Somewhere in a big forest, Hilda was walking. After her fiasco with Victoria Van Gale and the factory, she managed to land safely on the ground. The bad news is that she is far from home. She knows her mother will be worried sick about her, so she has to make her way back to Trolberg. She tried to climb a tree to get a better view of the area, but she got attacked by angry squirrels.

"Sorry!" the brat cried.

The chipmunks flipped off the girl before throwing acorns at her.

When Hilda explored further, she was surprised to see Woodman of all the people there. "Woodman! I need your help. I'm looking for—"

"Ssh," the wooden creature interrupted. "I'm gambling here."

The girl was curious. "How come?"

Before Woodman could answer, the elves placed their cards on the table. They soon complained when most of them lost. Before Hilda knew it, she got grabbed by a giant since Woodman bet her on elf poker.

"You people are offensive, you know that?" the giant commented. "You think we are the big monsters?"

"I'm sorry, that was wrong of me," Hilda piped in. "And so is kidnapping!"

"Err, actually," Woodman popped in. "It is technically not kidnapping since he won you legally."

"Gee, thanks for that," Hilda sarcastically replied as she was taken away by the giant.

In Trolberg, Johanna was getting worried by the second. She didn't have any leads to where her daughter was. Hilbert was unable to help due to his limited supplies for any inventions. His mom was trying to think of solutions. "Ok, be calm, Johanna. She is probably at Frida or David's."

Hilbert sighed as his mother left the apartment. Twig got on the couch while Alfur jumped to one of the antlers. "We haven't had much looking around Trolberg either. We have to get outside the area to find Hilda."

"Are you drunk, Alfur?" Hilbert furrowed his eyebrows. "There's dangerous stuff like trolls, vitra, rats, rough elves, and we JUST went through a snowstorm!"

"So, you're not going to help find your sister?" Alfur got upset. "You'd rather leave her die in the far, cold woods alone?"

"What? No, I never said that—"

Spark used his turn to argue. "Then get off your lazy ass and go find her!" The robotic animal turned into a ball and rolled onto the floor, crunching Hilbert's foot in the process.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" Hilbert yelped in pain, grabbing his foot. "Be careful with that!"

Twig and Alfur left in a huff so they can find their friend. Hilbert is left alone in the living room. The boy knew that he had to do something, though he couldn't do it alone since going outside Trolberg wouldn't be easy for a lonesome guy like him. Not to mention that if he did go out, it would worry Johanna more since she would be missing 2 children. So, he had to take matters into his own hands.

Outside Trolberg, Frida was with Kelly on the plainfields. She was trying to do something to get on good terms with her, but it proved to be a challenge. It seems that all Kelly wanted to do was to stir up some trouble. For starters, she enjoyed setting Miss Hallgrim's hair on fire. Kelly shoved the principal into wet cement. Frida felt uneasy about this. It was a matter of time before Kelly stole some candy from one of the stores.

"What the hell? Did you even pay for these?!" Frida was surprised.

"Never mind that, just eat it," Kelly stuffed some chocolate on her mouth. "Better hurry before it melts."

Frida still was not pleased about eating the sweets, especially if they were stolen. She decided to change the topic. "So, do you have any other friends?"

"Well, there are some other girls I hang out. There's Shenzi, Karen, Jennifer, Hazel, and Chloe. We all met during school. I can't tell how much pleasure I get from causing trouble with them." Kelly drank her soda.

"Were there ever any times when you got upset with them?"

"Somewhat," Kelly burped. "Though it's just for minor problems that can be handled quickly."

Frida resisted the urge to ask further. "Well, what if, hypothetically, you ended up blowing up at them in some argument that you can't easily apologize for?"

Kelly was now curious. "You know, you're asking a lot of questions, and we just met. Is there something bothering you?"

"Well—No. Not really." Frida wasn't in the mood to feel the guilt again.

Soon, some growling can be heard from the distance. Frida shivered since she recognized it. Kelly was only confused by it before she grabbed Frida's hand and walked off. "Let's get going. It's gonna be too windy at this point."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Hell, if I know, we will become lunch for the trolls if we stay too long. Now, come on,"

Just then, the two ended up bumping into Vivian. Kelly was anything but pleased. "Hey, watch where the hell you are going!"

"Sorry," Vivi sheepishly replied.

"What brings you here, Vivi?" Frida wondered.

"Well, I'm just going around having fun in Trolberg since the storm ended. It feels great to adventure out here rather than being cooped inside like rats."

Frida rubbed her elbow. "Uh, yeah…"

"Oh, and I hope there's no beef between us ever since, you know,"

Frida knew what she meant. "Oh, don't worry about that. It's not you that I got pissed off. You're ok in my book," The girl dreaded saying that, knowing it's what caused her argument.

"Look, can we get going?" Kelly was impatient.

"Right, right. We'll leave. Sorry, Vivi."

Vivian was unsatisfied seeing Frida being bossed around by Kelly like that. Smartass teen bossing my friend like that, who the hell does she think she is?

She was suddenly interrupted when she heard some barking. Looking back, she noticed that Hilbert and Spark were approaching. The girl changed her mood since her two friends were at least with her.

Hilbert was even surprised to see her. "Vivi?"

Spark was at least elated. "It's good to see you again! It's refreshing to be away from that storm!"

"Yeah, though some of Trolberg is still covered with snow," The red-haired kid turned her attention to Hilbert. "What do you have planned today?"

The boy sighed. "I have to look for Hilda, whether I like it or not. Mom is worried about her so much,"

Vivian can understand that. She had something else in mind to say. "I just ran into Frida. It's a surprise that she isn't pissed off with me."

"Well, you aren't the one she is mad at," Hilbert assured. "Is it me, or does she really set her expectations up too high?"

"It really matters to her," Spark popped in. "She didn't want to look like a failure in front of everyone she cares about, including her friends."

"Frida shouldn't worry about that. I mean, I never set up my expectations. And look at me now!" Vivian smiled.

Hilbert gave a disgusted look. "Yikes."

Vivian felt embarrassed. "Ouch."

"I'd hate to barge in, but we have to look for Hilda now. For all we know, she could be chased by a giant!" Spark commanded.

"Yeah, let's get going," Vivian pulled Hilbert's arm.

"Would you not do that?!"

"It's not like it's easy to move your ass automatically," the girl rolled her eyes.

Back with Hilda, she and the Woodman are lost in the woods. Not only did their trek back to Trolberg got complicated, but it was dark outside. Thankfully, they found a cabin to take shelter on. Hilda sighed with relief as she drank her peppermint tea. "This is sweet. Feels like we are home again."

"Not really," Woodman replied. "This isn't even our place. They could call the cops on you for breaking and entering,"

"Crap, you're right," Hilda snapped her fingers. "Look, we'll just sleep here for the night, and when it is the morning, we can head back home."

"Fair enough to me. How is your life in Trolberg going so far?"

"It has its ups and downs; almost got the school destroyed by a troll, made a huge raven fly, got assaulted by elves, and…" Hilda didn't want to resume the rest since she knows what was next.

"Such is the life of an adventurer, huh?" Woodman drank his tea. "That's more than what I can say about me. Has your brother burned the apartment yet?"

"No…" Hilda yawned and headed upstairs to sleep on the bed. "Good night, Woodman."

Back at Trolberg, Johanna looked out the window in worry. She was thankful that her daughter is ok, though she is far from home. She felt the door open in a sudden manner. At first, she assumed it was Hilda, only to see that it was Raven. "Wow, even with the snowstorm over, it's still cold."

Johanna ended up hitting the bird with her broom. "Get the hell out of here!"

"Whoa, whoa! Don't hurt me, I talk!"

The mother quickly stopped what she was doing. "Oh, sorry! You must be the bird that my daughter was looking for,"

"Well, when you put it that way, yes. I owe it to her. Speaking of which, I did see her with some red-haired chick. She didn't seem to enjoy her company."

Johanna knew what he meant. "Oh, you meant my son Hilbert. He is the one with short hair. Hilda is the long hair one."

Raven facepalmed. "Damn, I'm terrible with names, now this?"

"Look, let me cut to the chase. Can you please help find my kids? It's bad enough Hilda is lost out there for more than a day, but I don't want to lose both of my babies."

"I suppose so," Raven nodded. "Your daughter did save my life from that crazy boy. I could also find that look-a-like of hers since he did try to help me as well."

"Please do so," Johanna led the animal outside so he can transform into his Great Raven form to fly to outside Trolberg. "I have to get used to that."

"10-4, lady!" The Raven took off into the sky. He flew over the walls so he could start his trek to find the kids.

The next day, Hilbert and his acquaintances woke up in a tent. This was strange for them, as they noticed the tent being a lot more cramped than usual. The three gasped when they noticed a lady with white hair.

"Who the hell is that?" Vivian whispered.

"I think it's Victoria Van Gale," Hilbert hissed. "And based on her sleeping, it is best we don't get involved."

"I agree," Spark commented. "In fact, she kinda looks like a psycho mom."

Suddenly, her head rose, and she snapped awake. "What the hell did you say?"

"That you're psycho?"

Victoria Van Gale gave a cross look as she got up. "What's a couple of you bastards doing here in this place? This is my spot!"

"Sorry about that, ma'am!" Vivian apologized. "We didn't know you were here!"

"Eh, what the hell. Water under the bridge."

"Speaking of water, you could use some," Spark noticed the flame on Van Gale's hair.

The crazy lady gasped and ran out in panic. She located the nearest source of water and doused her flame. "Whoa. That's the last time I'll face an explosion. Or is it?"

Hilbert felt uneasy seeing Victoria like this. He especially noticed the bags under her eyes. But he felt his spine shiver when the lady noticed him.

"You look familiar," Victoria Van Gale inspected the boy from head to toe. "You look like a brat."

"Well, he's more of a smartass," Vivian joined in the teasing. "An egghead, if I may add."

Hilbert took offense. "Hey!"

Victoria analyzed Hilbert closer. Soon, she recognized him, sort of. "You're that kid that blew up my station!"

"Wait, what?"

The woman grabbed the boy and started to shake him like a ragdoll. "How dare you erase my life's work! You damn bastard!"

Spark got in the middle and grabbed his master. "Whoa, whoa! No need to act all drunk!"

Victoria grumbled. I haven't been drunk since the time I got arrested for driving under the influence of it.

Hilbert cleared his throat. "Look, we don't want any trouble. We are just looking for my sister."

"Your sister?" Van Gale raised an eyebrow. She soon managed to connect the dots. "Oh, yeah. I ran into her the other day. She was with a scaredy cat boy and a talking chicken."

"Yeah, that says Hilda, alright,"

"Look, can you help us find her?" Vivi pleased. "She got lost around here."

"Shouldn't we look for bones at this point," Hilbert coughed.

He was met with a smack at the face by his friend.

"It's important we find her!" Spark objected.

Victoria at first objected, but she managed to think ahead. She noticed that Hilbert has a talking mechanical pet, so if she got ahold of that, she could be rich if she sold more, and she wouldn't have to worry about going to prison again! That is, if she can avoid the authorities. "Well, if it's really that important to you, I guess I can lend a hand."

"You sure about that?" Hilbert yawned.

"Well, my station did blow up, it's not like I can just magically repair it somehow."

"Very well. Let's move toward the woods. I think I saw some sort of wooden house there the last time I went outside," Vivi chirped.

Speaking of which, Hilda was inside it. After having some food, she tried to exit the cabin, but she was having difficulties with opening the door. Even with Woodman assisting, he still ended up being back inside the cabin.

"Come on, let's try the stairs. We can escape if we jump off the roof," Hilda suggested.

"That's only gonna do more harm than help," Woodman sarcastically replied.

"Just come on!"

The trip upstairs proved to be quite annoying. No matter what direction they went, they couldn't find an exit. Even downstairs wasn't an option. But things got weird. The girl was surprised to see portraits of several people that she knew: Johanna, Twig, Frida, David, even Hilbert; something about seeing those faces gave her some guilt.

Woodman caught on and noticed her expression. "I take it you haven't been in good terms with them lately?"

Hilda was hesitant to answer the question since she still wanted to leave the house. But she wanted to say a few words. "Let's just say that I haven't been such a good influence on them. I pretty much caused hell to them."

"You should probably try to make amends with them. Being on a sour note can lead to depressing matters." Woodman coughed.

Hilda raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you get so wise?"

"Kid, I'm a man made of wood, I'm no genie."

After climbing up the ladder, the brat groaned when she realized that they were back where they started from. Not to mention that food magically appeared behind them. Hilda wasn't amused as she walked to the nearest chair to pout.

"Look on the upside, at least there won't be a world's smallest violin to play in your pity," Woodman shrugged as he pulled out his guitar and started playing.

Hilda sighed as more items spawned into their command. God, he's not helping with this situation. Him not even giving an effort reminds me of Hil- well, you know.

"The sooner you make up with your twin, the sooner your guilt and doubts go away," Woodman sang.

Hilda wanted to object, but she knew that Woodman had a point. Even though it wasn't her fault Frida couldn't get her book back, their argument shouldn't break apart their friendship. And even though she didn't like how her brother chickened out on going on adventures with her, he at least did some good in her life. The girl knows that once she escapes her wooden trap, she has to make amends with those that she emotionally harmed. I'll be back for you, guys.