Author's note: So, here is chapter 2 of The Bond of the Twins. The better half of out twin team wrote this (Lance) and he did an excelent job~ X3 Please review and give us feedback. Enjooooooy~

Sam: "But, Mr. Blah, anything in particular you want in the Author's note?"
Lance: "Nothing I can think of."
Sam: ""So, here is chapter 2 of The Bond of the Twins. The better half of out twin team wrote this (Lance) and he did an excelent job~ X3 Please review and give us feedback. Enjooooooy~" That's what I put :3"
Lance: "LOL. I'm not the better half. ;o;"
Sam: "Yuuh when it comes to writing you are"
Lance: "excellent*"
Sam: "Fuck you. ;_;"
Lance: "3. -1space before better."
Sam: ":((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( I'M ERASING THE WHOLE THING."
Lance: "LOL."
Sam: "AND PUTTING THAT I DOMINATE THIS TEAM AND SHIT."
Lance: "DONT DO THAT. NO."
Sam: ""
Lance: "WE'RE EQUAL CUZ WE BOTH WIN."
Sam: "I should put this conversation in the Author's note."
Lance: "LOOOOOL"
Sam: "CAN I? OH CAN I?"
Lance: "IF YOU REALLY WANT TO."
Sam: "YEAHSAHSHAS!!!! IMMA DO IT."
Lance: "LOOL."

And that's how the Author's note was born.. Enjoy the story. X3

Chapter 2: The Escape

The wind rustled through the air, the coolness of the night beginning to set in within the courtyard of the prison. Even though we hadn't been standing there very long, it felt like we'd been standing there for hours. The tension that filled the air as both sides just stood, staring at each other, it was almost suffocating. It felt like it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

The light of the sun was slowly setting, and everything began to get darker and darker. That is, until the prison turned on its courtyard lights. I winced as light bathed over all of us, giving each of us a chance to finally see each side for who they actually are. It was definitely a shock to see each of them again, since for most of them, we haven't seen them in years; especially Vincent.

I stood there, the look in my eyes filling with anger, as well as worry, in anticipation of what was to come. I had known for a while that sooner or later we'd meet up with the High Council in battle, but I hadn't figured it'd be this soon. The words once again filled my head, directed from Zericho.

"Give me the sword." My eyes turned to him, holding my sword out for him to grasp. He gave me a nod as he took a hold of its straight black hilt. I slowly let go of the sword when I was sure it was in his grip. I could see his hand retract as he quickly scanned the features of the blade within his grasp. His monotonous words filled my head once again, "Nice blade."

I couldn't help but snort as I slid my bow from my back, my hand reaching behind me and gripping the back of an arrow as a voice boomed from towards the gates. I could identify the person speaking instantly. The man that I had grown to hate over time, and I knew that Lance hated even more. The man that managed to hurt all of us in unforgivable ways. The most powerful man in the High Council, Vincent. My eyes scanned who our enemy was; I recognized every single one of them from some point in my schooling. There was Ran, who was only 2 years older than us, a swordsman. Danny the Dark, or Daniel as we knew him in school. Standing next to him was his mother, Selena, self presumed as the "Goddess of Darkness." Next to Vincent, stood the person I hated most out of all of them. Aya. As I stared at her and Vince standing there, my thoughts turned back to when Lance and I were children.

Back when myself and Lance were children, like all children, we were required to get an education based on the government's view of what a "proper citizen" should understand and believe in. We were in school with all the children around, which, strangely enough, weren't many. The kids in our class were up to 10 years older than us, at our age of 7. Though there was 10 years worth of students, the whole school itself couldn't have had more than 200 children. Each class contained anywhere between 20 and 40 students, all of their ages varying between 7 and 17. Most of the time in the classes, the teachers sat younger students near the older students, which is how we ended up meeting Vince, Aya, and Zericho.

Most of the time during school, we had spent our time with the usual lessons; learning how the government came to be and how the government "made everything better." I knew it was all a lie, and my brother knew it as well. The teacher often had us debate within our small groups about different portions of the government. It was sort of their way of "seeding out" the traitors early. It was then I noticed Lance begin to change. He began to... sort of become Vincent's follower.

Our group consisted of Lance, Zericho, Vincent, Aya, Ran, and myself. Aya always seemed to obsess over Vincent and Ran, and Ran just didn't seem to care. Vincent was always set about being better than everyone else in every possible way, which was one reason why I hated him so much. Zericho was often rather quiet, and sometimes he seemed like he was a bit harsh, but he had a good heart, and he was a very fun person to be around. We spent a lot of time with Zericho outside of school, and he was the only person outside of our family and the government that knew of Lance's abilities.

Then, one day, things began to change. It was a normal day, warm outside, decent enough to enjoy it without sweating, but not too cold that you couldn't wear shorts. The sun was out, no clouds anywhere in the sky. It seemed like the perfect day. I thought it would be a perfect day, as did Lance, as we made plans after school to play outside. As like any other day, we had to go to school. The day was normal, until we went to lunch. During lunch, Vincent came up to my brother and I with his current girlfriend, Aya, following close behind. He gave Lance a daring look as he spoke, "Hey, I've got something cool to show you after school. Meet me by the playground, and come alone." Lance gave me an almost worried look, but nodded in agreement to what Vince said.

The day went by as usual, all of the classes going exactly the way they would normally, but everything seemed off. The conversation at lunch never left my mind, as I sat wondering what it was Vincent would have to show Lance. Unlike Lance, who seemed to look up to Vince, I had never really liked him, I just put up with him so I didn't hurt my brother.

The day ended like any other day of school, and as we were walking out of the school and through the grass in front of it, Lance stopped and turned to speak to me, "I'm going to go see what he wanted to show me. If I'm not home in two hours, contact the government." I nodded as he spoke this, a hint of worry for his safety in my eyes. He smiled, reassuring me, and gave me a tight hug. "I'll be alright. I don't think he can do much to me with my "powers.""

I watched him as he turned and walked away. I stood there for at least ten minutes, waiting to be sure he didn't come back. When he didn't, I walked towards the playground. The school was set up right next to a nearby playground for recess. Luckily for me, I could get a good look at the playground from the side of the school, where they weren't likely to see me. I slowly approached the corner separating me from whatever was going on.

I leaned to take a glance around the corner, as I saw a ball of water strike Lance in the chest, sending him flying a distance back. My eyes went wide as I saw the caster, Vincent. I closed my eyes, taking a second to take a deep breath, hoping it was all a dream. When I opened my eyes to see Vincent launching another sphere of water at my brother, I knew that what was happening wasn't a dream.

My head pounded, fear filling my mind as I sunk to my knees in the grass. I knew I couldn't do anything. I wasn't gifted like Lance was, and in a case where Lance can't handle himself... I couldn't do anything to help him. I had never felt more weak and defenseless in my life; I felt no better than a newborn child.

It was then that something weird happened, something I had never seen before. A circle of darkness opened up before him, engulfing his body before disappearing. A hole opened up behind me, my brother's body coming out of the ground. I kept watching Vincent, not even noticing the appearance of my brother behind me.

My head was thinking through the worst; my brother disappeared into a portal that may have taken him anywhere. For all I knew, he could be dead by now. I could feel my heart pumping ever faster, my breathing becoming more and more extreme. I wanted to turn and run, but it felt like everything was going in slow motion. Luckily for me, if it hadn't felt like it was in slow motion, I might not have noticed Lance on the ground behind me when I turned, and I probably would have run over him as if he was just a sidewalk.

I felt my legs drop out from under me due to the sheer joy of seeing him. I almost yelled out his name in happiness; but I managed to stop myself before it could alert Vincent. It was a good thing I had, because Vincent hadn't left yet. I stood there for a few seconds, staring at his limp, unconscious body, watching his breathing. I could tell he wasn't in good condition; his breathing was shallow, and it seemed as if it was slowing down. I knew what I had to do, so I picked up my brother's unconscious body with all of my strength, and started running to the front of the school. As I turned the corner to the front, I saw what I hadn't been expecting.

In front of the school was the one person I thought might have an idea what to do in this situation. Zericho. I ran over to him, and I saw him stand up as he saw my brother's tattered form. "What... what happened?" The words filled my mind, as Zericho reached to place his hand on my brother's head. I hadn't expected the words in my head, and I started to speak.

"Ho... how did you do that? I thought you were just a normal person, like everyone else." My eyes darted down to his hand, which seemed to be glowing a gentle blue. I could see some of the cuts on Lance's body beginning to regenerate and his breathing becoming less shallow as Zericho turned his head to me to answer verbally.

"How about we talk about this inside. I figured you had already known, what with how your brother is, but I guess your parents haven't told you everything..." He reached to scoop my brother up, holding him close as he walked inside. I followed him. There, he explained everything.

He explained that there were many more children like Lance, and most of them were under the control of the government. He had explained that everyone in our group was just like Lance, except for me. I almost felt like the odd one out as he continued to explain. The government was pulling the most powerful children they could find, and it was only a matter of time before they came to our class. Zericho told me that that was Vince's goal, and was why he was trying to kill Lance.

After that day, Vincent, Aya, and Ran all disappeared from our class mysteriously. Our group was just down to Lance, Zericho, and myself. I had taken a liking to being around Zericho often times, and even had my own special nickname that myself, and sometimes Lance would call him. We often called him Pooh, or Pooh Bear based off of a children's cartoon that we had watched in our childhood. Often times from that point on, Lance would train his powers with Zericho, as well as I had the urge to become strong. I wanted not to feel as defenseless as I did that day when Vincent fought my brother. Zericho was very eager to help me with this, and would often spar with me to help me get better. Once in a while, I'd even fight Lance, though, it was always for fun and he would restrict his power so that neither of us ended up hurt.

Reality was forced straight into my brain the second I heard Vincent's voice. "I knew we would meet again, except I figured that you'd all be chained up, ready for me to execute. Well, I guess this is almost as easy." I could hear him chuckle, at least, if that's what you could describe it as. It was a sound that you could never forget, like the sound of someone dying, mixed with nails on a chalk board and the heinous laugh of a hyena. It was enough to send shivers down my spine. I could hear Lance's soft grunt of anger from next to me, I could tell easily that Vincent was infuriating him. I knew that I would understand why better than anyone.

My eyes turned to Lance as he spoke, "You were always the rat they'd send to clean up the mess that they created. Did they send you to find me and take me away again?" I could see his face change from a grimace of anger, to a sly smirk, "Well, if that's the case, I guess I get the pleasure of finally dealing with you, Vincent. You will die here for all the pain that you've caused this world, and all the people in it." I could see his hand reaching for his sword, his left palm grasping the sword on his right side. I knew that was one of his favorite parts about his abilities; that he was ambidextrous. It made everything all the better if he fought melee against an enemy.

I could hear Aya's shrill laugh come from beside Vincent as she made her way forward. I heard her laugh, and instantly shivered. Her laugh was even worse than Vincent's. Her laugh alone could be enough to drive a man to insanity. I smirked, speaking in my thoughts, "No wonder those two were in love. She's psycho, and he was too crazy to be effected by her laugh." My thoughts returned to the scene before us as Aya began to speak.

"You know, he should have left himself to die that one day on the playground; it would have made everything a lot easier." The evil grin on her face made me want to run up to her, and punch her face in. It was already distasteful that she'd speak like that to Lance, but the fact that she would bring up that day, especially after what Vince had done to my brother...

My thoughts were interrupted as I saw Vincent raise his hands, a bright red glow engulfing his fingers instantly, a fireball forming. The second I saw the flames ignite in front of his fingers, I also felt a gentle twinge in my mind. I could identify what the twinge was immediately; It was a mental link that Zericho had established between himself, Lance, and myself. I reached to the quiver on my back, grabbing an arrow and stringing it to the bow before I pulled it back against the string and launched it at Vince as I mentally yelled to Lance. "EXPLODE!"

I could see out of the corner of my eye the slight glow of Lance's hands, as he waved them in the air. The glow appeared around the arrow as well as it whistled through the air. I watched as ir exploded a distance in front of the fireball, the explosion sending gusts of air straight at the fireball, slicing the flying orb of flame into pieces with ease. I began to string arrow after arrow, launching them at high speeds straight at the group of enemies, the arrows aimed to hit any one of them who didn't move.

I grimaced as I watched them all separate, each charging into different directions, each one's actions and movements different than the others. My eyes settled on Ran, who seemed to be charging directly towards me in a zigzag formation. Ironically, as I could sense through my mental link, Lance had settled on fighting Aya and Vince, and Zericho would take down Danny the Dark and Selena. I watched as the swordsman charged towards us, almost begging for me to shoot an arrow straight through his skull.

I pulled out another arrow, aiming straight at him as he charged for us. I knew that I wouldn't have much time, so I quickly pulled the arrow back on the string as far as I could, and released the arrow. I watched it soar through the air, only to be deflected by a well placed sword block. I quickly slid the bow back onto my back as I watched his movements. My eyes widened in surprise. He was charging straight at Lance!

I could feel my legs begin to move, as I reached for a knife in a pouch at my side. I mentally yelled, "Ohh no you don't!" I broke into a sprint as I brought the knife up to his sword, deflecting his attack towards my twin. My left hand struck out in a punch, striking his ribs and sending him back. My mind spoke out to my two allies. "This is too much. I don't think we can survive this."

I turned to face them, my eyes widening from what I saw. Sweat poured from my brother's head, as he launched spell after spell at Vincent and Aya. I could tell from the look on his face he was quickly running out of energy, and that he wouldn't be able to fight much longer. I looked the other direction at Zericho, who seemed to be in the same condition.

Lance's voice filled my mind as he spoke back to me. "No... we cannot give up. We have to defeat them here, and finish them now." A fireball shot from his hands sideways, striking Ran in the stomach before he could strike me. His voice filled my head, a slight sarcasm filling it as he spoke, "Saved your life, guess that makes us even for you stopping him from stabbing me."

I rolled my eyes, speaking mentally to Zericho. "C'mon Pooh, we're outmatched right now; I think that we should retreat and take some time to rest and put on our own offensive. We cannot win here."

His response was almost instant and had a tint of annoyance within his words, almost as if he had expected me to say that. "I... hate to agree with you. I would rather stay here and fight to the death, but you have a point. Lance, I think that we should get out of here right now; we don't have a chance of winning right now. It's 5 against 3."

Lance sighed, returning his thoughts to us as he mentally retorted. "I guess you're both right... Give me a second, I'll get us out of here. No guesses on where we'll end up with a quick portal like this, but anywhere is better than here!"

I could feel his concentration through our mental link, I moved so that I was in front of Lance, pulling out a handful of knives and held them gingerly. My eyes darted to the opponents as I launched a barrage of knives at both Aya and Vincent. I watched as Aya barely dodged the knives, and Vincent deflected them with a spell as I mentally yelled to Lance. "It'd be a good idea if you got us out of here NOW!"

A mental groan filled my head as he spoke, "I'm doing this as fast as I can, having to respond to you just makes us take longer to get out of here." I lurched my foot out to my left, connecting with Ran, who was trying to slash at Lance, and sent him backwards a distance away, hopefully long enough to protect us.

I could see Aya pull out a dagger and launch it straight at me, my own hand pulling up a knife to deflect the knife away. I speak out, this time verbally, "This is REALLY causing a problem, any time would be PERFECT..."

I could hear a sound coming from my side, as I turned towards where Ran previously was. His sword slashed downward upon my form, and as it was happening, a dark circle opened up beneath us, the three of us falling into the portal as I could see Ran's sword descend upon me. I clenched my eyes as I felt us fall, unsure on if I would survive the strike of the sword.

All I could feel was a falling and sensation of being weightless, and when I opened my eyes, I saw nothing. Nothing but black.

Next chapter soon. Hope you all liked it. X3

~Sam and Lance~