Yah, it's been awhile. Sorry 'bout that. Good news is, Trojianmaru got me thinking, so hopefully this won't be a lone update.
Riven turned grimly around, preparing himself for flight, and stopped dead in his tracks. Fiery pain laced up his side as something cold and hard slid through his side.
He found himself staring in the face of a heavily breathing police officer. The man's hand dropped off the knife and his body collapsed limply. Riven stood in shock for a moment and then looked down to his wound. He'd been too confident, believing no one would be able to stand after his shockwaves.
He gripped the hilt of the knife and slid it free, gasping as it tore at his flesh. It was a bowie knife with long, sharp teeth. He dropped it to the ground, watching it tumble to land beside the unconscious policeman who'd stabbed him.
Hot blood ran down his side to pool at his feet. He tore off a sleeve from his shirt and wrapped it around his wound, securing it tightly. The wound protested, and he gritted his teeth. He beat his wings down, ignoring the screaming in his side and took to the sky.
Morrison watched Riven soar gracefully away and allowed himself a grim smile.
"Not a lap dog, a wolf." He whispered.
Meanwhile, Ed and Caal were a few miles away in a large park. They'd gone their often with their dad and Riven when both were little. It was a nice getaway from the hectic city atmosphere of Oson. There was even a stream and a small lake and sometimes people were swimming or out in boats.
They'd gone fishing there numerous times. Right now, the two brothers were pushing their way through the thick underbrush of a large clump of trees.
The overgrown branches and thorns caught at their pants and jackets, but they kept on. Caal heard Ed mumbles something under his breath up ahead, and he was sure he'd agree with whatever the complaint was. Had it always been such a chore to climb through this grove?
When they were younger they'd stumbled upon a little clearing in this very grove of trees. It was well hidden and they'd spent many hours playing all sorts of games away from other people. Caal was sure it had been years since either one of them had visited this place; maybe that accounted for the thicker than normal foliage.
His brother exclaimed in triumph a little ways away and Caal hurriedly fought his way to him. The clearing was still their, albeit smaller and more weedy than the last time they'd seen it. Ed sat down in the middle and gazed up at the sky. Caal joined his older sibling.
"How is Riven going to find us here? He probably doesn't remember ever coming." Ed turned his head over to his brother.
"I don't know if he'll have a chance to come looking for us." Caal swallowed.
"What do you mean?" Ed turned away and stretched out on the grass.
"Can he really take on all those cops alone?" Ed let the question linger in the air, and Caal suddenly burst out angrily.
"Then why did we let him do it alone! Why did we abandon him?" Caal shouted.
"Ed sighed and turned to his brother.
"Don't you see, we'd give him a weak spot. He'd have to fight and protect us." Caal was about to retort but all the anger drained out of him.
"It just doesn't' feel right, leaving him all alone." Ed put an arm around him.
"I know, but we couldn't have done anything if we'd stayed. All we can do is pray he makes it out okay." Caal nodded and then spoke.
"But that still doesn't solve the problem of him finding us."
"Somehow, I think that if he can beat all those cops, finding us will be the easy part."
A rustling in the bushes woke Ed and Caal a few hours later. They both sat there, waiting to see who had found them, friend or foe.
A head of silver hair popped through and Caal rushed to help his friend. Riven finally managed to untangle himself and fell into the clearing. Ed watched quietly, realizing Riven's wings were gone. Both brothers waited for Riven to catch his breath, though they were eager for an explanation. When
Riven finally looked up, Caal and Ed knew immediately that something was wrong. He was very pale and his eyes betrayed pain. Before he could say anything, Ed's eyes snagged on Riven's side.
Riven's hand was pressed hard against something, so hard his knuckles were white. Blood escaped around the hand and dripped down to his side and into the grass. By Caal's paling face, he had noticed it too.
"Riven! What happened?" Caal blurted, his voice laced with concern. Riven laughed, albeit weakly and tried to wave off his friends' concern.
"It…it's just a little…cut." He managed. But the flow of blood had not stopped and Ed now realized the wound went all the way through Riven's side. Trying to stay calm, he spoke slowly.
"Riven, we need to get you to a doctor."
Riven's head swayed from side to side, disagreeing. He looked up at the brothers and smiled, about to say something, but his eyes widen and he slumped over, unconscious. The brothers rushed to his side.
"Ed, what do we do?" Caal breathed frantically.
"He needs a doctor, we have to…" His voice was cut off by a strange chiming sound.
Caal spotting something in Riven's jean pocket and pulled it out. It was a strange, circular disc, an inch or so thick. There was a green oval in the middle that lit up as the thing chimed.
Caal looked at his brother, confused. A voice broke through the clearing and the chiming stopped. The voice was coming from the disc.
"I have assessed his injuries. I will mend them if you bring him to me." It was a woman's voice, but strangely metallic and devoid of any emotion.
"Who…who is this?" Ed asked, carefully.
"I am ADA. Please bring him here." The green oval projected a map of the park in the air and a glowing dot appeared near the place they were now.
"How do we know we can trust you?" Ed asked suspiciously.
"We do not have time for trust. You do not have any other options." Ed had to agree, she was right.
"Alright. We'll be there."
"Affirmed."
Ed gasped a breath of air and plopped to the ground, exhausted. The trek hadn't been that long, but Riven was pretty heavy when he was slung over your shoulder. Caal sat down beside him after checking Riven's makeshift bandage.
The glowy-map-thingy had led them to a deserted part of the park. It was pretty open, but a few trees at intervals afforded some privacy. Ed glanced around, but no one besides Caal and Riven where in sight.
He sighed and put his head in his hands. He heard Caal roll over in the grass and then a loud exclamation. Looking up, his breath caught in his throat. A mobile suit sliced through the air in the distance, rapidly approaching. Jagged green lines gleamed brilliantly on its armor.
A hiss from Caal brought Ed's head around. The same jagged lines on the mobile suit glowed beneath Riven's skin, growing in intensity as the strange mobile suit neared there position. Ed stood transfixed as the mobile suit landed in front of them. He waited, patiently for someone to come out of the cockpit, but no one did.
Riven stirred in his sleep, reaching out a hand for the mobile suit. A voice emanated from the suit. It was the woman.
"Give him to me." The suit held out a hand and Caal and Ed moved Riven cautiously onto the appendage.
"Get on." Obeying without protest, Ed and Caal mounted also and the strange suit lifted them to the cockpit. The metal flowed open to reveal an empty cockpit, the eerie green light of its machinery glowing softly.
"What!" Caal exclaimed at finding the cockpit empty. And, to his surprise, the voice spoke again.
The computer pulsed with green light, in sync with the strange voice.
"I am ADA. I am Jehuty's battle AI." Two brothers sat stunned, staring blankly at the empty cockpit and at the mobile suit they now knew was Jehuty.
All of a sudden, the back of the pilot's seat shifted, folding forward to reveal a glass seven-foot tank fitted snugly behind it. Metal coils snaked out of the top and wrapped around Riven's arms and midsection, gently lifting him into the glass cylinder and securing him.
The glass slid over the opening to cover it and green liquid began to fill the tank. When all was completed, ADA spoke again.
"Jehuty has a back chamber that can be converted into a healing machine. Riven will be safe here. When he is healed, I will contact you."
Ed and Caal watched their friend in the strange healing mechanism. The blood flow of the wound had stopped already. The mechanical coils still held him suspended, and the green lines flashed up and down underneath his fair skin.
"What…happened to you, Riven?" Caal whispered softly.