Element Gang: Axel and the Wonderbeasts, Book 1: Beast War

by Element Writer

What would happen if some humans chose to stay and fight the Wonderbeasts and managed to make peace with them? What if there was a resistance against Scarlemagne? Well, here is what that situation would like if that did happen.

8. Chapter 6: Wonderbeast Rock

Chapter 6: Wonderbeast Rock

A few days passed since the Timbercats finished preparations for the search and we had followed the tracks through the vegetation of Las Vistas, our own personal army of ax-wielding Wonderbeast Cats following behind. Kipo and Yumyan took the lead with Kipo riding on the back of Yumyan's pet flea Pierre. As we all walked along, I talked with my fellow Tribe members about what I learned from Kipo. You know, the ones within my age group.

"Okay, let me get this straight." Aurico said as he couldn't believe what I just said to him. "Kipo's dad actually wrote a book about the moon and stars?"

"Yeah, along with everything that haves to do with astronomy." I told him. "Even the very history of the study."

"You know, that's pretty funny." Gordy said, having a little chuckle. "A guy who's underground teaching a class about the sky? That doesn't make any sense."

"I agree. It's kind of ironic." I said, smiling at the thought. "Though I can't say that it wasn't informative. Did you guys know that beyond this world, there's this thing called a galaxy?"

"No. What's a galaxy?" Caldwell asked me.

"A galaxy is this collaboration of worlds that, with the motion around a core star, resemble a spiral." I explained. "The galaxy Earth's in is called the 'Milky Way'."

"Why is called the 'Milky Way'?" Aurico asked.

"It's because the Ancient Greeks, when they first saw it, called it 'Galaxias', their word meaning 'Milky Way'. It was due to how it resembled a trail of milk. In fact, the word 'galaxy' derives from gala, the Greek word for 'milk'."

"Wow. So they managed to turn simple into cool." Aurico said to me, sounding impressed.

"Yeah." I said, before thinking back to what Kipo said with our talk with each other. "And all this time, Kipo had always wanted to come up and see all the things she read about and what her father taught her about. Makes me wonder why he didn't bring her up here sooner."

"Yeah, I don't really see why he would keep her down there for." Aurico added. "Being stuck with having to imagine what things up here would look must've been pretty boring."

"Yeah, but her father did always manage to keep her happy. Here's the thing: when she was feeling down, her father sang to her to cheer her up."

"Sounds like something Uncle Fen would do."

"Yeah. I still remember the times he and Yoshi cheered me up with their duet." I smiled at the memories of my past. "Even though he was always serious, my father always knew when to be kind." After I said that, we all came to a sudden stop.

"Hey, what's going on?" Aurico asked as he and I walked to the front to figure out what was going on. When we got there, we saw that there was a large amount of ramble and bushes blocking our path.

"Looks like we're gonna have to do some gardening." I said before looking to my cousin. "Rico?"

"Already ahead of you!" Rico said as he used his metalbending to turn his arms into blades. I was about to do the same when Kipo spoke to me.

"Hey, Axe!" she said with a smile. "Pass the ax?" Knowing what she was asking, I returned the smile and gave her what she wanted, letting her help us cut down the bramble and bushes. With that, I then turned my own arms into blades and the three of us were able to cut away all the vegetation blocking our path. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" With the path cleared, we saw the tracks leading towards a vast land of sand.

"Huh. The Scale Needle Desert." Uncle Donnie said as he came over, me and Aurico canceling our metalbending. "Good thing we got plenty of water to spare." With that, he then used his staff to make that umbrella again and used it to cover him before speaking to everyone. "Alright, everyone! Let's move out!" With that, he and the Timbercats began walking out into the desert.

"Hey, you guys want a turn?" Kipo said to the rest of the group and I, those of us who weren't moving with everyone else. "You have to try this! Riding by flea is my new favorite way to travel!"

"I'm good." Wolf said, my fellow Tribe members giving a pass on the offer.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind riding a Mega Flea. Let me have a crack at it!" I said with a hand raised. Kipo hopped off before I got on there in an instant. After I got on, I grabbed a hold of the leash and was ready to ride the flea. "Okay. Let's go, Pierre!" With that, the flea jumped high into the air. "Yeah! Whoo-hoo-hooey!"

---

After watching 3 ride on the flea, the others then walked with the Timbercats into the desert. I was gonna do the same when I turned around and saw Benson and Dave standing there, looking down at one of the Mega Monkey's paw prints. Not wanting to let them fall behind, I went over to the two.

"Hey, you guys coming?" I said as I got their attention.

"You know this is crazy, right?" Benson said to me, Dave humming in agreement.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"You see the six of this footprint?" Benson said as we both looked at the paw print, which was big enough for a baby Mega Bunny to fit in the main part. "That came from something huge and we're walking towards it."

"Do you remember voting on this plan?" Dave said, not really liking where this journey was going. "ʹCause I don't."

"Well, it's not like we have much of a choice." I said to them. "Finding this Mega Mutie is the only way we're even gonna find out what happened to Kipo's people." There, I then started walking, following the others. "Now come on. We got a long way to go before this is over." With that, the two then started walking with me as we kept up with the others, following those tracks.

---

As a while of walking, we all stopped as we saw a town in the distance, one that was practically filled with cactuses. After we stopped, I got off Pierre as Uncle Donnie stepped forward, using his sensors to see if we were going in the right direction.

"Yep. The tracks go right through here." He said to Yumyan. "We're on the right track."

"Good." Yumyan said before he turned to his fellow Timbercats. "Timbercats, soon we will find the Mega, crush it, and take back our sacred tree!"

"Sacred tree!" The cats cried out in unison, raising their axes in the air for a moment.

"But first…" Yumyan said before he slices of a cactus, causing it to leak some juice. "We give Pierre a drink." With that, the flea began to drink as Yumyan began to give his pet some attention. "Who's my good little parasite? Who is it? That's right, it's you." As his pet drank the juice, he then turned his attention back to his people. "Timbercats, assemble!" As he continued his speech, my fellow Tribe members, Benson, Wolf, Kipo, and I went over to Uncle Donnie as he motioned us over to him.

"Okay, in order to keep following these tracks," Uncle Donnie said before he motioned to the town ahead, "we're going to have to go through Cäctustown."

"That puts us in Umlaut Snäke territory." Wolf added as we looked to her. "You only make noise if you have a death wish." We looked at the Timbercats as they cheered for a moment before looking back to the town. "Our best bet is to ditch the cat and sneak up on the Mega while it's asleep. Rule number 32 of the Surface…"

"I know. I know." Kipo groaned out in depression. "Stealth is your friend. And I would like to add a Rule 33: Friends are your friends and the more you have, the safer you are."

"Kipo's right." I said to Wolf. "While stealth is good to use in this situation, it's best to do things in numbers, especially against a Mega."

"Yeah. If things don't go as planned, we'll need backup." Aurico said, backing me up. "The Timbercats are willing to help us fight the Mega Monkey. We can't ditch them."

"See? Axe and Rico get it." Kipo happily said with my cousin and I backing her up.

"It's really inevitable." Uncle Donnie said to the little warrior. "The only way we'll ever get through this is with the Timbercats' help." Hearing Kipo gasp, we looked over to see she found an old building nearby with a display window, a clothing stand with a black jacket with spikes on it.

"That jacket is all spikey." Kipo said as she looked at the jacket in awe.

"That's a leather biker jacket, Kipo." Uncle Donnie said as he walked over. "Spikes are part of their style."

"What's a biker?" Aurico asked him.

"A biker is what we called someone who treated their mode of transportation as a faithful companion." Uncle Donnie explained. "They were often shown in group of extremely tough individuals."

"Real tough guys, huh?" Aurico said, sounding interested as he looked at the jacket.

"Yes. They were often seen as very intimidating." Uncle Donnie said.

"Intimidating?" Kipo asked as she looked at the jacket. "Do you think this jacket will make me look more intimidating to the Mega Monkey?"

"No." Wolf simply answered.

"Yeah, I don't think that'll work." Gordy said in agreement.

"But I need something that says 'Hey, you! Give me back my dad!" She said as she turned to us, using a serious expression and a deep voice with that last part.

"Yeah, I don't think you're gonna need it." I said as I shook my head.

"That's for sure." Aurico said as I saw him walking away from the store with the jacket in hand.

"Rico, what are you doing with that?" I asked him as he walked over to me.

"Trading some clothes. Hold these." He said as he gave me the jacket and his bag before he took off his silver vest and tossed in my face, blinding me. After I felt him take the jacket, I then took the vest off my head as I saw him wearing the jacket over his yellow shirt. "What do you think, Uncle Donnie? Look like a biker?"

"Well, yes." Our uncle said to him. "With the rest of your attire with that jacket, you do seem like the classic biker."

"Awesome!" He said as he admired his new look. "Wait til everybody sees me in this."

"Yeah, I'm sure your mother will be ecstatic to see you wearing spikes." I sarcastically said to him as he took his bag and put it back on.

"Do you really just think you can talk to a Mega Mute?" Wolf said as we saw her looking at Kipo with a raised eyebrow. "They can't think, they're mindless giants."

"You never know until you try." Kipo said. "And Axel's friends with a Mega Bunny. He's proof that it's possible."

"Yeah, but she's the only Mega Mutie he's friends with!" Aurico said to her. "We avoid the others."

"Yeah. I see where you're going with this, Kipo, but like I said, I grew up with Rabbecka." I said to the Burrow girl. "She's like family. Though we don't know if other Megas aren't able to understand things like her. This Mega is the only lead we have so far."

"Exactly. There weren't any human footprints leading out of my burrow. So either that Mega Mutant took them or a whole city full of humans just disappeared into thin air."

"Or it ate them." Benson chimed in, earning an elbow from Wolf to tell him to shut up.

"Benson, we already know Scarlemagne was behind that attack." Gordy said, reminding him what we found out. "So it's gotta be either what Kipo said."

"We're all for finding the Mega Mutant." Wolf spoke up before motioning over to Yumyan. "Just didn't want to deal with the world's largest dinner bell." After he was done with his speech, Yumyan got on Pierre and brought out two axes.

"Onward!" He yelled out, clamping the two metal weapons together. "Yumyan owns you all!" The rest of the Timbercats returned the favor before we all went off and entered Cäctustown.

Walking through the sand-filled street, we found the town to be littered with hundreds, if not thousands, of skulls. Luckily, they weren't human skulls. By the looks of them, I say these belonged to Wonderbeast Hamsters. Some were either hanging on cactus spikes or simply piled up. With those things around like that, I was starting to get a very bad feeling about the place, especially with the sounds of faint hissing. All of this did make us all feel uneven, Brook the most as he frightened by the sight.

"Damn, look at all the skulls." Gordy said as we walked through.

"Yeah, these snakes don't kid around." Aurico said before I heard Benson talking to Dave.

"Hang on a second." He said. "Remember when Wolf said we're all in with helping Kipo find the Mega Mutant? Are we though?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Dave said to his friend. "I'm having major reservations. Don't get me wrong. I like Kipo."

"I mean, who doesn't?" Benson added. "And we want her to find her family, but…"

"But do we like Kipo as much as we like living?"

"You pose an excellent question, my friend. We can just turn around right now and no one will know."

"Oh, yeah?" I said to them. "Here's another question: if you don't want to help, are you willing to separate from the group without knowing where to go? You're far away from that house you were living in." It was only a moment before Benson gave me his answer.

"Yeah, you got a point. Whoa!" Hearing him yell, we all stopped as I turned around and saw he had tripped over an old snakeskin. It was with that, that hissing became less faint while accompanied by a rattle.

"What's that?" Thora asked as we looked around for what was making that noise.

"Umlaut Snäkes." Yumyan said with a serious tone. "I know that rattle anywhere." He then jumped off Pierre, axes at ready. "Axes on guard!" The cats did as told as multiple Wonderbeast Snakes began to emerge from a building ahead.

The Umlaut Snäkes were large snakes that had guitars strapped to them. From what I heard, these snakes are known for their love of rock music. The one leading the group was brown with a yellow underbelly and a light blue diamond pattern across its back, a single diamond surrounded by a diamond outline. It had yellow eyes with purple irises around the slight pupils. It had one fang sticking out of the left corner of its mouth down beyond its lower jaw and carried around a blue and white X-shaped electric guitar with a strap lined with spikes. One of the snakes stood out as it was green and orange with a light green underbelly. It had a black tongue and black eyes with bright green slit pupils and carried a red acoustic guitar. The leading snake took its guitar and used its tongue to play a few strings before speaking to us.

"Yumyan Hammerpaw." The snake greeted the Axe Lord, speaking with a female voice.

"Cotton." He returned the greeting after playing a few strings on his ax guitar.

"You have a lot of nerve, walking into our territory on your two feet and making all that noise and waking us up!" The snake known as Cotton said to him in annoyance. "It's daylight, man!"

"I was dreaming about toads." The green snake said in a laid-back, feminine tone as it (or I guess she) slithered over to Cotton. After that, the other snakes slithered over and both groups of Wonderbeasts began hissing at one another. They only stopped when Aurico spoke out.

"Wait a minute, you guys were asleep?" he said in disbelief. "I thought snakes stayed awake during the day!"

"Yeah? Well, not us." Cotton said before she then started looking around. "Wait, who said that?"

"Oh, boy. Come on, Rico." I said as I started walking to the front of the crowd. "Time to have a talk with some snakes." With that, Rico joined me as we made our way through the Timbercats.

"Hey, wait for me!" Kipo called out as I looked to see her following us.

Knowing there was no way to stop her, I kept going and let her follow us. After we made it to the front, Aurico and I then walked over and got in between the snakes and cats before I spoke to Cotton.

"Excuse me, Ms. Cotton?" I said to her, getting the snakes attention. "We're sorry to wake you up. We just need to get through your town."

"Yeah, maybe you could let us pass through your territory?" Kipo said as she comes up beside me. Cotton then began to glare us down. "Just…this…one time? We'll actually be very quiet from now on." It was at that moment Aurico stepped in and glared back at her.

"Hey, lay off, fang face!" he said to her. "We're not here to fight! Just let us through and we'll be out of your scales!"

"After waking us up like the way you did? I don't think so." Cotton said to him before she looked at Yumyan. "Now you keep humans, fleas, and Fire Dragons? You cats truly are disgusting." The felines hissed at this comment.

"You got a thing against Fire Dragons?" Aurico questioned her.

"Yeah, especially you white tails." She told him. "You know what the last one I saw did? He ruined our band practice and knocked out my fang!"

"Your fang?" Aurico said before he gained a look of realization. "Wait, you're the snake my dad got that tooth from?"

"Oh, so you're his kid, huh?" Cotton said with interest. "Well, I guess I can even the score by bringing him your skull." She then flipped her guitar onto her back, speaking to her fellow snakes as she looked down at Aurico. "Ladies! Let's eat this buffet!" She then lunged forward before Aurico and I dodged her, me grabbing Kipo as we all watched her get a mouth full of sand before the young Timbercat known as Shoelace tackled her. That started a huge brawl between the Timbercats and the Umlaut Snäkes, one we found ourselves caught in.

"Way to go, Rico!" I said as we defended ourselves and Kipo from the snakes. "You dragged us into a brawl!"

"How was I supposed to know that snake had a grudge against my dad?" Aurico said before a snake came at him and he was saved by Wolf.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Wolf said as she joined us in fighting the snakes. "Stick with the group!"

"Hey, 3 was the one who walked up there!" Aurico said to him.

"Yeah, to negotiate!" I told him before we looked to find Dave and Benson come over to us, dressed in the snakeskin from earlier.

"H-hey! I'm-I'm a snake too!" he said to the green snake from before with a nervous chuckle.

"Guys, you're not fooling anybody, especially her." I said to them as the snake glared them down.

"Die, death noodle!" Molly cried out, tackling the snake out of the way.

Looking around, I saw that the rest of the group had joined the fight, managing to hold their own against the snakes, elementals, kwamis, and armed ninjas. Even Uncle Donnie was doing good in the fight. Mandu then came out of nowhere and looked around before looking forward. Seeing the way she was squealing, I looked and saw she found a way out of here.

"Exit, three o'clock!" Wolf said as she, Kipo, Benson, and Dave made a run for it with Kipo stopping to look to me.

"Axel! Rico! Come on!" She called out.

"Hold on!" I told her before I looked around and managed to find Yumyan and Uncle Donnie. I then yelled out to them. "Yumyan! Uncle Donnie! Rico and I are going ahead with Benson, Dave, Wolf, and Kipo! We'll meet up with you later!"

"Okay, just be careful!" Uncle Donnie said, allowing us to go.

"Alright! Let's go, Rico!" I said before the two of us ran off to join them.

We got right past Dave and we were all getting ready to leave before the snake from before came in and got the insect-type Wonderbeast by the leg. Benson managed to save him, but Dave lost one of his legs in the process.

"Ugh! This is gonna take a whole day to grow back!" Dave said before Aurico grabbed him and we all ran off.

---

Back with the green snake, she peered in the alley as the group got away.

"Is it me or were we not totally clear?" Cotton sighed as she came over and saw what happened. "This is Umlaut territory."

Her fellow snake sighed before she said "A snake's job is never done."

---

After getting away from those snakes and the fight, we all stopped to take a breather before moving on.

"Geez! That was close." Aurico said in relief.

"Yeah, now mind putting me down?" Dave said as my cousin was still holding him.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to carry you until your leg grows back." Aurico told him. "Unless you want to replace it and walk on a cactus needle or something for the rest of the day. Don't know when we're gonna need to make another run for it."

"Ugh! Fine." Dave said to him. "But tell anyone about this…"

"Don't worry. My lips are sealed." With that, Benson and Mandu walked off with Aurico as he carried Dave.

"What?" I asked her as she was giving me and Kipo a look.

"You see what happens when you go rogue, Kipo?" Wolf questioned as she, Kipo, and I proceeded to follow them. "From now on, until you get back to your people, we're doing things my way. All the time."

"But what about…" Kipo questioned before Wolf interrupted her.

"No!"

"The cats and…"

"Nope!"

"The others?"

"I said 'no'!"

"No offense, Wolf, but just how many times has your way worked?" I questioned the little warrior. "Is your solution gonna be stinging anyone with that scorpion tail?"

As she was gonna respond, there was this strange noise that made us stop. Out of nowhere, a Wonderbeast Hamster with a lightning bolt painted on its cheek and dressed up with a purple, animal-print ascot, white tiger-striped overhauls, black gloves, and pink boots appeared in front of us.

"What is that?" Aurico asked.

"I think that's a Glam Rock Hamster." I answered him. "A member of one of the native Packs here in the desert. Now we know where those skulls came from." With that, I then tried to speak to the hamster. "Hey, you okay?"

It then took a deep breath and pointed back at us while, at the top of its lungs, screamed "Ssssnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!" After that loud pitched yet musical shout, it just jumped into a nearby bush while Kipo gave it a few claps.

"No, snakes!" Wolf said as she stopped Kipo from clapping. "He said 'snakes'. We're being followed."

"Yeah, I'm gonna run. You should probably run." The hamster advised us with fright as it popped its head out of the bush. "Did you see our skulls?"

"Yeah, we saw." I said to it as it ran off. "Sorry about your friends!" After it was gone for good, I then spoke out to the group. "Okay, we need a plan."

"Obviously. We need to go in there." Wolf said as she pointed at the remains of a bar. "I'll take them out, you guys hide."

"Or… suggestion…" Kipo said to her. "We just talk to them?"

"No, Kipo." Wolf told her. "We will not talk to the snakes. You will hide from them and, for once, you will stay put."

"Actually, Wolf, we are gonna talk to them." I told her, knowing her plan was foolhardy. "I know you want to get Kipo home as quick as possible, but this is only gonna get us in trouble. Fighting them is just gonna get us captured. Just let me try and reason with them. If they won't listen, we'll go with your plan, deal?"

"Fine. Just don't say I didn't warn you." Wolf told me, not really liking the idea.

"What about me?" Kipo asked me. "Is there any way I can help?"

"Yes, by staying out of sight." I told her, shocking the Burrow girl. "Look, I understand that you want to help, but we can't risk you getting hurt. We can't be reckless with this. Just let us handle the situation, okay?"

"Oh, okay." Kipo sighed in defeat as we went inside.

As we took up positions, I heard some snakes coming in with the play of a guitar.

"Ugh, that sounded off." I heard Cotton groan.

"Maybe it should go like…" The snake with her said as she played a few strings on her guitar.

"Oh, yeah. That's good hunting music." Cotton said as she liked the sound that was made before they made their way inside of the bar while playing a few strings. "Oooh, still not there."

"Well I always liked a good, you know, F major followed by a D minor." Her fellow snake said as I saw it was the green one from before.

"D minor? Maybe if you're playing hillbilly cat music." Cotton said to her.

"Hey, a family friend of mine is a cat!" I said to her as I came out of hiding, making the two look at me. "Easy. We don't…" As a battle cry came in, I looked up to see Wolf flying right towards the snakes, using the stinger on their heads by jumping from one to another with ease before skidding across the floor with a smirk. "Wolf, do you really have to resolve to poisoning people?" Despite the direct blow, Cotton and her friend were unfazed.

"Oh, honey." Cotton said with a chuckle. "You know how much venom I got coursing through my veins?" Almost immediately, Wolf grabbed a chair before I then stopped her, grabbing the chair's leg.

"Easy, Wolf." I told her, knowing her tactics weren't gonna work. "These girls are thick-skinned. Violence isn't gonna solve anything." With that, she then put the chair down before I then went onto talking to the snake. "Ladies, listen. We're not here to fight. We're just passing through."

"Yeah, and making a lot of noise." Cotton said to me with an angry look in her eyes.

"And we're sorry, really." I told them. "All we ask is that you let us through and we won't bother you again. I promise. We'll be in and out before you know it."

"Sounds promising…" Cotton said before she wrapped her tail around my legs and pulling me up above her. "But I can't really think much on an empty stomach." Just then, Wolf stepped in and smashed a chair over the snake's head, but she didn't even flinch.

"Tingly." The laid-back snake commented as Wolf slammed a chair on her head, being much the same as Cotton. "I haven't felt this good since my 21st shedding."

---

As Wolf kept attacking those snakes, me and Kipo took a peek out from behind the bar to see what was up to find 3 being held up by that single-fanged snake and Wolf tried to rescue him with those snakes not feeling much anything from her.

"Come on, can we just talk this out?" my cuz asked the snake holding him hostage.

"Nope." She simply said to him.

Looking over, I saw Kipo trying to run out before I stopped her by using my metalbending to grab her by the shirt and pull her back.

"Kipo, what are you doing?" I whispered to her as I let go. "3 told you to stay here!"

"I know, Rico, but…" Kipo said before she was cut off by Wolf being thrown onto the wood of the counter.

"Okay, fun's over." Cotton said as we saw Wolf got dragged away before looking to see her and her friend getting ready to eat Wolf and 3, our friends being held over the snakes' open mouths.

"Hey!" Kipo called as she came out from hiding, stopping the snakes as they looked at her. "Hey, Cotton. Cotton's… friend." Wolf growled in annoyance at what was happening. "I really liked the song you walked in with." She then walked closer to them. "But what if it went more like…this?"

"Kipo, don't!" 3 said to her before Kipo gently took Cotton's guitar, making the snake gasp in shock before she and her friend hissed at the Burrow girl.

Just when I thought they were gonna attack her, Kipo then began to play despite her nervous sweat. With that, they tossed 3 and Wolf aside and circled Kipo. I looked to find Benson and Dave hiding behind some drums on a nearby stage before I looked to my cuz who was groaning in pain.

"3, you okay?" I asked him as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said to me before he gasped, looking to Cotton and her friend circling Kipo.

"Yeah, this isn't good." I said to him, seeing how much trouble Kipo was in. "You never grab someone else's guitar. And playing that thing is just making things worse."

"Actually, I think she's onto something." 3 spoke up, confusing me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, since the snakes like music, maybe that's what we need to get through to them." he told me. "Maybe if we put on a good show for them, they'll let us go."

"You mean rock out?" I said to him and he nodded. "I like the sound of that." I then looked to the drums Benson and Dave were at and saw a mike. "And I know who can help." With that, I then went over to the stage and spoke to the two. "Hey, do either of you know how to play the drums?"

"No, why?" Benson asked.

"Because I got an idea of how we can win these snakes over, but me and Kipo need some help." I told him. "3 thinks if we give these snakes a good rocking show, they'll let us go."

"That could work." Benson said to me. "I don't know how to play drums, but I can try."

"Great." I said before I looked to the bug. "Dave, can you give off vocals?"

"Sure." The bug quickly answered. "What about you?"

"Hmm…" I then quickly looked around the area for something to play. "Hmm?" I then saw something that was covered in an old tarp.

Removing the tarp, I saw it was this old leather case that looked like it had seen better days. Opening it up, I looked inside and saw that, laying in there, there was a white heavy base with gold outlines and blue flames on its lower body in the shape of a V. It also came with a small platinum pick. I whistled as I knew whoever owned this guitar defiantly had style. It was a shame for such a beauty to be left in a place like Cäctustown.

"Sweet." I then picked it up. "Let's see…" I played a few strings and, by sheer luck, it still gave off its sound. "Benson, Dave! I got an idea. Follow my lead!" After tuning the base to the right tune, I got ready to rock. "Okay, all set." Just as the snakes were closing in on Kipo, I used two fingers to whistle at them. "Hey, snakes!" They then looked right at me with those glares as they hissed. "Take a listen to this!" I then slowly began to play the bass, dragging the pick across it and making it give off this sweet sound. It was like from heaven. I then swiped it before doing a quick solo which the snakes actually took notice of.

"What?" Cotton said with surprise. I then stopped for a moment to snap my fingers, silently telling Benson to start drumming.

"Oh, right." Benson said before he looked to Dave. "Sorry about this." He then tore off the bug's antennas and used them for drumsticks while Dave went over to the mike and screamed out in pain to it.

With the beat and vocals covered, I joined them as I gave them some backup base. With slowing down, I then motioned Kipo to join in and provide some backup. From there, she then started playing the guitar and it wasn't long until the snakes started head-banging to the music. It felt so great. To be rocking out like that, it was like I was born for this. We were doing so great that Axel joined the snakes in the head-banging. After a few more minutes of rocking out, we were done right after Benson threw one of Dave's antennas at him, shutting him up and making the bug fall off the stage.

"That's it!" Cotton said in amazement. "That's the rip I was looking for!"

"I take it you both enjoyed it?" I asked, walking forward.

"Ha! Defiantly!" The snake replied back.

"I can't believe we were gonna eat you." Cotton's friend said as she looked me over. "You have the hands of an angel and you…you play like a demon… But in a good way."

"Heheh. Thanks." I said before I looked to Cotton. "Look, I'm sorry my dad took your fang. I had no idea that's where he got it from. Though I guess he just trying keep my bragging from getting me in trouble."

"Eh, it's fine, kid." Cotton said to me. "Still can't believe that a white tail like you can shred."

"Well, my ancestor was a rocker." I said to her. "Guess it just came naturally."

"Boy, I'll say. That was phenomenal!" 3 said to me as he walked over to us.

"So we can be on our way?" Kipo asked Cotton, giving the snake her guitar back. "You don't mind us going through your territory?"

"Not when you can both shred like that!" She said to us. "You can come through here anytime!"

"I cannot believe that worked." Kipo said in disbelief, looking to me as I gave her a high-five.

"It shouldn't have." Wolf said, clearly angry as she walked up to us. "You got lucky!"

"Lucky? Give me some credit." Kipo said to her, trying to make Wolf see the bright side of things. "We're all still alive."

"For now." The little girl cut her off. "But eventually, your crazy ideas are gonna get us all killed!"

"Or maybe they would've gotten us to our dad sooner if you just listened to me for once!" Kipo said as they then started to get in each other's faces.

"Okay, Kipo, what was your big plan again?" Wolf questioned. "Have your cat army pin the Mega Mutant down until you can say 'Give me back my dad'? Let's do that and see what happens!" This was when 3 had stepped in.

"Okay, break it up, you two!" 3 said, getting right between them and separating them. "Let's all just settle down!"

"Don't tell me to…" Wolf said as she tried to speak out.

"Shut it, Wolf! I have the floor right now." He said, just about had it with Wolf's attitude for one day. He then looked to the Burrow girl. "Kipo, look. We're lucky to be alive so far, yes. But we can't keep making moves like this. It's not gonna turn out the same way every time. It doesn't work that way and, if you're dead, then how will you get to your dad? And what are we supposed to tell him?" He then looked to the survivor. "And, Wolf, you need to open your mind. Not all Wonderbeasts are bad. How are we so different from them? We have plenty of dark moments that's enough to call us monsters. If we want to get her back home, we all need to have a saying if we're gonna make it through this." After chewing them both out, he sighed and clears his throat. "Anyways…" He then turned to Cotton. "Okay, let's start this over without trying to kill each other. Cotton, we're not here to fight you at all."

"Okay, I believe you now. My bad." The snake apologized. "Then why are you here?"

"We're trying to track down a Mega Mutant." 3 explained to them. "A few days ago, it stole the Timbercats' Scratching Tree and then it used it to destroy Kipo's home."

"And my people are gone." The Burrow girl chimed in. "We're trying to find them and figured that it took them. You may have seen it. Six arms, destroys homes and Burrows?"

"Yeah, we've seen it." Cotton answered. "Wrecked our tour bus. I mean, we already trashed it, but still."

"Will you take us to it?" Kipo said to them. "I have some questions I need to ask."

"You wanna ask that thing questions?" Cotton said as she no doubt couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"It's a long shot, but that Mega is the only way we can find out what happened to everyone who was living in that Burrow." 3 said to them.

"Okay, sure." Cotton said before Kipo stuck her tongue out at Wolf who growled at her as we walked out.

"Let it go, Wolf." I told her, knowing how pointless it was to get mad like that. "3's right. Like it or not, this is our best chance to get some answers. Especially if Scarlemagne is involved."

"I think our new guitar players are insane." Cotton whispered.

"The best ones usually are." Her friend said.

"I heard that!" I told them, taking offense in that.

---

After earning the trust of Cotton and her friend Camille, the group and I were guided to where the Mega Monkey was. It was very quiet, especially between Kipo and Wolf with me standing by to make sure they didn't fight again as they were walking side by side. As we were, I managed to hear Benson talking to Dave who Aurico let hop along on the ground as we didn't need to run anymore.

"Dave, I thought about it." Benson said as we kept moving. "Rocking with the Umlaut Snäkes was a trip and a story I would tell over and over, but I cannot do it if we get eaten by a Mega Mutant. So we should tell Kipo we're gonna leave and then leave.

"You're right." Dave said, agreeing with his friend. "We just need to find the right time."

"There's never a right time!" Benson told him. "You just gotta pull the band-aid off!" Hearing walking over, I knew what he was gonna do and that it would make things worse. "Hey…Kipo… So…"

"Don't even say it." I told him, stopping him from making a mistake. "It's not a good time, Benson. Especially right now."

"3's right." Aurico said before he pointed out the problem with telling Kipo about leaving the group. "Did you not see Wolf and Kipo go at each other back there? Even after that, you never speak to girls who had a fight until they get over it. Otherwise, you'll get dragged into it and it becomes worse." All of the sudden, a loud growling noise came in and surprised us.

"Whoa! Hold on." Camille said as we all stopped.

"What is it?" I asked the snakes as Cotton put her head against the ground, no doubt listen to any vibrations.

"The buzz-wrecker's asleep." She answered, keeping her voice down.

"Where at?" I asked as Cotton lifted her head off the ground.

"It's just in that grove." Camille answered, pointing out to a large number of cacti gathered up in one spot just outside of town, looking like a cave of cacti. "Not even we are crazy to go in there."

"Thank you." Kipo said and the two began to slither away before Aurico spoke up.

"Hold one." He said with a raised brow. "Aren't we forgetting somebody?"

"The Timbercats! Uncle Donnie and the others!" I gasped in realization before I spoke to Cotton and Camille. "Wait, about the cats and other people that came with us." They stop and turn to face me. "What happened to them? You didn't…eat them, did you?"

"Not yet." Cotton answered. "Our bandmates trapped them in the Glamyrinth."

"Glamyrinth?" I asked, wondering what that is.

"It's something we use for any Glam Rock Hamster that steps on our turf." Camille chimed in. "We're tiring them out first. They're easier to eat that way."

---

"That's it, you better run!" Gordy said as we managed to chase away a few snakes.

"They're not running." I said as I finally caught up to them. "We just fell into their trap." After I said that, we turned around to find a whole horde of Glam Rock Hamsters coming right from behind us.

"Run!" They all screamed out as they ran toward us, forcing all of us to split into two groups within the labyrinth we walked into.

---

"Cats." The two snakes said with a laugh.

"Hey, one more favor." Aurico said to them. "Bandmate to bandmate. Could you let them out? Some of those guys are from my Tribe, like 3 here. The cats are just looking for their Scratching Tree. Without them, we never would've rocked out together. They don't want to fight. Plus, we're gonna need all of them if we're gonna take on the Mega Monkey."

"That session was pretty epic." Cotton admitted as she spoke to him. "Okay, we'll consider it."

"Thanks." Aurico said to them.

"Yeah, much appreciated." I thanked them.

"So you really gonna face that six-armed beast?" Cotton asked my cousin.

"Yeah, that's right." Aurico answered.

"So metal." Camille said to him. "Seems like such a waste of talent."

"Don't worry, I'll be coming back." Aurico said to them. "Nothing can stop Aurico Sloan!"

With that, we both then rejoined the others and we all started walking towards the cactus cave.

---

After we got to the entrance, we all stood as we mentally prepared ourselves to enter, the sound of the beast's snoring echoing through walls of cacti.

"Looks like those snakes were right." I said as the snoring of the beast continued. "It's defiantly sleeping in there."

"For now." Wolf added, ready to enter the cave.

"Listen to that." Aurico commented with a chuckle. "Boy, that's louder than your snore, 3."

"Hey, Kipo…" Benson said as he was about to speak up, but Kipo didn't pay attention.

"Okay." The Burrow girl said as she stepped forward, picking up Mandu. "This is it." She then turned to us with a serious expression on her face. "I know this is dangerous, but I have to do this. None of you have to come with me." She pet Mandu a few times before setting her down, her way of giving the piglet the choice to either join her or leave. But, instead of leaving, the pig joins her. Wolf walks over to show she was joining her.

"You crazy?" Aurico told her as he and I walked over to her with confident smiles. "Like we would let our friend go against a Mega Mutant alone."

"Yeah, along with having to talk with your father," I said to her, the girl smiling at me. "I promised to get you back to your people and I'm going to keep it." With that, I then looked to Benson and Dave as I spoke to the two. "Looks like you can now bail from this. Though here's something for everything you've done, one Tribe member to another." With that, I then gave them the directions to the Tribe. "Back in the forest, to the other side of the forest, you'll find mine and Aurico's Tribe. It's well-protected and you can stay there for as long as you like."

"Wow, thanks." Benson said to me before Kipo ran over and hugged Benson. She also hugged Dave before she rejoined the others and I as we walked into the cave.

Moving in silently, we took cover behind a large cactus as we looked to see the source of the snoring. Right there, in the clearing, was a large mass of brown fur with a building that had a sign that said "Hotel" along with a large hole on the other side of the mass. There was also a large wooden pole that laid between the mass and the hotel. We all spoke at a low volume so we wouldn't wake it up.

"There it is." Wolf said as we looked at the mass.

"The Mega Monkey." Aurico added before I looked to the pole.

"And look!" I said as I noticed the carvings on the pole. "That must be the Scratching Tree!"

"But where's my people?" Kipo asked.

"My best guess is that it's holding them in that building over there." Aurico said, pointing to the hotel.

"Maybe that's where Scarlemagne is keeping all the humans he captured." I said, theorizing what other purposes this Mega Mutant had for that tyrant. It was only a short moment before Kipo spoke to Wolf.

"You think they're not in there, do you?" Kipo said to the little warrior. "That Scarlemagne might have taken my people somewhere else."

"You don't know what I'm thinking." Wolf said to her. "I'm with them and think they could be trapped in that old hotel."

"Do you really believe that?" Kipo questioned her, causing Wolf to look down in depression.

It wasn't long until we heard some squealing and looked to Mandu digging in the dirt. Going over and picking her up, I saw she found a piece of gold there, something she held in her mouth. Taking it from her, I saw it was a guitar pick shaped like a four-leafed clover.

"What is that?" Aurico asked me as I examined the pick.

"Looks like a guitar pick." I said before Kipo spoke to me.

"Let me see that." She said as she took and looked at the pick. "I know this pick! It was my dad's. If this is here, then you guys might be right. He's gotta be in that hotel." Knowing she was gonna shout, I quickly covered her mouth with my hand.

"Kipo, shh!" I said to her as I reminded her about the sleeping Mega Mutant in front of us. "We don't want to wake up the Mega, remember?" She nodded to me in response. "Let's just sneak around it and quietly head to…"

"There's the monster!" Said a familiar voice as we all turned to find Yumyan and the others behind us, the Axe Lord riding Pierre as he and his fellow Timbercats charged towards the Mega Mutant.

Thanks to that, we all got a good look at the Mega Monkey as it woke up and slowly got itself up. Like Yumyan described, it was a giant monkey with dark brown fur, a red face, red human ears, and a white beard. Its irises were red while the sclera of its eyes was yellow. Once it was standing completely, the Mega Monkey unleashed a powerful roar as the Timbercats charged right at it.

"Holy crap!" Aurico exclaimed as we all saw the Mega Mutant's frightening size.

As the fight began, the Mega Monkey slammed down one of its many fists and sent a few Timbercats flying. When I heard some yelling from behind, I looked to find that it was Benson and Dave, My fellow Tribe member carrying the Wonderbeast as he charged in here like a maniac. Before he got too far, I grabbed Benson with my metalbending and pulled the two over to the others and I.

"Benson, Dave, what are you guys doing here?" I asked them, confused by their sudden return.

"What's it look like?" Dave told me. "We're here to help!"

"Yeah, we want to help you and Kipo." Benson said to me before he explained. "When we're with Kipo, we're doing something more than just surviving. For the first time ever, we're a part of something bigger than us. So we're gonna help Kipo get back to her people, no matter what."

"Spoken like a true Tribe member!" Aurico said with a smile.

"Glad you came back." I said before looking towards the battle in concern. "But I think we might be in a little more trouble than we thought."

"Look at the size of that thing!" Gordy said as we saw him and the others along with Cotton and Camille behind them.

"This has got to be the biggest Mega Mutant on record!" Uncle Donnie added, sounding just as surprised as our fellow Tribe members.

"Guys, what happened?" I asked, speaking to the group that just joined us. "Why are the Timbercats attacking?"

"Those crazy fuzz buckets ran straight here after we let them out!" Cotton answered.

"Yeah, they really want their tree back!" Thora added before we then ducked down to avoid an incoming cat.

"We tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen!" Caldwell said as we stood up.

"So we just ran over and tried to see if we could help." Gordy added as I took it all in.

"Okay, that makes sense." I said before I then looked to the snakes with a raised brow. "But why are you girls here?"

"We had to come back for the show!" Camille exclaimed.

"Now's our chance!" Wolf said, eyeing our objective before looking to Kipo. "We can go into the hotel, find your dad." As she prepared to go out and join the fight, Kipo stopped her.

"No! We have to help the cats first!" Kipo said, making Wolf turned to her. "I have a plan!"

"Is it going to get us killed?" The warrior asked, not liking where this was going.

"Maybe, maybe not." She answered. "Because this time, you're part of it."

"Ax!" Brook called out as he and the other narrowly dodged an incoming ax flying right towards us, one which I caught.

"Well, if we're gonna die, we might as well just roll with it." I said to Kipo as I was up to hear what she had in mind. "I'm in."

"Me too." Aurico said, joining in.

"We're in too!" Gordy told her, speaking for the others.

Wolf sighed in defeat and said "Let's hear it."

"I'm gonna distract the monkey with music! I mean, it worked on the snakes." She said as she explained before she looked to my fellow Tribe members and I. "You guys try to keep that thing busy while I get to the right spot for it to hear me." She then looked to Wolf. "And then, while I'm playing, you'll sneak up and hit it with the deathstalker, like a lot."

"Or we just let the cats…" Wolf suggested with Kipo rejecting the idea.

"No!"

"Get eat…"

"Nope!" Kipo shushed her.

"Wolf, we have no choice." I told her. "There's no point in making a run for that building with a rampaging Mega Mutant around. We might get crushed trying that. We are sticking to Kipo's plan."

"Thanks, Axe." Kipo said to me before she walked over to Camille. "May I?"

"Going out in a blaze of glory." Cotton said to her, really admired her bravery while Camille let the Burrow girl borrow her acoustic.

"Nice knowing you, kid." Camille said as another cat came flying by.

"You sure you really want to do this?" I asked her, saying a very serious question considering there was a chance she could die.

"Axe, just trust me on this."

"Okay." I gave her a nod, but Wolf called out

"Wait!" Wolf called out. "You'll need this." She then pulled out the clover pic belonging to Mr. Oak. With whatever courage she had, Kipo took the pick and got ready to head out.

"Hold up." I said to her, putting a hand on her shoulder while giving her a confident smile. "If we're gonna do this, we better give it everything we got." With that, I then spoke to my fellow Miraculous wielders, taking my hand off Kipo as I walked over to them. "Guys, I think it's about time we bring out the big guns." With that, I then unzipped my jacket, using the reveal of the Butterfly Miraculous to show them what I meant. They gasped as they got it.

"Wait, are we seriously gonna transform?" Aurico asked with widened eyes of surprise.

"It's the only we're gonna be able to take that thing." I answered him.

"But your wing!" Caldwell told me, pointing to my still-bandaged wing. "It's still healing. You can't fly!"

"Then I'll have to do my best on the ground." With that, I then turned to Nooroo as he looked at me. "Nooroo, please grant me your power for this fight."

"Axel, there is no need." My kwami said to me with a proud smile. "My power is yours to command."

"Thank you." I said as I got ready to transform. "Let's do this! Nooroo, take flight!" With that, Nooroo was sucked into my Miraculous, the jewel becoming violet and instantly sprouting four, white stands with violet strips within them that (along with where positioned on the brooch) made them resemble butterfly wings.

With that, I then began to transform. The way I transform is like this: first, my elemental powers take effect, flames beneath my feet before spreading upward across my body. With that, my clothing disappears, replaced by red scales. The flames turn my feet into a pair of three-toed dragon feet, make the tip of my fingers sharp to form claws, and transform my head to a red dragon head with green reptilian eyes, gold fangs, and three, gold horns that pointed forward with two on the sides and one on top of my head. With that, my elemental transformation was complete and the second part of my transformation began. The Butterfly Miraculous then began to glow until a small violet blast erupted from it, the blast soon becoming a small swarm of butterflies as flew a few feet forward before flying back towards me. With this, the butterfly traveled the same way as the flames, starting at my feet and moving upward with the difference being them stopping at my neck. With this, they gave me a pair of violet tights and a violet fleece jacket that had spaces for my wings along with white pieces of armor and a white belt that had the Butterfly Miraculous insignia in violet on the belt buckle. The pieces of armor included metal boots, gauntlets, a white chest plate, white shoulder guards, and a white gorget with violet lining and a white butterfly-shaped crest at the front. I also got a white, cane-like staff with the handle being a violet, cone-shaped blade. With my transformation fully complete, I was ready to fight. Needless to say, I did surprise the group with my Miraculous Warrior form.

"Whoa!" Kipo said with eyes widen in awe.

"Nice threads!" Dave said to me, complimenting my new look.

"Thanks." I said to him in appreciation before I looked to my weapon in my hand, one I had already seen before. "Been a while since I've seen this old thing."

"3, you look awesome!" Aurico said before he raised a brow in confusion. "Wait, why are your wings covered?" I then looked to my back and saw that my wings were covered, concealed within a white shell of armor.

"Okay, that's new." I said as I haven't heard of or seen something like this. "Guess with me still healing up, the Miraculous is making sure my wings don't get injured more than they already have." Pushing that aside, I then went to get my fellow Miraculous Warriors ready, looking to them as I spoke. "Okay, who's next?"

"I would like to activate my Miraculous." Kylo said to me with Bloom right beside her.

"Okay." I said to her before I spoke to her kwami. "Bloom, tell her the transformation phrase."

"Yes, sir." Bloom said to me before she looked to Kylo. "Miss Kylo, to transform, all you need to do is say 'Bloom, flower blossom'."

"Alrighty then." Kylo said as she got ready to transform. "Bloom, flower blossom!" Bloom was then sucked into the Miraculous, the hairclips changing from gray to green with pink hues.

She then jumped into the air and spun around, a tornado forming around her and stays there before a green flash burst through. When the light dissipates, she is revealed to have the appearance resembling a green, slender-figured kunoichi with yellow eyes, hair that was in a different shade of green style into a spiraled ponytail, medium-sized hands with large claws wearing a light green, three-slated ninja mask and silver armor. After that, a blast of pink petals shot from her Miraculous and surrounded her. With this, her hands became normal sized with fingers hued with pink and she gained a green, owl-themed bodysuit with pink highlights on the chest, calves, and upper arms. Her arms had rows of feathers similar to Bloom's. She lost the three-slated ninja mask as it was replaced by a green mask cowl with the chin cover being pink and connected to a line of pink that goes around her face in the shape of a heart. The cowl didn't cover her mouth, but only the upper half of it with a yellow face mask which covered the top of her nose. Her silver armor changed into a chest plate, shoulder pads, boots, and arm guards. With gaining her weapons (which were twin fans that resembled Bloom's tail feathers), her transformation was complete.

"Oh, my stars!" Kylo said, admiring her Miraculous form. "This looks absolutely fabulous!"

"Ooh! Me next! Me next!" Thora excitedly said, eager to see what her Miraculous form looked like. "Forss, what do I say to do that? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down, Thora." Forss said to her. "Now, all you need to say is 'Forss, bring the thunder'."

"Forss, bring the thunder!" Thora said as Forss was then sucked into the choker necklace and it changed from black to yellow with electric blue stripes, the charm becoming gold with a tiger paw print of the same blue on it.

She then did the same actions as Kylo, but had a ball of electrical energy formed around her instead of a tornado. As the electrical surging of the sphere increased, Thora began to spin rapidly until she was a blur. A moment later, a bright yellow flash appeared. When it faded away, she had now become a being that resembled an anthropomorphic white tiger with pink stripes and sky blue eyes wearing gold armor. On her wrists were these gold bracelets that had little claws that rest on the back of her hand which can extend and become normal-sized blades. After that, an electrical blue blast of energy shot out of her Miraculous and covered her in the blue light of the same color, her form beginning to change. When the light faded away, she was looked kind of the same but with a few slight differences. Her pink stripes had become outlined with yellow as her body was now electric blue with parts of her arms and legs along with her chest being hued with white. Her head had now become more humanoid with the tiger head becoming an electric blue, tiger-themed mask cowl with the same stripes as on her body and yellow-tipped ears. Her mouth had now been turned back into her human mouth with tan skin. With gaining her golden nunchuck with a glowing electric blue chain, her transformation was complete.

"Yay! This is so awesome!" Thora squealed excitedly, taking a liking to her new form.

"Okay, now it's my turn!" Gordy said with a look of determination before he looked to his kwami. "Bruun, you ready for this?"

"Seeing as how you're gonna need my power, I will let you use my power." Bruun said to the earth elemental. "Okay, boy. The phrase to transform is 'Bruun, Dual Bear unleashed'."

"Bruun, Dual Bear unleashed!" Gordy said as Bruun was absorbed into the bracelet and it changed from gray to being split colored down the middle of both sides (orange on the right side and cyan on left) and the silver charm became amber with an orange and cyan bear paw print on it.

He then crossed his arms into an X formation as rocks appeared and covered up his body. A moment after he's fully covered, cracks from in the rock before an orange flash blasts them right off, revealing him now as an orange, muscular, golem-like, green-eyed, and silver armor being. After that, two blasts shot out of his miraculous: a fiery orange blast and a glimmering cyan blast. With the two blasts surrounding him in a torrent of orange and cyan, his form began to change. After a moment, the torrent dissipated and Gordy was now wearing an amber bodysuit with his upper arms, legs, and chest hued in two different colors (orange on his right side and cyan on his left side) and an amber mask cowl without a chin strap and a bear mask with ears hued the same way as the bodysuit. His mouth had now turned back into his normal human mouth. His silver armor was still there, but the chest plate now had a circular amber emblem holding two bear head symbols circling each other in clockwise rotation (a white bear head with cyan eyes and lineage and a black bear head with orange eyes and lineage). With gaining his scythe, his transformation was complete.

"Oh, yeah! Dual Bear power!" Gordy said, clenching a fist in anticipation while holding his scythe over his shoulders.

"Now it's your turn." Said a mature male voice we didn't recognize before we looked in surprise to find it belonged to Breez. "To gain my power, you must say 'Breez, tempest rise'."

"Okay, got it." Caldwell said before he got ready to transform. "Breez, tempest rise!" Breez was then sucked into the necklace and the charm changed from gold to pure white and gained violet lining, the shell divided into five sections.

He then did the same actions as Gordy and ice formed underneath his feet and spread up his body until he was completely covered. A moment after, cracks formed on the ice with violet light piercing through them. The light then turned into a flash that blasts the ice off Caldwell. When the light dissipates, he is revealed to someone resembling an anthropomorphic hydra with a single head, orange eyes, and a reptilian tail wearing silver armor. After that, a white blast of wind was shot from the Miraculous and surrounded Caldwell in a torrent of wind. After a moment, it dissipated and revealed that Caldwell's form had changed. He was now wearing a white, turtle-themed bodysuit with violet lineage. His head had become more human what happened with Thora and he gained a new hood that resembled the face of a tortoise. Besides all that along with the white hues on his silver armor, he still pretty much looked the same with the appearance of a ninja. With his new shield (which was shaped like a tortoise shell with five vents placed in a pentagon formation) on his forearm, Caldwell's transformation was complete.

"Whoa!" Caldwell said, admiring his new look. "Amazing."

"Sir Brook, ready thy self!" Steel exclaimed to his Miraculous Warrior. "Say mine call 'Steel, armor on' and let us join our allies in battle!"

"Right!" Brook said as he then got ready to transform. "Steel, armor on!" Steel was then sucked into his Miraculous, the pin changing from black to white with blue tail flaps.

Repeating the actions of our ice elemental, he crossed his arms before a large spout of water formed around him. A moment after it did, a bright blue flash appeared and bursts away the water. When the light fades away, Brook is revealed to be an amphibious man with blue skin, a black marking on his face resembling a raccoon's facial marking, light blue eyes, a few fangs, and webbed hands and feet that wore silver armor along with a medium-sized cannon on his right forearm. After that, his Miraculous then shined brightly, covering him in sky blue light. As he is covered in the light, his form begins to change, growths to different parts of him. Even his cannon started changing. Starting from the limbs up, the light dispersed to reveal his form. When the light was gone, Brook was revealed to be wearing a white bodysuit with sky blue-hued, silver armor layered on top of it. The attire was swordfish-themed with him having some sort of pack with vents on the bottom on his back. He was now wearing a sky blue fish-themed helmet with pectoral fins on the sides and a silver dorsal fin on top that didn't cover his mouth. His cannon had now become the shape of a swordfish's body. Well, except for the tailfin and the long upper jaw. The pin was now on his chest armor. With his cannon protruding a long, curved blade (which made for the upper jaw), Brook was ready for battle.

"Oh, yeah!" Brook exclaimed with pride. "Posidacus in the house!"

"Alright, Rico." Lobbo said to his Miraculous Warrior. "To transform, just say 'Lobbo, Fang of Lupus'!"

"Okay." My cousin said as he got ready to transform. "Lobbo, Fang of Lupus!" With that, Lobbo was sucked right into the necklace with the charm changing from black and silver to white and gold, the white area of the charm divided into five sections that resembled the waning phases of the moon.

Aurico's transformation and elemental form are actually almost the same as mine to mine, but with blue flames, white scales instead of red scales, and blue reptilian eyes instead of green. With his Miraculous transformation, a silver and blue light shot from the charm and surrounded him, the energy adding new additions to his form. He gained a silver, wolf-themed bodysuit and his tail becomes a wolf's tail. He gained a silver wolf mask that fitted over his face with yellow lining over the eyes. He also gains a golden belt with the silver emblem of a wolf's head on the round buckle and a silver, sleeveless jacket. The armor he got consisted of gold shoulder pads, knee pads, a pair of boots with gold shafts and silver vamps and white toes resemble wolf feet, and gold gauntlets with the hand and finger plating split into multiple sections from the fingers to the wrist. The fingers resembled big claws of blades. With all this, he was now ready to join the fight.

"Dragonous, ready for battle!" Aurico exclaimed, eager to join the fight.

"Okay, now it's our turn!" Musa said, ready to transform. "Ready, Wayzz?"

"Indeed." Wayzz said to her. "All you need to say is 'Wayzz, shell on'."

"Wayzz, shell on!" Musa called out as Wayzz was then sucked into the Miraculous, the charm turning from black and white to pure green.

In that very instant, she was surrounded in green energy and began to transform. When it was complete, she was now dressed in a green, turtle-themed, full-body suit that tiny hexagonal patterns and light green highlights on. She also had a hoodie with a silver semicircle on the front, curved red-eye designs on the sides with black and golden details, and two small light green ovals below the bottom of its opening. Under the hood, she a pair of black goggles with yellow-green lenses and a black collar. Locks of her hair (which had changed from orange-red to emerald green) stuck out of the hood. On the chest were six light green hexagons. On her shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees were silver, hexagon-shaped protective pads. She had green boots with an indent between her big toe and her other toes, silver outsoles, and two indents on each side of the boots. On her back was this green shield that resembled a turtle shell with the other side being a lighter green.

"This is so awesome!" Muse squealed as she looked upon her new form.

"Okay, I'm up next!" Brandon said as he looked to his kwami. "Pollen?"

"Yes, my king." Pollen said to him before she told him the phrase. "Just say 'Pollen, buzz on'."

"Alright! Let's do this!" Brandon said with determination as he got ready to transform. "Pollen, buzz on!" Pollen was then sucked into the Miraculous, the comb becoming golden with the arc receiving color to where it resembled a bee (the abdomen having seven sections with four yellow and three black alternating stripes and four white bee wings).

With this, yellow light trailed up Brandon's body as he began to transform. With this, he gained a yellow and black face mask that only covered ten percent of his face (meaning the eyes) and a yellow full-body suit with a black collar, black sleeves and shoulders, a black belt, and black highlights on the inside of his thighs. Down from the collar to his belt, there was a black line down the middle. Circling from one side of the line to the other were these black lines up and down his abdomen. He had black boots with yellow soles on the bottom. He wore fingerless, black gloves with yellow rings at the ends of the cuffs. He also had two black antennas on top of his head. His hair turned mostly blonde with the endpoint tip staying black to where it looked like a stinger. Attached to the side of the belt was a yellow, teardrop-shaped top with the point aimed down to where it resembled a bee's stinger. Its round end is black, haves several diagonally slanted black stripes spiraling down it and a black cord attached to a yellow ring.

"Huh." Brandon said as he inspected himself with a smile. "Not bad."

"Okay, you ready, Stella?" Plagg said to the Miraculous Warrior.

"Oh, um…" Stella said, sounding unsure of herself. "Actually, I think I'll sit this one out."

"What? Girl, come on." The kwami said to the nervous girl. "You'll be fine. Just trust yourself and you can get through it. Besides, you got other Miraculous Warriors to help you out."

Stella took a moment to think before she then said "Okay, what do I have to do?"

"Just say 'Claws out'." Plagg told her. "That's how you transform."

"Okay. Here goes." Stella said before she pumped her fist out. "Plagg, claws out!" With that, Plagg was then sucked into the ring and it changed from silver to black and gained a green cat paw print on the face.

Her entire body was then covered with this green energy, changing her ordinary clothes into a full-body black cat suit with fluorescent green accents on her knees, forearms, waist, and neck. She also had black gloves on her forearms with claws and a fluorescent green band that went down a bit along with a black ball. She had a black collar that was open a bit and had a fluorescent green band that went down to the poutine and a black ball at the lower part of the neck. There was a black belt with a fluorescent green band in the middle at the right leg along with a black button with a fluorescent green cat and a son with a black ball hanging around her waist. She had black, fluorescent green boots that went all the way up to the knee with a small flowing green band in the heel and ended with small black edges. Her blonde hair became floor length and was styled in a single braid that resembled a tail that was supported by a black two-wire ball of fluorescent green at the end of each black feather. She had cat ears with fluorescent green accents, and a face mask like Brandon's but was pitch black. Her eyes had also changed and became green with oblong pupils and her sclera being of a little darker shade of green. On her hip was a silver baton.

"Whoa!" Stella said, surprised by her new look. "This…is… amazing!"

"Okay, now we're ready." I said before I looked around until I managed to find a cliff of rubble nearby. There, I then spoke to Kipo. "Okay, head to that cliff. The Mega Monkey will be able to hear you from there. We'll keep it busy for as long as we can." With that, I then looked to my fellow Miraculous Warriors. "Guys, let's go!" By my call, my fellow Miraculous Warriors and I ran out and joined the fight.

From there, we all began to use our powers to ensure the Mega Monkey's attention was dragged away from the cliff. My fellow elementals and I got to show off our powers and weapons in the battle. It wasn't long until Uncle Donnie and the other ninja weapon wielders came out and joined the fight, helping us distract the Mega Mutant. Even Benson and Dave (who actually replaced his leg with a cactus needle) joined in to help out. Though our efforts were great, it seemed as though the Mega Monkey was stronger than we thought. It kept on going even having been hit by bladed weapons (which had actually got caught in its skin. At one point, the Mega Monkey was about to pound me into the dirt when…

"Hey, over here!" Kipo called out as I looked to see her playing the guitar after finally getting to the cliff.

It seemed her plan was working as the Mega Mutant looked in her direction before a Timbercat tossed an ax at its chin, angering it as it then went back to fight us. When I looked back to Kipo, I saw she was losing faith in her own plan before…

"Keep playing!" Wolf yelled out as she was perched on a nearby cactus.

"Yeah! We got your back!" I told her, giving her a thumbs up.

"Right!" Kipo said as she then looked to the pick. "Wish me luck, Dad." After kissing it for good luck, she began to play, gaining the Mega Monkey's attention. The Mega Monkey roared as it charged right towards the Burrow girl.

At that moment, Kipo began to sing a beautiful song, causing all of us who were fighting the Mega Mutant to freeze as we watched what happened.

We may not have sunshine,

Or starlight or weather.

But we got each other,

And that's even better.

When we thought the Mega Monkey was gonna attack, we were all surprised to find it slowing its pace to where it made a stop in front of her. Kipo stopped at that point. Her plan was actually working as I used my super-speed to go over and look to find the Mega Monkey with a look of regret on its face. It seemed as though Kipo's song was actually calming it down. I looked to see Wolf on top of its head, ready to poison it when she looked in the direction the Mega Monkey was facing. I looked and saw Kipo silently telling her 'no'. When she looked to me, I then motioned her to come down over to me, silently telling her to let Kipo handle this. After the little warrior did, I then motioned for Kipo to continue as the now calm Mega Monkey put its attention on her. As she played and sang, I sat down with a smile, put away my staff, and rested my head in my hand before closing my eyes to simply listen to Kipo sing in that angelic voice of hers.

You don't need the sun to keep you warm,

When you've got arms.

Wishes comes from you,

And not a random shooting star.

We may not have storm clouds,

But the sky is always blue.

---

Within an unknown area, Kipo's song is heard echoing through along with the sight of something large stirring within it. The sight of its fangs is shown as the mysterious creature begins to growl.

---

We've got something special here,

And what we have is you.

What we have is you.

What we have is you.

With her finishing her song, I opened my eyes to find Kipo face-to-face with the Mega Monkey. Looking behind the Mega Mutant, I saw that everyone was in shock to see Kipo managing to tame the giant monkey's rage.

"Unbelievable." Aurico said as he came over to me with his super-speed, staring out in awe. "She actually tamed it."

"Looks like Kipo can bring out the light within even the most savage of beasts." I told him with a smile as Kipo spoke to the Mega Mutant.

"Uh… Hi." Kipo began as the Mega Monkey was face to face with her. "Wow! You're big. You're not gonna attack me right?" The monkey shook its head no. "You can understand me? Neat!"

"That monkey knows what we're saying?" Aurico asked, surprised by this.

"Apparently." I answered him, just as surprised. After that, I snapped back to reality and called out to Kipo. "Kipo, ask it if it knows any about your Burrow."

"Oh, right." Kipo said as she snapped back to reality. "So, a few days ago, you attacked my Burrow and now I can't find my people or my dad. Did… Scarlemagne order you to attack us?" When she asked that question, the Mega Monkey placed a hand on its neck.

The way it did that told me that there might've been something hiding behind its beard. Whatever it was, I had a feeling it could tell us more about it.

"Rico, can you fly up there and check the Mega's neck?" I asked my cousin. "I think it haves something on it. Might tell us more about what's going on with it."

"You got it!" Aurico said as he got out his wings and flew over to the Mega Monkey. Getting beside Kipo, he spoke to the Mega Mutant. When he did, the giant monkey growled at him.

"Hey, it's okay." Kipo said with a reassuring smile. "He's a friend." After she did, the Mega Mutant stopped growling and looked at him

"Uh… hey, there!" He said, nervous about the Mega Mutant. "Quick question: mind if I take a look behind your beard?" After a moment, it nodded to allow him to look. "Great. Thanks." With that, Aurico flew over to where he got a good look at its neck. It was only a moment until he spoke to me. "3, you were right! It does have something back here!"

"What is it, Rico?" I asked him.

"Not sure." He answered. "Looks like some kind of collar."

"A collar?" I said before I then realized it. "But that would mean…" It was then that I used my super speed to rush over and speak to Mega Mutant. "Scarlemagne made you attack the Burrow, didn't he?" It was at that moment the Mega Monkey gained a look of despair. "You're not a servant of Scarlemagne. You're a slave to him."

"Hold up!" Aurico said as he flew over and landed to stand beside me. "Did you just say this giant is a slave to Scarlemagne? How can he enslave a Mega Mutie like that?"

"I have no idea." I said to him. "But, whatever the reason he haves such control over it, this Mega Monkey is forced to do whatever he says. That collar signifies it."

"Oh, you poor thing." Kipo said to the Mega Mutant, feeling sorry for it.

I could tell that we all felt sorry for it. To be enslaved by that tyrant and forced to do what he wants? It's inhumane and low, even for that darn Wonderbeast Scarlemagne. With this, I knew what I would ask it next could've given it great guilt. Or… so I thought.

"So I guess Kipo's people are now Scarlemagne's prisoners, huh?" I asked, causing the Mega Mutant to brighten up and shake its head. This surprised me along with Aurico and Kipo. "Wait, he didn't catch them? Are you saying they got away?" It then nodded in confirmation, surprising me and Aurico while causing Kipo to smile.

"Really? Everybody made it out, even my dad?" Kipo said, feeling glad that her people were safe. "That's great!" The ape then raised one of its massive fingers, making the girl gasp. But, somehow (even though it didn't speak), the monkey was able to reassure her it wasn't going to hurt her and gently rubbed that finger across her face.

"So Scarlemagne sent this Mega to attack the Burrow, but ended up empty-handed?" Aurico said to me with disbelief. "How is something like that possible?"

"My guess is that Scarlemagne wasn't there." I said as we looked to the Mega Monkey, who was smiling at Kipo. "He must've been relying on the Mega to do it all."

Though this was a great moment as we found out that Kipo's people were safe and the Mega Monkey wasn't our enemy, it was short-lived when we all heard this loud roar that could make the whole area shake. For some reason, it sounded… familiar. Like I heard it before.

"Whoa!" Kipo said in surprise as she looked at me. "What was that?"

"I don't know." I said to her, not really sure what could make that sound.

"Uh, 3?" Aurico said, sounding worried. "You might want to see this."

Looking to where he was facing, Kipo and I both saw some large Mega Mutant tracks… and they weren't one of the Mega Monkey's tracks. By the shape of them, these were feline tracks, the digital pads resembling drops of water. By the looks of them, they belonged to a feline Mega Mutant that was about as big as the Mega Monkey and had three sets of paws.

"Are those… Mega Mutant tracks?" Kipo asked, fearing the answer.

"Yeah." I said, now afraid to know what kind of Mega Mutant made them. "And it looks like a big one. About as big as the Mega we got here."

"And that's not all." Aurico said as we looked and saw that there were more tracks, creating a trail that led deeper into the cactus cave. When we reached an endpoint of that trail, we saw that the tracks led straight into the large hole in the building and I soon realized why that hole was there, especially with the growling coming from it.

"Oh, crap." I gulped as I saw two glowing, red eyes appear and stare right at me.

With the ground shaking, we all watched in horror as the Mega Mutant walked out of the hole, the light unveiling the beast hiding in the shadows. Like I had suspected, it was a feline with three sets of paws. It was mostly white and had a large muscular body with two sets of powerful forelimbs along with a large head, three tails about half its body's length, and a heavily grown mane around its neck and jaws. With those small, rounded ears and the black stripes it had around its body, there was no trouble in identifying this Mega Mutant.

"Is that… a Mega Tiger?" Aurico said in fear as the Mega Mutant roared out.

It was then the Mega Monkey turned around and, after seeing the Mega Tiger, growled and roared at the large feline. From there, the two then rushed at each other and began fighting.

"Everyone, run!" Uncle Donnie called out as the two Mega Mutants fought each other.

He had the right idea to call that for a fight between Mega Mutants is not something you want to get in the middle of, especially when one of them is a predator like that Mega Tiger. We all managed to get to the entrance and watched as the two titan animals fought it out, the Mega Monkey managing to get on the Mega Tiger's back.

"Damn, that thing's nuts!" Gordy said as the tiger tried to shake the monkey off it.

"Seriously, you told us the Mega Monkey was here," Aurico said to Cotton and Camille, "but you didn't there was also a Mega Tiger with it!"

"Huh, guess it didn't leave." Camille commented, watching the Mega Mutant fight.

"That thing came here a few weeks ago." Cotton told us. "We all thought it left because we hadn't seen it in a while."

"It must've been sleeping in that hotel." I told my theory of the Mega Tiger's appearance here.

"Yeah, until we woke it up from its nap!" Aurico added, already knowing what brought the beast out of its slumber.

"We gotta help the Mega Monkey!" Kipo said as the Mega Tiger began charging at the walls, slamming the Mega Monkey into the cacti.

"I don't think we can help at this point, Kipo." Uncle Donnie said, knowing that confront the Mega Tiger would be suicide. "That Mega Mutant there is a Mega Tiger, a predator. You might've been able to calm down the Mega Monkey, but I don't think a song will get through a beast like that. It haves a killing instinct, something that pushes all reason it haves and puts it into a fury. That is something that we can't stop."

"But we got to try something!" Kipo said in defiance.

"Kipo, as much as I don't want to tell you this," Uncle Donnie said to her in despair. "I'm afraid all we can do is watch and hope for the best."

After he said that, I watched as the Mega Tiger stopped in the middle of the area, panting tiredly after managing to get the Mega Monkey off of its back, the giant primate groaning in pain as it laid there without the strength to get up. Watching the Mega Tiger walking toward the Mega Monkey with a growl and eyes filled with killing intent, I began remembering all the pain I had from my past, all the loss I had experienced: my brother, my father, and… my mother, the one person that I never got to know and grew up without. All that pain I endured, all that I lose, it was all with me having to stand aside and watch it happen without being able to do anything. And now, here was an innocent Wonderbeast who had been enslaved by a tyrant about to be killed by a vicious and ruthless Mega Mutant. From there, I decided I had enough of letting innocent lives be lost.

"No!" I said as I grabbed my staff and got ready to attack, taking stance as I decided to do something about the Mega Tiger. "I won't let this happen!" With that, I then charged off, using my super speed to get over to the two Mega Mutants as fast as I could.

"3, come back!" Aurico told me, but I didn't listen and pushed forward.

Despite every doubt, despite all the fear telling me to turn back, I kept on going. I had to do this, I needed to do this. If I keep standing by the sidelines or run away while there are those who need my help, what good does it make to live? I wasn't able to save my parents or my brother, but I'm not gonna let anyone die on my watch. This is my vow, my promise to the good people of this world. I will save everyone… no matter what! Readying my staff and turning it around, I looked to see the Mega Tiger standing over the Mega Monkey, ready to finish it off. With a great throw, I tossed my staff right at the Mega Tiger, the staff managing to hit it in the face and I stopped running. With the impact, the Mega Tiger flinched as its attack was stopped.

"Hey!" I called out as the Mega Tiger looked at me with a growl. "Over here!" With it roaring, I began running as it chased me with rage burning in its eyes.

After running for a while, I turned and ran towards it as it charged. Sliding across the sand, I managed to dodge the tiger's paw as it tried to swipe at me. With that, I managed to get on one of its forelegs and began to climb as it looked around for me. It took me a while, but I managed to get on top of it and headed towards where my staff was. Using my super speed, I managed to get over and jumped, managing to grab my staff. It was at that point that the Mega Tiger found me and tried to shake me off. I tried to hold on as much as I could, but my staff slipped off it and I began to fall. Looking towards the Mega Tiger, I saw it coming at me with jaws opened wide to consume me. Before the jaws closed on me, something came flying right towards me and managed to get me away from the Mega Tiger. When I looked, I was surprised to find out what it was. Or, actually, who it was.

"Rico?" I said in surprise as my fellow Fire Dragon managed to save me.

"Hold on, 3!" Aurico said as he held me by the arm, beginning to dodge swipes from the Mega Tiger.

It wasn't long until I saw our fellow Miraculous Warriors along with Uncle Donnie come flying in, carrying Sora, the other ninjas, and even Wolf who then went onto the Mega Mutant's back. After that, Gordy, Brook, and Caldwell jumped down to the ground and began firing element blasts at the Mega Tiger. It was at that moment Aurico got me safely to the ground and flew off to join the others in fighting the beast.

"CHARGE!" Yumyan yelled as I watched him and the rest of the Timbercats charge in and join the battle.

Seeing my fellow Miraculous Warriors and Uncle Donnie fighting from the air and on the ground with the Timbercats helping them out while Sora and the other ninjas made sure Wolf stayed on while she poisoned the Mega Mutant, I then readied myself again and rejoined the battle. Though we all battled hard and long, it wasn't enough to beat the Mega Tiger as it shook off all those on its back and smacked the rest and I away with its paws.

"Axel!" I heard Kipo call out as I got myself up, looking to see her running towards me. "Axel, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I told her before I looked and saw I was in my civilian form. "My Miraculous!" I looked at my chest to see that my Miraculous was gone, no doubt knocked off from the attack.

"Axel!" Nooroo said as I looked to see him flying towards me with the Butterfly Miraculous.

Though, after he got it to me, it was too late to do much anything else as the Mega Tiger was right over us. Nooroo, Kipo, and I all watched as the Mega Tiger roared as it was about to attack until…

"Melody, stop!" Said a feminine voice as the Mega Mutant suddenly stopped.

With seeing the Mega Tiger just standing there while staring down, I looked to see something had flown in front of us. It was another kwami, this one being blue and resembling a peacock (a bird which Uncle Donnie told me about). She had a pink circle on the center of her forehead, three feathers coming out from behind her head (the center one being longer than the ones on the left and right), a plum-colored mouth, and a tail with five feathers that formed a fan shape. Each of the feathers had these eye-like spots of pink with a black interior and a blue exterior. Though I was curious about the strange object she was holding, I pushed it aside as I tried to figure out which kwami this was.

"What the…? A kwami?" I said in surprise of a kwami appearing in front of us.

"Duusu?" Nooroo said to the blue kwami, causing her to look back at us with her pink eyes.

"Hey, Nooroo." The kwami said to him with a kind smile as I soon realized who this kwami was. "Long time no see!"

"Wait, Duusu?" I said to her in disbelief as I put my Miraculous back on. "As in the kwami of the Peacock Miraculous?"

"Yeah, that's me." She told me, confirming my suspicion. "Nice to finally meet you again, Axel. My, have you grown."

"Nice to meet you too, Duusu." I said, still in disbelief of who was in front of me.

"Uh… Hi, there." Kipo nervously said, getting the kwami's attention.

"Kipo!" Duusu excitedly said as she floated over to the Burrow girl. "Didn't think I'd see you so soon! Feels like forever the last time I saw ya!"

"You… know me?" Kipo asked with surprise.

"Well, of course." Duusu answered her. "Like I could forget Lio's little girl."

"You know my dad too?"

"Wow, Lio didn't really say anything about me, did he?"

"Kipo, Fenyx wasn't the only person with a Miraculous." Nooroo said to the girl, explaining the situation with Duusu. "He actually had a partner."

"A partner? Who?" Kipo asked, curious about it.

"Who else?" Duusu answered her before she looked to me. "The woman who gave birth to this kid."

I waited for to her to piece it together before she gasped in realization.

"Wait," She said to Duusu in disbelief, "you mean Axel's mom had a Miraculous and was his dad's partner?"

"That's right!" Duusu said to her. "And, speaking of Miraculous, hold this for me, would ya?" I then watched as she then handed Kipo what she was holding, the Burrow girl holding it in both hands.

What Kipo now had was this bronze crest that looked an awful like Duusu's tail with five white circle and a blue jewel at the middle of the bottom. I had no doubt that this was the Peacock Miraculous in camouflage.

"Duusu, you called that Mega Tiger 'Melody'." Nooroo said, causing his fellow kwami to look at him. "Do you actually know that feline?"

"Of course. And so do you." Duusu said to him before she looked to me. "And she definitely knows you, Axel."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked her, wondering what she was talking about this tiger.

"Here. I'll show you." Duusu said before she flew behind me and tried to push me forward. "Go on, go up to her!"

"Go up to her?" I was shocked by what she suggested. "Duusu, are you nuts? That's a Mega Tiger! That thing will rip me to shreds!"

"Come on. She's not that bad. She's really nice when you get to know her." She told me. "Just trust me. Everything will be alright."

I took a moment to think about this. I was having doubts with the thought that this Mega Mutant was friendly, especially with the way it was growling at me with that glare in its eyes. Though I knew that Duusu had the greatest faith out of all the kwamis, so (despite my worries of what the Mega Mutant would do) I decided to trust her.

"Okay. Hope you're right." I said to her before moved closer to the Mega Tiger. After I got close enough to where it could pin me with one of its paws, Duusu flew up in front of me and spoke as the Mega Tiger put its focus on her.

"Melody, please calm down." Duusu said to her. "You need to get back in control. This isn't who you are."

"Hey, Nooroo." I whispered to my kwami, ushering him over as Duusu continued to speak towards the Mega Tiger. After Nooroo flew over to me, I then decided to talk to him about the question he asked earlier. "You were wondering why Duusu called this Mega 'Melody', right? Why were you asking that? Is it important?"

"No… Well, kinda. It's complicated." He said to me. "You see, that name she used for that tiger is actually the name of your mother."

"My mother?" I said to him surprised by this. "Why would she call this thing by my mother's name?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Nooroo said to me before Duusu spoke out.

"If you boys are done whispering to each other," she said to us with a nonchalant expression on her face, "mind listening to me? You're missing out on some important stuff."

"Sorry, Duusu." I said at a normal volume, myself and my kwami giving her our attention.

"Good." Duusu then put her attention back to the Mega Mutant. "Melody, I know you're still in there. Remember who you are. You got to get a hold of yourself. Not just for me." Motioning to me, what she said next shocking me. "But for your son."

"Son? Wait, Duusu," I said in disbelief, getting the kwami's attention, "are you saying that this Mega Tiger is actually…"

"Yes, Axel." Duusu told me, answering the question I was about to ask. "This Mega Mutant…is your mother."

I wasn't the only one shocked by this. With Nooroo and Kipo gasping in shock, I looked around and saw everyone was yelling out in disbelief. Even Uncle Donnie was shocked. Just hearing this, I had no idea what to say. My mother, the one who I thought died after I was born, was actually the Mega Mutant that was here in front of me? I wasn't even mad by the fact that she was alive this entire time. I was…speechless.

"Wow. Now that's one big mama." Gordy commented, still in shock.

"You're telling me." Brook added before I started walking towards the Mega Tiger.

"M… Mom?" I said to it, trying to see if what Duusu said was true as I gazed into the Mega Mutant's blue slit eyes. "Is that… really you?"

From there, it then lowered its head to where its nose was above me and took a whiff, trying to take in my scent. It was only a moment of it that it looked at me with a look of surprise before it lowered its head more to where we were face-to-face (in a manner of speaking). Slowly, I reached my hand out until I was able to touch its fur, closing my eyes in case it would attack. A short moment after, I soon hear purring and felt something furry gently rubbing against me. I opened my eyes and saw that the Mega Tiger was nuzzling me, its eyes were closed. Looking at it, seeing how happy it was and feeling great comfort from this, I soon saw that Duusu was telling the truth. This Mega Tiger was my mother!

"Oh, Mom." I said as I hugged her, my mother stopping the nuzzling to let me to do it while she kept purring.

"I don't believe it." Nooroo said as my mother and I broke the hug and we looked to find the kwami looking at her in surprise. "Melody? Is that you in there?" Soon enough, much like the Mega Monkey, she nodded in confirmation.

"See? Told ya!" Duusu said as she flew down to us with a smile before she looked back at my mother. "Nice to have you back, Mel."

"I just don't understand." I said before I spoke to my mother's kwami. "Duusu, how did this happen? How'd my mother turn into a Mega Tiger?"

"I have no idea." Duusu told me as she shrugged. "After that cave in back at that mountain, she just suddenly turned into this. I've been trying to get her to calm down, but wasn't able to get through to her. Until now, that is."

"So that's why you didn't come back." Nooroo said, sounding surprised. "You're making sure Melody was okay!"

"Well, I couldn't leave my bestie by herself, now could I?" Duusu said to him before she then looked over towards Kipo. "Kipo, get over here!" With that, the Burrow girl then came over to us as Duusu flew over to her. "Melody, you remember Lio's little girl, don't you?"

"Hi, Axel's mom." Kipo nervously said as my mother looked to her for a moment before nuzzling her too, this action causing the girl to giggle a bit.

"Seriously? That's my aunt?" Aurico said as he flew down us, landing on the ground before he looked to me. "I'm guessing this might have something to do with…you-know-what of you?"

"Maybe." I said to him as that was what I would talk to Kipo's father about could be related to what happened to my mother.

"This is getting weirder by the minute." Lobbo said, having a hard time taking it all in.

"You-know-what?" Duusu said before she then gave a look of realization. "Oh, you mean how little Axel is actually—Mmm!" Nooroo got to her and covered her mouth, keeping her from revealing that little detail about me.

"Duusu, Kipo doesn't know about it yet." He whispered to her. "We're going to find Lio so he can tell her. Until then, don't say anything about it, okay?" With that, Duusu nodded before Nooroo uncovered her mouth.

"Axel is what?" Kipo asked the blue kwami.

"Oh, nothing!" Duusu answered quickly, trying to dodge the question. "So where's Fenyx? I bet he'd like to his lovely wife." We all went silent and the joy we had disappeared. "What? What's wrong?"

"Duusu…" Nooroo said, breaking the news to her. "Fenyx is gone. We lost him."

"Gone? You mean…" Duusu said as she gained a look of shock. "No. Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." I said as I looked to her. "You didn't know."

"Hey, what's that sound?" Aurico said as I listened to find a beeping sounding out.

Looking to see the Mega Monkey getting itself back up to its feet. After it rubbed its head, this strange pink mist appeared around its neck, no doubt coming from the collar it had. After it took a whiff of whatever that mist was, it began holding its head and roared out, looking it was in pain. Hearing my mother growl at it, I then went on to call me her down.

"Easy, Mom." I told her, managing to calm her down before Aurico spoke out.

"Whoa! What's going on with the Mega Monkey?" he said as the primate began to walk around like it was panicking.

"The mist!" I said as I realized it. "Whatever that collar's spraying seems to be controlling the Mega Monkey. That must be how Scarlemagne is making it follow his orders."

After a moment, the Mega Monkey looked toward us with a worried look before it then ran away, crashing through the ceiling and running away. Though it was panting, I could've sworn I heard that Mega Mutant say "Hurry".

"Whoa!" I said as I looked to that hole in surprise before looking to Kipo in concern. "You okay, Kipo?"

"That… was… awesome!" The girl said with a smile on her face. "Until it got scary."

"Yeah." I said before looking to my mother with a smile as she then gently nuzzled me. "At least some good things came out of this."

Yumyan climbed up on the scratching tree standing right beside Molly. "At last, we have our tree!" Yumyan called out as we looked to see him on the Scratching Tree, standing beside Molly as he raised an ax up. "Raise your axes for Yumyan, who led us all to victory!" All of his people then cheered out for their victory.

"And for Kipo, Axel, and their friends." Molly reminded him.

"And for Kipo, Axel, and their friends, of course. Raise your axes!" Yumyan said and they did just that.

For the heck of it, I used my metalbending to turn my hand into an ax and raised it up. I had to substitute my staff for it disappeared when I returned to normal. Surprisingly, my fellow Miraculous Warriors and the ninjas raised their weapons with me. Even Uncle Donnie raised his staff up for it. After a moment, I canceled out my powers as all the weapons were lowered. We all then watched as the Axe Lord began to slide down the tree before he jumped off, landing in front of us before approaching Cotton.

"Yumyan Hammerpaw." Cotton said to him as the two gave each other serious looks.

"Cotton." Yumyan said to her. Just when it seemed like they would start another fight…

"You guys walk out of here today. It's cool." The snake leader said to him. "Just don't tell anyone we let you."

"And be quiet on your way out." Camille requested. "Respect the headache."

"We got your back." Yumyan said, extending a paw of which Cotton shook with her tail.

"Benson!" Dave said watching from the side. "You seeing this? Snakes letting cats walk through territory! This world is upside down!"

"We just watched Kipo talk to a Mega Monkey along with Axel taking on a Mega Tiger and this is what you're amazed by?" Benson asked in confusion.

"Uh… I can be amazed by more than one thing." The Wonderbeast bug retorted. "Don't put me in no box."

"I still can't believe the Mega Tiger is actually 3's mom." Gordy commented as we looked to my mother.

"Yeah, Miwa is not gonna believe this." I said, already imagining how my sister is gonna react to our mother's new look.

A while after the fight was over and the Timbercats were giving permission to walk through Cäctustown, we all watched as the cats and Umlaut Snäkes worked together to get the tree out of cave so the cats could take it back to their village. My fellow Miraculous changed back to their civilian forms as we no longer need the Miraculous power. The two Packs managed to get it hooked up and tried to pull it out.

"Keep moving up and down!" Yumyan yelled out as he walked over to Kipo and I. "Something different will happen!"

"Guys, stop! I got a solution!" I said to them before I spoke to my mother. "Mom, a little help?" With that, my mother nodded before she went over and grabbed the tree with her mouth. She then hopped out through the hole and it was long until we see it in front of the entrance and her come back, looking down at me. "Thank you." I then looked to Yumyan. "Will you be alright from here, Yumyan?"

"It'll take a while until we can bring the Scratching Tree back our forest, but we will be fine. We'll manage." The cat answered before he held up a small metal can. "We owe you both a great dept. Should you ever need us, just open this can of tuna and help will come."

"Wow, thanks." Kipo said as she took what he offered, getting a nod from Yumyan who then looked to me.

"And don't worry about Melody and her partner. We'll keep them both safe in the village." He said to me as I then gave him the Peacock Miraculous. "I owe that much to both Fenyx and his boy for all they had done for my people."

"Thank you, Yumyan." I said before I hugged the Axe Lord, Yumyan returning the favor.

"Also, Axel, just promise me one thing." Yumyan said after we broke the hug. "When you find the one who killed Fenyx, let me know." I nodded before the Timbercat leader returned his attention back to his people. "Timbercats, let's move out!"

With that, we all walked out of the cave and the group and I watched as the Timbercats along with my mother and Duusu headed back to the forest, most of the cats and the kwami riding on my mother's back as she carried the tree in her mouth while Yumyan led the way on Pierre.

"Well, I guess we better get going." I said to the Umlaut Snäkes as me and the others were ready to leave and search for Kipo's people. "We got a lot of ground to cover before we can get Kipo home."

"Before that," Cotton said to me before she looked Aurico. "Sloan, come over here." With that, Aurico walked over and we watched as she held something up to him with her tail. "Take this. If you're dealing with Scarlemagne, this will help you deal with his cronies." We were all surprised to find that she was giving him the guitar Aurico was playing earlier.

"One of your guitars?" Aurico said in disbelief.

"It's not ours. Never was." Cotton told him. "It belonged to the Neo Hearts, our great idol band. We play guitar in their honor after they disappeared. This guitar is all that's left of them."

"So why are you giving it to me?" Aurico asked them in confusion.

"Because, if anyone is gonna play it, it has to be someone who can shred as hard as Neo Hearts." Cotton answered him. "You've proven to be just that."

"Yeah, you're really rocking, kid." Camille compliment said to him, surprising Aurico.

After a moment, he smiled as he then took the guitar and held it, playing a few strings as he looked to the snakes smiling at him.

"Thank you." He said before he strapped it over his back. "I'll make sure to play it with honor."

"Much appreciated, kid." Cotton said to him. "Good luck out there." With that, our groups went their separate ways with the snakes slithering back home and the others and I walking off to find Kipo's people.

---

As the sun began to set, we continued walking along the forest line of the area, leaving our trail of footprints in the sand. It was quiet as Kipo looked to her father's guitar pick before Dave spoke up.

"So… good news." Dave said with a nervous smile. "Benson and I have decided not to leave you."

"What?" Kipo said in surprise, looking away from the pick to glare at the two. "You were going to leave?"

"Who? Eh…" Benson answered nervously. "No! Yes! Maybe? A little."

"You totally were. Don't lie." I said to him with a smug.

"But, but, but, but the important thing is we've decided to commit." Dave spoke up, changing the subject.

"Thank…you?" Kipo said to them as she didn't know how to respond to that.

Benson cleared his throat and said "You're welcome. And what you did with that Mega Monkey? That was amazing!"

"I second that." I added.

"Not as amazing as how you charged right at a Mega Tiger!" Aurico said to me. "Balls of steel, cuz. Balls of steel, cuz." He then chuckled as I looked to see Kipo looking down in despair.

"I'm sorry we didn't find your dad, Kipo." Benson apologized before I came over.

"We all are." I said as I stood beside the Burrow girl, trying to brighten the mood a little. "But at least now we know they managed to escape. Your father's alive out there with your people."

"Yeah, but now we're back to square one." Gordy said in frustration. "Somehow they managed to escape a Mega Mutant and we don't know where they went!"

"Then that leaves us to find them." I said before I pat Kipo on the back. "Which I know we will."

"Yeah." Kipo said with a smile as she happily gazed back at the pic

"And we now know something else." Wolf spoke up.

"We do?" Kipo questioned.

"Yes, we do." Uncle Donnie told her as he explained. "We know that Scarlemagne is using some sort of mind control and that collar it has keeps it under his control. Your song snapped freed it for a moment. I've heard rumors that Scarlemagne had the ability to control other creatures, but I didn't think they were true." Hearing some squealing, I looked to see Mandu hiding behind Kipo's leg before the Burrow girl picked up the little piglet. "If he sent that primate to attack, then it means he's targeting Burrows. If your people escaped, then Scarlemagne must be looking for them."

"And he no doubt used that monkey to capture the other Tribes." Aurico added. "Whatever he's doing to them, he'll do the same to Kipo's Burrow when he finds them."

"So we have to find them first." Kipo said standing alongside them.

"Good thing we got some time." Uncle Donnie said as we all walked onto a nearby building and stood at the edge. "It took years for Scarlemagne to find your burrow. Stands to reason him finding another will be just as hard, especially if one is still on the move."

"I'm not so sure about that." I told him, remembering what I heard from the Mega Monkey.

"What do you mean, 3?" Caldwell asked me.

"Before it left, I could've sworn I heard the Mega Monkey say something to us." I told them. "I know it sounds crazy, but I got a feeling that it was trying to tell us something."

"What did I say?" Brook asked.

"It said 'Hurry'." I told the group. "I think it was warning that Scarlemagne isn't far behind. This means we have to get find Kipo's people before he finds them or us. It ain't gonna be easy. We still have no idea where they went, so searching through Las Vistas will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. We also have to worry about the Wonderbeast Packs. We might've befriended two of them, but there are still others out there that will come after us, much like the Mod Frogs."

"I know, Axel." Kipo said. "It's a lot to take in. My people are out there somewhere. The only question is where?" That was a big question for we had no clues as to where to even start looking for them. It was only a moment before we heard some music playing and looked to find Benson dancing a little as some music played on his Walkman.

"What are you doing?" Wolf asked in confusion looking at them. "Stealth mode, remember? Have you learned nothing today?"

"Seriously!" I questioned him. "Why would you be doing that right now?"

"When I get good ideas, I play music." Benson answered and gained a look of assurance in his eyes. "And I just got a great idea."

"Well, just don't stand there." Riku said to him. "What is it?"

"I know where we can look next." Benson said with a serious look in his eye.

"Then we'll go looking tomorrow." Uncle Donnie said to us. "It's getting dark out, so we better camp for the night."

With that, we all then left to find someplace to sleep for the night. It seems as though we still got a long way to go before finding Kipo's Burrow, but at least we know that they're safe. Another good thing is that I now know that my mother is still alive, even though she's now a Mega Mutant. But now we would have to deal with more Wonderbeast Packs that would want to capture us for Scarlemagne. Though, even if the odds are stacked against us, I know we can get Kipo back to her people. And, after what we discovered, we'll also make sure that no other Burrow will be harmed again. We will find Kipo's Burrow and get her home safe and sound. For that is a promise.

---

Author's Note: Hey, guys! Sorry it took me so long. I hoped you liked the chapter. Bet this was a big surprise, huh? To find out that AF3's mother was still alive and was a Mega Tiger. Don't worry, she'll be seen again later in the story. Now that they know that Kipo's people escape, our heroes set out to find where the Burrow is now and bring the girl home. Where exactly will they go next? Will Benson's idea lead them to the Burrow? Find out in the next chapter. That's all I got for now. Don't forget to leave a comment to tell me how you think of it. See ya in the next chapter!