Disclaimer: I don't own zoids or their characters, just my own.
Loyalties of the Heart by Shelly
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tania surfaced slowly from the realm of her dreams, looking around her in confusion as she didn't know where she was or how she got here. But then she felt the bandages wrapped around her leg and the IV needle in her wrist and everything came back to her on a wave of fear, and the fact that she was surrounded by darkness except for a small overhead light didn't help things much either. The only thing that kept her from panicking was the fact that she had no restraints on of any type that she could see, a strange thing since after what she did to Colonel Tragar she would've expected to have been strapped securely to the hospital bed.
Her eyes soon became adjusted to the darkness, and she saw that a curtain was halfway pulled around her bed, the only opening being at the foot of her bed. Hearing a soft noise beyond the curtain, she stilled her motions and listened intently as she heard a dragging noise followed by the quiet shutting of the door. She heard the sound of footsteps near her bed before a figure appeared in the curtain opening, stifling the scream that rose in the back of her throat as it looked to be one of the many base soldiers.
Then she heard him whisper her name, and she sighed in relief as it was only Irvine dressed in a uniform he had gotten from somewhere or someone. He closed the curtain and moved to her bedside as she sat up to throw her arms around his neck. "Irvine, you came back," she whispered.
He held her tightly as he was glad that she was still alive, although he wondered what she was doing here in the infirmary. "What, you didn't believe me? I told you I was coming back," he replied quietly, his words silenced as her mouth found his eagerly, and though he felt rotten for doing this as he intended to end things between them, he couldn't help but enjoy one last kiss as he had worried about her after searching all over for her and not finding her. "What are you doing here anyway?" he breathed.
"Why else would I be here?" she asked. "I got shot in the leg, got kicked in the stomach, and got hit with the butt of a pistol."
"Did Tragar do this?" he hissed, his anger roused that he had done this to her, had knowingly done it to make it impossible for her to escape.
"Who else?" she replied, quieting when she saw Irvine hold his hand up then duck down beside the bed just in time for the curtain on the other side of the bed to slide open and the doctor to appear.
"Is anything wrong?" he asked, his own voice quiet. "I thought I heard voices."
"I was only talking to myself," she answered. "I think my IV may be a little loose, though. Would you mind checking it?"
"Of course not," he said as he bent over to check it. While she had spoken, Irvine had moved over to the other side so that he was behind the doctor, and he made his move to grab him, but the doctor was faster as he spun and caught Irvine's hand and forced him face down onto the bed. "Easy there, soldier," he said. "We're both on the same side here."
"What do you mean?" Irvine asked.
"I expected you would be here shortly to rescue Tania," he answered as he eased his grip on Irvine, allowing Irvine to stand up as he rubbed his wrist where the doctor had held him down.
"Why should I trust you?" he asked warily.
"Have you noticed that there are hardly any guards patrolling tonight?" Irvine nodded. "There's your answer. I laced their drinks with something to knock them out for awhile. Colonel Tragar is here as well, and I gave him something that will keep him out for a lot longer, at least until you can get him secured and turned over to the Imperial Army."
"Why are you helping us?" Tania questioned him.
"I have a lot I have to answer for," he replied sadly. "And I tire of having to clean up his messes." Then he picked up something she hadn't seen him lay on the bed. "Here, I brought you a uniform as well." He removed the IV from her arm but not before he produced a different syringe.
Irvine grabbed his arm to keep him from injecting it into the IV. "What's that?" he asked.
"A painkiller to help ease the pain of her leg injury. It may not hurt now, but once we start moving I expect it will flare up." Irvine released his arm and he administered the medicine before removing the IV and bandaging her wrist. Both men stepped outside the curtain to give her privacy to change into the uniform, which fit her surprisingly well. The only real problem she had was in hiding her long silver hair, but she managed to tuck it underneath the cap, and she had to ask for Irvine's help in putting on the boots as she couldn't move her leg.
True to the doctor's word, her leg began a painful throbbing which made it impossible for her to stand on. Irvine located a wheelchair and brought it around for her to sit in, and once she was seated comfortably they moved over to where Tragar lie. He was still blissfully unconscious, and they took advantage of this to tie him up and dump him into a wheelchair as well. Irvine took Tragar's which left Tania to the doctor, and they left the infirmary to head towards the hangar, Tania noticing how quiet it was since pretty much everyone was out cold.
They managed to get there without any incidents, which they were grateful for. "Irvine, where's your Command Wolf?" she asked him.
"I left it just outside the valley," he replied, taking them near her Saber Tiger. "We'll put him in here as I will be piloting the Tiger out of here. I want you to take this and ride like hell back towards Red River," he said as he gestured to a nearby zoid.
She looked and had never seen anything like it in her whole life. It was sleek and longer than the Tiger and a little bit shorter although it weighed less and was faster, capable of reaching speeds up to 325 kilometers per hour whereas her Tiger only reached 240. "What is it?" she breathed, amazed at the sheer power and beauty of it.
"It's a Lightning Saix," the doctor answered. Both Irvine and Tania gazed questioningly at him, wondering how he knew what it was. "You'd be surprised how much doctors will talk to each other, even if their jobs have nothing in common. This zoid was created to be the ultimate weapon to defeat the Blade Liger. It has four retractable Strike Laser Claws, a double-barreled Vulcan Gun, and a Pulse Laser Rifle along with a Boosterpack, two Wing Stabilizers, and two Vertical Stabilizers."
Tania and Irvine both had drool coming out of the corners of their mouths. "I think I'll take this one, Tania," he stated. "You can have the Saber Tiger."
"I don't think so, pal," she argued. "This one's mine, and I don't intend to give it up to anyone, not even you."
Irvine laughed. "I was just joking," he replied. "In this zoid, you'll all but fly back to Red River, and I want you to stay there as you're in no shape to be fighting any battles."
She was clearly reluctant to leave him here alone, but she had no other choice as he was right. "Just be careful, Irvine, please," she pleaded.
He smiled then assisted Tania into the cockpit of the Lightning Saix, making sure she was comfortable before leaving to haul Tragar into the cockpit of the Saber Tiger behind the seat where he knew that it would be uncomfortable for him but he didn't care. The doctor ordered them onto the platform so that he could open the hangar doors, cautioning them that once the doors opened an alarm would sound that would quite possibly alert everyone as to what was going on. They thanked him for his help then guided their zoids onto the platform, cringing as the alarm sounded and if everyone managed to sleep through it then they might as well be dead. The doors seemed to take forever to open, but Tania knew it was only because they were in such a hurry to leave that it seemed that way.
Finally they opened and they leaped out into a sky that was brightened by the early morning sun only to stop at what they saw waiting for them. A ring of Rev Raptors lined the sides of the valley, all of them prepared to fight if any move was made to escape.
"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!" Irvine cried, his voice filled with rage.
"I don't think he's to blame," she said, thinking that someone somehow knew what they had planned. "Irvine, I think it's time to find out what this zoid's made of."
"Tania, don't!" he shouted.
She ignored him and spurred the Lightning Saix into action. "I'm not going to be captured without a fight, Irvine," she replied, unable to say anymore as she was thrown back into her seat when the Saix took off with an amazing burst of speed. When she was halfway to the Rev Raptors, she noticed a button on the side of the cockpit and pushed it, wondering what it was for. "Holy shit!" she cried when the zoid flashed forward with lightning speed, leaving a wake of disruption that toppled the Raptors whenever it hit them, Irvine shooting them down with the Saber Tiger's triple impact cannon. But she wasn't able to take them all down and they were forced to battle the rest the best they could with what weapons they had.
They sustained some damage to their zoids, but eventually managed to defeat enough of them so that they could make an escape. But when they looked where the hangar was located, there were more powerful zoids being lifted to join the battle. "Tania, make a run for it!" Irvine cried as he raced past her, and she took off after him while keeping the Saix' speed so that it matched the Tiger's.
No sooner had they left than there were sudden explosions all around them. "Sinker zoids!" she shouted, looking at the sky around them. "This is unreal!"
"Maybe you should return the Saix to them," he suggested dryly. "Then they might leave us alone, you think?"
"Not on your life," she replied, shooting a few of the aerial zoids to the ground as she ran. Soon they both saw dust on the horizon, which only led them to wonder if there were more of the enemies' forces along the way.
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Author's note: As I have said before, I suck at describing battles. The next chapter will be the last as this piece of fiction is nearing its end. *sniff* Who are the new forces coming to join the battle? And an ending that is guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye.
Loyalties of the Heart by Shelly
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tania surfaced slowly from the realm of her dreams, looking around her in confusion as she didn't know where she was or how she got here. But then she felt the bandages wrapped around her leg and the IV needle in her wrist and everything came back to her on a wave of fear, and the fact that she was surrounded by darkness except for a small overhead light didn't help things much either. The only thing that kept her from panicking was the fact that she had no restraints on of any type that she could see, a strange thing since after what she did to Colonel Tragar she would've expected to have been strapped securely to the hospital bed.
Her eyes soon became adjusted to the darkness, and she saw that a curtain was halfway pulled around her bed, the only opening being at the foot of her bed. Hearing a soft noise beyond the curtain, she stilled her motions and listened intently as she heard a dragging noise followed by the quiet shutting of the door. She heard the sound of footsteps near her bed before a figure appeared in the curtain opening, stifling the scream that rose in the back of her throat as it looked to be one of the many base soldiers.
Then she heard him whisper her name, and she sighed in relief as it was only Irvine dressed in a uniform he had gotten from somewhere or someone. He closed the curtain and moved to her bedside as she sat up to throw her arms around his neck. "Irvine, you came back," she whispered.
He held her tightly as he was glad that she was still alive, although he wondered what she was doing here in the infirmary. "What, you didn't believe me? I told you I was coming back," he replied quietly, his words silenced as her mouth found his eagerly, and though he felt rotten for doing this as he intended to end things between them, he couldn't help but enjoy one last kiss as he had worried about her after searching all over for her and not finding her. "What are you doing here anyway?" he breathed.
"Why else would I be here?" she asked. "I got shot in the leg, got kicked in the stomach, and got hit with the butt of a pistol."
"Did Tragar do this?" he hissed, his anger roused that he had done this to her, had knowingly done it to make it impossible for her to escape.
"Who else?" she replied, quieting when she saw Irvine hold his hand up then duck down beside the bed just in time for the curtain on the other side of the bed to slide open and the doctor to appear.
"Is anything wrong?" he asked, his own voice quiet. "I thought I heard voices."
"I was only talking to myself," she answered. "I think my IV may be a little loose, though. Would you mind checking it?"
"Of course not," he said as he bent over to check it. While she had spoken, Irvine had moved over to the other side so that he was behind the doctor, and he made his move to grab him, but the doctor was faster as he spun and caught Irvine's hand and forced him face down onto the bed. "Easy there, soldier," he said. "We're both on the same side here."
"What do you mean?" Irvine asked.
"I expected you would be here shortly to rescue Tania," he answered as he eased his grip on Irvine, allowing Irvine to stand up as he rubbed his wrist where the doctor had held him down.
"Why should I trust you?" he asked warily.
"Have you noticed that there are hardly any guards patrolling tonight?" Irvine nodded. "There's your answer. I laced their drinks with something to knock them out for awhile. Colonel Tragar is here as well, and I gave him something that will keep him out for a lot longer, at least until you can get him secured and turned over to the Imperial Army."
"Why are you helping us?" Tania questioned him.
"I have a lot I have to answer for," he replied sadly. "And I tire of having to clean up his messes." Then he picked up something she hadn't seen him lay on the bed. "Here, I brought you a uniform as well." He removed the IV from her arm but not before he produced a different syringe.
Irvine grabbed his arm to keep him from injecting it into the IV. "What's that?" he asked.
"A painkiller to help ease the pain of her leg injury. It may not hurt now, but once we start moving I expect it will flare up." Irvine released his arm and he administered the medicine before removing the IV and bandaging her wrist. Both men stepped outside the curtain to give her privacy to change into the uniform, which fit her surprisingly well. The only real problem she had was in hiding her long silver hair, but she managed to tuck it underneath the cap, and she had to ask for Irvine's help in putting on the boots as she couldn't move her leg.
True to the doctor's word, her leg began a painful throbbing which made it impossible for her to stand on. Irvine located a wheelchair and brought it around for her to sit in, and once she was seated comfortably they moved over to where Tragar lie. He was still blissfully unconscious, and they took advantage of this to tie him up and dump him into a wheelchair as well. Irvine took Tragar's which left Tania to the doctor, and they left the infirmary to head towards the hangar, Tania noticing how quiet it was since pretty much everyone was out cold.
They managed to get there without any incidents, which they were grateful for. "Irvine, where's your Command Wolf?" she asked him.
"I left it just outside the valley," he replied, taking them near her Saber Tiger. "We'll put him in here as I will be piloting the Tiger out of here. I want you to take this and ride like hell back towards Red River," he said as he gestured to a nearby zoid.
She looked and had never seen anything like it in her whole life. It was sleek and longer than the Tiger and a little bit shorter although it weighed less and was faster, capable of reaching speeds up to 325 kilometers per hour whereas her Tiger only reached 240. "What is it?" she breathed, amazed at the sheer power and beauty of it.
"It's a Lightning Saix," the doctor answered. Both Irvine and Tania gazed questioningly at him, wondering how he knew what it was. "You'd be surprised how much doctors will talk to each other, even if their jobs have nothing in common. This zoid was created to be the ultimate weapon to defeat the Blade Liger. It has four retractable Strike Laser Claws, a double-barreled Vulcan Gun, and a Pulse Laser Rifle along with a Boosterpack, two Wing Stabilizers, and two Vertical Stabilizers."
Tania and Irvine both had drool coming out of the corners of their mouths. "I think I'll take this one, Tania," he stated. "You can have the Saber Tiger."
"I don't think so, pal," she argued. "This one's mine, and I don't intend to give it up to anyone, not even you."
Irvine laughed. "I was just joking," he replied. "In this zoid, you'll all but fly back to Red River, and I want you to stay there as you're in no shape to be fighting any battles."
She was clearly reluctant to leave him here alone, but she had no other choice as he was right. "Just be careful, Irvine, please," she pleaded.
He smiled then assisted Tania into the cockpit of the Lightning Saix, making sure she was comfortable before leaving to haul Tragar into the cockpit of the Saber Tiger behind the seat where he knew that it would be uncomfortable for him but he didn't care. The doctor ordered them onto the platform so that he could open the hangar doors, cautioning them that once the doors opened an alarm would sound that would quite possibly alert everyone as to what was going on. They thanked him for his help then guided their zoids onto the platform, cringing as the alarm sounded and if everyone managed to sleep through it then they might as well be dead. The doors seemed to take forever to open, but Tania knew it was only because they were in such a hurry to leave that it seemed that way.
Finally they opened and they leaped out into a sky that was brightened by the early morning sun only to stop at what they saw waiting for them. A ring of Rev Raptors lined the sides of the valley, all of them prepared to fight if any move was made to escape.
"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!" Irvine cried, his voice filled with rage.
"I don't think he's to blame," she said, thinking that someone somehow knew what they had planned. "Irvine, I think it's time to find out what this zoid's made of."
"Tania, don't!" he shouted.
She ignored him and spurred the Lightning Saix into action. "I'm not going to be captured without a fight, Irvine," she replied, unable to say anymore as she was thrown back into her seat when the Saix took off with an amazing burst of speed. When she was halfway to the Rev Raptors, she noticed a button on the side of the cockpit and pushed it, wondering what it was for. "Holy shit!" she cried when the zoid flashed forward with lightning speed, leaving a wake of disruption that toppled the Raptors whenever it hit them, Irvine shooting them down with the Saber Tiger's triple impact cannon. But she wasn't able to take them all down and they were forced to battle the rest the best they could with what weapons they had.
They sustained some damage to their zoids, but eventually managed to defeat enough of them so that they could make an escape. But when they looked where the hangar was located, there were more powerful zoids being lifted to join the battle. "Tania, make a run for it!" Irvine cried as he raced past her, and she took off after him while keeping the Saix' speed so that it matched the Tiger's.
No sooner had they left than there were sudden explosions all around them. "Sinker zoids!" she shouted, looking at the sky around them. "This is unreal!"
"Maybe you should return the Saix to them," he suggested dryly. "Then they might leave us alone, you think?"
"Not on your life," she replied, shooting a few of the aerial zoids to the ground as she ran. Soon they both saw dust on the horizon, which only led them to wonder if there were more of the enemies' forces along the way.
***********************
Author's note: As I have said before, I suck at describing battles. The next chapter will be the last as this piece of fiction is nearing its end. *sniff* Who are the new forces coming to join the battle? And an ending that is guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye.