A/N: Here is the next chapter. Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. D.J. does!

Chapter 4 Speeding Battle

Patrick lifted his foot off the gas pedal suddenly to dodge the blast of Nevva's gun. The car lurched under the teens standing in their seats. Kat gave a surprised yell and fell back into her seat. Spader and Alder smoothly kept their balance. Before Nevva could shoot at them again, Alder had the thing flying in the air from another arrow of his.

"Nice shot, mate!" Spader said back to him with a smile. They both nodded to each other and jumped in union onto the truck now beside them. All Travelers had learned from experience that having a weapon on them nowadays was the smartest thing to have. It might not have really mattered in the old "Turning Point" days, as they called it. But the physical danger to a Traveler's life had increased since then.

Spader was equipped with a modern Third Earth weapon that the Territory sold legally. First and Second Earth guns had been banded and had been replaced by guns that only did little damage. So Spader had to take the next best thing, a dagger. On his home Territory, it was pretty much a law for him to have one because of his job. He never had thought he would have tone his skills with it one day.

"I'll take the ugly one," Spader told Alder while slipping the dagger out of its sheath on his thigh. The other boy smiled and took out his sword from his belt. Both silver blades glowed as the moon light reflected off the weapons. The two Travelers got into their fighting stances and glared at Nevva and her three Dados.

"You can have Nevva," Alder came back quickly. "I'll take on the Dados."

Nevva frowned at the joke. This only made Spader laugh. Without another word, the two teams advanced toward each other. Right away the odds were uneven. The Dados armor was only scratched from Alder's blade, but at least he had knocked the guns out of their hands. Spader didn't even have a chance at Nevva.

Spader expertly swung his dagger at Nevva, but she was too advanced for him. Using her training from Saint Dane, she sped up her movements for a few seconds. She ducked, and as his blade was still swinging in slow motion above her head, she elbowed the teen in the stomach.

With a yell of pain and surprise, Spader flew into the air from the force of her move. Fear swept over him as he realized he was falling over the edge of the truck. Patrick had been silently observing the battle next to him and had predicted her move.

"I got you, kid," he whispered, letting off the gas for a second and swerving behind the truck just in time. Kat gave a scream of fright as Spader landed roughly into the seat next to her with a moan. "Way to go, Mr. Confident," Patrick muttered back at Spader.

Spader winced while sitting up. "That girl is faster than light," he said, rubbing his pounding head.

"She is using her Traveler powers on you, Spader," Patrick told him. "You know them, so you should anticipate them from her. She barely has any fighting skills, use that to your advantage."

"I know, I know!" Spader snapped back. He narrowed his eyes angrily and jumped back onto the truck once they pulled up next to it again.

"Touchy," Patrick muttered as he watched Spader go. "He's going to get himself killed if he doesn't listen to someone once in a while."

Kat watched as Spader and Nevva went at each other again. She caught glimpses of Alder as he fought on the other side of them. They fought like experienced warriors. Kat was amazed by their skills, but she knew that wasn't the thing that was going to win them this battle.

"Couldn't we just take out the person driving that truck?" she asked Patrick suddenly.

The man glanced back at her, as if suddenly realizing she was there. "I can't do anything while driving," he said to her behind his shoulder.

"You must have a weapon of your own," Kat said. "I could take the dude out. Spader and Alder don't look too hot up there right now. This fight needs to end soon."

"You're speaking the truth, girl, but I didn't think we would run into this and left my weapon at home," Patrick said. "All you have is Alder's bow and arrows. And if you have no experience in one of those, I'm telling you right now not to use it."

"I didn't pay for a year's worth of practices on archery for nothing," Kat muttered under her breath so Patrick couldn't hear her. She grabbed the bow and quiver and hopped into the seat next to his. He looked over to her with surprise. She quickly said, "I um…did this at camp once." He nodded and then focused his attention back to the road.

Patrick sped up the car a little so that Kat could get a good shot at the window of the truck. A Dado was in the driver's seat and was steering the truck. It didn't even look over to her as Kat notched an arrow and drew back on the string. She might not have been as quick as Alder, but her aim was just as great as his.

Alder hung onto the side of the truck for support as he stood back up after a hard blow he had received from one of the Dados. He noticed that Spader and Nevva's fight was going down hill. He was panting heavily, his sprained wrist was shooting waves of pain up his arm, and he could barely see anything because of the wind blasting into his face. But he firmly held his ground and swung his way back into the fight.

Just as Alder was hitting a Dado with his sword, the truck swerved suddenly into the other lane. This made everyone on top lose their balance. Spader was able to stay on top, but Nevva, Alder, and the Dados took a dive. The two humans caught onto the side of the truck just in time, though. The human like robots crashed onto the speeding cement below them, sending debris flying everywhere.

"Hobey! What was that?" Spader yelled above the wind.

"I don't know!" Alder yelled back. "But I could use some help getting up!" Spader ran over to him and lifted the teen back onto the roof of the truck. "I lost my sword!" Alder said angrily once his feet was back on solid ground.

"You can get another one after this, mate," Spader told him reassuringly. Alder only nodded, but it still wouldn't be the same. His older brother, the last Denduron Traveler, had given him that sword a few years ago before he died. Alder tried to hide the sadness on his face from Spader.

Nevva was still hanging onto the side. She grunted in frustration and glanced down to see Patrick and Kat in the car below her. She smiled while dropping down into the backseat. Patrick saw her in his rearview mirror and gasped in surprise. Kat took her attention off her job of shooting the Dado again and onto Nevva.

"Duck," Patrick said to Kat. The girl hit the floor, hoping that Patrick knew what he was doing. Nevva lunged toward her and managed to grab the back of Kat's shirt. Patrick swerved toward the truck. The bottom of the truck whacked right into Nevva's head as the car went right under the moving machine. She slumped over the side of the car with a cry of pain, half conscious.

"That was close," Kat pointed out as Patrick moved the car out from under the truck. "You're a pretty good driver," she told Patrick with a wide grin.

He chuckled while blushing nervously and said, "That was my first time."

"In coming!" Spader suddenly yelled while jumping down to them in a flying kick. His heel collided with Nevva's head and forced her over the edge. She gave a loud cry of pain and defeat as her body violently made contact with the ground. "Maybe next time, Nevva!" Spader yelled back at her with a confident laugh.

"Make room for Alder, Spader," Patrick told the teen. Spader stood to the side as Alder jumped down beside him silently. He tripped on something and went down to the floor of the car with a loud thump. "You okay?" Patrick asked him with a small laugh.

"Boy, you're a klutz," Spader said to him jokingly while sitting down.

Alder glared at him while sitting up and rubbing his head. Kat quietly gave him back his bow and quiver, blushing slightly wish embarrassment for taking his things without permission. "I'm fine," Alder muttered. He notched an arrow and spun around, drawing the string at the same time. Everyone watched as the arrow punctured a tire on the truck and sent it spinning then flipping out of control.

-Few Hours Later-

Kat looked up as the door to the guest room she was in opened. She was sitting on the only bed in the room, reading a book on a little slate that was really a computer monitor. She exited out of the chapter and turned off the little computer-like gadget Patrick had let her barrow to keep her occupied.

"You don't look very happy," she stated to Alder who had came in.

The boy glared at her while snapping back, "You notice a lot." He opened up a closet and looked up in it with confusion. He finally found what he was looking for and pulled it off the top shelve with ease because of his height. Kat watched him with a small frown as he took out the white pad and laid it down on the floor beside her bed.

"What were you and the others talking about for so long?" she asked finally.

"Nothing that should concern you," Alder answered, trying to keep himself from sounding angry.

"Well, it does concern me," Kat said while lying back on the extra fluffy pillows on her bed. "You guys were talking about me and I would like to know what you are going to do with me. Are you going to take me back to my Earth?"

Alder glanced up at her, pondering the thought of telling her everything he had discussed with Spader and Patrick just a few minutes ago. He finally thought better of it and looked back down at the mat. He pressed a few buttons on the end, and the thing suddenly hovered two inches off the floor with a small hum.

"Man, that's cool!" Kat said as she saw the thing levitate. "In my time, that could only be done in science fiction novels and movies."

Alder looked up at her again. They made eye contact, and she smiled innocently back at him. "They have assigned me to you as something like a body guard," he finally said after a pause. He laid down on his floating mat with a tiered sigh and continued. "We are going to another place tomorrow by ourselves so we can hide from Saint Dane and Nevva till the meeting coming up soon. We don't know why Nevva wanted you, but we want to keep you around for a while to see why."

"Don't I get any say in this?" she asked. Alder glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, don't I get a choice to go back to my home planet?"

"Bring it up with Patrick in the morning," Alder finally said after a long silence.

"You're still mad," Kat said.

"I'm not mad," Alder said with fake calmness, "I'm just…a bit frustrated."

"Why?" Kat asked.

"No offense, but I don't want to be your body guard for the next week on Cloral," Alder said after a sigh.

"None taken," Kat said. "But what's so bad about guarding me? I mean, you get to hang out with me!"

Alder chuckled quietly before saying, "I was hoping to join in on the search and let Spader take you to his home Territory for once."

"Search for what?" Kat asked.

"I…can't tell you that," Alder said. "I've already told you a little too much."

"That's no fun," Kat muttered. "But what's it worth, I would rather have you as my body guard than Spader," she said quietly.

"Why?" Alder asked.

"He might be good looking and everything, but he's either too happy or too angry," Kat said loudly now. Her bold voice and random mood swing raised another eyebrow of his. "I've been with that guy for at least three hours and I've only seen those two emotions. I go for the more multi emotional guys who are more serious and quiet." She looked down at him and added with a wide grin, "Like you!"

Alder's cheeks flushed red at this statement. He stared back at her with surprise on his face, trying to understand the meaning of her last sentence and if she was hinting at something or just being goofy. Kat finally burst out in giggles at his strange expression. He sighed with annoyance and let her go.

"I'm just messing with you," she told him.

He smiled up at her and shook his head saying, "You're the weirdest girl I've ever met."

"Why, thank you," she said with another giggle. "I do my best."

Alder finally laughed at her strangeness. For another whole hour the two talked to each other about random things from pet peeves to favorite food. Kat could keep the conversation going for hours it seemed. Alder hadn't felt that open or connected to someone since before his older brother died. Of course he had many good conversations with his fellow Travelers, but Kat was different than them. He had never had a one on one good conversation with someone who hadn't been a Traveler for years. It was refreshing for him. He now didn't mind being her body guard. She would be fun to be with for a whole week.

Finally the two decided to shut down for the night. They had a big day the next day and they needed rest. Very quickly Alder fell asleep. Kat kept awake and listened to her room mate's quiet snore beside her as she stared silently up at the ceiling. A worried frown crossed her features as a knot of guilt formed in her stomach. She then finally went to sleep after tossing and turning for another full hour.

A/N: I hope the first part had enough action for you guys. Please review!