Miss.Ecofreak: And we're off! Here's another cheerful chapter from me, Miss.Ecofreak!

Zakura: ... the dark precursor who stopped writing cheerfulness quite a while ago

Miss.Ecofreak: what are you talking about? I'm still writing Dork3

Zakura: Sure, this story is going down. Is there any signs of hope in the nearest future?

Miss.Ecofreak: sure there are, Daxter saved his unknown friend and together they will save the world and everyone lives happily ever after

Zakura: even COrnelius?

Miss.Ecofreak: maybe, maybe not. You'll see.

But let's change the subject.

I have finally made up a last name for Tetra, her name looks so short on my profile page where I wrote about all the OCs in my stories.
So here's a little challenge for you. Try to find out where I got the name from and send it in by review.

Zakura: You won't get any price though, this is just for fun.

CHAPTER 29

ALL HOPE LOST

Torn

"This is not good, Shara and Cornelius have been gone for quite some time" Shadow said.

We were back at the hideout. It was five hours since we found the kid.

Kor had returned safely to the hideout with the kid but the two youngsters still hadn't come back.

"I don't get it. They were just going to return Crocket. Has he come back yet?" I asked.

"No, I have sent out a few of my agents to look for them" Shadow said, "Hopefully they haven't been caught". (Miss.Ecofreak whistles innocently)

"Speaking of caught, have any new recruits appeared today Torn?" Kor asked.

"There was a young boy with a rat who appeared soon after I got here. Why?" I asked.

Kor smiled a bit, "That young man saved me and little Jak from the KGs" He said, "I told him to go here. He might be useful, especially if Cornelius is caught".

"Could be, although it doesn't seem like it, Cornelius is our best agent" Shadow said, "I know he does a lot of mischief but every time he does something it always turns in our favour." Shadow giggled a bit, "Cornelius is more like his brother than he thinks. Both of them refuse to give up. Sometimes I wonder if Cornelius could cause the death of his brother".

"Or if Erol could cause the death of him" Kor said, "If Cornelius really is caught that might be most likely".

"Hey, we don't know if they are captured do we?" I said, "Maybe they're just occupied."

"Yeah, it might take more than a couple of crimson guards to catch Cornelius Elfin" Shadow said, "And with Tanya on their side no one can sneak in on them either"

But just as we were getting our hopes up an underground agent slammed the door opened, he held a really angry crocadog in his hands.

"This was found outside the fortress" the agent said, "Ashelin said they've been captured."

Everyone in the room gasped, even the kid knew this was serious.

"All of them? Even the bird?" Shadow asked.

"Even Tetra Quenya, apparently they were trying to rescue someone" the agent said.

This was too much, I knew Tetra from my school days, and she had always been our best spy. Besides, she was a good friend of Ashelin.

"This is just as I feared" Shadow said.

"Can't we help them? There must be a way to save them" I said.

"We have many agents who are prisoners in the fortress already; none of them have ever been rescued" Shadow said, "Breaking into that prison is suicide, the only one who would be able to do that is…" Shadow silenced.

"Who?" the agent asked hopefully.

"Cornelius Elfin" Shadow said.

We're doomed.

Cornelius

(Miss.Ecofreak: let's just skip forward here)

216. Month. 1

I wasn't ready to give up hope just yet.

Erol might think he's got an advantage by putting me in a cell but… nah, who am I kidding? That is an advantage.

But I'm not giving up!

"Cornelius will you stop kicking the door? I'm trying to sleep!" Tetra complained.

She had made a bed out of her clothes; it almost looked like the nests rabbits make when they're expecting little ones, except it was made out of clothes not grass.

"I don't want to just sit here!" I said, kicking the door once more, "I need something to do or I'll go mad. Why can't that damn brother of mine come back so I can have someone to yell at?"
"And I thought the divorce-thing would break you" Tanya said.

"Nothing's going to break me sparrow! Especially nothing my brother says!" I said, kicking the door with my broken shoe so the metal toe on it cracked.

"I'm going to sue the guy who sold me these when I get out of here" I said taking of the shoe, "He said it would take anything"
"Broken shoes are the least of our problems now" Kate said, "Perhaps if we tried to find a plan instead of trying to kick the door open we can actually get out of here".

"Get out? Do you really think it's that easy?" Tanya asked, "No one has ever broken out of this fortress, that little rat spent two years trying to get in! And he made it simply because we helped him."

"Don't be that way!" Kate said but before Tanya had time to answer a Krimson Guard came in through the door (duh, where else was he supposed to come in?)

"The commander wants to see you" he said pointing at me.

"Why doesn't he come down here then?" I asked.

"He wants to talk in privacy" the KG said, "I'll take you there, and don't try anything stupid or your friends will have to pay"

I sighed; I really wanted to give this guard a piece of my mind but if that would put Tanya, Tetra or Kate in danger… no way.

The guard led me through the hallway; he didn't even bother to hold me so I wouldn't escape.

Surely Erol knew I wouldn't do anything that would put my friends in danger.

He brought me in to an office where my older brother was standing with his back turned towards the door.
"You can go now" Erol said to the guard, without turning around.

As soon as the guard's footsteps had disappeared down the hallway Erol turned to face me.

"A lot more comfortable than your cell isn't it?" he asked, obviously talking about the office.
"I don't know, the shelves look a bit rusty" I said casually, I didn't even look at Erol.

"You know its hopeless Corny, so why don't you just surrender and you might live!" Erol said.

"You can just as well kill me now cause I won't talk" I said, "Or join that stupid baron".

"He's not stupid!" Erol said slamming his fist into the desk, "He's our best chance in winning this war and you know it!"

"All I know is that he's a murderer!" I said, no point keeping it a secret if I was going to die anyway, "He caused the fire in Jacob's house! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"For the precursor's sake Cornelius, you were four!" Erol said, "You probably fell asleep and dreamed the whole thing. As I recall you were quite delirious after the accident."

"I was not imagining things!" I said, "You don't have to believe me. In fact, if you did believe me I would ask the guards to send you to the nearest hospital cause you certainly must be sick."

"You just keep joking" Erol said, "The baron has given you one last chance".

I couldn't believe what I was hearing; why the hell would Baron Praxis help me?
"That's right superelf, he says that if you tell him what the underground is planning to do, you can have anything you ever wanted" Erol said.

"You must be nuts if you think he's gonna do that!" another voice said.

Tanya flew out of her hideout behind a shelf.

"What the devil's name are you doing here?" Erol snarled, "And how did you get out of the cell anyway?"
"I just sneaked out when your guard looked another way" Tanya answered, "Never underestimate a sparrowflut".

"I'll be sure to remember to put you in a bird-cage" Erol said, "Either that or I'll take you too the vet. Or perhaps you want to end her suffering?" he looked at me, can you believe that? How can a person so insane be my brother?

"No way" I answered.

"Are you sure? You didn't seem to bother back in school?" Erol said, "You were quite impressing really, shooting wild birds like that"

Tanya looked at me in shock.

"That was a long time ago Erol" I answered, I didn't look at Tanya, "I've grown since then".

"Grown enough to shoot my guards" Erol answered, "Didn't even bother to think about their families. Did you?"

I looked away, focusing my attention on the top of a nearby shelf.

"Not really" I answered, "Not more than you thought about those underground agents you killed, or did you ever think about Tetra's family when you changed her into a chinbit?"

"See? You're just like me" Erol said, "The only difference is that you are in the underground while I am a Krimson guard".

"I'M NOT LIKE YOU!" I shouted, Tanya flew backwards in surprise and fell to the ground.

"Please, you can deny it all you want but you know it's true" Erol said, "We could be a great theme, together we would save the city from those metalhead scums and become heroes!"

I felt rage burning within me.

I'm not like him! I thought for myself, not like him!
"The underground is doomed, the only way up is by joining the guard" Erol continued, "So why won't you do it? Afraid to hurt your foolish little friends?"
"Don't you dare touch them!" I said

"I won't" Erol answered, "But I can't stop the Krimson guards if the baron wants them executed. Actually you have no choice. Your friends will die either way, but as the baron's nephew I might be able to pull some strings"

"Drop it Erol. I'm not doing it" I said, "I don't want to betray my friends, even if they all die".

"Fine! So be it!" Erol said and pressed a button on his desk, four Krimson guards came in. "Take him to the air train station" he said, "If you dislike Haven City that much you are free to leave"

Zakura: This is a death sentence Miss.Ecofreak! there must be another way!

Miss.Ecofreak: your protest was overruled. Any ideas for where the name Quenya came from? Here's a hint, it has something to do with elves and a very famous book that was made into a movie (or more than one) four years ago

Zakura: A very famous movie.