The Bonding

Astarael and I race across the plain, with the sun rising on our left. "Hey, Raven, you know that this isn't the best state of bonding with our zoids there can be, right?" I smile at her face, happy to have her back from the grave. "Yeah, I'd heard of it. What's the complete state?" She replies, "To achieve totality, you need an organoid, a zoid, and you. I don't need an organoid, as I still have some traces from Blind Seer. You'll have to lose at least once, to get full power. Let's get somewhere better, and I'll show you how to do it." I nod and activate the boosters.

Van wandered around the base, looking at his shell-shocked soldiers. A light hand rested upon his shoulder. "Hi, Dr. D." The doc's grave face stared back.

"Raven has escaped. And.. he has resurrected Astarael." Van spun around and stared. "That can't be! That's not possible." "It is possible, and it is the truth." Dr. D said bluntly. "How many times have we gone after Raven, Doc? How many?"

The Doc sighed. "Only a few.. but it seems like millions of years ago you found him dying in the desert. We've learned so much about him since then. A, he is haunted by dreams of his past. B, he's a zoidian. C, he can endure horrible agony that would kill any of us. D, he has some sort of horrendously powerful guardian. And E, he can pilot the Liger Zero. That boy is much more powerful than I think even he knows."

"This is good." It's a small lake, secluded in the mountains. Astarael deems it worthy of using the ground for the Bonding. We leap down from the zoids and drink. "Okay, are you ready?" Her green eyes sparkle with anticipation. "Born that way."

We sit down on a ledge and lean back. She rests her head on my shoulder while Liger and Shadowrage lie down in front of us. "First, merge with Shadow. Once you're merged, you and Shadow will need to link your minds."

I nod. "Shadow?" Wires shoot out and pull me inside with shocking speed. "Okay. Both of you, focus in on what you know of each other."

I was twelve. "Raven, you have completed your training. I have something for you." Prozen looks down on me with pride, now that I'm ready to carry out his path of destruction. I trot down the hall, and walk into the hangar.

Black metal, sky blue eyes. I look at the black organoid. I watch his eyes, and feel myself lost in his cobalt regard. "How strong you are Raven" the thought intruded on my mind, "how powerful and smart." A suffusion of warmth spreads through me.

Shadow communicates that he's hungry. "Sir, is he mine?" Prozen nods. "Thank you, sir."

He waves his hand dismissively. "Your zoid." He jerks his head at a red Zaber Fang. I slowly step over to it, with Shadow by my side. "Wow, he's huge." We can use this admirably. I nod. "Yeah, Shadow." We climb into the cockpit and set out on our path.

Something bridges our minds, and suddenly we are together. I know his knowledge, I see through his eyes, as he does through me. "Okay, if your minds are linked, you can unmerge." I fall out and lay on the ground in a daze.

Astarael's face appears in my vision. "Strange. I didn't say you should be cross-eyed." She laughs and pulls me upright. I stand up and walk over to Liger.

"Okay" she instructs, "merge with Shadow, and then Shadow, merge with Liger." Shadow sucks me in. Our wings snap out, we seem to dissolve, and we fall downward in a rain of golden light. Liger roars as our bodies link.

"Now, all three of you. See yourselves as three parts of a whole." We all think as one, and then we are linked, never to be alone again. We each have our own bodies, and our own minds, but all our experience is open to all of us. I smile, never again will I feel alone.

We unmerge and separate. "Great. Now it's my turn." Astarael dissolves and shoots upward, and falls in a bolt of black lightning into Shadowrage.

We watch, nothing happens, except that Shadowrage's eyes turn briefly black. Then Astarael leaps out. "Done."

We sit back down on the rock and watch as Shadow, Fury, Liger, and Shadowrage spar. "So, where to now?" She sighed. " I think it'd be best to travel merged with the organoids and zooids. It'll be fast and more efficient." I tilt my head back and look at the sky. She leans in and puts her head on my shoulder. "So.. time to go?" "Yeah."

We stand up and walk toward the zoids, and into the era of the Ultimate X.

END

*Wipes Forehead * Whew! Thank you, everyone who reviewed, and watch for the sequel!