It hadn’t taken hardly any research at all to find the house of the Vawntika family, but then again it had taken quite a bit of effort to find out what the defense system was like. Hardly anybody knew or dared to try and find out. Once it was rumored that an old man had gone to see B’Elanna but he had actually gone to murder her for some insane reason. During this time B’Elanna merely knocked him off his feet and to the farthest reaches of the world. One thing Atoa did know was that Heath was there and would probably protect the Vawntika lady who was now 25 years old making Heath 26. For years B’Elanna’s company had been booming ever since she thought of it. Thousands of charity programs received donations from B’Elanna Vawntika every year. Heath had never left B’Elanna’s side in those many years. He stayed right were he was. Constantly questioning the reason for this Atoa never was able to find out.

Atoa finally thought he was ready for battle against the Vawntika’s, but then even if he insisted he knew everything he really didn’t. B’Elanna was nobody to mess with and Heath was never going to give up a good fight. Especially when the person he was fighting was wanting to harm what few people that he was brave enough to call family. There was also the mystery of Anak whom Atoa had known of, but never of what he was capable of. Thinking him a weakling he will until Atoa is sane enough to realized Anak is more than a weakling. That infernal white creature as Atoa liked to call her had also done a part in messing up his plans as well.

It was a dark night, no clouds in the sky and the air was cold. Atoa had many to go with him to capture the Vawntika and Heath as he had planned all along, but then he wasn’t 100% sure of succeeding.

“B’Elanna?” Anak asked the now older leader of the mansion and everything once owned by her mother. “There seem to be many people approaching the mansion at a fast pace. Should I be alarmed or are they visitors?”

B’Elanna blinked as she was reading a book Sofi had recommended. “We never have visitors. You know that Anak. Give me a visual.”

Heath who was sprawled out on the couch across from B’Elanna said, “This book is boring. No offense to Sofi, I mean I love recommendations and all, but this is boring. I’m falling asleep just thinking about reading another page.”

B’Elanna smiled at Heath before turning her full attention to the screen before her. “Is it just me or do they not look friendly?” Anak asked taking a closer look.

“Wait a second. They are carrying weapons.” Heath said jumping to his feet. “Battle is at hand I believe. Anak get the shields ready and weapons. I don’t like the looks of this.”

“Heath! Don’t jump to conclusions.” B’Elanna said. “Perhaps this is a mistake of theirs or something.”

“I still say we should get ready in case it isn’t.”

“No, no.” B’Elanna shook her head. “Stay put. Let’s take this one step at a time.” As B’Elanna said this something shook the mansion.

“A fire off to the left side of the mansion.” Anak reported immediately.

“Shields. Guess you were right Heath.”

“Yeah, but my main question is who are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Shields won’t respond,” said Anak.

“Why not?” Demanded B’Elanna.

“Somebody has hacked into the system somehow and has turned off all shield programs. It would take hours to get them up again. Weapons are cut too.”

Suddenly Anak flickered and was gone. “He’s been shut down.” B’Elanna said amazed. “How though? I’m the only one that can shut down Anak.” Panicking B’Elanna shouted. “Sofi! SOFI! Please hear me Sofi, I know you hate yelling.”

*What?!*

“Get into the basement quickly! We have a problem here and you must stay safe down there.”

*Understood.*

Heath grabbed B’Elanna’s hand. “We have to get you down there too.”

“No way!” B’Elanna said yanking her hand back. “If you are planning to go out there and get yourself killed, well, I won’t let you! If I go down into that basement for shelter then you go as well.” The look in Heath’s eyes was one of frustration and deep concern. “You won’t go down there. You’re a fighter and Heath, you should know by now that I am too. You stay, I stay.”

“B’Elanna,..”

“No! I’m going to go airborn and see what all of this is about. You can go with me into the skies or take them on by the ground. I’m going Heath. You can’t stop me.”

“B’Elanna. Ahh! Darn you! I’ll go by ground. Get going. I don’t like these people. Something about them reminds me of something else. I can’t really get to what though.”

“You going outside?”

“Well I can’t fight them from inside.”

B’Elanna ran off and returned. She tossed Heath something that she had gotten. “Put this on. It’s a new design of mine. Armor like. It will protect you.”

“What will protect you?”

“Airborn remember? My choppers got loads to keep me safe.”

“I don’t trust that thing.”

“You don’t seem to trust a lot of my inventions.” B’Elanna said with her hands on her hips and a shake of her head.

“Not when their protection is in question.”

Another fire shook the mansion making B’Elanna jump, “Whatever,” Said B’Elanna, “I’m getting up there now. Have fun on the ground. I think you might like that invention of mine, but then I’m not sure.”

Heath went towards the front door nodding while B’Elanna ran to the basement lab. Standing in front of the mansion Heath looked at what B’Elanna had given him. “Now, how does this work?” He asked himself. “Maybe if I push this little red button,..” He muttered while pressing a small red button. The object he held started to shake in hands and he ended up dropping it. It rolled away a little then burst into large machine like things. Heath climbed up to sit in the machine which looked much like an animal from the outside. Heath thought it might be a mechanical version of a large horse. It had the basic shape of a horse like creature with hooves and such. “Well. I didn’t expect that. Now let’s see what we have here. Weapons. Defense. How does it move?!” Heath pushed a button saying link. “What’s this do?” But before his question was all the way out of his mouth cable shot out at him and a helmet like thing was placed over his head. Heath and the machine were as if one as Heath thought to go forward the horse machine did. Looking out of the machine’s eyes Heath ran lightning fast towards the intruders.

In the air B’Elanna was watching Heath for a few seconds. “Looks like he’s getting the hang of my newest invention.” She herself was not in her usual chopper, actually she had taken something quite different instead. It was like one of the airborn horses except it was in the shape of a bird. “I like my new inventions. You can really have fun in these, but then, that’s not what I made them for.” She concentrated and yelled as she realized she was getting fired at. Diving down she returned to fires and took out a good two of the tanks. “Yay! Go me!”

“Wow. Interesting invention.” Heath muttered.

“You finally figured out the communications?” B’Elanna asked Heath laughing.

“Yeah. Took me a while to get used to this.”

B’Elanna laughed. “Uh oh.” She said. “They must not like me in the air to much.”

Heath turned his attention to look at B’Elanna in the sky. “Careful.” He said but had spoke a bit soon as B’Elanna’s right wing was hit and a fire started.

“Great.” B’Elanna said. “Hopefully my self repair will activate, but then that has only been checked to work in the horse model.” B’Elanna yelled and cursed at what was happening. In the air B’Elanna had deactivated her link to the airborn birdlike machine. Scanning rapidly she found that the self repair wasn’t working. “Well I’m done with being airborn. Don’t worry Heath I’m fine. As long as I have my other wing fully operation I should be able to land safely.” Not to long after B’Elanna had said that though her other wing was hit and she spiraled to the ground.

“B’Elanna!” Heath yelled. “B’Elanna? Hello?!” Heath turned towards the forest in which B’Elanna had crashed into. Getting hit a couple times getting there Heath jumped out of the horse machine. “B’Elanna?” He asked running to where she had crashed. He found B’Elanna laying sprawled out on the ground unconscious with a trail of blood dripping down the side of her face. Running over to her he found she wasn’t dead and picked her up. “Hang on.” He said. “We’ll get out of this. I hope.”

A bullet shot through the air and hit Heath’s shoulder. As soon as that happened he heard somebody yell, “You fool! I want them alive!” Heath growled and went to run into the forest deeper. Perhaps he could find a place to hide, but that chance was looking slim. A man appeared in front of Heath suddenly. “Ahh. Hello. Don’t be alarmed. I’m here to bring you someplace.” The gaze of the man shifted to B’Elanna and he smiled. “And the girl. I’m not the enemy.”

“Then who are you?”

“Come with me.” Heath didn’t move. “Fine.” The man said bringing out an odd looking weapon. “This won’t kill you.” He said. “Just make it impossible for you to move. I need you alive anyways.” But before he could a white streak shot through the air faster than one could believe and struck the man in his back sending him flying towards Heath who jumped out of the way.

“What?” Heath asked, but his question was answered when a white terran dragon stepped out of the shadows handing in a bag around her neck was her White Lightning Shard. “Sofi?” Heath asked and Sofi nodded. “But you’re white remember?”

*Even if I am white, which I am I still must protect my bondmate when she is trouble for she would do the same for me. We are bonded. I knew she was in trouble so I decided I must help. If I was in trouble she would help me.*

“Thank you Sofi.” Heath looked around. “What now?”

*Follow me.* Sofi said and bounded off. *I’ve roamed the hills a bit in my years and I must say I know a few secrets.* They arrived at a mountainside suddenly and Sofi looked around drastically. Fear showed in her eyes clearly. This was not what Sofi wanted to happen, but for some strange reason it was happening so she made up her mind to get through it. *I don’t understand* Sofi’s usually calm voice was starting to sound more and more panicked. *It should be here, but it isn’t.*

“Of course it isn’t. My foolish trouper was stupid enough to get hit by your little weapon, but not me. Now, for the last time. Heath, B’Elanna and perhaps even you little creature, must come with me. Now.” A new man draped in a dark cloak had appeared.

“Who are you?”

“You don’t know Heath? Can you think of nobody?” Heath could, but he didn’t really want to believe it.

“Then why?”

“Why? It doesn’t matter, now come with me.”

*I will not.* Sofi said speaking quite bravely actually. *My bondmate is not to go with you either and if what I know of Heath is true he will not go with you either nor will he let you take B’Elanna.*

“I don’t want to have to do this the hard way. One way or another you are all coming with me though.”

“I’d rather die.”

“That is your only option actually.”

Heath shifted B’Elanna to his back and prayed that somehow in her unconscious state she would be able to hold on. Slowly Heath began to climb up the stony mountainside. Getting so far he stopped and turned out to face the man and Sofi who was still on the ground. Quickly Sofi vanished not wanting to stay on the ground with what she called a mad man. “Fine. If that is my only option then I take it.” B’Elanna stirred and opened her eyes slightly.

“What’s happening?” She asked weakly. Heath was fairly startled, but he tried to tell her. Interrupted by the man and some yelling he didn’t get that far. B’Elanna got the idea though. She crawled down to stand on the little space Heath was standing on, but she ended up falling over.

“B’Elanna. Just stay down B’Elanna.” Turning to the now many men below Heath said. “I told you once. We aren’t going with you!”

“Who are you?! What do you want?!” B’Elanna suddenly demanded.

“Why,” said the man, “I’d thought I’d already made myself clear. I won’t hurt you. Well, at least I don’t think I will.”

Heath looked at his bleeding shoulder, “You’ve already hurt me.” He looks to B’Elanna, the proud Vawntika, trying to stand up. “You’ve hurt B’Elanna. Sofi is traumatized.” B’Elanna’s face showed intense worry when hearing this. Heath now remembered that he didn’t know where Sofi had gone. He quickly decided not to worry about Sofi. Heath glared at the man before him, but then he noticed out of the corner of his eye that B’Elanna was messing with some device.

“Come on! Work!” B’Elanna silently hissed. “Come on.” Heath looked at the guy and saw he didn’t really notice B’Elanna. Heath didn’t question the odd genius not wanting the man to notice or get B’Elanna upset. Instead Heath continued to glare when he suddenly saw an odd thing floating behind the man demanding them to go with him. He hovered for a few seconds before shooting a thin laser at the man and making him drop to the ground. Instantly many ran forward to help him.

He was carried off yelling he’d be back. B’Elanna smiled at Heath and Sofi appeared and said, *Triumph! Infernal thing, I thought I didn’t get it open in time.*

Heath smiled, “Will somebody tell me what is happening?”

“Sofi and I talked telepathically and secretly with each other. I told her to release that device there,” said B’Elanna pointing to the hovering object, “It’s also one of my latest. Defensive and attack mechanism. I had the remote for it in my pocket. I had put it there after working on it.”

“Well. Again your inventions saved us.”

B’Elanna smiled and then remembered one time when her inventions messed up horribly. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she didn’t know why she couldn’t get him back. Than. Heath’s brother. She never could fully figure out how to get Than back from wherever he had went. Then, happy that the ordeal was over, the three went back to the mansion.

Up in the air in a helicopter Atoa was cursing. In a sudden flash he got up and went to where the pilots were. “Turn the helicopter around and face the mansion.” The pilot did as his boss said. “If they won’t come with me I’ll get rid of them once and for all.” He said and pressed a small red button. In an instant the mansion blew up. No shields protecting it the shot blew it up. Atoa didn’t know if Heath, B’Elanna, and Sofi were dead or not, but he presumed they were and flew off.

“So you don’t know if their dead?” asked the lady back in the lab next to the dead boy.

“I believe they are dead. I checked back a while later and didn’t find them. Just a blown up mansion,” said Atoa rising, “Now if you don’t mind. I’ll be leaving.” He paused and cast his gaze over the boy. “Get rid of the boys body and log in when he died.” Then he left and the nurse was left with the dead boy. Sighing sadly to herself wishing she could get out of all of this mess she did as she was told.