Arizda: Hi, it's just lil' ole me, again! Hope you don't mind me popping up before and after each chapter. I just want to thank the people that gave me characters to use, like Death Ringer, and Jakob der Ludner (sorry if I got spelling wrong on anything, I tend to do that occasionally). You've been a great help, and just remember-I'M ALWAYS OPEN FOR SUGGESTIONS! ^_^ My writing program is screwed up right now, but I'm trying to do something about the format-I apologize for that. By the way, you can submit more than one character, lol. ^_^ Anyway, one of my famous lines that I haven't said yet-ON WIT DA FICCY!!!



~~~ Chapter Three ~~~

"Okay, so let me get this straight..." Runa started, sitting down on the cavern ground with Ricky after a hefty meal of fish. She hugged her knees. "You bargained to sign up with the alliance in return for a place to stay, yet you don't even know what it is?" she finished.

"Well.. yeah, that's pretty much how it is," Ricky said. Runa sighed and shook her head. "What? What is it? You're going to tell me, right?"

"Yeah, I kinda guess that I have no choice, otherwise, you could be making a decision that you could regret. The alliance is.. well, it's a.... well, it's a group."

"Uh. what kind of a group?" Ricky asked. He hoped he had made a good decision by joining this "alliance".

"The Alliance takes in only the most skilled Zoid pilots and divides them up into teams. I belong on the Star Team, for example. And, when you sign up, they might put you on the Slumberloggin (*) Team. It all depends on your skill, and where the team name stands on the Scale of Rank. Rank is a big thing in The Alliance. What we're doing right now is starting a separate colony on a different planet. The planet has precious metals that could be used to make weapons and armor for Zoids, and we think that it could be extremely successful if the entire mission series goes right. We're hoping to get a lot of good recruits. I was here in part to gather a few Zoid parts. Luckily I got them," Runa explained.

"Wow. so then, The Alliance could be a real messy thing to be tangled up in, huh?" Ricky asked. Runa nodded.

"But don't think of it as a bad thing. That's not what it is. Or, at least that's not what it was meant to be..." she replied.

"HEY! You didn't save any for us!?" came the loud voice of Lewis. Runa turned to face her bodyguard.

"Hey, you weren't around when it was offered. 'Tis not my fault!" she replied. She saw Miyuki standing behind Lewis, and heard her silently say a few words in disgust, then walked away to once again find peace to herself.

"What's up with her?" Ricky asked.

"I dunno-think I should go talk to her?" Runa asked. Lewis stopped her before she could stand up.

"Naw, naw, don't do that, you always break up a big scene when you do stuff like that!" he said. Runa gave him a strange look.

"And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" she shouted. Lewis sighed and threw his arms up in frustration.

"Fine, do what you like. It won't be my fault when she shoots your brains out," he replied.

"HONESTLY, Lewis, what are you talking about?" Runa sighed, walking back to where the rest of the Zoids were placed.

~~*~~

Leena rubbed her sleepy violet eyes and yawned as she stumbled to get up from her bed. She wrapped her light lemon-yellow robe around her tired body as she reached for the doorknob. She knew that someone wasn't asleep, and it was bugging her. She walked out of the hover cargo to find a certain someone lying on top of the Liger 0, staring up at the stars, while trying to go to sleep.

"Bit, would you just go to sleep, already?!" Leena shouted. She stared at Bit, who was just lounging, in long black pants and a T-shirt.

"I can't." he said quite simply. He didn't bother to look down at her. Leena rushed her hands through her choppy red hair. Why wouldn't he listen to her? What could she shout at him that would change his mind?

"YOU'RE the one who's gonna be hurtin' in the morning!" she shouted without much thought. Bit looked down at her.

"I wouldn't have bothered if I thought that to be a big concern, Leena," he replied. She started to get a little pissed.

"DON'T ACT THAT WAY AROUND ME! Don't act like you know what's better! Get to bed, DAMMIT!" she fumed. This extremely shook Bit, and he instantly jumped off of the Liger 0 and returned to the hover cargo.

"Come on, Liger!" he commanded, scared that Leena might be staring him down, by now. But in fact, she was smirking as she watched him lead Liger back into the hangar, and then marched back into his own room. She had been quietly following him when she became startled.

"Why are you following me like that?" he asked. She was shocked. He, who had just been walking ever so casually to his room, had known that she had been doing her best to keep her footsteps eerily quiet.

"I'm.. I'm not! I'm just going to bed!" she replied.

"But. it's the opposite way, Leena," Bit said, tossing his head in the direction of her room. He realized that he had pissed Leena off again.

"I KNOW THAT!" she shouted, stomping off. Bit sighed as he watched his short-fused, fiery-haired, female friend return to her room. A sight she was.

*~~----..______________________________________________..----~~*

"Time to rise and SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII---IIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!"

A young boy of around 12 years of age tossed around in his bed. He moaned before hearing the female voice scream his name.

"KASHIE! WAKE UP, DAMMIT!"

"Damn," the boy whispered as he purposely rolled out of bed. He stood up and blinked at himself in the mirror with his blue eyes. "Heh, cool, it took care of itself, again," he muttered, referring to his extremely messy black hair. Black, messy, and spiky. Just the way he liked it. He yawned again before hearing another off-the-charts scream.

"KASH, HURRY UP, ALREADY!!!!"

The boy quickly dressed in a dark green T-shirt, and dark brown jeans. He poured a bit of water on his hand from a glass on his night table and splashed it on his face before facing a large console. On the console, fish-type Zoids swam in random patterns against a dark, bubbly backdrop-the cutest screensaver the computer had to offer. The boy pressed a button on the computer, setting the screensaver off.

"There you are! I was beginning to think that we were gonna be stranded!" came a female voice. The boy looked up at the screen to see the face of his sister-a blonde girl around the age of 15, with her hair up in a high ponytail. They had the same beautiful blue eyes. This girl was his sister.

"Why would you be stranded, Runa? I mean, you and Lewis DO have your Zoids, don't you? Unless you were struck practically dead in battle, I don't see the problem," the boy replied.

"Well, Kashie, y'see. Lewis picked up a few people. and. eh-heh-heh-heh. umm." Runa started. Kashie gave her a serious look. "You just aren't getting the full meaning of what I'm trying to say, do you?"

"I think I get it. One of the people he picked up is a killer, right? Am I right? Is this all? Because if it is-"

"IT COULD BE, KASH! I dunno, but I just have this strange feeling... but anyway, we have someone new for The Alliance. His ID# is 5458123454," Runa replied.

"Heh, sounds more like a phone number," Kashie replied. This made Runa reply back to him with a "hm."

"You're right. it does. Oh well, that's the number, and sign him up. He's coming in with Lewis and I this afternoon," Runa said. "We're going to test his skills. I'm guessing that he's gonna get placed with the Slumberloggin (*) Team. I mean, they've been looking for another pilot for who knows how long. right?"

"Yeah. They're a good team, too. Well, since you probably need my help, with that so-called 'killer' around, should Dalanette and I come 'escort' you and Lewis back to The Alliance?" Kashie asked.

"Hell, bring D if you wanted to! I don't.. I just don't trust that other girl! She seems so... out there, y'know?" Runa asked.

"Yeah. I get it. Well, I gotta go, Miss Jamanie wants me to study some more. She says that while you're not around, I have to be at the consoles, and you know how much of a burden that is on me!" Kashie snapped.

"Well. Kashie, I'm sorry, but you know that since I've started moving up in the ranks-I-I just have too many missions, and I'm lucky if I even have enough time to put together my reports! I already have a full team, but I'm getting the hardest missions put on me, Kash! I'm trying as hard as I can, and I'm sorry if I can't always be there!" Runa shouted. She received only a cold glance from Kashie before the screen went blank. She frowned heavily before she realized Miyuki was standing by her side.

"If you're that afraid of me, why don't you just let me get it over with and shoot you?" she asked. Runa looked up at her and quickly folded up the folding console screen and placed it back in the butt of her vertically-stacked three-barrel gun. She slightly gritted her teeth. "I need places to stay with. The only problem is, everyone always DIES!" she shouted.

"What did I do?!" Runa asked immediately. Miyuki sighed.

"Never mind," she replied, spinning her gun around with her fingers, then returning to her Zoid. Runa bit her finger.

"What am I gonna do? With her hanging around, I'm HELLA likely to get killed! Not good, not good, not good for a Wanted Princess." she mumbled.

~~^-*****************-^~~

Arizda: Yes, this is the end of the chapter! What is to become of Runa? Miyuki? Lewis? Ricky? Will the Blitz team end up catching D-chan the Cake Bandit? Is The Alliance tied in with the Cake Bandit? Will Arizda ever pull this fic together? Hehe, you betcha! ^_^ THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT, READERS! And I'll say the disclaimer thing again, since I think I should do that about every for or five chapters: I DO NOT OWN ZOIDS! Miyuki is the original character of Death Ringer, Lewis being the original character of wolfkcing, and Ricky / Ulrich being the original character of Jakob der Ludner! MUCHO THANKIES FOR YOUR CHARACTERS, GUYS! And don't forget, it's never too late to submit more! ^_^ Thanks again! Oh, and btw.

(*) Slumberloggin: Just a random word that my good ole friend D-chan made up for me to use! ^__^ THANKS D-CHAN! Expect to see her in future chapters!

~~~ Arizda / OCStarbuddy