Hi. It's been a while, ne? Actually, it's only been about a month, which is a lot shorter of a time than the last time, right? Anyway, it's my holiday update this time. I do one every year, and it'd feel awkward if I skipped it, so I'm gonna force myself to get into the mood of writing. A good song would help. Too bad I don't have any (suppose I could listen to "Evolution" a few more times. Ayumi never disappoints, and since I can finally sing along with, it's even better. for those who don't listen to J-pop, "Evolution" is a song by Ayumi Hamasaki, and the chorus goes by so fast that it's hard to hear what she's saying. One really must give her props for that song. She doesn't take a single breath during those Chorus sections, and the words are so fast! It took me a long time before I could sing it, and I'm still not completely there)

Anyway, enough about that. It's time to get on with the story.

Disclaimer: Is this even necessary? Isn't it obvious that I don't own Zoids? If I did, then my life would be so much cooler than it is…even though I really do love my life. However, I do own the Agents and the Fire Star team, both of which I'm happy to claim.

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Taban sighed for about the tenth time as he stared down at his food, most of which he hadn't even touched yet. He just wasn't that hungry even though coming here had been his brilliant idea in the first place. He just wasn't in the mood to eat right now. There were too many other things on his mind. He had a lot to deal with, and the biggest problem wasn't even the reappearance of Toran, although that was the main reason as to why he felt so downhearted. The biggest problem wasn't that serious, really, but it was a lot to think about. His whole group of friends, minus his sister and Leon, were engaged. They had four couples who were all getting married relatively soon, and the weddings were about two weeks to a month apart. How were they going to pull that off?

"Taban?" questioned Bit, snapping him from his small stupor. All three of his companions were currently staring at him. They all seemed a bit concerned. "Something wrong?" He forced a smile to cross his lips.

"Nothing," he responded as casually as he could. "Just thinking." They all seemed a bit reluctant to accept his answer but did nonetheless. As they all went back to eating, another sigh escaped his lips, and he turned his attention to the window. There were a lot of people out right now. Most of them seemed to be running errands in this small town, one that wasn't overpopulated by skyscrapers and factories. This was just a nice, quite, slightly old fashioned town.

Just as Taban was about to slip into another of his stupors, something outside caught his eye. A man had just passed by the window, a very familiar man. Taban blinked hard, but when he opened his eyes again, the man was gone. Had he just been seeing things? That was a possibility considering how distressed he was right now, but why would he hallucinate that certain person? He hadn't seen him in over a century. That couldn't have been…Rainer? I must be going insane! Maybe I need to just go home and get some sleep.

"Taban?" questioned Miharu, noticing the bewildered expression on her fiancé's face. Taban just turned towards her, looking just a bit shocked.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" she asked, concern hanging in her voice. Taban just once again flashed a smile.

"I'm sure," he responded. "Just thought I saw something, that's all." This was getting a bit ridiculous. He decided that it was time to stop thinking for a moment and eat something. He was going to call it a day after their early dinner and get to bed right when he got home. He needed a good night's sleep if he was going to keep searching for Toran not to mention help plan four weddings, one being his own. Life was just getting so complicated all of a sudden, and knowing their luck, things would probably get worse.

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Leon heaved a small sigh as he tried to balance the bags he was carrying, praying he wouldn't drop them. He had had to run a few errands, because once again, they were out of food. This had never been that big of a problem before, but now that they had four more people living with them, that was three times the food they usually bought. What he had right now would probably only last about two days, and then he'd have to take another trip into town to buy even more. He didn't mind all that much though, but he was starting to wish that he had brought someone with to help him. Risai wasn't doing anything, so he probably could have asked her to come with. He wasn't exactly sure why he hadn't. She had said she was a bit tired, so he hadn't pushed the situation any.

Leon was just now approaching the center square of the city, getting into the area where a lot of small street venders worked, when he heard what sounded like a street stand collapsing. His attention was quickly drawn towards a crowd that had gathered. They were standing around, watching a current situation play itself out. Leon wasn't quite sure just what was going on, but it was easy to tell who the good guy was in this scene. On one side stood a group of men, a local gang he had heard a bit about. They would occasionally rough someone up on their way through the streets. The police had yet to do anything about them. However, it wasn't their group that was getting the brunt of the attention. Most of it was focused on a man that stood on the other side.

Leon could already tell that this guy wasn't normal. The way he stood gave that away. His hands were tucked in his pockets casually, but he stood rather straight, as if he had once been a soldier. There was a cross between a scowl and signs of boredom on his face. However, he was obviously serious about whatever it was he was doing. Behind him stood a woman and her child, people who had obviously been abused by this gang on the other side of the area. This would definitely be interesting to watch. After all, the members of the gang were at least twice as big as this one man was. However, something told Leon that this boy clad in black and blue wasn't to be taken lightly. His cerulean eyes held a certain self confidence that wasn't found in most people. However, he knew he had seen eyes like that before. They were rather familiar, a very clear shade of blue.

"Get outta the way," snarled one of the gang members, most likely their leader. "We aint got time to waste on you."

"Funny," began the man, an amused smirk on his face. "That's usually my line."

"Just who the hell are you?" asked another man.

"Rainer," he answered. "But that doesn't really matter. My name's not too important anymore."

"Just move, or we'll make you!" Rainer just laughed a bit and stood proudly, that cocky smirk still on his face.

"Go ahead and try," he told them. "We'll see how far you get."

Leon was really wishing he could hear what they were saying. Whatever this blue haired man had said had obviously been some kind of insult, because the members of the gang began charging towards him. How was this one guy supposed to handle all five of them? Sure, he had a noble reason what with protecting a mother and child, but was he insane? Or maybe he really was stronger than all of them. It was hard to tell. He seemed so confident.

As the first man swung a punch at Rainer's head, he ducked, avoiding the fist by a mere centimeter. He then spun and sent a kick into the man's side, sending him down to the concrete of the street. As the other four men charged him, he lowered into a fighting stance, probably deciding to take this seriously. He couldn't risk letting the people in the crowd get hurt, so he had to take care of this as fast as he could. However, he was unaware that some of the gang members were currently moving through the crowd, trying to get around behind him.

Leon pushed and shoved his way towards the front of the crowd, wanting to see exactly what was going on. He wasn't usually interested in simple street brawls, but something about this man seemed familiar. As he watched him fight, he couldn't help but feel that he had seen that style before. Not to mention that the clothing this man was wearing was highly similar to what the agents used to wear. The way he fights, his style…it's like Risai's. He watched as Rainer beat down a few more men, still unaware of the three that were moving in from behind. The crowd seemed to be unaware as well. That or they just didn't want to warn him. Maybe they were too scared, but the men had now made their way behind him, and he hadn't noticed yet.

"Behind you!" called Leon, catching Rainer's attention. The agent quickly spun around and delivered a hard kick to one of the men. As he was sent flying backwards, Rainer quickly dealt with the other two, dodging punches and kicks from them both. Leon just sighed, happy to see that he had helped this man. After all, he was fighting for a noble cause.

As soon as all of the men were taken care of, Rainer heaved a deep sigh, happy to finally be done with the gang. Man, that shouldn't have taken so long. Guess I'm a bit rusty, but I suppose that happens when you're asleep for a hundred years. He quickly turned towards the mother and daughter he had just saved. He flashed them both a charming smile as they stood up.

"Thank you," said the mother. Rainer just gave them a large, somewhat goofy grin.

"Aw, it was nothing," he responded. "I was happy to help." The woman just thanked him again and then left with the dispersing crowd. Rainer just smiled more and began glancing around. He had someone to thank, and his eyes quickly found Leon. He was just starting to leave.

"Hey, thanks," he called out, stopping Leon in his tracks. "Guess I wasn't paying close enough attention."

"No problem," Leon responded, and in reality, it really had been nothing. He had just given a warning.

"Still, I appreciate the help. No one else would've said anything." Rainer just gave him a smile, but it quickly fell a bit. He stared at Leon curiously. "Strange, you look kinda familiar." Leon just stared at him a bit blankly. He was pretty sure he had never met this man before. He would remember someone with a hair style like that. "Oh well, doesn't matter. Thanks again!" And with that said, Rainer began walking away, disappearing in the sea of people.

Leon just stood there for a moment before turning around and leaving, heading back towards his car so he could get back to the base. He had already been gone too long for just running errands. However, he was happy he had stopped. It felt good to help people out. However, there was something about that man that caught his interest. He had been dressed like an agent, and his eyes were almost the same as Risai's, and then that fighting style…however, Toran was the only agent left, and that man hadn't been Toran. Hopefully Taban and Miharu had found something out about their old adversary. They had to take care of him before he got his hands on his zoid. After all, an agent piloting an ultimate X wasn't a good thing, and he was probably stronger than ever. Being in prison could do that.

Leon decided to just stop thinking for a while, realizing that it wasn't going to get him anywhere. It was stupid to worry about something that could possibly never happen. He had a lot more to focus on right now, like his team's upcoming battle. Hopefully they'd be ready. They couldn't afford to lose any battles. After all, if they lost a simple zoid battle, then how would they ever be able to stand up to Toran?

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Rainer opened the door to his current residence, a place he would probably eventually call home. It's not like he had anywhere else to go right now. He was currently hoping that his "roommate" wasn't home, because he really didn't need to be seen in such a depressed state. He went over and flopped down on the couch, heaving a deep sigh. One hundred years had really changed a lot of things. He had been hoping that the agents would have at least stayed the same, but he had been wrong. Now he felt like a huge idiot for going to see Risai. He would leave her alone now, however. He would have to. She had a new life, one free from the ZBC. She had no more attachments to her past life. To her, he was dead, and he probably always would be.

"Hey," greeted a low voice, one that emanated from the doorway to the kitchen. Rainer lifted his head and met the face of his roommate. There was a smirk on the man's face. "So, how'd it go?"

"The address was right," began Rainer. "I found her, but…"

"But what? Wasn't she happy to see you?" Rainer just laughed a bit.

"I wish," he responded as he sat up, sighing yet again. "She's moved on. To her, I'm dead. She has friends, a team, and even a boyfriend. There's no room in her life for me."

"But she's an agent," began his friend. "There's rules…"

"Not anymore," began Rainer sadly, his eyes slowly sinking to the tan carpeted floor. "Risai, Taban, Miharu…they're not agents anymore. They were changed back."

"How…?"

"Rose had a machine that did it. I guess that means that she's not an agent anymore either." His roommate didn't say anything. He just stared at Rainer, still in slight awe from what he had heard. Not agents? Rose's machine? Does that mean…damn…so she failed. I should've known better than to leave her in charge.

"I guess," began Rainer as he ran a hand through his spiked hair, "it's just you and me now. We're the only ones left…" He raised his head and smiled a bit, but it was obvious that it was forced. "Just you and me…right…Toran?"

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Well, that's all for now. Merry Christmas, happy holidays! (I wish you all a happy holiday, whatever you may celebrate. May your celebrations be cheerful. I'll try to update again soon, okay? Until then, I'll be seeing ya! (and incase you wanna know a bit more about the agents, I do have a prequel up. It's called Uncivil War, incase you're interested.)

Bye for now!