Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Outlaw Star Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Reaper ❯ The Marauders, The Dragon Returns ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids (TOMY), Tenchi Muyo (PIONEER), Outlaw Star (), or Cowboy Bebop (Sunrise/Bandai Visual).

I finally got that one review that I needed, thank you Child of Fire. I know you don't like to review, you have said it many times, but it's people like you I'm trying to reach with my pitiful little threats. I have finally found what I have sought after for almost a year; a Berserk Fury (Führer) model. Just so we all know this I am not running into trouble while writing this. It's just that after using some of my best ideas in the earlier chapters, I don't want to repeat myself. I am merely thinking of better ideas, one of them is to make the Deathsaurer MKII **evil laugh**, won't that be fun. This chapter starts ten years after the last, so Isalina is 16 and Eric is 15. To set the record straight, I personally did not think my story would last this long, but you people just wanted more. One more thing, the five asterisks will no longer mean scene change; now they mean a time change, since so many scenes can occur at the same time. You'll see what I mean.

" " speech

` ' thought

( ) author's notes

***** time change

The Reaper

Chapter 17: The Marauders, The Dragon Returns

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Let's see, the past ten years went by like a blur. Not much really happened besides Isalina and Eric becoming ace Zoid warriors. They started a team called the Marauders team (thank you, again, Child of Fire). Isalina is constantly being bugged by Terry Champ, who apparently hates Eric like his father hated Bit.

In ten years two Royal Cup Tournaments have passed. I would not mention this unless an important team had moved up. The Flugal team won the first of the two, and the Lightening team won the next. The next Royal Cup Tournament takes place this year.

Isalina and Eric, having been born into Class S, were deemed to have exceptional skill, and did not have to move up from Class C. They were also allowed to stay in Class S because they both battled in that class before starting their own team. Hence there was no reason for them to compete against amateurs. Plus the ZBC owed both their families many favors, and it was time to pay up. You didn't really think they did it out of amnesty.

You're probably all wondering what happened to the Champ team. They came in second against the Lightening team. Most of the work, again, being done by Mary. Pretty much the entire family participated: Mary, Harry, Terry, Benjamin, Sebastian, and Harry's wife, Kelsey. Kelsey is a manipulating, scheming, prideful, spoiled, cheating (the list goes on) bitch. Many of you are probably wondering why Harry married a person like her. It was an arranged marriage, set when they were both very young. Too make things worse for Harry, if you even care, he can't divorce her (I'm borderline evil aren't I?). That, my dear friends, is why Harry wanted Leena. If he married someone else before he married Kelsey, he would be free. That's why he never had an actual, honest to god reason for liking Leena. Terry's Zoid the newly discovered Lycanthrope has given him somewhat of a reason to brag. It's too bad he got knocked out in his first battle. And he was twelve when that happened.

I never really explained too well last chapter why Eric's Genosaurer skids back when the railguns are fired. The problem was with the securing struts. Their actions are tied into the firing of the CPC. Nate pretty much took it apart and rebuilt it so the struts work automatically for any large weapon placed on the Zoid. He also increased the Zoid's overall power.

Let me see, what am I forgetting? Oh, did I mention that Brad and Naomi got married? Yeah, they did during that little six-year skip I had earlier. Now they have a seven-year-old son named Daren Hunter. He doesn't look like either of his parents. He has extremely dark red hair, with a bowl cut. His eyes are sort of a blue/green color. Danni and Jamie got married, and have a five-year-old daughter named Rita. She has dark brown hair, cut just below her shoulders, and has amber colored eyes. Also, Ricki and and Leon had twins, a son and a daughter. Their fraternal twins, so they do not look alike. The girl is named Kirstin; she has very dark brown hair and eyes, like her mother. Their son is named Steven, after his grandfather; he has hair like his father's, except light brown, and his eyes are brown.

In the past ten years there has been no sign of the Zenebas. Every last ancient ruin had been search to the point of tearing it down. Their base still had not been found. The tracking satellites, and even the judge satellites, had been cataloging all the ruins on the planet. Every one of them was searched; none had been overlooked. After three years of searching they gave up, and a feeling of peace and security spread over Zi.

One thing I had repeatedly failed to mention. Do you people remember the glass created by the QPC, that was shattered by the ZBC judge satellite. One more thing, Eric's Genosaurer evolved into a Geno Breaker, about fives years after he got it. This bit of information is a clue to the title. One more thing, the armors from the Liger Zero, have been moved from the Blitz team's hover cargo, to the green Whale King; which now serves as both the Zero and Marauder's carrier. The Schneider, having been the base armor for the Liger's evolution, is gone. But not to worry, Toros built another Schneider armor.

Zarochi Flats, 4 PM

The Whale King landed and the mouth opened. The Liger Zero Jager and the Geno Breaker stood side by side at the top of the ramp. Both Zoids charged forward at the same time, though the Liger pulled ahead. The blue Zoid jumped out at the edge of the mouth and skidded to a halt. The red Zoid not far behind it also jumped and skidded right next to the Jager.

They were facing the Omega team. A team made up of a Dark Spiner, a Lightening Saix, and an Iron Kong PK Mk II. All of these Zoids were extremely powerful, the pilots were all seasoned veterans, and there was a rumor that the Dark Spiner was an Ultimate X. This team was actually the first team to Class S, and had had their asses handed to them on a plate more then once when they challenged Nate. For this battle, only the Saix and Spiner were being used.

Finally the judge landed.

"The area within the Zarochi Flats is a designated Zoid battlefield," he said. "This zone is now restricted. Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. Danger! All others must leave the area at once. Area scanned. Battlefield setup. The Marauders team versus the Omega team. Battlemode, 0982. Ready…FIGHT!"

CLANG!

Immediately the Dark Spiner went for Eric and the Geno Breaker. A quick sidestep and he was out of the line of fire. The claw shield on the left side whipped out and tried to grab the Spiner, but he was too fast. I hope you all know that the Geno Breaker's claw shields are on what I can only describe as grappler arms. Both Zoids turned and charged. The forehead spike on the Breaker flipped forward, ready to ram it into the Spiner. At the last minute the green Zoid stepped aside, and the spike went through one of the shoulder cannons.

"Haven't had a good battle like this since I fought Sindel," John Cougar, leader of the Omega team, said.

"As I recall, you lost that bout," Eric retorted.

The fan on the red Zoid's back began to spin, charging the particle cannon. Eric whipped around and fired at the Spiner. The enemy tried to dodge, but that only kept it from taking the beam head on. Instead the arm and leg on the left side were blown clear off. The Zoid fell to the ground, command system frozen. Then the Geno Breaker itself fell; the Spiner had slashed its leg with its tail as it went by. There was no system freeze; therefore he had won.

The race between the Jager and the Saix had escalated into an all out war. Neither was giving in to the other. As they ran they rammed each other, and a few times were shoved into the rocky outcroppings. It was as if the armor on this Lightening Saix had been super conditioned to handle anything. And they weren't even going at full speed.

Isalina decided to punch the boosters, and took off ahead of the Saix. Aina Denzing, the Saix pilot, had an idea of what she was doing, but she wasn't sure. She saw the Dark Spiner go down, but decided that the Geno Breaker was not a problem. Being preoccupied with her thought she didn't see Isalina turn and head straight for her.

It was time to reveal why her Saix was special. The back cannon pivoted 90 degrees, and she punched the engine for only a second. Her Zoid went to the right without actually turning. And Isalina went straight past her.

"That wasn't part of the information," Isalina said.

"Strange, I could have sworn I told you about it," Nate said over the com. "I don't think you were listening."

On the screen in front of her was displayed the data on this particular Lightening Saix. Sure enough the information was there.

"You should really look over the information more carefully," Aina said. "That's what makes all the difference."

It didn't matter to Isalina what the information said. Zoid battles weren't about the strength or speed or modifications the Zoid has; it how you use the Zoid's given abilities. She punched the throttle again and went straight for Aina. The same thing happened, and Isalina figured Aina would go left, since she went right last time. Then it hit her, that's what Aina wanted her to think; she was gonna go right again.

She pushed the Liger faster, and it went faster than the information the Omega team received. Can you guess how? Sen, the Organoid, was bonded to the Liger, not permanently. He still augmented its power. Indeed Aina did go right, and Isa was ready for her. The ion boosters whipped themselves around, and pushed the Liger Zero to the right, in line with Aina, though she was a good 20 or 30 meters away. As soon as they landed, Isalina charged forward.

"Strike Laser Claw!" she yelled as the Liger leapt into the air and sliced off the back cannon of the Lightening Saix. The Saix went down.

"The battle is over, the battle is over," the judge said waving his arms around. "The winner is…the Marauders team." His right hand went up to signify this.

"Nice job, kid," Aina said stepping out of the cockpit. "How did you now I would go right."

She was tall, around 5'8", with green hair, cut short, around her ears; her eyes were the same color as her hair.

"At first I thought you would go left," Isa said, "then I figured that's what you wanted me to do, so I went right."

"Not many people figure that out the first time," she said, turning around and walking away. "See ya `round kid."

There was no shame in being beaten, except if it was your opponent's first battle. And this is far from Isalina's first battle.

From atop the cliff where so much has happened in the past a lone figure stood, watching the Isalina talk with Eric. A bit of rage started to build up inside of him, but he suppressed it. Terry Champ, the new "man destined to be king", had grown out of his weak, whiney, and all-around dorky persona. He now saw himself as a rebel, a spoiled P.O.S. rebel. He had slicked back his hair, wore black leather pants, which got somewhat baggy around his boots, also black, and also wore a black leather jacket over a white tank top. Before I forget to tell you, he rides a suped-up motorcycle; like I said, his mother spoils him.

"Just you wait," he said to no one. He was going to do what his father did, offer a shit-load of prize money, and challenge Eric to a battle.

He felt the almost irresistible urge to run down there and start a fight. But he was content with waiting; besides, he didn't want to upset Isalina. So he turned around and walked to his motorcycle, and left.

"How could you not see his tail?" Isalina questioned her teammate.

They were still at the battlefield, talking about the battle. Isalina was currently pointing out what he had done wrong.

"Would you have seen it?" he retorted.

"Yes!" she said. "You can't just keep your eyes to the front as you pass, you have to look to see if he does something."

"Hey, I finished mine faster than you did," he said, running out of comebacks.

"Because you have a Charged Particle Cannon," she said throwing her arms up in a dramatic way. "Think about it."

"Hey, it was a good match," Eric said changing the subject.

"Wasn't it," she responded. "You did good out there."

"You too."

They had little fights like these very often, and it always ended with Eric mentioning something good. Most of the time it was about the way she looked, but that never worked. Before moving forward I must tell you this: no, they are not dating; I have plans for them.

*****

Nate looked at the Geno Breaker's leg; it wasn't damaged too much. The armor would have to be removed, the stabilizer recalibrated, the joints repositioned, and the armor be put back on. There was still the little matter of replacing that broken part. That was no problem at all, there were plenty in storage rooms.

"He should've seen it coming," Nate said walking towards the large iron door.

Though the door was 10 feet wide by 30 feet tall by 1 foot thick, he still opened it with ease. Reaching in he pulled out the part. It was twice as long as him, and twice as wide, but he still lifted it without any trouble. Looking up at one of the maintenance arms, it came down and grabbed the part. Over the years he had developed the ability known as psychokenesis. Without even touching the controls the other grappler arms came down and removed the armor from the damaged leg, and one removed the damaged part. The arm with the new part moved in and placed the part in, and secured it.

Now he had to work the controls, because those stabilizers wouldn't calibrate themselves. All of a sudden the Breaker began to thrash its head side to side. The spike was also forward, having never flipped back. The spike was headed straight for the Raptor Zero, which nimbly ducked out of the way. The Raptor was quick to react and grabbed the Geno Breaker's neck, holding it still. The tail continued to whip side to side till Nate decided to silence it with about six of the grappler arms. Four of them grabbed the tail, while the other two held the claw shields in place. The procedure was over in another five minutes, and the Zoid calmed down. Nate was starting to suspect this was another Ultimate X, but he had to be sure.

The floor around the Geno Breaker began to open in a large circle. Underneath the floor were large circles of metal, with lights on the inside. A small anti-grav bubble formed around the Zoid and it was lifted off the floor. He almost expected it to start thrashing again, but it stayed quiet as the circles were raised up around it, and started to spin; moving like a massive gyroscope. The information it gathered was sent to the console Nate stood at. He looked at it and saw the familiar shape of an Organoid system's black box.

"How did you get that?" he questioned the Zoid. Though he didn't expect any answer, he got one. "Sacra? Is it really you?"

Sacra, an Organoid his mother had been familiar with. Though it was a wild one, it still seemed to accept her presence. It was a blue Organoid, the largest he could ever remember seeing, larger than Specula. Sacra, though it wasn't unusual, was a female Organoid (I wanted to add a small twist). She didn't have any hind legs, but moved around slithering on her tail. There were no really special features about her besides that; no blades, no wings, no horns, no spines.

"I don't know why you thought I would hurt you," he said to the Zoid. "You trusted my mother, why not me."

All he received was a growl as it was placed back on the floor, and the scanner receded into the slots it was raised from.

"Don't mind Ronak, he was only acting on instinct. Just like you were."

"Hey Nate," Mayuka said as she walked in. "Who are you talking to?"

"The Geno Breaker," he said turning towards her.

"What are you saying?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"That it's an Ultimate X," he said, "and the Organoid is named Sacra."

"Should we tell them?"

"No, not yet," he said turning back to the Geno Breaker. It was growling at the Raptor Zero, as if to apologize. "This must be a recent occurrence because the black box didn't show up on the scans I made last week."

"After fixing the claw shield?" she asked.

"Yeah, I always make scans to make sure nothing was affected."

"Smart."

"Exactly."

Mayuka laughed seeing Nate's straight face. She was hoping he would join in, but knew he wouldn't. Turning they both left the hanger, leaving the now four Ultimate X's alone. Yes, four, Sen had made the next-to-ultimate sacrifice, and bonded to the Liger Zero. I caved alright, I said I wasn't gonna give Eric and Isalina Ultimate X's, but I did, dammit; feel free to beat me with a stupid stick.

*****

A few days later Nate was sitting in the living room, pretty much just lazing around. There was nothing to do today. Now he was regretting not going to the movies with the others. When he was practically asleep the vid-phone began to ring. It wasn't really a ring, more like a buzzer. He got up and pressed the button to answer it.

"Eric Cloud!" a familiar voice yelled.

"He's not in right now," Nate said rubbing the sleep from his eye.

"He isn't?" Terry said looking depressed.

"No, he and Isalina went to the movies," he replied with a slight smirk on his face. He deliberately didn't mention that Mayuka had gone with them.

"What?!" Terry was on the verge of having a fit. Underneath all his "tough" features, he was still a spoiled brat.

"Yeah, the three of them left about two hours ago," he continued.

"Three?"

"I didn't tell you, Mayuka went too," he said, and wishing he hadn't. Torturing Terry was one of Nate's favorite things to do. Mainly by withholding information.

"Oh, okay," Terry figured that with Mayuka there then Eric wouldn't try anything. He's as dense as his father. "Can you tell him I called?"

"Fine, I'll tell him," Nate sighed as he hung up.

He moved back his laid back position on the couch and closed his eyes. He was desperate for something to do. There was a battle scheduled for tomorrow, and he was wishing it was today. You'll never guess the name of the team. The Pandas team; it's made of four women with Bear Fighter Zoids. It was just going to be him. These were feminists and wouldn't fight against Mayuka; you know, the whole girl power thing. They were on a winning streak of 22; that's where it would end. You do not want to battle someone who has been undefeated since his first battle.

The silence started getting to him so he got up and walked to the cargo bay. He looked up at the Blue Fury, the Organoid system now held the name Kanor (Ronak spelled backwards). A feeling of comfort filled him as he walked towards the Raptor Zero. It had been a while since he last battled, almost a week. That may not seem like a long time, but to him it was.

"Whadda ya say partner, ready to kick some royal ass?" he asked the pure white Zoid. It didn't make any sort of noise, but, then again, it didn't have to. "Yeah, we'll bury `em so deep that they'll need a shovel and two pickaxes to dig `em out."

"Hey Dad," Isalina said tapping him on the shoulder. She seemed in a happier mood than before. "Anyone call?"

"Yeah, Terry called for Eric," he said without moving. "He sounded mad when I said you went to the movies. Speaking of which how was it?"

"You really should've come Dad, it was the best."

"Yeah Nate, you would've liked it," Mayuka said stepping forward and giving him a small kiss.

"Anything else happen while we were out?" Eric asked, hoping for some kind of news.

"Not much really, but there is something you need to know Eric," Nate said bringing up the latest scan of the Geno Breaker. He pointed at one part and said, "Do you know what that is?"

"Yeah, it's a black box," he said absentmindedly, then reality hit him. "Are you saying?"

Nate nodded, "The Geno Breaker is an Ultimate X, and very close to evolving."

"You can tell that?"

He nodded again.

"Hey, Eric, why don't you call Terry," Mayuka said, motioning the still stunned Eric from the room.

"Why, he'll call, sooner or later," Eric said as he regained his senses. He then ran over to the Geno Breaker and opened the cockpit, which is in the chest for those of you who don't know. "How long till it evolves."

"Her name is Sacra," Nate said in a corrective tone.

"It's a she?" all three asked at once.

"Yes, so why don't you just ask her when the time is right."

"How do I do that?"

"She chose you to pilot her, which means she'll speak to you."

Indeed Eric began to feel something twinge in the back of his brain; like a sense of assurance. It was almost like someone was trying to talk, but couldn't so it communicated through feeling. This is how it starts, feelings, then words come.

"Less than a day," he said.

The mouth of the Whale King opened to reveal their surroundings. It was a canyon-type place, though the canyon walls were not very tall. The Geno Breaker's cockpit closed and it started forward, down the ramp, and outside.

*****

A few hours passed and still nothing, the Geno Breaker just stood there. Nate was also there next to it, his hand on its leg. It was the strangest thing, he could feel the power inside the Zoid, but it wouldn't come out. He could feel something else, something not coming from the Zoid itself. He could feel Sacra's fear, she was afraid of changing.

"It's okay," he whispered. "You won't change just because the Zoid you're bonded with does. Besides, you'll be even more powerful than before."

It was this that pushed Sacra over the edge. The cockpit opened and Eric stepped out.

"She said she wanted me on the outside," he said standing next to Nate, who had backed up. "But I still don't know what it evolves into."

There was no time for Nate to answer because the show was starting. The Geno Breaker began to glow a bright red color, but no dome or crystal was forming. This surprised them both, since that's what usually happens. The armor slowly began to change, but before that happened the claw shields moved from the sides to the top. The two blades didn't change much, they just got longer. The shield itself changed into a third blade. The flaps on its back shifted and morphed to accommodate the blades and grappler arms. The long, curved claws changed into smaller claws, and the arms also shortened. The securing struts on the back of the legs split in two. The spike on the forehead and the small flaps on its head flattened and wrapped around the head. The tail didn't change much, the red armor turned silver and changed into flaps. When they light receded there stood the Berserk Fury.

TBC

Wow, a new Berserk Fury, how's that for twist. Bit Cloud's own son gets the Zoid that almost killed his father. I know, not a good one. I was going to call that team the Fuzzy Pandas team, but that would be too much of a coincidence. In the next chapter the Zenebas are back, at full strength. All the people in stasis pods have been released and so are their Organoids. Reviews are always great, plus they make me write faster. Also Terry challenges Eric to a battle, but he's expecting to fight a Geno Breaker. Man, is he in for it.