"Brili, but we called him Brian," Kevin eyed the busing plaza.
AJ smiled, "Welcome to Okendala, where the strange is to be expected." With that, he seemed to disappear. Kevin looked around.
AJ was nowhere in sight. "What should I expect from him? He's one of the most wanted men in the galaxy," Kevin mumbled.
'Quit standing out, you're gonna blow my cover!' Kevin heard AJ's voice in his mind.
'What am I supposed to do?!' Kevin demanded.
'Act like you're lookn' at some of the shops. When I find the kid, I'll get you,' AJ instructed.
AJ swung over bars and around poles like he owned the city. He came to rest in a small alley. He knew he could see the whole plaza from this spot. He crouched down in the shadows. He could see Kevin across the plaza looking at a stand, everyone in a while glancing around to see if he could find AJ. AJ scanned the rest of the plaza and the entrances to the other alleys, all the places he hid himself. His observant eyes picked up slight movement across the plaza. AJ could now see the small blond boy. He knew the boy was looking at him. Only others in the shadows noticed each other. AJ half smiled and gave a curt nod, which the boy imitated. Their eyes locked. A rather large man came up from behind the boy. AJ could hear him yell, "There you are!" The boy turned nervously around.
AJ took off. He quickly climbed a rope and ran across the roof tops, which he knew was the quickest way of getting around. He was soon by the alley where he had seen the boy. Sure enough, the boy was there below him, with the man. AJ swung down soundlessly and drew his dagger. "Let the kid go, he's not worth it,"
"And who-" The man turned and saw AJ with a blade drawn. "are you," his words hung in the air.
"What business do you have with him?" AJ gestured to the boy.
"He-" the man stammered.
"Leave," AJ commanded. When the man hesitated to move, AJ threw the dagger at the man, nearly missing him. "NOW!" He boomed. The man scurried away. Once the two were alone, AJ knelt down to the boy's level. As their brown eyes locked once again, the entire world seemed to stop.
"What's your name kid?" AJ finally asked, breaking the silence.
"The Royals know me as Aarca, but everyone else, either calls me kid or Aaron," He replied solemnly.
"As far as the Royals are concerned, I'm a thorn in their ass known as Alemc. YOU however can call me Alex, other wise known as AJ," He pat the kid on the back and smiled.
"You're a great street fighter and thief, what would you want with me?" Aaron asked.
"To train you NOT to get caught and I need your help." AJ confessed.
"What could I help you with?"
AJ smiled again, "Small help is hard to find. Com'on, I'll fill you in and tell you a story." He led the kid down an alley.
"What about my sisters?" Aaron asked.
AJ's eyes narrowed. "Sisters?"
"The two oldest are servant girls and the other is my twin, I was looking for her in the plaza earlier." Aaron explained.
"Anyone else I should know about?"
"I have a brother, the oldest of all of us. But he left a while ago. He usually sends something that we can sell or just plain money, but we haven't heard from him in some time," Aaron looked down at his feet.
"I know where your brother is, com'on," AJ grabbed Aaron's hand and pulled him through the square.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Nick came to, he felt a damp cloth on his forehead. A young girl stood over him. "Time is something you can't afford." She stated quietly.
"Huh?" Nick was extremely confused.
"Others are coming for you, worse then Mistress Leiwa," She continued.
"What?" Nick didn't understand.
"Alemc, Andca and Aarca care coming soon as well. Be prepared." With that, she walked off.
"Wait! Where's Brian?" It was now Nick noticed he was in a brightly lit room.
"What is your name?" A harsh voice asked. Nick then noticed the guards at the door.
"Nick," Nick replied.
"Not that name!" He cut Nick off. "Royal name!" He barked.
"Nicca," Nick hated the name and had insisted that everyone call him Nick.
"Last name?" He began writing.
"I don't have one, just Nicca." Nick replied.
"And your friend," The man demanded.
"Brili Rilex," Nick's voice was strained and his body ached all over. The man left Nick to his own thoughts.
Beside Nick, Brian began calling out in his sleep. "NO!...Bring her back!...please!...don't hurt her!...she didn't - no!...get away from me!"
"Brian," Nick tried to wake up his friend. "Brian!"
"No...no..no please..." Brian bolted up in bed, but was forced to lay back down as pain erupted in his chest and the room began to spin. Nick saw the sweat from his brow and wished there was something he could do. Brian was taking quick shallow breaths. "There were millions of 'em comin' at us," He mumbled, as if he was seeing it. "We couldn't stop 'em. They just kept coming,"
"Brian," Nick tried.
"More and more of them, we were cornered..." Brian rambled.
"Brian!"
"And they took her. She was next to us, and the next second, she was gone. Vanished..." He continued.
"BRILI!" Nick used his Royal name in hope it would get Brian's attention.
Brian looked at Nick in shock. Neither EVER used the Royal names. They were the Rebels who refused to be called by the names. "What did you call me?" His face turned dark.
"Calm down Bri. What were you talking about? We're the only ones here, except the guard and who was the girl?" Nick tried.
"Angel," Brian's eyes gazed over at the name. Nick paled at the mention of his sister.
"Nicca, you have been certified to leave, follow us willingly, or we will drag you ourselves." The guard entered.
Nick smiled at Brian and weakly followed the men. As he took each step into the dim halls, his vision got blurrier. He could feel the heat enimating from him and he knew it would be only a matter of time before his legs gave out. "Nicca," A female voice stated his name.
"Yes," Nick's voice was barely above a whisper. He knew it was Leiwa in front of him.
"I have looked up your record and according to this you..." To Nick, her words seemed to mix together, until her voice was no more then a buzz. "Are you all right?" He made out those words at lease. He nimbly nodded. He swayed a little before his knees buckled and he rushed toward the ground, toward the darkness.