I've had the flu for the past 3 days. And I gave it to my friend because he was attempting to help me feel better...Am I a great friend or what? Actually I think he only keeps me around because he knows I keep him safe from the alligator snapping turtles. Long story.

"I won't ask again." the sand colored wolf growled.

"Attack us. I dare you. Kvela and I can take you." Lebba caught herself growling.

"Lebba" Grace hissed.

"Kvela? That's a odd name." the grey wolf tilted his head.

"Listen, we don't want trouble." Grace sighed.

"Then why are you here?" the female growled.

Grace looked at Lebba and then back at the wild wolves. "Ok, you win" and she began to relate everything she and Lebba had been through.

On the plane, the rescue squad was fast asleep. Bluea was quietly dreaming, Marlene curled up beside her. Skipper, on the other hand, was deep in the middle of a nightmare, surrounded by the monsters of his past.

Grace was standing next to him, she smelled faintly of black powder, something was wrong. The wolf wouldn't look at him.

"Grace?" Skipper put his flipper on her shoulder, the wolf stumbled back like he had hit her as hard as he could. She shook her head and looked up at him, every time she blinked her eyes grew a darker shade of blue. Everything around them started to swirl and in a flash of light they were standing on a roof. Skipper looked for any identifying marks to tell where he was. Finding none he turned back to Grace. Something seemed to scare her because she turned and ran. Skipper watched Grace slowly disappear into the fog

"Grace!" Skipper yelled after her.

A wolf of similar color to Grace suddenly appeared, "Let her go." the new wolf had an accent that the penguin couldn't place.

"Who are you?" he took a step towards the wolf. "Are you Grace's conscious?"

"Hardly." the wolf shook his head. There was something almost proud about him, but also something broken, an old hurt to him. "Hawk couldn't protect her. Promise me you will."

"Hawk?" Skipper gave the wolf a puzzled look. "Oh, you're Grace's- "

The wolf dropped his head like he was picking something up and started to walk away.

"Where the hell are you going?" Skipper started to chase the wolf. "Why did you-"

The wolf was gone. No trace of him remained.

"Grace? Grace? Grace!" Skipper began to panic, he couldn't see her

"Skipper! Wake up it's just a dream!" Marlene shook Skipper awake.

"Bad dream?" Bluea smiled.

"I guess you could call it that." Skipper rubbed his head.

"What happened?" Marlene asked.

"I'm not sure. But I think I just saw Grace's dad."

The wolf called Slash led the way to an old tree with a hole at the base. "It's probably not like the caves in New York, but it's still home."

"Are you kidding? I've spent the last 3 years in a concrete box. This is fantastic!" Grace couldn't tell if Lebba was joking or serious.

"It's an abandoned bear den, we cleaned it up and dug deeper and further back to make it warmer." the sand colored wolf smiled, proud of herself.

The dirt floor and dark atmosphere reminded Grace of the penguins HQ, for some odd reason. "So, you know our names, what's yours?"

"I'm Sand." the female laid down.

"Slash." the grey wolf answered, " and that's Dartte," Slash motioned to a black wolf laying in the corner, "He doesn't talk much, but he can hunt really really well."

"Speaking of food, what do you have to eat? I'm starving." Lebba wagged her tail.

"You're always hungry." Grace said hesitantly.

"Yeah. So? You obviously eat a lot too."

Grace glared at Lebba and grumbled.

"Are you two sure you aren't sisters?" Sand tilted her head.

"Yes," Grace and Lebba said in unison.

The three wolves looked between themselves and laughed. "Then you must be pretty close back at the zoo. Pack?" Sand seemed genuinly intrigued by the new wolves.

"Err." Grace looked to Lebba asking permission to tell.

"Kvela and I come from rival-uhhm- packs?"

"So do we!" Slash smiled "Our parents hated each other and we hated them. So we ran off and formed a pack."

Lebba sighed, "I wish I could've run from my foster dad. He can be a giant jerk."

"What about your parents?" Slash looked at Grace, something about him reminded her of Private.

Grace began to think of a thousand things to say, she could lie and say she ran away or she could say that she didn't hate them for giving her away but would that still be a lie? I don't hate them. But I certainly don't love them. "They were parents." was all she could bring herself to say.

Lebba quickly changed the subject "So, what about that food?"

Slash and Sand smiled at each other, "Bats."

"No thanks." Grace shook her head.

"What? Why not? Food is food." Lebba growled.

"The same reason I don't play lizard toss. I'd rather not think about eating someone I know." Grace put her head down on her paws.

"They are brainless-" Sand began.

"I know a bat that could easily contradict that statement." Grace pinned her ears back, she was annoyed that Sand would be so quick to judge someone. Almost like someone else I know.

"I was talking about lizards." Sand sighed.

"Either way. It doesn't matter. Do not question the intelligence of another species until you actually meet one." Grace stood up, "Come on Lebba, we're leaving."

"She's trying to bridge the inter-species gap." Lebba grinned.

"Lebba!" Grace demanded.

Lebba didn't argue with Grace. In fact, both wolves were hungry, but neither would admit it to the other. After a few minutes of walking in absolute silence Lebba got the nerve to start talking. "Do you really know an intelligent bat?"

Grace sighed and nodded. "I don't like to talk about it, let's just say that I'm not all butterflies and roses."

Lebba laughed. "You're telling me. I've been the one trying to kill you for the past year."

Grace looked back at the ground. She was done talking to Lebba.

Meanwhile... Romulus Grey was finishing his trap. A wire cable was concealed beside a log. "Those wolves will come walking along, step over the log and snap" he looked to Jace. "They certainly won't expect it."

"You think they'll even come through here?"

"They'll get hungry enough. They'll do anything." Romulus looked back at his trap and smiled, this was his big break, two wolves and a pay check of 250 a piece. almost to good to be true. "Now where's that dog of yours?"

Jace unclipped Fang's leash, "Go get those wolves."

Fang put his nose to the ground, he found the trail and started to follow it. "Damn wolves, ruining my team, I'll make sure you never get back to that city or those penguins."

Grace flicked her ears. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lebba asked.

"I heard a voice."

"Maybe you're just hearing things. I didn't hear anything."

The wind picked up. Grace took a few deep breaths. "Fang?"

So... What's going to happen next? Any guesses?