Ambient was out, that much was clear.
It wasn't dead. Brad could tell it was still there, just knocked completely senseless. Between that and the softly whining Fox behind him, Brad's blood was about to boil over.
One planted a hindtalon on the red Organoid's body and started savagely prying its chest panels apart. By the time Brad registered what was happening, One was pushing its snout into Ambient's chest cavity, ripping out lengths of cabling and wolfing them down.
Brad tore his revolver from its holster and pointed it up at Vega.
"Get it off of him!"
Vega folded his arms onto the rail and leaned, regarding Brad as if he were the most boring thing in the world. "Nah. And you're not gonna shoot me, y-"
Brad pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession. The first shot struck Vega in the shoulder, and the second - though it missed - flew right past his ear.
Vega gaped in absolute shock, the pain taking a moment to register. He dropped to his knees and clutched his shoulder, shrieking. "You're insane!"
"I SAID get him off of my Organoid! " Brad screamed again.
One had already moved, however. Materialized straight over Brad and plowed him into the floor, slamming its talons down on his either side to pin his arms down. Had Brad been anyone else on the planet, his existence would've been past-tense.
Instead One just firmly seized the back of his neck and shook it, hissing a warning into the man's hair.
Vega sucked in short breaths, clutching his shoulder and trying to assess how bad the injury was. Bright-red blood gouted from under his hand when he moved it at all, quickly coating his arm. He tried to not to cry from the pain, but failed.
"Serves you right," Brad grunted into the floor, his own shoulder now crawling with a similarly-excruciating pain.
"You're an idiot! "
"And you're a shit!"
"You stupid-"
Another crack of gunshot, harsh and sharp.
Brad only realized afterward that the shot had gone straight through One's thick neck. The black Organoid made a confused sound of discomfort, glancing in the direction the shot came from.
Realization already had Brad scrambling to push himself off the ground.
"Naomi, n-"
It was all happening too fast.
One vanished from Brad and appeared over Naomi in an instant, jaws parted, wings flared, hindtalons spread to attack. Though the woman staggered in surprise, she had her rifle at ready - and swung it straight up at the black Organoid's face. She fired.
The shot ripped through the roof of One's open mouth and tore out the back edge of a brow. The Organoid gave an unearthly screech and backwinged, stunned.
In the moment's chaos it was difficult to tell what had connected where, if at all. Brad simply knew that he had to get One's attention away from Naomi. Though a terrible idea, he didn't have any others on such short notice: he bolted, leapt, and body-checked the black Organoid.
It wasn't as profound as when he'd actually been partnered to the beast - but when its vicious attention swung to meet his directly, he just wanted to drown in the void of its eyes.
Naomi screamed something but it didn't matter. He lost all will to do anything but submit, even as his hindbrain panicked wildly.
One looked down on the man in-mind, and Brad fawned immediately at the attention.
"You know I'm better. You know I'm-"
He was shoved back with contempt. ~Begone, fool.~
Sense returned a few moments later, via a splitting headache and a searing pain in the chest. Brad found himself face down on the ground again.
It took an extreme effort, but he lifted his head. Nearby Naomi was poised and ready with her rifle, frozen in place. Staring. aiming… at One, and at Vega, the latter who'd retreated from the raised catwalk and was now huddled against a far wall.
They didn't seem to care about her anymore. One was now much more absorbed in Vega's state, its inky tongue gently rasping the child's bloody arm.
Brad and Vega made weary eye contact. He knew exactly how much pain Vega was in: he was in it too. He bit back agony as he righted.
"W-we can't do this." Vega said as he warily watched the man, voice quivering with shock. "It's… it's..."
Naomi now made her way to Brad, never relenting with her aim. One intently watched both, its silver blood dripping steadily from its jaw.
"It's stupid is what it is," Brad finished, finally managing to sit up. "Like you. A fucking kid who has no idea what to do so just-"
"Brad." Naomi sternly interrupted. "Let's go."
There came a scraping of metal off to one side. Ambient picked itself up off the ground and took a few steps, dragging bent plating and bleeding cables. It groaned and vanished.
Naomi helped Brad up and covered for them as they darted for the Fox. But Vega made no move, only watched.
"Aren't you going to help me?" He said quietly.
Naomi paused and did appear to consider, but Brad spit in his direction and shook his head.
"No. Help yourself."
Beyond stiff acknowledgments that everyone was in one piece and able to travel, not much had been said.
The sun was starting to rise, vaguely lightening the sky, and the snow had tapered.
Things seemed fine until they weren't.
As before, the Fox was better at making its way through the snow, so stayed in the lead while the Gun Sniper trailed behind. Progress slowed where snow was deeper, but there was never any indication of a problem.
Until all of the Shadow Fox's displays flickered then went out, its body collapsing forward with its momentum and coming to rest with a mechanical groan in the snow.
Brad blinked tiredly and looked around the dark cockpit with concern.
"Fox? You doing alright?"
It made a shuddering growl… rebooted after a moment, continued.
Naomi came over the comms. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah? I think so."
The Fox made an apologetic sound and slowed down.
"Hey, no problem." Brad glanced across the consoles sympathetically. "Slow down if you need to. We'll get you checked out, don't w-"
The Shadow Fox wavered and collapsed, losing its grip on the ledge they'd been traveling on.
Brad braced against unresponsive controls as the Zoid tumbled hard down the slope, coming to a rest in a snowbank. He grunted uncomfortably as he regained his bearings - but was more immediately concerned by his Zoid.
"Fox?"
The silence in the cockpit was eerie. No Command System Freeze. Just empty gray displays and the fog of the man's breath in the dim, cold air.
"Fox?"
It was very, very early in the morning and Bit had no reason to expect anyone would be in the small bathroom adjacent to the hangar.
He'd just-barely increased the dim lighting of the space to see with, and unzipped. He paused when movement caught his eye.
Vega was kneeling on the counter. At Bit's entry he glanced in surprise, wincing against the change in lighting. The child was leaning close to a small mirror, trying to tend a blood-soaked bandage on his arm. There was blood all over the counter, as well.
Bit blinked awake, re-zipped his pants, and darted closer with concern. "Vega. What happened?"
"It's fine."
"It's not fine. You're bleeding bad, dude. Here." Bit helped Vega towel his arm and the surrounding counter, then gently addressed the child's questionable bandaging. Vega'd had the right idea, just hadn't been able to secure the bandage tightly enough. Bit inspected the wound, and blinked as he realized what he was likely looking at.
"Shot? Who shot you?"
Vega's refusal to meet Bit's eyes said a lot.
"Oh goddamnit. Vega."
"I didn't think he'd actually be stupid enough to do it."
"What were you doing?"
Vega didn't say anything, but his stomach audibly growled. He winced again.
"Vega, what were you doing?" Bit more forcefully repeated.
"One's just... he gets really hungry, okay?"
Bit caught the edges of One and Zero conversing, and blinked hard at the events Zero relayed.
"Vega. Vega. Vega."
The child's squint increased each time his name was said. Bit visibly struggled with frustration as he cleaned the wound and rebandaged Vega's arm. This time properly, if not roughly.
"You can't be doing this."
Vega's throat worked and he looked away, angry and silent.
Bit began, "Why would you-"
"It's not fair!"
"What's not fair?!" Bit said through his teeth, struggling to keep his voice down. "You can't try to kill people's Zoids and think they're gonna be cool with it!"
"It's his fault the Fury's dead!"
"Didn't Backdraft force him into piloting it?"
"Yeah. So?!"
Bit stared.
He slowly closed his eyes, and with a deep inhale tried to get past what Vega'd just said.
Instead he focused on the lesser portions of what Zero relayed. Like the fact that Vega had been keeping a bunch of Zoids trapped in an abandoned Backdraft hangar so One could eat them.
The blonde sharply opened both eyes again and looked down at Vega.
"Wait. What? One is eating Zoids?!"
"I mean, yeah." Vega smiled at nothing, too hard and too widely. "Just the Cores. I don't know what else to give him. It makes him happy for a little while."
"How long is a 'little while'?"
"You know. A day or so."
Bit's breath caught. He said nothing.
Vega continued to look away. "It's okay, really. There's plenty left in the hangar at Mackaray. They've been abandoned, nobody-"
"Vega! They're probably terrified! Zero doesn't eat Zoids, dude! Just-"
"Zero fuses with the Liger! I don't have anything. And every time One fuses with another Zoid he just... eats it!" Vega looked at Bit, somewhat desperately. "That's why - I just - didn't want to..." He trailed off.
Bit said nothing. He gently helped Vega down from the counter and just stared at him.
He himself had about as much experience with Organoids as Vega did… which was to say, very little. Bit really wasn't sure what the creatures were supposed to do or act like, and whether his or Vega's represented a more typical beast. He had his suspicions, but he was keenly aware of his own bias.
That didn't change the reality of the situation.
"We can't have you guys just… continually killing Zoids. Have you tried just normal Zoid fuel?"
"Yes." Vega looked exasperated. "He says it's gross and just pukes it up."
"Okay. And none of our food does it?"
"No. And Leon will probably kill us if we try again."
~Let me see.~ Zero said softly.
One snarled, lashing its tail.
~One. Let me see.~
Zero could tell One was in pain. The pair were incredibly tough when it came to such things, but this suffering simply wasn't necessary.
One growled and snapped at Zero's leg.
Vega ducked into his and One's little corner with Bit trailing him. The child squeezed beside the huge white Organoid, to fold into a kneel beside his own. "Hey, stop it. He just wants to-"
~I do not want his help. I do not need his help. What if this is his fault. What if he still seeks to harm us?~ One hooked a foreclaw around Vega and dragged him close, its entire body still vibrating with a growl.
Vega's blood went briefly cold at the suggestion. One's rage gave it weight, but… no.
~What is my fault now?~ Zero sighed. ~You are bleeding everywhere, and you are being ridiculous. Let us help you.~
The black Organoid was indeed bleeding, its slick silver blood oozing down its face and dripping from its jaw. All of the blankets were likewise damp with the sickly gray sheen.
"Come on. She shot you, remember?" Vega grabbed one of the Organoid's horns and pulled gently. "Bit won't hurt us. And neither will Zero."
Bit cocked his head. "She? Who?"
When One irritably reflected an image of Naomi, it was Bit's turn to ice with dread. His green eyes glossed with absolute, stricken panic. "Oh shit. Is she-"
"She's fine," Vega snapped, annoyed. He kept gently trying to manipulate One's head into a position easier to see. "Come on."
While concern was quickly dispelled, physiology lagged. Bit teared with upset then relief, the scope of whatever 'this' was quick to bury him. He had no functional idea of what had happened, but if Brad shot Vega and Naomi shot One... it had to have been provoked.
He suddenly wasn't sure he believed Vega, and felt sick.
The child sensed the nausea, and shift in attitude. Vega looked over his shoulder, bristling.
"Please, Bit. She's fine."
Bit wanted to believe him. But he didn't.
"What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"And I don't care. Talk."
Vega refused.
"Look, is anyone dead?! " Bit snapped.
"No!"
Uneasy silence fell. Bit desperately tried to keep his composure. He glanced at Zero for reassurance.
~He is not lying.~ Zero said, simply.
Bit nodded after several hollow seconds. He hesitantly looked back at One.
"Please. We just wanna see if there's anything we can do to help."
~Then let me chew your head to dispel my frustrations, insect.~
Vega finally managed to pull One's head back, and gave him a look. "Stop it."
One closed its optics, not that anyone but Vega could tell. Its sigh was its acquiescence.
Bit and Vega looked closely at the black Organoid, Vega directing the assessment with a rough knowledge of where he felt its pain. But it was Bit who first spotted the start of the injury - and he didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified.
There was a coin-sized hole in the far reaches of One's upper palate. The exit wound on the back of its head was the size of Bit's fist, and compromised structures were easily seen. Bit had little idea of Organoid anatomy, but knew at the very least that had to hurt.
Not to mention, he both wanted to be impressed and throw up, thinking about how the wound must've happened. Impressed because Naomi's skills were clearly amazing, and had very likely saved her life.
Throw up because One was obviously intending her harm.
Harm? Who was he kidding. One would've slaughtered her.
~Twice, that woman shot me.~ One hissed, angrily imaging the comparatively-minor wound in its neck. It seemed completely disgusted with the idea anyone would dare harm it. ~I am displeased.~
Bit looked into One's dark optics, hating how inscrutable they were. "You don't try to kill people because they displease you."
~I will kill whomever I desire, insect.~ One growled, just as Vega looked away, fighting his own expression. One's confidence and power made him grin. But he did know that Bit was right.
Bit didn't stop staring at One. "No, you won't."
One's fangs began to bare, but Zero asserted itself with a deep snarl, silencing the smaller Organoid.
Bit shook his head and tried to think. Why was Naomi where Vega had been, supposedly in the mountains? Why was Brad? He wanted to call them both and ask where they were, if they were okay. But it was early, and he knew long-distance comms to Zoids were unlikely to work in that area regardless.
He blinked and looked at One, then looked at Zero.
He'd almost forgotten: he had an easy way to solve this problem.
"Don't." Vega said, sullenly. "It's really, really cold up there. They left the base. We didn't hurt them, I promise."
Bit wanted to believe a promise from Vega was worth something. But. "You've still been murdering Zoids, if nothing else. That's fucked up, man."
"No, no." Vega rapidly shook his head, but wouldn't meet Bit's gaze. "They don't matter."
"And who are you to decide what matters and what doesn't?"
Silence.
Bit frowned deeply. "Zoids are alive, Vega. They have feelings. Y-"
"Do you think I'm stupid? I know! But so are we, and so do we! What are we supposed to do?!" The child's voice rose to a shriek as he finally looked up, eyes brimming with furious tears. "Just… starve?!"
A long pause. Severe hesitance.
"I... don't know."
"You can't do this to me! You can't blame me for something that isn't my fault!"
"I'm not blaming y-"
"Yes you are! You're blaming us! Just for… living!"
Zero stayed silent, but Bit could feel a deep, angry fire in the creature. It was pissed.
But it said nothing.
Its ire instead shone in Bit's eyes, and the blonde took a deep breath. He didn't say it, but that didn't matter because it could be heard regardless: then maybe you shouldn't be alive.
Bit recoiled, horrified by the thought even as it crossed his mind.
His heart sank through the floor, watching Vega shrink back with upset. The child dropped his forehead to One's side and went silent. The black Organoid looked at him with mild distress, then back at Zero and Bit.
"Vega." Bit was shaking his head. "Vega, I'm sorry."
"Do not apologize. We know." Vega said, with One's distinct lilt. Vega had dropped all resistance and mentally hid behind One, leaving only the frigid void of the Organoid in his eyes, and its voice on his lips. "It simply pains me to know that your sincerity is…" Dark eyes slid to Zero pointedly. "...only human."
Bit's shoulders squared, and demeanor changed completely. Zero.
"Humans are strong-willed beyond compare. To diminish is to disrespect." The blonde's lip curled. "Do not force us to disrespect you."
"Beyond terrified." Vega sneered, sarcastic and bitter. "What have I to fear from you now beyond strong rebuke? Of what worth are the words of a hypocrite?"
Zero said nothing. Bit blinked several times, and the Organoid's fire faded from his eyes. The blonde was left glaring at the floor with an inarticulate fury.
For several minutes, the only sound was everyone's breathing.
Bit finally stood up, alongside Zero.
"I want us to be friends, Bit." Vega said quietly, himself again. "I really do."
"I do too." Bit said, and glanced. "But… we can't just let this be. No more Zoids, Vega."
The thought of being stripped of such delight, such satiation, was physically painful. Vega shut his eyes tightly. "Bit, please. We have t-"
"No. More."