Hello again. First off, this chapter is a little short, k? Also, it may explain a few things…or just confused you more. Or perhaps it'll do neither. It all depends^.^
I hope you don't mind all the Japanese I put into my fic. I'm very good at the language, and I know enough of it to get by. It's not all that hard to learn. Spelling the words is difficult occasionally, since there isn't an actual spelling to any of them. And some words, such as the words "run" and "no" have multiple words in Japanese.
All the words are in the index, so look there to see what they mean.
Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids, so don't sue me.
Chapter 11: But it doesn't matter
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Everyone stood in shock and fear as they stared at the fearful black dragon zoid and its genetically superior pilot. Kageru wore a proud smirk on his face, his attention focused on Hikari. She was trembling under his gaze.
"Omae wa…Kageru," she said unevenly, her eyes wide with fear. "Doushite? Why are you here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he questioned smugly.
"Kageru!" shouted Tai, drawing the man's attention. "Where are Ayame and Toru?" Kageru crossed his arms arrogantly.
"Don't worry," he told Tai. "Your friends are safe…for now." Tai clenched his fists.
"Damn you," he cursed quietly, glaring in hate at the man and his dragon. Kageru looked over all of them, his eyes landing on Tori. His smirked dropped a bit as he glared at the son of the late commissioner.
"Hello Tori," he said rather plainly. "I see you're still alive. Too bad I can't say the same about your father." Tori clenched his fists tightly, his anger escalating.
"Kageru!" shouted Bit, drawing his attention.
"Bit Cloud, was it?" he asked, his smirk returning slightly.
"What do you want?" Kageru quirked an eyebrow at the question. He put a finger to his chin, as if in deep thought.
"Good question," he began. "What do I want?" He looked to Hikari and flashed a toothy smirk. "I want experiment Akari."
"Too bad," said Leena harshly. "We're not giving you Hikari."
"I never said anything about you giving her to me," he corrected. "I will have her no matter what." He turned back to Hikari, his voice now softening. "Akari, did you know that they lied to you?"
"Nani?" she questioned softly.
"Your purpose," he began. "You were created as a weapon, a source of power for the zoid I am standing with. This zoid is the most powerful creature on this planet. You were created to help me use it to make a better future. The perfect future…without the human race, the zoid race…without the planet. That's the future we were created to create."
"Uso yo…you're lying, you have to be," she stated. "We were created to protect Zi, not destroy it. You're wrong, Kageru." Tori came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, and he simply nodded. They came to a silent understanding.
"Zanryuu, Hikari," he whispered to her. She nodded and watched as he stepped forward.
"Tori?" questioned Jamie as his eyes followed the young commissioner.
"What are you doing?" asked Brad. All eyes were on Tori as he approached Kageru and the Kaijin. As he stared into the red eyes of the dragon zoid, he began to feel nostalgic. A strange familiarity swept over him, and he found his set path harder and harder to walk. He came to a stop, pulling his eyes away from the dragon zoid.
"What is it Tori?" asked Kageru, his smirk still intact. "Is there something you want to ask me?"
"Why?" questioned Tori softly. "Why did you…have to kill them?" Kageru frowned, putting on a face that showed his distaste and disgust.
"Why?" he questioned mockingly. "Because of what they did to me. You should know, Tori. You were there. Through all those years, you were there, watching. You saw how they used us, experimented on us. We were created by them to be their slaves, to operate the Kaijin under their control. We were treated as machines, not people."
"That doesn't…" he began loudly, but his voice quickly softened. "That doesn't justify…what you did. You killed so many people…so many…people." He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his skin. "Kuso! It isn't fair!" A roar came from the Kaijin, drawing his attention. He looked into its red eyes, and the feeling of familiarity returned, overwhelming his senses. Kageru took the opportunity to pull out a gun from a holster at his side. He smirked as he aimed it towards Tori.
Everyone tried to move, taking a step forward, but Kageru turned his icy glare to them, removing his sun glasses to reveal his cold silver eyes.
"Don't move," he warned them, and they complied. There was nothing else they could do. Kageru tilted his head to the side arrogantly. The Kaijin's eyes lit up, and it swung its tail around. It came in contact with Tori, knocking him off his feet. He was sent to the side, but he was quickly hit again, sending him back to his starting point. He cried out each time. He hit the ground hard, but slowly began to push himself back up. His body still hurt from his old injuries, and now it ached from new ones.
"Tell them, Tori," said Kageru, drawing the boy's attention. "Why don't you tell them the truth?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Bit, switching his focus between Tori and Kageru. The man just smiled, not answering Bit's question.
"Tell them the truth, Tori. Tell them why I have the Kaijin." Tori was now on his hands and knees, his attention aimed towards the ground.
"Tori?" questioned Hikari softly. "What does…he mean?"
"Tell them, Tori," demanded Kageru. Tori sighed out of desperation and shame, his eyes taking on a painful look. Realization hit him at that point, and he knew he had to tell them the truth.
"I…it's my fault," he stated softly. "I'm the one who gave Kageru the Kaijin." Shock washed over them all as his soft confession reached their ears. He glanced back at all of them, his eyes stopping on Hikari. She looked more surprised and horrified than any of the others.
"Doushite?" she questioned softly. Tori turned away from her.
"I was mad at my father," he explained. "I was angry at them all for continuing with project mirai, even after the Kaijin was hidden away. They still wanted to go through with it. About a year ago, Kageru approached me. He said he was only visiting. We were talking about the project, and he mentioned something about the Kaijin, that it was still around. Father had said that we destroyed it, but he was wrong. I told Kageru where the location was, because I…" He closed his eyes and clenched his fists angrily. He lifted his head and glared at Kageru.
"What's wrong, Tori?" he asked mockingly.
"I trusted you, you temee! I thought you were going to go back to the labs, that father wanted to try and salvage the Kaijin! You only wanted it so that you could kill people!"
"Disgusting," said Leena. She was met with agreement from them all.
"Tori…" began Kageru. "Thank you for this zoid. If it hadn't been for you, I never would have found it again. The Kaijin is my birthright and no one else's. It belongs to me." The members of the Blitz team allowed their eyes to stray from Kageru. Two people were missing. Tai and Kyouri were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey Jamie?" questioned Leena in a whisper, drawing the boy's attention. "Where's Tai?"
"I don't know," he responded.
"Kyouri is gone as well," pointed out Brad.
"What?" questioned Bit. A loud roar was their only response. From Tori's base came a Dark Spiner and a Storm Sworder. "What are you doing?!" shouted Bit, but his voice went unheard. Kageru just smirked as the Kaijin came to life without him being in it. Two cannons appeared on the shoulders. One aimed towards Tai and the other towards Kyouri, who were now charging forward. Two shots. Two shots were all it took, and both zoids were down on the ground. Kageru had predicted their movements before they could get out of the way in time. However, had it really been Kageru? He wasn't even in the zoid. The Kaijin seemed to be in control of itself.
"Stay put," demanded Kageru, returning his attention to Tori. The boy was still staring at the massive dragon before him, somewhat entranced by it.
"Does the Kaijin seem familiar to you, Tori? More so than it should?" he questioned. Tori didn't respond as he got to his feet. Kageru just smirked as he saw the confused look on the boy's face. "You know Tori, Hikari's memories weren't the only ones that were locked away."
"What?" he questioned.
"That machine was used on you as well." Tori's eyes widened slightly. He couldn't remember a single moment where he had used that machine. According to him, his memories were all there. "There's a reason, Tori, that your father was unable to destroy the Kaijin. How do you destroy something that's alive? Something with a will to live?"
"Alive?" questioned Bit disbelievingly. "Just what do you mean?"
"The Kaijin is alive; a living, breathing entity," stated Kageru proudly.
"That's impossible," said Tori. The Kaijin's eyes began to glow a blood red.
"Is it, Tori? I suppose no one ever told you…probably because Korran and myself were the only people who knew."
"Knew what?" Kageru's face twisted into a sick smirk. He was enjoying every second of this.
"There is blood running through the Kaijin's veins…your blood." Tori's eyes widened, along with everyone else's.
"What?" he whispered in pure, utter shock. Hikari turned her attention to the young commissioner. That's what she had seen. She could remember it all now. She had been forced to watch them do it. She had seen them strap Tori down to the chair, binding his limbs so he couldn't escape. It was always on a day where his father was gone. They had jabbed him with needles, wires, stuck tubes into his body, leaving scars near his veins. They would take what ever they could, draining his life from him, but never going far enough to kill him. They repeated it so many times, always keeping him conscious. She had been forced to see it too, to listen to his screams.
Hikari slammed her hands over her ears, trying to rid herself of the images. She couldn't take it any more.
Tori fell to his knees in complete shock. He couldn't say anything, do anything. It's not like there was anything he could do anyway. Kageru only laughed at the look on their faces.
"Now that you know, do you understand? Do you ever feel tired for no reason? Every time you get hurt, do you collapse from headaches or nausea? When you lose blood, do you feel weaker than you should? It's all thanks to the Kaijin, and it wouldn't be what it is today if it hadn't been for your blood, Tori."
"Masa…ka," he whispered, his eyes still wide. As he looked over the Kaijin, he couldn't help but feel a connection. The zoid had played such a big part in his life, more so than he had thought.
Kageru held out his hand, the one holding the gun. He was aiming right for Tori, who didn't seem to care right now. He was in too deep of shock to even notice.
"Tori!" shouted Leena.
"Look out!" added Bit. Kageru just smirked as Tori's eyes went to the gun pointed at him. Kageru pulled the trigger, a crack coming from his pistol. A small gasp came from Tori as the bullet pierced through his stomach, passing all the way through and hitting the ground behind him. Pain quickly shot through his chest, flooding to his arms and legs, and finally to his head. He couldn't keep the darkness out of his eyes as they closed. He slowly fell back, hitting the sand.
"Tori!" shouted Hikari as she began to run to him. Kageru was about to pull the trigger again when she stepped in front of Tori, a hard look on her face. The members of the Blitz team followed, kneeling down by the commissioner. Leena and Bit slowly lifted him up, supporting his upper body.
"He's alive," noted Jamie, watching the way he was breathing. However, blood was leaking from his chest. He needed to get to a hospital and fast.
"Move Akari," demanded Kageru. However, she didn't budge or blink. She just stood there, holding him in her eyes.
"My name isn't Akari," she stated lowly. "Watashi wa Hikari!" The Kaijin's eyes lit up with a red light, and it began moving, startling Kageru. He dropped his gun to the desert sands while trying to regain his lost balance.
"Kaijin, what are you doing?" he questioned angrily. He turned to Hikari, a glare on his face. This was her fault. He knew it. He wasn't the only one who could control the Kaijin.
Kageru quickly got in the cockpit of the massive zoid, getting it back under his control. The Kaijin spread its wings and took to the sky, but they all knew that they'd see him again sooner or later. Fate would make sure of that.
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Short chapter, I know. But that's the way it goes sometimes. Be happy that I updated at least. I wasn't going to, but then I felt bad. Therefore, I updated. However, this chapter isn't nearly as good as some of the others. I'll do better next time, I promise. It's just that most of my focus is currently on my original stories at fictionpress right now.
Index:
Omae wa –you are
Doushite –why
Nani -what
Uso yo –it's a lie
Zanryuu –stay back
Kuso –again, this is an extreme expression of anger, similar to our swearing
Temee –an insult word similar to two of ours that start with Bs.
Masaka -Impossible
Watashi wa –I am
Until next time, I'll be seeing ya!