A New Path, a zoids fanfic

It was late summer, when the leaves were just starting to don their colors for the upcoming fall. It was by all means a nice day outside. A little warm with just a gentle breeze. The sun was bright and smiling in the blue skies above, But he didn't notice these things. All he could focus on was her. He had never seen such a sight as beautiful as this. He had seen plenty of gorgeous women, and slept with at least half of those he did. But that's not what compelled him. It was her swirling in her skirts with her head tilted back and the sweet sound of laughter that came from her throat like a song. Her voice, smooth and seductive, but honest and kind. It was her hair more brilliant then any gem, and a perfectly sweet smile to match. He couldn't help but feel as though he knew her, not just a name or a face, but actually knew her. As though he had met her before and shared hours of time in intimate conversation. If only he could see her face, identify who she was, what she meant.... But her hair covered her features like a well placed mask. He reached out, as if to move it, only to find she was gone.

She had only been a dream...........

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was just before six when he finally summoned the strength to get up and out of bed. He had plenty of rest yet felt as though he had just crawled into bed for the night. He couldn't stop thinking about that damn dream. It was just a dream of some girl that he had never seen before. He had dreamed of women before, but those dreams were filled with lust and burning desire. But a girl spinning in circles? What had he been drinking last night?

He yawned loudly and stretched his limbs to make them move again. He quickly pulled a comb through his hair and slid a shirt on. Screw taking a shower and putting on something other then pj's. He needed coffee. Now. He quickly stumbled through the door and into the dimly lit corridor of the base. He could turn on the lights but his feet seemed to know where they were headed so he merely followed where they led. As he entered the kitchen Jaime greeted him with a way to cheerful 'Good morning' to which he had simply grumbled to in response. He opened the cupboard and grabbed the largest mug he could find and promptly filled it with steaming, nourishing liquid. He didn't flinch as he brought it to his lips and took a healthy swig of scalding coffee. All he noticed was the warm, tingly sensation in his stomach. 'Ah, to be alive again' he pleasantly thought to himself. After downing the contents he quickly refilled it and set another pot to be brewed. Who knew what would happen if he finished his second cup and there wasn't more coffee just waiting to be poured into his waiting mug?

"You seem rather cheerful this morning Brad. Have a nightmare involving coffee and the lack thereof last night?"

Brad quickly spun around to face who was speaking to him, instantly smiling as he recognized the face of his friend.

"About time you came to visit again don't ya think Leon? What's it been, nearly a year?"

"I saw you at the cup, remember?"

"Running into you and Naomi and kicking you're butts isn't much of a visit my friend."

Leon couldn't help but laugh at the truth in Brad's words.

"So where's the rest of the team? Don't tell me they're still asleep?"

"Of course they are. It's off season. Be lucky to see them before noon." Jaime stated

"So is that why you haven't started breakfast?" Brad asked the young pilot. "Cause I'm hungry"

"Well, yea. But now that you're up and we have guests I might as well. You guys haven't eaten yet, Have you Leon?"

"Nope. Not a bite." At that Jaime got up and started rummaging through cupboards and cabinets and grabbing food from the fridge.

"So I take it that Naomi's here as well?" Brad asked Leon between sips of coffee.

"Yea, she's around here somewhere. Couldn't tell you where though. Not like there's much to see, being in a desert and all."

"You're right about that my friend."

"Although.." Leon started, "She could be outside sneaking a smoke. She's gotten into the habit of doing that recently. And no, I don't know why so don't bother asking."

Brad chuckled at his friends response. "Not that I wanted to know but thanks. And honestly, the idea doesn't sound to bad right about now."

"What do you mean Brad?" Leon asked, raising his eyebrows.

"That I wouldn't mind having a smoke myself. See ya at breakfast!" With that said Brad turned around and headed for the hangar. If Naomi was out there, He wasn't going to miss a one-on-one conversation with the beauty. Alone time was unheard of at the base, so he'd take any chance he could to know the young lady better. After all, he had quite the soft spot for the read head. Not that he'd ever admit it of course. He couldn't out his finger as to why he felt that way towards the woman, only accept that he did. And knowing what he did, he plotted a course for action.

As he walked through the halls and corridors of the base, he brainstormed ideas for conversation starters. Not that he was nervous to be speaking with Naomi, he just didn't want to seem like a dolt. He didn't want to create an awkward situation filled with silence and tension. He simply wished to talk to a friend who would listen and could make an intelligent reply. At least, that's what the poor man kept telling himself. If he only knew......

She slowly exhaled as she leaned against the outside wall of the Blitz Base. Although it was bright outside, the desert sun had yet to scorch the air with its searing heat, leaving the air pleasantly cool for summer. She took in the simple elegance of the desert before taking another drag of her cigarette. Who knew when she's get another chance to have some peace and quite. Bit and Leena were well known for their rather unusual behaviors which often involved fleeing, screaming, and unnecessary violence. Naomi shuddered at the though of being chased by that mad-woman. She couldn't understand why Bit still stole her treats when he knew full well he'd get caught and severely punished. She had her thoughts as to why, but still couldn't be sure. The young man puzzled her. In all honesty, all the members of the Blitz Team intrigued her.

Besides pondering Bit's masochistic behavior, she wondered why Leena acted as she did towards the blonde boy. As far as Naomi could tell, Lenna didn't react that way to anyone else, not even Harry. And Naomi knew that Leena disliked Harry more then anything, and yet she only tortured Bit. Naomi was certain that Leena was merely confused by her emotions towards the blond and reacted as she did out of fear of the unknown. But, then again, Naomi could be completely wrong. She didn't know them well enough to be certain, but hopefully someday she would. Until then she would just keep her thoughts to herself. Another person who kept thier thoughts to themselves was Jaime. The young boy was very bright and always looked as though he was in deep thought about something or another. Naomi swore that if you looked hard enough through his eyes, you could see his mind buzzing and whirring with activity, sending sparks and making connections. She often wondered what he was thinking, but concluded that she could never keep up with the millions of thoughts and ideas that flowed through his brain. Not that she'd really want to try. After all, her brain might explode from over working. Not that she considered herself unintelligent, for she knew she was quite the opposite. It was just that she considered Jaime to be a genius, where as she was nowhere near the standard.

And then there was Doc. Where to start....? He was very unusual, that much was obvious. He was chiuld-like in his antics and actions, yet he was also wise and reasonable when the need be. It was almost as if their was a clash of persona's within himself. there wasn't much more to be said about the good doctor. Despite his strange ways, Naomi couldn't help but like the man. He was always happy and care-free when she saw him, which always helped ease away her own troubles and worries. Leon was also strange to her, but in a way quite different from his father. He was thoughtful and perceptive, yet at the same time someone naive. He believed the world to be a much better place that it was. He always saw nothing but good in a person, even when they seemed rotten to the core to herself. He always kept moving forward, no matter how lost the cause of it seemed. And let's not get him started on 'unlimited potential' She believed that Zoids where much more then machines, but to have created a unique bond with one such as he claimed that Bit had with the Liger 0 seemed absurd and outlandish to her. How could a man and machine share a 'link'? As far as she knew, scientist had still yet to develop some sort of networking device for humans. And she highly doubted that Zoids could possess the same array of emotions and thoughts that a human could. Hell, most humans couldn't handle their own thoughts and emotions, let alone a machine. How could you cram such a large spectrum into binary and coding? To her it was simple. You couldn't.

And finally, there was Brad. A mercanary who had been on the same team for multiple seasons. It almost didn't seem fair to call him a merc. To her he was forver a member of the Blitz Team. An overly paid member, mind you, but a member none the less. She didn't care what he said about his team mates or how many times he'd said he'd keave. He never would. He might not like to admit it, but she knew he had grown attatched to his fello members. The Blitz was like a family. Very disfunctional, but a family none the less. Leon had told her that himself. No matter how far a member staryed they would forever be a team, and quite a force to be reckoned with. She began to ponde more about the mysterious mercanary, like where he came from and what he was here for, but she didn't get far. Before she could form any assumption about the handsome man, he stood beofre her with an inquisitive expression, alnmost as if he knew what she was thinking.