Morning came onto Hidden Kingdom. The light shined down into the water, the light hit the barrier, and the light intensified within the dome. Scale Gray was the first to awaken, his eyes stirring against the light. "Uh…five more minutes mom…" he said as he turned.

His two animal friends awoke the moment the light entered their room. Cancer turned to Obsidian, clacking her claws a few times. The black-shelled oyster nodded before sucking up a bit of water. The two animals stacked onto each other, the crab being on the bottom. Obsidian arched his head over their human friend's head. A stream of water was spat onto Scale Gray. The water surprised the human, his body flailing out of the hammock and landing on the ground with a thud. "Okay…I'm up…" he said with a moan. Once Scale Gray got up, he brushed himself off. Suddenly, an alarm blared through the room. It scared not only the human, but the two animals as well.

"Attention all members" said the Commander over the intercom. "Please report to the Observation Room as soon as you are ready."

The trio groaned from the sudden sound but complied with the Commander's request. Scale Gray led the team into the halls before joining the others. With another slide down the launch tubes, they reappeared in another room. This room was large and circular. One area of the room had a large map, showing all of Hidden Kingdom. Another area, directly across from it, was a large glass window. The window showed the outside sea, which now was blocked by Sammy. As the others piled in, the Commander, Brave One, and Kawkee Alien stood at the front.

"Uh…why did he have to turn the alarm on?" asked Scale Gray.

"He needed some way to get us" said Red Ray. He was agreed with by Yaksha, who sat proudly on his head.

"Yeah, but weren't you guys asleep?"

"No" Scale Gray was surprised that everyone else, including his two friends, said that. Apparently he was the only heavy sleeper in the room right now. Oddette slid down, but only her lower half came. It slowly walked over, just before her upper half fell hard against the floor. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, "Oh…sorry… I didn't get much sleep…"
Richter leaned in closer to Cancer, "With her figure, you would think she would WANT beauty sleep…"

The two snickered just as Oddette was pulling herself together. She was too tired to hear or care what they said. The Commander cleared his throat, "I want to thank you all for coming. Now we can get our business under way. You all know that the previous Big Green not only extended friendship between animals and humans, but also stopped High Roller's evil forces from harming humans and our cause."

"Look how far that got them" Richter whispered to his crab friend.

Brave One hissed, scaring the Groundhog. "Anyway…" the Commander continued, "Kawkee Alien has developed something to aid our warriors when doing either of these tasks."

Kawkee moved closer to the group, holding an item in his hands. "This is my Amnesia Mist, if you recall" he said. The special liquid was inside a glass container with a pump near the end. "One spray of this in the being's face will make them forget anything that happened that day. They will wake up as if it all was a dream."

The old Commander nodded, "Thank you Kawkee, now onto mission assignments. Now, we may have visited the forest area, but I am certain there are more allies there. Liliac, take Pink Spec and Richter with you to the Eastern Forests." Liliac nodded before she and the two mentioned left the room. "Misty, Red Ray" The Commander caught the attention of the twins. "I believe that we have found where another member of Second Squad could have rested."

"Second Squad?" asked Misty.

"In Big Green, there were two squads. First Squad was filled with the most talented members in our fighting force. Second Squad acted as backup for First Squad. We shouldn't forget about them."

The twins nodded but DJ flew up next to them. "You're going to need someone to help you" he said. "I know the area pretty well."

The two humans nodded before they left the room. Kawkee explained to the two groups the new mode of transportation. He based it off of the old turtle canon procedure, which confused the group even more. However since Liliac and the others left already, the secondary trio was the ones to test it.

Back in the conference room, the Commander was addressing the last group. "And finally, Scale Gray, Obsidian, and Cancer" he said. "I would like you to explore a bit of the oceans and Northern Hidden Kingdom for new members. Take Sammy with you, but only explore the North once I send a few others." The trio nodded as their whale friend swam back to the loading dock.

"This…is stupid…" Misty crossed her arms as she rode across the landscape. The new device that Kawkee made would probably be best described as a metal turtle. However this one showed no head, legs, or tail, and the treads were clearly partially inside the "shell." The other two had no complaints, but the girl did. She fell of nearly three times as they traveled.

"These aren't so bad" Red Ray said. "Just think that mom and dad did this a while ago."

"Yeah…but…" Misty's speech was cut short as a bit of sand entered her mouth. She spat it out in disgust, "Hey feather head! I thought you said you knew where we were going!"

"I do!" shouted the owl prince.

"Then why are we in the DESERT?!"

DJ stopped and looked around. There were definitely in the desert, sand stretched in every direction. In all honesty, the owl prince did not know where the village was. He rubbed the back of his head in complete embarrassment. Misty walked over slowly but her anger showed. She arched back for a punch. "Hey wait" Misty stopped just short of DJ's face. She looked at her brother. "I think there's someone out there."

The trio rode closer to the figure out in the distance. It was, in fact a human. He was laying face first into the sand. His skin was a sickly pale, had dark brown hair, a tattered red sleeveless shirt, and a pair of torn gray shorts. The trio was deeply confused and concerned about this human. But one last detail made them worry. Attached to his right shoulder seemed to be a plant. The "flower" end of it had a set of jaws and eyes, seeing that it is aware and alive. Misty walked closer to the plant and extended her hand to tug on the vine. The plant raised its head and hissed, causing the boy to stir. A small wheezed chuckle came from the boy as he sat up.

"Oh…visitors…" he said, "I haven't had visitors in a while. What brings you here?"

A moment of silence passed through the barren sandy landscape. Red Ray stepped forward, "Uh…I am Red Ray. This is my sister Misty and our friend DJ."

"Well welcome travelers, I am Thorn. May I escort you to my village?"

"You have a village way out here?" asked Misty.

"Of course I do, follow me please."

Thorn turned and sulked forward. The way he walked seemed like he was limited on his motions. The trio of heroes shrugged as they climbed back onto their mechanical rides. Kawkee needed to install some way to control them; Misty fell off when it went backwards. After a few short minutes, Thorn stopped. They were in the middle of nowhere, nothing there but a sand blasted log. The infected human welcomed them to his village. Misty was about to say something, but Yaksha wrapped her arm around her mouth before she could speak her mind. Red Ray said to play along with his act.

Thorn walked the heroes through his "village," pointing out key important buildings or places. Misty said nothing as she walked with her arms crossed and face in a pout. DJ and Red Ray complimented on every building that the human mentioned. "You know, it's a shame that no one ever stays in our village" Thorn mentioned.

Misty had a very low tolerance level. And now, she just about had it with this freak. "Okay…Thorn, you must be crazy or something because there is nothing here!" she shouted.

Red Ray and DJ start trying to silently tell her to be quiet, but Thorn spoke up. "I know the village isn't much, but I wouldn't call it nothing." Misty nearly lost it, but Yaksha wrapped her up tightly. Surprisingly Thorn never realized what has happened. He just looked down and sighed, "I just wish I could talk to more people…"
Red Ray stepped forward, "Then why not join us?" His speech caught the attention of both Thorn and the plant. "We are part of an organization known as Big Green. We help to make peace within Hidden Kingdom. There should be plenty of beings there that you could make friends with and talk to."

This seemed to lighten Thorn's mood, and seemed to deeply affect the plant. It was smiling almost in an evil matter and chuckling. Thorn bowed, but it wasn't a proper bow, "I would love to join. Let us all be friends…"

THORN 074

The plant opened its mouth and seemed to be aiming at Misty. Just before it could do anything else, Thorn reached up and clamped its mouth shut. The trio looked at him strangely. "Don't worry" he replied, "I won't let her lay seeds in your brain. She's mine anyways…" The last statement scared the heroes greatly. Misty leaned closer to DJ, "I don't know what's scarier… The fact that the plant can do that or the plant is a she…"