It had taken most of the day for the Planeteers to help clean up the chaos that the mysterious blaze had left in its wake; by the time they were finished, the sun had already started to set on yet another long and tiring day. They all met back up again near the Geo-cruiser, wiping his brow, Wheeler was the first to talk about the work he had been given "Wow, I never knew tracking down lost pets would be so hard!"

Appearing to be out breath; Ma-ti managed a laugh "I agree with you my friend, but we can't go resting up just yet, we need to see if we can find out more about this child that apparently has been running around with rings like yours and Linka's." Wheeler was still not convinced that such a bogus rumour could possibly be true "Swell…but I still say we'll be wasting our time with this thing." Linka stood along side Wheeler, raising her eye brow she gave him a nudge "Oh come on Wheeler, don't tell me you're all worn out from just rounding up some lost pets!" Raising an eye brow in return Wheeler responded "I'm not tired at all; I've still got plenty of energy to burn!"

Kwame shook his head "I know it is very bizarre for such a thing to happen, and maybe that man wasn't in his right-mind, but still I think we should at least take a look around and ask some more of the town's folk on whether anything strange happened just before the fire started." Gi nodded "Kwame is right, you never know maybe something is going on, so let's go ask around and see if we can uncover any information." Knowing he wasn't going to win the others over in this one, Wheeler rubbed the back of his head 'Alright, alright I guess it wouldn't hurt to go check things out."

Deciding the best way to sought out information would be to split up, Kwame was the first to bring the plan into action "Alright my friends, Ma-ti, Gi and I will see if we can track down that man from earlier, Linka and Wheeler you two should go and take a look around the town, if you see anyone out and about still, be sure to ask them about these rumours." Happy that Linka would be joining him in the search for more information; Wheeler moved his arm to rest up around her waist and pulled her somewhat closer "Well Linka babe, looks like it'll be just you and me for a while." Stepping back and out of Wheeler's hold, Linka looked slightly annoyed by her fire friend's flirtatious approach "Nyet Wheeler, this is no time for games, you need to take this mission a little more seriously, even if it'll lead us to no where." With that said, Linka focused her light green eyes on what remained of this small town, the sight of so many people left more than likely homeless saddened her.

A lot of the town folk would either have to leave their beloved town or go and stay at a near by shelter, that existed in Greenton; It was one of the few buildings that had not been touched by the fierce flames that not too long ago had claimed most of the buildings and houses. As they made their way through the streets, the strong scent of smoke was still lingering in the air; Linka couldn't help but shed a few tears at the sight "Oh Wheeler, the fire has ruined everything here, so many people and animals have been left homeless…" As he walked alongside her, Wheeler noticed Linka's sadness right away and immediately comforted her; Stopping her in her tracks by resting his hand upon her shoulder, Wheeler gave her a reassuring smile "Hey, its not as bad as it looks Linka, what matters is that these people and their families are all still alive, they'll find somewhere to go, I'm sure of it."

Although his flirting tended to get on her nerves sometimes; Linka couldn't help but feel better from Wheeler's kind words, gazing at him for a moment she then smiled and nodded "Da, Wheeler…you are right, that is what really matters." The two of them as rare as it was, became lost in the still of the moment. She never did admit it, but Linka always found herself drawn into the sky blue depths of Wheeler's eyes, but their moment was short lived when an angry voice came from a near by alley way "So there you are, you rotten little brat, I should've known you'd be hiding away somewhere after what you did!"

Narrowing his eyes, Wheeler was sure he had heard that voice from earlier "Linka, that voice it sounds like that fat guy that threatened us earlier on!" Knowing he was right, Linka made her way forwards "Da, you are right Wheeler, and it sounds like he may have found who caused all this, let's go see!" The two Planeteers made their way hurriedly towards the source of the problem, upon their arrival they were shocked to see that the same man from earlier had cornered a little boy, whose face was shielded by a greenish blue cap; But it was obvious from the trembling of his small frame that he was absolutely terrified by the man that was towering over him.

One fist clenched tightly shut, with his other hand pointing a fat finger at the child the pig of a man hadn't stopped there with the threatening "Where do you think you get off, catching our town a blaze like that, have you got something against Greenton brat!" When the boy didn't answer, this only angered the raging man further and he descended upon the child, his large chubby hand outstretched as he grasped the boy by the collar of his white T-shirt "That's it, you asked for it kid!" Before the fury of the man could be taken a step further, Wheeler had lunged forwards and used all his strength to force the attacker away from the little boy; His sky blue eyes narrowed and he looked absolutely furious that a grown man would gang up a kid like that "Hey, back off chubby, where do you think, you come off threatening a little kid like that!" Noticing the man now had a name tag on and printed in black bold letters was the name "Sam", he had obviously worked at a local store somewhere.

Stepping back, Sam narrowed his beady brown eyes, his moustache flaring as he spat at Wheeler "Not one of you Planeteer brats again, haven't you done enough in Greenton already, why don't you take your sorry little eco fighting powers and get out of here!" Standing his ground, Wheeler pointed his ring threateningly at the large man "Why don't you try and make me!" Not wanting a fight to break out; Linka had stepped in "Enough both of you, there has been enough violence and trouble here already, don't cause anymore!" Gritting his teeth, Wheeler then let out a sigh and lowered his ring arm "Yeah, your right Linka but that still doesn't make it alright for this guy to pick on a little kid!"

Knowing he wouldn't stand a chance against two teens with elemental powers hidden within their rings; Sam finally backed off but still was quite furious "I suggest you take that brat and get out of my town before things get really nasty!" Having the sudden urge to burn that creeps fat backside from behind, Wheeler had taken a step forwards as the angry man turned to leave, but Linka's warm and gentle grasp upon his arm caused him to stop "Wheeler…don't…" Staring into her beautiful green eyes, Wheeler blinked and then nodded "Yeah…alright."

A gentle sob coming from behind, caused both Wheeler and Linka to focus their attention on the little boy who had his head lowered and was clinging tightly to the front of his T-shirt, his small figure still trembling as he desperately tried to keep himself from crying. Feeling a natural Motherly instinct kick in, Linka knelt down to become level with the child's face, her voice gentle and sweet "Aw, there, there little one, you're safe now." Rubbing the back of his head, Wheeler also knelt down "Hey there little buddy, you're not hurt or anything are you?"

Tilting his head down and to the side, trying to get a look at the boy's face; Wheeler's blue eyes suddenly fell to the sound of something jingling around the boy's neck; and sure enough as plain as day was two very familiar rings hanging from a thin silver chain; Wheeler immediately recognised the fiery symbol of his own ring, Linka too had also caught sight of the rings, her green eyes going wide "Bozhe moi, Wheeler those are our rings!" The reaction seemed to act as a trigger, gasping and taking a couple of steps backwards, keeping his head lowered, the little boy then turned and took off out of the alley way. Getting quickly to his feet Wheeler shouted after him "H-hey wait a second, don't go!" Linka shot to her feet, her mouth hanging open just slightly "Wheeler, we can't let him get away, we have to follow him!"

Realising that Sam was obviously telling the truth about duplicates of their own rings, both Wheeler and Linka followed quickly in the direction the mysterious boy had taken; Already quite far a head of them, Wheeler was in awe at just how fast that kids little legs could carry him "Man this kid is quick, Linka head on around the other side of that building, I'll take this way, we'll be able to catch him in between us if we hurry!" Linka nodded and took a sharp turn around a near by building that stretched all the way in the direction the boy had taken; Wheeler picked up speed, his feet pounding hard against the ash-covered ground from the fire earlier on.

Peering over his shoulder, the young boy let out a gasp when he realised that Wheeler was steadily gaining on him; Slipping slightly on the ashes that littered the ground, the boy took a sharp turn around a near by building as a last resort to escape. Linka at that precise moment, appeared around from the side of the building, her hands held out at her sides as she spoke "Please stop running away from us!" Heart racing, the small child let another gasp escape, his eyes hidden beneath the rim of his cap had gone wide; He turned to go back, but it appeared his luck was short-lived since Wheeler had caught up and was waiting at the other end opposite from Linka. His sky blue eyes were slightly narrowed in annoyance and he appeared to be slightly out of breath "Stop, just hold on for a minute kid!"

Looking helplessly from Wheeler to Linka and then back again; the small boy had no where else to go, the weight of being shoved into trouble for causing the fire, being threatened by Sam and now being chased by Wheeler and Linka finally proved to be too much for him to take. Feeling the corners of his eyes sting, the young boy crouched down and finally gave into the tears that had threatened to fall for a while now; bursting into uncontrollable sobs and revealing what Wheeler and Linka had been wondering about "P-please don't hurt me, I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause the fire…Nootau…I-I can't control his powers, I'm sorry!" Hearing all this in one big and desperate sentence from such a small person, left both Linka and Wheeler in a state of confusion, as well as leading them both to feeling ashamed for cornering a child like that.

Lifting his hands, while still crouching there, the boy tried to wipe the tears away that were streaming down his cheeks; His voice broke as he spoke more so to himself than the others "Mummy….Daddy, please forgive me!" Lowering her raised hands to her sides, Linka blinked her green eyes a few times and was suddenly overcome by a strong instinct to take the crying child into her arms; her eyes fell to the boys left arm and she spotted a small burn just above his elbow. Eyes going wide she stepped forwards silently, kneeling down she carefully took the child's small arm into her hand, causing him to tense up a little; He raised his head just a little, making sure his face still remained hidden, his voice had a scared sort of note to it, managing to say "What are you…" He stopped in his sentence, noticing Linka had reached into the pocket of her brown shorts, pulling out a fresh bandage; they were something she always carried just in case.

Wheeler hadn't moved from where he was standing, he had raised his hand to rub at the back of his head, confused on not only what the boy had blabbed out, but because he too was feeling slightly strange towards the child; Finally he stepped forwards as Linka began to bandage the young child's arm with care "Hey bud, we didn't mean to scare ya like that…" Came Wheeler's voice, Linka nodded, finally speaking "Da, yes we are sorry, are you alright?" Her voice was gentle and tender, she finished bandaging his arm up, a frown across her features "That is quite a bad burn, how did you manage to get it?" Keeping his head down, still sobbing the mysterious little boy wiped at his cheek before answering, rather fearfully "Nootau did it…I can't control his powers…"

Exchanging confused looks with Linka; Wheeler had knelt down, holding his hand out questioningly "Noo….what?" he arched an eye brow in utter confusion "By the way…what's your name kid?" Sniffling some, the boy hesitated; Linka smiled sweetly, moving her head down in hopes of getting a look at the child's face "Aww come on now, don't be so shy, you can tell us, I promise!" Biting his bottom lip and raising both his hands to pull his cap down further to hide his face, he then quietly replied "T-Toby, my name is Toby." Hearing this, Linka couldn't help but smile "That's a very sweet name, I really like it, my name is Linka and he is Wheeler."

Now very curious to see this kids face, Wheeler asked "Hey, why do you keep hiding your face, got something you don't want us to see?" Linka suddenly elbowed her American companion in the side, flashing him an annoying look "Nyet Wheeler, don't be so rude!" "Ow!" Rubbing at his side, the red-headed Planeteer raised an eye brow "Aww come on babe, I'm just curious to see what he looks like!" Sighing with impatience, Linka shook her head; truth be told though, she was just as curious, but she threw a comment back at Wheeler "Bozhe moi, why do you have to be so nosey!" The slight bickering between the two Planeteers, though unknown to them caused Toby to break out into a small smile, and a little giggle erupted from his throat.

Hearing a change in the little guys mood; Both Wheeler and Linka broke out from their bickering and looked at Toby, almost as if the arguing was forgotten; Linka then smiled "Do not mind Wheeler Toby, hey…we better get you back home, your parents must surely be worried sick!" Hearing this caused Toby's smile to drop from his features, he nervously bit his bottom lip "Um…I'm not really from around here…" Hearing this Linka suddenly frowned, concerned "What, surely you must…" A shake of Toby's head caused her heart to sink "Bozhe moi…oh Toby." Feeling sorry for the kid, Wheeler suddenly got back to his feet "Well, there is only thing we can do then babe, let's take him with us." Shocked, Linka blinked many times "What! Take him with us, you mean on the Geo-cruiser, Nyet Wheeler we cannot do that!"

Looking from Linka to Toby Wheeler smiled "Hey little bud, can you give Linka and I a moment to talk?" Toby nodded and watched from under the rim of his cap, as Wheeler pulled Linka to the side and faced her "Come on Linka, what else are we supposed to do? The kid obviously doesn't have any parents, nor anywhere else to go, and there is no way we can leave him here, that Sam dude might try something!" Staring at him, Linka blinked and looked from her American companion and over at Toby; truthfully she didn't like the idea about leaving a child where he could be in danger, and there was something about him, something that gave Linka the desire to keep him safe. Turning her attention back to Wheeler, the Russian blond gave in "Da, alright then Wheeler, but the others may not like this…"

Flashing her one of his reassuring grins; Wheeler winked at Linka "Hey don't you worry about that babe; it won't take much to convince the others, trust me on that!" Still unsure on how the others would react, when she and Wheeler returned with a little boy, no older than probably six-years-old, with duplicates of their rings; one thing she did know though was that a lot of questions were going to be thrown at them. Deciding not to worry about that until they found the others, Linka turned around to face Toby with a welcoming sort of smile "Toby, would you like to come with Wheeler and I?" With his hands clutching at the front of his white t-shirt, Toby raised his head just enough for them to see his shy little smile "Um sure, I don't really want to stay here…that man from before was scary!"

Wheeler grinned "Well, ya won't have to worry about that fatso as long as you come with use Toby!" Linka suddenly felt the urge to elbow Wheeler again, for using such a rude word against Sam, but she held off and instead flashed him a warning sort of gaze. "Alright then Toby, come along with us." Linka held out her hand to the small boy, who slowly stood up from his crouching position and made his way forwards; biting his bottom lip and chewing on, Toby reached out his small hand to Linka; on the precise moment of contact, Linka suddenly felt a rush of a familiar feeling. Receiving such a feeling out of no where, the Russian blond couldn't help but gasp; causing Wheeler to raise a questioning eye brow "Hey…Linka, are you alright babe, your face has turned a little pale." The questioning look from the red-head turned to that of a concerned frown as Linka looked at him, she blinked and shook her head smiling "Oh, I am fine Wheeler….come along Toby, we need to go track down the other Planeteers."

Nodding slowly, with one hand raised and pulling at the rim of his cap; Toby followed Linka and Wheeler out from the side of the building and along the ash-covered walkway; As she held onto the boys hand, Linka silently glanced down at the small child that was too shy to even show his face, her mind wondering many things 'What is this strange feeling, Bozhe moi…I feel as if I know this child from somewhere, like I've met him before, but how is that possible, this is my first time ever meeting him.' Shaking her head, slightly frustrated by her thoughts, Linka turned her gaze to Wheeler and questioned, trying to forget the nagging feeling "Where do you think Kwame, Gi and Ma-ti could be?" Hands stuffed into his pockets, Wheeler tilted his head and looked around "Hm, I haven't a clue babe, maybe we should go try the shelter, I doubt they'd be anywhere else."

Agreeing, Linka nodded "Good point Wheeler, we'll go check at the shelter" She peered down at Toby, when she felt his small hand grip rather tightly to hers, she then smiled, realising the problem "Oh, do not worry Toby, we're not going to leave you at the shelter, I promise." Relaxing at the words that comforted him so much more than what Linka could ever really know, Toby nodded "O-okay then, that's good!" Wheeler grinned down at their new friend "Don't sweat it bud, we'll get ya on the Geo-cruiser even if it takes all night to convince the other Planeteers that we can't leave you here in Greenton!" With that said, Wheeler then focused his sky blue eyes upon the large building, many people who had lost their homes were gathered around, most only with the clothes on their backs. The crowd was rather large, so it would probably take a while for Wheeler and Linka to spot their friends; still they made their way over and carefully made their way through the crowds of people.