DR: Okay, this chapters going to be nasty... but it is needed for the plot line. All I ask of you all is that you have a little faith..

Shadow: What happens? Someone die or something. (everyone glares at Shadow) What?

Chapter 23: Night Prowlers

With reluctance Naomi handed off little Janet to Sarah. "I'll be back soon baby." She whispered to her child, kissing her forehead tenderly. Little Janet chortled quietly in Sarah's arms as the two women looked at each other. Although she didn't say anything, Sarah understood exactly what Naomi was asking of her.

"We'll be fine Na'. I'll take good care of her." Early that morning details of the Blitz's next battle had come through from the ZBC. It was to be a local battle, against the Raiders. Since the team would be coming back late that night, Naomi had decided to leave little Janet with Sarah at home while she and the rest of the team headed out to their battle. Naomi didn't mention it often, but since Janet had been born she so rarely got a chance to have a night out. Everyone could see that despite the love and affection she felt for her child, Naomi was in need of some relaxation time. As such Sarah had volunteered to remain at the base and baby sit Janet, allowing Naomi to have a good time.

Truth be told only half the team needed to go, but everyone had wanted to see their friends in the Raiders again, and have a chance for an evening out. Cassandra certainly needed some cheering up, after the news she got a few nights ago. She hadn't spoken about it to anyone, but the Blitz had come to know her well enough to realise that she was hurting, and needed some time off.

As she stood in the hanger door watching the Hover Cargo rumble away, she felt Angel slid against her leg. She looked down at the liger's head, now level with her waist. The tawny-yellow fur gleamed in the fading sunlight, while she could feel the power in her lithe frame just from the contact between her thigh and Angel's body.

"It's okay. They'll be back tonight." Sarah reached down with her free hand to gently stroke Angel's head, her fingers running along the faint stripes that ran down the back of the liger's head. Little Janet chortled in Sarah's arms, and a chill ran up her legs. With a shiver she stepped back into the hanger. "Come on in Angel, its' getting cold."

The liger continued to stare out after the rapidly disappearing Hover Cargo for a long moment after Sarah had gone inside. Then with a roll of the shoulders she turned and began to pad inside. Suddenly her ears twitched and she froze in her footsteps, her lean and powerful head swinging round to stare towards one of the nearby cliffs. Golden eyes scanned across the rocks, looking for the source of the faint sound. After almost a minute with no sign of life, Angel turned back and stalked into the base.

x x x x x x

Albane released the breath he had been holding as the liger entered the Blitz base. His relief quickly turned to anger as he swung round to look over his team. This whole new scheme of Altiel's depended on stealth and precise timing. They had to wait until the Blitz team was far enough away that there was no way they could interfere. They had been camped here for almost three days waiting for the right time, and now it had come, one of these fools had nearly given them away!

"Damn, that beast looked right at us…" one was saying before he noticed Albane glaring at him. Underneath the black camo marks on his face his skin rapidly paled. "S… sir?" There was a note of fear in his voice.

"Who made that sound?" That sound had been the careless shifting of weight, causing a weapon that had been resting on a rock to slide off and fall. The clatter of the metal against stone had seemed as loud as a cannon discharge.

"I… don't know sir."

"You don't know…" Albane said slowly, his every word measured. Inwardly he sighed at the level of these people he had to deal with. The Backdraft always had plenty of able-bodied men for its work, but none of them were 'good' men. Some had some small talent in one or two areas, but in the main they were thugs, fit only for grunt work and looking tough. This squad were supposed to be the Backdrafts top covert ops section, and Albane had forgotten more about covert operations than they all would ever know.

Quick as a flash he brought out his sidearm and fired. The silenced pistol made almost no sound, and the motion was so fast that the men didn't realised he had shot the man he had been speaking to until the man in question fell backwards slowly. He was dead before he hit the ground, the round having gone through the back of his mouth and shattering his spine.

Albane looked at each mans face, looking into their wide, fear filled eyes. "The next man who gives us away will get the same punishment." Holstering the pistol he turned his back on them and silently stepped around the rocks toward where he had stashed the comm system.

It was a calculated risk, turning his back on the others after executing one of them, but Albane felt no fear. He knew that with his superior senses and reflexes he'd be able to react and deal with any trouble. None of them tried anything, as was proper. 'Fear is the greatest tool in the armoury of a lord'

Crouching down by the comm, He quickly inputted his commands. Within seconds the connection was made.

"Yes?" Altiel's voice came over tinny.

"We have a window."

"Good. Execute when right." And with that Altiel closed the channel. Nothing more needed to be said.

As he packed away the set, Albane allowed a small smirk to crease his face. That fool Altiel had never known his real identity, nor that Albane was only working for him since it suited his purposes. One day, he would remove him like so many others and reclaim his lost heritage.

But that day was still a long way off, and there were still many things Albane needed to deal with before he could rise to power. His grandfather had been rash, unwilling to wait. 'What did you expect? He was of polluted blood.' Albane had not lived as long as he had, nor kept his real age and heritage secret, by being careless.

Stepping around the rocks, he found the other men still staring at the body of their comrade. "Pack everything up. We move in one hour." His barked commands made them all jump, and they quickly scurried to do his bidding.

x x x x x x

Sarah sighed happily as she flicked off the monitor. As ever, the battle between the Blitz and the Raiders had been tense and close, the two sides tearing each other apart. She had noted that young Miranda seemed to be picking up tips and improving rapidly, and had proved to be a hard target to hit. But in the end the Blitz had come out on top once more, though only just. It was going to be another steep repair bill again, what with Leena, Brad and Pierce knocked out in the fighting. Derek and Anna's third child had been born just over a week ago, so the Raiders had fielded their entire force of six zoids, including his Genosaurer.

As if in sympathy with her thoughts, Sarah felt the child within her shift about, prompting her to slid a hand underneath her expanded belly. Unlike before when she had carried Vega, Sarah could fully explore the warmth and joy of impeding motherhood. Back then she had been living almost hand to mouth, but now her future was secure.

Smiling she looked down at little Janet, who was sprawled out on the sofa besides her, dozing. Tenderly she scooped up the child. "Time to put you to bed." She whispered. Sarah just about managed to stand up, a small groan escaping her lips as she did so. She knew that soon she would be unable to move about the base without help. After having to go through this period alone, she was looking forward to having a helping hand.

Turning the corner at the top of the stairs, Sarah caught sight of Angel padding up the stairs after her, causing her to smile. The liger had to understand what she was going through, as she seemed determined to not leave her alone. Sarah was glad for the company, even the almost silent and powerful type provided by the liger. And as Christian had said, the liger appeared to regard the child in her arms as partly her own, for quite often she had stayed by Janet's crib at night.

Awkwardly Sarah made her way into Brad and Naomi's chambers. She smiled in reflection as she thought about the changes the pair had made to the room they had been given. This new base was slowly becoming a mansion, with lots of little rooms leading off each other. The collection of personal items and furniture also softened the effect, transforming a linked set of rooms into a home.

Gingerly she laid the sleeping child in her crib, taking care not to bang her head against the flying zoid mobile that hung above it. Silently she tucked Janet in, making sure that her favourite toys, soft cuddly versions of her parents zoids, were besides her. Without waking, little Janet's arm reached out and snagged the felt Shadow Fox, before pulling it to her. Sarah could only shake her head at the sight of the little girl holding that toy, one of whose ears was a little ragged.

Stepping back to the door, she picked up the receiver unit for the baby monitor, glancing back at the crib as she did so. As she had expected, Angel had laid down besides it, her mottled fur disappearing in the dark room. With her head resting on her forepaws, the only thing that betrayed her presence was her golden eyes gleaming in the low light from the hall. With a sigh, Sarah started back down stairs, leaving the door to the Hunters room slightly ajar, just in case Angel needed to get out during the night.

Once back in the living area, Sarah eased herself into the main computer room, and began her weekly order of ammo and parts for the Blitz. She knew that they had enough in stock to repair the damage from today's battle and maybe one more, but it was always a sound idea to have spares. The same was true of ammo.

Sarah chuckled as she skimmed over the inventory. 'Leena still goes through ammo faster than she can run...'

Thinking about Leena brought her brother Leon to Sarah's thoughts, and once again she unconsciously stroked her belly. Sarah wasn't sure which side of the family their child would take after…

Just as she clicked the submit icon for the order, something clamped across her mouth. Sarah tried to scream as she felt herself being pulled up and back by someone, but the cloth over her mouth prevented her making a sound. Then the chloroform that was soaked into the cloth reached her brain, and everything went dark…

x x x x x x

Albane watched without expression as two of his men bound up an unconscious Sarah, his only reaction was to click his comm once, to inform the Gustav driver to come in. 'One target acquired. Now for the other…'

Upstairs two more men moved stealthily down the hall, checking each room as they did so. The team was not sure just how many of the Blitz had let earlier, so they had to be sure. On the other side of the building a second pair was doing the same thing.

At last the pair reached the open door to the Hunters chambers. Without a word one pushed the door fully open before slipping inside. A quick scan of the room revealed no-one present, and a lack of light from the bedroom part indicated that no-one was here. Smirking, the man lowered his weapon as he stepped towards the crib. 'Piece of cake…' He thought.

A low growl caused him to freeze in his stride, eyes darting about frantically. But when Angel stepped forward into the moonlight that spilled in from outside the room, the blood drained from his face. For a long moment the two of them stood there, facing off.

"Good kitty…" He began.

In reply Angel growled once more, baring her fangs and lowering her shoulders, clearly a prelude to a pounce. In the air behind her the operative could just make out the silhouette of her tail thrashing about.

"Nice kitty…" He said, his voice trembling as he took a half step to the side, trying to get around the liger that blocked his path to the crib.

Quick as lightning Angel lashed out with a paw, her claws out and gleaming. Her eyes seemed to glow with balefire as she growled again. Gasping in pain the man staggered back, clutching his upper left arm. Blood ran down from the four deep parallel scratches that had torn right through his clothing and flesh with ease. In the background Janet, awoken by the growls and gasps of pain, began to wail.

"What the hell?" The man's companion exclaimed as he looked in, to find himself face to face with a very angry liger. "Oh crap!" he gasped, going for his sidearm.

Angel didn't give him a chance. In one powerful leap she pounced on him, her weight bearing him down. She sank her teeth into his shoulder, biting deep. The crackle of broken bones accompanied the man's outcries of pain. His wounded comrade tried to shift her, but Angel reacted to the sound of his swinging foot by letting go and ducking, the offending boot sailing just over her head. In reply she lashed out again, her claws raking down the back of the man's thigh.

Both men managed to stumble out of the room, gasping in pain. Attracted by the noise, the rest of the team came running, to discover their wounded comrades lying on the floor, whimpering.

"What the hell happened to you two?" One asked.

"It's that bloody cat! It's huge!"

"So? It's just one overgrown cat." Albane's cold voice froze the operative's blood as he stalked forwards to stand over the two fallen men. Looking down at them he shook his head in disgust. "You can't even handle a six month old child and a cat?"

"Sir, that thing's no cat! It's a monster…" One began, but he stopped when Albane drew his pistol. He held it on them for a moment before turning towards another man.

"Now, get in there and bring me that baby!"

Eye's wide in fear, the man stepped through the doorway. Almost immediately, a growl from Angel was followed by her tawny form leaping across the room in a flash of fur before slamming into the man. The sounds of his terror and pain drowned out by the thud of him striking the floor with her four-fifty kilo weight on top. Quick as a flash her jaws locked around his throat and, with a sickening snap, she effortlessly broke his neck.

"Impressive…" Albane muttered, just before he squeezed the trigger.

The bullet struck Angel in the shoulder, rocking her to one side. She glared at Albane just before he fired again twice, both rounds striking her in the torso. With a heavy thud the liger collapsed.

For a moment the only sound was the wailing of Janet Hunter, before Albane calmly holstered his pistol and turned back to his men.

"Now get me that kid. Bring him…" He gestured to the dead man. "…and let's be away before the Blitz gets back."

As his men bent to their tasks, Albane stepped up to the still body of the Liger. He allowed his eyes to wander along the length of Angel, taking in the shine of her coat, the powerful frame.

"Shame, would have made a nice fur coat. But I don't have the men to bring this beast too. Oh well…" Turning to the now empty crib, Albane pulled the disk from within the coat pocket he had placed it when the mission had begun. Smirking, he laid it down in the empty space where Janet had laid, besides the soft toy version of a Snipe Master. He knew as soon as the Blitz returned the Hunters would check on their child. The child that was right now being carried into the Gustav that idled outside, along with Sarah Obscura Toros.

As he stepped out of the Blitz base and into the waiting Gustav, Albane allowed his thoughts to wander. Now that they had both Sarah and the Hunter's child, the Blitz would give in to any demand if they knew what was good for them. Albane knew what Altiel and Slater wanted, the Ultimate X zoids. Them and revenge. But Albane knew that an Ultimate X zoid wasn't the be-all and end-all of things, especially power. Real power was the ability to determine men's lives, control life and death.

'Let those fools believe what they will.' He thought as the Gustav rumbled towards the rendezvous with their Whale King. Albane had seen real power, and he was determined to harness it. Already a few choice sections of code were being rewritten in the 'converted' Cybrids, just a waiting the right time. For now Albane was quite happy to let Altiel think he was in charge, and to let him take over the world. But once he had, Albane would be there to remove the foolish upstart and take his rightful place as overlord of Zi. Where Guther Prozen had failed with the cloned Death Saurer he, Albane Durok Prozen the Third, last in the line of the Prozen family would succeed.

O'neill: Anyone else have the urge to put a bullet through Albane's head?

Ivonova: (snarls out some nasty russian curse. Daniel winces)

Mal: Why that... (trails out into a long stream of chinese. Daniel winces even more)

Zeke: Well, I'd rather crush... (looks around) say where'd DR go?

Carter: I think he's hiding from potential flame attacks by readers.

Apollo: Well, can't blame him. (turns towards readers) Don't worry, once the Beta-Reader gets back with the last few chapters, the rest of this story will be posted.

Jack Sparrow: Does this er scallywag Albane get what he deserves?

Apollo: Oh yes... (winces)

Jack Sparrow: Oh good.