The Hunt for Sviederbach

Disclaimer: I do not own Shake it Up

A/N: Yes the main title has changed to reflect the trilogy that this story will become. There is one final installment that comes upon the completion of this story, so prepare for it. I think you'll enjoy that the best after Flames and Hunt, comes Dare. Now enjoy this chapter ^_^

Chapter 25 (Astor's Anger)

Astor sat on the couch, watching his little siblings play with each other. It was hard to be calm, as he'd been trying to do most of the prior night and this morning. Aveline was still sleeping off what happened to her the past day He knew she wouldn't be getting anything done for a while, and that was fine with him, she needed her rest. He was angry at Martin's cousins, though, and was feeling particularly vengeful.

He knew what the note said for the next person, but Martin wasn't even going to start the time up yet, and it was hell waiting to save this person. The note spoke of a young, beautiful dancer who was hidden beneath the stage that she loved, and that she would miss the stage when she moved to Sviederbach. He was sure this was Astrid, and she must be hidden in the tunnels beneath the studio.

Impatiently his fingers danced on the armrest, his eyes moved to the teleporter on the end table and the sword standing beside it. The temptation was strong, but Aveline would be pissed that he would go off alone. This was more than just rescuing Astrid, however, he wanted to prove himself. He had to prove himself, to show that he could hold his own ground. When the cousins showed up, he didn't even notice, and the struck him in the back of the head with something hard and blunt. His head was still pounding from the strike! "I am stronger than this," he muttered. His siblings stopped moving and looked up to him with a smile.

"Play with us, Brother!" Mia exclaimed joyfully. "We're playing tag now!" Astor smiled at them and shook his head, he was in no mood anymore. How could he be? Their sister had almost been assaulted and murdered, and he did nothing! What terrified him most was losing her, but then he had to wonder what would happen if this ever came to pass. It would be up to him to take care of Michael, Mia, and Kuno. It would be up to him to make sure his parents were getting by well enough, and it would be up to him to take the next rule on the throne when his father had to step down. "Why not, Astor? You always like to play with us…did we do something wrong? Are you mad at us?"

"No Mia, it's nothing like that."

"Are you sad about Sis?" Mia crawled onto the couch and cuddled next to him, comforting him. Michael and Kuno waddled over and sat at his feet, gazing up to his face. His eyes started to tear up. How could he protect them if he couldn't protect his eldest sister when she was taken down? She never needed protection before, Aveline was always strong and vigilant, but sure she had her moments where she could be brought down. He never imagined they'd come so close to the trauma of last night.

"I'll be fine, Mia. I appreciate the concern." He loved his sister to death but she was far too young to understand the troubles going on in his mind. The anxieties that were damaging him in the past few days were far more overwhelming than anything he'd felt in his life. Being so close to Aveline and being mildly conscious enough to hear, but not move, it was more than just traumatizing. He didn't want to burden her by telling her he was at least somewhat conscious during her attack, albeit slowly waking up halfway into it. He was glad the cousins didn't do anything more to her, that Martin showed up when he did, but still he wanted to tear their throats apart. His rage towards the Lamont family was now equal to Aveline's, or greater. "Watch over Ave, would you?"

"Okay brother." He slowly rose to his feet and walked towards the sword and sheath. Mia tilted her head and hopped from the couch. "Where are you going?" Astor attached the belt around his waist, shifted his gaze to the scrap of paper on the table, it was the clue for Astrid. He narrowed his eyes and looked to the hallway towards where Aveline was staying. Hastily he grabbed the teleporter and dialed in the address of the dance studio. "Brother? Where?"

"I'm going out."

The device put him directly outside the studio, fortunately for him. He narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the hilt of the sword. "All right. Got any traps for me?" He loathed the killing, but in his mind, there was no alternative. The cousins attacking Aveline was the final straw, the last thing to push him over the edge. "Screw whether or not they were part of this entire plan…They tried to hurt my sister…they have my family, they have Astrid…the Lamonts are going to pay."

The common phrase was that revenge was best served cold, and while true, he was not dark-hearted enough to kill without remorse. He understood that this would have to be done either way, and he was going to get it done sooner than later. "Let's do this." He pushed open the doors and casually strode into the empty studio. He raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the door, having expected it to be locked.

Walking closer to the stage, he moved his hand firmly around the handle of the blade, ready to draw at the slightest movement. The studio should be closed, since rehearsals weren't being done today. The lights above the stage turned on suddenly, causing him to freeze in the center of it. Four robots appeared in the corners of the square platform, looking like robotic versions of his parents and aunts when they were in their teenage years. He raised an eyebrow and watched them slowly making their way towards him. "Okay then…let's dance…"

His blade flashed in the light as it sailed through the air. Rocky's robot leapt forward while Cece spun towards him, Tinka cartwheeled, and Gunther began running. Astor looked back and forth at the four oncoming robots and quickly jumped up in the air, slashing his blade downward and crushing the back of Tinka's robot. The robot cracked and started to turn around as he landed on his feet. He twisted his upper body and stabbed the blade forward through the robot's chest. His eyes narrowed dangerously and his wrist twisted, sending a shockwave motion down the sword which tore through the robot.

If he remembered correctly, Gary had built the robots many years ago because he missed his dancers to that point. He'd thrown them in storage after some time, at least that's what Astrid told him. "Lamont must have turned you four on." Cece's robot began skipping towards him, swinging her arms through the air. He raised an eyebrow, embarrassed at the sight. "Sorry mom…or well…robot mom." He twisted around, smashing the handle of the blade into the head of the robot. Next, he leapt back, overhead of the three robots and threw his blade down into the Gunther robot. Both robots sparked and exploded. He landed beside his blade, crouching on one knee and exhaling softly. "One left, then it's off to the basement to get Astrid."

Astor grabbed the sword up and quickly moved it in front of himself as Rocky's metal fists came crashing down. The blow pushed him back somewhat, startling him. His breath came out as a pant while he eyed the robot. "Great, the robot can fight like the real Rocky…Someone should talk to Gary about this, too bad he's retired…" The robot lunged into the air and kicked down towards him. His eyes widened and he quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike. "Okay, not pleasant!" He swung his blade through the air, slashing into the side of the robot. He then brought the blade out, lifted it into the air with both hands and stabbed downwards into the robot, destroying it. He began to pant, eyeing the now chipped and cracked stage. "Well, that could have gone better…" He straightened himself up and kicked some scrap metal from the stage and glanced towards the right where elevator doors awaited him. "One step closer. Hang tight Astrid, I'm almost there."

Once on the floor below, he ran out of the elevator and looked up to the ceiling, Astrid was hanging from the ceiling while tied to a chair. The rope was hooked up to a pulley system that was lowering her into a burning caldron. Astrid looked over to him and her eyes grew large. "Astor!"

"Astrid, hang on!"

"What do you think I'm doing!" The elevator doors slid open behind him, forcing him to turn in surprise. Eric Lamont slowly stepped out, smirking gracefully at him. The man had bruises on his face, and what looked like a split lip, telltale signs that he just discovered how strong a Bransford could be when angered.

"So nice of you to join us, Astor…I see your sister is not with you." He growled and started to lower his blade, glaring at the man. "Now the only reason you see your dear Astrid up there is because, well, the kid knows how to fight. She got pretty aggravating, so I had no choice."

"It's in her blood." He twirled his sword in his hand and narrowed his eyes. "I guess you're the one responsible for those robots up there?"

"Yes. Who would have thought Gary would have created something that could be so handy? It's a pity they failed to take you out. I thought the rules of the game were that you and your sister must travel together?" Those were the rules, but it seemed Martin didn't care, or else he was too busy with his westerns. "Martin slaughtered my son Tyler, did you see that? I thought we raised him up right, but apparently he needs some more lessons in familial respect."

"With a family like you, who needs enemies? That's all I'm saying about that subject."

"You make me laugh, boy. It's a shame I'm going to have to tear you apart limb from limb. Or, I can make you watch as the girl is dipped into that cauldron." Astor looked over his shoulder at Astrid and growled. Martin explicitly stated these people were not to be murdered unless the deadline was up, wasn't that the case? He looked back at Eric with narrow eyes. "What?"

"Martin's rules of the game were the hostages don't die unless we miss the deadline."

"Oh yes, that was Martin's words, and my nephew abides by his word. However, he killed family, and he must learn what happens when he turns his back on us. We don't hold his word to a high power."

"Bastard…" Eric bolted for a nearby button and Astor ran after him, reaching out to stop him. When the man hit the button, Astrid cried out and the rope moved her down slowly. "Astrid!" His heart started to race as he charged for the caldron. "I'll get you down from here! How do you stop it."

"The machine can't be stopped once it starts up. You'd have to cut the rope and risk letting her fall into that thing." Eric began laughing as Astor's muscles tightened from rage. "You're deathly loyal to those you care about, it must be hard when you realize you can do nothing to protect them, nothing to save them. If it hadn't been for Martin, your dear sister would have been destroyed, and you could have done nothing for her." Astor clenched his fists and spun around, roaring angrily at the man.

"Don't talk about Aveline like that!"

"Astor, he's trying to provoke you!" Astrid exclaimed, "Don't let him do that!" He leaned back, studying the smirk on the man's face. If he focused all his energy into fighting Eric right now, then Astrid would continue sinking down. He looked up at Astrid to see her trying to move her body. "I'm trying to gain some momentum Astor, if I can swing myself out enough, maybe you can cut the rope and I can land on the ground." It was a risky move, but with her flexibility, he was sure she could pull it off.

"How sure are you that you can gain enough momentum?" He slowly stepped backwards as Eric brought a knife from his pocket. "Really? A six inch knife against this thing?" Eric shrugged and bounced the knife in air.

"You'd be surprised what I can do with this. I was going to enjoy cutting your sister's heart out, but it appears you'll have to do. Unless of course, you want to go back and bring your sister with you."

"Once again, leave Aveline out of this." He moved his eyes to a crate near the giant cauldron, then traced a path in the air towards the top. He could make it, the top of the cauldron was only about eight feet high, the top of the crate was four feet off the ground. "Right…prioritize…" Where was Noak anyway? Shouldn't he be with Astrid? He'd have to ask. "Another time, Eric."

"Wha…" Astor bolted for the crate, putting his hand to the top and vaulting up onto the crate. He looked up to Astrid, who had managed to start swinging like a pendulum, but was still only moving in a three foot arc. "Damn it boy, get down from there!"

"Buzz off, Lamont. I'll deal with you after this." He reached up and jumped for the cauldron, missing the top by one inch. He landed on one knee and growled, there was no way he could give up. Not now. After two more unsuccessful jumps, he finally managed to pull himself to the top. He nearly fell off when he saw the boiling lava inside. "How the hell did you manage to get lava over here?"

"A lot of hard work, now get off that thing, damn it!"

"No thanks." There was at least a six foot diameter, and the rim of the cauldron was large and flat, making it easy to stand on. The pulley had lowered Astrid close to his level. She turned her head to him and smiled as her body came in full swing towards him. He reached out for the leg of the wooden chair, grinning at her. "Hey Astrid, did you miss me?"

"Took you long enough." His hand tightened around the chair leg. Instinctively, he slashed through the ropes in between Astrid and the back of the chair. She lurched forward, freeing her arms, and fell into him, causing both of them to fall off the cauldron and land safely into the mess of crates beside them. "That was close. Do me a favor Astor, never cut it that close again please!"

"Sorry." When Eric started screaming out, reminding them of his presence, Astor turned in time to see the man charging for him. There was not enough time to react, and surely Eric would stab him. When the man was within inches of him, an arrow sliced through Eric's head and over theirs. Astor's eyes widened as the man froze and collapsed on the spot, revealing Aveline with a bow and arrow trained upon Eric. Martin was beside her, shaking his head and holding his own teleporter. Had Aveline asked Martin to show up? "And I'm in trouble…"

"This is how you try to prove yourself?" Aveline asked with a low growl. "Going off on your own, risking everything? What happened to 'we are a team'?"

He managed to get Astrid, but it was risky. What do you think of the stuff that happened here?