AN: Once again I apologise for the long wait in updates. I have been really busy with work and also had a sudden spurt of inspiration and wrote two different oneshots for Teen Titans and Casablanca. If that interests you please take a look and leave a review! I have also fixed a slight continuity error in the chapter Homecoming. We are now in the final part of the fic; there will be approximately 3 more chapters after this one, plus an epilogue. It is all planned out…it's just getting the thing down! I hope you are all enjoying this so far…please don't forget to review, it really makes my day!

Chapter 15: Bruised

PART ONE

His tongue tastes of blood and he can feel the bruise beginning to form on his jaw. The lights were off in the small room and he had been working on loosening the ropes since the others had left him hours before; moving his hands against them bit by bit, creating some slack in the hastily tied knot. He sucks back deeply before spitting on the floor, feeling the rage building inside his gut. He can see their faces as they looked at him, disgusted. Rush hadn't joined them; at least he had that to be thankful for, he didn't think he could stand it if she had seen him like that, not after all he had done for her. All he had lost to bring her back.

He shakes the thought, focussing on the task at hand; he is almost there. Once he gets out of these damn ropes he can go back to the old factory across the reservoir and explain what had happened to the machines. Tell them why he didn't bring the girl…Gum, the one the old leader had been fucking…because those ex Rudie bastards had beaten him. He thought once he told them that they would storm the Garage for sure, taking the washed up fuckers hostage…put them in cages like they had done to Yoyo and Cassie. God, it hurt to think of her after all they had been through together. But, in the end she had chosen that fate for herself the second she decided to side with Yoyo over him, her own boyfriend.

His wrists have started to bleed where the ropes had cut into him, but now they were finally coming off…with one final push he slid the rough material over the grazed skin, tightening his jaw through the pain as he let them drop to the floor. He spat blood once again, stretching his arms up over his head, feeling the relief wash over him. He didn't have long to get out of the underground…the others would be waking up soon to decide their next step. If they hadn't worked out where the Noise Tanks' secret base was they would soon; pushing Gum into the reservoir had been a bad move.

He tiptoes over to the sliding door and tries his best to push it open without making a sound. The corridor is quiet and dark; the low sounds of distant snoring and the hum of the refrigerator calms him as he walks quietly over to the entrance, unlocking the rusty old hinges and padlocks as quickly as he can, pulling the door open and shielding his eyes against the sunrise. He imagines his team-mates faces when they discover he is gone, grinning to himself as he crosses the tiled floor of the Garage. They wouldn't go out searching for him straight away…he knows that much…without their leader to show them the way they were unorganised, pathetic, lost…That gave him a head start at least. He jumps over the ledge and lands heavily in the half-pipe, looking back once over his shoulder…knowing that he will never set foot in the Garage again, he lets out a sigh and skates towards the sunrise.

PART TWO

She looks younger in the dim morning light. Her hair falls messily across her closed eyelids and touches her lips, her bare chest rising and falling gently beneath the white bedsheets. The distant sounds of skates against tile wakes her up, and Corn quickly looks away as she scrunches her forehead in confusion for a second, before remembering where she is. She looks over at him and smiles briefly, turning on her side to face him fully.

"Hi." She murmurs, pausing for a moment, unsure what to do, before moving slowly, wrapping her arms loosely around his naked shoulders.

"How was your sleep?" He asks, pulling her closer, feeling her warmth against him.

She nods. "Okay, better that it has been I guess." She reaches up to place her lips against his briefly.

"That's good." He brushes the strands of blonde hair away from her forehead, letting his fingertips run down the side of her face slowly before moving his lips to her cheek. "I thought you wouldn't stay." He murmurs against her skin. He can feel her sigh beneath him.

She moves her face towards his, kissing him deeply. He moves his hands down her body as she opens her mouth, allowing their tongues to touch briefly as she lays back, wrapping her legs around his waist. They break apart and he moves his mouth down, over her breasts, her stomach, back up to kiss along her neck as he pushes into her. She gasps and their lips meet again as they move together slowly, holding each other closer, savouring each sensation, trying desperately to hold onto it.

When they finish he lights her cigarette for her, his hands trembling. They lie beside each other and watch the pillow of blueish smoke rise towards the ceiling in the pale light. Sunbeams dance through the window blinds; dust hanging in the air. She exhales deeply and presses the cigarette against his mouth, remembering how he used to do the same for her, so long ago. They sit in silence for a while, their pulses slowing down, steadying themselves. Eventually she stubs out the cigarette on the bedside table and rolls over slowly, perching herself on the side of the mattress. Corn looks at her curiously.

"I have to go." She says eventually with a sigh. Reaching down for the discarded towel and pulling it over her bare shoulders.

Corn nods behind her, but she doesn't see. "I know."

"I tried…" She says weakly. "Maybe not hard enough…but I did try." She turns to look at him over her shoulder. "Tell Yoyo I'm sorry. I wanted to help Jazz, and I wanted to see you, but…" She shakes her head. "I guess it's too late for me. I need to go home." She stands up slowly, pulling the towel around her closely. She walks to the door and her hand hovers over the handle for a second, then she turns it gently and he watches her leave.

PART THREE

Yoyo wakes to the sound of the cage door opening, the rusty hinges grating and echoing around the chamber. He hadn't realised he had been asleep or for how long, time seemed to work differently here; in the dark. He snaps awake when he makes out two hands, barely legible in the gloom but distinctively human, reaching into the cage and pulling the unconscious girl roughly towards them. It takes a few seconds for Cassie to wake; shaking her head in confusion as Yoyo tries to rise to his feet, bumping his head on the low metal ceiling and falling back down. Cassie lets out a piercing scream as she realises what is happening.

"Yoyo!" She calls out, pushing against the figure as she is carried out of the opening.

"Cassie." He tries to crawl along the floor, his head throbbing from the hit, struggling to navigate. Another pair of hands loom out of the dark and into the cage towards Yoyo. He dodges back just in time, skidding on his bottom along the cold ground. Cassie is still calling his name and he tries to edge himself past the figure coming into focus.

"Get back!" Yoyo shouts blindly, panicking as Cassie's calls get further and further away. "Get back I tell you!"

The figure seems to shrink back into the shadows and Yoyo has a second to gather his thoughts, letting out a deep sigh.

"Don't make this any harder on us kid." A male voice says in the blackness. Everything seems still for a moment. Yoyo frowns; trying to place the voice, struggling…then the figure comes into full focus as he lunges into the cage, grabbing Yoyo by the collar before he can protest. He smells the deep musky spice of aftershave as he is pulled against the larger man and lands on his feet, the hands moving from his collar to behind his back to pull his arms together.

"What do you want from us?" Yoyo asks, stupidly, suddenly feeling as though he has nothing left to loose.

His body chills as the man chuckles behind him, almost good-naturedly. "I'll tell you kid…walk this way." He has no choice as he is blindly forced forwards and marched along the concrete chamber, to whatever awaits him in the dark.

PART FOUR

"That fucking shit!" Garam bellows, pacing around the small room, regarding the spots of the blood on the floor. "That fucking fucking pile of shit."

"You should have tied him tighter." Boogie comments deadpan from the doorway.

Garam spins on the spot to face her, looking as though he is about to burst. "I would have done, except you were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt!" He looks dumbly back at the chair in the centre of the room, the bloodied ropes hanging pathetically from the armrests. "Cunt!" He exclaims at no one in particular. Trixie and Beat look on from the corner of the room and Rush watches timidly, her eyes flicking from Garam to Boogie to Trixie and back again, unsure of what she should be doing.

"I tell you what." Garam gasps, his hands moving to brush an invisible strand of hair from his forehead. "I don't care what anyone says…when I find that little shit I'm going to kill him." Rush looks alarmed for a moment and her eyes dart to Trixie who looks composed and calm.

"He can't have gone far…" Beat reasons. "You hit him up pretty bad."

Garam sighs deeply as Corn enters the room, his t-shirt creased and hair un-brushed.

"What's going on?" He asks absently, running his hand through his hair.

"Your Rudie here tied up Felix to try and get him to talk…we left him here overnight but he escaped." Trixie mutters.

"And Yoyo's gone Corn!" Garam turns to his ex-leader. "Nobody's seen him or that punk's girlfriend since you and Gum headed to the Skyscraper District!"

Corn doesn't answer but moves his hand to his face, pressing his forefinger and thumb against his eyes, his head suddenly aching with it all.

"It's just us left now…we need to send out a search party ASAP to look for Yoyo…where's Gum?" Garam asks, looking around the room.

Corn sighs. "Gum's gone." Five pairs of eyes meet his across the space.

"What do you mean 'Gum's gone'?" Garam asks.

Corn shrugs his shoulders. "She went home to be with her kid." Silence fills the room for a second, and then…

"Oh, Corn." Boogie mutters apologetically.

"It's fine." Corn brushes off. "Really…she did what she needed to."

Garam turns to him. "We need to find Yoyo…" Boogie shoots him a disgusted look but he doesn't see…his eyes are fixed on his friend.

Corn sighs. "I don't know what you want me to do…I don't know what's going on around here."

"Yoyo's your friend, Corn!" Garam shouts suddenly, making the others jump. "You must know something! You were our leader for almost half a decade, man. You can't expect me to believe that you don't have a clue as to what is happening to these people." He pauses for a moment to gather himself. Corn is the only one who seems unaffected by the strange outburst. He carries on. "Man…look, I'm sorry…but you came here to help Yoyo figure shit out and now, because of this dick" he points to the empty chair "he needs our help for real." Corn remains silent and the room seems to hold its breath around him. Boogie looks at him knowingly.

"He didn't come here for Yoyo." She says slowly after a while. His eyes meet hers. "He came here for Gum."

Garam looks back and forth from Boogie to Corn, his posture slumping. "Oh shit." He mutters quietly, understanding.

"What do you want from me?" Corn says. "I don't think I can help you guys, not anymore."

Boogie sighs while the others look on in silence. "I know you're hurt Corn, but Jazz was your friend and so was Yoyo." She looks at Beat for a moment, then at Rush. "Now, I don't know what those things are planning on doing to them, but it's not good, whatever it is. I know that you never wanted to be in this position again, but there's a reason we looked up to you as our leader all those years ago, and I'm asking you now…for the sakes of all those people who have been taken and all those who will we if we don't get to the bottom of this...just please, try to think."

PART FIVE

The sun is rising over the reservoir and Felix watches the calm water from the battered rooftops which line Kibogaoka Hill. In the distance he can see the small island and on it the metal and concrete structure of the old factory. He remembers, as a kid, tagging the walls of the houses with his name, as the workers shouted at him from their bench as they ate lunch. The boxes would fall from the conveyor belt across the water, landing in the industrial sized skips which would line the banks and block the view. He takes a deep breath, his jaw hurting more with every facial expression he made, and spits on the ground. He watches the blood and saliva pool into a puddle on the sandy coloured pavement and grimaces.

"I'm coming." He whispers to himself as he descends the bank and lands on the man-made shore. As promised, a little boat sits waiting in the shallow water and he climbs in, his muscles aching with every move. He grabs the paddle and pushes away from the land, his heart feeling heavy in his chest and his tongue still tasting metallic.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review. We are almost at the end of our journey.