The moon rose into the midnight sky casting moonlight. Said light lifted the veil of normalcy by revealing the true colouring, shimmering and glowing state of the main river and invited shadows figures out of hiding. Some wild vegetation developed a glow and shimmer to fruits and seeds. Even flowers and bushes further away from the river experienced it. The glow spread into a couple trees turning their bark from brown to white and rapid amounts of moss growth spread.

Further away in the certain willow tree, Branch waited with binoculars in his hands. He looked through them as his swaying tails began to still. So far no Shadow Walkers had dared to enter their location. Hype landed on the same tree limb great force. His land left a brief shake causing the glowing green due to night vision eyed troll to pull away from his activity. Hype kept his wings spread out as he dusted off his arms.

" Any Shadow Walkers?" Branch asked.

" In the South West from the great oak tree. Looked to be spawning from near the main river again. " Hype reported.

" Any travelers?" Branch turned his body around fully.

" Not yet. As far as I checked there are none in the South West. Just animals,bugs and critters." Hype stated.

Branch nodded his head. " Go check on Boom in the North West from the Great Oak. He hasn't returned yet. I'll check on Trick in the North East from this Willow and Ablaze in the South East. "

" Yes,Sir!" Hype saluted.

Wasting no time Hype flapped his wings jumping off the tree. He allowed the strong wind to pick him up pushing him forward. Branch however swung himself down from the willow. He stared at his surroundings for a moment before walking towards the Critters Den. The Den was a hidden false rock wall with multiple vines hanging low in front of it. The Prince brushed his hand against the wall until he found the wooden moss decorated cover.

Branch gently pulled it off revealing a keypad. The numbers were still fully in bold for ink faced with the outdoors. Typing in the code the false stone-like appearing door rolled up and revealed a metal crossed gate. Inside the lights were on with critters of all kinds in there either playing and running around or resting and eating. Branch's sight was fixed on a specific female armadillo bus. He took out his keys and inserted them into the lock as he whistled.

Rhonda instantly stood up and bounced towards the now open gate of the den. She gave her visitor a quick sniff before unleashing an attack of affection. Three licks. Branch laughed gently pushing her away. Despite the push back Rhonda did not take it as a sign of unwanted and unconditional.

" Hey girl. Looks like you are going for another night time run." Branch whispered adoringly.

Rhonda was technically John Dory's critter but, she was more of a family pet type than loyal to one. She loved Branch. To her John Dory and Branch were part of that one family and then there was Kismet. Also known as the Arcane Enforcers. Trickee,Hype, Boom and Ablaze. To the critter they counted as having a friendship through Branch bringing them along regularly. Plus Hype,Trickee,Boom and Ablaze did have their fair share of bonding with her. The three fox tails rose up wagging rubbing the scent of floral earthy tones on the troll's body.

" Ready for our nightly joyride?" Branch said.

Rhonda nodded her head panting excitedly with her tongue still out. She gave Branch one last lick cause the troll to jump back to cover his face with his arms. They weren't actually doing joyrides. It was their nightly patrol actually. Branch just called it a joyride to keep Rhonda happy by making it sound more fun and it worked. It convinced Rhonda to slide out the Critter Den so Branch could close and lock it. When the Prince got in the driver's seat Rhonda scampered off towards Ablaze.

Little did he or any of the Arcane Enforcers know that new guests would arrive that night. These guests weren't going to be usual travelers or drifters or outcasts sneaking refuge. No. They were invited by John Dory not as a King but,as an older brother seeking reconnection. Branch especially was in for a surprise just as much as their guests were going to be.

Meanwhile at the other side of the territory Frank trotted steadily into the new land. Poppy peeked through a window gasping in awe at the forest's unusual river,the glowing fruits, the night flowers blooming in moonlight and the shimmering glow of vegetation here and there. Fireflies flew past Frank up towards the trees dancing. The pink troll's eyes moved one glittery light source to another jaw threatening to drop but, stayed hooked up.

" Wow! I have never seen this part of the forest before! It's so pretty. Hey guys. You gotta see this." Poppy invited.

Viva was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed braiding Clay's hair. Clay sat in front of her on the carpet with a book in hand silently reading. This was their usual routine when relaxing during the night. They had been in this position since they were teenagers. Clay would read while Viva braided and tended to his hair. It brought them unspoken peace of mind.

Floyd sat at the other end of said couch wiping John Dory's old goggles clean with a cloth. Branch's old plushie,Croco, was stitched up and stuffed with more cotton after being washed. At first Floyd was hesitant to wash out the memories he had decided to give them a good clean before returning them to his long lost brothers who were believed to be dead.

Bruce was in the driver's seat already sighting what Poppy had seen to a degree. He couldn't tell if he was imagining it or if it was simply light reflecting off the moon onto the environment or more bugs like fireflies. However he did raise an eyebrow at the river. The male troll couldn't come up with any logical conclusion for why the river was various colors, glowing like neon sign and shimmering like thousands of barrels of glitter were dumped into it.

Floyd's ears perked at the younger female troll's claim. Turning away from the goggles he looked at Poppy's direction curiously. The causal braiding stopped leaving Clay's micro braids to unravel. Curious Viva stood up from the couch then leaped over to Poppy's side. At first she glanced at the window until she fully set sights on the forest unique traits causing her jaw to slightly drop.

" Clay! " Viva called.

" Yes?" Clay stayed fixed in his book.

" Do you remember when we were in school we had to learn how natural environments work?"

" Yes. Why?" Clay turned the page.

" What causes rivers to look... Magical, glowing and sparkling?"

Clay whipped his head around. " WHAT?!?"

" I see it too." Bruce confirmed.

" Me too!" Poppy seconded that statement.

Before Floyd and Clay could even take a second to stand their armadillo bus forced them to stop against Bruce's driving commands. Most of the trolls rumbled onto the floor crashing down as Frank dug his heels into the grass. The critter whimpered nervously scanning the area. There was dead silence in this specific part of the woods and no other beings or animals in sight. Even the bugs had run away.

" Ow..." Floyd commented.

Floyd laid on his front on the floor. John's goggles were clutched tightly in his grasp. Croco poked its little face out from Floyd's hair. Clay's book had landed behind the spinning driver's seat. Fortunately Clay had managed to land on both his hands and knees during the sudden stop. Bruce's body slumped over the wheel groaning in annoyance and a pain. A couple minor bruises were forming on his chest with an imprint of the stirring wheel.

" BRUCE!" Clay hissed.

" NOT MY FAULT!" Bruce yelled.

Frank backed up slowly getting more frightened by something he couldn't see. His eyes darted in every direction. Breathing became laboured pants. Paws and legs were shaking. Fear filled his eyes mentally praying for whatever was out there would go away. Frank could smell smoke but there were no visual signs of fire.

" We're okay!" Viva announced pulling Poppy up onto her feet.

"Everyone okay?" Poppy asked trying to catch her balance.

" I guess. " Floyd pushed himself up.

" Peachy." Clay sarcastically remarked sitting back.

" What do you think?" Bruce remarked standing up.

Suddenly Frank hissed in pain thrashing his body around into a spin. His legs bucked backwards trying to kick off whatever had grabbed him. Whatever it was had claws digging into his skin and their touch burnt like a deadly forest fire. Inside the critter the trolls were thrown and shoved struggling to stay on their feet. Panicked screams and yelling escaped as they were all forced to be in the back of the bus. None of them could see or know what was going on. Frank roared desperate to scare something off but, it wasn't working.

" WHAT'S GOING ON?" Clay exclaimed.

" I DON'T KNOW!" Bruce yelled.

" I Think Something Is OUT THERE! OW!" Viva crashed into the wall.

" Guys! Frank sounds hurt! " Poppy stated.

" Woah! Frank! Hey Buddy,calm down! We'll get out here fast! Just let us reach the wheel." Floyd yelled.

Without hesitation Frank bolted mindlessly in a random direction going off course. He leaped over the river landing all paws roughly before escaping further into the forest. Tears whelmed up in armadillo's eyes as both back legs and one front leg ached. Burn marks and deep scratches were present with blood leaking out. He let out another mighty roar at gnawing and burning pain.

Nobody knew where they were heading anymore. This forest was foreign to them. Unknown and filled with threats lurking in the shadows. The deeper they went in the darker it became leaving both the living bus and the trolls vulnerable. Frank flashed his headlights on desperate to see the path ahead while panting heavily. Inside the critter Poppy dashed to the driver's seat throwing herself onto the spinning chair.

She grit her teeth grabbing the stirring wheel while stumping down on the brakes. Coming into view was a cliff. A cliff with a deadly drop. However it was too late. Frank dug his heels into the ground but, it was not enough to stop him. He was sliding forward uncontrollably. Viva and Clay held into each other and the driver's seat screamed with Poppy. Bruce and Floyd worked together to break the emergency stop box and yanked on the stubborn lever as said team but, it only locked Frank's sliding feet further into the position causing them to slide faster.

Another and very specific female armadillo, Rhonda, bus rammed into Frank's side knocking him over. Frank rolled back into the direction they came for crying for help along with the trolls inside. The male armadillo bus landed back on his feet and the side Rhonda tried to push him from hitting a tree.

Rhonda roared worried while chasing after them. She had nobody inside her. She had seen them heading for the cliff and wanted to stop them from going off the edge but, seeing the other critter upset like this made her face drop and filled with regret. She wandered over to them apologizing  by purring and nuzzling her head against the area she had headbutted.