Only two days late on this one, guess I'm getting slightly better about being on time.

COMMENTS ON CHAPTER 5:

Crimson Homura: I cannot give an estimate on how long it will take, but yes BvW is soon.

BRSLoverrr: 16 Days isn't too bad considering I took 21 last chapter. But glad you like what you're reading!

Chapter Six: Night Hunt

Day 2

Date: Saturday, 1st Month, 22nd day, 1017th year D.A. (Dark Ages)

Location: Coopers Inn. Suburbs of Obroseon

Time: Roughly 10:08pm S.S.T. (Standard Sanctuary Time)

(One Hour Twenty-nine Minutes Until Squad Keeper Attacks Thilan Factory Zana)

Black had kept herself on high alert until they entered the apartment at Coopers Inn, still not trusting the strangers that conveniently show up as she's making her escape. The whole thing had been too easy, the guards clearly hadn't been ready for Black's sudden escape. The security systems By the time they got the guards with rocket launchers out it had been too late, she had been standing in front of one of the major labs, and had likely been given orders to not shoot at the labs. The small hesitation gave Black time to gun them down and make a nearly clean escape.

It hadn't been too much of a surprise when Dead showed up outside the facility tunnel, since they had been revived at the same time. Having that weapon smith with her turned out to be the winning factor in the fight. Black wasn't sure what the man Yeman had been doing there though, he just seemed like dead weight. She guessed he wouldn't last a minute in a fight if someone actually cared enough to kill him, which Dead hadn't at the time.

The one thing that did concern her was how Yeman reacted when she killed Dead. Had she not done it, she would have no doubt gotten herself patched up quickly and have followed their car all the way back to the Inn, leading the council to them as well. She couldn't save her fellow Keepers if she was back to being stuck in the facility, and she also knew that any of the Keepers, well maybe not Crystal, would have wanted Black to do it for the sake of the mission. They knew back in training that every day could be their last, but the sacrifice was worth it if the mission was completed. In the end, Black wasn't sure if Yeman didn't understand that and was genuinely concerned for them, or if he really wanted them for a science experiment of his own.

As for Coopers Inn, she found the place not only terrible in terms of its sanitation and appearance, but also terrible in terms of escape routes and the ability to defend it. I shouldn't stay here very long, I have to go east to Kheawuton to find that Guardian before the council figures out where I am. Black guessed that the device implanted in the back of her neck was not only supposed to take control of her mind but track her location as well. Meaning she couldn't stay in one place for more than an hour at most, and since she was still in the capital city, she probably had even less time.

When the three of them entered the building Yeman informed the clerk that he had an extra guest, a cousin of his that was visiting from the western farms of Ezodo. The clerk had glanced at Black briefly before allowing them to return to the room, no sign in or questions for Black. She realized that because of the 'no questions asked' policy that this Inn seemed to follow, she could use this place as a future hiding place in Obroseon, assuming the council didn't tear it down and that she could somehow get her tracking device removed later.

Yemen knocked on the door to room 56, and a quick response of "who is it?" quickly followed. Black guessed that this was the room Yeman and Riho were staying in.

"Burger delivery to a Mr. Pickle." Yeman answered. Black heard movement inside the apartment and a clicking sound as the door was unlocked. They really should use a less obvious code in case anyone is watching them. Black sighed inwardly. Yeman opened the door and led the young women inside, where a man was sitting at a small table with a laptop with the Obroseon System opened. Must be a hacker, looks like he's only twenty though, must be talented.

"Glad you were successful." The young man greeted through a mouthful of food.

"What are you eating Pike?" Riho asked in confusion.

"I always pack snacks, I get hungry during operations like these." Pike answered. Riho rolled her eyes and turned to Yeman.

"Alright Yeman, I got you into the facility and rescued the Keeper. When should I expect my Keytonium?"

Yeman sighed, clearly not thrilled to be discussing the subject. "It's in my bag, hang on I'll go get it. Try not to kill each other alright?" Yeman stepped through a door on the right side of them room that led to the bedroom. Black glanced at Riho, who let out a sigh and took out a cigarette from her back pocket. Pike noticed right away and jumped in his seat.

"Woah don't light one of those in here! I don't want any of your second-hand smoke!" Riho raised an eyebrow.

"Are you really going to question the woman with the gun?" Riho's threat didn't seem to faze Pike in the slightest.

"You're talking to the guy who can call the OPD with the touch of a button. Now please, I don't want any lung problems later in my life." Pike turned back to his laptop, but ended up moaning in frustration when Riho took out her lighter and lit the cigarette anyway. "I'm going to get you for this Kuse." Black stopped paying attention to the pair of them and started looking at the laptop screen. It was filled with data on both the Guardians and the Keepers, specifically her and a Guardian named 'Whitestar.'

"You're the one who brought up my past when we first met." Riho retorted. "Consider this payback." Riho put the lighter away. "So I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to be quite so serious all the time." W hen Black realized Riho was talking to her she looked up from the laptop.

"Emotions get in the way of the mission. As a soldier I can't afford to let them get in my way." Riho sat down in the chair on the other side of the table.

"All soldiers feel emotions, you're saying you were raised not to feel anything?" Riho took another puff from the cigarette. "That's cold, but I can understand it. Those who can't feel fear won't lose control of the situation, and those who don't feel the thrill of the fight won't get stupid. That's the theory anyway." Black said nothing, there were questions she wanted to ask but knew that it was wrong for her to ask. Keepers didn't ask questions.

When Riho realized that Black wasn't going to speak she leaned back in her chair. "So what's next for you? I mean after we confirm that the chip in the back of your neck doesn't work. You planning on going after that White guy?" Black's gaze had returned to the laptop, but snapped back to Riho at the mention of the Guardian.

"How do you know about him?" Black asked in what could probably be interpreted as an interested tone.

"He came into my shop earlier today, asked for the harness to the White Rock Cannon. Good group of kids, they didn't seem particularly happy about what they saw in the arena during your little free for all."

Unfortunately, those details weren't important to Black. She needed dates and locations, anything that would help her track Whitestar down. "Did they say where they were going?"

"They didn't say, but I can only guess that that they went with the rest of the Guardians out west to fight the Thilan." Riho answered. Which means Sy's report is probably accurate. I need to head for Zana as soon as possible.

"Alright Riho I've got it." Yeman emerged from the other room and placed several large metal canisters on the table. "This is all the Keytonium in my possession, as promised it's yours." Riho took a moment to inspect the canisters before nodding in approval.

"Glad to see that you're holding out on me. Now when you raise your little resistance army I can make them quality weapons." Both Yeman and Black were surprised at Riho's response. Based on everything Black had observed about Riho over the last hour, she thought the older woman was a mercenary and had little interest in Yeman's motives. Yeman stared at Riho for a few moments before replying.

"Wait, you're not leaving?" Yeman asked. Riho snorted.

"The council removed me from my military position and is forcing kids to kill each other. On top of that there's nowhere I can go with this much Keytonium without being hunted down by the council." Black realized how right she was. Since the Obroseon Police Department would figure out pretty quickly that all parties used Keytonium weapons, it would be very suspicious for Riho to suddenly have a large stash of Keytonium.

"Riho…I don't-" Riho cut Yeman off before he could get too far into his 'I didn't think this all the way through and now you're screwed' speech.

"Save the sappiness for someone who actually cares Yeman. I knew what I was getting into the second I accepted the job, in fact I'm glad I can stop selling guns and armor to those lowly gangs and move onto something that will actually accomplish something." Riho slowly pushed herself up from the chair and walked towards the door. "I need to go pick up Oris and need, I'll be back in a few hours."

Clearly the outside world is more complicated than I originally thought. Black noted. But it changes nothing, I must go. I cannot afford to waste any more time. Black walked towards the door to leave, but a voice stopped her as she reached for the handle.

"Black, what are you doing?" Yeman's voice wasn't threatening, instead it sounded like he was concerned for what she might be thinking.

"I'm leaving." Black replied simply.

"You can't go just yet, I need to talk to you!" Yeman sounded like he was pleading. Black turned her head and glared at Yeman.

"They planted a device in the back of my neck and are tracking my location, staying here will only result in my recapture."

"That's highly unlikely." Pike said through a mouthful of food. Both Black and Yeman turned their gazes toward the young hacker. "That chip in the back of your neck is meant to alter your brain, not track your location."

"So then why is my brain not under their control if that is is the chip's function?" Black asked, growing impatient at being stopped at the door. Pike rolled his eyes.

"If I knew that you probably wouldn't be standing here right now." There was a momentary pause before Black once again reached for the door handle.

"Wait!" Yeman exclaimed, dashing forward to try and reach the door handle first. Black caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and within a second had her cannon aimed at Yeman's chest. He froze, raising his hands up at chest level.

"Do not attempt to stop me, I must complete my mission." Black growled.

"It's just," Yeman sighed. "I want to do more than just free all the Keepers, I want to know you guys more. I've been watching the Keepers ever since I was fifteen and my father was overseeing the project. I always sat behind the glass, hoping one day to talk to you all. I mean you're all so amazing. Trained to fight from the moment you're born, you guys work so well together, and you have the discipline that no Blue Rift army has ever shown before. Now that I have this chance, I don't want it to slip away."

Black felt a pang of sympathy for Yeman. In a way, she wanted to know what it was like for ordinary kids, not having to grow up with the expectation of saving the whole continent from a seemingly unbeatable enemy. But at the same time her mission – and her sister – still came first. Black put away her cannon and opened the door, Yeman didn't try to stop her this time, simply standing there with a pleading look in his eyes.

"You want to know why we work so well together?" Black replied as she stood halfway through the door. "It's because we know that whatever happens, we will always stand together as brothers and sisters." Black closed the door and left the Inn.

"Are you really going to let her go?" Pike asked after a few minutes, continuing to work on his laptop as he did so. Yeman let out another long sigh and sat down on the couch.

"I don't have a choice Pike, it's not like I can stop her."

"So," Pike put the last of the sandwich into his mouth. "Are you going to give up then? Without Black there isn't much chance of getting to the rest of the Keepers, even if we did find a way to deactivate the brain control chip."

"I'm not giving up on the Keepers Pike." Yeman replied sternly. "Not when each night could be their last. There has to be someone else who can help us." Thinking carefully, Yeman ran through a list of possibilities. Black was out of the question, she was off chasing after the Guardian who had White Rock Cannon. The Guardians were too busy on the eastern front dealing with the Thilan. There was no doubt in his mind that Riho would help, but one Keytonium hand cannon wouldn't be enough to take on the remaining Keepers. Yeman recalled something about Riho being a weapons dealer for the gangs, but he doubted they would be interested in taking on the Council, or the Keepers. Admitting defeat for the time being, Yeman stood up and walked back towards the small kitchen towards the front of the room.

"Forget it, I need a drink." Yeman groaned. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Pike smile.

"Not as easy as you thought is it?" Pike asked rhetorically with a hint of amusement. It sounded like he knew something but Yeman found himself too drained of the day's events to ask what he knew. Pulling open the small refrigerator built into the counter, Yeman pulled out a bottle of Obroseon Blue and a single glass. He knew Pike didn't like to drink, especially not the strong stuff.

The young hacker wasn't going to let it go however, and when he figured out that Yeman wasn't going to press him for information, he got up from his laptop and walked to the opposite side of the counter, leaning against it with one arm.

"Alright Yeman here's the deal, seeing how that Black girl was interested in that Whitestar guy, I checked him out and got a little information." Yeman took a sip from his drink and looked up at Pike with a look of half interest; half 'I'm going to fall asleep from exhaustion any minute.' "Turns out he's the leader of a team called 'Squad Keeper.'" This gave Yeman pause. Wait, there's no way they could be naming themselves after the Keepers… Wait a second, when Riho interrogated them, they said that they hated the Keeper Battles! Yeman pushed up off the counter so suddenly he almost fell backwards. Pike grinned, clearly getting the reaction he wanted.

"Great Sanctuary, these Guardians could be the answer we're looking for!" Yeman declared. Pike only sighed.

"Dammit man!" Pike bounced a closed fist off of the counter and stood upright. "You have ten years on me and you still can't connect the dots. Who do you think Black just ran off to go find?"

Yeman found himself growing frustrated. Squad Keeper would be his best shot at freeing the rest of the Keepers, but Black was also on her way to them. On top of that she had a head start and knew where she was going. So great, they're no longer an option, back to square one. Yeman threw an angry glare at Pike.

"Alright what the hell Pike. First you tell me we might have an option with Squad Keeper and then you remind me that Black is on her way to do who knows what to them! Tell me where you're going with this already!" Yeman's shouting was met with a long sigh of disappointment.

"Alright, since Squad Keeper is sympathetic to the Keepers, it's logical that other Guardians may share the same opinion. Meaning-"

"Meaning that we might be able to recruit some of them to our cause!" Yeman finished, however his brain was starting to turn back on, and sighed as he finished thinking the plan through. "Alright, it's a good start, but there are a few problems with that plan. First of all the Guardians have a remove kill switch built into them in case they go rouge. So if we were to attack that Keeper facility with a small army of Guardians, we'd be done for. Secondly, we can't exactly just go over to the front lines and start asking random Guardians if they want to go rouge, we'd get arrested for treason." Yeman paced back and forth in the small kitchen, trying to think of a solution.

"We might be able to spread rumors about why the Keepers were really created and the brain control chip, which might get a few Guardians over to our side." Yeman continued, thinking aloud. "But then we still have to find a way to turn off the kill switch that the Guardians have and move against the Keeper facility before they get onto us." Yeman crossed his arms and began to tap a finger against his side. "But then again there's no way they'll keep that facility where it is after we broke into it, meaning we're also going to find it again."

"Alright so we need to find out where the new Keeper facility is going to be, break back into their security system after they finish locking me out, remove the kill switch in the Guardians, and recruit them to our cause." Pike nodded while pressing his lips together. "Yeah this is doable. Did I mention that you're by far the most idealistic idiot I've ever met?"

"You can't ask me to sit on my ass and do nothing Pike." Yeman retorted sharply. "Besides you signed up for this." Pike grinned.

"Touché my friend. I'm drawn to impossible causes led by perverted people who lost their jobs because they hit on young girls."

Yeman resisted the urge to smash his fist into Pike's head, which wasn't an easy task. "Hilarious Pike, real mature." Yeman replied monotonously. "My reasons for helping the Keepers are private alright?"

"Touchy subject eh?" Pike sighed and walked back over to his laptop. "Alright Yeman I won't pressure it further. Just make sure we have a plan when the hammer drops ok?" Yeman nodded , quickly downed the rest of his drink, and retired into the bedroom to get some much needed sleep. We can do this. With or without Black I will free them.

Day 2

Date: Saturday, 1st Month, 22nd day, 1017th year D.A. (Dark Ages)

Location: Suburbs of Obroseon

Time: Roughly 10:37pm S.S.T. (Standard Sanctuary Time)

(One Hour Until Squad Keeper Attacks Thilan Factory Zana)

Black still felt bad for Yeman. All he wanted was answers and have a better understanding, something Black wished for when her control over her emotions slipped, like right now. Black mentally slapped herself and pushed her feelings to the side. She still had a job to do, and she didn't have a lot of time to do it. Each night could be the last for any one of my family.

She knew tracking down Whitestar wasn't going to give Black a solution to freeing the Keepers, but it was something she had to do anyway. Her desire to find the Guardian was something Black couldn't explain with logic. Finding the White Rock Cannon just felt like the right thing to do. Like it was what her sister wanted her to do.

Of course that wasn't really the case. Unlike many of the citizens on Blue Rift, Black was atheistic. She didn't believe in some higher power or people rising to a higher plain of existence. Black knew that when she died, that would be it for her. It didn't really bother her, after all she hadn't even been born naturally. Black was a weapon, and when she was no longer useful, she would be discarded.

Realizing she was getting herself lost in thoughts that were inappropriate, she pushed her feelings aside and refocused her mind. At the moment Black stood roughly a mile and a half east of Coopers Inn, looking out at the flat plains that stretched to the horizon towards Kheawuton. She needed to get to the former Kheawuton capital as soon as possible while Whitestar was still in the area. The only question was how to get there. It would take Black weeks to walk there, and the train would be heavily guarded. That left only one option.

She needed a hovercar.

There was no moral consequence to stealing one, Black and the other Keepers had been told to accomplish the mission by any means necessary, even at the cost of civilian lives if it came to that. Turning around, Black jumped off of the roof of the building she had been standing on, bouncing off of a large dumpster before landing on the ground.

The only problem Black had with stealing a hovercar was the defensive systems in place. In order to turn on a hovercar, one needed to be in possession of both the keys and the pass code, which was only given by a car dealer at the time of the sale. True she could probably bully it out of someone, but Black wanted as little attention on her as possible. Attracting the police would be a bad idea. Blacks mind started reeling through potential ideas.

Since stealing was out of the question she would need to buy a car, but even if she were to find a cheap used car lot Black didn't have any money, and there wasn't time to get a job. Taking a quick job as an assassin would probably work, but then she would be killing civilians to make money, a practice forbidden no matter what. Almost everything the Keepers did had to be for the good of Blue Rift, and her personal quest didn't qualify.

What if I traveled with someone already going to Kheawuton? Hitchhiking. That was the answer Black was looking for. She couldn't pay the person back with anything more than a thanks, but it was the best option she had on short notice. The roads to Kheawuton were supposedly off limits to civilians, but various people moved out east illegally. All Black needed to do was go with one of these people.

Black pulled her hood over her head and started walking, trying to look as casual as possible. To anyone who might have caught a glance of Black, she probably looked like a local gang member, someone to stay clear of unless they were looking for trouble. This let Black move freely through the suburbs, which were nearly silent. Most of the houses and building Black passed didn't have any lights on.

After a good ten minutes of walking Black spotted the East Highway on her right. Only one line of dark houses, a large fifteen foot wall, and an OPD checkpoint stood between her and the road east. Leaping over a white fence, Black quickly jogged through the empty yard of one of the houses, easily jumping over the fence on the other side with minimal effort.

Black knelt down, pressing herself against the fence as much as she could. To her left was a clear vision of the checkpoint. If they looked over towards Black she doubted they'd miss her, even if her clothes were black and there wasn't any light. She needed to get through the wall quickly. However the wall was completely smooth, there was no way Black was going to be able to climb over it. Shooting it was also out of the question unless she wanted to start killing off the officers at the checkpoint. I can't get through this way.

Retracing her steps back to the other side of the yard, Black felt a twitch of surprise as she spotted a large hovertruck coming down the road with the logo of a military weapons company on the side of the crates it held in the back. Moving quickly, Black ran out into the middle of the road, right in front of the truck. With a loud screech the truck slowed to a stop, and the driver – a male looking to be in his mid-thirties with a bit of dark hair on the chin – stuck his head out the window.

"Yo kid what are you doing? Don't you know it's dangerous to be playin' out in the streets?" Black said nothing, instead she walked up to the truck and opened the door.

"I need a ride to Khua." Black said, her voice making it sound like it was more of a demand than a request.

"That's the front lines in the war against the Thilan, what could a youngster like you possibly be doin' trying to get out there?" The man asked in disbelief.

"I'm looking for someone." Black replied simply. "I only ask that I be allowed to travel in your vehicle, nothing more." The man raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think I'm going east?"

"You have a large amount of military grade weapons in the bed of your truck." Black answered. "A shipment of that size could only be going to the front lines." There was a long pause before the man eventually sighed.

"Alright fine, it's obvious you're just gonna just go with someone else if I don't take you. Consider yourself lucky I'm not the type to take advantage of 'ya." Clearly the man hadn't recognized Black nor seen the cannon on her back, if he had the driver might not have seen her as a desperate female teenager. Black didn't care if the man saw her this way, she had what she needed. In fact it was probably better than he didn't recognize her. Unclipping the cannon from her back, she climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door.

"I'm headed to Baquin, will that be close enough for you?" The man asked, putting the truck into drive. Baquin was a small town just a few miles away from the former capital, close enough for her to get there in just under an hour at a running pace.

"That will be fine." Black answered simply.

"You don't say much do you?" The man observed turning the corner and pulling up to the checkpoint. Black nudged her hood over her eyes, she felt the man's gaze on her for a moment but he didn't say anything as the truck slowed to a stop. Black the heard the sound of a window lowering, the noise of the truck's engine becoming louder. If I'm lucky the officers won't ask too many questions. If they find out who I am I'll never get another chance at this.

"Evening there Hans, another shipment for the guys on the front line?" Black didn't recognize the voice, but guessed it belonged to one of the checkpoint officers.

"Yup, mostly heavy weapons this time. I hear those assault tanks are doing a number on our boys." Hans replied, there was a sigh from the official.

"Damn Thilan, once they got their hands on our large factories this war has just gone from bad to worse. At least the Guardians are out there now."

"You really think they're going to make a difference?" Hans asked, sounding surprised that the guard had so much faith in the new warriors. "Sounds like it's a load of crap to me, propaganda to cover up how bad the war is going."

"Better to have some hope than none right?"

"I'd prefer to know exactly what the situation is, not have some newspaper or government official sugarcoat it." Hans replied grimly.

"So who's the girl?" the official asked. Black resisted the urge to tense up.

"Nephew, parents are out of town for the weekend and put me in charge of her."

"I didn't realize you had a nephew." He's buying this?

"Don't like to talk about her much, troublemaker without good grades, you know?" Hans sounded genuinely disappointed, almost like she really was a troublemaking nephew.

"Alright, well I'll let you guys through, just need to see the passports." The officers voice sounded slightly bored at reciting procedure, like he had already done it thousands of times before. Black guessed that the man thought it ridiculous to check the passports of someone whose gone through the checkpoint dozens of times before. Still, Black didn't have a passport, meaning that she would probably end up having to fight her way out. But before Black could start reaching for her cannon, Hans threw up a hand in frustration.

"Dammit, sorry Frank I forgot the kid's passport back at the apartment. Guess I was so focused on checking the shipment I forgot all about it." Black heard Frank chuckle.

"Seriously Hans, it's always something with you. Well I don't think we need to worry about it. I can let it slide just this once."

"Thanks Frank, I owe you a drink when I get back." Still unwilling to look up, Black heard the sound of gates opening and felt the truck lurch forward. Black couldn't believe the guards bought Han's nephew and passport story.

The pair drove in silence. Black eventually found herself getting bored, and would liked to have pulled out one of her books that she put in her dimensional storage, but retrieving it would give her away. Instead she looked out in the window, watching the empty open plains around Obroseon.

Black felt strange seeing it with her own eyes. She had spent all over her life inside, either training or studying. Sure she had seen these plains in vids before, but it was different to watch them pass by with her own two eyes. And to Black, there was something special about watching it at night.

There had once been a time when Black hadn't been so hard on herself, when she had been a little more rebellious. Before her sister died, the pair of them would sneak out of their rooms and watch vids about the outside world. It didn't matter what they watched. Farmers in Ezodo planting crops, miners in Zintis, families celebrating national holidays in Obroseon, it didn't matter. Both of them just wanted to know more about the outside world.

One memory in particular was very vivid for Black, the night before White's accident. The pair of them were watching a vid about daily life about citizen life in Obroseon. On the screen was a family of four, mother father and two kids. The vid was discussing formal eating habits of normal families, not that the pair of them was paying much attention to the words.

"I want to have a family like that someday." White said with a dreamy sigh. Black turned to her sister and raised an eyebrow.

"You know that's against the rules right?" White punched Black in the arm lightly.

"It'll happen, just you wait. I'm going to find the best husband and have the best family!" White's eyes were filled with determination. It was almost easy to forget that the pair of them were being trained as killing machines.

"Do you think we'll be able to live our own lives?" White asked suddenly. Her voice sounding sadder than it had been a moment ago. That was White though, one moment she would be lost in a fantasy, and the next she would return to the real world. Black had been caught off guard by the question.

"I think so, after we defeat the Thilan." Black said, returning her gaze to the family. White hugged her legs tightly.

"But they control the whole planet! There are so many of them, it feels like we'll spend our whole lives fighting." Black slid herself over and hugged her sister, trying to comfort her.

"Don't worry, we'll beat them, together." Black promised.

Black still regretted being unable to keep that promise. And after the death of her sister she fought furiously, using the anger at the death of White. She blamed the Thilan, the trainers, the scientists, everyone she could see she blamed for not doing enough to save her sister at the time. As she grew older she accepted what happened and lost her rage. She stopped going to the vid room at night, and attempted to lose all of her emotions in order to become what she wanted to be, the greatest Thilan killing machine of all time.

The sound of a voice made Black realize she was letting herself fall into her memories again, and she mentally slapped herself. Idiot, that's over now. Those times are gone, why can't I shake those memories?

"Hey, kid are you listening?" The voice again, this time Black's ears managed to register Han's question.

"Apologies, is there something you needed?" Black asked, turning away from the window. The truck was still moving along the highway alone, the plains had started becoming the deserts of Kheawuton. It meant that the pair had been driving for about forty five minutes. That was forty five minutes when she could have been killed because she daydreamed.

"Just a question about your rock cannon, if you're up for answering." Black froze, wondering how Han's had managed to figure out her identity. Clearly her panic must have been written all over her face, because Hans laughed.

"Calm down kid, did you really think I wasn't going to notice who you were when you took of your weapon? No one else on Blue Rift has a weapon like that, you're lucky that Frank was too busy talking to me to notice." With her mental barriers shattered from the shock of finding out that Hans knew who she was, Black felt a wave of shame. She should have known that just putting up her hood would have done nothing to hide Black Rock Cannon. "Seriously kid, don't worry about it. If I wanted to give you away I would have done it back at the checkpoint. Besides, I expected this sooner or later."

"You… expected me?" Black asked in confusion, still doing a poor job of hiding her emotions.

"Not everyone in Obroseon agrees with the Keeper Battles. A lot of us in the suburban districts think this is all some grand conspiracy. The way you and the rest of the Keepers reacted on that first night is proof of that. Figured one of you would eventually break out of there and try to escape." Black didn't know what to say, she had just been helped by a complete stranger who had pieced together exactly what happened to them.

"Don't you want to do something about it?" Black asked. Hans shrugged.

"Sure, I'd love to. But no sane person will try and prove that there is a conspiracy behind the newest and most popular spectator sport on Blue Rift, not to mention that you'd probably end up disappearing." Black fell silent, a single question burning in the back of her mind.

"Why did you help me then? You must know that the council is looking for me, who knows what they'll do to you." Hans shrugged.

"I figure I'd do my part to help you guys out. Eventually the people will realize what the Keeper battles really are, and I'll be glad to say I was able to help do something about it. More than anything, it's just the right thing to do." The right thing to do… Black wanted to think about it more, but something in the back of her mind told her that danger was coming, fast.

Without any warning, a large red chain slammed into the road just to the left of the truck, just missing it by inches.

"Don't stop, we need to keep moving!" Black shouted at Hans, who looked ready to slam on the breaks.

"What the hell was that?" Hans asked as he slammed his foot into the gas pedal.

"Our enemies." Black replied simply, throwing her cannon onto her back and opening the door to the truck.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Hans demanded.

"To defeat them." Black answered without turning around. Stepping onto the footstep, Black slowly made her way towards the bed of the truck, pressing herself against the truck while keeping a tight grip on the seat belt she had taken with her.

The truck swerved to the left as the red chain came down, hitting the spot where the vehicle had been just a moment before. Once Hans had the truck re-stabilized Black quickly let go of the seat belt and grabbed the edge of the bed, hauling herself up and over the side.

Right behind the hovertruck was a dark green Express Boltway, normally too expensive to use for any kind of military operation. However it was known to be the fastest hovercar in addition to the most expensive. With the tinted windows Black couldn't see who was driving, but she did spot a familiar face standing on top of the car, a male Keeper one year younger than Black who went by the name Red Chain Whipper. Specializing in chains similar to the ones Dead uses, Red had always given Black a hard time during sparing matches. His fighting style kept opponents away from him while his spiked chains attacked from a distance, and since Black used projectile weapons in her cannon, he could smash those as well.

Red grinned before throwing one of his two chains right at Black, who dodged to the left just in time for the chain to pass right by her ear before slingshoting back. He's gotten faster than the last time. Black observed. Summoning Black Blade in her hand – since her rock cannon would be useless against red – Black climbed on top of the weapons containers, readying herself for Red's next attack.

The other Keeper didn't waste a second, throwing the chain in his right hand outward at a speed that normal people wouldn't have been able to track. Equally as fast, Black sent the chain flying off to the left with a single defensive strike, doing the same to the chain in Red's left hand that had been thrown soon after the right one.

Both chains quickly fell to the ground, but Red only retracted them enough so they wouldn't drag on the ground. With an overhead motion with his arm, he lifted his left chain over his arm and brought it downward in a blur of motion. Black shot forward, moving diagonally. The chain slammed against the steel container, denting it but not breaking it. I need to be careful. Black noted as she darted forward. One wrong step for either of us and it's over.

Red brought his left chain flying horizontally at Black, clearly trying to hit her in the torso and knock her off the truck. Black dropped, slamming her body against the one open space in the bed of the truck. Her legs crashed against the back, sending the tailgate flying out. Black slammed her blade into the bed of the truck to keep her from going over as well. The Boltway swerved to the left, dodging the tailgate but also throwing Red off balance. His chain flew wildy in the air, and it was clear to Black that he had never controlled his chains while moving at a high speed before.

Red attempted to retract his chains rapidly, ducking to dodge his own weapon and throwing out his right one as he did so. Black pulled her katana out of the bed and rolled to the right, feeling a sharp stab of pain as she was forced to roll over her cannon. Black completed one more roll, letting the large weapon stop her before she quickly sat up and pulled it out. Now with both chains out and in motion, there was no way for Red to defend himself. Black leveled her cannon and took aim at Red's chest, but the Boltway sharply pulled to the right as she pulled the trigger, causing her shot to miss.

The sudden motion however had caused Red's left chain to fly in all directions, and his right chain ended up swerving to the side, after snapping backwards, swinging itself through the Boltway's driver's side window.

The Boltway swerved to the right, knocking Red off the top and sending him crashing to the asphalt below. Red rolled a good fifteen to twenty feet before finally stopping. Black knew that wasn't going to kill him. True it would probably take him a good two days to crawl back to Obroseon but he was alive.

The same couldn't be said about the Boltway driver though.

After Red had been knocked to the ground, the car had sped off the asphalt, and as soon as it hit the dirt it began to flip and roll, not stopping until it was just a small spec on Black's vision. Whoever the driver had been, there was no way they were alive now. Black returned her rock cannon to the harness and Black Blade to dimensional storage, she knew that there weren't going to be any more Keepers coming towards her for at least another few hours.

She had been lucky, whoever had decided to send Red Chain Whipper had been stupid. At those high speeds with the added difficulty of movement by the Boltway made Red's chains a highly unreliable weapon. If they had sent Dead or a Keeper with a ranged weapon, Black would have been in a lot more trouble. I doubt I'll get that lucky twice. Black commented to herself as she felt the truck begin to slow to a stop.

Hans came scrambling out of the truck, eyes wide and breathing hard. "Are you alright?" His eyes lowered to Black's legs. "Great Sanctuary you're bleeding." Black looked down at her left leg. Her adrenaline rush had been so high that she hadn't even noticed the cut. It was fairly shallow but it ran from her knee all the way down to her foot, her boot torn apart. It must have been in the last moments of the fight. Black guessed.

"Do you have any medical supplies?" Black asked calmly. Hans nodded and ran back towards his truck. Black sat with her feet hanging over the edge of the truck, and she looked out at the horizon, where she could see the moon slowly rising. I'll be on the road for a few days before we reach Baquin. Based on the reports she had heard from Pike, the new Accelerator Trains had been completed and put into use. Any one of those trains that departed from Obroseon could reach another kingdom in five hours or less. A fraction of the time it took a person to drive that far.

Black started to worry, a few days was a lot of time for someone on the front lines to either die or move on to another location by train. This would probably be the only time when Black would be certain of Whitestar's location, and she couldn't afford to waste it.

"Here, hopefully you can patch yourself up with what's in here." Black looked to her left to find Hans holding out a solid red case with one hand.

"Thanks." Black took the medical kit and opened it, first taking the disinfectant out and spraying it over the long gash. The chemicals against the open wound stung but it wasn't anything Black hadn't dealt with before. In fact it was a good sign that she still had feeling in her entire leg.

"How bad is it?" Hans asked with a slight note of concern.

"Long but not deep, I'll be fine by morning." Black answered monotonously.

"Geez kid you're incredible, 'ya handled that guy like he was nothing." Black didn't respond to Hans's compliment. All she had done was defeat someone she had fought a hundred times before, and there was no pleasure in defeating someone who was supposed to be on her side.

"Was he a Keeper?" Hans asked as Black returned the disinfectant to the kit and took out a large roll of white bandage tape.

"Yes." Black sighed. "His name is Red Chain Whipper."

"Was he after 'ya because 'ya ran away?"

"Yes."

"So are the rumors true then?" Black paused wrapping up her leg and turned to Hans.

"The rumors about the Keepers being part of a conspiracy?" Hans nodded. "I wouldn't know. All I know is that once we were training to fight the Thilan, and then they implanted those mind control chips in us and we became science experiments." Black resumed wrapping and Hans fell silent.

Within a few minutes the lower half of Black's left leg was completely white, wrapped tightly. Hans was leaning against the hovertruck, looking at the rising moon until Black was done. As soon as she had finished his communicator had gone off, and the truck driver stepped away to answer the call, figuring that it was his boss.

Maybe Whitestar would help me. Black wondered , closing the red medical kit and leaning back against one of the steel containers. Considering the guy had his sisters cannon it could be possible that we would want to help Black free the rest of the Keepers. Then again it was equally possible that he wouldn't. It was a hope that she wouldn't let herself hold onto. And either way, she was going to have to take the cannon away from him. But can I take on four Guardians?

Black didn't even have a remote idea of how strong they were. True Hans had his own doubts about the true strength of the new heroes of Blue Rift, but he was just speculating without any factual evidence. There was the very real possibility that the Guardians would turn out to be much more deadly than the Keepers. They must be, Black realized, If the council was willing to choose them over a project that took them sixteen years to prepare. There wasn't time for doubts. Even if the odds were stacked against Black this was something she had to do, for her sister as well as herself.

"Well I got good news and bad news." Black turned to Hans, but gave no other response. "The bad news is that I've been told to redirect to Delesi, which means I can't drive you all the way to Baquin." Black felt herself going into a panic. Khua was still at least another two weeks walk from here. There would be no way for her to catch up to Whitestar on foot.

"The good news is that an Accelerator Train is going to stop there before making its final stop in the old capital." Hans grinned, and Black actually gave a smile. Instead of taking two days or two weeks to get to Khua, she would be there in less than two hours.

Not really much to say at the end here except see you guys in two weeks with another chapter! Remember to leave a review and follow!