There was tension between the entire group as they tracked Backpack down. It seemed every time they were finally locked down on a location and ready to go, Big Red would take her to another country, usually in a completely different continent. They all wished things were different but it couldn't be helped.
Luna had to report all that happened to the agency but made sure to leave out the names of anyone other than Swiper because he was the only one they actually new. She didn't want to drag any of them into a jail cell if she could help it. She and Tico seemed to be on one side while Swiper and Isa were on another. She sighed, slumped on the floor and jumped when Tico started yelling.
"He's finally slowed down. He's been in a motel in France for a whole week. Who knows what he's doing there but he certainely seems to be stable. We're good to go." Luna whooped and they fist bumped. Swiper walked in, rolled his eyes and walked out. He was jealous and he knew it but he had every right to be, in his opinion. Luna and Tico were way too close when they were hugging and she actually blushed. She blushed! Luna never blushed around him. At least Isa agreed with him.
Benny gathered them together and folded his arms. "You aren't going to get this right unless you actually work together. As a team. That's why you're all going into a portal before the mission starts. One where time is frozen and you can talk in peace."
The rest groaned but Luna was confused. "A portal?"
"Should we really be allowing a human to know about this? Isa?" Isa glanced at Luna and turned to Swiper.
"Your call Fox. You brought us all together. Should we let her in?" He nodded quietly and followed Benny down a flight of stairs, holding his flashlight. Luna wondered why he would do that, even when he was mad at her for literally no reason. Benny put on the lights. Luna looked around, waiting for her eyes to adjust before gazing at a row of machines, each with an arc with tips upwards at their base. She read a few of the captions. Anime, cartoon, comic... what?
Benny pulled a lever and the machines went on. She blinked when she saw light rise from each arc and blindingly white circles of light. Swiper cleared his throat.
"Other than the fact that you have a private jet and Benny is a pilot, I needed Isa and Benny for the portals. They are super important and can transport you- AAH!" Luna gasped when Benny pushed Swiper into one of the portals.
"He talks too much. I don't trust him." He grabbed Tico who struggled but failed, ultimately. He was chucked in as well. "He talks too little. I don't trust him, either."
He held out a hand to Isa who took it, looking happy for once. He held her close before throwing her in as well. Luna felt kind of bad for her. Benny treated her as he treated everyone, like she was useless. She deserved better. "She is too trusting. I don't trust her, sadly."
"Why are you telling me all this?" He stepped closer to her with a dirty smile on his face. He placed his hands on her hips and for a moment, she was too frozen in shock to free herself.
"You trust no one. I trust no one. I may not trust you, but I like you. I like the way you beat up Isa's bodyguard. I like the way you talk. I like a lot about you." He leaned closer to her, his eyes on her lips. She swallowed, staring at him for a moment before she pulled away from him and jumped into the portal. It felt so strange, so wrong. Sure Benny was handsome, but so was everyone else. How could he do something like that to his wife?
When her eyes adjusted, she gaped. It was a large expanse of field with a forest at the edge. It was beautiful and peaceful. She looked down to see an green iguana and a purple squirrel. She blinked, shocked and tried to speak.
"Tico? I-Isa?" The iguana rolled her eyes and spoke, yes, spoke.
"Did he throw you in?" She glanced at the blue cow- Benny and then at Isa. He stood there, smirking while Isa just looked at her. She didn't want to hurt Isa, even if they weren't exactly friends.
"Yep. Said I trusted nobody. Very true." Isa turned away but Luna could tell she was happy about it. "This is so weird. You're all... animals. Brightly coloured, talking animals."
"What? Never seen a blue cow before?" She shook her head immediately. He laugher. "You're one to talk. Look at yourself."
She looked down at her hands- no, paws and gasped. She stared at the fur on her body and turned to Tico.
"What animal am I?"
"You're a grey wolf." Luna nodded and shook her head wildly, feeling the sudden urge to run coursing through her. She took a deep breath and began to run on all fours through the field. It was exhilarating. Before long, she made it to a forest and going deeper in, she noticed a spring. She walked to it and smiled at her reflection in the water, chuckling at the sight of her fangs. There was something so natural about being a wolf. She was about to drink from it when she heard a noise. Her ears perked up and she turned back, peering into the forest until her eyes met those of a fox.
The fox was staring at her as they circled each other. The name at the tip of her tongue was Swiper but something in her made her say something else instead.
"Nicholas?" She sucked in a breath and stared at the fox. No going back now, she thought. "Nick, is that you?"
Without warning it lunged at her. She was about to scream when it rubbed itself against her fur. She swallowed, unsure of what to do. "You finally got me. Now you know."
Her eyes widened and she took a step back then another before running away as fast as possible. His eyes haunted her when she stepped through the portal. Swiper came out minutes later and dusted himself off, pretending nothing had happened. The gang looked between both of them, eyebrows raised.
"You guys were in there a while. Anything happen?" They both shook their heads, stammering out incoherent excuses at the same time. Isa rolled her eyes. "Right. It's time for the mission, are we all okay now?"
"Yep. Let's go save Backpack guys." She smiled on the outside but on the inside, her mind was still trying to process the fact that Swiper was actually her childhood bestfriend, Nicholas García. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Big Red again, either.