Disclaimer: I do not own All Hail King Julien or any of its characters. I do own Emily, Patch, Weasel, Lilian, Elizabeth, and the fossa with names, and the idea for this story
The dark clouds overhead warned of an impending storm. It was difficult to tell whether or not the sun had gone down yet, since it hadn't been visible for an hour anyways. It was almost pitch black, and Patch tripped over roots, knocked his head against low-hanging branches, and even stubbed his toe once or twice.
But fear drove him on. He could hear the fossa behind him, could feel them breathing down his neck. He pushed harder, but it was no use. He couldn't shake them. Suddenly he heard growling in his ear, and he jerked to a halt. Did the fossa split up and surround him? He could have sworn that they were behind him.
Narrowing his eyes, he could just see an outline of a fossa in front of him. He turned to run the other way, but more fossa outlines blocked his path. Trembling, he crouched down. He was gonna die.
I just hope my brother was able to rescue everyone, Patch thought, his heart racing, and his mind whirling. He always thought he was one of the fossa. Mac raised him to be like one, and yeah, the others bullied him, but he never thought he'd be eaten by them. He gulped and crouched lower, hoping the ground would open up and swallow him. That'd be a less painful way to go than dying at the jaws of the fossa…
Then the fossa in front of him jumped over him, and landed in between him and Sander. The second-in-command growled," I don't know who you are, but you better move out of my way."
Just then lightning flashed in the sky, and for a brief moment the fossa was illuminated and instantly she was recognizable. Patch stared, completely in shock. In that moment of brightness, Patch saw Sander's jaw fall open and the other fossa looked dumbfounded. Then it was dark again.
"Mary Ann!" gasped Sander. "Wha-? How…? I-I don't understand."
"W-What are you doing back?" Heath stammered.
Mary Ann stood her ground. "I have returned," she announced. "I know about Mac's plans and I'm here to put a stop to it."
A long ago memory flashed in Patch's mind. He remembered the fossa that was captured by the king and his followers and who went missing for several days, to return completely different. She worked hard to teach her campmates how to talk and behave, and finally her affects paid off. She transformed the fossa into modern day animals. When she came up with the decree not to eat lemurs, Mac thought of an alternative food for them to eat instead. Mary Ann and Mac worked together at first, but soon every fossa started turning to Mac with all their problems instead of Mary Ann and before long, she was casted out. For a while, the fossa left the lemurs alone. Then Karl showed up and told Mac about his plan to capture the lemurs and exile Julien.
Now Mary Ann has returned, and it was clear even in the dark that she wasn't happy. "What's the meaning of this?" she demanded. "I thought we looked beyond our savage ways and turned to a brighter future. What happened to us becoming a modernized pack?"
Sander growled," Thanks to Mac, we are a modernized pack."
"You weakened us," Adain snarled.
"Yeah!" Simon agreed, and Patch noticed his outline crouching down as he faced Mary Ann. "Were weak, now strong."
"He's right," Heath said. "You let the lemurs mock us without fear. But Mac's plan to capture the lemurs reminded them that we are still a threat."
Patch listened in horror. Now that he didn't have the thought in his head that he was a real fossa, he realized as they talked about lemurs, they meant him, too. A voice in his ear made him jump.
"Run, brother to the king, run."
Startled, Patch looked around, and he thought he saw an outline of an animal hanging from a tree, but before he could make sure, it disappeared before his eyes. Looking back at the fossa, he realized that they were distracted, arguing about who was the better leader. As quietly as possible, he tiptoed away, glancing over his shoulder to make sure none of the fossa noticed him leaving. Once he was at a safe distance, he paused and listened. Silence.
With a sigh of relief, he took in his surroundings. It was way too dark to see where he was, so how was he going to retrace his steps back to the fossa camp? He was trying to decide what to do when that voice whispered in his ear again.
"This way."
Patch stared hard. Was that a… chameleon?
"Come on," it urged. "We need to go before—"
The chameleon was interrupted by loud yowling coming from where Patch left the fossa.
"He's gone!" Heath yowled.
"Where did he go?" Adain demanded.
"Follow his scent!" Sander growled.
"Run!"
Taking the chameleon's advice, Patch spun around and took off in the jungle.
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Kevin was angry. He opened up the sky and the rain came pouring down. The wind picked up, and thunder sounded loudly, as lightning flashed above. Within moments, the lemurs were soaked through to their skin. Julien and his friends were hidden behind some rocks close to the cliff where the fossa lived.
Under the cover of darkness, the king and his subjects crept up onto the camp. Most of the fossa was taking cover from the rain, but one or two were guarding the prisoners. Julien signaled for his friends to follow him behind the cages.
Not risking talking so near the enemy, Julien gestured with his hands and hoped they understood. Weasel and Maurice walked over to separate cages, while Clover stayed with Julien. His subjects looked surprised but relieved to see their king. Julien put his finger to his lips to warn them not to make a sound. Then he gestured to Clover, who quietly untied the vines, and Julien watched with satisfaction as the bamboo cage fell apart.
The closest lemur threw her arms around Julien. She opened her mouth to thank him, but quickly Julien shhed her. Turning to Maurice and Weasel, he saw that they, too, had pulled the cages apart and were hurrying over to them. Julien signaled that it was time to go, but suddenly a yowl sounded behind them.
"Hey! They're escaping!"
In a flash, the fossa was on their feet and surrounding the lemurs. Julien gulped and stood in front of his subjects with Maurice, Weasel, and Clover. The pack parted to let Mac through. He glared down at Julien.
"You," he growled in a low menacing voice. "You were supposed to be lost in the jungle!"
Julien bravely stood his ground, even though every instinct in him was screaming at him to run far away from here. "I've come to rescue my people."
Mac crouched down. "I don't care what I promised Karl. I'm gonna kill you right here to make sure you never get in my way again."
Julien gulped and braced himself. He refused to leave his subjects. Right when Mac was about to pounce, something slammed into the fossa, sending him stumbling sideways. Julien stared in shock at his brother. Patch glared at Mac.
"You lied to me," the king's brother angrily reminded the lead fossa. "All my life, you lied to me. You said I was a real fossa and that I belonged with the pack. Even when none of the others wanted me around, you stood up for me. But it was all a lie. You didn't really care about me. All the time, you were just plotting to capture all the lemurs."
Mac regained his balance. "You're wrong, Elliot—"
"My name is Patch," he interrupted.
Mac narrowed his eyes. "You're wrong— Patch," he spat out his name. "At first, I did care for you and did raise you to be a true fossa even if you didn't have the teeth or the claws like one. I didn't know your brother was the king. Then that fanaloka showed up and told me who you were. That's when I realized my ambition was stronger than my friendship was you. Together, me and him plotted this scheme, and he told me I could use you to strike fear into the hearts of the lemurs." He threw his head back and laughed.
Rage rose in Patch. Before he could realize what he was doing, he flung himself at Mac and they went rolling in the mud, stopping just in time before they fell over the cliff. Patch looked over the edge at the long drop and gulped.
"I don't need you anymore," Mac growled as he stood to his paws. As he glared down at the small lemur, lightning flashed above, illuminating the intimidating form of the lead fossa.
Patch stared up at him, trying to come up with a plan to save himself. Then he noticed how unsteady Mac was in the mud and an idea struck in his mind.
"You're right, Mac," he said, lowering his gaze.
"I am?" Mac looked shocked.
"You don't need me anymore," Patch conceded, carefully turning in the mud so his back was facing him. "And if I'm not a fossa, then what am I?"
"A lemur!" his brother called out to him, and Patch glanced at him. "I'm sorry for all I said. I was just upset because you lied to me and tricked me. But after seeing the way you fooled those fossa into following you into the jungle so we can sneak into their camp… Well, it showed bravery and courage… and loyalty. I'm proud to call you my brother. Come with us, and we can be a family again."
Patch's throat tightened with emotion. His eyes started watering and he was about to run to his brother. But Mac blocked his way.
"Nobody is going anywhere," He snarled, glaring at Patch, then Julien. "Expect back into those cages." He took a step toward Patch. "But you… you're gonna die right here."
Remembering his plan, Patch stood his ground, even when the fossa crouched down and pounced. Timing it perfectly, Patch ducked and Mac slipped in the mud, stumbling close to the edge of the cliff. Patch turned to see his old friend go over the edge. But at the last moment, Mac grabbed Patch's tail and dragged him over with him.
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