//------------------------------//
// S1E19: Fake Charmer 
// Story: The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy 
// by marmalado 
//------------------------------//

"Orino! Come forth!"

Deep within the cavernous castle that stood at the foot of Vallea, a commanding bellow shook the walls. Guards straightened the second it reached their ears. Citizens passing by on the streets ran for their lives, not wanting to be next.

And one king stood in front of his throne, tall and proud, with his curved staff gripped tightly in his paw and his green eyes piercing the area below. His cloak billowed in the wind for only a second after he had made the call, before it came to rest just inches from the ground.

The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, and it didn't take long before a catperson entered the room. His short blonde hair streaked with finger waves and his copper eyes were the first things the king noticed about him -- that, and his casual attire of nothing more than a T-shirt, some jean shorts, and some sandals. By all means, he looked moreso dressed to go to the beach rather than face an individual in a position of power, although he didn't care very much.

"Yes, King Ashero, Your Majesty?" came the response, placid and filled with suavity.

The king waited until his subject had stopped in front of him before he continued onward. "As I am sure you're aware, Peaches has been away from Vallea for quite some time, looking for the person behind the attack on our village." He gave an amused huff. "And nothing of value has been lost."

"Oh, certainly not, sir."

"However...sources have reported that she is staying in the company of an organization known as 'Odd Squad'. Most notably, a being named 'Agent Mandy' has come up frequently." Ashero's nose wrinkled in disgust for only a moment. "As Peaches'...friend, I am entrusting you with the task of finding her."

Orino nodded. "And what should I do if I find her?"

"Bring her back here. Make her be of use to Vallea instead of letting her live as a groveling, yapping dog." Ashero snapped, almost as though berating his subject for asking such a dumb question. "And bring Agent Mandy back with her."

"Right away, Your Majesty." Orino bowed, then turned to leave. However, a question came about in his mind that caused him to stop and turn around. "And, uh, why do you want Peaches back, again?"

Ashero's patience was tried again, and it showed in his rage-filled voice. "Because, unsurprisingly, she has failed. And anyone who does not heed my orders is to be swiftly punished." He gave a sharp exhale through his nose as he jabbed his staff towards his subject. "Do not return until you have succeeded in your mission. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The sight of Orino bowing once more pleased Ashero, and set his rage at ease. "Very good. You shall depart immediately."

Orino didn't need to be told twice. He was well aware that "immediately" meant "go now, and do not even think about packing anything or giving goodbyes". The throne doors closed behind him the very second his foot left the room.

Only a second after that, Ashero sat back down in his throne and gripped his staff tighter, the sound of distant yowls floating through his ears and having as much significance as a soft breeze. He thought back to the Big O's letters, and how he had absorbed piece after piece of information about Odd Squad and about Agent Mandy. The exchanging of letters had only been for a short time, but the Big O had quite a lot to share about the organization that had become Vallea's most prominent enemy, and Ashero had gained lots and lots of knowledge that he shared with the subjects he sent out to keep tabs on said organization and on Mandy. 

Still, he couldn't help but crave more. After all, the more information you had on your enemy, the easier it was to defeat them, and if he was being honest, he was aiming for a swift defeat just to feed off of the despair of the townspeople and the townsponies that had placed their trust in such a sham of a group and such a fraud of a hero.

"If only the Big O had not failed. We could have killed two birds with one claw swipe." he growled aloud to no one but himself, before giving a short huff. "But no matter. Vallea and its people -- my people -- can and will bend to my wishes. And I have confidence that Orino will succeed."

He banged the thin cylindrical end of his staff down on the floor twice, the bell attached to it producing a rather deep and ominous gong-like noise with each impact. His eyes landed on a lone guard posted at the door.

"You!"

The guard stiffened, her short tail bobbing to and fro.

"Send another round to Toronto. I want around-the-clock monitoring. I want all of the information we can get about Odd Squad."

"R-right away, Your Majesty." After a quick bow, the guard exited the room, and another guard from the far end of the room moved to take her place.

In an attempt to relieve the stress that weighed on his shoulders, Ashero took a deep breath and let out a mighty roar. The sound shot through the open windows of the castle, causing some catpeople to immediately retreat back into their houses and lock their doors.





Peaches roamed the vast hallways of Precinct 13579, passing by agents who all gave her friendly hellos. 

Ah, another day at Odd Squad. Everything seems fine.

She bit her lip right then, knowing that saying "everything seems fine" was just as much tempting fate as openly stating you hadn't been assigned any cases for the day yet. Sure enough, when she arrived at the bullpen, she found Mandy eagerly rolling her tongue inside of a glitter jar, tittering as she watched the flecks sparkle on her tongue.

Uh...for the most part. Peaches rolled her eyes in bemusement before she moved past the steel double-doors. I guess I'll go out and see if I can find the Vallea culprit. I should broaden my search area, anyway...maybe to other Canadian cities? I'll have to ask Mandy if I can book some flights on her back.

She wasn't sure how she got there, but she had somehow found herself aboveground, and began walking once again.

Perhaps I should look on the outskirts of town. I haven't really looked much there. I should invest in a map or somethi-

"Oof!"

Peaches backed up a few steps, shaking her head as she stuttered out an apology. "S-s-sorry about that! I-I didn't see you there, I-"

A pause lingered in the air.

He looked at her.

She looked at him.

She gasped. "I-it can't be. You...you're here?!"

"Yes, it's me."

Her eyes shimmered with excitement. "Oh my cattails, Orino, I haven't seen you in so long!" she squealed, giving a light laugh as she wrapped her arms around her friend in a hug. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I'm..." Orino broke eye contact for just a single moment. "...just here for a visit. Yeah. I heard you went out to find who burned down Vallea, and I decided to join in the search."

Peaches wasn't sure what to feel -- surprised that he had apparently escaped Vallea without King Ashero knowing, or excitement that this was no longer a one-feline search expedition. "Really?! That's amazing! Oh, I could use the help!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you could." Orino replied, his tone carrying the faintest hint of mockery. He cleared his throat. "So where are you staying?"

"Oh, I'm staying in this place called Odd Squad." Peaches suddenly brightened up and grabbed Orino by the wrist. "Hey, you should come check it out! Do you want to? It's a really cool place!"

"Sure. Lead the way."

Giddily laughing, she dragged him along with her towards the stairs that, luckily, weren't too far from her current location. Orino couldn't help but form a grin that could only rival the infamous Cheshire Cat's.

How easy it is to prey on the idiotic. This will play out well in my favor.





The steel double-doors opened to reveal Peaches and Orino, the latter of whom didn't even get so much as a single crumb of attention. To the inhabitants of the precinct, he was nothing more than a blade of grass, a cloud in the sky, a can of tomato soup at the supermarket. But that didn't matter to him, of course -- he was not vying for their attention. The one he actually wanted attention from was playing cleanly into his hands.

"So here's the bullpen!" Peaches made a sweeping motion with her hand. Orino looked around with feigned surprise. "It's got some really neat stuff, like-"

"Hold on."

Orino flicked an ear. His eyes paused their movements on a four-legged pink-furred...what was it? A "pony"? 

...Yes, a pony. Even the name sounded awful. 

It was talking about something he didn't care to listen to, and instead he focused his attention on the recipient of the words. She looked rather unusual, with her ears, hair and tail shaped similar to the pony's and her long pale white horn that protruded from her forehead, and he came to a sudden realization as a memory flashed in his mind.

That...is Agent Mandy, no doubt about it. She looks exactly the same as the King's descriptors of her.

And she looks about as dimwitted, too.

This day just keeps getting better, huh?

His tall ears swiveled suddenly towards the sound of someone approaching the duo. He wasn't quite sure who this person was, exactly, but he watched with intrigue all the same, making mental notes.

"Hello, Pinkie, Mandy. Am I interrupting anything?"

Mandy turned to face her boss, her smile immediately turning into a frown. She had been willing to only interact with her when necessary, but as the days since their spat went by, she had been coming down to the bullpen more and more, which irked her. A sharp exhale left her nose as she jerked her head away. "No. Nothing at all." she plainly responded.

"Oh good." Oprah smiled, willingly ignoring Mandy's attitude. "Listen, I've been thinking about what you said. About how I have flaws and all that. And..."

A pause. Orino watched with breath held. Mandy simply gazed at her boss expectantly.

"And?"

"Can we...talk in private sometime in the next couple days?"

The sheer disgust that filled Mandy's face, as well as the sheer confusion on the pony's face, was almost as good as meat on a silver platter to Orino. As Peaches was still next to him and watching the entire exchange go down, though, he fought to keep the smile off of his face in order to keep up the facade. Still, he couldn't deny that watching this drama go down was rather thrilling, and gave him more crumbs of knowledge about Mandy to boot.

It felt like forever before Mandy spat out a response. "Fine."

Oprah sensed the out-of-character, but very much intentional, brevity in the response. "Thank you. Just come up whenever you have a free minute."

And with that, she went up the left staircase, making sure to mind the slide as she slid into her office once more.

"I sense some hostility!" Orino said, immediately kicking himself mentally for allowing himself to show excitement over something no one would show excitement over.

Luckily, Peaches didn't pick up on it. "Yeah, Agent Mandy and Oprah had a falling-out a few days ago." she explained, watching as Pinkie attempted to put Mandy back into high spirits again.

An "ohh" sound tumbled from Orino's lips. If Agent Mandy is that horrid abomination, then Oprah must be that girl who was speaking to her. A complete and utter non-threat, too -- King Ashero could send her flying through the castle with a single kick. Wouldn't that be funny to see? 

He watched with further intrigue as Peaches waved Pinkie and Mandy over.

"Mandy, Pinkie, meet Orino. He's a childhood friend of mine who traveled all the way from Vallea to visit!"

"Nice to meet you, Orino!" Pinkie extended a hoof for the catboy to shake. "I'm Agent Pinkie Pie, and I work at Odd Squad! And Sugarcube Corner in Equestria too, but also Odd Squad!"

"Agent 57, at your service!" Mandy moved her hand about in the air before taking a deep bow. "I'm Mandy, nice to meetcha!"

After shaking Pinkie's hoof moreso out of politeness than anything else, Orino's gaze focused on Mandy. He took in her appearance fully, from her rather grotesque brown tail that wagged slightly to her beaming cat smile and shining blue eyes. It almost made him not want to capture her and take her back...but he was sent out on a mission by his leader, and unless he was asking for a death sentence, he wasn't about to stray from it any more than he had to.

"So you're Agent Mandy." he finally settled on saying, putting on a smile.

"The one and only!" The hybrid leaned in close to his human ear and added in a whisper, "Beware of impostors. They're the ones that bite."

Orino just stared as she pulled back and made a series of sounds that he could probably equate to laughing. Although then again, she's a disgusting spawn of the world that shouldn't even exist to begin with. I shouldn't be too surprised that she's making such terrible noises. He scanned her up and down again, tilting his head as he began plotting out his course of action for getting down to the nitty-gritty of who his opponent was.

"You know, Mandy...you in particular strike me as someone intriguing." he said. "You're not a normal human being. What are you?"

"Weeeeell, if we're talkin' biloohologally, I'm a human."

"If we're talking what now?"

"But if we're talkin' present-day, I'm a pony-human hybrid! Part pony, part human!"

...Okay, so she's not all that great at English. Checks out. "But you have wings. And a horn?"

"I'm classified as part of the alicorn race. Or, uh, 'winged unicorn', as they're also called."

"Interesting." Orino gave a soft hum of thought, his brain absorbing the explanations like a sponge. "I'm curious. Exactly how powerful are you?"

"Uhh, hellooooo? I'm right here!"

Orino blinked. His gaze shifted to Pinkie, who was frantically waving a hoof and trying to get her attention. He had completely forgotten she was there, and if he was being honest, he really didn't care. Not that he would ever say that to her face, of course.

"Sorry." He barked a short laugh. "I got so caught up in learning about Mandy."

"It's okay! In fact, I should leave you guys to it! If anyone can teach you about this place, it's my trusty-but-certainly-not-rusty partner!" Pinkie giggled and bounced away. "See ya!"

As the trio waved the party pony off, Mandy turned her attention back to Orino. "Now, to answer your question...I'm kiiiinda powerful. I mean, I can't move the sun and moon or anything, but I do have skilled battle prowess." She reached a hand behind her back. "Although I usually prefer to fight more with this!"

She whipped out her hammer and rested its head on the top of her foot. With a jerk of her leg, the hammer was sent flying up a little ways, and her foot making impact with the head in a mighty kick caused it to be sent spinning into the air.

"Stop right there!"

With an equally-mighty jump, Mandy grabbed the weapon's handle and landed perfectly on two feet. From there, she thrust the hammer out in a showy motion, like she was on camera and was showing the viewer a close-up of it.

"'Cause it's hammer time!"

A few spins performed, and her arm raised in a finishing pose, marked the end of the show.

Peaches smiled and clapped, Orino joining in when the shock died down only a few seconds after she had started.

"Very showy. In a good way, of course."

"Thank ye thank ye!" Mandy bounced back over to them and rubbed the head of her hammer with her jacket sleeve. "This baby can grow huuuuuuge. Perfect for smashin' trees, villains, the ground..."

Orino's eyes widened and began to sparkle. He was in pure genuine awe of this weapon, and he deduced that it was probably why Mandy had been such a formidable force all this time. "If it's not too much to ask...may I see you in action?"

"In action? Like actually fighting someone?"

"Yes!" Orino couldn't fight the excitement that crept into his voice. "See, us Valleans don't normally fight for fun. We are peaceful and tend to stay out of conflict unless it finds us or our king demands it. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

Peaches grinned and pat his shoulder. "That's Orino for you!"

"Heh, well..." Mandy scratched her cheek. "There isn't really anyone around to fight right now, but...there's video footage of me fighting villains and creatures and stuff if you wanna look at that!"

Orino contemplated the offer. A small part of him wanted to challenge Mandy, just so he could watch her lose and get the mission over with faster. But he certainly wasn't prepared to deal with a hammer that had enough blunt force power to smash through earth. He needed more time to figure out how he could get through that -- if that was Mandy's signature weapon to use in battle, rather than any claws or any other part of her body, he was going to have a tough time and end up on the losing end fairly quickly. Still, he knew that if he was able to garner information from watching footage of her battling with her hammer, it would help in planning out battle strategies for if and when she was going to put up a fight.

"I would prefer to see it in real-time, but a video would work just as well."

"Great! C'mon, let's head to the North Control Room."

Orino watched where Mandy pointed to, then followed her there, Peaches following suit. Of course, it didn't take them any more than a few footsteps to get where they were going.

"So this is the North Control Room?" Orino asked incredulously.

"Yep! Agents who work in the Security department handle footage from both Headquarters and the town here." Mandy looked from side to side, her pony ear flicking a few times before she sat down in an empty chair and grabbed the white-and-blue joystick in front of her. "Here, I'll show you footage from last week when I was fighting off a villain."

Tilting the joystick to the left caused the content on the screen to rewind. What came up was a view that Orino couldn't help but go slightly slack-jawed at.

Mandy was going at it with a villain who clearly had lightning powers, going by his leather attire and thunderbolt decor. She dodged his lightning attacks with graceful flaps of her wings. In one fell swoop towards the ground, she sideswiped him, causing him to stumble and misfire, and she repeated this three more times before she went back up into the air again. Furiously rubbing his hands, the villain shot out a rather large bolt of lightning at the hybrid, which she quickly counteracted with a blast of magic. From there, the two attacks met in the middle and pushed against each other, and for several seconds, it seemed like neither side was willing to let up. Although there was no sound to the video, Orino could feel the yell that Mandy's parted jaws allowed her to give as her blast grew in intensity and effortlessly pushed back against her opponent, encapsulating him.

Orino held his breath, waiting for the aftermath to be shown.

The video stopped.

He let out a breathy "whoa..." that led into a "tch" of disappointment.

"Oh yeah. That's Mr. Lightning. I went toe-to-toe with him last week. It was brutal."

"And then you came home with your hair and tail all frizzed and stuck up in the air!" Peaches snickered.

"Yeah...that took the rest of the day just to fix. S' why I really don't like dealin' with him, but it's all a part of the job."

Orino was floored. Perhaps the only other time he would have been utterly overcome with shock and surprise like that is if he was told King Ashero died. His eyes lost all sense of debonair and coldness, instead sparkling with warmth and excitement. "This is...incredible!" he yowled. "I'd like to watch some more of this footage, if that's okay with you."

"Sure!" Mandy pointed to where a big red desk sat, complete with an object that Orino couldn't identify nor care enough to identify. "I'll be over there at my desk. If you need anything, ask Peaches!" She got up. "Or me. Me works too."

Peaches waved her cousin off, not noticing the sly smile her friend had put on as he came to a realization.

This...thing...she has so much power. Power beyond what I initially thought. He bit back a soft chuckle, letting it instead form as a whistle through his teeth. If I’m to take her back with me...I’ll need to be careful.





Fifteen minutes later, Mandy was absentmindedly chewing on a piece of Twistorice while typing up a report on students at the Odd Squad Academy when Olive and Otto entered.

"Hey, Mandy." Olive gave a wave.

"Momma! Otto!" The hybrid eagerly waved back, chewing up the rest of her Twistorice piece.

"Who's the catperson over there?"

Mandy turned towards where Otto was pointing. Over in the North Control Room, Peaches was talking about something with Orino. The screen was paused on a shot of Mandy and a Pegasus pony about to meet halfway with two individual attacks -- Mandy, for the life of her, couldn't remember who the pony was, but she was sure she knew who Otto was talking about.

She tried to stifle a laugh, but it soon came out in full force. "Otto! Don't tell me you forgot Peaches' name again?"

"No, not her!" Otto rolled her eyes. "The other one."

"Oh! That's Peaches' friend, Orino. He's here for a visit!"

Olive tilted her head. "Sure does seem like he's interested in your battles."

"I guess he wants to learn from my style and techniques to improve on his own." Mandy gave a happy sigh and leaned back in her chair. "I can’t believe I’ve gotten to a point where I’m inspiring people who aren’t even Odd Squad agents to fight!"

"Don't you mostly use a hammer and your magic to fight, though?" Otto asked. "Orino doesn't look like he has either of those."

"Yeah, the last time you tried to punch a villain, you nearly broke your arm."

Mandy nodded, recalling the incident clear as day. She rubbed her wrist subconsciously, remembering how the fracture looked like a candy cane but how it was a candy cane that hurt. "True. But maybe Peach can give him some pointers! She's the same species, it'll work out."

The sound of laughter brought the trio's attention to Peaches and Orino, who were approaching them. "Hey, me and Orino are gonna go spar in the park. Any of you want to come?"

"I would, but I've got a lot of work to do. Sorry, cuz!"

"Us too." Olive nodded.

Orino tilted his head at the newcomers. "And who might you be?"

"Oh, I'm Olive, and this is my partner Otto. We're the Directors of the Odd Squad precinct the next town over."

"Hi." Otto waved. "You must be...Orino, was it?"

"Yes. Lovely to meet you both." Orino put on the most genuine smile he could muster. "So you two work at Odd Squad as well?"

"Yup! We've worked here for a long time now."

"I see." 

Orino took in the appearance of Otto, then the appearance of Olive. The latter was rather short for someone who was apparently in a high position -- someone easy he could take down in a fight if she intervened, he supposed. As for the former, he was taller, but he didn't quite look like the fighting type to Orino. He had a sort of goofy smile on his face that clued the catboy in to just how airheaded he was.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, an idea flashed in his brain. An idea regarding something that, if he was being honest, he never would have thought of. But it was just so obvious that he wanted to slap himself for it.

"Hey, Peaches." His gaze moved to the catgirl. "I'm really interested in...Odd Squad. Later on, would you mind telling me all about it?"

Peaches gasped, her eyes gaining little shimmers in them. "Orino. Are you really thinking about joining?!"

"What?" Orino wrinkled his nose. "No, I never said that. I just said I wanted to learn about it, that's all."

"Oh..." A disappointed look fell across Peaches' face briefly before it faded away. "Well, okay! We can do that after we spar."

"Great. Let's go!"

"See you later, Mandy!"

The hybrid gave the two catpeople a wave as they left the bullpen. As much as she wanted to smile, one thing had became hauntingly apparent to her throughout Orino's stay, and so, a frown formed instead. She only barely heard the conversation Olive and Otto were having in the background.

"You know, Orino could make a good agent. His name starts with O and everything."

"But catpeople aren't allowed to attend the Odd Squad Academy." Olive said, before she blinked. "At least...not that I know of."

"That's a shame. Although I don't know exactly how close Vallea and Toronto are to each other. I've never even heard of Vallea. Have you?"

Olive shook her head.

Mandy's brow furrowed. 

I just realized. What Peaches said, back when we first met...what she told me after she told Momma and Otto and Oprah...





"I...y-you see, I'm...an outcast. I never fit in with the other catpeople of Vallea. I was teased constantly, a-and I never really had any friends growing up. I was essentially...a loner. And when our king sent me away to find out who burned our village, I felt like I was a part of something bigger. Like he was giving me a chance to prove myself and make me a hero.

"But I realized...he did it to exile me from Vallea. It was never to make me a hero. It was never because he trusted me. Even though the culprit is still out there, I...I spent countless months thinking I was doing good for Vallea. That I could find the culprit and get fame and respect. B-but...when I met Mandy for the first time, and I got to meet all of you, I realized...you all are the first ones to ever be genuinely nice to me."





"She was alone all her life...so how does she have such a close friend...?"

"Mandy? Helloooo-ooooo? Come back down to Earth!"

Mandy perked up and blinked. She whirled around, coming face to face with Olive and Otto. A simple "Muh-huh?" was all she could utter as she snapped out of her thoughts.

Otto bit back a snicker. "Did you fall asleep or something?"

"I..." Mandy shook her head furiously. "No, no! I was just...lost in thought. Yeah." A bout of sheepish laughter left her lips. She had to send a prayer to whomever was up above that it was convincing enough. 

Olive and Otto simply exchanged shrugs.

Mandy turned back towards the gadget on her desk. "Anyway, I'm almost done repairing your gadget, just gotta put this last lil' piece...in..." As she captured a small triangular piece in her magic aura, she slowly and carefully placed it in the similarly-shaped hole. When a snap sound resounded through the area, she smiled. "And done! Here ya go!"

"Thanks." Olive said, grabbing the gadget and tucking it behind her back.

"Mandy."

The sound of her name being called made her jerk her head upwards. It didn't take her long to find the source of the sound, straight ahead and staring right at her.

"Huh? H-Haruko?"

"You must come to the Magical Grasslands. Immediately. There is something we must discuss."

Before Mandy could even eke out anything that could come close to sounding like a word, Haruko had ducked around the bend, leaving behind a short trail of sparkles in her wake that dissipated within seconds. The hybrid simply sat there for a few moments, completely agape and trying to comprehend exactly what happened within the past few seconds. Like the flick of a light switch, she came back to reality again and shook her head.

"What's wrong? Who are you talking to?" Otto asked.

Mandy didn't answer him. Now I'm seein' things...was that really Haruko? And why did she sound so worried? She never sounds worried! Usually she's all calm and stuff!

"Were you talking to Haruko again?" Olive tilted her head.

She sounded worried either way...I should go and see her, but...

"But that can't be right. Haruko is just someone in Mandy's dreams. She's not real."

My work... Mandy grit her teeth together. I told Oprah I would work under her as an Investigation agent, but if Haruko's worried, of course I'm gonna panic! She sighed. I'm sorry, Oprah, but my work can wait!

Out of frustration, Mandy's fist met the desk.

Olive and Otto's eyes widened.

"Mandy, are...are you okay?"

"That seems rhetorical." Otto remarked.

"I'm fine!" This outburst was met with looks of suspicion, and Mandy gave a sigh that sounded ragged before she composed herself. "I'm fine. Look, I have to go, so why don't you two come back later?"

As she stood up and allowed her chair to roll behind her, touching Rainbow Dash's and Twilight's desks, Olive tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"

"It's...none of your concern." Mandy said. "Move your butts out of my business and go back to your HQ. I'll be fine."

With that, she darted for the right hallway, leading Olive and Otto to give an exhausted sigh as they gave up the fight in trying to get Mandy to fess up.





Outside of sleep deprivation, Mandy was no narcoleptic. She didn't fall asleep standing up or just fall asleep at complete random. She had specific sleep conditions and not-so-specific areas to sleep in. The world was her slumbering oyster and she was living in it.

So perhaps it was unsurprising that the first thing she did after leaving Olive and Otto was yank open her nightstand drawer, yank her adoptive mother's sleep medicine straight out, and take one mighty swig that not even Oprah could attest to with her juice. 

It didn't take her long before she was snoring away face-down on her bed, not even giving any thought to taking her suit or shoes off.





Immediately after Mandy opened her eyes, she performed the same song and dance again.

"Haruko! Are you there? Answer me, please!"

"Mandy."

"Haruko!" Mandy raced over, words tumbling out of her subconsciously. "What's happening? Why did you sound so panicked? Nonono, wait, why did I see a figure of you calling out to me?"

Naturally, Haruko did not answer any of these questions, and instead urged Mandy to sit next to her to discuss things further.

"I have been watching your interactions with Peaches and her...friend, Orino." Her muzzle wrinkled slightly. "When you met Orino, he seemed kind and caring, did he not?"

"Yeah."

A pause. Haruko took a deep breath.

"I can sense that Orino has intentions. He is not here for a simple visit. He is here for something...more."

"More?" Mandy asked, in a rather impatient tone of voice that was very clearly urging the kitsune to elaborate.

"Yes. I will admit, I do not know much about 'Vallea'. I am still learning about its cultures, its people, and its history." Haruko said. "But I have the ability to sense humans' true emotions. And Orino..."

Mandy bit her lip. She didn't like where this was going.

"...is aiming to hurt rather than heal."

"Hurt?! Hurt who?!"

"Peaches."

Mandy's heart plunged right into her bowels in less than ten seconds flat. She subconsciously began to tremble. The sense of fear, though nonexistent throughout the rest of her body, remained in her brain like glue.

He's here to get to Peaches. He either wants to kill her using my battle moves...or knowing his leader, he wants to take her back to Vallea.

King Ashero must have sent him. And he looks like he's gonna get the job done faster than Old Man Giuseppi workin' the grill on a Sunday.

Oh odd...

"I have to do something."

Haruko perked up upon hearing these words, shaking her head. "You would be ill-advised to do something right now, Mandy."

"And why is that?!" Mandy's voice was practically a screech. "My cousin could be seriously injured by that thing she thinks is her friend!"

"If you act too soon, you may never find out his true goal. You must strike when the time is right."

All Mandy could do was blankly stare at the kitsune. Her already-shrunken eyes slightly moved back and forth, as though trying to make sense of what her spirit guardian was saying but couldn't. Her mouth turned into a grotesque display of bared teeth, held together by a bond that could only be surpassed by the world's strongest superglue.

And then she screamed. She screamed, and listened as the world trembled with the might of her rage.

The double centerline in the road turned into flames that lit up the empty asphalt and lapped the grass at the edges, although they did nothing to burn it to a crisp. The sky became a hazy orange, the clouds turning into midair fireballs that flickered to life. Her body became swathed in flames, with both her hair and tail beginning to take on a new appearance that made them look like they were actually created from fire.

The "damage" -- not that it could be counted as damage, really -- was surprisingly minor, but it was enough for Haruko to react in mild surprise all the same. She took in Mandy's appearance as the scream died with nothing more than a sharp echo that didn't bother to stick around, reflecting on the hair and tail in particular as she gave her next piece of advice.

"Mandy. I sense that you love Peaches very much. She is a dear, dear relative of yours." Haruko looked out over the darkened landscape. "If you wish to help her, you must heed my advice. Otherwise...you may never see her again."

That made the hybrid freeze. Her flames died down, and the environment returned to normal. Not once in her relatively-short-or-long life did she ever consider that Peaches would be ripped from her life to such a point where there was no possibility of ever seeing her again. She had figured Peaches would free herself from whatever confines or conflict she found herself in, or she would save Peaches from whatever confines or conflict she found herself in.

New fear unlocked, indeed.

"Just like how Oprah opened the door to her heart, so will Orino." Haruko said. "Orino's visit here will play a crucial part in mending your bond with Oprah."

It took her a minute or two for her to snap out of her shocked stupor. "Oprah? What's she got to do with this?"

In response, Haruko simply stood up and began to walk away. "Mandy. I have given you all the advice you need. Take it, and act upon it."

"No, Haruko, wa- no! Wait! Don't take me yet, black void! HARUKOOOOOOO!!"





"H-Haruko...come back, Harukoooooo-NYAAAAAAH!!"

Mandy shot up in bed, her body heaving with heavy breaths as the tears began to fall.

What do I do? Orino...he's going to hurt Peaches, but...I can't do a thing about it! I just have to sit back and watch!

She allowed a few choked sobs to leave her, ignoring her lungs' desperate cries for air. The more she thought about her conversation with Haruko, the more it made her realize just how dire the situation was. 

And the more she thought about Orino hanging out with Peaches, potentially manipulating her for his own benefit and that of his leader's, the more enraged she got.

Any joy and happiness that remained within her got killed off in one fell swoop. In its place grew a new emotion, an electrifying clash of anger, indignation, and resentment. She ripped the covers off of her, balled up her fists, and bore witness to the area that lay before her, teeth bared once more as her vocal cords trembled with a mighty growl that coalesced into a primal scream.

Outside, Olive and Otto both leaped a considerable amount into the air as a scream, followed by loud banging, ensued from the other side of the door. Both of them shot worried glances, wanting to rush inside and see what was happening to Mandy but lacking the courage to destroy the one obstacle standing in their way. When the banging came to a stop and there was a five-second lull, they opened the door.

"What happened in he- OH MY SWEET ODD!!"

Olive stumbled backwards into Otto's arms, the boy barely managing to catch her as he too became in awe of the state of Mandy's room. Instead of destroying any valuable objects, the hybrid had instead decided to go right for her floor, which was in a state of dilapidation and had dents and holes galore. Her carpet had, likewise, been ripped to shreds. The hybrid herself was completely in flames, which looked more intense than usual to the point where both Olive and Otto were confident they didn't want to touch her for fear of actually getting burned this time. The flames were so intense, in fact, that the blood leaking from her fingers and hands were hardly seen.

"W-we're lucky she didn't break the entire floor!" Otto squeaked, avoiding eye contact with Mandy as she stared at him and Olive with nothing but pure anger and insanity in her eyes.

Unfortunately, Otto's attempt at avoiding any further acts of aggression was stomped flat. Mandy slowly approached the duo, smacking her fist against the palm of her hand like a bully about to give a victim the pummeling of their life.

Olive and Otto both began to back away, taking out their shields from their hammerspace spines in the process. "Sh-sh-sh-shields...up...?"

Mandy lunged for Olive, ramming her up against the wall and causing her to give a pained yelp on behalf of her spine as well as her hand, which loosened its grip on her shield and sent it rolling to a stop near a hole. The girl squirmed, her head and face moving as far back from Mandy's own as it possibly could as she began to sweat from the hot breath aimed right at her. In an ominous, threatening, gravelly voice, the hybrid made her intentions clear.

"You will tell me where Orino is, before my hammer makes your face do a 180 turn into the BACK OF YOUR FREAKIN' HEAD!!"

The fact that Mandy was still keen on using alternate swear words brought a little amusement to Olive. It almost made her want to smile, if it weren't for common sense keeping her terrified frown and letting her eyes do all the "help me" communicating to Otto. Still, she had to answer her adopted daughter, so she went with the genuine response.

"I don't know! H-he might be in the park, C-Cedarvale Park maybe, with Peaches!"

Mandy's expression didn't falter. She kept her gaze fixated on Olive, contemplating the answer but not letting her grip on her shoulders go. Olive could feel her scapulas begin to develop some bruising, but didn't dare wince in pain until she was let go -- assuming she was going to be let go, that was.

Luckily, Mandy took the Director's answer and let it pass, letting go of her shoulders and allowing her to fall to the floor. Otto quickly rushed over to tend to his partner, brushing dust off of her suit as she rubbed her rump in pain.

"That pathetic little cat. Off giddily-vanting with my cousin." Mandy's fists balled up so tightly that both Olive and Otto were surprised they couldn't see bone jutting out from them. "When I find him...when the time is right...I'm gonna murder him. He'll be nothing but a corpse..."

A look of dread crossed Otto's face. "A-a corpse?"

"HE'LL BE ROTTING AWAY IN THE MOOOOOORGUE!!!" came another yell, this one echoing and slightly shaking the room. Mandy threw a fist down onto a stuffed lamb that looked like it had been quite literally fed to the dogs, her breath coming in ragged exhales that made her body quiver.

By this point, one thing remained clear to the two co-Directors.

Mandy was no longer human. She was, for all intents and purposes, a wild and rabid animal, neither human nor equine. Very few odd creatures could surpass her behavior as part of their instincts, but for her, a level of rage like this had hardly ever been seen before.

"No one...will hurt my cousin...and get away with it. NO ONE!!"

The flames surrounding Mandy's body exploded. Olive and Otto hastily scrambled out the door and kept low to the floor as fire flickered on the walls, the pieces of furniture, and the toys. Luckily for them, the flames appeared to be no-sells to the objects, and as soon as impact was made, Mandy gave a calmer exhale, her body, as well as her emotions, returning to their regular states.

Neither Olive nor Otto dare spoke a word. They watched as Mandy's head turned towards them and then tilted, her face full of confusion and innocence. "What're you two lookin' at?"

Olive's body went limp and slumped forward, the consciousness having been sucked out of her like a sponge. Otto kept her stable lest her head hit the floor and bounce like a basketball, but he couldn't resist giving Mandy a deadpan look. "Great. You made Olive faint. Which, mind you, isn't an easy feat."

Mandy shook her own head furiously, rubbing it in an attempt to alleviate the pain that shot through it. "Ugh...I was out of it. What happened?"

The sound of crackling made her perk up. Almost immediately, she went airborne, surveying the floor that was still broken and the flames that were gradually dying. A feeling of dread filled her heart as she began to connect the dots.

"Oh jeez! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't- it's just-"

"What's up with you?" Otto interrupted, slowly getting to his feet and holding the still-limp Olive in his arms. "Having a bad day or something?"

"It's Orino. He's..." Mandy glanced at Otto, then glanced at her empty and still-bleeding hands. She wanted to break and tell him everything -- he was her confidante, after all. The same agent who singlehandedly coordinated a taking-down of Odd Todd could surely provide advice and assistance on sending Orino to the deepest layers of hell. He might not know too much about Vallea or its mysterious populace, but he could do the best he could in supporting her and saving her cousin. Right?

Well...at the same time, she didn't want to get him involved. Not that she knew why, really -- Haruko hadn't said not to get them involved. But Mandy had pinpointed Orino's schtick, his motives and his plan, and if they were all what she thought they were, she didn't want to drag anyone else into what was already a tangled mess. For all she knew, King Ashero had gotten wind of Olive, Otto, Oprah...the ponies...the rest of the precinct...perhaps all of Toronto and Equestria, all thanks to the Big O. But he was going after two victims, and two victims only. If he showed any signs of wanting any of the others, Mandy hadn't seen it.

Her shoulders heaved. "It's none of your concern. This is a family matter."

"A family matter? But we're your family."

Yeah, that stung. It stung fast, and it stung hard. His hurt tone made her heart ache, and for a split-second she debated actually roping him into this debacle. Unfortunately, the plan she had somehow mapped out in her head in spite of her blind primeval rage had no room for him, for Olive, or for anyone else, and she was riding on it with confidence only because it was the single key she had to saving Peaches. It looked smart on paper, it sounded smart when she said it aloud in her head and it echoed the words back to her, and it would work in execution. It had to work in execution. She would accept nothing less.

"This is something I have to do alone." she responded, before she began hovering out of the room. "Come. I'm holding a meeting in the bullpen."

Otto quickly began pursuing her, Olive still in his hands as though she was nothing more than a small rock he was carrying -- in both weight and priority. "C-can you do that? Will Oprah let you?"

"I don't know. And I don't care." came the grating response, before Mandy began to put on more speed. By doing this, she left Otto in the dust, and he didn't see much sense in catching up with her any further, instead heading towards the bullpen with one thought in his mind.

She...she did all of that...with her bare hands...just how much physical strength does she have?





Caught in the corona of one angry hybrid, a wooden podium slammed onto concrete, causing agents' attention to be grabbed.

"Awright, Security agents, listen up! I have something important to say!"

Confused murmurs, from both Security agents and non-Security agents alike, met this command, and a crowd of the former soon began to form in the center of the bullpen. The latter, on the other hand, opted to stay back, though ears were kept open for listening nonetheless.

"Whoa, Mandy's really fired up!" Rainbow Dash remarked, beginning to approach the crowd with Applejack at her side.

"Somethin' must've set her off."

"Girls!"

Both pegasus and Earth pony turned to find Twilight galloping up to them in a fluster.

"Hey, Twilight." Rainbow waved. "What's up?"

"Mandy's room, it's completely destroyed!"

"Again?!"

"It had t' have been Mandy herself that did it. She looks injured."

Twilight turned to where Applejack was pointing, but as Mandy was wildly gesticulating to a Security agent about something, she couldn't make out what, exactly, her friend was saying. "You mean...it really was her?"

"Maybe she did it with her hammer?" Rainbow suggested, giving a halfhearted shrug that showed she was noncommittal to her theory.

"No. Look at the back of her hand there. It's bloodied. Bruised." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "That was all done by her!"

The second Mandy ceased movement of her hands, both Twilight and Rainbow were able to get a good look at them. Indeed, they were still bloodied and dirty from her outburst, and it didn't look like she noticed nor cared. The mares exchanged shocked looks between each other.

"But there's no way...Mandy doesn't have that kind of strength! How did she..."

"Now hold on." Applejack held up a hoof to interrupt Twilight. "Ain't she an alicorn? Doesn't she have Earth pony strength?"

As Twilight took a moment to sit on Applejack's questions, Rainbow spoke up. "Yeah. Last week, we were going for a fly, and I dared her to try bucking a tree without breaking anything. She swooped down, bucked it, and nearly left a dent in it!"

"Now that ya say that..." Applejack tapped her chin. "I have been noticin' her hangin' in the Orchard Room buckin' apple trees for the past few weeks. Tried askin' her what was goin' on but all she told me was that she just really wanted apples."

Twilight nodded, taking in the information and quickly arriving at a conclusion. "Then she's got to be exercising and building up her physical strength. And at the rate she's going, she'll be able to stand toe-to-toe with Ms. O."

Rainbow's muzzle scrunched up, and she barked out an amused laugh. "Yeah, right! Like anyone could be as strong as her! Not even the princesses could-"

"QUIET!!"

The bellow made the bullpen fall silent, including the three mares, who turned to listen to what Mandy had to say.

"Now, recently we have been visited by someone from a faraway land known as Vallea. Someone named Orino." Mandy's usual cat smile returned to her face. "I don't know if he's staying here, but I do encourage you all to make him feel welcome all the same!"

The arrival of a new guest was enough to excite the crowd. It was quite rare that agents got to meet a special guest who wasn't a victim of oddness in some way or another, or just a client in general -- let alone when said special guest was from a land not many had heard of.

"However!"

Silence again. Mandy's smile twisted and turned sour.

"That doesn't mean I don't want him to go unnoticed. I am entrusting all of you with the task of monitoring him and making sure he doesn't get into any...trouble." The tip of Mandy's curly tail began to flick back and forth knowingly. "Make it as discreet as you can. Nothing obvious."

From above, Oprah emerged from her office, juice box in hand and eyeing her agent through a narrowed view. "What is she doing down there?" she mused aloud, too captivated by curiosity to go and put a stop to this blatant disrespect for authority.

"Let's say he...does manage to get into trouble." Mandy gave a soft chuckle, her ears beginning to swivel back and forth curiously. "If he does, you report it to me and me alone. I will handle it, only me, you got that?!"

A brief lull of silence followed her seemingly-random outburst as agents reacted in confusion. Then, they murmured their agreements -- a majority of them knew better than to tussle with a mad Mandy.

"Good." Mandy's gaze moved to a sandy-haired boy, who was clad in the same blue-and-navy uniform as the rest of the agents in the crowd. "I'd like for us to have a meeting later on, Owen, just you and me. To lay out the details."

Owen blinked, as though he had been dragged out of a trance. "Oh! Uh, sure, of course!"

Mandy's smile remained as she looked over the crowd. "You are all dismissed!" she called, watching as agents began to disperse and return to whatever they were doing before.

Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, remained where they were, gazing at their friend with concern.

"That was...authoritarian." Twilight noted, more to break the silence between the three mares than anything else.

"It's like the Mandy we knew just disappeared!" Rainbow Dash agreed.

"Wonder what happened." Applejack tapped her chin in thought.

"Mandy!"

The three mares jumped slightly as they not only heard the voice of their boss, but saw her coming down the stairs and approaching Mandy.

"What do you think you're doing, hosting meetings without my permission?!" snapped the Director, her brown eyes blazing with fury.

Mandy, however, was indifferent to her boss's rage. "Saving this precinct, what's it look like?" she responded, taking the podium in her corona and teleporting it away to a randomized location.

"If I recall correctly..." The fury on Oprah's face was replaced with a sly smile, a smile that told most everyone watching that she had her agent in her clutches. "You said you didn't want to work under me as my second-in-command. You wanted to work under me as my Investigation agent, and that alone." Her smile morphed into a frown. "So this is out of line!"

"Can you just take my word for it already?!"

On and on the girls bickered, butting heads as each one of them tried resisting the urge to strangle the other. Otto, with the unconscious Olive still in his hands, caught wind of the argument, and sighed. "She's fighting with Oprah again..." he muttered, capping his annoyance off with an eye roll.

"Just forget it! FORGET IT!!" Mandy screamed, interrupting Oprah's tirade about her many flaws that she seemed to have brought up for no good reason other than to be petty -- or to show Mandy she was losing the argument. The hybrid couldn't tell which one, and she didn't care. "I'll handle this on my own. Get your nose outta my family business!"

"Fine!" Oprah retorted. "But if you bring this precinct down to its knees then odd so help me I will strangle you to death."

"Fine by me!!"

Both the mares and Otto watched as Oprah and Mandy went their separate ways. Oprah stomped off towards the right staircase, keeping left to avoid slipping on the slide, while Mandy went to her desk, beginning to clean the papers off of it.

Before Otto could call out to any one of the ponies, they had begun to walk away from the scene. Furthermore, a groan from Olive interrupted him, and he kept her steady in his hands as she slowly opened her eyes. "Olive! You okay?"

"What...happened?" Olive squinted at Otto, as though not recognizing him.

"You fainted after seeing Mandy go berserk." he explained, setting her down and allowing her to find her footing on the concrete. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah." Once Olive's legs were steady, Otto let go of her, giving a small relieved smile.

"She just finished hosting a meeting of the Security agents. She wants Orino monitored."

"For what, quality assurance?" Olive snarked, half in amusement and half in annoyance.

Otto began to walk away. "I'm gonna go talk to her."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Olive gripped the sleeve of his jacket to stop him. "Not without me, you're not. We're going to find out what Mandy has planned. Together."

Otto couldn't argue with his partner's logic. He gave a shrug as the pair began to wander over to where Mandy was still cleaning off of her desk and muttering something to herself.

"...Honestly, she can be such a little bi-"

"Hey, Mandy!"

Mandy glanced up and saw Olive and Otto eagerly waving at her. Almost immediately, her anger began to dissipate, and she returned the wave. "Oh, hey, you two. Sorry about making you faint, Momma..."

"Don't worry about it." Olive said. "It was just surprising to see your room wrecked like that after what happened with Natsu in the Bedroom."

Mandy's eyes grew misty. "Oh. Yeah. That." She glanced at the floor. "The thing is...a-and you guys prolly already know this, but...that was me. I did it all. With my physical strength."

Olive and Otto nodded. They did, indeed, know it was Mandy, even if she was in a feral state of mind. Still, Otto in particular was curious. "How, though? I mean, you've never been the weakest person around, but-"

"I've been training." Mandy responded. "I need to start using more than just my hammer in combat. If a villain knocks it outta my grip and I can't reach it without putting myself at a disadvantage, then I'm gonna need to defend myself until I can gain an advantage. Which is why..." She inhaled and straightened herself up with determination. "...I've been getting stronger!"

Olive blinked. On the one hand, she had to admire Mandy's dedication to improving her strength, knowing that her magical and flight prowess outclassed her physical prowess by a pretty wide margin. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but figure there was a driving force behind this sudden change -- perhaps that thing Mandy was refusing to tell her and Otto about? The thing that was "family business" to no other family than herself? Who was to say. 

"How long have you been doing this?" was the question she eventually settled on asking.

"Oh, a couple months now." Mandy said, an excited edge to her voice. "I've been going to the Odd Squad Gym every day to train, and to Formation Fitness too. I got the VIP membership package there!"

"And...why don't you just use gadgets like everyone else does?" Otto asked.

"Mm, I have thought about making some that would attach to my horn and be powered by my magic, but I'd need to ask Oona about that." Mandy shook her head. "Still, taking gadgets out from behind my back and using them...it'd be a time-waster."

The spluttering noise Olive made was, perhaps, her best attempt at a motorboat engine imitation -- and what an imitation it was. That is, before she managed to spit out, "A time-waster?!"

"Agility's the name of the game. If you can't whip out a gadget in the time it takes for a villain to launch an attack, then you're done for."

Silence. Olive and Otto stared at her for what felt like several minutes, completely floored by this sudden knowledge she seemed to have accrued in the span of less than a day. They knew Mandy was skilled in combat, even when she often acted without planning, but neither one of them thought Mandy knew anything other than the surface-level basics of the activity. Further thought to her words revealed that perhaps she might have a point -- Olive and Otto were both agile in combat, but Otto was klutzy, and one drop of a gadget could lead to serious injuries or death being served to him within seconds.

"When did you become so...battle-proficient?" Olive asked, the question being directed more towards her than towards Mandy.

Regardless, the hybrid answered. "I'm trying to save this precinct, and my cousin, from danger. That catboy is a menace." With a huff, she shot a glare towards the Directors. "As I said before, get your butts out of my business, and keep them out. This is a family matter that I have to deal with alone."

"But I'm your adoptive mother!" Olive cried out. "Am I not family?"

That comment hurt more when it came from Olive. Mandy grit her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut. "Let me rephrase." she said, before she unclenched her jaws and gazed at the Director with sad eyes. "This is a matter between me and Peaches, and only us. I don't want anyone else getting involved."

"But-"

"Olive." Otto placed his hand on his partner's shoulder. "We should take her word for it. If she doesn't want us to get involved, then we shouldn't get involved."

Olive looked into his eyes. Minute after minute, she contemplated the situation. Her heart became wrapped in the coils of worry -- worry about what would happen if she said no, worry about what would happen if she said yes. Any way she saw it, it was a lose-lose situation for her. Either Mandy would get hurt by Orino, or Mandy would hurt her own mother in equal measure.

Her worry bubbled up into a shaky sigh. "All right, if you say so. Just...don't get yourself killed, okay?"

"Don't worry. That won't happen." A satisfied sigh left Mandy, and her mouth curved into a genuine smile as she glanced down the left hallway. "Now, I think I'll go and prep for that meeting with Owen. The sooner I can pummel Orino's face into his skull, the better."

Olive and Otto watched her go, and it was only when she turned the corner that the former expressed her worries that hadn't come out in her sigh.

"She's going to get carried away, Otto. Something bad will happen. I can feel it in my gut."

"You sure that isn't just the sushi talking?" Otto joked, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Unfortunately, Olive was in no mood for laughing this time around. "This isn't a joking matter! I know she's always talked about not killing when she attacks, but...I feel like she's actually gonna kill Orino."

Otto's eyes widened. "Huh? You think so?"

"It was that look in her eyes..." Olive murmured, her gaze fixated on the left hallway and ignoring the other gazes of agents entering and exiting it. "I remember Odd Todd telling me that I had the same look whenever we faced off. It was pure hatred. Murderous intent."

Gradually, Otto was beginning to realize his partner's concerns. He wasn't there during most of the battles and confrontations between Olive and Odd Todd...all except for one, where he had to actively pry her away from him when she was seconds away from delivering a final blow to his skull that, in essence, would have killed him. He never forgot that snarling face, stained with tears and saliva and blood and a few fallen hairs, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Mandy had had a similar face.

He felt a little more wary towards the old phrase "like mother, like daughter" now.

"We have to stop her!"

"Not now." Olive shook her head. "We should follow her closely. She'll attack him eventually, and when she does, we'll be witnesses."

Otto straightened as an idea came to him. "Should we get Oprah to help?"

"Absolutely. Otherwise this precinct is going to fall with her at the helm." Olive glanced at Oprah's office. "But don't let Mandy know we're following her, or she won't be happy."

"Got it."

"Right now she's planning on meeting with Owen. If we can find out where they're having the meeting, we can eavesdrop and get more insight." Olive held up her hand. "You in, partner?"

"Definitely."

Together, the two performed their signature handshake -- a high-five up above, down below, and side-to-side on both sides of the hand, then a fist-bump performed both up and down, and finally, an exploding fist-bump as the two shared a unisonant "Boom-plan-a-lotta!"

With confidence surging through them, they left in pursuit of Owen, already mapping out a course of dialogue since they knew getting anything they wanted out of Owen was enough of a feat on its own.





"Uhh, I believe we're holding it in the Big Meeting Room. The one a little ways down the hall from the Princess Room?"

"Oh yeah! That dark, foreboding room with all the lights off!" Owen and Olive shot Otto strange looks. "Oprah...she, uh...i-it's a long story."

Owen shrugged. "Anyway yeah, we're planning on meeting there."

"Good. That's all we need to know." Olive nodded, mentally breathing a sigh of relief that squeezing that answer out of Owen wasn't that hard. "Thanks, Owen, and good luck."

"No problem!"

As Owen walked away, twirling his baton and whistling a ditty, Olive and Otto watched him go.

"So what now?" Otto asked. "We eavesdrop, right?"

"Yup. We'll find out exactly what Mandy is planning." Olive sighed. "It feels so wrong to go against my own adopted daughter like this, but...if this goes well, we might just end up saving a life."

"And a few reputations!"

"And a few reputations." Olive agreed. "C'mon, we need to stake out somewhere. And I think I might just have an idea on how we can do that. Follow me."





With the pressing of three buttons on each of their jackets, Olive and Otto turned completely invisible.

"Ooooh, the Director suits have camouflage abilities?" Otto asked. "Just like the Investigation suits!"

"Otto, I keep telling you, you have to read that Agents' Manual sometime. We're Directors now. It's pitiful."

"I know! I have it on my list." Otto didn't need to see Olive to know that she was shooting him a dubious look, and he sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll read it when we get back to the office."

"Good. Now, we wait."

Luckily for the two Directors, Mandy and Owen came around the corner no more than a few minutes later.

"Now, I want absolutely no shenaniganihansens at this meeting. This is a very serious matter. I am entrusting you and your team to get the job done."

"Sure thing."

Mandy grabbed ahold of the doorknob and jiggled it to and fro, frowning when the door didn't budge even when magic was brought into play. "Aww pickleferries, it's locked."

"I have a lockpick if you-"

"No need."

Cracking her knuckles, Mandy wrapped an index finger around her forelock, fiddling around with it until it stiffened and stuck out straight. She bent down until the lock in the door was at eye level, then let her forelock extend and work its magic as it moved about inside the lock. A loud click marked the sound of success, and Mandy stood back up as she loosened her forelock and set it back to its usual bouncy position.

Owen blinked in surprise. "Whoa."

"This lil' bit of hair can do many things." Mandy said modestly, before she opened the door and stepped inside. "Follow me inside."

As Owen followed, the door closed behind them. Normally, this would be an obstacle for Olive and Otto, but in their invisible states, they were able to slip through the door as easily as ghosts.

"That's so cool!" Otto said, his voice quiet but still earning a shush from Olive.

Mandy and Owen sat down in two chairs in the center of the room, illuminated by only a single lightbulb hanging from a string. A table suddenly popped into existence to complete the ensemble, and Mandy propped her feet up on it.

"Now, I'm going to get right down to business here." she began. "Vallea is a bit of unknown territory for Odd Squad. As far as I know, no agent has ever visited there. And from what I hear from Peaches, their king Ashero isn't a kindhearted ruler."

Owen's brow furrowed. "Is he like a lion cub, or...?"

"I don't know what he is. Never met him." Mandy shrugged and cleared her throat. "I’m aware that the king conspired with the previous Big O to take Peaches back for her wrongly-presumed failure in finding who burned Vallea down to the ground. And I have a bit of a hunch that Orino is here to do exactly that."

"Whoa...really?"

"Really really." Mandy nodded. "However, I had a sort of...prophetic dream. A dream where someone told me that I can't act now, otherwise Orino will never show his true colors." Her eyes became glazed over with upset and sadness for just a brief moment, and before Owen could even process the sudden change in mood, the steeliness returned to them. "So I'm gonna take the long game approach."

"The what?"

"Right now, Orino is as sweet as cherry pie. He and Peach are doing wonderfully together. But his real nature will begin to show eventually." Mandy balled up her hand into a fist. "If I know King Ashero well, he probably won't want Orino back until he completes his mission. But Orino will want to get Peaches and come home as soon as possible."

Owen's eyes widened. "But you barely know the guy!"

"Cats are crafty creatures."

"Ooh, wordplay!"

A look of disappointment crossed Mandy's face. "Owen, please." she scolded, her tone close to a snap. A heavy sigh regulated her emotions. "What I want you to do is to have you and the rest of your Security team keep tabs on Orino. When he goes out, what he does, what he says, I want it all."

Owen tugged at his collar in a desperate attempt to fight off the nervousness that bubbled inside of him. Mandy's behavior made him think twice about slacking off and going on more breaks than one could possibly conceive. "O-of course!" he said. "Um, if you'd like, I can also give you daily reports? Kind of like what I do with Ms. O."

Mandy's expression turned thoughtful, and she tapped her chin as she weighed Owen's words. "Daily reports...hm. Yes, daily reports, please. This way, I can decide on a course of action."

"You got it! And when should we start?"

"First thing tomorrow. And as I said earlier, if anything comes up, if he starts trouble, any Security agent who spots it is to report to me and you. No one else."

Owen blinked. "I thought you said just you?"

"I changed my mind." Mandy extended her tail and used it to pat Owen's shoulder in lieu of her hand. "You're the head of Security, Owen. You have every right to be in the know."

"All right, whatever you say!" Owen responded with a shrug.

"Good." Mandy didn't seem to notice Owen's carefree "I'm just gonna roll with it" attitude, nor did she care. "And do not attempt to pry Peaches away from Orino, either, by the way. And don't get Ms. O involved. Let things play out and do what I tell you."

"Got it!" Owen's gaze flicked towards the entrance. "Can I, um...go now?"

"Yes. Meeting concluded."

As Owen got up and began walking towards the door, Olive and Otto silently passed through the wall and arrived back outside the room.

"Thanks for meeting with me, Owen!" Mandy called, as she watched Owen walk down the hall.

"It's no prob!" he called back, before he took out his baton from his hammerspace spine and began whistling a ditty while twirling the weapon in his hand.

Olive and Otto waited with held breaths. However, the only thing that came forth was a comment about Mandy taking her long-overdue and well-needed nap, and as she walked away, both of them breathed collective sighs of relief as they pressed the three buttons on the fronts of their jackets to return to normal once more.

"C'mon, Otto, let's head back to the office. We'll discuss things there."





Olive grabbed two bottles of water from the bar in her office, throwing one to Otto.

"So. She really is going to monitor Orino around the clock."

"Seems kinda creepy if you ask me." Otto said, taking a swig of water.

This remark was met with doubt on Olive's face as she turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Otto...Mandy's not the stalker type."

Otto, likewise, had his own doubtful look, mixed in with a twinge of smugness as he smiled at Olive. All of a sudden, a memory began to bubble to the surface of Olive's brain, of a time that Mandy was, indeed, the stalker type...





The sound of sipping was the first thing that met Olive's eardrums. As she rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn, her feet met the solid ground of the first story of her house, where they almost took her right past...

Past...

"Mandy?!" Olive was (mostly) alert in an instant. "Wh-what the heck are you doing in my house?!"

Mandy, sitting and relaxing on the couch, stretched her legs out further, a glass of orange juice caught in her rainbow-colored corona. "Jeez, Momma, and you complain that I stay in bed all day! What is it, noon, and you're comin' down here in your kitty jammies?"

Olive stared for ten full seconds at the giggling form of her adopted daughter. Alert as she was, her fatigue-bogged brain hadn't quite caught up to her yet, and it took her a bit to fully absorb what was happening. Finally, she managed to spit out a "What are you doing here?!"

"Oh, I'd thought I'd make you brekkie!" Mandy pointed to the kitchen. "You looked sooooo run-down the other day, your hair was messed up, I mean, Otto could throw a fish at you and he'd get no reaction!"

"And...how'd you get in here?"

"I have magic, ya wingding!"

Olive pinched the bridge of her nose, regretting not having figured that out sooner. One thing she knew about Mandy was that if she wasn't going to be let in, then by odd, she was going to let herself in -- whether it was by busting down the door with her hammer or by simple teleportation.

"Right..." She began making her way to the coffee table, where she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to the news. "Anyway, look, I need to take a shower."

"No prob! Whaddya want for brekkie?"

Olive shot her a confused look. "I don't...need anything for...'brekkie'." she remarked, making air quotes around the foreign word. "I'll make it myself."

"That's Momma! So modest and humble."

A thought occurred to Olive right then. Secretly, she really wasn't up to making her own breakfast, and with Mandy's superb cooking skills and high energy, she could get it done faster than Olive herself ever could. "If I eat your breakfast, will you get out of my house?"

"Sure!" Mandy took a sip of her orange juice. "Your snoring's a nuisance anyway. Which is weird, 'cuz you usually don't snore-"

And there came the rambling. Olive had been expecting it, but that didn't mean it didn't annoy her any less. A groan marked her journey back up the stairs towards the bathroom, whereupon she promptly closed the door, locked it, and prayed to whomever up above that Mandy wouldn't suddenly teleport into her shower.





"I...take that back." Olive shook her head in an attempt to clear the memory. "But this is different. She clearly has some intent to kick this guy's butt into the BC years."

"Seems like King Ashero's up to no good again." Otto said. "He wants to take Peaches back to Vallea!"

Olive grit her teeth. "For being a lazy leader, he sure is persistent. Annoyingly persistent."

"So what're we gonna do?" Otto took another swig of water. "If Mandy finds out we're involved in all this, she's gonna smack both our faces into our skulls!"

"Partner, honestly. You worry too much." Olive smirked. "I have an idea in mind."

Sure enough, she had Pinkie Pie on the line less than a minute later.

"You need a favor?" the party pony asked. "Sure thing! Whatcha need?"

"How often do you hang out with Mandy?"

Silence, and then a bout of laughter, followed by a snort. "How often? We're partners, silly, we hang out all the time!"

"Mhm...I see." Olive mentally smacked herself for asking such an obvious question. "Um, Mandy, she...she's hit a bit of a rough patch as of late. Irritability with a certain...someone. Would it trouble you to keep a constant eye on her, maybe check up on her daily? As a friend and a partner?"

"Of course!" Pinkie chirped. "Who's the someone?"

At this, Olive gave a bout of nervous laughter. Apparently she didn't factor in Pinkie's need to shove her muzzle into business she had no right to shove her muzzle in -- great partners thought alike. "N-not anyone important, don't worry. Just keep tabs on her, okay?"

"Will do!"

"Thanks, Pinkie. You're a big help."

"No prob! Where's Mandy now?"

Olive's gaze moved towards the doors. "Taking a nap, I think. But she'll probably want dinner soon."

"Ooh, I can help with that! Otto taught me some awesome recipes that I wanna try out!" Otto beamed in the background upon hearing the mare's praise. "Er, anything she wants in particular?"

"Make whatever. You know Mandy can and will eat anything and everything."

"Aaaaaall righty, be back at Odd Squad in a spiffy-jiffy!"

"Thanks again, Pinkie."

"You're welcome!"

As Olive ended the call and clipped her phone back onto her chest, Otto tilted his head. "So you're going to fight monitoring...with monitoring?"

"No." Olive held her index finger up. "I told Pinkie to check up on her daily. What I didn't tell her was to follow Mandy around all the time and keep a single eye on her around the clock."

Otto's eyes widened. An "ohhh" slipped from his lips as he began to nod in understanding.

"If Pinkie can keep Mandy under control...we’ll be saving the life of...uh...someone we barely even know. But it’ll still be a life!" Olive sighed. "Honestly, I don’t know what connection Odd Squad and Vallea have to each other...I’ll have to ask the Big O about that sometime."

"So we just sit back and let Pinkie do her thing, right?"

Olive took a sip of water and sat in her chair with a smile. "Exactly."





The sparring between Orino and Peaches had gone well. Numerous times did Orino contemplate actually bringing Peaches down and capturing her, but stopped as he realized that he had to bring Mandy back as well, and to King Ashero, it simply wouldn't do to have just one rulebreaker in his grasp. So, he resigned to friendly sparring, putting on his facade and making mental notes of Peaches' battle moves in her cat form for easy reference.

As they roamed the hallways, a lighthearted chuckle fell from Orino's lips. "You're so funny, Peaches!"

"I picked up a few jokes from Otto and Mandy, what can I say?" Peaches shrugged.

The conversation came to a slow halt when the pair passed by, and eventually stopped in the doorway of, Mandy's room. The hybrid had left the door wide open and was wrapped up in sheets and blankets, entering the realm of deep sleep as she snored away. This, of course, intrigued Orino, who had gotten wind of Mandy's famous love of sleeping from Ashero talking about it to the townspeople of Vallea -- how she didn't wake up easily, how she wasn't a morning person, how sleep deprivation affected her. Sleeping was a key cornerstone of her entire identity, and for the first time, Orino found something in her that he could relate to. He would have been scared of having a familiarity with the enemy, if not for the fact that he wasn't willing to spare any sympathy.

"Mandy sleeps a lot." Peaches explained, apparently having caught Orino staring at Mandy. "Over 12 hours, actually."

"Wow." Orino gave a soft chuckle, biting the urge to tell Peaches that this was knowledge he already was aware of. "Well, she could be part-cat. Since she's your cousin and all." Oh cattails, why did I say that? Come on, Orino, keep your head in the game. Now you're gonna have nightmares for weeks. 

"You know, I've thought of that." Peaches said, before the low growl of a stomach cut through the air.

A pause as Orino scratched the back of his head. "I'm kind of hungry. Mind making me dinner?"

"Sure thing! We can go catch some fish together."

Orino's eyes widened. "Actually, I'm..." He leaned over and clutched his stomach. "...not feeling well."

"Oh!" Peaches placed a hand on his back to stabilize him. "Well, in that case, I'm sure I can go to the town lake and catch you some."

"Thank you." Orino fought to stay standing, even though he was merely putting on a facade. "Um, is there anywhere I can...lie down?"

A few minutes later, he and Peaches had arrived at the latter's room.

"Just make yourself comfortable on the bed and I'll be back soon with plenty of fish!"

"Thank you." Orino closed his eyes. "You're a life-saver."

As he got situated on the bed, Peaches left the room and closed the door. It was only then that Orino dropped the act, unclenching his stomach muscles and allowing his eyes to spring back to life again. An exhale shook his chest as he had himself a thorough look around his "friend's" room, making note of every little detail he could find. It was lucky that he had been blessed with the gift of a good memory.

I need to get to Vallea as soon as possible. King Ashero won't like it if I prolong my visit here. A sigh came forth. Even if he said I can't return until I have both Peaches and Mandy...and even if he said that I will be punished for my failure...

He hopped off of the bed and headed for the door, allowing his feet to guide him through the hallway as he continued to become lost in his thoughts.

Although I am quite glad she told me so much about Mandy. That mutt is quite interesting. He smirked. Such power...I want to see it in action, with my own eyes. If I can critically wound her...

His brain began to concoct the fantasy he had most often whenever King Ashero sent him on a mission. It was glorious, like a slice of heaven he could enjoy again and again whenever he wanted. And it played out in the exact same way, every time.





Like they were nothing but mere pebbles, Orino carried two captors in a single brown sack. A sickeningly sadistic cat smile adorned his features as he stepped inside the castle of King Ashero and began to make his way to the throne room with two guards at his sides.

When he arrived, he made sure to slam the sack onto the floor to stop the captors' squirming as well as their muffled cries for help.

"Your Majesty? I have brought Peaches and Mandy, as you requested."

The delight that settled in King Ashero's eyes filled Orino with joy. It was quite rare that his king wore such an emotion in front of his subjects, let alone in front of someone like Orino, and as someone who was utterly loyal to his leadership, Orino was happy to see him happy.

"Well done, Orino." Ashero watched as the catboy began dragging the captors out of the sack. "I see they are critically injured."

Indeed, both Peaches and Mandy carried scars, bruises and broken bones on their weak and frail bodies. They looked like they had come back from a water park where blood was the substitute for water, with the red substance streaked all over their faces and limbs. For the cherry on top, rope was tied tightly around their bodies to prevent their movement, and it showed in the way it chafed their skin, threatening to cut off blood circulation if it were any tighter.

"Yes. They put up quite a fight, and this was the only way I was able to put them out of commission."

"Hm." Ashero's tail flicked to and fro. "No matter. So long as they can speak."

A moan echoed throughout the Throne Room. It didn't take neither Orino nor Ashero very long to pinpoint its source.

"Peaches. Your failure in finding who attacked Vallea irritates me greatly." Ashero's nostrils flared. "I will admit, I had originally sent you away because you brought nothing of value to this place. It seems like with this latest setback..." His body rippled with a huff. "...it was a wise choice indeed."

Even with the odds stacked against her, Peaches continued to fight with verbal assaults. "K-King Ashero...y-you can't...do this..."

"Quit your whining, you pathetic dog." came the mighty bellow. "I ought to execute you here and now."

And perhaps he would have, if not for his eyes wandering towards the second capture, who was feebly trying to get up but was unable to do so. "And Agent Mandy. A part of Odd Squad, I presume?"

The agent only responded by groaning in pain as she tried once more to get to her feet.

This was met by a harsh mocking laugh from Ashero, a smug smile displayed on his face. "Look at you. Too weak to stand up." he taunted. "Fitting for someone who is nothing more than a revolting half-breed."

Unlike Peaches, Mandy had no witty quip to offer in response. Instead, her energy was directed towards attempting to stand, even in her rope-bound state.

"You are wasting your breath, mongrel. Give up. You have no power here."

The words were like a siphon that sucked all of Mandy's energy away in one fell swoop. She fell to the ground without another sound uttered, Peaches gazing at her with tears in her eyes.

Ashero gave a low hum as his tail flicked back and forth again. "I ought to execute her as well. And if I did not need information out of them, I would." His gaze moved from Mandy to "Orino. Bring these two to the House of Torture. If they are not willing to give answers to me, then we will claw the answers out of them ourselves."

"Oh, right away, Your Majesty!" Orino eagerly nodded before moving to shove Peaches and Mandy back into the sack. "Come on, you quivering canines, let's go."

The last thing he heard as he left the throne room was the lovely melody of his king's laughter, which bounced off every inch of the throne room walls. It was like a victory fanfare for him, and he treasured it for all it was worth.





Orino's expression was stuck in a state of bliss.

King Ashero would praise me! Mandy and Peaches would both be tortured to death...and I would be responsible for it all!

The sound of snoring snapped him out of his stupor, and he once again paused at the entrance to the doorway of Mandy's room.

Perhaps...I could get started on the half-breed while she’s asleep. She wouldn’t know what hit her. And she wouldn’t even fight back! It’s perfect.

He didn't need to conceal the sound of his footsteps as he walked inside -- his innate cat abilities did all the work for him in providing perfectly quiet tread. Within just a few seconds, he was looming ominously over his snoring enemy, who seemed to be unaware of his presence.

He unsheathed his claws and raised them over her.

"Now...prepare to get sliced."

A tail quickly snaked up his body and held him by his neck, causing him to give a yelp of pain. It gripped the extremity tighter and tighter, causing his face to turn pale as his eyes began to roll in the back of his head. However, before it could kill him by way of asphyxiation, it jerked upwards, sending him into the air. He soon found himself being spun around and around like a carousel, and a yell escaped him as he flew out the door and collided with a wall.

A minute or two passed. Orino groaned as he slid down the wall, his rump met the floor, and he landed back-first.

"Oww...for the love of cattails, what the heck happened...?" he asked, eyes spinning around in their sockets as he struggled to get to his feet. His keen ears caught the sound of Mandy still snoring away, only now, she was muttering something he couldn't make out. Pure gibberish, he supposed.

"Was she...acting out a dream?" He shook his head as he placed one foot on the ground, and then the other, using the wall to steady himself. "No...it seemed targeted towards me. Did she know I was there?"

He tried again, stepping into Mandy's room and looming over her. This time, however, he kept a close eye on the tail that was drooped over the side of the bed, in case it tried to attack him again. A thought flickered in his mind of him possibly stepping on it so it would be a non-threat, but he quickly shut that down as not being a good idea. Instead, he made a note about her tail being prehensile and strong enough to be weaponized against enemies.

"You pathetic mongrel. I know you can hear me, so listen up." Orino hissed, from his position at the end of Mandy's bed. "I have one goal in mind, and that's to bring you and Peaches to King Ashero pronto. And nothing is going to stand in my way. Absolutely nothing."

He spoke his words in confidence that no one was around to hear them, unaware that there was someone listening to his conversation that wasn't Mandy. She was pressed on the wall next to Mandy's door, her ears swiveling towards the door to make out what he was saying.

"Tomorrow, you will be at the mercy of my glorious King, fatally wounded and tortured for information on this wretched place." Orino purred. "Just you wait. For now...get some sleep." He leaned in closer. "You'll need it."

The equine eavesdropper listened to the sound of evil laughter that echoed out of the room. A gasp left her, followed by a "He's going to take Peaches and Mandy away?!"

She clasped her hooves over her mouth, but by then, it was too little, too late.

"Who said that?" Orino asked, poking his head out of the door and letting his eyes rest on the eavesdropper. In spite of their meeting before, he didn't recognize her, instead having funneled his attention to Peaches and Mandy. "You...you're wearing the same outfit as Mandy. Are you affiliated with her?"

The pony dropped on all fours and turned to face him, ears folded downwards and an angry scowl on her face. "W-well...why should you know?! Who are you?!"

It seemed neither one of them recognized each other, which was good news for Orino. "Oh, just someone who's being a good little kitty-cat and obeying his noble and kind King."

In the blink of an eye, he tore a piece of cloth from his pocket -- something he had been saving since he had found it on his journey to Toronto, since he could never be too prepared -- and wrapped it around the pony's muzzle, silencing her.

"That ought to shut you up." he said, ignoring the pony's attempts to speak through the obstruction. His claws unsheathed once more, and a sickening grin split his face as he bent his legs slightly and shifted one backwards.

"I'm sure King Ashero won't mind if I take one more back with me."

A loud yowl pierced the air. In contrast, a muffled scream went unheard.





It was only a few minutes later that Peaches returned.

"I'm back, Orino!" she called as she set the bucket down. "I brought a ton of fish. Enough to last us the whole week!"

As she opened the door, she found the catboy lying on the bed, still clutching his stomach.

"There you are. You feeling better?"

"A little." Orino smiled. "I had a nasty hairball that was stuck in me for a good while."

"Ugh, yeah...I can relate." Peaches winced. "Anyway, let's eat!"

As the pair chowed down on as much fish as their stomachs could handle, Orino mentally ran through the next phase of his plan. He had disposed of an unforeseen obstacle, and with that done, he could move on to the next phase of his plan and get this mission over with.

"Hey, Peaches." he said, swallowing his bite of fish. "Um...I have something to discuss with you."

"Hm?"

"It's about King Ashero." A look of pleading settled in Orino's eyes. "He really wants you back in Vallea."

Peaches ceased her chewing for only a moment, before she swallowed in an attempt to keep the piece in her mouth and not have it wind up on the floor. "He wants me back?"

"See, before I left, I was summoned by him." Orino explained. "He confided in me, and told me that he realized sending you away was wrong."

Half of the catboy had expected Peaches to not be fooled for a second. The other half had expected her to buy into the lie hook, line and stinker. Lucky for him that the odds worked out in his favor. "Did he...did he admit to sending me away because I was useless?"

Orino nodded. "And he profusely apologized. He said that it was wrong for him as the king of Vallea to commit such a hasty and rude crime against a hard-working member, especially since you were attempting to find out who burned the town down."

Peaches bit her lip and didn't say anything in response.

"I know you haven’t found the culprit yet, and I do want to help you look. But perhaps we could return to Vallea together and meet up with the king. He said that he wants you to return. And...I want you to return too." Pain flashed in Orino's eyes, now. "Vallea has been a desolate town ever since you left. Everyone is on edge. No one is safe. King Ashero believes that you…"

A pause.

"You deserve a second chance."

Peaches gasped. The fish she had been eating fell on the floor. Her eyes began to water slightly.

"This place...it's nice." Orino said. "But tell me. Don't you want to go home, Peaches? You could be the hero that Vallea needs."

Peaches stared at him. "B-but...Mandy..." The water that had been pooling in her eyes fell down her face in two beautifully cascading streams. "I finally found a member of my own family, Orino. You know how they went missing in the attack. They..."

"I know." Orino placed a hand on her shoulder. "And perhaps we'll find them too. But do you really not want to leave Mandy?" He glanced at the wall just outside of the door. "A girl like her would never fit in with Vallea's citizens. She would be an outcast, living at the bottom of the hierarchy. Is that the position you want to put her in?"

Silence hung over the room like a thick dark cloud. Orino made sure it didn't last for very long, though.

"Besides, from what I've seen, Mandy is happy here. She has friends, family, a purpose. Do you want to take all that away from her?"

"I don't...I don't know!" Peaches blurted out, burying her face in her knees.

Orino was, of course, entirely indifferent to her emotions, instead eating the rest of his fish in one fell swoop. "Why don't you sleep on it? I'm leaving tomorrow."

Peaches' head jerked up. "T-tomorrow?"

"I'm going to search around the area of Vallea for any sign of the culprit. The sooner the better. I assume you've been searching around here and haven't found anything?"

"N-no..."

"They couldn't have gone far. I could always use a trusted friend to help me look." Orino got off of the bed. "Is...there anywhere I can sleep for the night?"

Peaches wiped away her tears. "Um...you can sleep in my room. I'll set up a cat bed or something."

"All right. I'm just going to go out for a stroll and get some fresh air. I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay..."

With that, Orino left the room, making sure to close the door behind him.

Which, in turn, left Peaches alone with her thoughts.

She stared at the fish she had dropped, the appetite she once had suddenly sapped out of her. The tears flowed freely, and she laid on the bed with her hands wrapped tightly around her.

That stupid king...he wants me back after sending me away and exiling me from the town? After how he worked with the Big O? After all he's done to hurt us?! Is he insane?! A choked sob left her. And Orino...

Orino...

He...wants me to come back.

She blinked.

"I could be the hero Vallea needs"...what did he mean by that? Could I overthrow King Ashero and become the Queen?

...No, no. Don't delude yourself with such silly thoughts, Peaches. Someone like you could never be the leader of an entire town. 

Suddenly, a realization broke through.

If I return to Vallea, it'll be for Orino. He's been my friend since I was a child. I can't let him go back to Vallea and live under that...monstrous tyrant. 

If I go with him, we can stop King Ashero together. Maybe that's what he means by me being the hero Vallea needs...?

Thoughts kept spinning around and around in her head like a carousel, and it didn't take long before her eyes slowly began to close as she slipped into slumber.





Meanwhile, Orino was having thoughts of his own.

If I can get Peaches away from Mandy and get her to Vallea...perhaps Mandy will follow suit. Considering I can’t catch Mandy directly, I’ll have to resort to more tactful methods. He gave a soft chuckle. But everything will go according to plan in the end. It always does.

As he rounded the corner, his keen eyes spotted one of his two intended targets, who was busy conversing with Olive and Otto.

It's Mandy! With those two, no less...whatever their names are. His eyes narrowed. I could try and persuade her now, but would it be better to manipulate her while she's asleep? He bit his lip. No...she'd just attack me again. I have to do it now, while I have an opportunity lying right in front of me.

It didn't take long for one of the beings Mandy was talking with to spot him. Her corkscrew ponytail bounced as she turned her head. "Oh! Orino, was it?"

"Um, yes." Orino nodded. "And remind me who you two are, again?"

Luckily, neither one of them seemed fazed by his forgetfulness. "I'm Olive, Mandy's adoptive mother."

"And I'm Otto. We work together in the Odd Squad precinct in the next town over."

It was then that something occurred to Orino. He pointed at Olive. "You're her mother?"

"Yes."

"No rude intentions, but..." He smiled. "You do look quite young for being Mandy's adoptive mother."

He had expected Olive to be offended or to scold him for being rude. To his surprise, however, she barked a pleasant laugh. "I get that a lot. It's a rather complicated story."

Orino really wanted to hear the story, but his conscience told him to stick to the plan and not to go astray. He nodded at Olive before making eye contact with Mandy. "Um, Mandy...there's something I need to tell you."

Mandy was busy looking the catboy up and down, which unnerved him only by a twinge. After a few seconds, she blinked and returned to reality, as though she had simply zoned out for a moment. "Y-yes! Yes, of course!" She awkwardly laughed as she moved her chair closer to him. "Here, have a seat."

"I'll pass." Orino cleared his throat. "Peaches has expressed an interest in returning to Vallea."

Mandy's eyes widened. They remained that way for a minute or two, before a few blinks brought them back to normal. "But I thought she wanted to find out who burned it down to the ground. I'd imagine it looks pretty barren..."

"Oh, no, not at all! We've rebuilt since then."

The narrowing of Mandy's eyes, followed by the low inquisitive hum she gave, once again only fazed Orino just a little bit. He had to wonder if she was catching on to him, but pushed that thought to the side, because there was no way someone as dumb as her could see past the thick mask he was wearing.

"I know that her returning to Vallea would mean that she would have to leave you and the rest of Odd Squad behind." he continued. "But all the same, I'd like to extend an offer to you."

Mandy's expression didn't falter. Orino straightened as he laid down the million-dollar question.

"Would you like to come to Vallea with Peaches, on a permanent basis?"

Otto took a step back. "Come to Vallea?!"

"Y-you can't be serious!" Olive cried out. "Do you really think that Mandy would uproot herself and her entire life over to-"

"Guys."

Silence fell among the group. Olive and Otto gazed at Mandy, who had her hand up and her eyes closed.

"It's fine." Mandy heaved a sigh, and her frown was quickly replaced with her usual cat smile. "Orino, I'd love to come with you and Peaches to Vallea."

Olive looked about ready to faint. "Mandy, no!"

"Wonderful!" Orino clapped his hands together, the cries of Olive and Otto feeding into his rush of endorphins. "You'll love it there, I'm sure."

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Got it."

With the phase of the plan having gone smoothly, Orino turned and began to head for the steel double-doors, mostly in an effort to hide his excitement. "I'm going to go for a walk to clear my head. I suggest you start packing."

"Yup!"

As soon as the doors closed behind him, Orino did a fist pump, a grin settling on his face. Yes, I got her! I didn't think it would be this easy, but oh, the blessing of the King must have been shining down on me! He couldn't resist chuckling. All that's left now is to beat them until they can't move, then take them back to my glorious King and reap in the rewards. Everything is going well in my favor, and I'm not about to let anything stop me now!

Unbeknownst to him, however, there was, indeed, an "anything" that was planning to stop him now, and she was standing right in the bullpen. She listened to the overlapping chatter of her adoptive mother and her partner, gritting her teeth in annoyance before her jaws parted to let out a cry.

"I DIDN'T MEAN FOR YOU TO SPEAK LIKE THAT, STOP!!"

The chattering stopped. Olive and Otto stared at her, jaws spread.

"Are you two dense?" Mandy snapped. "Do you really think that I would uproot myself and my entire life over to Vallea and leave Odd Squad behind, just like that?"

Olive threw her hands in the air. "That's what I was gonna say!"

"Look. I know what Orino's planning to do. I'm going along with him because I want to. I'm going along with him because it's part of my own plan to stop him." In one fell swoop, Mandy extended her arm and pulled both Olive and Otto close to her, putting her face in theirs. "Trust my judgement and don't intervene, got it?"

"But what if you get hurt?"

Mandy's mouth pinched inwards as she went half-lidded, staring at Otto as though asking him if he really just asked what he just asked. "I've got alicorn magic and a hammer. Do you really think I'll get hurt?" Not noticing Olive and Otto's exchanging of doubtful glances, she gave a chuckle. "He's not bringing Peaches back to Vallea. He's forcefully taking her back there. If I can tag along with them, I can beat Orino to a pulp and maaaaaaybe, just maaaaaaybe, check out Vallea for myself."

Olive's brow furrowed. "Why would you want to see Vallea?"

"So I can meet King Ashero and give him a few choice words. And maybe a punchie or two!"

Both Directors squirmed free from Mandy's grasp, doubtful looks remaining on their faces.

"Well...you're your own person, Mandy, and...I can't really hold you back, I suppose..." Olive sighed. "But just try to be careful, okay?"

Mandy scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! And I'll come back in one piece. That's a Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" After she went through the motions, she gave an exhale and swiveled her head towards the right hallway. "Now, I think I'll start packing. Vallea may be a ways away, but I don't think I'll need to travel that far."

Otto and Olive watched her leave, only a single thought being shared amongst their minds.

"We're following her, aren't we?"

"Oh yeah. And we're bringing Oprah along with us too. Strength in numbers."

As Mandy began the short journey back to her room, a satisfied smile settled on her face, and her tail wagged happily as she came to a conclusion.

I've got Orino right where I want him. And tomorrow, he, along with his lousy-mousy king, are gonna be sorry they ever tried to tussle around with Peach. Perhaps my plan hit a few snags...but nothin' I can't handle!





It was about 10 in the morning when Orino, Peaches and Mandy met up just on the border of the city. Mandy had made sure to chug lots of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise in preparation for the upcoming battle she would eventually need to have with Orino, and for an extra "gotta stay awake" punch, she had eaten raw sugar by the measuring cup. After all, it would do her no good to fall asleep during the battle and answer the nonexistent question of "can I fight in my sleep or is it an immediate getting-my-butt-kicked sentence?"

"There you two are." Orino, carrying a bindle with a rather large sack, waved Peaches and Mandy over. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yupparoonie! Got all my things." Mandy gestured to her hammerspace spine, although she didn't expect Orino to get the gist of what she was saying.

"And I got mine." Peaches did as well.

"Wonderful. Let's head off, then."

With that, the trio began walking, but it was only a few minutes in that Mandy already had a question primed and ready.

"How far is Vallea, anyway?"

"About two-and-a-half hours." Orino explained. "We set up residence in a ghost town that was once known as Falkenburg. Since then, it's become Vallea, a thriving town."

A simple "uh-huh" left Mandy's lips as she racked her brain in an attempt to pinpoint Falkenburg on a mental map. Although truthfully, geography wasn't really one of her strong subjects, and so, she dropped the attempt after a minute or so.

Unbeknownst to her and the others, however, Olive, Otto and Oprah were following behind. They made sure to put quite a distance between themselves and the other trio, in such a way that to anyone passing by, it just happened to look like three kids who were simply going the same direction as two catpeople and a pony-human hybrid and not to the same destination. They watched as Orino waved Peaches over next to him before the weight of what he had said hit them like a truck.

"Two-and-a-half hours?!"

"We can't walk that far!" Otto glanced down at his feet.

"I don't think we'll need to." Oprah assured. "Let's just follow them. And keep your voices down!"

Both Olive and Otto still felt unsure, but went along with their old boss anyway, and resumed their positions next to her while keeping an eye on the trio ahead of them.

Only twenty minutes later, Mandy was starting to get tired. Not of walking, mind -- she had already taken flight and was now hovering along to allow her feet to rest -- but of whatever long-game gambit Orino was pulling. Patience wasn't really her thing, and that especially held true in regards to the current situation.

C'mon...surely he's not gonna wait 150 minutes just to enact his plan? I could fly us all there in half the time! She gave a soft sigh. It isn't like he's gonna take me up on the offer either...oh well.

Forty more minutes passed. By this point, Olive and Otto were dragging their feet along the ground, and they could swear they actually both felt and heard their muscles screaming. All of the water in the water bottles they had brought with them in their hammerspace spines couldn't perk them up, either. They contrasted with Oprah, who also looked tired but was still going with no signs of dragging feet.

"It's been an hour!" Otto complained.

This earned him a shushing from Oprah. "We can't rest now!"

"But my feeeeet..."

"Olive, stop complaining and walk!"

The two Directors only gave soft groans in response, wrapping their arms around each other to keep themselves stable. Lucky for them, they didn't have to walk any longer, as up ahead, Orino posed a suggestion.

"Hey, why don't we all take a quick rest? I'm sure your...er...wings must be sore, Mandy."

"Mm, kinda." Mandy took the opportunity to land on the ground, folding her wings in. "Feels like we've been walking forever! Or, uh, flying, in my case. At least the grass is nice and lush!"

Everyone stopped and sat, finding it rather coincidental that their current destination just so happened to be a mostly-open field that was flanked by a two-lane road with a sidewalk and then another field beyond that. Still, no one could deny that they weren't grateful for the opportunity given to them by the enemy, and took the time to rest and chat.

"Mandy's planned for this, right?" Oprah asked, leaning in close to Olive and Otto.

"That's what she told us." Olive responded, rubbing her sore feet.

"Hey Orino..." Peaches, who had shapeshifted into her cat form along the journey, stretched her body out. "Do you think...maybe we could spar again?"

"Now?" Orino blinked. "But you won the last time! And we're on our way back to Vallea anyway!"

"I know! But I want to see if you've learned something from it."

"Like what?"

"Well, I can give you pointers." Peaches waved a paw. "Go on! Shapeshift into your cat form and let's rumble!"

Orino stared for a few more moments. He certainly didn't expect this wrench to be thrown into his plan, but he rolled with it regardless, shapeshifting into his cat form as requested while his brain instantly came up with a new solution. "Well, all right. But you better be prepared, because I'm going to win!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Both cats bunched up their legs. No more than a minute passed before one of them made their first move, a loud yowl piercing the air.

"Hey, not ba-" As pain began to course through Peaches' neck, she let out a loud screeching yowl. "Hey, hey! Get off!"

Otto's eyes widened. "He's attacking her! And Mandy's not doing a thing!"

Sure enough, Mandy was lying flat on the grass, relaxing and cloud-watching like her cousin wasn't getting attacked by a crazy catboy.

"Let this play out. We'll intervene if we have to." Oprah responded, holding out a hand to stop Otto from jumping in to save Peaches.

As Orino let go of Peaches, her breathing became heavy. "What was that for? I thought we were sparring!"

Slowly, ever so slowly, a sickening smile formed on Orino's features.

Her tone sounds so full of innocence. Pure, naive innocence. It's such a shame that I have to crush it under the weight of my own two paws.

"Let's just say I changed my mind." His eyes shone with nothing but pure malice. "It's a duel to the death now."

Peaches blinked, taking a step back as she tried to figure out what was happening to her friend to make him act this way. Part of her thought this was some kind of a weird joke he was playing, and so, she rolled with it. "A duel to the death? B-but-"

"Look. It's time I admit the truth, pretty kitty." Orino strode closer to her. "All that stuff I said about King Ashero wanting you to come back? It was all a lie. A lie!" He cackled. "And you fell for it, you dumb mongrel!"

Any hope Peaches had that this was some kind of a joke had been immediately shot dead. All she could do was stare agape, her rump hitting the ground as the floodgates of thoughts swung wide open.

He...this isn't a joke. 

He lied to me. He's working with the enemy.

All this time...I trusted him...was he even my friend all these years? Or was he someone fabricated to be my friend by King Ashero?

I should have known better. The King doesn't want me back. He never wants me back, ever. I was exiled for a reason. There's no way he would welcome me back with open arms after I haven't found the culprit yet.

And there was no way anyone would have wanted to be my friend. Not back then.

I lived with a false friend all these years...and now that I have real ones...ohh, why didn't I see the truth from the get-go? Was I really that stupid?

The thoughts, scrambled in nature, kept going and going. Peaches barely heard Orino's next words.

"King Ashero has sent me to get you and bring you back to him for your failure in finding out who destroyed our town. Not only that, but he wants Mandy as well."

That last bit made her snap out of her thoughts. She stared at the catboy whom she had dared to call her friend. "Why her?"

"You have been interacting with her during your exile. And it has come to my glorious king’s attention that you and her are somehow connected. He refused to share any details, but regardless. Orders are orders." Orino chuckled. "I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring you and Mandy back alive. I also know exactly how I’m going to bring both of you back." 

He unsheathed his claws and bunched up his legs again, turning to face Peaches with a grin on his maw.

"Starting with you."

Peaches' head swiveled back and forth between Mandy and Orino. "Mandy! Mandy, help!" she cried out, before Orino leaped up and changed forms right before her eyes.

The distant sound of yowling made Mandy crack open a nonchalant eye, a short soft hum escaping her as she sat up to inspect the scene. She allowed a smile to settle on her face as a hand slowly reached behind her back and she rose to her feet.

"Ah, look who finally woke up. Come to join the battle?" Orino moved his gaze from the now-humanoid Peaches to Mandy, his foot resting on the former's chest as she spluttered and coughed. "I must say, it'll be terribly outnumbered. But I'm more than confident I can take down two little girls."

The coughing from Peaches grew fiercer, to the point where Mandy was concerned she would start hacking up blood. But she didn't pay her cousin any mind. That would be for after she sent Orino flying out of the Milky Way.

With confidence, she straightened her posture. "Go ahead, try and hit-"

Her taunt was immediately interrupted by a blur crossing her vision, followed by a pair of hands clasping her neck and squeezing it, causing her to start hacking the same way Peaches was. She only barely heard the catgirl utter her name before she fired up her horn and teleported away, bending over and coughing in an effort to regain her breath. With her mind struggling to comprehend what had happened, she lit up her horn and swooped Orino up in her corona.

"Ah-ah-ah. You don't want to hurt a sweet, innocent little kitty, do you?"

Mandy's head lifted. Her gaze moved to Orino, who had somehow managed to change back into his cat form and was putting on a pleading face. A growl rolled about in her throat.

That coward! This is how he's gonna play defense, by changing into a cat so I can't hurt him! Her corona grew more intense. Well, too bad for him. I've got a solution.

Orino could feel himself forcefully turned back into his humanoid form within five seconds. Before he could transform back into a cat, however, chains made of magic wrapped around him, connected to a magical lock that clicked shut.

"You're not sweet or innocent." Mandy taunted. "But go off if it'll help ya sleep at night."

She dropped Orino to the ground suddenly, causing him to stumble. Every attempt he made to shift back into his cat form failed, and a spark of panic ignited in him. "W-what did you do?"

"Form-changing prevention spell. I have Agent Twilight Sparkle to thank for that."

For a moment, Orino stopped. The name sounded familiar, and it took him a few seconds to realize that Twilight Sparkle was the pony whom King Ashero's friend had tried to kidnap and enslave before. But he shoved her to the wayside. After all, Twilight wasn't his main target, and he could worry about her later if he needed to.

Before Mandy could attack him head-on, he growled, which slowly formed into a loud yowl as he charged at her with blinding speed. From there, sharpened claws began to scrape at her from all angles, which didn't leave her much of an opening to fight back.

"Ha!" Orino leaped backwards. "You didn't account for my speed and agility, did you?" He shook the blood off of his claws. "Here's the thing about us catpeople. We're part cat. Which means we can land a hit on you before you even have a chance to blink."

Mandy turned her head and spat to the side. Of course. Peaches is fast and agile, and it would be foolish to think Orino wasn't the same. I'll have to either match him with my own speed, or find a way to slow him down.

"Not only that...but I’ve seen you in action. Don’t you remember when you showed me footage of your previous battles?" Orino grinned. "Heh, I had initially thought that you were so powerful that I’d actually need to be careful for a change. Guess I overshot my mark."

That stopped Mandy cold. Immediately, she began to internally kick herself. She had shown Orino her battle moves out of nothing but an act of friendship, but even after it had dawned on her that he was not what he seemed, never once did she consider the impact of him watching her battles with villains and odd creatures alike. Now, he had knowledge of all her moves -- and she supposed one could call her predictable in battle.

"Shut up." was all she could utter, fighting and failing to keep the tremble out of her voice.

"What's the matter? Do you need another clawing?" Orino licked the very tip of his claw. "Because my claws are sharpened and ready for more!"

A pause. Mandy smiled.

"But can your claws..."

With her hand behind her back once again, she took a step forward, pulling out her signature weapon.

"...meet my hammer?"

Spinning the hammer around in circles, Mandy flung it straight towards Orino, her smile growing wider as she knew it would be a direct hit...that is, until Orino caught it with only a singular hand, straight by the handle.

"Yes!"

The smile remained on Mandy's face all the same.

The hammer's head began to grow, a pulsating sound accompanying it as it began to swell to twice Orino's size. He eventually couldn't take the weight, and a loud yowl accompanied an earth-shattering boom as the hammer seemingly landed on top of him. From afar, Olive, Otto and Oprah all gave yelps of surprise as they were briefly lifted off of the ground.

Orino fought back, however, and managed to stop the hammer from crushing him flat by pressing against it with all his might. "So this is your enlarged hammer..." he said, with great effort as he tried to push the weapon away from him. "...it's bigger than I expected..."

"You like?" Mandy chuckled. "That bad boy can crush anything. And I'm gonna use it to crush you."

With the handle caught in her rainbow-colored corona, the hammer began to slowly lift off of Orino, giving him enough time to scramble away as he gave a panicked screech. He wasn't fast enough for Mandy's magic, however, and the hammer hit him square in the back, causing him to yell as he was sent flying towards a tree. As Mandy watched his body make impact with the tree and slump to the ground, she brought her hammer back to its normal size.

"That'll do."

Her wings took her over to Orino, who was struggling to get on his feet. His back was surprisingly intact, although it certainly wasn't without bruising, and it certainly wasn't without a massive amount of pain.

"There was nothing in the rules about using weapons." she purred. "Now get up."

Mandy's taunt spurred something in Orino. He didn't know if it was adrenaline or something else, but whatever it was, it caused him to quickly rise to his feet like he had no wounds at all. "That...that was nothing! Absolutely nothing!" he said, shaking his body out.

"Riiiight. Mhm." Mandy raised an eyebrow as she tucked her hammer behind her back. "Anyway, I'll give you a leg up 'cuz I'm sweet and kind. I'll put my hammer away. It's time I put my workouts to good use, anyway."

"Bring it on."

The voice came from behind Mandy. She didn't have any time to react before a loud yowl pierced her ears and she was met with a flurry of pain that could only come from a set of claws. Before she knew it, it was her turn to be sent flying, hitting the ground once, then twice, then skidding to a dead stop.

Orino smirked. "Had enough ye-"

A popping sound, accompanied by a bright rainbow flash of light.

"Never."

A searing pain shot through Orino's shoulder right then. His jaws parted to let a loud and echoing yowl escape, which only intensified in pitch when he felt an even worse pain in his back.

Sure enough, Mandy had gone for her classic move of biting the enemy. Like with the previous Big O in the past, she aimed for Orino's shoulder, letting the metallic taste of blood flow along her taste buds. And this time, she would hit a nerve, or she wouldn't stop until she did. Her feet scrabbled against Orino's back in an attempt to gain footing, but that ultimately didn't matter to her.

Orino couldn't comprehend this move, especially since he hadn't seen Mandy bite her foes in any of the videos he watched. He began stumbling backwards, all while giving a plaintive cry of, "Why are you biting me?! Stop it! Get off of me, now!"

From afar, Otto began to get up. "Oprah, we should really help Mandy, she's bleeding!"

"A bite move..." the Director mused, not listening to Otto in the slightest. "She used to do that all the time growing up..."

"Yeah, I remember." Olive nodded. "And those bites hurt, too. I think she actually broke Rainbow Dash's leg once by doing that!"

The sound of tearing brought a rather sadistic and twisted joy to Mandy. "I'll rip your schkin!"

"No, please, stop stop stop!" begged Orino, forgoing any confidence and suavity he had and replacing it with pure utter fear -- which only grew when he could hear the sound of a massive tear, followed by the sound of something gushing. He didn't need to look to know what it was. All he had to do was feel the immense pain.

With a mighty "Nyah!", Mandy grabbed the piece of torn flesh in her mouth and spat it off to the side, wiping her lips free of blood and hopping off of her opponent. By this point, blood was all she could taste now, and she couldn't deny that it tasted absolutely awful. It almost made her want to chug a bottle of water if she didn't have a need to finish the battle and go home a winner.

"You idiotic cur..." Orino clutched his shoulder in an attempt to stop the flow of blood, to little avail. "You tore apart my shoulder!"

"And I got blood in my mouth, so it's an equal exchange!" Mandy fired back, spitting off to the side in an effort to alleviate the taste that coated her tongue.

For a moment, both Orino and Mandy licked their wounds, metaphorically speaking. The battle came to a standstill, and Mandy decided to seize the opportunity to fire some potshots to counter Orino's own.

"I know what you've been doing with Peaches. You have issues with her that go far beyond just wanting to take her back to your pathetic king." A bolt of pain shot through her side, and she began to stumble. "You're dependent on her. Too dependent. Clingy, even. Aren't you?"

"Clingy?!" came the shared exclamation between the three spectators, eyes widening in shock. Oprah's eyes, in particular, began to develop water in them.

"Haru- er...a special someone told me everything." Mandy faltered, making sure to backtrack before she revealed the existence of her spirit guardian to the enemy. She had to maintain the crazy theory, and that was all that mattered. "How you were over-reliant on her from childhood. How you posed as her friend just so she could care for you like a menial servant to a greedy king."

Orino growled. "And so what? That has nothing to do with this!"

"Really? Because you've been stuck to her like glue all throughout your visit!"

"Again I ask: so what?" Orino straightened, still clutching his shoulder in pain but attempting to stand tall regardless. "That doesn't matter! What matters is that I take you and Peaches to King Ashero, and that's just what I'm going to do!"

"Then you're gonna hafta take us over my own dead bo-"

Another loud yowl interrupted her. She was then promptly slammed onto the ground back-first, which sent another bolt of pain rocketing through her body. When she opened her eyes, she found a kneeling Orino and his ever-sharp claws looming over her menacingly. In one swift move, said claws sliced through her shirt, exposing her chest.

"Hey, hey, what are you-"

Within the next second, she had a heart attack. And her body wasn't the perpetrator.

A scream full of anguish and torture rattled her vocal cords and echoed into the blue sky above, her body thrashing in an attempt to throw Orino off of her. However, much like a parent watching their child throw a tantrum, Orino remained unfazed. Olive, Otto and Oprah all rose to their feet and watched the attack go down with nothing but sheer horror in their eyes.

"I'll rip your heart out. Maybe it'll finally get you to shut up...and stay dead." he growled, as his grip intensified. "Yes, I'm clingy towards Peaches. And no, I was never her friend. But no one wants to be friends with someone who enjoys fashion more than hunting mice and disobeys our kind and just ruler instead of going along with his judgment! If that’s what she so desires, then perhaps she doesn’t deserve friendship, let alone a place to live in our fair city."

As if Mandy's scream wasn't enough noise to tolerate, another scream echoed in Orino's left ear, and he swiveled his head to find a large blur heading straight towards him. It made impact, knocking him away from Mandy and sending him tumbling onto the ground a little ways.

"Get off of my daughter, you pathetic excuse for a living thing!"

Finding himself to be too much in pain to get on his own two feet -- whatever had slammed into him was hard and heavy -- Orino instead opted for swiveling his body around to face his newest attacker, who had apparently gotten on her own two feet in record time and was staring him down with malice in her eyes. "Y-your daughter?!" was all he could stammer out within his shock and surprise.

"Partner, no!"

Orino's gaze shifted to two more beings that were running towards him. Oh cattails, who are they?! This wasn't part of the plan! And I can't get up... The spark of panic flickered to life again. If I don't beat these three blockades to the ground, I'm done for! Oh, my King, please send your blessings once again...

"Otto, tend to Mandy!"

"Right!"

"And as for you. Orino, was it?" one of the other beings said, standing beside the other being whom Orino could now make out as being Olive. "Listen up and learn our names. My name is Oprah, Director of Odd Squad Precinct 13579. And this is Olive, Director of the Mississauga Odd Squad precinct." A sickening grin spread across the girl's features. "We're going to sock you to a place where the sun never shines."

The anxiety that was pumping through Orino caused him to give a half-mocking, half-nervous laugh in response to just how cliched the threats sounded. "Oh, I'd like to see you-"

Five seconds later, he was lying face-down on the dirt some distance away, a groan rattling in his chest.

"P-point...made..." he uttered, weakly raising a hand before it flopped back down onto the ground. By this point, he knew that he was beyond help, whether from King Ashero or otherwise. He wasn't usually one to admit defeat, but this time around, he was getting pretty close to actually doing it. His stubbornness, however, won over -- he knew the consequences for not completing his mission, and he would be damned if he had his life cut short by execution just for failing to do one relatively simple task.

"You're not taking Peaches or Mandy back to Vallea. Not if we have a say in it."

Orino spat to the side and stared at Olive with fury and malice in his eyes, baring his teeth as he gave a low growl.

"Your power is weakened." Oprah crossed her arms. "Peaches and Mandy may be down, but we're not."

"And neither is my partner, Otto!"

"That's me!" called Otto, from where he was still tending to an unconscious Mandy.

Oprah straightened. "So we suggest you leave..."

Olive cracked her knuckles and smirked. "Or I can put my hammer throw practice to good use."

"N-never..." Orino hissed, shaking his head rapidly as he struggled to get up. "I have to...take Peaches...and Mandy...t-to-" A round of coughing interrupted his protest, and he slumped to the ground, the adrenaline beginning to wear off.

This is the end for me. My King, I am so sorry.

"King Ashero?" Olive finished. "Oh, he'll be receiving something. But not what he's looking for." She slowly began to approach Orino, only uttering a single warning to her cohorts: "Stay back."

Orino only barely heard the next words between the thrumming of blood in his ears. Something about if Olive could "do it" in a wooded area and Olive calmly responding that "it's an open field, I think I'll be fine."

He took one last look at the unconscious Peaches and the unconscious Mandy, and smiled. Even if he hadn't fully completed his mission, he had gotten the farthest out of any catperson his king had sent by fatally wounding both his targets. And that, to him, was a mighty accomplishment on his own.

One that he would soon take to his grave.

Pain coursed through his tail, but he didn't react. He allowed Olive to spin him around and around like a carousel, his life beginning to play as a movie reel in his mind.

A minute later, she let him go with an "Au revoir!" He was sent soaring with the sound of a bomb whistle, off to who knows where. He had hoped he would land in Vallea, but he didn't think Olive's aim was that good.

My King...please, wait for me. If I make it back to Vallea...I want my execution to be at your hands. To show just how well I've done. How exemplary I am for all of the Valleans. 

How what you want to achieve is possible, and someday, you will get there.

Back at the battlefield, Oprah and Olive turned to face Peaches and Mandy, preparing to go and help Otto when a rustling sound made them whirl back around twice as fast.

"What's that?"

"Stay back." Oprah held a hand against Olive's chest. "Who knows if Orino brought anyone with him as backup?"

A section of the tall grass began to rustle fiercer, now. It didn't take long before a familiar equine stumbled out, with hardly any place on her body that wasn't injured in some shape or form. Her mane and tail were in similar states of disarray.

The unisonant cry rang out: "Pinkie Pie?!"

"G-guys, please! I...need help..."

Immediately, Oprah took charge. "Olive, take Peaches. I'll take Pinkie." she ordered, heaving a sigh. "Looks like we now have three in need of medical care."

Olive nodded and booked it over to Pinkie, kneeling down to match the party pony's height. "Pinkie, can you walk?"

"N-not...really..." Pinkie weakly pawed at the torn cloth hanging from her neck -- the muzzle that Orino had given her earlier.

"Otto, take Mandy through the tubes and bring her to Dr. O's office, stat."

"Got it!"

"Olive! Bring Pinkie back to 13579! Dr. O's office!"

As the two co-Directors began making their way towards a barren-looking tree, Oprah scooped up Peaches in her arms. "C'mon, Peaches. We have to get you back to Headquarters."

With cleanup having been batted, the trio and their wounded companions soared behind the tree and into the tubes as fast as they could, sending silent prayers to whoever up above that said companions would get better soon after yet another senseless tragedy.





It was a good thing Oprah had ordered the construction of an Emergency Room specifically for situations like this.

For years, Precinct 13579 had gone without one, and she never knew why. While the Toronto General Hospital did excellent work, Odd Squad Doctors were just as well-equipped as the doctors and nurses there for emergency situations, major injuries, and operations like life-saving surgeries, and it had been shown time and time again with how many times Mandy had been treated over the years. The Medical Bay was great as a doctor's office, but didn't serve well as a hospital room that could accompany more than one cot and the appropriate medical equipment.

So Oprah set aside a hefty amount of the budget to get such a room built in her own Headquarters. X's be damned, they could go screw themselves.

At that moment, only three occupants were in the shared room, each in their own individual cots, each hooked up to vital sign monitors, and each separated by a curtain. Dr. O, as well as a few of his nurses, examined them for a minute more as Oprah, Olive and Otto watched, until he approached the door and they scrambled backwards to let him out.

"Will they be okay?" Oprah asked.

Dr. O closed the door behind him. "Pinkie's suffered only mild injuries, so she'll be all right. Peaches and Mandy, however..." His expression darkened. "...were hurt more badly."

"How badly?" Otto asked, not bothering to fight the tremble that crept into his voice.

"Peaches' ribcage is broken, and she received some deep cuts from Orino that we'll need to treat." Dr. O explained. "Mandy took the brunt of the damage, though. Her heart...we'll have to do surgery on it to repair it."

The trio's eyes widened. They all exchanged shocked glances.

"That's the second time recently!" Olive sighed. "Poor Mandy...she's so young, and yet, her heart..."

"Don't worry." Dr. O interrupted her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll have Odd Squad Nurses and Doctors working around the clock. They'll both be better in no time." He gave a small smile. "For now, Olive and Otto, it's best if you return to your precinct."

"He has a point."

Olive and Otto didn't need those words from their old boss to seal the deal. They nodded in unison and began to make their way to the Tube Lobby, waving goodbyes to her and to Dr. O.

"Thank you, Doctor." Oprah said. "But, um...may I have a word alone with Mandy?"

"Of course. I'll leave you to it."

Only a minute later, Oprah was kneeling at Mandy's bedside, gritting her teeth as she tried to force the words to come out. Her mind flashed back to the battle, and how Mandy's words about Orino being clingy towards Peaches had sparked something in her. Not that she knew if he was actually clingy towards Peaches, but it was a wake-up moment for her all the same.

"I hope you can hear me...even though you probably can't." she murmured. "But...I'm gonna try anyway."

Silence lingered in the room for a moment. Oprah took a deep breath before she continued.

"I realize now that much like Orino was with Peaches, I’ve been too clingy towards you. I wanted you always by my side, to bring me comfort when I was sad and be a friend when I needed one. When you left for your vacation, it was heart-wrenching for me. I just couldn’t bear the thought of me having to manage this precinct alone, with no one but my assistants. I realize that’s a flaw of mine. A flaw that I need to fix." Her body began to tremble. "You’re your own person, and I shouldn’t be so possessive of you."

If Mandy was listening, Oprah couldn't see it. Still, that didn't stop the Director's tears from beginning to flow.

"All I ask...is that you return by my side once more. Odd Squad is about teamwork, after all. And perhaps we could be more than teammates." A small smile crept across her lips. "We could be friends again."

She slowly stood up.

"I think I know what I need to do to earn your trust and friendship back. But I can't do it without you."

Feet began moving towards the door.

"Please. Do consider."

The door opened and closed, and she took another deep breath to calm herself as she wiped her tears away. The hallways were silent, with no agent passing by -- and perhaps she liked it that way.

"I did what I could. There's nothing I can do now but wait." she said aloud, in an attempt to reassure herself. "Now, for some well-needed juice."

She began to make her way back towards her office, pain gripping her heart as Mandy became stuck to her mind like glue.





"Mandy. Do you understand? What Oprah is saying?"

"I do." Mandy responded, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh. In truth, she had, indeed, heard every word of Oprah's, and although she still had some doubts about her boss, she couldn't deny that her intentions sounded true. After all, Oprah had never really been much of a liar -- not when the truth could easily be uncovered with her bare fists.

"She understands that, like Orino was to Peaches, she was attached to you. It is clear that she has now learned her lesson. She has opened up her heart and fully embraced what she has done." Haruko placed a gentle paw on Mandy's leg. "So now, you must forgive her."

Mandy hadn't really known Oprah was listening to her whole spiel to Orino about how clingy he was towards Peaches. Really, she only said what she said because she had never seen Orino alone. He was always around Peaches, claiming he was her friend and guiding her as a friend would. But even friends took breaks from each other. Mandy knew that anything more than that would constitute as what adults called "first base", and she had already gotten that way with Bradley Beli against her will. Now, she realized that Oprah had been different -- she and Mandy weren't together all the time, and spent time apart more than anything. For Oprah's heavy reliance on Mandy, even she was able to stand on solo ground sometimes, and Mandy was committed to laying down more of that ground for her.

She sighed. "You're right. I can't bear to see our friendship ripped to shreds over this! I have to make amends with her!"

"You can start by becoming her second again." Haruko smiled. "And then..."

"And then?"

"Spend some time with her. Work together as a team. As best friends. Be there for her when she needs it most."

Mandy nodded.

"I am quite sure that one of your friends..." Haruko squinted her eyes slightly in thought. "Twilight...Sparkle, was it?"

"Yeah?"

"She knows all about friendship, no? She can help you when tensions arise. Do not be afraid to go to her if you need to."

It was in that moment that Mandy had to smack herself. All the options posed to her to help her deal with the whole skiddly-doo about Oprah, and she completely forgot about the Princess of Friendship. Had Mandy gone to her, the skiddly-doo would have been resolved sooner, and she felt rather stupid for not realizing it.

"Wow, I'm more of a dum-dum than a lollipop." she mused, flopping down onto the grass and staring up at the sky.

Haruko had herself a chuckle at that comment. "You followed my advice, Mandy, and exposed Orino for who he truly was. You did a very good job, and I am proud of you."

"D'aww, Haruko, you're makin' me blush!" Mandy said, touching her cheek as she felt it begin to grow warm.

Like the flip of a coin, Haruko's expression darkened. "But your troubles are not over yet."

"Tell me about it. King Ashero is a nasty one. He'll prolly keep sendin' catpeople to do his bidding until Peaches is returned to him."

"And he will continue coming after you, as well."

Mandy couldn't help but give a soft whine of worry, knowing that one such attempt had just been carried out that had ended with her heart having to undergo even more repair.

"You must be vigilant, Mandy. So must Peaches. And eventually...the rest of Odd Squad. The whole of the world the ponies come from."

"You mean Equestria?" Mandy sat up. "A-and what do you mean, the rest?"

"Both Odd Squad and...Equestria..." Haruko let the name roll on her tongue. "...will be targeted by the king, if they are not targeted already. You must take action sometime in the near future."

"But what can I do?"

"When the time comes...you must prepare Odd Squad and Equestria for war."

Dread settled in Mandy's chest, and although she couldn't feel it, she could certainly feel the emotion. "W-war?!" she cried out. "But...Odd Squad has never had a war before...and I dunno about Equestria."

"Luckily, you will gain a few allies who have."

Mandy blinked. "And who are they?"

"You will find out, in due time."

Mandy would have snapped at Haruko about her consistent usage of that phrase if the worry weren't still lingering around in her body. She gave another soft whine, her mind racing with thoughts.

Haruko got up and began to leave. "But for now...you are safe. Enjoy the time you have now, before it is tainted with darkness."

Mandy could only stare after the kitsune as her body began to ascend upwards. "HARUKO!!" she screamed, her voice echoing among the Grasslands. "Why do you have to leave me with arbitrary hints?! HARUKOOOOOOO-"

And then, she disappeared into the dark void once again, her cry unceremoniously cut off as she began to float in darkness. This time, however, she wasn't so keen on being brought back to the real world, and her mind began swirling with questions.





Mandy awoke with a gasp and a few quick breaths. Her eyes scanned the area in an attempt to figure out where she was. Right away, she knew that she wasn't in the Medical Bay, and she appeared to be in something more akin to a hospital.

A hospital? Inside Precinct 13579? Her brows furrowed, before she remembered that she was still mad at Haruko and gave a groan.

As her hand ran across her chest, she felt something that definitely wasn't smooth skin. And she was all too familiar as to what it was. "Stitches...?" she murmured, before the realization hit her. "Oh. Orino...he tore into my heart..."

The beeping of more vital sign monitors than just her own was the only thing filling the room for the next few seconds. Mandy knew Peaches was sharing the room with her, but she couldn't make out who, if anyone, was in the bed to her left.

She sighed and shook her head. "Okay, first things first. If I can't pry answers outta Haruko, then I hafta make things right with Oprah!" Her gaze fell on the button that laid beside her bed that read "Press for assistance", and she pressed it. "Dr. O! Are you, uh...anywhere?"

Within the span of a minute, the door opened, and Dr. O himself came in. "Mandy, you're awake! What's wrong?"

"I have to be released. There's something I need to tell Oprah."

"Calm down!" Dr. O rushed over to Mandy's bedside, gently pushing her back into bed. "Don't you want to hear how your surgery went first?"

He does have a point. "Yeah, I guess. Hit me."

"All right. Well, it went fine." Dr. O smiled. "Your heart has been fully repaired, no complications. But you will need to take it easy for a couple weeks. No strenuous physical activity. And a recommended diet of things that are good for the heart, of course. And here's some medication to help with post-surgery pain." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orange pill bottle. "As for your other injuries, those will need time to heal too, so don't go and do anything risky."

Mandy nodded and levitated the bottle closer to her. "And Peaches?"

"She's fine. She's in her room resting. I've treated her cuts and they should heal well. But like you, she'll also have to take it easy until her ribcage heals up. Being in her cat form will help her human form get better."

"Thank goodness."

Dr. O lowered the siderails on the bed and extended a hand out to Mandy. "Here. I'll guide you to your room so you can rest in bed, and I can call Ms. O to there once we get you settled, okay?"

Slowly, Mandy eased her body off of the cot, wincing at the pain that, surprisingly, was very mild. She supposed the anesthesia had yet to fully wear off, which was a good thing for her. Once her feet were on the ground, Dr. O grabbed a wheelchair from the corner, and the duo left the Emergency Room, just as Mandy looked back to see three beds that were all empty.

Weird. If Peach and I were in the first two beds, who was in the third one?





"I still feel a lil' woozy..."

"That's the anesthesia. It'll wear off soon." Dr. O watched as Mandy used her magic to cover herself in blankets, placing the medication on her nightstand before he made his way out with the wheelchair in tow. "Now, I'll go get Ms. O. Rest here."

"Sir, yes, sir."

Mandy gave a weak chuckle as the door closed behind Dr. O, but the smile faded away from her face when she was met with darkness. As she slipped further under the covers, she heaved a sigh and thought back to her conversation with Haruko.

What did Haruko mean...when she said that we have to be prepared for war? Is Vallea going to attack Odd Squad? Do they know about Equestria? Will they attack it too? She blinked. No...King Ashero would be too lazy to do that.

Her stomach began to churn, but she wasn't sure whether it was out of hunger or anxiety.

...Wouldn't he?

She turned over onto her side. And who're the allies who have been through a war? For all I know it could be some odd creatures from Sector 21 or something...or aliens from some other world I don't know about! Her eyes closed. Whatever. I shouldn't be thinking about it right now. Haruko has a point. I should enjoy life in the moment! If only "the moment" were me not being stuck in bed...

"Mandy!"

"Whuh-huh?!"

Her eyes flew open. She turned onto her back and sat up in bed, gazing right into the brown eyes of none other than Oprah.

"Did you fall asleep or something?"

"No! I was..." Mandy twiddled her thumbs. "...lost in thought." She sighed. "Listen, I-" A lump began to form in her throat. "I heard what you said. About how you were too clingy towards me. And..."

"And?"

A small smile formed. "I'd love to work as your second-in-command again. And maybe we could be teammates again?"

"More than that." Oprah returned the smile. "Friends?"

"Friends!"

"Oh, you don't know how happy I am to hear that!"

The two girls exchanged a hug, Oprah making sure to be gentle so as not to aggravate Mandy's wounds. When they broke free, they happily sighed.

"I'm really glad you're okay. That fight with Orino was something."

Mandy's eyes widened. Suddenly, it clicked into place. "Wait...you followed me?"

"Um...well, I'd be lying if I said no..." Oprah scratched the back of her neck. "B-but it was only to help you and back you up if you needed it! Me and Olive gave Orino a good beating and sent his tail flying home."

Mandy shook her head and sighed. "I don't know what else I should've expected. Momma's way too stubborn when it comes to my life at stake." She gazed into Oprah's eyes. "All I remember is Orino clawing at my heart, seeing a body move in front of me like a blur, then Otto caring for me..."

"Well, the important thing is, Orino is gone. Hopefully for good."

"Yeah. For good."

Oprah perked up. "You know, I heard that you've been trying to build up your physical strength. If you ever want to practice, come by the Odd Squad Dojo. We can train together, and I can give you pointers if you want."

Mandy's brows furrowed as she tried to rack her brain to see if Odd Squad even had a dojo. Eventually, the memory came to her, of Oprah often going to the Dojo to practice martial arts -- she had never witnessed the Director actually training, but the offer was intriguing. "I'd love that!" Her expression then sank as she flashed back to Orino telling her how much faster he was than her. "But..."

"Look, don't be so down on yourself." Oprah laid a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "You only lagged behind because Orino was speedier and more agile than you were. It was something you weren't expecting. And we all won in the end, anyway."

Mandy gave a soft chuckle. "True!"

"Why don't you get some rest?" Oprah suggested. "You want me to make you dinner?"

"It's that late already?" Mandy blinked in surprise. "Huh. Sure, I guess. What's on the menu?"

"Spaghetti and chocolate chips."

"I'll take it!"

"All right, be right back." Oprah began to make her way out the door. "Don't fall asleep, okay?"

Mandy nodded. Only a few minutes later, Oprah returned with dinner and people in tow.

"Hey." She smiled. "I brought you dinner. And a few guests!"

"Momma!"

"Mandy!" Olive pushed past both Oprah and her partner, enveloping Mandy in a tight hug. "Oh thank odd you're alright!"

"Glad to see you're okay!" Otto chimed in, waving his hellos.

"No hugs, no hugs!" Mandy grabbed Olive in her corona and lightly pushed her away before grabbing the bowl in Oprah's hands and levitating it towards her. "It'll make my injuries worse."

"Sorry, sorry."

"Make sure you eat up!" Oprah said.

Mandy eyed the meal. "Ooh, thank you!" she chirped, before a sigh escaped her. "I suppose this'll hafta be my last meal before I switch to heart-friendly stuff for the time being. Doctor's orders."

"Heya!"

A high-pitched greeting cut through the conversation, and in bounced Pinkie Pie, whose mane and tail were back to their usual curly states and whose wounds were still visible but appeared to be healing.

"Pinkie Pie!" Olive asked. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"I am now! But whoo, was I in a tough spot there for a sec."

Mandy's eyes widened. The realization of whom the third bed had belonged to hit her. "You?"

"Me?"

"You?!"

"Me?!"

"You!!"

"Me!!" Pinkie jumped into the air, then stayed there for a few moments, a confused look settling on her face. "Wait, what're we talking about?"

"You were the patient in the third bed!" Mandy jabbed a pointer finger towards the party pony. "You- you got attacked too?! How? Why? Did Orino- I- I mean- how did- what happened to you?!"

Pinkie took a deep inhale. "Weeeeeeell, I was coming back to see you when I heard this super-weird voice coming from your room! It was talking about how it wanted to take you and Peaches back to some 'King Ashero' and how you were gonna be wounded and tortured! It was terrible! So I accidentally talked to myself out loud and he heard me and when I asked him who he was he muzzled me and beat me up and put me in a sack and took me aaaaaaaaaaall the way to...somewhere, and, and it was awfu-u-uuuuul!!"

As Pinkie began to wail, Mandy stared at the indignant looks of Olive, Otto and Oprah. "What?" she asked, with a piece of her dinner in her mouth. "Jeez, lemme have dinner first..." she muttered, before swallowing and gazing warmly at Pinkie. "Look, partner, the point of the matter is that you're all right now. Orino won't be bothering us anymore. Those two sent him far far away."

Pinkie turned to look at whom Mandy was gesturing to. Olive and Oprah gave friendly waves towards her, and she slowly turned back around as she raised a leg to wipe her tears away. "Really?"

"Really really!"

Pinkie sat on this reassurance for a minute, then a smile split her face. "Oh, thank Celestia! I was so scared! There was no one around, a-and I thought I was gonna die!"

"Well, we're all alive, aren't we?"

"...Yeah..."

"Tell ya what. Why don't you sleep in here with me tonight?" Mandy suggested. "I'm a lil' bedridden right now...that anesthesia is powerful stuff."

Pinkie nodded. "Sure!"

"In the meantime, I should go take a shower. If I don't get clean at least once a day then I feel all icky and slimy and gross."

Oprah watched as Mandy threw the covers off of her and slowly inched her body off of the bed. "Can you still walk?"

"I'll be fine! I'm a little dizzified, but not that dizzified." Mandy replied, just before she flailed her arms and fell backwards until she was lying on the bed. She blinked in surprise before a bout of sheepish laughter left her and she began to stand up again with the assistance of magic. "I'll, uh...be in the Bathroom. If you hear a scream and then a thump and then pitiful crying then it's probably me and you should probably help and...not let me die. Heh."

Olive, Otto and Oprah moved out of the way as they watched Mandy meander on out of the room and made a left towards the Bathroom. Not a few seconds later, and they witnessed a bath towel being caught in a familiar rainbow-colored corona as it floated out of the room and moved down the hall in the same direction.

Otto chuckled. "Well, I guess one good thing that came out of all this -- I mean besides the fact everyone's alive -- is that Mandy's back to her usual self."

"Yeah. Bossy Mandy is not a good Mandy." Olive agreed, Pinkie Pie nodding along with her.

"I'm just happy she's working as my second-in-command again. My assistants are nice, and Oona’s helpful and all, but...Mandy and I work so well as a team. If she weren’t working with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, I’d make her my partner."

"Well, she kind of already is." Olive rested her hand on Oprah's shoulder. Her expression faltered. "Not in the actual sense, but...uh...I guess metaphorically?"

"Fair point." Oprah shrugged. "Now come on, let's all go get some dinner. I'm starved."

Murmurs of agreement followed that statement. The group left the room, discussing what was on the menu aside from spaghetti and chocolate chips that was, unsurprisingly, only appealing to Pinkie Pie.





The next afternoon, Olive and Oprah found themselves staring down at a snoring and sleep-talking Mandy. The hybrid looked rather unceremonious, with her matted hair, her trail of drool pouring out from her mouth, and her limbs that twitched every so often. Her pose looked like something more befitting of an Egyptian hieroglyph than something a human could do in their sleep.

Even if she...wasn't entirely human.

"It's 3 in the afternoon." Olive said. "How much energy did that fight take out of her?"

Oprah shot Olive an incredulous look. "I don't know." she snarked. "I'd say 'let's try and wake her up!' but that doesn't seem to work out well."

"As evidenced by the dent in the wall?"

"Yep." Oprah turned her head to look at said dent, which hadn't been fixed so much as an inch since the battle with Orino. "No doubt that Orino must have tried to wake her up and took a direct hit to the spine. Or his front."

The snoring and sleep-talking ceased right then. Mandy's face twisted from one of pure bliss to pure discomfort.

"Wait, Oprah, she's cringing!"

"Huh? She must be having a bad dream."

A few groans left the hybrid as she began to toss and turn, before the weight of her dream came crashing down onto the two girls.

"No! Stop this! Stop fighting, please! This war doesn't need to happen!"

"War?!" came the unisonant cry, as Oprah and Olive exchanged a concerned glance. Both of them had the same thought -- they wanted to observe Mandy some more and see exactly what she meant by "this war", but at the same time, it felt cruel to let her be in anguish the way she was.

"Mandy, wake up!" Olive said, grabbing ahold of Mandy's shoulder and shaking her. "C'mon, you're having a nightmare!"

"STOP THIS, I'M BEGGING YOU!!"

Near-silence filled the room. Mandy took in air and pushed it out in slow, heavy breaths, sitting up in bed, her eyes wide as though she had just witnessed something truly horrific.

"What's happening? What were you dreaming about?"

Mandy's head whirled around so fast that Oprah was surprised she didn't get whiplash from it. The two girls looked at each other for a minute before Mandy collected her bearings. "I...it..." She shook her head. "It was nothing!"

Olive wasn't convinced. "You were shouting something about a war not needing to happen."

Mandy bit her lip. She knew she couldn't tell either agent about Haruko's warning -- it would spark unnecessary panic, and she couldn't do that if she only had barebones information to go off on. Though addled with fatigue, her brain tried its damnedest to concoct a good lie. "W-well, I, um...it was...it was a toy war! Yeah! Nasty toy war on the South Sea. Teddy bears and sentient spinning tops going at it. All they wanted was peace...not sure how they thought a war was going to prevent that…"

Olive and Oprah exchanged a worried glance.

"Anyway, I'm fine!" Mandy chirped, shaking her head. "What time is it?"

"Three o'clock."

"In the afternoon?!" Mandy flung the covers off of her. "J-jeez, I'm so sorry! Guess my energy was completely sapped from yesterday..."

"Don't worry about it."

"How's Peaches? And Pinkie?"

"Peaches is resting in her room. And Pinkie is in Equestria, working her shift at Sugarcube Corner."

Mandy heaved a sigh. "What a relief."

"I've set some paperwork on your desk that you can get started on, plus a few cases." Oprah said. "You can handle them solo, I'm sure. Olive and I are going to hang in my office."

"'Kay, thanks! And have fun!"

"We will!" Olive turned towards the door, following Oprah outside. "Just take care of yourself, okay?"

The smile remained on Mandy's face up until she couldn't hear the girls' footsteps anymore. It was only then that a growl came bursting forth, and she began musing aloud to herself.

"Don't tell me it's closer than I thought it was! Ohh, if Oprah, Momma and the others find out there's a war coming, they're gonna panic!" She smacked her forehead. "King Ashero isn't gonna do anything yet. I have to move on for now. And when the time comes..." Her gaze turned steely. "I'm gonna keep everyone safe!"

In the hallways, Oprah and Olive vented their worries.

"Something's definitely up with her."

"No doubt about it." Oprah took a sip from a grape-flavored juice box. "Maybe she's shaken up after the battle with Orino?"

"Could be. There's no doubt that Vallea can pack a punch. Odd Squad should be on the lookout." Olive fought to hide the worried tremble that crept into her voice.

"Agreed. We don't know what King Ashero will do next. All we know is that whatever it is, he won't be directly involved."

"And that he's after Peaches and Mandy. Especially after the whole Orino business -- he's gonna start getting serious."

"Eh...he's pretty lazy." Oprah shrugged. "I doubt he'll do something until after a good chunk of time has passed."

"True..." Olive wrung her hands together as the duo entered the bullpen. "But I still worry for Peaches and Mandy. I worry every day. I hate sitting idly by and watching them get attacked over and over like this. It's not right. They need to grow up in a safe and happy environment."

Oprah had a sneaking suspicion that Olive was speaking more on Mandy than Peaches, but she didn't say anything about it. All she did was nod silently in response.

Together, they made their way up the stairs to Oprah's office. A lucky streak came their way, in the form of no agents seeking their assistance for anything or even just interacting with them in general, and they were grateful for it -- they really didn't feel like making casual conversation with anyone at the moment. As the doors closed, they made sure to lock them tight, and got to discussing about Vallea, Mandy, and how Odd Squad could protect themselves against, as Olive had put it, whom might turn out to be one of their biggest foes yet.





Orino wasn't sure whether it was luck or coincidence that made him land a little ways into Vallea. Whichever one it was, though, neither one of them could save him from the unbearable pain he was feeling.

Nor could they save him from the execution he was secretly dreading.

Slowly, he limped through the town, listening to its rich silence as a majority of catpeople holed up inside of their homes. He was always confused as to why that was, since King Ashero was no cat to be afraid of, but right now, he didn't pay it any mind.

He soon arrived at the doors to the castle, where he was greeted by two guards that were quick to point their spears at him.

"Who dares to approach the castle of King Ashero?" one of them asked, a girl with long brown hair and a caracal's ears.

"Orino. I was sent on a mission by the King and I am here to report back to him." Orino responded, his voice strained as a bolt of pain shot through his torn shoulder.

The guards exchanged glances. Then, they slowly went for the door's handles, opening them wide to allow Orino entry. He gave them a grateful nod before he made his way inside.

Not ten minutes later -- the King's castle was big and he was just one limping catboy -- and he was approaching the King's throne.

"Ah, Orino." Ashero stood up. "Welcome back. I entrust you have both Peaches and Mandy in your possession..." He looked around for a few moments, then squinted. "...somewhere?"

"I, uh...a-about that, Your Majesty..." Orino said. "Through a particularly-planned gambit, I attempted to capture Peaches as well as Mandy, and I was well on my way here with the both of them, but...my plan fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. As you can probably see."

Ashero took a moment to examine Orino's bruises, scratches, and injuries. He only took those as proof that Orino had tried, nothing else more and nothing else less. "Hm. And here I thought I had sent someone who was well above the others in competence to try and bring those reprehensible mutts back."

"Y-Your Majesty, please, allow me to explain!" Orino winced in pain, but forced himself to keep it together, knowing that he needed to relay his words to the King before he was inevitably executed. "It was Mandy's mother, and her pathetic friend. They were the ones that ultimately stopped me. They're powerful, Your Majesty, more powerful than you would think. They were the ones that sent me back here!"

"I do not wish to hear any excuses from failures. You were given a rather simple mission, Orino, and yet somehow you managed to mess that up. It seems my confidence in you was rather misplaced."

"No!" Orino reached out a hand. "Please, I know I can do better. If you just give me one more chance, I-"

Ashero's cloak rippled as he gave a hearty laugh full of nothing but poison and mockery. It filled every inch of the throne room, reaching the guards' ears and Orino's. "I do not grant second chances to failures, either. Failures are nothing but wastes of space, time, and resources."

Silence. Orino swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Orino!" Ashero pointed his staff at the catboy. "For your failure in capturing Peaches and Mandy and returning them to Vallea, you are hereby sentenced to instant execution at the House of Torture. Two of my guards will take you there."

All Orino could do was stay still, his heart stopped at the mention of execution as two guards wrapped rope around his wrists. They forcefully shoved him out, and it was only then that he started to move of his own accord towards his doom, but not before giving a cry of "I'M SORRY, MY GLORIOUS KING!!" as the doors to King Ashero's castle closed.

The House of Torture wasn't too far from the castle, and King Ashero had arranged it as such. He was never one for prolonging punishments, instead going right for the disposal and moving on -- something Orino knew all too well. One guard opened the door, leaving the other guard to shove Orino inside.

Where the catboy landed was, in perhaps an intentional turn of events, straight under a guillotine stained with blood.

He looked at his fate for only a second before he closed his eyes and pinned his ears to his head. He whispered under his breath, "My King...I have truly failed you. Please, do well in my stead. I know you can."

It would be the last thing he would ever do before his untimely and sudden death at the hands and paws of the very Valleans he had lived with.