Layon watched the battle come to an end from the relative safety of the Shadow Fox.
He'd thought that the Organoid Systems he'd discerned were AI, similar to what he'd created for the Fox. Apparently not. Apparently people should've taken the name far more literally.
He wanted to get his hands on an Organoid. Badly. His eyes flicked with thought.
He'd been disappointed and concerned with the prospects surrounding the red Organoid that'd showed up at - and disappeared without a trace from - the Mackaray base. But the Backdraft had apparently had an Organoid this whole time: the Berserk Fury.
Maybe that's what was wrong with the damn thing.
Fortunately for Layon, the Fox was equipped with a number of advanced sensors. He was trying to get all the data he could, but-
[I don't like: this. I don't like: them._ ] The Shadow Fox repeated at him dozens of times, prompting Layon to take off the interface helmet and shake his head.
"I get it. Calm down."
The Fox continued to paw the ground restlessly and looked at the other Zoids, who were fixated on the two Organoids. The Shadow Fox trilled at the Blade Liger, which glanced and dismissively chuffed.
Layon could sense the Fox's irritation with that, helmet be damned.
Jaime was uncomfortably close to the hangar's threshold when a Helcat tore in, dropping its stealth and alarming the hell out of everyone as it did so. The Zoid stopped with great precision and immediately knelt to ground level, cockpit hatch hissing open. No one knew Sara, but they immediately recognized Vega: he lay draped across her arms.
"Help me!" She cried. "Someone!"
Toros dashed over and assisted her out of the cockpit, gently taking Vega from her arms. The child was alarmingly cool to the touch and completely limp. Toros set Vega down and checked him over quickly, tensing. No pulse, not breathing.
Leon and Steve's glances met, grim - but Sara cried out again. "Do something!"
On a deep level, Toros grasped her unique desperation - that of a parent. He looked over his shoulder at the woman, hesitated, then started with chest compressions on Vega.
Leon didn't have much patience left as he looked at Sara. "Who are you, and what happened?"
Zero held One down until it was certain the black Organoid was actually out.
Then it took a step away, reared back and released Bit from within itself. The blonde didn't miss a beat, leaping out and to the ground as if well-practiced. He looked over his shoulder to finally acknowledge his mode of transport.
"...whoa."
He shook his head, gathered his bearings, then knelt beside One.
Zero again slammed a hindtalon down on the unconscious Organoid, and its gloss-black carapace split in the middle. With the two's efforts, its belly-panels and wiring were quickly prized apart. Like tightly-packed, disturbing entrails, Brad and more slick black wiring spilled from within.
Bit hurriedly dragged the man out of the mess. He didn't have much in the way of medical knowledge, but did know people were supposed to be breathing. Brad wasn't.
"Shit. Zero!"
The white Organoid moved in closer, looking Brad over. It saw what Bit did: a lifeless-looking man, but also saw what Bit could not: a serious wound to Brad's self, to the psyche - both hidden, and looking quite like the wound Zero had seen in One.
Organoids were meant to buoy their partners, not gouge holes in them. But Brad wasn't One's partner - Vega was, or should be. The black Organoid's insistence on monopolizing two people was bound to cause problems. Zero looked up and around briefly. Vega; where was Vega.
"What do we do?!"
It of course made sense that the woman with Vega was from Backdraft. Vega was from Backdraft, after all. But her terse explanation allayed no one's concerns and visibly angered Naomi, who started towards Sara. Leon stopped her.
"Naomi-"
Her anger swung to Leon. "We'll help a child. But she can fuck off."
"He's my son." Sara snapped.
Toros silently acknowledged that he was right, but that did nothing for the situation. Everyone became uncomfortably quiet watching so much resuscitative effort directed at Vega's small body.
Naomi became too frustrated and ran out of the hangar. Leon sighed, and glared dangerously at Sara. He wanted to ask and know more, but now wasn't the time.
Sara was simply staring down at Vega, horrified.
She'd lost so many of her children. Vega was the only one to survive to birth. He'd been so perfect and lovely in every way. She had fit him into Backdraft's molds trying to shape him for a future she thought would be just as perfect as he was.
Zoid battles were dangerous, technically, but that had never really mattered. His prodigy status had somehow eased all concerns. The first time she'd been truly worried about him was at the Royal Cup.
Now he was just laying there, dead, and she wasn't able to deal with that. It showed clearly on her face.
"Dad, what can I do?" Leon said.
"Get the emergency kit out of the med bay," Toros said. 'if the med bay is still there' went unspoken, as he'd not yet been able to properly assess the damage to the base. He didn't let up with the compressions except to check for results, but was clearly getting tired.
Jaime stepped in and switched out before Toros became too exhausted to continue. He glanced leerily, not wanting to say what was certainly being considered at this point: this didn't matter.
Layon leapt down from the Shadow Fox, walking towards Bit and Zero just in time to watch the white Organoid whip around and vanish with a flash. Bit warily eyed Layon, who'd knelt nearby. Layon checked Brad over briefly before standing and grunting with disgust.
"Finally got him too, huh."
"What do y… what's going on, Layon?"
Layon shrugged. "You know there's been folks going missing over the past few months? Backdraft. Backdraft's responsible. Looking for someone to pilot the Berserk Fury."
Bit stared. "What about Vega?"
"He almost died after the Royal Cup. He w-"
"I saw him after the battle! He was just fine!"
"Yeah. Until he wasn't."
Bit's eyes darted, trying to reconcile his version of events with this. A wave of anxiety hit him; had he and Zero somehow done this same sort of thing to Vega, too? He looked down at Brad and shook the man several times in a panic.
Leon was quick to return, awkwardly carrying a small case under one arm.
Toros took it from him and clattered the box open, sorting through materials several notches above first aid. He'd pulled out a syringe, holding it in his teeth as he fumbled for the rest of what was needed, when a blinding blaze of white caused him to stumble back.
The white Organoid they'd earlier been watching materialized amidst the group, absolutely massive and daunting up-close. When it righted to survey the area, it was well over 9 feet tall.
Everyone staggered back and gaped - everyone but Sara. She and Zero made firm eye contact, before the creature abruptly split its undersides, used several loops of wire to seize Vega out from under Jaime, and vanished.
Jaime's palm hit the floor and he blinked, bewildered.
It'd been mere moments. After everyone recovered from the shock, Jaime was the first to stand and abruptly bolt towards the outside. The others followed.
"He's dead, Bit." Layon said bluntly, as he walked to the other side of One and knelt again. He observed the stilled Organoid closely, nudging it to one side then the other to take in the various anatomy. "People pilot the Berserk Fury, they die. For some reason."
Bit's face dropped to a scowl. The blonde wasn't ready for the unsettling realization that hit him: this was probably what Brad meant with his ultimatum. "And you helped Backdraft?"
Layon picked up an end of the abundant black coils of wiring laying about. He studied it thoughtfully, then looked at Bit. "Not with that." He produced a short, sharp blade from his pocket and neatly sliced the segment off.
This was a questionable life decision. One shrieked with pain and awoke, stiffly and in a stupor. It slowly recoiled and closed itself, jaws spastically chopping air and splayed talons trembling.
Bit angrily shouldered Layon away. "Back off! For fuck's sake-"
Zero reappeared in a flash and reacted with surprise, at both Layon's proximity - and One being awake. Bit raised a brow at his partner and relayed the situation, prompting Zero to growl and snap at Layon. The big man scuttled away.
Zero split and gently set Vega down on the ground, eliciting startled dismay from Bit. "Wh- Vega!"
The white Organoid carefully looked over Vega as well, and found the exact same issue: a deep and particular wound. Vega's was less raw, but no less serious. It confirmed Zero's suspicion - One likely inflicted this same damage on anyone it touched. Intentional or not, most wouldn't survive this kind of savaging for long. Healing the body would do no good unless this, first, was seen to.
One's head turned slightly, towards Vega. It couldn't break out of its dysfunctional throes, but both Bit and Zero felt the painful tension of its desperation.
Zero regarded One. ~You have done this. Do you understand?~
Impotent, trembling rage was the response. Jaws gnashed weakly Zero's way.
~I can help you. But you must let me.~
~...this. Is your. fault.~
~I never meant this harm, One. Blame helps no one.~
Every nerve ending in Bit's body screamed for him to flee, so intense was the fury emanating from One. But he understood, via Zero, that this wretched creature was now powerless. Beneath its rage was a profound terror: it didn't want Vega to die and leave it alone in the world again.
"One, please. Listen to Zero. We just wanna help."
One sharply locked eyes with Bit. Its ravenous hollow lay bare before him, a gaping void - yet somehow tempting, with promises of control -
Bit embraced the dark. Not in acceptance or resignation, but out of the understood need to reach the thing. He expected cold, he expected pain, he expected something - but what he did not expect was a dead-silent mental space in which he found he had one arm around Vega, the other around Brad.
Silence.
Green eyes shot open.
The next thing Bit knew, Naomi was there, knelt beside Brad. Bit glanced to Vega and saw the child rolling blearily to one sandy side, chest heaving. He sprinted over and helped Vega up.
Vega shook his head at Bit through his frantic gasping, trying to push away. Bit didn't let him, instead wrapping his arms tightly around the child. "Vega. You need to listen to me."
Vega writhed and spit, rasping angrily. "Let go of me!"
That same lilt that he'd heard from Brad. One's influence. "Vega. One is your partner, but you don't have to do what he says. He doesn't want to hurt you, and neither do we. He needs our help, and you do too. Okay?"
Vega kept shaking his head, resisting fiercely and starting to sob. "I can't, Bit. I can't. It hurts so much. It hurts."
Bit didn't budge. "You can do this. Trust me. You just have to let us help."
Vega screeched and bit Bit, One's wild rage clear in his eyes. Bit winced and just let it happen, several times - his sleeves took the brunt of it - until Vega wore himself out and resumed sobbing. "No! No! Why won't you fight!"
"Because we don't have to. We can choose not to."
Vega turned his head and buried his face into Bit's chest, shuddering with a blood-curdling scream of pure frustration.
Layon climbed back into the anxious Fox and directed it away from the area, but it resisted and stopped after only a few loping steps. Layon dropped the helmet back on, sighing. "Come on. We're going."
[Dr. Layon. I am concerned about: Brad. And: Naomi. We are to: protect her._ ]
"Says who? He's dead, she's fine. Go!"
[No._ ] It lifted the steering column out of easy reach, briefly dragging Layon with it until he let go, and dropped back into the seat. [But, stay. With: Me. It's not: safe out there._ ]
Brad was choking on the deepest breaths he'd ever managed in his life, when he was promptly helped upright by Naomi.
The woman startled as one of the Shadow Fox's massive claws crunched to the sand beside her and Brad. The Zoid unceremoniously scraped them both further away from the Organoids, the claw's silver broadside bulldozing them along on a churning plot of ground.
Naomi glared up at the Fox, sucking in a breath to yell at Layon - but the Shadow Fox was looking directly back at her in a way that only curious Zoids did. She faltered, and the Fox trilled its attempt at placation.
The sound prompted Brad to open his eyes. He looked wearily from the Fox, to Naomi.
"...sorry." Was the first thing he managed to say.
Naomi's pulled him close and held him tightly, voice thinning with emotion. "Don't apologize, you asshole."
Vega screamed until his voice went hoarse, screamed until he was exhausted, screamed until he couldn't scream any more. He sank onto Bit, quieting to a few occasional gulps for breath.
At length he looked up.
"We do want your help."
Zero stepped near.
Bit had no idea what to expect or do, so he let the white Organoid take the lead. To his pleasant surprise he found himself overwhelmed again with exultation, that brimming sense of invincibility he'd earlier felt.
Less positively, he became aware of just what a danger the feeling was. The power felt good, too good, and he recognized at the height of it that morality became an abstract, unimportant concept. There wasn't good or bad, right or wrong. Only things he wanted, and things he did not. The point was one of understanding and exchange. While Bit experienced the draw of power, Vega experienced a swell of empathy, unlike anything he'd experienced before. They were both left speechless.
Vega sniffed, bunching a shaking hand to his chest.
The pain he'd simply grown used to, was gone. He could breathe again. He could think again. He felt One's touch - as a companion, not as a draining fog.
Silence.
Brad and Naomi's tight embrace lasted. His face stayed buried in her hair and shoulder; his body shook lightly with stifled sobs. She really didn't know what to do besides hold him. She certainly didn't know what else to say.
The sun hung low and bright on the horizon. The desert wind began to grow cold.
"Brad." It was Bit.
The man looked up. His eyes lifted to Bit, then past - to the white Organoid following behind him.
"Zero says you're hurt." Bit said, and touched a hand lightly to his own chest in demonstration.
Naomi looked over her shoulder at Bit, then back at Brad. The man said nothing, his silence and gaze cold.
"… are you okay?" Naomi finally asked.
No. He wasn't. He knew exactly what Bit was referring to, though he didn't know how the blonde and his small Zoid - Organoid - could possibly help.
He felt hollow, sad. Abandoned, worthless. The Liger had made him feel these same things a long time ago, albeit with much less intensity. If that creature was 'the Liger Zero' - and he very much understood that it was - how could it help? It'd just make things worse.
Brad gently ran his hands up and down Naomi's back. But he didn't answer.
"Brad. Please." Bit reached out. "We can help."
All Brad could think about was Bit having front row seats to a very ugly, very vulnerable underside. He resented it fiercely. "Fuck off."
~There is nothing to be ashamed of.~ Zero said quietly. ~Hate and avarice are present in many. It is how you act on them that matters.~ A pause. ~I know you did what you could. I know you meant no harm.~
Brad squinted his eyes tightly shut. If Zero knew those things, what else did it know? Everything, like the Fury did?
He hated that these things just talked into your mind. You couldn't ignore them. You couldn't muffle the sounds. You could only listen, only hear, both the words and their intentions crystal clear. The same went for any responses. Brad knew this from weeks of communicating with the Fury.
He knew this, yet still tried to keep down his response. He couldn't. It rose like bile, unable to be dispelled except by speaking: "It's still mine. "
Bit's hackles subtly rose, but he tried to hide it. "The Berserk Fury is dead. One is Vega's partner."
Hollow, sad, abandoned, worthless. He'd failed, been betrayed, left to die. He couldn't even reach out to the Fury - One - because the connection between them was gone. Everything hurt. "Then it doesn't matter, does it."
A cold breeze whipped them both as silence fell.
"Please don't do this. We just want-"
The soft digital growl of the Shadow Fox started nearby, a warning.
"Brad, please-"
"Fox! "
A louder growl and gnash of teeth; the Fox responded quickly, putting itself protectively in front of the couple. Stares were exchanged like crossbow bolts through the gaps in the crouching Fox's legs.
~There is nothing to be afraid of, Brad.~ Zero said.
Just out of reach. Just out of touch. Zero's voice held all the same promises of power that'd been ripped away - but Brad knew from experience that Zero's were not his to have. Not now, not ever.
And that was most certainly something to be afraid of.
Layon ultimately stole the Helcat and ran off.
Brad and Naomi quietly returned to Romeo City with their Zoids.
Hours later, well after dark, a small group of ZBC and ZBGF officers arrived at the Blitz Team base. They'd earlier detected the unauthorized use of charged particle weaponry, and had come to investigate.
Toros downplayed the incident severely, indicating that they'd been attacked by the rogue Berserk Fury - and dealt with it. They were the Blitz Team, after all. The evidence of a neutralized threat was also simple to demonstrate, given that the beast's stone carcass rested in easy view.
Sufficiently allayed, but growing slightly more concerned about the Backdraft, the officers left. They'd seemed to be waiting for more... but Steve gave them nothing else to work with.
The Blitz Team patriarch walked quietly back into the base, stepping over debris to walk in through a melted gouge of ex-flooring. There'd once been a very thick wall and several small rooms here.
Toros made it several steps further in before he stopped, folded quietly to his knees, put a hand over his face… and sobbed.
It wasn't despair. It was relief.
A low, purring chuff drew his attention after a span. He knew it was the Liger Zero.
After a short struggle, he composed himself and looked over at it.
Between the white Liger's paws Bit and Zero lay together, the former sporting fresh bandages and being messily sprawled over the Organoid in sleep. Opposite them lay One and Vega, tucked tightly together and equally asleep. The Liger couldn't quite communicate the necessary nuance, but both didn't want to interrupt Toros… and didn't want him to wake its charges.
So it just chuffed again, very softly.
Toros understood. He smiled gratefully at the Zoid and started to walk back into the base, but paused.
A distinct feeling of being watched - and not by a Zoid. He noticed Sara watching him quietly.
He cleared his throat and looked aside for a moment. Then looked back and extended a hand. "The common room is warmer if you want to sleep in there."
Sara regarded him. "You trust me inside your base?"
Toros smirked. "If we're being honest, no. But I live here. You don't. Home field advantage." The smirk warmed into a chuckle. "Do you trust me, inside my base, is a better question."
Sara grinned a little, stood from where she was seated, and followed Toros inside.