Ginger
Fadeaway Windwaker
Chapter Three: The Ties That Bind
"I know we've been in the same part of the desert for days, stop reminding me." The sour-faced Zoid pilot fiddled with the controls and brought his Genobreaker to a stop. "If you want to look around and use your innate sense of direction, be my fucking guest."
With a low growl the dark organoid landed on the sand and watched as his master jumped down from the Zoid. "There's nothing out here, Shadow. I don't know why you insist on wasting my time." Raven ran a hand through his hair and grimaced at the pain in his hand. The organoid's grumbling caught his attention and he glared. "This is our lifestyle; we're doing what we've always done. Whatever Flyheight thinks, we are not finished." He lifted his gaze to the sky, blinking at the harsh light. "We are not finished."
Shadow turned away from the boy; it was useless trying to talk to him when he went off on one of these reveries. The dust was roiling a ways off and he peered into the distance, trying to discern if it was just the wind or something more disturbing the land. He growled deep in his throat; another Zoid was coming.
"There's no one out there, Shadow. No one in their right mind would be out here now." Raven glared across the landscape. "There are too many sleeper Zoids left and not many people can afford a battle." He looked up at his hate-worn Genobreaker and felt a dull pain in his throat. His memories were jarred by his organoid's nudging his arm, urging him to pay attention. "I'm telling you Shadow, there isn't anyone-" The warrior's words were punctured by a high, piercing scream. Raven looked in the direction Shadow was growling in and felt the evasive strains of a sickly grin tugging at his mouth. He quickly repositioned himself in the Genobreaker and gestured to his companion.
"Come on, Shadow. I think we're finally going to see some fucking action around here."
She had been letting the Zoid guide her, paying little mind to her surroundings. The only information available was the former warrior's general direction; no one knew exactly where he had gone. There was very little for her to do in the way of piloting; she simply set a direction and let the Gustav do the rest. With her thoughts so focused on the raven eyes of her nightmare, she failed to notice the vibrations in the ground until the sleeper Zoid was practically on top of her.
Fiona shrieked in shock and quickly fumbled for the controls. She managed to narrowly avoid the enemy Zoid's attempt at a head-on collision and cursed herself for taking the Gustav—of course sleepers would be programmed to attack transport Zoids under the belief they were carrying munitions. She was beginning to realize acting on impulse had been a terrible idea. Lords, she could have at least brought Zeke, if not Van. How stupid to have run into him before she left and not think to take him along.
Fiona's musings were distracting her from the task at hand. Before she could react, the sleeper Zoid had slammed into the right side of the Gustav. There was no serious damage but the contact jostled Fiona in such a way she smacked her head against the side of the cockpit and was knocked unconscious. The indifferent sleeper, sensing the lack of any opposition, simply jostled the Gustav a few more times and scuttled back under the sand.
Moments after its disappearance, the Genobreaker lurched into view. Raven gazed critically at the silent Gustav. Shadow growled; without waiting for Raven's cue he left the Zoid. Raven scoffed. "You can't expect me to care about whoever's in there, can you?" He watched Shadow poking at the Gustav, searching for a way in, and laughed bitterly. "Whoever they are, they're no worse off than we are. In fact-" The words died in his throat as the cockpit opened and he caught a glimpse of pale blonde hair.
"You have to be fucking kidding me."
"Where is she?" Van spun wildly from the empty bed, glaring at Irvine. "I told you, I told you I wasn't going to leave her side. What happened?"
Irvine took a few steps back from the normally harmless Van, a bit put-off by the fire in the boy's eyes. "You fell asleep sitting up. Thomas and I thought it would be best if we just took you to bed and-"
"And left Fiona alone? You knew she wasn't in her right mind, Irvine! How could you have taken me away from her?" Van smashed his hands against the wall next to Fiona's bed.
"You said she was fine," Irvine shot back furiously, clenching his fist. "Maybe you shouldn't lie next time."
"No, maybe you should listen to me and leave well enough alone!" Van turned away from the older man and sighed. "Where the hell would she have gone?" He tensed when he felt Irvine's hand on his shoulder.
"She's not that little girl you found anymore, Van. She can take care of herself. Wherever she is, I'm sure she's fine."
Van shook his head and ripped himself away from Irvine. "That's not the point. The point is she shouldn't have left." A few moments of silence passed before the Zoid warrior lifted his head and gazed resolutely at the door. "I'm going after her."
Irvine scoffed. "There's a reason she didn't ask you to go in the first place, Van. Let her go, or she won't ever come back." He stared pointedly at the exasperated boy in front of him, waiting for the logic to sink in.
"No offense Irvine, but I've never listened to you before, and I'm not about to start now." Van ran a hand through his hair. "I'm taking Zeke and going to find her."
Irvine shook his head as Van left the room. "Jesus, I hope that girl knows what she's doing."
"I didn't think it was possible but she does look worse than when we last left her, doesn't she, Shadow?" Raven examined the girl, eyes narrowed. The tiny rise and fall of her chest and the occasional flutter of her eyelashes were the only indications the girl was still alive. His gaze traveled over the strangely attractive picture of the bruises on her thin arms and what looked like faded hand-marks on her birdlike throat. "Never pegged Flyheight for a wife-beater."
The boy shrugged and turned his back on the worth-worn scene. "Let's go, Shadow. There isn't anything here we haven't seen before." He barely took two steps before Shadow swooped down in front of him, growling and hissing. Raven looked at his organoid disbelievingly, watching as the creature motioned back toward the Gustav. "Stop wasting my time." Shadow snarled insistently, tugging at Raven's sleeve when the boy turned his back. Raven turned back on his organoid furiously, annoyance blazing in his eyes.
"What the fuck do you expect me to do with her? And why the hell do you care so much?" No matter how he questioned Shadow's logic, the organoid refused to leave the spot without the girl.
"Fine," Raven snapped. He roughly tugged Fiona from the Gustav's cockpit and carried her to the Genobreaker. "If it means that much to you, we'll carry Flyheight's little toy around until he wants it back. But she had better not die on me. You know how I don't like all the extra work that entails."
Shadow grimaced and nudged Fiona neatly into the tiny crawl space behind Raven's seat. The girl shifted slightly in her sleep, unaware that the young man she had set out to find had just found her.
