Why hello bab- *cough Excuse me... let me take that again...

Why hello dear readers! :)

Long time eh? Well I have been cheating on fanfiction with assignments. I know... I'm bad lol. But I've also been focusing on Fate a lot lately (I was in a SonyaXkano mood).

Well... enjoy this. :)

Reviews and Favs and Subscribes are much appreicated.

Fate
Chapter 3:

Kano's left eye slowly opened before his features twisted into a smirk once again as he felt a warm weight drop softly down onto his right shoulder. Before the ... rather pleasant interruption as he liked to put it, he had been watching the Outworld's sun begin to lazily climb up from the horizon. Unable to sleep himself, he had waited until the Tarkatans had gradually drifted off into a slumber by the crackling flames of the campfire before silently shifting into a sitting position and gazed at the sky which had freaked him out every night since he was dragged here; a wide space of absolutely nothing.

He stole a glance at Sonya beside him, who he thought had been awake also until he saw her eyes were closed, rapidly flicking left or right under her eyelids as she endured her tortured sleep. Kano tore his eyes from his rival when he felt a change and turned his whole face to look upward again, even though his red eye was incapable of sight. The dark abyss of the sky was getting lighter, and that signalled the coming of dawn. And almost on cue, a golden ball of fire started to crawl from the east, peeking over the horizon as its golden rays spilled out across the desert.

The sudden light glowed in front of Sonya's eyelashes, tempting her to open her eyes to the coming light of dawn. She let out a sigh and went to stretch her neck out when the top of her head hit something warm and fleshy. Her mind, fuzzy and tired, didn't register that at first but then her sharp logic broke through and insisted that something strange was afoot. And in a way it was.

She forced herself to look up towards her forehead and felt her mouth go dry when she saw that the warm and fleshy object was a neck. A masculine neck. A masculine human neck. And there was only one of those around.

"Comfy there, baby?"

OH MY LORD!

The silent scream of shock in Sonya's mind jolted her awake as she attempted to leap backwards, which of course due to her hands and feet being tied, it had turned into a feeble tumble onto her side. How the hell did that happen, she thought in alarm. Being within a hundred miles of her arch-nemesis and not doing anything about it was bad, falling asleep on his shoulder was out of the question in her point of view.

Kano on the other hand didn't see what the huge fuss was about. Sure they were sworn enemies and all, but he liked to think he had pretty comfortable shoulders. But any further thought of the two was interrupted by the stirring of the Tarkatan guards, who gave wide yawns that would rival those of Earth realm lions.

The Tarkatan that threw their food to them the previous night had returned, arming himself with a long rapier looking weapon before stomping over towards them. He roughly grasped Sonya's arms and yanked them forward. Not expecting the sudden movement, Sonya felt herself fly forward and only had time to nervously eye the silver blade before it cut the knot binding her hands together and sudden gravity pushing her forward with the Tarkatan releasing his grip. Kano was obviously expecting the same treatment so no surprise came to his face when the blade cut his own ropes.

The next thing their jailor did was similar to last night; he reached into his pouch and fished out two small stale rolls of bread and then a small leather water skin before dropping them onto the ground in front of them and stomping away to rejoin his allies who were stamping out the embers of the campfire. Sonya reached out for the roll that was closest to her and winced as she took a bite. The roll was difficult to tear apart due to the texture and hard on her teeth, but she was thankful that there were no unpleasant surprises hidden in the food.

The two prisoners ate in silence but when Kano reached for the water skin and offered it to Sonya, she declined in the most civil way she could that would maintain her pride.

"I don't need it."

Kano rose an eyelid at this and was about to mention that she made a point about water last night, but thought better about it. He raised the water skin to his mouth and squirted a little bit of the liquid onto his dry tongue, keeping his eye on Sonya while he did so. He noticed how she was eyeing him and the water skin every few seconds before looking away in her attempt to resist her temptation.

After he had finished his fill, he thrust the water skin at Sonya again who looked at him in alarm, then at the water skin and back up at him again. Her mouth set into a hard line and she turned away again, refusing to accept his help. Letting out a slightly annoyed sigh, he thought that although her courageous pride was admirable, it was terribly inconvenient. Deciding on one final approach, he placed the water skin on the ground behind him and turned away. He didn't miss Sonya curiously turning around, again surprised as her eyes wandered down to the abandoned water skin. Her mouth dried instantly, and she juggled between keeping her pride or quenching her thirst. Grudgingly accepting the undeniable facts, she chose.

And within a few seconds, Kano heard the sound of the leather scraping against the hard ground as it was lifted once again.

*ShadowForceSilver*

The Tarkatans seemed more excited by the fact that they were closer to home and they joked and laughed with one another as they gathered their supplies together. After the Tarkatans had put out the fire and packed their provisions, they were ready to move out. The sun was nearing the middle of the horizon, so Sonya suspected that they would be getting ready to make one of their final journeys. It was slightly depressing to say that she was wishing this walk would never end. Then again, as soon as she arrived at the Emperor's palace, death was certain.

The "jailer Tarkatan" approached the prisoners soon after the fire had been doused, the ghost of a smile on his open jaws. He had two coils of rope in his hands and it didn't take a lot of brains to figure out what they were for.

Hardly skipping a beat, Kano lifted both of his wrists into the air. His movements were robotic and jerky, like it was something he had done so many times that he now did it automatically. However, he was quite surprised when the Tarkatan approached Sonya first.

She glared up into the amber eyes with a look full of revolt and anger; her eyes narrowing and her mouth setting into a hard line. The Tarkatan let out a hearty gruff which Sonya guessed was a chuckle before he leant down with lighting speed. The next thing Sonya knew was a burning pain in her scalp as the Tarkatan lifted her to her feet by the top of her head. She let out a strangled cry of pain as she used her hands to try and loosen the Tarkatan's grip.

Sonya's shouts attracted the attention of the rest of the group, who began to loudly shout words of encouragement. Just when she thought she would pass out, a blur in front of her eyes and a yell of shock from the Tarkatan resulted in her falling to the ground face first.

Raising her head, she was surprised to see Kano grappling viciously with the Tarkatan standing in front of her. With a swift and deadly jab, the Tarkatan struck Kano in the stomach and pushed the man to the floor. Sonya didn't notice Kano's hand swiftly reach forwards and pull back before he was shoved back to the floor. After a final kick to the gut, the jailor tied their hands with the rope before stalking away.

Sonya cast a nervous look at the band of Outworld warriors, before her eyes slowly moved to the man to her left. Kano had landed on his back with a loud grunt of pain before he became completely motionless. Sneaking another look at the Tarkatans, she crawled over to Kano in a rather awkward manner. It was lucky that she did so, because Kano had begun to shake as well as violently gag.

Acting quickly and thinking back to basic First Aid, Sonya rolled him onto his side swiftly in case he coughed anything up and choked. Wondering why she cared, she pushed the thought away quickly to warn him in a low voice.

"Don't do that again."

*ShadowForceSilver*

Beside from the morning's incident, the day was pretty uneventful in Sonya's eyes. Of course, they trekked a rather great distance; instead of a lifeless desert of sand dunes, they had come to rest in a surprisingly beautiful forest filled with life. The Tarkatans had remained silent as they trekked along, except for the odd taunt that tonight would be their last night of freedom. Kano was also silent, but Sonya noticed a sly glint in his eyes every time he turned to look at one of the Tarkatans surrounding them.

The two prisoners sat with their backs to a mossy rock while the Tarkatan band sat around the fire, celebrating a successful mission and eagerly anticipating the return home. The loud laughing went on for hours until silence suddenly took over; giving way to the various animal noises in the forest. With a quick glare, Sonya confirmed that they had fallen sound asleep.

Feeling suddenly sorry for herself, she turned on her side away from Kano; curling up into a ball. After tonight, her chances of escaping here and seeing her friends again had gone from slim to impossible. And it saddened her greatly. Forcing those thoughts from her mind, she concentrated solely on the sounds of nature. The wind rustled the green leaves. The branches swayed on their trees. Various night birds gave squawks that sounded alien to her.

And then there was a rustling beside her. She froze on instinct, listening intensely for any other sound of movement. The next sound was that of a rope getting cut away and then another rustling as two objects were dropped on the grass. Trying to keep her breathing as even as possible, she shifted her head slightly to try and look behind her. Although she couldn't see much, she knew there was one thing she couldn't see. Kano had disappeared.

Swinging her head back fearfully, she took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. How did that happen? The thought raced into her mind as she lifted her head again, her frantic eyes scanning over the Tarkatan warriors. The orange fire cast a glow on all of them, sleeping obliviously. And then her eyes caught something else; Kano was standing over one of the Tarkatans closest to fire.

He stood there, watching for a few seconds before silently kneeling down to the Tarkatan's level. The burning glow illuminated Kano's face; chillingly reminding her of a demon. There was a silver flash due to the firelight, and then the Tarkatan shuffled with a choking noise before becoming still again. Wiping something on the grass beside him, Kano moved to the next Tarkatan and the same thing happened. Same with the next one. And the next one.

After the last Tarkatan had shuffled then stilled, Kano got up on his feet and stared at the blonde woman seemingly asleep by the moss-covered rock. He let out a chuckle, and it was then that Sonya noticed that the Tarkatans were lying too still to be asleep. Not even a single one uttered so much as a snore. Sonya caught her breath as Kano crept closer, the thing in his hand becoming clear. It was a long and sharp dagger, curiously stained with a dark liquid. He had cut the Tarkatan's throats with their own dagger.

No longer being able to remain still, Sonya flew upwards into a standing position, despite her hands being tied. His eyes locked onto hers, like a snake did to its prey as he stopped in his tracks. Sonya's heart seemed to stop, and the fear forced itself up her throat like vomit. It forced her to rethink her tactics; fight or flee? She chose flee.

With a shrill shriek of alarm, she turned tail and fled into the forest, running as fast as she could. Her gait was awkward as her arms weren't allowed to swing freely, but adrenaline seemed to kick in at that moment and forced her to keep running. However, almost immediately after, a conveniently placed rock hidden in a large tuft of grass brought her down to the ground with a loud cry of pain.

She cringed as the stab of pain hit her in the stomach, and mumbled at the throbbing ache in her chest as she slowly got to her feet. But the sudden footsteps and one of Kano's sadistic taunts that had taken over the silence automatically made her forget the hurt she felt on her torso.

It made her feel defenceless, and she was close to bolting away again. But before she could take a step, logic hit her. Deciding that running senselessly would get her nowhere, Sonya decided to set the battle on her terms; she would choose when and where the confrontation occurred. But with the approaching footsteps becoming louder, it was clear that if she wanted to strike first, she would need to get a move on and find a place to wait for the moment to attack.

So Kano has been a bad boy and slaughtered all of the Tarkatan guards. He is a very bad person! And Sonya had a "Oh shi-" moment and turned tail. Not blamming her, I probably would have done the same thing.

Well I have a whopping head ache so I'm going to end this little write thingy.

Ta-ta
*Shadow