Kipo's hands flew away from the fruits as she turned around, facing the chaos behind her. The bush, which had been completely encompassed a minute ago, now had a gaping hole in the side of it, where like no streamed into the space. Kipo backed away from it. What had caused that...?

Kipo got her answer quickly as something flew into the hole, illuminated by the light. Kipo recognized it immediately. It was the same type of species as the dragonfly thing Adam had fought earlier, though this one somehow looked bigger and... more menacing, somehow. It surveyed the chaos coldly. Was it looking for her? Had it seen through Kipo's disguise?

Well, if it hadn't seen it before, it could definitely spot her now. In the mass panic in the creatures around her, with everyone jostling to get away, Kipo's costume had been stripped away. It didn't seem to concern the terrified mass around her, but for the dragonfly...

It might be a different story.

Kipo held rigid, keeping her eyes firmly trained on the dragonfly. What should she do? She'd seen the speed of it when she watched it fight Adam, so she doubted she could last five seconds with it. Kipo grit her teeth. She couldn't just wait here...

Kipo watched its bugs eyes sweep the crowd, and she stiffed when they fixed on her. Kipo raised her claws, getting ready to fight if necessary, but to her surprise, the bug's eyes swept right bast her. Kipo felt her mouth fall open. Had it not noticed her? No, it must have... Was Kipo not the primary target?

But if Kipo wasn't, then what was?

Kipo tore her eyes from the dragonfly, though it worried her to do so, even though she knew that if the bug wanted to hurt her, it definitely would have already, whether Kipo's eyes were on it or not. Besides, Kipo needed to find Wirt and Adam. Just because she wasn't their primary target, doesn't mean they wouldn't be. Kipo winced as she remembered Adam's sword piercing the skull of the creature. Could that be why it was here?

Kipo surveyed the scene around her, her eyes growing wider and wider with everything she saw. This was a coordinated attack, apparently, with multiple holes in the bush and dragonflies stationed at every one. The dragonflies weren't letting anyone leave, it seemed, and Kipo winced as she watched a ladybug try to fly out of a hole unnoticed, only to be shoved back into the bush by a particularly harsh hit by a dragonfly.

Kipo leaned forward, catching the bug with a 'oof!' before it hit the ground. The hard shell of the creature collided with her forearms, but luckily, Kipo's arms were shielded with her fur.

The ladybug chirped something at her, and as Kipo let it down, it let out a pleasing smell. Kipo inhaled deeply. Odd... was that some sort of thanks?

Kipo turned her face back up to the dragonfly. It wasn't looking at her, seemingly uninterested, and Kipo took the time to study it.

Kipo had noticed that it seemed less bulky than the other one, but at the time, she hadn't noticed why. But now that she looked, the amour she'd previously assumed to be part of the creature was actually not, and it overlapped and moved as the dragonfly moved. It looked like it had a bunch of pieces, probably for flexibility. And, wow, were those creatures flexible, turning their bodies in impossible ways and shaking it off each time. It would be amazing if they weren't so creepy.

"KIPO!"

Kipo's head snapped up. Was that...

"Adam!" Kipo called back, raising her fist, still in mega jaguar form. Well, at the very least, it would get their attention.

It wasn't too hard to pick out Wirt and Adam in the crowd, especially since they were shoving (well, Adam was shoving, Wirt was being as cautious as he picked his way through) their way towards her.

"How'd you two get in here?" Kipo asked when they got to her.

"We snuck in," Adam told her, and then his eyes caught onto the dragonfly. Adam's mouth fell open as he backed up a couple steps.

"Do... you have any idea's for how to get out?" Kipo asked. Adam didn't answer, so Wirt had to step in.

"Uh... I have no clue.... I was hoping you two would know..." Wirt admitted. Kipo frowned.

"I don't know either," Kipo frowned. "It's going to be hard to get past all of them-."

"There's MORE of them?!" Adam cried.

"-And help everyone else here."

Wirt took a bewildered look around them. "Everyone... else? Who?"

Kipo blinked, and waved a hand at the crowd. The assembled mass around them had calmed down from pure panic, but Kipo could see that they were still trembling in pure terror. She couldn't blame them.

Wirt's eyes widened. "You... really mean everyone else?" Wirt asked skeptically. "Is that even possible? Maybe we should just leave, I mean, Adam and I managed to sneak in, so can't we just sneak out?"

"It'd be better to do that, saving all these things is probably impossible," Adam spoke up, but his voice was shaky.

"We can't just do that!" Kipo cried. "None of these creatures deserve what's happening! Can't you see how terrified they are!"

"The fact that they're terrified won't change the fact that saving them is impossible," Adam grumbled. "But if you can figure out a way to save them, well, feel free."

"Really?!" Kipo beamed, and immediately started searching around the bush, missing Adam's furrowed eyebrows.

There were seven of those dragonfly creatures, Kipo saw, and they were all incredibly vigilant. Once again, Kipo remembered how fast they were. This really would be hard... but Kipo refused to give up.

"I wonder why they're doing all this?" Wirt mumbled, probably to himself. But it was a good question. "A jade-coloured prison, the yellow speckled guards, the multicoloured panic, but the only thing I see is the invisible question."

Kipo decided to focus on the question. Why WERE the dragonflies doing this? They had most definitely spotted Wirt and Adam by the point, no matter how much 'sneaky' they insisted they were. Yet the dragonflies hadn't made a move against them, so it was unlucky that they were the target. And then there was the fact that the dragonflies had trapped the rest of the bugs in here, too... what was the point?

Suddenly, bafflingly, Kipo's stomach started rumbling. Blinking, Kipo looked down at her stomach. She had forgotten that she was hungry.

Apparently, Adam had heard it, too. "Here!" he called, and edged forward just enough to hand Kipo the same fruit that she'd been trying to get her hands on earlier. As soon as Kipo grabbed it, Adam quickly edged back, away from the dragonfly. Was he still trying to hide?

"It was on the ground, though," Adam informed her. "So, sorry about that."

"It's okay!" Kipo said cheerfully. She wanted to tear into the fruit immediately, but she made sure to turn to Wirt first, offering him some. Wirt didn't even hesitate before taking it and taking a bite. Kipo grinned back at Adam. "Thanks, Adam."

Adam waved his hands frantically. "Don't call attention to me or they'll find me! Also, don't take your flower masks off for too long. The fog is... you know how it is."

Kipo nodded quickly, turning away. She quickly pulled her mask down, and took a bite out of her fruit, and then quickly pulled it back it. Kipo sighed in relief. It tasted sooooo good. It tasted like a juicy orange with bits of watermelon in it. The opposing tastes mingled together in her mouth in a way that tasted amazing.

Kipo took a deep breath, tearing her mind away from the delicious fruits. She needed to focus. How where they going to save everyone here?

"Man, this is so weird," Wirt mumbled to himself, further distracting Kipo. Kipo looked over to him.

"Huh?" Kipo asked. "What's weird?"

"What's weird?" Wirt repeated, staring bewildered at her. "I mean... we ARE in another world while being held hostage for some dragonfly creatures with, um... these other things, and NOW it looks like we're having a picnic. Isn't that weird?"

Kipo thought about this. "Uh... actually, it's not that weird for me," Kipo eventually admitted, and then Wirt gave her a look. "Well, other than the 'in another world' thing."

Wirt stared at her, and then giggled to himself. Kipo blinked at him.

"Huh? What?"

"Uh... it's nothing, really... it's just that this is the second alternate universe I've been to, if this really isn't the Unknown," Wirt explained, still laughing slightly. "So, um, that's the part that's not weird to me. But all that other still is really weird. You must come from... an interesting world."

"Don't say that, I'm sure your world is cool, too!" Kipo said. "I mean, you still have video games! I wonder what else you have!"

"Um..." Wirt thought for a second. "We have... TV?"

"Television?" Kipo repeated, disappointed. "Oh. We have that, too. Kind of. But they don't usually work that well, especially on the surface..."

"Oh, well, most of the televisions in my world work," Wirt told her, and just like that, Kipo was interested.

"Really!?" she cried.

Before Wirt could answer, something hit Kipo on the back of her head. Kipo frowned, turning around.

"Not that your conversation isn't extremely interesting, but I don't think that we have the time to go through it right now!" Adam called out from him, sarcasm and annoyance laced into his voice.

Kipo winced. "Oh, right, I need to think of a-."

"Already done." Adam smirked at Wirt and Kipo's matching shocked expressions. "What? It's not that much of a surprise."

"You came up with a plan?!" Kipo asked excitedly and Adam's smug demeaner slid off his face like water off a duck.

"Er... w-well, I didn't come up with it..." Adam admitted. "I stole it from a video game. But that's not important right now! Look, just... here."

Adam waved them forward, even though Kipo doubted the dragonflies could understand them anyway, and whispered his plan to them.

"That... is a weird video game..." Wirt noted.

Adam waved a hand at him. "It wasn't a triple A game. Kipo, you think your Mega Jaguar can do that?"

Kipo gave a confident nod. "Definitely! Leave it to me!"

Adam still looked nervous. "We only get one shot at this," he reminded them. "No second chances."

"Weren't you saying this was a video game before?" Wirt mumbled, but Adam didn't seem to hear him.

Adam tossed a fruit into the air, and then caught it. "Alright, then," Adam said. "Let's go!"

The three of them split up, Kipo hurrying off confidently, Adam sprinting determinedly, and Wirt running off cautiously. Kipo kept her eyes on the dragonfly, but while it seemed to note their sudden movement, it didn't seem to follow them.

Kipo breathed a sigh of relief. They did need to hurry, but if the dragonfly guards had been even a little bit more suspicious, Adam's plan would have fallen out immediately. But the guards didn't seem to care for them. That was their mistake.

Kipo stepped up to the back entrance, peering around the leaves and branches. She didn't dare run anymore, or she might look too suspicious. Luckily, the dragonflies didn't seem to invest any interest in her at the moment.

Kipo joined the crowd of bugs overlooking the dragonflies work, and was surprised to find not only dragonflies, but another creature as well. A tall creature, with eight legs and eight eyes, one that Kipo had seen traversing around the forest. A spider, standing upright on two of its legs, and using the six other ones to take fruits, both some of the ones Kipo had eaten before, and completely new ones. Kipo took a sniff. They smelt pretty good.

Kipo watched as the spider took the fruits, and put them into a wagon with another creature, some sort of grasshopper, or something like that, attached to it by reins, like a horse. Where grasshoppers like horses in this world? Kipo would assume so, but the grasshopper seemed to be ordering the dragonflies around through loud chittering noises, almost like a leader.

But Kipo didn't get any more time to pounder it before she, and the rest of the crowd, was startled by a loud commotion behind them. While the rest of the creatures turned around to look at it, Kipo focused at the sight in front of her, which had lulled to a stop. She could see a leaf bucket packed with fruits, presumably where the spider was getting them from. Kipo ginned to herself. Adam's plan suddenly got far more solid.

Kipo rushed forward with a yell, first incoherent screaming, but as the bugs rushed at her she suddenly yelled 'Herbs out!" and gave the dragonflies another bug surprise.

Quickly scooping up the barrel of fruits in her new jaguar jaw, Kipo let over the startled spider and dragonfly guards. Clearly, they'd never seen this before.

Kipo crashed through the opening in the leaves, throwing herself into the still enormous forest, even while she was in mega jaguar form. Despite the forest technically being dense, Kipo found it easy to traverse, and she could run through it without much problem.

The barrel sitting in her mouth left as trail as they ran, though Kipo was certain the dragonflies didn't need it. She could already hear the dragonflies hot on her trail, all seven of them. Yes! This was the best scenario.

Now for the hard part.

The next phase of the plan was for Kipo to suddenly transform again, and then hide somewhere, like a dense piece of grass, or in a tree or something. She could throw the barrel of fruits away, too, because she was certain that they were more concerned about that then about her. But there was just one problem.

Kipo didn't want to transform.

Well, that wasn't completely right, she DID want to transform, she needed to, but she couldn't. After so many months of being dormant, the mega jaguar was finally back, and it wouldn't give up control so easily.

Beads of sweat dripped down dropped from Kipo's head as she struggled. There was nothing to hang onto... Kipo was sinking....

There was a battle inside of Kipo, a struggle between her and the mute inside of her, and Kipo was losing. How was she supposed to get out now?

Suddenly, Kipo startled, her big jaguar paws rearing back. At first, she wasn't sure what scared her, peering down at the little thing before her. Suddenly, Kipo blinked, and familiarity finally started sinking in.

'Bipo!'