12 Chapter 12: Escape

"Come on Mal, just turn into a bird or something and get the key... It's right there!" Oak had been trying to talk some sense into Suzuki for the past hour, to no avail. She was still sulking, and to Ella it seemed as if her bright pink hair was turning darker. After talking with Suzuki, Ella had realized that the pocky were her main source of energy - without them she was much grumpier and more tired as well. Ella and Rose knew exactly how to get out, but they were having way to much fun watching. When the entertainment ended with Oak giving up and walking back to his corner, Ella spoke up.

"You do realize Rose and I are small enough to fit through the top of the bars? It Sam could raise us up, there's a hole at the top of the cell." Kiep's head turned so quickly that it was a miracle she didn't get whiplash. But then again, she was an owl. She sent a withering glare in Ella's direction before quickly hoisting her up and stuffing her through the crack. She tumbled out of the cell, landing on her butt.

"Hey! What was that for?" Kiep flipped her hair.

"Just get Suzi's pocky so she can steal the keys." Grumbling under her breath about mean teenagers, Ella made her way to Suzuki's abandoned. Picking it up, Ella made her way back to the bars and stuck her hand through.

"Here." Suzuki's reaction was immediate. In a flash, she had grabbed the pocky and taken them back to her corner, munching hungrily on her food. When Suzuki finished, she transformed into a kitten and walked through the bars. She made her way to the door and started pushing her head through the crack beneath it.

"Is she going to fit?" Asked Oak.

"Yeah - cats have an extremely flexible collarbone and spine, so the can fit through anything the size of their head. Since Suzi's form is a kitten, it's relatively easy for her to fit under the door. It helps that it has a relatively big crack at the bottom," recited Ella. Oak laughed.

"Of course you know."

"Be grateful prat." Their argument was forced to a halt when the pink cat scooted back under the doorway. Turning back to a human, they saw she was carrying both a ring of keys and a paper bag. Choosing the biggest key on the ring, Suzuki opened up the cell door.

"What's in the bag?" asked Rose, pointing at the recycleable bag in her right hand.

"Strawberry pocky." Oak frowned.

"Why did you get a paper bag? Their so much bigger and -" He was cut off by a hissing sound coming from both Suzuki, Chieko, and Ella.

"Don't you care about the environment?"

"Yeah, each year millions of people die from air pollution."

"The US alone produces over 100,000,000,000 plastic bags each year." They finished their speech with a glare at Oak who was cowering near the wall. Suzuki smiled at Chieko. The two launched into a conversation about dolphins and turtles. Kiep cleared her throat.

"Um, guys, we should probably get out of here." Chieko and Suzi turned on the owl-girl viciously. They were obviously upset that she had ruined their bonding moment. Kiep sighed and herded everyone out of the cell, picking up the empty pocky boxes and stuffing them in her bag. Once outiside, Suzuki informed her friends of her plan.

"I'll scout. If you hear a knock on the other side of the door, that means it's clear." With that, she turned into a dove and flew out the window. After about 10 seconds of intense waiting, a knock was heard and Sam opened the door. Suzuki was leaning against the wall, peeking around the corner.

There are guards, she mouthed. Sam nodded and quickly turned into his full rhino form. He rammed by the guards, whose helmets flew off revealing crocodile jaws, bear fangs, and deer antlers. They might've been more dangerous if they had been properly trained. Their stance was sloppy, and the one with deer features was tipping precariously to the side under the weight of his antlers. Because of their numbers, Suzuki and Rose joined the fight as a snow leopard and a new species called the pink mamba-fun fact, they love strawberry pocky and while their venom isn't powerful enough to kill a human, it will render their movements slower.

Once all the guards were defeated, a blond haired girl climbed out of a sack.

"Y'know, that was extremely uncomfortable. Who are you, anyways?"