Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Outlaw Star Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Reaper ❯ Relation Revealed ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids, I wish I did, but no dice. Look for the list of what I do own in this story on previous chapters.

` ' thought

( ) Author's note

* * Zoid speech

Here it is, final chapter…maybe. It depends on how much info I can get into a minimum of four pages on Microsoft Word. Most authors should know how it is. Anyway I am going to try and insert some Cowboy Bebop characters in this, one in particular. Try and guess who it is. And please remember that this is A/U, so changes are to be expected. The Bebop character in particular sent the letter in the last chapter. So please, enjoy. Remember A/U, Spike did kill Vicious, but did not die himself, much to Faye's relief.

Chapter 9: Relation Revealed

(You'll never guess who it is.)

**********

1AM, Three days after the e-mail arrived

Nate stood at his console, reading, and re-reading, the e-mail. He still couldn't remember if he had any older brothers, or sisters, back on Earth; or, for that matter, anywhere else from that part of the galaxy. He knew he had two aunts and uncles, along with his younger cousins, back on Mars; he had been getting weekly messages from them ever since the whole Deathsaurer thing.

But the e-mail address was alien to him; he had never seen it before. Even though it said to reply, he still hadn't. No other messages were arriving from the unknown sender, not one. There was something about what was said in the letter though, something familiar. The person had said he/she couldn't wait to meet the girl who melted his heart. No one but Mayuka knew that he was like that. No one except for his mother, and…

It finally hit him. He knew who it was. He felt so stupid for not realizing it sooner. He knew there were only three people who knew that he had buried his emotions when he was young. Mayuka, his mother, and, you'll never believe this, his older sister. He couldn't figure out how he had forgotten about her. He hadn't heard from her in what must have been eight years.

The last time he saw her was when he and his father moved from Mars to Ganymede. She had been at the launch port, with the aunt and uncle that were her godparents. How could he have ever forgotten? His sister…Julia.

(BwahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!, bet you didn't see that coming.)

Julia Sindel was his sister. Information from the net told him she was a member of the Red Dragon Syndicate on Mars. Though she hadn't been seen in two years.

"Why hasn't she tried this before?" he asked himself in shock.

"Who?" Mayuka's calm voice asked as she grabbed him around the waist from behind. This was one of her favorite things to do. Sneak up behind him while he's thinking or working, and grab him around the waist. She squeezed and was rewarded with a small sigh. "Well, who?"

"I know who sent the e-mail," he answered still looking at the photo on the screen. "Hm, the bounty was ten million woolong. That's a bit extreme if you ask me." This was mostly to himself than to Mayuka. `Says here she's dead,' he thought with a small smile.

"Ten million, who's head is the bounty on?" she asked slowly running her hands from his waist up his abdomen.

"My sister," came the flat, cold, emotionless voice that he hadn't used in years. He usually only used this voice when he wanted Mayuka to stop doing whatever she was doing. And she stopped fast.

"Woah! Sister? You have a sister?" she asked in a mix of shock and hurt. Hurt because he hadn't told her.

Nate spotted this and replied, "Don't feel bad that I never told you, I don't remember her to much either." He turned around in her arms and looked straight down into her blue, silver-rimmed eyes. He saw she was wearing just a pink nightgown, covered by a light blue robe. He put his arms on her waist, and lifted her up off the ground. She giggled and he put her back down.

"Is it okay if I change the subject?" she asked looking him straight in the face. Seeing him nod she said, "I wanted to know if you were still considering the reconstructive surgery on your arms and back."

(I don't know if I mentioned it or not last chapter, but Nate had lost more than his right arm. He had also shattered his right scapula and broken his clavicle. For those who don't know these, they're his shoulder blade and collarbone.)

"I've been thinking about it."

"And?"

"I'm going to do it," he said as casually as he could.

"Great, should I make an appointment?"

"Already made it."

"Good, now…come back to bed," she said with a bit of a coo in her voice.

"I'll be in in a little while, okay?" he was about to turn around when she grabbed his arm.

"No, you are coming in, now," she said forcefully enough to make him turn around to face her. The look on his face was serious and she backed away a step. Then his face broke into a smile, small, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Okay, whatever you say," he said with a laugh and following her to the door. After he shut down the system and turned off the lights he stepped through and locked the door.

"Are you done yet?" she asked with a mocking look on her face.

"Depends on if you want the Fury stolen."

"That can't happen," she crossed her arms over her chest, about-faced, and walked down the hallway to the bedroom. Nate just shrugged and finished locking up.

"Oh, I made that appointment for next week," he yelled to her.

"Good."

He finished closing up and walked quickly and quietly to the bedroom. Only one was needed now because they were engaged…duh. He slid under the sheets and rested his head on the pillow. Mayuka put her arms around him from behind and they fell asleep like that.

Somewhere in space, over Mars

"E-mail for Spike-person," Ed said while surfing around for better bounties. She looked at Tomato's screen, silently reading. It had only two words and a non-traceable address. The words were:

`Meet Zi'

Ed had no idea what that meant. She thought about telling Spike about it, but decided to wait for morning. She fell back and landed on Ein, who yelped, struggled, and eventually went back to sleep.

Next day on Zi

The vid-phone kept ringing and ringing. Why no one was answering it is beyond me. Oh, wait, now I remember. Nate and Mayuka were working in the hangar making a lot of noise. The monitor on the console turned on and Toros' face appeared on it.

"Are you gonna answer or not?" he said loud enough to be heard over the noise.

"What do you want?" Nate answered, turning off the lifting arms. Though he had an idea what he wanted. Most of the calls to the Zeros' Base were challenges.

"I'm relaying a message from Bit," Toros continued, "He wants to battle you one on one."

"Fine," Nate answered going back to work. "I'd prefer it to be today, just set a time."

"Why today?" Toros asked looking a bit distracted. He had good reason to be; Bit was trying to get in front of the monitor while Leena was holding him back.

"I want to test out the new armor I designed for the Raptor," he worked the controls with the ease and grace that he soon wouldn't have with his arms.

"A new armor, can I see it?" he asked his eyes wide and filling with stars. He didn't know many people, besides himself, who designed armors.

"Sure, at the battle."

Toros face fell, usually he was able to manipulate people into doing what he needed done. Like screwing Layon up so he would get more prize money. Instead of trying again he agreed.

"Battle Mode 0992 alright with you?"

(This was used between Bit and Stigma Stoller. One on one battle with no limit on arsenals.)

"Just fine," Nate said with a small on his face.

"Can you at least tell me one thing about your new armor?" Toros was practically on his knees begging.

`He must be desperate,' Nate thought before saying, "Sure, it's like Berserk Fury."

"The Berserk Fury?!" he practically squealed.

"Is that enough for you?" he reached for the button to hang up.

"That's just fine with me."

"One more thing, is this going to be an official battle?"

"Yes, it's already been cleared by the Zoid's Battle Comission."

"Good, now the time, if you please."

"Oh, how `bout 1400 hours?"

"Just fine, tell Bit to be ready," he laughed, "One more thing."

"Yes?" Toros' asked his eyes showed that he knew it was about the prize money.

"20 times the normal amount, is that alright with you?"

"That's alright with me!" Toros said turning to look off the side of the screen. "Bit we're getting 20 times, you better beat him into the ground!" There was the sound of something heavy hitting the floor and Leena stepped in front of the monitor.

"Hello," she said trying to act calm. In reality she was somewhat scared of him now. After seeing what his Zoid could do, she wondered what he would do, could do, if he ever got mad.

"What, I'm busy," he said in his monotone voice. A smile just barely registered at the corner of lips when he saw her cringe, he didn't know why. He looked at her, the Gun Sniper's pilot. Compared to Mayuka, she was a close second in the looks department.

"I just wanted to say, may the best pilot win," she said with a forced smile. She pointed to him, then back to herself, "Between you and me, I'm rooting for you. Someone has to pop that big head Bit's got. Kick his ego's ass is what I'm saying."

He smiled wide at this, "Sure, I've been wanting to for a while."

She smiled a normal smile and the screen went back to displaying the output of the armor. He smiled; maximum power for this armor and the stabilizers were just as cool as if there was no armor.

"Let's test out that Zero System. Whadda ya say Raptor, give it a try?" he yelled to the now red Zoid. The Raptor emitted something that wasn't quite a growl, it was more of a purr. "Good," he flicked a button and the Zoid's green eyes flashed. "Uploading combat data, level 5."

The lines of code flashed across the screen. He watched them, one eye on that, the other on the armor output. The stabilizers were holding up, the Zero System was working perfectly, and the Raptor's own reaction time was never higher. The Berserk Fury-type blades on its shoulders were registering a slight increase in heat, but nothing to worry about. These blades did the same job as the Berserk Fury's blades; they were Charged Particle Cannons, short and long range blasters, and could be used for drilling. The blades along the Zoids segmented tail were also showing a slight increase in heat. To tell the truth, it's what they were supposed to do when hooked to the Zero System.

"Uploading combat data, level 8," He smiled and raised the small bar that controlled the level. The bar went between 1 and 10, 10 being the most difficult. The blades radiated more heat, and the Raptor's eyes flashed again. The blades on the shoulders fully extended and flipped down from their swept back position. The blades around the head, two at the lower jaw, two just behind the eyes, and the single large blade on the forehead, all flipped forward only halfway; like extending a frill. Kind of like the frill on the Dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park.

(There's something special about these blades, just wait and see. You've most likely guessed one use, but there are more.)

"Are you really gonna use this armor?" Mayuka asked from below the Blue Fury. She was watching this test with a bit of a worried look on her face.

"Yes," he answered looking up from the output readouts.

"But what if the Raptor is damaged by the stress?"

"Why do you think I'm doing these tests?"

"You mean-?" she started but got cutoff

"Yes, I'm using the Zero System to amplify its already augmented combat systems," he said looking back at the armor output screen. "He'll be fine, ask the Fury if you want a second opinion."

"Fine, I will," she turned and looked at her blue Zoid. "Well, is he gonna be okay?" The Blue Fury growled in a low soothing tone, and she felt that small part of her mind translate it. "Okay, if you say so."

"I told you," Nate laughed.

"Hmph, I know you know your Zoid, but what if you're both wrong?" she put her hands on her hips.

"You know that I have never done anything that I didn't think I could do."

"That's just the thing, everything you've done so far has been next to impossible."

"After this battle, do you think I should retire?"

"What?!" she was stunned. `Him, of all people, thinking of retiring,' she thought, `that just isn't possible.'

"Well?"

"No, you and I are gonna battle till we die!" she said punching her hand towards him.

"And our kids, what about them?"

This shocked her more than him asking to retire. She had always thought he hated kids. "You actually want to have kids?"

"You sound surprised," he said with a very rare, very wide, smile on his face.

"I thought you hated kids?!"

"Only my cousins, haven't you noticed that yet?"

"I noticed that, but I thought it was towards all kids," now she felt dumb for not thinking of that.

"Nope, just releatives."

Mayuka smiled and went back to calibrating the Fury's leg joints. When it ran, instead of being a smooth motion, it looked like it was loping.

Nate looked down at the screens again and raised the bar again, "Uploading combat data, Level 10."

"How many?" a voice from the door said. Nate turned to look and saw a women standing there wearing black. She was about 5'8", had long dark gold, and she wore a pair of very dark sunglasses.

"Julia?" he asked just above a whisper. She nodded and removed her sunglasses. Instead of doing something anyone would expect a long-lost brother to do, he reached down and lifted up his caster, loaded it with a number 4, and aimed straight at her face. "Say something only she would know," he said using the monotone again.

She smiled at this, like she was expecting it. "Okay," she finally said, "You never had many friends when you were young, always saying you were too shy."

"Anyone could've found that out."

"You're right, could anyone have found out that your least favorite food is zucchini?"

"Yes."

She had a look on her face that radiated understanding.

"Hm, I see you aren't as trusting as you once were."

"What do you know about trust?" he kept the caster perfectly aimed between her eyes.

"You once tried to kill yourself when you were 12," she said in the calmest voice possible.

"No one knows that!" he yelled at her, forgetting all about Mayuka only ten yards away.

"You told me, the day before you left Ganymede," she walked towards him, a small smile on her face. It was this smile that finally made him believe her.

He lowered the gun and stared at her. Then he noticed the time; it was 1300 hours.

"I got to get going," he said then turned to Mayuka. "Get in the hover cargo and follow me."

"Okay," Mayuka said then turned to Julia, "Have you ever seen a Zoid battle?"

Julia shook her head, "No, I haven't, but on my way here I heard of a certain green Zoid that conquered all challengers in a flash."

Nate had to smile at this, "I never answered your question, how many what?"

"How many kids do you plan to have?" Julia answered seeing the confused look on his face.

"I don't know, I really just want one."

"One, I was hoping for two," Mayuka said in a mock spoiled tone.

They all had a good laugh before Nate jumped into the open cockpit and disconnected the Raptor's system from the main computer's interface. Mayuka lead Julia to the red and black hover cargo, which was parked next to the Blue Fury. She opened the forward panel and her Zoid loaded itself onto the cargo.

"Mobilizing Death Raptor," Nate said opening the forward gate. "See you there."

"If you had made my cockpit a two-seater we wouldn't be stuck in this slow-poke hover cargo," Mayuka said to the holo-image in front of her.

"I'll buy a Whale King after this, okay?" he said with a laugh. "Customize it however you like."

"You mean it?" her voice had reached a point of pure elation. "However I want it."

"Yes, money means nothing. Hell, we're almost as rich as the Champ Foundation."

One hour later, the Mackeray Mountains

"1400 hours, Bit, are you sure you're ready?" Nate asked with a good long laugh.

"I'm getting tired of that laugh," Bit retorted with the same confident smile he always had on his face. Even though he was facing a Zoid with armor he had never seen before. "I just hope you don't get scared and call it a tie, again."

"Don't worry Bit Cloud, this one is till the end."

(I don't think I told you about the blades on the Raptor's tail. On each armor segment were three blades, one on top and one on each side. All the way down the tail, every segment had its moveable blades.)

"Nice armor," he said still in overconfidence-mode, "It's like the Berserk Fury, mixed with the Schneider." Bit was using the Schneider again, but with a big difference. Instead of having the small fusion boosters it usually had on the back, it had the Jager's Ion Boosters. The large blades were not sacrificed, they're on the Liger's sides, not the back.

"Combining your armors for more power, interesting, but it won't save you."

"Thanks, I call it the Liger Zero Schneider Full Burner," Bit said the forceful tone changing to a mild conversation tone, "You know, Schneider and Jager."

Then the Judge Capsule landed.

"The area within a 15 mile radius is a designated Zoid battle field. This zone is now restricted; only competitors and personnel are allowed on the battlefield. Danger; all others must leave the battlefield at once," the judge called in his monotone enthusiasm, "Bit Cloud and the Liger Zero versus Nate Sindel and the Death Raptor. Area scanned, battlefield setup, Battle Mode 0992. Readyyy…Fight!"

The battle was on.

TBC

Hate to leave you with a cliffhanger, but I don't want my chapters getting too long. I hope to get a comment about the combination of armors. I also want to know what you think of the Raptor Blazer, Raptor's new armor. The next chapter includes the Crew of the Bebop, as symbolized by the e-mail sent to Spike. Please, I need ideas. If you have any please e-mail them to me at berserk_fury001@yahoo.com. If I end up using your idea you can have a part in the story. The better the idea the bigger the part. Back to the next chapter, it skips ahead into the future, years into the future, 6 to be exact. Nate and Mayuka do get married, and have a daughter. I've already decided on a name, but if you can give me a better one, I'll use it. Thank you.