So as always, I'm sorry for the huge spaces between up dates. This will get done, I promise.

Disclaimer: I'm just a poor college student who is very aware of the fact that she does not own zoids.

The Black Angel

Chapter 9

Schemes

Kyle got back to the Panther's main base, and patted his zoid fondly as Evelyn approached him.

"How's Uncle and his merry band of nobodies?" she asked as she linked arms with him.

"Much more merrier now then they were before," Kyle responded.

Evelyn smiled happily. "Make sure you take Ryan with you next time."

As the young woman left, Kyle's communication device went off. "Speak to me."

"So does Evelyn think we've been taken out?" Kyle's uncle asked.

"She fell for it, just act wasted in public," Kyle responded. "Also, I convinced Alex to move away from using you as an informant, so she'll stay in the dark about your plans."

"You sure we should keep her in the dark?" his uncle responded.

"As much as she loves us, she's made her alliance and she owes them her life. Alex doesn't need to be messed up in our take over," Kyle responded.

Thomas got Alex's message and sighed, the names Kyle and Ryan meant nothing to him. "Hey Irvine, who's Kyle and Ryan Claws?"

"Twins, two of Alex's brothers," Irvine responded.

"What do they do?" Thomas asked.

"Deceive people," Irvine responded "You can never know for sure which twin is who, or which side they are on."

Thomas groaned. "Great."

Alex jumped out of her Hel Cat and sent it and Cat away. It was her last stop of bars along the Red River. She was nervous about this stop, this person was unreliable and she was concerned about him selling her out. But he promised he had important information for her.

As she entered the bar, hood up covering her face, Alex scanned the area. It was relatively empty. Almost all of the wore the Panther crest. Thinking it wasn't worth it, Alex turned around to get away from the place.

Someone came up behind her and pulled the long cloak, and pulling Alex to the floor. Dana stood over her, looking deep into Alex's eyes. "Hello little sister."

"Hi Dana," Alex said with a cheeky smile.

"You're going to come home now," Dana said happily.

Alex shook her head. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't."

Getting to her feet, Alex went to rush Dana. From behind, Greg smashed a bottle on top of the younger Claws' head. Alex fell to the ground. Dana glared down at the unconscious form of Alex. "I'm in charge now little sister. When I say it's time to go home, it means you're coming home."

Dana motioned for Greg to pick up Alex's body and turned to walk out of the bar before she stopped and turned to the members of the Desert Panthers.

"Kill him," Dana said pointing to Alex's informant. Through out the room her loyal soldiers took out their guns and click the safeties off.

"Wait…wait," the man said quickly, "I gave you Alex when no one else would. I will be your loyal servant."

Dana laughed happily. "You gave her up with out a second thought. You would give me up just as quickly."

The brother and sister walked out of the bar and to the gustav that waited for them outside. Greg gently laid Alex down in the back and tried to use the safety restrains to keep her body in place. Dana tapped her foot impatiently.

"Where is her hel cat, and the organiod?" Greg asked.

"It'll follow us, Alex said as she started to up the engines. "Cat always follows Alex."

"She didn't contact me," Thomas said in a panicked voice. "Vanm Irvine, get ready to move out."

"What do you mean get ready to move out?" Van asked.

Thomas growled in frustration. "Alex didn't contact me last night. She said if she missed even one day, we needed to go find her."

"Are we supposed to search the entire continent?" Irvine scowled.

"No," Thomas responded. "She's been looking for contacts along the river. We follow her trail and look for her zoid and Cat."

"When were you going to tell us about this?" Kalr asked as he came up from behind his younger brother.

Thomas cringed at the sound of disappointment from his brother. "She was worried about being pulled from the mission, so she said to keep it quiet."

"But her life is in enough danger to be concerned about staying in contact," Karl said sadly. "Wait here, there is one more person we can ask where Alex might be."

Karl stormed to the prison ward of the base, with the Guardian Force on his heals. Chaz was laying on the bunk of hi cell, humming a little tune to himself. Karl came right up to the bars and whistled. "If your siblings had Alex, where would they go?"

"Depends, if it's Dana that has her, they'll be at the base along the mountain dived. If Evelyn and the twins have her, they'll take her to the base that straddles the Republican and Empire borderline," Chaz said plainly.

Karl growled. "That information is useless, give us coordinates."

Chaz smiled and shook his head.

"They have your little sister, they'll kill her. Don't you care about that?" Karl yelled.

"It seems like you care enough about her for the both of us," Chaz said

"Chill Colonel," Irvine said coolly, "I know which bases he's talking about. I'll get the coordinates put into our zoids. You and Thomas go to the mountains, and Van and I will take the border."

Van and Irvine turned and ran back towards the hanger. Thomas signaled to his brother they needed to follow, but Karl couldn't help but to sneer one more time.

"Hey Cat Eyes, the one that likes Alex so much," Chaz called to the older Schubaltz as he turned away. "I know you don't think that much about me, but if I ever loved one of my brothers or sisters, it'd be Alex. But I chose my life a long time a go, and I'm never going to be the man she needs me to be a good big brother. So you need to care for her for the both of us, cause I can't."

Karl was a little unnerved to hear the nick name that Alex had given him to come from Chaz's lips. "I'll try."

"And one more thing, if I catch wind of you hurting her, I will find you and do the one thing I know I'm good at. Just keep that in mind," Chaz said before turning back around so he faced the wall.

Karl and Thomas then took off down the hall, going as fast as their bodies would carry them. They got their zoids ready and took off; Thomas in hi Di Bison and Karl in a Saber Fang. Karls knuckles were going white in desperation, pushing the fang as fast as he had ever pushed it. A few hours later, a black Hel Cat could be seen, as if waiting for them to show up. Cat piloted the Hel Cat towards the base along the mountains, towards Alex.

Not far from the base, Cat stopped the zoid and jumped down. Karl and Thomas did the same. They followed the organoid into a small hanger with in the base.

"It's quiet, and small. Why is this base so quiet and small?" Thomas whispered to his brother.

Karl waved his brother quiet, but he was right. Most bandit bases they had stormed in the past had been full and bustling with the foot soldiers. This one was almost empty.

As the brothers followed Cat into the base deeper, they ran into a young woman with long blonde hair and a pretty face. Karl came up behind her, and placed the gun to her head. He wrapped his hand over her mouth and clicked the safety off. "Thomas, check her for weapons."

It took Thomas several minutes, but Karl was happy he had his brother check as there was a small pile of knives and guns that could have been pulled on them. "Now girlie, you're going to answer by nodding your head up and down for yes, or shake it for no. Is this a Dessert Panther's base?"

The woman nodded.

Karl gripped her mouth tighter. "Is Alexandria Claws being kept here?"

Another nodded yes.

Karl smiled in happiness of being so close. "Do you know where she is?"

A nod confirmed that Alex was coming home with the Schubaltz brothers.

"Lead the way," Karl said, keeping his hand tight over the woman's mouth.

Dana and Greg stood in front of their handy work that was now etched on Alex's back. The hot iron from the branding sizzled and still and the smell of burnt flesh was beginning to fill the room. On Alex's back was the Panther's mark of a traitor, a panther's paw print broken into jagged pieces.

"I can't believe she won't talk," Dana scoffed.

"I can't believe she isn't crying," Greg said sadly as he knelt down next to the wounded woman. "Are you okay little one?"

"You are so dense sometimes. She's obviously with one of the militaries, she's a traitor, you branded her yourself," Dana said as she used her knife to cut into Alex's arm. Blood began to show, out line the line as it joined other open wounds that Dana had been slicing into Alex.

Alex would not speak, going over the names in her head that she was protecting. "Jonathon Krueger, Rob Herman, Mark O'Connel, Van, Irvine, Moonbay, Thomas, Karl, the Schubaltz couple, and don't forget about Matt Ford, don't forget about your boy."

She didn't hear the door open or the shouting and fighting going around her. Suddenly a gun slid on the floor and hit Alex's foot. Her eyes widen at the sight of it. Adrenaline kicking in, Alex picked it up, jumped to her feet, and fired a shot into Dana's head, who held another gun up at Karl's.

"Don't touch them," Alex whispered hoarsely.

"Little One!" Greg said, as he moved towards his shaking sister. He stopped when he saw the gun pointed towards himself.

"Greg, let's go," the blonde, Bella, said. The two left quickly.

Karl walked up to Alex as soon as the pair was gone. She stood with only her bra to keep her top modest. The rest of her torso and her arms were covered with shallow cuts and bloods. Karl unbuttoned the top of his uniform and saw the brand on her back as he covered her with it. After she was covered, Alex collapsed into his arms, crying freely and openly. Cat gently nuzzled his leg, giving her silent comfort.

Karl picked her up as if she was made of glass, he and Thomas followed Cat out of the base once more. When they got outside, Karl brought Alex into the Saber Fang with him. Cat drove the Hel Cat and Thomas piloted his DiBison while contacting Van that they had found Alex and then the base that they were bringing an injured soldier in.

"I killed my sister," Alex whispered.

Karl looked down at her. "She was going to shoot at us, you did the right thing."

"You know she told me one time that because I was and imperfect women, I was the perfect soldier. I'm so out of touch with myself I couldn't even cry when they branded me?" Alex whispered.

"Imperfect, I would never use that word for you," Karl whispered. "You're more of a woman because you can shoot the gun. Ford in one lucky man."

"I don't even like Matt that much, It just makes Jonathon feel more comfortable since I'm dating a soldier and not a bandit. So I thought I'd give Ford a shot. See? I can't even fall for a decent guy," Alex sobbed.

"So break up with him," Karl said, are other men you can date, but I have never met a more perfect woman than you."

Alex let the words ring in her head as they got back to the base. Rob was among the people who helped her down from the Saber Fang. She didn't bother looking for Ford.