So So So Sorry! I didn't mean to take this long. I was looking at how long it's been, and it's been too long. I'm really sorry about making you guys wait. I've just been a little busy lately. That's all. I also haven't been motivated to write much of my fanfics. I'm focusing a lot on my original stories lately, cause people are really really pushing me to write more of them. I'm currently doing a third one.
I have to use something else for a break, since the stars won't appear anymore. So, I made it look like railroad tracks.
Disclaimer: Anyway, you know the routine, right? I don't own zoids. Happy now?
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It was a beautiful day with the sun high in the bright blue sky. Puffy white clouds floated aimlessly, taking pleasure in the slow, uneventful day. It was a day for relaxing, for taking the time to smell the flowers. It was the perfect day for zoid warriors to take a break from their rather busy and somewhat routine lives.
"Hurry up!" shouted Naomi Fluegel as she stood atop a small hill. Next to her was Brad Hunter, a smile on his face as he watched the people below them. They were all walking, taking their time to make it up and over the hill. There were eleven of them currently. Some were taking longer to make it up the hill than others. Doctor Toros reached the top next, followed by Jamie, who had gotten stuck carrying the large picnic basket they had brought with.
Ever since the war ended, the Blitz and Fluegel teams had been getting together at least twice a week, schedules permitting. The Fire Star team did their best to make it out as well. Usually none of them had a problem with the get together times. Everyone was usually there. All of them had gotten to be close friends. It was hard not to be after all they had gone through within the past few years.
The Fire Star team walked up the hill, smiles on their faces. Mattei was talking to Meiyuu, who began to laugh. Rick just smiled sheepishly, seeming a little embarrassed about something. It didn't seem like anything had changed amongst them. Rick and Meiyuu were still engaged, and both were as happy as ever.
Following them were Leon and Risai, who walked normally, smiling and talking. They were the only couple out of the group that wasn't engaged, but it only made sense. They had only been together since the war.
Leena and Bit were probably taking the longest to get up the hill, even though they were trying to race each other to the top. Every time one of them would advance, the other would pull them down to the ground and run ahead. It was proving to get them nowhere fast.
After what felt like forever, everyone had reached the top of the hill. They looked out at the landscape beneath them. They were walking through a beautiful plain of grass and flowers. There were a few brilliant trees standing amongst the mass of grass. They'd probably pick one of those to sit under, needing the shade from the sun. Everyone began making their way down, going carefully so as not to fall. Bit nearly lost his footing but quickly regained it.
"Be careful Bit," said Rick with a smile on his face. "You wouldn't want to trip and fall now, would you?" Before Bit could respond, he was knocked over by the red headed boy. Everyone proceeded to laugh as Bit rolled down the hill. Meiyuu looked to Leena who simply nodded, a smirk upon their faces. They both got the message. Both of them walked behind Rick and shoved him forward. He began rolling down the hill as well, and they all just laughed harder.
When both boys ended up at the bottom of the hill, Bit was glaring at Rick who was glaring at Leena and Meiyuu. Both girls just smiled innocently, trying to contain their laughter. Yeah, some things never changed.
As they all walked over to one of the large trees, the girls began to set up for a picnic. They laid out the blanket, took out the food, and got everything placed where they wanted it. The guys just lounged around and watched. There wasn't anything else to really do. This was a day for relaxing. It was a day where none of them had a battle to go to.
Now that it was all set up, it was just a matter of waiting. After all, there were two very important people that were missing.
"Where are Taban and Miharu?" questioned Mattei as he came over and sat by his future sister-in-law.
"They had to go see General Jordan about something," said Risai as she sat down. "They should be here soon." As if on cue, two figures appeared on the hill.
"Hey!" called out Taban as he waved to them. He and Miharu began to walk down the hill. "I hope we're not too late, since I see that Bit is already stuffing his face." Everyone looked to Bit, who was indeed stuffing his face. He had a sandwich in one hand and a bag of chips in the other, not to mention the fact that his mouth was full. Leena snatched the bag of chips away from him, earning her a mock glare from her fiancée.
Taban and Miharu came over and sat down on the red and white checkered picnic blanket. Now that they were no longer agents, they were engaged. It made sense, since they had been together for longer than any couple. The rules had been the only thing keeping them from making it an official relationship.
They all sat in silence for a while as they began to eat, but Risai couldn't help but ask. She wanted to know where they had gone and what the general had said.
"Why did you go to see Charles?" she asked them. Taban and Miharu both stopped eating, looking to each other before turning back to Risai. Taban sighed as he set his food down. He really didn't want to rain on their parade, but this kind of news couldn't be kept from any of them.
"You know the rumors?" he began. "The ones about someone escaping from prison?" They all nodded, waiting for him to continue. "Well, we went to check up on that."
"And?" questioned Brad as he quirked an eyebrow.
"The rumors are true," said Miharu as she lowered her head. "And the man who escaped was Toran." Those who had been eating nearly choked on their food. Everyone's face paled as that name fell from Miharu's lips. They all went silent, letting the information sink in.
"You're serious?" asked Leena, the horrors from that fateful year playing over in her head. Toran had put them through hell, and now he was back.
"No one knows where he is right now," began Taban. "If anyone of us sees him, just run. We're not going to get involved with him again if we don't have to."
"But we took him out last time," said Bit. "We can do it again."
"You're forgetting something," said Miharu. "We were agents back then. We're not quite as strong as we once were. Toran is still the same. He's still an agent, and a powerful one at that. If he gets a hold of the Rector, there's no telling what may happen."
"He'll probably search us out," said Taban as he crossed his arms, an all knowing look upon his face.
"Well, this is a cheery conversation," noted Naomi as she picked up a sandwich.
"Can we please just not think about it right now," said Risai. "We're supposed to be relaxing. Once we know more about what he's doing, we'll figure something out." They all nodded in agreement and went back to eating.
"So Rick," began Leena, looking over at the redhead. "We saw your battle yesterday." Rick nearly choked on his sandwich. There was a sheepish and very embarrassed look upon his face.
"Could we please not talk about that either?" he begged. Too bad. It didn't work.
"No way!" shouted Leena. "It was hilarious!"
"What happened?" questioned Leon as he looked over at the nervous redhead.
"First off, we lost," said Mattei. "Meiyuu was taken out and then I was taken out, and Rick was the only one left. However…" Mattei began to laugh as he thought back to about what had happened. "Rick froze his own system. The enemy didn't even have to shoot him!"
"How'd you manage that?" questioned Taban.
"Well," began Meiyuu. "This idiot decided to fix his zoid after it had been broken into many pieces. He apparently didn't set the guns up right, because when he fired one, it shot back at him." They all began snickering. "He completely demolished the gun and put a huge hole in his zoid.
"Shut up!" yelled Rick. "It's not that big of a deal!" His outburst didn't stop their laughter.
"That sounds kind of like Bit back when we first started," pointed out Jamie.
"Yeah…" said Bit, "whoa, wait, what!? I never did that."
"No, but back then, you couldn't aim a gun," pointed out Leena. "During that battle with Naomi, you couldn't even hit her when she was standing still."
"Hey, we won that battle!" he defended.
"By fluke," stated Leena. By now they were in each others' face. Yeah, some things just never changed.
Later in the afternoon, everyone had returned to their bases. Currently at the Fluegel base, Risai was the only one home. Taban and Miharu had gone out to find information on Toran. Brad and Naomi had gone out simply because, and Leon had a few errands to run. Risai had decided to stay behind at the base.
Life had been good recently. For the past six months, everything was going perfectly. Not to mention that there were weddings that needed planning. They had decided to have all of the weddings back to back, separated by about two to three week periods. Taban and Miharu were going to have their first, and if everything went according to plan, it would happen in about three months. Then Brad and Naomi would have theirs. After that would be Rick and Meiyuu, and then Bit and Leena. The weddings would be so beautiful. It was stressful to have to wait so long.
Risai sat down on the couch, looking around the place she now called home. It reminded her of the way she had once felt at her apartment back when she had lived with Taban. They had spent a lot of time there. That was before the first war, the one that had changed her life. There were still times where she wondered what could have been. Maybe if things had turned out differently…
She shook her head. Everything was fine now. Life couldn't be better. She had a great zoid, a wonderful team, the best of friends, and the perfect boyfriend. Everything was currently right in her world. Nothing would ever change that.
The doorbell rang, and she hopped to her feet. She ran across the room to the door. She wasn't sure who would be coming to visit, since everyone had left only an hour ago. She slowly turned the doorknob, pulling open the door.
"Hello?" she questioned as she opened the door fully. When she looked into the face of her guest, her heart stopped. All the color quickly drained from her face, leaving her a ghostly white. Her eyes were wide, swimming with emotions as memories flooded her mind. Things she wanted to forget. Things she had thought were lost. It all came back in an unstoppable torrent of deep bewilderment. She grasped the door, needing it for support. Her knees were buckling, and she thought that she may faint. She tried telling herself that this was a dream, a figment of her imagination, but something in the back of her mind disagreed. She wasn't allowed to go into denial. Her well trained subconscious wouldn't let her.
"My God…" she whispered as she felt something twist inside her stomach. Life was about to get really complicated really fast.
The boy in her doorway stood with a smile on his face, his deep blue eyes shining. They were the same eyes she had once seen in her nightmares…the same eyes she had once gotten lost in. One inaudible word escaped her mouth as she desperately kept herself out of the darkness of unconsciousness.
"…Rainer."
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Well, I'm sure a few people saw that coming, ne? Things are about to get complicated…
Anyway, I will again apologize for not keeping a promise. I've just been so caught up in everything else lately.
Well, I hope this was good for you. I'll put up more when I get it written. Summer is coming up, and it may be easier for me to write then. Or it may get harder…I don't know yet.
Anyway, I'll see ya later!
Bye!