Chapter 26

"Brother, brother, brother... Where are you? I just got an amazing idea before I fell asleep, where are you? " Chirped Ajax early in the morning in his night sky blue T-shirt and pajama suit.

"Here bubba in the store room, shifting some old machines" Said Xander.

"Why are you moving those? We don't need them? " Asked Ajax confused as they were still in working conditions.

"Ahh... I am going to sell them. You see we have a duplicate set of these and the ones we have are still working so sell them. What were you going to tell? " Said Xander while keeping them in cardboard boxes for selling them.

"Are.. Are you trying to save money for sending me to college?!! " Asked Ajax in a low voice. Xander's eyes bulged out in shock and he did not speak anything for a moment and then he sighed.

"See, I can't do any other job other than handling this bakery and betting in the fight games. So i need more sources so as to save money for you. It is necessary and as I have taken responsibility of you so i need to save money. " Said Xander while still packing the boxes left.

"Hmm... It's understandable. Instead of feeling bad about it , I should also do something. And about that 'something' , I have an idea. That was what I was going to tell you. The idea is betting in games become difficult if we continuously win and everyone knows our identity. But if no one knows who we are, then will it be a problem? "Asked Ajax.

" Hiding our identity, but Ajax I have already betted for a few times there, the same moves and Eddie he will be easily recognized. I won't be able to.. And you... "Xander was thinking about what to do when he was interrupted by an excited Ajax.

" That's why we need to go to Emerald forest as fast as we can!! "Said Ajax excitedly.

Xander thought for a moment of what his brother wanted to say and then his eyes also sparkled up.

" Why did I not think of this before? I was so busy in all my bakery work and other stuff that i did not think that i can take my spirit beast and then disguise myself and earn money. It was so simple, yet I ignored it. "Said Xander with a new hope in his eyes.

" It's not your fault, you were all alone and had to manage the bakery on your own. So it's natural for one not to think that way if you don't have any other person to rely on" Said Ajax. Xander was a little surprised at the wisdom words coming from his little brother but he felt proud that he was atleast able to make the walls down a bit which Ajax had developed .

'So, now we need to go to Emerald forest. But I think that our whole group should go together as many hands make work light.Amelia and Ember both have their 18th birthday in this week. Once they get there inner power than we all can go and obtain our spirit beasts. How is that? "Asked Ajax.

"Sounds good, but still it is better to sell this machine, we don't need extras. Is that okay? " Asked Xander. Ajax was a little bit reluctant but still nodded with a smile.

Harlow was out in the bakery cleaning the tables making them ready for the customers. Ajax also washed up and started baking.

Amelia, Ember and Cole had freshened up and were in the backyard of Xander and Ajax which they had made it the daily spit of meeting. Unknowingly the five people became a good friend circle. Ajax and Xander also did the bakery work and were going to wait of the customers to serve when Harlow took the initiative and told them to go and practice while she will take care of bakery. After that Xander and Ajax dressed up and were heading towards the backyard through the backdoor.

"They must be practicing very hard. I don't know if I will be able to beat the girls. Cole brother is out of question for me, right? . " Said Ajax.

"Hmm.. Maybe you can beat the girls. But for sure you will need time to beat Cole" Said Xander while hands in pant's pocket and eyes closed.

"Uhh.. You know Cole brother? How and how do you know so much about him? " Asked Ajax with eyes big full of surprise and curiosity.

Xander was about to say something when they heard a loud voice.

"I CAN DO THIS!! THIS IS VERY NECESSARY"

"YES, ALL HAVE THIS, WE ALSO NEED ONE"

They heard Amelia and Ember talking loudly and by their voice they were desperate for something.

Xander and Ajax thought that there might be some attack or move which they also need to master. But what they saw really astonished them. Amelia and Ember were squatting down with small tree branches and they were writing something on the wet mud.

"No, this won't work" Said Amelia and scratching something on the mud.

Cole was standing leaning on the cherry tree in light blue shirt leaving the top three buttons open showing his big, perfect chest with his blonde hair tied in a male bun making him look pretty hot.

Xander saw Cole and sneered and went towards Amelia and Ember. Seeing Xander, Cole smiled and walked towards him.

"What are you two doing? " Asked Ajax.

"Don't disturb, we are discussing about a very important topic. If you can't help don't interfere. Go, go stand there" Said Amelia while still looking at the mud. Ajax also looked where Amelia was focusing and saw many names written on the mud. Some scratched, some with cross. Ember too was focusing on writing and scratching it again.

"What are they doing Cole brother" Whispered Ajax in Cole's ears.

"They are very serious. Dont say anything.They are deciding a name for their own beasts. All of us have one, so they decided they also want it for their beasts. " Said Cole in a low voice.

"But they have been here for over an hour, still can't decide the name! " Whispered Ajax.

"Why are you two whispering? " Asked Xander being a little pissed off because he wanted to practice as he was free from the duty of handling bakery thanks to Harlow.

"Because they are like fierce tigresses and declared that until they find a name, they won't practice nor allow others to do so" Said Cole.

Xander's patience was draining by seeing the girls write , scratch and write again for the past fifteen minutes. And he had enough of this. Ajax brought a chocolate pie from the bakery which was favorite of Cole and they both were eating with forks.

"What is the problem? " Asked Xander to the girls gritting his teeth but still with a calm yet deep voice.

"Umm.. Brother we want to give a nickname to our partners, but we don't want to give a totally new name, just want to rearrange or add something to their original name that is Lynx and Brown Bear. What to do? We wrote many names but we did not like any of them "said Amelia while holding her head in her hands and squishing her cheeks. While Ember looked at Xander with big doe eyes.

" Hey, are you also seeing that your brother is looking stunning today in black shirt and blue leather jacket with his lush dark hair growing till the end of his neck fluttering beautifully and his gorgeous eyes.... "Said Cole while his eyes fixed on Xander. Ajax looked at him like he is a stupid and he was sure that he saw Cole drool over his brother. But he thought that it's not possible.

" Ummm... Yeah maybe... I think my brother looks stunning everyday "said Ajax proudly.

Cole said nothing and without blinking he was staring at Xander for a moment and then was back to normal and was eating the pie.

Weird!!...

"Okay... See you wanna have the original so why not remove some letters and name your partner Lixie? " Asked Xander.

"Lixie!? Hmm.... I like it. Simple and original. Thank you Xander brother" Said Amelia with a smile. And then looked towards Ember with big sparkling eyes.

"Why not name your partner Brer? " Asked Amelia.

"Uhh... Brer? " Asked Emelia while looking at Xander , Cole and Ajax .

"How about Browner? It is different and also means more brown? " Asked Ajax.

"Lame! Brer is better than browner! " Said Amelia.

"Is it necessary to name using these letters? " Asked Cole.

"No,and also it was not my idea in the first place. It was Amelia's idea. So if I like the name, I will definitely use it! " Said Ember while frowning as till now she hasn't come up with a name.

"Then how about Cuddles? " Asked Cole.

"I don't want any cuddles, I want a name. I like cuddles very much but this is not the right time" Said Ember while pouting in angry manner.

Cole laughed a little at the cuteness while the other two boys smiled.

"I am not saying you to cuddle. I am telling you that keep the name as 'Cuddles'" Said Cole.

Ember who was looking down at the ground moving the stick in her hand scratching names looked up, frowned and then jumped up in excitement making the others also jump with her in surprise.

"What a good idea. I like it very much. 'Cuddles'.... What a good name. Thank you brother" Said Ember.

"Okay, now as you two have decided on the names, why not practice a little? " Asked Xander.

"Yes, huh... Wait I should ask Lixie if he likes his names or not? " Said Amelia and connected her lynx and the lynx came out with a fire around it that settled within seconds.

"Lixie, do you like this name? " Asked Amelia and Lynx purred and then sat down on a stone lavishly like a king.

Ember also took out her bear and asked if it is okay to call him cuddles. Her bear came forward and leaned upto her face and twitched his ears. Ember smiled and tubbed behind his ears.

Amelia took position against Xander and Ember against Ajax and they were about to fight when they heard a loud scream.

HELP!! GUYS HELP ME!!!

"Shit, it's Harlow's voice. " Said Ajax and all five of them dashed inside the cafe. When they entered they saw an apple pie fallen on the floor and some plates broken.

"Some people came and took Harlow away!! " Said Ajax.

"Eddie!! Quick. Follow the scent" Said Xander and Eddie in his dog form started sniffing and running towards a direction with everyone behind him including Zane in his cat form.

"They took her in Celadon forest. Be careful, there are many beasts in there. Take out your partners, we might need then any time" Said Xander and moved closer to Ajax while running.

Eddie's senses were working at full speed and he kept running till they entered deep in the forest. Eddie kept halting and then moving sniffing Harlow's scent.

"There!! They tied her to a tree. How cruel!! " Shouted Amelia while pointing at a huge tree where Harlow was tied but was unconscious.

"Be careful, stick together, don't run to save her. Might be a trap" Said Xander catching hold of the hand of Amelia who was about to run towards Harlow.

Amelia stopped and she saw her surrounding keenly.

"There is no movement. I think you are overthinking. Harlow needs help. Let's go " Said Ember and Amelia nodded and they both started running towards Harlow followed by Ajax with Cole and Xander behind. Cole looked towards Xander and they sort of understood what the other wanted to say without words required to say. Cole nodded and they both walked slowly behind the others.

As soon as Amelia was 4 feet away from Harlow dense fog appeared and no one was able to see the other. Amelia who was going to help Harlow did not see where she was. In fact, nothing could be seen except dense white fog.

"AMELIA YOU OKAY? " A voice spread which was obvious of Ajax in the midst of the white, dense fog.

"YES, I AM ALRIGHT. BUT I AM NOT ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING" Yelled Amelia.

"Why are you two shouting? Your eyesight is affected by the fog not your hearing!! " Said Xander quietly but enough for others to hear.

"Ohh.... You are right,... Huh!! Wait, that is not the problem, the problem is the fog. How do we make it fade away? " Asked Amelia.

"Calm down. This fog is not dangerous just.... Just it knocks you out.. " Said Cole sniffing the fog a little.

"Oh... Ah! What? It can knockout a person!! Then we need to get out of here immediately. What were you waiting for to tell this thing to us? " Said Amelia being panicked and quickly covered her mouth and nose. Others also covered their mouth and nose except Xander and Cole

"We are already trapped, you want to run? Where to run? Can you even see if there is a tree or a monster beside you,if you can I will give you two good bricks of gold right away? " Said Cole.

Amelia looked at her left then right.

"Cole was right I can't even see and won't even know if there is someone beside me, let alone find a direction to run. If I bump into a wild beast or fall into a valley then I am done for... No, no.. It's better to stay into this fog and get knocked out" Said Amelia to herself while making a grumpy face.

"What happened? Not wanna run now? " Asked Cole.

"I... I wo.. Won't...

.

" Amelia, what happened, are you okay? "Asked Cole getting worried. While he was trying to look even though he can't, someone hit him slightly on the back of his head. Cole turned back to attack like a fierce beast but when he saw the one who hit him he immediately pulled his hand behind his head and stroked himself on his nape with a silly smile. It was Xander.

"Why where you asking Amelia, obviously she is knocked out by now due to this fog. And you will ruin our plan and get us in trouble. Be quiet and start acting? " Said Xander and they layed in the ground and closed their eyes.

A quick wave of air came and all the fog dissipated withing a few seconds. And a girl's voice full of dominance was heard.

"Take them with us. Ladies will pick the two girls and others pick these three boys.. " Said the voice.

"YES MY LADY" Said a group of men and women.

After that Cole and Xander felt like being picked up and assumed that they are being kidnaped. Cole while keeping his eyes closed while thinking that since he met these guys, he has made a habit of getting kidnaped intentionally and sighed a bit which went unnoticed by everyone.

Everyone was then put in a horse carriage with their hands tied behind their back. Xander and Cole opened their eyes for a bit and saw that only they were present in that carriage along with Ajax. They heard sound of other carriages and by voice they both estimated that they are total four in number. They both moved their backs against each other and tired to open their ropes slightly. Then they went to their original position and laid quietly. When the carriage stopped , they closed their eyes. They were picked and kept slowly on the floor which they assumed they are in a room.

"Untie their hands. " Said the girl voice and now Xander and Cole guessed and they were sure that the voice is none other than Harlow.

"But my lady if they run..

" It's okay, they can't run from our area now and anyways, their hands might have become numb. "Said Harlow telling the last sentence in a whisper.

The men untied their hands and the guys lay still on the floor.

" Thank you Windsor Lady, thank you "said gruby voice which was familiar to hear for Cole.

" Shut up! Now give me that thing or else.... "Said Harlow while moving her hand in front and a shiny light green-white combination coloured scorpion crawled from the long sleeves of her black dress which had a collar and extended only above her knees. The dress was skinny type showing the thin waist and cleavage of her big b*easts.

"Uhhh.... Don't my Lady, don't, ..here take it" Said the man and gave something to her and she readily fed that to her scorpion.

"Can we take them away? " Asked the voice again which made Xander and Cole prepare themselves to stand and fight.

"Why? You can do whatever you want in front of me. I promised to bring justice to you for the loss that happened to your group,so I will do that.When did I make the deal to let you take then away?" Asked Harlow raising her one eyebrow.

"Ahh.. Yes you are right. We have endured a great loss and theses people are responsible for it. Please take revenge for us" Said the gruby voice .

"Hmm... I will listen and bring justice. For sure, you can take my words on behalf of Windsor family. "Said Harlow.

" What is the real identity of Harlow? And Windsor... This name is familiar.... And what does she meant by bringing justice? "Xander's mind was filled with many questions.