Well, I've been gone for a while, so I wasn't able to put this up. I woulda done it sooner, but…well, you know. I don't start school for one more week, but that's too soon for me. I won't be free anymore! : ( It bites. Well, here's the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids, only the characters I make.
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The sun rose high in the sky the next morning. The clouds had gone to storm somewhere else and it looked like it would be a nice day. The power was back and the sounds from the TV proved it. Risai slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She felt cold for some reason. She climbed out of bed and immediately wished she hadn't stood up. She had a headache and the cold feeling was still there. She ignored her headache and walked down the hall. 'I should have changed clothes last night. I feel horrible,' she thought to herself. She new everyone was already up, so she did her best to not look the way she felt. She walked out into the main room, where everyone was sitting. They had already eaten and were now watching TV. They all looked to her. Risai smiled as she saw that Miharu was awake.
"It's good to see you're up Risai," she said. Risai stayed where she was.
"How are you feeling today?" asked Leena.
"Better," lied Risai. She studied their faces and she guessed she must have been bad at lying.
"You sure?" asked Leon.
"I'm fine, really." She walked over and sat down next to Miharu. "There's something I have to tell you though. I was going to mention this last night, but it slipped my mind."
"What is it?" asked Bit.
"I was sent here with a request from Charles Jordan, one of the leaders of the ZBC. He wanted to deliver this message personally, but sent us instead. Unfortunately, we were caught up in a battle on our way, but now I can tell you. This is a message to both the Blitz and Fluegle teams. We, the Zoid Battle Commission, request your help in the battle against the Backdraft."
"What? They want us to join the war?" asked Jamie.
"Yes. You see, our side is loosing, so we have been requesting the help of teams to join our side. This may interest you. We delivered a request to some friends of yours, who are now participating in this war as well. The Fire Star team."
"So, Rick's team joined the war?" asked Bit.
"Yes," said Miharu. "Please, we didn't want to have to involve any of you in a war. We, more than anybody, know what it's like to fight a war, but we really need the help. At this rate, the Backdraft may win."
"Will us being there really make that big of a difference?" asked Leena.
"We believe it will. Remember, a year ago, we put an end to the Backdraft's main forces. You guys are hero's and we'd really appreciate it," said Risai.
"If you really don't want to, you don't have to accept. We're not forcing you; this is merely a request from the ZBC."
"Well, I think we should," said Bit. "I know I'm going."
"Well, if you're going, I'm going too," acknowledged Leena.
"Count me in," said Brad. Everyone looked to him oddly, expecting him to say something about money. "What?" asked Brad.
"Then I guess I'm coming too," said Jamie.
"Well, you have the cooperation of the Blitz team," said Doc.
"Thank you," said Risai. She looked to Naomi and Leon. "What about you guys?"
"Okay, I'm in," said Naomi.
"Same here," said Leon.
"Thank you. This means a lot to us, really, it does." Risai stood up, but instantly sat back down, holding her forehead.
"You sure you're okay?" asked Bit. She stood back up and gave a weak smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Sorry we ate without you. Are you hungry?" asked Leena.
"No. No thanks." She was still holding her forehead as she walked out of the room. 'Why do I feel so horrible?' she asked herself. She felt cold and tired and her headache wasn't getting any better. In fact, it was getting worse. She stopped walking and leaned against the wall and slowly slid down it. The pain was unbearable and she felt so cold, yet hot at the same time. She was so hot that she was feeling cold. 'This can't be good.' It was driving her crazy and the more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. She also felt extremely tired, even though she had already slept a good 9 hours. 'What's wrong with me?' She tried to stand back up, but she suddenly felt weak. She fell back down to the ground and against the wall, causing a thudding sound to be heard. The others came into the hall and found Risai sitting on the ground, holding her head. They all got down around her.
"What's wrong?" asked Leena.
"My head hurts," said Risai. Her voice was quiet.
"You look pale," said Bit. Risai didn't respond to that. Leena put a hand to Risai's forehead.
"Risai, you're burning up," she said.
"I'm so cold," said Risai as she shivered and pulled herself into a small ball. She was still holding her head. "So tired."
"You need to get to your room. Can you walk?" asked Naomi.
"I think so." Risai let go of her head and pushed herself up. She leant against the wall. Her head felt like it was splitting apart. She tried to walk, but just slumped back against the wall again. "I'm sorry Leena, I should have listened to you last night."
"It's alright, really. You need to get to your bed though. If you're tired, you should rest."
"I know."
"I'll go get some medicine for your headache," said Jamie. He walked off towards their medical vicinity.
"I'll get her room ready," said Naomi. Miharu went with her.
"You know, you should eat something," said Bit. "I'll make some soup." He walked off to the kitchen, followed by Brad. Bit wasn't known for his cooking, so someone had to keep an eye on him. Doc was nowhere around, since he was in his room, playing with his zoid models by now.
"Risai? You need to get to your room," said Leena.
"I know." She tried once more to stand up and succeeded, but she wasn't able to even take a step before falling over again, but this time, Leon caught her before she hit the ground. "Thanks."
"No problem." He then picked her up.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Taking you to your room." He smiled to her, which caused her to blush slightly. He walked down the hall and soon reached her room. He walked in and set her on her bed. There was a glass of water and some pills already on the table near her bed. The heater had been turned up a little as well. She took the pills and lied down. Leon smiled and turned to walk out.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He left the room and closed the door behind him. Risai lied there for a while, but then fell asleep.
******
The door to her room opened once again and in walked Leena, carrying a tray with soup and water on it. She was surprised to see that Risai was sitting up in bed.
"You're supposed to be sleeping," said Leena.
"I know, but I'm not tired anymore."
"Then you should eat something."
"I guess." Leena set the tray on the small table near the bed.
"Miharu said that we'll be leaving tomorrow. You think you're up to it?"
"Yeah. I'll be better by then, I promise."
"You don't have to promise."
"Sorry."
"You don't need to apologize either."
"It's a habit. I'm forever doing something wrong or else people don't think I'll listen, so they make me promise stuff."
"But you're a good agent, aren't you?"
"I guess."
"Do you like being an agent?"
"I don't know. People would normally think it'd be fun to live forever and to be able to do the things we do, but I'd love to go back to the way things were."
"You'd rather be like us?"
"I'd love it. I want to be normal. There's too many rules that go along with being an agent."
"But from what I heard from Taban, you're really good. You were the youngest of them, weren't you?"
"Yeah."
"And you were one of the best, weren't you?"
"I guess."
"Then what's wrong?" Risai didn't say anything. She seemed to be thinking. She closed her eyes and thought back a little. In her mind, she could see a boy with cerulean, spiked hair and eyes to match. He was smiling. Then she heard the sound of a gunshot and her eyes flew open again, an expression of pure fear on her face. Leena noticed the look on Risai's face.
"Is something wrong?" asked Leena.
"N-no, nothing. I'm fine," she answered.
"Well, I gotta get going now. Hope you feel better."
"Thanks." Leena got up and left the room, closing the door behind her. Risai lied back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Sorry Rainer. I really blew it." She turned towards her soup and sat up again. "Guess I should eat before they start worrying about me again."
******
It had gotten late and the sun was starting to set. The door to her room opened again and Leena walked back in with another tray. Risai sat up to face her.
"Why do sick people always get soup?" asked Risai.
"I don't know," said Leena.
"Sick people should get to eat what they want, since they're sick and all."
"I agree." They both just sort of laughed at this. "Well, at least you're feeling better."
"Yeah, I guess I am. Must be the medication. That, and I can't let sickness get the best of me. Taban is always telling me I have to be strong and not let things stop me."
"That's good advice. You really think highly of him, don't you?"
"Well, he's my brother. We have our problems, but we get along well. What about you and Leon? Do you guys ever fight?"
"Now that you mention it, not really. Every once in a while, yeah, but otherwise we get along well." Just then, a knocking sound was coming from the door. They both turned to look and Leon was standing in the doorway.
"Hey Leena. Dad says dinner's ready."
"Coming." Leena walked over to the door. "Enjoy the soup."
"You know it." She smiled and then Leena left the room.
******
"How've you guys been?" asked Miharu. "I mean, what have you all been doing since the last time I saw you?"
"Battling. That, and going on vacations," said Bit.
"What about you?" asked Leena.
"Working, but we get to take vacations too. We've been trying to catch up on lost time."
"You mean with Risai?" asked Jamie.
"Yeah. We've been apart from her for a long time, so we're doing the best we can to make up for it all. Especially her. She's doing everything she can, and sometimes she goes overboard."
"It's the thought that counts though," said Bit.
"Yeah, I suppose it is."
"I find it sort of hard to believe that she got sick," said Naomi. "I didn't think you guys could."
"We can, but it happens rarely. Risai is stubborn, so she often ends up doing things like this. She risks her safety because of her stubbornness. I think it has something to do with the old war. She sticks to rules and regulations now, which isn't normal for her."
"What happened to change her?" asked Leon.
"We don't know. She doesn't talk about it. It happened around the same time that our friend, Rainer, was killed."
"You think it has something to do with it?" asked Leena.
"I'm not sure. It's hard to say. War can change people. The things you experience in zoid battles could never prepare you for war. I'm really sorry. I never wanted any of you to have to experience something like war. We had hoped that with the ZBC, wars wouldn't happen, but the Backdraft messed that plan up."
"It's fine though. We don't mind going into this war," said Bit.
"You guys sure? You can still decline."
"We're sure. We wanna help."
"Thanks."
******
It was dark out now and the stars shined brilliantly in the sky. A gentle breeze was present outside. On the roof of the base, Risai sat silently and stared at the stars. The two moons were the only things lighting up the pitch-black sky.
"Do you want to be sick or something?" Risai spun around quickly and saw Leon approaching her. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's just you," she said. She turned around again. "Why do you ask?"
"Because it's freezing out here. Your fever will get worse if you stay out here too long."
"I know, but I don't care."
"Well you should." He sat down next to her and looked up at the stars. He then looked to her. "You still thinking about your brother?"
"Yeah. I can't help it. I miss him. He's the only family I have. He's taken care of me for almost as long as I can remember."
"Really? What happened to your parents?"
"My mother was in a car accident when I was 5. It's strange though. I still miss her, after all these years. I can still remember her face, her hair, her voice, everything. It's my father that I don't remember."
"What happened to him?"
"I don't know exactly. Whenever I used to ask Taban about it, he would change the subject, but I think I know what really happened, or why he left anyway."
"Why?"
"He was afraid. He couldn't handle the responsibility of taking care of us. My father didn't like me."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"But it is. Taban won't say it, but dad left because of me. He never wanted me. I didn't matter to him. He probably would have gotten rid of me if it hadn't been for mom."
"I don't think he would have."
"You didn't know him like I did. Taban won't talk about it, because he knows it's true." She hugged her knees and then pulled them closer to her, as if she was trying to hide from it all. "I hope nothing happens to him."
"He's fine and you know it. Like I said before, you can feel him, can't you?"
"Yeah, but I'm afraid that that feeling will go away."
"You shouldn't think like that."
"I know." She then laughed quietly to herself. "I don't know why I just told you all that. I don't usually talk about it, but I feel better now. Thanks."
"No problem. Now come on. You need to get to sleep."
"I know." They were soon off of the roof and back in the house. Risai walked back to her room and sat down. She hadn't finished the soup yet, but decided not to bother. She lied down on her bed and closed her eyes. 'We leave tomorrow. I have to go back to war.' She didn't like the thought, but she had no choice. 'I wish I could be normal.' And with that last thought, she fell asleep.
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Okay, so there wasn't much action in this chapter. I'm sorry about that, but there will be some eventually. I hope you enjoyed this. I recently came back from an anime party. We watched Zoids: Chaotic Century, Slayers, and the Escaflowne movie. Many of you probably have no clue as to what I'm talking about, but that's okay. Well, it's late and I gotta go now.
Audi^.^