Hello once again everybody. I was gonna ask last chapter for people to try and guess who the scary girl was, but never got around to it. In other words, I completely forgot. I thought I made it pretty obvious, and decided that most of you knew. Like Sakura Scout. You got it right^.^ Congratulations^.^ And thanks for reviewing! Unfortunately, for those of you who get it right, I can't give you anything, since…well…I don't have anything^.^
Well, onward and thanks to everyone who reviewed or read this story and didn't review. You guys are cool too.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids, just the characters I make.
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"Is that it?" asked Doc. They were all in the controls room of the Hover Cargo.
"Yep, that's it," said Risai. Coming up in front of them was the base of the ZBC's forces. It looked like a small village. There were house like tents all over the campus and many people were walking around. In the middle of it all, there was a huge base. There was also a garage like thing next to it. They guessed that that's where the zoids were stored. The base was even bigger than the Blitz team's base.
"Whoa," said Bit. "So where will we be staying? Which house tent thing is ours?"
"You guys won't be living in a tent," said Miharu.
"We won't?" asked Jamie.
"Nope," answered Risai. She pointed to the base. "You guys will all be staying in there," she said. They all gasped.
"What?" they all said in shock.
"You heard me," said Risai. "You'll all be staying in there."
"How many other teams are there, including us?" asked Brad.
"Including all of you?" asked Risai. She seemed to be thinking. "4 or maybe it was 5."
"That's all?" asked Bit in astonishment. Risai nodded.
"Who else lives there?" asked Naomi over the com-link. Her and Leon were back in the Gustav again.
"Lieutenants and all the classes above. Not many soldiers get to live in there," answered Miharu.
"Wow," they all said.
"Where should I go?" asked Doc.
"Just follow this road up to the base. There should be some officers there who will help." The Hover Cargo followed the road that led up towards the base. Once there, they stopped and everyone got out. Just as Risai had said, there were officers there. They volunteered to place the Hover Cargo and Naomi's Gustav in the garage and the two teams willingly accepted. They first went in and grabbed their bags so they could get situated in their rooms. They watched as the officers maneuvered the Hover Cargo into the garage, which was actually a lot bigger up close. They had soon finished. Risai turned away from them.
"Miharu will show you where your rooms are," she said.
"Where are you going?" asked Bit.
"I have a class to teach." And with that, she walked away and off into the huge area around the base. Now that they were up close, they realized just how big this area was. There wasn't just the base and the tents, but there were many other buildings as well, but none were even half as big as that base was.
"She has to teach a class? I didn't know Risai was a teacher," said Bit.
"It's not what you think. Come on, let's go," said Miharu. She began to lead them into the base and down many halls. There were many different rooms, each with the same kind of door, but a different name on all of them. The hallway's walls were brown and the ceiling dark red. The color of the floor was a brown marble like substance. It was shinny and very smooth. They kept walking and turned a corner or two. Miharu finally stopped and pointed down a hallway.
"All of your rooms are down this hallway. You'll have to look to see what side your room is on," said Miharu as she pointed to the right. "Your rooms have your names on the gold plates. You should just put your stuff down for now and I'll show you the rest of the campus."
"Alright," they said. There was indeed a room for each of them. They all set their stuff down and then came back out. They followed Miharu again and she pointed out the different areas of the base. There was a huge auditorium and a kitchen as well. Then there was an eating hall that was very fancy and looked like it belonged at some kind of five star restaurant. There were many other rooms as well. They then exited the base and began to walk around outside of it. There were many tents and other buildings and also what looked like training grounds.
"No no no!" shouted a familiar voice. They stopped and turned to look at who was yelling. It was at one of the things that looked like a training ground. There was a tarp high up over the huge area, shading it from the sun. They saw some of what looked like soldiers. They were all holding guns and seemed to be having target practice. Some were doing better than others. They then saw who had yelled and saw Risai standing behind the men as they shot. She was a good distance away from them and seemed to be on a higher floor level, like a stage so that she could see them all. It was only about 4 and a half feet off the ground.
"Come on, that's not the right form! Remember your training!" she yelled again. Her face expressed annoyance.
"So that's what she teaches," said Bit.
"Man she's tough on them," said Jamie.
"I sort of feel sorry for those guys," said Leena.
"Don't be. You'll have to do that too and Risai will be your teacher," explained Miharu. They all gulped as they saw the look on Risai's face. Her and Miharu sort of stood out from the other soldiers in the area. They both wore black pants and a black overcoat. Miharu had on a white t-shirt and Risai wore a green one. There was someone else standing near Risai, but he was standing on the ground, leaning against the stage like area of the training grounds. He wore a normal military uniform, but not the hat that went with it. His spiked red hair stood out from the very brown area.
"Hey Bit, isn't that…" started Leena. She pointed towards the guy with red hair.
"Yeah, I think it is," said Bit. At the training grounds, Risai put her mega phone down and sighed. The guy with red hair was laughing.
"Man, you sure are hard on them," he said. He found this funny. She glared at him.
"What are you doing here anyway Rick?" she asked putting emphasis on the "you". "You've already gone through this training. Don't tell me you miss it."
"Don't kid yourself. What kind of greeting is that anyway?"
"Sorry, but I'm just a little edgy." She turned her attention back to the men she was training and her expression changed back to annoyance. "You guys are doing it wrong! Remember the form I taught you!"
"Yes ma'am!" they shouted back. Some seemed scared. Rick Star burst out laughing again.
"You're too much!" he shouted hysterically. "No matter how hard you try, they're never gonna do this properly."
"Hey, I've trained tons of groups and they all turn out in the end. I had to train you and…well, that's a bad example," she said mockingly.
"Hey! I'm good with a gun!" he shouted angrily.
"You were the one who nearly shot a hole through the base because your aim was off."
"Only by a little."
"Yeah right."
"I slipped, okay?"
"Likely excuse."
"Lay off!" Rick wasn't laughing anymore, in fact, he seemed mad. Now it was Risai's turn to laugh at him. "Okay, okay, you've made your point."
"Where's the rest of your team?"
"Back at the base. They were tired. It gets so boring around here."
"I get the feeling you wont be bored for long."
"Oh? And why do you say that?"
"Hi," said a very familiar voice. Risai smiled and looked towards the group approaching them. Rick looked as well and his face brightened.
"Cool, hi!" he said as he ran over to them. He had a huge smile on his face. "It's been a while."
"I'll say," responded Bit.
"Man, all of us together like this, it'll be just like old times."
"Yeah."
"So you guys haven't seen each other since the incident?" asked Miharu.
"Yep," said Rick. "But that doesn't matter. We're all here again. Oh yeah, hi everybody," he said as he looked to the rest of the team.
"Nice of you to notice us," said Leena with a mocking smirk on her face. He just laughed, embarrassed.
"So where's the rest of your team?" asked Brad.
"Back at the base," answered Rick. "It's great to see you guys again. So Bit, Leena, you guys married yet?" Both Bit and Leena blushed.
"Why does everyone keep asking that?" asked Leena.
"No, we're not," answered Bit.
"I was just curious," said Rick.
"What about you?" asked Jamie in a mocking tone, which was unlike him, but it was just too tempting. Now it was Rick's turn to blush.
"W-what do you mean?" he asked as if he didn't know what they were talking about.
"Oh come on, you know," said Naomi.
"I don't know anything," said Rick.
"I'll agree with you there," said Risai.
"Hey!" he yelled back. They all just laughed.
"You still haven't answered our question," said Leena with a smirk. Rick was still blushing.
"No, I'm not married!"
"But are you thinking about it?"
"What's with all the questions?!" He was a bright red now and they all laughed. He looked mad.
"What's so funny?" asked a voice from behind him. Rick spun around and came face to face with Meiyuu. She was also wearing a uniform; her blond hair was back in a ponytail.
"H-hi Meiyuu," he said. She looked at him and then to the rest of the group and smiled.
"Hi you guys, it's been a while," she said.
"Yep," they all answered.
"So what's so funny, and Rick, why is your face red?" she asked. They all started laughing, except Rick, who looked to the ground in embarrassment.
"Don't ask," he said.
"Okay. Well, anyway, how have you guys been?" she asked.
"Just fine," answered Leena.
"That's good. I can't believe this is happening though."
"Yeah," said Bit. "I've never experienced a war before."
"Neither have we."
"You'll all do fine," assured Miharu.
"Well, I have to get back now and check on Mattei. I left him alone. Bye!" she said as she turned around and began to walk away. She grabbed Rick by the collar of his shirt and began to pull him along with her. "Come on Rick. You're coming with me Mr. 'I have some important business to take care of so I can't help you clean the rooms'." They were soon out of sight. Everyone stared as they walked off, still partially laughing. Even Risai and Miharu were laughing. Risai wasn't paying attention to her students; otherwise she would have noticed what was happening. One of the men was backing up a little, since after they hit the target 10 times in one place, they were suppose to back up and try again. The man stepped on a rock as he was about to fire and it slid out from under him, causing him to fall backwards, but as he did, his gun went off. It was aiming at an angle. The sound of it firing was drowned out by the other guns going off, so no one gave it a second thought. Risai was still holding her mega phone. The bullet from the gun traveled too fast for anyone to react in time. The bullet hit the mega phone sending it flying, but the sudden force hurt her hand and pushed her from her position. She stumbled slightly, holding her wrist. Everyone's laughter had stopped as their eyes were on Risai. She went too far and wasn't paying enough attention. She fell from the stage and landed hard on the ground.
"Risai!" they shouted as they all ran over. She didn't say anything, since the fall had knocked her out. The soldiers with their guns ran over as well.
"Commander," they said in worry.
"I'm so sorry," said the one who had shot towards her. He seemed nervous as if she would spring up and strangle him. She made a slight movement, and then whispered.
"It's alright," she said in a whisper, since she couldn't speak any higher than that. She attempted to sit up, but there was an unbearable pain in the back of her head and coursing through her back, so she fell against the ground again. She was breathing hard now, trying to regain her composure, but to no avail.
"Hey, you two," said Miharu, pointing to two of the soldiers. "I want you two to take her to her room. Class will be over for today."
"Alright," they said. The two soldiers bent down and carefully lifted her up. Her arms were now around their shoulders as they walked away back towards the base.
"Is she gonna be okay?" asked Bit.
"Yes," responded Miharu.
"You seem confident," said Leon.
"Risai has been shot in both arms, both legs and through her stomach at the same time and lived to tell about it. I think she'll survive a hit to the head."
"Is she usually this…clumsy?" asked Leena.
"Sad to say, no. She's usually very careful. She seems really out of it."
"Why?" asked Jamie.
"I don't know. Anyway, you guys should probably go and unpack, you know, get settled in."
"Okay," they all answered. They all walked back to the base and back to their rooms.
******
A few hours later, Risai awoke, only to find herself in her room. It was dark outside now. She stared towards the ceiling.
"What's wrong with me?" she asked herself. She then heard a knock at the door. "Come in." She didn't really care who it was. All she knew was that she didn't want to be alone in her room like this.
"Hi," came Leon's voice as he opened the door. "They wanted me to check up on you."
"Thanks," she said.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm not sure." She sat up and seemed to be fine. "I guess I feel better." Leon walked into the room and sat down next to her.
"That's good. I mean, you did fall from nearly 5 feet from the ground. Not to mention you hit your head."
"I know. These things happen."
"Well, I'm glad you're okay."
"Leon, you're always so…so nice."
"Nice?"
"Yeah, all of you are. You're always risking everything to save the people you guys care about." She hung her head. "I feel bad that you guys have to be involved in this. It'll be hard on all of you. I also feel pity for those soldiers, the ones I was teaching."
"Why?"
"Because it's easy to shoot at a wooden target, but it's different when you try to shoot a living person, knowing you're most likely ending their life. But when it comes down to it, it's either you or them. You see, in war there's no room for being nice…no room for emotions."
"Do you really believe that?"
"Yes. Emotions can get you and others killed."
"Come on, are you serious?" She looked to him. She was sure he found something amusing about this. "I mean, when people act on emotions, they often save other people's lives along with their own."
"That's not true. If you don't follow regulations, then you slip up and people die." Risai was getting a little angry.
"I still don't think you believe that, I mean, how could you? You're always worrying about your brother and all. How can you say one thing and mean the other?" Risai stood up quickly and looked to Leon.
"Shut up! You don't know me! You don't know anything!" she yelled angrily. Leon seemed a little nervous now and confused. Risai quickly put a hand to her head, as she felt a little dizzy. She sat down on the bed again and closed her eyes, still holding her head. "I'm sorry," she said in a calmer voice.
"It's fine. I think I should leave now. I still have some unpacking to do." He got up and walked to the door.
"Hey, Leon?" He stopped and looked back at her as he opened the door.
"Thanks." She smiled to him slightly and he did the same.
"You're welcome." He left the room and closed the door behind him. Risai lied back down on her bed and closed her eyes. She sighed.
"Great. Another day of classes tomorrow," she said to herself. She soon fell asleep.
******
In the middle of the desert in an empty area stood the Backdraft's main base. Its cold exterior was nothing like the horrors on the inside. Many cells were in the base, but there weren't many captives. In fact, there was only one. Taban sat in his cell, staring out the small, barred window. His plans had all failed so far, so he decided to find a different way to escape, but he was coming up with nothing. As long as he was still injured, he couldn't get very far on foot.
"There has to be someway out of here," he said to himself.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken," said a female voice from the shadows. Taban turned his head, but couldn't see who it was. He walked up to the bars.
"What do you want?" he asked. "Who are you?"
"That's none of your concern."
"What are you going to do with me?" It was a question that had been bugging him for sometime now.
"You'll find out soon enough," she answered. She walked off and away from the cell. Taban walked back to the bed and lied down. He soon fell asleep.
******
Risai stood in the middle of nowhere, the wind tossing her hair. She seemed to be in the desert. The sky was red and there was no sun, no stars, not even a moon. She looked around and saw sand in every direction. The wind kicked up the sand from the ground as it swirled and spiraled through the air around her.
"Hey Risai," said a familiar voice, one she could never forget. She spun around and saw a boy who didn't look much older than her. He had messy, cerulean blue hair. Some was spiked and some hung down to just past his ears. It hung mostly in the back and was spiked more towards the front. His eyes were deep blue and seemed friendly. He wore black pants, a blue shirt, and a black over shirt, a lot like the outfit she wore. Risai's eyes went wide as she looked at him. He had a huge smile on his face.
"R-rainer? Is…is that you?"
"Of course it is," he said as his smile deepened.
"I…I thought you were…" She stuttered as tears of joy streamed down her face. "I'm so happy to see you again." He didn't say anything; he just smiled. Risai was smiling as well. Just then, he faded from the picture, along with the desert. It was dark now and cold. "Rainer!" shouted Risai. She was alone again, not sure what she should do. "H-hello?" she asked quietly. "Taban? Miharu?" She looked around the dark area. "Anybody?" Her voice was quiet and nervous, mixed with fear as well. The only answer she received was the sound of a gunshot. She turned around quickly and saw Rainer again, standing with his back to Risai, his arms outstretched. A few feet in front of him stood someone with a gun.
"Rainer?" she asked with nervousness in her voice. His form then seemed to fade and was replaced with someone else. Risai recognized this other person too.
"Leon?" she asked. He turned his head to look at her and smiled. He closed his eyes and fell back to the ground and then faded as well. Now Risai was completely alone again. The person with the gun was gone and the darkness now seemed colder and more painful than before. Risai wasn't sure if she was standing on solid ground or floating, but either way, it ended as she felt herself begin to fall. She plummeted downward, towards what, she didn't know, but right now, she didn't really care either, as she let the darkness absorb her and let her mind sink in with the pain that this place brought.
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Man, I wrote a lot. This is scary. I made this chapter kinda angsty. How weird. Gee, I'm starting to talk in 2 word sentences again. Well, I know the dream thing was confusing, but I had fun writing it. Angsty…okay, I'll stop doing that now. I'm just hyper and need to go do something. Sorry this took so long and to those of you reading this, review pleaz!!!
Audi^.^