” Sunzhine asked sadly.

“I wish I could just blame it on a nightmare moth infestation.” Maybe Faith should have brought her blanket, she clutched her bandanna scarf instead.

Sunzhine sat right next to her, letting her share the warmth in the early morning chill.

“Care to talk about it?”

Faith spent the next few minutes recapping her dreams, Sunny stayed attentively quiet. Normally she’d be on an early morning run, but that didn’t matter right now.

“Faith,” Sunzhine said gently, “I want you to listen, and please let me finish first. If I saw you guys dressed up like that and acting that way? … I think I’d laugh.”

Faith looked at her friend in shock.

“Us acting like weird in silly outfits? I’d think you guys were putting on a show.” Sunzhine said calmly. “Remember Faith? We’ve done it before.”

“Those were all pretend,” Faith said lowly.

“Yes they were,” Sunzhine nodded respectfully, “And that pretending made you happy. You liked painting the backdrops. You liked us doing show from Seabright’s books. You were always smiling. And the times you played dress up.”

Faith shifted a bit. “I… wanted to have a clear picture of what the costume would look like on a fox when I painted it.”

“Do you think it was a stupid or wrong that you did?”

“No.”

“But I can’t remember the last time you did either. Why should you let something horrible stop something that makes you happy?”

Faith hugged herself close. “You know why.”

“Is that so?” Sunzhine narrowed her eyes a bit. “I remember, once upon a time, a birdie witch who saw a magenta fox with her friends playing in costumes.

“The witch thought, ‘Oh! They are having so much fun, but without me! I know, I’ll use my magic to make all the costumes better! They obviously want to be something different! They’ll want to be my minions, I mean my friends at last!’

“So the birdie witch used her magic, combined with her tower, alignment of the full moon, or whatever it is witches do to make their magic extra strong, and zapped the magenta fox and her friends.

“And suddenly, the magenta fox and her friends weren’t the same anymore. They were now the creatures they’d been pretending to be. More than that, they now acted as their pretend selves would. And everything went crazy. All the Critters acted weird towards each other. They all knew they were acting different, that they weren’t the same as a moment before, but they didn’t care. But they didn’t really act all that grateful to the witchling either.

“The witchling realized she’d made a big mistake. But her staff got stolen by the yellow and orange wolf-taur pirate girl due to her guard being down. She could do magic without her staff, but it was harder, like trying to put something together without the right tools. The wolf pirate thought it would make mighty fine booty, she did! Hyar-hyar!” Sunzhine recounted the pirate laugh perfectly.

“The blue and turquoise three-headed snake clown didn’t care, being too busy clowning around for the witch’s servants. But the little green mouse knight was eager to jump into battle for a ‘fair maiden.’ And the little blush-pink and red kitty fairy wanted to help because it was the nice thing to do.

“And there was the little magenta and purple hippo magician who wanted to help out a fellow mage.

“The witchling said that wasn’t what witches did. But the hippo said that was what the hippo magician did! You remember right?

“They pursued the pirate wolf to a hidden cave by the coast, full of many scary things, but they got the staff back. But the witch… now was felt reluctant to undo her magic, having gotten to be friends with the fairy, knight, and magician. But the fairy, the knight, and the magician asked their friend to do the right thing for them. So the witchling and undid the enchantment on the costumes. Thankfully she’d used ‘quick’ magic that can be undone easy, rather than ‘slow’ magic, which she said is almost impossible to undo.

“Most of the Critters were upset with the witchling. Saying she’d gone too far. She’d done this for revenge. A mean-hearted prank! She’d cursed them! She’d never ever know how to make real friends!

“But the fox? … She stood up FOR the witchling, instead of standing up TO her. The fox said how the witchling was just trying to be helpful for once. The fox sang on the spot how they’d been wearing costumes that night to explore being something different, hadn’t they? How the witchling had just wanted her help to be a surprise? Even saying everything had turned out alright, and it HAD been a fun night hadn’t it? The witch could have left them changed with no trouble, but didn’t, the fox said. The fox still wanted to be friends with the witchling. And maybe try out that spell again some other time? And the fox -didn’t- stop wearing costumes!”

Faith was completely silent, looking outward.

Sunzhine gently moved Faith’s head so they were looking eye to eye.

“And Faith… I’m happy you’re painting again, I’m happy you’ve got an out. And I’m not going to tell you to paint something you don’t want to.”

“But?”

“But don’t become so wrapped up in those thoughts that it’s all you can see. I knew it was gonna take more than one chat from the heart to help you pull through. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop giving out the medicine.

“When we first came to Bright Valley, nothing could stop you, even if it was just brush strokes, a day never went by without you creating something. Even in the same place you could find something new. I saw a little fox as curious as a cat. And I thought you were amazing!” Sunzhine hugged Faith and gave her head fur friendly ruffle.

“… Thank you,” Faith said hugged her back, closing her eyes.

“My pleasure.”

They held the hug for a few minutes… then Faith opened her eyes, and they slowly widened.

“Sunny, what’s that?” Faith asked, concern clear in her voice.

Sunzhine turned, and saw it.

It was an airship, a big one, a really really big one! It didn’t have a big balloon like she’d seen in pictures of ‘classic’ airships. It had big spinning engines that looked like they were for telling it which direction to go than keeping it up in the air. It was made of metal, Faith’s exceptional eyes for detail could just make out the dotted lines that at this distance she guessed were rivets. Its primary colors seemed to be orange, brass, and bronze. Big windows ran along the sides and maybe the top? (Not that she could really tell the last one).

It had some flat metal ‘wings’ at the sides, but Faith knew enough to know those wings were too small to ever get something that bulky air-born on their own.

The engravings of beautiful rabbits and hares on the hull made it look like it belonged in an art museum… but they looked hastily welded on. The bow had a statue of a rabbit woman pointing a spear. All the windows were covered with bars. Its shadow swept over Bright Valley like a metal cloud.

Along the bow in critterize, was the ship’s name, the ‘Procession.’

Its approach had been hidden by the rising sun, but now it was clear to see. It had flown over the Timeless Fog.

The massive ship flew over Bone Quarry towards the green Faith and her friends called home. Ravens Keep stood in its path. The Procession was flying at just the right altitude, so it nicked the tower as it passed. Ravens Keep trembled to its foundations.

–

On the Procession’s bridge,

“What did we just hit?” A white rabbit critter in a blue navy uniform called out from the captain’s platform, the name ‘Piper’ stitched on his jacket.

“Looks like some old tower, what a historical find… did we damage it?” Said a little brown rabbit buck at the wheel, his tag reading ‘Pups’.

“Who cares? It was in our way.” Shrugged a tall thin hare with rust-brown fur in armor, the mark of Sergeant engraved on his armor along his name, Gripes.

–

Wren cawed peacefully in her pretty nest, wearing a sleep mask.

Ravens Keep trembled violently, bit of loose gravel came falling down from the ceiling.

Wren snorted and squawked, tearing her mask off.

“What the-?! Earthquake?” Wren flapped to a window.

Ditty and Mitty came rushing in, Mitty’s fur an unkept mess.

“Mistress! Are you alright?!” Ditty asked worried for his lady’s safety.

“Of course I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

Wren looked up and out the window to see the giant metal machine flying away right at level with her tower (castle!). Wren put two and two together and squawked angrily.

“Hey! You! Watch where you’re flying! Don’t you have any respect for other Critters’ property?! Don’t you just flying away from me! Why I oughta, in fact I’m gonna!”

Wren flapped up and grabbed her staff with her lower claws, she flew out of her bedroom window and into her sorceress chamber via its window. Ditty and Mitty had to take long way around, carrying their lady’s witch’s hat and robe with them.

Checking to make sure the giant stone raven carved into the top of the tower wasn’t damaged, Wren placed her staff into the center of the circular room, causing the circle of runes around her to glow green.

The runes ran down the inside of Ravens Keep, all the way to its original foundations. There inside laid on their stone beds were skeletons of monkeys in regalia and golden masks (their ‘hand-feet’ and tails clearly visible), surrounded by a mix of carved and uncut stone. The eyes of the giant stone raven outside began to glow.

“Mistress!” Mitty declared. “You’re going to channel your magic straight through the castle? Isn’t that a little reckless?”

“Nobody messes with my home and just flies away!”

“But won’t it drain your reserves?” Mitty implored.

“What’s the point of having mana reserves if you don’t use them? Our new visitors left without even an apology, they’re gonna get what’s coming to them!”

“Maybe the ship’s automated?” Ditty offered.

“You don’t build windows for Critters who aren’t there,” Wren said matter of fact. “Now let me focus!”

The cats placed Wren’s hat and dress on her skillfully so she didn’t even feel it, letting her have the focus she desired. The cats looked at each other and backed up, but not daring to leave the room least their Lady had need of them.

Wren’s eyes glowed green like her staff’s crystal, lightning crackled as flames formed in her hands. Wren spoke words of magic, her volume rising. The giant stone raven turned, and slightly raised its head.

Wren spoke the last word, and poked a claw dramatically.

Green beams of light shot out from that stone raven’s eyes, and struck the Procession from behind. Green lightning traveled from stern to bow, making the entire airship shake.

–

“What was that?!” Captain Piper said, not liking asking that question again.

“I think we got struck by lightning,” Ensign Pups said nervous.

“There’s not a cloud in the sky!” Snapped Sargent Gripes.

“I think maybe, we got struck by lightning, by the tower we hit,” Ensign Pups awkwardly corrected himself.

Sergeant Gripes snarled. “Great! Inside the Timeless Lands and we’re dealing with mages?!”

“Forget them!” Piper snapped. “We have a mission to carry out, we’re not here to start a fight. We’re to get in, get what we came for, and get out. You said it yourself that it was ancient right? We likely triggered an automated defense, we’ll just fly around it on the way back. Check for damages. Besides, one wizard’s tower by itself won’t sink the Procession. Keep an eye on it in case it acts up again and we actually did rile up some old mage. We can’t afford to stay here longer than needed, and we can’t do that if we risk the ship and our mission in a battle.”

“I say we do the intelligent thing and deal with the magic tower that just fired on us.”

“That will be all Sergeant!”

“… Yes sir.”

–

“That… showed them…” Wren panted. Her kitties caught her as she fell backwards.

–

Ensign Pups said looking through some eye-sights, “I’ve identified the area the intelligence spotted Her Highness at.”

Captain Piper said, “Tell Lady Salvia that she’ll be hosting Her Highness soon. Have the retrieval team prepare for immediate extraction.”

–

Blush sat on the pile of pillows and thread bare plush-toys she called her bed, reading her comics. Hearing the ever growing rumbling, she figured it was a storm. She finished reading her comic before she casually hopped to the window. Her head tilted in confusion at the clear skies, she stuck her head out and looked about.

“Oh no,” Blush whispered, shrinking back some seeing the unmistakable markings of Lepusopolis on the giant airship. The fur on the back of her neck rose and her stance hardened. “Can’t you leave me alone?!”

The little rabbit got her answer as the belly of the ship opened. Ropes descended like Faith’s zip vine, adorned with one paw step-pads spaced far too apart for most critters. They weren’t for stepping, they were for jumping. Critters in lightweight armor hopped from one step to the next surrounding Blush’s tree house like puppets on strings.

All of them were hare critters (which to note, are biologically distinct from rabbits), including one with rust brown fur.

They entered uninvited through her windows.

The one the highest ranked hare (as clear from his uniform) bowed, “Small Lady Blush, we are here to rescue you from this uncivilized land.”

Blush stood straight, and took on her best regal pose, she spoke formally and calmly.

“Why thank you, Honored Guard of Our Great City, your offer is most appreciated. It is a shame you have come so far and obvious invested so many of our assets in this venture, but there has obviously been a miscommunication.” Blush held her head high. “I am not a prisoner here, so I have no need to be ‘liberated’ and your definition of ‘uncivilized’ is clearly skewered. I must insist that you vacate my premises.”

“I deeply apologize Small Lady Blush, but we are unable to obey your orders. You have been formally summoned back to Lepusopolis, and your presence is mandatory.”

Blush tensed her muscles. “Then I insist that you allow me time to prepare for departure, a lady must look her best after all.”

“You’ll find all preparations have been made for you on board the Procession, Your Highness. There is no need to delay.”

Blush slowly closed her fists. “Be that as it may, it would incredibly rude of me to not give a proper farewell to my companions, associates, and neighbors.”

“I am truly sorry, Your Highness, but we simply can’t afford any delays, it is for the best that you return to Lepusopolis immediately.”

Blush shifted her stance, she counted how many there were, six of them, they had her surrounded and were blocking all her exits.

For the first time in her life, Blush regretted not living at the grand old tree house like her friends.

“And what could be so important that my presence would be commanded so?”

“You are a great investment Your Highness, and now it is time for the return.”

Blush’s eyes widened, she knew what that meant.

–

“GO! GO! GO!” Faith shouted at the top of her lungs.

Sunzhine left Puck the green panda and Seabright in the dust, carrying Faith on her back, blazing a trail straight towards Blush’s treehouse.

They didn’t know if these hares were friendly or not, but wearing armor, surrounding Blush’s house facing -inward- wasn’t a good sign. Faith wished Blush lived closer.

–

“Certainly there must be those higher on the list than me!” Blush said, her eyes darting.

“It’s been decided you’re the ideal choice.”

At the words ‘ideal choice’, Blush had an imagine spot of herself on a throne, dancing on puppet strings.

“Then I should recover my ring then,” Blush said simply. The hare guards kept their eyes glued on her. Blush moved as slowly as she dared. She knelt down, and picked up an unexceptional looking box. She opened the box, and took out a ring with a hare holding a crown and feather engraved upon it.

She swiftly tossed the ring straight into the face of Sergeant Gripes. “AGH!”

With all eyes on the Sergeant, Blush jumped the guard opposite of Gripes, she landed onto his shoulders and pummeled his helmet until it was a dented mess, she kicked off his chest plate as he fell over.

Blush went into a corkscrew spin as she slammed her big feet into the less armored stomach of the next guard, making him cough and gag as he tumbled over.

Blush used him as a springboard and she leaped over Gripes straight for one of her windows. Two of the remaining guards quickly used themselves as a wall. Blush changed her stance mid-jump, and ‘wall ran’ across them, stomping them so hard in the chest plate that they were knocked back into the wall.

Blush made an air-born beeline for the last guard, ready to autograph his helmet with her foot, another window right behind him.

Blush was grabbed out of the air from behind, making her fall and slam into the floor. Gripes had gotten back his bearings, and Blush’s jaw hit the floor with a clap.

Gripes held her down as Blush slammed him repeatedly in the face with her foot. The last unharmed guard took and poured something from a clear bottle onto a cloth, and with Blush’s focus on Gripes, pressed the cloth around Blush’s face.

With her lungs pumping, it went through Blush’s system quickly.

As her wits slowed, Blush thought, ‘They knew I wouldn’t come… all along.’

“I thought she was a pampered royal kitten,” said the guard holding the cloth to her face.

“She’s been in the jungle for years, she’d have picked up somethin’,” said Sgt. Gripes.

Her body limp like a rag doll, Blush felt herself picked up, she couldn’t focus. As Blush passed out she heard,

“Sorry Princess, but this game has gone on long enough.”

–

Faith saw Blush being carried by one of the armored hares on the step ladders as they began to retract back further and further into the air ship.

“Sunny! Run up the tree and jump!”

Sunny wished she had time to argue. She did as Faith asked, running up Blush’s tree at top speed as gravity tried to drag her back down, and at the top, made one final leap.

“GO!” Sunny cried, as Faith leapt off her, grabbing the bottom of one of the step ropes, and immediately began to climb up the rope. Her eyes never leaving Blush’s unconscious form on the hare’s shoulder.

“We’ve got trouble!” The undamaged guard said.

“No, we don’t,” said Sgt. Gripes as he forcibly slammed a heavy switch with a leg, breaking glass.

Faith continued to climb up the rope undaunted. Then a snap was heard… The world went into slow motion. The rope she was climbing went limp. Faith saw the top of it fall away from the airship. Faith began to fall. She futilely reached for Blush, the rabbit getting further and further away. Faith called her friend’s name.

Did Faith imagine Blush briefly opening her eyes? Did it matter? The underbelly of the airship closed up, sealing Blush from view. The airship got smaller as Faith fell. The fall felt like it would last forever, in reality, in a few moments, Faith would hit the ground hard, and that would be that.

‘That’s another of my friends I couldn’t save,’ Faith thought. At least she wouldn’t have to wait long for what came next.

Sunzhine tackled Faith in midair, wrapping her body around the smaller critter like a shield. There’d been no time for an elegant flying leap, only a frantic diving save.

Faith didn’t know what happened next. She was suddenly surrounded by yellow and orange and abruptly changed direction, she bumped into things she knew not what, but the yellow softened the blows and broke her fall, the swift sounds of impact muffled.

A bruised and skid-burned Sunzhine slowly unwrapped herself from the little fox. Faith’s senses slowly came back to her, and she saw the trench Sunzhine had made in the soft grass dirt.

Faith’s head still spinning, Faith looked up, and saw the airship flying away.

“No…” Faith whispered. Her brain began slapping together ideas. ‘Maybe the ship will fly near some mountains we can jump from?’ The ship was steering clear of anything tall enough.

‘Ask Wren to give us wings and fly there?’ Faith thought of the magic blast Wren had given the airship, she’d never recharge in time.

‘Maybe we can build a catapult and just launch ourselves there?’ The thing was made of metal, they’d all go splat when they hit it.

‘There… there has to be something I can do… isn’t there?’ Faith began to feel smaller and smaller.

“I… I’m sorry, I… I wasn’t fast enough,” Sunzhine said, her body shaking. Was she talking to Faith, Blush, herself, everyone? Even she wasn’t sure.

“Blush!” Seabright cried out on Puck’s back as Puck tanked through the foliage, trampling anything that stood in his way. Puck fell to his knees, huffing and puffing, and then fell to his belly. Even as Seabright landed off his friend, Seabright’s eyes never left the metal beast that had stuffed Blush into its maw. “Give her back!”

Slowly, Puck pushed himself up. Everyone saw he was crying. Without a word he began to drag his feet towards the airship as it flew further and further away. He’d swim across the ocean if he had to for one of his friends.

A purple and white flower with a yellow stamen floated down, Blush’s flower. The flower floated into Seabright’s waiting fins. He gritted his teeth, shook, and began to cry.

–

“Mission accomplished,” said Captain Piper. “Ensign Pups, full speed ahead, the sooner we’re out of the Timeless Lands, the better.”

“Yes sir,” Ensign Pups nodded, he gripped the throttle and pushed forward.

Down below in the ship’s engine room, the magic-tech crystals that fed the engines glowed a brighter and brighter blue, the turbines spinning even faster.

But as the blue glow increased, so did a green spark that had infected them. And as the crystals were stimulated to give more power… Wren’s magic built-up.

The eyes of a brownish gold hare in overalls widened. His overalls had the words ‘Chief Engineer Burrows’ sewn on them. He shouted. “Wait! Stop the engines!”

It was too late. The infection of Wren’s magic burst, the conflicting magic leaping from one crystal to another, the green lightning spreading through the engines and the consoles like a spider’s web. The engines screamed and went silent, the crystals went dark.

On the bridge, Captain Piper, just barely saving his grandmother’s teacup, shouted, “What happened?!”

“The magic attack we suffered caused some sort of delayed reaction! They’re investigating now! They don’t know how long it’ll take to get the engines started!”

“Is there any damage to the magna-stone connectors?”

“No sir, operations normal.”

“… There’s that at least.” Captain Piper gripped the railings of his platform hard. “A delay, the last thing we need.”

–

“They… stopped,” Faith whispered, having seen the familiar green sparks.

“Never thought I say this, THANK YOU WREN!” Sunzhine gasped out.

“Thank you very much,” Puck said simply.

Faith couldn’t help thinking how Blush would complain about owing Wren if she were here despite herself.

Seabright breathed in and out. “We have time, we might have time. Might have time. EVERYONE! We need to get back to the grand tree, RIGHT NOW!”

“But that’s not even-” Faith began to say.

“I’ll explain on the way! We don’t know how long Wren’s bought us! Hurry!”

There was no time to argue.

+++

The first thing Blush felt when she woke up, was the feeling of an extremely soft bed. Her rabbits ears picked up the familiar faint hum of an airship’s magna-stone running through metal. Blinking her eyes open, she found a fancy bed canopy in white and royal blue.

Looking down, she saw she was laying on top of an elaborate bedspread, but more importantly, she saw she was wearing a familiar white and blue dress. Moving a hand, she saw her royal ring back on her finger. She reached up, and was relieved to find at least her hair was the same length and wasn’t done up in that tall hairdo, but a familiar pretty little crown had returned unwelcome.

“Welcome back Your Highness.”

Blush woke up fully and sat straight up. She turned her head to see a deer doe with light brown fur she didn’t recognize wearing a ruffled purple and violet dress that reached past her knees (like Blush’s dress). Hung around her neck by a simple chain was a jeweled pendant Blush couldn’t quite make out the details of. The doe held herself with the perfect poise of a lifetime of training.

A quick look confirmed the room looked like the first-class cabin of an airship, and a glance out the windows showed they were still over Bright Valley, that was a relief at least.

Blush also saw old portraits of herself with her old hairstyle, smiling and poised, Blush didn’t know if it was nostalgic or creepy. Blush was surprised to see no guards, she felt a little insulted after the trouble she gave them.

Blush didn’t waste time with questions like ‘where am I?’ or ‘what’s going on?’ or ‘who put me in this gaudy dress?’, those answers were obvious. Blush considered briefly to just run for it, but she didn’t want to give them an excuse to chain her in here unless she knew a surefire way off the ship. Best go for the social route for now.

“Who are you?”

The doe bowed, “I am Lady Salvia, Your Highness. I have been assigned to better prepare you for your role, and to help deprogram you of any uncivilized ideas that might have infected you in your time lost in this savage land,” She said all of this with a gentle smile.

“Would seem like much wasted time and effort for me, when you must have so many other candidates who are both good stock and have spent all their years in Our Grand City learning its ins and outs,” Blush said.

“Well, it’s nice to see your etiquette hasn’t suffered.”

‘I’d talk the way I’d want lady, but the less on guard you’re on, the better for me!’ Blush thought.

Salvia continued. “But as you might have been informed, you are our ideal candidate. Without you, the next to be crowned princess would be Lady Ruby.”

Blush burst out. “Ruby?! Baby cousin Ruby? How’d that happen?! And I’d figure she’d be perfect for you and whatever regent wants control.” Blush realized her slip up and said. “Oh my, what I mean to say is, how have we come to these circumstances Lady Salvia?”

Salvia’s expression didn’t change. “Madam Salvia shall do for you Your Highness, and there have been… absences since you were lost to us. And you seem to be confused Your Highness. Lady Ruby is… now older than you in appearances.”

“Oh,” Blush said, and spoken genuinely. “Last time I saw her, she was in diapers taking things apart and putting them back together. While other babies her age were playing with blocks, she took a clock apart and them put it back together without missing a piece. She was always so clever.”

“Well, yes,” Salvia said slightly awkwardly. “Her talent for mechanical contraptions has certainly only grown since then. But such talents do not a leader make.”

Blush wondered if they meant that, or if Ruby had ideas the elites in control of this didn’t like.

Blush said with a straight face. “It’s so comforting to know my family cares so much about me that they sent all of you for me, not feeling the need to waste time to come themselves and instead prepare a proper welcome for my return. Certainly proof they care for me as deeply as when I left.”

“Actually, your cousin DID wish to come. Saying she wanted to meet face to face her long lost cousin, the few memories she had being pleasant ones. But such a mission is no place for a youth such as her. But she did insist that we bring along one of her toys that was actually how we… ” Salvia turned to a nearby empty table, looking confused. “Now where did it go? Oh well, of no consequence.”

Salvia looked back at her. “Well, are you going to ask how we managed to overcome the fog, Your Highness?”

“I didn’t really care, but I have friends who’d really want to know.”

“Simplicity itself, we simply flew over it… ” Salvia tilted her head. “What? No ‘but no airship can fly that high!’ I was so ready for that part.”

Blush said flatly, “I know I’m not dreaming this, and this doesn’t seem like one of Wren’s parlor tricks, so I know this ship can.”

“Nice to see this uncivilized land hasn’t completely dulled your wits. But if you’d let me indulge your highness, this airship is levitated by the strongest artificial magna-stone produced. The first of her kind. While she hasn’t officially had her maiden voyage yet, The Procession could do what no airship before it could and indeed rose above the Timeless Fog.”

Blush laughed, “Well, congrats on getting in, but don’t bet on this happening again. Things have a habit of only outsmarting the fog once.”

“‘Out smart’ a fog bank? Don’t be childish.”

“I am a child.”

“You’re well passed due dear.”

Blush narrowed her eyes. “Well, I do have a question I want answered. How did you even know where I was? And I don’t mean just here in Bright Valley.”

“There’s no harm in telling you Your Highness, as I was saying, one of Lady Ruby’s toys was left on Old Man-, excuse me, -Prince Write’s airboat when it visited here, and her toy happened to take a picture that included you. Dutiful youth that she is, Ruby wished to inform us so you might not be denied your birthright.”

‘Ruby, you’re too nice,’ Blush mused. Then everything Lady Salvia had said caught up to Blush’s brain. “Great Uncle Write? Wait a minute, did he give me the book? He, he really did care about me. He… wanted me to be happy.”

“I don’t know about any book, and I do not care, Your Highness. But I presume that means you have no idea how he was able to transverse the Timeless Fog so easily.”

In spite of herself, Blush couldn’t help but answer. “… The fog must have let him through.”

“‘Let’ him through? You still talk like it’s alive?”

“Don’t ask me! Ask Seabright! He’s the one who thinks about this stuff!”

Savlia ignored the names Blush kept dropping for now. “So you have no idea how he found you?”

“Maybe the fog led him to me,” Blush said in genuine thought.

“No civilized lepus prince would try to go -through- the Timeless Fog. I’ve hear the stories. The name isn’t for show, it’s dangerously -unpredictable-.” Savlia shuddered.

“It never hurt any of us,” Blush said simply.

“Ah yes,” Salvia said, actually kneeling down to be on eye level with Blush, “I have a question of my own Your Highness. They say the Timeless Land takes in those who have nowhere to go and nowhere to return to. So why would you be here?”

Blush stood straight, and held her head high, “Maybe because this is the only place I can be free.”

Lady Salvia blinked and laughed. “Free? No such thing. We’re all chained to something. It’s those interlocking gears that make us civilized.”

Blush asked, “All of my family that could come to see me again didn’t, and all that would couldn’t, and you wonder how this place is freedom for me?”

Lady Salvia sighed. “I’d really hoped you’d be reminded of your responsibilities, like a proper lady should. All this was done for you. And you show no gratitude. How can you call this place freedom when you’re denied even the most basic comforts of home?”

Blush shrugged. “It’s actually super comfortable here once you take a closer look. We always manage to find what we need, it’s like a treasure hunt. I’m not sure this place HAS a limit on how much there is to explore.”

“And yet, your fog prevents critters from civilizing it.”

“Industrialization, and civilization, are not the same thing.”

“All our items of comfort have to come from SOMEWHERE dear.” Salvia breathed in slowly and out. “But you said things look different once we take a closer look?” Lady Salvia took her pendant. “Then may I ask in return that you take a closer look at my pendant? It’s the finest craftsmanship in Lepusopolis. I want you to appreciate all the hard work that went into it, on every step of its journey. From the gems within, to the metal, the tireless labor of not only the artist but the years of practice it takes to have paws so delicate to create beauty such as this.”

Blush leaned in close. She saw no harm in humoring the deer. Just because Blush wanted to live free didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate pretty things. And as she took a closer look, Blush had to admit, it looked very pretty indeed. The jewels within were arrange in a nice spiral pattern, the different facets of the jewels reflecting off of each other. What colors were they? Blush focused.

Lady Salvia swung the pendant back and forth. Blush’s head tracked every motion.

“The spiral at the center is lovely isn’t it? It took the longest to get just right. Focus on that part. It’s lovely to look at isn’t it? Just like you’re lovely to look at princess. The shining bright colors. There’s a secret at the center if you can keep your eyes on it. But only smart girls can figure it out. You’re a smart girl aren’t you princess? You’re a good little smart girl. You have no problem watching the jewels go back and forth. You can because you’re a good girl. You have no problem doing what you’re told do you? No, you don’t. Because you’re a good girl. And good girls do what they’re told. A good girl like you has no problem watching the pendant at all.”

“No problem at all…” Blush repeated, her head still moving back and forth with the pendant.

“Good girl, Princess, because you are a good girl. You’re a good girl who does what she’s told. You’re not a stupid girl who doesn’t listen are you? No. Not at all. You’re not stupid. You do what you’re told. You’re smart aren’t you princess? A good princess. A good princess who does what she’s told, aren’t you?”

“A good princess…” Blush said dazed, her vision seeing nothing but the sparkling spiral in pretty colors.

“And good princesses do what they’re told. Like you’re doing now, doing what you’re told. You’re a good princess who does what she’s told. Look closer, look deeper, like the good princess you are who does what she’s told.”

“What I’m told…”

“Look deeper, look at all the pretty colors, deep inside is the secret: the secret to being free, being free from worrying, free from troubles, free from bad feelings. Looking deeper you can see it… Being a perfect pretty princess who does what she’s told, nothing to worry about, you can just smile, and do as you’re told.”

Blush slowly began to smile. Her eyes became pin pricks, then became colorful spirals like those of the pendant. “I’m a perfect pretty princess who does what she’s told.”

“A princess doesn’t run from her responsibilities.”

“A princess doesn’t run from her responsibilities.”

“A good princess obeys.”

“I obey.”

“You’re a perfect royal princess who will listen to what others tell her.”

“I’m a perfect royal princess who will listen to what others tell her.”

“Everything is fine, everything is pretty, and you’ll help everything stay perfect and pretty.”

“I’ll help everything stay perfect and pretty, like a good princess who listens to what others tell me.”

“Now let’s get started on some refresher courses on your etiquette as a proper princess.”

Smiling blankly with her eyes colorful swirls, Blush curtsied. “Yes Madam Salvia, I’ll be a good student.”

---

Puck practically kicked the door down, they’d fix it later.

“This is it?” Faith asked, shadowing her eyes from Sunzhine’s back.

“It will be!” Seabright said on top of Puck. “The skeleton is already finished. Faith, the blueprints are over there. Puck, Sunzhine, the instructions for the launcher are over there, it works on the same rules as Faith’s spring vine rope, you should be able to handle it.”

No one asked if this was really going to get them up there, it was the only shot they had.

Faith didn’t complain that sewing had never been her special talent, she couldn’t afford to.

“Will it carry all of us?” Sunzhine asked.

“The launcher should get us up there, and the glider should last long enough to get us and Blush back to the ground, just don’t expect any encore flights!”

The Critters scrambled all over the workshop, Seabright providing directions as Faith made sure they were carried out with artistic precision! Sunzhine zipping back and forth to get any materials they didn’t already have on hand, Puck providing the heavy lifting and muscle-power to get the tougher pieces into place.

“This is quite the surprise you and Blush had in store for us!” Sunzhine said.

“You know Blush: always wanting to try something new! I was surprised at how much she understood the basic ideas already!” Seabright left out that both he and Blush had hoped their project might give Faith a sight so inspiring that it might snap her art out of its doom and gloom phase.

“Okay Puck, place this part along the left shaft, be sure to get the rings spaced out, we can’t afford it to start buckling or tearing,” Faith said working on the next part of canvas. She turned to see Puck had already finished what she’d told her. Puck moved with a laser like focus that would have left Faith in awe if she could spare the moment.

“We will do this, we will do this, we will do this,” Sunzhine chanted in beat with their work. “We are doing this, we are doing this, we are doing this.”

A swarm of bees wouldn’t have been more proud. They worked tirelessly, their only thoughts on the task at hand, their hearts burning with their singular purpose. Everyone doing their part, united for the whole. To spread their wings and fly, and rescue their friend.

Wren would have been speechless if she saw this, not thinking such teamwork was possible with such free-willed Critters, then again, just look at what they’d built already. The tree houses, their garden, everything they made was theirs.

Everything became a blur, everyone having to trust everyone else to do their part right (there may also have been a musical number involved), until finally everyone blurted out at the same time, “Ready!”

And the Critters looked at what they’d brought to life.

Sunzhine kept herself from saying it looked like a slingshot, or more precisely, a crossbow. And mounted on top, was a glider, wings wide and large. With grips and holsters for five of them. And a parachute built into it just in case things went south. Seabright left out he’d adjusted it to hold all of them on the fly.

Seabright thought how Blush and he were still debating on what colors to paint it, but now there wasn’t time to give it a paint-job or even give it a proper christening.

“I give you the Rescuer,” Seabright said off the top of his head.

“BE RIGHT BACK!”

“FAITH!”

“There’s something I need! Get it ready! Fly without me if ya gotta!” And Faith moved up the grand tree, into her studio, and back down to the workshop in record time. Sunzhine had barely gotten the snap vine stretched back by the time Faith returned.

“What did you get?” Seabright asked.

“A last resort I got from my sleepover with Wren,” Faith said, showing a green jewel on a cheap chain hidden under her neck handkerchief. “I’ll explain later! Time for take off!”

“Just a moment,” Seabright said, “Puck, more to the right, up a little, right on target!” Puck’s muscles aimed the launcher at the Procession.

“I’ve got us set so we’ll fly right over the air-ship, the hook ropes at the end are for catching ourselves as we go,” Seabright explained, not even looking at his friends as they got ready for take off.

It was truly amazing what you could find in Bright Valley if you looked hard enough, a set of flight goggles wasn’t among the strangest treasures they’d found.

With a few moments to think, it was Puck who asked, “What if that big ship has big cannons?”

“Then Blush will be no worse off than she is now,” Sunzhine said. “And Faith and me can reenact the story of the old baron riding canon balls.”

“Let’s hope I don’t have to try that out,” Faith said.

“Everyone ready?” Seabright called. “Five, four, three, two, one, take-off!”

Puck bit through the rope vine holding the launcher primed in one snap.

The Critters screamed like little girls as the Rescuer shot into the sky like a rocket. Faith was briefly reminded of a rollercoaster ride she hoped to never ride again and kicked the scary memory overboard, she and Seabright (and Sunzhine and Puck) were too busy holding onto each other for dear life.

Faith was reminded of how much she loved Crystal’s flying carpet ride in Sunlightville, and just why she’d thought it was so much more fun than a roller coaster! She didn’t feel like she’d fall to her doom at any moment!

‘Maybe next time I’ll just go for a balloon,’ Seabright managed to think.

As the sense of sudden acceleration left, Faith forced herself to open her eyes (she didn’t remember closing them), and saw a view grander than even her view from her studio at top of the grand tree. She really wished she had time to appreciate it. But the Rescuer was coming up on the Procession fast!

–

A pair of egg-white rabbits wearing tool belts worked with their backs to the Procession’s portholes. One rabbit had a brown patch over the left eye, and another over the right eye. One had ‘Hip’ stitched on their overalls, the other had ‘Hop.’

“Whoever heard of blowing a circuit-breaker?! These are the newest thing! They’re supposed to not need replacing like mana-fuses!”

“At least the engines themselves aren’t really damaged. This poor girl is just out of port! She doesn’t deserve this!”

Outside, the Rescuer silently approached, only to suddenly dip down, the faces of the Critters silently screaming.

“At least it’s something you can tell your litter, you were on the ship that brought back a long lost princess.”

The Rescuer passed the window from left to right spinning like a corkscrew.

“At least they finally told us what we were doing out here AFTER we passed over the super creepy fog and got attacked by some automated old witch’s tower!”

The Rescuer flew back up, still silent behind the glass.

“Not so much ‘told’ as the Chief demanded answers after he saw guards taking a sleeping little girl to a royal cabin.”

“At least we haven’t seen any giant fire-breathing trees.”

“I keep telling you the guy who told that story never set foot in the Timeless Land, but don’t jinx it just in case.”

–

The Recusee now had a close up view of the Procession, letting the Critters get a detailed view of the behemoth.

“I didn’t know airships could get this big,” Sunzhine said in awe seeing the Procession up close.

“Looks peaceful from the outside,” Puck remarked.

Seabright was busying trying to fly the dang glider and land without them smashing into a million pieces.

‘Think of all the new sights that could be seen with it,’ Faith thought, ‘Blush would wonder about all the new places it could explore, we’re on our way Blush, just sit tight!’ Then Faith tried to imagine Blush just sitting still. ‘Okay, try not to get hurt trying to escape on your own. Have… have faith in us.’

Then Faith saw through one of the larger windows,

“There she is!” Faith pointed with a shout. “BLUSH!” Faith waved, but Blush wasn’t facing the window.

“Let’s get’er!” Sunny shouted next.

Seabright said quickly, clenching his jaw, “Didn’t built her for ramming, gotta land!” And as much as Seabright hated to admit it, he wasn’t confident he could aim for the window without hitting the hull instead, this was his first time flying this thing after all, and it had been Blush who’d wanted to test pilot the glider.

Faith barely had time to look as the Rescuer took another sharp turn, but she knew Blush when she saw her! Though Blush had been wearing something, Faith couldn’t tell what.

The Critters forcibly went with their original plan, and Seabright finally managed to make a landing on top of the Procession.

Puck was a little worried about the sparks the hull made as the Rescuer skidded to a stop. Faith felt like her teeth were going to shake out of her head as they bumped over the rivets. The hooks barely managed to catch hold of anything, but just enough to keep the glider from falling off due to wind.

“That was fun…” Sunny panted with a weary smile. “Let’s do it again some time?”

“Any landing you can walk away from is a good one,” Seabright said.

“Easy for you to say,” Faith said to her sea mammal friend. Faith shivered as her paws touched the cold metal of the airship, the wind blew against her fur.

“Now we just need to get in, fight the bad guys, rescue Blush, and go home… like a normal visit to Wren’s tower right?” Sunny remarked.

Puck asked looking around at the top of the ship, “How do we get in?”

“I… I didn’t think that far,” Seabright admitted.

“WHAT?!” His friends exclaimed.

“We didn’t know how much time we had! The first step was always going to be to get on board,” Seabright defended. “We had to do something.”

Puck looked down one of the Procession’s skylights. “Maybe we can make a way in?”

Seabright said, “Puck wait-!”

Puck gave the skylight a good stomp, only for it to vibrate like crazy and knock him on his rear with a bang.

“… I was worried that would get attention.”

Sunny said, “‘Bright, after the landing we made, shouldn’t they know we’re here?”

Everyone drew in a breath, waiting for the horde of hare warriors to come pouring onto the roof.

Nothing.

“I’m guessing that’s a no,” Faith said. “But why?”

“Faith, did you see many critters inside the ship as we flew past?” Seabright asked.

Faith thought for a second. “No. I only ever spotted a few.”

“Then I’m guessing this ship, for whatever reason, doesn’t have as big a crew as you’d think. Maybe it’s all automated. Maybe it was launched short-notice.”

“Whatever it is, it’s good for us,” Sunzhine said.

Faith looked at the skylight. “So much for us using the hooks to heroically climb down the side and going through the window to rescue Blush.”

“Still need a way in,” Puck said calmly, his eyes slightly narrowed.

As if in answer there was a faint whirring sound, the sound of something small and metallic bouncing off something, and finally, with a clang, a hatch in the top of the airship slammed inwards.

The Critters readied for an ambush after all, but none came, without options they crept towards it… and saw an unguarded way inside.

“Trap?” Faith asked.

Seabright said, “You don’t make traps for critters who can’t get in to begin with.”

That was when a tiny mechanical spider with one ruby eye crawled out. Faith kicked it away with a shout thinking of the masked machines.

The bronze metal spider bounced once, moved drunkenly for a moment, then sounded a panicked whirl and knelt down, covering its head with its forelegs, shaking.

Faith moved to kick it off the airship, but Sunny grabbed her. “Faith! What is wrong with you?”

“I-!” Faith looked again, seeing the clockwork arachnid cowering before her. “It could be trouble!”

“Pretty sure it just helped us,” Puck said, kneeling down, and offering a hand to the metal spider. It peaked out at Puck between its forelegs. “It’s okay, Faith isn’t nasty, she was just surprised. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Tentatively, the spider slowly crawled into Puck’s hand, he stood up with the spider in his hand. “So who are you little friend?”

“Let me see,” Sunny said, taking the robot spider and turning it upside down, it gave a surprise whirl. Sunny found what she was looking for. On the bottom engraved was the name, “Leggy? Is that your name?”

The metal spider flipped around in Sunny’s hooves and perfectly landed back in them, and gave an affirmative nod.

Puck gently took Leggy back. Its eye turned to face him. “We’re looking for a friend of ours the bad men of this ship took, her name is Blush, do you know where she is?”

The clockwork spider stood at attention and saluted, nodding eagerly.

“Isn’t anyone else going to be worried about this thing coming out of nowhere to help us?” Faith asked.

“There are a lot simpler ways to deal with us if it was with the kidnappers,” Seabright said. “They could have just waited till we went inside and snatched us one by one.”

“It’s a pile of gears and cogs, it doesn’t have a heart, we can’t trust it,” Faith said.

Leggy whimpered in Puck’s hands.

Sunny said, “Faith, I’m asking, what is wrong with you? We’re ALL worried about Blush!”

Faith stopped herself. She looked at the faces of her friends, listening to the winds. Sunlightville. The machines. Her nightmares. Blush being taken away. “I’m sorry. I’m just scared.”

“I am too,” Seabright said.

Puck asked, “Leggy, are you a friend of Blush’s?”

Leggy looked up, and slowly sadly shook his head.

Sunny snapped her hooves. “Are you a friend of a friend?”

Leggy nodded at once.

“Good enough!” Sunny said.

Leggy perked up.

“Let’s go rescue Blush,” Faith said.

The critters descended into the bowels of the Procession.

–

Leggy remembered what Ruby had told him, “Don’t fight unless they’re trying to hurt you.” And Leggy would never go against Ruby’s commands, even if he’d wanted to, Madam Salvia reprogramming big cousin Blush without permission wasn’t nice. (How Blush was a ‘big’ cousin when she was smaller than Ruby was something Leggy avoided thinking about least he strip his gears.)

Thankfully these critters had come to help Blush, who very much needed help. They’d even shouted her name and waved when flying outside. Leggy was happy Ruby had taught him how to read muzzles.

The critters crept along the corridors of the Procession with Leggy in the lead.

Seabright thought, ‘This place isn’t built like a warship. No bottlenecks for borders, no big guns, no sign of an armory. Most of the doors are made of wood, not metal. And there’s the plush carpet, the fancy lanterns, and landscapes paintings on the walls.’

“Wish I could apprentice to whoever made these,” Faith couldn’t stop herself from whispering at the works of art.

“I like your stuff better anyway,” Sunny whispered.

Seabright was right, there was way less crew than the ship could have had.

‘Better for us,’ Seabright thought as he pushed along on his flippers.

Leggy continued to point them along in the direction he’d come from. Not that it was easy for him, he wasn’t used to seeing things from way up here in Puck’s hand, and he was used to moving inside walls, not around them.

Faith’s ears twitched. “Wait… ” She gestured with her friends to stop. “Do you hear something?”

Sunny’s own ears turned. “It’s Blush, singing.”

“Something doesn’t sound right,” Seabright said.

“It’s fake?” Faith asked.

“No… more like, something’s missing.” Seabright didn’t want to say it sounded almost empty, like the rest of the ship.

“If she’s being made to sing, then that just means we better get to her quick!” Sunny said.

All the friends nodded. No longer needing Leggy’s directions, they followed Faith’s ears, Faith not even hesitating which way to go, only stopping to look out for adults.

Finally, after only a minute or two, but feeling much much longer, they came to an elegantly carved wooden door. There weren’t any guards, this made Seabright worried. Faith came up to the door and placed an ear against it.

“Your voice is as beautiful as ever,” said an adult woman’s voice.

“Thank you, Madam, I do as I am told,” said a very familiar voice that made Faith’s heart jump.

“BLUSH!” Faith yelled, the critters instantly losing any chance for stealth as Faith brute forced the door open. Faith stormed in, her friends tumbled in after her.

A deer critter in a violet dress turned with a start at the intrusion, reaching for her necklace. The critters gasped at what they saw. The room had big windows, and looked like it had been transplanted from a fancy hotel. And had more than a few fancy toys from wind-ups to big plushies. And along the walls, were pictures of Blush, but with her head fur long and styled so it went up instead of down, and wearing pretty dresses and jewelry.

But the critter that hadn’t reacted at all to their entrance, was Blush. She stood there smiling, staring off into the distance, in a beautiful white and blue dress wearing a ring and crown. That alone would have been enough to leave the critters speechless. But there was also her eyes, now colorful spirals.

She slowly turned her head at them like she was a doll, then said in a formal if hollow voice, “Hello my friends, welcome aboard the L.A.Y. Procession.” She curtsied with mechanical precission. “Tis good to see you again.”

Faith was silent, looking like she’d seen a ghost.

“So you are Princess Blush’s little savage friends,” said the doe, crossing her arms in a stern school-teacher voice. “You know it is very rude to enter a lady’s room uninvited.”

Leggy hid behind Puck, Salvia hadn’t seen him.

“Did you do this to Blush?” Seabright asked, his whole body shaking. He didn’t need to ask -what- was done to Blush, that was obvious.

“Blush, introduce me to your friends,” the doe said.

“Yes, Madam,” Blush said with a smile before gesturing with her hands like she was making an address. “My friends, this is Madam Salvia, she is my teacher. She has been giving me refresher courses on how to be a lady.” Blush blinked playfully.

“Did Blush get mistaken for a princess who looked just like her?” Sunny heard herself asked.

“Oh no,” said Blush, that smile never leaving her face. “This has been who I’ve been hiding from you all along, isn’t that right Seabright?”

Seabright startled. “I… I just knew you’d changed since coming to Bright Valley. You never faked anything.”

Her voice staying perfectly even, Blush said, “Alas. I must leave this uncouth land now.” She sighed blissfully. “I must assume my royal duties. I must be a perfect little princess who does what she’s told. I can’t keep on playing jungle girl forever.”

“Who’s playing?” Sunny asked. “Blush, you never liked dresses, you said they always made it hard for you to bounce around.”

“All games of pretend must end,” Blush said robotically.

Puck asked, “Blush, if you’re really a princess… why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because I was running away from my responsibilities, like an ungrateful child, great investment was made in me, investments should be returned. All cogs must turn as they were made,” Blush never stopped smiling, her tone never wavered. She stood perfectly still with her hands crossing each other at her waist. The only motion being the colorful spirals her eyes were now.

“Magnificent isn’t she?” Salvia said with a dominant smile. “Children are like clay. I once taught a pup who wanted to be a tea-master to be the warrior her mother wanted. As children should be, to become whatever their parents need them to be.”

“Yes, I am a perfect pretty princess who does what she is told,” Blush said simply. “All raw material must be processed. All things must be upgraded to fit with whatever system they are placed in. The old self should be discarded in favor of the new self.”

Faith’s artistic eye never left Blush.

‘It’s… it’s like looking at all those times Wren turned us into dolls, or stuffed animals, or puppets, or wind-up toys… No. Those… those… looking at them… I still knew it was Blush in there… no matter what tricks Wren pulled… This… it’s like… it’s like…’ A ball formed in Faith’s throat.

–

“I’m not going to be me in a second! Please just run Faith!”

The kitty-face-machines mobbed Sweetie all at once.

The Sweetie that Faith saw, only bared a passing resemblance to her friend.

On her hip was carried a small doll, of her former self, beheaded.

The new Sweetie looked her up and down, like how Sunzhine would size up a race track.

–

“All games must end, we all have to grow up sometime. We’ve done nothing but hide from growing up. I’ll now grow up like a child should,” Blush said. Salvia patted her on the head like a pet.

“I didn’t come to Bright Valley to hide,” Puck said.

“Me neither,” said Seabright.

“Me neither-neither,” added Sunny.

“Children’s opinions on things don’t matter,” Salvia said.

“Lady, I’m probably older than you,” Sunny talked back.

“Not old enough. What is a civilized herbivore doing with barbarian carnivores?”

“But Faith and I are omnivores,” Puck said automatically, feeling slightly hurt.

“You either eat meat or you don’t, what does the rest matter?” Salvia said like she was teaching a class.

“Madam Salvia, can you civilize my friends?” Blushed asked, turning her head and nothing else. “I’d be so happy if they’d come with me.”

“Maybe… a princess is nothing without her servants. If any of you had any hope of kidnapping the princess, you are sorely mistaken. If you really care about the princess, accept some education like good children, and you can serve your princess like good little servants should.” Salvia pulled at her necklace. “Or are you all too selfish to listen to your princess? That isn’t good friends, so are you-“

“Blush!” Seabright shouted. “This is silly! Stop playing Princess! I know how hypnosis works! And this wouldn’t work unless you were going along with it somehow! None of us are going to think different of you because of this! You’re royalty? We don’t care! I don’t care! I know you’re way too stubborn to just do whatever this lady tells you!”

“Children should be whatever their parents say they are. Anything else, is being an ungrateful little fawn! And as a little good fawn, I’ll make sure all of you are good little fawns,” Salvia said calmy, her hands shaking.

“You…” Faith whispered, her eyes hidden by her hair. “What the heck was wrong with Blush with how she was?” Faith clenched her paws, shaking. “Why did you think she needed to be ‘improved’ or ‘updated?'”

“You think the Blush you knew was the original? That’s cute!”

Faith snarled, fangs bared, her eyes locked on Salvia. “You call this new and improved? You call this better?”

“Are you even listening to me?” Salvia exclaimed.

“You think you own her because you’re where she came from?! We got to know her! We got to understand her!” Faith began to step towards Salvia, Faith growled. “She belongs to all of us, not you! Change her back! Change her back right now!”

“Adults don’t do what children say!” Salvia disconnected the chain around her pendant, making it a length instead of a circle.

“I said, change her back!” Faith let out a snarl that was more animal than critter, and dropped to all fours. For a moment, Salvia startled at the look in Faith’s eyes, something her feral ancestors remembered.

Salvia swung her pendant, Faith moved out of the way in a blur. The wind-up soldier on the table behind her was sliced neatly in half. Before the two halves even hit the tabletop, Faith snarled and chaotically bounced from the ceiling, to the walls, to the floor, Salvia’s deer eyes struggling to keep track of her.

Salvia swung again, this time the sharp edges of her pendant slicing open the carpet where Faith had been a moment before. Salvia spun the chain of the pendant around her, adjusting her stance. Faith tucked herself into a cannonball and in a spin slammed her two front feet into Salvia, sending her crashing into the counter with pretty nicknacks behind her.

“That’s Lepus-style! Who taught a barbarian like you-” Salvia was caught off, by Faith sinking her fangs into Salvia’s arm holding the chain pendant. “GET AWAY!” Salvia flung Faith off her, causing her fangs to rip Salvia’s dress and her arm. Salvia switched to her other arm seamlessly.

Faith flipped backwards, and landed on Puck, and without even looking at him, used him as a springboard, kicking him off his feet and him landing with a grunt.

“I taught her,” Blush said, her stance and expression not changing at all.

Salvia ducked as Faith tried to take a bite out of her shoulder, Faith landed on all fours on the wall, digging in with her claws.

“Got you now you little-” Salvia swung her pendant, only for Faith to catch it, the chain wrapped around her arm, Faith yanked it so hard it cut into Faith’s skin. Salvia’s head slammed into Faith’s.

The others tried to get in close to help, but Faith was moving so wildly, and Salvia’s weapon could be anywhere the next eye-blink, all of them were forced to keep their distance. Blush’s eyes were zeroed in on everything Faith was doing as Blush stood there and looked pretty.

Salvia slammed Faith into the floor, and tried to stomp Faith in the chest with her hoof, only for Faith to roll away at the last moment letting go of Salvia’s weapon, leaving a hoof shaped dent in the floor.

Faith got back to all fours, and this time leapt at Salvia’s left leg, biting into it with an audible chomp.

Salvia wrapped the chain around Faith’s throat that Faith pulled at with her claws instinctively, Salvia slammed her into the wall. Faith responded by planting both feet into Salvia’s face with a bark.

Salvia let go of the chain and fell backwards, knocking over a table, the sharp edged pieces of the wind-up toy went flying at Blush, Sunzhine was able to pull Blush out of the way just in time. Faith didn’t even look their way.

Salvia landed with a thud, and scrambled for her weapon. Faith landed on top of her, pinning her to the floor. Faith let out a growl, looking at Salvia, who shrank back at the look in the kit’s eyes.

Faith opened up her jaws wide, her fangs gleaming, and went straight for Salvia’s throat, with no intention of stopping.

In Salvia’s mind’s eye, she saw her own mother, looking at down her coldly.

‘No! I did everything I could! Salvia is sorry mama!’

Faith’s jaws snapped closed… as she went sailing off the deer critter, Faith hit by a flying kick from Blush. Blush’s eyes were now the beautiful bright blue her friends remembered. Blush panted.

Faith looked up at her friends, as if waking up from a dream, and stood up on her hind-, her legs.

“Blush… Blush is that really you now?” Faith asked, daring to hope.

Blush narrow her eyes, still trying to get her breathing under control. “I know I’m back to being Blush, but are you really fox-tail?”

Faith’s heart sank.

“Faith knows how to fix problems without biting her way out. Seems you’re the other way around!”

Blush pointed at Salvia, and everything Faith had done to her.

“Princess! I knew-” Blush placed a paw on Salvia’s chest.

“You need to be quiet right now,” Blush said, not even looking at her. “All those times we wanted to write off Wren as a bully, but you told us how she was just lonely after all the times she tried to turn us into this or that she could own, what’s different Faith?” Blush called out to her.

Faith looks at her claws, ‘I always use my head… I built more than one contraption with Seabright, what… what happened?’ Faith’s eyes began to mist up. She looked at Blush, Blush’s face not happy. Faith looked at her friends through her tears, they looked at her… like… were they… scared?

Faith whimpered, falling to her knees. Tears falling from her face.

“I… I was the one… turning into someone she isn’t,” she gasped out. Faith hugged herself.

Silence. Only the faint hum of the ship’s magnetic levitation could be heard by the sharp eared. All the danger, all the risks, one twist and turn after another… suddenly, the critters found themselves able to breathe.

Blush a princess? Blush hypnotized? Faith acting feral and almost ending someone? It was all too much. All any of them wanted, all any of them could do for one moment, even if guards could come in at any time… was nothing. Breathe. Think. None of them knew which of them should start.

Leggy merely stared at them all, bewildered at what his creator had gotten him into.

Everyone felt like they were trapped in limbo. Like time had ground to a halt and none of them could take the first step. Everything had become so unreal so fast, and suddenly snapped back to their senses. It was dizzying.

Seabright moved to Blush, and offered Blush her flower back.

“I believe this is yours,” he said a little awkwardly.

Blush gave a friendly laugh, still keeping her rabbit’s foot on Salvia.

“Thanks.” Blush took the flower and placed it back on her head fur where it belonged.

“Welcome,” Seabright replied. “You look better with that flower.”

“I’ll be sure to keep wearing it then.”

Faith shivered. ‘Blush doesn’t care about how she looks… But… Blush always wore the flower in her hair… why am I upset about it now?’

“Blush,” Sunny said, “I don’t know how much you remember but-“

“I remember everything,” Blush said.

“You only forget you were hypnotized if you’re told to forget while hypnotized,” Seabright answered for her.

Blush looked at Salvia and then said to her friends, “And the whole ‘all meat-eaters are jerks’ stuff was dumb when my grandma was a kitten. I never thought that of any of you.”

“Never thought you did,” said Puck.

“Don’t try to hide it,” Salvia mocked. “The penguin-eater said it himself. My therapy only works if a part of you wanted it.”

“But only a part,” Blush shot back. Then sighed. “Maybe me and Wren aren’t so different if my friends about to be hypnotized to be my royal playmates didn’t wake me up… ” Her eye focused on Faith, her voice not containing an ounce of anger. “But my best friend almost becoming a monster did.”

Puck, seeing Sunny and Seabright were focused on Blush for the moment, the big panda marched over to the little fox, and scooped her up in his arms, and gave her a hug. He patted her on the back.

“It’s okay Faith. Blush is back. You don’t have to be scared now.”

Faith slowly hugged back. “I… I was poisoning myself. I was so angry, no, hateful, I … I forgot everything else, everyone else. I… ” Faith imagined herself wearing a suit of armor with an enraged look on her face, hulking around a spiked sword standing on a pile of skulls. “It was twisting me into a horrid stranger.”

“And it failed.”

“Only because… because…” Faith looked her best friend in the eye. “You saved me Blush, thank you.”

Blush blinked for a few moments, before saying, “Speaking of which, I’m sorry for not saying this sooner. Thank you gals, and guys, all of you, for saving me. They were taking me from you, my home, myself, you came and rescued me.”

“We’re friends,” Sunny said, “What else could we do?”

Blush smiled and nodded. “And I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I wasn’t grateful.”

Seabright said, “I think you might want to hold off crying ‘my heroes’ and leaping into our fins. We’re still on the airship. Which still has a crew that isn’t going to just let Blush leave.”

Sunny said, “We sneaked on without trouble, we can just sneak off right?”

“We can’t count on them not checking on her the entire trip back. They’ll just turn around and come after Blush again.”

“This ship is one of a kind,” Blush said. “We only need to make sure it can’t come back right away. Once cousin Ruby is crowned princess, they’ll have no reason to bother us, isn’t that right Salvia?”

“That’s Madam-ack!” Blush pressed a little harder.

“Titles are for those I respect,” Blush said simply. She looked at her friends.

Seabright asked, “Ruby isn’t going to try and get rid of you later is she?”

Leggy reminded everyone he was there. He let several angry squeaks, standing tall on his rear legs and crossing his forelegs indignantly at the Critters.

“Ruby’s toy?! What is that blasted thing doing?!” Salvia demanded.

Blush looked at the mechanical spider.

Sunny said, “The name on it says ‘Leggy’, it helped us get inside and find you.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Salvia declared.

Blush knelt down. “So, you’re something Ruby put together?”

Leggy nodded proudly.

“So I’m guessing you trust Ruby not to do anything nasty once she’s princess?”

Leggy nodded again.

While Blush was distracted Salvia reached for her pendant… but Faith was always perceptive, and leapt from Puck’s arms and snatched up the trinket from Salvia.

“Forgot about this,” Faith said, she looked at Salvia, fear in the doe’s eyes. Her friends looked at Faith too. Faith looked at Puck.

“Puck, please break this,” Faith said, giving it to her friend.

Without a word, Puck crushed the trinket with his bare paws… which he then politely handed back to Salvia.

Faith’s friends felt an unexpected sense of relief. Blush gave Faith a hug. Faith returned it at once.

“Mommy gave me that…” Salvia whimpered, defeated for now.

“Would she approve of how you used it?” Puck asked simply, if with a little sympathy.

“She taught me how to always be a good little fawn who always did what she was told.” Everyone, including Leggy, shuddered.

“Blush, does this ship use a magna-stone to stay in the air?” Seabright asked.

“Yes,” Blush nodded. “I can hear it. The faint vibration it makes to keep the ship pushing against gravity.”

“If we disconnected the magna-stone… would the airship begin to sink to the ground instead of fall, and would it take them time to reconnect it?”

“Yes, the slow fall is a safety measure. And properly connecting a magna-stone is delicate work.”

“How do you know all this?” Faith asked.

“I read,” Seabright said.

“Even a undutiful student like Princess Blush understands something that basic,” Salvia said with a huff.

“I doubt there won’t be any crew around the magna-stone though,” Seabright said.

“Leave that to me!” Blush said with a smirk, adjusting her crown and then did a twirl. “None of this crew is gonna argue with their princess now are they? And she certainly is free to go where she wishes with her playmates now isn’t she?”

“Will that really work?” Puck asked.

“If I sound official and impatient enough, no one is gonna argue with someone who’s about to become princess.”

“HA! Without my hypnosis, you’ll never pull it off!” Salvia boasted.

“Your hypnosis couldn’t make her act like that if she couldn’t already.”

“Thanks book-boy, but I’ve got this… Listen closely to a Lady of Lepusopolis, Salvia.” Blush stood straight, her hands together, her face in a calm scowl, her words even and regal. The change was so smooth it made Faith cringe. “The effort of being a proper lady was never an ordeal for me Madam. But to experience freedom, life’s joys outside of my glass case, these were denied me forever. I have always been what a lady is: respectful to others as warranted. I never blamed my parents for teaching me that. I could have dropped my ring in the ocean, I kept it as a reminder of what I chose to pay in exchange for all of this.” She gestured at her friends and the world outside.

“We have a civilization Mamdam. It’s a warren of friends and ‘not-exactly-friends’, but it’s ours.

“And you were right Savlia, I have my own chain too.” Blush hugged her friends. “But it’s one that holds us together, it doesn’t imprison us like yours.”

Blush’s friends hugged her back. Leggy hugged Blush’s legs.

The entire ship shuddered and groaned. Then a faint rumble was heard followed by a dull roar. And outside, the critters saw the ground falling further and further away.

“Uh-oh,” Blush whispered.

Salvia laughed. “Next stop kittens, Lepusopolis!”

“They won’t risk flying over the fog until they’re high enough. We’ve still got time!” Blush said.

“No you don’t!” Salvia said standing up. “You have ruined my teaching tool, but I still-“

Sunzhine was a blur. She took drapes from the fancy bed, and tripped up Salvia, Blush and Faith quickly joined in, and without needing to say a word, they tied up the deer like a Christmas present.

“-need a time out,” Blush finished Salvia’s sentence for her.

Blush looked at her friends, “Stay silent and walk three steps behind me in two lines. Let me do the talking. Just follow my lead and DON’T look like you’re intruding. This trick won’t last once we start trouble, so be ready.”

“Blush,” Faith said, “… I’m worried. What if you go so far into acting like a princess… you don’t come back out?”

“Wha-? Faith don’t be silly!” But Blush saw Faith’s look of genuine fear FOR her friend.

“Blush, what if they’re trying to remake you? … I don’t mean Salvia.” Faith shivered. “Blush isn’t a Princess!”

“Technically I’m not now because the whole point of me being kidnapped was so I could be crowned- agh! I sound like book-boy.”

“Welcome,” Seabright said.

Blush held Faith by the shoulders looking her right in the eyes. “Faith, listen to me. I’m me. I still want to rearrange our obstacle course for a new challenge. I still love brutal tough guy comics. I’m a wild ping-pong ball and proud of it! Salvia said I was playing pretend, but how I’ve been since you’ve known me is more real than ‘Princess Blush’ ever will be! Faith… I’m SORRY I never trusted you with this side of myself! I’m sorry to ALL OF YOU! It was wrong!”

“That isn’t the problem!” Faith said. “Not at all! I’m worried about the Blush I know still existing!”

“Salvia couldn’t erase who I am! Nothing you know about me is fake! Look at me Faith, really look at me, are my details wrong?”

And Faith realized, she hadn’t been looking with her artist’s eye.

“I… I always took pride in always understanding people’s words… of it always being clear to me… but I’m scared.”

“You said you could trust all of us, so please, trust me!”

Faith hugged her tightly. “… I have faith in you.”

–

“So… how do we find the engine room?” Sunzhine asked. The critters froze.

“Can you show us the way Leggy?” Puck asked looking down at him, who gave a reluctant shake of its head.

“I get the feeling he’s been in that room most of the flight, how would he know?” Seabright said.

“It’s okay gals and guys,” Blush said calmly. She held her head high. “I can hear it. These ears aren’t for show. It’s faint, but the magna-stone gets louder the closer we get.”

“And if this wasn’t going to be a battleship, there’s bound to be signs,” Seabright concluded.

“Should we be chatting while the ship is rising?” Sunzhine said.

“The more precious our time is the more important it is we don’t waste it. Lead the way Blush,” Seabright said.

It was as easy as the critters had hoped. Blush led them by ear, literally, and soon enough they happened upon signs leading them straight to the engine room.

The critters held their breath as they caught sight at last of one of the crew, a young orange rabbit in overalls just outside engineering’s main door. He wasn’t standing guard as the critters thought at first (“Standing guard against who?” Seabright would’ve said if he could). He was munching on a carrot sandwich and coming towards them when he stopped dead in his tracks and made eye contact with Blush then looked at the valley critters.

“Wait a bit, yer that kitten they brought aboard earlier, where did these others come from?”

Blush stuck-up her nose. “And it is your duty to know everything and everyone on board this ship? Or is your duty simply to help keep this ship running? Is a princess expected to explain herself now to every lepus she comes across now? Who I keep with me is of no concern of yours. If you wish to go and explain to your superior that you wasted my precious time with trivial questions, please go right ahead.” She made sure not to yell, a royal doesn’t need to yell to be threatening. Blush saw his name on his overalls, Charlie, but didn’t say it, knowing that would be seen as getting personal.

The rabbit shuddered. “Uh! That’ll be no problem! I mean! Go right ahead Hour Yighness! I mean Your Highness!” And he quickly got out of their way, and keeping his eyes to the floor while bowing, scurried away.

“That was something else,” Sunzhine remarked.

“I had years of practice,” Blush said.

Faith observed, “Blush… that buck was intimidated by you.”

“I know Faith but-“

“If he knew you’d been hypnotized, why would he be scared of you?”

Blush’s eyes widened.

“If he knew you were hypnotized, he’d have told you to turn around, or ask why Salvia wasn’t with you, or what you were doing here. Or he wouldn’t have taken ‘you don’t need to know’ for an answer. Shouldn’t he have been shouting for guards already if he was faking?” Faith’s own eyes widened in realization. “The whole crew doesn’t know what’s going on!”

“Doesn’t mean they won’t go along with it.”

“And might mean that they wouldn’t!”

“Less talk, more rock,” Sunzhine implored thinking of the ever rising ship.

Reminded they were on the clock, the critters went inside the engine room.

A rough metallic boulder lay in the center on a dais, eight heavy cables connected to it like spokes on a wheel spreading out to the rest of the ship. It was the source of the hum that Faith too could hear faintly now, The magna-stone, the literal heart of the ship.

On surrounding platforms were gauges, buttons, and dials, which none of the critters had a clue which did which. There was big red button with a sign that read ‘Emergency Shut Off!’ behind a glass panel, but that wouldn’t do for them. (Blush remembered stories of early airships that either had to be abandoned when their magna-stone wouldn’t stop making the airship rise higher and higher, or the magna-stone tore itself out of the airship and into the sky leaving the airship to drop).

Rabbits and hares wearing overalls or tool-belts were around looking rather satisfied with themselves, in particular with the glowing blue crystals on the opposite side of the room that the critters had entered.

Seabright figured he was the one who appreciated what they were seeing the most.

Seabright really wished he had more time to admire what he was seeing. It truly felt like a crime to ruin the hard work so many designers, builders, metal smiths, and engineers. It hurt, but Blush’s freedom was more important.

None paid them mind when they first entered. This included a golden brown hare overseeing the rest, and a pair of twins who looked happy to be on their break at last.

Listening to the end of a tube in the wall, Chief Engineer Borrows called though a horn. “We’ve reached the target altitude boys! Let’s get these engines moving and go home!”

The blue lights of the crystals crackled, and the massive machines behind began to turn.

The valley Critters didn’t need to say anything, they’d just run out of time.

Blush kept herself under control. She marched like she owned the place (which, technically, she kind of did, or close enough as far as much of its crew was concerned), her friends followed at just the right speed behind her. She kept herself with perfect poise. But the moment they made their move, the farce would be dropped, and they’d have a fight on their hands. Nobody liked it.

With the crew focused on their tasks, they didn’t notice the little critters at first. By the time some did, they at first thought how it was weird, but didn’t want to get involved with whatever this was. The little aristocrat with her entourage obviously knew where she was and what she was doing after all.

Chief Engineer Borrows however, narrowed his eyes at the unauthorized entry into his kingdom.

“Hey! You kids! This isn’t a playground! Don’t get near any of the equipment!” He shouted, immediately bouncing down from his station towards them. Hip and Hop raised their heads at the noise and saw their boss homing in on the little lady and her followers.

Blush kept her poise but moved faster to the magna-stone, and this began to get the engineers’ actual attention. One or two rabbits began to follow the hare.

Once right next to the magna-stone, Puck, Sunzhine and Blush tried to block the view as Faith and Seabright together got to work on the first of eight connectors, hoping to buy their farce just a precious few more seconds.

Faith and Seabright were not stupid, but both quickly discovered the connectors were tamper proof, even as Faith’s fur stood on end trying to figure out how to undo them. Seeing her friends not getting anywhere, and Borrows and the brothers getting in closer, Blush knew subtly was done.

“Puck. Sunzhine. Simple solution, go!”

Faith and Seabright instantly stood back, as Puck and Sunzhine both gave the connectors a power kick! It split off with sparks and twitched about for a moment like an injured snake before falling still. The whole ship shuddered. The connector heads now a twisted mess. The pair didn’t even hesitate to do the same to the next one, even if it sent a static charge through both their bodies.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Borrow boomed in horror and fury.

“Saving myself!” Blush declared, the time for pretending over.

–

“What’s going on?!” Captain Pipes exclaimed.

“Saboteurs in the engine room sir! Some barbarian pups and- the Princess?!”

“ALL GUARDS TO THE ENGINE ROOM AT ONCE! Where is Lady Salvia?! Get someone to the princess’ quarters at once!”

–

The guards immediately leapt from their chairs and beds they’d been resting after their beating from a little girl. Those not ready slipping on their armor in record time, grabbing their weapons and hopping at full speed for the engine room, Sergeant Gripes with a black eye leading the charge.

–

The engine room became a bedlam. Adult rabbits tackled Sunzhine and Puck as they destroyed a third cable. Sunzhine twisted about on the floor and kicked off the rabbits. Puck refused to be stopped, and through sheer force continued with the adults dog piling him (one of which hanging onto his back but being treated more like a cape) destroyed a forth connector. The hum of the magna-stone became fainter.

It was all Seabright could do to wiggle and slip among their grasps, being as slippery as a snake as the lepus began to force him down.

Leggy disappeared among the forest of stomping feet.

Blush’s dress might have been annoying, but she was still able to show what she got from years living in Bright Valley only touching the ground when she felt like it among its many trees. The engineers were left in confusion as she bounced, kicked, and ricocheted like mad.

Faith dived between their legs, tripping some up as she passed to add more confusion to the crowd, but never even trying to attack. Fearful reminders of her fangs sinking into Salvia flashed in her mind.

Puck was slowed down by the adults covering him, they didn’t stop him, but he was moving in molasses. He’d begun working on the fifth connector as the guards who had originally claimed Blush came marching in, this time they had more than a cloth and a bottle with them. Thankfully the engineers had gotten so tangled with the heroes that it was impossible for them to use more extreme measures without hurting their own crewmates.

Blush saw how evasive Faith was being. And the scared look in her eyes.

“Faith! I can be a lady and still a wild girl! You can fight and still be Faith!”

Faith heard what Blush said. She looked at the guards. She looked at her friends. She looked at the rest of the crew. She looked inside herself, and found her resolve. She ran on all fours, as fast she could away from the center of the room and the fighting. Blush’s heart fell a little.

The guards didn’t need to be told to try and pick off one of the boarders to their ship, firing a long string of wire connected to the mana-crystal power devices they were holding. It was as simple as aiming and pulling the trigger. But Faith kept managing to dodge each shot, blue electric sparks flying from every spot the wires connected.

Puck struggled with the sixth connector, and the guards suddenly found the idea of zapping their own crewmates along with Puck suddenly a lot less abhorrent.

Faith scrambled along the walls like a spider, until she got to Chief Burrows platform, and shouted into the megaphone.

“ATTENTION!” She shouted, her voice echoing. “HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW YOUR NEW PRINCESS WAS HYPNOTIZED AFTER SHE AS KIDNAPPED ONTO YOUR SHIP?! SHE WAS GONNA BE THEIR PUPPET!”

Faith took note of how the engineers all startled at this, as did a couple of the guards. The fighting stopped.

–

“That brat…” Hissed Ensign Pups.

–

‘Faith… I should have known,’ Blush thought with a smile. ‘Give her an excuse and she still doesn’t wanna use her fangs again.’ Then Blush shouted loudly, bouncing out of the melee. “EVERYTHING SHE JUST SAID IS TRUE! MADAM SALVIA BRAINWASHED ME TO BE THEIR LITTLE PAWN! IS THAT THE KINDA FUTURE QUEEN YOU WANT?!”

“So why not start with that?” Called engineer Borrows. “How do we know you don’t have her enchanted?”

“Critters from this ship kidnapped my friend. I thought you were all part of it.”

“They’re the ones doing the kidnapping!” Shouted one of the guards, taking a shot at Faith that she dodged again.

Leggy climbed up to where Faith was… carrying a mini-projector Borrows kept with him to look at blue prints to the whole engineering team at once. Leggy plugged himself in.

And on the wall of the engineering room, in still images, it was shown in ruby tint.

Blush with Salvia, the pendant, Blush going from showing emotion, to looking mindlessly at Salvia’s pendant, the spirals in her eyes.

Everyone stopped moving. They stared at the images. Then they stared at each other.

“What the hoppin’ heck!” Hip declared.

“I didn’t sign up for this at all!” Hop boomed.

The one uninjured guard shouted, “You’re all just gonna believe what that toy and two kittens told you as they’re destroying the ship?!”

“You mean your princess who’s fighting with everything she has to escape it?!” Blush shouted.

“YOU MEAN GETTING YOU BACK TO YOUR FAMILY AND CIVILIZATION!?” Shouted another guard, trying to take a shot but Blush was too quick at this range. “You could break your neck out there!”

“Did you know about this!” Shouted one of the guards to his teammate.

“What!? No!” The uninjured guard defended himself.

“It doesn’t matter, our orders are the same no matter what,” said Sergeant Gripes with a resignation in his voice, then two of his subordinates looked at him.

“Were you in on this, Sir?!”

“It doesn’t matter if I was, or not, our orders still stand!”

“Orders means pellets if they’re part of a scheme to get a figurehead on the throne!”

“It was just to keep her peaceful, while we deprogrammed her of all the uncivilized ideas this place might’ve has put in her head!” One guard said. His teammate all looked darkly at him, and he slowly began to hop back.

Borrows shouted, “That’s it isn’t it? None would notice if a long lost princess was acting odd! ‘She spent all that time in the jungle, of course she’ll be acting strange for a while, right?'”

–

“This is absurd,” Captain Piper put his head in his paws.

–

With all attention off of the heroes, and the adults now all focused on each other, the panda destroyed the sixth connector, throwing the adults rabbits off him (that was tiring).

Sunzhine and Seabright took the distracted grips as their chance to break free.

Blush shouted quickly, “With one-forth levitation, you aren’t going to stay above the Timeless Fog for long! I suggest you start back to Lepusopolis right now! And tell PRINCESS Ruby that she has my blessing!” Blush bounced like a cannon ball and pile-drove through the guard that was blocking the door. Shocker-wires shot left and right.

Faith followed suit, Leggy jumping on her shoulder. Faith ran on all fours as she ran TOWARDS the guards and slid underneath their long legs. Puck charged with their attention on Blush and Faith, some guards not sure who they should be shooting at, knocking a couple off their feet.

“I know I’m not Blush, but allow me,” said Sunzhine as she picked up Seabright as she ran, the big green battering ram clearing the path for her.

–

Captain Piper fell back into his chair, his eyes hidden as he pulled on his captain’s hat. “Ensign Pups… continue course to Lepusopolis, max speed.”

“But sir-!”

“The mission has been compromised. I’ll take full responsibility. A humiliation like this won’t appear on any record anyway.”

“WE CAN’T JUST LET THE PRINCESS GO! YOU CAN’T!”

“That was an order… We can’t risk being trapped in the Timeless Land. Who know what it’ll do to us if we’re forced to land? We might never escape. And find Lady Salvia. I want the other side of the story to tell fact from fiction.”

–

“It’s right this way!” Faith shouted, taking the lead as they climbed out of the hatch to the roof of the Procession.

“I can’t believe you actually finished building it without me!” Blush said.

“We’ll have plenty of times to rebuild it later!” Said Seabright.

“Go! Go! Go!” Sunzhine shouted.

Outside, again among the sky and wind, the Critters saw they were beginning to cross into Wren’s territory. And the Procession was ever so slowly beginning to fall. The Rescuer still neatly fashioned and waiting.

“I bet I could see into Wren’s house from here!” Blush smirked as they were indeed beginning to pass Wern’s tower (this time the Procession made sure to keep a safer distance). Then she carefully took off the royal dress, she knew it was the work of seamstresses who’d put in sweat and tears into bringing another designer’s vision to life.

“Blush! I know you don’t like dresses-” Sunny began to say.

“This dress is for someone else.”

She looked at Leggy as she carefully folded the dress. “Make sure Ruby gets this dress. It was made for a princess. It belongs to her.” She plopped the folded dress on top of Leggy, who managed to give a salute as his eye poked out through the neck hole.

“Which is why you’ll be wearing it to Lepusopolis yourself.”

Blush’s eyes widened as she shivered. “Madam.”

Out of the hatch came Sgt. Gripes, followed by Madam Salvia, now with bandages on her arm, leg, and head that filled Faith with shame.

“But we tied you up!” Sunzhine shouted.

“And you made me ruin some perfectly good bedcovers,” Salvia said, tossing away a piece of shredded cloth clinging to her dress.

“I apologize, Princess,” Sgt. Gripes bowed. “But orders are orders.”

The critters braced themselves. Sgt. Gripes drew his shocker. Salvia took out her pendant, the delicate spiral in the center indeed destroyed by Puck. She gave it a careful press, and the pendant’s sharp edges extended some.

“Do you realize just how dangerous it is to carry something like that around your neck?” Sunzhine couldn’t stop herself from saying.

Salvia gave a snort, then slashed with the chain, this one seeming longer than the old one. The Critters scattered, but they hadn’t been the target. The Rescuer was cut neatly down the middle, the pieces slid apart, flapping in the wind, and fell away from the roof of the Procession.

Their hearts sank.

“Now it’s time to stop this nonsense!”

“Your dream is toast! I’m never being your doll again!”

“I made a mistake of letting you think about this tribe that held you prisoner for so long!”

“As if I’d let your hypnosis do anything to me again!”

“When I’m done, you’ll beg to never remember your friends.” Then Salvia looked at thin air. “Yes mother I know! A good little fawn corrects her mistakes.”

Sgt. Gripes looked at Salvia uncomfortably.

Faith took out the green jewel she’d had hidden underneath her red neck bandana, and held it up high. She said some words unknown to Faith and her friends, and there was a bright green flash, and the jewel went dark.

“Oh,” Salvia said. “What was that supposed to do?”

“Sorry little fox,” Sgt. Gripes said simply, “Next time you want to blind your opponents, make sure your allies know what you’re doing.”

“Are you done with the games now?” Madam Salvia asked, as the critters’ eyes grew wide looking straight at her. “Because as I said, the time for pretending is over.” Her eyes narrowed at Faith. “You should thank me you little savage, I’m going to civilize you till you can’t look at a piece of meat without vomiting.”

“… I was wrong for what I tried to do to you, that was uncivilized, there is no excuse, I’m sorry. But Blush isn’t clay for you to mold.”

“A good little fawn makes sure other fawns are good little fawns just like mother-“

Salvia and Gripes both realized the Critters were staring BEHIND THEM as their gaze began to look up passed them. They heard a loud yawn behind them.

They turned to see a sleepy looking giant bat, being ridden by a black bird with a purple dress and mage’s scepter with a pretty looking saddle and reigns.

“You called?” Wren asked.

“So it wasn’t abandoned after all,” Sgt. Gripes whispered.

“ENOUGH WITH THE INTRUSIONS FROM THAT TOWER!” Salvia snarled and slashed with her weapon. Except, a flash of green lightning struck the blade and chain first, traveling down the chain, and into Salvia. Her skeleton briefly became visible as the shock traveled through her body, and she fell over, twitching. She wasn’t unconscious, but her motion functions were temporarily short-circuited. “I’m a good little fawn mother…”

“Unless you want to know what it’s like to be a Christmas tree too, I suggest you hurry and take her below deck,” Wren said darkly, sitting tall, casting her shadow over Gripes, spreading her wings wide. “No body messes with those critters except me.”

Faith thought, ‘She’s bluffing, she was already exhausted. Or she’d be flying under her own power instead of riding Ludwig. That was all she had left.’

Gripes looked at the critters, at Salvia, and back at Wren.

“Princess.” Gripes bowed, took Salvia, and retreated.

For a few moments the critters stared at their unlikely rescuer. Then Wren said, “Seriously Faith, I give you the power to call upon me for any one favor, and you use it to get a ride to the ground?”

“I’m happy to see you too, Wren,” Faith said with a smile.

“I never thought I’d be happy to see you!” Blush declared.

Wren looked at Leggy. “I have a feeling I missed an interesting story, I expect you to tell it to me.”

“No problem!” Faith said.

“Well, come on! Ludwig needs his beauty sleep and so do I!”

The critters looked at each other, and then at Leggy.

“Tell Ruby she’ll be a great princess Leggy!” Blush said getting the toy one final hug. She took off her crown, and placed it on the dress.

Faith hopped onto the saddled. Blush hung onto Faith. Ludwig (with some effort) took Puck and Sunzhine in his claws, and Sunzhine took hold of Seabright. And with Leggy waving them goodbye, the critters of Bright Valley escaped the Procession.

The weight on sleepy Ludwig meant that it was a flight right for the ground. Mitty and Ditty waved air-traffic control flags as the giant bat descended right for them, just barely getting out of the way in time as Ludwig sought to resume his nap as soon as his claws touched the nice comfy ground.

Not that Blush or Faith cared much about that part. For them, it was a final fantastic thrill with the air washing over them as they saw a view of Bright Valley they never had before and the speed and uncertainty of it just making it all the more alive!

‘I… I enjoyed a wild ride, and I’m still me,’ Faith thought.

+++

“‘And so we must inform you Lady Ruby, despite the vital intelligence provided by you, the mission to retrieve Princess Blush from the Timeless Land has ended in failure. And the Procession shall not be repaired before the appointed coronation date.

“‘Therefore, we congratulate you, Your Majesty, that your own coronation shall now go uninterrupted, and you shall be officially recognized as princess. We look forward to your wise and prosperous reign.'” Ruby finished reading. Now wearing the dress and crown that Blush had given to Leggy, she looked at herself in a full length mirror. Leggy sat on a dresser nearby, gazing at his creator.

On a coffee table was a newspaper that read ‘Noble Tutor Madam Salvia Takes Indefinite Sabbatical At Happiness Nest Farms.’

“This doesn’t look so bad on me after all, cousin,” Ruby said with a smile. She gave a slight swirl. “This might be a good fit for me after all.” She looked at her clockwork hands, then at the velvet gloves on the dresser. She reached for them… then shook her head. “I’m already beautiful. I don’t need to hide it.” She looked out from her balcony over the city in its perpetual fog. “I can think of some ways to help Lepusopolis along already. It could use less fog.” She smiled.

There was a knock on the door. Princess Ruby and Leggy braced themselves. The door opened, showing an old gray rabbit wearing a red scarf.

“Grandpa Write!” Ruby cried out happy and gave him a hugged, he hugged her back.

“Congratulations, Ruby,” Old Man Write said.

“Thank you.”

“I’m very proud of you,” he said. Then he said somewhat sternly. “Now about you having Leggy stowing away on my boat without permission.”

“Oh! That! Heheh.” The rabbit said sheepishly. “Would it help if I said my first decree as Queen is gonna be to declare the Timeless Land a No-Lepus-Zone?”

“A little.” They continued to hug.

++++++++++

Beautiful, yet happy music played.

“I promise you guys! The Rescuer II is gonna be better than before!” Seabright said excitedly, holding a cup of fruit punch.

“First thing we’re gonna fix is that name,” Blush said, one hand on a hip, the other holding her own punch cup. “How about the Discoverer?” Her paws were bare. She had returned her family ring to its box, safe and sound. ‘Great-Uncle Write, Ruby, I know that you love me, and I love you too…’ She looked out over the beautiful view from the grand tree at Bright Valley. ‘But this is where I belong, with my friends.’

“I’m sure we can settle on something,” Seabright said. “After all, Bright Valley is never wanting for adventures. We just had a much bigger one this time around.”

“I must admit… ” Wren said, sitting down midair, using her scepter as a prop. Mitty and Ditty danced with maracas in the background, Mitty wearing a flower crown, the kitties looking like they were having the time of their lives. Ludwig napped wearing a party hat. “I think this is my first time here without… well, trouble happening. It is a quaint little tree house… not as lovely as my castle of course, but it certainly has its charm.”

“Thanks,” Sunzhine said with a straight face and meaning every word. “Everyone’s home should be the way that makes her happy.”

“Everyone’s home is where they belong,” Puck said.

Of course, everyone knew Wren would probably go right back to her usual routine next week after she’d recharged…but by now it wouldn’t be Bright Valley without Wren and her magic making their lives a little bit more, well, ‘interesting.’

Sitting on the edge of the platform, kicking her legs, Faith looked out at the beautiful setting sun, including seeing Blush’s tree house. Blush sat next to her, smiling. She placed an arm around Faith’s shoulder and followed her gaze.

“You know, Faith… Seabright told me that he thinks my clearing was formed by a forest fire. But my tree at the center survived and stubbornly kept on growing. I thought it made it perfect. And it was close to you guys!”

Faith hugged her.

“Keep on growing foxy-tree, don’t let the forest fires stop you. As long as you’re not ashes, you can still grow.”

Faith smiled. “Speaking of which… I think I want to hear you sing… REALLY sing… not hear a doll of you sing!”

Blush blushed. “Wha-wha-wha! I can’t… that is…”

“Blush… I promise… I’ll still think of you as the best jungle girl around!”

Blush breathed in deep. “Fine! But… but just this evening! I’m still the most wild girl around, not a songstress thank you very much!”

“… No reason you can’t be both right?” Faith smiled wider.

“Oh you!” Blush hopped over the stage as Mitty and Ditty finished their own song.

Wren grumbled. “Hey, I was going to go next!”

“Sorry Wren, we’ll listen to two of your songs next,” Sunzhine negotiated, “Better to get Blush singing before she loses her nerve.”

The witch crossed her arms and rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Fine. I guess just this once.”

Blush gave a faint cough, and all eyes were on her. Fighting back the urge to run and find a nice burrow to hide in, Blush took in a deep breath, and sang.

Faith smiled, holding a cup of fruit punch, standing among the beautiful colored lanterns, listening to Blush’s beautiful singing.

‘I’m still afraid of what I saw. Of seeing friends I’ve gotten to know being turned into strangers. But I’ve realized I can’t let that fear turn me into someone I’m not either. I’m not ashamed of what I painted before while hurting. But it can’t be all I create if I want to hold a light against my fears.’

The view shifted, now showing Faith in her studio, painting Wren, who was doing her best to look as regal as possible. ‘That includes painting proud Wren.’

The view became to a painting of Puck, using his hand as a bridge as a troop of ants marched across a stream. ‘Gentle Puck.’

The next painting was of Sunny as an angel with her back to the sun, shining light on the land below. ‘Straightforward Sunzhine.’

The perspective now became of a Faith’s brush completing a painting of Seabright serenely riding a lion made of books so big its legs stood out of the ocean. ‘Focused Seabright.’

Surprisingly, there was also shown a painting of Ditty and Mitty, leaning against each other, giving each other ‘photo bunny ears’ with their paws. ‘Faithful Ditty and Mitty.’

Again the view shifted, this time showing Faith painting Blush at an angle with an open smile on Blush’s face with a classic videogame ‘punching jump’ pose under a bright blue sky and vivid green jungle. ‘Free Blush, and…’

The view shifted once again. Faith painted a fox between two armies, armed with no weapons herself, merely gesturing at the two sides to find peace without fighting. ‘That includes me too.’

~Fin

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