Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!!! Is that enough apologies? I never meant for it to take this long, but I got so caught up in everything else I was doing and lost track of time, and before I knew it, it was already summer, and it had been a few months since the last update, and I wasn't able to write as much during my day, and…*passes out from not breathing between sentences*
I'm okay now. Did I mention I was sorry?
Anyway, happy Independence Day! He's a present!
Disclaimer: Broke…broke…broke! I'm broke! I own nothing. I do not own Zoids.
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Miharu led Risai and Leon down the halls and into a huge command room. Everyone was already there, and it seemed that they were talking about something. There were many computers and one main monitor in the middle. It was huge. Once Miharu walked in with Leon and Risai, everyone was quiet. Miharu just smiled.
"Well, shall we get started?" she asked with a pinch of humor in her voice. She remembered back to a year ago when they had made a plan to fight against Toran. Everything had gone well, but the plan looked like a suicide mission. The small smile she wore faded when she realized that Taban wouldn't be there to yell at them when they made fun of the plan. It just wouldn't be the same without him, but that's why they were doing this. They had to get him back from their enemy, and hopefully do some damage to the Backdraft while they were at it. Everyone began to gather around the main screen in the room as Miharu got on a control panel and began to bring up data. A layout of the desert was soon brought up.
"Alright, now, pay attention, because this is important. Our base is here," she said, showing it with a small blue dot. "And this base is theirs." A small red dot appeared on the screen. "It's quite a long distance, so we'll have to be careful with our planning. We can't afford any mistakes this time."
"Is this going to be another suicide mission?" asked Rick, which earned him a glare from Miharu.
"No," she said simply. "This plan was created by myself and Jamie. Now, let's continue. Bit and Leena, you two will infiltrate the base, disguised as Backdraft soldiers."
"Question," said Bit, causing everyone to look at him. "How many people are going to be carrying out this plan."
"Just us," replied Jamie, who was sitting not far from him.
"So just the eleven of us?" asked Meiyuu. Both Jamie and Miharu nodded. The expressions on the other members' faces seemed skeptical. This would be another suicide mission. Why couldn't things just be easy for them, just once?
"Well, let's continue," said Miharu, breaking the silence. She pointed to the screen. "Risai and Leon. You two will be the prisoners."
"Come again?" said Risai. "I'm no prisoner."
"It's all part of the plan. Just listen, all right? This is no time to be picky," said Miharu. She then cleared her throat and spoke again. "You two will be thrown in the prison and from there, you'll locate Taban. Once you've found him, notify Bit and Leena. They'll break all of you out and then you'll all come back to where we'll be stationed. We're going to be close to the outside of the enemy's base. This is going to be our last battle. We're going to end the war."
"Sounds good," said Rick. "So what do you want the rest of us to do?"
"You will wait until Taban is out. By then, the enemy will have realized what we're up to. They'll attack full force, so we'll fight back. We can't afford any mistakes this time. It all has to go perfectly."
"Understood," said Bit. "We won't mess anything up, right Leena?"
"Right."
"Good. We'll do this first thing in the morning. Use this time to prepare and relax. We won't get any breaks tomorrow. We'll have to move quickly. Alright?"
"Yes ma'am." Miharu smiled. She liked being referred to like that.
"Well, you're all dismissed," she said and they all began to leave the room. Miharu stayed behind and then walked over to the window. The sky was cloudy, but the sun was coming through anyways. It was beautiful. The rain had stopped a while ago. 'On days like this, we used to play in the rain. Even when we were in the ZBC army, we still went out on days like this. Amazing how time flies, ne? I miss those days, and I miss you. Please stay safe. You'll be back here soon enough.'
******
"Hey Bit?" asked Leena. Bit Cloud turned to the side and looked down at Leena.
"What is it?" he asked. Leena didn't seem happy. This whole day seemed slightly depressing. 'It must be the weather,' thought Bit.
"I was just thinking about a year ago." A small smile crossed her features. "Even though it was slightly scary and we could have died…I'm glad it happened, and I wouldn't want it any other way." Bit smiled too.
"I agree. It was dangerous, but we had a lot of fun last year. That's when everything got interesting. It's when we met Taban and Miharu, and the Fire Star team. It was great, and I wouldn't change a thing…well…maybe some of the life threatening parts." Leena laughed.
"Yeah…maybe just those parts." They continued walking down the hallway and into the hanger.
"I hope this works," said Bit as he looked up at his friend, the Liger Zero. It had been a while since he had had a real challenge. He was ready for tomorrow. He wanted to fight now.
"Me too. I want this war to end."
"Same here. And I'd like to see Taban again. It's been too long."
"Yeah…" They both just stood there and looked up at their zoids. This battle wasn't going to be easy at all. There were many enemy units, but they weren't going to back down. They would fight to the death if they had to. This was a war. Sometimes there were rules, but this battle would be different. It would be to the end. It would decide the future of their planet.
"Leena…whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to know that I love you." He then bent down slightly and pressed his lips to hers. They soon broke the kiss and Leena hugged him.
"I love you too, Bit."
******
Brad and Naomi were walking side by side down the hallway.
"This is going to be it," said Naomi.
"Yeah," said Brad. There wasn't really much for them to say. This battle would decide their futures. What if they died? What if their friends died? It would be too hard on them.
"Hey Brad?" asked Naomi. He just looked at her, as if asking "what". "I was thinking, you know, about this battle. What if…we don't make it?"
"Since when have you thought about things like that?" he asked with a certain humor in his voice.
"Because it maters now. We're going into a huge battle tomorrow with just the eleven of us. It's possible we could all get killed."
"It was the same last year, remember? We made it through just fine. And we'll do it again."
"Things are different this time. Taban was taken hostage, remember? The Backdraft could easily use that against us."
"That's why we're breaking him out first."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"Stop asking questions like that. Since when did you become a pessimist? We made it through the first battle and we'll make it through this one. The plan will work, but in order for it to work, we have to be at our best, so let's go." Naomi stopped and watched him walk away for a while. He eventually stopped and turned around. "Aren't you coming?"
"Brad…thanks." He just smiled.
"No problem."
******
"Hey Rick?"
"Yeah?
"Let's make it through this one too." Rick looked to his companion. She wore a smile on her face, despite the fact that they were going on another suicide mission.
"What's with the perky attitude? I don't get you." Meiyuu laughed slightly and walked up to him.
"It's kind of like we switched, huh? Usually you're the one who's happy despite what's going on."
"It's just that this mission is important. If we fail, we lose Zi. The Backdraft will win."
"We're strong warriors, aren't we? Everyone will make it through, you'll see." Rick had to smile at that. She seemed so happy.
"Meiyuu, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"When we first decided to be a team, do you remember what that guy told us?"
"By that guy, you mean Jake?"
"Of course. Anyways, that guy told us something, remember?" Meiyuu just stared at him oddly. He was repeating himself and he couldn't remember Jake's name. Yep. This was the Rick she knew.
"Of course I remember," she responded.
"Let's follow it this time." Meiyuu nodded and followed him down the hallway towards the hanger. 'The winds of destiny blow with the passion of fire,' recalled Meiyuu. 'It doesn't make much sense if you really think about it…but it sounds good, and it has given us confidence over the years…but…it still doesn't make sense. What could Jake have possible meant? Maybe he was just showing us that confidence is needed. Maybe it doesn't mater what something means, as long as you get the overall mood of it. I don't know…I'll figure it out later.'
******
"It looks like history is repeating itself," said Risai as she walked down the hallway. Leon was walking with her.
"How so?" he asked.
"About 4000 years ago, a battle was fought between the Empire and the Republic. I'm sure more wars were fought between that time and the war between the ZBC and the Dark Blazers. All those wars were fought because of Zi. Each group wanted control over Zi, or more like one group did. The other wanted to stop such a thing from happening."
"What did the ZBC want?"
"They wanted to stop the other group. The ZBC may have a lot of power, but they aren't greedy. They just want peace to come to the planet. That's why I fought for them. I wanted to protect this world from power hungry rulers."
"And now we're fighting a war that is similar to the one you fought in."
"Exactly. It's the same type of war. I'm going to do everything I can to win this war…" she said. "…Even if it means my life," she whispered so Leon wouldn't hear her. They continued walking down the halls, heading to the hanger.
******
Rose sat alone in her office, twirling a pencil with her fingers. Her room was incredibly dark, much like herself. She loved the dark colors. It was why she had chosen such a color. They had all gotten to choose what color shirt they wanted. They all had reasons for their colors. Rainer's blue color suited him. It sounded like him. He was a lot like the rain. It could rain on a sunny day or it could rain on a cloudy day. He was quite random. He was sometimes like the sun on a cloudy day. He could make anyone smile. Toran had chosen black for his color. It suited him. He was a dark person, quite similar to herself. He was her leader for a while, until he met his end. The ZBC had defeated him last year. It was his fate. It seemed that everybody who stood up to the ZBC got thrown in jail. However, she wouldn't follow him. She would go against it all and survive this. She was going to destroy the very thing she hated. She would win this time. Nothing would stand in her way. Nothing.
Then there were her enemies. The other agents. Taban, the boy she had in her jail. He was different than most of the agents. He had will power, and a lot of it. Most people would have succumbed to injuries such as the ones he had. However, he wasn't about to give in. He had a lot left to do. His color was red, for his passion, and for another reason. It was darker than it had been. He had been soaked in blood before from the men he had killed. After Rainer had died, Taban became the strongest of the agents. Both of them had been good friends. After Rainer had died, they all changed. They became more serious. There wasn't time for anything other than war. They had to discard their emotions, but he tried to hold onto them. Even after everything that had happened, Taban still strongly believed that emotions would save them. Perhaps, in the end…
Rose shook her head. Emotions other than hate and the need for revenge were worthless. Such emotions would kill her. Her hate drove her forward. She wasn't about to give up now. Risai…she had to focus on her. The girl who had chosen green. Green. It was the color of life. She wanted to have it for other reasons as well. Her brother's eyes had been green before they had become agents. She wanted to keep something from the past with her. She needed a reminder. All of them did, and that was hers. Miharu had taken white for good reasons. She was the most innocent and the one who had killed the least amount of people. She was the only one who was still innocent. Her hands hadn't been soaked in as much blood, and it was only her hands that had touched it.
Rose smiled. Her color was a dark purple. It was the color of deceit. It seemed so beautiful, so innocent, but the dark shade showed betrayal. It was a deceitful color. She had betrayed the people she thought were her friends and had turned against the very organization that had given her such power. She had betrayed everything she had once believed in. Such deceit was uncommon. It wasn't meant to be. Another thing she had defied. She had gone against the rules too many times. She had broken so many and even re-broken some of them. She wasn't about to go back now. She would keep going. She would keep being this person she had become, this Rose.
"Rose…" she whispered to herself. It wasn't even her name. It was just a name she had picked up along the way. Her real name? Her past life? She didn't care any more. There wasn't much to it. Most of the agents didn't have parents or families, but she was exceptionally lonely. Rose had nothing. No siblings, and no relatives. She was alone, and she would always be alone. Rainer was her one hope, but he was gone now. Taken away by Risai. Risai…the name of the one person she truly loathed. Risai Kamosu. Her name itself was something interesting. Risai, meaning pain, and Kamosu, to cause. Her name in total? It meant "to cause pain". It was incredibly true. Her father had given her that name. It was very interesting.
Rose closed her eyes. There wasn't much of a difference in the darkness of blindness or the darkness of her room. She opened her eyes and stood up. She began to make her way to the jails. If she was bored, she could always torture Taban. She wanted him dead anyway, but something was keeping her from killing him. However, he had a point. Without him, she had nothing. Absolutely nothing. She couldn't threaten them if she didn't have a hostage. She kept walking and then turned a corner, heading down the stairs, into the jails. She walked the long hall with cells on either side. She eventually came to his.
"Hello again, Taban," she said. The silver haired man looked up at her. He looked horrible. His bluish silver hair was caked with blood and dirt. His red shirt had a few holes and gashes through it and his black over shirt was ripped in a few places. His leg had a bullet wound in it from their last encounter. He just glared at her through the bars. If looks could kill, she would have died 20 times over.
"What is it now?" he asked, the venom dripping from his voice. Rose loved the sound of hate in his voice. The man who believed that everything would turn out in the end. He had once told them that love would all save them. Rose laughed inwardly. Love? Look where it landed her? Heartbroken, alone, and miserable. She had nothing but hate left. But she didn't want any other emotions, right? She didn't want love, hope, or dreams. She just wanted hate and revenge. That was all she needed.
"I've come to see how you're doing," she said with false concern. Taban just looked away. His kind blue eyes seemed hateful, the eyes of a demon. Rose smiled. That's what she wanted to see. She wanted to see him like that. She wanted him to be filled with hate. She wanted to corrupt him. It wasn't going to work, though.
"Save the lies. Why are you really here?"
"I want you dead, Taban. You have so many injuries…heh, you won't last long like that."
"What do you care?"
"I don't. How about I help you along?" She took out her gun and shot at him. She pulled the trigger one, two…five times. Not once did he flinch or even acknowledge her. She hadn't even shot him. Each shot had missed him and had only hit the wall behind him.
"Are you done yet?" he asked, the venom still dripping from his voice. He was so cold, yet one of the most compassionate people there was. He refused to even look at Rose.
"I was thinking, you know, about the good old days. The days where we all fought together against the Dark Blazers. Those were the days, ne?" Taban didn't respond to her. "You know, I miss those days. We were really something, weren't we? The six agents, the pride of the ZBC…and look now." Her voice changed to that of one that was cold. The voice of the real Rose. "It all fell apart. One of us is dead, another in jail, I'm the leader of the Backdraft, you're dying, Miharu is a commander, and Risai…" This got a reaction out of Taban. "Risai is in love again. She's in love with a normal human. She's done so much, but this tops it. Risai. Because of her, Rainer died. Because of her, I left. Because of her, I'm doing this, and because of her, you're here. Doesn't that make you a little angry?"
"Not at all. I don't care. Better me than her. And I'm glad she's in love. It's fine by me."
"Taban…let's play a game." He quirked an eyebrow. "It has something to do with this machine I have…it was an invention of Rainer's, only I completed it."
"Oh? What's this machine, and what kind of game?"
"We'll play a game called I win. There's only one rule. I win, and you, Taban, will end up dead. I'll strip you of your agent abilities, and without them, you will succumb to your wounds, whether you want to or not." Taban was shocked now.
"You…have a machine that can do that?"
"Of course. And I plan on using it on you. You'll die before your wounds heal. I'll help you along the way, that's all. Oh…" She took out her gun again and pulled the trigger. Taban cried out slightly as the bullet pierced his arm. "Every time we meet, you'll get a little closer to death. How's that? I love this game." Rose walked off laughing. Causing pain was too much fun. She would never go back to her former self. She didn't even want to think about it. She would never go back to being that girl. She wasn't going to be the girl who was their friend. The girl who was Risai's friend. This next battle would be the end. She would kill Risai, but not before killing her brother right in front of her eyes. Rose gave a malicious smile.
"This will be fun," she said to herself as she walked back to her office. She would finally do it. The darkness would finally overcome the light.
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How's that? A little inside look at Rose for ya. The next chapter will start to really pick things up as their plan is put into action. There aren't many chapters left in this fic.
Well, review, or I might not write any more of it.
Audi^.^