WT: -pokes head outside- is the tear gas and angry mob gone? OK then. Hey there everyone! Thanks for, you know, not braking my door down. I need it and stuff. So, I hope everyone had a great year and New Year's. I did and one of my resolutions is to get to the middle of one of these stories. Which one? No one knooooows lol

I hope you guys like this chapter. It's shorter than the last one, but I have faith you'll at least be interested in the ending. X3 Once again, thank you to all my followers and favoriters! And thank you each and every reviewer!

Species Unknown: Thanks a bunch for the tear gas. I almost ran and hid in my storm shelter and there's no internet down there. And I'm so glad you liked my secondary plot, I was worried everyone would hate it or something ^^

AllSpark Princess: Oh yes I do. And who doesn't like a good mystery? :)

Watcher in the dark: Thanks for waiting. I know I take for-ever :)

Galem: Aw, thank you. I'll hold you too that. Just please tell her to watch the power lines, ok? :)

Anissa: Thanks a bunch :) I'm so glad you did.

OK, now, ON WITH THE SHOW! PS, if you see the *, guess the reference or let me know if you know what I'm talking about ^^

Chapter 9

Roxie's P.O.V.

After each of the Glatorians took a turn letting Mata Nui use his mask on their weapons, it was time to go. Everyone headed to Kiina's car, which by now I have learned is called a Thornax, but once we got there I realized we had a small problem.

"We all won't fit." I said as the Glatorions started to climb on.

"Sure we can!" Kiina said cheerfully. "Just climb on."

I gave her a flat look and shook my head. "There is no way all of us will fit. It'll be crowded with just Gresh and Berix on. There's no way it'll fit two humans to boot."

"Not safely anyway," Nikolaj added while standing behind me with his arms crossed.

"Oh, it's no problem." Kiina said flippantly, with a wave of her hand. "Berix can walk."

"Yeah-HEY!" Berix yelled indigently.

"No, no." I say with a shake of my head. While the banter was funny, now isn't the time. "There has to be other ways to get there, maybe other Thornax's? There have to be some left, or something else we can use. Let's look real quick."

Everyone looked around the remains of Kiina's village for anything of use. But it seemed everything was either used in the great escape, or was looted by the Skrall and/or Bone Hunters. Soon everyone returned to Kiina's Thornax, shaking their heads. I scratched my head in thought, trying to think of what Nik and I could use safely to travel. As I pondered, I shifted the weight on my back and suddenly remembered the backpack I've had this whole trip. Just keeping myself from face palming my forehead, I knelt down and slid the backpack off in one move. I opened the pack and took a good look inside.

Really, all I saw was a backpack's usual inners which were nice and full of stuff. But as I reached in and moved things around, I noticed in surprise that there seemed to be quite a lot of space, seeing as I couldn't feel the bottom on the inside.

"Well this is new."

As I reached in farther and farther inside, I started to laugh to myself and almost without realizing it I started humming a Mary Poppins song. I shifted and started digging in with both hands, dipping my hand in a little as I did.

"For a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down, the medicine go dooowwwwn, the medicine go down."* I sang as I slowly pulled myself out of the backpack. "In the most delightful-" I paused when I looked up and saw everyone was looking at me. "…way."

"What are you doing?" Nikolaj asked, sounding confused. I felt a wave of embarrassment but just played it off by laughing at myself.

"I think I have Mary Poppins's carpet bag."* I said, holding my backpack up a little. I wanted to joke about how it was also like the Barney Bag*, but didn't want to seem weird.

"What?" Nik said, looking even more confused. I tilted my head to the side then just shrugged.

"It's a reference to stuff back home. You never saw Mary Poppins?" I asked. Nik shook his head and I sighed. "Well then, I doubt you'll get my other ref's. Let's just say, my backpack is bigger on the inside.* Come look,"

Nik came over and looked inside the bag. He reached in, but looked up at me and with one hand lifted the bag up enough for me to see his hand pressing the bottom of the bag. Confused myself, I took back the bag and stuck my hand back inside, finding I couldn't find the bottom. "What the…? Ohhhh, it must only work for me. Probably a failsafe or something if anyone takes it. Try your own."

As Nikolaj did so, and found to his surprise I was right, I looked to the Glatorions. "Maybe you guys should just go on ahead and leave me back here." Even as I let the words out of my mouth, I knew they would be ignored.

"Spirits no!" Kiina cried out.

"We'll figure something out, Roxie." Acker said calmly, waving off my words like I thought but I didn't feel upset because of it. I looked back to Nik and sighed.

"If only we could just make something to ride on." I mused out loud as Nikolaj pulled out a bottle of water and drank some. "Like a skateboard or something out of the wreckage. But that would require some serious tools to turn any of this metal into wheels, let alone attach them to a board."

Nikolaj looked over to me suddenly. "That's a brilliant idea!"

"Wait, what?" I said surprised as Nik stood up and walked to a large metal pipe. He lifted it up with both hands, one on each end, and looked it over. He muttered to himself, but I couldn't hear him clearly. Before I could ask what he was doing, he started pushing his hands towards each other. I don't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't for the pipe to bend into a U shape as easy as breaking bread.

"What in the?! Nikolaj, how did you do that?" I asked in awe as I got up and took the pipe into my own hands. I tried the same thing as Nik stuttered, but nothing happened. I gave him back the pipe and noticed something about him I didn't before. His eyes were golden though one was darker then the other.

"Well, however you did that, I'm still not sure you can turn that into wheels." I said skeptically, guessing that was the idea he had wanted to try. Nikolaj shrugged off his surprise and gave me a smile of confidence.

"Don't worry; I have a plan that might work. I just need the right board…"

"You can skateboard?" I asked as Nikolaj dropped the pipe onto the ground and started looking in his bag again. He nodded. "Lucky."

As Nik went digging into his bag, I opened mine and started looking too, only I was looking for a bike or skates. I can't skateboard. As I leaned a bit into the bag, I found a flashlight and I turned it on. It helped a lot and after a bit I grabbed onto something large and smooth. Curious as to what it was, I pulled and pulled until the thing was out. I found to my surprise that it was a long board, smooth and dark blue. I looked at both ends, but it was just a plain board. I put it under my arm and walked over to Nik and I tapped his shoulder.

"Hey Nik, I found a board in my bag." I said when he pulled his head out of the bag.

"Cool, I think I found one too. It's deep inside though, so one minute." Nik said then I got to watch a guy pop into a bag like that bird in the Land Down Under, the Emu. He popped back up quickly with his own board, although his was black as night with a gold stripe down the middle.

"So, can you use it?" I asked as he looked it over. He nodded and I sighed. "Great. But you should probably hurry, the 'Tornians are getting antsy and we're burning daylight."

"Got it."

I moved back as Nikolaj went to work tying on the new wheels to his skateboard. What he did was first he broke the pipe into four pieces and formed them into usable wheels. Then he tied them on with some strong rope. I wasn't sure if they would stay on, but I just had to have faith Nik knew what he was doing.

I went back to my bag and started looking for something a bit more my speed. As I did, I overheard Gresh telling about how the attack on the village went down and how he got hurt. It was the typical thing; they were ambushed and outnumbered. As I moved by the shoes, a pair of which was thankfully gym shoes, (I don't do boots forever. I was probably going to have to make my own shoes at some point. I'm not about to jack up my feet into never being able to wear flats again just because I'm in another world.) I felt wheels. I quickly moved back and grabbed onto the wheels. I pulled up and smiled delighted at what I saw.

"A bike! Yes, perfect!" I said happily as I unfolded the foldup bike. It was dark blue like the board and had big wheels which would be great for riding on the sand and rocks. I dug my arm inside again and pulled out a helmet that matched everything else. I strapped it on as Nikolaj tested out his skateboard. "Are you ready, Nik?"

Nikolaj nodded to me and shouldered his backpack. We let the Glatorians know and we all were off in the next five minutes.

(^.^)-u-(^.^)

The journey to Tesara from Tajun takes about a day by transport, two by foot, if you're lucky. Seeing as how we had transport, our ragtag group of humans and robot people made good time. I never rode a bike on sand, but I had over rocky ground and mud and whatever is on the ground at playgrounds, so it wasn't too hard after a while. But after hours of riding I was pretty tired by the time we stopped to make camp for the night. By that point, I was paying more attention to not hitting any rocks and staying awake then listening to the others. But I was all for the stopping for any amount of time.

"Oh my goodness." I let out as I got off of the bike slowly and then sat down on a rock. My legs were hurting and I was so relieved to just stop. I closed my eyes and leaned back until I was laying on the rock. I listened to the others talk but didn't join in. I did sit up after hearing Acker tell Mata Nui he needs to expect the unexpected and I watched as the veteran fighter started to give Mata what he severely needed; training.

After a while, I felt better but also the adrenaline from before hadn't totally left my system. Watching the Glatorians fight started making me want to too. After a bit, I decided to try out my bow staff. I got up and moved out of the way but still within view of the others and slipped my bow staff off my back. I then took off my cape and folded it neatly then put it on a rock. I decided to take off my boots and switch them with my gym shoes. As I did, I noticed how comfortable they were and how they actually didn't look to weird with the outfit. I kept on everything else, including the shirt thing. I spun the bow once and then flicked the small switch on it. The bow staff grew longer and I smiled.

"Now, to see if I can use this," I said to myself. I slowly spun the staff and then sped up, twirling the staff in a big figure eight. After a little while of doing that, I switched hand and twirled the bow some more. Not long after I started Nikolaj walked over and silently took in what I was doing.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked after I stopped spinning the bow.

"Nope, knock yourself out." I said with a light hand wave. I watched as Nikolaj took off his cape too and then took the ax off his back. The ax itself was pretty big but Nikolaj held it like it was nothing. The ax was black; the only lightish parts were from the shine from the odd looking moons up above. As I watched Nikolaj started moving the ax in large but powerful looking swings. His moves reminded me of a wood cutter but I was no less impressed. After staring at the guy I went back to my own practice.

The sad thing was I never really used anything remotely like a bow staff. A broom or rake, sure. Piping stuff from Home Depo, maybe. But never a real weapon. I was holding the bow like a bat and spinning it, mostly for fun by that point, when I heard a throat being cleared.

No One POV

Kiina had been watching Roxie and Nikolaj for the past few minutes, mostly Roxie. While the human girl hadn't said so before, it was obvious that, while she knew a few moves, she wasn't fluent with a staff weapon. So, after seeing Roxie swinging the bow three times she cleared her throat, gaining the human's attention.

"Like some help? Not to brag, but I am pretty good with those types of weapons." Kiina offered with a smirk. Roxie looked surprised then gave Kiina a nod.

"Sure, I'd love the help. Honestly, before coming here, I've never held a bow staff in my life." Roxie admitted, shifting the bow until she held it in one hand horizontal to the ground.

"Well you're in luck, since I have." Kiina said a bit smugly but it was more meant to get a laugh, which was given. "Besides, anything to miss Mata Nui fall on his face for the thousandth time. It's embarrassing."

Both ladies started the training after that and it actually was easier then Roxie expected. She guessed it was thanks to all those kung-fu movies she saw back home and once again laughed to herself at the fact TV did help her in life. Kiina showed Roxie that since her bow didn't have a blade on either end, she'd probably have to do more to take down an opponent, but at least she'd get less blood on her. She showed her some basic moves and helped her be able to spin and switch hands easily. She even showed her where to hold her hands, seeing as Roxie was putting her hands a bit too far from each other.

While they were doing that, Nikolaj practiced with his ax. Seeing as he had used it many times back home, it wasn't that difficult. Still, he accepted the offered help from Acker when he came over while Mata Nui took a break. Acker was impressed with the strength in the young mans' strikes and mostly helped him fine tune his moves and his stances. By diner time, both humans were feeling much more confident in their skills as fighters. As everyone ate and poked fun at each other, none of them saw the trouble that was coming for them.

(^.^)-u-(^.^)

It was a few hours later, around 4 in the morning if Bara Magna had clocks, when Roxie woke up. She had slept in a sleeping bag she found in the backpack and had woken up thirsty. After failing to go back to sleep again she finally got up, slipped back on her cape and shoes, and walked to the Thornax for a little more privacy, after nodding to a disgruntled and awake Gresh who was unlucky enough to be on night watch for the next two hours. In the light of the moons and stars she dug into her backpack and pulled out the first bottle she found. Pleased it was a somehow chilled water bottle she opened it and drank some.

As she drank and leaned on the Thornax she kept her ears pealed for anything. Back home on Earth she hated being outside late. 12 o'clock was her limit. Even though she wasn't sure what time it was, she could tell it was really late. The irony wasn't lost on her and she silently chuckled. As she recapped the bottle and dropped it back into the pack, she froze.

What was that? She thought, looking around with her eyes, slowly lifting up her head. The Thornax was parked behind a large rock, leaving the left, right, and front open. Only a few rocks stood out in the way and after hearing nothing for a ten beat she slowly zipped back up her pack and stood up. It probably was just some shifted rocks. Or maybe it's Gresh coming to check up on me. She tried to tell herself. But her heart beat sped up all the same and she found herself sliding her bow staff into her hands after slipping the backpack on.

She took one step. Then two. She looked around but didn't see or hear anything else. Telling herself she was being silly, she swallowed and started for camp. As she did she noticed an odd sort of…sparkle in the air. Just writing it off as dust in the night, she powerwalked back to the fire pit site.

"Good night, Gresh." She said, her words sounding louder in the quiet, even with the fire from earlier that evening still burning, though smaller. She started to turn her body to her sleeping bag when she stopped. Gresh hadn't answered. She walked over to him, sidestepping Acker as she did, and saw something so cute and clichéd she couldn't hold back her smile if she wanted too.

"Aw, he fell asleep." Roxie said out loud, laughter in her tone. She reached out and started shaking the green Glatorian's shoulder gently. "Gresh, Gresh wake up. It's still your turn on watch."

Gresh just mumbled in his sleep, his head down, his chin resting on his chest, arms folded. Roxie just shook her head amused and started moving back, deciding that, since she was already up, she'd take watch, when she noticed something. The way the fire was behind her, it made her and anything else where she was cast a shadow. As her shadow flickered with the fire, she noticed something that made her blood run cold and her heart beat speed up again.

There was an extra. And it certainly wasn't hers. Roxie spun around, swinging her bow at whoever was behind her, knowing without a doubt it wasn't someone she knew, but her swing was stopped short by a strong grip. As Roxie stared into the glowing eyes of the person in front of her, she did the one thing she knew might help, even if it'd make her look like a damsel.

She screamed.

As she screamed she yanked her bow back, surprising the Skrall in front of her enough to wrench it from his, or was it her, hand. She aimed down and jacked the Skrall in the groin, making it double over and she quickly swung the bow into its head, sending it to the ground. Roxie didn't have time to cheer or really feel proud of herself at all. Two more appeared from behind the rocks, one was carrying a club in one hand and a large sack in the other. The other one held a jar that as it got closer to the fire she saw was letting out something into the air.

She moved back, wondering why none of the Glatorians had woken up at her scream. All of them, including Berix and even Nikolaj, slept as if under a spell. Roxie, having read enough books to figure out what was happening, put two and two together. She didn't know why she was still up, but even though she knew she was probably no match for the Skrall, she knew one thing.

"If I'm going down," she said the well-known phrase in an I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this tone of voice, "I'm going down…fighting!" Then she rushed at the Skrall with a loud battle cry, even as another appeared behind her.

Nikolaj's POV

I suddenly woke up and I sat up in my sleeping bag. I looked left and right, trying to see what woke me. The moons were still up in the sky giving light and I stood up after getting out of my bag. I walked from my spot from between some boulders for privacy and stopped short when I saw the area around the now dead fire pit. I let out a few words in Danish as I ran a hand through my hair.

"What happened here?" I asked the air as I looked around. The sand all around showed the signs of a fight, a big one at that, and the way some sand had ended up into the fire pit, it explained why it was dead. Where the sand was flat enough, I saw footprints. Some I didn't recognize, but I did recognize the gym shoe prints when I saw them.

As I walked around the site, I wondered why the Glatorians, who were spread out still sleeping, were, well, sleeping. Even Gresh had somehow fallen on his back and was asleep on a rock. As I stopped by Gresh, I noticed a jar on the ground. I picked it up and noticed a powder inside. I poured some out and looked it over. Whatever it was, just smelling it made my head hurt and I quickly shook my hand clean.

Then I heard a noise. Dropping the jar I ran towards the sound, and found what I was looking for was quickly disappearing into the distance.

"A caravan?" I said in bewilderment as I saw the caravan riding away. I heard the noise again, and realized what it was. It was a yell. I suddenly realized I hadn't seen Roxie yet and she was sleeping not far from the fire pit for warmth last I saw. I put two and two together and almost growl, instead I just frowned. I had a choice to make. Stay and try to wake up the Glatorians and get their help, or follow the caravan before it was gone. I quickly chose plan B and after grabbing my ax and cape I jumped on my skateboard and took off as fast as it could go, leaving only my tracks behind.

I only hoped I wasn't too late.

Last Update: Mar 13 2013

Word count: 3,686 without note