Sorry for the wait. Welcome to Chapter 26. Ownership of the character Mr Cross belongs to zcross1997.

Abigail made her way back to the centre of the arena. She had been lucky not to run into anyone and as far as she could tell no one was following her. However, this didn't stop her from looking over her shoulder every chance she got. It took a few hours, but she finally made it. The coast seemed clear. She decided to wait for a bit in case one of her teammates appeared. She did not see them, but she did see one of the final contestants run in and take a bag for themselves. Abigail had no interest in fighting right now, especially when all she had for defence was a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. She waited for five more minutes. When she saw no one else make a rush for the supplies she decided to go. She ran as quickly as she could. She was less than a hundred metres away from her prize when she felt something wrap around her leg and trip her. She turned and saw Lee closing in on her.

"Did you really think I wouldn't be back?" asked Lee.

Abigail tried to defend herself with her S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R, but Lee hit it out of her hands with another Yo-yo.

"Well, it would seem you've restocked on weapons," said Abigail.

"I have some very generous sponsors. In fact, these yo-yos were sent by President Father himself," said Lee.

Abigail tried once more to reason with Lee.

"Lee, can't you see he's using you?" asked Abigail.

Lee again seemed to be caught between emotions, but anger prevailed.

"I don't care if he's using me, I'll do whatever it takes to win," said Lee.

A few gum balls flew past them narrowly missing Lee. They turned and saw Kuki running towards them.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" yelled Kuki.

Kuki fired at Lee. Having seen firsthand what this weapon could do, Lee focused everything on dodging the incoming fire. It wasn't easy and there were some close misses, but Lee had a feeling that Kuki's G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A would soon run out of ammo and sure enough it did.

"Aw Darn it," said Kuki.

"And you see that's the problem with ammunition-based weapons, they have more power and greater range, but they'll run out eventually," gloated Lee.

Abigail tried to rush Lee with her S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R, but she was too slow as Lee started bombarding her with yo-yo attacks. Kuki tried to help, but the result was the same. Was this it, would this be the end for them both?

"Well girls, this game has been fun, but unfortunately the odds weren't in your favour."

Lee was about to deliver the finishing attack, when a shot was heard, and he felt immense pain go through his arm. When they turned, they saw that Nigel had shot Lee from a distance, breaking his arm.

"Nice shot," said Rachel.

"I was aiming for his head," said Nigel.

Nigel kept firing at Lee, but he managed to dodge. Lee knew there was no way he could win this fight with a broken arm. He was hurt and outnumbered four to one. He kept dodging until he was in the shelter of the trees, after which he made a run for it. Nigel and Rachel went to their comrades.

"You guys ok?" asked Nigel, offering Abigail a hand up.

"Yeah, thanks boss," said Abigail.

"You came in the nick of time Numbuh 1," said Kuki, being helped up by Rachel.

"Where's Hoagie and Wally?" asked Nigel fearing the worst.

Abigail and Kuki explained the injuries sustained by both parties throughout the games. Nigel and Rachel were just glad they were still in the game.

"I wish there was some way we could help them," said Nigel.

"Maybe there is," said Rachel, pointing at the bags in the centre of the arena. "They said these bags have something everyone needs right now. Can't hurt to check it out."

They looked through the bags. They all contained more food, ammunition and most curiously of all some needles, with some strange pink liquid.

"What are these?" asked Rachel examining the needle.

Abigail took the needle and examined it.

"Wait Abby's heard of this. Cree and Maurice told me about this. Apparently, it's a special kind of serum that accelerates healing," said Abigail.

"That seems oddly convenient," said Nigel. "How do we know it even works. From what I remember Cree and Maurice got through their separate competitions with minimal injury," said Nigel.

"Well take a look at who made it and you'll be convinced," said Abigail.

Nigel took the needle and saw there was a sticker on them that said, 'Created by Professor XXXL'.

"Well, he's helped us get this far, no point in doubting him now," said Rachel.

"Agreed," said Nigel.

Back in the theatre Chad, Fanny and Professor XXXL were glad they were all ok and thrilled they had gotten the package. Having never competed themselves, Chad and Fanny had some doubt about the reliability of the serum, despite the brilliant mind that was behind it.

"Professor are you sure that stuff works?" asked Chad.

"Of course, it works. One of my finest creations if I do say so myself," said Professor XXXL. "I even tested it on myself to personally ensure its reliability and safety."

"Let's just hope it's enough to get Wally and Hoagie back on their feet," said Fanny.

"Well, we're definitely in luck there," said Professor XXXL.

"Why's that?" asked Chad.

"I've been keeping an eye on the sponsors and for some reason an extra dosage was added to the supplies for District Ten and Eleven," said Professor XXXL.

"Who'd possibly be brave enough to give them extra supplies?" asked Fanny.

"Well, the names included Chester and Sticky Beard among others. What I can't answer though is why, because even the most dim-witted villain would think twice before opposing President Father," stated Professor XXXL.

While this question had both Fanny and Professor XXXL stumped, Chad had a fairly good idea about who was behind this. He looked behind him and managed to spot Mr Cross amongst the crowd. Mr Cross waved at him which confirmed Chad's suspicious. Chad had speculated that Mr Cross knew what they were up to, he just hoped he wouldn't do something that could cripple their operation. Chad wanted to confront him about this, but he knew that could be dangerous with so many villains present so he remained seated and watched the competition unfold.

Back at the stadium the present members of Sector V took extra time to restock on supplies. There was still a lot of items left over from the rush for weapons, so Sector V took the time to better arm themselves. Kuki managed to find two more of Professor XXXL's M.U.S.K.E.T.'s, while Abigail managed to find two of the B.O.T.T.L.E.C.A.P's. Nigel still had his S.P.I.C.E.R, which he felt was all he needed. Rachel managed to find another, which caused the two contestants from District Twelve to smile.

"Just like when we fought President Father in that game of tag," said Rachel.

"Personally, I couldn't think of a better way to finish this," said Nigel.

Having acquired more weapons, they also loaded themselves with as much ammo as they could carry. Nigel had hoped this would be the point where Sector V stuck together for the rest of the competition, but this wasn't possible, as Kuki and Abigail had to head off in opposite directions to help Wally and Hoagie. Nigel knew they would have to split up again, but maybe this could be a chance to increase the teams.

"Abby how about I go with you so we can help Hoagie, that way we've got more people to defend him. Rachel could go with Kuki to help better defend Wally," suggested Nigel.

Abigail shook her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea boss," said Abigail.

"But this way we're less divided," said Nigel.

"I know, but we're only as strong as our weakest members, if you come with me and Rachel goes with Kuki, we'll only be making more of us vulnerable," said Abigail.

Nigel knew she was right.

"Also, even with the serum it could still take a while for Hoagie to heal, so I think its better if I go back on my own. It's easier for two people to hide than it is for three," said Abigail.

"Then how should we proceed?" asked Rachel.

"We continue as teams of three. I say we keep our heads down for a while though because Abby's right, it might take a while until we're back to full strength," said Nigel. "But I say we come back here once there are only one or two contestants left, because we'll out number them immensely which should guarantee our victory."

Kuki then asked the question none of them wanted to answer.

"What if one of the teams gets eliminated?"

Nigel had been thinking about this for a while and considering they had gotten this far he had an answer.

"We return to this spot as quickly as possible to ensure that whomever among us remains has the best chance of victory. If even one of us goes down the rest of us need to stick together, because we need to show that even when things get grim, we will not turn on each other," said Nigel.

"Sounds good to me," said Rachel.

"Yeah, let's do it," said Kuki happily.

"Well, I'd be out voted if I said no so count me in," said Abigail.

They were about to head their separate ways, but before they did Nigel had one more thing he needed to say.

"Abby," said Nigel.

"Yes Boss?" asked Abigail.

"If Rachel and I don't make it, I'm counting on you to lead Sector V to victory," said Nigel.

"Don't worry boss. Abby failed the KND once, she won't do it again," said Abigail.

Both Nigel and Rachel thought she was being a little hard on herself, but they didn't have time to argue. They had to get out of there before any more contestants turned up. They said their goodbyes and headed off in the directions they came from. Although they were close to victory, they had a feeling the next few battles they faced would be the most challenging.

Thanks for reading. As always please leave a review so I can know what was done well and what needs improvement. See you next time.