Chapter 14- discussions and plans, the Metalberg
Later
Following the failed opportunity to catch and apprehend the Cartoon Shadow Cat as well as Pettigrew the evil Elf and the rest of his group and the failed rescue of the remaining kidnapped victims who had been successfully handed to the boatmen in the sea, High King Peter and his siblings King Edmund and Queens Susan and Lucy and company made their way back to Cair Paravel. Sordward, Shielbert, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Squea'tagnan the Warrior Mice ran on all fours alongside Rattus the Warrior Rat and his adopted Lightning Pika brother Mjölnir, and Ahhuayo, Basophil, Eosinophil, Monocyte, Neutrophil and Milky Way walking alongside them. Teal'c, Betelgeuse, Rigel, and the Flying Rods including Rosa sought to the successfully rescued kids by untying them of the magical binds using High King Peter's sword Rhindon with his permission while Tumnus and Guinan comforted the badly shaken Queen Lucy. Nearby, Hagrid (who had managed to thoroughly clean his face of the dirt flung at him by the Cartoon Shadow Cat) and Alestomeria were talking while Padparadscha "Paddy" and Alexandrite treated the rather bruised and shaken Kushanku who was still traumatised by the Cartoon Shadow Cat's possession of him.
Kushanku had NEVER been SO scared in his entire life, possibly since his confrontation with Jadis as a preteen Kit back in the Age of Winter, and that possession by that Feline Beast and the agony it caused had left him severely shaken and exhausted, so much so that Milky Way had offered to carry him on her back for some of the journey for he was too tired to walk by himself the entire way, which he gladly accepted. Nearby, Basophil was as equally shaken. Seeing that Cartoon Cat-like demon that had traumatised him as a Terror Bird Chick had brought back a HUGE and chilling blizzard of nightmarish memories as cold as a blizzard summoned by Krampus, the Father Christmas imposter and one of Jadis' faithful followers and assistants. Those demonic upside-down U's for eyes saturated to the brim with bloodlust and mania like those of the White Witch, its maw laced with white thorns like the jagged rocks of a sinister cave's mouth, its talon-like finger claws and its black-as-death body as he remembered them were as fresh in his mind as yesterday, and the Cartoon Shadow Cat's appearance had rendered Basophil too afraid to fight or help his friends. Now, he was SEVERELY ashamed and felt like an UTMOST coward for violating the Terror Bird's warrior code in fighting to protect his friends but Neutrophil, Eosinophil and Monocyte were understanding. The Cartoon Shadow Cat had left a deep mental scar on the poor Terror Bird. However, the four Terror Birds were gripped by another harrowing emotion: the distress at not being able to rescue Lymphocyte and the other kidnapped kids including Malachite, Seishan and Elsa, Kushanku and Alexandrite's granddaughter and Paddy and her late husband Satoshi's granddaughters respectively, and that emotion was replicated within the Nekomata. Paddy remembered the grief when Satoshi passed away and now she greatly feared losing her two grandchildren, and Kushanku and Alexandrite feared for Malachite. Further, what were they going to tell Moonstone and Miidori, the mothers of those three Nekomata kids when they met them? Kushanku and his wife and sister-in-law dreaded those two mothers' reaction but they put that aside for now. Kushanku had to recover from the trauma of getting possessed by the Cartoon Shadow Cat first.
"I'm SO sorry for having to charge into you and attack you like I did when you threatened to kill King Edmund while under the Cartoon Shadow Car's control, my Tiger," said Alexandrite apologetically as she checked Kushanku over and treated his bruises as he rode on Milky Way's back. It was disrespectful to ride a Pegasus without their permission for like other Magical Equines such as the Unicorn and Sleipnir (Eight-Legged Horses) for they were noble, and attempting to mount one when it wasn't permissible by them was tantamount to treating them like dumb Horses. However, Kushanku did have permission from Milky Way to ride her since; after all, he was too shaken to walk by himself. "But I had to protect King Edmund and get you out of that Beast's possession somehow," continued Alexandrite.
"It's okay, you did what you had to do," said Kushanku with understanding as he winced from the pain where Alexandrite had struck him as his wife and sister-in-law applied medical ice packs. Despite being traumatised, he was able to speak clearly. He then shuddered as chills ran through his system, "Ugh, it was FRIGHTENING. First I was seized by that third hand and then the next moment I was in UTMOST, torturous agony like I was exposed to that VILE and psychotic Nogitsune Belladonna's foxfire and after that, my mind went and I seemingly became a different Nekomata and a part of that wicked Cartoon Shadow Cat, acting like an extension of it..." he then turned regrettably to gaze at Queen Susan as a Red Flying Rod treated the large slap mark and scratches on her right cheek, the result of his attack on her while possessed by the Cartoon Shadow Cat during the skirmish, and winced at the regret's flares as Queen Susan winced, her face twisted in pain from the injury. Kushanku lowered his ears and head. He could NOT believe that he had done such a thing to one of the Queens. Despite being told by everyone else including Queen Susan's brothers and sister that it was not HE that had done that, Kushanku still felt incredibly guilty. Then an ivory and metallic yellow furred Vixen with nine tails sweeping behind her rear like locks of silk came in, a firm look on her face.
"What happened and what you said while you were under the control of that Cartoon Shadow Cat was NOT your fault," Alestomeria said firmly, "Hagrid and I have just been discussing about the Cartoon Shadow Cat and its powers and from what we recall from our studies about Jadis' minions, possession is one such power of that Beast."
"And it seems to work best on Feline beings such as Talking Cats and Nekomata," put in Hagrid. His eyes, which resembled black onyxes like his and all Kitsune's father Gandalf, were still weeping and he blinked for they were still irritated by dirt residue that remained, and sometimes, Hagird would raise a paw to wipe his eyes.
"Is it because it is a catlike being?" asked Kushanku.
"Basically yes," said Alestomeria, "But the creature is also a shapeshifter, kind of like a Nogistune or a Nekomata or Bakeneko that had joined Jadis' side. It can take the form of a Dog while keeping its facial traits, but regardless of what form it takes, it is basically a Cat Monster."
"Aslan would be immune to the Cartoon Shadow Cat's powers including its possession attempt, wouldn't he despite being a Cat himself," said Paddy.
"He IS immune to the Cartoon Shadow Cat's powers," said Alestomeria, "Since he is Lord over all Narnia and the ONLY one whose power exceeds even that of the White Witch such that he was the ONLY one capable of vanquishing that Snow Beast once and for all..."
As the Kitsune Vixen explained this, one of the Blue Flying Rods flew in with a sheet of paper.
"Mrs Alestomeria," said the Rod respectfully, his blue membranous Eel-like wings undulating at the air, "I've found another ad for this strange dome thing," and with that, it presented Alestomeria and Hagrid said sheet of paper. Alestomeria took the sheet of power in her front paws and gazed at the picture while Hagrid continued to use his to continually wipe his eyes of the tears and irritation of the dirt residue. After a minute of examining the ad, the Nine-Tailed Vixen folded the sheet and gave it back to the Blue Flying Rod.
"Give that to King Edmund to put into his pouch, Blu," said she, "Hagrid and I would like to examine the dome in that ad later."
The Flying Rod named Blu nodded and obediently flew off to King Edmund with the sheet. Alexandrite looked on as Betelgeuse and Rigel came in.
"Why do you want to have a proper look at that sheet of paper, Alestomeria?" asked the latter.
"It's just an insignificant ad," said Betelgeuse.
"Nothing to be concerned about," put in Rigel. Alestomeria gave the three a suspicious look.
"Hagrid and I have some familiarity vibes about the dome shown in the ad," said the Vixen, "And we would like to look further into what that dome is and its purpose."
"Do you think it could be some kind of shop or something?" asked Kushanku. Alestomeria didn't reply to this and just looked straight ahead.
"Let's just focus on getting back to Cair Paravel first for we have some VERY important things to discuss, especially regarding the disappearance of the unsuccessfully rescued victims, among them your granddaughters and those four Terror Birds' relative Lymphocyte," she said and before anyone else could ask any more questions, she and Hagrid left. The three Nekomata and two Wolves looked on.
"I reckon she and her husband wonder if the dome could be related to the White Witch," guessed Betelgeuse, her orange eyes twisted into a sceptical look with a raised eyebrow, "Or perhaps her minions as backup in the event of the Golden Age Prophecy coming true?"
"We can't be certain of that theory, Betelgeuse," said Paddy, "Let's leave it to the wise Kitsune to investigate the dome ad when we get back to Cair Paravel."
Betelgeuse just gazed at the pink and orange Nekomata and formed a frown on her face. She was certain that the dome-like thing in the ad had some connection to Jadis and her minions but that theory did not have any flesh to confirm it. It was currently just bones and Betelgeuse knew that unless it had any evidence to add flesh to it, the theory was just speculative and as bare as a skeleton.
The group continued their journey back to the castle when suddenly; a familiar red Fox with violet, magenta and gold markings and three tails appeared and met them. Monocyte, Neutrophil, Basophil, Eosinophil, Betelgeuse and Rigel immediately recognised her.
"Alcina?" whispered the fourth one as the third continued to walk alongside her, sullen, "What does she want?"
"Afternoon, Alcina," moaned High King Peter grumpily. The other three Monarchs didn't flash the newcomer Fox, Alcina a look and continued their gazes ahead of them as they continued to follow their older brother and leader on their horses. Alcina flinched and blinked at this rather unfriendly reply.
"I say, it's not like you four to greet your subjects like that, Your Majesties," she said in surprise. Then she examined the sullen atmosphere hanging over the Four Monarchs and their group, especially the frightened Basophil and rescued children (who had been untied and the Rhindon sword handed back to High King Peter by Rosa), the battered and still-shaken Kushanku and the equally-shaken Queen Lucy.
"What happened?" she asked. In response to this, Tumnus shot her a glare. Despite also being shaken from almost getting killed by the Cartoon Shadow Cat if it hadn't been the quick administering of Fire Flower cordial, he was unusually calm.
"What do YOU think, Alcina?" he retorted. His cousin Guinan looked on and said nothing, only glaring at the three-tailed Kitsune sourly. Alcina paused.
"I see," she said, "Something BAD must have happened, and I bet it must have involved some of Jadis' surviving minions, am I right?"
"H-h-h-how did you know?" asked Mjölnir the Lightning Pika, his left paw clutching his war hammer but Rattus broke away from his aside and ran over to Alcina.
"Tis none o' ya business, Lady," the Rat retorted rather rudely, "Now why don't ya do yourself a favour an' return t' helpin' th' clans victimised by th' White Witch during th' Age of Winter recover from their traumas instead of pokin' ya nose int' other people's matters each an' every time something LIKE THIS happens..."
"Rattus, stop being so impolite," rebuked Monocyte.
"I'm sorry, Monocyte," replied Rattus before shooting a paw point at Alcina who was taken aback by the Rat's lemon juice-sour attitude towards her, "But tha' Kitsune keeps stickin' her muzzle int' other people's business when she ISN'T supposed to..."
"Rattus, let me handle this," said Teal'c and with that, the elderly Kamataichi flew over to Alcina and took over the talk. Rattus sourly returned to Mjölnir and the Warrior Mice's side.
"That Three-Tailed Fox certainly has a problem," the Rat whispered to the seven, "I can tell ya."
"She's just concerned for us, Rattus," said Sordward.
"Maybe she knows something about the Cartoon Shadow Cat?" asked Shielbert.
"Let Teal'c discuss that," said Athos. With that, the rodents watched on as Teal'c answered Alcina's questions.
"Yes, the Cartoon Shadow Cat HAS been involved, Alcina," the floating scythe-clawed Weasel explained, "And we lost a LOT of our victims to a bunch of Jadis' minions who managed to hand them to some boatmen to be apparently taken out to sea."
"It even took one of our Queens hostage," said Ahhuayo, a nod to Queen Lucy, "and messed with some of us, especially Kushanku..."
Alcina flinched at this news. "Oh, dear, now THAT doesn't sound good..."
"We lost quite a few of our children to that bunch of kidnappers," said Teal'c, "Among them three of those three Nekomata's grandchildren," he nodded to Kushanku, Alexandrite and Paddy, "and a young Terror Bird who is a relative to those four," he nodded to Neutrophil, Basophil, Eosinophil and Monocyte as he said this. Alcina looked on with speechless sympathy. At last, she spoke.
"Well, I hope you can get to the bottom of this whole mess and possibly put a stop to whatever these surviving minions of Jadis is planning," she said. As she spoke, an ivory and metallic yellow Dog Fox with nine tails appeared.
"Look, Alcina, we have a SERIOUS matter to deal with right now and we want to be back at Cair Paravel as soon as possible," he said firmly, "And we don't have time for unnecessary chitchat like this. Sorry to be so brusque and secondly, some of us are NOT in the mood to talk, especially our Monarchs," he nodded to the Monarch Quartet as he said this. Alcina looked on sadly and apologetically.
"Okay, I'll be off then," she said, "I didn't mean to 'just drop in' like this but I'm concerned, but like you've said, you have a serious matter to deal with..."
As she spoke, Rosa the Magenta Flying Rod flew in with another ice pack for Kushanku but the moment her beady eyes landed on the red, magenta, gold and violet Kitsune with three tails, the Flying Rod suddenly stopped and the ice pack slipped from her grasp. The blue block dropped a short distance and struck Tumnus on the head. Thankfully the dropping distance was too short for the ice block to knock the Faun out.
"OOOW!" shouted he, his hand flying to the impact point of his head before his angry gaze turned to the straight bodied pink creature with eel-like membranes for flying, "ROSAAA!"
Guinan, an equally angry glare at Rosa's apparent carelessness in carrying the ice pack then leaned down and seized the dropped blue block, before taking it to Kushanku, Alexandrite and Paddy. Then the rest of the group stopped as the Magenta Flying Rod then locked eyes with Alcina, frozen except for her undulating membrane-wings.
"Rosa," asked Neutrophil, "Rosa, what is it?"
"Problem, Rosa?" asked Alestomeria. The other nine Flying Rods who had been in charge of the rescued children, also looked on at their group member curiously. The Magenta Flying Rod continued to gaze at Alcina for another minute, a look of what appeared to be fear plastering her simple face. Then she quickly turned and flew off towards the other nine Flying Rods. Alcina looked on, confused.
"Is that Flying Rod okay?" she asked.
"Look, Alcina, just leave," commanded Hagrid in a firmer voice. Ahhuayo and Teal'c, along with High King Peter and King Edmund also wore agreeing faces. Alcina tried to protest but upon seeing the glares from these five and also those of some of the other members, such as Rattus, she complied and left.
After Alcina had gone, the group resumed their journey to Cair Paravel. However, one of the Flying Rods was in a state of distress. Kushanku looked on as the other nine Flying Rods and Alestomeria continued to comfort the troubled Magenta Flying Rod.
"Has something happened?" he asked. Alestomeria, however, just barked a command at the Nekomata to get back to Cair Paravel and prepare for a meeting WITHOUT any further questions before turning back to Rosa to comfort her. Kushanku tried to get one last view of the pink creature but she was screened by her colourful friends and the Nine-Tailed Vixen, especially the latter's nine tails. However, he managed to catch a glimpse of part of the Flying Rod's wing-membranes and when he saw that membrane tremble violently, he flinched. Then Kushanku resumed the journey before Alestomeria turned round and yelled at him louder for his disobedience. Eosinophil looked on in curiosity.
"Could something have happened to Rosa involving Alcina?" asked she.
"Let's just get back to Cair Paravel," replied Kushanku in a low voice, "It's none of our business."
Eosinophil flashed one final look at the group of Flying Rods and the Kitsune and obeyed.
Later, back at Cair Paravel Castle
High King Peter had sent out his messengers, among them Puss in Boots the part-Talking Cat to summon the highest officials for an important meeting while those that were already present, such as Neutrophil and Kushanku, prepared themselves and also the Meeting Area. While the group did that, Voltasu the Yatagasaru, or Three-Legged Crow, came in with a white box decorated with a gold and silver ribbon. As soon as High King Peter came by and he caught him, Voltasu got his attention.
"I have a gift for you and Your Majesties, Your Highness," said the Three-Legged Crow, "It's a cake..."
"We don't have time to acknowledge your gift, Voltasu, I'm sorry to say," replied the High King sternly to the Three-Legged Crow's disappointment, "We have a VERY important meeting to set up and discuss regarding Jadis' minions including the Cartoon Shadow Cat and their possible plans."
Voltasu immediately placed the boxed cake onto a nearby set of drawers to prevent dropping it, before looking on with a worried look. "Did you manage to catch that Feline Beast?"
"No, but it created a diversion to buy its allies time to hand over their kidnapped victims, among them three of our granddaughters, to some boatmen on the beach to the Eastern Ocean," said Alexandrite as she came by, an angry and distraught look on her face, "And that is one of the reasons why we're gonna have this meeting."
"Can you place that cake you purchased in the dining hall please?" said Queen Susan, "We'll have it later."
"Thanks for purchasing a cake for us anyway," said King Edmund with a streak of gratefulness breaking through the trauma of the whole incident with the Cartoon Shadow Cat and the seriousness of the situation for a few seconds. Voltasu nodded in understanding, took the boxed cake and left for said destination. After he had done this, he returned as High King Peter and company continued to set up the Meeting Table and area for he was curious about the reasons.
"Kidnapped victims handed over to some boatmen on the beach?" he asked. Milky Way then broke away from the group to further explain to the Yatagasaru.
"Some of our kids were successfully lured out, kidnapped and given to those boatmen, among them my granddaughter Rainbow Quartz," explained the aging Pegasus, "And we have had reports of other groups of kidnappers, likely all of them Jadis' surviving minions, carrying out the same heinous task."
"Funny," said Voltasu, his Crow face creased into a suspicious look, "While I was on my way back from the market with my gift for the Kings and Queens, I heard a couple of visiting Sea-Fish People discuss about how a small flock of Talking Songbirds, Cockatiels and Alicanto, and a small clan of Talking Bats have lost some of their chicks and around half a dozen pups last night. They had left during the dead of the night and by the next morning, they were found missing."
"That's just one of the many reports of young going missing, Voltasu," said Milky Way unsurprised. Then Voltasu noticed a slender pink-coloured creature with undulating fins like an eel sobbing and trembling on a nearby sofa, several other slender creatures with eel-like finds surrounding her with a Nine-Tailed Fox and several large Mice, a Rat and a yellow Rodent resembling another yellow Rodent from another world comforting her. However, Milky Way blocked the Yatagasaru's curiosity.
"Leave Rosa alone, Voltasu," said she, "That Magenta Flying Rod's going through a difficult time at the moment and doesn't want any interference from anyone else."
Voltasu gazed at the sobbing Rosa, her face buried in the fronts of her membranous wings, for a few more seconds before finally obeying.
"Well, I'll leave you to get on with your meeting," said he, "I have some other matters to deal with."
"Okay, but if you see anything suspicious, report to us immediately and without delay," commanded Milky Way as the Three-Legged Crow left, to which he nodded. After this, Milky Way turned and rejoined her group.
Soon, the meeting was underway and most of the highest ranking officials assigned by High King Peter had gathered. Among them were Sunstone, Merida, Moonstone, Miidori and their husbands, and the parents and siblings of Yardang, the kidnapped Cheetah Cub, and also Sisu the Kiriness' father. When Kushanku had explained everything to them and what had happened to their children, devastation splashed over them like a crack of lightning and Moonstone and Miidori had broken down and had to be comforted. The sight of their daughters and sons-in-law exploding into a MASSIVE sobbing fit had been heartbreaking for Kushanku and company and they even blamed themselves for the whole mess. However, the determination to find their kidnapped Kits had prompted these Nekomata to join in with the meeting to see what solution the Monarchs could come with in rescuing them. Meanwhile, Alestomeria and Hagrid set to studying the ad and had summoned a Sea-Fish person and a Merman (who was in his legged land form) for help floor they had suspected the dome in the ad to be a sea vessel and not a land tent or setup, and they wanted to know if these two had any knowledge or recognition of it. While the Kitsune Chroniclers did this, High King Peter kicked off the meeting once everyone was ready.
"We have had reports from many other clans and groups of their members, most of them children, getting lured away and kidnapped by these marauding groups," said High King Peter, "and according to those that ad managed to get a glimpse of those kidnappers, they were groups of some of Jadis' surviving minions."
"Laventon the Kangaroo and leader of his Roo clan, together with Rivier the Mokele-Mbembe from our village and the Kiwi patriarch have reported to us that a group of Mimicbirds and a Siren-Head had attempted to lure one of the Kangaroo Joeys and a Kiwi Chick by mimicking your sisters' voices," said Chloroplast the Longma who was also one of the officials of the Four Monarchs and who had decided to come and help. With her was Chewey the Beaver and he was sat with Beaver and his wife Mrs Beaver. Chloroplast then hardened her Reptilian Horse's face glare, "Arezu had already been kidnapped but those two had almost been additional victims had it not been for Dionaea's brave intervention despite her age."
"Dionaea helped to save that Kangaroo Joey and Kiwi Chick from kidnap?" asked Kushanku in shock while Paddy and Alexandrite exchanged surprised glances.
"B-b-but she's a VERY old Manticore," said Kobaruto the Bakeneko who sat with his half-Bakeneko daughter, Fleur and son, Neelix. "She shouldn't be putting herself in situations that demand so much physical activity."
High King Peter called for the listeners' attention with a loud "HEH-HEM," pulling the attention of the group in his direction. Once all eyes, including those of his three siblings, were on him, High King Peter continued the meeting.
"As I was saying, we have had reports from various groups up and down our country of kidnappings by these marauding groups," said he, "And based on those reports, like the one from Chloroplast there with the Mimicbirds and Siren-Head, and what we ourselves have witnessed, it is clear that these kidnappers are some of the White Witch's surviving minions... clearly out for revenge for their leader's fall..."
His listeners exchanged glances and resumed their attention on him. As the High King then went on to explain the unknown reasons why the kidnappers had taken their victims to the beach to some boatmen, in the study room, Alestomeria and Hagrid continued to question the Fish-Person (a female) and Merman over the building in the ad's picture.
"Do either of you or your clans recognise this apparent sea vessel, Perla and Dorado?" asked the latter, the Dog Fox Kitsune, his front paws holding and pointing to the picture of the dome. To the Kitsune's pair's dismay, the Merman named Dorado and the Fish-Woman named Perla shook their heads. Then the latter spoke.
"Um... I do remember a story my grandfather told me and my three brothers back in our sea home when we were Fish-Kids about some giant floating 'metalberg' he had apparently witnessed while out on a hunting trip for Silverswimmers and Ocean Flish a few months ago," she said.
"Really?" asked Alestomeria.
"Can you remember what sort of description he gave you of that 'metalberg', Perla?" asked Hagrid while Dorado looked on with a raised eyebrow. Perla (who had quite long hair extending below her shoulders but were replaced by 'hair-scales' when she was in her Aquatic Form underwater or exposed to rain) closed her eyes and entered thought. "He said it was like a massive lump of floating metal... sort of like a large human sailboat we sometimes see sail above our home but oriented vertically and almost completely submerged. Its surface was shiny and coloured like silver and gold and it was encrusted with smaller glittering 'stars'... and it had a smooth domed head with a vertical stick protruding from it and more stars dotting it. The stick was the only part of the metelburg that jutted from the surface of the Ocean..." she opened her eyes and gazed at the picture in the ad. Perla extended a finger to it, "That seems to fit the description of the metalberg. It also had holes in it, apparently underwater windows, and it had some kind of strings snaking down its side to the ocean floor. Grandpa told us that he and his hunting party had only ever seen it in deep waters, never in shallow waters like where we live..."
"Underwater windows?" asked Dorado confused. Then a stern look formed on Hagrid's face but before the Nine-Tailed Dog Fox could speak, Dorado shot him a realisation look.
"I've heard of tales about some floating vessel like that before," said the Merman, "In fact, I remember a Talking Whale and Talking Mosasaur describe it to us when they were visiting us some years ago."
"Can you tell us, Dorado?" asked Hagrid while Perla looked on, curious.
"According to those two," explained the Merman, "It was similar to Perla's grandfather's description, but there is something else. According to the Mosasaur, the sea vessel seems to rise its domed head out of the water and expose its 'mouth'. And from that mouth, a long, straight tongue extended to a smaller, surface-only sea vessel, like a boat or something. Along the tongue, a line of visitors seem to walk from their boat to the sea vessel and once the sea vessel had collected them, it retracted its tongue, closed its mouth and submerged itself again. Several years later, the Whale and the Mosasaur told us that whoever went on to that sea vessel were never seen or heard from again. Among them was one of the princesses from another Mermaid Kingdom..."
"That sounds incredibly unsettling," said Perla nervously. Alestomeria looked at her husband.
"We may be over 900 years old and fully matured Kitsune but this is UTTERLY confusing," she said, "This is a SEA VESSEL... FAR OUT into the Eastern Ocean and any connection of it to the White Witch... seems as remote as that area. We need to look further into that 'metalberg' or whatever Perla has called it."
"We shall call it the Metalberg for now, my glittering flower," said Hagrid. Then Alestomeria took the ad poster, folded it and left. Then Hagrid dismissed Perla and Dorado. "Listen, you two, thanks for your help. If we find anything more about that sea vessel, we'll summon you again."
The Merman and the Fish-Woman nodded and left.
"And we hope we can find those kidnapped victims who had apparently been taken out to the sea as well," said Dorado. Hagrid nodded as the pair left the room. Then the two Kitsune left the study room to join High King Peter and company as they discussed possible plans of rescue for the kidnapped victims and enlisting the help of the Sky Domain dwellers, such as the Cloud Men, for help in searching for them from the sky. That idea had been suggested by one of Rosa's friends, a Cyan Flying Rod who had also joined the meeting.
"They will be able to track those kidnapped victims from the sky," said the long, thin, bright blue-green eel-like creature, a female, "Also, we can perhaps have them send an aerial rescue group or something?"
To the Cyan Flying Rod's disappointment, headshakes came from the others including High King Peter.
"We don't want to risk any more victims or worse, lives, Skye," said the High King, "certainly not from Peoples outside our country."
"Yes," added Kushanku, "We don't know how powerful or skilled those boatmen are and whether they are skilled in physical combat or magic but we can't take any more chances."
"Some of the rescuers from our herd got badly hurt when they went after a group of Squeezers and Neko-Cabbits who made off with some of our foals," said one of the Unicorns.
"And a Hag managed to subdue our rescue group from our herd with a nasty spell when her group kidnapped some of our young," said a T-Rex. A Stegosaur, Triceratops and Sauropod nodded in agreement. Then the Stegosaur piped up.
"But I like the idea of enlisting the help of aerial spies to track those kidnappers' boating assistants though," said the large plate-backed Dinosaur. He then turned his small head to High King Peter, "What do you think to that idea, Your Highness?"
The others including Queens Susan, Lucy and King Edmund, who sat around the table converged their gazes on the High King to wait for his reply. High King Peter entered thought for a few seconds. After that, he made his decision.
"Alright," he said, "We'll contact our Sky Domain allies, tell them what happened and then have their leaders send out spy groups to track the kidnappers and their victims including any that have been taken out into the Eastern Ocean," High King Peter then turned to a Pterosaur official, "Pteranodon, can you contact the Cloud Man patriarch in Agard Sky City please?"
The Pterosaur named Pteranodon nodded and left to get a crystal communicator. High King Peter then turned his attention back to the rest of the group. As he did that, Alestomeria and Hagrid entered the Meeting Hall.
"While we see to the situation involving these kidnappings, it is important that the search-and-destroy missions regarding ANY surviving minion of the White Witch continue," he said. He then turned to the T-Rex, an army captain of the T-Rex soldiers. "General Biter."
"Yes, Your Majesty," said the T-Rex, General Biter, his piercing Reptilian eyes gazing at the High King and his small arms grasping a spear-shield.
"Gather your T-Rex soldiers and prepare to lead them into the field to search for any more of the White Witch's minions," commanded High King Peter, "I will be sending the rest of the soldier groups to help you, among them Neutrophil's warrior Terror Birds."
Neutrophil and Monocyte, upon hearing this, stood up and prepared to leave. Eosinophil and Basophil also stood up.
"Can we come too?" asked the former.
"No, Eosinophil," said her and Basophil's older, pink-spotted brother, "You stay here."
"Yes, you've been through enough danger as it is with the Cartoon Shadow Cat and those kidnappers," put in Monocyte. Basophil felt shame wash over him and he bowed his head in shame at rooting to the spot at the sight of the Cat Beast on the beach during the skirmish with it and the kidnappers.
"The Cartoon Shadow Cat will need hunting and dealing with as well," said High King Peter seriously.
"And we MUST make sure that ANY soldier dealing with that Beast ISN'T Feline either," said Athos as he, Porthos, Aramis, Squea'tagnan, Sordward and Shielbert stood up with Rattus and Mjölnir.
"Yes, and you know why as you've seen for yourself," said Ahhuayo who sat with Teal'c and Milky Way and they turned to a certain Nekomata as he also stood up with his wife and sister-in-law. Kobaruto, Neelix and Fleur also rose to their feet and shuddered, having been told what had happened to Kushanku during the confrontation with the Cartoon Shadow Cat.
"Thanks for letting me know about that, Athos," said High King Peter, "I'll make sure that any scouts do NOT have any Feline members as it will take away the Cartoon Shadow Cat's advantage in using a possessed member in combat."
"Well thought, Your Majesty, especially regarding the safety of your Feline soldiers when dealing with that Cat Monster," said Hagrid as he and Alestomeria stood by with a folded up sheet of paper in the former's paws. High King Peter turned and saw the two Nine-Tailed Foxes.
"Did you two manage to identify whatever that thing is on that sheet of paper?" he asked.
"We deduced it to be some kind of sea vessel," replied Alestomeria, "Apparently; Dorado and Perla have heard tales about some large floating underwater vessel drifting about the deep waters of the Eastern Ocean from their family members or friends who have apparently seen it."
"We have named it the Metalberg for now based on their description of it being metallic with a domed 'head' and a funnel sticking out from its top as in this picture," said Hagrid and with that, he showed High King Peter the sheet of paper.
"We don't know if it could have ANY form of connection to Jadis the White Witch but we highly doubt it since it is far out at sea," said Alestomeria. King Peter continued to gaze at the picture before breaking contact with it and gazing at the Kitsune couple.
"Alright, thanks, you two," he said, "We'll look into it later. Our top priorities now are sending out the search-and-destroy groups to deal with ANY remaining minions of the White Witch and tracking where the kidnapped victims are being taken."
Hagrid and Alestomeria nodded and left while High King Peter moved on to give directions to and send out the search-and-destroy groups.