"So, what exactly are we doing again?" Pickles asked nervously. Next to the porcupine, Little Blue rolled her eyes. "Pickles, we are going on an adventure," the badger told him. "A grand adventure," Norman added. The griffin cub had managed to recruit half of the class to join him. They were going to cross the Fence. Standing behind the assembled group of kids, the mountain goat Cotton stepped forward and quipped, "Cool!" At that moment, the kid slipped down the side, tumbling to the bottom. Everyone gasped before someone in the back exclaimed, "He crossed the ridge!"

"That takes guts," George remarked. Cotton smiled sheepishly at the other kids. "Cotton, you've gone the farthest anyone's ever gotten beyond the ridge," Pickles whimpered. Scoffing, George muttered, "Oh yeah, watch this." The skunk trotted down the ridge, passing the mountain goat. He went a couple of feet through the tall dry grass before turning to face the rest of the class. Sitting down, he puffed his chest out pridefully and called, "Beat that!"

"Please boys. Let me show you how it's done," Little Blue scoffed. "Oh god," Pickles whimpered, covering his eyes. The porcupine refused to watch. Norman and the other kids watched though as Little Blue strode down the ridge and through the tall dry grass. The badger finally stopped just a couple of feet away from the Fence. Nodding his head quietly, Cotton remarked, "Impressive."

"Too scared to go any closer Little Blue?" George teased. Sticking her tongue out at the skunk, the badger retorted, "You didn't get any closer either. Clearly I'm braver than all of you. Unless someone wants to prove me wrong there." Trotting down the ridge, Norman piped up, "I'll take that challenge!" Everyone gasped. Backing away from the ridge, Pickles chimed in, "Can we please go home?!"

"You should all be home right now!" Tiberius thundered. He and Leonard had finally arrived, bounding out of the bushes. Princess followed, keeping her distance from the ridge her classmates were standing upon. Glancing out across the field to see four of the kids beyond the ridge, Tiberius spotted Norman. The cub was still at the bottom with Cotton. Meeting his father's gaze, Norman knew he was in big trouble. Truth be told, he didn't care though.

"Kids! What were you all thinking?!" Leonard scolded the kids up on the ridge. Tiberius turned his head to watch. All of the children had their heads bowed in silence, looking very ashamed of themselves right now. Pickles was practically on the verge of tears. Meanwhile, the children who had crossed the ridge were now making their way back slowly, ready to join the others for punishment. Pacing back and forth, Leonard huffed and grumbled, "I warned you all this very morning to stay away from here."

"Sir, if I may," Cotton spoke up. Motioning for the mountain goat to be quiet, Leonard pointed out, "How do you think your families would've felt if you got taken out there beyond the Fence?" Stepping forward, Tiberius rumbled, "I declared this spot forbidden to keep everyone safe. You should never come here, let alone cross the Fence."

"So, is this a bad time to mention that Norman just crossed the Fence?" Princess asked. Cotton, meanwhile, was pointing to beyond the ridge. Confused at first, it took Tiberius and Leonard a split second to realize that Norman wasn't with the rest of the class. Whirling around, Tiberius practically jumped out of his skin when he saw that, not only did the young griffin cub cross the Fence, he was still going farther. In fact, he was heading towards the old dirt road. "Wow," Leonard remarked, "Kid's got some guts."

"Norman!" Tiberius shouted. Standing on the ridge, the griffin glared at his son as he continued walking. "Get over here right now! You're already in big trouble! If I have to come out there to get you myself, you're going to be in an even bigger mess!" he yelled. His talons were digging into the ground that made up the ridge. Norman was getting closer to the road. The cub swished his tail angrily as he called over his shoulder, "Please! You're too scared to leave the forest!" At that moment, he stepped foot onto the road. Everyone gasped in horror while Pickles fainted. His ears pinned against his head, Tiberius hissed, "Norman! Get back here now!"

"Come and get me! If you're brave enough!" Norman fired back, sitting down in the middle of the road. Leaning over a passed out Pickles, George whispered to Little Blue, "He's the bravest of us all." Pacing back and forth along the ridge, Tiberius growled. He was past being mad now. He was furious. His son was deliberately disobeying him and making a scene in front of everyone. Either way, he was beyond the Fence. Someone had to get him if he wasn't coming back himself. The griffin was about to do so when a kid squeaked, "What's that?!"

"What's what?" Leonard asked, lifting his head. Gasping, he whispered hoarsely, "Your majesty, we've got a problem." Following the white deer's gaze, Tiberius froze when he saw two lights shining in the distance. It couldn't be the sun. That was setting in the west. As it got closer, the griffin realized the lights were a part of a vehicle. Humans were coming. His blood running cold, Tiberius looked back at Norman. "Get over here, now," he called softly, "Please Norman, just come here!"

"Daddy, what is that?" Norman whimpered. He had seen the vehicle. The poor cub was trembling with fear, his eyes wide with terror. He wasn't the only one. The class was scared to death. Putting himself in front of the kids, Leonard mumbled, "What do we do sir?" Tiberius had no words. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He was watching both Norman and the vehicle, the latter which was now in view. The vehicle was white as snow and it rolled to a stop just a few feet away from Norman. Two men stepped out of the vehicle, grins on their faces. They slowly advanced towards the griffin cub. Neither the cub nor his father or any of the other animals did anything, for they were petrified with fear, as the events played out. It was like time had stopped for them.

It wasn't until one of the men, a man dressed in back from his hat to his cloak, had Norman in his clutches when time started back up again and all chaos broke out.