"Um, is it supposed to do that?" Private asked.

The test tube was shaking and smoking and the black liquid inside was boiling.

"Scientifically speaking…no."

"HIT THE DECK!" Skipper shouted.

The tube exploded as the boys threw themselves on the ground.

Rico had done a sort of cartwheel and crashed into the door. The other three landed facedown, covering the back of their necks. The black liquid splattered on their clothes and their heads as well as the table and surrounding floor. Rico was the only one to completely avoid being hit by the liquid.

"Report." Skipper said, pushing himself up.

"My head is itchy and sticky." Private said, scratching his blond hair which was now dripping with the black liquid.

"Same here." Kowalski said sadly, looking at the remnants of his test tube. There was glass strewn all over the table and some other tubes were cracked.

"Wash your hair and put on a new outfit." Skipper said.

Private nodded and exited.

Kowalski cleaned up the mess while Skipper shook his head.

"I know!" Kowalski snapped. "No need to hover over me and tell me everything I do wrong."

"It's my job, Kowalski. You might destroy the entire eastern seaboard if I don't correct you." Skipper said. "Will this stuff hurt?"

"No, but it will stain our clothes."

"Alright, we'll wash them together." Skipper said.

The three of them returned to the apartment, ignoring questions from the others. Skipper and Kowalski waited for Private.

"Um, guys?" Private called. It was less urgent than Kowalski had yelled, but sounded startled and confused.

The boys entered the bathroom to find Private dressed and trying to see his jet black hair…wait- black?

"What happened to the blond?" Skipper asked, looking at Kowalski.

Kowalski looked at Private's hair and examined it. "Strange, I've heard blond hair gets darker, but this is black. Completely black. Not even dark brown, it's as black as Rico's hair."

Skipper took a shower next and when he came back, his dark brown hair had turned completely black. Kowalski's shower produced the same result of having his reddish brown hair turn to black.

"Can I have samples to analyze?" He asked.

Skipper and Private nodded.

Kowalski pulled out his microscope and requested a hair. Skipper gave him one. Private and Rico contributed their own to help. Kowalski added his hair to the analysis. He furrowed his brow and muttered under his breath, scribbling on a notepad. He also got a sample of the stuff

The others compared their hair with each other.

"I don't mind since mine was dark enough to be black." Skipper said. "And my parents already know about me being part of a team."

"But my mum will go crazy!" Private said. "I haven't even told her about my name change, what do I do?!"

"Relax, it'll probably wear off."

"Hopefully before winter break."

"Okay, good news or bad news first?" Kowalski asked.

"Bad." Private said.

"The effects seem…at the moment…well it's…it's permanent."

Private's jaw dropped. "N-no way! My mum will freak and take me back home and-"

"Don't worry; I'll spend the break looking for an antidote. You tell her that you wanted to try a temporary darker blond color and we got you the wrong one. Kenny has dyslexia so say that he read it wrong when we picked it out. I'll tell him to stick to that story if anyone asks him."

"Mind you I'll still be in trouble for trying to dye my hair anyway."

"Yeah, but it'll seem less terrible if it's an accident."

"And what's the good news?" Skipper asked before Private could respond again.

"We'll all pass our exams because we studied hard." Kowalski said.

Skipper considered this and smiled. Private sighed and returned to his study guide. Rico looked indifferent.

Kenny accepted the blame for Private's hair change without question. He mumbled something about being used to it. Barry thought it was awesome and wished he could dye his hair purple. No one asked why.

The boys kept to their stories and waved off any questions by telling people that they needed to study.

Private explained what happened to his father and was told that his mother was still refusing to speak to either of them. Andrew, like his son, was more concerned about the actions of Candace than anything else.

All of Private's teachers pulled him aside on Monday to ask about his hair change. He used the excuse that Kowalski had come up with. Kenny looked apologetic and went along with it. Barry made the situation easier by joking about it. The only classes that Barry couldn't make lighter were Science and English. Barry had English class while Private and Kenny had Science. And Private was without his friends in English class. Kenny was able to make the situation less awkward for the teacher by pretending to cry.

Private's English teacher did not let the subject go. She demanded to know why this happened on top of the name change. He kept trying to get her to see that it was an accident and that he wasn't mad at Kenny, but she didn't buy it like the other teachers.

Finally, she had to let him go to study hall. He met up with the others as they resumed studying. Private grew more worried about his mother and constantly checked his phone. There was only one message from Ginger, wishing him well on the exams.

Tuesday was the day of their first exams. For Private and Kenny, it was Science and PE with a break in between. Barry had an English exam first thing, followed by PE. Ramona and Allie had PE first, and then Ramona would go to Science class while Allie had English. PARK B gathered outside the front gates of the school and put their hands in a pile at the center of their group.

"Let's hope we all pass successfully." Private said.

"I hear that we're supposed to run a bit in PE, but it shouldn't be too hard." Barry said.

"Still, let's hope Science is alright." Kenny said. Ramona and Private nodded.

"And English." Allie added. Barry smiled at her.

"We'll do well." Ramona said confidently. "Here's to us."

"Yeah!" The five of them cheered as they threw their hands in the air and ran into the gate, laughing.

Private found Marlene and Skipper quizzing each other on Algebra.

"I know!" Skipper said as Marlene whacked him with her study guide. "Gee, I was joking."

"You may live here, but my parents are only letting me stay here because I'm doing well in school. And I've been tutoring you. If you do horribly, it's a reflection of my tutoring skills- wipe that grin off your face!"

"Sorry. Hey, Private! Good luck."

"You too." Private said. "Where's Rico?"

"History."

"Come on, we can't be late!" Kowalski shouted as he ran towards them. "Skipper, are you ready?"

"No, I've barely studied and I'm a wreck." Skipper said sarcastically.

"I-you-just-aah!" Kowalski groaned. "Why did I spend my time on that stupid no good invention? I could have studied more…maybe we still have time…"

Private shook his head and headed to class. Kenny gave Private a thumbs-up as they sat down in Science. He returned the gesture with a smile.

The class fell silent as the tests were handed out. Private took a deep breath and turned his paper over.

The half hour break came at last and Private sighed in relief as he left the room. Kenny was still working on his test so Private decided to see if he could find the others. He headed to the cafeteria.

Ramona and Allie sat at a table, eating snacks and going over notes. Barry hadn't arrived yet.

Private sat with the girls and helped them review. He was able to give Ramona some tips on trick questions from his own Science exam and learned that he was reviewing some of the same English topics as Allie.

The break came to an end with no sign of Kenny or Barry.

Private and the girls put arms around each other and wished for luck on exams.

"The test wasn't too bad, hopefully we get similar ones." Private said.

Ramona smiled weakly. "Thanks." She said.

"Well, I'm off to exhaust my knowledge unto…paper?" Allie said.

The other two laughed.

"You're going to ace the test." Ramona said.

"Yeah, it's going to be amazing." Private agreed.

"That's the spirit." Skipper's voice came. "I thought Algebra went pretty well. I see that the other two members haven't finished or can't make the last ten minutes of break."

"Hey! I'm here!" Barry shouted, barreling through the cafeteria door. "Oh boy…that was…horrible…I do not understand Shakespeare…at all. Nor do I understand what we're supposed to get out of reading those long paragraphs. Oh well, I think I did well otherwise."

"Good, and I think Science was good. Ramona, you'll be great as well." Private said.

"Definitely" Barry said. "Allie, you're better at English than I am."

Allie and Ramona blushed.

The bell rang and the kids disbanded.

"Wait, what did they make you do in PE?" Private asked.

"Just a few laps and then we had study time!" Ramona answered.

They were then separated by the crowd of anxious students.

"No sign of Kenny?" Barry asked once they were in the locker rooms.

"No, but I just remembered that Skipper and Kowalski have PE at the same time that we do." Private said.

"Kenny should be fine, right?" Skipper asked.

"I am confident that my brother is just struggling with reading comprehension and he will be fine." Kowalski said as he approached the others. "I just saw him. He's finishing up the last few questions now. Ramona looked nervous to start."

"She's going to be fine." Skipper said. "As long as she doesn't create a formula to destroy the entire northeastern states, she should do just peachy."

Kowalski rolled his eyes. "Funny."

Kenny arrived just as the PE classes were getting ready to jog. After about three laps, the classes were allowed to either keep walking or study for future tests.

Private, Barry, and Kenny used the time to walk with a review sheet and fired off questions that would be on their History final. Private also tried to ask Barry about English, but he didn't understand much of it.

Behind them, Kowalski was doing the same thing with the result of Skipper trying to run ahead in order to avoid the taller boy.

After class, Private, Kowalski, Skipper, Kenny, and Barry waited outside the school gates. Rico came out with a wide grin.

"You're the master of Geometry now, right?" Kowalski asked. Rico nodded. "Oh wise guru, teach me!"

The boys laughed.

"Hey guys!" Allie called. "English wasn't that hard."

"Yeah, says you." Barry said.

Rico found his sister and decided to walk with her back to the apartments. Allie had found her mom's car and left.

"How much longer do you think she'll be?" Private asked. "It's been fifteen minutes."

Skipper, Barry, and Kenny shrugged.

"Relax; she's probably as nervous as I was." Kowalski said. "She probably decided to go over the questions again and make absolutely cer- oh, hold on." He pulled out his phone. "I have to take this." He said with a frown.

"Still, maybe we should check on her." Barry said.

"Sure." Skipper said. "Kenny, you coming?"

Kenny tore his eyes away from his brother and nodded. "Okay."

"And there goes my phone." Barry sighed. His face brightened up once he saw the screen. "You guys go on without me."

"I guess I'll stay here and make sure he doesn't run off." Private said.

Skipper and Kenny headed back inside.

Private noticed that Kowalski seemed tense and trying not to yell. Barry, on the other hand, was having a happy conversation. He caught snippets of Barry's conversation.

"Yeah…can't wait to see you too…I know it's been forever…I wish I could have gone too…I know, school and stuff…are you at least coming for Christmas?" Barry sighed. "Oh well, at least I get to see you in the summer, right?" His face lit up. "Awesome…do you have to go? Oh, fine. Bye!"

"So, who was that?" Private asked as Barry put away his phone.

"Just a friend I haven't seen in a while." Barry said. "She's in Italy right now and can't really chat as much. I think she's coming back sometime in the summer."

"Oh. Hey, what do you think his conversation is about?" Private gestured towards Kowalski who was attempting to get as far away from people as possible.

"I have no idea. Hey, I'm going to see if they found Ramona."

Private approached Kowalski from behind.

"Look, I don't care. You can say whatever you want, but I'm not-" Kowalski growled. "Stop interrupting me…I don't care anymore…stay away from- STOP INTERRUPTING ME…yeah, I got that…I'm not stupid, you know…leave them out of this…don't worry, I won't." He furiously shoved his phone in his pocket, grumbling to himself.

Private hid behind a pillar.

"I can hear you breathing."

"Sorry." Private said. "I didn't mean-"

"It's fine as long as you don't mention it again." Kowalski said. His face was still dark pink.

"No, never."

The other boys finally came back with Ramona and Marlene. Marlene had found the younger girl in the bathroom, crying about the test.

"I'm fine…" Ramona said.

"Hey, it's okay to be nervous." Barry said. "Dude, I probably failed my English exam and I spent two hours and twenty minutes on it."

"Yeah, and I kept getting all the formulas and the periodic table wrong." Kenny said. "I swear those numbers were so tiny."

Ramona gave them a small smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You're not going to fail the entire sixth grade because of one paper." Private said. "All five of us have History tomorrow. Allie said she'd be at the apartments at two."

Barry and Kenny started cheering loudly, Private joined along. Ramona laughed at the boys as they headed back.

They ate lunch before going to their rooms to get ready for more studying.

"Hey guys, we have our first mission." Skipper announced.

Private had been about to leave, but he turned back. "What?"

"There's been some suspicious activity at an old warehouse on the other side of the city."

"What kind of activity? And why would it be our mission instead of the police?" Kowalski asked.

"Basically, there have been reports of strange experiments going on there. They think Blowhole's behind it." Skipper said. "We're going on Saturday."

"Well, that's after finals and it's alright with me."

"When were you and Rikki going home?"

Rico looked on his phone. "Sunday." He said.

"Rocky said she'd drive us home whenever I was ready." Skipper said.

"My mum wants to buy a ticket for me to leave on Friday."

"What?" The other three said.

"I told dad that it was too soon after finals and I needed a break."

"We can investigate the warehouse on Saturday and then you can fly home on Sunday, how's that?"

"I'd like that."

"It's settled then, we're investigating that warehouse on Saturday." Skipper said.

"Yes sir!" The others said, saluting the leader.

Private happily went downstairs to see his four friends waiting.

"Sorry, Skipper had to tell us something last minute."

The others shrugged it off and began studying.

Wednesday's finals were a little more demanding than Tuesday's. Ramona, Private, and Kenny all had English finals while Barry and Allie had Science.

All of them felt pretty confident about their History finals, they finished around the same time. Ramona had drilled it into Barry's head not to rush no matter how badly he wanted to finish. Barry was the last of the five of them to finish.

Barry and Allie headed off to their science classes.

"Hopefully I'll be transferred to your English class next semester." Kenny said.

"I know you will." Private said.

Kenny smiled and headed off to his class.

Private and Ramona entered the hallway.

"Hey, good luck on your exam." Private said.

"You too." Ramona said. She gave him a hug and entered her class.

Private entered his own class.

Once again, the friends met after finals to express their exhaustion.

"Luckily we have study hall tomorrow. I think they let us watch a movie or something." Allie said.

"But that's after Math." Ramona said. "And no matter how nice Mr. Campbell is, his final probably isn't so cool."

"Hey, we got this." Barry said. "Because we're awesome! Bring it on, Thursday!"

"Yeah!" Kenny said.

"Let's go!" Private cheered.

Again, the five friends studied together for their Math final.

Barry and Kenny needed the most help. Kenny kept mixing up formulas and complained that they shouldn't put letters in math. Barry got frustrated when he kept forgetting decimal places and he nearly refused to practice the word problems.

"I don't care which train gets there first as long as it gets there!" Barry groaned.

He stopped complaining when Rico showed him Geometry homework.

"Oh, then they have shapes…oh great!" Kenny sighed.

"You just have to relax." Private said. "It won't do well to get all wound up about this."

"Actually, the test can't be that bad." Allie said. "I mean, we already learned this stuff."

"Hold on, Private hasn't learned things from the first month of school!" Ramona said.

"I've already learned some of this stuff." Private said. "And I've been looking at your notes, remember?"

"One more test, guys." Barry said. "We got this in the bag! Honest, I think this has been an awesome first semester. We can visit each other during break and have crazy adventures."

"I'd love to hang out with you guys." Ramona said. "Is it possible for any of us to go to your house, Private?"

"I don't know." Private sighed. "I'm not even sure if I'm coming back next semester."

"But you have to!" Kenny said. "These past three months have been amazing!"

"Yeah, you HAVE to come back next semester." Barry said. "And that goes for the rest of your middle school and high school years!"

"Do NOT leave us!" Ramona said.

"Please stay; you're the only one who helps me keep Barry and Ramona from destroying each other."

"True." Private said. "Will you stick with me though?"

"As an awesome theme song said. 'I will be there 'til the very end.'" Allie said.

"When there's danger or trouble-" Ramona said.

"We're there on the double!" Barry said. "Not to mention that we're celebrating the end of finals tomorrow night. The reign of PARK B is drawing near!"

"Hey, shut up! I am trying to study!" Julien shouted.

"Hey, shut up butt trumpet!" Barry said. Allie and Ramona burst out laughing.

"I do not- what is so funny?"

"Your face! I. AM. BARRY!" The younger boy leapt on the table and began dancing.

"WHEELER! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Alice shouted, stomping towards them.

"Make me-ahh!"

She had yanked him by the arm and he crashed to the floor.

"Ouch."

"You are now confined to your room." Alice growled. "And you!" She turned to Allie who looked startled. "You don't live here, go home!"

"I-"

"We were studying." Ramona said. "Barry just got carried away."

"I don't care! Barry, go to your room now! And you get out."

Allie looked offended.

"But Alice-"

"Stuff it, Alvin!"

"It's Andre." Private said. "My name is not Alvin."

Alice growled again, startling the kids.

Ramona stood up and faced the redhead, glaring back with equal fierceness.

"Ramona, it's not worth it." Allie said. "I'll leave."

"So will I." Barry grumbled. "My butt hurts."

"I'm not leaving." Ramona said. "All five of us have an exam tomorrow that we need to study for."

"What I saw didn't look like studying." Alice hissed. Ramona didn't back down. "I am going to give you another chance, but if you do this again then you are leaving the room."

"Fine by me." Ramona said coldly.

"Got it." Barry said.

"Yes ma'am." Private said.

Kenny and Allie nodded.

PARK B entered their Math class after wishing each other good luck. They sat in their respective seats as the tests were passed out.

Private and Ramona finished in about an hour and twenty minutes. Private passed the time by reading the third Harry Potter book that had been given to him by Skipper's brother. Brian Sorenson had heard from his little brother that the younger boy hadn't read the series and decided to give the books to Private.

Ramona passed the time by doodling in her notebook.

Barry finished just in time for the break.

The three of them chatted about their exams with fellow students and hoped that Allie and Kenny would be alright.

Allie finished her exam and was able to make half of the break time. After the break was over, they went back to the Math classroom to find it empty except for Kenny and Mr. Campbell. The teacher was grading papers and looked up at the four kids.

Kenny's eyes were glued to his paper and he seemed frozen.

Mr. Campbell left the room to talk to the other four.

"He's got a little more than half left." The teacher said. "There's only so much I can help him with. I can tell him what the numbers and letters are, but not the order they go in. I think that's where it gets confusing for him. He has until three in the afternoon to finish. I told him he would be allowed to take a break if he wanted, but he didn't respond. I wish I could let him use his notes."

The four kids sighed.

"But-"

"Barry, we can't help him." Ramona said.

"We studied really hard yesterday. Even when Allie had to leave, the four of us helped Kenny with Math. We even had a refresher studying session this morning." Private said.

"Oh Kenny…" Allie said. "I went slowly so that I wouldn't make mistakes. I spent half the break literally going through every problem that I had trouble with all over again."

"I'm sure he'll be-"

BANG!

The five of them jumped.

Mr. Campbell hurried inside, followed by the four kids.

Kenny stood next to his fallen desk. The exam and extra papers were strewn on the floor with his pencil, calculator, and eraser. His backpack was a few feet from his desk. Kenny faced away from them, his head held down. His hands were clenched in fists.

"Kenny, are you alright?" Mr. Campbell asked.

Kenny didn't respond. He stepped over the papers and walked towards the exit.

"Kenny…" Private said.

"Please say something." Ramona said.

"Dude…" Barry held a hand to stop Kenny.

Kenny smacked it away.

"Dude!"

"Kenny!" Allie said.

"Kenneth Taro, would you-"

"Shut up, Barry." Kenny said hoarsely.

Barry growled and yanked Kenny back by the back of his shirt. Kenny threw his elbow back into Barry's stomach.

Barry wheezed and let go.

"Kenny!" Mr. Campbell said. "Please-"

"I'm done." Kenny said. He ran off before anyone else could say anything.

"Barry, are you alright?" Allie asked.

"What's his problem?" Barry groaned.

"Something that we have to tell Kowalski about." Private said.

"Barry and I will go to study hall and tell the teacher what happened." Allie said.

"And I'll look for Kenny." Ramona said. "But did you see it?"

"Yeah…" Private said. "He was about to cry."

The kids split up. Private tried to remember what class Kowalski had when he saw Rico carrying a few books.

"Rico!"

The taller boy grinned as he saw his roommate.

"I forgot that you're a teacher assistant." Private said. "Do you know what class Kowalski has now?"

"Uh…" Rico looked around, trying to remember. "Oh. Computer."

"Computer science?"

"Yeah. Come."

Private followed Rico to a room next to the library. "There."

"Thanks."

Rico grinned and left.

Private knocked on the door. A stern looking teacher stood there.

"May I help you?"

"I'm looking for Kowalski Taro."

"He's working on his final project right now."

"It's an emergency."

The teacher rolled his eyes and began to close the door.

"It's about his brother, Kenny!" Private shouted.

Private started to walk away when the door opened and Kowalski came out.

"I have five minutes." Kowalski said. "What's up with Kenny?"

Private explained that they had studied all afternoon and evening for Math and what had happened recently.

Kowalski sighed. "I should talk to him."

"No, you have to finish your final." Private said. "Just tell me what to say to him."

"I can finish this thing in half an hour. Find Kenny and tell me where he is."

"Okay."

"I've looked everywhere except the boys bathroom. Mr. Campbell said he wasn't in the bathroom." Ramona said once Private had found her.

"Where would he go? He doesn't ditch school."

"We have to think harder…where's a place that you could be invisible?"

"Er…I don't know. Somewhere dark, maybe."

"But I searched the janitor's closet and places that I've seen him hide before. I've also checked the garden area."

The two of them sighed and went to study hall.

Allie and Barry were disappointed to see that Kenny wasn't with them.

The supervising teacher decided to take the kids to see the high school drama class rehearse for their final performance.

The Drama teacher smiled, happy to see an audience.

"Hey." Nat whispered to Private. "Missing someone?" She winked and pointed to the upper level.

A dark shape was sitting in the top corner near the kids who were working on the lighting panel.

"I'll show you where the stairs are."

Private followed her to the door and smiled.

"Thanks."

"No problem, kid."

Private quietly approached Kenny and sat next to him. Kenny jumped slightly.

"I'm not going back."

"I didn't say anything." Private said.

"I know, but it's what you would have said."

"So, you're giving up?"

Kenny sighed deeply. "Yeah, I guess."

"Then I suppose I should give up too. I should just let my mum make my decisions for me instead of working hard to make my own decisions."

Kenny didn't reply.

"I also suppose that Rico should just give up and let people's words get to him. Kowalski should give up his dreams of science. He might fail a test so he should give up, right? He should just give up all his goals and desires after one mistake and go back to Wisconsin." Private stood up. "Because giving up after one mistake is worth it." He left without waiting for a reply from Kenny.

Private joined the others again. After a little while, he looked up to see the upper levels empty except for the lighting crew. He gave a little smile and sent Kowalski a message.

"I think he went back." He whispered to Ramona. Ramona smiled and relayed the message to Allie and Barry.

The Penguins and PARK B waited outside of the building. Rikki and Rocky decided to wait with them. Marlene, Mason, Phil, Nat, and Izzy also joined them. The group of dedicated friends stayed for an hour and a half even when everyone else had gone.

The youngest four gasped when their math teacher came out

"He said you were to thank, Private." Mr. Campbell said. "Whatever you said, it worked." He held up a suitcase. "He's finished."

Private grinned broadly.

Kenny exited and the hall burst out with cheers. Kenny's eyes grew wide as he was showered with praise and hugs.

"You did it!"

"I knew you'd make it, kid!"

"That's my awesome roommate!"

"Yeah, with sharp elbows!"

"And sharp brains like his brilliant brother!"

"Hopefully not with an ego to match."

Kenny stared at them all. He turned pink and tried to hide behind his brother.

"Come on, buddy!" Izzy said. "You deserve happiness!"

"We should all get ice cream." Rocky said. "Guess what flavor I'm getting?"

"Rocky road." Everyone else said.

"Am I that predictable?"

"Yes!" Skipper said.

Rocky tackled her little brother and attempted to give him a noogie.

"So, shall we go for ice cream?" Marlene asked.

"Okay." Kenny squeaked.

The group cheered and walked out of the school. Private noticed Barry at the back of the group, watching suspiciously.

"What's wrong?" Private asked. "I noticed you didn't seem keen on the idea of ice cream."

"It's just that it's after school…"

"Yeah." Private said with a smile.

A strange expression flitted across the other boy's face for a moment before it was replaced by the usual goofy smile.

"And it's AWESOME!" He ran to catch up with the group.

Private pulled Skipper aside before they reached the ice cream shop and told him what happened.

"Well, it is Thursday." Skipper said. "He probably isn't used to going out on Thursdays."

"Okay."

"I don't think it's anything to worry about."

Private dropped the subject, but still felt concerned when he saw Barry looking at his ice cream as if it was going to disappear on him.

That night, Alice didn't bother stopping the entire building from cheering and partying. She did, however, knock on doors to tell people to go to bed at two in the morning.

Friday, it seemed, everyone was relaxing and packing for Christmas break. Ramona and her brothers left Friday night with the majority of their things.

The Penguins discussed the mission and what they would need.

Saturday morning, Private and Kowalski tried not to be nervous about the mission. Rico couldn't stop acting like James Bond with his sunglasses and ray gun. Skipper tried to assure everyone that the mission was going to go well.

"Six hours until the mission, boys." The leader said. "We're ready for anything! Even answering the door." He added as there was a knock.

A nervous looking Rocky was there.

"Hey Rocks, what's going on?"

"Have you seen Rikki?"

Rico looked startled.

"Wasn't she with you?" Skipper asked.

"Yes, I was supposed to meet her downstairs. We were in the lobby when I forgot my keys and when I came back, she was gone." Rocky said, looking close to tears. "I'm sorry, Rico!"

"Alright, maybe we should call her phone. She probably tried to get a head start and find your car." Skipper said.

Rico dialed Rikki's number and put it on speaker.

"Rikki, are you alri-"

A harsh voice cut across Skipper. "I am not who you seek. But if you ever wish to see your friend again, you'll come to the abandoned warehouse at three…and be alone, Skipper."