"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!" The Lion had already forgotten about his exhausted condition. The thought of Dorothy being in danger had taken precedence over all other thoughts in his head. He followed Cubby closely until he felt he had to rest. They traveled and rested for as long as it took before at last they reached the border of the Lunechien Forest of Oz. "I sure hope we can find him in his sleep again," whispered the Lion to himself. "Come on," said Cubby. "I know where his lair is. If he hasn't moved on to more densely populated territory, that is." "W-wouldn't it be rude to just b-barge in on him?" said the Lion, his cowardly nature suddenly returning. "I don't think so," replied Cubby. "I think we need to stop his wicked deeds as soon as we possibly can. We can't let him get to Dorothy, you know. Nor the Scarecrow or the Tin Woodman or the Woggle-Bug. No one is safe as long as the Forest Monster is at large." "You're right!" said the Cowardly Lion dutifully. "We are the only ones who can stop him. Where is this overgrown daddy long legs?"