*ehem* Anyhoo! Yeah, this chapter is a little late out coz I kinda went on a little finish-Kingdom-Hearts-umpteen-times-in-a-row trip and (with much lack of sleep) did just that! Gawd I love Ansem (he looks like Sephiroth so that's just fine IMHO! ^_~)!! *cough* I have a thing for guys with silver hair (and Riku, Ansem + Sephy are all in the same game!!) So yeah, I let my brain sleep for about a week while plotline stewed...
No more Kingdom Hearts! I PROMISE!!! Reader reviews instead; To Maelgwyn: Eep! Okies then; Thomas is yours! And ya; no more lovers quarrel makes me uber happy too! To Lady Geuna: *psychotic laugh* BWAH HA HA HA HA!!!! You must read to find out the truth!! (man I suck at over dramatising). To Ninetails: I loved the reunion scene to bits as well (it's got to be one of my fav mental images in the whole fic!) and as for Fuma; he must LEARN!!! ^_~ Zoids is a treasure trove of yaoi-full fun times!! To Me: There's more coming!!!!! =^_^= To Naomi Hunter: Wah, angst is so much fun to write though (just like lemony goodness! ^_~)! But yeah, I needed the boys to be all happiness again (*evil chuckle* you'll know why soon enough!). To Ko-Arisu: You and your Yami have my thankies! It's so easy to be evil when your screwing with the lives of many bishounen at once...
Shight that was long...
Disclaimer: Bah, I wanna own Zoids but I don't... *usual song and dance*
Warnings: Emotion flinging ahoy! That's about it! Oh, and the usual dose of swearing... (man, these guys swear a lot, ne?)
I'm still working on my new site; never fear! V+I piccies shall be arriving soonies!
Broken ~ Part eleven
It's Not That Hard To Say Maybe...
Irvine whistled to himself as he walked down the hallway to Moonbei's quarters, hands stuffed in his pockets. He chuckled and found that he couldn't wipe the smile from his face, no matter what he thought of. He stopped outside her door and raised his hand to knock; freezing when he heard sobbing coming from inside. Irvine's hand hovered centimetres from the door as he listened intently. He frowned; what if it was…?
"Come on, Fiona…" Moonbei's voice said softly, making Irvine go cold. *Oh hell…that means Van's already told her…* He heard more sobbing inside and he lowered his arm. "B-but he- he said that…" a loud sniffle, "he had s-such a…a great night!" Fiona cried loudly and Irvine could hear Moonbei speaking softly to her.
The bounty hunter lowered his gaze to the ground; he felt awful now… His breath caught in his throat and he closed his eyes. "H-how could he?" Fiona cried. "I t-thought that…that he l-loved me! He always a-acted like he did!" She sobbed loudly and dissolved into tears. Irvine sighed and shook his head, turning and walking away; he'd visit Moonbei some other time.
He snorted; so much for his good mood. He groaned and shook his head again, heading for Van's quarters; at least he might be able to cheer him up some. *Yeah, if Fiona didn't slug him or anything…* Irvine sighed as he walked; no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get that cold feeling to leave the base of his stomach. He reached up to fold his arms behind his head as he walked.
*She'll be okay after a while…it was just the initial shock from it, I s'pose. That and the fact that she's probably been in love with Van since the first time she met him…* he sighed again, closing his eyes as he reached Van's room. He knocked quietly. "Van, you in there?" he waited for a moment before knocking again. "Van; hey!" he frowned as he opened the door and peered inside. "Van?" he whispered. Irvine blinked as he gazed around the small room; Van hadn't come back yet.
Irvine shook his head and stepped outside again; he'd come by later then. He frowned as he shut the door. So much for cheering himself up…
***
Hours passed before Irvine walked those halls again; this time he was going to visit Moonbei whether Fiona was there or not. He rounded the corner and sighed; he knew how Van felt about Fiona, that he cared for her as a sister and nothing more. Irvine 'hmm-ed' quietly to himself; definitely nothing more now…
The bounty hunter stopped in front of Moonbei's room and knocked quickly. "Moonbei, you in?" he called. Irvine waited for a long moment before knocking again. "Moonbei!" Today was not his day for catching people! He shook his head; just about to walk off when his name was called from somewhere behind him. Irvine whirled around to see Moonbei standing there. "Hey, where have you been?" She shrugged. "Looking for Van, have you seen him?" Irvine frowned at her in confusion. "No, not since this morning…"
She turned her gaze away and folded her arms. "That's strange…neither have I…" the female transporter shook her head as she turned back to Irvine. "I was sure he was either with you or Zeek!" Irvine's heart gave a jolt. "Why do you think he'd be with me?" he laughed weakly.
Moonbei rolled her eyes. "Long story short: I've known about you two since the first night we were at Keron Colony," she smirked at the expression on his face. "I didn't tell anyone except Van this morning before you went to see him and he was fine with it; a little shocked, but fine. And just if you're worried: yes, I'm still going to be your friend." Irvine did nothing but blink at her in complete shock. She giggled at his expression as she shook her head.
"Oh close those saucers you call eyes and let's go find Van!" she joked as she began to drag him off down the hallway. "Man, it's already four; where could he have run off to?" Irvine shrugged as they walked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I don't know…" he trailed off. "So…how's Fiona? Is she okay now?" he asked quietly. Moonbei lowered her gaze. "She'll be fine after a while… I think it shocked her more than anything and it'll take her a while to get over that; I mean, Van was probably one of her first loves."
"What do you mean 'probably'? I'd say defiantly!" Irvine raised his eyebrows with a smirk. Moonbei whacked the back of his head. "Are you that dense? She's an Ancient Zoidian, Irvine! She's been around a hell of a lot more than us, remember? So she probably had her eye on someone back in her time and has forgotten about him in this one." Irvine rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" he laughed at the exasperation on Moonbei's face.
"Hey Irvine…" she started softly. "Can I ask you something?" Irvine raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, sure…why do you need to ask?" She grinned and looked slyly at him, her eyes glinting mischievously. "About you and Van…" Irvine grimaced; maybe he shouldn't have said yes…
She stopped him and grabbed his arms, pressing her face just centimetres from his as her eyes lit up. "So how far have you gone?? Kissing? Touching? More?? Tell me!!" she cried. Irvine nearly choked on his own breath as he glared at her in a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "Moonbei!! That's personal! I'm not telling you that!!" he cried back. Moonbei pulled back and laughed loudly, clutching her sides tightly as she doubled over. "You should see your face!!" she gasped between laughter. Irvine glared fiercely at her as he went bright red. "That's not funny Moonbei!"
The female transporter managed to regain her breath and stand back up again, giggling as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry Irvine!" she giggled again. "But you know how I just need to have the latest goss! What else would I do around this place?" Irvine glared at her and narrowed his eyes, still blushing heavily. "It's none of your business Moonbei!" he turned away and folded his arms across his chest. Moonbei grinned and hugged him tightly. "Oh snap out of it sour puss! I was only joking!" she laughed again.
Irvine gave her a defiant 'hmph' and started walking again. "Weren't we doing something before?" he said not too gently. Moonbei chuckled and caught up with him, clasping her hands behind her head. "Geez, you are such a downer! It was a joke Irvine! Like I'd want to know about your sordid love life with Van!" Irvine shot her a wicked grin. "Who says it's sordid? I happen to like it when he-" Moonbei cried out as her hands flew to her ears. "Enough already! Ack, I don't want to hear about it!" Irvine chuckled. "My, don't we change our tune quickly! Just five seconds ago you were ready to record whatever I'd tell you! And I'll be damned if it wasn't sordid!"
Moonbei poked her tongue out at him as he just laughed at her. "You have turned into such a pervert Irvine…" she stated quietly. Irvine shook his head with a grin. "Look who's talking!" She punched him playfully in the arm as they kept walking. Irvine frowned to himself; just where was Van anyway?
***
The blonde girl stood in front of the softly glowing pod as tears trailed down her cheeks. She stared up at the silent Organoid as she slowly placed her hands on the green glass, the sudden warmth fogging it softly.
"Oh Zeek…" she whispered to the Zoid. "I feel so foolish… All those times when Van was being so nice to me…" she shook her head and lowered her gaze. "I sounds so stupid but…I used to pretend that we were a couple, if only for a little while. It used to make me so happy…" she raised her eyes again. "I can't remember anything from my past life Zeek; I didn't know anything until I met you and Van…" she smiled sadly up at him. "He was my saviour, you know…" she swallowed back a sob. "And look where it's gotten me; a broken heart and a lost friend!" she released a choked sob and pressed her forehead to the cold glass. "I'm such a fool…" she whispered as her tears began to slowly trail down the glass.
Fiona closed her eyes softly as she took in a shaky breath. "I shouldn't have said those things to him… I shouldn't have hit him like that…" she shook her head against the glass sadly. "Oh Zeek, what am I going to do?" she whispered as she stared up at the silver Organoid. Her pained musings were interrupted when she heard the door opening behind her and she turned to see Irvine and Moonbei standing there.
Fiona turned her eyes away as she turned around and pressed her back to the pod. Moonbei walked up to her and placed a soft hand on her shoulder. "Fiona? Are you alright?" She nodded silently and turned her gaze warily up to Irvine who merely lowered his eyes as he walked over to her.
"Fiona, I…I'm sorry…" Irvine said softly, still avoiding her gaze. "I…we, should have told you sooner and I-" Fiona stared hard at the bounty hunter as she place a hand on his shoulder. Irvine looked up at her as she shook her head. "Irvine, I'm the one who should be saying sorry; not you," she whispered as fresh tears came to her eyes. "Sorry that I ever got in the way of you and Van!" she said loudly and pushed past him, running out quickly. The bounty hunter turned to chase after her but a hand fell to his shoulder.
"You stop right there Irvine, I'll go after her," Moonbei said softly. "You just keep looking for Van. Wherever he is, he's got to be hurting pretty badly over this and I think he's going to need you to cheer him up." Moonbei gave him a quick smile before she left quickly. Irvine turned to watch her go and sighed heavily, shoulders sagging with the movement.
"I feel like such an ass…" he breathed before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to leave the room in search of Van.
***
A headache. One throbbing mother of a headache that led you to believe there was an interstellar war raging in between your ears. At least, that's what one Van Fleihight was starting to believe as he stirred.
Van groaned and realised with great clarity that he was lying down somewhere cold, hard and very alone. His eyes still hurt, even as he kept them closed; how had he gotten here? He knew he should open his eyes to see where he was; but that didn't mean his body should listen. He mentally swore at himself and forced them to open. Dark; probably night time. He groaned again and looked around slowly as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. His surroundings were rough, harsh…some sort of cave? He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
His head was killing him…
Van took in a deep breath and allowed his eyelids to flutter open a bare slit. He ached from every part in his body and he could taste blood in his mouth. It was a strain just to breath.
*Hang on… I'm…alive…?* His mind whispered. He clenched his eyes tight against the pain as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. He scowled lightly as he tried to force his arms from behind his back. *What the hell?* He grit his teeth and tugged them harshly; they were bound behind his back. The black haired boy gave a mental sigh of exasperation and painfully rolled to his side, bringing his knees to his chest. He rolled slowly onto them and lifted himself up with a hissing intake of air as his muscles grabbed.
Van breathed raggedly as he waited for his aching everything to stop aching. He took a deep breath and pulled his breathing down to a normal level. Well, tried to was more like it. Van sat there and waited again; his breathing ragged and his body twinging in pain. He slouched and let his arms fall limp on his back; God, he must've looked like a stoner as he sat there dumbly. He raised his head in pain and cast his eyes around, squinting into the darkness. "The hell… Where on Zi…am I?" he breathed, voice full of pain.
"Exactly where I want you to be Van Fleihight…" a smooth voice replied into the darkness. Van spun his head around; bad move. He fought back the nauseous feeling that rose in his stomach and peered to the direction of the voice.
"Who's there?" His voice was hoarse and his throat burned as he coughed suddenly; a sound that echoed around him. Van breathing was laboured as his lungs stopped fighting him and allowed him to stop coughing. He clenched his mouth tightly shut, half as a precaution in case that nauseous feeling came back and half because he didn't want such a loud sound to echo around the cave if he started coughing again; his head was hurting enough as it was.
That silky smooth voice laughed loudly and Van closed his eyes painfully; why did all psychos he encountered have to laugh so loudly? Silently thanking whoever still played God, Van waited for an answer as the person stopped laughing.
"Come now, you don't know who I am?" he laughed again; thankfully shorter this time around. Van just sat there and didn't move; he couldn't even find the strength to give this creep an exasperated sigh. He did manage to glare into the darkness with the strength born of a person on the end of their rope.
Presently, the person stepped forward; or so Van heard. A flare of light burst into life right before his eyes and he turned away sharply; nauseous feeling be damned. He opened his eyes and stared behind him, breathing quickly; the bright light lit up the cave wall before him and he waited for a moment before slowly turning back around to come face-to-face with-
"Raven!?" he cried hoarsely, swallowing down another coughing fit. "What the hell!?" Raven laughed and placed the lamp he was holding in between them on the ground. "Surprised? The wonderful Van Fleihight surprised? This is an occasion!" Raven laughed again and leant up against the cave wall next to him.
Van cast a quick glance around his surroundings now that he could actually see everything. It was a regular looking cave with a low roof and he was sitting on… a sleeping bag… He stared down at it in wonder; but he was cold when he woke up… He suddenly realised he still had an audience and he locked angry eyes on the grey haired maverick before him, opening his mouth to speak.
"Oh don't thank me, your kind expression is enough!" Raven interrupted before Van had a chance to speak, leaving him with his mouth open. He clapped his mouth shut with an audible snap. "Thank you!? For what; kidnapping and nearly killing me!?" Van exploded; damn his sore throat, this guy was insane and needed a good screaming at.
Raven smiled softly at him as he gave him a reasoning look. "Now Van…if I wanted to kill you, then you'd be dead by now!" With that, he pushed himself from the wall and strode over to Van, kneeling in front of him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "So how about we start off with you being unconscious again?" Before Van had a chance to cry out in protest, Raven and drawn his hand back and deftly whacked him on the back of the head again.
Van's eyes went wide as sudden pain shot through his body like fire. He's eyes slid shut and he slumped forward into Raven's arms, out cold once more. Raven smirked and dropped him as he stood up again, wiping his hand off on his jeans. "Does he have to bleed so much?" he complained softly. "Then again, maybe that's why he was out for so long."
***
Moonbei gave an exasperated sigh as she met the others in the cafeteria. They all turned hopeful eyes to her as she shook her head and folded her arms. "No go; he hasn't called in since last night and no one I spoke to said that they'd seen him since yesterday," she sat down next to Fiona.
The blonde girl sighed and lowered her gaze. "This is all my fault…" she breathed barely above a whisper. Moonbei sighed and smiled at her. "Now Fiona, you can't put any of this on yourself. I'm sure Van will turn up sooner or later! Well, hopefully sooner…" she smiled sweetly at Fiona who merely shook her head.
"No…this is my fault!" she insisted, turning her hurt gaze up to Irvine. "I-" she sighed and stood quickly. "Irvine, can I please talk to you for a moment?" she asked on the verge of tears. Irvine nodded quickly and followed her out, casting a quick glance at the others. Thomas blinked after her as they disappeared before turning to Moonbei.
"So if Van's not found, do you think I'll have a chance?" he asked with a grin. Moonbei just narrowed her gaze dangerously at him and whacked him over the head. "Thomas, you are such a jerk!" He grinned sheepishly at her. "Just joking Moonbei!" he laughed at her as she sighed in exasperation.
Out in the corridor, Fiona sighed as she pressed her back to the wall; her arms folding behind her as she avoided Irvine's gaze. He swallowed nervously and shifted on the spot. *What does she want to say to me that was so important? Maybe she wants to say sorry about- Yeah right, like she would!* Irvine's gaze narrowed as he turned away from her. *She's been in love with Van since day one… It has to be breaking her heart to see her two best friends in love with-*
"Irvine…" Fiona's low voice broke into his thoughts and he turned to gaze at her. "I…I have something to tell you…about Van…" her voice ended in a whisper. Irvine waited for her to continue as she stole a quick glance up at him. "When he told me…" she breathed. Fiona sighed quickly and shook her head. "I-I was just so…so jealous of the fact that he was with someone else that…that I…"
She took in a breath as she stared up at Irvine. "I…I slapped him…hard…across the face…" she shook her head quickly as tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm so sorry; this is all my fault! I was the one who drove him off and I…I…" she sobbed as she lowered her gaze away from Irvine's. She took in a shaky breath as she tried vainly to calm her nerves. "We've all lost him because of my stupidity…"
Irvine smiled sadly at her. "Fiona…" she raised her eyes to meet his. "You're not stupid… And we haven't lost Van; not at all…" he was really unsure of what to say; how do you comfort someone in this sort of situation? "Listen, Fiona…" he turned his eyes away as he spoke. "I know that you'll always feel like you've lost Van because of me, and I can't help but feel bad about that. But Van, he…" he stared down at Fiona with a warm smile. "He'd want you to at least still be his friend."
Fiona turned her eyes away from Irvine's as she stared at nothing in particular. *His friend…* She took in a deep breath and turned back to Irvine with a sad smile. "I'm so sorry Irvine…" she whispered softly. "It's just…I feel so stupid because of it all! I should've realised that I could never be with Van and that he always thought of me as just a sister and that…that…" she stammered as her breath caught in her throat; tears trailing down her cheeks again.
Irvine dug in his pocket and handed her a scrunched up tissue. She took it and wiped her eyes quickly with a sob, sniffling softly. "Look at me…" she said with a quick laugh. "Crying like a baby over this…" The bounty hunter sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him with sad eyes. "Fiona…you can still like him, and no one thinks that you're stupid; not at all. The most important thing at the moment, though, is trying to find him," he said softly. "We can't do it on our own; we need your help with this Fiona. Van's lost somewhere and we have to find him no matter what. So… Will you help us all?"
She chuckled softly as she tilted her head down, raising a hand to wipe her eyes quickly. Fiona sniffled back the rest of her tears and smiled warmly back up at him. "Of course I will silly! Van was the one who brought me back to life; I'm not about to let him lose his, even if he is just lost," she smiled broadly at Irvine. "We'll bring him back together…"
Irvine smiled warmly back at her with a chuckle. "Yeah, we will…" he whispered. Fiona giggled softly. "Hey Irvine? Just one more thing," she smiled sweetly at him as he raised his eyebrows lightly in question. "Instead of being just Van's friend, how about I be a friend to the both of you?" Irvine's eyes lit up as he smiled back at her. "You mean it?" She laughed at him. "Of course I do! I've yet to stop being a friend to either of you! Why should I start now because of this?"
The bounty hunter nodded. "I guess… But I still feel guilty about not telling you about it. And I'm sure Van feels the same, wherever he is…" he mumbled the last part as he turned his eyes away. Fiona's face fell at that. "Yeah…" she stared back up at him with bright eyes and a broad smile. "But that's what being a part of the Guardian Force is part of! Protecting the innocent and saving people, right Irvine?" The bounty hunter took a step backwards and held up his hands in defence.
"Whoa up Fiona! I am not in the Guardian Force; how many times do I have to tell you guys that?" Fiona giggled at him. "And Doctor Dee built the Lightning Sykes for you out the goodness of his heart did he?" she laughed at his expression and hooked her arm around his elbow, dragging him off. "Come on, the others are waiting for us. We need to go find Van!"
TBC
Chan: *giggling evily* Raven is uber evil...
Van: What the hell have you done to me!?
Chan: You've exited stage left my lil' bishounen!
Van: I know that! But WHY??
Raven: Because she's the authoress and she wanted you to...
Van: *pointing at Raven* You started this!!
Raven: Did not! It was you!!
Van: Nuh-uh! YOU!!
Raven: YOU!!
*both tackle each other in a wild brawl*
Chan: *blinks* Well now... *runs off as the two maul each other* Irvine! IR~VINE!!
Irvine: What??
Chan: You gotta come see this!!
*Irvine shrugs and follows*
Irvine: Um...what's up with those two?
Chan: They're fighting over little ol' me!
*Irvine disolves in laughter*
Irvine: No really...what's going on?
Chan: *angry twitch* Eat firey pain you two!!
*Raven + Van stop mauling each other long enough to see flaming death headed their way*
Van: *from sudden crispy pain* Ow...
Raven: *same state* Ditto...
Chan: *happy grin and V sign* I win, crackah!