Akk! Sorry about the long wait, if you went on my profile you saw that it was because my ever loyal computer breathed its last breath. I've taken to stealing my sister's school issued laptop until my charger for my new laptop arrives. So that's how we have a new chapter.

Oh, and just because I've been announcing this on my other +Anima stories, I started a new one. Kay Hau gave me the original plot, and has been helping me with filling in all of the details. Really excited, so if anyone wants to go check it out when finished with this chapter, I hope you like it so far. The title is Puppet Strings, by the by.

Chapter 23 - Of Trust and Doubt

The sun had set once again by the time the two touched down in town. Even though he had liked the sensation of flying, Straton couldn't help but feel a bit relieved when he was set back down onto the ground. It was slightly terrifying knowing that your entire life hung in the ability of a single teenager not dropping you by accident.

"Do you remember the way to the trader's?" Kazana asked. Straton hesitated slightly before nodding and leading then down a street. He was almost positive that their destination was in this direction, at least. It still ended up taking them maybe twenty minutes before they were actually able to find the small building, the blonde boy having gotten them lost a few times. Once they were there though, Straton just stared at the door from across the street bewildered. Were they just going to barge in and demand they give Keane back?

From the way Kazana started barreling across the street, Straton took that as a yes.

"W-wait!" the young boy called, running up until he was standing in front of the winged teen. Kazana just stared down at him, a slightly confused look on his face. Straton started kicking at the ground a bit, not meeting Kazana's eyes. He hadn't been exactly sure what he wanted to say when he stopped them. "Um, is this a good idea? Just running in there. I mean, shouldn't we at least try to be, um, sneaky?" he asked at last. Kazana seemed to think for a minute, looking up at the trader building now only a few feet away, before nodding.

"Yeah, it would be easier to just go in and get him out, it's late, so the owner might be asleep," the black haired teen said, and Straton quickly nodded in agreement. He wasn't really sure how late it actually was, but the sun probably only set a few hours ago. Their plan obviously wasn't fool proof. Although considering the fact that Kazana had just been planning on going in and snatching Keane up from the beginning, if they ended up having to resort to that it wouldn't be too horrible a solution.

The two walked the rest of the way up to the house as quietly as they could. Kazana went over to a window before peaking inside, although Straton could tell from where he stood that at the very least, the lights were off. The teen looked away before nodding at Straton and heading over to the door. It was locked, but before Straton could even suggest trying to pick it Kazana simply snapped the old knob off.

Pushing the door open, the hawk +anima walked into the dark room without a second thought. Straton just stared at the broken doorknob now lying on the ground. That was just… wow. Shaking his head, he quickly trotted after the older teen, trying his best to see.

Straton could hear Kazana messing with something; he assumed it to be some sort of lamp so they could see. "K-Kaveh?" he called softly, remembering at the last minute about the fake name. He really had to get better at that if they weren't going to get caught. He was just glad that Keane had been smart enough to think of names that at the very least began with the same letters.

"Looking for someone?" the blonde boy spun around as fast as he could towards the sound, surprised that it wasn't coming from further inside the house, but the doorway. Standing there was the same trader that they'd been sold to, holding a small oil lamp. Walking inside, he started turning on a few lights, even going as far as to take the old one Kazana had been messing with from his hands and lighting it in a few seconds.

"Where's the mouse +anima?" Kazana demanded, the casual way that the trader regarded him having clearly grated on his nerves. For his part however Basim ignored him to focus on the younger boy standing by where Keane had been tied up.

Straton had tried to ignore the initial fear and disappointment that had bubbled up inside of him at the sight of the empty posts. He kept trying to tell himself that it didn't mean that Keane wasn't still here somewhere. The redhead would have probably called out if he'd been in the room when someone broke in anyway, or when he'd heard Straton's voice. Really, he should be a little glad he wasn't there, that meant that he hadn't been stuck in the same place tied up and not allowed to move for over a day now.

"Your brother was worried about you. I went out to look for you yesterday and just now, but you wouldn't turn up. It certainly is a relief to have found you, and in my own home no less," the older man said. Straton's only reaction was to frown however. He didn't trust this man in the slightest. There were a million other places he could have been that weren't looking for him, and even if he was, he highly doubted it was because Keane had been worried. His brother wouldn't put his trust in the hands of some random slave trader, let alone one who had them separated.

"Where is he?" he asked, not bothering to play polite or anything like that. It was so unlike how he normally was, but this wasn't the palace. He couldn't get his way by bowing and speaking carefully. Basim just sighed and nodded however, walking over to his counter to put down the lamp that was still in his hand.

"I'm sorry, but he was sold last night," the older man told the two truthfully. Straton gasped under his breath, eyes widening in shock. He knew that this was a possibility. Hell, it was plain likely, despite how much he tried to deny it. He just hadn't thought about what he would do if it actually had happened though. Before the information was really able to process in his head, a blur of motion caught his attention. In an instant Kazana was lifting the man off his feet, a fierce glare set onto his face.

"And you think that's going to stop us? Who'd you sell him to? Where are they heading?" the hawk winged teen demanded. Straton couldn't help but be impressed with how the older man handled himself, barely flinching at all at the assault. Of course, he dealt with +anima every day, he was probably used to them lashing out at him. The blonde boy was pretty sure that even still, they most likely didn't get as far as Kazana just had.

"If you would be kind enough to let me go and keep from lasting out without thinking, I would be happy to tell the boy about his brother," Basim said calmly. His tone only seemed to anger the hawk teen even more though, who was gritting his teeth as he stared up at the man. There was no sign of him possibly considering letting him go.

"You can talk just fine like this," he growled. Straton sighed slightly before walking over to the two. Even if this wasn't the palace, he still didn't like unnecessary conflict.

"Kazana? Maybe you should let him down," the blonde suggested. Reluctantly the older teen lowered Basim to the ground, although the angry expression never left his face. It was clear that Kazana did not like this man, and Straton didn't really blame him. Even if he let him go without any punishment, unlike the fruit vender that had caught them to begin with, he still sold Keane. Sighing slightly under his breath, he tried to just keep himself calm. He was usually so good at being level headed too, but the stress of potentially never seeing the only family he had left was getting to him.

"Okay, now where is Kaveh?" he asked again, actually remembering to use the fake name this time. The slight look of confusion that passed over the trader's face sent a wave of cold fear through him, however. He'd called Keane by his real name when he was being dragged away, hadn't he? Desperately, he tried not to break face, hoping that maybe somehow the old man wouldn't say anything.

"Well, as I had said before, he was sold last night," Basim started, not making any comment on the discrepancy between the names. Even though he had no idea why he would do that in the first place, Straton just had to keep his relief bottled up as he nodded for him to continue. "It was to another trader, a friend of mine. He's a kind man, doesn't abuse his slaves like some," the blonde boy was distracted slightly by the way Kazana snorted at that comment. The teen's disbelief didn't seem to bother Basim any, however, who simply ignored him.

"That's good. Thank you for not giving my brother to someone who'd hurt him, but you still haven't told me where they went," Straton said, hoping the man would hurry and get to the point already. For a second, he wondered if maybe this was some sort of trap to keep them here until someone came with the police or something. Before he was able to voice that concern however, the old man continued.

"My friend said that he was planning to head east, to Deftian, it's about a two day trip with a cart," he said plainly. Straton let out a sigh of relief. If they left now, they would probably be able to catch them before they made it to the town. Basim had said his friend was also a trader, so he was most likely planning to sell Keane at a higher price as soon as he could.

The blonde was just about to thank him when Kazana decided to make himself known again. The teen pushed off of the wall he was leaning against and stormed over to where the trader stood. Straton had no idea what he was doing at first, but once he started to speak it became very clear.

"And just how in the world are we supposed to believe you? You could be sending us on a wild goose chase, or better yet, straight into a trap!" he yelled. Straton suddenly felt like an idiot for not even considering that kind of possibility. Of course, Keane had always been the one who was good with people, not him.

"I'm sorry if I can't offer any definite proof that that's not the case, but all I can really give you is my word. I promised the mouse +anima that I would make sure that his brother stayed safe," Basim said. Once again Kazana scoffed in disbelief.

Straton stared at the stone floor in thought, trying to figure out if it was worth it to risk everything and go where the trader said. He didn't blame Kazana for not believing him, and if he was tricking them, then he probably never would end up finding Keane again. Of course, if he didn't at least try, he had no other lead or way to find Keane either. At the very least, he doubted it was a trap. The best trap would just be to keep there here for as long as possible, and wait for the police to come. He'd had to of seen that someone had broken in before he'd entered the building, after all. He could have alerted someone to go for help while he stalled them for time.

"I think we should trust him," the blonde said at last, barely above a whisper. It managed to catch the hawk teen's attention enough though.

"What? There's no way. You have no idea what guys like him do to +anima!" Kazana argued. Straton couldn't look him in the eyes as he continued. It was true that he didn't know exactly what slaves had to go through once they were sold, but he had still been captured, tied up and then beaten by those working in the slave trade. Even if he wasn't a +anima, all of that had to amount to something, right?

"I know. Well, maybe not trust, but it's the only real lead we have. There's no other way to try to find him but go and check it out," the blonde argued softly. He was just trying to think about it logically, and that was what he came up with.

Kazana looked back and forth between the slave trader and Straton a few times before finally sighing. "Alright, we'll go look for him by Deftian," he said at last. The blonde boy gave a small sigh of relief. If Kazana hadn't agreed, there would have been no way for him to ever catch up to them, even if they really were going where Basim had said.

"Oh yes, one more thing," the old trader said suddenly, catching the attention of the other two occupants of the room. "I'll be right back," he said simply disappearing behind an old door on the back wall. Straton watched after him confused, not entirely sure what he was planning.

Kazana was just about to suggest that they just leave when Basim came back into the room, a worn bag in his hands. It had a long sling for a handle, and when he handed it to Straton, the boy was surprised to find that it was actually slightly heavy.

"Um…" he started, not entirely sure what he was supposed to do with the bag. All the old man did was smile at him though, so finally he decided to just open it.

The blonde wasn't able to keep his eyes from widening at the shock. There was some dried food, a small bundle of fabric and a sack of money. The money was definitely what surprised him the most. "What the…? Why?" he asked, looking back up to Basim for some sort of answer. It didn't make any sense. Even if he said that he promised Keane he would help him, he was still a slave trader. He was a bad guy.

"I already told you why. Plus, that money is what I got from selling your brother; it doesn't seem very fair for me to keep it, now does it?" He asked. Slowly, Straton started shaking his head. He… guessed that made sense.

From across the room, Kazana cleared his throat. The act quickly caught both of their attention. "Hey Sargon, it's probably best to leave now if we plan on catching up with your brother at all," the teen said, and Straton nodded. Closing the bag, he slung the strap over his head, letting it run across his chest and back so that both his hands were free.

"Um, thank you for everything, and uh, sorry about the doorknob," Straton said hesitantly. Basim simply chuckled slightly and waved the boy away.

"Don't you worry about that. Tell your brother to stay safe, oh, and if it's not too much trouble, try not to scare my friend too much," he said, and the blonde smiled and nodded. Turning back around, he saw where Kazana was waiting for him outside. The teen was still fixing Basim with the same glare as he'd been all night, but Straton decided to just ignore that for now.

Soon, they were up in the air again, and Straton just prayed that this time they wouldn't be too late.

Hurray. Finished the chapter. I write when I'm depressed/upset, so that's probably the main reason I was able to get this done. You know that stereotype that writers can't do math? Well, seeing as failing math class made me write this, I'd say it's a pretty accurate one.
Haha, I'm fine though. Thanks for reading, and please review. I can't believe this story is almost at 100. I'll have to do something super special for that once I get there, won't I?