Chapter One: On the Run


They were travelling together, for the time being, at least. The Geno Breaker made its way across the desert terrain, with a few gears clunking here and there, and sparks of electricity shooting from damaged parts of the red zoid, particularly from the now missing X-Breaker Claw that was destroyed by one of the Geno Saurers they fought. The fight against Hiltz and the Death Saurer had taken its toll, and there was no government, no military to help them recover. They were wanted fugitives after all. It was a small respite that the Guardian Force was also licking their wounds after the battle, allowing them to get a head start before being hunted down and arrested.

So they left, while they still had the chance, while everyone else was cleaning up the aftermath of what would have been the beginning of an era of destruction and death. Even though they did their part in saving the planet, they knew it would not be enough atonement for all their past crimes. It would not be enough for all the death and destruction they themselves have caused, the pain and the loss they have inflicted throughout the years. Not to mention both their instrumental work and participation in the revival of the Death Saurer.

All that is left for them now is to run, and maybe, in time, to piece themselves back together. For now, they have to travel as far away from the battle as they can. However, given that the Geno Breaker is badly damaged, and Raven and Shadow are both exhausted from the battle, they will not make it very far. Shadow can no longer fuse with the zoid's core, having depleted the very last of his energy to fuel the particle blasts that broke through the Death Saurer's shield. It also doesn't help that the black-haired pilot refuses to let her take over, stubbornly staying on the controls while vainly trying to hide his own exhaustion and injuries.

He still doesn't seem to completely trust her, or perhaps he is too proud, too guarded to allow any situation out of his control. In any case, she understands, and she doesn't expect anything else from him. She has gotten to know him better these past few weeks after all, truly starting to understand him. It is one thing to know his past, but it is another thing to be saved by him, to be cared for by him, to be worried about him, and, dare she say it, to be terrified of losing him. It doesn't seem too long ago that all he was to her was someone who merely amused her. His ruthlessness in battle, his rebellious, albeit somewhat immature nature, coupled with an unrelenting ego and legendary piloting skills made him quite the spectacle to observe. He was also intriguing to her, the way he was driven by anger, hatred, and vengeance from a past he didn't even remember. She didn't exactly know when she started caring for him the way she does now. If she had to guess, it would be after they had a psychic link, when she revealed his memories to him.

She had held nothing back in the revelation, putting her psychic powers to the test as she navigated through his mental defenses to find and gather the repressed memories of his mind. It is amazing what the mind can do to protect the psyche, and what she did not expect during the encounter was for his will to push back against her as strongly as it did. She doesn't know how much insight into her own mind he was able to get, but something changed in their relationship after that. He seemed…more curious of her, less hostile even and she was surprised by him. Instead of his memories fuelling his hatred and violence like she expected, he showed mercy and restraint when he didn't kill Van Flyheight. Her surprise has turned into awe since then, perhaps even admiration for him.

Reese is jolted from her musings as the subject of her thoughts started slumping over in his seat in front of her. "Raven?" she called out to him, frowning when she didn't get a response. Raven only slumps over even further. She immediately leans over to catch him from falling on the controls, her other hand disengaging her safety harness. Once free, she reaches for the controls, pulling back on the lever to stop the zoid. Raven is unconscious. "Specula!" she calls to the blue-organoid, knowing that Shadow is still regaining his strength. Specula immediately fuses with the Geno Breaker, sensing the urgency in her master's voice. "Take us somewhere safe, somewhere hidden." she instructs her organoid telepathically.

Specula engages the terrain scanner, and upon sensing canyons nearby, she immediately maximizes the booster levels and directs the zoid westward. Reese assesses Raven's condition, having received basic medical training during her time in the Imperial Army. If there was one thing Prozen was good for, it was making sure that every single soldier in his army was well-rounded and useful to him.

He is still breathing, at least, though his breathing is labored and shallow, with every drawn breath causing a pained look on his face. However, she can't properly gauge the extent of his injuries in this cramped cockpit. Thankfully, Specula was quick to find a spot for them to camp, hidden from plain sight and surrounded by tall canyons to hide the Geno Breaker.

Specula lands the Geno Breaker, slowly powering down its boosters. She opens the cockpit and extends the seats down to ground level so they can carefully get off. Shadow is on their side, helping Reese carry Raven by grabbing the pilot's shoulder pad in his mouth, being careful not to tear it and accidentally drop his master. They slowly set him down on the ground, watchful not to aggravate his injuries. Specula catches up to them, having taken out the bag of camping supplies from the storage compartment.

Reese ruffles through the supplies, obtaining a sleeping mat and spreading it out on the ground before carefully maneuvering Raven to rest on it. She folds up a cloak as a makeshift pillow and gently puts it under his head. She examines him. His breathing is still strained; his shallow and pained inhalations indicate that he may have suffered a ribcage injury. She starts to remove his top clothes to assess the damage, hoping that he did not have a broken rib. After removing his gloves and his military jacket, she notices a darker spot on his black undershirt. It was dried blood that had soaked his shirt. It wasn't an alarming amount, thankfully, but she mentally takes note of a possible flesh wound on his lower right torso.

She retrieves a canteen of water, and pours some of it onto the spot, before carefully peeling the cloth away from his skin. She found the cut on his torso, about 3 inches long. The water had helped loosen the dried blood soaking the shirt, making it easier to detach from the skin without aggravating the wound and reopening it. The cut was smooth, and has already closed up. She gently stretches the skin around the cut, testing to see if it would reopen with simple movement. When the skin stayed together, she deems that the cut is shallow enough that it does not need stiches. She would still need to disinfect and bandage it, of course.

She continues to remove his shirt, as she still needed to see what other injuries he sustained from the fight that needed immediate attention. When she finally finished removing his undershirt, she gasped upon seeing the bruises all over his body. She couldn't believe it. He must have been under tremendous agony. They've been travelling for hours, and not a word of complaint.

"You stubborn man…"she thought, as her eyes welled up with tears. She shook her head to clear her thoughts; she needed to focus. He has bruises everywhere; on his arms and shoulders, on his collars where the safety harness dug into him, on his abdomen and chest from getting slammed around in the cockpit, and also from when he took a beating from Shadow after the organoid's rebirth. Upon seeing the bruises, the black organiod let out a low mechanical whimper, feeling guilty for having hurt him. "Don't worry about it, Shadow. He's just really happy you're back", she said comfortingly, trying to reassure the organoid. Specula hummed her support, and then went back to keep watch, staying on high alert. Shadow just lies down dejectedly.

She notices a large, deep purple bruise on the left side of his ribcage. She gently runs her fingers along his ribs, trying to feel for any misalignments or abnormality in their rigidity. Fortunately, there were none, but they would have to be careful not to put any pressure on those ribs. They may not be broken, but they could still be fractured and susceptible to displacement.

Next, she examines his head for any bruising, and upon lifting his hair from his forehead, she finds one on his right temple. She also discovers another gash that was previously covered under his hair. The same type of smooth cut as the one on his torso, only this one was about a third smaller. Both were most likely from shards of glass that had cut him during all of that chaos. However, the bruising on his temple is more worrisome. She gently pries open his right eye, noting the dilation diameter of his pupil. She compares it to his left eye, and notices that the right eye is just ever so slightly more dilated than the left. This confirms her suspicion that he has a mild concussion. It would explain the sudden loss of consciousness, although that may also be combined with extreme exhaustion.

She searches the supplies again for anything she could use to treat his wounds, and is glad to find a first-aid kit. It surprises her that a seemingly reckless maverick like Raven would actually use a first-aid kit. "Ah…never mind." she thinks to herself, as she opens the Imperial Army standard-issue first-aid kit with all the items still present, unused.

She starts by cleaning up his torso, using a damp cloth to wipe away the dried blood. She then disinfects the cut with antiseptic, being careful not to reopen the wound. This process would normally be painful, but there was no response from the unconscious pilot. She finishes up by bandaging the wound, adding the protective layer to prevent it from getting dirty and contaminated.

She repeats the process for the cut on his forehead, and by the time she was done, it was starting to get dark. She can't really do anything about the rib injury and the concussion. His body needs to rest and recover on its own, and she can only hope that he did not sustain any serious internal injuries. She sighs, trying to keep her worry and anxiety for the pilot in check. Instead, she now focuses on setting up camp for the night. She retrieves a small electric lamp and turns it on; the light barely making a difference. She also needs to find a way to keep him warm, as the desert nights can get very cold. A campfire would produce too much smoke, which was not helpful for Raven who is already having some difficulty breathing, not to mention it may also give away their position to anyone who may be looking for them.

She decides to forego the fire, deeming the risk of being spotted too great. She opts instead to set up a wedge tent on the spot where Raven was sleeping, that way she did not have to disturb his rest. When she finished the tent, she rummages for blankets. The tent provided a bit of shelter from the cold elements, but it would not be enough to keep him warm. She finds a large blanket, big enough to fit the both of them. She folds the blanket lengthwise in half, so to be able to use two layers to gently cover Raven's sleeping form up to his neck. She lays his jacket on him as well, just to provide more warmth.

She is suddenly interrupted by Specula's growl, and senses her organoid call out to her. She exits the tent and goes to her organoid, who was growling in the direction of the canyon entrance. She frowns, and closes her eyes to focus. She senses two zoids in the distance, moving at high speeds, probably flying types. No wonder they caught up to them this quickly.

She moves further towards the canyon entrance, followed closely by Specula. Raven and Shadow are both resting. They must not get spotted now, not when they are vulnerable. She is glad to have followed her instinct in not making that fire. It would have been like a lighthouse in the dark night in this sea of sand.

She looks out to the desert, and spots the two Redlers in the distance, most likely Imperial, their forms slightly illuminated by the moon. They were heading south, the direction they themselves were heading to earlier, before Raven collapsed. Their movement is consistent and continuous. They don't seem to have spotted them or followed their tracks. They are likely just following their last known heading.

Reese and Specula apprehensively watch the two zoids in the distance, keeping a close eye on their direction and if they started coming their way. After some time, they disappeared into the distance. They both wait a while longer, until they could no longer sense their presence.

Reese breathes out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. "That was too close", she communicates to Specula, who softly hummed in agreement. They both walk back to the campsite, glad to have avoided the conflict. Reese could not help but feel uneasy, however, as they could still potentially circle back and search their area.

"Specula?" she calls to her organoid. "Are you okay to take first watch?" she asked her, as she stroked Specula's muzzle. Specula grunts obediently, and lightly nudges Reese towards the tent, silently telling her to get some rest.

Reese slowly walked toward the tent as Specula went back to keep watch. Raven was still, resting in the center. The tent was barely large enough to fit the both of them. She could lie down next to him, but it would be a bit cramped, and she did not want to accidentally disturb an injured man. She decides to sit in a corner of the tent by the entrance, wrapping her arms around her knees, trying to get warm. She rests her head on top of her knees and looks at Raven. He wasn't shivering, which was a good sign, and his pained expression, though still present, is not as pronounced as it was before. Her eyes slowly drifted shut, her unease slowly overwhelmed with exhaustion as she fell asleep.