Specular lazily stirred, craning her head out of her roost in the depression of the particle converter on the Geno Destroyer's thruster pack. The ragtag convoy had moved from the mountain range to rolling meadows, the gray rocky crags surrounded by earth and tall trees being supplanted by bright green grass and flowering plants, the rugged terrain giving way to soft fields. Fortune had it that they had escaped further attraction, with no opposition to their trek since the forest trail thanks to a lengthy detour. Standing upright and tall the lithe organoid now looked out ahead at the zoids in front, peering past Hannah's Command Wolf and at the trailer of the Gustav, her master and Raven sitting on the edge and talking with the younger blonde man and the blonde Zoidian girl, the four sitting next to the Dibison. Noticing her master and the man she cared about were accounted for, she curled up again and laid her neck and head along the elevated metal in front of her, querying Shadow with an attempt at mental linking.

"Hmm?" Shadow stirred within the body of the Destroyer, looking up from the silver hexagon covered sphere at the place where the azure tyrannosaur rested, acutely aware of where she was due to his fusion. "Something you wish to say?"

"What do you imagine? I feel it. I know you did as well. I know not what they will do with him but I know it will be unnatural and imminent. We must ready ourselves."

"What matter does it make? We are strong, and our allies are strong. My master is strongest of all. They will be a scarce threat to our power." Specular hissed before replying to the haughty organoid.

"You grow arrogant, do not forget the power he wields. Crippled or not, his influence is great; have you forgotten the scorpion's deathly sting so soon? Or the great destroyer of our kind, tossing you aside like a fledgling?" Shadow roared angrily, the words striking a delicate nerve.

"I remember striking the beast to bring his demise as you watched idle as ever, stripping his hide naked for the fatal blow! I need not your admonishment, I am no hatchling!" Specular let out a hum before purring.

"Obstinate and bellicose akin to your master; marvelous that mine has taken to yours with such fervor." Shadow growled, the blue creature atop the zoid he controlled beginning to vex him. "Ah, but he is quick to reciprocate such adulation... Mayhaps he and his companion are now less warriors and more caretakers?" Shadow growled in response making Specular swish her tail back and forth with glee, content in her aggravation and teasing of the black organoid; so easy to provoke, how could she resist?

"Specular, enough. Leave Shadow alone." Reese wasn't in much of a mood for division among the group, especially not between her and Raven's respective organoids. The last thing they needed was a pair of two-ton metal beasts at each other's throats. "Shadow, don't be so brash." Reese exited the conversation before either of them could reply, not intent on staying around for excuses and arguments. With a sigh, she glanced to Raven, the man staring out in boredom at the rolling plains. "They're arguing again."

"So?" The maverick wasn't phased. The two organoids had been at odds ever since he and Reese met, both of them as withdrawn and cold as their masters, despite the two of them overcoming their own tension and bonding. Reese rolled her eyes before looking out again at the grassy plains.

"Well, it's a good thing they don't hate each other outright. The last thing we need is those two at each other's throats in the midst of all this."

"So Reese," Thomas questioned her while tinkering with a nondescript part from the Dibison, rearranging wires and taking care to not electrocute himself. "Fiona, what can we expect from Ambient and this whole situation? Obviously he was a big role with helping Hiltz, but what's he gonna do for a whole army?" Fiona replied first.

"He's a very powerful organoid... There's no real way to gauge his true power level, but he has in the past been able to remain fused with zoids for a sustained period of time, and even revive the Death Stinger's core." Thomas' face shifted in a slight grimace as he remembered the battle against the aforementioned monstrosity. Reese tacked on as Fiona finished.

"At this point he's badly crippled," Reese recollected the images of the mangled organoid as she spoke, keeping calm despite the vivid emotions enmeshed. "Missing limbs and armor, slipping in and out of consciousness. He's all but comatose, and in no condition to do anything, much less fuse." Raven glanced over, the traces of a snarl marring his features as he thought of the organoid and his role in destroying his life, anger beginning to take root in his attitude,

"So why didn't we finish him off? Why didn't we wipe him off the face of the planet along with that entire base? It's just one damn base. I could have taken it out myself in seconds." Thomas was the one who answered his query, .

"Because we're on the verge of hostility with the Republic and can't risk it. Organoid or not, they've got one hell of an army even without the Ultrasaurus and that's not what we need to be fighting right now. Our orders from Rudolf were clear, and unless it affected securing Reese we were ordered to continue on as fast as allowed." Raven sneered.

"Pathetic. What a damn waste of time to leave that pile of scrap to heal and raise hell while we limp back to the kid Emperor to lick his boots." Thomas stood with a growl before barking at Raven, dropping the part he was working on with a sharp clang that made everyone but Raven jolt.

"Watch what you say about His Majesty, until he so graciously pardons you you're still a felon in my eyes! Consider yourself lucky we're helping you!"

"Consider myself lucky? That's really funny, coming from the guy who's ass I saved from one pathetic little Storm Sworder! Next time I'll remember to wait a good five minutes to give the brass a ring and ask about what I should do." Raven stood up now and strode over as his eyes bored into Thomas' with a glare. "I answer to no one but myself, and those I respect. Seeing as how you're neither, I suggest that you keep your mouth shut. Until Rudolf pardons Reese, as far as I'm concerned he can give all the fucking orders he wants to, that doesn't mean I'm going to follow any of them." Raven sharply turned as Thomas' gritted his teeth as his brow furrowed with anger. With an angry grunt, the Schubaltz stormed across the metal trailer, marching under the Dibison and sitting across from his previous seat.

"Thomas wait!" Fiona quickly got up, scrambling after the blonde pilot as he crossed his arms and stared out at the rolling meadows and the mountain ridge that was in the distance. Raven exhaled with irritation and sat down, scooting closer to Reese. She in return let out a groan before swatting Raven's arm, eliciting a grunt of annoyance.

"What the hell was that for?" Reese narrowed her eyes at the maverick.

"What do you think? We can't just keep treating these people so poorly Raven. They all deserve to be treated at least halfway respectfully, not just Van. You need to just swallow your pride and desires for once and deal with their decisions. What happened to changing? What happened to righting the wrongs in your past with the choices you make now? We need to be careful if we want a clean slate at the end of all this mess, kid emperor's orders or not. Besides, it'd do you good not to dwell on these things."

"Killing Ambient would have done a lot more than right a wrong, Reese. It'd be a big ass favor for the Empire, not to mention practically a service to Zi." Reese slid her hand over and set it atop Raven's knee.

"Raven... It's not about the Empire, is it?" The outlaw stared into the distance and did not reply, the breeze causing locks of hair to flutter and tousle and block his face from view.

"Maybe even the Republic would give me a break after this whole deal is over."

"Raven..."

"I mean they'd practically have to after all this."

"Raven, don't try to deny it-"

"Alright!" He turned and snapped, immense irritation in his eyes as he let his bottled emotions out, Reese recoiling as if the words were a slap to the face. "It's not about them, it's about revenge! Are you happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

"No, actually, it's not!" Reese was raising her voice in return now, growing doubly upset with the young man. "I thought you wanted to change... And I'd hoped you'd have realized that acting the same way about these things isn't going to help, and that you'd treat people a little better! I thought you'd learn to let go of your anger for once!"

"So I'm supposed to forget that my only family is dead, and just forgive the thing that ruined my life?!"

"No! You- ugh!" Reese stood up and squeezed her hands into fists in frustration. "I can't talk to you when you're like this!" Her footsteps clinked upon the metal trailer as she walked away, as Raven buried his face into his hands. He'd have screamed if no one were around. He wasn't sure who he was more angry at; Reese for being angry at him about his feelings, or himself for whatever he did to make her upset. He began to dig through his pockets, fishing out a slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He opened the worn out package and withdrew a cigarette, the white object already beginning to calm him down as he began to imagine the bliss of the first drag.

"You know, she's right." Raven almost jumped; the key word being almost, when he heard a voice to his left. Irvine began to sit down, one leg dangling off the edge of the worn out trailer as he rested an elbow on the opposite knee, relaxed as ever. "You can't always have your cake and eat it too." Raven raised a very confused eyebrow at the analogy.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Irvine smirked and chuckled, amused, before he continued.

"It means you can't have your way with everything. I know you want to go about fixing everything, and believe me, that's something we're all grateful for. But you're gonna have to just let go for a moment to get what you really want in the long run." Raven wasn't swayed, looking away and placing the roll of tobacco between his lips as he raised the lighter to it. Using his free hand to shield the flame from the breeze, he lit the end and took a long drag before exhaling, visibly relaxing as smoke swirled out from his lips as the cigarette's tip was stoked by the soft wind.

"And how is letting Ambient live even an issue? That should be a damn priority." Irvine chuckled again, then sighed.

"You know, you gave us a lot of trouble a couple years ago. I'm sure that sounds a little obvious, but we put in dozens of hours of training formations to fight you. Man, and the Colonel in charge of this thing was an asshole, I mean this is the kind of guy you wouldn't give a drop of piss if his teeth were on fire. And none of us wanted a thing to do with it, with him, and with fighting you. But we all knew, especially Van, that if we were gonna stop you that was how we were gonna have to do it. We'd have to give up what we wanted in the moment to get what we wanted in the future." Raven's face had begun to relax to a quizzical look; it was strange, hearing of himself from the mouth of another, especially one who had a vendetta against him, however brief. "And the times we got greedy or selfish, well, that's when things got bad..."

"Bad? You make it sound like it was bad to begin with."

"Okay, worse is probably a better term. There was a strict procedure that we had to follow, and as far as the orders were concerned we were all expendable as long as Van was alive. And when we made selfish decisions, or decisions that we thought were better, and left on the particle shields, we payed for them. I'm glad I left mine on, same with Thomas, or we'd be dead. But there's always consequences for when you take things into your own hands, and sometimes that can mean jeopardizing your goals. I guess what I'm trying to say, is just be mindful of what you do. Sometimes you've gotta sacrifice what you want, to get what you want. I'm sure Reese has been in your ear about that plenty enough though." Raven snorted before firing back.

"I'm guessing you heard the commotion?"

"Well, it's not very hard to piss off Thomas, but once I heard you and her yelling I had a feeling something was up.

"I just don't see how it's a good idea to let that organoid live, especially after what he's done..."

"It's not. We should have taken him out while we were there. But doing that would have let the Republic know our intentions, and maybe even provoked an attack before the Empire was ready to counter it. It's a risk that in the long run isn't worth taking." Irvine leaned back on his free arm, looking at the sky now as a patch of cloud covered them, the soft shadows cooling the air. "I know you hate this crap about orders and procedures and reporting to authority. I'm not a fan of it either. But we'll get through this, and get what we want in the end."

"We?" Raven objected to the term; sure, he and Irvine had a few superficial similarities, but as far as he was concerned the two shared little beyond that. "What's your endgame in this anyways?" Irvine flashed his teeth in a grin.

"A nice fat stack of cash, of course. I suppose helping save the world again has its own rewards too."

"Straight to the point; I like that." Well, that was another similarity; bluntness. He offered the mercenary a cigarette, one of the few left in the pack, whom obliged and took the lighter also offered. Lighting the end, Irvine took a drag before smirking and exhaling, the cloud of smoke swirling as the gentle wind carried it away. He handed back the lighter before speaking.

"Oh, and about Reese, well, let me tell you about women..."

Reese let out an angry sigh as she sat next to Fiona and Thomas, crossing her arms and glaring into the distance.

"Oh look, Raven pissed her off too, he's on a roll and it's barely noon."

"Thomas!"

"What? It's true." Fiona sighed now too, leaning over to look to Reese.

"Is everything alright?" Calming Thomas down was relatively easy, but Reese would be a different matter; the Zoidian's quiet seething noted by Fiona was a fraction of what she was feeling inside. "I sure hope they aren't that mad at each other... That's the last thing we need."

"If you consider he's being a stubborn ass who can't listen to the simplest pieces of advice alright, then yes."

"Well it's certainly the status quo, that's for sure.

"Thomas!"

"It's true and you know it!" Thomas caught air of Reese's eyes, currently burning with anger towards him. "I, uh- I mean, uh-"

"What he meant to say is he's not surprised Raven's so on edge lately, isn't that right Thomas?" The stammering man in question quickly caught the hint from her tone, and quickly closed his mouth and nodded twice. "I think we're all pretty stressed out at the moment. Reese, what is it?" Reese did not reply, but instead laid back on the metal of the trailer, staring up at nothing in particular as the clouds rolled by overhead.

"Yeah, aren't you two dating or something? Don't couples, like, not argue?" Reese's flushed red as she glared at Thomas.

"We're not dating, and yes, couples argue."

"Soooo, you're a couple, but you're not dating? How does that work?"

"We're not a couple either!"

"But you like each other, right?"

"I-yes, but- no, not exactly- I don't know!" Before Thomas could continue further harassment, Fiona crept her way over and seated herself between him and Reese.

"Thomas, come on... Now Reese, what's bothering you?" Reese leered at Thomas before replying.

"He just thinks he can do what he wants and treat everyone the same as he used to and things will just work out somehow. He doesn't get that if he wants to make amends and change, that he actually has to change."

"Have you tried explaining that to him? It sounds like you have a very good idea of what he's got to work on, why don't you tell him that?" Reese laughed slightly at the irony of the idea.

"Oh Fiona dear, you haven't talked to Raven much have you? He's not the type to take criticism well, or at all really."

"Defensive much?" Thomas popped into the dialogue, estimating that Reese's annoyance with him had quelled.

"Incredibly... There's no way any attempt at coercion or critique will be useful. I apologize for his behavior. Sometimes I think a muzzle would be appropriate, given his attitude..." Thomas smirked for a moment at the mental image before he replied.

"I'm not too upset. I just can't get why he'd be so rude and combative after we've helped him, it's like only Van and Irvine and Karl are the people he respects!"

"They are the only people he respects. As far as he's concerned, unless you're a worthy opponent or have something in common you're not much use to him." Thomas scoffed at the notion before retorting.

"So what you're saying is, he doesn't respect any of us but those three, even you?"

"No, he respects me... For different reasons, mind you, but he does... I just hope he can realize the situation and learn how to act mature about it for once..." Fiona again responded, smiling as always.

"Raven can, I'm sure of it!" Casting a lazy glance sideways, Reese quipped back.

"Can and want are two very different things as far as he's concerned."

"Of course Miss Fiona is right, when has her remarkable deduction ever failed?" Thomas grinned at the Zoidian girl, who giggled in reply with a smile on her face.

"Oh Thomas don't be silly, I'm nothing but a friend offering support." Reese rolled her eyes at Thomas' affections, standing and walking away before the two of them could keep her further.

"Moonbay used to get the same way. Back before the war and the Guardian Force business, she'd float in and out, sometimes with a boyfriend, sometimes not, but I figured out one thing for sure, she never came back around talking about the same guy twice in a row, and she usually had a bit more cash than before."

"Reese was never like that, never greedy. She'd just try to kill me or help me, back and forth between being a threat and trying to be friendly. Not that I wanted her to be either... I mean one week she takes a slice at me with a dagger, the next one she's showing me the tactics the Guardian Force were going to use on me. Bit of a mindfuck, really." The two warriors had spent the past several minutes recanting the various encounters with the two most prominent women in their lives, both of them reciting the events with varying degrees of detail and humor laced in. Irvine let out the last lingerings of a laugh before speaking.

"She seems like she's real into you. She was pretty emotional over you when we were dressing that wound, I'd take a guess she's real caring, yeah?"

"I guess you could say we look out for each other. I've never had a real family, even Prozen as a father figure is a stretch. I mean he never beat me often, or badly, but after seeing everything brought to light I can't say I really care much for him. So she's the closest thing I've ever had to family, if you want to put it that way..." Raven shifted, sitting cross legged now.

"Don't worry, I didn't like the guy either, you're not in the wrong on that one." Raven let out a small laugh. "I know how you feel. Mom passed on when me and my sis were real little, and dad, whoever that was, was never in the picture. After Helena got sick though... After that, I had no one. Got passed around from orphanage to foster home to street to anyone who'd pity me enough to take me in. Until I met Mom of course. Not my real mom, but the closest thing I had to one at that point. She'd give us all leads on jobs, parts, supplies, tips on who had bounties out on them, where was best place to lay low, and all the tricks of the trade. She raised me up well enough, I'd like to think. And I'll always thank her for giving me my partner in crime." Irvine smiled as he looked at the Lightning Saix, the lithe cheetah on the trailer ahead of them."So, what way would you put it?"

"Huh?"

"You and her, being almost like family." Raven gazed into the sky, in thought at the question, before the corners of his mouth curled slightly and he replied.

"It feels... It feels like even though we fight and argue and all that, like she's the one person out there who understands what I feel like. It's like she's the only one who knows what it feels like to regret everything you've done, and cares enough to listen, and to actually stick around and... Well, I guess, be with me. I've only ever had Shadow as a companion, and with my family gone, having a real person to talk to, to laugh with... To comfort, to comfort you... It's nice. I feel like I'm really not alone in the world anymore. Like she's the one person I never knew was out there, and it feels like we were meant to find each other." Raven caught himself before he could continue, and shoved the emotions threatening to show back down. "But it's not that important. Besides, she's got this stupid habit of sneaking up on me and trying to scare me. Not like she can or anything." Irvine stifled a grin, noticing the sudden show of heart and the maverick's quick reversal of tone.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" Raven quickly broke out into a coughing fit, having inhaled too sharply on the cigarette between his lips after being ambushed by Irvine's question.

"We-" Another coughing fit followed, his face flushing red. "We aren't together... Well, not like that anyways, I think..." Irvine opened his mouth to reply only to be cut off by an unexpected voice.

"What's not like that, anyways?" Raven jolted at the voice in his ear, and Irvine snapped his head to see Reese had slipped in next to them, now leaning over Raven with a look of mild curiosity on her face, blue eyes glittering with interest.

"Bloody hell, can you quit doing that?!" Reese smirked wryly at Raven's reaction.

"Am I not allowed to have fun?" Raven sharply inhaled as he hung his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing.

"One of these days I'm going to scare the shit out of you, and then we'll see who's laughing and having fun."

"You never answered my question."

"No, you aren't allowed to have fun."

"My other question." Raven glanced quickly to Irvine, who was already mid-stride as he turned and winked at Raven. Internally screaming profanities at his abandonment, Raven turned back to Reese.

"It's nothing."

"You're a terrible liar." Reese now circled around Raven, her fingertips trailing across the back of his neck raising goosebumps as she sat cross-legged facing him, leaning in. "So you might as well let me know now. Or do I need to take a look for myself?" Raven scowled at her, growing angry at the prospect of having his mind invaded as the Zoidian leaned in even closer.

"You wouldn't dare." Reese's lips curled in a smirk.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Raven's scowl deepened, prompting Reese to let out a small sigh. "Calm down Raven, I won't do it. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Really? You've done it before, what makes now different?"

"So you don't trust me?"

"Don't pull that on me!"

"That's the same logic of what you did earlier, why can't I do it?" Raven leered, before his expression loosened.

"I trust you... You know that. You're the only one I really trust. You've been in my head before, you should know that much." Reese turned slightly, before laying back and resting her head on Raven's leg. The maverick leaned to the side, propped on an extended arm as he glanced down, somewhat miffed at her action. "Enjoying the view are we?" She smirked.

"Ever the proud narcissist aren't you?" He was unmoved by her statement, glancing back out at nothing in particular on the plains. After a moment, Reese shut her eyes as she spoke. "It's not fun, you know."

"Hmm?" The maverick's gaze was drawn back to the girl whose head was in his lap, her face slightly pensive.

"The powers. Reading minds. It's not pleasant."

"So why do it? How could it be unpleasant? A couple years ago you had no problems about doing it to anyone and everyone." Her face tensed slightly as she responded.

"It's one thing to listen to someone talk, or read a letter they wrote. You hear their voice, see their words, but even though they don't realize it, it's all filtered. What you feel and think and what you do or say are always a little bit different. They could be talking to a superior. Or a lover. Or a friend, or family. What they say is always changed so it fits the relationship or situation, there's always a tone to it, a filter. But thoughts... They're raw, they're pure and unchanged. Looking through someone's mind you pick up everything. Every memory, sensation, thought, emotion, in their purest forms. And you can't help but feel it a little. Be caught up in the emotion with them, even when you're focused and detached. And when it's a familiar experience, it pulls you in deeper..." Reese opened her eyes, staring up into Raven's face hovering over hers.

"What did you feel when you were in my mind?" The edges of her lips curled slightly upwards.

"It was surreal... You were so happy, in the beginning. I'd only ever seen you smile out of pride or victory before. Never from happiness, real genuine happiness. And then I saw what happened to your family, and the hatred made sense all at once. It was foreign to me, but I was able to understand, in a way. I saw all that anger and pain and fear and envy, and realized I'd seen all of it just moments before. I saw the cold, distant man in front of me was really just a sad and lonely boy, and I knew then that you were like me; you knew what it was like to be alone and afraid, to feel lost and hopeless, cast aside and forgotten..." Reese smiled in full now, prompting a slightly perturbed frown from Raven. "Something wrong?"

"Calling me a sad lonely boy isn't exactly complimenting." Reese's smile dissipated and her brow furrowed, before she rolled her eyes.

"No one said the truth had to be flattering." Raven rolled his own eyes at her statement, unsatisfied. "Or that it can't be embarrassing, even. Secrets especially..." She leaned up, inches from his face. "Isn't that right, Joy-" Her words were cut off as Raven's hand clapped over her mouth, eliciting a squeak of surprise, then a scowl. Raven's face was now bearing a triumphant smirk, that soon vanished as Reese bit down on the skin of his hand.

"Ow! Did you just bite me?!" Raven glanced down at the small impressions of teeth on his middle and index finger, the marks slightly red like the scars on his palms. "I hope you've had your shots, I don't want rabies." Reese's scowl deepened.

"I think I should be the one worried about being infected, you haven't had a shower in days."

"I'll be sure to find the next inn in the middle of enemy territory to stop and have a good shower next time, instead of coming to save you. I'm sure you won't mind at all, I'll even stay for breakfast and coffee, maybe take the lunch buffet, or room service too."

"I think that's the best idea you've had this entire time, next inn we find we're all taking a nice little vacation at. You still surprise me, darling. Who'd have though Joyc-" Again Raven's hand smothered Reese's mouth, muffling the last syllables into incomprehensible gibberish. Another icy glare at the maverick. A proud smirk was returned to the Blue Devil.

"Fuck, stop biting my hand!"

AN: Holy crap it feels like it's been FOREVER since I've updated, and even longer since I sat down to write. Life has gotten really busy lately, a thousand apologies for such a long wait time. You guys are amazing for supporting me through this, I've had ideas of fanfiction in my head since I was 11 and this is my first story and so far I've managed to entertain a number of you! Thanks for the reviews, let me know what I need to work on! - AA