"YAY, SNOW!" I yelled in excitement as I looked out the window of the HQ. We don't usually get snow THIS early in the year! I was about to zoom outside when someone grabbed me by my peg leg and then I was upside down. I saw an upside down Mao Mao.

"Not so fast kid! You need to stay warm remember?" he advised. I crossed my wings impatiently.

"Aww phooey! I wanna play in the snow NOW!" I whined. Mao Mao turned me upright and gave me an annoyed look.

"You're lucky I care about you not freezing to death! Go get your winter clothes on before you can go outside," he directed as I flew out of his grip. 

"Ugh, fine." I flew to the bedroom that we all slept in and put on my puffy jacket. It was orange and had a rainbow strip wrapped around the middle. Also, the sleeves were cut off. Then I put on my one tiny boot since I already have a peg leg. I put on my yellow scarf and my purple beanie. Last but not least, I pulled on these specially designed gloves that were aqua green. 

I ran back to the living room where Mao Mao was waiting. "Okay now I'm ready! Can I go play now?" I asked, not wanting to wait any longer. He rubbed my covered head in approval.

"Alright, go wild." Right before I went, he picked me up and kissed me on the head. "Stay safe okay?" I couldn't help but smile at his words and his actions! I sped out of the HQ and at the plaza of Pure Heart. 

It was a winter wonderland out there! There's a blanket of snow covering everything, even the giant Ruby! All the Sweetiepies were outside as well, rolling in the snow and all that. The first thing I wanted to do was make a snowman! Hopefully, Mao Mao lets me borrow his sword for . . . protection reasons. I started to build a snowman when all of a sudden, something dashed past me, making me fall over.

I got up and shook the snow off of me. What in the world was that? The thing ran past me again, but it looked like a blur. I flew up so I could get a good view of the area. It looked like the figure was chasing a squirrel and its fur was a creamy, super light brown—wait a minute!

I think I know who it is! I zoomed over to the squirrel and picked it up by its tail with my teeth. Finally, the figure stopped and I could take a good look at who it was. I knew it was him—Bao Bao! I let go of the squirrel and it ran up a tree. I looked down at him. "Hey boy, you remember me? I'm a friend of Mao Mao!" I chirped.

He barked as if he knew who I was. His tail started to wag and he was panting. Suddenly, he jumped up to my height and the next thing I know, I'm riding on his back! I didn't know WHERE we were going, but he darted to the frosty forest with me hanging on for dear life! Bao Bao slowed down and stopped at a snow covered tree trunk. 

I got off, completely confused about what was happening. "What are we doing here Bao Bao?" I asked. To be honest, I was kind of scared but also very excited. He lifted up the tree trunk as if it was a sideways door! I gasped in amazement when I saw what was hiding under the trunk.

It was a hole that had a dark blue SLIDE! It looked like it went on forever and ever! "Where does this slide lead to Bao Bao?!" I bubbled, hopping up and down. He howled and went down the seemingly endless slide. I hesitated while thinking about what to do next. 

That slide looks so cool, but I don't even know where it leads to! It could go to somewhere dangerous and Bao Bao might get hurt! Mao Mao and Badgerclops are gonna be looking for me and they'll get worried! Well then again, dangerous is my middle name! I know Bao Bao's pretty strong, so he'll protect me! Those two don't need to worry about me!

"Here I go!" I say to myself. I jumped down the slide and screamed in delight! It was a REALLY weird slide though because it seemed like I was going up after awhile. Anyways, it was super FUN!

Badgerclops's POV:

I came out of the kitchen drinking some hot chocolate. There is no way that I'm gonna go outside. This is the perfect opportunity to sit back and chill with my buddy. I saw Mao Mao sitting on the couch watching TV and I sat down next to him. "Sooooo . . . Adorabat's playing outside now?" I asked. He looked up at me.

"Yeah, I made sure she was bundled up before that. I don't want her freezing up on me," he explained. I smirked at Mao Mao, thinking deeply about what he just said.

"You really care about that girl, do you?" He narrowed his eyes at me to show he was irritated. He sighed in annoyance.

"Yes, I do, especially after what happened three days ago." I thought back to the poison incident.

"I totally understand dude, I couldn't stand seeing you so scared for Adorabat . . . are you ok?" I wondered. I noticed his lip quivering as he tried to remain calm.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine Badgerclops." I set my mug down on the table. Clearly he is NOT fine, so I hugged him tightly. I didn't expect him to hug me back, but he did. I felt him shake a little and I got worried. I didn't know the crazy event hit him that badly. 

"It's okay Mao Mao. I'm sure nothing like that will ever happen again. We'll always be there to protect her, no matter what." We broke the hug and he grinned at me.

"Wow Badgerclops. You know how to cheer me up in ways that I don't think about," he thanked me.

"That's my job!" I sip from my mug and realize that maybe we should check on Adorabat. "Hey dude, let's go check outside to see if Adorabat's alright." Mao nodded and I put on some warm clothing before we went out. "Don't you wanna put some clothing on?" I asked.

"No thanks, I already have my cape. Plus, I'm warm-blooded."

"Sure you are," I deadpanned. We rode the aerocycle to the plaza and looked for Adorabat. We saw a big snowball, so we guessed that she was starting to build a snowman. We saw paw shaped footprints near the snowball and Mao Mao knelt down to observe them. 

"Hold on a second! These are Bao Bao's footprints!" he shouted. I opened my eye to scan the prints. They ARE Bao Bao's footprints! 

"Do you think Adorabat went somewhere with him?" I hinted. I saw sweat go down Mao Mao's face as he stood up. 

"I know she did I can feel it in my gut!" He looked to the left and I'm guessing he saw more footprints. "They lead to the forest . . . oh no." Mao Mao started running as he followed the footprints and I went with him. "I'm fine with Bao Bao now," he panted, "But I don't completely trust him."

Suddenly, Mao Mao tripped and his head landed on the face of a tree trunk. Ouch, that must've hurt! "Dude are you okay?!" I exclaimed as I helped him up, hearing his groans. 

"I'm alright. Stupid tree trunk!" he mumbled and kicked it in anger. "Wait a minute—this feels like plastic!" He tried to push the tree trunk, but it opened instead.  We saw something beyond our belief. What's a slide doing in the middle of a forest?! 

"Whoa! This is insane Mao! Do you know anything about this?" I asked him, extremely perplexed. He shook his head since he was probably as confused as I was. 

"Bao Bao always keeps secrets like this. What kind of other crazy adventures does he have when I'm not with him?" Mao wondered. "I'll never know." 

"I don't even think I can fit in that space okay?!" 

"Well there's only one way to find out!" Mao Mao pushed me into the entrance of the slide. Thanks to my slightly overweight body, I got stuck. "Eh, I'll just—" he pushed his feet against my head to squeeze me in. 

"Dude personal sp-AAAACCCEEE!" I yelled the rest of the sentence as I traveled down the slide. Luckily, it was more roomy inside the whole area. The slide started out as a really steep drop, and when I say really steep, I mean it was steep to the point where I felt like I was just falling! Next, the slide curved up and I yelped. Then, there was a bunch of sharp zig-zags and the whole rest of the crazy ride went up (I didn't realize that until the experience was over). "I'M GONNA THROW UP!" I hollered.

"Good luck holding it in!" Mao Mao exasperated.