Alright, here's chapter 6. It was kind of entertaining writing this chapter, but like the last, it underwent heavy editing because there were parts I just wasn't all that happy with. Anyway...
Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids or any of its official characters. Only Krater, Virilia, Renia, Jrouler and the mystery man belong to me.
Chapter 6: A Date with Disaster
The next day flowed quickly. The trio of pilots woke up early, Virilia made breakfast and they happily started eating it. Krater was a little nervous; he did need to tell Virilia about his date with Renia. How do I bring it up? Should I do it right now, or wait until after breakfast? He asked himself as he listened to the two girls talk. Listening to them, he found out that, while he was fixing the lightning saix, Renia would be taking a nap while Virilia's medicine does its work on her headache and Virilia would do some cleanup work around the house. After lunch time, Virilia would take Renia with her into town so she would have something to do, and go to the zoid parts shop to see about upgrading Navilia by adding a powerful Single Barrel Long-Range Beam Cannon to help add some power to help ease the strain on her AZ 50mm Double Barreled Rifle. It would lower Navilia's speed a little bit, but with the proper adjustments that wouldn't matter.
After that, they would come back and start making dinner. I guess it has to be right now... Thought Krater as Renia gave him a quick curious glance. So, he cleared his throat and got Virilia's attention. She looked at him a little startled, considering he'd been so quiet for a while. He looked at her with a smile, "Actually Virilia, me and Renia are going out for dinner tonight." He said pleasantly.
The silver haired girl stared blankly at him before she cast her gaze on her plate, "Oh... Okay then... I guess I'll take of things here myself until you get back." She finally spoke again and though she tried to hide it, he could tell right away that she wasn't entirely happy about that. She gave him a smile, but there wasn't any of the radiance he usually saw in her perfect smiles, it was very obviously forced.
If Renia noticed, she gave no indication that she did. She continued eating with a smile on her face. After an awkward silence, Virilia asked, "So where are you going to eat?" Her tone was cheerful enough to the point that he couldn't tell if she faking it or not, but he wasn't convinced. He looked at Renia and smiled uneasily, "I'm not too sure about that. Where did you want to go Renia?" He asked as he scratched the back of his head.
The redhead hummed thoughtfully as she ate before she replied, "Why don't we go to that nice restaurant down the road? What's it called...?"
Virilia perked up with surprise, "You mean the new one? The Grape Vine? Isn't that kind of expensive?" She spoke with some confusion.
Renia nodded with a smile, "Yeah, it's not one you go to too often, but it's a nice place. I went there once shortly after it opened." She then looked at Krater and winked, "And don't worry. Since you're working so hard trying to fix my lightning saix, it's on me."
Krater blinked and replied, "Well okay then... We don't have to wear anything too formal do we?" He was obviously a little uncomfortable with the idea of having to dress nice.
Renia laughed and said, "Oh no, no, no. Nothing too fancy, the Manager just doesn't want people coming in wearing rags or beach clothes or things like that. Just casual dress." She smiled as he pondered what she meant by that.
"In other words, you can just wear that blazer I got you with one of your plain white shirts and a pair of pants." Virilia stated plainly before taking a bite out of her eggs.
Krater nodded and turned his attention back to Renia, "So when do you want to go?" The redhead grinned and replied, "I think 7 o'clock will do fine."
"Okay then." Replied the black haired young man with a smile.
After that, little else was said and the three of them finished eating breakfast. Once they cleared the table and rinsed off and put the dishes in the dishwasher, Renia went into the living room to get ready for her nap. Krater was about to head outside to start working when Virilia grabbed him by the arm and said, "Come with me for a second..." He glanced at her and saw her pleading face, so he acquiesced and followed her back into the kitchen and, surprisingly, into the pantry where she closed the door behind him.
"Okay, Krater, I have to ask. Why exactly are you going on a date with Renia?" Virilia asked rather bluntly with a slight frown, her arms folded in a sulking stance.
He considered what to say carefully, he didn't want to upset Virilia any further then he apparently already had. "Well, she asked and there's really no reason why I should say no." He finally said calmly as he scratched the back of his head.
The silver haired girl's frown deepened a little at the last part. She remained silent watching him for awhile before she asked, "...Are you doing it because you still feel guilty about injuring her or is it because you actually find her attractive?"
Krater blinked, his mouth agape as he considered the question. Virilia was being very blunt all of a sudden, but then he probably shouldn't have been surprised given how she greeted him for the first time. "Well, I'd be lying if I said she wasn't beautiful... though that's not really the main reason. But I can say no, I'm not doing it because I feel guilty." He answered evenly as he met her gaze.
Virilia narrowed her eyes and suddenly he felt as if her gaze was boring into him, like the first time he laid eyes on her. "You're sure?" She inquired with a quirked eyebrow.
The young mercenary nodded with a smile, "I'm doing it because I think I should at least give her a chance. We didn't exactly have the best first impression of her and she hasn't been acting as..." He trailed off, struggling to find a word that didn't sound insulting to describe his current impression of her nature.
"Vulgar?" Virilia suggested with a frown.
Krater shook his head, "...I wouldn't put it that way, but I guess yeah..."
"That's just because she knows if she acts like that here I can kick her out. If you two are alone together in some place that I'm not at, she'll be all over you." The silver haired girl retorted with a hostile tone.
Krater met her gaze again and frowned sadly. Virilia had that angry look again, the one he didn't think should be on such a face; it marred her beauty. Her body language of course, was far less restrained then her facial expression, she looked ready to pounce on him.
He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Look, Virilia... I'm sorry if I upset you... but like I said, I want to give Renia a chance." He spoke calmly in an attempt to console her.
Virilia's expression changed, softening up to a defeated expression, "Alright... I won't say anything else. I guess I'll just have to see how things play out..." She sighed and smiled to Krater, "Now I think you have some work to do."
Krater nodded and opened the pantry door and started to walk out, but hesitated with a glance over his shoulder. Virilia knew what he was about to ask and said, "I know, I won't bug Renia, I promise." She clasped her hands together behind her back and though the young mercenary noticed her body language was suggesting a different vibe.
In the end, Krater left the pantry and went to get started on repairing the lightning saix. Virilia, standing alone in the pantry frowned and wiped her eyes with a sigh, "That idiot... how could he not notice?" She mumbled under her breathe with a sniffle. She stood their silently sulking for several minutes before she got her act back together and went to give Renia her medicine and then started cleaning up around the house.
The rest of the day proceeded just as they had discussed. Krater spent the greater part of the day working on the lightning saix, pausing only for lunch and walked in with several of his fingers wrapped in bandages. That lunch had been particularly quiet, since Virilia wasn't too talkative, so after Krater talked about his progress and how he had jammed his fingers between two parts, little else was said. After that, he resumed his work and the two girls took the car into town and headed towards the zoid parts shop. From the look on her face, Renia could tell the silver haired girl intended not to say a thing about why she was so upset, at least not to her.
So, Renia faced forward and stated almost absently, "I can tell you're upset. Your face is practically an open book to me." Virilia didn't look at her, mainly since she was driving, but also because she didn't want to prove she was right. "If you have something you want to say to me, just say it."
Virilia gave no reply for some time. However, she eventually relented and said, "I can't believe you would go and do something like that... especially after the last time we talked..." Her voice had a barbed tone to it, one that simply did not belong.
Renia sighed and folded her arms behind her head and closed her eyes, "Well, you two aren't dating and you're certainly not lovers yet so he's free game. Think of this as an example so you don't make the mistake of hesitating again." She retorted nonchalantly. Virilia glared at her from the corner of her eye. "And don't worry; I don't plan on taking him away from you. I hate lengthy relationships."
The relief that Virilia felt upon hearing that was so obvious that Renia quirked an eyebrow. "What, you seriously thought I was gonna fall for him? Look he's cute and a nice guy, but he's just not my type." She grinned with a teasing tone. The girl driving blushed in embarrassment and frowned.
Nothing else could be said, they had arrived at the shop. Renia stayed with the car while Virilia went inside and asked about the cannon. The redhead watched her walk inside and smiled when she was inside. "I don't plan to have him for long, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun while I do..." She mumbled to herself humorously as she drummed her fingernails on the armrest of the door and rested her chin in her other hand.
Later that day, Krater paused to see it was six o'clock and cleaned up outside, then headed in to take a shower, taking his change of clothes with him. He had gotten very dirty working on the lightning saix so he took longer then usual cleaning up. When he was done, he pulled on a simple white t-shirt, a pair of darker red pants and a simple blazer the same color as Raider's armor. When he left the bathroom and walked downstairs he was surprised to find that his boots were squeaky clean and resting beside the door.
"I saw they were dirty and thought I'd clean them up for you." Virilia's voice came from the couch and drew his attention to her. She was wearing a pair of pajama pants, the one with the little pteras on it and the blue shirt that hugged her body and she had a plate in her lap with her dinner on it and a glass of tea on the coffee table.
Krater smiled and nodded, "Thanks. I guess it wouldn't do to walk in a restaurant with my boots all dirty, would it?" He tried to be light-hearted about the matter and it seemed to work as the girl smiled back at him.
"Well, have fun on your date. I'll probably be asleep before you get back." Virilia stated nonchalantly, a tone he didn't often hear come out of her mouth.
He was going to say something else when Renia emerged from the dining room with an excited shout, drawing all attention to her. Krater blushed slightly at the site of her outfit, which consisted of a strapless dress that he couldn't tell if it was made from red silk or satin with black and yellow embroidery on the bottom hem, a skirt much like what you would see on a china dress with slits on both sides and red gloves that ended just past the elbows, black thigh highs and shin high stylish red boots that greatly contrasted the overall style of the dress itself, though Renia obviously didn't care.
Virilia coughed and said something under her breath; Krater imagined it being something along the lines of 'slut'. The redhead walked up to Krater and placed her hands on his chest with an interested hum and straightened out some of his outfit, "Not bad Krater. You clean up pretty nicely."
The young man smiled at the compliment as the two turned and headed out the door with a farewell to Virilia and, once they were out the door, he said, "You look very beautiful, Renia." With a pleasant tone as he tried to keep his eyes from wandering and Renia grinned. Keeping himself composed was a difficult task with that dress she was wearing, especially with the way she was walking, like she was teasing him.
Krater walked over to the car and was about to get into the driver's seat when Renia placed a hand on his shoulder, "Nuh-uh, Mr. Mercenary, we're riding in Raider." She stated with a wink and a coy grin.
The black haired youth quirked an eyebrow and asked, "Why? It'd be easier to drive there."
"Because I have something else I'd like to do after we go to dinner... and a car isn't the best thing to do it in." She answered as she walked over to his rev raptor, her hips swaying leadingly.
He relented with a sigh and walked over to Raider, clambering up into the cockpit and waiting for Renia to follow suit when he noticed with a fierce blush that climbing up a zoid was not the best thing to do in that dress. He forced himself to look away and waited. Soon enough, the redhead reached the cockpit and planted herself in Krater's lap with a sigh. However, the second she did, she started slightly with a blush of her own and smiled coyly, "My, my, Krater..." She glanced over her shoulder at him and stuck her tongue out at him with a wink, "Might want to control yourself, we've only just started." She teased as she rested her back against his chest and he grabbed the controls.
That would be easier to do if you weren't sitting in my lap in a dress like that... He thought to himself with an uneasy smile.
Riding in Raider, the trip to the restaurant proved to be a short one, much to Krater's relief and he parked him in the back of the parking lot. He popped open the cockpit and waited for Renia to climb out first. When she did, though, she rubbed herself against Krater and hoisted herself up and out, the wind kicking up the back of her skirt and giving the pilot a full view of what kind of panties she was wearing.
He stayed there a few moments, trying to compose himself, before Renia called for him. Raider's eyes flashed again and a message showed up on the screen. Krater sighed and said, "I'll be fine... I think..." He replied and climbed out, joining his date on the ground and the two walked arm in arm into the restaurant.
Now that he was here, Krater was surprised. He was expecting something overly grand and luxurious, but it wasn't too bad. Once they were inside, he found everything was spotless and arranged neatly throughout the restaurant. The room where guests ate was a huge square where the corners were all raised a little higher and the floor everywhere except at the center was covered by a darker red carpet with tables and chairs located in neat rows and columns in the four corners of the room. Inbetween each corner section was a ramp and small staircase that led to the middle. There in the middle of the restaurant was a single, huge chandelier dangling over what he presumed was a dance floor and orchestral and classical music was playing from the speakers positioned around the restaurant.
A waiter came and greeted them and Renia said, "My reservation should be there, Renia Krider." Once that was checked out, she and Krater were led further into the restaurant and the two of them were seated in a booth in a more withdrawn corner of the restaurant. Krater was going to sit across from her, but ended up sitting beside her at her insistence.
After the waiter had taken their orders and walked away, Renia turned and looked at him with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his left arm, "So, what do you think?" She asked curiously.
He blinked as he cast his gaze around until it fell back on the redhead beside him, "It's pretty nice... but it doesn't seem overdone, thankfully." He replied with a smile. Renia nodded and cheerfully said, "Yeah, that's why I like it. It's a little expensive, but it's a good place to come to every once and a while."
About then, the waiter returned with their drinks, some appetizers and walked away again. Renia had ordered a bottle of wine, but Krater wasn't one for alcohol so he had just ordered some soda. She poured herself a glass and took a sip with a pleasant hum and set the glass down again with a smile. "Ah, I love the taste of wine. I don't drink it often, but I like to have a bottle every once and a while." She said as she looked at Krater. "What about you? Do you not like wine?" She added curiously with an interested gaze.
Krater shook his head, "I just don't like alcohol. Wine would be fine if there weren't any alcohol in it, I just don't like what the stuff does to you." He replied evenly with flat line lips.
"Bad experience?" Renia suggested as she leaned over closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder.
Krater didn't say anything, but he did nod. The redhead didn't want to make him angry, so she asked him something else.
"So tell me, Krater, what made you decide to start piloting zoids? I've been wanting to ask that since I heard about you." Renia asked casually as she looked up at him.
The young man smiled and replied, "Well, before I decided to become a zoid pilot, I worked with my dad fixing zoids. I grew up around zoids so they were always a part of my life. It wasn't until I was around the age of fourteen that I really became interested in trying to pilot them. My dad and I would work on a zoid for someone and dad would tell me stories about some of the zoid pilots he'd seen or heard about. That day he started telling me about two zoid pilots that really caught my interest: they went by the names of Tierra the Mistress of Sabres and Lance the Blade Master. They were two zoid pilots that worked together for years and had won a number of contests, including the Royal Cup Championship. Tierra piloted a crimson Sabre Fang she called Redia and Lance had a Blade Liger he called Pstriker. I loved hearing about them for some reason, more then any of the other pilots he told me about; they were my favorites."
Krater smiled fondly as he looked at the opposite wall, "...A few weeks after he started telling me about them, a customer I vaguely recognized came into the shop and called my dad by the name of 'Lance' and talked about how it had been so long since he last saw him. It turns out Lance was the alias my dad went by as a zoid pilot and Tierra was my mom's pilot name. He never told me why they decided to go by different names, I had always assumed because they thought those names sounded cooler. But yeah... it turns out my mom and dad were the zoid pilots he'd been telling me about. The guy that came into the shop was a friend of theirs they'd worked with, he was in some of dad's stories and his name is Yollan and he piloted a Heldigunner."
The young mercenary took a sip of his soda and continued, "After that, I was determined to become a zoid pilot myself. I wanted to see if I could become like my mom and dad and be a great zoid pilot. I worked in the shops with my dad for a while longer and he and mom got me my first zoid: a rev raptor I decided to name Raider."
"They had found him in the junkyard in pretty rough condition, but his zoid core wasn't damaged and they decided to try and fix him. When they brought him in, he wasn't too happy with us. I think it's because his last pilot wasn't the most appreciative and might have abused him a lot, but after we all got to work on him he calmed down. When we finished fixing him, mom and dad allowed me to try and get into his cockpit."
He laughed and shook his head, "I was so nervous. I'd been in a zoid cockpit dozens of times before, but never with the intention of actually trying to pilot one. I think I was also worried because I thought Raider might go berserk, but he didn't. He must have sensed how anxious I was, because he closed the cockpit for me. I jumped and was ready to freak out, but the controls activated and my dad ran me through all the procedures needed to start a zoid and get it up and running for action."
"After that, every day my dad would take me and Raider out into the fields outside of my hometown and practice piloting him. It was rough at first, I had a hard time remembering where all the controls were and what did what, but Raider was patient with me and by the time I was seventeen I could handle him just fine. Of course, I'd never been in battle before, so I had never used the combat systems."
"For my eighteenth birthday, my mom and dad took me to register me as an official zoid pilot so I could compete and they got me new parts for Raider. Mom also gave me some clothes that she thought would suit me for my battle outfit and my dad starting teaching me how to handle some of the combat systems on Raider. When I turned nineteen, I left home and started my career as a mercenary under the name Krater Vrasik." When he was finished, he took another sip of his soda and their food arrived.
By now, the wine was starting to go right to Renia's cheeks, which were scarlet red now. She smiled and started cutting into her dinner, "That's quite a story. So Krater Vrasik isn't your real name?" She asked curiously.
Krater smiled, "Vrasik is my last name, but Krater's not my first name. It's actually my middle name." He replied before taking a bite of his dinner and swallowing.
Renia hummed curiously, "So what's your first name?" She was curious now, she wanted to know.
However, the black haired young man only grinned and replied, "That's a secret." With a whispered tease. The redhead giggled and took another sip of her wine.
Krater noticed with a slight bit of nervousness that she was starting to feel the alcohol. She wasn't swaying in her seat or hiccupping, thankfully, but he saw it in slight symptoms. She was cutting up her dinner with barely noticeable sluggishness with the occasional slipup. Her breath was getting hot and he could smell the flavor of the wine whenever she sighed in his direction and her eyes were half-lidded almost all the time now.
He smiled uneasily and said, "Looks like you should start taking it easy on the wine."
Renia waved a dismissive hand, "Please, I know how to hold my alcohol. Although I will warn you, by the time I finish this bottle, you're going to have to carry me back home." She retorted with a coy smile, a blush starting to add to her flushed cheeks.
Krater gulped quietly and continued to eat before a question came to mind. He glanced at Renia and asked, "...What about you? Why did you become a zoid pilot?"
The redhead giggled and leaned heavily on him, rubbing her head against his shoulder with a purr, "Because, Mr. Mercenary, I think it's fun. It lets me make a pretty penny while getting to meet lots of interesting people and I have a blast doing it." She replied and finished eating the rest of her dinner. By the time she was done, so was Krater. When the waiter came by next, he asked, "Would you like anything for desert?"
Renia shook her head and looked to Krater, "Did you want anything else?" When he shook his head she asked for the check and rested herself against him, one arm wrapped around his left arm with the other under the table and stroking his knee, a steady purr, like a cat, sounding from her lips. Krater blushed and tried to keep his composure until the waiter came by and left the check on the table.
The redhead reached over and slid it over to herself, relieving Krater since her hand wasn't in such a compromising place anymore, and smiled, "My you didn't eat much Krater. You sure you've had enough?" She asked as she placed the money in the little book along with a tip.
Krater nodded and the waiter came back, took the check and wished them a good night. At that, the young man slid out of the booth and waited for Renia. When she went to stand up, though, she staggered slightly and caught herself on Krater's lean shoulder. "You alright?" He asked a little concerned.
The redhead waved a dismissive hand, "I'll be fine... just don't let me walk on my own." She replied as she wrapped her arms around his left arm and walked with him out of the restaurant.
Once they were outside, Krater took her straight to Raider and had the zoid get down low. Renia was in no condition to try climbing into a cockpit almost eight meters above the ground. He climbed in first and then Renia sat down in his lap, but as soon as she did, she rested her head against his chest and started rubbing herself against him with a purr and Krater found controlling himself becoming increasingly difficult.
He gulped and Raider closed the cockpit and stood up again. He was about to take Renia straight home, when the redhead turned in his lap so she was straddling him and whispered into his ear, "Follow the main road out of town and go the tall hill on the outskirts of town."
He blushed heavily, unsure if he should. Renia purred again and pressed herself that much closer against him and rested her head against the crook of his neck. He sighed and decided to just do it. So he turned Raider around to follow the main road and had him walk until they were out of town. Before long, the aforementioned hill came into view and he had Raider walk all the way to the top. The hill was bigger then he thought it would be and they wound up almost a mile higher then the rest of the wastelands.
Here they were overlooking a vast stretch of the more vegetated wastelands laid out all around. Above, the sun had long since set and the stars were out. When they crested the hill, Renia eased up and had Krater open the cockpit so they could see better. When he did he smiled as he looked up at the starry sky. So this was what she wanted to see? He looked down at Renia again and found her staring up at the sky with a half-lidded gaze and a smile on her face as if she were remembering a fond memory.
The two of them remained on the hill top for some time just watching the night sky when Krater yawned and looked at the clock on Raider's display and saw that it was almost eleven o'clock at night. "Looks like we should be getting home..." He whispered to Renia who looked up at him and grinned with that same half-lidded gaze, the wine still making her cheeks red.
She started purring again and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself close to him and pressing her chest against him as she whispered, "Oh but why... it's so nice out here... and we could have a lot of fun right here too..." She put on a pout and drew her face closer and closer to his.
Krater gulped at this and the heat in his face sky rocketed when he suddenly felt her rubbing herself up against his body, including a very sensitive area.
"Play with me..." She whispered seductively and suddenly kissed him. Krater hesitated, but he finally decided to give in and returned it, wrapping his arms around her. He could feel her purring pleasantly as he pulled her closer to him and led her into a deeper kiss, his tongue running across her lips. She smiled and opened her mouth allowing him access and he slid his tongue into her mouth, capturing her tongue and wrestling with it, savoring the taste of her mouth mixed with the flavor of the wine.
He could feel things heating up as he moved a hand back around to the front and started moving up towards her chest, slowly rubbing his way up her torso, causing her to gasp and moan at the feeling. He broke their kiss and started pecking a trail down her neck. His hand was about to reach its destination when they were suddenly interrupted.
The ground close to Raider's feet suddenly erupted in an explosion of dirt and dust.
Krater started, Renia released an uncharacteristic shriek at the sudden sound and the two braced themselves as the young pilots looked to see a group of zoids approaching from the western side of the hill. Krater's eyes went wide, because on their way up the hill...
Were a gray shield liger, a black command wolf and a posse consisting of a red horn and two guysaks.
"Sorry to interrupt your starlight romance, kiddies, but you picked a bad place to start getting hot and heavy." The voice was that of a man, maybe in his twenties and it came from the liger.
Krater shut the cockpit and the man's face appeared on his main screen. He was maybe twenty, just as his voice said, with short black spiky hair and some sort of uniform with a high collar jacket and a strange emblem on his chest. It looked like a diamond with a capital 'J' over top.
"You're that kid we ran into a few days ago, aren't you?" He stated it more then asked it, but Krater thought he should at least answer.
"...Yeah... can I help you?" He replied on edge as he grabbed the controls and turned Raider to face the oncoming zoids with a frown. Renia was obviously confused by what was going on and the wine wasn't helping. "Krater, what's going on?" She whispered with a frown and a slightly worried expression.
"Thought so. I didn't believe Jrouler when he said he saw your zoid up here, I thought you'd have been smart enough not to do that so soon." The man laughed and smirked, "I guess that eliminates the possibility of you being an agent of the ZBC. You haven't even told anyone, have you? If so that's good for us."
"I ran into these guys a couple days ago when me and Raider were out for a midnight run. They had a huge camp out in the wastelands at the base of a cliff, I don't know what for, but I had to make a run for it when they spotted me. I ended up damaging that command wolf over there when he tried to stop me." He whispered to Renia so he wouldn't be heard by the man and then turned his attention to him. "No I don't work for the ZBC, I'm just a Mercenary Zoid Pilot, and I'm still fairly new to the Zoid Battle Circuit." He answered him calmly and seriously, his brow furrowed.
The man quirked an eyebrow in interest, "Oh, so you're the new rookie everyone's talking about? That makes this very interesting..." He grinned in a way that made Krater nervous, "My boss has been wanting to meet you. He thinks you have potential and after seeing your matches, I'd say I agree."
The command wolf's head suddenly whipped around to look at the shield liger and Krater heard a familiar voice shout, "Are you kidding?! What use is a brat like him to us?!" He objected fiercely.
"Whether serious or not, if the boss wants to meet him, he gets to meet him. Besides..." The man laughed, "He beat you, didn't he?"
The command wolf growled and the pilot muttered, "He caught me off guard, that's all..." Over the comm. channels.
Sweat started forming on Krater's forehead, "Look, I don't care who you guys are, I'm not going to meet this boss of yours. It's pretty obvious by now that you guys are doing something illegal, otherwise you wouldn't have to worry about the ZBC... and I want no part of it." He stated aloud seriously.
The shield liger got down low at that and the man smirked, "That's too bad. If you won't come willingly, we'll just drag you back to base with us. Harken the King of Diamonds is very intent on meeting you."
Krater watched warily as the command wolf, red horn and guysaks all got into attack positions. "Well Raider, looks like we're in for a rough ride. Activate all combat systems." Raider roared and his eyes flashed as all weapons activated.
"Jrouler, go. Redeem yourself." Stated the liger's pilot to the command wolf.
"Right." Jrouler replied and sprang into action, rushing up the rest of the hill and circling around Raider as the mechanical raptor turned around to follow his movements. "You're gonna pay for humiliating me like that kid, take this!" He barked and skidded to a stop, firing a round from the beam cannons on his back.
"Move it Raider!" Shouted Krater as he pulled the controls to the right and barely managed to avoid a direct hit, the shot hitting the ground where he'd just been standing. Almost instantly after that, Raider returned fire with his own arm-mounted beam cannons as the command wolf sprang out of the way.
Raider and Jrouler's command wolf fired back and forth for what seemed an eternity inflicting minor damage, dancing all across the top of the hill and eventually ran side by side down the opposite side.
Krater gritted his teeth and never took his eyes off Jrouler as they raced down the hill. When they reached the bottom, Jrouler started to turn and Krater reacted instantly, doing the same thing and both fired at the same time. The first shots collided and erupted in the air between them, the second round didn't. Raider got hit in the shoulder, but Jrouler reacted faster and dodged Raider's fire.
The rev raptor stumbled back a step and Jrouler smirked, "No mercy." At that, he started firing round after round, pummeling Raider with a constant stream of fire. The rev raptor shook and rumbled with each hit and both Krater and Renia were badly shook up in the cockpit, the redhead holding onto him tightly. The pilot growled and shouted, "Raider we gotta move or we're done for!" As he tugged on the controls.
Raider responded immediately and rushed off to the side, still took a few hits midway, but was able to break free of the command wolf's shelling. Jrouler scowled and shouted, "Not so fast!" and gave chase, firing more and more shots, though few of them were even close to connecting.
"Ugh, he got us good..." Krater muttered as Raider struggled to maintain his usual top speed. Jrouler's command wolf was quickly gaining on him, he could see that much. "Raider, let's whip around and attack with your blades!"
Raider skidded to a stop and whipped around, the ground around him exploding under the command wolf's fire, and the mechanized raptor charged towards the oncoming opponent.
Jrouler shot upright in his seat and shouted, "Whoa, what?!" Tugging on the controls he tried to change course, but it was too late. Raider's blades shot out, the two zoids brushed shoulders and kept going.
Naught a second after, the side of Jrouler's command wolf erupted as the huge tear in his zoid brought it to the ground. Raider's blade had almost cut the zoid completely in half.
Jrouler snarled and slammed his fist on a control panel, "You've got to be kidding me! He got me again?!" He roared, infuriated. He then pressed his comm. link and shouted, "Zatch, sir, this kid's better then I thought! He almost cut my zoid in half!"
The one piloting the gray shield liger, known as Zatch, frowned and snapped, "That's because you underestimated your opponent." His tone bit deep and Jrouler flinched.
"S-sorry sir... I won't do it again..." Jrouler muttered, sweating.
"See that you don't." Snapped back Zatch again as he and his escorts reached the bottom of the hill and faced Raider. "It seems you're as good as Harken thought. Still don't want to come with us?" He added towards Krater.
"Of course not! I already told you, I want nothing to do with you guys!" Shouted back Krater with a frown.
Zatch frowned and narrowed his eyes at Krater. His comm. flared to life again and the pilot of the red horn asked, "Sir, should we open fire?" The man seemed to consider it carefully for a while before he snickered and replied, "No. I think that's enough for tonight. Withdraw. Return to camp." He ordered evenly.
The red horn and the guysaks turned and started to walk off while the liger moved to the damaged command wolf and Zatch looked at Krater again, "Think about it Krater. We could use someone with your talents... if you change your mind, come back to this spot and we'll come get you." He offered pleasantly as Jrouler climbed up to join him in the shield liger.
Krater didn't say anything. He only watched as the shield liger turned and paused, "Oh and one more thing... you may want to think about the safety of your beautiful friend Virilia Shradner before refusing us again..." With that said, the liger resumed its course and followed its escorts off into the darkness. When he was sure they were gone, he started back towards town, never once letting his guard down, even as he asked Renia, "...So do you have any idea who those guys were?"
The redhead shook her head, "No... I've never heard of Jrouler, Zatch or this 'Harken' guy." She replied as she held onto him. It was obvious the wine was still affecting her, but that whole mess had helped her sober up a little more. She frowned and added, "...And it was just getting good... why'd they have to interrupt?"
Krater laughed uneasily with a blush. They were soon back in town and on their way towards Virilia's house then. It took longer since Raider was damaged and once they were home it was almost one o'clock. Renia got out of his lap, but let him climb down first, then climbed down herself incase she fell. Krater tried not to stare as she did so, being given an interesting view.
Once she was down, the two of them walked in to find Virilia sound asleep on the couch, the TV still on and playing an uninteresting show. Krater smiled and picked her up, carrying her upstairs with Renia following behind, and laid her in her bedroom and shut the door quietly. When that was done, he turned around and Renia wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again before she drew back with a smile and asked, "...Want to continue where we left off?" Whispering quietly into his ear as her hand came to his beltline.
Krater was quiet for a while. Renia kissed him again and pressed herself against him, purring. Now that they weren't being threatened any more, the wine was kicking in again. At the same time, the things the man Zatch had said to him rang through his mind and he found he didn't want to think about it right now.
He took a hold of Renia's wrist and moved her hand away. She was about to try to convince him again when he suddenly picked her up and carried her into her room; the redhead barely suppressing the urge to yelp. He threw her onto her bed, shut and locked the door and climbed on top of her. The redhead grinned coyly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Be gentle, Mr. Mercenary... I'm a fragile thing..." She whispered before he locked lips with her in a heated kiss.
Krater ravaged Renia for the better part of what was left of the night. At this point, he wasn't worried about being quiet and Virilia never woke up. It wasn't until half past three that they finished. When they did, a very satisfied and exhausted Renia gave Krater a kiss goodnight before he went downstairs and laid down on the couch.
As he lay there, he contemplated what happened today for a little while, but he quickly brushed those thoughts aside and went to sleep. It was not an easy sleep, but a restless sleep full of troubling nightmares where Zatch and Jrouler and this mysterious Harken taunted him for the rest of the night...
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Were you expecting that? If you were, you have recognized my characters' patterns pretty well. R&R please!