I updated my other MR story yesterday, as promised. So today, Imma start on this chapter. It might take me a little while cus I hv too much hw and the next few chapters are very vague concepts…so ya I will start but it might take me a little while to finish.

Here's a reminder of the last chapter since it was kinda really important…

I walked into a room full of scared and shocked people. "What's wrong?" I asked, still slightly out of breath.

Dimitri walked over and answered, in a hollow voice, "It's Judge Harks, Rose. He's been captured by the Dami. And well, they're making demands."

Without further adieu, here is chapter 29

Chapter 29

"What?" Our Judge, taken. I couldn't believe it. And demands? This was unheard of. They hated our race so much that when they captured us, they killed us immediately. This was bad. Dimitri just shook his head, mute. "Wh-what demands?"

Behind him, Abby started crying. Lissa and Jean comforted her, but I could see that they too were fighting tears. Dimitri just shook his head again. I looked around at them. I couldn't believe that such a strong team was just giving in like this. I thought I had trained them better. I knew I had trained them better. So I shouted, "Report!"

Their heads snapped up, but Abby was still crying, and Lissa and Jean were at a loss for words. Paul and Sam were lying down on the coach, shaking their heads. Nick looked away. Dimitri met my eyes, but could only shake his head. I saw tears start to well up in his eyes.

Only Kylie could utter the words, "They…they made a list. They want all of the teachers to leave immediately. And then…they want," her eyes were brimming with tears now. "They want you and us. They want our Pack, Rose. They asked for us specially. Why would they do that?" Her voice broke on the question, and I just pulled her into a hug, shushing her calmly.

"It's alright. It's going to be alright. We're going to make it alright." I just kept saying those words, over and over. I wished Jean would just calm everybody down. I stared at her for about five minutes before she realized what I was asking. I felt a warm breeze creep in, and Kylie calmed down a little bit. I sat her down on the coach and started rubbing her back. I then turned to Dimitri.

"How long do we have?" Jean's work seemed to have woken him up a little.

"End of the week. I don't know what the teachers are planning, but I expect they'll want to see us about all of this soon." I nodded.

"We might as well go there." I noticed some of them had already changed and decided something. "Everyone back in uniform. We are going to do this as a Pack, proudly and honorably." They all nodded and went to change back, which left me, Dimitri, and Lissa. None of us had changed, and I figured that was for the best. It gave us time to figure out a plan.

"We are going to march in order to the hall. I know that some of them are scared, and need to know that you two will stay strong. I need you to help me keep them calm. Can you do that?" They both nodded, and I turned away. I didn't want them to see me so close to crying. I needed to regain my composure, fast. Dimitri put a hand on my shoulder, and I took a deep breath, feeling a little better.

My Pack came back, and I explained the formation we would be taking down the halls and through the campus. I would be in front, with Dimitri slightly behind me. Next would be Matt and Abby, then Lissa and Jean, then Paul and Sam, and finally Nick and Kylie. We were in a defensive formation. The spread of the Klases left room for attack and defense, and the two columns just looked good.

We walked out of the Dorm, our faces set. We passed people on our way out, staring at us. Some of them, the younger ones, looked sorry for us. But the older, smarter ones got it. They met our eyes with respect, realizing that we were doing the right, honorable thing. I even had a couple of seniors salute me. I gave returned the gesture, but didn't stop. We didn't even jog like I normally do. We marched the whole way. It took about ten minutes, but none of us complained. We were facing our fate with dignity.

We arrived at the Administrative offices, and I sighed. They had put nasty old Fargh in charge. I couldn't say this of course, and I was trying to be honorable. But still. Really? He looked up from the Judge's desk. "Ah. Very good. I don't have to get you." I nod and salute. He waves away my gesture. "No need to be formal, Rose. I suspect you already realize that we aren't just going to hand you over." Actually, that was exactly what I had been expecting. I had also expected him to be a huge dick about everything. But he was being very professional, and I started to think that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"We are going to continue school as normal for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, I'm going to send out a search and rescue team, composed of about half of the teachers. I want you to do your best to stay calm, and try to keep people around you calm. Whether you know it or not, you are an icon around here. The others look up to you, as a Guardian and as a person." Wow. That was one of the biggest compliments I'd ever gotten. I almost wanted to ask if I'd heard him right, but figured that would take away from it.

"Yes, sir." I saluted again, and turned around to leave.

"One more thing," he called me back. "Keep on the lookout for anything and everything. Don't talk about what I've mentioned to you about the search party. Don't talk about what was said here. Something strange is going on, and we need to find out what before it's too late." I nodded and left.

The next day continued, almost normal. But it was weird. I kept a constant surveillance going. I knew I was acting paranoid, but what was I supposed to do? After hearing Fargh, I couldn't help it. I scanned everything constantly, not wanting to be surprised by anything. If I was jumpy, I tried not to show it. I kept in mind the whole stay calm thing, and was able to comfort a lot of the freshman and younger kids that were so scared. I actually noticed what Fargh had been saying, about how they looked up to me. Even a couple of juniors and seniors were looking to me.

The weirdest thing by far was the fact that they were continuing the tournament. I guess I should have expected it, but it seemed so odd to be doing something so routine while everything was so chaotic.

We won the semifinals, but only by the skin of our necks. I couldn't stand it. We were down to our last person, Dimitri, before we won. It was my bad planning too. I was distracted by everything and overlooked the fact that their fortress was surrounded by bombs. They had actually put mine bombs in the ground around them, and I had let half of my team get blown up. It was dumb. I should have had someone tested the ground, like I'd taken to doing after our first encounter with the things.

We still won though, and I took the chance to be happy. I didn't get that opportunity too often anymore, and was grateful for it. I even had a couple of drinks, which was a bad idea, because it ended up as a huge party with almost everyone on campus. I almost got caught making out with Dimitri, which would have been major.

We were kissing on the balcony and a kid had come to throw up. Thankfully, he couldn't get through and was too distracted by the lock to see us in the moonlight. We split apart and watched as he threw up on the glass and walked away. Dick. Who just throws up on your door and then leaves? A dick, that's who.

I sighed and started to get up. The world spun before me, and I realized that I'd had far too much to drink. Dimitri reached out to steady me, having had far less to drink. "We should probably get some sleep or whatever," I muttered. I was still seeing three of everything, but didn't want it to be too obvious. I was going to have a terrible hangover in the morning.

Dimitri nodded and got up. We went through the rooms, clearing everybody out. I knew that they would just keep partying in the streets, but they were no longer my problem, and that was the important part. We made sure that everyone from our Pack was in bed and then went to sleep ourselves. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

My alarm clock shattered my peace the next morning, splitting my ear drums with shrill rings that echoed and grew in my head, pounding against my skull. I threw the thing at the wall before clutching my head and moaning. I couldn't believe that I had been stupid enough to drink that much. And on the day before a battle? Idiotic.


I climbed out of bed and went to pull myself together, getting dressed in my comfy jeans and a white tank-top. I scarfed down some eggs that Dimitri made and threw my green hoodie on as I went through the door. We were running late, so I got a preview of what I was in for at conditioning. The running was terrible. Each step sent a shock wave from my feet to my hair, pounding me. I hated it and wondered how soon this thing would end. Dimitri just looked at me with amusement.

"Shut up," I muttered at him when I caught him snickering.

"I told you not to drink that much last night, but noooooo. You just couldn't resist letting your hair down and actually drinking." He was right, but I didn't want to admit it.

So instead I just fixed him with a glare and repeated, "Shut up." He shook his head again.

The conditioning was just as bad as I thought it would be, and by the end I was begging my muscles just to keep moving. I got through the rest of the morning like that, begging my mind and muscles to just keep working a little bit longer. I still didn't know what my strategies were going to be for the final that night, and hoped that my team was in top condition.

To my chagrin, more than half of them were as hung-over as me. Nick, Kylie, Abby, Matt, and Lissa were all clutching their heads at lunch, with dark circles under their eyes. "Whose bright idea was the booze?" Kylie groaned. Abby glared at Matt, who got defensive quickly.

"Hey, it was Rose that said she wanted to celebrate. I just translated that. And don't even try to say you didn't have fun. I know you did." I glared at him too.

"You're right, I did. But now I can't think, which means that I don't have a plan for our battle today. And over half of our team is incapable of thinking for themselves." He looked down at his hands, clearly put in his place.

Abby and Kylie looked at me, shocked. "You don't have a plan? But you always have a plan! I thought you came up with them in advance!" They looked so much like spoiled children at that moment, I wanted to slap them.

My hangover finally got to me, and I went off. "I can't think of everything all the time! Did you ever stop and think that maybe I don't know what the hell I'm doing? Did you ever stop and think that I can't just pull these ideas out of my ass? Did you ever stop and think how hard I might have it? No! You didn't stop and think, because that's my job!" I got up and stalked out of the room.

I didn't speak to them again until we had to get ready for the battle. By that time, I had gotten enough time and water for my hangover to wear off, and was feeling guilty about my explosion. I got dressed and told everybody to do the same, then gathered them in the living room for a meeting. "First of all, I want to apologize for my explosion at lunch. I was out of line. It is my job after all. Second, we cannot lose this battle. We need to show everyone that we can win." I needed to show myself that I could win.

"In the face of darkness, we will see light. In the face of danger, we will stay calm. In the face of weakness, we will be strong. In the face of defeat, we will persevere!" It was my best pep talk of the year, and I saw the fire that I had instilled in their faces. I was glad for it, because despite the front that I was showing, I was worried and desperate.

We jogged out of the Dorm in single file. Whenever I shouted, they shouted too. Wherever I jumped, they jumped too. Whatever face I wore, they wore too. We were an inspiring sight, I will admit that. Our spirit brought the attention of others, who started following us. I knew that we would have a packed Arena tonight.

We entered the locker rooms, and I pulled Dimitri aside. "Keep them pumped while I'm gone, okay?" He nodded and I left, satisfied that he would do a good job. I was feeling good, definitely.

The good feeling left as soon as I saw Coach Dargan, and my opponent. Or should I say my opponents. I saw not only the alpha I knew I was going to face, but also the alpha that I had beaten yesterday. What was this?

"What is this?" Dargan looked at me, straight faced.

"It's a war. We decided that yesterday, your match was a tie." He rolled right through my attempt to argue. "Your goal was to kill everyone else and infiltrate their fortress, while keeping the rest of your team safe. You killed all of their players and infiltrated the base, but failed to keep your teammates safe. Therefore, today's championship will be a three-way battle for victory." I was left speechless. This was unheard of. It defeated the purpose of a championship to have a three-way battle. But I couldn't argue.

"Your goals are simple. Pack 2: kill all opponents before they kill you. Pack 5: kill all opponents before they kill you. Pack 9: kill all opponents before they kill you." I saw the other Alphas exchange glances and knew that they already had an alliance. Great. "Here are your maps. The Battle will start in 10 minutes. Dismissed!" I sprinted back to my Pack, completely bewildered. I had no idea how we were going to do this. I tried to remember my earlier words, but they seemed fake and false to me now.

I walked in to the locker room and heard Dimitri finishing a speech. He noticed me and smiled. "Ah, here she is. Our fearless leader, come to show us victory."

I hated to be the bearer of bad news. But it was my job. "Alright guys, so this battle is going to be a little bit different." They looked at me, confused, and I explained to them the three-way battle. "I also think that the other two teams are going to team up on us. We're the biggest threat, so it makes sense to get us first, and then go after each other." Almost immediately, their faces changed to ones of fear and outrage.

"They can't do this!" Shouted Kylie. I had to do something.

"They already did!" She shrinks back in her seat. I can't have my team timid before the hardest battle of our careers. "So what are we going to do? Are we going to keel over and die?"

"No!" shouted Dimitri. I was thankful for his help.

"Will they defeat us, for the first time ever?"

"NO!" came the heated reply, this time with half the Pack.

"Will we lose because we can't handle the heat?"

"NO!" The whole Pack was screaming now, the fire back in their eyes.

"Will we prove our worth, and win the EIGHT CONSECUTIVE tournament championship?"

"YES!"

I unfurled the map, checking the terrain. It was going to be a hilly forest. The fortresses would all be raised, suggesting a defensive tactic. But I wasn't so sure that that was the best idea. I didn't want to be a sitting duck for two teams. I folded up the map and tucked it into my pocket. Dimitri and I had both memorized it already, but I wanted to have it just in case.

"Alright guys, here's how it's going to go. Two teams. Jean, Nick, Abby, and Paul are with me. Lissa, Kylie, Matt, and Sam are with Dimitri. My team is on Pack 9; Dimitri's team is on Pack 5. We're going to lure them to fight each other, okay? After a few well placed blows, they will turn on each other. We'll wait that battle out, and then go in to clean up the survivors. Stay in formation, and keep your eyes open at all times. I don't want to be surprised here. Understand?" They nodded, and I called out, "Formations!"

Immediately, they fell into the formations that I'd taught them. We formed a box around our Genezers, Guardian and Dief in front, Heks and Jaeger in back. The pets stayed in between the Guardian and Dief in front, leading with its nose and hearing. The Heks put up a shield that alerted us when someone was near, which I thought was brilliant. "Move out!" and we started jogging in opposite directions, towards our targets.

We were able to kill three of their members, which got them to follow us. We led them to a little valley that I had shown Dimitri. It had two little clearings, separated by a thin layer of trees. I took Pack 9 to one clearing, and Dimitri took Pack 5 to the other. Unfortunately, the process killed Nick, Sam, Matt, and Kylie. But we got both Packs to the clearing. I hoped that the other Alphas didn't realize where they were.

My Pack members stopped to fight our respective Packs, as if we were making our desperate last stand, but then I gave the command and we all retreated into the trees, which The Genezers and Abby propelled us into. A few arrows were shot at the trees, which was perfect. I had Abby blow the arrows so that they hit a member of the other Pack. Each arrow was marked with the color of the Pack, so they knew that their ally had just fired on them. As if that wasn't enough, I had Paul go down, hidden, and throw knifes at the opposite Pack members. These were not marked.

While we watched the angry Packs duke it out, I had Lissa and Jean heal us up, swapping stories with Dimitri. "We were trooping through the forest, and Kylie heard someone. We all stopped, which gave the Dief the perfect opportunity. He got a knife through her back, then another in Sam. Abby set him on fire, and we continued. We killed another Jaeger that was searching before finding the rest of their Pack trouping around as a group. We killed a Genezer and then ran for it." I nodded. Sounded about right.

"Their whole Pack was in one group, so we had to take a more direct route. We killed a Genezer before they killed Nick, and then a Guardian. We ran after that, but a Dief caught up to us and killed Matt. I got the satisfaction of killing the girl." Dimitri nodded, and we turned our attention back to the Battle before us. Pack 5, the Pack that we beat yesterday, was about to die. I knew they would. Their Alpha was just too hot tempered. Didn't think things through. Like charging into a field of arrows. That was just dumb. As soon as they were down, Dimitri, Paul, and I dropped down. Abby, Jean, and Lissa spread out into trees around us, casting magic unseen.

We faced their Alpha, 2 Heks, a Dief, and a Genezer. I took on the Alpha immediately, while Dimitri jumped onto the Genezer. Paul went hidden and started to take out the Heks, who were wreaking havoc on me. I had to stay close to the Alpha to avoid being set on fire, but got frozen every now and then. Abby took out the Dief, and Dimitri took out the Genezer, and then helped Paul with the Heks.

These Heks were skilled. Paul was down, then Lissa, then Jean. Dimitri and I were left with Abby, the other Alpha, and the other Heks. Abby finally got a hit on one of them, who went down, struck by lightning. The other Alpha was distracted, and I took the advantage. I pressed hard on the Alpha, and gained the upper hand. I almost had him pinned when I heard Dimitri scream and glanced back. The Heks had set him on fire.

Right as Abby's lightning struck the girl, the Alpha's knife made contact with Abby's heart. I wheeled back around and saw the Alpha smiling triumphantly.

"THAT…WAS…MY…FRIEND!" I screamed at him, cutting him with Psyche every time I said a word. He was on his knees in front of me, his sword gone from his grasp.

Right as I was about to deliver the finishing blow, a shadow passed over us. "Rose!" My name was cawed. I looked up and saw a bird. No, I saw Alex. And then I didn't see anything, because the Alpha had pulled a knife out of his boot and stabbed me in the heart.

The last thought that passed through my brain before I fell unconscious repeated over and over.

We lost. I can't believe that we lost.

Okay so obviously I didn't finish it when I started writing it, and then I went to Indiana with NO INTERNET and now I finally got back and can post this so here ya go. Please read and review! I always want to know what you are thinking. It gives me a boost to know that you care about what I write. SO:

Come on, it's not even that hard! Just click that little button and tell me what you think!