Disclaimer: See previous chapters

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AN: This came up faster than I expected, but so much the better

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Chap. 29

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Elijah exited his AC as it completed its docking sequence. Looking up, he examined the damage done to Havoc. Needless to say, he wasn't going to be in action for a while. 'Damn. He really went all out.' Despite that, he was a little pleased to have seen what his mentor was really capable of, even if he was on the receiving end of it. Speaking of which, Elijah looked over to an adjourning hanger to see Glaive settled in its place. On the ground below, Cain stood looking up at it alone. Elijah approached him from behind, knowing well enough that Cain was well aware of his presence.

"So…how the weather?"

Cain closed his eyes andshook his head witha wistful smile, to which Elijah grinned back. Looking back at his AC he shook his head. "You know, you didn't have to trash my machine so badly."

Cain kept his face looking toward his own machine. "I was serious when I said I was trying to kill you." He paused. "I had to be."

Elijah lifted a hand to his shoulder, which he had to patch up after his battle with Glaive. "Why?"

"To teach you a lesson." He paused again, turning the side of his face to Elijah before turning back. "Your last lesson…"

The young Raven's eyes widened as he turned back to his mentor. "My last?"

Cain took a step away. "I have taught you everything I know and you have become skilled in your own rights now. So there is no reason for me to be your teacher anymore."

Elijah stared at Cain's back, somewhat stunned by this news. He knew that he had learned much since they first met, but to hear that he was finished was…surprising.

"Really? Hm, I never thought…"

Elijah soon became unsure of what to say and simply stayed quiet. A minute of silence passed between the now former teacher and student before Cain turned to Elijah.

"Now we have work to do."

Elijah awoke from his stupor. "Work?"

"Silent Line." he answered. "We have to gather as much intel as possible. Knowing Ellie, she probably has already scouted the area." He began walking away in order to get started. "We have to help prep all the ACs and give everyone as much advantages as possible."

"Okay." Something soon hit him. "Wait. All the ACs?"

"Yeah." Cain nodded. "Problem?"

Elijah gave him a strange look. "Don't you know…about what happened to Koemai?"

"I know." he replied. "But he's still going."

"Are you serious? " he exclaimed. "Cain, he's going through an operation right now. It's unknown if he'll even walk again, much less pilot an AC."

The elder Raven replied simply. "He'll make it. He always does. Walk or not, he will be in this mission."

"Ookay. Well I better get to work then." Cain nodded and continued on, but Elijah spoke up. "But before you go, I have two questions."

Another smile came on Cain's face. "Hm. Where was I and would I have really killed you."

Elijah frowned. "Wild guess."

Cain started solemnly. "Where I was, I'll tell you another time. As for would I have really killed you…?"

"Yes?"

A third smile. "If you had fought one wit below your usual abilities, I would have given you a good scar to remind you."

"Yeah, that sounds like you."

Hospital

After another half an hour, the red light of the operating room clicked off. Diana shot up from her seat and nervously awaited news on Koemai's condition. The doors opened and the operating doctor emerged before her.

"Well?" she asked nervously.

The doctor nodded to her and smiled lightly. "The operation was a complete success."

The doctor wasn't ready for the explosion of joy from the woman as she embraced him tightly. Tears streamed down her face as she cried.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The doctor flushed as he slowly pried the emotional woman off of him (Which was hard to do given the fact that she was quite attractive). "As much as I would like to take all the credit, it wasn't all me. Your boyfriend's a tough one. Guess you Ravens have tough skin or something."

Diana lowered her head sheepishly, realizing that she was embarrassing herself with displays. "Yeah, something…" Clearing her throat. "When will I be able to see him?"

The doctor sighed. "Tomorrow morning. We still have to run a few tests to make sure everything is okay, but once that's been settled, you will be able to visit."

"Thank you, doctor."

Hanger

"Looks like we're all here, mostly."

The clan regrouped hours later during the night in the hanger. The majority of them had spent the day working on their own assignments for preparation for their mission into Silent Line. Diana was there as well, having been told that Koemai would be ready for visitors by tomorrow morning.

"Where have you been, Cain?" Baron asked shortly.

"Personal business."

The bulky Raven snorted. "You picked a hell of a time for it."

"We have bigger concerns." Charles interrupted, bringing everyone back to the issue at hand. With everyone in attention, Charles continued. "Ellie has already scouted what she could on the terrain."

Ellie stood up and laid out a map schematic. "Yeah. It a basic wasteland. A couple of craters, scattered debris, but no hidden areas." She took a breath and continued. "When we start fighting, it's going to be all or nothing."

"How can you be sure the Death Dealers will show up?" Baron asked.

"They will." Cain answered. "They want the secrets behind the Line as much as any Raven. Plus…there are other issues."

A few of the Ravens gave him strange looks, but they where dismissed when Charles continued. "Which is why we need as much intelligence on their machines fast as possible. Their strengths, weaknesses, everything."

"I'm already on it." Surprisingly, this came from Elijah, who then tossed a datapad on the table. "This is what I have so far."

The group looked it over and their eyebrows lifted. "Hey, this isn't half bad." Ellie remarked with a smile. "Good job."

The young Raven smiled as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not done yet. There's still more I need to figure out." He then blinked. "Which reminds me." Pulling out another pad from his back pocket, he passed it to Cain. "Here."

"What's this?"

"Analysis on Reaper." he answered. "I figured since you two are going to be duking it out, you'd want some info."

Cain stared at his former student with a sense of amazement. 'Hm, he's smarter than he lets on.' Looking back at the pad, he juggled it a bit and then handed it back. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I know everything about that machine."

Elijah shrugged as he shoved it back. "Well in that case, how about a friendly suggestion. You could use this configuration to your core. It will be much more battle capable against Reaper."

Cain's eyes narrowed as he looked back at the pad. Switching it to another screen, he saw what Elijah was talking about. "Hm. This is…" His eyes scanned over it continuously. "I can work with this. There is one extra thing I need to equip to Glaive, but this will be all the better. Thank you."

Charles smiled over the progress. "Well it looks like we're off to a good foot. The contract states the date in two weeks, so that's how long we have to prepare."

"We have one problem." Baron indicated. "We're still a Raven short."

"Koemai will be there." Cain replied.

"Cain, I don't know about that." Diana spoke. She had been silent throughout the exchange as her mind was on something else. Someone else… "He just got out of surgery. I don't think he'll make it."

"He'll make it." Cain asserted.

The woman frowned deeply. "Are you crazy? He's been hurt really badly. Even if he does recover enough, he won't be strong enough to pilot an AC against the Death Dealers, much less into Silent Line."

Cain shook his head. "I'm going to adjust his core to compensate, but he will be able to pilot in time."

"I can't believe you!" she exploded suddenly. "He could be killed! Don't you care what happens to him! Just because your wife…!"

The words were out of her mouth a moment too late and she immediately regretted it. Cain's eyes looked up at her sharply with a mixture of anger and sorrow. The others looked at her warily and then at Cain, not saying a word. At this point, everyone knew that Aria was a sore spot for Cain and Diana had just pressed the button.

"Cain…I'm sorry…" she stammered. "I didn't mean…"

Cain said nothing in return and Charles moved quickly to break the tension. "We've done enough for today. We better continue our plans and prepare."

Everyone parted from the table and went to their own work. Diana remained, watching Cain walk away in silence. While that was usual normal in his case, what wasn't normal was the fact that he seemed to be giving off a negative aura.

Very sore spot…

Later

After the group separated, Ellie moved back over with Charles to talk with him privately. The Raven in question was currently standing beside the hanger door; arms folded in wait. Waiting for her apparently…

"That was pretty tense." she started off.

"Yeah." Charles nodded in agreement. "But not unexpected. Things have been unstable as of late."

Ellie moved out into the open and stood beside him, mimicking his pose. "All from one mission. Silent Line…"

"Still having doubts?"

"We all have doubts." she answered. "It's whether or not we let them affect us that the difference."

"Hm."

"How about you?" Curving and eye to him, she gave a slight grin. "Any doubts from our fearless leader?"

"Amusing." he chuckled lightly. His tone turned serious. "But in truth, I left my doubts some time ago."

"Let me guess. Since you saw it."

'It' as in the city beyond Silent Line. She knew what it felt like to be so close. She wanted to go all the way next time. In Charles' case, it was beginning to border on obsession, so much to the point where doubt didn't exist for him. Only the objective, the goal…

"Right."

Sighing, Ellie turned to look at the sky. The stars twinkled dully in the semi-cloudy sky. "I hope the others have that stability."

"Whatever works."