Chapter I: Shinba Forest

Finally free from the string, Wade cracked a small smile himself. Taking a moment to stretch his arms, he suddenly grabbed hold of Cecil's hand and began to dash after Volt and Growlie as fast as he could. "We can't let them get too far ahead!"

Having finally caught up enough for the fellow team to be in their sights, Wade slowed down to a walking pace and caught his breath, "forgetting" to let go of Cecil's hand. Soon enough, Edgar, Kaleb, and Lunetta caught up with the rest of them, and the whole group was finally on their way along the forest trail together.

A little uncomfortable with Growlie biting his tail, he nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. Let's go." He continued, looking ahead, sometimes glancing at Growlie to make sure she didn't bite down any harder than that. Volt's eyes flashed determination, ready for what was to come ahead, even if he felt some slight uncertainty.

The further they traveled, the darker their environment became. Cecil stared up at the forest canopy, his mind on how far they had come since they embarked. Looking back, they could no longer see the speck of light from which they came. And now, they could hardly see their hands (or claws) in front of their faces. Cecil, mask held in his thin tail, lit a small flame- flickering in one hand, just to light their path.

Growlie and Volt had since sped ahead and left them behind- perhaps they had caught on to where their objective lay. But Cecil could only guess that they were drawing close, judging by the occasional web strewn about, growing thicker as they went. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't a bit uneasy of what was ahead- whether something was actually waiting for them. But he swore he heard something up ahead, although distant, so he kept moving- the fact that Wade was still clinging to him the last thing on his mind.

Growlie acted as if it were nothing, but she kept on looking around the place. In reality, she was terrified! All because of a stupid bug type. In the middle of the room was a large tree. It's large branches seem to have leaves who cover the whole forest.. Strange. "Volt... I think we have to..." She stepped near the tree, before seeing a glowing pair of blue eyes. "EEEEEEK!" She cried, running back and hiding behind Volt. The spider crept downwards, finally landing on the jungle floor. It was a lot larger than it looked, thats for sure!

A little shocked (literally) by Volt's attack, she stumbled and fell on her back. Few minutes later, she was able to get up on her feet. 'Dang Sheep...' she thought, before actually thinking positivly about him for once. "Whoa..." She started, walking up to the spider. "Good job..!" The slight excitement in her voice made her sure that Volt would be happy.

...Until, she felt a scaly yet slimy twig-like figure snatch her back leg. Shrieking even louder, she panicked, jumping back. The spider arose once more, hissing in what sounded like.... talk? The spider became legible over few minutes- Growlie acknowledged what it was trying to say. "You're in my territory... Why try to to escape once you're heeeeere.....? I have food to consume..... Leeeeave me be..!" It hissed even louder, lunging at Volt. Growlie angrily pounced on it as her paws were ablaze, but she only managed to make little damage- getting thrown back by the force she'd made. "Ouch!"

Volt smiled a little at Growlie's praise, now calming down a little.

Volt screeched, nearly getting his by the spider, but alas, he managed to dodge in time. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, running over, just as the spider turned back around to attack again. Volt turned back around, staying by his teammate's side and sent out fluffy spores from his fleece onto the spider. The spider backed up a little, getting distracted with the spores clinging to its body. He would've shocked the spider again, but he felt kind of tired after that last one. Volt grumbled, knowing that if he tried again, it would be such a pathetic attempt.

Cecil moved quickly behind his teammate, careful not to stray from the path. It seemed the other rescuers had managed to find something after all. But judging from the sound they heard up ahead, he could base a solid guess that it wasn’t their target. The jungle landscape grew darker as they went; Cecil’s small flame doing less and less to light their way. However, soon enough he found he didn’t need it anymore.

He squinted as he hurried out of the darkness and into the sudden light. The air was hot and smelled singed, and he could see stray sparks suspended in the air as his eyes adjusted. Recognizing Growlie and Volt among the fray was easy. But one other stranger remained- an enormous spider, tangled in fleece and riddled with burns. A conflicted expression of slight fear and concern appeared on his face. He knew a fight when he saw one. But instead of intervening, he immediately glanced around in hope of spotting their lost mayor. That was their main objective after all. Obstacles or not. Thankfully, the other two rescuers seemed to have things under control. He hadn’t known what to think at first. But seeing them cooperate like this… something told him they made a pretty good team.