The Sacrifice

Okay, * blah * = Astarael talking to Raven, and [blah] + Raven talking to Astarael. Got it? On with the story!

The Guardian Force watched in horror from the cliffs, knowing that nothing could save Raven now. A flicker of movement caught the GFs eyes, and they turned their heads. The girl, Astarael, was sprinting for Raven. Running faster than anything they had seen, she was blur of motion. She reached the Liger and climbed up. She closed her eyes and waited.

[Astarael! Please get down from there!] My mind screamed. *No.* She replied. *Do you want to know why I will give my life to save you? * I listened, knowing she was determined to die. I wanted to ease her passing in any way I could. * You're a zoidian. * What!? * Yes. You are a zoidian, one of the Wild. You and me are the last of our kind. Do not worry. I'll come back, beloved. I'll come back. *

She turned her face to me and her eyes glittered dark with unshed tears. She hugged me and then closed her eyes. Determined to make the ultimate sacrifice, to save my life.

Van and the others watched, knowing that Raven had found love, to lose it once again. The girl glowed golden, her form blurring around the edges, and then she flowed like a liquid into the Liger. Her last sound was a howl, long and keening, that somehow spoke of the sacrifice she was making, and the will to die.

The DS glowed bright, and unleashed the CPB. They heard a scream, that brought their worst memories back to torture them and sent them to their knees on the rock. Beams of fire, ice, and earth streamed into the Liger.The smoke cleared and the Liger stood there, a shield of bright glowing gold interposed between the beam and Raven.

The beam canceled out and the Liger stood, powerful and strong. A small form fell from the liger. It was Astarael! She stood shakily, and turned to Raven.

I stood there, paralyzed, as she turned to me. She smiled, and spoke. "I love you, Raven." Suddenly, the DS fired a exploding bullet. It ripped a hole in her body. I screamed for her, knowing for that as long as I lived, I would see her falling, as Blind Seer had fallen. Silently, endlessly, forever.

She slid to the ground, pain in her eyes. No. No. This is a dream. I'll wake up in my room at Zoid's Eve, and she'll be there. But my eyes denied my thoughts. She laid on the ground, crimson spreading in a pool beneath her. Her pain-filled gaze met mine. * I.. love you. *Then she was gone.

I scream, a pain filled sound, that holds all of my sorrow, anger, and uncontrollable rage. I stare at her body. My rage and sorrow spiral upwards, melding into one terrible whole. My vision slowly mists over with crimson. I throw my head back and howl. A red light shines over the liger, and I black out.

Van stared. Never in all his days had he seen this. The Liger was glowing red, with the claws being a black as dark as a ravens wing. The red creeps outward, expanding over the Liger. It glows brighter, and all that you can see is the light. And then it disappears. The Liger is deep crimson now, the crimson of life's blood spilt upon the sand. It has 2 blades. It's claws, eyes, and blades are black, the deep velvety black of space.

I wake up. But I'm not me anymore. I'm hanging by wires, suspended above the Liger's core. I see Shadow curled around it. { Hey, buddy.}I say weakly. {What's going on?} (Your rage consumed you temporarily, and the Liger has changed. It is no longer Liger. Now it is Hellfire, a zoid created only by a selfless sacrifice, and someone mourning deeply.)

I process this and close my eyes. My rage and sorrow flow out of me, and into the Hellfire. I think about Astarael, sleeping the eternal sleep of death, and Hellfire roars. (It is time!)

The Hellfire disappears, going 5 times faster than Shadowrage. Two compartments on the back open up, and black wings unfurl with a snap. Hellfire leaps in the air, soaring across the twin moons, a shadow of swift and terrible vengeance. He spirals higher and higher, and opens the blades.

I spiral higher, and extend the blades. {Hellfire, we are going to avenge the only person who ever cared about me. Are you ready?} (The time for mourning is over. The time for vengeance is now!) We sweep the wings back, extend the blades, tuck the legs in, and plummet. The claws and blades glow black. We plummet toward earth, and prepare to kill the Murderer.

We streak downward, and hit. The crunch of metal is heard, and the claws and blades rip through the DS, through wire and metal and glass. And finally, through Ambient. He roars in pain, and I leap away and circle. The DS explodes in a haze of fire, metal, and blood.

Van stared in awe at the carnage before him, seeing the DS explode. Now he remembered Fiona saying that there had been rumors of a Wild that survived. A boy. But that no one had known if they were fact or fiction. He knew. They were true. Raven was the survivor. And now, the last Wild left. He stared at the body of Astarael, knowing that she had given Raven a chance to show his true nature. And now, she was dead.

I landed, exhausted. {Shadow? Can you shut down the Hellfire?} (Yes.) The Hellfire whirred and powered down. I fell out, hit the ground, and rolled. I stared at her body, and crawled over to it.

God, why did you have to die? I held her close, and mourned. I didn't want to cry, but my tears wouldn't obey. They slid down my face, leaving wet trails. Nothing could help me. I had found love, only to lose it. I threw my head back and howled to the moons, all of my sadness contained in it. Shadowrage is going to be blinded by grief. It's all my fault!

Raven. Shadowrage? Raven, it is not your fault. Nothing could have stopped her. But, I'm not Shadowrage. I'm a new kind of zoid. The Berserk Fury. I am the evolved form of her old genosaurer. When she died, a part of me died with her. Wait for me, Raven. I'm coming.

A rhythmic clanking split the silence. I looked up. A new zoid. A tyrannosaur type, with no armor yet. Is that.. her? I nodded. Wait. She's not totally dead yet. She could come back. It depends on fate. I grabbed at this thin straw of hope. Shadow and Liger walked over. (We're sorry, Raven.) "It's not your fault." I climbed into Liger, putting her body on Fury. Time to go. And we turned our faces home.

Wahh! Astarael died! And I created her! Oh well. Do you want her to come back? If so, post in your review. And Fire Fox, thank you so, so, much for taking the time to read my story! And everyone else, too!