Chapter One: Revival

The blistering heat of deserts of Zi was something one could never truly acclimate to.

The seas of sand of the Elemia desert stretched far, though it was a measure of fortune for those who would happen upon one of the scattered and precious oases amdists the dunes, something well known to the two pilots currently finding refuge therein. The sanctuary in the desiccated land was several kilometers across and thick with a great amount of dense vegetation, trees forming a looming canopy that cast shadows among brush and vines and undergrowth saturating the area between the treetops and ground, dappled with filtered sunbeams. A lake roughly in its center, a pupil of strikingly clear blue was the source of the water for the lush surroundings. A small dilapidated building rested not far from the eastern shore, the weathered wooden exterior and roof scant of shingles now a meager shelter to the two people dwelling there.

The door to the abode creaked open and a cloaked figure stepped inside, slipping through the doorway as a large metallic black dragon followed him, trailing behind his master. In one hand was held a large burlap bag, cans and other items unknown rattling and clunking about inside with the jostle of each step. With his free hand he pulled his tattered hood back, face becoming clear. Shoulder length ebony hair framed a pale face with sharp features, though the first thing to be noticed were the striking violet eyes resting above pronounced cheekbones. A dark piloting suit was his attire, though the uniform was worn and heavily used, one of the shoulders missing the piece of armor it normally bore to say little for the tears and abrasions scattered all over the outfit. The entryway of the house was small and sparsely furnished, with the dark wooden flooring showing as many signs of age and wear as the cracked plaster walls. He walked to a small wooden chest beside three steel crates, the few items left in the room, and quickly began rummaging through it with a look of discontent on his face. His features soon relaxed as he found what he was looking for, his discomfort releasing as a soft exhale. Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he hastily withdrew one from the package, reaching into a pocket on his attire and producing a small steel-cased lighter, flipping it open with a clink and striking it, the quivering flame setting the cigarette alight. Taking a look around the room as he inhaled, the smoke drifted from between his lips as he sighed, glancing towards the next interior doorway where sunlight spilled through. He sat on one of the crates and with some difficulty, unlaced then pulled off the black and grey combat boots covering his feet and calves. The rogue and his accomplice wandered into the larger room, this one lit by a single yellow bulb suspended in the center, feeble in comparison to the light pouring in from a window by the sink. The kitchen- though the term was a stretch- was much more filled than the previous room with battered cupboards lining the walls and floor with a small stove in the corner. As the large bag was set on the countertop the man took another deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled slowly, gazing at the brightness outside the window as smoke filled the room.

Raven seldom found himself relaxed, and damn it was he going to savor this. Spending almost all his recent time the past four days traveling to the few local towns was wearing him ragged; walking with bated breath, hoping no one would recognize him as he passed by the same faces again and again, keeping his voice low to avoid any association with his identity. They never did, of course. They hadn't in a long while as he was growing far too skilled at keeping hidden to be noticed, plotting his time and location to ensure there was no consistency- and yet, each time he traded in any of the markets a measure of adrenaline surged through him as he could never be too careful despite the year that had passed since his last public appearance. A growl interrupted his absentminded state, and he turned to Shadow. The tall black Organoid cocked his head slightly to the side with inquiry.

"Ha." The small laugh slipped forth as he lazily scanned the shoreline of the lake. "Why ask me? Do you think I ever know where that girl is?"

The oppressing sun's light hit the surface of the lake and reflected off the mirror-like surface as Reese began walking towards the water and slipped off her tan moccasins, gently laying down a cloth sack on the sand, the bag full of whatever worthwhile forage from the forest surrounding them she had managed to find in the early morning before the heat became too much to bear. Sluggish from the temperature she languidly stripped down to her undergarments, peeling off each layer as the cool air at the water's edge elicited a pleased sigh as she walked over to the glasslike water at the edge of the shore. Looking down at her reflection in the water she couldn't help but let the inklings of a smile curl at her lips. Her thin frame had filled out despite her life on the lam, and in what felt like a veritable miracle she and Raven had managed to thrive in the oasis, however disassociated they found themselves from society at large. Her body had settled into a gentle hourglass shape, her long silky hair reached down to the bottom of her bust, almost the same sky blue as the water's reflection. As she waded into the lake she slowly inhaled as the sharp coolness of the water crept its way along her calves and up her thighs, though it was by far more tolerable than the unbearable heat of the desert air. She walked ahead and the water quickly rose to just at her shoulders. Lazily falling backwards she immersed herself fully, muscles relaxing as her mind followed suit. Her turquoise eyes opened to gaze through the clear liquid, long strands of sapphire hair flowing ethereally as she sank slowly, enjoying the cold embrace as her body loosened and tension faded away as bubbles drifted upwards as she exhaled.

Reese found herself quite content as a smile teased at the corner of her lips as she drifted through the deep clear lake. The destruction of Hiltz, the Ultimate Deathsaurer, and the submerging of Evopolis as they were all swallowed beneath Zi itself left very little chaos left to interfere with her new beginning, though Raven often proved to be a magnet for his past and all those affected by it. So far it was the occasional run in with bandits and outlaws seeking to find fame, and far too often finding their own graves, though rarely they would be recognized elsewhere inside towns and villages; venturing into any one of the continent's larger cities would be a death sentence, but the hamlets and townships on the edges of society had sufficed thus far. While the consequences hadn't been too dire apart from a skirmish or twelve it was enough to keep both of them on edge, her relaxed face now falling into a slight frown as she thought to herself, lazily swirling her arms and legs as she righted herself and moved towards the surface, the untouched lakebed stirring from the currents as sand and silt swirled from her movement.

"I wonder if he's ever realized just how the world sees him now..." Indeed, perception of Raven was now in question to a number of individuals present at the final battle. The infamous pilot, helping his sworn rival- not to mention the group previously focused on his defeat and capture, was mind boggling to anyone who didn't know the situation. Hell, it was probably mind boggling to those in the situation, she mused. Of all of them, Van and Fiona seemed to be accepting, at the least. While they knew of his actions and change of heart, most of the rest of Zi did not often leading to troubling encounters. Her thoughts drifted now to Raven himself. His changes in the past year were quite astonishing to her. He no longer regarded her with such a fierce derision and his attitude was nowhere near the hostile and condescending one it had been prior. He was kind to her. Sure, he was still blunt and abrasive and at times an ass, but never as cruel as before. Initially their traveling together was viewed as a necessity, but he had warmed to her and Specular in a way that made it feel like they would be inseparable even should the means to part ways were to present itself. Her expression loosened into a dreamy simper as she thought of the times he had taken care of her. While they both were no longer living from raiding and thievery, sickness was by no means a stranger to the Ancient Zoidian. Numerous times she had fallen ill, only for Raven to look after her, caring for her in a way no one had before. The cold Maverick certainly had treated no one else in such a way, and she doubted anyone else would ever receive such attention from him. Her face began to creep further into a delighted grin as she pondered. "Oh, if that boy truly knew how I feel..." She closed her eyes, the smile on her face stretching ear to ear as she began to breach the water's surface tension overhead. With an eerie quiet she rose above the water, and cast an absent look over at the shore, eyes cloudy with daydreams. As she looked something suddenly caught her attention; Raven, standing on the shore looking out towards her.

"Where the hell is she?" Raven muttered, irritated at the psychic's ability to outright vanish from the face of Zi. Wedging his feet back into his pair of worn out boots he shoved the door open and marched outside, determined in his frustration to find wherever Reese had absconded to. As he trudged around the perimeter of the lake, he soon found his answer. A bag lay on the sand, fruit from the surrounding forest tumbling out, accompanied by a buckled blue dress, dark brown leggings and tan moccasins. As he looked at the items his face went a slight shade of red as he mumbled.

"Oh, don't tell me she's gone and gotten nude..." He looked outwards to the lake to find Reese roughly fifteen meters away and was greeted by a sharp scream of shock.

"Raven!?" The Maverick stumbled back in surprise, face now scarlet.

"What?!" She hastily covered herself with her arms, turning away and yelling over her shoulder.

"Stop looking!" His face grew even hotter and more flushed as he hollered back.

"I'm not!" She hurriedly waved one hand at him, the flailing gesture hoping to force a diversion of his attention.

"I said stop it!" He snapped his stare to the left, focusing intently on a single jagged rock in the distance adjacent to the shore. His face was now glowing with a mix of embarrassment and irritation, heat flushing over him as he thought to himself.

"What the hell does she expect me to do? She wanders off to who knows where, and gets angry when I go looking for her. Doesn't she know I'm just trying to look out for her?" Raven would never admit it to anyone but Shadow, but when his hatred for the girl disintegrated, an unfamiliar wave of new feelings set in. He liked being around her; her companionship was that of the sole person who had looked into him, through him, and past him. He'd never had any companionship apart from Shadow, and while his loyal Organoid was by far his most faithful friend, having another person who understood his emotions that he could talk to was an unprecedented pleasure he'd never had the opportunity of before. He recollected the time she had forced him to recall his suppressed trauma, and the freedom he felt afterwards. Surely, she was the only one who knew in full the tragic life he had lived, but especially remarkable to him was how much she seemed to care about how it affected him. Raven's train of thought was interrupted by a soft slap to the back of his head. "Ah, what the hell Reese?!" Raven snapped as he glared at her, growing angry in record time at the audacity of her actions.

"That's for looking when you shouldn't." She said, the red blush fading from her face as she pulled on her shoes, already wearing her dress and leggings.

"Oh, please, forgive me for finding you wideout in the open, half nude, and expecting privacy." He leered at her as he retorted, rubbing the spot where she struck, the slap having caused little pain but startling him plenty.

"All is forgiven darling," she replied, feigning obliviousness to his sarcasm with a smirk. "Though you really should ask before you look." Her voice coyly trailed off in a taunting manner.

"Whatever..." Raven turned to look down at the bag of fruit, and more importantly away from the woman now keen on toying with him. "Where's Specular? I'd have figured that hunk of metal would be here after hearing you break my eardrums with your shrieking."

"She's right here, as a matter of fact. Specular, come now." Reese looked over at the water where the sapphire Organoid moved with serpentine grace towards the shore, yellow eyes peering from her narrow head resting on the surface. The tall tyrannosaurus gracefully swam ashore, water trickling out from the seams and joints of her metal hide as she pressed her talons into the wet sand. Craning her serpentine neck towards Reese she purred, then lifted her head up as the multiple panels on her torso opened to let loose a flood of water as well as several fish that had been trapped inside, their prospective dinner now flopping about on the sandy shore.

"Good Specular, you're much more effective at hunting than Raven." Raven rolled his eyes as she giggled, his face clouded with a mix of embarrassment, irritation, and the burning hot desert air.

"Just grab your fruit, we've got work to do." He growled before walking off towards the house, with Reese and her Organoid soon following. Inside the house, the fish were put on the countertop and the fruit and vegetables from the sack placed inside a small icebox, one of the few luxuries the shabby home retained. Raven lay the first fish on a large cutting board, and retrieved the large knife from a sheath buckled to the rear of his belt. Carefully he began the task of cleaning the fish, methodically working as a nearby bucket filled with the inedible and undesirable, slow cutting and the occasional chop yielding satisfying results. As he found a rhythm to the task his mind wandered. "It's not like I've ever had a good battle since Hiltz anyways." He thought to himself as he tossed a thin shred of skin into the bucket. "Nothing but piss poor bandits and raiders, not one of them could stand a chance against the Geno Breaker, even in the sorry condition it's in now. Flyheight is worth a thousand of those hacks in his sleep..."

"Something on your mind, darling?" Reese's sudden words in his ear caused him to jolt slightly. She often had a way of entering and exiting in utmost silence and had made it a habit of whispering in his ear as well, much to Raven's chagrin as he hissed between his teeth.

"Fuck! Reese, stop doing that!" His barking went unheeded as she tilted her head back with a smirk, reveling in her effect on the stoic warrior and his usually unmovable cold demeanor.

"Oh, but where is the fun in that, hnn? The days would be so dreadfully dull if I didn't." She bent down and snatched up the bucket holding the discarded remains of the fish and carried it out, leaving the warrior alone and no less irked at her entrance. With a roll of his eyes and a shrug, Raven walked from the kitchen, then down toward hallway to the entry room, and through a thin tall door ajar inwards and into the small cramped bathroom. A single dim lightbulb lit the room from the ceiling, the feeble glow barely sufficing as he shut the door behind him, placing his palms against the countertop as he peered into the stained and scratched mirror in thought.

Things are quiet and simple right now... but I doubt it'll stay that way for long. I don't doubt Van is feeling much different. Maybe neither of us will find peace so long as I'm alive." Peeling off his sweat soaked and dusty clothing, he tossed the garments into a heap near the door and reached into the shower stall and turned the faucet on, the cold water causing him to flinch for a moment as it sprayed him. "Pressure's still good as ever, I suppose." The temperature soon rose to a tepid trickling, the young man now stepping into the dingy tiled enclosure and drawing the stained and mildew spotted curtain. Resting his head against the wall, he let the lukewarm water scour away the aches and grime of the day as he sighed, closing his eyes contently as the dirt and distress swirled down the drain with a heavy groan as he rubbed away the sweat and dirt from his shoulder as he reached for the brick of soap, a pilfered ration they had found after scouring the wreckage of a totaled Republican Gustav.

"I need a good fight. Someone with some skill. Or at least a few dozen mediocre pilots, seeing as I doubt I'll be running into Flyheight anytime soon." He regarded the brick in his hand, idly remembering how Reese had grimaced when they happened upon the scene; likely a bandit raid, or even a stray or sleeper Zoid attack, the inaccurate, messy results all the same as they walked past the smoldering cockpit and towards the trailers still full of supplies. He opened his eyes and furrowed his brow. "It doesn't matter if we're allies or enemies, I've still got a score to settle with that punk and his Organoid, Guardian Force be damned." It had been weeks since his last battle, and approximately a year since his last truly difficult fight, one that left the Geno Breaker in disrepair and Raven burning to fight his rival to settle their score. Walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped about his waist he entered the room with his previously dirty clothes underarm, throwing them onto the ground lazily before grabbing a clean of underwear, grey trousers, and a brown t-shirt from the small dresser tucked in the corner. Walking outside now clothed and clean he was greeted by a gradually dipping sun casting a warm glow across the sands and a small campfire with three fish roasting on a spit. Reese sat upon a large log laid across the sand watching the flames lick the air below the cooking fish with disinterest while Shadow and Specular both lay curled up nearby transfixed by the dancing tongues of heat. She greeted him with a small smile, and shifted to the side to make room next to the center of the fire. Walking over he took a seat next to her and sighed heavily, staring at the pile of crackling embers that began to cook the fish; whatever seasoning Reese had put on them was making his stomach growl, the savory scent and smoke staving off the quickly chilling air.

"Something on your mind?" He nodded slightly, eyes drifting from the fire and the warmth it radiated. He cast a glance to the tree line, the remaining light peeking through as dim shafts as the sun took its leave.

"I need a good fight." Now Reese sighed, her bright cerulean eyes casting a glance to him.

"No, you mean you wish to fight Van." He continued to stare into the crackling fire as he murmured.

"Well, I suppose he could be a-" She cut him off, already knowing the meaning behind the shroud of a reply.

"Raven, I know you far better than that." He now looked at his right palm, the scar stretching across it illuminated by the glow of the fire.

"I just want to settle the score with that punk... And be done with this." Reese slowly reached out, gently placing a hand atop his as her fingers gingerly held purchase as she obstructed his view of the ragged patch of skin.

"So you don't wish to kill him anymore?" Raven opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Did he really want Van dead? Had those years of hatred finally faded away too? He recalled fighting alongside him tooth and nail to defeat the Death Saurer, the two working together to bring the apocalypse grinding to a halt. Had he really stopped hating him? It all seemed so surreal. To wake up, and not have hatred burning inside... He almost didn't want it. Almost.

"What else do I have? What other purpose could I possibly serve? I'm hated by everyone on Zi, wanted in the Republic and the Empire, and have a Zoid that's all but in disrepair. I have nowhere to go. I have nothing Reese." She dipped her eyes out of sight, and bit her lip. After a moment, she spoke quietly, voice almost a whisper as she scarcely disturbed the air.

"That wasn't my question, Raven." Silence was his answer. As the sun lowered, they both ignored the quiet distance that had grown between them and began to eat. Raven took a bite of the crisp fish as Shadow walked over, whining quietly as he nudged the young man's arm and pressed his thoughts into his master's psyche.

"Please master, no more sadness..." Raven smiled, and patted Shadow on the snout, reaching back to scratch behind his spiked crest eliciting a purr. As they finished their meal, the fire was quenched with water from the lake and the bones of the fish buried in the ashes. Raven grabbed another cigarette from the pack as he walked to the door, leaning next to it as he struck the flint of his lighter, the orange tip glowing now as he inhaled deeply upon lighting it.

"You really do have a death wish don't you?" Reese remarked as she walked over to him. Her eyes remained soft, and upon seeing this the Maverick's shoulders loosen a fraction.

"And what if I do?" He exhaled the contents of his lungs, smoke swirling out into the cool air. Extending his hand, he offered it to her. Reese plucked the burning object from his grasp only to promptly throw it on the ground and stamp it out. Raven huffed out an agitated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What, pray tell, was that for?" Reese looked at him, her face now tense as she reprimanded him.

"It's bad for you. You should stop that nasty habit." He remained unfazed, no longer leaning against the doorway but now taking a step towards her as he questioned.

"Why do you care? Why should you care?" She glumly cast her eyes down.

"Because... We both need me to." Raven wasn't sure what to make of her answer, opting instead to look out towards the lake and its glasslike surface, the stars and celestial bodies reflecting in a dazzling display as the glow of the moons illuminated the dark void of space. Reese moved towards the door but not before stopping once more and looking at Raven; her eyes were like gems, practically glowing as they threatened to fill with tears as she murmured. "...And even though you say you have nothing, I'll always be here for you." Raven recoiled as if her words were a physical blow. Going from the most feared pilot on Zi to the most wanted man on Zi without a functioning Zoid was nigh unbearable and while some part of him was pleased with the lack of daily struggle, he also missed it. The thrill of the fight, of conquering enemy after enemy after squadron after battalion, crushing everyone in his way; as heinous as it was, it was all he knew. He stared at the ground in thought.

"She knows I want her around... why else would she still be here? Why else would I take care of her, she should know that I-" The door shutting beside him yanked him back to reality. With a heavy groan, he followed her into the house. "Reese!" Raven called out to the woman halfway down the hallway who looked behind her, eyes still blurry with tears. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean it like that. I'm- I'm glad you're here." Her features softened, and the curve of a smile grew on her face. She traipsed over, scarcely making a sound as she embraced him and pressed her head against his chest. Raven tensed, at odds with what to do, finally deciding to put his arms around her; physical contact was still strange to him, but he knew she'd like it. A slow, steady inhale from her caused him to loosen his grip, before she sighed and squeezed him tighter, whispering in a low tone against him.

"Let's go to sleep. It's been a long day." Raven couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth as he nodded in agreement. They walked towards the bedroom at the end of the hall, his troubles now fading, his focus on the young woman in front of him.

CHAPTER END.

AN: It's been a long time since I've posted on this story, so long in fact that all the edits basically warranted an official rewrite/rework. If anyone is coming back to this after all that time, it's good to see you. Crossposted and updated more frequently on Archive of Our Own, but i'll try to return to my roots and update on this site too.