Howdy. I decided to update this too. Tada! Aren't you happy? Well, I'm here, wishing you all a happy Independence Day. I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish my update, ya know?
Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids. I do own Scarlet and Lieutenant Reid, though, and I must say, I'm happy that I do.
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Scarlet's eyes opened slowly. Her vision was blurred and all she could see was white. Once her eyes focused, she realized she was in the lab at the base. She suddenly remembered the battle.
"What happened?" she asked aloud.
"We were in a battle," answered Fiona. Scarlet looked around and found out that all of them were there. She gave a relieved sigh. 'Everyone's safe.' She suddenly remembered what had happened. Flashes of the battle passed through her mind. It was horrible. She soon closed her eyes and grabbed her head.
"Make it stop," she said in pain. Van, Fiona, and Moonbay ran over to her side.
"What's wrong?" asked Moonbay.
"I…can see it all…the battle…oh gods, what have I done?"
"It wasn't your fault," said Van.
"It was. I wasn't strong enough to resist that voice. It kept calling out to me."
"What voice?" asked Dr. D, who came up behind her.
"It said…it was…the Dark Spiner."
"So it was the zoid," assumed Karl.
"No…it wasn't just the zoid. The only thing that voice did was…was…"
"What is it?" asked Fiona.
"It stirred something within me…something I've been able to feel since the day I showed up here. There's something inside of me, and I'm scared of it. It's that feeling. The feeling of…nothing."
"How can you feel…nothing?" asked Van.
"It's hard to explain. It's like being free, but I…I don't want to feel it anymore, but I know it's there. It's waiting to be awakened, and I'm afraid that if I go back into battle, I won't be able to suppress it. I'll become a killer again. I don't want it to happen. I don't want to be a murderer. I just want to be me."
"It's not something you can escape from," said Irvine, shoving away from the wall he had been leaning on. "It's a part of you. You can't just get rid of it. You're a zoid warrior. A warrior like you will be like that until the day they die. It'll be with you always. You can't get rid of something that is a part of you."
"Irvine!" shouted Moonbay. "Stop scaring her like that." He seemed to ignore her.
"But that's why you have us," continued Irvine. "We're here to help you get over that. We're here to make you forget. You may not be able to rid yourself of it, but you can chose to ignore it." They all smiled, but Moonbay's was the largest. 'Irvine…you're finally showing us your sensitive side.' Scarlet was in shock. 'I…thought he hated me,' she thought to herself. 'Was I wrong?'
"Irvine? Thank you. I'll try to suppress it."
"Well," interrupted Dr. D. "I think there's something we can do about this problem. I can just reprogram the Dark Spiner."
"You can do that?" asked Van.
"Of course. It'll be easy," he bragged. "Let's get to work." Dr. D walked off towards the hanger area of the base to work on the Dark Spiner.
"Maybe we should also fix up our zoids," suggested Van. They all decided to head towards the hanger. Karl decided to head off to the other section of the lab. There was something else he wanted to do. Scarlet stayed by herself in the lab, on the couch like bed she was sitting on. 'What do I do? What if it happens again? Could they really help me?'
******
The desert floor was covered in zoid metal from the recent battle. Scarlet, no, the executioner, had destroyed every last one of them. Zen was the only one who had lived, since he didn't take part in the battle. He had left soon after it. He didn't want to think about what had happened. He didn't want to relive it. He had lost them all. Most of his men were gone, and he had lost Reid. He had lost the one boy he could consider family, even if he was too formal.
However, there were footprints on the sand, leading away from where the battle had been. Those footprints were heading towards a far off base. In the desert, a single man was walking through the heat. His uniform was tattered and torn and his hat was gone, revealing his slightly spiked, golden hair. It was hanging over his eyes, hiding them from the sun. He was holding onto his right shoulder as a small stream of blood ran down his arm. There was a cut on his face as well that ran down his left cheek. He wanted nothing more than to collapse right there, but something kept him going. He didn't want to die right now. The will to live was just too powerful for him to give in. However, his body had been pushed to its limits and he couldn't take much more of this beating he was receiving. He suddenly collapsed onto the sandy ground, dust flying around him. He just needed to rest for a while. His body went numb and the darkness eventually took him.
******
"Hand me that wrench, will you?" asked Van.
"Sure." Fiona tossed down a wrench and Van easily caught it. They were working on the Blade Liger. Zeke sat not far away, watching them work. Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked out to the desert. The hanger door was wide open, since it was hot and the air conditioner wasn't working. It's not like the desert was any better, but any ventilation was better than none. Zeke's eyes narrowed. He soon rose and began to head out into the desert.
"Hey, Zeke! Where are you going?" shouted Van, running after him. Fiona followed both of them and they all ran out into the desert.
"Hey, where are you going?" shouted Irvine.
"I think Zeke saw something out there. We're going to check it out."
"I'll come with you," said Irvine, jumping down from his zoid. He ran after the trio, out into the desert.
"Zeke! Where are we going?" whined Van. He couldn't see anything out here. Suddenly, a figure could be seen. It appeared to be a young man. Zeke stopped when he reached him. Van and Fiona got there after him, and Irvine arrived not long after.
"So, what'd you find?" asked Irvine, but he then saw what Zeke had been going after. The man on the ground seemed about their age. He was lying in the sand, unconscious.
"Is he…dead?" asked Fiona. Van shook his head.
"I don't think so." He bent down and picked up the man's wrist. Luckily, there was a pulse. "He's alive," sighed Van. Fiona smiled.
"We should take him back to the base," said Irvine. "He'll die out here." Irvine turned around and began to head back to the base.
"Hey Zeke, could you take him back?" asked Van. Zeke roared and then bent down to pick up the man. They all walked back to the base.
******
The young man slowly opened his brown eyes. He was lying on a bed in a nicely lit room. The walls were brown and the ceiling was white. It was very relaxing inside. He lifted his hand and placed it on his forehead. He had bandages on his cheek and wrapped around his head. 'I guess I had more injuries than I thought I did,' he thought to himself. His right arm had been bandaged as well. His shirt was lying on the floor. He then noticed that his chest was covered in bandages. He tried to sit up, but a surge of pain erupted from his wounds and he was forced back down to the bed. He sighed and then just lied there, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, the door slid open and in walked two people, a boy and a girl. The young man raised his head to look at them.
"I see you're awake," said the blond haired girl.
"I am. May I ask who you are?"
"I'm Fiona, and this is Van."
"Van? As in Van Flyheight?"
"Yes," responded Van.
"Amazing. I've always wanted to meet you." He tried to sit up, but fell back down again, due to his injuries.
"Are you alright?" asked Fiona.
"I think so," he responded. Suddenly, Irvine and Moonbay appeared in the doorway as well, followed by Dr. D and Karl. The room was soon full with people, who had questions to ask the young man.
"Hello. I'm Dr. D. If you don't mind, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
"Sure."
"First off, it'd make this easier if I knew your name."
"Oh, sorry. I'm Saigo Reid. Just call me Sai."
"Alright then, Sai. Can you explain this uniform?"
"It's from the Empire."
"What were you doing in the desert?"
"I was in a battle. I got injured, so I went looking for help, but I collapsed in the middle of the desert." The door suddenly opened and in the doorway stood Scarlet. All eyes turned to her. She seemed drained. Her eyes were empty again, the way they had been when they had first met her. Her golden eyes shifted to the man who was lying on the bed.
"It's you," Sai said while he looked at her. "The crimson dawn."
"No," she responded. "Scarlet. I'm Scarlet. Please…don't call me by those names." Sai simply nodded. 'If Scarlet is here, then that means…these are the people we fought against…what should I do?' "Who are you?" she asked him. Sai was knocked out of his thoughts.
"I…I'm Sai. I…have something to tell you, but please, don't kill me." All eyes fell upon him. "I was a member of that group you fought. I was that squads leader." They all looked slightly shocked. "I'm sorry. Please don't kill me, I beg you. I'm sorry, Scarlet, I'm sorry! I don't want to die."
"Relax…I won't kill you…I would never…" He just stared at her, as if judging her. 'What does she mean? Can I really trust her?'
"Well, Sai, you should get some sleep," said Dr. D. "You're injuries need time to heal. You'll be safe here. Don't worry." And with that, they turned around and left the room. Scarlet, however, came further in. Sai sat up, ignoring his pain. He was stronger than that.
"Don't come any closer," he said to her. Scarlet stopped walking. "When I was younger, they used to tell stories about you. You're about the same age as I am, but you were a warrior long before I even touched a zoid. You slaughtered hundreds of people, perhaps thousands. And you expect me to just forgive you after you took so many lives?" He glared at her. There was a hatred in his eyes, but also a certain kind of fear. He was trying to be strong through all of this. Scarlet just hung her head, allowing her bangs to hand over her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'll understand if you can't forgive me, but know this." She raised her head, tears brimming in her golden eyes. "I don't plan to kill again. I didn't mean to…to…" He just held her gaze, waiting for her to finish her explanation. "…Never mind. I'm sorry to bother you." She bowed once and then left the room, the door sliding behind her. Sai lied back down on his soft bed and stared at the ceiling. "What would General Zen say if he knew I was with the enemy? Is he still alive, or was he, too, wiped out in that blast? I wonder…" He closed his eyes. "Either way, it looks like I'm stuck here for a while." And with that, he allowed himself to fall asleep peacefully.
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Done! Wow, that was an interesting chapter. I hope you like it. I'm going to update more often, alright? I rpomise.
Well, until then!
Audi^.^