Cracked Facets
by Tremor3258
Disclaimer: Zoids fic, set in the Battle Stories box-info universe. Basically, that means REALLY long war, Prozen head of an elite set of fighters with the really weirded out Guylos Zoids... Liger Zeros an Berserk Furies showing up on the front lines... final battles involving the rush to Deathsaurer... and everyone exhausted afterwards.
Basically, sans Van, a much more drawn out war to the knife... This is a character study of a very strange character, definitely a villain, for a series I may do set in this same timeline.
Tal patted his Helcat, his partner, his ally, his confidant, his weapon, on the leg with fondness. "So, we going to go out there and kill a lot of Helics today, huh?"
His Zoid's happy roar... eager to be used for its purpose, to move and react with speed it couldn't get on its own, was echoed by organic throats. The tall man winced at the cheers from the rest of 'his' squad behind him. He turned and silenced them with a glare. "They're not dead yet," he said cooly, "Make your final checks." They saluted cheerily and turned back to their machines.
His words weren't for them, and it really bothered him that a perfectly good lunatic statement like that was met by such a howl of adulation. Psychosis shouldn't be patriotism. I fact, Tal should never have been put in the position he was in to be... broken the way he was. But war put the demands on even the least of men. And he was not the least. No, he was good at it... Rage guiding his hands better than any training. Rage at himself, rage at his squad... and rage at those in front of him for being weak and easy targets. His actions, he was told, saved many lives. And they could say it, with a straight face! Absolutely insane!
Yet, even if Tal was bothered by his squad's actions, it wasn't like he could stop his own. Blood on the hands, even figuratively, meant another ghost in between him and The Day. The shakes stopped.
It was Prozen, probably. The man was crazier than Tal was. Tal KNEW he was crazy, and like a dog, he knew his own kind just as well. Only in that man's army could Tal cheerfully describe exactly what he liked to do to an enemy over a beer... and get extra rounds ordered for him off another's tab.
The Helcat grumbled a bit, shifting. It was an older model... with more to it than just the thoughts and feelings first programmed in. Tal approved. When they got old enough, and you spent enough time behind the control stick, you'd swear they could talk. And if they could talk, they had souls. And by driving THAT soul to the breaking point, he'd take many others of its kind with it, doing what the Helcat did best. And that sort of slaughter would keep the last soul whose departure had touched him away from his dreams for a week, perhaps two. Yes, Tal patted the Helcat's leg fondly indeed...
The Zoid purred, and Tal smiled at that. Zoids and humans, working together. That was the promise of Zi. Perhaps its curse, as the power inherent to the inhabitants became clear. Their purposes coincided... death, from the shadows or from surprise, or even from the front lines. One day, it would awaken... then a while later, it would realize what it was... and Tal would gladly send it ahead of him to the Abyss to prevent another from looking into a mirror and see a murderer staring back at them.
"Finish it up ladies... there's a Helic battalion whose commander's head Command wants on a platter. See how many body parts you can render him down to... the fighters on this front have been getting too effective lately, and a demonstration will make our jobs easier next time," Tal ordered, and didn't allow himself a beaming smile at their enthusiastic cheers until his cockpit. Lunatics, every last one of them.
War makes heroes, or monsters. Sometimes of the same men at the same time...
Yeah, it's short, but I wanted to get back in the writing game. And short monologues are relatively easy.
There may be a series with this. I've sort of got the outline in my head. Post Helic-Guylos war, naturally. Last remnants, old wounds to be healed. Might be great if I can find the time.
Well, please Read and Review!