Is this the end of Monkey? Find out that and more! So much more... as in... the history of Monkey.

Can't wait, right? Then let's go!

Time for Chapter 10!

Chapter 10: The Man Called Monkey

BOOM!

The deafening explosion sent Stern sailing through air and hard to the ground; the detonation occurred just outside the security wall of mansion, taking out part of it. With the explosion as a distraction, Monkey rolled to get his staff. He was still struggling with the pain from the window fall but he couldn't waste the opportunity. Whatever caused the big bang, it saved Monkey from Stern running him through with his sword. It wasn't for him to die tonight, after all it seemed. After clutching his staff, the expert climber got to his feet. Stern growled until a look of shock came over his face at something behind Monkey. The white haired man turned around to see Clay truck's barrowing through what was left of the wall and the gate.

"YAHOO!" the old soldier howled.

Even more surprising to Monkey…Trip was on his bike as it sat on the back of Clay's tow truck.

Clay pulled the truck to a stop and got out. While he ran into the fray, Trip secured Monkey's motorcycle and quickly ducked for cover. Clay charged at Stern who had his sword ready. The young tyrant swung at the old soldier until Clay brought his weapon of choice to block the attack: a metal baseball bat.

Clay smiled.

Stern's eyes got wide as he remembered the one thing about the scar faced soldier's bat that set if off from most weapons. "Oh, shi…" He didn't to get to finish before a rush of electricity surged through his body via the bat.

Clay hit Stern in the stomach then in the back, knocking him down. He was about to take the Dread commander out when bullets came whizzing by. He had a shield similar to Monkey's that reacted to the gun fire coming from the approaching Dreads. Clay pulled his own handgun and returned fire, retreating back to his truck to keep his shield from wearing down.

While gunfire went on around him, Monkey got to his feet and saw Stern get back to his.

They locked eyes on each others.

They both gritted their teeth.

They weren't done yet.

They ran at each other again. They clashed their weapons and their duel was renewed, completely ignoring the melee they were in the thick of. Despite bullets in every direction, the two former friends were locked in battle with one another. The world could've been ending around them and they wouldn't have noticed. Or cared. They were too focused on each other now, too focused on this fight, too focused on finishing this grudge once and for all. And nothing would break that focus for either of them.

"MONKEY!"

Save that.

Trip's scream distracted Monkey long enough to let Stern knock his staff back. The wastelander turned back around but just in time to have Stern stab him in the side of gut. At the wound connected, Monkey gasped.

"NO!" Trip screamed.

The wastelander groaned and blinked a few times. The wound wasn't very deep as Stern didn't have the power he would've liked to deal the blow he wanted to. Monkey forced himself off the blade, collapsing to the ground. Clay saw Monkey fall and knew this scuffle had to end. He pulled out a couple of grenades, pulled out the pins, and threw in different directions. The explosions gave Clay a chance to run for Monkey. The scavenger hit Stern in the gut with his bat, forcing the Dread back. He picked up Monkey, heaving him on his shoulder in an amazing motion, and got him to the truck with impressive speed and strength. He put him in the cab and climbed in.

Trip quickly put a piece of cloth over his wound. "Monkey! Monkey! Oh, God! Oh, my God!" He groaned as she pressed down on his wound to keep the blood from flowing too much. She looked at his wound and the blood pouring from it and started whispering, swiftly, "whatdidIdo? whatdidIdo?" She took a deep breath, "…whathaveIdone?" She spoke up, "Monkey, please! Please, don't die! Please! Please!"

Monkey could only groan.

"Hang on!" Clay shouted. He threw the engine into reverse and backed up. The Dreads were still firing on truck, only to find it quite bullet resistant. "I've had enough of you losers…" He pressed a button on his steering wheel, which activated the machine guns on the front of his truck. He killed a few Dreads while sending the rest running for cover. Clay kept backing up, crashing into various objects.

After hitting another shack, Trip looked at the soldier. "Aren't you gonna turn around?"

"Only after we're outta town," Clay replied. "Then… we'll have all the room we need."

He kept backing up, only to have a few Dreads on motorcycles be in hot pursuit. He kept it up until they were clear of the shacks that made up the more desolate part of town. Once they were just past the last shack, the grey haired soldier swung the steering wheel, forcing the behemoth truck into a wide turn. After throwing it into gear once they'd turned around, he drove as hard as he could across the sands. The Dreads were still behind then but Clay hit another button on his steering wheel, dropping more explosive charges that rolled along the ground before discharging, destroying more Dread vehicles, causing them brake off pursuit.

Clay grunted. "Losers…"

Trip kept pressing down on Monkey's wound, whispering to him to stay with her. He kept looking at her but the pain was great. He passed out.

Stern just stared at the truck as it drove off, seething like an animal and cursing every which way about the entire situation and vowing that Monkey was a dead man.

The group made it back to the farm almost as fast as they gotten to Steel. Clay was amazed that the truck could move that fast but he was grateful the "old bird," as he called it, held up. The old soldier demonstrated his strength again as he helped Trip get Monkey back to the spare room, bearing most of Monkey's weight. Once in the room, Clay laid Monkey on the bed and got to work tending to his wounds while Trip stood, nervously biting her nails. Monkey was conscious as the old soldier worked on his abrasions. Clay had already given Monkey another health vial shot but he had to stitch up the wound left by Stern's sword the old-fashioned way: with a needle and thread. While the pain was excruciating, Monkey's mind was elsewhere, blocking out all of the pain, with the little he did feel not meaning anything at all.

"Alright," the veteran said, pulling out and clipping the last stitch, "that should do it." He gathered his supplies. "Ya bet not move around too much for a couple-a days, at least. Ya went and reopened some-a yur old injuries, too."

Monkey laid quietly in the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"One more thing…" he gave the wastelander a commanding glare, even though Monkey wasn't looking at him, "ya try and do that again before yur healed, I'll kick yur ass so hard that Stern's sword will be the least painful thing that hits ya. Understand?"

Monkey said nothing.

Clay stood up, grabbed his medical case, and headed for the door. He looked at Trip, "Do yur best to keep him in bed. If he don't listen, call me. I'll make him."

Trip nodded. "Thank you."

He nodded and left the room.

She sat in the chair that Clay was just occupying and looked at Monkey. He wouldn't look at her back.

"Why?" she asked. "Why'd you go?"

He remained silent.

"Come on, Monkey. Talk to me."

Still, nothing.

She became desperate. She was close to crying. "Please…"

He turned his face away. He didn't want… he couldn't look at her. He looked at the wall then closed his eyes. When she realized no words would be exchanged, Trip silently got up and left, electing to sleep in another room. The pain Monkey felt from fighting the Dreads was nothing compared to what was going between him and Trip. And, while every part of him told him to leave, he couldn't for some reason. He was mad at her and could very easily leave her with Clay but… he couldn't. All the same… he couldn't talk to her right now either.

The following morning, Trip walked back into Monkey's room to check on him, only to find Clay sitting next to Monkey's empty bed, picking up supplies and cleaning up the mattress.

"What… where is he?" Trip asked.

"Outside," Clay answered. "Came to check up on 'im to find 'im already up. His bike ain't gone so he didn't take off. Plus, I saw 'im walking around near the old tree on the hill earlier. One at the back o' the house."

Trip rubbed her arm, nervously. While she was glad he didn't leave, she didn't know how long until Monkey decided to take off. She hadn't given him reason to stay. To stay with her.

He sighed, "Damn boy's like an animal. Restless. Just wanders from place to place." He looked at her, "Or maybe… he's just a beast who lost his place."

That hit home for the village girl.

He sighed and started for the door, "Yep! Someone better help 'im find his place again. Because… ya know beasts like that… if they don't think they belong somewhere… they tend ta just… wander off."

Clay left, leaving the wheels in Trip's mind turning… just like he wanted.

The redheaded girl walked out to the field behind the main house and found the muscled out wastelander sitting on a boulder not too far from the old tree. His elbows were on his legs with his hands clasped and he was leaning forward with his head slightly bowed. He was calculating all that went wrong in the past few days… of course, the girl approaching right now fell into that category. Frankly, he still didn't want to talk to her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He didn't answer.

"How are your wounds?"

Still no response.

"Monkey… are you okay?"

He still said nothing. He wanted her to go away.

Not sure why she was about to ask this since she didn't get an answer the first time, she did anyway. "Why did you go?"

He perked up a bit. He gave her a sideways glance. He remembered her asking the question before. And was just as surprised that she still had the nerve to ask.

"Please… tell me…"

His anger surged. "Why?" he asked, harshly.

"What?"

He looked at her, sitting up straight. "Why should I talk? Sounds like you got the whole story from Stern."

Guilt hit her like a ton of bricks. "Monkey, I'm…"

"I don't wanna hear it, Trip." As angry as he was, his voice was surprisingly calm and quiet. "You listen to the words of people you've never met before… and you treat me like shit… over who I used to be."

She couldn't argue. That was exactly what she did. And it was killing her.

"You wanna know why? Why I went after them? 'Cause I got no reason not to. I don't get anything, one way or the other. But, if I have to choose which I don't get, I'd rather get nothing killing Stern than the same nothing I always get when I keep running from him."

She blinked in surprise. "Running?"

He stopped. He didn't mean to let that slip but it was out there now. He sighed. "Yeah…"

"Please, tell me… what…"

"No," he interrupted her. "If he didn't tell you, then I sure as hell ain't gonna waste my breath. Not when you didn't even ask for my side. You didn't even ask why I was in the Dreads in the first place." It was amazing how calm he was. It was actually surprising him. "But I am gonna say this: I've been more loyal to you… than I ever was to them. Hell, than I ever was to anybody. Gone farther for you than I ever thought I would for anybody. And when you wanted to kill the people who killed your father, I didn't complain. I went with you, no complaining."

'Oh, my God… that's exactly what you did…' she thought.

"Yeah, I'm not some noble hero, some knight in shining armor. I have a shit past that even I hate happened. But none of that had anything to do with how I was to you." He was silent for a few seconds. "I've been damn good to you." Clasping his hands back together, he looked back at the horizon. He said his piece. He was done.

Trip stood in silence. She wanted to cry. She wanted to leave. But she didn't. She deserved Monkey being upset with her. She deserved his harsh words. He was right. She listened to Stern, a person she didn't know who let her get beaten, and ignored and berated Monkey, the man she loves who saved her life on countless occasions, over a story that she only heard one side of. Tears fell. "I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I am so sorry."

He said nothing.

She sat down on the grass, next to Monkey. "You're right… you're right about all of it…" She sighed. "It's just… when Stern told me you were in the Dreads and… all that you used to do…" She stopped. She sighed again as tears continued to fall. "I won't make an excuse for it. I screwed up." Her voice caught, "I… I let you down. Everything we've been through… and I let you down. And you… you've never let me down… not once."

He looked at her.

"I was mad when I had no right to be. And I took it out on you… But… but that doesn't mean that you don't have a reason to live…"

He sighed, sounding more like a loud grunt. "What does it mean, then, Trip?"

"It means I screwed up. It means that you went to go die because I wouldn't listen to your side. It means that, just because I was stupid doesn't mean you have nothing to live for… 'cause if you died… I'd lose the last person I have left…" She had to keep from breaking down, "…and the only man I've ever loved."

He huffed. "Still love me, huh?"

She had to keep from crying. "Never stopped. I never will."

He smirked at that. He couldn't help it. It was good to hear.

"So… please… please, tell me. I promise, I'll listen. Just, please… don't leave me again."

He didn't want to tell her… at first. He wasn't going to until he looked in her eyes then he could see it: she was terrified that he was going to leave again. He couldn't ignore it. He couldn't stay mad at her. He had to tell her. In doing so, he had to reopen wounds that hurt worse than the ones he had sustained in the past couple of days… but it was worth risking… for her.

"Remember when I told you may parents died in a mech attack?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Stern, Hammer, and Rod all lost their folks the same way. That kinda thing… forces you to grow up fast, to learn how to survive." He took a deep breath, though that was still slightly painful. "I was about 5 when my parents died. It must've been… about two more years before I made my way to the Home."

"The Home?"

"It was an orphanage. We all met there and got to know each other, found out we had the same story. The people there tried to teach us how to live but… living in the wild, you learn your own lessons."

"I can only imagine."

He sighed, "Yeah." He paused for a second. "While I was there, one of the guys I learned from, he… well, let's just say guys like Clay aren't rare as you might think. There are a lot of old guys who know how to protect themselves. And… I met him." He chuckled. "His name was Staff. The old guy was a good with a staff as I am… except better. Much better. He wasn't as good at climbing as I am, though. Taught me a few lessons… whether I wanted to learn them or not."

She giggled softly.

"Well… after about ten years… the mechs attacked the Home and we got separated. A couple of years later… we met up again. Stern and Hammer had formed the Dreads, as a way to… stick together. I joined, too. At the time… I was afraid of being alone."

Trip understood that better than anyone.

He gave her a glaring look, "That stays between us."

She nodded.

He sighed, "We're just a bunch of punks, angry at the world, and tryin' to stay alive. For years it worked." He scoffed, "It was a good idea at first… but what we did to stay alive… what we told ourselves we had to do to stay alive… is what made it impossible for me to sleep at night." He stopped to gather his thoughts again. "Well, time passed and one day I got separated from the rest during a mech squad jumping us and… I ran into Staff again. He was living in another community after the Home was burned down and took care of me. Taught me more lessons… and none of them fighting."

"What do you mean?"

"He told me that I could either stay on the path I was on… or find my own way that would change everything. I listened to him. I left the Dreads. That got me hated. That got me hunted. Luckily, they couldn't expand the man power to hunt me down like they wished they could… but, damn, if they didn't try."

"Wow."

"Yeah. The last time we duked it out… I ran into Barricade and he called that brother of his and Rod and they chased me for hours. I took a dive off the stretch of road we were on and knocked myself out."

That reminded Trip of a more recent maneuver he pulled when the Dreads caught her. "How brilliant of you." She smiled.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I was desperate. Whadda ya want? That's why Rod said he thought I was dead. They thought I was dead and I hadn't heard or even thought about 'em since. It's probably been like… 15 years or something like that since I heard about them last. I figured they thought I was dead and I wished they were. As long as we never saw each other, everything would work out."

And there it was. The truth. As honest as he could be… as he ever had been.

He looked over at the girl he loves, seeing a different look on her face. "Look, Trip… I'm not proud of who I used to be. I'm not proud of what I used to do. But… at the time, that was all I knew. It's not an excuse. I don't make excuses… but I'm sorry if not telling you all this hurt you. I thought the second you learned who I was…" He fell silent. "I just didn't wanna lose you."

She sat in silence, absorbing the weight of everything she was just told… and how incredibly difficult it was for Monkey to tell it. She slowly got up and sat down on the rock right next to him, leaving no space between them. She put her arms around Monkey's neck pulling him into a hug. He was stunned. He put his arm around her, though, wanting her to stay close, and thankful she wanted to be.

"Thank you…" Trip whispered.

"For what?"

"…Not turning me away… for telling me… It means… a lot that… I've earned your trust back. I won't betray it again… I promise." She kissed him on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

She still loved him. He had her back. The future seemed a little brighter now… for both of them.

Awwwwww! Happy couple! Happy couple!

Lol! Anyway, so Monkey and Trip are reunited... and it feels so good! I'm sorry! I couldn't resist that!

Oh, but don't worry! We're not done yet!

Next Chapter: Coming Storm

Monkey is still recovering from his rampage against the Dreads but so is Stern. The devilish commander has a plan... and he's about to invoke it against his enemy.

The Storm is brewing...

Be here for it!

REVIEWS!