And here's another one :D! I should finish the next RDR chapter, but I've got a bit of a block when it comes to RDR -.-... I have NO idea how to write the next chapter D: ! Anyways, let's see how long they'll manage to keep Kayden as their hostage instead, eh ;)?

*** Chapter Twenty-Five : Mission Aborted! ***

Priscilla quickly ran up the stairs and found Calebs room on the top floor. Without knocking, she bursted in through the door and found him asleep in his bed. He had the blanket all pulled up over his head, leaving only his big, curly hair poking out from underneath it.

"Hey! Caleb! Wake up!" She hollered and stomped up to the bed, grabbing the ends of the blanket. He groaned some incoherent obscenities at her and grabbed his end of the blanket tighter. She growled and yanked the blanket completely off him. "I said wake up! We're abortin' the mission!"

"WHAT THE HELL?! YOU should've been aborted!" His voice reached a very high pitch as the blanket was pulled away from him, and left him exposed in his underwear to the cold, outside air.

"Get up!" Priscilla grabbed his pants from a nearby chair and threw them right at his face. "An' get dressed for heavens sake! You're wearin' unicorn-boxers!"

"No, they're narwhals!" He protested and bitterly scooted over to the edge of the bed, throwing a grumpy grimace at her. "Do you mind, pedofreak?"

She snorted and walked back to the door. "Just hurry up! We're in deep shit!"

"How deep exactly? Just so I know how much I need to hurry!"

She stopped in the doorway and turned her head back at him. "Try, takin' Kayden hostage in front of mayor Slagan an' the heads of the Jenkins Gang, just to save Bentley from bein' executed!" She said, and Calebs eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "An' I left Bentley in charge of watchin' Kayden while I went to find you!"

"You're a fucking lunatic!" He exclaimed and stuck his feet through his pants, suddenly realizing the serious in the situation. "And what the hell is BENTLEY doin' here?!"

"I don't know..." Priscilla growled bitterly. "But he better have a damn good explanation if we make it outta here alive!"

She left Caleb to his own while she quickly ran over to her own room. There were a couple of things she needed to retrieve, like her extra ammo and knife. But after sliding the knife back into its socket in her boot, she glanced to the side and noticed the necklace Kayden gave her. A 'priceless family heirloom' he had called it. She didn't hesitate for long until she picked it up and stuffed it in her pocket.

…

Bentley glanced up at the stairs. Only mere seconds had passed since she went to get Caleb, but he was already growing impatient. He didn't want to be alone with Sheridan longer than what he had to...

"So, Bouda..." Kayden said as soon as she was out of earshot, making Bentley turn his attention back to the hostage. "You too are taking a fancy to our little heartbreaker here, huh? My friend Skye tells me the two of you are very, very close, am I right?" Bentley only replied with a low snarl. He knew Kayden would try to make him angry, so he tried not to listen to him. Which wasn't all too easy, since his calm, almost hypnotic, voice seemed to manage to get in his head no matter how much Bentley tried to shut him out. "I'm just curious though; what makes you think someone like you deserves someone like her?"

"I don't!" Bentley answered without thinking, and instantly regretted talking back to him. "I... I know she deserve better, but she wants me and what she wants is all that matters!"

"Of course" Kayden nodded, and Bentley felt a slight tinge of fear.

This guy was so calm and casual... He was TOO casual! And not even the servants nor the Whitecoats had thought this had seemed like a big deal either! It was almost as if Kayden wanted this to happen, and the workers had gotten strict orders to stay out of it. Because not even when one of the early servants had passed did anyone do anything. All the servant did was to give Bentley a curious and funny look before just walking past, and Kayden hadn't even bothered looking at him.

"Ya knew 'bout this, didnt'cha?" Bentley couldn't help but to growl out the question that nagged him, even if he knew he shouldn't be talking with him. "You knew this was gonna happen!"

Kayden shrugged. "I'll admit that when she jumped out from behind the tapestry was a bit unexpected, but other than that, yes. I've had a hunch for quite some time now" His smirk didn't budge as he cocked his head upwards and watched Bentley with his round, golden eyes.

"What else do you know, Sheridan?"

"That you're a bunch of misfits hired by Frederick Murdoch in a futile effort to get me locked up in order for him to stop feeling threatened by me and my business" He said with a bored look on his face as he inspected his fingernails, and sighed when he noticed that he'd gotten some dirt underneath them. Funny, how did it get there? "Also, that you and little Miss Longway has had some... Issues, in your relationship thanks to this 'mission', am I right?"

Bentley gritted his fangs. "You knew we were t'gether, an' yet ya proposed to her!"

"Of course I did! I'd be fool not to!" Kaydens smile widened at the angry snarl Bentley made as he tried to suppress his anger. "Her bloodline is quite exquisite; her father is one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom. He doesn't have the intelligence the gods gave a turnip, but he's still powerful and a pureblood Noble. She's truly beautiful, and I'm confident that she'll make a fine mother of my heirs. Besides, her father and I get along like the hyenas and the lions do, so I can't wait for the day he'll be forced to watch as I wed his daughter! He's said so himself; our bloodlines crossing would be his worst nightmare!"

Bentleys stomach churned and he felt nauseous. The prince seemed to notice, and decided to continue on the same track. "It's just such a shame that her blood has been tainted by Whitecoat filth, but I'm willing to look past that. Hopefully, her fathers Noble blood mixed together with the Sheridan blood will be enough to erase any traces of the Whitecoat inside her when our first son is born-...!"

"Shut UP!" Bentley barked, his ears flattened and his eyes were watching the aye-aye with a burning hatred. "STOP talkin' 'bout my Prissy like she's some kinda breeding stock!"

"Oh, but be reasonable, my friend; when she and the other runaway child returns home with me, she'll have everything she'd want, need and deserve as the future queen of one of the oldest and proudest of kingdoms. She'll have the world at her feet, and I'm able to give her more than you ever will, no offense! All I want in return is someone who'll take the throne once I'm gone. Besides..." He paused and smirked at Bentleys upset frown. "She does have a nice smell on her, doesn't she? But can I ask a pretty personal question? When you bed her, is she always so loud or is it just me?"

With an angered roar, Bentley threw his gun aside and lunged for the aye-aye. His fangs were bared and eyes were reduced to mere pinpoints in a frenzied rage. But Kayden seemed to have waited just for this to happen, as he just simply smirked and stepped out of the way and in the same, lightning quick movement, ran his elbow into a certain point between Bentleys shoulderblades as he passed. The hyena gasped in pain and went down on all fours, his arms and shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

"Hey! What the hell's goin' on down here?!" Priscillas angry voice was heard as she walked down the stairs, and Kayden hurried to throw his hands up with an amused smirk on his face.

Caleb was shortly following her and his eyes were wide as he saw Kayden, who indeed appeared to be their hostage. Or something similar... "Wow... You weren't kiddin'!" He said and turned to Priscilla as they reached the end of the stairs. "You really ARE a fuckin' crazy ol' bitch, aint'cha?!"

Priscilla only snorted as she held up a rope, who used to be holding the curtains on the top floor in place. "Yer back to me, hands b'hind yer back" She said in a commanding tone to Kayden, who at first only arched an eyebrow at her. But when she drew her gun at him, he sighed and did as she said.

"Oh well, you're the one with the gun, my love" He said in defeat, but didn't lose his sly grin.

As she proceeded with tying his hands behind his back, Bentley slowly managed to get up on his feet and winced in pain when he tried to move his arms. "I... I can't feel my arms!" He groaned and managed the lift one of his arms, but it felt as if both of them had fallen asleep at the same time!

"Don't worry, it'll pass in a moment" Kayden writhed with an annoyed scowl, in his ropes. "Gosh, why do you have to tie them so hard? I need these hands, you know!"

"Ya don't need 'em now, so shut yer trap!" She snapped and turned to Bentley. "What the hell happened while I was gone?!"

Bentley tried to rub his numb hands, but only caused it to hurt more. He looked up at her and appeared to be on his way to say something, but was cut off by Kayden: "My humblest apologies, m'lady" He said and respectfully bowed his head at her, but she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "I'm afraid it is all my fault; I grew bored of waiting for you and your 'brother', so I tried to strike up a conversation with your Bouda, but alas I seem to have angered him" He turned to Bentley and sadly shook his head. "I'm sorry if I said something that offended you, 'Benny'"

Bentley growled and flattened his ears to his neck, muttering something about a 'motherfuckin' asshole' in response.

"So, what's the plan?" Caleb said and winced. "Please tell me that we have one! Oh please, oh please, oh please!?"

"We don't really have a plan..." Priscilla said and pushed Kayden towards the door, and Caleb repeatedly slapped his palm against his forehead. "But we've got a goal; to get ourselves an' Sheridan back to Lady Luck in one piece! I guess we just gotta work somethin' out along the way!"

"I fuckin' hate y'all!"

"We know, Caleb. We know!"

Suddenly Kayden stopped and turned to the three spies, looking at them with an unreadable expression on his face. "Wait, you mean that you want to take me back to your headquarters now?" He said lowly, but then sighed sadly and shook his head, looking remorseful. "Gosh, I'm honored! I really am! And I really want to meet these 'Rango' fellows, both of them! But I promised the men I'd be back shortly, and regretfully I'm busy for the rest of the day too!"

"That's just too bad then, ain't it?" Priscilla tried turning him back around to push him towards the exit again, but he wouldn't budge.

He shook his head again. "I really am sorry, m'lady, but I can't"

She growled and was about to throw a punch in his face, but in a blur, he lashed his own hand out and caught her fist in his palm. They all gasped; he had been tied up really good! He shouldn't have been able to move at all! While they were paralyzed in shock, he grabbed Priscilla by the arm and pulled her closer. Now it was his turn to hold her hostage, which caused Bentley to snap out of his shocked state, and apparently the numbness in his arms disappeared too, so he dived for his gun again. He got it and got up, and was just about to fire at Kayden when he saw that the lord had taken her gun away from her and held it pressed against her jawline, holding her in front of him like a shield. Caleb was still gawking in shock.

"Don't shoot!" She said warningly to Bentley, and he lowered the revolver with a reluctant growl.

Kayden looked down at the gun in his hand and grimaced. "Nasty things..." He muttered and tossed it over his shoulder. It fell with a loud clatter to the floor.

Bentley was about to raise his gun again and fire, but she repeated herself and he realized why she didn't want him to shoot; she was right in the line of fire! Instead, Kayden ran a finger along her jawline, drawing out a warningly growl from Bentley and Priscilla tried to bite him. He was once again sending a tickling, static feeling across her skin where he touched her face, and just like any other time; she hated it.

"We've got a lot of things to discuss, m'lady, but that will have to wait until we see each other again" He said lowly and smirked before forcing her nose up and planted a kiss on her lips. She instantly jerked herself free from his grip and threw herself to the floor.

"SHOOT HIM, BENTLEY!" She screamed and wiped her mouth as three shots were fired from Bentleys gun. She drew her second revolver and turned around, only to find that Kayden was gone. Without a trace. As if he just disappeared out in thin air! "Where did he go!?" She exclaimed and looked around, aiming her gun at anything that could move.

Bentley looked around as well with smoke coming out of the barrel of his gun. "H-he just...?" He looked scared as he looked back at Priscilla. "I... H-he just...! Th-the bullets...!" He stuttered incoherently, and Priscilla got up.

"But he can't just have disappeared outta nowhere now, can he?!" She growled and looked around.

Bentley gulped and looked around "Th-the bullets just b-bounced offa him, a-and now he's... Poof!"

Priscilla growled at him. "Bullshit, they didn't bounce offa him! An' there ain't NOBODY who just disappears like that! We're just makin' ourselves look stupid right now!"

"You're right, slutty, the bullets didn't bounce offa him..." Caleb said with a distant voice and wide eyes, and began walking towards one of the paintings on the wall, featuring some kind of jungle-like, cliff area. "They just... Changed their direction b'fore they could hit him..." He touched the painting, and both Bentley and Priscilla curiously walked up to him and the painting. It didn't take long for them to notice the three bullet holes in the canvas.

"B-but how...?" Bentley asked with a low, hoarse voice, obviously disturbed by this recent turn of events. "A-and where did he go?"

Priscilla didn't answer, she just looked at the spot where he used to be standing. On the ground she noticed pieces of the rope she had used to bind him. The edges were burnt black and some were even still smoking.

"Is everything alright, my lordships?"One of the servants were heard and the trio jolted and turned around, only to notice that the red-dressed aye-aye was standing behind them, looking at them with a concerned frown. "I heard gunfire, is everything alright?"

The trio exchanged a glance, before turning around and hightail it for the door without looking back at the puzzled servant. Priscilla snatched her gun up from the floor as she passed it and holstered both of her weapons just as they got outside.

"Alright, NOW what?!" Caleb asked with an agitated tone as they reached the fountain, but instantly got his answer when they started hearing gunshots and one bullet barely grazed Bentleys ear and another bullet hit the water. "Never fuckin' mind!" He hollered as the three quickly dove in behind the fountain for shelter.

Behind the bushes outside the residence, some of the men from the cellar were standing with their rifles, opening fire at the trio. Priscilla drew both of her guns and pressed her back against the fountains side. Bentley and Caleb, who were both taller than her, had a lot harder time trying to hide. Not to mention Calebs huge mass of hair that kept sticking up above the edge.

"Bentley, how many shots have ya got left in that thing?" Priscilla asked and dared to peek up when the gunfire settled down, only to be shot at again and one bullet snapped off a strand of hair.

Bentley looked down at the gun in his hand and winced. "Three..."

"Quit yer sobbin', I got zero!" Caleb muttered bitterly, but grinned faintly when Priscilla tossed him one of her guns.

"Don't break it!" She said warningly. "I only got these with me!"

"How can you break a gun?" Caleb snorted and peeked up above the edge of the fountain.

"I ain't tellin' ya, b'cause I know ya would do it!"

A sudden whistle made all three of them jump and turn around. Further away, by the rows of grape plants, stood two familiar Whitecoats; Amaranth and the little boy Feilim. Amaranth was holding two roadrunners, one of them Priscilla instantly recognized as Fulmen, while the boy was holding the third. The trio exchanged another glance and Priscilla nodded at them, reassuring them that she was sure the Whitecoats were there to help them. But they still had the continuing shower of bullets to take care of first before they could make a beeline for the Whitecoats and the roadrunners.

Priscilla didn't say anything as she first glanced at the shooters, then at the building above them. She got an idea when she saw the rooftiles, which seemed to be just ordinary tiles, but she wasn't sure how to carry it into effect. Without having more options to choose from, she began to fire at the roof, earning confused glances from her peers. But just as Caleb was about to ask her what the hell she was doing, the tile she had been firing at cracked and broke loose, causing many more tiles to start sliding down.

Priscilla holstered her gun. "Prepare to make a run for it!" She said, and still a bit confused, the men did as she said.

The first tile fell and landed on one of the shooters head. The others barely had time to react until a rain of tiles fell over them, many got hit in the head. In the confusion that arose, Priscilla, Bentley and Caleb got up from their hiding spot and ran towards the vine rows. But Lewis, who was amongst the shooters, quickly jumped out of the way of the tiles and noticed the trio running from the fountain. He hurried to raise his gun and fired.

The bullet grazed up a trail in Calebs arm, making the teen gasp in pain and stagger. Lewis laughed victoriously and reloaded. Priscilla noticed he was slowing down and quickly turned to the shooters, noticed the frillneck lizard and drew her gun at him, shooting the rifle out of his hands before he got time to fire off another shot at the teen.

They made it to the grape plants and once they were safely hidden, Caleb crashed against a wall of vines, clutching his bleeding arm with his jaw tightly clenched. "Caleb!" Priscilla said worriedly and reached for his arm. "Are ya-...?"

"I'm fine!" Caleb hissed, cutting her off and backed away from her touch. "Where's the damn Whitecoats and the birds!?"

Priscilla growled warningly at him, but didn't get to tell him off until Amaranth and Feilim showed up with the roadrunners. Even if they had heard what he just said, they didn't seem to care. "We saw you earlier, and we figured you'd need to get away from here quickly" Amaranth told them with his eyes locked on the ground in front of them, but he quickly looked up and stiffened when Priscilla suddenly threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"You're a lifesaver, Amaranth! Literally!" She said, thankful that the Whitecoat once again had come to help.

Amaranth didn't reply, and he was still frozen in shock while holding the reins of the roadrunners in each hand. When she pulled away from the hug, Amaranth stared at her in surprise, but when he realized he was staring he quickly averted his eyes and mumbled something. Apparently, he wasn't used to positive feedback! Feilim was heard snickering and Bentley snorted in jealousy, but didn't say anything.

"Who the heck are you anyway?!" Caleb mumbled and took the reins of one of the roadrunners Amaranth was holding, while Feilim gave the reins of his bird to Bentley. "And how come you're helpin' us?! What's in it for you?!"

"My name is Amaranth. I'm familiar with lady Priscillas father, Tovi" Amaranth answered the teen with a patient voice. He didn't seem the least bit put off by the teens rudeness. "I'm just repaying her father for everything he's done for us over the years. And your fathers name was Kavanaugh, wasn't it?"

Priscilla took Feilims reins as Caleb tensed up, before growling a bitter "yes", and climbed up into the saddle as quickly as he could with a wounded arm. "Let's go already!" Caleb said impatiently and looked around as the bullets seemed to have stop hailing. "I don't wanna get...! Aw shit..." He gulped when he saw that Kayden was standing amongst the shooters. He seemed to have told them to seize fire, and was now just looking at them. He was standing too far away to be certain, but Caleb could tell he was smiling just as slyly as ever.

"We gotta go! Now!" Bentley was already sitting on his roadrunner, and had spotted Kayden as well. He felt uneasy by the way the lord was looking at them and turned to Priscilla with a scared look on his face. "We gotta get away from here, Prissy!"

"Yeah, yeah, we're goin'!" Priscilla answered the two impatient men and turned back to Amaranth and Feilim. She was about to thank him once again, but he shook his head.

"Just go. There's no need to thank us"

"But, wont'cha get into trouble for this?" She asked worriedly, but he only smiled faintly and shrugged in return. She gritted her teeth as she jumped up on Feilims back, but right before she left, she turned back down to Amaranth. "Yer son, his name is Salem, right?"

"Y-yes?" Amaranth said lowly and seemed nervous, anxious over what she was going to say.

"I was in the cellar earlier, an' I found a hidden room. I think he might be in there, b'cause I heard a young boys voice from a door there" She told him, and he lowered his head again as Feilim looked up at the older Whitecoat with large, scared eyes.

"I knew it..."

Priscilla felt sorry for the Whitecoats, but before she could say anything else, Bentley barked her name in alarm and she turned back to her two peers. She gave Amaranth and Feilim a last, acknowledging nod before turning around and follow Bentley and Caleb out on the road.

Amaranth hurried to tell Feilim to hide in the vines before he himself walked out to head back to the stables, but he didn't get very far until he heard guns clicking around him. He came to a stop and looked up from the ground, noticing that Lewis and some of the other gunmen were aiming their rifles at him. He heard Kayden approaching, but didn't turn to the lord. Instead he just stood still on the spot, his fists tightly clenched at his sides.

"So, you just couldn't resist, could you?" Kayden smirked and placed himself face to face with the Whitecoat. "I'm not really surprised though, after you helped her lend one of my racers, I knew you knew who she really was too. Amaranth, isn't it?"

Amaranth stared down at the ground, seemingly emotionless. At first, Kayden didn't think he'd talk back, but suddenly the white-haired aye-aye opened his mouth. He said something, but his voice was low and it was impossible for anyone else but someone like Skye to hear what he said.

Kayden frowned. "What did you say?"

He was quiet again. But then, to Kaydens surprise, the peasant slowly looked up at the lord and grinned. "Curtail the vulture!"

To everyone else, the phrase didn't make any sense what so ever, but it seemed like Kayden knew exactly what he said. His eyes widened at first in response, but then his face twisted into an angry scowl and he lashed out. A faint, blue glow emerged from his right hand and suddenly, the same blue glow appeared around the Whitecoats neck. Amaranth tried to gasp when his respiratory system got cut off, and he was hoisted into the air by some invisible force before being slammed down onto the ground again. Hard. Dust was kicked up when he landed on the dry ground, and the gunmen took a step back. Unsure of what just happened.

"KILL HIM!" Kayden growled, more furious than anyone had ever seen him before! He seemed to have completely lost the enormous amount of self-control he usually exhibited. His eyes were wide and frenzied, and his black hair was standing in all directions, and they all thought they saw some kind of liquid glow around his hands. "SHOOT HIM! NOW!" The gunmen nervously scrambled with their rifles.

"CURTAIL THE VULTURE!" Amaranth repeated as soon as he regained his breath, this time screaming with blood running from the corners of his mouth. "Pluck the WINGS of the blue scavenger and her spawns! Leave her crippled and set loose a pack of rabid fossas after her!" He didn't care that the gunmen were raising their guns at him, all at once. The only one he seemed to notice was Kayden, as he kept glaring daggers at the lord. Every word that came out of his mouth were seeping with hate. "The Thunderbird will awaken one day, and CRUSH the Phoenix! Mark my words, Sheridan; your reign of terror will be over soon! CURTAIL THE VULTURE!"

"SHUT UP! Just shoot him already! What are you waiting for!? SHOOT HIM!"

Amaranth grinned a sad grin as he heard the guns clicking once again. Salem, if he ever came back, would probably never forgive him for this, but he had to buy Feilim, Priscilla and the others time to get away. Besides, he knew this was going to happen sooner or later anyway. After all; he was one of 'them', the opposers of the Sheridans. He looked into the barrel of the closest rifle and closed his eyes, still smiling sadly. Salem, Selena... My dears... Please, forgive me...

Feilim had done as Amaranth had told him, and while Amaranth was heading back to the stables, Feilim were to take a route around the vines and sneak by unnoticed back into the Whitecoats village. But suddenly he heard someone shout, and instantly recognized Amaranths voice. He slowed down and was about to turn around and go back, but stopped abruptly when he heard the gunshots; a number of rifles being fired all at once. His heartbeats slowed down and he felt his throat tighten up. He instantly realized what had happened. Lord Sheridan never had anyone executed, unless they said THAT.

"C... C-cur..." Feilim stuttered, but then he clenched his eyes shut to press back any tears he feared would come out and turned around. "CURTAIL THE VULTURE!" He screamed as well before turning around and ran as fast as he could back home. Hoping and praying that nobody would hear or see who he was.

Alas, Amaranth, this was bound to happen... R.I.P! He might not have had much 'screentime', but it was surprisingly painful to actually kill him off already :/... He's a really cool ol' dude, and when you find out more about him in the future, I'm sure you'll agree then if you don't agree already...

Anyway see y'all next chapter ;P! I'll try to finish the next RDR chapter as soon as I can though, but right now I'm on an EOTP roll :3!