Baby Girl

Chapter Ten:

Faded Memories Reappear

By: fairysphinx

fairysphinx: Yay!!!!!!!! I'm back!!!! I am sososososososososososososososososo sorry for the long wait! I mean, I haven't updated since…since…uh… * runs off to check * since February 17! That's almost four months! Oh, well. What matters is it's the next chapter, so please enjoy! And please review!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Zoids. Please don't sue me.

"Why did you leave me?" Raven gave her an odd look.

"I-I don't even know who you are! So how could I leave you?" For a quick second, he looked back at Mia to see that she was alright. She was clinging to Van, intimidated by the girl. But, he turned back as she started talking.

"You-you promised. You promised you'd stay with me! You promised that you'd never leave my side! You promised!" Her voice broke, and she began to sob, the tears coming in a steady stream.

"But I don't-. I don't remember you!"

"Hey, Raven." He looked back at Van. "Maybe you knew her in the parts of your life that you can't remember."

"Maybe you're right." Raven began to get really nervous. He was never good around crying girls…especially very powerful crying girls. "Um, Van, any idea on how to stop the waterworks?"

"Uh, maybe a hug?" Raven started to blush a deep red. The only girl that he'd ever hugged was Mia, and probably his mom, but he couldn't remember her. And now, after show almost no emotions for the majority of his life, he was to hug this…this girl?

Raven approached the girl on the ground. After a few failed tries, he finally worked his arms around her shoulders. She buried her face in his shoulder. He could feel her salty tears forming a wet spot on the cloth. He began to blush even harder.

"Um, Van, what now?"

"Well, uh, um, just, comfort her…I guess."

"And I'm supposed to do that how?"

"Uh…?"

"Oh, you're just a lot of help! Aren't you supposed to be really popular with the ladies?"

"Well, yeah, but-." He didn't complete his sentence. At that moment, Raven and the girl disappeared. There was no trace of either of them. "Uh, Mia, do you know what just happened?"

"Apparently," she said, "the Child of Earth can teleport."

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Raven looked around. They were no longer in the tower, but near the place that he had lived with his parents at one time. Now, the building was corroded, and the land looked…a little less desirable than it once had. But, it was the closest thing to home that he had…aside from his Zoid.

He noticed that the girl was still holding on to him, her eyes still buried in his chest, hands clinging desperately to the back of his shirt. "Do you remember this place?" she asked quietly, her tears ceasing slightly.

"Yes," Raven said. "How could I not?"

"You remember your parents, how they died?" Raven looked at the ground, and began to draw circles on her back with his fingers.

"Yes. I remember."

"But, you don't remember me?" He shook his head.

"No, I don't." She sniffed, pulled away from his grasp, and wiped the tears from her eyes and face. With swift, fluid movements, she smudged dirt on her face, split her long brown hair into two parts, and braided them. Then, she tucked a nearby flower behind her left ear.

"What about now?" Raven looked at her. He looked closely. Her large brown eyes were glossed over from the tears. They seemed familiar, like he'd seen them before. And the brown hair, plaited into two long braids, slightly touched with dirt, resembled tresses he had once known, left to the cobwebs in the back of his mind. The dirt smudged face, one that resembled a planter, or an earth-bound sprite, angelic, yet the dirt enhanced the natural beauty. The cherry lips, the grungy clothes. Everything began to come back in leaps in bounds, simply because of a different hair-do, and an application of dirt!

"I…I know you. You and I. We were friends…weren't we?" A smile lit up her face, and she nodded vigorously, mentally urging him to continue. "Your name is…Tara. Tara Wells. We met…when I came here with my parents to examine the organoids. You…you were alone, when we accidentally met. And because you had no one, and I was alone a lot…we became friends…and promised…and promised never to leave each other alone in the world…. Never to desert each other."

"But then you were knocked out by the organoid that you're parents were working with, and lost your memory. Then, Dan Flyheight took you in, planning to take you home with him and live with his family. But, unfortunately, Prozen came into the picture, and turned you into a killing machine with no feelings."

"You…you know all about me!"

"I promised you that I'd never desert you. And I didn't…well, I didn't up until Mia came into the picture. You and her became so close, she seemed to take up all of your existence. I lost hope of you ever remembering me, or, if you did, you ever needing me again."

"Just for a year? That's it?"

"Well, many times I left, because I couldn't bear to see the destruction that you were creating in towns, to Zoids…and to the environment." He looked down at the ground, suddenly ashamed of the misdeeds in his past.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you…even though I didn't know that I knew you." She gave him a small, sad smile.

"It's alright. No one really takes a caring to the earth anymore. After hundreds of lifetimes, I kind of got used to it." For a moment, the two just looked at each other. It seemed to Raven that no time had passed between them. The land began to grow green with grass, and speckled softly with flowers of many colors.

"I know what everyone says. That the only way to kill a Child for good is the Great Ring. But-." She crawled next to Raven, and wrapped her arms around him. Once, she felt his arms return the hug, Tara rested her head on his shoulder and continued. "But, I found out a way.

"Children have a crystal in their hearts. When their bodies are buried, the crystal is used to form the new body. Break the crystal, and the Child cannot be reincarnated. And the only way to break the crystal is by betrayal." When he gave her a questioning look, she continued. "When a Child falls in love, and completely trusts the person, the Child can give that person his or her crystal. However, if the person betrays the Child, the crystal breaks, the Child dies, and can never be reincarnated."

"That sounds awful! But…. How did you find this out?"

"There used to be a ninth Child. The Child of Fertility, I believe she was called. Most of us don't remember her, we've lived so many lives. She was the first and oldest of the Children. She trusted her crystal to a man, and he ran off with some other woman. The crystal broke, and she died." She stopped talking, and they were surrounded by silence. Tara started to cry again. "I don't want to form the Great Ring. I'm not ready to leave the only life where I've found happiness. But, I know that I have to. I know. And I'm going to miss you desperately."

"But, like you said, you have to go. And I'm really going to miss you…and Mia. I care for you both."

'Great. Now I two people I care for that I'm going to loose!'
Could have told you that.

'I don't want them to go…but I guess that it's more important to save Zi. I'm just a single person on it.'

But you're no less important than anyone else.

'I know. I guess than we should go back now.'

"We should go back."

"I guess so. I will take us back to the tower." With a little concentration, the beautiful landscape disappeared, and they were back in the tower.

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Mia and Van jumped as there was a flash. Raven and the girl were there, hugging each other tightly. "Raven!" Mia squealed. He separated from the girl, and Mia ran into his arms, accidentally knocking him over in the process. The girl rose to her feet.

"My name," she said, "is Tara Well. And I'm ready to go."

END OF CHAPTER TEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fairysphinx: -_-UUUU I'm out of shape. It took me a long time to get this one done. -_- Hopefully, next time I'll be quicker. Oh well! The important thing is that the chapter's done. Anyhow, please review! See you next chapter!