Legacy of the Ancients
Chapter Twelve: Raven the Dark
By: Sci-Fi-Raptor
Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids, nor do I advocate the use of cats as sponges...
One more thing, Thanks a lot to Channel Zi for all the Zoid descriptions he has out there.
I stood there for a few minutes, and I started hearing the roar of a jumpjet. I went closer to the edge of the canyon, and saw something acending from it. It took time to realize it at first, but then I realized what I was seeing. It was the Zoid I was piloting when I died… it was the Geno Breaker. Its in front of you Raven… what will you do? Very few get second chances.
The Geno Breaker seemed to be in perfect condition. None of the damage it used to have was on it anymore, and it didn't even look like it had aged over the years. It landed a short distance from the lip of the canyon, I heard Shadow roar from inside of it. Then Shadow opened its cockpit, cueing me to go inside. The hiss of the pneumatic pumps sounded like a snake warning me away. I walked up to it slowly, as if it was some kind of sacred relic, but as it grew more familiar to me, I jumped inside. The cockpit closed, and I strapped myself inside.
"Wow. Its so much cooler in here then it was outside" said Raven, wiping his sweat away. Shadow roared in agreement. Raven started using the controls so he could get used to them again. So much time, so little to do. What did I do to pass the time back then?
Raven noticed a bump on the horizon, and when he zoomed into it with his telescope, he saw a city. That's right… maybe I should pay them a visit, to show them how I feel being in that canyon for so long. He turned on his thrusters and hovered to the town.
"Bit… Bit… wake up…" said a voice. I opened my eyes to find an unnatural darkness. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the silhouette of someone above me, blocking a dim light.
"Where… am I?" I could finally see who it was; it was Jamie.
"Man Bit, I thought you'd never wake up" he said. I sat up, and rubbed my sore head. I was lying on the concrete ground this whole time.
"What happened to me?" I asked.
"It seems that you got caught while trying to sneak into this base." said the Doc from another cell.
"Oh yeah…" I said, remembering the unusual events leading up to Liger and me getting fried. "Where is everyone?" I finally asked.
"Me and you are in this cell, Doc, Brad, and Naomi are in the cell across from us, and Leena got sent to a high security cell because she beat up a lot of the guards and chewed through the cell she was in here"
"Wait… she chewed through a cell?"
"Yeah, that one over there" said Jamie, pointing to a cell nearby. I had a huge chink missing from a lot of the bars, and some were bent so that someone Leena's size could fit through.
"That's scary…"
"Good morning Bit Cloud!" said someone from an intercom. Bit looked around thinking there was an actual person, until he saw a video screen coming out of the ceiling. He waited for it, and saw someone he'd never seen before.
"And who are you?"
"I am Commander Ryker, head scientist and commander of this base."
"Why'd you detain us?"
"Because you took something that belonged to us" he said, and then camera the changed to show a vat with a quasi-clear liquid inside it. The vat was full of electrodes and some other gizmos, and was surrounded by some kind of energy field. "Some time ago, one of our scientists found a lost relic in the desert. He tried to discover its secrets, but in the process, it overcame him, and blew up the base he worked in. He captured it again, but that traitor decided to keep it for himself, and was ultimately killed by his discovery. We tracked it down, and found that you had somehow gained possession of it, and somehow even managed to tame it." The camera went back to him. "So we have a proposition for you. Teach us how to harness its power, and we will let you pilot it in our Zoid matches."
"….No" Bit said finally.
"What?! Don't you know the potential of this discovery?"
"Yes I do, but I don't need your help, so let me, my friends and the Liger go" he demanded.
"So that's how it will be? Well, we thought that you might have said that, so we designed this instrument" the camera went back to the vat. "to reprogram it." The camera went back to him. "The thing is, it will be long and painful for the monstrosity, and it will make it less efficient when it is converted."
"Liger can take anything you can throw at him!"
"Really? Well, can you take anything we throw at you, or more specifically, your friends? This is my ultimatum, join us, or your friend will die, starting with that wretched girlfriend of yours."
"What? You can't be serious!" yelled Bit, but the video stream was cut off, and the screen was going back into the ceiling.
"You have three hours to decide" he said through the intercom.
"So… why'd you get stuck here?" said the timid man.
"They wanted to catch my… a friend, and they're gonna use me to make him do something for them."
"That's gotta suck… But why did you go into this cell? You don't look that dangerous"
"Really?" said Leena, and went up to the steel bunk. She took it by two ends, and bent it.
"I see."
"So, why'd you get in here?"
"I helped someone in the Blitz team, so I've become a traitor."
"What? That's nonsense!" said Leena, sure that he was talking about Jamie.
"I know… I knew I should've just left that kid and his girlfriend, but I just had to be nice."
"You know what? You seem too nice to be someone who would join the Backdraft. Why did you?" asked Leena.
"Well, since I don't have anything to do for the next five years, it couldn't hurt to tell you. So, here's my story"
He told her about the incident that happened in school that started the whole mess, and told her how the Backdraft was his only option. But to stay in it, he had to make some dirty friends, and learned the art of the gangster. He told her about how he rose through the ranks, and shed his dirty past to become a hauler, but it turned out that his good nature out be his down fall. Then he told her that if he could get a distraction, he could get them out of there, only because he didn't have a gun.
"So, if I could make a distraction, you could get me out?"
"Yeah, but we'd have to go to a nearby city to keep the Backdraft off our backs."
"Alright, you get ready to spring us out of here, I'll make the distraction." She said, and eyed the cell bars hungrily.
I approached the city at a moderate speed. When I arrived, I found no one to play with. No Zoid pilots, no nothing. I was about to blast it to nothing when my stomach growled. I definitely haven't missed being hungry. I tucked the Zoid in a nearby rock formation, and covered it with a sand colored sheet I always kept inside of it. Then I took Shadow with me into the city. As we walked down the street, we got stares, probably because there was a dinosaur-like Organoid walking behind me, but it disappointed me; I was expecting more fear. I guess I have to build myself a reputation again
I decided that I would start with this old man I saw walking with a pair of young men. I slowly went up behind then, Shadow shadowing me, and made my move. I grabbed the old man by the neck, and Shadow sprang in front of me to keep the men from attacking me.
"What the hell?" the old man said. The men heard his yelp, and quickly turned to face an angry Shadow.
"One more move, and the man gets it." I said, squeezing his neck a little tighter to show them I wasn't bluffing. When I felt the old man's heart pumping with fear, I couldn't help but smile.
"So you're telling us that Liger isn't really a Zoid, but a highly advanced robot?" said Naomi.
"Kinda, but he can change his shape, so I figure that's why he's a liquid right now."
"So, what are you gonna do?" I don't know… wait, Brad, do you still have that portable laser I put in your shirt?"
"What portable laser?" asked Brad.
"You know, the one I didn't tell you about that I put in your shirt?" said Bit. Brad looked in his shirt, and found a laser stick.
"So that's what's been making me itchy all this time."
"Start cutting your cell's bars off, and then do it for us, and then we'll rescue Leena"
"All right" he said, and stared cutting the bars off. Two and a half hours later, Brad cut the last bar off Bit's cell, and helped him and Jamie come out.
"This is it Bit Cloud, you have run out of time, and you must make your final decision." said Ryker over the intercom; oblivious that is prisoners had escaped.
"Well, I still didn't change my mind, and you're gonna lose!"
"If that's how you want it done… your girlfriend dies in two minutes." he said and signed off the intercom.
"We gotta save her!" said Bit.
"You could have just pretended that you agreed just to buy time and rescued her before anything happened."
Bit put his head up to a wall and started banging it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"
"Bit, bashing your brains wont do anything, but action will. I think you have about one minute and forty seconds left." said Naomi.
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Bit, and ran outside. The rest of the group followed him out side.
Leena rubbed her sore mouth and sat on the bunk to rest. "Well, I guess we'll have to wait for a miracle to get out of here." No sooner had she said that, a troop of guards come into the room and opened their cell.
"What's going on?" said Agamemnon. The guards cuffed Leena, and started taking her out.
"None of your business, but we're gonna execute this little lady. Such a waste though, I could have a lot of fun with her…" and touched a part of her. His realy pissed her off, and she went into a rage. The punched and kicked, until everyone was knocked out. Then she bit her cuffs off.
"That's what you get for messing with Leena Tauros!" said Leena triumphantly, and started doing a victory dance.
"I'm glad you're on my side" said Agamemnon, and took two guns, and a bunch of grenades. He also gave Leena a gun and a bunch of grenades. "You know how to use a gun?"
"No…"
"Grenades?"
"I know how to use them, but I never did."
"That's good enough" he said "you can use the grenades, and carry these gns for me until my guns run out of ammo.
"Ok, but we have to save my friends!"
"I'm sorry, but we can't do that. Its only the two of us, and we could never find them, help them escape and get out alive. But you can go to my town with me, and wait for me to get some help."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember I said I had to learn how to be a gangster? Well I still hav some gangster friends back home, so I can have them help us. But you have to decide; do you want to come with me and live and fight another day? Or do you want to die here in vain? You have to decide now." Leena thought long and har about it, and was on the verge of tears. She finally made her choice, and sucked it in.
"I'll go with you. But if you don't help me rescue my friends later, I'm gonna skin you alive!"
"That's my girl" he said and winked. "Now, we just have to make another distraction, and these grenades are all we need. "But before we go, we have to hide these bodies so they think you got executed."
"There are just too many cells!" said Bit. He knew the twominute ultimatum was over, and he was desperate. "Dammit!"
"Come one Bit, just let it go… theres no way for us to help her now. All we can do is get out of here." said the Doc.
"What?! There's no way I'm leaving without Leena, just like she'd never leave me!" he said, and tried to search through more cells.
"Come on Bit!" said Brad and tried to tug him away.
"No!" said Bit and slugged him in the face. Then he continued his search without even apologizing.
"WELL, IF YOU WANNA DIE, SO BE IT!" yelled Brad, but Bit paid no attention. "There's no talking to him" he said to the rest of them.
"Brad, if I was stuck here, would you leave me behind?" asked Naomi.
"… No. No, I wouldn't. But that doesn't mean we have to die with him!" he said, and started heading to the emergency escape. The rest of the group slowly and cautiously followed him.
The fools didn't heed my warning, and tried to run past Shadow to get me, so I twisted the old man's neck. Or at least I was going to until I felt a sharp pain on my lower spine. I let him go, and turned back to see whom my attacker was. He looked just like the old man, but much younger, and then I collapsed on the floor. My head hit the pavement hard, and I heard Shadow roaring. Then I heard a zap, and I heard a thump near me. Then I felt pressures all over my body, but I couldn't feel anything anymore. The only thing that ran through my mind at that point was what the voice said before: there are few that deserve second chances, and even fewer who get them.
"Okay, the grenades will blow up in ten seconds, and destroy this computer room, so we have to get as far away from here as possible, because all the guards will come here, and we can get out without any problems." Said Agamemnon. They traveled far away from their cell, and set grenades into a strategic location to draw the guards away when they would try to escape.
"Okay" Leena said, and started running where they were to wait. Then Agamemnon engaged the grenades and ran to Leena's heading.
He counted in his head the whole time "Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one…" Boom! They hid in a cramped spot, and waited for all the guards to pass. Agamemnon was getting uncomfortable about how close he was to Leena.
Bit finally reached a high-security cell. He quickly searched through it, and when he found nothing, was about to leave it until something caught his eye… a torn piece of pink fabric. He went up to it, and examined it; his worse fears had come true…
He fell to the ground, and started crying. They took her… she's gone forever… they just had to take her… Then he got mad… really mad…
"NNOOOOOOO!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. It seemed that the whole base started to shake at the anger. As if something was exploding nearby… "I'll get you Ryker!" he said, and his rage peaked… he had lost control. His lungs were burning, and his heart was pumping. And then it happened…
Dormant chemicals and brain structures started to activate, and he started changing. A fire started to engulf him, his hair was turning red, and his eyes became blood shot. And the rabbit appeared on his hand again. Bit had lost it, and all he felt was anger and rage, and he was ready to destroy everything in sight… He held his hand out to the nearest cell.
Agamemnon had told Leena that they would wait until the lab was completely destroyed, and that its contents had stopped exploding. When he thought it was safe, he peeked outside to make sure it was safe. When her saw no one there, he motioned for Leena to come out and follow him. They walked to the nearest exit, when all of a sudden an explosion rocked the building. Then many more explosions followed, and it seemed like the base was going to self-destruct. Another sudden explosion rocked the base, and both Agamemnon and Leena fell because of it. Tey fell backwards, so Agamemnon fell on top of Leena, but quickly got off, apologizing for what had happened.
"Sorry about that" he said and blushed.
"Its okay" giggled Leena. He helped her up.
"Hey you two! Stop!" said a guard who was in their corridor.
"Damn!" said Agamemnon, and grabbed Leena, and put both of them around corner so that the guard couldn't shoot at them. He wasn't watching what he grabbed, and got slapped in the face by Leena. He looked at where his hand was and realized it was on her chest. He blushed a lot, and was about to apologize when he heard gunshots. Since they were at an intersection between to perpendicular corridors, he leaped to the other side, and shot his guns Matrix style at the guy. He got a lot of hits, but his armor protected him. But then a bullet hit a joint, and he was down. Just to make sure he didn't shoot them while they passed, he shot the guard's gun away. Then he armed a grenade at the intersection and him and Leena ran to the nearby exit.
"Why'd you do that?" said Leena as they ran away
"Just in case anyone heard it and decided to follow us" he replied. Leena shot a glance behind her and saw that the intersection was caved in.
"Oh"
They finally reached the exit and found the hanger. They saw that someone had already opened the door for them, and one of the vehicles was missing.
"How kind of them" mumbled Agamemnon.
"What?"
"Never mind. Let's just take the fastest ride here." They quickly browsed through the available vehicles, and decided to take a two seated, high-speed, hover vehicle, and got in. Agamemnon quickly hot wired it, and sped out of the base and headed to his home city.
"So, who are your friends anyway?"
"Ever heard of the Mafia?"
"Oh no…"
"Well, now you know why I wanted to get away from them."
"But will they still help you after you left?"
"Of course. I may have been a goody-goody, but when you're in the Backdraft, you're always doing something illegal. What I did was tell them what the Backdraft was shipping in its hauls, so they would know what would have been the best thing to loot. But they knew my hauler, so they kept away from me"
"I just hope that we can save my friends in time" she said. Then she heard a loud explosion, and looked behind her. The base had a mushroom cloud where it last stood.
Bit finally cooled down, and had a little control of himself. Now that Leena was gone, all he could think of was revenge. "Ryker! Show yourself!" Bit yelled at the top of his lungs, which was amplified by his Hyper Mode, which started shaking whatever was left of the building. Then a screen came out of the floor, and Ryker was there.
"I'm about 2000 meters away from you." Ryker sneered. "I knew that the monstrosity might have done something to you, so I didn't take any chances. I'm in an unmarked Whale King with it contained in its specially designed vat to keep it under my control. You should have taken my deal, Bit. Because of your arrogance, you lost. I have no other reason to speak to you." He said, and cut off the communication.
Bit lost his anger. He lost his sorrow… he was empty of emotion. The Hyper Mode disengaged, and he fell to his knees and started crying. I lost them both…