Night Warriors
The King
"Stop here, Rob!" Herman rolled his eyes. Traveling for three days with Rachel behind him was doing bad things for his physical and emotional health. There were several bruises and bumps on the back of his head from where he had said the wrong thing to Rachel and she had used him as an easy target. Still, he could not stop himself from falling in love with her. It was killing him inside to know that Rachel considered him a brother or a close friend.
Herman stopped the zoid and turned around in his seat. "Why here?"
"For lots of reasons," Rachel said with the flick of her hand. "For supplies, information, and I need to catch up with some old friends."
"We don't have time for idle chit chat."
"I know, so lets get going," Rachel said as she jumped down from the Command Wolf.
Rachel walked behind a small clutch of hills and Herman had to run to catch up with her. Behind the hills he saw a mansion. Rachel walked to the door, opened it, and strolled in. Herman quickly ran after her.
"Hey, Night Cat!" a young man with several face piercing and tattoos called to Rachel.
Rachel acted as though she knew -- and liked -- him. "Scar? It's been awhile since I've seen you."
"Yeah," Scar said with a smile, "I've been here, but I keep missing you."
"Listen, where's King? Are Sammy and Danni here?" Rachel did not want to waste any more time with the unusual Scar.
"Yeah," Scar said, his smile dropping, "They're all upstairs, in the lookout room."
"Thanks," Rachel said quickly before dragging Herman upstairs behind her.
She led him through a maze of hallways and doors. Herman began to lose his patience. "What is this place Schubaltz? Who was that Scar person? Who are Sammy, Danni, and King, and why in the world did Scar call you Night Cat?"
"To answer your questions in order, this is a relief point for spies and mercenaries. We come here for food and medical attention; I've had to come here a few times for both reasons, but I've also met new friends when I've stopped here to rest. There are spies and mercenaries from all over Planet Zi. Scar is a spy from another country, though no one knows which one. Sammy and Danni are the two spies who saved my life when Prozen sent Marcus out to kill me. King is a former Imperial spy and he runs this place. He was and still is the best spy on Planet Zi. People call me Night Cat here because very few people go by their real names. Sammy and Danni are pretty much the only ones who do. Night Cat is my nickname because I dress in black and my zoid is a black Hel Cat," Rachel finished the quick review, leaving Herman stunned. Shaking her head, Rachel walked into the room.
"Hello Night Cat, how are you?" asked a man who was older than even Kruger.
"Night Cat, what's up?" a young girl with dark blonde hair called out.
A young girl with sandy hair looked up from some work. "Where's Night Zaber?"
"Not bad, I'm on my way to Free Will Town. Freedmen decided that he needed Ashley at White Spirit Base, so I've got a temporary new partner," Rachel said answering the questions in order. "This is Major Herman, who's assisting me with my mission."
"A.K.A. my brother, Rob," the sandy haired girl smirked.
"Danielle?" Herman looked at his older sister, Danni. "Samantha?" Herman looked at Sammy. The three young women snickered.
King smiled. "What can I do for you, Night Cat?"
"We need supplies to get us the rest of the way to Free Will Town" Rachel replied.
"Ok, they will be ready in a few minutes. But how about you stay for the night to rest up?"
"We can't," Rachel said simply. "A mysterious group attacked Free Will Town, and Raven got caught in the attack. We're being sent to further investigate what's happening. Sammy, Danni, I want you to go to White Spirit Base to see if you can help Kruger, Freedmen, and my brother in any way."
Everyone nodded and walked off to do what Rachel had asked of them. Herman was surprised to see that the two Republic spies were listening to an Imperial spy without even asking questions.
"Hey Rachel," Herman said.
"Yeah," the young woman answered.
Herman sighed. "How well do you know those two?"
"Pretty well," Rachel said. "As I said, they saved my life and helped hide me. Even enemies can become friends when you force them to work together." Herman nodded.
In a few minutes, Sammy and Danni had the new supplies in the Command Wolf for Herman and Rachel's trip to Free Will Town, and the girls' own zoids were ready for the journey to White Spirit Base. They quickly said good- bye to King and left. Herman and Rachel were about to leave when King stopped them.
"I have a gift for you, Night Cat" King said. A white organoid stepped from behind King. On her back were featherless, angel-like wings and her tail had spikes similar to Ambient's tail. "This is Starlet; I want you to take her with you."
"But King." Rachel tried to protest, but King held up a hand to silence her.
"Starlet ages only one year for every four thousand that passes. If she stays here with me she'll grow lazy," King said with a smile. "Besides, she's been wanting to see combat for awhile."
Rachel nodded and the organoid, in a bright streak of white, flew into Herman's Command Wolf. The two soldiers also got into the zoid and waved good-bye to King. King stayed and watched them run towards the horizon until the zoid was barely a speck in the distance. He entered the huge house once more to find Scar gone. Rusty spy instincts kicked in telling King that Rachel and Herman were headed straight for trouble. King called Sammy and Danni. Something was wrong, and he feared for Night Cat's life, as well as for Danni's brother.
Rachel and Herman were silent for several minutes. Rachel was staring at the back of Herman's head. The two were alone, except for Starlet, who wasn't paying attention to them. Rachel wanted to tell him how she was feeling, but after pushing him away with no explanation when he kissed her, she wasn't sure what he would do or say.
"Rob?" Rachel asked quietly.
"Yeah?" he said. He let Starlet take complete control of the Command Wolf, unbuckled the safety restraints, and turned around in his seat so he could face her.
Rachel lowered her face so Herman could not look her in the eyes. "I wanted to apologize for kissing you back at the base and then leaving you without an explanation."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Herman said with a smile. "I shouldn't have kissed you if you weren't comfortable with it, or if you didn't want it in the first place."
"I like you; it's just that I was confused. I had so much on my mind. I was having flashbacks of sad memories, and when you kissed me, I felt helpless, something I haven't felt in seven years. I couldn't explain it to you at the moment, Rob. But I loved the kiss, and I love you." Rachel was silenced when he gently began stroking her cheek.
"It's okay. I understand what it's like to go through so much pain and relive it at the worst times." Herman's voice was gentle.
The tenderness only lasted a moment longer. Suddenly, the zoid began to shake from several hard attacks. Herman did not have enough time to turn around in his seat to try to fight back, and Starlet, who had not faced real combats for years, was having a hard time getting the Command Wolf to do what she needed it to do.
Rachel held on tight as several missiles shook the zoid again. Finally the attacks ceased. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rachel thought it was over. The next thing the two warriors knew, the zoid was hit by one last missile, striking the worst place possible.
The attack slowly ceased and a well-hidden zoid came into view. It was an Imperial Zaber Fang, but the weaponry and armor had been changed dramatically. The armor was lighter, making the Zaber more maneuverable. The weaponry was also lighter and had more firepower. All of the new additions came from Cravane.
A Command Wolf ran up beside the Zaber Fang. The Command Wolf was like the Zaber Fang; it came from the Republic, but Cravane had made alterations to the armor and weapons. The cockpit opened and a female pilot exited. Her strawberry blond hair was cut short, and her green eyes looked sharper than the killing glare for which Ashley was famous.
"Not bad, huh Thorn?" Scar asked the young woman as he jumped out of the Zaber Fang.
Thorn snorted. "We were told to capture them. Your attack might have killed them. General Norman wants them alive, especially the Schubaltz girl."
"They're not dead," Scar said. "They're only injured."
"Whatever, let's just grab the two and get out of here. When they don't report in, you can bet that Freedmen will send someone to find them," Thorn said, ending the conversation. Scar nodded. He and Thorn worked quickly and got Rachel and Herman out of the totaled Command Wolf. A Cravane transport came and retrieved the Command Wolf so it could be repaired and used in the Cravane army.
Danni and Sammy were traveling to find Rachel and Rob. King had called them to say he had a bad feeling about Scar, Night Cat and Rob. In her many years of being a spy, Danni had learned to trust those kinds of feelings. It was one of those feelings that told her to save and trust Rachel all those years ago at Blood Waterfall.
"Why are we going on what King feels?" Sammy demanded.
Like Ashley, Sammy didn't feel right if she didn't have something to complain about. Sammy's full name was Samantha Kruger. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father was never around enough. As life went on, Sammy was introduced to overly energetic Robert and exceptionally quiet Danielle. No one expected twelve-year-old Sammy to become best friends with thirteen-year-old Danielle and eleven-year-old Robert. Sammy was used to being free and doing what she wanted. Danielle and Robert were used to walking in line. That changed quickly as Danielle became Danni and Robert became Rob.
Like Rachel, Danni was always there to make sure her partner didn't do anything she would regret. Danni was thirteen and Rob eleven when Sammy was first introduced to Danni's family. Only a few years earlier, Danni's father had died from the stress of running the Republic. Sammy became the one Danni depended on when she was going through tough times. In the partnership, Danni was the more cautious of the two.
The awesome pair from the Republic met Rachel and Ashley on Sammy and Danni's first mission. They had been sent to stop anyone from stealing secret information from the Capital building. Rachel and Ashley, who had been on countless missions before and were used to sneaking around crowded places, easily outsmarted the rookie spies. After that, the four girls would constantly see each other on missions. They never missed a chance to see who was the better zoid warrior when they met. Rachel and Ashley normally won.
It was Danni and Sammy who saved Rachel after Marcus tried to kill her. After taking care of Rachel's wounds, Rachel took Danni and Sammy to meet King for the first time. For the two years when Rachel was in hiding, Danni and Sammy helped her find out more about Prozen and the Death Saur. They also made friends with Ashley, which was impossible for a Republic soldier during the war.
Sammy sighed. "DANNI! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Danny was thrown out of her dream world and came to a crash landing back in reality. "They're not here so let's head towards White Spirit Base."
Danni nodded and turned her Shield Liger around. Something in the pit of her stomach was telling her that something was wrong, terribly wrong.
The King
"Stop here, Rob!" Herman rolled his eyes. Traveling for three days with Rachel behind him was doing bad things for his physical and emotional health. There were several bruises and bumps on the back of his head from where he had said the wrong thing to Rachel and she had used him as an easy target. Still, he could not stop himself from falling in love with her. It was killing him inside to know that Rachel considered him a brother or a close friend.
Herman stopped the zoid and turned around in his seat. "Why here?"
"For lots of reasons," Rachel said with the flick of her hand. "For supplies, information, and I need to catch up with some old friends."
"We don't have time for idle chit chat."
"I know, so lets get going," Rachel said as she jumped down from the Command Wolf.
Rachel walked behind a small clutch of hills and Herman had to run to catch up with her. Behind the hills he saw a mansion. Rachel walked to the door, opened it, and strolled in. Herman quickly ran after her.
"Hey, Night Cat!" a young man with several face piercing and tattoos called to Rachel.
Rachel acted as though she knew -- and liked -- him. "Scar? It's been awhile since I've seen you."
"Yeah," Scar said with a smile, "I've been here, but I keep missing you."
"Listen, where's King? Are Sammy and Danni here?" Rachel did not want to waste any more time with the unusual Scar.
"Yeah," Scar said, his smile dropping, "They're all upstairs, in the lookout room."
"Thanks," Rachel said quickly before dragging Herman upstairs behind her.
She led him through a maze of hallways and doors. Herman began to lose his patience. "What is this place Schubaltz? Who was that Scar person? Who are Sammy, Danni, and King, and why in the world did Scar call you Night Cat?"
"To answer your questions in order, this is a relief point for spies and mercenaries. We come here for food and medical attention; I've had to come here a few times for both reasons, but I've also met new friends when I've stopped here to rest. There are spies and mercenaries from all over Planet Zi. Scar is a spy from another country, though no one knows which one. Sammy and Danni are the two spies who saved my life when Prozen sent Marcus out to kill me. King is a former Imperial spy and he runs this place. He was and still is the best spy on Planet Zi. People call me Night Cat here because very few people go by their real names. Sammy and Danni are pretty much the only ones who do. Night Cat is my nickname because I dress in black and my zoid is a black Hel Cat," Rachel finished the quick review, leaving Herman stunned. Shaking her head, Rachel walked into the room.
"Hello Night Cat, how are you?" asked a man who was older than even Kruger.
"Night Cat, what's up?" a young girl with dark blonde hair called out.
A young girl with sandy hair looked up from some work. "Where's Night Zaber?"
"Not bad, I'm on my way to Free Will Town. Freedmen decided that he needed Ashley at White Spirit Base, so I've got a temporary new partner," Rachel said answering the questions in order. "This is Major Herman, who's assisting me with my mission."
"A.K.A. my brother, Rob," the sandy haired girl smirked.
"Danielle?" Herman looked at his older sister, Danni. "Samantha?" Herman looked at Sammy. The three young women snickered.
King smiled. "What can I do for you, Night Cat?"
"We need supplies to get us the rest of the way to Free Will Town" Rachel replied.
"Ok, they will be ready in a few minutes. But how about you stay for the night to rest up?"
"We can't," Rachel said simply. "A mysterious group attacked Free Will Town, and Raven got caught in the attack. We're being sent to further investigate what's happening. Sammy, Danni, I want you to go to White Spirit Base to see if you can help Kruger, Freedmen, and my brother in any way."
Everyone nodded and walked off to do what Rachel had asked of them. Herman was surprised to see that the two Republic spies were listening to an Imperial spy without even asking questions.
"Hey Rachel," Herman said.
"Yeah," the young woman answered.
Herman sighed. "How well do you know those two?"
"Pretty well," Rachel said. "As I said, they saved my life and helped hide me. Even enemies can become friends when you force them to work together." Herman nodded.
In a few minutes, Sammy and Danni had the new supplies in the Command Wolf for Herman and Rachel's trip to Free Will Town, and the girls' own zoids were ready for the journey to White Spirit Base. They quickly said good- bye to King and left. Herman and Rachel were about to leave when King stopped them.
"I have a gift for you, Night Cat" King said. A white organoid stepped from behind King. On her back were featherless, angel-like wings and her tail had spikes similar to Ambient's tail. "This is Starlet; I want you to take her with you."
"But King." Rachel tried to protest, but King held up a hand to silence her.
"Starlet ages only one year for every four thousand that passes. If she stays here with me she'll grow lazy," King said with a smile. "Besides, she's been wanting to see combat for awhile."
Rachel nodded and the organoid, in a bright streak of white, flew into Herman's Command Wolf. The two soldiers also got into the zoid and waved good-bye to King. King stayed and watched them run towards the horizon until the zoid was barely a speck in the distance. He entered the huge house once more to find Scar gone. Rusty spy instincts kicked in telling King that Rachel and Herman were headed straight for trouble. King called Sammy and Danni. Something was wrong, and he feared for Night Cat's life, as well as for Danni's brother.
Rachel and Herman were silent for several minutes. Rachel was staring at the back of Herman's head. The two were alone, except for Starlet, who wasn't paying attention to them. Rachel wanted to tell him how she was feeling, but after pushing him away with no explanation when he kissed her, she wasn't sure what he would do or say.
"Rob?" Rachel asked quietly.
"Yeah?" he said. He let Starlet take complete control of the Command Wolf, unbuckled the safety restraints, and turned around in his seat so he could face her.
Rachel lowered her face so Herman could not look her in the eyes. "I wanted to apologize for kissing you back at the base and then leaving you without an explanation."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Herman said with a smile. "I shouldn't have kissed you if you weren't comfortable with it, or if you didn't want it in the first place."
"I like you; it's just that I was confused. I had so much on my mind. I was having flashbacks of sad memories, and when you kissed me, I felt helpless, something I haven't felt in seven years. I couldn't explain it to you at the moment, Rob. But I loved the kiss, and I love you." Rachel was silenced when he gently began stroking her cheek.
"It's okay. I understand what it's like to go through so much pain and relive it at the worst times." Herman's voice was gentle.
The tenderness only lasted a moment longer. Suddenly, the zoid began to shake from several hard attacks. Herman did not have enough time to turn around in his seat to try to fight back, and Starlet, who had not faced real combats for years, was having a hard time getting the Command Wolf to do what she needed it to do.
Rachel held on tight as several missiles shook the zoid again. Finally the attacks ceased. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rachel thought it was over. The next thing the two warriors knew, the zoid was hit by one last missile, striking the worst place possible.
The attack slowly ceased and a well-hidden zoid came into view. It was an Imperial Zaber Fang, but the weaponry and armor had been changed dramatically. The armor was lighter, making the Zaber more maneuverable. The weaponry was also lighter and had more firepower. All of the new additions came from Cravane.
A Command Wolf ran up beside the Zaber Fang. The Command Wolf was like the Zaber Fang; it came from the Republic, but Cravane had made alterations to the armor and weapons. The cockpit opened and a female pilot exited. Her strawberry blond hair was cut short, and her green eyes looked sharper than the killing glare for which Ashley was famous.
"Not bad, huh Thorn?" Scar asked the young woman as he jumped out of the Zaber Fang.
Thorn snorted. "We were told to capture them. Your attack might have killed them. General Norman wants them alive, especially the Schubaltz girl."
"They're not dead," Scar said. "They're only injured."
"Whatever, let's just grab the two and get out of here. When they don't report in, you can bet that Freedmen will send someone to find them," Thorn said, ending the conversation. Scar nodded. He and Thorn worked quickly and got Rachel and Herman out of the totaled Command Wolf. A Cravane transport came and retrieved the Command Wolf so it could be repaired and used in the Cravane army.
Danni and Sammy were traveling to find Rachel and Rob. King had called them to say he had a bad feeling about Scar, Night Cat and Rob. In her many years of being a spy, Danni had learned to trust those kinds of feelings. It was one of those feelings that told her to save and trust Rachel all those years ago at Blood Waterfall.
"Why are we going on what King feels?" Sammy demanded.
Like Ashley, Sammy didn't feel right if she didn't have something to complain about. Sammy's full name was Samantha Kruger. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father was never around enough. As life went on, Sammy was introduced to overly energetic Robert and exceptionally quiet Danielle. No one expected twelve-year-old Sammy to become best friends with thirteen-year-old Danielle and eleven-year-old Robert. Sammy was used to being free and doing what she wanted. Danielle and Robert were used to walking in line. That changed quickly as Danielle became Danni and Robert became Rob.
Like Rachel, Danni was always there to make sure her partner didn't do anything she would regret. Danni was thirteen and Rob eleven when Sammy was first introduced to Danni's family. Only a few years earlier, Danni's father had died from the stress of running the Republic. Sammy became the one Danni depended on when she was going through tough times. In the partnership, Danni was the more cautious of the two.
The awesome pair from the Republic met Rachel and Ashley on Sammy and Danni's first mission. They had been sent to stop anyone from stealing secret information from the Capital building. Rachel and Ashley, who had been on countless missions before and were used to sneaking around crowded places, easily outsmarted the rookie spies. After that, the four girls would constantly see each other on missions. They never missed a chance to see who was the better zoid warrior when they met. Rachel and Ashley normally won.
It was Danni and Sammy who saved Rachel after Marcus tried to kill her. After taking care of Rachel's wounds, Rachel took Danni and Sammy to meet King for the first time. For the two years when Rachel was in hiding, Danni and Sammy helped her find out more about Prozen and the Death Saur. They also made friends with Ashley, which was impossible for a Republic soldier during the war.
Sammy sighed. "DANNI! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Danny was thrown out of her dream world and came to a crash landing back in reality. "They're not here so let's head towards White Spirit Base."
Danni nodded and turned her Shield Liger around. Something in the pit of her stomach was telling her that something was wrong, terribly wrong.