S.D.: Hello everybody! Thanks for reviewing, as you can see I updated as soon as I could. I have most of the story mapped out in my head so I'm just smoothing over rough edges adding fillers and deciding what order certain events should happen in. Knuckles: He still needs your help though this guy couldn't write his way out of a paper bag. S.D.: Hey! I did not manifest you to make fun of me! And that comment made no sense! Ahem. Anyway I do not; I repeat do not own Zoids no matter how badly I want to. Oh and before I forget. Knuckles: with you that's pretty fast. S.D.: Quiet you! Please give me an example the next time you make a suggestion on my writing style, however I think I understand what is being said and to make it clearer when people are talking their names are in "()". Enjoy!

Losing the Soul

Chapter 2: Search

(Junk Dealer) "Well Bit here's those circuits you requested." (Bit) "Thanks old man, be seeing ya." Bit left the junk shop carrying a small bundle under his arm, he had ordered some rare circuits for one thing or another and while he was waiting for the effects of the alcohol to wear off he'd decided to see if they were in. Bit had been in this closed heart cold stage for about six years at this point. He was now thirty-two and very few people know what event had caused this change in attitude but when he left, the Blitz Team ceased to exist.

Jamie had been asking around for nearly two hours and so far every time he mentioned Bit people would brush him off, spit at him, tell him to go home, get very angry or all four. Jamie was thirty and had an air of confidence never seen in him before, he seemed too have lost the insecurity he had through his whole adolescence. His attitude seemed to be a cross between his old warm friendly self and his Wild Eagle alter ego's confidence and strength and he wasn't one to give up so soon even though he was going to need new boots from all the spit on his old ones.

Leon was watching some weird foreign film in an old theatre. Like Bit, he was waiting for the effects of the two beers he had drank to wear off, so after finishing his second beer he thought seeing a movie was a good way to kill time. Leon, who was now thirty-four, had stayed a part of Team Flugle until Brad and Naomi married, no one asked him to leave but he decided three was a crowd in that particular team. He then rejoined the Blitz Team until it fell apart six years earlier, since Brad had left and Jamie had gone off for personal reasons he was welcomed back with open arms. He intended to restart the Blitz Team someday so he got a copy write on the name, but finding good team members had been hard work and the odds of him getting it done before he got too old were against him.

Jamie ran through ally ways gasping for breath with several angry people chasing him. Jamie's questioning was getting on everyone's nerves and it was inevitable that a few people would attack him. Jamie was no longer a scrawny little kid by any stretch of the imagination but he'd never had to fight four people at once and he felt now was not a good tome to find out how well he'd do.

Brad sat on a park bench finishing his beer, with no designated driver he was smart enough never to drink too much. Brad was now thirty-six though he looked much older. He was still a zoid warrior but what was wearing him down was Naomi and their two sons Jason and Robert. Ever since Brad and Naomi had started a serious relationship she had begun to nag him, nothing too bad at first it was all very reasonable, but when the twins were born the nagging became more severe and at times followed with nasty scoldings. It was all of this that made Brad be more careful about his actions; if he got a DWI he'd never here the end of it. Thinking about this he decided he had better call less he receive a tongue lashing on his return home.

Jamie had been backed into a corner and was now in a fight position. He wasn't a master fighter but he was no push over he was also glad no of them were armed. Just as the four men approached.

(???)"Leave him alone!" All of the guys turned around to see a man standing behind them. He was about six feet tall had brown hair that rimmed around his whole head just above his eyes which were dark green. He was wearing a white shirt and black pilots jacket with a picture of a dragon on the back and had a small six pointed black and white star that had black wings on the sides of it hanging around his neck on a dog tag chain. He had on dark blue jeans with black knee pads sewed to it and black boots.

(Man with mullet) "This ain't your business punk, so stay out a' it." (???) "You were about to beat that guy up for asking questions, my conscience won't leave me alone if I don't do something." The first guy lunged at the stranger but was stopped when the guy spun around and kicked him up-side the head. Another ran at him and tried punching him but the stranger grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder. The stranger didn't hesitate to kick the next guy in the crotch and when the last guy ran at him he pulled out a revolver that was hidden under his jacket. (???) "Why don't you all leave before you give me another reason to kick your asses." All of the thugs got up and ran for their lives and the stranger put his gun away.

(???) "You okay?" He said addressing Jamie. (Jamie) "Yah, I'm fine, thanks." (???) "No problem." (Jamie) "I'm..." (???) "I know who you are Wild Eagle." (Jamie) "You know me?" (???) "I saw you back when you were on the Blitz Team. I guess I should introduce myself, I'm John Dragoon." (Jamie) "The Dragon Rider?!" (John) "Nice to see my reputation precedes me." (Jamie) "What are you doing here?" (John) "I could ask the same of you if wasn't obvious your looking for Bit Cloud, but I wish you'd tell me why." (Jamie) "Huh? Oh yeah, well when I was eighteen I left the team to find myself. This is going to sound a little weird but I used to have a split personality, Jamie and the Wild Eagle used to be to separate people so I went to ask my dad if he knew anything about it. When I got back five years ago the Blitz team no longer existed and I heard Bit had become a criminal. I probably should've looked for the others first but what has happened to Bit has really been eating at me lately." (John) "So you figured you'd find out what happened. 'Geez this guy really didn't do any research'. Well I can tell you this much, Bit is only a criminal to the police he's probably not the Bit you remember but he's still good." (Jamie) "That's great but is that all." (John) "No, the next thing I have to tell you is give up." (Jamie) "Huh?! Wait!"

John had begun walking down the street when Jamie ran up to him. (Jamie) "Everyone keeps telling me to give up, why?" (John) "You got as far as finding out that Bit hangs out in this town and more specifically that old bar that's as far as most bounty hunters get and that's all the info you'll get." (Jamie) "Why?" (John) "This place may not look it but there are a lot of families here and the fact is every one Bit attacks are criminals and shady people so he makes people here feel safer than the police do, besides most kids know about Bit's past as a warrior and look up to him as a hero. Top things off most people here know him and a lot of the guys here have owed money to some of the guys he's killed so he's a god in there eyes. So just give up before you waste more of your time." John began to walk away again but suddenly turned around. (John) "Oh and if you're going to keep going on this you'll have to be sneakier." He turned back around and walked away.

Liger zero ran across the dessert as the sun was setting. The Liger's new black armor looked like a cross between the Jaeger and the Schneider.

Liger's head had armor that looked like Jaeger's but black and it had two yellow blades on the sides of it's head. The armor on the top of it's head looked like Schneider except the blade at the top was yellow. Liger's main body still had the parts that were painted white, like it's head and parts of it's chest. In place of Liger's old boosters were two cylindrical turbines with a metal mesh over the opening. In between the boosters was a rectangular box with a pipe coming out the middle, it was a small sniper rifle facing backwards with the barrel going down Ligers back. Liger had a set of blades just like Schneider's mid-back only they were black with yellow blades and the blades junction with the parts that connected it to the Liger's sides had thrusters on it. The armor on the "shoulders" and back legs were like Schneider's, the armor on the front legs looked like Jaeger's armor and the armor on the back legs looked like the basic Zero armor. Liger's old shock cannon had now been replaced, the new weapon looked like the shock cannon only with one barrel and a metal coil running along one side of it. Liger's tail mounted armor now looked like the one on Schneider only smoother and it had a white stripe going down the middle. The strangest thing about this form of Liger was that as it ran along the desert it hardly made any noise except for a few faint metallic sounds and the sound of the sand being displaced; this armor was built for a balance of power and to be stealth.

(Policeman) Bit Cloud freeze, you are under arrest! Liger stopped as a spot light was shone on it. Bit and Liger were surrounded by three Command Wolves, two Gordosaurs, two Heldigunners and three Terraces. (Bit) "Bastards." Liger quickly turned around and began zigzagging to avoid gun fire; Bit opened up Liger's back blades, fired up the turbines and boosters and charged at the two Heldigunners. The two frantically shot at the Liger trying to stop it before it got to them, Liger cut the two zoid's front legs and then made a diagonal cut up there mid sections slicing them in two. The Liger skidded on the sand as it stopped, using the momentum to turn around. Bit quickly put the blades away and started shooting at the Command Wolves now running towards him. The new weapon on Liger's under- side turned out to be a laser weapon that fired in energy pulses. The first Command Wolf fell as it was hit in the leg and caused the Wolf next to it to trip. The third one had it's gun blown off and as it stopped in alarm Bit shot it's mid section until it collapsed.

The area they had been fighting in had several large rock formations in it, which was how the police had gotten the jump on Bit in the first place. Bit decided to use the surroundings to his advantage. Seeing the Gordosaurs under a large rock, Bit shot the top of it causing boulders to crush the two zoids. Bit decided he'd get some use out of his sniper rifle and flipped a switch causing a targeting eye piece like the one in the Panzer to come out of his seat and the rifle to lift up and turn around. Bit took aim with the site and the rifle, which turned out to be on a pivot like the gun on the Shadow Fox, locked on to one of the Terraces. Bit took each of them out with one shot. (Bit) "Humph, serves them right, Wha...!" The Liger was suddenly rocked by a large explosion that just nearly missed them. A Gojulas, which had been hiding, stood a few kilometers in front of Bit. (Bit) "Nice try, but you missed and that was the only shot you'll get!" Liger Zero charged at the Gojulas with it's claws starting to glow. (Bit) "Now Liger, Strike...Laser...Claw!" Liger lunged into it's trademark attack aiming for the neck of the Gojulas. When the pilot looked back the Liger was behind it and his zoid seemed to have sustained no damage, he quickly turned around but was stopped when the Gojulas's head fell off. (Bit) "We're getting sloppy Liger; if those assholes shot at us in stead of showing us where they were hiding we might have been in trouble."

Suddenly several Terraces appeared over head. (Bit) "Shit they're persistent!" Liger turned around and started running through the rock formations with the Terraces trying to keep track of his position. Liger quickly ran behind some cliffs and the Terraces followed. (Terrace pilot) "What?! He's gone! Did anyone see where he went?" (Terrace pilot2) "Don't see em' sir." (Terrace piolt3) "Nothing here." (Terrace pilot) "Damn it! Fan out, I want him found." No sooner had the Terraces left then the Liger faze into view and let out a low growl. (Bit) "Idiots." The Liger disappeared again and, though it can hardly be seen, started running. The Liger was now capable of cloaking itself.

It was almost dark as the Liger approached the ruins of a purple Whale King that was missing everything but it's head and the end of it's tail. Bit ran into the mouth and jumped out of Liger's cockpit. (Bit) "Hey Doc, I'm back!" An old man approached and it wasn't Dr. Touros. (Layon) "Bout' time you get back."

S.D.: Bit's at Dr. Layon's! Dun, dun, dun, dun! Want more info on what's going on, well you'll just have to wait now won't you. Knuckles: That's all you're gonna say? S.D.: What else is there to say, the chapter's over I can't keep thinking of things to talk about, you're worse than my parents when I can't think of what to theme a birthday card after. Knuckles: Touchy today aren't we? S.D.: I'm sorry; it's been a rough week.