Chapter VII
~Benefits~

The standoff was getting intense. Anticipation was quickly starting to settle in. The three terriers all focused their sights on the two ninjas' eyes. Both sides were waiting anxiously, waiting for someone to make their move. It's lasted for half an excruciating minute by now, both sides squinting their eyes at each other. One of the little hounds was bored stiff. Desperate to get things on the road regarding the time they're wasting right now, one of them began to voice their complaint.

"Ugh, can someone just make a move already?" Mackenzie spat loudly in annoyance.

The ninja duo decided to just progress the fight. If the three terriers didn't want to make their move, then they would. The red ninja threw some paper mache stars, causing the large party to take defense. Rufus put his shield to good use, blocking two incoming stars. Zeus grabbed his bow and arrow and shot a paper arrow at the ninja that incited the attack, only for her to dodge it swiftly.

The blue ninja spun around and launched some more stars, all while omitting a powerful battle cry. Her voice was so loud, it could almost pierce some eardrums. Sans the terriers, the rest of the party covered up their ears as they gritted their teeth, with Hercules and Mackenzie tugging on theirs. It was almost unbearable to sit through.

Caught off their guard by her loud screaming, the stars she threw struck Rufus' arm. The middle gray terrier dropped his weapon and rubbed his wound. "Yah!" he exclaimed.

Rusty was a tad surprised by the sudden screaming from the blue ninja to the point where he needed to make a comment. "I've gotten used to yelling before, but holy moly!" He said, barely opening one eye as he faced Jack.

"I've never heard anything like that before," Jack responded.

Maximus let out a little growl as he charged at the ninjas. Within very close proximity, the two ninjas hopped out of the terriers' way, causing him to run right into a tree headfirst. The impact was so sudden that it caused the party to cringe upon witnessing. His head temporarily became dizzy as stars spiraled around his head, but it wouldn't stop someone else from executing their next move.

It was all down to Zeus from here on out. He had no idea where the ninjas were. He looked to his left and right. He even searched high and low, but no luck came his way. Maybe they've escaped their wrath somehow?

The Jack Russell terrier got a good look at his surroundings. He noticed something that stood out from all the surrounding green and soil. A quick intake of air, and he quickly warned Zeus to the best of his ability. "Behind you!" He exclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention.

Just when Zeus was able to turn around, he got tackled by the ninja duo, squishing a stray discarded item with his back. Almost felt like some sort of a jumpscare to him. With the three terriers down, the two ninjas giggled and gave each other high-fives.

"Hurray!" they shouted.

The Terriers weren't willing to throw in the towel that easily. The attacks they inflicted did very little damage to them. Believing they were in a good amount of pain thanks to the ninjas, the kelpie conducted a quick plan.

"Hold it right there!" Rusty spat, chasing down the two ninjas alongside Jack before the trio could even lift a finger.

"Get 'em!" Hercules spat.

"You can do it!" Winton added.

"Don't let them escape!" Mackenzie yelled.

With two little yelps, the ninjas scattered. The kelpie bolted for the red ninja, while the Jack Russell terrier bolted for the blue one. They attempted to at least grasp the two by the arms, but to no avail. They had some tricks up their sleeves, and they believe that now was a good time to perform them, just for the two army recruits.

Jack growled softly, chasing down the blue ninja. It was a close call here and there, but no chance of capturing the young artists of ninjutsu. The blue ninja kept on running, desperate to escape from Jack. If she wanted to have any chance at all, unbeknownst to her that the Russell terrier possessed such great speed, she had to find a way to slow him down, no matter what she had to do.

Heading towards a really thin sapling at high speeds, the red ninja grabbed ahold of the tree trunk and spun, causing Rusty to believe she disappeared right in front of his eyes. Upon noticing, he stopped and shook his head, only to get tackled by the ninja.

The blue ninja juked over to her right, catching Jack off his guard. She ran in the opposite direction before Jack would immediately replicate the same. It cycled repeatedly at least three times before it came to the realization that it wasn't working well for her. "Shoot," she muttered. "Time to try something else."

Noticing that there wasn't a lot of space between her and Jack, her heart pumped fast. She was going to get captured. To make matters work in favor of the Russell terrier, she tripped on a stray branch, landing right on her face. "Ow!" Jack stopped to see if she was okay.

"Whoa, that was some tumble," The Jack Russell terrier uttered. "Are you alright?"

The blue ninja finally began to sit up. She got her hand to make contact with her inflicted nose. "Ow…" One sniffle in, she faced Jack. He felt very concerned for her, almost reminding himself of an identical incident that happened with his sister a long while ago.

He helped her stand up and take the cloak off of the blue heeler. She was a level three ninja, according to her own status, her red ally being a level higher than her. They were still amateurs at heart, but they were very brisk when it came to learning and training. Confused and curious at this point, Jack voiced his only inquiry. "What's your name?"

She rubbed her nose once again before she spoke her answer. "I'm Muffin," the heeler said. "But I identify as Mafin, a student in the art of ninjutsu!"

The red kelpie wasn't expecting a turnout such as this. It left him bewildered as he was still in the middle of trying to process how it all went down. "I-I don't believe this," Rusty growled. "There's no way…"

The red ninja chuckled. "I suppose… there is." She got off of Rusty and dusted herself off as she walked right in front of him, only to realize that she hadn't implemented something she intended to do earlier. "Before you do anything else, I must introduce myself."

The kelpie listened to her voice. It sounded almost like someone he once knew before. He also examined the pattern of her feet and tail, dumbing down some options on who that could be. Before he could spill a word of his own, the red ninja pulled up on her cloak, revealing the young red heeler under it.

"...Bingo?!" Rusty spat, surprised by the revelation as he shook his head.

"Nope, well… yeah!" The red heeler giggled, standing proud. "I am Bingo, an average student of the art of ninjutsu! I identify as Pippon in battle. It's a bit strange for some, I realize." She reached her hand out and offered it to the kelpie lying down on his stomach, to which he later accepted. "This was quite an interesting encounter if I must admit myself."

The terriers all gathered together to recover from their attacks, brushing off what was inflicted on them. They realized that they couldn't bother chasing after them because, by the time they got up on their feet, the ninjas would've already escaped, never to have seen again. Unbeknownst to them all, they wouldn't know what was coming their way when the army recruits returned to the party.

"Those pesky ninjas," Rufus spat. "How did they get so good?"

"They look like they'd put you three out of business," Hercules said, inciting everyone to leer at him in an unamused fashion. With an awkward beat of silence in, he savagely doubled down on his words. "Hey, I'm just going by what I witnessed here."

The border collie faced the terriers. "You guys alright?"

"Oof… I did run into that tree very hard," Maximus said. "I'm sure I'll be alright."

"All I suffered was getting star struck," Rufus uttered, still rubbing down his arm.

"That tackle I got was pretty gnarly," Zeus said. "They made me land on something on my back though. I hope it's not that bad..."

Mackenzie, Winton, and Hercules, examined Zeus' back. The English bulldog jumped back in shock and in concern as he noticed there was a clear red splatter on his back. "Oh my goodness…" he uttered. "You're… you're uh…"

"Hang on," Mackenzie interrupted. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's probably not what you're thinking, Winton." The collie himself rubbed a finger down the terrier's back to retrieve a sample. He looked closely to reach a conclusion that it wasn't anything bad, just some juice. "Oh."

"What is it?" Zeus asked.

"It's just some berry juice," Mackenzie answered, flailing his hand to get the liquid off.

The light terrier grabbed his shield and weapon. "I could go for some of that right about now," Maximus said, his mouth slightly watering.

"We can get some after we put those ninjas in their place!" Rufus exclaimed.

Hercules looked ahead, witnessing Rusty and Jack approaching their direction along with the unveiled ninjas. "Speaking of ninjas, here's your chance," he muttered, pointing.

The terriers faced the four pups. "Alright everyone," Rusty spoke, the two heelers slowly approaching the party. "We got 'em."

"Bingo?" Mackenzie spoke. "You're one of the ninjas?"

"That's Pippon to you, sir," Pippon retorted sternly.

"Who's your ally?" Winton asked.

The little heeler rubbed her nose before she gave off her introduction. "I am…" She twisted her body and grabbed some confetti and started spreading it in the air. "Mafin!"

Stunned by the performance, everyone smiled. The fact that she looked the youngest out of everyone was quick to register. Winton had the bit of decency to even throw in a round of applause for her as a way of being generous.

"Your good mate Rusty here discussed with us that you guys are in a bit of a scuffle regarding your kingdom," Pippon spoke.

"So we figured we'd help you guys out in any way possible?" Mafin added, her hands behind her back with a nod.

Winton glanced towards the bernard and the collie. Everyone else was quick to hop on the thought train. A couple of more recruits couldn't hurt. If anything, their chances of standing a chance would inject just a small portion of advantage for their party. It was something though, and it was better than nothing.

"Maybe we should invite them to join," Mackenzie proposed. "With their kind of skill, it could be useful regarding our benefits."

"And by benefit, you mean?" Mafin asked?

The collie snapped a finger. "We'd have a chance at saving the princess as well as the kingdom!"

"They're in!" Maximus announced.

With everyone in agreement, all the pups cheered on. Smiles spread across everyone in the group, sans Mafin with a smirk on her face. "I like it, I like it. But what about individually? What am I going to get out of this?"

Mackenzie quickly whipped up something in his noggin. "Uh… there's a gold tiara or something, I don't know."

He grabbed Mafin's attention with those words. Pippon rolled her eyes and barely oscillated her head with no speck of amusement. "Oooh, okay! I've always wondered what I'd look like with one of those!"

"You'll see one day…" The red heeler muttered softly.

And with that, Bingo and Muffin portraying Pippon and Mafin respectively joined their party. It was time to head into a residential area, and it was just up ahead. With a few homestead buildings, there had to be something they could be useful for their own benefit for the sake of saving the kingdom.

"Alright everybody," Rufus spoke. "We must proceed onward!"

"For Scotland!" Zeus yelled.

Everyone else, sans the terriers, cried out the exact same phrase that the brethren trio lived by as they resumed traveling through another wave of evergreen. "Foooor Scotlaaand!"

The storm continued to roll in down by the castle. It remained gloomy for a good few hours by now, being covered by clouds and a fleeting chance of rain once again.

Inside was the satisfied big beagle. He had Bluey, who's now wearing a red collar, restrained in movement as he carried her to an unspecified room. "Stop it!" he spat. "You're gonna make things harder for yourself!" The guard that was waiting for him just so happened to be Bandoot himself, the mastermind she believed was behind a couple of things, including the kidnapping. She laid eyes on him for a brief moment before she angrily sputtered at him.

"Oh, you poor little thing," Bandoot taunted. "Looks like someone should've followed some simple tasks," He walked up to Marcus, carrying the blue heeler and booped at her nose persistently. "but apparently that was a bit too difficult for you." His hand retracted when Bluey thrust forward to bite him. "Anyway, if you're wondering what's gonna happen now, you're not gettin' any deets."

Bluey neighed at the top of her lungs. She tried desperately to move around to get out of the clutches of the beagle but to no avail. Her struggles made things harsher for her. She was afraid and helpless. All she could do was listen to the big heeler unleash a heartless laugh and witness and endure whatever came her way.

"Don't fret little one," Bandoot spoke, opening the door to reveal another empty room, similar to the one she and princess Chloe were locked up in. The only differences were test tubes and flickering lights. It almost felt like a storage room for a science class. "We'll make things a tad simpler for you."

Bluey yelped loudly as her eyes widened. It looked dark… and scary in there. And she would be forced in there whether she wanted to or not.

"Join her to those wires over there!" The big heeler commanded.

"Yes sir!" Marcus responded, walking into the room, as Bandoot shut the door from behind. As he was told, he grabbed some wires and hooked them to the little heeler. When he distanced himself from her, the big heeler smirked at her disappointed face. He had to spill some things before she would finally be left alone for good.

"Now, I want to play a little game," Bandoot pointed out the attached item on her collar. "The wire that's hooked onto you acts as a timer, that will have something occur within less than five minutes." His eyes closed halfway with a devious smile. "It's also correlated to your little princess." Bluey's ears flicked up tall upon hearing the last word. What could Bandoot want with the little dalmatian? "The results will be inflicted on her if you have the inability to follow instructions." Bluey gulped, and this time, it was a good one. Not only was she being held hostage, but there was also a lot of pressure for her to keep the princess safe from any harm. If anything happened to her, she would feel terrible and responsible. Whether it was inflicted wounds or getting subject to eternal slumber forever, the small blue heeler didn't really have any options to select from. "The timer starts when that wire snaps in two," the big heeler began to exit the room, grabbing a hold of the knob. "Now I suggest you be a good girl… and STAY." And with that, he slammed the door shut, influencing Bluey to jump a bit.

Bluey let the key she had on her slide right out of her mouth. It left a bad taste in her mouth after so long. The lone heeler had no idea what to do now. A predicament such as this was bound to make anyone snap, especially when the princess of her then vulnerable kingdom was at stake. So much pressure was put on the heeler that it would leave such a massive, impactful stain on her conscience. She couldn't bear the sight of her future for a single second, everyone turning on the blue filly and shutting her out, not even willing to speak to her because she failed to protect the princess from harm's way. A tear was close to shedding just thinking about it, it's almost as if she was living in a dark nightmare.

This was like a punishment for Bluey, almost like sitting in a time out or standing in a corner. She may not be aware of it now, but it would build character in some unique way. She shook her head in an attempt to brush off her fret. The heeler had to get it together.

A good hour had passed at the castle. The dalmatian still stayed put in her trap, wondering what to do. She stared at an empty ceiling above, waiting for something to strike her memory. Unfortunately, nothing.

"Ugh, this bites," Chloe spat. "When are those terriers going to arrive? I'm honestly bored out of my mind!"

The lone princess kept staring up at the ceiling, even going the extra mile to squint. That's when she noticed something. Some letters were carved in it. It only consisted of four specific letters across from the nine written before her sights. That was when it struck Chloe in her noggin. A huge realization came her way.

The letters represented roman numerals. Could it have something to do with the keypad that Bluey had found earlier? That could be a strong possibility. Heck, it could even be the code to the keypad that would offer access to anyone that wished to enter.

"I-I… could that be?" Chloe continued to study the letters written. "That can't be the code to the keypad... right?"

She thought back to herself. Normally, keypads tend to register only codes that were four letters or numbers long, but there are also some pads that can register codes longer than that. At this point, she still had a possibility, but a rather slim one at that. "Since I'm wrapped up in this bed, I can't be for sure. When the timing is good, I guess there's only one way to find out."

Duskfall took place back at the occupied kindie, the damages there were barely noticeable by now. Repairs were getting progress still from the kingdom's comrades. The Australian shepherd queen herself was starting to get some sort of relief to observe her valuable kingdom at least get restored to what it originally looked like before. Meanwhile, Coco, Honey, and Indy were busy constructing their primary plan, placing their vision upon a piece of blueprint paper.

Queen Retriever arrived through the front door, wearing some silver armor, and approached a relieved but perplexed Calypso. "Queen Calypso!" she said.

"Queen Retriever?" The Australian cattle dog uttered in surprise. "What brings you here?"

The retriever rubbed down her arm. "I've come to discuss some things with you. I don't know how to spill the tea in front of the citizens here, so I'm going to need some assistance from you, in private."

Calypso's ears twitched momentarily, realizing what she actually meant. "Oh! Well, let's head out the back for a moment." She turned to the three trustworthy pups, Coco, Honey, and Indy. "You girls keep up the good planning, I'm going to spark an important conversation with Queen Retriever."

"No problem," Honey said, speaking on everybody's behalf. She returned her sights to the young afghan hound and the pink poodle. The former expressed determination while the latter was too uncertain about the situation. "Alright Indy, you sure this plan isn't going to flop into the depths of the ocean?"

"You can bet your tail that it won't," Indy responded. "I'll give a quick rundown." She points towards some characters drawn in the style from Escape, specifically the queen. "Calypso will stand by with the artifact in hand," she then points to themselves while we barge right into the castle, that's if don't try to become a coward themselves. But we'll need something for the sake of breaching inside."

Snickers walked up to the three girls with a neutral tone. "Hey guys," the dachshund yawned. "Everything going okay?"

"We're gals," Coco said.

"Everything's peachy keen," Honey added before Indy turned to see Snickers.

"You're going to be our battering ram," Indy assigned, all with a satisfied smile.

Snickers was a tad confused with what he just walked into. "Wait, huh?"

"That's when we start fighting off the bad guys," Indy points to a team of young citizens. "We can recruit some of the kids from Queen Retriever to help us with the aid." The Afghan hound turned to the chihuahua. "Pretzel, you gather some candidates to help us with the battle."

Pretzel stood proud and saluted with a smile before he headed out the kindie. Realizing that it was close to getting ready for some sleep, Indy had to hurry and wrap things up.

"Honey, you'll help me treat everyone's wounds while we're in the battle. Coco, you'll help lead the fallen to us so we can get to work."

"That's a great way to spend more time playing doctor," Honey said. "I've missed playing it for so long."

"I guess that could work out fine?" Coco said, acting a little nervous about the plan. She felt more comfortable about the backup plan more than the one they're discussing and constructing now. She and everyone else was already aware that there's the Terriers and a group of warriors already on their way towards the castle. She wondered why were they conducting another group of warriors to target the bad guys. "Are you sure this is going to work? The Terriers and Winton are probably halfway there by now."

"Coco, we've got to think about strength in numbers," Honey responded. "That's only four against… who knows down in the castle that took our precious princess and Bluey hostage."

"Think of this as a bit of a… safety net!" Indy said. "There's probably not a chance they could handle a bunch of baddies by themselves. I mean they're not just some fictional mascot that has to save someone from the clutches of a fire-breathing turtle all the time, but still."

"I get it," the poodle irritably spat.

"Besides, we could have the upper hand after all." Honey said. "A horde of baddies, versus a bunch of battling kids, where our numbers are larger than theirs. I believe this is a good perk that we could definitely obtain."

"You know, you gals have such great points," The poodle admitted.

"There you go," Honey smiled.

Indy turned to the shiny artifact. She gave it one last good look as if it was a matter of life or death before she spoke once again. "If this doesn't work out… then our artifact is relinquished, and we can kiss all of our tails goodbye."

Queen Calypso and Ms. Retriever both returned through the front door, softly throwing the front door open. They were a little soaked from the drizzle of rain they never noticed was happening outdoors. Their eyes were barely open and filled with such determination. Despite the knowledge that the terriers were on their way to the castle alongside Winton, or so they think, they decided to take matters into their own hands, not only because they relentlessly captured the princess and the blue steed, but it was also because of the destruction they've done in the process, harming several that were unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire.

"Everyone," Calypso said, catching everyone's attention in the kindie. "We've discussed some things regarding what happened earlier today. Queen Retriever's willing to assist us." Positive murmurs were spread all around.

"Um… Queens?" Honey said. "We hope you don't mind but…"

"We've sent someone to recruit some of Ms. Retriever's citizens to help us out," Indy added.

"Great initiative moves gals," Calypso smiled. "I've realized that it's going to take a lot more than three terriers to help save the valuable princess and restore our kingdom back to the way it was…. Which is why I insist that we're going with them to help aid their battle of a lifetime!"

Everyone cheered on, excited about what they're going to be doing next. A lot had agreed that it would be fun, despite the risks that may be involved along the way. That wouldn't stop their tenacity to thwart whatever the bad guys were planning to cook up.

"Now, prepare yourselves, children," Calypso's eyes squinted tight. "We leave at midnight."