.Chapter twenty.

The next day, since I didn't have anything else to do and Zanramon hadn't already asked me to do anything, I decided to visit Cloak at his work for a change. On the way there I met up with the other secretaries on their way to various places.

"Hi girls," I smiled, as I walked up to them.

"Hi," they said, a majority of them had grins plastered on their faces.

"You heard the news then?"

"Yes, congrats!"

"Thanks girls."

"I'm guessing he gave you that thing around you neck," said Tina, a light brown Triceraton female, as she looked at the necklace Cloak had given me.

"Oh this? Yes."

"Is it his horn or…"

"It's his. He broke it defending me back on Shiniza 8."

"Oh, that's so romantic," Lara sighed.

"Big deal! So the guy broke a horn for her," said Tina; she wasn't always the easiest to get along with.

"It shows that he really likes her," interjected Sara.

"Yes, he must really really like her if he broke a horn for her," added Cara.

"Alright, girls, that's enough. You better not keep your appointments waiting," I said, before a fight could break out.

"Suppose you're right," sighed Lara.

"Where're you going?" asked Tina.

"To see Cloak. Seeing as I have the day off today, I thought I might as well go see him," I smiled, as I started to walk again.

"But why didn't you do that normally, back when you weren't together?" I stopped and looked back at the group of female Triceratons.

"Zanramon would usually have something for me to do in the morning and so I was busy," I explained.

Tina just nodded.

"I'll see you guys 'round," I said, as I started to head for the pilot's sector.

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I soon arrived at the pilot's sector; I walked in and received a few glances from the other pilots present there, but nothing out of the ordinary. While looking for Cloak I was suddenly joined by another Triceraton. He was quite tall, about Cloak's height (give or take an inch), orange in complexion, and he had a blue 'D' tattooed over his left eye.

"Hi," he smiled.

"Hi," I smiled back and then continued on my search for Cloak.

"You looking for someone?"

"Yes, uh… you wouldn't happen to know of a pilot named Cloak would you?"

"Cloak? Yes, he's out on a training mission at the moment."

"Oh, right."

"But he'll be back in a trigon or so, so if you want to wait for him…"

"Thanks, I might just do that."

"Here have a seat." The Triceraton pulled out a stool for me.

"Thanks, uh…"

"Dc." He held out his hand for me to shake.

"Pleased to meet you, Dc, I'm Cal."

"The pleasure's all mine."

I thought for a moment; the name Dc sounded familiar.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"No, just… have we met before?" I asked.

"No. This is the first time I've laid eyes on you."

"Right."
"Why?"

"Your name sounds familiar."

"Maybe you've met my brother."

"Who's your brother?"

"Ac."

"Oh yes! I remember him. He's friends with Zap and Turbo."

"Yeah, that's my brother."

I just smiled and looked around for Cloak.

"So, uh, I hear you're Zanramon's secretary; is that true?" Dc asked, as he leaned on a table just to the side of me.

"Yes," I replied, as I continued to look for Cloak.

"Must be interesting working for the Prime Leader."

"On occasion, yes." There was a slight lull in the conversation.

"So, what's your connection to Cloak?"

Before I could answer I was yanked off of the stool and my lips were pressed against someone else's. I pulled away as soon as I could and, seeing who my assailant was, gave him a semi-annoyed look.

"Cloak!" I reprimanded as best I could; I was kinda glad that he had done that.

"Good morning," he smiled, as he released me. Suddenly I was pulled away from Cloak and behind Dc.

"What do you think you're doing?!" growled Dc.

Cloak was taken aback by this sudden outrage, as was I.

"What are you talking about, Dc?" asked Cloak, regaining his senses.

"Since when do you do that to just any girl? I'm terribly sorry about this, Cal; it seems I'll have to teach Cloak how to respect a lady," said Dc, as he turned to face me.

"You haven't told him have you?" I asked, as I looked at Cloak.

"No one in this sector knows… yet anyway," Cloak smiled.

"Know? Know what?" asked Dc, looking a bit perplexed.

"Dc, this is my girlfriend, Cal," said Cloak, as he gently pulled Dc away from me and took his place next to me.

"Girlfriend?!" Dc looked at us in disbelief.

"That's right," I smiled, as I moved closer to Cloak.

"Since when?" he asked.

"Calm down, Dc; we've only been together since yesterday," explained Cloak.

"So, that's why you were out so late."

Cloak nodded.

"Yes, I was waiting for her to give me a good night kiss," Cloak smiled.

"How long did you stay outside my room, Cloak?" I asked.

"Four helates."
"You're persistent."

"I would have stayed longer, but I've got a curfew; being a pilot and all."

I just smiled at him.

"I don't think 'persistent' is that right word," said Dc.

"Who's your friend, Cloak?" asked a soot black Triceraton, as he walked up to us.

"Hi Bruno; this is Cal. Cal, this is Bruno; he's one of our technicians," said Cloak, as he put an arm around me.

"Pleased to meet you, Bruno," I smiled, as I shook Bruno's hand; man, it was odd calling someone else Bruno when I had called the All-stars' dog Bruno and also something about him rang a bell, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

"Right back at yah," smiled Bruno.

"This is Cloak's girlfriend, Bruno, so don't get too close," said Dc.

"Girlfriend? Since when were you interested in females?"

"I just didn't like what I saw; that is until I laid eyes on this little one," replied Cloak, as he held me closer.

I just smiled at him and he smiled gently back.

"Wait until Zix hears about this," smiled Bruno.

"Zix?" I asked.

"Yes, Bruno's teacher," replied Cloak.

"Right."

"Well, I better get back to work. Nice meeting you, Cal," smiled Bruno, as he turned and started to walk away.

"You too," I smiled.

"Hey, Cal," said Cloak, as soon as Bruno was out of sight.

"Yes," I replied, as I turned my head to look at him.

"Is Zanramon going to give you the holidays off?"

"Holidays?"

"Yes, we're coming up to our long holiday season; are you going to be off work for that time?"

"Don't know."

"Well, find out please."

"Why the sudden interest in my duty times, Cloak?"

"I go away to my parents place for the holidays and I was hoping that we could go together this year." Cloak turned to face me and took my hands in his.

"You sure?"

"Yes. My parents are going to need to meet you sooner or later; so, it may be better to get it over with quickly."

"Okay. I'll have a word with Zanramon when I next see him."

"Thanks." Cloak put my hands onto his shoulders, pulled me closer, and pressed his lips to mine before I could move away. We were completely oblivious to the looks we were getting from the other pilots, until we heard a few whoops from one or two of them. We ended the kiss quickly after that, both blushing a bit.

"I'll see you later, Cloak," I smiled, as I started to walk towards the exit.

"Right, sweetheart," he smiled, as he watched me walk off.

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I decided to walk by the throne room to see if Zanramon was there and he was. I found him rummaging through some papers that were on my desk.

"Can I be of assistance, Zanramon?" I asked.

"Cal! Where have you been young lady? I've been looking every where for you," he said gruffly.

"Sorry, Zanramon; I was visiting a friend."

"Right. Well, now that you're here I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yes."

"There's a long holiday coming up that lasts for about two orbital cycles and I wanted to let you know that you'll be having that off."

"Oh right, thanks."

"You'll be given leave within a week or so."
"Right. Do you get time off?"

"A bit. My council members will be taking some of the appointments now."

"How will you know when an appointment is made?"

"The students from the academy will be looking for holiday jobs; I've already found a replacement for you."

"Oh, right."

"But no one's going to be able to replace you properly, my dear."

I just smiled at the compliment.

"You seem to be the only one that I can talk to about anything," continued Zanramon, as he fumbled with the papers on the desk with one hand.

"I'm not too sure about that; I think Mozar is a better choice for a confidant," I said.

Zanramon just shrugged as he looked at the papers, but I noticed that he was still watching me out the corner of his eye.

"What are you looking for in those papers?" I asked, trying to get the conversation back onto business.

"I was just looking for some forms," Zanramon replied plainly.

"What kind of forms?"
"Application forms."

I walked behind the desk and opened a drawer; inside there were numerous forms. I pulled out a folder marked 'applications' and started to flip through its contents until I found some blank forms.

"There you go," I smiled, as I handed the forms to Zanramon.

"Oh, thanks," said Zanramon, as he looked at the forms with a hint of annoyance on his face.

"Something wrong?"

"No, no these are what I was looking for."

"You don't look too impressed though."

"Look, come with me for a moment; I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Zanramon looked around to see if we were alone or not. Nothing else was in the vicinity, so he returned his attention to me.

"My feelings for you have grown exponentially since the other night, my dear. Not a trigon goes past that I don't long for your company," he started.

"Okay," I replied; this was awkward to put it mildly.

"Please, consider being mine, my dear, that's all I ask."

"I'm afraid I'm already taken, Zanramon."

"What?! By who?!" Zanramon gripped my arms tightly, causing me to squeak slightly in pain.

"Just someone," I replied through gritted teeth; he may not look it, but Zanramon's strong. He released me when he saw that I wasn't going to respond.

"I'll find out who sooner or later, my dear, and when I find him… he'll wish he never laid eyes on you," said Zanramon, as he stormed off back into his throne room. I rubbed my arms to try to stop the stinging I could feel.

"You okay?" came a voice from in front of me.

I looked up and saw some of the other secretaries.

"Yeah," I replied still rubbing my arms.

"Zanramon can be such a brute at times," said Lara, her brow was furrowed in annoyance at Zanramon's actions.

"Tell me about it. What do you think he's got planned for you know who?"

"Nothing good."

I looked away from them; I didn't want Cloak to get in trouble and I didn't want him to get hurt either.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Zanramon already put him in jail once and he survived; ol' Zanny was just as ticked then as he is now," Lara giggled.

I just smiled.

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Seeing as Zanramon hadn't asked me to do anything else I went back to my room; Cloak had work to do and I didn't want to interrupt him. I had just begun reading a book that Zanramon had left for me in my room when there was a knock at my door. I put a book mark into the book and then went to see who it was.

"Who is it?" I asked, as I placed my hand on the handle.

"Your beau," came Cloak's voice from the other side of the door. I rolled my eyes and opened the door. Cloak stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"And now?" I asked, a bit taken aback by his forward action.

"Zanramon's none too happy about us getting together and the last thing I want is to have an argument with him in front of you," replied Cloak.

"Right."
"Nice place you got here."

"Thanks. So, is there a reason for this visit?"

"Do I need a reason to come see my darling?" Cloak pulled me closer to him in a gentle embrace.

"I suppose not, but you do usually have a reason for your visits."

"Fine. I wanted to know if you found out about your leave."

"Yes I did."

"And?"

"And I'll be on leave for two cycles in a week."
"Excellent! The same time I go on leave too."

"Right."

"I'll come pick you up the day after we go on leave, okay?"

"Sure."

"So be ready. I want to be out of here before Zanramon wakes up on that day."

"I'll be ready."

"Good. I better get back to my sector before my commanding officer calls me back."

"Okay; have fun."

"It's work."

"I know, but try to have some fun anyway."

Cloak smiled at me, quickly kissed me, and then released me. As he pulled away, his arm accidentally knocked mine and I winced a bit in pain; it had hit me right on the spot that Zanramon had grabbed me.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing to worry about, Cloak," I replied.

Cloak seemed to know me better than what I had hoped, because he took hold of my wrist and pulled the sleeve of my long sleeved top up. Eventually he got it high enough to be over the spot where Zanramon had grabbed me. He just stared in shock; I had a few dark bruises where Zanramon's claws had sunken in, but nothing too serious.

"What happened?" Cloak asked, as he gently ran his finger over the bruises. I winced a bit in pain from them.

"Well?" he asked getting impatient for an answer.

"Zanramon," I replied.

"Honey, when did this happen?"

"A few trigons ago."

"What did he do to you?"

"He just grabbed me, Cloak, because I told him that I was already taken."

"He confessed his feelings to you."

"Yeah; so, I told him that I couldn't be his because I was already with someone."

"What did he do when he found out it was me?"

"I didn't tell him who; I didn't want to get you into more trouble."
Cloak just smiled at me softly as he gently caressed me.

"You're something special; not many people would keep secrets from the Prime Leader."

"I'm an earther; we're used to doing things like that." Cloak just chuckled and then released me.

"I would like to see his face when he finds out who you're dating."

"I won't. He said that he would make whoever I'm with sorry for ever laying eyes on me."

"I couldn't ever regret that, Cal; you know how much we've been through and that's just strengthened our bond."

"I notice you didn't say 'never'." I smiled.

"You know how to spoil a moment don't you?" Cloak just looked at me exasperatedly.

"It's a gift." I tried to do my best Mikey impersonation for that.

"Yeah. Well, I was taking a note from your book about never saying never."

"Very controversial saying that."

"Tell me about it, but it's an earth saying so I didn't expect it to make too much sense."

"Oi!"

Cloak just chuckled at my expression and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

"I'll see you in a week," he smiled, as he started to walk out of my room.

"Sure," I smiled.

He smiled at me before exiting my room and closing the door behind him.

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A week later, I was ready to leave; I had packed what I had in my duffel bag, and was now waiting for Cloak to come fetch me. Just as I was about to go check the hallway for signs of life for the hundredth time, I heard a knock at my door. I smiled, picked up my bag, and walked to the door; opening it when I got there.

"Morning," smiled Cloak, he had a bag slung over his shoulder and a suitcase next to him.

"Morning," I smiled back.

"That it?" he looked at my duffle bag that I had slung over my shoulder.

"Yeah, why?"

He gestured to his two bags.

"What? Aren't women allowed to have less luggage than men?"

"It's not usually the case."

I just smiled at him as we started to walk off towards the space port.

"So, which shuttle are we on?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"The first one. It should only take a helate or so to reach my parents' place. They live just in the next galaxy," Cloak replied.

"Next galaxy?"

"Yeah, dad got tired of the constant fighting here on the home world that he thought it would be better to go elsewhere in the universe, so he took mom through to a little farming planet not too far from here."

"Nice."

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind farm life."
"Not at all. It'll be fun."

"I'm hoping it will be."

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We soon arrived at the space port, just in time to board our shuttle. Once on board, Cloak stuck our luggage in an overhead compartment, kinda like in an aeroplane, and then sat down next to me. We were soon on our way through to this farming planet when a thought struck me; Triceratons can only breathe nitrogen and sulphur, so was this planet also an atmosphere of nitrogen and sulphur or was Cloak going to have to wear an atmosphere converter too.

"Uh, Cloak," I said.

"Yes," he replied groggily; he had gone to sleep basically the minute he had sat down.

"This planet, is it also an atmosphere of nitrogen and sulphur or…"

"It's also nitrogen and sulphur; there are a few other places where the atmosphere is like the home world, but they aren't as popular with the Triceratons as most people would think."

"Right."

"Why did you ask that anyway?"

"Just wanting to make sure that you would be okay. Last thing I need is for you to have forgotten an atmosphere converter or some other vital piece of equipment."

Cloak smiled at me and took my hand in his.

"You're too sweet for your own good; you know that?" he asked, as he gently pressed his lips to my cheek.

"Now I do," I smiled. Cloak sat back in his chair, but kept my hand in his. I also sat back and partially dozed off myself; I was still conscious, but my eyes were closed.