DISCLAIMER: I don't own ZOIDS!
Chapter 3: Nande kuso?! What do you mean you sold it?!
"Raaaaavvvveeeeennnn...." whined Van desperately. "Talk to me, will you?"
Expectedly, the addressed stoically ignored the sound, though perhaps an eyebrow twitched? It was difficult to gauge the maverick's reaction when he presented the Blade Liger with a spectacular view of the back of his head, covered with matted grey locks. Sulkily, Van puffed and tried again.
"You'll have to talk sometime, you know. It's not human to not talk for more than ten minutes! I bet you chat to that pile of scrap metal-" Menacing growls warned him to proceed no further along that line of thought, though the organoid seemed content to let him trail the pair. 'Maybe they haven't noticed I was here,' he thought hopefully, though that was an obscene idea even for him; a giant, bright blue Zoid clunking along 'stealthily' in a very narrow valley was hardly difficult to see.
Liger did a Zoid's equivalent of rolling his eyes as he listened to his pilot mentally ramble. He may have liked the kid, but the ancient Zoid was under no illusions about the eccentricities of his pilot, whose current lack of tact was likely to get them both killed. Liger recognised the other boy and his organoid; they were likely to be plotting to murder his pilot at that very instant, judging by the irritated stomping both now resorted to. Though he wasn't an expert on human behaviour, he was sure smoke rising from the two was not a good sign.
Contentedly oblivious, Van continued to throw comments at the maverick and his organoid. Now Liger was certain he could see smoke billowing... or maybe that was just from the gun?
KABOOM Ah ha, it was the gun! Liger felt smug at being correct. He wasn't sure how the gun exploded, though he suspected that the human had been clenching the metal a little too hard. His pilot seemed a little more concerned; he exited the cockpit and ran over to the other man. The organoid growled, sable skin flashing as metal muscles coiled and sprang. Reflexes allowed his pilot to dodge relatively unharmed. Putting up both hands, Van backed away slowly.
"Shadow, leave be," commanded the still-smoking maverick, who stared blankly at his hand. The organoid growled in protest but obeyed, giving Van a glare before retreating into shade. He took the oppurtunity to run to Raven and inspect the injured pilot. The explosion had sent large pieces of metal slicing through black clad arms, though the pale face was unmarked. Smaller splinters had lacerated his ungloved hand, though they failed to break through the prominent scar already present on the calloused palm.
"I'm so sorry!" Van burst out, starting to rip a piece of cloth from his tunic for bandaging. The other's unbloodied hand flapped in dismissal and paused his actions, though its owner never looked up from the injured appendage. Shaking his head, he continued to tear until he had a long strip of material. Deftly, he slid it around one long gash on an injured arm; another bandage fastened over a second wound. Raven did not react until a smaller piece was tied around his injured hand, thus blocking his view of the scar.
"What are you doing, Flyheight?" "Oh, so it's back to Flyheight again is it? Whatever happened to calling me Van? And what's it look like I'm doing? I'm bandaging your wounds since you're too stoned to do it, and so that you don't bleed to death on me. Literally and figuratively." In a bizarre show of patience, Raven answered the questions one by one, without performing any acts of impending violence. "I'm calling you Flyheight again instead of Van, because 'Van' annoys me and 'Flyheight' doesn't. It looks like you're trying to cut off my blood circulation with random pieces of scrap cloth. Which doesn't really help you're 'I'm trying to save you from imminent death' argument. And what I meant was 'why the hell aren't you in a cosy little office with the Guardian Force enjoying the privileges of being the hero who saved the world twice from the Deathsaurer?"
It was possibly the longest speech the maverick had made in his life; needless to say, both he and Van were rather surprised. A few mutual blinks, and a trace of red on the former's cheeks other than the recent spray of blood and laterally inverted seven and dot? "Didn't you know? I quit the GF right after the Ultimate Deathsaurer was defeated, and I've been looking for you ever since," replied Van, after overcoming his initial shock from hearing his rival's voice for an extended period of time. "You're so hard to find, you know? Which is probably a good thing considering that the GF's after you again..." "Hmph." Determined not to let himself make another pointless speech, Raven shrugged to show his disdain for the other pilot's former employees. "I've been on 'WANTED' posters around the entire planet for years. I don't need your help."
To Van's dismay, he stalked off, followed closely by Shadow. The organoid gave him an odd look (pity for his stupidity?) and turned his head to his owner, growling softly. A pause; Raven looked down at his hand again. For a moment, hope that he had come to his senses rose for his former nemesis. A glance from the maverick cut that notion short. "I liked the other Flyheight better," he declared cryptically, then started off again, leaving Van staring in confusion. "Huh? When'd you start dating my sister?"
One bleeding nose, three black eyes, twelve bruises and two wobbly teeth later, Van had determined that Raven had yet to meet his sister and convinced the maverick to enter the sacred realm of the Blade Liger. Neither of the latter two were exactly thrilled about the arrangement, but as he had shown a rare burst of diplomacy neither could refuse. Liger was easy to deal with; mention the words "SCRAP METAL" and "USED PARTS DEALER", and the fearsome Zoid was as timid as a salamander of the non-firebreathing species (though Van was convinced that his partner was merely humouring him). The harder problem was of course, getting the Raven to agree.
In a walnut shell, the maverick had been bribed with a sack of rice, bottle of port, a microwave, Van's own mp3 player and stack of songs, and a long roll of duct tape, as well as three thousand dollars in cash, while also having a random metal pole hanging above his head. Though usually completely unresponsive to threats of any nature or type, the bribe part Raven liked, and the idea of being followed aimlessly by EARDRUM-BUSTINGLY- NOISY whining Van was not pleasant. At least, with this arrangement, he would only have to suffer LOUD whining. That he considered fair.
And so, one scowling grey-haired pilot entered one sulking blue-headed Zoid, leaving Van with a loving peace and quiet as he navigated in the front seat. This left Shadow clunking along outside, peering suspiciously at his master and wondering what mind control spell he was under this time. The poor organoid felt justifiably confused at the situation (organoids never quite grasped the concept of humans being more vulnerable to persuasion when tired), and decided that he would have to find Ryss to exorcise him. Which led to Raven being abandoned by his trusty sidekick for an unknown reason, and being left behind with the person he hated most in the world.
Needless to say, the results weren't pretty in the conventional sense.
Therefore, it took Van forty-eight hours to remember to ask Raven exactly what he was doing wondering around in the desert with only an organoid and (currently decimated) missile gun for protection, and a further thirty-six hours for him to narrow the question down to: "Where's your Genobreaker?" It took another two days for his companion to actually answer, and only because Shadow had returned an hour beforehand. The organoid was considerably enlightened, though by what his partner did not know (or want to know), especially since he was now being sniggered at when he appeared not to be looking. Stupid lump of black metal must have contracted some tropical ghost and must be exorcised.
The bonds of an organoid and his owner must never be underestimated.
After whacking his poor, snickering organoid with a stick several times and thus curing the previously uncured laughter, Raven turned to aim a glare at his obliviously naive ex-enemy. He considered just ignoring the question as he had previously, but wondered if he could endure another few days being asked the same question over and over. Normally, he delighted in avoiding giving any actual useful answers to the fools interrogating him, but Van was no fool... of course, he'd only ever tell that if... THERE IS NO IF!
"I don't want a Zoid that was given to me by Hiltz and Prozen. I'll go without if I have to." "So where is it then?" "Sold it." "You WHAT?!" "Two days ago, to some army base."
Van moaned in exasperation. "You have the worst timing! Don't you know that there's a huge conspiracy to capture you taking place right this second? Possibly even this minute?! And you just sold the greatest defence in the world for a couple of bucks... how could you?" Shrug. "I needed money. And that piece of red junk was just sitting there-" "It's a bloody Genobreaker! What-" "Look, Flyheight, that thing was fucked up by Hiltz way before Zoideve. The only reason it could fight was because the damn statue decided it wanted a breath of fresh air, okay?"
"... so, did you get another Zoid?" An annoyed glance. "All the other Zoids around are below my standard. There's no way I'm using some fourth-rate Zoid after the Genobreaker." "Which is a problem since you SOLD IT!" "It was my Zoid and I'll do what I like with it!": "Then don't blame me if you get caught by the GF!" "Fine!"
Taking several deep breaths after his outburst, Raven moved forward and pushed the other pilot roughly to the side, earning a squawk of indignation. He smirked at that.
"What are you doing?" "Since that scrappy excuse of a Zoid is apparently so important, I'm getting it back then, aren't I? And if you know what's good for you, you will not complain that this is stealing." "But... but-" "I don't want to hear it."
After loudly declaring that he would either pilot a Zoid or walk, Raven found himself still in the back seat, sulking. It was a new emotion for the maverick, and certainly not one he enjoyed, though secretly he found it all intriguing. Why was it that this annoying little brat who was once his mortal enemy and (essentially) the focus of his villainous, homicidal life, could make him feel human? He suddenly wanted to talk! Say something, whine about his tragic childhood, about those bastards he'd worked with, about their organoids, their Zoids, their Zoidians... everything!
With Ryss, he didn't have to talk. She was a psychopathic psychic, and thus knew everything before he had to say anything. Which was good. But now he was being forced to deal with Van Flyheight, who didn't even understand anything you said if you explained it in language used for three-year-olds. He wanted to keep his silence, but was finding it increasingly difficult to do so. He wanted to know things, like why Van was such an uptight idiot about everything while maintaining an infuriatingly casual outlook on life (the exact opposite of him), why his Liger was blue when his stupid organoid had been white (where is that thing right now anyway?), why his posse was missing (he finally tired of those idiots), and why the hell was he looking around so anxiously?! It was only two in the morning, for crying out...!
An explosion rocked the canyon, sending boulders flying everywhere. The struck the hastily inacted shield of the Blade Liger, and were flung back with difficulty. Smoke covered the already distantly wan moon, smothering the Zoid in darkness. The Liger's pilot froze completely, even stopping his breathing. He nearly jumped out of his seatbelt when a finger tapped him impatiently.
"Van, what the hell's wrong with you?" "It's... completely dark." Hiss of exasperation. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark." "It's not that! But I can't see anything now." Comprehension dawned, though Raven was not any happier for it. "You've never fought at night." "I have, just not when it's completely pitch dark!"
His words were punctuated by more explosions that shook the Zoid. Wincing when his head struck the metallic side (weren't seatbelts designed to prevent these things?) Raven snarled irritably. "It's not much different from fighting in daylight." "For you maybe." "You're not deaf, you idiot... Listen!"
If he closed his eyes, Van could hear the shifting of nearby stone even as missiles pummeled the shield. He couldn't figure out what Zoids there were though, or how many, or exactly where they were, or...
"Guysack, directly behind!" An image appeared in his head: shiny blue-green armour, tail arched and ready to fire. His fingers reacted automatically; Liger shifted forward two steps and swung around, shooting and hitting the enemy Zoid's tail. A screech confirmed his shot was accurate.
"Sloppy," commented Raven. "Command Wolf, attacking from directly above. Shadow!"
He could feel the difference as Zoid and organoid merged. The gun pivoted and fired at the Command Wolf, piercing through the Zoid core effortlessly. Van moved Liger left, braced for impact, Raven calmly ordered, "Two Darkhorns charging from one o'clock and five o'clock. There's an Iron Kong two hundred metres away at six o'clock, with three Guysacks inbetween; its unprepared." "Right."
He could hear them more clearly now, and interpret it better. Liger retreated three steps, then leapt forward and sprang. With the increased speed from its fusion with Shadow, it was able to easily pass over the Guysacks and dodge their bullets midair. He could hear the collision of the Darkhorns as he unleashed the twin blades, twitching once to dodge a fist, then a second time to correct his aim; the Iron Kong was beheaded. Landing and spinning, Liger charged through the Guysacks, then evaded the wreckage of the Dark Horns to plough through the final, unidentified Zoid.
The dying screams of the Zaber Fang echoed through the canyon. Van listened, without feeling any remorse for the carnage he had just caused. They were bandits, and deserved to be punished. That was justice. It wasn't his fault his skill was superior to theirs... "Sloppy." "W-what?" "If you ever fought me in darkness such as this, you'd never stand a chance." "Hey, cut me some slack. This is a first time thing you know-" Somehow, he knew Raven was shaking his head. "No. You'll never understand it."
The smoke cleared, to once again let the moon's grace fall upon them. Desolate hulls lay around them, their pilots crawling dazedly out from the wreckages. The maverick eyed them casually, then glared at Van. "What are you waiting for, these idiots to find some missile guns? We're going." "Hai."
Liger sprinted away from it all, with a speed he'd never enjoyed before. The Zoid felt refreshed; it had learnt new techniques in this battle, and from now on would not need to rely on sight to function. It's current partner, the black organoid, was certainly different from the white one. Still, as he passed through the canyon at a personal best speed, he though that he could get used to this.
Now if only his pilot could get used to the other boy as well...
AN: Hmm... I really don't know what to do with this fic. It started off with an idea, then went to about four ideas, then I stopped work on it for so long that I forgot everything this began from. Meh. Not sure what to do... but at least now I know (vaguely) what'll happen in the next chapter (at least). But there are a few things I'd like to address first.
Firstly the pairings. Canon-wise, it would be Van/Fiona and Raven/Ryss, but I don't like Fiona. She just... bugs me, that's all. I could also try to do a Van/Raven (see what reading too much shounen-ai does to you?) but I'm not sure. I mean, it definately could work here... what with the whole "I'm dumping my girlfriend to find this annoying hermit of a guy" thing Van's got going on... Would people really hate it if Raven can't make up his mind? Or maybe one of those things were there's definately some chemistry (in the figurative sense of the word) there but nothing ever results? Intelligent (:P) opinions on this would be good.
Secondly, I don't really like Zeke. I find him sweet, but I don't like him. Maybe 'coz he's so loyal to Fiona and everything. Moonbay and Irvine are also not present. I don't dislike them, though they're not my favorite characters either. And since I've tried the whole 'Van has grown away from his former entourage' thing, I'm gonna stick with it. Anyways, Zeke Fiona Moonbay co. will probably make an obligatory cameo appearance or four somewhere down the track, but there's no immediate plans for them.
Thirdly, I foresee complaints about my version of Van being OOC. That's he's not kind or sweet enough. But honestly people, this is a kid who doesn't hesitate to carve Zoids (with their pilots still in them) like cheese. From what I've seen of the show, there doesn't actually seem to be much evidence that Raven has killed in battle while Van has not. It's just that initially Van is such a crap pilot that he's having enough trouble staying alive, let alone killing someone else. And let's not forget that he tried to kill poor lil Raven, and didn't seem to really care afterwards. He's supposed to be twenty and an accomplished pilot now, so don't expect him to act like he's fourteen and an idiot.
With those messages in mind, DON'T come here looking for a sweet Van/Fiona fic with a little Raven/Ryss as a sidedish, where they're surrounded by their loving friends, colleagues and Zoids and will probably live happily ever after. They have kids, and their Zoids will obligatorily evolve into Liger Zero and the Berserk Fury... NO. I'm not doing that, I hope no one expects that, I hope no one tells me they expect that... yeah.
... I think I've alienated at least 85% of the CCGF Zoids fanfic world. -- Go me.
Chapter 3: Nande kuso?! What do you mean you sold it?!
"Raaaaavvvveeeeennnn...." whined Van desperately. "Talk to me, will you?"
Expectedly, the addressed stoically ignored the sound, though perhaps an eyebrow twitched? It was difficult to gauge the maverick's reaction when he presented the Blade Liger with a spectacular view of the back of his head, covered with matted grey locks. Sulkily, Van puffed and tried again.
"You'll have to talk sometime, you know. It's not human to not talk for more than ten minutes! I bet you chat to that pile of scrap metal-" Menacing growls warned him to proceed no further along that line of thought, though the organoid seemed content to let him trail the pair. 'Maybe they haven't noticed I was here,' he thought hopefully, though that was an obscene idea even for him; a giant, bright blue Zoid clunking along 'stealthily' in a very narrow valley was hardly difficult to see.
Liger did a Zoid's equivalent of rolling his eyes as he listened to his pilot mentally ramble. He may have liked the kid, but the ancient Zoid was under no illusions about the eccentricities of his pilot, whose current lack of tact was likely to get them both killed. Liger recognised the other boy and his organoid; they were likely to be plotting to murder his pilot at that very instant, judging by the irritated stomping both now resorted to. Though he wasn't an expert on human behaviour, he was sure smoke rising from the two was not a good sign.
Contentedly oblivious, Van continued to throw comments at the maverick and his organoid. Now Liger was certain he could see smoke billowing... or maybe that was just from the gun?
KABOOM Ah ha, it was the gun! Liger felt smug at being correct. He wasn't sure how the gun exploded, though he suspected that the human had been clenching the metal a little too hard. His pilot seemed a little more concerned; he exited the cockpit and ran over to the other man. The organoid growled, sable skin flashing as metal muscles coiled and sprang. Reflexes allowed his pilot to dodge relatively unharmed. Putting up both hands, Van backed away slowly.
"Shadow, leave be," commanded the still-smoking maverick, who stared blankly at his hand. The organoid growled in protest but obeyed, giving Van a glare before retreating into shade. He took the oppurtunity to run to Raven and inspect the injured pilot. The explosion had sent large pieces of metal slicing through black clad arms, though the pale face was unmarked. Smaller splinters had lacerated his ungloved hand, though they failed to break through the prominent scar already present on the calloused palm.
"I'm so sorry!" Van burst out, starting to rip a piece of cloth from his tunic for bandaging. The other's unbloodied hand flapped in dismissal and paused his actions, though its owner never looked up from the injured appendage. Shaking his head, he continued to tear until he had a long strip of material. Deftly, he slid it around one long gash on an injured arm; another bandage fastened over a second wound. Raven did not react until a smaller piece was tied around his injured hand, thus blocking his view of the scar.
"What are you doing, Flyheight?" "Oh, so it's back to Flyheight again is it? Whatever happened to calling me Van? And what's it look like I'm doing? I'm bandaging your wounds since you're too stoned to do it, and so that you don't bleed to death on me. Literally and figuratively." In a bizarre show of patience, Raven answered the questions one by one, without performing any acts of impending violence. "I'm calling you Flyheight again instead of Van, because 'Van' annoys me and 'Flyheight' doesn't. It looks like you're trying to cut off my blood circulation with random pieces of scrap cloth. Which doesn't really help you're 'I'm trying to save you from imminent death' argument. And what I meant was 'why the hell aren't you in a cosy little office with the Guardian Force enjoying the privileges of being the hero who saved the world twice from the Deathsaurer?"
It was possibly the longest speech the maverick had made in his life; needless to say, both he and Van were rather surprised. A few mutual blinks, and a trace of red on the former's cheeks other than the recent spray of blood and laterally inverted seven and dot? "Didn't you know? I quit the GF right after the Ultimate Deathsaurer was defeated, and I've been looking for you ever since," replied Van, after overcoming his initial shock from hearing his rival's voice for an extended period of time. "You're so hard to find, you know? Which is probably a good thing considering that the GF's after you again..." "Hmph." Determined not to let himself make another pointless speech, Raven shrugged to show his disdain for the other pilot's former employees. "I've been on 'WANTED' posters around the entire planet for years. I don't need your help."
To Van's dismay, he stalked off, followed closely by Shadow. The organoid gave him an odd look (pity for his stupidity?) and turned his head to his owner, growling softly. A pause; Raven looked down at his hand again. For a moment, hope that he had come to his senses rose for his former nemesis. A glance from the maverick cut that notion short. "I liked the other Flyheight better," he declared cryptically, then started off again, leaving Van staring in confusion. "Huh? When'd you start dating my sister?"
One bleeding nose, three black eyes, twelve bruises and two wobbly teeth later, Van had determined that Raven had yet to meet his sister and convinced the maverick to enter the sacred realm of the Blade Liger. Neither of the latter two were exactly thrilled about the arrangement, but as he had shown a rare burst of diplomacy neither could refuse. Liger was easy to deal with; mention the words "SCRAP METAL" and "USED PARTS DEALER", and the fearsome Zoid was as timid as a salamander of the non-firebreathing species (though Van was convinced that his partner was merely humouring him). The harder problem was of course, getting the Raven to agree.
In a walnut shell, the maverick had been bribed with a sack of rice, bottle of port, a microwave, Van's own mp3 player and stack of songs, and a long roll of duct tape, as well as three thousand dollars in cash, while also having a random metal pole hanging above his head. Though usually completely unresponsive to threats of any nature or type, the bribe part Raven liked, and the idea of being followed aimlessly by EARDRUM-BUSTINGLY- NOISY whining Van was not pleasant. At least, with this arrangement, he would only have to suffer LOUD whining. That he considered fair.
And so, one scowling grey-haired pilot entered one sulking blue-headed Zoid, leaving Van with a loving peace and quiet as he navigated in the front seat. This left Shadow clunking along outside, peering suspiciously at his master and wondering what mind control spell he was under this time. The poor organoid felt justifiably confused at the situation (organoids never quite grasped the concept of humans being more vulnerable to persuasion when tired), and decided that he would have to find Ryss to exorcise him. Which led to Raven being abandoned by his trusty sidekick for an unknown reason, and being left behind with the person he hated most in the world.
Needless to say, the results weren't pretty in the conventional sense.
Therefore, it took Van forty-eight hours to remember to ask Raven exactly what he was doing wondering around in the desert with only an organoid and (currently decimated) missile gun for protection, and a further thirty-six hours for him to narrow the question down to: "Where's your Genobreaker?" It took another two days for his companion to actually answer, and only because Shadow had returned an hour beforehand. The organoid was considerably enlightened, though by what his partner did not know (or want to know), especially since he was now being sniggered at when he appeared not to be looking. Stupid lump of black metal must have contracted some tropical ghost and must be exorcised.
The bonds of an organoid and his owner must never be underestimated.
After whacking his poor, snickering organoid with a stick several times and thus curing the previously uncured laughter, Raven turned to aim a glare at his obliviously naive ex-enemy. He considered just ignoring the question as he had previously, but wondered if he could endure another few days being asked the same question over and over. Normally, he delighted in avoiding giving any actual useful answers to the fools interrogating him, but Van was no fool... of course, he'd only ever tell that if... THERE IS NO IF!
"I don't want a Zoid that was given to me by Hiltz and Prozen. I'll go without if I have to." "So where is it then?" "Sold it." "You WHAT?!" "Two days ago, to some army base."
Van moaned in exasperation. "You have the worst timing! Don't you know that there's a huge conspiracy to capture you taking place right this second? Possibly even this minute?! And you just sold the greatest defence in the world for a couple of bucks... how could you?" Shrug. "I needed money. And that piece of red junk was just sitting there-" "It's a bloody Genobreaker! What-" "Look, Flyheight, that thing was fucked up by Hiltz way before Zoideve. The only reason it could fight was because the damn statue decided it wanted a breath of fresh air, okay?"
"... so, did you get another Zoid?" An annoyed glance. "All the other Zoids around are below my standard. There's no way I'm using some fourth-rate Zoid after the Genobreaker." "Which is a problem since you SOLD IT!" "It was my Zoid and I'll do what I like with it!": "Then don't blame me if you get caught by the GF!" "Fine!"
Taking several deep breaths after his outburst, Raven moved forward and pushed the other pilot roughly to the side, earning a squawk of indignation. He smirked at that.
"What are you doing?" "Since that scrappy excuse of a Zoid is apparently so important, I'm getting it back then, aren't I? And if you know what's good for you, you will not complain that this is stealing." "But... but-" "I don't want to hear it."
After loudly declaring that he would either pilot a Zoid or walk, Raven found himself still in the back seat, sulking. It was a new emotion for the maverick, and certainly not one he enjoyed, though secretly he found it all intriguing. Why was it that this annoying little brat who was once his mortal enemy and (essentially) the focus of his villainous, homicidal life, could make him feel human? He suddenly wanted to talk! Say something, whine about his tragic childhood, about those bastards he'd worked with, about their organoids, their Zoids, their Zoidians... everything!
With Ryss, he didn't have to talk. She was a psychopathic psychic, and thus knew everything before he had to say anything. Which was good. But now he was being forced to deal with Van Flyheight, who didn't even understand anything you said if you explained it in language used for three-year-olds. He wanted to keep his silence, but was finding it increasingly difficult to do so. He wanted to know things, like why Van was such an uptight idiot about everything while maintaining an infuriatingly casual outlook on life (the exact opposite of him), why his Liger was blue when his stupid organoid had been white (where is that thing right now anyway?), why his posse was missing (he finally tired of those idiots), and why the hell was he looking around so anxiously?! It was only two in the morning, for crying out...!
An explosion rocked the canyon, sending boulders flying everywhere. The struck the hastily inacted shield of the Blade Liger, and were flung back with difficulty. Smoke covered the already distantly wan moon, smothering the Zoid in darkness. The Liger's pilot froze completely, even stopping his breathing. He nearly jumped out of his seatbelt when a finger tapped him impatiently.
"Van, what the hell's wrong with you?" "It's... completely dark." Hiss of exasperation. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark." "It's not that! But I can't see anything now." Comprehension dawned, though Raven was not any happier for it. "You've never fought at night." "I have, just not when it's completely pitch dark!"
His words were punctuated by more explosions that shook the Zoid. Wincing when his head struck the metallic side (weren't seatbelts designed to prevent these things?) Raven snarled irritably. "It's not much different from fighting in daylight." "For you maybe." "You're not deaf, you idiot... Listen!"
If he closed his eyes, Van could hear the shifting of nearby stone even as missiles pummeled the shield. He couldn't figure out what Zoids there were though, or how many, or exactly where they were, or...
"Guysack, directly behind!" An image appeared in his head: shiny blue-green armour, tail arched and ready to fire. His fingers reacted automatically; Liger shifted forward two steps and swung around, shooting and hitting the enemy Zoid's tail. A screech confirmed his shot was accurate.
"Sloppy," commented Raven. "Command Wolf, attacking from directly above. Shadow!"
He could feel the difference as Zoid and organoid merged. The gun pivoted and fired at the Command Wolf, piercing through the Zoid core effortlessly. Van moved Liger left, braced for impact, Raven calmly ordered, "Two Darkhorns charging from one o'clock and five o'clock. There's an Iron Kong two hundred metres away at six o'clock, with three Guysacks inbetween; its unprepared." "Right."
He could hear them more clearly now, and interpret it better. Liger retreated three steps, then leapt forward and sprang. With the increased speed from its fusion with Shadow, it was able to easily pass over the Guysacks and dodge their bullets midair. He could hear the collision of the Darkhorns as he unleashed the twin blades, twitching once to dodge a fist, then a second time to correct his aim; the Iron Kong was beheaded. Landing and spinning, Liger charged through the Guysacks, then evaded the wreckage of the Dark Horns to plough through the final, unidentified Zoid.
The dying screams of the Zaber Fang echoed through the canyon. Van listened, without feeling any remorse for the carnage he had just caused. They were bandits, and deserved to be punished. That was justice. It wasn't his fault his skill was superior to theirs... "Sloppy." "W-what?" "If you ever fought me in darkness such as this, you'd never stand a chance." "Hey, cut me some slack. This is a first time thing you know-" Somehow, he knew Raven was shaking his head. "No. You'll never understand it."
The smoke cleared, to once again let the moon's grace fall upon them. Desolate hulls lay around them, their pilots crawling dazedly out from the wreckages. The maverick eyed them casually, then glared at Van. "What are you waiting for, these idiots to find some missile guns? We're going." "Hai."
Liger sprinted away from it all, with a speed he'd never enjoyed before. The Zoid felt refreshed; it had learnt new techniques in this battle, and from now on would not need to rely on sight to function. It's current partner, the black organoid, was certainly different from the white one. Still, as he passed through the canyon at a personal best speed, he though that he could get used to this.
Now if only his pilot could get used to the other boy as well...
AN: Hmm... I really don't know what to do with this fic. It started off with an idea, then went to about four ideas, then I stopped work on it for so long that I forgot everything this began from. Meh. Not sure what to do... but at least now I know (vaguely) what'll happen in the next chapter (at least). But there are a few things I'd like to address first.
Firstly the pairings. Canon-wise, it would be Van/Fiona and Raven/Ryss, but I don't like Fiona. She just... bugs me, that's all. I could also try to do a Van/Raven (see what reading too much shounen-ai does to you?) but I'm not sure. I mean, it definately could work here... what with the whole "I'm dumping my girlfriend to find this annoying hermit of a guy" thing Van's got going on... Would people really hate it if Raven can't make up his mind? Or maybe one of those things were there's definately some chemistry (in the figurative sense of the word) there but nothing ever results? Intelligent (:P) opinions on this would be good.
Secondly, I don't really like Zeke. I find him sweet, but I don't like him. Maybe 'coz he's so loyal to Fiona and everything. Moonbay and Irvine are also not present. I don't dislike them, though they're not my favorite characters either. And since I've tried the whole 'Van has grown away from his former entourage' thing, I'm gonna stick with it. Anyways, Zeke Fiona Moonbay co. will probably make an obligatory cameo appearance or four somewhere down the track, but there's no immediate plans for them.
Thirdly, I foresee complaints about my version of Van being OOC. That's he's not kind or sweet enough. But honestly people, this is a kid who doesn't hesitate to carve Zoids (with their pilots still in them) like cheese. From what I've seen of the show, there doesn't actually seem to be much evidence that Raven has killed in battle while Van has not. It's just that initially Van is such a crap pilot that he's having enough trouble staying alive, let alone killing someone else. And let's not forget that he tried to kill poor lil Raven, and didn't seem to really care afterwards. He's supposed to be twenty and an accomplished pilot now, so don't expect him to act like he's fourteen and an idiot.
With those messages in mind, DON'T come here looking for a sweet Van/Fiona fic with a little Raven/Ryss as a sidedish, where they're surrounded by their loving friends, colleagues and Zoids and will probably live happily ever after. They have kids, and their Zoids will obligatorily evolve into Liger Zero and the Berserk Fury... NO. I'm not doing that, I hope no one expects that, I hope no one tells me they expect that... yeah.
... I think I've alienated at least 85% of the CCGF Zoids fanfic world. -- Go me.