Many Years ago, Animals and humans lived together in joyful harmony-

But then, a wicked trickster called High Roller fooled the animals into thinking humans were their enemies!

Chaos reigned, until and army of heroes banned together to protect the humans and end the war.

Lin Chung

Jumpy Ghostface

Mystyque Sonia

Mighty Ray

And Yi~!

This is Hero 108

"Reindeer Castle, Part 1: Owl Castle"

Twas the night before Christmas in the Hidden Kingdom, and Big Green was abuzz. Everywhere there was tinsel, and red hats with white fuzz. Mystique Sonia and Yaksha hung decorations all about the briefing room with care, and Mighty Ray and Jumpy hoped St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Mighty Ray did a backflip and landed right in the heap of ornaments. "I'm tellin' ya, man, this Christmas is going to be AWESOME. I am SO gonna score tonight. I've been good aaaaall year." He tapped his eyeballs, activating the lights on the tree. Sonia stepped off of her ladder, which she had been using to put up the lights. "Well, that IS one less thing I have to do…but YOU banana brain? Good? Don't make me laugh."

"I HAVE been good! You're just the one who provokes me into any acts of naughtyness!"

"Yeah right. You're getting nothing but COAL this year, I'll bet on it."

"You wanna bet, sister!"

Lin Chung, not oven looking up from his drawing, stuck out his bamboo staff and lifted Ray by the back of the shirt to one side of the room and Sonia to the other. How he ever learned to concentrate at all around those two, we'll never know. The strong, silent backbone of First Squad stepped in, breaking it up before Ray and Sonia could even throw themselves at eachother again.

"Mighty Ray, Sonia, you really shouldn't be fighting. ESPECIALLY not now. It's Christmas-well, Christmas Eve-and this holiday isn't all about gifts and wrappings. Christmas is about peace on earth, good will towards your fellow man-or woman-" He added, as to not upset his teammate even further, "and we only give gifts to celebrate the greatest gift that was given to us, long, long ago." Lin Chung held up his drawing, a beautiful image of the nativity scene.

"Lin Chung is right," the group's leader, Mr. No-Hands stepped in. "Even I can be calm during this holiday season. You all should focus less on what's under the tree, but the happiness in your heart….RIGHT Ray? RIGHT Sonia?"

The two, arms folded, not facing eachother, sighed. Almost in unison, Mighty Ray and Mystique Sonia mumbled, "Yes, sir…"

"Now, hug it out."

Sonia put Yaksha back on her head and went back to work, knitting scarves. "Don't push it."

The rabbit king, Jumpy, giggled and went back to his merriment. Whipping his jumprope around, he sliced and diced a perfect star topper made of carrot. "Christmas…make Jumpy…REALLY happy." Hopping on top of Lin Chung's hat. The marksman gladly walked him over to the tree, where he was able to set the carrot star right on the very top. The rest of the team looked on in awe.

Sonia wiped her eye. "That's…beautiful, Jumpy."

"Not to shabby." Ray popped a cookie into his maw, finishing it in one bite.

Ape Truly's voice came loud and clear over the intercom. "First Squad! Please report to Woo the Wise's library immediately! URGENT!"

Sonia quickly snapped out of her brief happy spell. "Well, that was a way to ruin the moment!"

Mr. No Hands was already making his way to the hatch. "We'll have plenty of time to stare at vegetable ornaments later, I suppose. As for right now, Commander Ape Truly needs us for something!"

The commander paced back and forth nervously, wringing his hands. "AH! First Squad! Thank goodness you're here!"

Mr. No-Hands steppe forth and bowed respectfully to his commander. "Commander Ape Truly, We came as soon as we got the message. What have you summoned us for?"

"Yeah, we're missin' Christmas, here!"

Sonia whipped her tongue out and lashed him in the back of the head. "Shut it, Mighty Dork. You can keep your patience for ONE MINUTE."

"Yes, I'll try to make this as quick as possible!" Woo the wise came trotting in and carrying a rather large scroll. "We have gotten news from our allies, the Owls! High Roller is planning something HUGE!" The short man unrolled the scroll across the drafting table surface. "As far as they have investigated through correspondance with the other animal kingdoms, they, the deer, and the dogs have all been terribly subjugated in some way or another by the Bear army-!" He exclaimed, his robe popping up once again in its unfortunate tendencies to expose his drawers.

Lin Chung stepped forward and helped him right himself. "What exactly has been taken by the animals?"

Woo leaned over the scroll. "I have the list right here," He said, pointing to each item pictured. "According to the Owl Queen, the Deer King finds that eight of his bucks have their antlers missing. Likewise, eight of the owl queen's subjects have had their wings removed and taken!"

"And what of the dogs?" Sonia inquired, wondering what in the word High Roller could want deer antlers, owl wings, and whatever else from the dogs.

"That's just it. What OF the dogs? Wu Song's brother, the Dog King reported EIGHT of his subjects missing without a trace!"

The whole of First Squad stood in shock. EIGHT dogs missing from the pack, EIGHT flightless birds, and EIGHT bucks-turned-does. Everyone seemed to be completely confused except for Lin Chung. He flipped out his sketch book and went right to work, gathering a composite sketch like a cop. "Hm…this isn't adding up…is there anything else missing?"

"Well, Dog King did report a sled missing as well."

"Hm…" Lin tapped the end of his pencil to his chin, trying to put the pieces together, when it hit him like a snowball in the back of the head. The light bulb went on, and he started scribbling like mad. "A sled, the pulling power of a team of eight dogs, the flight of the owls…and deer antlers…"

"Yeah, so?" Mighty Ray crossed his arms. "How is putting emphasis on random words gonna help us?"

Woo the wise leaned over the artist's shoulder, also itching to see what exactly Lin had in mind. "Indeed, what are you formulating?"

Lin Chung slipped the brush back into the spiral binding. "What could he possibly put together with a powerfull sled pulling team. Flight ability, and antlers, with a sled to pull?"

"Of COURSE!...Um..what? I'm not following, I'm afraid."

Finally, rolling his eyes, Lin Chung showed him the page, and the thing he had put together. "It fits the season." He said casually. It was just like one of his animal combination pieces from the art book. A team of eight flying dogs-or, reindeer, rather-pulling a sleigh through the skies.

Commander Ape Truly paused a bit, and let it sink in, but then he FLIPPED out, hands on his head as if to yank out the hair he didn't have, at least not on the outside of his costume, "HIGH ROLLER'S GOING TO RUIN CHRISTMAS! It's cliché, but still HORRIBLE! OH DEAR! SANTA IMPERSONATION! He'll sneak into all the homes, steal stuff, and spoil everyone's good time!"

Mighty Ray's panic drive was starting to kick in as well, "RUIN CHRISTMAS! NEVER! …seriously…doesn't that guy have any original ideas though? I mean, how many times has this been done before? I KNOW I've seen it."

"Does it MATTER, banana brain?" Sonia shoved him, "High Roller's STILL going to ruin Christmas!"

"Not if First Squad has anything to say about it!" Mr. No-Hands bowed to the commander. "Commander Ape Truly, First Squad is ready to go at your command."

"Quite! Excellent! Now, I'll have to tell you, for sentimental reasons, and the fact that they have jurisdiction over their own subjects, You will have to be accompanied by Dog King, Deer King, and a delegate from the Owls."

"A delegate? Why not the Owl Queen herself?"

"The Owl Queen thought it would be wiser to stay behind and help her people remain calm in the situation, as well as provide medical care for the owls with missing wings and keep Owl King from getting frustrated rigging up the Christmas lights."

"Hm…been there done that. So, where are the kings and the delegate?"

"Dog King was already here visiting his brother, and Deer King said he would be here right about-" He was cut off as a large deer crashing through the wall "-now. However, I'm afraid the delegate from the Owl King and Queen is still in Owl Castle, in the forest region. You'll have to go and pick her up."

"Her?"

"Yes. The Owl King and Queen's daughter. You'll have to hurry, though. It's almost 5 o clock, and we have to stop High Roller before he flies tonight, and reverse-Santa's the entire Hidden Kingdom!

"Then there's no time to lose!" No-Hands rushed out of the library and back to the briefing room. "First Squad, Deer King, Dog King, DEPLOY!"

And so our heroes slid down the chutes, and quickly departed. The squad and two kings were determined, and the turtles had farted.

"Hehehe," The turtle nervously giggled as he and his fellow terrapins rolled through the slush, "beans…for breakfast."

They flew across the terrain and through the falling snow. They were going to stop the fiend…but how much about this plan did they really know?

"Careful, team. We'll have to break slowly to avoid skidding." Lin Chung said this, as his turtle very slowly inching its way to a halt through the icy snow piled on the ground. Mighty Ray, who obviously had not heeded those words, yelled at the top of his lungs as he flew right past and into a tree. The snow hanging on the branches promptly dropped right down onto his head, burying him in white powder.

Ray's head popped out, followed by the head of his turtle. "You stupid runt! He said break SLOWLY!"

"You stop treads to soon!" his ride shouted indignantly.

"Why you little-" The echoes of their own shouting brought yet more snow on top of his head. When he came back up, he looked like Santa with a snowy white beard and a piled-on hat. The turtle giggled, just ticking him off even more. Before he could say anything, Sonia slapped him across the face with her tongue, scattering the snow. "I wouldn't be talking, shorty. " She smirked, as she herself slowed down on her own turtle. "Come on, get up. We gotta quit stalling and get the delegate." She held out her hand for him to help himself up, but her just helped himself to an opportunity to pull her down into the snow bank with him. Getting up, brushing himself off, he saw tons of crows come flying out of the brush, as if startled, like they knew something was going down. "We can't stop here! This is bat country."

"Come on," Lin Chung said coolly, trying to ignore Sonia tackling Ray back into the snow and the tousle that ensued, "We have to get to Owl Castle. We'll travel on foot from here."

The team trudged through the snow. They trudged and trudged and trudged some more. Seriously, I didn't know people could actually trudge until I actually trudged myself a few times. Now I get the true meaning of the word. Suddenly, Lin Chung stopped short, and held out his staff to signal a halt.

"Wh-wh-wh-what is it…l-l-li-Lin?" Sonia managed through chattering teeth. Yaksha immediately wrapped himself around his mystique mistress to keep her from shivering.

"Did any of you hear that?" the team stood in the icy snow, frozen-no pun intended-where they were, listening intently to whatever it was their teammate was talking about. The stood for a minute or two, on guard up, ready for whatever might be coming. Ambush or ammunition or-perhaps, a crow flying out of the brush and right past them, paying them no mind and simply perching itself on a branch and pecking whatever out of its feathers.

"I-I I think….we should..k-k-keep…g-going…"

"Hm…maybe it was just a bird."

"What did you THINK it was?" Ray piped in as they all continued walking, letting their guard down a bit. "A big, scary ninja or something? By the way, do you even know where you're going?"

"Owl Castle should just be right up ahead"

"If you so much as flinch, you're good and dead." A soon as that feminine voice reached his ears, a knife reached Lin Chung's throat. "State your name and purpo-WHOAH!" In nothing flat, Lin Chung had grabbed her arms, flipped her right over his head and into the snow, the tip of his bamboo staff inches from her heart, ready to fire. First Squad got a look at her. Just an average-height, average weight girl. She had long, LONG black hair, and her bangs covered her left eye, and the right, yellow-green eye barely peeked through. She wore a simple attire. She had a floppy, long-sleeved green shirt that was so loose it hung off one shoulder and the sleeves reached past her knees. Under this she just wore plain black shorts. There didn't seem to be anything odd about her, let alone threatening save for the feather-shaped knife she'd dropped in the snow bank next to her. Lin Chung simply stared down the barrel and calmly stated: "Lin Chung of First Squad. We're here to see the Owl King and Queen and pick up the delegate to accompany us along with Deer King and Dog King to investigate the disappearances." As he said this, Dog King trotted forward and snapped at her leg, causing her to jump near out of her skin, and right into the antlers of Deer King, who snorted and raised her up, pinned against the tree.

"Wait…you say you're looking for the Owl King and Queen?" She said, glare fading into a quizzical raised eyebrow. "First Squad of Big Green?"

"Yes." Lin replied simply, relaxing and putting the staff once again at its place on his back. "Do you know where we could find the Owl Castle?"

"So you DON'T know where you're going-OW!"

"Shut up, Ray." Sonia demanded through clenched teeth. She was partially doing this because she was miffed at his ability to ruin things, partially because it was the only way to keep her teeth from chattering.

The girl smiled, mischievously as if she knew something they all didn't. Like someone who just set up a prank for you right before you walked into it. "Why didn't you SAY so instead of tossing me in the slush? Know where to find it? I LIVE there!"

"Really?"

"Heck YEAH! I'm the Owl King And Queen's daughter. My name's Yi." She beamed, reaching her hand out and feverently shaking Lin's."

"Wait, wait," Ray piped in, stepping forward, "You don't LOOK like an owl. You look like a human. How can YOU be the owl princess?"

"I'm adopted. Although I do have some wings…I dunno. Anyway, could you call off the hound…and uh, the deer?" As she flopped down into the snow, she really flopped down. Face-first and with an "oof" it appeared she really did have wings. Just a regular pair of owl-wings, white with black spots in the secondary feathers. They would have been regular sized to any owl, but in proportion to her, they were actually pretty small. She got up and shook her head, scattering the snow out of her hair. She grabbed her feather knife and slipped it somewhere in with the primary feathers of her wings. "So, you guys want me to lead you to the castle, or should I get clapped in irons and you guys hold me hostage for your delegate?"

"Hey, you attacked US first, miss high-and-mighty!" Mr. No-Hands interjected to Yi's quip.

"So I did, so I did. Sorry, I guess. We're a bit edgy since the wing incident." She scratched her nose, ignoring the growl in his voice and the red in his face, making it go even redder. "We were actually watching you guys from the opening of the forest."

"We? Who's WE?" As the leader said this, about a good fifteen or so owls descended from the trees and landed either in the snow on a First Squad member. Lin Chung himself got a male owl, beige with brown feathers mixed into the primaries that landed right on top of his hat.

Yi hooted and screeched, holding out her arm. The owl fluttered right off of Lin's hat and onto her waiting sleeve. "You speak owl?" he raised an eyebrow, attempting to stroke the bird's wings, and getting a nasty snap of the beak. He quickly withdrew his hand.

Yi screeched something awful at the male on her arm. "Xie! Sorry about our 'little prince.' He's not very nice around strangers. Xie, this is Big Green. They're here to help us."

Lin Chung took out his sketchbook, and started eagerly sketching the image of the owls. "You are able to speak in animal tongue?" He repeated, so she didn't dodge the question once more.

"What part of 'adopted by owls' is still foggy to you? Come on, you guys gotta get to the castle if you're in such a hurry." She finished, grabbing Lin Chung by the shoulders and taking off. Her owl bretherin did the same, taking each First Squad member by the shoulders as well as the Deer and Dog kings, taking off into the sky, above the trees, and towards the castle of the owls. As they neared on it, for they actually were as close as Lin Chung thought (you were saying, Ray?) they could see a large tree house peeking over the tops of the trees. It was completely aglow, much like Big Green, with lights and tinsel, holly and stars of gold. "Owl..Castle…" Jumpy chittered, "Owl King and Queen….friends…of Jumpy."

"You know mum and dad?" Yi glanced back. Lin Chung reached up and tapped on her shoulder, "Jumpy Ghostface is the Rabbit King. He works with us.

"Rabbit King? THE Rabbit King? That little guy? He's adorable!" Yi chuckled, turning her head back to the rabbit being carried by a black, brown-speckled female owl. Jumpy simply giggled in response. Yi looked back to the tree house roof. A panel was opening up, and a new string of owls could be seen through the hole. They screeched and hooted and waved them to the landing pad with those sort of light sticks they use on airplane runways. Yi and the owls began their decent towards the roof top. As they reached the strip, the welcoming committee dropped their loads. First squad and the kings tuck and rolled as they landed, springing up and watching as the owls skidded to a halt on the landing pad and ruffled out their feathers. Yi hooted at one runway guide and made a gesture for him to bring something. "I sent him to get you guys some coco. You guys must be friggin' COLD out there. You're either sleeveless or half-shirtless or both! Anyway, I'll take you guys to see mum and dad." They followed her out of the docking area and down into the other parts of the castle.

"Yi, if you don't mind me asking," Mr. No-Hands started, looking around anxiously from door to door, "Who is the delegate the King and Queen of Owls are sending with us?"

"Eh," she shrugged, "I'd tell ya if I could. Probably gonna be the general or something. Mum can't go with ya because she's gotta calm down the people, dad because he's gotta help the people set up for the festivities tomorrow, and it's not like they can just BOTH take off together and leave me and Xie in charge because one: we're too young, 'specially Xie, and two: Mum's egg could hatch at any minute."

"The Owl Queen is having a baby?" Sonia exclaimed, eyes aglow, "How cute! A Christmas owlet! Is it going to be a boy or a girl?"

Yi's eyes went aglow as well as she reflected on it, "Yes! The doctors say it's going to be female, and she's due today or tomorrow! I can't wait for my little sister~! If she's born on time and healthy, despite the cold, it'll be the best Christmas present ever."

"WOW! I'm so happy for you!" Sonia exclaimed, hugging the owl princess, mindful of the wings. "Best Christmas wishes for your family, Yi!"

"Aw, thanks, miss…um…gosh. I feel stupid," Yi said, breaking away and blowing some of her lengthy bangs out of her face, "I completely forgot to ask you guys for your names…" First squad lined up, introducing themselves one by one, starting with the leader. "I am Mr. No-Hands, leader of First Squad."

"Lin Chung, marksman and artist."

"Mystique Sonia, the most beautiful beauty of Big Green, and this is my friend Yaksha"

"nyenyernyernyenyer"

"Jump-y…Ghost-face~!"

"Mighty Ray, the mightiest fighter in ALL of Big Green!"

"NYEHHEHEH!" Or whatever could be written to imitate Deer King's whinnying and neighing.

"RRRR-RUFF! I am the Dog King! Brother of the Dental Warrior, and leader of my fearless pack! RUFF!"

"And I am YI! Princess of the owls, NICE to MEET you!" Yi replied with mock-enthusiasm imitating their gung-ho attitudes. "hahaha….but seriously," She laughed, walking on through the halls, and reaching a large, ornate door, "Come one, time for you to meet my parents!" She flung open the door, "MUUUUUUM! Oh MUUUUUUM! I got Big Green~!"

A beige female with black speckled wings screeched and fluttered where she was sitting on a large cushion with a Black male with brown feathers mixed into the primaries, who just sat where he was, appearing to be snoozing. Seeing it was just Yi, the female simply hooted and shook her head.

"Sorry, Mum," she turned to her friends, "It's not wise to shake her up. She has to stay calm to incubate the egg. So, Mum, here's Big Green. We have First Squad, the Deer King, and he Dog King." The Two King, along with Mr. No-Hands, stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the Owl King and Queen.

"Queen and King of the Owls," No-Hands addressed, "We are here to aid in the investigation of the missing wings of your people, the missing antlers of the deer, and the disappearances of the dogs. We will take your delegate with us. Oh, and congratulations on the your newborn."

The Owl Queen got up briefly, checking on the egg beneath her very bottom. She hooted good naturedly, letting Mr. No-Hands know that she appreciated the compliment. Owl Queen nudged Owl King sharply in the wing out of his slumber. He fluttered angrily for a minute or two, screeching at his wife. Calmly she pointed with her wing to First Squad, and he sheepishly retreated. "Oh…um…this is awkward…so sorry about that…um…eheh…I'm a bit of an irritable waker…" he coughed nervously into his wing, "So…um, yeah! You must be here to get the delegate."

"You speak human language?"

"Ah, yes, well, we figured it'd be best if one of us was able to communicate with the human allies of Big Green. My Wife was currently busy with her egg, so I decided to learn for her for the time being…well, I suppose you're here to get the delegate and you'll be on your way on your investigation."

"Yes, that's the general idea. So, who are we taking with us? We have to make haste, there's only a matter of time before High Roller flies."

"Yes, very well. I don't think that will be a problem at all. You've already met her."

"Who, dad?" Piped in the winged girl. "Seargent Guang?" She raised an eyebrow, the only once visible under her bangs, and pointed her thumb over at the female owl resting on Jumpy's left rabbit ear.

"No no, Yi, you're going to with them. You're the delegate, daughter."

"Say what?" Everyone in the room besides the Owl Queen raised their voices.

"Oh…my…GOSH….my baby sis is being born, AND I get to work with First Squad! This is the best Christmas ever!"

"Ah, yes. My daughter is a big fan of Big Green, and now she's met the illustrious First Squad she's heard so much about."

"I am ready and raring to go!" Yi saluted and bowed to her father, and then kissed the egg holding her soon-to-be baby sister. "I won't disappoint you guys, and I'll be back to see you for your birthday, baby sis."

First squad flew across the snowy terrain like bats out of hell, the Deer and Dog kings following close behind, and the adopted Owl Princess Yi flying overhead.

Lin Chung had his turtle doing the driving, he just sat on top and sketched. Yi looked over his shoulder as she fluttered above him. It was actually a bit comical. She was RIGHT THERE, and he wasn't noticing her until-

"Hey Lin~!"

"YAGH!" Lin Chung nearly dropped his brush in the snow. "Don't do that."

"Landing." She plopped herself right down on his turtle behind him and rested her folded arms on his back, leaning over his shoulders and looking at his sketchbook. "So, what are you drawing?"

"Hm. No one's really that interested with it that much. I was actually drawing a picture of you. I've never seen a human with wings before."

"Hey, me neither, besides when I catch sight of a mirror…wow. That really IS good." Yi pushed herself back up and over Lin pushing down on his shoulders, and sort of hovered besides him. "So, where are we going, exactly? Straight to East Citadel to beat some creepy midget evil butt?"

"Actually, we're going back to Big Green to report to Commander Ape Truly."

"Aw Man…hey, so, what exactly ARE we going to do as far as the whole 'investigation?'" she raised her visible eyebrow, forming air quotes with her fingers.

Lin Chung Flipped the one of the previous pages of his sketchbook, and showed her the composite sketch.

"He's… Creating mutants? That is one SICK little freak monkey."

He rolled his eyes. "No, it's what he's DOING with the strange hodge-podge of animals. Based on the stolen animal parts, and the stolen item of a sled, put all together, there's a team of eight flying, antlered animals to pull a sled that could carry who know what to or FROM place to place. Seems pretty clear to us."

It took a while, like Ape Truly, for the lights to go on in Yi's head, but when he Christmas lights come on they really shine. "High Roller's going to pose as Santa Clause and pull reversies on all the good people and steal the gifts and ruin Christmas! That CLICHÉ horrible sick sick sick SICK little freak monkey!"

"Oh, you have NO idea." Sonia came rolling up besides them as they rounded the corner. "We should be there in a few minutes.

"Commander Ape Truly, We have the delegate from the Owls." Mr. No Hands ushered the team in, Yi entering last. "On your order, Sir, we're ready to go."

Ape Truly trotted forward to shake hands with the Owl Princess. "You must be Yi," he bowed respectfully, "The Owl King and Queen have told me about you. How are your brother and parents?"

"Oh, I have a baby sister due to hatch either today or tomorrow."

"Really? Oh, congratulations to you guys!"

"Thanks! We've actually got the nursery all set up. Baby girls like purple, right?"

"Um, ahem?" They turned to face No-Hands, bursting their bubble, and with good reason. "Don't we have something we should be doing?"

"Ah…um, yes. Very well." Ape Truly turned back to face Yi. "Ok, Owl Princess. What do you have?"

Yi quickly drew out her feather knife and got into defensive position. She did a spinning kick, tossed her knife in the air, jumped-boosted by her wings-into the air to catch it, and completed the somersault, landing with her fist extended just a centimeter from Lin Chung's nose. "HYA! Does THAT answer your question? Oh!" she snapped, "How do you like me now?"

"Quite…then it's settled! First Squad, Deer King, Dog King, Yi of the Owls, you will go to East Citadel to rescue the kidnapped dogs and the retrieve the stolen antlers, wings, and sled. Effective immediately!"

"Awesome!" Yi slipped the feather knife back into her wing and gave Lin a friendly punch in the arm, "Guys, I am SO there!"

"First Squad, DEPLOY!" Mr. No-Hands, along with the rest of his team, sped off once again to uncover the holiday scheme. All misgivings, all traces of doubt they did doff, as a certain green Dr. Seuss character steamed, his major plot being majorly ripped off. The team was complete, the lot of them gathered…and…I really couldn't think of a word that rhymed with gathered, but uh….yeah. They're basically ready to go to kick High Roller's but. However, there's gonna be a twist.

Once the fearless heroes solve this mystery, they'll find themselves in for a real twist…er-y…yeah…Im gonna go...lay down for a bit…Merry Christmas, God bless you all…to be continued in part two.