AN- The seemingly safe atmosphere from a few chappies ago deteriorated last chapter. Big time. Gettin pinned down by an Organoid Helkat-bent on revenge defiantly isn't a good thing! Especially when you're as injured as Raven is and when your only hope is two Organoids that currently are in recovery sleep (when an Organoid gets injured, it can enter a deep trance-like state that accelerates the healing process. In this state, however, the Organoid is pretty much dead to the world, meaning it can't hear, smell or feel anything. Once an Organoid enters this state, they must remain in that state until its wounds are healed. If it disrupts the process by waking up, the wounds might not heal properly and it will be completely exhausted, for the healing process takes a lot of energy. If it is woken and must fight, it won't be able to, for its energy will be very low. If an Organoid lets the process run its course, by the time it wakes up its energy will be almost completely restored.). Basically, Raven's as good as dead, even if Shadow or Copper wakes up they won't be able to save him. Even if Raven gets away he may have problems with Okamau. Hatchlings are susceptible to their predatory instincts, so she might attack Raven if she sees blood. Uh-oh, he's in trouble! Okamau's part starts with events from last chapter. Without further delay, chapter 9- An Unlikely Guardian! (kinda raises your hopes for Raven, don't it?XD)

.:Chapter 9- An Unlikely Guardian:.

Raven cried out in pain as the crimson Organoid's claws pressed into his side, piercing the tough armor that covered his stomach and sides. The Organoid's weight was pushing him into the hard rock floor, and his already broken ribs screamed pain. Every time he tried moving, the Organoid would dig its claws in deeper and push him harder into the rough stone. He wasn't able to scream, the Organoid's weight made breathing extremely difficult and painful, and he knew that if he did the Organoid on top of him would surely kill him. He couldn't even try to push the Organoid away, for its clawed hands on his left arm and shoulder prevented him from moving, and his right arm was pinned underneath him, further paining his broken ribs.

The Organoid hissed lowly, digging its talons even further in his side. Raven groaned, half-closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. The Organoid made a strange noise that sounded almost like it was laughing at his pain. 'Why doesn't it finish me off? Why is it making me suffer?' Raven thought as the Organoid's claws tightened on his arm. He could hear its spined tail sliding against the ground, and he wondered how long it would be before it would whip around and tear him open. The Organoid growled and sharply nosed his already wounded shoulder; its jaws mere inches from his face. It hissed evilly, a twisted smile creeping across its face, exposing its teeth. The Organoid's jaws opened widely, the lightning glinting off its sharp silver fangs. A snarl escaped the Organoid's throat, mingling with the crashing thunder. Raven closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable…

But the bite never came.

Raven opened his eyes slightly when he didn't feel the Red's jaws on his throat. He looked up at the crimson Organoid, confused on why the Organoid hadn't finished him off. The Organoid had lifted its head away and was looking in the chamber he had just come from. The Red's eyes were wide, and it was frozen, as if it was scared of something. That's when Raven heard the loud, piercing cries coming from inside the chamber. It didn't sound anything like the deep-throated growls of Shadow and Copper; honestly, Raven had no idea what the noise could be. Whatever it was seemed to unnerve the Red, enough that it shifted its weight off of him.

Then the Organoid did something Raven never expected- it slowly retracted its claws, pulling them out of his side. Raven groaned weakly as the crimson Organoid's claws were pulled from him, and the sudden pain made him dizzy. 'Why is it releasing me?' Raven thought, watching the red Organoid slowly take a step back and stand fully erect. Another loud cry hastened the Red's back steps. The red Organoid turned its gaze from the chamber to Raven, its eyes narrowing until they were merely glowing emerald slits in the darkness of the cavern.

Suddenly, the crimson Organoid reared up and roared loudly, a bright flash of lightning turning its red armor silver and black, giving it an unearthly, skeletal appearance. Its roar trailed into the thunder, turning from a loud bellow into an otherworldly scream. Then everything went black as the lightning died and the thunder faded to a rumbling whimper. When the next bolt hit, the Organoid was gone.

Raven groaned and closed his eyes, too weak to even try to call one of the Organoids. His entire body was racked with pain, and to make matters worse, the rain had chilled the already cool desert air, making hypothermia a very real possibility. A sudden wind blew into the cavern, ruffling his dark violet cloak and washing over him like cold water. He knew that in his condition infection or hypothermia would prove fatal, and the cold wind wasn't helping.

Suddenly, another loud cry pierced the silence, breaking his thoughts. He had no idea what was making the noise, but it didn't sound organic. Another, quieter cry came from the chamber behind him, only adding to his things to worry about. He lifted his head slightly, trying to look over his shoulder, but he was too weak and lowered it back down. The quiet clicking of claws on stone and a loud mew told him exactly what was making the noise-

"O-Oka… mau…"

Okamau squealed in fear as she watched the red Organoid pounce on Raven and pin him down. She cried to him, but a glare from the attacking Organoid silenced her. She shook with fear and curled up tightly into a ball, mewing loudly. Her quiet whimpers and submissive stance told the bigger Organoid that she was no threat, so it turned from her to its struggling prey.

'Why'd he go? I tried to tell him it was out there, but he went anyway!' Okamau thought, whining loudly. A loud hiss from the red Organoid made her mew loudly, but a cry from Raven made her freeze. 'It's hurting him!' She thought frantically, her head snapping up at his voice. Raven was in trouble, and she knew he needed help… fast.

Swallowing her fear, she got to her feet and ran over to Shadow. She squeaked loudly and butted his snout, trying to wake him from the deep trance-like recovery sleep. He didn't respond, even after she tried swiping his sensitive nose with her sharp tail-tip. Whining in frustration, Okamau ran over to Copper and jumped on his snout. She screeched and butted him between the eyes, flapping her wings to blow air on him. This time she got a response, but Copper only shook his head, making her tumble off. He fell asleep again immediately.

A cry of pain from Raven caught Okamau's attention immediately as she got to her feet. She ran to the chamber's entrance and froze in horror at the sight. The red Organoid's back talons were pushed deep into Raven's side, and its front claws were pressed into his arm and shoulder. But what worried her most was that its jaws were very close to his neck, and she couldn't see if it was biting him or not.

Suddenly, the Organoid snarled and Raven stopped moving, and Okamau feared that the Organoid had bitten him. Mustering all her bravery, she straightened her back, spread her wings… and growled as loud as she could. Instantly, the red Organoid froze and stopped snarling. Its head snapped up and it stared at her with wide eyes as she growled again, even louder than the first time. She had seen the Organoid had a wounded leg, and the thought of her possibly waking up Shadow and Copper probably worried it.

To Okamau's relief, she watched as the Organoid shifted its weight off of Raven and pulled it claws from him. He groaned weakly as it released him, which was a good sign, for it meant he was at least still alive. Looking back up at the retreating red Organoid, Okamau growled again, which caused it to hasten its steps. Suddenly, light from a lightning bolt illuminated the cavern with blinding light. The Organoid used the lightning and thunder as cover to escape, slipping silently through the curtain of water cascading over the cave's entrance.

Just to be sure, Okamau growled loudly again as a cold wind blew into the cavern through the hole in the water-curtain the fleeing Organoid had created when it ran out. A slight movement from Raven caught her eye, and she turned her attention back to him. She cooed quietly to see if Raven would respond. He lifted his head slightly, but laid it back down after a few seconds.

Growing worried by his lack of movement and sound, Okamau took a few steps towards him and mewed loudly, stopping to see if he reacted. His cloak moved slightly, but that was just the wind. She thought maybe he had lost consciousness until…

"O-Oka…mau…"

Okamau perked up and chirped at Raven's voice, wagging her tail like a puppy. Chittering happily as she bounded over to him, she stopped when she saw the blood that covered the floor. She bent down and looked at the strange red liquid, cocking her head as she tried to comprehend it. 'This was on Raven's arm and hand. What is it? Good? Bad?' she questioned mentally, not knowing what the odd red stuff was.

Dismissing her thoughts, Okamau looked back up at Raven, who still hadn't moved. She quickly walked around to his front, but froze when she saw his bloodied side. 'Is the red stuff coming from the cuts?' she thought, cocking her head, 'Then the red stuff must be bad if it comes out of cuts.' A groan from Raven shook her from her thoughts. She turned and walked up next to his outstretched arm, chirping and cocking her head like a bird.

Raven's eyes were closed, and Okamau didn't like that. Cooing softly, she bent down and lightly butted his hand, looking up at him as she did. He groaned and opened his eyes slightly, blinking as he tried to clear his vision. Okamau squeaked happily when she saw Raven open his eyes, and leaned down and lightly rubbed her face against his fingers, cooing loudly.

"H-Hey, Oka… ma-mau…" he whispered hoarsely, smiling weakly as he scratched her under her chin. Okamau closed her eyes and purred loudly, her wings hanging at her side and her tail drooping. Raven laughed weakly at her comical appearance, but the effort of laughing pained his lungs and sides. He groaned, letting his hand fall back down to the stone floor as he closed his eyes.

Okamau immediately opened her eyes and stopped purring, looking at Raven with concern, chirping worriedly. Raven started shivering as another blast of cold air breached the curtain of water and spread throughout the cavern. Okamau saw him shivering, and cocked her head at the strange movement. 'Why is he shaking?' she thought, not understanding the human's odd shaking. Trying to comfort him, she crooned and nosed his wrist, but jumped back as soon as her nose touched his skin. 'Why is he so cold? He was warm a few minutes ago. Maybe that is why he is shaking?' she cocked her head as she thought.

Suddenly, Okamau had an idea. She chirped to Raven before she spread her wings and flew into the chamber. She landed next to where Raven had been only minutes before and hovered above the blanket. Still hovering, Okamau carefully gripped the thick blanket with her sharp claws and started to fly back to Raven with it. The blanket was very heavy, and Okamau was having a hard time pulling it. She beat her wings furiously, trying her hardest to move the heavy blanket. It was too heavy for her to pull, so she dropped it and landed. 'I can't stop…' she thought as she turned and looked into the main chamber, 'Raven needs this…'

Gripping the blanket again, she tried dragging it. She managed to get it out into the main chamber, but she knew she wasn't done. She still had to get it on Raven, which meant she had to lift it up. Sighing, she gripped the edge of the blanket and beat her little wings franticly to lift it up.

'It's too cold…' Raven thought as another blast of wind filled the cavern with cold air. He started shivering as the chilled wind played with the edges of his torn cloak. Okamau cooed and lightly nosed his wrist, but jumped back with a squeak. He was too weak to open his eyes and see why she had jumped, so he just listened to her. He heard her chirp and spread her wings as she flew off somewhere.

'Where's she going?' Raven thought as she flew off somewhere behind him. He heard her land and a quiet rustling as she tried to move something. The sound of her wings beating franticly and her stressed whines made it seem like she was trying to lift something. A quiet click of claws and an exhausted sigh signaled she landed, but again she squeaked and tried to move something. He heard her back out into the main chamber somewhere behind him, followed by the shuffling of what sounded like fabric.

Raven had no idea what that noise was, but he wasn't worried. He heard Okamau sigh and beat her wings again, groaning as if she was carrying a great weight on her little shoulders. Suddenly, he felt something warm get pulled over him. 'What?' he thought, opening his eyes slightly and looking up. Okamau was hovering over him, gently covering him in the blanket that Copper had given him.

He shut his eyes tightly and groaned weakly as the blanket touched his wounded side, sending hot pain through his body. Okamau crooned softly and draped the rest of the blanket over him, careful of his other wounds. With a loud whine, the small Organoid literally fell to the ground next to his hand, panting from exhaustion. Half-way opening his eyes, Raven reached shakily towards the hatchling and softly stroked her small, clawed hand.

Okamau's eyes flashed open and she squeaked happily, her free wing fluttering slightly. As soon as Raven stopped, she yawned and curled around his hand, loosely wrapping her tail around his wrist. She cooed and licked his hand as she laid her head down and sighed. Raven smirked weakly and closed his eyes, trying to save the little strength he had left. 'At least I won't have to worry about bleeding to death… the blanket should help stop the bleeding from the slashes…' he thought, noticing that he no longer felt blood trickling down his side from the punctures.

A few minutes later a fierce wind whipped around the cavern, causing Raven to shiver even though he had the thick blanket. 'Even the blanket isn't enough to keep me warm… I may still get hypothermia…' he thought, feeling water droplets from the pounding ran settle on him. Okamau must have sensed his distress, for she lifted her head and chirped. Uncurling her tail from around his wrist, Okamau stood up and folded her wings. She walked over beside Raven and leaned down.

Gently, she wormed her way under Raven's arm and pressed her warm metal body against him. Instantly, Raven stopped shivering and opened his eyes slightly, looking at the little hatchling. 'She's trying to keep me warm…' he thought, no longer feeling cold.

"Th-Thank… you…" Raven said weakly as he closed his eyes. Okamau purred softly and closed her eyes as well. Raven was asleep within minutes, too weak from his injuries to stay awake. Okamau didn't sleep, she was afraid that if she did the red Organoid would come back. She waited for Shadow and Copper to wake up, but in their state that could take hours… or days…

.:End of Chapter 9:.

AN- Aw… Okamau is such a sweetheart, isn't she?XD Man… Shadow and Copper could sleep through the end of the world, couldn't they?XD This was probably the best chapter I've written for this fic in my opinion, do you guys agree? You can tell I was stressed when I wrote this, for I do my best under stress. I wrote most of this at night while I was waiting for the tornado warnings around me to expire. I wrote 'til about 4:30 in the morning, but I got a lot done and that's when I wrote most of the really suspenseful and emotional parts then. Anyway, it may be a little while until I update, the laptop I'm using to type my fics on is overworked and stressed out. It could be a week before the next chappie, but I assure you, I will not abandon this fic, I love to write it and wouldn't stop for the world! Please review and remember, all flamers will be fed to my Organoids!! Until next chapter.

Ibeyla :P