"Hey kid, wake up. It's morning," a soft voice spoke. A paw gently shook Norman awake. Blinking his eyes open, the young griffin cub lifted his head. Standing next to him was the wolverine Daisy. It was at that moment Norman remembered he was far away from home. Helping the cub to his feet, Daisy murmured, "Come on, we're having a meeting."

"About what?" Norman asked sleepily. He stifled a yawn as he followed Daisy. The wolverine slowed her pace so the griffin cub could keep up with her. Looking over her shoulder, she answered, "About you." Surprised, Norman questioned, "Me?"

"Yes, you," Rooster's voice piped up. Turning to his left, Norman saw the shadow dog looming over him. Daisy went and took a seat with the rest of the Circus Gang members, who had formed a circle around the griffin cub. Seated inside the circle with Norman, Rooster flicked his torn ear before declaring in a loud and clear voice, "The Circus Gang is an elite squad of those confined to the cage. To be a member is an honor. Do you, Norman, wish to become a member of the Circus Gang?"

Quiet for a moment, Norman looked around at the other animals. They seemed like a great group and deep down he wanted to be just like them. Looking back at Rooster, the young cub nodded his head solemnly. A small grin slowly appearing on his face, Rooster stood up and stated, "Lend me your voices if you believe he should become one of us." A chorus of agreements followed. Placing a paw on Norman's shoulder, Rooster announced, "Then from this moment on, he is one of us."

"Welcome to the Circus Gang Norman," everyone stated. Sitting there in the circle, Norman smiled and wagged his tail. The other animals were beginning to cheer for him as Rooster stepped forward and barked, "Alright everyone, Norman is one of us now. Got it?" Punching the air with a fist, Buddy shouted, "Heck yeah he is!"

"So that means we can not let him jump through the Ring of Fire. That is just a death sentence," Rooster pointed out. Raising his paw, Mel quipped, "That and carnivorous squirrels. They are holy terrors!" Everyone seemed to groan in unison when they heard that while Buddy patted the raccoon on the back. Tilting his head to the side, Duke murmured, "Rooster, where are you going with this?"

"We're gonna help him out of here. We're all escaping," Rooster declared. Gasps broke out. The most shocked of all, Norman exclaimed, "Escape?! We're going to escape?!" Swishing his tail over towards the metal saplings, the shadow dog explained, "You are the only one here who can fly and can fit through those cage bars."

"What about Sweetpea?" Mel asked, pointing at the macaw. Whacking the raccoon on the back of the head, Chloe hissed, "They clipped his wings you idiot! He can't fly until the feathers grow back."

"Here's the plan," Rooster stated, leading Norman towards the cage bars. "Do you see those shiny things hanging from that post there?" he asked, pointing. Squinting, Norman could see them so he nodded his head. The shadow dog continued explaining his master plan, "What you're going to do is slip through the bars, go over to the post and fly up, grabbing those keys. Then you're going to bring them right back so we can unlock the cage door. Once we do that, we will make a run for it and then the next thing you know we are free! It's foolproof!"

"Just like your other plans?" Chloe questioned. The Canadian Lynx padded over as she meowed, "Rooster, none of your plans have ever worked. If you want to escape so badly, why don't you break that collar underneath that bandanna of yours? Much better idea than sending a kid to do your dirty work." Confused, Norman looked up at Rooster. He could see a metal collar hidden under his red bandanna. The shadow dog faced Chloe as he stated, "You know I've tried breaking it. Don't worry, the kid can do this. Can't ya Norman?"

"Let's do it," Norman chirped, wagging his striped tail.