Well, it's time to give credit where it's due. I wanna say thanks to the reviewers who have continued to read this fic. I'm sad to say that I think I lost a few and it might be because of the length of this fic or maybe I've just messed this fic up. Tell me, what do you think? Anyway, even as long as one reviewer still remains, it will be reason enough to keep writing this. I thank you guys. You make this worth it. You guys are my inspiration. I write for my reviewers. Thank you^.^
Well, on a more cheerful tone, this chapter is a major explainer. You will finally get to find out who's behind all this chaos and about what happened.
Disclaimer: I don't own zoids, just the characters I make.
Enjoy^.^
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The sun was setting, painting the sky a beautiful shade of crimson. To Bit, it seemed like the perfect color for the day. He was driving through the desert on the motorcycle, heading towards the Blitz team's base. It wasn't far now. He kept his eyes on the road, but his mind was somewhere else. 'What am I gonna tell Taban? It's bad enough that Risai was brainwashed somehow, but now she's…she's most likely dead as well.' Bit gave out a heavy sigh. 'I hope she's still alive. Maybe they won't kill her…maybe.' Bit decided to stop thinking. It was putting him in an even more depressing mood then he was already in. He looked ahead of him a little further and the Blitz team's base came into view. 'Home at last,' thought Bit as he put on an extra burst of speed as he neared the vicinity.
*****
"So, he's not back yet, huh?" asked Rick Star.
"Nope. Any luck finding the base?" asked Naiomi.
"Negative," said Mattei. Naiomi stood in the base of the Blitz team. She was talking with the Fire Star team, who had gone out earlier to search for the base. They contacted her the second they came back. Leon soon entered the room.
"Any luck?" he asked. The Fire Star team, who were on the videophone, all shook their heads. Naiomi did the same. Just then, Leena went running by the room, but stopped and turned around and ran in. She seemed excited about something. They were worried.
"What is it Leena?" asked Naiomi.
"Bit's alive, and he's coming back!" she said happily.
"Wh…" started Leon, but Leena was already running down the hall once again. Naiomi just smiled. Just then, Taban and Miharu walked in the room.
"Was Leena here a second ago?" asked Miharu.
"Yeah. She was here and then she left," said Leon.
"She said Bit was coming back," said Meiyuu. (A/N remember, they're still on the videophone thing). Taban and Miharu were about to go out the door, when Jamie walked in, followed by Brad and Doc.
"Hey dad, you're back," said Leon.
"Yes, and Jamie's filled me in on everything. Any news on Bit?" he asked.
"Only that he's not back yet," said Naiomi. Just then, Leena came running in the room, knocking over Jamie in the process.
"Sorry Jamie," apologized Leena. She quickly left the room again to walk to hers. Doc looked to Naiomi.
"Of course he's not back yet, he's been kidnapped," said Doc. "What do you expect? You think he's just gonna walk up to the front door and knock?" Just then, there was a pounding heard on the door to the base, which wasn't far from the room they were in. Leena came running down the hall.
"He's back!" she yelled. They all just exchanged confused glances and soon followed her, leaving the Fire Star team alone and wondering about what was happening. Leena ran to the door and quickly opened it. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, already knowing who it was.
"I'm so glad you're back," she said. Bit had to smile at this.
"I'm glad to be back," he said as he hugged her. The rest of them came running as well. Bit smiled to them too after he and Leena broke the embrace. They were all shocked.
"Hi," he said, as if nothing had happened.
******
Two men dressed in combat uniforms walked down a hallway, dragging Risai along with them. Each held onto one of her wrists in order to guarantee that she couldn't escape. They stopped at a door, which they opened and walked in, bringing her with. The room was mostly dark. She knew exactly where she was. A man sat in a chair behind a desk. He sat in the shadows of the room. The guards in the room closed the door as the men who had brought her in kept a firm hold on her. She just stared at the man in the chair. He then stood up.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Risai. I thought you would have known better?" he said.
"Shut up! I'm not one of your pawns anymore. You…you brainwashed me," she said harshly. He seemed surprised, but quickly regained his composure.
"So, you figured it out. I suppose you got your whole memory back by now, am I right?" he asked.
"Maybe," she said. He just smirked and walked towards her. He stepped out into the light of the room, revealing his features for the first time. Risai looked to him wide eyed and he just laughed a little and smirked. He had black, spiked hair. He wore a pair of baggy, black pants. His shirt was dark blue and he also wore a black over coat. He removed the pair of sunglasses he had on to reveal dark blue eyes.
"No…it can't be…"
*****
Bit told them that he'd explain everything after he put Liger back in the hanger. He was soon done and they made their way back to the room with the videophone. Bit looked at the videophone and smiled.
"Hello," said Rick. "Nice to see ya again."
"Same here. How ya feeling? You look better at least."
"Yeah, I feel great, of course, these two don't think I'm completely better yet. They won't let me do anything."
"I know how that feels." The two of them just laughed as Mattei and Meiyuu, along with everyone else looked as if they were about ready to kill Rick and Bit.
"Well Bit, it's time to explain yourself," said Brad.
"Yeah. Even I'm having trouble believing that you made it out," said Rick.
"It's sort of a long story," said Bit, wishing he didn't have to tell it.
"We've got all the time in the world," said Naiomi.
"Alright. But first, Taban? I gotta tell you something," said Bit.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You have a really nice sister." Taban looked shocked at this.
"What?" he asked in a surprised tone.
"Yeah. It was only because of Risai, that I was able to escape. She helped me."
"Are you serious?" asked Miharu. Everyone was shocked.
"Yeah. See, I was thrown into a prison cell and that's when Risai approached me. She asked me about you, Taban. She had wanted to know if she had killed you or not when she shot you. She seemed relieved when I said you were still alive. She was gonna leave, but then I mentioned you were her brother. She came back and asked about stuff, like what happened. She wanted me to help her remember."
"So you're saying that Risai was brainwashed?" asked Jamie.
"Yeah."
*****
"…Toran," said Risai.
"In the flesh," responded Toran.
"No! You…you died! A long time ago!" He waved a finger at her.
"On the contrary, they said I disappeared. Most assumed I was dead, but that's not true, now, is it?"
"Why? If you were alive, why didn't you come back?"
"Don't you get it you fool? I was never part of the Zoid Battle Commission. After I disappeared, I joined the Dark Blazers, or, rejoined, as I like to put it."
"Why?"
"Can't you figure it out?" Risai thought for a while, but then it was clear to her. She just stared downward.
"The enhancements…that's what you wanted," she said.
"That's right. That was my whole reason in joining. I had to prove I was loyal to the ZBC by destroying members of my own side, of course, but it was worth it in order to get the enhancements."
"How could you?! After all we did for you? They even gave you an ultimate X! And then you went and turned your back on them!"
"Yes, that is right, but I never planned on getting the Rector. They gave it to me, so I kept it."
"Jerk!"
"Maybe I am, but who cares."
"I care!"
"Hm?"
"I just don't understand…why did you lie to us? Why did you join the Backdraft? And why did you brainwash me!?"
"After I disappeared, I joined them. The Backdraft, or Dark Blazers, as they were called, gave me a home here. I was a proud member and their only ultimate X pilot. I was happy there."
"It doesn't explain what this has to do with me. I'll say it again…why did you brainwash me?!"
"It's not that hard to figure out, is it? You were a strong and skilled fighter…you had to be, in order for you to have been given the enhancements so early in your youth. Once you were separated from Taban and Miharu, it was quite easy. I honestly didn't care which of you I got. It just so happened that you were the one assigned to fight the squad that I was in. Of course, it's easy to understand why you wouldn't have known it was me you were fighting. I painted the zoid black. So see, it was all a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"But…why? Why did you do this? What's it all for?"
"That's easy…for revenge," he said icily.
*****
"But…how?" asked Leena.
"I don't know. After a while, she began to remember things. I think she got her whole memory back eventually."
"So, how'd you escape?" asked Brad.
"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. She unlocked my cell and then unhooked the chains on my arms. I thought it was strange that she was helping me, but when I asked why, she told me it was because I helped her remember. We were making our way to the cargo bay, but then the sirens went off. We ran down the halls as fast as we could, but there were people who weren't to far away from us. When we made it to the cargo bay, Risai closed the door and held it shut. The men who were chasing us began to ram the door. She opened the cargo bay doors and told me to take one of the motorcycles. Of course, I did what she said, but when I told her to hurry up and get on…she told me she couldn't. The doors began to close because of the control panel on the other side of the door she was holding shut. Risai pushed a few more buttons and the motorcycle rolled out the door, just as it closed. She was trapped inside. The last thing I saw was the door she was holding breaking down." Bit looked to all of them. They all seemed in a somber mood now. He then looked to Taban.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Don't be," said Taban.
"Risai told me to tell you that she loves you and that she's sorry. I tried to save her too, but…"
"Now…she'll most likely be killed if she hasn't been already," said Miharu, looking down at the ground.
"I don't think so," said Taban. They all looked to him, a little confused.
"What do you mean?" asked Leena.
"Think about it. Risai is the best fighter they have. She's an expert at all types of combat. I don't think they'd kill her, even though she did betray them. They'll probably just brainwash her again."
"That makes cense. Then there's still hope," said Bit.
"Yeah, but something else has been bugging me. The guy that Miharu and I fought…the one with that zoid…he called it…the Rector. He said it was an ultimate X."
"So?" asked Brad, a little curious as to where this was getting.
"Now that you mention it, that zoid looked familiar. And the voice of that guy…was familiar as well."
"What are you getting at?" asked Bit.
"Do you think he might be the one responsible for this whole mess?" asked Leena.
"It's possible…" said Taban.
"There's a way we can find out about it," said Rick Star. "If this is a guy you think you've encountered before, like in your past or something, there's a way to find out, if you're interested."
"I'm interested," responded Taban.
"Alright. We'll be right over. Hope you don't mind," he said.
"It's fine. It's always good to have company," said Bit.
"Okay. See you guys soon!" said Rick. He waved and then the screen went blank.
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I know. It was short and I didn't finish explaining stuff. I'm putting up two chapters at once so that you don't have to worry about it. Well, I'm going in for my surgery at 1:30 on Friday, which is today, as a matter of fact. I'll be back soon and I'll make sure to write more^.^ And I have a word of advice: never get too cocky, cause it'll eventually catch up with you. Believe me, I'm living proof. If you wanna hear my story, I'll tell ya sometime. It's humorous and just plain pathetic on my part. Well, that's my advice for now. Until we meet again!
Audi^.^