Captured (Magic Animal Club Fanfic)

Chapter 22

Amy

       "Alright. Does anyone have any idea where Squid and Nicole could've vanished to?" Stampy asks us when we get into our seats. "They might have just gone out together. I mean, everyone knows they like each other," Finnball suggests. "True, but why would there be an arrow in both places they were last seen? There was one at your sleepover, right Amy?" Stampy clarifies. I nod quickly. "That's what I thought. And everyone knows what an arrow in an item frame stands for," he says. I shudder at the thought of Hit The Target kidnapping another person and possibly treating them like he did me. I feel someone rub my back, and when I turn around I see Rosie smiling at me soothingly.

        "I think they-they might have, um, been taken to...his underground fortress," Sqaishey mumbles nervously. "His underground fortress? Sqaishey, do you know something we don't?" Stampy asks her carefully. I look over at her and she nods weakly, tears forming in her eyes. "B-before Netty brought me here, H-Hit The Target kidnapped m-me, and h-hurt me," she sobs. Stampy gets up from his chair and gives Sqaishey a hug. He whispers something to her, causing her to laugh quietly, then slips her something from under the table. He goes back to his seat and I catch Sqaishey shoving a piece of cake into her mouth.

        I suddenly hear a loud slam next to me, and turn to see Rosie, her head collapsed forward on the table. "Rosie!" Stampy exclaims. Sqaishey drops her plate, a loud smashing noise coming after, and she, Finnball, and Stampy rush over to where me and Rosie are sitting.  I immediately realize what happened. She must've had a panic attack," I explain. She falls onto the ground and Finnball lifts her up and brings her out of the room.

        We all sprint out and kneel down next to where Rosie is laying, coughing her lungs out. "Darling, are you okay?" I ask her concernedly (yes, that's a word). She nods weakly and coughs a little more. Sqaishey gets up, then comes back with a glass bottle filled with water and hands it to Rosie. She shakily takes it from her hand and gulps it down. After Rosie's calmed down a little, we decide to continue the meeting.

        "What the hell was that?" Finnball whispers to me as we sit back down. "Not a clue, but I don't think Rosie's getting over it anytime soon," I respond when I see my penguin friend standing outside the door, tears welling up in her eyes. Sqaishey is whispering quietly to her, I'm guessing to try to coax her into the room. After a moment she nods and sits down next to Sqaishey. Sqaishey'll make a wonderful mother when she's ready. And seeing the proud look on Stampy's face, I can guess he's thinking the same.

Stampy

        "Rosie, are you okay to speak?" I ask her carefully. She gave us all quite the scare, her having a panic attack and passing out so suddenly. She nods weakly and Amy gives her an encouraging smile. "Okay. According to Amy, you had a panic attack. Correct?" I clarify. She nods again. "If you don't mind me asking, what caused it? I know some panic attacks come out of nowhere, but I don't think you normally pass out from those kinds," I say. She drinks a little more water from her glass bottle then puts in on the table.

         "As Sqaishey was talking about when Netty brought her, it reminded me of something. Something none of us would forget normally," she says. "Squid and Nicole disappeared, but where are Netty and Ash?"

        Immediately tons and tons of whispering and mumbling breaks out, and Sqaishey presses herself closer to me. "Do you know?" she whispers. "I'm sorry, Little Ducky, but I don't," I reply, pushing my hand through her long hair. "Do you think he took them?" she asks again, a little more nervously. How do I answer that without worrying her? "Maybe. But we'll get them back, trust me," I say after a moment.

        "You're right, Rosie. None of us would forget that normally," I say once everyone has calmed down a little. "Does anyone have any idea why we forgot that?" I ask them. Finnball raises his hand up. I nod at him and he stands up. "Last night, when we were having our sleepover, I was the last to fall asleep," he says. "I know, big surprise," he adds when he hears the overly-dramatic gasps of disbelief from the girls. "As I was falling asleep, I heard something. I thought it was probably a zombie trying to get into her gate or something, so I ignored it. My theory, and by the way, it's pretty elaborate, is that HTT snuck into the sleepover and your bedroom, Stampy, maybe gassed up to lose our memories of them, then kidnapped Nicole and Squid.

        "Before you ask why he didn't make us forget Squid and Nicole, I have a theory for that too. He doesn't know that Sqaishey's here, so he thought we wouldn't know about his underground base. So he must've thought that we'd look in his normal fortress, find it empty, and think that they might've just gone out together or something," he finishes. He sits back down and Amy and Rosie stare at him, their eyes showing their complete awe.

        "Jeez, Finnball. You just thought of that?" Sqaishey asks next to me. He nods and grins when he sees Rosie and Amy's expressions. "That's a really good theory. And I'd bet that Sqaishey remembered Netty because she's the one who brought her here, and that triggered what happened in Rosie's mind," I add. "Exactly," Finnball agrees. "So, we should check the underground fortress, and they should all be there," Amy says once she and Rosie get themselves back together. "Yea," Finnball says. "Well then lets get ready; we can't waste any time," I say.

Squid

       I woke up in...actually, I have no idea. Where the hell am I? "David?" someone asks. It must be Nicole, she's the only person who calls me that. "I'm right here. Where are we?" I respond. I hear a bit of shuffling then feel someone press their body next to mine. I look over and see light blue sparks shining above Nicole's head. "I don't know, but I'm scared," she whispers. "Is that what happens when you're scared?" I ask her, pointing at the sparks above her head. She looks up and I can see her grin a little in the dim light of the room. "Yea, sorry," she apologizes. "Don't be. It gives us light and it's...nice," I say finally. She smiles and leans her head against her shoulder. 

        "Hello?" someone else calls. "Ash?" I ask in surprise. "Squid? Where are you, mate?" Ash asks. "Over here," Nicole answers. "Oh, hey Nicole," Ash says. I hear a little more shuffling around and see Ash and Netty sitting next to us. "Netty, you're here too?" I ask in surprise. She nods and sits down on the other side of Nicole. "Um, where exactly is 'here'?" Ash asks me. I shrug as does Nicole. "I think HTT came again," Netty says quietly. "Probably the only answer," Ash agrees.

        "I like that we're all completely casual about saying we've been kidnapped by Stampy's arch-enemy," I joke sarcastically. "You should be used to it by now. What is it, your third time?" Netty jokes. "Yes," I sigh. "Well if this is him, then he forgot something," Nicole says. She stands up and I see a bright flash of purple before hearing metal scratching against metal and get a little more eerie light. "We're out," she says simply. "Jeez why didn't we just do that in the first place?" Ash asks as we all climb out of the hole that Nicole made. "Yea, why didn't you?" another voice asks. I immediately realize who it is. "Crap," Netty mutters.

        I grab Nicole and pull her away from Hit The Target, then immediately release her. Her shoulders are a bright red and when I look at my hands there are small burn marks on them. "Sorry," she whispers, then her shoulders go back to normal. "What do you want this time?" Ash asks fiercely. "I simply want this world. But first, you're a little feisty. You should cool down. Why don't I help you?" he answers. Before anyone can object, the same black outline forms around Ash, and slowly brings him closer to Hit The Target. I really hope he can breathe long enough.

        He drops Ash back on the ground then puts his hand out again. Blocks of ice surround him, and before we know it, Ash is standing in front of us, completely frozen. "What the hell?" I murmur under my breath. Nicole and Netty just gasp. "Now, come with me unless you want the same fate," he says to us. Reluctantly, I take Netty's and Nicole's hands and we follow HTT down the dark hall.

Don't hurt me! I know it's been forever, but I've been absent from school for a week because of my surgery. I'm still not done with all the absent work I have, but don't worry. I already have a ton of ideas for this book, but I need your opinions; I'm thinking about making this book into a action/romance, like my other books, A Silver Thimble, and Staying Together. Let me know in the comments, then I'll work on it. That's all for now, I have to go eat chocolate. Peace out, Kitty Cats!