Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids.
Chapter 2: We Meet People
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"Well, this is as far as we'll go," said Tori, getting out of the jeep.
"You sure you don't need this?" asked Bit, still sitting in the drivers seat.
"I already told you that you could have it. I'll just buy a new one."
"Well, alright." Tori smiled and began to walk off. "Bye," said Bit. Tori turned and waved.
"Bye," he responded. Bit then turned around to face the steering wheel. He started the jeep up again and soon drove off, leaving the city. It was getting late and would soon be dinnertime. Bit knew he had to make it home before then.
"What a day," he said to himself as he drove through the desert. He replayed the events in his head, marking this day one of his strangest for a long while. It had been a year since the defeat of the Backdraft group. Everyone was relaxing now on the planet Zi. Zoid battles had returned to normal and there were no longer unsanctioned battles. Everything was just normal. Not boring, but normal. Once he was sure the car was balanced, Bit began to remove his bandages while keeping his eyes on the road and driving with his knees. He undid the ones on his hands and then the one on his forehead. He discarded them on the desert sand. "No need to get caught with these. The team'll throw a fit and ask me a ton of questions." He grimaced at the thought. He quickly shrugged it off and kept driving.
******
It was nearing 1800 hours at the Blitz team's base. Everyone was wondering where Bit was. They were all starting to assume the worst about their teammate. All of them were waiting in the hanger.
"It's almost time for dinner," said Jamie. "Where's Bit?"
"Who knows?" said Leena, seeming uninterested. 'You better get back soon,' thought Leena. Just then, the sound of a car could be heard. They looked out into the desert and saw a jeep coming towards them. It soon drove into the hanger and parked near the Liger Zero. Bit opened the door and got out, sighing afterwards.
"What a pain," he said to himself.
"Bit!" yelled Leena. Bit turned to look at her as she ran up to him. "Where were you?" she asked, her anger covering the fact that she was happy to see him.
"I was just driving in the desert, looking for parts. Why?"
"Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Uh…it's late?"
"It's almost time for dinner."
"Oh no!" exclaimed Jamie. They both turned to look at the frantic boy. "I left the food on the stove! It's gonna burn!" He turned around and ran out of the room, heading towards the kitchen. Both Bit and Leena sighed and then began to follow. Bit was happy that the conversation hadn't elevated. He didn't want anyone to know what really happened, because they'd make a fuss over it. Not to mention they'd find out that the car had been destroyed and that this one wasn't really theirs. He was just trying to avoid a complicated matter. They both arrived in the kitchen just as Jamie put out the food. He managed to save it from burning and now it was time to eat. Bit smiled at all the good-looking food. He hadn't even eaten today and this was exactly what he needed to feel better from his exhausting experience.
******
The sun was setting, painting the desert sky a beautiful blend of reds, oranges, yellows, and purples. The desert was just as vast as ever and just as empty, except for a weary traveler. Walking through the desert was a young girl. Her arms were wrapped about her small waist. Her body was covered in scrapes and scratches, some worse than others. She was dressed oddly for someone who would be wandering the desert. She had on an orange halter-top, which was actually more like a shirt and a dress combined. A golden sash was wrapped around her waist, separating the skirt from the top. There was a golden chocker around her neck, connected to the halter-top. There were sleeves connected as well, but they left her shoulders bare. They were a metallic blue color. There was a golden band on each of her elbows. Under the skirt was a pair of Capri pants. They were a metallic green with a gold band on each knee. Her boots were high heeled and a dark pink. Around her head was a bronze circlet with a mauve colored stone in the middle and two connected to two red ribbons that flowed down the sides. Her hair was silver and hung to her shoulders in messy locks. Her bangs were all different sized and a longer piece hung down to her nose. Her eyes were a metallic purple, but they seemed quite weary right now. She was limping from what looked like a twisted ankle. Around her neck hung two dog tags, each imprinted with something too small to read from a distance. She was panting from exhaustion and eventually stopped walking. She closed here eyes and collapsed onto the sandy ground.
******
The members of the Blitz team were in the hanger, working on their zoids. The Liger Zero was kind of beaten up from Bit's earlier encounter. Nobody bothered to ask about it though. Suddenly, the Liger Zero shook his head and roared. He nearly knocked Bit off of his platform.
"Liger? What's the deal?" asked Bit, slightly annoyed. The Liger Zero just roared again. Bit listened intently to what the Liger had to say.
"Hey Bit," said Brad. Bit turned his attention to Brad, who was standing with Jamie and Leena on the ground.
"What's wrong with the Liger?" asked Jamie.
"I'm not exactly sure. He says that there's someone out in the desert not far from here."
"Reall? Who?" asked Leena. Bit just shrugged.
"You got me. He says we should go and get them." Bit jumped down from the platform.
"Are you going to?" asked Jamie. Bit just shrugged.
"I don't know. It seems kind of strange to me." The Liger Zero gave an annoyed roar to his pilot. "Alright, alright, I'll go, just stop nagging me." Bit began to walk towards the jeep.
"I'll go with you," offered Leena. She walked over to the jeep as well and got in. Bit started the car and they were off, heading into the desert. They drove silently for a while. "So, where is this person?" asked Leena.
"I don't know. Liger said they weren't far from here. I wonder how he knows."
"Same here." They drove for a little while longer until a figure could be seen up ahead. "Stop the car," said Leena. Bit did so and they both got out and walked over to the figure. It was a silver haired girl. She was unconscious and full of scrapes and cuts.
"We should take her back to the base," said Bit.
"Yeah," agreed Leena. They both helped pick her up and set her in the back seat of the jeep. After getting back in, they were off, heading back to the base.
******
Her violet eyes slowly opened and focused. Her surroundings were new and highly unfamiliar, but she didn't mind. She was just happy to be alive, or perhaps she was just confused. She just lied there, not sure what she should do. She seemed to be lying on a bed in a nicely lit room. It looked like a medical room. She lifted her hands slowly and brought them towards her face. She noticed that they had been bandaged. She touched her face and noticed a few more bandages. 'What's going on?' she thought to herself. 'Where am I? What am I doing here? What happened? I can't remember.' She tried to think back to how she had gotten to the desert, but she was coming up with a blank. 'Why? Why can't I remember?' The door to the room then opened and five people walked in. She watched them as they walked over to her bed.
"It's good to see you're awake," said Doc. The girl didn't say anything, she just stared at them.
"What were you doing in the desert?" asked Leena.
"And how did you get those cuts?" asked Bit. She still said nothing. Her eyes glanced around at all of them.
"What's wrong?" asked Jamie, wondering why she wasn't speaking. 'What should I say?' she thought to herself. She tried to open her mouth to talk, but nothing came out. She seemed shocked. 'I…I can't speak. Why? Did I…forget how? I just need to focus. I have to say something.'
"Well, aren't you going to answer?" asked Brad. The girl closed her eyes and sat up. She looked at all of them, a look of sorrow on her face.
"Gomen," she said. Sorry
"Gomen?" asked Leena.
"Hai, gomen." Yes, sorry They all just stared at each other and then at her. 'Did I say something wrong?'
"What's 'Gomen'?" asked Bit. The girl stared at all of them strangely. 'They don't…understand me? I don't understand…I didn't used to…speak this way. Why can't I remember the words that they use? Why can't I form the sounds…what's wrong with me?' She closed her eyes and grabbed her head.
"Itai," she whispered. It hurts The pain was too much for her.
"Is something wrong?" asked Jamie. She looked up at all of them and nodded. She didn't bother saying anything. She wouldn't be able to speak to them anyway. After a while, her headache ended and she once again focused on all of them.
"Let's start with an easier question," said Doc. "What's your name?" 'My…name?' She thought about it. 'What was it? What am I called?' Leena then approached her and sat down next to her. She noticed the dog tags before, but didn't get a chance to look at them. She lifted one up and read off the only word imprinted on it.
"Hikari," she said. The girl stared at Leena, wide eyed. 'Hikari? That word…my name.' The girl nodded. "So your name is Hikari?" She nodded.
"Hai. Hikari desu." Yes, I am Hikari They all stared at her, confused.
"This may take a while," said Jamie. "She doesn't seem to speak our language." 'I do! I just don't remember how!' screamed Hikari. How she wished she could speak to them so that they'd understand her. She sighed out of frustration. He was right. This would take a while.
"Hikari?" questioned Doc. She turned her attention the Blitz team leader. "Do you understand us?" Hikari nodded once, still looking at him. They all seemed relieved.
"Maybe this wont be so hard," said Bit. Hikari smiled slightly. Her stomach then made a rumbling noise, which she was sure they had all heard. She blushed, slightly embarrassed. They all laughed.
"I guess you're hungry," said Leena. Hikari only nodded shyly.
"I'll go make some soup," said Jamie. He then left the room and headed towards the kitchen.
"You rest here, Hikari. We'll sort this all out later," said Doc as he and Brad both left the room. Leena then stood up and walked over to the door, followed by Bit.
"We'll come get you when the soups done," said Leena. Hikari nodded and then lied down. Leena and Bit left the room.
"What a strange girl," said Bit. "I wonder where's she's from."
"Same here. That outfit she's wearing is unlike anything I've ever seen. I wonder why she's wearing so many gold bands. And those dog tags sure are strange. Not many people wear them."
"I know. We'll have to ask her later. Maybe we'll be able to find a way to talk with her."
"I hope so. I wonder what happened to her."
"Well, there's no use wondering about it. We'll find out eventually."
"You're right," sighed Leena. "Let's go back to the hanger. You didn't finish working on the Liger."
"Yeah," said Bit in a dazed tone. 'I wonder how Liger knew she was out there. I'll have to ask him later.' And with that, they walked off to the hanger to work on their zoids.
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Um…okay, I translated for Hikari with these things. I promise stuff'll pick up eventually.