OF: NaNoWiMo Novel: Reasons PG-13 AA/A/Hu

[Neko]

National Novel Writing Month, watch as I attempt to make this 50,000 words by the end of november. Although I doubt I'll finish it, it's a fun goal.

Today's Goal: 2000 words

Met Goal: 2,149 words

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Ryan walked out into the cold air away from the dim glow of his house to investigate an imaginary noise he pretended he had heard moments earlier. Truly it was for the mere sake that he wanted to get away from his own home but he didn’t want to admit that to any one, especially himself. Once he got so far away from the yelling he fancied he really did hear a sound but he decided not to pursue it for the mere fact that his brain couldn’t take any more surprises that night.

After walking down the lonely road for a few minutes he can upon a lone bench that invited him to sit down and take a break for the first time that day. He accepted the invitation and flopped into it, taking great care not to make too much noise. “They’re always at it these days,” he sighed.

A shadow fell over him, blocking out the light provided by the street lamp. “Tired, Master Ryan?” a soft voice asked him.

Ryan looked up, “Oh, James,” he said with a small grin. “Hey,” he said.

“You didn’t answer my question,” James told him.

The raven-haired teen shrugged, “I’m fine.”

“Then why did you run away?” his servant asked him.

Ryan crossed his arms, “I did not run away,” he muttered. “I just… wanted to get away for awhile.”

“Why did you keep on going after your father called you back?” James asked him with a faint smile.

“Did he call me?” Ryan asked with a fake innocence.

“He did,” James replied.

Ryan sighed and looked his servant and friend up and down. He knew that the tall man cared for him ten times more then his own father ever would but telling him just how much he disliked his parents almost seemed to be like he was betraying them. “I know,” he said softly. “Why did dad so… uptight these days?”

“War is not an easy thing to get through,” James said with a frown.

“Dad’s a businessman, what is he doing in matters of war?” Ryan snapped.

James smiled and ruffled his charge’s hair. “You certainly are a sharp young man.”

“I have to be,” Ryan muttered.

James frowned then nodded sadly, “Yes, I’m afraid you’re right.”

Ryan shook his head and his blue eyes reflected a deep sadness James had come to see all too much lately. “Why is dad doing the things he’s doing?” Ryan asked slowly as if he was almost afraid to ask.

James took his hand off Ryan’s head and turned to face the street where a small car zoomed by. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that,” James replied.

Ryan’s eyes widened, “Why not? Are you with dad? Did he…” Ryan began to ask.

“First of all,” James cut him off with a snap. “I am not with anyone, Master Ryan. Second of all, I don’t know.”

Ryan looked up into the earnest; obsidian colored eyes of his closest friend and frowned. “Why?”

“Because, if I knew what went on in your father’s head, I think I would be a much unhappier man,” James said slowly.

Ryan giggled, “Oh,” he said simply. “Well, I’m glad you’re not like him.”

“So am I, Master Ryan, so am I,” James replied earnestly.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Outside of the small town that Ryan lived in a small boy stretched his arms over his head and covered his face in an attempt to ward off the incoming daylight. Another boy leaned over and shook the first in an attempt to get him to wake up. “Come on, we need to move before there’s too much light,” the second boy said in a worried voice.

The first boy grumbled and merely turned over. “Come on, just a few more minutes,” he sighed.

“Not today,” the second boy said with a sad smile. “There’s too much light. We need to get ready so we can go into town without being noticed.”

“All right, fine,” the first boy muttered as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

The boys were obviously not human by any means even if they could alter their appearance to look so. The first thing that was noticeable about them were their ears. They both had large cat like ears as well as tails as well and slitted eyes. Even more remarkable was the fact that they looked exactly alike. They were twins.

The first twin was slightly shorter then the second twin, but not by much. They both had golden eyes and dark brown hair that was almost black. After spending so many days out in the open they were beginning to look worse for the wear. Their clothes showed wearing and they could both have used a large meal at the time. However it did not keep the look of determination from either one’s eyes as they set about erasing any sign that they were there.

“Are we going to chance a town today?” the first twin asked the second.

“We have to,” the second one frowned. “We’re out of food.”

“Wake up call, Dan, we’ve been out of food,” the first one said.

Dan sighed, “Yeah, I know Den but there’s not much I can do about it. We’ll be in really big trouble if we get caught. I mean we are at war with the humans you know.”

“And who’s fault is that I wonder,” Den snapped.

“We’re not here to place blame!” Dan retorted hotly. “We’re here to find mom and dad!”

Den looked down, a little shamefaced. “I know,” he said softly. “But… I’m just…”

Dan smile softly, “We’re both worried.”

Den smiled back and then tossed an average looking baseball cap to his brother. “Well, we need food, and I for one am starving.”

“We can’t take too long,” Dan warned.

“I know, I know,” Den said carelessly with a wave of his hand as is physically dismissing the matter. “But hey, you got to admit, it’ll be the most fun we’ve had in awhile.”

“Fun?” Dan blinked.

Den shrugged, “Why not?”

Dan scowled and pulled the cap over his ears, “Do I even need to answer that?” he asked.

Den looked up and pulled his own cap over his ears, “I’d rather you didn’t,” he admitted.

“Good,” Dan said with a grin. “Then you will stay quiet and follow me.”

“Awww,” Den whined. “But…”

“But nothing!” Dan snapped, whirling around to face his brother. “We need to be more careful. We’ve gotten this far, we can’t jeopardize anything at this point, understand?”

Den looked back at him with large golden eyes and a small pout playing his lips. Dan blinked and tried to look away but his gaze kept going back to his brother’s pouting face. He sighed and pulled his cap tighter around his ears, “Fine, maybe we’ll stop at a sweets shop or something,” he said grumpily.

Den jump up and hugged his brother tightly. “I love you,” he said in a fake voice.

Dan laughed and shoved his brother off of him. “Yeah I know. Make sure your tail is hidden too.”

“I know!” Den said in a happy voice as he tucked his tail around his waist under his oversized powder blue hoodie.

Dan sighed and did the same with his tail under his red hoodie. “Ready to go?”

Den’s stomach growled loudly, “Lead the way,” he said earnestly.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

“Ryan?” James asked softly.

“Hm?” Ryan replied, looking around. He found that he was in his own bed with his own covers around him. “What happened?”

“You fell asleep on the park bench,” James told him. “I brought you home.”

Ryan sat up in his bed and pushed the sheets back. “Oh man, last night…”

“Your father left…” James started.

“On business,” Ryan finished for him. “Yeah, because what else would he do?”

“You don’t mean that,” James said softly.

Ryan sniffed and got out of bed. “Yeah I do,” he muttered darkly as he opened his bedroom door. “My dad cares more about his stupid reputation then me.”

James frowned as Ryan left his room in a small temper. “I don’t think so,” he told the door. “But your thoughts are your own.”

Ryan padded down the stairs and popped open his microwave to stick in a bowl of watery oatmeal to thicken. “Master Ryan?” a soft voice asked behind him.

“Yeah?” Ryan said without looking around.

“Is there anything you would like to do today?” James asked him.

Ryan took the oatmeal out of the microwave and stirred the hot, watery mixture with a spoon. “Not really.”

“You put too much water in it,” James noted.

Ryan shrugged, “Yeah, I know. Mom used to do that.”

James sighed, “Are you sure you don’t want to do anything today?” he asked with an almost pleading edge in his voice.

“Not really,” Ryan muttered.

James frowned, “Very well then,” he said and took the bowl of mushy oatmeal out of Ryan’s hands and set it down on the counter top.

“Hey!” Ryan protested. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you out to breakfast,” James said.

“I have a perfectly fine breakfast right there,” Ryan said while pointing to his graying oatmeal.

James eyed his charge’s sorry excuse for a breakfast. “Is that even edible?” he asked.

“Taste’s like cardboard, and cardboard isn’t lethal…” Ryan said slowly.

“Let’s go,” James said with a smile.

Ryan sighed, “All right, but don’t think I’m going because I don’t have anything better to do.”

“You’re going because you can’t cook, Master Ryan,” James said slowly.

“Neither can you!” Ryan retorted hotly.

“I don’t pretend I can,” James said with a small smile on his lips.

Ryan rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I love you too.”

“Why Master Ryan, I’m touched,” James said in a falsely excited voice.

“Shut up,” Ryan said with a small laugh.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Over on the other side of town, Den and Dan both peered into a cake shop with hungry expressions. “Now remember, I only said we’d look…” Dan said hesitantly.

“That cheesecake looks soooo good,” Den said while pointing at a white chocolate cheesecake on display.

Dan followed his brother’s finger to where the cake sad and almost immediately his mouth began to water. “Oh…” he said.

“Can we…” Den began.

“Absolutely not,” Dan snapped. “When I said sweets I meant pocket candy. Not cheesecake.”

“But it looks so good…” Den said in a begging tone. “Look at iiiiiit.”

“I’m looked,” Dan said. “And it does look good but…” he sighed. “Sorry Den, when we get home.”

“But…” Den protested.

Dan rolled his eyes and grabbed Den by the arm, “Come on, let’s go.”

“Cheesecake!” Den wailed as he was dragged away from the cake shop.

“Not yet,” Dan said with a small sigh. “We need bread and water as well as other things that are necessary for every day life.”

Den sighed heavily, “Real life sucks. I don’t see why we can’t use mag…” he started but was cut off as Dan put his hand over Den’s mouth.

“Shhhh…” he said while looking around. “Look, we can’t use magic because the humans have instruments that detect it from really far away. We can’t even talk about it. Be more careful,” he hissed.

Den linked his hands behind his head. “All right,” he said while looking out to the side.

Dan sighed and continued to walk forward, “I know all this is hard but at least we’re close to the capital city,” he said.

“Yeah, at least,” Den replied. “And at the most?”

Dan laughed, “I have no idea.”

“Some optimist you are,” Den muttered jokingly.

Dan shoved his twin, “Oh shut up,” he teased. “At least I try.”

Den grinned back, “Yeah, I know.”

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Ryan lifted another syrup drenched piece of waffle to his lips as James sat across from his sipping very black coffee. “Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Ryan asked.

“I’m not very hungry,” James said simply.

“It’s good,” Ryan said before clamping down on the fork.

“I’m aware it’s good. That’s your third waffle today,” James teased.

Ryan smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, this must be getting expensive.”

“No, I’m just glad you are so happy. And that I didn’t let you eat that goop you called a breakfast,” James said with a small grin.

Ryan rolled his eyes, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“If I may, Master Ryan, it looked like paper mache,” James said before taking another sip of coffee.

“Really?” Ryan asked, looking a bit put out.

“Really,” James answered.

“Hmmm…” Ryan said thoughtfully before taking another bite of fluffy waffle. “It did, didn’t it?”

“Yes, it did,” James said.

“I almost ate it,” Ryan mused.

“Yes, you did,” James replied while taking another sip of coffee.

“Ew,” Ryan concluded.

“My thoughts exactly,” James said before finishing his cup of coffee off and ordering another one.
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 4000 words
Achieved Goal: 4,452 words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you have the groceries?” Dan asked his twin with a touch of concern as he saw Den wobble dangerously to the left.

“It’s heavy but I got it,” Den panted.

“Its just bread,” Dan said doubtfully.

“Yeah,” Den snapped, “Bread that feels and weighs like a rock!”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m carrying the water so it’s not like the load is unfair.”

Den stuck his tongue out at Dan, “I never said it was, I just said my load is heavy.”

Dan smiled, “Well, at least you’re not complaining about hunger anymore,” he said.

Den smirked, “I would feel better with cheesecake,” he said while giving his brother a big eyed look.

“Ha,” Dan said, “No.”

“Hey, it was worth a shot,” Den laughed.

“And the effort is appreciated,” Dan replied. “But still, no.”

“You’re no fun,” Den whined playfully.

“No cheesecake yet,” Dan said. “Just… wait a bit, okay?”

Den nodded, “All right,” he said, then he lowered his voice, “Truth be told I’d rather take off my hat then anything.”

Dan laughed loudly, “Yeah, me too,” he replied.

Den looked around the pretty town and sighed, “Still, I like being out here. Around other people, even if…” his voice trailed off slowly.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Dan replied. “It’s nice to be with other people. But we’re not safe here and we’ve come to far to get caught.”

“No kidding,” Den said dryly. “Considering getting caught anywhere would be ‘too close.’”

Dan nodded, “True. However, that sentence has more meaning then ever.”

“I know,” Den said softly.

“Do you miss her?” Dan asked as they walked down the street.

“Who?” Den replied.

“Mom,” Dan said simply.

Den blinked then looked down at the ground, “Yeah, and dad too. I miss them both.”

Dan smiled sadly, “Do you think… they’re okay?” he asked softly.

Den glared at his brother, “Of course!” he snapped with such feeling that Dan stopped dead in his tracks to stare at his twin. “They’re fine, I know it!” Den’s eyes widened a bit and he drew in a shaky breath, “They have to be,” he said softly.

Dan frowned and set down his bag of groceries, and then he walked over to where his dejected looking twin stood. He stood directly in front of him for a few moments before Den put his own bag down and hugged Dan tightly. “It’s all right,” he said softly. “I promise, everything will turn out fine.”

“Really?” Den asked.

“Yeah,” Dan replied. “Mom and dad are strong. They can take care of themselves.”

Den rubbed his slightly wet eyes on Dan’s red hoodie before letting his brother go and stepping back with a large watery smile on his face. “Right,” he said breathlessly. Then he took in one more calming breath for good measure as Dan smiled sadly. “We’ll make it.”

“That’s the spirit,” Dan said with a genuine grin while he slapped Den on the shoulder. “Now let’s get back and put this stuff into our packs so we can travel.”

“Wait… you’re letting us use magic…” Den said with a grin.

“Just our backpacks,” Dan snapped. “For a little bit anyway.”

“You do think it’s heavy,” his twin chided him.

“Kinda,” Dan admitted sheepishly. “So we can use weight spells concealed in our backpacks, but that’s it! And they have to be weak.”

“All right, all right,” Den said happily.

Dan sighed, “And nothing else, including space spells.”

Den eyes his twin, “And why do you say that?”

“I know you far too well,” Dan replied simply.

“I wouldn’t have used a space spell,” Den said innocently.

“Suuuuure,” Dan said in a teasing voice. “And you wouldn’t use a teleportation spell either, given the chance.”

Den tried to cross his arms but he found that the parcel in his hands prevented that so he took to glaring at his twin and looking indignant in response.

“That’s not going to do anything,” Dan said while watching his brother’s silent temper tantrum.

“Shut up,” Den muttered.

“As you wish, your highness,” Dan said cheekily.

Den glared at his twin and then winked, “Yeah, but what does that make you?”

“A monkey’s brother,” Dan said wisely.

Den snorted, “Ha, veeeery funny.”

“Thank you, I thought that up all on my own,” Dan replied.

“I could tell,” Den teased in return. “All of your jokes suck.”

Now it was Dan’s turn to look indignant. “They do not,” he said huffily.

Dan and Den reached the border of the town while still teasing one another without looking to see who was there. “Yeah they do,” Den shot back, “They’re as bad as dad’s jokes.”

“No,” Dan said. “No jokes are as bad as dad’s.”

Den looked up thoughtfully, “This is true.”

“Hey kids!” a voice barked.

Den and Dan both jumped and their hoodies grew a little as their tails puffed out a little in surprise. “Y-yes?” they asked together as they turned around slowly.

“Why are you leaving with those?” a solider asked them while motioning to the grocery bags.

“We’re going on a pic nic!” Dan said, stepping in hastily before Dan could say something rude in return.

“With grocery bags?” the man asked with a dark eyebrow raised.

“We uhh…” Dan racked his brain for an excuse. “Couldn’t afford the basket.”

“Well you kids should stay in anyways,” the man said. “It’s dangerous out there.”

“Why?” Den asked.

“There’s a war going on, that’s why!” he said.

“But we’re like… hundreds of miles from the border,” Den said in a small, cutesy voice that he knew annoyed the hell out of adults.

The man’s eyebrow slowly raised in an annoyed manner, “Listen kid, there’s a war and I’m not supposed to let anyone out. So, just stay here, all right?”

Dan grabbed Den’s elbow and pulled his twin behind him before the snappy retort came. “All right sir. Thank you,” he said politely and dragged his twin off.

“Hey!” Den protested.

“We’ll just sneak out at night,” Dan said exasperatedly. “No one will notice.”

“But the hat…” Den whined.

“Deal with it,” Dan growled.

Den blinked and then sighed and followed his brother, “All right,” he groaned. “Can we get cheesecake then?” he asked.

Dan blinked then smiled, “All right, we can get cheesecake.”

“Yes!” Den cheered while pumping his fist into the air.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

“Are you ready to go home?” James asked Ryan.

“Not really,” Ryan admitted.

“Don’t feel like being inside?” James asked.

“More like, I don’t feel like being in the big empty house all by myself,” Ryan sighed. “It gets lonely.”

James smiled sadly, “I’m afraid it does from time to time, doesn’t it?”

Ryan groaned, “No kidding,” he growled. “So much space but…”

“Maybe, too much?” James finished.

“Yeah,” Ryan sighed.

“Then why don’t we go to the cake shop?” he asked.

Ryan glanced up at James, “Really? Are you sure you can afford it?”

“I was thinking maybe you’d treat, sir,” James said with a small wink.

Ryan grinned back, “Sure,” he said. “I’ll treat.”

A few minutes later they came upon the cake shop and walked inside to see two twins sitting at a table close to the window eating cheese cake. “I love you,” one of them said to the other.

“Don’t get used to it,” the other one snapped. “This is a one time deal, Den.”

“All right, I know,” he sighed. “But still, cheeeesecaaake,” he said annoyingly before taking another bite. “So good.”

His twin laughed at his antics and took his own bite of the sweet cake. “I’m glad you like it.”

Ryan smiled softly and walked up to the counter. “What do you want?” he asked James.

“Just, a piece of shortcake,” James told him.

Ryan frowned, “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” James said.

Ryan nodded and turned to the lady behind the counter. “I’d like a piece of chocolate lasagna cake and a piece of short cake please.”

The woman behind the counter nodded and handed them plates with their cake on it. The two took them and walked over to a table on the other end of the store and began to eat their treats. “Do you think dad will be home tonight?” Ryan asked.

James frowned, “I’m afraid not tonight. He said he’d be back within the week though.”

“Oh,” Ryan said softly. “Really?”

James nodded, “Yes.”

Ryan sighed, “Where is he, anyway?”

“He’s at the capital city. Apparently there is an important meeting for his company there,” James said.

“There’s always an important meeting,” Ryan said dryly.

James smiled softly, “Your father is a very busy man, and he has a lot of things to be in charge of and many people to please.”

Ryan frowned and merely took another piece of cake, instead of answering to the comment.

Their awkward silence was broken by the laughter of the twins on the other side of the shop. “I remember that!” one of them said. “And then she fell off the couch!”

“Yeah!” the other agreed and they both started laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.

“They’re having fun,” Ryan said softly. “I wonder what it’s like…” he said.

“Like?” James asked.

“To… have someone with you, all the time,” Ryan said.

James blinked and a brief look of hurt flashed across his eyes before he said, “I do not know, sir.”

Ryan frowned, “I wish I could just… never go home.”

James looked alarmed, “Master Ryan!”

Ryan chuckled, “Relax, I was just joking. Don’t worry, I don’t mean it. My home is my own, right? Not like I have much choice.”

James relaxed a little before sticking his fork into the remainder of his cake and eating it thoughtfully. “Maybe we could try and take a vacation, if you would like,” he said softly.

Ryan looked up, “Really?” he asked. “Like, get out of here for awhile?”

“Sure,” James said. “If it would make you less sullen all the time.”

Ryan gave him a small smile, “Am I really that bad?” he asked.

“Lately…” James sighed. “Yes.”

Ryan sighed, “I’m sorry James.”

James shook his head, “Don’t worry. What with the war I don’t blame you.”

“Thanks,” Ryan said and finished off his own cake.

Den finished off his own last bit of cheesecake and grinned. “Well, that was delicious.”

“Glad you liked it,” Dan said with a small laugh. “But now we need to get going.”

“Oh…” Den said softly. “Already?”

“Do you want the food to spoil,” Dan asked with a grin. “Because I’ll let you eat rancid bologna sandwiches if what’s what you want.”

“Ew, no!” Den said quickly. “Let’s go.”

Both boys nodded and stood up. They gathered up their things and walked out of the shop.

Ryan watched them leave and then stood up himself. “We should go to,” he said.

“Ready to go home?’ James asked.

“I guess,” Ryan sighed.

“Very well,” James agreed and stood up. “We might as well get going then.”

“I’m right behind you,” Ryan said and stood up as well. Then together they left the shop.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

“That guy is still there!” Den hissed as they approached the only exit out of the city. “When does his shift end?”

“Huh…” Dan said simply.

“Huh?” Den asked. “What do you mean, huh? I don’t want to eat spoiled bologna!”

“Relax, we still have a few hours before we should charm it…” Dan said doubtfully.

“Then why are you worried?” Den said darkly.

“I… really don’t want to eat spoiled bologna either,” he admitted.

“How do we get past the guard?” Den asked.

“I don’t know,” Dan sighed.

“Could we,” Den paused, “Create a diversion?”

“No,” Dan replied evenly. “Absolutely not.”

“Awww, come on!” Den replied. “We can’t stay here.”

“Are you willing to risk everything for a little ‘diversion?’” Dan snapped.

Den sighed, “All right, fair enough. So, then what do we do?”

“Bide our time?” Dan asked.

“You’re joking,” Den sighed. “Please, tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m afraid not, we need to get out of here, but we need to not get caught more,” Dan said wisely.

Den gave him a sidelong glance, “Right,” he said.

Dan looked over to where the guard was and stood up from behind his hiding place. “He’s gone,” he gasped.

“Really?” Den asked.

“So, what are you kids still doing here?” a voice boomed behind them.

Both boys jumped and once again their tails puffed out underneath their hoodies. They spun around gasping. “Hello!” they said in the same panicked voice at the same time.

The guard raised his eyebrow, “Hello,” he murmured. Then he frowned and put his hands on his hips, “What are you two doing here again? Were you planning to skip town?”

“No,” Dan said quickly. “Of course not.”

“Shouldn’t you boys be heading home?” he asked.

“Home?” they asked.

The man pointed to the sun that was slowly beginning to set. “Curfew at sundown,” he said simply.

“The day is almost over?” Den asked.

“Yeah, quick days up north, at least at this time of year. So, you kids better get going,” he said.

“All right,” Dan said happily and grabbed Den’s wrist. “Thank you sir.”

“No problem, kids,” he replied and watched as they walked off. “Odd boys…” he mused and walked off.

“Now what?” Den hissed as he rubbed his wrist and cast an uneasy glance at the new, meaner looking guard at the gate.

“We… look for a place to sleep, I guess,” Dan said.

“But, do we have enough?” Den asked.

“We’ll have to spread it thinly, but I think we can manage it,” Dan replied. “Let’s go before we get caught anymore.”

“All right,” Den said and quickened his pace to catch up with his brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh and... any name suggestions will be greatly appriciated :D
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 6,000
Goal Reached: 6,590

Next chapter. Anyone mind telling me how you like it so far? XD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both boys returned to the town center and sat down on the edge of the large fountain that marked the center of the town. Den looked over Dan’s shoulder as he uneasily counted to money that was supposed to get them through the rest of the trip. “Well?” Den asked.

“We,” Dan paused and made another quick count of the money, “might have enough,” he finished doubtfully.

“Why do you sound so unsure?” Den chided him.

Dan sighed, “Well, it won’t carry us far if we do stay somewhere tonight,” he sighed. “We could sleep outside,” he suggested.

“No way,” Den said quickly. “We would get caught way to easily. You’re the one that keeps on saying how we need to lie low.”

Dan blinked at his brother’s small rant then sighed again, “Yeah, you’re right. But then, what should we do?”

Den growled softly and rubbed his head, “I have no idea,” he admitted.

Just then there was a small yelp as a small human girl fell into the fountain that the brothers were sitting at and began to thrash around in the somewhat deep water. Dan cried out as Den grabbed his arm, “Don’t,” he growled. “We can’t get caught.”

“But, she…” Dan watched helplessly as the toddler thrashed around while other’s looked on without really doing anything as if they were unsure of what to do. “I don’t care,” he hissed and wrenched himself out of his twin’s grip and ran over to the girl and jumped into the three foot deep water to fish out the girl. In her thrashing she managed to knock his hat loose before he picked her up in firm arms and wade back over to the edge of the fountain.

He set her down on the other side and climbed out himself, shivering from head to foot. “Are you…” he shuddered feeling the wet droplets of water slide down his back, “okay?” he finished.

The girl nodded, wide eyed. Just then a woman ran over and scooped up the small child, “Stephanie!” she cried out. “Oh my god, my little Stephanie, are you all right?” he asked her daughter while hugging her so tightly that Dan doubted the child could breathe let alone answer.

“She’s fine ma’am,” he said. “She fell into the fountain, but I got her out.”

The woman loosened her embrace and held her daughter across from her; “Now what have I told you about playing near the fountain?” she scolded her.

Across the way James and Ryan glanced over to see what was going on while a solider ran over to see what was going on. He ran up and looked around then blinked, “What happened?” he asked.

Den walked over and stood behind his brother silently while the woman began to tell the story from her point of view. “…and then this boy jumped in and saved her!” she said, gesturing to Dan. “And that’s what happened.”

The officer’s cold gray eyes snapped to the two boys. Den and Dan both gulped noisily before the man gave them a curt nod and said, “Good work, boys.”

“Th-thank you…” Dan said while taking in deep breaths to calm himself down.

“Well then, I’ll leave you two too…” The man started but a large gust of wind decided to come by at that moment and blow Dan’s hat off his head. At first everyone just stood there and stared then the solider pulled a radio out of his belt. “All units to the town square, we’ve been invaded by the enemy.”

“I told you so!” Den yelled while grabbing Dan’s hand and teleporting away from the area as quickly as he could.

In a split second Dan could hear his brother cry out as his spell was forced to an end. When he opened his eyes he saw that they were at the edge of town. Den collapsed to his knees next to him with his head cradled in his hands. “What’s wrong?” Dan asked his twin.

“There’s… something there,” he said while looking up at the wall that circled the town. “I can’t… get past it.”

“Must be some kind of new technology,” Dan hissed. “Crap, they must have made it to keep us from teleporting in but now it keeps us from getting out.”

Den stood up while massaging his still stinging head, “Where do we go then?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Dan said slowly.

Den took in a deep breath and looked around, “They’ll be waiting for us at the exit of the town and these walls have live electricity running through them. Think magic might bring them down?” he asked.

Dan faced the wall with a determined look on his face, “Only one way to find out,” he said and lifted up his hands in a slow motion. He exhaled as he held his hands apart with his palms flat and facing one another. A small spark formed in the center and began to grow, then with a yell he hurled a small ball of light no bigger then a marble at the wall. Both boys watched in horror as the small bit of magic was stopped about two centimeters away from the wall and imploded by some unseen force.

“Okay, that didn’t work,” Den said while taking off his hat and running his fingers nervously through his hair.

“Their technology is getting better,” Dan said in a kind of awe struck voice.

“Now is not the time to be admiring them, Dan,” Den told his brother exasperatedly. “We need a plan.”

“Stop right there!” a voice yelled out.

“Before we get caught,” Den sighed.

Den and Dan looked up and saw that they were surrounded by the military that was occupying the town. “Look, we don’t mean any harm,” Dan started to say.

“I said stop!” the same man said again. “Don’t move, don’t talk, don’t think or we will open fire.”

Den snorted and crossed his arms, “And what do you think that will do?” he asked.

The man growled and shot his rifle out of pure spite even though he hadn’t received command from his better. It didn’t matter anyways because all Den had to do was concentrate and a shimmering, opaque shield covered him and his brother. “Your weapons don’t hurt us,” he snapped. “Let us pass and we’ll leave you alone. Neither me nor my brother wants to fight.”

The man spat and growled at the kids who were now inside the protection of the shield. The general who was in charge of the town came out from behind some men and looked at the kids sadly. “Why are you even here?” he asked.

Den and Dan blinked, “You!” they gasped. It was the same man they had met on sentry duty at the town gate. His sad green eyes looked at them while they both glared at him in return.

“Why are you here?” he asked again.

“Because your damn nation kidnapped our parents!” Den snapped.

Dan put his hand on Den’s shoulder to try and calm him down. He leaned over and murmured something into his brother’s ear that none of the soldiers heard. “Sir?” the man who opened fire on them asked.

“I’m not sure what their story is, but don’t kill them,” he replied. “They’re just kids.”

The man growled again but nodded, “All right then, which one do I take down first?”

“Who cast the spell?” the General asked quickly before the twins stopped conversing silently.

“The one on the left,” the man said.

“Take him down first and make sure the other one doesn’t cast any spells. I think I can get them to let down the shield for a second, take your chance then,” he said.

“Yes sir!” the man saluted and walked away to tell the plan to the rest of the men in secret.

The general turned back to the kids who were glaring at him once again. “All he did was save some little kids life!” Den said while jabbing a thumb in the direction of Dan. “We didn’t even want to stay here.”

“Who are your parents?” the General asked.

Dan crossed his arms, “Who are you?” he asked.

The General gave them a small grin, “Touché,” he said. “My name is Archie,” he said while putting his hand on his chest. “Now if your parent’s really were kidnapped from their home and not taken as POW something might be able to be done about it.”

Both boys jumped a little and asked, “Really?” in soft voices as if hardly daring to believe his words.

Archie winced at having to lie to the boys but he had to get them to let down their guard before his men became to antsy and opened fire anyway. He knew the kids would take down several soldiers before going down themselves but it was a matter of tactics and not wanting to use any more force then necessary. Once he had the kids he would figure out what to do with them but until then he needed to solve the stand down peacefully and quickly. “Sure,” he said. “But you need to come with us first.”

Den stiffened, “No way,” he growled.

“I can’t help you if you maintain a hostile position,” Archie said.

“Hostile!” Dan yelped. “They were shooting at us. This is defensive!”

Archie groaned, not only were they annoying but they were smarter then most kids he was used to meeting. “Please,” he said softly going right up to the opaque dome that covered them in hopes that his men couldn’t hear him. “Don’t do this. I can’t stop them or you from fighting but I promise you that even if you got past us you wouldn’t make it out of here. There are almost 20 battalions stationed in and around this city. It’s our last defense, now will you please just take down your shield.”

Den frowned, “You’re going to capture us anyway.”

It wasn’t a question but more of a statement. They knew what they were in for and both seemed like they would try whatever means to not meet it. Archie sighed and nodded, “I have to,” he said. “But I’m in charge of this area and I’ll make sure nothing too bad happens, all right?” he asked.

Den and Dan exchanged glances. “We just want to save our parents,” Dan said softly.

“Yeah, I know,” Archie said. “But just because you’re kids doesn’t mean I can go easy on you,” he said.

“Then we won’t either,” Den growled and poured some more energy into the shield making him back away from it.

Archie took a few steps back before rubbing his forehead. “Well fine then,” he said to himself and pulled out his gun.

Den sniffed, “And just what do you think that’s going to do?” he asked.

“This,” Archie said and fired it. The bullet hit the shield and vanished.

“Ha!” Den said.

“Wait for it,” Archie said. Then were the bullet had hit the shield a small gold colored crack began to form and spread out until it was spread out all over the shield. Then Archie walked up and tapped the shield with his fore finger making it shatter. “That was one of my special bullets that I designed myself, be thankful I used one for you two because they take months to make.”

Before Den could summon enough energy for another attack he felt a sting in his arm where a dart hit him. He gasped and collapsed onto the ground because of the oncoming rush of dizziness. Dan whirled around to see in Den was okay but he felt a sting too and collapsed next to his brother. Archie frowned and put his gun into its holster. “I’m sorry kids,” he said in a low voice.

Den glared at him before passing out on the ground. Dan managed to hang onto consciousness long enough to say, “Please… don’t hurt Den…”

Archie nodded and Dan passed out too.

Archie stood up and raised his hand, “Okay, we’ve got the kids. Sergeant, you help me, everyone else, back to your posts. This little fiasco is over.”

“But they’re the enemy, aren’t we going to take them into the prison camp?” one man asked.

Archie gave that man a withering look, “They’re kids,” he said in a disgusted voice. “They’re not soldiers. Now go do as I say.”

All the men saluted and ran off to their posts. Archie sighed and looked down on the kids. “Well, at least no one got hurt,” he said while bending down to pick up Den.

“Sir?” the sergeant asked.

“Just follow me,” Archie said.

“Yes sir,” the sergeant replied and picked up Dan. Then he followed his commander back into town.
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 8,000 words
Achieved Goal: 8,561 words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dan groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. The world swam around him for a bit before he could properly focus enough to actually see anything. “Den?” he whispered.

Next to him he could hear his twin groaning as he too slowly made it back to the waking world. “Wha… what happened?” he asked slowly, as if unsure of his own speech.

“I think we were caught,” Dan said with a frown. He groaned as he forced himself to sit up to look around at his surroundings. “Are you all right?”

Den sat up with a groan, “I think so. At least whatever they used wears off quickly,” he said softly and looked around. “We’re not in the prison camp,” he said slowly as if hardly daring to believe it.

“You’re right,” Dan said, “We’re in the town jail.”

Den grinned and stood up, “Well, that was stupid,” he murmured and held his hands apart. “Let’s see how long it takes to bring this place down.”

“Den, don’t!” Dan cried to try and stop his brother, but there wasn’t anything to stop.

Den looked down at his hands, “What?” he gasped.

“Sorry kids, but I can’t have you two blowing up the town jail. That’d look bad on my resume,” a familiar voice said.

“You!” Den gasped as Archie came into the light.

“Yeup, and be thankful. I had to pull a lot of strings to keep you kids out of the military camp,” Archie said warningly while shaking a finger at them as if they were in grade school, which admittedly he wasn’t too far off.

Den growled darkly at the obvious condescending treatment of him and his brother. “And what exactly did you do?” he snapped.

Archie tapped his neck on the side, which in turn prompted Den and Dan to raise their hands to their necks where they found thin lightweight bands encircling their necks like collars. “Another one of your inventions?” Dan asked dryly.

“Heh, you wouldn’t believe what they use in the military camps to keep your soldiers from using their powers, you kids should be…” he started.

“Grateful?” Den asked with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry mister, but somehow I’m feeling far from grateful.”

Archie’s smile faded a little. “Yeah well, I’m sorry but not much I can do about it.” He opened his mouth to say more but there was a loud knocking sound at the front of the small building that served as a jail.

“This place isn’t very well built, is it?” Dan asked.

Archie sighed and went to answer the front door. “Well, this town has always had military protection so there really isn’t a need for one.”

“Protection?” Den sniffed.

“Quiet, kid,” Archie growled and opened the door.

Den and Dan shielded their eyes as light poured into the dark building and waited for their pupils to adjust to the light. “Yes ma’am?” Dan heard Archie say.

“You have those two boys in here?” he heard a woman’s voice say.

Archie sighed, “Look ma’am, I didn’t want to take them to the prison camp…” he started but was cut off abruptly.

“Prison camp!” she screeched. “What do you mean prison camp! They shouldn’t even be in jail! All they did was save my little Stephanie and you’re punishing them for it?” she yelled.

Den and Dan blinked and looked out of their cell to see a short, stout woman with the same toddler that had fallen into the fountain yesterday clinging to her hand. The small girl gave them a wave and grinned. Dan, for lack of anything else to do smiled and waved back while Den managed to give her a small grin. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” the woman finished.

“Ma’am, they’re from across enemy borders, they aren’t even human!” Archie said desperately.

“They think!” she yelled. “They talk and they feel emotion! So what if they aren’t human, all they did was save my daughter’s life at risk of their exposure and you’ve got them locked up like animals!”

“Wow,” Den said softly to Dan. “She’s really upset.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Dan replied.

“Listen, lady,” Archie snapped. “We’re at war. I can’t help it, orders are orders no matter how unfair they may seem.”

The woman drew herself up indignantly, “I swear ever since the military took over this town living here has become unbearable!” she screeched. “Everyone who saw that incident is upset with the military. So unless you want a nasty incident on your hands I suggest you do something.”

“Are you threatening me?” Archie asked her darkly.

She stood on tip-toe and looked right into the man’s face without blinking, “So what if I am?” she replied.

Archie sighed, “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

The woman glared at him and sighed, “Fine. But mark my words, this town will not stay under the military’s control for much longer if these kinds of incidents keep occurring.” And with that being said she slammed the door by herself and her loud footsteps could be heard as she walked off.

Den and Dan stood there for a few moments in stunned silence. “Incidents?” Den asked. “Plural?”

Archie growled angrily. “Yeah,” he said hotly. “Incidents. A whole mess of em… protector of the people indeed,” he said and walked to the back of the building and sat in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What is going on in this town?” Den snapped.

Archie laughed softly without any humor, “That’s what I’d like to know,” he said. He took a deep breath and tilted his head back so that he stared up at the black ceiling. “When I was a kid, the army was this wonderful thing that gave us freedom and justice from the old kings. Every kid wanted to be in it and every person adored it, but the funny thing was… it didn’t exist.”

Den and Dan both stared at the man with equally confused looks on their faces, but they did not interrupt.

“You see kids, the army, military, whatever, it’s just a symbol, nothing more, nothing less, the ideal of the army that fought for justice is just that, an ideal. It doesn’t exist, and it hasn’t for years. What your people are fighting today are a bunch of mercenaries bought out by corrupt politicians and their leader. We’re not a free society, or at least we aren’t as long as we do this to our own people. We’re no better then those who are trying to defeat us,” he said with a small laugh.

We don’t live in a happy place kids. We’re not governing ourselves any more because we don’t have the means. When I became a solider I envisioned fighting for peace and living the ultimate ideal to protect those I loved and held dear.”

Dan snorted, “Fighting for peace? What an oxymoron. You don’t fight for peace, you act for peace,” he said with a dangerous flash in his eyes.

Archie blinked and continued to look at the ceiling, “Yeah,” he said softly. “You… cat people or whatever the hell you are, you got a pretty good life huh? Even with a king and queen you still… live well.”

Dan crossed his arms, “Just because our society has an Imperial family doesn’t mean we don’t listen to our people. The last family was asked to step down by the Council of Elders because the leader wasn’t making good decisions. Then they chose their next leader from those who were related.”

“Odd system of government,” Archie noted.

Dan shrugged, “It works. Possibly because we’re so small, but it does, but still just because we had a different way of living you attacked us. Now who is in the right and who is in the wrong?” he snapped.

“You know what kid?” Archie asked. “I really have no clue anymore.”

Den and Dan stood there silently then Den finally spoke up. “Then why are you part of the military?”

“Who knows?” Archie asked while shrugging his shoulders and still looking at the ceiling. “Because I sure don’t.”

“You’re a weird man,” Den said slowly.

“Yeah, that’s what my fiancée told me,” he laughed. “Right before she walked out the door.”

Den and Dan both looked at each other and frowned. They knew they shouldn’t pursue the talk and further and so they merely retreated into their own corner and began to talk quietly.

Some time later there was another loud knock at the front of the building and the twins hear a loud snort as Archie jerked his head upwards. “He fell asleep,” Den said in quiet laughter to his brother.

“Hush,” Dan replied but he was trying not to laugh as well.

Archie stood up with a groan and walked over to the door. “Yeah?” he asked as he opened it.

“We would like to have a word,” a cool voice said.

Den and Dan’s ears perked up as they heard a voice of a younger person talk out of their view. When Archie moved away speechlessly they saw a tall, thin boy of about 13 stare back at them. They both blinked and he gave them a stiff smile in return before glaring at the flustered general. “Well?” Archie asked.

“Oh, you know why we’re here,” Ryan said coldly. “I don’t appreciate it when adults treat me as if I’m below them.”

Archie stiffened, “Well then,” he said. “What do you propose.”

“Let them go,” Ryan said dangerously.

Archie gave a burst of loud laughter before saying, “I’m sorry kid but I can’t do that and you know it.”

Den and Dan blinked again, more confused then ever.

Ryan sighed, “Then…” he looked at them. “At least let them come with me.”

Archie sighed, “Look, it’s not a matter of where they are, it’s who can see them.”

“Oh? Is that so,” Ryan said coolly. “Then why didn’t you take them to the camp. It would be easier on you, wouldn’t it?”

Archie ignored the quip, “Why do you care?” he asked.

Ryan was taken aback, he never though he would be asked about his own feelings. He sighed and looked away. “Because, they don’t deserve it. No one does,” he muttered.

Archie frowned and looked up to the adult who was standing next to him. “Sir?”

“I’m merely his care taker,” the man said diplomatically.

Archie sighed, “Look, kid, I’d love to but…”

“But you’re going to sit and beg just like your master told you,” Ryan snapped.

Dan winced, “Ouch.”

“I like him,” Den said with a grin.

“Now hold on one second!” Archie said with an angry growl.

“As the son of Enderman you know my house is one of the most well guarded places in this province if not the whole country. Don’t worry, nothing will happen,” Ryan said. “And you can come any time you wish.”

“Why?” Archie snapped. “Why does this town even care?”

“Maybe we just like to get the military upset,” Ryan said with a cold grin.

Archie blinked then laughed. “Oh, those are some great motives kid. You’re just trying to get to your old man.”

Ryan shrugged, “My ‘old man’ is gone for the next three weeks.”

Archie sighed again, “You know what, fine! I don’t need this. Do whatever the hell you people want to do,” he said while storming out of the building. Before he left however he stopped next to James and said, “If you plan on getting them out of this god forsaken town then call me before you try, I need to get those collars off so the kids can protect themselves. Just don’t do anything for awhile, okay?”

James nodded silently.

Archie grinned, “Good man,” he said and walked out of the building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well at the very least I hope those of you who are reading this are enjoying it ^^;
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Ginrei]

...
I read it, and I like it.
I get Den and Dan confused, though in the end it often doesn't matter. Ryan's a bit annoying (mostly due to "lonely-rich-kid syndrome"), but James is alright...
Very interesting little backstory you have in this one. It's neat how you make the reader piece it together. I was unhappy that Den and Dan got captured last chapter, but now it's taken a good twist...
Good luck keeping up with your writing goals!

[Plantman]

Hum dee doo, I already know what's gonna happen here, but I'm pleased to actually read the way things evolve. It has your very personal style well embebed into the whole product, which is nice to see because I enjoy your style very much.

I'm eagerly waiting for the next installments and see the story progressing. /o/
_________________
Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Plantman]

Hum dee doo, I already know what's gonna happen here, but I'm pleased to actually read the way things evolve. It has your very personal style well embebed into the whole product, which is nice to see because I enjoy your style very much.

I'm eagerly waiting for the next installments and see the story progressing. /o/
_________________
Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Sixth Sense]

* clap clap *

Very impressive.... I look forward to more of the story...
_________________
直覺，不將關於你的郵政和主題控制住他的殘忍誠實的文告的電子不動的海報。

做不搞雜，我不注意到的希望。

[Midnight]

Odd.

I really like this so far. I'm a bit confused by the plot as of yet, but then again it is rather early in the story and the characters are still developing.

This story has clear allegorical ties to this fandom, and that is not a bad thing. Surely the average reader will not suspect a thing...and the personae of the twins are quite bright and keep the story moving. As Plant has referred to--it clearly has your style entwined in it, and has your mark.

I eagerly look forward to how this develops.
_________________
Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

Goal: 10,000 words
Achieved Goal: 10,061 words

Some time later Den and Dan were sitting inside Ryan’s mansion and staring up at the impressively tall James who in turn was staring silently back. James’ gaze went from one face to the other in wonder as they merely blinked. Finally Ryan came into the room, stared at the scene for two seconds and asked, “What are you doing?”

Den and Dan both blinked and turned to look at Ryan. “Who are you anyway?” Dan asked.

Ryan blinked then realized that they didn’t know each other’s names. “My name is Ryan,” he said simply.

“I’m James,” the tall man said with a slight bow.

Den and Dan blinked then looked at one another, “Well, okay fine,” Den said. “My name is Den.”

“My name is Dan,” Dan replied.

Ryan blinked, “That’s,” he paused, “confusing.”

“They’re nicknames,” Dan said. “My name is Danny and his is Dennis but we don’t really like to be called that, so we prefer our nicknames.”

Ryan gave them a small smile, “I see.”

“So, what was all that about?” Den asked, referring to the argument with Archie in the jailhouse.

“I saw what you did for that girl,” Ryan said. “It’s not fair that you were captured anyway.”

“And?” Den pressed.

“And what?” Ryan asked.

“Oh please, there must be some ulterior motive,” Den said with a small smirk.

Ryan bristled, “And why is that?”

Den’s tail twitched slightly, “Well, I know how humans think. We’re not the enemy, but we’re also not the best of friends. So why?”

Ryan turned a few shades of red while James chuckled softly. “Someone to match wits with, master Ryan,” he said softly.

“Indeed,” Ryan said dryly.

“Den,” Dan snapped silently to his twin.

Den shrugged, “You know it’s true.”

Ryan ran his fingers through his short locks, “All right, fine, I’ll play your game. This town is sick of the military occupation.”

“That’s obvious,” Den said then winced as Dan elbowed him sharply in the side.

“Anyway, we need to take back over our own land and this was a way to…” Ryan searched for the right way to phrase it.

“To show rebellion without really breaking any laws,” Dan finished.
“Exactly,” Ryan said. “As your were captured unjustly we had the right to get you out.”

“You’re lucky no one objected,” Den pointed out.

“No one would fight with me in this town,” Ryan said with a cold grin.

“You’re sure of yourself,” Den sniffed.

Ryan raised his hand and waved it as if dismissing a child, “I need to be,” he said. “Now, if you two want to get out of here, I suggest you lie low for the time being.”

“We need to get out now,” Den snapped. Behind him Dan nodded fervently.

“Why?” Ryan asked. “Why can’t you let this blow over?”

“There are people we need to rescue,” Dan said simply.

Ryan’s frown deepened but he didn’t pursue it. There really was no point at the time. “Fine then, but I ask you to wait at least a few days.”

“Is this town so willing to upset the army that they’re willing to help the alleged enemy?” Dan asked.

Ryan shook his head, “We don’t know who the enemy is anymore, and,” he sighed. “Well, it’s obvious you aren’t the enemy so why argue?”

“You could say we’re a little confused,” Dan replied simply.

Ryan shrugged, “Fair enough. Maybe I’ll explain some things later, but right now I need to go talk to that soldier.”

“The General?” Dan asked.

Ryan nodded, “Yes, because he may be of some use to us.”


Archie laughed hollowly as he set the bottle of scotch down next to the
half filled glass. “Military huh?” he asked himself softly.

He remembered as a boy, adoring and worshiping those who came from the far lands and distant battles. His idol was his father and his hero was his big brother. Both men were high ranking soldiers in the army and almost constantly sent out in conquest in the names of the people he belonged to. After so long, however they began to change. They were away longer and their stays at home were shorter, even worse was that they no longer seemed to want to talk to him or his mom anymore.
As he would learn later, they were quiet because of military secrets and threats among them but at the time it felt as if he was no longer loved by those he idolized. So, instead of running away from the military he joined it to prove a point. He was just as strong and powerful as his dad and brother. After so many years they began to talk again, then they were all sent on the war in conquest of a people in the north.

At first the war seemed as if it would be easy, as the people were primitive and far less technologically advanced then themselves. However, not long after invading their land they discovered that the people had strange powers and were just as powerful, if not more so then the humans. Because of their large ears, slitted eyes and tails the people were called Cat People, even though they had their own name for themselves. On their own ground the humans were devastated so they pulled back expecting to be chased into their own territory where they could gain the upper hand. However as soon as they hit the border the people stopped and turned around.

For reasons Archie never could understand this upset the politicians and they came up with a plan to try and get war declared on them. Meanwhile he was just content with being with his family and comfortably talking with them like he hadn’t is years. The peace was not to last very long however because their government was determined to get into some kind of conflict.

The last words his father ever told him rang in his head, “It is not ours to question why, but to do. I am a man of action, and if I feel what I am doing is helping someone then I swear by every deity that may be in the heavens that I will continue to fight until my dying breath.”
Archie laughed again and looked through the glass, letting the other side of the dark room turn an amber color through the liquid. “How wrong you were, dad,” he whispered.

There was a loud knock on the cabin that served as his headquarters. The whole structure shook with the force of the blows making Archie shake his head in wonder. “Yeah, we control the damn town but it’s not like we live like kings or anything,” he muttered.

There was another knock and he stood up with a groan. “Yeah, yeah, I’m
coming. Don’t bring down the place.” He opened the door to see Ryan staring back up at him. “Well, hello kid,” he said amiably.

“I’m not a kid,” Ryan snapped.

“Yes, you are,” Archie replied. “Now, what can I do for you?”

Ryan sniffed, “This place smells like alcohol,” he noted darkly.

“So? It’s no business of yours what I do on my time off,” Archie replied.

Ryan shrugged and turned around to walk away. “Hey, where are you going?” Archie snapped. “You came to me.”

“I have no intentions of talking to a drunk man. Come to me when you’re
sober,” Ryan said coolly with his back still turned. “You know where I live.”

Archie sniffed and shut the door on the retreating back of the teen. “Yeah, as if I’ll listen to what a kid tells me.” He eyed the putrid liquid and lifted it up to his face. “Heh, you would yell at me, wouldn’t you dad?” he asked the bottle before draining it. He slumped back into his chair with a small groan and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “You and Jake ought to be having a grand old time up their telling your war stories to other people.”

Archie felt the side of his face and was amazed to feel that it was wet. It took a few seconds to register in his foggy brain that he was crying. “Yeah,” he said softly. “What a great time. Have you saved anyone dad?” he whispered. “Because…” his lips trembled. “Oh gods dad… why did you do it?”

He sniffed and tried in vain to wipe away the tears that were now openly streaming down his face. “Your life wasn’t worth it. Neither was Jake’s… why?” he asked again. He groped around for the bottle and lifted it to his lips before realizing it was empty. “Perfect,” he muttered and took in a shuddering breath.

And then he decided to hell with it and he broke down and cried.
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 12,000 words
Achieved Goal: 12,269

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening Den and Dan were lounging on the couch while Ryan silently flipped through TV channels. Finally, a question surfaced in Ryan’s head as he watched the twins stare at the small box. “Do your people have televisions?”

Den looked at him, “Now why would we have those?” he asked.

“Well, don’t you need to tell people what’s going on?” Ryan replied.

Dan laughed, “If it’s really urgent then all we have to do is teleport to the spot,” he explained.

“Oh,” Ryan said softly. “So, so you have anything electronic?”

“Again,” Den said stiffly, “Why?”

Ryan shrugged, and abandoned the T.V. for the more interesting conversation. “Well, once you think about it, why not? Your people have magic sure, but why not expand on it with technology?”

“Why not indeed,” Den said dryly.

Dan shook his head, “You have to understand this, to you our magic is just power, but to our people it is sacred. It’s something that comes from within and that is part of us. Tainting it by trying to improve on it with things that we did not create naturally is basically what you would call blasphemy.”

“So, it’s a religion?” Ryan asked confusedly.

Dan shook his head, “No, it’s not a religion. We do not worship our power; we accept it and use it to the potential that it allows us. Den and I are more powerful magic users then most in our land. This is probably because our magic is linked.”

“Linked?” Ryan asked.

Dan nodded, “Yes, probably because we’re twins we can use magic from the other and vice versa in case one runs out of energy or is unable to cast spells.”

“Isn’t that… dangerous?” Ryan asked.

“Nosy aren’t you?” Den sniffed.

“Curious,” Ryan replied. “And you don’t like me very much, do you?” he asked Den.

“That’s a matter of perspective,” Den said while shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t necessarily not like you, or James or whoever, however on a
whole I do not like the human race.”

Ryan sighed, “Well, that’s fair,” he admitted.

Den and Dan looked at one another in surprise. “You really don’t like this war, do you?” Dan asked him.

“Who does?” Ryan said with a hollow laugh.

“What does that mean?” Den replied.

“You only see the actions of our military and those who control it. The common people and several leaders in the main city are against it. Have you ever noticed that there really is no reason for fighting?”

“Duh,” Den and Dan said together.

Ryan raised an eyebrow, “What does that mean?”

“That means that we’ve known about that since you invaded us,” Dan pointed out. “We chased you back to the border and then left you alone when we probably could have just massacred your armies and left it at that. But we didn’t and in return you invaded us again and again. There was never a reason, or if there was it wasn’t one we could understand,” he finished.

Ryan shrugged, “Okay, fair enough. So let’s say that there is no reason, or if there is it’s one we don’t know. Why? Why anything here. I mean we’re loosing a lot more people then you.”

“But you have a bigger army,” Den shot back.

“I know, but for every one we kill or capture you kill or capture three of our men. It’s been this way since day one. So, how do we fight back against something that has no point?” Ryan asked.

“We’re not interested in fighting back,” Den said as he crossed his arms.

“We just came here to get our parents back.”

“Your parents?” Ryan asked.

Dan nodded, “Yeah, mom and dad were kidnapped from our house in the middle of the night and taken back to the main city, according to a spy.”

“In your territory?” Ryan asked.

“Yeup,” Dan replied in a cold voice.

Ryan sighed, “Well I don’t know what the military is thinking but that’s… not good. That means that they’re willing to ignore the basic principals of war and that’s not like our country,” he said with a frown. “We’ve always maintained some semblance of honor.”

“Not this time,” Den snapped.

“Obviously,” Ryan snapped back. “I don’t like this,” he muttered to himself silently.

“Like what?” Dan asked while putting his hand on Den’s shoulder to quiet him down.

“This, kidnapping deal. That’s not something the head of government can decide on his own without militial and congress consent. Now unless he did get their consent and we never heard about it, something is very wrong here,” Ryan explained.

“Well, it’s not like your government isn’t corrupt,” Den muttered.

“I’m not saying it isn’t,” Ryan said. “What I’m saying is, it’s not so corrupt
that this would happen. There are good politicians in power who are
against the war because we voted them in. The head of the government is elected by those we elect so he shouldn’t be so corrupt either. This isn’t something that should happen. Do you understand?”

“You’re really worried about this,” Den said in wonder.

“Of course I am!” Ryan snapped. “Our government is set up like this so these things don’t happen. There has to be something, someone in the background pulling strings. That’s the only way such a thing could be bypassed.”

“An espionage theory, perfect,” Den muttered.

“Well, it’s not like your people would do this and our government sure as hell wouldn’t do something like this on it’s own. Who else would benefit from the war?”

Den and Dan shrugged together. “I don’t know,” Den said. “The only other people that live on this planet are the unknown ones.”

“The who?” Ryan asked.

“The unknowns,” Dan explained. “They’re a race of… things. They really have no form and they live under the ground in dark moist caves. They can shape shift to survive in the sunlight and they have magic that isn’t unlike ours. Only their magic takes power from one source while ours is individual.” Dan cast a side long glance to his twin, “Most of the time,” he added.

“Okay, so why did you mention them?” Ryan asked.

“Well, they’re tricky. Last time we fought them to keep them away from our food we hurt them pretty badly because we discovered their weakness.”

“That is?” Ryan interrupted.

“Make them revert to their normal form in the sunlight. Then the light ends up killing them because they have no shape and cannot survive outside of the cave. They’re so weak to the ultraviolet rays that the sun just fries them.”

“Ew,” Ryan stated.

“Yeah, it’s pretty gross,” Dan agreed. “Anyways, when the war was nearing its end their leader, the keeper of the power vanished along with the power and left the rest of its people to die.”

“That’s horrible,” Ryan said in a monotone voice.

Dan nodded, “Yeah, so basically they were completely defeated. Now as I doubt they could be in any position to start another war and with the leader being gone they probably aren’t in this.”

“Still, that’s…” Ryan paused. “Creepy.”

“Oh yeah,” Den said. “They’re very creepy.”

“So, you’re here to save your parents then,” Ryan said thoughtfully.

Den and Dan nodded together.

“Well, I hate to say this, but if we escape, then you can’t go to the capitol city. We’re going to have to go back to your land,” Ryan pointed out.

“We?” Den asked.

Ryan smirked, “How else are you going to get through the rest of this land?” he asked.

“Why are you do ready to help?” Den asked. “And don’t say it’s to upset the military,” he said as Ryan opened his mouth.

Ryan shrugged, “I…” he looked at the ground and gave a soft smile. “I don’t want to be like my dad,” he said in a small voice.

Den and Dan were taken aback, “Who’s your dad?” Dan asked.

“He’s,” Ryan took a deep breath. “He’s not a very good man. I want to get out of that, and I think this is… a rather good way.”

“So you’re running away,” Den said simply.

Ryan took in a sharp breath and Dan once again put his hand on Den’s shoulder as a silent warning. “In a way,” Ryan paused. “Yes, I am running away.”

Den smirked, “Well, at least you admit it.”

“Am I still on your bad guy list?” Ryan asked Den with a smirk.

“Depends,” Den said. “If we do go back to ‘our land’ as you put it, what are you going to do? Come back here and go on with your life?”

“I need to think about it,” Ryan said simply.

“Fair enough,” Dan said quickly before Den could reply.

“So what will we do?” Den asked. “How long do we have to stay here?”

“A few more days at the most,” Ryan said. “Just give me some more time to get a few things straightened out.”

“All right,” Dan said. “Ryan?”

Ryan blinked, “Yeah?”

Dan smiled, “Thanks.”

Ryan blushed and stood up, “No problem,” he muttered. “It’s not like you deserved it anyway.”


The next morning Ryan returned to see Archie hoping against hope that the distraught man was sober. He walked up to the rudimentary cabin and knocked on its door. “Come in,” a hollow voice called.

Ryan opened the door and walked inside. The first thing to greet him was the pungent smell of alcohol followed by a small wave from the tiny figure slumped over the table on the far end of the room. “Hey,” Ryan said simply.

“Oh the rich kid makes his appearance again,” Archie said in a hoarse kind of voice that almost sounded like he was half crying and half talking.

“You’re sober,” Ryan noted with a small amount of relief.

“Yeah, the alcohol wore off about three hours ago. So, how are the kitties?” he asked while gazing sullenly at the empty glass.

“The ‘kitties’ as you call them are fine. They’re upset obviously, and so am I. General, we need to get out of here and you know it. James told me what you said to him before you left at the jail house,” Ryan said.

“Really?” Archie gave a hollow laugh. “And, what of it?”

“You want to help,” Ryan said simply. “I know you do. You think that what’s going on is wrong, just like everyone else.”

“So?” Archie asked. “What can a rich snob, his servant, two kitten brats and a washed up soldier do?”

“More then you’re giving yourself credit for,” Ryan snapped.

Archie looked Ryan in the eyes for the first time since the boy had gotten there. “You don’t seem to be the kind of person to give someone a pep talk,” he muttered.

“You don’t know me,” Ryan said evenly. “More importantly, I don’t know you but I can tell you want to help. Now either you take this chance or I figure out a way to get those things off on my own. And trust me, it may take awhile, but I can.”

Archie narrowed his eyes, then sighed and averted his gaze. “Fine kid, I’ll be over tomorrow night. You better be ready,” he said.

Ryan smiled coldly, “Oh I will. You better be ready.”

Archie laughed and picked up the empty glass, “I will kid. Don’t worry.”
Ryan walked over and tugged the bottled out of Archie’s hand. “And no more to drink,” he said.

“Fair enough,” Archie replied and stood up with a groan. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“See you,” Ryan muttered and walked out of the building with a small sense of accomplishment.


“Well?” Den asked from the couch as Ryan walked back into the house.

“Well what?” Ryan asked.

“Did your meeting go well?” Den asked.

Ryan blinked, “How did you…”

“Oh trust me, I can tell. First of all you smell like a bar,” Den said with a small laugh while getting up.

Ryan sniffed his clothes but he couldn’t detect anything. “Really?”

Den tapped his nose, “Oh I can tell. You also smell like that man, uhhh…” he paused, “Archie. Archie smelled like the same drink you smell like and then some. So, what did he say?”

Ryan shook his head amazedly before answering the question, “Well, he’s going to help. But I don’t know what kind of ally he’s going to be.”
Den snorted, “Well, beggars can’t be choosers,” he said with a shrug.

“Lovely ideal,” Ryan said dryly.

“I try,” Den replied with a laugh.

Ryan looked around, “Where’s Dan?”

“He went to go talk with James about something. I think they’re going to compare notes on what can and can not be brought on the trip,” Den said.

“Oh,” Ryan said simply. “And you?’

Den stretched, “I’m going to bed,” he replied.

“Already?’ Ryan asked.

Den sighed, “It doesn’t feel right without my magic,” he said softly while touching the metal band around his neck. “I hate not feeling it.”

Ryan frowned, “Don’t worry. It’ll be better tomorrow.”

Den smiled, “Yeah, it better,” he said with a smirk. “See you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Ryan said and watched as Den walked up the stairs. He couldn’t help it, but he felt really bad for the boy, as if he was the one at fault.
‘Silly,’ he chided himself. Then again whose decision was it to not do anything up until that point?
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 14,000 words
Achieved Goal: 14,048

The next morning Den woke up buried under a ton of heavy covers. It was very warm and comfortable after nearly three months on the road and he really didn’t want to get up at that point. So instead of getting out of bed he merely curled up into a little ball and willed himself back to sleep. He almost made it too, but before he could truly fall back asleep,
someone pounced on top of him. “Wake up!” a loud voice said cheerfully.

Den put his ears back and groaned. “Go away,” he whined loudly.

“Come on, we need to get ready to go!” Dan said again and pushed on his brother’s form under the covers.

“Go away,” Den whined again as he buried his head under the covers to emphasize his point.

Dan sighed and poked his twin in the side through the covers causing Dan to wiggle in discomfort. “Why, it’s still early?” Den’s muffled voice said.

“Is it?” Dan teased. “The sun’s up.”

“Early is not before the sun rises,” Dan hissed hotly. “Early is any time before noon.”

Dan rolled his eyes, “Come on, aren’t you in any way excited?”

“I will be happy when this damn thing is off my neck,” Den replied coolly.

“Fair enough,” Dan admitted. “But at least we’ve got something to work with,” he pointed out.

“But we’re not going to save mom and dad,” Den muttered from under the covers.

Dan pulled his hand back and leaned back onto the bed until he was sitting facing his brother. He sighed sadly and his ears dipped a little to mirror his mood, “Yeah, I know.”

Den frowned and finally pushed back to covers to emerge from his small plush cave. “You’re upset,” he noted.

Dan smiled sadly and brought his eyes up to meet with Den’s. “A little,” he admitted. “I mean, I really wanted to save them, but this is pretty good too huh?” he asked as if trying to get affirmation from his twin.

Den gave Dan a soft smile, “Yeah, it’s good,” he affirmed. “At least we have people who are willing to help us, and even better is that we know what the sentiment of a lot of humans are. Maybe we can use that.”

Dan smiled a little and nodded happily, “Right,” he agreed. “So, are you going to get out of bed any time soon?”

Den smirked and pulled the covers back over his head. “Nice try,” he muttered.

Dan shook his head in an amused way and got off the bed. “Fine,” he said. “But I’m going to get you up before noon,” he threatened.

“I’d like to see you try!” Dan challenged, before the curled back into a ball.

Dan laughed and left the room. “Well, at least we’re pulling through this in some fashion,” he sighed.

“Through what?” James asked.

Dan jumped and his tail puffed out from the unexpected question.

“Sorry,” James said quickly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Dan grabbed his tail and immediately began to smooth it as he blushed furiously. “I wasn’t scared,” he said quickly.

James nodded and hid a small smiled behind his hand as he pretended to hold his chin in a thoughtful gesture. “So, what are you relieved about?”

Dan continued to smooth his tail nervously, “Well, a few things,” he said evasively.

“You’re still afraid of us,” James noted.

“I am not afraid,” Dan said indignantly. “We’re just cautious, and can you blame us?”

James shook his head and let his hands drop to his sides. “No, I can’t find any fault with how you two must be feeling right now. But I do hope you
will change your minds eventually.”

Dan smiled, “It will take awhile,” he said softly. “But I’m sure things will change eventually.”

“Too bad we can’t force everyone to think that way,” James said dryly.
Dan laughed, “It’s hard to tell people what to truly think. But whatever, it doesn’t matter as long as we’re doing something.”

“What will you do when you get home?” James asked.

Dan shrugged, “Who knows?” he said with a grin. “But I think Den and I will come up with some kind of plan. We’ve learned a lot more then we thought we would.”

“What does that mean?” James asked.

Dan smiled, “It’s a secret,” he said with a silly grin and took off down the hall. “Maybe one day you’ll learn it.”

James shook his head as he watched the rather hyper child bounce down the stairs. “Why’s he in such a good mood?” a somewhat crabby voice asked.

James looked around to see a sleepy looking Den glare at his brother’s retreating form from the door. “You’re awake?” James asked him.

Den yawned, “Yes, but know that it’s unwillingly. You and Den talk loudly,” he muttered as he walked towards the bathroom.

James shook his head in what could only be described as an amused way and walked towards where Ryan was undoubtedly still in bed.


“So, now what?” Den asked as he leaned back in his chair at the breakfast table.

“We can be patient and wait,” Dan said while putting a spoon of hot oatmeal into his mouth. “I mean it’s not beyond your ability to be patient.”

Den looked annoyed as he took a bite himself, “No, but I don’t like waiting.”

“Too bad,” Dan shot back heatedly.

Ryan and James watched the argument as one would a ping-pong match as they ate the surprisingly good oatmeal made by Dan. “How often do you argue?” Ryan asked suddenly.

“Not too much,” Dan said at the same time Den replied, “All the time.” Both boys glared at each other and said, “That’s not true!” then blushed.

James had to stop a laugh attack by shoveling a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth as Ryan said in a rather dry tone, “Sorry I asked.”

Dan shrugged, “It’s part of being a sibling,” he pointed out. “We fight but it’s not like we out to get each other.”

“Unless he’s trying to wake me up at 6 am,” Den muttered.
Dan shrugged, “I left you alone,” he pointed out. “You got up all on your own.”

“Maybe if you didn’t have panic attacks in the hall from someone asking you a simple question I wouldn’t be up,” Den retorted.

“I did not have a panic attack, I was just,” Dan faltered. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”

Den gave his twin an evil grin, “You surprise very easily,” he laughed.
“Shut up,” Dan muttered while taking in another bite of oatmeal.

As if on cue, James and Ryan both sighed at the exact same time before finishing off their bowls of oatmeal and silently excusing themselves from the table while Den and Dan continued to bicker.


Archie walked around the cabin and picked up several small objects that he knew he could take on the road. Even if he didn’t team up with the kids and the servant he was definitely not returning to that hellhole. He picked up a small portrait of his father and looked at the picture of the smiling man. “Sorry old man,” he muttered. “But no one should be forced to stay in this god forsaken place and I’m no exception.”

The picture continued to smile at him as he knew it would. He gave him a small smile back, “Thanks pops, I knew you would understand.” He then put the small portrait into his knapsack and walked around the cabin one more time in an effort to see if he missed anything. He looked longingly at a half full bottle of vodka then sighed as he turned it away from himself so that the label wasn’t facing him. “Not today,” he muttered hoarsely.

With a groan he picked up his bag and walked towards the door. He turned around and looked one more time at the place he had dared call home for several years before grinning and turning around to walk out the door.

He never looked back.


“Archie is late,” Den whined.

“He said he would be here in the evening,” Ryan said stiffly. “That means, until the sun sets, he’s not late.”

Den glared at the golden disk that was only half obscured by the shadows of the distant mountains at if it was its fault.

Dan laughed and patted Den on the head, “Calm down, we’re going to get out soon enough,” he said amiably in an effort to get Den to relax.

Den sighed and crossed his arms, “I want my magic back,” he muttered.

Dan smiled, “Well, I’m sorry but your magic will have to wait for Archie to get here.”

After a few more minutes they heard a rustling outside as the sun slowly dipped behind the mountains. “Thank god,” Den hissed. “And he was almost late too.”

Dan laughed and followed Ryan to the door. “Well, he’s not so be nice,” he said.

“I know,” Den replied as Ryan opened the door.

“Huh,” Ryan said.

“Huh, what huh?” Den snapped and looked out the door. “He’s not here,” he said wonderingly.

“But I heard something,” Dan said in a confused voice.

There was another rustling sound around the corner of the mansion and Dan stiffened. “Something’s not right,” he said and slowly backed into the
house pulling Ryan with him.

“What do you mean, ‘not right?’” Ryan asked.
Dan shut the door tightly, “I don’t feel anything,” he said softly.

“Feel?” Ryan asked.

Den shivered, “He’s right, there’s something out there but… it’s not,” he stopped because he wasn’t quite sure how to explain it.

“Every living thing gives off some kind of energy,” Dan explained. “That energy is how we tell the difference between species of certain plants and animals where you use your knowledge of the plant and animal its self. Whatever is out there is not giving off any kind of energy, but it is most certainly alive.”

“What does that mean?” James asked.

“That means that whatever is out there is either undead, which isn’t possible,” Dan started.

“Or, it might be an unknown,” Den finished in a terrified whisper.

“What?” Ryan hissed. “I thought you said those things disappeared!”

“We never said that they became extinct!” Den hissed back. “We said that they were abandoned by their leader, it’s possible that the thing outside is it or that it created more of its self or whatever. Just, whatever is out there isn’t good and we can’t do anything to protect ourselves.”

“Meaning?” Ryan asked.

“Archie better get here really fast, or we’re in very big trouble,” Dan answered.
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 16,000 words
Acheived Goal: 16,106 words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“What if it isn’t an unknown out there?” Ryan asked.

“Then we screwed up,” Den replied. “And if it is,” he began.

“Then we need to get out of here and find Archie,” Dan hissed. “Don’t you have any way to contact him?” he asked James.

“Like what?” James asked.

“A cell phone, or pager or whatever the heck you humans use now!” Den screeched. “I thought you people knew how to contact each other!”

“We do!” Ryan replied. “Archie apparently can’t get his head out of the past!”

“Perfect,” Den muttered.

There was a low growling sound from somewhere inside the house. “Den, please tell me that was you,” Dan whispered in a terrified voice.

“No,” Den whispered back. “You?”

“No…” Dan replied.

“Did it get inside?” James asked.

“Well, they are formless so if there was a crack somewhere,” Dan said softly.

“Perfect,” Ryan hissed. “So, if that thing is an unknown and it is coming this way then may I ask just how are we supposed to fight it?”

“They’re weakness is light and heat because their environment is cold and dark. It’s all a matter of using their natural weakness against them,” Dan explained.

“So, light, we need light,” Ryan said quickly. “Okay, I think I have an idea.”

“What?” Den, Dan and Ryan asked.

“I’ll deal with it, James you take Den and Dan to look for Archie,” Ryan said.

“Master Ryan, you know perfectly well I can’t do that,” James said quickly.

“You better,” Ryan replied. “Or we’re all in really big trouble.”

“I’ll stay here,” Den said. “I’ve got more hand to hand combat training
anyway.”

“All right,” Dan said.

“Just like that, you’re not going to argue?” James asked.

“Why would I argue?” Dan asked simply. “Den is right, he has more training in this kind of thing and arguing will only loose time.” He turned to Den, “Just be careful, okay? Don’t to anything to drastic until we get back.”

Den nodded, “I promise,” he replied. “Don’t worry. I’ll be perfectly fine.”

Dan nodded and stood up, “Good luck,” he said.

“You too,” Den replied. “Just find him quickly, okay?”

Dan nodded and headed towards the door. James blinked and followed the boy into the rapidly darkening night.

“So, what’s your brilliant plan?” Den asked Ryan.

“Follow me,” Ryan said softly and walked out of the room taking care to turn on every light he could in the rooms he passed through. Finally they made it to the kitchen, and then he opened a cupboard door and pulled out a flashlight. “How’s this?” he asked Den.

“That’s it!?” Den screeched. “That’s your bright idea, using a flash light?”

“What else would I use?” Ryan yelled back.

“I don’t know, why don’t you use a frying pan for all the good it will do!” Den snapped in reply.

“What does that mean?” Ryan asked.

“It means they’re weak to light but it’s not like light is poison to them. This isn’t a fantasy game where if a ray of light touches the bad guy they’ll disappear. This is using a natural weakness of an element against something. The unknown is weak to light but we’re talking sunlight, artificial light coming from a sphere of glass and a battery really won’t do much,” he hissed.

“Then what should I do?” Ryan hissed back.

“Come up with a better plan,” Den replied hotly.

“Oh yeah, because I can just pull that kind of thing out of my…” Ryan stopped speaking suddenly.

“Out of where?” Den snapped.

“Den…” Ryan said slowly. “What does an unknown look like?” Ryan gulped.

Den blinked, “You can’t tell,” he said slowly. “They don’t have any shape.”
“So a big black blob on the kitchen floor?” Ryan asked.

Den’s eyes slowly drifted down to the floor to see a long black tendril slowly ooze its way across the floor. “Oh man,” he hissed and began to
back away from it slowly.

“What?” Ryan hissed.

Den put a finger to his lips and made a quiet “Shhhh…” sound.
The oozing tendril stopped crawling across the floor and quivered silently. Ryan threw Den a glance and Den shook his head and put his finger back to his lips in an effort to keep Ryan silent. Ryan nodded and Den led Ryan out of the kitchen as quickly and quietly as he could.

Once they got out of the kitchen and into a room with a high vantage point that they could scale Ryan finally asked the obvious question. “They can’t see?” he asked.

“Not until they learn how to morph into something with eyes and ears,” Den replied from his place on the kitchen table.

Ryan thought about this and asked, “So, they can’t hear either?”

Den shook his head, “Same answer.”

“Then how did it know where we were?” Ryan asked.

“They can feel vibrations,” Den replied. “From our voices and when we move.”

Ryan blinked and nodded knowingly. “That’s why we’re on the kitchen table?”

“Yes,” Den replied.

Ryan also noted that Den’s tail was puffed out to nearly three times its normal size. ‘He’s really afraid,’ Ryan noted silently. “Why didn’t t\it morph?” Ryan asked.

“It must not know how,” Den shrugged. “They learn by example.”

“Oh,” Ryan said. “So, it’s still dangerous.”

Den nodded, “Oh yes,” he replied. “It may not be able to morph into a living object but it can morph into anything it’s come into contact with. For example, if it’s been exposed to a knife then it can transform into that.”
“So, it can stab us to death,” Ryan noted unhappily.

“And then some,” Den said with a weak smile.

“I’m beginning to see why you’re not too fond of these things,” Ryan said while backing to the middle of the table.

“That was the understatement of the year,” Den noted sarcastically.

“Sorry,” Ryan said quickly.

Den didn’t reply but he backed up as well until he and Ryan were back to back. “So, where is it?” Ryan asked Den.

“I don’t know!” Den snapped. “I can only tell where it is if there are other living things around it. This place is full of non living carpets and furniture.”

“Oh,” Ryan replied.

Ryan and Den stood there for a few more minutes before a long black thing oozed into the room. “There it is!” Ryan hissed.

“I see it,” Den whimpered. “I can’t really do anything about it though.”
Ryan looked at the flashlight in his hand and turned it on. “Maybe,” he muttered.

“That’s not going to do anything!” Den hissed with his ears flattened against his skull.

The thing made a squeaking noise and shied away from the light. “No wait, it’s doing something,” Ryan gasped. The black tendril snapped back into place and made a threatening sounding noise that was unlike anything Ryan had ever hear before.

“You ticked it off!” Den said in a sarcastically cheerful voice. “Way to go.”
Ryan gulped and turned off the light before anything else could go wrong.


“Where is he?” Dan asked as he looked around the square. “He’s got to be here somewhere.”

James followed Dan’s gaze but was unable to find anything else. “I’m afraid I don’t know,” he said softly.

“We have to find him, Den and Ryan are still back there!” Dan said in a worried voice.

“Don’t worry,” James said as soothingly as he could, “I’m sure we’ll find him soon.”

Dan shivered and quickly turned down another street. “He has to be here, he just has to be,” he said under his breath.

James tried to follow the quickening pace of the teen but he soon lost the child to the darkness. “Dan?” he called out.

“James?” another voice asked.

“Oh, so there you brats are!” another voice called out.

“Archie?” Dan and James called out.

“I knew it!” Archie said again. “This town gets dark way to fast,” he complained.

Dan looked around and saw both men on either side of him. He knew where each one was but it was apparent that neither one could see very well in the dark. He sighed exasperatedly and walked over to Archie first while calling out, “James, you stay there!”

“All right,” James called back uncertainly.

Archie squinted in the direction he heard the voice and soon the dim outline of Den could be seen. “There you are,” he said with a sigh of
relief.

“Get lost?” Dan asked dryly with his arms crossed.

Archie laughed nervously, “Yeah, kinda.”

Dan shook his head disbelievingly for a moment before getting back to business. “Archie, Den and Ryan are back at the house and we think an unknown is trying to attack them.”

“Let’s pretend I have no idea what that means,” Archie said.

“Take off my collar so I can defeat the bad guy,” Dan said slowly.

Archie nodded and pulled a small screwdriver from his pocket. He placed his hand on top of Den’s head, willing the child to stand still. Dan obeyed the silent request and stood still while Archie twisted something and the collar came off with a click. The metal band clattered to the ground and Dan took in a deep breath as the feeling of magic flowed back into his limbs.

“Feel better kid?” Archie asked.

Dan nodded, “A lot,” he said happily and held out his palm. A small sphere of light appeared in it allowing Archie to see and James to make his way over to them. “Okay, now we need to go save Den and Ryan from the unknown,” Dan said determinedly.

“Unknown?” Archie asked.

“I’ll explain on the way there,” Dan said and turned towards the large house that loomed in the distance.


“It’s getting closer,” Ryan said in a stark whisper.

“What do you want me to do?” Den whispered back. “I can’t hurt it!”
Ryan looked at the flashlight in his hand and threw it at the oozing blob. It squealed horribly and retracted back before hissing and giving off another unearthly sound before coming back at them.

“You made it even more upset!” Den screeched as he jumped off the table and ran into the next room.

Ryan jumped off and followed Den where he was now standing on the couch. “Can’t we just run outside?” Ryan asked.

“Into the night, where it’s stronger and faster?” Den asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Point,” Ryan said and jumped up next to Den.

The thing came in faster this time and it became apparent that somehow it was getting stronger.

“Oh great,” Den hissed.

“We’re just biding time,” Ryan reminded him.

“They better get here soon, I’m tired of running away from this thing,” he snapped in reply.

There was a loud knock on the door and the unknown quivered as if it was unsure of what to do. There was another knock and it decided to go towards the louder noise. Den and Ryan both breathed a sigh of relief as it left the room. Dan came from behind the doorway leading towards the back door. “What took you so long?” Den reprimanded his twin.

“Sorry,” Dan said apologetically. “We had some problems finding him,” he
said while pointing to Archie.

“Sorry I took so long,” the man said with a wink.

Den shook his head and jumped off the couch. “Just get this thing off me and we’ll call it even.”

Archie nodded and pulled out his little screwdriver and within seconds the collar was on the ground.

Den stretched happily and grinned. “All right, let’s teach this thing a lesson!” he shouted.

Dan laughed and followed Den into the next room where it was holding a terrified James hostage on the ataman. Den grinned and held his hands apart where a small sphere of light formed and grew in between them. Dan nodded and followed suit. Together they threw their attacks into the unknown and put their ears back as it shrieked and withered away.
“It was a new one,” Dan said with a sigh of relief.

“New?” Ryan asked.

“Just created,” Den answered. “It didn’t have any experience, but it was still dangerous. If someone is sending those things here then we need to get out.”

“Right,” Dan agreed.

“So we leave tonight?” Archie asked.

“We leave tonight,” Den and Dan said together.
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 20,000 words
Achieved Goal: 20,049

Yeah, I was bad and skipped yesterday XD 4,000 words today to make up for it, enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So where are we going first?” Archie asked.

Den and Dan exchanged glances then shrugged simultaneously, “We don’t know,” they answered.

“You don’t…” Archie repeated slowly. “Well then, what are your plans?” he asked.

“You know what we want to do,” Den replied. “But chances are you won’t let us.”

“Exactly,” Ryan said. “We’re not going to the capital city. We need to back up and plan things out, in a safe environment.”

“Safe environment?” Dan asked with a raised eyebrow. “You think a safe environment still exists?”

“Point,” Ryan said. “But still, it can’t hurt to look,” he replied. “Besides, your people welcome those who come in peace don’t they?”

Den and Dan exchanged another look, “Well, they would. But if you do end up following us all the way back home I can assure you it won’t be very comfortable.”

Ryan shook his head, “Well, we’ll deal with that when it comes. We don’t even know if we’re going to follow you guys. We would split off at the very end and try to set up our own thing.”

Den nodded, “Yeah, still let’s concentrate on the now please. And here’s food for thought, why was there an unknown here?”

“That is a good question,” Dan replied nervously. “But we can’t do anything about it for now. We don’t have enough information.”

“I have a question,” Archie announced suddenly.

“Yes?” Dan asked.

“Why do you call them unknowns? And just what are you called anyway?” Archie asked.

“That’s two questions,” Den said dryly.

“Okay then, I have two questions,” Archie replied in the same tone.

“We call them unknowns because we somewhat scared of them,” Dan sighed. “No one ever gave them a name so they just became known as the unknowns. As for our name, we call ourselves the Denali, or in an ancient tongue it mans ‘those with inner light.’ Why?” Dan asked.

“I was just curious,” Archie said. “I mean, we call you ‘Cat People’ but that’s not right is it?”

“No,” Den and Dan said flatly.

“You don’t care for that name do you,” Ryan noted.

“No,” Den and Dan said again.

Ryan nodded, “Yeah, I figured as much.”

“So, hopping back on square one here,” Archie said. “Where are we going?”

“No idea,” Den and Dan replied. Ryan merely shrugged and James shook his head.

“So, I’m the navigator?” Archie asked.

“Sure,” Den and Dan replied. Ryan shrugged again and James lifted an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t give any other sign.

“All right, fine,” Archie sighed. “Let’s find a place for the nice, preferably somewhere warm.”

“Inside?” Den asked.

“Yes, hence the reason I said preferably,” Archie replied.

“But be don’t have that much money,” Dan pointed out.

Ryan actually smiled at this remark, “You don’t have to worry about money,” he said. “We’ll take care of it.”

“So you mean, a real bed?” Den asked happily.

“Yeah,” Archie replied.

“I am so in!” Den cheered.

“How long have you kids been on the road?” Archie asked.

“Two months,” they said automatically.

Archie whistled, “Wow, and you didn’t stay in any towns?”

“Not if we couldn’t help it,” Den replied. “Dan is the king of paranoia.”

“I am not!” Dan protested hotly.

“Yes you are,” Den smirked. “It wasn’t until we had virtually no food that
you would let us even step foot in a town.”

Dan crossed his arms and sulked. “Yeah well, sorry,” he muttered. “I was just being careful.”

Den smiled and rubbed his brother’s ears in an affectionate way, “Aww, don’t worry about it. I was just saying you’re paranoid, that’s all. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Archie finally noted the fact that they were traveling out in the open, on a well worn road and the fact that Den and Dan weren’t hiding their ears or tails. “Oh right,” he said slowly and handed Den and Dan their hats.

Den and Dan looked at them like they were alien objects then Den sighed heavily. “These things hurt,” he whiled.

“Sorry kids,” Archie said with a small grin. “I just glad I remembered to bring them.

Den made and face and put on his hat while Dan did the same, minus the face. Then they tucked their tails out of sight and they all continued to walk on the road.

“Is it that uncomfortable?” Ryan asked.

“Yes,” Den and Dan replied together.

“Where are we going?” James asked Archie quietly as they continued to walk.

“I know a small town a little ways away that’s not under military control. We can probably crash there for the night cause the town owes me a favor,” Archie said with a grin.

“Really?” James asked. “What did you do?”

“There’s a reason that town isn’t under military control, it’s not on any
conventional map either,” Archie replied.

“Oh,” James said softly. “So you kept it out of the census?”

“And then some,” Archie said with a soft sigh. “It was such a nice town and I knew they couldn’t handle the state taxes without going bankrupt.”
James gave Archie and odd smile. “You’re a good man,” he said softly.

Archie snorted, “You would think, huh?” he asked.

James shook his head, “I’m sure,” he replied.

Archie looked at the dirt path they were walking on and smiled at it,
“Thanks,” he said.

James nodded and fall back to talk with Ryan in soft undertones.


The hackneyed group stumbled into the darkened town around 2 am. A woman opened the door of the very first building and a golden light spilled out into the street. “Who?” she called out in a voice that sounded slightly worried.

“Relax Shirley,” Archie called out dully. “It’s me.”

The woman called Shirley gave out a small shriek and ran out into the street to hug Archie tightly. “Oh, thank god you’re still alive,” she said softly.

Archie smiled, “Yeah, I’m still alive,” he said. “Listen, we need a place to crash for the night, is that okay?”

“Of course!” Shirley gasped and finally looked at who was with Archie.

She gasped when she saw Den, Dan and Ryan. “They’re kids!” she said.

“And half asleep,” Archie added.

“Oh well, my god Archie, what are you doing toting around kids at two in the morning?” Shirley asked.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Archie said dryly.

Shirley shook her head, “Well, come in!” she said and ushered everyone inside. Once they were in the warm house and in the light Den could see that Shirley was a well rounded woman with bright green eyes and a mop of hair pulled into a haphazard bun on the top of her head. She was wearing simple clothed made out of floral patterned calico with a giant white apron over it. She rubbed her hands together and smiled, “Well, I must say company is nice but we shouldn’t talk,” she said matter of factly. “You boys should go to bed,” she told Den, Dan and Ryan with a warm smile. “There are a few extra bedrooms upstairs,” she said and pointed up the large oak stairs.

Den and Dan nodded, too tired to say anything and followed her finger.

Ryan said a hushed “Thank you,” before following the twins upstairs.

“They’re exhausted,” she gasped. “What have you been doing?” she asked Archie.

Archie laughed and dropped into an overstuffed chair. “Oh Shirley, you’ll be happy about this,” he murmured.

“You finally quit the army,” she said in a low voice. “Thank god!”

James raised an eyebrow. “Quit?” he asked.

Archie laughed, “More like, ‘ran away,’” he said.

Shirley nodded, “Even better,” she replied and turned her back to them. “Would you men like something?” she asked.

“Just, a glass of your elderberry wine,” Archie said in a heavy voice.

“Nothing for me, thanks,” James said.

Shirley walked into the kitchen and the noises of glasses clinking together could be heard.

“Tired?” James asked as Archie sunk deeper and deeper into the chair.

“In what way?” Archie replied.

“It’s rather obvious,” James replied. “Your emotions are in a wreck,” he
noted.

“Are you a doctor or something?” Archie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” James said. “I’m merely a caretaker for a lonely teenager,” he pointed out.

“Ah,” Archie replied.

“You ran away, why?” James asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know!” Shirley said in her loud voice making James jump. Shirley eyed him, “You can sit down, you know,” she said.
James looked around and finally sunk into a very puffy couch. He wobbled a bit as he literally sunk into the fabric rather unexpectedly. “Nice furniture,” he said softly.

Shirley grinned, “Thanks, I made it myself. Now then, Archie, tell all.”
“You gossip,” Archie accused.

Shirley shrugged and pressed the cup of wine into his hands. “You know me,” she laughed.

“Yeah well,” Archie sighed. “I just got sick of it, I guess,” he said and took a sip. “Sick and tired of everything. I was staying there to cling to a memory that no longer existed and when I finally opened my eyes to how truly corrupt the place was I was sickened. Took awhile to get out of the slump though,” he sighed and drained the glass.

“You’ve been drinking!” Shirley accused.

Archie shrugged, “Yeah, only way to deal with stuff for awhile.”
Shirley shook her head and sighed, “I shouldn’t have gotten you that wine,” she said disdainfully.

Archie laughed, “No more,” he assured her. “I promise. I’ve got a reason to not to now.”

“Yeah, now what’s with the kids?” Shirley asked. “I know they’re not human.”

“Quick one, aren’t you,” Archie said with a small smile.

“What?” James asked, alarmed.

Shirley laughed, “Oh, it’s all in the eyes,” she said while tapping the corners of her own. “All in the eyes. But don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret that you brought Denali here.”

“You know what they’re called?” James asked.

Shirley nodded, “Yeah, I’ve dealt with a few before. Proud people,” she said wisely. “Very tricky but very open.”

“Yeah, the twins,” Archie said. “We’re trying to get them home.”

“And you?” Shirley asked.

“I’m just trying to take one day at a time,” Archie said as he leaned back
into the chair.

“Wise man,” Shirley said smartly. “Well, I can tell you where to go after this, but you shouldn’t leave until tomorrow night. I’m sure the roads will be crawling with soldiers knowing you.”

“I’m hurt,” Archie said in a fake voice.

Shirley raised an eyebrow, “Then I’m wrong?” she asked.

“Well…” Archie said slowly. “No,” he admitted.

“Exactly,” Shirley replied. “Just relax,” she said. “Let’s the kids sleep and you take a break yourself.”

Archie smiled, “Thanks,” he said.

Shirley stood up and stretched, “Yeah well, don’t get used to it you old
blowhard. Now get off to bed, both of you.”

“What are you doing up?” Archie asked.

“I live at night,” Shirley said mysteriously. “Now, go before I drag you upstairs myself.”

Archie laughed, “Okay, okay,” he said and stood up. “I’m going. How about you?” he asked James.

James nodded and stood up, “Yeah,” he said and stretched.

“Night you two. And don’t you dare let me catch you leaving in the morning,” Shirley said severely.

“Don’t worry,” Archie assured her. “We’ll be here. Something tells me the twins will be hard to wake up regardless.”

Shirley smiled, “Good.”

Archie tipped a non-existent hat to the woman and trudged upstairs with a silent James behind him.


The next morning James woke up with the rising sun as he always had. He cursed his inability to sleep in and pushed himself out of bed. He stretched and padded down the oaken steps as quietly as he could. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw Shirley in the kitchen stirring something in a large bowl. “Morning,” she said upon his entrance.

“Morning,” he replied. “Have you just woken?” he asked.

Shirley shook her head, “Nah, I normally don’t sleep all that well during night or in the early morning. I doze off around 6 or 7 and wake up at midnight.”

“Odd sleeping pattern,” James remarked.

“Eh,” Shirley shrugged, “To each her own.”

James nodded, “Indeed.”

Shirley laughed as she continued to stir. “You don’t like to argue much do you?” she asked.

James shook his head, “Not particularly. I find it easier to listen to the other side and merely act upon that information.”

“Wise ideals,” Shirley said softly. “My husband was like that.”

“Was?” James asked.

“Oh, he died last year, from some kind of disease that we couldn’t cure. The sickness nearly wiped out half the town before Archie came,” she said with a small smile spreading across her lips.

“Sickness?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Archie stumbled in one night, half dead from some kinds of wounds. We fixed him up and when he saw that everyone was dying he said to hold on a bit longer and returned with some nice medicine from the large cities. We got better but my husband had passed away months before,” she sighed.

‘That’s why Archie is so fond of this town,’ James noted. “I’m sorry,” he said respectfully.

Shirley nodded, “Well, good things and bad things happen. All I can do is go on with my life.”

“You are very wise as well,” James noted.

“Am I?” Shirley asked. “Well, isn’t that a kick in the head,” she laughed.
James finally noted the bowl she had been mixing in during the conversation. “What are you making?” he asked.

“I’m making some pancakes,” she replied. “I figured the kids would like that.”

James nodded, “They would,” he agreed.

“So, the Denali children,” Shirley said as she took the bowl over to a heated frying pan.

“Yes?” James asked.

“How long do you think it’s going to take to get them back?” Shirley asked.

James sighed, “A week?” he asked.

Shirley laughed, “Oh heavens no,” she said. “My guess would be at least a fortnight if not more.”

James sighed, “I figured as much.”

“The other child, the one with black hair, you’re his caretaker, right?” she asked.

James nodded, “Yes.”

“He’s running away, isn’t he?” Shirley asked.

James was taken aback. “Well…” he paused.

“Don’t worry. I’ve been gifted with peculiar insight to people’s personalities. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t being dragged along on this,” Shirley laughed as she poured the first dollop of batter into the
pan where it spread out and hissed.


Ryan woke up when the light from the sun hit his eyes. Even though he knew he could have just turned over it was easier to get out of bed because of it. He rolled off the edge of the bed and landed on his feet softly before stretching his hands over his head. On a whim he looked out the window to see the sun high over the distant trees. He guessed by the position that it was at least 11 if not later in the morning.

With a yawn he walked out of the room and into the hall of the comfortable room. “Hello?” he called.

“Good morning, Master Ryan,” James said softly.

Ryan wheeled around to face James. He smiled and nodded, “Good morning,” he said.

“Did you have a good night’s sleep?”

“Yeah,” Ryan said happily.

“I take it you’re feeling better?” James asked with a small grin.

“I wasn’t sick,” Ryan said confusedly.

“I never said you were,” James replied.

Ryan merely blinked but didn’t inquire further on the subject at hand. Instead he changed the topic by asking, “What’s that smell?”

“Miss Shirley made pancakes,” James told him. “They’re very good.”
Ryan nodded and went down the stairs to where the food was.

James turned around and walked into the room where he figured at least one of the twins was staying. However when he opened the door he found
Den and Dan lying curled up next to one another on the bed over the sheets. He merely watched for a bit, not really wanting to wake either one up, but he figured it was about time they should eat. So he walked over and shook one of them, unsure of whom he was waking up. Luckily the one he decided to wake up was Dan.

Dan curled up tighter but managed to open an eye to see who was above him. “Yes?” he asked sleepily.

James’ face swam into Dan’s view. “It’s past 11, I think you two should get up,” he said kindly.

Dan blinked sleepily and nodded. “Yeah,” he said slowly.

“I’ll see you downstairs then?” James asked.

Dan nodded and sat up. Content, James left the room and went down stairs. As soon as James left the room Dan stretched and curled back up next to his brother.

“Dan?” Den asked sleepily.

“Yeah?” Dan asked.

“Aren’t you going to get up?”

“No, are you?”

Dan received no reply and he figured that was good an answer as any before he fell back asleep himself.


“Didn’t you wake them up?” Ryan asked through a mouthful of pancake and syrup.

James frowned, “I thought I did.”

Shirley shook her head, “Let the kids rest. They’re bodies are on different time schedules then ours.”

“Really?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah, especially if they’ve used magic. The energy has to come from somewhere you know,” she pointed out.

“Oh… right,” Archie said suddenly looking downcast.
Ryan glanced over at the uncomfortable man, “Oh right, what?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Archie said innocently and chugged another coffee before standing up suddenly. “Well, I think I’ll go take a walk. I’ll be back before dark.”

“I’ll go with you,” James said quietly.

Archie looked at him, startled at first, but then his expression relaxed into one of genuine interest. “Sure,” he said.

Without another word the two men left the room and a slamming sound could be heard as the door shut. “Is he always like that?” Shirley asked Ryan.

“Who, James or Archie?” Ryan asked.

“I was talking about James,” Shirley pointed out.

“Yeah, he’s pretty much always like that. He tends to,” Ryan paused while trying to look for the right phrase, “go with the flow.”

“Ah, very smart,” Shirley said.

“Yes,” Ryan replied.


James and Archie walked side by side on the silent street. The birds sang and a car passed by randomly but other then that not a word was exchanged between the two. Finally, after walking three blocks, James got the nerve to ask, “How did those collars work anyway?”

Archie gave a short laugh, “I was waiting for you to ask that.”

“And?”

Archie sighed, “Well, they’re more humane then a lot of the things used at the camps, let me tell you. What they do is keep the energy level in the cat… I mean Denali to a minimum by absorbing it. Completely painless and they don’t really hurt them in the long run.”

“I was wondering why Dan didn’t wake up,” James mused.

“You’re growing fond of the brats aren’t you?” Archie asked him.
James gave Archie a wistful smile before turning his gaze to the distant buildings, “I like kids,” he admitted.

Archie nodded, “Yeah, you know, I’m not really surprised.”
James shrugged, “Kids are kids and those two are no different. Besides I don’t really see them as human or Denali or what have you, they’re just…”

“Kids,” Archie finished. “Yeah, that’s the impression I got too. They are just kids but really they’ve got problems kids really shouldn’t have.” Archie sighed, “This war does that a lot lately.”

James nodded and silence once again reigned over the walk before James got the courage to ask another question. “Why did you run away from the army?” he asked. “Really.”

Archie looked at James who held his gaze with a dead serious expression. “You’re a very sharp man, you know that?” James asked.

“I try,” came the reply.

Archie nodded, “Well, if it’s all the same to you I’ll keep the whole story for a later time,” he said softly. “I just can’t…”

James nodded, “Fair enough.”

The walk continued in silence, each man lost in his own thoughts, but comforted in the presence of the other.


Later that day Dan finally managed to flop off the bed and poke Den enough that he got up as well. Together the two made their way downstairs to where Ryan and Shirley were lounging in the living room. “Afternoon,” Ryan said without looking up from his book.

“Yeah…” Dan said in return.

“Food?” Den asked.

Shirley pointed towards the kitchen and Den and Dan began to make their way to where the smell of pancakes still beckoned to them.
Den made sure to pour a massive amount of syrup onto his pancakes and Dan followed suit. By the time they were done with their breakfast they were relatively awake and ready to talk coherently.

“So, feel better kids?” Shirley asked.

Den flopped onto the couch, followed by his brother, “Yes,” he sighed happily.

Dan nodded, “Thank you very much Miss Shirley.”

Shirley laughed, “Please, just Shirley is fine.”

Den nodded and stretched out over the couch, “All right,” he said.
Ryan looked up from his book to stare at Den. “You can’t possibly be getting ready to take a nap,” he said slowly.

“No,” Den replied. “I’m just stretching out.”

“Speaking of stretching out,” Shirley said. “You know you two can take off your hats and show your tails. I really don’t mind.”

Den and Dan blinked and looked at one another, not quite sure of what to say to her comment.

Shirley laughed, “There are Denali that pass through this town all the time if they escape from the army. Don’t worry, we’re friendly.”

Den and Dan gave her a grateful smile and removed their hats at the same time. “Much better,” Den said happily as he massaged his ears.

Dan nodded, “Yeah.”

Shirley smiled, “Just so you know, you two don’t have to be so guarded around me. I don’t tattle and I don’t bite,” she teased.

Den and Dan blinked then gave her double grins, “Thanks,” they said with relief edging their voices.

Shirley nodded, “No problem kids.”
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 22,000
Acheieved Goal: 22,058

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening Archie and James came back to the house on the edge of the town. They went inside and looked around to see Den and Dan curled up next to one another on the couch in a half asleep state, Ryan on the large recliner reading a book and Shirley was no where to be seen.

“Hey kids,” Archie greeted them.

“Hey,” Den and Dan replied sleepily. Ryan merely grunted his response and then returned his full attention back to his book.

“Trying to rest up for tonight?” Archie asked the twins.

“Sure,” Den replied sleepily.

“Tired?” James asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Dan said.

Archie shrugged and fell onto the couch next to Den’s head. “We’ll, we’re going to be heading back on the road in about five hours, so get your sleep now.”

“Sure,” Ryan said while still gazing intently at his book.

James shrugged and sat in another chair across from Ryan’s chair. “Master Ryan, you might want to take that to heart,” he suggested.

Ryan sighed and shut his book with a snap then flipped over so that he was draped sideways over the chair. “Fine,” he muttered and opened the book again and began to read once again.

Archie smiled and leaned back on the couch, “Well, day two is about to start. General direction?” he asked.

“Miss Shirley said she would help us,” James said.

Archie nodded, “I figured as much. That must be where she is now. She’ll be back around the time we’re going to have to go I suspect.”

James shrugged and leaned back into his recliner and closed his eyes. “I’ll be ready,” he said softly.

Archie nodded and watched as the people around him slowly drifted off to sleep. The twins were out by that time, then slowly James drifted into a true sleep and finally Ryan placed his book over his face and fell asleep draped over the recliner. He sat there for a while just gazing at everyone and marveling at how incredibly peaceful it was. None of the yelling or cursing he had grown accustomed to during his years in a military camp.
So many years of his life had been spent in that place yet he couldn’t bring himself to care about the place that he had just up and abandoned. It was almost as if he was too afraid to leave on his own and latched onto the first thing that came his way as an excuse. And there he was, with a rich teen who was very unlike any rich people he had met before, his caretaker who obviously had more to his personality then met the eye and himself, the washed up general escorting two mortal enemies back to their home from. It was almost enough to make him laugh, and some of it was touching enough to bring him to tears. Just five people with very little in common all trying to somehow do the right thing in a war torn land, how incredibly poetic.

Archie laughed a bit and decided that he could use a drink. Then he decided that he really didn’t need one for once and merely tugged his cap over his eyes and leaned back into his seat, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep a few hours before their long walk began. He must have hit Den while trying to get comfortable because the teen grunted and opened a tired eye to glare at the man. “Sorry,” Archie said softly.
Den closed his eye and moved over a little so that Archie could have more room to wiggle about. Archie smiled and put his hand on his head and patted him. “You’re a good kid, you know that?”

Den leaned into the touch by whim and nodded, “Yeah, I know. Just don’t tell anyone.”

Archie laughed softly and put his hand back into his lap, “Don’t worry kid. I won’t tell anyone anything.”

“Thank god for that,” Den said softly as he cuddled closer to Dan.
Archie nodded and fell asleep not long after that with a faint grin on his face.


“Wake up you old war dog!” a voice whisper yelled into Archie’s ear.

Archie snorted and jerked up, “Huh?” he asked.

“You ought to get going now that it’s fully dark,” Shirley told Archie.
Archie blinked, looked over at Shirley and nodded. “Right,” he said and stood up. “We should, huh?”

Shirley nodded in reply and handed Archie a large piece of paper. “Here’s a map,” she said. “Marked with the hidden towns and lodges to the best of my abilities.”

Archie smiled gratefully as he took it, “Thanks Shirley.”

Shirley scoffed, “No need for that. Now help me get up the rest of these lazy bums so you can get on your way. The closest town is about a 12 hour walk from here and I assume you don’t have a car.”

“Nah, we’re back packing it the whole way. If we’re caught in an unregistered car or worse yet, a registered one in my name we could get in some pretty big trouble,” Charlie explained.

Shirley nodded, “All right then. I’m telling you, stay off the main roads, and don’t go any big towns. They’ll be looking for a run away General.”
Archie saluted her smartly, “Yes ma’am!”

Shirley laughed and punched Archie playfully on the arm. “Get going war dog,” she barked.

Archie smiled and tapped Den on the shoulder. “Come on kids, get up,” he said softly.

Den groaned and turned over. “Time to go already?”

“You slept all day,” Archie told him.

“There is no such thing as too much sleep,” Den announced and stood up. Then he turned around and flicked Dan’s ear, jerking the poor boy out of a peaceful rest. “Time to go!” he said cheerfully and dashed away before his brother could tackle him.

“Very mature, Den,” Dan yelled to Den while rubbing his ear.

“Thanks!” Den replied and threw a hat at Dan.

Dan caught it and sighed, “All right then.”

“Ready to go?” Archie asked.

Dan nodded, “Yeup,” he said.

Archie nodded and smiled, “Good.”


Shirley stood outside and waved to them as they left. “Archie, you better come back here,” she said as a last farewell.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be coming back!” he yelled in reply and turned around to walk on the dark road.

“You like this place,” James noted.

“Hey, when a whole town saves you,” Archie said, “You’ve got to love them.”

James smiled, “I guess so.”

“So, where to?” Dan asked.

Archie scanned the map that Shirley had handed to him. “It looks like an off map town called Liberty.”

“Off map?” Ryan asked.

Archie nodded, “Off map is a term for towns that somehow remain off maps and census reports. If by some kind of agreement or they’re just really lucky. Regardless they make great hide out towns for those who want to escape persecution and in some cases, the law.”

“Two sides of one coin?” Dan asked.

Archie nodded, “If you want to think about it that way, yes. The places we’re going to be hiding in on the way back might not be the best places, but they’re there and I’m afraid I’m going to be on the run for awhile. I still have a few connections I can tap out but if I get too much attention I’m done for.”

“Cost of being part of the military,” Ryan said softly.

Archie’s mouth twisted, “Yes.”

Everyone looked at him but decided that it really wasn’t a good idea to pursue the conversation that they were on. Instead Den sighed and linked his hands behind his head so that he could look up at the sky. After walking a little ways like that he blinked and asked, “Don’t you miss it?”

“Miss what?” Archie asked.

“The sky,” Den replied. “The stars and stuff. I mean you can’t see anything out here.”

Archie shrugged, “That’s what it means to be an industrialist country. It’s how we live you know.”

Den shrugged and let his arms fall back to his sides, “Yeah, I know,” he said. “But it’s still depressing.”

Archie nodded, “A lot of things in life are, kid. It’s getting used to it that hurts the most.”

Den hemmed and hawed a bit before deciding something, “I don’t want to grow up,” he announced.

Archie blinked then laughed. “Good, I don’t think you would want to either.”

Den grinned, “Well, eventually I’ll have to, but for now I think I’m happy.”

Dan latched onto his brother from behind, “Thank goodness for that. I have no idea what I’d do if you were unhappy.”

Den yelled out, trying to get his brother to let go, but Dan was firmly latched onto his back. After a few minutes of running around and playing they jumped apart and walked at a more normal pace. The other three in the party noted this with apparent amusement but decided not to say anything about it.


About two hours after the sun rose, the small group stumbled into the town of Liberty. It was a small place with few modern commodities aside from indoor plumbing and running water. But it was quiet and something of a sleepy town at first glance, which suited them just fine.

They looked around and managed to locate a hotel in the middle of the town. They walked inside and were greeted by a cheery looking receptionist. “Morning folks!” she said. “I take it you pulled an all nighter?”

Den and Dan just looked at one another, unsure of what to say to the rather perky girl. Ryan rolled his eyes and James sighed at his charge’s action meanwhile Archie grinned and waved. “Hey, yes we did. Do you have any rooms?”

She flipped through a book, “How many?”

Archie looked around and noted last night’s sleeping pattern, “Four will do,” he said.

The girl nodded and pulled out four keys on hooks. “Sorry, we don’t have any magnetic ones, that’s a bit beyond are ability to afford.”

Archie waved his hand in a dismissing gesture as he took the keys, “Don’t worry kid. We’re just crashers, we’ll take whatever.”

She smiled and nodded, “I hope you enjoy your time here. You’re the first people to actually talk back to me for awhile.”

Archie winked, “I make a note to talk back to cute girls.”

The girl blushed and giggled, “Thank you sir.”

Archie nodded and walked up the stairs. Everyone else followed silently but Dan gave the girl a small smile. She nodded and grinned back and watched them go upstairs.


Den flopped onto the bed and curled up. “I hate this sleeping pattern.”

“Better then getting caught,” Dan replied as he flopped next to him. “I’m
just happy that we’re not quite so… cautious this time.”

“You mean paranoid,” Den muttered.

“Fine, paranoid,” Dan replied.

The conversation ended there without another word and the two fell asleep.


Archie nodded and James and Ryan across the hall, “Well the kids already crashed but I want to warn you guys, this place looks okay, but I wouldn’t relax quite yet. Something about this town sets me on edge.”

James nodded and silently retreated into his room. Ryan also nodded and then asked, “That girl?”

“Oh, her? She’s fine, she just wanted someone to talk to. That’s what worried me,” Archie said.

“Oh,” Ryan said then frowned. “What do you mean?”

“If she wants to talk to someone and noted that we’re the first ones to talk to her in awhile either there isn’t much traffic here or the people here are silent, and silent people have secrets,” Archie said.

“How would you know that?” Ryan asked.

“Because I’m something of a silent person,” Archie said mysteriously with a grin. “Now go to bed. We’re leaving earlier so we can cover more
ground.”

Ryan nodded and simply retreated into his room without a dismissal of any kind.

Archie shrugged and retreated into his own without another word.
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

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[Neko]

Goal: 24,000
Achieved Goal: 24,067

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Den was amazed to find out that he was the first one up. His brother was still sleeping peacefully and after knocking softly on the other doors of the other rooms he realized that they too, remained asleep. He really wasn’t in the mood to sit around waiting for the others to get up so he decided to go wander around town on his own.

Den padded down the stairs softly and walked out of the hotel room. It was almost 5 in the afternoon judging by the sun’s position and he wondered just how much longer the humans could handle the sudden change of sleeping patterns. Sure he and his brother would be perfectly fine because they had been traveling like that for months, and he doubted

Archie wouldn't feel any ill effects but Ryan and James might…

Den shook his head, since when did he honestly care? They were just humans after all. Sure they were nice and he was being nice back but it somewhat frightened him to think that he was growing so close to them so quickly. After all, one was an ex-military general and he and Dan knew very little about the other two. They could turn around and betray them for all he knew.

It was a hard thing, being away from his home for so long, even harder from his parents. Constantly checking his back while trying to make it seem like he wasn’t suspicious just made things harder. It was nice to know that he would be home in about two weeks but also unnerving at the same time. What if the humans decided to follow them? Or worse what if they didn’t get that chance? Anything could happen in two weeks, to them or him and his brother. He knew they probably had good intentions but beyond that what did they have? Until something happened that truly tried their loyalty Den would be sure to stay on his toes.

A voice chuckled behind him and Den spun around to see who it was. A large man stood behind him with his arms crossed. “What’s a little brat like you doing out here?” he sneered.

“I’m taking a walk, what’s it to you?” Den shot back.

The man raised an eyebrow, “Oh? You’ve got a mouth,” he chuckled.
Den narrowed his eyes, “Yeah, so? Someone like you shouldn’t care what I’m doing?”

“Oh, I care kid,” the man sneered. “You see, all yous are the same, you seem to think that you’re invisible if you put a hat on and hide your tails. Sure, at first glance no one notices anything, but I hate it when I see someone like you waltzing around like you own the place.”

Den growled and stepped back. “Yeah? So, this place is a non military town, you can’t do anything here unless you want to call the army in here.”

The man laughed, “Kid, if you’re in these towns the first thing you’re gonna have to learn is to keep your head down and speak only when spoken too or you’re gonna get into big trouble.”

“Is that a threat?” Den said with a small hiss at the end.

The man grinned, showing very white teeth. “Maybe it is. This town may not have police, but that also means no one will save you. We let you kittens come through these towns only because we don’t want to get caught up in the politics of this damn country. That doesn’t mean we like you though.”

Den put his hands together and concentrated on the power within himself. He knew Dan would yell at him later for using magic but now wasn’t really the time to hesitate. The man smirked and merely pulled out a gun and aimed it at Den. By then the small ball of energy had intensified between Den’s palms and he was ready to fire as well. “Well?” the man asked.
Den froze; it was obvious that the bullet would reach him first before he could retaliate. He felt cold sweat roll down the back of his neck as he desperately thought of a plan. “What do I do?” he thought desperately.
Before anything else could happen the large man cried out in pain and dropped his gun. Den blinked and straightened up, allowing the energy to dissipate. After a few seconds, Archie stepped out from behind the large man and kneed him in the stomach. “Sick,” he hissed. “That someone in this town is willing to pull a weapon on a kid.”

The man groaned and dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach. After he heard what Archie said he gave a low laugh. “So? All them are the same, they think they’re better then us humans just cause they have some damn inner power. Kids, adults, whoever they’re all scared kittens anyway once you make them see how we really are.”
“Leave,” Archie hissed.

The man looked up at Archie and slowly backed off. “Fine, but I wouldn’t trust the kitty if I were you,” he sneered and ran off, leaving his gun on the sidewalk.

Archie looked around, prompting Den to do the same. Everyone who was frozen on the street a second before bowed his or her head and continued on their business. Archie made a sound of distaste and picked up the gun. “Follow me, kid,” he growled.

Den blushed and stood where he was while Archie walked away. Without turning around Archie barked, “Now!” Prompting Den to scamper after him while trying to avoid the looks of other people on the street.


Den followed Archie all the way to an empty playground that had obviously been abandoned for some time. He sat down on a rusty swing and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He put one in his mouth and lit it before leaning back and sighing heavily. “Well, at least we know what’s wrong with this town,” he said with a small grin.

Den frowned, “Do humans really think like that?”

“Hm?” Archie asked while inhaling deeply.

“That we think we’re better then them,” Den explained. “Is that what you think?”

Archie shook his head, “No, that’s just a result of propaganda. Even in these towns that pretend they’re not part of the government think like that. Our whole society is intertwined in the government whether we like it or not.”

“Then why?” Den hissed.

Archie kept his back to Den and continued to smoke but he noted the small quiver in Den’s voice as he asked the question.

“Why are you helping us? Don’t give me your ‘I’m in it for the adventure’ crap. If you think that we’re so… elitist then why do you even care?”
Archie laughed, “Who said I thought that?”

Den was taken aback. “What?”

“The human race isn’t one giant mass kid. We have free will, and not everyone thinks like that. That’s the beauty of war; it tends to separate those among certain lines. Some for battle, others against it, some for the cause, others against it, some who wish just to remain neutral. That’s how we express ourselves, kid. You should see some of the protests out there, those who think your people could help us improve as a whole if we extended friendship, those who just want their kids and uncles and brothers back at home. We don’t like slaughtering our own kind you know,” Archie took another drag and tapped the ashes off the end. “It’s even worse to see it from the inside,” he said softly.

Den walked over and sat on the rusty swing next to Archie. “Why?” he asked.

Archie looked at Den, who was looking at him with a puzzled look in his eyes. “You don’t trust me, do you?”

Den opened his mouth, then blushed. “Not really,” he admitted.
Archie nodded, “And rightfully so!” he announced. “I’m not someone to be trusted, especially after what I’ve done to you and your brother.”

“Then just,” Den took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair while trying to think. “Why? I don’t understand.”

“We just want to do the right thing,” Archie said simply.

Den looked at him with an odd expression on his face.

“You don’t believe me,” Archie laughed. “Looks like you’ve been subjected to some propaganda of your own.”

Den looked away, “Well, I mean…”

Archie shook his head. “Nah, tis’ the nature of war kid. One group lies about the other group to make them selves feel better. It’s a very idealistic way of thinking but it works.”

Den blushed, “I never…”

“Realized? Most people don’t until it’s staring them in the face. The racism or the contempt that’s bred in them by the press and pressure of others. That man didn’t know why he didn’t like you, he just didn’t because of what you were,” Archie said as he threw his cigarette on the ground and mashed it with his heel.

Den sighed, “I don’t know why, I just don’t feel comfortable around humans,” he said softly. “I mean you, James and Ryan are okay but when there’s a lot. Like today,” he said. “Everyone just watched, that man would have shot me and all those people would have done was watch.”

Archie nodded, “I know. And I’m sorry kid, but that’s the way things are in
some places.”

Den sighed and looked at the ground. “How did you know I was here?”
“I checked in on you and your brother when I got up and noticed you were gone. I figured you’d gone wandering,” Archie said with a smile.

“You don’t seem like the patient type to me.”

Den smiled, “Not a bit,” he said, then it was silent.

After a bit Archie laughed quietly, “Well since we’re in such a talkative mood, anything else you’d like to say?”

“That man could tell who I was so easily,” Den said uncomfortably. “Can everyone do that?”

Archie shrugged, “Some people can, some people can’t. In these towns, I would think it would be more can then can’t.”

“So, Dan and I should probably avoid going out, huh?” Den asked.
Archie sighed, “If at all possible.”

Den nodded, “All right, I guess as long as we get back soon.”
Archie looked at the sinking sun. “Do you miss them?”

“Who?”

“Your parents,” Archie said softly. “Do you miss them?”

Den frowned. “Yeah, I do. But, I know I can get them back,” he said while looking at Archie.

Archie gazed back at Den and shook his head, “Don’t tell me you read minds too.”

Den shook his head, “No way. I figured something like that must have happened, or you wouldn’t be so upset.”

Archie shrugged, “My old man went doing what he thought was right. So did my brother, and my mom went thinking my dad and brother were heroes. That’s enough for me.”

Den frowned, “But it still hurts.”

“Yeah,” Archie said softly. “It does.”

Den sighed, “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

Archie laughed and put his hand on Den’s head, making Den feel a little silly. “Kid, stop acting like you’re older then 13.”

Den pushed Archie’s hand off his hand. “Shut up, I’m just trying to help.”
Archie smiled, “Yeah, it’s appreciated, but we got to go. I’m sure
everyone else is up by now.”

Den nodded, “Right,” he said and stood up. He put his hat back on and thought of something else while doing so. “Oh yeah,” he said.

“What?” Archie asked while getting up with a groan.

“And chance of you telling me how you made those bullets that got through my magic and those collars?” Den asked.

Archie shook his head, “Not a chance, it’s a trade secret.”

Den shrugged, “As long as you don’t use those things on me or Dan.”
“I promise,” Archie replied.

Den looked up at him and smiled. “Okay, I’ll hold you to that.”

“You can trust me,” Archie replied.

“I know,” Den said softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words can not express how much I love this chapter @_@
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Neko]

Goal: 26,000 words
Achieved Goal: 26,107 words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Den and Archie returned to the hotel to see Dan, James and Ryan waiting for them. “Ready?” Ryan asked simply.

Den nodded and Archie smiled, “Sure. Who’s in charge of the map tonight?”

“James?” Den asked.

James nodded, “Sure,” he replied. “Archie, do you have any suggestions as to where we should go?”

Archie shook his head, “Not a clue,” he replied. “I’m not to familiar with the hidden towns of this country.”

“Country?” Den asked.

“Yeah,” Archie said. “Humans split up the land they occupy depending on what religion, culture, government, etc. its people happen to have.”

“Weird,” Dan said.

“Don’t you have countries?” Ryan asked.

Den and Dan shook their heads, “Too complicated,” they answered.

Archie shrugged, “Well, you certainly don’t have that large of a population so I guess you can get away with it.”

Dan looked thoughtful, “I guess,” he replied.

“Well, what are we waiting for,” Den said cheerfully. “Let’s go already.”

Archie smiled at the seemingly suddenly hyper boy while Ryan and James
blinked confusedly. “You’re in a good mood,” Dan said to Den softly.

Den nodded, “Yeah, I am,” he replied.

Dan smiled and jumped onto his brother’s back, hitching a free ride. “It’s nice to see you energetic again.”

Den obliged his brother and put his arms under his brother’s legs so he could carry him piggyback style. “Thank you,” he said brightly.

“Well,” Archie asked. “Have you decided where we’re going next?”

James blinked then busied himself with the map. “How about the town of Aren, it’s about a night’s walk away and it doesn’t seem too close to anything else.”

Archie nodded, “Sounds good. Lead the way.”

James stepped out of the hotel and everyone else followed. Den noted some uncomfortable stares as they passed but nothing else eventful happened in the city as they left it.


After about an hour Den was forced to drop his hold on his brother just because his arms had fallen asleep. Dan hopped off and began to walk next to Den, linking his hands behind his head and looking at his twin with an inquisitive gaze. “Well?” Dan asked.

“Well what?” Den replied.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” Dan asked. “It’s not like you to be quite so cheerful. Or at least, not since we left home.”

Den grinned, “Let’s just say, I finally had a serious talk.”

Archie smiled at these words while Dan was left to gaze at his brother with a somewhat puzzled expression on his face. “Well, whatever happened, I’m glad you’re finally you again.”

Ryan blinked, “What?”

Den and Dan both shook their heads, “Nothing,” they said together.
Den ran ahead on the road and turned around to start walking backwards in front of everyone. “So, once we get to our ‘country’,” he said with a small grin, “What do you guys plan to do?”

“Why the sudden interest?” Ryan asked.

Den shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean, you must have thought about it.”
Ryan sighed, it was true. He had thought about it many times, but he still couldn’t come to a definitive answer. On the one hand, part of him wanted to see how the Denali lives, on the other hand, he wasn’t too sure if he was welcome there. Also, there was the fact about him running away to
go on this little journey in the first place.

“Well?” Den asked.

Ryan blinked and looked up where Den was staring him straight in the face. Ryan looked a little annoyed and sidestepped to get Den out of his face. “I don’t know,” he said softly.

Den smiled and nodded, “All right. But you know you don’t have to worry about people being mean to you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ryan asked.

“Well, it’s not like we’d go out of our way to be mean to someone who hasn’t done anything to us,” Den said brightly.

Dan was taken aback by this statement and edged over to Archie. “What on earth did you say to him?”

“We just had a discussion, that’s all,” Archie explained with a grin.

“Whatever you told him,” Dan said softly, “Thank you.”

“He just needed someone to point some things out to him, that’s all,” Archie replied. “But you’re welcome.”

Dan smiled, “I haven’t seen him this relaxed for awhile.”

“Since the cheesecake!” Den cheered behind Dan and Archie making them both jump.

“Where did you come from!?” Archie yelped.

“I forgot you could do that,” Dan gasped while patting his chest as his heart beat returned to a more normal rate.

“Silly,” Den scoffed.

Dan laughed, “Yes, probably since the cheesecake,” he answered to Den’s
original comment.

“Cheesecake?” Archie asked.

“Yeah, that’s what we had in the town you guys lived in,” Den said. “And I wasn’t always so touchy the whole trip here either you know.”

“All right…” Archie said slowly.

Dan shook his head amusedly, “You were starting to worry. You haven’t done anything overly obnoxious since the day before we went into their town.”

“What, his snappy comments weren’t obnoxious enough?” Ryan asked softly so only James could hear.

A faint grin tinged James’ lips for a second before he busied himself with the map again. “We still have a ways to go,” he said softly.

“All right,” Den and Dan said together before running ahead on the road.

“Where are you going?” Archie called out.

“Just going ahead a little bit!” Dan called back. “Don’t worry, we’ll wait up.”

Archie rubbed his head then shrugged, “Fine with me,” he muttered and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.


After another long night of walking the small group stumbled into the town. They found the hotel and went to bed without any incident. The next evening they got up and left the town without any major problems or issues and proceeded to the next town. This went on for several more days until they finally hit the halfway point of their journey.

After a week of walking they were all finally used to the sleeping pattern they had established for themselves and started to realize which towns were ones they should go to and which ones they should avoid. On the seventh night they came into a small town called Neoil and looked around for some place to sleep. “There’s no hotel…” Den said disbelievingly

“What?” Archie asked as he looked around. “You’re right kid, there is now hotel.”

“Maybe the town isn’t big enough for a hotel,” Dan replied while looking at the whole town. It seemed to have one store, maybe ten houses and a larger house that might have been a school. “If this place counts as a town.”

“It’s on Shirley’s map, I wonder why she’s put it on here if there wasn’t a place to rest,” Archie mused.

“Hello!” a voice called. They all looked towards the voice to see a young couple waving over to them.

Archie nodded and waved back.

“Hello?” Den replied uncertainly, still not quite ready to trust any human he happened to meet on the street.

They walked over and greeted them. “Hey,” the woman said. “So, we finally get some travelers.”

“Huh?” Archie asked.

“This is a pit stop village,” the man said. “We help people get to and from
the next town or city without being noticed.”

“Oh,” Archie said, finally getting it. “That’s why Shirley put it on here.”

“Shirley?” the woman asked.

“A friend who is helping us,” Archie said simply.

The couple nodded, “Oh, they said.

“Pit stop town?” Dan asked.

“Like I said, we help people,” the man replied. “We also get supplies
through as well.”

“For who?” Den asked.

“Those who desert the army or on run from the government for unjust reasons,” the woman said cheerfully. “We help anyone we can to escape the war. There aren’t many villages like this left but the few that still exist do whatever they can to realize our goal.”

“Wow,” Den said simply.

Archie nodded, “Well, we just need a place to sleep for the day,” he
explained simply. “Then we’ll be on our way tonight.”

“Of course,” the woman replied amiably. “Follow me.”

She led them to a comfortable looking house and opened the door. “This is where we live. We’re going to be working today but you’re welcome to
sleep here if you wish.”

Everyone except Archie was rendered speechless at the apparent selflessness of the people at that moment. Archie smiled and nodded,

“Thank you very much ma’am,” he replied.

She nodded and left the house, closing the door softly behind her.

“Wow,” Den said again.

“I’ve heard of these places,” Archie said with a half grin. “Like a soldier’s haven, or so I’m told. But since they help anyone equally, including those the government deems an enemy and in some cases the Denali, the government has done all it can to weed them out.”

“That’s horrible,” Dan gasped.

Archie shrugged, “That’s life. Although I think this town will be fine. No agent would dream of coming out this far. I doubt if many runaways make it this far.”

Ryan rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Well, I’m very grateful but shouldn’t we be getting some sleep before tonight?”

“Yeah,” Den and Dan replied.

Archie nodded, “Yes. Let’s get some sleep and aim for leaving by 9 tonight.”

Everyone nodded and split up in the normal sleeping groups, amazed to find that the house had enough bedrooms. Then again it was quite possible that the house was created with that very purpose in mind.


Later that night they all woke up and regrouped in the living room. Archie looked at his watch and nodded. “Well, it’s about 9, we have enough supplies to make it to another town before we need to restock. Should we get going?”

Everyone nodded their agreement and they stepped out of the house into the darkness. The young couple was just walking up the small path that led to their house looking worn. The woman looked up and gave them a
tired smile, “Leaving already?” she asked.

Archie nodded, “We need to get going.”

The woman nodded, “Of course, best of luck to you.”

Archie smiled, “And to you as well. I hope this town stays safe.”

The man smiled, “Thank you, stay safe as well. And if you meet anyone in need on the road point them this way.”

“We will,” Archie replied and with that they parted ways.


“That was amazing,” Den breathed.

“What was?” Archie asked.

“There are whole towns, dedicated to just helping people being hurt by the war,” he replied.

Archie nodded, “Yeah, it kind of gives me hope to see a place like that.”
Ryan frowned and kept his head low as they walked along the road. James caught up with him and walked next to him for a bit. “Are you all right?” James asked softly.

“Yeah,” Ryan replied. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

Ryan paused as if pondering his answer, “That town,” he said finally.

“Those people are doing everything they can for something they think is right, no matter the cost to them. It just… makes me think.”

James nodded, “I understand.”

“I think,” Ryan said, a little louder so everyone could hear. “That I want to travel into the Denali’s land with them.”

Den grinned, “You’re sure?” he asked.

Ryan looked at the hyper boy, then at his more mellow twin. He looked around to James then Archie who were both smiling softly. “Yeah,” he replied. “I’m sure.”

“Why the sudden decision?” Dan asked.

“I want to know how you live,” he said. “I want to know about your culture and who you are. Maybe, if I find that out then I can start some kind of anti propaganda against your people. See if I can’t stop the spread of the lies somehow.”

James put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “I’m sure you can, Master Ryan.”

“Dad won’t be happy though,” Ryan said with a twisted grin.

“Oh well,” Den said cheerfully as he slung an arm around Ryan’s
shoulders. “At least you will be, right?”

Ryan blinked and thought about it. Then he nodded, “Yeah,” he said softly.
_________________
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

Avatar, credit Yakitate@devart

[Midnight]

After making it through sixteen thousand words for which I fell behind, I think I'm ready to go. It may be a long review, so bear with me.

I am absolutely amazed with the story as of yet. The plot, at least recently, is reminiscent of the Underground Railroad, I believe--where people offer temporary shelter to people who are on the road away from an oppressive place.

As for the characters, they all seem rather alive and vibrant. The little section of dialogue beteen Den and Archie was especially effective and necessary, as it forges the bond of trust requisite to keeping this ragtag posse going on their journey to the border. Still, I share Den's apprehension--that there will be a traitor among the group or someone that they encounter--but then again, I suppose that is to be expected given the situation.

All the long, you still write with that distinctive Rockman flavor, what with its themes and character traits present within the story as a whole. It serves to add your touch; it makes this your distinctive style. I'm not seeing much development in James and Ryan, at least not as much as the twins, but ti is still certainly a good job with their personae.

Fantastic job so far, and I wish you the best of luck with the future installments of this piece. You're over halfway home! \o/
_________________
Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

Goal: 28,000 words
Achieved Goal: 28,035 words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

They continued on their way until they hit the town on the map James’ was navigating from. “We’re there,” he said softly.

Everyone looked up and sighed at the appearance of the somewhat normal looking town. “We can definitely restock here,” Archie said. “You kids go find a hotel to sleep in and James and I will get food and supplies.”

“Aww…” Den groaned. “Why can’t we help?”

“Because you’re tired,” Archie told him. “Now go.”

Den grumbled as he was pulled along the road by his brother. Archie stopped Ryan from following them immediately. “Listen, I want you to make sure they don’t leave the hotel room. I saw some people looking at us as we came in and it’s better to be safe then sorry.”

Ryan nodded and turned around to follow the twins down the road in search of a hotel.


They found one fairly quickly and checked into it without a problem. However instead of jumping into bed like they normally did the twins sat down on a couch in the hallway. Ryan blinked then sat next to them, “Aren’t you tired?” he asked.

They looked at him, then Den shrugged, “I’m really restless. I’d kind of like to explore or something.”

Ryan opened his mouth, then closed it while trying to think of something to say that would keep them in the hotel without incident.

Dan was a bit more perceptive then that however, “Archie told you to keep us here, didn’t he?”

Ryan sighed, “Yeah. He said he saw some people looking at us and he got nervous.”

Den scoffed, “They could have just been curious. I mean not many people wander into town at the crack of dawn.”

“Better safe then sorry,” Ryan said softly.

Dan nodded, “This is true,” he said.

Den crossed his arms, “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered sullenly.

Dan looked at Ryan, “You know, I just realized. We’ve been traveling
together for a week but we barely know anything about you.”

Ryan shrugged, “What’s there to know. I’m the son of a multibillionaire, my dad owns over 80% of the medical supply manufacturers in this country. He’s hardly ever home, I spend time either at school or reading and the person I’m closest too is James.”

“What happened to your mother?” Den asked without thinking.

Ryan’s frown twisted and Dan elbowed his twin in the stomach for asking such a thing. “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean…”

“No,” Ryan interrupted. “It’s okay. Mom left, a few years ago. She said she was sick of being married to a man who cared more about material possession then any one human life.” Ryan laughed softly without humor, “She’s right you know.”

“Your dad can’t be that bad,” Dan said softly.

Ryan shook his head, “No, I’m sure he’s not, but he’s never let me see otherwise. At least not during the few times I’ve seen him.”
“It’s hard,” Dan stated.

Ryan nodded, “It can be. But James is always there, so that helps.”
“Where did your mom go?” Den asked. “Why didn’t she take you with her?” This question earned him another elbow in the ribs from Dan. “Ow…” he groaned, rubbing the sore spot.

Ryan looked at them and smiled faintly, “She didn’t know how she was going to do since she was going out on her own so she thought I should stay safe where there was care and education for me. Although after she left I got some letters and phone calls, those kind of stopped after awhile and I haven’t heard from her in about three months.”

“You’re worried about her,” Dan stated.

Ryan nodded, “I am,” he admitted. “But she can take care of herself.
Right now I want to do my own thing.”

Den and Dan both smiled at him. “Hence the coming to our land?” Dan asked.

Ryan nodded, “Yeah, that’s something I want to do.”

“That’s good,” Den said simply. “And as for the sleeping, as long as you promise not to go anywhere we’ll stay here.”

Ryan smiled, “All right, but you go to bed first.”

Dan yawned, “I would have gone regardless, I’m exhausted.”

Den nodded, “Yeah, I’m feeling kind of tired too. Night Ryan,” he waved and disappeared into the hotel room with his brother where they flopped on the bed and promptly fell asleep.

Ryan stayed out in the hall for a bit, thinking. It was a nice thing, to finally talk to someone other then James about his problems. It was even better that they were his age. Like he didn’t know it before, but he was really lonely. It was depressing to think that he had no friends now that he looked back on it, but the fact that he did have friends cheered him a great deal. Finally noting that he was with more then one person who cared seemed to ease something inside of him.

And on that note he disappeared inside his own room to sleep through the day, getting himself ready for another night of walking through the wilderness that he never knew existed until a week ago.


“Well, what do you think we need that’s light and easy to carry?” Archie asked James as they walked through the grocery store. “It’s been awhile since we’ve been in a town big enough for a grocery store, want to get the kids a treat?”

James nodded, “Sure,” he said.

“Hm… I wonder what the twins would like,” Archie mused as he walked into the candy aisle of the store.

James stood there for a bit, wondering what exactly he should do. Finally Archie looked up and over the aisle at James, “Come on and help so we can go to bed,” he told the taller man.

James nodded and walked over to where the candy was. He looked around, trying to see if they had Ryan’s favorite candy bar. “So, what kind of candy does your kid like anyway?” Archie asked offhandedly.

“My kid?” James asked incredulously.

“Yeah, Ryan. I mean I know he’s not your kid, but he is kind of in a way, you know?” Archie asked while picking out two popular peanut and
chocolate candy bars.

James frowned, “I guess,” he said, finally spotting the candy he was looking for and selecting a few bars for Ryan.

“How did you become a servant anyway,” Archie asked slowly. “I can tell from the way you read a map and handle some equipment that I give to you that you know what you’re doing. That’s why I have you navigate. What kind of training did you receive to know how to read a map like that?”

James frowned, “I learned from my dad a long time ago. We were navigators for hire in the wilderness, but eventually my dad became a soldier for the sake of the money and I went off on my own.”

Archie nodded, “Navigators make a lot, I’m surprised you don’t do that.”
James shrugged and turned the candy bar over and over in his hands. “I have no need or want for that kind of money, and my conscience wouldn’t let me do it anyway.”

Archie chuckled softly and put a hand on James’ shoulder. “You’re a rare man, James.”

James let a brief smile linger on his lips. “I try,” he replied.

Archie nodded and walked over into the next aisle where the bread was.

“So, aside from being a navigator on the run if you wish to think of it that way, what made you become a butler for a rich family?”

“Honestly?” James asked. “There were no other classifieds left.”

Archie burst out laughing. “You know, if it was night and we didn’t have to go, I’d buy you a drink right about now.”

Why?” James asked.

“Because, you are the most honest man I’ve ever met, and you deserve something for it,” Archie replied.

James smiled, “I can’t help it. I was raised that way.”

“Good,” Archie said. “I wish everyone was raised that way.”

“It would solve some problems, wouldn’t it?” James asked.

Archie nodded and took a few loaves of bread off the shelf. “No kidding,” he said dryly. Then he looked up, “So, was taking care of the son of a billionaire part of your plan when you applied for that job?” Archie asked.
James smiled softly and shook his head. “Funny thing, when I went into that man’s house and saw who he was I had every intention of turning down the job. Then a small 9 year old kid peeked out at me from behind a closet door and I realized that the man wasn’t such a horrible person. The reason he had called for help was because he still wanted someone to take care of his son.”

“Huh, the world works in odd ways,” Archie said.

“Yes, indeed,” James replied. “So, I ended up taking the job. Eventually I just ended up taking care of Master Ryan and now this. I must say I think this is more interesting then any navigating job.”

Archie burst out laughing as they got more supplies, “No kidding,” he said.
Finally after awhile they headed towards the check out line. “So what about you?” James asked. “Why are you so secretive?”

“I’m not,” Archie said with a grin. “I just keep things to myself until I decide someone is trustworthy enough to know about it.”

James nodded, “Fair enough,” he admitted.

“You want to know about my old man?” Archie asked while putting the
things they got on a conveyer belt.

James opened his mouth then closed it, not quite sure how to answer the somewhat upfront question.

James chuckled again and waited for the girl to put the objects in a plastic bag so that he could grab it. James waited as well and soon they were on their way out of the store. “My old man…” Archie started.

James looked at him then merely decided to let him talk on his own as they walked through the parking lot.

“No, my dad. He was a great person, so was my older brother. They were in the army before the war, and after it for that matter. Anyways, they’re kinda the reason I joined in the first place.”

“Really?” James asked.

Archie nodded while his eyes misted over in reminiscence. “Yeah, and they died for what they thought was right at the time. Damn good men, those two.” Archie voice trailed off and James just decided to let Archie wallow in his memories. It wasn’t a good idea to pursue anything at that point and it was nice to know that Archie trusted him enough to tell him such a thing.


Archie and James finally managed to locate the hotel the kids were staying at on the third try and found two rooms booked for them. They gratefully trudged up the stairs and to their rooms where they nodded to one another and went into their rooms to pass out on their beds.
Later that evening everyone was up by 9. Archie handed Dan the new supplies and asked, “Will all this fit?”

Dan looked at it and nodded, “Yeah, it should.”

“Good,” Archie said and pulled out two of the candy bars he had gotten.

“Here, we got you guys something at the store too.”

Dan and Den took the candy happily while James handed Ryan his candy.

“Thanks,” Ryan said softly.

James nodded, “Always, Master Ryan.”

Ryan smiled and bit into the sweet chocolate happily before the next journey.
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[Bassman4566]

Pretty Good Neko not bad. On a scale of 1 to 10 how hard is this?
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Rukario
credit to orinigal owner

"That's all she wrote" Syrus Trusdale

[Neko]

Uh... pretty damn close to 10 XD
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Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. All my base are belong to you.

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