AN: Sorry bout the wait, guys! I had SERIOUS writers block at one point, but then I couldn't stop

Disclaimer: I do not own Aaron Stone or any of the characters on it. If I did, I would either be shooting a new episode with me guest starring or getting ready for a date with Kelly. But since I'm sitting in my sweats at home, I do not own Aaron Stone. ;)

Ch4p73r 7hr33

(AARON POV)

I am so stupid.

I'm sitting here. Tied up. I let Kenly's appearance distract me and one of Necros' minions shot me with a poison dart. I got knocked out because of a girl.

But hey, it's been giving me lots of time to think! I've decided it was her. She was only reported missing, maybe Necros' sweet talked her into joining him.

I mean, that explained the way she looked.

Her dark hair, now short, was the same shade as it was back in grade school. Her facial features were the same; perhaps a bit more beat up. Same high cheek bones and wide eyes. Same thin face and chiseled chin. Though a bit more mature, it was still the same Kenly underneath.

The rope hurts. I know that sounds super weenie, but I can't help it. I'm still kind of loopy from that sleeping drug. The fact that they stripped me of my gauntlet doesn't help, because that means the rope is on my bare skin.

You'd think Aaron Stone could handle a little bit of rope. He can't.

I heard a sound from behind me and tried to twist around to see who it was. I held my breath as they got closer.

"Charlie Landers beat up by a bit of rope? Classic." I let out my breath sharply. Kenly quickly cut the rope away and I rubbed my wrists.

"Thanks. Hey, can we talk? I'm pretty sure both of us have some explaining to do," I said as she tugged on my hand.

"I sure hope it can wait, Charlie. They're going to realize you're gone any second now." She looked around corners and dashed from corridor to corridor as I followed quickly.

"Don't call me that while I'm here," I said, worried for my identity being ruined.

"What, it's not like you changed your name or anything." She trekked on forward, and then stopped after a second. "You didn't change your name or anything, did you?"

I laughed softly at her expression. "No, but please, call me Aaron Stone. At least while I'm in the suit. It's my name according to your kind."

"Hey, don't put the blame on me! I'm the one helping you out," she said, tugging on me to follow again.

"I know, I know." I sighed. "Why did you join him?"

She was silent for a while. "Can't explain now. We need to get you to safety first," she said, rushing the words out of her mouth. She was obviously changing the subject.

All of a sudden, a loud beeping came out of nowhere. The hall we were in started to flash red lights.

"Shit!" Kenly said, trying to keep it under her breath. "Come on, we're almost there!"

She broke out into a run and I struggled to follow. The drugs were still hitting me pretty hard. Kenly was already at the end of the hall, holding open a door. She motioned at me to hurry up, and closed the door behind me. I followed her again to a small jet and crawled in after her.

"Fly us home, Aaron. I've got to disable the tracking system."

(KENLY POV)

I quickly got to work disconnecting wires that supported cameras and tracking devices hooked up in the AAV*. I looked out the window briefly to get an idea of where we were going. I spotted the Defiance hide-out in one direction and calculated that we were going north.

"I think we can talk now." Charlie – Ahem, AARON – startled me with his sudden dialogue. Knowing I wouldn't be able to escape this one, I sighed.

"OK. You know that day, where your family was called and told that my mom was dead and I was missing?" He nodded. "Well, Dr. Necros caused it. He knew my mom and that she would be in the right lane, going a bit too fast. The fact that I would be in the passenger seat, staring out the window. So he flawed her airbag. He made mine filled with compressed feathers, that puffed up when the airbag did. I had no choice but to join him, Charlie. You weren't there. You don't know."

"I may not have been there, but I know you had nothing to lose. Your parents? Dead. Siblings? None. What could he have possibly held against you?" Charlie asked, growing angry. He fought with himself to keep his eyes on his route.

"Charlie, he threatened to kill you."

There was a long pause. I walked up next to him and sat in the passenger seat. I stared at his face until he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened them again. "I see."

"Well, your family, too. But when he said your name, I fell to the ground and cried. I was confused and delirious. I could never have put your family in danger like that. I had to accept." I sighed again and went back to the back of the AAV. I sat on the floor, my head in my hands.

"Wait, Kenly," He switched on auto-pilot and kneeled next to me. "I'm sorry I lashed out at you. I should have known it had a noble cause. You were my best friend, Kenly. When your best friend disappears off the face of the earth, you get upset." He sneaked a small smile.

I smiled too. "I missed you too, Char." We stood up simultaneously. And for the first time since the 4th grade, we hugged.

(CHARLIE POV)

It felt good to hold her close. I hadn't seen her in so long; I'm so relieved to know she hadn't died. I looked down and saw a small smile on Kenly's face. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed so at peace.

And of course, something had to interrupt our moment.

"What was that?" Kenly asked, her head suddenly jerking up.

"Ow!" We said in unison after her head hit my chin. I think my tongue is bleeding.

"Oof, sorry! I am such a klutz," Kenly said. "Isn't it surprising that I am one of the best fighters Kronis has seen?"

I could feel my face hardening. How could she speak of the enemy in such a casual manner?

"Oops, soft spot. I'll try to remember." She then rushed to the cockpit and started checking what the beeping was. She flipped switches and pushed buttons, doing a total scan of the aircraft. I walked up beside her and put a hand on the back of the chair she was sitting in.

"Do you know what's wrong?" I asked, trying to keep track of what she was doing.

"Yep. There is a Defiance craft following us. They must have seen this one leave, or noticed it drop off the radar. We're going to have to make a diversion landing and board another vehicle." Kenly flicked off auto-pilot and began the decent towards a warehouse with several cars outside.

"Wait, you mean, like, jack a car?" I ask, astonished at the idea.

"Do we have much of a choice, Charlie? We can't just let them follow us to HALL Industries!"

I stared out the window for a bit, contemplating the idea. Then I realized something.

"Wait, we don't have keys. We can't." I felt very good that I figured out a way around stealing a car.

"So, I'll hotwire it. We need to get out of here!"

"W-What!? You know how to hotwire a car?"

"And you don't? Every spy or agent should know how to hotwire a stupid car! Imagine, your vehicle is ruined, all communication possibilities are a no. You are about to get caught with the blueprints you stole back from your enemy. All there is around you is a car. What do you do? Not hotwire it, 'cause you don't know how!"

Why were we even fighting? I knew she would win. She always did. "Fine." I flopped onto the seat at my right and watched her direct the aircraft down.

"Luckily, they have a VRS, it's an older model. The radar is a bit dated. They aren't sure where we are because we haven't shown up on their radar yet. We can land and hide out for a while before they realize we disappeared. They'll probably turn tail when they can't find the craft. They we can sneak away in the car." She pushed buttons and flicked switches, getting the craft ready to land. I watched her swift movements from the passenger seat. She switched on "auto-land" after preparing and sat back, her hands folded behind her head.

"So, what's up?" I asked after a long pause.

She turned her head suddenly and smiled. "Nothin' much, Gamer boy." I chuckled to myself. She had called me that, and it seemed like weeks ago. Yet, it was only about 2 hours, tops. "What about you?"

"Ehh, same old same old. I met everyone at HALL, that's about it."

"That and you actually went to school beyond elementary," she said.

"Wow, I never thought of it that way." I looked down at my hands that were half folded in my lap.

"Yeah. Necros homeschooled me. But I know it wasn't the same. So…" her voice brought my eyes back up to hers. Her eyes were purple, which was definitely not natural. Back in the fourth grade, they were brown. "How was middle school? I missed the junior high drama, I want every detail!"

I laugh and told her everything.

AN: Hope you guys liked it! lol listening to Capra really inspired me. Dunno why, not like this chapter sounded at all like Low Day, but hey. What inspires inspires, just glad I could write at all! Read, review, and stay tuned!

*Automatic Air-borne Vehicle