Don't now how many times I revised this chapter...but I tried to get the next update up!^^ at...almost five..ln the morning. T-T I'm so delirious right now...R&R please!:3 please...o.o hm...is that even spelled right?o_O

C'mon Martin! You know who the real Chris is! It shouldn't be this hard to find your own brother...

/

Chris moved along the edge of the low cliff, scoping out the area. He tried to stay low and unlocked as he watched as the men hacked away at all the trees, not leaving much but a vacant, bare plain with stumps scattered throughout it. He took out his creature pod and started recording. "This can't be legal in this area..."

He stared at the screen trying to get the footage as he moved rather close along the edge with Fade trotting next to him. Then she yipped at him with alarm. Without realizing it, he misplaced his hand and slipped headfirst down the steep cliff, rolling down and landing roughly as well as upside down into some bushes gathered at the bottom.

"Ouch...well, so much for stealth..." He started to sit up rubbing his arm only to be suddenly yanked out of the bushes by a rather large hand of an even larger man. He much resembled Dabio save for his red hair.

"And what do we have here, Derris?"

Chris laughed nervously, casually trying to move his pod into his pocket. He didn't want them to take his only evidence. But of course fate had it in for him and one of the redhead's little buddies noticed and took Chris's creature pod from him, inspecting it.

"And wha' do you think yer doin', huh?" he said with an accent Chris couldn't quite place.

"H-hey! Give that back!" Chris tried to sound serious or at least a little threatening, but the men just laughed at him.

"Ha! The little guy is telling us what to do! And what if he don't?" he asked getting in Chris's face. He poked Chris repeatedly just to get on his nerves. Chris was really starting to hate these guys.

"Hey, watch this one guys!" The skinny, long haired logger threw the creature pod as far as he could into the forest they hadn't chopped down yet.

Chris glared at him furiously and growled under his breathe. "Just let go..."

"The men laughed "Aw, did you hear that? I didn't quite catch that. Wh-"

"PUT ME DOWN YOU BIG OX!" Chris yelled before he could finish, out of anger.

Half a second too late, he realized what had slipped. Chris resisted the urge to slap his hand over his mouth with a surprised look on his face, immediately wishing he hadn't said that, but he couldn't take it back now.

"Oops" he mumbled so only he could hear. Not that it would matter in five seconds.

What the heck is wrong with you?! He scolded himself.

The men stared between him and Derris, taken aback and not sure how to react to it. Derris grabbed Chris by the front of his shirt and bring his other arm back "You're going to regret that you little twig..."

Chris tried to protect his face as the huge guy swung at him and thought it'd be the end of him.

"HOLD IT! What is going on here?!"

The man seemed to tense up and the hit never came as Chris was expecting it to.

"Why did you stop? I need this area cleared so I can build my super awesomely cool new science headquarters here!"

Chris blinked. He knew that annoying high-pitched voice anywhere.

"...Yes Mr. Varmitech. Just taking care of the little sneak trying to blow you operation"

The first three words sounded almost forced, as if they took a lot of effort to say, to Chris. This guy didn't like Zach either.

"What? Well who exactly would that be?" Zach said, annoyed.

Reluctantly, Chris was thrown down roughly and towards Zach. Chris was barely able to catch himself by flailing his arms around and stumbling to regain his balance. Once he had, he turned and glared at the man fixing his collar. The man grimaced at him, but didn't do anything else.

Zach raised an eyebrow seeming almost unsurprised, "Well well. Green guy. Long time no see. So where's the other half of this set? Blue boy?"

*Chris's P.O.V*

I was still rather ticked off and just looked at him blankly, cutting the small talk.

"This is reserved land, Zach. Protected by the law. You shouldn't be logging anywhere near here and you know it"

Zach frowned at me, but didn't try to cover his real intent anymore "There are, like, a gazillion trees around here. Taking a few little trees won't hurt it"

"That doesn't matter. And your 'few little trees' has grown to actually be a few hundred. Stop now, or I'll get our friend James involved"

Zach scowled darkly. James Walter was the man who had shut down Zach's logging operations in the redwood forest a few months back.

"Is this little tree hugger bothering you Mr. V?" One of the tall loggers asked.

"...Yes. But I don't think he'll be much trouble once I have him on lock down in my jet. Zachbots?!"

That was a signal to make a run for it, but I got blocked by a large "wall" which happened to be my old buddy Derris. Before I could really do anything else, four large metal claws grabbed my arms from behind and twisted them painfully behind my back. Every time I moved, a searing pulse went through my arms and a forced yelp escaped from my mouth.

"Hey! Watch it!" I spat glaring at the machines with pure hatred. I couldn't stand these things!

Zach had apparently updated a few. These were larger and a lot harder to over power. I tried kicking and trying to resist them by digging my feet into the ground and hooking them on anything I could. I did this the entire way back to the jet, refusing to be taken peacefully, by which I'd done nothing but drained my energy. I had to stop struggling and catch my breathe, glaring tiredly.

The two Zachbots with the holds on my arms dragged me over into a small, metal room aboard the jet with no windows aside from a small slit on the door.

I fought hard, but in the end they had gotten me into the room. Inside, there was a flat table with cuff restraints on it. Next to it was a metal platform. I knew what those kinds of tables were used for, and I didn't like it one bit. Wide-eyed with realization, I again started struggling and resisting with everything I had. They dragged me to and over the table, forcing my torso down. A metal brace locked around me above my waist. My new struggle became trying to get out of that as well as keep my arms and legs free.

One Zachbot grabbed my right wrist and yanked it above my head. Then I felt a second brace lock around it. I pulled, but it was no use. I was too tired from my previous struggles. The same happened to my other arm, and the process repeated with both my legs. That was it. I was now trapped and completely vulnerable to whatever twisted idea Zach could come up with. Not a good combination. The Mega Zachbots- as I'd dubbed the huge machines- slammed the door behind them as they went. Then they left me alone.

*Narration*

Chris immediately kept trying to get his limbs free, but the clips wouldn't give in the slightest. Chris shouted and caused a big commotion by himself, but was only answered by his echo repeating everything he yelled down the corridor of the jet at no one in particular.

After about fifteen minutes of that, Chris laid back on the freezing table, giving up on it. "He just 'had' to take my creature pod..." Chris glared, but sighed unsure what to do.

He thought of when the crew and his brother would notice his absence. Koki would check in on him soon as Aviva had started to as a safety measure after all the past 'incidents'. If he didn't answer the second time, then they'd call Martin up or come looking for the brothers. But still no one knew he was even there. He couldn't help but wonder what Martin was doing.

*XX*

Martin was currently occupied by all the animals we was finding. At the moment he was watching a white-furred ermine as it scampered along in the snow eating the amber-ripened sweet cloudberries growing near the ground.

"Cloudberries...I think I'll try some too, Herald!" Martin picked one off of the bush from his spot laying in the snow and popped it into his mouth.[A/N:E-cookie to anyone who can guess why the ermine's named that ;)] "Mm...not bad at all! At least it's not bark"

Suddenly, Martin's creature pod began to ring loudly. He took it out of his pocket absent mindedly and answered as a hologram of the girls popped up.

"Hey Martin" Koki waved.

"Hey Koki. Hey Aviva. What's up?"Martin asked sitting up and brushing the snow off his jacket the best he could.

"We're just checking in. Have you seen your brother lately? We can't seem to get him on his creature pod" Aviva asked.

Martin shrugged smiling. "Knowing Chris, he might of left it somewhere or put it down for a moment. Or maybe he's just broken it again"

Aviva didn't seem too reassured. "Well do you think you could just find him?"

Koki nodded. She was equally concerned. "After what we've all been through in the past few months, I think it'd be good to be positive nothing's wrong"

Martin nodded. "Alright. If it will help you two feel better, I'll let you know when I find Chris."

Koki nodded heading to her station "Thanks. I'm sending you his last location's coordinates"

"Okay, got them" Martin confirmed.

"See ya, MK"

"Check in soon"

"Martin out"

Martin turned off the communication and stood up shaking the rest of the snow off himself and out of his pant legs. "Okay. Later, Herald. I gotta go find my brother!" Martin said goodbye to his little friend before jogging off in the direction of the mountains.

If only he had known then.