"I'm sorry, the what? You're telling me you kidnapped us and put us in a zoo? Now, that is offensive to these golden looks." Flynn snarked, as he flipped his honey-brown hair.

Tuan did not particularly dislike Flynn Turner. No, that was not a strong enough word. Tuan outright hated him. And doe-eyed Sonora who gazed innocently out at the group, as if just being pretty would somehow help get them out of here. And that unhelpful Kester kid who kept yanking his red hair 'till it practically fell out. And definitely The Fox Girl.

She sat, quietly observing the group in their many different states of distress and confusion. Her long, white hair ran down the small of her back in a messy ponytail. The pale fox that had been sitting on her lap a moment before leaped down to paw at the loose strands. Her scarlet painted lips curved into a hint of a grin at the canine, reaching over to scratch it behind an ear.

The girl was quite pretty, and actually seemed like the most sane person in the room ('sane' was not a word Tuan ever expected to call his kidnapper but here he was). But someone who hid behind a mask was not someone who deserved his appreciation.

Although, he knew he was being a hypocrite. His mask of cold, constant anger was still a mask, even if it wasn't tangible and exquisite like hers.

Arabella was the only one worth staying anywhere near and it wasn't because of her personality or her looks or whatever reason you'd date someone. It was because of him.

She knew it, even while she gripped his shirt hard enough for it to tear. While she clung to his arm like it was a lifeline. While she buried her face in the collar of his shirt. She knew their 'relationship' was just a fake.

But damn, that girl knew how to act, he'd give her that.

Now, she spun towards The Fox Girl as she slowly stood up, brushing snow off her red leather jacket. Tuan had not a hint of a fashion sense, but even he knew it looked pretty odd paired with the flowy white gown and oversized blue boots. But that wasn't the point. Hopefully, he'd finally get an explanation on why he was here.

All she had said after he'd escaped the underground room he had been put in was to 'wait and everything will become clear'. He had waited. Soon, he'd been joined by Sonora and Kester. And finally, when Flynn and Arabella had decided to show, he focused all his attention on her.

"Don't you come any closer now." Arabella snarled as she took a step towards them.

The Fox Girl paused and smiled sweetly.

"I'm not going to hurt you..." She said softly. Behind her, Sonora snorted. Somehow even that she did prettily.

The Fox Girl chuckled. "I'm serious. I don't have anything to gain from hurting you. I just wanted to tell you that you have been accepted. passed the test. All of you."

"A-accepted into what?" Kester stuttered.

Flynn rolled his eyes at the younger boy but turned back to The Fox Girl. "Forget that, who the hell are you?"

"Me? I'm Foxy."

"Uh-" He was cut off when she gave him a look that looked like an odd mix of exasperation and amusement.

"My real name is Arctic Fox. But that is a little too long so people just call me Foxy."

The rest of the group stared at her with varying amounts of confusion, horror, concern, or all of the above. Tuan didn't know if he was going to cringe from the cheesiness or crack one of his rare smiles because of the silliness. Arctic Fox? Seriously? He scoffed.

"Why would your parents name you..." Sonora asked carefully.

"I gave myself that name."

Flynn burst into laughter, making Sonora raise an eyebrow in his general direction. Tuan glared at him and he seemed to catch his breath enough to speak. "How old are you? Five? You named yourself after an animal? An animal! Lemme guess, your sister's name is like, I don't know, Unicorn?"

He collapsed into another fit of giggles before Foxy's response made him come up short.

"Raven, actually. She'll be your mentor starting tomorrow."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Arabella mumbled.

"From this point forward, you five are in a spy organization run by the common people of Brazea. We call ourselves the Beasts of Brazea. Our goal is to make Brazea a better place. We are incredibly anonymous and expect to stay that way. We'll be giving you code names based off your skills after your first mission-"

"Wait, we're in a spy organization?" Kester squeaked.

"Wow, back up, it's run by common folks?" Arabella added incredulously.

"Back up even more, we have to have animal code names too?" Flynn gave Foxy a terrified look.

"Like, what's she supposed to be-" He pointed to Sonora. "-Peacock? 'Cause she's so...I don't know, fancy?"

"Excuse you, I am NOT, 'fancy'." She hissed.

"Don'tcha worry, he'll probably be called Pig or something." Arabella snorted and Tuan had to hold back a smirk when Flynn let out a strangled gasp.

"Oh yeah? I know the perfect name for you: 'Bitc-"

"WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP ABOUT THE ANIMAL CODE NAMES?" The room went dead silent as Foxy took a deep breath, calming herself. She smoothed down the sides of her dress and plastered a smile onto her face. It didn't reach her eyes.

"Look, I know they're stupid and cringy or whatever, but how about you try to come up with code names to call your spies? The organization is literally called, 'Beasts of Brazea'. Plus, the headquarters is built underneath a zoo! Of course animals were were the first thing I thought of for code names."

"You could've just used their actual names backwards or something." Flynn noted.

"Another word from you and your neck will be bent backwards." Her grin was looking more like a snarl now.

"Why does everyone keep threatening me?" He whined.

"No idea, you're just the most lovable person on the planet." Sarcasm dripped like acid from Arabella's voice.

"Careful, or your boyfriend might just get jealous." Flynn smirked his signature smirk and her as she glared at him.

"Tuan ain't jealous of an incompetent ass like you."

"Well, thank you for noticing my ass, love." He winked at her and Tuan sighed.

Now would probably be a good time to play the 'loyal boyfriend' role. He stepped in front of her, blocking her cherry-red face from Flynn before turning to Foxy. "You were saying about the organization?"

She nodded gratefully at him before continuing.

"We chose to recruit you five specifically for our latest mission. I'm sure you've realized that you're all the heirs of the different gangs; The Blood Lilies, The Black Bones, The Glass Daggers, The Storm Riders and The Fire Fiends." She pointed to Sonora, Flynn, Tuan, Arabella and Kester in turn.

The group nodded.

"Years ago, when Brazea was ruled by a monarchy, the ruler used to wear a crown. It was called 'Strino Retar-Ot Dan Miguer Fialmai Canoro Aeretna eth.'"

Kester cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, could you repeat that please?"

She rolled her eyes."It's Old Brazean. It roughly translates to 'The Eternal Crown of Our Land And Royal Family'. But you could just call it 'The Crown'."

"What do they mean by 'eternal'?" Sonora asked.

"It was supposed to signify that no one but the royal family would ever have control over Brazea for the rest of eternity. That probably would've been true, until a group of rebels who called themselves 'Strino Retar-Ot Canoro Aeretna eth Strino Retar Dan Miguer Fialmai Prombosi eth' came along."

"What is up with these people and their long names?" Flynn complained.

"'Eth Prombosi' means 'The Rogues'. The Rogues were a group of people who didn't believe in a monarchy and tried to steal the crown back for the citizens. Five teenagers took up the heist and they succeeded. But in a fit of greed, each tried to take the crown for themselves and ended up breaking it into pieces. Each took a piece back to their homes, in different sections of Brazea. They never stopped fighting over power, even while they ruled over the city and gained their own followers. At some point in time, they grew up to have families of their own. Your gangs."

Before any of them could comment, Foxy plowed on. "Your gangs were what threw Brazea into chaos. My mission for you? To steal back the pieces of the Crown and give them back to the common people."

Any playfulness that had lingered in the air, vanished without a trace.

Foxy trained her beady obsidian eyes on them, like they were prey that were just within her grasp. Tuan's eyes narrowed when he realized that they were, in fact, just within her grasp. If they didn't play along, it wouldn't be hard for her to break the tusk off the ice elephant over there and plunge it straight into their hearts.

But betray his family? What gave her the idea that he'd do that so willingly? What gave her the idea that any of them would do that so willingly?

As he watched Foxy's gaze rest on him, he swore she'd read his mind. Now, a real smile bloomed across her face, unlike the fake one she'd kept up throughout the entire conversation. He felt his lip curl in disgust as she glared down her nose at them, stroking the milky fur of her fox.

"You kids will do exactly what I say...for the right reward. See...my spies? They're everywhere. There are no such things as secrets to me. Just things that I am yet to come to know. And trust me, there is NOTHING you could possibly keep from me. So naturally, I know that each and every one of your sorry asses, needs a way out of here. A ship to a different country. A new beginning. Perhaps for revenge-" She eyed Sonora as he saw her flaxen skin go pale. "-for fame-" Her eyes flitted to a red cheeked Kester next. "-or maybe, just maybe, for LOVE." Then, her gaze landed on...

No.

NO.

NONONONONO...

Tuan's breath caught in his throat so suddenly he almost choked. He almost wished he had. He'd rather die right here than have to go through this.

How could she know about him? She couldn't POSSIBLY-

But apparently, she could. The minute he felt those hell-colored eyes on him, he knew everything she had said was true.

There was nothing she didn't know.

She said it all in the smug wink she gave him before she turned back to the rest of the wide-eyed crew and told them where and when to meet her tomorrow. But Tuan barely heard a thing as the group threw their half-hearted curses at her while she blindfolded them and walked them out the back door. Not even when the cold air of the alley hit him and he realized he was outside and alone again. He only heard three words that echoed in the back of his skull.

That. Little. Bitch.