Prolog

Ever since she became a mega jaguar, Kipo had an uncanny ability to sneak up on people. But…because she tended to talk a lot—and I mean, a lot—this never was a problem. However, one day, she returned home after a great day with her friends and keeping the peace between humans and mutes. Although she never applied for the job, whenever there was some sort of dispute whether big or small, everyone came to her. Not that she minded. She loved the job as peace-maker.

Oh, right, back on topic.

When she came home, somehow, her entrance went unnoticed by her parents. Lio and Song were on the couch, talking. Because they weren't whispering, Kipo assumed they weren't talking about something she shouldn't be listening in on. After all, she was eighteen. Why would her parents keep secrets from her?

"What should we do?"

"I don't know. It sounds really bad. I don't think this is something he can do by himself."

"But we can't leave. It's so far away. How would we get there? What about Kipo?"

Kipo walked through the halls, her jaguar senses kicking in, stealthily walking closer. She was only slightly aware that what she was doing maybe—just maybe—wasn't polite.

"Kipo can take care of herself."

"I know, but she'll want to know where we're going. And she'll find out about him."

"Maybe it's about time she knows. She's grown quite a bit, so she won't just run off without an explanation."

"But he said to keep it a secret."

"Keep what a secret?" Kipo asked, announcing her presence. Her conscience finally convinced her that eavesdropping on her parents wasn't exactly mature for her age.

Lio and Song jumped, surprised by her presence.

"Kipo!" her father shouted, his voice rising higher than a boy going through puberty. "I didn't know you were home."

"What are you talking about?" Kipo asked. She jumped over the back of the couch and landed between her parents. "It sounds serious. Are you going on a trip?"

While Las Vista was a peaceful place since mutes and humans had become friends, Kipo knew the rest of the world wasn't so lucky. Sure, her story had spread to other places, and she had done what she could to help the suburbs, towns, villages and other cities nearby, but until she was a little older, her parents wouldn't allow her to travel too far away. Was that about to change?

Both Song and Lio looked away, a sure sign that they were hiding something.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Kipo asked, scrutinizing their faces.

Their faces said it all. They were totally hiding something from her.

"What is it? Is it something good? A good surprise?" Kipo asked, going with the best guess. But her parents faces didn't fit with that guess. "Okay, so it's something bad. A bad secret." Again, Lio and Song's faces said she wasn't exactly right. "Okay, so it's a mixture of good and bad. I can handle that. Give it to me, Mom and Dad."

Instead of talking to their daughter, Lio and Song turned to each other and had what looked like a wordless conversation. Their facial expressions and gestures changed rapidly as if having a discussion; Song was really good at this having been a mega monkey for thirteen years. Finally, they both sighed and nodded.

"Okay. You deserve to know," Lio said.

Five Years Earlier

Lio and Song rushed to where Hugo's convertible flamingo had crashed after attacking mega mute Emilia. Their hearts were with Kipo, hoping she was fine, that she would make it out of this, and could stop Emilia, but they could do nothing for their daughter. But they could be there for Hugo.

It took them nearly an hour to make it through the debris and up the skyscraper, and when they did, they sighed with relief to see Hugo standing at the precipice and staring off across the bay where Kipo had disappeared. His clothes were a little torn, and he held his side, but he appeared relatively unharmed.

"Hugo," Lio called out, rushing to his side.

"She has done it," Hugo said, not turning to the humans. "She has stopped Emilia. That human won't harm anyone again, human or mute."

"How do you know?" Lio asked.

"A little bird told me," Hugo said wryly, pointing to the sky where a humming-bomber was flitting around and telling the story to anyone who would hear it. "They're actually quite the little gossips despite their tough demeanors."

"And Kipo?" Song asked.

"She's fine. No doubt she's on her way here with another stupid party idea or some such nonsense," Hugo said, twirling his hand. "She's what the future needs. Hope. Love. And parties, guess. And that future needs to be without Scarlamagne."

Lio and Song were silent a while. "Yes, without Scarlamagne, but it needs you Hugo. We need you Hugo."

"No, you don't," Hugo said, his face tensing. "And the future will be better off without me."

"What are you saying, Hugo?" Song asked.

"That it's time that I fade into the night. Ride off into the sunset. Say my final farewells. Let the curtain fall," Hugo said with his usual dramatic flair. "As long as I am in the picture, there will be some who will remember Scarlamagne's reign and fear. As much as I would love to watch Kipo turn this place into a paradise for humans and mutes, I cannot stay."

"Kipo won't let you," Lio said. "She'll find a way to convince you to stay. If you leave, she'll drag you back."

"I know." Hugo turned to the man he had seen—no—that he saw as his father. "Which is why you and Song are going to help me fake my own death."

"No, we won't do that," Song said. "So much has been lost these years. You have been without a family for so long. You deserve happiness."

"No, I don't, Song," Hugo said, putting his hands on his mother's shoulders. "I have done terrible things to you, to Lio, to Kipo, to everyone. You and Kipo and a few others have forgiven me, but it would be inconceivable for me to expect everyone to be so benevolent. I don't deserve happiness, but I do deserve redemption. Kipo taught me that." He smiled. "I will find a way to make penance for all the evil I caused and redeem myself. In time, perhaps I will return, but for now, I must go."

Song tried to convince Hugo that he was wrong, but Lio said, "He's made his decision. It may not be what we want, but it is a fine decision, one that I can agree and be proud of."

Hugo's eyes widened. Lio was proud of him. He couldn't have asked for a better going away present.

Song was crying, hugging him.

"Oh, careful. I think I've cracked a few ribs," Hugo said. "Don't worry, Song. I'll write. I'm sure I can find a dragonfly to be a courier for me. I'll travel the world, tell everyone I meet about Kipo and her beautiful world where mutes and humans live together in harmony. Please, let me go."

"Okay," Song said through her tears.

They talked like they used to, before Scarlamagne, before Kipo, when it was just the three of them. When they heard Kipo approaching in mega jaguar form, they set the scene, placed Hugo in the right spot, and let her come.

Hugo gave a convincing performance.

"Hugo is alive!" Kipo shouted so loudly, they were sure the mega bunnies could hear her.

"Yes," Lio replied.

"And you kept this secret for five whole years? You lied to me this whole time?" Kipo was on her feet, gesticulating wildly.

"You aren't going jaguar on us, are you sweetie?" Song asked, trying to calm her down with a joke.

"No. Maybe. But why?"

"Because Hugo wanted it to remain a secret," Lio said. "And I agreed with him. He needed to do something to redeem himself. Saying sorry isn't enough. And we all knew that if you knew, you would just drag him back home."

"Yeah, of course. He's…like…my big brother," Kipo said. She calmed down. "I see your point. But why couldn't you have told me earlier. I've been so sad this whole time."

"And that broke our hearts," Song said, pulling Kipo into a big hug. "The only thing that kept me quiet was I kept imagining the day Hugo would decide to come home, and I would get to see that huge grin on your face."

"You mean this one," Kipo said, splitting her face to show her teeth. "I can't believe it. Hugo is alive! Where is he? How is he doing? What is he doing? Has he made any new friends? Come on, I need details!"

"And that's why we told you," Lio said. He held out a stack of papers. "It seems that Hugo is in trouble. Big trouble. And he's asking us for help."

"Then we have to go help him," Kipo said, ready to go mega and race to the rescue. "Let's go!"

"There's a lot you need to know before charging in," Lio said, pulling his daughter back on the couch. "You should read Hugo's letters."

"Okay," Kipo said, grabbing the stack of papers from Lio's hand. "This is going to be so cool. It's like reading a story about Hugo."

"Uh…that's only what he wrote this last time," Song said, leaning down and picking up three large binders filled with paper. "These are the rest of his letters."

Kipo's eyes grew round. "Whoa, he…really likes to write."

"Yeah, Hugo is prolific. You should get started. Song and I, we're going to start packing."

As they left, Kipo opened the first binder, her heart pounding.

(Author's note: I usually don't start a story that I just came up with the night before and post it, but considering Kipo's seize the day attitude, I thought it was appropriate. I'm usually a planning kind of person, getting my chapters all lined up before writing and posting, but this time, I'm going in by the seat of my pants. Hang on everyone, it's going to be a bumpy fanfic.)