Chapter 6: We Never Dreamed to See
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"We were so close," said Tori's father in disappointment. "We need to get that zoid back."
"Do you know who was piloting it?" asked Tori. His father simply shook his head.
"I'm afraid I don't. You see, about a year ago, we got rid of that zoid. Or at least, we thought we did. Apparently, someone found it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was experiment Yami that was piloting that thing. He had taken a liking to that zoid and always spoke about how he'd pilot it one day."
"So then what was he after?" asked Tori.
"You've got me," shrugged his father. "I don't know what goes on in Yami's head. He was always quite confusing."
"Hey dad? Do you mind if I go back to my base and get my Lightning Saix?"
"Not at all, Tori." Tori turned and began to walk away.
"Oh yeah," he said while walking, as if just remembering something. "I don't really want to walk there, so I'll borrow your car."
"Tori…" warned his father.
"Thanks dad!" shouted Tori as he quickly ran and turned the corner disappearing from his father's angry glare.
******
"Hikari," said Leena. "Are you sure there's nothing you can tell us about that zoid?" Hikari simply lowered her head and shook it sadly. If they were able to understand her, she'd be able to tell them a ton of stuff, but they couldn't and she wasn't able to speak the same language anymore. 'I wish I could tell them what I know, even if it isn't much,' she thought sadly to herself. "Gomen ne," she said to them. I'm sorry
"Don't worry," said Doc. "It's not that important." Hikari simply nodded, even if she wasn't convinced. The door opened and Bit walked in, or more like limped in. He had sprained his ankle during the battle yesterday and was limping around instead of resting. "Bit, you're supposed to be resting," scolded Leena.
"I'm not tired," he complained. "What's the point in resting if I'm not tired? Besides, it's not like I got seriously injured or anything."
"Bit, you were thrown from the cockpit," pointed out Brad.
"He's right," agreed Jamie. "You can't expect to walk away with such minor injuries every time. I mean, you could have broken a few bones, but you only managed to get a sprained ankle."
"I don't think it's even sprained," muttered Leena, earning her a glare from Bit. Doc was currently on the phone with someone, but they didn't hear any of the conversation. Doc hung up the phone and sighed after his conversation, drawing everyone's attention. "So Doc, who was that?" asked Bit.
"That was one of the officers from the ZBC. They had no luck in tracking down the Kaijin," he told them. This news brought them all down a little.
"What about the Hero team?" asked Bit.
"The only one who was injured was their leader, Tai," recapped Doc. "He should be out in a few days. His arm was fractured, but that's about it."
"That's good to hear," sighed Bit. He then turned around and began to head to the hanger. "I think I'll get to work on Liger."
"I sent all the zoids to the shop in Temps town for a repair job," said Doc, causing Bit to pause in his stride.
"You're letting someone else work on Liger?" he asked Doc, sounding either disturbed or surprised.
"Bit, in case you forgot, the cockpit was practically destroyed," reminded Jamie. "We don't have the parts or the tools necessary to fix that kind of damage." Bit seemed a little disappointed, but he appeared to understand. He simply left for the hanger anyway. Leena decided to follow him. "Hey Bit!" she shouted as she ran down the hallway to catch up with him. He stopped and turned to her, waiting for her to catch up. "What?" he asked. She stopped when she was just a foot away. "I just wanted to say thank you," she said. He raised an eyebrow out of confusion.
"Thank me for what?" he asked.
"You took that hit," she told him.
"Of course I took that hit," he said, as if it had been the most obvious thing to do.
"But why?"
"It would have hit you."
"But still, why did you take that hit?"
"Because you could have been hurt. What? Did you want me to simply leave you there?"
"No, I just wanted to know why you did it." He turned away and began to walk towards the hanger. However, he still hadn't given Leena a direct answer and she didn't plan to leave him alone until she got one. "Come on Bit, I want an answer," she told him.
"For what?" he asked, slightly annoyed.
"Why did you take that hit?"
"I already told you."
"No you didn't. You simply tried to get around the question. Now I want an answer." He didn't say anything. "Come on." Still nothing. "I want an answer, Bit," she almost demanded. Apparently he couldn't take anymore, because he stopped, spun around, and faced her.
"I didn't want to see you get hurt, okay?" he yelled at her. "Now will you stop asking me?" He turned back around and continued towards the hanger. Leena stood there, slightly shocked at what she had just heard. He didn't want to see her get hurt? She hadn't known that he cared that much, or maybe it was just his nature. He was constantly trying to help people if he felt he should. Maybe he was just being a good leader, but she couldn't help but wonder about what he meant by it. She began to walk towards the hanger, since there wasn't much to really do right now.
******
"Sir!" shouted one of the ZBC officials. Their leader turned to face the man, a look of annoyance on his face.
"What is it?" he asked, uninterested.
"Someone took your car," said the man urgently, earning him a sigh from his leader.
"I'm aware of that," he told the man. "It was Tori."
"Your own son stole your car?" questioned the official.
"Is it that hard to believe?"
"Well…not really, sir."
"Just tell me when he gets back, alright?" Another man then ran into the office room.
"Sir, we have something on radar!" he exclaimed. "It appears to be a Lightning Saix."
"That's just Tori," said the commissioner of the ZBC. "Let him in."
"Yes sir!" Both men left the room, followed slowly by the commissioner. He walked towards the docking area where Tori would be stationing his Saix. Tori was just getting out of the cockpit when his father entered the room. "Hey dad, I'm back," he said.
"I can see that," responded his father. "Where's my car?" Tori froze and then put his hand behind his head nervously.
"Well, the funny thing is…I kind of left it back at my base."
"Tori…"
"Well, if you had just bought me a new one, this wouldn't have happened."
"You shouldn't have given away your jeep two weeks after getting it."
"Would you rather I gave away my Lightning Saix?"
"I would rather you not give away everything I send you. You're always doing that. And also, you're never around! Half the staff didn't even know I had a son, because they never get to see you. Even the media doesn't know your name!"
"That's only that one news station," defended Tori. "I've been in magazines before and on TV stations. Only that one place doesn't know my name, but they know I'm your son."
"Then why don't you start acting like it?"
"Because I'm sick and tired of the research you do here!" shouted Tori, their conversation turning ugly. Both were speaking with anger instead of modest insults.
"What do you mean?" asked the commissioner.
"I mean I'm sick of all these experiments, and project Mirai. You created Yami and Akari for that purpose and that purpose alone, but did you ever stop to think what they wanted? Maybe that's why Yami left. He knew what you intended to do and he wanted to live his own life. That's why he took the Kaijin from its resting spot and that's why he's trying to create his own Mirai with the help of Akari!" The commissioner said nothing to this outburst, because in all honesty, he knew his son was right. He sighed deeply, but said nothing. Tori wasn't done yet. "You played with their lives like they were nothing but experiments, but they were both living, breathing people! I know Yami was corrupt, but you're all partially to blame for his change! That's why I left, dad, and I would have taken experiment Akari with me if I wouldn't have been killed on the spot!"
"What do you mean? No one would have killed you," he told his son.
"Is that what you think? Before I left, the scientist in charge threatened me, saying that if I even tried to take Akari, I'd be killed instantly."
"I was never told this."
"Well, now you know," finished Tori, having nothing left to say to his father. There was no more time for words, however, because the sirens began to sound throughout the ZBC headquarters. Tori and his father looked around, wondering just what was going on. A few soldiers ran into the hanger area. "Sir!" shouted one of them, catching both Tori and his father's attention. "It's the Kaijin! It's approaching the city as we speak!"
"What?!" shouted the commissioner. Both he and Tori ran from the cargo hold, up the stairs, and into the monitoring room. Just outside the city was the Kaijin, walking across the sands, heading right for them. "Tori," demanded his father, turning to his son. "I want you to get out of here. Leave now!"
"Are you insane? I'm not leaving!"
"If you stay, you may get killed."
"If I leave, all of you will get killed!"
"Tori, this is an order!" demanded his father, turning his furious eyes to his son. "You have to live! If I die, I need you to lead the ZBC! Do you understand?" Tori said nothing. He simply turned around.
"Then…" Tori started quietly, "I'll make sure you don't die!" He ran out of the room and to the cargo hold. His father was simply staring at where his son was a second ago. 'That idiot,' he cursed mentally. 'A Lightning Saix can't take on a zoid like the Kaijin. He'll be killed!'
"Sir!" shouted one of the officials, snapping the commissioner out of his stupor. "Something's happening to the Kaijin."
"What?"
"It stopped advancing and appears to be…charging something." The commissioner's eyes went wide.
"Oh God…" he whispered.
Outside the city, the Kaijin stood, slightly bent over, its mouth open. A cannon appeared there. Light seemed to be getting pulled into the cannon, gathering inside. It was different from the charged particle cannon, but it was just as small. The eyes of the Kaijin began to glow a bright red before the cannon stopped charging. In a split second, the cannon fired, releasing a stream of bright yellow and blue light that was now heading right for the ZBC headquarters and the city around it.
The commissioner slid to the ground as the windows to the room soon were filled with a blinding light. "Why did we ever build something like that?" he wondered aloud. "Tori…I hate to admit it, but it looks like you were right this time. Maybe it would have been better if we had never tried to mess with the future of Zi. Project Mirai is officially over." The glass shattered and a huge explosion followed, devouring the entire building and half of the city around it.
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That's all for now^.^ More will come soon!
Bye until then!
And happy turkey day!