AN: Ok, long story short: exams. English, physics, Japanese, maths and the history (revolutions) that's going into my uni. entrance score next year. XX I actually did start writing this despite the revision I had to do (so don't bitch at me or else!) but I really couldn't think up a good ending until about now. But yeah, enjoy.
Chapter 13: You're hiding from me and I know it
'The Gustav needs boosters', decided Moonbei as she watched her co-ordinates float away swiftly from the Palace, surpassing even the Lightning Saix in terms of speed. 'Imagine how many shipments I could make with a speed like this. Better harass the Doc to cook up something for me once we're done here, and before Irvine and me elope away from all this Guardian Force crap. We've got enough money to live off anyway.'
She frowned as she remembered the scene from two hours ago. The old man had stalked into the room dramatically, all smug, knowing eyes as he loudly proclaimed that he was still more observant than all of them combined, cataracts or not. He still showed a fierce intelligence that decades in both military and political affairs had crash-coursed, and was thus welcomed heartily into the midst of the small group. Nevertheless, she'd checked her normal enthusiastic glomp when it came to her turn; the cane in one hand and the shaking of the other were undeniable indicators of the state of his health.
"Moonbei, slow down," scowled Irvine over the intercom. "You're not moving according to the plan."
"What's wrong, Irvine. Can't stand to have someone faster than you for a change?" teased his girlfriend, though she obliged by pulling her borrowed Redlar to a more sustainable pace. Already, the Palace had left her radar range; the Lightning Saix was rapidly veering towards the edge as well. Soon they'd be out of sight from each other, and the intercoms would no longer function. They'd have to rely on radio only, until even that was cut off by distance. Hopefully, she mused, it wouldn't come to that.
"Pay attention. We don't even know what type of zoid Fiona's going to be in, and she'll probably know that it's you. That'll give her unnecessary warning to hide herself."
"How would she know it's me?"
"Your flying skills," was his simple reply.
Because she would have no chance to do so for a while, she yelled at him as loudly as she could over the intercom, pulling the microphone close to her lips in order to burst his eardrums. He smiled indulgently even as he blocked one ear. When she finally took a short break, he replied, "Love you too."
"Thanks."
They'd almost reached the limits of their connections when both their screens fuzzed, shocking both attentions from their screens to the environment outside. There was nothing strange outside of the Lightning Saix, but soft clumps of ice had begun to cling to the wings of the Redlar. Long experience alerted Moonbei to the situation, and she immediately hit twin buttons marked 'emergency fans' on her panel. Strong whirls blew away a good deal of the flakes from her zoid, but it wouldn't be enough; she couldn't rely on the fans for too long, as they were only designed to slow a possible descent enough for the pilot to survive.
"Irvine, someone's just exploded jamming snow near my position. Judging by the patterning, I'd say five kilometres northeast. Pass the information on. I'll be hunting down the source. Expect to hear from me when the snow's all gone. Over and out."
Her link was abruptly cut, and no amount of swearing at his radio allowed him to contact her using it. His fist clenched over his controls… why her? Of all people, why'd Moonbei have to be the first to be attacked? She was using a zoid she hadn't even had time to test before, carrying a bare minimum of ammunition… damn it! She wasn't even a fighting pilot! "Doctor D, come in," he barked, switching his communications. "Come in."
"I hear you. What's the situation?"
"Moonbei's been cut off by jamming snow. She believes it was launched around five kilometres north east from her last position. North 36 degrees, East forty degrees seventeen minutes."
"Diversion or main force?" mused the Doc, marking first Moonbei's position on the map with a pin, then drew an arc with compass and permanent marker to cover the five kilometres northeast Irvine'd just decribed as Rudolph watched. Using a ruler, he completed the sector and coloured the area in pencil. He peered at it for a few seconds, ignoring the simmering tension from Irvine coming over the computer.
Finally, he replied, "With the jamming snow, we can't send any messages to the bases around her position. This is serious now, if military weapons are being used without consent in imperial territory. With permission from his majesty," he looked at the emperor, who nodded, "we'll begin mobilising units from send another unit to replace your search mission. Go to Moonbei, and see if you can't notify the bases in that area of what's going on. You kow their positions?"
"Yes sir."
The screen closed, and Dr. D turned to Rudolph worriedly. "Looks like we're in for another treat."
With a sigh, the emperor rose to his feet and made for the door. "I'll go communicate with my men then."
"This does seem like the type of place Ambient would hide in, if that little lump was alive," remarked Ryss wryly as she peered around the blue-tinged cave decorated with fang-like stalagmites and stalactites. "Of course, I still doubt that he is, but if you think so…"
"You'll scare him off you keep opening your mouth like that," sniped the maverick as he stalked forward into semi-darkness, unaffected by the lack of visibility. Eyes set to glowing, she followed.
"Why'd you tell Shadow and Specular to stay outside? If Ambient attacks, we'll need them to keep our arms and legs intact."
"I doubt he'll be able to cut a sandwich, let alone one of us in his current condition. And the day I lose to an organoid again is the day I die."
"You've seen him already."
He didn't bother to reply.
They reached the entrance of a small, deep cavern that light didn't touch and halted before it. Going down on one knee, Raven touched the worn marks on the floor gingerly. Light sparkled around the lines tiredly, then faded away; he returned to his feet and dusted off his gloves, spitting on the ground to show his contempt before he walked boldly forward, tossing back a command to Ryss. "Be quiet and don't touch anything."
"Don't order me around like I'm your zoid or something," she muttered resentfully, though more from habit than anything else. A frown marred her features as she trailed him clumsily, not as accustomed to darkness as him even with her powers. 'Those are some seriously old magical protections there that he just disarmed. Where are we anyway?'
The light rapidly faded from behind him, though it didn't matter anyway. He knew darkness, and he knew this place. Behind him, a muffled curse sounded when Ryss banged something (probably one of her knobbly knees); he briefly considered sending her back out to wait with the organoids, then shrugged. It would shut her up when he was proven right, as he was when a low amused growl vibrated through the cavern.
/What do you want this time, brat/
"Oh hell," he heard the Zoidian whisper faintly, but he ignored it to step right up to the creature spilled unceremoniously over a large rock. There was a stream of white light that touched a broken tail and a small pond of diluted limestone simultaneously. A slight shift moved the organoid into view for Ryss to inspect, and she did so with morbid fascination. An entire half of the red face had been melted down, and three of his four limbs weren't intact, hanging on by mere wires that fizzled with electricity. The remaining leg was perfectly fine, but little use with his spine snapped in at least three places judging from the irregular bends. His eyes were still an unsettling green, even as they flickered between alive and dead.
/You broke the deal/ he whispered, still faintly bemused. /No visitors, remember/
"Shut it, Ambient, or I'll put you through even more pain than you're in right now."
/What else can you do to me/ sneered the red organoid, shuffling over a bit more. /What can you do to me that's worse than this? You'll merely be ending my suffering, like you should have done before/
"Consider it payback for all you've done."
/I was following orders, just like you./
"We have this conversation every time I come here, and it doesn't change a thing." Stalking forward, Raven shoved a fist past the deformed jaw and into the organoid's throat, almost choking Ambient with the force. His other hand raised as a claw dragged weakly at his arm, and placed a blue stone she vaguely recognised into the jaw before sliding both his hands away. The blue stone gleamed before reacting, melting right into the zoid, who glared hatred at him with revitalised eyes.
/You're following me to hell, Reivun./
"It's only fair."
She understood why he'd barred the organoids from this place now, seeing Ambient's movement increase a little so that he was now in more of a aggressive crouch than a sprawl before them. He'd been fixed by a skilled hand; she could see slightly newer parts, no bigger than screws, spread miserly over the disfigured zoid, just the bare minimum to keep him alive. His core systems were weakened, but functioning, if still only barely after a boost from the zoid magnite the maverick had forced on him.
Raven was keeping the organoid alive and dying at the same time.
"To business then." Dusting his hands off again (the entire place seemed to disgust him to some base extent) the Genobreaker pilot peered down with superiority. "I have a battle coming up, and I want to take a big chunk of my enemies down with me. Chances are the Genobreaker and I won't survive it. I'll have little use for you then."
/You'll let me die/ asked Ambient sceptically, with just a hint of hope in his metallic voice. /You've been playing with this body for two years now, why should I believe you this time/
"You can do nothing else in your current state," Raven reminded him cruelly. "I've broken the old deal by bringing Ryss here; here's the new one. Fix up my Genobreaker sufficiently for the next battle. When it's over, Ryss will come and end your life for you."
/And your organoid will die with me./
He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Not unless you will it. Which you won't."
/You have no guarantees. What's to stop me from taking your precious Shadow down with me when I die? The little runt might even ask me to, you never know–"
"Hm, maybe I should stay alive then, just to make sure." A smirk. "I might even be able to bring you back, given the right training."
Green eyes faded and shone in an organoid's version of a blink. /You may bear the mark of destruction, but you're no Zoidian. That's an empty threat./
"Try me."
The standoff between them was much shorter than it might have once been, before years of abuse had exhausted Ambient beyond tolerance. He certainly sounded tired as he conceded. /I've barely any energy left, let alone enough to deal with a problem like your 'breaker has. Any repairs will be minimal./
"Just start the process going, and I'll fix the rest." Removing a pair of splints from one sleeve he stretched his cloak over them in a make-shift stretcher, and gingerly picked the disfigured organoid up, bundling him in the cloth. He gave a second dose of magnite to him, prompting Ryss to wonder just how much of it Raven had collected over the last two years, and how he knew to get it in the first place; she'd certainly never seen him lugging around the blue rock when he was working for Hiltz. She lost the chance to question him when he slung his bundle over one shoulder and began to leave.
They exited the cavern and blinked at the sunlight. Twin growls alerted them to their organoids, though discipline prevented either of them from attacking the enemy. Raven ignored them and strode directly for the Genobreaker, parked a good distance away from the Gunsniper; sometimes, fiddling with machines when organoids were involved didn't always go to plan. He set Ambient down and pointed, then stepped back to watch. Ryss stepped up beside him as a bolt of red-tinged light shot into his zoid.
"How did you know all of that? And was your threat for real?"
"Unlike you, I haven't been idle these past two years," he grumbled, frowning as he watched threads tightening over the Genobreaker. "I've been researching how organoids and zoids function, how their intelligence and life work."
How to control their life and death.
How to make sure nobody ever took Shadow from him again.
"Where'd you find all this information anyway? I thought the Imperial army destroyed any useful documents when Prozen was in charge."
"Zoideve."
Sometimes she really hated the simple way in which he expressed complex ideas. With a little nudge, she extracted whatever information he was willing to share with her, and glanced over the range of ancient monuments he'd visited over the last two years in between breaks at his old house, stocking up on supplies and meetings with her. They'd popped up from the disturbance the Zoideve had caused in the earth, and were gradually sinking back into the sands to rejoin the city. They were also conveniently located far from any sort of humanity, explaining why neither she nor Van could find him unless they were lucky.
The runes on the artifacts he'd explored were beyond her knowledge, but his own comprehension clear. Through his mind, she read about the ability and right makers had to destroy their own creations upon death, with a simple wish for it, and understood why the Deathsaurer hadn't died in such a way; it would have only taken one of the hundreds of builders to hope the monument lived on for it to do so. She learned as he figured out why in the ancient wars Zoidians themselves –whether from the opposing side or your own– were targeted as much as the zoids fighting the battle: to stop them from creating more, to hinder the ability to collaborate over projects, to trick them into destroying their own legacies.
The conclusions he drew from these findings were shown in practical use as he stitched up a red organoid lying in pieces under his hands.
'It's your choice whether to destroy your creations or not when you die, unless you die naturally; there's an automatic assumption then that they're your legacy, and you want them to survive. Which is why the Zoideve is a vindictive little bitch, or a safeguard, depending on how you look at it. Now get out of my head, Ryss.'
When she looked up, he was looking at her in a bored manner, though a slight smirk tilted his lips. He was taunting her because she could no longer reach directly into his more personal thoughts; he seemed to have built some resistance to her probing. Ryss let it go, walking away to hide the sad expression upon her face. She'd thought all that aggression against Van was just bluff, or at the most revenge for trying to kill him. Fair enough, justified, moving on. But seeing what he'd done to Ambient was too much for her. She'd believed she was evil and cruel enough to keep up with him, but it seemed she'd hit her limit. He was too sadistic for her to bear. He was still too much of a zoid pilot, a soldier and warrior.
She wasn't. She was just a simple Zoidian. A Zoidian who'd seen death and pain and suffering in the short time she'd been awake, and remembered it from times long ago. She couldn't stand it then (the reason she'd begged to be placed in a capsule before the war had even climaxed) and she still couldn't stand it. They'd blamed it on her empathic powers; she knew it was herself, a part she wouldn't change and couldn't trade, the part that couldn't bear to love this side of Raven. The side he showed on the battlefield.
As she crawled into the cockpit of her Gunsniper to cry over the man she once loved, she could only congratulate Van for being able to see that facet and still forgive… if only because he was the same type.
Karl Schubaltz was a subtle man, unlike those around him. Oh, he'd known the trouble it would cause if Van actually managed to find Raven; as a man of the military, such instinct was vital to him. He'd also noticed the more unsavoury dealings of the Guardian Force, and hazarded a guess towards the consequences of such actions; none of his conclusions were particularly favourable to the people around him, so he'd ushered those he knew and could order around as far away as possible. Apparently, it didn't work.
He'd seen this coming, no doubt about that, but he'd for once hoped for later rather than sooner. So he wasn't greatly surprised when his emperor sent him a rather urgent S.O.S. as he was maneuvering his little group of Molgas (the worm-like zoids seemed to maintain an affinity with him, though he really didn't know why) through a bandit-infested canyon somewhere far away from both the Imperial Palace and Guardian Force Headquarters, instead of him sending the information back. Leaving him with a dilemma.
His loyalties lay first and foremost with the Empire; that much hadn't changed despite his continuing stint in the Guardian Force. He made his own decisions based on what he thought were right and wrong, and at that moment he had two missions of similar importance weighing him down, in conveniently different locations. For one thing, this particular pack of bandits had been a great big toothache for him since he began the difficult task of uprooting them, and there was a certain duty owed the little villages around the area; the only reason they hadn't upped and left already was his guaranteed protection.
Of course, the other matter also required fairly urgent attention. Van was an icon to all that were zoids; a kidnapping would be enough to spark some kind of world-wide riot were the news widely known, prompting civil war, foreign war and practically every other military-related war that existed in common terminology. Something of that magnitude would be impossible to put down nowadays, since the armies of the Republic and Empire had been down-scaled to promote peace and harmony. Leaving only the Guardian Force (secretly) capable of fixing the problem, which seeing as they had no scruples about causing it in the first place, seemed unlikely.
Apparently, foresight didn't do anything when you didn't think up a plan to counter the problem. It only made you feel more stupid.
He'd been a high-ranked leader for quite a long time now, over a decade. He knew that staying here that extra day to finish his current mission was a bad idea on so many accounts; rushing would create trouble, time was precious, they probably couldn't finish the job. So, what to do? Could he abandon his unit to finish the job properly? After all, the order from his majesty had only included himself, not his entire fleet of Molgas. But then, did he return in his Sabre Fang or the Iron Kong stationed at GF Head… never mind that then.
The instinct he had that he was called up because of irreplaceable personal values finally made up his mind. Frowning, he called up his subordinate, a joker with a mean sense of tunneling. The words "Don't do anything stupid, such as die" were the crowning part of his speech. He left the woman with a sense of confusion and duty, and himself with a weighted conscience as he entered his Sabre Fang and began the seventy-two hour trip back to imperial territory.
His head was fuzzy, not in pain but certainly uncomfortable. That feeling you get right before throwing up, or when you've experience way too much vertigo. Groaning, he raised his hand to rub at his head…
That was odd. His hand wasn't responding.
Trying the other finally got some nice friction onto his head, easing the headache slightly. Enough to see properly at least. Light was filtering through a large, clear plastic window, and ventilation through a duct of some sort leading into the… building? Turning his head, he observed that he was in a tiny cabin of some sort, and the whole thing was moving. It was some sort of transport machine then, probably not a zoid. Actually, he had no idea what kind of machine could have such space in the interior. New technology maybe…?
'Well, it all makes sense now,' he thought wryly as a blonde head poked in rather sheepishly. 'If anyone could build something like this in this millennia, it would have to be this guy.'
"Ehehe… good to see you're awake, Van."
"I'd say the same for you since it means I can knock you to the ground with a nice solid right hook," he replied sarcastically, watching Thomas flinch at the idea. Sighing, he grumbled, "Relax. I can't even get up right now. Why'd you tie my hand down anyway?"
"Well, I haven't quite perfected the equilibrium of this thing yet, so every time we stop or start it's quite a landing. The seatbelt wasn't enough for you though, since you kept hitting your hand on the wall while we were moving. And as much as Fiona-san would like to stay with you, we really need two people to keep this thing running."
'Seatbelt?' Moving his hand, he found the buckle while the inventor kindly freed his other hand, then sat up to deliver the promised blow, albeit lighter than he'd threatened. "So why're you here now, if you need two people to drive? Aren't you scared this thing'll tumble over?"
"No, it's not going to, since we've slowed down our pace somewhat. Fiona-san asked me to do this. She figured you might be angry with her."
"Damn straight I am. Drugging a papaya's low. Sacrilege." He'd half-raised the proffered water to his lips for a second before lowering it to glare at Thomas suspiciously. Seeing his look the blonde waved his hands sheepishly to indicate that it should be ok. The liquid itself didn't taste particularly funny, but then neither had his tampered papaya. Van sighed; his one known vice had become a target for vandalism. Huzzah.
"So are you going to tell me where we're going, why I'm here, why you're here too for that matter, and what Fiona's planning, or are you going to let me pester you until you do?"
"Oh, nowhere special," hedged the engineer, staring out the window to make sure there were no discriminating landmarks to give the other pilot a clue. He needn't have bothered, as there appeared to only be sand and dunes for miles around. "Actually, I don't really know what's going on either. I was on a working holiday when Fiona-san called me. She wasn't exactly elaborate."
"Did she mention kidnapping me?" asked the brunette sarcastically. Thomas seemed to brighten at this.
"No. I actually freaked out when I arrived at the hotel to pick her up. There I was all hopeful that I might finally be able to go on a date with Fiona-san, and you ruined it as usual." Sobering slightly, he added, "I was very surprised at her actions, and a little sorry that I'm helping her. I can only hope that her motives remain good."
Touched by the other's admission, Van shook his head. "Thomas, man, don't you ever feel like you're getting duped? I mean, your inventions are pretty much on par with Dr. D's crazy contraptions, you're a pretty decent pilot and a really nice guy, and yet you're still working for peanuts at the GF and slaving after someone who still doesn't open up to you."
"I live in hope," smiled the lieutenant. "But not everybody's a hero who can gain everything they want quickly, only to find out that there's something else out there for them. We normal humans take a while longer, so the process must look terribly slow to you."
"I guess…" Thinking this over a bit, the Blade Liger pilot shrugged and jumped up. "Come on, you've got to show me around this joint. I want to be up to date with the latest technological advances, so if it means I have to suffer your company for a little longer, so be it."
"Be prepared to be awed."
They were already outside the door and discussing where to start looking when their ride ground to a shaky stop, nearly rendering them both to the ground. The creator was just about to snipe back at the other's comment of "Thomas, you really need to work on this thing's sense of co-ordination" when a sliding door not far from them opened. The retort died on the blonde's tongue, and Van turned instead to the newcomer with a frown.
"Fiona."
AN 2: Now that you're all a bit less cranky, I 'm going to say a few more things. I've seen a grand total of Thomas on screen for.. oh, maybe 15 secs overall (in the last episode) so I know he's horribly OOC. Ryss too, I've only seen in the last episode; the rest that I know about her is from summaries/shrines (funny how all the Raven fangirls hate either Van or Ryss, if not both)/other ff. This, and all my ignorance about the CC/GF Zoids series will hopefully be zapped away when I get my order of all 67 episodes from America. At least I hope it's all of them... 11 dvds, 6 episodes each disc... they wouldn't be so cruel as to split the last 7 episodes onto 2 discs would they? WOULD THEY! cough
anyways, few notes for the ending (yes, we are near the end!) I should be able to fit this story into 20 chapters, including the epilogue. I'm thinking more around 18. And I know that heaps of writers seem to die when they're within 5 chapters of finishing, but I'll try not to. If there are any pairings or other content I feel I need to warn you about, I shall do so when I release that chapter. I have about 2mths holidays coming up, so I hope to have at least 2 more chapters up before the end of Jan. next year. so until next time...
AlienYak
p.s. I do think that Ryss isn't as cruel as she pretends to be. The whole Nichalo (spelling?) thing proves that.