The Bad Guys in Blood Moon

Falling Apart

Piranha felt a throbbing pain in his head as he slowly regained consciousness. As his vision cleared, he saw a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling and four familiar faces staring at him.

“Took you long enough," Snake said bitterly.

“Where are we?" Piranha groaned.

“Funny you should ask," Webs replied. “Well, apparently, Minerva found out you took out those guys at the restaurant, and that you, me, and Shark were at the debate when Diane was attacked."

“Free yourself from the Oppressors," a voice said from a speaker, much louder than the ones outside. “The Flock is your family. Mother Minerva is your guide. The Hatchling is your savior. You are the change."

“It's been saying that since we woke up," Wolf said as the recording repeated itself. “Probably even longer."

“It's the correction chamber," Zyon explained, standing by themselves in a corner. “It's only a matter of time before we all end up accepting her and the Flock."

“I'm sorry I got into this," Piranha said sadly. “But I'm really worried about Gabi. If she hasn't already, Minerva's gonna do something terrible to her. I can feel it in my gills."

“Piranha, we can't do anything for Gabi until we get out of here and stop Minerva," Wolf pointed out.

Having his fill of this, Snake angrily said, “We're only in here because you dragged us all the way across the country without even thinking things through."

“Snake, calm down," Shark said, attempting to keep the peace.

“No, I won't calm down," Snake denied, slithering towards Wolf. “Tell me the truth. Why are we here? What's the point in driving almost 3,000 miles to try and save the world if you don't even have a clue on how to do it?!"

“I don't want to lose you guys, alright?!" Wolf confessed loudly. “Ever since what happened with Marmalade and Millicent, we've barely done anything together. Piranha got married, Snake has a son... We've all been living our own lives, away from each other. I... I don't want us to... grow further apart."

The others looked at each other in concern.

“The Flock is your family."

“Don't listen to that box," Snake said to Wolf. “I love Quentin and my grandkids very much, and you, these guys, Diane, and Gabi are just as much my family as they are. The last thirty years since I've met that innocent little pup have been some of the greatest of my life."

“Really?"

“Really, really," Snake replied.

“Mother Minerva is your guide. The Hatchling is your savior."

“Guys," Piranha interrupted, “I love this reconciliation, but we still have to stop Minerva from destroying humankind and hurting Gabi. And if she lays a talon on her, I will pluck, stuff, and roast her!"

“How are we gonna do that?" Webs asked. Piranha's face softened in embarrassment.

“Uh... Actually... I was hoping you would have an idea, Webs."

Webs thought about it for a second and said, “Well, if by some crazy miracle we do get out of this room, we'll have to sneak inside of Minerva's headquarters to hack into her system. Brenda once told me that the most discreet way to get across a sewer is through the pipes, and since I'm the smallest, I'll have to do it. Next, we'll have to find out where those voices are coming from. Piranha, I want you to figure out where and shut it off. That'll make it easier for Wolf, Snake, and Shark to convert every else against Minerva."

“And what about the Hatchling?" Zyon asked. “If we don't convert to accept the Flock, Mother'll feed us to it."

“Yeah, I agree with the lizard," Snake admitted. “The plan is brilliant, but we still need to find a way outta here before that happens. And I can't unlock the door because the locks are on the outside."

“And there's no other way in or out of here," Wolf pointed out.

“Let's keep thinkin'," Webs suggested, and they all put their heads together.

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After what felt like hours, the group still had no escape plan. And if that wasn't bad enough...

“Free yourself from the Oppressors."

“I shall free myself from the Oppressors," Zyon repeated.

“I think we lost them," Piranha said.

“What was your first clue?" Snake asked sarcastically.

“This is hopeless," Shark said in despair. “Maybe we should just give in to Minerva."

Suddenly, all six animals heard the sound of locks clicking and the door opened to reveal Janus raising his eyebrow at them.

“Have you accepted the Flock as your true family?" he asked them.

“I have," Zyon replied. “I won't let the Mother down again."

“Welcome back, DT-768," Janus greeted as Zyon stepped out of the room and headed back out into the city. “Keep it up, and Mother may reveal your true name before the Blood Moon. Anyone else?"

Piranha thought about this for a moment and said, “I have just one question. Will this new world the Mother promised us really be better than the world as it is now?"

“I have no idea why you would ask that," Janus said. “Ever since I joined, I have been happier than ever. No more red capes waving in front of my eyes."

“That does sound nice," Piranha admitted, “but you didn't answer my question. Will the new world be better? Like, if my wife Ga– Aura and I ever have kids, will they be safe?"

“Wait, Aura is your wife?" Janus asked. “That's weird. Mother just announced that once the Hatchling saves us from the Oppressors, a ceremony will take place where Aura's soul will be bound to hers for all eternity."

“Well, that can't really happen," Shark pointed out. “Gabi and Piranha already said their vows, and everything."

“You can kill all five of us, but Gabi will never be Minerva's," Snake hissed.

“You're right about one thing," Janus chuckled, cracking his hooves. Before he could do anything else, however, his brown eyes widened in shock and he collapsed right in front of the Bad Guys with a dart in his left shoulder blade and a familiar red wolf standing behind him with a tranquilizer gun in her left paw.

“Ismene?!" Wolf exclaimed as she let her robe fall off her shoulders, revealing a yellow tank top, blue jeans, and pink sneakers.

“Call me Scarlet."