A/N: OH. MY GOSH. YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME. Thank you so very much for all of your kind reviews. I am so glad you are all enjoying this. XD

This chapter is dedicated to Lorrie the Ninja Elf, who reviewed for every single chapter in one day. YOU ROCK! XD

Warning: Angst... Will!whump... descriptive torture

Disclaimer: I don't own ranger's apprentice.

25. Trouble Lurking

It should have been a routine mission. "In and out. Grab the documents and then leave," Crowley had instructed. Things were not turning out that way now, Will realized as he looked around, his heart thudding.

He could barely make out the figures surrounding them, pointing arrows down at the two men from the top of the hill. It had happened suddenly; one moment they had been waling through the forest and down a hill into a clearing, the next they had been surrounded.

Halt calmly looked around as if he had expected this to happen. Will turned to his mentor, waiting for instructions, but Halt shook his head slowly, signaling his apprentice to stand still.

"It's about time you all showed your faces. I have been listening to you lot stumbling through the forest for miles. Can we help you all with something?" Halt called cockily up at them. "We were just on our way to make some business transactions. We don't mean to intrude."

"Put your weapons on the ground!" A voice called out from the group of archers. Will fumbled with his bow, making a move to set it on the floor, but Halt stopped him, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Halt asked.

"We will not hesitate to kill you!" the voice called again. "Put down your weapons!"

Halt sighed. "This is a nuisance," he grumbled, placing his bow on the ground and throwing his knives down beside them. Will glanced over at his mentor as he set his own weapons down on the grass.

"Hands behind your back!" the voice ordered again, and both the ranger and his apprentice complied. A figure stepped forwards, his face hidden by a cowl and a thick rope coiled in his hands.

Halt raised an eyebrow as the man roughly pushed him to his knees, tying the rope tightly around his wrists. The cowled figure did the same to the apprentice, and Will nearly sprawled on his face.

"Halt?" Will asked his mentor as they were both pulled to their feet. "What's happening?"

"I wish I knew," Halt commented as they were led to a cart and pushed inside, darkness encasing them.

TROUBLE LURKING

It was late at night by the time the group of men stopped, pulling the two prisoners out of the cart and tying them against an oak tree as they set up camp.

Just as Will began to doze off, the cowled figure approached. "My name is Damien. I am sure you are wondering why you are here." Halt chose not to answer, studying the man in front of him with distaste.

"Earlier yesterday, you were contacted by your superior and ordered to collect a certain set of documents. Where are these documents located?" Damien asked.

"That is classified information," Halt said. "Now, are you going to take that hood down so I can get a better look at you?"

"In good time," the man snarled. "You can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Tell me where the documents are and I may spare your lives."

Halt snorted indignantly, rolling his eyes and giving his apprentice a small smile. "This is obviously going nowhere," Halt commented. "Why do you want to know where the documents are?"

"I have a particular interest in keeping the contents of that document a secret," the man said after a moment, his hands going up to the hood around his face and pulling the fabric down, revealing his features to his prisoners.

Damien was old, his gray hair long and tangled. His icy blue eyes seemed to stare through their bodies straight into their souls, his wrinkled face sinister and threatening. A scar ran from the top of his ear down his jaw.

"Well, you're a pretty thing," Halt goaded, and the man gave the ranger a vicious kick.

"Shut up!" he snarled, striding away from the two. Will watched him go silently, eyes wide.

"Are you okay?" Will asked, turning to look at the grizzled ranger worriedly.

"Fine," Halt commented. "He kicks like a girl."

Will looked at his mentor seriously. "You've obviously never been kicked by Alyss then."

They were both silent for a few moments before Halt spoke softly.

"He is not going to stop until he gets the information he wants." Halt paused, watching Will's face closely. The boy looked pale, nervous and Halt suddenly cursed Crowley for sending them on this stupid mission. Will was still just a boy! He didn't deserve this. "They will torture us, maybe even kill us."

Will nodded, attempting a weak smile, but failing miserably.

They fell silent, both feeling the trouble lurking around the corner, waiting to strike like a cat stalking its prey.

TROUBLE LURKING

Will must have fallen asleep, for the next thing he was a aware of was a sharp pain in his side as a boot connected with his ribs. He gasped in pain, struggling to get away.

"Good morning," a voice snarled at him. "Ready to tell me where these documents are?" Damien stood in front of them, his nose wrinkled in distaste.

Halt let out a small laugh. "Never," he said.

"The hard way, then," the man said, bending down until his face was mere inches from Will's own. He began to untie the rope around Will's body, releasing the apprentice from his bonds.

Will immediately began to struggle, lashing out and managing to smash his fist into Damien's face.

He made a move towards Halt but was not fast enough, his breath knocked out of him as a fist sent him thudding into the dirt, a foot pressing into his back.

"No, we will have none of that," Damien said calmly, putting a bit more pressure on the apprentice before releasing.

Will gasped as air rushed back into his lungs, barely aware of Halt speaking beside him.

"Leave him alone! He is just a boy!" Halt snarled.

Damien raised an eyebrow, and Will shuddered. "Why should I? He is the most likely to break first, and I honestly have no time to sit around waiting."

Halt struggled to pull his wrists free as he saw a man approach, a bag grasped in his hand. Damien took a step forwards, accepting the bag, and digging inside it for a moment before pulling out a large, metal rod.

He put the rod over a nearby fire, and Will's heart began to thud in terror. He sat up, pushing himself away. Damien rolled his eyes. "Restrain him, would you, Marcus?" he asked, and the burly man pushed the apprentice back into the dirt.

Damien pulled the rod from the fire, the once silver metal now glowing red with heat.

"Tell me where the documents are," he said, holding the rod close to Will's bare face.

"No," Will responded, taking a breath to calm himself.

"Tell me where they are."

Will could hear Halt shouting from behind him, could feel the heat radiating off the metal rod. He looked up defiantly at Damien.

"I don't think I will," he growled.

Damien pulled the rod away from Will's face for a moment, gesturing towards Marcus. The burly man nodded, and then pressed a knife to Will's chest. For a moment, Will thought that Marcus was going to kill him.

Instead, the man cut away Will's shirt, leaving his chest exposed. Will shuddered, trying to move his body away from the red-hot metal, the grip on his arms tightening as he struggled.

Pain erupted on his chest as the poker connected with his skin, the smell of burning flesh beginning to waft through the air. He was aware of nothing but the pain, his vision going dark around the edges as he slumped into the dirt.

It was a few moments before he became aware of himself again, his chest throbbing and his vision cloudy.

"Tell me where they are." The man was so close to him, he could feel warm breath tickling his ear.

Will clenched his teeth shut, staying silent. The pain came over him again, his mind going blank as he screamed. Time lost its meaning after that, his entire world filled with endless agony that ripped through his soul like a dagger.

He nearly cried with relief as he felt himself slipping into darkness.

TROUBLE LURKING

Halt watched events unfold in front of him, angry that he felt so helpless, that he couldn't do anything to save his apprentice from the torture.

He didn't know when he started shouting at Damien, screaming at the man to stop. Halt pulled at the ropes binding him until his wrists bled, crimson rivers running down his arms and dripping onto the dust below him.

"Stop it!" he cried again as he saw Will slump to the ground, finally safe from the pain in the deep, dark folds of unconsciousness.

Damien turned to Halt, raising an eyebrow at the ranger mockingly. "And why should I stop? He will break soon enough."

"No he wont," Halt growled angrily, wishing with all of his heart that he was close enough to spit into the man's scarred face.

"Why do you think that?" Damien said, his face splitting into an amused smile, his eyes coldly fixed at the boy at his feet. "He is just a whelp..."

"He wont break because I will tell you where the documents are."

TROUBLE LURKING

Will blinked awake slowly, his thoughts muddled and his chest flaring with pain. He tried to push himself up, and moaned as the pain grew more intense with every movement.

"Will?" He turned to the side, eyes making out his mentor in the darkness of the cart.

"What...?" he asked. "Where are we going?"

"You don't remember?" Halt asked, his voice not showing how worried he was.

"I remember," Will said, wincing. "I meant, why are we in the cart again...?"

Halt was ominously silent and Will felt the feeling of dread grow inside of him.

"I told them where to go," Halt said after a moment and Will was stunned, unable to speak for a few seconds.

"You... you told them where the documents are?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly.

"Don't be foolish, of course not," Halt said. "I told them the wrong location. Little do they know, they are headed in the opposite direction of the documents as we speak."

Will let out a weak, relieved grin, slumping back against the wood planks of the cart. The relief was short lived as he came to a realization.

"Halt?" he asked. "What will happen once they discover that the documents aren't there?" And suddenly, his heart was pounding, the burns on his chest flaring with pain.

"They wont hurt you again," Halt growled, wishing he could scoot closer to Will, but unable to because of the rope that bound him. "I wont let them... Now, get some rest Will. We have a lot to do tonight."

Will looked at Halt in confusion, and Halt continued. "Tonight, we are going to escape."

TROUBLE LURKING

When darkness fell over the forest, the group stopped. Will and Halt were again tied to a tree some distance away from the campsite and a guard was placed over them.

Halt watched the camp carefully, noting where every fire was located, where every tent was set up. It was past midnight when he decided to act, nudging Will awake with his elbow.

Will glanced at the guard, who was using the tip of his pocket knife to clean under his nails, his eyes no longer on the two prisoners. He turned his eye to his mentor, opening his mouth to whisper a question. Halt quickly shook his head for the apprentice to remain silent.

Halt pulled his feet close to his body, struggling to bring his hand closer to his left boot, his wrists trembling with the strain of moving the rope. Will saw this movement and moved to help, shifting closer to his mentor to give the rope a little more slack around their bodies.

Halt finally managed to stick his hand inside the boot, fingers searching around his foot for a moment until they grasped a small object. He brought his hand up, and Will could see a small pocket knife griped in the rangers fist.

Halt twisted his wrist upwards, slowly sawing at the rope, eyes focused on the task at hand. Will watched the guard closely, begging him in his mind not to look up.

One of the coils broke and Halt moved to the second, his wrists aching as he twisted the joints at an odd angle. Soon, the coil of rope fell away from his body and Halt slowly turned to Will.

He was about to start working at his apprentice's rope, but Will shook his head, eyes going to the guard. Halt nodded and then blended into the shadows.

"Hey..." the guard was looking up at him now, brow wrinkled in confusion as he saw the boy sitting alone. "Where did he go?"

Will looked up at the man innocently. "Who?"

"The ranger!" The guard frantically looked around the campsite, eyes searching for Halt unsuccessfully.

"What ranger? I think you were seeing things... It's only me here," Will said, making the guard turn towards him in confusion. It was then that Halt struck from the shadows, knocking the man to the ground and quickly moving towards Will.

"We don't have much time," he muttered, cutting the ropes away. Will stood, swaying as his vision blurred for a moment, his chest flaring with pain. He shivered as the air brushed his exposed skin, suddenly wishing that his shirt hadn't been taken from him.

Halt led the apprentice into the woods, trying to get as far away from the camp as he could. Light was tinging the sky when Halt noticed the pale look on Will's face.

"We can stop here for a bit," he said gruffly, turning to the apprentice. "Sit down so I can bandage those burns up."

Will was only too happy to comply, slumping to the ground tiredly. Halt ripped the bottom of his shirt, carefully wrapping Will's chest, aware of every sound in the forest, constantly on guard.

After he had finished, he stood straight, eyes looking up at the rising sun. "Come on," he growled after a moment. It was nightfall by the time they reached the city.

Halt was sore, tired, hungry, and worried about his apprentice. "I swear, if I get my hands on Crowley any time soon, he wont live to see another sunrise."

A/N: Eh... I don't really like this chapter... Sorry if Will seemed a little weak in this. I was imagining him as the young, naive apprentice. And Halt was getting really sassy as I was writing this chapter. Gosh Halt, sass will get you nowhere when you are kidnapped. XD

So I actually had another idea for this chapter, but I started writing it and I realized it was going to be too long. So I decided I am going to post it as another Ranger's Apprentice fanfiction! YAY! Expect it to be up in a week or two.

I just realized that I am 1/4 of the way there... I can't believe I actually made it this far!

Thank you all for the support. Next chapter is 'Tears'. Who do you want me to make cry?

Live long and prosper! (Yep, I'm still a trekkie to whoever was wondering. XD Spock is the best!)

-Dawn