Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ty the Tasmainian tiger characters but I do own the Bush rescue kids.

Bush rescue next generation.

Chapter 7: The journey begins with a hop.

Maurie's vision was blurry as he was just regaining consciousness and he groaned. He remembered that he was attacked by a giant Quinken. He remembered the way to the location of Ty and the others. He didn't remember, however, much of what he had been told by Shazza. His near-sighted eyes squinted as he tried to make out the different figures standing over him. The one in front of him was a brown figure and standing beside that figure were blurs of black, Grey, ebony, tan yellow, maize, greeny-yellow, and a darker shade of brown.

After blinking multiple times, the old Cockatiel saw the Bush rescue kids standing over him with looks of relief and perplexity. "...What?" Asked Maurie with a croaked voice as he was now half-conscious. Dipper asked as he tried not to smile "How do youse feel, Maurie?"

Maurie was confused yet grumpy. He couldn't remember a blasted thing and he could only flap around and try to get up! He was quickly pushed down by a familiar gloved hand and Maurie was forced to give in. After opening his eyes completely, he realised that not only was it Ray that gently pushed him down but he also had bandages wrapped around his leg, right wing and he also he had scratches all over his pretty small body.

Ray was smiling gently down at him the softest way possible as his clover green eyes beamed gently down at him and Maurie was forced to resist struggling. The Cockateil sighed before he answer Dipper's question, although not really wanting to "I'm just feeling peachy."

Dipper nodded in acknowledgement "Good. When that giant monstah got you, youse had gotten pretty badly scratched up and you had gotten a claw stuck in ya leg meaning you may notice some of ya Tarsus and flank go a funny color."

"What do you mean?" Asked Maurie as he tried once more to wriggle but only to realise he could not move and was now as weak as a newborn Joey.

Luca, knowing that Maurie would not be able to feel his damaged leg, gently picked up the old bird's injured right leg and Maurie saw that his short tarsus and rather large talon had now matched the colour of a Quinken (a plum color with lava orange squiggly streaks) and Maurie felt his eyes shrink as he once again flapped around in panic, screaming at the top of his lungs as Ray pinned him down by holding his hand down on his chest "OH STRUTH! I'M GUNNA DIE! I'M GUNNA DIE! I'M GUNNA DIE!"

"Maurie, don't getcha feathers all tied in a bunch," Boonie exclaimed while assisting Ray in pinning the hopelessly flapping bird down "You ain't gunna die!"

Suddenly, an annoyed Jack slammed his reptilian tail hard against a nearby metal table to get everyone to quiet down and to gain their undivided attention.

Everyone cringed at the noise and stopped speaking as they all looked to the reptilian cyber-eyed Tazzy tiger with shocked expressions. Everyone stared at the half breed as he stomped towards Maurie, who gulped in fear, and then pressed his nose against Maurie's much smaller beak all while saying through his gritted fangs "Now, bird. I know you know where our parents are and you are gonna take us there. But first youse gotta calm down."

Maurie just slowly nodded, not daring to say a word against Jack but then he took what the Tazzy tiger said into account. The Cockatiel's tiny beady eyes widened in surprise "Wait, what!? Mrs Shazza told me NOT to take ya to her and the othah's location!"

"Well guess what?," Ray asked as he folded his arms determinedly with a grin "We don't care."

Without saying a word, Maurie sighed. He knew Ty was stubborn but his son was even more so! Who knew that one boy could be so disrespectful to their elders!?

After a moment, Jack released Maurie and walked off into a different direction and towards the door so he could spend some time alone. Dismissing this as he knew Jack well enough for this to be his normal behaviour, Ray's ears then flattened as he furrowed his brows in a mix of concern and confusion while he stared at his father's mentor "Maurie, what happened?"

Maurie finally recovered from his state of shock before telling the kids who had gathered around him to listen to the story "Alright. While you kids had managed to somehow hide away, a bunch of robots had managed to invade New Barramungee and they took everyone. Not one soul was shown mercy!" Maurie could have sworn he felt tears in his tiny squinty eyes now as his voice broke "I told me wife to fly away but she..." Maurie's tiny beady eyes grew shorter as he broke off into short labored pants of heartbreak.

Ray gently patted the Cockatiel's back in a comforting way as Maurie finally broke down and began sobbing. Ray sighed as he brought Maurie into a tight hug as he allowed the old bird to nestle into the soft yet filthy fabric of his hoodie and lay in his gloved hand yet soon enough, Maurie calmed down enough to continue "...After that, I went after Shazza and Ty before I got roped into the enemy base."

"You know who captured our parents?," Luca asked as he stepped forwards curiously "Who is it?"

Maurie once again looked panicked but he hesitated to speak. It was obvious to the Bush Rescue next gen group that the old bird was finding it hard to say this next part and they all leaned forwards as they all awaited Maurie to speak and when he finally did, they all felt stones drop into each of their stomachs before causing an obstruction thad hid away in the darkest corner of their bodies "Boss Cass..."

Everyone felt all their breaths leave their bodies as the weight of the situation suddenly sucked all the air from the room and everyone felt like they were being squished by the walls and ceilings. The situation turned from just a rescue mission into an extremely dire case as the Bush rescue next gen gang had all heard the stories that Boss Cass died shortly after Ray was born!

Ray himself was especially affronted by this news as his whole body froze in place, the breath leaving his lungs due to the silent atmosphere. The Tazzy tiger-Dingo hybrid was now terrified as the stories of Boss Cass resurfaced in his already distressed mind.

Daniel finally managed to break the silence as he recovered from the shock "He's alive!?" Maurie nodded to the young cowardly frog teen, whom immediately hid behind Luca for protection. He felt terrible for having to explain this to a few children who most likely felt more alone than ever and doing it made him feel just plain rotten. Ray also managed to overcome the shock of the news that his father's archenemy is alive and looked down at the cockatoo he held with fear burning within his jungle green pools.

Tanya also broke out of her shocked state and asked as she wrapped a hand over Ray's shoulder, secretly making Ray blush in turn, and asked seriously with determination siding with her every word "Maurie, can you take us to our parents?"

"WHAT!?" Maurie jolted up from his laid down position in Ray's hand and once again began flapping his elegant ivory wings "Are youse loony?! The journey's gonna be rough-"

"We'll pack our things." Luca assured with his own voice of determination.

Maurie then continued, still trying to talk the kids out of it "It won't be a walk for the park-"

"We'll be prepared."

"We are talking 'bout a few harsh weeks of outdoor wilderness-"

"We won't break a sweat."

Maurie slapped a wing to his forehead, now sighing in defeat before he told them sternly "Just go get ya things, then."

Not needing to be told twice, many of the teens ran in different directions to pack their things and Maurie found himself now laying back on the table and he asked self doubtfully "Strewth, what have I done?..."

The bush rescue next generation gang and Maurie began to boldly stride out into the outlandish terrain of Two up. Strange name, really. But this was where Ty had began his adventure all those years ago so to Ray to officially be walking in his father's paw prints was actually pretty exciting. Hopefully, this will be Ray's first task as a hero instead of a thief and this ignited a brilliant flame within the Tasmanian dingo.

As they walked in the sandy grounds of Two up, Ray broke the silence that fell over the still rather moon struck team "So, is this exciting or what?" Nobody replied but they just looked at their feet as if they were all doing their first dance and were looking at their feet in case they stood on their dance partner's feet. Eventually though, Timmy asked a really good question but it did change the subject "Guys, if the sun is shining then why isn't it as warm as it usually is?"

Everyone stopped to look at the 7 year old Tazzy tiger and felt the warmth of the weather. Tim was correct. It wasn't as warm as it usually was in Southern rivers on a sunny day and that was rather disconcerting for everyone. Dipper decided to dismiss this, though, and he suggested fluently "Maybe the earth's atmosphere is deciding on what climate to make it towards the end of this year?"

Maurie arched a brow to indicate his confusion with big words "Huh?" Tanya poked her head out from behind the Platypus' back and corrected Dipper's wording for everyone to understand better "He said: Perhaps the world's deciding to make it much colder in the winter?"

One eyed Jack spoke up in his usual up tight yet deep voice "Thats not what it feels like. Call me crazy but I think this cooler air is blowing from another area?" Everyone looked at Jack as if he was crazy right after he spoke. The black furred Tazzy tiger returned the facial expression and asked awkwardly "...What?"

Boone pointed out as he shrugged with a faint chuckle "Dude, snow stays up in the mountains. It ain't supposed to snow anywhere else but towards where Sheila used to house me and my mates for school lessons." The immature koala teen shrugged "Just making an observation."

Ray decided to steer the conversation away from the weather "Hey, guys. Ain't this cool?" Everyone looked around the surrounding area as they remembered that this was the start of Ty the hero's journey all those years ago. When they thought about it, it was pretty cool! To actually be beginning their adventure at the very place this started. What could be better then this?

Jack suddenly suggested, secretly not wanting to show his soft side "Say, why don't we get Maurie to fly up and see if we're going the right way?"

Maurie was currently perched upon Tanya's shoulder with what was a coat that should be a full body cast covering him from head to toe and he folded his rings while turning his head grumpily to the side, not willing to do anything for the kids who dragged him into this. "You ain't gonna help?" Maurie shook his head vigorously to show that he wasn't doing this no matter what. Ray raised his brow with a sly grin as he eyed over his shoulder towards the old bird "Do youse want ya wife back?"

Maurie found himself biting his own tongue as he thought of his wife locked in a cage that was meant for canaries and without thinking it over, he found himself flapping his wings and flying upwards with his leg and talon dangling limply below him whilst his healthy leg actually tucked up beneath his large belly. Maurie was so worried for his beautiful wife, Maurel the Galah, that his heart soared along with his body without a trace of hesitating.

Back down below, when Maurie was high enough, Ray called up "Maurie, What can ya see?"

Maurie was silent for a long few moments before he finally spoke, his voice grim and his eyes dilated in horror "...Oh, Crikey." What Maurie saw proved Jack's theory. Snow was in fact blowing in from another location. In the warmest part of Southern rivers, no less! About a very thick sheet of snow was covering the ground ahead and beyond where he and the team were walking, two very disturbing sights beheld him. Somehow where there used to be maple trees, just vanished and left a huge clearing like they never existed and over the horizon, two mountains that used to be perfectly straight and stood alongside each other in harmony were now on the very verge of collapsing to one side in a domino effect.

When Maurie's eyes wandered down back towards the ground, he saw a Jeep that had an engine that was blowing smoke from the busted up hood. The paint on the jeep was practically scratched off and it also seemed to have crashed into a huge rock! Whats more is that there were a small group of Kangaroos wearing sleeveless vests standing just beside the vehicle.

Gasping, Maurie's good instincts kicked in and he took off into the skies without telling the others where he was going, causing the group to give chase. When they saw what their friend saw, they froze in place as they tried to take in the startling surroundings. Jack asked incredulously as he pointed a hand towards the terrain that had snow covering the lot of it "You lot think I'm a loon now!?"

Ray shook his head, not being able to tear his clover green eyes away from the majorly startling scene in front of him and his crew "No, Jack. But to be fair you did want us to call you crazy."

"It was an expression, Mate!" One-eyed Jack snapped as he began to lose his cool and freak out but how can you lose what you never had? Boonie suddenly pointed a glove forwards and exclaimed where Maurie was now landing towards the Kangaroos "Look!"

Without taking another glance, they ran over to see if the group was alright and then Maurie landed and extended a friendly wing to the seemingly injured bunch "Are you lot alright?"

One kangaroo replied gingerly as he rubbed his throbbing head, clearly still sore from the impact his car had "Yes, thanks. But our niece is still in there. We can't get her out!" Luca offered selflessly "No worries, guys. I'll have ya niece free in a jiffy." He raced to the right side of the crashed vehicle and practically tore open the right door, making the group either yelp out in panic or growl in anger. Luca flashed them an apologetic yet sheepish grin "Heh. Sorry..."

When the door was open, Luca practically dived inside the burning vehicle and because there was so much smoke, he couldn't quite see the girl's face but he could, however, feel her velvet soft fur and practically lifted her out of the seat, assuming she undone her seatbelt, and carried her out bridal style. As soon as the brown furred Tazzy tiger teen was out, he yelled at the top of his lungs with great urgency "The engine would hold anymore, mates! Hit the deck now!"

The gang ducked whilst covering their ears, awaiting the explosion and they were glad they did because like Luca foretold, the car exploded in an admittedly small explosion even if the impact sent the gang and the Kangaroo group flying forwards a few feet, Luca holding the girl tight in his grip all the while as he pinned himself down by his feet.

Once the explosion was over, Luca opened his sapphire eyes and finally got his first glimpse at the girl he saved and his jaw immediately dropped as he examined her. She wasn't a kangaroo like her uncles. She was a Yellow footed rock wallaby. Her honey brown fur had patches of soot from the smoke. She was unconscious (that was to be expected) as the corner of her mouth hung open. She wore a green outback hat with a matching cardigan that had no sleeves. Her long legs were quite strong looking and her ears were unresponsive. She also had a long muzzle that actually matched Luca's also unlike her uncles and she had a crimson nose.

'Woah...She's...She's beautiful." Thought Luca as he stared down at her with his eyes awestruck. Nothing could melt this moment away as he smiled a little at her delicate form. But he couldn't help but wonder how she and her uncles got away from Boss Cass' raid?

A/N: Now thats the end of this chapter. Sorry it took so long. I was just busy on how to go with this. I eventually went with this and it was good enough. Now Luca has a crush on somebody and the Bush rescue next gen team now have more than a rescue case on their hands. Why and how, you ask? Find out!

I also couldn't help but allow Ray to lighten up and give the Bush rescue next generation team a bit more character.

What did you think of the name of this chapter?

Please feel free to review and stuff, please. :)

-Chloemcg