Disclaimer: *sings and dances* I don't own Zoids, but I wanna! I don't own Zoids, but I wanna! I don't own Zoids, but I wanna! And that's just the way the shrub grows! HEY!!
Warnings: Wah, nothing really decent to mention in this chapter (ta~ame...), 'cept Irvy + Van showing off their fighting skills (I figured since Irvine is a bounty hunter and Van is in the military, they'd both know *something* about fighting!).
Broken ~ Part seven
Fight Clu- er, Training!
Sunlight, warm and obtrusive, had not yet reached the sleeping face of Van Fleihight as he lay peacefully. This, however, did not stop him from blocking out the sounds of the waking base outside his door and he opened his eyes with a groan. He stared hatefully at his door for a few seconds until he turned over, intent on burying his head on Irvine's chest and returning to dreamland. That was his plan, until his nose came in contact with a piece of paper that lay on the end of his pillow.
He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, noticing instantly that he was alone, not only in his bed but in his room. "Wha… Irvine?" he whispered sleepily and reached up to rub his neck. He was tremendously sore and he released a low hiss of pain when he twisted his head around. Van's eyes snapped open; his hair was undone, when did that happen? He flushed red and blinked in shock; Irvine must have taken his hair band out.
Van suddenly felt very embarrassed as he curled his legs up to sit crossed-legged under the covers; Irvine had seen him with his hair out. No one had ever seen him with his hair out, not since he was still living in the Wind Colony; even then anyone was hard pressed to see the boy with his hair unbound.
The young pilot quickly fumbled in his bedside table drawer for another band as his eyes fell on the piece of paper. He blinked and raised an eyebrow as he tied his hair back quickly, scanning the page and following the curvy flow of Irvine's handwriting.
Dear Van
You sleep worse than a rock.
I'll see you today during your thing with the new recruits. Don't give yourself a heart attack before I get there.
Love,
Irvine
P.S: You should leave your hair out more often; it suits you.
Van blinked in silent shock as he picked up the piece of paper, looking at it closely as a hot blush crept over his face. *Leave my… It suits me!?* He gave a short laugh and shook his head.
"Irvine…always one to speak his mind…" He chuckled again and got out of bed, getting ready for another day of work in the Guardian Force.
***
"What? You're sure of this?" The blue haired girl pressed. Her eyes were wide in shock at the tale she had just heard and her hands were pressed flat to the table as she stood there. Reese, the ancient Zoidian and controller of the blue Organoid Specular, stood before the wild maverick Raven, with only a table to separate them.
The grey haired teen nodded as he continued to stare away from her incredulous gaze. Her eyes…they were like cold pits of nothingness to him. They haunted him to no end, but there was no way he'd ever let anyone know that. The dim lamp sitting on the table only added to the eerie glow of her aqua eyes. His face set to a frown and he stared back at her.
"I told you, I saw it with my own two eyes Reese," he calmly explained to her and turned away again. "Van and that bounty hunter are together…" he whispered. He suppressed a shiver and bit back the nausea that boiled in his stomach at the thought of what he saw that night. "It sickens me…" he whispered.
Reese raised an eyebrow and sat down in a flop. "Do you really hate the thought of them together that much?" She smirked coyly at him. "Or could it be that you're jea-lous?" she finished in a sing-songy voice and leant forward to gaze at him.
Raven snapped his head around to glare venom at her. "You're just as perverted as they are!!" he snapped loudly at her. He'd raised his voice so much that Shadow poked his head around the corner of the cave they inhabited. "It's nothing Shadow. Just…go keep watch with Specular." He strained a sigh and forced his body to relax again. "I have to use this to get back at Van… I have to…" he pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead, clenching his eyes tight as he strained for an idea. "But how…?"
He heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back and a moment later he felt cool hands pressing onto his shoulders. He growled and frowned harder as he heard a chuckle escape Reese's lips. She began to massage his shoulders softly.
"You need to loosen up Raven; you're too tensed up all the time," she bent forward to whisper in his ear, "and that's a bad thing if you're trying to come up with an evil plan." He turned his head to gaze up at her. "What would you know about evil plans? All you ever do is follow Hiltz around like his personal plaything, doing all his dirty work." She scowled down at him and straightened, fingers digging in harder as she glowered at the cave wall. Raven smirked to himself; he'd won their little verbal bout.
Reese suddenly stopped. "How about this Raven? You said you wanted to repay Van so why not kill two birds with one stone, so to speak." The grey haired boy frowned. "What are you up to Reese?" She giggled shrilly, the sound echoing off the cave walls. "If Van and Irvine do care so deeply for one another, then why not lure one of them out using the other as bait?"
Raven frowned. "No, I don't think so. What would that accomplish anyway? I want Van, not that ridiculous bounty hunter." He snorted and rested his arm on the table. "Besides, he's not as annoying as Van…" The Zoidian girl giggled and leant down next to his ear. "Ah Raven… But just imagine the possibilities…" she breathed.
Raven gasped as a series of images hit him and he jumped from his seat to glare death at Reese. "Never do that to me again Reese!! I don't care if you were trying to help me; never go inside my head like that ever again!" She smiled sweetly at him, one hand reaching up to trace a finger over her lips. "Oh but Raven, it's not my fault you left yourself vulnerable to my psycho-wave. And surely you must have seen something you liked…"
The maverick paused at her voice as his mind hit rewind; going over the different sequences that Reese had planted in his head. His eyes widened and he turned to stare at Reese who simply smiled at him.
"Now you see…" she whispered.
***
Van stood at attention as General Harlan stood next to him; a handful of trainee soldiers in front of them both. The general paced back and forth as he instructed the would-be soldiers on their latest training in the underground gymnasium of the base.
"While you are all training your minds to be Zoid pilots for the Republican Army, you must not forget that your body must be equally trained. That is why you are in here today. You are all physically capable of defending yourselves in a fight; but only if you defend." He turned his head to note Van briefly. "The lieutenant here will be training you in basic fighting. Listen to him and you might learn something." He saluted them and they all returned the gesture. "Good luck soldiers."
With that, General Harlan turned and left the room briskly, leaving only Van and the new recruits. When they were alone, one of them snorted and chuckled loudly. "What? Learn something from this kid? He's barely over fifteen!" The redhead placed his hands on his hips and stared down at Van, a sneer on his face. "And why would the General wish us good luck against him? I mean-"
The soldier was cut short as his legs were knocked out from under him in a flash of movement. Van resumed his pose and took in a deep breath as the other soldiers stared up at him in silence. He smirked at the redhead as he addressed the others.
"Now then," he began, folding his arms across his chest. "Did anyone see what I did just then?" There was silence for a very long moment before a soldier in the back spoke up. "You knocked him down, sir." Van nodded. "Exactly, and how did I do that?" Another one, "By being faster than him and having the element of surprise, sir."
"Very good," Van dropped his arms to his sides and stepped forward, extending a hand to the fallen soldier and helping him stand up. "By the way, soldier; this 'kid's' name is Van Fleihight." The soldier's eyes went wide as his mouth did an impressive impersonation of a goldfish.
"L-Lieutenant Fleihight!" He stammered. "I- Forgive me sir! I didn't know-!" Van raised a hand to silence him. "It's not important. Just don't let the General know about this little thing and it'll be fine," he turned to the others. "Right! Let's begin with some basic stretches!"
***
"It's taken the better half of the day, but I think they're finally starting to get it," Doctor Dee commented from the observation window of the gymnasium; coffee cup in hand. Moonbei stood with him as they watched Van and the new recruits. While the air conditioning was flowing through the gym room, it still didn't stop Van from removing his shirt in the heat of the fighting; sweat trailing from every part of his body.
Moonbei nodded in agreement. "I'll say, you'd think guys would be a natural at fighting but not these planks of wood for some strange reason!" She smiled as she watched the soldiers lined up against the wall, most without their shirts on either. *Rowr… Down Moonbei!* she giggled to herself.
"Too bad though," the doctor mused aimlessly. Moonbei turned to him. "What's that?" He took a long draught from his cup. "I mean Van's a great fighter, a great pilot and an even better person. Too bad I have to kill him at such a young age…" Moonbei raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.
Down in the gymnasium, Van stood in front of the other soldiers and frowned as he stared at his watch. *Where is that lazy bum… I've got a good mind to-* he smirked as the door was pushed open and Irvine strode quickly inside, stopping next to Van. He grinned sheepishly at Van and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Heh, sorry I'm late but I had a real problem with Thomas and he just wouldn't shut up!" Irvine cast a quick glance over the soldiers. "So, these are the would-be soldiers, huh Van?" he whispered. Van nodded. "Yeah, more or less. Thick as Gustav armour though," he whispered a reply. Irvine grinned and shook his head with a sigh. "Where do you pick these people up Fleihight?"
"I could ask you the same thing…" he turned to the soldiers. "All right, this here is Irvine. He knows just as much as me and we're going to be showing you some advanced techniques," he paused as Irvine started stretching behind him. "Quick warning: don't go trying this unless you know what you're doing."
Irvine finished up after a while and the two stood at opposite ends of the large square mat on the ground; arms raised in a fighting stance. They stared deeply at each other, focus swimming in their gaze as they slowly edged towards one another until they were separated by only two strides.
Irvine released a yell and flew at Van, palm outstretched. Van caught the direction of the move and he ducked backwards, countering sharply with a punch of his own. It caught Irvine hard in the jaw and he jumped back, fingering the spot gently. A smirk grew over his face and he raised an eyebrow at the young pilot who merely returned the look with his own smugness.
Irvine had the jump to avoid a low kick to the knees and landed hard, ducking instantly as Van performed a jumping roundhouse kick that swished by his head. The black haired youth followed through by leaping over him and as Irvine ducked, he landed on his hands behind him and sprang backwards in an attempt to mule kick him. Irvine twisted around and caught his leg, throwing him over his shoulder.
The bounty hunter jumped back before Van flipped himself up. Irvine jumped at Van who raised his right leg for a side kick. He caught him hard, square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He then followed by punching the bounty hunter full in the chest, knocking him backwards. Irvine regained his stance and glared hard at Van, breath escaping him in a low hiss.
*Shit, he's improved!* He barely had a chance to think before Van was on him again. Van pushed the bounty hunter further back with a series of punches before Irvine caught his fist and shoved him back hard, breathing hard. Irvine smirked and lunged at him again.
A punch to the head was deflected at the same moment a kick to his ribs was blocked. Van's legs fell out under him and he caught himself just in time to deliver a sweeping kick to the bounty hunter's ankles, knocking him down also. The two stood back up and breathed hard. Van laughed and, breathing hard, turned to the soldiers who were all staring wide-eyes at the two.
"And that," he breathed with a relieved smile. "Is today's lesson on basic fighting. I hope you all enjoyed the hard work you put in and the bonus demonstration." The soldiers all snapped out of their stupors instantly, realising at once that the fight was over, and they clapped loudly at the two. Irvine grinned as he stood next to Van, slinging one arm around his slim shoulders. "Heh, they love us," he whispered, still out of breath.
Van laughed as the soldiers finally stopped their applauding and began to file out slowly, a few of them lingering to ask the two a few questions. After the last of the new recruits had left, Van turned to Irvine and smiled. "You were pretty good just now. I thought you'd have given up fighting a long time ago." He laughed to himself.
Irvine shrugged. "Someone has to keep up with you, and that's no mean feat. You've improved a lot more since last time we fought like that." Van beamed up at him. "You think so? I was just thinking about how you beat me so badly last time, that's all." Irvine shook his head before flapping the front of his overalls around in a vain attempt to cool off. Van shot him a wicked grin.
"If you're hot, then why don't you take them off?" he suggested slyly. Irvine smirked back at him. "No Van, none of that here. I don't think Moonbei and Doctor Dee want to see that sort of show." Van's eyebrows shot up as far as they could go and his expression dissipated. "What? Where are they?"
Irvine chuckled and pointed up to the observation window; Van staring up at the broad glass panel. Moonbei waved down happily at them and Van waved back before he caught the look Doctor Dee was throwing him. He swallowed hard and turned to stare at the open door nervously before turning back to Irvine.
"I think I'll go hit the showers," he said with a weak laugh. "I'd like to be clean before my funeral…" Irvine just laughed at him and waved up at the two as they left the gymnasium together.
***
Van stepped out of the shower room, sighing as he rounded the corner, feeling tired once more. He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck; it was still stiff from that morning when he'd woken up and it was starting to ache badly.
*Maybe I should take Thomas' advice and go see the doctor… This is pretty bad; even for me…* He was so caught up in his neck that he didn't realise he'd walked into someone until his face collided with their chest. He reeled back quickly.
"Sorry! I didn't see-" he froze as he stood face to face with Doctor Dee. Van forced a weak laugh. "Uh, hey doc! How's it going?" The doctor 'hmphed' and walked off, beckoning Van to follow. The black haired youth swallowed hard and followed reluctantly. The doctor led Van to the main hanger for the base's Zoids. He stopped in front of the teen's Liger and turned to Van who merely tried to avoid his gaze by staring up at the blue Liger.
"Well I hope you're happy now," the doctor snipped. "The Liger's been completely repaired and your prohibition ends in three days. Of course," he paused as Van turned to look at him. "You're not going to go and nearly blow it up again, are you?"
Van looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry doc, I never meant to put you in this type of situation. And I am grateful that you've repaired my Liger; really…" he looked up hopefully at the silently enraged Doctor Dee.
"If you're so grateful then don't go and screw it up again!" he yelled suddenly, causing Van to jump slightly. "Listen Van, I'm a scientist; not a god-forsaken miracle worker! I can only repair the Blade Liger so much before it becomes unfixable without Zeek's help." He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "Dammit Van, I knew you meant well when you tried to take down Raven; and you've succeeded god knows how many times before when he was in his Geno-Saurer and other Zoids…" he paused to take a breath. "But this time was just stupid… You in the Blade Liger against the Geno-Breaker. The Geno-Breaker, Van! One Zoid versus the Geno-Breaker; do you have any idea how suicidal that is!?"
Van looked down at the ground again, his voice suddenly gone. *But I'm still alive, aren't I?* he instantly thought. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry…" he whispered. "But I only did that in my duty as a member of the Guardian Force…nothing more…" He opened his eyes when a hand fell onto his shoulder and he looked up into Doctor Dee's eyes.
"And where in the Guardian Force rules does it state 'think irrationally'?" he said quietly. Van couldn't take it any more. His face screwed up with emotion as he shook his head and began to walk off. "Thanks for fixing the Liger Doc…" his voice cracked as he whispered those words. Doctor Dee watched him go, sighing and shaking his head as he took a long draught from his coffee cup. He turned to stare up at the dormant Liger. "That boy still has a lot of growing up to do… It's a wonder he's still alive after fighting Raven one on one so blindly though…" he muttered.
TBC
Van: *sitting on the ground bawling* Why does it have to be meee???
Chan: Because you're a total shoe-in for chara bashing!
Van: I don't care! I hate it!!
Chan: But Va~an...where would we be without a touch of angst, ne?
Van: But WHY does it have to be meeee???
Chan: Because you're totally uke...
Van: *stops bawling* Uke? I am not uke!
Chan: Oh yeah? *clears throat* "Ple~ease Irvine, could you just ho~old me?" *laughs insanely and points at him* UKE!!!
Van: *teary eyed* Am not uke...
Irvine: *from the background* Are too!!
Van: *starts bawling again*
*Chan runs over to Irvine*
Chan: I win again! Pay up cracka!!
Irvine: You are evil incarnate, you know that?
Chan: Aw, you love me...