Chapter 1



It was just a ridiculous idea.

A ridiculous idea that just happened to stick. And sticky ideas lead to sticky situations.

And this was how Raven had found himself careening down the side of one of the many conveniently located mesas' surrounding Dragon's Head base, at about midnight on a Tuesday. A sticky situation to say the least.

Boots slipping on the loose rocks, he clamored like a spider monkey, making a valiant effort to slide down the vertical hillside without splattering all over the desert below. This was a feat that seemed a whole lot easier in an old western than it was in real life, and Raven was silently thanking the thick gloves that he'd worn on a whim that night. He liked his skin, thank you very much, and wasn't planning on surrendering it to the ragged jaws of the mesa's cliff any time soon. Eventually, the bone-jarring slide slowed to an all but graceful stop, causing the evil sadistic boy to roll a bit before finally being stopped by a few bushes and a rock. Growling obscene things under his breath about Reese's mother, (if she even had one), he rubbed his sore arms and rapidly darkening bruises. Still muttering, he picked himself up, not even bothering to dust off the thick coat of reddish mud clinging to his never-changing uniform.

Shadow was thoroughly enjoying his master's discomfort, icy eyes gleaming with mirth. Even Raven's acid glare couldn't dull the organoid's good mood this night. Ah yes, he had been sure to warn Raven of the uncharacteristic stupidity of this particular idea, but as usual, Raven had to 'run into a few walls' first before learning the error of his ways. Right now, he was on a dead-end collision course with the side of the Grand Canyon, which suited Shadow just fine.

"Okay, so that could have gone better."

Shadow gave a typical 'Grr' before turning his reptilian head towards the base. There was a gentle breeze, an omen of the more turbulent winds in the sky. It was a good night for flying…

Raven frowned, still gripping his bad arm, "Stupid Mother Nature and her crazy ideas…Why did she have to put a cliff here? I'm gonna enjoy blowing this whole thing sky high when this is over."

Shadow resisted the urge to roll his eyes, growling before trotting on. If they were going to follow through with this suicidal idea, then by Zi they were going to do it right. And on his time too. The mission was cutting in on the black dragon's napping hours, and a tired organoid is a homicidal one.

Raven followed Shadow quietly, still wondering what it was that he did to deserve this. Oh yeah, now he remembered: he didn't follow his instincts and start running when he saw the scary man in red and his even freakier girl-friend! Shaking his head, dislodging dirt clods and what looked suspiciously like a June bug, he followed Shadow onward, reminiscing about the events that had led up to this unholy night…

Reese grinned at the suicidal look on Raven's face. Oh how she loved getting on his nerves! The adorable way he'd curse her to the high heavens, the charming death glare, and above all, the way his trigger-happy hand would stray to the Luger at his side. Yes how she loved it…Reese's hypnotic eyes got a faraway look in them, and the blue-haired demon took a long stroll through her mind, completely oblivious to the bickering taking place a few feet away.

"And remind me why I have to do this?"

Hiltz frowned, "Because we need the Zoidian girl for our plans."

"Let me rephrase that: Why do I have to?"

Hiltz nearly said because he was expendable, catching himself just in time, "Because you're the best at it."

Raven snorted, "That's a load of-"

Ambient snarled, fierce eyes narrowing at the noisy pair. The warning was not ignored and both fighters went silent for a few moments. Reese woke up from her day dream at the angry sound, returning to earth and the silenced argument, "Don't worry about it Raven. As long as you have the GenoBreaker, no one stands a chance."

"You make it sound like they would if I didn't have that chunk of metal."

The blue-haired woman jumped at the chance to prod the youngest member of their trio. It's almost like he wants to be annoyed… "Now I didn't say that. It's just that every time you've fought the Guardian Force, the odds have been in your favor. Like Van's Blade Liger could stand up to a zoid like yours?" She laughed for good measure, and then added a hefty dose of sympathy to her voice, "It just isn't fair to poor Van and his friends."

That did it. She could just see the cogs working in the little demented mind. Oh Raven, sweet child o' mine, you are sooo predictable.

"Name a zoid and I can beat Van with it," he snarled, temper rising again.

"Alright then, it's settled," she smiled, clapping with glee, "For this little mission you'll be piloting a Command Wolf!"

"WHAT?!"

Hook, line, and sinker, "Is that too hard for whittle baby Waven?"

He knew he was trapped, they all could see it. Finally he conceded, "Alright…I'll pilot your fraggin Command Wolf and come back with your stupid girl!"

Reese's smile widened even more, her face turning into a perfect mirror of a Cheshire cat. But Raven wasn't finished.

"And I'll do it in a week."

The camp went silent. It took three days just to reach the base, and that was at a hard run. That would leave him one day for reconnaissance, planning, and executing the kidnapping job, then force him to run back full force with little chance for sleep, while carrying Fiona and being tailed by a rage-blinded Van and the Guardian Force. Flyheight would have the entire republican army on the lookout and Rudolph sending out every available imperial troop. While Command Wolves were fast, they weren't the greatest of fighters when it came to facing down huge groups.

Raven hadn't piloted one in ages, if ever. They were republican zoids.

Hiltz swallowed down Raven's idea, thinking quickly of a way to profit from this situation. A few things came to mind, but not before Reese dug her claws into the opportunity with the ferocity of a wildcat pouncing on her prey.

"How about a little bet?" she purred. Hook…line…

Raven hardly thought about it, "I'm listening."

And sinker.



So that was how Raven wound up on this barren wasteland, with a wager that would either earn him his freedom for a week, or land him as Reese's personal slave for seven days.

Needless to say, he hurried along the south side of the base near one of many testing areas. Half a thought formed in his twisted brain that the whole place could be littered with land mines, and that idea was rapidly followed by images of fiery flaming death. For a while, he followed Shadow mindlessly, toying with the idea of death, his afterlife, the dark and sinister place he was bound for, and the mysteries of the universe, eventually coming to a conclusion-who cared anyway?

While preoccupied with thinking, he nearly ran into poor Shadow twice before finally reaching the monitor lined testing area that Dr. D frequented so often. The open air studying facility was the perfect place to enter the base.

"Why the heck would they want an open testing ground anyway?" he mused, jiggling the unlocked door that led to the main base, "At the rate these guys are going you'd think that they wanted to be attacked."

Shadow nodded in agreement, tail swishing in agitation, "Rarr."

Enough talk. Let's get this over with.

Quietly, the door creaked open, and Dragon's Head base found itself host to 100% Pure Undiluted Evil™ once again.

Van was stuffed.

No, not your usual 'Oh I'm done with dinner' stuffed. Van was four whole plates stuffed. In fact, the young pilot was worried that he wouldn't be able to make it the short distance from the mess hall to his quarters. Gingerly lifting himself a few inches, he came to a conclusion. He was stuck until his stomach said otherwise.

"Oh man…"

Irvine looked up from his second helping of Moonbay's 'Desert Surprise', eyeing the four dishes warily. Scooping up a glob of the questionably colored and even more questionably tasting brown mush, he motioned towards his plate,

"Van, you know this stuff is pure toxin, right?"

The unlucky fool groaned, "Mm-hmm."

"Then why'd you eat it?!"

"My stomach! You know how my stomach is! I wasn't thinking and…ugh…I'm gonna hurl…"

On the other side of the table, Thomas was grinning, enjoying his rival's discomfort, "We always knew that gut of yours would be your downfall. We just didn't know when."

Van glared, rendered otherwise helpless by his poor poisoned tummy, "Yeah…don't rub it in…"

Irvine sighed, "I'm worried about you Van…ever since that papaya incident. What if Raven puts out a bowl of food the next time you two fight? What are you going to do then?"

The hero of the great war smiled, "Grab it and run like heck. Raven's loss."

Irvine and Thomas dumped both their plates into the trash, "Amen, brother. Amen."

"Amen to what?"

All three whirled around, Van nearly losing his dinner for the second time. Moonbay's eyes narrowed, boot tapping on the floor. And she came complete with a Teflon coated frying pan.

"Well?"

"Um…nothing."

Thomas nodded, "Yeah, just guy stuff. You wouldn't be interested."

"Really?"

Van quickly agreed, "Mm-hmm, just talking about Dr. D's latest invention. Some boosters, huh?"

"Sure," Moonbay frowned, eyes a sea of suspicion, "So how was dinner?"

All three males looked at each other, "Oh, it was great!"

"Good!" she smiled, pulling a slime-filled pot out from behind her back, "Anyone for dessert?"

But she spoke only to an empty room, with three dust clouds settling where three pilots once stood.

Angrily setting the dish on the table, she stalked out of the room. On her way, she stepped in a pile of goo that someone had hoped to hide under the table. Wiping her shoe, she left the room.

"Boosters…riiiiiight."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, OW! Stupid, stupid, stupid, OW!"

Raven growled under his breath, dragging a bad leg behind him. Freakin' republican guards and their fraggin' guns…After running down the hall for a bit, he had all but rammed into a pair of sentries, winding up wasting valuable time dispatching them and getting shot for his stupidity in the process. So now he was crippled, bloody, heading to the other side of the base where Fiona was hopefully still in the hanger, and quickly becoming lost in the pointless maze that was the republican base.

No wonder the republic won…there's probably a few imperial armies still wandering around in here.

Shadow sniffed the air, "Grr."

"That way, huh?" he glanced down the beckoning blackness of the dark hall, "You sure?"

Another growl, nothing more.

"Okaaaaay," he followed the organoid down the corridor. Something wasn't right, and according to the hairs on the back of his neck, he was going to find out soon.

Fiona was nervous.

Her zoidian heritage was a curse sometimes, especially when it kept her awake all night with feelings of foreboding. Rubbing her ruby eyes, she sleepily picked up her wrench, fine-tuning the joints of the Gustav. The poor thing had been in bad shape, between getting fried by Raven and going mach five into a mesa wall. Slice it any way you please, but Gustavs looked like snails for a reason.

Good thing the boosters were defective…Moonbay would be needing a lot of repairs if she kept that up for a while.

The distraction of the repairs eased the senses, and she took pleasure in ignoring the dark cloud that had been hanging over Dragon's Head. Van was right; she really did need to take some time off to relax.

The silence of the hanger prevailed, only interrupted by the buzz of the fluorescent lights above and the sound of sleeping zoids. Checking the big digital clock hanging from the wall, 12:01 was displayed in shiny green for the world to see. Dr. D would be coming in anytime to make sure all the mechanics were off to bed, and Fiona really didn't need one of his lectures on the importance of sleep.

Putting away her tools, she wiped grease-stained hands on a towel, patting the Gustav before turning to leave. Thoughts of a good night sleep filled her mind, pushing out the strains of fear. She had made it to the door before a wave of nausea washed over her.

Knees buckling, she hit the floor, eyes trying to focus and failing miserably. The dark voice of memory returned, Something's coming…

"No…not again," Fiona could feel unconsciousness creeping up on her, its horrible claws drawn and ready to pounce.

Something's coming. Something terrible is changing, you're running out of time…Always running.

Eyes closing, the world around her began to fade as it was consumed by the dreaded voice that plagued her mind.

Run little girl, but you can't change it. Run runaway.

Flashes of red, fiery red, and cold, blue ice filled her mind once more. There were screams, and smoke. Ashes filled the air. And through it all, only one name came to mind: Death Stinger.

The world went dark. Fiona slumped against the wall, fast asleep, her dreams filled with illusions of doom.

That was how Dr. D found her four minutes later. When he handed her off to Van, he was shaking his old, weary head,

"I told that girl to get some sleep…"

12:02.

The clock over the cafeteria counter was blinking out its herald to the empty room, illuminating everything around it in a pale green glow. The old digital ruled its wall proudly; scratched plumage bearing battle scars of many a food fight. On one side was the famous piece of potato from the great war of 39, when a much younger Dr. D had managed to fling a spoonful of the mashed white stuff across the length of the spacey mess hall all the way to the side of the clock, hitting the 'alarm' button as he had promised. From then on, there had been no wake-up bell at four AM.

But right now, there was no war, only a handful of trouble makers and one trio of fighters that were worth worrying about, and the cafeteria was empty, sad tables and chairs unoccupied. Or so it seemed. The clock's light, just for second, caught on a patch of shining metal, flashing the shortest of signals to the ghostly room.

Raven jumped back out of the green glow, cursing the metal plating on his shoulders. Sure it had worked as great armor, but the shining steel had gotten him in trouble more than once. Shadow wisely stayed out of all light, his metallic body too good of a reflector to risk even going near. The mission was rapidly getting harder, with only Shadow's sense of smell and an old trail of 'Eau de Femme' to lead them along.

Let's just hope Fiona's the only chick around here that's got Van's scent on them like a bad cold…

For a brief moment, a thought invaded his brain. Wasn't that Gustav pilot a girl?

Shaking his head, he decided against it. Nah, no female could sing that out of key.

Shadow was getting close, his tail twitching in anticipation. He couldn't wait to get out of here, and the sooner they caught Fiona, the better. Besides, Raven had promised him his rations for the night if they could get in and out in a day. And that was enough for Shadow.

They had finally crossed the barren expanse of the mess hall, Raven leading the way into the hall. Cautiously opening the door, the pair cringed at the loud creak. Peachy, not only is this place a labyrinth, but they don't grease their doors. Raven saw spots as the bright hall lights streamed into the room. By the time his eyes adjusted, it was too late…





Insult ME will you?!

While washing dishes in the kitchen, Moonbay had heard the sound of footsteps. Careful, measured footsteps that could only belong to a trained soldier, or a particularly good mercenary. And from her experience, the only carefully trained soldier in the Republic must have died a long time ago, because the yuppies she'd dealt with weren't exactly 'careful' material. So that left only one option. Irvine's gonna die...

Somewhere, in the forgotten corner of Moonbay's mind, her long abused conscience shuddered, sputtered, and was altogether suffocated by memories of Irvine's last offense. No one got away with mocking the Desert Queen's singing.

So when the cafeteria door opened, Moonbay was ready. Snarling a war-cry, she leaped out of her hiding place. Brandishing little more than her fists and a wounded ego, she delivered the finest uppercut you ever saw before kicking the shadowy figure back into the blackness. Swinging the door wide open, she let the light shine into the room, onto the cafeteria floor where she came face to face with the oh-so-carefully aimed barrel of a shotgun.

Once her mind registered the barrel, it didn't take long to notice the man behind it.

"R-R-Raven?!"

Eyes narrowed, stomach aching, and pride kicked to kingdom come, 'Rah Rah Raven' was ready for blood.