Just letting you know that my days off are changing so those that know my current days I tend to update... Well, it'll change :p basically it'll stick (mostly) to three chapters a fortnight.

Well - here we go. I'm so worried about writing this effectively. Cause even I find the climax of the last story intense when I reread it :P I hope I don't disappoint anyone. This chapter isn't the most dramatic, but I can definitely say we're almost there.

Previously... Portia was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant. Goldie is mostly recovered from her experience, but still can't remember what happened. Louis decided to go after Kapp'n to rescue him, feeling responsible for the kappa's kidnapping.

Well... I'm kinda shocked at the smaller amount of reviews - did everyone disappear while I was on holiday? :( but thank you to the five of you that did! :)

bonesreturns - Thanks :) I'm glad you've been enjoying reading fanfics C: Tomodachi Life is great thank you xD My brother and girlfriend's best friend got married, along with two friends who've never met... as for my actual girlfriend and I, we've been dating for ages and no-one wants to get married. Hmph. Also my dad asked my mum out, only for one of my old best friends and my sister's boyfriend to interrupt and both ask her out too. She chose my old best friend (who's 21... she's... a bit older :P) and I immediately said 'no'. xD Anyway - Yeah, Devon is in England, and yes I do :) Awesome - but not so awesome about the bugs lol xD My dad grew up there :) And Legoland's only 30 miles from me! Thanks :)

unicorn246 - Hey! Where were you last chapter? D: And aw - if it's who I think it is, I'm pretty sure he doesn't always die so yay C: Anyway, er, get better soon? Bless you? Idk thank you!

KoolKid - Interesting theory, there! However, for that to be true, future Josh must've dyed his hair ;\ Anywho, the name 'Nathan' isn't meant to mean anything right now. You're not meant to know who he is yet :) Anyway, thanks! :3

DaBraxMan - Welcome back! Really? XD Didn't I tell you she would be lol? xD It was meant to be the one before, but because of 'A Warm Welcome' I had to postpone it one. Psh - I'm sure your feelings for Mystery are going to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride. xD Thank you :) I'll see how it goes - if there's a time gap between POVs where something else can happen, then I'll switch - otherwise it's just confusing and I have to do time travel ;\

cloudcookie - Thank you! :) Yes, it's pretty soon ;P I wanted 5 reviewers rather than 4 so it's over half :P Thank you for making 5! I'm glad you liked it :3 They're meant to be cute xP Don't worry about being busy, I know the feeling :) You'll just have to see what happens between Static and Josh xD It wasn't lazy at all, it was nice as always C: Thank you very much! And thanks for your opinion regarding the style :3

A Change of Plan

"That's her." She said in a quiet whisper, eyes fixed on the Dalmatian ahead of them. Portia remained completely oblivious to their presence - in fact, she was smiling and wasn't paying attention to anything but her thoughts. Those watching her could've been performing an acrobatics show and still not be noticed.

The head of the group smiled to herself, the feeling of triumph in her heart. She glanced back to the animals alongside her, eyeing them seriously, "She's who we need for the leader's plan to work - and we didn't even need to enter the town, heh. You two grab her." He gestured to a bull and a gorilla, who both obeyed without complaint. They were a muscular pair - she knew they wouldn't need to fight, the Dalmatian was already defeated. A swipe to the back of her skull from the gorilla was enough to quickly affirm that; the Dalmatian fell like a ton of bricks - out cold.

As she watched the bull sling the young dog over his shoulders, the deputy-leader thought about something that was often present in her mind. The Organisation's objective. Not even she was completely aware of how exactly her master planned to remove all the humans - he seemed to be doing a lot of waiting, rather than acting. But she trusted him - they all did. But if she was in charge, she would just take every animal she had and destroy that awful town. Be done with them for good. But instead, she remained loyal and trusting of her leader - trusting that he would lead them to victory.

Her part in the plan was quite straightforward - kidnap the dog, put her with that kappa, and wait. Then he would set her free after a quiet word, to return to Honevray and bring the cavalry. And while her master dealt with the town, she had the honour of dealing with as many of the humans she could lay her paws on. She knew at least one of them would come to rescue that kappa - she had her money either on the new mayor or the one that always hid his name. She didn't care about the mayor - he was easy prey. But the dark-haired mysterious one - he was the one she really wanted to remove. Though thinking about it, the lanky quiet boy would be satisfying too.

The two muscular animals returned with Portia, and she smirked at the two of them. "Take her back to base - I will inform our leader."

She turned away from them, putting a claw to her earpiece. A few seconds later she spoke, "Master, we have the Dalmatian. I'll wait for you back at base-" She broke off with a confused frown, listening carefully, "A change of plan? What do you mean? Who's coming?"

"Please at least let me come, mew!" Mitzi cried desperately, jogging after the determined Louis as he marched through town. Various animals stopped in their tracks, watching the two in mild interest. Mitzi couldn't blame them - Louis looked like a man on a mission (which he was), while she was practically in tears as she tried to keep up. "For goodness sake, Louis, stop it! Why are you so fixed on doing this?!"

The previous twenty-four hours had been difficult on Mitzi. Louis had barely spoken to her, she'd been non-stop worrying and dealing with his frequent losses of temper. This wasn't him normally, so the cat refused to bite back - she remained as calm as she could. Which wasn't much. She felt like someone had set her on repeat, because eighty percent of the words she'd spoken since the island were begging him not to go or asking why he was doing it. Eighty percent of Louis's replies, however, were mere grunts - or nothing.

"Just go, Mitzi!" Louis snapped heatedly, the frustration and stress obvious in his voice as he stared meaningfully at her. "I'm not trying to be a dramatic hero, okay? But no one else in this town really gives a damn about what happened to him, so who else is gonna do it? It's partly my fault this happened anyway, so it's up to me to fix it. I don't want you coming along."

Mitzi clawed at her face, struggling to keep her cool as she forced herself in front of him. "No, mew! It's not your fault at all - it was Laura's. And do you see her heading off on a suicide mission? Nope! Because it's stupid! I understand you wanting to help, mew, really I do. But what I can not understand is why you're insisting on doing it alone! If you asked - half of Honevray would probably join you. You're not the only one that wants him back, mew. Rover, Bones, Laura - the latter two both feel guilty, and Rover's his best friend! Plus everyone in Honevray sticks together." She reached out and took his hand in her paw, looking into his eyes pleadingly, "Please. There's another way. Don't go alone, if you have to go at all."

Louis gazed at her with a look of guilt and sadness, and for a moment he appeared ready to give in. But then he tensed his body, took a deep breath and turned away. "I'm sorry, Mitz, but I have to do this. Please just - stay here. I'll be fine, and careful. You know I will be."

"No, mew, I don't!" Mitzi now fully shouted, giving up on trying to be calm as she grabbed Louis' arm roughly to stop him leaving. "I don't think you'll be fine at all! I think a more likely scenario is you'll be killed and thrown aside - I'll never even find you or know for sure. No one will! Doesn't that make you feel guilty?! After you leave today, I'll never see you again. I can't see it ending any differently to that, mew. So stop being so... stupid, and give the heroic act a rest! I will follow you all the way if I have to, so you either risk my life as well as yours so we both die, you think of a different plan, or you give up. What's it to be, mew?"

Louis' jaw tensed angrily as he looked back to the stubborn cat. She was leaving him no choice, and now he had no idea what to do. He looked to the town gates, not far away now, before back to her. Her eyes were wide, fearful and hopeful. It tore him apart to think about leaving her like this, but in his mind he had no choice. So after a long pause, he opened his mouth to speak.

"No." For a moment, Louis wasn't entirely sure if it had been him that spoke or not, but after a glance at Mitzi to see her staring in another direction, Louis established that someone else had interrupted. The couple turned to face the speaker, both appearing surprised. "You won't go. It doesn't need to be you, Louis, so don't do this. Kapp'n being kidnapped was not your fault - it wasn't anyone's. So don't sacrifice yourself like this."

Louis and Mitzi stared at him, too stunned to reply. But Louis finally managed to stammer, "B-But he needs to be rescued! He's been there so long - how can you say we should just give up on him?! I can't do that! I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

He smiled, looking to the mayor fondly, "I know you wouldn't. That's why you were voted mayor - you're kind, selfless, and brave. But sadly - not very logical. I will be honest with you, Louis - you are not very high on the priority list of the Organisation. You've not been here long, so to them you are only a minor nuisance. Yes - they would kill you. Without a doubt, they'd try. But there were three humans in this town before you , Louis - one of them is already dead. The other two - they are who the Organisation are after. I know how this group works, and I don't see them setting Kapp'n free unless they get what they want. So I appreciate your bravery and selflessness, but logically you getting involved will not do any good."

Louis looked away in surprise, allowing this to settle in. Mitzi clung to him tightly, a look of hope and relief on her face as she gazed in confusion to the boy in front of them. Louis was struggling for words, feeling conflicted. "But no one else will go... Neither of you will go - will you? A-And I don't want either of you to! Certainly not without me. So what do we do?"

"We do nothing." The boy replied wearily, running a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Only one human should go... And if we want Kapp'n, it has to be one of us." He broke off, glancing behind him. A human girl stood nearby, listening to the conversation and appearing hurt. The boy cursed, having clearly not meant for her to hear. "...And I'm being serious here - if we don't go, will anything stop you going yourself?" Fear had now appeared in the boy's eyes, and Louis saw the hope present in them - hope that he would give in. But the mayor couldn't - he said nothing, and simply looked into his friend's eyes meaningfully. The boy sighed, paling and trembling slightly. "Then you give me no choice. You will stay here, with the others. I... I will go instead."

Louis' eyes widened, and before the mayor could voice his complaint, someone else beat him to it. "What?! No, you can't!" All three turned to stare at the human girl as she darted to the boy's side, "Why? I don't understand... Why do you have to go?!"

"She's right!" Louis chirped in, taking a step forward, "I didn't mean for it to be you! Please don't do this - this town needs you. She needs you. Everyone needs you! I-I'm the mayor.. Maybe I can negotiate!"

The boy let out a short, sad laugh. "They don't negotiate, Louis. They wouldn't give you chance to talk... And I don't know for sure whether they'll let me - but I do know they have nothing against Kapp'n. Not enough to want him dead. They're pro-animal - they don't kill any animal without a really good reason. But they won't release him unless they get what they think is a really good trade. But I'm their biggest target - something tells me they'll want to let me talk before they kill me. At the very least they'll want to take it slow - I know they'll want to put me in a situation where I struggle. They'll give me hope that I can find a way out, and then watch me die slowly." He broke off, almost losing his balance at the thought. He took a deep breath, regaining his nerves, before finishing with, "But that's their mistake - if they don't kill me straight away, then there is still hope. A chance, and that's a lot more than you'll get."

Louis spluttered in panic, struggling to speak. "I-I change my, er, mind! I won't go anymore! So you don't have to go now, heh, so all's good. How about we all forget about it?!" He stared pleadingly at his friend, desperately hoping he would fall for the lie. Louis had every intention of going - he just didn't want to force someone else into it because he was so stubborn. Louis wouldn't be able to live with himself. The girl was close to tears, trembling as she stared at the boy with more desperateness than Louis showed. Mitzi wasn't quite as involved as the other two, but she looked to the boy with great worry too. Louis knew her main fear was Louis going, however, and he couldn't deny it felt quite flattering.

"Okay, sure." The boy smiled, clapping his hands. Louis appeared surprised, and the girl gave a small squeak of relief. "Let's all just go home, shall we? And while I sleep, you'll sneak out in the middle of the night and we'll be without a mayor the next morning. Nice try." Louis' face fell, though not as far as the girl's. He sighed deeply, looking to the two, "Look - I don't want to. Believe me, I don't. But I have no choice - evidently. I'll go."

"Please..." The girl whispered, wide-eyed as she placed her hand on his arm, "You can't!"

He turned to her, smiling weakly as he looked into her eyes. "Then what do you propose we do? If I don't go, he will. And he'll die without succeeding."

"But what about-"

"He wouldn't go." The boy shook his head miserably, "And even if he would, I won't ask him. I can't. He's my friend - like a brother. And while half the time I hate him, well - I can't send him to his death. Just like I can't sent Louis, or anyone else in this town for that matter. Please don't make this any harder - I'm the only one that has a chance. And once Kapp'n is back, well - I'd appreciate some back-up because I'll probably be in some dire situation in a cave somewhere. Mitzi, please take him home - you know I'm right."

Mitzi stared at him uncertainly, a tight hold on her boyfriend's arm. She spoke softly, "You promise that you have more of a chance, mew? Just because... Just because I don't want Louis to go, that doesn't mean-"

"I understand." He cut her off with a friendly smile, "I definitely have more of a chance. And I'll try my best to succeed. Please take him."

Mitzi hesitated, staring at him with deep sadness, before tugging Louis away. The mayor resisted for a while, staring at his friend sadly. The two boys locked eyes, and Louis eventually gave up struggling - a depressed and stunned expression upon his face. He finally allowed Mitzi to pull him away, leaving his friend alone with the girl. A thick silence fell, and he was unable to meet her gaze.

"You're the only real friend I have here, Josh." Nikita spoke softly and sadly, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared up at him. "I... I know I've not known you as long as everyone else, so maybe you don't even care-"

Josh finally turned to meet her gaze sadly, taking her hand in his. Nikita appeared confused by the contact, looking down uncertainly. Josh considered releasing her, but decided against it and instead squeezed gently. "Of course I care... And I'm sorry if this sounds cheesy, but I've come to care a lot over the last few weeks. It's hardest leaving you."

"I could go with you." Nikita offered half-heartedly, already knowing what his answer would be. "You've been such a good friend to me, Josh, and I... Well, please come back. Please."

Although he didn't show it, something in those few sentences stung Josh, though he wasn't fully sure what. He fought it away, nodding slightly at her words. "I don't know if I will. I'm sorry for leaving you but I..." He groaned, shoulders slumping, "I know there's a lot you don't understand, but I've been in this world most of my life. I am the one they want - the one they've tried to kill already. But instead they killed someone else - my best friend. And I can't let anyone else die instead of me. M-Maybe there's an outcome to this where no-one dies. Maybe... Maybe they'll let me go, and I just can't return here..."

Nikita squeezed his hand back, before noticing him begin to tremble. Tears fell from her own eyes as she noticed his own begin to water, and she pulled him into a friendly, comforting hug. The two humans remained there for a long while, crying into each other's shoulders. And as they eventually parted, Josh spoke in a hoarse whisper, "I-I have to go."

"I know." Nikita replied softly, falling back from him miserably.

"I..." He broke off, staring out towards the town, "I feel like I should go talk to the others - Mystery, Static... But I..."

"I know." Nikita replied in understanding, smiling feebly towards him, "I'll explain things."

Josh nodded, and stared at her, at a loss for words. She stared back, and they shared an uncomfortable silence. Josh eventually broke it, saying softly, "If I don't return and Kapp'n remains missing, make sure that no one else tries. Without me there's only four humans - you should all be left alone. And no one else can free Kapp'n if I'm not enough."

"I'll try..." Nikita agreed with a depressed sigh, looking to the floor, "But I think we'll all be more focused on finding you." Josh forced a smile, the expression not reaching his miserable eyes. A few more minutes passed in uncomfortable silence, before the girl said, "You don't have to do this.. It's up to Louis if he goes - we can stop him. Maybe we can just-"

"No." Josh cut her off firmly, causing hurt to appear in Nikita's eyes. Josh smiled apologetically, continuing in a softer voice, "Louis is right - we can't just leave Kapp'n there. And one way or another, eventually, one of us is going to go for him before they force our hands. And if we want any chance of getting him back, it has to be me. And I really have to go... I'll never leave otherwise. Just - promise me you'll keep the others safe, okay?" He took her hand again, smiling kindly to her, "And please don't go hiding in your house again while I'm not here - everyone here loves you, and Laura could do with cheering up herself. So please stay strong." Nikita bowed her head in a reluctant agreement, "Thank you. If all goes well, I'll be back before you know it. And if not..."

No one finished the sentence, and the pair remained holding hands peacefully for a while longer. But at last, Josh let go. He gave Nikita one more meaningful look and opened his mouth to say something. But he paused, seeming to reconsider. His mouth closed again, and he stared to her sadly, before tearing his gaze from hers and walking away.

And Josh didn't look back.

Time didn't exist anymore.

No seconds, no minutes, no days. Nothing. Just endless, empty space. The bare minimum water and food, getting weaker and weaker. No one talked to him - he wasn't fully sure he'd recognise any words if they did.

Every moment was identical to the last. A cold, empty room. Loneliness, depression, hunger and thirst.

Kapp'n couldn't remember the warmth of the sun, or the chill of the wind. The only event to break up the constant nothingness was being forced to write a few strange words by his captor. No explanation, no result, nothing except a command.

But today was a different day. Today, he wasn't alone.

The deputy leader had thrown someone else in here - a dog he vaguely recognised. Her name escaped him, and even if he remembered he wouldn't be able to speak it. She was gagged anyway, so although she clearly wanted to upon seeing him, there was no possibility except grunts and struggles.

She eventually gave up.

But this change in the routine he'd been used to for so long was a breath of fresh air. Seconds came back to him - he felt more aware of his existence than he had in months. That's right - months... It had been several months. He had been running to help someone in that collapsing cave, he'd been struck by a falling rock. He then wandered back to find help and... And someone grabbed him. A hidden passageway, no time to scream, and he was gone. He wondered if anyone had noticed he wasn't there.

He doubted it.

He was just a bus driver.

Eventually, the entrance to their cell opened again, and a weary Dalmatian and kappa looked up to see the leader himself standing before them. He paid no attention to Kapp'n, and merely smiled cruelly towards the bruised Portia.

"Welcome... To the headquarters of the Organisation. And you, dear Portia, are going to help me."

A/N: Well maybe that was a bit more dramatic than I thought. Just to clarify something that should've been obvious while reading. If not, I apologise . This isn't me saying I don't think it was obvious because I personally feel it was: You were meant to be wondering whether it was Josh or Mystery volunteering to go after Kapp'n. The human girl could've been either Nikita or Laura, and yeah. Granted it may have been a bit obvious it was Josh, but I hope some of you were at least unsure.

Anyway! So Josh has gone to rescue Kapp'n instead of Louis and Portia could be in real danger.

Questions:
1. Would you let a friend go to certain death or sacrifice yourself knowing you have a slight higher chance of succeeding? Obviously you'll all want to say yes, but think about if you were actually in that situation - not everyone is a hero, and that's not a bad thing! Josh isn't really a hero either, it's the fact Jenny was killed instead of him driving him to not allow it to happen to another friend.
2. How do you think this rescue mission is going to turn out?
3. What's in store for Portia?

Next time... Nibbles makes a decision about Roald, things go from bad to worse between Laura and Mystery, and Mystery makes a decision in Josh's absence.

It doesn't seem like part of the midstory finale build up up front, but things that happen next chapter are relevant!

See you next time :)