"To save face, how low can you go? / Talk a lot of game, but yet you don't know. / Static on the way, make us all say 'whoa!' / The people up top, push the people down low."

"Wretches & Kings"
Linkin Park

"You're such a baby!"

Cody watched as Sheresh grabbed Fives' wounded hand; the commander wasn't sure whether to be alarmed or amused at the non-stop bickering that had been bantered back and forth between the two since the moment they had stopped trying to kill each other. So, mostly, Cody was bemused and sat on the sidelines with Saa while their newest companions tried to verbally one-up each other.

"Why the hell would I trust the woman who shot my one good hand to turn around and patch it up?" Fives tugged his arm roughly toward his chest, but the Mandalorian's grip held firm.

If anything, he simply pulled Sheresh closer. They had both taken their helmets off once the group had found shelter; as a result, their noses were now almost touching. Saa chuckled quietly under his breath and Cody shot him a quizzical look. The older merc just grinned and shook his hand briefly side-to-side through the air in front of him to indicate that he'd answer Cody's question at another time. Saa's green eyes were merry, though, as he glanced away from Cody and back toward Fives and Sheresh.

"Because you'll just do more damage to yourself if you let the damn wound fester. No stop being such a bloody shabuir!" Sheresh rocked back on her heels and pulled Fives' arm toward her.

Fives was sitting on the ground, legs crossed. Sheresh was squatting down in front of him and if she wasn't careful, she could easily overbalance and fall back onto several jagged bits of duracrete rubble. Cody raised a brief eyebrow as he watched the power struggle go back and forth. It would certainly be interesting to see who finally got the upper hand – the ARC-trained clone or the Mandalorian bounty hunter.

No offense to Saa, of course, but...Cody privately had his bets on the ARC-trained clone.

The ground rumbled as yet another TIE fighter hit yet another target. Cody squinted up toward the ceiling and instantly regretted it, as a fine shower of dust fell into his nose and eyes. He coughed and sputtered for several minutes as he cursed himself for taking off his helmet.

The fighters had moved their attack toward the south-west side of the city, where Cody had seen the tiny space-port. They were no longer running through the epicenter of the attack and the former commander was now particularly thankful that they hadn't traveled in the Ijaa. It made perfect sense for the Imperials to bomb the city's only space-port – by the sound of it, they were doing a fairly effective job of eradicating the only quick and reliable options out of the city. It did, however, leave Cody wondering how they were going to get out in one piece without detection.

For the moment, they sought shelter in one of the few buildings still standing in the immediate vicinity. There was no point with arguing with Fives in the middle of a bombed-out street, so Saa had wisely suggested that they all take cover until the worst of the bombing had passed over. And so it was that Sheresh found herself fighting with Fives over his wounded hand and they all found themselves without their helmets on, Cody uncharacteristically included.

He didn't know why Sheresh and Fives had decided to take off their helmets, but they had all three removed them as soon as they had settled into what appeared to be a long-deserted warehouse. Normally, Cody wouldn't have thought about doing such a foolhardy thing in the middle of a battle-field (regardless of whether the others did or not), but he had hoped that by seeing his face, Fives might come to trust the sincerity of his words. He had long learned that the truth of a man could almost always be read in his eyes and he wanted to give his brother the chance to see that he was speaking the truth.

Any sort of truth had yet to be spoken, however, since Sheresh had pretty much backed Fives into a corner as soon as they had entered the building. She was intent on seeing to his hand – and Fives was just as intent on evading her attentions.

Cody was still trying to clear grit out of his eyes, when he heard a rustle of sudden movement and Fives' raspy voice break the silence.

"You know...you're rather pretty."

The oddly suggestive pitch of Fives' voice inspired Cody to blink a little harder in an attempt to clear his vision. He wasn't able to focus on what was happening quick enough, however, before a rather authoritative slap echoed through the warehouse in response.

"What in the Corellian hells...!" Fives lent voice to the very words that suddenly ran through Cody's head.

The commander swiped the back of his hand across his eyes in frustration and blinked rapidly a few more times. The world finally cleared and he stared in amazement at the scene that had unfolded in the time it had taken him to flush the dirt out of his eyes.

By the look of things, Fives had either pulled Sheresh hard enough for her to lose her balance, or the aftershocks of the bombing had pushed her forward against the ARC's armored chest. The bounty hunter was sprawled awkwardly on her stomach in the center of Fives' lap – though she was now devoting a considerable amount of energy in extracting herself as quickly as possible from her current situation.

Saa snorted and Cody glanced over just in time to see the mercenary wipe a hand over his ear-to-ear grin. The clone lifted his eyebrows in silent query; this time, Saa offered an explanation, his voice just low enough to be hidden under the sound of Sheresh's struggle.

"What you're seeing here is Mandalorian foreplay at its finest," Saa rubbed a hand over his mouth a second time, but it was absolutely insufficient for subduing the signs of his mirth.

Cody stared at him, shocked. The older man just smirked.

"Keep an eye on those two. They'll be married one of these days."

"They're barely able to sit together civilly in the same room," Cody hissed back, his voice a bit hoarse from the wound across his chest.

Trying to breath enough to talk only made the pain worse; when he didn't say anything at all, it was merely a dull ache. The clone grimaced and rubbed a hand unconsciously across his badly dented armor. He was tempted to take it off, but considering the circumstances, he didn't think it was wise to leave his major organs unprotected. As much as the armor biting into his skin hurt, Cody knew that it was safer in the long run if he suffered through it until they found a safer place.

He'd been in worse pain before, anyway. All he needed was a shot of stim and...

He shook his head to rid himself of that particularly dangerous thought. Once, he could depend on stims to get him through the worst of an injury. Not any more; he had long destroyed any hope he could have had of temporary relief. He'd just have to grit his teeth, say as little as possible, and rest as much as he could while they were still taking shelter.

"Oh, that means nothing," Saa, who thankfully wasn't privy to Cody's private thoughts, waved a hand dismissively in the air between them. "The first time I met Marta, I put a blaster bolt through her leg. She wouldn't have anything to do with me for months. Three years after that, I had to repeat the marriage vows four times before she'd say 'em back to me. Pretended she was deaf every time, 'til she decided I'd groveled enough."

Cody just stared. He really had no other suitable response for the inherent weirdness of Mandalorians. And, since he had nothing else to say, he just turned his attention back to Fives and Sheresh.

Fives was rubbing the side of his face and scowling dangerously. Sheresh had managed to clamber out of his lap and had taken a more stable stance – by standing over him. She had her hands on her hips and Cody almost felt sorry for his brother. The simmering wrath of a Mandalorian woman was enough to make even him cringe toward Saa in an attempt to put as much space between him and her as possible.

Fives, however, appeared positively resolute. At that moment, Cody wasn't entirely certain that the ARC hadn't lost his sense of self-preservation somewhere along the way.

"Would you just give me your talyc hand?" she even stomped her foot for emphasis, but Fives seemed singularly unimpressed.

"Not until you tell me what 'talyc' means," he shot back without skipping a beat.

Sheresh paused; Cody couldn't see her face, since her back was turned toward her, but her body language shifted slightly, as if in surprise.

"It means 'bloody'," she snapped after a long pause. "Now will you let me fix you up?"

Cody counted three heartbeats before Fives slowly shook his head, his jaw set in a stubborn line.

"Nope."

"I should just shoot you!" Sheresh's hand went reflexively to her holster.

Cody glanced at Saa in alarm, but the mercenary looked, if anything, still faintly amused. He merely shook his head at the clone's unasked question and Cody took a deep breath as he turned his attention back at the unfolding drama. He had never questioned Saa before, but now he was wondering if the merc was blindsided by the fact that Sheresh was aliit.

If she pulls her weapon... Cody didn't even need to finish the thought; he knew what would happen.

Later, Cody would look back on that moment and wonder if the Force was playing its hand behind the thing he wouldn't have wondered, was what could have happened, if Sheresh's left gauntlet hadn't chosen that moment to start blinking. He knew that look on Fives' face well – it was the look of a man who was provoking his enemy to a fight.

It was also the look of a man who was planning his next kill.

But, thankfully, Cody's what if's would stay exactly that – what if's. Sheresh's gauntlet started flashing an urgent blue and the deadly moment passed as she turned her attention away from Fives and toward her incoming call.

Later, Cody would remember that it was Tay who ultimately saved the day.

The former commander had heard many stories about Lepis, but he had never actually seen one. Not in person and not even live on a holocam. The lanky, blue-tinged holo-image fascinated Cody – but not because of the oddly lopped ears, or the gangly limbs. What caught the clone's undivided interest was the suit of storm trooper armor that covered the bi-ped space rabbit from foot to neck. The armor looked as if it were painted, but Cody couldn't really tell – holocams could only convey so many details, and only so many flickering shades of white and blue.

He was also not the only one in present company who found the Lepi's appearance surprising. Though, admittedly, Fives' sudden interest was far more explosive than Cody's more passive curiosity.

"Rowin?" the name was roared so loudly that it echoed across the duracrete walls around them.

The ground quivered and the sounds of Imperial invasion still loomed in the deadly backdrop of their impermanent shelter. The sound of impacting missiles lent Fives' sudden reaction an eerie sort of soundtrack; Cody watched in a mixture of shock and awe as the wounded ARC surged forward to his feet.

Cody didn't think he had ever seen Fives' face etched with more deadly intent.

The Lepi, however, seemed to take it all in a rather composed stride.

"What's up, Boss?" the holo-image simply shifted its attention away from Sheresh and out toward Fives' general direction.

"Traitor!" Fives seemed nearly apoplectic; Cody could see a vein beginning to pulse on the side of the ARC's temple, just underneath his Aurebesh tattoo.

A slight movement next to him drew Cody's attention away from Fives just long enough to see Saa scrowl and place a wary hand on the top of his blaster. The former commander frowned himself and chewed on the inside of his lip as he turned his eyes back toward Fives, Sheresh, and Rowin.

The situation with Fives seemed to be escalating, no matter what they did. It hurt to move; it hurt to breath; Cody's usually sharp mind was beginning to dull from the pain radiating through his chest and he didn't know if he had the emotional gumption necessary to draw fire on his own brother. And not just any brother...but a man he had personally promoted. A man he had watched – with great pride – rise up in the ranks from a mere trooper to an exulted and exceptional ARC.

Fives was not as close to Cody as Rex, but of all the troopers that had been under Cody's command, or within Cody's influence during the Wars, Fives was one of his most respected. In fact, the commander had often felt a sort of paternal instinct toward the younger clone – unbeknown to Fives, Cody had closely followed the ARC's exploits throughout the War. He had always been impressed by Fives' ingenuity, his leadership capability, and his intellectual acumen; Cody had always been proud of Fives and of his success as one of the clone elite.

To knowingly open fire...to aim to kill... Cody glanced at Fives and then warily back at Saa.

He never doubted that if it came to violence, that Saa would side with his aliit. Cody clenched his fists and wavered in the face of a decision he was loathe to make. Could he take down Fives? Or worse...could he defy Saa?

A thick, twangy accent broke the tension and Cody could only stand relieved as Rowin finally took the situation into hand.

"You sure do like slingin' that word 'round a lot – 'traitor', huh?" the rabbit simply crossed his arms over his own narrow chest and fixed Fives with a reproving scowl. "Seems like you're determined to find one behind every rock an' shadow."

"Yeah? Well...you spend some time in Appo's prisons and tell me that you wouldn't be forced to see the same," Fives hissed and shifted his weight threateningly to the balls of his feet.

He was poised to attack, his hands held warily out toward his sides, his fingers clenching and unclenching slowly as his eyes narrowed into amber slits. Cody glanced at Saa, hoping for some sort of instruction, but the old merc remained silent, hands hovering uncertainly above his own weapons of choice. There was a dangerous pause which was punctuated only by the sound of explosions – Cody noted that the explosions sounded a little louder around the holo-image and he realized with a start that Rowin must have been comming in from near the space-port.

"How could you, Rowin? How could you do this to Kil?" Fives finally broke the silence, his voice nearly cracking with the force of his anger.

Even Sheresh seemed a bit taken back by the ferocity of Fives' verbal attack. The ARC's eyes blazed with a deep and hateful vitriol and his words were hard. There was no spark of mercy to soften the clone's aggressive stance; there was no quarter to be found in the sharp lines of his face.

"Whoa! Hold your bordock, Boss," this seemed to solicit a strong response in Rowin as well and the holo-image leaned forward toward Fives; Cody couldn't tell if the holo-cam was flickering, or if the Lepi was actually wiggling his long whiskers at the ARC in indignation. "Don't you dare insinuate that I'd do anythin' to put Kil in harm's way!"

"I'm not insinuating, rabbit," Fives snarled; the ARC's "good" hand finally took hold of his remaining blaster and three other hands automatically grasped theirs in response. "I'm flat out stating the truth."

"Rowin and I haven't betrayed anyone, Fives!" Sheresh finally spoke up. "Least of all you or Kilia."

She tossed her head angrily and Cody suddenly realized that the flash of flame that shimmered through her long braid was her own natural hair color and not a reflection cast by an explosion. He watched as her nearly-waist long hair bounced across her armored shoulders; sudden indignation rolled off of her waves and Cody was quickly beginning to feel as if the whole situation was something out of a bad holo-soap.

"I saw you on Appo's ship!"

Cody thought for sure that Fives would draw his blaster at that moment. He was surprised to see that instead, the ARC just clenched his fists again and tightened his jaw. The former commander raised a single eyebrow in surprise and glanced over at Saa to see what his companion made of the unfolding drama. The Mandalorian alor merely glanced at Cody and shrugged, as if to convey his own sense of bewilderment.

"How about Sheresh and I just explain ourselves, instead of the two of you losing your tempers in a shouting match?" Rowin's voice was oddly level, but a glance at the holo-image showed that any amount of patience was costing the Lepi dearly.

The rabbit had one paw on his hip while the other rubbed back and forth across his temple. His whiskers were laid back against his cheeks – Cody had seen Hella's whiskers do the same and knew that it was a silent testimony to the Lepi's current state of annoyance.

"Sounds like the first sensible thing anyone's said since this whole drama started!" Saa made absolutely no bones about his approval.

He glanced over Cody, then at Sheresh, then at Fives. His eyes lingered on the ARC for a moment before he snorted under his breath; the mercenary sat down with a slight groan. He stretched out his leg and rubbed it for a moment, as he squinted back up at Sheresh and her holocam compatriot.

"You've got sense, Rabbit. Didn't think they made that in a Lepi."

"You'd be surprised at what Order 66's brought out in us all," was Rowin's chilling response.

Mention of Order 66 seemed to be something like cold water on the raging fire of Fives' ascending temper. The ARC growled deep in his throat and it was a primal sound, one that raised the fine hairs on the back of Cody's neck. But, the deserter backed down and that was enough for the rest of them to breath a little easier.

"You can start by telling me why you left Kilia," Fives backed away from Sheresh by a step and he crossed his arms defiantly across his chest. "An' how you ended up with the likes of her."

The ARC remained in that position, arms crossed, as still as chiseled stone. But his eyes never stopped moving, as they roved warily from face to face. His eyes lingered on Cody's hands, which were still poised expectantly by his blasters. Fives' umber eyes met those of his former commander and Cody saw condemnation there, in a face that had once given him unconditional respect. He broke eye contact with Fives and glanced down at the ground, suddenly and unexplainablely ashamed.

A rather loud explosion crackled out from the holocam speaker and they all watched with some amount of alarm as Rowin's blue-tinted image flickered in and out of existence for several seconds. The image finally stabilized, but there was a look of unmistakable concern on the Lepi's face.

"The Imps are bombarding our location," he ignored Fives' demand and his long-eared head turned up, as if he was eying the unseen structure above him. "I think this is a conversation best had in person, Fives."

"No," the unyielding tone of Fives' voice left very little room for argument; Cody, however, had to give the Lepi one for tenacity.

"I'm with Kilia and the crew right now," the rabbit turned his attention back toward Fives and his disapproval was palpable even through a holo-cam. "The longer we stay here, the more in danger all of us are. It's better if you let us come to you and have this conversation in person."

"You might be with Kil and the crew, but how do I know that you haven't already handed over your position to Appo?" Rowin huffed as if he was about to say something in his defense, but Fives cut him off before he could even open his mouth to speak. "No, you'll stay right where you are, Rabbit. And if Kil and the crew are with you, you better do your damn best to keep them safe 'til the fighters pass over to another part of the city. In the meantime, at least some amount of security is assured, as long as you and your partner here stay separated," Fives shot Sheresh a rather dirty look, before turning back to Rowin and briskly delivering the terms of the conversation. "I'm not trusting the two of you within a mile of one another, until I know what the 'fek is going on."

Another deep silence fell over the group; the destruction of Imperial fighters still bled through the holocam and more distantly through the settling dust that still occasionally sprinkled down around them. Cody shifted slightly, the better to see the unfolding drama between Fives, Rowin, and Sheresh, but he stopped abruptly when Fives fixed him with a cold stare.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, Commander," the ARC growled threateningly; his eyes flickered briefly toward Saa and then back to Cody. "Once was enough in Appo's grasp and I'm not going to trust anyone until Boil and Chiyou are free."

"Boil...?" Cody practically choked on the name.

Images sprang, unbidden, to mind – the muddled horrors of his stim-induced nightmares and the soul-wrenching guilt he still suffered over Waxer's untimely death rose to the forefront of Cody's conscious. He could feel his face paling slightly and something like triumph flashed darkly across Fives' gaunt face.

"Yeah, Boil," the clone's grim smile twisted forebodingly along the corners of his mouth. "I've heard about Sarrish. You owe Boil blood."

Cody's shame wouldn't allow him to keep eye-contact with Fives for long. The former commander bowed his head and didn't even pretend to hide his conflicted emotions – his wounds had lowered his usual defenses and to be honest, he felt that there was nothing he should hide from Fives. If his brother was to know the sincerity of his heart, then there was no dishonor in showing his guilt. Cody closed his eyes briefly and struggled to take a deep, cleansing breath. A part of him almost refused to believe that coincidence would strike so close to his darkest sins – it was almost impossible to imagine that of all the brothers he should run into first, that it would be Fives. It was even harder to accept that of all the deserters that Fives could protect, Boil would be the one among that number.

But, a larger part of Cody knew that it was bound to happen sooner or later. Coincidence – or, perhaps, if one asked Tay, the Force – had lead him to Obi-Wan's battered grace. Since then, a part of him had almost always suspected that his path would one day cross with Boil's. His redemption – or condemnation – would not rest, until Fate had sought out all the sins of his bloody past and forced him to reconcile with each and every one.

A warm hand came to rest on Cody's shoulder and he looked up in surprise to meet Saa's knowing green eyes. The two exchanged a look – one of understanding and forgiveness – and for the moment, Cody's heart was bolstered.

There was at least one on his side – one who knew only too well the broken path his redemption had taken, who knew the demons that Cody still struggled with inside. The clone nodded, just once, in acceptance of Saa's silent support.

Cin vhetin, he reminded himself as he glanced down again at his armored legs and feet.

The past didn't matter – not to a Mandalorian, anyway. Not to one who had taken up his armor, forged himself anew, and sworn fealty to the Resol'nare. Cody straightened his shoulders underneath Saa's firm fingers and raised his head to meet Fives in the eye. The ARC was still watching him, his expression silent witness to the judgment he longed to pass on his former commander. Cody would accept that judgment – but he would not be broken by it, he would not be defined by it. The two clones stared each other down for several heartbeats, before Fives finally looked away with a contemptuous – and oddly uncertain – sneer.

The two shifted their attention away from each other just in time to catch Sheresh and Rowin engaged in their own conversation; Cody was mildly surprised to realize that Lepi and bounty hunter were conversing rapidly in fluent Mando'a.

"What are you two talking about?" Fives snapped, clearly uncomfortable by the use of a language he couldn't follow.

"Sheresh was just askin' me 'bout the safety of our current shelters," Rowin replied blandly; the rabbit titled his head up to consider yet again the unseen surface above him.

Cody rubbed a hand uncomfortably across his dented chestplate and grimaced – a bit from pain and a bit from concern – as the holo-image flickered dangerously a second time in response to a thunderous explosion. The Lepi sneezed in brisk succession, as if dust had been stirred up into his face and what sounded like a child's voice cried out in quivering alarm.

"It's all right, Lil' Bun," Rowin turned his head and addressed the voice off-screen, before glancing back at Fives with something like supplication in his whiskery face. "Our cockpit will hold a little longer but the rest of the ship has suffered considerable damage. If the Imps keeping bombing our location," the holo-image flickered as if to lend a sobering credence to Rowin's words. "I don't know how much longer we can keep a comlink connection – much less our own lives."

"Is there a child with you?" Saa spoke up; there was a note of command in his voice, and both Fives and Cody reacted to it by turning to watch the weathered merc struggle to his feet.

"Yes," Rowin answered immediately. "She's about ten standard years old."

"I don't care if you know me, Fives. But, I'm the brother of ARC Captain Delta and the adopted father of three others. And as alor of Clan Par'jain, I outrank everyone in this room," Saa's eyes flashed dangerously and Cody didn't miss the look of shock that crossed Fives' face at the bold mention of Del. "If there's a child in danger, your petty paranoia can shove it."

The merc rounded abruptly on Sheresh and his voice didn't leave any room whatsoever for dissent. He didn't even allow Fives a chance to protest – though, by the look of surprise that was still settled on his brother's face, Cody didn't think that Fives even had a protest lined up just yet.

"Get whoever you have there with you on their feet and moving," Saa jabbed his finger at Rowin's holo-image, the authority in his voice undeniable. "Sheresh," he turned to his fellow Mandalorian and continued the prompt delivery of his commands with a motion toward her buy'ce. "How secure is your communication system?"

"Probably the most secure thing in this city, at the moment," the bounty hunter replied slowly; Cody could see that she was already anticipating Saa's next order, as her left hand reached toward her nearby helmet.

"Send your furry friend our coordinates and then cut out the comm chatter," Saa lifted his head and eyed the ceiling, as if looking through the duracrete to consider the hostile night skies above them. "Fives, you might have been a good ARC, but circumstances have made you shoddy. You've let that rabbit stay online too long – we all better hope his comm channel is encrypted tighter than the Bothan Spynet."

The meaning behind Saa's sharp observation made even Fives pale a bit in the shadowy light. The ARC paused for just half a second, before asked a question that could either make or break his cooperation.

"Are you...Saa, then?"

"Off-line, Rabbit," Saa seemed to ignore Fives for a moment, as he pointed imperiously at Rowin's holo-image.

The Lepi nodded once and the blue-tinted glow disappeared abruptly. The loss of the holocam image plunged them all in to a deeper gloom and every armored figure there reached for his or her helmet. Cody paused a moment, though, and reached for his canteen first – the dust had settled in the back of his throat and parched his tongue.

"Yes," just when Cody began to think that Saa was going to ignore Fives' question, he answered it in the soft voice he reserved when speaking of the past. "You knew Del," it was a statement, not a question.

Fives, too, paused a moment before slipping on his blue-marked helmet. Only when his face was covered did he answer, his voice echoing eerily through the helmet filters.

"He spoke of you once, the Mandalorian he called 'brother'. I met him briefly – him and his wife."

Cody had just taken a sip of water, but the mention of meeting Del's "wife" made him choke in shock. Water spewed out of the former commander's mouth as he spit his mouthful of half-swallowed water onto the grime-covered floor at his feet. He coughed for several seconds, before lifting his head and staring incredulously toward Fives, eyes watering slightly from his sudden lack of breath and the agony that blossomed through his chest.

"Tay?" Cody wheezed; he cleared his throat, coughed, and tried again. "You know Tay?"

There was a profound silence for several agonizing moments before Fives answered slowly. The tone of his voice was odd, as if he too was trying to process the bizarre coincidence that suddenly linked them all together.

"Sheltay Marr? Jedi Healer?"

Cody thought his heart would take up residence in his throat.

"Yes," he croaked, his world tilting unexpectedly.

"Yes," Fives replied slowly, his voice becoming more and more puzzled behind the calculated facelessness of his helmet. "She's one of the only three reasons I'm even alive," there was another long and suspicious pause. "How do you know her?"

Saa startled all of them as he threw back his head and laughed; Sheresh jumped, not expecting her alor to express such an unexpected mirth and even Cody shifted uncertainly in response.

"Well, for starters," the mercenary finally stopped chuckling long enough to jerk his thumb toward Cody. "I had to practically drag him out of her bed this morning."

Cody thought that, in the following silence, one could have heard a gizka croak.

A/N: Dum-duh-dum-dum-dum! Though, realistically...it couldn't have been long before Fives would have had to make the connection between him, Saa, and Cody. I'll admit, I wasn't planning to have the revelation tossed out there so soon...but I merely write what these guys tell me to write. I have a general idea of where each chapter goes...but once I start writing, I'm never quite sure what's going to happen. It's as much of an adventure to write as it it is to read (I hope). LOL

Anyways...here's another chapter of "Rebellion." What's up with Rowin? How does Rowin know both Sheresh and Kil? For those of you who keep up with "Virtues", I'm sure you've picked up on some little plot threads...and hopefully the next chapter (maybe two) will answer all of your questions. :) A lot of the next chapter (or two) or pivotal for "Rebllion" - and, in a lot of ways - for the rest of my planned saga. I've been procastinating like a mo-fo on writing those bits...but hopefully my NaNoWriMo plans will kick that procrastination out of the window. LOL

And yes! It's National Novel Writing Month! Thanks to the encouragement of laloga and Queen, I've decided to undertake the NaNoWriMo challenge of 50,000 written words by the end of this month. However, one of the limitations I'm learning to accept about myself, is that I'm a one-to-two project-at-a-time sort of person; if I started a new novel, we would probably never see "Rebellion" finished in any sort of reasonable time and we would probably never see that new novel finished after this month. ._. One of the things one learns about his/herself when writing, is where one's limitations lay...so I've had to accept my inherent writer's ADD and adapt my NaNoWriMo goals accordingly. To that affect, I'm "unofficially" participating in NaNoWriMo (since the official rules state that you have to start a new project for the contest) and applying my 50,000 word goal toward "Rebellion." So, I don't get to participate officially in the contest...but I feel it's a much better application of the contest (in regards to myself and my own writing) if I focus all of my attention on "Rebellion." I think it'll be fun to see how far we can get in the story-line by the end of the month - I'm hoping to have at least half of the novel written by the 30th! ;-)

We'll see how that goes...hopefully, laloga can keep me focused. ;-)

Lots of warm thanks and love to Codywolf, Kiana Tavers-Mereel, laloga, and Admiral Daala for your awesome reviews and continued support! *hugs!* And thanks to everyone who has favorited this story and added it to their "update" list. You all rock - keep the love coming! It keeps me going.

Love it? Like it? Hate it? Lemme know...!