"Why exactly should I...oh yeah, I owe you one." Huton looked at her nails, "So what's up?"

"My brother was kidnapped by Jong Sung Jai Kai Chow!"

Apparently he had said just the right word. "Kidnapped?" she repeated. "Well what are we waiting for, let's go!" The alligator grabbed the crocodile's hand and ran off.

Fung could hardly believe his luck! Unlike Po, she did not stop to question if he was telling the truth or why he did not get his gang to help, did not even ask how his imaginary brother had been kidnapped.


"I can't thank you enough for helping me get my brother, Huton!" the croc smiled as he held a branch out of his way.

"I'm happy ta -WHOA!" the gator bent over backwards as Fung let the branch swing back, then limboed under it. "Happy to help," she continued, unsheathing a sword to block more oncoming branches. Suddenly Fung stopped, looking around. "What's up?" the gator asked, sheathing her blade.

"What, nothing, no reason," Fung gulped, "Just getting my bearings and stuff. Um, is that north?"

"You mean we're lost?!"

"Here," he handed her a scroll, "check the map."

Huton unrolled it, eyes growing wide as she cried, "This is all of China!"

"My brother's, in here somwhere," Fung circled the map, "So, just, you know!" He tried to smile. Huton just glared at him. Fung turned to continue when Huton grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from walking into a sign.

"What's it say?" she asked.

"What, can't you read?"

"Nope."

"Oh," Fung read the sign aloud, "'Jong Sung Jai Kai Chow's land. Any trespassers will have their heads boiled in cabbage, their earlobes stretched around their heads and continued.'"

"Continued?" Huton looked at him quizzically.

Fung went around to the back, the gator following, "'And their earlobes stretched around their heads. See diagram.' EWW!" Both creatures flinched disgustedly.

Turning around, they saw a little outpost station with several rhino guards, a bamboo pole lowered between them. "Prepare to have your -"

"Yeah," Huton held up a hand, "we read the sign. Look!" she pointed to the pole. The nearest rhino leaned over to look, and the gator snapped it in his face, knocking him over. She did the same to two more rhinos, then threw it up, crouching on the end like a cat ready to pounce, then falling down on top of another rhino, knocking him flat. Getting up, she started fighting the rest of the group, knocking them out.

"That was like awesome, gal!" Fung said delightedly. "I knew I couldn't do this without you!"

"When I agreed to help," she answered bitterly, "I didn't realize I'd be doing all the work!"

Fung threw his helmet down and glared at her, "Hey if you don't like the way I'm running things, maybe you'd like to be in charge! You know there's a lot of pressure, being the leader..." Seeing her expression was not changing, Fung sighed. "Who'm I kidding? All I ever do is mess up."

"Come on," said Huton gently, "that's not true."

"It is! This one time when I was working for my dad, I accidently glued a terra cotta warrior to his face, and now he can only grow a mustache on one side."

How do you manage to glue it to someone's face!? the gator thought to herself.

"I had to become a bandit. It's the only thing I'm good at," he continued, sighing as he sat down.

"Don't go beatin' yourself up," Huton picked up the helmet and placed it on Fung's head. "Remember, you found me in a hole."

"True," Fung turned to her, "Don't you hate it when you mess up?"

"Why, and then ya gotta spend all your free time fixin' it, clean up the mess, bury someone up to their neck," she added the last part in a low voice.

"Hahaha, loser!" the croc pointed at her.

Huton looked at him in surprise before pointing back with a smirk, "Dork!"

"Doofus!" Fung stood up.

"Bungler!"

"Dimwit gator!" he said in a singsong voice.

"Oh, we playin' the species card now!" the gator smirked, "Moron mugger!" She spun around, swinging her tail at Fung. The croc jumped out of the way, laughing.


They continued swinging at each other and laughing until they reached -

"The palace!"

"So what's the plan?" she asked as they knelt in front of a large rock.

"Okay, first of all, I distract this guy here."

"And?" Huton suspected she would get Mission Impossible.

"Then you shimmy up this wall here. You take out the archers here, here, here, and here. After you disable the giant crossbow somewhere around here, you let me in through this side door here. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!" the croc smiled.

"What are you doing in the meantime?"

"Um, watching the master work?" Huton smirked as she set off.


Rhinos and water buffaloes were falling and grunting as Huton made her way through. When she opened the side door, Fung was very impressed, "That was, like, truly an incredible display of -" Huton grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

Inside, Fung walked with his hands behind his back. Behind him, Huton held his arm, wearing a curved pole on top of her head. "This is never going to work!" she whispered, "No one's going to believe I'm a guard!"

"Not with that attitude. Make it look good, hit me or something," he whispered back. She slapped him upside the head. "OW! Hey, quit hitting me, guard!" They walked past two guards.

"Just doing my job," she answered. The two guards fell for it.

"Look," whispered the croc, looking straight ahead, "that must be where they're holding my brother."

They walked up to the two guards standing in front of the door. "Sirs," the gator greeted, "I caught a prisoner, but I was out of cabbage, so I brought him here."

"You shouldn't be back here with a prisoner," answered the water buffalo.

"Where's your uniform?" demanded the rhino. Huton jumped up, kicking them in the heads and knocking them out.

"Hand me one of those crates," Fung held out his arms, "I'll sneak my bro out in it." Huton obliged. "I'll be right back, keep a look out." The croc was only gone a few seconds before he burst through the door, "LET'S GO!" The two reptiles ran out of the palace, with Huton guarding Fung and the crate.

"Close the gate!" a rhino ordered.

The kunoichi (A.N. Huton's boss has trained her to be a kuoichi, a female ninja) dived under the gate, holding it open for her partner. Fung was about to run off when he heard a pained roar behind her, followed by "My tail!" The tip of Huton's tail was caught under the gate. Fung helped her pull it loose. "You and your brother better get lost, Fung!"

"I couldn't have done it without ya! Thanks, Huton!"

"Sure thang, mugger!" the gator smirked as she leapt up into the bamboo.


The gorilla Pahng-jue was waiting for his student, Huton. One of his thieves had seen her run off with a crocodile, and the gorilla hated crocs! Ever since a crocodile member of the Hwai Dungsyi had been captured and told the authorities everything he knew about them. He should have known better than to make Huton a member; a gator was only a snout away from being a croc.

Huton returned and bowed in front of her master, "Wujia said you wanted to see me?"

"Were you with a crocodile bandit?" Huton gulped. Syaujye the monkey would not have told him; someone else must have seen her leave with Fung. "Never mind, I already know," continued the bandit. Cuffing Huton, he led her back to Jong's palace, telling her that the man's son had been reported kidnapped.

"FUUUNNG!" she yelled, furious.


The crocodile was pounced on by his gang. "Ow, quit it! It's me, Fung!" he threw them off.

"That Jong is gonna pay a fortune to get his kid back!" laughed Hong.

Gah-ri snickered, "So she fell for that sob story?"

"Yeah, guys," Fung leaned on the crate, "It all went down just like I said it would."

"And now she's gonna take the fall for the whole caper!" continued Hong. "I heard her boss turned her in to Jong's men!"

"He did!" Fung had really expected for Huton to never be caught. "She's the whole reason I was able to do this, I mean, she fought off the guards, snuck me in, she held the gate up and now she's probably- oh man! Having her head boiled in cabbage and earlobes stretched around her head and...continued!"

"And it's all because of Fung! Way to go Fung!" cheered Irwin.

Fung looked miserable. "Fung," piped up Gah-ri, "please tell me you did not fall for the crazy gator lady!"

Fung opened his mouth, but said nothing. She had helped him without question; she had defended him; she had returned anything she took from him, and she was pretty. "Darn it all!" he grabbed the crate and ran back the way he had come.


"Where's my son?"

"I'd tell you if I knew but I don't," the kunoichi answered despairingly. "It wasn't my idea anyway, it was the croc Fung."

"Good news, my friend, I've decided to dispense with the cabbage water. It's too good for you!" Jong declared. "Bring in the devices. I'll even let you pick the method of your torture, my friend."

"I could help you track down the croc and your boy," Huton offered. Just then, an axe flew into the room, severing the chain which held the gator. The croc came in, wearing a curved pole on his head and carrying a crate.

"Fung!"

"Huton!" the croc held out his arms, but then dodged as two swords tried to severe his neck.

"You tricked me!" the gator growled. "I trusted you! And you let me take the heat!? Not cool, man!"

"But I came back to save you!" Fung defended as he dodged.

"Why should I believe you?" Huton grabbed the crate, holding it over her head.

"Because I brought the kid back!" he said hurriedly before she could throw it.

The lid of the crate fell off, revealing a smaller version of Jong. "Papa!" the boy ran to his father.

"You okay, my friend?"

"Yes papa!"

The gator turned to the croc, "You really came back for me?"

"Of course I did," answered Fung, not making eye contact for fear he would blush. "I mean, you help me, I help you. We losers gotta stick together!" He glanced sideways at her and saw she was smiling, not her usual smirk but an actual smile!

The kunoichi grabbed his hand, "Now let's get outta here!" They found the exit, getting into a fight with the guards outside. Just as they tried to escape under the gate, they were pulled back into the courtyard, next to the crossbow which had ended up facing the palace.

Jong made his way to the front, "Very impressive, my friends, but what you failed -" Huton grabbed Fung and pulled him up onto the crossbow with her, pulling the trigger rope. The machine launched against the palace wall, rocketing them past Jong and his men and through the gate. Once they were out, Fung ran screaming with Huton swinging through the trees beside him, laughing happily at their getaway.


"Did they...did they follow us?" the croc panted as the gator dropped down beside him.

"Nope."

Fung stood up, "I have ta go explain to the guys what happened, so, if you want to beat me up now's the time." Huton looked tempted, but shook her head. "I heard it was your boss turned you in."

"Yeah," she sighed, "he doesn't like crocs, so when he found out I'd helped you he fired me."

"Really!?" The gator nodded. "I didn't mean to get you fired or anything! What are you going to do now?" She shrugged. Fung swallowed, trying to pick his words carefully, "You have some amazing skills and all, you're a really good thief and, well, you've seen me and my gang, so, I was kinda wonderin', if maybe..."

"Are you trying to ask me to join your gang?" she smiled. Fung nodded. Her smile grew as she wrapped an arm around his, "Sure."