By: Juria
Author's Notes: (See "The New Kids")
The gang walked on and on, taking very few breaks and sleeping wherever they could. At last, Odd dropped his stuff about half-way through town. "Odd, what's wrong?" Raven asked, clutching the baby close to her body. Odd dropped to his knees. "I can't take this anymore, you guys go on without me." he said.
The others stopped dead in their tracks. "What did you just say?" Ulrich asked, getting in Odd's face. "You heard me, go on ahead, I'm going back home." he said, a blank stare on his face. Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremie, Aelita, Edge, Anna, and Michael looked at one another, then Ulrich back-handed Odd. "What the hell is your problem?" he asked, grabbing Odd by the shirt. "Oh yeah, like I have a problem." Odd said, glaring at Ulrich. "Yeah, and I'm about to solve that problem." Ulrich said, balling up his fist.
Odd saw this coming and wrapped his tail around Ulrich's arm, then he hit him in the stomach and kicked him in the chest, all in one swift motion, knocking him down. Odd stood his ground, ready to fight. Ulrich got up, dusted himself off, then threw snow and ice into Odd's eyes, blinding him long enough for Ulrich to jump up and kick him in the chest, knocking him down. Odd's tail knocked Ulrich down and the two boys wrestled around in the snow, exchanging punches, until an energy blast from Raven seperated the two boys, knocking them at least 10 feet from eachother.
"That's enough!" Raven shouted. The baby cried in Raven's arms, and she did her best to calm her down. "You're both acting like spoiled brats, so knock it off, right now." Raven said sternly, glaring at both of them. The two boys looked at eachother, then at Raven. "I'm sorry." they said in unison.
Raven and Yumi helped the boys to their feet. However, once they were up, Ulrich and Odd still had to face eachother. "I know you're both under a lot of stress, but that isn't going to help get this child to her parents any quicker. So, like I said before, knock it off, or I will deal with both of you personally, understand?" Raven asked them both firmly.
Both Odd and Ulrich nodded, then shook hands. "Hey, sorry about the cheap shot." Ulrich said. "Sorry about the foot imprint in your chest." Odd said in reply, then the two boys started laughing. Yumi just shook her head, staring at them. "Boys." she said to herself. Aelita looked at her. "Are all boys that dumb?" she asked. Yumi smiled at her. "Not all the time, but sometimes, they can be real dense." she said, picking up her backpack and walking forward. Aelita stood next to Jeremie. "I hope you never get like that." she said. "Don't worry, I couldn't fist fight to save my life." Jeremie said, slightly smiling.
Elsewhere...
A dark figure, dressed in a black cloak and hood, watches over the gang's actions. "So, they've found the child?, This could get interesting." he says to himself. Then, he turns to three dragon/human creatures who are kneeling before him. "Go forth, and bring me that child." he says. The creatures fly off into the night sky without any hesitation. "Now, the game can truly begin." the figure says, a smirk on his face.
Meanwhile...
Ulrich and Odd had regained their usual attitudes, and were now leading the way. Suddenly, Odd stopped and dropped to his knees. "I don't think I can make it, you guys go one without me." he said. Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Odd, quit fooling around." he said. "But, when I die, promise me that you'll never forget the name of Odd." he said, rolling around on the ground.
Raven looked up and grinned. "Oh look, a cemetary." she said. Odd suddenly sprang to his feet. "I'm not dead yet." he said. Everyone got a good laugh out of the incident, then they all headed into the cemetary, hoping to find shelter. They found it in the most unlikely of places, and above-ground burial site, one that was big enough for all of them. "I don't like the feel of this place." Aelita said, walking into the concrete room. "Don't worry, they probably won't use this place for a while." Jeremie said reassuringly.
Raven lit some torches on the walls and, once everyone had their gear unpacked, she started to fall asleep. The next noise she heard was the baby's crying. "Oh God, what now?" she asked herself. Suddenly, it stopped, which made Raven worry more. She sat up, looked around, and saw Yumi holding the baby in one arm, and her bottle in her hand. "Hey, you're pretty good with that." Raven said.
Yumi looked up and smiled. "I guess that's what comes natural when you're a girl with a baby brother." she said. Once the baby was fed and changed, Raven decided to sing her to sleep. The haunting melody that escapsed her lips sounded almost latin in lyrics. The gang sat around, listening to Raven sing, her voice drawing them in.
When she finished, Raven looked around and noticed that she was the only one awake. "Wow, I didn't know I had it in me." she said to herself. She wrapped the baby up and feel fast asleep, unaware of the dark presence that was drawing ever closer to them.
The Next Morning...
Raven awoke in shock, her heart beating like a jackhammer in her chest. She slowly looked around, and saw the baby right where she had left her. Her heartbeat slowly returned to normal, then she listened, and heard the faint sound of wings beating together, and inhuman roaring. She quickly awoke everyone.
Edge was one of the last to awaken. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked, blinking his eyes. "We have to get out of here, now." Raven said in a panicked voice. Edge immediatly threw his clothes on and stood guard at the door while the rest of the gang quickly exited the tomb. However, they were quickly met with a big problem. Three dragon-like creatures stood at the front gate, the only exit. "Greetings humans. We are the winged guardians. Give us what we desire, and we shall leave you in peace." one of the beast said.
Aelita glared at them. "And exactly what do you want?" she asked. The creature smirked. "Why, the child, of course." he said, a grin on his face. "Go to hell." Anna said, glareing at them. "You first." the beast said, lunging at Anna, who quickly rolled out of the way and fired several shots into the creature's ribs. The creature simply laughed at her. "Foolish child, do you actually think you can stop me?" he asked.
Suddenly, Odd's laser arrow hit the beast in the gut, quickly followed by Yumi's sword. "No, we know we can stop you." Yumi said, pulling out her sword and flipping backwards. The beast fell to the ground, and Ulrich cut off it's head just to be sure. The other two beasts charged at the gang, but were met with similar fates. However, one small beast was watching this massacre, and his master saw what he saw.
The beast started to fly away, but Odd's laser arrow and Edge's energy ball quickly stopped that. "Who were those guys?" Ulrich asked. "I'm not sure, not yet anyway." Raven said under her breath. The gang picked up their gear and left the cemetary, this time more on thier guard.
Elsewhere...
The dark figure grinned at what he had just seen. "I see, so, they are as strong as the rumors say." he said. The dark figure clutched a small, black orb in his hand. "It's been a long time Raven." he said. "But soon, we will meet again."
To Be Continued in the next chapter...