Chapter XV: Gravity

More!!!

***

Dive into the mind...

"Gravity Cannon..." mumbled Kokoro. "If I can find the Gravity Cannon... and Robert... he could pilot the Ultrasaurus, and..." She yawned. "...destroy the... Deathstinger..." Kokoro began to fall asleep when she noticed the Gul Tiger was slowing down. "Ooh... What is it, Gully?"

She sat up straight and looked through the cockpit screen. In front of them was a stranded Whale King. Was it a wreck? Kokoro thought about if for a moment, shrugged, and directed the Gul Tiger over to it. She climbed out of the Zoid and approached the Whale King curiously.

"Hello?" she called, knocking on the motionless metal. "Is anybody in there... Ahh! Oh, hello."

"Hey, have you seen this girl?"

Kokoro looked down at the boy standing in front of her. He was about thirteen or fourteen with jet black hair and purple (hey, are they black? or is it just me?) eyes. She took the picture he handed and looked at it. "You mean recently?" she asked, trying to remember anything.

"Yeah, sometime today."

Kokoro shook her head. She smiled, handing back the picture. "Hi, I'm Kokoro, who're you?"

"The name's Vega," murmured the boy. "Vega Obscura. I have to go help them fix the Whale King now, but thanks anyways for your help."

"Um... who is that... in the picture...?"

Vega laughed at her. "That's my friend, Faye. I guess she took my advice."

"Advice?" asked Kokoro confusedly. She watched as the boy walked towards the front of the Whale King, then ran after him. "Wait!"

"Huh?" asked Vega, turning back around.

"Err, I kinda need some advice," said Kokoro, sheepishly staring at the ground.

"Umm, okay, I guess...?" Vega looked at her strangely, waiting. "Well?"

"Oh!" cried Kokoro. "Sorry." She grinned. "I have this friend, Robert, who I met when..."

As she told her story, Vega raised an eyebrow. There was no way she could be completely human. Surviving a crash in a Storm Sworder when the pilot hadn't? And that Evelyn girl. Vega understood these kind of things, thanks to the organoid Shadow. He knew perfectly well what "Evelyn" could do and who, or better yet what, she was, though not what she was originally. So he knew that no human could survive the crash, much less most of the other things that had happened to Kokoro...

"So what do you think I should do?" she asked. "I mean, do you think that he's looking for me like I am... do you think he... still cares?"

"I..." began Vega. How should he put this? Aw, heck. She didn't want him to tell her that she wasn't normal. She just wanted a little advice. "Of course he still cares about you!" cried Vega. "I'm sure of it. And you should continue doing what you've been doing- hoping and searching. By the way, have you tried calling his Zoid with a comlink?"

"Huh?" asked Kokoro. "By comlink... thanks so much! I never would have thought of it... Except, I don't know how to operate the Gul Tiger's comlink system. It's not my Zoid..."

"Oh," said Vega. "I have a Guysack right over there- c'mon."

***

Dive into the heart...

"Please don't be in there, Kokoro," moaned Robert Marron, staring at the partially disabled Whale King. "Please... Huh? Kokoro?!!"

Up ahead he saw Kokoro climbing into a blue Guysack, a young boy getting in with her. "What..." he said.

"Like this?" A comlink opened in front of Robert. He grinned as he watched Kokoro turn around to ask her friend.

"Yeah," said Robert. He laughed. "Like that."

"Huh?" Kokoro turned back around and stared at his picture. "Zoids Eve... Robert, is that really you?!!"

"Why wouldn't it be?" asked Robert.

"Where are you? Are you alright-"

"Koko!" said Robert. "C'mon, I'm fine. Turn that Guysack around and open its cockpit, will ya?"

"Why?" asked Kokoro. She shrugged and Vega did as directed.

Robert opened his own cockpit and jumped out. "Hey there!" he said, waving. He smirked. She was still as clueless as ever.

"R- Robert?!!" cried Kokoro. "Oh, wow..." She climbed out of the Guysack and ran towards him.

***

"How'd it go?" asked Leena as Nurse Jenny jumped out of the Liger Zero X outside of the hospital.

"Yeah, how was it, Jenny?" asked Bit suspiciously.

"Why do you look so...?" began Jenny, looking around at their group. "Is something wrong?"

"Actually, Jenny..." said Dr. Toros. "You've been lying to us."

"Okay, okay!" Jenny gave in.

"That was pretty fast," said Kylie.

"So I'm not REALLY a certified Nurse, so what?" cried Jenny. "I just need a little money, that's all..."

Bit tripped and fell.

"What?" asked Jenny. "You didn't mean that, did you?"

"We mean that your name isn't really Jenny," sighed Dr. Toros.

"So?" asked Jenny. "What's it to you?"

"Sayo..." said Kylie. "Why are you working at a hospital?"

Sayo glared. "Dang. I didn't know you were here, Nanase..."

"It's Kylie now," corrected Kylie. *I think...*

"Whatever..." mumbled Sayo. "I'm looking for my brother, if it means anything to you."

"So you're not with the Backdraft anymore?"

"Heck, no!"

"Good... we were afraid you'd steal Liger, or put a tracking device in him or something," said Bit, sighing in relief.

"Oh, sheesh..." muttered Sayo hopelessly. "Well, I didn't, so you can go now. By the way, your friends in the Hover Cargo want you right away. They called by comlink. Something about the Deatstinger..."

"I completely forgot about them," said Bit worriedly. "I hope nothing happened..."

***

"Yesterday I would have been taken aback... Today, I know better," commented Jamie when he stopped at Spring's name and read the information.

"Well, do you like me, too?" asked Spring quietly.

"I guess... but why?"

"I envy you," murmured Spring. "You and your friends have everything I ever wanted. You're so lucky... We Zoidians have completely different lives."

"It can't be that bad," said Jamie, shrugging.

"We can feel practically every horrible thing that happens on Zi... It hurts, Jamie. It really does... And you know how the statistics say that every eight seconds someone dies?"

"Yeah?"

"It's true."

***

"Zoids Eve is right over there..." The Death Cat stood motionless in the ruins of Guyglos as its pilot mapped everything out. "New Helic should be somewhere in that direction... And Guyglos is here. It's one huge triangle. And since the complete ruins are much bigger than what rose up a hundred years ago..." She sighed. "...and it's all connected... that's huge and full of a lot of obstacles. Which means that if I can buy them some time, the Chosen should get there quickly enough to..." She glared and swore. "It's never going to work! Nothing can stop him from getting to Zoids Eve and destroying it! Not even someone like me-" Vivian laughed. "Not someone like Vivian, but maybe, just maybe, a certain Shadow could use her strange powers to stall Kage so that the Chosen can get in the ruins, to Zoids Eve, and defend her while the ZBC and the Backdraft finally forget their differences, join forces, and work together to destroy him. Like I said, this is never going to work. I'll just have to do something on my own, so he can never get here in the first place... Oh, what the heck..."

So many years ago Van Flyheight, Thomas Schubaltz, and the mercenary known as Irvine had worked together to form a temporary pyramid-shaped force field around the Deathstinger so that the Ultrasaurus would have enough time to fire its huge Gravity Cannon. It would be risky, but maybe it would work again...

If only they had the right equipment, the right experience... Only someone in the Guardian Force would be able to pull it off. Someone in GF, and the Ultimate X. Except the fact that the GF didn't exist anymore, as there wasn't any reason for it anymore.

***

"Ayumi?"

"What...?" Ayumi opened one eye.

"Something's happening," said Neos nervously.

"Really? Great!"

"No, something bad."

She looked ahead at the shiny pink cocoon. "It's still the same."

"Not on the inside, it isn't," said Neos."

"How can you tell?" asked Ayumi. "Oh, yeah. You're a Zoidian."

"Duh," muttered Neos. "Lessee... our situation isn't that great."

"Well, that's obvious."

"Hitoshi's asleep and our Zoids won't move... Akira's stuck... Eira's unconscious... Trinity's not back yet... shoot."

***

Robert watched Kokoro closely as she climbed into the Gul Tiger. If she was an artificial intelligence system in an artificial body, then how was she able to cry? To grow? To get tired?!! How could she care for him like this? Dr. Scott... he must have really grown attached to his little "pet" to have risked his life to get her out. Or was there something else about Kokoro, something important?

He shrugged. It was only more questions plaguing him, more doubts and unanswerable inquiries to keep him busy. Now that he had found Kokoro, what was he supposed to do? There was nowhere for either to go. They couldn't go back to the Kaiser, as Robert didn't trust him anymore and hadn't completed his mission...

They couldn't seek refuge from the Backdraft, who hated Kaiser anyways. Besides, he had promised Dr. Scott, even though he was dead, that he wouldn't let the Backdraft get her...

He had no idea where Bit and his friends were, much less anything about them except that some of them were chosen to save Zi. He had no other friends, and no family... No family? Robert's mom had died years ago of the same disease that had taken Bit Cloud's mother; his father, despite Robert's ignorance, had died in the Storm Sworder crash trying to save Kokoro. Cid Marron had disappeared in shame after being defeated by the Liger Zero X Atta a second time...

For some odd reason Robert knew that he had another brother. He wasn't quite sure. Being with the Kaiser's strange group had changed him a lot. It was harder to remember those earlier memories, which was probably why he'd forgotten that Scott Altiel was his own father. Kaiser, though Robert had never seen him, had taken on the "father" role in his life.

He deeply regretted ever letting Kage take over his life. He had been so young, and he still was! Robert and Kokoro's whole lives still lay ahead of them. Their lives were just beginning, so they'd start over from scratch. They'd start by finding Robert's brother, and then...

***

*If the Deathstinger has already been awakened, then why do I keep having these thoughts that tell me I'll be the one who brings it back? How is this possible? What does it all mean?!!*

"Kylie! Oh, wow, it's my Dibison!" cried Leena.

After they had confronted her, Sayo had conventionally remembered what Spring and Jamie had told her and repeated it to them. They were shocked and eager to get over there and help. Before long they had made their way back to the outskirts of town, where the Zoids had been parked.

Kylie blushed. "Yeah... I guess you'd like it back, huh?"

Leena shrugged. "Liger doesn't have enough weapons, but... I kind of like being a copilot."

"Okay..." said Kylie. "That's good with me. However, we need to get Mr. Toros in one of the Zoids... I don't want him in my cockpit."

"Err..." mumbled Bit. "Leon's gone, so Leena can take the Dibison with Kylie, and I'll take Doc with Liger. 'Kay?"

***

"Hey, they forgot about me..." muttered Faye, seeing that the Salamander was now sitting by itself with the exception of Harry's Dark Horn. "That's not fair... What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to go, who am I supposed to follow now that I'm through with the Backdraft...?"

***

"What?" asked Robert as his Spino Snapper followed the Gul Tiger. "So someone's trying to resurrect the Ultrasaurus to destroy the Deathstinger, leaving no remains so it can never be used again... but your friend needs the old Gravity Cannon?"

"That's right," said Kokoro. It seemed as though she'd almost completely forgotten about their separation.

"I think I know where that is," mumbled Robert. "But one problem... there aren't any more shells."

"I'm sure Mr. Sephiroth could make some more with YOUR help..." answered Kokoro. "After all, you're both technical geniuses!!! Just like Dr. Scott, right?"

"Dr. Scott, huh...?" asked Robert. "Yeah... jus' like dad."

"Huh?" asked Kokoro. "What-"

"Well, do you wanna go find the Gravity Cannon or not?" cried Robert, trying to change the subject.

Kokoro laughed. "Let's go for it."

***

BTW: I noticed a mistake... hehehe... The last four episodes aired on the 4th of January, right? I didn't have cable, so I still haven't seen them, but I saved the pages of the spoilers from Anime Admirers on my computer...

When they first get the Gravity Cannon, they mention that there are only THREE shells. They use one as a test. They use a second to fire at the Deathstinger, but it drifts to the side and they miss. So they fire another one- this hits it. That's THREE.

But alas! Ambient brings the Deathstinger back!!! After lots of fighting and Ambient bringing it back some more, when it becomes the Deathsaurer.... they fire it AGAIN. There is no effect. This equals a total of FOUR TIMES!!!! And there were only THREE SHELLS!!!!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Okay, Back to my lame story.

***

The pink cocoon suddenly shattered.

"I told you something was happening," shrugged Neos.

"Yeah, yeah..." said Ayumi. "But answer me this; why is it the same as when it went in?"

"Huh?" Neos looked at the Deathstinger. She was right. The Deathstinger hadn't changed. "I guess... it can't evolve...?"

"That doesn't mean it can't kill." Akira was still stuck standing where she was. "Where's Trinity?" she asked. "This is taking way too long."

"Akira..." muttered Neos. "Are you alright? Suddenly you've become so..."

"We've all changed." Akira sighed. "Dang... if Trinity doesn't get back there's only one thing we can do to defend ourselves."

"Is she thinking what I think she's thinking?" asked Ayumi. "She couldn't possibly..."

"It looks like the Deathstinger's recovering," said Hitoshi suddenly.

"Huh?" asked Neos. "You're awake!!!"

"Why wouldn't I be? It'll be about a minute before that thing's back up to full strength... not just any normal organoid like Ambient can evolve it. Only the organoid that evolved the Ultimate X!"

"Another Chosen..." mumbled Akira.

"Another?" asked Neos. "What does she mean...?"

"Ungh.." muttered Eira, half-conscious. "World... domi... nation... Kaiser...? You mean you... have to... kill them 'cause... How should I know where Evelyn is? ...owchies... Huh?!!" She sat up. "The heck, where am I?!!!"

"Don't you remember?" asked Neos.

"Oh yeah... I'M GONNA GET AMBIENT FOR THIS!!!!! AND SHADOW, TOO!!! AND ALL OF YOU ZOIDIANS!!!" shouted Eira, trying to stand up. She threw a fist in the air. "HAHAHAHAHA!!! Just you wait, you (expletive)!!! ...hey, the Deathstinger..." She turned to look at the dangerous Zoid. "It's still the same. Hmm... Sooooo Ambient isn't the most powerful organoid on Zi other than the Ultimate X?" she asked. "Oh, I get it..." She fell back down to the sand from exhaustion.

"Yeah," mumbled Akira. "If only I could understand it, too. If only Kaiser'd let me actually move... if only Trinity'd come back."

"The Deathstinger was created by man using other Zoids," mubled Eira, "...so that means... it can only be EVOLVED by man... or forever destroyed by man."

"You have to be kidding me..." mumbled Neos. "Are you saying we can't destroy it?"

"You can't destroy it, but you can still defend yourselves."

"Yeah, if our Zoids could move!!!" shouted Hitoshi angrily. "Sheesh..."

"Trinity, where are you...?" asked Akira. "You're our last hope before this thing recovers from that evolution cocoon thing."

***

Dive into the core of Zi itself... Zoids... Eve...

Trinity watched the two Zoids make their way back to the Blitz team's Hover Cargo. She had no intention of either letting them get there, or getting the Puffer to Akira and the others. So why not kill two birds with one stone? Destroy the Dibison and at least paralyze the LZX, destroying the Puffer Fish-like Zoid in the process.

It didn't matter whether or not those fools knew who the Chosen were. It would hinder them even more, give them a weakness.

They probably wouldn't let their Chosen fight for fear that they'd be killed and slash or captured, and Kaiser would be one step closer to activating Zoids Eve.

And Evelyn? She couldn't do anything about this. Kaiser had interfered with her sympathetic plans- once he destroyed Zoids Eve once and for all she'd simply forget everything or just fade away.

There was no one who could stop them now. It was all just going to get worse from now on.

Trinity just had to make sure she kept the human organoid alive.

If that's what Kylie was.

The silver organoid shook these doubtful thoughts out of her head and flew off to fuse with Akira's Zoid.

Dive... Why? Because you're Zi's only hope to continue existing, Chosen. But at the same time, you're more dangerous to Zi and Zoids Eve than even Kaiser Kage himself.

***

*tsk* Ambient, Ambient... HA!!! I've always hated that thing, and now I'm getting back at it. It can't evolve the Deathstinger, mwahahahaha... *victory dance* But apparently... something else can...

I leave too many clues for people to follow. It was pretty obvious that Eira was the Deathstinger's pilot (so now I haven't succeeded in killing off ANY of my characters...)... And now it's even more obvious who's gonna finally evolve that hunk of junk that just won't stay destroyed.

And you can't forget that I've changed Nanase's identity... what, five times or something (Nanase to Kylie to Kitai to Rukki back to Kylie... err...?)? And that I've tried to kill her... say... about five times, too. She just doesn't stay dead, like the Deathstinger! Not that I want her to stay dead, 'cause then what kind of motivation would Bit an' Harry have?!!!

If you've asked, "Was Lori dropped on her head as a baby?" the answer is "No, I was dropped face-down in the snow as a baby." Enough of my ego check thingy madoober.

Next time, What the heck did they mean by is-Akira-thinking-what-I-think- she's-thinking...? blahblahblah... and What the heck is wrong with Trinity? And Who the heck is Evelyn, anyways?!!! (Or not...) And Where the heck is this Taro guy? And Who the heck is this Yoko person I've heard sooo much about from Sayo? And Why is Lori's head empty? Or better yet, When will she stop ranting and write Chapter XVI?!!! And stop using the confusing Roman Numerals for chapter numbers?!!! Or writing in ten size font, Times New Roman, IN BRIGHT YELLOW(NEVER!!!!)?!

OOH, btw, I'm overly hyper and happy because I found a good lessons-in- Japanese site... hehe... www.japanese-online.com... and I think I understand it so far... That might explain half the ranting. Anywho, Chapter XVI is the last chapter I started during the three months and five days that I didn't have the internet. Also, I looked up the meanings of some of the Japanese names I stole from the Japanese singers/composers we have songs by on the computer.

ayumi (taken from Ayumi Hamasaki!)= walking (umm... I never knew that.) kokoro (I think that's someone's name from the Xenosaga game)= mind; heart; spirit... sayo (the name of the Japanese girl at my school)= evening yoko (Yoko Shimomura, the composer of the Kingdom Hearts music)= beside; side; width (uh...) And an interesting one that's the name of another character that is in another story I haven't uploaded (actually, it's the sequel to the sequel to this one... I started it out of boredom... oh, sheesh)- kimi= egg yolk! (it also means sensation or feeling)

OK... I'm done now. Sorry for ranting. I guess I'm pretty much back to my normal this-story-takes-priority-over-my-homework self again.