NOTE: READ THE PROLOGUE!!!!!!!!
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Zoids Fuzors: Faerie's Beginning
Chapter I: A Different Breed of Zoid
"Ouch! Stop it, Jackie!" I complained, trying to pry Jackie nails off me. "JACKIE!! C'mon, you stupid cat! Get OFF!!"
Jackie, my calico-tabby cat[1] (meaning he had calico colors, but in a tabby pattern in the calico pattern), just dug his claws deep into my skin. He knew I was nervous, and that scared him. I was rarely scared or nervous for no reason.
Hi, I'm Faerie Pegs. I'm an expert Zoid battler with an AMAZING Zoid. My friends and I battle together, some on different teams.
My looks? Well, I have raven hair, violet eyes, and I'm about 5'10". I have a fair complexion and I'm 20 years old.
My family? Well, I'm an orphan with no brothers and sisters, and no aunts, uncles, or grandparents. After my parents died, all I had were my two closest friends, Jenna and "Flame" Rapter, and their family. They were friends with a rancher and got me a job taming wild Zoids.
My Zoid? Well, I don't have her in the story of my beginning yet (hence, the BEGINNING), but like I said, she's AMAZING. You'll find out more about her later.
I sighed, trying not to think about what I had to do. It would be the first time I went shopping for a Zoid, and I barely had any money. I looked at the "Used Zoids 4 Sale" sign, took a deep breath, and stepped inside the garage.
"What can I do fer ya, miss?" asked a voice beside me. I jumped and cried out in pain because Jackie had scratched me in his shock. My cheeks now had three nice little lines that would turn into scars. I turned to the man, enraged.
"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!" I screeched. The man jumped backwards in shock.
"S'ry, miss, I- I didn' m'an ter git yeh upset o' nothin'," the man stammered. I calmed myself down before I answered.
"S'okay," I finally replied. I looked at him closer. He seemed to be in his mid-40s. His wavy black hair was turning gray. He had kind blue eyes and a tanned complexion. He looks a bit like Dad would look now if only… No. Don't think about such things right now! Think about how to get a good Zoid at a cheap price.
I blinked back tears, which the man pretended not to notice. When I calmed down, I said, "About what you could do for me… um…" I looked down, wondering how to put it. "I don't have a lot of money, so… could you point out the cheapest Zoid?"
"Sure thin', miss," the man said, leading me to the far end of the garage. "By th' way, th' name's Dusty."
"No last name?" I teased, hiding my true feelings. "Dusty" had been my dad's nickname. His real name was Dustin. Dusty looked at me, smiling.
"Le's jus' say yeh have ter earn my trus' befa yeh can know my las' name," he told me evasively. I smiled at him.
"Well, my name's Faerie," I said. "And I'm not giving my last name either."
Dusty laughed. He turned left towards a bunch of people surrounding a beautiful Zoid. It was a horse-like Zoid, white, with a golden horn, silvery hooves, mane, and tail, and a blue stripe running along either side. I walked up to the edge of the roped-off area in awe. Dusty stood beside me.
"Ain't she a beau'?" he asked. I just gaped at it. "O' course, wit' beau'y comes ficklene'. She won' take jus' no one ridin' her. She a prototype, an' she seems ter know that there no other Zoid li'e her. I'm th' on'y one who been able ter ride her. Bu' I can' bring ou' her true power, so I'm tryin' ter fine someone el' who can, bu' only if they can bring ou' her true power. Don' wan' her goin' ter jus' no one, yeh know."
"So, why'd you bring me here?" I wondered, looking over at Dusty. What did he see in me that he didn't see in all his other customers?
"Le's jus' say I have my reason," he said evasively. He definitely didn't meet me in the eye when he said that. Maybe I remind him of someone he lost, I thought, glancing at him. Maybe his heart is still tormented by some treacherous event, like mine… They said no one survived, and Dad's… STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT!
I gave myself a mental slap and looked back at the Zoid. How could I, an orphan, someone with barely any money to have fun, let alone buy a Zoid, ever be able to bring out a Zoid's true power if I barely had any training? My pride certainly wouldn't be why. That pride made me stupid. The Rapter family was very wealthy, but as soon as I left them to stake out my claim in life, I told them to keep their donations. I wanted to be completely independent. So I had nothing when I went on my own, not even inheritance because my parents hadn't made a will before… Dusty's voice brought me back to reality.
"Li'en, Faerie, if yeh manage ter tame th' Zoid, I'll le' yeh have her fer free," Dusty offered. "I've said that ter e'rybody tha's tried."
"What's she a prototype of?" I evaded.
"She called th' 'Palomino Hope'," Dusty replied. He gave me a pleading look. "Please try ter tame her. Please…"
I sighed, looking up at the Zoid. It looked very powerful. Jackie looked at me and mewed. I looked down into his eyes and saw that he was afraid of what he probably thought of as "a great big metal monster". I shook my head.
"I can't do it," I said, looking away.
"Alrigh'," he sighed, disappointed. "Well, how bou' th' nex' Zoid, then?" We began to walk away when something caught my ear.
"…said that this Zoid can think!"
I stopped and looked at the Zoid again. Dusty continued to walk a few more paces before he realized that I was walking back to the Zoid. I stopped in front of the Zoid and stared at it. Could it be? I thought. Could this Zoid be one of the Ultimate Xs of legend? But… The only two I've ever heard of are the Liger 0 and the Berserk Fury… They're very old models too, and I'm not sure the ones made now are still Ultimate Xs. Plus, the Ultimate Xs were old models even back then, made by some ancient civilization or something. How could they recreate that one-of-a-kind technology in a prototype? And why would this man is give her away free?
"AHEM!" Dusty shouted, causing me to jump and Jackie to scratch me again. I turned to him.
"What?" I snapped.
"Yeh already said yeh didn' wan' this Zoid, so why don' we go ter th' next one," Dusty suggested. I shook my head.
"I've changed my mind," I told him. "I want this one."
Dusty looked at me like I had just fulfilled every wish he'd ever had. He smiled.
"Righ', then! E'rybody, move! We have someone who's gonna try! C'mon, move!" Dusty shouted, shooing everyone away from the Zoid. Everyone went quiet as I stepped up to it.
"Heh," laughed a boy with purple hair, "that Zoid's power can't be controlled. I don't know why people even try."
"She's either very brave, or very stupid," sneered a tall boy with red hair.
"Personally, I think it's the latter," the purple-haired boy taunted. I clutched Jackie tighter, trying to suppress my rage rising from their "fun", and began to climb the Zoid one-handed. (My other hand was clutching Jackie, remember?) I opened the cockpit of the Palomino Hope once I had reached the top and climbed in. I closed the cockpit and turned her on.
"Let's see what this baby can do!" I declared. Targets began flying out of holes in the walls and ceiling. I nailed them all with amazing accuracy. I'd learned from the best for as long as I could.
Once I had destroyed all of the targets, Dusty called up to me, "Hey, Faerie, guess what?"
"What?"
"Th' Zoid's yer's!" Dusty declared. I looked down at him in disbelief.
"Just like that?"
"Yep. There's no way yeh could've hit all o' those targets wi'ou' workin' together wi' the Palomino Hope." I stared at Dusty then slowly nodded.
"Then I'll be seeing you!"
"See ya!" I turned back to the Palomino Hope.
"Let's go for a run, Hope," I said. She brayed in response. I rode Hope out of the garage.
"Let's go home…"
[1] I actually had a cat like this once. I never owned him, but my family and I took care of him for awhile. We named him Jackie, so you could say I've immortalized him in my story.
