The girl was still on her knees, but now she was looking up to the sky tears streaming down her face. Her body shuddered as she scanned the sky one last time. She stood up and almost at once her legs were knocked out from underneath of her. She got quickly to her feet and turned to see what had hit her. A horrified look came across her face as she saw the blue organoid standing there. She stumbled backwards and fell on her back. Specula was closing in on the girl when a black and green zoid swooped down and knocked Specula to the ground. The girl quickly got to her feet and looked at the two organoids. "Onyx," she whispered, her face still glistened with tears, but for the first time in three years she smiled. The sight of her organoid standing there made her happier than she had been in the past three years.

Suddenly, she turned as a zoid approached and stopped behind her. She took a deep breath as the cockpit opened and Raven jumped out. Her eyes grew wide as he approached her and started "What the-," he stopped and his eyes grew wide as he looked at the girl. There was a moment of intense silence and at once they both jumped into action. She turned and jumped onto Onyx and he tried to grab her by the arm. He, however, was too late; she had already ordered Onyx to take flight.

"You've been with him all along, huh Onyx?" she said as Onyx soared over the little town. Onyx growled and nodded his head. "I guess we should go and find my dad. Its time I went back," she said tightening her grip on Onyx, who growled happily. They soared through the night. Onyx knew where her dad was stationed because Raven went there to re-supply sometimes.

Raven was sitting at the base of his genobreaker, his head in his hands. Shadow was watching the skies expectantly. Specula had taken flight, but hadn't flown in the direction of the girl. He looked at his organoid, "Shadow do you think that was her? I mean the scars, but who else could call Onyx like that." Shadow looked at his master and growled angrily as he saw what he had been waiting for. Specula and Reese were approaching quickly from the horizon. "Raven!" She cried as she jumped out of her Zoid, "Are you alright?" He looked up at her coldly, "I want to be left alone." "But-"she began, but he cut her off, "Reese, go away. I don't want to see you right now, just go." She opened her mouth, but then stopped and turned to walk back to her Zoid. When she was in it she gave him one last look before flying off with Specula trailing behind her.

Raven turned to Shadow, "What do you think?" Shadow growled. Raven nodded his head understanding that Shadow also thought she was alive. "Well," he began, "I guess we'll look around this town tomorrow when it's light out." Shadow growled again as Raven went to unpack his sleeping bag and water heater.

It was almost morning when Onyx began the decent into the base. He lightly landed and almost no one noticed their decent, well almost. "Raine!?" a boy called as she stepped to the ground. She turned and saw Vann running towards her. When he got to her he smiled, "Is that really you?" he asked glancing at her scars. She nodded slowly and shifted uncomfortably as his eyes went to her scars. "Hey!" he yelled at someone, "Go get Schubaltz! Quickly!" The person turned and ran into one of the buildings. "Wow, your dad is gonna be so excited! He was devastated when Raven told him you were," he paused, "Well I guess you don't really know huh?" "Everyone thought I was dead," She said quietly. "How did you know, oh sorry, well I guess I should have known you'd have guessed. We looked for you for months because your body wasn't at the crash site. We thought maybe you had somehow survived. Oh look!" Vann turned as Colonial Karl Schubaltz came walking out of the door where the solider had disappeared.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw who Vann was standing next to. He locked eyes with his long lost daughter before running across the yard. She also began running towards him. When they embraced she cried tears of happiness for the first time in three years. Nothing else mattered to her in that moment. The scars and the pain she felt seemed to melt away, none of it mattered in that moment. When he finally let her go she saw that he was also crying. "I thought," he choked; he couldn't say what he now knew was no longer true. "See! I told you not to give up," Vann said walking to them with his hands behind his head. Raine's stomach growled rather loudly and a light pink spread across her cheeks. "Do you think-" she began but Schubaltz cut her off, "Of course! Vann I'm going to take her to the residence sector. Would you run and get her something?" "Yea, what room?" Vann said turning and beginning to walk away. "232, same hall as you," he said. Vann turned and nodded, "Oh and is it cool if I bring Fiona, Moonbay, and Irvine?" Raine nodded and Vann turned back around. Schubaltz took her arm and led her in the opposite direction.

They were silent till they were in the small room. Raine sat on the bed and made herself comfortable. Her father took one of the two chairs that were in the room. "Have you seen Raven yet?" was the first thing he asked her. "Yes, but I ran before he could talk to me. I-I'm afraid to let him see me this way," she said looking down at her lap. "I didn't really want to believe what Reese told him before I saw the wreckage. When your body wasn't there I started to hope, she seemed freaked out though," Schubaltz said watching her. "She would. It was her fault," she looked up, her eyes full of fury and hatred. "I had a feeling," he said with a sigh. "I'd appreciate if you kept that a secret, for now," she said, opening her mouth to continue, but stopped.

Vann burst in the door, quickly followed by Irvine, Moonbay, and Fiona, who was carrying a tray of food. Schubaltz smiled as each person entered the room and Raine looked away from the glances at the scars. Fiona sat on the bed next to Raine and handed her the tray, Moonbay took the other chair, Irvine stood against the wall, and Vann slid down the door and sat on the floor. "Tell ya kid, you must be good at hide and seek to have stayed hidden all this time," Moonbay was the first to speak. "We all know she's a fighter, she wouldn't have died from a little crash," Irvine spoke next. Moonbay and Irvine then broke into a conversation about how "little" the crash site really was and Raine took the time to eat her food.

By the time they were done arguing, Raine was done and they all had questions. She began explaining how after the "crash" Hass had found her and spent a year taking care of her wounds, then for the next year she spent depressed and wouldn't move from the room she stayed in, and then how for the last year she spent recovering to come back home.

Raven had just gotten done packing his belongings when the sun shone on the horizon. Shadow was watching some of the towns people gawk at the GenoBreaker from afar. "Let's go Shadow," Raven said as he began to walk towards the town. Shadow growled and followed his master.

Many people watched as they passed and Raven was quickly getting annoyed. "You would have thought they'd never seen a Zoid pilot before," he said rather loudly to Shadow. "It just the opposite actually," a man said from behind Raven, "We've seen too many leave and never come back. The name's Hass, you must be Raven." "How do you know me?" Raven said, his eyes narrowing. "Well I don't, and I've made a promise to pretend as though I don't, but seeing as how she seems to have disappeared," he said and Raven cut him off, "Raine!? You know where she is!" "Well not anymore and here isn't the best place to talk about it," Hass said turning and walking towards his house. Raven looked at Shadow, who growled, and then they started to follow Hass.

When they got to Hass's home Raven told Shadow to wait outside. Shadow growled angrily at having to wait but went and stood watch in front of the house. Raven followed Hass into the house. Hass had moved into the kitchen and took a seat at the table and motioned for Raven to do the same. "Look I don't plan on staying long; I just want to know where she is. That is all I care about," Raven said not taking the seat. "Well, I can't tell you that," Hass said turning serious. "What?! Why not?" Raven said angrily. Hass motioned to the chair again. Irritated, Raven took the seat and took a deep breath. They sat there in silence for a moment before Hass spoke, "She's been here a total of three years. Last night she told me over dinner that she felt well enough to go back home. Now I don't know where that is or what happened, but she went for a walk and never came back. I assumed maybe she wasn't good with goodbyes, but the fact that you're here changes that." "Why would she run from me?" Raven said folding his arms across his chest. Hass decided not to answer Raven's question and played with the tablecloth. Raven eventually got frustrated and asked, "If she were anywhere in this town where would she be?" "Here," Hass said standing up and going to the sink. "She took off on Onyx last night, she probably had him take her to Schubaltz," Raven said more to himself than Hass. "Schubaltz?" Hass asked. Raven gave him an annoyed look, "Colonial Karl Schubaltz of the Empire, her father." Hass looked a little shocked, "She never told me that." Raven smirked, "Of course not. If she was hiding and she told you that it would have been easy for you to find her dad and turn her over. She's not stupid." Raven stood up and turned to leave. "Wait, I'm coming with you," Hass said turning and beginning to follow Raven.

When they got outside, Raven called to Shadow who had wandered off. "Why are you coming?" Raven said slightly irritated. "I've taken care of her for three years," Hass said turning and walking to his Shield Liger. "Whatever," Raven said not waiting for him. Raven walked across the desert to his GenoBreaker and was just getting into it when Hass caught up, "You know when I see Raine again I'm going to ask her what she sees in you because I don't get it." Raven's cockpit had closed and Hass's communication screen popped up. "I don't think it's any of your business and how about you butt out cause you are going to slow me down and I might just leave you somewhere," Raven said angrily before closing the connection and heading in the direction of Schubaltz's base.

"See the thing I don't get is the scars. I mean if your Zoidian powers don't allow scars, why do you have all of those," Vann was asking for the third time. "Vann she already explained it too you," Moonbay was irritated. Raine looked far more irritated that Moonbay, "Vann I was unconscious for a while and the wounds were terrible, I would have had to focus entirely on healing myself and that wasn't going to happen." "I guess," Vann said still sounding clueless. They sat there in silence for a little while before Vann finally spoke up, "So, uh, I take it that you haven't spoken to Raven in a while." Raine glanced at him, trying not to let the pain in her eyes show, but knowing all too well that it did. Vann frowned and glanced at Fiona, "He, doesn't really come around much, well, you know, like you he was always a loner, but he came a few times after you disappeared and that was it really." Raine shrugged a bit and Moonbay cut in, "Come on Vann give the girl a break." "Well, I was just trying to, I mean wouldn't you think he would want to know she was okay?" Vann said not really wanting to push the issue, but all of the wrong words seemed to keep coming out. Raine felt a lump of guilt in her throat, she knew all too well how much Raven would worry about her, how much he would want to know that she was okay, but she couldn't face him after the event and she knew that Reese would be with him, trailing behind him like a lost puppy dog.

"I'd like to get some rest," she said, glancing at all of them. Schubaltz nodded, "lets go we all have things to do." He used his authoritative voice as he spoke and opened the door, forcing Vann to stand up. "But you just got here," Vann whined a little, but Moonbay grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room while Fiona and Irvine laughed. Raine watched them all leave, nodding when her dad put his finger to the light switch to let him know to turn it off. She sat in the darkness of her room for a second, staring at the wall before she curled up and closed her eyes, trying not to think of how guilty she felt leaving them all to think she had been dead.