Disclaimer: I do NOT own Zoids.
Disclaimer 2: The characters Angel, Sarah, Ion and Lenne belong to me! Please do not use them without my permission!
Disclaimer 3: The characters Jayden and Caleb belong to both ShadowRebirth37 and me! Please do not use them without our permission!
Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm glad to see that you all like this story! In the last chapter I forgot to describe what Jayden, Lenne, Caleb and Ion looked like…*dies* I've fixed that now, so if you've read the last chapter already, I just wanted to let you all know that I fixed it! ^^; And poor Angel…his day at the Guardian Force just wasn't very fun for him :( Let's hope that things get better for the little five year old :3. Oh, and Happy 4th of July everyone!
Thanks to those of you that Reviewed!
† Gone †
Karl jumped out of his Zaber, Shadow following with the youngster's pack. "Come on... I'll make you dinner then we can contact your dad. I'm sure he'd love to talk to you..."
"Okays!" The toddler chirped, excited about the prospect of being able to talk to his dad.
Karl smiled slightly and carried the toddler inside, Shadow plodding after them. She turned and glared out into the desert, sensing something wrong, but ignored it and walked inside, shutting the door behind her. "Alright Angel, why don't you go get into your pajamas..." Karl said, setting the young child down.
"Okays Uncl' Kawl!" Angel said as he raced off to where his room was, Shadow following him. This time the toddler pulled out pajamas that had Zaber Fangs on it. He knew that his Uncle Karl would like these ones. They were new so he hadn't seen them yet.
Karl walked into the kitchen after locking the front door, looking through the fridge and cabinets for anything he could use to make dinner for the toddler. He pulled out his small personal communicator and set it on the table so he could contact Raven later. After a couple of minutes did Angel run back into the kitchen. "I'm in my 'jamas Uncl' Kawl! Do yous wike? Daddy gotted them fo' me!"
Karl turned to the toddler and smiled, crouching down to his level. "Yeah, I like them very much, Angel..." he replied, seeing the chibi Zaber Fang pattern.
The toddler smiled brightly, the sadness and hurt instantly disappearing from his features. "Wha we gonna have Uncl' Kawl?"
"Whatever you want, Angel..." Karl replied, standing back up. "There anything special you have in mind?"
Angel thought for a minute. "Can we has s'ghetti?" He asked, not having had it for a while.
Karl nodded. "Alright, I'll make you spaghetti..." he answered, ruffling up the toddler's hair slightly.
Angel giggled slightly, his bad mood disappearing. "We gonna call Daddy after we eats?" He asked just to make sure.
Karl nodded. "Yeah we are..." he said, "... now, do you want to play with Shadow while I cook?"
Angel shook his head 'no'. "I wanna helps!" He exclaimed.
Karl smiled slightly. "Alright then, you can help me cook..." he said, picking up the toddler.
Angel giggled slightly as Karl sat him on the counter. He was glad to be helping. He put the noodles in the boiling water for Karl when he asked him to. Karl began making the spaghetti sauce while the noodles cooked. "...could you hand me a spoon, Angel?" he asked, needing a spoon to stir everything together.
"Okays!" The toddler replied as he handed him a spoon to stir everything with.
Karl smiled slightly. "Thank you, Angel." he said, beginning to mix the sauce. "How are the noodles doing?"
"Deys doin' good Uncl' Kawl! Dey no catched on fire wike wast time when Daddy twied to make s'ghetti!"
Karl chuckled. "Raven caught the noodles on fire last time?"
Angel nodded. "He wasn't payin' 'tention and dey caughted on fire! Shadow put it out though! ...and den Daddy ordered take out 'stead..."
Karl laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Raven alright..." he joked.
Angel giggled too. "But Daddy's gotten better at cooking! He no catched anyting on fire any mores!"
Karl smirked. "That's always good..." he said as he took the pot off of the stove and turned it off, before straining the noodles out in the sink. Angel watched him, knowing better than to touch anything...having watched his Daddy curse up a storm when he burned himself. And that had earned him a 'scolding' from the toddler.
Karl soon put the noodles on two plates and put some of the sauce on them. "Alright Angel, dinner's all ready..." he said, setting the plates on the table before picking the toddler up from the counter. The toddler hummed happily as Karl set him in his chair where all the kiddy ware was. The five year old began to happily eat the meal that Karl had made. Karl sat down in one of the spare chairs before beginning to eat as well. He kept an eye on Angel, making sure he didn't somehow hurt himself or make a mess. The five year old didn't make too big of a mess. That was a surprised in and of itself considering how messy spaghetti usually was.
Karl was pleasantly surprised by that, but then again Raven hadn't been that messy a eater when he was young. He figured that's where Angel got it. Once he finished he got up and put his plate in the sink, looking out at the setting sun. "Once you finish we'll give your dad a call. I'm sure he'll be happy to talk."
Angel nodded. "Okays! I wanna talks to Daddy very much! I miss him!"
Karl smirked. "Alright, alright, we'll call him right after you finish..."
Angel nodded. He didn't hurry his eating up, even though he wanted to talk to his Daddy. He also didn't want to get a stomach ache. He finished about twenty minutes later and gave his plate to Karl to wash. Karl set the plate in the sink before picking up his communicator. "Alright, let's give Raven a call..."
Angel nodded and crawled into Karl's lap once he sat back down. He waited as patiently as a five year old could while Karl radioed in Raven. Karl pushed a few buttons, opening a secure line to Raven's communicator. Once he did he handed the small device to the toddler so he could talk. Angel looked up to Karl, not quite sure just what to do with it. He had seen his Daddy talking on one of these before, but he hadn't used one himself. Karl sighed. "Just hold it up to your ear and just talk into it when you hear your dad on the other end." he explained.
Angel nodded and did what Karl instructed to do. He waited until he could hear his Daddy before he would talk. It was a few seconds later before the other end of the communicator's line crackled to life. "Yeah?" Raven asked his voice tiny and slightly static-y from the long distance.
Angel blinked. " Daddy!" He said happily, glad to hear him and be able to talk to him.
The other end of the line was quiet for a moment. "Angel? That you?" Raven asked, clearly surprised, "Every-in 'right, buddy?" he asked, his voice broken up slightly due to the poor connection.
"It's me Dad-! I'm home wif un- Kawl!" He replied happy to be talking to his daddy again.
Raven blinked. "Wait, you -home? How -ome?" he asked, now worried.
The toddler was quiet for a long time before speaking up again. "...dey was aw- mean Daddy! I twi- be nice an' de- still tinks...I'm bad!"
Raven sighed loudly. "That's alright Squirt... don- worry 'bout it..." he tried to calm him down, "I un-stand... I don't mind as long as -our happy..."
"M'happy now... I's -ome now and un- Kawl is take' good cares of me!"
Raven smiled slightly even though he knew his son couldn't see it. "That's -ood." he said, before going quiet for a minute, "... I have bad -ews though, Squirt. The -ogue hasn't -own yet so I -ight be -ome late..."
"...okays...Daddy...be carefu-..." The toddler said quietly.
"Don't worry Squirt... -will..." Raven assured, "... -ove you, Angel..." he added, his voice breaking up again.
"...Wuv you too Daddy..." The toddler replied. "...see you -mowwo?"
"Yeah I'll be -morrow." Raven reassured, "... could -put Karl on for -ment? I need to -alk to him. Sweet -eams Angel..."
"Okays...nigh- Daddy..." The toddler said before handing the communicator back to Karl.
"-ight buddy," Raven answered before he handed it to Karl. "... I -an into another -ampire today. He -aid the Rogue was -ally strong so I might not be -ack until later tomorrow. Depends on -ind him." he said.
"Alrigh- then. I'll let Ange- know when I get off." Karl replied.
"-ood. Alright make sure he's in -ed by nine. I'll -tact you when I'm -way hom- ah!" there was a loud crackle of static on the other end as Raven's communicator hit the ground, followed by a loud hiss, from the 'missing' Rogue.
"Raven! Raven come in!" Karl said, slightly panicked at what he was hearing. Angel was looking up at him in worry, but Karl had to play it off as nothing was wrong. He sighed and turned the communicator off. "It's nothing to worry about Angel. You dad's communicator just cut out and I can't get a hold of him. That's all. Now, he said to put you to bed by nine, and its eight fifty already. Let's get you all tucked in." The Colonel said as he took the toddler to his room. He would call Thomas as soon as he had put the youngster to bed. Once he had done that and Shadow had curled up on his bed, did he radio in his brother, "Thomas? Can you hear me?"
Eventually the other end of the line crackled to life. "... -eah? What is it Karl?" he answered, having been busy working on Beek again.
"Thomas I need you to come out to Raven's house. I need you to watch Angel. There's an emergency where Raven's at and I'm going to help him."
Thomas was taken aback for a moment. "An emergency? Oh Eve what happened?" he asked, starting to get worried as well.
"I'm not sure, but I know that he needs some back up and now. If I leave now I can make it within three hours at the latest! I just need you to come here Thomas. Angel's with Shadow right now, so he'll be safe until you get here."
Thomas nodded even though his brother couldn't see it. "Alright, I'll hurry there. It'll take about an hour in the DiBison to get there, but I'll hurry..."
"Alright, I'll be leaving in a minute. You remember where the spare keys are kept?" After he got Thomas' word that he did, did Karl turn the communicator off and made sure that the back door was locked. After that did he go to the living room and exit the house, locking the door behind him before getting into Krieger and taking off toward Rheeve Village…
Shadow was curled up on the bed, making sure her 'master's' young child was comfortable. She made sure he had Miru, before allowing herself to doze off. Not long after Karl had left did the person who had been watching the house for the past few weeks finally make their move. They knew where the key was kept and silently slipped it into the key hole to enter the unguarded house. They slipped in, their partner growling lowly as they entered. They had come here for one thing and one thing only.
Shadow's eyes opened and she lifted her head, sensing something was very wrong. She growled quietly, slipping off Angel's bed. Piercing green eyes narrowed when they heard Shadow getting up. He was going to enjoy this very much. Shadow poked her head out of Angel's room, her icy blue eyes narrowed dangerously. Her body was stiff and tensed, ready to spring at the smallest sound. There wasn't any sound coming from anywhere within the house. That made it eerily quiet, and put the black Organoid even more on edge. Shadow growled loudly, taking a few steps into the hallway. She was between Raven's room and Angel's, keeping anyone from getting to anything. There was a sudden noise from the kitchen, and in the eerily silent house that noise was enough to get Shadow to walk further out. Shadow growled, but pulled the door shut to protect Angel. She stalked silently into the kitchen, looking around for any sign of danger.
Out of no where was Shadow attacked, what ever was in the house growling and hissing as it clamped down on her neck. It prevented her from moving around too much or getting to him while his master went and got what they were after. Shadow roared loudly in anger, shaking herself to try and pull free of her attacker's grasp. She snarled and roared again, trying to wake Angel.
The attacker didn't let go as he bit down even harder and clawing at her and leaving deep gouges. He wasn't concerned with how bad he hurt her. In fact, he was hoping that he could hurt her as much as he could without killing her. But that didn't stop him from nearly doing so. Shadow roared in pain, feeling 'blood' running down her neck and body. She snarled and whipped her tail at her attacker, the blade slamming into the unknown assassin over and over, with added vigor each blow.
The attacker still didn't let go as he dug his claws in deeper and bit down harder. He didn't give in, not even when the Black Organoid started to hit him. Eventually Shadow started to lose consciousness. Shadow whined loudly, her vision blurring and head swimming from blood loss. She groaned weakly before collapsing, loosing consciousness fully.
While that had been happening, the other person that had entered the house had slipped into the toddler's room. The child had woken up when he heard the fighting going on in the kitchen and he started to scream when he saw a strange person enter his room. The person quickly silenced him with a cloth soaked in chloroform. He picked the limp child up and went to the kitchen where he left a note for Raven to find. He called his partner to him and they left the house, not bothering to close the door.
An hour passed before a familiar DiBison appeared on the horizon. By the time Thomas got out of his Zoid, he knew something was wrong, very wrong. He ran through the opened the door, and immediately spotted Shadow in a pool of her own 'blood'. Further investigation produced a note, saying that Angel was gone. And being held captive...
‡‡‡‡‡
About an hour earlier, back in Rheeve Village, had the Rogue came back into town. He was just looking for his next victim to torture and then eat. As he was looking, however, did he spot a 'hunter', obviously sent to 'take care' of' him. He smirked when he saw that said 'hunter' was distracted. He took at that chance and attacked him, tackling him to the ground and hissing lowly.
"Damnit!" Raven yelped, his dagger clamoring to the ground loudly beside him and the communicator flying from his hand. He looked up at the Rogue and growled, narrowing his eyes as he tried to free his arms so he could grab a weapon to defend himself with.
The Rogue grinned evilly, his fangs bared and his pupil's mere slits. He growled lowly in his throat, almost sounding like a purr. "Hmmm...I wonder what 'hunter' blood tastes like...can't wait to try it for myself." His smirk widened.
Raven's eyes narrowed further. "Like hell you will..." he growled out, before kicking upwards and knocking the vampire off. He staggered to his feet, grabbing his silver dagger and holding it out for defense. The vampire growled lowly when he was kicked off the 'hunter'. He smirked suddenly before disappearing. The next second Raven was pinned, his dagger flying out of his grip before he felt fangs being sunk into a small exposed part of his neck.
Raven gritted his teeth when he felt the Rogue bite at his neck, his scarf having come partly undone in the struggle, leaving his throat exposed. He knew it would hurt badly, but he kicked the vampire again, tearing the Rouge's fangs out of his neck. He gasped in pain but quickly recovered, pulling out another silver dagger, albeit a smaller one.
The Rogue only laughed, Raven's blood dribbling down his front. "How tasty, I should drink 'hunter' blood more often! Why don't I start with you?" He grinned manically, charging at Raven again. Raven waited until the last minute before ducking out of the way, swinging the dagger at him. Unfortunately the sharp blade only caught the Rogue's clothing, missing the vampire by a hair's breadth. The Rogue only laughed. He was truly insane and was actually enjoying the dangerous game of cat and mouse. He rushed him again and this time he managed to get a good scratch on him.
Raven gritted his teeth and backed off slightly, grabbing at his shoulder and glaring death at the Rouge. He still had the dagger clutched in his right hand, ready for the next move the vampire made. The vampire's manic grin widened. He laughed again before going at the 'hunter'. He got in one more good strike before backing up. He was just teasing the 'hunter' now.
Raven glared at the Rogue, his slashed side dripping blood. He tried not to let the loss of blood slow him, knowing that would get him killed. He hadn't expected the Rogue to be so powerful, and was regretting not bringing Shadow along. He waited for a moment and the Rogue charged again, though this time Raven lunged, managing to make a deep slash on the vampire's shoulder with the silver blade.
The Rogue hissed at the pain, his eyes narrowed. Now he had all the more reason to drain the 'hunter' dry. He grinned evilly before charging at the 'hunter' again. Raven avoided barely and swung again, though again the blade only caught his clothing. He growled in annoyance, swinging again at the Rogue. The vampire only laughed, despite the pain he was in. "You're gonna make a nice 'meal' for me." He growled out, abruptly changing direction and going after Raven again.
Raven blinked, not having expected that. He quickly threw up his dagger for defense, catching the vampire's claws that had been aimed for his chest. The vampire hissed in pain again, but tried to get around the dagger and to Raven's neck. He had long ago left his reasoning behind. He was functioning purely on instinct. Raven barely avoided the strike, and instead used the opportunity to plunge the dagger into the Rogue's shoulder. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it was the best he could do for now.
The Rogue screamed in pain, but kept up his assault. He was trying desperately to get his fangs into Raven's neck to taste his sweet blood again. Raven kept avoiding his attempts, but he was weakening further from blood loss. He tried again to stab the Rogue, but the vampire was moving too fast for him to accurately swing. He didn't want to swing blindly and risk loosing his only weapon. The Rogue still didn't get up, and he wasn't moving away from where he was, deadlocked with the 'hunter's' dagger. He smirked again, baring his fangs. "No one's gonna miss you when I get my fangs into your neck. You'll be just another unfortunate victim."
Raven narrowed his eyes. "Yes there will..." he hissed back, drawing his dagger, "But I sure as hell know no one will miss you!" he snarled, slashing the vampire across his chest. The vampire yelled in pain again and backed off slightly. He held his bleeding chest and was momentarily distracted...but not distracted enough for Raven to plunge his dagger into his heart. The Rogue used that chance when Raven got close to leave deep gashes in his chest.
Raven cried out in pain and staggered backwards a few steps, clutching at the wounds. He gritted his teeth before spitting out a little blood, trying to regain his balance before he tried to strike again. The Rogue took that chance to charge at Raven again, managing to pin him and knock his weapon out of his hand. There was an evil, manic grin on his face, highlighting the fact that he was insane. "I'm going to enjoy draining your sweet life's blood away and watch as the life ebbs out of your eyes." He hissed out, preparing to bite Raven again.
Raven narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, glaring death at the Rogue. "...bite me..." he growled, before spitting blood into his face.
The vampire didn't even bother to wipe the blood off of his face, his crazed smile only widened. "Oh, I will, and I'm going to enjoy it too, so don't you worry."
Raven narrowed his eyes further. He couldn't struggle due to the vampire pinning him, and he didn't have another weapon within easy reach. "...that makes one of us..." he hissed.
The Rogue's eyes glinted red before he went back in to bite Raven's neck. However, before he could do so he was forcefully ripped off the 'hunter' and thrown some distance away. Before the Rogue could back up and charge at the new comer did he gag and drop to his knees, dead. Raven's smaller silver dagger was protruding from his chest, right where his heart was.
Raven was busy gasping for air, not having realized he had been holding his breath. He looked over and was surprised to see the Rogue dead, but didn't ponder it much due to the fact he was loosing blood fast from his slashed and clawed body and torn neck. The next thing that Raven felt was a gloved claw handed being pressed to his slashed chest. From his peripheral vision he could see a soft green glow. He could feel the slashes sealing up, preventing him from loosing any more blood.
Raven blinked, but didn't question it. He figured it was better to just accept the help then start a fuss over it, since he could already tell it was a vampire healing him. He covered the ragged wound on his neck, where the Rogue's fangs had been roughly torn from his flesh. It hurt a lot, but it was better than being dead.
The vampire that was helping him sighed before speaking. "I hope you're going to be this compliable when I heal that wound next. I wouldn't want to have to hurt you just to heal you." A familiar voice joked slightly.
Raven rolled his eyes slightly. "I will... except if you d-decide to t-take a quick 'drink'..." he joked back darkly, but didn't remove his hand just yet.
Ion chuckled at him. "No thanks. I already have a donor." He replied before removing Raven's hand so then he could start healing.
Raven rolled his eyes slightly. "Good... I d-don't think I could handle another vamp c-chewing on me tonight..." he muttered tiredly.
Ion chuckled at him again, finishing up his healing. He reached into the inside of his jacket before pulling out a vial of medicine. "Here, take this. It'll help with the blood loss." Raven took the vial hesitantly; looking at it closely to make sure it wasn't poison. After a moment of thought he decided the vampire wouldn't be out to poison him after healing him so he took the medicine without question.
The dark teal haired vampire sighed, being able to tell just what he was thinking. "I wouldn't go out of my way to poison you... If I wanted you dead, I would have finished what that Rogue started."
Raven rolled his eyes slightly. "Yeah, yeah, I figured that out on my own..." he muttered, handing him the vial back, "... well, I suppose a 'thank you' is in order... so thanks..."
Ion smiled slightly. "Not a problem. That one has been a thorn in our side for over a month now. So...I should be thanking you for keeping him from sensing me."
Raven blinked. "...'our'...?" he asked, unsure if he had heard him right.
The vampire nodded. "Yeah, 'our', you didn't think that you humans were the only ones that went after Rogues did you?"
Raven sighed. "I know... I just didn't expect there to be more than one or two vampires in a town as small as this..."
"Well, when one has been chasing a forcefully turned Rogue, yeah, some assistance is needed." Ion replied as he stood up.
Raven stood as well. "Yeah..." he said, "... I w-would've been able to take him if I had brought my partner instead of leaving her with my son, but oh well..."
Ion groaned. "You obviously have missed my point. Maybe he took more blood than I had thought..." He sighed.
Raven blinked. "Well he did get my neck and tore the vein..." he retorted, rubbing his neck where he had been bitten.
Ion waved his retort off. "Listen closely, because I'm only going to tell you this once." The dark teal haired vampire said seriously.
Raven nodded. "Alright." he answered, making sure he didn't get distracted by the various other minor wounds he had sustained.
Once Ion saw that he had the 'hunter's' attention did he start to speak. "About two years ago there had been an unusual increase in Rogues. It's leveled out now, but there's still a high number. It's unusual for that many vampires to suddenly go Rogue, considering what they have to do to do so. The Elders of the remaining villages started an investigation a year and a half ago, and found that those Rogues had been forced into becoming Rogues. They had been normal vampires, like me, before being warped by something. We're still not sure just what it is, but it seems to be like a man-made virus or something like that... But...that's not the concerning part..." He sighed before looking over to the dead Rogue. "...The more recent Rogues...such as that one...used to be human..."
Raven blinked. "But isn't that impossible?" he asked, "... vampires can't turn humans... so you're saying a human is behind this!"
Ion sighed. "I don't know who's behind this... But, someone has made something that messes with the human genetic code and forcefully turns them into vampires... And it turns normal vampires into Rogues... I can safely say this one had been turned into a normal vampire, had been caught again or never released in the first place and then had been forced into becoming a Rogue."
Raven blinked. "... I really don't like that... at all..." he muttered, walking over to the dead Rogue and retrieving his dagger. "... poor thing..." he muttered.
Ion walked over to where he was. "We're doing our best trying to find them all... They're just popping up everywhere. Some of them we've managed to get a hold of before they were forced into this. However...they don't remember who did this to them. They have all of their old memories, so it makes it that much harder on them... The villages are taking them in and trying to help them adjust...but it's slow going..."
Raven sighed loudly. "...we need to find out whose behind this and put an end to this... before more people end up like... him..."
Ion nodded. "I can't take you directly into any of the villages to get any information, but I can be your contact if you ever need it." He offered.
Raven nodded. "That sounds good, it'd benefit the both of us..." he said, "... and honestly I don't want to go into a vampire village... Chens aren't exactly 'welcomed' by vampire society..."
That caused Ion to chuckle. "No...I guess not," he replied as he dug into his pocket. He pulled out a small light green crystal and held it out. "Here, you can use this to contact me. Just say 'I need to talk to Ion' and it'll get my attention."
Raven blinked and took the crystal. "...what is it?" he asked, looking at it curiously.
The vampire smirked slightly. "It's our equivalent to your communicators, without the static of course."
Raven nodded, before he started looking around. "Hey, you've got better eyes than me. Do you see a black communicator a-anywhere? The Rogue attacked me when I was t-telling my son goodnight..."
Ion scanned the surroundings eventually spotting it some feet away. "It's over to the left of you about five feet." He replied.
Raven nodded and picked it up. He was surprised to see it blinking. "... odd..." he muttered, "... could you wait a second, Ion? Something doesn't seem right..." he said, before turning the communicator on. "Karl? Is everything alright?"
"Raven! It's about time you picked this up! I know you probably had your hands full, but we have an emergency at the house!" Karl just about yelled at him. Raven could hear the slight panic and fear in his voice.
Raven paled. "What do you mean by that? Where's Angel? Is he alright?" he nearly shouted into the communicator almost causing Ion to jump.
It was quiet on Karl's end for a minute before he spoke up again. "No... He's not alright... ...We don't even know where he is... Shadow's in bad shape. From her wounds she was fighting against another Organoid and it over powered her... Who ever it was took Angel... They left a message behind... but I can't make heads or tails of what the 'clue' is that's been left..." The Colonel replied quietly.
Raven nearly collapsed. "...a-are you serious? Angel's... gone...?" he asked quietly.
"...I'm sorry Raven..." was Karl's reply.
Raven was silent for a few long minutes. He could feel his eyes start to fill with tears, but he kept himself from breaking apart completely. "... w-what does the note say...?"
There was some shuffling around before Raven could hear a piece of paper being brought near the communicator. "It says: 'If you want your son back go back home.' I don't really understand what that means, but it might mean something to you." Karl replied.
Author's Note: D: Oh no! Poor Angel… Someone's kidnapped little Angel and Raven, Karl and Thomas have no clue just where he's been taken or what they want… So, what's going to happen next? You'll just have to wait and find out! Please Review! They make my day and make me update faster! :)