Authors Notes: Damn this fic is lot more popular then I thought it would be. Must enjoy watching Raven get his ass kicked day after day, I know I'm enjoying writing it. Also wanted to see if you wanted a sequel or two for this story, since I could see Van and Raven wanting a little revenge on Masato here. If you do then tell me, if not then don't say notin. Just keep the reviews coming. Enjoy.
"Shoot the target." Masato said throwing Raven a large handgun, pointing to a cotton made dummy at the end of a dirt floor inside of the barracks.
Raven took aim, slowly firing a few shots at the dummy.
Masato grabbed Raven by the hair and threw him to the ground. "Terrible! Do it again!"
Raven got up and unloaded the magazine, then reloaded the gun and fired much faster though his aim not improving.
"Damnit Raven, how hard is it to fire a gun!" Masato ripped hit from his hands and reloaded the weapon, shooting each shot with ease and perfection then reloaded it one more time and with just as much ease, shooting the target perfectly. "Now do exactly that. Aim and fire quickly."
Raven took the gun back and rearmed it, shooting the target a little better but not much.
Masato was frustrated, they had been doing this for a while now and Raven showed no signs of improvement, perhaps he was getting to soft on Raven. That could be changed quickly. "One more!" He shouted into Raven's ear.
Raven did as he was told, and again only a slight improvement. Shortly after he found himself on the ground, some of the dirt on the ground got all over his face. Masato and smacked his sharply over the back of his head.
"Get up!" Masato shouted as he watched the boy obey quickly. "Why can't you do a simple task of shooting a gun?" He calmed his voice down a bit, watching as a tear rolled down Raven's eye, something he hadn't seen the boy do in a long time. Masato reared a fist back and drove it as hard as he could into Raven's hard abs, but it only supplied a little cushion to the hard blow as Raven fell to the ground holding his stomach, trying to breath.
Raven lied there a few seconds, finally able to catch his breath and when he did quickly stood up, waiting for another blow to be delivered, but none came.
"I didn't think it was that hard to fire a gun." Masato shook his head with disappointment.
Raven looked at him, standing tall, ignoring the pain. He had no choice, this was a close to Hell as a man could get but when he was free, nothing would match his skills and thirst, Masato knew that, it was the reason he continued to train Raven like he did.
"You need to understand that you're a warrior, a damn good one. Few are tougher, few are stronger, and few have a drive like you." Masato poked at his head, stating to Raven that he needed to use his head. "Live up to your name and you will be feared. A raven hunts for its prey, and kills it mercilessly. Feeling no remorse, no heart or guilt. Heart can be your greatest ally or your ultimate weakness. I am training you because you have the blood of a warrior flowing through you like adrenaline. It gives you a thirst for victory and a drive to win. If you lose that drive for a moment in combat, then you will lose your life forever." Masato's voice was cold a chilling, haunting Raven's mind and soul. "You have to take all of your love and hate and anger, rage, joy, every emotion you have and throw it out, keeping only your drive for victory open. Mercy is what kills a man, letting an enemy live is like shooting yourself in the chest. You have a chance of living, but most likely you'll die in the end."
Raven stared at him, those words buzzing in his head, actually meaning something to him.
"You have a hate
for Zoids, and I don't blame you for it. But use that hate, use it as what
drives you forward. There is nothing sweeter then watching your enemy slowly
bleed and die." Masato stared at Raven, his eyes slightly closed, the boy
exhausted and sore. "Keep those words in your head, or at least keep these. You
are a Raven, a heartless killer who obeys only himself. Respect only those who
deserve respect, even if it's your greatest enemy. Tomorrow you will be given
your greatest task yet; you will take out a Rebel base very near here."
Raven's heart raced with joy, though
he kept it to himself. It was a chance to test his skills, a chance to strike
fear into his enemies just as Masato had taught him to do.
"Get some sleep tonight, you attack at dawn."
Raven nodded his head. "Ill destroy every last one of them sir." Masato was the only man Raven would ever call sir. He was the only man Raven truly respected; he looked up to Masato, like a friend, like a father.
Van looked down at the small battle-taking place on the hot desert sand. The Republic and Empire, one of his father's friends squaring off against a new commander in the Empire. Zoids amazed Van, though he supposed it ran in his family. He didn't know his mother at all except for a few stories his dad or sister told him. She had died when he was 3, some big shot man in the Empire murdered when she was at New Helic City. And he didn't know much about his dad either, killed a little more then a year ago. Van was now 11, though he could pass slightly older. He stood there, his hover board under his right arm. "I can't wait until I can pilot a Zoid." He said quietly, watching as the Republic began to retreat, the Empire holding there ground. "Stupid Empire." Van hated the Empire; they had something to do with both of his parent's death. "Bunch of jerks." He threw his hover board on the ground a jumped on it, quickly taking off as he headed back to his home in the Windcolony. It was a while away and decided to stop at an oasis a few miles away from the colony. Van filled up his canteen with water, drinking it quickly, the desert heat took a toll on his thirst. He finished it up and refilled it. He saw a lemon tree and picked a few of them, he didn't like lemons that much, to sour for him. But hunger was ravishing him and he needed something to hold him over until he got home. Van rested a little, staring up at the hot sun. He put his hand over his eyes shading the rays out a little. Van wanted to pilot a Zoid, he thought about it almost every day. But both his sister and Sam said he was way to young. "What do they know anyways? I could handle a Zoid just as good as anyone else in the Republic." He didn't know when he would actually start piloting a Zoid. Maybe when he was 16 they would finally let him join the Republic. That's when his father had joined. Van remembered stories of his father, about how great of a man he was and how skilled of a pilot he had become. Van knew if he got half as good as his father he would be happy. But the biggest reason he wanted to pilot a Zoid was to have fun; something his dad had always told him was the best thing about piloting. Time went by quickly and Van knew he had to get home otherwise Maria and Sam would start to worry about him, and that usually meant he would have to do a lot more chores around the house. Van got on his hover board and took off again as the sun began to set under the horizon. He knew there would be trouble in store for him when he got home.
Raven woke up as the lights in his room turned on quickly, Masato standing at the door.
"Get ready, you leave in a hour." Masato said turning around and walking back down the hall.
Raven smirked, he hadn't slept much last night and for the first time it wasn't because of pain or the thoughts of his past. It was anxiety, waiting impatiently for his first chance at a real battle, a real chance to show his skills as a warrior, as a raven. And what he wanted most, a chance to destroy Zoids.
It took Raven only a few minutes to get ready, and he ate the usual breakfast quickly. The breakfast was always grits and sausage, and Raven actually enjoyed it despite eating it every day. He met with Masato in the main center, a giant map on the screen.
"That green square on the map is your target." Masato said pointing to it. "Thos red circles are Anti-Zoid missiles located on four separate plateaus. It's also heavily defended with Zoids." Masato smiled. "Should be a breeze for you."
Raven nodded and walked out. In the hanger he saw his red Saber Fang, waiting just as impatiently as its pilot was. He got in the cockpit and strapped himself in, sweat running down his face as he waited for the hanger gate to open, beams of sunlight barging in on them. Finally he took off quickly, in less then two hours he would enter his first battle.