Disclaimer: You already know. (WARNING: Lime scene.)

Chap. 16

"So what do you think?"

"Whoa, this is cool. What did you do?"

Cain and Koemai were in the lower layer of the garage. Cain was showing him Darkhand's booster system. It was shaped differently. Instead of the massive, bulky-looking part, it was a slightly smaller unit with each booster shaped like half of a buzz-saw and colored black.

"I reformatted them. The weapons are the same, but the new aerodynamic shape will allow for higher speed. I also added several missile pods and I managed to adjust the laser cannons on both of our boosters. We can use them in flight now like a plus."

"That's great. Now we can destroy and leave all in the same second." They headed up to the surface of the garage, "So how did the rest of your night go?"

"The same."

"The same? You mean you slept with her again? As in...just sleep?"

".......Yes."

"Oh well. One has to hope, right?"

"............"

The two of them walked out of the hanger and Koemai switched to his Comferd AC. He was still working on rebuilding his Interceptor, so all he had was Comferd and Darkhand. And Darkhand was still in repairs so he'll have to use Comferd.

"So they are giving you an escort?"

"Yeah. Some Raven named Huntress. She used to be an MT pilot but moved up. Honestly, what were they thinking, hooking me up with an MT pilot?"

"I was an MT pilot."

"Oh. Well, I better get going."

The engines of Conferd roared to life and it lifted away. Cain stood there for awhile and then checked the Arena rankings. Since his match between Komai was disrupted, they both would have to fight separate opponents and it would be awhile they would fight each other again. On the plus side, they were both the highest B ranking Ravens. Looking down, he saw a Raven approaching his rank. A new one. Cain checked the record; AC Shriek. He was a reverse-jointed AC with a laser cannon, vertical missiles and his right arm had a hand gun. But what caught Cain's attention was the left-arm weapon. A Moonlight blade.

"Issuing Challenge."

Cain waited for awhile for a response. It came sooner than he thought.

"Challenge Accepted."

__

Comferd enter the cavern. He recognized it as one of the battle arenas. With him was the Raven Huntress. It was a light gray AC with red slashes. Also with them was an MT for additional back-up.

"Alright, let's do this."

The three machines flew out and searched the cavern. Suddenly, shots fired out of nowhere and the Raven team scattered out.

"They're using stealth devices."

"Doesn't matter. Let take 'em."

Comferd flew off the side and fired his flamethrower. The flames streaked the walls and then suddenly hit something. An MT shimmered into view and Comferd unleashed a hail of bullets. The MT jittered under the attack and soon exploded.  Comferd then spun around in a circle and let his flame thrower fan out. It revealed two more MTs that started firing at him. Comferd backed out of the fired and returned it. In moments, both MTs were riddled with bullets and exploded.

"How's it going over there?"

"We're almost finished. We're taking care of the last one now."

Comferd suddenly heard an explosion, signaling that the last MT has been destroyed. Comferd then began to move back to the entrance. This wasn't much of a fight. I thought the Controller would have had more power weapons. It was then that his FCS determined another target. I thought we got rid of them all. Oh, well. Comferd flew toward the source and what he found caught him off guard.

"Thinking you can stop the Controller? What a fool idea."

It was another Raven. Comferd recognized it as AC Fanfare. He swooped in and started firing. What is he thinking? He's attacking two Ravens and an MT. It was then that Huntress came into views

"No one defies the Controller."

Suddenly, Huntress turned to him and fired her energy rifle at him. Comferd flew back and hid behind on of the stone pillars. But then Fanfare flew around and resumed firing, causing him to back away. This is crazy. Two against one isn't too fair. Comferd fired back, but Fanfare dodged the firing rounds. At the same time, Huntress flew out and fired, hitting him several times and backing him against a wall. At the same time, Fanfare recovered and swooped to him, for the kill. Suddenly, he was hit on the side by a laser beam.

"What?"

It was the MT that had joined them. Comferd took advantage and unleashed a storm of bullets and fire. Fanfare backed away at this new fury, but Comferd didn't let up and in moments, Fanfare overheated and shut down.

"I need a little help here!"

Comferd turned and saw the MT being assaulted by Huntress. The MT tried fighting back, but his weapons weren't enough to take her down and he didn't have the maneuverability to avoid Huntress. Comferd instantly over-boosted and fired on Huntress. Huntress turned and fought back. But a sniper shot from the MT damaged her critically and Comferd finished her off.

"Die, backstabbing b***h!"

Comferd then moved over to the MT, which was badly damaged.

"Hey buddy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But she did a good job in wrecking my MT."

"Yeah, I see what you mean. Thanks for helping me out back there."

"Hey, no problem. Comes with the job." His MT then switched to normal mode and began hovering, "Well, I'll see ya around then."

"Yeah, see ya around."

__________________

Glaive once again entered the arena. His arms folded as he waited for his opponent. Sure enough, his opponent came in. It was a green standard-colored AC. As he looked, he noticed....something about the AC.

READY. FIGHT.

Immediately, Shriek rushed forward and fired his vertical missiles. Glaive stayed in the same place for a few minutes before boosting out of the way of the missiles. Shriek slid on the floor, armed his laser cannon, and fired. Glaive dodged it and he sent repeated shots of energy. Glaive was a little baffled, What is he doing? Glaive then went on the offensive, launching his grenade. Shriek was blasted, but out of the flames, Shriek swooped through it and ignited his blade. Glaive ignited his own blade and the two blades clashed with tremendous power. But Glaive noticed something wrong immediately.

"What's the matter? You're not charging aggressively enough with that weapon."

Shriek backed away and swung again, but his swing was too wide and easily avoided. But in the same instant, Shriek fired his hand gun. The bullets repeatedly hit Glaive and in moments, his radiator was overheating. Now I see. The blade is just a rouse for his gun. Glaive flew back and fired another grenade round, but it was easily avoided and Shriek continued firing.

"You have good skills. But you need to utilize all of the AC's abilities." Glaive stepped forward and pointed the grenade. Shriek instantly shot off to the side and Glaive over-boosted, blade ignited. Shriek was spooked and flew back on impulse.

"......."

Glaive fired and the grenade round smashed into the Shriek. Shriek slid back at the force and recovered, but through the remaining flames he saw a long glowing flash of energy.

Shhrrrrraaccckkkkkkk!!!!!!!

The Moonlight blade bore down on Shriek and he fell back further. The blade lashed out again and cut the hand-gun off. Shriek fell down and Glaive stepped down on his left arm, preventing the blade from rising as he held his own blade before his fallen opponent.

WINNER: Glaive

"Huh? What are you waiting for? Finish it."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Huh?"

'Why does everyone I fight rather die?"

"As a Raven, defeat is a shameful thing."

"Who says you're defeated? If you can learn from this fight, then you can become a much better Raven. Defeat only comes when you give up."

"..............."

Glaive moved off of him. "I can tell that you are new. But I can also tell you have natural talent. I hope we fight again." Glaive began to walk away, "I hope you're improved by then."

_____________

Aria found Cain alone in one of the training gyms, striking one of the punching bags. He had just returned from his mission an hour ago. His shirt was off and his body was covered with sweat. Cain stopped punching the bag and turned to her.

"Hey Aria." He wasn't as shy as before, even though his face showed a twinge of nervousness. She said nothing, but merely moved toward him.

"Aria?"

She smiled seductively, "Hi. I see that you are training hard."

He apparently noticed because his face turned red, "Umm...well, yeah."

He continued toward him until she was right in front of him. "I wanted to ask you. Do you have a dream?"

"A dream?"

"Yes. Something to look forward to in the future."

"I'm...not sure." He was a little confused. What was she doing?

"Well, I have a dream." She lifted her hand and her finger touched his chest.  "I've had it for quite a while...:" She began to trace it down his body. "Would you like to know what it is?"

Her hand moved back up and rested it on his shoulder. She placed her other arm on his shoulder as well and began to move toward him. Cain was frozen in place. She moved her face even closer, "What's the matter? Don't you want this?" She was practically breathing on him. "I know I do."

Cain suddenly came out of his trance. His face was one of shock. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"I....I...have to go."

Cain immediately dashed out of the door, leaving a totally shocked Aria where she is.

_____

"You what?"

Aria and Diana met together outside. Aria related to her what had happened and Diana did her best not to explode and let the whole world know.

"I think I see what you did wrong. You came on too strong."

"I figured that. I just didn't expect for him to run away from me."

Diana bent her head up. "Well, I'm a little surprised myself."

"You are?"

"Yeah. He didn't do that before."

"Before? What do you mean?"

"Oh, well....can you keep a secret?"

"Yes."

"Well, one time I tried to seduce him. I was just playing around to test him. Anyway, when I tried he didn't faze. He just looked at me and made no move."

"He....really?"

"Uh huh. He showed that he wouldn't do that to his friend, but I think there's more to it than that. He's never had a real relationship with a woman and that's probably why he's shy, especially around you. My advice is to make up with him and let him do the advancing. You can help him along a bit, but nothing so forward. Not until you're sure."

Aria stared at her companion. Diana shrugged, "What?"

"It's funny. You don't seem like knowledgeable and wise type."

"That's the point. But just keep it between us, 'kay?."

"Sure."

At the same time...

"You what?"

Cain and Koemai were in the hanger. Koemai was finishing the final touches on his new Interceptor II AC when Cain approached him and related what happened.

"I don't believe you. If you are trying to convince me you're not human, you just succeeded."

Cain looked down to the ground, "Please. I've never been in a situation like this. If it were anything else, I probably wouldn't be here asking you."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

".......yes."

"Then tell her!" he exploded. "You're wasting so much time trying to figure it out that you got her trying to spell it out for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You should really tell her. It doesn't hurt not to be so passive around her either."

"Are you sure?"

"She tried to seduce you. That says enough.. I don't know what you two talk about, but you shouldn't be so shy around her."

"............"

"Listen, with the things going on today, we may be approaching another change in times. With everything going on with the corps and The Controller, things are going to happen. So you should waste time telling her how you feel before it's too late."

"?"

"What? What's with that look?"

"Are you the real Koemai?"

"Hey, that's not funny. I have my moments."

________

"Cain, are you in?"

Cain was on his computer terminal in his dorm. He looked up at her, but didn't respond.

"Look. I came to apologize. I shouldn't have come on to you like that. It's just that...well...I thought that.....I care about you a lot, Cain. I really do. I never felt this way about anyone before. I know that as a Raven, any relationship may be risky, but I felt that maybe.....I guess it doesn't matter. I'll go now."

She turns to leave, but a hand suddenly flies out and slams the door. She turns and sees Cain standing close to her, eyes closed and his head bent down.

"Do you want to know my dream?"

"Huh?"

"I have a dream. I want to see the surface. To actually feel the sun as I stand on solid, grass lined ground… But it has changed now. Because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Yes. I still wish to see the surface, but...I would like you to be there with me."

He lifted his head close to her face and opened his eyes. Those soft brown eyes... Aria could feel her heart beat rapidly.

"Aria, I care a lot about you too. If anyone should apologize, it should be me. I handled the situation poorly. I'm sorry."

Aria gazed deep into his eyes. She found herself getting lost in them. Suddenly without thinking, she instantly moved her head forward and kissed him passionately. After about a full minute of being locked, she slowly moved back.

"Oh, I did it again. I'm...."

She was suddenly cut off when he kissed her, pushing her against the door. His kiss was more passionate than hers, linked with a sense of want; of need. She moved her arms around her and deepened the kiss. This went on for a full two minutes before he backed away. A small smile lined his face.

"Don't apologize."

Aria was stunned and out of breath. Wow. That was…that was....She came at him again, practically lunging and pushing herself off the door. They fell back on the couch where they stayed embraced. He was caught off-guard, but didn't mind in the least. She's become ravenous. Can't let her get her way to easily though. He managed to roll her over to the floor in an attempt to get her on the bottom. But she rolled with him and was on top of him again.

"Nice try."

The kiss continued.  Their lips moved quickly and hungrily and it wasn't long before their tongues intertwined. Aria moaned softly and he was getting extremely excited. His hands moved to her shirt and he slowly began to unbutton it. She briefly thought about stopping him. But as the embrace became more intimate, only one thought that registered in her mind.

Want...

She backed away and began to pull off his shirt. At the same time, he finished taking hers off.

Desire...

She planted her hands on his chest and kissed him again and then he moved his lips down to her neck.

Hunger...

She moaned slightly at this movement and as he un-strapped her bra. He then pulled back up to her face and engaged in another passion-drenched kiss. His arms wound themselves around her waist and their bodies shuddered with euphoria from the contact as they lay together.

Need...

Her hands slid down to his waist and began to unbuckle his pants. He followed suit, sliding his hands down and beginning to remove her pants and panties at once. She lifted her head with an evil grin on her face.

Beep, beep.

The sound disturbed them slightly and stopped them. It was coming from his com-link on his computer. Another mission. He looked up at her and she down to him. Their eyes seemed to say ignore the comm and continue, but they both knew that they had lost the moment. Reluctantly, she began to lift herself up.

"You better check it."

He grabbed her arm, "I don't have to, you know."

She thought about it. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't now. "No, you should check it." She began putting her clothes back on. He rose himself and did the same. But before she left, she kissed him one more time. "Another time."

Cain smiled and kissed her back and she left. He then went to the computer to check the mail. But his mind wasn't focused. Aria. He was so close to...something. It was exhilarating and he wanted to feel more of her. He shook his head. As excited as he was now, he had to focus. There's no point in dying on the battlefield. His eyes changed and he became the focused warrior once more.

Mission: Steal the Access Program

We want you to break into Rehito Labortory and steal the access program Mirage is developing there. Their reckless attempts to manipulate The Controller will not be tolerated. Extensive security is in place, so advance with care.

Without a second thought, Cain pushed in the words.

Mission accepted.

The gates opened to the laboratory and in rolled the red and brown AC Fenrir. Fenrir rolled through the corridors as it searched for its target. It opened the gate and on the other side, two MTs turned to him and fired. Fenrir opened his chain-gun and instantly brought them down to size before rolling on. They're all computer controlled, meaning I don't have to worry about loss of life. The heavy AC continued through the corridors, destroying all the MTs in his path. Suddenly, his FCS went off-line.

What?

Looking ahead of the next corridor, he saw a three more MTs, two on the ground and one in the air. He recognized it. A radar jammer. I can't lock on with that around. No problem. Fenrir armed one of its arm weapons, the dual grenade launcher, and fired a massive bolt of fire. The aim was good enough to obliterate the MT and allow the FCS to work again. Fenrir shot up to EO and the energy beam quickly destroyed the other MTs. Fenrir continued on, destroying the MT that were in his way. This is too easy. I don't like this. Fenrir finally reached the control room and interfaced with the program. In seconds, the program downloaded. At the same time, the alarms rang and the lighting around him turned red.

Access program downloaded. Get out of there!

Fenrir obeyed and quickly exited the control room. But as he did, he was suddenly besieged by a storm of gunfire.

"What the...? There are more of them?"

Fenrir had to use both his EO and his chain gun to take them down. Checking his armor, he saw that had lost half his armor in that scuffle. Moving though the corridors again, he came up to a new problem. The corridor was lined with lasers. He would have to move through them quickly. Activating his boosters at full power, he flew through it the beams taking damage as he did. By the time he got through, his AP was low. 2092. That hurt a lot more than I thought. And I still have to get to the escape point. Turning to the left, he found another group of MTs. Great. My chain-gun is empty and I have to wait for my EO to reload. Guess I'll have to use the grenades. Fenrir turned the corner and just as suddenly, the MTs fired on him. Locking on, he fired one grenade, obliterating the first MT. Without hesitation, he turned on the next MT, but rather than firing he flew back at re-activated his EO. The orbiters shot up and fired three bolts, destroying the MTs. Fenrir continued on and finally reached the escape point. Suddenly, his radar beeped and an MT came up from behind him. The rounds critically damaged Fenrir, but Fenrir managed to turn around to the MT. Next thing you know, the MT is dusted by the grenade round.

Mission complete…barely.