Raven swung the Genobreaker around, aiming for Van. An indigo beam shot from the sky, blasting through the Genobreaker. Through the zoid core. Time slowed, stopping as he slid out, landing in a crouch on the sand.
The familiar blue bolt of lightning shot out, coming to a rest on the sandy floor of the desert. Raven touched a hand to his organoid. "Shadow?" Nothing. He stared in horror and pain as the gray stone began creeping over Shadow's body. "Shadow!" he screamed, throwing his arms around his dead organoid's neck. One crystalline tear slid slowly down his cheek, dropping to the dirt.
He lifted his head to the Blade Liger. It stood there, watching him. The Dark One turned silently and got into the Genobreaker, taking Shadow away. Taking his only friend.
Raven sat on the roof of his old house, looking at the stars. The stone shell of Shadow stood there, keeping silent vigil. The Dark One buried his head in his arms and let the tears flow.
Shadow was gone. Shadow, his friend, his protector, his partner. It was obvious who had killed him. Hiltz. The red-haired bastard. Shadow had been his anchor in the storm, his shelter in the tempest, and he was gone. It was cruel; Zi didn't care about one organoid's death, didn't care that Shadow had died alone and frightened. Raven had never gotten a chance to say goodbye.
Shadow was dead. Dead, gone, for eternity. Dead. The hard, stark truth in that one word. Raven lifted his head and looked upward. The stars still shone, the planet still moved, time went on.
Raven would get revenge. Raven would tear the Death Stinger to pieces, making Hiltz watch every step of the way. He did not care that this would put him on the same side as Van, that it would make him 'good.' There was no good. There was no evil. The line between them is blurred, the line is nonexistent.
Raven threw his head back and screamed to the dark skies, screamed all his rage and pain and sadness into that one feral roar.
Van watched him from the cliff, with Irvine, Thomas, Moonbay, and Fiona behind him. "Poor Raven." he whispered. The shadowy figure of the Dark One stood up and stared at the stone Shadow. He pulled out a gun and shot it through the head, shattering it into pieces.
Raven bent over the pieces, gathering them into a bag, which he hung around his neck, inside the battle suit. The Dark One looked down at the observatory. In there, his parents had died; in there, Ambient had ended their lives, while Hiltz watched from the shadows.
He didn't notice that his fists were clenched tight, blood running down his arm. Hiltz would pay, he vowed. Hiltz would pay the price in blood. The price of Shadow, the price of his parents. The price of Shadow, however, could never be paid. It would take an eternity of screams, an eternity of flames, for Shadow's death to be redeemed.
Van panted as he stared at the Death Stinger. The Ultrasaurus stood behind him, watching. "Out of my way!" someone screamed. The red blur of the Genobreaker streaked forward, firing madly. Van rested his head on the console, one burning question running through his head. WHY?
Raven gritted his teeth. Hiltz was merged with the Deathsaurer. He had Shadow back, but the blood price needed to be paid. He flew to the top of a building, and snapped the footlocks down. The Genobreaker's mouth opened, as he fought viciously against the red-orange glow. "Van! Hiltz has set up an energy shield! I'm going to blast a hole in it, you just have to aim for that hole, got it?"
He gunned the charged particle cannon, as the indigo beam flared wildly, pushing against the barrier. He felt, rather than saw, Shadow merge with the Genobreaker. "Now Shadow! Punch it!!" The beam shot forward, and shattered the shield.
The Deathsaurer stumbled back, as the Blade Liger crashed through it in a blaze of light. It landed and fell. Raven watched the Ultimate Deathsaurer fall. The terror was gone. He turned, and slowly made his way towards the remnants of his home.
Van stuck his head inside the stone ruins that he had seen Raven enter. Raven was sitting at the kitchen table, staring blankly at it. Shadow was curled in the corner, exhausted. Van sat down. Raven didn't show any surprise as he said, "Why did you help us?"
Raven looked up. "Shadow. Shadow was killed."
Of all the things I've believed in,
I just want to get it over with
Tears form behind my eyes
But I do not cry.
Counting the days that pass me by.
"I helped you. I admit it. And do you know what? Those last eight years of destruction don't seem real anymore. I'm starting my life again."
I've been searching deep down inside my soul
Words that I'm hearing
Are starting to get old
It feels like I'm starting all over again
The last eight years were just pretend,
And I said,
"I never said goodbye to Shadow. When he was killed, it seemed that my whole life was one big lie. That everything I knew was a dream."
Goodbye to you,
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew,
You were the one I loved,
The one thing I tried to hold on to.
"Shadow was my anchor in the storm, my shelter in the tempest. He was the only thing that kept me from succumbing to the darkness. If that had happened, I would have gone insane and destroyed much more than I have."
I still get lost in your eyes,
And it seems that I can't live a day
Without you.
Closing my eyes and you chase my
thoughts away,
To a place where
I am blinded by the light.
"Shadow was my friend when everyone hated me, the person that carried me when I was tired, and I never said goodbye. My whole life was a lie."
Goodbye to you,
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew,
You were the one I loved,
The one thing I tried to hold on to,
"I wanted to be an organoid sometimes. To not deal with pain, to have my life planned for me. I also wanted something human. I wanted everything, and I wanted nothing."
And it hurts to want everything and
nothing at the same time
I want what's yours,
and I want what's mine,
I want you
but I'm not giving in this time .
"I love Shadow. He is the only thing I love. I always thought he would be there, that he would never die, never leave me alone once again."
Goodbye to you,
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew,
You were the one I loved,
The one thing I tried to hold on to,
The one thing I tried to hold on to.
"My father told me once, that when someone dies, they become a star. If Shadow became one, I would wait to see him. But I have him back now. I will never be on my own again."
And when the stars fall,
I will lie awake,
You're my shooting star.
Raven turned away and walked outside with Shadow. Shadow flew into the darkness, soaring. Van whispered, "Owari, Raven."