The Watchdog Army Files

2054: The Fear

A/n: I'm not dead yet!

Guess which episode this is a sequel for...

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It all started when Peepers announced that they were officially at war with Hemlock. Before everyone knew it, Sylvia had handed the Commander a scroll. The ancient inscription read;

"Deep in the darkest woods I hide.
I keep you safe from what lurks outside.
Even the strongest cannot resist my power.
I can strike anyone, anywhere, at any hour.
Only once you master me will you defeat your enemy."

Wander and Sylvia had told them nothing about the...

It made any one of the people involved shudder just thinking about it, before remembering what really happened and the fact that they had nothing to be afraid of in the first place.

The planet on which the spooky forest resided had, in fact, been destroyed by Dominator, in the event that had come to be known as "The Great Galactic Destruction". Somehow, it had managed to return to its original state in a short period of time.

The team sent consisted of Commander Peepers, who had appointed Nerve as temporary leader back on board the ship, Eyela, Cornea, Iris and Retina. A true family event. Wander and Sylvia saw them to the edge of the forest.

"We really wish we could come with you..." Began Wander.
"But we know exactly what's coming your way, and we don't want to..." The zbornak struggled to find the right words.
"Don't worry. We get it." Peepers said, a slight playful smirk on his lids.

The two ex-nomads smiled at the group in return, before turning toward the ship, Wander explaining, "We'll be waiting for you when you get back."

The family nodded in understanding, before saluting to the duo and heading for the forest.

They entered with relative ease, and within two minutes, their patriarch halted the rest of the family, saying, "Alright, we don't know what's waiting for us in there, so we need to stay together. I'll hand out the communicators just in case someone wanders off, but we'll all need to be careful."

They all nodded, and they were all off again, practically glued together. Within a half hour, Retina had started shaking slightly, and Iris seemed a little freaked as well.

A scream was heard in the distance, causing both siblings to jump about half a mile into the tree line. Eyela, with the most calming voice her family had ever heard, soothed the two younger Watchdogs. "It's okay, you two. That was just a wilhelm warbler. Totally harmless."

The bird in question gave another screech, and flew above the canopy, giving the family a perfect view. Iris and Retina gave deep sighs of relief, coming out from their hiding places from behind a tree and Cornea respectively. The remaining three family members gave a chuckle.

Retina glanced around, eye falling on a particularly dark area of the forest. Squinting slightly to make out a shadow, he was rewarded by getting spooked by a pair of glowing white eyes and a set of beaming teeth.

Terror renewed, this time he hid behind Peepers, who was less than happy, but still spoke in the most soothing voice he could manage. "Retina, what happened, champ?" Asked the Commander, using the same nickname he called both his sons during their childhood, in an attempt to make the youngest of his children feel more safe.
"There's something. Someone. In there!" He pointed toward the place where he saw the face for emphasis.

Everyone turned to the location in which Retina pointed, only to be greeted with nothing. Except Iris. "I see it too, bro."

The other three, on the other hand, saw nothing, Peepers sighing in exasperation and saying. "There's nothing in there, you two. I can go and have a look, but you'll have to stay put, 'kay?"

The two youngest siblings nodded, before watching their father, blaster at the ready, head into what they were certain was danger. He emerged without a single scratch. "No. Absolutely nothing. You two must be seeing things." The two siblings got more worried as they saw the apparition creep up behind their father.
"Dad..."
"Behind you."

The patriarch turned to be greeted by empty space once more. He was starting to get slightly annoyed. "Look, if this forest is starting to get in your head, maybe you two should go back to the ship."
"No, we can totally do this." Said Retina. It had intended to sound sarcastic, yet the tone was utterly misjudged and the middle and youngest siblings continued the journey. They were still scared by every rustling leaf, creaking tree or snapping twig.

Thus, progress was slow, but the Commander preferred some progress to no progress.

Soon, night fell, and the family was forced to set up for the night. Since no one was too hungry, and they were attempting to conserve rations, no fire was lit and no food cooked by a roaring flame.

The youngest two watchdogs were glad, that meant no scary campfire stories. Even so, their sleep was fitful and restless. All dreams they had ended in dead ends, and no way out.

By the time they woke up again, it was well past midnight. Their parents had gone to get firewood, judging from the note they had left. They patiently waited for them to return. When they did so, they were calling out the names of all three of their children in concern. They seemed shaken to their very cores. It became clear to Iris and Retina that Peepers and Eyela had seen the strange apparitions as well.

"Mum? Dad?" Asked Cornea groggily, oblivious to the sheer terror planted across his family's faces. He was met by the shaky voice of his mother.

"Kids, we want you to dismantle the camp. Your father and I will hold those... those things off for as long as we can."
"But... I can't see anything." Replied the eldest.
"Just do it."

Suddenly, a high pitched "eep!" was heard from Cornea himself. He had seen them.

As the younger Watchdogs pulled down the tents and packed up the equipment, something seemed to click in their fathers mind. "Kids. Eyela. Don't give into your fear."
"What?" Asked his wife, puzzled.
"Think carefully. When Iris and Retina saw these..." He struggled to find the right word "phantomimes, they were afraid. When we saw them, we had started to give into fear. And seeing us panic caused Cornea to be afraid as well."
"Of course."

One by one, the family watched as the apparitions began to disappear.
Cornea approached one of them. "We're not afraid of you."
Iris was next. "Yeah, bring it on."
"Give us your best shot." Retina proclaimed.

Soon enough, the phantoms were gone, leaving the family to head back to the ship. As they exited the woods, Retina spoke up. "You know, I think I know the answer to the scroll's riddle."

They all looked at him, eager for an answer. "We experience it in our darkest moments, it keeps us safe. Even the most brave of us can feel it and mastery of it can help us stand up to our enemies. It's fear. Those woods were a test to see just how much courage we have. Sure, Hemlock is a powerful enemy, and we may be afraid of what she's capable of, but the whole point of courage is for standing up against people like her, even at our most vulnerable."

"Agreed. Well done Retina. We'll make a Commander out of you yet."
"What about me?" Asked Cornea in mock hurt. They laughed, boarding the Skullship's tongue into the docking bay. As promised, Wander and Sylvia were waiting for them.

"So?" Questioned the blue Zbornak.
"Well, let's just say, we all learnt something in there. Hopefully, we can use our knowledge against our enemy."

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A/n: Remember when I posted regularly?

Yeah, me neither... one