Sorry for the wait people...I was setting up a Broadband connection and my PC was offline for a week.
Oops. I seem to have an annoying habit of forgetting to put in a disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids or any other anime/movies etc. that pop up in chapters from time to time.
Review responses will be at the end of the chapter.
Also, the rest of the fic will be in Ari's POV. I have decided that this is a minor AU, since I just saw the final episode of Fuzors and the ending is a bit different to what is meant to happen in my fic.
'Ari to Zoid is in single quotes'
(Zoid to Ari is in brackets.)
Hybrid
Chapter One: Break – In Time...
I woke the next morning to find Fox tearing apart another wild Zoid.
In this case, it was a Rev Raptor.
"Was" is hardly an adequate description, as by now the only thing that even remotely resembled a Rev Raptor was the head, the rest being mainly scattered bits of circuitry and armour. Fox, being the untidy Zoid that he is, was munching on a section of Zoid, sweeping the leftovers into what he evidently considered to be a "tidy" pile of junk.
I suppose, since he is my best (and only) friend, and that no one else will have known of him till now, the Arctic Fox deserves an introduction. Well, he's pretty much just a silver version of the Shadow Fox, except he can absorb pieces of other Zoids (and he has some awesome weapons, but I'll go into that later). The good thing is that I can absorb some energy from the Zoid core. The downside is that all the drained cores have made an awful mess outside our cave. Then again, that's Fox's fault – I'm a hunter, not a janitor.
I sighed. "Fox, don't you think it's time we moved?"
"You've gotta be joking," Fox commented with a snort. "We only moved two weeks ago and now you want to move again?"
"Either that or be buried up to our necks in junk."
Fox swept his paw, knocking the junk down a deep hole in the ground. "Problem solved. Anyhow, have you decided on where we're going next?"
After explaining to the (somewhat peeved) Ultimate X, I spread my wings and took flight, soaring through the air. The base I had spotted wasn't too far, and it only seemed to be guarded by electronic alarm systems. Probably security cameras too, not that it made any difference. These stupid mortals put too much trust in their security systems.
Hang on, where did that comment come from?
I must have been hanging around Yami Bakura too much. Damn that tomb robber.
Argh, now I'm starting to sound like that porcupine – headed Pharaoh.
(A/N: I need to stop watching so much Yu-Gi-Oh...)
Right, then that's settled, I thought with a sigh. I'll just path (another word for sending a telepathic message) Fox and Liger and tell them my plan.
'Fox? Liger? You guys listening?'(Switched on and at full alert, came the reply .)
'Good. Listen, I'm going to fly over and grab some power. If anything happens, I'll call, OK?'
(Yep,) Fox pathed.
(Roger that, O your Royal Highness,) came a rather sarcastic quip from the Energy Liger. Even though we were kilometers apart I could feel Fox rolling his eyes. OK, so Zoids don't have eyes, but you know what I mean.
'Later guys.' I blasted up the boosters and sped at top speed towards the building.
Savage Hammer was having a rather uneventful day.
After the whole mess had been cleared up, the Zoids repaired and Blue City rebuilt, no-one had challenged them to any battles.More specifically, no-one in Blue City had so much as battled an unmanned Zoid, let alone had a proper battle. They still hadn't gotten over the events of a few months back.
That uneventful day was soon to become rather interesting, and it started when I broke in.
Heating the glass of a second-story window so the sealing popped, I removed the panel and dropped it to the ground. Not the quietest I'd ever done, but it was a good distraction and besides, it didn't look like there was anything to worry about.
Just how wrong can one Zoidian be?
I waited outside for a while to make sure the alarm hadn't been set off. As I hovered by the window frame, I opened the locket I wore around my neck. It was black metal, with a dragon etched into the front. Inside was a picture of one of my closest friends I had had at school – a dark eyed boy with red-brown hair like mine. What was his name again? I think it was Blake or something like that, I can't really remember. I wonder if he still remembers me. He was probably worried sick after I disappeared on him like that.
(Hey Ari, concentrate will ya? We don't have all day.)I frowned. 'How did you know I wasn't concentrating?'
(I can see you from the top of this hill.)
'Oh.' I smacked my forehead before climbing in and glancing around. It seemed like I was in a storage room. Not that there was much being stored, but then I'm not exactly one to talk. I don't have anything to store.I put my ear to the door and listened. It didn't sound like there was anyone there, so I stepped back, then launched a flying kick at the door and smashed it to pieces.
Okay, half of it to pieces. Whatever.
Too late I realized I should have been quieter, as footsteps echoed down the hall.
Oops.
Turning around, I dashed down the corridor, skidding on the floor as I stopped, then hid in a room. Opening an air vent, I crawled in, folding my wings and tail so I had room to move as I set off down the pipes.
After about five minutes, I found another vent panel and looked through.
I had arrived at the power source already.
Maybe some good luck is coming my way after all, I thought hopefully, loosening the panel. Unfortunately it hit the ground before I could catch it, making a loud clang. If I strained my ears I could just make out the sound of footsteps.
Or maybe not.
Jumping down, I absorbed a small amount of power, enough to boost my speed, and ran out the door right when two Savage Hammer members came round the corner.
Leaping over their heads before they could react, I sprinted off at top speed, only stopping to check a map Fox had just sent me.
From where I was, I needed to take two lefts, a straight, a right and a left to get to the nearest escape route. I dashed off, skidding more than once on the linoleum floor as I rounded corner after corner. Spotting the final bend up ahead, I put on an extra burst of speed and was almost there when I hit something. For the sake of proper English, it was actually someone, and he looked familiar...almost like...
No way.
It couldn't be Blake.
Or could it?
The answer evaded me for a moment as I slid backwards across the floor.
Again, I know. How these people manage to stay upright on it I have no idea.
I sat up, looking for whoever I hit. It was definitely him. Not that he looked thrilled to see me – for a start I looked totally different – but I knew it was him.
Before I could say anything the other two caught up and hit me with a tranquilizer.
As the world faded away, I could have sworn I saw the Blake I remembered from ten years ago watching...
3 reviews?! That's the most I've ever gotten for a chapter.
Damn-my-name-was-taken: Thanks! Hope you stuck around to read this chappie, 'cause it's not quite in the same mood as the first one.
Final Genesis: Yeah, it really does make ya wonder "what the heck is the POINT?" sometimes. Pity it was so short.
Bluefly7: Then you might not like this chappie, I'm not sure if this counts as a cliffhanger.
By the way, I am starting my own website for anime info (hopefully) and I need some assistance with episode guides, character bios etc. If you can help, email me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Anyways, review this chapter and tell me what you think!