Definitely the conclusion of the "Lousy Day" arc XD The kids are about to retrieve the loot, but in order to get back home they must first survive another encounter with their most dangerous foe.


Jumping down from the vent, Ryan and Lynn landed inside the suite.

Ryan stood up and placed his hand on his hips. "Man, the things you can afford when you have money?" he said in admiration of the place and glanced at the window. "And some view? I think I can see the Great Lakes on the horizon?"

"Focus, let's make this snappy." Lynn reminded him sternly, keeping her voice down.

"No need to be pushy, this is as good as done." Ryan nodded and they walked towards the other end of the room, past the sliding door. There they found the dresser with six drawers they had seen earlier to the right, under a huge flat-screen TV, and the nightstand to the left next to the two-person bed.

"I can't think of any other place he could have stashed them?" Lynn assessed while inspecting the room. "They must be in one of those."

"Then you check the nightstand." Ryan pointed over his shoulder before pointing ahead. "I'll look through here."

"Gotcha." Lynn nodded and went ahead. Ryan kneeled next to the dresser but the moment he opened the first drawer, they heard the doorknob moving.

"Hide." Lynn told him and they swiftly hid from sight. Humming, Dufresne walked out, now sporting hair curlers on his head.

"Can't have a bath without some soothing jazz music." He said to himself in a sing-song voice and grabbed a CD player which he had left on the dresser. He returned to the bathroom and closed the door, at which point Lynn pulled back the window curtains to take a peek.

"Pfftt….what a fop." She snarked. Ryan poked his head from the other side of the curtains.

"Maybe, but that's actually not a bad tune." The boy noted idly as they heard the slow jazz playing inside the bathroom.

"Whatever, we'll buy you a copy. Come on!" Lynn wasted no time getting back on track.

Ryan darted towards the dresser and started opening the drawers. "Nothing. Zilch. Nadda. Em-"

"Damn, this thing is locked too." Lynn complained while trying to open the two drawers on the nightstand. Ryan looked at her.

"Locked? That's telling." He noted happily. "Go find the key; I'll help ya in a sec. That's probably where he keeps those applications."

Lynn did so, and after finding squat in the last two drawers, Ryan quickly aided her in searching the premise.

"Got it!" Lynn soon found it on the table on the other side of the room and they swiftly returned to the nightstand. Lynn unlocked both drawers. "Kay, I'll search top, you search bottom."

"Why do I always gotta be bottom?" Ryan complained jokingly, earning an intense glare from his partner. "Just kidding, yeesh."

But the second they opened their respective drawers, the doorknob moved again. Lynn and Ryan hastily closed them and ducked for cover.

Dufresne came out, now in a towel, and headed past the sliding door towards the table to pick up a scented candle. "Silly me, I can't possibly unwind without the lavish scent of lavender." He laughed to himself and walked back, when Ryan poked his head from behind a closet.

The man picked up some matches from the dresser, lit the candle and soon closed the bathroom door again. At that point, a dusty Lynn crawled out from beneath the bed, coughing and cleaning the dust bunnies and cobwebs off her.

"Agh! The maids at this place oughta be fired." She lamented and returned to the drawers.

"Don't be so glum, you're doing remarkably well for your first day. Very quick reflexes you got there." Ryan quipped as he arrived and started inspecting his drawer.

Lynn huffed with pride. "You act surprised? What did ya expect from a star athlete?"

"Though you still gotta learn how to spot a good hiding place on the fly." Ryan teased her as he flicked a big spider off her webbed-up arm. Lynn grumbled but immediately started searching the top drawer.

"Ugh…there's gotta be fifty applications in here."

"Just look for one that's a lot fatter…with mula." Ryan shrugged, Lynn rolled her eyes.

"Hold your horses." Something dawned on Ryan. "Your mom's envelope probably isn't with them?"

Lynn froze before screaming inwardly. "Of course, only an idiot would keep a tone of cash amongst a gazillion other worthless documents." She realized much to her dismay. "But where could it be?"

Ryan pondered and stroked his chin. "Ah! There's only place a sensible person would hide five grand while still being able to sleep soundly." He concluded and walked towards the bed. He lifted a pillow and sure enough, he found a bulbous envelope. Seeing it, Lynn felt positively ecstatic.

"Rita Loud?" Ryan read the name of the sender. "Yup, we got it."

"Score!" Lynn pumped her fists with unhinged joy and high-fived her partner. But then the doorknob moved yet again.

"Agh! What now!" Lynn ranted as they scrambled to shove all the envelopes back into the drawers and close them before heading for cover.

A drenched Dufresne walked out in a towel. "I can't believe I forgot Mr. Quackers?" he joked to himself and searched the room. "Now where could he be?"

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me?" Ryan ranted inwardly, currently wedged between the wall and the back of a sofa. He remained motionless as Dufresne walked past him, before standing up to take a cautious peek.

Unfortunately, Lynn hadn't been so quick and was currently pressed behind a wall, very much exposed. She grew stiff as she heard footsteps coming closer. Dufresne stopped just inches away from her and scratched his head, unaware of the ninja standing just to his left. Luckily, he opted to go right and inspect the table.

Sighing inwardly, Lynn acted quickly and commando rolled past him and hid behind the curtains once more. Dufresne heard a slight flap of the curtains but didn't think anything of it.

"Where is Mr. Quackers? I need to stop being so callous with my most valued possessions."

Lynn stood motionless until she noticed something yellow in the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly and saw a rubber ducky on the window frame.

"Oh, please don't let that be what he's looking for….." she grumbled inwardly as she heard footsteps right in front of her.

"I'm sure I saw him somewhere near the window?" Dufresne wondered while inspecting the window frame. Not too far away, Ryan could see Lynn's feet standing behind the curtains and facepalmed.

"Stay calm; just nudge it to the left." Composing herself, Lynn started slowly pushing the duck away from the curtains and herself. Unfortunately, the duck slipped and hit the floor. Lynn froze as she heard it bouncing off it, making a quack with each landing.

Dufresne turned around and found what he was looking for on the floor. "There you are?" he smiled and crouched down to pick it up when it suddenly dawned on him. "Wait? How did you suddenly appear there?" Dufresne mused while holding the bath toy when he noticed a pair of black boots in front of him, partially obscured by the curtains. His eyes widened.

"What the?" he instinctively pulled the curtains. But before he could see the owner of the boots, a bed sheet was pulled over him. Lynn filched as she was caught in the act only to find the man on the ground and in a chokehold.

"Wrap him up!" she saw Ryan tossing her his rope while he was holding the pageant judge down. Lynn didn't think twice and did as she was told.

His whole world going black, the terrified Dufresne felt the rope tightening around his body and he screamed, "HEEEEEELP-umph!"

Ryan clamped a hand over his mouth. "If you can't be helpful, be quiet!"

Down the hall, a nearby security guard heard the commotion and ran towards it.

Dufresne was now squirming on the floor, wrapped up to his knees in the bed sheet. "Please don't hurt me! All my money's in my European men bag!" he whimpered. "Take it all! Just don't kill me!"

Ryan looked at the bed and saw the purse the judge was referring to. "Thanks for being cooperative, kind sir." He joked as he walked towards the bed to grab a pillow to pull its case off.

"C'mon, let's scram! I'll keep this safe!" Lynn urged him as she tucked the envelope safely into her tunic. "What the hell are you doing?" she turned to Ryan who came back with the pillow case.

"We gotta take the other envelopes too." He explained walking past her and squatted down to loot the rest of the nightstand.

"Are you bonkers, what are you doing?!" Lynn asked incredulously. "We gotta flee!"

"If we only take the one labeled Loud, it could raise suspicion." He told her in a hushed whisper. Lynn's eyes widened and she seethed while begrudgingly assisting him in filling up the case.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Ry-mph!" Lynn lamented only to be silenced by Ryan.

"Shhhhh, don't say our names out loud, idiot." He hissed at her. Lynn pushed his hand away.

"Sorry…." she shrank with embarrassment. "Eh, maybe codenames aren't such a bad idea?"

It wasn't long until the guard came and started pounding on the door. "Hello? What's going on in there?!"

The two preteens panicked while Dufresne started screaming. "Help! Someone help me! Burglars! Murderers!"

Not needing any more incentive, the guard started ramming himself against the door. Lynn fidgeted fearfully while Ryan shook his head in annoyance.

"Murderers? Pffftt….you're generous enough to just leave a guy tied up, and this is the thanks you get?"

"Can the jokes." Lynn hissed at him. "We gotta escape."

"Easy." Ryan stood up, holding their unwanted loot over his shoulder. "Go open the window and ready your smoke bombs. I'll turn off the lights."

Lynn nodded and rushed ahead.

The guard quickly forced his way in, only to hear several small combustions and be greeted by a blinding smoke cloud. Coughing, he pointed his flashlight ahead and rushed in. The smoke started escaping through the wide-open window and the guard peered out of it, frantically pointing his flashlight in all directions but saw nothing.

"Help! HELP! Terrorists! They're bombing this place!" he heard and soon saw Dufresne thrashing on the floor.


Unbeknownst to the guard, the two masked intruders were currently running down the dark corridor.

"Smart move, Ryan. That dummy must think we went through the window." Lynn lauded him.

"Trickery is another ninja virtue." The boy quipped before spotting a garbage chute and halting.

Running past him, Lynn stopped and snapped her head towards him. "Stop lollygagging! We gotta escape!"

"Chill, just gotta get rid of the load." Ryan reassured her as he opened the hatch and stuffed their loot in.

"In there? But won't they find it-"

"Ah, but few people ever think of looking under their own noses." Ryan smartly lectured her while closing the hatch and punching a button. "That is, assuming the garbage truck doesn't get it by morning."

Lynn smiled with realization. "Good call! You really thought this through?" she asked as they resumed running.

"Of course, that's why I'm the brains of this outfit." Ryan remarked proudly.

Lynn scowled. "Excuse me? I can think on my feet too!"

"Eh….no, you can't." Ryan retorted as they reached a window at the end of the corridor.

"I SO can!"

"Doubtful." Ryan shook his head as he opened the window and stepped onto the ledge.

"I can!" Lynn insisted as she followed him and they maneuvered across the ledge, looking for their escape rope.

"Okay, if you're smart then tell me how we can use the rope to escape in five seconds." Ryan asked her candidly as they both ducked on opposite sides of a window where a flashlight passed by.

"Cuz there it is." He pointed up ahead, where the grappling hook was still secured.

"We can't climb back in five seconds, even I'm not that fast." Lynn retorted as she crouched next to him at the edge of the ledge.

"Amateur. Who said anything about climbing?" Ryan quipped, as he pulled the handle on his back, which, much to Lynn's shock and awe, turned out to be the handle of a sai sword which Ryan swiftly used to cut the rope he was holding. He tucked it back in and stretched his free arm out towards Lynn.

"Hold on tight and try to stick the landing." He told her coolly. Lynn laughed excitably and grabbed on to him and they jumped off the ledge, whooping together as they swung away and leaped into a grove of trees.

Letting go, they landed in a small clearing, both sticking another three-way landing.

"We did it!" Lynn cheered as she rose up and pulled out the envelope to admire it. She couldn't believe it, they had escaped unscathed! They got what they were looking for and nobody even saw them.

"You expected any less." Ryan huffed jokingly. "Under my leadership, this was destined to be a breeze."

"Oh, thank you! You're the best!" Lynn hugged him with pure, unadulterated happiness; making his cheeks heat up under his mask. This time, however, Ryan managed to retain a coherent train of thought.

"All in a night's work, Lynn." He shrugged as she let go of him. Lynn flaunted the envelope proudly.

"Man, for a few moments I actually thought we were busted." She laughed with relief.

"Say, maybe we've earned a tini-tiny cut of the profits? Like a hundred bucks?" Ryan suggested half-seriously.

"In your dreams, buster! This money goes right back to mom!" Lynn jerked back the envelope, though her tone remained light.

"Didn't think so." Ryan quipped. "Alright, let's go find our little lookout and scram."

The two ran off to find Lincoln. Their mission was a roaring success and it would be smooth sailing from here on.

Or so they thought.


Broccoli? Brussel sprouts? Cauliflower? Eggplants? Tomatoes? Cucumbers? Carrots? Those strange blocks made out of soy milk that he kept finding?

The sight made One Eye burn with rage. These dumpsters we stocked with nothing but green food. Enough to feed a whole herd of elk, but there was zilch for a wolf. Inspecting the sixth dumpster in a row he found the exact same content, making him madder and madder.

Shaking the dumpster as he did so, he dropped back on all fours and sniffed the air. Although his sense of smell was being assaulted by the disgusting odor from the sea of vegetables, he still detected a faint scent of a different kind. The scent of flesh? Tender, heart-still-pumping flesh?

If live prey was nearby, One Eye knew to approach it with caution or else it might get away. Sniffing, he prowled closer to the final dumpster.

His body feeling numb from fear, Lincoln struggled not to whimper as he pressed himself against the wall of the dumpster, his survival instinct kicking in and making him turn as stiff as a statue as One Eye's shadow started creping closer and his breathing got louder, until the boy saw his muzzle pop into view.

One Eye sniffed the ground, and found a half-eaten snicker bar with its wrapping still on. He took a whiff and snorted at the smell. Lincoln's whole costume was now drenched in cold sweat as the jaws of death were just inches away from him, and one aside glance would soon seal the deal.

One Eye let out a low growl as he felt that his quarry was close by. Very close. His good eye shifted around.

Then a stroke of luck happened, they both heard something pounding through one of the pipes until it dropped into the sixth dumpster. The wolf's head shot up and he reared up to inspect the mystery sack.

Lincoln's heart still pounded a mile a second but upon hearing the wolf tearing through whatever had been thrown down the chute, he made a desperate attempt to flee and quickly crawled away quietly until he reached a corner, whereupon he would run like hell. It took all his will power to remain composed as he relived his worst nightmare. He has had a firsthand experience on how fangs tearing through soft human flesh felt like, and he was on the verge of experiencing it again.

One Eye tore up the sack, and was promptly enraged to find it full of nothing but perfumed envelopes, before suddenly hearing a bizarre static noise.

Lincoln froze on his knees as he realized that the sound was coming from his walkie-talkie. "Lincoln! You read? We plum got away! Ha! We got the loot!" he heard Lynn's excited voice.

"No…..no…..NO!" the boy panicked and quivered with fear, while One Eye looked in the direction of the noise and narrowed his good eye, trying to make out the source of it in the darkness.

But he was suddenly distracted by another voice shouting to his right, as well as the sound of running. Both were getting closer. "We're running towards the back of the hotel! Meet us there!"

"LYNN?!" Lincoln recognized her voice. "No….not here…..not now!"

"I told ya we had everything covered! And you were fretting over nothing!" Lynn gloated as she rushed around the corner, flaunting the envelope, followed by Ryan, until she collided into someone and Ryan collided into her.

"Why'd we stop?" Ryan asked as he stepped away from her and rubbed his aching nose. Upon seeing who they had bumped into, his face turned paler than normal.

"What the?" Lynn blurted in confusion as she felt around and touched something soft and fuzzy. "Who put a fur coat out here….." a low growl made her lose her voice and step back. She looked up to see a familiar face glaring and bearing his sharp teeth at them.

"One Eye!" they both yelped and froze in their tracks as the wolf leaned down and sniffed the petrified kids. Upon recognizing their scent, he growled even more viciously.

Gulping, Ryan grabbed Lynn's arm and they started backing away. "One Eye? Fancy bumping into you here? What a small world we live in?" he said nervously. "Eh, you're not still mad at Lynn for kicking you in the rear?"

The growling that they received in response suggested he was still very mad.

Ryan was sweating and glanced at the dumpster. "Eh…..I couldn't possibly persuade you to become the world's first vegan wolf?"

"RAWR!" the wolf lunged at them. "Run!" Lynn pulled Ryan forward, dodging the wolf from pinning them. His paws hitting the concrete, One Eye turned back and saw them on the ground. Third time was the charm!

They rolled away from each other as the wolf pounced on them, missing them both. Ryan gulped as One Eye faced him and lunged. Pressed against the dumpster, Ryan lifted both his legs and kicked the wolf in the snout. That barely fazed him and he easily evaded another kick and bit into Ryan's foot.

Ryan screamed and his head hit the concrete as he was dragged forward when a walkie-talkie hit One Eye in the face, prompting him to let go and snarl at the one who threw it. Ryan rolled onto his belly and spotted the envelope on the ground. He quickly grabbed it but then saw something else of interest.

Lynn stood bravely, pulling her nunchucks out as the wolf advanced towards her, his piercing yellow eye and white fangs popping out in the darkness compared to his black body.

"I'm warning you, you cur! I'm armed!" she put on a brave voice, holding her ground and swinging her nunchucks, though by all account she was terrified. She was thankful she had better weapons this time around than poles or charred wood.

The display confused the wolf for a second but he was undeterred, barking and snarling as he lunged at her. Lynn struck him in the face and he jumped back, releasing a serious of yelps as he shook his head. Lynn felt a twinge of hope, but that quickly disappeared as One Eye brushed off the blow and growled at her again, more pissed than ever.

She stepped back, swinging her weapon. "You better run, you haven't seen me use these bad boys yet!" Her show of bravado did little to discourage the beast.

"Lynn!" A chill ran down her spine as she heard her brother's voice. "No! Why did I call him here!?" she started to panic but dared not to look for him, not with a bloodthirsty wolf in front of her.

One Eye seized the two seconds of distraction and ran at her only to receive two more blows to the face. Once he jerked back, Lynn turned around and desperately searched for her brother. She saw him crouched on the ground and instinctively jumped towards him.

"Lynn, look out!" he cried as she tackled him, using her own body to shield him, knowing what was coming.

"Leave him alone!" She swung her nunchucks at their attacker but he ducked and the stick struck the brick wall instead. Lynn swiftly swung them again only for the stick to get lodged inside One Eye's jaws. Lynn was pulled back to her feet as she fought for her weapon, barely keeping a grip on one stick as the wolf bit down on the other, snarling as he pulled her forward and crushed it in his jaws. The terrified Lincoln scrambled behind his sister.

Lynn stumbled back as the wolf released it and gasped fearfully as she saw her only means of defense destroyed. With her little brother quivering behind her, Lynn growled and made one last-ditch attempt to fight back by swinging what was left of her nunchucks like a club, only for One Eye to bite into it once more.

Lynn held on to it and was swung around like a ragdoll before hitting the pavement. Grunting in pain, she tried to lift herself up only to have her head pinned down under a massive paw. Growling, One Eye's maw loomed above her when he was struck in the head with a radish, and then an eggplant, and then by a cabbage.

"Yoo-hoo! Catch me if you can, fleabag!" Ryan taunted him and threw a rotten tomato which splattered over the wolf's face. Enraged, he let go of Lynn and charged at Ryan, who squatted down and grabbed the "leg" of the dumpster.

"Run, you idiot!" Lynn cried.

"In a jiffy!" Ryan grunted painfully while pulling with all his might to loosen the brick that was supporting the dumpster. One Eye came closer and closer when the brick finally slipped free and the dumpster collapsed.

The wolf jumped aside in fright and was immediately promptly buried by an avalanche of greenery.

"I guess veggies are good for something after all!" Ryan quipped as he ran past the pile and helped Lynn up.

"You okay?"

"Peachy." She grunted sarcastically and immediately rushed towards her brother, who remained kneeled down, panting rapidly and supporting himself on his hands.

"C'mon! We have to run!" Lynn pulled him up and saw that he didn't seem to be all there. "What's the matter? We gotta run!" she cried worriedly.

"Ask him later! C'mon!" Ryan tugged her to run as the pile of vegetables next to them started collapsing as the lupine dug his way out.

Panting, the two grabbed Lincoln and ran off, dragging him along.


Running into the woodland to hide, they quickly stopped under the roots of a maple tree. It didn't provide much cover, and the ninjas didn't plan to stay there for long.

The moment they let Lincoln go, he collapsed back on his knees. Lynn watched him worriedly when something dawned on her.

"The envelope?! Where is it?!" she searched her tunic frantically.

"I got it, don't worry." Ryan panted and showed it to her. Lynn sighed with relief before turning back to her little brother, who was trembling and staring off into space.

"Lincoln, what's wrong?" she shook him frantically. "Get up on your feet! We're in danger!"

"What's your damage!" Ryan yelled angrily. "We have a wolf on our tail if you haven't noticed!?"

"Lincoln, snap out of it!" Lynn pleaded. Her brother barely heard her as he tried to suppress the painful memories that flashed before his eyes, making him hug himself to protect his torso.

"Lincoln?!"

"I just w-wanted to go c-camping….." he let out a feeble whimper.

"Oh for the love of….this is SO not the time for PTSD flashbacks!" Ryan lamented.

"C'mon, get a grip!" Lynn pleaded and forced him back on his feet. "We have to get to safety fast, or we're dead!"

"You don't say?" Ryan said dourly. "We have to move, he's probably tracking us as we speak!" Ryan urged her, tucking the envelope into his tunic. "We'll carry the idiot if we have to!" he gestured for them to follow him.

Lynn grimaced while her brother shed tears, evidently still only halfway in touch with reality. Time was of the essence and they didn't have much of that. He obviously wasn't going to shake off his traumatic memories easily and she needed to guide him. She grabbed his arm and led him forcefully. She had much more experience acting under intense pressure, though in this competition it wasn't a trophy or her reputation that was at stake, it was three lives, hers included.

Lincoln, although silent, managed to follow her well-enough. She figured holding her hand gave him at least a little comfort.

"Ryan, what do we do?!" she asked desperately.

"I don't know! I wasn't counting on him showing up!" Ryan lashed out at her.

"Don't yell at me!" she snapped back, pulling Lincoln along as they tracked through the dark forest. "You said you were the brains of this outfit!" she bitterly flung his own words back at him.

"Just lemme think!" Ryan hushed her and tried to concentrate. "There's no use hiding from him, he can smell us wherever we go. We gotta make sure he doesn't reach us."

"Thanks for the insightful info!" Lynn spat angrily before looking back to see if they were being followed. "I don't see him?"

"That's what I was afraid of." Ryan replied grimly. "It probably means he's readying himself for an ambush."

Lynn swallowed a lump. "Ugh…..why was he there! How did he find us again?!" she ranted. "I think that crazy wolf is stalking us!"

"Keep your voice down, Lynn." Ryan reminded her. "My best guess, he was looking for a gourmet dinner at the hotel but for whatever reason he found a year's supplies of vegetables instead. Can't blame him for being ornery about it to be honest." He finished with a little levity.

"Just our luck." Lynn facepalmed. "He probably would have left us alone. Why chase your food when you don't have to? That rich bitch is probably trying to butter up PETA too!"

"I d'wanna b-be food…." Her brother stammered fearfully and sniffed.

"Calm down, everything will be alright." Lynn told him soothingly and hugged him for comfort. "We got out of this once, we'll do it again."

Ryan grimaced, knowing Lynn's words were empty comfort and little else. He sincerely missed fighting Lyle and his goons right about now, he was never scared doing that.

"Safe the cuddling for later, we have to find a safe place." He told them sternly.

"Where?" Lynn demanded.

"Somewhere he can't reach us, and wait him out. We gotta climb a tree!" Ryan retorted when something else caught his attention. "Wait? Do you hear that?"

Lynn looked around frantically, clutching her petrified brother tighter. "I don't hear anything?" she exclaimed anxiously.

"That's it, it's too quiet." Ryan said grimly. The forest was indeed silent; they heard nothing except for some chirping crickets and the flow of water. With nothing but the moon to light their surroundings, they could hardly make out anything ahead of them, not helped by the dense, clustered shrubs. Ryan surveyed the area to the best of his capabilities and tried to grab his sword when he saw it, just behind the siblings. A single, yellow eye shine.

"Watch out!" as he yelled that, Lynn heard the crashing of twigs and turned around sharply to see a maw of sharp fangs flying at her. Ryan jumped simultaneously and tackled the attacker, causing the two to tumble around and crash through some bushes, after which both found themselves rolling down a muddy slope.

Ryan's face was just inches away from the snapping jaws, and rancid breath, until they rolled towards the banks of the creek, where One Eye promptly threw him off and the boy hit the pebble-covered ground.

Sucking up the pain, he jumped to his feet while the wolf did the same and shook himself. Atop the slope Lynn and Lincoln saw it all, Ryan pulled out his sword and stood his ground as the wolf snarled at him and crept closer.

Bracing himself, Ryan stood strong and moved cautiously as the wolf circled him, evidently wary of the blade he was holding, which shone in the moonlight.

Ryan chuckled nervously. "So here we are at it again? Man versus beast! Blade versus fang! History repeating itself!"

"Stop the monologuing and get out of there!" Lynn cried furiously, fearing for his life. One Eye's gaze shifted slowly towards her.

"Hey! Eyes on me!" Ryan exclaimed and panted. "Touch one hair on their heads and I'll skewer you three-ways!" He warned the wolf while flaunting his sai blade.

It was a standstill; Ryan gripped his blade as the wolf slowly prowled closer, teeth bared. Lynn couldn't take it much longer and leaped into action.

"Sit tight." She told her brother as she carefully descended down the slope.

"Don't leave me!" Lincoln wheezed fearfully but didn't move.

"Come on!" Ryan yelled, losing his nerves. "Come at me if you dare!" he challenged the snarling beast when a blood-curdling scream echoed across the land. Lincoln, Lynn and even Ryan were startled by it.

For Ryan, that one second of distraction proved to be a fatal mistake, as he was instantly disarmed by one swipe from One Eye's paw, which sent the sword spinning through the air before falling into the water.

"That was a foul!" Lynn yelled in disbelief.

Ryan rubbed his fist. "I'll say! That was a dirty move!" he whimpered feebly before being tackled to the ground.

"NO!" Lynn screamed and charged at them. Ryan grabbed hold of the wolf's jaws; his fangs cutting into Ryan's palms as the boy quickly felt his grip slipping.

Lynn thanked all her years of football training at this very moment when she rammed her body into the wolf's flank at full speed, sending him plummeting into the water.

"Get up!" she grabbed her friend's hand and pulled him up.

"I pity any quarterback who challenges you." Ryan quipped as she pulled him along. They heard a loud splash and saw the wolf pulling himself up on the bank.

"Hurry!" Lynn cried as they ran up the slope, nearly slipping several times, with One Eye in hot pursuit. His large size soon proved to be a disadvantage, making him lose his footing and slide back down as his jaws snapped at the kids, biting into air instead.

The two grabbed Lincoln by one arm each and dragged him along as they ran like never before.

"What now, Ryan!"

"Run like hell!"


"AHHHHHHH! SNAKE! Get it away!" Leni cried standing atop a rock. Rolling her eyes, Lana came "to the rescue" and picked up the slithering reptile.

"You dummy, this ain't a snake, it's a legless lizard and they're harmless. You gave the poor fella a fright." Lana lectured her as she let the lizard free at a nearby bush and it slithered away.

Shaking, Leni finally stepped down. "The snipe isn't one of those scaly, slithery thingies, right?"

"No, I told ya already, it's a bird!" Lana retorted, growing out of patience. "It's small, brown and it has like a long beak that looks like a straw and they normally look for wood near the water."

"Oh, I see. Pew." Leni relaxed and tapped her lip, quickly going from scared to perky again. "Where do snipes live again?"

Lana snapped her head back in annoyance. "I told ya already, snipes nest on the ground, near the water, which means we gotta search around the creek and if we find a nest, it probably belongs to the snipe Lola saw."

"Oh, I get it. You're so smart, Lana." Leni gushed.

"Of course I am, that's why I came prepared for everything." The tomboy puffed out her chest proudly, holding up her net in one hand and a tackle box in the other. "I got the right grub to lure the bird and our suits and face paint provide camouflage."

"I know, that's what they call the army fashion trend? I think the name is French!" Leni smiled, while Lana deflated.

"Whateves, I think it would best if we split up, cover more ground that way." She mused. "And remember, if you spot the birdie you gotta be sneaky and act quick, cuz he'll fly away if he sees you, unless the poor critter is too weak to fly."

"Ah, okay." Leni nodded happily. "Be sneaky, be quick, I'm gonna remember that!"

"Look, I'll search the west side of the creek, you search the east side." Lana smiled. "That way one of us is bound to bump into the snipe. And don't be scared to walk into the water, these cargo pants are water-proof."

"Okay, good luck, Lana." Leni smiled back and went on her way.

"Wait!"

"What is it, Lana?"

"That's west, you're supposed to go east." The tomboy lamented.

"No, silly, that's east." Leni pointed ahead.

"No, you ninny. That's west." Lana scowled. "I know how to find my bearings, that's like scout lesson number one." She pointed at some rocks. "Moss grows north, which means where we stand west is left and east is right, but you're going left."

Leni frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry. Gosh, I'm such a ditz, I can't figure out these new, high-tech compasses."

"What compass?" Lana made a face.

"This one, take a look yourself?" Leni showed her the "compass". "That nice Flip guy sold it to me for only fifty dollars. He said since I was such a nice girl he would give it to me at a 50 % discount, isn't that so totes generous?"

Lana scowled. "Leni, that's a flipping fuel gauge! I've repaired plenty of those."

Leni blinked. "Ohhhhh…that's what the F stands for, and why there is no W, S or N? Poor Flip, he must be going goofy in his old age, his eyes probably aren't what they used to be." She shook her head sadly.

"You nincompoop! You've been flimflammed!" Lana threw her arms up. "Mom said we should steer clear of that creep!"

"Flimflam? Uhhh….that sounds yummy. Where can we buy some of those? At Flip's?" Leni asked eagerly.

Lana slouched and groaned exasperatedly. "Forget it. Just go right, and I'll go left. Call me if you find anything." She said simply and went on her merry way, figuring her sister is going to be of little use tonight.

"Okay, see ya!" Leni waved and went on her search, choosing to walk across the knee-deep water in order to get a better view of the shore.

"Gosh, I just love helping people. That poor snipe's gonna get a new, cozy home where we can nurture him back to help. I'm sure Walt will become good friends with him. Or is this snipe a girl? I'll name her Sasha if that's the case! That's a cute name! Where's Walt anyway? I haven't seen him in a while? And I should also help Luan patch things up with Kathleen. She looked so sad when Luan stormed away. And I should give Flip some glasses as a gift, so he doesn't sell people the wrong stuff by accident. Gosh, that's a lot of good deeds to keep track off? I'll need a notepad!"

"Ow!" Leni suddenly bumped into something and backed away as she rubbed her aching forehead, dropping her net in the process. "Ups, where do you think you're going?" she laughed, pulled it out of the water and shook it dry.

"There, good as new." She smiled. "Now, where was I?" she stepped ahead and bumped her head again.

"Owwwwww…..what was that?" she opened her eyes and saw a collapse tree trunk lying on top of two large boulders on opposite sides of the creek, bridging the gap between them.

"Oh, a log? Of course." She giggled. "Say? I wonder if there are any snipe nests around here, these rocks look like they would make a nice perch." She squatted and searched under the log.

"Hmmmm…nothing here? Maybe the snipe is taking a midnight swim?" she turned her attention back to the running water when something caught her eye.

"Awwwww…I can see the moon in the water? It's just like a mirror!" she became mesmerized by its reflection in the water. "Oh, and I can see myself too! Hey, me!" she waved at her own reflection.

At that moment Ryan and Lynn ran across the log, dragging Lincoln behind them, with One Eye close behind. Leni gasped while staring at the water.

"OMG!" She exclaimed and grabbed something out of the water. She lifted the ruby-colored and glossy pebble up to admire it.

"What a pretty pebble! I'm defiantly keeping it as a souvenir to remind me of tonight's adventure!" she stood up to keep going, and hit her head against the log again.

"Owwww…..that's smarts."


"He's gaining on us!"

"You think!" Lynn snapped at him.

"Hey, I'm not the one related to the deadweight!" Ryan retorted as they ran across an obstacle course of thin but tightly clustered birch trees, dragging Lincoln along, with a hungry wolf hot on their heels. Luckily, One Eye didn't have it any easier zigzagging after them and navigating through the dense forest at high speed.

"Stop yammering, this whole caper was your freaking idea!" Lynn retorted as she pulled a low-hanging branch and let bit struck the wolf, stopping him for all of five seconds.

"And it worked! We got the money!"

"Can't return it if we're dead!"

"Boulder ahead!" Ryan exclaimed, and the two vaulted themselves over the moss-covered rock. One Eye leaped over it with ease.

"Does nothing slow him down!" Lynn lamented when they ran into a clustered row of trees.

"Serpentine time!" Ryan quipped uneasily. "Grab my hand, and his!"

He ran ahead and slid through a narrow gap between two trees, pulling Lynn after him, who in turn pulled Lincoln through just as One Eye's head burst through the gap, barking and biting as he struggled to squeeze himself through.

The kids found themselves on a clear path cutting through the patch of birches and ran along it.

"Now that's more like it…." Lynn said happily, thinking of all the marathons she had won. No sooner she said that they heard the wolf breaking free, causing them to accelerate their pace even more. Ryan kicked a rotting log leaning against another tree.

It fell on the path just in time for One Eye to slip on it and crash to the ground. They heard him thrashing around and snarling madly in the distance as they dove behind a bush.

Lynn clutched her chest, panting. "I need to run more marathons, a lot more."

"You'll rest soon enough, once we get there." Ryan pointed at a tall pine tree just thirty yards ahead, with plenty of low hanging branches to vault oneself up with ease, along with any deadweight.

Lynn perked up. "Well, let's go then." She said urgently when they heard rustling and Ryan forced her to duck down. They peeked over the bush and saw One Eye searching the area.

Ryan looked at a nearby branch and saw it slowly bending towards them. "We're upwind, good. He won't smell us…for the moment."

"Great…..we're at the mercy of the air current." Lynn deadpanned.

One Eye sniffed the forest floor and looked around. Growing tense, Lynn searched the ground and found a large pinecone, which instantly sparked an idea in her head.

"What are you doing?" Ryan whispered as he saw her holding the pinecone like a football.

"Trust me." She reassured him and threw it. It flew over the wolf's head and he soon heard a rustle several yards ahead. Snapping his head in the direction, he growled and ran off to inspect it.

"Touchdown." Lynn quietly cheered.

"Nice." Ryan nodded approvingly. "Let's start climbing."

Pulling the paralyzed Lincoln along, they quickly reached the tree. "I suppose you can't jump up seven feet to reach that branch." Ryan snarked at Lincoln, who just stared at said branch quivering.

"Lincoln, just hold tight once you're up there." Lynn told him steadily as her and Ryan lifted him by the arms and rocked him back forth.

"Wait….I c-can't-AHHH!" he was thrown up and grabbed hold of the branch.

"Our turn." Lynn said as they prepared to jump when they heard barking behind them.

"He's back! Jump!" Ryan exclaimed as they leaped up and seized the branch just as One Eye arrived below them. Ryan and Lynn tried balancing themselves on the branch when the wolf jumped up, snapping his jaws at them.

Losing balance they both grabbed hold of the above branch while Lincoln struggled to hold on to the one he was on right now as the wolf landed back on the ground. Snarling, he jumped again, digging his claws into the trunk and branch, trying to haul himself up.

"Higher!" Ryan shouted as they narrowly dodged his snapping jaws again before gravity pulled One Eye down. They climbed higher before hoisting Lincoln up together.

Now fourteen feet off the ground, they sighed with relief and saw the wolf walking in a circle below them. "Relax; he can't reach us up here…." Ryan sighed.

"Thank heavens…how's your foot?" Lynn asked worriedly.

"Perfectly fine. My boots are designed to survive nature's wrath." He flaunted his foot, showing several holes in his boot. Judging from his performance getting here, Lynn figured and was relieved that he was not injured.

"You alright?" Lynn asked her brother next, but he made no response as he couldn't peel his eyes away from the wolf below them and started hyperventilating.

"Linc, chill, we're safe up here." She tried to reassure him.

"Don't tell me that one lobo is scarier than fighting a horde of acid-spewing zombies?" Ryan shrugged, with more levity than the situation called for.

"You're not helping…." Lynn told him exasperatedly as she patted her brother's shoulder.

"Hey, you're not the one being turned into a pincushion." He retorted while pushing away all the pine needles he was cornered against, and dusted them out of his robe.

"Don't fret, we'll just wait him out. He's bound to get bored eventually." Lynn told her brother.

"RAWR!" they looked down and saw the wolf circling the tree when he suddenly made a 10-foot leap, digging his claws into the bark of the trunk before being pulled back by gravity.

Lincoln flinched and hugged his sister. "Ease up, Twinkle Toes, I'll encourage him to leave sooner." Ryan quipped and plucked a pinecone.

"Get lost, you mangy mongrel!" he pelted the wolf in the head, who growled in response.

Lynn smirked under her mask and joined in on the fun. "Awww, can't reach us?" she cooed and pelted him in the head too. "Tough shit, slow-pooch!"

"He's too old to catch a bunny rabbit!" Ryan laughed and hurled another pinecone, which the wolf dodged.

"Wanna eat us? Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" Lynn landed another hit on his head.

"Go run with your tail between your legs, or why don't ya try to huff and puff and blow the tree down!" Ryan continued pelting him.

"You're momma was never house broken…..eh… I mean cave broken! You walking flea circus!"

Lincoln gulped when his sister offered him a pinecone. "Wanna practice your aim?"

He shook his head. "Lynn….you're m-making him m-madder." He stuttered.

"I should hope so." She huffed and hit the lupine on the nose. "And that's for Charles!"

"And that's for my nunchucks and sword!" Ryan landed another hit. "You just made it personal, wolfy!"

He felt around but found no more pinecones. "Drat, we wasted them all." He groaned.

"And he's not budging." Lynn grimaced and locked eyes with the wolf, who remained undeterred.

"He's gotta get tired and leave eventually, a tasty hare or doe is bound to walk by sooner or later." Ryan grumbled when something knocked him on the head. He caught it and saw that it was pinecone.

"Ease up, Lynn. We'll have ample time to reload our ammo."

"What did I do?" Lynn questioned when another pinecone dropped past her and Lincoln and they heard rustling from above. "What's that?" she looked up, as did the boys.

They squinted and noted something nestled between the branches. It looked grayish and fuzzy. Was that moss? Then they saw one its paws dangle down and swing on the breeze, and heard snoring.

Ryan's eyes widened and he made a shushing gesture at his companions. "Don't be alarmed but there's a lynx up there." He whispered.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here." Lynn pointed at herself.

"Be quiet…" Ryan hushed her. "I said "lynx", with an "x"."

It took Lynn a moment to register that as she tried to make out the sleeping figure and noted its large, tufted ears. "Oh…..you meant "lyn-Wait? A lynx-humph!" Ryan clamped Lynn's mouth shut while Lincoln clung on to her.

"Shhhhhhh…don't say a word." Ryan hushed her as the big cat let out a yawn before lowering his head to sleep again.

"We're dead…." Lincoln mumbled in a hollow voice.

"Hey, I'm the pessimist here." Ryan whispered indignantly. "And we ain't dead yet. Just hush up, and we'll be safe."


"There was a sort of scratching or flapping at the window, but I did not mind it, and as I remember no more, I suppose I must have fallen asleep. More bad dreams. I wish I could remember them. This morning I am horribly weak. My face is ghastly pale, and my throat pains me. It must be something wrong with my lungs, for I don't seem to be getting air enough. I shall try to cheer up when Arthur comes, or else I know he will be miserable to see me so….."

Luan, now in her PJs, quietly shuddered but tried to keep an upbeat demeanor. "Well, we know what her diagnosis is?" she tittered awkwardly.

Lucy yawned in her coffin. "Yeah…..she's one of them now. A very captivating thought, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess…..if you're into the whole vampirism shtick?" Luan shrugged. "Huh, what are the odds that the Count's first victim is called Lucy Westenra? That's something to sink your teeth into?"

To her surprise, she heard a small titter from Lucy. "A fitting metaphor…." she responded and rolled onto her back.

"Yeah...I used her as a vessel for my escapist fantasy when I first read it." The goth continued in a drowsy tone. "To imagine myself being free, stalking the night, being with others like me..." she yawned again "...converting others to our side..."

Luan hoped her sister was just being eccentric. "Well...I'd prefer staying among the living myself..." she shrugged when she heard light snoring.

Smiling Luan leaned down and kissed the slumbering Lucy on the cheek before closing the coffin. She hoped Lucy could breathe in there, but Lucy had been sleeping there for years now so she probably shouldn't worry.

She got out of her chair and returned the book on its shelf. Luan wondered if she should stay with Lucy for the night. It became apparent that Lynn and Lincoln were staying for a sleepover. But then again, Lynn's bed stank to high heaven so she would need to change the sheets.

"Why not? She can't be mad at me for changing the bed for her. She never bothers doing it herself." She reasoned and went to find their mother to get some new, freshly-washed sheets.

Upon entering the hallway, she heard a loud yawn. "Hey, bra, how's it been?" Luna ran into her, likewise in her jammies, and greeted her in a chill tone. She seemed to be in a better mood than she was this morning.

"Someone's in a perky mood, I wager you had fun with your band?" Luan replied civilly.

"You bet." She shot her a finger gun. "We didn't win or anything but we had fun and that's what matters. Sam said she had a blast."

"Sheesh, you talk so much about that Sam why don't ya marry her?" Luan snorted, missing Luna's brief moment of discomfort.

"Anyways, how was your excursion?" the rocker asked quickly.

"Excruciating." Luan frowned.

"Ah, so what did the girls do? Must have been bad if you are frowning, and I only saw you, Lisa and Lucy since I came back?" she noted and frowned. "They're not in a jail cell awaiting trial?"

Luan's face darkened. "No, we ran into my sworn enemy, Kathleen Tisdale. Said she was sorry for picking on me and offered us a stay at her hotel but I wasn't gonna be bamboozled by her dumb ploy!"

"Kathleen Tisdale?" Luna's face lit up. "You mean the rich dudette from school? I didn't know you knew her? Why didn't you stay?"

Luan seethed. "Are you deaf? I just said she was my sworn enemy! I prefer not to think about the likes of her."

"Since when?" Luna made a face. "I mean….. I didn't talk to her much when I was in middle school but she seemed like a cool gal. Since when did you have a problem with her?"

"You never cared to know about my "social life"!" Luan barely refrained from losing it. Was she being ignorant or did she also just not care?

What did it matter? Luan could see the dollar signs in her eyes. Having had enough hostile interactions with her own sisters for one day, she chose not argue over it. "Well if you think she's soooo cool, just go and have fun with her, the others are already getting chummy with her." She retorted coldly and walked past the rocker without a second glance.

"Wait? I hear she has friends in high places." Luna called after her and followed. "Does she know Mick Swagger by any chance?"

Luan ignored her and went to their parent's room where she found their mother rummaging through the drawers.

"Hey, mom?" Rita jumped and turned to her. Luan was surprised to find her mother with messy hair and some serious eye-twitching.

"You okay, mom?" she made face.

"Luan? Oh, it's nothing. I just had a long day doing errands and maybe drank a little too much coffee in the process. Eh, what can I do for you, sweetie?" Rita tried to compose herself and straightened her hair after taking a look in the wall mirror.

"What are you doing up so late? It's time for bed." She noted.

"Sorry, I lost track of time reading a bedtime story to Lucy, and she's quite a night person. Um, I was wondering if I could get some fresh sheets to change Lucy's room, y'know I thought about having a sleepover, since Lynn is absent. Is she with Ryan?"

"Well, I see no harm. Yes, Lynn and Lincoln are staying over at Ryan's place. Just don't touch any of Lynn's stuff; you know how she can be. And do get to sleep; it will mess up your biological clock." Rita explained as she took out some clean sheets and pillow cases from the closet and handed them to Luan.

"They are?" Luan asked. She wondered why they stayed behind, though she assumed it probably involved the not-so-pleasant news they had to give their folks tomorrow. "Poor mom, she looks stressed enough already."

A thought occurred to her as she looked at her sheets. "Maybe me and Lucy could become permanent roommates? Why not? I mean she and Lynn can't stand each other, Lynn wouldn't mind. But I doubt Luna would be thrilled to be saddled with Lynn, but….. maybe Lana would?" she mused when the Luna came in.

"C'mon, bra. Don't give me the cold shoulder?" Luna placed her hands on her hips. "It was just a simple question."

"Cold shoulder?" Luan grew annoyed. "I don't think you have the right to-"

"Girls, no fighting! And go to bed this instant!" Rita told them, more aggressively than she had indented but she was too tired to care. "Or you're both grounded!"

Both girls were startled by their mother's sudden outburst. "Mom, what's the matter?" Luna asked before noticing all the open drawers and the turned over sheets and pillows. "What are you looking for?"

"Yeah, the room looks like it has been hit by a tornado?" Luan noted. Granted, this was a pretty normal sight in this home.

Rita tensed up, debating if she should tell them anything. But at this point she was so worn out from the fruitless searching; she figured getting her daughters involved couldn't make her situation any worse.

"Nothing, I'm just looking for an envelope with some money I need to deposit." She answered, trying to downplay the issue, though her strained tone was less than convincing.

"Envelope?" both daughters asked when all three heard a loud "Yipee!" from the hallway.

Soon enough, Lynn Sr. came dancing into the room and embraced his wife.

"I did it, honey! I did it!" he exclaimed joyfully as he forced his wife into a circle dance.

"You found the money!" she smiled hopefully as they spun around.

"No! But McCole called me! He says he loved my dishes!" Lynn exclaimed as he let his wife go. "Says I have some of the best and most inventive cuisines he's seen in months and that he will gladly fund my project to open my very own restaurant!"

"Really? That's awesome, dad!"

"Yeah, congratulations, pops!"

"He will?" Rita blinked, feeling happy for her husband but simultaneously confused. "But….but you said he left unsatisfied? That he didn't crack a smile once while he was here?"

"I know!" Lynn laughed, trying not to lose consciousness from sheer bliss. "But turns out he had just returned from fixing several of his root canals, and after the anesthetic wore off he was positively ecstatic and called me to announce the good news!"

"Ha, what a classic twist!" Luan laughed. "And to think you were so unnerved to meet him? Get it?"

"Wut?" Luna asked.

"Nerves? Get it? As in anesthetic-don't make me explain the pun! Don't you know the drill?"

Luna's face fell. "Alright, you're reaching now."

"C'mon, don't brush me off? I'm filling on fire tonight!" Luan giggled while her sister shuddered.

"Lynn, those are very wonderful news….." Rita started in a sweet tone which instantly turned harsh as she grabbed him by the arms "…..but have you found the envelope!?"

Lynn gulped, having completely forgotten about it. He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "That….eh….no, I'm afraid not?"

Rita seethed and let him go. "That's not possible; we've searched the entire house inside out! I know I saw it here just this morning."

"Eh….mom? What about that?" Luna casually pointed at an envelope standing next to the night lamp.

Lynn sighed. "No, Luna, that's just Lola's application for some beauty contest of hers. She was supposed to take it with her today but must have forgotten it."

"Huh? Have you thought that maybe she snatched your envelope by mistake?" Luna casually suggested.

Both Lynn and Rita froze on the spot and looked like they've been hit by a truck.


With every second feeling like an eternity, the trio was stuck in a nerve-wracking silence, and with a lynx, and a wolf waiting just below. On the horizon the sky was starting to turn lighter, as twilight was creeping up.

"Of all the trees in the forest and we had to choose this one." Ryan muttered quietly as the trio huddled close while observing the sleeping feline, only some 10 yards away from them. One Eye was still on the ground, eyeing them patiently.

"Do you have another brilliant idea to solve this problem?" Lynn asked him spitefully. "I'm sure it will lead us to a mine field or a nuclear test site."

Ryan glared at her. "Oh, no. I insist, you take this one?" he gestured at the sleeping feline. "As a cat lover, I'd rather go out as cat food than as dog food anyway."

Not having a single clue, Lynn quieted down as she hugged her quivering brother. They all flinched as the lynx stretched himself and stirred a bit before relaxing again and continuing to snore lightly.

That action made One Eye notice the cat and he quickly concocted a plan. Let the lynx snag one of the runts and knock the other two down? He would get the lion's share that way.

"If I only hadn't wasted my rope on that fop, I could lasso it to another tree and we'd swing out of here." Ryan grumbled when their collective attention was diverted back to the ground when they heard loud barking and howling.

"Shut up, you damn cur!" Lynn hissed angrily but that only prompted the wolf to vocalize even louder.

"What's he doing? Has he gotten moonstruck?" Ryan wondered when they heard the lynx stirring again.

The three froze stiff and slowly glanced aside to see the groggy cat lift his head up and give it an aggravated shake. He opened his eyes and immediately glanced at them, lifting his tufted ears up and letting his pupils dilate. Ryan gulped, being all too familiar with that look from Marceline whenever she felt peckish.

"Just go back to sleep, you're having a bad dream…." He said desperately while waving his hand around. The lynx let out a low growl and slinked down the tree trunk.

Sweating and trembling, Lynn sent the wolf an aggravated glare. "You're real petty, One Eye! As a Loud sister I should know!" A hiss soon diverted her attention to their current problem.

"Ryan, do something!" she cried as the lynx advanced towards them, teeth and claws bared.

Ryan chuckled nervously. "Eh….nice kitty, take it easy. You don't want to hurt me, I love cats, I'm sure we could get along." The lynx growled, making him flinch.

"C'mon, we didn't wake you up from your catnap, honest!" he pointed down. "It was the mutt who did it! He's invading your territory, take it up with him!"

Hissing viciously, the big cat swiped at him, clawing his arm. With a yelp, Ryan drew back. "Okay, we're so dead." He whimpered. "Lynn, it was an honor knowing you! And Lincoln, I never thought you were that bad!"

The lynx prepared to attack when they all heard a creaking noise and the branch started bending down. "I think we exceeded the weight limit." Ryan deadpanned to the confused cat when the branch broke under their feet.

Screeching, the lynx dug his claws into the bark, Ryan grabbed hold of his small bobtail and Lynn and Lincoln grabbed hold of Ryan's legs.

One Eye jumped away from the falling branch, which broke in two upon impact, and looked up growling. Might as well grab the low-hanging fruit.

"This is a very precarious situation." Ryan muttered as the three rocked side to side while the lynx was quickly losing his grip from the extra weight that was rapidly pulling him down, nearly tearing his claws out in the process.

"No kidding!" Lynn grunted as One Eye lunged at them. She and Lincoln screamed and climbed up Ryan's waist. They lifted their legs up to avoid the wild dog's snapping jaws.

"Down, boy!" Lynn cried as she kicked him in the nose. "Heel!"

"I think we've established he doesn't obey commands!" Ryan quipped uneasily. The wolf lunged at them again, Ryan tried to climb higher but found it hard with the extra weight, not to mention that he had nothing to grab within reach.

"If we live, you're both going on a diet!" he lamented when something slipped out of his tunic and drifted away on the breeze.

"The money!" Lynn screamed.

"Forget about the money!" Lincoln cried but his sister had already let go.

One Eye didn't have time to be surprised before the soles of two boots collided with his face. Using it as a platform, Lynn did a summersault and upon landing, she leaped for the floating envelope and snatched it.

"Gotcha!" she landed on her belly, clutching the envelope, when the wolf planted both front paws into her back, pinning her down.

"Fat chance, Rover!" Lynn yelled, dug her free hand into the dirt and flung it into the predator's face.

Yelping, he released her and Lynn rolled away. She tried to make a break but the wolf jumped in her way. Lynn crawled between his legs as he tried to bite her.

Getting up, she ran. "I'll lead him away!" she called out to the boys as she disappeared into the night with the wolf in pursuit.

"LYNN!" Lincoln cried.

"And what about him!?" Ryan shouted in reference to the lynx that started pulling himself up after the decrees in load and glared down at them with a vicious hiss.

Ryan groaned. "Just wait here, I'll distract the pussycat." He told Lincoln.

"H-How?" he stammered. "What if he attacks me-"

"Cats always wanna kill whoever pulled their tail! Sadly, that's me!" Ryan ranted and started swinging towards the nearest branch. "Now beat it!" he kicked Lincoln towards it, the latter barely grabbing hold of it and keeping his grip.

Ryan let go, and upon landing on the ground, he rolled forward and got up on his feet. He heard an enraged screech, and as predicted, the cat turned around and bolted past the flinching Lincoln.

"I hate it when I'm right." Ryan muttered and ran for his life as the lynx pounced at him, missing him and giving chase.


"You came all the way back just to show me a stone?!" Lana complained.

"But it's so pretty, and birds like to collect shiny things like these, so we could use it as bait?" Leni beamed.

Lana facepalmed. "Magpies do that, not snipes!"

"I thought pies were pastry?" Leni questioned. "And megs were nut seeds?"

"Why did I bring her along?" Lana tried not to scream.

"Leni….why don't you just take a seat?" she suggested while pointing at a fallen log.

"But don't you need me?" Leni pouted with confusion.

"No-I mean yes…..I mean, you seem exhausted, so just got take a break?" Lana responded with the calmest tone she could muster.

The teen smiled. "You're so thoughtful but don't you need a break too?"

Lana's right eye twitched. "Nah, I'm scrappy and durable, I can keep this up all night." She composed herself. "Please, just take your time to rest and sit on that log…" she pointed at it again "…..and don't come bugging-I mean I don't need your help….. unless I call for you, otherwise it might ruin my concentration."

"Sounds reasonable, I don't want to interrupt anyone." Leni obliged and walked happily up to the log. She cringed a bit as she saw that it was covered in moss and dirt, so she pulled out a blanket from her tackle box and placed it over the log.

"Say, Lana? We didn't bring along phones, so if you're like reaaaaally far away I might not hear you? How are we gonna contact each other then?" she got no response except for chirping crickets. "Lana?"

Leni turned around to find the tomboy gone.


"Stupid, useless dummy! Getting distracted by a rock! I had a better attention span while I was in diapers! Ugh! I'm an even bigger dummy for bringing her along! I should have taken the actual dummy from the lifeguard's cabin while I had the chance!" Lana ranted inwardly as she tracked through the forest, back towards the creek.

"Pfah! Who needs her, I'm better off on my own!" she boasted as she struck a commando pose and looked around. "I'm a natural-born explorer! My eyes are always peeled. Nothing gets by me!"

Just as she said that, Lynn ran right behind her, chased by One Eye.

"Any rustle! Any thud! My keen hearing will pick it up!" Lana proclaimed when she heard her sister's scream of terror in the distance and looked over her shoulder.

"Strange? What kind of an animal wails like that?" she turned around and crawled halfway into the nearby bushes to inspect them, just as Ryan bolted past her, followed by the lynx.

"Ugh! Dead end again!" Lana pouted and crossed her arms as she kneeled up. "This just isn't my lucky night. I've searched half the creek and didn't find one trace of a snipe!"

She felt her eyelids getting heavy and yawned. She quickly slapped herself. "No! Sleep later! First I gotta find that poor snipe!"

She soldiered onward towards the creek, when something caught her eye. "Yes! Three-toed tracks!"


"I was just kidding about your mom, don't take it so personally!" Lynn exclaimed as she was back fleeing through the maze of birch trees, but without any paralyzed brother dragging her down she could finally give One Eye a run for his money, but the damn cur was persistent.

Running into a pile-up of logs leaning against a boulder, Lynn performed a baseball slide and effortlessly passed below them. One Eye lunged after her but quickly found himself stuck halfway in and struggled to get through.

Getting up and dusting herself clean, Lynn sent the snarling beast a mocking salute and tucked the envelope back into her tunic before running off. "Later, Bone Breath!" The wolf soon pulled himself free and resumed the chase.

In the meantime, Ryan found a rock and used it to vault himself up a birch tree. Climbing up quickly, he looked down to find the lynx climbing after him. Ryan kept climbing while the branches thinned out until he was on the top.

"That wasn't my best strategy." He duly noted and heard the cat growling below him. The lynx swiped at him as the branches they were holding on to rocked wildly. The trunk itself was rather thin and started bending downwards.

"You're a marvel at climbing, y'know that?" Ryan made a feeble attempt at flattery while dodging the lynx's claws until he realized he was closer to the ground than he had been a moment ago. Smirking, he lowered himself while the lynx followed him.

"You want this tree, have it!" he joked as he let go and landed on the ground, causing the tree to snap up and rapidly rock back and forth with the lynx clinging on to it. The dizzy feline shook his head while Ryan hightailed it out of there.

"That one never gets old!" he quipped as he vaulted himself through a forked three. The lynx soon leaped after him, and upon landing, saw the boy run behind a corner of bushes. He chased after him and reached a small clearing filled with fallen pine trees.

He searched around a bit, walking over the rotting trunks before running ahead. Ryan soon reveled himself lying between two trunks, lifting up the branches that were covering him.

"By, by, kitty." He laughed to himself. "Good thing cats have a shabby sense of smell." He noted happily and rushed off into the opposite direction to find Lynn.

She, meanwhile, jumped off a rock and swung herself forward on a branch, landing in a patch of bushes. The rustling she heard behind her signaled that she hadn't shaken off her pursuer. Lynn feared she never would and ran onward.

She pushed the branches and bushes aside, running for her life, when she came across something that made her stop dead in her tracks; the lynx! He was sniffing the ground before looking up, just as surprised to see her. He hissed and bared his fangs.

Swallowing a lump, the stunned Lynn backed away when she heard rustling behind her, getting louder. "Dumb luck, don't fail me now!" she braced herself and stood her ground as the lynx charged at her full speed.

One Eye came bursting out of the bushes and Lynn did a tuck jump, causing the predators to slam heads.

"That hurt just watching." Lynn thought as both of them were forced back by the impact, allowing her to stick her landing and run away as the wolf and lynx shook their aching heads.

The lynx opened his eyes and screeched upon coming face to face with the larger wolf. One Eye growled and snapped his jaws at the cat, who jumped high and over him, bolting away into the woods with the wolf chasing him.

Lynn was pushing her way through the woods when something grabbed her and pulled her into the thicket.

"AH!" she swung her fist, which was caught by Ryan.

"It's me, spaz." He snarked while the girl panted heavily.

"Ryan…." She wheezed, wanting to embrace him before something struck her. "Wait! Where's my brothe-"

"Safe, he's safe." Ryan reassured her. "I lost the Mutton Chops, did you shake off-"

They heard a screech and saw the lynx running past them with One Eye running after him. After making sure the predators were gone, the two walked out into the open and laughed.

"Hunter becomes the hunted, the oldest rule of nature." Ryan quipped. Quickly ceasing her laughter, Lynn grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"Not the time for jokes, let's find Lincoln and get out of here pronto!"

One Eye chased the lynx through the forest. The feline darted up a tree but the wolf caught up in time to bite down on the former's tail, but it slipped between his fangs, leaving One Eye with just a tuff of fur wedged between his teeth, which he spat out.

The lynx scurried up until he felt safe, and glowered down at the canine, hissing and raising his back hair.

One Eye snarled, knowing this prey had escaped him, but the kids were still fair game. Looking around, he deduced that they had taken a head-start and ran off to track them down, not wishing to give them any more of an advantage. They weren't going to get away that easily!


After snatching Lincoln, the trio had made a beeline out of the forest and was currently trotting down the road cutting through the open plains. They had run as fast as their legs could carry them, until even Lynn felt too burned out to move at anything more than a walking pace. She and Ryan still had to pull Lincoln along just so they could cover more ground faster, and distance themselves from their lupine pursuer as much as possible, but at this point even the former two had to stop near the road to catch their breath.

"My feet are killing me." Lynn panted. "What are we gonna do? Walk all the way back home?"

"What choice do we have?" Ryan asked tiredly. "I doubt we'll bump into any trucks at this late hour to hitchhike a ride?"

"Didn't you plan for that?" Lynn grew annoyed.

"I told you, I was improvising most of it." He retorted exasperatedly.

Lynn groaned. "I really need to make a pit stop…I probably have a gazillion blisters on my feet by now."

"Tell me about it, I'm so beat I could fall asleep on a nail bed." Ryan agreed, rubbing his eyes.

"We…..s-should keep going, he m-might come back….."

"Oh, lookie, someone found his voice again." Ryan deadpanned.

"Knock it off…." Lynn rolled her eyes and turned to her brother. "We gave that cur the slip, we're safe now. Don't worry."

Lincoln stayed silent for a bit and looked over his shoulder. They seemed to be all alone in the vast brush prairie, but Lincoln couldn't shake off the nagging suspicion that this wouldn't stay that way for long.

"I dunno…." He mumbled with uncertainty. "I'd rather we find shelter. Lynn…..I'm scared being out here."

"He's got a point." Ryan shrugged. "We're totally exposed out here, better be safe than sorry."

Lynn patted her brother's shoulder. "Kay….but where? I see nothing but shrubs for miles."

"Keep searching…." Ryan said plainly and they continued walking.

Now that they weren't in mortal danger, Lincoln found his motor functions semi-working again and he could keep pace with them on his own, not that the others were walking fast anyway as both were more physically exhausted than him, something he contributed a lot to.

Lynn could still sense his unease. "Don't worry; we passed the rough waters for tonight."

"Lynn what were you doing? You could have gotten yourself killed."

Her face hardened under her mask. "Don't start. I had to do it; I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I hadn't."

"She wasn't in a much safer position staying with us." Ryan noted sardonically. "If anything, she helped defuse the situation by leading Fang Face away."

"Glad someone appreciates it…." She retorted with a little levity but frowned upon hearing her brother sigh. He understood they had a point, and just wished that this nightmare could finally be over.

"Never mind, I just wanna rest." He sighed.

"Get in line; you weren't the one doing all the running." Lynn sniped but quickly regretted it as her brother wilted with shame.

"But hey….there's no shame in that, not everyone can be strong and athletic-eh? Sorry, that came out wrong." She hastily corrected herself. "But you're light as a feather anyway, it was no biggie."

Her words did little to comfort Lincoln, who kept thinking that if had simply managed to stay in his original position; he wouldn't have dragged them down to begin with.

"Glad my scrawny frame has its benefits…." He shrugged sullenly.

"Cows!"

"What did you call me?" Lynn snapped at Ryan, who groaned exasperatedly.

"No, lamebrain, cows! Up ahead!" Lynn and Lincoln looked at where he was pointing and saw a cow pen, filled with silent and sleepy Hereford cattle.

"What about them?" Lynn gave him a tired glare as they continued walking.

"Look beyond what you see." Ryan explained.

Lynn groaned. "Is that another ninja virtue you made up?"

"No, I'm talking about the farm that's behind the pen." He retorted and pointed at the cluster of small buildings up ahead once they reached the gates of the pen and soon smelled the strong odor of manure.

Lynn now felt stupid. "Ohh…"

"We can hide there until we're good enough to walk."

"And what about the wolf?" Lincoln asked. "Everyone knows they don't mind stealing livestock."

"Exactly, wise guy." Ryan stopped them and gestured at the cattle they were passing by. "He'd rather try out the beef buffet or loot the chicken coop than look for a bunch of scrawny kids."

Just then they heard something ramming the gate and Ryan got poked in his rear end. He yelped and jumped forward, rubbing his sore spot as he came face to face with a grunting and agitated bull.

The other two giggled. "I see your point." Lynn quipped and tugged on his tunic. "I don't think the red highlights were the best idea."

"I heard enough cow jokes at Dairyland." Ryan snorted as the bull rammed the fence again. "Let's scram, before the big fella busts his way free."

Lynn and Lincoln worried that the walking mountain with horn could very well do that and obeyed. "Let's find a safer spot." Lynn said and they moved on.

They snuck their way to the barn house. Ryan sighed. "This looks like a good spot to lay low for an hour or two."

"Just gotta get in." Lynn noted as they walked around it.

"Isn't that trespassing?"

Lynn gave her brother a tired look. "I think we already broke that law tonight? Some more trespassing won't change that."

Lincoln sighed. "Never mind…."

"Fort Know this ain't." Ryan laughed as he opened the simple hook latch and gestured for the other to enter. Lincoln stopped as he heard a dog barking in the distance.

"Don't wet yourself." Ryan grabbed his sleeve and pulled him in. "That will be our early alarm."

There wasn't much inside beyond a simple stable with five sleeping horses, and they also heard some grunting further down, the rest was stacked up with hay, and the kids made themselves cozy at the bottom.

"Pew, this is much better." Ryan complimented leaning against the hay.

"Sure beats sharing a prickly pine tree with a lynx." Lynn concurred. "Right, Linc?...Linc?"

She found her brother leaning against her shoulder and snoring lightly.

"Being carried around must have taken a lot out of him." Ryan quipped snidely.

"I wouldn't mind joining him." Lynn said longingly as she let her brother rest in her lap. "I always wondered what it would be like sleeping on hay."

"Can't do, it's close to the crack of dawn and farmers get up early." Ryan pointed out and patted her arm. "Plus, darkly-clad and masked intruders don't exactly inspire trust."

Lynn grumbled but then noticed a small smear of blood on her elbow. "What's that?" she asked and grabbed her friend's hand and her eyes widened upon seeing his gloves shredded and smeared in dry blood. "You're hurt."

"Just some scratches." Ryan brushed it off and jerked his hand free.

"Ryan, that needs to be treated." Lynn told him seriously. "Who knows what diseases that cur might be carrying?"

Ryan grew a little nervous. "Well….a little water oughta be good enough."

"Some disinfectant would be better."

"Nah…..that stuff stings too much." Ryan disagreed.

"Don't be such a baby." Lynn teased him.


Outside, One Eye found his way to the farm following the kids' trail. He soon saw the herd of cattle but no calves, nothing for him to pick off. The cows sobered up quickly and started bellowing and retreating at the sight of him walking past the pen. The bull grunted and stomped the ground as he rammed his head against the gate threateningly.

One Eye ignored the caged behemoth and walked on. The guard dog, a collie, noticed him in the distance and growled; One Eye heard the noise from a distance and growled back. Upon realizing this wasn't another human intruder, the dog whimpered and swiftly scurried into his dog house, hoping to stay undetected.


"Oh, so you wanna be a moron like Lyle then?" Lynn challenged him.

"I'm not." Ryan sounded indignant. "But…..we can't go to a doctor for this. It will raise suspicion."

"You're always handy with cheap excuses, huh? Alright, we'll ask Lisa for a favor." Lynn shrugged.

"Lisa? Are ya out of your gourd? You want me to end up as a mutant frog-boy, or grow five more heads?"

Lynn snickered. "In your dreams, one yap on you is one too many. Besides, Lisa knows about medicine and treating injuries, but I'm quite certain she doesn't invent her own medicine-"

"You hear that?" Ryan suddenly hushed her. Lynn quieted down and heard the cow herd mooing.

"Sounds like they're getting jumpy?" Lynn became nervous. "You don't think it's One Eye?"

"I dunno…..I don't hear that guard dog barking, surely he would have noticed him?"

"Maybe One Eye ate him?" Lynn suggested. "Oh please, let that be the case. Then he'll stop hounding us." She added anxiously.

In actuality, the guard dog was lying motionless in his house hoping to avoid such a fate as One Eye was sniffing around it. Luckily for the dog, One Eye noticed a window just above the dog house, and jumped on top of the latter in order to reach the window. As he pressed his muzzle against it, he pushed it slightly open. Easy entrance.

"Damn, that's cold of you." Ryan shook his head at Lynn. "But very reasonable, better the mutt than us."

They suddenly heard a lever moving, followed by a loud thud. "What was that?" Lynn grew uneasy.

"Must be one of the horses? Nothing could get in here." Ryan hoped that was the case, since he had the good sense to lock the door from the inside beforehand. Gently pushing Lincoln aside, Lynn moved to look at the stable with Ryan but saw no sign of activity.

"I don't see anything." Lynn lamented when she heard a cracking noise above her.

"Wait, I never noticed that window there?" Ryan scratched his head when Lynn pulled him closer.

"Ryan….." she pointed up fearfully. Ryan glanced up and gulped as he saw One Eye on top of the haystack ready to pounce. He lunged at them and they ran as several hay cubes tumbled down.

Lynn rushed to wake her brother up when Ryan tackled her. "Duck!" he shouted as One Eye flew over them. The wolf halted but not before knocking a haystack off balance, causing the cubes to fall down like an avalanche. As cubes bounced off the stable, the horse woke up and started neighing. The pigs started squealing in their pen.

Shielding her slumbering brother, Lynn, along with Ryan, tossed away the cube that was pinning them down. Lincoln didn't even stir.

"He's still asleep?!" Ryan blurted incredulously.

"Well, this is way past his curfew." Lynn shrugged.

"Don't worry….Jordan…I'll be your hero…" Lincoln mumbled in his sleep "….I'll deck those crooks…."

"Jordan?" Lynn was surprised. "Huh…..I thought he was crushing on that Paige girl?"

"Grrrrrrrrrrr…" the two gulped and spotted One Eye digging his way out of the hay.

"Crap….grab him! I'll distract the mutt!" Lynn instructed Ryan and jumped to her feet. "Hey! Over here, you sorry, mange-infested excuse for a predator!" she waved her arms up while distancing herself from the boys.

"Ace Savvy always deals out justice…."

"Oh, brother….." Ryan rolled his eyes and slapped Lincoln, who jolted up and shot his eyes open.

"AH! Robber! Feel the mallets of morality-ah!" Ryan caught Lincoln's flying fist and nearly crushed it.

"It's me, imbecile! And you better run!" he pulled Lincoln up, who was confused by the panicked neighing coming from the stable as the horses bucked madly in their pens at the sight of the predator. He thought he was saving a damsel from mobsters at a warehouse, not at a horse race?

Lincoln turned around and saw his sister cornered against the wall by the wolf. "Lynn!?"

One Eye shot him a brief glance. "Hey! I'm over here!" Lynn yelled at the top of her lungs to regain his attention.

"The door! Go!" Ryan pushed Lincoln away and ran at the wolf.

"Get back!" Lynn conveniently found a chair and grabbed it while ripping the weapon stash off her torso and tried using it as a whip. Unfortunately, a stash didn't pack the same punch as a whip and One Eye grabbed it with his jaws and tore it out of her grip.

Lynn held her chair up to keep the beast at bay when Ryan snuck behind him and kicked him in the rear.

"My turn to give you the boot!" he quipped as the wolf snarled in his direction and chased after him.

Lincoln was backing away when a thought occurred to him. "Don't be useless! There's the door! Help them escape! Open it!" he tried to do so but the gate from one of the pens was suddenly flung open and knocked him into the wall.

Ryan jumped on what remained of the haystack. One Eye tried climbing after him but was hit in the back with the flying chair, causing him to fall down.

"Leave him alone! You're not done with me!" Lynn roared when she heard the thunder of hooves.

"Get out of there!" Ryan shouted as more horses busted out of their pens and started stampeding inside the barn. Lynn pressed herself against the wall as a horse galloped past her. Ryan was knocked off the haystack as one of the frightened equines rammed into it.

"Ryan!" Lynn shouted while One Eye barked at a charging horse, causing it to rear up and change course in fright. Lynn jumped out of the way from being trampled by it. "Lincoln!" she screamed for her brother admits the pandemonium.

"Lynn!" he yelled in a strained voice. Lynn saw him lifting himself near the door, looking like he was in pain. Lynn's blood ran cold as she watched the horses bucking and stampeding mere feet away from him.

"Watch out!" Ryan suddenly tackled her just seconds before a horse's back legs crashed into the wall, splintering the wooden boards.

"Lincoln! They'll trample him!" she cried as Ryan dragged her behind a support beam for some cover.

"I know!" he lamented angrily. "But do you know how to tame five bucking broncos!"

They then heard a horse wailing in pain and gasped at what they saw, as did Lincoln. One Eye sank his teeth into a small mare, clinging on to her back while biting down on her neck, drawing blood. The savage struggled panicked the other horses even more so and some instinctively ran for the exit.

Lincoln stumbled away from the door as one horse busted through it, splinters flying everywhere as it galloped away, followed by another horse. Lincoln jumped out its way and plopped on his belly.

"Over here!" Lynn called out to him but couldn't move as one of the remaining horse came bucking near her and Ryan pulled her back again. The horse kicked a nearby cartwheel and Lynn's eyes widened with terror as it tumbled towards her brother.

Lincoln had no time to react before hearing an ear-piercing crash and everything went black, while his sister gaped in horror. Confused, the boy scrambled in the pitch-black darkness and quickly hit his head. Lynn felt a bit relieved as she saw the cart shake. The horse that had kicked it galloped past it and out of the barn.

The mare reared up, causing One Eye to lose his grip and fall off. He landed on all fours and aimed to chase after the wounded horse when the last of the horses bucked and struck the wolf with its back legs, sending him flying into the remaining haystack.

Ryan laughed. "Serves ya right, fleabag!"

"We gotta help him!" by the time he turned to her, Lynn had already run off to grab the chair she had thrown and charged at the remaining horse, which was stampeding around the cart.

"Beat it! Get out of here!" she flung the chair at it, breaking it on impact, making the equine divert its course and gallop after the rest of the herd.

Panting, Lynn kneeled down. "Lincoln, are you alright?"

"What?" Lincoln yelled from underneath the cart, his ears still buzzing, and his head still spinning.

"He sounds fine to me." Ryan quipped, kneeling down on the opposite side. "Let's get this thing off of him."

But they heard rustling and looked ahead to see One Eye lifting himself out of the hay, groaning and shaking himself clean. He spotted them and snarled viciously as he advanced at them, without as much as a limp.

"Oh, come on! Is he made out of titanium?" Ryan lamented incredulously as he got up to his feet.

"The rest of him must be as hard as his head!" Lynn grimaced as the wolf charged at them again.

They both jumped up and grabbed hold of the top beam on the stable, pulling themselves up as the wolf arrived and took a curious look at the cart.

"Don't you touch him, or I'll give ya a real reason to howl!" Lynn threatened the wolf, who started sniffing it.

"Chill, he has no clue the pipsqueak's inside there, safe and sound."

"Lynn, are you out there?!" Lincoln called out inside the cart, catching One Eye's intrigue, who reached out with one paw below the cart.

"No!" Lynn yelled as the wolf grabbed hold of the wheels and flipped the cart over, revealing Lincoln underneath it.

"L-Lynn?" he stammered as he saw the cart rock back but immediately screamed as he was faced with One Eye. Lincoln scrambled back when the wolf pounced and pinned him on his back. Lincoln choked for air as one paw was planted into his throat and One Eye's maw descended on him.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Lynn screamed madly as she jumped on the wolf's back, pounding her fists into his head with all her might.

Lincoln gasped and scrambled away after he was released and watched his sister ride bareback on the bucking wolf, grasping his neck fur and ears. "Leave us alone, you bastard! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YA!" she roared flippantly before inevitably being thrown off.

She hit the ground hard, tumbling around before coming to a stop. She groaned feebly as she lifted herself up, her whole body aching.

She looked up and was met with One Eye, jaws wide open, advancing towards when a squeal made him halt in his tracks. Two sows came charging at them in a mad panic. One Eye was briefly confused as they bolted past him, allowing Lynn to scoot back when a louder squeal echoed across the barn.

The wolf's good eye widened as a 900-pound hog came charging at him full speed and hit him like a freight train. With a high-pitched yelp, One Eye tumbled for several feet, he got up and barked furiously at the pig, but the latter charged right ahead. The wolf relented and ran as the hog chased him in circles through the barn before they ran out.

Lynn and Lincoln watched it unfold, utterly dumbfounded, when Ryan caught up with them, laughing. "The three little pigs aren't such pushovers once they grow up, eh? Big Bad learned that the hard way."

Lynn couldn't help but snicker as she rose to her feet. "I'll say? Hogzilla was doing the pushing there."

Lincoln stood up too, stunned and panting. "If I somehow survive this, I'll never eat pork again."

Ryan slapped his back, hard. "Don't be ridiculous! You need all the proteins you can get, beanpole."

"Sounds like a commotion out there?" Lynn noted, hearing a chorus of squeals, moos and neighing outside.

"Perfect, just the diversion we need to make a quick getaway." Ryan smirked.


They wasted no time getting out, where they found the horses and pigs running all over the farmland. The sky had grown brighter and hints of the sun were already on the horizon.

"I think we caused a little damage." Lynn remarked sheepishly as she looked at the busted door they were currently standing on.

"It's not that bad. The farm hands are gonna have one of hell of a rodeo. All hicks love rodeos." Ryan shrugged. "Let's scram!" They ran off but stopped as the collie ran past them yelping, chased by the huge hog.

"He must really hate dogs." Lynn remarked. "C'mon!" They ran on, passing by the cattle when something brought them to a screeching halt.

"You gotta be shitting me?!" Ryan blurted as they came face to face with One Eye yet again. He was positively furious now, teeth bared and the hairs on his neck raised, his breath fully visible in the cool morning air.

Lincoln shuddered with terror as Lynn shielded him with her arm. "He doesn't know when to quit, does he?" she lamented breathlessly.

Ryan looked to his left and saw that they were at the gate for the cattle pen.

"No problemo, I say; freedom to all livestock!"

"What?" Lynn looked at him oddly.

"Never mind, just freaking open the gate!" he ordered the siblings as the wolf charged towards them.

Unlocking the gate, they hopped on the bars as it slid open. They jumped off and the 7-foot fence blocked One Eye from getting them. The wolf soon backed away as the herd spilled out of their enclosure, widening as more and more cows ran out, distancing the two parties further and further from each other.

"Let's go, we're running out of animals to distract him!" Ryan exclaimed as they made a beeline for the nearest grove of pine trees. Looking back, they saw plenty of cattle running in the same direction they did, no doubt frightened by the wolf.

They made it to the grove and stopped to catch their breath. They saw the cattle scatter across the country but among the brown-white speck they noticed a smaller, black speck emerging from the herd and heading in their direction.

"It's One Eye!" Lincoln panicked.

"I wouldn't worry about him." Ryan laughed. "I think Ferdinand there has a bone to pick with him for scaring his ladies."

As the wolf came closer, so did the huge bull from before. One Eye stopped upon hearing the horned beast bellowing and felt the ground shake beneath his paws. If it was possible for a wolf to sport a "oh crap" expression, the kids saw just that as the fearsome predator was sent packing back to the woods with the mad bull in hot pursuit.

"That's a bully I can get behind." Lynn laughed along with Ryan, but Lincoln didn't feel any merriment and could only sigh with relief.

"Let's go, he'll probably lose the bull just as fast as he did the hog!"

The others' laughter died down. "When he's right, he's right." Ryan agreed. "Let's make like a banana and split!"

The trio ran into the woods and rushed up a hill to find their bearings. Upon reaching a small cliff, they spotted the road again, just below them, and even better; Royal Woods on the horizon.

"Almost there, but that's still quite a walk." Lynn complained.

"I think our luck is turning around." Ryan said happily, and the others soon heard a honk. Looking to their right, they saw a coal truck driving towards them.

"That truck? How will we get on there? It will pass by any minute?" Lincoln lamented.

"Easy, we'll just hop on!" Lynn exclaimed excitedly.

"You read my mind!" Ryan concurred.

"Hop on?!" Lincoln's pupil's shrunk. "Ah…no, no way, not in this lifetime!"

"Would you rather take your chances with One Eye?" Lynn argued as the sound of running engines came closer.

Lincoln gulped. "Do you have a death wish?! We'll only have one go and if we miss-"

"Too late!" his older companions grabbed him by the arms, and he screamed as he was dragged into a leap of faith at the coal-filled cart. It was no soft landing but once they were knee-deep into the coal pile they knew they were safe, some aching bones aside.

Lynn whooped. "We did it!"

"What better way to end a glorious heist and chase than with a daring getaway!" Ryan cheered and high-fived her.

"I'm alive?" Lincoln felt over his entire body, which was still in one piece. "I'm alive!" he cried tears of joy, not simply for surviving this leap, but for surviving this night in general. The rising sun was perfectly synched with their change of fortune.

"Quit weeping, you seriously thought I would lead you astray!" Lynn joked as she grabbed him by the wrist so she could high-five him too.

Suddenly, they heard a horse wailing somewhere from the forest. It was more high-pitched and anguished, likely from the same small mare. The source of her death cries was easy to guess.

"Sounds like One Eye got his way." Ryan grimaced, as the wailing continued but slowly died down. Lincoln felt his skin crawl, knowing this could very well have been one of them.

"I hope he chokes on it!" Lynn spat with pure contempt.

"And you got the envelope?" Ryan asked her, trying to change the topic.

Lynn's eyes widened and she hectically searched her tunic. "Sure I do! It's right in….it's in…." she started to panic and tug her tunic while the boys looked at her unnerved.

"Oh, there it is!" she felt a massive wave of relief as she found it just above her belt and held it tightly while it fluttered in the wind. The boys collectively exhaled with relief.

"That would have been a super mean-spirited twist….." Ryan deadpanned.


Arriving back at Ryan's home, he and Lynn were so tired that they took the stairs along with Lincoln.

Lincoln was the first to enter Ryan's bedroom, he pulled his sweat-soaked mask off, his face crimson and his hair a mess, and sat on the bed.

"Last time every fiber in my body ached this much was after I plowed down everyone else at last year's Astonishing Quest." Lynn rambled as she stumbled in and tore her mask off. "And my performance was so phenomenal that it got me banned."

"I'm sure that was the exact reason." Ryan nodded sarcastically, pulling his own mask off, making Lynn snicker.

"Wut?"

"Yikes, it's so uncanny. Your mug has color!" Lynn chuckled.

"Speak for yourself, Scarlet." He retorted while wiping his forehead.

Lynn huffed. "So? That's my signature color."

"I'm sure Pinky's gonna be seeing plenty of red too, once she learns that her application for the bimbo pageant had been swiped." Ryan realized much to his amusement.

Lynn snickered. "Aw, man, I'm not sure if I should be dreading that or eagerly await it. Guess Lola's gonna be even more crabby for a while, Linc. We'll have our work cut out for us."

"Yeah, I guess….." he mumbled, the look in his eyes bleak.

"Why so glum?" Lynn asked. "We won! We got the loot, we taught that prissy judge a lesson for trying to keep his ill-gotten gain and we made a bitch out of One Eye, I'd say this was a very productive evening."

"That's one night we won't forget any time soon." Ryan smirked.

"But that's it…." Lincoln shed a tear "…..we almost died a dozen times tonight, just like last night…." He lost his voice and buried his face in his hands as he couldn't hold it in anymore and started sobbing.

Lynn's smile faltered, as her brother's words sank in, while Ryan looked at him dumbfounded.

"You're crying? We got what we wanted?" he showed him the envelope. "We made a clean getaway and took a massive piss on the face of danger. One gallant adventure behind us, and now you wanna weep about it?"

"That's not how he sees it, Ryan, not everyone has nerves of steel." Lynn told him seriously and sat next to her brother, leaving Ryan stunned hearing the same words Lincoln had lectured him with this morning.

Lynn hugged her little brother, this time without any looming danger skulking right behind their backs. It didn't stop his crying but she was staunch to offer him whatever comfort she could as he quivered in her embrace.

"It's okay, we're safe now. That's all that matters." She said softly. Ryan rubbed this neck awkwardly, feeling an even bigger déjà vu than before. He did not fail to notice how this mirrored the way the previous day had started for them, with Lynn comforting a weeping and traumatized Lincoln after the latter had spent the night in mortal peril.

"I guess that would be a lot to take in for most people." He thought. "It's amazing he would actually go on after the zombie thing."

"Well, if it's any consolation; this went down much better than our original meeting with the cur. He didn't lay a fing-eh claw on you, and I got away with just some scratched palms and a pierced boot, no ambulances required."

Lynn sent him a mild glare and he looked away sheepishly. "Eh….I'll just shut up."

Lynn couldn't be too mad at him. He was, in his own awkward and faulty way, trying to comfort Lincoln, and she appreciated that. And he was technically right, something she gladly took to heart, as any help was much appreciated when it came to raising morale, as an athlete and team player ought to know.

It didn't take long for Lincoln to succumb to fatigue and he dozed off again. Lynn smiled weakly as she placed him down, tucking the pillow under his head. He had earned this rest and this time he could enjoy it undisturbed. She sighed and scratched her neck.

"This was a close shave…" she said dejectedly.

"I guess, but any crash you can walk away from is a good crash. Makes you stronger?" Ryan shrugged.

"The adrenaline rush is nice, but you can always get that without fearing for your life." Lynn exhaled and stood up to him. "It got pretty scary, especially when I thought I'd lose him…..or you."

A brief silence ensued, as even Ryan didn't feel like joking about that. Lynn was the first person he ever recalled stating that they were worried about his safety. From his perspective, that was quite something to take in.

"But you didn't, let's just appreciate that?" Ryan shrugged. Lynn grew a weak smile and hugged him.

He blushed but managed to stay composed, perhaps he was just too tired to get overly excited.

"Yeah, I've learned the hard way to appreciate what I got. It can be taken away from you any second, y'know?" she replied and after some deliberation, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. This wasn't a quick peck, she savored the moment.

Lynn would later recall how strange it was for her to be this upfront the way she was, but after her brush with death she subconsciously realized to an extent not to be hindered by doubt.

Ryan defiantly got a bit excited now, as his strained muscles managed to twitch a bit. Alas, this moment couldn't last forever as Lynn eventually leaned back.

"You didn't go catatonic or anything?" she smirked.

"How did I earn your gesture of affection?" he smirked back. "Because I saved your keister half a dozen times tonight or because you just really wanted to kiss me?"

"Both." Lynn candidly admitted. "Though, if memory serves, I saved your keister plenty tonight as well? I guess all the saves cancel each other out."

"Which means you just wanted to kiss me?" Ryan grinned, showing the gap where Lyle had knocked his tooth out.

"If it will make you happy….why not?" Lynn shrugged snidely and let go of him. "We made quite a team tonight, didn't we?"

"That's an understatement. It seems whatever we try to do; we work in perfect harmony together." Ryan said proudly.

"I'm glad to hear that." Lynn concurred as she slipped on and adjusted her mask. "So you're gonna help me sneak this damn thing back home?" she presented the envelope.

"Can't we sleep on it first? I'm wiped…." Ryan pouted.

"Nadda…" Lynn shook her head. "Go fetch us an energy drink. I want this done and dusted. The sooner the better."


Broad daylight was not a ninja's friend, or at least Ryan said so. With what energy they had left, the two of them landed on the tree adjacent to the Loud's house. From their perch, they had a clear view of the bedrooms, all of them unlit and with no visible activity, except for the parents'. Rita was pacing back and forth inside of it, clearly frustrated, with her husband following her.

Lynn quietly gestured for Ryan to follow her lead, already knowing the ideal route to take.

"I can't believe that slime-sucking receptionist blocked my calls?!" Rita was having a breakdown.

"Honey please, the people working there are very busy and-"

"To hell with them being busy!" Rita snapped at him. "My own kids have been invited there free of charge by the kid of the corporate mogul who owns the goddamn place and they snub me like I'm some crazy person who is not worthy of their attention even after I identified myself as the mother of their guests of honor!"

Lynn Sr. gulped. "Rita calm down, I know you're devastated but this isn't over yet. I'm sure once we contact Lola and-"

"What's even the point?!" Rita lashed out. "If that judge finds the money by then, he'll probably play dumb and there won't be a thing we can do about it! This isn't like finding a wallet on the street with twenty bucks, keys and an ID card, it's five thousand freaking dollars!"

Lynn wilted as his wife sat on their bed and started weeping in her hands. Lynn cautiously approached her, oblivious to their daughter standing on the porch roof and taking a glance through the window, narrowing her eyes at what she saw and nimbly retreating.

Lynn sat next to Rita, not knowing what to say. Losing five thousand dollars was no small grievance. His wife was downright livid, probably not helped by the large glass of wine she took just to calm her nerves. Then again, that might have prevented her from waking their daughters and every one of their neighbors by screaming her head off, something he admittedly also felt compelled to do.

But knowing what he did, Lynn knew that someone had to keep a cool head in these kinds of situations if their rocky marriage was going to make any progress. But losing five grand was a pretty good way of dumping any previous progress down the sewer drain.

"Rita…..I'm sorry. I should have been more careful and kept a better eye on it…."

Rita stopped sobbing and let his words sink in. Extreme stress was nothing new for her, especially for the last few years once their army of children had peaked in number. In such situations it was easy to project all her personal failures and shortcomings on her husband and lash out at him to vent out her growing frustration. Rita never intentionally wanted to do this but when your mind was overloaded trying to do five things at once while dealing with manic and troublesome daughters you didn't have much, or any time to think your actions through or reflect on your behavior.

Yet at this moment, she couldn't bring herself to yell at her husband, even if for a second she felt compelled to do so.

Maybe it was the alcohol that kept her just calm enough to retain some semblance of rational, but Rita knew at this very moment that she couldn't blame him for this incident. She had insisted that she would make the deposit and keep an eye on the money until then.

"Lynn…don't….." she shoved his arm away as he tried placing it over her shoulders. Rita got up and walked over to the window. "It was my fault, I should have known better than to leave it in the open. I'm such an idiot." She said self-loathingly. "I just….I just can't focus on so much at one…"

Her husband walked up to her. "Don't blame yourself, honey. Nobody is really at fault. Sometimes accidents happen and…."

"It doesn't matter; it doesn't change anything….." Rita muttered in a hollow voice, staring off into the distance. Lynn walked up to her, trying his hardest to provide some sort of comfort. His wife's penultimate statement summed up their main issue nicely.

Even with all their dedication, they were completely overwhelmed taking care of ten children. If regular parents regularly make mistakes or slipups, how could they possibly get anything accomplished?

Neither noticed the little ninja being lowered down from the air vent. Her partner held her by her legs as she silently placed the envelope on the nightstand and looked up to give him a thumbs-up, prompting him to hoist her up just as quickly and discreetly.

"I know, but we'll manage through…..somehow. We always have. For better or worse…." Lynn said weekly. Rita didn't say anything to that and kept staring into space for several moments.

Lynn rubbed the back of his neck. "We'll think of something…..this isn't the first time we faced serious financial problems, right?"

His wife didn't look at him. "I need to be alone…." She suddenly walked off. Lynn debated if he should let her go.

"Rita, maybe we-"

"Just leave me be." She retorted simply when something caught her eye. Rita froze in her tracks and rubbed her eyes, thinking it was the alcohol giving her wild hallucinations.

She frowned bitterly. "Actually…..could you just let me sleep here for a bit, I don't think I'm well enough to walk…."

"But…where will I sleep?" her husband asked when he noticed the same thing. "Wait? What's that envelope there? Didn't we leave Lola's in the kitchen when we first called the hotel?" he pointed at it, causing Rita's eyes to widen.

"You see it too?!"

Lynn looked at her oddly. "Eh….of course I do? I mean it's right there?"

Rita frantically snatched it and saw her own name on it. Still not wanting to believe that it wasn't some cruel hallucination, she placed it back on the nightstand and carefully opened it, pulling out its rich content. Lynn's eyes now likewise bulged out.

"Is tha-tha….is that the…."

Rita became oddly tranquil and straightened herself. She looked at Lynn, her expression was likewise calm.

"Lynn, dear, be brutally honest with me, do you see the money that I am currently seeing? I haven't gone loco, did I?"

The man rubbed his eyes, being careful about answering as he tried to make sure he hadn't gone off his rocker?

"Unless my eyes are deceiving me….eh…..yes, I am seeing it, right there in front of us."

That was all the incentive his wife needed to scream with joy and glomp him. Before he could register anything, Lynn now found himself being the one forced into a circle dance.

"The money! It's back! It's back!" Rita cheered while spinning around.

"But how?!" Lynn quickly felt dizzy. "It was gone? We searched-"

"Who gives a damn!?" Rita exclaimed with unbridled joy. "It's back! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!"

Lynn saw her point. Screw logic when you were offered a miracle, they were both willing to think it was a simple oversight. He felt elated and fully joined his wife in their happy dance.


Outside, Ryan and Lynn observed them from their perch. "I'll never be able to unsee that…." The boy deadpanned.

Lynn hardly cared for his smart alec comment, for she was in a state of ecstasy.

"We did it!" she pulled him into a bear hug, something Ryan greatly appreciated. "Couldn't have done it without you!"

"Couldn't have done it without me either." He quipped.

"Smartass…." She retorted playfully, not letting him go. "And don't think I forgot what you told Lincoln while we were cornered by the lynx. I always knew you felt that way."

"Meh…I'm too tired to care." Ryan shrugged, being far more honest that Lynn thought he was being. "Besides, we better get back to my room quick. Once the energy drinks wear off we might collapse and lose consciousness on the spot."

Lynn didn't take his warning lightly. Twenty-four hours of nonstop activity combined with a late energy drink was like knock-out gas once the stimulant wore off, she knew it from experience.

"Kay, let's scram. Just give me a sec." she took one final glance at the dancing couple, and felt a heavy burden being lifted. "Conscience cleared."

"Yeah…until you remember your next misdeed." Ryan sniped as he leaped off the tree.

Lynn grumbled and shouted. "You couldn't let have this moment, could you!"

"Nope!" she shouted in response, making her shake her head in annoyance.

With that she followed suit.


And the lousy day has at last come to a finish. Initially, the idea for this arc came about as me wanting to write a "villain overload" type of story highlighting my three OC antagonist in quick succession. Likewise, I planned to bring back Kathleen, specifically in the form of her claiming to have reformed, which Luan wouldn't buy but the other sisters would. Hence why this arc turned out so long XD I always wanted to do more with the characters being stuck on a trip together but that got sidelined once Kathleen entered the story. I can save that concept for a future arc.

So, just to recap: Lori, Leni and the twins have been immersed in the world of Luan's nemesis (and Luna will likely too), hence a clear divide has been made between the siblings (ironically, despite leaving on bad terms, both Lincoln and Lisa wound up on team Luan, a.k.a the non-ignorant sibling faction, as did the two romantic rivals and the jock and goth most blatantly at odds), which also led to my special Luan/Lucy sister bond being reestablished in this timeline, Lisa has been left devastated by her near-world-ending screw-up and is suffering some serious "heroic BSoD" XD, same thing for Lincoln after surviving a zombie apocalypse and a reunion with his worst nightmare in just twenty four hours and Ryan is forced to tell Luan that she's friendzoned and she probably won't take the news well.

The next arc might be another ultra-loose, heavily revised and very expanded version of a canon episode. We had the treasure map episode (here a fake one), the flue-zombie one (here with actual flue-zombies and much grimmer, and with world-ending stakes), which one could I tackle next and how?