The Perfect Harmony of Hearts
First Chapter Dedicated to:
Mema
&
AmyAddict1
Chapter One
The Lightning and the Shadow
"Here are the files you wanted, sir."
"Thank you."
"Excuse me for asking, Kussia, but why did you want to see these folders? …Kussia?"
"Hold on, Sly, give me a minute…where are those blasted – aha! Found 'em!"
"Found who, Kussia?"
"That's 'Mr. Windokin' to you."
"Agh, just because you received the title from your father – whatever, Mr. Windokin, found who?"
"Two pilots, both rather incompetent when it comes to teamwork, but wonderful when on the battlefield. Sly, hold this, please."
"You're welcome. Now who, for the last time –"
"Shadowpaw Fur, Rank Tiger with three stripes, pilots a Lightning Saix –"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You mean the Shadowpaw? Daughter of two of the best Zoid specialists I have seen myself? That Shadowpaw?"
"Is there another Shadowpaw I don't know of? Here you go."
"Why do you need to look at them?"
"I do believe she started as a Wolf, right?"
"You're avoiding the question…but yes."
"Explain, if you will."
"Well, sir, the feline had been promised to skip three ranks – Rabbit, Deer, and Eagle – by Shane, but she had to prove herself by doing something incredible, as her father had done before her."
"Go on."
"Well, we all know how extraordinary he was, right? His daughter's just the same. One day, when she was sent on a recon, she was attacked by three of the Kingdom's best strategist teams."
"Ouch. What Zoids?"
"I believe they were three groups of two Red Horns and a Gojulas, which really doesn't sound all that intimidating, but when you're alone out there, surrounded with no place to run…"
"Yeah, I know how that feels. So, how'd she deal with them?"
"There aren't any exact reports, since her radio got cut off mid-battle, but what we've collected shows that she went berserk on a Red Horn that got too close to her front, and she shot down two Gojulas. Alone. In the desert. Without any training whatsoever."
"Wow…pretty impressive, for a newbie."
"Yeah."
"What happened to the other teams?"
"After seeing what happened, they suddenly retreated and returned to their territory. By then, communication had been restored, and we had to yell at her to not follow them."
"Really?"
"Yep. She said she 'had to kill those bastards' or something else colorful like that."
"Hm."
"She would have been a great teammate…"
"Would?"
"Well, if she wasn't so damn hardheaded. She won't listen to orders, unless they go in her favor, and if she doesn't like what someone says she'll twist it and find a loophole, or poke one herself, to get what she wants. She's just recently been kicked off of her last team, the P.G.S.F."
"The Pack Gray Strike Force?"
"Yep. It was inevitable, since she was promoted to Tiger, but…"
"I see…"
"Say, who's that other fella you're looking at?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, him."
"Who, Kussia?"
"Here, you see for yourself."
"Okay…hm, him, huh?"
"Shadow, Rank Lion with twelve stripes, pilots a Shadow Fox that he's owned for seven years."
"You're not even looking at the paper, and yet you say all of this as if you've committed it to memory."
"Well, of course; I keep track of all of my 'soldiers', him especially."
"Why? What's so special about that hedgehog?"
"What's not? He's only a Lion Rank, and yet he is, or was, on Phoenix Tank Strike Force. You have to be pretty good to skip the rank-requirement and slip into the P.T.S.F."
"You've got a point…wait, was?"
"Well, he kind of…got kicked out."
"Why?"
"His case is similar to Shadowpaw's; he dislikes taking orders."
"Well, I knew that…but, didn't he always? It didn't bother that many people before."
"Yeah, well, that was before the captain of the team had had it. He was sick of him, and after finding an excuse to report him he let him go like a hot potato."
"Hmm…so, they both don't have a team?"
"Yep."
"And they hate taking orders."
"Yep."
"And you're looking at their files."
"Yep."
"…Why?"
"I think they'd work great together."
"What?! Were you even listening to half of what you were saying? You just said they wouldn't take orders –"
"Exactly."
"…Did I miss something, or is it just me?"
"It's just you, Sly. No, seriously, think about it; if they are on a team together, what will they do?"
"They will fight and fight and basically get nowhere."
"Wrong; they will mess up something, and the only way to fix it will be to work together. Simple."
"Umm…you're planning on them messing up?"
"Yep."
"How messed up is that?"
"Believe me, it'll work out…eventually. You'll see."
S-H-A-D-O-W-P-A-W
"Another great round, Shadowpaw!" Tails' voice rang through the radio bright and sunny, as always. "Come on in so I can fix the scratches on your Zoid."
Shadowpaw gave a soft sigh, closing her eyes for a moment, before she opened them and smirked. "Alright! Coming in." She turned her practice Zoid, a Command Wolf, around to face the open doors to the base and ran full speed into them. She made sure to screech to a halt at the last second, startling some of the people nearby, and she snickered to herself as they waved obscene hand-gestures towards her and threw nasty little curses through the air. Ignoring them, she told the Zoid to lean down before she let the orange shield that guarded the pilot rise open. Unbuckling with a snap of the button, she leapt out quickly and energetically, landing on her feet as graceful as always. After all, she was a cat. In fact, she wore a cat suit – a white one. She liked it; it reminded her of her mother…
A small orange fox could be seen running up to her, and she gave the Wolf a reassuring pat before taking off her helmet (for safety precautions, of course) turning to meet her mechanic. He had a wide grin on his face, the same one he always had whenever he was excited about something, and she accepted the expected tackling and hugging, if a bit awkwardly, as Tails swished both of his namesakes around in a childishly-hyper manner. Shadowpaw couldn't help but laugh at the sight, and she ruffled his bangs before she asked, "What are you so worked up about? Where's the fire?"
"The Alpha's requested for your presence!" He looked as if he was going to burst. "I've got to bring you to him, and I'm going to meet Sly! Sly! He's, like, the head of the mechanics and everything! Isn't that freakin' awesome?!"
"Whoa, calm down!" She gave him a stern look. "Did Cream and Simmy slip you some sugar?"
"Uhh…"
Her strict-look disappeared immediately as he looked down and shuffled his feet, and she patted him on the head comfortingly. "Hey, don't worry about it! I was just as hyper as you when I was younger." Her eyes clouded slightly at a stray thought, but then she shook her head and poked his shoulder. "Come on, let's get a move on. Where exactly is what's-his-face's office?"
"It's Alpha Rex Rank Kussia R. Windokin of the Crusaders, Shadowpaw." He sighed, as if they had switched ages and he was now the mature adult. "How many times must I remind you?"
"Every time I forget. Now come on." She began to drag him by his ear, but he slipped away and began to run ahead, laughing as he went. She shook her head at him, scowling, but she ran after him all the same. She didn't like the thought that she was being summoned by Alpha-whatever; she had hoped she wouldn't grow in rank so she wouldn't be closer to getting direct orders from him, but it seemed the world was against her.
'What the hell does he want?'
S-H-A-D-O-W
"What the hell does he want?"
The hedgehog was obviously irked about being bothered while in his private quarters. Although the door was closed and the messenger was speaking through it, the high-pitched voice was enough to annoy him.
"I don't know, Mr. Shadow," the little girl's voice rang through the door, "but he said it was reeeeal urgent!" There was a moment of silence, where she was left standing still to listen for his answer, but when he didn't give one she sighed softly and told him to 'please hurry up' before she was heard skipping off, humming some song to herself as she went. It wasn't until her footsteps had completely faded away that he sat up from his bed and sighed heavily. His ebony eyes stared at a wall that had a dark stain on it (he didn't want to know what it was) as he wondered what the Alpha could want. Nothing came to mind, other than the fact that he had been forcefully shoved out of the P.T.S.F. just recently…
'But that's not what he wants to talk about, isn't it?' He asked himself, before he got up from his bed with a grunt and walked over to the table where his helmet lay, kicking a can that lay on the floor on the way. It crashed into the wall with a metallic 'clang!' as he exited his room, already a bit irked as he paced down the hall. Whenever he passed other Zoid specialists, he smirked inwardly at the whispering that followed him. They knew who he was, and if they didn't he made sure they knew by the emblem on the breast of his Zoid suit. A backwards pure-white crescent with a shadowy cross in the center between both of the curved tips of the moon, something he had designed himself. He was very proud of it, and had even painted it to the side of his Zoid, the Shadow Fox.
He reached the hallway with the elevator that would take him to the Alpha's office to see the bunny messenger from before waiting there for him. She was only a little girl, but she was cousins with two others here who were important to them, and so she was allowed to stay. With all of them being runts, it was rather annoying to stumble whenever they ran into you or shot past you like a whirlwind. He gave an exasperated sigh before he walked up to her to receive her smile reluctantly. She explained as he stood there, "I would normally go on in, but we're waiting for another Zoid Specialist." It was amazing when she sounded mature, really. Especially when she was rocking back and forth on her feet with her hands behind her back. "When she gets here, we'll all go in together."
He barely even gave her a nod before he retreated to leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his usual position. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch the bunny still rocking back and forth, and his mind drifted to other things…
'Wait, did she say 'when she gets here'?' He immediately grew that more curious about what the Alpha could want with him. His thoughts turning to the Alpha Rex of the Crusaders, he brought back memories from long ago when he was a young teenager.
His father was a very skilled pilot and had worked with Cid, the former Alpha Rex. In fact, he was one of his teammates for a time, before his father left to form his own team and became his bodyguard instead. It wasn't long before Cid had reached Alpha Rex status, and he always had his bodyguards with him when he went out. They had actually become close friends. But, one day they were attacked by Kingdom pilots, and everyone in their group perished in the battle, whether in combat or suicide to prevent capture. They were the last two to give up the ghost, biting to tooth and nail until they were completely immobilized, never giving up. He was proud of his father for that.
Mentally sighing at himself for bringing up the subject in his mind, Shadow continued his waiting when suddenly he heard a curious sound. It was someone…talking. As if they were far away enough that it wasn't in their room, but he could still understand them through the wall. Without opening his eyes, he tilted his ears so he could hear more clearly, and he listened.
"Dammit, Tails! Stop gripping and yanking my arm so hard! I'd like to keep it attached to my shoulder, ya know…"
"Sorry, it's just you're walking too slow! I mean, we're going to meet the Alpha Rex, and Sly! Sly! We're meeting him! Can you believe it? We're meeting –"
"I get it, alright? You've only said it – how many times now? –fifty-three times in a row."
"You're exaggerating…"
"Okay, thirty-five."
"Nuh-uh."
"No, seriously. Thirty-five times."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Really."
'Well, this is an interesting conversation,' Shadow thought to himself as he waited for the people to enter. He hadn't missed the part about them meeting the Alpha, and so he decided to listen carefully as he heard the footsteps get closer. They seemed to be taking an awfully long time, though. No wonder the younger voice was so frustrated.
Speaking of which,
"Shadowpaw! Gah, you're shuffling your feet on purpose!"
"Am not." She was obviously lying, with the way she said it all mischievously.
"Are too! Hurry uuuup!" The kid resorted to whining as the other snickered at him. His complaints kept getting louder and louder, until suddenly the door opened beside him to let in the two people, whereas he opened his eyes to examine the newcomers. A young two-tailed orange fox was the first to burst in excitedly, while a black feline entered behind him, calmer than her companion. She looked around the room as if assessing the situation before her gaze finally found the hedgehog to her right. For some reason, she scowled slightly, but only enough that he could see her disgust before her face returned to a normal expression. She looked back at the young fox-boy who was practically going to burst, and she gave an agitated sigh before telling him, "If you keep that up, I'll make sure to say extremely embarrassing things in front of 'Sly'."
That quickly made him stop fidgeting. Looking satisfied, she gave the rabbit a glance before saying, "Alright, I'm here, Cream. Now what?"
"We go up the elevator," she responded with a smile, before skipping over and pressing a button on the wall. After a moment, a light lit up with a 'ding!', and the doors slid open smoothly to allow them entry. Cream filed in first, and then the fox, and finally the two Zoid specialists entered last right before the doors closed behind them. As they began to move up sluggishly, the rabbit turned to the fox and smiled brightly. "Well, hi, Tails! I didn't know you were coming along, too!"
This fox (as well as the other runt) was actually her cousin, he now remembered, and he watched as 'Tails' began to converse with Cream while the two older people in the elevator remained silent. They both seemed to see no reason to bring up a conversation, and so they didn't. It was mostly quiet, other than the little ones' chatting, until suddenly the feline was brought into the conversation.
"So, Ms. Shadowpaw," Cream began, making both of the older accompanying persons flick their ears toward her, "what's it like piloting a Zoid?"
Shadowpaw sighed wearily and with annoyance. She acted like she had been asked that a lot. "I don't like it when you start asking questions, Cream, 'cause you runts never stop."
"Aww, come on, Ms. Shadowpaw! Is it hard?"
She received a blunt answer. "No."
"So it's easy, like a second nature?"
"Sure." She didn't sound like she wanted to talk.
"What about your family? Was your daddy or your mommy good pilots? What did they do?"
There was an awkward silence after her words faded, as if they had been the wrong ones to speak. The feline did not look at the rabbit, instead staring at the wall beside her as if she hadn't heard. Tails shuffled his feet nervously, glancing over at his cousin as if he wanted to say something to her but couldn't find the courage to. It was all rather interesting to the hedgehog, who looked like he didn't care, but was really listening for the cat's answer. Who was she? What did she use? Who were her parents?
It was a while before the feline made a move to answer. She looked at the rabbit and, after a moment of what seemed like indecision, finally gave a smile and said, "My father and mother were two-of-a-kind pilots, and I'm glad I've followed their footsteps." Leaving it at that, she returned her gaze to 'her wall', her expression now thoughtful as she ignored the other three that accompanied her. She had left many questions unanswered and created new ones for the others, but they were unable to be asked because the elevator began to slow. It eventually came to a complete stop, and 'Shadowpaw' stepped out as soon as the doors parted, leaving the rest behind as she walked briskly to the office that stood before them now. She seemed to want to get it over with as quickly as possible. The fox-boy followed her soon afterwards, his steps wide as he tried to catch up to her quickly. The rabbit, however, stayed by Shadow's side, just staring down the hallway before the hedgehog went along too, and she skipped beside him until they reached the door where the other two stood and waited.
"Come in," they heard a moment later, and they all entered at the same time to see how big the office was. It wasn't really decorated, with white walls and black furniture with a white desk, and it made the people already in it stand out. Sitting on the black couch a few feet from the desk in the center of the room, a ruby/maroon vulpine fellow sat with his arms behind his head and legs crossed as he relaxed into the soft cushions. Shadow could see how excited Tails was by the way he seemed to shake with barely contained energy at the sight of the fox, and he caught a glimpse of Shadowpaw rolling her eyes at him before their attention was redirected with someone clearing their throat. Everyone's gaze, including the red fox, went to the only white furniture in the room and the person that sat behind it.
Sitting in his charcoal leather chair with his hands clasped together in all seriousness, the Alpha Rex nodded towards the two young ones and told them, "Can we have a moment?" He obviously wanted to talk to the specialists alone. The bunny happily obliged, but she had to tug slightly on her cousin's arm, as he had stood there looking at Shadowpaw and the other fox reluctantly. They finally exited, but not before looking at the adults curiously, inquisitive to their upcoming discussion. It had to be extremely important if Kussia didn't even want them to hear it. The door swished close behind them, and the adults were left alone.
The Alpha Rex was a gray squirrel who looked almost exactly like his father before him, other than the fact that Cid was more hardened by battling and wars. Kussia was young and not as experienced as his father, although he was pretty close, and yet he sat at his desk with a sort of powerful atmosphere around him making him seem as important as his status. He wore a jacket with an old-style army camouflage-design and had his hands together as if trying to look the part. He must have had a lot of pressure and burden on his shoulders, trying to live up to his father's legacy…
Suddenly, he cleared his throat, effectively gaining everyone's complete attention. He gave a glance at the red fox lounging on the couch, giving him a curt nod before he returned his gaze to the two specialists before him. He looked as serious as a heart attack.
"We need to talk."