*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
"No sweat Fiona, I'll be home in two shakes of Zeke's tail!" Van said soothingly.
Fiona forced a smile and nodded, her long blonde locks in the com image quivering. She told herself that he was only two hours away from the base they were currently located. Van had been sent to Gygolous retrieve some vital information from Rudolph. Everything had gone smoothly, nothing had attacked him. Thank goodness.
"I sure hope so," she said. "I sure hope so."
Van winked at her and blew a kiss just before his face disappeared off the large monitor. Fiona felt her cheeks burn as her mind replayed what he had just done over and over. She smiled gleefully.
The monitor came back to life, the sound of firearms and destruction gracing the gray screen. Just then Dr. D raced through the steel automatic doors and typed something on the keyboard, Moonbay on his heels. The empty grayness disappeared and the image of the Blade Liger took it's place. It was firing madly at something, only there was nothing there. It flew backwards, like some zoid had rammed it.
Van appeared on the com link, the side of his cheek stained with a river of blood. He was panting. "Gramps!" he cried breathlessly. "Scan the surrounding area for it!"
Dr. D nodded and typed furiously. Without looking up, he asked, "For what, exactly?"
Van grit his teeth, the cockpit shook violently. "Doc please! This is no time for questions! The Blade Liger's shield is destroyed, the blades are useless. This guy is good. He's made us completely unarmed and defenseless, all in under five minutes."
"Then how are you supposed to fight with no weapons?!" Moonbay shrieked, Fiona expected she was just as scared as she was.
"Van be careful," Fiona said weakly, her voice seemed to be leaving her.
He nodded just before the com link was shut abruptly.
"Van! Van! Are you there?" Dr. D exclaimed, still typing. He turned to a group of soldiers, who weren't there a minute ago, and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Get into your zoids and get going!"
They saluted and disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Still no reply from Van. Static filled the tense air. The smoke had cleared, revealing the Blade Liger on it's belly, it's canopy shattered in millions of pieces. And there was Van, a good couple feet from the Liger, he laid face down in the sand, unmoving. Fiona clasped her hand over her mouth, tears clogged her throat and blurred her vision, and sobbed. It was the last time she ever saw Van again, alive.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Three Years Later.
".I just don't know what to do." the golden blonde haired girl with sunset eyes muttered to the passing scenery as her tour bus drove past. "Ingénue."
She ran her hand through her shoulder length blonde hair and sighed. They had been on the road for five hours straight; everyone on the bus with the exception of her and the driver was asleep. Sleep. a word she hardly knew. It had been a ritual for her to stay up late every night and wake up early in the morning, since her dreams haunted her she might as well stay in the world she had some control over.
A woman with bright green eyes and long brown hair walked groggily over to the blonde by the window.
"Fi, c'mon you haven't even taken any shut eye today. How do you expect your fans to see you at your best on Saturday if you're worn out with bags under your eyes?" she chided softly.
Personally, I find baggy eyes attractive.
The blonde looked up at her personal assistant and smiled gently. "I guess you're right, Kay, I should get some sleep while I have the chance. Everyone else has."
Kay frowned, she knew Fiona too well. Since they had first been introduced a year ago they had bonded quickly. She knew all of Fiona's secrets except for one, she knew she had been madly in love with a Lt who had died mysteriously and that she had never gotten over his death. Fiona never did tell her his name, but Kay knew who he was or so she thought she did. His death influenced all of the songs Fi had written, some were sad while others were about being in love.
Kay sighed unhappily. "Good God Fiona, the only way you're gonna go to sleep is if I watch over you and force you to sleep!"
Fiona giggled and grinned. "You never know."
"Ah! Just come on! We'll be arriving to Gygolous in four hours. That's enough time to at least make those bags under you're eyes look less apparent."
"Will Emperor Rudolph be joining us? I sent him an invitation to come to the concert two weeks ago ahead of time."
"Emperor Rudolph?!" Kay cried, incredulous. She glanced for her notepad when she found it she flipped some pages. "Ah yes, the Emperor was thrilled and offered to take you to dinner after the show."
Fiona nodded thoughtfully; it had been about three years since she had last since Rudolph her only regret was that they didn't meet on a happy occasion. Rudolph would no doubt have many questions for her, like why did she leave the Guardian Force so suddenly and with no apparent reason and about her success as a starlit. Ah well she'd cross that bridge when she gets there.
She was so preoccupied with her thoughts she didn't realize Kay was still talking.
".his royal majesty would very much like to see you when we arrive at the capital. Sound good? Fi..Fi! FIONA!!! DAMMIT ANSWER ME!!!"
Fiona shook her head as though she was coming out of a trance. "Huh? Oops my bad Kay, I'm sorry what were you saying?"
Her assistant's silence made the starlit uneasy. Kay hardly EVER shut up; it was like it was her job to talk nonstop. Van would have liked her.what? Van? Fiona forced herself to try to ignore all these thoughts. Apart of her was still in love with Van while the other was through with love. Why couldn't she just forget about him already?
"Why are you crying, Fi?" Kay asked, her face full of concern.
Fiona forced a smile. "Nothing's wrong, silly why would anything be wrong? I was just thinking about what I was going to wear when we meet Rudolph."
"I don't think you take you're outfits THAT seriously. Fi, you're crying. Tell me why."
Shocked, Fiona placed her fingertips on her cheeks and found that it was in fact wet, wet with tears.
"Allergies, that's all. I have really bad allergies when I come up here," she lied.
"Oh all right whatever you say," Kay said in a dull tone, which meant she didn't believe her. "Now get some sleep and that's an order!"
The blonde smiled softly, and leaned her head back on the seat. Slowly drifting off into dreamless sleep.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
"Emperor Rudolph a tour bus is waiting outside, they claim you invited them...is that true?"
Rudolph looked up quickly from his desk, his long brown bangs falling before his eyes. He had been signing some documents when the next thing he knew he was awakened by an elderly butler. Apparently, he fell asleep!
He pushed his bangs behind his ear and said, "That must be Miss Fiona, but of course Harold let them in at once."
Harold nodded and closed the door behind him. Rudolph sighed and looked at the digital clock at the corner of his desk, it read 3: 18 p.m. The rehearsal was at eight o'clock, good he and Fiona had at least an hour or so to catch up. The last time they had meet was three years at Van's funeral; she was a total wreck. Her usually happy sunset eyes were sad and heartbroken. Black Mascara stained her porcelain cheeks, she had tried to look her best while basically all she did was cry and talk to no one.
Now she was up and coming in the music business. Some said she was to be the next Madonna, which in itself was pretty good. She wrote all of her own songs, even co wrote some with greats like rapper Eminem or M & M for short. Fiona was really making a name for herself and Rudolph was thrilled for her, she was finally getting her life back in order.
Twenty Minutes Later.
"Damn girl, I dunno how you did but you befriended the Emperor! Now we get to eat with style!" Evan the bass player exclaimed happily, hugging Fiona.
Fiona laughed as they were seen to the 'living room'. "I guess you were wrong about me being a nobody, ne?"
".Sorta. But hell, this is insane dude! First Eminem now the Emperor how do you do it?"
They walked past a velvet room with relics of gold and silver inside. Kay and Brian, the drummer, oooed and awed. While Fiona was anxious to see Rudolph and get it over with, this was one trip down memory lane she did not want to take.
"It's just my good looks that get them," she winked.
Large gold plated walls stopped anyone from going through with out the key. Harold made in his way to the front of the crowd of young people. He cleared his throat and raised his arms in the air as so to get everyone's attention. Everyone stopped talking and looked curiously at the grayed haired man.
"The Crowned Emperor Rudolph will now see you all," with that he opened the majestic doors revealing a room with red carpeting the walls tinted gold with portraits of past Emperors hung oddly on the walls.
In the center of the room was a large oak dinning table, beautifully decorated with ivory colored candles on each end of the table. A bouquet of roses and all sorts of flowers added a feminine touch to the whole room. Fiona had no doubt as to whose idea it was for the flowers, Rudolph's wife Mary Ann.
Rudolph walked to the edge of the table and smiled warmly at his guests. He had aged quite a bit, he looked like he was at 23 but he was around 18. Fiona had to admit he looked handsome, but she'd always think of him as that cute little boy who socked Van in the face, the same little boy who always fought with Van. The memory brought a smile to Fiona's face.
"Welcome all, how do you do Miss Fiona? You look beautiful today as always," Rudolph said.
Fiona could feel the warmth in her cheek but smiled anyways. She walked up to him and hugged him. "Emperor Rudolph, I'm honored you'd allow me and my fellow band mates into your humble abode."
"Fiona, we have known each other long enough to not use such formalities. I'm glad you accepted and it's a pleasure to meet you all."
All of her band mates exchanged curious glances, Fiona had always been shy and quiet but no one had expected she knew people in such high places!
After everyone except Fiona left for rehearsal after lunch, Rudolph took this opportunity to chat with her to see what happened to her in the past three years besides the fact she got discovered. He found it odd that she was without Van, it seemed as though those two were inseparable back in the day. He kept half expecting to see Van walk through the wooden doors, a big smile on his face, and take the empty seat next to her.
They were seated at the oak table, Rudolph on one end and Fiona on the other. She was quietly slipping on her dr. pepper.
"Fiona, you'd never guess who paid me a visit yesterday," the emperor began cheerfully.
Fiona placed a stray lock of hair that had been bothering her for some time, behind her ear lobe. "Who?"
"Irvine and Moonbay."
"Really? Is that so? How wonderful, what's going on with them?"
"They're engaged."
Fiona gasped in delight. "My God really? That's fantastic! I always knew they'd get married one day."
She silently wondered why no one had told her sooner. She felt hurt and betrayed even though she knew it would nearly impossible for them to have reached her she still wished they would have at least tried.
"Yes it is, those two looked so happy. And they asked about you, wanted to know how you were doing. Moonbay even said she bought your cd and that she deserved a signed autographed copy and bragging rights," he laughed.
Fiona giggled. "Ah Moonbay hasn't changed a bit I see."
"I told them that you were coming to Guigolos soon and that they should stay." his voice trailed off.
The blonde frowned thoughtfully; she was suddenly very interested in people she had once tried to forget along with her past. Maybe this is what she got for avoiding them. She wanted to go to the wedding as a bride's maid; she smiled ruefully at the thought.
"Tell me Rudolph, did they come all the way to Guigolos just to tell you they're getting married? I find that quite strange if you ask me," Fiona stated, taking another sip of Dr. Pepper.
"You're right it would seem quite odd if they came from the base just to tell me the good news not that I would have minded at any rate. You see they came to tell me a number of things, one of which I'm not sure you'd like to hear."
Fiona cut him off angrily. "What is it?"
Rudolph looked down at his reflection on the oak table, deciding whether or not to tell her. She was happy now but he didn't want her to get killed, he reminded himself, that man was dangerous and he couldn't afford to lose another of his close friends. It'd hurt too much.
"Well? Tell me Rudolph, I'd really like to know. It's something about Van isn't it?" Just the thought of Van made her feel sick to her stomach. Why couldn't his ghost just leave her alone?
"Yes and no. One of the things is about Van, the other is about. Raven," he said solemnly, still staring at his reflection.
Fiona fell into silence, she had gotten her answer. And he was right. She didn't like what she heard. "Oh. I thought Raven had been arrested and was put to trial."
"He was but two years ago he broke out of prison while his case was pending. But get this, his cell was locked when they found he was missing, nothing had been tampered with. It was almost as if Raven simply disappeared into thin air.
"Then a couple months ago, reports starting coming up within the Empire that military bases containing specialized zoids to destroy the Genobreaker were totally annihilated. Not a soul was spared. All of the evidence pointed to Raven, since he is the only known one capable of such destruction.
You see the next base containing the zoids is the Plum, which is south of Guigolos. We figure that if it is Raven he's going to go through Guigolos to get to the Fuchsia base where Moonbay, Irvine and Thomas Shubaltz are located."
"And what about Zeke?"
"Zeke?" The Emperor blinked, what an odd question. Fiona didn't seem the least worried about the Raven situation. "Zeke, he's at the base at well. In fact if my sources are correct he's been there for some time."
"I'd like to pay him a visit, is that alright with you, Rudolph?" her sunset eyes had lost their sparkle; they looked dull and almost lifeless.
"Fiona, didn't you hear me? Don't you think that the Raven situation is just the least bit important? People are dieing because of this man, it seems no matter what we do we can't seem to stop him. Even with the best of both the Empire and the Republic we can't seem to stop his reign of terror."
"True, but if you find a skilled enough zoid warrior. You would be giving Raven something to work for, something that he'll never beat to insure that he'll never kill again," she replied simply. "But Rudolph you are aware that I am no longer a member of the Guardian Force and therefore as a common citizen I have no right to know this information?"
Rudolph met her eyes and nodded solemnly. "Yes, I am well aware of that. But the situation is desperate, you were and still are a useful asset to the Guardian Force and to Zi."
Fiona slammed her fist on the table. "I told you before and I'll say it again, I'm not involved in military activity anymore. I no longer wish to be associated with the military, it brings back too many painful memories," she pushed her chair back. "I will not return to the way I was, I was hopelessly in love with a man I knew was going to die young. I thought she was lying but it ends up she wasn't and now I've learned the hard way, now good day Emperor Rudolph."
With that she turned her back and walked briskly out of the room, leaving the emperor dumbfounded.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
"Fi! What's shakin' girlfriend? That was a short visit with the Emperor," Kay said, eying Fiona suspiciously.
It had been an hour since they had seen each other, Fiona looked ready to kill if anyone even put a hair out of line. Kay and the rest of the band knew that something went sour with that visit. If they valued their lives they wouldn't ask any questions about the matter.
"Yes it was," Fiona replied setting her purse on a chair. "The Emperor had some matters to deal with so I left."
"Oh ok, you up for practice?"
"Why don't you guys take the night off and go and explore Gygolous? It's a lovely city with an even greater nightlife."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying, Oh-Mighty-One?" Evan asked, his blue eyes wide with excitement.
"Yup, party central."
"SWEEET!!!" everyone cried at once.
Once everyone else had left to go partying, Kay decided now was the time to catch up on some serious sightseeing. The nightlife wasn't one for her, since Fiona was familiar with spots here she could take her on a tour of the place.
"Say Fi, why don't we do some sightseeing? You could give me a tour!" Kay chirped.
Fiona looked up from her song notebook she'd been writing in. "Wha? You wanna go sightseeing?"
"Yeah! Since we know everyone'll be out until sometime in the morning why don't we take the tour bus and explore some of the surrounding areas?"
"But it's dark out," Fiona pointed out.
Kay frowned. "Who cares? Minor detail. I hear there are some ruins a couple miles from a small village not too far from Gygolous. Whatdaya say? Shall we?"
The Ancient Zoidian rubbed her temples, this was just not her day. First the incident with Rudolph, now this. From the looks of things her past was attacking her, forcing her to relive events she'd rather forget. One thing worried her, what would happen if she remembered something from her life as an Ancient Zoidian? A big piece of her memory, of course, was missing. She remembered Zoid Eve thanks to the likes of the crazed Hiltz, but other than that nothing all that important. Like how she and Zeke got into the temple and the capsules, what she'd told no one was that Zeke was once her organiod long before Van's great great great great great great great grand daddy times a lot more greats was even born.
She sighed in defeat; she knew would have to face this sooner or later. "Sure but let's page everyone to tell them we'll be gone and will return sometime tomorrow evening."
Kay's peach features lit up like a Christmas tree. "Ok!" and she bounded off towards the phone.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
She bolted straight up in bed, soaked in cold sweat. Her hazel eyes slowly traced all the furniture in her bedroom; everything was the way it was when she'd departed into sleep. She glanced at the Zoids calendar that hung on the wall beside her bed. Only ten more shopping days until school started. And she didn't even start on her, What I Did Over My Summer Vacation Essay, nor did she want to.
That was just it; she did nothing exciting over summer vacation. No totally awesome trips to faraway places, no mundo cool zoid fights, no nothing. Boring the class out of their minds wasn't exactly her idea of a good time.
She got out of bed and tiptoed down the hall into her uncle's room. She paused at the doorframe and peered inside, Uncle Anthony had a habit of staying up late and counting cracks on the ceiling late at night. Judging by the snores, Anthony was in deep sleep. Good. She tiptoed to the side of his bed and jumped on top of him; she noticed his hair was done, that was a first. Usually he kept his jet-black hair in a tight ponytail at the back of his head, his spiky bangs were still the same. She poked the red tattoo on the side of his cheek.
"Pssst!"
Anthony moaned and placed his arm over his eyes. She frowned and shook her weight on his stomach, it was a good thing she was as up to his thigh or else she'd been too big.
"Psssst!! Anthony!"
He lifted his arm and opened his gray eyes. "Wha?" he said, groggily.
"Anthony!" The black haired girl whispered, her voice filled with urgency.
"What is it, Jade? What happened, are you okay?!" he sat up and quickly set the little girl on his knees before she could fall.
"I had a dream."
Those words always sent a jolt of fear into Anthony's heart for some reason, every time he had heard those words 'I had a dream' he got into his protective mode. Although he could never remember where he'd heard them before.
"Yeah Jade? What happened?"
She told him about being chased by a wild zoid and then diving into hole where she opened a door that let Anthony in. Then something reached out from the floor and dragged her through the ground into her classroom where she didn't have her What I Did Over My Summer Vacation Essay.
A wave of relief crashed into him, thank God. She was just scared of being unprepared.
"Well then maybe you should start on your essay," Anthony said.
His neice frowned and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Something her uncle always found cute, she acted so much like an adult it was funny, she was so grown up for her seven years of age. "What? Are you crazy? I haven't done anything over summer vacation worth while, and I don't wanna bore myself and the class out of our minds!"
Someone turned on a light bulb in her head and she had the most brilliant idea in weeks. "I got it! Why don't we explore some ruins? Maybe they'll have a mummy's curse!" she whispered excitedly.
Sighing, Anthony placed his index finger on her lips. "I'll think about it in the morning. Now it's time for you to go to bed."
She crawled out of his grasp and slid under the covers next to him. "Fine."
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
Author's Note: Well? What do you guys think? Yes if you guessed that Anthony is actually Van you are a hundred percent correct! I need help on deciding a name for the little girl, Anthony's niece. I can't choose between Jade or Angelina, what do you guys think? Tell me! email me @ danger_beauty18@hotmail or in your review okay?
Is it good? Is this story worthy of another chapter? Review and tell me okay? Please and Thank you!
PEACE OUT!!
*Mi*ChElLe*
"No sweat Fiona, I'll be home in two shakes of Zeke's tail!" Van said soothingly.
Fiona forced a smile and nodded, her long blonde locks in the com image quivering. She told herself that he was only two hours away from the base they were currently located. Van had been sent to Gygolous retrieve some vital information from Rudolph. Everything had gone smoothly, nothing had attacked him. Thank goodness.
"I sure hope so," she said. "I sure hope so."
Van winked at her and blew a kiss just before his face disappeared off the large monitor. Fiona felt her cheeks burn as her mind replayed what he had just done over and over. She smiled gleefully.
The monitor came back to life, the sound of firearms and destruction gracing the gray screen. Just then Dr. D raced through the steel automatic doors and typed something on the keyboard, Moonbay on his heels. The empty grayness disappeared and the image of the Blade Liger took it's place. It was firing madly at something, only there was nothing there. It flew backwards, like some zoid had rammed it.
Van appeared on the com link, the side of his cheek stained with a river of blood. He was panting. "Gramps!" he cried breathlessly. "Scan the surrounding area for it!"
Dr. D nodded and typed furiously. Without looking up, he asked, "For what, exactly?"
Van grit his teeth, the cockpit shook violently. "Doc please! This is no time for questions! The Blade Liger's shield is destroyed, the blades are useless. This guy is good. He's made us completely unarmed and defenseless, all in under five minutes."
"Then how are you supposed to fight with no weapons?!" Moonbay shrieked, Fiona expected she was just as scared as she was.
"Van be careful," Fiona said weakly, her voice seemed to be leaving her.
He nodded just before the com link was shut abruptly.
"Van! Van! Are you there?" Dr. D exclaimed, still typing. He turned to a group of soldiers, who weren't there a minute ago, and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Get into your zoids and get going!"
They saluted and disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Still no reply from Van. Static filled the tense air. The smoke had cleared, revealing the Blade Liger on it's belly, it's canopy shattered in millions of pieces. And there was Van, a good couple feet from the Liger, he laid face down in the sand, unmoving. Fiona clasped her hand over her mouth, tears clogged her throat and blurred her vision, and sobbed. It was the last time she ever saw Van again, alive.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Three Years Later.
".I just don't know what to do." the golden blonde haired girl with sunset eyes muttered to the passing scenery as her tour bus drove past. "Ingénue."
She ran her hand through her shoulder length blonde hair and sighed. They had been on the road for five hours straight; everyone on the bus with the exception of her and the driver was asleep. Sleep. a word she hardly knew. It had been a ritual for her to stay up late every night and wake up early in the morning, since her dreams haunted her she might as well stay in the world she had some control over.
A woman with bright green eyes and long brown hair walked groggily over to the blonde by the window.
"Fi, c'mon you haven't even taken any shut eye today. How do you expect your fans to see you at your best on Saturday if you're worn out with bags under your eyes?" she chided softly.
Personally, I find baggy eyes attractive.
The blonde looked up at her personal assistant and smiled gently. "I guess you're right, Kay, I should get some sleep while I have the chance. Everyone else has."
Kay frowned, she knew Fiona too well. Since they had first been introduced a year ago they had bonded quickly. She knew all of Fiona's secrets except for one, she knew she had been madly in love with a Lt who had died mysteriously and that she had never gotten over his death. Fiona never did tell her his name, but Kay knew who he was or so she thought she did. His death influenced all of the songs Fi had written, some were sad while others were about being in love.
Kay sighed unhappily. "Good God Fiona, the only way you're gonna go to sleep is if I watch over you and force you to sleep!"
Fiona giggled and grinned. "You never know."
"Ah! Just come on! We'll be arriving to Gygolous in four hours. That's enough time to at least make those bags under you're eyes look less apparent."
"Will Emperor Rudolph be joining us? I sent him an invitation to come to the concert two weeks ago ahead of time."
"Emperor Rudolph?!" Kay cried, incredulous. She glanced for her notepad when she found it she flipped some pages. "Ah yes, the Emperor was thrilled and offered to take you to dinner after the show."
Fiona nodded thoughtfully; it had been about three years since she had last since Rudolph her only regret was that they didn't meet on a happy occasion. Rudolph would no doubt have many questions for her, like why did she leave the Guardian Force so suddenly and with no apparent reason and about her success as a starlit. Ah well she'd cross that bridge when she gets there.
She was so preoccupied with her thoughts she didn't realize Kay was still talking.
".his royal majesty would very much like to see you when we arrive at the capital. Sound good? Fi..Fi! FIONA!!! DAMMIT ANSWER ME!!!"
Fiona shook her head as though she was coming out of a trance. "Huh? Oops my bad Kay, I'm sorry what were you saying?"
Her assistant's silence made the starlit uneasy. Kay hardly EVER shut up; it was like it was her job to talk nonstop. Van would have liked her.what? Van? Fiona forced herself to try to ignore all these thoughts. Apart of her was still in love with Van while the other was through with love. Why couldn't she just forget about him already?
"Why are you crying, Fi?" Kay asked, her face full of concern.
Fiona forced a smile. "Nothing's wrong, silly why would anything be wrong? I was just thinking about what I was going to wear when we meet Rudolph."
"I don't think you take you're outfits THAT seriously. Fi, you're crying. Tell me why."
Shocked, Fiona placed her fingertips on her cheeks and found that it was in fact wet, wet with tears.
"Allergies, that's all. I have really bad allergies when I come up here," she lied.
"Oh all right whatever you say," Kay said in a dull tone, which meant she didn't believe her. "Now get some sleep and that's an order!"
The blonde smiled softly, and leaned her head back on the seat. Slowly drifting off into dreamless sleep.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
"Emperor Rudolph a tour bus is waiting outside, they claim you invited them...is that true?"
Rudolph looked up quickly from his desk, his long brown bangs falling before his eyes. He had been signing some documents when the next thing he knew he was awakened by an elderly butler. Apparently, he fell asleep!
He pushed his bangs behind his ear and said, "That must be Miss Fiona, but of course Harold let them in at once."
Harold nodded and closed the door behind him. Rudolph sighed and looked at the digital clock at the corner of his desk, it read 3: 18 p.m. The rehearsal was at eight o'clock, good he and Fiona had at least an hour or so to catch up. The last time they had meet was three years at Van's funeral; she was a total wreck. Her usually happy sunset eyes were sad and heartbroken. Black Mascara stained her porcelain cheeks, she had tried to look her best while basically all she did was cry and talk to no one.
Now she was up and coming in the music business. Some said she was to be the next Madonna, which in itself was pretty good. She wrote all of her own songs, even co wrote some with greats like rapper Eminem or M & M for short. Fiona was really making a name for herself and Rudolph was thrilled for her, she was finally getting her life back in order.
Twenty Minutes Later.
"Damn girl, I dunno how you did but you befriended the Emperor! Now we get to eat with style!" Evan the bass player exclaimed happily, hugging Fiona.
Fiona laughed as they were seen to the 'living room'. "I guess you were wrong about me being a nobody, ne?"
".Sorta. But hell, this is insane dude! First Eminem now the Emperor how do you do it?"
They walked past a velvet room with relics of gold and silver inside. Kay and Brian, the drummer, oooed and awed. While Fiona was anxious to see Rudolph and get it over with, this was one trip down memory lane she did not want to take.
"It's just my good looks that get them," she winked.
Large gold plated walls stopped anyone from going through with out the key. Harold made in his way to the front of the crowd of young people. He cleared his throat and raised his arms in the air as so to get everyone's attention. Everyone stopped talking and looked curiously at the grayed haired man.
"The Crowned Emperor Rudolph will now see you all," with that he opened the majestic doors revealing a room with red carpeting the walls tinted gold with portraits of past Emperors hung oddly on the walls.
In the center of the room was a large oak dinning table, beautifully decorated with ivory colored candles on each end of the table. A bouquet of roses and all sorts of flowers added a feminine touch to the whole room. Fiona had no doubt as to whose idea it was for the flowers, Rudolph's wife Mary Ann.
Rudolph walked to the edge of the table and smiled warmly at his guests. He had aged quite a bit, he looked like he was at 23 but he was around 18. Fiona had to admit he looked handsome, but she'd always think of him as that cute little boy who socked Van in the face, the same little boy who always fought with Van. The memory brought a smile to Fiona's face.
"Welcome all, how do you do Miss Fiona? You look beautiful today as always," Rudolph said.
Fiona could feel the warmth in her cheek but smiled anyways. She walked up to him and hugged him. "Emperor Rudolph, I'm honored you'd allow me and my fellow band mates into your humble abode."
"Fiona, we have known each other long enough to not use such formalities. I'm glad you accepted and it's a pleasure to meet you all."
All of her band mates exchanged curious glances, Fiona had always been shy and quiet but no one had expected she knew people in such high places!
After everyone except Fiona left for rehearsal after lunch, Rudolph took this opportunity to chat with her to see what happened to her in the past three years besides the fact she got discovered. He found it odd that she was without Van, it seemed as though those two were inseparable back in the day. He kept half expecting to see Van walk through the wooden doors, a big smile on his face, and take the empty seat next to her.
They were seated at the oak table, Rudolph on one end and Fiona on the other. She was quietly slipping on her dr. pepper.
"Fiona, you'd never guess who paid me a visit yesterday," the emperor began cheerfully.
Fiona placed a stray lock of hair that had been bothering her for some time, behind her ear lobe. "Who?"
"Irvine and Moonbay."
"Really? Is that so? How wonderful, what's going on with them?"
"They're engaged."
Fiona gasped in delight. "My God really? That's fantastic! I always knew they'd get married one day."
She silently wondered why no one had told her sooner. She felt hurt and betrayed even though she knew it would nearly impossible for them to have reached her she still wished they would have at least tried.
"Yes it is, those two looked so happy. And they asked about you, wanted to know how you were doing. Moonbay even said she bought your cd and that she deserved a signed autographed copy and bragging rights," he laughed.
Fiona giggled. "Ah Moonbay hasn't changed a bit I see."
"I told them that you were coming to Guigolos soon and that they should stay." his voice trailed off.
The blonde frowned thoughtfully; she was suddenly very interested in people she had once tried to forget along with her past. Maybe this is what she got for avoiding them. She wanted to go to the wedding as a bride's maid; she smiled ruefully at the thought.
"Tell me Rudolph, did they come all the way to Guigolos just to tell you they're getting married? I find that quite strange if you ask me," Fiona stated, taking another sip of Dr. Pepper.
"You're right it would seem quite odd if they came from the base just to tell me the good news not that I would have minded at any rate. You see they came to tell me a number of things, one of which I'm not sure you'd like to hear."
Fiona cut him off angrily. "What is it?"
Rudolph looked down at his reflection on the oak table, deciding whether or not to tell her. She was happy now but he didn't want her to get killed, he reminded himself, that man was dangerous and he couldn't afford to lose another of his close friends. It'd hurt too much.
"Well? Tell me Rudolph, I'd really like to know. It's something about Van isn't it?" Just the thought of Van made her feel sick to her stomach. Why couldn't his ghost just leave her alone?
"Yes and no. One of the things is about Van, the other is about. Raven," he said solemnly, still staring at his reflection.
Fiona fell into silence, she had gotten her answer. And he was right. She didn't like what she heard. "Oh. I thought Raven had been arrested and was put to trial."
"He was but two years ago he broke out of prison while his case was pending. But get this, his cell was locked when they found he was missing, nothing had been tampered with. It was almost as if Raven simply disappeared into thin air.
"Then a couple months ago, reports starting coming up within the Empire that military bases containing specialized zoids to destroy the Genobreaker were totally annihilated. Not a soul was spared. All of the evidence pointed to Raven, since he is the only known one capable of such destruction.
You see the next base containing the zoids is the Plum, which is south of Guigolos. We figure that if it is Raven he's going to go through Guigolos to get to the Fuchsia base where Moonbay, Irvine and Thomas Shubaltz are located."
"And what about Zeke?"
"Zeke?" The Emperor blinked, what an odd question. Fiona didn't seem the least worried about the Raven situation. "Zeke, he's at the base at well. In fact if my sources are correct he's been there for some time."
"I'd like to pay him a visit, is that alright with you, Rudolph?" her sunset eyes had lost their sparkle; they looked dull and almost lifeless.
"Fiona, didn't you hear me? Don't you think that the Raven situation is just the least bit important? People are dieing because of this man, it seems no matter what we do we can't seem to stop him. Even with the best of both the Empire and the Republic we can't seem to stop his reign of terror."
"True, but if you find a skilled enough zoid warrior. You would be giving Raven something to work for, something that he'll never beat to insure that he'll never kill again," she replied simply. "But Rudolph you are aware that I am no longer a member of the Guardian Force and therefore as a common citizen I have no right to know this information?"
Rudolph met her eyes and nodded solemnly. "Yes, I am well aware of that. But the situation is desperate, you were and still are a useful asset to the Guardian Force and to Zi."
Fiona slammed her fist on the table. "I told you before and I'll say it again, I'm not involved in military activity anymore. I no longer wish to be associated with the military, it brings back too many painful memories," she pushed her chair back. "I will not return to the way I was, I was hopelessly in love with a man I knew was going to die young. I thought she was lying but it ends up she wasn't and now I've learned the hard way, now good day Emperor Rudolph."
With that she turned her back and walked briskly out of the room, leaving the emperor dumbfounded.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
"Fi! What's shakin' girlfriend? That was a short visit with the Emperor," Kay said, eying Fiona suspiciously.
It had been an hour since they had seen each other, Fiona looked ready to kill if anyone even put a hair out of line. Kay and the rest of the band knew that something went sour with that visit. If they valued their lives they wouldn't ask any questions about the matter.
"Yes it was," Fiona replied setting her purse on a chair. "The Emperor had some matters to deal with so I left."
"Oh ok, you up for practice?"
"Why don't you guys take the night off and go and explore Gygolous? It's a lovely city with an even greater nightlife."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying, Oh-Mighty-One?" Evan asked, his blue eyes wide with excitement.
"Yup, party central."
"SWEEET!!!" everyone cried at once.
Once everyone else had left to go partying, Kay decided now was the time to catch up on some serious sightseeing. The nightlife wasn't one for her, since Fiona was familiar with spots here she could take her on a tour of the place.
"Say Fi, why don't we do some sightseeing? You could give me a tour!" Kay chirped.
Fiona looked up from her song notebook she'd been writing in. "Wha? You wanna go sightseeing?"
"Yeah! Since we know everyone'll be out until sometime in the morning why don't we take the tour bus and explore some of the surrounding areas?"
"But it's dark out," Fiona pointed out.
Kay frowned. "Who cares? Minor detail. I hear there are some ruins a couple miles from a small village not too far from Gygolous. Whatdaya say? Shall we?"
The Ancient Zoidian rubbed her temples, this was just not her day. First the incident with Rudolph, now this. From the looks of things her past was attacking her, forcing her to relive events she'd rather forget. One thing worried her, what would happen if she remembered something from her life as an Ancient Zoidian? A big piece of her memory, of course, was missing. She remembered Zoid Eve thanks to the likes of the crazed Hiltz, but other than that nothing all that important. Like how she and Zeke got into the temple and the capsules, what she'd told no one was that Zeke was once her organiod long before Van's great great great great great great great grand daddy times a lot more greats was even born.
She sighed in defeat; she knew would have to face this sooner or later. "Sure but let's page everyone to tell them we'll be gone and will return sometime tomorrow evening."
Kay's peach features lit up like a Christmas tree. "Ok!" and she bounded off towards the phone.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
She bolted straight up in bed, soaked in cold sweat. Her hazel eyes slowly traced all the furniture in her bedroom; everything was the way it was when she'd departed into sleep. She glanced at the Zoids calendar that hung on the wall beside her bed. Only ten more shopping days until school started. And she didn't even start on her, What I Did Over My Summer Vacation Essay, nor did she want to.
That was just it; she did nothing exciting over summer vacation. No totally awesome trips to faraway places, no mundo cool zoid fights, no nothing. Boring the class out of their minds wasn't exactly her idea of a good time.
She got out of bed and tiptoed down the hall into her uncle's room. She paused at the doorframe and peered inside, Uncle Anthony had a habit of staying up late and counting cracks on the ceiling late at night. Judging by the snores, Anthony was in deep sleep. Good. She tiptoed to the side of his bed and jumped on top of him; she noticed his hair was done, that was a first. Usually he kept his jet-black hair in a tight ponytail at the back of his head, his spiky bangs were still the same. She poked the red tattoo on the side of his cheek.
"Pssst!"
Anthony moaned and placed his arm over his eyes. She frowned and shook her weight on his stomach, it was a good thing she was as up to his thigh or else she'd been too big.
"Psssst!! Anthony!"
He lifted his arm and opened his gray eyes. "Wha?" he said, groggily.
"Anthony!" The black haired girl whispered, her voice filled with urgency.
"What is it, Jade? What happened, are you okay?!" he sat up and quickly set the little girl on his knees before she could fall.
"I had a dream."
Those words always sent a jolt of fear into Anthony's heart for some reason, every time he had heard those words 'I had a dream' he got into his protective mode. Although he could never remember where he'd heard them before.
"Yeah Jade? What happened?"
She told him about being chased by a wild zoid and then diving into hole where she opened a door that let Anthony in. Then something reached out from the floor and dragged her through the ground into her classroom where she didn't have her What I Did Over My Summer Vacation Essay.
A wave of relief crashed into him, thank God. She was just scared of being unprepared.
"Well then maybe you should start on your essay," Anthony said.
His neice frowned and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Something her uncle always found cute, she acted so much like an adult it was funny, she was so grown up for her seven years of age. "What? Are you crazy? I haven't done anything over summer vacation worth while, and I don't wanna bore myself and the class out of our minds!"
Someone turned on a light bulb in her head and she had the most brilliant idea in weeks. "I got it! Why don't we explore some ruins? Maybe they'll have a mummy's curse!" she whispered excitedly.
Sighing, Anthony placed his index finger on her lips. "I'll think about it in the morning. Now it's time for you to go to bed."
She crawled out of his grasp and slid under the covers next to him. "Fine."
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
Author's Note: Well? What do you guys think? Yes if you guessed that Anthony is actually Van you are a hundred percent correct! I need help on deciding a name for the little girl, Anthony's niece. I can't choose between Jade or Angelina, what do you guys think? Tell me! email me @ danger_beauty18@hotmail or in your review okay?
Is it good? Is this story worthy of another chapter? Review and tell me okay? Please and Thank you!
PEACE OUT!!
*Mi*ChElLe*
