*rubs hands together* Alright then! That kissing scene in the last chapter
was about as close to a lemon as I'm going to get without a specific
request. I regretfully admit that I could have gotten quite a bit more
detailed with that whole scene, but decided to spare the reader from
gruesome details. Blame the countless Stephen King (Go King and his
frightening stuff! Whoo!) Books. Anyway, just start reading. This chapter
will make you feel extreme pity for the characters in it. Just so you know,
I ish going to use names from various other anime and cartoon series. I
don't own any of them! Heck, I don't even own Kyle Obscura or Nitric Fury!
They belong to someone else who I will not name for their sake, so there.
Anyway, here's Strange Welcoming . . . I think . . .
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After that little encounter out on the second floor, the pair, now officially calling themselves a couple, stayed away from each other, sort of bashful about the past events. While those two were trying their best not to speak with each other about 'that' topic, the whole base was a-buzz with the newest news. They kept trying to drag the humans to the side to ask what exactly 'the kiss' felt like and to go into very gory detail. Needless to say, the two pilots were a little reluctant to tell such things. But things were starting to get a little constrained between the two, especially about their favorite zoids. Unaware of their pilot's affectionate actions, Nitric and Scythe had gone out and done something not exactly kosher with Audrena. They had run off on the same night of Kyle and Audrena's little encounter on the second floor, and the effects weren't quite apparent.
Not until Scythe started to have a zoid's version of morning sickness about 6 hours after the two zoids had mysteriously disappeared for a night, and then it became really obvious of what had happened . . .
"YOU WHAT?!?!?!" Audrena shrieked, causing everyone from the 60th floor up to glance up towards the origin of the sound. Scythe cringed, looking down at the puddle of unusable gears, machine oil, and French fires at her feet.
Meanwhile, Nitric, hearing the screech, gulped visibly, his hologram going pale and his zoidian eyes going dinner plate wide. Kyle glanced over at his zoid, oblivious to what Nitric and Scythe had done, glanced at his zoid with extreme pity.
"Now you guys have done it." Nitric whimpered like a frightened puppy.
"Can you come with me?" The zoid whined, looking ready to wet himself, even though machines had no urinary tracts. "I'm scared." Kyle rolled his eyes and nodded, accompanying him into the elevator a half-eaten apple in his hand.
"Don't expect me to take any blows for you though. She's got a pretty good punch."
"Got it . . ." Though on his way up, Nitric knew what he was about to get brandished for.
'Oh god, she found out . . . ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod . . .'
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Audrena was waiting for them up on the hangar floor, the one open to the elements and visible from the outside, her face twisted into a smile. The look in her eyes though, it scared both zoid and his pilot. Not even with Mara had Kyle seen such a look of pure loathing, and Nitric just about fainted on the spot right then and there. Kyle quickly got out of the way, taking a chunk out of the apple and chewing it slowly, his zoid following him fearfully, trying to hide behind him. It didn't work.
"Nitric?" Audrena called, her voice too sickeningly sweet. Nitric knew that tone very well, and he gulped. Lying down behind her was an extremely depressed looking Scythe, white armor having lost its lustrous sheen. Nitric shuddered.
"Yes?"
"Tell me," She started, her forced smile quickly disappearing. "What did you two do three nights ago? And did you have fun? I sure hope you did, AND I HOPE THAT YOUR PROUD OF YOURSELF, RUINING BOTH YOU AND SCYTHE'S FUTURES! BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FUN FILLED NIGHT, SCYTHE WILL BE OUT OF THE BATTLES FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS FOR FEAR OF LOSING YOUR CHILD!!!"
Instant silence. The piece of apple Kyle had been chewing on dropped from his mouth, landing in a fairly intact chunk of apple on the floor with a flat splat from Kyle's open jaw. Both pilot and zoid said the same phrase in the same moment.
"SCYTHE'S PREGNANT?!" Everyone in the hanger except for the bickering foursome face-vaulted, either that or fainted dead away.
"You didn't . . ." Kyle breathed in a tone of disbelief, but Nitric wasn't listening. He was too busy being shocked and dubious, trying to deny it in his head. Audrena continued to glare at him. Scythe continued to look dejected.
"I . . . actually impregnated Scythe? No way . . . impossible . . ." Nitric kept muttering to himself, sounding shaky and miserable. Audrena calmed down a little bit in a small amount of pity, shaking her head and sighing heavily.
"When two zoids make love, it is a guaranteed thing that the female of the pair will indeed be become parturient. I designed it that way; to make you guys THINK before you ACTED. But apparently, no one THOUGHT before they COMMITTED THE ACT, now did they?" Kyle thought for a moment. Yeah, that kind of makes sense . . . He turned his head slowly up to Nitric, eyeing him for a moment.
Couldn't think to use a condom, buddy? He said, his mind doing the talking. Audrena turned her gaze to him for a moment before shaking her head, her anger starting to evaporate. His aura of innocence again, it made her calm and patient despite herself.
"Sorry Kyle, it isn't possible to create a zoid contraceptive, not in the way I've designed it at least." She stated, taking him off guard.
'She heard me? I wasn't even addressing the message to her!' Kyle continued to stare at her, trying to understand. Audrena blinked, pondering suspiciously about why he was staring at her. 'Oh god, so she did inherit her own brand of abilities . . . I better start watching my thoughts . . .' He grinned at her, even if she wasn't even looking at him. 'I guess no more private admiration and complimenting anymore . . . otherwise she'd probably kick me.'
Nitric shook his head, then marched off to the elevator. "I need to think . . ." He said pathetically as he entered the elevator, heading to the 20th floor . . .
Audrena squatted next to Scythe's head, looking at her zoid with a mixture of disappointment and sad acceptance.
"Well, I'll tell you what. I can make you abort this k-"
"NO!" Scythe cried, standing up and baring her fangs, the canines even longer then that of the Audreniliger's. The liger growled viciously, glaring down with previously blue eyes, now deeply red. Her pilot stared back nonchalantly, unafraid. She didn't think Scythe would have the guts to hurt her own pilot.
Then again, she had never dealt with a pregnant zoid before.
"I'm going to keep it, and no one's going to tell me differently." Scythe hissed, her tail blades sparking ominously. Audrena shook her head and chuckled.
"No one's telling you to terminate it," She glanced at the massive blade that was flying by, dangerously close to her head. Audrena blinked at it with a look of boredom. "And I pity anyone who tells you differently."
Kyle let out a sigh of relief as Scythe lowered her tail, blinking serenely down at her pilot.
"Oh. Ok!" Audrena rolled her eyes in annoyance. Mood swings, just absolutely wonderful . . .
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Barkeep glanced up at Nitric as he entered the floor, maneuvered his body into the designated area, and switched on his despondent looking hologram. The barkeeper blinked, wondering whom this guy was. He wasn't exactly a regular down here. Those guys were always here . . .
Nitric sat himself down with a heavy sigh, putting his forehead on the counter top, smelling burnt plastic from the charred spot Troden had belched on, but not really caring. His head was spinning from the recent information that had been pored into his brain.
"Something strong." He mumbled through his arms. Barkeep nodded.
"Female trouble?"
"Yeah . . ."
"Let me guess," Barkeep theorized, setting the glass of Irish whisky in front of Nitric. "Not ready for commitment?"
"Too late," Nitric muttered, swinging the whole shot back. "I got her pregnant." Barkeep whistled sympathetically, slightly surprised.
"Whoo . . . under normal circumstances, I would be congratulating you, but since you seem so depressed about it . . ."
"Oh, it's not that. I don't mind being a father, it's just that Audrena went psycho on me."
"Ooooh . . ."
"Scythe and I were just hoping that this would bring our pilots closer . . . since the whole base is counting on us to help Kyle tame her in any way he can . . . I didn't know it was a one-shot thing . . ." Barkeep eyed him as though he had 7 heads.
"Well, I guess you didn't stick around to hear about the little 'couple'." Nitric raised his head in a snap, wide-eyed as well.
"What?"
"Yep. Those two up on the second floor, they were acting like an engaged couple will all that osculating! Whoo!" With each word, a both horrified and wicked grin spread across his face. "I have cameras everywhere! Even in Audrena's bedroom!" Every hologram turned to stare at him with a That's- disgusting look. He blinked, then shook his head. Dirty minded ruffians. He was just waiting for the day to come when he could finally see the full effects of 10 ounces of pheromones on two humans . . .
"Man, Audrena's going to kill you . . . but you'll have to excuse me for a moment . . ." He smirked, the hologram disappearing . . .
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Kyle scratched his head, information overwhelming his brain. Thinking about it made things worse. Part of him was disappointed, part of him happy that his zoid was about to become a father, and the rest of him sort of depressed that he'd have to learn how to play peek-a-boo with something about three times his size. After all, knowing Nitric, he would probably name Kyle as the child's uncle or something along those lines . . . He also kind of felt sorry for Scythe, and was reeeeeaaaaally glad that he wasn't the one Audrena was so angry at.
Hearing the elevator doors open, he turned and smiled cheerfully at Nitric.
"How's the father to be!" He called, smiling warmly, but it quickly melted off as Nitric muttered something in his ear as he passed by:
"How's Audrena? Tell me that will you? After all, you seem to be the authority on that subject." Kyle's eyes went wide and he stared at his zoid's hologram with a look of growing shock. Where did that come from?
Nitric grinned at wickedly at Audrena, who stared just as coldly back.
"So, have fun last night?" Audrena stopped the livid red tinge before it could spread out. It wasn't the words that stung; it was the tone. She recoiled quickly, starting up with a sharp comeback.
"I bet YOU did. Did you enjoy taking my liger's innocence? Her peace of mind?" Nitric growled threateningly. The human was unfazed, still glaring coldly at him.
"Audrena," He hissed, glaring at her with hatred that wasn't normally a part of him. Sudden mental strain will do that to you. "You are SUCH a hypocrite!"
"Stop it you two." Kyle commanded, trying to come between them. "You're bickering like children!" The both of them ignored him.
"A hypocrite eh? You're one to talk. Finally proven yourself as a male? You make me want to spit!"
"That's it! I don't have to take this! Kyle and I have lived on our own before, and we can do it again!" With that, Nitric's hologram disappeared and his zoidian body thundered forward, bending low for Kyle to climb in. His pilot was having a moral dilemma though . . .
His gaze kept going between Audrena and Nitric. Trying to decide whom he was going to betray was a little heavy on his shoulders. He had known Nitric for so much longer then he knew Audrena . . .
He fixed Audrena with an apologetic look, appearing truly downhearted that he had to leave, but he climbed in anyway. Nitric, feeling that he had just scored a victory against Audrena smirked as he turned and walked out, having pushed Scythe to the back of his mind.
Kyle looked back one last time, shutting his eyes for a moment against that look Audrena was giving him. A mixture of anger, hatred, indignation . . . the last additive to the cocktail hurt him the most though. It was a cold I- told-you-so look. In a vain attempt to redeem himself, he sent her a last mental message . . .
Audrena was left on the hanger floor, standing in the sand that had blown in, staring after them. A sudden sinking feeling hit her stomach and her heart froze to a hunk of ice. Mara had been right; everyone was right about how her life was going to go. There was no stable rock she could hang onto. Only a life of cold and heartbreak lay ahead of her.
She received Kyle's telepathic message with a snort; shutting her eyes and letting her head drop as she shut the doors of the top floor hangar, the disappearing light just quick enough to reflect the single lonely tear that fell to the floor.
"You love me?" She spat, almost as if the word had no meaning. She paused before finishing, raising her now tearless head and heading down the darkened stairwell. Scythe watched her go; slightly amazed that Kyle's decision had actually caused her to cry. 'Wow . . .'
"No. You don't."
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Malone's purple eyes sparkled with childish glee and chuckling a little. He had seen the whole argument, scanned through Troden's eyes. This was all working to his advantage! They would be easier to round up when they were apart! All he had to do now was wait for the perfect moment to strike . . .
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One month passed, a single month, and Kyle was in full-blown depression. The zoid and pilot pair had wandered about the various cities and colonies, stopping occasionally for rest and food. You had to have been blind, deaf, and completely ignorant to not see that the human of the two was suffering. Nitric maintained that he was better off without Audrena, and that she would only get him killed eventually. Kyle had always nodded, seeing the logic of it, and always conceded to the nomadic life style, but his mind was always off somewhere else.
The human had also started to have nightmares, intense and horrible nightmares. He now couldn't get more then two hours of sleep at a time because of them. Kyle would often startle Nitric out of his sleep mode with the sudden yelps that kept breaking the silence. Kyle was quickly trying to avoid sleep, taking caffeine pills and downing cup after cup of coffee in order to keep awake (remind you of a certain Homicidal Maniac? Heh, don't worry, Kyle isn't going to start killing people. Keep reading please.)
*Dream/Nightmare*
It was the same every time, and yet every time, it succeeded in scaring the living daylights from him.
Kyle would feel somehow cramped, as though his entire 6'3" frame had been sealed inside a pickle jar. Trying to raise his head would only encountered a hazy sort of pain, the kind that comes from anesthesia, when you know it should hurt a whole lot more then it currently is. Thinking that there was a low ceiling, he would try to bend his knees, but they too were locked in place in this strange frosty prison. Kyle, starting to panic, would try to move his hands but they too were secured in their place. Now in a complete frenzy, he would use his mental powers to try and chip at the stone, but it would barely bend to his will. Slivers of icy rock would fall into a small crust around his hands, cutting and poking his locked fingers. He would try to struggle, but never to any avail. Since the only thing he could move was his eyes, he would turn them left and right, trying to see out of the rocky prison that held him completely captive.
Sometimes he would see unfamiliar figures in the cases around him, their form and details barely visible through the ice-like rock. A red-haired samurai, a young teen with a pyramid pendant around his neck, another teen with black hair and a red vest with little red and white balls on his belt, a female adolescent with purple colored hair and a skull pendant and clutching some sort of small video game. Others were stranger. A man with white hair and strange dog-ears, a young girl with a strange winged pink rod in her hands, a whole set of teenagers with strange devises on their belts. A few he could recognize from history occasionally appeared. Tony Blair, Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Stalin, William Shakespeare, Saddam Hussein, Freddie Mercury, Steven Spielburg, Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, great men and women from ancient times. Right then, he always got the feeling that every one of these people had something in common.
The worst part of the nightmare always began after Kyle saw the many historical figures. As the chandelier turned, another shadowy figure would come into view, in the crystal right next to his. Audrena's hair was much longer then it used to be, right at the middle of her back, and her eyes were always shut in quiet defeat, her hands clasped in front of her. It was then Kyle would start struggling ferociously. He hated to see her like that, submissive and subdued. But, something would always lead his attention away from her . . .
All he would see would usually be a pair of intense purple eyes, the corners curling in a brutal smirk as he stared at his prey. One of those eyes would usually be the size of an Olympic swimming pool apiece, and he could sometimes catch a small hint of curly black hair. The thing that always scared him was the laugh, this low pitched chuckle that sent chills up his spine and made him with he had something to hug. That laugh always signaled the start of that strange depleting feeling, as though he was being drained. Barely able to keep his eyes open from the drain, he would barely be able to see the massive eyes start to morph. They would become reptilian and a deep shape of red; the hair would disappear and be replaced by a thick set of rolling black scales and horns.
Everything would immediately jump to black, and all would be grave quiet for what seemed like the longest while, until that strangely human clawed and scaled hand would come flying out of the darkness at him, reaching for him. And all the while, the same chuckling voice would echo:
"Soon . . . Soon . . ."
*End Dream/Nightmare*
Kyle sat straight up in his bed, cold sweat drenching his brow as he tried to fight off the thing in his mind with flailing hands. After a moment though, he found out that he was back in reality again and took his face into his palms, panting heavily while wiping his face free of moisture. He glanced at the small cockpit clock; the glowing green digital numbers the only light in the darkened space. He shook his head and sighed, reading 2:54 am.
"Dear god . . . what on earth is wrong with me?" He whispered to himself, staring out of the glass into the gloomy star-speckled sky overhead. Despite himself and his lack of shut-eye, Kyle couldn't sleep anymore. His mind was again off in wonderland, wishing he were back 'home', the only place other then Nitric's cockpit that he considered a 'home' . . .
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Nitric immediately knew that Kyle hadn't gotten any sleep when the zoid came out of sleep mode the next morning. He could see just how exhausted his pilot was getting, and it was getting to his judgement. The zoid was also starting to reconsider his methods. He had forgotten why he had left in the first place. Besides, he missed Scythe a little bit. Nitric also knew that Kyle was in the grips of depression from his distancing away from 'home', and that he would get a better night's sleep if he was under Audrena's roof. Nitric didn't know why, things just always worked out that way . . . somehow.
He approached his pilot as he nearly passed out at a small café table; the same one Kyle had stopped at before they had even fought Audrena and the Audreniliger for the first time. The rumbling footsteps kept Kyle awake as Nitric approached.
"Err, Kyle? I was wondering . . . since our travel path would be swinging close to the Void base, I figured we could visit if that was ok with you."
Kyle's eyes lit up, and he didn't look as though he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in the last month. On the contrary, he looked as though he could bounce. He smiled, the muscles in his mouth not wanting to work cooperatively.
"We're going home?" He asked, his voice eager and child-like. Nitric blinked, then let a ghost of a smile creep across his features.
"Yeah, we're going home."
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"Kyle! Stop that, you're going to strain my speed thrusters!" Nitric couldn't even see his feet anymore, he was moving so fast. His pilot had pushed him to the limits of his velocity, including with the speed thrusters, and he could probably beat the Liger 0 Yager in a foot race at the pace he was going. Nitric shook his head through the small video screen that was normally used for com-link communication. His hologram had shown up instead, looking at his pilot with a mixture of skepticism and mild surprise.
"Kyle?" He droned. "Hello? You in there? You can slow down now. If I keep going at this pace, my joints will start to overheat." Nitric blinked, then waved his hands around when his pilot didn't seem to hear him. "Hello! Zi to Kyle Obscura! Slow down before I trip over myself!"
Kyle snapped out of his daze and pulled back a little on the controls. Nitric eyed him dryly.
"We slowed down a measly 12 mph." Nitric remarked. "In a hurry are we?" Kyle didn't reply. He had made the normally 10-day trip in an hour and a half, and he could see the base coming into view, a welcome sight to his sore eyes. He allowed himself a smile. No more wandering! No more sleepless nights! And hopefully, no more nightmares! Soon, he'd be back with Audrena and Troden and the gang. He could image it. Kyle started to let himself daydream, leaning on the controls and forcing Nitric back into his fervent pace.
He could see himself jumping down from Nitric's cockpit and running into the base to the happy gazes of every zoid that he had come to know in his stay. Audrena would be in the hanger, working on some zoid as always, adding updates or something. He could easily see himself wrapping Audrena in a massive embrace, then being given a sweet kiss by the overjoyed pilot and welcoming him home . . .
Then his normally thinking mind kicked in and a much more accurately done picture came in, nowhere near as romantic. Every zoid glaring at him evilly as he and Nitric rumbled in, not speaking to him at all as he went to go look around for Audrena. The working on a zoid thing was still there, but no hug and kiss. Just one hell of an angry glare and a jaw-breaking right hook, dropping him to the floor . . .
He hadn't considered that part. About how angry Audrena would be about him leaving . . .
'Uh oh.'
Kyle pulled back sharply on the controls, causing Nitric to backtrack to a halt. The hologram could have killed Kyle with the immense glare he was giving his pilot.
"So NOW you slow down! When we're a half-mile from the base! Great piloting, genius!" He then noticed how pale his pilot had gotten, and the zoid's brain made the connection.
"Ooooh . . . just remembered that Audrena's mad at you?" Nitric shrugged. "You'll live. Now let's keep going."
His pilot nodded, regaining his composure but letting Nitric do the walking.
The two continued travelling for about 5 minutes before Kyle went pale again, only this time with a slight green tinge. Feeling incredibly nauseous, he reeled back into his seat, trying to keep his lunch down. Headaches began to rack his mind, going half-lidded as something reminiscent of a hundred different conversations started racking his brain all at once, the various words and sentences overlapping themselves in ways no sane man could comprehend and the sound of them stretched and warped. Nitric paused, and his metallic features flexed in disquiet.
"Kyle? You ok?" Kyle continued to spaz, his strange actions now accompanied by wheezing and squeaking noises. His brain was being over-loaded with the mass amounts of information, and that was almost impossible to do with his intellect. Now thoroughly concerned, the hologram Nitric started shouting.
"KYLE! ARE YOU STILL IN THERE?!" All at once, his pilot's strange convulsions stopped, leaving him panting and his sanity in reboot mode. Now that his pilot wasn't spazzing anymore, Nitric could turn his attention to the world around him. Glancing absentmindedly in front of him, he went wide- eyed and roared in alarm, almost tripping over himself in backing away.
Audrena was levitating two inches above his nose, her arms crossed and the rims of her eyes gleaming a faint lavender color. She had changed quite a bit in the month that they were gone. She looked like a shell of her former self. Her golden brown hair was now hanging at her waist, uncanny sapphire blue ringlets tying sections of it into 8 strange tail-like segments. Her normally pale face was haggard and tough; her eyes having lost that playful glimmer that they had held even before Audrena had met Kyle and his zoid.
And the fact that she was floating didn't help matters very much either.
"Who are you, and what business do you have with the Void team." She stated curtly, sounding much like her sister, only not quite as high-pitched. Both Kyle and Nitric gulped, really wanting to run right then and there. Kyle blinked through the haze covering his recovering vision, and smiled weakly, his mind still numb.
"Audrena . . .?" He called, looking through the glass at his former friend with a hopeful gaze. He blinked, not really recognizing the woman he once knew. "What's happened to you?" Audrena returned his gaze coldly.
"What of you know of my name?" She spat, not appearing to recognize him. "You're trespassing, and if you do not purge yourselves from here, I will be forced to remove you myself." The tones clicked through Kyle's mind like a puppy that's been kicked too much, dragging itself along. 'What's wrong with her? Doesn't she know us, who we are?'
"Audrena, don't you recognize me? It's me . . . Kyle Obscura . . . and Nitric Fury . . ." He murmured unbelieving, still not getting it. His zoid did though. Audrena paused, then disappeared from Nitric's nose. Silence permeated the area, along with a sense of foreboding. Kyle paused, then stared at his screen at Nitric's holo-figure.
"What's wrong with her? Can she identify us?" Nitric didn't answer and disappeared from the screen. Seconds later, rumbling footsteps told of something massive approaching, the sound of them telling that what ever it was was four legged. It continued, seeming to get closer, but the radar couldn't pick anything up, nor did the heat sensors or the spectrum scope. Even plain sight couldn't pick anything up. Fear and apprehension began to rise in Nitric's mind, and the hairs on the back of Kyle's neck began to rise. Even Helcats didn't have that proficient of a cloaking devise . . .
A sudden bombardment pounded on the Nitric Fury's armor, rocking the zoid almost to the point of knocking it over. Nitric roared and stumbling to his feet. He pulled his shield up as quickly as he could while the com-link opened up, but no picture came. Kyle stared at it as he recognized the format, his eyes going wide. Just a dark green screen, with electric green text . . .
His eyes began to sting as he read the message and hung his head, still clutching the controls feebly and Nitric continued to try and blast whatever was attacking him with the Hybrid Cannon attached to his tail, only succeeding in draining himself. A tear fell to the cockpit floor, another following it. It had finally clicked in Kyle's brain when he received that message, complete with the skull and cross bones beneath it.
"I know no Kyle Obscura."
He shut his eyes tightly, stemming the flow of teardrops as they came. No more fell as Kyle lifted his head, nodding once as he cleared his screen. Only when he had come back to reality had he realized what had happened. Nitric was on his side, smoking and sparking and on the verge of freezing completely, completely wasted of energy. Kyle sighed, though his attention was caught by something appearing on the battlefield. Nitric went wide-eyed and blinked, his hologram appearing.
"My god Scythe, what's happened to you . . .?" He breathed, staring at his bygone lover.
Scythe appeared on the battlegrounds like an evil magic trick, a truly intimidating sight to anyone who had never set eyes on her new form. Her eyes were still blue, as always, and she was still a liger, and her front canines were still massive, but that's as far and the similarities went. Her armor was pitch black; every bit of her was black. Her claws were a deep purple, and so was every one of her blades, each of those now serrated and twisted. The massive blade on her tail had a large groove in it, much like a blood channel, and was half the size of the zoid herself. Thick metal chains wrapped around much of her body, around her legs, and circling her head in an almost restrictive motion. Something on either side of her shoulders seemed to be restricted in movement until they gave a mammoth heave and broke loose of their bonds. A distorted pair of massive ailerons broke loose and spread out, each stretching out to it's full size, each one easily able to envelope the zoid it was attached to. It let out a massive roar that sounded as though it echoed from the depths of hell itself, the metal links straining and clinking together in a macabre rumble, almost reverberating the bellow into an almost ungodly sound. The liger that used to be Scythe seemed to smirk at them both, and her hologram appeared. Everything was the same, except for her clothing was completely black, the demon wings were a change, and her hands were chained to her front. Her belly was a tad bit swollen as well, marking the child's progress. That seemed to be the last thing on the female zoid's mind at the moment though.
"Kyle and Nitric, say hello to the Wraith Liger." Her pilot stated, teleporting out of the cockpit to the ground below. She had developed her newfound skills quite a bit, and she was starting to get creative with her limited range. Kyle and Nitric gulped, and Wraith stayed silent, enjoying the moment. Those two looked ready to run as fast as they possibly could in the other direction.
"Hello." They both said meekly. Following Audrena's example, Kyle also exited his cockpit. Now with a fully clear mind, he could see the full extent of Audrena's changes, and a wave of guilt swept over him. She appeared cold and indifferent, quite different then the Audrena he had come to know. Everything had changed in just one little month; he had though that his problems would end as soon as he came back.
It couldn't be farther from the truth.
The two zoid holograms just stared at each other for a moment before Nitric looked at his pilot with a 'We-really-did-this?' gaze. Kyle, for the first time in his life, glared at his zoid.
I told you we shouldn't have left. The human then turned his attention back to Audrena, who was still grinning at him sadistically.
"Now, if you two wouldn't mind going back to your cockpit, we can finish eliminating you." She declared, Wraith nodding once in agreement. Both Kyle and Nitric sweatdropped.
"Audrena! Hold it!" Kyle voiced, fighting his panic. She was going to kill them both?! Not on his watch!
"I know we must've hurt you both when we left, but that's no reason to kill us!" He sighed, pausing before continuing. "Audrena, I love you, and nothing can change that." Nitric, catching the idea, also spoke.
"Scythe, Wraith, Audreniliger, whomever you are, nothing has changed because of my biggest act of stupidity on the face of Zi. Whoever you are, it doesn't matter, and I trust you as much as I care for you. So I know that you're not going to blast me into oblivion, no matter what. But if you truly hate me that much,"
"Then I can understand why." Kyle finished. The two of them stared at Wraith and Audrena, slightly doubtful if that speech was going to work on these warped individuals . . .
Suddenly, Audrena snorted, her glare cracking into a slight grin as she snorted again, like she was holding back a fit of laughter. Wraith then burst into a spasm of chortling, stumbling about in her mirth as Audrena cracked up as well. Kyle and Nitric blinked and sweatdropped three times apiece.
'Wonderful, they ARE going to kill us.' They both were expecting the worst when the both of the females disappeared. Though, they didn't expect what was coming next despite the fact that they considered themselves ready for anything.
Wraith's hologram appeared directly in front of Nitric and pulled him down to her height and into a mighty hug, being about a head shorter then him but nonetheless knocking the wind out of him. Audrena appeared beside Kyle, slipped her hand into his, and teleported them both to the base hangar, leaving the two zoids alone. Audrena immediately broke her contact with him and Kyle blinked, confused.
"What was that for? I thought you were going to kill us!" Audrena found this amusing and chuckled.
"Fooled you, didn't we?"
"Fooled me?! I was wishing I had written out a will!" Another chuckle. Kyle continued to stare at her, an eyebrow raised.
"It was your punishment for leaving in the first place. We had to make you pay one way or another. I didn't want to kill you, and Wraith didn't want me to castrate either of you." Kyle shuddered, resisting the urge to clench his thighs together to protect himself.
"You know, you scare me. Neutering? Yeesh . . ." Audrena shrugged.
"I threatened it on Nitric if he hurt Scythe in anyway, shape, or form."
Kyle shook his head, smiling. "Scaring us to death just to make sure we didn't run off again . . ." His smile became mischievous. He grabbed her around the waist in a sudden motion, pulling her to him gently.
"You little sneak." He said, kissing her before she could reply. He had wanted to do that for a while now, and Audrena could tell with the intensity of it.
All the while, Troden watched, his eyes glinting oddly . . .
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Yay! End delusion! Sorry about not getting the attack in, but I promise it in the next chapter! I had to build things up, you know, the 'rainbow period'. I had to put it in. But yes, Malone ish gonna making his debut into the story in the next chapter, which I promise is going to be very long, Birth and Death. Hope to see you then! *Leaves severely battered Malone to curl up and die after beating him half to death with wooden mallet*
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After that little encounter out on the second floor, the pair, now officially calling themselves a couple, stayed away from each other, sort of bashful about the past events. While those two were trying their best not to speak with each other about 'that' topic, the whole base was a-buzz with the newest news. They kept trying to drag the humans to the side to ask what exactly 'the kiss' felt like and to go into very gory detail. Needless to say, the two pilots were a little reluctant to tell such things. But things were starting to get a little constrained between the two, especially about their favorite zoids. Unaware of their pilot's affectionate actions, Nitric and Scythe had gone out and done something not exactly kosher with Audrena. They had run off on the same night of Kyle and Audrena's little encounter on the second floor, and the effects weren't quite apparent.
Not until Scythe started to have a zoid's version of morning sickness about 6 hours after the two zoids had mysteriously disappeared for a night, and then it became really obvious of what had happened . . .
"YOU WHAT?!?!?!" Audrena shrieked, causing everyone from the 60th floor up to glance up towards the origin of the sound. Scythe cringed, looking down at the puddle of unusable gears, machine oil, and French fires at her feet.
Meanwhile, Nitric, hearing the screech, gulped visibly, his hologram going pale and his zoidian eyes going dinner plate wide. Kyle glanced over at his zoid, oblivious to what Nitric and Scythe had done, glanced at his zoid with extreme pity.
"Now you guys have done it." Nitric whimpered like a frightened puppy.
"Can you come with me?" The zoid whined, looking ready to wet himself, even though machines had no urinary tracts. "I'm scared." Kyle rolled his eyes and nodded, accompanying him into the elevator a half-eaten apple in his hand.
"Don't expect me to take any blows for you though. She's got a pretty good punch."
"Got it . . ." Though on his way up, Nitric knew what he was about to get brandished for.
'Oh god, she found out . . . ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod . . .'
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Audrena was waiting for them up on the hangar floor, the one open to the elements and visible from the outside, her face twisted into a smile. The look in her eyes though, it scared both zoid and his pilot. Not even with Mara had Kyle seen such a look of pure loathing, and Nitric just about fainted on the spot right then and there. Kyle quickly got out of the way, taking a chunk out of the apple and chewing it slowly, his zoid following him fearfully, trying to hide behind him. It didn't work.
"Nitric?" Audrena called, her voice too sickeningly sweet. Nitric knew that tone very well, and he gulped. Lying down behind her was an extremely depressed looking Scythe, white armor having lost its lustrous sheen. Nitric shuddered.
"Yes?"
"Tell me," She started, her forced smile quickly disappearing. "What did you two do three nights ago? And did you have fun? I sure hope you did, AND I HOPE THAT YOUR PROUD OF YOURSELF, RUINING BOTH YOU AND SCYTHE'S FUTURES! BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FUN FILLED NIGHT, SCYTHE WILL BE OUT OF THE BATTLES FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS FOR FEAR OF LOSING YOUR CHILD!!!"
Instant silence. The piece of apple Kyle had been chewing on dropped from his mouth, landing in a fairly intact chunk of apple on the floor with a flat splat from Kyle's open jaw. Both pilot and zoid said the same phrase in the same moment.
"SCYTHE'S PREGNANT?!" Everyone in the hanger except for the bickering foursome face-vaulted, either that or fainted dead away.
"You didn't . . ." Kyle breathed in a tone of disbelief, but Nitric wasn't listening. He was too busy being shocked and dubious, trying to deny it in his head. Audrena continued to glare at him. Scythe continued to look dejected.
"I . . . actually impregnated Scythe? No way . . . impossible . . ." Nitric kept muttering to himself, sounding shaky and miserable. Audrena calmed down a little bit in a small amount of pity, shaking her head and sighing heavily.
"When two zoids make love, it is a guaranteed thing that the female of the pair will indeed be become parturient. I designed it that way; to make you guys THINK before you ACTED. But apparently, no one THOUGHT before they COMMITTED THE ACT, now did they?" Kyle thought for a moment. Yeah, that kind of makes sense . . . He turned his head slowly up to Nitric, eyeing him for a moment.
Couldn't think to use a condom, buddy? He said, his mind doing the talking. Audrena turned her gaze to him for a moment before shaking her head, her anger starting to evaporate. His aura of innocence again, it made her calm and patient despite herself.
"Sorry Kyle, it isn't possible to create a zoid contraceptive, not in the way I've designed it at least." She stated, taking him off guard.
'She heard me? I wasn't even addressing the message to her!' Kyle continued to stare at her, trying to understand. Audrena blinked, pondering suspiciously about why he was staring at her. 'Oh god, so she did inherit her own brand of abilities . . . I better start watching my thoughts . . .' He grinned at her, even if she wasn't even looking at him. 'I guess no more private admiration and complimenting anymore . . . otherwise she'd probably kick me.'
Nitric shook his head, then marched off to the elevator. "I need to think . . ." He said pathetically as he entered the elevator, heading to the 20th floor . . .
Audrena squatted next to Scythe's head, looking at her zoid with a mixture of disappointment and sad acceptance.
"Well, I'll tell you what. I can make you abort this k-"
"NO!" Scythe cried, standing up and baring her fangs, the canines even longer then that of the Audreniliger's. The liger growled viciously, glaring down with previously blue eyes, now deeply red. Her pilot stared back nonchalantly, unafraid. She didn't think Scythe would have the guts to hurt her own pilot.
Then again, she had never dealt with a pregnant zoid before.
"I'm going to keep it, and no one's going to tell me differently." Scythe hissed, her tail blades sparking ominously. Audrena shook her head and chuckled.
"No one's telling you to terminate it," She glanced at the massive blade that was flying by, dangerously close to her head. Audrena blinked at it with a look of boredom. "And I pity anyone who tells you differently."
Kyle let out a sigh of relief as Scythe lowered her tail, blinking serenely down at her pilot.
"Oh. Ok!" Audrena rolled her eyes in annoyance. Mood swings, just absolutely wonderful . . .
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Barkeep glanced up at Nitric as he entered the floor, maneuvered his body into the designated area, and switched on his despondent looking hologram. The barkeeper blinked, wondering whom this guy was. He wasn't exactly a regular down here. Those guys were always here . . .
Nitric sat himself down with a heavy sigh, putting his forehead on the counter top, smelling burnt plastic from the charred spot Troden had belched on, but not really caring. His head was spinning from the recent information that had been pored into his brain.
"Something strong." He mumbled through his arms. Barkeep nodded.
"Female trouble?"
"Yeah . . ."
"Let me guess," Barkeep theorized, setting the glass of Irish whisky in front of Nitric. "Not ready for commitment?"
"Too late," Nitric muttered, swinging the whole shot back. "I got her pregnant." Barkeep whistled sympathetically, slightly surprised.
"Whoo . . . under normal circumstances, I would be congratulating you, but since you seem so depressed about it . . ."
"Oh, it's not that. I don't mind being a father, it's just that Audrena went psycho on me."
"Ooooh . . ."
"Scythe and I were just hoping that this would bring our pilots closer . . . since the whole base is counting on us to help Kyle tame her in any way he can . . . I didn't know it was a one-shot thing . . ." Barkeep eyed him as though he had 7 heads.
"Well, I guess you didn't stick around to hear about the little 'couple'." Nitric raised his head in a snap, wide-eyed as well.
"What?"
"Yep. Those two up on the second floor, they were acting like an engaged couple will all that osculating! Whoo!" With each word, a both horrified and wicked grin spread across his face. "I have cameras everywhere! Even in Audrena's bedroom!" Every hologram turned to stare at him with a That's- disgusting look. He blinked, then shook his head. Dirty minded ruffians. He was just waiting for the day to come when he could finally see the full effects of 10 ounces of pheromones on two humans . . .
"Man, Audrena's going to kill you . . . but you'll have to excuse me for a moment . . ." He smirked, the hologram disappearing . . .
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Kyle scratched his head, information overwhelming his brain. Thinking about it made things worse. Part of him was disappointed, part of him happy that his zoid was about to become a father, and the rest of him sort of depressed that he'd have to learn how to play peek-a-boo with something about three times his size. After all, knowing Nitric, he would probably name Kyle as the child's uncle or something along those lines . . . He also kind of felt sorry for Scythe, and was reeeeeaaaaally glad that he wasn't the one Audrena was so angry at.
Hearing the elevator doors open, he turned and smiled cheerfully at Nitric.
"How's the father to be!" He called, smiling warmly, but it quickly melted off as Nitric muttered something in his ear as he passed by:
"How's Audrena? Tell me that will you? After all, you seem to be the authority on that subject." Kyle's eyes went wide and he stared at his zoid's hologram with a look of growing shock. Where did that come from?
Nitric grinned at wickedly at Audrena, who stared just as coldly back.
"So, have fun last night?" Audrena stopped the livid red tinge before it could spread out. It wasn't the words that stung; it was the tone. She recoiled quickly, starting up with a sharp comeback.
"I bet YOU did. Did you enjoy taking my liger's innocence? Her peace of mind?" Nitric growled threateningly. The human was unfazed, still glaring coldly at him.
"Audrena," He hissed, glaring at her with hatred that wasn't normally a part of him. Sudden mental strain will do that to you. "You are SUCH a hypocrite!"
"Stop it you two." Kyle commanded, trying to come between them. "You're bickering like children!" The both of them ignored him.
"A hypocrite eh? You're one to talk. Finally proven yourself as a male? You make me want to spit!"
"That's it! I don't have to take this! Kyle and I have lived on our own before, and we can do it again!" With that, Nitric's hologram disappeared and his zoidian body thundered forward, bending low for Kyle to climb in. His pilot was having a moral dilemma though . . .
His gaze kept going between Audrena and Nitric. Trying to decide whom he was going to betray was a little heavy on his shoulders. He had known Nitric for so much longer then he knew Audrena . . .
He fixed Audrena with an apologetic look, appearing truly downhearted that he had to leave, but he climbed in anyway. Nitric, feeling that he had just scored a victory against Audrena smirked as he turned and walked out, having pushed Scythe to the back of his mind.
Kyle looked back one last time, shutting his eyes for a moment against that look Audrena was giving him. A mixture of anger, hatred, indignation . . . the last additive to the cocktail hurt him the most though. It was a cold I- told-you-so look. In a vain attempt to redeem himself, he sent her a last mental message . . .
Audrena was left on the hanger floor, standing in the sand that had blown in, staring after them. A sudden sinking feeling hit her stomach and her heart froze to a hunk of ice. Mara had been right; everyone was right about how her life was going to go. There was no stable rock she could hang onto. Only a life of cold and heartbreak lay ahead of her.
She received Kyle's telepathic message with a snort; shutting her eyes and letting her head drop as she shut the doors of the top floor hangar, the disappearing light just quick enough to reflect the single lonely tear that fell to the floor.
"You love me?" She spat, almost as if the word had no meaning. She paused before finishing, raising her now tearless head and heading down the darkened stairwell. Scythe watched her go; slightly amazed that Kyle's decision had actually caused her to cry. 'Wow . . .'
"No. You don't."
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Malone's purple eyes sparkled with childish glee and chuckling a little. He had seen the whole argument, scanned through Troden's eyes. This was all working to his advantage! They would be easier to round up when they were apart! All he had to do now was wait for the perfect moment to strike . . .
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One month passed, a single month, and Kyle was in full-blown depression. The zoid and pilot pair had wandered about the various cities and colonies, stopping occasionally for rest and food. You had to have been blind, deaf, and completely ignorant to not see that the human of the two was suffering. Nitric maintained that he was better off without Audrena, and that she would only get him killed eventually. Kyle had always nodded, seeing the logic of it, and always conceded to the nomadic life style, but his mind was always off somewhere else.
The human had also started to have nightmares, intense and horrible nightmares. He now couldn't get more then two hours of sleep at a time because of them. Kyle would often startle Nitric out of his sleep mode with the sudden yelps that kept breaking the silence. Kyle was quickly trying to avoid sleep, taking caffeine pills and downing cup after cup of coffee in order to keep awake (remind you of a certain Homicidal Maniac? Heh, don't worry, Kyle isn't going to start killing people. Keep reading please.)
*Dream/Nightmare*
It was the same every time, and yet every time, it succeeded in scaring the living daylights from him.
Kyle would feel somehow cramped, as though his entire 6'3" frame had been sealed inside a pickle jar. Trying to raise his head would only encountered a hazy sort of pain, the kind that comes from anesthesia, when you know it should hurt a whole lot more then it currently is. Thinking that there was a low ceiling, he would try to bend his knees, but they too were locked in place in this strange frosty prison. Kyle, starting to panic, would try to move his hands but they too were secured in their place. Now in a complete frenzy, he would use his mental powers to try and chip at the stone, but it would barely bend to his will. Slivers of icy rock would fall into a small crust around his hands, cutting and poking his locked fingers. He would try to struggle, but never to any avail. Since the only thing he could move was his eyes, he would turn them left and right, trying to see out of the rocky prison that held him completely captive.
Sometimes he would see unfamiliar figures in the cases around him, their form and details barely visible through the ice-like rock. A red-haired samurai, a young teen with a pyramid pendant around his neck, another teen with black hair and a red vest with little red and white balls on his belt, a female adolescent with purple colored hair and a skull pendant and clutching some sort of small video game. Others were stranger. A man with white hair and strange dog-ears, a young girl with a strange winged pink rod in her hands, a whole set of teenagers with strange devises on their belts. A few he could recognize from history occasionally appeared. Tony Blair, Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Stalin, William Shakespeare, Saddam Hussein, Freddie Mercury, Steven Spielburg, Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, great men and women from ancient times. Right then, he always got the feeling that every one of these people had something in common.
The worst part of the nightmare always began after Kyle saw the many historical figures. As the chandelier turned, another shadowy figure would come into view, in the crystal right next to his. Audrena's hair was much longer then it used to be, right at the middle of her back, and her eyes were always shut in quiet defeat, her hands clasped in front of her. It was then Kyle would start struggling ferociously. He hated to see her like that, submissive and subdued. But, something would always lead his attention away from her . . .
All he would see would usually be a pair of intense purple eyes, the corners curling in a brutal smirk as he stared at his prey. One of those eyes would usually be the size of an Olympic swimming pool apiece, and he could sometimes catch a small hint of curly black hair. The thing that always scared him was the laugh, this low pitched chuckle that sent chills up his spine and made him with he had something to hug. That laugh always signaled the start of that strange depleting feeling, as though he was being drained. Barely able to keep his eyes open from the drain, he would barely be able to see the massive eyes start to morph. They would become reptilian and a deep shape of red; the hair would disappear and be replaced by a thick set of rolling black scales and horns.
Everything would immediately jump to black, and all would be grave quiet for what seemed like the longest while, until that strangely human clawed and scaled hand would come flying out of the darkness at him, reaching for him. And all the while, the same chuckling voice would echo:
"Soon . . . Soon . . ."
*End Dream/Nightmare*
Kyle sat straight up in his bed, cold sweat drenching his brow as he tried to fight off the thing in his mind with flailing hands. After a moment though, he found out that he was back in reality again and took his face into his palms, panting heavily while wiping his face free of moisture. He glanced at the small cockpit clock; the glowing green digital numbers the only light in the darkened space. He shook his head and sighed, reading 2:54 am.
"Dear god . . . what on earth is wrong with me?" He whispered to himself, staring out of the glass into the gloomy star-speckled sky overhead. Despite himself and his lack of shut-eye, Kyle couldn't sleep anymore. His mind was again off in wonderland, wishing he were back 'home', the only place other then Nitric's cockpit that he considered a 'home' . . .
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Nitric immediately knew that Kyle hadn't gotten any sleep when the zoid came out of sleep mode the next morning. He could see just how exhausted his pilot was getting, and it was getting to his judgement. The zoid was also starting to reconsider his methods. He had forgotten why he had left in the first place. Besides, he missed Scythe a little bit. Nitric also knew that Kyle was in the grips of depression from his distancing away from 'home', and that he would get a better night's sleep if he was under Audrena's roof. Nitric didn't know why, things just always worked out that way . . . somehow.
He approached his pilot as he nearly passed out at a small café table; the same one Kyle had stopped at before they had even fought Audrena and the Audreniliger for the first time. The rumbling footsteps kept Kyle awake as Nitric approached.
"Err, Kyle? I was wondering . . . since our travel path would be swinging close to the Void base, I figured we could visit if that was ok with you."
Kyle's eyes lit up, and he didn't look as though he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in the last month. On the contrary, he looked as though he could bounce. He smiled, the muscles in his mouth not wanting to work cooperatively.
"We're going home?" He asked, his voice eager and child-like. Nitric blinked, then let a ghost of a smile creep across his features.
"Yeah, we're going home."
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"Kyle! Stop that, you're going to strain my speed thrusters!" Nitric couldn't even see his feet anymore, he was moving so fast. His pilot had pushed him to the limits of his velocity, including with the speed thrusters, and he could probably beat the Liger 0 Yager in a foot race at the pace he was going. Nitric shook his head through the small video screen that was normally used for com-link communication. His hologram had shown up instead, looking at his pilot with a mixture of skepticism and mild surprise.
"Kyle?" He droned. "Hello? You in there? You can slow down now. If I keep going at this pace, my joints will start to overheat." Nitric blinked, then waved his hands around when his pilot didn't seem to hear him. "Hello! Zi to Kyle Obscura! Slow down before I trip over myself!"
Kyle snapped out of his daze and pulled back a little on the controls. Nitric eyed him dryly.
"We slowed down a measly 12 mph." Nitric remarked. "In a hurry are we?" Kyle didn't reply. He had made the normally 10-day trip in an hour and a half, and he could see the base coming into view, a welcome sight to his sore eyes. He allowed himself a smile. No more wandering! No more sleepless nights! And hopefully, no more nightmares! Soon, he'd be back with Audrena and Troden and the gang. He could image it. Kyle started to let himself daydream, leaning on the controls and forcing Nitric back into his fervent pace.
He could see himself jumping down from Nitric's cockpit and running into the base to the happy gazes of every zoid that he had come to know in his stay. Audrena would be in the hanger, working on some zoid as always, adding updates or something. He could easily see himself wrapping Audrena in a massive embrace, then being given a sweet kiss by the overjoyed pilot and welcoming him home . . .
Then his normally thinking mind kicked in and a much more accurately done picture came in, nowhere near as romantic. Every zoid glaring at him evilly as he and Nitric rumbled in, not speaking to him at all as he went to go look around for Audrena. The working on a zoid thing was still there, but no hug and kiss. Just one hell of an angry glare and a jaw-breaking right hook, dropping him to the floor . . .
He hadn't considered that part. About how angry Audrena would be about him leaving . . .
'Uh oh.'
Kyle pulled back sharply on the controls, causing Nitric to backtrack to a halt. The hologram could have killed Kyle with the immense glare he was giving his pilot.
"So NOW you slow down! When we're a half-mile from the base! Great piloting, genius!" He then noticed how pale his pilot had gotten, and the zoid's brain made the connection.
"Ooooh . . . just remembered that Audrena's mad at you?" Nitric shrugged. "You'll live. Now let's keep going."
His pilot nodded, regaining his composure but letting Nitric do the walking.
The two continued travelling for about 5 minutes before Kyle went pale again, only this time with a slight green tinge. Feeling incredibly nauseous, he reeled back into his seat, trying to keep his lunch down. Headaches began to rack his mind, going half-lidded as something reminiscent of a hundred different conversations started racking his brain all at once, the various words and sentences overlapping themselves in ways no sane man could comprehend and the sound of them stretched and warped. Nitric paused, and his metallic features flexed in disquiet.
"Kyle? You ok?" Kyle continued to spaz, his strange actions now accompanied by wheezing and squeaking noises. His brain was being over-loaded with the mass amounts of information, and that was almost impossible to do with his intellect. Now thoroughly concerned, the hologram Nitric started shouting.
"KYLE! ARE YOU STILL IN THERE?!" All at once, his pilot's strange convulsions stopped, leaving him panting and his sanity in reboot mode. Now that his pilot wasn't spazzing anymore, Nitric could turn his attention to the world around him. Glancing absentmindedly in front of him, he went wide- eyed and roared in alarm, almost tripping over himself in backing away.
Audrena was levitating two inches above his nose, her arms crossed and the rims of her eyes gleaming a faint lavender color. She had changed quite a bit in the month that they were gone. She looked like a shell of her former self. Her golden brown hair was now hanging at her waist, uncanny sapphire blue ringlets tying sections of it into 8 strange tail-like segments. Her normally pale face was haggard and tough; her eyes having lost that playful glimmer that they had held even before Audrena had met Kyle and his zoid.
And the fact that she was floating didn't help matters very much either.
"Who are you, and what business do you have with the Void team." She stated curtly, sounding much like her sister, only not quite as high-pitched. Both Kyle and Nitric gulped, really wanting to run right then and there. Kyle blinked through the haze covering his recovering vision, and smiled weakly, his mind still numb.
"Audrena . . .?" He called, looking through the glass at his former friend with a hopeful gaze. He blinked, not really recognizing the woman he once knew. "What's happened to you?" Audrena returned his gaze coldly.
"What of you know of my name?" She spat, not appearing to recognize him. "You're trespassing, and if you do not purge yourselves from here, I will be forced to remove you myself." The tones clicked through Kyle's mind like a puppy that's been kicked too much, dragging itself along. 'What's wrong with her? Doesn't she know us, who we are?'
"Audrena, don't you recognize me? It's me . . . Kyle Obscura . . . and Nitric Fury . . ." He murmured unbelieving, still not getting it. His zoid did though. Audrena paused, then disappeared from Nitric's nose. Silence permeated the area, along with a sense of foreboding. Kyle paused, then stared at his screen at Nitric's holo-figure.
"What's wrong with her? Can she identify us?" Nitric didn't answer and disappeared from the screen. Seconds later, rumbling footsteps told of something massive approaching, the sound of them telling that what ever it was was four legged. It continued, seeming to get closer, but the radar couldn't pick anything up, nor did the heat sensors or the spectrum scope. Even plain sight couldn't pick anything up. Fear and apprehension began to rise in Nitric's mind, and the hairs on the back of Kyle's neck began to rise. Even Helcats didn't have that proficient of a cloaking devise . . .
A sudden bombardment pounded on the Nitric Fury's armor, rocking the zoid almost to the point of knocking it over. Nitric roared and stumbling to his feet. He pulled his shield up as quickly as he could while the com-link opened up, but no picture came. Kyle stared at it as he recognized the format, his eyes going wide. Just a dark green screen, with electric green text . . .
His eyes began to sting as he read the message and hung his head, still clutching the controls feebly and Nitric continued to try and blast whatever was attacking him with the Hybrid Cannon attached to his tail, only succeeding in draining himself. A tear fell to the cockpit floor, another following it. It had finally clicked in Kyle's brain when he received that message, complete with the skull and cross bones beneath it.
"I know no Kyle Obscura."
He shut his eyes tightly, stemming the flow of teardrops as they came. No more fell as Kyle lifted his head, nodding once as he cleared his screen. Only when he had come back to reality had he realized what had happened. Nitric was on his side, smoking and sparking and on the verge of freezing completely, completely wasted of energy. Kyle sighed, though his attention was caught by something appearing on the battlefield. Nitric went wide-eyed and blinked, his hologram appearing.
"My god Scythe, what's happened to you . . .?" He breathed, staring at his bygone lover.
Scythe appeared on the battlegrounds like an evil magic trick, a truly intimidating sight to anyone who had never set eyes on her new form. Her eyes were still blue, as always, and she was still a liger, and her front canines were still massive, but that's as far and the similarities went. Her armor was pitch black; every bit of her was black. Her claws were a deep purple, and so was every one of her blades, each of those now serrated and twisted. The massive blade on her tail had a large groove in it, much like a blood channel, and was half the size of the zoid herself. Thick metal chains wrapped around much of her body, around her legs, and circling her head in an almost restrictive motion. Something on either side of her shoulders seemed to be restricted in movement until they gave a mammoth heave and broke loose of their bonds. A distorted pair of massive ailerons broke loose and spread out, each stretching out to it's full size, each one easily able to envelope the zoid it was attached to. It let out a massive roar that sounded as though it echoed from the depths of hell itself, the metal links straining and clinking together in a macabre rumble, almost reverberating the bellow into an almost ungodly sound. The liger that used to be Scythe seemed to smirk at them both, and her hologram appeared. Everything was the same, except for her clothing was completely black, the demon wings were a change, and her hands were chained to her front. Her belly was a tad bit swollen as well, marking the child's progress. That seemed to be the last thing on the female zoid's mind at the moment though.
"Kyle and Nitric, say hello to the Wraith Liger." Her pilot stated, teleporting out of the cockpit to the ground below. She had developed her newfound skills quite a bit, and she was starting to get creative with her limited range. Kyle and Nitric gulped, and Wraith stayed silent, enjoying the moment. Those two looked ready to run as fast as they possibly could in the other direction.
"Hello." They both said meekly. Following Audrena's example, Kyle also exited his cockpit. Now with a fully clear mind, he could see the full extent of Audrena's changes, and a wave of guilt swept over him. She appeared cold and indifferent, quite different then the Audrena he had come to know. Everything had changed in just one little month; he had though that his problems would end as soon as he came back.
It couldn't be farther from the truth.
The two zoid holograms just stared at each other for a moment before Nitric looked at his pilot with a 'We-really-did-this?' gaze. Kyle, for the first time in his life, glared at his zoid.
I told you we shouldn't have left. The human then turned his attention back to Audrena, who was still grinning at him sadistically.
"Now, if you two wouldn't mind going back to your cockpit, we can finish eliminating you." She declared, Wraith nodding once in agreement. Both Kyle and Nitric sweatdropped.
"Audrena! Hold it!" Kyle voiced, fighting his panic. She was going to kill them both?! Not on his watch!
"I know we must've hurt you both when we left, but that's no reason to kill us!" He sighed, pausing before continuing. "Audrena, I love you, and nothing can change that." Nitric, catching the idea, also spoke.
"Scythe, Wraith, Audreniliger, whomever you are, nothing has changed because of my biggest act of stupidity on the face of Zi. Whoever you are, it doesn't matter, and I trust you as much as I care for you. So I know that you're not going to blast me into oblivion, no matter what. But if you truly hate me that much,"
"Then I can understand why." Kyle finished. The two of them stared at Wraith and Audrena, slightly doubtful if that speech was going to work on these warped individuals . . .
Suddenly, Audrena snorted, her glare cracking into a slight grin as she snorted again, like she was holding back a fit of laughter. Wraith then burst into a spasm of chortling, stumbling about in her mirth as Audrena cracked up as well. Kyle and Nitric blinked and sweatdropped three times apiece.
'Wonderful, they ARE going to kill us.' They both were expecting the worst when the both of the females disappeared. Though, they didn't expect what was coming next despite the fact that they considered themselves ready for anything.
Wraith's hologram appeared directly in front of Nitric and pulled him down to her height and into a mighty hug, being about a head shorter then him but nonetheless knocking the wind out of him. Audrena appeared beside Kyle, slipped her hand into his, and teleported them both to the base hangar, leaving the two zoids alone. Audrena immediately broke her contact with him and Kyle blinked, confused.
"What was that for? I thought you were going to kill us!" Audrena found this amusing and chuckled.
"Fooled you, didn't we?"
"Fooled me?! I was wishing I had written out a will!" Another chuckle. Kyle continued to stare at her, an eyebrow raised.
"It was your punishment for leaving in the first place. We had to make you pay one way or another. I didn't want to kill you, and Wraith didn't want me to castrate either of you." Kyle shuddered, resisting the urge to clench his thighs together to protect himself.
"You know, you scare me. Neutering? Yeesh . . ." Audrena shrugged.
"I threatened it on Nitric if he hurt Scythe in anyway, shape, or form."
Kyle shook his head, smiling. "Scaring us to death just to make sure we didn't run off again . . ." His smile became mischievous. He grabbed her around the waist in a sudden motion, pulling her to him gently.
"You little sneak." He said, kissing her before she could reply. He had wanted to do that for a while now, and Audrena could tell with the intensity of it.
All the while, Troden watched, his eyes glinting oddly . . .
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Yay! End delusion! Sorry about not getting the attack in, but I promise it in the next chapter! I had to build things up, you know, the 'rainbow period'. I had to put it in. But yes, Malone ish gonna making his debut into the story in the next chapter, which I promise is going to be very long, Birth and Death. Hope to see you then! *Leaves severely battered Malone to curl up and die after beating him half to death with wooden mallet*
