ASHER! Chapter friggen' 16! HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN, COTHICA DESTINO! Since it's such an important number, this chapter will be longer than any other! Except maybe that chapter.

Tom: Hey, are we finally going to end the brigades first mission?

Yessir! We'll find out why the village was such a wreck! Plus, new stuff happens! New friends are made! More stuff happens!

Kaz: Well get on it! Peyton wants to see his little brother become a hero.

Peyton:(in background) IVAN! BE A HERROOOOOOOOO!

Ehe...(sweat-drops) That's a bit embarrassing.

Let's!

STARTO!


Zhade stepped out of the shadows. Ivan and Ruka backed up in front of Iflar, who stared at his Supervisor in confusion. Riley and Conny readied the SCS, only to gasp as several guards appeared and took the weapons away. The armor the guards were wearing was not the Royal blue they had seen on other guards, but instead was the same type Mudeenu's had worn.

"Figures. You humans always worm your way into matters that don't concern you." Zhade snaps his fingers, and the group was swarmed and separated. "Dear Prince, why are you out of your room? It isn't safe out here."

"Zhade, why are you doing this? You're supposed to take care of our people!" Iflar cried out as his arms were roughly yanked backwards and cuffed. Zhade slithered up to the irate prince.

"Your people, more like. They don't appreciate what Lord Mudeenu and I are trying to accomplish." Riley growled and kicked at the guards holding him.

"You're trying to start a war! Who in their right minds would appreciate that?" Zhade snarled and in a flash he was holding the front of Riley's shirt, his claws threateningly close to the mocha-skinned boy's throat.

"Quiet human! Or you'll be the first casualty!" Riley dry-swallowed, his eyes wide in fear. Zhade walked away after a moment, and Riley sagged in his captors arms.

"Now then. You humans will be thrown into the Glosh-Worm pit, and I'll let you in on a secret - it hasn't been fed in days." All four Players felt a cold wave run down their backs. He then walked over to the prince, who had been trying in vain to wiggle away.

"And you, dear Prince, shall be ransomed. And to think, in a few days you would've been re-united with Mommy and Daddy dearest." Iflar's eyes went wide.

"My parents?" Zhade nodded.

"You see, Mudeenu trapped them in the Carnival of Confusion, where they've wandered for this entire time; It's seems, however, that a few days ago they were able to get out, thanks to that OverWorlder Tangath Tolborn." Ivan frowned.

"They were to arrive here and see you well. Now, all they will see shall be a note stating your ransom. Mudeenu will be so happy to see his little brother." The tone he used to say 'happy' was enough to make Ruka screech in rage, and attempt to lunge from her captors hands and claw at Zhade.

"Now then - take the human's Scanners, and then take them to the cell! Our prisoner will be overjoyed to see new playmates."

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Tom growled at this. "If I ever see that creep I'm going to kick him in the shin!" Peyton gave his brother a worried look as Riley and Conny came running up.

"Ivan, you'll never believe this, but - Oh, hey guys." The mocha-skinned boy waved at the others. Tom tiredly returned it, eyeing the bundle in Conny's arms. It was wiggling.

"Omigawd, Ivan! You'll never believe who we found in the rubble just now!" Conny pulled apart the blanket, and it revealed a fox-like Creature that was colored orange and teal. Ivan squealed, Peyton giving his brother an odd look as the smaller brunette scooped up the tiny thing.

"Chapi! Oh God, thank goodness you made it out!" Kaz pointed at Chapi who was snuggling Ivan happily. Meanwhile Conny introduced herself to the others quickly.

"What in Perim is that?" Ivan, Ruka, Conny, and Riley looked at each other. This time Conny stepped forward.

"Well, you see..."

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"THIS ISN'T RIGHT! I DEMAND POLITICALLY CORRECT JUSTICE!" Ruka screamed as she rattled the bars of the cell. Conny, Ivan, and Riley were all sitting in a circle, shackles cuffed tightly to their wrists. A loud clang and the screeching off the door down the hall alerted them to the guards. With them was a boy, tan skin and black hair with bright blue highlights pulled into an upward ponytail was being led into the hall. The boy and both of the guards stared at Ruka, who had somehow managed to climb to the top of the bar door and stay up there.

"How-" The guard began, pointing at her. Ivan shrugged.

"I'm starting to think she's a mutant or something. At this point I'm not even surprised by her anymore." The guards looked at each and shrugged. They opened the door, Ruka almost squished by the metal frame, and shoved the boy in. He landed on his stomach and lay there glancing at the others.

"Meet your new cellmate. We caught him sneaking around the palace earlier. Have fun while you're all still alive." The guard hissed, and they walked out locking the door behind them. Ruka jumped down from her perch, and the boy sat up.

"God, those guys could stand to get laid." Ruka and Riley both burst out laughing, while Conny and Ivan turned bright red. The boy grinned, the motion drawing attention to his green eyes. They were an emerald almost identical to Peyton's.

"The name's Scrim-Pirate, but most peeps call me Ron. Just don't sing 'Danny Boy' near me and you'll never find yourself buried in the desert, okay?" They all laughed at this. Conny tilted her head at him.

"Ron, why were you sneaking around the palace when its on high alert?" Ron looked over at her as he crossed his legs. He pulled out his Scanner and showed them a picture of a green and orange blur going up the palace steps.

"I saw this thing running around the desert and thought it was some kind of new creature. I followed it by accident into the castle, and wound up getting caught by Sir Kick-Me-In-The-Scales." He rolled his eyes at the end of his sentence. Riley gaped at him.

"How do you still have your Scanner?" Ron gave him a weirded out look.

"I guess the guards forgot to take it. Why, did they take yours?" Riley nodded. Ivan leaned forward, his expression dark.

"We need to get out of here. Zhade is planning on taking Prince Iflar and using him as a ransom." Ron's jaw dropped. He leaned forward, and for a few moments just stared at the brunette. After a very long pause he smiled.

"I knew it." Ivan's eyebrow shot up.

"Knew what?" Ron's smile morphed into a wide grin.

"You are as cute as you are serious." Ivan turned red and his jaw dropped. He stared at Ron for a long time not saying anything, and Ruka finally waved her hand in his face. Nothing.

"Wow, you've rendered him catatonic from shock." Ignoring the fact that his team-mate might have brain-damage, Riley pounded his fist into his hand.

"We have to get out somehow. Conny, give us a run down on the missions we have so far." Ron looked away from admiring Ivan's state of dead-from-embarrassment-ness to give the black teen a confused look.

"Missions?" He said just as Conny yelped a 'Yes Boss!" and pulled out a notepad. Ruka gaped at her.

"You were seriously writing all this down the entire time?" Conny grinned.

"Right! Mission 1: Get a Prince Iflar Scan for Ann. Mission 2: Get Iflar out of palace. Mission 3: Rescue Iflar from Sir Kick-Me-In-The, er, I mean Zhade." Ron grinned when she almost used his nick-name for the Mipedian. "Mission 4: Break selves out of cell and try not to die. Mission 5: Help Ron Scan unknown Creature. Mission 6: Port back to Chaotic and pig out on Perim Pizza." Ivan finally snapped out of whatever trance he had been in for five minutes and turned a comically angry face to her.

"THAT'S NOT A MISSION! IS FOOD ALL YOU THINK ABOUT? AND WHY ARE WE HELPING THIS GUY ANYWAY?" Ivan screamed, pointing to Ron. The Asian looked highly affronted, and turned to the brunette.

"Well, I didn't ask for your help anyway." He frowned, then that scary grin came back. "But, if you want to help, I'm sure you could think of a certain way to help me." I van turned red again, but did not go into shock this time. Outside the hall, the guards jumped as they heard a loud THWACK! followed by a 'MONKEY PANTS!'

"Ah, whadja do that for?" Ron groaned while holding his head. Ivan was now on the opposite side of the cell. One emerald eye opened. "But, why are you helping me? And what was that thing about missions?"

"We're the Banzai Brigade! We help anyone who needs it, and we're not afraid to do what needs getting done!" Riley stood up, fanning his legs a bit and angling his arms so they looked like something from PowerRangers. Ruka stood in front of him, and Conny at his side.

"Banzai Brigade! Sound off! Riley Hayfield, code-name JupiterZap!" The girls up and saluted.

"Ruka Nomikawa, code-name ChaoticCailey!"

"Conny Melhart, code-name Senpheria!" Ron tilted his head with a smile.

"My name is Ronumi Mizatowa, but call me Ron or by my code-name, which you already know. And now," He leaned towards Ivan, who leaned back trying to avoid the teen with every air of disgust towards him. "Your name, hot stuff?"

Ivan cringed hard. "Ivan Ronelli, and my code-name is MipedianPrince." Ron shot him a sly look.

"Mipedians, eh? Fine choice, we're surrounded by them." At Ivan's scowl and impending tantrum, he added on smoothly. "But I agree, you're definitely a prince with those looks." Ivan opened his mouth, and once again turned red.

"I've heard of your face sticking from weird positions, but is it possibly to have the color get stuck?" Ruka asked offhandedly as she watched the two.

A clanging from above their heads made all five look up, and the grate in the ceiling suddenly came down on their heads. The blur from Ron's picture dropped down, making them panic. They calmed down when they got a good look at it, however.

It looked like a fox plushie, like what a child would see a fox looking like. The fur on its head and around its neck were a carrot orange, and though Ivan had thought originally that its fur was green was immediately corrected; it was actually a bright teal color. All in all, the thing was just utterly adorable.

"It's so cute! I want one!" Conny cooed. Riley got a bit closer to it.

"I've never seen it before. Is it an OverWorld type?" Ivan shrugged.

"I don't think it has a class type, like that worm-thing in the desert. It doesn't have any markings." The fox thing looked over at Riley (though they couldn't really tell because the eyes were closed), then sniffed the air and suddenly tackled Ivan. He proceeded to freak out, thinking it was going to eat him, when he realized it was just licking his face.

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"I thought you hated dogs?" Peyton said while scratching his head. Ivan held Chapi protectively while pouting at his older brother.

"Well, it doesn't count cause its technically a creature." Iflar pulled the creature from the brunettes arms and studied it. He tilted his head.

"It has short fur, so it must be a desert type at least. I think I've seen others like it, though admittedly not the same coloring." Chapi barked at him, startling the Prince, and jumped back to Ivan. Peyton looked at his brother as if to say, well? What happened next?

Conny grinned. "That's where things got even more interesting."

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"Hey wait, did it just come from an air-duct?" Ruka looked up again, and sure enough the grate falling away revealed a tunnel. She stood up, and looked at the others.

"Guys, we might just have a way out of here. But we'll need a distraction." Ron looked at the group, then at the ground. He sighed.

"I'll do it." They gaped at him. Ruka protested the idea right away.

"No way! We don't EVER leave people on their own. Besides, that would cancel out Mission 4, sorta!" She pouted when Ron laughed.

"It's all right. Look, I'll distract the guards so you guys can get out, then since I have my Scanner I'll port out of harm's way. Okay?" Riley regarded this, then nodded. "Good. And there's only one thing I want in return." He pointed at Ivan.

"A date." If Ivan could emanate Tom, he was sure he could've punched the boy through the wall by this point. As it was, he settled for a firm response.

"Hell no." Ron gave him a bewildered look.

"Why not? It's just tolerating my presence for a day." He then got the scary grin on his face. "Or, you could just kiss me." Ivan went white as a sheet, then a furious red.

Ruka looked over at the door worriedly. "Ivan, just agree to something already! We need to save Iflar!" Ivan deflated.

"Alright. If we survive this meet me in the Port-Court tomorrow." Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Something tells me you aren't being honest. My lie-dar tells me so." Ivan gave him a flat look that asked, 'are you retarded?' Ron grinned. "So, give me a kiss now, and if you survive, I promise to never annoy you again."

Ivan cringed, knowing that, in the long run, he'd regret this for the rest of his life, but sighed and resigned to his fate. He leaned over and placed a quick peck on Ron's cheek. The boy pouted.

"That's it?" Ivan glowered and held up his fist to the other boy's face.

"Would you rather I deck you?" Ron raised his hands in mock surrender and stood, holding his hands together.

"C'mon. I've got a plan." He had them huddle together and when he finished whispering, Ivan blinked.

"That...is actually very intelligent. I'm impressed." At Ron's perverted leer, Ivan quickly added. "B-But only slightly!" Riley pumped his fists as best he could in the chains.

"Then guys, let's get outta here!"

-A FEW MOMENTS LATER-

"HEY! HEY! A PRISONER JUST GOT OUT!" The guards burst in at Ron's frantic scream. They counted the four prisoners now standing and looking worried/angry. Ruka was attempting to beat up Ron with her hands bound.

"And he didn't even bother helping us get out! I say he deserves to get caught!" Ron was yelling at her. She huffed and turned away.

"Jerk! Just sellin' a brother out like that! That's just cold man. Ice cold!" She slurred, and Riley had a horrified look on his face, though whether it was from the almost violent scene or her horrible black guy impersonation, none could tell.

"Which way?" The guard hissed, and Ruka threw a punch at the boy, who ducked and smoothly replied.

"That way." Pointing down the other end of the tunnel. Ruka screeched.

"TRAITOR!" The guards nodded and charged down the hall. Ron and Ruka high-fived each other.

"Excellent acting, girlfriend!(1)" Ruka bowed. Ivan appeared from the ceiling, Chapi sitting in his hoodie peering at them.

"C'mon. It's not very high, but I think we can squeeze through." Ron boosted up Riley, then Ruka, then Conny. Ivan held his hands out to him, but Ron shook his head.

"I said I'd keep the guards off your tail, and I meant it." Riley appeared near Ivan.

"Dude! We ain't just gonna up and leave ya!" Ron smiled, not one trace of perversion to be found.

"Ivan, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? We'll go somewhere nice." Ivan felt his heart flutter uncomfortably.

"But...Ron." Conny pulled Ivan away.

"We have to hurry! Zhade's getting away!" Ivan took one last look at Ron. The Asian boy was facing out of the cell. He caught the brunette's stare and grinned, confidence practically oozing from him. Ivan nodded and pulled the grate up.

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"After that, we crawled until the vent gave out from under us and we ended up in the throne room, where Iflar was." Ivan said while pointing at the Prince.

"Ron...I can't believe he just let you leave him there." Tom said staring at the ground. A nearby guard, upon hearing this, snorted.

"No need to worry about that human." Iflar looked affronted by his guard.

"Ario! I can't believe you would say such a thing!" The guard shrugged.

"That human has been labeled as a 'pest'. He terrorizes our outside camps with pranks, and though he never Scans us like other Players, we consider him a complete nuisance." Ivan clenched his fist while holding it up.

"That...That no-good, lying little-!" Tom grabbed Ivan and pulled him into a one armed hug.

"Ivan! Yameru(2). He helped you get out of there, didn't he?" Ivan looking stuck between staying angry and trying to be calm. He sighed, and chose to calm down.

"Well, even if he was a creep, I guess you're right. It's not everyday you meet a total stranger willing to give up his chance at freedom for you to have instead. I...I kinda miss him now." A pinging noise behind him and suddenly Ron was hugging Ivan from behind.

"AW! I knew you liked me!" Ron then took in the sight of everyone staring at him. Tom and Peyton, assuming the roles of protective older brothers, were both death-glaring him. Ruka, Conny, Riley, and Kaz were gaping, and Iflar was giving him a flat look as if to say 'what, you're still alive?'

"Everybody, happy fun time!" Ron yelped in a fake Russian accent, making all except Iflar, Tom, and Peyton laugh. Frafdo just stood there looking confused.

"Get. Off. Me." Ivan gritted his teeth, attempting to pull the boy's arm from around his neck. Ron just latched on harder, grinning when Ivan growled.

"Don't even try that, hot stuff. I heard you earlier. You actually were worried over lil' ol' me." He poked Ivan in the face. "You. Are. So. Cute." Tom stepped forward, and in the next second he was holding Ron's wrist, the blue-tinged boy sprawled out on the ground.

"And if you ever touch Ivan like that again, you. Are. So. Dead." Ivan ducked behind Peyton as Ron attempted to stand up. Tom put his hands up in a gesture that looked almost ridiculous, but Kaz knew from experience it was actually very painful.

"Oh! Is that the Snake Spin Kick pose? I've never seen it done so professionally!" Tom froze, then blushed and grinned as he relaxed from the stance. Ivan face-palmed as the two began a chat about various fighting poses.

"Great, now he has his hooks in Tom as well." Ron looked over at this and grinned.

"So, Ivan, after you guys fell and found Prince Iflar again, what happened?" Tom said, distracting the Asian boy from whatever perversion he was about to inflict upon Ivan.

"Well, Conny and Ruka put on this random skit about pears or something-" The look on the older boys face made Ivan pause, "-yeah, I didn't get it either. While they were doing that, Riley and I cut the ropes that were tying up the prince. After that, well..."

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"I don't get it! How could a tribe that likes fruit NOT be interested in the comedic tragedy of Mr. and Mrs. Pearburg?" Ruka screeched as they fled through the halls, still wearing her Mrs. Pearburg costume. Ivan kicked her in the rear.

"Hurry up and take that stupid thing off! Throw it at them or something!" Ruka squealed, 'You'll bruise me, dummy!', and tore through the paper and glue made costume. She heaved it over her shoulder and Ivan heard the satisfying noise of guards crashing into each other attempting to dodge the monstrosity.

"Where did you get those things anyway?" Riley called, kicking at a guard who had tried to trip him.

"That's mine to know, and yours to obsess over!" She called back, just as they reached a room that they ducked into, and shut the door. It clanged as the furious guards tried to blast through it, but it held fast.

"Well, I know how to get out through here, but what will you do?" Iflar asked the children, his fins twitching like crazy. A clanging noise overhead, and Ivan held his hands out to catch the fox thing from before.

"I wonder, do you always appear like this?" He asked the creature, who squeaked something un-intelligent and tossed a bag to the floor, having been carried in the creatures mouth. Ruka opened and let out a joyous yelp.

"Our Scanners!" She pulled them up, examined the backs, and handed them to their rightful owners.

"You good boy, did you get our Scanners back for us?" Ivan cooed at the creature. It yapped in answer.

"CHAPI!" Riley blinked.

"Did...that thing just say 'Chapi'?" Ivan stared, then held Chapi up to his face.

"Chapi it is then! Good boy, Chapi!" Chapi yapped again and licked Ivan's cheek. Conny leaned towards Chapi, who swerved its head in her direction.

"Chapi? Do you know how to get out of here? We need to get Prince Iflar to safety." Chapi tilted its head, then jumped from Ivan's arms. It ran to a wall and began scratching at it. Conny walked over confused.

"No, no Chapi. We need to get out, and I don't see how scratching at a wall is going to heELLLP!" Conny screeched as she leaned against the wall and it slid open, letting her fall face first onto the ground. Ivan stared at her, then turned to face Iflar.

"Is that just random coincidence, or did your ancestors who built this place just enjoy watching non-Mipedians fall on their faces?" Iflar shrugged, trying to stifle his own laughter.

"C'mon! To freedom!" Riley called.

They ran down the tunnel, and soon enough found themselves outside, the sun just starting to rise over the village. Iflar gaped as he took in the sight.

"Beautiful..." He whispered, and the humans had to agree. The sunrise was so different to their own; the sun rose gently, turning from a bright blue to a dull orange, then a blinding yellow.

"Quick!" Conny whispered, already walking into a nearby tent. She grabbed some cloaks and tossed them out. The humans put the materials on, but Iflar only stared at his.

"Prince?" Ivan tapped lightly on the royals arm. Iflar started.

"No, I was just...The cloak that my parents made for me is back inside the palace." Conny smacked her forehead exasperatedly, for once losing the calm, happy feeling she usually had about her.

"We are SO not going back in there right now!" Iflar flattened his fins, then sighed.

"Yes...Yes, I suppose you're right. I...I will go and recover it once Zhade has been dealt with." Ivan nodded, pulling Chapi back into his hoodie, holding the creature almost like a...a...Yes. Ivan was suddenly struck by the realization that the creature had to be a baby. Chapi was very small, even for a creature, and had a limited vocabulary like a child would. It also acted like a child, going to get their Scanners in an attempt to be praised like a child expects from its parents.

"Are you a...baby?" He murmured quietly. Chapi peered up at him, the slitted eyes opening just a bit to see Ivan with a pair of bright pink eyes.

"Then... you can stay with us. You'll be our little baby." Ivan cooed, jerking back to reality as Conny pulled his arm hard. Zhade had guards swarming over the tents, looking for the humans and Prince.

"What the flip are you doing? Are you mental?" She hissed. Ivan blinked, as though he couldn't see, then realized he had been in some kind of trance. He peered down at Chapi, whose eyes were closed up again.

"So. Not. Funny." He growled at the creature, whose response was to purr at him.

"ATTENTION! THERE ARE FOUR HUMANS WHO HAVE KIDNAPPED THE PRINCE! FIND THEM AND CAPTURE THEM AT ALL COSTS!" The five cringed as shouts began to erupt all over the village. 'Someone took the prince?', 'Who could do that?', 'We have a prince?(3)'

"Crap. We are so screwed right now." Riley hissed through his teeth. Ruka glanced at Iflar, who was holding onto the plushie from before. A lightbulb turned on in her head at that moment.

"I have a plan."

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"Ruka had Prince Iflar go out and announce Zhade as a traitor, and tell everyone that there were no humans." Riley finished. Tom raised an eyebrow, clearly not letting the story end there. He stared at the group, until Riley finally caved in.

"Um, and I forgot that I was kinda allergic to the dust that was on the cloak. I sneezed and blew our cover, so we scattered and Conny tripped over a hiding Mipedian, and kinda set off this blaster row that-" Tom held up a hand to signify that he understood.

"That ended up torching the tents, and THAT ultimately sent everyone into a frenzy. Right?" He finished with a twitching eye. The group nodded with smiles that clearly said 'don't hurt us please'.

"Exactly!" Tom proceeded to very quickly hit all five on the tops of their heads. "Bakas. All of you." Ron looked up through angry tears, clutching his head in pain.

"WHY WAS I HIT?" Tom looked away and said in a monotone voice, "Because you're trying to corrupt Ivan, and no matter how much you compliment my fighting style, I won't let you agitate my little brother figure."

Ron stared at Tom.

"That, and I don't like you." Ron rolled his eyes. Tom turned to Iflar.

"I really am sorry about this, Prince. We won't let them out of our sight again, and make sure this never happens again." Iflar blinked, incredulity in his eyes.

"What? I believe you are mistaken. Thanks to these children I had the most exciting adventure ever! And they were able to help me get rid of that awful traitor." Peyton looked around.

"Speakin' of the slime-ball, what happened to him?" Ivan and Iflar shared a grin.

"Let's just say he'll be nursing a both broken and burned tail bone for a while." Kaz's jaw dropped.

"YOU BLASTED HIM OUT OF A CANNON?" Iflar shrugged.

"Hey, waste not, want not. We had plenty of firing material, and he just so happened to be tied up. Besides, he went pretty far considering how small he was, compared to the rockets we usually blast from the cannons." The prince said in an almost nonchalant manner. Peyton's jaw dropped and he turned to his little brother.

"You did something to make the royal Prince of the Mipedians act like a human teenager." Ivan's eyes got wide, then he nodded while shrugging. Peyton grinned and pumped his fist into the air.

"WooHoo! My lil' bro corrupted a Prince into becoming one of us!" Without warning, Peyton grabbed his brother in a hug.

"And thank God ya weren't hurt while doing that." Peyton sighed. Ivan's face tinged pink, and he pressed his face into his older brothers shoulder.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry." Tom giggled while having his back to the two, giving them this small moment of brotherly bonding. He glanced at Chapi, who seemed to have a strange fascination with biting Kaz's hair. The red-head was currently standing opposite Tom, eye twitching madly as drool leaked down the side of his face.

"Um...*Pfft!* Need some help?" Tom stifled his snickering as best he could. Chapi was trying to swallow all of Kaz's hair, and almost looked like some kind of anime hat.

"I...Will...Kill...This...Thing..." The other boy replied slowly, teeth clenched. Tom couldn't hold it in any longer. He began to giggle, then it escalated to cackling wildly as Chapi swatted Kaz in the nose with its tail. Ivan helped wrench off the creature, who barked and wagged its tail at Kaz.

Tom grinned, then suddenly was struck by an idea. He turned to the Prince.

"I think I know how this can all work out..."

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Tom's P.O.V. :

"After that, we helped put out the fires and clean up the village, just as the Queen and King arrived. Iflar was so happy to see them again, and luckily he was in such a good mood that he let Riley Scan him." I finished saying to Sarah, as we all sat around our usual table. She stirred the cup of soda she had before looking back up at us.

"And then?" Kaz pointed a finger over his shoulder at the group. "Well, right now they're giving that girl her new Prince Iflar Scan, and Ron's still bugging Ivan about their date tomorrow." Peyton jumped with a snarl, then changed his mind and sat back down.

"That was pointless. Why aren't you going to defend him?" Sarah asked. Peyton shrugged.

"Well, originally Ivan came here to play with me and develop a better character for himself, but he can't do that if he's always being coddled, ya know?" Peyton took a sip of his soda. "If he wants Ron to stop bothering him, he'll have to do it on his own. Bro's gotta grow up." I blinked at his choice of words.

"Peyton...you had to grow up quickly, right?" He looked at me in amazement. "But Ivan didn't. So, you want him to develop his own personality on his own. You're trying to be a good big brother." I smiled at him, and watched as his face went red from my next words. "Kakui~. So cool of you, Peyton."

"So, what happened to Chapi?" Sarah questioned. I turned to look at her.

"I took it to Lake Ken-i-po, and Najarin said he would be able to look after him while Ivan and his friends aren't in Perim. Pipori was really excited to have a new friend to play with." Kaz shivered violently.

"Ugh, TWO disgusting drool monsters..." I laughed. After a few moments, though, I felt my mood plummet.

I still had no Scan of Maxxor, and I was losing badly in the Drome-Matches. I was starting to think that... That maybe...

It was impossible for me to ever win again without Maxxor.


Read and reviews! Whew, this chapter was friggen' long, man! Everyone, the link to the Banzai Brigade picture will be up soon, but Reggie's not in it cuz everyone knows what he looks like.

(1): In memorial to Yamcha, GAY. (That's from DBZabridged)

(2): Yameru: 'Stop it!' or 'Knock it off!' in Japanese

(3): ... Honest to God, I didn't know there was a prince either. Then I did RESEARCH!