Hi everybody! Okay, this is my first Zoid story and has been several months in the making. I'm rather proud of it and I think it's ready for publication. There aren't many battles because I am not very good at describing them, but I promise that you will probably get quite a lot of them near the end.
Like it says in the summary, this story will eventually be Harry/Leena. Why? Because they are a couple who isn't given very much attention and from what I can see, they are the only ones, besides Brad and Naomi that have any hint of romantic possibilities. I am not against B/L; in fact, I have enjoyed a few. But to me, Bit and Leena act more like brother and sister than possible lovers. If you disagree, then you don't have to read. Please don't flame me in the reviews; it's immature and I'll just delete it anyways.
Constructive Criticism is vastly appreciative. Don't hesitate to tell me how I can make this story better.
There is some OOC-ness in this, but it is explained so bear with me.
Well, this A/N is more than long enough, so I'll let you guys get to the actual story. ^__^
Thanks to Shayna, who encouraged me to try this out and helped me with relationships, and characterization. Also thanks to Wolfcking who provided me with tons of Zoid information and patiently answered my questions. Arigato!!!
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Images flashed in front of Bit so rapidly that he could hardly discern one from the other. Splashes of color, blurred faces of friends and enemies, the sound of the fighting all of it whirled around in his mind. He was frozen, numb with the realization that something had gone wrong. Horribly, terribly wrong.
"Bit! Bit! Are you there?" Jamie's voice called.
"Yeah." Bit answered shakily.
"Are you okay? Where's Leena? Bit, do you know where Leena is?"
"No-" he began, then was interrupted as a horrible cry of pain came from the comm. Leena. It seemed to wake Bit up and he and Liger swung round and hurried towards where the cry had come from.
Jumping from the cockpit, Bit ran over to the wreckage that had once been the Gunsniper.
"Leena!" he shouted. Then he saw her. Harry had beaten him to the girl and was holding her in his arms. Blood seemed to be everywhere, both Leena's and Harry's. Leena's body was limp and twisted, like a ragdoll's, and her face was gray.
"Is she going to be all right? I mean, is she alive?" Bit gasped. Harry didn't answer; didn't even look up.
"Harry!" Bit shouted. The young man's head snapped up, his green eyes blinking with tears.
"She needs a doctor." He said in an un-naturally loud voice.
His ears. Bit thought numbly. Something's wrong with his ears. Brad and Jamie ran up, Jamie rapidly talking to the Doc through a comm. It seemed like hours before help arrived. And then the nightmare grew worse.
They all waited in an outdoor room, even Harry and Brad who both needed medical attention. The doctor came out presently and sadly shook his head. Leena had not made it.
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Bit sat up in bed, sweating and breathing hard. With difficulty, he reminded himself that it had been just a dream. A few minutes later, he got up and dressed, knowing he would not be able to go to sleep. The clock read 4:30 a.m.
Bit left the apartment room he currently shared with Brad and walked, trying to shake off the dream. It hadn't been a dream really. Just a horrible replay of the events that had happened barely five months before. The trauma had changed them all, both mentally, emotionally and for a few, physically.
Bit looked up. The sky was just beginning to lighten as the sun prepared to rise. Across the street was a residential hospital. Hesitating for a moment, Bit decided to cross the street and enter the building. After talking with the nurse at the front desk, he walked down the hallway and entered a room that looked out on the hospital garden. A figure seated in a wheelchair sat next to the window.
"Up a little early, aren't you?" Bit said, a little loudly. The figure turned and smiled.
"No earlier than you." Leena answered, turning her wheelchair away from the window. "What's wrong? Another night mare?"
Bit didn't answer. Instead, he nodded to the roses on her nightstand. "Harry?"
Leena nodded, standing up shakily and climbing back into her bed. Bit tried to help, but she slapped him away, protesting that she was fine.
"Are you all right?" she asked, once she was settled. "I mean, you look awful. More awful than you usually look."
Bit rolled his eyes as she giggled. "I haven't been sleeping too well."
"Misplace your special 'blankie'?"
"Leena!" Bit grimaced. "That was when I was seven or something."
"Wow, you've mislaid it for a while, huh?"
Bit sighed and shook his head. Leena, still chuckling, nudged him hard in the arm.
"I'm just kidding."
"Leena?" Dr. Tauros stood in the doorway. He looked old; the "incident" had aged him for several years.
"Hi, Daddy." She said, holding her arms out for a hug. Tauros hugged her, then sat down in a chair next to Bit.
"I have some good news." He said. "Yesterday, Harry told me that his aunt runs a resort on the edge of a lake in the mountains here. She offered to let us come and stay for a few weeks at half price, since it's the slow season for them there." He looked at his daughter. "I thought it would be good for us all, especially for you, Leena. I don't want you to push yourself too soon."
"I don't care where we go." Leena commented. "As long as I get out of here."
Tauros nodded. "All right. It's settled then." There was a silence, and Bit suspected that Leena and her father wanted some time alone. Rising, he excused himself and left.
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A woman stood in front of a garage/hangar near the docks. She was average height and build, with clear, turquoise eyes that had humor and intelligence in them. Her skin was clear and fair, and her chin-length hair was curly and dark. Though not exactly pretty, she was the sort of person who was very much her own self.
Looking down at the newspaper sheet in her hand, she sighed. It was the address the advertisement had given, she reflected, then shrugged. It couldn't hurt to try.
Kirin Morgan, a young man of 24, softly sang to the rock song playing on the speakers, as he worked on top of a Command Wolf. Brushing some of his black hair out of his face, he looked up to see the woman enter. He whistled in admiration.
"Hot babe at nine o clock." He murmured.
"Huh?" a tiny girl of nineteen poked her curly head of sandy red hair out of the cockpit. "What was that?" she looked at Kirin. "You're getting drool on my Wolf, bro."
Kirin didn't answer. The girl, Jade, sighed in exasperation, then followed his gaze. She quickly climbed down and approached the woman.
"Hi. Can I help you?"
The woman looked at the girl, who barely stood tall enough to reach her nose.
"Yes." She answered. "I'm Sky Williams and I read an advertisement…?"
Jade looked at the paper, then smiled. "Oh, yeah. Great! We didn't expect to get a response so soon." She looked at the taller woman. "Come back to the office. I'll ask you some questions and stuff and hopefully, you can join us." Jade nodded toward the Shadow Fox. "That's my older brother, Kirin."
Sky nodded to the young man, who grinned in reply. Then she followed Jade to the office. Kirin watched them go, his ice blue eyes on Sky.
"I wonder who she is." He mused.
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Leena closed her eyes and soaked in the sun. It was nice to be out of that stuffy hospital, she thought. Just below the patio/deck, she heard Brad and Jamie on the lake beach. Her father was in their rooms, fiddling with a new model Zoid and Bit had rented a mountain bike and gone riding.
"Mind if I sit?"
Leena opened her eyes and looked up. She shrugged non-commitedly. Harry grinned and sat down.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"Fine." Leena answered. "How are you?"
"Pardon?"
"How are you?" Leena said in a slightly louder tone.
"All right."
Leena nodded, then looked over to where she had heard peals of laughter. Two young women and a young man sat at the other end of the patio; the only people besides her and Harry at the moment.
"I just love resorts like this." Jade sighed happily. "I love water."
"Funny, seeing as you can barely swim." Kirin commented. Jade sent him a sour look.
"I like looking at the water." She said.
"It is nice." Sky agreed. She looked at the lake.
"We should get back to choosing a team name." Jade reminded them. Sky looked back at her.
"Yeah." Sky grinned. "How 'bout the 'Cupid team'?"
Kirin spit out a mouthful of soda. "What?" he croaked.
Jade hid a grin behind her hand. "That's good."
Kirin paled.
"But I like the Heart team better." Jade continued, popping a french fry into her mouth.
Kirin, who had just taken a bite of Jell-O, began to choke. Jade hit him on the back, un-necessarily hard.
"Uh-huh." Sky shook her head. "Flower Power is much better."
"The Blood Eagles." Kirin said quickly.
"Huh?" the females looked at him.
"The Blood Eagles." Kirin told them. "Please?"
"No." Jade said.
"Please?"
"No."
Kirin gave his best puppy-dog look.
"No." Jade said.
"But not…" Kirin swallowed. "Flower power? Please?"
Jade and Sky burst into laughter.
"Guuuyyss!!!"
"We're just fooling with you." Sky laughed.
"Yeah." Jade agreed. "I'd die before I was on a team name Flower Power."
"Well….?" Kirin raised an eyebrow.
"The Rouges." Jade said, smiling.
"Huh?"
"That's not bad." Sky commented. "It's better than Blood Eagles."
"Hey, that is a good name!" Kirin protested. Sky rolled her eyes.
"Right…"
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Brad reached up and pulled himself up on the dock.
"What, bailing out already?" Jamie asked.
"Yeah. I'm kinda tired." The long-haired man said. "I'll just sit here for a while."
Jamie shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Brad watched as the slender young man swam out farther, his arms making knife-like strokes threw the water.
"Hello."
Brad turned. A dark, lovely woman dressed in a red swimsuit and jean shorts stood there, a quiet smile on her lips. He stood.
"Naomi." He said in surprise.
"No, I'm not staying." She said. "But I heard you guys were here and I thought I'd drop in to see how you were doing."
"We're all okay." Brad told her. "But it's good to see you again."
"You too." Naomi smiled. "Want to walk with me?"
Brad grinned. "Sure."
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"Yeah, okay, you can cut it out now." Kirin commented in annoyance. Sky and Jade were still giggling over the scare they had given him over lunch.
"Really, you should have seen your face, Morgan." Sky said.
Kirin "hmphed".
"Excuse me?"
The three turned to find a young man, with spiky blonde hair and sea-green eyes. He was holding his head as if it hurt and grimacing. Sky glanced at Jade. A look of sympathy had immediately come over her features and a sort of admiration.
She likes him. Sky decided.
"I was wondering if any of you had any aspirin." The young man said.
"I do." Jade answered quickly stepping forward. "It's in my room." She turned to the door and fumbled, trying to unlock it. The young man stood right behind her and Jade felt her face flush as she finally unlocked the door and opened it.
What's wrong with me? She thought, steadily not looking at him as she entered the room and walked to the desk.
"It's not really aspirin." Jade commented. "I don't use it. It's a sort of stronger version of IB-profen. I get a lot of…well, I have bad pain sometimes." She opened the lid and looked up at him for the first time. "Two or three?"
"Oh. Um, I'm not sure." He answered.
"How bad is the pain?" Jade asked. The young man grimaced again.
"Pretty bad." He admitted.
"Three." Jade poured several pills into her hand and handed them to the young man. "There."
"Thanks." He said. Jade replaced the lid and followed him out.
"I hope you feel better." She said softly.
"Thank you." He answered and walked down the hall. Jade watched him enter another room not far from hers and Sky's.
Sky giggled and Jade turned to her. "What?"
"You like him."
"What?" Jade went really red. "No way! I mean, I don't even know him and he could already have a girl friend and why would he even take notice of me and-"
"Hold it!" Kirin held up a hand. "Gee whiz, Jade. I've never seen you get so flustered."
"I am not flustered!" she practically yelled. Sky shook her head.
"And in denial."
Jade glared at her.
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Bit set his tray down on the table. Leena was laughing at Jamie, who was apparently telling an amusing story. Naomi was talking quietly to Brad about something or other.
"Hi, Naomi." Bit greeted. "Haven't seen you for a while."
The dark-haired woman smiled quietly. "I'm leaving after dinner." She said. "My team's staying in town. But I heard you guys were here and I thought I would look you up."
"Well, it's good to see you again." Bit told her.
"Hey." Leena nodded to Bit. "Where's Daddy?"
"Still working on his model." Bit answered around a mouthful of pizza. "Said he'd be down in a few minutes."
Leena nodded, then frowned. Cocking her head, she asked, "What happened?"
"Huh?"
"You've got a bruise." Jamie said, tapping the side of his own head to show Bit where it was. Bit reached up and felt a slight lump.
No wonder I hurt so much. He thought. Aloud he said, "Oh nothing. I just had a slight accident with the mountain bike."
"And how long were you out?" Naomi asked, her lips quirking up a little. Bit glared at her.
"Not at all." He said. "I had a headache, but I'm fine now."
"Maybe you should see a doctor." Jamie suggested, worriedly. "I mean, maybe you got a concussion or something. Those can kill you."
"I just bumped my head against a tree or something!" Bit said, waving his hands around.
"Yeah, it's not too serious." Brad drawled. "Bit's head is so thick, it'd take a five-inch steel pipe to do any sort of damage."
The others laughed and Bit rolled his eyes.
"Ha, ha." He said. "Funny."
"You must've had a killer headache." Leena took a bite of her own dinner.
"Yeah, I did." Bit grimaced at the memory. "You're out of pain medication, by the way."
"What!" Leena shouted. "How much did you use, Bit Cloud!!!"
"Whoa!" Bit held up his hands in defense. "I didn't use any at all! It's all gone."
Leena frowned. "What do you mean? I had at least four or five pills left."
"What a quantity." Brad said dryly. Leena reached over the table to smack him.
"Well, I didn't use them." Bit told her, taking another bite of his pizza. "I had to ask some girl for pain-killer."
Leena's eyes twinkled. "Was she pretty?"
"Huh?" Bit looked up. "Yeah, I guess. She was short; couldn't have been more than fifteen, if that's what you're thinking."
"Did it work, or did you have to bother the poor girl again?" Naomi asked, smiling as she dug her fork into some salad.
"It did work." Bit threw up his hands. "For pity's sake! What's with the interest in my life all of a sudden?"
"We got tired of discussing Leena and Harry." Brad said, then dodged a rolled up napkin Leena fired at him. Bit raised an eyebrow.
"What is up with you two anyway?" he asked.
"Nothing." Leena told him. Brad and Jamie rolled their eyes at each other.
"He's just a friend." Leena glared at the two of them; first at Jamie, then at Brad. Brad snorted and Jamie grinned.
"Seems I've been missing out." Naomi raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, me too." Bit sighed.
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The man sat in front of the communication screen, pale, but composed. He was middle-aged, with pale grey eyes and dark brown hair.
"What do you mean, you lost her?" the man over the screen demanded.
"She managed to detect our tracking device and delete it." The first man responded quietly.
His master was quiet for a while. "They aren't going to like this." He said. "That girl was the first of a new line of Zoid pilots. I told them that they should have made sure she was completely broken-"
"If we had done that, you know as well as I that she would have been unfit for the system." The dark haired man looked up at his master for the first time. "The spirit that prodded her to escape, gave her the strength to conquer that system." He paused. "It will take some time, but we will find her. A pilot as good as she is won't stay hidden for long."
The other was quiet for a moment. "You'd better be right about this, Xander." He commented. "Or the Elite Seven will be breathing done our necks."
The communication disconnected. Xander sighed, partly from relief, partly from tiredness. Rising, his mind began working on ways to find the girl. His life depended on it.
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Naomi quietly entered her hotel room. A flyer on the coffee table caught her attention. It was for the tournament to be held in a few weeks. She smiled, and replaced it. Running her fingers through her short, dark hair, she dropped her keys on the table and walked to her room, yawning. She'd find out details in the morning.
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Okay, before we get to you guys saying they are OOC, they really aren't. At least, I don't think so.
Think about it; they just went through a major tragedy that changed their lives. No one goes through an experience that nearly kills you or someone you are close too without changing just a bit. I like to think that this made most of them grow up. But if you disagree and didn't see it that way, please tell me! And maybe tell me how to make it better. ^__^ Thanks!