SR: HEY! READ THIS OO

Hey, you all know me and if you don't then I feel sorry for ya. oO Just joking. Re-Read this chapter since it got a serious revamp and the entire ending changed and got added on to. I basically attached another chapter to this thing.

Tala slowly ate his breakfast of soup and berries. Last night had left him feeling a little better even if nothing had actually transpired. He'd forced Brooklyn to sleep in the bed with him but that had been about it. That was all it had taken though.

It seemed that Brooklyn was finally becoming aware of his vulnerable position with the other redhead. The fact that he wouldn't be able to fight Tala off if the fighter should ever decide he wanted to bed him left him feeling vulnerable and weak.

Not that any of this really bothered Tala. Now if only he could get Brooklyn to tell him all of the Alderian plans then life would be perfect.

Shoving a large strawberry into his mouth Tala contemplated the different directions the interrogation would go this afternoon. Brooklyn would probably be tight-lipped and not tell them anything but there was always the small chance that he might be to scared to be difficult.

The redhead snorted at that thought. Brooklyn may have become more wary of him but he most definitely was not scared of him. It wouldn't just be him at the interrogation though. Kai, Rei, Set, Kano, Ozuma and Max would all be attending in an effort to get some information out of Brooklyn before he was given back to the Alderians.

Whooping laughter caused the young man's attention to drift over to the edge of the camp where Rei had just front-flipped and was currently putting on a display of acrobatics. About five others ran into camp from the same direction that Rei had come. They were the source of the laughter.

Everyone's attention was on the group as Rei, Max, Tundra and three other outlaws all tried to catch their breath only to burst out laughing again.

"Exactly what's so funny?" Kai asked from his position next to Tala. This set the small group into tucks of laughter once more.

"Oh you should have seen them!" Rei managed to gasp out as he clutched his sides from laughter.

"Seen them? They ran away so fast I only saw dust." Tundra choked out with tears streaming down her face. Grins were appearing on everyone's face at the antics of the returning group.

"Okay, listen carefully." Enrique said as he controlled his laughter. "We went out to try some of our new tricks and found a small platoon of soldiers close to the forest. We used Tundra's 'Colour Smoke' to give them all a jump and then we 'magically' appeared in the middle of the smoked area even though we hadn't been there before. We never even got a chance to practice all the other tricks because they took off running." He finished.

Everyone, even Kai and Tala, joined in the laughing. A quick wave from Set shut them all up though.

"Remember, not everyone in this camp is our friend." He pointed towards Tala's tent where Brooklyn still lay sleeping inside. They'd forgotten about him and it was possible that he'd overheard their little secrets. Kai poked his head into Tala's tent and watched the sleeping Brooklyn for a moment before deciding that he was indeed sleeping and not faking.

"He's still asleep." Kai informed everyone and they gave quick sighs of relief at their luck.

"Still asleep? It's quite late for him to still be sleeping. You must have really worn him out last night Tala." Mariah said snickering. The rest of the camp tried to stifle their laughter and quite suddenly it seemed everybody needed to cough.

Tala rolled his blue eyes before throwing a raspberry at Mariah while mock glaring at her.

"I'm hurt that you would imply that I might do something so boarish as to force myself on a bound prisoner." He said with the false air of a gentleman. "Shame on you."

Mariah raised a brow at him and this sent everyone off into laughter again as Tala threw another berry at her, which she caught in her mouth.

"My humble apologies to you honourable sir. I did not mean to offend you in any way I assure." She said just as politely while curtsying prettily.

"You've not a need to grace this cur with your apologies my lady. He well deserves such an accusation over his head. Kindly tell us all what you think happened the night before this morning." Ozuma said while still holding onto the polite air as he kissed Mariah's hand. It was all too much for the camp to see the three of them act with such grace and formality when everyone knew they were not normally so formal with each other.

Grinning, Mariah nodded to Ozuma. "Since you asked in such a kind fashion I shall be only to happy to indulge you in what I think passed between our friend Tala and his prisoner." She replied though now a mischievous twinkle could be seen in her eye. Mariah then launched into a speech over what she thought Brooklyn and Tala had done last night.

The entire camp was up to their knees in tears of laughter by the time she had finished and Tala was several shades short of a tomato. He was still laughing though.

Inside his tent, Brooklyn listened to Mariah's false description before turning his head into the pillow with a small moan. How could they even joke about it? He certainly found nothing funny about what had gone on last night even if it had been very mild.

Raising his head from the pillow he glared at a tent wall and for the first time since he'd been captured he decided that he could get away and that he would. If he could just get his hands untied.

Green eyes scanned the small living quarters looking for something that might be sharp enough to free him. His eyes landed on a dagger that Tala had used to trace patterns on his shoulder last night. There had been no real point to the exercise except for the fact that Tala wanted to see Brooklyn's blood run. His shoulder was still stinging badly from its abuse.

Standing up he went and sat down in front of the small blade.

"Careless of you Tala and it's going to cost you." He muttered while trying to grip the hilt with one of his hands. He almost cheered when he finally got a firm grip on it. With an expert flick he had the sharp blade resting on the rope.

It was slow going though seeing as he couldn't move the thing all that fast with his hands tied behind his back. There was also the chance that someone could walk in on him at any moment and it wouldn't take very long for whoever it was to figure out what was going on.

A silent snap and the loosening of his wrists gave Brooklyn a sense of satisfaction as he stood up. He held onto the knife tightly in one hand. Right, he was free now so exactly what did he do now? Running out the front of the tent was out of the question since everyone was still grouped outside.

He decided that he would have to leave through the back of the tent. That wasn't all that complicated and once he was out in the woods then he could just make his way to the castle. A slight shuffling from just outside the tent flap caused Brooklyn to jump.

'No!' His mind screamed. He needed a good head start on these people. He didn't know how fast any of them were or how well they could track. Tala couldn't walk in now! But he was going to.

Brooklyn's mind raced and then he remembered the dagger in his hand. Let Tala come, let Tala die. Brooklyn faced the tent flap and held the knife ready for an attack that would be fatal. The minute his blade made contact with Tala's skin he would grab the other to keep him from falling backwards and out into plain view.

Brooklyn gave a dark laugh just loud enough for him to hear. He would go back to the Alderians with a blade covered in Tala's blood. That would quell any thoughts that he might not be as strong as everyone thought him to be.

The tent flaps were thrown open and Brooklyn lunged forward burying the dagger as deep as possible in his enemy's chest. He looked at Tala's face so that he could see the expression in his blue eyes. Brooklyn blinked when he realised that the eyes were a soft grey in colour.

All of a sudden Brooklyn became aware that the person in front of him was not Tala but someone else. He was so surprised that he forgot about grabbing onto his victim to keep him from falling backwards. The stabbed man wore a shocked expression before he fell backwards landing half out of the tent.

His body kept the flaps open though letting everyone see a shocked looking Brooklyn. No one moved for a second. People alternated their glances from a stupefied Brooklyn to the bloodied dagger in the man's chest. Mariah's screech broke the trance.

"Suma!" Came the high-pitched word and it sent everyone into a frenzy of movement. Brooklyn bolted out of the tent and turned sharply towards the woods and everyone else ran after him excluding Tundra who ran over to Suma to check the severity of the wound.

Brooklyn prided himself on being quite fast and was desperate to keep that prided fact. Throwing a glance behind him he saw flashes of red hair indicating that Tala was close behind and the odd flash of blue meaning that one or both Princes were also hard on his heels. If he looked more to the side he could Ozuma jumping through the trees so well that a monkey may have turned green with envy.

Tala was cursing under his breath as he chased after his elusive target. Damn it! They couldn't lose him now, not when the exchange was to take place at midnight. Tala felt hope slowly fade as the Alderian pulled further and further away.

A streak of black and a whipping from a black ponytail was all he saw of Rei as the neko-jinn tore past him like a bullet. Tala had forgotten how hard it had been to try and catch Rei when they were chasing him. He had a feeling that Brooklyn was in a lot of trouble.

Brooklyn looked back in time to see Rei launch himself at him with an animalistic yell. They crashed together and rolled forward several times before stopping with Rei on the top.

"I hate you!" He yelled as tears coursed down his face from anger. The young man had a firm hold on Brooklyn's shirt and heaved the front half of the Alderian off the ground before slamming it back causing Brooklyn's head to crack sharply against the earth. All the while Rei was shouting curses at the redhead. "He never did anything to you! How could you do that!"

Rei probably would have kept slamming Brooklyn up and down until he'd killed him if it hadn't been for the strong arms pulling him off.

"Let him go, Rei. We need him alive." Kai ordered as he held onto the struggling thief. "Damn it all, I'm taking him for a walk until he calms his temper down." Kai yelled loud enough so that the others could hear him over Rei's screaming. Having said that he carried Rei off into the woods as everyone scrambled to get a proper hold of Brooklyn.

Tala and Set used their sheer strength to push people out of the way until they'd gotten into the thick of the outlaw swarm to where Brooklyn was being held onto by no less then ten fighters.

The redhead was coughing up blood and looked slightly dazed but that seemed to be the worse of it. At least until Tala had reached him.

Tala pulled his fist back and then launched it forward to strike Brooklyn across the face with it. The sudden impact caused the outlaws to lose their hold on him and he fell backwards onto the ground. Set's hand on his shoulder was probably all that stopped Tala from tearing Brooklyn apart.

"We need him alive." Set said tensely thought his lavender eyes were flashing murder at Brooklyn. The eldest of the Kon brothers was infuriated but he knew the benefits of keeping the prisoner alive. He grabbed Brooklyn's arm and dragged the disoriented boy upright before shoving him at Tala. "Do what you want but keep him alive."

Tala didn't even bother acknowledging the advice with a nod before he stormed off dragging Brooklyn behind him.

Set looked around at the faces of his outlaws and anyone else present. They all wore looks of anger or misery. "Belay the dark looks. Suma may still be all right. Let's get back to camp and find out." He said in a soothing voice as the others nodded and tried to be optimistic.

They slowly trudged off back towards camp. Every now and then someone would mutter something under their breath even though no one was really paying attention.

They all entered the small clearing that formed their camp and everyone looked at Tundra who was sitting by Suma. She had blood on her arms, hands and just about anywhere else on her body. The dagger that had been imbedded in Suma's chest was lying on the ground and a cloth had been placed over the wound.

"Well?" Set asked as he walked over to Tundra with his entire crew behind him. Tundra blinked a couple of times before looking up at him from where she was kneeling beside the fallen outlaw.

"There was nothing I could do…" She whispered numbly. Set's face fell and he walked quickly to his tent not wishing to let anyone see him cry. Mariah's eyes were brimming with tears as she leaned against Max for support. The blond himself looked like he was going to start crying.Enrique and Oliver just stared blankly at Suma's dead body before Oliver passed out in a dead faint. Hilary was sobbing hard now and she took off running for the woods so that she could be alone. Ozuma shook his head in disbelief.

"You made a mistake Tundra. You had to have made a mistake." He whispered even though he knew that she hadn't done anything of the sort.

Kai and Rei

Rei screamed profanities at Kai as he desperately tried to get out of the strong grip. "Put me down. That guy deserves to die! I hope Tala kills him. I hope he kills him!" Rei yelled

"Rei!" Kai said loudly so that he caught the infuriated boy's attention. "I know you're angry but killing Brooklyn doesn't solve our problems. It'll create a bunch of new ones though." Kai reasoned and it seemed to calm the other down a bit. Enough for Kai to put him back on the ground without having to worry of an attack.

The neko-jinn slumped against a tree and began sobbing openly. Heaving a small sigh Kai sat down next to his friend and pulled Rei into what could be considered an awkward hug. Kai wasn't too good at the whole comforting thing.

"Rei, Suma wouldn't be to impressed with how you're carrying yourself you know. He'd want you to be strong." Kai said hoping it was the right thing. That was what his father had always told him if he needed comforting.

"Carrying myself? You've been doing all the carrying." Rei muttered and tried for a lopsided smile, which failed miserably and he instead just buried his face into Kai's chest sobbing. "He didn't deserve to die." Rei choked out and Kai grunted in agreement.

"People die all the time Rei, even people who don't deserve it. When you start a race you must always finish it. That's all life is Rei, a race that you must one day finish and today Suma finished his. Be proud of his life, don't cry for it." Kai said. He was just once again repeating the council he had received from one of his parental figures.

Rei shuddered a couple of times before going completely still. His amber eyes blinked open and looked at Kai with something that could have been a mix of awe and admiration.

"I…understand Kai. I get what you're trying to say." Rei said slowly as he thought Kai's words over. "Alright, I'll be happy for Suma's life instead of sad for his death. Thank you." Rei finished. Kai simply nodded. Rei's eyes glittered with determination as he stood up. He had a whole new way to look at the bleak situation ahead of him and he planned on being strong so that he could help other members of the camp like Kai had helped him.

"Rei…?" Kai asked as he stared up at the steely-eyed thief who seemed to be staring off into the distance. Those wild eyes blinked before looking down at him.

"I'm going to help the others. Some of those people were a lot closer to Suma then I was." Rei stated. He turned to walk off before looking back at Kai. The prince just raised an eyebrow at him. Rei grinned and then swooped down to kiss Kai lightly on the cheek. "See you later." Rei said and took off running though not before he saw the crimson blush on Kai's face.

Moving to Garland and Co.

Garland glared at the wall of the room that was currently being used as his quarters. Behind him stood his commanding officers which all stood smartly to attention. They knew that Garland was in a dangerous mood and had no desire to play with it.

"As I'm sure you all know, we're to make a trade-off with the Final Fighters tonight. That kid Tyson for Brooklyn." Mumbles of affirmation came from behind him before he continued. "Now, does someone want to tell me what the problem with that little trade is?" He asked.

They all knew exactly what the problem was but none of them were going to say it for fear of Garland turning on them. One officer glanced around at his comrades heaving a sigh when none of them spoke up.

"Oh for…we don't have Tyson. That's the problem." Bryan said calmly as he stared at the back of Garland's head.

"Big mouth…" He heard Mystel mumble beside him and he gave the shorter officer a glare before snapping his eyes back to Garland who had turned to face them now.

"Exactly! We have the next couple of hours to find that kid or we're going to have to cancel the trade. That's not an option! All of you, have the castle searched from top to bottom. I'm sure that he's still in here somewhere. He was to beaten up to move very fast so someone would have seen him if he tried to cut across the fields at a slow limp. Find him!" He ordered and the guards all nodded before exiting the room.

Garland sighed angrily as he paced the small area of his room. He'd had Tyson up until some time yesterday. The young captain had been sitting in a chair tied up in Garland's own room.

Garland growled at the thought that he'd let his charge escape him. He'd left the room for a minute to go and give some orders and when he'd come back the chair had been empty with cut ropes littering the floor around it. Where had he gone? Grumbling angrily Garland stormed out of the room intent on finding the escaped officer.

All was quiet in his room for a moment before a swear came from the closet.

"Robert that's my foot you're stepping on. Gerroff!" Tyson hissed and the foreign prince obliged him by stepping back a step in the closet.

"Well, that was certainly informing wouldn't you agree? It seems the Final Fighters are intent on having you freed." Robert mused. A small groan caused both Tyson and Robert to look over at Johnny's battered form. The young man had still not awoken from the coma he'd been sent into by Tyson's hilt.

Tyson shrugged and slowly munched on an apple. Robert and Johnny, who had finally returned to the conscious world, had been causing a good amount of trouble for the Alderians. Whether they were setting fire to the beds or freeing certain Second in Command of the Royal Army officers, they were causing problems.

"Tyson, you should turn yourself in." Johnny said, looking at the other boy evenly.

"What! Why I oughta…." Tyson started but Robert cut him off.

"No, he's right." Robert said and almost grinned at the confused look on Tyson's face. "If you turn yourself in then you can get out to the Final Fighters tonight and let them know what's going on. Garland will not harm you if only for the fact that he needs you to regain Brooklyn. This is your only chance to leave, if you don't take it then you'll be stuck in here for who knows how long.

Tyson knew Robert was right. At the moment the only way for him to get out of here was if he was let out. It would be suicidal to try running across the fields when the Alderians were watching them so closely. Not to mention it would be nice to get out of this closet again. Robert and Johnny had left several times to cause trouble or steal food but they hadn't let him come with them.

"Alright, I see your point but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Tyson said as he folded his arms across his chest stubbornly. "Any messages I should be delivering when I get out of here?"

"Not really, no. Just tell them that we're alright and that we're doing our share from inside the castle." Robert decided.

"Yeah and tell them not to bomb Kano's room. We'll be annihilated if they do." Johnny added. It was indeed Kano's closet they were hiding in though and the large area proved to be a good hideout since Garland didn't see the point in looking through Kano's stuff.

"Whatever." Tyson said. "I'll see you guy around. Hopefully not while your still living in Kano's closet but you never know…" Tyson said before waving to the two others and exiting the closet. They both muttered encouragement before he slid Kano's closet door shut behind him. Now he had to get caught. Well, that would be hard.

Crossing the room, Tyson threw the door open and stepped out into the hall. He looked in one direction and then the other before walking down the left side. He was bound to run into somebody sooner or later. He'd gotten about three steps around the first corner when something heavy hit him from behind knocking him to the ground.

"Got you!" He heard the high pitched voice and identified it to be Ming-Ming's. Great, it had to the girl. She rolled off of Tyson and tied his hands behind his back. "Oh, Garland's going to be so happy when he finds out I caught you." She squealed happily and left Tyson wondering if this was the same woman he'd seen cut down his soldiers with ease. "Come on now, I caught you fair and square." She said grabbing his arm in a grip that she didn't look capable of.

"I wonder if Garland's still in his room?" She wondered out loud as they stopped in front of the door. Tyson was about to tell her no when she knocked on the door. "Garland, sweetie, are you in there. Come out, I have something to show you."

Much to Tyson's surprise he heard shuffling in the room. So Garland was back in the room already. The door swung open to show an irritated looking Garland.

"Ming-Ming, I don't have time for your games right now, didn't I tell you to go find Ty-Tyson!" Garland exclaimed when he finally noticed who was standing next to Ming-Ming.

"See, I found him." Ming-Ming said with a laugh.

"Good job Ming-Ming. Take the rest of the day off and tell the others to stop searching." He said and the blue-haired girl bounced on her heels happily.

"Oh goody, now I can wash my hair and take a long bath. Just because I fight like a man doesn't mean I should smell like one." She said happily.

"Whatever, enjoy yourself." Garland said and Tyson noticed a quick eyeroll before he was yanked into the room. Garland closed the door quietly before sitting Tyson down on the chair. "Don't move, I won't tie you to the chair as long as you don't try to run." Garland said before sitting himself down in one of the plush armchairs.

'Well that worked out nicely.' Garland thought to himself. He wasn't aware that both Tyson and Robert, who was watching through a small crack in the closet, were thinking the same thing.

Kai and Co.

Brooklyn lay face down in the dirt as he tried to ignore the pain shooting all over his body. Tala was not a merciful person. He stood over Brooklyn breathing hard. His hands were at his sides, balled into tight fists as he glared down at Brooklyn.

"Get up because I know you can." He yelled. People outside the tent turned to look at its beige flaps though no one felt sorry for Brooklyn.

The Alderian in question forced himself up on his elbows before heaving himself completely upright. Bloodied, bruised and very nearly broken but still standing. Brooklyn refused to stay down. Tala lurched forward smashing his fists into Brooklyn's stomach until the other collapsed back onto the ground coughing up blood.

"Up!" Tala yelled again. Brooklyn stood up again. Tala knocked him down again. It had been going on this way ever since they'd been back in the tent and Brooklyn's body wasn't capable of taking such abuse. A sharp punch to the chest caused the redheaded prisoner to crumple to the ground yet again. "Get up." Tala ordered and this time Brooklyn didn't. He just lay there breathing hard.

Brooklyn desperately fought back the tears that threatened to overflow from his eyes. His father had died when he had been young leaving him t be raised by his mother who had no desire to remarry even though most women would have. His mother had always told him it was okay to cry and that it didn't make him any less of a man.

Idly, Brooklyn remembered how he'd told Garland the same thing when they were kids and how the first time Garland had cried he'd gotten slapped by his father who said men didn't cry. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts and pain that Brooklyn didn't realize that the tears had begun to spill from his eyes.

"Are you crying?" He heard Tala ask softly though he heard the contempt behind the placating tone. "You are crying." Tala decided. Brooklyn raised a hand to his face to wipe the offending droplets of water away but Tala caught his hand.

He dragged Brooklyn upright and seated him on the bed. Peering closely at the tears, Tala gave a dark chuckle. "Men don't cry Brooklyn."

"Well obviously they do because I'm a man and I'm crying. So are half the outlaws out there. For a different reason though." Brooklyn said. There was no point in trying to hide the fact that he was crying so he might as well make the best of it. Tala slapped him across the face and he probably would have fallen over if the Shakin soldier hadn't been holding him upright.

"It would be in your best interest to at least pretend that you were sorry about what you did." Tala hissed softly. The light from the candle flickered causing shadows to dance across Tala's face making him look unbelievably demonic. Brooklyn found himself leaning backwards and away from the other.

The Alderian soldier forced himself to keep his eyes locked with Tala. He wouldn't let himself be scared into behaving for the other. "You had no problem in killing any of my soldiers so why should I feel sorry for yours?" Brooklyn spat out through his tears. "You and I are the same. You can live in your own little world if you want but you'll have to face that fact someday. You're every bit the killer I am. We could be brothers."

Blue eyes flashed with rage at Brooklyn's comments. "Brothers? You and I could never be related, Brooklyn. You were born high class and grew up in it. All your life you've been giving everything you've ever wanted and you've never had to actually work for anything. That's why you have such a hard time dealing with being captured. For the first time in your life, you're not getting what you want. Welcome to the real world." Tala hissed out.

Brooklyn seemed to have been shocked by Tala's words. The tears had stopped and he was now just staring at the other Captain. It was true though wasn't it? Garland, Ming-Ming, Bryan and even Tala, had all worked themselves into the ground to acquire the positions they now held. He'd never had to do anything except make sure his sword was sharp.

When he finally surfaced from his thoughts he realised that he was alone in the tent once again. Tala had likely decided that his words had struck home and then left to go comfort his friends. For the first time in his life, Brooklyn was left to wonder, if he actually deserved everything he had.

Tala pulled back the flaps on Mariah's tent and peered inside. He'd learned to tread carefully around this tent seeing as the last time he had looked in it she had been getting changed. He hadn't seen anything but her back but that hadn't made any difference in her opinion and he still sported the bruise on his chest from where she'd hit him.

The pink-haired girl was sitting on her cot right now though. She was toying with one of her knives and seemed focused on her reflection in its blade. Tala had nearly decided to leave her be when she spoke.

"Do you think he's happier now?" She asked softly and lifted her eyes so she could look at Tala. In all the time he'd known her, Tala had never seen her look so defeated and hopeless. "Now that he's out of this horrible war?"

"Yes, he probably is…" Tala answered carefully only to aware at how close Mariah was to breaking down. "But maybe he'd still want to be here, helping his friends…"

The sorrow in Mariah's eyes seemed to double and tears began to fall. "Tala, I don't know what to do anymore. Everything seems so impossible and unreachable. How are we going to defeat an entire army with what we have here…we can't win…" She said slowly.

Tala put his hand on Mariah's shoulder. He'd never thought that Mariah would ever acknowledge defeat and it uneased him greatly. She was known for her never-say-die attitude and if she was feeling this way then how were the others doing? "Mariah…we can't give up."

"We won't give up!" Mariah and Tala's eyes snapped to Rei who now stood in the tent, obviously using his little appearing trick again. "We're smarter then they are and we've got so much more to fight for. We've got Suma to fight for!" Rei said and the confidence that came from him was nearly smothering.

"You're right Rei, it's time we showed the Alderians the way out of our country. How about it Mariah?" Tala asked.

The she-devil hesitated a moment before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and standing up. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. We've got friends and comradeship so we can overcome everything. Huzzah." She said flatly but a smile had begun to grace her features once again.

"Exactly," Rei said and then motioned for them to leave the tent. "Now c'mon, we've gotta get everybody going again. Not to mention give Suma a proper funeral."

"Then let's go!" Mariah exclaimed and marched out of the tent with the two young men close behind.

Later

Everyone had worked like mad to dig the hole that would be Suma's resting place. It had been dug in a matter of hours and was now completed. The Final Fighters all stood in silence as the body was lowered into the hole.

Tundra had thrown in herbs and different medical instruments since Suma had been a healer and Set had dropped in a necklace that he and Suma had made together as kids.

All present had said a few words even if they hadn't known him for long.

"Suma, watch over us tonight, we'll be needing your guidance." Set murmured softly. They didn't have the time to give Suma the proper burial he deserved, tonight was the exchange and midnight was fast approaching. They had considered calling the whole trade off until another night when they would be properly prepared instead of grieving for a friend.

"Alright, back to camp." Kai ordered everyone. "I know that nobody's in the mood but we have a very important job to do tonight. Anyone who doesn't have a task to do will eat something. Go."

They quietly dispersed and did as told. Anyone who didn't have a chore to do sat down and took small helpings of the food over the fire.

Set and Kano were making sure that Kai knew exactly what he had to do. They'd concocted a plan to rid themselves of Garland and Brooklyn for good. Rei and a few others would plant firechain bombs all over the area that the exchange was to be made at, Once Kai had Tyson then he was to hand over Brooklyn and then run. There would be no time for him to stand around seeing as he had about five seconds until Tala launched the arrow that would blow the whole place sky high.

Timing was everything and Kai knew it. If anyone in this plan was even one second off with their part then it would likely spell death for him and Tyson. Not an entirely pleasant fact.

Rei had already left with the bombs and was placing them that very moment.

Tala was inside his tent getting Brooklyn ready for the night ahead.

"We'll follow behind at a distance. We can't let Brooklyn know what's going on or he'll ruin the whole thing." Kano said slowly while nodding. " The second you have Tyson just grab him and run. You're probably going to get burned a bit even if you execute this perfectly, forget if you're late in moving. Don't mess this up, Kai."

"I don't intend to." He said. All eyes in the camp turned to Tala's tent as he emerged with Brooklyn. Kai expected to see a scowl on his face at the fact that his hands were tied but the soldier looked more pensive then angry.

Tala shoved the other to Kai and nodded slightly to the Prince. "Good luck Kai, you're going to be needing it…"

No one in camp batted an eye as if anything out of the ordinary was happening. Not until Kai had left with Brooklyn did the entire camp explode into action. Voices were kept hushed as people scrambled to grab their weapons and whatever else was currently necessary. In a surprisingly short amount of time the entire camp had assembled and was prepared to leave.

Mariah, Set, Kano, Max, Tala, Tundra and Ozuma were going to be out in front and the only ones to be within hearing distance for the exchange. Kai had pointed out that if the entire camp was close by then the chances that the Alderians would realise that something was up was much greater. They had decided to have the majority of the fighters about two hundred metres in back of them so that while they stood no chance of being seen, they were able to run to the rescue if they were needed. "Alright," Tala's voice called out. "You know the drill and what you have to due. A lot's riding on this so don't step out of line. There's no room for mistakes, is that clear?" Without waiting for an answer he continued. "Good, now move, Kai's already going to be close to the exchange area."

They moved as quickly as such a group could without making any noise. It wasn't a terribly large distance but to them it felt like years. Finally, the leaders left the rest of the fighters at the assigned spot and began crossing the last two hundred or so meters.

Kai was going to be about fifty meters out into a field where he would be meeting up with Garland. The spot had been chosen because it was wide open enough that Kai would be able to see if any enemy soldiers were present.

The Final Fighters settled themselves down in the bushes and began what was going to be a stressful wait for Garland and Tyson.

"I don't suppose anyone brought supper?" Everybody started and whirled to face Rei who was squatting next to them. "What?"

"Don't do that." Mariah hissed. "Are all the firechain bombs ready?"

"Yeah, they're all over the place but the one Tala's aiming for is right over by that rock. I know it's dark out but can you it?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, just looks like a rock or something but I can hit it from here, one shot." Tala replied confidently and everyone was glad that he seemed to be sure that he could hit it. "Damn! Everyone shut up, guess who's here?"

They all went very still as they saw Garland appear over the crest of a hill with Tyson in tow. Not to mention what must have been two score soldiers. "We told you to come alone!" Kai yelled to Garland.

The silver-haired soldier just shrugged. "As long as you don't plan any funny tricks then I won't have any reason to use them, will I?"

"That's besides the point." Kai stated flatly. "Just give me Tyson and then you can have Brooklyn back." He ordered.

Garland took a torch from one of his soldiers and then turned it so that its light washed over Brooklyn's form. It neatly revealed all the bruises on his face and the tears in his clothes. Garland scowled at this but didn't say anything. "Let Tyson go." He ordered his soldiers.

With a quick snapping of cords, Tyson was freed and he shouldered the guards away from him roughly. While passing Garland he slapped the back of his hand into the other's stomach with a decent amount of force. With an exhaling of breath Garland dropped the torch and glowered at Tyson.

"Alright, you've got your fighter back now give us back Brooklyn." He hissed at Kai.

"Nothing could make me happier…" Kai drawled. He briefly flickered his eyes down to the torch which was lying harmlessly on the ground. There didn't seem to be anything that could catch fire where it had landed. It was just a small patch of dirt and some rocks.

Crimson orbs widened slightly as they focused down on one of the rocks. It was one of the bombs and…."Run!" Kai yelled and had just turned and run a few steps, not even noticing that he was dragging Brooklyn along with him when a dull roar filled his ears.

And then the world exploded with fire all around him.

SR : Take that! Finally finished the revamp. There's another chapter coming out tomorrow if you're nice and you review. XD Naw, it'll be up regardless along with all the newly-edited chapters. Enjoy.