Bart managed to find a secluded area near a window and rested a couple of minutes. He knew that Margie was close by...he didn't know how, but he could feel it.

"Man," he managed to say after a minute, "Two floors below, I saw a couple of guards at the door on the right wall. Maybe they're holding her there. But if Shakahn and Gebler have harmed even one hair on her..."

He then looked down through a window, which showed the entire ring and was now displaying a strange guy in a red, extravagant outfit with some green in it.

Not Citan, he reminded himself, probably that guy called Big Joe.

On the other side of the guy was a woman in a fiery red outfit and it seemed obvious that she did not like her opponent.

That lady's hair...aw, jeez! he thought as he realized who the female fighter was, Citan's gonna have her head now, I'm sure...if he already hasn't.

The gong went off and the match began as he continued towards the room on the floor he was on.

He was surprised to see no guards inside so Bart decided to inspect the room carefully, looking for either a way to find his cousin or to get ammunition against Aveh's twisted leader.

After a couple of minutes, he accidentally knocked against a wine bottle which caused it to turn a little ways.

The shelf beside the bottle moved upwards to expose a screen.

Whoa! I wonder what this is doing here?

***************

Fei and Matt watched as Aireel threw in some rather good punches to various parts, throwing in a kick or two.

"Wish I had her trainer," the younger one muttered.

"No you don't."

"Matt, what do you mean?"

"As one of her trainers put it years ago, it's more that she has a very high ability. He thought that she was born that way...but I think it's something they did to her."

"They?"

Matt replied with a sneer, "Solaris. You see, one of the generals told everyone in the 4th Battalion the truth about Gebler, Solaris and the things they do."

"That explains it..." Fei muttered.

"Explains what?"

"Earlier, Citan had an arm around Aireel in the spectator's section. The look on his face...well, that's as close as I've seen to him being really...furious."

"Oh," was all that was said before they saw Aireel deliver the knockout blow to Big Joe.

"Either it's just me," Matt said as Aireel tried to help up Big Joe only to get her hand slapped away, "Or something's going on between your doctor friend, only he won't admit it to himself, and Angel."

"What did you call her?" Fei asked, startled more by the name spoken than he was about the idea the young man from Nortune had.

"Oh...just a slip of the tongue. An old pet name her father called her," he replied quickly, "Jeez, not only is Big Joe a loudmouth, but a spoilsport too."

Just then, a little boy came up to them and asked, "Which one is Aireel?"

"Why do you want to know?" Fei asked.

"A weird guy in green said to give something to her. So where is she?"

"She's coming from the ring now," Matt replied as the voice on loudspeaker declared the victor of the first semi-final match.

The boy waited a couple of minutes and asked, "Are you Aireel?"

"Who's asking?" she asked in a cold tone.

"S-sorry, miss, b-but a guy in green said to give this to you. He looked really sad," the boy said, suddenly afraid of her.

She sighed and said, "Okay, I'll take them," and received a piece of paper and a strange flower.

"Oh, Fei, you're next," she added, "And I'm up against you after that, if you make it, that is."

The young man nodded as Aireel unrolled the paper and started reading it.

Aireel,

I do not have much time before I must continue onwards, so I am sending this and a desert rose to you.

The truth is that something is happening that is potentially dangerous to not just Ignas but the world as well, and what you overheard is part of it. Whatever it is, it might be affecting me as well.

I ask you now, after the Tournament ends, to leave here and do not worry about me.

Citan.

*************

Bart grumbled to himself as he turned the wine bottle he had accidentally moved before, causing the viewing screen to become hidden again.

"Now I know where Margie is," he said to himself, "But the next part's gonna be rough. From the recording before, those goons are going to try truth serum on her if they haven't already. I've got to get her out of here first."

As he walked out of the room and went down one floor, he heard quite a commotion below, at the Tournament ring.

"Did you hear what happened between the Wandering Youth and the kid from Lahan?" one guard asked as he walked in the pirate's direction.

Bart quickly went into a nearby stairway.

"Yeah...for some reason, he wouldn't fight him. He just kept taking the hits and wouldn't land a blow himself. What was the kid's name, Dan?"

"I dunno," the first guard said, "If you think about it though, maybe the Wandering Youth did the right thing. That's just my opinion, though."

"Yeah, well keep that opinion to yourself. I've heard things about Shakhan being connected to Gebler and what can happen to people with ideas of their own."

After that, Bart couldn't hear them as they had left the main floor.

He walked out of the stairway and saw two guards standing on the right side of the room, guarding a door.

Margie's got to be in there! Well, here I go!

***************

Citan cursed at himself as he found that he was walking back to the tournament ring, away from the Gebler headquarters.

What do you think you're doing? You have to let Kahr know to let them go if they get away, the dark voice inside demanded.

Aireel's match against Fei is very soon...I have to be there first, for Fei's sake.

For Fei's sake...or Aireel's?

He found that he could not answer that question and saw that he had arrived, as well as that although Aireel seemed indifferent as she and Fei walked into the ring, the pain was quite visible in her eyes.

"Aireel, I am so sorry..." he said in a low voice, knowing she wouldn't hear him, "but I can be here to watch you, at least."

Right after he said that, he heard Fei said, "Well, may the best person win."

"Same to you," she said and began the instant the match started.

In the audience, Citan watched her closely, wanting to know just what form of martial arts she had been taught.

Unknown at first, Matt came up beside him, until he said, "Hey, Citan....lots of nerve coming back here after you--"

The look of pain on Citan's face quieted Matt's unkind remark, causing him to ask instead, "I see...you want me to tell her you're here?"

"No. I could not go on with my mission without watching this..." was the reply.

"Mission? Just who are you?" the younger man asked.

Before Citan could reply, a sharp pain stabbed him in the head, causing him to nearly fall on his knees.

At the same time, Aireel collapsed, murmuring, "Matthew...where's Matthew?"

"Hey, Citan..." Matt started to say.

The doctor seemed to be lost in either the pain or a different world, as the only thing he said was, "I am Matthew..."

***************

The first thing Aireel heard as she awoke was, "She's coming to."

"Thank goodness! Aireel, are you okay?" she heard Matt ask, sounding worried.

As she tried to sit up, her head started to hurt again.

"Whoa! Slowly!" the first voice she had heard, which she recognized as Fei's, said a bit sharply.

"Uhhh...what happened? Last thing I remember was the match against you--" she asked.

"You collapsed in the ring and went into convulsions," a nearby nurse explained, "So did someone in the audience, a guy in green. He recovered faster than you did and ran here, carrying you."

"Hmph. Any idea who it was?" she asked.

"...no," Matt lied.

"The judge made a ruling," Fei grimly said, "Because of the collapse, you're out of the Tournament. The match was...awarded to me."

"Blast it," she replied, "Don't think I'm letting you off easy, Wandering Youth. In the right circumstances, I'll be looking to finish this."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," was the reply with a laugh.

Aireel then whispered, "I'll wait a while then go ahead into the castle."

Fei started to object but instead he sighed and whispered back, "Wait until after the final round...then Matt and I will go with you."

She nodded and lay back on the cot, saying in a louder voice, "Good luck."

***************

A few minutes later, she heard the gong ring loudly, and the announcer say, "And now, the final round begins! The Wandering Youth versus Last year's champion, Wiseman!"

She got up and went to the makeshift infirmary's window and sat down in a chair.

"Miss Aireel, you shouldn't be moving about," the nurse protested, saying her name as it were something rather...otherworldly.

"I want to see the final round," Aireel replied, "As one who tends to the wounds of warriors and Battlers, you wouldn't deprive me of that much...would you?"

The nurse thought for a moment, then nodded and answered, "You're right. But stay where you're sitting until your friends come back for you, okay?"

The young woman simply answered, "That'll work."

The nurse looked at Aireel then asked, her tone one of curiosity, "The way you spoke of warriors...your home region...are you popular where you come from?"

There was a pause of silence then the reply, "You...could say that."

Aireel then turned her attention back to the ring...and her eyes widened with shock as she saw the strange man with a blue cloak and wearing a white mask.

He seems familiar, she thought, From the prophecies that I read about while I grew up. I wonder...just who he is.

She watched the fight closely, putting Hyuga out of her mind for the moment...and was surprised at the way that the masked man dodged all of the punches and kicks.

"What is going on with Wiseman this year?" the nurse asked, looking at the match from right behind her, "He doesn't act like this."

"He looks almost familiar...I know I've seen him often in the past few years," Aireel replied as she heard the spectators booing and jeering.

Now the two contestants were holding still and seemed to be talking for quite a while.

"What in the world is going on?" she asked to herself and saw the blue-cloaked man looking up at the sky...and then take off.

She shook hear head in shock and decided that it would be a good idea to be laying back down as Fei and Matt would be returning soon.

About ten minutes later, she was not disappointed.

"We're ready to go into the castle now," Fei whispered to her, "I'm getting worried about Bart."

She nodded and asked, "Got your strategy planned?"

Matt replied, "Bust and Go."

Her expression became unclear as she said, "We don't have a choice, do we...?"

"I'm afraid not."

She nodded and stood up, saying, "Okay then. Grab your weapons and we'll get this semi-private party started."

The nurse smiled at them and said in a quiet voice, "Take care, everyone. And if you can...get Shakhan for us!"

Aireel nodded, smiled and patted her side, which seemed to have a glint of metal showing.

"We will, don't worry," she answered then opened the tent, allowing her friends to exit.

***************

The palace guards were surprised to see three people walking up to the gates. They blocked the way to the door and the one on the left called out, "Halt! What business do you have here so soon?"

One of the trio, a woman with red hair, said with a smile, "He is the Wandering Youth that won the Tournament and we are his escort. By tradition, he is to meet with your country's leader."

The guard on the right thought for a moment then said, "Lady, the only country to have that tradition is Kislev, not here. You should have a better story than that."

The young man on the woman's left said, "It is imperative that you allow us entrance. We are...expected."

"Minister Shakhan never said to let a trio like you in here. Why should we allow you in here against orders?"

The woman placed a hand on her side and said in a level, cold voice, "Because, gentlemen...I have higher orders for you. You will allow us to pass...or..."

"Or what, wench?"

With a steely smile she continued in the same voice, "Or you will be having bullet holes in your bodies."

"This woman's bluffing," one of the guards said, "Ignore it."

The red haired woman smiled stonily and within a few seconds had pulled out a gun from her side and had fired the weapon.

Strangely enough, the object was not loud at all but made a pff sound.

One of the guards fell to the ground, grabbing his leg which had somehow become bloody.

"Uh, Aireel..." the other young man with her said, looking at her rather oddly.

"Now," Aireel added with a smile that made everyone shiver, "Shall we try it again?"

"Uh...did I say against orders? Go right in," the guard on the left said, quickly getting out of the way, "But do me a favor, lady. If the Minister learned that I let you through without a fight, I'll be executed..."

She thought for a moment then said, "I understand," and used the side of an open hand on the shoulder/neck area to render the other guard unconscious.

"Let's go before the alarm's raised," she told the other two.

The two men nodded and opened the door, going in.

***************

Fei turned to Aireel and said, "I thought guns were louder than that."

Matt smiled and said, "Usually they are. I went into the Gebler base and stole some technology about 2 or 3 missions ago. One of those was an item called a silencer."

"Don't worry," Aireel said, "I only shot the guard in the calf and the other one I just knocked out. Now, we've got to find Bart and Margie."

Matt nodded, hearing the tone her voice had taken and said, "What's the plan?"

"One of the guards near the infirmary said where Margie was being held," she replied, putting her gun in a hidden holster, "Find her, we'll probably find Bart. We go to the 4th floor and take out anyone in the way."

The others nodded and followed her up a staircase.

Strangely enough, a multitude of the soldiers on the higher floors were either unconscious or dead.

"I see Bart's been here," Fei muttered a bit darkly.

"Cut the chatter, Fei," she ordered, "I hear fighting up ahead."

He nodded and ran ahead of her up the stairs and through the door on the right-hand wall.

"Matt, you know what to do," she said to her friend.

"Yep! Backup time," he answered, "Good thing I brought plenty of alphasol."

Aireel nodded and ran the rest of the way up the stairs.

As she saw Fei break up the battle between a white haired man, Miang and Bart, her eyes widened as the eyes of Bart's male attacker met hers.

"You!" they said at the same time.