Finally, Chapter 9. I'm trying to finish up the story. I know there are some people who want to know what's going to happen. Hope you like this chapter. R+R


Van was elated. Was Fiona doing this all for him?

Van had thought a lot about what Fiona said about Cory. It wasn't normal. He wasn't normal. They needed him gone; gone for good. Fiona told him to leave, but Van knew Cory wasn't going to leave because he wanted Fiona to come back to him. This was now a battle. A man on man battle, all for one girl.

It hurt Fiona to tell Cory what she had told him, but she couldn't be with him anymore. It was mostly Van and Andi that had changed her mind about him. What did the two of them talk about while they were gone? She hated the thought and kept it to herself. She was just thankful she had finally figured something was wrong with Cory.

Van was instructed to wait in Fiona's room while she went to…break up with Cory.

When she walked back in to the room, Van stood up.

"How did it go?"

Fiona shrugged, but she was obviously hurt, "I didn't look into his eyes."

"I'm really sorry about all this." Van meant it. He hated to see her hurting, but he was happy she wasn't with Cory. It left her for him.

She laughed, almost like what he had said was a joke. She knew he didn't really mean it. "No you're not, Van." Her head dropped and she stared at the ground, "I'm the one who should be sorry. I treated you like dirt…"

Van didn't know what to say. It was true. She had treated him like dirt. She'd avoided him when he told her he loved her, and she'd ditched him for Cory.

"Listen, Fiona, that's over. It's in the past. You don't have to worry about what you did and what I did, worry about what we have to do now." Van grabbed a strand of her hair and pushed it behind her ear. She was a mess.

"How can I just forget? How can I forget how horribly I treated my best friend? Van…I love you." She put her hands over face, dropped to her knees and cried. She let it all go. Everything.

Van didn't know what to say, what to do. So, he dropped to his knees, wrapped his arm around Fiona and let her cry.

Cory

I'm all alone all over again. After all the time I was lost in darkness and alone in a world no one could understand.

Cory was wrecked. He couldn't cry. He was numb. He wasn't ready for what Fiona had told him. He would never be ready, never again. How could he go on?

Flashback

Cory drove his car over the rough terrain of the dessert, with his beautiful brunette wife next to him.

"Be careful, honey. Anything can happen out here." His wife, Grace, grabbed his muscular arm and held tightly. She hated cars.

"Ah…don't worry, babe. I'm a good driver. Has anything ever happened while I've been driving?" He eyed her lovingly.

"Well…no. But you know how much I hate driving." She looked around nervously.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll be careful, I promise." He reassured her.

A layer of smoke lay still in the air. Cory didn't know where it could have come from. He ignored it.


The Genobreaker burst through the cloud of smoke, steering the car off the road. Cory was able to slam on the breaks before he flipped or crashed.

"What was that?" Grace was now frantically grabbing at the door handle.

"Grace, no!" He grabbed her arm before she could get out. "Don't get out. It'll kill you."

Her eyes widened in fear. "I don't want to die!"

"If you stay in the car, you won't." She relaxed back in to her seat.

The Genobreaker stood right in front of their car, mouth open. The bright blue ball in the middle of its mouth signified the Particle Beam. It leaned back and fired, engulfing their car in the blue line of fire.

With that, it was gone.

End Flashback

Cory broke down in tears. Remembering caused him to cry. He didn't want to remember. Not now, but he couldn't help himself. It seemed as if it had happened just yesterday, and he was back where he was seven years ago.

Andi spotted Cory in his room, crying.

"Cory? Are you okay?" She ran toward him.

He quickly wiped away his tears. His eyes remained a tear stained red. "I'll never be okay. Never."

"Aww…Cory. I'm sorry. What happened?" She sat down next to him, in an attempt to comfort him.

He broke down and told her everything, right from the beginning when hell first broke loose.

Flashback

Their car had been completely torched. Cory lay on the ground, helpless. The face of Grace flashed through his mind. "Grace!" He tried to sit up.

A man in a white suit ran toward him, knelt down beside him, and checked his pulse to make sure his heart was beating normally. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Never mind me, where is Grace?" He tried to sit up again.

"Grace? Is that your wife?" The man's eyebrows raised and he frowned.

"Yes, she's my wife." He looked in to the doctor's eyes. "Where is she?" He struggled to speak.

"She…she…didn't make it. I'm sorry, sir." The doctor held his shoulder, tightly.

Cory was visibly torn. "No…no…Grace…" His heart felt like it would stop any minute. It was skipping beats, betraying him. He fell to the ground, passing out and wouldn't wake up for the next seven years.

Hospital- 4 years later

Cory's sister stayed with him while he was caught up in the coma, he wouldn't come out of.

"Come on Cory, come back. It's Cameron. Remember?" She stared down through the window, longingly. She wanted her brother back, the brother who had always stuck by her side; her older brother, Cory.

He lay still, no reaction, no movement. Cameron had been coming to visit him for four years. Every week she would sit by him and talk to him. She believed he could hear her.

She had no idea she would have to be coming back for the next three years.

End Flashback

"I was stuck in a coma for seven years…" He heard Andi gasp.

"Oh my God," Andi wanted to hug him, to hold him, to let him know he could lean on her when he needed someone to lean on. "Cory…I'm so sorry. I had no idea anything like that happened to you. If you need someone to talk to, you know I'm always here for you."

"Thank you so much." She leaned over and gave him a hug. He took it in. He was glad for the embrace. He needed it now, more than ever.

Van and Fiona

Fiona sat back on her legs. Van sat next to her, hugging her close to his warm side. Her mascara had run all down her face, leaving black tear stains on her cheeks. Her eyes were red; her hands were soaked with tears.

"Are you gonna be okay now?" Van wouldn't let her go. He was afraid she would break down again.

"I think so." She wiped her eyes. "Always know, Van…I'm sorry."

"I know and I forgive you for everything." He took her face in his hands. "I love you more than you'll ever know." Their lips brushed, they held the kiss. This is what Van had always wanted; what he was hoping for all along.

Fiona loved the feeling of this kiss, this moment; his soft lips on hers. The kiss she now held was what she had longed for; prayed for.

Van had made the move, Fiona had accepted it. This was what was meant to be.

Andi and Cory

"How long were you married to Grace?" Andi hated to bring back the memories, but she wanted to know.

"Almost four years." Cory pulled at his hair, self-consciously.

Flashback

Cameron sat at the bedside three years later. She had faithfully come to visit Cory every single day. She talked to him about everything on her mind, about her new boyfriend, and what they had done for their first date. She knew he could hear her, he was listening intently.

Cory gasped and shot up in bed. His eyes had a neutral look. "Where am I?" He asked in a whispering, raspy voice. He put his hand to his heart. "I'm alive…"

"Cory!" She jumped up and hugged him. She hugged him tightly. How could he just come alive after seven years of unconsciousness? "Cory…yes…you are alive."

His breathing was labored, "Where's Grace? Where am I? Why are you here? Cameron…" He held her, like he'd never been able to hold someone before in his life.

"Cory…Grace is gone. She died seven years ago, when the Particle Beam destroyed your car. You survived, you lived. You've been in a coma for seven years, Cory. Seven years."

Everything came back to him. He remembered how the car had been engulfed in the glowing blue line of fire. "She's gone. I'm here. Why couldn't I have died?" He slammed his fist on to the hospital bed.

"Cory stop it. You're alive and that's all that matters right now. You aren't going to be able to walk for a while. You've been unconscious for too long." She rubbed his bare back.

"I…"

She put her finger to his mouth to quiet him. "Rest."

4 months later

"I need a job, Cameron. I can't sit around and hope a job will come to me. I need to go out and find one. You know jobs don't walk, right?" Cory had just recently recovered.

"You can't get a job, not with those, you know…" She was hesitant to let him go.

"Who's the older one here? I need to, Cameron. Those don't matter. I won't use them. I don't need to. I'm not ready for any type of relationship now anyways." When Cory had been hit by the Particle Beam, he gained a power. The power to make anyone do what he wanted them to do. He could even make a girl fall in love with him if he wanted to.

Cameron sighed heavily. "Fine, go find a job."


Cory left to find a job. He found a job working with one of the best Zoids pilots on the planet Zi, Van Flyheight. He figured he could do well with that job.

And then he met Fiona.

End Flashback

Cory was now in a position he never wanted to be in. He should have listened to Cameron. Only now, Andi knew everything. She knew he gained powers, and she knew he could use them as he pleased. He would never use them on Andi. He could get another girl, another wife, without using his powers. He had gotten Grace.

Andi felt horrible for Cory. She couldn't help it. She needed to let Van and Fiona know about this. This was worth keeping Cory and giving him another chance.


Thanks for reading. Hope you like it. Please, R+R!