A vicious rainstorm, one of the worst of that rainy season, came tearing through the Easter citadel. Many people hid in their homes, seeking shelter from the wild winds and relentless downpour. Of those many, the Princess had been one of them. While everyone else was distracted by the lightening and thunder, the Princess had hidden herself, afraid of what she couldn't understand. It was because of this that the guards couldn't find her. The palace was instantly thrown into chaos as multitudes of servants and warriors rushed in and out of the palace, looking for the lost princess.

Xao, with all his cleverness, had decided to sneak into the Princess's room to steal some of her toys. Wu, who had spotted the sneaky Xao, gave chase, with the intent to chastise him for his crime. Yet they both frozen when they heard gentle sobbing.

It had been decided that the boy, soon found out to be Tank, would be housed with Woo until the next day. As it was late, everyone felt that getting a good night's sleep would benefit decided what to do next. Not to mention Tank seemed to trust Woo solely because this "Mahjong" person did as well. Granted, even though the boy gave his word that he wouldn't try anything during the night, two guards were stationed outside of Woo's lab. Yet it seemed everyone wasn't ready to rest at the moment…

"Hey, hey, hey. Yellow hat. Yellow hat! I got another question!"

Woo felt a twinge of annoyance strike through him, having to stop writing the draft for the rally speech. This had been the seventh time that he'd been interrupted. And although Woo was wise, Patient was a virtue that varied from time to time.

"Ah, yes, Tank?" Woo muttered, setting his brush down and turning to face the Tanuki. By now, the questions that had been asked ranged from how Big Green was founded, what Woo thought of multiple people, as well as what specific intentions did what. And as much as Woo loved to ramble, he was starting to wear out..."What is it now?"

"Why aren't you going to sleep yet?" Tank asked, raising an eyebrow as he spoke in human. From his position on the guest cot, he was nestled under the blankets, eyes peering out of the fluffy darkness.

"...Oh, am I keeping you awake?" Woo muttered feeling a bit embarrassed for being annoyed in the first place. How inconsiderate… "My apologies."

"No, no. I'm not tired yet…" Tank muttered, before burying his head deeper into the covers. Despite this, his eyes seemed to drop even more. "But you didn't answer my question...Big sis always says humans need more sleep so they can work normally. Is that not true for Hidden Kingdom humans?"

"Ah, no, no. We still require sleep…" Woo paused for a moment, before deciding to leave the paper and get ready for his own bed. The boy had a point, seeing as he'd probably be a mess if he hadn't gotten any sleep. "I guess I'm just excited is all. There's so much to do, such little time to do it. Now that Empress Taihe is requesting Big green's help, I have to see who'd be able to travel to the northern kingdom. Then there's the fact that Jumpy ghostface is still missing, we just got the base rebuilt and-"

"Wow, you got a lot to do, huh?" Tank yawned. "No wonder you never noticed when me or Big sis snuck around, you're too distracted with everything else..."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Woo muttered, a bit embarrassed by that as well. Yet it did bring up another topic he'd wanted to talk about earlier. "Speaking of which, you and your sister...how did you both meet Taihe? I thought the Northern Kingdom was rather...well...against the idea of humans and animals having connection like yours…"

"I can't tell you now. Not yet…"

There was a pause, a deep silence that filled the room. As Woo waited for an explanation, he recived none while Tank pulled the cover over his head.

"Good night!"

"Wait a moment!"

Yet it was hopeless. The boy was fast asleep, as soft, muffled snores could be heard escaping his fluffy shelter. Woo simply sighed as he himself got ready for bed. Perhaps it would come up once the boy's sister arrived, whenever that would be...Perhaps he'd been too greedy, expecting all the answers he wanted to come today. There was always tomorrow…

With a quick breath, Woo blew out the remaining candle and readied himself for bed. Yes, tomorrow, hopefully they'd get some answers…

The stars sparkled and shone like no other. At least, that's what it seemed like after every storm. Yet even with a beautiful sight like this, Alpha girl still couldn't shake the worry that filled her mind. Of course, she'd heard about what happened when first squad went to go help the decoy village. Yet to believe they had to wait till the solved any of this mess, it was starting to drive her up the wall.

To believe some little twerps were messing with them, stealing their things. It really pissed her off.

But that's probably why she made it a rule, that second squad wouldn't approach the thief unless told to. Sure she was pissed, but the twerp was Big green's only lead to where Jumpy Ghostface might have been. And she knew her team, although passionate, had a bad streak with social interaction…

Or perhaps she didn't know if she'd trust herself dealing with the culprit of Husky's worry…

"Ugh, c'mon Alpha girl, what's gotten into you…" she muttered to herself, her grip tightening onto her bat. "You already know what you're gonna do after this mess, so who cares if some punks want to mess with that…"

Yet she didn't. She knew in the loosest term, but she didn't know how. She's already grown use to this, to fighting, to conflict, to war. It wasn't like she was scared, people usually got hurt but they never died…

So then why did she fear this war ending…

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something making their way out of Big green. Having decided to avoid using turtle travel, the person was carried by a larger, pink creature, silently trudging through the water and keeping the base none the wiser...Well, none but Alpha girl. Taking sight of the person in the moonlight, she automatically knew who it was.

Mystique Sonia and Yaksha...

But why would they be out at this time of night? Unless...had they been kidnapped too?

Doing the only thing she thought was best, Alpha girl scooted closer to the edge of the Big breen base before sliding off. Quickly landing, she ducked towards Big green's shadow as both "Mystique Sonia and Yaksha" turned at the splash. Yet when they failed to recognize her, they returned to their treck.

As quietly as she could, Alpha girl followed…

Thinking back on it, Alpha girl hadn't ever spoken to the bewitched hero before. Sure, they were on rival teams and had the general opinion about each other, sure, but Alpha girl hadn't ever spoken to her alone before...Perhaps it was due to their different interests, or rather, their lack of common ones. Sonia was typically stylish, magic based, and more focused on her charms and such. Alpha girl would rather bash head then wait for her hair to get fixed up…

But she'd admit that Sonia was a skilled fighter. Even without Yaksha, she'd be able to use her tongue to whip enemies away. And she always seemed to look good doing it…

Wait, when did Alpha girl care about whether she looked good fighting or not! She was cool enough that even if she did look kinda messy, it wouldn't matter!

"Alright Yaksha, this is good…"

Alpha girl snapped back to attention as Sonia and Yaksha stopped, the latter lowering himself to the ground and letting Sonia get off. Quickly hiding behind a tree, Alpha girl watched as Sonia pulled out a map, looking down at it quickly before looking around the area. By now, they had entered what seemed to be a dense forest, so dense that only the moonlight pour through the canopy seemed to light the way. If this had been any other time, Alpha girl might have considered the scene beautiful…

"Let's see...Lin Chung said he picked up that kid here...maybe their hide outs somewhere nearby…" Sonia muttered, just loud enough that Alpha girl could pick it apart from the breeze. So that's why she snuck out. How long had she been doing this? "Ok, heat vision time Yaksha…"

Wait, heat visio- Oh crap.

"Hey! Who's there!"

Right, dammit. She should have known that dump hat would have this trick up his sleeve.

'It's me, Alpha girl." She stated, crossing her arms and coming out from behind the nearby tree. "Calm down, you'll wake the whole forest up if you keep on yelling."

"Alpha girl?! What are you doing here?" Sonia asked, sounding a mix of surprise and annoyance when she realized who the mysterious figure was.

"I said quiet down! I saw you leaving the base, so I followed ya. Jeez." In a quick motion, Alpha girl stuck her bat into the ground and leaned on it. "I figured you might have been the brat sneaking out again, that's why i'm here…"

"...Wait, why should I believe you. For all I know, you could be him too..."

There was a tense silence between the duo, neither were particularly close, so neither knew how to prove to the other…wait...

"Even though Second squad's better, we've lost each turtle cannon competition. You guys won the first one by turning yourselves into kites, while my squad lost cause we put too much weight on one turtle…" Alpha girl gritted out, not practically fond of the memory. "That happened awhile ago, so...yeah."

"...Aw jeez, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Sonia muttered, yet a relieved smile showed up on her face. "I guess you're wondering why I'm out here."

"Nah, I hear what your were explaining to your hat. You're looking for Jumpy, right?" Alpha girl asked, smiling as Sonia and Yaksha scowled at the word "hat". " But why'd you sneak out?"

"...well, when Lin chung found that kid, he said how the guy was trying to get somewhere. I figured it was back to his hideout. If Jumpy's there, which he probably is, then I'm not going to wait for morning to come to look for him…"

Taking a rather strong stance, Sonia's grip on the map tightened. Through the moonlight, Alpha girl noticed the determined look on her face. She'd seen that look before, but never like this...But, there was also something else there...what was that?

"We should have recognized that that person, that thing, wasn't Jumpy. Yet we were so wrapped up with what was going on, we didn't even notice. I… I can't forgive myself for that. So that's why I snuck out. I don't care if I come back empty handed, I can't just stand aside and-"

"I'll help."

Sonia froze, a shocked look crossing her face. After a few moments, she smiled. "Really? But I thought you hated first squad."

And normally, Sonia would be right. Alpha girl did hate first squad. But for some reason, she couldn't bring that hatred out at the moment. Perhaps it was the worry that Sonia spoke in her voice, or how the guilt shined in her eyes. For some reason…

It made Alpha girl want to wipe that pitiful look right of Sonia's face.

"Well, yeah, but Jumpy's still apart of Big green." Alpha girl mused, a bit surprised by her lack of animosity. "And so are you. We need everyone we can get when we're going against High dork and his band of losers. And if you're gonna sneak out at night until you find him, you're gonna need help doing it…"

Again, another pause emerge from between them. The cool night air blew past them, shaking the trees and scattering a few leaves here and there. By now, both of their eyes had adjusted to the dark, they could see each other well enough to tell neither one was sure about this. Yet their uncertainty seemed to fade away as they noticed each others.

"You know, we're probably going to get in trouble for going rogue like this." Sonia mused, shuffling next to Alpha girl and scanning the paper's contents. "I mean, Lin chung gave us orders not to overexert ourselves like this. If he find's out-"

"Pfft, like I give a crap." Alpha girl chuckled, crossing her arms and looking over the map as well. Countless red X's scoured sections that had already been checked. Looks like they had their work cut out for them. "I'm the leader of second squad. He can't do jack crap to me. Besides, who's to say I didn't recruit you for night training or something…"

With that, Sonia smiled.

And, for some reason, Alpha girl felt herself smile too…

They didn't find Jumpy in the woods. By the time the sun had started to rise, they'd already worked through the map, plus the two more Sonia had brought with her. Yet they'd made some head way, seeing as they knew where Jumpy wasn't.

But neither would regret it.

Breakfast at Big green could be a peaceful endeavor or a mad house, depending on what time you woke up. Those who rose at dawn or a littler earlier often managed to get their food with little fuss. Yet those who woke an hour later had to deal with the morning rush. It was no wonder that Ape Trully decided missing an extra hour of sleep was worth it, in the long run. So of course he was rather surprised when Woo shuffled in a few moments after, and an equally sleepy Tank shuffled behind.

"Ah, good morning Woo the wise!" Trully called out across the practically empty cafetorium, chuckling as Woo merely raises his arm in response. The inventor was more of a night owl, after all. It would be a few minutes of the duo lazily shuffling through the line and gathering their breakfast that they'd make their way over to Trully's table. He felt his nose wrinkle as the smell of faded iron wafted from the child. Yet he wouldn't bother them about that now, more so later..." I must say i'm surprised to see you up this early. As well as you, young one."

"This young one's stomach woke me up." Woo groused while taking sips of tea, trying to wake himself up fully. "I don't even think he's awake himself, but I almost thought we were being attacked by Bearstomp! "

As if to answer that remark, the boy simply slumped face first into his bowl of rice, spilling some out onto the table in consequence. Trully didn't know wether to laugh or wake the poor thing up. He simply decided to leave him be for now. "My goodness, that must have been unpleasant...But, now that we're alone, may I ask about the situation?"

"...What do you wish to know? As much as it pains me to say this, my knowledge is very limited at the moment…" Woo muttered, starting to come back to reality.

"Well, I'll get to the details then. Lin chung filled me in on the letter…" Trully began, lifting his helmet slightly to sip his own tea. "All I can say is that when we get this fiasco covered here, we'll form up a plan and send some of our hero up through the passage towards the Northern kingdom. Even if Hidden Kingdom doesn't wish for Empress Taihe to be, well, their empress; we can't ignore a plea for help. But the rescue team will have to be small. The large scale attack High roller sent for us could only be the start of a series of risky sieges against us."

"That sounds like an excellent plan, Commander." Woo said, nodding in agreement. "With Tank's Sister at large, as well as Jumpy missing, it'd be ill advised...Speaking of which...well…"

"...Well?" Trully began, quirking his eyebrow at Woo's hesitance. "Is something the matter?"

"I don't believe Tank kidnapped Jumpy." Woo muttered, his gaze shifting towards

The sleeping tanuki. " From what I manage to pick apart from our conversations last night, he did steal most of the objects, including Lin Chung's painting. Yet he specifically said that his sister went to return it…"

"...And the painting was found in first squad's room!" Trully caught on, a lightbulb practically going off in his head. "Jumpy must have caught her in the act. He could have picked her apart from anyone else due to the smell!"

"Smell?" Woo questioned, raising his own eyebrow. 'What smell?"

"Right, you can't pick it up…" Trully mused, his gaze shifting towards Tank. "He, and by association his sister, smell of iron. It's probably too faint for humans to pick up, but right here, it feels a bit overwhelming for myself…"

"Ah, that make sense...By why?" Woo puzzled. "I know the northern kingdom is more industrialized than our kingdom, but the iron smell should have worn off by now. Unless they'd been injured…"

Both gazes grew silent as they locked eyes onto Tank. He still hadn't woken up, and having been asleep in his rice for this long…

Woo quickly reached over and shook Tank's shoulder. The boy snapped up with a start, startling the duo as rise was flicked across the table. "Hwa...Sorry, I'm super tired!"

"Ah, it's fine young one," Trully replied as Woo simply stared, being cut out of the animal only conversation. "We simply wanted to make sure you weren't injured. You smell of iron and...well…"

"Oh! Yeah, Sis and I got banged up when we tried crossing the border. I got cut in the side…" Tank chittered, one of his pawed hands going towards his left side. "Even though Sis and I patched each other up, I keep pulling mine open."

"Oh my goodness! Why didn't you say something earlier!" Trully exclaimed, rising from the table with a start. This, of course effectively startled Woo, who still had no idea what was going on. "We need to get that taken care of right away! It could get infected if we don't tend to it soon! Come along, we're going to the medic wing."

"What?! What's going on?!" Woo asked, confused.

"But I'm not done with breakfast!" Tank whined, gripping the bowl with pout on his face. "Besides, big sis said she'd patch it up when I get back to the hideout. You don't have to waste it on me."

"Nonsense!" Trully stated with a start, walking over and practically dashing off to get a medical kit. " Woo, please escort Tank back to your lab. He's wounded on his left side."

"Well why didn't you say so?!" Woo chidded back, yet did rise to help Tank move back to his lab. "More importantly why didn't you say so?!"

"I didn't think it was that important. We get hurt all the time," Tank mused, a bit surprised by the duo's reaction.

Woo thought deeply on this reaction as he made sure Tank was escorted back to his lap, as well as promptly examined for injuries. He thought back on this even more as he noticed, along with the fresh slashed wound across his left side, were various scars of faded depth. It looked as if the bandaged needed to be replaced desperately. Not to mention the wound needed stitches, which, Tank had initially protested. It only took a few moments for the whole thing to be finished with, thanks to Trully's help.

"Tank, you said your sister was hurt as well, correct?" Woo asked, finishing up on rebandaging the young one. Tank quickly nodded, too busy scarfing down his breakfast now that he was fully awake. "How badly would you say she was injured?"

"...I dunno,"Tank replied honestly, after a few moments of thinking on the matter. "Big Sis had a lot of slashes when I patched her up. But she's super tough, so she should be fine! She told me so…"

Woo and Trully shared a look. Neither one seemed convinced on the matter…

"Tank…" Trully began, taking a step closer to the boy. "Could you, perhaps, tell us where your sister is? We'd like to speak with her on the matter of, well, a number of things."

"..." The boy's gaze seemed to grow rather somber. He looked down at his bowl. "...you think she took your friend, don't you…"

"...Well, yes," Trully stated, looking to the side. "But we're more worried about-"

"Fine! I'll take you to our hidden base!" Tank exclaimed, in a rather loud and boisterous fashion. "But only to prove to you guys that my sister isn't your kidnapping culprit!"

"Well we're just worried about her health as well." Trully muttered, to no response… "Either way, I better let first squad know what the mission of the day will b-"

"Commander Ape Trully!" Just as quickly as ever, Rosefinch rushes in, slamming the lab door open with haste. "Rabbit castle is under attack! The Zebra brothers had gone and taken it over again!"

"...damn it…"

Jumpy, woken up from his slumber, to notice three thing as the sunlight peered into the empty hollow. This was a different place, a burrow under the ground; his captor was wearing a different shape; and the smell of sickness had only thickened…

"Damn it all!"

Quickly slamming her paw, yes that was a paw, into the side of the dirt entrance, his captor bit back a growl. Her blue fur shone in the daylight, her multitude of tails flickering with rage and anguish and worry. The bandages attacked across her form seemed stained with red, far more than normal bandages should have…

"You're a fox?" Jumpy asked, mildly surprised by this discovery, but deciding to handle the easiest of the discoveries for now. His captor snapped back to face him and for a moment, Jumpy saw panic in her deep maroon eyes. Yet they quickly iced over as she walked back inside.

"You're more trouble then your worth, you know that…" She began, before making her way past him and deeper in the burrow. Dragging a sack out, Jumpy could tell what was inside simply by the smell alone. Carrots, fresh ones at that. Which meant they couldn't be too far from his kingdom!

"Then let jumpy go." Jumpy simply said, not really expecting an answer.

"That's the plan..."

"...what?" That was surprising.

"It seems someone else's heard you weren't around. Those weird horses have taken over your castle." She stated, already going to untie his bonds. After looking him over for a bit, she smiled. "Make sure you stretch slowly. You've been tied up for about a week, and your muscles are probably not use to-"

"I've been tied up before," Jumpy replied, enjoying the feeling of freedom but not the feeling of rage. Did Highroller think his kingdom would be that easy to take over? Or did the Zebra decided to get cocky. Either way, they were about to learn you can't keep a good rabbit down.

"Oh wow, didn't figure you'd be into that kind of stuff."

"That's not what I-" Jumpy began with a protest, turning to face his captor, but simply found himself...Literally. "...What…"

"What, you look like you've never seen a reflection before."

"...You're injured, what do you think you'll do?"

"Help, it's my fault this happened. Who would I be if I didn't fix the problem I caused..."

"...Fine, only because I'm not sure I trust you out of my sight…"

And so their fates were sealed...