After it'd been long enough that Gunnar thought that Darkon wouldn't be too angry at them for returning without finding a single trace of where Shara was or might have been. He allowed himself the briefest moment of satisfaction, comforted by the knowledge that at least Slade had one other person he could trust on his side, before emptying himself of those kinds of thoughts and feelings in preparation for his return to Darkon's secret base.

There were too many lives in his hands for Gunnar to let himself be caught out by something so simple.

Once he, Spear, and Javelin had finished their search, without anything to show for it but a short-lived feeling of full stomachs, and a greater knowledge of this area of the city that may or may not prove useful in the future, Gunnar could at least be reasonably satisfied. At least Darkon hadn't blamed him for anything.

(This is swiftly becoming troublesome,) Darkon said, once he'd returned the rest of his forces to their respective teknopods to rest.

(I don't know what to tell you, sir,) Gunnar said.

(There are only so many places for one of our own to hide,) Darkon continued, still clearly frustrated by everything that hadn't been happening, but with a thoughtful undertone that made Gunnar uneasy; at least, as uneasy as he could be when he'd so deliberately emptied himself of thought and feeling beforehand. (That night you faced Slade, in the remains of that mansion.)

Gunnar had only a moment to wonder what the Warlord was talking about, before he found himself… Drawing his bow, Gunnar blasted through the wall in front of him and moved into the building… "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" he called, drawing the attention of both combatants. "Another one of your allies, Andalite?" the old man demanded… "I have to deal with him," Slade said, running off after the middle-aged man with the laser… "Well, that was certainly anti-climactic. All right, Slade; you're obviously done with that guy, so-" "-why don't you just run off again," he finished, as Slade's thrusters fired up and sent his fellow Teknoman blasting down the tunnel where the two of them had ended up facing each other… With a last look at the crushed corpse on the floor, wondering for a moment who it was and what it had to do with Slade, Gunnar dismissed the thought from his mind and locked onto Slade's mental signature with his telepathic powers… While Slade was attempting to shove him backward, though, Gunnar's gaze fell on something that really shouldn't have been there; something that didn't belong on anyone's neck, much less a Teknoman's like him or Slade… Deliberately aiming for Slade's feet, not knowing just what the squirrel was there for but knowing his old friend well enough to know that Ness had always been extremely protective of what he had claimed for his own, Gunnar fired a short barrage of arrows and then leaped back again as Slade drove himself relentlessly forward… "Why are you running away, Slade? Are you afraid of me?"… As Slade's pauldrons opened to reveal his fellow Teknoman's energy-condensers, Gunnar could barely restrain himself from letting loose with an incredulous laugh. There was no way in hell that Darkon would ever expect him to get up after being hit point-blank with a Tekno-bolt. Survive it, sure; the Warlord would be expecting him to live, and to report back after he had recovered. But to take Slade in, after he'd been pounded by the single, strongest attack that any Teknoman had in their arsenal?… No, not even Darkon would be so arrogant…

(That girl you encountered,) Darkon said, once the mental contact between them had ceased and Gunnar found himself alone in his head again. (She seems to be an ally of Slade's.)

(You really think so, sir?)

(She'd have little reason to be present otherwise,) Darkon said, clearly not in any mood to discuss the matter further. (I suspect that, where you find her, you will also find him. As to Shara,) Darkon paused for a long moment. (It might be that the pair of them are still drawn together instinctively, so where you find one you will be more likely to find the other.)

Gunnar said nothing in response, and he soon found himself sent out to search for the young girl who had apparently been accompanying Slade, that dark night that the pair of them had last met. Once he was far enough away from Darkon that the Warlord was at least less likely to be looking in on his thoughts, Gunnar allowed himself to wonder just what the story was behind that girl's presence.

She'd actually seemed more curious than frightened, now that he was able to think back on the situation, and Gunnar wondered for a moment why that was.

He knew there wasn't much of a point in going back to the house the pair of them had fought in – the one that Slade had gutted with his Tekno-bolt – so as Gunnar continued on his way through the forest, he kept his mental barrier down. He'd have a better chance of tracking Slade down if he could sense him, the way all Teknomen could sense each other with a bit of concentration. Still, there was always the chance that Slade or Shara would have the foresight to shield their minds from anyone who might be searching for them.

It was what he would have done, if he'd been fortunate enough to escape at all.

xxxxXxxxx

Staring up at the ceiling of the barn, Shara listened to Slade's deep, steady breathing. Cassie had come by with their evening meal sometime earlier, and while Slade had fallen asleep as easily as he'd ever seemed to, Shara had found herself kept awake by the sense that someone was looking for her. It wasn't Darkon, she'd have known his intrusive presence anywhere, but she wasn't familiar with this new presence.

She didn't know who they were, who they might have been, or why they weren't attempting to attempting to attack her mind the same way that Darkon always would. She didn't know if, whoever this was or whoever they had been, was trying a different tactic than the Warlord always had, or if they could somehow be on her side.

Eventually, however, the feeling subsided and Shara was finally able to drop off to sleep.