Liliac and Pink Spec ran across the land near the mid-afternoon. Cheetah Queen told them that Parrot King might be able to help with finding new members. They would try to find Commander Ape Truly, but he disappeared after Big Green was destroyed. He was the closest friend of Ape Truly's, so he would be the most reasonable source. The pair of friends stopped within the boundaries and walked the rest of the way. Parrot King sat on his snail as they both slid out of the castle.
"Hello, Braach!" he squawked, "Welcome to Parrot Castle."
"Are you Parrot King?" asked Liliac.
"Why, yes I am. What brings you both here?"
"We come to ask you about Big Green."
Parrot King squawked in surprise. Liliac and Pink Spec seemed confused by his reaction. Parrot King looked around to make sure the area was clear. He did not want a loose animal hearing their conversation. He signaled the two as he headed inside. Liliac and Pink Spec followed inside. However, none of them noticed that a figure landing behind them.
Once they were inside, Parrot King landed on a perch. "Now, what would you children like to know? Braach!"
"Parrot King, we wish to know where the members of First Squad used to live before they were captured by High Roller" said Liliac. She had determination in her voice.
"My word, Bracch! You seem to know so much right now. But, why so interested in…" Parrot King squawked in surprise when he paid more attention on the Cheetah. "Aw, Pink Spec, Braach! It has been a while."
Pink Spec looked at Parrot King in confusion. However, that confusion quickly turned back to shock. Pink Spec laughed as she ran up to Parrot King, "It's you! You're the little green bird that taught me my first words!" Pink Spec hugged Parrot King in her giggling outburst. Parrot King patted her back before he flew back to his perch. "And if you are Pink Spec…" he turned his attention to Liliac. "Then you must be that little human, Liliac I believe." Liliac nodded in confirmation. "Oh, now I know why you want to know. Braach! You know about your father, don't you?"
"Yes Parrot King" she replied. "I understand what my father was and what he has done. But I wish to continue what he never finished. I know some of the animals are still on the human's side, but I think that the old heroes had children as well. Do you know where…?"
"Hello? Parrot King?" asked a voice. Everyone turned to the door in shock. Princess Maya stepped inside in a normal pace. "Parrot King, who are you…" Princess Maya looked shocked at the human girl that stood before her. A smile came onto her beak, "Oh my…a real human!"
Liliac, on the other hand, was not pleased at all. The blades from her staff shot out before she charged the Eagle. Ever since her father was taken, she hated all Eagles. Maya was surprised by this sudden action but crossed her wings to act as a shield. Liliac never let up on her attacks, she constantly swung her blades either across her or over her head. Princess Maya simply blocked or dodged each of those attacks. In the process, Liliac's attacks managed to knock over several items.
"ENOUGH! Braach!" shouted Parrot King. At his voice, Princess Maya and Liliac stopped. He flew off of his perch and flew between the two. "Liliac meet the Eagle Princess; Princess Maya. Princess Maya, meet…"
Parrot King never finished because Liliac tackled Princess Maya. Liliac held her wings down and pressed one of her blades against her throat. "So, you're the daughter of the Eagle that STOLE MY FATHER!" she shouted in anger. "I am going to enjoy this even more…"
Pink Spec quickly grabbed Liliac before she would do something she would regret. Liliac fought back, but this wasn't playing around. She actually wanted to hurt Princess Maya. Parrot King flew to her side, "Princess, I am sorry to say that your father the Eagle King was the one who kidnapped her father, Braach!"
Princess Maya looked shocked. Never has she ever heard of her father doing this. She wanted to apologize to Liliac, but after what she almost experienced Maya was more scared than anything. Liliac seemed to calm down enough to stand in the same room with her mortal enemy. The blades retracted into her staff as Pink Spec let her go. Liliac glared at the Eagle, who noticed that she was staring at her with a bit of concern.
"What do you want?" she asked coldly.
Princess Maya shot back slightly, "I…I just wanted to apologize…and ask if you were alright…"
"I do NOT want your sympathy BIRD!" Princess Maya shot back, greatly saddened. However, somewhere deep inside her Liliac knew she couldn't be mad at this eagle. "But…I'm sorry I attacked you…and it wasn't your fault with my father…" Her statement caused a smile to come onto Pink Spec's face and a sigh of relief from Princess Maya.
"Well now, Braach! Now that everyone seems to get along, I will tell you want you want" said Parrot King. "Now I am not sure entirely if they had kids, but I can tell you where you can find some recruits, Braach! Mighty Ray and Mystique Sonya lived near Liger Castle. Jumpy Ghostface went back to his castle before he was captured as well. The last one is always on the move, so you will have to find him on your own."
"Thank you Parrot King" said Liliac. "Alright Pink Spec, let's go."
"Hold on a second Liliac, Braach! There is one last animal that would be willing to join you."
"Who is it Parrot King?"
"It's me" said Princess Maya. Liliac gasped but Maya continued, "I was never happy with the way my father treated humans. I always wanted to help them and learn. But, he always kept me from it. Besides, no one else knows most of Hidden Kingdom better than I do."
Liliac sneered, but she slightly nodded. Maya smiled, glad to see that she was accepting. "Which castle is the closest to here?" asked Pink Spec.
"Rabbit Castle is just east of here; we should be able to make it before the sun goes down."
Liliac climbed onto Pink Spec before she quickly ran off. Maya flew off just above them, barely keeping up. Liliac did not want her to come, but Maya was willing to help, and they needed all the help they could get.
Raya hopped down a small trail between the massive carrots. She had a pink bandana around her neck. She stopped near a batch of smaller carrots, unwrapped her cloth, and started to place carrots in them. Raya smiled as she held the bundle in her ears. She began to hop back, but she did not watch where she was going. She ran into a pink blur that knocked her bundle loose. Raya rubbed her head and looked up. She saw three large creatures that she has never seen before. One reached down, but Raya bolted before they could do anything.
"Hey wait!" shouted Pink Spec.
"It's too late" said Liliac, "She's gone."
Maya walked over to the scattered pile of carrots and started to pick them up. She then grabbed the bandana and wrapped the pile of carrots in it. She faced the others, "We might as well return these to the little rabbit." Maya walked towards the castle and followed by Liliac and Pink Spec.
"I still don't trust her" said Liliac.
"Liliac…" replied Pink Spec, "You need to let the past go sometimes. Maya seems nice, and you shouldn't ruin a new friendship with something that you could not control."
"She will be on our side, but she will NOT be my friend."
Unknown to both of them, Maya was able to hear them both. She was disappointed that the first human she met hates her. But, she was slightly expecting that since her father and her kind always mistreated humans. The doors opened as the three approached the castle. Once they stepped inside they found themselves in the throne room. Several Rabbits were lined up one both sides of the room and a pure white Rabbit sat on the throne. The Rabbit they ran into was cowering behind her.
"Hello travelers" said the white Rabbit, "I am the Rabbit Queen. What brings you here?"
Maya took a few more steps forward, "I believe the rabbit behind you dropped this when she ran into us."
The small scared Rabbit slowly hopped into sight as she approached Maya. Maya tried to put on a warm smile as she handed the bundle of carrots to her. The Rabbit quickly grabbed the bundle and retreated behind the queen. "I thank you for your kindness" Rabbit Queen said. Maya bowed as she returned with her two traveling companions.
Liliac noticed her kindness, and started to ease up. Maybe Pink Spec was right, maybe not all Eagles were bad. But, she stayed focused. She walked forward to address the Queen, "Rabbit Queen, we come to you asking for some assistance" she started. "I am Liliac, daughter of Lin Chung." The Rabbits around her started to talk amongst themselves. "I wish to reform Big Green and defeat High Roller." The Rabbits around her gasped and began to quickly look at each other. "We ask for a member of your castle to help us aid in High Roller's defeat."
The Rabbits backed up in fear. No one was volunteering, making Liliac feel depressed. She bowed in respect and began to leave. However, Raya hopped uneasily from behind the throne. She nervously bowed to the trio, "I Raya. I help with team."
Rabbit Queen hopped down her throne with great speed and concern. "Raya, are you sure you want to go with them?" she asked.
"Raya want to help" she said with slight fear. "Show everyone Raya not scared."
Rabbit Queen looked at her daughter. She wanted to go, but this fight could be very dangerous. She did not want her daughter to get injured or killed, but this group may be Hidden Kingdom's last chance for a peaceful society. Rabbit Queen hugged her daughter one last time before she nodded her head. But before they left, Rabbit Queen hopped to Liliac. "Please, keep my daughter safe."
Liliac agreed to this promise and let Raya get anything she needed. The other rabbits handed her a few more carrots and a jump rope, but she seemed to not like them. But, she accepted them anyway and left. Raya seemed excited, but Liliac could tell she was actually scared. Her father taught her to read expressions well. "Alright Eagle" Liliac said coldly, "How far is Liger Castle?"
Princess Maya flew a few feet into the air, "Well, we should be able to get there before nightfall. That all depends on what we encounter."
"What's out there?" asked Pink Spec.
"Well my father sends out some Eagle scouts on occasion. We might run into a few of them. So it would be better for us to get there as soon as possible."
Liliac hopped onto Pink Spec after managing to get Raya set on. "Then let's see you catch up" she said. Pink Spec did not seem happy, but she ran anyway. Raya held onto Liliac with her ears and covered her face against Liliac's chest. Pink Spec was one of the fastest Cheetahs, but Liliac was used to riding with Pink Spec. Princess Maya flew through the air, but was starting to fall behind. Liliac smiled at this, but Pink Spec slowed down for her.
Misty and Red Ray were out of their homes again today. They went out further than what the territories were, searching for fruit. Red Ray was lifted by Yaksha's arms, observing each apple that was in the tree. Misty, on the other hand, quickly ran to the trunk and punched it. The apples from the branches fell, some hitting Red Ray and Yaksha. Red Ray sighed as he brushed off the apples that managed to collect on his head, "Misty, why did you punch the tree?"
"We needed apples, so I got apples" she replied. She grabbed and apple and took a bite out of it. "What's the big deal? We have apples now…"
"Yes, but not all of them were fully grown or ripe yet. We needed to pick the fresh apples and leave the others up there."
Misty rubbed the back of her head, "Oops…my bad…" Red Ray sighed as Yaksha lowered him to the ground. She walked off of his head and then shaped into a basket-like object. She, along with Red Ray, began to pile in fresh apples into the empty case. After they were done, Red Ray and Misty grabbed the two handles and began to walk back to the village.
They got back and placed the apples within their home. Once she was empty, Yaksha reformed back into her normal form and happily placed herself onto Red Ray's head. However her happy expression changed when she suddenly got off of his head and climbed out of their home. Red Ray and Misty looked at each other before climbing out after her. They saw the group and approached them. Yaksha sat herself back on Red Ray's head, readying for the worse.
"Hello travelers" said Red Ray, " My name is Red Ray, and this is my sister Misty. What brings you here?"
"We are looking for Liger Castle" said Liliac.
"Uh…it's right behind us" said Misty. The group looked behind the two, seeing Liger Castle. "What are you, blind?!"
"Be calm sister, I'm sure they have good reason."
"Yeah, well we're going with them in case they try something."
Before Red Ray could protest, Misty grabbed his arm and dragged him with the others. Liliac led the group with Pink Spec at her side. Raya hopped nervously behind them as Misty, Red Ray, and Princess Maya walked in the back. Princess Maya glanced at what appeared to be a hat on Red Ray's head, but she was quickly glanced at in anger. "Excuse me for asking, but what exactly is on your head?" she asked.
"This is Yaksha, my dear good love" replied Red Ray. "She's pretty protective ever since my parents disappeared."
"So your parents disappeared too…"
Red Ray looked at Princess Maya with concern. She seemed to change her expression rather quickly. Before Red Ray could ask, they arrived at Liger Castle. Several Ligers crowded around them as Liger King stepped forward. "What do you want?" he asked. "I may be kind to humans, but that still doesn't mean I will be to your kind."
Everyone turned to see that Liger King was talking about Maya. Liliac smiled, "I like this guy already…" Liliac turned to Liger King, "Your highness, I would like to request your assistance in the reformation of Big Green."
Silence flew through the castle and the courtyard. Suddenly, Liger King started to laugh along with the other Ligers. The group looked at the Ligers in confusion. Liger King stopped laughing as he wiped a loose tear from his eye. "Oh my, that's a laugh. Sorry to ruin your little dream kid, but Big Green was ruined a long time ago. Besides you won't catch us helping, not a single Liger will help you."
Liliac glared at Liger King but then turned to leave. Pink Spec followed her as she left. Raya hopped nervously after along with Maya. This time, Red Ray grabbed Misty's arm and dragged her out. They went out to the twin's home before Liliac collapsed. "I failed…"
"What did you say" asked Misty.
"I failed my father. I wanted to reunite the team so that I could say him and the others High Roller has captured. But all I am is a waste. We will never get the team together."
"I'm sure you will…with our help" said Red Ray. Liliac looked up at him as he reached out a tissue. Liliac dried her eyes before Red Ray continued, "I would be honored to help your cause. And I think Yaksha would be willing to as well." Yaksha nodded and gently patted Liliac's back. Liliac smiled before Misty helped her up.
"Trust me, you're not going anywhere with my brother without me" she said.
"Uh…m-may…may I j-join…?" asked a voice. Everyone turned to see a Liger standing behind them. The first thing they noticed is that he slightly looked like Liger King. However this one had curved markings on his body and the rung in his mouth seemed to have something extra on him. "Uh…h-hello… M-my name…my name is Jade Claw Lion" he stammered. "I-I would l-like to j-join…"
"I've never seen you before" said Misty.
"That's b-because my f-father…L-Liger K-King… He is d-disappointed by me… I-I don't want t-to rule the throne…and I-I do n-not l-like to fight."
"If you don't want to fight then we do not need you! Now just go back to whatever room you were hiding in and…"
Liliac approached Jade Claw, "We would be honored to have a Liger on the team." Jade Claw gave a nervous smile and a nod. Princess Maya walked forward, "I do not know where you are planning to go next, but I may have a solution…"