Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to take so long. I apologize to those of you who may still be reading this. I hope there's at least one of you still out there. To make up for my lack of being here, I've written a very nice, long chapter. Okay? Okay, so here we go. I hope you enjoy, and to those of you who celebrate it, happy Thanksgiving!

I don't own Zoids, so there. Ha!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone had gathered into the large conference room at the base, now awaiting the message they had been called there to receive. Apparently, their general wanted to discuss something with all of them. It had something to do with an experiment he had been working on. He hadn't bothered to tell anyone what it was yet, so they were all hoping that that's why he called this meeting. Hopefully they'd get to see just what the big deal was.

Eventually, Rainer made his way in and walked over to the podium. The entire room fell silent, everyone's eyes now on the young general. Many couldn't help but notice that he looked a bit different than before. He had such a bright smile on his face, and his eyes seemed just a bit lighter in both essence and color. No one could quite put their finger on it, but there was indeed something different about their leader.

"Hello," he greeted with a smile. "I'm glad you all came. I have a very important announcement to make, and I want you to know ahead of time that I'm not making any of this up. It may be a bit hard to believe, but believe me when I say I would never lie to you." He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, deciding to get on with the reason as to why they were here. "I'm sure a lot of you know that I've been working on a rather complicated experiment. It was one that my father began, and now I've finished it. It's a very complicated machine that has the ability to…well, for lack of a better phrase, it can stop time." He received a few murmurs with that. "What this means is that it can stop the aging process. It can keep someone at the prime age of twenty-one, assuming they aren't already past that point in their life."

"How's that possible?" asked someone in the crowd. "How do you even know it works?"

"That's simple," smirked Rainer. "I've already tested it…on myself." He just smiled more as the crowd began whispering things, none of which concerned him much. "Let me explain just how this works. I've invented a certain type of drug that can alter the flow of brain waves. While under the influence of this drug, a machine is used, one that changes the electrical pulses in one's brain, trapping their body in an altered state. The second they are to reach the age of twenty-one, they'll stop aging. However, it does more than just that. Everything, your senses, reaction times, your awareness in general, is enhanced. Piloting a zoid will become easier. It'll almost be like an extension of your body." There were a few more whispers before Rainer cleared his throat and continued. "Many of you may be wondering just why we're doing this. Well, I want to preserve our warriors, because this war could go on for a while. I, personally, wanna see this thing through to the very end. I want to be there when the last member of the Dark Blazers falls. I wanna be there…when we win this war."

Everyone in the room took a moment to think this over. Was their general insane, or was everything he had just said the truth? Had he really invented a machine that could stop the process of aging? It was obviously safe if he was still alive, so in theory, there was no downside to this. Nothing had happened to him. Rainer was fine. Hopefully that meant that the rest of them would be alright too. However, this was only in theory. There was no telling what could actually happen. However, every person in that room shared the same view as he did. They wanted to be there to see the end of the war. They wanted to participate in actual zoid battles. They wanted to see the survival of the ZBC. It was important to them all.

"If you'd like to participate," began Rainer, directing their attention towards the far wall, "then please sign your name over there. I'm hoping for a good turn out, but remember. No one above the age of twenty-one can participate. That is all." And with that said, he left the room, leaving his zoid warriors to choose what they wanted to do. Hopefully he'd have a good list to choose from. Also, there were three names he was hoping to see on his list. They were the three people he wanted to fight along side. They were the only friends he had, and he wanted to stay with them. If they became agents, then there'd be no problem.

----------

"No," stated Taban as he took the pen out of his sister's hand. Risai scowled deeply, reaching for the writing utensil.

"Come on, Taban," she pleaded. "I wanna sign up."

"Not until we're a hundred percent sure that nothing'll happen," he stated, tucking the pen safely in one of his pockets. "I thought we already went through this? I told you that you have to wait."

"But you and Miharu signed up, so why can't I? You're not leaving me out."

"Just be patient, alright? I already told you that as soon as we're sure it's safe, you can sign up." Risai just crossed her arms and gave her brother a very displeased glare, one he only gave a sigh towards. He just turned around and began to walk away, leaving his sibling to fume over her dilemma.

"Stupid Taban," she muttered, followed by a few unladylike insults. Miharu just laughed a bit, placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Don't be mad at him," she said sweetly. "He's just concerned. You're all he has, remember?" Risia just sighed deeply, dropping her crossed arms.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to lecture me, but how do you think I feel? I don't want you guys leaving me behind."

"Wow…" they heard a familiar voice say. They both turned and saw Rainer standing there. They hadn't even heard him approach. Maybe that was also part of being an agent. "That's a lot of people." He just turned and gave them both a smile. "There's already over a hundred."

"Rainer," began Miharu, snapping him from his happy trance. "You are gonna test this out before experimenting on all these people, right?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you mentioned before that anything from age to gender could be a problem. What's the age limit?"

"I'm not exactly sure yet, but don't worry. We'll figure it out as we go along. I'm sure nothing bad'll happen. I mean, the only worst case would probably be a cold or something." He just gave them both an overconfident smile. "Don't worry. No one'll die or anything. It's simple. It either alters your brain waves or it doesn't. You either become an agent or you stay a normal human. That's all." He began walking away, heading back towards his office.

"He's too cocky," stated Miharu. Something tells me that this isn't going to go according to plan.

"You worry too much," stated Risai as she began walking away as well. "Rainer built the machine. I'm sure he knows what he's doing. He's still alive, after all." Miharu just watched as Risai disappeared amongst the crowd of people. It looks like Rainer's not the only one who's cocky. Hopefully this'll all work out. I don't wanna know what'll happen if it doesn't.

----------

Two days later, people were lining up for the process to become one of Rainer's glorified agents. They flocked in, all under the influence of the self made drug. Now it was time to see just what this was all about. It was time for the limits of his machine to be tested. Hopefully nothing bad would happen to any of them. He was trying to enhance his force, not weaken it. Besides, he didn't need anyone's death on his hands. However, each and every person standing there knew the risks involved. They knew the possibility of death was a real threat. They were still willing to do it though. Immortality had always been appealing, and now that they had a way to reach it, to preserve their youthful selves, they would take whatever risks necessary to obtain that. Humans were power hungry creatures, and Rainer himself was no excuse.

"Strange," said Taban as he and Miharu walked out of the laboratory. "I thought it'd at least hurt a little, but I didn't feel anything."

"Yeah, I know," she agreed, playing with the pair of sunglasses she had been given. She put them on, just for kicks. "How are we sure it even worked?" Taban stopped abruptly and turned to face her, causing Miharu to freeze in place. She just stood there, staring at him for a moment. He was standing just a little too close. He reached up and took the sunglasses from her, peering into her eyes. A smile crossed his face.

"Your eyes changed," he told her. Her now cerulean eyes widened a bit when she noticed that Taban's once green eyes had also become a rather pure blue.

"Amazing," she whispered, watching as Taban's lips curled into an even larger grin. "They really suit you."

"Thanks…"

"Hey!" called Rainer as he came strolling down the hallway, seeming to be in one of the brightest moods possible. Both Taban and Miharu turned to face him, and he stopped for a moment, looking a little startled. "Um…did I interrupt something?" Taban and Miharu quickly realized just how close they were standing and instantly pulled away, seeming just a bit embarrassed.

"No, nothing," responded Taban.

"You sure seem in a good mood," pointed out Miharu, and Rainer's smile returned.

"It's going perfectly. We're getting such great results. How could I not be pleased? Sure, some people aren't affected at all, but just as many are a success. At this rate, we'll have the most powerful army that Zi has ever seen!" And with that stated, he turned down a hallway and began on his merry way, still indulging in the joy of his project.

"He's too cocky," stated Taban, drawing Miharu's attention.

"My thoughts exactly," she agreed. "I get the feeling that something's going to happen, but hopefully I'm wrong." Taban just nodded in agreement. He wanted everything to go just fine, because he wanted Risai to go through this as well. He wanted her to stay with them. She needed to stay his little sister forever, and this was the only way for that to be possible. He didn't want anything bad to happen to those people in the laboratory. Hopefully everything will go okay. Hopefully…

----------

Rainer heaved a deep sigh as the last of his pilots went through the experiment. There weren't any more names on his list. He could finally shut the machine down for the night. However, just as he was about to, he heard a knock at the laboratory door. He quickly walked over and opened it. A smile crossed his face when he saw Risai standing there.

"Hey," he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much," she responded as she stepped into the room. Her eyes quickly landed on the machine for the agent project. A sly smile crossed her face. "I was actually wondering…if I could use that." Rainer followed her sights and saw that she was talking about his machine.

"Your name wasn't on the list," he told her, as if asking why.

"Yeah, well, Taban wouldn't let me sign up until he was sure it was safe," she explained. "And it obviously is, so can I?"

"Well…" he began, seeming just a bit skeptical. She was probably their youngest pilot. He wasn't sure if it'd work or not.

"Please Rainer?" she pleaded, turning around and giving him her best puppy dog eyes. He couldn't help but smile, heaving a small sigh.

"Very well," he replied. "Come on. It won't take long."

----------

The next day came around faster than any of them expected, and Rainer was once again floating on cloud nine. He was incredibly pleased with the turnouts of his experiment. It had worked on so many people already. Maybe the few it hadn't worked on were having delayed reactions. If that really was the case, then it would just float him higher than ever. Nothing was about to shatter his little world…at least not until he saw Gordon running down the hallway.

"Sir Rainer!" called the captain in worry. When he finally reached the young general, he began panting, as if he had just ran through the entire base.

"What is it?" asked Rainer, unable to keep the worry and anxiety out of his voice. Something really had to be bad if Gordon looked this upset. The captain was never frantic unless the problem was severe.

"You have to see this! Come on!" Gordon grabbed Rainer's wrist and began pulling him down the hallway. They were heading towards the rather large medical vicinity in the base. Gordon threw open the door to the infirmary, and what Rainer saw had him paralyzed with fear. It was like a war zone in there. The nurses and doctors were all in a frenzy, running from one side of the room to the next, trying to take care of the next to fifty people present in the room.

"W-what's going on?" he asked, recognizing quite a few of these men and women. They were all from the agent project.

"We're not sure," responded Gordon. "Sometime this morning, all of these people began feeling sick. Some have slipped into commas, others seem to be suffering from something similar to the flu or pneumonia. And then…others…" Rainer heard what sounded like a heart monitor suddenly hit a flat line, and his eyes shot over to it. The nurses were doing all they could to revive the man, but nothing was working. One of his soldiers had just died.

"But this…this can't be…" he began, taking a fearful step back. "I…I did this." Gordon turned around to face his general, his own eyes filling with pity for the nineteen-year-old. "My project…it's killing them. This is all my fault, I…" Something else quickly pulled at his mind, and he felt his heart lock up a bit. "Taban and Miharu…are they…?"

"The two of them are just fine," he explained. "They're in the smaller medical section, doing what they can to help. There are two others who seem to be fine as well, one girl and one guy. I also sent them to the other infirmary." His expression fell a bit as he once again turned towards the room. "It seems…that those who were already twenty-one weren't able to handle it. That man, Toran, I think, was the only one. It seems that this relies on more than just age and gender. Body build, immune systems, blood type…there are so many other deciding factors. So far, however…anyone below the age of seventeen hasn't survived."

A choked sounding gasp came from Rainer's throat as his whole body suddenly froze on him. Risai… Rainer suddenly turned around and broke into a sprint, heading far away from the medical room. He had someone he had to find. He had to make sure that Risai was alright. He wasn't even sure if the agent project had worked on her. Her eyes were already that deep cerulean blue. How was he supposed to know if she was in any danger now or not? If she wasn't, he'd look pretty stupid in a few seconds.

When he finally reached her room, he quickly threw open the door, not even bothering to knock.

"Risai!" he shouted, startling her just a bit. She was currently in the process of making her bed, but she stopped the instant she saw Rainer.

"Hey," she greeted, pushing aside a strand of her long blue hair that had decided to fall before her eyes. She seemed almost oblivious to the way Rainer was panting, to the look of fear etched on his face. "Good morning." Rainer didn't respond at all. He was still trying to catch his breath, hoping that his heart would stop racing. He really had been scared for a moment. He had been afraid to find her like all the others. She was one of the only friends he had, and he didn't want anything happening to her.

"Thank God," he whispered, allowing a small smile to cross his face. "You're alright." She just gave him a rather confused stare, and he just smiled more. Thank God. Taban would've killed me if anything had happened.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him curiously. Rainer wasn't usually so shaken up.

"It's nothing," he lied. "Don't worry."

"Okay," she said as she went back to making her bed, her long hair once again pooling over her shoulders and finding its way to her eyes. Rainer just smiled as he watched her for a second. For fifteen, she sure is cute…good God, what am I thinking?! He just shook his head and began to leave the room, but the sound of something breaking quickly caught his attention. He glanced back and saw Risai standing by her desk, her hands placed against it, as if for support.

"Risai?" he questioned.

"I'm okay," she assured him, flashing him a small smile. "Just a little dizzy is all." She stood up again, and tried to take a step forward, nearly tripping over her own two feet. Rainer just stood there, watching as she steadied herself out, placing a hand to her forehead. There was sweat beading down from her temples.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, fearing the answer.

"It's…it's really hot," she told him, her eyes barely able to stay open anymore. The world around her felt like it was spinning, and she couldn't take it. She allowed herself to slip into darkness, wanting nothing more than for the pain in her head to go away.

"Risai!" shouted Rainer as he ran in just in time to catch her. "Risai? Hey, wake up!" He shook her a bit, but nothing happened. She didn't respond. "Come on…you gotta wake up. Risai? Risai!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, that was a nice, long chapter. I have to say I enjoyed writing this one. It was interesting. Well, please remember to review! Bye until the next time!