Disclaimer: I do NOT own Zoids.
Disclaimer 2: Angel, Sarah, Lenne and Ion belong to me! Please do not use them without my permission!
Disclaimer 3: The characters Caleb and Jayden belong to both ShadowRebirth37 and me! Please do not use them without our permission!
Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the late update! Work has really been draining me lately, to the point where I don't feel like doing anything other than to sit and watch t.v. :( Anyways, I hope to get motivated again so then I can get these chapters up much quicker! Last chapter, was just a cute little filler chapter before we see just how Raven does babysitting. ;p I know that you all have been waiting for this chapter for a while now! I hope you enjoy!
We thank those of you that Reviewed!
† Babysitting †
Moonbay, however, was right on time with her charges in tow. Two of them were none too happy about being watched by the 'Dark One', but they couldn't go to any one else. The transporter knocked on the door, and when she didn't get an immediate response she pounded on it. Raven groaned and sat up, yawning loudly and stretching his arms. He got up and walked to the front door, opening it. "...do you have to knock so loudly...?" he mumbled tiredly, rubbing his eye sleepily.
Moonbay's hands were on her hips. "Yes, I have to knock that loudly, otherwise you wouldn't open the door," she retorted.
Raven sighed loudly. "...you bring the kids?" he asked, unable to see them because they were hiding behind the Transporter.
"Yep, all five of them," she said, waiting too see Raven's expression. She knew that he wasn't totally coherent in the mornings.
Raven blinked, taking a moment to respond. "... wait... what? Five?"
Moonbay laughed at him. "I'm just teasing you Raven. I only brought the three. One of these days though, there just might be five. Just have to find Karl and Thomas some girl friends so they can get with the program," she laughed lightly.
Raven rolled his eyes. "Well, you know Karl and Lieutenant Hartreigel like each other... so that just leaves Thomas..." he joked back slightly.
Moonbay laughed again. "That's true," she said. "Alrighty Raven, I best get movin'. Wouldn't want to worry that hubby of mine when I'm late to our rendezvous point by five minutes," she sighed.
Raven chuckled slightly. "Yeah, then he'd get all over my case as to why I held you up..." he sighed, looking behind her at the kids. "... well, you gonna hide behind her all day or come inside?"
The three of them squeaked slightly before scurrying into the house, not wanting to push the 'Dark One's' buttons. This would be the first time any of them had interacted with Raven, let alone be this close to him...
Moonbay sighed before handing Raven their bags. "Don't you hesitate to put them in timeout if they need it. I want to hear if they're being bad for you. I've already warned them on the way here that I will turn my Gustav right around and come back here to discipline them myself," she said.
Raven nodded. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to punish them if they do something wrong. Now, who's coming to pick them up tonight?"
"Van is after he returns to base and gets a Gustav," the transporter replied.
"Alright then, I'll make sure to keep them 'in-line'. You better get going before Irvine has a panic attack, again," Raven teased slightly, remembering what had happened the last time Moonbay was late.
Moonbay laughed again before turning to the kids. "I want you all to be on your best behavior for Raven, alright? If I find out that you've been bad for him you all will be grounded for a week! And yes, that means you too Jayden...and Lenne," the transporter said, though she knew that Lenne wouldn't be any trouble.
"Good luck Moonbay. I'll be sure to keep the chaos at a minimum. Moonbay nodded, waving farewell from her Gustav before she took off again.
Angel had been awakened when he heard the pounding on the door and he had felt his Daddy leave the room. He had gotten up as well, not wanting to be alone. Raven waved back before closing the door, looking at the kids she had left with him. "...have you guys already eaten?"
The three kids hesitantly shook their heads 'no'. It had been too early and they weren't quite awake to have eaten. Raven sighed quietly. "Well... what're you all hungry for?" he asked, leading them into the kitchen.
The three all gave him confused looks. Obviously no one had told them that Raven could cook so they hadn't been expecting anything other than the snacks that Moonbay had packed for them. "...can yous pwease make chauchage an' eggs Daddy?" Angel asked from the doorframe when none of the other kids spoke up.
Raven turned around when he heard Angel before he turned back to the three. "Does that sound good, kids?"
Again the three nodded quietly. They weren't quite sure just what to do or say. Raven was still pretty scary in their books. Raven sighed. "Alright then, sausage and eggs it is..." he said as he picked Angel up and sat him on his usual chair. He sighed again when he saw the other three give him a blank stare. "Well, you three can sit down, you know. We won't bite..."
The three kids hesitantly took seats around the table. They were all still quiet, not quite knowing just what to do or say. Raven pulled out the ingredients from the cabinets and fridge and started making breakfast. He could tell they were scared of him, but he'd have to fix that by the end of the day when Van came to pick them up.
The kids were all quiet around the table. Angel was still just waking up and was slightly fearful about them finding out to talk. The other three were all too scared of Raven to even try to talk. Raven finished cooking about fifteen minutes later and put food on plates for everyone. "Alright guys... hope you like it..." he said, putting a plate in front of each of them along with silverware.
"Tank yous Daddy!" Angel replied happily as he began eating. Lenne was the next to speak up, being a little braver than her brother and Caleb.
"Tanks Mr. Waven!" she said brightly.
Raven nodded and smiled slightly. "Not a problem Angel..." he replied to his son, "... you're welcome Lenne..."
The two youngest of the group ate happily, but the two older boys ate it their meal hesitantly. However, they did eat it. Raven sighed and walked up behind the two. He shook his head slightly when he saw Jayden and Caleb poking at their food somewhat. "Don't worry boys, its not gonna jump up and bite you..." he teased slightly.
Jayden jumped and squeak slightly, accidently dropping his fork. He craned his head back to look up at the 'scary' 'Dark Pilot' that his Daddy had talked so often about. Caleb was startled too and only jumped slightly. He managed to hold onto his fork but turned in his seat to look up at Raven. Raven chuckled slightly and handed Jayden a second fork. "There you go..." he said, standing back up straight. "What's with the looks? I won't bite you or anything..." he joked.
The two boys didn't say anything. They didn't know just what to think. This certainly wasn't the Raven that their fathers had portrayed... Raven sighed before sitting down next to Angel. "How is it, Angel?" he asked, curious if he had done it right this time.
"It's good Daddy!" the toddler replied, feeling a little better about having the other kids at their house. Maybe now they would see that his Daddy wasn't a bad person.
Raven smiled slightly. "That's good..." he replied before looking at Caleb and Jayden. "Well? It'll get cold if you just stare at it all morning..." The two boys eventually started eating it. They didn't say anything, but at least they were eating.
Raven finished, and picked up his, Angel and Lenne's plates when they finished up. "Well, since Caleb and Jayden are taking so long, do you two want some ice cream?" Raven asked Angel and Lenne.
Angel and Lenne both blinked but nodded, saying "Yes pwease!" Jayden and Caleb just looked up from their breakfast, not really believing that the two younger ones would get ice cream this early in the morning.
Raven smirked slightly. "Alright then..." he said, getting vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. "Do you want anything special on your ice cream, you two?"
"Can I has some chocowate sywup and spwinkles Daddy?" Angel asked.
"I want spwinkles pwease!" Lenne chirped, not at all bothered by her brother's and Caleb's looks.
Raven chuckled. "Alright then, I can do that." he answered, putting ice cream in three bowls. He put chocolate syrup and sprinkles in Angel's bowl, and just sprinkles in his and Lenne's bowls. "Here you go..." he said, giving them their bowls and spoons as he sat down next to them.
Eventually Jayden spoke up. "...don't we get ice cream too?"
Raven glanced over at them. "As soon as you finish your breakfast and ask me nicely..." he replied, continuing to eat his ice cream. Jayden sighed but started to eat his breakfast. Caleb wasn't too certain, but eventually started to eat as well. Raven chuckled slightly and continued eating. Those two were too like their fathers for their own good. He finished up his ice cream before turning to Angel and Lenne. "Is it good, you two?"
The two nodded, still eating their ice cream happily. Jayden finished his breakfast about a minute later. "...C-Can I have some...some ice cream...please...?" he asked quietly, showing Raven his empty breakfast dish.
Raven glanced over at him. "Of course you can..." he said, getting up and taking the plate from him. "Do you like anything special on your ice cream, Jayden?" he asked as he put some vanilla ice cream in a bowl for him.
"Uh-um... Can I have...cookies with it? Please?"
Raven blinked and looked at him. "You mean like mixed in to the ice cream?" Jayden nodded slightly, but didn't say anything.
Raven nodded, "Alright then, do you want sugar cookies or chocolate chip?"
"Chocolate chip please," the nearly seven year old replied.
Raven nodded and pulled out a box of chocolate chip cookies. He took off his gloves and washed his hands first before touching the cookies, which took about five minutes due to his scar. He then crushed some of the cookies and mixed them into the ice cream, before handing the bowl to Jayden. "There you go..."
"...th-thanks..." Jayden said quietly as he started to eat his ice cream.
"No problem Jayden..." Raven replied, before looking over at Caleb. "Well, you gonna ask too or not?"
Irvine's son half sulked half pouted before finally asking. "...Can I have some ice cream...please..."
Raven smirked slightly. "Sure, of course you can, Caleb..." he replied, putting some more ice cream in a bowl for Irvine's son. "Do you like anything in particular on your ice cream?"
"...Chocolate syrup?" he asked.
Raven nodded. "Alright..." he said, pouring some chocolate syrup onto the ice cream before giving it and a spoon to Caleb. "There you go..."
"...thanks..." Caleb said as he started to eat his ice cream.
"No problem..." Raven replied as he sat down and continued eating his own ice cream.
The five ate in silence until eventually they were all finished. Raven collected the bowls and took them to the sink to wash up as well as their breakfast dishes. He shooed them into the living room, telling them to mind Shadow, who was sleeping on the couch. Raven washed the dishes, leaving Angel alone with the others for a moment. Shadow, unfortunately, was woken up when Jayden's curiosity got the better of him and he started poking her. She lifted her head and blinked, looking at the child in annoyance.
"...I wouldn' pokes her if I's was yous... Shadow's hurted..." Angel said when he saw Jayden poking her and, consequently, woke her up. Shadow nodded and leaned down, sniffing the tiny child thoroughly. She could smell Van on him, and narrowed her eyes slightly at the thought of the annoying Republican pilot.
Jayden blinked when the big, black, scary Organoid started to sniff at him. "...uh...hi...?" Shadow growled quietly, sniffing at him still. She wasn't entirely sure about him, but he didn't seem to be threatening her 'hatchlings', despite smelling like Van. Jayden wasn't too sure just what to do. He had never interacted with another Organoid before. He had only interacted with his Daddy's Organoid Zeke, and sometimes Thomas' artificial Organoid Beek.
Shadow sniffed at him before curling back up. Raven walked in a few minutes later, drying off his hands with a towel. "... Jayden... what did I tell you about messing with Shadow...?"
Van's son looked over to Raven when he said that. "Uh...uh... ...I, I didn't mean to! B-But I've onl' ever been 'round Zeke!" he tried to defend.
Raven chuckled. "It's alright..." he said, walking over and sitting beside Shadow. "So, what do you guys want to do today?" The kids were quiet, not quite sure just what to do. It wasn't like they had ever interacted with the ex-maverick before...
Raven sighed. "Come on now... there's got to be something you all like to do..."
Eventually Jayden spoke up again. "...c-could we g-go...see your...your Z-Zoid...?" he asked.
Raven blinked. "You guys wanna see my Geno Breaker?" The three children eventually nodded. They wanted to see the big, fearsome red Zoid up close.
Raven got to his feet. "Alright then, outside you go..." he said, shooing them outside before he and Angel followed. "Alright guys, follow me..." he added, starting to where he kept the Geno Breaker behind the house.
The children followed after him, excited and nervous at the same time, even if some of them weren't showing it. "Whoa! That's the Breaker?" Jayden said when they got to where it was kept.
Raven nodded. "Yeah, that's the Geno Breaker..." he replied, hiding his chuckle at how similar Van's son was to his father about gawking over rare and powerful Zoids.
The three Guardian Force kids all gawked at the Breaker, Jayden buzzing with excitement about actually being this close to it, Lenne was just as excited as her brother and Caleb was quietly impressed with it, now sure that his Dad's Command Wolf had done all that it could against something like this... Raven chuckled, before telling them all to back up a little. He whistled, and the Geno Breaker knelt down, lowering its head to the ground so the kids could get a better look.
"Can we touch it?" Jayden asked, wanting to actually touch the terrifying Zoid.
"Of course, Jayden..." Raven said, walking over to the group. "You guys can touch it if you want. It won't hurt you..." Jayden was the first to race off toward it, Lenne followed after him. Caleb was a little hesitant, but followed after his friends anyways. He wouldn't admit it, but he was curious about the Zoid.
Raven chuckled and looked down at Angel. "I think they like the Geno Breaker, don't you think so too, Squirt?"
Angel looked up. "Yep! Dey's never been dis cwose to it has dey?"
Raven shook his head no. "Nope, I don't think they have..." Angel giggled slightly as he watched the other kids inspect the Geno Breaker. He could tell that the Breaker wasn't having very much fun with all of them poking at him and petting him, but he never did complain.
Raven walked over to the Geno Breaker and patted its muzzle. "I'm sorry... but don't worry, they won't do this forever..."
The Zoid growled sarcastically at Raven, as if he was saying 'Yeah right. What about your little one?'
Raven sighed. "... well... you'll have to put up with that..." he joked slightly. The Zoid sighed, but continued to put up with the three kids touching him and jumping off of his claws...
Raven sighed. "... I'll get you a nice treat tomorrow for putting up with it..." he promised, knowing his Breaker didn't like being treated like a plaything.
The Breaker snorted, basically telling him; 'You damn better well! Or else I'm not moving for a while!'
"Okay, okay! No need to get testy!" Raven defended, putting his hands up, "I'll get you some Magnite, okay?" The Zoid growled in thought before nodding slightly. Magnite would be a nice treat.
"Good, because that's all I've got as a treat at the moment..." Raven sighed in relief.
Jayden heard him as he ran past again. "...Who you talkin' to?" he asked, not thinking that Raven would talk to his Zoid like his Daddy did.
Raven glanced over at him. "Huh? Oh, I'm talking to the Breaker..."
Jayden blinked. "You can talk to the Breaker?" he exclaimed, not thinking that it was possible.
Raven blinked. "Well... yeah... why shouldn't I be able too...?"
"W-Well...my Daddy says that, that you can't understand Zoids!" he blurted out.
Raven laughed. "Really now? He told you that! And just why does he think that?"
"'C-Cuz you used to blow up Zoids for fun! A-And you don't like Zoids!"
Raven chuckled. "Well that was a long time ago, Jayden..." he replied, patting his Zoid's muzzle, "I don't do that anymore..."
"...So...you like Zoids now?"
Raven nodded. "You could say that..."
Jayden blinked, not entirely convinced on what Raven had just told him. "...Why? You can't suddenly jus' like Zoids after hating them..."
"Hey now, I was forced into killing those Zoids by Prozen!" Raven defended, "Besides, I have my reasons..."
"...What reasons?" the nearly seven year old asked.
"... now that's not any of your business, now is it?" Raven replied. Jayden pouted, but knew that he couldn't argue any further. He went back over to where Caleb was waiting for him, giving him a strange look, as if asking him why he was talking to Raven.
Raven caught Caleb's look. "Well Caleb? Is there something you'd like to say?" he asked, able to get a good idea as to what he was thinking.
Caleb blinked, looking up to Raven. "...N-No..." he replied. He still wasn't very trusting of the Dark Pilot.
Raven narrowed his eyes slightly. "Really now? You wouldn't be lying to me, now would you...?" he asked in a very suspicious tone, more to rattle the child's nerves into telling the truth than anything. Caleb gulped slightly but didn't say anything. He was starting to get un-nerved, having a feeling that he knew that Raven knew that he wasn't telling the truth.
Raven rolled his eyes slightly. "Oh come on Caleb, I won't get mad at you. And didn't Moonbay tell you that if you didn't do as I said she'd turn around and come back...?" he 'threatened'.
"You wouldn't call Momma back here!" the seven year old replied, slightly fearful that Raven really would call his mom back. He would rather face off against the Death Saurer than face her wrath.
Raven smirked slightly. "Wanna bet?" he replied coolly, not bluffing and more than willing to call the short-tempered Transporter. Caleb looked at him fearfully, knowing now that he would call his mom back. He had no choice but to tell the truth now, knowing that his mom would ground him for not being on his best behavior...
Raven smirked slightly, but none of the kids caught it. "So, are you going to tell me now or not?"
Caleb sulked slightly before speaking up. "...I was jus' wonderin' why Jayden was talkin' to you..." he pouted.
Raven blinked. "Why? Is there is something wrong with him talking to me?"
"...no...jus' wanted to know what about..."
"Jayden didn't think I could talk to my Geno Breaker was all..." Raven replied.
"...oh..." was all that the child said, not knowing what else to say.
Raven sighed slightly, before looking at all four kids. "You guys still want to look at the Breaker? Or would you rather do something else?"
The kids were all quiet, not quite sure just what to do. There was always something to get into at the base, but the fear of breaking something in the Dark Pilot's house kept them from doing anything too rambunctious. Before any of them could speak up though, did the winds start to pick up a little. Of course, the one day that they could actually be outside a desert storm was starting to blow in...
Raven turned into the wind and saw storm clouds closing in. "Well, time to go back inside..." he sighed, shepherding the kids back into the house. Not long after they got back inside did it start to rain. "...looks like we're gonna have to find something fun to do inside..." The three GF kids just looked at him. They had no clue just what to do. Usually they just played with whatever toys were in the playroom or whatever games they felt like playing.
Raven sighed when he saw the blank stares. "Well... I can't read your minds' kids... what do you all like to do for fun?"
"...Play with our toys or...play games with each other..." Jayden replied quietly, still kind of afraid of Raven.
Raven sighed. "Okay... well, what kind of games would those be?" he asked, not wanting them to sit down and be quiet all day like they were being punished.
"...uh...um... ...I dunno...just games..." Van's son replied.
Raven sighed again. "... I can't suggest anything if you don't tell me what you like..."
"...w-well...we like to play with...with our Zoid models..." he replied quietly.
Well, it was a start. Raven turned and looked at Angel. "Angel; would you like to bring out your Zoid models so you all can play?" he suggested. The youngest of the four children nodded slightly before going to his room to fetch some of his models. He hoped that things went better this time then they did last time...
Raven got to his feet once Angel left and turned to the three children. "Now, I have a little work I have to do, so Shadow will keep an eye on you. Play nice, alright?" The three kids nodded, not wanting to do anything that would make Raven call Moonbay.
Raven nodded as well. "Good, now be nice and play fair..." he added as he walked back to his bedroom.
The kids nodded again as they waited for Angel to return back into the main room. Said toddler returned, carrying a few models with him a minute later. He still had one more trip to make to get all of the Zoids that he usually played with. Shadow kept an eye on the toys he brought out when he went to make a second trip, making sure none of the kids touched them without him being there. She didn't want to risk one of them breaking one and having him be upset.
Angel returned with the rest of his models a minute later, setting them down on the ground. He didn't say anything, remembering the last time he had asked if they wanted to play with him... Shadow growled reassuringly, not wanting him to feel upset. He needed to make friends, especially now considering his severe shyness caused by his current 'condition'.
Angel patted Shadow's muzzle before looking back to the GF kids. "...do yous wanna pway...?" he asked quietly.
Caleb sort of looked at the younger boy hesitantly. "... n-not right now..." he answered, still unsure of Raven's son.
Angel looked down slightly. That was basically as good as 'no, I don't want to play with you.' The thought saddened the toddler slightly. He wanted to have friends, but how was he supposed to make any if no one would give him a chance? Shadow growled quietly before leaning down and licking him, trying to cheer him up. She didn't want to see him feeling bad when he had done nothing wrong.
"...do yous wanna pway Jayden...?" he asked, hoping that he'd be a little more open to the idea.
Jayden was really hesitant and didn't want to, but seeing all the expensive and hard-to-find toys eventually swayed him. He nodded slightly, wanting to play with the Zoid models very badly, even if it meant playing with his daddy's enemy's son.
Angel smiled slightly; glad to see that at least one of them wanted to play with him. "What do yous wanna pway?" he asked, not wanting to force him to play his favorite 'Death Saurer' game.
Jayden shrugged. "... I-I don know..." he answered, looking at all the different Zoids models.
"...well...what do yous usually pway?" Angel asked. While the boys were gathered around the models, Lenne decided to just sit at the coffee table and color in one of the coloring books her Daddy had packed for her. She wasn't that interested in the toys.
Jayden shrugged slightly. "... just... what ever... Lenne doesn't like playin' with Zoids so I play by myself..."
"...Dun your Daddy or Zeke pway wif yous?" Angel asked, finding it strange that the Hero didn't play Zoids with Jayden.
"Sometimes... he's busy a lot though..." Jayden answered, picking up the pretty blue Blade Liger and looking at it.
"...Does anyone else pway wif yous?" Angel asked. Even though he was an only child, he usually had someone to play with. Be it either Shadow or his Daddy, or even Karl and Thomas, someone would always play with him...
"Zeke does sometimes... and mommy... sometimes Irvine or Moonbay play with me..." Jayden answered.
"...well...I'll pway wif yous," the toddler said, wanting to have a friend that was roughly the same age as him.
Jayden nodded slightly. "... o-okay..." he answered, still looking at the blue Blade Liger. "Where you get so many Zoids? I only have a few..."
"Daddy mostly gets dem fo' me. He goes to many pwaces fo' his other job and gets me dem. Auntie Weese awso gets dem fo' me and Uncl' Kawl and Uncl' Thomas gets dem sometimes too. I gotted da DiBision and Uncl' Kawl's Zaber fwom dem, da Chyco Geno Sawer fwom Auntie Weese. An' Daddy jus' gotted me a Geno Sawer and a wed Zaber yesterday," the toddler explained.
Jayden blinked. "You mean your daddy gets you toys even when its not your birthday?"
"...I tinks dey were s'pposed to be birfday pwesents...but...someting bads happened to me da other day..." he replied quietly.
Jayden cocked his head. "What happened? Can't be so bad..."
The toddler looked down slightly. "...someones kidnapped me da other nigh'..." he replied quietly, not wanting to remember that night very much.
Jayden blinked. "What? Why someone do that?"
Angel just shook his head 'no' slightly. "...I dunno..." he replied.
Jayden sighed. "...that sounds scary..." he said quietly, setting down the toy he had picked up.
"...it was...but Daddy saved me, an' everyting's aww bedder now," Angel replied.
"...that's good..." Jayden said, before changing the subject, "... what do you usually play...?"
"...Shadow an' me usually pway 'Death Sawer', but we can pway waht yous want too."
"Death Sauer sounds fun!" Jayden chirped, rarely getting the chance to play due to his father and Zeke being busy all the time.
Angel smiled slightly again. "Yous gonna pway wif us Shadow?" he asked, just wanting to make sure that she was alright enough to do so. Shadow yawned but nodded, sliding off of the couch and taking her 'position'. She was tired, but a little bit of playtime wouldn't hurt her.
"Tanks Shadow..." The toddler said, hugging her arm. He turned to Caleb again, not wanting him to feel left out. "...Yous sure yous no wanna pway wif us?"
Caleb shook his head no. "... I'm sure..." he answered from where he was sitting in one of the chairs on the other side of the room.
Angel sighed quietly before setting up the Zoids. "Which ones do yous wanna be?" he asked, already holding his Daddy's Geno Breaker.
Jayden immediately grabbed for the blue Blade Liger and the Ultrasaurus. "I want these!" he chirped.
"Okays! I'm gonna be Daddy's Bweaker an' Uncl' Thomas' DiBison!" the toddler said happily as he grabbed the DiBison.
Jayden nodded slightly, before spotting another Zoid. "Can I have the Saix too?"
"Sure! I no minds," Angel replied.
Jayden immediately snatched up the Saix, and also grabbed O'Connell's Surveillance Pteras and Herman's Shield Liger. "Got any more you don't wanna be?"
"I wanna be Uncle' Kawl's Zaber an' Auntie Weese's Chyco Geno Sawer, but yous can be whatever Zoids yous wanna be."
Jayden nodded, and picked the Rev Raptor and Godos models, but stopped when he picked up s silver Command Wolf. "... This looks like pictures of grandpa Dan's Wolf..." he mused somewhat.
Angel looked over to the Zoid that Jayden was looking at. "...It does? Daddy says that it's a special Zoid an' dat I has to take good cares of it."
Jayden blinked. "Why is it special? Look like any other Command Wolf..." he asked, "... 'sides the color..."
"Daddy made it by his self. He says dat, it's to 'member a special person dat saved him once."
Jayden blinked. "He did?" he asked, looking at the Command Wolf curiously.
A few minutes later Raven walked into the main room, having been flipping through a vampiric book in his bedroom. "Well, glad to see you two getting along..." he said, seeing Jayden and Angel playing with the Zoids.
Both kids looked up when they heard Raven say that. Angel nodded slightly when his Daddy said that. Jayden, however, spoke up, "...Why's this Zoid so special?" He asked holding onto the white Command Wolf.
Raven walked over and sat down beside them to get a better look. "Oh, the white Command Wolf I made? It's special because I painted it to resemble the Zoid of a special person..."
Jayden blinked. "A special person? Who?" The child asked his curiosity just as bad as his father's.
Raven sighed. "Well I think you know him very well..." he replied, "His name's Dan Flyheight..."
Jayden blinked. "What? My Grandpa? How do you know my Grandpa?"
Raven chuckled slightly at Jayden's expression. "Well, he was going to adopt me when I was around your age..."
The seven year old blinked. "...wha...? My Grandpa was gonna 'dopt you?"
Raven nodded. "Yeah, he was," he answered, "Your dad and I were almost brothers."
Jayden blinked a few times. "...you were?"
Raven nodded again. "Yeah, so in a way you should be calling me uncle Raven," he joked.
The youngster looked at him incredulously. "...Wha? No way!"
Raven chuckled and nodded. "Yes way. So in a sense I'm 'family'."
Jayden blinked again. "But wha' 'bout my Daddy? What'll he say?"
Raven sighed. "He denies the whole thing even happened. But just ask Father Leon, he was there..."
"My Daddy knows?" he asked.
Raven nodded. "Yeah, he knows..." he replied, "He just denies it..."
"...Why...?" Jayden asked, not understanding why his Daddy would deny something like that.
"Because your dad doesn't like me very much... I'm sure you know that..." Jayden nodded slightly. He knew that very well. His Daddy and Caleb's Daddy were always complaining about Raven. But...this Raven...wasn't like the Raven their Dad's talked about...
Raven caught Jayden's look. "Something wrong, Jayden?"
Jayden shook his head 'no'. "...No Mr. Raven... Jus'...Jus' thinkin' 'bout what my Dad says..."
Raven sighed loudly. "... bad things... huh?" he asked quietly. Jayden nodded slightly, knowing better than to lie. He didn't want the truth dragged out him like he had done to Caleb...
Raven sighed loudly. "... I'm not about to call your dad a liar... but not all the things he said are exactly true, Jayden. Keep that in mind..." Jayden nodded, but didn't say anything else. His young mind was so confused.
Raven sighed loudly. "Well, what're you two doing? Playing?" he asked somewhat hopefully, knowing Angel's shyness often prevented him from attempting to make friends.
Angel nodded while Jayden spoke up. "Uh-huh! We were jus' goin' through all the Zoid models that he has! Angel has a lot more then I do!"
Raven chuckled. "Oh he does, does he? Doesn't Van buy you toys? He has all the money in the world it seems..." he joked slightly.
"S-Sometimes... But I usually only get toys for my birthday or for Christmas... An' Daddy's usually always busy..."
Raven blinked. "Really now? I would've thought differently... Van being the 'great hero' and all..."
Jayden sighed slightly. "...Daddy's always busy 'cuz of that... If he's not in some kinda meeting then he's on some kinda mission..."
Raven blinked. "... well that won't do..." he said, "... well if you ever get bored or lonely you could come over here. I wouldn't mind..."
Jayden blinked and looked up to Raven when he said that. "R-Really?"
Raven nodded. "Of course, as long as I'm home you can come over whenever you'd like..." Jayden nodded slightly. He would have to ask his Mommy and Daddy. He was sure his Mommy wouldn't mind but it was his Daddy that he was worried about.
"Don't worry about your dad; I'll convince him somehow if he says 'no'..."
Jayden nodded. "Okay..." He said. He could hear the argument that was going to ensue.
Raven patted both boys' heads before standing up. "You two play nice. I've got a little more work to do..." he said, before vanishing back into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
"Okay Mr. Raven," Jayden replied before he left. He and Angel then started to get the Zoids all set up, since Shadow had fallen back asleep while they had been talking.
Caleb looked over at Jayden. "Jayden...why're you talkin' to them?" he asked, motioning to Angel and the direction Raven had just left in.
Jayden looked over to Caleb. "I'm jus' talkin' to them Caleb... They're not gonna hurt us..."
Caleb scoffed slightly. "How you know that?" he asked.
"Well...your Mom and my Mom trust them... They can't be as bad as our Dads say they are..."
"But Raven is evil!" Caleb protested, crossing his arms unhappily.
This time Lenne spoke up. "Caleb, he's not evil. If he was do yous tink dat he'd have a kid?" she asked, pointing out the fact that Raven had been happily married and took good care of his son.
Caleb blinked. "Uhh... well... err... s-shut up!" he huffed, looking off to the side.
Lenne giggled at him. "Yous know dat I'm wight Caleb," she said before she went back to her coloring.
Caleb glared at her slightly before huffing, looking eerily like his dad. "So... I still think I'm right..."
Lenne just giggled at him again, but didn't say anything else. Angel, who had been listening to the entire conversation, still didn't understand why the light brown haired boy kept saying that both he and his Daddy were bad people. He also wasn't sure why he didn't think he and Jayden should be friends, but because he didn't want to get into an argument and bring his Daddy back out he kept quiet
Caleb huffed and didn't say anything, pulling out a bag of cookies he had brought in his bag. Jayden picked up the Blade Liger and Command Wolf toys. "Wanna play now?"
Angel nodded. "Okays... I just gotta waked up Shadow..." the five year old replied as he picked up the tiny red Geno Breaker and walked over to where the black Organoid was sleeping. Shadow didn't react, in a sound slumber. She was healing up nicely, but was just too tired to respond.
The toddler gently shook Shadow's shoulder, trying to wake her up, but she wasn't budging. He sighed quietly before turning back to Jayden. "She's too tired... She was 'ttacked and badly hurted..."
Jayden blinked. "Really? But who could hurt her...?"
Angel shook his head slightly. "...da bad man who kidnapped me... ...He had an Organoid too... ...couldn't tell what cowor it was dough... ...he made me breathe some wierd stuff dat made me sweepy..."
Jayden blinked. "...that sounds scary..." he whined slightly.
Angel nodded slightly. It was scary, and something he never wanted to experience again. "Do yous still wanna pway? Even dough we no have a Death Sawer?"
Jayden nodded. "We don't have to play Death Sauer... we can just have a Zoids battle!"
"Okays!" Angel replied sitting down on the hardwood floor and getting his Zoids set up again.
Jayden did the same. "... I don think Ultrasaurus should be aloud..." he said, pushing the large model off to the side.
Angel nodded. "Okay den," he replied, waiting to hear the 'rules'. He hadn't played with kids his own age before...
Jayden set all the Zoids up. "... I guess we just blast each other, right?"
"...I guess...? ...never pwayed wif 'nother kid my age 'fore..." Angel replied.
"Let's just try..." Jayden replied, folding down the Blade Liger's blades for 'combat'. Angel got the Geno Breaker 'combat' ready too, though he didn't have much to do. The main thing was the Charged Particle Beam motions. That took some time, but he would manage it.
Jayden made the first move. "Blade Liger use your blades!" he chirped, moving the Liger at the Geno Breaker to 'try' and 'disable' it before it could fire.
Angel retaliated by making the Breaker 'hover' to the side and out of 'harms' way. "Use your wetwacting caws Bweaker!" the toddler countered, moving the tiny retractable claws to hook them onto the Blade Liger.
Jayden squeaked. "No! Liger get it off!" he said in a 'panic', trying to use the Liger's paws and fangs to pry the toy Breaker's claws off.
Before Jayden could get the retractable claws off did Angel take the change to fire a few of the plastic missiles. "Take dat Bwade Wiger!"
Jayden squeaked again. "Zeke use the shield!" he said, moving the little panels to look like they did with the shield deployed. The Breaker's missiles harmlessly bounced off the 'shield' that 'Zeke' had put up. Angel pouted slightly, but didn't say any. He knew that it was just a game, and needless to say, he was having fun playing with someone his own age.
While the Geno Breaker was 'busy' with the Blade Liger, Jayden 'snuck' the Saix behind it. "Irvine fire!" he chirped, the plastic missiles bouncing harmlessly off the toy Breaker.
"Ahh! Oh noes! I'll get yous fo' day Jayden!" the toddler said, swiftly pressing the release button to the retractable claws and moving the Breaker out of the way of the, what used to be hidden, DiBison. "Beek use Megawomax!" he said, firing off the barrage of tiny plastic missiles onto the Blade Liger and Saix.
Jayden blinked. "Oh no! Irvine!" he said, laying the Saix over to show it was 'downed'. "You'll pay for that!" he chirped, getting the Command Wolf lined up before firing and hitting the DiBision's leg.
Angel made the DiBison kneel down to show the damaged leg. He brought Karl's Zaber over and had it fire off one of its cannons, hitting the Command Wolf in the chest. "I got yous!"
Jayden blinked, before huffing and laying the Command Wolf on its side. "No, I got you!" he said back, making the Blade Liger lunge at the Geno Breaker, the blade making a quiet metallic clang when the metal 'blade' hit the plastic body armor and metal cockpit cover on its chest.
"Hey!" Angel exclaimed, trying to move the Breaker out of 'harms' way again. He managed to do so before he pulled out the head blade. The Breaker's eyes turned blue and started to glow, signaling the 'Shadow' had fused to it. "Now I's gonna get yous!"
Jayden blinked. "Oh no!" he said, before making the Liger jump and land on the Breaker's back with the blades down. "Now I got you!" Angel shook the Blade Liger off before using a tail smash to send it 'flying'. While Jayden was getting the Liger to stand up again, he started going through the motions of the Charged Particle Beam.
Jayden squeaked. "Oh no Zeke! Put the shield back up!" he said, putting the shield up and making the blades point forward.
Zeke pulled the shields up a second before Angel fired the Charged Particle Beam. "Take dat!"
Jayden moved the Liger out of 'range'. "Now take this!" he said, charging the Geno Breaker and 'ramming' it with the shield on.
"Ahh! You'll pay fo' dat!" the five year old said, tail putting the Breaker's shield up and 'ramming' back.
Jayden giggled slightly, 'locking shields' with the Breaker. "I don't think so!"
The two kids continued with their 'dead lock' until the two finally decided that it was a tie. "Dat was fun!" Angel exclaimed, setting the Geno Breaker down before going to collect all of the plastic missiles.
Jayden nodded. "Yeah, it was!" he chirped, cleaning up 'his' Zoids as well.
Angel smiled slightly, having picked up his half of the Zoids. "Now wha yous wanna do?" He asked, not knowing just what else to do.
Jayden shrugged. "... I don know... what do you wanna do?"
Angel shrugged slightly, not quite knowing just what to do now. "...uhm...d-do yous wanna see my woom?" he asked, figuring it be more interesting then just saying in the living room.
Jayden perked up slightly. "Okay!" he chirped, picking up half of the Zoids to carry back.
Angel picked up the other half of the Zoids. "Okays! Fowwo me!" he said, leading the way to where his room was. One of the walls had been painted red while the other three where a soft cream color. His child sized bed was a simple wooden frame with a black comforter that had red seams. The walls were lined with shelves filled with more models that he hadn't taken out or were still in the box. The Geno Saurer and red Zaber fang were sitting on the child sized desk, which had scattered coloring books and construction paper pads on it that had drawings doodled all over. The floors throughout the entire house were hard wood floors, but Angel had a simple black area rug that covered most of the floor.
Jayden immediately ran over to the desk. "Are these those models your daddy got you?" he asked, looking them over.
Angel nodded. "Yeah... He gotted dem fo' me when I came t'da base..."
"Lucky... I wish my daddy got me gifts for no reason..."
Angel blinked. "...Daddy doesn't usuwally get me tings fo' no weason... Dese 'er ware an' he gotted dem fo' me pwolly fo' my birfday…" Angel replied quietly. Jayden nodded slightly, and the two eventually ended up playing in Angel's room for a while until Raven came to see just what they were doing.
The rest of the day passed peacefully. It was around seven thirty at night and Raven and the kids were in the main room, the kids playing with some toys and Shadow. Raven kept an eye on them, making sure no fights started or any arguments got out of hand. Angel and Jayden were playing with some of his models on the area rug. Lenne was curled up beside Raven, 'making' him read her a story and Caleb was just watching the two younger boys play. All in all, their day had been pretty uneventful and no fights had broken out, which was good.
Raven read to Lenne, not bothered she was curled up beside him. He used to read to Angel all the time, so he didn't mind at all. About ten minutes later was there a knock on the door. All the children turned to look at him, knowing that it was probably Van.
Raven closed the book and handed it to Lenne. "I'll be back in a sec." he said, walking to the door and opening it. "Ah, Flyheight, late as usual," he teased, knowing he should have showed up twenty minutes ago.
Van scowled slightly at him. "Hey...it wasn't my fault that there was an emergency at one of the border villages..." he defended.
Raven rolled his eyes. "Really? Must have been a pretty big emergency for Van Flyheight the 'Great Hero' to get involved," he teased, smirking at his 'former' rival's expression.
Van just glared at him slightly. "Well...was I just supposed to leave and let some bandits raze the place?" he retorted.
"No, I suppose not," the dark pilot joked, stepping out of the way so Van could come in. "Please, come in and grace us with your presence, 'Great Hero'..." he said sarcastically, smirking at the shorter pilot's expression.
Van glowered slightly. "Shove it Raven," he replied before entering the Chen house hold. A double chorus of 'Daddy!' was what Van heard before being double 'tackled' by his two kids.
"I try," Raven replied cheekily to his first comment, before he snickered when the smaller pilot was 'attacked' by his kids. "I feel sorry for you, Van, I really do."
Van glared at Raven slightly, but knew better than to say anything with his kids right there. Caleb wandered over after a minute, clearly ready to go home. Van sighed before telling his kids to pack up, but that was made more than a little difficult when Lenne decided that she wanted her story finished first.
"But Daddy! We gotta finish da stowy!" she pouted cutely.
Raven chuckled before picking Lenne up. "How about I finish reading you that story while the boys pick up their toys? Sound good?" he asked, sitting down on the couch and setting Lenne beside him.
"Okays!" Lenne replied happily as she snuggled closer to Raven before he continued reading. Needless to say, Van was stunned. He hadn't expected his children to warm up to Raven. He watched as the boys picked up all of the Zoid models and took them back to what must have been Angel's room. Raven patted her head before opening the book back up to where they had stopped. Once he found it did he start reading again, keeping an eye on the boys as they picked up.
The three boys picked up all of the toys and about ten minutes later they were done. "Aww done Daddy!" Angel said, as he Jayden and Caleb came back out into the living room. Raven had just finished the story, so everything was all set.
Raven nodded and closed the book. "Okay then, guess you gotta go home now Lenne," he said, patting her head affectionately. "Don't forget you can come and visit whenever you want if Van gets too annoying," he joked lightly.
"Hey... Daddy's not 'noying!" she pouted again but defended her father at the same time.
"I know Sweetie; I was just kidding with you," Raven joked, gathering up her coloring books. "Oh, Lenne, I noticed you like to color a lot, so here," he said, opening a drawer and pulling out a box of new crayons, handing them to the child. "I'm sure some more crayons can't hurt."
Lenne's face lit up. She hugged Raven as tightly as she could. "Tank yous Mister Waven!" she said happily.
Raven hugged her back. "You're welcome, Sweetie. Don't draw on the walls, okay? I don't think your mommy would be happy if you did that. But drawing on Van's face when he nods of, I'm all for," he joked.
Lenne giggled when he said that. "Okays Mister Waven!" she said happily before getting off of the couch.
Raven nodded before he got up as well. "You better hurry up and get going, Van. Last I heard there's supposed to be a storm rolling in soon," he said, seeing the slightly smaller pilot was just standing around. Van nodded, ushering his kids and Irvine and Moonbay's son out to the borrowed Gustav. Angel was standing beside Raven as they watched them leave, making sure that they got out safe enough. The Base would never let it go if they learned that Raven had to help Van out if he got stuck.
Raven waved goodbye before he shut the door, sighing loudly. "Well, now we have the place to ourselves, Squirt," he smirked, before roughing up his toddler's hair.
Angel giggled, reaching his hands up to be picked up. "Guess what Daddy!"
Raven reached down and scooped up the vampiric toddler. "Tell me, Squirt. I'm doubt I'll be able to guess."
"Jayden an' me awe fweinds now!" he said happily as his dad brought him to the kitchen.
"Really now? That's good to hear!" Raven said, setting his son on his usual chair. It was good to hear that his son had finally made a friend.
Angel hummed happily. He was glad that he had a friend now. "Wha we gonna have fo' supper?" he asked.
"What do you want to eat, Angel?" Raven asked, not having had anything particular in mind.
"...uh... Can we has hamburgers?" he asked.
Raven nodded. "Of course we can, Angel." he said, going to the fridge to pull out what he'd need.
The toddler bounced in his seat excitedly. "...Did I do good Daddy? ...Dey didn't finded out... ...I twied weally hard so den dey would't see..."
Raven glanced back at Angel. "You did wonderfully, Angel. They didn't suspect a thing..." Angel smiled slightly, his tiny fangs showing though a little. He was glad to have heard that. Raven smiled back, not at all bothered with his son's fangs. He went back to making the hamburgers, knowing his son had to be hungry; he'd been too busy playing to remember he was hungry all the time.
While Raven worked on making supper something crashed through the kitchen window. It startled Angel enough that he fell out of his chair, hitting his head on the table. He started crying when that happened, his new vampire senses going haywire since they were trying to detect some sort of threat.
Raven jumped up, looking around frantically; afraid something had hurt his son. He briefly glimpsed something on the floor, but his attention was focused on his son. He immediately ran over and picked up the crying toddler, trying to get him calmed down. The five year old clung to him tightly, hiding his face in Raven's shirt. He didn't like being startled like that, and now it was even worse since he was vampire. It sounded so much louder and that made his ears hurt too. Luckily though, he hadn't cut his head open, it was just bruising slightly.
Raven ran his hand up and down his back gently. "Shh... it's okay Angel..." he tried to soothe, not wanting his son to be panicking. He could have cared less about the window, too concerned with his young son.
Angel's crying lessened after a few minutes. He was hiccupping slightly from having been bawling, but now he was starting to calm down. Eventually he turned his head to look at what had come crashing though the window. It was a rather large rock, and it looked like it had something tied to it. Raven was looking at it as well, but didn't say anything. He carried Angel into the living room, sitting down on the couch, still holding the frightened toddler. He just wanted him to calm down, and not be scared. The toddler slowly calmed down, but not enough for Raven to leave him alone for five minutes. The scent that he was getting from whatever was tied to the rock reminded him to the bad man that had kidnapped him. And that just made him uneasy and clingy.
Raven continued trying to calm him down. "Angel... calm down..." he tried to soothe, "... I won't let anything hurt you again..."
Angel nodded slightly, but didn't let go of Raven's shirt. "...it smells wike da bad man Daddy..." he said quietly, huddling closer to Raven to try and feel safe.
Raven blinked. "It does?" he asked, that not boding well in his mind.
Angel nodded slightly, still clinging to Raven's shirt. It was unsettling to have a reminder of what he had been through. He grew even more unsettled then he had been when he had been startled by the window breaking. Raven ran his fingers through Angel's hair, trying to calm him down. "It's okay... it's okay..." he tried to soothe, not wanting him to be upset, which in turn made him uneasy. But Angel didn't calm down. He was nervous, knowing that the bad man that had taken him away was so close.
Raven sighed quietly, still running his hands through his son's hair. "It's okay... it'll all be okay..." he kept repeating, trying to calm him down. Eventually Angel fell asleep, his distress finally catching up to him. At least he wasn't freaking out any longer, and Raven could finally investigate that letter.
Raven carefully got to his feet, setting Angel on the couch. He didn't want him to panic if he got the note close. He walked into the kitchen, and spotted the rock with the note tied to it. He narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned down, picking it up and pulling the note from the rock.
After setting the rock on the table did Raven sit down to read it.
It read: 'So, I see that you didn't really enjoy my 'gift'. No matter. I'm enjoying it, and watching what you do too. I'm very interested in seeing just how this all plays out, considering the second part of my 'gift'. No doubt you've found the 'vampire bite' on your son's neck by now. Usually it's just a single injection, but I thought that it'd be much more entertaining to give him the virus...and its counterpart...the Rogue virus. One of these days he's just going to...snap. And I'll be watching from the side lines to see just what you do, considering your 'job'. Just when he'll...'snap'? I'm not certain. It could be tomorrow, a week from now, a month, a year or even a few years. Happy 'hunting'.
Raven blinked when he read the note. He had to reread it a few times, just to get it to sink in. "... Angel... Angel's going t-to go Rogue...?" he had to repeat to himself, the reality sinking in. Said toddler was sleeping fitfully on the couch. He had no idea that one day he would go Rogue. Right now, the biggest problem he was concerned with was not having to 'feed' from his father again or worrying about whether or not the bad man was coming back to take him away again.
Raven reached into his pocket, pulling out the strange crystal that Ion had given him. He'd never seen or used anything like it before, but he gave it a shot. "I... I need to talk to Ion," he said, thinking that had been what the vampire had told him to say.
A moment later the green crystal started to glow slightly and it extended upward slightly into a sort of 'screen', like a mini hologram. A moment later an obviously just waking up vampire stumbled into the 'screen'. "Yeah?" he asked through a yawn, knowing that the 'hunter' that he had met earlier in the week wouldn't have contacted him unless it was important.
Raven blinked, not having expected that. He took a moment to regain himself. "I-I need to speak with you. In person," he replied, his tone deathly serious.
Ion blinked a few times, trying to wake up enough to answer back. "Alright, alright... Just...where are you?" he asked.
"My house is near the Guardian Force base in the Empire," Raven answered, "It's about an hour from the Dark River."
Ion sighed. "Of course... The furthest place from where I'm at..." he grumbled. "...I'll try to be there some time tomorrow morning. If something comes up, I'll contact you through this. You'll know if I do because it'll start to glow."
Raven nodded. "I'll likely be asleep, so just knock on the door. Don't pick the lock, or my Organoid might try and attack you," he said, knowing some vampires would pick the locks to get inside instead of waiting out in the sun.
Ion nodded. "Alrighty, I'll try to be there around ten...ish..."
Raven nodded. "Now... I got my son back from the kidnapper but... he'll be really scared of you, just giving you fair warning..."
Ion nodded. "Figured as much..." he sighed.
"... not because of that..." Raven replied, know what he was thinking.
Ion gave him a confused looked. "Then because of what?"
"... I'll... tell you when you get here tomorrow... it's a long story..." Raven said quietly, glancing out into the main room where Angel was still hopefully asleep.
"Alright," The dark teal haired vampire replied. "Well...if I'm gonna make it there sometime in the morning I better get going."
Raven nodded. "Alright, I need to get Angel to bed anyways..." he mused somewhat to himself. Ion nodded. The green crystal blurred slightly before going dull and back to normal. The toddler was still sleeping fitfully on the couch, not yet having woken up.
Raven put the crystal in his pocket before he got back up. It was going on eight o'clock, and he still had to finish making dinner. He took the rock and note and hid them in the closet of the spare room, so it wouldn't bother his son. He went back into the kitchen and finished making dinner, before walking back into the main room. He sighed and looked at his son sadly, knowing they were both living on borrowed time now.
Angel seemed to sense that Raven was watching him and he started to wake up slightly. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times before looking up at his father. Raven sighed quietly at first, knowing he couldn't tell his son. Not yet. He smiled slightly at Angel, reaching down and picking up his son. "Hey sleepy head... you ready for dinner?"
Angel blinked again when he was picked up and his Daddy spoke to him. He nodded absently, rubbing his eyes sleepily and yawning slightly. "You hungry, Squirt?" Raven asked, carrying him into the kitchen, even though he already knew the answer was 'yes'.
"Uh-huh! I'm hungwy Daddy!" the five year old replied, starting to wake back up.
"Figured you'd be, Squirt..." Raven replied, setting him in his usual chair. He had already set out food on a plate for him, along with a glass of watermelon juice.
"Tank yous Daddy!" the recently 'turned' child said as he picked up his burger and started eating it. Raven nodded and roughed up his hair, before he sat down in his chair and started eating as well. He glanced at the broken window, and made a mental note to ask Ion to help him fix it when he arrived. Angel ate happily, going in for thirds and fourths this time. Raven didn't even have seconds. Instead he got up and taped up the broken window, keeping out the wind and sand until he could get it replaced.
Angel watched him and that was when he noticed that the rock and the note had vanished. "Daddy? Where'd da note go?"
Raven glanced back at his son. "I put it away, Angel. Don't worry about it."
The toddler nodded slightly. That meant that it wasn't for him to know about and that his Daddy would take care of it. "Okays Daddy..."
Raven walked over and patted his son's back after he finished taping. "Don't worry Angel; everything will be just fine..."
Angel nodded slightly before looking up to him. "...I know Daddy."
Raven nodded. "You finished, Angel?"
"Yep! Aww done now!" the toddler replied, his mood changing again.
Raven smiled slightly and cleaned up his and Angel's plates. He finished about ten minutes later, and went back to the table and gathered his son up in his arms. "Well, you ready for bed, Squirt?"
Angel nodded. "Uh-huh... Tiwed Daddy..."
"Well then, go get in your jammies and I'll do the same. Then I'll come tuck you in, okay?" Raven said as he set the toddler onto the ground.
"Okay..." the toddler replied before running off toward his room. He pulled out some pajamas; these ones had chibi Geno Saurers on them. Raven went to his room and closed the door, changing into his own night clothes. Shadow pushed the door open and plodded in, nearly making Raven jump out of his skin. He calmed down quickly though, and laid out a spare pillow and blanket on the floor for the Organoid to use; the dark pilot had the feeling Angel would end up not sleeping in his room tonight.
Angel came into Raven's room about five minutes later, carrying Miru. Raven sighed when he saw that he had buttoned up his pajamas wrong, looks like he'd have to fix that. Raven sighed and walked over to his son, picking him up and setting him on the bed. "Here, sit still Angel while I fix your jammies..." he said, unbuttoning his son's pajamas to fix them.
The toddler nodded and sat as still as he could; He yawned again and rubbed his eyes sleepily while he waited for his Daddy to fix his jammies. Raven finished a few minutes later and patted the toddler's head. "All better." he said, standing back up. He sighed quietly. "... I'm pretty sure you wanna stay in here tonight... right?"
Angel looked up to him before nodding. The rock crashing through the window had ruined any chance of the toddler sleeping in his own room tonight. Raven picked up his son and hugged him gently. "Don't worry... I won't let anyone hurt you again, Angel..."
Angel hugged back, calming down when he heard that. "I know Daddy," he replied.
Raven laid Angel back down on the bed a few minutes later. "Get some sleep, Angel." he said quietly, before turning off the lights and lying down on his side of the bed. "... I'm going to have a 'friend' over tomorrow morning, Angel. But don't worry, he won't hurt you."
The toddler blinked his glowing eyes when his Daddy said that. "...A fwiend...?"
Raven nodded. "You remember Ion? I told you about him."
Angel thought for a minute before nodding. "I 'members..."
"Well, he's coming over tomorrow morning. You'll probably still be asleep..."
"...why he comin over...?" Angel asked, confused and slightly worried.
"We just need to talk about some things, Angel, grown-up stuff... nothing to worry about..."
The toddler nodded slightly before curling up under the blankets to go to sleep. The vampiric child fell asleep shortly after closing his eyes. Raven fell asleep soon after, sleeping soundly until about half way through the night. He started to have nightmares, and woke up several times before dozing off again. Every time Raven woke up Angel would wake up slightly. And every time he would have to snuggle closer to Raven to try to fall back asleep again. Raven didn't mind in the slightest, and eventually fell back into a somewhat decent sleep. He slept well past sunrise, completely forgetting that he was supposed to wake up early.
Author's Note: I hope you all liked this chapter! It's a bit longer than I had anticipated, but there was just no good cut off point other than this one. So, how'd you all like Raven babysitting ;p I bet a lot of you were thinking that it'd be complete chaos at the Chen household ;p But the poor dear :( Receiving that note was the last thing that they were expecting :( Hopefully Ion knows some more about it and can enlighten Raven. You'll just have to wait and see next chapter! Please Review! They make my day! :)