Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids or the characters in it, but I do own the plot. Happy now?

A/N: Well, it hasn't been six months… more like three and close to a half, which makes me extremely happy. I apologize about the wait; school's been a pain in the behind this term, but I'm almost done. Thank god. By the way, I created Irvine and Moonbay's back histories as we're not presented with much of anything in canon. Anyway, here's chapter 8; enjoy!

Chapter 8: Confessions, Part 2

Wind Colony Hospital, Wind Colony, Central Continent of Delpoi, Planet Zi – September 13, 7:00 PM

Hours after Irvine had found Moonbay unconscious and injured in the cockpit of his Lightning Saix, he sat at her bedside in the small hospital of the Wind Colony, his eyes focused entirely on her. Beside him sat Van and Fiona, who despite his protests that they go and enjoy their honeymoon had insisted that they stay with Moonbay, citing that they were her friends, and she'd do the same for them. On the other side of the bed sat the Shubaltz brothers, both with bandages wrapped around their heads, testifying to the fact that both had bruises from having butted heads earlier. Thomas' eyes were watching Irvine's, and he saw that the ex-mercenary's emotions were stretched to the limit; the man had no idea what to do next. Karl caught Thomas' gaze and, quickly glancing at Irvine saw that the man's eyes never left Moonbay's body, which was currently hooked up to a machine to help her breathe. Karl didn't know all of the details, but apparently the doctors, upon examining Moonbay, had found that her ribs were bruised, and, wanting to play it safe, they had hooked her up to a machine to help with her breathing.

"So, Van, what's going to happen to him?" Fiona asked, making sure not to mention McMann's name in front of Irvine. A young Republican officer had done so earlier and had almost gotten their head knocked off by an angry Irvine.

Van shot a glance at his friend, and noticed that Irvine hadn't moved; his eyes hadn't even twitched, for they were locked onto Moonbay's form. Van shook his head, knowing that he was going to regret telling Fiona what McMann's punishment was going to be in front of Irvine, but before he said anything the door to the room opened, causing him to look behind him. A small smile crossed his face when he saw that Maria and Ryss were in the doorway, the latter looking nervously around, as if thinking that she had no right to be there with the others.

"Sis, Ryss, welcome. So, uh, where's Raven?" Van asked, his eyes meeting Maria's in thanks for getting Ryss here in the first place.

Ryss, who had borrowed an extra set of clothes from Maria earlier in pale blue and creme, weakly smiled and replied, "Well, he decided to stay with the Zoids, although he did want to help with the interrogation…" Ryss trailed off here as she saw some of the looks that were sent her way after her statement. The Shubaltz brothers were halfway between looking angry that Raven would want to tarnish the Empire's reputation anymore, but at the same time disturbingly pleased that Raven wanted to help with McMann's interrogation. Van and Fiona were torn as well, although Ryss could sense that they were more interested in the fact that Raven had offered to help the Empire and Republic, on his own, and without being blackmailed. Maria remained neutral; her opinion of Raven wasn't really formed enough to give a response.

"So, Raven wants to help interrogate McMann, huh?" Irvine asked, and when Ryss nodded, the mercenary's eyes turned hard. "I say let him. If anyone can get the bastard to crack it's Raven." Irvine didn't need to look around to know that he was getting some very strange looks, mostly from Van and Fiona, both of whom were suddenly remembering Irvine's attitude when they first met him all those years ago.

"Well, um, actually, I was told to come and get you guys. I mean, they want your advice on Raven's offer and help in interrogating," Ryss said, her voice sounding strained.

The Shubaltz brothers exchanged glances and, nodding, got up from their seats and walked towards Ryss, Thomas putting a hand on Van's shoulder, silently signaling him that he should come as well. Van's eyes met Thomas', and the Imperial officer shook his head no at the silent question that Irvine should join them.

"Go ahead without me, guys," Irvine commented, his eyes catching Van and Thomas' for a moment, with the two men nodding in assent. Irvine saw that Fiona was apprehensive about leaving him alone, but the problem was solved when Maria stepped up to Fiona and told her that she would stay with Irvine and Moonbay. Fiona shot her sister-in-law a small smile and followed her husband and Thomas out while shooting a reassuring smile at Irvine, silently telling him that Moonbay would be fine.

Ryss stayed silent as the four people walked past her, and was about to walk out the door when Irvine stopped her with a question: "Ryss. Do me a favor – tell Raven that he has my ok to do what he wants to the bastard."

Ryss' eyes met Irvine's and she smiled grimly. "Sure thing. I'll tell Raven you said that, Irvine." She moved to leave once again, but paused as a thought came to her. "Oh, and Irvine," Irvine's eyes looked at her again and she shot him a small smile, "Raven and I, well, we both hope that Moonbay will get better soon. I really like her. She was really friendly to me earlier, and I hope that we can be friends in the future."

For the first time since Irvine had found out that Moonbay was going to live, he relaxed. He shot a smile at Ryss and said, "Thanks, Ryss. I'm sure Moonbay would agree with you." He then turned back to Moonbay, and Ryss took that as her cue to leave.

A few minutes passed in which silence reigned, and then Maria, who had taken a seat across from Irvine, said, "Irvine, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you find Moonbay?"

Irvine sighed and replied, "Well, I was walking around when Van came running, telling me that Hermann had just received a transmission from a pilot who was in trouble and who, apparently, was in my Saix. I got angry and followed Van towards the source of the transmission, borrowing O'Connell's Command Wolf in the process. When we got there, we found McMann in a Helcat, and he thought he had killed me by sending the Saix over the edge of the plateau out there, so he told Van there wasn't a thing he could do to him. I jumped in, and Van and I were both watching the guy, and we saw him pale so I knew something was wrong. The bastard said that someone else had been in the Saix' cockpit, which of course just upped my anger level, and so while Van arrested the guy I went to go and retrieve my Saix. When I opened the cockpit, I found Moonbay, and she," here Irvine's voice cracked, as if he was trying to prevent himself from breaking down in front of Maria, "she was bleeding from a head wound, her arm was at a weird angle, and she was unconscious. I radioed Van for help, and then took off my jacket and used it to try to stop the bleeding. I think you know what happened next."

Maria nodded, her dark brown eyes catching how Irvine's eyes hadn't left Moonbay's side once since he had told her the story. Remembering her advice to Moonbay earlier, she said, "Irvine, I talked to Moonbay earlier today." Irvine's eyes shifted to look at Maria, a suspicious look taking over. "She and I were talking about Van and Fiona, and somehow the subject came to you."

Irvine's attention was now completely on Maria, and although the young woman felt nervous about telling Moonbay's secret to Irvine, she knew that it had to be done. Maria took a deep breath, and then turned her eyes to face Irvine's. "Irvine, before I go any further, I have to know something: do you like Moonbay?"

"What kind of question is that?!" Irvine all but snarled, "Of course I like Moonbay; she's one of my best friends!"

"I mean, Irvine, do you like her as more than a friend?" Maria asked quietly, the question hitting Irvine hard.

"You mean like Van and Fiona?" Irvine asked, and then continued, "Well, I… I don't know how to answer that."

"It's not that hard of a question, Irvine. Yes or no?"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Maria," Irvine's voice was deadly still, sending warning bells off in Maria's mind. "Moonbay and I, we've been friends for a long time; since before we met Van and Fiona. I saved her from some guy in an alley when we were ten, and she saved my sorry ass when we were thirteen from getting my head chopped off by paying off a gambling debt I had. We've seen each other off and again for years, and when we met Van and Fiona we were glad that we got to spend time together; it was almost like old times." Irvine allowed a small grin to cross his face, but it vanished just as quickly. "I even knew about her engagement to the bastard before she told me; I overheard her talking to him a year or two before she broke it off, and when I congratulated her she said, 'Thanks, Irvine. It means a lot to me that you approve.'"

"Doesn't sound like Moonbay," Maria commented, her eyes glancing at Moonbay's sleeping form.

Irvine turned his head away from Maria's, and continued, "It was different, then. This was a few years before the last war, and we were both still fairly naïve, although I had just recently killed my first victim, and Moonbay had just completed her first job a week before. We were really close then, almost like…" Irvine trailed off, not sure what to say next.

"Like what, Irvine?"

"Like… like we were something more than friends," Irvine answered, his voice monotone. "When Moonbay was engaged to that bastard, I watched her distance herself from me, and I confronted her, demanding why she was trying to break us up. She looked at me and said, 'I don't have a choice, Irvine. It's to… it's to protect you.' She took off after that, and I didn't see her again until a year later when we ran into each other by coincidence at a bar near the Republican capital. She and I hung out for a few weeks, catching up, and she told me she and the bastard had broken off the engagement, and although she told me it was because they were too different, I sensed that she was hiding something. Damn it, I should have done something then!" Irvine clenched his fist, and Maria was fast seeing why Moonbay didn't know whether or not Irvine liked her – he bottled up his emotions and, despite the fact that they had known each other for years, Moonbay couldn't read the emotions that Irvine hid inside.

"What happened then?" Maria questioned, her eyes showing Irvine that she wanted to help in some little way.

"We hung out for a while, and then spilt up again. We didn't see each other for another year, but kept in contact via a transmission every now and then. Moonbay's transporting service took off, while my career as a mercenary was partially successful. We met again when I helped Van and Fiona save her from a sleeper trap, and from there we stuck together for another year. It was during that year that we met up with that bastard again, and I had to watch as he tried to wine and dine Moonbay into staying with him. I don't know how many times I wanted to march over to the guy and knock his lights out for hurting Moonbay in the past. I didn't, though, because I thought that Moonbay still had feelings for him, so I told Van and Fiona that she was going to stay with him, that it was the best thing for her. Yet, she left the guy and came with us." Irvine's voice grew serious as he again delved into the more recent past. "Then, when we met up again just two years ago, it was like nothing changed – we got along like we always had, with Van and Fiona having to sometimes play peacemaker. Thomas was a new factor in our friendship, and we both liked the guy enough, even if he was arrogant at first."

"Kind of like you, right?" Maria asked a smile on her face.

Irvine smirked. "I guess so. After that bastard Hiltz was gone, we stuck together, working with Van, Fiona, and Thomas, with Moonbay sometimes going off on one of her transporting runs. We'd have arguments over that, though, considering that the Gustav only has a few guns in his armor, and they're small ones at that. I wanted to go along and act as back up but she refused. She told me that she couldn't risk it, that if people saw the Lightning Saix accompanying her, they might attack, thinking she was some kind of enemy. The threat of being shot didn't stop her, though. She's full of spunk and courage, and that's what made us such good friends; she's a lot like me."

"So Irvine, what is your answer to my earlier question?" Maria asked, a hand reaching out to tuck a stray piece of Moonbay's hair behind her ear.

Irvine didn't answer for a few moments, and Maria began to think that this wasn't such a good idea. Irvine, she remembered, had a temper, and when someone set it off, she knew that he didn't calm down for a while. His silence made her think that maybe she was in trouble, and she braced herself for the explosion she thought was coming. To her complete and utter astonishment, Irvine didn't explode at her; rather, he began chuckling.

"Irvine?" Maria questioned cautiously, not quite sure what to make of Irvine's behavior.

"I'm an idiot," Irvine quipped, garnering a strange look from Maria. "It's true, and I know it. Truth is that I do like Moonbay as more than a friend, and I just realized it today. Gods, if I had realized it sooner, then maybe she wouldn't be like this." Irvine's eyes once again landed on Moonbay, and Maria was, to say the least, surprised. Who knew that Irvine would act so differently when the subject of Moonbay came up?

"I see," Maria replied, watching as a small smile crept its way onto Irvine's face and stayed there. "Well, what I wanted to say earlier was that –"

Maria was interrupted by the door opening, and, looking at who had entered she was surprised to see Dr. Dee. "Dr. Dee! What brings you here?" Irvine looked up at the doctor as he came inside, closing the door behind him.

"Hello Maria, Irvine," Dr. Dee said, inclining his head towards each as he spoke their name. He took a seat next to Maria and fixed Irvine with a serious look. "I thought you'd like to know that I've finished running the diagnostics on the Lightning Saix, and the damage that he took was minimal, to say the least. What surprises me the most, however, is how Moonbay was able to pilot your Zoid, considering she couldn't even pilot her Gustav when we attached the boosters to it."

"That's because, Old Man, you made the damn boosters, and they weren't stable!" Irvine growled, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Calm down, Irvine! I wasn't implying anything!" Dr. Dee said, trying to defend himself against the fierce look that Irvine was sending his way. A frown soon settled on his face. "Irvine, I'm concerned about Moonbay's mental state."

"What do you mean?" Irvine asked, and Maria could have sworn she caught a hint of fear in his voice.

"I mean that Moonbay's not used to piloting such a high speed Zoid, especially one that can jump to the extreme speed that it does in less than thirty seconds," Dr. Dee replied, his eyes closed. "We're still working on getting the data of what happened out there from the Lightning Saix, but apparently he refuses to let us near his memory bank. From what I'm getting, he wants to talk to you."

Irvine frowned. "Talk to me? What for?"

Dr. Dee pinched his nose, the stress of what had happened that day getting to him. "What I mean, Irvine, is that your Zoid refuses to let any of the technicians near his memory bank, which is what we need to do so we can extract the data of what happened this afternoon from him. The Lightning Saix has almost torn off one technician's arm already, and according to what I'm getting from him, he'll only talk to you. So, if you'll please come with me, we'll get this settled." Dr. Dee got up from his seat and looked pointedly at Irvine, who hadn't moved. "Irvine, we need to get that data tonight, before McMann's lawyer comes and prevents us from pressing charges due to lack of evidence."

"Go ahead, Irvine," Maria said, causing Irvine to glance at her. "I'll stay with Moonbay, and if anything happens, you'll be the first person to know." She smiled, and Irvine grudgingly agreed, getting up from his seat and following Dr. Dee out of the room, the latter shooting a grateful look Maria's way.

Maria shook her head and, looking at Moonbay said, "Moonbay, you'd better wake up soon. I don't know how much longer we can stop Irvine from exploding without you to help calm him down." Maria could have sworn she saw a small smile take over Moonbay's face, but when she looked again, the woman looked like she hadn't moved.