Author's note: Hey! Again… How's life? Well, this is the dreaded Band Camp week, so this might not be the best chapter ever. I hope you like it, though.

Chapter Five: Hidden Pasts

Sunday

0600hrs

Westopolis

Espio looked at the train station he had just walked into and sighed. "You can't hide forever." He thought aloud. "Sooner or later one of them will find you."

"Ticket?" Espio jumped at the sound of the voice. He was just about to board the train back to Station Square. He had decided that hiding wasn't going to work. "Ticket, sir?" The conductor asked. Espio looked at him and sighed. He turned around to see a small child gripping a ticket for dear life. He looked tired and scared. Espio sighed and looked back at the conductor. He held up the "one minute" sign and walked over to the little boy.

"Hey," he said. The kid looked at him. Espio could see now that the child was no more than eleven. "This is a rough neighborhood. Where are your parents?"

"At home," The kid answered with a guarded expression. Espio was shocked that a kid that young would have a reason to guard his expression like that.

"Well, why are you here? Visiting family?" Espio asked.

The boy shook his head. "I ran away from home, and I'm never going back!"

Espio sighed again. He knew how the boy felt. "Why?"

"Because, no one cares about me back there! I just wanted to get away from it all! I can't stand them!"

"I know how you feel," Espio muttered. "I guess I ran away too, but for different reasons. I don't deserve to be with my 'family'. I deserve much less than what has been given to me."

The boy laughed quietly and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Espio shrugged. "Sometimes we need to get away from it all to discover that we should be part of it all." He smiled. "But you shouldn't be trying to get away from it all." He pushed the kid toward the train that was about to leave for Station Square. "Go home, kid." The boy looked at him and sighed with a nod and headed toward the train.

"Ticket?" The conductor asked the boy. He handed the man the ticket. Espio followed slowly. "Ticket?" He asked. The detective looked down at his ticket and sighed. With a slight, regretful grunt, he ripped the ticket in half.

"Sorry," he muttered. "But my ticket won't get me home…"

Sunday

Mystic Ruins

Sun Rise

Gallop rubbed his head and looked at Shadow. His condition had gotten much worse since they realized what was wrong with him. He was soaked with sweat and would often go into fits of thrashing out and moaning. Gallop already bore a bruise from the fits. Zeera had tried every calming herb she could think of, but the hedgehog would not calm. Gallop looked at Zeera. She had bags under her eyes. A cup of coffee was in her hands. Gallop walked over to her. "Zeera… I don't get it," he muttered. "What's wrong with him?"

Zeera shook her head. "I don't know, either, Gallop," she answered softly. There was a loud scream and both Zeera and Gallop spun around to see Shadow, sitting up and holding his head. "Not again!" Zeera growled.

"Get the tea, I'll try to calm him again," Gallop said. Zeera nodded and bolted into the kitchen. Gallop ran to the couch and grabbed Shadow. This one wasn't as bad as the worst and Shadow quickly stopped screaming. Gallop stared in shock as Shadow looked around the room. "Hey," Gallop whispered. Shadow looked at him.

"Where am I?" He asked quietly.

"You're at my house," Gallop answered. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Shadow shook his head. "I just have a head-ache," he said. He stood up. "I'm hungry."

Zeera walked in with some tea. "Well, looks like I didn't need to get this. How are you feeling?"

Shadow shrugged. "Hungry," he repeated.

Zeera smiled. "I'll bet. Well, what do you want? We have fish, veggie burgers, milk, a bunch of fruit and vegetables and, well a few other things. Can you walk?" Shadow nodded and stood up from the couch. Zeera smiled. "Come on," she said. Shadow looked around as he followed Zeera. Gallop watched them silently. He walked into the room with the black door. He walked over to his black guitar and smiled as the instrument fell comfortably in his hands. He strummed it quietly. He hadn't played the instrument in many years. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His fingers slowly began playing a soft song. Zeera knocked on the door. Gallop lifted his head and looked at her, stopping the music. "He's eating," she said.

Gallop smiled. "That's good. I want you to get some sleep, Zeera. I'm going to go get in a walk."

Zeera sighed. "Alright," she said and walked out. Gallop gently put the instrument back on its stand. He walked out of the room and locked it behind him. On his way out, he went to check on Shadow.

"You okay?" He asked. Shadow nodded, staring at his plate. Gallop nodded to him. "Well, try to get some more rest if at all possible. Don't leave the cave until we know you're strong enough to."

Shadow looked at him. "I'm not a kid," he growled.

"I know," Gallop said. With a sigh, he walked out of the cave. He liked being able to walk around again. During the six months since the last attack, he had been afraid to leave the cave, but now he was happy to leave. He carried a crowbar in a sheath on his back. He took a deep breath and began jogging through the forest. He smiled as the trees flew past him and he glided effortlessly. His mind was completely gone when he felt searing pain rip through his back.

With a howl, he rolled and jumped to his feet. Without looking to see who had stabbed him, he fled faster. At the speed he was going, he couldn't press the pendent without tripping himself. He pounded his four legs and growled as he felt someone land on his back. Gallop barked and halted, stopping on a dime. His rider screamed as he was thrown off. Gallop snarled and turned around and fled in another direction. He heard slight whooshing behind him and picked up the pace, being able to out run his attacker. But he didn't expect his attacker to throw things at him. He growled as a knife ripped through the muscle of his hind leg. He went down like a rock.

His attacker was on him in seconds. Gallop rolled, trying to stay out of the way of the knife. He knew that he couldn't be killed like normal wolves. His collar had to be split open to destroy him. His only hope was that his attacker did not know that.

The struggle was not a brief one. Gallop fought hard, but he was old and tired. After a few minutes, both fighters broke away. Gallop was shocked to see himself face to face with a red and black hedgehog. His pinned ears pricked and he cocked his head. The hedgehog narrowed his eyes. "Nightmare?" Gallop asked. The hedgehog's eyes widened and he took a step back. Gallop laughed slightly. "I haven't seen you in over 15 years. Man, I thought you were dead!"

"You have the wrong guy," the hedgehog growled. "Nightmare was my father…"

Gallop looked at him in shock. "Bloodrayne?" He asked. He shook his head. "Wow… Last time I saw you, you were knee high to a grasshopper."

Bloodrayne glared at the wolf. "How do you know my name?" He asked.

Gallop sighed. "You wouldn't have remembered me. I think you were about three when I met your dad. How is he?"

"Dead," Bloodrayne growled.

Gallop nodded. "I figured as much. Guys in your trade don't usually last a very long time. I'm surprised you made it this long. Who did him in?"

Bloodrayne glared at him through slits. "I did." The wolf's eyes widened. After a moment, he laughed. His laugh wasn't humorless. It was a full laugh. Bloodrayne looked at him as if he had gone insane. "I didn't think you would find that funny," he muttered.

Gallop smiled. "Your father told me that he'd make a killer out of you. I just didn't think he would succeed."

"How did you know him?"

The wolf shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just say we both had the same goal."

"You were an assassin?" Bloodrayne asked. Gallop laughed again.

"Assassin? Nah, too much blood for too little pay, if you ask me. I never respected assassins, or people who hired them. If you have a problem with someone, talk it out or kill them yourself."

"Well, if you weren't hired to kill someone, how did you and my father share a common goal?" Bloodrayne asked, confused.

Gallop sighed. "I don't want to talk about. I was you father's target. The only one of his targets to get away; and he was the only one of mine to get away. I remember that night."

Bloodrayne looked deeply at the wolf. "I do too. My dad told me to stay in my room. He said something about Team Firestorm finally found him…"

"You have a good memory, kid. Let me guess, you didn't obey him."

"I came out of my room, yes," Bloodrayne muttered with a nod. "I remember a lot of blood and cursing. I don't remember too much about what was said, but I remember you. Blood was dripping from your jaws. I never knew whose blood it was."

Gallop nodded. "It was probably your dad's. I mean, there was a lot of blood that night, but most of it was mine, but I managed a few bites. I was young and stupid then. I may have been an excellent fighter, but the way you two fight, I was never trained to deal with it. I know now, however, how to fight like that." Gallop shook his head. "I came to your house that night thinking I was going to kill him. He was more than happy to see me, considering I had so much money on my head, regular citizens wanted my hide, let alone assassins. I'm sure he thought he was going to get a kill in too."

Bloodrayne shrugged. "Well, now it's my turn for a chance at your hide."

Gallop smiled. "Like father, like son," he growled.

"Hey! The apple doesn't choose which tree it falls from!"

"Well, the apple always has a choice to roll!" Gallop retorted. "You are exactly like him!"

Bloodrayne snarled angrily. "Don't ever compare me to him!"

"Why? Because it's true?" Gallop growled.

"Shut up! You know nothing!"

"I know enough!" Gallop said. "You are just as heartless and head strong as he was! I knew him before and after that night! You remind me so much of him!"

"SHUT UP!"

"You are nothing but a shadow of your old man! Hey, look on the bright side," Gallop said with a smile. "At least he'll be proud of you!"

"SHUT UP!" Bloodrayne screamed and lunged. Gallop smiled. He had made the assassin angry and when people were angry, they became ruthless and stupid, all emotions and common sense clouded. Gallop quickly turned on his armor and swung his now metal arm into Bloodrayne's forehead. The hedgehog hit with great force and fell to the ground, dazed.

Gallop stared at him and lifted his head. Bloodrayne threw his hands to his ears. In the wolf's profile, it had stated that he could easily burst eardrums with his howls. But the howl was not ear splitting. The hedgehog cautiously lifted his hands off his ears. The wolf was emitting a soft, low howl. Bloodrayne blinked, wondering why the wolf was just standing there, howling when the hedgehog had weapons that could finish him off in seconds. Bloodrayne took a step forward, only to find his legs felt like metal. Gallop had lowered his howl an octave. Bloodrayne blinked quickly and constantly. His mind was suddenly clouded with fatigue. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

The wolf's howl had lowered to where no human would be able to hear it. Bloodrayne felt his eye-lids becoming very heavy. His eyes were rolling as he fought to stay awake. Finally, the hedgehog dropped to his hands and knees. Gallop stopped howling and walked over to him. "What did you do?" He asked quietly. With a loud sigh, he fell to the ground, finally submitting to the fatigue that gripped his body.

Gallop looked down at the unconscious hedgehog at his paws. He muttered a curse and bent down, opening his maw over Bloodrayne's neck. He bit down gently, but pulled away. "No more killing," he muttered. With a grunt, he hauled the hedgehog to his back and ran through the forest. He was not heading towards the cave. He was heading towards the Chaotix Agency.

Author's note: The mystery of Gallop thickens! Alright, Gallop's family had the ability to put people to sleep through sleep potions, songs, howls and massages. That may explain what happened at the end. And yeah, you can love him or hate him, but that's Bloodrayne for you!