AN: I didn't waste any time, did I? Nope, I didn't. This one is a bit darker than Parts 2 and 3. Think Part 1 dark. *&.&* But it's not pain dark like Part 1, it's more emotional dark (like I promised, Kika gets kidnapped, Kronk is bleeding and unconscious when Tipo an' Chaca find 'im, and Kuzco & Co. get attacked) instead. I've tried to make this longer than the previous three, but no promises…that has to wait for the preview-thing-a-ma-bobber! Also, Ang D has labeled Pacha's infant son Roca, but since I have no clue whether or not that's his actual name, I'm making one up. *&.^* So, he's dubbed Sukyu in my fanfics. Okay, see ya!

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Never Said Love
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Part 4
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Shattered Tranquility
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A plan formed itself hastily in the muscular man's head, sending him skidding between two blade-wielding soldiers, scooping up the discarded sword. Grinding his feet to the ground and leaning forward, blade held in front of him at an angle and eyes narrowed, Kronk felt memories of training as a guard surfacing, falling back into place comfortably. And then he went for the leader, a viciously cold face taking over where Kronk's gentle looks had once been…

Tipo laughed, running from his older sister, their mother, Chicha, not far behind. "Be careful!" she warned and Tipo nodded even though she couldn't see him, still racing after Chaca as he was. The pigtails of his older sister bobbed tantalizingly in front of him, just far enough away that he could *almost* grab them, but they dangled just out of reach.

Chaca suddenly stopped, pulling to an abrupt halt, and she grabbed Tipo by his jerkin.

"T-Tipo…look."

Twin screams shattered the silence and Chicha snapped her head up from laying out a picnic spread and she grasped her ever-handy frying pan, comforting the wailing Sukyu as she charged into the jungle, following her children's visible trail. When she found them, she saw why they had screamed. Chaca was crying, her tears wetting her sleeve which she was using to wipe off the bloody face of…Kronk…Tipo chattering fluently and anxiously with the squirrel their mother recognized as being Bucky.

"Is he okay, Mom?" Chaca asked, tears glistening.

"I don't know, baby," replied Chicha, worry knitting her brow and Chaca started sobbing. Finally, the efficient, military-leader Chicha reemerged. "Tipo, get Bucky to tell you everything that happened. Chaca, I need you to design a way to carry Kronk back and list any supplies we can use in the jungle.

'Pacha, hurry,' she thought desperately.



Laughing quietly, Llana brushed the hairs of the smallest llama, Brooke, with a rough brush, the animal enjoying herself as she chewed on the grass. The many breathtaking shades of dusk lent a homey atmosphere to the quaint farm and the hill they lived on. Huts cluttered the hill below the leveled-off top, where the farm was situated, the only children in the village being Linyk's daughters and a small boy of four years living with his grandparents. These moments she had alone with the mammals her parents semi-named for brought back joyous memories of her loving parents and older brother from before the sickness swept through the village, ending the lives of many citizens. Sighing, she patted Brooke's nose, relishing the comfortably lazy look the llama gave her.

She could hear Kuzco and Chel trying to make dinner, thick trails of smoke dotting the frequent fires obviously coming forth from the oven. Turning to go back and save the already doomed meal, she froze. That noise…

One little piece of wood had snapped off the fence at the far end of the field, a quiet sound that was explosive in the tranquility. The air suddenly became oppressive and weighty, the silence deafening. Slowly moving around, the only things moving being her feet and her chest as her breathing and heartbeat quickened. A man dressed in green with a black mask and hood was unsheathing a blade and running briskly toward her.

A scream tore from her throat and Llana broke into a dead run, heart hammering in her chest as she raced up to the hut's door. Slamming a fist into the wood, 'Kazoo' opened it with a cheerful, welcoming smile. But it fled from his face when he saw her terrified expression.

"There's..a…man with a…sword…in the llama pen!" she gasped out and she heard a 'zing' sound, Chel ripping her frightening blade from a wood notch-holder in the wall.

Kuzco thought swiftly. "Llana, go out the back entrance and make sure everyone in the village is safe. Tell them to lock their doors. Stay with Linyk and help with her kids. Chel and I will confront Mister Sword."

Whistling low, Chel clapped him on the back, and chuckled. "Well, you're learning a few things," she admitted before nodding curtly, sending Llana skittering out the back door.

"Now let's fight," she added grimly.



Nimbly, he leapt from the branches of a young tree, landing soundlessly in the yard. A small child, a girl with shimmering black hair and wide black eyes, looked up from drawing childish sketches in the dirt. Looked up and stared right at him.

Fear in her eyes.

"Mama, there's an intruder in the yard!"

Another. He whipped his head around to see an older girl, though still a child. Quickly and efficiently, he streaked like a lightning bolt beside the older girl, smashing the hilt of his blade to the side of her skull, effectively knocking her out. The smaller one began screaming, yelling incomprehensibly.

He scooped the child up, vanishing into the shadows as a woman, their mother, and three other little girls poured out of the house, crowding around the felled one.

Without a word, he departed for the cart-train he and his 'brothers' would use to return to the palace, his burden silenced by fear.



"Hey! Big, ugly, and fashion-deprived!"

The mercenary glanced coldly up at a waving Kuzco standing a hundred feet away, then grinned.

"Fool!" he sneered, preparing to attack the emperor.

"No, you're the fool," the slender man rolled his eyes.

A blinding pain struck the soldier square in the small of his back. With a pained grunt, he collapsed to the ground. Rolling, barely missed by a razor sharp blade wielded by a short young woman with, he snatched a dirk from his boot, catching her on her ankle. Hissing, Chel drew back, a line of blood dripping from a cut along her ankle and tendon.

"Hey, buddy, this is private property," she growled, kicking him firmly between his legs and snagging the dirk from his hands with the tip of her blade, sending it spiraling toward Kuzco, who caught it reflexively.

"You almost got my eye!" he complained, wisely closing his mouth when she raised an eyebrow.

"Help me tie this guy up," she ordered, spitting at him.



Llana waved to the elderly woman, jogging half-frantically to Linyk's house.

"Oh, my baby!" Linyk came running up the beaten path, grabbing Llana by her upper arms, nails digging into the younger woman's skin.

"Please," she sobbed, "My baby, Kika, she's gone…Zecha's bleeding from her forehead and I can't find Kika!"

Heart thudding, pounding loudly in Llana's ears, she followed the distressed mother.



The village was in sorrow the next morning.



End AN: ….eek. Did I write that? 0.0 Okay, expect the Kika-kidnap-Kronk-injured-thing to play a major role. There wasn't any Yzma and Jzni plotting stuff in this one. Part 5 might be…weird. Whatever. Anyway, I'm sorry this is so short. I am reeeeeeeally trying to write a longer one. Anybody got suggestions for Pt. 5 or the fanfic in general? ???

PallaPlease.