Well, I got a lovely surprise. Some people actually reviewed. ^.^ I love reviews. (wink wink, nudge nudge. ^_^) Now, this chapter is my gift to you! And then there's a new year's gift too...^_^

Captured!

Chapter 8

Melinda sat in her bedroom, watching the sunrise. She wondered where Raven was, and what he was thinking. He's probably all by himself. I'll bet he's really lonely. She thought. She smiled over her mental image of him suffering, yet felt guilty at the same time.

She jumped at the soft knock on the door. "Uh, come in."

"Miss Melinda? Breakfast is ready. Would you like to eat with Ray, or would you prefer I bring it in here?" the maid asked.

"I'll eat with Ray. Oh, and you can just call me Melinda, you don't have to say miss." Melinda commented. The maid smiled and asked her to follow her to the dining room.

"Are you enjoying your stay here?"

"Yes, it's all right." Melinda replied.

The maid turned and faced Melinda. "You know, I've been serving this house since I was little and Ray's father hired me. I've been with Ray since he was a child, and he has turned into a great man. When we learned of your disappearance, he went into a deep depression. He loves everyone, but no one as much as you. Last night when he came home, I saw he was truly happy, but you looked sad to be here. Not to be snotty or rude or anything, but you should be more thankful."

"Oh, believe me, I'm extremely thankful to have him as a friend, and I really do love him. But I've been a little depressed because someone I really love has left me."

"It ain't no other guy, right?" The maid looked at her sternly.

"Oh, of course not! It was my mother. She died, you know. But my friend also abandoned me too."

"Oh, you poor thing! I see. I didn't know you had it this bad! Well, you just keep on being strong! That's the way to survive life! And don't let those bad friends bother you again!"

"Yeah, I won't." Melinda laughed. She didn't have the heart to tell her what truly happened.

*************Later***************

"Hey, Mel!" Ray called out. Melinda was out in the garden, sniffing and admiring the flowers. "I have the day off. Want to spend it with me?"

Melinda grinned. "Of course!" Is this like a date or something?! I don't think Raven and me ever did this kind of thing! Melinda thought.

"Great! I'll go get a car, and we can go to the city and do whatever you like!"

"Awesome! I'll meet you in the front."

Melinda ran to the front of the house. She waited a few minutes and saw Ray appear with a sleek red sports car. "Cool car!" Melinda exclaimed as she got in.

They speeded through the country and into the nearest city. They decided that they'd rather go back out into the beautiful country with a picnic lunch. They got sandwiches, fruit, drinks and a small cake. They had fun and then went horseback riding. Then they went to an amusement park. It was now late afternoon and Melinda wanted to go into a café for dinner. As they went in, they noticed everyone was talking excitedly about something.

"Geez, everyone seems so...uppity today." Melinda observed.

"Yeah, I wonder why..." Ray replied.

"OH MY GOD!!! NO WAY!!!" A woman yelled.

"Something's up, and I'm gonna find out." Melinda went to the lady and asked her why she was so happy. "I'M A GRANDMOTHER!!! MY DAUGHTER JUST HAD A BABY!!!" She screamed.

"Oh, congratulations!" Melinda said and went back to her seat.

"That lady's daughter had a baby..."

"Yeah, I heard. Um, listen, want to go back home for dinner? I mean, I'm sort of uncomfortable here..." Ray said nervously.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Melinda decided not to question his strange behavior.

While they got in the car she sensed Ray was really tense at the moment, and was beginning to get suspicious.

************At some base*****************

Raven stumbled over the sand and his own feet. He couldn't understand what he had just done. He didn't even realize he was entering Republican base territory.

A man in the security room saw that someone had trespassed. He focused in on the target, and found the feared Raven. He screamed and immediately called for some people to meet him.

"Th-that is Raven, right?! The one who destroyed our last base?!"

"ACK! It IS Raven! Send some people out there! Quick! Call the nearest base for reinforcements! We may need a lot of help!"

One man looked at the screen closely. "But sir, he was no weapons, and he's not in a Zoid, so why should we call for reinforcements? And he looks, lost." The man said, with almost a sympathetic look on his face.

"All right!" said Robby, the guy who was currently commanding the small group. "Call the general, tell him the situation, and hold off calling reinforcements. We may not need them, because you're right, he has not weapons or a Zoid, so he shouldn't be that big a problem...And get Van too, he could be of some use."

"Yes sir!" 3 men answered and saluted. They ran off to do their orders.

"Sir, I have a question, wasn't Raven killed? Didn't we find his Genobreaker totaled?" One soldier questioned.

"His Zoid may have been destroyed, but he obviously escaped. That makes me a little uneasy, because we sure didn't find his body, we just assumed him dead." Answered Robby.

The soldiers quieted and they watched as some soldiers came out, and saw Raven arrested.

"Sir, now that we have Raven, what's going to happen?"

"He's going to trial."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Oh, I also wanted to ask if any of you go to www.myotaku.com, it's a really cool site! If any of you do come to my site, my name is sakura. Anyways, see ya guys, happy holidays!

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