//Fleur//

Fleur staggered from the infirmary, her hands covered with V's blood. Her mind was racing. They had been unable to stop the bleeding. And yet, though the lights had just flickered back on, she knew that the ship was still under attack. She had to figure out something to do. She noticed a metal pipe leaning against the wall. She picked it up and hurried down the hallway. It slipped through her fingers and nearly clattered on the ground, but she managed to catch it between her legs.

She was so busy trying to secure the pipe in her hands that she didn't even notice the large pirate sneaking towards her until he was looming above her like a large unmovable wall. She squealed and swung the pipe like a bat into his belly. He buckled to the ground gasping in pain. She brought her heel down on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious and dashed down the hall. The sounds of combat met her ears now. A sudden pain shot up her back as a large fist crashed down onto her back, her legs giving way beneath her under the large weight. She rolled out of the way of the large foot that was coming down to stomp on her chest. She swung the pole again, hoping to knock him off his feet, and used her own leg to sweep him when she realized that it had done nothing.

As he crashed to the ground, she rolled back up to her feet and balled her hand into a fist and threw it forward into another's jaw, watching him drop like rock. She was caught by surprise when an arm dropped down around her neck and yanked her back into the body it belonged too. She gasped for air, freeing one hand from the pipe to yank at the thing obstructing her windpipe. She gasped again when she saw the pointy object he was raising to chest level. Instantly, her hand shot out, grabbing the knife and twisting it, ignoring the pain of the blade cutting her skin. She struggled to get it out of his grasp, but once she'd succeeded, she tossed it away and then grabbed hold of the still outstretched hand. She dropped the pipe to the floor and used the other hand to steady herself and then reach back to grab his garment. She flipped him over her back and onto the ground. Before he could react to that, she struck him with her leg and staggered on down the hall.

As she approached the engine room, she thought she heard a voice that sounded like Glitch's. She began to speak, "Glitch, I--" she trailed off when she stepped into the doorway and saw the scene before her, eyes wide.

//David//

David leaned over the communications panel, rapidly punching in buttons. The power had come back on, thankfully, but so far, he hadn't been able to contact anyone. He paused in his button punching and leaned over to examine a map of the system. He'd marked with a blue dot, their position and was working as fast and hard as he could to contact all the surrounding planets. Even if he did get someone though, it could take them thirty minutes to and hour to reach them.

He was currently trying to call Goidelia. He leaped for joy when a voice answered. He quickly leaned into the comm. unit and explained their situation, providing their coordinates. "The pirates that attacked us have boarded the ship. We've just managed to make get our power back."

"Understood. We'll send som--" David stopped listening when he heard the door opening. Several men stepped into the room and rushed forward to destroy the communication system when they realized what he was doing.

"I'm sorry," he said as he rushed forward as well, "but I can't let you do that!" He jumped and swung his left leg in an arch, hitting one in the chin as he went up and the other on the top of the head, knocking his head down causing him to fall flat on his face. As he spun around a second time, he extended his right leg and slammed it into chest of the third man. He completed his second revolution and landed on his left leg, bring his right down quickly to balance himself.

By this time the first one was getting back up, rubbing his jaw with an angry expression on his face. He swung his fist forward and David leaned back, bending at the knee and flailing his arms to keep his balance. When he straightened, he dodged to the left and then the right to avoid the other punches the man threw at him. On the fourth punch, he grabbed the first, pulled the man towards him, twirled around so that his back was facing the man and slammed his elbow back into the man's face. He collapsed, as blood spattered the floor from his now broken nose.

The other two men were up now, both grumbling in pain. He leaned down and yanked the gun from the unconscious pirates holster, took several steps back and ran forward, flipping towards the men. When he reached the height of his flip, just as he'd hoped, his knees were on either side of the man's head. He clamped them down around it, and twisted at his midsection, making the man begin to twirl as well. Dizzy already, he lost his balanced and began to fall back with David, which allowed the blond boy to easily finish off his throw. The final man followed David with first his eyes and then with his head. David took advantage of this and shot back up as soon as he landed, swinging the gun. He clobbered him with the butt of the gun and watched him fall like a hefty sack of potatoes.

Satisfied with his handy work, David headed back over to the communications control panel, leaned forward, and calmly asked, "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?"

((Long post to make up for lost time. Tell me if anything needs to be changed.))

Haru

"Dammit, Tsuki, that one was mine!" I yelled angrily as she beat me to yet another pirate. Where were all these guys coming from?!

"Too slow!" She called back, grinning maliciously at her current opponent. It was a toothy kind of grin, definitely not the 'ha-ha-funny' kind. Her face is kinda scary when she fights, I thought soberly to myself. She might be fun to spar against, it's been awhile since anyone took me seriously when I wanted to fight...

"Haru!" I heard from the doorway. I turned to see Glitch and Fleur standing there, the captain right behind them.

I grinned. "Glitch, Fleur, Captain! Good to see some reinforcements!" I greeted them happily. But Glitch wasn't smiling, and neither was the captain. My grin dropped. "What's wrong? Did V..." I trailed off. I didn't need them to answer to know she was dead.

Belatedly, I noticed that the fighting had stopped. All the pirates had switched to defense and were slowly backing away from Tsukiko--no surprises there--and towards the captain. Realizing that they must be going after our leader, I jumped in to protect him.

"No, Haru, don't!" Glitch yelled, but it was too late. I had already thrown myself in front of the captain. It was only when I felt the cold metal of a dagger pressed to my throat that I realized anything was wrong.

"Don't move and nobody gets hurt."

--------------------------
Tsukiko

I knew something was wrong. The moment the captain had entered the room, the pirates stopped fighting.

The captain's in on it, I realized. Damn. We got played.

I could have smacked myself when Haru leapt in to 'protect' him. Stupid boys, always needing to protect something. Wasn't he supposed to be the smart one of the team? How had he not realized what was going on?

The captain growled to Haru, "Don't move and nobody gets hurt." I swore silently. That meant the captain was armed, for sure.

The captain eyed me cautiously, evaluating me with intensive eyes that missed nothing. "Tsukiko. Put down your weapons."

I glared at him, but said nothing. I had no weapons to put down, after all. He seemed to realize this, and relaxed slightly. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed this, since Haru immediately thrust his elbows backwards into the man's gut, and quickly found himself in a headlock for his troubles. It seemed as though the captain was a little tougher than he looked.

"Try that again and you'll find yourself very dead, Mr. Anderson," the captain growled into his ear. Haru grimaced in discomfort as his arm was twisted behind his back. "You boys," he said louder, addressing the pirates, "tie her up. That one's dangerous."

I frowned as they approached, lecherous grins on their faces. Disgusting, really. I settled into a defensive stance; I wasn't going down without a fight.

------------------
Haru

Crap, I thought. I screwed up. Big time.

My first idea was to try to escape again. Probably not the best plan, since I was already in a rather uncompromising position, but the only plan I had. I stomped on the captain's foot, spun around to make him release my arm, and tried to make a mad dash towards Tsukiko. In the movies, it would have worked out perfectly: good guys always triumph over the bad guys. But this was real life, and nothing ever happens the way it should.

And so I found myself staring straight into the barrel of a gun. A shiny gun, not very big. But I didn't doubt that it could easily blow a hole through my face. I squeezed my eyes shut, nervously waiting for him to pull the trigger. I heard the safety-catch of a gun, and made a silent prayer as I waited.

After a few seconds of maddening anticipation, I opened my eyes carefully. The captain was no longer looking at me; neither was the gun pointed at me anymore. Now, his gaze and gun were focused quite intensely on something across the room--or rather, someone.

"Put the gun down, girlie," he said menacingly. "Or I'll shoot you."

I turned slowly to see Tsukiko pointing a minigun at him. Not a powerful gun, to be sure, but still close enough to do some serious damage to him. And she wasn't moving. The solidarity and resolve was set deep in her eyes.

"I mean it, Tsukiko. I won't hesitate to shoot a little girl." He flipped the catch, as if to back up the validity of his words.

"Tsu! Put down the gun!" I hissed. She didn't budge. "Tsuki!"

The captain noticed that she wasn't moving. He grinned, and moved the gun to face me. "Tell you what, Tsukiko. Either you put down the gun, or I shoot your friend here."

Crap, I thought to myself. Is she gonna let him shoot me?

Then I saw her eyes. There was a glimmer of uncertainty gleaming there, a shadow of a doubt. But she still didn't lower the gun.

"Put it down," the captain said calmly, like a trainer with a spooked animal.

"If you shoot him, I'll kill you," she said solemnly. Anyone could tell that she wasn't bluffing. Not that this helped me at all--I'd still be dead either way!

The captain considered this, and after several seconds of deep contemplation realized she wasn't joking. "Fine, I guess I'll just shoot you first."

BAM!!!

"That was a warning shot," Tsukiko said calmly. "Next time I won't miss."

The captain stared at her, bug-eyed, did a double take at the bullet lodged in the metalwork behind him, and then went back to staring at her. "Not kidding then, eh, missy?"

And that was when a pirate hit her in the back of the neck. She collapsed immediately.

"Tsuki!"

~Abby~

A gunshot blast made Abby whip around in her chair. It was coming from somewhere deeper in the ship. The eerie silence leading up to that had been unnerving, but she still had to keep her head and do her job.

She turned back around, reassuring herself that everyone was okay. The captain would take care of us, she thought, pressing a few thrusters forward and locking her position on the nearest planet. Goidelia.

Catching the corner of her eye, Abby spotted a reflection in the metal to her left. It was bending and bulging in some spots due to the heat emitted from the EMP, but the reflection was useful because it could be used to view out of the control room and into the branching hallways.

From what Abby saw, two dark figures were approaching silently.

Dropping everything, Abby jumped from her seat and hid herself.

A few milliseconds later, one of the dark figures emerged to reveal that it was in fact Bianca. But Bianca was wielding a gun, something that would obviously make anyone nervous. "Where's the girl?" she sharply asked the man standing behind her.

The man remained silent as she pulled the chair away from the consol and looked under the control panel. Abby watched silently from her hiding spot, holding her breath. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in her gut.

"The captain told us not to hurt them yet," the man finally said, speaking with a strange accent.

"Yes... but this girl is different... She's a handful. If we're going to take them all hostage, it's best to get rid of the troublemakers quickly," Bianca said.

Hostage?! Abby thought frantically, her mind racing.

"She can't have gone--" Bianca stopped in mid-sentence as she turned to the man to see Abby's hiding spot.

"Tag. You're it," Abby said, cooly. She knew it was the time to act, either now or never.

Abby had pulled herself up into the corner between the ceiling and the wall, plastering her hands on the metal bar and the wall. Her feet secured her position. With her head ducked to avoid smashing it into the ceiling, she grinned down at Bianca.

Without another moments hesitation, Bianca raised her gun towards Abby but Abby had already leapt from the wall and tackled her. Abby latched onto Bianca's back and grabbed the hand holding the gun in the process. Squeezing the woman's hand, Abby redirected the gun to aim at the man in the door and fired.

The bullet flew true to target and struck directly into the man's leg. Although, she was originally aiming to kill, this would have to do for now.

Bianca tried to fight Abby off as her partner keeled over, screaming in pain. Abby kept trying to wry the gun free of Bianca's grip, but it wasn't easy. Abby continued to clutch onto Bianca, refusing to let go.

They both screamed in frustration, drowning the man's shrieks. Bianca backed up and tried to smash Abby's back into the wall. She did this two times, both making Abby shout in agony, but she still held on, instead grasping around Bianca's neck with her arm.

Bianca lurched forward, gasping for air and tried to throw her off. Losing coordination, Bianca stumbled for a minute, gaping like a fish. With a last strain to get her off her back, Bianca stumbled backward and slammed Abby into the throttle, controlling the ship's movement.

This caused a great surprise to everyone an board.
-----------------------------------------------
~Glitch~

Knocking Glitch back to his senses, a strong hand grasped onto his shoulder as a pirate pushed him against the wall and to the floor. Tsukiko was unconscious next to him, still clutching onto the gun she had shot just a few seconds before.

The pirate took care of the threat and picked it up, tossing it to Peter who caught it. Glitch eyed Tsukiko with a worried expression as Haru and Fleur were also thrown to the floor next to him.

This was enough. He wanted answers, "Why are you doing this? What are you going to get out of killing a bunch of kids?"

"Oh, we're not going to kill you just yet, Mr. Kavanaugh," the captian said, still holding his weapon pointed at the four of them. Seeing Glitch's surprised expression he added, "Yes, we know who you are."

Just at that moment, Bianca had slammed Abby into the throttle and sent the ship hurtling forward, knocking everyone off balance.

Now was a perfect opportunity to take action.

((Wow. That post didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. Ew. Sorry. Hopefully it made sense.))

((Okay, since Ashton is dying due to a Spanish essay, I guess I'll continue? She's given me permission to write this and she will edit/approve.))

~Haru~

I lunged forward, taking the advantage of the chance to become the hero. Propelling myself through the air, I grasped firmly onto the wrist of "Cap'n Crazy" and twisted the barrel away from us, the targets. A shot rang out as it rocketed harmlessly passed me and lodged itself in the wall just above Glitch's head.

Ducking and rolling, Glitch followed my example and went for the two other pirates, who were stumbling backward due to the sudden acceleration of the ship.

I pushed "Cap'n Crazy" backward and slammed him into the wall, smashing his gun-wielding arm into the door frame repeatedly, until he unwittingly released his grip on the handle.

The pistol clattered to the floor and slid to the opposite side of the room on the ship's angle, landing innocuously by the wall near Tsukiko's still hand.

Raising my arm, I swiped my elbow across Peter's face and slammed his body to the floor, ramming my fists into every inch of his face I could have possibly touched. He threw his arms up to defend himself but I pushed them away and continued to hit him as hard as I could. All of the anger that had built up inside of me during this frustrating hostage situation went into my punches. They’d double crossed us, they wanted Glitch for something and they were going to do anything to get money for it, but the thing that made me the angriest was the fact that these sonuvabitches hurt Tsuki.

I could see her bleeding at the base of her neck, a painful bruise forming on her pale skin.

I was too busy pummeling his face even harder to see a flash of silver just before I felt a stinging pain on my upper arm. I screamed with a mixture of agony and vexation and backed off of him, clutching my arm. I felt something warm streaking down my fingers and lifted my hand. It was soaked in my blood, dripping down my wrist and onto my shirt.

I staggered backward feeling myself grow weak and leaned against the wall. My knees felt like lead and they began to shake violently. A cold sweat almost immediately appeared on my forehead as my body began to shiver uncontrollably.

"What did you... do to me?" I asked, my words coming in gasps as I slowly slid down the wall, my legs finally giving out beneath me.

Cap'n Crazy (Peter) slowly got to his feet and wiped his bleeding lip on his hand. He was breathing heavily, his blond hair was strewn in front of his eyes and streaked with specs of his own blood. His expression reminded me of someone who felt he had nothing more to lose. All of his aspirations had disappeared long ago, and any chance to regain them was through someone like me-- and Glitch. It gave me a chill, reminding myself that desperate men will do desperate things, and won't let anyone get in their way.

"It was laced with poison," he said, almost nonchalantly, holding up the blade to the light, making it shimmer down at me. "Specially designed," he continued, "to slowly and painfully kill the unlucky soul it has penetrated."

I gulped, finding my throat already dry. My chest heaved up and down as I tried to breathe, but with much difficulty. I grasped harder onto my wound and tried to gather my racing thoughts. I'm going to die...

"The poison is quite fast acting, is it not?" he asked, resheathing his knife. "It paralyzes its victim quickly, but shutting down the primary organs... no, it takes its time. But it appears you don't have that now, do you? Time?"

His fingers twitched toward his blade handle and he licked his lips before saying, "You know, I wasn't planning on killing anyone..." He quickly grabbed his knife again and twirled it between his fingers. "But, if I killed you now, this would be a good death. The death of a hero. That is what you wanted, right?"

My eyes became very heavy, despite the fact that my body was trying to pump adrenaline through my poison soaked veins but to no avail. I quickly changed the subject away from myself, stealing some time that I apparently didn't have.

"What about V? Was V a part of your plan? Why did she have to die?" I asked, my head bobbing.

"V wasn't a part of any of this," he snapped, his eyes narrowing. "Nothing was supposed to happen to her."

"Then what did happen?" I asked, struggling to keep upright.

The captain took a moment before answering quietly, "I loved her."

"Then why did you bring her into this?!" I asked, clearly furious that an innocent was killed on this mission. Killed for no good reason, too.

"You know, Mr. Anderson," he said, his eyes turning malicious. "You're really starting to annoy me." And with that, a last look of crazed guilt and denial, he raised the knife once more.

I was too tired to even look away, or keep my eyes off the blade. I had finally come to accept what was going to happen. I guess it was time. Nothing more I could do now.

But sudden thoughts swirled into my mind. An image of Tsuki. Playing Glitch in the virtual fighting games. Bothering Tsuki. Hanging around the pizzaria. Slacking off in class. And finally,...

Tsukiko and Glitch were smiling at me.

“You did good, Haru,” Tsuki said, brushing the hair away from my face with a gentle hand. “You did good.”

I watched the blade sweep down, almost in slow motion.

"Haru!" I heard Glitch yelling, almost from a distance, as he knocked out a pirate with a strong punch to the face and barreled him over to get to me. "HARU!"

But before Glitch could take another step, a shot echoed around me, the sound blasting through my eardrums and leaving me temporarily deaf. Peter still stood above me, the knife raised but unmoving. It seemed as if time itself had stopped.

I stared up at him and he stared down at me, his eyes unblinking. A slow trickle of blood crept from the corner of his mouth and drizzled down his chin. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor. Behind him was Tsuki, Peter's own gun still aimed in her hand.

In a flash, Glitch was at my side, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "Haru. Come on, Haru. Look at me."

I slowly did as I was told and gave him a small, but wry grin. The cold sweat was still sopping my brow, and I could feel that my hands were shaking, but I pretended like everything was okay.

Glitch returned the smile and said sincerely, "You did good, mate."

I coughed, my lungs heaving to jump start themselves, "I did good..." I coughed, half laughing this time and rested the back of my head on the cold wall, my smile slipping away... and everything went black.
------------------------------------------------
((That was a lot of fun! Wow. I'm glad Ashton let me do that. Please note: Ashton said I could.))

((Part 2. See above for Part 1. I figured no one would want to read a five page excitement driven post so I had to naturally split it up.))

~Glitch~

"Haru?" he asked, uncertainly. His eyes were still open but staring blindly at the air behind him. His lower lip quivered and he took a slow but shuddering breath. "Haru?" he asked again, the corner of his eyes beginning to grow wet. "N--... No... Don't..." A pit of helplessness grew in the center of his stomach, almost as if a hole had been ripped out of him. Gaping and dark, the sensation seemed to swirl like a demon inside.

His friend was dead. His best friend was dead.

Psychologists say that a person who witnesses the death of someone close to them goes through five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Glitch, however, was quickly bypassing denial and charging right into anger like an out of control bus heading for the edge of the cliff. Bargaining was out of the question. There was only one thing left to do, and it made perfect sense to him.

By this time, he couldn't hold it in any longer. His shoulders began to shake and he openly began to cry. Everyone around him were being taken away. First his parents, then his sister, and now his best friend. How could he have ever been so careless as to try to move along with his life? Move along and only meet the same end that he had so many times before?

He clutched his hand over his face and hunched over, still kneeling beside Haru. He almost didn't realize that a long shadow appeared in the doorway. It was another pirate. He analyzed the situation before him and immediately flicked on his communicator device wrapped around his ear. He spoke loudly and frenetically, "We have a code black! Repeat: Black! The hostages killed the captain!"

At this, Glitch raised his eyes and stared maniacally at the shadow. Revenge. It was all his thoughts could process. He wanted revenge and he wanted it badly. Maybe it could make it stop hurting.

Tsuki was also kneeling beside Haru, her face solemn, but upon hearing the man's voice she whipped around and reached for the gun that she had dropped to the floor on sight of Haru's limp body. But when she fumbled for the pistol, she only met blood speckled floor.

Glitch had already grabbed it. Something had finally snapped.

His knuckles were white, his grip was as hard as steel and an expression of pure malice was plastered like a mask upon his face. Only once before had he felt so dangerous. Dangerous and vindictive.

Mercilessly, he raised the weapon and pulled the trigger.

But nothing happened. The chamber was empty. He was out of ammunition. The gun clicked innocently, and infuriated Glitch even more.

He threw down the weapon and strode viciously towards the panic stricken man. He raised his arm in a weak attempt to protect himself and was only met with a double kick to the chest as Glitch leapt into the air and scissor-kicked his opponent. The man was shoved back through the doorway and was sprawled into the hallway, lying in a heap on the floor.

Tears now streaming down his face, Glitch grabbed the man's shirt and ripped him upward to be met with a punch to the face by Glitch's fist. He screamed in pain as Glitch stood over him.

He watched as the pirate slowly got to his feet.

He staggered for a moment before raising his fists and taking a swing at Glitch, which he easily avoided. Quick as a flash, Glitch shifted his feet expertly and let the punch fly clean over his shoulder. Instantaneously, he grabbed the man's arm and released an equally quick punch to his face, knocking him senseless in return. With another shift of his weight, Glitch wrapped his arm around the back of the man's neck and twisted his body so the man was forced to look at his feet.

A quick spin to the side and Glitch had the man wrapped in a headlock, instinctively he whipped his flailing body clean over his shoulder, throwing him mercilessly into the floor, making the pirate land flat on his back.

The man tried to plead with Glitch, but he wasn't listening. He refused to. By this time, the demon of helplessness swirled even faster and Glitch couldn't bear it any longer.

With a cry of fury, he stomped over to the man's body and began fiercely kicking the man in the side. The pirate’s screams echoed over Glitch's own empty ones. He blamed the man for everything that had happened a few minutes previous, even though he was indirectly involved, "YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL-- HEY!"

He stopped as someone grabbed his arms from behind, holding them firmly behind his back. He whirled around to face Tsuki, her face set with stony determination. He tried to wriggle out of her hold, but it was useless. He glared at her for a minute, but when her serious expression didn't change he felt his blind anger fade. Even as he stopped struggling, she held onto him, effectively preventing him from killing the pirate.

If she hadn't have stopped him, Glitch would most definitely have ended that man's life. He rationalized that if he killed this man, then maybe Haru would have some chance. But it wasn't logical. Nothing Glitch was thinking was logical.

Accepting Haru's fate, he slumped to the floor and choked back another wave of sobs, only to stifle his emotions temporarily as he began to weep. He tightly gripped his green hair and buried himself along the wall. Never had he felt so alone.

But he was forgetting someone who would stand with him through thick and thin.
------------------------------------------
~Abby~

Bianca was sprawled unconscious on the floor of the hallway along with her partner in commandeering the ship. Abby had efficiently knocked the both of them out and threw their bodies onto the bridge. She was fortunate enough to be oblivious to the commotion going on in the main hall down stairs, but unfortunate enough to have to steer them all through the thick of action.

She sat at the controls, jerking the steering wheel, avoiding a number of shots coming from the pirating ship she had spotted from the camera; nestled comfortably on the hull of the Titania was the dangerous ship that was trying to take over. Not if Abby had anything to say about it.

When Bianca had slammed the ship forward, she unwittingly broke the connection between the two, sending the pirate ship rolling through space as the new model rocketed towards Goidelia. It regained its course and began firing ammunition at her. Apparently they didn't care about their crew that had boarded anymore. Something else had definitely happened.

She heard yelling coming from down the bridge but couldn't make out what was being said.

Blocking out her disturbing imagination about all the things that could have possibly gone wrong, she decided to make a direct course towards the planet they were originally sent to. Goidelia. The end of their travels.

Abby swerved the ship right and then left, spinning the ship like a drill downward towards the atmosphere for the mostly green planet. Taking evasive action and ignoring the number of alarms ringing around her as she shot through the burning atmosphere at a highly dangerous speed and righted the ship, pulling up, narrowly avoiding the tips of the trees in the ocean of forest below.

The pirate ship was quick on her tail, grazing the tops of the trees that she had missed and temporarily lost control. It wobbled uncertainly, from what Abby could see in the rear cameras, and tried to regain its balance. Abby, seeing her opportunity, directed the ship towards a colossal tree, standing awkwardly atop the lower canopy and swerved out of the way just in time.

But the following ship didn't see it in time to pull out. The tip of its wing caught on the massive trunk that must have been as thick as four speed buses and lost control. It went into a death roll and nose-dived into the forest, shattering trees as it crashed. A huge explosion of fire erupted from the forest and dissipated into a cloud of smoke.

But just before it crashed, it released two of its last missiles. One of the heat-seeking missiles, fortunately enough, circled back and detonated upon reaching the burning inferno of the ship. The other, unluckily for the remaining crew of the Titania, decided to stay on course.

Before Abby realized it was still on her tail, it was too late. She tried to avoid it, but it had already made contact with the engine suspended on her right wing. The wing exploded into a million pieces and flames littered the forest as Abby steered the ship, the controls shaking, into the forest. Branches smashed against the ship's windshield and broke off as it plummeted to the ground and crashed, it's nose buckling into the damp earth.

The mound of dirt, leaves, trees and ship slid a good half mile before slowing finally to an eerily quiet stop. Alien birds fluttered in fear from their trees and screeched in horror.

Abby sat, still buckled in to the pilot's seat, her head hanging forward, drooped low. She slowly looked up and saw the pile of dirt mounted to the front of the windshield, blocking the sun's light. She only then noticed that she was breathing heavily.

"Whoa..." she said to herself, appreciating the now silent cockpit. Without another moment to lose, she unbuckled herself, crawled over the interior debris from the crash and went to look for her teammates.

Tsukiko

I released Glitch as he sunk to the floor. He wasn't going to be killing anyone today. When I stopped him, I had moved without thinking. I knew he would regret murdering a man in cold blood, even if he was somewhat less than innocent. I turned away from him; I wasn't used to such great displays of emotion.

Instead, I looked for Haru. He really did look dead, and I was surprised to find a sadness welling inside me. I knelt beside him, propping his head up with my hand and taking his pulse at the carotid artery. I was surprised to find a pulse there--sluggish and weak, but a definite sign of life.

His forehead was dripping with fever-induced sweat, and his clothes were noticeably damp. Blood trickled from his wounded shoulder, but his heartbeat was so slow that not much was coming out. I considered trying to suck the poison out, but I knew it was much too late for that. He needed medical attention, stat. And I was no medic.

Suddenly, the ship lurched violently downwards, and I dropped Haru. I was thrown harshly against a cold metal wall, and the force of the impact left me breathless and dizzy. Just as suddenly the ship came to an abrupt halt, and I found myself lying facedown on the floor. I reached for a gun on the floor next to me, dropped by a KO-ed pirate. Wherever we had landed, it couldn't hurt to be prepared for the worst.

"Glitch! Tsukiko!" Abby yelled from the doorway. She looked out of breath but alert.

"We have one man down, two unknowns, one in shock, and the two of us," I called, grapevining towards her, on the lookout for more intruders. "What's your status, and where the hell are we?" I asked calmly.

((All I got for now. Feh. Oh, sorry for the brief take-over, Jane. I'll change it if you want.))

~Abby~

"Man... down?" she asked slowly, looking over Tsukiko's shoulder to see Glitch slumped on the floor in the hallway and Haru laying motionless in the next room. Her mind raced, Oh my God! Haru!

Abby may not have liked the guy, but he didn't deserve to die. He wasn't the greatest guy on earth, but Abby still felt that pang of sadness well in her stomach and spread quickly to her chest. Mostly, she felt sorry for Glitch. He looked pretty upset.

She swallowed hard, feeling a lump in her throat but said, as calmly as possible, "We crash on Goidelia. I knocked the pirate ship out a few miles back but a missile got us." She combed her fingers back through her hair, pushing the stray strands from her face and continued, feeling distraught, "We're in the middle of the forest. I have no idea what the planet's terrain is like. For all we know, we could be sinking in quick sand."

"Where's Fleur and David? Shouldn't they be here by now?" she asked, suddenly remembering the missing team members.

((Hope you don't mind the takeover, Eba, we just wanted to get your charries in the game!))

Tsukiko

Just as I was about to open my mouth, Fleur and David appeared at the door, breatheless.

"Are you two okay?" I asked, and they nodded. "Good. Stay here with Haru. Abby, Glitch, and I going to scout out the area."

"Not going," Glitch muttered from the corner.

"You'll go if you want to save your friend," I responded sharply. Glitch looked up expectantly, tears still running down his face in tiny wet rivulets. "He's not dead--but close. Too close. He needs medical attention, stat. And since you're the only one who speaks the language, we need you. You're the only one who can help us save Haru," I told him. The heroics thing usually worked on boys, at any rate.

He nodded fiercely, wiping the tears from his face with his arm and standing up, a newfound determination in his eyes.

"Abby, grab some weapons. We don't know who's out there. Or what," I added somberly. "Make it quick, we leave in five minutes. Grab anything you can conceal, you don't want anything bulky. I'm going as defense. Glitch, you go unarmed," I said quickly. "You're just the translator, and you're emotionally unstable. No weapons for you." He nodded mutely again.

Five minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, the ship's doors popped open with a pneumatic hissing, and light filled the ship's holding cell with an ethereal glow. I heard rustling in the bushes, and immediately I aimed the gun in my hands at the source.

"Stay back," I warned my partners. "If they shoot, they'll go for me first. Keep your distance from me." The agreed silently, and I slunk farther away from the ship, into the clearing. I kept the gun pointed skywards, but my eyes alert. Suddenly, fog began rolling in. I glanced at Abby and Glitch, and promptly found myself aquainted with the ground.

~Abby~

"Tsu!" she screamed as Tsukiko was brought to the ground by long, thick vines shooting out from the fog like whips. No sooner had they brought Tsu to her knees, more vines shot out from the darkness and grazed past Abby, latching onto Glitch and slamming him onto his back into the dirt. He yelled out as the air was punched out of his lungs, and thin vines wrapped themselves tightly around his arms and legs.

Before she could even blink, even more of the sharp vines directed themselves toward her. She let out a few shots from her weapon, shredding the nearest vine, but it was futile. The tight cords wrapped roughly around her body and wrenched her to the ground, her face pressed firmly into the dirt. She grunted as she tried to wry her hands free, but felt the vines tighten their grip.

A heavy army boot thudded onto the ground directly in front of Abby's nose. She strained to turn her head and see the owner. "Óócslï ïcëlä éwën'even otgen aen éwfen respásserstä," he said, his language soft and strangely smooth. From Abby's first impression, it was a very beautiful language.

"Vel'bol zhal'la údos dun xuil minâ?" one man asked from behind the first.

Abby twisted as hard as she could and successfully looked up into the eyes of the stranger. He was tall and strong, he appeared to be in his late forties. The most prominent feature was a long, deep scar reaching from his hair line through his left eye and ending on the opposite cheek. His remaining eye was a deep, and strangely hypnotic, blue.

Behind him stood about 30 other people, emerging from the thick fog. They were all, Abby noted, holding weapons. 10 of them, however, were wearing their guns slung over their shoulders and instead held out their hands, fingers tightly gripping onto invisible objects. Their eyes glowed an eerie white as the fog slowly lifted, relieving the calm forest once more.

"Mani manka ron naa hen nae i'rien? Erulissë tisi?" one of the men with creepy glowing eyes asked.

From Abby's position, she could see Glitch get very agitated. He began struggling against his binds.

The man with the scar looked Abby over once and then glanced over to Tsu. He had a stern expression, one of a man who's given up hope a long time ago. He paused for a while, completely ignoring Glitch, before saying, "Xas... Erulissë mina."

Glitch yelled with frustration and he tried to bring his hands up but they were snapped back to the ground once more as the people with white eyes clenched their fists.

They're controling the vines! I've only heard about ancient techniques in school, but I had no idea that they still existed! Abby thought, staring.

Glitch stopped moving and said, slowly and quietly at first until he reached a firm and commanding tone, "A lil quarth del rderoth fóen heten del Ärrïandá lueth Láuén del foën ndaén, Ïën, Avancú Ïlgoúrcä-Ávänaúghcë ulu lil sharorr del óúyén Usstan, ommándcï quarth dos ulu sut udossa dal feir hemta."

The men all stopped and stared at Glitch. Their eyes clearly revealing shock. The forest was silent, not another sound was made. Glitch glared at the men, his green eyes flashing.

Abby glanced between the stunned group and Glitch, and hissed, "What did you say to them?!"

Glitch didn't answer. Instead, he said to the man in English, "Release me."

The man waved a strong and dirty hand at the vine-controllers and Glitch's bind were cut. The vines snaked back into the dirt, awaiting another command. Tsu and Abby were still held firmly.

Glitch slowly got to his feet and lifted his head, dried blood still crusting to his forehead with added dirt and sweat. Strangely, he looked as valiant as ever.

"Ol... h'ros tlu," the man said, his voice shaking. He took a small step forward, but Glitch remained still. Unmistakably, Glitch was angry. He took another step, his hand outstretched. Glitch glared up at him.

The man took a shuddering sigh and put his hand on top of Glitch's head. His eye teared and he sobbed, "Your highness..."

At once, all of the men dropped to their knees and bowed their heads to the ground. Abby stared in amazement, her mouth wide open.

In an instant, the huge man was hugging Glitch so hard he could have suffocated. He lifted Glitch off the ground and began laughing heartily. "You have returned!"

Glitch's eyes grew wide as the large man set him down, he was now crying with happiness.

Glitch stared into the man's eyes, a sudden expression of recognition passed over his face. His seriousness turned into happiness. "Rochben... Rochben is that you?!"

The man nodded, tears still streaming down his cheeks and he smiled. Glitch's smile was wider. He suddenly grasped the man in a tight hug, as if a son were greeting a father after years of separation.

Abby, her mouth still hanging open, snapped it shut and shouted, "I'm glad this reunion has gone so well... but our friend is dying, the circulation is gone from my fingers, and I have to pee. So if you two don't mind... would you let us go?!"

Fleur and David watched the display from the corner. The vines had neither come to attack them nor had the men. It had all happened so fast. Now, they were calling Glitch king. Fleur looked at David. He was looking back at her. Fleur leaned towards him.

"This is like something you'd see in one of those cheesy Star Galactica movies featuring Ritana Ruby and Hal Timburtan," she whispered.

David nodded, "Except that it's not quite as cheesy when it's happening in real life." He had a gash on his temple from where his head had bashed into the control panel when the ship had lurched forward from the collusion of the missile. Fleur, who had ended up in front of the door where he was, had come in and doctored him up slightly (ripped her shirt a bit to wrap his head) but he was still bleeding considerably.

"I hate to interrupt," David began, unsure if the others could understand him or not, "but we have several people who could use some medical attention, so if we could hurry, that would be ideal." He himself was beginning to feel light headed and found himself leaning against Fleur as he clutched his head. His breathing felt a bit labored.

Fleur turned back and spoke as well. "I've got limited medical skills. I've done all I can with the materials I had at hand. It's probably best we move out of here as soon as possible. Especially if that ship decides to send any more pirates after us."

((Sorry it's kind of short. I'm suffering from a killer headache right now.))

((w00t! Eba lives!))

Tsukiko

I had to admit that, for outcasts, these folks had a pretty good setup. The Goidelian rebels home consisted of a plot of land filled with tents, but these weren't your average weekend trip tents--these were made to last. From what I could gather, these rebels, who called themselves the Fronde, lived in seasonal encampments. Whenever the Aina Eruanna found them, they would simply pick up and move.

The Aina Eruanna, it seemed, was the government of Goidelia, and translated roughly to "holy grace" in English. I hoped the name didn't mean this was a religious group--those were always the most difficult to deal with, because they assumed what they were doing was for a god or something like that. The common people normally referred to them as the Mortumba, however, which was Goisech for "deep dark valley". A fitting name, if the stories were true.

And stories there were. The Gotharon and Morbereth, as the king and queen were called, were Glitch's aunt and uncle. Their names, respectively, meant "Enemy King" and "Dark Queen," and I assumed that these names were used only by the Fronde. They were cruel, totalitarian tyrants who stopped at nothing to gain power and keep the people under their rule. Tales of imprisonment, torture, and the occasional public execution kept the people subdued, but the rebel ranks were growing each day.

This was not the only camp. There were several more sprinkled across the countryside, hidden deep in the forest. This camp was called Rhun Minas in Goisech, but it was not uncommon to hear it referred to by its English name of East Tower. Goisech was a beautiful language; it was a shame that the people often refused to use it. The camp of Dun Alda was a few miles away, and it took me a while to realize that this was synonymous with West Tree. Dun Alda was the base of operations and the largest, most well-hidden camp. Compared to Rhun Minas, a small temporary lookout post on the outskirts of the kingdom, Dun Alda was supposed to be immense, nearly two-hundred times its size.

Glitch, along with the rest of his mission group, needed to head over to Dun Alda to meet the Fronde leaders and discuss his position, as well as formulate a plot with them to overthrow the Mortumba. We would have left by now, if not for Haru.

And so there I was, sitting in the healing tent in a small, partitioned-off section, watching the blanket on his chest move up and down in a steady, hypnotically rhythmic motion. For two days we had waited for him to wake, but so far he showed no signs of changing condition. The healers had managed to treat and counteract the poison in his body, and though he was in stable condition, we weren't sure if he was going to make it. The healer kindly suggested that the poison could have caused brain damage--and had promptly run away when I pulled out my gun.

Truth be told, I felt responsible, at least partially, for Haru's coma. I'd had the chance to shoot the captain, and I had hesitated. If I had just shot him, none of this would have happened. In a way, I could have prevented the wreck of our ship, Haru's injuries, Glitch's grief. Well, I told myself gently, at least you shot the bastard.

"Ugh," I heard a moan from the bed. "My head kills." I looked up sharply and stated the obvious.

"You're awake." He sat up.

"How long have I been out?" He groaned, covering his eyes with his forearm.

"Three days."

"...did you get him?"

"The captain?" I clarified.

"Yeah."

"He is dead."

"So whatever happened to no extraneous killings?" He teased. I said nothing. "Where is everyone? Did everybody make it out okay?"

"You're the only one here, if that's what you mean," I told him. "Poison, you were in a coma. They said you might have brain damage," I deadpanned.

"Y-you're not serious!" He cried in alarm.

"No, I'm not," I agreed complacently. Haru rolled his eyes and slumped back into the bed.

"Where's Glitch? Where are we?" He asked.

"He's here. We're in a camp called Rhun Minas," I informed him.

"Tsuki?" I heard Glitch call from outside the tent. "You still here?"

"Glitch?" Haru called back. "C'mere!"

((Here's the listing of the Goisech I've invented so far:
Mortumba = deep dark valley = "more-tomb-uh"
Aina Eruanna = holy grace = "aye-nah air-ooh-ah[/b]-nah"
Gotharon = Enemy King = "gawth-ahr-ahn"
Morbereth = Dark Queen = "more-burr-eth"
Rhun Minas = East Tower = "roon mee-nah-ss"
Dun Alda = West Tree = "doon ahl-dah"))

~Glitch~

Glitch politely began to pull away from the mass of people trying to talk to him at once, demanding to know where he'd gone to, asking if he's here to stay, weeping upon his return. If Glitch had known everything would be like this, he probably wouldn't have revealed his true identity. But drastic times call for drastic measures.

Rochben had supplied Glitch and his teammates with all the appropriate accomidations, even ordering The Fronde's healer to help Haru. Rochben had been a great friend, even before the revolt. He didn't have time to talk to him ever since they were brought back to camp, but he hoped they would have a chance soon. There was so much to catch up on.

Haru, on the other hand, was what was concerning Glitch the most. His best friend, the guy he practically grew up with, was laying nearly comatose on the hospital bed and there was nothing else he could do. That feeling of helplessness was the worst part of the entire ordeal; it's what drove Glitch to snap on the ship in the first place.

Just as Glitch was able to get away, he approached the tent were Haru was resting and called out, "Tsuki? You still here?" He remembered leaving her in the tent while he was being shuffled out to make a public appearance (to his great distaste) and quickly asked to stay informed of any change.

Surprisingly, from inside the tent he heard Haru's voice instead, "Glitch! C'mere!"

His heart leaping, he pulled open the flap and ducked inside the tent. There, sitting up in bed, looking utterly exhausted was Haru. Tsu was sitting next to him, staring up at Glitch expectedly.

All he could do was smile. Quietly, he said to Haru, "Glad you're amongst the living again. For a minute, we thought we'd lost you."

Haru scratched his head, wincing slightly at the pain in his arm and replied, "I think you nearly did..."

There was a moments pause, reflecting on the incident, before Glitch cleared his throat and said, "Well, there's going to be a feast tonight. Rochben has pulled out all his connections to celebrate my return..." His cheeks flushed, "... Not like I really want it... but are you up for it?"

"What, are you kidding me? I'm always up for a party, you know me!" Haru said, grinning.

Glitch smiled and bowed his head slightly, glancing at Tsu through the corner of his vivid green eyes. A sudden thought occured to him and he asked it immediately, "Hey, Haru..."

Haru stopped fiddling with his bandage to look up quizzically.

"When you were... you know... did you happen to see or... remember anything that happened during that time?" he asked slowly, staring at Haru through his still dirty emerald hair.

Haru raised and eyebrow and pondered this for a moment before finally saying, "No... I don't think so. I just remember everything going white and then waking up here about 2 seconds ago... Why?"

Glitch blinked a few times and took a relieved sigh before smiling softly, "Nothing. Never mind."

"Alright!" Haru shouted, clearly excited to get out of bed. "When does this thing start?!"

"Not for a few hours," Glitch said, walking over to a chair in the corner of the tent with Haru's clothes folded neatly into a stack. He tossed his belongings to Haru and gently touched Tsu on the elbow, he nodded his head out the tent and held the flap open for her.

She gave him a curious expression, then exited the tent as Haru was pulling on his shirt. Glitch followed closely after Tsu. He spoke quietly, but sincerely, "Listen... back there on the ship," he said, stopping just outside the tent entrance, just beneath the over-hang. He licked his lips, trying to find a voice to his thoughts, "I snapped. It-- It wasn't... I wasn't myself."

Tsu just stared at him, not replying or even blinking. A little unnerved, Glitch continued, "I never really thought of it before, but after what I did... I realized that everyone has the potential to kill. It may not be there consciously, but... things can change. No matter how much I don't want to admit it, but I think if you hadn't have stopped me... I would have killed that man."

"All in all," Glitch said, running his fingers through his bangs and pushing them away from his eyes, "I... thanks. For helping Haru. I was as much useless as I was crazy." He smiled slightly as his joke but continued with all seriousness, "I just wanted to ask you one thing... could we keep what happened back there a secret, between you and me? Please don't tell anyone, especially not Haru. He'd be on my case so fast I won't know what hit me."

Glitch's pleading green eyes gazed deep into Tsuki's equally vivid ones. He scanned her face for some sort of answer from her stoic expression, but to no avail. Finally, she spoke, "Sure." She smiled softly and reassuredly.

"Thanks, Tsu," Glitch said again, smiling back. Just then Haru stepped out from the tent and stretched, grunting.

Glitch backed away from Tsu, realizing he was so close to her.

"Well, my friend," Haru said to Glitch, coming over and squinting in the bright sunlight and grinning deviously, "I think it's about time you introduced me to the local ladies."

Haru

I frowned as I peered out of the healing tent. Glitch and Tsukiko were standing awfully close to each other, talking in low voices. Glitch looked distressed, and Tsuki was apathetic, as usual. Then, to my surprise, she smiled at him. And for some unexplicable reason, that didn't settle too well with me.

"Well, my friend," I said, stepping out of the tent, "I think it's about time you introduced me to the local ladies."

Glitch rolled his eyes, and Tsukiko frowned.

"I really don't think you should be going to a party," she suggested softly.

"Aw, don't be such a square!" I laughed, clapping her on the shoulder. "It'll be great, I love parties!"

"You just came out of a three-day coma," she protested. "You should be being careful with your body. You almost died."

I made a face. "I don't really see how that's any of your business," I said coldly. Her eyes widened by a fraction, but I didn't miss it.

"Just... be careful, okay?" She warned, then turned and walked away without so much as a 'goodbye'.

"What's her problem?" I growled to Glitch, suddenly in a bad mood. "It's not like what I do is any of her business." Glitch grimaced slightly and looked at the ground. "Why are you making that face?" I demanded. "What is it?"

"Well," he began uncertainly, still staring at the ground. "I can see why she'd upset."

I frowned back at him. "And why is that?"

"She probably wouldn't want me to tell you this," Glitch confessed, "but she spent the last three days by that bed, waiting for you to wake up. I think she felt kind of guilty for what happened to you." He paused for a few seconds to let this sink in. "And then you just woke up and announced that you were going to a party after a three day coma, no wonder she's worried about you."

I was silent for a minute, trying to collect my thoughts. For some reason, finding out that she spent three days sitting by my bedside made me feel bad--I hadn't even thanked her. And she felt responsible for what that damned captain did to me? That only angered me--it hadn't been her fault at all. And the idea that she had been worried about me only made me feel guilty, especially after how I had treated her.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Dammit, Glitch, these are things you need to tell me just a little bit earlier!" I moaned. "Crap, I guess I should go apologize... or something like that..."

"Don't bother," Glitch sighed. "She's probably gone already."

"Gone where?"

"Well, whenever I came in to see you--and they never let me stay long, it was really just Tsuki looking after you--she would take off for a while. I'm pretty sure she went to talk to some of the Fronde's strategists who live here in Rhun Minas." He winced. "She kinda seems like she wants to get this mission over with as fast as she can."

I was silent again, pensive. An awkward silence fell upon us, and I finally broke it by saying, "So, for this party, do I have to dress up?"

~Glitch~

Glancing at Haru out of the corner of his eyes, Glitch thought incredulously, First time he's actually admited to doing something wrong. Tsuki must have some sort of influence... I'm surpised.

"If you want to, no one's stopping you. But Rochben pulled together spare clothing for us to wear. We won't look like such outsiders," he said.

A few hours later, both Haru and Glitch emerged from a nearby tent where they were going to be stationed while on Goidelia. It was already past dusk, and the stars above were glimmering. Glitch looked up and smiled, remembering the past when Haru came up next to him, jolting him from thought.

"Hey, what's with the unicorn?" Haru asked, pulling at his own shirt.

Glitch blinked and looked down at himself. He was wearing long kakhi pants, an earthy green short-sleeved tunic with a high collar with traditional armor strapped to his chest revealing his family crest, which hasn't been seen publically for over 10 years. The crest contained both a lion and a unicorn adorning a golden shield above a crashing sea, and a radiant light extending from behind.

Glitch flushed and glanced Haru up and down. He was wearing black pants with a sleeveless vest and silver buckles striped horizontally across his chest.

"It's my family shield... Rochben asked me to wear it," Glitch admitted, still going red, the crimson clashing horribly with his hair.

Haru just shrugged and walked off towards the glow seen from just above the tree tops. Distant sounds of drums and people laughing lead the pair through the forest and to the clearing where the party was being held.

It was a spectacular sight. A giant bonfire cracked and reached it's long fingers into the sky, illuminating the masses of people. And there truly was a mass of people. Some stood near long tables covered with foods of all kinds of variety, some sat talking to one another loudly and jovially, but most danced around the fire to the upbeat tune coming from the little band in the corner.

The tune, if it were to be described by anyone else, would sound sort of like an Irish jig, but with tiny variations here and there. Everyone near the fire were all twriling, jumping and laughing loudly. Apparently Glitch's return was greatly appreciated.

He grinned broadly, watching everyone moving around him when he suddenly felt a nudge on his arm. He turned to see Haru, wide-eyed and gaping. A group of girls not much older than them were waving at both boys, with almost seductive eyes and swinging their flowing dresses.

Both Haru and Glitch gave a small wave back and Haru whispered with a broad grin, "Oh yeah... this is why I go to parties."

Tsukiko

It would be safe to say that I was in a staring contest. With a saree. Well, this was a new low.

It wasn't as if the saree was ugly or anything. On the contrary, I quite liked it. It was a full saree, long and bright green, and matched my eyes perfectly--the girl who had delivered it about 10 minutes ago had told that my eyes were the reason she had chose this color for me. I, for one, was appreciative of the genuine hospitality of the Goidelian people. It was a nice reprieve from normal school life.

Or would have been, if I hadn't still been stuck with my schoolmates. To be fair, Fleur and Abby seemed nice enough, and I hadn't even spoken to David yet, and Glitch did his best to be polite around me, at the very least. Haru, though, I wasn't sure what to think of. One minute he was offering me dinner, and the next telling me to stay out of his business. I couldn't figure him out.

But there were more pressing problems at hand. Like the saree. It was not ugly or ill-fitting, but the problem lie in the lack of places to conceal weapons. The long strip of cloth held no pockets or straps for knives or guns. And while I didn't think I would actually need these particular items during this festival, I hated to go anywhere unarmed.

Finally, I put on the saree and chanced a glance at myself in the mirror. It fit well, and brought out my eyes, just as the girl had promised. For some reason, wearing the saree made me nervous. I wasn't used to wearing such colorful clothes, or getting so dressed up, or going somewhere without a weapon.

Well, at least the last one could be remedied; I strapped on two forearm extendable sliding sword-knives. Then I put my hair into a high but loose bun, leaving a good-sized chunk out, and secured it with darts doubling as hair pins. I didn't feel completely safe without my guns, but I figured this would have to do for now. Feeling only slight more secure, I stepped out of the tent and headed towards the loud festival.

---------------------
Haru

"Oh yeah," I whispered to Glitch. A few pretty girls were dancing and waving at us, obviously wanting us to join them. "This is why I go to parties." I nudged him in the ribs. "Hey, where's your girlfriend, anyway?"

I got a blank stare for my troubles. "Who, Abby?" I nodded encouragingly, and he sighed. "She's not my girlfriend. And what about Tsuki?"

"Nah, I don't think she likes me very much. Besides," I added, "she's a little too weird for me."

Glitch grinned. "Oh yeah? Look behind you." I turned around, and nearly lost my jaw. There she was, standing next to a cluster of trees, in a long green dress-thingy.

"Oye, that isn't really her, is it?" I exclaimed, turning back to Glitch, who just nodded. "But... she's not wearing black! And she doesn't have any guns! It's can't be her!" Glitch smirked. "I refuse to believe it!"

"Too weird for you, eh?" Glitch laughed. "Go talk to her."

"W-what?" I spluttered. "Why?!"

"Because she's all alone," Glitch said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"B-but if I go, you'll be alone," I tried to protest. But Glitch wouldn't have any of it.

"I'll be fine, just go ta--oh, wait." He frowned. "Too late. Sorry, mate."

"What?" I asked, mirroring his expression and turning to look. At first I thought she had disappeared, but then I realized that it was only that my view of her was blocked--by another person. A guy person. That bothered me for some reason. I grabbed Glitch's arm and dragged him covertly closer. "Time for recon."

--------------------
Tsukiko

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, not sure I had heard the request right.

"Would you like to dance with me?" The young man repeated. He appeared to be a year or two older than me, and was garbed in the same vest-like clothing as everyone else. Much friendlier than most people, I noted.

"I don't know how," I protested with a soft smile, hoping to deflect him. It was useless.

"That's okay, dancing is all about the leading," he answered confidently, grabbing my hand and putting his other hand on my waist. I immediately panicked and reached for the release button on my left sword. But before I could press the button, a firm hand grabbed mine and pushed the boy away from me.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Haru demanded of the other boy. Haru had a few good inches on the mystery man, who looked a bit spooked. "Can't you see she doesn't want to dance?" The boy mumbled something intelligible, and scuffled away. A few moments of shocked silence on my part ensued, and finally Haru broke the silence by saying, "I think thanks are in order, no?"

This stunned me even more. "For what?" I asked, baffled.

"For saving you," he answered obviously. My eyes narrowed.

"From what?"

"That guy. You didn't want to dance with him."

"And how do you know that?"

"I could tell. I could read it in your face."

"You must be a pretty crappy reader, then."

"So you wanted to dance with him, is that it?"

"No!"

"Then what's the problem?" I could see it in his eyes. He was having fun, teasing me like this. He probably figured I couldn't fight in this outfit, and that I was unarmed. Fortunately, I had a few surprises up my sleeve. And in my hair.

----------------------
Haru

"Then what's the problem?" I asked, slightly annoyed. I had come over here to rescue her and make her like me, not get her mad at me! Although, I doubted she could do much damage right now, in a dress and without any weapons.

In a flash I found myself pinned to one of the trees, a sword at my throat. Oh, where did that come from? I thought meekly, staring at the shiny silver with wide eyes.

"Uh, Tsukiko?" I mumbled, straining backwards and going nowhere. "C-could you put that down?"

"Stay the hell away from me!" She hissed through clenched teeth, before clapping the sword back into its holster with the blunt edge of the opposite one. And just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.

I rubbed my neck possessively, glad it was still in one piece. Glitch came over to me, looking both amused and startled.

"Y'know, mate," he remarked, "I think you might have been right about her not liking you."

((If you don't get how Tsuki's swords work, look at this picture:

~Glitch~

A heavy hand thudded on Glitch's shoulder armor and startled him. He looked up to see the bearer of the hand was Rochben, he was resting his other hand on top of Haru's shoulder as well.

"I hope we're not already getting into trouble, young sirs. The party's only just begun," Rochben said jokingly.

Glitch stammered, his heart still beating rapidly from the scare, "N-No, sir. Just... making friends." He glanced over at Haru and raised an apprehensive eyebrow.

"Rochben, sorry," Glitch said, turning to face him. "This is Haru Anderson, Haru this is Rochben Paur. He's an old friend of mine before I left home."

"Ah yes! Mr. Anderson! Mae govannen!" He grasped Haru's hand firmly and shook it strongly. When he released it, he said with concern, "You gave your friends quite a scare. I'm surprised to see you here. Would you not like to rest?"

Haru smiled and admited, "I was in a coma for three days. I had plenty of time to rest."

Rochben laughed deeply and said smiling, "Well, then! On to the feast!"

He lead Haru and Glitch through the hoards of people and emerged to the tables upon tables of food. There were plates of Killala Oat Shrimp, Limerick mushrooms, Bangers and Mash (sausage and potatoes), Pride of Erin soup, and Ballydebob Halibut with Lim and much more expanded over the other tables. Glitch's mouth immediately began to water. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen so many of his favorite dishes on one table. He couldn't help but pile as much as he could on one plate.

He slowly passed the dessert table and began to fawn over the mounds of Óre Amon (chocolate covered cherry-like fruits), Lass Peich (a sweet flavored drink), and Caer Luin Loth (Lemon-like custard and whipped cream nestled between layers of sponge cake).

And then of course there was the famous-- or maybe infamous-- Goidelian wine. Strongest drink in this corner of the galaxy. A group of rosy cheeked older men, sat around this table laughing loudly, apparently enjoying the effects.

He heard a distant voice in the back of his mind but gently pushed it away. Again, the voice pursued, calling him by a strange name. "Cavan."

He furrowed his eyebrows, now fully aware that he was being summonded. He turned and saw Rochben waving over to him to sit on a log, one of four placed in a half-circle facing the dancing ground.

Oh yeah, he thought, bashfully. I guess that's my name, isn't it... I should get used to that.

He walked over to Rochben, carrying his food, and sat down next to him. Haru was already seated on the ground, resting his back against the log. He was nibbling on a bit of Wilwarin cakes before shoving the entire thing in his mouth. Glitch laughed, surprised that Haru was enjoying the food. Goidelia wasn't famous for it's meals.

But to Glitch, it was home. And home always had the best food, no matter what.

"So, Cavan! We have a lot to catch up on... but first things first..." Rochben said, slowly leaning close and lowering his voice, "Are you plynnet a natha van wen?"

Glitch's eyes bugged out of his head and he stammered, "W-What?! No! Not right now. Right? Right, Haru? No wait, I shouldn't be asking you."

He turned back to Rochben and said, "I'm sing--"

But someone behind Rochben made him fall short. Abby had appeared, holding a plate of her own and looking stunning in her blue tank-top and colorful cerulean warp around her waist. Her hair was down and draping gently over her shoulders. She gave him a small, half smile before sitting next to Rochben on the opposite side.

Rochben saw what had just happened and a devious grin spread over his lips, "Oh, I see."

Glitch quickly changed the subject, not exactly caring if it was too personal, "Rochben! I haven't seen you in years! The last time I did, I don't remember anything about the scar. What happened?"

Rochben grew serious and said, tracing the long crease along his face and through his eye, "I got this the night your parents were murdered, your highness."

An eerie silence ensued. Haru stopped in mid-chew and looked up at Glitch, Abby sat quietly and still beside Rochben and Glitch was at a loss for words.

"It's no trouble at all, really, your highness. I completed my mission to protect you, and that's all that matters."

Glitch suddenly lost his appetite.

"Why do you keep calling him 'your highness'?" Haru asked, taking a sip from his goblet of Lass Peich and breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Rochben looked down at him, confused, "That is the respectful way to address the heir to the throne of Goidelia."

It finally clicked for Haru and he immediately spit out the drink that hadn't quite made it down his throat. A fine mist of juice sprayed into the air as Haru gasped, "Glitch! Wh-Wh--...?!"

Glitch closed his eyes and turned his head.

"When were you planning on telling me this?!" Haru demanded, his eyes wide.

"Uhh... I kind of forgot..." Glitch half-lied, wincing as Haru yelled into the stars. He really did forget that Haru wasn't there to encounter his initial confrontation with the Fronde. It just slipped his mind as the days passed...

"Forgot?! Forgot! What am I supposed to say to that, Glitch?!" he stood up and waved his arms wildly in the air.

He scooped up his goblet from the ground and stomped off to the beverages once more. But instead of filling his goblet with Lass Peich, he was filling it with Goidelian wine. He was too distracted to notice, "Royalty! I mean, come on, man! It could have been nice to once say, 'Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm of royal birth?'"

"Err,... Haru?" Glitch asked, reaching his hand out in an attempt to stop Haru but he was completely ignored.

Haru downed his drink in a few gulps and slammed the goblet down on the table, "What, Glitch?"

"That's--..." Glitch stood up slowly and continued, "That's not for minors."

((Yes, I'm aware that this is not how drunk people act. I wrote it at 12:30, gimme a break. 'Sides, can't be any worse than Jane's "wasn't known for its reknowned food." Right?))

Haru

"That's not for minors!" Glitch said slowly. I stared at my cup.

"It's just juice," I replied, confused.

"No, that was wine," Glitch corrected. "Goidelian wine. Strongest this corner of the galaxy."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. Ahh, what was this warm, tingly feeling? Yummy yummy juice. "I want more." I stumbled towards the drink table again, grabbing clumsily at the pitcher.

"Haru, I think you've had enough to drink," Glitch said placatingly, guiding my hand away from the juice. But I wanted the juice! It was yummy!

"I think he's drunk," Abby laughed.

"I'm not drunk," I protested. "I'm just... tipsy!"

Rochben grabbed the pitcher before me and carried it away. But I wanted more.

"Ah, Haru, wait!" Glitch cried, but he was too late. I was already in the crowd of dancing people.

"Ah, juice," I said triumphantly. A warm hand grabbed mine.

"Haru, what are you doing?"

G "Tshuki!" I slurred. "Try the juice!" I shoved the glass at her, and she grabbed it from me, sniffing the top.

"Haru," she began warningly. "This is wine." I frowned and tipped my head sideways. Wine? It was juice! "How much of this have you had?"

"Second," I said, pointing at the cup in her hand. She immediately turned around and dumped it on the ground. I gaped at her. "Tsuki, you're mean!"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, grabbing my wrist and leading me away. Nice, warm hands. I pulled my wrist away and grabbed her hand. "Hey, the hell are you doing?!"

"Warm hands," I explained, holding up our hands to show her. She wrestled hers out of mine, and I pouted. "Tsuki, are you mad at me?"

-----------------------
Tsukiko

"You're drunk," I snarled contemptuously.

"I'm sorry," he said. I froze. "I always make you mad at me."

"I'd say you have a knack for it," I said after a moment. Haru smiled.

"You forgive me?" I looked at him uncertainly, but he was giving me puppy-dog eyes. Honest to goodness, puppy-dog-eyes. Weren't we too old for things like that?

"Yeah." I sighed, and looked away.

Suddenly, without warning, he had his finger under my chin and was gently forcing me to look up at him. For one terrifying moment I thought he was going to kiss me, but then he frowned and said, "You're still mad, Tsuki!"

"No, I'm not," I tried to persuade him, backing away. He put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me back towards him.

"You look purdy t'night, Tsuki," he smiled at me, pressing our noses together lightly. I struggled to get away; I wasn't use to physical contact. "Greenzagud kuller on you," he mumbled. I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

He moved his hands up to my cheeks and cradled my face in his hands, and I panicked. I stomped on his foot and simultaneously shoved him away, spinning around on my heel and practically dashing away as fast as I could--which wasn't saying much, in this tight saree.

"Glitch!" I said breathlessly. "Haru is drunk, get him out of here!"

"What'd he do?" Glitch asked worriedly, exchanging glances with Abby at the sight of my flushed cheeks.

"He--he's drunk!" I repeated, flustered. Just then, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind.

"Tsuki, why'd you run away?" Whined a voice in my ear. My eye twitched.

"Glitch, you have ten seconds to get him off me and out of my sight before I slit his throat," I growled with my eyes shut. Glitch must have moved pretty fast, because I only got to 7 before Haru's arms were gone. When I opened my eyes at 10, both of them were gone, and only Abby was left.

I took a deep, composing breath before muttering, half to myself and half to Abby, "...I think I need a drink..."

((Hey, you shut your mouth about that. It was around 12 when I wrote mine too, so yeah... I was tired. *losing rebuttle horribly*))

~Abby~

Abby gave Tsu and weak smile and suggested, "Why don't we go eat something? You look like you've starved yourself for days."

Abby guided Tsu through the crowd and emerged near the logs were Rochben was still sitting. He looked up and his eyes brightened, "Nîn Haretha," he said, bowing his head to both of them.

Abby pointed Tsu to the food and then sat next to Rochben, "How are the prisoners?" Abby asked.

The first day they had arrived, Glitch ordered for a raid on the ship to find surviving pirates. The plan had been completed successfully, finding seven pirates, all pretty beaten up. One of them was Bianca, who Abby had knocked out before the crash.

"They've been tied up on the outskirts of camp, strictly guarded by three of my top men," Rochben said.

Abby nodded silently and looked down at her plate which was still resting on the top of the log.

"He's a very smart young man, you know," Rochben finally said.

Abby looked up and said quickly, "Who, Glitch?"

"Where does this name "Glitch" come from, anyway? I am intrigued," Rochben said, putting his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on his fist.

Abby quietly laughed and explained, "It was when he first came to Ad Astra-- the space academy where kids like me go-- he had this weird tick..." she laughed again and continued, "He couldn't sit still. His legs would be bouncing non-stop, or he would tap his finger on the table. Most suspected that he had ADD or something, but as for me, I always thought it was stress, or nervousness. We all handled our parents deaths in our own ways and Glitch was no exception."

"The first thing people asked about him was usually "What's his glitch?" and it became his new name, because no one could really pronounce his real on. But he didn't mind, he thought it was funny. He said he never had a nickname before. Years passed and the ticks slowly ebbed away until they was finally gone, but the name stuck."

"You seem to know a lot about him," Rochben said.

"That's just because I've known him almost my entire life. We've had a lot of classes together and our apartments are not too far from each other, but that doesn't mean anything. At least, not to me."

She stopped short and stared at her hands folded in her lap.

"Give it some time," Rochben said, patting her knee. "His father was a great man. And I'll be damned if he doesn't look exactly like he did at his age." He chuckled before continuing, "If I know anything, I know that Cavan... or Glitch... will become just like his father, and that, Nîn Loth, is time worthy."

Abby stared at him, Is he trying to do what I think he's trying to do?! Suddenly a voice interrupted her thoughts, "May I have this dance?"

She looked up and saw a strange but handsome boy standing with his hand outstretched towards her. She blinked, wide-eyed for a moment and looked into his own deep brown ones. "Sure," she said slowly, standing and taking his hand.

As she was led away, she turned to look back at Rochben who only waved and smiled at her. The echoes of their conversation quickly faded as the boy showed her the dance. Swept up in the music, Abby began to enjoy herself.
----------------------------------------------
~Glitch~

"Haru, you're such an idiot sometimes..." Glitch grumbled under his breath, emerging from the medical tent that Haru had only left hours before. He was back on the bed that he had slept in for three days but was now being nursed for potential alcohol poisoning.

He walked back towards the party, running his fingers through his hair sourly and taking a deep sigh. He admitted that not telling Haru was his fault, but keeping his identity a secret on Ad Astra was entirely intentional and rational. Everyone would have treated him differently, like a prince. He probably wouldn't have been allowed to join the Koasati team, or he could have been denied some privelages that any other person would be able to do. Glitch wasn't one to abuse his title anyway.

He re-entered into the festivites, plopped himself down next to Rochben and buried his face in his hands, groaning.

Rochben thumped him on the pack and assured him everything would be okay.
-------------------------------------------------
Unbeknownst to everyone, a lone figure sat perched upon the highest branch of the tallest tree near the party. It's sharp golden eyes scanned the scene below with unnatural perception. It stopped suddenly, surprised to see a member of the royal family that had been missing for a decade. His green hair and eyes were unmistakable.

The shadow of a person narrowed it's eyes and disappeared in a silent whisp of smoke, snaking down the tree trunk and into the forest.

Tsukiko

"Why don't we go eat something? You look like you've starved yourself for days," Abby suggested with a weak smiling. She tried to lead me through a crowd, but I quickly lost sight of her. Alone and in a terrible mood, I decided that I'd had enough partying for one night. Social functions were not my forte.

It was a stroke of coincidence, really. I decided to take the long way back, through the forest. The trees were looming and dark, and a walk seemed like the perfect thing to help me calm down. It would be silent and peaceful. There wasn't a path, but the ground was flat and mostly bare of vegetation, making it easy to walk in any direction. I removed my uncomfortable shoes and, in the dark cover of the forest, untied my saree. I retied it much higher, and the fabric ended half-way up my thighs in a miniskirt-like fashion. It was for pure versatility--there was no one to impress in this forest, at any rate.

No one to impress, maybe, but there was someone there. I could feel it. Barefoot, I crept silently through the forest, not making a sound. It was mostly quiet for a few minutes, but I listened intently and was not disappointed. There was definitely someone here.

((Waiting to continue when Jane makes up her mind about what's going on. ))

//Fleur//

Fleur stared at the trees below her. She could see the party taking place and sighed before turning her back on the festivities. Reaching up, she pulled at the pins holding her hair up and felt it fall and fly out behind her as a wind picked up. She was standing on top of a hill, alone. As always.

It wasn't like her to be depressed, so she couldn't say those were the feelings of sadness she felt, but she felt so out of place. They'd been there for three days. David had gotten patched up after they'd first been brought to this place. Fleur had come up to this hill. She had rarely left it, though she had headed down a few times to see how Haru was doing. The last she had done that had been this morning.

Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground and sat. She longed to talk to her family, but there was no possible way for her to do that. And so she talked, just as if they were on the phone. "Hey Theo. I've been doing all right. My first mission didn't exactly go as expected. So far, it seems things have only gone wrong. We have been on our target planet for three days now, and nothing has been done for the mission. Glitch has been getting reacquainted with people he hasn't seen in years. Just like I haven't seen you in year.

"Let's see, I guess I should tell you about my mission team. I've already mentioned Glitch. His friend, Haru, who, I'm sorry to say, is not in good health right now. They're both nice I guess. I haven't really talked to them, so I don't know. David's nice. He's quiet though. Shy. He prefers to watch. Then, my roommate Abby is here, and another girl named Tsukiko. Two others were supposed to join us, but... I don't think they're coming.

"Now's not the time to be doubting myself, but... I can't help but wonder if my costume from last year really did alienate me from everyone else. I think they think I'm weird. I guess it's my fault. I haven't really been down to talk with any of them since we got here. I exchanged a few words with Tsukiko when I went down to see Haru this morning but, that's about it. I've been doing a lot of thinking about things and I--"

"Talking to yourself?"

Fleur jumped. She rolled behind a bush, grabbing a branch as she did so. Carefully, she peeked out from behind it. David was standing in the clearing, a smile on his face, his arms raised, his palms open. "I come in peace," he said with a grin.

Fleur felt her face flush bright red. Dropping the branch, I stood up and brushed myself off as I came out from behind the bush. "Sorry. I was...yeah. Just talking to myself. My brother actually. Or at least I would be if he could hear me." She looked at the ground and toed a pebble. What an awkward thing for him to hear.

"How much did you hear exactly?" she asked.

"I'm not sure when you started, but I did hear you talking about Glitch getting reacquainted," he said dropping his hands. His large expressive brown eyes seemed especially alive tonight. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm just being silly. I kinda brought the isolation upon myself. I should be... more...normal, I guess. I don't know if you remember the costume I wore last year. I don't think many people appreciated it like I did."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. It was...er...yeah, no comment."

Fleur laughed. "I think that's what a lot of people would say." She turned and stared up at the sky. She was completly silent, lost once again in her own thoughts. She heard David come up behind her, but didn't think anything over until he swept her off her feet. Her face flushed again.

"David, what are yo--?"

"It sounds to me like you need some cheering up. What better way to do that than get a different view on things?"

"Huh? What do you mean? What are you talking ab...ou...t..." she trailed off as two huge, glorious white wings sprouted from his back. He smiled at her.

"It's a secret, so shhh," he said. He smiled down at her for a moment, and then with two powerful flaps, Fleur felt herself lifting into the air. She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed ahold of his neck tightly, wrapping her arms around it in fear. 'Please don't drop me. Please don't drop me. Oh god, please don't let him drop me,' she prayed.

"This planet is gorgeous. The view is wonderful. Check it out!" he exclaimed as they flew. Carefully, Fleur squeezed open her eyes and looked down. Her first reaction was to scream, but after she'd surpressed that, she began to look around. David's grip on her was strong and constant. As she leaned against his chest, she could feel herself relaxing more and more in his grasp and really starting to enjoy herself.

"Oh my goodness!" The view was spectacular. Fleur spent a fourth of the time watching David's wings flap. They looked so soft. She wanted to reach out and touch it, but didn't for fear that it might interrupt the flying process and cause them to fall to their deaths. Another fourth she spent looking at David, watching his hair fly back in the wind, and his gleeful facial expressions. The rest of the time, she spent staring at her surroundings. It was wonderful. All too soon, it seemed to come to an end. He landed back on the hill where they'd taken off from with a small bump, before carefully setting Fleur back down on the ground.

"David, that was amazing!" she gasped. "I--I can't... Oh my god... It was just--Ah!"

He smiled. "I'm glad you liked it." He closed his eyes a minute and then suddenly his wings began to fall apart in a shower of feathers. Several brushed Fleur's face as they flew over the crest of the hill off into the distance. She caught one in her small hands and ran her fingers over it.

"It's so soft," she said.

He smiled. "Shall we head back?"

"Yeah." They started walking down the path, back into the trees.

"You look beautiful with your hair down, by the way."

Fleur blushed a bit. "Thank you." They talked as they headed down the hill, back towards the tents. As they got closer, Fleur could see a figure standing beneath the trees several yards away. "That looks like Tsukik--"

"Shh. Something's here," David whispered.

((Sorry for my absence. I don't really have much of an excuse. I hope this makes up for it.))