Secrets

"And here we are," said Snooper, as he and Jenny stepped inside a lone cottage in the countryside outside the village. They had been dropped off on the planet Corona; this was where Jenny decided they should go on their honeymoon. The couple was expected to spend at least a couple of weeks on the planet, but even during a vacation a Galactic Guardian's work is never done. That's why they chose to keep the wristcoms with them, to use only in case they need help.

Their makeshift honeymoon destination seemed to have been abandoned for some time, owing to the dust and cobwebs covering every area in the cottage. Snooper and Jenny would've liked to stay in any one of the inns within the village, if they weren't all occupied at the time, so to them they had no choice but to pick the empty cottage one of the villagers had informed them about.

Jenny moved her finger across the surface of a wooden table, looked at it, and shook her head. She said, "Snoop, this is wrong. How do you expect us to spend our honeymoon in...this?"

"Well, you're responsible for choosing the place," replied Snoop, placing their belongings up against the side of the wall. "This may not live up to the standards of a Ritz-Carlton hotel, but, look at this. Doesn't it look great?"

The cottage itself wasn't very big; in fact, it had only two rooms, the bedroom being upstairs. What surprised them is that, despite years of neglect, the cottage appeared very well-furnished with almost everything intact except the cauldron in the kitchen. Jenny said, "Well...I guess you're right. This place does need a bit of cleaning up, though."

After storing away their luggage in the bedroom, Jenny took the time to relax and reflect on everything that had happened since the wedding. She had witnessed one of her teammates in the Gold Squad go mad and try to attack Michael. She and Snooper were then asked to analyze the contents of the green liquid that had been injected into Rex; they eventually learned it was Venom X. It was a chemical that, once injected into the bloodstream of an unsuspecting victim, leaves him or her vulnerable to obeying whatever is told to them. After that, the said victim starts hallucinating and attempts to kill anyone accused of wronging him or her. It wasn't known whether the liquid also had the ability to infect the victim through touch, but Jenny was very thankful she and Snooper didn't have to during the examination. Just one pair of rubber gloves and lab glasses is enough to protect their wearer.

The next morning the interior of the cottage was finally cleaned. Gone was the dust and cobwebs that had once graced its walls and floors, replaced with the polished glamor that looked as fresh as the day it was built. The first day of Snooper and Jenny's honeymoon went off without a hitch when they returned to the village for more sightseeing fun. Along the way they met another couple, one of whom Jennifer recognized so well--Rapunzel and her husband Eugene. They were married just a few months prior to the Galactic Guardians' arrival on the planet; following the death of her parents, she and Eugene became the new rulers in their stead. Unfortunately, as with every happy occasion, there was always the bad news--Mother Gothel was back.

Snooper and Jenny learned that the Sith took what remained of Rapunzel's former foster mother and revived her by dark energy. After the princess' hair had been cut off and its healing properties rendered useless, Count Dooku came up with an alternate way to bring Mother Gothel back to life; the dark energy gathered will not only resurrect her, but will also restore her youth permanently. In this state, unless the dark energy is removed, she can never die again. In return, Mother Gothel vowed to point the way to Rapunzel, another one of the Pure Souls Count Dooku had failed to capture from the very start.

In this case, the couple's objective was to protect their new friend. Thankfully it didn't put their honeymoon plans on hold; they still had plenty of time to explore Corona, but for now they had to stay with Rapunzel in the castle. They were shown directly to the guest quarters, where they were to remain until the Sith gives up on their search for the princess-turned-queen.

"It seems Count Dooku really doesn't know how to give up," said Snooper, standing alone in the bedroom and looking out of the window. "That means we have two missions to cover--for us, it's to keep Rapunzel as FAR away from the Sith as possible. As for Michael and the rest, tracking down the cultivator of Venom X is their job."

He turned to see Jenny enter the room. She had already finished getting dressed for bedtime, wearing a simple long cream nightgown. Walking over towards the bed, she looked up and saw her husband staring back at her, and froze. He could've sworn he could see her blushing down to the roots of her fur; it signaled to him that she was nervous about...something. He asked, "Jenny?"

"Snoop," she replied. "I don't know if this is the proper place or time. We could've done this if we had stayed at the cottage. I mean...are you REALLY sure we want to do this?"

"Do what?"

"Look, I'm as nervous as you are right now. Michael gave us a chance to experience our first honeymoon, after all that we had contributed to the Gold Squad. Now that we're...finally alone..."

Snooper walked over to her and sat next to her on the bed. He said, "You're right. We almost forgot all about our wedding night. You don't have to be that nervous, you know."

Jenny shied away from her husband; even when he attempted to wrap his arm around her shoulder, she continued to scoot at least a few inches from him. She muttered, "I'm nervous for a reason. I don't even need to tell you why, though..."

"Well, there's no one around to hear us. I can keep a secret."

She hesitated, before leaning over to whisper in his ear. What she had told him made Snooper's fur go pale in shock. He clamored, "YOU'RE WHAT?!"

Jenny shushed him, then looked around to ensure nobody in the castle heard them. She whispered, "It doesn't take a genius to know my dad's family has a very colorful history. Even I didn't know if it was true or not. What I do know, on the other hand, is that my clan has had a very...well, odd reputation, though it was still good. I was afraid you'd find that out eventually."

She dug into her pack and took out what appeared to be an old-fashioned locket; however, when she opened it, it projected a small hologram of a grey cat and a cream-furred skunkette standing together. She went on, "My great-grandmother was a Taranian princess. Princess Angel."

"Funny," muttered Snooper. "Our team had visited Taran a while back, and you never mentioned any of this to them."

"It was a secret. I wanted to hide it. Only my dad knew the reason behind my uniqueness; the Sith wanted my heart because there'd been rumors going around about a detective-in-training being descended from royalty. The Taranians were very wary of the Sith...the princess risked forfeiting her royal duties to marry outside of her family, for the sake of her planet's protection. My great-grandpa Seamus Silverfur was the royal family's bodyguard at the time, having been deployed by the army of the FGC. That was more than 75 years ago...and yet here I am, ashamed and embarrassed. To know I have Taranian blood flowing through my veins, at this...very...moment. I haven't always been a Silverfur, Snoop...and neither have my sisters. It's a mixed heritage."

Snooper shook his head. He answered, "Does it even matter if you're different due to your background? I'll always love you."

"I-I know. It's just that..."

He gently held her paw into his, and this calmed her down for a while. She glanced up at Snooper, who proceeded to lean over and kiss her deeply. He said, "Accept who you are today and who you'll be in the future. In the meantime, let's get to it; you wouldn't want to keep me waiting, would you?"

Jenny chuckled and pushed him away playfully. Hiding under the bed's covers, she called out, "You're gonna have to catch me first!"

Snooper meowed happily and followed his wife. What happened next is known only to the surrounding walls of the guest bedroom; if they could talk, they wouldn't give away the details considered too intimate for young virgin eyes or ears.

..........................................................................................

The first dream Jenny had that night was so vivid it nearly scared her to death. She found herself wandering into a beautiful garden on Taran, surrounded by trees and flowers, and a water fountain. Sitting near the fountain was the same cream-colored skunkette she had told her husband about; she appeared to be admiring the whole scene around her. Jenny had only started to walk by when she heard a soft voice say, "Beware."

She looked towards the princess, who was now staring at her calmly. She asked, "What?"

"I sense danger coming to your team," said the princess. "Two will disappear, others will be scattered."

"Two missing...the rest scattered. Are you talking about the Gold Squad?"

"Fear not, my child. Within you is the key that holds the secret to saving the galaxy, and you alone are the only one who can unlock it. But for the time being, rejoin your friends; they will need you far more than you need them in return."

Jenny was now puzzled. What did she mean by the "key"? She was about to ask her what it really means, when the princess' form suddenly morphed into that of a masked bounty hunter, whipping out a pistol and pointing it at her. The gun was about to go off...

She sat up in bed with a gasp. She quickly looked over herself, to ensure she wasn't really shot; she then looked over at her snoring husband beside her. Jenny heaved a huge sigh of relief; thank goodness it was only just a dream. Minerva's voice crackled into Jenny's wristcom. "Jenny! Snooper! Are you there?"

"Yes," answered Jenny. "We're still on Corona even as we speak. We've got news involving our new friends here; it appears the Sith has found a rather unlikely recruit. Her name is..."

"You can tell us later. In the meantime, this is an emergency--Michael and Rex are both missing!"

Jenny gasped in shock, nearly startling Snooper. "...Michael? Rex? They're...t-they're gone? What happened?"

The cat listened attentively as the mink proceeded to tell them what went wrong on Agrabis. Jenny's eyebrows furrowed; if there's one thing she hates the most, it's when one of her friends and loved ones get hurt, especially by someone as ruthless as Johnny Blade. Michael and Rex were like brothers to her, and if anything happened to them she'd hunt down whoever is responsible for their possible deaths.

"Minerva, you and the rest of the Gold Squad stay put. We'll meet you at the base." She turned off the wristcom and turned to Snooper, continuing, "I think it's about time we cut our honeymoon short. Our friends are in trouble!"

"But what about Rapunzel?" he asked.

Jenny got up and got ready to dress up, but not before getting out her white lightsaber. "They can come along with us, if they wish. We'll set course for Agrabis; I'm going to teach Johnny a little lesson on what happens when you mess with my buddies..."