Shadowwolf: Okay, here's how things apparently work in my brain…
I'm supposed to write a 3-5 page short story for English (which is great) but I have no inspiration for it. Instead, what do I get inspiration for? THIS. Which is also great, but not when my story is due in TWO DAYS!
*cough*
Bit: *shakes head*
Shadowwolf: Oh, come off it. But, I can't say I'm not happy to have this up! This'll be the last chapter… *sniffle* Which is too bad, because this has been a really fun story to write. So, thanks to…
Sakura Courage Solo – HERE'S THE LAST CHAPTER! ^_^ So…I hope you like it okay. Even though…well…I won't give anything away…
darkleena – I REALLY appreciate your reviews! Thanks so much! And, I can see…you're getting into it. Hah…
Life is but a Dream2000 – Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier… *cough* You know how I have problems with the brain area…I hope you can actually get a chance to catch up on the story and get to this chapter. ^_-
Thatch Kotek – SOOO glad you're back!! Any new fics coming up?? Thanks for reading!
Shadowwolf: So, there you have it. Please, please, PLEASE enjoy this chapter!
1,000 EYES
A Window
"NO!" I cried, slamming my fist hard into the side of the cockpit. The Fury roared its disapproval as we watched the base go up in smoke. "No…"
"I am so sorry, Sirus…" Rick said sadly. I shook my head.
"No use crying over spilt milk," I told him, looking at my now throbbing and bleeding hand, "we're moving on…"
Jack and
Nathan nodded on the screen. "Yes, Sir."
"Let's head back to base…help
us unfreeze our Zoids…" I ordered as Rick opened the cockpit and we both jumped
out. We walked to the Command Wolf first
and began working on it, using one of the old Backdraft's machines to
revitalize it. The process took less
than fifteen minutes, and we moved on to my Lightning Saix, Nathan following in
his working Command Wolf.
I sat on my Saix's paw as the process was repeated. Nathan sat down next to me.
"I am sorry, Sirus…I wish it had all worked out…"
"No need to worry…we certainly haven't given up yet."
"I know…but I also know that this isn't at all how you wanted it to go…"
"True…we lost men and, unfortunately, Zoids on this…" I sighed as a series of blips went off to alert that the work was done. Nathan and I hopped down and everyone climbed into their respective Zoids.
"Don't let this discourage you." I told them as we began our journey back to the base, our home.
"Okay, Sirus." Rick said, trying his best to sound sincere, but I saw through it. I was about to make a comment when warning alarms suddenly sounded simultaneously in our cockpits.
"What the-" Jack began, but before he could finish, two shots pounded the ground in front of us, sending sand up into our Zoids' faces. We all stopped to see a massive collection of Zoids making their way to us.
"Is that the ZBC?" Jack asked.
"Wow, all of this for us?" Nathan added as a man with graying hair and green eyes appeared on our screens.
"Sirus Schwarz, Rick Mantel, Nathan Conners, and Jack Pikes, you are all under arrest!" He moved slightly with the movements of his Zoid, which I assumed was the Dark Horn in front, as he spoke.
"You're crazy if you think we're going without a fight!" Nathan spat.
"Mr. Conners, there are over fifty of us and only four of you. I suggest you reconsider."
"Excuse me, Sir, may I ask your name?" I asked in the most polite tone I could muster, while Nathan cursed.
"My name is
Captain Don Leer, however, my name is the least of your worries, Mr.
Schwarz. Again, please shut down your
Zoids and surrender yourselves."
"Well, Mr. Leer, you have not
yet learned how we do things, have you?
Surrender is our absolute last resort, and we refuse to hand ourselves
over to the very organization that we have struggled so long to dismantle…so, I
suggest that you and your army of 'over fifty' of you prepare for combat." I
replied calmly, not a hint of fear or nervousness in my voice.
"Very well, Mr. Schwarz. You must realize, then, that we do not have to take you alive…don't you?"
"Mr. Leer, it would please me to die and avoid being stuck in a musty old cell that's designed for common criminals…which neither my men nor I am. Let's just finish this, shall we?" I paused. "Funny, isn't it? How this is the big battle between the 'heroes' and 'villains'…the deciding battle…" I said with amusement and began walking my Saix forward. Leer gave me an angry look and terminated our link. Nathan, Jack, and Rick all moved forward with me, and we watched a wave of Helcats approach us.
"Sirus, I think this Leer guy has the wrong idea about us. We aren't pushovers." Rick commented, he and the rest of us knowing how incredibly easy it was going to be to defeat the ten Helcats in front of us.
"Ahh, Rick," I said, "you want to take these guys out?"
"You bet." He replied, stopping the Fury, bringing down the anchors, and charging the Charged Particle Cannon. The pilots of the Helcats seemed to realize what was happening and split into two groups, one running to the left and the other to the right. "I've got them!" Rick shouted, turning the Fury to the left just as he fired. We watched patiently as each of the Helcats seemed to melt into the air.
"C'mon, Nathan," Jack called, "let's take these other ones." Nathan's Command Wolf growled and charged forward with Jack's Rev Raptor. I watched long enough to see Nathan shoot one and knock another to the ground before Jack tackled one. When I turned around, the Berserk Fury had just slammed a Saber Tiger to the ground with its tail. Four white Command Wolves seemed to appear out of thin air and surrounded me.
"Playtime, Saix." I whispered to my Zoid and then fired three shots into the nearest Wolf, sending it to the ground easily. All three of the remaining Wolves leaped on me and shoved me to the ground. My Zoid and I each growling fiercely, I slashed the cockpit of one of the Wolves and pushed another off. The last one pinned my Zoid down and began to come down for the finishing bite to the neck.
Nathan's Command Wolf let out an angry howl and rammed the ZBC Zoid off me just in time. I smirked and didn't waste time standing up, then shot down a Rev Raptor that came at me. Nathan pulled his Zoid off the downed Command Wolf and walked over to me.
"Thanks, Nathan."
"No problem. We're going to win, aren't we?"
"If we keep fighting like this, they don't stand a chance."
"Great," he smiled, "I knew we would, Sirus. I swear, I won't stop fighting until we've beaten every last one of them into the ground." I smiled back to him.
"That makes two of us Nathan." I watched his Wolf nod and run to the left, then let out the most powerful howl I'd ever heard just before leaping on a blue Blade Liger. As much as I would've loved to help, I had my own problems. Mr. Don Leer's Dark Horn was headed my way.
"Sirus, you'll come with me or die, now. No more procrastinating." He told me, using my first name for once.
"You forgot what happens if I win…"
"And…?"
"You die, and the Shadow
Serpents continue on to have more power than the Zoid Battle Commission ever
did."
"You're mistaken, Sirus," he sighed, "your 'organization' is nothing but the Backdraft Group renamed. The Backdraft never did anything successfully against the ZBC, and neither did you."
"It is you that is mistaken, Mr. Leer! This isn't over!" I shouted, enraged, as our Zoids finally met and began tearing at each other. His skills piloting a Dark Horn were something to be admired, but I had no time for admiration. He rammed his Zoid's horn into my Saix's leg, making sure I couldn't reach top speed again. I muttered a curse at his tactics and clamped my Zoid's jaws onto the side of his gatling gun. The barrel crumpled under the awesome pressure and it was Leer's turn to curse. We both temporarily pulled away from each other, giving me a chance to scope out the battlefield.
Rick and the Berserk Fury were doing well for themselves, having only minor damage and fighting three Shield Ligers at once. To my horror, I saw Jack's Rev Raptor sliced in half on the ground, and he was being dragged (kicking and punching) to a Hammer Head. This wasn't looking good, but it looked worse as I turned to Nathan.
The Blade Liger had cleanly sliced one of his Wolf's front legs off, and he was having trouble controlling the Zoid. I needed to end this fight with Leer now and come to my best friend's aid.
Leer and I charged forward again at the same time and I fired two shots into the Dark Horn's chest. Unfortunately, neither shot hit a vital area, and instead of taking Leer down I only reduced his speed. With an angry yell, I jumped backwards to get enough leverage and pushed off, leaping and pushing the Dark Horn's shoulders with my Saix's claws. Leer used his Zoid's head to ram mine, and as the cockpit turned, I saw what was happening between Nathan's Command Wolf and the ZBC Blade Liger.
I swear, everything from that point on was slow motion. I heard every beat my heart took and felt every little twinge of pain from holding my breath. The Command Wolf hobbled forward as fast as it could go, the Blade Liger running head on at it. Just as they were about to have what should've been a head-on collision, the Blade Liger pilot turned slightly and jumped. My whole body went numb as I saw the Liger's blade slice right through Nathan's cockpit. The blade continued on, coming out somewhere in the middle of the Wolf's back, and Nathan's Zoid fell head first to the ground. There was no way he could have survived, I was sure.
"NATHAN!!" I shouted, tears stinging my eyes for the first time since I was a child. I released my Zoid's controls and Leer shoved me to the ground. Too shaken by what had just happened to care about that fall, I opened the cockpit and jumped out, then ran shakily in the direction of the disabled Command Wolf.
I never reached my destination, as five men, including Mr. Leer, simultaneously tackled me and shoved my face in the sand. I felt the cold metal of handcuffs around my wrists, and was pulled roughly to my feet. Suddenly lost in thousands of thoughts, I remained completely silent and studied the ground blankly. The same Hammer Head that had taken Jack landed just in front of us, and the five men pushed me inside, but not before I got one last look back to the Command Wolf…Nathan's favorite thing in the world. He's happy now… I thought, the idea just breezing by in my head, there's no place he'd rather spend eternity…
--
I sat silently in my cold, gray cell, staring blankly at the stone floor. Two guards walked in front of the steel door, and I heard them through the food slip.
"He's lost his mind, that's what I've heard."
"I don't think he ever had it."
"Maybe so, but seriously…Captain Leer said he went loony as soon as that Conners guy was killed."
I looked up to the door when I heard his last name.
"How bizarre…oh well, his problem…so, we've got that Pikes guy around here somewhere, right?"
"Yup. And Mantel. It was a pretty successful attack, wouldn't you say?"
"Yup."
I continued to stare at the door as I heard their footsteps grow faint. Lost my mind, have I? Well…maybe… I looked at the black and white clock on the wall, whose constant ticking had just now begun to get on my nerves. It was nearly Midnight.
"The stars must be out…" I muttered, looking around my cold, dark, windowless cell. I started to remember one of the best times I'd ever had with Nathan.
It was only a few days before we first invaded the Backdraft and murdered Bowen. Nathan and I had a sort of private conference, us being best friends and all. We sat out on my roof and talked about my plan. He asked me,
"Sirus…we'll be able to do this, right? I mean, take over and actually succeed in overthrowing the Commission, right?"
"Yes…we'll succeed, Nathan. No one can stop us, I promise." Nathan smiled.
"Heh…well, I'll hold you to that…" he said, looking up at the stars and the twin moons. "Because you know what they say…"
"Huh?" I blinked. "What do they say?"
"The night has a thousand eyes…" He turned to me with a grin and pointed up at the stars. "That means no lies…"
"Well, then Nathan…we'll show the night what we can do…"
He'd had complete confidence in me…he'd always had. I promised him we would do this…ultimately......I lied…
I found myself suddenly back in that horrid cell, leaving behind the stars and Nathan. A tear rolled down my cheek and to the cold floor, and I found that I wanted nothing more…nothing more than to have a window…
Shadowwolf: Well, like I said, this was really fun to write, and I hope you all aren't TOO angry at me for killing off the best friend…
*a random audience member chucks a random frying pan at Shadowwolf*
Shadowwolf: *dives into a fox hole* OKAY, OKAY…maybe I deserved that one…
*another random audience member chucks a random grenade into the fox hole*
Shadowwolf: *curses in German*
BOOM
Shadowwolf: *is all singed and black* Thanks for reading… *falls over and disintegrates*