Attack of the Ninja Kittens! (9 page)

Diamond Dogs

‘Gee up, you big oaf!’ huffed Lady Fluffkins, tugging roughly at the reins as Duke plodded into the clearing and stopped beside Princess Puss. The Great
Dane’s head hung low with shame when he saw his trapped friends.

Rocket immediately bounded forward to rescue Duke, but the spiky kittens closed ranks round the Spacemutts, penning them in with a menacing MEEEOW! The dogs snarled at the kittens, darting back
and forth in the circle of spines, but they were as sharp as needles and too high to jump.

‘This is all my fault,’ Rocket whispered to Butch and Poppy. ‘If I hadn’t tricked Duke into coming along, that big dog would still be fast asleep in a nice warm
kennel.’

‘But he would never have trusted another human,’ said Poppy. ‘And I know that’s why you brought him along, to give him a chance to prove himself and gain some
confidence.’

‘Maybe I expected too much of him,’ sighed Rocket.

‘Duke could see off both of those mean cats
and
their army of prickly kittens!’ said Butch. ‘If only there was some way to get through to him, give him something to
fight for.’

‘He has a family waiting back home,’ said Rocket, recalling the scent of the humans and how they kept coming back, just to see Duke. ‘If only we could persuade him to give them
a chance.’

While the dogs were distracted, Baldy saw his chance and shot away through a small gap in the kitten enclosure. He crept towards his mistress and peered up at her with pleading eyes.

he stammered, through fear rather than cold.

‘I’ll deal with you later,’ sniffed the empress, her attention remaining fixed on the trapped Spacemutts. Nudging Duke forward, Lady Fluffkins peered down at the pacing dogs
from her massive mount, delighting in their frustration.

‘Your plan was a wicked work of genius, sister,’ said Princess Puss, grovelling before the empress. ‘Only you could have conceived such a complicated and daring
plot.’

‘It was risky stranding the
Mouseship
in space without power,’ agreed the empress, making sure the Spacemutts could hear her. ‘But the dumb dogs took a little walkies
right into my trap . . . ’

‘You
planned
all this?’ growled Rocket.

‘Yes,’ hissed Lady Fluffkins, tugging the cape round her neck. ‘Everything except the haircut which, I admit, was a little unfortunate. But a small price to pay now that Earth
is finally mine for the taking.’

‘Duke, we need your help!’ said Rocket.

‘You’re the only one who can do it!’ pleaded Poppy.

‘Think of all the lovely food back home!’ drooled Butch.

The Great Dane glanced up at his friends, but then sighed heavily and lowered his head again. Duke wanted to help the Spacemutts more than anything, but he lacked the courage to even try.

‘HA! HA! HA!’ laughed Lady Fluffkins, bouncing up and down in the saddle and kicking her boots with glee. ‘You really think this spineless oaf can help you?’

‘I know he can,’ growled Rocket. ‘He just needs to believe that Earth is worth saving, and that there are humans who will love him if he’ll only give them a
chance.’

‘Nice try,’ spat the empress, drawing a riding crop from her boot and tapping Duke on the head with it. ‘But this one has no fight in him whatsoever, which is why I plan to
keep him as my own personal pony!’

Rocket was about to snarl at the empress, but frowned instead.

‘Ponies,’ he whispered, looking from Poppy to Butch and back again with excitement. ‘That’s the scent I couldn’t place in the kennels. The family that have been
visiting Duke keep ponies – lots of them!’

‘Which means loads of lovely sugar lumps,’ Butch said, dribbling.

‘No,’ gasped Poppy, looking up at the shy Great Dane and smiling when she saw his ear twitch. ‘It means stables and fields and woodlands for riding!’

‘Wide open spaces with nothing to break . . . ’ said Duke, lifting his head.

‘Poppycock!’ snapped Lady Fluffkins, swishing her crop back and forth to keep her balance as the Great Dane shifted beneath her. ‘They’re lying. No one wants a big ugly
beast like you!’

‘YES, THEY DO!’ Duke growled firmly, nodding at the captain.

Rocket nodded back and gathered Poppy and Butch together, then the Spacemutts watched with pride as the Great Dane took a deep, confident breath and drew himself up to his full height.

‘Get down!’ Fluffkins demanded, lifting the crop to whip the dog.

Duke turned his head and snatched the riding crop so fast that the empress didn’t have time to let go and dangled on its end below the Great Dane’s jaws. Then the Persian’s
green eyes widened as Duke flicked his massive head and sent her flying through the air.

‘YEEEEEEEEOOOW!’ shrieked Lady Fluffkins, cape flapping angrily as she plummeted back down again, heading straight for Princess Puss.

Duke ignored the screeching sisters and leapt over the ninja kittens’ swords, scooping up each of the Spacemutts and placing them on his back. Then he bounded back through Magenta Forest,
heading for the
Dogstar
.

‘After them, you fools!’ squealed Princess Puss, hissing at the kittens as she wriggled out from under her sister to follow the ninja posse. ‘If we fail the empress now, she
will
never
honour us again!’