Chapter 7: But No Matter What Happens
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The members of the Blitz team were sitting in the living room of the base, watching TV. They had nothing better to do. It was going to be a slow day. However, their program was soon interrupted. "We interrupt this program to bring you an urgent message. We received word that an unknown zoid has just attacked the headquarters of the ZBC, located in the capital." All of the members were now wide eyed as they listened carefully to what this news woman was saying. "No one knows why it happened, but half the city is now in ruins. The dead and injured are still being counted. This is a very sad day indeed. The officials at the building are all dead…including the head commissioner of the ZBC, Jason Ragnarok."
"My God…" whispered Leena, completely blown away by the news.
"The leader of the ZBC…" started Jamie. "I can't believe he's gone."
"There isn't anything left of the building," continued the reporter. "All the officials were most likely killed instantly. This is truly a sad day. The commissioner's only son was reported missing. Some say they saw him leave right when the building was destroyed, but we aren't sure if he made it out or not. All we can do is pray. The black zoid that was reported just outside the city was gone by the time the other officials from neighboring cities arrived. However, a few witnesses say it was a dragon like zoid with red eyes. If anyone knows the whereabouts of this zoid, please contact us." Bit turned the television off. The room was silent as they all took in the news. The leader of the ZBC was gone and his son was missing. This didn't bode well for the ZBC as the peace keepers of Zi. Bit stood up and began to walk towards the hanger, followed by Leena. The new really hit them all hard. They were beginning to feel lost and weren't sure what direction this would all head in next. Having the commissioner of the ZBC taken out was like taking out the general of an army. Zi wasn't going to be the same now. Bit made it to the hanger and simply looked outside. The zoids had just been delivered back to the hanger and it was only mid afternoon. The day was already going by slowly. He walked to the open hanger entrance, which was basically that entire wall. He looked out at the vast desert and the blazing sun. Leena came into the room and stood behind him, watching the desert as well. However, something black soon appeared on the horizon. Bit squinted, trying to get a better view of it. "What's that?" he asked aloud.
"What's what?" asked Leena, coming up next to him. Bit pointed out into the desert.
"That thing," he said. Leena squinted as well, trying to get a better view of the moving black dot.
"I'm not sure," she said to him. Bit focused a little more and soon the black thing came into view.
"It's a Lightning Saix," he said to Leena, sounding slightly confused.
******
Doc, Jamie, and Brad all sat in the main room of the base where the video phone was. It began to beep, drawing their attention. It was different than most calls they got. This was simply a signal. Doc walked over and pushed a few buttons, brining up a map of the desert around them. The video phone operated in more ways than just its name implies. "What's going on, Doc?" asked Jamie.
"It appears to be a distress signal," said Doc.
"From who?" asked Brad. Doc hit a few more buttons and watched the screen. A Lightning Saix soon appeared in the corner of the screen. The outside cameras were watching it. "It's from that Lightning Saix."
******
Bit and Leena were still watching the Saix. It wasn't moving quite as quickly as it probably could. Bit watched it a little more, his keen eye sight missing nothing about the zoid. It looked familiar, but then again, most Lightning Saix looked the same. Still, there was something he couldn't shake about the zoid. The right front leg was sparking, which was near impossible to see, but Bit saw evidence of it. Blue sparks would occasionally shoot out from the leg. "Bit, Leena," said Doc over the intercom system. "There's a distress signal coming from an approaching Lightning Saix."
"Distress signal?" questioned Leena. "Why would it be sending out a distress signal?" As if to answer her question, the ground in front of the Saix exploded, revealing a Guysack. Above it flew a black Storm Sworder. A Rev Raptor came up behind it. "That would explain the distress signal," noted Leena.
"We gotta help him," stated Bit as he turned and headed for the newly repaired Liger Zero. Leena ran to her Gun Sniper and got in. The two of them were soon off, heading out to help the Lightning Saix.
******
The black Storm Sworder in the sky began to let loose hundreds of bullets which rained down on the Saix. It tried to run, but the Rev Raptor fired at its injured leg, taking it down. In the cockpit, the delinquent son of the late commissioner sat at the controls. He was breathing heavily, his black hair matted to his forehead. He had a large cut running down the side of his face and his arm was cut in various places. He looked around, watching as the three zoids got closer. 'I wonder if they work for the Kaijin,' he pondered. The Guysack prepared to fire, its cannon aimed straight for the cockpit. Tori's eyes widened as he saw this. He pushed the eject button, but the system was jammed. He quickly removed the harness and pried the cockpit open enough for him to jump out. He made it out just as the gun fired, the cockpit exploding and the glass raining down on him. However, he quickly got up, clutching his arm, and ran, heading for the base in the distance. He soon saw two zoids approaching from it and he began to feel relieved, but a sharp pain in his back soon washed away all hope he had. The sand behind him exploded, the flames of the explosion pushing him forward and blowing him off his feet. He hit the ground hard and cried out. He couldn't move and he noticed that the sand was slowly turning red under him. He still got up and kept running, trying to make it to the zoids in the distance. However, he was soon thrown forward as the tail of the Guysack hit him from behind. It was a light hit, however, and was not intended to kill him. He rolled for a few feet and then stopped, his face down in the sand. He struggled to get up, but he gave up and fell back down onto the sand. He moved just a little so he could see what was happening. All three black zoids were behind him, ready to kill him. His vision began to blur as darkness began to grip at his mind. They were all ready to fire at him when a white blur, followed by bullets, pushed the three zoids away from him. He watched as a white Liger and a loaded Gun Sniper appeared, facing down the three black zoids. It was at that time that he lost consciousness.
Bit and Leena charged the three black zoids. The Storm Sworder took off, but Leena saw it and fired before it could pick up enough speed. It was out. "Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Bit as he ripped apart the Guysack. Both he and Leena shot down the Rev Raptor. They both smiled at their victory. Leena looked to the downed Saix. "Man, they really did a number on this zoid," she said, looking at all the damage.
"You're telling me. They really intended to kill that pilot," said Bit, opening the cockpit on the Liger. He jumped out and walked to the injured pilot of the Lightning Saix. Something about the man was familiar. He wore a dark blue shirt, white trench coat, brown pants and black boots. His clothing was ripped and there were bloody spots all over his back from debris and glass that had cut into him, but most of it had just grazed him. He didn't appear to have any of the pieces still imbedded in his body. Bit looked down at the man's face, but he couldn't see much of it. However, he soon put the face with a name, but was still unsure if that was who this man was.
"No way," he said in shock. Leena had gotten out of her cockpit and was walking towards Bit. The blond kneeled down next to the injured pilot. He turned him over so that he was on his back and Bit recognized the man instantly as the person who had saved his life out in the desert. "Tori!" he exclaimed.
"Who?" asked Leena, looking at the injured Saix pilot.
"His name is Tori. He saved my life."
"When?"
"Remember that day I came home late? You know, when the Liger Zero had all those scratches on it?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, I may not have come back at all if Tori hadn't found me in the desert." Leena looked over Tori. He had quite a few injuries and a serious head wound.
"Bit, we need to get him back to the base," she said, her voice sounding slightly urgent. "Some of those wounds are pretty serious."
"I know," said Bit, scanning Tori's many injuries. 'Why were they after him?' pondered Bit. 'He's just some guy living out in the desert. Who would want to hurt him?'
******
It had been two days since they found Tori and he wasn't awake yet. All his wounds had been treated and he was placed in the medical vicinity. He was lying on the bed peacefully. Suddenly, his eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry at first. He blinked a few times to put his eyes in focus. He was in a hospital like room. He slowly sat up, taking note of the pain that shot through him. He finally managed to sit up and began to look himself over. His shirt was hanging on the end of his bed. His chest was wrapped with bandages and so were some places on his arms. He reached up and touched the bandages around his forehead. His legs were probably bandaged as well, but he was wearing his pants, so he couldn't see them. "Where…am I?" he asked aloud. He just sat there for a while, pondering his whereabouts and trying to recall exactly what had happened.
"Hey," said a familiar voice, brining him away from his stupor. His eyes landed on the blonde, green eyed Bit Cloud.
"Bit," he said, his voice sounding shocked. Bit simply nodded to Tori. "I didn't know this was your base."
"Well, it's a good thing you came out this way. You were almost killed out there."
"It looks like this time I owe you."
"We'll just call it even," said Bit with a smile, returning Tori to his optimistic appearance. Leena walked by the door and noticed that Bit was talking to Tori. She stopped and entered the room. "Good, you're awake," she said, catching both boys' attention.
"Tori, this is Leena," introduced Bit.
"Hi," said Tori. Doc, Brad, and Jamie entered the room then. Tori simply smiled. "Hello," he said to all of them. "I really owe you all for doing this for me."
"Just what were you doing out there?" asked Jamie.
"I was trying to find some help because I had gotten injured, but those zoids were following me. I ended up heading in this direction and luckily I found your base." Tori noticed that Doc Toros was staring at him, as if studying him.
"It's strange," said Doc. "I know I've seen you somewhere before, but I just don't remember where." They were all staring at Doc strangely. His eyes wandered to a small stand that had a few magazines on it. He smiled and then went over to them. He dug through them and soon found what he was looking for. He opened to a page and smiled. "I knew it!" he exclaimed. He held open the magazine and showed them the page. There was a picture of Tori on it in an article. "You're a researcher," he said to Tori.
"Right," said Tori. "I was a researcher. Two years ago, I quit working for the ZBC and chose to live out in the desert at my base, but my father kept sending me things." Tori tried to get up, but pain soon shot through his back and he winced, deciding to stay sitting on the bed. "Do you need anything?" asked Bit.
"Some water would be nice and maybe something to eat," said Tori.
"I'll get it," said Jamie. Brad went with him.
"Do you have any idea why those zoids were after you?" asked Bit. Tori simply shook his head, but his eyes said different, which was what Leena noticed.
"You're lying," she stated, drawing both Bit and Tori's attention.
"What?" asked Tori.
"Don't think I can't see it, mister. You're lying. You know very well why they were chasing you. Tell us."
"I…"
"Come on, out with it!" she demanded.
"Tori, are you keeping something from us?" asked Bit. Tori simply turned away from them.
"Tell us!" shouted Leena.
"Yeah, tell us," added Bit.
"Leena, Bit, leave him alone," demanded Doc, his voice sounding urgent and excited. "Do you two have any idea who this man is?" Doc had just finished reading the article where it told more about Tori. The young man currently had his head down. Leena and Bit were both confused.
"I guess you'd have found out sooner or later," sighed Tori. "My full name is Tori Ragnarok, Jason Ragnarok's son." Both Bit and Leena were shocked beyond words. Brad and Jamie returned and noticed the odd state of shock that both Bit and Leena were in.
"What's going on?" asked Brad.
"You're…you mean…" stuttered Leena. Tori simply nodded.
"I'm the commissioner's son," said Tori. Jamie and Brad were both shocked now. "I wasn't planning on telling you, because I knew you'd treat me differently if you knew the truth."
"But if you're his son, then why did you leave the ZBC to live out in the desert?" asked Bit.
"I had my reasons."
"Could you tell us what happened?" asked Doc. "You were present during the attack yesterday, weren't you?" Tori simply nodded.
"It was the Kaijin," he said plainly. "It came and destroyed the entire building, along with half the city. It's strange. I didn't leave in my Saix to escape the explosion but to fight the Kaijin head on. It turned out that my 'arrogance' actually saved my life this time." He paused and then smiled. "As soon as my Saix is repaired, I think I'll go back to the capital. The first thing Dad will say is probably 'where's my car?'." This sent everyone into a state of shock and pity. 'He doesn't know,' was the one thought on all their minds. The question here was: who was going to break the news to him?
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The next chapter will be un on the 24th, so look for it^.^
Until then, Audi^.^