~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note: hey here's chapter seven, sorry if it's crappy because I
have a slight writer's block and this is all I could come up with. So here
it is.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
All was dark as the blonde Ancient Zoidian came to; the air was damp. Her head ached and she was sore all over. She found herself laying on bumpy ground and groaned as she attempted to get into a sitting position, but her arms gave way halfway through the motion and she fell flat back on her stomach. She tried several times, it was almost as if most of her strength was gone. But what could she have done to lose all of her energy? The last thing she remembered was telling Van about the plan.she was in the middle of telling him, before a huge explosion sounded and sent the Liger flying backwards, since she didn't strip herself in she hit her head on the back of the cockpit.
Fiona laid on her stomach for several moments, contemplating her next move. She placed her hands on both sides of her head and lifted her elbows and mustering all of her strength pushed herself off the hard ground until she was on all fours. She panted in pure exhaustion; who would have thought that a simple motion such as getting up would take so much effort?
Her eyes soon adjusted to dark and it appeared as though she was in some sort of dungeon or cell, she couldn't tell. There was a bared door a half a dozen feet a way from her so. Just she was about to sit on her legs, the voice rang out in the dark.
"Your awake, I was beginning wonder if you had gone into a coma." It belonged to Reese.
A blue orb began to form in the opposite side of the makeshift cell, revealing none other then the blue devil herself. Her shoulder length cerulean hair breaking apart into dirty clumps while her eyes looked tired.
"Reese?" Fiona's voice came out weaker than she had expected it to.
Reese stood up, the blue ball of light floating eerily above her hand, and walked over to her. She knelt down next to the blonde and helped her get into a sitting position without ever saying a word. Fiona gazed at the orb and then back at it's creator, curiously.
"What happened, Reese?" she asked, cocking her head to one side that gave her an innocent look.
But the blue devil did not respond right away, her eyes were locked on something on Fiona's face. She mutely placed a lock of blonde hair behind the other girl's ear and gently touched the side of her temple. Fiona immediately winced at the contact, for some reason that spot was very tender. Reese must have took notice of this because she quickly pulled her hand away.
"Forgive me," Reese said quietly, gazing down at the ball of light. "I couldn't help but notice that you have a wound."
Fiona frowned, since when was Reese this well...nice? There had to be a catch or did she really throw her grudge away after the whole Deathsaurer/Deathstinger incident?
"I didn't know you cared," Fiona replied in a softer tone before looking up at her and smiling.
Reese's featured went from emotionless to shock and then to anger. "It's not that." She roughly pulled a lock of her hair and it fell behind her ear, exposing a bloody spot right on her temple.
Fiona put her hand over her mouth and gasped. "Oh my God, what does this mean?"
"I wish I knew myself," the blue devil grumbled.
"I don't mean to ask so many questions of you, Reese, but..I really want to know what's going on. One minute I'm with Van inside of the Liger and now I'm here in a dark cell with a bloody mark on my head! Surely, you must know," Fiona said, grabbing Reese's hand in the process.
Reese roughly took her hand back and glanced back at the barbed door, she growled under her breath. "I don't know what happened, I'm just as lost as you are, Alicia Lynette. But I do have a theory."
"Great! What is it?"
"You ask so many questions," Reese snarled. "But I guess that's expected after what's happened."
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
The wind blew hopelessly in the barren desert as it howled eerily. The sun was setting and now the sky was a beautiful mosaic of colors, ranging from bright oranges to soft pinks and everything in between. All came as a slap to the face to a certain seven year old. Jade had awaken to find herself tied up against her uncle's Blade Liger's leg, her feet a good five feet from the ground., with no idea how she got there. She'd tried several times to free herself; she asked the liger to help her but it did nothing, she screamed at the top lungs still nothing.
Every part of her, where the ropes were wrapped around her and below, had gone numb. She had lost complete feeling in her feet. The only places that she could actually feel were everything above her shoulders. Jade wiggled her shoulder blades and the ropes loosened a bit, it wasn't much but it was a start.
"Come on..come on... AGH! This is hopeless! Where's a pocket knife when you need one?"
Inhaling deeply, Jade paused her struggles for freedom and gazed at her surroundings; all of the zoids were still here, but it deadly obvious that no one was in them. A desert breeze blew dust against them. The zoids looked out of place here. Where was everybody? Jade had no idea but was most definitely going to find out. Once she freed herself that is.
There had to be something she had forgotten to do; the question was, what? What had she forgotten to do? She knew there was a way to get out..she just wasn't sure of what it was. Zeke, her uncle's organiod, was not inside of the Liger because it did not even acknowledge her presence. And Shadow, Raven's organiod, was nowhere to be seen. Jade gasped when she suddenly remembered.
"Yo AMBIENT!!!"
A streak of red lightening shot down from the heavens and landed before her and turned into Ambient.
"Ambient! Thank god! Hurry, get me down from here!" Jade commanded excitedly.
Ambient nodded and thrust it's spiked tail through the ropes and caught it's master before she fell. Jade wrapped her arms around it's cool neck and hugged it with all her might. It purred softly like a cat would. With renewed courage, Jade walked in front of the blade liger, a mischievous smirk forming on her lips.
She turned to Ambient. "Okay, buddy, we've got to find Van. So I was thinking..we need to swipe a zoid," she curled her hand into a fist and pushed it into her other hand. "We've gotta. Whatdaya say?"
Ambient growled and shot off in the sky as a red blur and crashed into the Blade Liger. It lifted it's head and roared loudly. Jade cheered and did a victory dance.
"Wohoo! That is tottaly cool, Ambient!" she exclaimed.
The Blade Liger bent over and it's cockpit opened and Jade hopped in it. She strapped herself and was quivering with excitement. This was her first time piloting a zoid, and this wasn't just any zoid. It was Van's zoid, since he was her legal guardian Jade figured his zoid would be the best one to swipe. She wasn't truly going to steal it, just borrowing without permission. Yeah that's it. She was going to give it back anyways.
With another roar, the Blade Liger ran off into the distance.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
"...Our race was an interesting one, you see, everyone was blessed with different talents. Each one as different as the people who possessed them. But like in every race, there were a few who were out to make trouble. That why probably why zoids were created, some people used them as pets while to others they were tools of massacre.."
Fiona watched with rapt attention as Reese bit her lower lip and once more glanced over her shoulder, as if she was expecting someone to come. But no one did. The blonde wondered where exactly she was going with this, yes Fiona knew all this, Prozen had told her. What was the point of this? Fiona didn't say anything and tried to clear her thoughts just in case.
"Go on," she urged softly.
Reese met her eyes and stared down at the orb of light once more, looking at it as if it could tell her everything. "What I'm trying to say is, that whoever kidnapped us must know about where we are from or that we're Ancient Zoidians to put it simply. I know of a couple spells that requires the blood of our people."
"A spell?" Fiona repeated, blankly.
Reese nodded, still never taking her eyes off the orb. "Yes, spells. Hiltz taught me some; he said they would come in handy some day. I never knew what he meant until now."
The blood of our people, Fiona thought, what could it possibly be for? And who would want to use Ancient Zoidian spells? She mulled over what Reese had said about Hiltz, and having been chosen to be his queen Fiona knew he wasn't the sanest person. But he had to have been in the beginning or else how could he have outsmarted them so many times? With his thirst for chaos, those spells had to have dangerous.
Now that she thought of it, Dr. D had several Ancient Zoidian texts. If only she could reach him.. She let out a depressed sigh. Everything was just not going right. It was like the whole world was out to make her miserable.
Reese tore her gaze off the blue orb and looked at Fiona, who was frowning, with mild curiosity. It was obvious that the blonde was caught up in her thoughts. Clearing her own thoughts, Reese tapped into her mind. Ah, it had been a long time since she had read someone's mind and it felt good. She hadn't done any mind reading lately because of Raven; in fact she stopped using her physic powers for the same reason. Raven never liked that, and Reese knew it was because he hated anyone having any leverage over him. Oh the simple pleasures of life.
It seemed that that old geezer, whom Reese was surprised to know was still alive, had a couple ancient texts but had no idea how to read them. Go figure. Fiona's thoughts quickly turned on to a far more emotional topic, Flyheight. Reese rolled her eyes, even she wished that they would just get a room and get it over with. // But he has that little girl with him.. and I don't she likes me very much..// This was getting old fast, Reese noted with annoyance. A smirk slowly made it's way to her lips.. while she was in Fiona's mind, she might as well have some fun with her.
"It does appear that way," Reese said telepathically. "But that be dealt with.."
Hmmm, should she say that the little girl could always live with her other family members or she be could be with her idol, Raven. Decisions. Decisions.
"What?" Fiona jerked up as if she had been attacked, her sunset eyes wide.
Reese couldn't help but smile. "Yes?"
"Did you say something?" she asked breathlessly.
Reese just shook her head, her warm smile turning into her usual cold ones. Fiona seemed to accept this because she murmured a quick apology and looked up at the ceiling. The blue devil decided now her was her chance to influence the other girl's thoughts: but did she really want Raven to have the little girl? That would mean that he would be feeding three mouths instead of just two, well it would get him acquainted with fatherhoo..what? Reese quickly shook the thoughts away, what was she thinking? Raven just lusted after her; he wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life with her and a little Raven. Such thoughts were ludicrous. It was probably all the stress going to her head, she decided.
She was taken out of her own musings when Fiona spoke. "Reese, I think I know where we are."
*&*&*&*&*&*&
"I see your awake."
Van groaned and rolled onto his back; he had the weirdest dream, that he had met with Raven and then they fought for a little bit, then Jade magically appeared on the maverick's lap then Raven threatened to kill her if Van didn't do everything he told him to. He was probably back at home, in his nice comfy large bed..Van tried to roll onto his side but instead heard a big 'thump' sound and found himself plastered against the floor. He shot in it rapt awakeness.
"I didn't do it, I swear!" he shouted without even knowing what he was talking about.
Someone giggled, the voice sounded so familiar and belonged to a woman. He looked up over the bed and to his amazement, it wasn't his bedroom or anywhere in the house. In fact this looked like the house he grew up in... no, that wasn't right, Van thought. In dim light, it did look like his sister's house..
Suddenly a lamp turned and the light blinded his eyes, causing him to fall backwards.
"Are you okay?" the same voice, half asked, half giggled.
Van sat up and placed his arms on the side of the bed and standing before him was none other than his sister, Maria. Her dark hair placed in a messy bun and her eyes were bright, brighter than he remembered them.
"Maria?" Van asked, blankly.
There was no way he was with his sister in the house! They were all the way in the Wind Colony while he was in the Empire. This had to be a dream, a horrible, messed up dream.
Maria smiled and sat down on the foot of the bed and placed her face in her hands. Her shoulder's started to shake and Van noticed a single tear drop slide from the gabs in her hands.
"Maria, are you okay?"
"It's been three years and you were alive the whole time," she lowered her hands and wiped the tears away. "I've missed you terribly. I couldn't believe that same thing that happened to dad happened to you. The reason they didn't have your body in the casket was because, they said it had been reduced to nothing but unrecognizable bloody parts."
The next thing he knew, his sister was hugging him tightly while pounding softly on his back as she continued her tortured speech. Van gulped and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. She started sobbing on his shoulder. And Van suddenly realized how miserable she was, he had never meant to hurt her. One of the reasons he joined the Guardian Force, was to prevent people like Maria and himself from losing their loved ones because of hate.
Twenty minutes later, Maria was in the kitchen working on a late dinner while Van sat at the table watching her. He had nothing better to do anyways. He looked around his old home with a curious expression, everything was still pretty much the same, there were some modern additions such a large TV and a vidphone.
Van had already told his sister up what had happened after he lost his memory, about Jade, and about everything that had happened up until that moment. He didn't have anyone else to talk to and plus Maria deserved to know. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the small kitchen like fog on a British day.
"You know, Van," Maria said calmly, not even glancing over her shoulder. "The phone is at your disposal."
He frowned; was she saying that he was more than welcome to use the phone? But who was he supposed to call? He could call Thomas, but wasn't in the mood to be scolded so he decided against that. Or he could call..Laura, but what was he supposed to say to her?
Maria smiled softly as she watched her baby brother silently mull over what to do or who to call. She'd missed him for more reasons then one, the house was getting empty and nothing could cheer her up anymore. She smiled again as she remembered that she had planned on going to an animal shelter in the capital, she was going to get a good dog to keep her company. But alas, the dog would have to wait until another day. When she had found the unconscious form of her brother literally at her doorstep, her life had changed radically.
"But Maria," Van began after his brain began to hurt. "I don't have anyone to call."
"Surely, someone must be assured of where you are. What about that nice girl Fiona? Have you told her you've gotten your memories back or was I the only one left out?"
Van blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Actually..hehe..well sis, it was because of Fiona that I got my memory back. It was real lucky that I knocked into her when I did...but come to think about it..Fiona was with me in the Liger when we were attacked. It was exactly what had happened before!"
"What do you mean?" she glanced back at him curiously.
"When I was attacked three years ago! I couldn't see the zoid and the radar couldn't pick up on it either. By time Zeke and I had any idea of what was going on, we were already defenseless. The same thing happened earlier, because Raven was there too. And he has to be one of the best zoid pilots on the planet, it's obvious that he didn't even know what was going on.." Van trailed off.
That vidphone was starting to look really appealing, he could call Thomas and not tell him anything about where he was and just ask if the Genobreaker's been found. Yeah that sounded good.
"I'll be right back.."
Without another word, Van walked over to the vidphone and slowly pressed the number key. An image of a phone being picked up flashed before him followed by a very angry looking Major.
"What is it?!"
Van blinked and momentarily forgetting why he called in the first place. "Thomas! Hey..."
"Van, are you insane?! Where are you?"
"Er.that's not important! Look, I just want to know if you've located the Genobreaker and/ or Raven. This is super important!" Van mentally slapped his forehead, he was starting to talk like his niece.
Thomas must have took notice of the slang also for he arched a sandy eyebrow. "Super? Right, and to answer your question yes we have located the Genobreaker and no Raven was not in it. It looked it be abandoned, although I'm not sure why Raven would want to give up one of his only possessions."
"That's what I thought," Van said grimly. "Say, Thomas, did there happen to be other zoids with the Genobreaker?"
"Yes, Irvine's Lightening Sykes and a Zaber Fang. Why?" Thomas shot him an inquisitive look.
"That's all?"
"Yes, and why may I ask, Flyheight?"
Van shrugged, his face expressionless. So the other zoids where there, but where was his? "Were all those zoids unmanned?"
Thomas nodded. "Yes, they were. Van, where is your zoid? Did you take it with you?"
Van ignored the last part. "Any word from Moonbay and Irvine?"
The blonde shook his head and cocked a brow in a curious fashion, there was something Van wasn't telling him. Thomas knew damn well that he was there at the battlefield, so why was he hiding it? Was he afraid of something?
"Damn, just like I thought. What about Reese or Fiona?"
"Nope..whoa.Miss Fiona?!" he shrieked. "Miss Fiona was there?! Flyheight, you idiot! You put her delicate life in danger!"
Van rolled his eyes, no matter what he said Thomas was still scolding him like a stupid child. He wasn't even in the mood to say why Fiona was there in the first place, in fact he didn't even know. She was about to tell him before they were attacked.
"Thomas, do me a favor and shut the hell up. For your information, I didn't bring Fiona in the battle. She was with Moonbay in the Zaber Fang. And what about my niece? Are you saying nobody has been found except for me?"
Thomas opened his mouth to protest but decided against it, and nodded his head. "I'm afraid so. Who's your niece in the first place?"
The midnight warrior groaned and promptly cut off the connection. He was so not in the mood for this. He slowly sat down on the floor and stared out the kitchen window at the starry night; there had to be something he could do, something to help his friends. It didn't feel right just sitting here and feeling completely helpless and confused. And to top it all off, he had an unwavering sense of déjà vu just thinking about it.
"Van?" Maria's head popped out from the doorway.
"Yes?" he replied stiffly.
"Where's Zeke? Don't tell me you forgot about him too."
"Oh God, Maria, not you too! I said I'm sorry, okay? It's not my fault I got amenis..wait rewind. What was that?" Van blinked several times.. Zeke! Yes of course! Why didn't he think of it sooner?
He didn't even wait for her reply. "You're a genius, sis! Hey Zeke! Buddy!!"
Suddenly a flash of blue lightening cracked down beside him, leaving a nice hole in the ceiling it's wake. The silver organiod, Zeke, appeared and growled happily and greeted it's master by pouncing on him and licking his face. Maria smiled and returned to food in the kitchen, humming quietly to herself.
Van laughed and gently pushed Zeke off of him. "It's good to see you too, buddy. Say, I have a something for you to do. Do you think you could do it?"
Zeke growled and nodded.
"I want you to get inside of the Blade Liger and bring it here, okay?"
The organiod growled once more and departed in a beam of light, leaving another hole in the ceiling. Dust settled on the ex-Lieutenant's hair and face as he stared up the two holes above him. He stole a nervous glance at the kitchen; thankfully his sister was still humming away. Van gulped and scratched the back of his neck and silently prayed that his sister would not notice the two big holes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Have any papayas left?"
Van licked his lips anxiously at the thought of those delicious fruits, he could almost taste them. Dinner had gone by smoothly without any interruptions; it was an hour later and Zeke still hadn't come back; the Blade Liger still must have been in the Empire. So had desert, but as usual the young pilot was still hungry. Some things just never change.
Maria mock rolled her eyes and giggled as she stood up from the dining table. She still couldn't believe her baby brother was back and as happy as ever, she half expected to wake up any second and find that it all had been a dream. She returned to the table with two papayas in hand and set them both in front of Van, who had started drooling in anticipation.
Van happily took a big bite out of one of the papayas and just as he was about to swallow, a loud crack sound was heard in the living room. He whirled around to see Zeke shake a piece of the ceiling of his head.
"Zeke, where's the Liger?" he said with his mouth full, which sounded more like, "Meke, mfere's the Mifmer?"
His organiod cocked it's mighty head to one side and made a motion for his master to swallow. He did so and quickly repeated himself. Zeke just shook his head.
"What? What do you mean you couldn't get in? Was there another organiod in it?"
Zeke nodded.
"Then who was it? Was it Specula? Or even Shadow?" Van asked quickly, getting up from the chair.
The organiod made a throaty growl and Van gasped. "No way! You've got to be kidding me! I told her not to get near the Liger!!"
"Who?" Maria asked curiously.
Van groaned, "It's nothing. I'll tell you later, promise." He turned back to Zeke. "Are you sure?"
Zeke growled once again and said in the language that only he and his master could understand. ~*Of course, I'm sure. If you don't believe me why don't you just find out for yourself?*~
"Maybe I will," Van said stubbornly and strut over to the vidphone.
He quickly dialed in the zoid number and for the second time today, an image of a phone being picked up appeared followed by the image of a little girl with medium length ebony hair.
"Jade! I can't believe you!" Van cried incredulously.
His niece blinked several times and gasped when she recognized the voice. She laughed nervously and placed her hand behind her head. "H-hiya, Van. What's up?"
"What did I tell you about piloting zoids? Especially those that don't belong to you?" he demanded.
"Uh..don't do it..?"
"Yes, don't pilot any zoids! I mean, for crying out loud Jade you could be hurt! What if someone challenged you to a zoid battle? You could be killed! Don't you see you how serious this is?"
From somewhere behind him, Van could hear his sister laughing softly and mentally groaned. He chose to ignore her.
Meanwhile on the other end of the com link, Jade groaned loudly and looked down at the controls. God, even if her uncle was now Van Flyheight, who according to A&E was a fun loving guy, he still gave her lectures. She sighed, some things just never change.
"I know, I'm sorry, Van. It's just that..everyone was gone and I thought I could find them faster if I used a zoid.." She trailed off with a sigh.
Her uncle frowned and looked at her strangely. "What did you say? Everyone was gone?"
"Yeah, dunno what happened. One minute I'm with Raven and the next I'm tied against the Liger's leg," she returned the strange look with one of her own.
Van gasped and gripped the phone tighter. "You were what? Oh my God, are you okay? Are you hurt, honey??"
"Nah uh, just confused," a mischievous smirk slowly crossed her lips. "You know, now I that I am piloting this zoid..don't' you think it's time you teach me the art of zoid butt whoop? PLEASE?!?!"
He laughed softly. "I'll think about it, now I want you to have Ambient get out of the Blade Liger so Zeke can bring you two here. Sound good?"
"But why?"
"Because Zeke is a more experienced organiod and plus he knows where I am, don't you boy?" Van cooed as he stroked the organiod's smooth chin.
"Aww, fine. If I have to."
*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Alright, where are we then?" Reese asked as Fiona slowly stood up and placed her hand on the wall, the moonlight giving her an eerie glow.
"This is the temple where Van found Zeke and myself."
Reese frowned and stood up also, but instead of going to the wall where the other girl was, she went to the barbed door and looked through the gaps only to see darkness. Damn, where was he? Before the blonde had gained consciousness, Reese had spoken to Raven telepathically of course. She could feel his location and he was nearby. She had asked him to go to the nearest ruins, but he had not replied which meant he was out cold. So she'd tried to tap into his subconscious and placed the message there. Raven should have been here by now.
"Are you sure? This could be any temple," Reese said softy.
"Yes, I'm positive. We're in the Republic, right next to the Wind Colony."
For some reason, the news wasn't quite as comforting as Reese would have hoped. She felt even more anxious and confused, and she was hardly ever confused. The Wind Colony, the name sounded familiar, oh yes that was the place where Van Flyheight had grown up in. Made sense that the temple where he discovered the organiod and Fiona would be right next to where he lived.
Sighing softly, Reese pressed her back against the wall and slide down until she was on the ground. They were doomed, she decided. They had been doomed from the beginning, it was the curse of their ancient people. It was hopeless to try and fight the inevitable.
Fiona turned to Reese quickly, her hair whipping her face in the process. "Reese, we have to get out of here."
Reese just closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Why couldn't Fiona see they were doomed? "No shit Sherlock, but what's the point? We're going to die anyways."
"What's the point? Reese, the point is that we still have a chance to find a counter curse and then we could stop whoever is trying to do this."
"But your forgetting one small detail, we don't know what the spell is there could be dozens out there. Plus, we don't know for sure if our blood is really needed for a spell. And we don't know who is kidnapped us and we don't know what this individual is trying to do."
Fiona went to her and placed her hands on the other girl's knees and sat down. "Don't tell me you've given up already. You're the one who believed that there was a softer, gentler side to Raven and just look at him! He let a little girl rest on him. And this was all because of you. You can't give up, not this early."
Reese placed her hand with the orb on her stomach and met the blonde's eyes. "That's different. I knew that Raven had a nice side, but all his life he was taught not use it so eventually he forgot it even existed. I just helped him get back his humanity. That is nothing compared to what is happening to us now. It's hopeless."
"Don't say that! It's never too late!" Fiona insisted, growing aggravated with the blue devil's sudden aloofness.
"Fiona, we are the last surviving member's of a cursed race. Haven't you ever noticed that wherever you go, trouble seems to follow? We're cursed and if we stick around long enough.." She trailed off with a pained look. "If..we.stick around long enough, we'll only cause pain to those we love."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note: Yay! And that's chapter number seven! I'm finally done! *sighs* I know it was crappy but it's all I could come up with. But I hoped ya'll enjoyed it at any rate. Hopefully the next chapter will be better, because their will be more fight scenes! Wohoo! Lol, sorry I like fight scenes. Well.. You guys know the rules, review and you'll get more story. So please R & R everyone!!
Later days,
~$hAdOwCaT*~
As you might have noticed, I changed my pen name because it was really bugging me with the 13 at the end. So now it's that, but I still have to fix it because it keeps coming up as HaDowCat. Later!
All was dark as the blonde Ancient Zoidian came to; the air was damp. Her head ached and she was sore all over. She found herself laying on bumpy ground and groaned as she attempted to get into a sitting position, but her arms gave way halfway through the motion and she fell flat back on her stomach. She tried several times, it was almost as if most of her strength was gone. But what could she have done to lose all of her energy? The last thing she remembered was telling Van about the plan.she was in the middle of telling him, before a huge explosion sounded and sent the Liger flying backwards, since she didn't strip herself in she hit her head on the back of the cockpit.
Fiona laid on her stomach for several moments, contemplating her next move. She placed her hands on both sides of her head and lifted her elbows and mustering all of her strength pushed herself off the hard ground until she was on all fours. She panted in pure exhaustion; who would have thought that a simple motion such as getting up would take so much effort?
Her eyes soon adjusted to dark and it appeared as though she was in some sort of dungeon or cell, she couldn't tell. There was a bared door a half a dozen feet a way from her so. Just she was about to sit on her legs, the voice rang out in the dark.
"Your awake, I was beginning wonder if you had gone into a coma." It belonged to Reese.
A blue orb began to form in the opposite side of the makeshift cell, revealing none other then the blue devil herself. Her shoulder length cerulean hair breaking apart into dirty clumps while her eyes looked tired.
"Reese?" Fiona's voice came out weaker than she had expected it to.
Reese stood up, the blue ball of light floating eerily above her hand, and walked over to her. She knelt down next to the blonde and helped her get into a sitting position without ever saying a word. Fiona gazed at the orb and then back at it's creator, curiously.
"What happened, Reese?" she asked, cocking her head to one side that gave her an innocent look.
But the blue devil did not respond right away, her eyes were locked on something on Fiona's face. She mutely placed a lock of blonde hair behind the other girl's ear and gently touched the side of her temple. Fiona immediately winced at the contact, for some reason that spot was very tender. Reese must have took notice of this because she quickly pulled her hand away.
"Forgive me," Reese said quietly, gazing down at the ball of light. "I couldn't help but notice that you have a wound."
Fiona frowned, since when was Reese this well...nice? There had to be a catch or did she really throw her grudge away after the whole Deathsaurer/Deathstinger incident?
"I didn't know you cared," Fiona replied in a softer tone before looking up at her and smiling.
Reese's featured went from emotionless to shock and then to anger. "It's not that." She roughly pulled a lock of her hair and it fell behind her ear, exposing a bloody spot right on her temple.
Fiona put her hand over her mouth and gasped. "Oh my God, what does this mean?"
"I wish I knew myself," the blue devil grumbled.
"I don't mean to ask so many questions of you, Reese, but..I really want to know what's going on. One minute I'm with Van inside of the Liger and now I'm here in a dark cell with a bloody mark on my head! Surely, you must know," Fiona said, grabbing Reese's hand in the process.
Reese roughly took her hand back and glanced back at the barbed door, she growled under her breath. "I don't know what happened, I'm just as lost as you are, Alicia Lynette. But I do have a theory."
"Great! What is it?"
"You ask so many questions," Reese snarled. "But I guess that's expected after what's happened."
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
The wind blew hopelessly in the barren desert as it howled eerily. The sun was setting and now the sky was a beautiful mosaic of colors, ranging from bright oranges to soft pinks and everything in between. All came as a slap to the face to a certain seven year old. Jade had awaken to find herself tied up against her uncle's Blade Liger's leg, her feet a good five feet from the ground., with no idea how she got there. She'd tried several times to free herself; she asked the liger to help her but it did nothing, she screamed at the top lungs still nothing.
Every part of her, where the ropes were wrapped around her and below, had gone numb. She had lost complete feeling in her feet. The only places that she could actually feel were everything above her shoulders. Jade wiggled her shoulder blades and the ropes loosened a bit, it wasn't much but it was a start.
"Come on..come on... AGH! This is hopeless! Where's a pocket knife when you need one?"
Inhaling deeply, Jade paused her struggles for freedom and gazed at her surroundings; all of the zoids were still here, but it deadly obvious that no one was in them. A desert breeze blew dust against them. The zoids looked out of place here. Where was everybody? Jade had no idea but was most definitely going to find out. Once she freed herself that is.
There had to be something she had forgotten to do; the question was, what? What had she forgotten to do? She knew there was a way to get out..she just wasn't sure of what it was. Zeke, her uncle's organiod, was not inside of the Liger because it did not even acknowledge her presence. And Shadow, Raven's organiod, was nowhere to be seen. Jade gasped when she suddenly remembered.
"Yo AMBIENT!!!"
A streak of red lightening shot down from the heavens and landed before her and turned into Ambient.
"Ambient! Thank god! Hurry, get me down from here!" Jade commanded excitedly.
Ambient nodded and thrust it's spiked tail through the ropes and caught it's master before she fell. Jade wrapped her arms around it's cool neck and hugged it with all her might. It purred softly like a cat would. With renewed courage, Jade walked in front of the blade liger, a mischievous smirk forming on her lips.
She turned to Ambient. "Okay, buddy, we've got to find Van. So I was thinking..we need to swipe a zoid," she curled her hand into a fist and pushed it into her other hand. "We've gotta. Whatdaya say?"
Ambient growled and shot off in the sky as a red blur and crashed into the Blade Liger. It lifted it's head and roared loudly. Jade cheered and did a victory dance.
"Wohoo! That is tottaly cool, Ambient!" she exclaimed.
The Blade Liger bent over and it's cockpit opened and Jade hopped in it. She strapped herself and was quivering with excitement. This was her first time piloting a zoid, and this wasn't just any zoid. It was Van's zoid, since he was her legal guardian Jade figured his zoid would be the best one to swipe. She wasn't truly going to steal it, just borrowing without permission. Yeah that's it. She was going to give it back anyways.
With another roar, the Blade Liger ran off into the distance.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*
"...Our race was an interesting one, you see, everyone was blessed with different talents. Each one as different as the people who possessed them. But like in every race, there were a few who were out to make trouble. That why probably why zoids were created, some people used them as pets while to others they were tools of massacre.."
Fiona watched with rapt attention as Reese bit her lower lip and once more glanced over her shoulder, as if she was expecting someone to come. But no one did. The blonde wondered where exactly she was going with this, yes Fiona knew all this, Prozen had told her. What was the point of this? Fiona didn't say anything and tried to clear her thoughts just in case.
"Go on," she urged softly.
Reese met her eyes and stared down at the orb of light once more, looking at it as if it could tell her everything. "What I'm trying to say is, that whoever kidnapped us must know about where we are from or that we're Ancient Zoidians to put it simply. I know of a couple spells that requires the blood of our people."
"A spell?" Fiona repeated, blankly.
Reese nodded, still never taking her eyes off the orb. "Yes, spells. Hiltz taught me some; he said they would come in handy some day. I never knew what he meant until now."
The blood of our people, Fiona thought, what could it possibly be for? And who would want to use Ancient Zoidian spells? She mulled over what Reese had said about Hiltz, and having been chosen to be his queen Fiona knew he wasn't the sanest person. But he had to have been in the beginning or else how could he have outsmarted them so many times? With his thirst for chaos, those spells had to have dangerous.
Now that she thought of it, Dr. D had several Ancient Zoidian texts. If only she could reach him.. She let out a depressed sigh. Everything was just not going right. It was like the whole world was out to make her miserable.
Reese tore her gaze off the blue orb and looked at Fiona, who was frowning, with mild curiosity. It was obvious that the blonde was caught up in her thoughts. Clearing her own thoughts, Reese tapped into her mind. Ah, it had been a long time since she had read someone's mind and it felt good. She hadn't done any mind reading lately because of Raven; in fact she stopped using her physic powers for the same reason. Raven never liked that, and Reese knew it was because he hated anyone having any leverage over him. Oh the simple pleasures of life.
It seemed that that old geezer, whom Reese was surprised to know was still alive, had a couple ancient texts but had no idea how to read them. Go figure. Fiona's thoughts quickly turned on to a far more emotional topic, Flyheight. Reese rolled her eyes, even she wished that they would just get a room and get it over with. // But he has that little girl with him.. and I don't she likes me very much..// This was getting old fast, Reese noted with annoyance. A smirk slowly made it's way to her lips.. while she was in Fiona's mind, she might as well have some fun with her.
"It does appear that way," Reese said telepathically. "But that be dealt with.."
Hmmm, should she say that the little girl could always live with her other family members or she be could be with her idol, Raven. Decisions. Decisions.
"What?" Fiona jerked up as if she had been attacked, her sunset eyes wide.
Reese couldn't help but smile. "Yes?"
"Did you say something?" she asked breathlessly.
Reese just shook her head, her warm smile turning into her usual cold ones. Fiona seemed to accept this because she murmured a quick apology and looked up at the ceiling. The blue devil decided now her was her chance to influence the other girl's thoughts: but did she really want Raven to have the little girl? That would mean that he would be feeding three mouths instead of just two, well it would get him acquainted with fatherhoo..what? Reese quickly shook the thoughts away, what was she thinking? Raven just lusted after her; he wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life with her and a little Raven. Such thoughts were ludicrous. It was probably all the stress going to her head, she decided.
She was taken out of her own musings when Fiona spoke. "Reese, I think I know where we are."
*&*&*&*&*&*&
"I see your awake."
Van groaned and rolled onto his back; he had the weirdest dream, that he had met with Raven and then they fought for a little bit, then Jade magically appeared on the maverick's lap then Raven threatened to kill her if Van didn't do everything he told him to. He was probably back at home, in his nice comfy large bed..Van tried to roll onto his side but instead heard a big 'thump' sound and found himself plastered against the floor. He shot in it rapt awakeness.
"I didn't do it, I swear!" he shouted without even knowing what he was talking about.
Someone giggled, the voice sounded so familiar and belonged to a woman. He looked up over the bed and to his amazement, it wasn't his bedroom or anywhere in the house. In fact this looked like the house he grew up in... no, that wasn't right, Van thought. In dim light, it did look like his sister's house..
Suddenly a lamp turned and the light blinded his eyes, causing him to fall backwards.
"Are you okay?" the same voice, half asked, half giggled.
Van sat up and placed his arms on the side of the bed and standing before him was none other than his sister, Maria. Her dark hair placed in a messy bun and her eyes were bright, brighter than he remembered them.
"Maria?" Van asked, blankly.
There was no way he was with his sister in the house! They were all the way in the Wind Colony while he was in the Empire. This had to be a dream, a horrible, messed up dream.
Maria smiled and sat down on the foot of the bed and placed her face in her hands. Her shoulder's started to shake and Van noticed a single tear drop slide from the gabs in her hands.
"Maria, are you okay?"
"It's been three years and you were alive the whole time," she lowered her hands and wiped the tears away. "I've missed you terribly. I couldn't believe that same thing that happened to dad happened to you. The reason they didn't have your body in the casket was because, they said it had been reduced to nothing but unrecognizable bloody parts."
The next thing he knew, his sister was hugging him tightly while pounding softly on his back as she continued her tortured speech. Van gulped and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. She started sobbing on his shoulder. And Van suddenly realized how miserable she was, he had never meant to hurt her. One of the reasons he joined the Guardian Force, was to prevent people like Maria and himself from losing their loved ones because of hate.
Twenty minutes later, Maria was in the kitchen working on a late dinner while Van sat at the table watching her. He had nothing better to do anyways. He looked around his old home with a curious expression, everything was still pretty much the same, there were some modern additions such a large TV and a vidphone.
Van had already told his sister up what had happened after he lost his memory, about Jade, and about everything that had happened up until that moment. He didn't have anyone else to talk to and plus Maria deserved to know. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the small kitchen like fog on a British day.
"You know, Van," Maria said calmly, not even glancing over her shoulder. "The phone is at your disposal."
He frowned; was she saying that he was more than welcome to use the phone? But who was he supposed to call? He could call Thomas, but wasn't in the mood to be scolded so he decided against that. Or he could call..Laura, but what was he supposed to say to her?
Maria smiled softly as she watched her baby brother silently mull over what to do or who to call. She'd missed him for more reasons then one, the house was getting empty and nothing could cheer her up anymore. She smiled again as she remembered that she had planned on going to an animal shelter in the capital, she was going to get a good dog to keep her company. But alas, the dog would have to wait until another day. When she had found the unconscious form of her brother literally at her doorstep, her life had changed radically.
"But Maria," Van began after his brain began to hurt. "I don't have anyone to call."
"Surely, someone must be assured of where you are. What about that nice girl Fiona? Have you told her you've gotten your memories back or was I the only one left out?"
Van blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Actually..hehe..well sis, it was because of Fiona that I got my memory back. It was real lucky that I knocked into her when I did...but come to think about it..Fiona was with me in the Liger when we were attacked. It was exactly what had happened before!"
"What do you mean?" she glanced back at him curiously.
"When I was attacked three years ago! I couldn't see the zoid and the radar couldn't pick up on it either. By time Zeke and I had any idea of what was going on, we were already defenseless. The same thing happened earlier, because Raven was there too. And he has to be one of the best zoid pilots on the planet, it's obvious that he didn't even know what was going on.." Van trailed off.
That vidphone was starting to look really appealing, he could call Thomas and not tell him anything about where he was and just ask if the Genobreaker's been found. Yeah that sounded good.
"I'll be right back.."
Without another word, Van walked over to the vidphone and slowly pressed the number key. An image of a phone being picked up flashed before him followed by a very angry looking Major.
"What is it?!"
Van blinked and momentarily forgetting why he called in the first place. "Thomas! Hey..."
"Van, are you insane?! Where are you?"
"Er.that's not important! Look, I just want to know if you've located the Genobreaker and/ or Raven. This is super important!" Van mentally slapped his forehead, he was starting to talk like his niece.
Thomas must have took notice of the slang also for he arched a sandy eyebrow. "Super? Right, and to answer your question yes we have located the Genobreaker and no Raven was not in it. It looked it be abandoned, although I'm not sure why Raven would want to give up one of his only possessions."
"That's what I thought," Van said grimly. "Say, Thomas, did there happen to be other zoids with the Genobreaker?"
"Yes, Irvine's Lightening Sykes and a Zaber Fang. Why?" Thomas shot him an inquisitive look.
"That's all?"
"Yes, and why may I ask, Flyheight?"
Van shrugged, his face expressionless. So the other zoids where there, but where was his? "Were all those zoids unmanned?"
Thomas nodded. "Yes, they were. Van, where is your zoid? Did you take it with you?"
Van ignored the last part. "Any word from Moonbay and Irvine?"
The blonde shook his head and cocked a brow in a curious fashion, there was something Van wasn't telling him. Thomas knew damn well that he was there at the battlefield, so why was he hiding it? Was he afraid of something?
"Damn, just like I thought. What about Reese or Fiona?"
"Nope..whoa.Miss Fiona?!" he shrieked. "Miss Fiona was there?! Flyheight, you idiot! You put her delicate life in danger!"
Van rolled his eyes, no matter what he said Thomas was still scolding him like a stupid child. He wasn't even in the mood to say why Fiona was there in the first place, in fact he didn't even know. She was about to tell him before they were attacked.
"Thomas, do me a favor and shut the hell up. For your information, I didn't bring Fiona in the battle. She was with Moonbay in the Zaber Fang. And what about my niece? Are you saying nobody has been found except for me?"
Thomas opened his mouth to protest but decided against it, and nodded his head. "I'm afraid so. Who's your niece in the first place?"
The midnight warrior groaned and promptly cut off the connection. He was so not in the mood for this. He slowly sat down on the floor and stared out the kitchen window at the starry night; there had to be something he could do, something to help his friends. It didn't feel right just sitting here and feeling completely helpless and confused. And to top it all off, he had an unwavering sense of déjà vu just thinking about it.
"Van?" Maria's head popped out from the doorway.
"Yes?" he replied stiffly.
"Where's Zeke? Don't tell me you forgot about him too."
"Oh God, Maria, not you too! I said I'm sorry, okay? It's not my fault I got amenis..wait rewind. What was that?" Van blinked several times.. Zeke! Yes of course! Why didn't he think of it sooner?
He didn't even wait for her reply. "You're a genius, sis! Hey Zeke! Buddy!!"
Suddenly a flash of blue lightening cracked down beside him, leaving a nice hole in the ceiling it's wake. The silver organiod, Zeke, appeared and growled happily and greeted it's master by pouncing on him and licking his face. Maria smiled and returned to food in the kitchen, humming quietly to herself.
Van laughed and gently pushed Zeke off of him. "It's good to see you too, buddy. Say, I have a something for you to do. Do you think you could do it?"
Zeke growled and nodded.
"I want you to get inside of the Blade Liger and bring it here, okay?"
The organiod growled once more and departed in a beam of light, leaving another hole in the ceiling. Dust settled on the ex-Lieutenant's hair and face as he stared up the two holes above him. He stole a nervous glance at the kitchen; thankfully his sister was still humming away. Van gulped and scratched the back of his neck and silently prayed that his sister would not notice the two big holes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Have any papayas left?"
Van licked his lips anxiously at the thought of those delicious fruits, he could almost taste them. Dinner had gone by smoothly without any interruptions; it was an hour later and Zeke still hadn't come back; the Blade Liger still must have been in the Empire. So had desert, but as usual the young pilot was still hungry. Some things just never change.
Maria mock rolled her eyes and giggled as she stood up from the dining table. She still couldn't believe her baby brother was back and as happy as ever, she half expected to wake up any second and find that it all had been a dream. She returned to the table with two papayas in hand and set them both in front of Van, who had started drooling in anticipation.
Van happily took a big bite out of one of the papayas and just as he was about to swallow, a loud crack sound was heard in the living room. He whirled around to see Zeke shake a piece of the ceiling of his head.
"Zeke, where's the Liger?" he said with his mouth full, which sounded more like, "Meke, mfere's the Mifmer?"
His organiod cocked it's mighty head to one side and made a motion for his master to swallow. He did so and quickly repeated himself. Zeke just shook his head.
"What? What do you mean you couldn't get in? Was there another organiod in it?"
Zeke nodded.
"Then who was it? Was it Specula? Or even Shadow?" Van asked quickly, getting up from the chair.
The organiod made a throaty growl and Van gasped. "No way! You've got to be kidding me! I told her not to get near the Liger!!"
"Who?" Maria asked curiously.
Van groaned, "It's nothing. I'll tell you later, promise." He turned back to Zeke. "Are you sure?"
Zeke growled once again and said in the language that only he and his master could understand. ~*Of course, I'm sure. If you don't believe me why don't you just find out for yourself?*~
"Maybe I will," Van said stubbornly and strut over to the vidphone.
He quickly dialed in the zoid number and for the second time today, an image of a phone being picked up appeared followed by the image of a little girl with medium length ebony hair.
"Jade! I can't believe you!" Van cried incredulously.
His niece blinked several times and gasped when she recognized the voice. She laughed nervously and placed her hand behind her head. "H-hiya, Van. What's up?"
"What did I tell you about piloting zoids? Especially those that don't belong to you?" he demanded.
"Uh..don't do it..?"
"Yes, don't pilot any zoids! I mean, for crying out loud Jade you could be hurt! What if someone challenged you to a zoid battle? You could be killed! Don't you see you how serious this is?"
From somewhere behind him, Van could hear his sister laughing softly and mentally groaned. He chose to ignore her.
Meanwhile on the other end of the com link, Jade groaned loudly and looked down at the controls. God, even if her uncle was now Van Flyheight, who according to A&E was a fun loving guy, he still gave her lectures. She sighed, some things just never change.
"I know, I'm sorry, Van. It's just that..everyone was gone and I thought I could find them faster if I used a zoid.." She trailed off with a sigh.
Her uncle frowned and looked at her strangely. "What did you say? Everyone was gone?"
"Yeah, dunno what happened. One minute I'm with Raven and the next I'm tied against the Liger's leg," she returned the strange look with one of her own.
Van gasped and gripped the phone tighter. "You were what? Oh my God, are you okay? Are you hurt, honey??"
"Nah uh, just confused," a mischievous smirk slowly crossed her lips. "You know, now I that I am piloting this zoid..don't' you think it's time you teach me the art of zoid butt whoop? PLEASE?!?!"
He laughed softly. "I'll think about it, now I want you to have Ambient get out of the Blade Liger so Zeke can bring you two here. Sound good?"
"But why?"
"Because Zeke is a more experienced organiod and plus he knows where I am, don't you boy?" Van cooed as he stroked the organiod's smooth chin.
"Aww, fine. If I have to."
*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Alright, where are we then?" Reese asked as Fiona slowly stood up and placed her hand on the wall, the moonlight giving her an eerie glow.
"This is the temple where Van found Zeke and myself."
Reese frowned and stood up also, but instead of going to the wall where the other girl was, she went to the barbed door and looked through the gaps only to see darkness. Damn, where was he? Before the blonde had gained consciousness, Reese had spoken to Raven telepathically of course. She could feel his location and he was nearby. She had asked him to go to the nearest ruins, but he had not replied which meant he was out cold. So she'd tried to tap into his subconscious and placed the message there. Raven should have been here by now.
"Are you sure? This could be any temple," Reese said softy.
"Yes, I'm positive. We're in the Republic, right next to the Wind Colony."
For some reason, the news wasn't quite as comforting as Reese would have hoped. She felt even more anxious and confused, and she was hardly ever confused. The Wind Colony, the name sounded familiar, oh yes that was the place where Van Flyheight had grown up in. Made sense that the temple where he discovered the organiod and Fiona would be right next to where he lived.
Sighing softly, Reese pressed her back against the wall and slide down until she was on the ground. They were doomed, she decided. They had been doomed from the beginning, it was the curse of their ancient people. It was hopeless to try and fight the inevitable.
Fiona turned to Reese quickly, her hair whipping her face in the process. "Reese, we have to get out of here."
Reese just closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Why couldn't Fiona see they were doomed? "No shit Sherlock, but what's the point? We're going to die anyways."
"What's the point? Reese, the point is that we still have a chance to find a counter curse and then we could stop whoever is trying to do this."
"But your forgetting one small detail, we don't know what the spell is there could be dozens out there. Plus, we don't know for sure if our blood is really needed for a spell. And we don't know who is kidnapped us and we don't know what this individual is trying to do."
Fiona went to her and placed her hands on the other girl's knees and sat down. "Don't tell me you've given up already. You're the one who believed that there was a softer, gentler side to Raven and just look at him! He let a little girl rest on him. And this was all because of you. You can't give up, not this early."
Reese placed her hand with the orb on her stomach and met the blonde's eyes. "That's different. I knew that Raven had a nice side, but all his life he was taught not use it so eventually he forgot it even existed. I just helped him get back his humanity. That is nothing compared to what is happening to us now. It's hopeless."
"Don't say that! It's never too late!" Fiona insisted, growing aggravated with the blue devil's sudden aloofness.
"Fiona, we are the last surviving member's of a cursed race. Haven't you ever noticed that wherever you go, trouble seems to follow? We're cursed and if we stick around long enough.." She trailed off with a pained look. "If..we.stick around long enough, we'll only cause pain to those we love."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note: Yay! And that's chapter number seven! I'm finally done! *sighs* I know it was crappy but it's all I could come up with. But I hoped ya'll enjoyed it at any rate. Hopefully the next chapter will be better, because their will be more fight scenes! Wohoo! Lol, sorry I like fight scenes. Well.. You guys know the rules, review and you'll get more story. So please R & R everyone!!
Later days,
~$hAdOwCaT*~
As you might have noticed, I changed my pen name because it was really bugging me with the 13 at the end. So now it's that, but I still have to fix it because it keeps coming up as HaDowCat. Later!