Angel of Light: Ack! So many stories to update! That's my own fault though……oh well! I', restraining myself from starting new ones until I finish the four I'm writing now…….sorry, I'll stop. Cody's not talking to me……he's still mad……..anyways, here's the next chapter! That was pretty good about the boat thing…..I didn't even know she was going to take it! I forgot all about that……then again, that may be why I'm a blonde……

The two men hastily began to work again, afraid if the sting of the whip. These whips were 'special', as each had a metal tip, to inflict more pain upon those who met the wrong end of it.

A loud crack was heard, followed by a cry of pain. Many of the men now had stripes on their backs, like a tiger's, from where the whip had met the flesh. Most of the cuts were still dripping with blood, though some of them were quite old. The guards had not given them a chance to heal.

Tai winced at the sound of the suffering man. He knew very well that if he wasn't careful, he himself would get more beatings. He had already received four or five, but it still hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced. Most men would take a bullet to the whip any day.

The guard walked over to them. Tai felt himself become suddenly weak, and insignificant. He continued to work, but braced himself for the slash of the whip. It never came. His pulse was racing, and his breath was fast. Glancing up from his work, Tai saw the guard yelling at Matt.

The man pushed Matt to the ground, and raised the whip to strike. He brought the whip down across his chest. Despite the pain, Matt didn't cry out. He had to prove something to them, guards and slaves alike. He wasn't a pushover, and he had high rankings in the army. Matt would not let his reputation fall.

Matt watched the man go, and then continued on with is work.

"You alright?" Tai whispered.

The blonde didn't respond. He simply continued on with his labour.

~*~

The slaves were sent into the chambers. The rooms were crowded, and the conditions were horrible. Guards piled as many men as they could into the cell, and then closed the barred door, locking it. The ground was cold, and there was no furniture. Some food was thrown in, and it was on a first-come-first-serve basis. Tai didn't bother joining the scramble for food. He was too tired, and his mind was elsewhere.

The brunette sat in a corner, alone. It's amazing how alone one can feel, even though there could be hundreds of others around you. Tai missed his family. He missed his sister, his parents, and most of all, his wife. As he gazed out the window, he wondered if he would ever see any of them again.

All he wanted was to be with her, wipe away her tears, and hold her close. He wanted to kiss her, wraps his arms around her, and never let go. He wanted to see Sora's smiling face, and he even wouldn't mind the mad one when he stayed out too late. What mattered most was that they were safe. If he never returned, Tai knew that in time, they would get over it, like he had gotten over his parents. It brought him slight comfort, to know that they were all at home, away from all the horrors of war.

*~*~*~*

Kari read the note over, and over, and over. She couldn't believe what she was reading. It all had to be a dream. Sora wasn't really gone, right? The girl flopped down on her bed, and lay awake for some time. Finally, she drifted off into a restless sleep.

~*~

The morning brought little comfort to her. Now Kari was alone. Yes, she did have T.K. back, but he was in hospital, and would be for a while. He was improving, and she was glad. But now, she didn't have anyone to talk to. Sora would normally come over for breakfast, and the two would talk. Then they would set out to the hospital, where Kari would tend to the patients, and Sora would keep some of them company. Joe, the doctor, had said that Sora was working wonders on the patients. She had given them hope, for most of them had lost it.

Kari sighed. The little cottage that once was full of life, was now listless and dead. Only the haunting memories of the past kept Kari company.

The girl was out of the house earlier than usual. She couldn't stand the eeriness of the place. To make matters worse, it was dark and overcast. Just before leaving, Kari grabbed the letter. Not because she wanted the reminder that Sora was gone, but because it was the only thing she had to hold on to, the only thing that gave her slight hope about the situation.

"Hello, Miss Kamiya. You're in early today', Joe commented, "Where's Sora?"

Kari sighed, "Well, Sora's gone after Tai……."

"What! Why didn't you stop her?!" It was Joe's wife, Mimi. She and Sora were also very close.

Kari lowered her head, "I-I didn't know. She only left me a note; I couldn't do anything about it….."

The two just stood, looking at their young friend silently. No one really knew what to say.

"Well, if it's what she wanted to do, then, we have to respect that", said Joe, "it's hard, but we have to put ourselves in her situation."

There was no reply.

After a few more moments, Kari spoke up, but it was off subject.

"I should get my stuff ready." she said dully.

With that, she exited the room, leaving the doctor and his wife to think over the news. Kari grabbed her list, but instead of starting her work from the top of the list, she went strait to T.K.'s room. She would start with the three there.

When she entered the room, the men were already awake. Not many of the soldiers slept in, because they were still used to the early mornings. She greeted them with a smile, which they returned. T.K. was the only one that didn't, for he knew hers was fake.

"What happened?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh, noting really. Just didn't sleep well last night…."

She was lying, and he knew it.

"Don't think that I can't see through the lies, Kari Kamiya. Something's the matter, and you're going to tell me what it is." his face was serious, and Kari knew she wasn't getting out of this.

She sighed, "Alright, you win. Yes, something did happen last night." Even the other two were listening in in the conversation. "I found a note from Sora on my bed when I got home. She's gone after Tai."

*~*~*~*

Sora wasn't getting enough sleep. The metallic floor was by far no comparison to her own bed. She would have rather slept outside on the grass, but where she was, there was no grass, only and endless sea of salty water.

She had been on the ship for a few days now, she couldn't tell exactly, as she had lost count. Sora didn't even know whether it was night or day, because the cargo hold was sealed up tight. She could only judge by instincts and intuition. To satisfy herself, she opened one of the crates that was marked 'food'. She had seen it just before they closed the hatch. At first, the girl felt bad about it, but it was turning into a life or death situation. Besides, it was only one crate. She only ate a little at a time, and packed the rest into the small sack she had brought along with her. Something told her that arrival time was near.

Sora waited in the hull of the ship for what seemed like eternity. She had no way to amuse herself, which made things seem longer. All she could think about was how she would get her husband back. She had never been too far from their little town, and certainly had no clue what this place was going to look like. She figured her best bet would be to find a city, and ask around.

Finally, she could hear the frantic footsteps of those above her, preparing to dock the ship. Crouching behind the crates, Sora waited for the door to open. She needed to be on alert, for her chance to escape.

The vessel lurched as it docked, throwing Sora forward. She quickly recovered, and went back to her post. After another half an hour, the crewmen finally opened the hull, and began to unload things.

The red head was starting to get worried; They were coming closer to her hiding spot, and there had been no chance for escape. Her heart stopped and she held her breath as one of them came over and began to lift the crates around her. Pretty soon she would be discovered. Just as one of the men was about to lift the crate that concealed her, another man shouted to him.

"Let's take a break! We've been working for a while. We can post some men around to keep the robbers out."

"Sounds good!" he shouted back.

Sora let out the breath, thought her pulse was still high. Slowly and quietly, she snuck out under the cover of night. She found herself in the heart of a small fishing town, not far off from the military base. Obviously, the army had no clue where Tai was, so she would have to search else where. Wrapped in her long brown cloak, Sora stole away into the night.

*~*~*~*

Tai looked up, as there was a commotion around him. He thought it was another fight, there were a lot of those, but to his dismay, it was more than that. Matt came rushing over to him, and explained.

"They're taking a whole bunch of us out!" He exclaimed.

"Why?" Tai asked

"I have no clue, but they mean business. Most of 'em have guns."

They watched silently, hoping to blend in with the wall. This, however, was not the case. One of them noticed the two, and herded them out the gate.

The men were pushed down the dark hallway. They ended up in a vast chamber, full of important looking men. These men obviously had power and money in these parts, and what they wanted with the slaves, they would not know. The answer came, as the men were forced to stand against the cold, stone wall.

Matt and Tai looked at each other nervously. They couldn't tell whether or not this was a bad thing.

The men who were in the room at the beginning, started to look over the men on the other end of the 'line'. Nobody dared to breathe.

The man whom they were looking over, was one from their corpse. He was young and strong, and had a good life ahead of him. Tai had talked to him once of twice, and found he was pretty nice too. The poor man was scared to death as the men glanced over him, and discussed things in a foreign language. He was eyeing the guns that some of the men carried. Only when the men moved on did he breath again.

They repeated this step a few times, until the routine changed slightly. The men did the first few steps; look over the men, and discuss things, but what they did next, horrified those that were in the room. One of the men that carried a rifle, brought it up to his shoulder. He looked through the viewfinder, right into the face of the horrified man. With a loud shot, the man's body fell limp on the ground.

It was now obvious to what was going on. They were picking off the weak slaves.