Zoids-S
Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Zoids nor know who owns Zoids. If anybody does, please e-mail me.
Continuity Note: This obviously takes place after the Frightday the Thirteenth episode. I guess
it takes place just before Brad gets the Shadow Fox.
Other Note: I don't know either Brad's or Jamie's last names so I'm inventing ones. If anybody
knows what their real last name are, please e-mail me. Okay, enough about that,
on with the show.
Prologue 2: Ghost In The Shell
"Phew, three battles in one day," Bit Cloud groaned as he exited the Hover Cargo. "I don't know
about you guys, but I'm pooped."
"You're such a wimp, Bit," Leena Torros said. "Those battles weren't even hard ones. And
one was the Champ Team for crying out loud. How could you be pooped after battling them?"
"We got a lot of prize money," Brad Raysure pointed out. "I think whatever exhaustion we
received is definitely worth it."
"Spoken like a true mercenary, Brad," Bit commented. As Bit and Brad oversaw the unloading of
their Zoids, Leena went outside to get some fresh air. She couldn't believe how far they came
since the old days. They've all gotten so good, and it's all because of...
Leena paused. How was it that the day when they started winning battles was the same day Bit
showed up and they discovered that he could pilot the reckless Liger Zero? Was the only reason
they were winning was because of Bit and Liger Zero?
Leena shook her head. That was impossible. Winning Zoid battles was the result of the whole
team working together, not just one Zoid. Then again, Brad and Leena had been knocked out of
the battle more times than Bit, maybe...
Leena was shaken from her pondering by a childish giggle. She looked around to discover a
small girl wearing a sailor dress and sun bonnet bouncing a glowing white ball.
Leena's heart froze. It couldn't be. It was that girl. The girl that lead her to the man with
the decapitated Rev Raptor, the one who was at the battle between the Blitz and Fluegel Teams
and the so-called "Chainsaw Men." The one that was with that sixth Spino Sappa.
"You... It can't be you..." Leena froze. The girl walked up to her, laughing childishly. She
threw the ball to Leena, who caught it in both hands. Leena couldn't believe she was back.
Why was she here? Did it have something to do with the Spino Sappas?
"Leena?" A voice called from behind her as a hand was laid on her shoulder. Upon reflex,
Leena twirled around and let loose with a wild backhand that sent her opponent crashing to the
ground.
"Don't startle me like that, Bit!" She shouted. "What do you think you're doing, sneaking up
on me like that. Don't..."
"Uh... Leena, I'm over here," Bit's voice called from Leena's left. Leena turned and saw Bit
staring at the person she knocked down.
"But if that's you, then who...?" Leena slowly turned her head. The person she had knocked down
was Jamie.
"Oh my God, Jamie, I'm sorry."
"Salright," Jamie said dazed. The two came out to see what Leena was doing and saw that she
was staring at nothing. Bit didn't want to go up to her for fear of getting smacked so Jamie
went up instead. Obviously, that was a mistake on Jamie's part.
Leena looked around for the girl, but she had disappeared. Even Leena's hands were empty, empty
of the ball that the girl threw her.
Bit and Leena helped the poor kid up and back into the building.
That night, Leena sat on her bed, legs pulled up against her chest. The image of the ghost girl
still haunted her mind. Why was she here? The Zoid Chop Shop Gang was in jail, weren't they?
So why was the girl still haunting her. Could it be...
{Wait a minute,} Leena's rational mind (something that she rarely listened to) said, {Dad once
told me a story about a lumberjack who died and his... wife, was it? No, it was her daughter
who also died. But that was just a story, wasn't it? A rumor?} Leena got up and pulled on a
robe over her nightgown. She left her room and transversed the hallway into the planning room,
where the computers were. Sitting at the computer, she began activating it.
{The Zoid Battle Commission has an extensive database,} she thought. {Maybe that can help me
track down whoever this girl was.} The problem was Leena didn't know where to start. She didn't
know how long the girl had been dead, what age she was when she died. Wait a minute, that was
it. The girl looked like she was between 6 and 10 years old. All she had to do was look in the
database for anybody who died as a child.
"Leena? Leena, wake up. Leena..." Leena slowly opened her eyes. They cane into focus around
a black screen. Leena looked around and spotted the others standing around her, still in their
pajamas.
"Leena, are you all right?" Her father asked.
"Yeah... I'm fine, what time is it."
"9 o'clock," Bit replied. "You must've been here all night. What were you doing?"
"Well to tell you the truth I was..." Leena looked at the screen and realized that she must've
fell asleep for a long time. If the screen was left on for longer than fifteen minutes
without further commands, it goes into a sleeper stage in which it shuts down and all data on it,
unless saved, lost.
"Well?" Brad asked.
"No reason, just wasn't tired at the time. Dad, do we have any battles today?"
"No. After the battle against the Backdraft Group, the Zoid Battle Commission felt we deserved
a little break."
"That's good." Without another word, Leena got up and went to the shower.
That afternoon, Leena took her Gun Sniper into Romeo City, a popular hangout for Zoid Warriors.
Parking her Zoid outside the city (next to two Rev Raptors and a Lightning Scythe), she went
into a bar.
"Soda," she requested of the bartender. As she drank, she thought about her next move. Her
database search, at least up until the time she fell asleep, came up with a big fat zip. Maybe
she was going about this the wrong way. Maybe it was just her overactive imagination. Bit and
Jamie hadn't seen her, nobody else has.
Leena lazily looked up towards the big monitor, expecting to see a Zoid battle, but just a news
report muted.
Suddenly Leena spat out the soda she was drinking. A picture came on the screen. A picture of
a little girl wearing a sailor dress and a sun bonnet. The ghost girl.
"Turn it up," Leena requested to the bartender.
"What?"
"Turn it up I said!"
"Sorry, I..."
Leena grabbed him by the collar. "WHAT PART OF TURN IT UP DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
"Yes, ma'am," the bartender replied. He picked up the remote and hit the mute button.
"...line Edwards, who died nine years ago. Madeline was the daughter of Victor Edwards, one of
the designers on the Zoid Spino Sappa. While no body was found, Madeline's grave is currently
at the cemetery in Hugoth City, which is about twenty kilometers north of Romeo City..."
"That's it!" Leena cried. "The ghost was that of Madeline Edwards, and she has appeared to me
probably because she wants me to visit her grave. Maybe if I go there, I'll figure out what
she wants! YES, I'M GOOD!"
"And I thought Bit was overenthusiastic," a gruff voice said from behind her. Leena turned
around to discover Jack Sisqo standing behind her.
"Jack, what are you doing here?"
"In case you haven't noticed, this is a public place."
"Oh yeah. Well nice seeing you, I'll tell Bit you said hi, I gotta get to Hugoth City."
"Mind if I ask why?" The mercenary asked.
"I gotta see a dead girl and ask her what she wants," Leena replied hastily. Jack gave her an
odd look. Leena just ran out to her Gun Sniper.
"This I gotta see."
Leena moved her Gun Sniper to the north road and started moving along it. It wasn't long before
Jack's Lightning Scythe caught up to her.
Leena opened a comm. link to Jack. "What are you doing, Jack? I didn't ask for your company."
"I didn't offer it," Jack came back. "But after what you said in the bar, I decided to check
this out for myself. Why would you be interested in a girl who lived over nine years ago?"
"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"After some of the stuff I've seen you Blitz Team members do, I'm willing to give you the benefit
of a doubt."
"Well, for your information, I saw the ghost of a girl who matched Madeline's picture. I saw
her a total of three times. The first time, she lead me to a man with a sliced up Rev Raptor.
The second time was when we went up against the Spino Sappas who were trying to cut up my Zoid,
and the third time was last night, just outside our base."
"So why would a dead girl's ghost be coming to you?"
"Don't know. Maybe she needs me for something because I'm the only one who can give it to her."
Jack decided to keep his comments to himself for now.
It wasn't long before the two Zoids arrived at Hugoth City. It was actually more of a town than
a city. There weren't too many buildings, but there were a lot of houses around.
"So now what do we do?" Jack asked as they exited their Zoids.
"I guess we find the cemetery." Leena went up to a middle age black woman walking with a
stroller. "Excuse me, where can we find the cemetery?"
"Which one?" She asked.
"What do you mean which one?" Leena asked.
"You two from out of town?"
"Yeah," both Jack and Leena replied.
"Well, just to let you know, this town has over fifteen cemeteries."
"FIFTEEN CEMETERIES!" Leena gasped, wide-eyed.
Jack crossed his arms. "This mustn't be a very popular town if so many people are dying."
"Look, smart guy, the reason our town has so many cemeteries is because no other town wants them.
Say they want the area used for Zoid battling. You ask me, them Zoid people is just a bunch of
chickens."
Leena was about to shout out that she wasn't a chicken when Jack interrupted her. "You know
Madeline Edwards?"
"I know of her."
"Do you know which cemetery she's burried in."
"Sorry, can't help you two on that."
"Well is she burried in this town?" Leena spoke up.
"Probably is, along with over 250 other stiffs." And then the woman turned and walked away.
"So now what, Sherlock," Jack asked. "You have fifteen cemeteries. Are you going to check
every one?"
"Guess so," Leena shrugged. "How else are we going to find Madeline's grave?"
"Did you say Madeline?" An elderly voice asked. An old man walked up to them. He fit the
stereotype profile of an old man. Thin, with bony arms and legs. White hair and missing more
than a couple of teeth. He was dressed in denim overalls, grungy work boots and carrying a
large wooden shovel with a spade attachment. "You wouldn't by any chance be looking for
Madeline Edwards' grave, would you?"
"Yes, we are," Leena replied.
"Well you're in luck, just so happen I work at the cemetery where she's burried."
"Please lead us to it," Leena said shaking his shoulders.
"All right, all right, don't get your stockings in a knot, follow me." The man, whom Leena and
Jack decided was a caretaker, lead them to the far end of town.
"Thanks, Benjamin," Jamie said as he terminated the link with Harry's squatty robot assistant.
"No luck?" Doc Torros asked.
"None. Neither Naomi, Leon, or Harry have seen Leena in the past two hours."
"I assume Harry's taking it pretty badly."
"Considering he was too grief-stricken to talk to us, yeah."
"I just hope Brad had better luck than us," Doc Torros said as said warriors walked in.
"Jack pot," Brad said.
"You've found Leena?" Torros asked excitedly.
"Not exactly, but I know where she been. The Bartender at Romeo City said he saw her leave in
the company of somebody named Jack."
"Jack Sisqo." Bit slammed his fist into his palm. "What has he got in all of this?"
"Kidnapping really isn't Jack's style," Jamie said. "Besides if he did, he would fall out of
favor with the Zoid Battle Commission. They would revoke his license."
"The Bartender also said that Leena was really into a news report about the anniversary of
Madeline Edwards' death."
"Madeline Edwards, who's she?" Jamie asked.
"Wait a second," Bit said.
"What is it, Bit?" Brad questioned.
"A few years before I joined the Blitz Team, I decided to make a pit stop in Hugoth City. The
people there were talking a lot about Madeline Edwards' death. Said it was real controversial
because the officials all say she died in a Zoid battle when in fact there were no Zoid battles
that day. The townspeople all said she was murdered and her body destroyed."
"Could Hugoth City be where Leena and Jack were heading?" Jamie inquired.
"Considering how the Bartender said she practically announced to the whole world that she was
heading to Hugoth City," Brad explained. "I'd say yeah."
"It's possible that whatever fate befelled Madeline Edwards would also befall Leena and Jack,"
Torros concluded. "We have to go rescue them! Bit, Jamie, I want you to take the Reynos and
Zero-Jager to Hugoth City. Brad and I will join you in the Hovercargo. Let's go, people!"
The old man lead Leena and Jack to a cemetery on the far end of town. He made small talk along
the way.
"I'm surprised you're here to see Madeline," the old man said.
"Why?" Jack asked.
"Hardly anyone comes to visit her grave any more."
"Doesn't she have any family members or friends?" Leena voiced.
"Nope. Her father died about three years ago. Nobody knows about any other relatives and as
for friends..." He shook his head. "Her father kept her pretty isolated. It was a wonder he
even let her go to school."
"You seem to know a lot about her life," Jack accused.
Leena elbowed him. "Jack," she hissed. "Of course he would know, he was probably alive before
her death."
"Your lady friend's right," the old man said. "I've been with this town since the beginning.
So of course I would know about her. Ah, here we are." The old man stopped at a cemetery field
about the length of a house. There weren't a lot of tombstones. Jack and Leena were led up to
a rusted-looking one.
Sure enough, the tombstone had Madeline's name on it. Any other information was covered by
weeds. Leena moved the weeds away to show her birth date and the date of her death. According
to it, she died when she was only seven years old.
"How was she killed?" Leena asked the old man.
"That's the strange thing." The old man shook his head. "Everybody said she died when she got
caught in the middle of a Zoid battle. Thing is, there were no Zoid battles that day."
"Did she have any sort of illness or disease?" Jack asked.
"None. She was fit as a fiddle and smart as a tack."
Leena sighed. They were back to square one. There was no doubt in her mind that the ghost she
saw was definitely that of Madeline Edwards. But if she didn't appear to have Leena visit her
grave, why did she appear? Was it simply for kicks? Leena didn't like being dragged around like
a Zoid with a piece broken off. What was going on?
Suddenly she heard the laughing again. The chilling childish laughter. She looked around and
spotted Madeline's ghost, standing by the entrance to the cemetery. She pushed past Jack and
the old man and ran to the exit.
"Wait, where are you going?" Jack called. Leena didn't answer him. She was focused on
Madeline's ghost.
"What do you want?" She asked. For the first time, Madeline raised her head to look at Leena.
Her eyes were big and purple, just like Leena's own. The ghost then turned and took off down
the street.
"Madeline, wait," Leena pleaded. For some reason, Leena found it easy to keep up with Madeline's
ghost as it lead her out of town and over to the mountains near Hugoth City. But by the time
Leena got to the base of the mountain, she was gone.
Leena thought she knew what was going on now. Madeline appeared to her because the two looked
similarly alike. And she wanted Leena to discover something, but what?
Leena slid her hands along the side of the mountain. Suddenly a slab of rock jiggled like it
was loose. Leena put more pressure on it and it moved in. She was now in a hidden cave. Leena
crept along the side wall. Leena's hand suddenly landed on something round with three holes in
it. Leena thought it was a bowling ball, but she was dead wrong.
Emphasis on dead.
Leena's hand landed on a human skull.
Leena screamed into her hand. She thought she was going to pass out, but she knew that if she
did, Bit would never let her hear the end of it. So she pulled herself together and forced
herself to look at the skull. In fact, it was a whole skeleton leaning against the wall like it
was sitting down. A small skeleton wearing a dress and sun bonnet and carrying a big white ball
in what was once her lap.
Leena couldn't believe her eyes. This was her, this was Madeline Edwards' body, or what was left
of it. This was probably where her killers were. Leena knew what she had to do. She had to
find the killers and rip them a new one, pay them back for murdering Madeline.
Leena continued and when she came to the interior of the cavern, she couldn't believe her eyes.
Zoid parts were strewn about like yesterday's garbage. But they were unlike any Zoid
parts she had ever seen. One part looked like the blade to a Blade Liger but it was an unusual
color. Another looked like the tooth to a Saber Tiger but it was shiny and much sharper.
Leena heard voices coming from the back. Leena saw that there was a doorway that lead into
what Leena could determine was a living quarters. By listening to them, Leena found out a lot
of info. It seemed like they were collectors, collectors of "special" Zoid parts.
Leena didn't know what they meant by that, but if the parts she saw were any indication, they
were going to give Zoid Warriors a bad rep. Plus they murdered a little girl. She could
tell they were trouble.
Leena wanted to find out more, but she accidentally stepped on a gun barrel that looked like it
was from a shot cannon. The barrel rolled in front of the doorway. Immediately, the ones
inside knew they were in trouble.
Leena turned to run but someone grabbed the back of her shirt and twirled her around. She was
staring into the face of a man who looked like her father's age with short dark hair and hazel
eyes. He kind of looked like a grown-up version of Jamie.
When the man saw Leena, he gasped and staggered back. "No," he cried. "It can't be. It can't
be you! You're dead! You're dead!" Leena saw her chance. She sucker-punched the guy and
took off. But the guy's friends were more smarter than him. Some of them went into another part
of the cave while others went after Leena. Leena staggered out.
"Jack, Jack!" She called. One of the "collectors" was about to grab her by the waist when he
stopped with fright at what he saw. He was staring into the blue-white face of Liger-Zero-Jager.
"Liger Zero," Leena said relieved. For once, she was glad to see Bit.
"Leena, are you all right?" Bit's voice called from the Liger's cockpit.
"I'm fine. But there are some people in there who are getting away."
"Don't worry," Bit assured her. "Jamie and Jack are on the case." Sure enough, three Hellcats
equipped with invisibility devices took off. But the Reynos and Lightning Scythe quickly
surrounded them with their supersonic speed and pelted them with machine gun fire.
Leena sighed. It was finally over.
A while later, the Hovercargo appeared along with the authorities in police Rev Raptors and a
Whale King that served as the paddy wagon. As the thieves were being loaded into the Whale King,
Leena stopped the one who first spotted her, the one who accused her of being dead.
"Did you kill Madeline Edwards?" She asked simply.
Knowing she could've slugged him again, he replied, "yeah, I did. The kid was too nosy, just
like you. She stumbled onto our hideout, we had to deal with her. I killed her and burned her
body. Then made it look like she was the unfortunate victim of being caught in a Zoid battle."
Leena stepped back as the crook was proded up into the paddy wagon.
Bit came out of the hideout and over to where Jamie, Brad, and Jack were. "You guys aren't going
to believe the Zoid parts they have in there. Illegal Zoid parts."
"Illegal Zoid parts?" Jamie questioned.
"Yeah. Radiation blades, shockwavers, even an electron disruptor. I've read about such parts
but I never seen them up close. All these parts banned by the Zoid Battle Commission because
they were too dangerous."
"So these guys were collecting illegal Zoid parts and didn't want anyone to find out, so they
killed anyone who got too close," Leena deduced. "One thing, how did you guys find me?"
"Jack radioed us from his Lightning Scythe," Jamie explained.
"Thanks, Jack, I owe you one."
Jack crossed his arms. "It's guys like those who give Zoid warriors a bad name."
"I guess the real one to thank would be that caretaker," Leena said. "Hey, where is he
anyway?"
"We didn't see anyone on our way in," Brad explained.
"That can't be right. Jack, you saw him, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"Ho boy, I think the two of you might've been out in the sun too long," Brad said. Leena turned
and ran back to the cemetery. But the old man wasn't there.
Leena stopped a man on the street. "Excuse me, where does the caretaker that watches over this
cemetery live?"
"Caretaker? Lady, this town doesn't hire caretakers. If we did, the town would've gone broke."
"What?... But then who was the old man who lead us to Madeline's grave?" The man just shrugged.
Leena then remembered the news report. It said Madeline was the daughter of Victor Edwards,
who was a designer of the Spino Sappa. And speaking of which, that sixth Spino Sappa that was
there on the 13th. Could that have been...
Leena gulped then hurried back to the others.
That night, Leena stood again outside of the Blitz Team's base, staring at the two moons that
shared a single orbit. Suddenly Madeline appeared. This time, Leena wasn't scared. Instead,
she was glad to see her. The Blitz Team member went up to her.
"The Zoid Parts Black Market has been shut down," Leena told her. Madeline nodded.
"You were trying to contact me because you knew what was going on. You wanted me to put a stop
to them and avenge your death, right?" Again, Madeline nodded.
Madeline took off her hat. Her hair was blonde and fell down over her ears, but other than that,
she looked like a miniture version of Leena. It was then that something else walked up besides
Madeline. It was a Spino Sappa, but a very small one. It was probably about three times
Madeline's height. A normal one would be about twenty times.
"Your daughter's body will be burried next to yours, Mr Edwards. The two of you will finally be
together like you always wanted," Leena said. "You both can finally rest in peace."
For the first time, Madeline opened her mouth. She simply said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Both of you." The two spirits began dissolving. Leena watched as their
particles floated into the night sky and disappear. She waved good-bye, then went back inside
the base.
Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Zoids nor know who owns Zoids. If anybody does, please e-mail me.
Continuity Note: This obviously takes place after the Frightday the Thirteenth episode. I guess
it takes place just before Brad gets the Shadow Fox.
Other Note: I don't know either Brad's or Jamie's last names so I'm inventing ones. If anybody
knows what their real last name are, please e-mail me. Okay, enough about that,
on with the show.
Prologue 2: Ghost In The Shell
"Phew, three battles in one day," Bit Cloud groaned as he exited the Hover Cargo. "I don't know
about you guys, but I'm pooped."
"You're such a wimp, Bit," Leena Torros said. "Those battles weren't even hard ones. And
one was the Champ Team for crying out loud. How could you be pooped after battling them?"
"We got a lot of prize money," Brad Raysure pointed out. "I think whatever exhaustion we
received is definitely worth it."
"Spoken like a true mercenary, Brad," Bit commented. As Bit and Brad oversaw the unloading of
their Zoids, Leena went outside to get some fresh air. She couldn't believe how far they came
since the old days. They've all gotten so good, and it's all because of...
Leena paused. How was it that the day when they started winning battles was the same day Bit
showed up and they discovered that he could pilot the reckless Liger Zero? Was the only reason
they were winning was because of Bit and Liger Zero?
Leena shook her head. That was impossible. Winning Zoid battles was the result of the whole
team working together, not just one Zoid. Then again, Brad and Leena had been knocked out of
the battle more times than Bit, maybe...
Leena was shaken from her pondering by a childish giggle. She looked around to discover a
small girl wearing a sailor dress and sun bonnet bouncing a glowing white ball.
Leena's heart froze. It couldn't be. It was that girl. The girl that lead her to the man with
the decapitated Rev Raptor, the one who was at the battle between the Blitz and Fluegel Teams
and the so-called "Chainsaw Men." The one that was with that sixth Spino Sappa.
"You... It can't be you..." Leena froze. The girl walked up to her, laughing childishly. She
threw the ball to Leena, who caught it in both hands. Leena couldn't believe she was back.
Why was she here? Did it have something to do with the Spino Sappas?
"Leena?" A voice called from behind her as a hand was laid on her shoulder. Upon reflex,
Leena twirled around and let loose with a wild backhand that sent her opponent crashing to the
ground.
"Don't startle me like that, Bit!" She shouted. "What do you think you're doing, sneaking up
on me like that. Don't..."
"Uh... Leena, I'm over here," Bit's voice called from Leena's left. Leena turned and saw Bit
staring at the person she knocked down.
"But if that's you, then who...?" Leena slowly turned her head. The person she had knocked down
was Jamie.
"Oh my God, Jamie, I'm sorry."
"Salright," Jamie said dazed. The two came out to see what Leena was doing and saw that she
was staring at nothing. Bit didn't want to go up to her for fear of getting smacked so Jamie
went up instead. Obviously, that was a mistake on Jamie's part.
Leena looked around for the girl, but she had disappeared. Even Leena's hands were empty, empty
of the ball that the girl threw her.
Bit and Leena helped the poor kid up and back into the building.
That night, Leena sat on her bed, legs pulled up against her chest. The image of the ghost girl
still haunted her mind. Why was she here? The Zoid Chop Shop Gang was in jail, weren't they?
So why was the girl still haunting her. Could it be...
{Wait a minute,} Leena's rational mind (something that she rarely listened to) said, {Dad once
told me a story about a lumberjack who died and his... wife, was it? No, it was her daughter
who also died. But that was just a story, wasn't it? A rumor?} Leena got up and pulled on a
robe over her nightgown. She left her room and transversed the hallway into the planning room,
where the computers were. Sitting at the computer, she began activating it.
{The Zoid Battle Commission has an extensive database,} she thought. {Maybe that can help me
track down whoever this girl was.} The problem was Leena didn't know where to start. She didn't
know how long the girl had been dead, what age she was when she died. Wait a minute, that was
it. The girl looked like she was between 6 and 10 years old. All she had to do was look in the
database for anybody who died as a child.
"Leena? Leena, wake up. Leena..." Leena slowly opened her eyes. They cane into focus around
a black screen. Leena looked around and spotted the others standing around her, still in their
pajamas.
"Leena, are you all right?" Her father asked.
"Yeah... I'm fine, what time is it."
"9 o'clock," Bit replied. "You must've been here all night. What were you doing?"
"Well to tell you the truth I was..." Leena looked at the screen and realized that she must've
fell asleep for a long time. If the screen was left on for longer than fifteen minutes
without further commands, it goes into a sleeper stage in which it shuts down and all data on it,
unless saved, lost.
"Well?" Brad asked.
"No reason, just wasn't tired at the time. Dad, do we have any battles today?"
"No. After the battle against the Backdraft Group, the Zoid Battle Commission felt we deserved
a little break."
"That's good." Without another word, Leena got up and went to the shower.
That afternoon, Leena took her Gun Sniper into Romeo City, a popular hangout for Zoid Warriors.
Parking her Zoid outside the city (next to two Rev Raptors and a Lightning Scythe), she went
into a bar.
"Soda," she requested of the bartender. As she drank, she thought about her next move. Her
database search, at least up until the time she fell asleep, came up with a big fat zip. Maybe
she was going about this the wrong way. Maybe it was just her overactive imagination. Bit and
Jamie hadn't seen her, nobody else has.
Leena lazily looked up towards the big monitor, expecting to see a Zoid battle, but just a news
report muted.
Suddenly Leena spat out the soda she was drinking. A picture came on the screen. A picture of
a little girl wearing a sailor dress and a sun bonnet. The ghost girl.
"Turn it up," Leena requested to the bartender.
"What?"
"Turn it up I said!"
"Sorry, I..."
Leena grabbed him by the collar. "WHAT PART OF TURN IT UP DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
"Yes, ma'am," the bartender replied. He picked up the remote and hit the mute button.
"...line Edwards, who died nine years ago. Madeline was the daughter of Victor Edwards, one of
the designers on the Zoid Spino Sappa. While no body was found, Madeline's grave is currently
at the cemetery in Hugoth City, which is about twenty kilometers north of Romeo City..."
"That's it!" Leena cried. "The ghost was that of Madeline Edwards, and she has appeared to me
probably because she wants me to visit her grave. Maybe if I go there, I'll figure out what
she wants! YES, I'M GOOD!"
"And I thought Bit was overenthusiastic," a gruff voice said from behind her. Leena turned
around to discover Jack Sisqo standing behind her.
"Jack, what are you doing here?"
"In case you haven't noticed, this is a public place."
"Oh yeah. Well nice seeing you, I'll tell Bit you said hi, I gotta get to Hugoth City."
"Mind if I ask why?" The mercenary asked.
"I gotta see a dead girl and ask her what she wants," Leena replied hastily. Jack gave her an
odd look. Leena just ran out to her Gun Sniper.
"This I gotta see."
Leena moved her Gun Sniper to the north road and started moving along it. It wasn't long before
Jack's Lightning Scythe caught up to her.
Leena opened a comm. link to Jack. "What are you doing, Jack? I didn't ask for your company."
"I didn't offer it," Jack came back. "But after what you said in the bar, I decided to check
this out for myself. Why would you be interested in a girl who lived over nine years ago?"
"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"After some of the stuff I've seen you Blitz Team members do, I'm willing to give you the benefit
of a doubt."
"Well, for your information, I saw the ghost of a girl who matched Madeline's picture. I saw
her a total of three times. The first time, she lead me to a man with a sliced up Rev Raptor.
The second time was when we went up against the Spino Sappas who were trying to cut up my Zoid,
and the third time was last night, just outside our base."
"So why would a dead girl's ghost be coming to you?"
"Don't know. Maybe she needs me for something because I'm the only one who can give it to her."
Jack decided to keep his comments to himself for now.
It wasn't long before the two Zoids arrived at Hugoth City. It was actually more of a town than
a city. There weren't too many buildings, but there were a lot of houses around.
"So now what do we do?" Jack asked as they exited their Zoids.
"I guess we find the cemetery." Leena went up to a middle age black woman walking with a
stroller. "Excuse me, where can we find the cemetery?"
"Which one?" She asked.
"What do you mean which one?" Leena asked.
"You two from out of town?"
"Yeah," both Jack and Leena replied.
"Well, just to let you know, this town has over fifteen cemeteries."
"FIFTEEN CEMETERIES!" Leena gasped, wide-eyed.
Jack crossed his arms. "This mustn't be a very popular town if so many people are dying."
"Look, smart guy, the reason our town has so many cemeteries is because no other town wants them.
Say they want the area used for Zoid battling. You ask me, them Zoid people is just a bunch of
chickens."
Leena was about to shout out that she wasn't a chicken when Jack interrupted her. "You know
Madeline Edwards?"
"I know of her."
"Do you know which cemetery she's burried in."
"Sorry, can't help you two on that."
"Well is she burried in this town?" Leena spoke up.
"Probably is, along with over 250 other stiffs." And then the woman turned and walked away.
"So now what, Sherlock," Jack asked. "You have fifteen cemeteries. Are you going to check
every one?"
"Guess so," Leena shrugged. "How else are we going to find Madeline's grave?"
"Did you say Madeline?" An elderly voice asked. An old man walked up to them. He fit the
stereotype profile of an old man. Thin, with bony arms and legs. White hair and missing more
than a couple of teeth. He was dressed in denim overalls, grungy work boots and carrying a
large wooden shovel with a spade attachment. "You wouldn't by any chance be looking for
Madeline Edwards' grave, would you?"
"Yes, we are," Leena replied.
"Well you're in luck, just so happen I work at the cemetery where she's burried."
"Please lead us to it," Leena said shaking his shoulders.
"All right, all right, don't get your stockings in a knot, follow me." The man, whom Leena and
Jack decided was a caretaker, lead them to the far end of town.
"Thanks, Benjamin," Jamie said as he terminated the link with Harry's squatty robot assistant.
"No luck?" Doc Torros asked.
"None. Neither Naomi, Leon, or Harry have seen Leena in the past two hours."
"I assume Harry's taking it pretty badly."
"Considering he was too grief-stricken to talk to us, yeah."
"I just hope Brad had better luck than us," Doc Torros said as said warriors walked in.
"Jack pot," Brad said.
"You've found Leena?" Torros asked excitedly.
"Not exactly, but I know where she been. The Bartender at Romeo City said he saw her leave in
the company of somebody named Jack."
"Jack Sisqo." Bit slammed his fist into his palm. "What has he got in all of this?"
"Kidnapping really isn't Jack's style," Jamie said. "Besides if he did, he would fall out of
favor with the Zoid Battle Commission. They would revoke his license."
"The Bartender also said that Leena was really into a news report about the anniversary of
Madeline Edwards' death."
"Madeline Edwards, who's she?" Jamie asked.
"Wait a second," Bit said.
"What is it, Bit?" Brad questioned.
"A few years before I joined the Blitz Team, I decided to make a pit stop in Hugoth City. The
people there were talking a lot about Madeline Edwards' death. Said it was real controversial
because the officials all say she died in a Zoid battle when in fact there were no Zoid battles
that day. The townspeople all said she was murdered and her body destroyed."
"Could Hugoth City be where Leena and Jack were heading?" Jamie inquired.
"Considering how the Bartender said she practically announced to the whole world that she was
heading to Hugoth City," Brad explained. "I'd say yeah."
"It's possible that whatever fate befelled Madeline Edwards would also befall Leena and Jack,"
Torros concluded. "We have to go rescue them! Bit, Jamie, I want you to take the Reynos and
Zero-Jager to Hugoth City. Brad and I will join you in the Hovercargo. Let's go, people!"
The old man lead Leena and Jack to a cemetery on the far end of town. He made small talk along
the way.
"I'm surprised you're here to see Madeline," the old man said.
"Why?" Jack asked.
"Hardly anyone comes to visit her grave any more."
"Doesn't she have any family members or friends?" Leena voiced.
"Nope. Her father died about three years ago. Nobody knows about any other relatives and as
for friends..." He shook his head. "Her father kept her pretty isolated. It was a wonder he
even let her go to school."
"You seem to know a lot about her life," Jack accused.
Leena elbowed him. "Jack," she hissed. "Of course he would know, he was probably alive before
her death."
"Your lady friend's right," the old man said. "I've been with this town since the beginning.
So of course I would know about her. Ah, here we are." The old man stopped at a cemetery field
about the length of a house. There weren't a lot of tombstones. Jack and Leena were led up to
a rusted-looking one.
Sure enough, the tombstone had Madeline's name on it. Any other information was covered by
weeds. Leena moved the weeds away to show her birth date and the date of her death. According
to it, she died when she was only seven years old.
"How was she killed?" Leena asked the old man.
"That's the strange thing." The old man shook his head. "Everybody said she died when she got
caught in the middle of a Zoid battle. Thing is, there were no Zoid battles that day."
"Did she have any sort of illness or disease?" Jack asked.
"None. She was fit as a fiddle and smart as a tack."
Leena sighed. They were back to square one. There was no doubt in her mind that the ghost she
saw was definitely that of Madeline Edwards. But if she didn't appear to have Leena visit her
grave, why did she appear? Was it simply for kicks? Leena didn't like being dragged around like
a Zoid with a piece broken off. What was going on?
Suddenly she heard the laughing again. The chilling childish laughter. She looked around and
spotted Madeline's ghost, standing by the entrance to the cemetery. She pushed past Jack and
the old man and ran to the exit.
"Wait, where are you going?" Jack called. Leena didn't answer him. She was focused on
Madeline's ghost.
"What do you want?" She asked. For the first time, Madeline raised her head to look at Leena.
Her eyes were big and purple, just like Leena's own. The ghost then turned and took off down
the street.
"Madeline, wait," Leena pleaded. For some reason, Leena found it easy to keep up with Madeline's
ghost as it lead her out of town and over to the mountains near Hugoth City. But by the time
Leena got to the base of the mountain, she was gone.
Leena thought she knew what was going on now. Madeline appeared to her because the two looked
similarly alike. And she wanted Leena to discover something, but what?
Leena slid her hands along the side of the mountain. Suddenly a slab of rock jiggled like it
was loose. Leena put more pressure on it and it moved in. She was now in a hidden cave. Leena
crept along the side wall. Leena's hand suddenly landed on something round with three holes in
it. Leena thought it was a bowling ball, but she was dead wrong.
Emphasis on dead.
Leena's hand landed on a human skull.
Leena screamed into her hand. She thought she was going to pass out, but she knew that if she
did, Bit would never let her hear the end of it. So she pulled herself together and forced
herself to look at the skull. In fact, it was a whole skeleton leaning against the wall like it
was sitting down. A small skeleton wearing a dress and sun bonnet and carrying a big white ball
in what was once her lap.
Leena couldn't believe her eyes. This was her, this was Madeline Edwards' body, or what was left
of it. This was probably where her killers were. Leena knew what she had to do. She had to
find the killers and rip them a new one, pay them back for murdering Madeline.
Leena continued and when she came to the interior of the cavern, she couldn't believe her eyes.
Zoid parts were strewn about like yesterday's garbage. But they were unlike any Zoid
parts she had ever seen. One part looked like the blade to a Blade Liger but it was an unusual
color. Another looked like the tooth to a Saber Tiger but it was shiny and much sharper.
Leena heard voices coming from the back. Leena saw that there was a doorway that lead into
what Leena could determine was a living quarters. By listening to them, Leena found out a lot
of info. It seemed like they were collectors, collectors of "special" Zoid parts.
Leena didn't know what they meant by that, but if the parts she saw were any indication, they
were going to give Zoid Warriors a bad rep. Plus they murdered a little girl. She could
tell they were trouble.
Leena wanted to find out more, but she accidentally stepped on a gun barrel that looked like it
was from a shot cannon. The barrel rolled in front of the doorway. Immediately, the ones
inside knew they were in trouble.
Leena turned to run but someone grabbed the back of her shirt and twirled her around. She was
staring into the face of a man who looked like her father's age with short dark hair and hazel
eyes. He kind of looked like a grown-up version of Jamie.
When the man saw Leena, he gasped and staggered back. "No," he cried. "It can't be. It can't
be you! You're dead! You're dead!" Leena saw her chance. She sucker-punched the guy and
took off. But the guy's friends were more smarter than him. Some of them went into another part
of the cave while others went after Leena. Leena staggered out.
"Jack, Jack!" She called. One of the "collectors" was about to grab her by the waist when he
stopped with fright at what he saw. He was staring into the blue-white face of Liger-Zero-Jager.
"Liger Zero," Leena said relieved. For once, she was glad to see Bit.
"Leena, are you all right?" Bit's voice called from the Liger's cockpit.
"I'm fine. But there are some people in there who are getting away."
"Don't worry," Bit assured her. "Jamie and Jack are on the case." Sure enough, three Hellcats
equipped with invisibility devices took off. But the Reynos and Lightning Scythe quickly
surrounded them with their supersonic speed and pelted them with machine gun fire.
Leena sighed. It was finally over.
A while later, the Hovercargo appeared along with the authorities in police Rev Raptors and a
Whale King that served as the paddy wagon. As the thieves were being loaded into the Whale King,
Leena stopped the one who first spotted her, the one who accused her of being dead.
"Did you kill Madeline Edwards?" She asked simply.
Knowing she could've slugged him again, he replied, "yeah, I did. The kid was too nosy, just
like you. She stumbled onto our hideout, we had to deal with her. I killed her and burned her
body. Then made it look like she was the unfortunate victim of being caught in a Zoid battle."
Leena stepped back as the crook was proded up into the paddy wagon.
Bit came out of the hideout and over to where Jamie, Brad, and Jack were. "You guys aren't going
to believe the Zoid parts they have in there. Illegal Zoid parts."
"Illegal Zoid parts?" Jamie questioned.
"Yeah. Radiation blades, shockwavers, even an electron disruptor. I've read about such parts
but I never seen them up close. All these parts banned by the Zoid Battle Commission because
they were too dangerous."
"So these guys were collecting illegal Zoid parts and didn't want anyone to find out, so they
killed anyone who got too close," Leena deduced. "One thing, how did you guys find me?"
"Jack radioed us from his Lightning Scythe," Jamie explained.
"Thanks, Jack, I owe you one."
Jack crossed his arms. "It's guys like those who give Zoid warriors a bad name."
"I guess the real one to thank would be that caretaker," Leena said. "Hey, where is he
anyway?"
"We didn't see anyone on our way in," Brad explained.
"That can't be right. Jack, you saw him, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"Ho boy, I think the two of you might've been out in the sun too long," Brad said. Leena turned
and ran back to the cemetery. But the old man wasn't there.
Leena stopped a man on the street. "Excuse me, where does the caretaker that watches over this
cemetery live?"
"Caretaker? Lady, this town doesn't hire caretakers. If we did, the town would've gone broke."
"What?... But then who was the old man who lead us to Madeline's grave?" The man just shrugged.
Leena then remembered the news report. It said Madeline was the daughter of Victor Edwards,
who was a designer of the Spino Sappa. And speaking of which, that sixth Spino Sappa that was
there on the 13th. Could that have been...
Leena gulped then hurried back to the others.
That night, Leena stood again outside of the Blitz Team's base, staring at the two moons that
shared a single orbit. Suddenly Madeline appeared. This time, Leena wasn't scared. Instead,
she was glad to see her. The Blitz Team member went up to her.
"The Zoid Parts Black Market has been shut down," Leena told her. Madeline nodded.
"You were trying to contact me because you knew what was going on. You wanted me to put a stop
to them and avenge your death, right?" Again, Madeline nodded.
Madeline took off her hat. Her hair was blonde and fell down over her ears, but other than that,
she looked like a miniture version of Leena. It was then that something else walked up besides
Madeline. It was a Spino Sappa, but a very small one. It was probably about three times
Madeline's height. A normal one would be about twenty times.
"Your daughter's body will be burried next to yours, Mr Edwards. The two of you will finally be
together like you always wanted," Leena said. "You both can finally rest in peace."
For the first time, Madeline opened her mouth. She simply said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Both of you." The two spirits began dissolving. Leena watched as their
particles floated into the night sky and disappear. She waved good-bye, then went back inside
the base.