SR: Hmmm, this is an interesting chapter. Not all mine. The end bit was written by someone else since I'm to much of a wuss to write anything with an 'implication' in it. Read! Review!
Final Fighters
Brooklyn grumbled darkly as he tossed another potato into the stew that was to be the camp's dinner that night. They'd basically left him with all the ingredients, peeled so that he wouldn't need a knife, and told him to make the stew. The young soldier sent a glare in the direction of Tala and Kai who were conversing by a tree.
Seeing as the fire pit was in the middle of the camp, Brooklyn was left untied since escape was nearly impossible. If he so much as stood up to stretch his legs then he became the center of attention for the entire camp until he sat back down.
He'd tried once though, to get away. He'd managed to get past Rei and Set only to be caught by both Tala and Kai at the same time. Each fighter had grabbed one of his arms and hauled him back to the fire pit and dumped him there.
One might ask why Brooklyn was agreeing to cook the stew if he thought it so humiliating and there was an answer. If he didn't cook then he wouldn't be eating tonight and he needed his strength if he was to ever get out of here.
Tossing a carrot and then some leeks into it he wondered idly if he could poison the entire camp. Then he realised that he didn't really have anything to poison them with. He could always throw dirt into it but that would succeed only in giving them some stomach cramps. Yes, he was well and truly screwed.
"Oi, put some more of the apples in. I like apples." Came Ozuma's jeer. Brooklyn's eyes flashed with murderous intent before he simply smiled and nodded tossing in a handful of apple slices. He refused to lose his temper to them. If he just smiled and nodded they would go away. Hopefully.
"I don't think Brooklyn likes cooking…" Rei said as he walked up to both Tala and Kai. Kai snorted and Tala smirked before they all turned to look at the 'cook'.
"Doesn't matter, if he wants to eat then he'd better cook." Tala retorted.
A dull roar in the distance caused everyone to go still for a moment. Half the camp had gone off with firechain bombs to cause some trouble. The sound was becoming normal and it was unnerving when one didn't go off for a long period of time.
Brooklyn winced slightly at the sound. It was something that would be haunting him for years to come. The image of the bomb going off in Tala's quarters flashed through his mind and he thought about the guards who had died in it.
"Watch it Brooklyn." He heard Kai call and looked down in time to see that his pant leg had gotten caught in the fire. Muttering profanities he swatted it out while having to listen to the raucous laughter of the camp.
"I'm sure you all find that perfectly amusing." He said flatly. Glaring around at them he kicked over the large basin of stew and watched with satisfaction as its contents hissed on the ground. "Still laughing?"
Brooklyn felt a powerful grip around his wrist and turned to glare at Kai. The crimson-eyed boy hauled him clear up off the ground and held him dangling in the air.
"That was uncalled for." He said glaring. Then he put Brooklyn back on the ground. With one deft movement he'd twisted the redheads arm behind his back and with a jerk upwards an audible snap could be heard.
Brooklyn's world became a whirl of pain as he clutched his arm to his chest trying to will the pain away. His legs gave out on him and he fell to his knees still trying to block out the fire running up and down his arm.
Someone hoisted him upright by his hair and hit him on the side of the head successfully knocking him out.
"Serves him right." Came Hilary's haughty voice. "What're we gonna eat now?"
"Doesn't matter." Set said as he walked into camp followed by the others that had gone out to bomb with him. He yanked Brooklyn away from Rei who had been the one to render him senseless. "If we're going to bargain with his kid then we do it now. That silver-haired dude, Garland I think, is out with a small troop of his fighters. I figure it's better this way since we don't have to go the castle to talk to them. This way we have the woods at our back in case they try something funny."
"Smart." Kai affirmed and Set watched him suspiciously wondering if there would be a sarcastic remark following. After silence reigned for a moment Set shrugged and began walking off dragging Brooklyn behind him by his belt. Everyone stopped what they were doing and followed him.
Once again they were silent as they marched. Everything they did had to be calculated and analyzed lest they get themselves killed. It was like a dangerous game of chess, if they moved just one pawn out of line then the whole world could come crashing down around them with frightening speed.
The nobles had learned how to move like the outlaws in the short time that they had been allied. Without the large castle walls to protect them they had been forced to learn how to use their surroundings to conceal and protect themselves.
Small body gestures that would normally have been brushed off as just a twitch or reflexive movements were now noted as a warning or command. Everything that happened around them now had a huge impact on their lives.
For Kai and the others this was something new. Growing up under the protection of the castle they had never really been affected by whatever happened outside of it.
Set stopped and everyone followed suite and peered out into the fields. Kai felt his body tense. Growing up he had loved to ride and play in the fields for hours on end. The fields had been somewhat of a playground for him and now he didn't dare venture past the safety of the forest without someone to accompany him.
"There." Kai said and pointed through the concealing shrubbery at Garland who was stationed about fifty feet away watching the forest closely. "No point in hiding, he's already seen us."
Tala grunted in agreement, then the entire company moved out into the open. Rei pushed his brother and Brooklyn to the back.
"Stay out of sight until we've got a grip on the situation." He muttered.
Garland's eyes hardened as they fixed themselves on what the Alderians had come to know as the 'Final Fighters'. He hated them with an unmatchable passion. They'd all be begging for death once he was through with them.
The Alderian soldiers shifted nervously as they watched the Final Fighters. They knew who was responsible for the explosions and deaths of their comrades. They'd heard the whispers of how they could make fire leap from the ground and destroy their enemies. It scared them. What devil's magic did they possess?
"Garland!" Kano called out cheerfully. "Fancy meeting you here…in Shakin country." He stressed the last bit to emphasize that he still considered the land to belong to his family.
"How stupid of you to come out into the open like this. What stops me from shooting you down?" Garland asked arms crossed across his chest.
"Uh Garland, your soldiers look like they're ready to pass out from fright. We'll be doing the killing around here if there is any." Mariah pointed out.
"Yeah, with our fire." Max chirped and the small resistance all smirked in satisfaction when some of the soldiers to a step backwards. They'd exploit any fear they could if it meant giving them another advantage or victory.
"Hold your ground." Garland ordered "They can't make fire come from the ground. It's just a trick." He said confidently.
"Believe what you want." Kai said dryly. "We came to talk to you. Not kill you."
"And exactly what is it that you want?" Garland said slowly.
Kai looked at the others and they all nodded in agreement. "We want Second in Command to the Royal Guard Tyson." He said clearly to ensure that Garland heard every last word.
"What makes you think I'll give him to you? I'd prefer to keep him tied up and locked away until we set an execution date." Garland snapped.
"I'd advise against it." Kai retorted. "Unless you want to see your beloved Captain of the Royal Guard Brooklyn dead." He said slowly and noticed the confused look on Garland's features.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Brooklyn was killed in that explosion." He said angrily but he was dearly hoping Kai would contradict him. And he did.
"Brooklyn was taken with us as a prisoner of war. Want proof?" He asked and without waiting for an answer he moved aside and allowed Set to move to the front with Brooklyn in tow. Set threw the redhead unceremoniously a couple of feet in front of him.
A collective gasp and murmur came from the Alderians as they caught sight of their leader. The rising and falling of his chest signaling him alive but Garland didn't like the way his arm was bent in. He nodded.
"Fine. When do you want to make the exchange?" Garland asked.
"Midnight tomorrow night." Kai answered. "Just you, me, Tyson and Brooklyn. No one else. If I see so much as one flash of black and orange I'll kill him." He nudged Brooklyn's unconscious form.
"Tomorrow night." Garland confirmed and then motioned for his fighters to leave.
Mariah pulled out a bow and arrow and quickly tied rags around the tip. "Someone light me." She ordered. Ozuma pulled out a small animal horn and inside the horn was a small flickering flame. He inserted the tip of Mariah's arrow into the horn and it instantly caught fire.
She closed one eye and stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth as she spotted the small bomb. She let the arrow fly with a small cry of triumph and almost instantly a blaze exploded from the spot Mariah's arrow landed.
The Alderians shouts of surprise could be heard faintly in the distance and the outlaws gave a general cheer.
They once again made their way back to camp in high spirits at another encounter with the enemy gone well.
A quick supper of fried vegetables and meat was prepared as Ozuma grumbled something about having his heart set on stew.
Blowing on one of his mushrooms Rei gave Kai an amused look. "I'll bet Garland isn't to happy that you broke Brooklyn's arm." He said.
"Not broken." Said both Tundra and Suma from the ground where they were treating Brooklyn.
"Kai only dislocated his shoulder. That was the sound you heard. The pain will flow all through your arm though and that's why Brooklyn was holding onto his arm like that." Tundra informed.
"She's right." Suma said as he applied pressure to different spots on Brooklyn's shoulder. "And as much as it hurts it's not that hard to fix." It seemed that he had finally found what he was looking for and then leaned all his weight onto the one area of Brooklyn's shoulder. A snap and a grunt of pain from Brooklyn's lifeless form were heard. "The bone only needs to be shoved back into the correct position."
"I've lost my appetite." Mariah said with a face and Oliver gave her a warning look from the other side of the camp.
"If I cook the food then you eat the food." He said while waving a wooden spoon at her. She stuck her tongue out but went back to the task of eating anyway.
"If everyone will pardon my lack of warfare knowledge then could you please tell me why we didn't just kill Garland and his soldiers? We could have used the firechain bomb for it." Tundra asked as she swiped one of Ozuma's cooked apple slices.
"Simple," Rei started. "We're only a small force and if the Alderian army comes after us in force then we're in a lot of trouble. That's why we've got to make them afraid of us. We've got to have them scared if enough so that they don't try and take us on. One way of doing that is by letting them believe we can use magic to fight. It scares them because they don't understand it. No survivors have been left from our attacks so far so we decided to give Garland's troop a story to tell around the fire tonight. They've seen it with their eyes and they believe we're magic."
"Then why don't we come up with some more magic trick to scare them?" Tundra asked blinking. "Wouldn't that scare them even more?"
The wisdom of her words slowly sunk into their heads as they contemplated the possibilities. "Right, everyone has their thinking material for tonight. Come up with something 'magic'. Make sure Brooky doesn't find out though." Max said cheerfully and everyone nodded.
"Everyone to their tents once their done eating." Set ordered. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
Slowly everyone finished up their food all trying to come up with a different trick to scare the enemy.
Shoving the last piece of his meat into his mouth Tala picked Brooklyn up and began going back to his tent. He was stopped just before entering by Oliver who had a plate of food in his hands.
"When he wakes up, let him eat." Oliver said.
"No." Tala said flatly. "The deal was that if he cooked then he could eat. He kicked the flipping pot of stew over. He doesn't get to eat." Oliver refused to take no for an answer and shoved the plate at Tala.
"No one goes hungry when I cook. He eats." The shorter of the two said. Tala fumed silently but snatched the plate from Oliver. "I'll ask him tomorrow morning if he had any supper and if he say's no then you're in trouble." Oliver warned and Tala simply snorted at him.
Turning on his heel he entered his tent and dropped Brooklyn onto the ground with cold indifference. He hated being forced to do stuff he didn't want to.
Muttering angrily he tied Brooklyn's hands behind his back and then tied the another rope around his neck. He left the other end loose for now since he didn't intend on going to sleep for awhile.
Tala wasn't sure how long he'd stared at his tent ceiling thinking different matters over when he heard Brooklyn groan and roll onto his stomach.
"What happened?" He mumbled into the ground.
"You managed to vex Kai Hiwatari you stupid twit. I could have told that it wouldn't have ended well." Tala responded coldly.
Grunting he rolled over again and sat up. He frowned at Tala slightly.
"Thanks for the undying concern." He mumbled. He spotted the plate of food nodded towards it. "I don't suppose that maybe that's for me?" He asked.
"Not like you deserve it." Tala snapped. He knew that Oliver would be angry if he withheld the food from Brooklyn but he didn't really care at the moment.
"But it is for me." Brooklyn stated then smiled. "I fed you when you were my prisoner you know. Fair is fair."
"You're sitting in an outlaw camp. Foul is fairer." Tala retorted and Brooklyn scowled at him.
"You're just being spiteful. It's not very gentlemen like." Brooklyn quipped and Tala raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm a gentlemen to woman. Mariah excluded since she's the devil's daughter. So if you want me to be a gentlemen towards you then I suppose you're a woman?" Tala asked smirking and Brooklyn's eyes lit up angrily.
"You look for more the female then I do Tala so I'd suggest you watch your mouth." Brooklyn hissed. Tala stood up from the bed and Brooklyn stood up despite having his hands tied behind his back. The two stared each other down for a moment before Tala shoved Brooklyn back down to the ground and then stormed out of the tent. He wasn't worried that the other might try and escape. He was smarter then that. He knew he'd be caught.
Sighing in frustration Tala plopped down next to the fire which was still burning to its fullest.
"Can't sleep?" Asked Rei whom Tala thought may have just 'poofed' up.
"More like I can't put up with my bunkmate." Tala said. "Where did you come from anyway?"
"Ah, that's my trick. I figured that if they thought we could magically appear anywhere we wanted to then it would scare them pretty bad." Rei said with some pride in his voice. "But don't change the subject! What's Brooklyn doing to get you so aggravated?" Rei asked.
"Nothing but being his usual annoying self. I wish I could come up with a way to shut him up." Tala confessed as he watched Rei in the darkness. It was as if the night highlighted his feline features. The amber eyes praticaly glowed in the moonlight.
"Well…I do know of a way that you could get the better of him." Rei said with a grin and Tala eyed him carefully. He knew better then to trust Rei when he had that look in his eye.
"Bed him." Rei all but giggled.
"What!" Tala hissed and pushed the neko-jinn over with a hand. "I don't think so!"
"Well it would get him to be quiet." Rei laughed. "Or make a different kind of noise at least."
Tala blushed the color of his hair and shoved Rei again. "You need to stop hanging around Mariah. She's a bad influence." He chided. "Question."
"Yeah?" Rei asked.
"What do you think of our dear Kai?" Tala asked looking over at his friend who was staring up at the stars.
"You mean do I like him?" Rei asked and Tala nodded. "I don't know. I respect him. I may even consider him a friend and certainly an ally but a lover?" He finished. "I don't know if I'd take it that far."
"Fair enough." Tala said. "And get that silly grin off your face. I am not going to sleep with Brooklyn." He said and slapped Rei in the stomach. The young man started giggling again.
"But you were made for each other! You're both tall and pretty. Have red hair. You're both amazing fighters in charge of the armies of your country. It's kismet!" Rei declared still laughing.
"I don't think so. More like…ironic." Tala said and gasped for air as Rei pounced on him.
"You said you wanted a way to shut him up and I gave it to you! So use it!" Rei said.
"No!"
"Yes!"
No!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Shut up!" Set yelled from inside his tent and soon a boot flew out of it to strike Rei on the back of the head. "You should both be asleep! Christ! We really don't care if Tala beds Brooklyn or not." He yelled.
Both friends blushed darkly before Rei rolled off of Tala. Picking up the boot he threw it back into Set's tent and nodded happily when he heard a curse from his older brother. Ah, the love of a sibling.
"Tala?" Rei asked as the redhead began walking back to his tent. "Yes."
"No!" Tala yelled but he was grinning.
"Yes"
"Shut up!" Came many angry voices. Rei snickered and took off for his tent as Tala did the same thing.
Strolling back into the tent feeling a good bit more cheerful Tala didn't notice Brooklyn's red face or the murderous look he was being given. He did eventually though as he lay in his bed watching the candle flicker. He looked at Brooklyn and gave an amused smirk.
"I suppose you heard all that?" He stated more then asked. Brooklyn's dark look was more then enough or an answer. "Still hungry?" He asked as he placed the plate of food on the ground in front of his captive. "Eat." He ordered.
"Can't, my hands are still tied." Brooklyn said smoothly not betraying the anger that boiled inside of him.
"Dogs don't need their hands to eat." Tala sneered. Brooklyn gave a yell of hate before launching himself at Tala. The captor was caught unawares and he tumbled backwards as he tried to get a hold of Brooklyn. His opponent was kicking, biting and headbutting with punishing force.
Tala finally got a hold of his shoulders and swung himself so that he was on top of Brooklyn. Both of them were breathing hard and Brooklyn was yelling out curses in a different language. It occurred to Tala that should anyone walk in on them at that moment to see what the commotion had been about that they'd probably end up thinking they'd walked in on something.
Tired of listening to Brooklyn, Tala slapped the other across the face. Brooklyn's head snapped to the side but then turned to the front once again. He was quiet this time though.
Leaning down Tala saw a flicker of fear run through his enemy's eyes. He brought their faces close enough so that their noses were touching.
"Scared?" Tala asked.
Before Brooklyn could answer Tala cut him off with a bruising and empty kiss.
Outside Tala's tent, Rei frowned. That wasn't how it was supposed to work!
Almost as if he could read his companions thoughts Kai spoke. "I told you not to get romantic thoughts about Tala and Brooklyn. The only reason one would ever show sexual interest in the other is if he was aiming to scare or break the other. You need to listen to me more often." Kai said calmly as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening inside the tent.
Grabbing Kai by the arm Rei dragged him a fair distance away before turning to face him again. "Tala's not actually going to…you know…"
"He might. Depending on what Brooklyn does and what Tala's mood is like." Kai said calmly.
"What! We can't let that happen Kai!" Rei snarled.
"You started this Rei. Don't interfere with it just because you don't like the results. You put the idea into Tala's mind. Albeit you were planning on him being loving and gentle if he did take your advice. Tala is a fighter and Brooklyn is the enemy. This is their fight. Do not interfere. Go back to bed." Kai stated and then turned to return to his own area.
Rei gave Tala's tent a last look before he turned and walked away trying to force the penalty he may have inflicted on Brooklyn out of his mind.
'I'm a fighter.' Rei thought to himself as he slowly climbed into his bed. 'I shouldn't let this bother me.' But it did bother him. Badly.
SR: Mama mia. Someone's gotta get Tala on a leash. Hmm, now I'm not sure what's going to happen between our two redheads tonight. I've got plots for both directions it can go in. What do you think Tala would be most likely to do? Send me your comments and reviews.
