*shakes head* I'm sorry; but I just really loved writing this chapter. I have a real knack for doing emotional scenes it seems (well, according to my selective audience anyhoo) and this has got to be one of my finest pieces IMHO.
I'm dedicating this chapter to Rammstein and Rob Zombie whom without, I would never have the great background music for my fight scenes as I write them. Weeda weevuu-inck timies 'gain!!
To Ninetails: Thankies once more for your great ego swelling opinion! Hehehe...Raven's a bastard... More you want so more you shall get! To Mi Chelle: If you wanna know what happens next then read on deya reader! ^_~ To Maelgwyn: Well Raven only had Van as a *hostage* so he didn't wanna kill him...not just yet anyway... Bah, he's just being uber evil!! To Aqua Rhapsody: Trust me on this one; I was so hyper while writing this last night I didn't need you to plague me! My fingers still hurt from typing so fast but this is the curse of the fanfic writer... Anyhoo, here's a new chappie just fer all of you!
Disclaimer: I'd love to own Zoids so I could con the peoples into doing this story (if only to see some Van + Irvine action! *wink, wink*)
Warnings: *More* swearing and *more* blood! Double iee!! The rating's gone up because of this chapter!! @_@;; (shist...)
Broken ~ Part thirteen
Just Beyond My Fingertips...
Thomas took a shaky breath as he stood staring up at his D-Bison. His three hours were almost up; all he had to do was get the word from General Harlan and he'd be on his way. He bit his bottom lip as a high whine escaped him. He took in another deep breath and held it as he stared, throwing himself forward suddenly and hugging a massive leg.
"I'm so sorry! I don't want to do this to you but it's not my choice!!" he bawled. "If I don't then Moonbei's gonna put me in a box!!" he stopped suddenly. "Hang on, if she sends me there in a box then my D-Bison and Beek won't get hurt… Yes! That's it!" he jumped back and cheered loudly.
"I take back what I said before; that hit to the head did some damage to you!" A high laugh came from behind him and Thomas turned to see Moonbei standing with Fiona, Zeek, General Harlan and Doctor Dee. He froze and dropped his arms, saluting fiercely. "General Harlan sir! The final check has been completed and I'm ready to move out at your command!"
The General nodded and stepped forward, locking his gaze on Thomas'. The blonde pilot blinked at him. "Sir?" he said hesitantly. The General smirked at him, dropping a hand on his shoulder. "Go show that maverick what it means to mess with the Guardian Force," he said softly.
Thomas saluted him and nodded. "You got it sir." He turned to the others and smiled at them, pausing when he noticed something. "Hey, where's Irvine?" Moonbei shrugged and shook her head. "He's still fumed about that message Raven sent; he's probably gone to take it out on some poor punching bag or something." Thomas looked down but nodded all the same. *I wonder why he's so ticked about it? Probably because he can't help out, I'll bet…* The blonde Lieutenant beamed up at them. "Well, I guess I'll be going now!" he said almost too happily.
Fiona stepped over to him and placed a hand on his arm. "Remember what I said Thomas; you and Van are to come back alive!" she gave him a stern reminder. He grinned sheepishly at her and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sure thing Fiona! I'll remember!"
Without further delay, the younger Schubaltz turned on his heel and strode quickly towards his Zoid, climbing inside and sealing himself in with a wave. He took in a deep breath and nodded to himself. "Come on now Thomas, everyone is counting on you; especially Miss Fiona!" he told himself in a determined voice. "I'm not about to let them – or Van – down!" With a hearty chuckle of confidence, Thomas steered the D-Bison out of the hanger and away from the base; fully prepared to take on Raven. Well, at least that's what he was hoping for; in truth, his heart was pounding in his chest as his Zoid ran across the rain soaked desert.
A few scant minutes later, Lieutenant Schubaltz had arrived at the place where Raven planned to meet him. He peered around the area warily; every nerve on edge as if he were waiting for a muzzle flair, an explosion, anything… He swallowed hard. "Beek, can you tell me if he's here or not?"
The AI whistled at him and he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's strange… I'm right on time," he muttered quietly. He blinked and eventually frowned at his screen; it showed nothing more than the surrounding desert and a few rocky outcroppings. Thomas groaned as he peered around nervously, practically jumping out of his skin when Raven's face appeared on a com window.
"Raven!" he fought not to shriek the word. The grey haired maverick smirked and released a gravelly chuckle. "It's so nice to see after all this time I can still have this effect on even a member of the Guardian Force!" he laughed loudly.
Thomas growled at the young pilot. "What have you done with Van!? Where is he!?" he cried. Raven's smile disappeared as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde pilot. "Probably bleeding to death where I left his carcass; why do you care?" Thomas felt his rage building within him. "He better be alive Raven! Or I'll-"
"You'll what? Kill me?" Raven scoffed. "You're only my appetizer Lieutenant Thomas! The main course should be along any moment now and when he gets here, I'll have the perfect opportunity to get rid of all three of you at once!" he smiled widely at him, eyes glittering with hidden excitement. "But to answer your question, take a look at the cave to your right; I know you can see it."
Thomas faltered for a moment before spying the aforementioned cave and zooming in on it; taking in a hitching breath when he saw something that made his blood run cold. Van, at least he thought it was him, was lying face up at the mouth of the stone formation and – he was damn sure of it – was passed out in a steadily growing pool of blood. Thomas snarled as his eyes flew back to Raven.
"What the fuck have you done to him!?" the force behind his words almost startling himself. Raven just gazed back at him with reasoning eyes. "I showed him that it's not polite to try and leave without permission, that's all." Thomas wished the figure in front of him was real, and then he could strangle him. "Show yourself you coward!! Get out here and fight me!!" he cried. Raven shrugged. "As you wish; it's your funeral…" he said simply before the image died.
Thomas growled softly as he waited for a moment. "Beek! Find that son of a bitch now!" A long whistled reply. "Just search for the Geno-Breaker!" he shouted and ran the D-Bison towards the cave.
Beek shrieked the same time as an explosion rocked the massive Zoid. Thomas cried out as he was thrown to the side of his seat. "What the hell!?" He spun around to see a pair of red eyes peering through the haze of rain. "Now, now Lieutenant… The deal was for you to fight me; not to try and run off with my captive…" The owner of the red eyes stepped forward and a flash of lightning illuminated the Geno-Breaker. Thomas hissed out a soft curse and twisted the D-Bison around to face him. "Come on Beek, lock-on already!!" he cried as the AI immediately followed his order. "Megalomax fire!!" he screamed as loudly as he could.
The enormous cannons lit up and a massive beam of energy exploded towards its target as the Geno-Breaker was engulfed in the rain of fire. The D-Bison took a tentative step back as the falling rain quickly smothered the debris, showing the Geno-Breaker without a mark on it. *Shit, thought as much!* Thomas chided himself.
Raven smirked as the Geno-Breaker levelled its head at the opposing Zoid. "And now Lieutenant Schubaltz," he said almost merrily. "Your time is up. No more games; I finish this now!" The red Zoid's mouth began to fill with white-hot energy as its jaws widened further. Thomas narrowed his eyes at the sight. "Beek! Pull up the EPS now!" The AI beeped at him and the D-Bison was shrouded in a bright yellow light. Barely a heartbeat later, the massive Zoid was rocked to its core by a massive explosion and Thomas had to tense his entire body to stop himself from being thrown about.
He gasped loudly as a second explosion hit him and he was slammed to the side harshly; hand flying to his side and clutching it tightly. Beek whistled shrilly at him and Thomas growled audibly. "I know I have to get to Van you idiot! Haven't you noticed my little problem of Raven being in my friggin' way!?" Beek chirped at him insistently and Thomas' eyes went wide as the AI brought up a bio-scan report. "Van is… Beek, you don't mean that-"
His thoughts were cut short as another blast hit the D-Bison and the Zoid went sliding back in a heap; Thomas crying out in pain from the impact. Raven sneered at him from the Geno-Breaker. "Get up and fight me you weakling!" he snapped, the Geno-Breaker storming over to him and stomping on the motionless Zoid heavily.
***
The soldier blinked, head pulling back as he did a double take on his readings. His brow furrowed in confusion as his eyes widened and he spun around from his console. "General Harlan sir!" he called. The General turned to stare at him, walking over quickly with Fiona in tow. "What is it? Is it about Lieutenant Schubaltz?" The soldier shook his head.
"No sir; it's about the Lightning Sykes," the soldier replied quickly. Harlan raised an eyebrow. "Irvine? What's he up to? He better not be going off to play the hero!" the man barked. The soldier almost jumped at his tone. "Well it…it just disappeared sir!" he stammered. The General took a step back. "Disappeared?" Fiona's brow knit in worry. *Oh no, Irvine…*
The console beeped at the soldier and he turned back to it, reading over the new message. "A heat signature has been found sir; bearing one-nine-five. And it's…it's damn fast sir! The radar can barely keep up with it!" the soldier blinked incredulously at his readings. "It's the Sykes, General Harlan sir. And it's headed for Raven and Lieutenant Schubaltz's location at top speed!" The General growled audibly and straightened. *That Fleihight has been a bad influence…* "Just try to get on to him and order him back here immediately! I will not have another one of my men sacrificed!" The soldier nodded and instantly started his orders.
Fiona turned worried eyes back to Zeek and placed a soft hand on his muzzle. The Organoid growled softly and Fiona smiled sadly at him with a nod. "Yes, but please hurry…" she breathed as Zeek turned and walked swiftly out of the control room.
***
Ebony eyes fluttered open, poorly masking the strain it was just to breathe. The sound of metal tearing against metal alerted his ears and he turned his head to see the hazy outlines of two Zoids fighting in the rain. Van blinked slowly and turned his head back to stare at the sky, wincing slightly.
"Raven…" he breathed. Van took in a deep breath and held it as he strained his body into a sitting position, his legs out in front of him. He looked up and realised with great clarity that he was laying just outside of the cave in the pouring rain. A brief flash of lightning made him shield his eyes quickly and he suddenly realised his arms were unbound.
Van stared back at the two Zoids as a wave of pain slammed into his body and he fell back, breath hitching as he cried out. He clutched his ribs tightly and gasped against the pain, oblivious to the rain as he cried out again.
The pain was so intense that hot tears sprang to his eyes as he clenched them tight. He could barely feel them running down his face; mingling with the droplets of water that fell on his face as he whimpered, only wishing it to stop. He breathed hard for a long moment as the pain finally began to subside, the cold sweat barely visible on his forehead as the rain fell down on him. He swallowed hard as he lay there, panting hard, and opened his eyes a bare slit.
"I can't…go on like…this…" he ground out, voice cracking strangely. Van, with great effort, rolled onto his stomach and slowly began to push himself to his knees, breath catching at intervals where his body protested violently against the action. The young pilot finally managed to pull himself into a kneeling position and he breathed hard, staring out at the losing battle. He was too injured and too exhausted to move anymore. His eyes went wide and he straightened suddenly. "Thomas!" he cried hoarsely.
***
Irvine snarled as he pushed the Sykes to its limit, slamming himself to the back of his seat. His features were set to a scowl as he skirted over the desert in a flash; his surroundings a blur. It had been half an hour since Thomas had left; ten minutes since his heart had started pounding; and thirty seconds since he'd decided he'd had enough.
*I don't care what that fucking psychopath said; he's not going to get away with this!* The Sykes leaped over a large stone mass, briefly illuminated by a flash of lightning before landing heavily and bolting off again. *No one hurts Van while I'm around!* He sneered at the land in front of him; the only part that wasn't a blur. "No one!!"
A handful of seconds later, Irvine brought the Sykes down to a walk as he neared the area where Raven had been waiting. He peered around as he searched for any sign of battle in the pouring rain and, with a dejected sigh, shook his head and started a heat scan. The bounty hunter hoped that all this rain wouldn't interfere with the results as the findings came up. He whipped around and shot the Zoid forward a few hundred metres.
"Shit, and I didn't see that?" he breathed as his eyes followed the lines of a very long and deep trench. "It almost looks like…" his eyes went wide. "Thomas!!" The Lightning Sykes ran over to the fallen D-Bison. "Thomas, can you hear me? Thomas? Thomas!" he cried out before his breath caught in his throat. "But that means…" he spun around as a gravelly chuckle rang in his ears.
"How predictable!" Raven laughed again. "The bounty hunter has come for his significant other! How very touching!" Irvine's eyes went wide as Raven's face appeared on-screen with a proud smirk. "You should really see your face; it's so amusing!" he chuckled again. "And just in case you're wondering; no, neither of them are dead just yet. I was saving that for when you arrived; I wanted it to be a special occasion for all of us because there's nothing more touching than a reunion!"
Irvine snarled at him and ran the Sykes at the Geno-Breaker full pelt, catching the maverick off-guard as the cat-like Zoid crunched its jaws down hard on the red Zoid's arm. He jumped back quickly, his reversed momentum carrying him, and deftly tore it from its place. Raven cried out as waves of electrical energy tore through the cockpit, jolting his body in pain. The Sykes jumped back to safety, landing in a low crouch and growled gutturally at him before launching itself at the Geno-Breaker again.
"What have you done to Van!?" Irvine screamed as a massive claw ripped past the Geno-Breaker's side, metal tearing against metal. "Where is he!?" The Zoid whipped around to pounce on the others back, digging its claws in and biting down hard around the Geno-Breaker's neck before the red Zoid had a chance to react. Raven ground his teeth in frustration as he tried desperately to shake the other Zoid off. "Shit! Where did all this come from!?" he cried.
The Lightning Sykes bit down hard, tearing a large gash across the intake vent as he lost his footing and flew back to land heavily in a crouch, growling deeply. The Geno-Breaker turned around slowly to level its gaze at the other Zoid, electrical energy crackling over its body. Raven snarled loudly. "How dare you!!" he cried in frustration. Irvine breathed heavily behind clenched teeth as he booted up a com window to Raven's Zoid, glaring at his image. "Where is Van?" he breathed, venom laced in his words. Raven sneered at him. "He's probably already bled to death where I left him!" Raven smirked at the expression on Irvine's face that was caught half way between rage and shock. "What? Don't believe me?" Raven's image was suddenly replaced by a shot of the entrance of the cave. He felt his heart clench painfully and he saw Van kneeling there, one hand pressed to the stone of the cave and the other wrapped tightly around his ribs as he breathed hard, blood streaming down his leg and neck.
"Van!!" he cried. He started the Lightning Sykes forward, taking only two steps before the Geno-Breaker jumped in front of him. "Uh uh uh… The deal was if you could beat me; then he's all yours!" Irvine froze. "Me? But you sent the message-" Raven smirked. "To Thomas? Oh please; that pathetic excuse for a soldier couldn't beat me in a million years! Besides, it was you I was really after; not him!
"You see," he said softly, as if he were divulging some great secret. "Van and I had a little talk before you got here; it seems I was right in thinking he had a thing for you after all. So I thought to myself wouldn't it be most exciting to see what would happen if my orders weren't followed?" he released a gravelly chuckle. "And look what happens; Irvine the great bounty hunter shows up to save the day! Just as predicted!" Irvine felt a twinge of rage run through his body like wildfire but otherwise stopped himself. "Then I guess it's up to me to finish the job…" he replied barely above a whisper.
"Eh? What are you on about!?" Raven snapped. Irvine narrowed his gaze at the Geno-Breaker. "Two and a half weeks ago, Van tried to stop you from causing anymore pain! Now I'm here to finish the job!!" He slammed the Sykes forward as fast as it would go, ramming the Geno-Breaker with all of his strength. The red Zoid stumbled back a few steps and Raven snarled at him. "You'll pay for this!" he screamed in fury and shot a massive claw out towards the Sykes, catching it on the leg and whipping the Zoid upwards. Irvine cried out as he flew through the air towards the Geno-Breaker, watching for a few scant seconds as the red Zoid aimed its open maw at the oncoming Sykes.
Raven fired the immense beam of light straight at the oncoming Lightning Sykes, watching as it was instantly blown back. The Sykes landed on the ground a few hundred metres away with a sickening crack of metal and rebounded against the earth, tumbling to a stop further away still. Electrical energy tore over it in massive arcs of blue and white and Irvine grit his teeth against the pain, his whole body tensing as he cried out behind clenched teeth.
The grey haired maverick narrowed his eyes at the motionless hulk of the Sykes, a soft curse escaping his lips. "He must have had that hopeless shield installed as well," he muttered as a smirk crossed his features. "Oh well…it doesn't matter now, he won't be getting up for a long time." Raven chuckled to himself as he opened the cockpit and stood out on the open hatch, a hand resting on his hip as he gloated over his sudden victory. "I'm disappointed…" he breathed to himself. "I would have thought he'd be more of a challenge than that…"
He chuckled loudly and pulled out his gun. "Oh well, too bad," he smirked as he took aim at Van. "But even though you came, the deal still stands, and you broke that deal Irvine!" his smirk twisted into a sneer of almost sheer pleasure as he narrowed his gaze and pulled the trigger. Van looked up in the same instant as Irvine screamed his name, a vacant sadness crossing his face as he stared up at Raven.
He never felt the bullet tear through his flesh, only the impact that threw him backward so his body slammed against the stone barrier behind him and his head cracked sickeningly against it. He leant there for a second before his legs gave way and he slid down the stone, a trail of blood smearing across the jagged rock in his wake. "Ir…vine…" he breathed quietly before his eyes slid shut and he fell forward on the ground, unmoving.
Irvine felt his entire world narrow to a single focus as his breath lodged in his throat and his heart stopped. He barely noticed as a flash of lightning streaked overhead and struck the earth between him and the cave. He could only see Van as he lay motionless. He could only hear Raven's cold laughter ringing in his ears. He could only taste how dry his mouth was. Irvine suddenly took in a shaky breath as his eyes began to burn with tears of disbelief. He swallowed past the lump in his throat as he could suddenly recall, clearer than ever before, every word the two had shared; every smile that had been given. Tears streamed down his face as he turned his eyes back to Raven.
"You…" he choked out, vision blurring uncontrollably as he glared death at Raven. "Van was… He just…" his breathing was shaky and shallow as his hands clenched tightly around the controls of the Lightning Sykes. "Van…" he breathed in a high whisper, voice catching. Irvine snapped his head up as he heard a long sound that was caught between a feral roar and a howl and saw Zeek standing over Van's motionless body. "Zeek…" he breathed. "Zeek!!" he cried with all of his strength.
The Organoid dissolved in a flash of light and shot straight up, twisting around in a perfect arc and descending straight towards the Lightning Sykes. Irvine cried out in surprise as the entire Zoid was lost in a wash of light and instantly jumped to its feet. Zeek growled from the Zoid Core and Irvine snapped his head up to meet Raven's startled gaze, narrowing his mauve gaze at the maverick. "Go Zeek!!" he screamed as the Lightning Sykes shot forward and whipped up its shield in an instant, charging towards the Geno-Breaker at full throttle.
Raven cried out in surprise at the charging Zoid. "What's this!?" He screamed as the Sykes absolutely slammed into it with everything it had and more. Raven screamed out as he was thrown violently from the open cockpit and landed heavily some hundred metres away in a crumpled heap. Irvine breathed heavily, still in the shock of everything as he shot his gaze back up to Van and felt his heart tighten again. "Van!" he cried as fresh tears sprang to his eyes. He ran the Zoid over to the high cave entrance and shoved the cockpit open, leaping out and nearly falling over himself in an attempt to run over to Van's motionless form.
"Van…!" his breath caught in his throat as he fell next to him in the mud. Irvine turned him over quickly and bit his bottom lip as he saw the blood and muck that stained his entire front. *He won't be… He won't be… He won't…* his mind chanted in an effort to calm himself down as he hastily checked for a pulse. "Shit!" his voice cracked and he ripped his headband off, tying it tightly around the wound on his leg in an effort to stop some of the bleeding.
Irvine pulled one of his knee guards off as he pressed his knee to the fresh wound on his chest in an effort to stop the bleeding. "Come on Van, come on… Don't quit on me dammit!" he said, more for himself than anything else. He quickly pressed the heel of his palm to Van's sternum, pushing down had as tears streamed down his face. He watched Van's face intently as he pushed again and again and again, praying for a sigh; a twitch; anything to prove his dreaded thoughts wrong.
"Van, for fuck's sake, wake up dammit!!" Irvine screamed and slammed his fist down on the teen's chest. "You're not going to die out here!" he slammed down again. "I won't let you; you hear me!?" he cried and slammed his fist down again. His breath hitched as it caught in his throat; a choked sob escaping him as stopped and swallowed hard. Irvine cried out in frustration before his breathing calmed down and he pressed his mouth to Van's, pushing air into his lungs. The bounty hunter turned to watch as Van's chest rose and fell and he felt his warm breath on his cheek before he breathed into him again.
Irvine pulled back and pressed his hand to the young pilot's chest again. "You won't die!" he cried as he pushed down rhythmically on the teen's chest, tears streaming down his cheeks to drop to the ground like the rain around him. "Wake up Van, please!!" he sobbed loudly. He barely heard the scrape of stone behind him over the rain and his own sobs, and he twisted around to see that Raven had pulled himself up to where the two were, gun shakily aimed at Irvine.
"He stays…dead…and you…" he grated painfully as rage flash behind his eyes. "Can join him!!" he screamed as his finger squeezed around the trigger. A flash of silver shot past Irvine and the bullet whizzed past his head, skimming his hair by sheer millimetres as Zeek tackled the maverick and crushed the gun in his jaws, whapping his tail down onto his head and rendering him unconscious. Irvine nodded to Zeek and turned back to Van, leaning down and pressing his mouth to his again. He breathed into him and turned to watch his chest rise and fall as before, repeating it before he pressed his hands to his chest again.
"Van, please!" he cried, pushing down with all of his strength as his tears dropped onto the teen's chest. "Come on Van!!" Irvine slammed his fist down on his chest again as he sobbed loudly. *This isn't happening… This isn't happening… Oh God, this isn't real!! It isn't!!* his mind screamed as he collapsed onto Van's chest and cried without abandon, fists clenching painfully as his shoulders shook with the force of his sobs. A bolt of lightning lit up the skies briefly before he arched his back as he shot back up and released an ear-piercing wail of agony.
"VAAAAAN!!!"
TBC
Raven: Hey! Why are you trying to kill me!?
Van: You!? What about me!?
Raven: Who cares about you!?
Van: Better watch your mouth Raven!
Raven: *sing-songy voice* Oh I'm sorry! Maybe I'd better apologise to you!
Van: Well it's not because you're being mean...
Raven: Oh? And what's so bad that- *turns around* Oh crud...
*Chan tackles him from behind in a wild brawl with several fireballs being thrown about in the mix*
Van: *sweatdrops* That's why... Man, that's gotta hurt... *turns to readers* General surgeons health warning: never, ever piss Chan off by saying bad things about me!
Chan: *sweetly from the calming dust* You got it Van!
*Raven just groans in pain and Chan whaps him on the head*
Chan: Shut it you! Bad Raven! BAD!! No bad-mouthing Van-kun or I kick your ass again!
Irvine: I don't want to know... *notices Van and glomps him* You're ali~ive!!
Van: You stole my line!!
Irvine: But *you're* the near-dead guy!!
Van: Oh yeah...