*Sigh* No one ever listens to me, so I'm just not gonna talk.
Disclaimer: See first chapter. Like anyone reads this either. *sigh*
**************************************************************************** ********************
The Genosaurer launched forward. The first thing it did was bite down hard on the neck of the Phoenix. The zoid cried out in pain.
"Strike Laser Claw!" yelled Bit. The Liger Zero knocked the Genosaurer away from Miharu's zoid.
"Thanks," said Miharu.
"No problem." The Genosaurer stood up straight and roared in anger, and then charged again. They all dodged the attack. The Genosaurer spun around quickly and began to charge its cannon.
"We have to attack now," said Jamie. They all fired their arsenals at once, trying to stop the Genosaurer. The Genosaurer simply put up its shield, deflecting all the shots.
"Darn it," said Miharu. The beam fired, but they all managed to get out of the way. "There's no choice. If we stay together, she'll kill us all."
"What do you propose we do?" asked Naomi.
"Split up."
"What?" they all asked in disbelief.
"But shouldn't we stick together?" asked Bit. "Isn't that how we beat her the first time?"
"It may be, but there's no other choice." She dodged a charge from the Genosaurer. "We have to split up. She can't get to all of us at once. If she kills us all, she'll die anyway. If we can just freeze her zoid, then we wont have to kill her."
"So we're gonna split up?" asked Leena.
"Yes. The next time she charges for us, split up. Each of you go a separate way, got it?"
"Yep," said everyone.
"Where's the 'yes ma'am'?"
"Uh..." There were other murmurs as well.
"Just kidding. Here she comes." The Genosaurer charged again. "Okay you guys. Split!" The zoids all ran in opposite directions, spreading out along the canyon walls. Some headed outwards towards the desert. The Genosaurer stopped and glanced around, as if trying to decide what to do. Up on the cliff, Rose was watching everything. She smiled.
"I was hoping they'd try something like this," she said to herself. She opened a com-link with Risai. 'This is going to be so fun. I'll get to watch as Risai destroys her friends, and I know just who to start with.' "Risai. I want you to go after the red Blade Liger." Risai nodded and then the screen went black. "This I have to see." Rose turned her Ryujin around and began to follow Risai, who was heading in the direction that Leon had gone in. "You men. Go and keep the others busy. I don't want them to interfere in my fun."
"Yes ma'am." The other soldiers ran down the cliff wall in their Rev Raptors and spread out to attack the other escaping zoids.
******
Risai was floating in the darkness, not knowing what to do. She could barely keep hold onto her mind. Many different memories were running through her head and she wasn't sure which were real anymore.
"Who am I?" she asked herself. "What am I doing here?"
A picture of her father flashed in her mind. His stone cold face was glaring at her.
"Who are you?"
Another flashed through her mind. It was of her mother, her face displaying anger. A young Risai sat at her feet, a broken vase in front of her.
"Why are you angry?"
Another was of Taban, running to catch up with his friends, leaving Risai standing alone on the porch.
"Why'd you leave me?"
The next was of Miharu and Taban when they were younger. They were riding their bikes while Risai watched from her second floor window.
"Was I always lonely?" Another thought came to her. "I am lonely. No one...I have no one. Nobody loves me. I'm...all...alone."
That's right said Rose. You are alone...and you always will be. Just keep thinking that
******
Rose smiled as she followed the Genosaurer from up above on the cliff. The canyon was beginning to get narrow and both sides were rising higher. There were many rocks that the Genosaurer effortlessly jumped over.
"As long as I can keep Risai under my control, everything will be perfect. There's no way she can break my hold if I keep suppressing her memories, making her see only the hard ones." She began to laugh. "This is so perfect. You will suffer Risai, just as I have." Just a little ways up, she saw the Blade Liger.
Meanwhile...
Leon was walking through the canyon, not really knowing where he wanted to go. His Blade Liger jumped over the rocks that were blocking his way. The canyon walls were high above him. He wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings. He was too deep in thought to care.
"Protect what you are defending," he said, echoing Miharu's words. "What do you do if what you're trying to protect is what's preventing you from defending it?" Suddenly, the rock behind him exploded, pushing his zoid back a little. He whirled around and was now face to face with Risai and her Genosaurer. The zoid roared loudly and then stood there. It didn't even move. "What's going on?" asked Leon. He heard the rocks shift and looked up to see the Ryujin. The sinister dragon zoid roared loudly.
"Well hello Leon," she said. She had opened a com-link with him, but only her voice came through. "So nice to see you."
"What do you want?" he asked, his voice as cold as ice.
"Wow, I never would have thought you could sound so threatening. You're usually so calm."
"You don't know me."
"And right now, neither does she, and as long as I have control over her, she'll never remember you. You want to know something interesting? I went through all of her memories, all of her thoughts. I had to, in order to get control over her. You know, half of her memories were or different people, or places, but the other half was all of you."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. She thinks about you a lot. She really likes you...and now she'll destroy you, since I know there's no way you'd ever risk hurting her." Rose changed com-links. "Risai, attack him now. Don't let him get away." Risai nodded and the Genosaurer roared again. It then charged towards the red Blade Liger, which made no attempt to move out of the way. The Blade Liger was knocked over and the Genosaurer stood over it, roaring in victory. Leon brought up a com-link with Risai. A picture of her appeared on his screen. She looked the same, but her eyes were empty of all emotion.
"Risai, you have to listen to me," he said. She didn't seem to hear him, and if she did, she didn't show it. He wasn't about to give up hope though. "Please, Risai. Don't do this. I know you better than you think. I know you're stronger than this. Your mind, you heart, your soul, none of them are weak. You can win this. Just try." There was no change on her face. Rose began to laugh.
"Oh brother, you really think you can break the hold I have on her? Forget it. No matter what you may think, her mind is too weak."
"Shut up!" he yelled. He then turned his attention back to Risai, who had her guns aimed at the cockpit. "Risai, come on. Look at me. You have to remember something besides pain. Come on Risai; think back. Remember all the time we spent together. Think!"
******
Risai felt nothing in her mind but pain. Her heart was crying out, completely unaware of what was happening. Rose still had control over her memories.
No one loves you Risai. You're alone, so what's the point of going on?
"What's the point of going on," she echoed. Rose's words were beginning to sink in.
No one cares about you, not even Leon. He would rather have you die. He thinks of you as nothing more than a burden. He's also done nothing but cause you more pain. He brings back painful memories. He's not worth it
"He brings only...pain."
"Risai!" shouted Leon. Risai straightened, her mind finally starting to focus.
"What?" she asked.
Don't stray from me
"That voice...was it..."
NO. Do NOT listen to him. He brings nothing but pain
"...Leon. It was you."
"Risai. Come back."
Don't listen to him!
"I need you Risai. Please come back. Try to remember."
"Leon." Risai thought back, digging into the depths of her mind. She remembered the night at the dance. She remembered how good it felt too. She thought back to when he had held her as she cried. The look on his face was more than enough for her. Risai smiled inwardly.
Don't listen to him!
"Goodbye...Rose."
******
The Genosaurer was ready to fire the guns, but then stopped moving completely.
"No!" screamed Rose. The Ryu gem in her hand flickered with its glow. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Risai?" questioned Leon. He looked to the screen that showed the inside of the cockpit. Risai was holding her head in her hands. It looked like she was in pain.
"Make it stop," she said quietly.
"You will listen to me, Risai!" yelled Rose, trying to regain her control over the younger agent.
"No, I refuse. I won't hurt any one. You can't control me."
"Fine then. I'll just have to destroy you," she said in an inaudible voice. She focused completely on the Ryu stone in her hand. It began to glow brightly. Risai screamed out in pain.
"Stop it!" yelled Leon. He turned to look at the Ryujin as it roared loudly. The Genosaurer seemed to respond. It jumped up onto a higher rock and ran up the cliff and next to the Ryujin, which began to run off, back towards where they had started. Leon got his Blade Liger up and began to follow. The Genosaurer was following Rose, which didn't make sense to him.
"All units fall back to the cliff."
"Roger." They eventually made it back to where this battle had started. The Ryujin stopped and so did the Genosaurer. Leon reached the open area where they had all split up. He kept his eyes on the Genosaurer and the Ryujin. Just then, a ton of Rev Raptors came back to the cliff and climbed up, rejoining their leader. Not long after, the zoids belonging to Bit and Leena came back, followed by Brad and Naomi. Soon enough, the ten of them were back in the opening, looking up at the enemy zoids.
"What's going on?" asked Bit, completely confused. Rose sighed and opened her cockpit. She stood up, her long black hair flowing in the slight breeze. She then turned to look at the Genosaurer.
"Get out here, now!" she yelled to Risai. Amazingly, the cockpit opened and Risai came out, but she stumbled as she landed. Her head was pounding. She walked over to Rose, who glared at her. "I see you're still partially under my control, but this has to end." She grabbed Risai and began to pull her towards the edge of the cliff, which was a long way down from the ground. The three teams, including Miharu, all opened their cockpits and stood up, watching. Rose stood behind Risai and pulled out a handgun. Risai sighed. She looked down at all of them and smiled.
"I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I'm sorry for hurting you. Please forgive me." She looked at all of them and her eyes landed on Leon. "Thank you, Leon. It was your voice that let me escape. I really owe you one."
"Aint this touching," said Rose. "I wouldn't have to do this if it weren't for him." Risai turned to look at Rose.
"I escaped because I have friends who care about me. And I also have a brother who looks out for me. Even though he couldn't call out to me, I could feel his presence in my mind. He helped me out more than you'll ever know. No matter what you do, he'll always find a way to mess up your plans."
"Shut up!" Rose was loosing her patience. Risai turned back to her friends and smiled.
"Thank you. Thank you for everything." Risai closed her eyes as a gunshot echoed through the canyon. The bullet passed right through Risai's stomach. She arched her back at the impact and stumbled forward. She lost consciousness and fell from the cliff's summit.
"Risai!" they all yelled, but not at the same time. The Genosaurer roared as it saw its master fall from the cliff. She was still falling. Leon quickly took the controls of his zoid and moved it towards the cliff. He had to get under her. 'I have to make it!' his mind was screaming. He watched as she fell further. He pushed his zoid to its full speed and got under her. He stood up and tried to judge where he needed to stand. He got out and ran to the top of his zoid's head. He reached out in time to catch her, but he was knocked off of his zoid. Both of them hit the ground, Leon being the first. Everyone else ran over to them. Leon slowly sat up, Risai still in his arms.
"Leon!" yelled Leena. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but..." He looked back to Risai, who was barely breathing. Miharu bent down and checked for a pulse. She gave a sigh of relief when she found one.
"Good. She's still alive, but we have to do something fast." Miharu tried to stand up, but a wave of dizziness overtook her, forcing her back to the ground.
"Are you alright?" asked Meiyuu.
"I'm fine, just dizzy. We have to help Risai." Miharu looked around and then looked up at Rose, who was standing on the edge of the cliff, her gun in one hand and the Ryu gem in the other. Miharu then got an idea.
"Hey, Rick," she said. He walked over to her.
"What is it?"
"I need you to do something. It's important."
"What is it?"
"I need you to shoot the Ryu gem out of Rose's hand so that we can use it on Risai."
"Why not just shoot her instead?"
"Because if we kill her now, we'll never know where the base is. I only want the Ryu gem."
"Are you insane?" he asked. "I can't shoot something that small from this distance."
"Please, Rick. At least try to. This is important. You're the best shot here."
"I know that, but I can't even see it."
"It's in her right hand."
"Fine, I'll try. Hey Bit, you've got good eyes. Help me out here."
"Okay." Bit and Rick ran out towards the open area. Rick pulled out his handgun and aimed it at Rose.
"Do you see the gem?"
"Yeah. It's right there."
"Here?"
"Yeah! Now fire!"
"Here goes nothing." Rick pulled the trigger on his gun and the bullet was sent flying up towards Rose. It hit her hand and she was knocked back, but she also dropped the Ryu gem, sending it down to the bottom of the cliff. Bit ran out and grabbed it before it hit the bottom. He then ran over to where Miharu was. He handed her the stone.
"Thank you," she said. She quickly placed it near Risai and it started to glow. After a while, her injury began to heal, and it was soon hard to tell it was ever there.
"Why didn't we have time to take her to the base?" asked Leena.
"Because she wouldn't have made it."
"Why? She's seen worse, right?"
"Right, but right now, her mind has been weakened, making her body weak as well."
"Oh," they all said. Risai moaned slightly and then shifted in Leon's arms. He looked down at her and Risai slowly opened her eyes. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but she eventually was able to focus.
"Leon?" she asked, almost in a dazed voice.
"Yeah. You okay?" She only nodded. Meanwhile, Rose was standing looking down on them, the anger clearly written on her face. She seemed ready to explode. (A/N Okay, I know I said that I don't swear and I've never put one swear word in anything I've written, but Rose is just the type who would. It's not like it's that big of a thing anyway.) The soldiers on the mountain seemed afraid as they backed away slowly.
"DAMN YOU!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "I'll get you, all of you, starting with that jerk, Taban! This is all his fault!"
"What?" asked everyone but Risai, who just stared at Rose, her eyes wide.
"No!" she yelled. "Don't touch him!"
"I'll do whatever I want with him, so stay out of it! And don't think you're safe yet, Risai. Once I get another stone, I'll be back for you!" Rose turned and got into her zoid. "All units, retreat back to the base now!" She was still angry. The Backdraft forces all began to disappear as they headed off to their desert base.
"No!" yelled Risai. She stood up and was going to run after them if she had to. She was stopped by Leon when he reached up and grabbed her wrist. He then stood up from his spot on the ground. Risai tried to pull away. "Let me go! I have to go after them!"
"They'll kill you if they catch you."
"Then I won't let them catch me!"
"I'm not letting you go."
"You have to! I have to save my brother! I have to! Let go!" Leon still didn't loosen his grip. Risai stopped struggling and closed her eyes tightly. Leon released her wrist and she fell to her knees, sobbing. 'Taban...please be alright.'
**************************************************************************** ********************
Wow...I was actually able to fill a whole chapter with this part. Amazing...not that you guys are reading this right now, but go read Uncivil War anyway, okay? Audi^.^
Disclaimer: See first chapter. Like anyone reads this either. *sigh*
**************************************************************************** ********************
The Genosaurer launched forward. The first thing it did was bite down hard on the neck of the Phoenix. The zoid cried out in pain.
"Strike Laser Claw!" yelled Bit. The Liger Zero knocked the Genosaurer away from Miharu's zoid.
"Thanks," said Miharu.
"No problem." The Genosaurer stood up straight and roared in anger, and then charged again. They all dodged the attack. The Genosaurer spun around quickly and began to charge its cannon.
"We have to attack now," said Jamie. They all fired their arsenals at once, trying to stop the Genosaurer. The Genosaurer simply put up its shield, deflecting all the shots.
"Darn it," said Miharu. The beam fired, but they all managed to get out of the way. "There's no choice. If we stay together, she'll kill us all."
"What do you propose we do?" asked Naomi.
"Split up."
"What?" they all asked in disbelief.
"But shouldn't we stick together?" asked Bit. "Isn't that how we beat her the first time?"
"It may be, but there's no other choice." She dodged a charge from the Genosaurer. "We have to split up. She can't get to all of us at once. If she kills us all, she'll die anyway. If we can just freeze her zoid, then we wont have to kill her."
"So we're gonna split up?" asked Leena.
"Yes. The next time she charges for us, split up. Each of you go a separate way, got it?"
"Yep," said everyone.
"Where's the 'yes ma'am'?"
"Uh..." There were other murmurs as well.
"Just kidding. Here she comes." The Genosaurer charged again. "Okay you guys. Split!" The zoids all ran in opposite directions, spreading out along the canyon walls. Some headed outwards towards the desert. The Genosaurer stopped and glanced around, as if trying to decide what to do. Up on the cliff, Rose was watching everything. She smiled.
"I was hoping they'd try something like this," she said to herself. She opened a com-link with Risai. 'This is going to be so fun. I'll get to watch as Risai destroys her friends, and I know just who to start with.' "Risai. I want you to go after the red Blade Liger." Risai nodded and then the screen went black. "This I have to see." Rose turned her Ryujin around and began to follow Risai, who was heading in the direction that Leon had gone in. "You men. Go and keep the others busy. I don't want them to interfere in my fun."
"Yes ma'am." The other soldiers ran down the cliff wall in their Rev Raptors and spread out to attack the other escaping zoids.
******
Risai was floating in the darkness, not knowing what to do. She could barely keep hold onto her mind. Many different memories were running through her head and she wasn't sure which were real anymore.
"Who am I?" she asked herself. "What am I doing here?"
A picture of her father flashed in her mind. His stone cold face was glaring at her.
"Who are you?"
Another flashed through her mind. It was of her mother, her face displaying anger. A young Risai sat at her feet, a broken vase in front of her.
"Why are you angry?"
Another was of Taban, running to catch up with his friends, leaving Risai standing alone on the porch.
"Why'd you leave me?"
The next was of Miharu and Taban when they were younger. They were riding their bikes while Risai watched from her second floor window.
"Was I always lonely?" Another thought came to her. "I am lonely. No one...I have no one. Nobody loves me. I'm...all...alone."
That's right said Rose. You are alone...and you always will be. Just keep thinking that
******
Rose smiled as she followed the Genosaurer from up above on the cliff. The canyon was beginning to get narrow and both sides were rising higher. There were many rocks that the Genosaurer effortlessly jumped over.
"As long as I can keep Risai under my control, everything will be perfect. There's no way she can break my hold if I keep suppressing her memories, making her see only the hard ones." She began to laugh. "This is so perfect. You will suffer Risai, just as I have." Just a little ways up, she saw the Blade Liger.
Meanwhile...
Leon was walking through the canyon, not really knowing where he wanted to go. His Blade Liger jumped over the rocks that were blocking his way. The canyon walls were high above him. He wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings. He was too deep in thought to care.
"Protect what you are defending," he said, echoing Miharu's words. "What do you do if what you're trying to protect is what's preventing you from defending it?" Suddenly, the rock behind him exploded, pushing his zoid back a little. He whirled around and was now face to face with Risai and her Genosaurer. The zoid roared loudly and then stood there. It didn't even move. "What's going on?" asked Leon. He heard the rocks shift and looked up to see the Ryujin. The sinister dragon zoid roared loudly.
"Well hello Leon," she said. She had opened a com-link with him, but only her voice came through. "So nice to see you."
"What do you want?" he asked, his voice as cold as ice.
"Wow, I never would have thought you could sound so threatening. You're usually so calm."
"You don't know me."
"And right now, neither does she, and as long as I have control over her, she'll never remember you. You want to know something interesting? I went through all of her memories, all of her thoughts. I had to, in order to get control over her. You know, half of her memories were or different people, or places, but the other half was all of you."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. She thinks about you a lot. She really likes you...and now she'll destroy you, since I know there's no way you'd ever risk hurting her." Rose changed com-links. "Risai, attack him now. Don't let him get away." Risai nodded and the Genosaurer roared again. It then charged towards the red Blade Liger, which made no attempt to move out of the way. The Blade Liger was knocked over and the Genosaurer stood over it, roaring in victory. Leon brought up a com-link with Risai. A picture of her appeared on his screen. She looked the same, but her eyes were empty of all emotion.
"Risai, you have to listen to me," he said. She didn't seem to hear him, and if she did, she didn't show it. He wasn't about to give up hope though. "Please, Risai. Don't do this. I know you better than you think. I know you're stronger than this. Your mind, you heart, your soul, none of them are weak. You can win this. Just try." There was no change on her face. Rose began to laugh.
"Oh brother, you really think you can break the hold I have on her? Forget it. No matter what you may think, her mind is too weak."
"Shut up!" he yelled. He then turned his attention back to Risai, who had her guns aimed at the cockpit. "Risai, come on. Look at me. You have to remember something besides pain. Come on Risai; think back. Remember all the time we spent together. Think!"
******
Risai felt nothing in her mind but pain. Her heart was crying out, completely unaware of what was happening. Rose still had control over her memories.
No one loves you Risai. You're alone, so what's the point of going on?
"What's the point of going on," she echoed. Rose's words were beginning to sink in.
No one cares about you, not even Leon. He would rather have you die. He thinks of you as nothing more than a burden. He's also done nothing but cause you more pain. He brings back painful memories. He's not worth it
"He brings only...pain."
"Risai!" shouted Leon. Risai straightened, her mind finally starting to focus.
"What?" she asked.
Don't stray from me
"That voice...was it..."
NO. Do NOT listen to him. He brings nothing but pain
"...Leon. It was you."
"Risai. Come back."
Don't listen to him!
"I need you Risai. Please come back. Try to remember."
"Leon." Risai thought back, digging into the depths of her mind. She remembered the night at the dance. She remembered how good it felt too. She thought back to when he had held her as she cried. The look on his face was more than enough for her. Risai smiled inwardly.
Don't listen to him!
"Goodbye...Rose."
******
The Genosaurer was ready to fire the guns, but then stopped moving completely.
"No!" screamed Rose. The Ryu gem in her hand flickered with its glow. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Risai?" questioned Leon. He looked to the screen that showed the inside of the cockpit. Risai was holding her head in her hands. It looked like she was in pain.
"Make it stop," she said quietly.
"You will listen to me, Risai!" yelled Rose, trying to regain her control over the younger agent.
"No, I refuse. I won't hurt any one. You can't control me."
"Fine then. I'll just have to destroy you," she said in an inaudible voice. She focused completely on the Ryu stone in her hand. It began to glow brightly. Risai screamed out in pain.
"Stop it!" yelled Leon. He turned to look at the Ryujin as it roared loudly. The Genosaurer seemed to respond. It jumped up onto a higher rock and ran up the cliff and next to the Ryujin, which began to run off, back towards where they had started. Leon got his Blade Liger up and began to follow. The Genosaurer was following Rose, which didn't make sense to him.
"All units fall back to the cliff."
"Roger." They eventually made it back to where this battle had started. The Ryujin stopped and so did the Genosaurer. Leon reached the open area where they had all split up. He kept his eyes on the Genosaurer and the Ryujin. Just then, a ton of Rev Raptors came back to the cliff and climbed up, rejoining their leader. Not long after, the zoids belonging to Bit and Leena came back, followed by Brad and Naomi. Soon enough, the ten of them were back in the opening, looking up at the enemy zoids.
"What's going on?" asked Bit, completely confused. Rose sighed and opened her cockpit. She stood up, her long black hair flowing in the slight breeze. She then turned to look at the Genosaurer.
"Get out here, now!" she yelled to Risai. Amazingly, the cockpit opened and Risai came out, but she stumbled as she landed. Her head was pounding. She walked over to Rose, who glared at her. "I see you're still partially under my control, but this has to end." She grabbed Risai and began to pull her towards the edge of the cliff, which was a long way down from the ground. The three teams, including Miharu, all opened their cockpits and stood up, watching. Rose stood behind Risai and pulled out a handgun. Risai sighed. She looked down at all of them and smiled.
"I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I'm sorry for hurting you. Please forgive me." She looked at all of them and her eyes landed on Leon. "Thank you, Leon. It was your voice that let me escape. I really owe you one."
"Aint this touching," said Rose. "I wouldn't have to do this if it weren't for him." Risai turned to look at Rose.
"I escaped because I have friends who care about me. And I also have a brother who looks out for me. Even though he couldn't call out to me, I could feel his presence in my mind. He helped me out more than you'll ever know. No matter what you do, he'll always find a way to mess up your plans."
"Shut up!" Rose was loosing her patience. Risai turned back to her friends and smiled.
"Thank you. Thank you for everything." Risai closed her eyes as a gunshot echoed through the canyon. The bullet passed right through Risai's stomach. She arched her back at the impact and stumbled forward. She lost consciousness and fell from the cliff's summit.
"Risai!" they all yelled, but not at the same time. The Genosaurer roared as it saw its master fall from the cliff. She was still falling. Leon quickly took the controls of his zoid and moved it towards the cliff. He had to get under her. 'I have to make it!' his mind was screaming. He watched as she fell further. He pushed his zoid to its full speed and got under her. He stood up and tried to judge where he needed to stand. He got out and ran to the top of his zoid's head. He reached out in time to catch her, but he was knocked off of his zoid. Both of them hit the ground, Leon being the first. Everyone else ran over to them. Leon slowly sat up, Risai still in his arms.
"Leon!" yelled Leena. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but..." He looked back to Risai, who was barely breathing. Miharu bent down and checked for a pulse. She gave a sigh of relief when she found one.
"Good. She's still alive, but we have to do something fast." Miharu tried to stand up, but a wave of dizziness overtook her, forcing her back to the ground.
"Are you alright?" asked Meiyuu.
"I'm fine, just dizzy. We have to help Risai." Miharu looked around and then looked up at Rose, who was standing on the edge of the cliff, her gun in one hand and the Ryu gem in the other. Miharu then got an idea.
"Hey, Rick," she said. He walked over to her.
"What is it?"
"I need you to do something. It's important."
"What is it?"
"I need you to shoot the Ryu gem out of Rose's hand so that we can use it on Risai."
"Why not just shoot her instead?"
"Because if we kill her now, we'll never know where the base is. I only want the Ryu gem."
"Are you insane?" he asked. "I can't shoot something that small from this distance."
"Please, Rick. At least try to. This is important. You're the best shot here."
"I know that, but I can't even see it."
"It's in her right hand."
"Fine, I'll try. Hey Bit, you've got good eyes. Help me out here."
"Okay." Bit and Rick ran out towards the open area. Rick pulled out his handgun and aimed it at Rose.
"Do you see the gem?"
"Yeah. It's right there."
"Here?"
"Yeah! Now fire!"
"Here goes nothing." Rick pulled the trigger on his gun and the bullet was sent flying up towards Rose. It hit her hand and she was knocked back, but she also dropped the Ryu gem, sending it down to the bottom of the cliff. Bit ran out and grabbed it before it hit the bottom. He then ran over to where Miharu was. He handed her the stone.
"Thank you," she said. She quickly placed it near Risai and it started to glow. After a while, her injury began to heal, and it was soon hard to tell it was ever there.
"Why didn't we have time to take her to the base?" asked Leena.
"Because she wouldn't have made it."
"Why? She's seen worse, right?"
"Right, but right now, her mind has been weakened, making her body weak as well."
"Oh," they all said. Risai moaned slightly and then shifted in Leon's arms. He looked down at her and Risai slowly opened her eyes. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but she eventually was able to focus.
"Leon?" she asked, almost in a dazed voice.
"Yeah. You okay?" She only nodded. Meanwhile, Rose was standing looking down on them, the anger clearly written on her face. She seemed ready to explode. (A/N Okay, I know I said that I don't swear and I've never put one swear word in anything I've written, but Rose is just the type who would. It's not like it's that big of a thing anyway.) The soldiers on the mountain seemed afraid as they backed away slowly.
"DAMN YOU!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "I'll get you, all of you, starting with that jerk, Taban! This is all his fault!"
"What?" asked everyone but Risai, who just stared at Rose, her eyes wide.
"No!" she yelled. "Don't touch him!"
"I'll do whatever I want with him, so stay out of it! And don't think you're safe yet, Risai. Once I get another stone, I'll be back for you!" Rose turned and got into her zoid. "All units, retreat back to the base now!" She was still angry. The Backdraft forces all began to disappear as they headed off to their desert base.
"No!" yelled Risai. She stood up and was going to run after them if she had to. She was stopped by Leon when he reached up and grabbed her wrist. He then stood up from his spot on the ground. Risai tried to pull away. "Let me go! I have to go after them!"
"They'll kill you if they catch you."
"Then I won't let them catch me!"
"I'm not letting you go."
"You have to! I have to save my brother! I have to! Let go!" Leon still didn't loosen his grip. Risai stopped struggling and closed her eyes tightly. Leon released her wrist and she fell to her knees, sobbing. 'Taban...please be alright.'
**************************************************************************** ********************
Wow...I was actually able to fill a whole chapter with this part. Amazing...not that you guys are reading this right now, but go read Uncivil War anyway, okay? Audi^.^