THE FOLLOWING MORNING…
It took some time, but it wasn't long before, one by one, they found the Reason.
The various Reasons:
…to polish the Rocks…
Wiggle couldn't sleep, despite her exhaustion.
Even though she hadn't experienced the horrors first paw of tonight's NIGHTMARE, she was terrified enough so as to induce insomnia.
And feel useless.
More than useless, even.
She had stopped crying a while ago, now that her lachrymal glands had exhausted themselves, and she, too, had matted facial fur due to all the frustrated paw-rubbing that came with her weeping.
There was nothing she could have done, and what was worse, there was nothing she could do right now to help, either—
The teenager's ears perked when she heard odd noises coming from a nearby bedroom.
Shoving down her feelings of worthlessness and fright, she got up, smoothed down her nightshirt, and left her room, padding toward the source of the odd noise—
She almost bumped into Fetch, who just mouthed a mute "excuse me", and continued his way down the hallway.
Why is he going to the kitchen?
She just blinked for a moment and continued on her way, slowing down near a door when she heard odd noises coming from behind it. Her keen ears identified Shiner's voice, but that wasn't what she heard earlier.
Then her ears perked as the other odd noise rang again, so she padded toward it—
—and the faint odour of burning fabric?
Moments later, she found herself inside Lady's room and saw her right when she tried to tear the vampire mask, failed, and clutched at her pained fang, collapsing to her knees in tears.
The older female suddenly gasped and stopped crying when she felt a comforting paw on her left shoulder. She looked up and saw her younger friend giving her an understanding smile, and then Wiggle went to the tailor's dresser on the opposite wall, grabbed two pairs of scissors, padded back to the kneeling female, grabbed the rest of the masks from the bed behind them, knelt at her left, placed the masks between them, gave Lady one pair of scissors, and both began cutting up the rest of the masks.
"It's…not as cathartic this way…" said Sweets' best friend. "…but at least it gets the job done."
"Heh. Now I'm wishing I had asked you to make a mask for me so that you would have one more to rip apart."
The two females chuckled, at last, and they continued in silence for a while.
Until the older one sobbed, "I…almost lost my best friend today…and our Alphas…and you…so many things could have gone wrong…I know our plans are never completely perfect but…tonight…we dealt with something from Hell itself…and we nearly didn't come home."
"Would the plans have been better—perhaps not perfect—but…better…if all seventeen of us had been there?"
Lady put her paws between her knees and sobbed. "I…don't know. We were dealing with dark magic…maybe these masks could have helped by confusing the spirits we encountered…or maybe not…sure the witch is gone…but…now we know there are dark powers around us. Who's to say that they won't attack again, if not through the witch, then through something else?"
"Didn't Spinner's book say how to defeat the witch?" asked the youth, as she cut up Bump's transformed monster mask.
"It did, but as with any book of 'profound wisdom', the key phrase was a bit cryptic. It said that the magic mirror was the source of her power…I…guess it thought we were all smart enough to figure out the rest."
"Then if something else comes up from Hell to attack us, Spinner's book will tell us what to do. And if and when that happens, I swear that I'll do everything I can to help our Alphas and all my friends, and that includes you. That way, if I don't make it…"
Wiggle also dropped her scissors and put her paws between her knees, while Lady looked at her expectantly.
"…I will…I will at least know…that I was never a useless Biskitt…I don't ever want to feel again what I'm feeling now…knowing I could have helped somehow…but didn't."
"Aw, Wiggle, you're not useless—"
"And you didn't lose, either. You won. We won. And if we won once…we can win again. Spinner's book will tell us how."
The adult held the teen's right paw. "Let's hope that if and when it happens…we'll be better prepared, at least."
As they looked at each other's eyes, both finally smiled with slight relief and understanding.
"You know…" added Wiggle a bit coyly. "As I was walking to your room, I heard a certain 'brave' knight mumbling nonsense to himself in his room. If you feel a bit better now, maybe…maybe you can help him?"
Lady gave her an equally coyly smile. "I'll do that…if and only if you help a certain beefy knight with his own issues. I can hear him scarfing down food all the way over here!"
With their tails finally relaxing, the two females laughed.
A genuine laugh…
…to repair the Pillars…
Even with his vest unbuttoned, he still didn't feel full.
The Certain Beefy Knight couldn't shove food down his throat fast enough, not even while using both paws. He ate and ate and ate and ate—
Until a gentle right paw gently stopped his own left paw.
Mooch looked up and saw Fetch looking at him, scared yet sympathetic.
The obese male gave a shuddering sigh and swallowed the contents of his mouth so he could talk.
"I…I don't know what's wrong with me…I…I'm feeling drained…Spinner said the witch drained the lifeforce from the swamp…I…I think she got me somehow…don't…don't you feel it?"
Fetch didn't say anything.
He just pushed away Mooch's plate, almost to the far side of the table, went to the pantry, grabbed two glasses, and a flagon of ale.
The champion eater facepalmed. "Oh…right…why didn't I think of that?"
As Fetch sat with his friend on his right and he served both, Mooch's shaking paws slowly became more and more steady, allowing him take the glass with his left paw and drink without needing assistance. The sharp liquid seemed to wake up his throat and œsophagus and stomach, at last calming him down, except for his frightened tail.
"Spinner almost went down…" he began. "Shiner and Scat were down for a few moments, not from injuries, though, but it wasn't anything we didn't expect from those two. But Spinner…I think he aged another twenty years tonight. We…we all did, practically. I wouldn't be surprised if Waggs and Sweets wake up covered with grey fur tomorrow…" he chuckled.
Fetch almost spat out his ale at that, and the two males laughed quietly.
"We've never dealt with anything like this before. No predator nor enemy has ever done anything like this to us. We…nearly lost…and this whole world would have been gone." He took another swig of his ale as he relaxed and leaned back on his chair. "Spinner's book had the right answers at the right time, though, as always. And according to it, the witch will never come back here again. So…hooray for us, maybe?"
Fetch shrugged and raised his glass, and Mooch tapped his glass against it.
"Yeah, here's to another victory, I guess. Let's hope it's not the last one. We're…supposed to be stronger now, so…maybe from now on when our enemies and predators attack again…facing them will be a piece of cake…perhaps?"
His friend's eyes lit up, and he got up to get something else from the pantry, a platter-covered dish, which he then set on the table in front of the panic-eater. Mooch wondered what he was being served, and when he uncovered the platter—
"Cake? When did I bake this? Why didn't I smell this before? How did you manage to keep this from spoiling?"
Not that it was a complete cake, just a leftover wedge from a recent celebration, though he couldn't remember which, and it was both his exhaustion and trauma that prevented him from remembering when he had baked the cake. Still, seeing that Fetch didn't answer any of his questions, he shrugged and accepted the offer.
The piece was sweet, but he could tell that the sugar in it was starting to ferment, which only made it tastier.
Leaning his head back, taking his glass again with his left paw, he stated, "You know, Fetch, for someone who doesn't talk much, you always seem to say the right thing. But you know something? Tonight, I fought a witch, a demon-possessed mirror, a bat, and a rat. Would you say that I'm a coward?"
The quiet male's eyes widened in surprise at the question, and he frowned as he shook his head.
"Yeah, you didn't see me when we pranked Spinner. I tucked my tail and hid at the sound of thunder." Fangs flashed, pupils dilated, and fists tightened as he growled at him, "Me, the one who fought four bloody beings from Hell…scared of lightning! Are you sure you wouldn't call me a bloody coward?"
Fetch placed a reassuring paw on his left shoulder and shook his head again, emphatically.
Fists relaxed, pupils expanded, and fangs were covered again. "I…guess…maybe you're right? I mean…what Biskitt isn't afraid of sudden loud noises? Blast it…it's not as if I'm the only one who tucked his tail and hid! Bump and Shiner did the same thing, and the others…the others…"
Finally, he broke down, flopped his head and upper torso on the table, slammed down his glass of ale, and wept.
"…the others…just stood there…not even flinching…unlike the three of us…cowards…bloody…cowards…"
Fetch said nothing.
He could say nothing.
All he did was scoot his chair closer and put his thin arms around the wide shoulders of the self-proclaimed coward…
And yet, Mooch actually felt comfort by that simple gesture.
…to comfort…
Fetch wasn't sure what else to do until another Biskitt entered the kitchen. He turned to his left and saw—
Wiggle's heart was almost broken when she saw her beefy knight collapsed at the table, crumbling like dry bread.
She had managed to hear the one accusing word from him right when she entered:
Coward.
Fetch looked at her questioningly, as he had done all he could do and couldn't think of anything else to help their friend.
She just held a hushing right index paw to her lips and gestured at him to get up.
Slightly confused, the silent male released the sobbing one and stood.
Gently, comfortingly, Wiggle took Fetch's place.
Understanding now, the adult male smiled at the teenager, winked at her, and quietly left the kitchen, tail finally relaxing.
Mooch was too focused on his personal failure that he failed to notice the scent of a second Biskitt right next to him.
Until he felt a much softer pair of arms wrap around his shoulders and a soft pair of lips kiss him on the cheek.
"You're no coward, not in my book," she said, nuzzling him.
Mooch did a double-take at her with bloodshot eyes, blinked, and sighed, looking up.
Clumsily, he placed a thick arm around the younger female.
"N-neither are you…" he whispered hoarsely.
As the two sat quietly in the kitchen, holding each other, Mooch started feeling…
…something…
What was it?
It felt…familiar…
Ah, yes, now I know…
Finally, Mooch began feeling full, at long last.
And oddly enough, so did Wiggle.
His tail relaxed at last.
…to steady the foundations…
Flip almost tripped over the second pup as he headed for Spinner's room to return the spyglass. "Whoa! Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Where's Scat?" asked the pup, with frightened eyes that pleaded for an answer. "He's not in his room!"
The dark red-brown Biskitt thought for a moment, and smiled, "If he's not there, he probably went to his best buddy's room: Bump—"
"Thanks, Flip!" And the pup dashed off down the hallway.
The adult almost chuckled at how fast a pup could move with such short legs, but then remembered that the youngster was very likely panicking, given the events that the others described tonight, and sighed with despondency at how everyone was being affected, and wondered when they would all recover from tonight's NIGHTMARE.
His brief internal angst was interrupted as his ears perked slightly upon hearing the commotion inside Spinner's room. Quickly entering, he came in right when the book dropped to the floor at the left of the bed and the elder collapsed on his chair at the desk on the opposite wall, rubbing his face in defeat.
The Beta Male suddenly looked up when he heard his door close, and saw Flip enter and place the spyglass on its respective stand, setting it near the window between the bed and the desk and pointing it at the sky. Spinner then saw the young male survey the desk briefly, pad up to it, cap the inkwells, clean the smudged spectacles, give them back to their owner, pad to the bed behind him, and go to the opposite wall near the bed to pick up the thrown book. He straightened the creased pages, closed it, dusted it, and padded back to Spinner to place it on the desk.
Looking at the crumpled discarded sheets on the floor, the ink stains on the desktop, and the split barbs of the quill, Flip understood.
"You don't have to write down the events tonight. Wait until you calm down—until everyone calms down—and then they all can give their input of what happened. Even if you make mistakes, I'm sure the book will straighten them out for us…and other generations. It always has, right?"
The elder gently placed his spectacles on his book. "Dear pup, tonight was the first time I thought the book would fail us when it came to giving us an edge over our enemies, and that failure would have meant the destruction of the world. Perhaps the book itself knew that, and that's why it didn't let me write things down like before. I know these old paws aren't as steady as they were in my younger days, but…tonight…"
Sigh.
"…Either my paws aged twenty years, or the book knows that it, too, nearly failed, just like we nearly failed, and that's why I haven't been able to write more than a few words before I…before…"
Again he rubbed his face in defeat.
Flip traced the spine of the book with an inquisitive paw before replying, "I don't know much about enchanted books, or witches or crystal castles or demonic mirrors, but you and the book do. Let the book rest tonight, and you rest tonight as well. Maybe tomorrow the book will have calmed down just like the rest of us?"
Spinner stared at his enchanted guide on the desktop. "Not even this book has encountered the dark magic we did…perhaps you're right. Perhaps it, too, needs rest."
With that, the elder slowly stood, joints cracking a bit louder than usual. He removed his beret just as his impromptu assistant turned and was about to leave, and right there he said, "Wait…Flip…please."
The younger male stopped and turned, "Yes?"
"Can you help me…get ready for bed, please? I feel…slightly more tired tonight. I guess the witch did manage to draw some of our lifeforce, and it's going to take some time to get it back. Just…just for tonight…I'll be needing your help."
Flip nodded and helped the Beta Male remove his belt, collar, and tunic, and helped him pull his nightshirt over his wrinkled head. He held him steady as he climbed on his bed, and once that was done, both sighed with relief.
Again he turned to leave, but again Spinner called out. "W-wait…"
"Yes?"
"Could you…could you just…sit next to me…and hold my paw, please…at least until I fall asleep? I…I might need help with that as well, as odd as it seems."
Flip smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, Spinner."
The younger Biskitt grabbed the chair, carried it to Spinner's right bedside, sat down, and held the wrinkled paw in his.
Spinner blushed, since he had not needed anyone to hold his paw to help him sleep in nearly sixty years.
He remembered his mother doing that, long, long ago…
Their tails relaxed as both males fell asleep and remained in that position until morning.
…to give a shoulder to cry on…
Bump and Scat were shaking in each other's arms, and both nearly jumped when the door opened and another Biskitt entered the room.
It was the second pup, the one who had stayed behind with the rest.
"Huh? Why are you here?" asked Scat.
"Because I was so scared and ran to your room but you weren't in your room and I looked for you and ran into Flip and told me you could be here," explained the pup as he climbed in bed, opposite Scat, and also huddled against the tall farmer.
Flip was right: the pup too, had become terrified upon hearing the tale that the others told tonight and was too afraid to sleep alone.
Seeing that, Bump just hugged both youngsters tight and told the one on his left, "It's okay, little buddy. No one can be without fear all the time." And to the pup on his right, "And it's okay to feel scared, too."
"But…what if I want to be as strong and brave like you?" asked Scat. "That's all I ever wanted!"
Wait, wasn't he already brave? How else could he brave the swamp by himself when he ran after Rover? How ELSE could he have gone after a witch and her minions? pondered the second pup, arching an eyebrow at Scat.
It was something the pup wanted to be, but wasn't sure how to achieve it, much less now after being overcome by fright due to tonight's events. The pup had always admired Scat for his bravery, to the point of wearing a tunic practically identical to his, but now…
…now the pup's world seemed to collapse, just like everyone else's.
"Heh, 'brave'?" chuckled the grey male. "Want to know something that even surprised me?"
Both youngsters nodded.
Bump leaned closer to the adventurous youngster and whispered, "You are braver than me, Scat."
Blink-blink, head tilt to the left.
"Huh?"
"Oh yes. You didn't jump or hide or flinch or tuck your tail when you heard thunder, right?"
At that, his buddy stopped shaking, though his tail was still very securely tucked. Sure, earlier he had been standing between his Alphas, but…but…
"But…tonight was a nightmare! Downer said so and everyone agreed! I was…I was…so…so scared!"
The second pup was quite aghast at this as well, after all, the youngster thought that fear eventually disappeared as one grew up, but apparently that was definitely incorrect.
Scat wasn't really so brave after all? But how?
"We all were, little buddy. But when Waggs and Sweets helped you with your nightmares, they…well…"
Sigh.
Smile.
"…I guess they did a good job. You handled tonight's Nightmare better than even Waggs, Sweets, or Spinner did."
Blink-blink, head tilt to the left.
"Huh?" asked both pups.
"Sure! Who else would have thought to go trick-or-treating right after facing such a nightmare?"
Scat blinked his tears away and his shaking slowly dwindled. He sniffed, "But…I only wanted to help Shiner! I wanted to help…calm him down…and…calm the others down…"
He's crying? Brave Biskitts…still cry?
"And you did. Only you thought of that and only you did it, little buddy. Only you. I have the feeling that you're going to end up taller and stronger than me one day. Braver, too."
"I…" He shook his tiny head. "I…don't feel brave…I didn't feel brave earlier, either. I kinda was standing between Waggs and Sweets and Spinner! We were laughing at what you and Shiner and Mooch were doing…we were…laughing…"
Bump pulled both pups closer. "Brave isn't a feeling, it's an attitude; it's doing the right thing even when you're scared. And I think that you had an edge over feeling scared…because you were laughing."
Blink-blink, head tilt to the left.
"Huh? R-really?"
"Sure. Because you laughed, the thunder didn't make you hide. You also attacked the bat without flinching or retreating. I'm sure that if it had been you against the witch and the mirror, you would have been just as scared as the rest of us, yes, but you would have laughed in their faces and confused them and bought the others and me more time to completely destroy them."
"By…by…laughing?" both asked.
Scat certainly didn't laugh when Rover ditched him in the middle of the swamp, abandoning him to his fate!
"I suppose it takes practice, but now, thanks to you, we all have one key thing that will give us an edge the next time we face dark magic."
"Laughter? Wow…" Scat remained confused at how mirth could defeat fear and even witches or evil spirits, or perhaps Bump was just telling him nonsense that came off the top of his head, but he couldn't deny that he had finally stopped shaking.
That…that is how Scat was able to be brave: using laughter…I…I hope I can do that and one day be as brave as him…
"Feeling better?"
"S-sure," replied both.
Scat added, "But…Bump…can…can I stay here, just for tonight?"
The older buddy smiled. "Sure thing. We'll protect each other, and if any of us has a nightmare, the others will help by laughing it back to where it came from."
"That sounds like a good plan. Thanks—yawn—Bump…"
"Can…can I stay here too, please?"
Another smile. "Sure."
Both pups cuddled closer to the farmer and soon all three were asleep.
With smiles on their faces.
And relaxed tails, too.
…or to make them smile again by giving a smile…
"Can't sleep, bat will eat me, can't sleep, bat will eat me, can't—GAH!"
Shiner stopped his incessant mantra and raised his hackles the moment his bedroom door opened. Naturally, he expected the bat to barge inside and attack him, but he sighed with relief when he saw that it was only—
"L-Lady?" He quickly lowered his hackles, removed his thumb from his mouth, and covertly stuffed the rag doll under his back.
As he did, the seamstress entered and padded up to his bedside, on his left. Then she kneeled, and much to both of their surprises, she gave him…
…a nuzzle…
The egotistical male blinked and tilted his head to the right at this undeserved display of affection.
"The bat is gone forever, my 'brave' knight," she whispered. "He won't eat you nor me nor anyone else, not anymore. We all made sure of that."
She then searched for his paw over his covers, and smiled when she found it.
"We all know you can be brave when we need you to be, especially when your best friend needs you to be. And in all other times when you realise you can't handle things on your own, please know that you can count on us…"
She sighed with a warm smile.
"…you can count on me…"
Shiner blinked and tilted his head again.
"…to be there for you."
And much to their mutual surprise once again, Lady gave him…
…a face lick…
Standing up before she surprised herself—and him—again, she declared, "Now, my 'brave' knight, I believe your best friend is in need of you. Poor Downer sounds like he can't sleep either, and from the scent coming from his room, I think he'll be a bit embarrassed if a female tries to help him. Can you be 'brave' enough to stop your rambling and help him out, at least for tonight?"
The "brave" knight brought up the trembling paw that she had held moments ago to rub his tired face. "It…sure seems far easier to help him recover from a bloody disease than to help him recover from a bloody attack of dark magic…I know he's my best friend…but…I wouldn't know the first thing on how to help him with something of this sort."
She smiled.
At least he's being honest for a change.
"Just…be there for him, at the very least. He needs you…just like we all need each other right now. I'm not asking you to make him laugh—Heaven knows that male has never laughed all the time we've known him—but just…be there, please."
She stood and padded out of his room, but with a parting quip: "Thank you, my 'brave' knight."
With that, she closed the door.
Shiner pushed his covers off, sat up, and rubbed his face.
The things I do for love…and for a friend…
…or simply, to give a hug…
Downer packed down the wet bedsheets and nightshirts in his laundry basket on the right of his dresser.
Again he went to the wall on his left, to his wardrobe on the right of his bed, but only to find it…
…empty…
"I should have seen this coming," grumbled the bare-furred male.
"I think we all should have," added his best friend.
Downer nearly wet himself again while on his footpaws when he suddenly heard Shiner inside his room. He turned to his left and confirmed that it was him, still clad in his nightshirt. "Oh, it's only you. I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been—"
"The rat? The bat? The witch? The mirror? Yeah, yeah, we know—sniff—ugh, geez…" His nose wrinkled for a moment. "You know, Downer, if any of them suddenly appeared here, they would have no doubt whatsoever that this was your room and yours only, too. And they just might have run right out, too. Heh, that's one surefire way of protecting yourself." He almost chuckled, but then he saw the overflowing laundry basket and huffed instead. "Blast it, Downer, did you drink half the lake or what?"
The clinically-depressed male just shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Every time I think I'm finally high and dry I…can't help but mark my territory again, and I just ran out of clean laundry, too."
Shiner looked at him, at the empty bed on his left, at the empty wardrobe to the right of it, and sighed, "Wait here."
Downer tilted his head slightly to the right as his best friend left his room. He didn't dare sit on the bed again as he might just lose control once more.
Naturally, he doubted Shiner could do anything to help him; perhaps he went to call Spinner and get his help?
Would the book be able to help him sleep without emptying his bladder repeatedly?
He almost jumped when his best friend barged in again, not with Spinner, but carrying—
Shiner stuffed several bedsheets and nightshirts in his friend's wardrobe. "These should last you until laundry day. No, wait, don't put it on the bed, yet."
Downer tilted his head again as his friend stopped him from grabbing a sheet to make his bed again. "Why not?"
Much to the yellow male's surprise, the dark brown male grabbed a nightshirt, pulled it over his confused head, grabbed his right paw, and dragged him out of his room.
"Now where are we going?" he asked, again almost losing sphincter control.
"To the latrine, where else?"
"Huh?"
"Do you think I'm going to risk you marking my laundry as yours? Right now, we're going down to the latrine and make sure you're completely high and dry, and once we're sure of that, we can both have a semi-decent night's sleep. We know no one is going to attack us there, so you should have plenty of time to calm down."
As he stumbled after his impulsive friend, Downer gave his habitual comment of the bad side of the situation, "I hope I don't stay down there for too long. Given my luck, I just might fall asleep on the seat."
"If you do, I'll bring you a pillow," replied his friend without missing a beat.
Shiner tried not to chuckle out loud, but he did so rather quietly.
And since he was in front of Downer, he never noticed his best friend's face break into a very, very light smile as well.
Their tails relaxed, too, at last.
Despite the clinical depression and the near-pathological egotism, they both knew one thing:
They could count on each other…
…or a simple thumbs up…
The whole pack finally emerged from their troubled slumber around 10 a.m. on November 1st.
Still quite haggard and with bags under everyone's eyes, few of them bothered with breakfast as they slowly trudged through their matinal chores.
All but two of them.
Shuffling paw-in-paw out to the main bailey, she on his left again, Waggs and Sweets blinked at the light of the late morning sun.
The nightmares didn't stop the night before, but with the two in each other's arms, they at least were able to fall back asleep a few minutes later.
It had taken quite a toll on both of them.
…on all of them…
Waggs was sore, from his fall, from padding the long distance home, and most noticeably (this was also true of the other eight involved)…
…he was sore from the numbing spell.
And his bandages didn't help much with that, either.
Sweets had it just as bad as he did, too.
The others felt as if they had an unusually busy day yesterday harvesting their crops, given how tired and sore they were, but Waggs and Sweets felt as if they had carried several loads of bricks several flights of stairs, enough to replace one of the castle walls.
Even entwining their paws took quite a bit of effort, but the upside of that was that it was each other that they would be holding for quite some time today.
When the others saw their Alphas finally emerge, they stopped their chores to approach them, slowly, as if they were trying to not spook them again.
"How are you feeling?" asked Bump, with Scat practically clutching his left arm.
Waggs carefully took a deep breath. Even his ribs and diaphragm protested at having been under that numbing spell.
"You remember when I sprained my ankle?"
"Yes?"
"You know the pain I felt there?"
"Yes?"
"Well, take that pain, and spread it all over—including my eyelids—"
"—And share it generously with me—" added Sweets tiredly.
"And that's very much how I feel. How…how we feel…" he corrected himself, blinking and exhaling slowly.
The Alphas tried to chuckle, but even laughing was painful at this point.
A sudden crash of shattering clay silenced everyone's mirth as their ears went on high alert, and they all quickly turned toward the source of the noise.
Wiggle had been carrying a large jug of water and was about to head back to the kitchen, but she gasped when she saw and heard the condition her Alphas were in.
She was so shocked that she dropped her jug, and it broke apart on the stone floor of the bailey.
And despite everything that she and Lady talked about the night before, the sight and sound of her leaders and the sudden destruction were enough to make the teenager crumble once more into uncontrollable sobs, again feeling useless.
…useless…
"W-Wiggle?" asked Sweets. Despite her soreness and exhaustion, she was still willing to help one of her pack.
The youth just sobbed, but she then remembered that there was one way to stop the feeling of uselessness.
She ran to the Alpha couple and threw her arms around both of their necks, hugging tightly but quickly easing up on her grip when she heard their groans of pain.
And even with the pain, they, too, hugged the teenager, and wept along with her.
Soon, Bump and Scat joined in the group hug.
As did Downer, Shiner—yes, even him—Lady, Spinner, and Mooch.
Fetch, Flip, the second pup, and the four others also joined in, embracing, hugging, sharing their body heat, their tears, their breaths, their mixed scents, their encouragement, their pains, their soreness, their regrets, their feelings of failure, but above all…
…their feelings of unity…
…their feelings of triumph and victory over evil.
And not just political or predatory evil, but downright hellish and demonic evil as well.
At long last, the tails of the Alphas relaxed and reset.
…it would take much more than a mad witch and an enchanted demonic mirror and their minions to take down THIS pack…
Later that day, Waggs and Sweets were standing on the highest tower—it required help from the others to climb all those steps—and in front of them was Spinner's spyglass on its stand.
They didn't want to risk holding it with sore paws and arms and dropping it by accident.
With the spyglass, they saw in the distance the last of the swamp animals returning to their rightful habitat: birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and insects alike.
It took a while to send out the word to all who had fled, but eventually they got the message, and thus the swamp ecosystem was gradually being restored.
They stepped away from the spyglass and sorely padded to the rampart, where they surveyed their "domain", the boyfriend on the right of the girlfriend.
"Do you think that those who had their lifeforce fully drained and then restored will have nightmares just as bad as ours?" asked the Alpha Female.
"It's likely, but there's no sure way to tell unless we ask them directly. Also, Scratch's lair and Max's castle were closer to the lake, so…they could have been affected directly."
"Should we go and ask them?"
The Alpha Male sighed and pondered.
"Eventually. If the next time we see them they're worse off than we were, maybe that will be a good time to ask."
"And what about us? I have the feeling we're going to have our share of nightmares for quite a while, perhaps well on through winter."
He turned to her and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.
"Nightmares can't destroy us. You know that they disappear in the light. If we had hunkered down like our ancestors did, the witch would have been gone by dawn. One way or another, that Nightmare would have disappeared."
She slowly shook her head and closed her eyes. "And now we have destroyed her, though at a steep price."
"You know that the soreness will eventually fade away and it will be replaced with stronger muscles. Not just for you and me, but for the rest of the pack as well. We've become stronger, and now we know we can defeat any predator or foe. Scratch has nothing over us. Max has nothing over us."
Sweets sighed and leaned against his solid torso, nuzzling the part of his neck that was above his collar. "Last night I was worried that just maybe we had defied death for too long and the Nightmare was a warning, but now I know I'm wrong. We came out stronger and smarter and wiser. I hope…" The orange-clad Biskitt trailed off.
"What?" asked her boyfriend.
"Well…Spinner's book is full of answers and wisdom, and he's made sure we all learned from it, and we have, but I hope that eventually we'll share that wisdom with Biskitts in other islands, and maybe other species as well, becoming friends with them—"
"Allies?"
She chuckled. "That, too. And that way we'll become stronger than any army or predator or demon from Hell who comes against us."
He raised an eyebrow and hugged her as tight as his sore arms would allow.
"That sounds…" He gently pulled her back to face her, and smiled. "Like the perfect plan for survival…my love."
"…my love…" she echoed, also with a loving smile.
The fauna continued marching, hopping, slithering, swimming, crawling, and flying to their nests, lairs, and territories as the couple on the tallest tower of Biskitt Castle shared a very, very deep kiss.
Their happy tails wagged as fast as their soreness would allow…
…much, MUCH more…
THE END / DAS ENDE / DIE EINDE / EINDE / EL FIN / O FIN / LA FIN / IL FINE / SFÂRŞIT / KONIEC / КОНЕЦ / BEIGAS / LOPPU / ΤΈΛΟΣ / סוף / TAMAT / LIAU / DANEH O' / 剧 终 / おわり / UXUL / TLAMILIZTLI
All characters are © 1983 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. Used without permission.
The Biskitts and all related indicia were created by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, and Iwao Takamoto.
Starring:
Richard Beals as Scat
Jennifer Darling as Wiggle
Marshall Efron as Mooch
Henry Gibson as Downer
Kathleen Helppie-Shipley as Sweets and the second pup
Darryl Hickman as Waggs
Bob Holt as Bump, Flip, and Spinner
Jerry Houser as Shiner
Kenneth Mars as Fetch
Mark Taylor as The Spirit of the Magic Mirror
Betty Jean "B.J." Ward as Lady
Based on a story by Michael Reaves
Before you ask, the masks were as such:
Bump: Mr. Hyde
Waggs: Werewolf/Wolfman
Shiner: Dracula
Mooch: Frankenstein's Monster
Scat: Generic demon
Sweets: ¿?
In case you're wondering, in the colouring books, Lady had a boutique, Mooch had a bakery, and Bump had several gardening scenes.
The "four others and the second pup" are the unnamed extras from "The Biskitt Who Cried Woof".
Also from TBWCW, I deduced that Wiggle was a teenager. Her fangirl-type behaviour very much indicated it.
And yes, I ship Waggs-Sweets (canon, "Swaggs"?), Shiner-Lady ("Shady"?), and Mooch-Wiggle (lol, "Moogle"). Deal with it. :)
Additional ships I support (not mentioned in this story) are Scat-Minx (canon, "Sinx"?), Scat-OC (a character my sister created based on the second pup), and Spinner-Pandora ("Spindora"?)
Interesting that the concept of "Giggle at the Ghostly™" did not suddenly appear in 2010, don't you think? :D :D :D
Special thanks:
William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Iwao Takamoto
Michael Reaves
Extra special thanks:
To professor Nathaniel T. Freeman
To Leloni Bunny ( fanfiction net /u/1121013/Leloni-Bunny and deviantart com / lelonibunny and tabbyrafables wordpress com), for rekindling the inspiration to write for this particular fandom again.
In memoriam:
Richard Beals (1927-2012)
Henry Gibson (1935-2009)
Bob Holt (1928-1985)
Kenneth Mars (1935-2011)
William Hanna (1910-2001)
Joseph Barbera (1911-2006)
Iwao Takamoto (1925-2007)
Michael Reaves (1950-2023)
¡Zacatepóngolas!
Until next time, remember:
I
AM
THE
J.A.M. (a.k.a. Numbuh i: "Just because I'm imaginary doesn't mean I don't exist")
Good evening.
[WARP!]