It was a bright sunny morning in the Hidden Kingdom. The Big Green was enjoying they're slumber in they're beds, especially Mighty Ray who was snoring loudly in his sleep while the others slept. The sun's radiant light shined against the HQ of Big Green, the sunlight slipping through the many windows around it. Lin Chung was in his own bed fast asleep, still and motionless, as if dead. The dark surroundings of his room was evident and there was no sign of light around him at all, his breathing was slow and steady and he seemed oddly calm and peaceful, no sign of motion at all from his body. As he continued to sleep he heard multiple noises from outside his door along with the loud yet energetic voices of Might Ray as well as Mystique Sonia, causing him to make a small flinch from the booming sounds of they're voices.
•~•
"I had it first!" Yelled Mighty Ray as Sonia held a dumpling high in the air away from the shorter man. "No I had it! Yaksha found it for me! Stop trying to steal it!" She yelled back as she began to struggle with trying to keep Ray away from the dumpling. As the two kept bickering Lin Chung's calmed expression soon began to sneer into that of an annoyed one, his teeth gritting as his eyebrows narrowed into an irritated snarl. "You'll wake up Lin if you don't shut up! Do you want us to be in trouble with him?! He's not feeling quite well so please do us all a favor and STOP IT!-" Sonia shouted at the end of the sentence. Lin only ignored his irritation and sighed calmly as he opened his eyes. As his eyes opened they're were his normal panther like pupils and irises, but they were more emotionless. When he continued to hear the two bicker more, he simply sighed and got out of bed, him still in his usual attire and his body almost seeming frail yet still well. His hair was frizzy and messy and he began to scratch the itchy spot on the side of his neck, two red dots poking through his almost entirely pale skin. With a loud yawn and big stretch he looked in a mirror he took from Sonia that he had under his bed and looked in his reflection. "AH!" Lin yelped as he looked horrified at his reflection, his fangs exposed and huge, his eyes big and almost dead with huge evident bags under his eyes and him looking like a living corpse rather than a normal man. "Oh no...I-I can't show myself to the others! If they saw me like this they'll be terrified!" He continued as his eyes shook with horror and shock at his appearance and he immediately dropped the mirror and went around his room for things to use to hide his rather scary appearance. He scrambled and frantically panicked as he searched for things to use and he hurriedly brushed his frizzy and wildered hair, massaged his face and tried to keep his eyes from looking too suspicious, the only thing that remained was his skin and teeth. "My teeth...t-they're growing!" He said in fear as he immediately covered his mouth but then was interrupted by a knock and voice from outside his door. It was Commander ApeTrully. "Lin Chung? Are you alright??? Mystique Sonia and Mighty Ray told me that they heard some odd commotions coming from your room, are you sure you're fine? If you still feel ill I can come and help you!" Suggested ApeTrully but Lin kept his fangs covered and tried to fix them. "N-NO! I'm fine...I-I'm just not doing any better! I want to be alone to myself please!" He said anxiously as he finally got his fangs to hide in his mouth, him sighing silently in relief. "Oh! Alright then, still tho if you feel worse just come to me! I'll be of good assistance to your sickness!" ApeTrully replied with reassurance as Lin quietly went up to the door with his ear against it, listening to his voice. "I really do hope he feels better soon..." Sonia spoke, a sense of hurt in her voice, Lin frowned a bit from hearing her sadness and sighed as he went back to his bed and sat trying to think. "I can't keep lying to them like this...sooner or later I have to come clean...! I feel so ashamed..." Lin whispered to himself as he held his head down with guilt as be covered his face.
•~•
Jumpy GhostFace hopped to the others that was at Lin's bedroom door, seeming to be in distress of something. "Oh hi Jumpy! What's the matter???" Asked Mighty Ray, "Rabbits in trouble! HighRoller attack rabbits!" He spoke out, the others looked shocked yet determined to stop HighRoller at his antics. They all rushed to they're stations ready to launch out of big green, but Sonia then realized that Lin wasn't with them. "Lin Chung! We have to stop HighRoller from attacking the rabbits, cmon!" She yelled back, but no response ever came from the room, so she only sighed and went along with the others out of the base and to the Rabbit Kingdom. "Where's Lin Chung?!" Asked Ray, "He didn't respond when I called for him! He minus well be too SICK to fight!" Sonia replied, Jumpy looking at her with confusion yet worry for Lin Chung's so called "sickness." As Lin heard the others leave, be carefully opened his bedroom door, since he was quite the tallest one in the group, he had no problems with anything in the HQ. He glared around his surroundings and eventually poked his head out, his eyes scanning around the area for any of the others. With a sigh of relief he stepped out, walking around the base for anything to eat or just to walk around. He saw some dumplings Sonia made and sniffed them, smiling at the smell he took a bite but his eyes shot open with stunned and shaking pupils as he immediately covered his mouth looking disgusted. "Why can't I eat normal food?! All I crave is....B-BLOOD! Why blood?!" He thought before he got up and went to bathroom to cough up the said dumpling he ate, trembling with disgust as he looked at himself in the mirror. "What happening to me...? Ever since that battle with the Bat Kingdom I've become this-...THING. This horrific freak of nature itself!" He said as he banged his fists on the floor gritting his teeth in rage before realizing how aggressive he's getting and stopping himself before he could put a hole in the floor beneath him. "What am I gonna do...? I'm stuck with this...curse. FOREVER!!!" He shouted as he gripped on his hair out of rage and began to tear up. "Maybe I can still be normal! Maybe there's a chance I can still be the normal me!" He said with confidence before getting up and walking to his station and going down the pipe to the outside.
•~•
Meanwhile in the Rabbit Kingdom, the Zebra Brothers was of course the ones responsible for causing the trouble to the kingdom, Jumpy wasn't having it and he attacked the rabbits that was siding with HighRoller and so was the others, them trying to stop the rabbits from harming the humans they captured there. Mighty Ray ate a banana and set his electric eyeballs to charge, then shooting bolts of lightening to the feral rabbits, stunning them. Mystique Sonia and Yaksha was trying to round up the humans and get them to safety. ApeTrully of course being the one that was tormented during the fight. "T-These carrots are breaking m-my back! W-Where is LIN CHUNG?!" He screamed before falling face flat onto the ground from the pressure that was on his back. "We don't know! But we need him here and NOW! The rabbits just don't quit!" Shouted Sonia before she got ambushed by said rabbits and the humans was cornered. Jumpy then went into action and beat away the rabbits from the humans, quickly trying to stop them and go help Sonia. "Why are these rabbits so hostile?! I thought Jumpy made peace with us and made them join us to stop HighRoller!" Asked Ray before he got flung into a giant carrot, face first. "I-It's the Zebra Brothers! They got the rabbits to side with HighRoller and are now controlling them! They d-didn't want to agree but now they're forced to fight! If not their home will be destroyed by HighRoller!" Said ApeTrully before being forced to jump rope with the giant carrot on his back. "Oh please have MERCY!" He cried out as he sweat and tried to keep up with the jumping. "He can't do that! Jumpy loves his home and loves his friends and family, we need Lin Chung! He's the only one who can lead us to stop this!" Sonia replied before Yaksha smacked away a crowd of incoming rabbits.
•~•
While the others was fighting with the Rabbit Kingdom, Lin Chung was trying his best to meditate and gather bullets for his weapon. Sitting under a large tree while sitting on his weapon, enjoying the silence and coolness from the heating sun. "Maybe this isn't so bad...I can still go out and be normal...sure there's some fixing to do, but I'll be fine." He whispered to himself before he opened his eyes from the sound of singing. His ears twitched from the noise and he got off his staff looking at the direction the sound was coming from, using his turtle to zoom to the location. He of course was beginning to get burns from the sunlight but tried his best to ignore the pain. When finally making it to the spot the singing continued from, one of the wheels tripped over a rock and he yelled as he fell off and went rolling across the ground and hitting a tree. "AUGH!!!" He screamed as he laid on his side holding himself from the pain. Then when he tries to listen to the singing, he didn't hear it anymore, but he did catch one thing in his eyes. A woman. He saw a female like figure walking home, he didn't see the face of the stranger but saw the attire she was in and figured she must've been a royal of some kind. He kept eyeing her as he got up and quickly went in the tree's shading, only his eyes being visible to be seen due to night vision. "Who is that woman?" He asked in his mind as he kept watching the woman, but soon turning away and minding his business. He then remembered the mission the squad had with the rabbits and he panicked. Quickly getting onto his turtle and zooming to the Rabbit Kingdom. "I can't believe I let them go on that mission on they're own! A leader would NEVER do that! A-AH!!!" He screamed in his mind as his skin began to burn from the sun, but he kept going, determined to help his friends from whatever danger they could get into on the mission. When he finally arrived to the Rabbit Kingdom, he saw that his friends was cornered by the rabbits and the Zebra Brothers watched in amusement as they went into the castle with they're candy and comic books. Lin Chung immediately figured out that they was responsible and rushed into the castle before his body could be more damaged. When he made it inside he rushes through the halls for the others and suddenly heard whines and screams of exhaustion and pain, he then ran faster and stopped in his tracks when he saw the others being tortured with being forced to jump rope with giant carrots on they're backs, looking sweaty and almost on the edge to fainting. He grew furious from how they was being treated but stayed hidden. "Finally, we have all the members of Big Green here! At our mercy, jump roping to DEATH!" Shouted Sparky Black as he laughed. "HighRoller will be pleased! But...where's the leader of the group???" Asked Sparky White as he scratched his head with confusion. "Does it matter??? We have the entire team here! Begging and pleading for rest when they'll never get it!" Responded Sparky Black as he continued to nibble on the candy and read the comic books. Then suddenly a bullet hit the lanterns that lit the room, one by one they went out. "What?! W-What's going on?!" Asked Sparky White as Sparky Black flinched and got up looking at the lanterns. The squad then stopped jump roping and suddenly the entire room when dark, them not being able to see anything. "W-What's happening??? I can't see!" Asked Sonia as Mighty Ray tried to stand up but fell on his face. Suddenly the ropes that held them was snapped apart, the carrots sliced into pieces. "Oh thank the HEAVENS my back is free!-" shouted ApeTrully before he collapsed from exhaustion. The Zebra Brothers panicked yet stayed brave as they stayed close ready to attack whoever was ambushing them, then Jumpy spoke out loud, "Lin Chung!" He said with relief and happiness before watching in shock at how fast Lin ran down the ceiling onto the wall to the brothers shooting bullets at them. The two scattered trying to dodge the warrior's shots, one of them picking up a bullet and getting an idea. "HEY! Dodge this!" Shouted Sparky White as he threw a bullet back at Lin, only for it to be dodged right at the last moment at fast speed. Jumpy cheered on Lin Chung while the others watched in shock, seeing Lin move at such fast speed that no human could master, him jumping from spot to spot on walls as if he can walk on them and then jumping onto the floor and stomping closer to the brothers. "Black, DO SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!" Shouted Sparky White to his brother, the other backing away with him trying to think of an idea. "I'm TRYING!!!" Black screamed back before taking out a flashlight and shining it at Lin, only for him to have vanished. "W-What...? Where did he go?! How did he do that?!" Asked White in a panic as the squad gasped at the large sight behind them, trying to make out they're seeing skills due to the darkness being so strong. Just then the two brothers felt taps on they're shoulders, making them turn around. Suddenly when they shined the light on the taller man they was greeted with a horrific sight. Lin held up his clawed hands as he screeched at such an inhuman manner, eyes bright like rubies and pupils small as dots, him looking rather wild than tamed, triggering the brothers fight or flight in fear. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! The brothers screamed with horror as they hugged each other and zoomed straight out the room crying out with tears and terror from the horrific face they just saw, one of them tripping over themselves crying out for they're mother before zooming out the entrance with they're twin and dropping the flashlight. "What on EARTH?!" Asked ApeTrully before he sat up and looked frantically around for the sound that Lin just made. The others shook a bit from the petrifying sound he just made but didn't think it was him, how could it be him? Lin then shrunk a bit and went back to his tamed and more harmless state, fangs hidden, eyes normal and hair less frizzy. He then put on his hat and looked at the others that looked at him through the darkness, still flabbergasted from the sound they heard. "W-What in the world was that...?!" Asked Mighty Ray as he held onto Mystique Sonia who too was shaking with fright and Jumpy hopping to Lin as if he didn't even know it was truly him that caused the noise. "Lin Chung saved us!" Said Jumpy as he hugged Lin, him smiling a bit but then looking at the group who was shaking in fear. "L-Lin Chung?! Where were you?! We've been here all day trying to stop the rabbits and save the humans!" Shouted Sonia. Lin signed and put back on his hat and fixing his messy hair before going over to her. "I was trying to meditate on my peace of mind as well as patience during the growing of my bullets..." he responded in his usual sweet tone yet there something off about it, it was more cold and stern which confused Sonia a bit. "Well it sure took a LONG time..." she responded back with tiredness before dropping Ray, earning a yelp of pain from him. "W-Well! Oh Lin Chung! You surely can make quite a scare! That trick you did with the scary face and screech to the Zebra Brothers was INCREDIBLE!" Said ApeTrully as he went to Lin Chung looking impressed. "But that-" Lin responded looking a bit anxious but was cut off by ApeTrully. "Oh Lin Chung you are SO modest!" He said as he chuckled, having Lin sighing in relief yet still anxious. "Well...thank you ApeTrully. We should return to HQ...I feel tired." Said Lin as he looked rather tired from the mission. "That's easy for YOU to say! My back almost snapped in HALF!" Shouted Mighty Ray as the others rolled they're eyes and began to head out the castle, Lin Chung not too far behind.
•~•
After finishing the mission by saving the humans and the rabbits, the squad was on they're turtles zooming to HQ. The others seemed relaxed and calm but something didn't feel right about they're leader, who was using Yaksha as a sunhat to hide from the sun as he led them back, being of course the most silent in the group. Sonia mostly was the most awkward and unsettled with the fact that ever since the mission with the Bat Kingdom, her friend has been acting weird, too weird. Isolating himself from the crew, being almost unresponsive to his teammates and even hiding himself from the sunlight. "What is going on...???" She asked in her mind before continuing to follow her leader back to HQ.
•~•
"Something isn't right..." she continued thinking as she eyed her leader. "And I'm gonna get to the bottom of it."
•{|To be Continued|}•