The blurry vision slowly comes into focus. The first thing Vic sees is a boy sitting in front of him, staring at him, and holding an old ragged teddy bear. Immediately, Vic realizes he is tied to a wooden chair in this small, dank room. His shirt is off, and he has a white bandage wrapped around his torso.

“Hello.” Says the boy. His eyes innocently focused on Vic.

“Hey.” Responds Vic.

“You were sleeping for a long time mister. You must’ve been tired.”

Vic hesitates. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Nuko.”

“Well Nuko, can you untie these ropes?” Vic shifts in the chair to try and loosen them.

Nuko stands.

“Nuko stop.” Vic looks up and Nuko stops and turns to see Mai. “Leave him alone.”

“Why am I tied up?” Asks Vic.

“Nuko, go play outside.” Says Mai.

“Ok Mai. Bye mister!” Nuko runs out.

“So, Mai. I saved you, and this is how you repay me?”

“If you hadn’t chased me you wouldn’t have had to save me.” Responds Mai. “Besides, I already returned the favor.”

Vic looks down at the bandages and winces.

“So we agree that we can trust each other, why did you tie me up?” Vic asks.

“You’re a rebel. Are you not?” Says Mai.

“Maybe. But you don’t seem to be on the right side of the law yourself.” Responds Vic. He works the ropes behind him indiscreetly.

“I thought A.E.S.O.P. disbanded years ago. Why were you after that necklace?” Mai asks.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Vic continues to work the ropes.

There is a slight pause. Mai smirks.

“Either way, I’ve got it now.” Mai says this and pulls a gun from her waist. She points it at Vic’s head just as he finishes loosening the rope behind him. “Please, don’t take me for a fool.”

This time there is a longer pause. Vic and Mai stare at each other.

“Mai.” Mai turns around. They both see Nuko standing in the doorway with a strange look on his face. He clutches his teddy bear.

“Nuko?” Mai’s eyes narrow as a man with blonde hair, eyeglasses, and a dark blue trench coat steps into the doorway with an automatic weapon. He opens fire and Mai dives to the side as Vic pushes his chair to fall on its back. He pulls his hands out and takes cover on the other side of the room. The man grabs Nuko and moves to the side.

BRAKA! BRAKA! BRAKA!

The small room has the limited cover of just a sofa and a dresser. Vic lies against the back of the sofa while Mai leans against the far side of the dresser.

“Where’s my gun?!” Yells Vic through the popping of the rounds.

Mai pulls his gun from her waist and tosses it to Vic.

“Just one? Don’t worry I got this one.” Says Vic.

“That’s not a good idea.” Warns Mai.

Vic runs and leans against the wall near the doorway of the room. He slowly makes his way to the doorway, holding his gun ready. He gets close, and pauses. He then quickly turns to face out but immediately retreats back as bullets whittle the frame of the doorway into pieces. He ends up next to Mai.

Mai stares at the doorway. “My hero.” She says with a smirk.

“That was the last straw Mai! You’ve worn our patience thin, and we’ve come to pay you back for Arguy!” The man yells from the other room.

“Sounds like you know him.” States Vic.

“That’s Jacques. He’s an assassin for The Disciples.”

“He doesn’t sound too happy. I’m gonna go around from the lef….” Vic starts, but he’s interrupted by Mai.

“You’re not going to win if you attack head on. He’s part of The Disciples for a reason.”

There is a pause.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Vic asks.

“I’ve got an idea.” Adds Mai

------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

Kariudo, Shiro, and Alex are sitting at a booth in a diner. They sip their coffee and ponder. Alex takes a sip of coffee as he stares out of the large glass window their booth is up against.

“You saw the chalk line. Think it was Vic?” Shiro asks cautiously.

The eerie pause seems deafening. Kariudo stirs the remainder of his cold coffee with a stirring straw.

“I doubt it.” Responds Alex. He takes a deep breath. “I’m gonna get going.”

Kariudo stops stirring, and he and Shiro look up at Alex.

“What do you mean?” Asks Kariudo.

“I have some business to take care of.”

“So you’re just gonna abandon Vic like that.” Responds Shiro.

“It’s getting late. I have to do this now. I’m sure Vic is fine.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that…” Kariudo starts.

“Why am I explaining myself to you two? Anyway, if it gets too late, head back to Newgrange.” Alex stands up and puts some money on the table. “Don’t worry, you’re covered.” He starts to walk away.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Exclaims Kariudo as he turns to face Alex.

“I’ll see you guys later.” Alex exits the diner.

Kariudo and Shiro are speechless.

“What was that about?” Asks Shiro.

“Who cares?” Replies Kariudo.

Suddenly, the diner door busts open and three police officers burst in.

“Get your hands in the air!” Demands one of them. Kariudo and Shiro’s eyes widen.

The officers rush the rebels and slam their faces into the table. At first they resist, but soon give in.

“Piece of rebel shit!”

One officer holds his pistol at them while the other two roughly cuff Kariudo and Shiro.

“What the hell is this!?” Shiro exclaims.

“You’re under arrest for the murder of three men earlier today. You have the right to remain…”

Kariudo and Shiro sigh as the officers aggressively stand them up and force them out of the diner.

------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Lan sits in a chair reading a book. Rayne sits across the room, writing. She stops, and looks up.

“Mr. Lan…”

Mr. Lan looks up from his book. His glasses rest on the tip of his nose. “Yes?”

“You somehow seem…familiar to me. Who…who exactly are you?”

There is a long pause.

“Well, I am what you see. I am a friend. I am an ally.”

“No. Who are you? How are you related to all of this?”

There is another pause.

“Hm.” Mr. Lan closes is eyes. “It’s been so long, Rayne. Of course you don’t remember me.”

Rayne’s eyes narrow.

“I knew you and A.E.S.O.P. for many years. Since you were a small child. Yours and Shiro’s fathers used to come to my shop whenever they were in Earth.”

“So…you were friends?”

“Yes. You could say that. I myself had also visited Newgrange many times. I was sort of an insider for them inside Earth. We became very close.”

Mr. Lan closes the book and removes his glasses. “Then…came that day.”

Rayne cautiously responds. “You mean….?”

“Yes.” Replies Mr. Lan. “The fighting had intensified between Earth and A.E.S.O.P., while at the same time subsided between A.E.S.O.P. and The Disciples.”

Mr. Lan takes a breath. “That day, they stopped by my shop before they headed off to the capital building. Shiro’s mom, of course, had reservations, but Shane, his father, saw no alternative. I decided to go with them….” Mr. Lan continues with his story when Star bursts into the room. Mr. Lan and Rayne are startled and quickly turn to Star.

“Someone’s coming!” She exclaims. They both get up and rush to the window. In the distance, two cars can be seen racing through the dirt.

“Who are they?” Asks Star.

Mr. Lan’s eyes narrow. “The Disciples.”

There is silence as they stare at the oncoming danger. One car stops in front of the house while the other drives deeper into Newgrange. Three men get out of the car in front of the house and stand behind the doors. Star and Rayne pull out guns from their waste. They look at each other, then smile. The three men open fire and bullets burst through the window. The three drop to the floor. Alternately, Rayne and Star stand, fire, and drop back down.

“Damn it! What are we gonna do?” Asks Rayne.

They continually exchange shots with the enemy outside the house. Mr. Lan crawls across the floor on his hands and knees.

Rayne stops firing and looks over at him. “Where are you going?”

Mr. Lan continues to the corner of the room. He examines the floorboards. “Ah, here it is.” Mr. Lan pulls up a few floorboards near a corner wall of the room. He drops down.

“What the…?” Rayne is puzzled. She stares at the hole until a bullet ricocheting causes her to drop down.

Mr. Lan emerges with a large case. “Hm. It seems the tunnel has caved in. But this was still down there.” Mr. Lan opens the case and pulls out a grenade launcher. “There are only two shells. We’d better get it right.”

Star and Rayne are speechless. They look at each other as Mr. Lan makes his way to the window.

“I’m not as young as I used to be. One of you is going to have to fire it.” Says Mr. Lan.

“Have you ever fired one of these?” Rayne asks Star. She shakes her head . “Me neither.”

“Well, we have two shots. Make good use of them.” Says Mr. Lan.

Rayne takes a shell and loads it up. She places it in the chamber and slides it back. She aims, and takes a deep breath.

FEW!

The shell shoots out of the launcher, but the force causes Rayne to throw it off target. It soars past the car and explodes in the distance.

“Damn!” She exclaims.

“It’s ok.” Starts Mr. Lan. “Now you have a feel for it.”

“Wait. I’ve seen those shells in the arms room. I’ll go get some.” Star charges out of the room.

“No wait!” Exclaims Lan. “She’s forgotten about the second car. Quickly Rayne, fire!”

Rayne puts the second shell in, aims, and fires. This time the shell soars straight into the windshield of the black car. There is a pause as the men scramble, but they can’t escape the explosion.

BOOM!

Lan and Rayne cover their faces at the bright flash and fall to the floor. They sit up.

“Good job.” Says Mr. Lan.

Star runs through the hallway of the house towards the arms room. As she runs through the hall, a large man wearing a dark blue trench coat steps out from another room and she runs into him.

“Umph!” She falls to the floor and quickly scrambles away from him. “Who…who are you?”

AAH!

Star’s scream pierces Rayne’s and Lan’s ears.

“Star!” Exclaims Rayne. She drops the grenade launcher and they both run to her aide. As they make their way down the hall, they hear nothing. They stop and slowly walk forward. As Rayne passes a room, she hears a voice.

“So this is what’s left of the mighty A.E.S.O.P.?”

Rayne is startled and turns to the voice. She sees a woman, wearing a dark blue trench coat, sitting in a chair. Her dark, black, straight hair flows down over her shoulders.

“Give up and maybe we’ll let you live.” The woman says as she stands. She makes her way to Rayne. “Such a pretty girl.”

“Where is Star?!” Demands Rayne.

“Come quietly and you won’t die.” The woman reaches for Rayne’s face but Rayne slaps it away. The woman becomes angered and swings at Rayne. Rayne ducks and throws up a spinning kick. The woman ducks and trips Rayne. She pulls out a knife and leans over Rayne with the knife to her throat. “I told you to come quietly…”

CLICK!

The woman looks to see Mr. Lan standing in the doorway pointing a gun at her. She stands.

“Haha. Lan. Are you going to shoot me?” The woman scoffs.

“Where is the girl? Nell.”

“Hm. You ARE going to shoot me aren’t you?” Starts Nell. “Well, I suppose time doesn’t heal all wounds after all. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.” Nell throws her knife at Lan, causing him to move. While he is occupied, she dives out of the window. Lan runs to the window, but Nell is gone.

Rayne makes her way to Lan. “We have to save Star.”

Lan nods. “This is getting complicated.”

They stare out of the window as the black car speeds away.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

Vic is very cautious as he makes his way across the ledge of the building. The wind blows fiercely, making it difficult. Vic looks down to see the traffic below. As he nears the window, he takes a deep breath. Luckily, the window is open. When he gets to it, he sees Jacques standing against the wall near the window, looking toward the doorway. Inside he can see Mai continually drawing his fire. Vic inches toward the opening. When he gets there he jumps in and dives on Jacques. They both slam to the floor and Jacques’ weapon slides across the floor. Mai runs out and grabs Nuko. Jacques lifts Vic off of him and lunges his fist into his face. Vic slides back. He gets up and charges at Jacques, who is trying to stand. They ram into the wall, exchanging body blows and punches as they scuffle.

Mai aims her gun with Nuko standing behind her, but she can’t get a clear shot with Vic in the way. “Get out of the way!” She yells.

The two continue to pound on each other. Vic slams him into the wall, than Jacques slams him into the wall. Mai runs and slams her pistol into Jacques back while he holds Vic against the wall.

“Rah!” He screams. He then throws his arm back and elbows Mai in the face, sending her flying back. When she hits the floor, her gun slides away from her. Vic pushes his way off of the wall and punches Jacques in the face. He punches him with a left and a right sending him reeling in front of the window. Jacques recovers and blocks Vic’s next attack. He thrusts his foot into Vic’s stomach, throwing him back. Jacques is about to continue his assault, when he sees Mai rushing from the side. His eyes widen as Mai throws her body into his. The glass shatters as he flies through the window and falls to the concrete below. Vic is on his rear and Mai on her hands and knees, both breathing heavily.

“Like I said…” Vic struggles to get his words out. “…no problem” He falls onto his back.

“We’d better get going.” Says Mai. “They’ll send more.”

------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------

Shiro and Kariudo sit in their cell, wasting away the time. The cold damp holding cell reeks of urine and alcohol, and Shiro and Kariudo are growing impatient.

“I can’t believe this shit.” Says Kariudo.

“This wouldn’t have happened if Vic hadn’t run out like that.” Adds Shiro. “We need a plan to get out of here.”

“I hate to say it, but it looks like Vic and Alex are our only hope of getting out of here.” Says Kariudo.

There is a pause.

“Well, at least his fighting spirit seems to be up. He did give chase, after all.” Replies Shiro.

“Hm. I think he was chasing the woman more than he was chasing the necklace.” Adds Kariudo.

Bing! Bing! Bing!

The guard comes by and bangs on the bars. “You two, you’ve been bailed out.” He unlocks the door. “Let’s go.” Kariudo and Shiro look at each other.

“Who bailed us out?” Asks Kariudo on his way out of the cell.

“Dunno.” Responds the guard. “Don’t care.”

Shiro and Kariudo get their belongings at the desk and make their way out of the station. They walk down the stairs and look around.

“Where do you suggest we go?” Asks Kariudo.

“Well, back to the car is a start.” Answers Shiro.

As they are about to step off of the curb, a limo pulls in front of them and cuts them off. The window rolls down.

“Get in.” Says the voice behind the glass. Kariudo and Shiro hesitate, but two men come out from the other side and “persuade” them into entering the limo.

When they get in, the limo is sparsely lit. The two men sit on either side of the two rebels.

“What’s this about?” Asks Shiro.

“I am the one who bailed you out.” The voice comes from the seat across from them, but the persons face can’t be seen. “The least you can do is thank me.”

“What do you want?” Asks Kariudo

“I have a request. But let’s not talk about it here. I will tell you everything when we get to our destination.” Replies the man.

“What makes you think we’ll even go with you?” Asks Shiro.

“Oh, you don’t have a choice.”

There is a pause.

“Let me introduce myself.” The man leans into the light so his face can be seen. “Call me Magellan.”

----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------

End.