A/N: Hellooo! Finally managed to finish this chapter :D I've had another project on the sidelines which has been taking up most of my time .'

Anywho! On with the show, enjoy!

Chapter 10

Ray's head wobbled side to side as he lay on the floor, feeling every bump and dip in the terrain as the truck moved. He drew in a deep breath and let out a sigh, his amber eyes dull and ready to give up; his teammate watched him anxiously, usually it was him moping around and Ray would always pick him back up again. Kai picked his way towards him carefully, as not to accidently step on him when the vehicle lurched and laid down beside the raven-coloured teen. Slate ears pinned back when he didn't get a reaction from his friend, not even the slightest movement or glance.

He shuffled closer, pressing their flanks together and resting his head on Ray's shoulders. "We'll figure this out." He murmured.

Ray just snorted in reply.

Kai stared at him, wishing there were something he could do to cheer up the depressed Neko. His crimson eyes glanced over the black pelt before him, their struggle earlier had left it all ruffled and covered in dirt; an idea struck him and he lifted his head again, hoping he could comfort his friend even just a little bit. Kai opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, running it along the dark fur and dislodging any debris that had accumulated. As he gently groomed him he felt Ray begin to relax, the younger teens body leaning into the soothing rhythm of Kai's soft tongue. Just as Ray was beginning to drift off, the truck came to a stop rather abruptly and caused Kai to accidentally bite his tongue.

"Fuck sake…" He grumbled, nursing his now sore muscle.

Some voices echoed outside the truck for a few moments, the hunters were barking orders at one another. The truck revved up again and swung around sharply, before reversing as one of the men guided the driver to wherever it was they were going. Kai's senses were on high alert again, he glanced at Ray who hadn't bothered moving at all.

He nudged him with his muzzle. "Get up, we can try to escape when they open the doors."

Ray just turned his head away from him in response, another sigh billowing from his nostrils. Kai frowned in frustration, opening his mouth to scold his teammate but the truck doors flung open, revealing two of the hunters.

"Here Sam, look at these two cuddled up at the back." One jabbed his friend in the side as he mocked the pair.

Sam laughed awkwardly. "I'm surprised they're still friends!" He pointed at Ray. "The black one looks nearly big enough to go off on his own."

Another man approached from behind them, holding some ropes in his hands. "Will you two quit chatting and help me get these young'uns out of this truck?" He grunted.

"Yes sir!" They responded in unison.

Kai glared at them as they advanced on them, each one holding a rope and ready to pounce if he made a move. The Phoenix let out a low rumble, warning them to stay back as he stole a glance at his companion. Once again Ray did nothing but lay there, seemingly having given up fighting; the fur on Kai's neck began to rise as one of the hunters, Sam, came close to Ray's muzzle with the rope. He immediately got to his feet and stepped over the raven teens head, shielding him with his body and glared at him with blazing eyes.

"Hey, easy!" The young man soothed. "Easy there, we aren't going to hurt your friend."

Kai could see sincerity in his eyes, he tensed up as Sam folded the rope into one hand and reached out with the other.

"What are you doing?!" The third hunter scolded him. "They're still dangerous!"

Sam whipped his head around. "Yeah, but they aren't going to trust us if we don't at least try to be nice to them."

They shared a look for a brief moment until the older man nodded his head, clearly unimpressed at his comrades insubordination. Sam reached out to the grey bull's muzzle once again with his free hand, a few beads of sweat forming on his face as fear and determination radiated from him. Kai studied him carefully, not moving from his position above Ray, who was watching curiously at the interaction. Eventually Sam's hand laid onto Kai's soft fur and he let out the breath he'd been holding, slowly rubbing his hand along the elk's long snout. The hunter decided that he'd proven his worth to the animal and brought the rope in his other hand to Kai's face, but the young teen didn't take kindly to that. Kai shook the hand off his face and reared up, bellowing at the man and causing him to fall onto his ass in surprise.

"Alright, I've seen enough!" The older man snapped.

He swung his rope a couple of times and slung it at Kai, pulling hard on it when it looped around his muzzle, closing his jaws together and shutting him up.

He smirked. "And that's how you do it boys."

Kai flung his head around, trying to dislodge the rope from his nose that was pulling him out of the truck. He glanced over his shoulder to see Sam tying his rope around Ray's snout, his heart dropped and eyes widened when he realised that Ray was willingly letting him do it.

"There there, your friend could do with learning some manners from you." Sam chuckled as he spoke to Ray.

The dual-coloured bull narrowed his eyes and swung his head back around in annoyance, how could he just let them do that?! After a few more tugs and pulls, Kai eventually gave in and let them lead him out of the truck; he stepped out into the fresh air and looked at his surroundings, the sun was beginning to set behind them, there were only a few sparse trees in sight and many fields bordered with fences. Kai's heart clenched in his chest as he realised they had been taken far away from the forest, as much as he hated being lost in it, there was always that chance that their friends would find them. Now they had no hope, and from what he could gather they had been brought to some sort of farm. Ray followed Sam and mimicked his friend by looking around, his troubled mind unable to fully take in where he was. He lowered his head again and fell in behind Kai as they walked, his hooves almost dragging him forward. The Neko had lost hope in ever seeing his friends again, he'd never be able to speak to Lee again or bicker with Mariah. He'd never be able to settle his score with Tyson or laugh when Max had one of his sugar induced episodes; his only consolation was that he was with Kai, but for how much longer he dared not to think about. The hunters lead the pair down a path and towards a barn where another man was waiting, a smile spreading across his moustached face as he laid eyes on the young bulls approaching.

"My my, you weren't kidding when you said they were stunning!" He mused as he looked them over.

The white-haired man circled around Ray first, keeping his distance but looking close enough at his features. His blue eyes glittered with excitement and awe at the black bull, sizing up his antlers and build.

"Very muscular this one, and that mane of his is impressive!" He commented, before turning to Kai. "You were right, this one is a little scrawny." He directed at the captain of the hunting team. "But with a good diet he'll grow strong, I've never seen a pelt of this colour before…"

The man gazed into Kai's eyes. "And his eyes… they are captivating."

"Do we have a deal or not, Harvey?" The captain barked, becoming impatient.

Without breaking eye contact with the grey bull, Harvey waved him off. "Yes yes, your money is there." He pointed to a black duffel bag at the foot of his own truck.

At his command, the captains comrades gathered up the bag and began to pack up their vehicles ready to leave.

"Nice doing business with you Tom." Harvey turned to the greying hunter.

Tom nodded and turned on his heel, jumping into his truck and driving off with his team in tow. Harvey turned to the pair of juvenile bulls before him, being restrained by two younger boys, and gazed happily at them.

"You two are going to make an excellent addition to my farm!" He grinned, then turned to lead them into the barn.

Kai's ears pinned back and he glanced at Ray, whose amber eyes were looking at him with uncertainty and fear; they held their gaze for as long as they could before they were ushered into the building by the young men.

Kai reared up onto his hind legs to peer over the stall divider. "Ray, can you stop ignoring me please?" There was a hint of desperation in his voice.

He stared at his friend in the next stall over, both of them having been shoved in their own stable. The Phoenix was aware of how anxious he was becoming now that he wasn't able to touch his teammate, he hated at how much he had come to depend on Ray and how he was a source of comfort to him. With a snort at the silence, Kai dropped back down to all fours and hung his head.

"I'm sorry, I'm not ignoring you…" Ray finally responded. "…I just don't know what to say anymore."

Kai's chest clenched at the sadness in his friends tone. "It's okay…" He murmured. "But we will get out of here, I promise you."

The raven-coloured teen furrowed his brows, he wanted to believe the others promise, he really did. But they were shut away in a barn with no means of escape, the stalls were bolted shut and they didn't have their hands to fiddle with any locks. He felt as if his soul had been crushed, at least in the forest they had some control over their situation; however in this farm they were at the mercy of the people who owned it. His ears pricked slightly when he heard Kai sigh heavily, the quiet whine that followed it caused Ray to lift his head and gaze in his direction. He approached the divider and reared up, hooking his front legs over the edge to see his former captain looking just as crushed as he felt.

"Hey." Ray called to him.

Kai instantly looked up, seeing his friend actively interacting with him made his heart soar and he cantered to the divider, hooking his own legs over it.

"Hey." He responded, gazing into amber eyes.

They stood like that for a few moments just staring at one another, Kai's urge to touch his teammate growing with each passing second to the point where it was becoming unbearable. He leaned forward slowly, heart pounding in his ears as his muzzle neared Ray's dark one…

"You young'uns are a bizarre pair." A voice mused.

Kai jumped out of his pelt, knocking his antlers into his teammates and getting them tangled together.

"Oh shit!" Ray glanced up at the mess above him.

The voice laughed. "Well, now you're in a spot of trouble."

Kai angled himself as best as he could so he could look over his shoulder, behind him a fully grown, tan coloured bull elk was watching them from the next stall over. There was laughter in his eyes and he was smirking at the young teens, however his huge antlers spanning across his head made him look rather menacing.

"He spoke…" The dual-coloured blader whispered.

Ray frowned slightly, his neck starting to ache at trying to support both his antlers as well as Kai's. "You can understand us?" He asked the bull.

"Of course I can, do I look like a moose to you?" The bull huffed, looking a little offended.

The Neko's ears pinned back a little. "Sorry, you just took us by surprise."

The huge elk studied them for a brief moment, then chuckled. "You're alright, the name's Dusk."

"I'm Ray."

Brown eyes moved to the smaller bull, waiting for his name.

"Kai."

"Nice to meet you, now how about untangling those antlers of yours?" Dusk motioned to them with his muzzle.

Kai looked back at his best friend and felt hot with embarrassment, it was his fault they had got tangled in the first place. Ray was too busy inspecting their little problem, figuring out the best way to free himself; he tried lifting his head to see if that would help, but he got a small yelp from Kai as his rear hooves nearly left the ground.

"Careful!" The older teen growled.

Dusk laughed again. "You're gonna have to move closer together to see where the problem is."

Slate fur bristled with annoyance and humiliation as Ray leaned his head forward, their snouts brushing together ever so slightly, sending a shockwave of tingles through Kai's body with each touch. Eventually they managed to free themselves, both stretching their stiff necks whilst eyeing the tan bull carefully as he watched them in amusement.

"So…" Ray started, still leaning over the divider. "How did you end up here?"

Dusk's ears twitched. "I was captured a few seasons ago, when I was a youngster like you." He tilted his head slightly. "They liked me for the size of my antlers, so they brought me here."

"Have you ever tried to escape?" Kai blurted out.

The large bull shook his head. "Nah, why would I want to? I get a warm place to sleep, all the food I can eat and I have my own herd with no challengers to threaten me."

Ray's eyes widened at Dusks words, realisation hitting him like a truck. "This is a breeding farm then?"

Dusk nodded. "Yep, and judging by the looks of you two the old boy has big plans for you."

Kai gaped at him, the thought of him being thrown in with a herd of female elk shook him to his core; his physical form aside, deep down he was still human and had no intentions of doing the deed with an animal!

He whipped around to face his friend. "We need to get out of here." He whispered.

The Neko's eyes reflected his emotions. "Yes, but how?"

"It's getting late, you youngsters had better get some rest." Dusk rumbled, before turning away into his own stall.

The bladers stared at where the bull had been, their minds reeling from what they had just learned about the farm. Ray rested his head on his knees as he switched his gaze to the former captain below him, his ears were pinned back and his tail tucked tightly against his body but his chest was puffed out and head held high.

Ray knew that it was all a front. "It's okay to be scared, Kai." He murmured.

Said teen turned and gave him a glare. "Hey, I'm not the one who looks like they're about to give up!" He fired back.

"What do you suggest then? This place is built to keep these animals in, how on earth are we going to get out of here?" Ray returned the glare.

Kai held his gaze for a few moments, ideas whirling through his head but coming up with nothing.

He looked away and dropped his head. "I don't know."

"Right." The raven-coloured teen lifted his head. "Get some sleep, we'll see what happens tomorrow." He pushed off the divider and slumped to the floor of his stall, feeling a little guilty at his attitude towards his friend.

Crimson eyes stared at the space Ray had just occupied, his stomach churning as he began to feel even more homesick than he had before. His nostrils flared as his friends scent drifted through the cracks in the wooden divider, making him wish that it weren't there at all and imagined himself curling up next to the Chinese teen for the night. Kai walked up to the wall and pressed his flank against it, his pelt brushing down it as he laid down and angled his nose at a gap so he could smell the other. Ray's ears pricked as he heard the dual-coloured enigma do this, his own heart strings being pulled at knowing his most aloof friend longed to be near him. He laid there for a few moments contemplating moving closer to him, in the end his heart won him over, standing up and walking to the divider. Kai heard him lay down on the other side and looked through one of the gaps, his gaze meeting Ray's.

"I'm sorry." Ray whispered.

Kai's throat tightened. "Me too." He rasped.

They laid their head down together, feeling one another's breath through the divider and lulled themselves to sleep. Meanwhile, brown eyes narrowed slightly as Dusk watched them with curiosity.

"These two certainly are bizarre!" He thought to himself, before turning away and settling down himself.