Chapter Three: Counter for Counter
Raven's heart pounded in his chest, slamming with a rapid-fire rhythm that yanked him back into that awful place. There he was again. Back there, neck deep in death and destruction as he had lived for so many years; the hell that Raven knew as his life. As the cityscape went up in flames around him, metal groaned and shrieked as dying Zoids and their pilots were felled one after another, explosions abound as a dark Zoid tore through the rest with its claws and teeth. Raven knelt in the center as the inferno raged and the sounds of death screamed in his ears. Looking ahead, a shape appeared out of the blaze, marching through the flames and carcasses and ruins. The Geno Breaker stomped forward, slow and with purpose. It appeared untouched as if it had been birthed moments before, but the raging fires and destruction around told of a far bloodier history. Without provocation or warning, the Zoid's footlocks slammed into the ground, stirring dust as the tail and head straightened, vents and flaps opening to suck in energy as well as dissipate the coming heat, a hellfire unfathomably hotter than the firestorm they were surrounded by. As the barrel extended from the Zoid's throat, three silhouettes obscured his sight of the monster. Reese, Shadow, and Specular stood in front of him, stoic and tragic in their decision.
"No! No, get out of the way!" They remained still. "Move! Can't you hear me?! Reese! Shadow, Specular, PLEASE!" Reese turned slowly, her eyes full of tears. "Move, out of the way!" Tears welled up in his eyes, gasping breaths teetering on the edge of becoming sobs. As Raven's pleas and demands fell on deaf ears, it was then that his vision was engulfed in agonizing white.
Raven awoke with a loud gasp and a short choked sob, dripping with cold sweat and shaking. Heart pounding out of his chest, he looked down with tear brimmed eyes at his bleeding palms. The jagged, dark patches were the most visible reminders of his encounter with the very death he so often dealt to others, though by no means the only scars he bore- the nightmares were the worst. A stirring from across the room drew his attention away from the nightmare and into reality, the sting of the torn flesh biting into him as clarity began to return. Reese awoke in a sluggish manner, but after seeing the young man in distress she hurriedly climbed out of her bed across the room, face full of concern as she held her sleepwear close to her, the blue top and pajama bottoms softly aglow as the moonlight struck them.
"Another nightmare?" Her inquiry was met with silence. Raven stared at his hands for a moment, before tears clouded his vision and he slowly choked out sobs, curling into himself with each one as he cried. As Reese sat down on the bed and reached her hand out towards him before Raven in one deft movement wrapped his arms around her and burst into tears, shaking as he bawled against her. Reese's own eyes widened in shock and soon overflowed with teardrops as she embraced him in return, shushing him lightly as she ran her fingers through his hair, running her gentle touch down his neck until it met the collar of his shirt. Her soothing seemed to be working slightly; he stopped his shaking, loosed his hold, and now lay his head on her lap sniffling in between ragged breaths. His nightmares were by no means strangers to them. Often she had stayed up with him when they occurred, knowing he wouldn't be returning to sleep anytime soon, and doing anything but acknowledging the events that had transpired was often the best, if not only solution to Raven's despair. But with the emotional state he was in she was unsure of how to act. "He must be hurting badly if he's this upset..." She grabbed a nearby cloth from the bedside table and began to press it against the wounds to staunch the flow of crimson. After a moment he began to calm, his breathing slowed, now steady and full, his lavender eyes no longer full of tears and his touch had lightened, though he kept his head in her lap and a hand on her knee, the white rag separating his open wound and her clothed leg. "Raven?" The Maverick's face was somber, his eyes slightly foggy as he recalled the horrors of his night terror.
"I can't run from it Reese... The nightmares keep coming, and now it's you and Shadow and Specular paying for what I've done. My past is coming after me. After you. And I've got nowhere left to take us." Her reply came softly as she continued to brush his hair gently, her fingers gliding through soft ebony locks as she spoke.
"Then don't run. Fight." Raven blinked, shifting to roll upwards to look up at her, questioning her with a frown.
"What do you mean fight? That's how I ended up dragging you all into this hell with me..." Tears welled in his eyes before he angrily wiped them away, Reese touching his shoulder as she murmured.
"You can't run from your past, but you can always create your future. No matter who you are, where you go, or whether or not you remember your past in the slightest... There will be someone who will know your intention, who knows you want to change. That's how you can fight it. You'll never be able to repair what you've done in full. But you can make assurance that what you do next will be different. I know you can. I've seen it before, I saw it when you saved me so many times, and when you fought alongside Van. You'd always say you'll fight your way out, and now's your chance." Raven looked at his palms in silence. Maybe she was right. Maybe, just maybe there were people out there who could see past the past, and know he wanted to change. As he remained silent Reese's hand slid over atop his, her fingers gently working their way to interlock with his own. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be touched. It was a sensitive thing, figuratively and literally. The skin on his hands, though rough and scarred, was delicate and raw still. But touch brought comfort, the softness of her skin against his was one of the few things that he found brought him solace and peace. She squeezed his hand slightly; it was as much of an affirmation he was awake as it was of reassurance. He slowly shrugged his way off her lap and into a seated position next to her, still holding onto her hand. The two sat in silence for an untold number of minutes that may have been hours, the glow of the moons bathing the room in soft light. She shifted slightly, her shoulder against his. He moved his thigh, their knees now touching as her head rested on his shoulder, and his head atop hers. They sat for another untold length of time, staring absently into the night outside, the moons' glow reflecting off the placid and dark lake. She yawned, stretching her other arm outwards, and he quickly reciprocated the gentle squeeze she had given his hand. Reese let her grip go and now slid her legs under the blanket she was sitting on, her head finding the pillow as she pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. Raven grew pale, a change unnoticed in the dark room as he questioned the Zoidian with anxiety masked by agitation.
"What on Zi are you doing? This is my bed, Reese." His query was met with a short, sleepy explanation, Reese's quiet voice and half lidded eyes brushing off his feigned attitude.
"It's very late, I'm cold, and it's warm over here. I'm staying." He shifted with discomfort at the notion before clumsily responding.
"Well then, just what the hell am I gonna do about- what am I going to do with you in my bed?" His question was met with an answer of her hand grabbing his shoulder and gently guiding him down, causing his face to flush red. The blue eyed woman pulled the blanket over them, before squirming closer and nuzzling against his shoulder. His face was now scarlet though it was hardly noticeable in the dim room. Noticing his tensed demeanor, Reese ran a hand along his face with a gentle shushing, hoping to ease his rigid attitude into relaxing, her fingers caressing his cheek and she whispered.
"Shh, darling... Get some sleep. Goodnight, Raven." As a smile crept across his face he melted, loosening and relaxing into the mattress. A moment passed before the Maverick responded.
"Goodnight, Reese..." A soft sigh of contentedness slipped from her lips as she shut her eyes and slowly began to drift off into slumber.
Reese opened her eyes to a quiet, placid pool of water, the glasslike reflection stretching for an untold distance as it was the only thing in sight. A sudden crash sent huge ripples through the boundless pool, and as a loud hiss escalated into a roar, she whirled around to see the Geno Breaker, the Zoid fully repaired and wrathful as it charged forward as the blue form of the Blade Liger collided with it, the two thrashing with shrieks and yowls and a flurry of claws and teeth from both of them before the Liger leapt away. She stood a distance away, watching the battle unfold, paralyzed and enraptured by the violent clash of metal against metal. As the Zoids collided once again, the water did not settle and with a deafening crash she blinked, now finding herself standing in the midst of a large city plaza full of dozens of Zoids. The blue Liger and red tyrannosaurus again assailed one another, the two mortal enemies in a vicious melee as the rest of the Zoids around began to fight as well, animalistic cries and the sound of gunfire now filling her ears even at the distance she was now, floating far above and away. She tried to reach a hand out, the limb feeling like it was made of lead as she struggled to bring herself to move.
"Please... no more, not this again..."
Raven awoke to the sunlight beaming in from the window, and Reese nowhere to be found. His stomach dropped, and he sighed; better find out where she's at now, he reasoned. Clambering out of the bed, the Maverick now began to notice more were absent. Shadow and Specular were both gone too, with Shadow's absence bringing a growing knot of terror in his stomach. As he made his way to the bedroom door, great thunderous footsteps outside turned his own pace from a brisk walk to a full sprint. As he burst outside to the scorching heat, his vision was filled with red.
The Geno Breaker, the hellish nightmare of the Guardian Force, the once unstoppable demon of destruction, was in a sorry state at best. One of the X Breakers had been incinerated off by a charged particle beam, the armor remaining was perforated and dented from the Geno Saurers' munitions, wires hanging from multiple places; three Geno Saurers was indeed a challenge Raven had found, and the clash with its lesser kin left the Zoid wounded beyond what any Zoid bar the Guardian Force's finest could inflict. As the Geno Breaker halted, a bolt of blue light shot out from the Core arcing high in the sky to curve down in front of Raven. Shadow purred a greeting, and then looked left to Reese and Specular who had also joined the dilapidated Zoid in its walk to the house. A great groaning and sighing of metal rang out as the Geno Breaker went from standing erect to a listed stance, the right side leaning heavy with the weight of the single X Breaker, the tail's damaged servos another cause for its limp lopsided posture as its left arm dangled meekly, too damaged to even be held up.
"Shadow, Reese, what the fuck is going on here?!" He gawked bewildered as his eyes darted about, scanning the two of them in a panic.
"The President of the Helic Republic is dead, Raven. The Republic has closed its borders and all but declared martial law, and from the radio contact I've been listening in on it sounds like war is a very real possibility." Raven groaned in agitation, pinching the bridge of his nose before he snarked back.
"So let them fight, what concern does that have with us? Don't tell me you opened the comms on the Geno Breaker, that's just asking for-" She tilted her head and sighed, Raven's brow unfurrowing as he paused.
"I didn't send a signal out to anyone, and the scanners were set to civilian wavelengths. Come on Raven, can't you see what this means? That maybe this could be your chance at redemption? Camford's death was no accident. She was killed in a parade by a bomb planted in her transport, and a high profile assassination like that leaves a lot to be answered for." Raven grimaced at the sudden revelation as he thought to himself.
"She's right. The President of the Republic in such a public setting, there's got to be something bigger going on here. But she's insane for even thinking I'll have a hand in this." His face dour, he replied with a glum tone. "What am I supposed to do? I'm wanted by both armies, as you've just seen my Zoid is one loose bolt away from being an unusable pile of scrap metal, not even gonna bother to ask why you brought it out here, you're Zoidless as well, and we've got no way to get anywhere in the first place- and what the hell could I do anyway to stop another war? What possible plan could hope to make this royally fucked situation any better?" The young woman remained calm as she continued walking towards him.
"Your and Van's fates are entwined, it seems. My dream last night only confirmed that. And in light of such events, I think now is a better time than ever. The light of Zoid Eve has revealed much." Utterly baffled, the outlaw raked a hand through his long unkempt hair as he responded in an exasperated tone.
"For what? What dream? Reese, what the hell are you talking about?" Her eyes glowed slightly as she approached him, extending a hand outwards she caressed his cheek as her fingers gently glided along his skin, the coy, mirthful smile tugging at her lips belying the soft tenderness in her eyes.
"I'll see you soon, darling." A frown pulled at his features as he reached upward, his fingers finding hers and holding purchase as he spoke.
"Where are you going? Why can't I come with you?" Her voice now echoed within his very mind as her eyes lit up with their cerulean glow, Raven as enrapt as he always had been when she spoke to him this way as the dulcet sound of her voice echoed in his thoughts.
"It won't be long, darling. We'll be back soon, I promise." She could have swore she saw his lip tremble as his eyes became misty. His voice came out low and hoarse.
"Promise?" With teary eyes she nodded, her smile widening as the drops now rolled down her cheeks. Her tan shoes made scarce depressions in the dirt as she walked towards Shadow, the sable creature looking her way before he craned his neck upwards towards the sky as panels on the front of his chest and abdomen flared open with a mechanical hiss, prompting dozens of thick vine-like wires to ensnare the small woman and pull her inside as the panels now closed and sealed airtight. The Organoid looked to Raven once again before becoming a blinding blue light that rocketed upwards, arcing high into the air and down into the Geno Breaker's Zoid Core. Bright red shafts of energy burst out from the Zoid, only to stop as they met an unknown resistance, the air rippling as thin nigh translucent hexagonal facets of violet began to appear in a round mosaic forming a shell resembling the very Core of the Zoid itself as waves and pulses of glowing crimson continued to flow outwards from the center of the Geno Breaker. As the scarlet substance slowly increased opacity, the Geno Breaker lifted its head up high, and its red eyes flashed blue and bright as its horn flipped forward into place. The now opaque shell obscured them entirely as the evolution cocoon began to emit a low droning hum, a gently thrumming and oscillating sound that undulated as the cocoon began to glow and then dim in cadence. Raven's expression of awe soon grew into a grin as he now began chuckling to himself, shaking his head slightly as his anxiety and trepidation gave way to incredulous relief. Specular walked over to him and let out a short snarl as she jabbed her psyche against his, the Maverick locking eyes with the Organoid at the gesture.
"And why choose him?" Raven regarded the Organoid with a smug grin as he replied, his sorrows turning to excitement.
"Because Shadow is the only Organoid powerful enough to even attempt what she's trying." Walking away back to their house now Raven couldn't help but be impressed. Repairing the Geno Breaker would be one thing, evolving it was an entirely different endeavor to be undertaken. A feat like that would require channeling a massive amount of energy that only Shadow and a Zoidian could hope to reach, much to the dismay of a now irate Specular. The svelte Zoid was slightly bothered by her master's choice, though knowing that her power would not have sufficed had little to say nor act upon. Raven opened the door to the house then froze, craning his neck around as he found himself unable to avoid stealing another glance, barely able to contain the wonder, awe, and excitement at the process that was unfolding and the results that would soon follow.
The Geno Breaker's evolution, and the potential it would bring along with it.
CHAPTER END.