A Moment in the Enemy Rear

**A Moment in the Enemy Rear** is the fourteenth episode of the show *Squirrel and Hedgehog*.

## Summary

After seeing Geumsaegi off after the events of the previous episode, Juldarami whistles as he repairs and cleans his motorcycle, whilst Murori mixes up a poultice for Juldarami's injured arm.

As she heals him, she reassures Juldarami that Geumsaegi has already safely made it to Bat Isle. Juldarami notes that she should probably leave shortly too and head home for Flower Hill.

Murori reminds him that Geumsaegi asked them to scout Jangphung Forest, but Juldarami scoffs that there would only be a few crows there, and too weak to waste concern over.

Murori scolds him, insisting that they must never forget their enemies or the lengths they will go to in order to seize Flower Hill.

Juldarami gently rebuffs her by offering her his coat to keep warm and insisting she gets some well-earned sleep. Murori relents and accepts.

Juldarami tries to engage in conversation with her but notices she has fallen asleep far more quickly than he had anticipated, but he is happy she is able to rest at last as she had gone over a whole day without sleep. But he envies that she will soon be able to return home and meet their friends whilst he must remain out in the field.

After his brief moment considering his homesickness, he checks his watch, noting he has time whilst Murori catches up on her sleep.

Meanwhile, Commander Jogjebi happily announces that his preparations to take over Flower Hill are almost complete, much to the applause of his surrounding agents. Asking on Geumsaegi's progress, he is informed that he will be late as there was a swarm of crows in Jangphung Forest.

Jogjebi is angered at the news and wonders if Scout Commander Aekku has done something to harm Geumsaegi. He immediately deploys two tactical mice to scout the area to search for clues.

Aekku sits at his desk by candlelight and holds a pistol to his temple, his finger nervously fondling the trigger.

Two crows discreetly watching from a crack in the doorway indicate he has been sitting contemplating suicide for over and hour. Aekku imagines a world where he has enslaved Flower Hill and it's citizens kowtow at his feet. This fantasy rouses him to keep going, refusing to die until he has fulfilled his dream and he stands and defiantly fires his pistol into the air. The Crows mistake the sound of gunfire as the sound of his suicide and decide to bury him on sunny hill.

The crows enter, heads bowed as Aekku pretends to be dead, but roars at them as they approach, angry that they believed him capable of dying before overtaking Flower Hill and in a fit of madness fires his pistol around the room before demanding to know why Mulmangcho hasn't reported from Flower Hill yet.

Mulmangcho, however, is nearing Jangphung Forest and spots the entrance to Aekku's headquarters as Aekku frets over being tortured by Jogjebi and Geumsaegi.

Oegwipali and Mulsajo attempt to comfort him but are chased out angrily. Mulsajo, sick of his maltreatment, curses and wishes him dead before spotting Mulmangcho's signal. The pair are overjoyed at his return and head to meet him, Mulsajo taking an opportunity to grab some food.

Oegwipali gleefully tackle hugs his brother, lamenting he missed him, Mulmangcho playfully digs that he is only pretending to be happy.

Meanwhile, Juldarami wonders if he should leave Murori alone in the woods asleep whilst he prepares a present to send home to Flower Hill with her, finally deciding that it won't take long and she should be safe. However, as he leaves, she wakes up and immediately notices that she is not alone, spotting Mulmangcho's smoke signal.

Concerned, she dons her crow disguise and flies to investigate. She comes across Oegwipali massaging Mulmangcho's cramping legs whilst they discuss the goings on, Oegwipali gossiping over Aekku's suicidal fits. Mulmangcho announces the secret document he obtained from Flower Hill will fix him up.

Murori confronts them, under the guise of a roving crow on patrol, demanding to know what is in their bag, but Mulmangcho immediately spots her webbed feet and pegs her as a Flower Hill Duck.

As Mulsajo makes his way to meet his brothers with lunch, he spots the confrontation from afar, arms himself with his rifle and tries to get a decent vantage point. He catches Mulmangcho's eyes and makes silent signals which Mulmangcho answers back with eye twitches.

Murori notices the twitching and realizes in order to receive the help she needs, shots must be fired, but she is currently overpowered. She dodges as Mulsajo opens fire, and Mulmangcho draws his own pistol and shoots her in the wing before she can defend herself.

Juldarami hears the gunshots and immediately slams on the breaks, realizing Murori is in trouble and doubles back.

Mulsajo meanwhile breaks the branch he is perched upon. A vine tangled around it transforms it into a swinging bludgeon which he brings crashing into Murori's face, knocking her out cold.

Juldarami races over rocky terrain and over brittle trunk bridges to try and reach her as the mice strip Murori of her disguise and have her tied down and held at gunpoint.

Mulmangcho makes gruesome threats of cutting out her eyes, slicing off her tongue and letting her bleed to death as she wakes up, but she refuses to reward him with her fear. Oegwipali and Mulsajo encourage Mulmangcho to torture her to death, but he decides against it, opting to bring her to Aekku. Murori desperately wonders where Juldarami is.

As he arrives in the clearing where he left her, he finds her missing but stumbles across some feathers plucked from her in the scuffle.

Wracked with guilt, Juldarami drops to his knees and weeps before realizing she has plucked the feathers herself to mark a trail to be followed. Taking no chances, Juldarami calls forth the mice under his authority, alerting them to the strange soldiers in Jangphung Forest.

Mulmangcho arrives before Aekku and the two share an embrace, much to the amusement of the crows. He reports that whilst Tokgasi were all arrested, they where able to provide him with documents which he readily hands over revealing various weapons and tanks from Flower Hill. Furthermore, Mulmangcho brings forth Murori, much to Aekku's delight.

Juldarami follows the trail to Aekku's cave where he and his mice attack. A Crow guard disguised as a statue prevents Juldarami from firing and proceeds to beat him against the wall before he is rescued by two of his men. He quickly gets up and pushes forward, determined to rescue Murori at any cost.

Murori, tied up and defenseless, aware that the documents will be passed onto Jogjebi, plucks one of her feathers and uses the quill to scribe a message into the wall.

A Crow alerts Aekku and Mulmangcho that Juldarami's Mole regiment is attacking. Aekku wastes no time in planning their escape. Mulmangcho is confused why their own side would fire at them as Aekku opens a secret trap door for them to escape through, ordering Mulsajo and Oegwipali to take Murori with them instead of killing her as she is too valuable an asset.

Juldarami arrives to find the office empty, but quickly spots Murori's message citing that Mulmangcho will pass on Tokgasi documents to Jogjebi. Horrified, Juldarami grabs the map and begins to plan with his men on how to intercept Aekku and the mice. It is decided that in order to stop them, they will block the Unchon River.

Aekku arrives in his underground cave to a small spring that gets it's water from the Unchon River. The decide to follow the flow in order to reach the outdoors to make their way to Jogjebi. They come across a speedboat and board it, sailing out into the open water.

Juldarami's men are waiting for them via chopper and order them to stop the boats engines or he and his men will open fire. Aekku orders the mice to belay the order, reasoning if they stop, they die without a chance.

Meanwhile, Jogjebi's tactical mice have been watching the unraveling situation and use Morse code to report back to Jogjebi.

Juldarami, heading to the location via his motorcycle, is asked for permission to shoot to kill. Juldarami allows only warning shots, they must capture them alive. However, a warning shot ruptures the engine leaving them dead in the water. Aekku turns to Mulsajo and orders him to escape with the documents and get them to Jogjebi, and surely after which he will order their release. Mulsajo agrees.

Murori, however, notices that Mulsajo is armed with grenades and decides she cannot allow the documents to get into Jogjebi's hands. As Juldarami's men close in, Mulsajo leaps into the water and Murori dives in after him, wings still bound as Mulmangcho and Oegwipali fire shots into the water after her.

Mulsajo realizes he is being followed and pulls a knife, but Murori, even with wings bound, is in her element, beneath the water. Despite receiving a flesh wound to the stomach, she is able to engage with Mulsajo as well as she would above ground. Mulsajo is able to make it above the surface, but Murori grabs his tail and drags him back under and into the lower depths, trying to drown him, but with her blood loss finds her strength waning.

Knowing she cannot let Mulsajo live, she uses the last of her strength to silently wish a fond farewell to her beloved Flower Hill before closing in on Mulsajo and pulling the pin on one of his grenades with her beak. It erupts with a massive explosion killing both Mulsajo and herself.

Everyone looks on in horror at the explosion before Murori's blood soaked beret floats to the surface, only to be riddled with bullets by Juldarami's men to make sure she is truly dead.

Juldarami arrives on the scene to be informed that whilst Aekku, Mulmangcho and Oegwipali were captured, Mulsajo and Murori escaped so they opened fire, and he is presented with Murori's ruined hat.

Juldarami is chilled to his core, gripping his friends hat in his hands before replacing his sunglasses to hide any emotion his eyes might convey before angrily demanding to know who disobeyed his order to take them in alive.

Before he can receive an answer. his eyes land on Aekku and he furiously leaps over and lands a kick upon the weasel and proceeds to beat him senseless, knocking him into the water before snatching Oegwipali's gun and turning it on Aekku.

Before he can execute him, Jogjebi flies overhead, his men ordering that he be taken alive. Juldarami furiously empties the gun into the air before relenting, defeated. He is ordered to report back on land, liaise with the colonel and report to Jogjebi.

As the boat sails back to land, he looks back tearfully where Murori was killed and remembers her warning never to forget the lengths their enemies might go to. He wishes he had stayed with her, so that the events leading to her death might never have happened. He sobs, trying to hold in his urge to cry and break his cover.

Aekku is brought before Jogjebi and an entire night of pleading his case passes by. As day breaks, Jogjebi paces back and forth, considering what he has been told.

Finally, he calls Juldarami into his office and announces he will be going on a special mission.

Juldarami is curious, but the episode closes on a wry smile.

## Characters

### Heroes

* Juldarami
* Murori

### Villains

* Scout Commander
* Mulmangcho
* Oegwipali
* Mulsajo
* Commander Jogjebi

## Deaths

* Mulsajo
* Murori (Fake-Out)

## Songs

* My Dear Home Town (whistled by Juldarami)