Plucky sat up in a cold sweat. His heart was racing. He took some deep breaths to help get over what had just happened. He had to carry on. Taking up his pack once more, he hastily marched in the direction he last saw the mountains. All sleep had left him. It was still dark out. He then remembered the Lions could see in the dark just as clearly as he, if not better. Suddenly, he heard the lone howl from a wolf far off in the distance. He looked at his scar once more. It was an odd color and felt tender to the touch. Plucky's feet began to drag once more. His pace slowed.
Further on, his feet began throbbing. He needed another break. Then he heard a new sound: the dripping and flowing of water. It sounded like it was nearby as well. Plucky's mouth was parched. Ignoring his feet, he followed the sound and came across a small clearing. It was around midnight, Plucky guessed. Plucky felt a renewed hope. Here before him was a stream of fresh cold water. Before he knew it, he had knelt by the water and was gulping it down with his paws full. Looking downstream, he saw a narrow wooden bridge. Halfway across the bridge, Plucky reached into his back and pulled out an orange. Peeling and eating it did nothing to quell his hunger. He would have to hunt for berries or anything more solid. He stared at the flowing river beneath him - no fish in sight. Suddenly, he heard the bold roar of the great Lion. Plucky's eyes widened as he remembered the banana peel he had left on the ground. The Great Lion must have found it!
Plucky tossed the orange peel and ran the rest of the way across the bridge. He waved around trees and bushes. He sensed that someone was pursuing him. As he ran, he noticed there were fewer trees on this side. He could no longer see the mountains ahead, but that didn't matter now. All that mattered was escaping with his life. Don't stop now! Keep running... Keep running...! Plucky slowed down to a jog, and he began panting for air. He saw one last tree in front of him. Beyond the tree was an open plain as vast as the eye could see. The land was marked with mounds of soil and patches of wild grass. Just a few more steps...no! Plucky collapsed, completely exhausted. The last thing he felt before losing consciousness were pairs of strong paws that brusquely lifted him by his arms and legs. "Mother... Help! He gasped. Then everything went black.
As the noonday sun burned the desert plain, three giant ants emerged from a hole in the ground. Walking single file, they marched up a very steep dune. Without warning, a wispy plume of gray smoke appeared at the top of the dune right in front of the lead ant. They immediately stopped, their procession covered by a long shadow. The ants did not disperse - they could not move. "Is the tunnel in place?" Olive asked.
The head and, having regained mobility, turned to signal his message to the ants behind him with his antennae. After a short exchange, he turned back toward Olive and nodded twice. Olive squealed with delight.
"Excellent! You may leave now, and remember: we never met!"
She waved her paw in a circle. All three ants shook their heads as though recovering from a trance. They all touched their antennae together, then went back down the dune and towards their ant hill.
"Now... I have one last matter to attend to, she said, looking toward the forest.
Back in the forest, the Lions had come across a banana peel and followed Plucky's scent to the bridge. They spread out across the clearing. He was close by; they could sense it. Because of the water, it wasn't easy to ascertain where he ran next.
"He must have left the forest. If he were still here, we would have found him by now," one of the Lions pointed out.
"Quiet! Keep hunting! There must be a lead somewhere..." the Great Lion growled as his paw stepped on a piece of banana peel. He sniffed it, then sniffed the air in silence. As he turned, he was visibly startled to see Olive standing there. The other six Lions were equally surprised by her sudden appearance. The Great Lion sprung backward. All the Lions snarled and rumbled growls.
"My, my! Magic has truly dulled your senses. It is truly a shame that an inexperienced bear cub can outsmart not one but seven Lions...."
The Great Lion growled in frustration. Olive continued.
"I imagine you are wondering why I am here. Well... It would be wrong of me to leave our prior conversation unfinished, now wouldn't it? Seeing you here, I cannot help but think you are trying to leave the forest..."
The Lions were taken aback. In their hunger to find Plucky, it had not occurred to them to attempt an escape.
"Olive, I assure you we had no intention..." the Great Lion began.
"I wonder. Are you attempting to apologize for trying to escape, or are you apologizing because I caught you in the act?"
At a rare moment, the Great Lion was speechless. He bowed his head and answered.
"You have us at your mercy."
"As much as I would enjoy destroying you all this instant, I need you to do something for me."
The Great Lion asked in an evenly sounding voice. "What would you have us do?"
In response to this question, she silently waved her stick in the air. The Lions were on edge. In between them, a circle appeared in the air. It was then filled with a vision. Olive explained.
"As you can see, my hyena friends and ants are busy leading your forest friends away from here. If you ever wish to see them again, you will do well to heed what I will say next."
The Lions growled in disgust.
"If you harm even one of them..." the Lion warned. The threat was interrupted by Olive cackling.
"What could you possibly do?" After a pause, she continued.
"I merely wish to see what you can do without your magic."
Olive then held her stick in front of her with both paws and began to hum. Immediately, light particles began leaving the Lions and flowed around, then into the ruby atop her staff.
In agonizing pain, the Great Lion cried out,
"How is this possible? Your magic should not be this strong, especially after forging the ruby!"
Olive ignored the question and continued humming until the last particles drained into the ruby. Now visibly weakened and smaller than before, the Lions collapsed.
"There. That's better," Olive smugly commented. She added,
"It is astounding how much you underestimated me. Did you think I would let myself fall into such a simple trap? This is why I took your magic. My only regret is that I didn't take it from you sooner. Now that you are practically harmless, I must address your attempt to escape...."
The Great Lion's eyes widened.
"Have you not punished us enough?" His voice was a shadow of his proud, growling moments earlier.
"There has been a change of plans," the witch confidently replied.
"What are you going to do?" Olive heard a sense of panic or fear in Lion's voice this time.
"Before I made my precious crystal, I stored the more significant part of my life force in a second crystal. This second crystal formed from the darkest onyx found in this world. Neither gemstone can exist without the other. I need your help locating it."
"We are never going to help you!" the Great Lion struggled to exclaim. "Since you tried to escape from my clutches, I have decided to let you all escape... Just not in the way you'd like to. Every night, one of you Lions will perish. Moreover, there will be no way to know who will leave next. Fare thee well... Or not! Hahaha!"
Olive waved her stick once more, and instantly magic black ropes appeared, looping and tightening around the front and back paws of each Lion. She then closed her eyes as if she were meditating.
"It seems the bear cub is in trouble. This news, however, provides me with a great opportunity... Yes, indeed!
