Kuuu life is very hard at the moment, so much work and silly people all around me.
@Mark: You are sooooooo right on all accounts! Thomas was mentioned, and yes that is the only way Bit and Leena would ever make it together properly.
@pointytilly: Thank you ^^ I think I will use Rocke's idea…^^
@Rocke: I've read through the chapter and I can't see where that happened. Sometimes my programs stuff up just to spite me ;_;. Yes, Mute is a very shady little boy, and yes, he will be single at the end of the fic. But he will have his eye on a special someone. And yes-yes, I am an Imperial. Look, you know me, it's obvious as to what's happened. But how the game is played…now there is a guessing game…^.^. Hope you appreciate the extra shadiness of him in this chapter!
@Paladin Dragoon: I'll let you contemplate on your opinion of him. Mute is a monster…Just a very cute one. It's not like he needs the money, not really, but music plays a very special part in his life because it has an important meaning to him. It's the only thing that keeps him sane, apart from the 'special' someone he's going to meet. And I didn't say WHICH Doc died…X)
Chapter Four: A drastic decision
Throwing the magazine she'd been reading to her floor, Leena rolled over and stared blankly at the ceiling above her, taking in every detail of the rock star Mickey Jay, stroking his guitar like it was a certain piece of his anatomy. Mickey was like…was like one of the hottest new rock acts around. She'd only just gotten into his stuff after Naomi had allowed her to borrow a his debut CD, telling her how good it was. The music wasn't really up her alley, she was more of a pop girl herself, but he was hot, and that was the reason his poster was plastered onto her ceiling.
Naomi, Naomi, Naomi. What did that girl think she was doing?
Leena didn't like Naomi very much. Naomi was a stuck up, pompous bitch, and having her on base put Leena's teeth on edge, regardless of how happy it made her older brother feel. She wasn't stupid – it was bloody obvious that Naomi had the hots for Brad. The two of them had been caught kissing sometimes in the hanger, and Leena was curious to know if they'd had sex or no. Probably, Naomi had stayed over a few times, and things had gotten…loud.
Leena squirmed.
Naomi was a bitch. She always thought she was better than anyone else, and everyone agreed with her! She, Leena Toros, was the best! She always had been, and always would be! Screw the whole wide world!
"Naomi won't admit that I'm the best." She said to the silent rock star, his perfect lips parted in a howl, finger arched painfully over the strings. "Her music sucks. You suck. But you look hot." Further thought was put onto this. "I'm bored, Mickey. I want some fun. Dad took all my allowance because of what I did, and damn it, it's not my fault. I had to do something. I…I single-handedly saved us all! Okay, So Brad got hit, but he was in the way. Brad's always in the way, the moron. I want to go shopping. Get a new damn outfit. Give myself a make over. Naomi can't handle that I'm hotter than she is."
Mickey Jay did not answer. He was still posed, sweat gleaming on his bronzed body, pants so tight, if the guitar wasn't in the way, you could probably see his – and here, Leena giggled – his dick.
Ha-ha, big rock star, tiny cock.
This thought amused her for a little while, but boredom could not be staved from her consciousness, and getting up and smoothing her clothing down, she left her room and decided to see who else was around. She knew that Jamie was off to see his father for the day, and that Bit was off somewhere. Brad was whining in his room, and if she was lucky, Harry had gone home. Harry, the complete dickhead who seemed to claim he was in love with her. What the hell was he on about all the time? It was a good thing he was so damn gullible so she could get anything out of him. He was a walking wallet, and quite happy to dish it out to people he liked…like her. Even a little snot like Harry could see she was the best at everything, and worshipped her for it. That was a thought…maybe he hadn't left yet…maybe she could convince him to take her shopping! That thought made things a little brighter, but she'd have to find her father first…who was probably with her brother or something, assessing damage or whatever…and Naomi would be there…prancing around with her knickers showing, saying 'look at me! I think I'm better than Leena, but everyone knows I'm not, because I'm a cheap bitch with my number on every public toilet door!'
With her head held high, Leena strolled down to the hanger, in search of someone to torture.
~*~
The hanger was depressingly empty.
Leena frowned, glaring at the Zoids in front of her, each nice and quiet, snuggled into their holding cages and looking quite content. Perhaps, if she had been paying more attention, she would have noticed that each of them were crouched in the submissive position, as if a more powerful Zoid was present. All except the LigerZERO that is, which stood proud and tall, defying everything.
But in the centre of the hanger sat an antique Redler currently sitting on a couple of concrete blocks, missing three legs and his tail, which were currently laid out on a tarpaulin and being worked on. The worker in question was the kid they had dragged in from the battlefield a few days ago, humming along to the weird noise coming from the open cockpit of the dragon Zoid. She realised a CD player had been installed in it, and that was what was playing…but if it were music or simply clicks and beeps she wasn't sure. After all, Leena didn't get to hear dance music very often.
She strolled up and admired him at his work, as he carefully released the tail blade and looked at it with an expert eye. He had a nice ass in those tight black jeans he was wearing, and for some reason he was showing a little more skin that the young lady was used to. He was wearing a tight red t-shirt that exposed a bit of his midriff, something Leena didn't normally see.
She opened her mouth to say hi, then thought against it. This was a kid with nothing worth saying at all. As she turned to leave, she heard a clearing of a throat and turned around.
"Track 5 off the Slide LP, called Hell's landing*. A track I often listen to when working. Something wrong?"
"How'd you know I was here?" Leena looked around suspiciously, expecting to see a mirror or something.
"The music may be up loud, but I've heard it so many times I know when something's different. I heard you open the door in a particularly soft bit, when the tempo changes and the piano comes in with the beta melody**."
"Oh. Okay." Leena blinked, not understanding. She was used to the mass produced crap girls her age are so fond of, with girls singing about true love, stars, da bling-bling***, and boys with fast cars.
The kid smiled. "We haven't really been introduced properly. I know you were there when I woke up, but you seemed more concerned with eating. Mute. You must be the great Leena, yes?"
The girl perked up. He had heard of her! "You bet!"
The boy…Mute…grinned. "You should really be more careful when you shoot off like that. I could have been killed…and so could everyone else."
What?! Her eyes narrowed, the little snot! How dare he! "There's nothing wrong with my shooting!!"
"I didn't say there was. I just said you should be more careful. 'Sides, you should practise more. The second GunSniper…the one not licensed to the Blitz Team that is…went out to practise a little while ago with the guy who pilots the red BladeLiger." Mute wiped some grease from his hands on the rag that lay at his side. "Nadine or something. Naomi, that's it. And Leon. He's your brother, right?"
"Oh. Okay. Uh, yeah. That's who they are."
"Nice piece of arse, if I say so myself." Mute looked down despairingly at the tail. "And my blade is cracked right through."
"Who's ass is nice?"
"Oh, Naomi. But she's going to have one hell of a cellulite problem when she gets older…and wrinkles. Would your father mind if I put in overtime? I have a sure remedy of fixing this kind of problem…" His eyes wandered up to the Redler and he scratched his chin thoughtfully.
Leena stared at him, not sure whether to take the comment about Naomi's bottom as a compliment to her, or to Naomi herself. But then, he had mentioned cellulite and wrinkles, so Leena chalked a big one next to her name. "I don't think dad will care, as long as everything else is fixed up."
"Yeah…I guess…The ShadowFOX is going to take a little longer. The system is something I'm not familiar with…Organoid mimicking systems are a bugger to work with, but not impossible."
"What?"
"The first time around, word on the street was 'Ultimate X'. That hunk of junk over there is an Ultimate X if I ever saw them, and I don't do Zoids like that…they have a direct connection between Zoid and Organoid. The system is sketchy, unreliable, and as arrogant as hell…in short, just like me." His eyes narrowed, and Leena stared at him, seeing extreme hatred in the usually calm grey pools she'd been looking at only a moment before. But the hatred faded when the gaze shifted back to her again. They were strange eyes, which regarded her quite coldly, but at the same time with some sort of bleak fascination. "The FOX is another matter, however. People often get these two mixed up, but the FOX is not an Ultimate X, rather a bio-feedback system with a fancy conductor in the core. As I said, the system mimics the Ultimate X, but lacks the mindlessness of a battle Zoid and seems to be more reliable. In short, it's big fat organoid. Unusual, but I'll give it a go."
"What are organoids?" Leena felt out of her depth here. This was a kid. A kid around Jamie's age. A kid who knew a lot of stuff about Zoids, and was talking in a way she couldn't quite fathom. Jamie was like that, but then he'd start squealing about people messing up his battle plans, then he'd mess himself, and that'd be the end of it. Or something along those lines.
"You don't know what they are?" He smirked. It was a cruel smirk at that, and one that he'd obviously put a lot of work into. "Organoids are like Zoids, except they have a personality, an intelligence as it were, and are much, much smaller. A bit larger than…say…your father for example. They bond with a human partner upon their birth and help them with battling or with whatever you want, like say…the housework. They're quite smart…some are at least…but for the most part they can fix up a Zoid, enhance its abilities, and bring out the full potential of a mechanical beastie to help the pilot."
"Isn't that cheating?"
"Well, yeah. But if you practise, then you won't need the organoid anymore, unless you're in real dire straits."
Wheels started to turn in Leena's mind. Wow, if she had an organoid, she'd be better than anyone!! "Oh. Is there anyway of actually getting one of these…organ-thingies?"
"Not really…not anymore. Used to be abundant, then they started to die off. Went crazy-like, you know? Really sad, anyway."
Damn.
Leena wasn't sure what to say.
She didn't know why her father had allowed this odd person to stay on as a permanent resident of the base, but then again, her father often did strange things that no one really understood. But he was working for free, and she'd never seen the Zoids look so good before, so maybe that sort of made sense to have him around. Mute stuck around the living room and the kitchen, but for preferred to live down in the hanger. Kind of like Bit.
But Bit had moved out since Mute moved in.
Something about strange voices in the dark…
"Are you hiding from someone, missy?" Mute asked pleasantly. "You keep looking at the hanger door with the kind of dread I remember from my youth. I was always being slapped about by my betters for being in the wrong place at the wrong time…got them all back of course…stood on them all…squish…haha…" His voice trailed off, but Leena didn't hear the embarrassed tones in his voice. She was too busy fuming.
"I'm not hiding from anybody!"
Mute smiled, his teeth very white. "It's that Harry-chap, isn't it? Ooh, are you trying to see if he's coming in to say hello? Hehe…you two would make a rather darling couple."
"No!"
"Well why are you-"
Mute didn't get to finish. Leena had had enough of his questions, and if the little turd wasn't going to shut up of his own accord, then she'd do it for him. She grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pulled him up and close, only just registering the strange smell of electronics that hung about him. "Shut up! You evil little kid!"
"Steady on!"
"I don't like you, I don't trust you, and FYI# I hate Harry! He is such a loser! He's been after me since we were kids, and I didn't like him then either! The only reason I'm ever nice to him is if I want something! That's all he's good for – money! I don't mind how he drools after me, but sometimes it gets really, really bad, and I don't like him." A particularly large piece of spittle flew in a graceful arc and hit Mute in the face. His look of disgust was sheer poetry.
"Fucking hell!" Mute struggled in her hands. "Put me down! And stop yelling in my face!"
"Not until you promise to shut up!"
"If you don't like Harry and want to ward him off forever, why don't you just go out with someone?!" He was dropped rather unceremoniously to the ground. "Ow! My arse!" He scowled at her. "If the money thing bothers you, then just suck up to him and tell him so-and-so won't buy it for you, and that makes you sad. If he loves you as much as you say he does, then he'll wait for you, and do whatever you ask. Hell's teeth, woman!" Leena stared at him. Sprawled back on the cold metal floor of the hanger, his oddly coloured hair framing his delicate face, she suddenly realised that this child, this boy, was staring at her with murder in his eyes. "Don't you ever lay a finger on me again! I was only trying to help – is that so wrong?"
"I don't like you."
"Feeling's mutual. Look, sweetheart, the hanger's my domain now, and if I catch you down here I will report you to your dad, and you'll be loosing more than your allowance." Mute stood up, and turned to face his growling Redler, an expression of fear crossing his pale face, a complete turnaround from what he was like a moment before. "Don't." He murmured. "It's okay. Things are under control."
A moment of silence.
"No! Not like that! No, please…"
Leena stared at him.
"It's okay…really. Leena was just leaving." He spat in her direction.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Never you mind."
"You can talk to your Zoid? Bit can do that with the Liger!"
"Oh he can, can he?" Mute rolled his eyes. "Fucking figures…" He scratched his head, then went back to work. "I'm enforcing that hanger ban in ten seconds. You can come in here to get your GunSniper and bring it back, but I will be doing basic and battle maintenance. If I catch you in here at any other time and without adult supervision, there will be trouble, sunshine, trouble."
Leena wanted to slam his pretty face into the ground, but stopped herself just in time – the last thing the Blitz Team needed was loosing the only person capable of taking care of the Zoids. For free. That meant more allowance, didn't it? Yes…yes! Leena sighed, trying to make it look like she couldn't be bothered with the stupid allowance and went to leave, knowing that if she was a good girl, then her father would forget about grounding her and let her get on with the more important things in life…like shooting things.
Mute sat back down and went back to examining the tail blade. After a moment of it, however, he glanced over his shoulder and gave her a dark look. "Are you still here?"
"Go out with someone, you said?"
Mute's eyes widened with shock. "Hey, don't even think about it-"
That was all it took. "Don't flatter yourself, Zoid-boy!!" Lena snarled, bringing her dainty sandshoe down hard onto the mechanic's head, and pressing him down onto the ground.
"Hey!!"
"Arrogant, mean, stupid-"
"Gerr'off!!"
"No!"
Mute managed, with flailing arms, to get out from beneath her and glare at her. He promptly poked his tongue out and ran off to climb up onto the Redler and look down at her from the cockpit. "Bitch!"
"Coward!"
"I hope…I hope you catch…scabies…and die!"
Leena screeched with frustration and stomped off back to the living areas, only to return to scream 'you can't die from scabies!!' back at him and return to her room, slumping down onto the bed without a care for anyone who saw her. She didn't like Mute one bit, but he was right…she needed a boyfriend. Brad was out of the question. He was always being sarcastic at her, and Naomi would have a cry. As much as it would be amusing to watch her break down like that, Brad was kind of icky. Jamie was out of the question too, she mused, because for one he was too young, and two, he knew too much about the female body. Waaaaaaaay too much. And of course, her brother was out of the picture as well. Mute was an asshole. That left…
Bit.
Leena blinked.
Bit Cloud?
Well, he was kind of cute. And he wasn't too bad, if he wasn't stealing her food, or getting in the way of her precious GunSniper, or perving on her in the shower, or maybe laughing at her mistakes, or…
Bit Cloud…
Leena sat up. It could just work. Yes.
Bit Cloud…
Looking down at her lap for a minute, she plucked up the courage to go out of the room that had seemed so boring before, and peer out into the corridors…it had been lucky Harry hadn't seen her storming out of the hanger…then there would be trouble. It would be hard, very hard. It's not like he'd say no, right?
Daintily, she danced down the corridor, wondering how she'd phrase it so she wouldn't seem needy or anything, but everything she went over in her head didn't seem right. Bit, would you go out with me? Bit, hey, we've known each other for a long time and…Bit! Drop that cookie, there's something I want to ask you-
"Hey!"
At long last, she discovered where Harry had disappeared to instead of hanging around Leena's usual haunts. It seemed he and Bit had met each other in the living areas while Bit tried to secure himself a cookie and Harry had been looking for her…both had met, words had been exchanged, and suddenly it was gloves off and make way for the fisticuffs.
Blundering past her, Bit tumbled to the ground with Harry on top of him. Both looked flushed and angry, and Harry was clearly winning. Stunned, Leena tried to take a step back, but only tripped and landed on her bottom, giving both boys a full view of her underwear. As Harry blushed, gasped, slid a hand over his now bloody nose and looked away, Bit went bright red and let his jaw drop. Leena flushed in embarrassment, and managed to sit up and slide her skirt between her legs, blocking the view of her favourite panties.
"H-Hello Kitty?!" Harry gasped through his hyperventilating. "My god!" Trust that idiot pervert to look there first, Leena thought, completely disregarding the fact that Bit had knocked Harry that way, and his face had landed just so to get a clear view.
"Hello Pussy more like it!" Bit replied with a cheer.
That perverted bastard! He was worse than Harry! Leena kicked him in the head. "BIT!!"
"Sorry, but if you're going to flash your panties at us, what do you expect? A standing ovation?" Bit groaned, rubbing his head. He was so rude, all the time…but in a strange way, Leena liked it. It was funny…but still. He'd peeped. Peepers had to be punished… "Though I must admit, they suit you."
The young lady huffed angrily. Trust Bit to always mess things up, just when she was going to write him into her good books. "Damn it! And just when…just…!"
"Just what Leena?" Bit's gormless grin always made her smile. He was kind of hopeless in a helpful way. And he had nice eyes. Again the little counter started to move from red to green again. "Something wrong?"
"Of course something's wrong! You always screw up!"
"Yeah Bit!" Harry butted in – as always. "There's no need to be rude about Leena's underwear!" That earned him a punch in the head. He squealed childishly and rubbed his sore face with big girly tears oozing out of his eyes. Such a wet blanket! How could anyone ever like him?!
"Shut up Harry!" Leena snarled, and then pulled Bit close and met him eye to eye. "Here I come, getting up the courage to ask you out, and you look at my panties instead!"
"Then don't flash them!!" Came the equally arrogant reply. Then his eyes widened as he realised what had just been said. "Wait - what did you just say?!"
"I said I wanted to go out with you." Leena replied, looking down, her cheeks going red, her fingers gently releasing him from their iron grip. Funny how it seemed like such a dumb thing to say. Geez, she had to look really stupid now…
Of course, Biggest Idiot in the World thought she was talking to him."You do?! Oh Leena-" Harry struggled to get out of his entanglement with Bit and push him out of the way, but received a shoe in the face with Leena attached to it. "ARGH!"
There was silence for a moment, apart from the bubbly sound produced by a bleeding nosed Harry (bleeding because of being attacked, not because he thought the idea of Bit and Leena together turned him on. Heaven forbid!) and the blond youth stared in fascination. "Uhh, wow Leena, I had no idea you felt about me in that way." Bit blinked, then grinned in usually cheeky way. "Okay then!"
"Noooooo!!! Please!!"
"Shut up, Harry." Both said, in perfect unison.
Leena stood up carefully and smoothed her skirt down in a shy and very un-Leena like way. "Thanks, Bit. Tomorrow we'll go out to the Blue Moon in NothenGusty, okay? 7pm alright with you?"
"Yeah! Sure!"
And that was that.
~*~
The Redler, gleaming and new, purred as its master climbed up and onto it's back where his 'partner' sat, gazing at the other Zoids. His crimson body glowed slightly from the immense power he had just controlled, putting the ancient Zoid back together, and the power in itself was a delight to feel again. He had been trapped in the Zoid core for too long. "Aye thought she'd nae leave."
"Me too, my old friend." Mute sighed and let himself flop back. The screaming from…what's-his-name…Harry…was still going, and even as the thought crossed his mind, Mute watched the red head run past the hanger and out to his own Zoid, his face streaked with tears. He felt a moment of coldness in his body and sighed wistfully, not sure why he was feeling so damnable.
The organoid scratched his muzzle and sighed too, voicing his companion's thoughts. "Poor wee shite."
"Mmm…" Mute replied, in a thoughtful way. Only then did he lean against the smooth surface of the organoid and close his eyes, cuddling into it for comfort. He then looked up to stare into the green abysses above him, and the organoid gave him a little nod.
"Aye've seen tha' look in yer eyes before, Mut'…yer causin' trouble again, ain't yer?" He said, amused.
"I did not appreciate you…or this Zoid asking if you could rip her head off." Mute whispered. There was no need to speak – the two had been bonded as partners for a long, long time, and could read each other as plain as day.
The creature snorted. "Who's? That witch?"
"Leena. Leena Toros."
"Nasty little cow." Long talons flexed and the organoid hissed long and low.
Allowing his slender body to be pulled into a more comfortable position, Mute leaned against the chest plate of the seated organoid and lovingly caressed a forearm. "I simply want to work in peace. Is that so wrong? I know you were just trying to help…but right now, violence is not the way…"
Not wanting to sound like an overprotective parent, the forearms wiggled and the sensors dimmed, showing the organoid's turmoil, the desperate desire to protect, and the pleasure of destruction. "Aye dinna ken##, laddie. The last time you decided to meddle wit' the affairs o' men, you ended up bein' sealed away for half a century…do ye want that again?"
Mute's smile was murder as he burrowed into the body he'd known so well over the years. "Ambient, last time, I wanted them to catch me." A twisted, gleeful smile, the kind that was smiled in secret while looking down at a deep pool where something evil slept. "This time…they won't be so lucky."
~ to be continued.
*In real world terms, that'd be track 5 from the Animatrix CD.
**I know nothing of music. Don't hurt me.
***I really, really hate that term. It drives me up the wall – I don't mean any offence to anyone when I say this, but I hate that line. I'm not a big fan of rap music, but damn it…Bling-bling? What kind of a slang term is that? It's in so much music now, which is the only reason I stuck it in.
# She actually says the letters. Everyone knows it means 'for your information', but I figure she would say it like that.
## Ambient's saying 'I don't know.' First of all, yes, I have ripped off Zinou's idea, but it's okay because I cleared it first, and second, in the Scottish tongue, know is written ken. So speaking with the accent, it becomes 'Aye dinna ken'.
Hahahahahaha!! Oh, you all saw it coming.