A/N: Hello my friends! Welcome to Chapter Seven! Yes, I know - How long has it been? XD. Sorry about that, but school life has become increasingly more busy and I've had loads to do, plus my exams are coming up…But enjoy Chapter seven anyway! With more banter from Aerrow and the Dark Ace, as promised.

A massive thank you to all who have reviewed this story, or added it to their faves or even to alerts. It means a lot, so thanks.

An even bigger thank you to Takeno for telling me to keep going; giving me a real push when I needed it most. Thank you!

"Stupid rocks! Stupid dead trees! Stupid bogs! Atmos, I hate this place…" Aerrow ranted, trying unsuccessfully to navigate his way around a particularly muddy swamp. Too busy ranting to himself to actually watch where he was going, it came as a shock to him when he tripped over a rock and fell forward.

"Seriously Aerrow, I thought you were meant to be agile?" The Dark Ace said with a smirk on his bloodied face, whilst quickly grabbing a hold of Aerrow's arm and thus preventing him from falling face first into the swamp. Aerrow looked at him with a glare that failed to work on his taller rival, and the glare increased its intensity when he saw how easy the Dark Ace made the whole jump-around-muddy-swamp-and-avoiding-rocks manoeuvre.

"Oh ha ha." Aerrow said dryly. "You try leading the way then, if you think it is so easy!" He gestured forward with his hands. "Go on then!"

The Dark Ace smirked again, before releasing his grip on Aerrow's arm. "There is a problem with your oh so wonderful plan, Oh Mighty Dodger of Swamps. I do not know the way to this cave you have been rambling on about for the past five minutes!" He nearly laughed when he saw the glare that Aerrow threw at him. It hurt to much to laugh, but if his chest stopped hurting him so much he would have been laughing his head off. Who would have known how amusing this whole fiasco would have turned out to be?

Aerrow opened his mouth to reply before he sighed and admitted defeat. He knew that the Dark Ace was right, unfortunately. Seeing as he had no idea where to go, maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to let him lead. Goodness knows where they would end up in this place. Which was becoming all the more creepy with every passing minute.

"Fine! But stop laughing at me every two minutes, okay?" He said, trying to pick his way around more rocks. He looked back and saw that Dark Ace neatly step his way around the rocks and mud, with not so much as a speck of mud on him at all. Aerrow absently looked down at his own legs and saw that the bottom half of his uniform was coated in mud. He looked over again at the Dark Ace. He made the whole thing look so effortless, and seeing as he was hurt (and still refusing to let Aerrow anywhere near him to try and take a look at his injuries) it was quite an achievement.

Aerrow was momentarily distracted by a dull throbbing in his arm. He had bandaged it some time ago before he had set out to look for the Dark Ace, but it was still painful to move. He looked at it for a second, before looking for to his rival, who was making his way to him, still neatly side-stepping all the bogs and rocks around them. But even as Aerrow looked at him he could see that the Dark Ace was badly injured, somewhere. He didn't know exactly where, as the man refused to let him be "medical" to him, but he guessed it was around his chest or his stomach. He could see that the dark-haired man was making sure that he wasn't showing how much pain he was in, and he could see how he was gritting his teeth in the effort of keeping his pain to himself.

How much longer he would go on doing this… Aerrow didn't know. But he didn't think it would be a long time, anyway. If the man collapsed on him, he knew he wouldn't be able to carry or even drag him anywhere, not with his arm hurting like hell at the slightest movement.

Not for the first time, Aerrow found himself surprised at the change of events. Here was his "hated rival", completely at his mercy and yet Aerrow was helping him. But Aerrow wanted to help, it was after all, part of his nature to help anyone, and seeing as he was a Sky Knight as well into the bargain, well, he would make sure that he could help the Dark Ace in anyway he could.

Hence the race against time to get him to that cave before he fell over.

"We have to get to that cave soon!" Aerrow muttered quietly to himself. The Dark Ace was close now and he didn't want him to overhear anything he said.

The Dark Ace carefully avoided the latest boggy patch and easily jumped over the rocks on which Aerrow had cut his leg on recently before landing beside him without a noise. He looked at Aerrow. The kid had obviously hurt his arm, judging by the bandaging and the fact that he was practically cradling it close to his chest, and his face was bloody and bruised but still better off than his own. However, the kid still didn't look as if he could put up much of a fight, and Dark Ace briefly wondered about what would happen if some starving, wild animal decided that they were good enough prey for his lunch.

He looked quickly at the darkening skies. Okay, dinner then. But the point still stood. They wouldn't have a chance, not really. Aerrow could fight better right now, but neither of them had a weapon of any kind to defend themselves with. The sooner they reached this cave that the kid had been going on about since he had led the way from the clearing he had woken up in, the better.

He looked back down from the skies, and looked at Aerrow again. The kid was looking at him with something like concern written in his shining green eyes. Dark Ace snorted. Well, he could be as concerned as he wanted, but he wasn't going near him.

"How much longer to do we have to -" He started to ask, but he suddenly started coughing. He struggled to breath, and to keep the pain that this coughing spell was giving him from showing. He had to yet again grab hold of a nearby tree to remain upright and for support.

Aerrow watched the scene before him, and worried. This really wasn't good. He darted forward to man and put his good arm around his shaking shoulders yet again, refusing to budge even when the man began to struggle.

"We've.." Cough. "Been…" Cough. "Through this already!" Another cough.

Aerrow sighed but ignored the man. He tried to steady the Dark Ace, and refused to move.

"Aerrow! Get off me!" The Dark Ace said, his voice hoarse as he tried to get out of the boy's grasp. He coughed again, and held his hand up to his mouth. He turned around and with his back to the boy, took his hand away from his mouth. He wasn't at all surprised to see spatters of blood lying there. He relaxed against the tree and against Aerrow, exhausted.

Aerrow stepped in front of him, and he quickly wiped his hands down on his uniform. Best if the kid didn't see what he had. The boy would then force him to let him examine him, something that he didn't want.

"This is it. Dark Ace, let me look at you! I know something is wrong and there could be something I could do to help you-" The boy started to say, but Dark Ace held his hand up and cut him off.

"Aerrow, I'm fine. Look, let's just get to this cave and then we can start planning on how we can leave this -" A loud and harsh cry made them both look up, and up in the sky they saw several vulture-like creatures circling them- "…place. For Atmos' sake, we can't hang around outside anymore, look at them!" He pointed with a slightly shaking hand to the sky. "They are already thinking that we are done for and probably planning on when they can start to eat us, so let's get going."

Aerrow looked at him with a frown. "It's about five more minutes away… and I'm worried about you. I don't think you have those five more minutes left in you to walk…" He said, biting his lip anxiously.

"How touching. I feel loved, now knowing that you are worried about me. Aerrow - get a move on before I kick you up the ass and then you go flying into a swamp!" Dark Ace said back, lightly leaning against the boy. He had to, or else he thought he would kneel over.

Aerrow didn't look at all fazed by that statement. He probably knew that the Dark Ace didn't have enough energy to do good on his threat, seeing how he had to lean against him to stay upright.

"Look, I was just saying that-" he started, but was once again interrupted.

"Never mind! Look, you worry about getting us to that cave before those things come after us, and I'll worry about myself."

Aerrow sighed. "Deal. But I mean it. You do something like that again and I will check you out."

He realised to late what he had said and how it sounded. "Don't even think of laughing! You know what I mean!" He said, seeing that the Dark Ace was beginning to smirk again.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Aerrow." he said, smirking, before weakly detaching himself from Aerrow and beginning to walk ahead.

"I swear to all that is good and holy in Atmos… Aerrow, if you don't stop humming that song I will kill you with my bare hands!" Dark Ace shouted, before breaking into an outburst of painful coughing. Aerrow looked back at him with more concern and worry written all over his face but he Dark Ace ignored him and simply kept walking, neatly avoiding more muddy spots even though he was shaking from head to toe, feeling as if he was coughing up his lungs.

They had continued walking, mostly in silence, and accordingly to Aerrow were "very near" this cave. But Aerrow, deciding that he didn't like the silence, had started to hum a very annoying song. It had been easy to ignore at first, but now since he had been humming it for the past ten minutes, non-stop, the Dark Ace had felt that enough was enough. Hence his outburst. Thankfully it had worked, but now he couldn't stop coughing, and now the brat was looking at him as if he expected him to drop dead at any moment now.

Not for the first time the Dark Ace wondered how the hell this had all worked out. And even then he wondered why the hell he had just let things be, and not attempted to go his own way, or even to over-power Aerrow. He snorted. He knew why - he simply did not have either the energy or the strength to do so, and as a result was now traipsing around this Terra with his so named "hated rival". Funny, how life makes things work, isn't it?

"Not far to go now, Dark Ace! We're nearly there!" Aerrow called to him, trying to catch up.

"You said that five minutes ago." The Dark Ace flatly said, reminding him of his previous hopeful statement, before stopping and letting Aerrow catch up.

"Ha ha." Aerrow said dryly. "This place is hard to get around, so sorry if my estimation was a little off!"

The Dark Ace grinned. "Well, I'm not complaining. We got the scenic route… if you call seeing countless bogs and swamps scenic, but you know what I mean."

Aerrow sighed and decided not to reply to that one. He stood beside the taller man for a second, wondering if he should go ahead of him, or walk behind him and then if he collapsed, that meant he could catch him….

The Dark Ace seemed to be reading him like a book.

"Go ahead. You lead the way…I promise I won't attempt to kill you with my bare hands." The Dark Ace said, smirking at the look on Aerrow's face. The kid was not amused. He waited until Aerrow set off again, and it wasn't until he was a good six paces ahead that the Dark Ace put a hand to his mouth, coughed again, and quickly wiped his hand down his uniform.

He wouldn't let on what was happening to the kid. It was his problem to deal with and no one else's. Besides, he did not want that boy to play doctor with him. Heaven knew it was painful enough as it is, so he didn't need a teenage boy hoking and poking around.

Aerrow knew that the Dark Ace was badly injured, but what could he do? He had threaten earlier before that if the Dark Ace had yet another serious soughing fit, then he would force him to let him check him out….Aerrow shook his head quickly. He of course meant to check out his injuries, but whenever he had said that out loud, well….

The point was still standing. He had not made good on his threat, and the Dark Ace had probably realised that. What could he do? They were close to the cave now, of that he was sure, so all he could do was wait and see if the Dark Ace could last that long.

Onwards they went, saying a huge thank you as they did so as instead of bogs there were only trees around this part of the forest. Aerrow perked up a little on seeing the trees, he knew that he was getting closer to the cave. At last things appeared to be going his way!

He quickly looked behind him. The Dark Ace was close, but Aerrow could still see the pain on the man's face, and that fact that he was limping, albeit slightly, surely wasn't helping matters.

"Dark Ace! We're nearly here! Look!" Aerrow said, pointing into the trees. He could see quite clearly now the outline of the cave. "Look! It's over there!" He was happy at last. Once they were inside then they could relax and rest for a bit, and of course, Aerrow could examine Dark Ace.

The Dark Ace stopped and looked over to where Aerrow was pointing so enthusiastically.

"Oh, Cave of Wonders, please grant us access and shelter…" he started to say with a smirk forming on his bloodied face, but Aerrow cut him off.

"Come on! The sooner you are in there then -" he began to say, but not before he in turn was cut off. Really, we're going to have to grasp the concept of letting each other finish what it was we wanted to say… Aerrow though with a sigh.

"If you think, Aerrow, that as soon as we get in there," Dark Ace said, starting to walk again, "that you can force me to let you be all medical with me, then you have another thing coming. How many times do I have to say it? I'm fine! So leave me be…" he finished, now close to the cave itself.

Aerrow started at him in amazement. He was still saying all that rubbish? Well, it was now or never…He thought.

"Look, Dark Ace, you and I both know that that is complete rubbish. If you're fine, then this place is as good as Terra Tropica for a holiday." Aerrow said, pausing outside the cave. He looked at Dark Ace, who seemed to be slightly surprised for a second, whether it was at Aerrow's words, or the fact that Aerrow was arguing with him, Aerrow didn't know. However, Dark Ace soon folded his arms and leant against the mouth of the cave, lightly smirking instead.

"I don't know why you're smirking, not when you know I'm right on this one! Dark Ace, get in the cave and then you can let me look at your side injury-" Aerrow saw Dark Ace start at that - "I thought so. It is your side, isn't it? And I'm guessing you have done something to your chest as well, which is why you keep coughing, and so painfully too. Look, just get in and let me take a look. How bad can it be?" Aerrow said, looking at the black-haired man all the time.

Dark Ace sighed. He really didn't want to give in, but he did want to lie down. And that would only happen if he went inside the cave and let Aerrow take a look at him.

"I hate the world. I really do." He muttered to himself, before sighing yet again and looking at Aerrow.

"Fine. Have it your way. But," He paused for a second, on seeing Aerrow brightening up, "I want to make a deal first before we go in."

Aerrow now looked interested. "What deal?"

"I want to have a lie down before you start prodding and poking me. It is, after all, the least you can let me do." Dark Ace said.

"But, that could waste time, which you don't have!" Aerrow said, sounding angry, but more worried.

Dark Ace, would had been in the process of moving towards the entrance of the cave folded his arms yet again and resumed his leaning against the cave. "Then we have no deal." He said bluntly.

Aerrow sighed. This man was so…annoying, for want of a better word. He took a deep breath an counted to ten in his head, just like he had to do with Finn and Piper all the time. He suddenly thought about them. How were they? Where were they? Still safe? On the Condor? Thoughts raced through his head, but he quickly pushed them aside to focus on the matter at hand.

"Well?" Dark Ace's voice cut through his focusing.

Here we go, now or never…he thought yet again, before opening his mouth to reply.

"Yes. Deal."

And there we have it, folks! I know, it is a bit of a weak chapter ending but I wanted to leave something without a cliff-hanger for once. XD.

So what will happen next with those two? Will they actually walk through the cave? Find out soon! But not too soon, as the next chapter is finding out how the search parties for the two of them are going…

Well, thanks for reading and I hope to se you at the next chapter! Remember to review to let me know what you all think!

Toodles, Leah xo