Chapter 11 It's Too Dangerous
A little more than a month had passed since Xin joined Big Green. He made record time on being one of Big Green's most valued members. With his quick wit and huge heart, Xin helped Big Green recruit more animals faster than it used to be. He has even converted the mole rats to join Big Green where First Squad, alone, failed. The only downfall from being in Big Green for so long was that everyone knew he was not a prince, but a princess. Regardless, people treated her with respect and kindness as Qiao continued to dress as a young boy.
Kowloon was especially kind to her, since he had fallen in love with her. She ignored the subliminal profession of love and pretended that Kowloon was just being really kind to her. Lin Chung was also acting quite strangely ever since he found out that Prince Xin was really Princess Qiao. He would constantly follow Qiao around and draw her nonstop.
Other than romance problems in Big Green, a much larger problem emerged outside of Big Green. There were many attempts of Qiao's capture set up by High Roller, but like all well-train heroes, she and First Squad always thwart his plans. However, High Roller became craftier after each foiled plans, so it had become harder and harder to keep the princess away from his grasp.
"OWLS! FLASH YOUR EYES AND BLIND FIRST SQUAD!" High Roller shouted while putting sunglasses on to protect his eyes.
The owls were acorn shaped with large yellow eyes. They used their eyes to create a bright light that blinded First Squad. As they flinched at the light, First Squad began to be pelted by the owl's pellets.
The heroes and the villains were in the middle of forests and Owl castle was just to the north of them. High Roller grinned evilly as he watched First Squad lose to him. He pulled out a megaphone head shaped mocking bird.
"Xin, follow my voice! I'll keep you safe from High Roller." the wicked trickster spoke using Lin Chung's voice.
The real Lin Chung realized that someone was using his voice, "Xin! Do-" his face was hit by one of the pellets.
"Xin! High Roller is coming towards you! Come to me quick!" High Roller added, using her fear for him against her.
The girl was easily fooled by the phony voice and walked towards it; her eyes were still shut closed from the owl's bright eyes.
"Zebras! Seize her!" High Roller ordered.
The brothers ran over to the disoriented princess and each grabbed her by her arms. She still could not open her eyes, but realized that she fell right into his trap. Qiao felt like an idiot for falling into his trap, and she desperately struggled under the Zebras' grip. High Roller opened up one of his sleeves and a tiny black spider crawled out of it. She hopped onto Qiao's hand and bit her wrist, sinking her teeth into one of the princess's veins and injecting a tiny, yet deadly amount of poison.
"Good job, Spider Queen. Now, Princess Qiao will be too weak to fight back." High Roller laughed.
"Damn it!" Lin Chung cursed, when he heard what High Roller just said. He pulled out his staff and focused all he could on taking out the owls. However, there were too many owls and not enough time, "Mighty Ray, use your electrical eyeballs!"
Mighty Ray gobbled up a banana to give himself strength, "I am Mighty Ray!" he yelled out, "Fear my eyeballs!" He zapped the owls surrounding him and the other members out of pure luck, since he could not see a single thing. Once all the owls were taken care of, First Squad was finally able to open their eyes.
The ex-jester noticed that all the owls have been incapacitated, and only he and the zebras were left standing. However, he had a secret weapon hidden behind the forest.
"Chameleon Queen!" he screeched.
A monster-sized armored chameleon stomped her way towards the battleground. She snapped her tongue and gobbled up High Roller, the zebras, and Qiao in one gulp. She then turned slowly and began stomping away.
Jumpy yelped, "We got to get inside Chameleon Queen and get Xin out of there!"
The heroes used their turtle cannons to catch up with Chameleon Queen. As they were right up against one of her legs, Lin Chung used his staff to poke her with the pointed bamboo end. The sting from the poke caused her to stop and cry in pain.
They quickly hopped into her mouth, so they could catch up to Qiao's kidnappers. As they arrived to the center of her body, there was already an army of armored chameleon tanks waiting for them.
"FIRE!" High Roller screeched.
The chameleon tank army started to fire their cannon balls at First Squad. This was the trickster's chance to escape out of Chameleon Queen's bowls and make off with his prisoner.
Jumpy watched High Roller escape with Qiao who was weak and pale but still struggling to get free, "You guys hold off the chameleons! I'll go get Xin!" he used his jump rope to bulldoze down the High Roller's army and make his way towards the villain.
Keep fighting, Qiao… I will give you some of my strength to fight the poison…
"Release me, you toad!" Qiao skidded her feet across the ground to slow the Zebras down.
Sima Cao gave her enough strength to pull Sparky Black towards her and then elbowed him in the chest causing him to release her arm. She used her freed arm to punch Sparky White in the face, and he released her other arm. As the two were writhing on the ground, Qiao turned and ran the other way to escape from High Roller. The trickster saw that she managed to escape from his worthless minions.
"H-How? Your body is poisoned!" he snarled and pulled out a jump rope to use as a whip, "You won't get away that easily, Qiao!"
His whip got a hold of Qiao's ankle and he caused her to trip. She was then dragged back to High Roller, but Jumpy arrived in time and pulled her back. High Roller's whip lost its grip and Qiao was safely behind her rabbit friend.
"Damn you!" the false emperor snarled, and used the jump rope to create a force field.
Jumpy did the same and collided with High Roller in an epic battle of jump roping skills. The others arrived after incapacitating the chameleon army. Mystique Sonia was told to get Qiao out of Chameleon Queen, and the men stayed to keep High Roller at bay.
"Zebras! Stop, Mystique Sonia!" High Roller yelled out.
But the zebras could not get past Mighty Ray. The man in red charged up his eye balls and zapped the two. "You lost, High Roller." He crossed his arms.
The ex-jester snarled and retreated. The singed brothers escaped with him. The rest of First Squad also left Chameleon Queen's body and returned to the owls who were astonished that Mighty Ray was able to hit them all even though they blinded him. The Owl King joined Big Green, and they all returned to their headquarters, victorious but also fearful for the future.
Once arriving, the unconscious Qiao was rushed to Komodo Dragon King's room. The king bit the swollen spot where the Spider Queen bit her and sucked all the venom from her blood, curing her. Color returned to her skin, and she managed to regain consciousness.
"Xin." Lin Chung spoke to her, "This is getting very dangerous, very fast. High Roller almost got away with you this time, and next time he might succeed."
She scowled, "You can't make me stop coming on missions. That was bad on my part that I let High Roller trick me. I never knew he could do that, but next time it won't happen again."
"What if he pulls sometime like that again and you didn't know he was able to do that?" Mighty Ray asked.
"Look, Xin, I just want you to be safe. As a veteran I order you to just stay in Big Green." Lin Chung reworded, "You're not allowed on any more missions."
Qiao looked down and held herself, "I just made a mistake."
It was not your fault… High Roller is very cunning…
"I know. But I need to learn to be more cautious." she sighed in thought, "My carelessness got the best of me again."
The other members of First Squad left her in Komodo Dragon King's room. They felt a bit of guilt, punishing her like so, but they were doing this in her best interest.
Qiao glanced back at her healing wrist, and angrily clenched her fists. "Komodo Dragon King, I have a favor." she spoke.
"What can I do for you, princess?" he answered.
A couple hours later, Qiao walked out with a special pouch which she placed in her shirt, and walked away. Mystique Sonia caught a glimpse of her, and remembering that she must still be bummed out from being excluded on all future missions.
"Hey, Xin!" She scurried off towards Qiao, "Don't be so sad. Let's go have some fun." Qiao responded with a drone noise, "Come on, Xin." Sonia smiled, "Lin Chung is only thinking about your safety. He really cares about you."
Qiao sighed, "Sometimes I wish he didn't. Is it because I'm a princess and that princesses are naturally danger prone?"
"What? No!" Mystique Sonia shook her head, "It's because High Roller is evil and he'll stop at nothing to capture you. Lin Chung is just protecting you from High Roller." Qiao still looked upset. "Hey, let's have a sleepover tonight with the other girls in Big Green. That'll take your mind off of it." Sonia smiled.
"Okay." Qiao sighed.
Since it was already evening, the slumber party could start at any minute. Qiao was sitting in her room, sitting in front of her vanity and talking to Sima Cao.
You have been working hard for more than a month… You deserve a break…
She sighed, "I don't want to be excess baggage to Big Green. I want to be useful."
You are useful… You have made many animals defect High Roller's ranks…
"I feel like I could do more." She sighed again.
Enjoy your break for now, Qiao… Just make the best of it…
"What should I do?" she asked,
You have not talked to your sisters in a while… Write them a letter…
She pulled out a paper and brush and started writing on her vanity. She suddenly felt excited to tell her sisters how everything went. She began writing:
"Dear sisters,
They welcomed me with open arms! It was exciting. I went on missions and I learned to forgive the animals. You were right, it was never their fault."
She paused then wrote some more.
"I made lots of new friends in Big Green. Mystique Sonia is my best friend. She and I can depend on each other. She's really nice and sweet, and very, very pretty. Mighty Ray is a man who has plenty of self-confidence. He does tend to be a little too arrogant, but he's a really good friend, very loyal. Jumpy Ghostface is the Rabbit King. He's the first animal I became friends with. He saved me once, and I owe him my life. He's fun, adorable, and very friendly. And Lin Chung…"
She paused once more.
"Lin Chung is a strange man. He's benevolent and has a heart of gold. He's also a skilled warrior, and even has a passion for art. But ever since everyone found out I was a princess, he's been acting weird. He's become a bit overprotective of me. He's even forced me to stop coming on missions with First Squad. I hope it's not what I think it is…."
She paused again, and then decided to finish it.
"So far, it's been good. Everyone is safe and we're going to recruit more animals to Big Green. It's only a matter of time before High Roller is overthrown and we can move back in. I can't wait!"
She smiled.
"Love, Qiao."
She rolled up the letter and tied it with a bow. Then there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." she spoke.
"Hey, Xin!" Mystique Sonia giggled, "And look who I convinced!"
Alpha-Girl walked in, "Hey, kid."
Mystique Sonia, Alpha-Girl, and Rosefinch from the air force came into her room. The girls had their sleeping bags, make-up, and pictures of some of the guys in Big Green. Mystique Sonia even left Yaksha with Mighty Ray, because this was an all-girl slumber party. No boys allowed.
The girls started off with make-up. Qiao painted their faces so that each of them looked like a princess. She even did each of their hairs to add on the appearance. They all giggled about their do, and then talked about the guys in Big Green.
"So, Mystique Sonia, I heard you like Mighty Ray." Rosefinch giggled, holding up a picture of Mighty Ray.
Mystique Sonia huffed, "Ew! He's so gross!"
Alpha-Girl laughed, "Mystique Sonia, it's so obvious that you like him. Everyone in Big Green knows."
Mystique Sonia became defensive and blushed, "N-No! Never! I have Yaksha; why would I want that jerk?"
Qiao giggled, "It's alright, Mystique Sonia. He's a nice guy. He'll make a good husband for you."
"Ooooh." Alpha-Girl laughed, "You heard it from the match maker, Mystique Sonia."
Mystique Sonia stuck out her tongue, "Well then, Xin, there's gotta be someone in Big Green that caught YOUR eye." she giggled.
"N-No. I'm not interested in men right now…" she paused, and mumbled, "Not after what High Roller did to me."
Mystique Sonia remembered why Qiao was distrustful towards men, "You can't just push out all the guys just because of one jerk." she insisted, "Big Green is full of nice guys. You should give one of them a shot; they'll be really good to you."
"Especially, when you're really a princess." Rosefinch smiled, "Men find that exotic."
"Yeah, Kowloon's always talking about you." Alpha-Girl teased, "He NEVER shuts up."
"Thanks, but no thanks." Qiao shook her head, "I'll learn to build interest in men, my own way." she smiled, then she hopped back onto her bed, "It's past midnight now, I'm going to get crow's feet if I don't sleep." she giggled.
The other girls shivered, "Yeah." Mystique Sonia agreed, "I want to be young and beautiful as long as possible."
"Good-night, girls." Qiao smiled, pulling the sheets over her.
"Good-night." the rest replied and blew out the candle light.
After about half an hour, Mystique Sonia still could not get to sleep. She felt bad that Qiao was refusing to let men in her heart because of what High Roller did to her.
"Hey, Alpha-Girl." Mystique Sonia whispered and nudged.
Alpha-Girl grumbled, "What?"
"Kowloon likes Xin, right?" Mystique Sonia smiled.
"Hmm? Yeah." Alpha-Girl nodded.
"Help me set up a date between the two." Mystique Sonia nudged, "It'll be cute!"
"With Kowloon? He's a good guy and all, but honestly, Xin deserves better." Alpha-Girl snickered.
"She just needs to know that she can trust men." Mystique Sonia giggled with her, "Kowloon is a good guy, and he likes her, so it'll work out."
"If you say so." Alpha-girl giggled.
The two then went fast to sleep, smiling at their plan to make a blind date for Qiao.