Ty's POV~

I launched into action, flipping a few switches to activate green-mines. They're my own invention, when you step on them, plants explode out of the ground and wrap around you. There was also some TNT in water, to make it damage them but not the plants. I was saving those switches for last. There were also some motion-activated pits and nets, no big deal.
"Hey! There's a tree house!" I heard Jerome shout.
"Good job! That's probably Deadlox's." Sky told him. I decided to whip out some emergency artillery that may damage the plants, which is why it's for emergencies.
I broke open the emergency box and flipped the switches. Steel rolled out in a dome, covering the area around the treehouse, which included my little farm. Lasers switched on, creating a grid in the air and on the ground. They would burn anything that touched them, so it was a good thing I had set them up to not hit any plants.
With nothing else I could do, I took out my weapons and decided to wait.

Sky POV~

We were heading towards the treehouse, when suddenly a steel dome covered the area around it. That was when we started falling into traps. Some of us fell into pits, some of us were caught in nets, others were wrapped in plants, and a couple of us were blasted by TNT. Ty was pretty serious about not wanting to be found.
Soon it was only me, Jason, Mitch, and Jerome.
"Dood, it's a good thing I brought my pick axe." Mitch said as he started to mine through the dome.
"Yea. Sky, why are we making such a big fuss about this guy, anyways?" Jason asked.
"He could help us take back the kingdom. His skills are remarkable." I answered with a small grin.
"Ok... but he obviously doesn't want to join us, otherwise he wouldn't be doing this." Jason continued to argue. I think he has a grudge from when Ty knocked him out.
"Biggums! I'm through!" Mitch called. "But you doods aren't going to like this."
"What happened, biggums?" Jerome called down from the trees.
"This guy has some serious lasers going on here." Mitch told us. "They melted part of my pick axe." Mitch showed us his pick axe, and one end was all melted and disfigured.
"Wow." I whistled, impressed.
"Too strong, biggums. Too strong." Jerome said.
"This just proves my point!" Jason exclaimed.
"Jason, shut up." I told him.
"Hmph." He said, but then he remained silent. Everyone knew I could get violent while angry or frustrated.
"Hey Sky! Why don't we just mine through up here?" Jerome asked from the top of the dome. He had climbed on from the trees, and was now standing right above where the treehouse was.
"Great idea J-rome!" I said, using my weird name for him.
We all took to the trees, other than Jason, who flew up with his jetpack. I ended up getting there last. Mitch started mining the steel with the good side of his pick axe while we checked our weapons.

Ty POV~

They were mining away the steel above my treehouse! It will take a minute, and then probably a few more seconds to get through my roof. I had to act fast. I pulled everything out of that room and into my bedroom, and I proceeded to barricade the door. Since it was a sliding door I left it open.
They dropped through the ceiling and looked around.
"Dood, this is a nicely built treehouse." Jerome said.
"Yeaaaa, biggums. It really is." Mitch replied. "But where's the furniture?"
It was at that moment that I let loose a couple of arrows. They barely dodged them, and I cursed. They had seen where the arrows came from anyways.
"Ty... Calm down... We're here to help." Sky told me, and I hesitated. Should I really shoot him? I already had the arrow knocked. But Sky took this as an opportunity.
"Ty, we won't turn you in to the villagers if you agree to our terms." Sky said, being deliberately vague to perk my curiosity. It worked, and I continued to hesitate.
Suddenly, Jerome lunged forward, snagging my bow and pulling me out from the barricade. The instant I was pulled out, I realized that had been their plan. Distract me with lies until they could get me.
I released my bow and started to run around the room. Mitch, Jerome, and space suit were following me. I just had to keep running until they got tired.
"Jerome! El boost!!" Mitch suddenly cried, and Jerome pushed him. Mitch ended up right behind me. Then, I was knocked to the floor as he tackled me. I undid my wristbands, and reached around my back, trying to hit Mitch off of me with my small staffs. Jerome just ran over and grabbed them.
"Any other tools we should know about?" Jerome asked, him and Mitch helping me to my feet.
Space suit came over and punched me in the stomach. Mitch and Jerome let go of my arms so I could double over.
"That was for knocking me out." Space suit said.
"Jason, go help the others out of his traps. We have things handled here." Sky ordered him, and space suit, whom I now knew was named Jason, walked over to the hole in my roof. I threw 4 of my shuriken at him. Punching me in the stomach had allowed me to get them from my belt. But before they made contact, he was flying through the hole using a jetpack. The shuriken thudded into the wall behind where he had been standing. Mitch and Jerome quickly grabbed my arms again. My hair hung down in my eyes, covering my face.
"Dammit. Missed." I said, mostly to myself. Sky walked over to the wall and inspected my shuriken.
"These are razor sharp." He commented. "Where did you get them?"
"...I made them." I told him.
"Where did you keep them hidden?" Sky asked.
"..." I didn't respond.
"Ty, tell me. From what Bodil learned about you, you've had a bad life as it is, without making it worse." Sky said, getting impatient.
"... Fine. They're in my belt." At the mention of my belt, Sky seemed to blush a little. It must be my imagination. A cool guy like him would never like me.
Sky walked over and knelt down, removing my belt. He found the little, carefully concealed holes, all but 4 still containing shuriken. Sky got up and took my wristbands for good measure.
"Now then, where is the power saw that you used to break out of the cage?" My eyes widened. How did thy know? I stayed silent.
"Ty, we know you have it. We saw you use it in a video." Sky said.
"... I don't consent to searches." I finally said, and Sky broke out laughing.
"Just tell me where it is, you don't have to be searched." Sky said once he had calmed down.
"... it's in my pocket." I told him.
"Which one? You've got like 4." He inquired further.
"..." I hesitated. "...It's in my back left pocket." I finally confessed. Sky seemed to blush again as he reached back and grabbed it from my pocket.
"But... this is just an iPod." He said, confused.
"Press the home button and off button twice and then hold them." I told Sky, and he did so. The saw, knife, and lighter popped out.
"Woooaaahhhhh dood. Dats too strong." Mitch said.
"Power moves ONLY." Jerome added.
"Are you sure there's nothing else?" Sky asked me.
"...Yea." I answered. I wasn't telling them about my headphones.
"Ok. Let him go, guys." Sky told Mitch and Jerome, and they released my arms.
"What do you want from me?" I asked him, crossing my arms defiantly.
"Well, like I said earlier, we're going to give you a choice. We can either give you to the villagers, or you can join my crew." Sky told me.
"And what would happen if I joined your crew?" I was curious about his crew.
"You would start out as the lowest ranking member, but you could rise in the ranks depending on your skills and how trustworthy you prove to be. You would be helping us take back Skarcia from the squids." Sky told me.
"Why are you trying to take back Skarcia?" I asked him. I was a little confused by that.
"I was the prince." Sky said sadly.
"Wait... you are prince Adam of Skarcia? The only surviving member of the royal family?" I asked him, and he nodded.
"Why is that so important? And call me Sky, not Adam." Ad-Sky said.
"Well, I'm from Skarcia." I said.
"Then why are you all the way over here?" Sky was visibly confused.
"My family were the royal smiths, techs, and bodyguards." I said, dropping to one knee. "Before the squids attacked, I was supposed to serve you starting when you turned 18." I bowed my head. "A reason why I didn't get along with my father was because he secretly hated you father, the king. If it hadn't been in our lineage to serve the Skarcian royal family, he said he would be serving the squids. If we hadn't left 8 years before the invasion, your father might not be dead."
"..." Sky didn't say anything.
Mitch and Jerome exchanged a look.
"I'm also going to have to ask forgiveness for what I'm about to do." I told him.
"What-" Sky started to say, but I had turned on the screech function in my headphones.

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Another chapter finished. After I did 78 math problems to practice for my midterms. If you don't know what a midterm is, you are a very lucky person. You see, midterms are like an mcas test in the middle of the school year in all of your classes. It sucks. Anyways... I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I do good? See ya later, my fluffies!