"So we arrived at this town, right? A real backwater place, nowhere noteworthy. And sure enough just about all of the bumpkins living there had been turned into these hideous plane-dragon abominations! The grunts were horrified, but I kept my cool, naturally."

Peat resisted the urge to slam his head against the steering wheel. The scarred, brownish green MudWing had been forced to endure Oyster's inane gloating for the past thirty minutes. Were he not driving a vehicle filled with potentially hazardous anomalies he'd have probably run them into a tree just to shut the SeaWing up.

Why did they have to assign him to this mission anyway? It's not like I can't take care of a simple delivery on my own… A thought crossed Peat's mind that the site director had simply wanted Oyster out of his gills. Not a day went by where he didn't question why the director hadn't yet talked some sense into his brat of a nephew.

"Frankly I think my uncle should give me a promotion for such a successful mission, instead of sending me out on these little errands with low-level grunts like you, wouldn't you agree?" Oyster added.

Peat just let out a half-hearted grumble, not even glancing at the bejeweled SeaWing sitting beside him. He had half a mind to burst Oyster's bubble then and there, but he knew that would only make the SeaWing irate, which was even worse than when he was flying-high.

It's only another half an hour 'till we reach the depot, Peat mentally reassured himself. And then another hour back…

Maybe once this mission was done he'd finally send in his request for transfer. Then he wouldn't have to hear from Oyster ever again. Pleasant thoughts of leaving Site 30 behind swam through his head and drowned out Oyster's continued ramblings, Peat's focus beginning to drift ever so slightly from the road ahead.

Meanwhile, a pair of LeafWings were huddled together inside a large bush on the roadside, eyeing the truck that was rapidly approaching their position. The smaller, slenderer of the two held a confident glare on her face, her expression not wavering in the slightest. The other held himself a bit more timidly, his squarish body fidgeting with the leaves all around them while he glanced between his partner and their target.

"Honey, are you sure about this?" the nervous LeafWing began. "I'm well aware of the urgency of this operation but, well, we're just so close to that Foundation site is all. Couldn't we have set up somewhere less…risky?"

"We're right smack dab in the middle of two of their bases. There's nowhere else on this route that's further away," the confident LeafWing explained. "Besides, it's all the better to send those suits a message, don't ya think?"

"Well…I suppose…"

The truck was much closer now, likely only a minute from passing the two.

"You ready?" the confident LeafWing asked.

The other LeafWing nodded and sunk his talons into the soil beneath them. He began to murmur so faintly that not even his partner sitting next to him could make out what was being said, not that she would be able to understand any of it. It wasn't her that he was speaking to.

The confident LeafWing turned a tiny acupuncture needle over in her claws; a recent acquisition she'd grown rather fond of. She felt the roots of the nearby trees begin to writhe and churn beneath her talons, a smirk beginning to cross her face.

Go time.

"When I found out that one of our own had been tragically deformed into one of those horrible creatures, I was utterly…"

KERTHUNK…THUNK…THUNK…

The truck abruptly ground to a halt; Peat and Oyster would have been thrown from their seats had they not been strapped in. Peat slammed down on the gas, but despite the engine roaring at full power the vehicle barely budged even an inch forward.

"Damn it!" Peat cursed, slamming his foretalons onto the wheel. "As if today couldn't get any worse…"

"Oh what have you gone and done now? You haven't driven us into a ditch, have you? Isn't driving supposed to be your job?" Oyster prodded.

It took all of Peat's willpower not to strangle the irritating SeaWing. He took a deep breath, shoved down his frustrations as far as he could, and reached for the door.

"Stay here and don't touch anything," he grumbled as he stepped out, "I'll get this sorted out."

"You'd better. I've got important business to attend to back at the site and I don't need to be running late because of your…"

SLAM!

Peat threw the door shut before Oyster could finish. He took another long, deep breath of the fresh forest air and dropped down onto his belly to investigate what had caused the truck to stall.

It was a little dark beneath the truck. He could always grab a flashlight from the back, but he didn't really feel like going through the effort. Squinting, he thought he could make out a messy tangle of vines wrapped all around the undercarriage of the vehicle. Or were they roots? He hadn't seen anything like this ahead of them, though Oyster's incessant prattling had made it difficult to focus.

What was even stranger was the fact that the roots looked like they had rapidly grown up and around the truck's undercarriage, twisting their way into every little crevice and tightly wrapping around the axels like a constrictor around its prey. But how could a bunch of plants possibly grow so quickly, and with such intention? Unless…

"Having some car troubles, are we?"

Peat lurched around to face the speaker, only to slam his head on the underside of the truck. He cursed under his breath, rubbing his sore noggin as his eyes fell upon a lone LeafWing standing just on the side of the road. She stared at him with a smirk, looking amused by his fumble.

A LeafWing…

"Hey! You weren't the one who did this, were you?" Peat barked in a harsh, accusatory voice. One of his foretalons instinctively reached for a holster strapped around his waist. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about this dragon was setting him on edge.

"You know, it's rude to go throwing out accusations at someone you've just met," the LeafWing chided.

Peat heard the other door of the truck swing open and closed, Oyster hopping out despite his command to stay put. The SeaWing stepped around the front of the vehicle and stared at the mysterious LeafWing, frowning.

"Who's this now? This isn't some friend of yours, is it driver?"

"No," Peat growled, "and didn't I say to stay put!" He turned his attention back to the LeafWing. His frustrations at Oyster aside, there was something familiar about this dragon. He could swear he had seen her face somewhere before, but where?

Oyster scoffed. "I think you're forgetting who's in charge here," he hissed at Peat, before he too turned to the LeafWing. "And as for you, whoever you are, I'm afraid we don't have time for whatever it is you want. So, if you would be so kind as to scurry off to wherever it was you came from and leave us to our important work."

The LeafWing frowned. "Or what?" she asked.

"Oyster, stand down! She could be dangerous!" Peat ordered.

But Oyster didn't listen. "Please," he retorted in his usual oozing tone, "I think I can handle some unruly civilian." He moved closer to the LeafWing, her amused smirk returning.

"Is everyone in the Foundation as air-headed as you?" she pried.

The Foundation? But how would she know about…

Oyster growled. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? I am the nephew of the director of Site 30! And if you aren't going to cooperate, then I'm just going to have to place you under arrest and let my uncle decide what to do with you!"

"Oyster, wait!" Peat shouted.

But it was too late. Just as Oyster was reaching out to grab one of the LeafWing's forelegs, she spun about and threw the SeaWing to the ground. In mere seconds she had Oyster pinned.

Peat whipped out his gun and aimed it at the LeafWing. "Step away from him right now! Or I'll shoot!" he ordered, talons trembling ever so slightly. Why was this LeafWing putting him so on edge? And why did her face seem so familiar?

Beneath the LeafWing's talons Oyster was squirming and shouting and making his indignation abundantly clear. "Let go of me! Do you know who I am? My uncle will make you a D-Class for this!"

The LeafWing ignored her hostage's cries, instead turning to face Peat without the slightest hint of worry at the fact that she had a gun pointed at her. In fact, it looked like she thought it was funny! "Go ahead, shoot me," she goaded.

Peat grit his teeth. Why didn't she seem worried? Was she anomalous? Who was she?

"Well, what are you waiting for? SHOOT!"

BANG!

Peat hadn't even noticed his talons clenching around the trigger until the bullet had already left the gun. Silence hung over the three as Peat and Oyster watched and waited for the LeafWing to drop dead, but she never did. In fact, she seemed completely unphased! It took a moment for Peat to realize why.

It was as if the bullet had been frozen in time, hanging motionless not even an inch from the LeafWing's skull. It hung like that for a few more seconds, before disintegrating into dust that blew away on the wind. Peat and Oyster were stunned to silence.

"Anomalies can be so helpful, wouldn't you say?" the LeafWing said, patting one of the satchels slung across her neck. "Still, it's nothing compared to having powers of your own."

Peat was at a complete loss for what to do. Whoever this was, she was on a threat level well above his pay grade! What could she possibly want with them anyway?

"Now then, this has been fun and all, but I think it's time we get down to business," the LeafWing noted, searching through another of her pouches and pulling out a tiny, shiny object. Peat had a hard time making it out from where he stood, but he thought it looked like some sort of needle.

Oyster let out a laugh. "Ha! What are you going to do with that, poke me to death?"

"Actually, that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"

Without hesitation she brought the needle down upon a medium-sized rock lying nearby. With a sharp POP the rock burst like a balloon, scattering tiny shreds of grey rubber all over. Oyster shrieked.

"So, you guys give me what I want, and I don't pop your friend," the LeafWing nonchalantly stated, holding the needle dangerously close to Oyster's snout. The SeaWing let out a whimper, true terror etched into his face for the first time Peat had ever seen.

"W-Wait! I…I'm sure we can talk this out! W-W-W-We don't need to resort to violence, right? I'm sure we…we can help you with whatever it is you want, right…driver?" the SeaWing babbled. If dragons could sweat, Peat thought that he'd be drowning them in an ocean.

There was something strangely cathartic about seeing Oyster brought down a peg, but the severity of their situation kept Peat from enjoying it.

"Considering you already seem to know who we are, then you should also know we don't deal with terrorists and criminals," Peat barked.

The LeafWing smirked. "Oh please, you and I both know that isn't true. Take that shapeshifter you took in not too long ago, for instance."

Shapeshifter? Does she mean Azalea? But how would she know…

Suddenly the shrubs lining the side of the road began to rustle, a second LeafWing awkwardly stepping out. He was a bit taller than the LeafWing pinning Oyster, with a squarish body and milder demeanor.

"Rosemary, do we really need to drag this out so long? You haven't even told them what we came for yet!" the mild LeafWing complained.

Rosemary. Oh…oh no…

Peat's shoulders slumped, his eyes growing wide as the realization of who these two were finally set in. He felt like an idiot for not having realized it sooner!

"Finally caught on huh?" Rosemary asked. "Took you long enough…"

This was bad. This was very bad. These two were some of the most dangerous criminals in the Foundation's books! Heads of a notorious crime family dating back to the time of Darkstalker, with their talons in just about every corner of the anomalous criminal underworld! But why had these two attacked a random transport? Surely they wouldn't want to dirty their talons with such menial grunt work!

Today just keeps getting better and better…

"Rosemary. We really need to get this over with. The longer we stall, the more likely the Foundation is to send reinforcements," the mild LeafWing – Conifer as Peat now realized – added.

"Fiiiiiine…" Rosemary groaned. She stared at Peat, her expression now all business. "Open the truck."

Peat shook his head. "I can't do that."

"J-Just d-d-do what she says!" Oyster cried. "You want the anomalies in the back, right? W-Well, you can have them! All of them!"

Peat groaned. Why couldn't that SeaWing ever learn to SHUT UP. It seemed like Rosemary was thinking the same thing, her gaze shifting to the whimpering mess beneath her talons.

"Well you're annoying," she grumbled. "Maybe this'll shut you up." She slowly lowered the needle closer to Oyster's snout, with no sign of stopping.

Oyster screamed. "NO NO NO WAAAAAAAAIT!"

The needle pierced his snout, but instead of bursting into scraps, he seemed…fine. Though, Peat did think he could hear a faint hissing noise. In fact, while it was a little hard to see at first, Oyster's entire body had started to change. Sharp points rounded out, his features began to look flatter and simpler, as if they were painted on, and there was a noticeable shine to him now. Almost like a balloon…

"Wh-What did you do to me?!" Oyster barked as Rosemary pulled the needle out of the top of his snout. The hissing noise grew louder, and it didn't take long for the SeaWing to catch on. "Wait…no…this can't be happening!"

"Better hurry up," she said, a hint of menace beginning to seep into her voice. "He'll die if all his air is let out. Or at least I think that's what happens, haven't had the chance to test it out until now." She pressed down on his back a little harder, forcing the air out of his snout faster.

Peat growled. He knew he shouldn't humor these dragons, but at the same time there was no chance of him or Oyster getting out of this alive if he defied them. Would it be better to just do as they said if there was the chance that both of them would live? Rosemary and Conifer were getting what they wanted either way.

"PLEASE! I-I'll do anything! Just don't-" Oyster pleaded, only for Rosemary to stomp on his head and flatten the air right out of it.

"Shut up," she hissed, not once breaking eye contact with Peat.

The SeaWing was quickly running out of air and Peat running out of time to make his decision; Rosemary tapped her wrist to indicate this. "Graaaaah! Fine!" he roared, stomping over to the back of the truck. He was probably going to get fired for this, but at this point he didn't care. He threw open the back doors of the truck and stood aside as Conifer and Rosemary stepped over.

"See, that wasn't so hard," Rosemary chided, snatching Peat's gun out of his claws and stuffing it into one of her many satchels. She watched as her husband searched through the many crates and boxes in the back of the truck, eventually emerging with a large cylindrical container that he struggled to heave out of the back.

"I think this is him," Conifer noted. "It was the only fluid container in there."

He dropped it down on the ground with a loud thud, flipping the latch on the top and opening its lid with a hiss. Peat hadn't known what was inside of it other than that it was some sort of newly discovered anomaly that hadn't been catalogued yet, so it came as quite a surprise when a torrent of water gushed out of the container and onto the road. The water rose up in a large amorphous blob which gradually took the shape of a dragon. A LeafWing.

"Ah, finally! You guys have no idea how boring it was in there!" the LeafWing made of water said, its fluid body solidifying into a regular, flesh and blood LeafWing. He was young, likely not even fully grown, and he resembled Rosemary and Conifer quite a bit.

Crap baskets…

"Vine, I thought I told you not to go sneaking around foundation sites," Rosemary scolded.

Vine shrugged, looking not at all concerned about his prior situation. "I only got caught because some grunt happened to be out on their break right where I was shiftin'. Besides, I knew you guys'd come get me sooner or later!"

"We won't always be here to bail you out you know," Conifer stated. "You shouldn't put yourself into unnecessarily risky situations." He glanced at Rosemary as he said this, Rosemary rolling her eyes in response.

The three LeafWings turned to Peat, who was still stunned that they had been transporting one of the Foundation's most wanted dragons without knowing it. Had the higher-ups even known about it?

"Come on," Rosemary said, "let's get you home before more suits show up." She and Vine turned to leave, Conifer pausing to address Peat one last time.

"So sorry about all that. If it were me, I'd have just killed you both without all the fuss."

"Hey, wait! You think you can just walk away!" Peat finally barked as the three LeafWings were about to leave.

"Yeah," Rosemary nonchalantly replied. "I'd be more worried about your SeaWing friend if I were you."

CRAP BASKETS!

Peat snatched a tire pump from the back of the truck and scrambled over to the limp, deflated remains of Oyster. Barely a puff of air was left inside of the SeaWing, if he could even be called that anymore.

"Oyster?" he called. Oyster didn't respond. Had he just passed out? Or was he…?

No, there was no time to worry about that now. He fumbled around for the hole on Oyster's snout where Rosemary had pricked him, shoved in the nozzle of the tire pump, and began frantically pumping.

Come on, it can't be too late! he mentally pleaded. For as annoying as Oyster was, the site director wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he'd let his nephew die.

"Uuugh...wha…where'd she go…?" Oyster moaned as his body began to regain a bit of volume. Peat let out a sigh of relief and shot a glance at where the infamous LeafWings had been standing.

But there was nothing there, save for a faint spark of light flickering away.