I swear, I am getting new inspirations everywhere. From the 1000 downloaded we got for FREE on someone's else iPod which is giving me lots of ideas. Especially for this chapter. Oh, and no more OCs please, thanks. To answer your questions, DarkspineSilver92, read Charmy Rogues or the chapter in this where the black warrior reveals himself.

Characters (C) Respective Owners

Remember, kids, Dirnt is now being called by his REAL name: Psycho...because Josky kept changing the name on me. :D

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Ch. 10: Decieving Me

I looked out the window, drooling. In my hand was a ring-pop. I love ring-pops, except they take so long to suck. Raine gave it to me a minutes before she left with Rector. That was two hours ago, and I just finished it. I stared at the yellow ring around my finger, smiling at the thought of the beautiful butterfly.

But, of course, all good things come to an end. At that very moment, just when Wave called me down to eat, some idiot burst into my wall. I screamed, flying against the door and smacking my face into it. I groaned, holding my face in pain.

I could hear more voices. Praying that it wasn't Rector, I glanced back, meeting Rojok's eyes. I sat up, staring at him. Behind him, was Howl, Carnage, Armand, Whip, and Psycho. Whip had some gum since he was blowing bubbles. Howl seemed annoyed, muttering about why he had to work with these idiots. Carnage sassed him, demanding that he join the Wolf Tribe. Howl kept refusing and tried to slice Carnage open. Psycho and Armand were just laughing the entire time.

"Um, what do you guys want?" I asked, flying up, angry that I wasn't getting food yet.

Whip snapped his gum, blowing it into his mouth. Even with a fued between Carnage and Howl going on in the background, Whip calmly explained, "Well, the five of us were getting together to spy on a Miss Stream."

"Stream? Storm's sister?" I remembered how shady she was when Raine and I were explaining the fight with Rodrigo. She seemed to enjoy it like it was her music for the year. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering she was secretly listening in. "Well, she was acting strange."

"Strange?" His ears perked. He looked over to Psycho and Rojok. Rojok was more afixated with the yellow walls.

Psycho stepped forward, embarassed by his brother's stupidty. "What was she doing? Stuttering like always?"

"No, but she seemed really happy."

"Huh?"

I opened my door, checking if anyone was coming. The coast was clear. I shut the door, saying, "She was being all quiet, and she was smirking."

Armand stepped forward, seeming concerned. However, he was suddenly jerked back when Carnage yanked on his leash. He growled at him, baring his fangs. Carnage did the same, glaring and baring his sharp teeth. Howl placed his sword between him.

"We will kill you!" Carnage shouted, making a wild grab for Howl's sword. He was then hit in the face by Howl's sheath. He growled, but than he smiled. "You know, you are a good swordsman-" This made Howl grin slightly. "-but we wouldn't call you manly. Hiding behind a sword? How lame!"

Twitch. Howl's fur was standing on end. Whip and I grabbed his arms so he wouldn't harm Carnage. Psycho, Rojok, and Armand did the same for Carnage. They were both snarling at each other, until the door slammed open.

It was Stream. She was staring at us, but mostly at Psycho and Rojok. They were glaring at her, and she was glaring back. "Charmy, Wave wants you downstairs for dinner."

"Yeah, keep that innocent act up, girly!" Rojok accused, pointing a finger at her.

She gasped. "W-what do you mean?"

"Rojok, stop," Psycho ordered, placing his arm out in front of him. Rojok seemed distressed, but obeyed. He whispered something to him, and Rojok nodded. He folded his arms across his chest. The older brother wolf glanced over to Carnage, who just nodded.

Stream seemed uncomfortable with him around, but managed a small smile. The albatross bowed politely and walked out the door. I noticed an evil look in her eyes as her eyes lowered in outrage.

"You saw the look as well?" Howl asked, looking down at me.

I flew up to his height, disliking the superior advantage they all had over me: Tallness. I nodded, taking the little candy ring off my finger and throwing it in the trash. I noticed that Armand was trying to get the collar off him, but Carnage was keeping a strong hold on the leash, ordering him to sit like the "doggy he was".

"Look who's talking, wolfy!" Armand shouted, slapping the leash away. "At least I'm smarter than some darn wolf!"

All the wolves in the room gathered around Armand, each with a maniacal glint of evil in his eyes. Whip and I backed up, fearing our own respective lives at the moment as the wolves unleashed their fury on the poor tiger we once knew as Armand. May he rest in peace-Oh, what? He's not dead? Oh, he's just unconsious? That's okay than. Armand was on the ground, bleeding. The wolves snickered evilly, and then in unison burst into a streaking howl. Well, they're wolves, so, go figure.

"WILL YOU DAMN DOGS SHUT UP!" Wave screamed, throwing her wrench and smashing Carnage in the face. It was like a boomerang as it twirled around back to her. Stream stood right behind her. I think she sold us out.

The swallow snatched Carnage by his ear, dragging him close to her face. Carnage whimpered, begging for her not to kill us. By "us", he means him. Carnage actually was made of two people: a wolf named Alex and a creature called a Symbiote. One day, the Symbiote fused with an unexpecting Alex and thus created Carnage. Which explains the reason why he says "We" and "Us" and "Ours".

"Please don't kill us! We didn't do nothin'!" Carnage cried, holding onto his other ear in agony by Wave's antagonizing bellows.

"Yeah, Wave, chill out," Whip added. The rabbit started to take a few steps towards her, but I yanked him back, whispering that it wasn't a good idea to approach Wave when she was angry. Glancing over to Wave, he cringed when she started to beat on defenseless Carnage. "...I think you're right..."

Being former partners, I noticed that Psycho's gaze was intimate onto Stream. Stream just glared back, as did he. He mouthed something to her, making her flinch. Softly, she muttered something. Psycho whispered something back, and she just strolled off, clearly in a huff. Blinking, I asked what that was about, and Psycho yanked out a pair of...panties from his jacket?

"Dude, the heck?" I asked, moving away.

"Just to annoy her since I think she's betrayed the alliance," he explained, shoving the white panties with blue polka dots back in his jacket. Swiping a quick glance down at the panties, he noticed Howl staring at him with distaste vivid in his eyes. Desiring to shout something at the swordsman, he froze when Wave snatched his shoulder.

The swallow pinched his cheek, making him squeak with pain. "I hope you're happy, you disgusting pervert!"

"Huh?"

"Stream just told me that you stole her unmentionables. Give them back!"

Psycho glanced over at me, giving me an 'I-told-you-she-was-a-snitch' look. Reluctantly, he handed them over, and Wave slapped him over the head with her wrench. Crying out with pain, Psycho fell to his knees, holding his head in pain. Wave left, telling me to come down to dinner.

Rojok helped his brother up, yanking his arm around his shoulder. The younger sibling glanced over at me, jeering in a sing-song voice, "We told you so! We told you so!"

I nodded, chuckling nervously as Carnage rose to his feet. He got a good thrashing and rant from Wave, and he was holding his ear. Hoping "their" ear wouldn't bleed, he dragged Armand to his feet. Armand muttered something, probably a curse, under his breathe. Carnage snarled at him, but didn't give a proper retort.

"Come," Howl ordered, opening my window. Suddenly, I just noticed that each one of them was holding an Extreme Gear board. "Stream is going to leave precisely once she finishes dinner."

"Hey! We thought us was in charge of this mission!" Carnage shouted, nudging Howl's arm.

Shaking his head, he bluntly ignored Carnage and continued to stare at me. "Are you coming or not?"

"Huh? Me? Well...that depends. Where are we headed?" I asked, cocking my head. I quickly got my board out just in case I agreed.

Rojok clapped his hands together. "We're going to Babylon Garden! I heard it's really pronouced Bah-Bee-Lon. Seriously! Is that a frickin' Indian reservation?"

Whip smacked him over his head. Psycho thanked him for that. Whip bowed his head, accepting grace. Nodding to each other, they approached me, grinning wickedly. Snatching my arms, they dragged me towards the window. I protested, but they practically begged for my help. They all did, except Howl whom thought he could complete the job himself. Armand pressed a button on his watch and a rope flew out, hugging my tightly. The tiger snatched me, and off we went.

Throughout the entire time, I was screaming at the them for kidnapping me. And Carnage wasn't happy. "Sue! Sue! I'll sue your butts so hard that you'll have to get jobs at McDonalds where they make people fat! SUUUUE! ESPECIALLY YOU PSYCHO! AND YOU WHIP! FOR THROWING ME OUT THAT DARN WINDOOOOW! AND I'LL MAKE SURE I GET MORE MONEY FROM YOU, ARMAND, FOR TYIN' ME UP! SUUUUUUE! I want some honey right now!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Carnage screamed, clasping a hand over my mouth. He got stuck with making sure I didn't escape. "One more word, and I'll drop ya in the nearest oasis I can found!"

Armand found it hard to resist a chuckle. "Man, Carnage, I feel pretty bad for you right about now."

"Screw, tiger. Hey, hey, why not go have yourself a bowl of Frosted Flakes?"

Frowning, Armand scoffed at him and turned away. Apparantly, that Frosted Flakes tiger that always says, "THEY'RE GRRREAT!" is an embrassament to tigers everywhere. Wow, I actually learned something today!

Howl pointed up to Babylon Garden, warning for everyone to be on guard. Psycho got in front of him, asking why he never joined their Wolf Tribe. Remaining silent for a second, Howl calmly explained it was because he already had a family: Team Virtex. Seeming touched by his statement, Psycho slapped Howl on the back, which made Howl fall off of his board and crash right into the bottom of Babylon Garden. Moaning something incoherent, he collapsed to the ground with swirls in his eyes.

Why didn't I see this coming? This is gonna be a baaad idea... I thought, watching as Howl leaped to his feet and began to chase Psycho. Howl was cursing at the top of his lungs, and Psycho was laughing as he dashed around in the sand.

Once things finally got settled by placing Howl and Psycho at opposites ends of the group, Psycho in back; Howl in front, we managed to reach back into the core of Babylon Garden. Whip found a new door that was never discovered by the few times I visited here. I looked at it, rubbing my hands on the copper outline. There were words coming from the top and lashing down onto the bottom of the door.

"Hey, can anyone read ancient Babylonian?" I asked.

"I think my watch, which has translating abilites, can decode this," Armand offered, powering up his watch. He pressed a few buttons, and a red light emitted from it, scanning the code.

"Wow, your watch can do anything!" Rojok gushed.

"Yeah...just not tell time." Armand's eyes lit up when his watch made a bleeeep noise. "Okay, all finished. It reads: To ye who dare enter in thee room yonder, be forewarned-"

"Why are you talking like that?" Whip asked, scratching his long ear.

"...It's what the text says!"

"Oh."

"Hee, you sound funny!" Rojok interjected.

Smacking Rojok on the head, Armand cleared his throat. We crowded around him, waiting for him to continue. "-a curse is still breathing in toxic fumes emitted by a foul avian." Suddenly, the transmission started to breakdown. It fizzled, spurting out electrical energy and shut down. Fluently, Armand tried to get his watch to re-start, but it suddenly just died. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Not good. For some strange reason, my watch just totally died on me. I can't even use the lazor feature."

We all sighed, hanging our heads low. Howl gingerly touched the door, and it creaked out open slightly. It was just enough for all of us to see. We all piled on top of one another. The order went like this: Psycho on bottom, followed by Rojok, Howl, Carnage, Armand, Whip, and finally me since I could fly. Whip was giggling because he didn't have to hold anyone up. The others complained, especially Psycho. I yapped at them to shut up.

Voices were heard on the inside. There were two figures and a person in a throne-like chair. The chair was emblazoned with all types of metal like gold and copper and silver.The person was holding a leash on a person's body that was panting and lying on the ground, seemingly hurt. Both figures bowed to the man in the metal chair. I gasped, covering my mouth to attempt to try and not make any more unwanted noise.

The person on the ground, appearing to be in pain, was Espio. He was holding his chest, curled up in a fetile position. One of his hands was on the collar that was attached to the leash. At that moment, Carnage suddenly felt guilty for making Armand his slave. He apologized for "their" unfair game, and Armand gladly accepted the apology.

Espio attempted to stand, but fell back down. "R-Rodrigo...monster..." he groaned, trying to get to his knees.

Rodrigo, sitting in the metal, kingly chair, burst into laughter. "Foolish boy! Where would you be if you hadn't been found by me? Ah, that's right: Dead in the purgatory!"

Cringing, Espio's sunrise eyes averted to the ground. His face was illuminating with guilt, but he managed to glance up at his dark ruler. He scowled, finally on his knees. The chameleon looked over at the two figures, which brought my attention to the two.

The first one was a female, grey albatross that was dressed in a black jumpsuit. One her wrists were a pair of white flames that were barely noticeable from the light feathers. The other one was...another wolf. How many wolves are going to be in this? Anyway, this male wolf wore a jacket that concealed his fur. He was buff, not fat, but extremely ripped. His muscles were bulging from the jacket, and I could tell the other guys were envious. Like the albatross, he had a pair of white flames on his wrists. Carnage seemed to knew him since he was eyeing him strangely. The wolf also had a black jumpsuit on. Maybe this was the uniform Rodrigo issued?

Wait, female albatross? Stream! Oh, no, the others were right! Stream is a traitor! Now I felt guilty for allowing her to stay with us, but worst of all is going to be Storm's reaction when he learns that his only family left is on Rodrigo's side. He would be crushed, heartbroken! Would he even believe me?

"I knew she was a traitor all along..." Psycho muttered to himself.

"Shush, stupid," Howl hissed, glaring down at him. He ignored the face Psycho made.

Rodrigo gently dragged Espio to his feet with the leash. "When I get a real body, my original body that was hacked to pieces by that infernal bee-" I beamed at that compliment. "-we will crush this world and take Babylon for my own! I'll make sure Stolen and his little goody-goody two shoes friend Patches feel my glorious wrath!" With that, he burst into more sick laughter.

Espio spat at the ground. "No, you will not! They've made their alliances, and they will different! I have all my trust in them...Besides, aren't Stolen and Patches dead from centuries ago?"

"Trust? What good is trust?" Stream quipped. She snorted at the snarl Espio mustered. "Hah! How useless when everyone knows, except those fools, that I was a traitor to the Babylon Rogues as well!"

Whip and I looked at each other, completely in shock. The rabbit glanced down to the others. They all had similar looks of awe and horror written on their faces, but Psycho's was different. He was completely outraged, like 'Why-didn't-I-stop-her-sooner?'. Hey, he couldn't have known, but was he in on this too? After all, he was with Espio and Stream in the beginning.

Stream. Why didn't I realize this sooner? if she was on Espio's team, than she could have been a culprit too! But what of Psycho? He was part of the team, too. I really don't think he would do something so cruel, but...just what if he was bad?

The ripped wolf stood forward. "Espio."

"What, Thunder?"

Thunder smirked. "You should know that I'm just yearning to make your scales burn to a roasted crisp. Hm, I wonder what burnt scales smell like?"

"Thunder!" Carnage breathed, eyes wide in fear. "He used to part of the Wolf Tribe, until we exiled him for terrible use of his strength and mastery over electricity."

"Electricity?" Armand and Howl repeated, blinking up and down at him.

"Yeah, he was born with the ability to control electricity, and with the training of the world's most prominent bodyguard of Master Artemis Fowl, Domovoi Butler, he grew into that...thing."

"Maybe he uses steriods..." Rojok observed, making everyone stare at him. "What?"

I made a new discovery. "Ya know, he sorta looks emo." Everyone stared up at me. "What?"

Espio stood up, hatred brimming on his face. "You are all monsters! You!" He jabbed a finger at Thunder. "You electricuted countless people for what? What would Butler say?" Thunder didn't reply; In fact, he looked pretty guilty. Espio turned his attention towards Stream. "And you! Betraying the ones that housed you, and even your own brother? Why?" Stream didn't reply; she merely chuckled. He didn't demand answers, but the rage on his face was just enough to make them cringe.

Rodrigo stood and leaped off his chair. Facing Espio, he punched him straight in the jaw. "Insolent child! Your accusations will not be tolerated. The only reason you are alive-"

"I am not alive. It's like what Stream told Charmy: Merely a soul without a transparent body or a ghost."

Stream flinched. "S-sir! I-I only told that child because-"

"Be quiet," Rodrigo ordered in the calmest voice.

She was silent. Her back was straight, and she looked ready to breakdown any second. She and Thunder glanced over to each other before turning their attention to the suffering Espio was enduring from Rodrigo.

Rodrigo kicked Espio's stomach, and he reeled with pain. Snatching Espio's neck, the demonic crow made a small smirk and tossed him into his chair. Espio cried outo on contact and collapsed to the ground. He rubbed the back of his head in pain. Rodrigo placed a hand through his ebony feathers. His violet eyes shimmered with a somewhat glorious look of death.

"Now, my followers..." Rodrigo faced Thunder and Stream, ignoring Espio's pain. "Our mission is to find the lost Arks of the Cosmos. Stream, you are in charge of the one Charmy and Jet have. In fact, I do believe Charmy is carrying his on his wrist because he found it today. Jet's should be in his office, or being protected in Wave's room with her technology."

I glanced down at my wrist, and he was right. The Ark glowed a soft yellow hue, and I covered it up in my pilot jacket so we wouldn't be detected. Whip glanced at my wrist, seeing the Ark in full glory. No one in the group ever saw in Ark of the Cosmos before, so I guess I was just lucky to be found by Storm.

"And Thunder," Rodrigo continued. "you are in charge of finding the last ones. I am not sure where they are because they were scattered, but that is your job. I already found one." He dangled his red Ark on his finger.

Thunder nodded.

"Once we get these Arks of the Cosmos, we'll transform this world in a spaceship and venture to Babylon. Where I will rule supreme and those foolish Babylon Rogues can't do anything to stop me!"

"No way!" Espio shouted, finally getting to his feet. "They'll stop you!"

"Who? You mean those idiots waiting at the door?" Thunder asked, making us gasp. He raised his hand and a ball of electricity formed. Lustily, he flicked it at us, and we all avoided it. "Come out and play, so...HOLY FLAMING SHIT!" he screamed when he saw his former comrades. "Carnage, Psycho, and Rojok? What the-"

The members of the Wolf Tribe glared at him. Carnage stepped forward, being the leader. "Why do this, Thunder?"

"I wanted power and control. I always wanted that. You could never make my wishes come true, to life," he explained, voice dripping with venom.

I flew towards Stream, completely in sorrow. "St-Stream, why? Why would you join a madman like Rodrigo? What were you thinking?"

"Find my brother," she said. Her face was tainted with evil. Maybe she was a witch, I dunno. "Wasn't that the excuse I used for joining Lord Rodrigo? I lied, kid. People always do. I joined because, like Thunder, I desire power for myself. But-but of course, Lord Rodrigo must obtain his wish first." She glanced over at my Ark. "Let's make this quick, Charmy. Give me that Ark."

"No way! Finders keepers, losers weepers." I kept a tight grip on my Ark.

Stream sighed. "We do this the hard way than." She lunged at me, snatching my face. She was powerful, like her brother. Gripping my face, I thought I heard something crack in my skull. It hurt like hell! I took the Ark away, and shouted at someone to catch. "What? NO!"

"Sorry, girly!" I cried, throwing the Ark away. Howl snatched it with his sword.

The swordsman beamed, glancing up at Stream. He started to hover in the air, surprising him. Smirking, he quickly lunged towards at dashing speeds and kicked her in the jaw. She cried out, releasing me. He wasn't finished. Howl used his sheath and slashed down on her skull once her body hit the ground. "My, this device is amazing..." he muttered, landing.

"I know right," I agreed, taking it back. "Let me show you how a pro uses it! Gravity Control!"

Stream was standing, shaken by the onslaught. I flew around in the air at blinding speeds, maybe even as fast as Sonic. Stream tried to keep up, but I was dizzying her. I flew in a simple circle just like what Sonic used when he met Blaze. Using my stinger, I stabbed Stream repeatedly as she flailed her arms around. She managed to get a lucky hit in, but that was pure luck since I was going too fast for her to keep up.

The others weren't having a fun time with Thunder. Thunder already had them on the ropes with his muscular body and control of electricity. Psyical attacks were completely useless against him. He swatted at a flying Whip, smashing him into the wall. Rojok was crying and curled into a fetile postion after Thunder zapped him lightly. Armand was attempting to re-route his watch, but Thunder snatched him by his head and hurled him into Rojok. Armand gasped; his watch rebooted. He pressed the lazor function and zapped Thunder in the face. He held his face with pain as it started to swell.

Thunder roared. His body started to crackle with electricity, making his fur seem a vibrant yellow. He lunged at the members of the Wolf Tribe, intent on taking them down. Psycho flinched and barely dodged. Psycho leaped onto Whip whom recovered from the first hit. Holding onto the rabbit's legs, he cringed when Carnage suddenly clung to his own legs.

"What are you two doing?" Whip demanded, tired of carrying them around.

"Just do that Sonic Heroes thing," Psycho said, trying to kick Carnage.

"Huh?"

"Uh, Thunder Shoot?"

Whip blinked and looked down at the wolves. They basically had placid faces, like Whip was the idiot. Whip curled backwards and kicked the wolves into balls and clashed onto Thunder and knocked him down. Heh, that old saying is right: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Of course, that doesn't apply to me since I'm so cute and small!

Rodrigo sighed, calling his minions back. They were instantly on their feet and at the master's side. Both were dissapointed by their losses, and I could tell Stream was reeling on the inside to steal my Ark. I stuck my tongue out at her. Her head was diverted up to her master.

Espio was chuckling, making us all stare at him. "Told you the resistance would destroy you, Rodrigo."

"Shut up!" Stream barked, snatching Espio by his horn.

"You leave him alone!" I screamed, flying over to Stream and knocking her in the head with my foot. I grabbed Espio's head, steadying him.

"Thanks, Charmy," he said quietely.

Before I knew it, he started to fade in and out. We were both shocked, and I flew back a few paces. Rodrigo was holding his Ark of the Cosmos tightly as he leaped down from the chair. He snatched my wrist, trying to get the Ark off, and I bit him. He cringed and slapped me across the face. My Ark was still on my wrist. Espio was staring at him, calling him foul names.

"Espio...you brought this on yourself," Rodrigo murmured as Espio completely faded out.

"What have you done to him?!" Whip shouted as the group enclosed around the leader and his minions.

Rodrigo smirked. I noticed that his black feathers were glossier and his violet eyes shown white, matching his cornias. "Ah, power. 'Tis what I crave. See, I was only using Espio's life support to give me the body I deserve. I forced him to fight against Stream and Thunder for ours, draining him. What he drained, I recieved."

"You sick bastard!" Psycho shouted, baring his fangs.

"Thank you." The crow waved his hand, and the Ark glowed vibrantly. "Now, please excuse yourselves. Gravity Dive Warp!"

In an insant, a black hole appeared in the center of the room, sucking us heroes up. I glanced over at the spot where Espio once stood. Beaten, yet proud was the chameleon in all his ninja ghostly glory.

Espio, I thought as the vortex sucked me up. I heard the cries of my fellow alliance members. where are you?

--

Next: Treasure Hunt! Get the Arks!

Whoa! Stream and new guy Thunder are traitors to their own groups! Rodrigo's plans have now been revealed, and he wants those Arks! See ya 'round in the next Babylon Bee!

...I sound like the DBZ announcer...