"Has it started yet?"

"Rax, it went into its crystal yesterday, I think we're safe."

Well, we were currently examining the wolf-shaped cocoon. Well, more like sitting on top of it playing cards to kill time. Rax was getting impatient, Sue was getting tired of answering his question. I yawned and tossed down a three. Sue put down a five and Rax just slid off the cocoon onto the garage floor, bored of cards. Sue, Clara and I shrugged and split up his hand.

"…so, what has this thing done so far?"

Clara was asking about her crystal-furred zoid, that we were using as a card table. I pulled my cap brim up from poker face mode to guy in hat mode.

"3 increase in size, not sure where it is exactly. But the scan can tell the difference between crystal and metal, so we have a clear guess."

She nodded, Sue shuffled the deck.

"…you think people are going to wonder? An Ultimate X is usually gets in the papers. Then Rax's Blade evolved. And you built the Urban Assault and the Reaper. Then the Whale."

Sue kept listing every little quirk we had.

"…Sue, this is why we live underwater."

She looked up at the skylights of the hanger, currently showing several schools of fish flying by. We were hanging low for a while for a few reasons. First, the ZBC has been calling me a random for ideas on the Zero X. They keep asking my opinion on how it moves, its weaponry, and its possible technology.

"How about we do something else after next game?"

Clara and I agreed with Sue's idea and kept playing. Psy was pacing back and forth on one side of the hanger. He hates it when we're down here so long, he runs out of movies.

"…guys, can't there be a huge update on Negative Zero or something?"

'Negative Zero' is the code name the ZBC is giving this Liger Zero X affair. I sighed and called back over to my zoid.

"Psy, they already did a check on that Vega kid. They got footage of him in the city near where they saw the Liger."

He stopped dead in his racks and creaked his head over to look at us.

"…what kinda footage?"

Well, two games of cards later I hopped into his cockpit and ordered up the file. I fell back into my leather chair as it loaded, I always thought this cockpit was like a cozy little cabin in the woods. When it loaded I just hit play and leaned back, having seen it before.

The footage was from a photo sniper on a nearby building. The setting, the central park. Kids playing, joggers, dogs running around catching Frisbees. And they had a ZBC guy in camoflauge get it all on tape. The camera zoomed in on a very diabolical sight in the middle of all the happiness. A woman and a young boy having a picnic.

"…that ain't him…"

"Look closer."

True, it didn't look like Vega at first glance. But after another zoom the face stood out like neon. His hair was slicked back, and he had on civilian clothes, but it was him. The focus then switched over to the brunette woman unpacking their basket.

"That his mom?"

"Um…Psy, he's an orphan supposedly. That woman there is still a mystery, obviously his guardian, but who the heck is she."

The footage played the mystery guardian laughing at one of Vega's jokes, which we didn't hear. Sadly there was no sound.

"…I've seen her before…she's Backdraft alright, her sketch came up after an attack, she was in a Geno."

"…hm…"

"…it was a Geno they got out of the Ruins."

Crap…the Backdraft had access to that powerful a zoid?

"So she's a pilot. Think she trained the kid?"

"That would explain how close they are…I mean, Max taught you and you're pretty much his son"

"…"

"…it's true."

He was comparing this mystery woman and Vega to me and Max. Note to self, rewire Psy.

The video went on to them eating their sandwiches. Then she brought out a Frisbee and stood up. It looked like she was lecturing him…what, some new pilot technique?

"Awww…she's teaching him how to throw a Frisbee."

…awww indeed…you had to admit that was nice.

We watched the pilot of a possible killing machine laugh, play and be a kid.

Then they packed up and left, putting their garbage in a trash bin. They didn't even litter, the murderous bastards.

"…so we have to analyze this kid so we can take him down…"

"Sad, ain't it…"

I reached up and opened the cockpit to get out.

"…so are you allowed to go near this kid?"

"…they didn't say, why?"

…I quickly sat back down.

"…great minds think alike…"

Two Hours Later

…so this was a video arcade…a bunch of kids playing zoid simulators. Popping in quarters every time they died. I was in my leather jacket, hat and sunglass combo to avoid being recognized by fans. Even though this was my exact pilot outfit.

I watched some kids pilot pre-made virtual zoids into fake looking battlefields and blow each other up. I stopped when I saw something odd. This in the corner kid had been at it for a while and hadn't gone down once. He was sitting in the seat pounding buttons quietly, relaxed. When he turned to pick up his soda from the arm rest I saw a young, pale face framed by scruffy black hair. Bingo.

I looked at the screen he was using. He was playing a standard purple Geno, and blowing the crap out of everyone else in the arcade. Call me crazy, but I don't think I would have lasted in one of these games with that kid. Let alone a real battle. Hey, I know my limits.

I stood a bit behind him for a while until his single quarter time limit ran out. He sighed, sounding bored and turned around and jumped a bit when he saw me.

"Oh! Sorry, were you waiting for he chair?"

I kept my act up, I was acting like your average young adult gamer. I just looked aloof and shrugged at the little guy.

"Nah, I just like watching kids do this."

He suddenly broke into a bit of a smile.

"…how did I do?"

I looked under my hat brim at him, trying not to look fascinated. He was…a kid.

"…well, better than the rest of these guys…you looked bored though"

He shrugged a bit, picking up his soda.

"I'm used to arcades with better people."

No kidding. I looked at the blank screen he'd been using.

"Hm…I may try to get in a round…they got a Lightning Saix in this game?"

He shook his head.

"Nah, this old version stinks."

Weird, I'd say sucks, this kid was being polite. I kept up my act.

"Well, good thing they have Genos, looks like you were born in one, huh kid?"

He broke into a smirk, then suddenly went blank, as if remembering something.

"Eh…heh, yeah, I use it a lot in here."

I turned to the exit slightly.

"Well, I should get going, I have some zoids to fix."

My last resort. Revealing I was part of the zoids world. In a second he was following me out the door, the z-word driving him into a frenzy.

"You fix zoids!"

I smiled down at the kid.

"Yep, even made a couple."

Soon I was walking down the sidewalk, him next to me asking questions, which I of course answered. He was a zoids addict all right, takes one to know one. By the time I was halfway to where Psy was parked the kid had gone quiet, like he was thinking.

"…you ever do anything with rare zoids?"

I stopped and nodded slightly, being honest.

"A few…why? You have a Mad Thunder that needs new brakes?"

He didn't laugh. He looked serious.

"…could you fix a zoid that isn't out in the open?"

…what was he getting at…

"Sure, I could wing it."

He started turning to the left and walking away.

"Come with me!"

I stood there blinking as he broke into a run, then broke out sprinting, quickly catching up with him and keeping pace as he went three blocks over to a plain looking building, ran in, with me in tow, and into the elevator in the doorway. I watched him pant as the door closed.

"…somebody chasing you, kid?"

He looked up at me with these deer eyes and just nodded. I nodded back and watched the numbers go by on the dial. Odd, we were going down instead of up. As I went to ask the door opened o reveal a bare hallway. He jogged out, of course I followed, until it broke off into a large warehouse under the street.

As he turned on a light I stopped dead in my tracks. The lights popped on, revealing a large zoid in the center of the room. What appeared to be a silver Geno Saurer variation with large, skeletal claws protruding from the back. The Fury…as I stared Vega ran up to me and breathed deeply, poor kid was going nuts.

"…look at it."

I was about to asky why when I saw it. Burns. Scrapes. At first glance the zoid was beautiful. But the whole front chest section has been bashed in. One leg was busted, he tail keeping it balanced. And the claws were on the verge of breaking off.

"…it got broken against the Zero Liger…the Backdraft told me they wouldn't fix I cause I lost."

I looked down to see the kid was crying a bit. His zoid…was hurt, and he wanted it to be better. I just stared, not sure what to say. So, fix a killing machine that was taken out as a safety precaution, just to make one kid stop crying? I looked up at the battered silver beast. It sat there, as if displaying its wounds without feeling. I looked back at its young owner.

"…I'm gonna need some tools…"