Time to put the plan into action. Thankies for the reviews.

Disclaimer:

I do not own Camp Lazlo. But I do own the wolves in this story. And the poachers

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Chapter 13. Plan in Action

Slinkman drove the bus right outside of town. Then, Nova led the Bean Scouts through the town. He told them to move as silently as they could with the tools each one was carrying, which was hard for Chip and Skip, considering that they were always goofing off and messing around. Surprisingly, they didn't wake anybody up.

Soon Nova spotted the old factory on the outskirts of town. He signaled for everyone to wait where they were while he went forward to find Freedom. As he looked around the building he spotted an open window low to the ground. He became curious and looked in. In the building, there he saw a big cage with iron bars. Inside the cage appeared to be a white wolf. Nova knew at once that this was Starlight. He grew angry with the poachers. He wished he could just… no; he must remain calm for his plan to work.

He broke away from the window and continued his search to find Freedom. It didn't take him long to find him. There was only one tree surrounding the building. And in that tree sat Freedom, waiting patiently for his friend to arrive. Once Nova spotted Freedom he called up to him. "Hey Freedom", Nova whispered just enough for Freedom to hear. The eagle looked down and saw the black wolf below him. He swooped down to the ground to talk to him.

"Nova, I have been waiting for you. Valiant has done his job very well. He also did a little extra work, and-." Freedom was cut off by Nova. "Freedom, I need to know if there is still enough time to save Starlight." Freedom scoffed, "Well, I would have told you if there wasn't enough time before I said anything else. Of course there's time." Nova nodded a 'thank you' and walked back to the campers, without saying another word to Freedom.

When he returned to the campers all he did was nod with a smile on his face. When he did, it was if everyone had just dropped a very heavy load off of their backs. He could just see the relief beam in Slinkman's eyes, and the worried looks from the Jelly Trio turned into smiles.

There were a few hours before they were to carry out their plans. Nova told the campers they could sleep of they wanted to. Most of them did, but Nova was nervous, so he didn't. He stayed watch those few hours, with Slinkman.

They spoke to each other some of the time; but it was just random stuff. But at one point Nova was telling Slinkman how much he cared for Starlight. Slinkman smiled and nodded, and then said, "I wish I could find someone." Nova looked at him in surprise, but then cracked a grin and said, "Don't worry. You'll find someone someday."

Finally, it was time for the plan to begin. Nova and Slinkman went around and woke the campers up. Once they were all up, and had their tools with them, Nova led them towards the factory. He stopped them short so he could check something.

He headed towards the open window he found earlier to make sure the poachers were awake. Once he found it he peered in and saw that the poachers were just waking up. Perfect he thought. He was planning on having Chip and Skip do their job early enough in the morning that the henchmen wouldn't catch on.

But before he left he glanced at the cage to make sure Starlight was still there. She was, and she was also wide awake. She appeared to be looking near the window he was at. No, wait. She is looking at the window I'm at, he thought. But then it dawned on him that she was looking at him. She knew he was at the window. He quickly put one of his fingers to his lips, signaling for her to keep quiet. She nodded slightly. He smiled and turned to leave.

But before he could he heard a small voice behind him. "Sire." He turned to see Valiant scampering up to him. He sat down and waited for Valiant to come to him. Once he got there Nova stooped down to the ground and waited for Valiant to speak. The mouse finally said, nearly out of breath, "Sire, the poachers are going to start moving quickly. Buckweed is going to send his henchmen out to check on his traps this morning. They are getting ready. You must move quickly."

Nova immediately got up on his feet. He said, "Thank you, Valiant. Please tell Freedom to let me know when the henchmen are approaching the door.", and took off towards the others, without even waiting for Valiant to reply. Once he got back to the others he wasted no time getting everybody in position.

Chip and Skip and Dave and Ping-Pong were ready. Everybody else was behind the front left side of the building. Suddenly, Freedom swooped down out of nowhere and said, "They are approaching the door." Nova went wide-eyed and yelled in a whispery voice to Chip and Skip, "Now!"

Chip started jumping on the car, and Skip was beating the windows with the bat. Suddenly the door swung open and Skipper and Sundar stepped out. They took one look at the car and the Dung Beetles and exploded. They chased those Dung Beetles towards the right side of the building, until… WHACK! Both fell on their backs, unconscious.

Nova and Slinkman went over and dragged the Skipper and Sundar to a nearby telephone pole, and tied them up there. And just like Nova had hoped, they left the door open. Slinkman and Nova grabbed their supplies and snuck in, doing their best to keep quiet. There were a few barrels and boxes near one of the walls close to Starlight's cage. They tiptoed over and hid behind them.

It wasn't long until Starlight saw them. She grew excited. "Guys, over here." Nova worried that Buckweed would hear her. "Starlight, shhhh. We have a plan." No sooner had he said that then the door to the office swung open, and out stepped Buckweed.

He was still scratched up for the previous night, and he looked angry. He was mumbling something about the traps and feeling sore. But Nova and Slinkman didn't care about what he was mumbling about. They were more interested in the key hanging from Buckweed's belt. Now all they had to do was figure out how to get that key.

He sauntered over to Starlight and said in a casual voice, "Are you ready to be a pelt for the foot of my bed?" Starlight said nothing. Buckweed smiled evilly and said, "Since you were such a good little doggie last night, I will shoot you right in the heart so you won't die a slow and painful death." Starlight laughed and said, "I bet you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside, let alone hit me inside this cage."

Buckweed now grew very angry with her. He turned around and angrily stomped over to the desk and reached under it. He pulled out his loaded hunting rifle and cocked it. He stomped back over to Starlight and said, "I've changed my mind. I will shoot you through the side, so you will die a slow and painful one."

He raised his rifle and put his finger on the trigger. From behind the boxes Slinkman quickly put a knock-out dart in the pea-shooter. He aimed carefully, blew in it, and…POW! Buckweed winced at the sudden pain in his back, and then fell over on the ground, unconscious.

Slinkman and Nova came out from behind the boxes. They went over to Buckweed's body and examined it. Finally Nova spoke, "Nice shot, Slinkman." Slinkman smiled with pride, and then reached down and grabbed the key. They ran over to the cage and unlocked it. Once she was out Starlight nuzzled Nova on the neck, and licked Slinkman on the face.

Suddenly, Buckweed stirred. Nova said quietly, "I don't know how much longer those darts will last. So let's get out of here while we still can." Starlight nodded, but Slinkman an idea. "Maybe we should shoot the rifle so it isn't loaded when he gets up." Starlight chuckled and said, "It won't shoot." Both men stared at her in confusion. She said it again; "It won't shoot." She paused and then explained. "Valiant clogged the rifle last night with napkins. The bullets won't be able to come out."

Nova was amazed. "Man that is one smart and clever mouse." Again, Buckweed stirred. Only this time he moved a lot more. Nova said, "Let's get out of here." They ran towards the door, not caring whether or not they were quiet. Just as they got to the door handle a large figure got in their way.

"Leaving so soon?" The voice was menacing and a little groggy. They all looked up in unison to find that it was Buckweed, with his rifle in hand.

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I'm going to write a sequel and Slinkman will find someone special. No, it won't be Lumpus, because I hate slash crap. It just creeps me out.