Meeting
"Uh, hi?" Coiled inside the zoid core, I open my eyes. *Shadow, some kid's here. * Shadow yawns and scrutinizes the boy. He looks promising. Liger adds input. {I think he may be the one who can manage to pilot us satisfactorily.}
It's been three hundred years since we bonded. Fury is down on the bottom of the sea. The last I heard from him, he had been infected with a core virus. He's fighting it, but hasn't won yet. Astarael and Shadowrage are in the mountains. We visit each other often, but she hasn't made herself known to humans, as they probably will misuse Shadowrage's power. Besides, no one has met our criteria for a pilot, so we have a reputation as an unruly zoid.
The boy is tied to a pole. Sandy blonde hair, green eyes. Impulsive, cocky. "Liger Zero." I look down on him. He struggles upright. "I bet you'd be a great zoid if you had the right pilot."
I hack into the database. Name: Bit Cloud. Age: 16. *What do you reckon, Shadow? Take him for a test run? * Yes. We bend down and open the canopy. "You want me to be your pilot?" Duh.
We're running on the grassy plain. Bit is yelling his head off in the cockpit. *Shadow? Liger? I think he'll do. He treats us like we're real, and not inanimate. * I feel them nod.
2 weeks later........
"Bit! Did you take my doughnut?!" Crashes echo through the Blitz Team base. Leena and Bit, as usual. I sigh and ready myself. Bit's going to come running in here, looking for an escape.
A loud crunch hits my ears. A human shape indentation is in the wall. Ow. Well, the nutty professor is out with Jamie and Brad, and Bit and Leena are fighting. *Liger? Shadow? Ready to unmerge? * Affirmative. {Yes.}
We fall out onto the floor and walk outside to sit on the mountain. The stars still are unchangeable as ever. I tally our victories and losses. 15 wins, 1loss against the Lightning Team. I could have won, but I have to lose once to get full power. The night wind swirls and passes.
Bit limped into the hangar. Command Wolf, Gunsniper. He continued and stopped. His eyes bugged out in horror. "Liger!" He ran around in circles and stopped.
"Leena?" She poked her head in. "Liger's gone! Can I borrow the jeep?" She stepped in. "Yes. But I'm going." He grimaced. "Fine."
"There's Liger's tracks." Leena nodded. "Yeah." They got in the jeep and followed it to Mount Ranna.
"I see him." Bit got ready to run forward in joy when something stopped him. Liger's leg was looking.. fat.
*Time to go. * I step away. I hear breathing and turn. Bit. Our eyes lock.
Bit stepped forward with Leena behind him. A shadow disconnected from the Liger's leg. It was a boy. A 16 to 18 year old, black hair, and strange amethyst eyes.
The boy didn't move, just stared. Bit swallowed. "What.." he began. The boy yelled.
"Shadow!" Something black leaped forward, grabbed the boy, and sped off. The Liger turned and ran toward the base.
"Uh, Bit?" He turned. "What the hell was that?" He shook his head. "I don't know, Leena. I don't know." They drove back.
"Doc!" The doc turned from his Raynos model. "Yes, Bit?" Bit and Leena stepped into the room. "Something very strange happened."
"What?" Brad and Jamie walked in. They looked and sat down.
"Me and Leena were fighting. I got hurt. Later, I walked into the hangar. Liger wasn't there. We got in the jeep and followed the tracks. We saw him, but his leg looked bigger than normal. I walked forward, and suddenly this boy about my age stepped away from Liger. He had wild black hair and purple eyes. We looked at him and he looked at us. He yelled 'Shadow!' This black thing grabbed him and ran away. And I'd like to know who he was, what the black thing was, and what they were doing with Liger."
The Doc looked thoughtful. "It sounds like... no, that can't be." "What can't be?" Doc shook his head. "Never mind. We have a battle tomorrow, get some rest."
Shadow and I fly toward Astarael's cave. We set down outside a rough granite wall with ivy. She walks out and runs forward to give me a hug. "You've gotten taller, Dragon. Where's Liger?"
We sit on top of a ledge with Shadowrage and Shadow. "So, Bit saw you?" I nod. She frowns thoughtfully. "Well, they may know who you are, but I doubt they'll do anything about it." I lean back and give her a last hug before leaving to sneak back into the base.
Shadow races across the desert with me on his back. The base comes into view and Liger roars. {Now you're back! Hurry, Brad's leaving!}
Brad mobilized and ran out of the hangar. He settled back and pointed toward New Hope. ' Bit and Leena were probably hallucinating.' He mused. Something moved in the corner of his eye.
His jaw dropped. The boy Bit was talking about, on something black. But before he could get a better look, the boy and the black thing leaped up, onto the mountain, and hid. "I'm sick, I'm seeing things." He turned and ran back into the base.
"Uh, hi?" Coiled inside the zoid core, I open my eyes. *Shadow, some kid's here. * Shadow yawns and scrutinizes the boy. He looks promising. Liger adds input. {I think he may be the one who can manage to pilot us satisfactorily.}
It's been three hundred years since we bonded. Fury is down on the bottom of the sea. The last I heard from him, he had been infected with a core virus. He's fighting it, but hasn't won yet. Astarael and Shadowrage are in the mountains. We visit each other often, but she hasn't made herself known to humans, as they probably will misuse Shadowrage's power. Besides, no one has met our criteria for a pilot, so we have a reputation as an unruly zoid.
The boy is tied to a pole. Sandy blonde hair, green eyes. Impulsive, cocky. "Liger Zero." I look down on him. He struggles upright. "I bet you'd be a great zoid if you had the right pilot."
I hack into the database. Name: Bit Cloud. Age: 16. *What do you reckon, Shadow? Take him for a test run? * Yes. We bend down and open the canopy. "You want me to be your pilot?" Duh.
We're running on the grassy plain. Bit is yelling his head off in the cockpit. *Shadow? Liger? I think he'll do. He treats us like we're real, and not inanimate. * I feel them nod.
2 weeks later........
"Bit! Did you take my doughnut?!" Crashes echo through the Blitz Team base. Leena and Bit, as usual. I sigh and ready myself. Bit's going to come running in here, looking for an escape.
A loud crunch hits my ears. A human shape indentation is in the wall. Ow. Well, the nutty professor is out with Jamie and Brad, and Bit and Leena are fighting. *Liger? Shadow? Ready to unmerge? * Affirmative. {Yes.}
We fall out onto the floor and walk outside to sit on the mountain. The stars still are unchangeable as ever. I tally our victories and losses. 15 wins, 1loss against the Lightning Team. I could have won, but I have to lose once to get full power. The night wind swirls and passes.
Bit limped into the hangar. Command Wolf, Gunsniper. He continued and stopped. His eyes bugged out in horror. "Liger!" He ran around in circles and stopped.
"Leena?" She poked her head in. "Liger's gone! Can I borrow the jeep?" She stepped in. "Yes. But I'm going." He grimaced. "Fine."
"There's Liger's tracks." Leena nodded. "Yeah." They got in the jeep and followed it to Mount Ranna.
"I see him." Bit got ready to run forward in joy when something stopped him. Liger's leg was looking.. fat.
*Time to go. * I step away. I hear breathing and turn. Bit. Our eyes lock.
Bit stepped forward with Leena behind him. A shadow disconnected from the Liger's leg. It was a boy. A 16 to 18 year old, black hair, and strange amethyst eyes.
The boy didn't move, just stared. Bit swallowed. "What.." he began. The boy yelled.
"Shadow!" Something black leaped forward, grabbed the boy, and sped off. The Liger turned and ran toward the base.
"Uh, Bit?" He turned. "What the hell was that?" He shook his head. "I don't know, Leena. I don't know." They drove back.
"Doc!" The doc turned from his Raynos model. "Yes, Bit?" Bit and Leena stepped into the room. "Something very strange happened."
"What?" Brad and Jamie walked in. They looked and sat down.
"Me and Leena were fighting. I got hurt. Later, I walked into the hangar. Liger wasn't there. We got in the jeep and followed the tracks. We saw him, but his leg looked bigger than normal. I walked forward, and suddenly this boy about my age stepped away from Liger. He had wild black hair and purple eyes. We looked at him and he looked at us. He yelled 'Shadow!' This black thing grabbed him and ran away. And I'd like to know who he was, what the black thing was, and what they were doing with Liger."
The Doc looked thoughtful. "It sounds like... no, that can't be." "What can't be?" Doc shook his head. "Never mind. We have a battle tomorrow, get some rest."
Shadow and I fly toward Astarael's cave. We set down outside a rough granite wall with ivy. She walks out and runs forward to give me a hug. "You've gotten taller, Dragon. Where's Liger?"
We sit on top of a ledge with Shadowrage and Shadow. "So, Bit saw you?" I nod. She frowns thoughtfully. "Well, they may know who you are, but I doubt they'll do anything about it." I lean back and give her a last hug before leaving to sneak back into the base.
Shadow races across the desert with me on his back. The base comes into view and Liger roars. {Now you're back! Hurry, Brad's leaving!}
Brad mobilized and ran out of the hangar. He settled back and pointed toward New Hope. ' Bit and Leena were probably hallucinating.' He mused. Something moved in the corner of his eye.
His jaw dropped. The boy Bit was talking about, on something black. But before he could get a better look, the boy and the black thing leaped up, onto the mountain, and hid. "I'm sick, I'm seeing things." He turned and ran back into the base.