Disclaimer: I don't own Zone of the Enders. I wish I did though.
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The Wrath of Osiris
Chapter 1: It Begins
He stirred for the first time in a long while. It could have been hours or eons, there was no way to tell. The darkness, it seemed to stop time itself, and hold its prisoner in a cell for what seemed like an eternity. The only thing that kept him going was his desire. His desire to be free from this dark hell. His desire to have a capable runner, who could fully understand and use his awesome abilities to achieve power. For that was his desire above all else. The desire to have the ultimate power. It would not escape him. But he could be patient. He would wait. And he would watch.
3 months after the battle in the core of Aumaan......
"Hey Ken, throw me that drill, would ya?" Dingo yelled. "For pete's sake Dingo, its lying right next to you!" Ken yelled back. "Oh, never mind." Dingo grabbed the drill and began to replace a metal plate that one of the mechanics had take off of Jehuty's frame and forgot to put back on. "Damn scientists. Their lucky I'm even letting them study Jehuty." After the battle with Aumaan Anubis, Dingo had taken Jehuty to a UNSF base on Mars for some minor repairs. That was three months ago, and he was still stuck in this damn place. After repeated pleas by the UNSF scientists, and a little persuasion from Ken, he had allowed the scientists to examine Jehuty's combat abilities to try to increase the power of their LEV's in much the same way BAHRAM's army had improved after studying Anubis.
Anubis. Just thinking about that frame made Dingo's blood boil. Because when he thought of Anubis, he also thought of it's runner, General Nohman. The man who abandoned him and all his friends to die in the dark cold of space. He had fought Nohman in a duel a few months ago, which ended in Nohman's death. Or so Dingo thought. Recently, he had heard rumors of a few outposts being demolished by a single orbital frame. One who moved to fast for the LEV's to follow. He knew of only one other frame besides Jehuty who could move that fast. He looked up at Jehuty, its metal frame glinting under the glare of the large overhead lights. A few years ago, he never wanted to see another orbital frame again. Now the frame was his best friend. Well, the battle A.I. at least. ADA was as advanced as they come, the top of the line in battle computers. What qualified her as a friend, though, were the human-like qualities she had picked up from her previous runner, Leo Stenbuck. Leo, now a pilot for UNSF, and Ken were the only reason's he stayed sane in this place.
Scientists asking him questions all day long. "How do you control Jehuty?" "How strong are the weapons?" "Is it better at close or far range combat?" "How fast are you moving when you activate Zero-Shift?" "Why can't anyone else pilot it?" That made Dingo smile. Since arriving at the base, he had personally run Jehuty through several tests. ADA absolutely refused to start for any other runner. She wouldn't even let Leo pilot. Ken's voice suddenly startled him out of his deep thought. "Dingo, they want you to Zero-Shift a few times again. The think they upgraded the speedometer enough so that it can keep up with you." Dingo snickered, "Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it." He got up and stepped into the cockpit. "Good morning, Dingo" ADA said. "Mornin' ADA." That was all Ken heard as the cockpits protective shield slid over it, protecting the runner from any direct damage.
As Dingo lifted off and flew over to the hangar doors, Ken glanced over at her own orbital frame, Ardjet. It had been badly damaged during the fight with Anubis, and mechanics were working on it day and night, trying to get it back up to one hundred percent. They were even installing a new battle A.I., since the old one had been fried in the battle against Nephtis. She shuddered when she recalled that battle. She remembered the feeling as she lost all control, as the Viola A.I. took full control of Ardjet. She remembered watching as her frame and Jehuty collided again and again, how the whole frame shook from the force when ADA was deleting the Viola A.I. Then she was falling. She had never been trained to pilot without an A.I. to support her. She had to rely on Dingo who, after mocking her, let her climb into his frame. She trusted Dingo. She more than trusted Dingo. She was in love with him.
She had often wondered, these last few months, whether or not he felt the same way. He talked and acted to her like she was just another guy, a friend, much the same way Leo was. She appreciated being treated like an equal, but she wanted it to be more than that. She valued Dingo's friendship, but she yearned for his love so much more.
She sighed. "Well better get back to work." She mumbled to herself. She walked over to the mechanics, to see if there was anything she could do to help.
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Like it? This is just the beginning of what I hope becomes a long fic. It might be a little slow in this chapter, but things will pick up in the next chapter which is written from Nohman's point of view. More plot twist will be revealed in the next chapter, as we get closer and closer to uncovering the identity of the mysterious frame. Please R&R!
