The next morning, the boys rise with the sun in order to recover the group's vehicles from Shang Mu, with Maria waking naturally around mid-morning.

"Ugh, what happened to me yesterday?" she mumbles as she sits up. "My head feels like it's been flung around a pachinko machine… At least the world's not fuzzy anymore." She looks around the room, noticing Hanna is still asleep on a camp bed. "Oh yeah, I remember now." Then she spots a roll of leather strapping she uses for her weapons' hilts. "Hmm…"

Half an hour later, Hanna wakes to the sound of Maria singing in the den. Sounds like she's back to her normal self. Hanna tries to sit up, but finds herself unable to. She raises her head to look down the length of the bed. She's surprised to see someone has strapped her tight to it, blanket included. Allowing her head to drop, Hanna takes as deep a breath as she can.

"MARIA!" she shouts as loud as possible.

Maria's singing halts abruptly. "Morning Hanna!" she calls in her most saccharine tone.

"Do you plan on freeing me anytime soon?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yes you do, and it isn't funny!"

"It is to me!" Maria resumes her singing.

Hanna takes stock of her predicament. I can't free my arms, but luckily she left my legs free. If I roll over, I might be able to stand. It takes her several minutes, but eventually Hanna manages to roll onto her front. Pausing a moment to catch her breath, she begins the process of standing up. After a couple of fumbles, Hanna is finally on her feet.

OK Maria, payback time. Taking care to compensate for the light but awkward weight of the camp bed, Hanna pads her way to the den, hoping to catch Maria unawares, but she is unable to stop the camp bed rattling with every step. By the time she reaches the den, Maria is sat on the sofa waiting for her. As soon as she sees Hanna, Maria bursts into uncontrollable laughter.

"You know you won't get away with this," Hanna growls mischievously.

"It's worth it!" Maria cries through the tears of mirth.

"Oh really…"

Hanna dashes as quickly as she is able, heading directly for the sofa. Maria suddenly realises what Hanna's about to do, but it's too late. As she tries to twist out of the way, Hanna dives headfirst onto the sofa, pinning Maria face-down under her.

"No fair!" Maria protests, half-muffled by the sofa cushions. "Get off me!"

"Only if you cut me free," Hanna bargains.

"I promise!"

"Good!" Hanna attempts to shift her weight in order to free Maria, but the camp bed won't move. "Um… problem."

"We're stuck."

"Yeah."

"Oh poo," Maria sighs.

Mid-day, and Hanna and Maria can both hear engines.

"Sounds like the boys are back," Hanna concludes.

"About time," Maria sighs. "I feel like a pancake."

"Pancakes for lunch? Sounds good."

"That's not what I meant…"

"I know."

The engines get louder as they get closer. A couple of minutes later, they drop to idle, then fall silent. Rob is the first to enter the house, immediately spotting the camp bed on the sofa, a fox tail poking out from underneath.

"Good to see you girls having fun," he chuckles.

"Hey Rob," Hanna responds. "I'm a bit stuck. Can you free me please? Maria's a little… inconvenienced."

"That's because you're a meanie!" Maria protests.

"What's going on in here?" Danny asks as he enters the house, Xander right behind. He then notices the camp bed with the tail poking out. "I guess they're stuck. Should we help them?"

"I think we should leave them like that while we investigate that base in the lake," Rob suggests.

"No!" Hanna and Maria cry in unison. They can't see Rob's cheeky grin, nor can they see Xander approaching to free Hanna from her bonds.