The Prince and the Pupper

The Prince and the Pupper is the eighth episode of Mystic Forest Fighters.

Previous: First Communication

Next: Manipulation

Summary
The episode begins with Anastasia in the bathroom, sobbing uncontrollably after witnessing her cousin and Lucille's first kiss. As the latter two checked up for any updates while they were away, Luke realized that Anastasia was not around and began to look for her. Finding her in the bathroom, he immediately asked what was wrong, only to learn that she had indeed seen the kiss that the two werewolves had shared. Despite his sincere apologies at first, Anastasia snaps somberly and bitterly at her cousin for choosing Lucille over her. Luke kisses her before saying how much he loves her and appreciates her for being his best friend as a child and for being the only family he has left, although he reminds her that she is just that - family, and that his love for her in that regard may very well be better than that of a romantic love interest. After promising that he truly does mean it, this seems to do the trick in comforting Anastasia, although in her head, she still is angered and promises to not give up on Luke and to get rid of Lucille once and for all.

Meanwhile, Joey and Noah are now exiting the sewers, the book they had been looking for now in their possession. Eager to return the book to Saad, they do so promptly. Upon delivering the book to him, Saad asks where the two found the book exactly, with Joey stating that they found it in a location that resembled a shrine, with Noah adding that it looked as if someone may have built over it rather clumsily. Before the two animals can realize it, the room around them darkens, as Saad creates a fire and burns the book right before their eyes. Left in shock, Saad explains to them that the only ones who knew of the book's existence were himself, Walter, Greg, and Saratis. He lost it after a "tragedy" occurred, and goes on to explain that if the book was there, someone had to have moved it there, thus knowing where exactly it was, meaning that may very well have culminated into bad news for all of Enchino, and possibly the world as well. He goes on to say that the book may very well have been the same one Enchi himself used to begin his murder spree. Saad then thanks Joey and Noah for completing their task and mentions that tomorrow is the anniversary of Enchino's estimated founding and a festival of celebration featuring the Prince of all the land will be held, something that seems to really excite Noah. He dismisses the two so that they all can prepare for tomorrow, claiming that he also has some major plans to work on for the coming festival, regarding a certain spell.

Back at Walter's house, the topic of the festival and Enchino's anniversary begins here as well, with Chief Pupper suddenly coming to the realization that he has to watch the Prince when he arrives, telling the others that he will be leaving tomorrow. Walter then proclaims that all of them will be leaving with him. Lucille, a bit surprised, asked why this is the case, as Walter states that the Prince is sixteen years old, which happens to be the next age in Enchi's killing pattern. Worry sets in as Walter explains that they will simply disguise themselves and use Chief Pupper's title to bring them closer to the Prince in order to keep him safe. Chief Pupper seems unsure if he can even have everyone come with him on the job to begin with, but is ultimately met with the conclusion that it is regulation and mandatory to have this happen as a result of a serial killer on the loose. Walter tells Luke to be on his guard and trusts him to deal with anything that goes wrong, which is answered with a confident confirmation by the werewolf. All while they prepare for the next day, Fertwin is also preparing, again speaking on the telephone to his mysterious boss, stating how the Prince's pockets have to be full of gold, potentially wanting to steal it.

The day of the festival finally arrives as the whole village is preparing Enchino for the big day. Vendors line the streets, decorations fly around, and many people and animals are running about. Excitement is everywhere - especially in Noah, who states how he has never been to anything like this before, with Joey being eager to take him. After they finish getting ready, they leave. Already at the festival are the entire Enchi Investigation Team. Walter is donning his Warner disguise, giving orders to the others as far as groups go and telling them what to do upon splitting up. Chief Pupper meets up with the Prince's bodyguard, who is a deer, while Luke's trio looks around for any suspicious characters in the streets. While they do so, they meet up with Joey and Noah, the latter of the two running ahead to talk to Luke, someone he hasn't seen in a while. Eager to catch up, they are interrupted by Winslow and "Warner." Noah gets very nervous at the sight of Winslow, being a natural predator to chameleons. Winslow seems to get creepier, seeing Noah as a cooked turkey. Luke and "Warner" talk in code with one another in regards to seeing any suspicious characters out on the festival grounds. Winslow suggests they leave, which Luke agrees to, all before the snake gives Noah a big lick, slithering off. This disgusts the young chameleon, making him stumble backwards in shock. "Warner" notes that Winslow appears to be affectionate, which Noah denies instantly. Joey joins in on the banter, joking towards his partner that the snake has a crush on him, which further annoys the chameleon.

Suddenly, the Prince's carriage arrives, which prompts Luke, Lucille and Anastasia to head for the City Hall. Left alone, Joey and Noah agree to sit on top of a hill to potentially watch the Prince's arrival happen from afar. Fertwin is also there, standing outside of City Hall and waiting for a moment to strike and steal the Prince's riches. However, upon seeing Noah and his Saratis descendant employment necklace, he gets an idea and runs away. After he does so, Luke's group arrives. They are let in with the confirmation of Chief Pupper and meet up with a majority of their investigation team inside, the others still surveying the area. They learn that the Prince is preparing himself for the festival later today and are told to make sure absolutely nothing happens to him in the mean time.

Oswald and Winslow are not at the City Hall, the latter of the two being spotted by Fertwin. Putting his idea into motion, he steals a medallion on a chain and baits the snake to a hidden location, all before subsequently hypnotizing him using the medallion. Meanwhile, the Prince and his deer bodyguard head for the warehouse, finishing up their preparations. Those who are told to make sure to keep the Prince safe agree to wait a bit before following in order to not draw attention to themselves. Noting this, as well as how nothing seems to be happening at the moment, Joey states that their "show" is over, before Noah suddenly hears the sound of a fly buzzing by. Joey tells Noah that he can go and capture it, which he promptly does, looking everywhere and chasing after the sound of its buzzing. His chase leads him further and further away from the others, and upon ending up in a clearing within a forest, Winslow looks on, hidden. A tape recorder suddenly flies out and lands in front of Noah, being the culprit of the buzzing noises instead of a real fly. Feeling both annoyed and confused, the chameleon begins to leave to go back to the festival, but before he has any time to react, Winslow suddenly springs out from behind his hiding place and wraps Noah up with his body, making sure he is unable to escape. Meanwhile, Fertwin arrives in the Prince's room and threatens the young royal man. The Prince accepts Fertwin's challenge to battle, as they engage in combat.

Very startled and frightened by this sudden ambush, Noah screams and cries out for help in horror, trying desperately to escape by all means. This proves to be futile, as Winslow tightens his grasp on the chameleon, licking his head, face, and the rest of his body as he devours him whole. He then returns to the festival in a completely hypnotic state, all while Noah continues to scream and cry out for help from inside Winslow. This does manage to attract the attention of Joey as soon as they reenter the fest, with Joey noting that the cries sound familiar, all before realizing that it is in fact Noah inside of the snake. The kangaroo leaps onto Winslow, the pressure both jolting him out of the hypnosis and sending Noah flying into a fruit stand. Joey immediately rushes to the chameleon's aid. He keeps him close while he cries, before turning his attention to Winslow, demanding to know what just happened. However, he does not get an answer, as Winslow realizes that Fertwin went straight for the warehouse - the same one the Prince is residing in. The snake quickly makes his way to the warehouse, as does Joey, who is chasing after him in a very angered and protective state. When they arrive, they are greeted to the sight of the Prince's bodyguard bound to a chair, a totally blank expression on his face, thus confirming Winslow's fearful suspicions in regards to Fertwin being there.

The rest of the investigation team in the City Hall all decide that it is now time to go to the warehouse to check up on the Prince. They leave, and upon their timely arrival, they are greeted with not only the sight of the bodyguard, but also to the sight of Joey making an attempt to attack Winslow. Winslow senses this danger and proceeds to hastily bite Joey's neck, spreading his venom inside of him. This not only scares the kangaroo, but also gives him what appears to be an anxiety or panic attack as well. Luke then takes control of the sudden chaos, saying that Lucille, Anastasia, Winslow, and "Warner" go to the Prince's room, while everyone else helps Joey and the bodyguard. In the Prince's room, it is exactly what the snake had worried previously about - the Prince and Fertwin have since engaged in a fight with one another, the room a complete mess. The Prince appears to be holding his own just fine, but the fighting stops as soon as Fertwin is confronted. He calls Luke a murderer, and clarifies that Seagull and Crabby were not on death row, but rather mere associates to Fertwin - them being relatively innocent. This enrages Luke and prompts him to transform into his werewolf form. Fertwin pulls out a large revolver and aims it directly at Luke, demanding that he step away. After refusing to do so multiple times, Fertwin ultimately pulls the trigger, but is left with horrific surprise as the bullets freeze in midair, then drop to the ground.

This catches the attention of the others as they all enter the room. However, before their eyes, mist spreads into the room, as well as a large purple spiral. Saad emerges from the portal, greeting everyone, much to their surprise. He states how he had been working on a conjure that would prevent any death from happening, something that had been very difficult to pull off, noting that today would have been perfect for any criminal to strike. This happened to be the very spell he mentioned the day before that he had to conjure. This arrival gives the Prince himself wonder and awe, stating how much of an honor it is to meet Saad. After learning that he is in the presence of plenty of Mystic Forest Fighters, the Prince takes note of Luke and Noah's necklaces, stating that Saratis has selected his chosen ones, and Enchi may very well be finally defeated, filling him with joy. Chief Pupper addresses that Fertwin must be locked up. However, once again, he escapes. Joey asks if they should pursue him, but Luke states that they'll catch him soon enough. Joey also begins to question Winslow about what had happened back there, and learns from Saad that he had been hypnotized the whole time. Feeling guilty for trying to attack the snake, Joey admits that today definitely did not go as planned, which the Prince promises to remedy, encouraging the Forest Fighters to both have a good time and to bring Enchi to justice once and for all. However, Chief Pupper begins to wonder where Oswald is, as he can be seen running through the streets, causing quite a scare among people and animals. He is completely covered in cream, appearing to be very much enjoying himself.

Appearances

 * Anastasia the Werefox
 * Luke the Werewolf
 * Lucille the Werewolf
 * Walter the Weasel
 * Oswald Aaldenberg
 * Winslow the Snake
 * Greg the Gecko
 * Chief Pupper
 * Noah the Chameleon
 * Joey the Kangaroo
 * Saad
 * Fertwin the Skunk
 * Deer (debut)
 * The Prince (debut)

Trivia

 * The role of the Prince was portrayed by actor Lucas Till.