AN- ShadowRebirth37 here! Have you all liked the fic so far? This fic is fun to write, so I won't stop right in the middle as some other authors have (I'm not pointing fingers, okay! I haven't been here long enough to do that! Besides its wrong to point fingers!XP). I've been getting good reviews for all my stories, and I love getting your guys' feedback! Are you guys always this accepting of newbies, or am I special?XP Lol. Anyway, this next chappie might not be as action-oriented as the last one, but I have to introduce my new OC! I'm not telling who, but Squireheart, if you're reading this, you know who I'm talking about!;D Well, I don't even know why I bother typing all this out; I know nobody reads this even though they might contain important plot hints!! Now, I bet that got your attention. Anyway, here's chapter 3- The Crimson Demon (dedicated to you, SquireHeart!;D)!
Chapter 3: The Crimson Demon
"Shadow?"
Shadow stared at the intruder, shocked. This wasn't the Red, but it was yet another Organoid.
"Shadow?" the figure asked again, "Shadow? Is that you?" Shadow was frozen. The figure sounded so familiar, like the voice of a distant memory. He squinted his eyes, trying to see the figure's features, but it was too dark in the reaches of the cave.
Suddenly, light streamed back in, washing over the figure, illuminating him. Smooth golden armor, jet-black underplating, wing-humps, sharp nose-horn, and warm greenish-black eyes. 'It couldn't be…' Shadow thought in astonishment, 'It couldn't be, it couldn't be! I saw him die! But he's standing right in front of me!' he screamed in his head, so confused.
"Shadow, is it you? Don't you remember me?" the figure asked once again. Shadow stared at the golden Organoid before him, not believing his eyes.
"C-Copper? Copper i-is that you?" Shadow choked, recognizing his best friend.
"It's been a long time." Copper smiled, slowly swooshing his long, elegant tail.
"B-but I saw… the Bronze Zaber… Alloy?" Shadow stuttered, the fact his best friend was alive still dawning on him.
"I will explain that later, Shadow." He quieted his friend, "First, I need to get you patched-up." He said as he looked at Shadow's torn neck, belly and wing. "What happened? And why is there blood all over your muzzle? Did you feed?" Copper asked, seeing the still-wet crimson that covered his muzzle and flecked his armor, and the fluid that still dripped from his jaws.
Shadow seemed to snap back to reality at the mention of blood. He looked at himself and realized how badly he looked. His throat was covered in punctures from the Red's teeth. Blood and fluid did still cover his jaws, giving him the appearance that he had killed something. His belly had three long furrows from the Red's talons when he had kicked him. He really did look like he had just fed, which was highly unusual for a fully-developed Organoid to do.
"No Copper, I didn't feed." He answered.
"Then where did the blood come from?" Copper asked, cocking his head and raising his spined eye-crest.
"The blood came from here…" Shadow replied quietly, withdrawing his wing, revealing Raven. Copper gasped as he looked at the young pilot, and turned to look at Shadow.
"What did you do, Shadow?" Copper asked, concerned that maybe his friend had reverted and attacked an innocent human.
"I saved him, Copper." Shadow answered.
"Saved him? What do you mean saved him?!" he questioned.
"I found him unconscious and near-death in the remains of what looked like a Rev Raptor. He was trapped and unable to get out, so I freed him. When I got him out of the cockpit I was surrounded by Republican soldiers and ordered to hand him over. He's Imperial, you see, and they wanted to take him prisoner. I managed to get away without having to harm them, but one of their bullets pierced my wing and grazed him. Knowing he wouldn't be able to survive the long flight back to my lair, I landed and hid him in here. But when I walked out on the ledge to think, I was attacked from behind by a red Organoid. He wants to kill him because his parents experimented on him while he was in stasis. I fought him off, but I was badly hurt. I managed to get back in here before I literally collapsed from exhaustion. I was cleaning his wounds when you came." Shadow informed Copper of the day's adventure and looked down at Raven.
"Why didn't you fall under control of your instincts? I thought all un-tamed Organoids did whenever they saw weakness in another animal." Copper asked.
"Being around Alloy and Ibeyla and the other Zoidians sort of universally tamed me. I'm still un-bonded, but I have reasonable control over my instincts." Shadow informed him.
"How bad are his wounds?" Copper asked quietly as he leaned down close to the young pilot and looked at him closely.
"He's lost a lot of blood, has a deep gash on his upper arm and at least three broken ribs, a bullet grazed his side, and he was trapped under a heavy metal beam for Eve knows how long; they're pretty serious." Shadow said, looking up at the golden Organoid.
"How can such a young human survive such injuries? Even an adult Zoidian would be lucky to live…" Copper said, looking at Raven in shock, "How again did you say he was injured?"
"I found him in the remains of what I guessed was a Rev Raptor. There were a bunch of gored, completely destroyed Imperial Zoids near him, as well as two downed Republican Zoids; it looked like the Republicans massacred the Imperial Zoids. He was in one of the most mangled Zoids I have ever seen; I still can't believe he's alive. The Raptor was peppered with bullet holes, and the chest armor had been sliced clean through by what looked like claws. He must have been struck from behind, there's no other way to explain why the Zoid landed the way it did. Still, he's lucky I came to investigate, otherwise he'd be in the Republic's hands right now, or worse…" Shadow trailed off, not wanting to think about what might have happened to Raven if he hadn't rescued him.
"He's extremely lucky, considering the damage you said the Zoid sustained…" Copper stated, still looking at him, "Why was he with Imperial troops? He couldn't be a soldier, could he?"
"The Republican soldier who called him Raven seemed to know who he was… yes it's possible that he is a soldier." Shadow considered, for he hadn't really given it much thought.
"But he's so young; I bet he's only twelve suns old. They wouldn't let a youngling fight in the war, would they?" Copper said, not understanding why he had been with Imperial soldiers.
"I don't know…" Shadow whispered, "Copper?"
"Hmm…?" Copper answered.
"You used to be good at patching up Obscura and me, do you think you can help him?" Shadow asked quietly, looking the gold-clad Organoid in the eyes. Copper looked down at the unconscious pilot and seemed to bite his lip in thought. "Can you Copper? Please, there's something about him… he reminds me of a Zoidian, of Talon, and I feel like I need to protect him…" Shadow pleaded, staring in Copper's eyes with an almost begging look.
"I've never worked on a human before…" Copper stated quietly, looking back up at Shadow, "But I'll try Shadow." He added, seeing Shadow's expression.
"Thank you, Copper." Shadow smiled, well, if you could call it a smile.
"Don't thank me yet, I don't have any idea what to do." Copper said sharply, "I have some supplies back in my cave, maybe I could bring some here-"
"No…" Shadow stopped him, "It would be better if we took him there. That red Organoid will stop at nothing to get to Raven, and he knows that Raven is here. Raven would be safer if we got him away from here and somewhere hidden from that demon."
"That does sound better. Come, get Raven and follow me, I'll lead you to my lair. It's not to far away, no more than a twenty minute flight." Copper agreed and turned, walking out onto the ledge.
"Copper wait!" Shadow called after him, "That's where I was att-" His warning came too late. Before he could even finish his sentence, a red blur slammed into the golden Organoid, this time from below. He was knocked back into the cave onto his back with a surprised roar. Copper struggled, but the red Organoid had him pinned to the ground.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Copper snarled as he vainly struggled. The Red's only response was a wicked laugh.
"Release him this instant!" Shadow roared, now standing in the chamber's entrance.
"Well well…" the Red said smoothly, "Look who it is…"
"Silence, red! Release him and leave immediately!" Shadow commanded, roaring in rage. The Red merely laughed, stepping off the now unmoving gold Organoid and turning to face him.
"Who are you to order me around, black?" he smiled his twisted grin, flashing the dangerously sharp spines on his tail.
"Leave now red!" Shadow snarled, bearing his teeth threateningly.
"Give me Raven and I will leave peacefully, and never return." The Red said slyly, smirking wickedly.
"Never, red!" Shadow roared, "I won't let you kill him!"
"Protecting a human…" the Red scoffed, "How foolish…"
"You're the fool, red, and I will hold the honor of showing you the error of your ways…" Shadow growled back. The two Organoids circled one another in an ancient war-dance. They glared and growled at each other, daring the other to strike. Shadow glanced down at Copper, but he was out-cold, most likely from shock. He turned his gaze back to the Red, whose patience was quickly wearing thin.
Suddenly, he lunged with an angry snarl. Shadow ducked as the Red's maw snapped together, just inches above his head. He roared and struck, his jaws clamping shut on the Red's exposed throat. The Red screamed hoarsely and clawed at Shadow's face, trying to pry open his jaws. Shadow growled and snapped his head, tossing the Red into the far wall. He screamed loudly and collapsed to the ground.
Shadow walked over to his downed foe and peered down at him, not convinced he was knocked-out. He nudged the fallen Organoid with his foot, but still he didn't react. Snorting, he turned and glanced at Copper, but he still was out-cold. Suddenly, he heard the muffled rustling of metal in front of him. Before he could even blink, there was a quiet shink, and he felt the spines on the Red's tail press into his throat.
"If you want to get out alive, you'll do exactly what I say…" the Red hissed quietly, grinning evilly. "Give me Raven…" Shadow slowly turned his head, and stared in the Red's cold, emotionless eyes. 'What do I do?!' Shadow closed his eyes and exhaled in a sad sigh.
'I guess I have no choice…'
Raven was awakened by a loud, metallic scream and the sound of metal hitting stone. 'What was that?' he thought as he heard a wheezing noise and a quiet whine, like an animal in pain. He knew he wasn't in the Raptor anymore, and that just confused him further. The only thing he could remember was seeing the dragon-like, shadow in the smoke, the metallic growls, and something wrapping around him and lifting him up.
He heard a loud, metallic clanking as something approached him. Whatever-it-was stopped a few feet from him and growled lowly. Almost afraid to, he groaned and slowly opened his eyes. What he saw terrified even him- a large, crimson Organoid with sharp teeth bared was watching him with icy, unfeeling eyes. 'A-an Organoid?!' he thought franticly, staring at the large metal creature.
The Organoid hissed loudly, flicking its massive tail in anticipation. Raven gritted his teeth and pushed himself off the ground. He groaned and leaned back against the wall behind him, putting a hand over his pained side where he guessed he had broken a rib. The Organoid raised its head and snarled loudly, causing Raven to freeze. It shifted slightly, which was Raven's only warning before…
The Organoid roared and swung its heavy tail around in an arc. Raven ducked, the spines on its tail scraping across the wall just inches above his head. He looked up, and saw the spines had left three long, deep slashes in the hard stone of the wall. Angry, the red Organoid snarled and swiped at him with its claws. Raven put up his arms in defense, but its claws ripped into his left arm, causing him to scream in pain. He gritted his teeth and glanced down as he felt warm blood spread over his arm.
His vision blurred and he began to feel dizzy from blood loss. He looked up at the crimson Organoid through the haze of pain. The Organoid glared at him with cold eyes and seemed to be smirking. It lifted its head and laughed cruelly, as though it was enjoying his pain. Raven put his hand over the slash on his arm in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding, but it was futile. His movement also caught the red Organoid's attention. It growled and leaned down, just inches from him. Raven groaned and lowered his head, closing his eyes as his strength faded. He heard the Organoid hiss quietly, and felt its hot breath on his face.
"Someone… help…"
AN (must read! Very important!)- Oo… another cliffy! I am SO evil!XP You will notice as you read my other fics that when I'm sad, upset or stressed my fics turn dark and more violent. It's not my fault, when I write fics the emotions I am experiencing at the time get incorporated into it. And right now I am very stressed and hurt emotionally. T.T That's why this chapter is so dark near the end- I started writing this chapter when I was happy and excited, but towards the end I was sad, hurt and upset. Guys, I'm going through a tough time right now. My life has gone to h in a hand basket and I need some support. I usually am the person who gives support to my friends, but things in my family are really really bad and I don't know how much more I can take. I could really use some words of hope or encouragement, guys. Depending on how bad things get in the next few days, I might go on hiatus. I would really hate to do that, but if I get overly-stressed my body will literally shut-down, and I've already come close to having a heart-attack. If you guys want me to keep going, tell me so. I am also taking off the review limit for new chapters because I know believe they are unfair. For updates on this and my other fics, my condition, my life and so forth will be posted in my profile. If I do not update for awhile, check my profile's NEWS section. Please review, I really need the emotional boost and I want to know your guys' reactions. No flames please, I don't think my sanity could survive knowing I've disappointed somebody. Guys, don't worry, I promise you I'm not going to commit suicide or go emo; I'm not like that and I know that won't solve my problems, just add to them. Until next time.
Ibeyla
(P.S- if you want to know my current status, shoot me a PM. If I do not respond, I am at my dad's house away from my home computer. Do not reframe from sending me a PM for that reason; I will respond to all PMs as soon as I can get back to my mom's house and my home computer)