Chapter 10: The Friendly Fitness Raccoons

Morning, Jamack was following one of Scarlemagne's flamingos. But it wasn't an ordinary flamingo. Seeing it wearing the body of a pink, roofless, 1959 Chevy Impala Lowrider, he knew that this was Scarlemagne's personal flamingo. With it flying around, seeing Scarlemagne travel outside of his palace, he knew it only meant that something big was going on. After spotting it while looking for another place to live, he managed to obtain a dragonfly and took off after it. After a while of flying through the forest behind the flamingo, Jamack looks in front of him and was surprised by the sight. In front of the old Las Vistas Zoo (which had been abandoned since the Great Mutant Outbreak), a large group of Wonderbeasts was there. But it wasn't just one single species of Wonderbeasts. Stopping the dragonfly and hiding behind a tree, Jamack could see the wide variety of Wonderbeasts. He even saw major Packs of Las Vistas were there, like the Rock'n'Roll-loving Umlaut Snäkes, the partying Dubstep Bees, the scooter-riding Scooter Skunks, the bomber jacket-wearing Humming Bombers, even his old Pack: the Mod Frogs. Seeing them made him clutch his tie (which was cut to symbolize his banishment from the Pack) in anger.

"Scarlemagne better hurry." Ms. Satori (head of the Mod Frogs) said, her Pack ready to fight once she gave the order. "Just because we're here, doesn't mean we have to play nice."

The reason for her saying this was that she and her Mod Frogs (along with the other Packs) had been waiting for the past few hours for Scarlemagne to arrive and tensions were high. Everyone was ready to battle it out: the Mod Frogs with their weapons at ready, the Newton Wolves growling, the Humming Bombers ready to take off and use the explosive nectar from their weapons sashes, and the Scooter Skunks were ready to ride with pipes in hand. However, before a fight could break out, a loud screech was immediately heard as everyone looked to the sky to find Scarlemagne coming down on his flamingo, Venomous Maximus at the rails that controlled the bird.

"My Wonderbeast brothers and sisters! You all came like I asked!" The mandrill addressed as the flamingo descended down landing on top of the zoo's entrance. "That was smart of you." A few of the Wonderbeasts growled at the comment and Jamack listened in as Scarlemagne spoke. With helping his master out of his seat by opening the door, Venomous watched as Scarlemagne stepped out made a few primate grunts before he spoke towards the Packs below. "Ooh-hoo! There's a Burrow girl on the loose!" With seeing how he addressed to his crowd, he clasped his hands together as he apologized to them. "Pardon me. Lost my composure there for a moment." It was from there he began to explain. "And she is not alone. There are also members of the so-called Tribes, which are filled with our traitorous brethren!" The Packs all growled in anger at this. "It was only 200 years ago that humans, like that Burrow girl along with those accursed Tribes, kept us locked up in prisons. Just like this one!" He then pointed to the remains of the zoo behind him, using the zoo as an example for what he thought was "a prison for animals". "Well, now the tables have turned!" Raising his arms, a few flamingos flew down and landed next to him, all their riders being his masked human slaves. "This is how all humans should be: obedient. I can make them into an army, an army that I can use to build an empire! Wonderbeasts on top, humans below!" His servants all cheered at this, but stopped at the snap of his fingers. This made all the Packs gasp in shock for they never thought anyone could make humans obey like that. "Back to that Burrow girl," Scarlemagne then continued, telling the Packs the reason why he summoned them all. "She can lead me to more humans, enough to rule Las Vistas! Whoever brings her to me will be rewarded with a position of power, and luxury beyond your wildest dreams!" Jamack gained a big smile upon hearing this. "So, I ask you, do you dream big?" With that, all the Wonderbeasts started to grow excited upon hearing this. "I can't hear you!" Holding out his ear, Scarlemagne got a much louder response. "That's better!" He was pleased. "Bring me the Burrow girl and let no one, not even the Tribes, get in your way!" This demand was one for those who sought after power and would be more than willing to do anything to fulfill it.

"Heh!" Jamack smirk as he left, pleased to hear this while beginning his plot to find Kipo and her friends. "Nothing will give me more pleasure."

It was morning and we were out walking through ruins, following the clue Mr. Oak left for Kipo. It had been about three days since Wolf had finally revealed the map she found the night we ran into Tad Mulholland. Though we all felt our trust was broken, that night led to Wolf telling us she enjoyed traveling with us, that she didn't want to be alone anymore. That led me to hope that I might be able to convince Wolf to come back to the Tribe with me and the others and give her a home here on the surface. Some tears were shed at that moment and we all forgave Wolf before moving on. After so long, we finally got on the right track and now know that there is a second Burrow. Heading the right direction, we tried to spot the next clue to this backup Burrow.

"Okay, let me get this straight." Aurico asked as I looked over Kipo's shoulder, looking at the map she was holding. "Your dad wants us to find… a nose?"

"Apparently." I said to him before speaking to Kipo. "Right, Kipo?"

"That's exactly what this shows." Kipo replied, looking at the map. "Or…maybe I'm reading this wrong."

"Kind of looks like a right triangle if you ask me." I said to her. "Though I've never seen one written like that before."

"Right triangle?" Kipo asked me in curiosity.

"Yeah." I told her as I explained. "A right triangle is a basic shape used for finding area or perimeter with objects or places that share the same shape or even halving the size of the room to figure out the amount of distance. The area of a right triangle can be found my multiplying the height and width of the triangle and then dividing it by two. The perimeter is found combing the length of all three sides together. It can also find the length of one side by having the other two squared, added together, and then simplify that to the square root. That is a method known as the Pythagorean Theorem, which no one has a clear idea of where it originated from and had been into debate whether…"

"Okay, we get it!" Brook exclaimed in annoyance. "Enough of the math/history lesson."

"Hey, the knowledge I have is very important, Brook." I told him, pointing out how useful knowing such things can be. "It can save your life one day."

"Yeah, like knowing how to add up numbers is gonna save me from a killer Mega." Brook commented. "Am I right, Wolf?" Though, oddly, there was no response. "Wolf?"

Looking to Wolf, I realized that, the whole time we had been walking, the little warrior hadn't said a single word. She had been completely silent and didn't even look at us. I was thinking of asking her what's wrong, but decided to leave her alone and wait for a better time. My attention was turned away from her when I heard Benson and Dave laughing.

"Ha! you're right!" Benson said as I listened in on the conversation between the two. "Oh! Oh! And remember in our water vision when…"

"That musical floor lit up and we attracted some fans?" Dave said, anticipating the question.

"Yeah! They were cheering our names!" Benson said to him. "They were like 'Benson! Dave! Benson! Dave! Benson! Dave! Benson! Dave! Benson!'" It wasn't long until they both began repeating each other simultaneously.

"You guys talking about the dream Tad put you in?" Aurico asked, stopping the two.

"Yeah! It was awesome!" Benson answered him. "I think that was the happiest I've ever been in my whole life." With a light gasp, Benson instantly lost his smile. "Uh, Dave?"

"Yeah?" Dave asked.

"What if I'm never that happy again?" He questioned.

"Well, that's the beauty of real life, my friend." Aurico said to him with a reassuring smile. "When you dream, sometimes those dreams come true. Just have to work to make it come true. As long as you got hope, I'm sure you'll find that kind of happiness again."

"Yeah, much like how we're gonna make our dreams come true when we get to that Burrow, huh, Rico?" Brook said as I turned to see them gain blissful smiles accompanied by blushes.

"Yeah." Aurico said before I then smacked them both in the back of the head with my metalbending, my reason for it that I quickly realized what they were thinking about.

"Would you knock it off with the perverted thoughts?" I told them, annoyed by their perversion. "That's highly indecent and distasteful, especially towards the women of our group."

"Since when is it a crime to dream?" Brook questioned before Caldwell spoke up and we all stopped.

"Uh, guys?" Caldwell said as we all looked to see the scared look on his face while pointing and looking to the sky.

Looking up there, we saw three avian-type Wonderbeasts flying over us. Though they were at a distance, I could see their colors (the one ahead being blue with a green bird and a yellow bird following behind), had long purple beaks, and were wearing some kind of sashes over a kind of brown jackets.

"Humming Bombers!" Uncle Donnie said with a gasp, signifying them as not the friendly sorts. "Everyone, take cover!"

With that, Kipo, Wolf, Uncle Donnie, and I hid inside a car while the others quickly dove into some bushes. After getting into the car, my nostrils soon got hit with a foul odor, one I had smelled before.

"The Scooter Skunks too?" I said as we watched a trio of Scooter Skunks drive away.

"The Packs are out in force today." Wolf noted.

"That's actually unusual. From what I've experienced, the Packs try their hardest to keep out of each other's way." Uncle Donnie added, placing out his thoughts. "The Humming Bombers and the Scooter Skunks are pretty much enemies with each other. Something isn't right here. Why would two Packs that despise each other now be so calm as to pass each other without any problems?"

"So, uh… Wolf?" Kipo spoke up. "Things got pretty emotional a few nights ago. Can we talk about it?"

"Nope!" Wolf quickly answered her.

"Okay." Kipo said to her as Uncle Donnie and I watched the girls talk. "Well, at the campfire, when you said we'd go our separate ways. Why is that happening exactly?"

"Our deal was I get you back to your people and then I move on." The little warrior said.

"After all we've been through, you still feel that way?"

"I don't do Burrows."

"Why not? T-they're safe, warm, and you have this great community of people." Kipo listed off, trying to persuade her.

"I hate most people." She bluntly replied.

"Oh, come on! You haven't even met that many people." Kipo kept persisting.

"She's got a point." I added, backing Kipo up.

"There's school, taco Tuesdays, game nights." Kipo said to her.

"That's not fun. That's torture." Wolf replied.

"Well, what about the Tribe?" I asked, getting the little warrior's attention as she looked at me with surprise. "Is there a chance that you've reconsidered coming back with us?"

"I told you." Wolf said as she regained her stoic expression and turned away from me. "I don't work with Wonderbeasts."

"Look, Wolf, I understand that you might not trust in Wonderbeasts yet." I said as I tried to persuade her to come to the Tribe. "But I know you don't want to be alone anymore. I just want you to know that you don't have to be alone anymore. Plus, you can come with me to visit Kipo if you want." Seeing her try to shrug me away, I decided to make another deal with her. "Can you at least consider coming back with us so we can show what it's all about? If it's still not to your liking, you can be on your way and go back to how things are, okay?"

It took a moment before she said in defeat and said "Fine. Once we're done here, I'll check your stupid Tribe."

"Thanks, Wolf." I said to her with a smile of appreciation. "I promise you won't regret this."

"Well, if you ask me, I think you'd be better off in the Tribe than a Burrow." Uncle Donnie spoke up, speaking in a grim tone. "Honestly, living in one has always been a terrible way to live to me."

"But, Uncle Donnie, didn't you grow up underground?" I was shocked that he said that.

"Yeah, only because I had to." He replied. "After spending so much time down there, the Burrow people believe they need to be down there. Like the first time, the people down there reject the idea of living with Wonderbeasts because they were too afraid to give them a chance, to give this world we made up here. Even though Kipo here has found out the truth, it doesn't mean others will be the same. And just because most of humanity wants to live underground in fear, doesn't mean we all have to. Axel the 1st knew that surrendering to that plan meant giving up your own freedom." He then turned to Kipo. "Also—no offense, Kipo—but from I witnessed in the past days, Burrows aren't as safe as you think. Because they're so isolated, they're open to any attacks, just like with the Mega Monkey. Basically, it's just as dangerous down there as it is up here."

"Well, maybe my old one wasn't safe." Kipo said to him. "But I don't think every Burrow is…"

"I'm afraid he might be right." I said, agreeing with my uncle. "Kipo, your people were lucky that they had an escape plan. What will happen if this new Burrow they're at gets attacked too? What we've seen so far, I've come to think that the Burrows aren't safe from the Beast War."

"Seriously?" my fellow hybrid said as she no doubt couldn't believe what she was hearing me. "You're on their side?"

"Take it easy, Kipo. I'm only speaking out my thoughts." I raised my hands in defense. "They've all come to know it as their home as much as we've come to see the surface as ours. For some people like Wolf, they only stick to the surface as that's what they choose to go by. It's not easy changing someone's mind like that."

"He's right, you know?" Wolf told her. "I'm not going to live in a Burrow and that's that. Better to just accept."

She then took a moment to take it all in as no doubt hearing this was hard. She then closed her eyes and shook her head before she spoke again.

"No." She said.

"No?" Uncle Donnie, Wolf, and I said in unison, confused by this.

"No, I do not accept this." She said. "Wolfatha Christie the 4th, I swear I'm going to change your mind."

"Wolfatha Christie the Fourth?" Wolf questioned as she was just as confused by this as my uncle and I.

"Well, you don't have a full name and I needed one for emphasis." Kipo told her as Mandu (who laid on her lap) snorted in support. "See? Even Mandu thinks I can do it. I will convince you to come with me."

"Whoa! Big nose!" Dave cried out, getting our attention.

"Guys, you better get out here!" Gordy called before we exited the car and went over to the intersection they were at, Kipo excited to see what they found. Kipo even gasped as we all came over and saw what looked like to be a large nose on a metal pole, a clothespin covering it.

"It is a nose!" Kipo exclaimed as she started running towards it.

"Look at that." Uncle Donnie said as we all followed Kipo. "The clue was leading us to that sign."

"That's actually a sign?" Aurico asked with surprise.

"Not every sign was made as some picture on a board, Sloan." Lobbo told him, appearing on his shoulder.

"Oh, gross!" Benson groaned in disgust as they approached the sign. "What is that smell?"

"My guess?" I said to him, having a better time handling the foul smell than the others. "I think we're over the Trash Pit."

"Yeah, it used to be a garbage dump until a Mega Mutant came around and flattened it." Uncle Donnie said as being without a sense of smell made him immune. "Seeing how this is where the majority of garbage goes, it's no surprise that such an odor could emanate from it."

"God, that reeks!" Aurico said, pinching his nose. "I think my nose just fell off!"

"Hey, how come you and Kipo aren't bothered by this?" Brook question me as I looked to see Kipo wasn't affected by the smell at all.

"Well, back in Rat Land, we had a run-in with some speed-spraying Scooter Skunks." I told him, taking a guess. "Maybe that smell is worse than the Trash Pit."

"Oh, yeah. I remember that." Gordy said with a cough. "Still can't believe the scent didn't stay on."

"Well, to fair, the odor cloud was only enough to give a scent. Not really a scent on us." I told him as we approached the sign. "Okay, we found the big nose on the map, so the next clue must be around here."

"Right there!" Kipo said, pointing out to a small red lunch box on top. Said container had the same ram's head as on the letter. "That lunch box haves the same symbol as the map!"

"Oh, I got this." Dave volunteered and immediately tried to transform, making grunting as he did. "It's happening!" With a few more grunts, he succeeded. Well, almost. "It worked!" He then looked and saw he was a few muscles short. Literally. Only his top left arm transformed. "Kind of."

"Oh, geez." I said before I spoke out to the group. "Benson, Brook, Caldwell, Nabu, Sora, let's give him some help. Ninja stack." I said before the four of us made a stack with each of us standing on each other's shoulders. I was on top of Brook, Caldwell was on me, Sora was above him, Nabu was standing on Sora, and Benson was on top and held onto the pole for support. "Okay, Dave, climb on up and get that lunch box."

"Thank you, boys." Dave said before he began to climb up the four of us, using his strong arm to do it. As he was, I heard Brook groan in pain as he was shaking, shaking the rest of us.

"Oh, hold still, Brook." I told him, knowing he was gonna make us fall if he didn't stay still.

"Your feet are digging into my neck!" Brook snapped with strain in his voice. "Why am I on the bottom?"

"Hey!" Dave called out as he held up the lunch box. "I got it!"

"Good job, Dave!" Benson said to him, congratulating him.

"Oh, oh! Down here! Down here!" Kipo called out, eager to get it and open it.

"What?" I said before I realized what was about to happen. "No, Dave, don't!" But I was too late as Dave tossed the lunch box and, due to Dave's strength, he ended up throwing it into the Trash Pit.

"Oh, way to go, dumbass!" Aurico yelled out as he along with the rest of us glared at him. "You tossed it into the Trash Pit!"

"Oops!" He said as he jumped down to climb down the stack when Brook gave way and we fell into a pile on top of the water elemental.

After the guys and I picked ourselves up, we all went to the edge and began searching for the lunch box.

"Does anyone see it?" Kipo asked.

"Nope!" Aurico replied.

"Uh-uh!" Gordy told her.

"No." I replied. "But it couldn't have gone far."

Just then, we all watched as Mandu squeal and tried to run down the trash, but ended up sliding down it instead.

"Mandu!" Kipo said as she went after the piglet, slipping down to get her.

"Guys, come on!" I said before we all followed her.

We tried to walk, but ended up sliding like Mandu due to the instability of the trash. As we were all sliding down, Kipo managed to catch Mandu and held her as we went down the trash like fresh snow in winter.

"This thing's got a bottom, right?" Benson asked, worried about what might be in store for us in the pit.

"Yeah! Let's just hope it's made out of pillows and not pointy rocks!" Dave told him as we continued to slide down. Dave said as they continued down.

"Don't jinx it, man!" Aurico told him as we slid off a cliff and crashed into the trash. With the fall, it felt like we crashed through to a second floor or something.

After we landed, I dug myself out of the trash and looked up to find some sort of ceiling made of cloth, our fall no doubt responsible for the large hole it had. I then realized I didn't hear the others come up and began looking around for them.

"Guys!" I called out before I saw a pair of purple hands appear from the trash, Mandu being held up. "Kipo!" I then pulled myself out of the trash and went over, taking Mandu and placing her beside me while I helped Kipo pull out of the trash.

"Ew! Ew! Ewwwww!" Kylo cried out in fright and disgust as we watched her and the rest of our group dig themselves out of the mound that was on top of us.

"Is everyone okay?" Uncle Donnie asked.

"Okay? Yes." I told him, getting some trash off my head. "Clean? No."

"Hey, where are we?" Caldwell asked as we all looked around, confused by the place we were in. It was strange for, amongst the mounds of trash, there was a clean floor filled with what looked like gym equipment along with, from what Uncle Donnie and Musa told me, a DJ booth?

"I have no idea." Uncle Donnie answered him. "Maybe somebody lives here?"

"Who would live in the Trash Pit?" Brook asked before we heard some approaching footsteps.

"Hide!" Wolf instructed and we all did that, using the large trash heaps as cover. Well, Wolf had to pull Kylo into the pile and shush her so we didn't draw attention to ourselves.

What came around were a bunch of Wonderbeast Raccoons, extremely fit ones at that. They also were wearing some weird clothing composed of unitards, leotards, leggings, shorts, leg warmers, and even sweatbands on their wrists and heads in bright blue, pink, yellow, and lime green.

"Raccoons?" I said as I kept my voice down, surprised by this.

"You know these guys?" Benson asked me at the same volume.

"No." I answered him. "I've never met them before."

"Neither have I." Uncle Donnie quietly added. "These Wonderbeasts must've been living down here the whole time." A very muscular raccoon got into the booth (which was very close to where we were hiding) and growled as they no doubt noticed the hole in the ceiling that we made.

"Something's wrong here." The lead raccoon growled, her voice (through grungy) definitely sounded female. We all thought we were caught until some music started playing. "You're not moving! Let's go!" With those words said, we watched as they then started…a workout routine?

"Was not expecting that." Dave said as we were all surprised by this.

"You and me both." I said to him, taken by what was happening. Noticing Kipo's sleeve was slipping off, I gently nudged her arm and showed her what was happening. After quickly putting it back on, she mouthed "thank you" to me before we all then crawled over to a pile of trash and started searching for the lunch box. "Anybody see the lunch box?"

"Not yet." Gordy said to me.

"Wait, is that it?" Dave asked, pulling on something to reveal it to be only a scarf. This action caused a large amount of trash to collapse on us.

"Wait, what was that?" The muscular raccoon asked as the music stopped and the group and I pulled ourselves out of the pile to find them standing in front of us with looks of shock. "Humans!"

"Hi, I'm sorry to…interrupt." Kipo said with a nervous chuckle, seeing the situation they were in. Though, instead of attacking us, the raccoons actually got all excited.

"Oh, they're going through garbage!" The blue-eyed raccoon excitedly gasped as her fellow raccoons then started to get all excited talking about us and, from the way it sounded, they didn't hold any resentment towards humans at all.

We were all confused as this was the exact opposite of what we were expecting due to past experience with most of the Wonderbeast Packs. Though most of us were dumbstruck, Wolf didn't seem to be buying into it, especially when they began to walk toward us. With one yell, she got in front of me and Kipo and held out her staff, making the raccoons stop in fear.

"Wolf, stand down." Kipo said as she got next to the warrior. "I think they're friendly."

"Wonderbeasts aren't friendly." She said, speaking grudged.

"Wolf, that's not true with every kind of Wonderbeast." I told her.

"Yeah, some of us are!" the blue-eyed raccoon said in an excited tone. "Though I don't blame you for being jumpy. We've heard what it's like on the surface. So much fighting, all the time. Totally terrifying! That's why we've been down here in Trash Canyon for years, away from all that garbage!"

"Hold on." I said as she chuckled to herself. "You mean you guys have been living down here in the Trash Pit all this time? That would explain why I haven't seen any Wonderbeast like you in the Tribe."

"Wait, did you say 'Tribe'? As in 'Wonderbeast Tribe'?" She asked me. With a single nod, she instantly squealed. "I can't believe it! It's been years since someone from the Tribe had come down here! Oh, where are my manners?" She then started introductions, motioning to herself and then to her fellow raccoons. "Hi, I'm Carton. This is Label." The macular raccoon waved at us in a friendly manner before Label motioned to a rather relaxed raccoon. "And that's Tongue Depressor."

"Carton, Label, and Tongue Depressor." Aurico said, a bit weirded out by the names.

"Those are interesting names." Benson commented, feeling the same way.

"Our names come to us organically." Tongue Depressor told us. "In our first year, our energy bonds us…"

"We find our names in the trash!" Label cut him off, giving us a shorter version of what he was about to say.

"Cool." Kipo said to them before she started introductions. "Well, I'm Kipo. This is Wolf, Axel, Gordy, Brook, Kylo, Caldwell, Thora, Sora, Riku, Hikari, Hotaru, Brandon, Aisha, Nadu, Stella, Musa, Aurico, Benson, Donatello, Dave, and Mandu." She picked up the piglet as finished.

"Namaste." The calm raccoon said with a friendly smile before Label spoke up.

"Donatello?" said an unknown voice before the raccoons moved and we watched a large figure walking toward us from where the raccoons entered, one hard clang sounding every five seconds. "As in 'Donatello Hamato'?"

"Yes, that would be me." Uncle Donnie asked as the figure started walking into the light. "Who's asking?"

"Nobody." Said the mysterious stranger as he came into view, giving off a smile. "Just an old friend."

We were all shocked by seeing the form of this individual. He appeared to be a deformed humanoid about six feet made of green sludge and trash with orange fabric covering his shoulders and lower body (the fabric on the lower body appearing like some kind of shorts). He had red eyes, a manhole cover stuck to the bottom of his left foot, and parts of his skeletal structure exposed (the exposed bones being his fingers, his forearm, and the top half of his shin). To be perfectly honest, I was pretty much scared of him as his appearance didn't make him look friendly. I wasn't alone for most of the group back away with me in fear of him. The only one who didn't was Uncle Donnie.

"Grunge?" Uncle Donnie said in surprise as the grotesque creature stopped in front of him. "Is that you?"

"Know any other guy made of garbage?" the creature said, placing a friendly hand on Uncle Donnie's shoulder. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise." Uncle Donnie said to him, sounding pleased.

"Wait, Uncle Donnie," I said as I got the attention of the two, surprised by what I was witnessing, "you know this guy?"

"Of course. Grunge here is an old friend of mine from New York." Uncle Donnie told us.

"That monster is a New Yorker?" Gordy asked in disbelief.

"Yes, but he's not a monster." Uncle Donnie answered before motioning us to come over. "Come over. He's friendly." Though we were hesitant, we all then walked over as Uncle Donnie began introductions. "Grunge, I'd like you to meet my nieces and nephews, Axel, Gordy, Kylo, Sora, Riku, Hikari, Brandon, Stella, Musa, and Aurico; their friends, Caldwell, Thora, Brook, Nadu, Stella, Kipo, Benson, Wolf, Dave, and Mandu," he then pulled Hotaru over to stand next to him, "and my granddaughter Hotaru."

"Nice to meet you, kids." The creature said to us. "Name's Garson Grunge, but many people call me 'Muckman'." We were all then surprised when his left eye slithered out of its socket and laid on his shoulder. The sight of this made Kylo faint as Gordy caught her.

"Whoa! Mr. Grunge?" I told him, frightened by this. "Your eye!"

"It's alive!" Aurico added, just as scared as the rest of us.

"Oh, him?" Muckman said to us, motioning to his disembodied eye. "Don't worry. That's just my partner, Joe."

"Joe?" I asked, confused by this.

"That's part of his mutation." Uncle Donnie told us. "When Grunge mutated, his left eye gained sentience."

"Mutation?" I said to my uncle as I pieced it all together, surprised by this. "Uncle Donnie, are you saying that Mr. Grunge is actually a mutant? Like from the old world?"

"That's right." my uncle told me before looking to Muckman. "And I see the mutation did some good for you, huh?"

"Yeah. Being made of trash does have some perks." He said to him. "Don't kick the bucket that easily."

"Mr. Grunge," I said to him, getting the mutant's attention, "have you been living with these Wonderbeast Raccoons?"

"Well, yeah." He said to me. "These guys came here a while back to get away from all the craziness and I let them stay here. Wouldn't hurt to help a fellow mutant."

"And the weird clothes they have?" Gordy asked as Kylo regained consciousness, my earth elemental cousin earning an elbow from me for being rude.

"That's how they thought all humans looked." Muckman explained. "They got the idea from old workout ads." He then handed Uncle Donnie an old poster that had a muscular human male wearing the same clothes as the raccoons but with big hair.

"Old is correct." Uncle Donnie commented, looking at the poster. "This poster is from the 1980s, way before Draxum even made mutagen."

"So they don't hate humans?" I asked my uncle's friend.

"Not at all." He said to me. "In fact, they don't even mind living with humans at all, especially the ones that ended up lost here."

"Ones that ended up lost?" I said to myself before I realized who he was talking about. "The missing scavengers!"

"Axel, what are you talking about?" Kipo asked me.

"Well, the Trash Pit has been famously known as a place where people get lost and go missing." I explained to her. "Some people try to be brave and scavenge here, but rarely a few of them return from it. It's a reason why scavengers are warned to stay away from it."

"Most of them end up here, coming down here for some shelter. We even got some living around here." Muckman said to us.

"Guess you were disappointed to find that not all humans have what you thought, huh?" Brook asked the raccoons.

"No disappointment here." Tongue Depressor said to him, somehow managing to get into a yoga pose with only his tail touching the ground. "Expectations are just placeholders in our reality."

"So what brings you all down here?" Muckman asked us.

"Well, we're actually trying to get Kipo here home." Uncle Donnie told him. "We were looking for a lunch box that might tell us where to go when we fell down here. Could be anywhere."

"A lunch box, eh?" Muckman said to us. "I think we can help you out. But first, how about we give you the grand tour of our little home? Got to get these guys some extra steps before we started looking around."

"No." Wolf spoke up. "We can do it…"

"That would be amazing." Kipo said, giving Mandu to Wolf and stopping the littler warrior from rejecting the offer. "One tour please."

"Yes. We would appreciate it." I said, backing her up. Looking back, I tried to hold back some laughter of mine as I saw Mandu showing Wolf some affection like a dog would. After that, we were given a tour.

"Whoo!" Carton exclaimed as she showed us a room full of mirrors and raccoons doing pushups. "This is the Cardio Corner. My favorite."

As Carton joined her fellow raccoons in their workout, Label continued our tour. Before I joined the others, I looked back as Kipo had Wolf and gestured to how friendly the raccoons were, showing her how they didn't show any signs of being a threat. I was thinking that way too. The raccoons didn't seem to show any kind of hatred toward us. However, Wolf just growled and continued with the tour much to mine and Kipo's annoyance that she couldn't relax.

[With Aurico]

At one point in the tour, we came across something some kind of food storage filled with food.

"Hey, what's up with all the food here?" I asked, curious about all the food they had.

"That stuff is for Cheat Day!" Label cried out as she walked along.

"Cheat Day?" I said to myself, wondering what other food they had. "What do they eat the rest of the time?" I then took a candy bar and saw it was expired. "Do raccoons really eat expired candy, even the chocolate?" I then looked to Dave as he gasped.

"Benson, check it out!" Dave said as he tossed a soda can over to Benson. "Explosion Berry Cola!"

"Wow, that's…that's great." Benson said, not really sounding happy.

"Oh, yeah!" Dave said with glee, enjoying his drink and noticed his partner's mood. "Hey, buddy. You okay? Seem a little down."

"I do?" Benson asked, confused by this.

"Yeah." I said, walking over to them. "You seem upset. What's wrong?"

"Oh, man. I don't know what's happening to me." He said, sounding really troubled.

"Hey, come on. Let's just keep up with everybody." I said as we walked off to keep up with everybody.

From there, I was actually getting worried about Benson. I've never seen him like this. And I wasn't the only one that was worried about how Dave was seeing this.

[With AF3]

"So what is it you that you all do here, exactly?" I questioned Muckman as the tour was reaching an end.

"Well, the raccoons have a pretty basic schedule." Muckman told us as he explained. "Every day, they eat breakfast, work out, help each other with chores, work out, drink a post, work out, shake, work out, shake, and—at the end of the day—dance and work out to get their steps in."

"Sheesh, that's a lot of free time on your hands." I exclaimed, surprise to hear this.

"Yeah. It's basically the life these guys go by." Muckman said to me. "It's definitely different from what the humans down here do."

"And what do the humans do exactly?" I asked him.

"Oh, they help with repairs." He told me.

"What kind of repairs?"

"Oh, the basic stuff. Fixing up old equipment, patching holes in the roof, fixing up the pillars that keep the roof up. Sometimes they even work out with the raccoons."

"Well, we do have to keep in shape if you want to get some work done down here." said a voice as we all looked to see a man in a red and blue scavenger uniform walking over to us. He had short, spiky blue hair and yellow eyes. One could tell that he had been working out like the raccoons as his muscles made his uniform look tight on him.

"This here is Ken, the head foreman of the operation." Muckman said, introducing us to the man.

"Hey, everybody!" Ken greeted us in a friendly manner before he spoke to me. "Hey, I recognize that red tail anywhere. You're Fenyx's kid, aren't ya?"

"You know my father?" I asked him, surprised by him saying my father's name.

"Oh, sure. Me and old Fen go way back." Ken answered me. "We're practically buds."

"It's true." Uncle Donnie said to me as we looked to him. "In fact, Ken here was one of your father's old classmates when he was your age."

"Elder Donatello, sir!" Ken said, straightening up before bowing.

"Take it ease, Ken." Uncle Donnie said to him in a reassuring tone. "No need to bow. It is good to see you again."

"Good to see you too." Ken said to him as he straightened up again. "Welcome to Trash Canyon! It's not much, but we do manage to make a living here."

"Yeah. Good for you." Wolf said to him with a smile before she turned to Kipo with a serious look. "We should really find that lunch box and get out of here."

"Lunch box?" Ken asked, confused.

"They're looking for something that got lost down here." Muckman explained.

"Okay, well if it landed down here, I'm sure we can find it." Ken said.

"What does it look like?" Label asked us.

"It's red and it's got the symbol for Aries. He's a ram." Kipo answered, much to Wolf's dismay.

"It's like this small metal box with a handle on top." I said, giving more detail

"Small, red, metal box with a ram on it, got it." Muckman said before he looked to Ken. "Get a search party together. We got a wide area to look through."

"You got it, Muckman!" Ken said as he ran off to get a group together to search

Within minutes, Ken, the other scavengers who resided in Trash Canyon, and the raccoons started searching through the garbage, the raccoons being very eager to help. My fellow elementals (except for Kylo, obviously), Riku, Sora, Hotaru, Brandon, and even Uncle Donnie joined in to help with the search. Though Wolf was much into the idea of Wonderbeast helping us, the raccoons proved to be very helpful, especially in our time of need.

"Wow!" I said with a smile, impressed by what this community was doing for us. "With all these extra set of hands, we should be able to find it in no time."

"I know. Thanks, guys!" Kipo said to them before she looked to Wolf and walked to stand in front of her. "What an amazingly helpful community."

"Well, they do have Tribe members with them." I added. "Yet more proof that humans and Wonderbeast can peacefully coexist."

"I know what you're trying to do." Wolf said with that stern look in her eye.

"What?" Kipo said to her. "These super nice raccoons want to help. It's not their fault for being awesome and this shows you how communities, like Burrows, are also awesome."

"Along with the Tribe." I said, adding my own piece. "The kindness these guys show is the same kind that you can find in the Tribe."

"No one's this nice. I don't buy the whole innocent act." Wolf sternly stated. "It's only a matter of time before they turn us into Scarlemagne."

"Pff! No way!" Kipo scoffed, not believing the raccoons would double-cross us. "They have it too good down here."

"She's right, you know." I said to Wolf, backing Kipo up. "I mean, look at all of this." I motioned to the whole area, showing how these people managed to make a home in the Trash Pit. "They've honestly managed to create a home for them all. And this community consists of Wonderbeasts, Scavengers, and a mutant. It's clear that these raccoons don't have anything against humans."

"They're just hiding it." She said to me.

"Wolf, come on. You're just saying that because you're feeling conflicted."

"No, I'm not."

I chuckled at that response before I said "Oh, please! You're kind of too easy to figure out. I can read you like an open book."

"What's a book?"

"Why am I not surprised?" I said to myself before Kipo spoke up.

"Wolf, these guys are not gonna do anything bad to us. Come on, I'll show you." With that, we followed Kipo as she walked off to show that these raccoons were nice.

It was only a few minutes before Kipo led us to the area where we first met the raccoons and Muckman. The raccoons were doing a routine with some music playing, but it wasn't like the first time we saw them doing it. The music was slow and the raccoons didn't have as much energy as last time. In fact, they were way less excited in comparison to how they were before.

"Oh, that is just sad!" I heard Musa say in disgust, looking over to see her, Stella, Benson, and Dave looking at the whole mess. "Hey, where's the DJ?"

"I'm looking at her." Stella answered, giving her a knowing smile. "Come on, Muse. You know what to do."

With that, Musa went up to the DJ booth and switched the music out for something more upbeat, beginning to deejay and doing a good job of it.

"Alright! Squeeze them bums, work them glutes! Let's go! Let's go!" Dave said, getting some raccoons on excise bikes pumped up while my cousin and Benson manned the booth. "Squeeze them bums! Work them glutes! Let's go!"

With that, the raccoons regained their passion and began working out the way when we first met them. The energy in the room was so great that it even got Hikari, Aisha, and Nadu to join the aerobics group.

"Hey, isn't this…" Hikari asked.

"Like the dream Tad made for us?"

"Yeah, only for real!" Hikari said excitedly before Nadu spoke up.

"Hey, check out Benson!" Nadu exclaimed as we all looked to see Benson giving out some epic dance moves. "That guy sure knows how to bust a move!"

"You got that right!" Hikari added in agreement. "Whoo! Go, Benson! Go, Benson!"

"Get down with your bad self, brother!" Aisha exclaimed before Dave spoke out.

"Benson! Benson! Benson!" Dave's chanting soon got everybody there to started chanting his name. I then watched as Dave went over and did a fist bump with Benson. "Haha! Boom! There you go! "

"Yeah. This is pretty great." Benson said, not really sounding happy despite the smile.

"Great? More like epic!" Dave exclaimed proudly. "This is just like it was in Mulholland's sick house, only it's real!"

"It is and I should be just as happy, smiling and everything." Benson said before he became to exclaim in sadness. "But I don't know why it isn't working."

"Yo, Benson!" Musa called out, getting his attention. "Come on up here!" Confused at first, Benson soon went up and joined Musa in the DJ booth. "What's going on? Not enjoying the session?"

"What? No." Benson told her. "It's great. It's just…"

"Just what?" Musa said, curious as Benson seem reluctant to tell her anything. "Come on, it's cool. You can tell me." After a moment, Benson decided to speak.

"Well, it's just…" Benson started. "Remember when we were put into dreams by that Wonderbeast? Well, me and Dave had an epic dream and I was actually so happy. What you started here is just what happened there. I'm supposed to be happy right now, but…"

"You're not happy, are ya?" Musa guessed it right as Benson looked down with a look of depression. "Well, maybe this isn't what you want from your dream."

"What? What do you mean?" Benson was now confused by this.

"Take a look at the 'coons. Remember how they were a minute ago?"

"Yeah, they were all sad and tired."

"Unlike how they were when we first met them, huh?"

"Yeah, they were. And this haves to do with me… how?"

"Because it's practically the same problem you got there." Musa then started explaining. "You see, Benson, whatever we feel in dreams is only because it's been made to have what we want to make it like that. That's at least what I got from 3. Anyway, our best dreams that make us happy are ones that have all that we want to be happy. In real life, you never start out with everything you want to be happy. It's hard to make a dream real."

"Well, then I guess I won't be able to be that happy again, huh?"

"Benson, that's not what I'm saying. Look, the reason the 'coons were so pumped up was because, even though they had the same routine, they didn't have the right music. Every DJ knows that the beat of the music is always important. If the beat isn't right, you can instantly ruin the mood. Same thing can be said about yourself. If the beat isn't the way you want it, you won't get the same feeling."

"So you're saying there's nothing wrong with me? I'm just missing something?"

"Bingo!"

"Okay. So what exactly am I missing?"

"That, I can't help you with. That's something you need to do solo." Benson then looked down in depression. "Hey, don't be so glum. Much like how I figured out how to get these 'coons into the groove, I'm sure you'll find what you're missing. And I promise you'll be happy again." Seeing that reassuring smile of hers, I watched as Benson returned it as he was now feeling better.

"Whoo! Isn't this fun?" Kipo exclaimed as I turned to see her dancing near Wolf, the little warrior looking through the trash.

"Not really." Wolf answered her.

"Oh, come on!" She groaned in frustration. "You're not even trying!"

"Kipo, I'm sorry to say this, but nothing's gonna get Wolf to dance." I told her. "Like my Grandpa Lee once said 'There are people who dance, there are people who don't.' Wolf is just one of the people who don't dance."

"Well, what about you?" Kipo asked me.

"Well… I think I am?" I answered, unsure of what to say. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure how to dance." My fellow hybrid gasped in shock.

"You don't know how to dance?"

"Basically, yeah. I mean, I had a few moments when I was doing salvaging, but I've never actually done any real dancing. I heard it's supposed to come naturally in my family, that every Frank is able to dance from hearing even a bit of good music. But, for some reason, that hasn't really happened to me."

"Okay, that is something we defiantly got to work on."

"We should be looking for that lunch box." Wolf said, reminding us of what we came for.

"Why? So we can find my Burrow and you can leave much faster?" Kipo asked, her question striking something inside Wolf who stopped searching. "Wolf, you're my best friend. Is it that easy to say goodbye to me?"

"No." Wolf said as she turned to her.

"Then don't." Before Kipo could say anymore…

Crash!

Hearing that sound, we all turned to see what looked like two Mega Pigeons poking their heads right through the ceiling, both cawing away.

"Twin Beaks!" Ken yelled out as he and the rest of our group ran over to me, Kipo, Wolf. "Everyone, hide!" With that, Ken tackled the three of us into a trash pile while Uncle Donnie and the others ducked down in the trash with us. From there, everyone except for the raccoons (who kept on working out) went into hiding.

We all watched as the Megas eyed the raccoons, said Wonderbeasts continuing their activities like the pigeons weren't there and smiling nervously. We all looked in horror as two heads each snatched a raccoon up by their heads, Label being in between. The group and I gasped in shock as the two pigeons left, flying away with the raccoons.

"Bird! " Dave yelled out as we all came out of hiding and rushed over to the raccoons. "Stop! Stop!" They didn't listen to him and kept up their routine, leaving him in disbelief for not freaking out about what happened. "How are you still exercising?"

"Because we've barely broken a sweat!" Carton answered.

"How can you even think about exercising after what just happened?" I exclaimed in disbelief at what I was seeing. "Two Mega Pigeons just came in and ate two of your friends!"

"Actually it's just one Mega Pigeon." Ken said to me. "Twin Beaks just haves two heads."

"Twin Beaks?" I asked him. "You know that thing?"

"Yeah. Twin Beaks is the reason why me and the other Scavengers here don't actually leave this place." Ken told me as he explained. "Every now and then, it comes around to peck at the Trash Pit to find any food to eat, even Wonderbeasts or humans."

"It's been terrorizing us for years." Muckman said as he appeared and walked over to us. "It takes two people before it flies away, both here in Trash Canyon and up above."

"So that's what those Scavengers were talking about." Uncle Donnie said before he explained. "With Scavengers that return from the Trash Pit, they often told about a terrifying, carnivorous beast that attacks anyone who goes there. I thought they were only rumors and they just experienced something terrifying, but it seems they were actually talking about that Mega Pigeon."

"And that thing still keeps coming back to peck people out without us being able to do about it." Ken said with hopelessness.

"There's a lot you can do about it!" Kipo argued. "You can get rid of Twin Beaks!"

"You think we haven't tried?" Muckman said to her. "Years ago, I led a group to chase it away, but instead the innocent raccoons that were with me were eaten. Not even my own powers could stop it."

"So you guys seriously just sit around and let that thing take your friends?" Gordy asked Ken in disbelief, shocked that he and the other Scavengers didn't do anything to help the raccoons.

"What do you expect us to do?" Ken told him. "We're Scavengers, trained only to gather resources! We only how to avoid Mega Mutants, not fight them!"

"Were no match for Twin Beaks and that's okay." Tongue Depressor said with a troubled smile as if he was trying to force himself to do so. "Once you accept the world for what it is, and stop looking for what it could be, you find…peace."

"We'll miss Hotdog Bun and Rusted Can!" Carton yelled out. "Also Fish Bones, Dirty Diaper, and DJ Crowbar!"

"That's what happened to the DJ?!" Musa cried out in shock, having her earlier question answered.

"Yeah, and that was the fifth DJ that Twin Beaks took." Ken told us before he walked away. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to get some stitching crews to patch up those holes we got."

Watching him walk away, I was just shocked at the situation this community was in. Day after day, they had to be dealing with a Mega Mutant that would take some of their people and they're unable to do anything to stop it. What they were dealing with was just as bad as the Beast War raging on the surface.

We were lucky that we managed to escape Rabbecka and made it to the other side of the ruins to the forest and meet up with the others, Mandu following us.

As two groups of a few Scavengers were patching up the ceiling and the raccoons were taking a break with the rest of Scavengers (which they seemed to be using to grieve for the people they lost), the group and I tried to figure out our next course of action.

"I can't believe this." Caldwell exclaimed in disbelief. "How can they live like this?"

"Yeah, living down here is like an actual Hell." Brook added, agreeing with him.

"Well, can you blame them?" Uncle Donnie said. "That thing has no doubt brought nothing but pain and strife. Without seeing much of a way to change this, they're all pretty much without hope."

"Yeah, and they're all too chicken to even fight back." Aurico added. "Seeing how they only have one person who actually knows how to take on a Mega Mutie, I don't think they have much of a chance in getting rid of that bird."

"Well, how about we change those odds?" Kipo spoke out. "Wolf, I know you're going to object, but we have to help these raccoons."

"Yeah, I agree." Wolf said, surprising all of us.

"Really?" She then gained a bright smile. "Does that mean you've changed your mind about being part of a community?"

"No." Wolf clarified as she stood up. "It means, if we don't help them, we can't find that lunch box when a giant bird could eat us at any moment."

"Oh." Kipo said before she stood up, temporarily losing her smile for a brief moment before it returned. "But we're on the same page about Twin Beaks. And, if this is the last thing we do together, let's make it fun."

"But, before we can put any plan into action, we're gonna need to get some help." I said as I got to my feet. "Not sure the Miraculous or ninjitsu can be able to help after the last we faced off with a Mega, especially since some of our elementals can't use the full extent of their powers and that we only got like four extra fighters." Mandu then snorted in anger that excluded her from the group. "Sorry, five. Anyway, if we're gonna pull this off, we're going to need Muckman and his community." With that, Wolf spoke out to the community, getting their attention.

"Everyone, listen up!" Wolf said to them. "A place doesn't make you safe. You make it safe. You're only helpless and weak if you let yourself be." As she continued, she began pacing. "Yes, Twin Beaks is huge, scary, horrifying, but we're smarter. We can take him. Who's with me?" There was a moment of silence until Ken spoke up.

"Guys, while encouraging as you might be," he said to us. "I'm afraid I'll speak for all of us that we can't actually help you. Really, we're sorry."

"Looks like it's just us then." Aurico said before Wolf spoke to them.

"If you won't help us, at least tell us where we can find Twin Beaks." Wolf said to them.

"You're not seriously thinking of taking that thing on by yourselves." Ken said, shocked by this.

"Nothing around here is safe as long as that Mega Mutant is still around." Wolf said to him. "We are going to get rid of it, with or without you."

"Well, if you guys are really going for it." Muckman said as he stepped up. "I'll show you where that flying rat likes to roost."

"Then lead the way." I said to him as we all followed Muckman.

After a while, Muckman led us back into the ruins until we stopped in front of an old building with a metal stairwell leading to the roof.

"Okay, this is as far as I go." He said to us. "Go up there and you'll see the great pit of despair."

"You're not coming with us?" Gordy asked him.

"As much as I would want to help, I still got my people to look after." He told us. "They need me."

"We understand. Thank you, Grunge." Uncle Donnie said to him before Muckman took his leave back to the Trash Pit. With that, he then spoke to the rest of us. "Come on, everyone. Let's go find us a pigeon."

After getting onto the roof, we looked to find ourselves with a good view of the street below. We all went into hiding when Benson spoke up.

"There's a Twin Beaks." Benson whispered as we looked to find the Mega Pigeon perched on a telephone wire, its weight pulling it down while bending the two poles attached to it. It was miraculous that it didn't break those poles as the wire was on the ground.

"Figures." Uncle Donnie said, commenting on where the Mega Mutant was at. "Back then, birds always loved hanging on telephone wires. Seems that's now become an instinct."

"Yeah, that's good to hear, Uncle Donnie." Gordy said, sarcastically.

"Well, now we know where he is," Aurico said, question on what our next course of action will be, "how exactly are going to get rid of that bird?"

We then watched as Twin Beaks cawed and Aurico groaned out while shielding his eyes.

"Rico, what's wrong?" I asked him, confused by his behavior.

"Something down there is shining the sun in my eyes." He told me before I then looked over to see that was something shine light up at us.

It wasn't long until I could see that it was a mirror of a car reflecting the sun. No doubt Twin Beaks got it stuck in its feathers when it took those raccoons. Twin Beaks saw it before it cawed again, both its heads tried to go down to where the mirror was before they bumped into each other, causing the Mega Mutant to fall to the ground. Looking to Wolf, I saw she had a smile on her face as she no doubt came up with a way for us to get rid of Twin Beaks.

"Oh!" Kipo said, noticing the look on Wolf. "Do you have a plan? That's your 'I have a plan' face."

"I have a plan." Wolf said with a light laugh. "But we're going to need those raccoons."

"Because, if we can't convince them…" Benson said, quickly catching on to the idea.

"We can trick them." Aurico finished, seeing what Wolf was planning.

"Sounds risky, but it's our best shot." I said in admittance. "But first, we need to plot this out. What do you got, Wolf?"

After we got the strategy all figured out, we went back to Trash Canyon to get help from the Scavengers. Wolf saw that we couldn't convince the raccoons or Muckman to take up the fight, but we could have the Scavengers help us trick them into helping us. Naturally, we decided to have a talk with Ken as he could convince the others to help us out. After finding him, he spared some time to talk to us.

"So you want me and the other Scavengers here to help you trick the raccoons into going with your plan?" He questioned us after we told him our plan. "Did you not hear what Muckman told you what happened last time?"

"I know it might seem crazy, but we can't get rid of that Mega without the community's help." I told him. "He also told us that these raccoons do know how to stand up for themselves."

"Those raccoons he talked about were trained by Muckman back when he wanted to fight Twin Beaks." He said to me. "After what happened that day, he went on to try his best to keep all of us safe. The raccoons we have now are just as just like me and all the Scavengers down here. None of them are experienced in combat."

"That doesn't mean we can't show them how. You guys might not have the experience to fight against a Mega, but we do. Look, I know you might be afraid for what will happen, but you know that your community can't live like this. If you want this madness to stop, then help us. We can't do this without you. Please." Ken looked at us as he put some thought into it, trying to decide on what he should do. It was only a moment of silence later that he spoke again.

"Do you really think there's a chance to get rid of that bird?"

"If we all work together, I think there is." I told him with a reassuring smile. "Just need to have a little faith."

He took a brief moment before he said "Okay, what did you have in mind?"

With that, we then explained the plan to him. After doing so, he went on to gather up his fellow Scavengers and was able to convince them to help us. Apparently, they all wanted to help protect their community too. After Ken got all the Scavengers on board, we then explained the plan and divided up into groups, three of them went on to trick the raccoons into helping while the rest went on to prepare to take on Twin Beaks.

[With Aurico, Gordy, Kylo, Stella, and Dave]

After getting our groups set up, me, Gord, Stell, Kylo, Dave, and a couple of the Scavengers went on to get some raccoons to help us set up some ropes, using some old clothes to make them.

"Hey, guys! Perfect timing." I said to Label and another buff raccoon that were walking by, me and the others working on the ropes. "Mind helping us out? There's this workout we've been wanting to try."

"Workout, huh? Yeaaaaaah!" Label answered as she and her fellow raccoon came over, interested in helping us. "Of course, we're in!"

[With Benson, Caldwell, Brandon, and Nadu]

After splitting off, me and the guys went on to the yoga class to get some of the raccoons there into position for our part of the plan.

"You're like a majestic redwood, T.D." I said to Tongue Depressor as we did some yoga together. "But how zen would it be to do tree pose on top of a tree?" I could tell he was into the idea and gave a thumbs up to the guys that we were getting our part of the plan into action.

[With Kipo, Wolf, Brook, Thora, Hikari, and Musa]

With the other two set up, it was now up to the rest of us to lure in Twin Beaks. While Carton and some of the raccoons were doing their usual workouts, the others and I came up to the front, each of us holding up a mirror.

"Have you ever tried running with...mirrors?" Wolf asked them.

"It is a good workout." Musa said to them.

"Yeah, a mirror is like a sparkle weight!" I said to the raccoons, backing up Musa. "You burn way more calories!" It wasn't long until the raccoons then each grabbed a mirror of their own, buying it all as an exercise.

[With AF3]

While everyone was preparing the raccoons, Hotaru, Riku, Sora, Uncle Donnie, and I were helping the Scavengers prepare for Plan B just in case something went wrong. Each of the Scavengers got some materials to make some weapons for themselves, mostly making spears and bats. Ken was one that actually impressed me with how he created his weapon. On the rooftop outside and with a decent-sized metal pole on the side, I watched Ken sharpen different pieces of scrap metal with the use of a wet stone, something that Uncle Donnie was surprised the Scavenger managed to find. I was surprised by this as well. Then again, he was living in a dump, so he could find anything if people and Wonderbeasts threw away anything they didn't need. Once they were all sharp enough, he got to work. Using some old rusted barb wire and other materials, he began to tie all the sharp-edged pieces into one single blade. Then, using the leftovers, he secured the edge of the weapon to the end of the pole, forming it into a spear.

With his weapon complete, in case he needed to use it, he gave it a few swings. With me and Uncle Donnie nodding in approval of this makeshift weapon, we all then looked in the direction of the cave and spotted Kipo, Wolf, Brook, Thora, Hikari, and Musa running out with the mirrors and raccoons in tow.

"Looks like Plan A's already in action." Sora commented as we watched it all.

"And we all got Plan B ready just in case." Riku told us, showing our group of Scavengers were ready to fight.

"Alright." I said before I took a breath and prepared a mixtape. "Let's do this!"

With that, I put on Go All The Way by Raspberries before we all then began running across the rooftops, jumping and landing across to each one. We knew what we had to do and kept close to the others. The Scavengers managed to impress me by how they were keeping up with me and the others. I had to guess all those exercises with the raccoons gave them enough strength and stamina to keep up with ninjas and someone with Wonderbeast abilities like me.

[With Kipo]

Going down through an alleyway, me and the others let the raccoons run past us before we joined with them. Our plan was actually working as Twin Beaks was right behind us thanks to the mirrors reflecting the sun and attracting him. It cawed in annoyance before it began to chase them on foot.

"That's it!" Wolf said with a smirk as Twin Beaks chased us on foot. "Run hard and stay together!"

"Is there something behind us?" Carton asked as she caught up with us.

"No!" I said to her, trying to lie.

"Maybe?" Thora said, sounding unsure of things.

"Yep!" Wolf told her, doing the opposite and scaring Carton. "It's Twin Beaks!"

"But we told you we can't do this!" Carton yelled out.

"Yes, you can!" I said to her, knowing that what she said wasn't true. "We believe in you! Plus, it's too late to back out now!"

"Yeah, Twin Beaks is right on our tail!" Musa told her.

"Now run like your lives depend on it because they do!" Wolf cried out as we turned right. When we did, one of the raccoons tripped. Luckily, one of the Scavengers managed to come around and help her escape Twin Beaks.

[With Benson]

After getting to some telephone poles, me and the guys each held out our ends of the make-shift rope line that Aurico and his group made for us.

"This, really isn't a tree." Tongue Depressor said, sounding nervous as we stood on the poles while doing tree pose.

"No, but it has the energy of a tree." I told him. "Don't you feel it? I know I do." Hearing some cawing, I looked to see Kipo and her group being chased by Twin Beaks with Axel and his group following them from the rooftops. Seeing that Tongue Depressor was about to turn and see it, I decided to distract him. "Look! We're two mighty evergreens connected by a heartstring." I tugged on the rope, diverting the raccoon's attention away from the others.

"Your truth is beautiful, Benson." T.D. said, clueless on what was going on. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

[With Aurico]

As me and the guys were walking over to see how Benson and the others were, we looked to see him give us a thumbs up with the ropes tied to the telephone poles. With that, Dave then went ahead and hammer in a stake at the right spot with an old hammer we found, using his strong arm.

"Ready to get super ripped?" He said to Label and the other raccoons with us. "Let's see if you can pull those bands around this stake."

"Ohhh!" Label said as she took this as a challenge. "Targeting my delts. Nice!" Running up, her friend helped her jump into the air, grabbing the rope and pulling it down with all her might. Unfortunately, she was a little trouble with getting it down. As if on cue, Dave went into his muscle form.

"Whoa!" Label said in awe. "You are so much more balanced!"

"Allow me." Dave said before he twitched and fell back, shedding out of his muscle body and becoming an old man bug.

"Seriously?" Gordy said, just annoyed by this as me. "Talk about bad timing."

"Oh! Uh… that was weird!" Label cried out, weirded out by seeing Dave's sudden change for the first time. Pushing it aside and through the struggle, she finally put the rope around the stake.

"Awesome, Label!" Gordy said to the raccoon as the others slid down from the poles and came over to us.

Nearby Benson slid off the pole with a rope at hand.

"Great job, everyone." He said as he took an extra rope and tied it around the stake. "Now hide!" After that, we all ran behind a building as Benson used the signal, whistling with two fingers in his mouth.

[With Kipo]

"That's our signal!" Wolf yelled out, hearing the whistle. "Bring it home!" With our plan now set in motion, me and the others began to lead the raccoons where we needed to go.

"Aaaaah! Twin Beaks!" Carton screamed as she ran right past us.

"That's the spirit! " I then did a battle cry and Wolf did the same thing. Despite the situation we were in, the two of us couldn't help but laugh. As we got to the spot, we threw the mirrors behind, making them shatter all while we hid.

[With AF3]

After Kipo and her group went into hiding, Twin Beaks saw he lost them before going back in his spot. Seeing this we all got into position, my group and I ready to strike at Twin Beaks in case the stake didn't work. Though, as we all readied ourselves, Ken then spotted a better spot in an old apartment complex. Following him, we jumped over and began to climb up. Now it was all set. We had the bird right where we wanted him. Nothing seemed to go wrong until…

"The lunch box!" I heard Kipo say before I then looked over and saw her running towards Twin Beaks As she said this, fur suddenly sprouted in her legs.

"Kipo!" I said, shocked by my fellow hybrid's actions.

"What is she doing?" Ken said, shocked and confused by this.

"Let's get to the roof quick!" I told him as we then increased our speed to the top of the building.

Looking back at Kipo, I saw she was moving fast than normal and it didn't take me long to realize that her Wonderbeast genes were acting up again, giving her an increase in speed. Twin Beaks spotted Kipo approaching and tried pecking her, but she swiftly dodged the incoming barrage from the two heads and slide underneath the pigeon, coming out on the other side and avoiding another peck. As I looked back, I then realized why she ran at the Mega Mutant like that when I saw the lunch box in her hands. I had to guess that it got caught in Twin Beaks' feathers when he attacked Trash Canyon. Though she was happy she got the next clue left by her father, she lost her smile when she looked down at her legs and gained a look of shock. Knowing how Wonderbeast genes work for a hybrid, I had no doubt she was shocked by the fact that there was fur on her legs. She nearly got pecked into the ground if Benson didn't get her out of the way. Seeing how dire the situation had become, I became more determined to reach the roof and call the attack for Plan B.

[With Kipo]

Even though Benson saved me and I got the lunch box, I was still freaking out about the new fur I got on my legs.

"Benson!" I whispered to him as I readjusted my sleeve and pant legs. "It's my arm and my legs this time!"

"I know, I saw." He told me.

Looking ahead, we saw Dave (who turned into an old bug) standing in front of us, guessing he came to check on Benson. It wasn't long until Twin Beaks came right over to him.

"Wait, you're not Benson." He said before he got eaten.

"Nooo!"

"It's okay, it's okay!" Benson told me. "Dave's been eaten before. My man does not go down easy. Watch." The pigeon then began to hack as if it was choking on something.

"We're missing our chance!" Wolf yelled out as Twin Beaks continued to hack away.

"Any second now!" Benson said before Twin Beaks coughed up Dave (who became a baby) and Wolf caught him.

"Now!" She said and Label tried to pull the stake out of the ground, but the line snapped before she could.

"No!" She said as she looked at the broken line and back at the stake. Though, surprisingly, she then got on all fours and dashed over to where the stake was planted and tried to pull it out, all while Twin Beaks turned around. "This is for DJ Crowbar!" Just like that, she pulled up the stake. With that, the stake went flying at Twin Beaks, knocking the pigeon to the ground.

"Twin Beaks is down!" Carton said before she and the other raccoons cheered. Though we didn't get much time to celebrate as the pigeon got back up, one of its heads hanging around with blood gushing from it.

[With AF3]

Seeing Twin Beaks was still alive, we were all shocked as the Mega screeched at Label.

"Crap! The stake didn't work!" Ken said, shocked by this. "Twin Beaks is still squawking!"

"Okay, guess the plan didn't go accordingly." I said as I looked at how Twin Beaks was thanks to the stake. "But I think we got more of a chance now with Plan B. Without a second head, it's just an oversized bird."

When Twin Beaks tried to take off, Ken and I jumped from the roof and got on the Mega Pigeon. With me using my claws and Ken using his spear, we managed to damage Twin Beaks' wings and send him crashing back into the street. Getting off him and ready to set Plan B into action, Ken and I readied ourselves for the battle as we stood in front of Twin Beaks.

"Now!" I called out, my group then moving in as Twin Beaks got back up and charged at us.

[With Kipo]

Watching the fight between Axel, his group, and Twin Beaks, I was amazed by how well they were doing. It seemed like they could actually win, especially after the raccoons decided to join in. They practically had Twin Beaks up against the wall. But, just when it seemed like they were winning, Ken got eaten and Twin Beaks managed to beat them, smacking them all away and making them drop their weapons. I saw the pigeon get ready to peck at them. I was gonna look away when…

"Hey, birdbrain!" Looking over, I saw Muckman standing there with an angry look on his face. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Twin Beaks then started running over to him.

While the pigeon was running, this sudden wind came around and some kind of twister appeared around us. Just like that, all of the weapons the Scavengers had started floating in the air as Muckman lifted his arms. After a while, Muckman yelled out and thrust his arms forward, causing all the weapons to go flying right at Twin Beaks. With all the weapons pinned to it, Twin Beaks stopped running and collapsed. After he did, Muckman lowered his arms and the wind disappeared. Though it looked like Twin Beaks was done, it was only a few minutes before it started getting back up. But, before it even attacked, Axel came around and jumped right onto its back, taking one spear before stabbing right into Twin Beaks' head. With blood spurted out, the pigeon screeched as it fell right in front of Muckman. Everybody was both shocked and surprised that he actually did that.

"Muckman, is Twin Beaks…" Label said as Muckman examined the bird.

"It's dead." Muckman told her before a spear came out of Twin Beaks' stomach and cut it open. Out from the cut, Ken came popping right out, panting like he was tired while covered in blood.

"Ken!" Carton said as she ran over to him and hugged him.

"Oh! Did we win?" Ken asked her.

"Yeah, we won! Twin Beaks is gone!" She told him before the other raccoons cheered out for Twin Beaks was finally out of their lives for good.

"Great job, 3!" Rico said as he walked over to his cousin. "You got him!" It was at that moment that we all looked to Axel as he starting to pant like Ken. "3?"

After about two minutes, Axel turned around and actually snarled at him, glaring at him with eyes that were a mix of his dragon eyes and a pair of blue cat eyes. We all gasped as he growled at Rico, using the same growl he made back at Rat Land.

"Uh-oh!" Brandon said with fear. "Not again!"

"He's gone full beast! Run for your lives!" Caldwell yelled out in fright.

"Already running!" Brook exclaimed as he and Caldwell ran off to hiding.

"Whoa! 3, hey!" Rico said as I looked back to Axel walking over to him on his hands and feet, Rico backing away as Axel flashed his teeth at him. "What are you doing? Easy!" They both stopped as Axel then roared at him, making Rico trip and fall to the ground. Afraid of what he was going to do, I ran over and got in between Rico and Axel.

"Axel, stop!" I said to him as he looked at me. "Don't hurt him!" Just then, Axel roared at me before he then pounced me to the ground. Looking at him and hearing him growl, I was starting to get scared as Axel kept me pinned and flashed his fangs at me. "Axel, it's me! Kipo, your friend!" It was only a moment before he groaned and shook his head bit, like he was waking up.

"Kipo?" Axel said as he looked at me with shock, his eyes back to normal. It wasn't long until he got off me and helped me back up. "Kipo, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." I told him, knowing it wasn't his fault. "I know you didn't mean to."

"Okay, what the heck was that?" Benson asked, shocked and confused by what Axel was doing.

"That was the beast." Rico said as he got up and dusted himself off. "The animal side of 3. Not the kind you want to mess with, trust me."

[With AF3]

A little while after we defeated Twin Beaks, Muckman and his community were thanking us for helping them get rid of that bird.

"Thanks, you guys." Muckman said to us. "You really saved our butts."

"Yes, very much." Tongue Depressor added. "We owe you our deepest gratitude."

"And now Twin Beaks' gone, the raccoons will be safe and the Scavengers can be able to head home." Aurico said to them.

"Actually, about that," Ken said to us, speaking for his fellow Scavengers, "I think we're gonna stay at Trash Canyon."

"Really?" Carton said to him, surprised by this. "What about your Tribe?"

"Well, I do miss my family and my friends. We all do." Ken said. "But we'll miss the friends we made here as well. Plus, I've been thinking. Seeing as how we could make a home there, I thought we could make our own Tribe there." He then looked to Muckman. "That is, if you're okay with it, Muckman."

"Go on ahead." Muckman said to him, approving the idea. "I think it's about time to come out of hiding and lend a hand to the other good folks of Las Vistas."

"And, if another Mega Mutant like Twin Beaks shows up, you know what to do." Wolf said to the community with a proud smile.

"More than that, we know we can." Tongue Depressor said to her. "Our minds had to believe before we could achieve."

"You're like our heroes!" Label said before the group and I were then raised into the air, the community jumping and cheering in victory.

Looking around, I couldn't help but smile to see the community celebrating in victory. I laughed when I saw Kipo and Wolf's attempt to fist-bump one another.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." Wolf said with a look of discomfort.

"That's what makes it fun." Kipo said to her with a smile.

"Hey, Rico." I then looked to see Benson holding Dave while talking to Aurico. "Remember that feeling I was chasing? I think I just got it. Guess it means something when you earn the cheers."

"Glad to see you out of your funk, dude." Aurico told him with a proud smile.

"Seriously, kid. Thanks." Ken said as I looked down at him smile at me. "If you hadn't come around and got us to fight, we would still be living with Twin Beaks terrorizing us."

"No problem." I told him. "But it wasn't just me that saved this community. It was the courage you and the Scavengers showed that saved your home and the ones who live in it. And it's that kind of courage of which makes a hero." With that, I then held out my hand for a fist bump and he gladly accepted it.

After the celebration, the group and I said goodbye to Muckman and the community as they went on their way home. With all this, it was now time to see what clue Mr. Oak left for us.

"What are you waiting for? Open it." Wolf said to Kipo as she held up the lunch box.

"Huh?" Kipo was confused after she opened the box. Watching her take out what was inside, I saw that it was only a pair of white glasses with a single blue lens.

"A pair of glasses?" Chris said as Kipo put them on, confused by this. "Is that all that's in there?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what these are for." She said, unsure of what they were for.

"Hold on, those aren't ordinary glasses." Uncle Donnie said as he took a look at the glasses. "Those are 3D glasses!"

"3-what?" I asked him in confusion.

"3D. It's short or '3-dimensional'." He explained. "They're a relic from the old world. And, by the looks of them, it would appear that these are the first standard model."

"Okay, so what are they for?"

"Well, they were used for making images appear 3-dimensional, making them appear as if the real thing was right in front of you."

"How does that work?" Gordy asked him.

"You see that blue lens on the glasses?" he answered. "That's part of how 3D glasses work. You see, for just about every living being, their view on things is made by triangulation of perception. 3D glasses are designed to cause the 3D effect. 3D images are laced with overlaying patterns of two colors, red and blue being the most commonly used for 3D glasses. When the wearer looks at the image through the glasses to overlay the two colors into a singular view. It's the same principle of being cross-eyed and you see two of the same thing or person. With that overlay, the image then appears to be projected off the surface it is on, almost as if it was in front of the wearer."

"Whoa! That's pretty cool!" Aurico said, impressed by this.

"Hold on." Stella said, looking confused. "Those glasses only have one lens. Not really much 3D unless everything is blue."

"Maybe that's the point." I said as I realized what the clue meant. "The lens is made to make anything of its color stand out, right? So the Burrow must have been marked and the glasses show where it is."

"But where do we go?" Brook said. "We don't know how exactly those things can show where the Burrow is."

"Maybe… it's because we're not looking in the right place." Benson spoke up as he walked over. It didn't take us to realize that we already knew the right location to use the glasses: the sign at the edge of the Trash Pit.

After making our way back to the sign, I then gave Kipo a boost to help her climb and she got on top of it in a few minutes.

"What do you see, Kipo?" I asked her as she put on the glasses and looked out into the distance.

"I see… a couple of dogs." She told me and I knew where she was looking.

"That's Mega Dog Valley." I said to her. "Heard it was home to three Mega Dogs."

"Awww! Such little cuties!" Kipo cooed as she kept on looking. "I've always wanted to pet one!"

"Little?" Wolf said in disbelief. "They're fifty feet tall!"

"Yeah, not the same kind of dogs you see in old books." Aurico added.

"See anything else?" I asked her.

"No… Wait!" She said before she gasped. She then took off the glasses for a moment before putting them back on. "The second Clover." She then got excited and raised her arms in the air. "Guys, that's it! We found it!"

"Really? We found your Burrow?" I said, feeling a mix of excitement and surprise as Kipo slid down the pole and landed back on the ground.

"Yes, I saw the clover symbol through these." She answered, holding the glasses close to her. "My dad and people are over there."

"In Mega Dog Valley?" Aurico said in shock. "No wondering Scarlemagne didn't find them."

"Yeah, nobody in their right mind would go anywhere with a bunch of Mega Muties running around." Gordy said with a chuckle.

"If your dad expects us to get in there." Wolf commented as she spoke to Kipo. "He's just as crazy as you are."

"Okay, now I know that Mr. Oak and Fenyx are friends." Uncle Donnie said as we looked to him. "He's just as crazy as the original Axel. Might be how those two got along."

"It might be crazy, but we've made it this far and we're so close to our goal." I said, feeling more confident about this. "If there's a will, there's a way. We'll figure it out somehow."

"Yeah, we will." Kipo said as we felt a gentle breeze pass by. She then looked over to Wolf and as she gained a look of worry. "Once we get there, is that…really going to be it for us, Wolf?"

Wolf gave it some thought before she then said "Not sure… Going to have to take look first."

"What?" Kipo as she and I were both surprised by what she said.

"Burrows are stupid." Wolf said to her. "But I guess, if I'm with you, it could be fun."

"Wolfatha Christie the 4th, that's the sweetest thing you've ever said." Kipo said, gaining a few tears of joy before wiping them away.

"So I guess you might not come back to the Tribe, huh?" I said to her.

"You said that you need someone like me to help you out, right?" She said to me. "If I choose to stay in a Burrow, I'll try to visit your Tribe to teach you a thing or two about survival."

"Thanks, Wolf. That's really kind of you." I said before deciding on what to do next. "Oh, what the heck? Come here!" From there, I then grabbed her into a hug, taking her by surprise as the others cheered.

"Woo-hoo! Wolf's going to the Burrow!" Benson cheered as Kipo did a cartwheel.

"No promises." Wolf said, gain a smile. "Much like the Tribe, if I hate it, I'm leaving."

Kipo then hugged me and Wolf, taking me by surprise as she kept jumping happily. Yet another surprise came as Wolf returned the hug to me and Kipo. Though this touching moment was short-lived when Wolf took Kipo's sleeve off, revealing the Burrow girl's fur-covered arm. The sight of this made Wolf gasp in shock.

"Oh, boy." I said as I put Wolf down and went to stand beside Kipo, feeling worried as the little warrior looked at her in shock.

"Um…" Kipo said, gripping her arm nervously as her secret had been revealed. "Wolf, I'm sorry. I've been meaning to try and tell you about this. A-at first, when it was happening, it was like—Ker-poof! What?" Wolf was now backing up slowly, but I knew it was not of shock, but fear instead. "After Rat Land, my vision from Mulholland, and from what Axel and the others told me… I'm part… Wonderbeast."

"You're… a Wonderbeast?" Wolf asked in disbelief.

"I'm still me." Kipo then held out her hand, causing Wolf to flinch. "What is it?" I was getting worried as Wolf kept backing up and I knew Kipo was too. "Wolf, talk to me." Wolf didn't and instead ran off and bumped into me, flinching away and keeping her distance before she tripped on a rock and fell.

"I… I…" Wolf said, shaking at this revelation. "No!" Just like that, she then began to run away, leaving all of us in shock. With seeing Kipo on the verge of tears, I knew what I had to do and I looked to the others to see they were going to do the same.

After seeing Wolf just leave like that, I was both hurt and afraid that I may have lost Wolf as a friend.

"Guys?" I said, hoping to get some comfort.

"We'll get her back, Kipo. I promise." Axel said to me before he looked to the others. "Come on!" With that, he and the others ran off after Wolf.

"It's gonna be okay. She just needs a little time to process." Benson said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "Like Axel said, we'll get her back. Here." He then gave Dave to me before he went off with the others. "Wolf! Wolf, stop!"

"Wolf, come back!" Caldwell yelled out.

"Just listen to what she has to say!" Axel added, but Wolf kept on running. Being alone with Dave, I then watched as the fur on my arm went away at the worst time.

"Great. Now it goes away." I said to myself before something came in and wrapped around me, covering my mouth to keep me from calling for help. As I tried to get out, I looked and was shocked to see it was Jamack.

"He-heh." He chuckled with a smug look on his face. "Burrow girl."

Author's Note: Hey, guys! Sorry it took me so long. Finals week is coming around for my winter quarter of college and I had some stuff to take care of. I also got my second vaccine shot so I was a little disabled for a bit. I hoped you like the chapter. Don't worry about Muckman. This isn't gonna be the only time that AF3 and his friends work with him. And if you're wondering about AF3's inner beast, that will be explained later on. 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!