Necros: A War of Zoids
By The Xenomorph AKA familyghost
Synopsis: A world with a secret past is about to get a wake up call from the metallic warriors.
Chapter 1: Introducing Nami, NOT a virginal sacrifice.
The dark halls of Lycus' manor were barely lit, but it was a condition the inhabitants had been used to for the longest time. Most were dead anyway, and could see clearly in the dark. Still their Master insisted on having one room freely lit; the library and for most that was a serious problem. However, they rarely argued with their calm and collected master as he normally did not hesitate to physically assault his undead minions. Today was not one of those days and no one in the manor dared to cross their master on such days.
He stomped from room to room in a rage, the charcoal black granite that made up most of his walls only made him appear in the hall as an almost skeletal human being with a nasty sneer pasted across is face like an angry art project and slicked back pitch colored hair. He entered his laboratory with a fury.
"Where is it?" He bellowed in a frightful rage.
"Where is what my Master?" Asked a small, fully dimension shadow-like being that extended from Lycus' shadow.
"Sanguri blood." Lycus snapped, "I need it for a ritual."
"Well, you do know there's plenty of it in the town." The shadow said.
"The town's folk are nothing but superstitious idiots and I doubt they'd let me take some blood…" Lycus groaned.
"Well…" The shadow spoke. "There are two villagers' dangerously close to our perimeter.
"Really…" Lycus seemed to cheer up.
"Oh dear…" The shadow groaned. "I don't like where this is going."
"Shade, get the two best men we have and fetch me those intruders!" Lycus grinned as he spun and sat in a chair.
"Uh, Sir." Shade responded. "Your best men are guarding the basement."
"Oh." Lycus blinked in a combination of embarrassment and confusion. "OK, then send a skeleton and a zombie, preferably one that thinks as opposed to randomly bites."
"Right away milord." Shade vanished with out a trace.
"Now where's that mug of mine…" Lycus found himself grumbling.
Meanwhile at the edge of Lycus' land and the village's forest…
"Come on Tari." A slim girl of 17 spoke in a commanding manner. "Mom and dad are gonna be worried sick."
"But Nami!" A little 10 year old girl in a dress covered in flowers whined. "I want to see the zombies."
"Tari, the necromancer is left alone for a reason." Nami frowned at her little sister.
"Just because you're afraid of the undead doesn't mean I am." Tari blew her sister a raspberry.
"I mean it, we're going home." Nami saw her sister's face change from disappointment to ecstatic joy, and the reason was behind her.
Nami, of course being the calm older sister that she was, turned around and came face chest with a six foot tall walking skeleton. She promptly screamed and passed out. Tari on the other hand just began to jump for joy as a zombie came out of the woods.
"Get the older one." The skeleton said.
"Why? You made her faint." The zombie grumbled.
"Uh, because I have to carry the rambunctious thing there…" The skeleton pointed to Tari.
"Wow!" Tari screeched as she listened. "Where are you taking us? Your grave, are you gonna turn us into zombies…" She played like she was a zombie. "Or maybe vampires…"
"OK, I'll carry the quite one." The zombie smiled.
The skeleton just groaned, "Frank, you're an ass."
"Better to be one than to not have one at all." Franks smirked. "Right, Ass-shley."
"There are so many things I can do to make you're un-life difficult." Ash said. "And don't call me Ashley, I told you it's Ash." Ash then turned back to Tari who was still continuing her own little guessing game of horrors. "Why me?" Ash groaned as he picked up the 10 year old and the two made their way back to their master's manor.
Shortly after Frank and Ash arrived back at the manor though, the young Nami awoke with a start in a strange and damp environment with the sound of footsteps closing in. She looked around and quickly saw that she was in a lounge of sorts with a dim fire and several metal pans with odd candies lying in them. As the steps came closer she heard softer steps beside them and quickly deduced that she and her sister had been captured by the necromancer. Without a second thought she leapt up, grabbed a metal candy pan and crushed it into the face of the surprised and rather handsome looking young man that had stopped behind the tall chair she was in.
After a few seconds of awkward silence Tari, who was holding an odd cone with a cold snack on top, was screaming at her sister for knocking her new "friend" out. Then the young man spoke.
"Shade, why is their pain in my face?" Lycus groaned as he stirred. "And metal too? Did I piss off Revenant again?"
"No master, your, uh, guest was surprised and attacked you." Shade appeared from the shadow of the chair.
"Ugh…" Lycus groaned as he stood up. "Well at least one of them has manners."
"Why did you bring us here?" Nami pushed Tari behind her.
"I needed the Sanguri blood for a ritual." Lycus smiled at Tari, "And Tari was kind enough to give me some."
"Hah!" Nami smiled, "Well you're evil plan is spoiled!"
"Excuse me?" Lycus became extremely confused.
"The only one with Sanguri blood in her veins is me! My father was the only one in the family to descend from Nakiro Sanguri and Tari's father is my step father!" Nami wagged her finger in front of Lycus' face.
Lycus just smiled and Nami, realized her mistake.
"I'm going to be a virgin sacrifice." Nami shrieked and collapsed into a crying fit.
"Oi…" Lycus just sighed in defeat as he glanced over at Shade. "What do these people think I am?"
"Apparently they've villain-ized you as the boogeyman of the village." Shade said as he mirrored his master's slouched over sigh.
"Boogeyman?" Lycus was slightly insulted. "Jeez, what'd I do to deserve that?"
"I haven't the foggiest clue Master." Shade said sarcastically as he joined his master in a sigh.
"Listen…" Lycus tried to speak over Nami's crying, but was failing miserably. "Uh… please listen."
"I'll get her to listen." Tari said as she slapped her sister hard enough that it echoed throughout the manor.
"Eeeee…" Lycus and Shade both recoiled at the angry, monstrous glare that Nami gave her sister.
"What was that for?" Nami shrieked.
"Lycus-San was trying to talk to you." Tari smiled innocently.
"I just need a small vial of your blood." Lycus peered over Nami's shoulder with a sly look on his face and a dagger and vial in his hands. "It'll only hurt a second."
"But I don't want to give up my blood…" Nami whimpered.
"Well I need it…" Lycus had barely spoken before another metal candy dish was slammed into his face and Nami grabbed Tari and ran off.
"Shade…" Lycus mumbled through the metal pan. "Remind me to order softer candy dishes."
"Of course master, but your, uh, reagent is escaping." Shade said with a worried tint.
"Why so she is." Lycus walked calmly to his stairwell leading up, "Might as well meet her in the basement."
"I'll inform the guard's sir." Shade said as he disappeared.
"This might almost be fun…" Lycus smiled to himself.
As Nami ran through the halls of the terrifying manor she wasn't sure where she was going, or if she was running away from danger or to it. As she cut through several rooms she became aware of several skeletons' chasing her and many more attempting to cut her off and seemingly steering her. She eventually found herself cornered near a large wooden door, that when opened lead downwards.
"Oh…" Nami groaned as she ran down the stairs. "I don't wanna be a sacrifice." Halfway down the stairs she tripped and she and her sister rolled down the hard granite plates. At the bottom Nami and Tari came to a rest at Lycus' feet.
"Have a nice trip?" Lycus asked with a grin.
"I hate you…" Nami growled.
"That was fun!" Tari pulled herself from under her sister. Her treat was clearly smeared all over her face.
"Oh, now look at you…" Lycus sighed with a playful smile. "Shade, wake Nanners and have her clean young Tari up."
Shade appeared from the shadow of a light fixture. "Yes sir." He fully formed along the ground. "Come young Tari, we must get you clean."
"W-wait, Tari!" Nami scrambled to her feet and tried to run for her sister, but Lycus grasped her shoulder.
"She'll be fine Nanners is the friendliest ghost I have on staff." Lycus smiled.
"G-ghost…" Nami paled in fear.
"AWESOME!" Tari yelped and ran off ahead of Shade.
"Now, Miss Nami…" Nami turned to see Lycus holding a small knife and vial. "…your hand please."
"But I want my blood." Nami whined.
"Young lady we can do this the easy, relatively painless way or the exceptionally hard and painful way." Lycus sighed.
Nami looked at the necromancer, and noticed a tint of sheer aggravation in his eyes. She knew the stories of old, of how her ancestor had challenged a powerful warlock on the necromancer's lands and both combatants barely escaped. The warlock returned, but was met by her ancestor who killed the warlock on the necromancer's lands and was mortally wounded himself. That battle left the land scarred as the warlock's dark blood polluted the land. The necromancer's land was poisoned because of her ancestor and now it seemed to her that he was calling in a debt.
"Fine." Nami pouted as she thrusted her hand into Lycus' face.
"Thank you." Lycus sighed in relief. "You'll feel a small prick…"
Nami braced herself as Lycus pricked her middle finger on the knife and let the blood drip into the vial. Lycus smiled softly to himself, the young girl was deathly afraid of her own blood. He also had to admire her jet black hair, a shining compliment to his featureless pitch colored hair. Her slightly tanned skin and walnut eyes also complimented her thin, quivering lips. When he looked to the vial next it was sufficiently filled.
"You know the last person to volunteer their blood to me, before Tari that is, was Nakiro Sanguri." Lycus smiled. "He knew the warlock's spirit would try to leech of the magiks in my lands and reanimate himself, Nakiro's blood prevents that." Lycus said as he took the vial in hand and offered his hand to help Nami to her feet.
Nami just harrumphed in contempt as Lycus offered his hand. She then pushed herself to her feet. "Can we go now?"
"After the ritual is done, and you've had something to eat. After all, a host doesn't let his guests leave until they've had a good meal." Lycus smiled.
"Well then I want to see this ritual." Nami said.
"What?" Lycus blinked. "Why?"
"So I know you aren't trying something!" Nami wagged her finger in Lycus' face once more.
Lycus just sighed, from what he had seen of this girl's personality he knew she wouldn't give up. "Very well, but you will not speak of anything you see in the area I perform it."
"Fine." Nami smiled. "Now lead on."
Lycus was taken aback for a moment. The little girl was ordering him around like toy. If he had been as brash as he was in his younger days he would have obliterated soul in a nano-second. But his age afforded him some aspect of wisdom and he quietly sighed as he led the way.
As the two walked in the basement Nami noticed the atmosphere was changing. Instead of the usual creepy stone and torches the walls were more like metal and lined with shining bulbs. Then they upon a dead end and Nami was confused.
"What's with the walls?" She asked.
"They're archaic compared to today's world." Lycus let a laugh escape. "Funny how the advancements my friends made so long ago are ancient to the people of today."
"Huh?" Nami blinked in confusion.
"Nothing but an ironic observation from an old necromancer." Lycus smiled as the wall opened. "Please step in Nami."
"What is it?" Nami asked as she stepped in. Lycus followed and pressed a small button on the side. The wall then closed and the room descended.
"It's called an elevator, an invention from long ago." Lycus said.
"Wow…" Nami blinked in awe as she stared out the glass windows on the side of the elevator. "What are those giant sheets covering?" For the first time Nami saw a look of pain cross the necromancer's face.
"Once useful machines, destroyed by our arrogance." Lycus' face was filled with the pain of memories past. Then the elevator stopped and the doors opened. "Well, we're here."
"Whoa…" Nami looked in awe as she stepped out into the cavernous warehouse and followed Lycus to a glowing red symbol on a nearby wall.
"You might want to step behind something. The spirit in the symbol is powerful." Lycus advised.
"O-ok." Nami said. She hid behind a large relic hidden under a cloth tarp with years of dust on it.
As she watched Lycus perform his ritual she kept a close eye one the tarp. She didn't know why but she feared the relic underneath even though she didn't know what it looked like. Then something happened, the ritual was near its finish, but the spirit was fighting to stay in the wall, it clawed for Nami and ripped the tarp off as it was banished to the netherworld.
What Nami saw after the tarp was removed purely and utterly blew her mind away. It was a large metal thing in the shape of a beast, like a lion or tiger or a combination of both. She was so stunned she didn't even notice the eyes of the great metal beast activate and dim.
"Liger Zero…" Lycus said with a sigh. "It belonged to Nakiro."
"Huh?" Nami blinked.
"Nakiro was one of the co founders of the magiks, but he also worked with my best friend on Zoids." Lycus smiled. "That's what they're called; Zoids."
"It belonged to my ancestor?" Nami touched the cold metal.
"But it will never awaken from its slumber." Lycus sighed. "My friend saw to that when he activated the shutdown for his own sin."
"Huh?" Nami asked.
"A long and tiring story; needless to say my friend was forced to fight an enemy he created and his solution had a side effect no one could have predicted." Lycus looked up at the zoid. "It killed the zoids."
"Did you have one?" Nami asked.
"Yes, but he watches over my friend." Lycus smiled. "Come on now, time for dinner and then I'll take you back home."