Note: Thursday, July 25, 2002, a week ago, was the day of the last episode
of the new Zoids, on Cartoon Netowork, before it was replaced by the old,
classic Zoids (like with Van and Fiona). The people at Cartoon Network took
it off for I don't know how long. Maybe forever. Please join me in a moment
of silence to acknowledge the passing of a great show.
Thank you. May Bit, Leena, Doc. Tauros, Jamie, Wild Eagle Jamie, Brad, Naomi, Layon, Leon, Harry, Benjamin, Sebastian, Jack Sisquo, his teammates, Mary Champ, vega, Sarah, Altile, Stoler (the elephander guy), Peirce, the committee of 7, the rest of the Backdraft group, the Tigers/Saber Fangs/Fuzzy Pandas team, all other teams the Zoid Battle Committee, the judges(and dark judges), all other warriors and people, and, last but not least, Liger-Zero, The Berserk Fury, Jamie's Raynos and Pteras, Brad's Command Wolf and Shadow Fox, Leena and Naomi's Gunsnipers, Leon's Red Blade Liger and Shield Liger, the Elephander, the Fuma teams war sharks, the Tigers/Saberfangs/Fuzzy Pandas team's Zaber Fangs, the Storm Sworders and Zabats, Jack Sisquo's Lightning Siax(I think that's how you spell it), the Chainsaw men's Spinosappas, all Harry's Zoids, the ZBC's Ultrasaurus, and all other zoids that ever showed up in the show live in our hearts forever. Now read the story!
Chapter Five: Different Time, Different Place
5 years later.
The hot sun beat down on a single Red Horn, as it walked through the desert. Tony Malkairos wiped the sweat off his forehead, and struggled to see through the intense heat waves that rippled like water while hovering over the road in front of him.
"This is what I get fer startin' out to late." He said to himself, in a heavy Southern accent. "Ray was right. I shoulda gone out at 6:00 instead of 10:00. Now I'm gonna die of thirst, unless that's the place over there." By the side of the road there was a small building, with a sight above it saying PAULA'S BAR.
"Yep, that's it. That's the place." Tony said. He parked his zoid next to a Dibison and something that he had never seen before, which looked like some kind of Liger. 'Judgin' by Ray's description. I'm pretty sure that he's here.' he smiled, and walked into the bar.
The AC blasted in his face. He stood there a minute, letting the coolness wash over him. Then, he took off his cowboy hat, ran his fingers through his light brown hair, and walked over to the bar. He tapped the counter, and a fat, older woman walked over.
"Hello, sir! What can I get for ya?" she said in a loud, annoying voice," Ye'll be wantin' somthin' ta cool ya down after bein' out in the sun, and at midday too! I tell ya, we almost never get any new customers 'round this time 'o day, only the guys that came 'round earlier. Anyone out in this heat is a foo."
Tony cut her off. "Actually, ma'am, I'm just here ta meet someone. Is there anyone here by the name o' Bit Cloud?"
"Yessir, there is. Comes round here ev'ry day, that one does. He's right over in the corner there." She pointed to a table far in a dark corner of the room with a single figure sitting at it, with his feet up on the table.
"Thanks ma'am." Tony got up and walked over to the table. "You Bit Cloud, the mercenary?" he said. He tried to get a better look at that man at the table, but his face was too hidden in shadow to see his features.
"Who 's asking?" came the reply.
'Tony Malkairos, of the Hayden team."
"Yep. I'm Bit Cloud. So why are you talking to me?"
"I want ta hire ya fer a battle 'r two."
"You in class-S?"
"Yessir, we are in Class-S. Why?"
"Cause I only fight for Class-S teams."
"Oh."
"How much money you got?"
"As much as yer askin'."
"What's your rank?"
"35th."
"What kind of zoids do you have?"
"A Dark Horn, an' two Red Horns."
"Fine. I'll fight with you." Bit said.
He stood up, and raised his head into the light. Tony found himself looking into the face of a 21-year-old man, with stunning green eyes, and a red bandanna covering his hair, but Tony could still see that it was blond. He was about 6 feet tall, and well built. He was wearing a no-sleeved denim jacket, and loose, black jeans. He had obviously cut the sleeves off the jacket himself, judging by the messy, frayed edges. He had a thick black band tattooed on his left upper arm. There was a sort of aura of power around him that was impossible for Tony to miss. He had a feeling that this man was much stronger then he looked.
Everyone else in the room began whispering excitedly. Tony could hear a little pieces of what they were saying:
".Look, that guy hired Bit on his first try."
".almost never accepts anyone."
".he's so lucky."
".I tried to hire him yesterday, but."
".o' course ya tried ta 'ire 'im, we all 'ave."
Eager to get away from the whispers, Tony began to walk toward the door "K. Let's get goin'." he said. Bit grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold it, dipwad! You're not going back out in that sun and heat, are you?"
Tony turned around, chuckling. "Yer right. I guess I'm sorta eager ta show Ray how I hired a rope ta get us out of our hole!"
Bit smiled. "You don't mean you expect me to help you out of a losing streak, do you? I hate to admit it, but I don't think I'm a very good mercenary."
Tony laughed out loud. "Ha ha ha! What a joke!" He held his sides as if he would burst, and sat back down at the table, trying to catch his breath.
Bit looked at his curiously, and sat down beside him. "What do you mean, I wasn't joking. I'm not that good a mercenary."
Tony kept chuckling. "Listen, partner, I don't know why you think that, when yer the most desirable mercenary from here ta kingdom come!"
Bit smiled. "So that's why everyone lines up to try and hire me everywhere I go." He chuckled, "And I've only been doing this for 5 years."
"What didja do before then?" Tony asked.
"I was on a team, called the Blitz team."
"That's the team that won the Royal cup five years ago, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I won it for them. Me and my Liger Zero were the best ones on the team."
"So that's what that zoid's called. It sure is a beauty."
Bit just smiled.
"But," Tony continued, "if yer such a great warrior, an' yer zoid's so amazin', then why didja wanna fight with a low-ranked team like us?"
"Well, I sort of sensed that you were in need of a fabulous warrior like myself." Bit answered, grinning.
Tony laughed. "Ha ha ha! Yer a funny one, Bit Cloud, an' no mistake." He stopped laughing. "But there are two things I've been meaning ta ask ya. First, why do ya only fight fer class-S teams?"
"Because my team was in class-S before I left." Answered Bit.
"Second, why didja leave yer team?" Tony asked.
"Long story."
"We got a lot 'o time."
Bit smiled. "Okay then. It all started about 5 or 6 years ago. I was a junk dealer, the kind that drives around and.um.'collects' zoid parts left on battlefields after battles. Then, one day, I got caught in a battle between the Blitz team and the Tigers team, now known as the Saberfangs."
**************
Hours passed. Bit told Tony the whole story of him and the Blitz team, all the way through from the first time he met Liger Zero, to his departure.
".so, that's how I became a mercenary. I didn't want to join another team, but I just couldn't stop fighting."
Tony slapped his forehead. "Shoot, that's a helluva story an' no mistake! So, you reckon you ain't never gonna go back?"
Bit shook his head. "Nope."
"Why not?"
"I have to forget about the whole thing. I've been trying to forget for 5 years, and I haven't been able to."
Tony smiled. "Well, the way you described her ta me, that Leena sounds like a pretty hard gal ta ferget."
Bit nodded. "She is." He looked out a window, and noticed that the sun was going down. "Well, looks like the heat of the day has passed." He said, "We better get going."
Tony nodded in agreement. Bit stood, and started toward the door. Tony got up and followed him. They stepped outside. A warm breeze was blowing, heating the otherwise cool air. The sun was hovering low near the flat desert horizon, and glowed an intense orange-red, setting the sky ablaze in a mixture of reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks. Bit sighed, as he watched the sun sink slowly lower.
"What, you've never seen a sunset before?" Tony broke the silence.
"Wha.? Oh.um.yeah."
"C'mon! Let's get goin'!" Tony climbed into the cockpit of his Red Horn. Bit climbed into Liger's. The Red Horn began walking east, and Bit and Liger followed.
*****************
They reached the Hayden team's base at about 9:00 pm. The hanger door was open, so Tony went right in, stopped his zoid, and went over to a man, dressed in green (to match his green hair), working on painting a Dark Horn with a fresh coat of black paint.
"Howdy, Ray!" Tony called. "Where's Ben?"
"Hi, Tony!" Ray replied. "He's inside, getting dinner ready. Did you get the mercenary?"
"Yessir, I did. He's right outside. I'll go get him." Tony walked back outside to Bit and Liger, and beckoned them to come into the hanger. They did, and Ray closed the door behind them. Bit jumped down from Liger's cockpit, and ray walked over to him.
"So, you're the famous Bit Cloud. Pleased to meet you, my name's Ray Hayden." He held out his hand, and Bit shook it.
"Hey, Ray!" someone called from across the hanger. Bit looked in the direction of the voice. There was a tall man with black hair standing in a doorway.
"Hey, Ben, come over here!" Ray called. Ben came over.
"Ray, there's something I need to tell you."
"Ben, meet Bit Cloud, the mercenary."
"Pleased to meet you. But Ray, the ZBC called."
"What did they want?"
"They gave us our next battle."
"Well? What team are we going to fight?"
"The Blitz team."
**************
Well, that's it for this chapter. It was long to make up for the shortness of the last one. I hope you liked it!
Luv ya all,
grath
Thank you. May Bit, Leena, Doc. Tauros, Jamie, Wild Eagle Jamie, Brad, Naomi, Layon, Leon, Harry, Benjamin, Sebastian, Jack Sisquo, his teammates, Mary Champ, vega, Sarah, Altile, Stoler (the elephander guy), Peirce, the committee of 7, the rest of the Backdraft group, the Tigers/Saber Fangs/Fuzzy Pandas team, all other teams the Zoid Battle Committee, the judges(and dark judges), all other warriors and people, and, last but not least, Liger-Zero, The Berserk Fury, Jamie's Raynos and Pteras, Brad's Command Wolf and Shadow Fox, Leena and Naomi's Gunsnipers, Leon's Red Blade Liger and Shield Liger, the Elephander, the Fuma teams war sharks, the Tigers/Saberfangs/Fuzzy Pandas team's Zaber Fangs, the Storm Sworders and Zabats, Jack Sisquo's Lightning Siax(I think that's how you spell it), the Chainsaw men's Spinosappas, all Harry's Zoids, the ZBC's Ultrasaurus, and all other zoids that ever showed up in the show live in our hearts forever. Now read the story!
Chapter Five: Different Time, Different Place
5 years later.
The hot sun beat down on a single Red Horn, as it walked through the desert. Tony Malkairos wiped the sweat off his forehead, and struggled to see through the intense heat waves that rippled like water while hovering over the road in front of him.
"This is what I get fer startin' out to late." He said to himself, in a heavy Southern accent. "Ray was right. I shoulda gone out at 6:00 instead of 10:00. Now I'm gonna die of thirst, unless that's the place over there." By the side of the road there was a small building, with a sight above it saying PAULA'S BAR.
"Yep, that's it. That's the place." Tony said. He parked his zoid next to a Dibison and something that he had never seen before, which looked like some kind of Liger. 'Judgin' by Ray's description. I'm pretty sure that he's here.' he smiled, and walked into the bar.
The AC blasted in his face. He stood there a minute, letting the coolness wash over him. Then, he took off his cowboy hat, ran his fingers through his light brown hair, and walked over to the bar. He tapped the counter, and a fat, older woman walked over.
"Hello, sir! What can I get for ya?" she said in a loud, annoying voice," Ye'll be wantin' somthin' ta cool ya down after bein' out in the sun, and at midday too! I tell ya, we almost never get any new customers 'round this time 'o day, only the guys that came 'round earlier. Anyone out in this heat is a foo."
Tony cut her off. "Actually, ma'am, I'm just here ta meet someone. Is there anyone here by the name o' Bit Cloud?"
"Yessir, there is. Comes round here ev'ry day, that one does. He's right over in the corner there." She pointed to a table far in a dark corner of the room with a single figure sitting at it, with his feet up on the table.
"Thanks ma'am." Tony got up and walked over to the table. "You Bit Cloud, the mercenary?" he said. He tried to get a better look at that man at the table, but his face was too hidden in shadow to see his features.
"Who 's asking?" came the reply.
'Tony Malkairos, of the Hayden team."
"Yep. I'm Bit Cloud. So why are you talking to me?"
"I want ta hire ya fer a battle 'r two."
"You in class-S?"
"Yessir, we are in Class-S. Why?"
"Cause I only fight for Class-S teams."
"Oh."
"How much money you got?"
"As much as yer askin'."
"What's your rank?"
"35th."
"What kind of zoids do you have?"
"A Dark Horn, an' two Red Horns."
"Fine. I'll fight with you." Bit said.
He stood up, and raised his head into the light. Tony found himself looking into the face of a 21-year-old man, with stunning green eyes, and a red bandanna covering his hair, but Tony could still see that it was blond. He was about 6 feet tall, and well built. He was wearing a no-sleeved denim jacket, and loose, black jeans. He had obviously cut the sleeves off the jacket himself, judging by the messy, frayed edges. He had a thick black band tattooed on his left upper arm. There was a sort of aura of power around him that was impossible for Tony to miss. He had a feeling that this man was much stronger then he looked.
Everyone else in the room began whispering excitedly. Tony could hear a little pieces of what they were saying:
".Look, that guy hired Bit on his first try."
".almost never accepts anyone."
".he's so lucky."
".I tried to hire him yesterday, but."
".o' course ya tried ta 'ire 'im, we all 'ave."
Eager to get away from the whispers, Tony began to walk toward the door "K. Let's get goin'." he said. Bit grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold it, dipwad! You're not going back out in that sun and heat, are you?"
Tony turned around, chuckling. "Yer right. I guess I'm sorta eager ta show Ray how I hired a rope ta get us out of our hole!"
Bit smiled. "You don't mean you expect me to help you out of a losing streak, do you? I hate to admit it, but I don't think I'm a very good mercenary."
Tony laughed out loud. "Ha ha ha! What a joke!" He held his sides as if he would burst, and sat back down at the table, trying to catch his breath.
Bit looked at his curiously, and sat down beside him. "What do you mean, I wasn't joking. I'm not that good a mercenary."
Tony kept chuckling. "Listen, partner, I don't know why you think that, when yer the most desirable mercenary from here ta kingdom come!"
Bit smiled. "So that's why everyone lines up to try and hire me everywhere I go." He chuckled, "And I've only been doing this for 5 years."
"What didja do before then?" Tony asked.
"I was on a team, called the Blitz team."
"That's the team that won the Royal cup five years ago, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I won it for them. Me and my Liger Zero were the best ones on the team."
"So that's what that zoid's called. It sure is a beauty."
Bit just smiled.
"But," Tony continued, "if yer such a great warrior, an' yer zoid's so amazin', then why didja wanna fight with a low-ranked team like us?"
"Well, I sort of sensed that you were in need of a fabulous warrior like myself." Bit answered, grinning.
Tony laughed. "Ha ha ha! Yer a funny one, Bit Cloud, an' no mistake." He stopped laughing. "But there are two things I've been meaning ta ask ya. First, why do ya only fight fer class-S teams?"
"Because my team was in class-S before I left." Answered Bit.
"Second, why didja leave yer team?" Tony asked.
"Long story."
"We got a lot 'o time."
Bit smiled. "Okay then. It all started about 5 or 6 years ago. I was a junk dealer, the kind that drives around and.um.'collects' zoid parts left on battlefields after battles. Then, one day, I got caught in a battle between the Blitz team and the Tigers team, now known as the Saberfangs."
**************
Hours passed. Bit told Tony the whole story of him and the Blitz team, all the way through from the first time he met Liger Zero, to his departure.
".so, that's how I became a mercenary. I didn't want to join another team, but I just couldn't stop fighting."
Tony slapped his forehead. "Shoot, that's a helluva story an' no mistake! So, you reckon you ain't never gonna go back?"
Bit shook his head. "Nope."
"Why not?"
"I have to forget about the whole thing. I've been trying to forget for 5 years, and I haven't been able to."
Tony smiled. "Well, the way you described her ta me, that Leena sounds like a pretty hard gal ta ferget."
Bit nodded. "She is." He looked out a window, and noticed that the sun was going down. "Well, looks like the heat of the day has passed." He said, "We better get going."
Tony nodded in agreement. Bit stood, and started toward the door. Tony got up and followed him. They stepped outside. A warm breeze was blowing, heating the otherwise cool air. The sun was hovering low near the flat desert horizon, and glowed an intense orange-red, setting the sky ablaze in a mixture of reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks. Bit sighed, as he watched the sun sink slowly lower.
"What, you've never seen a sunset before?" Tony broke the silence.
"Wha.? Oh.um.yeah."
"C'mon! Let's get goin'!" Tony climbed into the cockpit of his Red Horn. Bit climbed into Liger's. The Red Horn began walking east, and Bit and Liger followed.
*****************
They reached the Hayden team's base at about 9:00 pm. The hanger door was open, so Tony went right in, stopped his zoid, and went over to a man, dressed in green (to match his green hair), working on painting a Dark Horn with a fresh coat of black paint.
"Howdy, Ray!" Tony called. "Where's Ben?"
"Hi, Tony!" Ray replied. "He's inside, getting dinner ready. Did you get the mercenary?"
"Yessir, I did. He's right outside. I'll go get him." Tony walked back outside to Bit and Liger, and beckoned them to come into the hanger. They did, and Ray closed the door behind them. Bit jumped down from Liger's cockpit, and ray walked over to him.
"So, you're the famous Bit Cloud. Pleased to meet you, my name's Ray Hayden." He held out his hand, and Bit shook it.
"Hey, Ray!" someone called from across the hanger. Bit looked in the direction of the voice. There was a tall man with black hair standing in a doorway.
"Hey, Ben, come over here!" Ray called. Ben came over.
"Ray, there's something I need to tell you."
"Ben, meet Bit Cloud, the mercenary."
"Pleased to meet you. But Ray, the ZBC called."
"What did they want?"
"They gave us our next battle."
"Well? What team are we going to fight?"
"The Blitz team."
**************
Well, that's it for this chapter. It was long to make up for the shortness of the last one. I hope you liked it!
Luv ya all,
grath