[Illustration: Cowardly Lion and Cubby]
"I think there may be more than one," said Cubby. "Unless the one you fought somehow got himself repaired."
"I suspect that would h-have to be the case," stammered the Cowardly Lion. "I d-don't think there could be more than one of those creatures. I had assumed it was created by magic, sort of like a green elephant or something. But if it is alive again, it will probably find out who it was that defeated it before. It will be looking for me."
"I'm afraid it already knows who you are," spoke Cubby. "And it has
found a way to take the energy from other beings and use it for itself.
It is already so powerful that I doubt anyone could stand against it."
He paused. "Oh, except for you, of course. I know you could defeat it.
You did it before."
"Er, yeah," said the Lion, his eyes growing to several times their normal size. "I g-guess I d-did. B-but he was so much easier to tackle when he was asleep. Now that he has multiplied his power, I'm n-not sure I c-could do it again."
"Oh, but you can! You must," said the monkey encouragingly. "You can't let him keep getting stronger and stronger! Sooner or later, he will find you. And he probably won't stop at that. He may cross the desert and go into the mortal lands. He might start attacking Ix or Mo or even Merryland! And then he may infiltrate the mortal lands like America, where your friend Dorothy lives!"
"D-Dorothy?" said the Lion, suddenly looking more angry than afraid.
"She's just a little kid! He wouldn't do that to a child?"
"He did it to several of the small and helpless beasts in the Lunechien
Forest," said the simian. "Even insects are not safe from him."
"Well, he is a spider, as far as that goes," replied the Cowardly Lion. "Insects are a normal diet for him. But small children are not! How dare he even think of hurting little Dorothy? What a wicked creature he really is! Where is he? Let me have a talk with this nasty arachnid!"
"That's the spirit!" cheered Cubby. "Come on, let's go!"