HAHA! I got chapter 4 up! YAY! GO ME!!
Naomi: Are you always this stupid and hyper?
You must be the stupid one, if you're asking me that question…
Naomi: Hey, I resent that!
Yeah, and I'm the Prince of Whales…
Naomi (raising an eyebrow in confusion): Aren't you?
(Whispering) Hey, do you want me to get arrested?!
Naomi: well…I guess so…
Fluck you, too. Uh, anyway, on with the fic!
Chapter 4-Zoid Hunters
Two weeks later…As the light of dusk creeped through the windows of Nikita's home, it illuminated the map of the region lying on the kitchen table, and the two figures hunched over it in concentration.
"Bit, we've searched just about every zoid dealer on the planet, and we still haven't found it. Let's just get a Shield Liger or something…" Nikita sighed in exhaustion.
"Not yet, Nik." Bit said. "All the dealers we went to said that the Black Jackal had been a special model of the Lightning Saix that had been discontinued five years ago, right?"
"Yeah…they all said it never made it past the testing stage, and that only about three were actually finished. How does that help us in any way?" He asked in agitation.
"Well, see this forest here?" Bit said, pointing to a large forest about six kilometers away from the Toros base.
"Yeah…all the junk dealers I know call it the 'Promise Lands…'"
"So, why do they call it the Promise Lands, huh?" Bit asked, expecting him to know the answer.
Nikita shrugged in confusion, causing Bit to sigh in exasperation.
"Well, Nikita, the rumor is that a lot of major zoid battles used to go on in that forest, but the ZBC set it aside six years ago as a nature preserve since more areas around it were becoming prime locations for zoid battles. After that, however, the ZBC had also used it as a depot for testing new types of zoids to be mass-produced, and then abandoned it about three years ago. That left all the parts there alone to be collected by local junk collectors like you and me. So, rumor has it that a lot of former zoid warriors just dumped their zoids there, without any intention of selling them, and the ZBC also just dumped the rest its parts here, never even picking them up."
"So, you think that…we'll find the zoid there?" Nikita said, finishing his thought.
"Bingo."
"Well, the chances of us finding this zoid are slim to none, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to look…"
"Exactly what I was thinking."
"Hey big brother!" Said a small voice behind them.
"Huh? Oh, what is it Mark?" Nikita asked, looking over at his thirteen year-old brother. His brother was much smaller than Nikita, and had short black hair and green eyes.
"Mom says its time for dinner." Said the younger boy.
"Okay, thanks, Mark. You can leave now." He said, waving his hand at his brother.
"Whatever." He said, walking out.
"Okay, whaddya say we search after dinner?" Bit asked, smirking joyfully.
"Sure." He said, getting up to leave.
They both walked into the kitchen, to find his brother already seated, and plates of hot food on the table.
"Oh, Bit, are you staying for dinner?" Nikita's mother asked.
"Um…yeah, sure!" He smiled, and sat down at the table. He smelled the food, and automatically started to drool. "Mmm…smells good Mrs. Armstrong…"
"Please, call me Jan, Bit." She said, sitting down at the table.
"Okay…Jan." Bit said with a little difficulty.
They all eagerly began digging in, eating like ravenous wolves until Nikita finally spoke up.
"Hey, mom, can me and Bit take the jeep and drive to the Promise Lands?" He asked innocently.
"May I ask why?" His mother asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"We just want to comb the forest for a zoid, that's all!" He said defensively. "Bit said that a lot of zoid battles used to go on there, but it's a nature reserve now, so there's still a lot of unclaimed parts and even zoids!"
"So you two are going there in hopes of finding that zoid that Nikita has been looking for?" She finished, looking at both the boys skeptically.
"Yep, that's it." He said innocently. "Please?" He added, getting a puppy-dog look in his eyes.
"Oh…you know I hate it when you give me that look…" His mother chuckled. "Fine, after dinner, you two can go out and comb the forest for a zoid."
"Alright!" Nikita whooped, jumping up, knocking the chair down. When he noticed that everyone else was staring at him, he quietly sat back down, his face a shade of crimson.
"Thanks Jan." Bit said, swallowing a mouthful of steak.
"Don't worry about it, Bit. I already know that you two were going to ask Mr. Toros if you can join the Blitz Team, and its been little Nikita's dream to pilot a zoid, much less be on a team as famous as yours!"
"Hey, I'm not little!" Nikita yelled furiously. "Mark's the little one…" He said, ruffling his brother's hair.
"Hey, get off!" He screamed, hitting his hand away.
And that's the way the rest of dinner went, until Nikita and Bit walked outside to get the jeep.
"Man, just think if we find that zoid…" Nikita said, a happy glow in his eyes.
"I think we'll find it." Bit said, jumping into the passenger side.
"I hope your right…" He said, starting the ignition, and turning the radio dial to a favorite station.
"92.3?" Bit asked curiously.
"K-Rock." Nikita answered, jacking up the volume. "What else?"
Nikita quietly revved the engine, and slammed his foot on the gas, causing the car to surge forward and off into the distance.
It took them twenty minutes to reach the "Promise Lands", and actually start combing the forest for "the zoid." The search took their full attention, and they kept their senses fully alert.
Three hours had passed, and it was now past nightfall. They had stopped the jeep in a small clearing, and were studying a map of the reserve by flashlight.
"Bit, I don't think we're going to find it. Let's just go home. 'Sides, I think Doc is worried about you…" Nikita said, sighing in exasperation.
"Not yet Nik. We still have to search this area here." Bit said, pointing to a small area near a small creek that wound its way through the reserve.
"Bit, I seriously doubt that we're gonna find it there…" He said doubtfully.
Bit only waved his hand at him in dismissal. "Whatever."
Nikita shrugged, and drove toward the area Bit had specified.
An hour later, Nikita had told Bit to take over so he could take a little catnap. He had a dream tuned to the song currently on the radio (Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down), and smiled in happiness.
Another hour later…"Nikita! Nikita! You alright?!" Bit's voice shouted.
Nikita mumbled something softly. His head was swirling in darkness. His vision slowly returned to focus.
Bit was standing above him. He was soaking wet, and his normally spiked hair was matted down. Nikita looked up into the sky. It was darker then it had been before, and it was pouring rain above them.
"Huh? Wha…what happened?" He mumbled, getting up off the ground. A huge pain shot through his entire back and neck area as he got to his feet.
"A tree fell over in the road and I didn't see it in time to avoid it. Car went off the road and we got thrown out of the car. Luckily, you were asleep, so you didn't feel anything…"
"Yeah, but I feel somethin' now, that's for sure…" Nikita moaned, cracking his spine back in place. He grabbed his head by the sides, and cracked his neck on both his left and his right sides.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me…" Bit started.
"What is it, Bit?" He asked, sitting down on a log and ringing out his brown hair.
Bit paced back and forth nervously, sighed, and began. "I found the zoid."