Sitting there with his head against his knees, his hands curled up to his chest, Blu wasn't quite sure what to think. The forest around him was quiet and the fire was burning, casting a warm glow over everything and chasing the shadows away, but Blu couldn't bring himself to enjoy the peace of the night.
Everyone was asleep. Blu wasn't sure how long they'd been asleep- he'd lost track of time a while ago, his head swimming and stomach churning- but they were. All but himself.
A glance up to where Red was lying, not too far from where Blu sat against the tree, showed the rosy Bear fast asleep, perfectly at peace in the outdoors. Nearby, the Bear twins slept side by side, though it didn't appear that either of them were sleeping deeply; probably a snap of a twig would wake them. The Chickens and the pink and white Fox seemed to congregate together while keeping a proper distance, both of the females lying on their backs and the Fox curled up. Off by himself the red Fox could easily have been mistaken for dead if it weren't for his twitching ears and tail, lying on his stomach with his arms cushioning his chin. The Humans both shifted in their sleep, the lighter-haired Jeremy actually turning over to hide his face from the firelight.
Blu's eyes landed on the Lacatran brothers across the camp. Both of them were asleep, as Blu knew they would be, and like Red they seemed perfectly at ease. The purple Rabbit was sitting against a tree as well, though his head was leaning on his brother's on his shoulder; clearly they had no qualms whatsoever about using one another as pillows.
It was strange, seeing the aggressive Animals sleeping so peacefully- so quietly, their expressions soft and loose.
For a moment Blu envied them, but then he sighed and dropped his head back down. Envy would get him nowhere, after all.
His hands felt numb and his cheek was stinging, and he simply couldn't ignore it. How ironic, he mused, that that had been his goal just earlier that day; produce a pain that he couldn't ignore.
At that moment, he would take running through a forest of collapsing trees and floors with the purple Lacatran over the pain he was feeling right then.
Knowing he would get no sleep, he slowly sat up and uncurled his fingers to look at his hands. The makeshift bandages were spotty with both blood and mud. For a moment he felt a wave of revulsion- the brown tainting the red, making a disgusting colour that he just didn't know how to describe- but it faded quickly into a dull worry; he could barely even move his fingers.
He was afraid he would lose them, and then he would never play his Chaska again.
With a soft sigh, Blu closed his eyes and let his head fall against the tree. He listened to the fire crackle, the soft breathing and murmurings of his companions, the soft snores of Mike... it was peaceful, unusual, completely new and foreign to the blue Rabbit, but it wasn't all that bothersome really. It was almost... welcome. For once, he didn't feel completely alone.
It was nice... right up until a breeze ran through his fur and something clamped over his mouth.
Green eyes flew open, wide as terror flooded his system; he could feel three long, bony fingers pressing against his cheek and a flat, rough palm against his lips. He tried to jerk away, tried to cry out- anything to get away- but as he moved away from the tree the... whatever it was looped its other arm around his abdomen, its grip firm as it pulled at him. He couldn't make a sound, even in his throat, so in a moment of desperation he kicked his legs out, digging his feet into the dirt as well as he could, and reached out to grab at the ground.
However, as he felt himself being pulled away, his sight faded to black... and he understood why he couldn't make a sound.
Whatever had grabbed him had already subdued him before it ever reached out.
The morning light streaming through the canopy landed on the golden Rabbit's face, prompting him to blink his silvery-green eyes open. Around him he could hear the other Animals shifting, and next to him his brother groaned a complaint as Spring sat up and stretched.
His ears twitched at the sound of his back popping, and with a soft sigh he glanced around the camp.
It wasn't quite a clearing, really, but it was close enough for his tastes. Jeremy had sat up, the hair on his head a total wreck, and was staring blankly across at the Bear twins, both of whom seemed wide awake already and were talking quietly to one another.
"Ugh," Bonnie huffed beside him, "if anything we need to make a shelter to block out the sun..."
"C'mon, Bonnie, not everyone's lazy," Spring shot back with a smug grin, standing up to his feet. The Chickens seemed to have woken up a while ago, both of them just returning to camp with buckets of water in their hands- what are they doing with that?- while the white and pink Fox buried their head in the grass, refusing to let the sunlight rouse them. Mike and Foxy both seemed completely unfazed by the light.
Something's... missing, he noted, watching the Bear colonist rub the sleep out of his eyes. He let his gaze scan over the rest of the camp, looking for whatever seemed out of place. Something... obvious. Something important.
"Where the fuck is that Rabbit."
It was a flat and irritated not-quite-question, and Spring glanced over at his brother before following his gaze to the other side of the campsite. Bonnie's red eyes were on the tree that the Lapinian had been leaning against just the night before, and Spring frowned as he realized that the Rabbit was nowhere to be seen.
"That's the question of the morning," Fredric sighed, looking over towards the tree, highly unimpressed and somewhat worried. "He's always running off..."
"I'm beginning to notice a pattern," the golden Bear added with a frown. "The most ill-equipped at survival is the one who keeps going off on his own."
"He probably doesn't have any sense of self preservation; he is Lapinian, he's never exactly been somewhere like this..." Spring muttered to Bonnie, too quietly for the Bears to hear.
"Chica, Chii," Freddy called to the Chickens, "did you happen to see Bandi this morning?"
The Chickens shared a look before shaking their heads. "He was gone when I woke up an hour or two ago," Chii informed the brown Bear, lightly kicking her foot against the ground. "I just assumed he had gone off to take a bath or something, his fur was really messy after all..."
"Well," Spring sighed in irritation, making his way over to the tree, "might as well hunt him down before..."
His voice died in his throat and he stopped short, staring at the grass. It was in disarray, as though there had been a short struggle in the soft soil, and some of the grass had been completely ripped up as if someone had been grabbing at it for purchase. No footprints, except those of the Rabbit walking to the tree the day before, were visible. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
The Lapinian hadn't walked off; he was taken.
"Yeah, I guess," Bonnie agreed, annoyance clear in his voice. "But I'm done chasing that Rabbit around, he-"
"Freddy," Spring suddenly called, eyes still on the grass and not concerned at all about cutting his brother's complaints off. "Come here."
Confused, the brown Bear, along with his own golden brother, approached. "What is it, Spring?"
"Look."
He knew they did as told when Goldie took in a sharp breath. "Oh."
"Yeah. Looks like he was right about one thing; we definitely aren't alone here," Spring deadpanned, glancing over his shoulder towards his brother. Bonnie was on his feet and walking over to them now, brows drawn together in confusion.
"What?" Bonnie questioned, coming up next to Spring. He eyed the grass, his displeased frown slipping off. "Oh. Well fuck."
"How about," Fredric suddenly spoke up, irritation seeping into his voice, "instead of standing here and gawking we try to find him?"
"He's probably dead," Spring muttered with a careless shrug, ignoring the way the Bears and even his brother looked at him. With a sigh, Spring defended, "Come on, he was injured and whatever took him got him in the middle of the night more than a few hours ago, and it left no trail."
"Actually, Spring, I don't think he's much of a threat... ah, he actually kinda... saved me, I guess? Granted, he was the reason we were there in the first place, but..."
He actually hoped the Lapinian wasn't dead. He wanted answers about that- about why a Lapinian would help or save a Lacatran, or how the Lapinian managed to convince Bonnie, of all people, that he wasn't a threat.
Especially the son of the General Commander.
"Well, there's no signs yet that he's dead," Freddy sighed, clearly irritated with Spring. "But we can't have everyone looking for him, we won't get anything done."
"I'll search for him," Fredric immediately volunteered.
"Actually," Goldie started, "Fredric, Bonnie, and Spring probably have the best tracking skills out of all of us, being colonists- no offense but it's just facts," he immediately added towards said colonists.
"Why would the truth offend us?" Bonnie snorted, crossing his arms. Spring rolled his eyes. "We already knew that anyway, and we take pride in that."
"What you're suggesting is us three search for him," Spring guessed, raising a brow at the Ursian. Goldie looked right back at him, not at all intimidated by Spring's light hostility.
"It'll be the fastest way," he answered simply. Spring couldn't exactly argue that either.
"I can go with them," Mangle suddenly spoke up, apparently having sensed the tense air between them. Spring wasn't even sure when the Fox had finally gotten up. "Y'know, to keep the Rabbits and Bear from fighting."
Oh yeah, it was no secret that Fredric did not like the Lacatrans. He had made that clear when he rounded on Spring and gave him the dressing down of his life with no regard to the audience, and the Ursians had simply let him. A similar lecture had been given to Bonnie later and both Rabbits agreed that they did not want to get on the Ardrawn's radar again.
That little Bear can be scary as hell when he wants to be.
Goldie nodded slightly. "Yeah, good idea... if you find him, just come get Freddy," he added, glancing towards his brother. Freddy frowned slightly at him but didn't protest or contradict his words.
"Right, right," Spring agreed half-heartedly, looking back at the mussed grass. "But it's hard to track something that left no tracks."
"Nonsense, everything leaves a track," Fredric dismissed, walking around to the other side of the tree. "You just have to look for it."
Spring shared a look with his brother. "Well yeah, but there's no clear track."
One of the bears clapped him on the shoulder, causing the golden rabbit to stumble. "That's why you three are doin' it," Goldie declared brightly before walking away. Spring grumbled and rubbed his shoulder, ignoring Bonnie's snickers.
"I'll come with you guys, too," Jeremy offered, standing up from his spot finally. "I'm not much in the tracking department but my dad took me hunting a few times."
"Join the party," Bonnie shrugged, walking around the tree as well. Spring followed, eying the ground. Fredric was kneeling down, running his fingers through the grass. "Find anything, fellow colonist?"
"Actually, yes, yes I did. It's under the grass."
Frowning, Spring knelt down to look, pushing the grass aside. He was careful not to rip the grass out and ruin whatever track was there. It took him a moment, but he found that Fredric was right; there was a track. However, it was unlike anything Spring had ever seen in his life.
"Was this thing walking on pegs or something?" he snorted, observing the deep stab-like markings in the ground.
"Probably shouldn't make fun of it," Mangle warned, eying the ground warily. "Peg legs or not, it was clearly strong enough to cart off the bunny."
Spring paused and looked up at Bonnie, was was looking at the fox with confusion. "... Did you really just call him a bunny?"
"Yes, I did, and if you don't like that you can suck it. He's small, cute, and fluffy; therefore he is a bunny."
"The Easter bunny," Jeremy tossed in, but it held no significance to Spring so he dismissed it.
"Cute and fluffy isn't exactly how I would describe a Lapinian," the golden Rabbit muttered, straightening up. "But small is a big keyword there, Mangle. Carrying a Lapinian off wouldn't be a difficult feat."
"But to carry someone off in the middle of the night without making a single sound or waking anyone up despite the fact that Blu was struggling is a huge warning sign," Fredric stated, prompting Spring to look over at him. The Bear's icy eyes were trained on the ground and he had started walking away- following the trail, Spring realized. "We don't know what's around us or what any... natives might want, so it's best to assume that whatever is happening right now is bad."
"Basically, it's best to assume that Bandi is in danger," Jeremy summarized. Fredric frowned and looked up at Jeremy.
"Yes, it's best to assume that Blu is in danger."
Why he kept emphasizing that word- name- whatever, Spring didn't know. However, instead of questioning it, he sighed and went to follow the Bear.
None of them spoke, simply falling into step and walking after the Bear, whose attention was on the trail that had been left behind.
They ran into a snag, however, when the Bear just stopped. "What's the hold up?" Mangle questioned worriedly, looking towards Fredric for explanation. Fredric frowned and looked back at them, looking both frustrated and confused. Glancing towards the ground, Spring had a feeling he knew exactly what the Ardrawn was about to say.
"It's just... stopped."
"Stopped?" Bonnie repeated.
"Yes, stopped," Fredric confirmed, irritation slipping into his voice. "As in, the trail ends here, in the middle of nothing."
"That doesn't make sense," Jeremy sighed, looking around. "They can't have just disappeared, right?"
Spring and Bonnie shared a look, frowning. Spring could remember, distantly, watching a certain Lapinian soldier "disappear" into thin air. It wasn't that uncommon, he knew; many societies had that technology.
"Could have," Spring voiced, keeping his eyes on his brother. "Teleportation, or something like that. It's common technology among the more advanced planets."
Bonnie nodded slightly in agreement and they both looked back towards the Bear, Fox, and Human. "If the footprints just disappear, it's safe to assume they have that technology."
"But it's kind of weird," Spring started, crossing his arms. "The tracks aren't Lapinian or Ursian, which are the only two groups with that technology I can think of that would have any interest in getting the Lapinian off of this planet..."
"If it was either of them, they'd have taken the Ursians, too," Bonnie added with a shrug, "so I suppose the top suspects are out."
"Forgive us, but we're colonists, we're not very well versed in any other advanced societies," Spring sighed, leaning his weight on his left leg and glancing towards the canopy above. He noted a distinct "hole" in the leaves. "Pretty sure there are those, ah... what were they called..."
"It doesn't matter," Fredric sighed. "We have an idea of what happened, and we know it probably wasn't a... local."
"It kinda makes you think, doesn't it?" Mangle hummed in thought, frowning around at all of them. "If someone with that kind of technology came in and grabbed Bandi, does that mean they've been watching us this whole time?"
"Or maybe they're the ones who put us here," Jeremy added quietly, causing the three colonists to pause.
"That... would explain a lot," Fredric agreed unhappily. "It would certainly explain how all of us got here, and how we all speak this... uh... English language."
"But what would be the point of that?"
None of them answered. Spring and Bonnie shared another uneasy look. "The longer we're here, the more suspicious all of this seems," his brother stated, turning to look at the others again. "I don't like this."
"Neither do I," Spring seconded, huffing softly. "Should we go get the Ursians, tell them what's happened?"
"Probably," Jeremy nodded, frowning to himself. "I mean, this could be bad for everyone, if we're being watched."
"Then let's head back," Mangle decided, straightening up. "The Bears are the most familiar with technology like this, anyway, maybe they'll know some... I dunno, trick to find out who or what did it."
"I highly doubt that," Bonnie snorted, but Spring just shrugged. It wasn't like they themselves knew how it even worked, who were they to say the Ursians couldn't figure something like that out?
Getting the Ursians would be best.
As the group of five turned to head back to the campsite, however, a loud bang! sounded from their left, causing all of them to jump and look in that direction. Jeremy shifted uneasily; whatever had made the sound was on the other side of a thick growth of bushes, which looked more like fluffy trees if one were to ask Spring...
"Should we, uh... check that?" the Human questioned, glancing around at the more "primitive" beings. "What if...?"
With a shrug, Bonnie strode towards the bushes and began pushing his way through them. Spring wanted to lecture him about safety, but his brother was gone before he could even open his mouth.
"Guess so," Mangle answered, following after the purple Rabbit.
"My brother's an idiot," Spring deadpanned, choosing to walk around the bush- he wasn't about to get an alien rash just because he walked through a bush, thank you very much. Apparently, Fredric and the Human agreed, as they followed him instead.
As they rounded the bush, carefully making their way through a gap between the bush and a tree, they found themselves just yards from the river. That was... strange. Spring was so sure they had been going away from the river.
Looking around, he located his brother and the Fox. Both of them were looking around as well, clearly having not found the source of the sound. Quickly, the golden Rabbit made his way over to them.
"Yeah, brilliant move, walk through an alien bush," he hissed to Bonnie the moment he was close enough. Bonnie barely gave him a glance.
"It was faster," he stated simply. "I don't see the source of the sound. Maybe it-"
"Blu!"
Blinking, Spring looked behind him to find the Bear dash into the water, heading towards the opposite bank. He followed the other colonist's path with his eyes, allowing his gaze to land on something blue on the other side. From that distance he couldn't make out what it was, but it did look suspiciously like the colour of the Lapinian's fur.
Jeremy and Mangle both were quick to follow the Bear, and Spring and Bonnie shared a look before moving to follow at a much slower pace. The moment his foot hit the water, Spring hissed.
"It's freezing," he complained quietly to Bonnie, but Bonnie didn't pay his complaint any mind. Spring huffed and followed his brother to the other side, letting his annoyance be clear.
However, when they reached the other side and were able to clearly see that yes, the mass of blue was in fact the missing Lapinian, he let his annoyance at Bonnie drop in favour of annoyance at the Lapinian.
The Lapinian was still breathing. That was a good thing, Spring supposed. He was breathing and lying on his side, eyes closed and body relaxed. It looked like he was just asleep.
"Still have no idea what made that sound," Bonnie pointed out as they watched Fredric try to rouse the unconscious Rabbit. "I mean, it couldn't have been him."
"I find it suspicious that he happened to be right here," Spring voiced, watching as the Lapinian's eyes fluttered open. Something didn't look right with them, though; the Lapinian shifted and turned his head to look at all of them. His eyes looked somewhat... dazed.
Fredric sighed. "Suspicious or not," he started, pulling the Rabbit into a sitting position, "at least he's alive." The Bear began checking the Lapinian for injuries. "Where the hell have you been, Blu?"
The little blue Rabbit didn't respond, instead looking around at all of them. Spring was starting to get the feeling that he had no idea what was going on at all.
"Hey," Bonnie suddenly started, stepping towards the Lapinian. Spring glanced at him, noting the way his brow furrowed. "Ardrawn, his hands..."
The Bear blinked and looked towards the Rabbit's hands, then he carefully grabbed his left wrist and lifted it, flipping it over so that the palm was facing up.
There was nothing there.
"The hell...?" Bonnie muttered, staring at that empty hand. Spring was just confused.
"What?" Mangle questioned, clearly as confused as Spring was.
Fredric lifted the Rabbit's other hand, finding it was just as clear and empty as the other. "His hands were completely torn up yesterday," Fredric explained distantly, looking at the Rabbit again. "Blu, what...?"
Blinking, the Rabbit looked at Fredric. "Red," he muttered, as though just registering who it was in front of him. Why he called the Bear red, Spring had no idea. He looked more brown than red... "The nice porcelain guy helped," he added. Spring and Bonnie looked at each other, each with a raised brow. Porcelain guy? "I was scared at first but he was really nice. Took the pain away..."
"Is he on painkillers?" Jeremy muttered, kneeling down to look at the Lapinian. "He seems a bit... off."
"To say the least," Bonnie muttered, turning back to look at the Rabbit. "We should get back to the campsite. I don't know what the fuck is going on but whatever it is I'm sure the assholes back there will want to know."
"Agreed," Mangle sighed. "Come on."
Releasing one of the Rabbit's wrists, Fredric pulled him to his feet. Almost immediately, the Lapinian overbalanced, and Fredric and Mangle both caught him. "Guess we're acting as crutches, huh?" Mangle snorted, looping their arm around the Lapinian's back. Fredric did the same, keeping a steadying hand on the Rabbit's shoulder.
"Let's just go."
The sound of the door opening prompted both scientists to look up from the screen, frowning as a Human walked into the room.
"Dominic," the Bear greeted, raising an inquiring brow at him. "To what do we owe the... pleasure?"
"I came to check the status of the experiment," Dominic answered simply, eying the Bear and Rabbit.
Bonsha and Shafred shared a look. We shouldn't mention the unexpected development, Bonsha silently noted. Thankfully, his companion seemed to understand and agree.
"The experiment is going well," Shafred answered after a few seconds of silent conversation. "They are working together rather well, though have been butting heads on a few... occasions."
Dominic frowned and approached the screen. Bonsha subtly reached behind him and slid his finger around it, changing the view on the screen from the search party and the Lapinian over to the Avians searching for any sign of something to use as food. When the Human stopped and looked down at the screen, the Rabbit and Bear turned around to look as well.
"Are the Crystals Active?" Dominic inquired, glancing towards Bonsha.
"Of course not," Bonsha answered, raising a brow. "None of them have entered the Caves, and we certainly have not activated them."
"Activate them," Dominic commanded. Bonsha and Shafred looked at each other. Although Bonsha would never admit it or let it show, he was... surprised. Shocked, even.
"Dominic," Shafred started, looking back towards the Human. "Activating the Crystals may as well be signing their death warrants. You know what happened the last time they were Active."
"The entire planet was wiped out," Bonsha added unhelpfully, crossing his arms. "And those were the indigenous people who knew how the planet worked. These subjects don't stand a chance."
"I'm sorry," Dominic started, his voice practically dripping with venom, "but this is an experiment about survival. There are three colonists and two Ursians there, of course they'll know how to make a shelter and survive off of the land." Dominic turned his dead stare to Bonsha again, and Bonsha tensed up. He hated when Dominic looked at him like that. "Give them something to survive. Activate the Crystals."
"That's interference in the experiment," Shafred protested, scowling at the Human.
"No," Dominic chuckled, turning to Shafred. Bonsha relaxed slightly, glad to have those eyes off of him. "It's just controlling the variable. This is an experiment, Shafred; we control the variables. And one of those variables is the Crystals. I'm heading this experiment, and I want them Active. Am I clear?"
What could either of them say? The Human had just pulled rank with them. Bonsha and Shafred glanced towards each other again, but they nodded slightly. "Of course," Shafred confirmed, looking towards the screen again. "We'll activate the Crystals at the earliest opportunity."
"Good," Dominic chuckled again, though his voice lacked any amusement. It was a chilling sound, but Bonsha didn't dare let his unease show. "I'll check in again in three days. The Crystals better be Active," he warned, turning on his heel and walking away. He paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder at them. "You know the price for insubordination." Then he was gone and the doors whooshed shut behind him.
Bonsha turned to the screen again, scowling and tense. "This was supposed to be observational," he hissed, reaching to the screen and "pulling" it to the left, far away from the Avians and to the mouth of a cave. "It even states observational in the documentation. We're not supposed to interfere."
"I know," Shafred assured him, staring blankly at the screen. "But we have no choice. However... you know this now gives us loopholes." Bonsha glanced at him with a raised brow, but Shafred didn't expand on his words. Instead, the Bear said, "Hopefully their... guest will be willing to help them. He remembers, after all."
Bonsha looked back at the screen, frowning. "Yes," he agreed, pressing his fingertips against the screen and fanning them out. It zoomed in on the mouth of the cave. "He remembers. He was there, after all."
"He was willing to save the Lapinian's hands."
"I have a feeling, Shafred, that their guest knows more about this experiment than either you or I do."
"You're saying the Tepuppian foresaw this development."
Bonsha looked up to find Shafred's black eyes on him. The gaze was void of any emotion, and Bonsha silently struggled to be sure his own silver gaze was the same. He nodded simply and turned back to the screen, resting his hand on the screen's edge. There is no other answer, Shafred.
Perhaps the ones who know the least about this is us.