Meanwhile, back with Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, the four of them have reached the badlands where Howard's home is located and after traveling in the badlands for almost two hours, they all spotted Howard's house in the horizon and they quickly went as fast as their legs, hooves and paws could carry them until they finally reached Howard's home, and upon their arrival in front of Howard's house, Andy explained to Russell, Noah and Feliks that this was used to be his, Zoey, Stephan and their parents' home (before he, Zoey and Stephan ran away from home to live with ponykind instead), and when Russell, Noah and Feliks all heard what Andy said about that the house they're all standing in front of is his and his family's old home, Russell first looked up to see Howard's name on the door sign above the door, which indicates that it's indeed Howard's home, before the red leopard stepped forward and then he knocked on the door with a forepaw before Andy also followed by knocking on the door too using his own small human hands to see if there's someone inside Howard's house (although it would appear to be obvious to us that ever since Howard was defeated, his house is in fact empty and so that there's no one inside it).
However, just then, the door suddenly opened and then an elderly male centaur who is likely 75 years old or so came out of the house and looked down to see Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, and when the four looked up to see the strange and unfamiliar elderly male centaur looking down at them, Andy said "We're so sorry, we must've knocked on the wrong door." and then Russell added and explained "We were looking for Howard." and then he asked the elderly centaur "Is this place is his home?". "Howard?" asked the elderly centaur, and then Russell said back "Yes." and then he asked "Is this Howard's home?", but then the elderly centaur back "There's no Howard here." and then he added "unless...", but that was before a realization suddenly hit him and then he asked "You don't mean Howard the despicable centaur who abused his own family?", and when they heard what he said, Andy answered and said back "Yes, he's my father.".
When the elderly centaur heard what Andy said about Howard being his father and about that the house he and his friends are standing before is Howard's home, he said back and explained to the four friends "Oh, kids. I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, strangers, but ever since Howard was defeated, I came to live here in his home in the badlands.", but when they heard what he said, Russell said back to the elderly centaur "But, on the door sign it says...", but when the red leopard looked up at the door sign again, he saw the name 'Hammond' instead of Howard, and so this made the red leopard say "Oh! 'Hammond'! At first we thought it actually said Howard.", and then the elderly centaur said to him and to his three younger friends "I'm Mr. Hammond.", and then he added and said to Andy "I knew your daddy a little.", but just then, a short moment later, the elderly centaur suddenly smiled at the four friends and said to them "Come in, kids. Let me give you and your older friend something to eat and something to drink.", and then he started leading them and inviting them into the house, but then Andy said "No, we couldn't.", and then Russell added "And I don't want to enter the home of a total old stranger just like that!", but then Mr. Hammond the elderly centaur said back "You could and you will. I insist.", and with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks reluctantly entered 'Mr. Hammond's home.
Once they're inside the house, Mr. Hammond said to the four friends "Well, feel free to look around." and then he asked and suggested "Perhaps you guys would like to freshen up?", and when they heard what he said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all went to the bathroom door, and once they reached and stopped right in front of the door which leads into the bathroom, Russell turned to Andy and said to him "You go first, Andy." and then he added with a reassuring smile "It's okay. We'll be right behind you.", and then Noah added "Yeah! After all, it was once your daddy's home so it wouldn't hurt any of us if you go freshen up first, Andy.", and then he said to Andy "Once you're done, we'll be going in there one at a time and in turns, okay?", and when he heard what the juvenile Deertaur said, Andy took a deep breath to calm himself down before he then opened the door and went to the bathroom to freshen up, and a few minutes later, he came out of the bathroom (since he was done freshening up) and told Feliks to go into the bathroom next, which the young male leopard cub soon did, and once he was done freshening up too, Noah was the third to go into the bathroom to freshen up, and finally it was Russell who went into the bathroom to freshen up, as his own turn to go freshen up in the bathroom was the last out of the four, and once Russell was done freshening up, he opened the door and told Andy, Noah and Feliks to come inside as the last thing none of them did yet is washing their faces, and during their respective turns to wash their faces, the four friends ran a bit of water and then they hesitated.
However, just then, the four friends suddenly heard a loud knocking on the door before Mr. Hammond's voice called for them "Hey! Did you guys fall asleep in there? Lunch is ready!" and then he added and said to Andy, Noah and even Feliks "The hot milk is waiting for you!", and just then, the three youngsters and Russell looked down at the sink again, only to discover and realize that it was now halfway full of water from the leaky faucet, but it wasn't before Andy said in a soft tone "Hot milk. Hot milk would be nice." and then Feliks added "Yeah, I think so too.", before the four friends finally came out of the bathroom and went together to the living room to drink some hot milk, or in Russell's case - some raw meat (since he's an adult leopard).
In the living room, Andy, Noah and Feliks all sat on three chairs near a table that was in the middle of the living room, while Russell sat down on the floor behind them, and just then, Mr. Hammond came in and to the living room and went up to them with four cups of hot milk and with a feeding bowl of raw meat (the bowl of raw meat was obviously for Russell to eat), and then he lowered down and placed the feeding bowl with the raw meat in front of Russell so that the adult red leopard can enjoy eating the raw meat, before the elderly centaur then went up to the table and placed the four cups of hot milk on it, and three out of the four were for Andy, Noah and Feliks, while the fourth cup of hot milk was for Mr. Hammond himself, who then went up to the other side of the table and sat down on a larger chair near the table and right in front of the three youngsters.
Then, Andy said to Mr. Hammond as he looked around and saw that the place is now looking very good and that the conditions inside it are favorable unlike anytime before the toddler centaur ran away from home with his twin sister and big brother "Well, I like what you've done with the place, Sir. It's so different and it's also unlike the way it used to be before I ran away from home.", and then Noah added in agreement "Yeah, that's right. I have to agree with you too. This place is so nice and I think we can all stay here for tonight." and then Russell said behind them as he too liked the good looks of the place on the inside "I agree with you guys too. I like this place. It's so cozy.", and when he heard what the two youngsters and the full grown adult male said, Mr. Hammond said to them "How kind you are, kids.", and then he quickly added and explained "I call all the cute little toddlers and youngsters 'kids', don't take offense.", but then Andy said back "Oh no." in reassurance to show the elderly centaur that he's not offended by being called a kid, and then Russell added "I may be an adult myself, but it's okay for you to call me kid, Sir. After all, I'm not yet a father and I haven't yet made my own family either, so that's okay to call me 'kid'. I was used to be called like that a lot when I was a little cub, and it's still okay to call me 'kid' even now, because I'm not offended by being called that way. It's fine with me.".
However, soon after Russell expressed his feelings for being called kid as a full grown adult leopard, Mr. Hammond picked up his cup of hot milk and then when he started drinking, he made nasty slurping sounds while drinking his hot milk, and that caused the three youngsters to look at him with weird expressions on their faces, while Russell stared and looked up at him with a little disgust when he heard the elderly centaur nastily slurping down his hot milk, and once he was done drinking his milk, Mr. Hammond placed his now empty cup on the table and then he said to Andy, Noah and Feliks "Well, go on, kids. Drink your milk while it's nice and hot.", and then he gave the three youngsters a smile, but when they saw the elderly centaur's smile, Andy, Noah and Feliks are almost shocked to see that his teeth are turning gray and are rotting down very quickly and in such a short time, and when Russell looked up and also noticed that Mr. Hammond's teeth are turning gray and are rotting down very quickly, the adult male red leopard couldn't believe what he's seeing before his own eyes.
However, the true terror and the pure disgust both kicks in when Andy, Noah and Feliks were all about to drink their cups of hot milk, because when the three looked into their cups (before they're about to drink from the hot milk in them), they suddenly yelped with both shock and with fright to see that the hot milk in their cups has transformed into urine water, thus prompting the three youngsters to quickly throw the cups away, thus resulting in the cups crashing and smashing into pieces and spilling the urine water on the floor. Then, for addition, when Russell witnessed that moment happening before his own eyes, he immediately turned to look down at the feeding bowl, only to discover that the raw meet in his feeding bowl has transformed into feces, thus causing Russell to exclaim in pure disgust before he then used a foreleg and a forepaw of his own to quickly kick the bowl away from himself, resulting in the feeding bowl crashing and smashing into pieces against one of the legs of the table and spilling the feces right next to the pieces of the broken cups and the spilled urine water on the floor, and once these two things were done, Andy, Noah and Feliks quickly got up from their chairs, while Russell quickly stood up on his feet and first looked down at the pieces of the broken cups and of the broken feeding bowl as well as at the spilled urine water and the spilled feces, before he and the three youngsters all quickly turned their heads and looked up at Mr. Hammond with both shock and with great fear in their eyes.
However, when he saw the shock and the great fear in the four friends' eyes, Mr. Hammond suddenly said a little evilly with a tooth-rotten smile that also suddenly started growing a little demonic "Oh, don't trouble your cute little heads, kids. I'll get it.", and then he turned his head and face away from them and looked down at the floor and then he lowered down and started picking up the pieces of the broken cups and of the broken feeding bowl, and just then, a realization suddenly hit Russell as he then realized that the name on the door sign was indeed Howard, and so this realization made him say as he soon realized the danger "It did say Howard's name on the door sign." and then he added "We should've known it was all a trap!", and when he heard what the red leopard said, Mr. Hammond said to him and to his three younger friends as his elderly voice started sounding more menacing and threatening while he kept picking up the pieces "If you're all wise, you'll run, kids. Run. Because to stay here will mean worse than your own deaths.", and then he added as his voice suddenly changed from an elderly voice into the one which was that of a much younger adult male "You'll be all mine forever.", and then the new voice added "You'll be all mine.".
Then, when 'Mr. Hammond' finished picking up the pieces of the broken cups and of the broken bowl, he was no longer Mr. Hammond anymore. Instead, the centaur who appeared before Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks was the frightening image of Howard, who then turned his head and looked back at them before standing up to his full height, thus also scaring the four friends with his horrid appearance, causing Andy, Noah and Feliks to scream with fright as all three youngsters stepped aback in great fear because of Howard's horrid appearance, as the demonic centaur had many scars covering both his upper and lower bodies and his bighorn sheep horns are (obviously) missing, but that wasn't before Howard said to Andy in a horrid tone "I worry about you, Andy. Sometimes, I worry a lot.", but when Andy, Noah and Feliks all heard what Howard just said, they all screamed again with fright and started running away with Russell following close behind them as all four friends tried to escape together and leave the house before it's too late.
However, as soon as Russell and the kids started running away, 'Howard' soon started chasing after them and he yelled "It won't do you or your friends any good to run away, Andy!", and when they reached to the door which leads out of the house, 'Howard' managed to catch up with them and he managed to grab and pull both Andy and Noah by the shoulders and also pin Feliks to the floor and trap him under a cloven forehoof to prevent the three from having their escape, but then the three youngsters and Russell all started screaming in horror from the demonic centaur's scarred and horrid appearance, and then Andy cried "Ahhh! Ahhh! Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" and Russell added as he yelled up at 'Howard's face "You're not real! You're not real!", before the red leopard jumped up and slashed the demonic centaur on the upper human chest with his left forepaw and with his sharp claws to make him let go of Andy, Noah and Feliks, and once he let go of the three youngsters, they and Russell quickly opened the door and so the four of them managed to escape out of the house and they all ran outside and went back to the badlands (outside Howard's house).
Once they got out of Howard's house and reached back outside to the badlands, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all turned around and looked back to see a centaur whom they have never met before. The centaur appeared to be a young adult male who is just around Anastasia's age, and judging by the long horn on the center of his forehead, the centaur was a Unicorn centaur (horned centaur) just like Queen Camilla, and for addition to his type, his hair and tail were both dark brown, his eyes were purple and he had the lower body of a dark beige horse, but what they didn't know about him is that he's in fact Anastasia's mate. The horned centaur's name was Ron, and he's also the one centaur who told and even warned and threatened Anastasia to never tell about her pregnancy to anyone, including her own family, and also said to her that if she does tell anyone about that her aggressive behavior is because of her pregnancy (since Ron is going to be the father of Anastasia's baby), he will come to take her baby away from her and have it all to himself shortly after its birth and then he will also have Anastasia's hide on his wall (Anastasia even mentioned that before).
When Ron saw Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks looking shocked and terrified from his trick (since he's the one who pulled that heartless trick and prepared and made that trap for them), he pressed and tapped himself on his own nose with the index fingers in both of his hands and said "Beep beep!", and then he started laughing and shaking back and forth frantically from him (Ron himself) being successful in nearly scaring Russell and the kids to death with his heartless prank. When the four friends saw him laughing and shaking back and forth frantically, Andy asked "Who...who's he?" and then Noah added as he then pointed at Ron "Where did he just came from?", and then when Ron stopped laughing and and also stopped shaking back and forth frantically, he looked at the four friends again as he then walked back into the house, but before he closed the door, he laughed loudly at them one more time before he then closed the door shut before their eyes.
Just then, the totally unexpected happened - the same herd of Indian rhinos from before suddenly came out of nowhere and stampeded towards Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, and when Russell turned and saw them coming, he called and yelled to his three younger friends "Look out, guys! The rhinos are coming!", and when they heard what he said, Andy, Noah and Feliks all quickly moved out of the way with Russell helping them by quickly leading them away from the Indian rhinos just in time before the stampeding Indian rhinos herd came by and started passing by Howard's house very quickly, and it didn't took long before the last Indian rhinos at the very back and end of the stampeding herd came by and then passed by Howard's house as they continued stampeding away and soon left the area with all the rest of the herd like if nothing had happened.
However, once the stampeding Indian rhinos herd was gone, Noah suddenly called to the others "Hey! Look at this! Look at what just happened here!", and when they heard what he said, Russell, Andy and Feliks all turned to look back at Howard's house again, only to discover that the house is now boarded over and long abandoned. When the four friends saw that Howard's house is now abandoned, Russell said with a shocked expression on his face "Howard's home...it's abandoned!", and then Feliks added and asked while also showing a shocked expression on his own face "How is that even possible?", and then Russell said back "I don't know! It must be some kind of evil magic or something!", before he then added "We must go away from here as fast as we can! Who knows what could happen next!", and then Andy said in agreement "Yes, Russell. That horned centaur was so weird, and who knows what else he can do to us next.", and then Russell said to him, Noah and Feliks "We must hurry! We can't stay here in the badlands anymore! It's too dangerous for us in here!", and with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all turned around and started walking away from Howard's now abandoned house and continued together on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their friends.
Meanwhile, back with Chloe, Aylene, King Edward, Queen Camilla, Vanessa and all the others, they still continued on their way and kept searching for both Anastasia and for the twins, and during their search for the three, Chloe said "I hope we'll be able to find Andy and Zoey before Anastasia does.", and then Aylene added "Yeah, that's right. We have to find them before Anastasia does. I can't even imagine what she still has in mind for these poor little toddlers.", and then Shujaa said to them "If she finds, attacks and yells at Andy and Zoey again, just like how she already did before when Stephan and Bluebell got knocked out cold and unconscious, I will make sure that this time she doesn't gets away with it that easily!", and then King Edward said with his brows furrowing in anger and his eyes filled with determination "Anastasia, if you ever dare to harm these innocent little toddlers again, I will have no choice but to banish you away from the centaur kingdom until you learn your lesson!" and then he added "No daughter of mine shall go unpunished for abusing a couple of toddlers just like that! When we find you, Anastasia, I swear you'll pay for the pain you caused these toddlers before and after Bluebell and their big brother, Stephan, both got knocked unconscious!", and with these words being said, King Edward was determined to find and punish his own young adult daughter for the great pain she caused Andy and Zoey before they ran away from home.
Later, when evening came, and back with Russell and with the kids, the four continued on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their friends, but now that evening time came, they're all getting so tired that they need to find a shelter where they can rest in for the night and continue on their journey the next day, and so with the four getting tired from traveling far and from the arrival of the evening time, Andy asked Feliks "How long do you think it will take for us to get all the way back to the jungle?", and when the young leopard cub heard what the toddler male centaur said to him, he said back "I don't know, Andy." and then he added "I wish I could've helped you with that too, but since I never left my own home before, I don't yet know how much time it will take for us until we'll finally reach and arrive in the jungle.", and when Andy heard what he said, the toddler male centaur said back "I suppose you're right, Feliks. After all, you're still new here within our group.".
However, just then, Noah suddenly interrupted them and asked "Well, if you guys ask me, I feel so tired right now, so how about we just go to sleep in that nice nearby cave tonight?" and then he pointed with his hand and index finger at a nearby cave which stood not too far away from them, and when they heard what he said and then turned their heads to the side and saw the big cave nearby, Russell said back to him "That sounds like a good idea, Noah." and then he added "I don't think that that weird horned centaur will be able to find us while we're all sleeping in that cave.", and then Andy said in agreement "You have a point, Russell. He will have to travel really fast in order to keep up with us, and I don't think that he actually can keep up with us or something like that, because that would be ridiculously hard for him to catch up with us.", but just then, Feliks let out a yawn and then he asked "Guys, I feel so tired, how about we go to sleep in that cave now?", and when they all heard what the young leopard cub just said, Russell said "You know what? That's fine! We can go to sleep in that cave tonight, and when we'll wake up in the next morning, nothing will appear to be different around us.", and with these words being said, the four went up to the nearby cave and once they entered it, they chose their sleeping spots inside the cave and then Russell said to his three friends "Goodnight, Andy. Goodnight, Noah. Goodnight, Feliks." and the three of them said back in return "Goodnight for you too, Russell. We'll continue on our way to save our friends in the next morning.", and so with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all fell asleep inside the cave for tonight.
However, during the night, when it was nighttime, Russell suddenly woke up as he started hearing some strange hissing sounds, and when he heard the hissing sounds, the red leopard asked "Huh? What was that? Where are these weird sounds coming from?", but just then however, he suddenly heard Andy, Noah and Feliks all screaming and crying for help, and he also heard Feliks crying and yelling "Ahhh! Russell, please help!", and when the red leopard heard his voice crying and yelling for help, he (Russell himself) turned his head and suddenly yelled "Wait, what?!" as right before his eyes, there was a giant snake wrapping its coils around Andy, Noah and Feliks and is about to eat them all as a midnight snack.
When Russell saw his three younger friends in danger, he said "Oh no, my friends are in trouble!", and then he added and called for them "Don't worry, guys! I'll save you!", and then Andy cried "Russell, please Help!", and Noah soon repeated his words and also added "That giant snake suddenly came into our cave and he's trying to eat us all!", but then Russell said to them "It's okay, guys! Do not panic! I got this!", and then he used his right forepaw to whack and throw a small stone at the giant snake in order to get his attention, and once the small stone hit the giant snake, he turned his head to see Russell standing before him, but that wasn't before the red leopard angrily yelled at him "Hey you jerk! Leave my good little friends alone and take on someone your own size!", and when the giant snake heard the insulting words he just said to him, he hissed angrily, uncoiled, unwrapped himself and let go of Andy, Noah and Feliks, and then he charged angrily at Russell, who then yelled at him "Come and get me, you legless reptile!", before he then yelled and said to his three younger friends "Now it's your chance, guys! Run for it!" and then he quickly added "Go outside the cave while I'll take care of that giant snake!", and with these words being said, Russell started fighting the giant snake while Andy, Noah and Feliks all ran away and made their way out of the cave.
Once Andy, Noah and Feliks made their way out of the cave and got back outside (and also back to the badlands), Russell gave a hard big cat slap on the giant snake's face with his right forepaw and then he quickly turned around and started running out of the cave after his three younger friends, but once he too made it outside the cave, he suddenly saw Ron standing a few yards away and in front of him and his younger friends, before the horned then said "Beep beep, kids!" and added "I'll come back anytime!", and then he added "Sooner or later, you'll be all mine, do you understand me? You'll be all mine!", and then he laughed evilly and disappeared right before the four friends' eyes, and so did the giant snake inside the cave behind their backs, thus revealing that the giant snake was all another trick of Ron (his second in total), and once Ron and the giant snake both disappeared, Russell said to his three younger friends "Guys, we gotta get away from this place as soon as possible! It's not safe around here either!", and when they heard what he said, the three youngsters agreed with him, before Noah then said in agreement "You're right, Russell! We gotta go now! Let's get out of here!", and with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all continued together on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their friends, and the four of them also hoped that they won't be attacked, harassed or even tricked by Ron or by his dirty magical tricks anymore.
Meanwhile, back in the jungle, Violet lied down (still unconscious) on the very same small bushes behind the much taller once (on which Zoey and Austin also and already have lied down before), and for addition, her muzzle and her rope bindings are no longer tied onto her face, body and limbs anymore, and the reason to this was very obvious - Simon have already managed to get her out of the cave and rescue her from captivity while Oscar and all the rest of the Deertaurs herd were all gone for their hunt for today (and during the day), and that therefore it means that Violet is now free to go and leave the jungle and start searching for her friends (and eventually get reunited with them) once she wakes up and recovers from the mad and harassing attacks she received from Oscar and from his three main friends from the Deertaurs herd.
Just then, Violet suddenly started moving and she opened her eyes and woke up as she finally started recovering from the mad and harassing attacks she received from Oscar and from his three main friends, but once she climbed down from the small bushes and stood up and on her hooves again, Violet soon realized that she's not inside the bad Deertaurs' cave anymore and that she's now outside and free to leave the jungle since she's not tied up and/or restrained by the muzzle and/or by the rope bindings anymore, and when she realized and understood that now she can go and leave the jungle and search for her other friends (Russell, Andy, Zoey, Noah and Austin), Violet said to herself "Now that I'm no longer a prisoner in Oscar and his herd's cave, I'm can go and leave this jungle and search for my other friends.", and then she added and said with a determined look forming on her face and eyes "Don't worry about me, my friends. I'm going to find and reunite with all of you very soon. I promise.", and with these words being said, the toddler Zebratauress started trotting and running fast within the jungle range until she finally found her way out and left the jungle and started searching for all of her other friends.
Back with Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, the four are still walking and traveling in the badlands (after having been forced to stay awake and then immediately got chased out of the cave in which they tried to sleep in for the night by Ron), and while they kept walking and traveling in the badlands while it's already past midnight but the time is still the middle of the night (likely anywhere from 1 to 3 A.M), Noah asked his three friends "How much further do we need to travel and how much time do we need to keep ourselves awake, guys?", and then Russell answered back "I don't know, but I hope that the next time we'll find a cave, we need to make sure that it's safe to sleep in it first, and then we'll be able to have our rest for tonight.".
When Noah heard what Russell said, the juvenile male Deertaur said to him and to their two other friends (Andy and Feliks) "I understand what you're saying, Russell. But there's one thing that is still bothering me for the most.", and when they heard what he said, Russell asked him "Really? What is it, Noah?", and then Noah asked back "That horned centaur, who do you think is he?", and then Andy asked and added in agreement "Yeah, and what's his name? That's also something that we need to know about before we get to know him." and then Feliks also added in agreement "Yeah, that's right.".
However, just then, the badlands' night skies suddenly changed their color from normal black with stars and the moon into dark purple skies without any stars or even a moon, and then something really scary happened that it caused the four friends to stop dead in their tracks - it was a shadow of an unknown animal or creature which suddenly appeared before them, although it also appeared a bit far away from them, and when Feliks saw the shadow in front of him, he called and said to his friends "Hey! Look over there! I something over there!", and when they heard what he said, Russell said back to him in agreement "You're right, Feliks, we can see it too!", but then Noah asked the young male leopard cub "What is it, Feliks? What do you see over there?", but just then, however, the mysterious shadow suddenly changed its colors and it's shape and appearance became clear for the four friends to see, and it turned out and appeared to be Azaad, but to make matters more horrifying (especially for Feliks), his fur is ruffled up and his whole body is covered with scars, bruises and wounds all over, his forelegs and his forepaws are chained up and are also trapped on each side away from the rest of his body, his head and face are facing down, and last but not least - Azaad is also suspended in the air and he appeared to be tortured, tormented and abused.
When Feliks recognized the tortured, tormented and abused leopard before him as his father, the young male leopard cub cried "That's my daddy!", but when they heard what he said, Russell said back and asked "Huh? No, it can't be! How is that even possible?", and then Andy added "Yeah, that's right, Russell! We saw Azaad being trampled in the stampede before!" and he continued and said "There's no way that this is really him! It could be another trick or something! I can tell that by just looking at him!", and when he heard what his friends said, Noah asked "Is he real or fake?", and then Russel said to him and to the two other children "I'm the only adult here, so let me see if he's real or fake. I can easily tell if I'm right or wrong by studying him from a closer look.", and then he added "You guys just stay behind and watch.", and then Russell started stepping closer and approaching the other adult leopard which appeared suspended in the air before him, and then he said as he started studying him from a closer look so to see if it's actually the real Azaad or not "Let's see what we're dealing with here.".
"Please...help me, son...! Please...!" 'Azaad' begged while in pain from being 'tortured', prompting and making Feliks to gasp in shock, but he still stayed in place and didn't moved a muscle in his legs, but when 'Azaad' added and begged in his pained voice tone "Feliks...my son...I love you...!" and then lifted his head and face up a little to show a pained look and expression on his face, Feliks was unable to resist as he then cried "I can't! I have to go help him!" and then he started running towards 'Azaad', but then Andy and Noah also trotted and ran after him and said "No, don't! Don't go to him, Feliks! That could be a trap!", before both young male centaurids managed to stop him just in time by pinning him down to the ground so that he won't be able to reach too close to 'Azaad'.
However, Feliks fought back and he cried and begged both from Russell and from his two male centaurid friends "But can't you all just see? He's suffering!" and then he added "My daddy's in trouble! I have to help! He needs me!", but just then, however, 'Azaad's eyes suddenly started glowing purple and a demonic smile formed on his face, thus revealing that it's not the real Azaad but (yet again) Ron in disguise, and when Russell noticed that it's yet another one of Ron's dirty magical tricks, the red leopard quickly turned his head and face and said back to his three younger friends "Watch out, guys! His eyes are glowing purple! He's not real, it's a monster!", and that's when 'Azaad' started laughing evilly as he then transformed himself into none other than Ron, and when Feliks saw and realized that it wasn't his own father but actually none other than Ron in disguise, the young male leopard cub let out a scream as he then realized the truth, before Russell said to him "Now you see, Feliks?! I told you so!", but Feliks cried back "I didn't want to believe that!".
Just then, Ron said evilly "Well, isn't it so funny to toy around with the young mind of a naive little leopard cub?", but then Feliks turned to him and yelled "How dare you trick me by using an image of my own father against me?!" and then he added and asked "Who do you even think you are?!", but then Ron said back "Well, I won't tell you four my name yet, but I will do that once you'll accept to be all mine, do you hear?" and then he added "I'll leave you four alone for now, but I promise you that tomorrow I will return to torment you all for my own pleasure until all of you give in and accept to be all mine!", and then he finished and said evilly "Sooner or later, you all will be all mine!", and with these words being said, Ron laughed evilly before he suddenly vanished and disappeared into thin air while at the same time, the badlands' night skies also changed back to normal before the four friends' eyes, thus leaving them alone for now.
However, because he was mentally hurt by Ron's dirty magical trick, which is due to the horned centaur using an image of his father (Azaad) to fool and scare him, Feliks couldn't help himself and it didn't took longer than 20 seconds before he started to cry from having himself fooled by Ron's dirty magical trick, but then Russell went up to him and used his forepaws to caress the young male leopard cub's head and back in a manner to comfort him before he said "There, there you go, Feliks." and then he added to show him that he's not angry at him for almost falling for Ron's dirty magical trick "It's okay. I'm not really angry at you and I do not blame you for almost falling for that trick. I was just trying to warn you and show you that it's all nothing but an ugly trick.", and then he continued and said "I mean, that horned centaur surely has magical abilities which allows him to trick other creatures into believing that what they see before their eyes is real, but try to cheer yourself up, Feliks, because when we're going to face him again tomorrow, we'll try to outsmart him, capture him and make him tell us who he is and what are his intentions to do with us.", and then the red leopard asked Feliks as he looked down at him "Is that okay with you, Feliks?".
When he heard what Russell said to him, Feliks sniffled and then he said back "Yeah, I'm okay with that. Thank you so much for carrying and worrying about me, Russell." as he slowly calmed down from what just happened with Ron's dirty magical trick which fooled and scared him (Feliks himself) just a moment ago, but that wasn't before Noah suddenly said and pointed out as he clearly understood Russell's good motives in caring for their group and keeping them all out of trouble "Yeah, Feliks is right - you are a good friend who really cares for others, and we're happy to meet you and have you both as a friend and as a guide.", and then Andy added in agreement "That's right, Russell. Noah has a point in what he's trying to say - you're able to figure out that everything we see on our way which attacks and torments us throughout the last part of our journey is nothing more or less than that horned centaur's tricks and magical abilities which he uses to fool us all.", and then the toddler male centaur explained and said to Russell "So what we are trying to say here is that you're really a smart and loyal leopard, Russell, and we're so happy to be your friends for who you are.".
When Russell heard what his younger friends said to him about him being a smart and loyal friend and guide throughout their journey together, he couldn't help but shed a single tear before he said back "Thank you guys so much. I'm so glad that I've met you all, because if I haven't ran away from Black Heart, my life would still be miserable because of that monster for a human toddler who is none other than Dan Ashmor who likes to pee on my fur on purpose and make me smell so bad and feel very uncomfortable within my old home.", and then he added and said to his friends "And now, we gotta get going and we need to find some place to sleep in for the rest of the night before we'll go and face that horned centaur tomorrow.", and with these words being said, the two leopards, the centaur and the Deertaur continued together on their way and started searching for another place (or shelter) where they can all sleep in for the rest of the night.