One For the Road – Chapter 3: Partings and Meetings

By Neev

A/N: Eh…yeah, this took a while to get out. Luckily, my beta-reader is a wonderful, patient person…who occasionally will throw rocks at my head to get my lazy ass in gear. At any rate, here's chapter 3, and chapter 4 should be coming along soon, with any luck

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Jack's Lightning Saix was a mess. It was missing its right foreleg and had heavy damage on the right side. The head and front part of the underside were severely scratched from the machine's nosedive into the ground. Even if he'd been in any condition to pilot, Jack would have been quite unable to get it to move. In the end, the Tasker sisters simply moved their campsite to the edge of the lake once they had gotten Jack out of his Zoid and bandaged his broken ribs.

The moon was high in the sky now, though it was only a faint glow behind the clouds. The Taskers' Lightning Saix stood vigil over their fallen brother, perfect twin monoliths, lit only by the flickering red light of the campfire. Jack was asleep and had been practically the second he had hit his mattress. The Tasker sisters were still sitting next to the campfire though, talking in hushed voices.

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Intense pain in his side was what pulled Jack back into consciousness. He was confused for a second, then finally realized that he had rolled over onto his wounded side in his sleep. With a small grunt of effort he rolled himself onto his back and stared up at the top of his tent. The normally dull orange fabric was brighter than normal, lit up with the rays of the morning sun. Faint shadows of leafy, wind-blown branches flickered into view every so often, like characters in a shadow play.

From outside came the sounds of early morning in the Lightning Team camp. The metallic clangs and bangs as Kelly made breakfast. The scrape and shuffle as Chris dragged out the camp table and the creaks as the table was set up. The low clatter of the metal plates as the table was set. A surprised yelp and answering laughter – that would be Chris burning her tongue on the coffee. All of it had become so familiar he realized. When had things become so set, so much of a routine that he could identify each in turn without even thinking about it? In years past he would have never stuck around long enough to become so familiar with such day-to-day things.

Suddenly everything seemed so mundane to Jack. He wanted to get up and just run, just go. It didn't matter where, just so long as he broke all the ties that were holding him back. He couldn't though. His body was sore and his chest hurt. Breathing sent stabs of pain through him. The bandages on his chest made it hard to breathe. He felt constricted, claustrophobic.

Panic began to well up in him. Not because of the bandages that wrapped around him like horrible constricting snakes, but because of what they represented. Breakdown. Old age. Death. If not physical death, then at least mental death of a sort. He wasn't ready for that! He couldn't be…couldn't be that old!

His breath came faster; blind panic seized his mind. The pain in his chest increased as it pressed against the white bindings harder with each breath. He was loosing control, he knew, but he couldn't do anything to stop it. He wanted to scream, shriek, and cry. He wanted to claw at his skin till it came loose and he could crawl out of it like a snake and leave it behind. Maybe then he could crawl into his Lightning Saix, his second skin, and stay in it forever. He couldn't bear the thought of ever giving it up. He wouldn't ever -!

With a strangled cry Jack desperately pulled at the bandages. He jerked himself up into a sitting position, clawing at the gauze strips. He couldn't think, couldn't breath. His throat was choked, his head pounded. The bandages broke under the onslaught, snapped and pulled away from his body. The now-loose bindings pooled around his waist.

Outside of the tent there was silence and Jack realized that Chris and Kelly must have heard his yelling. They couldn't see him like this! He pulled the bandages away and tossed them aside. Standing up was agony but he did so anyway and even managed to struggle into a tank top before staggering out of the tent.

The Tasker sisters were half way to Jack's tent when he came out. They stopped, staring at the pale figure standing just in front of the tent.

"Are you okay, Jack?" asked Chris.

"I'm fine."

Breakfast was eaten in silence. Under normal circumstances, Jack was never much for conversation. Now he concentrated on eating without aggravating his wounds. The Tasker sisters, normally more talkative, were silent as well. They kept glancing at Jack or each other. This went on for some time before Jack finally dropped his fork with a clatter and glared at both of them.

"What?" It came out more forcefully than he'd intended and he immediately regretted it. Both Taskers looked guilty and glanced at each other. Finally, Chris sighed.

"Jack…We think…We think it would be best if you left the team."

Jack stared at Chris in total shock.

"…Leave?" The voice was too small, too pathetic to be coming from Jack's mouth, and yet it was. He looked like he had been punched. His narrow, almond shaped eyes were wide.

For once, the careful shield the generally calm, reserved man kept around himself had cracked and it was possible to see genuine hurt in his eyes. The moment of openness lasted for only a split second though, before being swallowed up by a defensive anger.

"We're worried about you, Jack," said Kelly softly.

"Why?" His angry gaze swept over the two women, daring them to give a reason. His chest hurt and his body was tense, trembling slightly from the tension of retaining control. He was at the edge now, tantalizingly close. He almost wanted to let go, to scream and yell at them, and let out all the frustration and painful, confusion emotions. He didn't though. He couldn't. As tempting as it was, such loss of control would have only made things worse and proved to himself that he really was breaking down. And he wasn't breaking down. He couldn't be.

"Why?" he asked again. "Last night was only one night out of hundreds. I'm still the best damned Lightning Saix pilot and you know it." Kelly bit her lip and said nothing, but Chris refused to cowed by Jack's glare.

"Jack, you were coughing up blood after the last battle," she shot back at him. "You can't do this to yourself anymore."

"So now I'm useless then?" growled Jack.

"We aren't saying that you are, Jack, but…" began Kelly. Chris nodded in agreement, backing her sister up.

"But. Don't you dare say that! There is no 'but.' I can still battle. End of story."

"You can't go on like this! Please, Jack…" Kelly rose from her place at the table and went to wrap her arms around Jack in a protective, motherly embrace. "It's not that we don't want you with us. We both care about you a lot. We don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I knew it was too good to last," murmured Jack. He neither rejected Kelly's embrace nor returned it, just sat there like a statue, staring at some far off point. Such sympathy was almost as bad as the affliction itself, but Jack knew that Kelly meant only good by it and let her hug him anyway.

"What, twelve years isn't lasting? How long must something go on for it to last?" scoffed Chris. She hadn't moved from her place at the table, but it was, in her own way, a show of sympathy, allowing Jack to retain a bit of pride and dignity instead of smothering him with even more unwanted affection.

"I don't know…"

"I bet you think forever is the only thing long enough. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Jack laughed softly, bitterly.

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"Hey! Jack! Long time no see!"

Jack, who had been staring morosely at the remaining contents of a cup of coffee, suddenly froze completely. His body went tense, sending a tiny stab of pain through him. Though nearly two months had gone by, his ribs still ached occasionally. His thoughts were on other things though as he forced his body to relax. There was only one person that voice could belong to. A person he'd never really expected to ever see again. And yet… his gaze drifted to the side to a worn pair of blue jeans with a red T-shirt tucked into them. His gaze traveled up and came to rest on a face. A very familiar face.

"Bit Cloud…it's been a while," said Jack by way of greeting. He had the same cool demeanor as always, but his eyes lit up at the sight of Bit. He was glad to see the man; glad to see a familiar face in a sea of younger warriors he couldn't readily identify.

"Funny how these things happen," said Bit with a shrug and a grin. Twelve years had changed him, but it was still possible to see the cocky young Zoid warrior underneath it all. His hair was longer now, pulled back in a small ponytail. Though still nowhere near fat, he was a bit stockier, more muscular and mature. His eyes, though, were exactly the same. They were bursting with energy and vigor, full of an almost childish eagerness that was, Jack had to admit, almost charming. Bit was charismatic like that. You couldn't help but like him.

"Indeed," murmured Jack as Bit plopped down on the other side of the booth Jack had been monopolizing.

"So…" Bit leaned forward on his elbows, grinning. "How are the Tasker sisters? Last I heard, you three were still kicking people's asses in A class."

Jack flinched very slightly at the mention of the Taskers. His gray eyes grew cold, becoming closed off and distant.

"I wouldn't know."

"Oh?" Bit cocked his head to the side, eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. "Did you guys split up then?"

"They seem to be under the impression that I'm too old to battle anymore and kicked me off the team for my own health," replied Jack. He tried to make his tone seem entirely unaffected by the turn of events, but a hint of bitterness made its way into his words nonetheless. Bit leaned back against the seat, looking sympathetic.

"Ouch."

"Ouch does not even begin to cover my feelings on that incident," muttered Jack. This time he didn't bother to try to hide the resentful anger that welled up in him at the mention of the Taskers.

"Yeah, I guess that would be pretty horrible. But you can just find another team, right?" Bit looked at Jack curiously.

"I suppose. I'm not sure I want to though. It was so easy to work with Chris and Kelly," said Jack. He took a gulp of his coffee and set the cup down with a distinct clink. "We were perfect together. We could beat anyone."

"Anyone but the Blitz Team!" amended Bit. He paused, looking embarrassed. "Oh…Heh…sorry. I guess I shouldn't gloat like that. It's just that we were amazed we beat you at all…"

Jack waved his hand dismissively. "No, it's all right. It's true, after all." He laughed softly, his eyes going distant for a moment. "I always wanted to battle you again to even the score a little. I suppose that's never going to happen though."

"Why not? I'm here right now, aren't I? The two of us can go at it one on one, just like we always do!" Bit had a wide grin on his face and his eyes flashed eagerly at the prospect of battling. He looked younger, appearing to be the exact same boy Jack had battled twelve years ago. It made Jack feel almost jealous to see Bit like that. No, he was jealous of Bit in a way. Bit seemed to be untouched by the years. It wasn't fair. Jack desperately wanted to fight the younger man, show him – show everyone – that Jack Sisco was not down, and definitely not out.

"Fine." Jack stood, his gaze fierce as he looked at Bit. "We'll battle and this time I'll beat you."

"All right!" crowed Bit, jumping up form his seat. For a second Jack was struck by the strange dichotomy between the childish and the adult. Bit's whole expression was one of child-like glee, which would not have been so odd had Jack not been eye-to-eye with it. The height difference that had once been between them was gone now. Jack couldn't tell for certain, but he thought that Bit might even be taller than he was. It seemed odd that it should be that way. The Bit in Jack's mind was still the same one he had faced twelve years ago. Was the man standing before him the same person? He would have to find out.