Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids. O boy the chicken is done.
Author's note: Is it just I or do all the "bad" people have the cooler gizmos? I mean that Hilt's Ambient, Raisée's Specular, and Shadow are all way cooler looking than Zeke, at least they have more character in their design than Zeke. And Ravin is so much better looking than Van. Not to mention Ravin can battle w\out Shadow while Van seemingly can't. Did I mention Ravin is so much cuter, smarter, sophisticated, and cosmopolitan than Van. I dunno. Maybe it's just me. Tell me what you think.
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THE FIREFOX PROUDLY PRESENTS: PROPHECY OF THE ZOIDS
Chapter 3- Ephemeral
"I told you I was just as good as your Genosaurer."
Ravin could not help but smile at the girl's impertinence. She had just destroyed another army base and killed thousands of people. And all she cared about was proving him wrong. He just had to laugh at the scenario.
"Do you often find it funny when you have to eat your own words?" Cold Fire asked confused.
At that statement Ravin just laughed louder.
"What may I ask that I have done that is just sooo funny, Ravin?" Now Cold was getting mad, she usually didn't mind it when people made fun of her. But this was ridiculous. What she had hoped would get Ravin infuriated was making him double over with laughter. This was not right! It was HER that always knew how to "rub Ravin the wrong way", and what was suppose to deflate Ravin's damn pride made him blow up with laughter. The world is a twisted place, thought Cold Fire, still.
Ravin looked over at her while she was asking the question. She had put her hands on her hips and was standing with her heels adjacent to one another. She had her head lifted as if she was balancing an object that must not fall at all costs. She had shifted her face into a distorted version of its form self with a look that could kill. The thought made Ravin laugh even harder since he realized that she looked at the bases when she extinguished them up.
Cold Fire narrowed her eyes. She did not think the situation was funny at all. Proving Ravin wrong was supposed to make him cry but not from laughter. Well, if she couldn't get him to cry with defeat, she would get him to cry some other way. Her face lit up with an ingenious smile. She walked slowly back to their camp in deep thought.
Ravin should have known Cold Fire well enough by then to realize she would not give up so easily, but it was all just to funny. The best part had to be his finally getting the better of her. He had tried numerous times, yet had always failed. She, on the other hand, always knew what to do to make his day worst. So in what should have been her glorious exulted achievement turned out to be her derisory cataclysm. IT WAS JUST TO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
And it was.
"Now where did I see that paint? OH, over there," said Cold Fire. "We will just have to wait." However I had better do something now or he will get specious. If I can't get him to cry with defeat then how about crying with pain she thought spitefully
Cold Fire marched purposely back to where she had left Ravin doubled over with laughter. Soon he will be doubled over but not with laughter.
Shadow had to admit (but not to Cold Fire) that it was kind of funny. It was the first time Ravin had actually made her aggravated. However when he saw her coming back from the camp, he felt anxious for his master. Cold Fire was never one to just fume about something.
"Rrroaaar." (You had better run.)
"Why?" Ravin managed to ask between sprouts of laughter.
"Rrroaaaarrr." (She coming towards you, and she doesn't look too happy.)
Shadow was starting to get really concerned about his master's life when he noticed her carrying something by her side.
"Rrrrrrroooooaaaaaaaarrrrr." (Run. She is really mad! Is that a frying pan she has?!)
"No, it is not a frying pan, Shadow," said Cold Fire in a cold, calm voice.
"Rooaaarrrr." (Oh -.-')
Ravin had managed to quit laughing long enough to stand up. He was thinking out his half-felt apology when he noticed her ambling towards him. She didn't seem angry at all. What had Shadow been talking (roaring?) about? He had never seen her so collected before. WAS she even smiling? Maybe she had realized just how funny it was.
"Rooooaaaaaarrrr." (The calm before the hurricane) Doesn't he realize how MAD she is? What has gotten into Ravin? thought Shadow. Well it was nice knowing Ravin.
"Hello Ravin," said Cold Fire in a voice evocative to her name. She walked up to him with her hand casually behind her back.
Ravin looked at her funny. Something was definitely wrong.
"You know back in my time they had an old saying 'Knowledge is true power', did you know that?" she asked in a low-key voice, which promised something was going to happen.
"Ummmm. No," said a perplexed Ravin. He thought she was going to do something awful to him. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe he underestimated her (a\n- not likely). A feeling of relief swept over him. This day could not get any better.
"Well its true," said Cold Fire as she brought out the giant book from behind her back.
WHACK!
"That is the true power of knowledge, Ravin," she said in an cool voice, "It is always best to be a quick learner."
Poor Ravin. Well I told him to run, and he really should have seen that coming. That's what happens when he gets to over confidant, Shadow reflected as he helped a stunned Ravin to his feet.
A smug Cold Fire walked back
"Woooo, she was infuriated."
******************************Three Weeks Later***************************
That night Ravin was reviewing the weeks spent with Cold Fire in his mind. His life had undeniably changed since she had arrived. Ravin hated to admit it, but after getting used to traveling with the girl he started to like having her around. She wasn't exactly easy to travel with but it was better than being alone. She was a constant challenge; he sometimes looked forward to dueling with her. Her wit was kin, and her mind sharp. She didn't mind the silence that surrounded him even if it lasted for hours on end. She seemed to understand him. It was like Cold Fire had the ability to stare straight into his soul with those dark brown eyes of hers. Those eyes of hers were unnerving at times, especially when she was mad with you. They often were ablaze with cold fury. Luckily he hadn't gotten her to mad too much. He learned quickly NOT to awake her up if it at all possible to avoid it. She was a powerful ally to have. Yet part of him whispered that it was more than just rational that he let her travel with him. In spite of everything she said, he trusted her. She solved the problem of his loneliness. Shadow even likes her. The more Ravin thought about them the more he wondered about Cold Fire's past. Why had Shadow brought her to him? How did Shadow know when she woke?
Ravin was torn from his thought by the sound of movement. He looked over to where Cold Fire was sleeping. She was tossing and turning again. He seriously doubted the restfulness of her sleep. He had awakened to her movements the past couple of weeks on a nightly bias. He had asked her several times in the mornings (actually it had been the afternoon- but Cold Fire wasn't much of a morning person) what she had dreamt about. It resulted in a baffled expression from the girl. 'I don't really remember' she had said in a pained voice. 'I know that the dreams where vivid at the time and where….' the shaky voice trailed off. It was not often that anything scared Cold Fire speechless. No, it was useless to try to divulge information from the girl, either she did not remember or she didn't trust him. Ravin liked to believe the former. He had tried asking her again and again but that only distressed Cold Fire more. Which resulted in Shadow yelling at him for upsetting Cold Fire. Must Ravin upset her before she has been awake for an hour? If you keep distressing her, she doesn't wash me good an exasperated Shadow had told him.
Ravin had tried waking her up but that was no good, either. He had startled the girl so much she attacked him. Or at least that's her story. Ravin knew well enough she hated being woken up before noon. Ravin was lucky he did not object to traveling at night. Actually it was quite his style to kept unusual hours. Bringing his mind back to the problem of Cold Fire's dream, he thought about asking Shadow if the girl had said anything to him. No. That's no good either. The last time I tried that all I ended up with was an every cutting comment from Shadow. Shadow told Ravin in very acid tones {roars?} that if he hadn't notice anything till now then perhaps the last blow to his head not only affected his brain but his eyes (a\n ouch harsh). I'll figure something out in the morning, with that final thought Ravin rolled over and went back to sleep.
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Cold Fire suddenly woke up in a cold sweat. Breathing deeply with wide, frightened eyes, she looked around. She began to feel safe as she laid eyes on Ravin and their campsite. She started to remember where she was and who she was has she searched the campsite with her eyes. Oh good, I didn't wake Ravin up as she saw the sleeping Ravin. A smile crossed her lips as she thought about him. Your not half as bad-ass as you think you are, Ravin. She forced her mind back to her dreams. She had been having them for a few weeks now, but only recently have they been waking her up. She knew the dreams abysmal, and they must be quite lucid to affect her in such a way. Yet, the strange thing was that she couldn't remember anything about the dreams when she woke up. She knew they had to be very bizarre wake her up, because she had been told numerous times by people trying to wake her that she slept the sleep of the dead. What could the dreams be about? The more she thought about it, the more sure she got that the dreams forewarned of something, but what? She searched her soul for an answer that Cold Fire could not answer. She found herself wishing for the millionth time that one of friends had somehow survived. She looked over at Ravin sleeping peacefully on his side. His steady breathing soothed the panic that was building up in her. Yes, something important was going to happen. Would Ravin understand? Or would he just think I am weak?
That morning Ravin woke to an even more ragged Cold Fire. She looked like she had crawled out of a pit full of thorns and twigs. Her normally thick, fly away auburn hair looked limper than a wilted weed. Her eyes told Ravin she hadn't had a good, peaceful sleep in weeks. He stood watching her at a distance.
She was talking to Shadow, about what he couldn't tell. She smiled afar off grin at something. Shadow was doing his best to amuse his sleep-deprived friend. The sight of her being so friendly around Shadow picked at him. She seemed to trust and like Shadow more than him. He had tried to be nice to her, yet he got the feeling she still didn't trust him. She is just a reserved person rationalized Ravin. Nevertheless a part of him thought except she is not reserved around Shadow.
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-So all the pieces are set. Are you ready to begin the game?-
Have the wagers been taken?
-Yes, and the lessers are watching-
Whose move is it first?
-Yours-
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The bounty hunter's eyes spotted his prey. He did not know why the Employer wanted the ordinary girl alive and didn't care what happened to the notorious Ravin and his organoid. Well his was not to question, but do or die- was exactly the policy Employer kept. Well, Employer paid generously, so he didn't care. Also the Employer had compensated him quite nicely for his trouble of tracking this obscure girl. He was additionally given one of the most technologically advanced zoid for this mission-konigwolf-type zoid. Maybe he could steal the organoid and sell him on the side for a "bonus". Or better yet, keep him with an organoid he would be the best assassin with the rated to prove it.
He had been chasing the prey for days. Watching them and learning their habits like a lions knows the habits of the gazelle. Now was the time to pounce.
He aimed his gun at the boy. His best chance to complete the mission was to kill the boy, grab the girl and organoid, and meet the Employer. He didn't think the girl would be too much trouble to subdue. The organoid would be harder, but without its master it shouldn't be too tough.
He aimed the gun. Steady…. Steady. He targeted his prey, and focused totally on the boy. He carefully squeezed the trigger on the gun. The girl walked next to the boy, but it was already to late to call back the bullet, even if he could.
"Damn."
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I guess I could trust him. She was so tired of being alone. At times she felt as if she were missing a part of herself. Ravin had Shadow and Shadow had Ravin. Who did she have? I was not always alone her soul whispered. Well perhaps Ravin's sardonic comments were better than nothing. She looked over at Ravin to find him staring hard at her. Did she have some breakfast on her face? After checking her face with her pocket mirror (a\n- girls never leave the century w\o them or make-up), she decided to tell Ravin what was wrong.
She had never been a lucky person. She had walked over behind Ravin right as the Predator had pulled the trigger.
"Ravin?" she asked in uncertain tones. "…."
She felt the pain explode in her left side. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She could feel the hot fluid seep through her shirt and trickle down her side. I am just so tried. It would be so easy to die. She wouldn't have to face her past, future, or the ever present. She could leave all her problems for someone else. Someone else could suffer and endure. So easy to lie down and die.
Ravin watched stunned as she fell on her hands and knees to the sand. The sand under her started to change to a red color. A dark red. The bullet had obviously hit deep and something vital. There was nothing around for days. Besides, who would help Ravin, the destroyer, and if the people found out whom the girl really was?
"RRRRROOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (a\n- my English teacher told me not to trust anyone who used more than three !'s b\c the person was proably deranged. REALLY). Shadow quickly located the vicinity of the hired gun and was about to fuse with the Genosaurer when Ravin halted him.
"No, stay with Cold Fire and protect her. She is in more need of help than I. Besides I can handle some paltry want-a-be," Ravin snarled.
Shadow looked back from his master to his friend. Master was definitely capable of handling the Genosaurer by himself. His friend was on all fours. She looked more like a wild, petrified animal than human. The wound was mortal. She was like a fox surrounded by a lake of its own blood. Shadow doubted she would survive. Suddenly, an uncontainable rage built up in him. He could not stand to see her die and not be able to do anything about it.
"Roooaaarrr."(Make sure you kill the bastard slowly, very slowly.)
Ravin was taken back by the harshness of Shadow's response. He had known the organoid was attached to Cold Fire. But that attached? Not that Ravin had planned to do what Shadow suggested. Cold Fire had been the one person… but . Ravin merged his mind with Shadow's. After all berserk fury was stronger than despair.
Ravin jumped into the Genosaurer ready to meet the asinine ass that had done this.
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It wasn't darkness, yet it wasn't light. It was she; whatever good did that does her. She didn't know what she was.
~You must be human to die~
_You must be human to love_
~Which are you? Human or not?~
_Or are you both?_
I do not know.
~We know what you are; yet you do not. We don't profit anyway from this knowledge; however, you would profit a great deal. Your success is determined by this information. Is it not ironic?~
Very.
_In order to win the game, you must be human. In order to survive, you must not be human. In order to decide, you must know what you are. To know what you are, you must be named. To be named, you must simply quite to grieve._
~It is not our game to interfere with or we would help.~
I know. You are my past. But I live in the present. However there will come a time where my past and future will be binded.
_That comes not till later. So see your future you must live and play the game. Be played by another. Your grief proves you are human, on the other wing, your power proves you not human. The question remains: which are you?_
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Ravin approached the Konigwolf. He had never seen one before, however, he was sure he could handle it. It was different from most zoids. An aurora of decay seemed to surround this one. It was unnatural.
Ravin fired a charged his cannons at the zoid. The bullets hit the target, before the zoid knew it was being fired upon. Ravin stared in dismay as the zoid seemed to absorb the bullets without any damage at all. It was like trying to kill the dead.
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~You are a contradiction. You are the darkness of existence and the light of chaos. Two complete different beings. The Pheniox and Dragon. You are female so therefore Pheniox like us. A powerful fire burns within you. Your fire burns differently, darkly. Your fire has engraved itself with your soul. To extinguish one would be to extinguish the other. You are the fire.~
_And the fire is you._
Why are you telling me this?
_We tell you nothing you do not already know._
~To do otherwise would defeat the purpose of the game.~
And the game is all important.
~Of course.~
_You are the pawn that will put the king in check. Yet, you are a wild pawn, perhaps you will put your own king in check._
I do not like being used.
~No one likes to think everything they do has already been planned for, manipulated, predicted, but it is. That our lives and decisions are just moves on the board. We exist merely for the amusement of some other being. Even our lives have been planned by a more powerful troupe. There is nothing either of us can do, so we might as well enjoy our pre-planned lives, our games.~
_There are always risks in games, or they wouldn't be games. You my dear, Phenixgate, are the last of your household. Your house is part of the Triperial Capital: the Pheniox Force, Phoenix Fire, and the Phenix Gate. The strongest of the three rules all- Pheniox Queen. She is decided by a game. You know which house she is from by the spelling of her name. P-H-E-N-I-O-X so therefore Pheniox Force._
~However, light cannot exist without dark. Phenioxes cannot exist without Dragons. The game you are caught in is between Pheniox and Dragon.~
_We wish you well._
~We wish you well.~
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She woke up to see a trashed looking Genosaurer battle it out with a wolf-looking zoid. The wolf zoid was a brown-green sort of color. The color made the insides of her stomach turn. It reminded her of decaying bodies. In fact the zoid rank of deterioration. She managed to stand up to get a better look at the zoid. Whoever was piloting it was a blind, senile amateur compared to Ravin. However the wolf could absorb anything without damage, while the Genosaurer couldn't. The pilot was defeating Ravin by outlasting him. Every so often the wolf would score a hit on the Genosaurer. She began to feel faint. How much blood have I lost?
"Grrrrr?"
"I will not let anymore people die senseless deaths because of some game."
Come Shadow.
Shadow walked up behind her. Grabbed her and took off to the Genosaurer.
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Ravin was fighting an impossible battle. The zoid should have collapsed ages ago. It did not matter what he did to the zoid; it simply keep on fighting. Ravin should have defeated an entire army by now. However, he seriously did not know how much longer the Genosaurer was going to last.
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I am impressed. No one has lasted this long against the Phantasm thought the Predator. He was seriously glad the Phantasm could not be hurt. Ravin was a lot better than he estimated. He had better hurry and finish the hunt if he was going to collect the prey alive. He would have Hell to pay if the girl was dead.
Suddenly a golden black light flashed into the Genosaurer. The zoid became alive with the golden black color. It seemed different.
So he thinks his organoid will make a difference.
The Genosaurer prepared for what looked to be a charged particle blast.
That is not going to work.
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~Light cannot exist without dark. Chaos cannot exist without order. If one does not exist the other stops~
_The question remains: which are you?_
~We wish you well.~
_We wish you well._
_You must simply quite to grieve._
Fine I will play your game. But don't think I will be easy to control.
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A golden-black light shot out of the Genosaurer towards the Phantasm. It did not even try to move. Then it and its pilot simply ceased to exist.
An angry Ravin jumped out of the cockpit of the Genosaurer. "SHADOW."
An obedient Shadow sprang from the zoid core.
"I thought I told you not to leave Cold Fire!"
"Grrrrrrr." (I didn't.) Shadow dropped the girl in front of Ravin. She was no longer bleeding.
"Cold Fire?" he asked searchingly, fearing the worst.
"Don't call me that," hissed the girl in a barely audible voice.
"What?" Ravin was just relieved she was alive.
"I said don't call me Cold Fire," she whispered louder. "You may think she is a thing of power but you are wrong. She is weak. A frail half-crazed old man is stronger than her. At least he does not let his grief consume him. He has the courage to live.
"They said I simply must quite to grieve in order to proceed. Well I am done grieving," she stated with a new resolve.
"Then what should I call you?" Ravin seriously was beginning to wonder about the sanity of his friend. Maybe he should find some help. Perhaps being in the zoid core had hurt her mentally.
"No need to worry, I am mentally stable," she said with the first true smile. "But you should call me by my name since it is mine."
Ravin could see she was still obstinate. She was going to make him drag the information out of her. "Fine," he barked, "what pray-tell is your name."
She smiled again. Nothing like pissing off Ravin "My name is Andrea."
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A\n: Phew! This was a loooonngg chapter. I didn't take time to reread it so it is probably filled with mistakes. Newayz plz R&R. Tell me what you think, suggestion and corrections. I CANNOT BELIEVE ZOIDS C.C. KILLED OFF RAVIN! HE WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN VAN! =Sigh= I will just have to work around that. Thanks for the review and corrections TurnDragoZeroV2G. However, I have seen it spelled both ways. Yours is most likely the correct way, but I like being difficult^.^ same goes for the spelling of Ravin (Raven). Don't be reserved to tell me your ideas. Just b\c you tell me, doesn't mean I will listen to it. Probably will when I get writer's block. See ya.
