Still traveling the enormity of the Everglades on foot, disheartened and exhausted from the death of the swamp spirit and the attack of the storm demon, the ladies get back up after an unrestful night on the swamp floor and continue on toward Hops' home, but before they reach it, they hear the sound of predators stalking them through the trees. Helena tries to lead them toward safer areas, but unfortunately they appear to have been surrounded... and so has someone else. Huge swamp panthers drop out of the trees and circle around them, forcing them to begin fleeing for their lives; as they run, Helena and Issy try to communicate with them and convince them to stop, but Helena is unable to appeal to their better nature with her abrasive personality, and Issy's grasp of panther communication is so shaky that she actually makes it worse. Helena realizes that something strange must be going on since there shouldn't be so many panthers in the same area, or even in a much larger area of the swamp, but there's no time to investigate while they're running for their lives! As the noise of the panthers gets louder and their grasping claws get closer, Valencia, who can't run as quickly as the others, falls behind and is in danger of being devoured (along with Rafael, who won't leave her). The other ladies turn back to help her, but Valencia thinks quickly and makes herself small, pitiful, and mewls, and the panthers mistake her for a kitten of their own and turn to protecting her instead. Issy and Djimy wade in to try to rescue her, but now the panthers are also protecting Valencia from them, and the situation seems hopeless. As they struggle, Helena notices that the panthers appear to be getting more bold and agitated, and barely has time to call a warning before the biggest panther of all, the size of a small plane with huge feathered wings, soars over the trees and terrifies everyone. As Issy and Djimy fight to keep from being overwhelmed, Helena realizes that the supernatural panther is an invader messing up the local ecosystem... and then spots Hops, frantically fleeing for her life, the same size as a normal rabbit before the colossal predator. Helena focuses and manages to banish the panther back to its native lands in time to save Hops, and the other panthers disperse in confusion once their leader is gone and their natural instincts reassert themselves. The ladies reunite with Hops, who is extremely grateful to be rescued, and they go to her house, where they sit down and somberly inform her of the death of the swamp spirit. She is just as devastated as Helena was and the three women comfort her and discuss the swamp's future, trying to convince her that it isn't worthless to stay in the swamp. They decide that the swamp will reassert itself, being too old and powerful as place to be destroyed by a single incident, and that until that time they'll have to be even more diligent about trying to take care of the environment. They leave Hops to plan how to take care of the swamp against the many powers arrayed against it, and Uncle Cisqo, who has in the meantime become concerned about how long they've been gone, finally locates them in a helicopter he has acquired from somewhere and gives them a lift back to their apartment to work out a strategy for what to do next.
