Chapter 2

Cake09877 had never known real adventure up until that fateful morning.

It had started off like any other in the ramshackle pet shop she and her three companions owned, barely standing up anymore after countless storms. Cake had gotten up and made her "bed" (more like a scratchy cot on the floor) in the small, secluded loft in the back room behind the counter, gone to check on the animals, and finally shaken Victhewolf and Bluecandyz awake. But while they tried to remember what dimension they were in, Cake noticed Darinp12's cot was empty. Odd. She was usually sleeping long after everyone else was up and working, but nobody scolded her because she was always so encouraging once she joined them.

Cake then decided to go take a more thorough look of the shop. Perhaps she was cleaning out some of the cages? But when she scampered back out and into the main room, filled with all sorts of hovering familiars clattering in their little prisons to be fed, Darin was absolutely nowhere to be seen; however, the door was wide open and letting in cold air. Fear suddenly settled itself in a tight knot in the back of the giraffe-colored mouse's throat. Of all the rodents to wander out alone in the capital city of the Anvil God's empire, it had to be sweet, naive Darin!

She'd alerted Vic and Blue of the problem, who'd promised to lock down the shop until she came back with wide eyes, wrapped her white scarf around her neck, and then shot off down the street. What could have possibly gotten into her? How had she opened the lock on the door without the keys, which were safely under her own pillow like always? Was she safe and warm? And most of all, where was she going?

Shop after shop told her that no, they hadn't seen a mouse with grey and white fur scampering down the street. An hour passed. Two. Three. The sun was crawling high up into the smoky sky by now, and Cake presently began to worry about her friends back at the store. What if they tried to come find her!? Oh, lord. She was losing hope quickly.

Then she saw the bar.

It was one of those typical ugly excuses for a drinking establishment, paint peeling off of the walls and terrible singing trailing out of the western-style swinging doors. She had stayed away from all of them, but this one was different. It seemed to draw her to it, despite never drinking anything alcoholic in her life. As she got closer, she could read the faded sign. Grumpy's Bar and Beer Bar. How original.

She peeked over the doors, and the smell of whiskey nearly blew her over. She almost walked away right then and there. But this was for Darin, not herself! She inched inside, trying not to hold her nose lest the gigantic brutes here think her disrespectful. She was shaking from ears to tail, but she tried her best anyways.

"E-excuse m-me!" she squeaked fearfully. The music stopped as if on cue, and every disgusting face was suddenly staring at her.

"H-h-have any of y-you seen m-my friend, D-Darin? She's g-got white and g-grey fur."

"Ain't seen no Darin 'round here, pretty lady," a huge sewer rat leered, yellow teeth glinting in the torchlight. Eek! She nearly passed out at the sight, but stood her ground.

"Ok-kay. Thank y-you," she mumbled, tripping over her own tail on the way out. As the jolly music flared up again, a paw grabbed her by the arm without warning. But before she could squeak for help, her attacker dragged her into the shadows of a table and bound up her mouth and paws with dirty cloth. Cake couldn't see him in the dim light, but his eyes flashed with a maniacal gleam, and he giggled so strangely as he stared at her that she felt sick to her stomach. This was bad. Very bad.

But as she felt herself being stuffed into a sack and losing oxygen, she was far more worried about what Vic, Blue, and Darin would do without her around to protect them from these things than her own safety.

"It's been a gajillion hours, Blue, and Cake and Darin still aren't back yet! What are we going to do?"

Victhewolf paced anxiously back and forth, her tail flicking around so violently that she knocked down the cash register (empty, mind you) and moving so quickly that she stepped on Blue's paw accidentally- three times in a row. While the other mouse painfully rubbed her foot, she leaned against the wall and stared at the tinted windows of their shop with the 'open' sign staring harshly back at them. it begged them to turn it around, to let strangers come into the shop while Cake was out searching for their friend. But she knew better. She glanced at Vic as she fell further and further into despair.

"We've gotta look for her," Blue finally said, her voice quiet and shaky.

"What did you say?" Vic replied, stopping in her tracks, eyes wider than ever.

"I said, we should look for her. Cake wouldn't leave us alone this long. Something's really wrong, Vic, and the sooner we start looking for her the fresher the clues will be," she continued, her voice strengthening a bit.

"Cake told us not to leave, though," the larger mouse fretted.

"Cake will be forgiving us for that when we save her life!"

There was silence in the pet shop, save for the squeaks of the familiars in their cages. After a solid minute, Vic finally let out a long, angry breath.

"This isn't going to go well, is it?" she muttered as she tottered into the back room for her backpack.

Blue shrugged and grinned.

"Probably not."