Fire Fox- Okay...here I am with another chapter. Hopefully now that it is summer, I can update more regularly.^^. The keyword being 'hopefully'. On with the fic. I am just going to apologize right now of it being so long. Eight pages^_^U Sorry. But my notes took up a lot of room this time.
This story is dedicated to Ely. Thank you so much.
Disclaimer- I haven't heard back from Tomy yet. They are just intimidated by my master negotiating skills. Yes, Shadow and that other dude will be mine.
NOW
THE FIRE FOX FESTIVELY PRESENTS:
All Things Yesterday Left Behind
Chapter Three- The Gods' Tears*
Country lost and husband and children
Glory of all my house brought low.
Beek recalled the information it had been processing for the past couple of hours on the return trip to the military base. Thomas was in need of medical attention. Of course, Beek figured wirily, he probably needed it before the whole trip.
But Beek had been searching for any information that might pertain to the girl and her zombie state. Zombie was the only term that adequately described the girl. She didn't move, sleep, or probably think without an order. Beek couldn't come up with any known information helping with the girl's problem.
Even Dr. D's research was almost useless concerning Thomas's find. Fiona, a.k.a. Alisi Lynette, at least had everything but her memory when she emerged from her pod. But Thomas's girl didn't. She just stared.
For all his hard-drive, Beek couldn't conclude anything about the girl besides her physical appearance. She was about five foot five with her boots on, probably only a little more than five foot without the boots.
'It seems that high heels are timeless,' Beek told the Dibison and storing it under miscellaneous data.
'So, it appears,' the Dibison retorted in steady notes as it continued on the course Beek had downloaded. Beek decided that Thomas's condition was urgent enough that they had better not stick around to make sure the rest of crew where okay; well that, and the whole building crumbling down.
'Ask the other zoids if their pilots and others are all right,' demanded Beek.
The Dibison sent out low frequency to the other zoids.
Each zoid species had its own trademark frequency. For example, a Dibison's tones were deeper and richer than a Rev Raptor's tones. And each Dibison had its own personal pitches, distinguishing it from all the other Dibisons. Almost exactly like fingerprints, accept with pitches and tones.
'They say most people are okay. A few are unaccounted for, but most have only minor scratches and bruises. The parties' zoids where particularly happy to know that Thomas is alive,' the Dibison said in steady tones, with pride creeping in. Thomas was much beloved by the zoids themselves if not their pilots.
Thomas's Dibison had a lower, deeper tone than many, but at the same time it was more soothing and gentle. Beek wondered if extended exposure to the same pilot affected the zoid's tone.
Beek returned his sensors to the other passenger. She had dark hair like the color of dried blood that fell past her shoulders. Dark eyes which just stared at the passing scenery without much brilliance- muddy brown was an accurate description. She wasn't thin or overly fat. Ivory skin was a sharp contrast to her clothes. She wore a sleeveless battle suit of rusty red with dark gold designs barely visible. In contrast, a gold bird, which Beek identified as a phoenix, was sewn on top. Its head reared back in a battle cry, tail flaming, and wings covering the middle of her upper arms. Under its wings were a single red band on each arm. Dark gold tape-like material ran up to her elbow. Rusty red gloves adorned her hands. Her calf high boots were black. Truly she looked like something sinister and powerful.
'Do not worry, small thing, all will be all right. You will see,' the Dibison said to its other passenger.
'Will it?' she replied without emotion.
'Yes, you will see.'
'Will there be more zoids where you are taking me?'
'Yes.'
Beek's sensors almost melted with surprise. She had replied as a zoid would! No such thing has ever been done by a human. Dr. D would be very interested in Thomas's find indeed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thomas was about to call his 'find' back to him. When he realized that he hadn't ever asked for her name. Not that he knew anything about her, really, only the information Beek had provided them with. She never talked, only followed him mindlessly around when possible. Thomas smiled at the memory of when she had first encountered the idea of the 'males' bathroom'. A blush crept over his face. The guys had never let him forget that one.
It had been a trying time explaining to her about bathrooms and other things through Beek. And no telling what the A.I. told his girl when Thomas wasn't paying attention. Beek was becoming very possessive of the girl and that made Thomas worry.
Thomas, though, couldn't really talk. He worried about her when she was not around. In fact, he had come to think of her as 'his' find. He made sure he was always present when Dr. D wanted to test her DNA or abilities. There was not trusting that old man.
'Let her go. What harm could happen to her in the base? All the zoids are here to watch her, and I feel sorry for the person who would try to take her away from them,' Beek replied. 'Besides, you could probably use a shower.'
Thomas blushed even deeper, "Oh shut up before I turn you off."
'You wouldn't dare, dork.'
"Computer loser," Thomas called back. But Beek didn't even have a chance to reply.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I hate to call you on your honeymoon and all...but..." Dr. D trailed off, forgetting his well-rehearsed speech. He didn't know where to begin.
"Don't worry about Dr. D. We know it has to be important for you to contact us," Fiona smiled back encouragingly from the video phone.
"Well upon stumbling on some old documents, I decided it would be worth exploring the old ruins located near where Shadow was discovered."
"But they were called RUINS for a reason. That building was already about to fall! I can't believe you got military clearance to form a search party," Van sighed. It was not like Dr. D was interrupting anything important. Their hotel had practically been destroyed by all the noise. And Fiona had been acting strange since that night anyway.
"That's not the point," yelled Dr. D. "Obviously they thought it would be worth their while or they wouldn't have funded it!"
"Well, what is the problem than?" asked Fiona tiredly. She wasn't really so keen on talking business on her honeymoon.
"It's what Thomas found," Dr. D. went on about Thomas's find as computer images flashed across the screen. "I believe she is from your time, Fiona, though her DNA doesn't match up exactly with yours. So it is logical to conclude she isn't an ancient Zoidian...or even from Zi."
"So she is like some kind alien out of a horror film?" asked Van.
"Yes, except she is human just not originally from Zi. From what I understand from research, a person from other planets moving to Zi was no stranger or unheard of as it is today. In fact, I have found records to believe that was more common."
"I do remember people moving to strange places I had never heard of. But I was so young when I was put in the capsule," Fiona said thoughtfully.
A picture of the girl in question wearing the uniform she had been found in flashed across the screen. Fiona burrowed her brows when the picture was shown.
"Could you show that last file again when she was wearing that odd clothes?" Fiona asked.
"Well, she has that over you, Fiona," Van smiled as Fiona threw a questioning glance at him, "She at least had clothes."
Fiona pouted cutely as Van knew she would.
"But there is something about that suit...especially the phoenix emblem that reminds me of a forgotten memory," Fiona struggled to see through the fog of her memory, "I can't say if it is anything bad or good...but I think it is..."
"You might also be interested in this video," Dr. D said as the video started to play.
Thomas was grinning goofily and waving at the camera and saying something that Van and Fiona couldn't quite make out. Then they heard Dr. D yelling at Thomas to get started. Thomas called the girl out. She was now wearing a dark green, long sleeved shirt with a long black skirt. Her hair blowing everywhere in the wind.
"What do you want to have her to do Dr. D?" yelled Thomas in the video.
"Have her make the Shield Liger run about a hundred yards than stop."
Thomas told the girl what Dr. D had said. Nothing happened except for Beek's flashing lights.
"She wants to know which direction, speed, acceleration, and deceleration," Thomas said with a sideways grin.
"I don't give a care!" yelled an exasperated Dr. D, "Left, 100km/minute, 30km/sec, and 25 km/s."
Thomas told the girl and nothing happened.
Van just sighed at the thought that Dr. D had wasted thirty minutes of his honeymoon.
Then, on the video, the Shield Liger began to lurch forward and then stop. The video skipped to what Van figured must have been the last because there were three zoids now: the Shield Liger, a Saber Tiger, and a StormSworder. Suddenly all three started doing very intricate maneuvers without pilots.
"What in the world?" gasped Van.
Fiona was still lost in thought. The girl seemed very familiar.
"That's why I contacted you guys. What is even more interesting is that under certain conditions, the zoids will override the commands of their pilots to follow her commands."
Van's jaw dropped in disbelief of what the doctor had said, "You must be out of your mind!"
"What conditions would that be?" questioned Fiona calmly. For some reason she wasn't surprised at all.
"Some examples are when the pilot and zoid haven't been together for long, when the pilot doesn't take good care of the zoid, or when the zoid and the pilot don't get along."
"She would have been very help with the DeathSuarer incident," Van said musingly.
"She would make a very powerful weapon indeed," Dr. D said ominously.
"NO!" yelled Fiona surprising even herself at her heated response. "She is a living breathing person. Her free will cannot be enslaved just for the betterment of the military! She is not some high tech weapon to play with!"
"You don't have to worry about that from me Fiona," Dr. D smiled sheepishly. "Or the military's talk."
"You already tried didn't you?" accused Van.
"Maybe. But it didn't work. Apparently she listens only to the person who found her and freed her. Or his stupid computer. Even the military tried. But once she figured out what was happening, well I won't say exactly what happened, but I almost feel sorry for those guys. She is more than she looks," Dr. D continued. "I might know more, but he wouldn't let me around her to long."
"Thank goodness it was Thomas who found her than...not some crazy idiot," mused Van at the possibilities this girl possessed.
Dr. D chuckled at memories of Thomas trying to explain certain things to this strangers. "That's why I want you here. Van can help Thomas with her at times, and you, Fiona, can maybe help me find out more about her and help her find what she had lost."
~*~*~*~*~*~*
She continued following the melancholy music. It was beautiful in her grey world. Nothing seemed real, well almost nothing. She wasn't even sure if around the next turn the army base would still be real. It was an ugly place, this place of shadows. She wondered why the man and his zoid had brought her here. Was she to be used for their gain? What about that old man? Who was he? Why was she here?
'That's a lot of questions for one so small,' said the voice of the singer.
She looked up to realize she had arrived at the source of the song. It's silver body gleamed in the moon light.
'Who are you?' she asked silently.
Slowly and nobly, the Ultrasuarous bent is head down to the ground to look at her. She was so small, he thought ironically. He could squash her with his foot, but she could destroy so much. He felt the power of her awakening even back here at the base. He knew quite a lot about this prisoner of the land. He felt her scramble up to the top of his head and settled down. She crossed her legs than smoothed out her emerald skirt and gold shirt.
'I am Charlie. I am an Ultrasaurous or so that is what they call me. But a rose is a rose by any other name, no?' he quoted as he slowly raised his head, making sure she would not fall off.
'What is a rose?'
'You are a strange thing, small thing.'
'Everything is small to you,' she said without emotion or care.
The Ultrasaurous just laughed in it's whale-like tones, 'That is true.'
After a period of silence she startled Charlie by offering some information on her own accord, 'I can hear them all, you know. Every single one of them if I chose to. I can hear them talking and their thoughts.'
'Well, that is something now isn't it.'
'It is something,' she replied without feeling. 'Did you know that a Command Wolf and a Redler in Guygolos are arguing over the correct pronunciation of caramel?'
'I did not know that,' the Ultrasaurous considered, 'What is your name, small thing?'
Panic spread throughout her, name? Her name? What was a name to began with? Something you identified yourself with...oh yeah. She felt like she was falling down an endless canyon at the question. She felt words flurrying through her memory. Finally she came across one word that seemed familiar to her. She didn't know if it was her name, but its rhythm brought recognition in her heart.
'Hecuba.'
'That is a sorrow-filled name, that it is. Can you hear the stars to, young thing? Like you hear us?'
She looked up into the sky at the stars and moon. She felt a pulling at the sight of them. She could feel them. She could feel their knowledge. Knowledge that would make her life so much easier if they would only tell her. But the stars never talked to her. Only twinkled in delight and laughter, as she tried to wade through life without drowning.
But that was the irony of it all. That was what the stars said, 'Men will not swim before they are able.' Naturally, for they are not made for swimming endlessly but walking. They are made for living, not thinking. And the person who would be foolish enough to make thought his life will surely drown in time. No matter how far they swim, for they have traded the solid earth for water, and they cannot swim forever.
The Ultrasaurous could fill droplets of water fall on it's head though there was not a single cloud in the sky.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's notes: okay here is where I explain some things. ^_^ Like the title of the chapter and the little numbers by certain things^_^ Yes, I actually have reasons for doing some of the things I do^_^ And I thought it would be nice for me to explain some of the subtler things^_^U
* Chapter Title- the title and the girl's name, Hecuba, actually go together. But first you must know a little mythology.
Hecuba was married to Priam, the king of Troy and more importantly had a son called Paris. Well, most everyone knows about the legend of Troy and the Trojan War, spawning the widely known "Trojan Horse". But in case you don't know, I'll give a quick summary.
Okay, the three main Greek goddesses: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite were having a beauty contest for the prize of a golden apple that said 'To the fairest'. Zeus wisely refused to judge the contest and told them to have Paris judge them. Being an idiot, Paris agreed. Oddly however, he wasn't supposed to judge their beauty, but the bribes each goddess offered. Hera promised to make him lord of Europe and Asia, Athena promised that the Trojans would defeat Greece, and Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful women in the world. Paris being stupid, as I aforementioned, chose Aphrodite's offer.
And in short, the most beautiful women a.k.a. Helen was already married to the King of Sparta. So Helen was stolen away. Well, the king wasn't to happy and a big war broke out, the Greeks finally won with the Trojan Horse. And the Greeks slaughtered every male and made captives of the women of Troy.
Hecuba's sorrow was so great at seeing her husband, grandchildren, and city dead that it was said to have even made the gods and goddesses cry.
And the little italicized part is a quote from her curtsey of Edith Hamilton's Mythology.
1 - Queen of Troy before Greeks destroyed it. Her sorrow was said to make even the gods and goddesses cry.
Actually, I got that whole paragraph from Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf, which I do NOT recommend for light reading. Of course I paraphrased it, but just wanted to give credit where credit was do. I am sure Hesse won't mind considering he is dead. But I will say his was much better.And Charlie did quote Shakespear...but hey...old Willy is univerisal..^_^U
Please review
Amrun- Thanks for the compliment^_^
Blackie- THAT is ironic^_^U Just joking^_^ Sorry...Fiona is still alive^_^ So don't go getting any ideas! ^_^ hehehe
Starheart- Thanks^_^ I'll try to update quicker next time^^
Thanks for all else who reviewed. Well, that's it for now. I'm out like a fat kid in dodge ball.
I love Raven. See ya.