Chapter Two!

Protector of the Shadows here. I changed my pen name because…well just because. I wish to inform you that progress will be rather slow I will complete this story eventually. Granted it may take a couple years for that to happen…anyways I digress.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of "Wolf's Rain" or "Zoids". I might make up a few new Zoids and I might add some other new characters.

Red River

Kiba sat on a cliff over looking the area where Hermann was standing. 'He's not such a bad guy.' Thought Kiba smiling slightly. 'Maybe I'll drop by someday and see how things are going.' With that Kiba let his illusion down, he turned preparing himself for whatever his journey may bring to him, and he looked back at the Republican captain before sprinting off.

Somewhere in the desert

Foot prints marked the sand with a trial leading to who knows where. The animal that raided the Imperial camp had been walking for two days on end only taking breaks to sleep. It was headed towards some mountains it saw on the out skirts of the desert. Not knowing that it was being watched.

"What the heck is that thing?" Yelped a small Tawny wolf wearing three silver bracelets on his right forepaw as a giant metal Wolf walked towards it. Toboe had been walking and didn't know that this place was crawling with people or more precisely people in large animal like objects.

"You there don't move!" A mans voice came from the cockpit of the giant mechanical wolf.

"Yeah right." Toboe said under his breath as he turned tail and ran as fast as he could go.

"Hey, you heard him. He said stop!" Yelled another man over the loud speaker of a green bull.

"Oh my god there's more of these things!" Toboe screamed. Looking around him he saw that he was surrounded by a whole variety giant mechanical animals. Scared out of his mind Toboe did the thing any one his age would do. He crouched onto the ground covered his head and hoped to god they wouldn't hurt him.

With the men who scared Toboe

"What do you think that kid's doing put here all on his own?" Asked a woman with wavy brown hair that went to her shoulders.

"He's probably lost." Responded a man with red buzzed hair and a blue dash underneath his eye. "He won't make it out here on his own."

"So what are we going to do about it Rex?" The women asked.

"I think you know the answer to that Rose." Rex laughed back. "Alright men you pick up the kid and bring him back to the base Rose and I are going to make sure that the Rebels aren't doing any thing they aren't supposed to be doing."

"Yes sir. Came their collective reply."

So it went that Rex and Rose left and the men unwillingly scared the daylights out of the kid. When they saw the boy curl up into a ball they all got out of their cockpits and walked towards him.

'Damn we really scared him.' Thought one of the younger men they call Jazz for the soul reason of that is what he liked to listen to.

"Maybe we should back off a bit." He whispered to his friend next to him.

"He'll be fine Jazz let it go." The blue haired man whispered back. Just as he was about to pick the kid up when something they didn't plan happened.

Toboe

When the men came forward Toboe saw his chance to get away. Two of the strange men had come forward and he darted right between their legs knocking them over.

"Hey come back here! You won't last out here on your own!" Yelled a blue haired man. It was too late though Toboe was long gone.

'I don't like this place.' Thought Toboe as he ran. 'Too many giant robots.' As he thought this last he turned around to see the "giant robots" were now chasing after him. 'What did I do to them' Poor Toboe was at a loss he had a feeling these weren't any of the Nobles junkies and he knew he hadn't done anything to them to make them come after him. That was when he smelt something familiar. 'That smells a lot like those people who I got the food from.' Instinctively he ran towards the smell.

Just as the machines were about to catch him more of them came from the other direction. Toboe yelped and ran to the right taking cover behind a bush. The things that had been after him turned tail and ran. A few of the rescuing mechanical beings ran after them but one of the things, which resembled a cougar, lowered it's head and a man jumped out. He was wearing some type of military uniform Toboe could make out that his hair was blonde but his eyes were hidden by the hat he was wearing. He knelt down a little before the bush and looked at Toboe before he took off his hat.

'He doesn't seem bad.' Toboe tilted his head slightly and they continued to stare at each other.

"Hey, kid, are you alright?" He seemed to be honestly concerned. Toboe just nodded. "Why don't you come with me? I can help make sure those pirate don't come back." Toboe just nodded again. He hadn't had much rest since he woke up here so running for his life had taken a lot out of him. Alright then let's go.

With Major Schubaltz

Once he brought the kid back to their camp Schubaltz lead him to the tent which served as their mess hall. He watched the kid eat and drink his fill and then they sat there in silence. The boy seemed to be taking everything in finally he looked over at Schubaltz as if he were trying to figure something out.

"Thanks." The kid looked at his feet and then looked back up.

"It's what I do. So tell me why you are out here alone. That can be really dangerous." Schubaltz stood up wan went out side to sit on a rock over looking a valley. The kid followed and sat next to him on the ground before he began to say anything.

"I was with my friends. We were looking for something but someone found out about it and so we had to hide. We finally found out where the thing we were looking for was but the people who we had to hide from they were waiting for us. I remember hearing gunshots and that was the last time I saw my friends." The kid looked like he was about to cry but then he looked up at Schubaltz and smiled. "Something tells me that they are still alive. So all I have to do is find them."

Schubaltz sat in silence before he responded with a smile of his own. "Well, how about we help you find your friends?"

"That'd be grate." He replied grinning form ear to ear.

"One thing though. What's your name Kid?"

Toboe

The man asked his name and Toboe had no second thoughts about his answer. "My name's Toboe." He extended his had in greeting the soldier took it and shook happily.

"Well Toboe welcome to the Fourth Battalion. My name is Major Karl Schubaltz." The man replied smiling warmly. Toboe cocked his head slightly.

'So what do I call him Karl, Schubaltz, Major, or Major Schubaltz?'

"Call me what ever you want." Karl said after seeing the confusion on Toboe's face.

"Okay. So…Karl…Where are you headed?" Toboe straightened head and looked directly in to Karl's deep green eyes.

"Right now we're headed back to the Empire. From there we'll be going home for a short break from the war."

That's all for this chapter. It isn't very long for I am an extremely lazy person who happens to have writers block at the moment. If it sucks I'm sorry. I'd love for you to tell me what I need to fix. That would be uberly nice of you.

R&R