"Ah, hot!" Reagan complained. His left wrist was bandaged as he had sprained it in the race before.

From where she was sprawled, fanning herself, Alegra glared at him.

Sahara didn't have to wonder why. For the last two hours, it was all Reagan had been saying. No one in the warehouse wanted to be reminded of the heat. In fact, she was sure the whole city already knew well enough. Even Mo had disappeared under the couch where it was cooler.

"I sure hope Rayne gets this fixed," Arden muttered.

Orion glanced up from where he was sitting, he had been typing away rapidly on a hologram screen for some time. "It's not that easy of a fix. Unfortunately, until it's sorted out it looks like we'll be stuck with this heat."

"You don't think the pools around the city would be working, do you?" Alegra asked.

Both twins, and Naomi, sat up straight.

"Pools?" Sahara asked with hope. She could most definitely go for a swim right about now.

"Don't even bother," Orion said. "Most of them were drained once our engines stopped to better handle our water supply. The few that are still open are bound to be filled to the brim. You'll have so many crews there that they'll be fights brawling. And even if there aren't, you'd be lucky to get even a drop of water to yourself."

"But...isn't that a perfect opportunity to get a challenge?" Sahara asked.

"You want to race in this heat?" Alegra asked.

Orion pushed up his glasses.

"Hey, it's possible," Arden shot over from where he was sitting on the ground.

"I didn't say it wasn't," Alegra snapped back. "I just don't know anyone who would want to."

Sahara bit her lip. It looked like the heat had tempers flaring for no big reasons.

"Well, maybe you're just lazy," Arden muttered.

"At least I'm not stupid," Alegra retorted.

Naomi laughed. "Stupid," she repeated as she pointed a finger at Reagan.

"Hey!" Reagan protested. "Why me?"

Ignoring them, Orion went back to typing away while Alegra and Arden continued to bicker. Naomi and Reagan started a fight of their own where they pulled each other's cheeks. Sahara watched, feeling too lifeless to do anything else.

The door suddenly burst open, making everyone jump. Sahara turned to see Terrell standing there. Though he was covered in sweat, he looked a lot fuller of energy than anyone else in the room. Sahara realized why when she caught sight of the strawberry milk carton he was holding in one hand.

Alegra caught sight of it too and narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

Both Naomi and Reagan had frozen, each while pulling the other's cheek.

Terrell shrugged. "Where there's a will, there's a way." He crumpled the carton in one hand to show it was already empty, before he tossed it over a shoulder.

Alegra glared at him in disapproval.

"Hey." Terrell raised one hand innocently. With the other, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a lollipop. Unwrapping it, he stuck it in his mouth. "Happy?" he asked.

"I don't think he gets the point," Sahara murmured.

"So, who's up for helping me?" Terrell asked.

"Helping you do what?" Arden murmured as he lay back down on the cool floor.

"I've got to move a bit of junk around back. It's been sitting around forever."

No one replied. Reagan and Naomi stopped pulling each other's cheeks and followed Arden's lead by lying back down. Orion was typing away, and Alegra and Sahara stared at Terrell blankly.

"Come on you loafers. Earn you stay!" Terrell scolded them.

"We do, you make us pay rent," Alegra told him dryly.

Terrell popped the lollipop out of his mouth and surveyed the group before him. "Help me out and I can give you a sweet deal."

There was no response.

"It involves lots of water."

Everyone was all ears.

"Swimming?" Naomi asked hopefully.

"I guess you could call it that," Terrell smirked.

"What do we have to move?" Reagan asked as, with a new burst of energy, the twins leaped to their feet.

"That's more like it." Terrell nodded his head in approval. He stuck the lollipop back in his mouth. Raising a hand, he beckoned for the crew to follow as he made his way to a door at the back of the warehouse.

The twins and Naomi bounded after him, dragging along a reluctant Orion on the way. Alegra and Sahara slowly got to their feet.

"Guess there's nothing to it," Alegra muttered as the girls followed.

It turned out that there was quite a lot more than 'a bit' of junk. There were piles of crates and boxes, as well as metal beams, lying around. Sahara took it in. She had never really been out back, but it looked a complete mess.

"So...you decided you wanted to start cleaning this up on possibly the hottest day in Regona?" Alegra asked as she eyed what lay before her.

"Figured it's the one day when there's nothing to do," Terrell replied with a shrug.

"Idiot," Alegra muttered.

"Alright, let's get started!" Terrell ordered.

Things didn't go as planned. Alegra ended up moving five boxes before she found an old chair and decided to sunbath instead. Reagan helped for a bit before Arden chased him off, telling him he was injured and so wasn't allowed to lift heavy things. The younger twin was given the lighter loads to carry while Terrell, Orion, and Arden did the heavier lifting.

Sahara helped out for a while, while Naomi ran around and explored everything there was to find in the yard. As it got even hotter, Sahara grabbed some water inside and, after distribution it, sat down on a wooden crate which had been moved to the side. She watched as Terrell and Orion, lifted a metal beam together. They got half way when the boys decided to pause and abandon their shirts. To her surprise, Sahara saw that Terrell was actually still wearing the medallion like necklace she had gotten for him before.

"Hey."

Looking up, Sahara saw Reagan had come to stand beside her.

"Is there space for me?" he asked.

Sahara shifted to the side and Reagan sat down next to her. For a moment, the two simply sat in silence. It was then that Arden caught Sahara's eyes. He had followed the lead of Terrell and Orion and pulled his sweat soaked shirt off. When he turned around, Sahara's eyes widened. On Arden's chest there were three large scars running in no particular pattern, each as jagged as the last. Sahara wrinkled her forehead as she wondered what had caused them. If the other guys noticed, they didn't say anything as they continued to lift.

However, Sahara noticed that Reagan tensed up beside her. Shooting him a glance, she became aware that he had his fists clenched. He ground his teeth as, for a moment, he stared at the scars. When his twin glanced over, Reagan quickly looked away, avoiding his eyes.

"You okay?" Sahara asked.

For the first time since she had met him, there was no cheerful comeback from Reagan.

Deciding not to probe, Sahara turned her eyes back to the working group. She took a sip of her water. Beside her, Reagan traced a finger through the dirt.

"We told you our crew disbanded," he surprised Sahara when he began to speak in a low tone.

Sahara looked over at him. She was surprised by the serious look on Reagan's face.

"To tell the truth..." he paused and stopped drawing, "It was my doing."

Sahara wrinkled her forehead. She wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"See, Arden's always looked out for me." Reagan continued. There was no trace of his usual cheerful self. For once, he was completely serious. "Maybe he thinks it's his duty as the older brother...but after the virus took everyone we knew, he was the one who kept us going. He found us a place to stay, a crew to call our family. If trouble arose, he would solve it. I got so used to relying on him..." again he paused.

Sahara kept quiet. She had a feeling that whatever was on Reagan's chest, he needed to get it off.

"Stuff happened and I had a bit of a fight with the leader of another crew. I don't remember even remember why." He let out a harsh laugh. "Things got ugly pretty fast. I got angry, said some things and hit him...not the wisest thing to do to somehow who holds command over the crew...especially a rival."

Sahara watched as the boys put down a box. Arden made a comment and Terrell chuckled while Orion shook his head.

"Thing is Jay, the guy I hit, sure could hold a grudge." Reagan leaned back.

Sahara glanced at him. She saw the anger and pain in the boy's eyes.

"I was out when he and his crew came to Rick, our leader, and demanded justice." He snorted. "They said they needed to teach me, a lesson." Sahara glanced down to see his fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles were white. "Wanted our crew to bring me out." Reagan closed his eyes. "Rick agreed. He said it was only fair. He should have known their reputation...he should have known what they were capable of."

Sahara's eyes were wide as she listened to the story unfold. To the side, Alegra was still sunbathing, her eyes closed as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"Like I said. I wasn't there. We look so much alike no one noticed."

"So Arden took your place?" Sahara asked softly as she caught on.

Reagan's eyes opened. He nodded. "He didn't say a word..." his voice cracked, "he didn't even try to tell them that they had the wrong one."

Ahead of them, Terrell suddenly sprang up and made a lunge at a grinning Arden. Arden ducked and ran. Naomi joined in the game. Orion simply watched, looking uninterested as he picked up another box.

"What did they do?" Sahara's eyes widened as she realized she had asked the question out loud.

There was a moment of silence and Sahara thought Reagan wouldn't answer.

"Nooo!" Naomi was squealing as she and Arden ran away from Terrell who was catching up fast.

"At first they simply roughed him up a bit. But then...they knifed him," the words came out through Reagan's gritted teeth.

Sahara turned to stare at him.

"They knifed him over a fistfight." Reagan looked ready to kill someone. He took a deep breath and let it out, as though trying to calm himself down. "No one said a word about it to me. Even Arden tried to hide it from me. The idiot I am didn't even realize it right away."

"And when you found out..." Sahara was beginning to put the pieces together.

Reagan nodded. "Crews are like family, you know? They're meant to stick up for each other, feed each other, look out for you when no one else will..." he turned his eyes on his older brother. "Yet they let another crew do that to him..."

"You got angry," Sahara realized.

"Our crew betrayed us and Arden wasn't doing a thing about it. Probably because we'd have nowhere else to go..." He looked up at the sky. "Arden's an idiot," Reagan muttered fondly. "He'd probably die in my place if it came down to it. I realized that it was my turn to do something. After what the crew let the others do to him...I wasn't going to let them get off the hook that easily. So, the next status race that came up was when I did it. I made sure we lost."

How? Sahara couldn't help but wonder. But then again, she was sure there were ways she could only dream off. "Does Arden know?" she asked instead.

"Don't know." Reagan shrugged. "The point is...when all you have is each other...things get pretty hard," he continued. "Our team was done for and we moved on. That's when we found you." Suddenly, he grinned and the twinkle Sahara knew so well returned to his eyes. "And boy am I glad we did." Reagan looked like he was ready to bounce of the walls with happiness, "Because this definitely is the place for us." He nodded to himself in confirmation. "It's a great location," he motioned to the area, "We have a great leader," he jerked a thumb at Sahara, "And some great crew mates," he motioned to all the others. "Oh, and after seeing the guys Terrell beat up back then, I'm sure it's pretty safe!"

Sahara's mind made her do a re-take. "Wait a minute...safe? What do you mean by safe?" she asked Reagan.

He froze. "Ah..." He suddenly looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Well...you see," he began playing with his fingers absentmindedly. "So...I didn't exactly get away scot free from rigging that race...some people kind of found out..."

 "Who?" Sahara asked as her heart stopped.

"Rick," Reagan said the name of his former leader. Sahara's heart sank. "And Jay happened to take him in right after...and..." he looked around. "Well rumor has it Rick's looking for us and is out for revenge...and Jay's up for round two."

Sahara wanted to faint. "So the attack yesterday...?"

Reagan shrugged. "Could have been them. But..." he added happily. "Don't worry about it." His cheerfulness suddenly disappeared and danger seemed to radiate from him, "Because next time they step into my sight, I'm going to kill them for what they did to Arden."

Sahara stared at him, shocked at the danger that radiated from this usually cheerful boy. Reagan turned to look at her.

"Don't look so worried." He reached out a hand and ruffled Sahara's hair. "Things will be fine."

"It's not that..." Sahara told him, "You just...suddenly seemed so different," she told him honestly.

Reagan shrugged. "I guess acting like there isn't a care in the world makes it all easier. Not having a real family...things changing as drastically as they did in the city. Besides," he grinned, "Aren't things just so much better when people are happy?"

And yet you're carrying around some pretty heavy stuff, Sahara thought. How can you still smile?

"Like I said." Reagan turned to watch the others once more. "Everything will be fine. I won't let them hurt the Falcons. Not my family."

"Hmm..."

Both Sahara and Reagan jumped as they realized Terrell was crouched behind them. Sahara's heart pounded at his sudden appearance. She and Reagan had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't even noticed when he'd abandoned chasing Arden and Naomi to come over.

Just how much did he hear? Sahara wondered. By the look in Reagan's eyes, he was thinking the same thing.

"You up for lifting a few more things?" Terrell asked Reagan calmly.

Reagan got up and stretched. "Sure." He walked over to join his twin.

Terrell watched for a moment.

"You still need my help?" Sahara asked.

Terrell looked down. "Nah. I think we'll leave it here for today. It's too hot after all."

Sahara wrinkled her forehead. "But you just asked Reagan..."

"Help!" Naomi squealed as Arden had grabbed a hold of her and was swinging her around.

Terrell stood up. "Looks like a damsel in distress." He shot a wink at Sahara before he launched himself towards Arden, letting out a battle cry along the way.

"Boys will be boys," Sahara heard Alegra say as she sat up.

Sahara made no comment as she watched Terrell and the twins wrestle each other while Naomi retreated to safety behind Orion.

They knifed him, the words echoed in Sahara's head. She shivered. It reminded her of Terrell's constant warnings. There really are those type of people in Regona. She looked up at the sky. Are they really after Reagan?

"Hey!"

She looked up to see Terrell and the twins had gotten up.

"I think it's time for our reward," Arden was telling Terrell.

Terrell shrugged. "I don't see why not." He turned to the girls. "You guys coming?"

And so the whole crew followed Terrell back into the warehouse, anticipating their reward.

"Where's the pool?" Reagan asked as Terrell tossed them each a towel.

"That way," Terrell pointed and all eyes followed.

The twins glanced at each other.

"That's the showers," Sahara said.

Orion narrowed his eyes.

"As usual, should we say ladies first?" Terrell asked.

"You're serious?" Alegra asked as they caught on. "That's your sweet deal?"

"Taking a shower?" Orion asked.

"A cold shower," Terrell corrected him.

"This wasn't what I thought of when you said a 'sweet deal'," Alegra told him dryly.

"What happened to lots of water?" Reagan wailed.

"Showering requires water," Terrell pointed out.

"What about swimming?" Arden asked.

"I never said that."

"A shower?" Alegra repeated in disbelief.

"A cold shower," Terrell did the correcting again.

The twins glanced at each other.

"Get him," Arden said.

Reagan nodded and they charged.

"We might as well go," Alegra told Sahara. She nodded and the two headed off while behind them it sounded like a full scale war had broken out. Even Orion had joined in.

"Come on, Naomi," Alegra pulled the girl along.

"Are we going swimming?" Naomi still hadn't caught on.

"You could call it that," Alegra told her.

At the door, Sahara paused to shoot a look back. The boys were in a large pile with Terrell at the bottom, the twins in between, and Orion calmly seated on top like a king.

"Can't breathe!" Terrell complained.

"Good!" Reagan yelled back.

"Dying!" Terrell protested.

"It's working!" came Reagan's cheerful response making his brother laugh.

Looking at the twins, Sahara couldn't help but feel a twang of worry for them. Next time they step into my sight, I'm going to kill them for what they did to Arden. Sahara shivered as she remembered the look in Reagan's eyes as he had said it.

"Coming?" Alegra called from where she had already turned on her shower.

 Sahara closed the door. I'm sure things will be fine, she assured herself.