RRMKII: Wow! That chapter was long!
CB: NSS. Who do you think wrote it?
DW: I did!
RRMKII: I don't care! DW! Gimme back my sugar!
CB: ::Grabs sugar out of DW's hands:: No! Stay away!
RRMKII: ::Pouts:: Yeah anyway, I drew some fan art to this and I'm looking for a website to put it up on. If you have a website and want to sponsor the art, e-mail me at RevRaptorMKII@netscape.net
CB: ::Slinks away while RRMKII is talking::
DW: We'll just go now…::Slinks away too::
RRMKII: Oh no you don't! You're going to give me sugar, or give me death!
CB and DW: ::Look at knives::
RRMKII: Or…you…can…just…start …the chapter…
DW: I think CB and I would have more fun, killing you!
RRMKII: No! You can't do this! I am the supreme authoress of the house! Whatever I type…goes…::Evil look::
CB: ::Gulp:: Uh-oh…
RRMKII: ::Furiously typing::
::CB and DW get caught in a tangle of thorny vines::
DW: ::Drops sugar:: Let us go!
RRMKII: Why?
CB: Because the chapter won't get done without us!
RRMKII: Damn
_*-_*-_*-_
The Shadows and their newest member gathered back at the den, near the Valley of the Rarehurts. Before they challenged the Gate Lords, they were going to need some things.
With Alice Linette as their fyr, the lair of the Shadows was lavishly decorated. Various weapons hung in every corner of the first room. The latrine was in a separate room altogether, as was the kitchen. Fresh silver glittered off the new pots and pans when the sun hit it through the east window. The girls room had four beds, each covered with imported silk sheets and coverlets. The boys had six beds with wool sheets and coverlets. In each room hung a tapestry depicting the new era of shiiha, with gold embroidered edges.
In the boy's room, finely sharpened daggers reflected the sunlight like a newly waxed mirror, short swords with gem-encrusted hilts shone just as brightly. Lances of all sorts were stowed away in one corner. And the guns. The many, well loved guns. By law, no one is allowed to carry around a gun without a license or permit. The Elemia Desert is no exception.
The girl's room held much more variety. Sure there were the usual swords and daggers, but this was where the blackjacks were stored, the knives and broadswords kept. Sunlight filtered through the open window facing the mountains. The Valley of the Rarehurts was the best place to conceal their secret weapons.
Few in the Elemia Desert could afford such a weapon, unless they were lucky enough to find a wild one. These weapons were the infamous Zoids. Mechanical beasts of tremendous power roamed the outward desert of the central market. Some were already owned, other, more rare wild ones roamed the Rarehurts mountain range, trying to keep out of human contact.
Hiltz, Reese, Raven and Irvine each owned one that they Lady Linette gave to them. Hiltz was given a rare red Gunsniper that held mysterious untapped power. Reese had a blue Double Sworder. Raven, held a Zaber Fang to his name. Irvine merely had one of the Imperial Command Wolves.
Now that there was a fourth party member, they would need to find a Zoid fitted for her. Never mind the fact the knew nothing about this young woman or her skills. Hiltz was determined to find that out.
Reese opened the wooden door, and Raven shoved the green-haired Haiku roughly inside to the green silk covered couch. Her pale green ponytail flapped wildly and her bangs flew every which way as she tried to regain her balance. She succeeded, but not before tripping on the red oriental rug and pulling it away from the door.
'You,' Hiltz started. His eyes burned a cold black. They looked like little beetles trapped in a void of white. 'You are not welcome with the Shadows. You swagger in here expecting to be accepted. Eshe's are not common here, even in gangs. You are not wanted. Get out.'
Haiku's own brown eyes stared back into the depths of coal. 'Eshe or not, it was by the lady's order I be accepted. You have no knowledge of my background yet you are prepared to shove me out the door at any time. Is that how you treat your comrades, tsuka?' Haiku's voice was venomous.
Reese chose that moment to interrupt. 'Hiltz, I would suggest you calm your tone down a bit. This young lady looks ready to kill you at a moments notice. Why don't you take a seat and we hear how she came here?'
Hiltz obediently sat in an armchair overflowing with feathers while Raven and Irvine stuck their butts on the couch. Reese pulled over a footstool to listen to Haiku's tale.
_*-_*-_*-_
'I'm stuffed!' Van declared in a loud voice. He sat back on his heels patting his stomach.
'Where it goes, I'll never know.' Moonbay commented lightly. Fiona giggled. Dinner was fish, glazed with herbs and spices bought fresh from the market square, a few stolen apples with some of Van's stash of papaya on top. The Gate Lord's tessku never let his feral grin falter while digging into the food, prepared by Rudolf.
Fiona beamed at her protégé. 'You're getting better at cooking Rudolf! You might be able to be a chef and earn us some money!' The young orphan smiled broadly and began to clean up the mess. Zeke yawned from his corner of the front room, but didn't move.
Yelling drifted through the open window. There were sounds of a brawl going on outside, and indeed there was. Not two seconds after Van reached the door, someone was thrown into the Gate Lord's front room. He hit Rudolf, causing the hot water in the pot to splash all over the poor boy.
Furious, Fiona hopped out the window pulling her switchblade out. The three hoodlums would pay for violating Gate Lord territory. Moonbay immediately began to attend to the one who had been thrown through the window. The Gate Lord's had a reputation for being tough and down right mean, but when someone was injured around them, enemy or no, they would help.
The blonde Gate Lord managed to corner one of the attackers. The other two had fled in fear. 'What were you thinking, tossing that guy into Gate Lord territory?' she hissed. He cowered even more and began to make a dash to a back alley. She let him go.
_*-_*-_*-_
'I was born in the Guylos Empire. My mother died giving birth to me and my brother, so it was my father and two kids. We were moderately wealthy, but with my father being in the Imperial Army, it was mostly Jonah and I. We learned everything off the streets. Due to the war, not many children got to go to school. Back there, a gang called the Rose Thorns took us in and taught us everything we know.
'Then, the war hit the Empire. Like a giant tornado it struck. My brother and I were ripped apart, each promising to meet again. The last I heard of him, he was somewhere in the Elemia Desert.' Haiku paused and scratched her arm.
Hiltz growled. 'That doesn't explain how you came into the Lady Alice's company.'
'No shit, I haven't gotten to it yet. I lost my father in an explosion of Zoids. His Storm Sworder, Heni, flew me here. I was nearly unconscious from the mach 5 speed we were flying at. The next thing I knew, I was in the Lady Linette's house, all bandaged up.'
It was Raven's turn to be skeptical. 'You want us to believe that you came to her by accident?'
'Is there a reason you shouldn't?'
Raven had not smart answer to that so he kept his mouth shut. Haiku shook her head before continuing:
'Lady Linette nursed me back to health personally, and in return, I was to ally myself with her. I had no other choice, I was in no state to fight back as I had been taught. When I was fully recovered, she gave me a Zoid that hadn't been tested for stability. I was to test it, and if I survived, it would become mine.'
Painful memories were dug up. They were relatively fresh, only a month ago. 'I came out of that one nearly dead. But since I survived, I got to keep the tempremental Zoid.'
'Are you going to tell us what it is?' Irvine asked. Listening to all this made his stomach churn. This girl who could only be sixteen had been through more death than he had ever been through and she earned a Zoid from the fyr. He was a bit respectful, and a bit jealous.
'The Shadow Liger 0014.'
_*-_*-_*-_
RRMKII: Ok, kinda crappy but yeah. I had to explain about Haiku's past.
CB: When's the fighting going to come on?!
DW: O_o…since when do you have violent issues?
CB: ::Snaps out of trance:: Huh? What?
RRMKII: Riight…someone do the disclaimer. You two are givin' me a headache
CB: RRMKII doesn't own Zoids. She does own Haiku, the awf—I mean awesome plot, and the Shadow Liger 0014. She would like you to review and any flames will be used to cook smores and others used to burn Prozan at the stake.
DW: O_o…once again you manage to surprise me…
RRMKII: @_@…I'm going to bed now…maybe Haiku will become real and kill me…
Tessku—Gang leader, whether boy or girl
Fyr—The so called "sponsor" of the gang. Usually used for females
Eshe—Foreigner
Paaze—The lowest amount of coin in the Elemia Desert
Tsuka—Nasty word reserved for a gang leader
