Hiding in the Shadows
Raven opened his eyes, quickly getting to his feet. A sharp pain filled his body, all of it starting in his left thigh. Looking down, he saw the bullet wound Hilz had caused. Raven sat down on the cold concrete floor, ripping his left sleeve off of his shirt and tying it tightly around the wound keeping the blood from coming out. He gritted his teeth from the pain, standing up once again looking around at his new surroundings. He was in a small room, dim lights with steel walls and roof, a concrete floor, and a thick metal door on the other side. Raven took a seat on a small cot in the corner, it didn't take long for him to figure out this was a cell of some type. He looked for Shadow, hoping his Organoid was in with him, but he wasn't. Once again Raven was alone.
Van looked out at the dummy Zoids, two Shield Ligers and an Iron Kong remained.
"Alright Van, take those last three out in two minutes." Kruger said, watching Van pilot the Zoid as if he had never stopped.
"Got it." Van smiled, glad to be back piloting his Zoid again. "Alright Zeke, lets take them out." He listened to Zeke growl an approval. The Blade Liger burst past the two Shield Ligers, making a sharp turn towards the stationary Iron Kong, which continued to fire. Van swerved in and out, dodging the fire and keeping out of its target reticule. The Blade Liger leaped over the Kong, turning around and firing its repeating blaster rifles at the Zoids chest, freezing its command system. "One down." Van used the boosters, charging at the two Shield Ligers, which were running in a tail formation. The Blade Liger drew out its blades, both glowing. Seconds later, the right blade sliced through the first Liger, then immediately after the left blade cutting through the second Liger.
"Wouldn't think he was gone for a month and a half." Moonbay said, watching the cockpit open up.
"If anything he's better then before." Hermann added.
Van jumped out of his Liger, taking a deep breath of air as Zeke ran up besides him. "Good work Zeke." Van gave a small laugh as he spoke. His new uniform, which looked the exact same as the last one, the gray and red colors with the mid-section cut out.
"Not bad Van. Looks like you didn't forget how to pilot." Irvine walked up to him.
"Not something I can forget." Van turned around, looking back at the Blade Liger. "One of the few things I don't want to forget."
Irvine smiled. "Seem to be even better then before. Got any reason for that happening."
Van laughed. "No, I just think the Blade Liger is more powerful then before." Van took another deep breath, taking in the fresh air of the morning. A slight fog filled the grassy plains, and thick dew covered the ground.
Jason looked across the field, the Blade Liger stood there proudly and its pilot starting his life were it had taken off from an untimely death. Ryss stood next to him, and Phantom stood in the back.
"You made him happy." Ryss smiled. "Are you actually changing, or is it just a temporary problem."
"Could be both, but I brought him back for one purpose. And I will bring no more of them back. In time you will join them in the fight against myself and the Tiger." Jason turned around and looked at Phantom. "They will have their greatest test so far, and that will determine if I chose the right people to defend life." Jason thought more a moment. "Phantom, take that Shield Liger over there, and attack Van. Kill him if you get the chance." He listened to his Organoid growl, then take off, merging with the downed Shield Liger.
"What are you doing that for?" Ryss asked, watching the Shield Liger slowly rise.
"A small test I suppose, make sure there are no flukes in my pawns." Jason watched as Van and Irvine scattered.
Van dove out of the way of the fire. "What are you doing?" He yelled at the command center.
"That's not us, it's fighting at its own will." O'Connell shouted back. He began to activate the bases defenses.
Jason watched as a few anti-Zoid missile batteries came up out of the base. "No, he can't have any help." Jason closed his eyes, searching for the controls in the command center.
O'Connell fell back as the console began to come to life with sparks, destroying everything except the screen. He got up, trying to get it back online but it was damaged beyond repair. "Damn. It's fried, no way I can fix it."
"Van, get to your Zoid and take that thing down!" Kruger yelled.
"I'm trying, but it has me pinned down away from my Zoid." Van looked at the Shield Liger, and then began to search for Zeke. "Zeke, get into the Liger then come get me!" Van shouted over the loud fire.
Irvine ran back into the hanger, getting into his Lighting Saiex turning it on quickly.
Jason shook his head. "Why do they have to interfere with everything I want?" Again he closed his eyes, bringing three Gun Sniper's to life that rested in the hanger.
"Because they don't want to see there friend get hurt." Ryss said, watching the Blade Liger finally begin to move.
Jason opened his eyes and laughed. "That's there weakness Ryss."
"Damnit!" Irvine yelled, watching the Gun Snipers close in on him, firing at the Lighting Saiex, he had no place to run and did his best to shoot them down but it was useless. He watched as his screen began to flash. Irvine slammed a fist into the console, then looked up in surprise as the three Gun Snipers went back to sleep. "What the Hell was that about?" He said softly to himself.
Van jumped into the cockpit, taking command of the Blade Liger once again. "Alright Zeke, lets take this thing out fast." But he soon found that not to be as easy as he hoped. Van opened fire but watch the useless effort take place as the shield of the opposing Liger was drawn up.
Fiona stared at the Shield Liger, trying to figure out why it had sprung to life had began attacking.
"Come on Van, take it out!" Hermann shouted, watching as the shots that missed Van slammed into the base.
"I'm trying, but this thing got skilled real quick!" Van shouted back, he tried to swerve through the fire but it was a useless gesture as the enemy continued to hit him with shells. "How can he hit me?" Van said, pushing the controls forward hard, turning on the boosters. Van easily jumped the Shield Liger, but the impact of the landing forced his Zoid to collapse. Van felt the Blade Liger shake as the shots pounded into the hull. "Zeke, get up." He felt the Liger thrust forward then juke left. Van smiled, understanding what Zeke was trying to do. "Alright, activate blades." He pushed the controls forward and twisted them, bringing the glowing blades out. "Now Zeke!" The Blade Liger made a 90-degree turn to the right, confusing the Shield Liger. Van made another 90-degree turn and closed the gap between his Zoid and the Shield Liger quickly using the thrusters. The left blade sliced through the cockpit and back of the Shield Liger, Phantom leaping out of it and falling back to his master. "Ha ha!" Van yelled joyfully.
Kruger was both shocked and thrilled. He had never seen a pilot pull off sharp turns like those with so much ease. He just smiled as he spoke. "Good work Van."
Jason was surprised, not thinking Van stood a chance against his Organoid.
"Well, well." Ryss smiled. "Van seems to be much better then you thought."
Jason watched Phantom fall in front of him, the Organoid holding its head down. "Yes Ryss, he is much better then I thought." But Jason just smiled. "Will I enjoy this more then anything." He looked back at his Organoid. "Come Phantom, we have much work to do."
Ryss waited for Jason to have gone, and then smiled as she watched a few soldiers come out to congratulate Van. "Maybe we do have a chance against that thing." She turned and followed Jason.
Fiona released a breath of air she had been holding, relieved to see Van all right. She was still curious about why that Shield Liger sprung to life, but it didn't seem important to her.
Raven woke up as he heard the door open up. Quickly he got to his feet, watching as a young girl walked in, she seemed to be about 17 or 18. Raven decided to lie back down, watching her set some food down on the floor.
"My father told me to bring you some food." She looked at him, figuring she should try and cheer him up a bit, even though her father told her to give him the food and get out. "Your Organoid is ok, they have him locked up in another room in case you were wondering."
Raven sat up. "Where's Hilz?" He looked at the girl. She had straight, dark blond hair, which went down to her shoulder. Her icy blue eyes and attractive figure gave her a beautiful look. Raven noticed the baby blue marking streaking under her left eye.
"Hilz is with Prozen. Right now you're in one of his outposts." She said. "My names Alice."
Raven nodded. "I'm."
Alice cut him off. "I know, your Raven." She smiled, watching three large men walk in.
"I told you to get out of here Alice." Tom, the smallest of the three said.
"Sorry dad." Alice said. She turned back to Raven and gave him a sweet smile before she walked out.
Tom watched and walked up to Raven, punching him in the ribs. He wore a dark gray uniform and long pants that matched. He also wore cut-off gloves, most likely for when he piloted a Zoid. "Prozen wants to talk with you."
Raven put his hand over the sore spot on his chest, and gasped in pain as one of the men grabbed him by his hair and threw him out of the room.
"One wrong move and you'll be dead." The biggest man said, he had a light brown beard and gray hair and Raven could tell by the way he looked not to mess with him or try anything funny.
Tom looked at the third man. "Chris, go get the Organoid. Jake, take Raven to Prozen and Hilz."
Jake nodded and threw his right hand around the back of Raven's neck forcing him to move forward.
Raven walked for about ten minutes, finally coming up to a massive door.
Jake took a gun in his left hand and aimed it at Raven's head while he pushed in a password on a small number pad.
Raven watched the door open up, revealing a room that looked as if it belonged to the royal family of the Empire. Though the view was ruined as Hilz and Ambient came up.
Jake pushed him in there and nodded to Hilz, walking away.
Hilz turned back to Raven. "Welcome Raven, I you want I will apologize for shooting you in the leg."
Raven looked at him, feeling the urge to kill Hilz right there, but a familiar voice filled the air.
"You know Raven, me and you actually many things in common. Might be because I raised and trained you, or maybe because we both had similar fates with Jason."
Raven watched as the deformed Prozen came into view out of the shadows. The only thing lighting the massive room was a large fireplace. "How the Hell are you still alive?" Raven asked, now even angrier. "Where's Loki and Shadow?"
Hilz smiled. "Loki is dead, Shadow will be joining us shortly."
"I want to give you a second chance Raven." Prozen said coming up to Raven quickly. "A chance to work with me."
Raven smiled. "I don't take orders from anyone, and I don't work with anyone."
Prozen smiled back. "You can have anything you want Raven. Power, revenge, anything."
Raven reared a fist back and drove it into Prozen's face, Hilz wrapping his arms around his neck forcing him into a headlock. Raven tried breathing but he found that he couldn't.
"Let him go!" Prozen shouted, watching Hilz release Raven, then watching Raven fall to the floor. "You and I want one thing Raven. We want to kill Jason for ruining are lives. All of the power you would get could be something extra."
Raven got up and spit on Prozen. "I don't need you to kill Jason, I don't need anyone." Raven got ready to throw another punch, but felt a surge of electricity flow through his body, forcing him to faint to the ground.
Hilz smiled as he put the tazer back into his pocket. "I told you he wouldn't work with us."
"We aren't done with him yet Hilz, he'll come around. I promise." Prozen turned and walked back into the Shadows he had come from.
Hilz bowed his head. "Yes, master." Hilz picked Raven's unconscious body and threw him back into the cell he had come from.
Jason paced the floor of the catacombs, trying to figure out what his next move would be. He truly thought Phantom would easily kill Van, but it worked out much different. Occasionally Jason would peer at the Organoid. He was disappointed, but Phantom was the only thing he cared for in this world so he forgave him. "What to do Phantom, what shall we do?" Jason took a seat, staring down at the pit waiting for the Tiger to rise. Jason smiled. "We played with Fiona's heart, and that didn't work out the way we planned." He closed his eyes. "Let us see how loyal Van is to Fiona, and see how easily she can get jealous." Jason walked for a few minutes, arriving at the crypt of the ancient city. He peered down at each skeleton, searching for one to use. Finally, Jason found a body he was looking for and took the usual steps he always took for a resurrection. Watching the bony body glow, the organs and brain quickly forming, then the bones shattered or broken became normal once again, followed by the forming of muscles, nerves, then finally skin and hair. He smiled, watching the gorgeous lady stand up. Jason nodded proudly at his work.
Van, Thomas, and Irvine stood there, doing there best to fix the damaged Lighting Saiex and Blade Liger.
"So your saying those three Gun Snipers just came to life and started attacking you." Van said, pointing at the three Zoids Irvine was talking about.
Irvine pulled the wrench out and shook his head. "Yea Van, the same ones I told you about ten times already." Irvine went back to work on his Lighting Saiex.
Van laughed. "Couldn't handle them, huh Irvine."
Irvine didn't answer, he just smiled.
"How did all of these Zoids spring to life anyways?" Thomas asked, helping Van with the Blade Liger.
"Don't know, that Shield Liger was tough though, didn't think a Shield Liger could move like that without a pilot." Van replied, smiling down at Fiona and Moonbay. Both stood there watching them.
Fiona smiled back at Van, drinking some water as she listened to the three of them talk.
"This has got to be one of the best things to happen to me." Moonbay said, watching them work as well.
"What does?" Fiona asked, now facing Moonbay.
"All of this, Van and Zeke back. Just everything." Moonbay smiled. "It's like nothing ever happened."
Fiona smiled. "It's a good thing though, I missed Van." She looked back at Van, still working on the Blade Liger, not worrying about anything, having no cares. He never did unless he was on a mission or in combat. She still wasn't sure how he felt about her now after she told him she loved Raven, even though she no longer did. It was a mystery to her, why she was in desperate love with Raven in the morning then by nightfall she had nearly forgotten about him. To Fiona, everything seemed a mystery though. Van was a mystery, Zoids were a mystery, everything. She had hoped that once her memory came back she would know much more but something seemed missing.
Moonbay looked over at Fiona. "You know, Irvine asked me to marry him last night."
Fiona looked up at her, surprised to hear that sentence but at the same time thrilled and overjoyed. "What did you tell him?" Fiona asked, laughing and smiling as she did.
Moonbay raised her hand, showing Fiona a small ring with a diamond in the middle.
Fiona smiled and hugged Moonbay.
"Don't tell Van though, Irvine said he wanted to tell him later." Moonbay smiled as well, hugging Fiona back.
"Alright." Fiona said. She was happy once again, all of this reminded her of the days they all just first met, happy and care free. She looked back up at Van, and smiled one more time.