*shrug* I'm feeling wacky; I just had garlic and stuff and I are hy~per!! *squeal of wierd-ass joy* Anyhoo, on to my selective audience:
To Lina the Outlawed Bomber: Shight...I mean...SHIGHT!! My ego has just done a double back flip with a half twist!! Damn thanks for loving my twisted tale so very muchly!! You and your Yami! To Ninetails: Wah, thankies heaps for the good stuffage! Yousa are gonna need more net time coz the ending is gonna be good! (well, that's what I wanna think...) To Ko-Arisu: Yay! More people who are starting to like my wierdness! And no YamiChromi; there shall be no Thomas/Fiona (I find straight couples are hard to do anyway; the restaurant scene took yonkers to do!) To Aqua Rhapsody: More I shall right then! To Ade: Here it be then! Sorry about the wait! To Kinzoku: Blood is a speciality of mine! So blood there shall be (and lot's of it!!)! And I shall not stop updating until this one's finished (even I'm loving it heaps!) To Maelgwyn: Yay! I have you and your Zoids aproval! I feel so loved!! ^_^ Wah, I'm gonna shut up now; I'm taking up too much space! @_@;;
Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids, I just like facking it up...a lot...a hell of a lot...a whole heap of a hell of a lot...I'm talking- well you get the idea...
Warnings: Swearing and *gasp* blood! @_@;; Iee!! I'm gunna lose readers now coz I'm spilling blood!! Who's? I'm gunna be creula and make you read to find out! XP
Site's up! =^_^=
Broken ~ Part twelve
Gold Chain
Raven leant back against the shoulder of the Geno-Breaker as he reclined on its stout arm, a wisp of a smile playing on his lips as a light shower had begun to rain down on him. He took in a deep breath and let his body relax as he watched the faded sun slowly sink beyond the hazy horizon.
"It won't be long now Shadow," he breathed to the Organoid that stared up at him from the ground. A low growl was his response and he chucked softly. "With Van Fleihight in my hands those pathetic friends of his will try anything to get him back," he took a long draught from his flask. The grey haired maverick sighed as he closed his eyes, enjoying the cold feeling the rain left as it bit into his skin. "I've finally got the military right where I want them. Of course, I always have had them in the palm of my hand… They'd do everything in their power to see their greatest asset returned to them in one piece!"
Raven grinned broadly, a chuckle escaping his lips before he laughed loudly. The sound rang out across the open plains of the desert and the sun had all but disappeared before he finished; leaving the dark clouds to take its place. The maverick clutched his sides tightly as he still grinned; they were hurting from his long tirade of laughter.
"This is working out perfectly!" he laughed again. "I have more power than Hiltz ever had!" Raven's breathing came in short gasps as he burst out laughing again. He was beyond drenched as he leapt into the open cockpit of the Geno-Breaker and shut himself in quickly. "Come on Shadow! We need to go send them a little reminder that we still exist!"
The hulking red Zoid lifted off the ground easily and blasted away as if it were never there. Raven smirked as he saw Shadow gliding silently next to him. "I'm feeling so generous I'm even going to let you decide where we should go, Shadow!" The black Organoid snarled at his master and shot forward, the Geno-Breaker following quickly. Raven raised an eyebrow and brought up the map on his screen. His lips curled into a vicious smile and he chuckled softly.
"Excellent choice Shadow," he whispered almost to himself. "The most that base has is a few Gojulis' and Command Wolves; this should be easier than swatting a fly!" He laughed again before a com window came to life and Reese smiled at him. He snarled at her, his good mood dissipating.
"I'm busy, what do you want? You're supposed to be watching that idiot!" he snapped at her. She smiled at him and cocked her head to the side. "Come now Raven, you know I don't call for a reason." He scowled daggers at her. "And what reason would that be?" She chuckled softly, Raven noting for the first time that she was in her Geno-Saurer.
"You're the one that started this little vendetta aren't you?" she softly reminded him. "Are you just going to leave it at that or is more going to come from this? We can't keep a hostage for much longer you know." Raven looked over her with a scowl. "Where is he anyway?" he asked quietly. Reese jabbed a thumb behind her. "Unconscious. What; you think you can have all the fun of destroying things? I'm not your babysitter Raven; I need to have some fun as well, even if that means dragging his lifeless body with me to do so." She paused to sneer at him. "Did you have to hit him that hard? He's been bleeding all over the place ever since!"
Raven smirked at her and chuckled softly. "I'm so sorry! Don't let him scare you if he wakes up Reese!" he mocked her. She narrowed her gaze at him and cut the connection, which just caused Raven to smile to himself in triumph. "She's too easy to annoy…" he mumbled to himself.
***
Fiona said nothing as she paced back and forth around her room, her hands locked together in an effort to stop them from fidgeting. Her brow was knit in worry as she stopped and bit her bottom lip. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a soft knock rapped on her door.
"Yes?" she practically cried as she flung the door open. "Moonbei! Has anyone found him yet?" she asked, voice full of worry. The female transporter shook her head sadly. "Not anyone; I'm getting really worried about him too. It's just not like him to just up and disappear like this." Fiona turned her gaze away as she softly told Moonbei of what had happened that day; about how she had been so angry and how she thought that it was her fault that he'd disappeared. Moonbei's eyes shot wide open at the end.
"Wait a minute, you think that because of that one little thing Van's going to up and run away?" she asked not too gently. "Dammit Fiona, he wouldn't do that; even under those circumstances! He cares for you too deeply to leave you like that; he's probably just thought it best if he left you alone for a while is all." *Yeah, and the rest of us…* Fiona shook her head vehemently.
"Three days is not a while, Moonbei!" she cried. "Something horrible has happened to him and it's my fault! If I hadn't of ran off blindly like that then I might have seen something that would help us find him now!" Fiona nearly had tears in her eyes as she spoke. Moonbei shook her head. "Let's not start blaming yourself over this again," she said softly. "How about this; if something bad has happened to him, then we should start looking in the last place we saw him right? You know, get some clue as to where he's gone or whatever."
Fiona sighed and nodded quickly. "It was at the back of the base; where he told me," she whispered. Moonbei smiled at her. "Then let's go there and see if we can't find anything, hey?" Fiona nodded up at her with a smile, as there was a soft knock on the open door. The two turned to spy Irvine standing there with a smirk on his face.
"Hey you two, Doctor Dee wants to see us all in the sixteenth hanger right away," he said with a smile. Fiona blinked back at him in wonder. "The sixteenth…Zeek!!" she cried happily. "He's coming out of the pod today!" she ran up to Irvine and hugged him fiercely. "Oh we have to hurry and go see him!" Moonbei couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's happiness.
*This is the first time she's been truly happy since she heard about Van and Irvine…* she thought with a smile. She was jolted from her thoughts as Fiona latched onto her arm and pulled her from the room. "Come on then! Doctor Dee is waiting for us!" Fiona laughed again as she shut the door behind her. Irvine chuckled as he followed the two. Well, it was more like Fiona dragging Moonbei off and Irvine trailing behind.
The three eventually made it to the sixteenth hanger in no time and Fiona jogged up to the old man with an elated smile on her face. "Doctor Dee! We came as soon as we could…" she trailed off as she blinked up at the empty green pod. "Where's Zeek?" she said softly, smile faltering. Something cold and hard nudged her shoulder and she spun around to meet a pair of bright ruby eyes. Her smile came back in an instant and she flung her arms around the neck of the silver Organoid.
"Zeek!! I'm so happy to see you again!!" she cried happily as tears of joy filled her eyes. "We were all so worried about you! Oh so much has happened while you were gone!" She pulled back to stroke the Zoid's muzzle affectionately. He growled softly at her as he peered around; Fiona pausing to lower her head.
"He's…he's disappeared somewhere…" she looked back up at him. "We were on our way to go and look for clues when Irvine told us about you," she smiled softly at the Zoid. "But now that you're okay you can help us look for him, hey Zeek?" The Organoid nodded and nuzzled her cheek softly. Fiona giggled. "I missed you too Zeek!"
Irvine cleared his throat as the two turned to look at him. He waved at Zeek with a large grin. "Didn't forget about us while you were sleeping did you?" he asked with a smirk. Zeek flicked his tail happily as he trotted over to Moonbei and him, nuzzling each of them happily with a low growl. Moonbei chuckled as she hugged him tightly. "Hey Zeek, we missed you…" she said softly. Irvine nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we all did," he froze as Zeek licked his face quickly and he pulled back and wiped it hurriedly. "Ack! But I didn't miss that!" he snapped as the others just laughed at him.
"Whatever, let's just go find Van…" he said with a sneer in Zeek's direction as he rubbed his face. "Aw gross…Organoid spit…" he mumbled. Moonbei just snickered at him as she leant in close and jabbed him in the ribs. "Oh come on, and you're not used to worse from Va-an?" she whispered innocently in a sing-song voice. He flushed red and scowled at her. "Moonbei!!" he cried, which instantly got the attention of everyone in the hanger. He froze and laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's go find Van, hey?" he said meekly and scooted out quickly.
Doctor Dee raised an eyebrow as Irvine left, turning to Moonbei who blinked innocently at him. "What?" she asked. The old man took a long draught from his coffee. "I don't even want to know what that was about…" he turned his gaze back to Moonbei; coffee cup still pressed to his lips. "But I'm guessing from the look on his face it was pretty perverted…" Moonbei shrugged and grabbed Fiona by the arm, pulling her out of the hanger. "Van awaits! Let's go!" she said loudly as Zeek followed them. Doctor Dee just smiled to himself as they left. "Ah the fun of innocent banter…"
The four rounded the corner and walked in silence to the rear of the base, still standing under cover from the falling rain. Fiona stopped and gazed around the small area with a shiver; a few empty crates now sat there and so did the bench where she and Van once sat. She lowered her gaze and sighed softly. "I still feel like it's my fault…" she breathed to herself.
Moonbei placed her hands on her hips and stared around. "Okay, so what happened here when you last saw Van?" Fiona pointed to the bench. "We sat there and he told me everything and then I slapped him and stormed off… I haven't seen him since then," she trailed off. Irvine frowned lightly at her and turned his gaze back to the surrounding area. He froze and his eyes flew wide as he walked over to the bench, ignoring the rain and kneeling down quickly. "Guys…" he said barely above a whisper. The other two joined him as he picked up a rock from under it and turned it over.
"Blood…" Moonbei breathed. Irvine dropped it and ran his fingers over the earth that was still barely dry under the bench. "There's more of it here too. It's old though; too old to be noticed easily." He froze and spun around to Fiona, grabbing the rock again. "Fiona, get this to Doctor Dee right away!" she blinked at him. "But what good will that do Irvine?" He stared back at her. "The military has Van's DNA on file; if this matches up to it then at least we know what's happened to him."
Moonbei frowned at him. "You mean Van…was kidnapped?" she breathed. Irvine nodded and wiped his rain soaked bangs from his eyes. "Probably had a fight with someone and got on the bad end of that rock. But who could it be? How could they get past the base's security so easily?" Moonbei raised an eyebrow. "You don't think it could be an inside job do you?" Irvine shrugged at her. "I don't know…" he stared up at Fiona. "Let's just get that to the old man; he'll be able to give us an answer as to who the mystery blood donor is if it isn't Van."
***
Barely an hour later, Doctor Dee walked back to the four with a hard look on his face. "Bad news crew, it was Van's blood all over that stone. As for who did it to him, security tapes show nothing except for this one segment," he walked over to a console and played the recording, freezing it on one spot as everyone gasped.
"Shadow!" Moonbei cried. "Then it was Raven who kidnapped Van!" Doctor Dee held up a finger. "Maybe, maybe not; look at this next bit. This was taken about three minutes before the other one." He played the next part as the others watched intently. It showed a figure, barely visible, standing atop a nearby rocky outcropping with a long cloak covering his features. Irvine wrinkled his nose as he squinted at it.
"Who's that, old man?" he asked, leaning forward a bit. The old doctor shook his head. "I'm not sure, and that's as enhanced as this picture can get; I've pushed it up as far as it will go without losing clarity. But you're probably right Moonbei; it's most likely Raven that's abducted Van, given that Shadow was seen at the base. As to how he got past security, I'm completely stumped." He took a long draught from his coffee cup.
"Doctor Dee! Sir!" a soldier called. The old man spun around to meet the flustered youth. "What is it boy?" The soldier pointed behind him. "You're all needed urgently in the main control room sir! Raven's just contacted the base and General Harlan wants you all to see this!" The doctor nodded at him. "We'll be there as soon as we can." The soldier saluted him and jogged off again. The old man turned to the others.
"Well, might as well go and see what the psychopath wants then… Probably demanding ransom or something," he muttered as he started off for the main control room; the others following quickly behind him. Fiona walked next to him. "What do you think he's going to say? Raven never contacts any base unless he's about to destroy it!" she said worriedly as the old man shrugged. "Can't say really. With Raven, anything's possible. Although I highly doubt he'd destroy this base."
Fiona's brow furrowed. "Why's that Doctor Dee?" He gave her a sideways glance. "Because Raven knows that while Van's in his custody, we'd do anything to see him returned safely. He most likely thinks that he has control over us that way. He's probably going to bait us out with him somehow and pick us off one by one in his Geno-Breaker." He paused and as an after thought added, "And then he'll destroy this base…"
They rounded the corner and entered the main control room; spying Thomas sitting down next to the standing General. Moonbei faltered; Thomas looked kind of pale to her as he sat at a spare console. Doctor Dee grinned and waved at the General. "Hiya Harlan! What's our resident sociopath got to say today?" The General narrowed his gaze at the old man but otherwise kept his mouth shut from snapping out an instant retort. "Raven just sent us this message and I thought that you'd all like to see it," he stepped over to a nearby console and pulled up a vid window, replaying the message. Raven's face came on-screen and he smiled maliciously at them.
"Good afternoon inhabitants of Keron Base," he began smoothly. "It's come to my attention that one of your men has gone missing; one certain Van Fleihight to be exact. And how very strange it is that someone should just happen into my care fitting his description!" he chuckled softly, the sound grating past his lips before he sobered quickly. "If any of you really value your friend's life, I suggest that you listen up very carefully, as I'm only going to say this once. I want Lieutenant Schubaltz to meet me – alone – at these co-ordinates in exactly three hours for a Zoid battle; the winner gets Van of course. If you decide it would be best to follow him or send an entire unit in his place, well…" he raised a gun on-screen and tapped his temple suggestively with it, a cold smirk claiming his lips. "You understand, don't you?" he chuckled again and lowered the weapon. "I'll be waiting for you Lieutenant; that is, if you really give a damn about his worthless carcass!" he laughed through his words before he stopped to stare at the screen again. "Oh and just in case you were wondering if I'm bluffing or not…" the grey haired maverick lifted his hand and produced a gold chain with a small circular pendant on it. "He really is mine…" he laughed loudly as the transmission died.
Irvine growled audibly and narrowed his eyes venomously at the blank screen. "Son of a bitch!!" he screamed and slammed his fist into the screen, shattering it instantly. Without pausing, he turned around and stormed from the control room. Moonbei spun on her heel. "Irvine! Aw dammit!" she sighed and shook her head quickly. "Well…at least we know that he actually has Van…" she turned her gaze to Thomas, who now had Fiona by his side. She walked over to him as he sat with his head in his hands.
"I'm gonna die… He's gonna kill me…" he was muttering softly to himself. Fiona rubbed his back comfortingly. "Now Thomas… Raven's not going to kill you; you just have to trust yourself that you can do this!" Thomas turned his horrified gaze to her. "You actually want me to go through with this!?" he shrieked. She flinched at the pitch in his voice and turned her gaze away. "Well…he did ask for you specifically…" she trailed off. Thomas groaned and hung his head again.
"I'm signing my own death warrant…" he whined. Fiona smiled weakly at him before the lights flickered for a second and all eyes in the room turned skyward. Doctor Dee raised an eyebrow. "This is one serious storm!" he said and turned to the General. "Harlan, we have to do something about Raven." The General nodded. "Lieutenant Schubaltz will be escorted by a troupe of four Zaber Fangs and four Gojulis' to Raven's position."
"Are you insane!?" Moonbei exploded as everyone jumped. "Hello!? Did you not see the hunk of metal that psychopath had? He said he'd kill Van if we didn't follow his orders! Did that little piece of information just shoot straight over your head!?" General Harlan narrowed his eyes at her and turned away. "It would be suicide to send just one person to rescue him…"
"And it would be just as bad if you didn't!" Moonbei shot back. "Thomas! Get your ass to the D-Bison now and go rescue Van! Now!!" Thomas jumped straight up at her voice and turned horrified eyes to her. "There has to be some other way!" She glared at him and held a clenched fist within two inches of his nose. "Either you get out there on your own or I send you there in a box!" she sighed and pulled back, still glaring at him. "Thomas, how many times has Van saved your life? Don't you think it's time to return the favour somehow?"
"You don't understand Moonbei!" Thomas cried. "Of course I'd jump at the chance to get out there and be the hero for once but this is just suicide!!" he shrieked. "Going one-on-one with Raven is not my idea of a good plan! We have to think of something else!" He was thrown to the floor suddenly as Moonbei slammed her fist into his jaw with a cry. She glared at him with a look of pure venom as she whispered through clenched teeth, "Get going…"
Thomas swallowed and sat there dumbly, holding his jaw as he blinked up at her. "Moonbei…" he breathed. He pushed himself from the floor and turned to Fiona. "Hey Fiona…" he started quietly. "Do you still have that electromagnetic pulse shield generator?" The blonde girl nodded. "Why do you ask Thomas?" He smiled weakly at her. "If I'm going to fight Raven, I think I'll need it…"
Moonbei smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "Hey I should hit you more often; I think it knocked some sense into you!" Thomas laughed weakly. "Remind me not to tempt you again; that really hurt!" he said and rubbed his jaw again. Moonbei chuckled and shook her head. "Sorry, but it's the only way I could get through to you that you're Van's only hope Thomas; we need you to be focused here," she gave him a droll look. "Not in whiner mode!"
He raised an eyebrow at her. *Whiner mode?* he mused to himself. "Whatever…" he shook his head with a sigh. "I need to go install the shield; Fiona, can you bring it to the D-Bison? I'll see the rest of you guys before I leave." Before anyone else had any say in the matter, Thomas turned and walked quickly from the control room.
He swallowed hard and headed for the main hanger where his D-Bison rested; his heart pounding in his chest. *I'm gonna die… He's gonna paste me…* his mind repeated as he entered his access code and walked over to his Zoid. He took in a deep breath and held it for a second. "Hey Beek," he tapped the device on his left ear and a whistled reply was heard. "I'm going to be installing the electromagnetic pulse shield generator in about ten minutes. Get the D-Bison lowered for me, will you?" The machine whistled and beeped at him and he shook his head. "I'm fine…just a little freaked out is all…"
Beek clicked at him in question and Thomas groaned. "I have to fight Raven one-on-one! That's why!!" He listened to Beek's reply and he scowled death at the Zoid. "I am not being-!" he took in a deep breath. "I'm not fuming over it Beek, I'm just a little bewildered as to why Raven chose me to fight him…" he said calmly.
The AI just bleeped at him and he frowned at it. "Stupid creation… I oughta reprogram you!" he snapped as the D-Bison slowly lowered its massive body with a metallic groan. Thomas grumbled as he started his way up to where he'd install the large computer card. He sat at the neck of the D-Bison, almost doubled over under the large cannons, and opened a large hatch, reaching inside and frowning lightly. "Hey Beek, could you give me some light here?" The small unit on his ear lit up the area in front of him and he smirked as he reached further inside the open hatch, snagging a few cables and pushing them out of the way.
"Thomas!" a sweet voice rang out from the ground. "Miss Fiona!" The younger Schubaltz cried happily a sat bolt up, smacking the back of his head on the base of a cannon. He rubbed it gingerly, muttering "Okay, that hurt…" Fiona giggled at him. "Silly… Here's the shield generator you asked for! Catch!" Thomas began to stammer a protest when she threw the device up to him.
Thomas stretched out and nearly fell from his perch to catch it. Scrabbling for a handhold, he had to hook his leg into the open hatch to stop himself from just rolling off the D-Bison. He released a sound that could only be chalked up to 'eep' and pulled himself back up again. He breathed a sigh of relief once he was seated safely again and held the device close; turning to give Fiona a sheepish grin.
"Got it, thanks!" He waved the card triumphantly in the air as he grinned down at her. Fiona just smiled back at him as he turned away and began to install the device. Beek whistled at him and his smile got wider. "No Beek, that would be wrong. I wouldn't do that to Miss Fiona anyway, she's too good a friend to endanger her life like that, though it would be nice to have her accompany me on this…"
He clicked the device into place and pushed the cables back where they were, sitting up and smacking his head again. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head, muttering a small string of curses as he climbed down from his place and dropped to the ground. Thomas straightened up again and smiled sweetly at Fiona who smiled warmly back at him. "Thomas…" she whispered.
He blinked his eyes open and stared at her. "Yes Miss Fiona?" he asked quickly. She stepped forward and hugged him suddenly, oblivious to the fact that Thomas's face went as red as a tomato. He nearly collapsed to the ground as his knees began to feel tremendously weak. She pulled back and stared up at him.
"Be safe out there…" she whispered. He was still blushing heavily as he nodded dumbly and blinked at her. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Don't you worry at all Miss Fiona! When I beat Raven today, I'll consider it a victory in your honour!" he thumped his fist across his chest, as if it were a strict promise. She giggled softly at him and smiled warmly up at him.
"Just bring yourself and Van back safely, alright?" she said quietly. Thomas' face fell. "Oh, and Van…of course…" *Dammit, forgot about him… Oh wait; that's the reason I'm going…* "Heh…can't forget him I suppose!" he laughed it off before stopping when he noticed how serious Fiona was. He smiled sadly down at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it… We'll both come back alive; I promise you that…" he whispered. She smiled warmly up at him and nodded, almost to herself. "I know you will Thomas…you and Van…"
***
Raven turned around with a smirk as he stood at the mouth of the cave, beaming down at his captive. A bright flash of lightning illuminated his figure and he cocked his head to the side, one hand resting casually on his hip.
"Well Van, how are you liking my plan so far?" he asked innocently. "Up to your great standards, I'd hope!" he laughed as Van just glared at him from his place on the ground. "Fuck you Raven!" he snapped at him loudly. Raven faked an offended look. "Why Van, I'm hurt. I go to all this trouble to have one of your worthless friends pay you a visit and that's all you have to say," he paused as his smile returned. "Or would you rather it be Irvine that came to your rescue instead of that Schubaltz?"
Van's eyes snapped wide open and he glared, horrified, up at the grey haired maverick. Raven just walked over to him and leant in close, grabbing his face roughly. He narrowed his gaze at him as his smile dissipated; replaced with a cold sneer. "You're a disgrace to our species…" he breathed and shoved him back against the cold stone harshly. Van's head cracked against it hard and he gasped coarsely, wincing hard as he clenched his eyes tight.
Raven stood up and turned his back to him, folding his arms across his chest. Van opened his eyes and set his gaze on Raven's still form, taking in a few deep breaths behind clenched teeth. He took a quick look around him; his hands were still bound behind his back and there was nothing around him that could cut through the tight cord. He bit back a groan of frustration and pulled his legs close to his chest, rolling silently forward until he was crouching, his eyes never leaving Raven's back.
With a hard shove, Van sprang from his place and shoulder barged Raven with all of his strength. The sudden move caught the maverick off-guard and he lurched forward violently, head snapping back as he cried out and fell to the ground harshly. Van released a snarl as he got back to his feet and flew at Raven's form again, falling onto his back hard with his knees. Raven cried out in pain and Van shot from his place, bolting from the cave as fast as his legs would carry him into the grey haze of rain.
*Dammit! I have to get my arms free!* his mind screamed at him as adrenaline coursed through his body, urging him to go faster. He growled in frustration as his hair began to fall slick to his scalp and he threw his head back in an attempt to flick it out of his eyes. "Damned rain! I can barely see two feet in front of me!"
Sudden pain, like fire, lanced through his body and he screamed as he fell to the muddy ground harshly, sprawling into the muck with another cry of pain. His whole leg felt like it was on fire! Van clenched his teeth tightly as he lay on the ground in extreme pain. Another flash of lightning and he saw that Raven was walking up to him with one arm around his ribs and the other clutching something tightly. He half jogged up to Van and kicked him as hard as he could in the ribs, causing the young pilot to cry out further.
"You son of a bitch Van Fleihight!" he screamed at him and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, hauling him to his feet and pulling his face close to his own. "Don't ever fucking try a stunt like that again!! You hear me!?" Van clenched his teeth against the harsh pain and breathed raggedly in Raven's face, glaring at him. Raven snarled at him and punched him in the leg where he had shot him; Van screamed out in pain and Raven, satisfied, half dragged him back to the cave. Once inside the dry confines of their temporary home, Raven shoved Van to the ground as he ground his teeth together, waiting for his breathing to return. He spat to the side and narrowed his eyes at Van's groaning form. *The prick actually managed to wind me…not too bad; he caught me off-guard…*
Van lay on the cold ground, soaked through and in severe pain as he breathed raggedly; his eyes clenched tight. He could tell he was bleeding badly and he was guessing he wasn't going to get any sympathy from Raven, let alone any help from him. He swallowed hard as a shiver tore through his body; he was getting colder, and being soaked through wasn't helping. Van opened his eyes a bare slit as he stared straight ahead, breathing hard still.
"Maybe you'll bleed to death before that moron gets here," Raven snapped. "At least that'll stop you from trying to escape. Of course, it would be the same outcome if you didn't," he paused to sit on the ground opposite Van, still glaring harshly at him. "I'm going to kill you anyway. But this is the best part; it's going to be right before the eyes of that pathetic excuse for a bounty hunter!" Van's eyes snapped wide open and he locked eyes with Raven who merely smirked at him. "Why do you think I only called for the Schubaltz brat? I know that Irvine will follow him; it's not that hard to guess he will," he narrowed his eyes venomously at the young pilot, a sneer crossing his features. "Too bad the one you love is going to be your executioner…"
*Raven's…going to kill me…* his mind whispered softly. *Irvine, no… Oh God no…* Van clenched his eyes tight as hot tears began to well in his eyes. *Irvine…*
TBC
Raven: *hiding in bushes* We need to kill her...
Van: *next to him in bushes* What the hell!? Why??
Raven: Because she's insane...
Van: I know that! But she's done one good thing!
Raven: Oh cheese, you mean the you and Irvine thing?
Van: *dreamy eyed* Yeah...
Raven: *sweatdrops* I want off this ride...
*runs out of the bushes and charges up to Chan*
Raven: We need to talk!
Chan: *sweetly* Really? Whatever about my little Raven-kun?
Raven: I wanna wear pink in the next chapter! *pauses then screams and runs off*
*Chan disolves into laughter as Irvine whacks her over the head*
Chan: What was that for!?
Irvine: How sadistic are you!? You're writing words into their mouthes!!
Van: *from the bushes* It was her fault!
Chan: *sweatdrops* Uhm, well... *points to Raven's screaming and gagging form* He started it! It was his idea!!
Raven: You little-! We had a deal!!