Hey hey! I don't own zoids, or any of the characters in this fic except for the girl from the pod. Once again, I will hopefully own them all one day.

Thanks to Wolfy (An Outcast's Shadow) for lending me the manga!!

And now back to the fic, and I'm sorry again fo another fairly long chap. It should pick a little soon though, so hang on for that...please?

"So you're saying that the young man who attacked us was working for the empire?" The reverend asked.

Van nodded. "The regent hired him to get 'D'."

"What's 'D'?"

"An evil zoid that will destroy everything." Fiona said, in a creepy monotone.

Van nodded feeling a little concerned for his female friend.

"So how did you defeat him?" The reverend asked.

"Well…we had help from his twin brother." Van recalled. "And it couldn't have been done without…well, anyone."

"But it's probably best we don't go into details." Fiona chimed in, just in case Van said something Raven might hunt him down for.

"I see." The reverend answered, a little disappointed, and then smiled at Van. "There's someone who really wants to see both you and Zeke."

"Oh, who?" The boy asked.

"She's just outside."

Zeke followed his partner outside where Chyrol was waiting with a big smile on her face. "You're back!" She cried with joy, throwing herself onto Van.

"Hey, hey! Chyrol! How have you been?"

She smiled and ignored his question. "You've been taking good care of Zeke." She observed happily. "What did you guys see when you were travelling?"

"Well, we went to Porto, and we saw the ocean! What else…oh! We saw a flying castle zoid called Horai, and a generator called Wendeen, and another zoid that made up the walls of a city called Oluga."

"Wow, you're so lucky…I wish I could travel with you."

"Well, it is fun, but it's also really dangerous." Van told her. "We've been in lots of serious battles."

"You've been careful though, haven't you?"

Irvine scoffed near by, making Chyrol worry. "Van, we've been so worried about you! What would happen if you died? What do you think your sister would do?"

Van wasn't at all prepared for all these questions, deciding to glare at Irvine and then look back at Chyrol innocently. "I'm not stupid, and anyway, with Zeke and Ceaser I can't possibly lose."

"But…what about the war? Don't get caught up in those battles, okay?"

"I'll be careful." Van said soothingly. "And there's no war going on."

"No, but the Empire isn't exactly being peaceful." Maria reminded them, leaning against the door. "And I'm not sure how long the Republic can avoid conflict."

Van thought grimly about Mule, and how close to war they had been each night. He sighed. "Maria…" Pulling himself together again he gave her a grin. "No matter what, we can't lose faith, the republic wants nothing more than our safety, and not everyone in the Empire is out to start a fight."

He remembered talking to Shubaltz the night the sleeper bombed Mule. He certainly wanted to keep the peace.

"How long will the provisions last?" The girl asked.

Raven tensed, he had been in the process of getting food when the Hiltz and Reese had abducted him. Currently they had nothing.

"Shadow…what's the nearest town, and how far away is it?"

Jigura, a republic town that's only 100kilometres away. The organoid replied.

"Jigura…I wonder what it's like…" The girl thought aloud. "When we get closer I could enter a civilian's mind, see if they know of you."

Raven looked up at her, and then nodded once. Perhaps she could be very useful.

He put the zoids boosters up higher, doubling their speed and landing far enough away from Jigura to avoid serious suspicion.

"Is this close enough?" He asked, jumping out of the machine.

The girl followed shortly, stretching well. "Yep, so far three don't know you, one's shopping for oranges, another is thinking about a girl, and the third is wondering if her skirt is too short."

"You didn't need to tell me that." He said. "I don't care unless it's relevant."

She shrugged, "Fine, but I have one request, next time we come by a wild zoid, can I ride in it? I don't like being cramped up in the BSFE."

"You want to stay with me you'll have to make do."

"But…uh…fine."

The girl hoped they wouldn't have to get into any more fights until she had her own zoid. If the zoid took a hit, there was nothing to stop her from slamming into the controls.

Raven told Shadow to guard the zoid but let the girl follow him. She stumbled a little in the sand, not yet used to it.

"So…how long will it take to get there?" She tried to catch up with him, almost falling but his hand shot out and grabbed her arm in a vice-like hold, keeping her on her feet.

"Doesn't matter, you just need to make sure we'll be safe."

She nodded, but didn't look too pleased. Turning her attention from her aching arm to the townspeople's minds she searched for any thought of Raven.