Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Outlaw Star Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Reaper ❯ Bac Tem Far Batonae ( Chapter 18 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids, Tenchi Muyo, Outlaw Star, or Cowboy Bebop. Also, I do not own the incantation bac tem far batonae; I heard it on Star Trek and thought it sounded cool.

Ok, I have no idea how many more chapters there will be. When the Zenebas are defeated, then the story will end, but I don't know how many chapters I'm going to have to use to do that. It's very frustrating being the author. Anyway, this chapter Terry finally calls when Eric is home, and challenges him. But before that Nate has his battle against the Pandas team. Towards the end the Zenebas attack, and we see just how that incantation affects Nate. For those of you slightly confused with the last chapter, I do not know how long Organoids live; I just suspected that they could place themselves in a state of dormancy for decades, perhaps centuries at a time.

" " speech

` ' thought

( ) author's notes

***** scene change

Italics computer link

The Reaper

Chapter 18: Bac Tem Far Batonae

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Nate sat in the Raptor's cockpit, but not bored out of his skull. He was actually perfectly content. The rain was drumming on the cockpit's canopy, and the sound was almost putting him to sleep. He had been at the battle site for a few hours, and the battle would start in a few minutes. It was in the middle of the forest, where, so his opponents hoped, his speed would be hindered. Sure he wouldn't be able to go supersonic, but he was still faster than those stupid Bear Fighters. He slowly rotated his head to one side, enjoying the several cracks he received, and he received the same from the other side. He clenched his right hand into a fist, every joint cracked; he did the same to the left. It felt good to crack his stiff joints.

Even though it was dark and raining outside, he could see perfectly. There were no special sensors in the Raptor's cockpit. There was night vision of course, since all cockpits were equipped with it. But in weather like this, even that was not much use. His eyes ceaselessly moved, catching every gap in the rain, and using it to see great distances. The other team was out there, already, probably studying the surroundings same as him.

I suppose I should tell you about the forest he's in. It's pretty much a regular forest, except the trees are huge, at least 50 feet in diameter, and over 200 feet tall. He wanted to have a little fun with these cocky women. They were no different than the other people he's whipped. He didn't want to make them beg for mercy, though the thought was tempting. Shaking his head he drove the thought from his mind. It was as if some other personality had taken him for that brief second.

Everyone else was in the Whale King, high above the battlefield. When I say everyone, I mean the Zero, Marauders, Blitz and Flugal teams. There was no doubt in any of their minds that Nate would win. He had wanted to get here early to plan his attack.

"I've never seen him battle in a place like this," Bit said watching the Raptor on the large holo-screen.

"It's been a while since he has," Mayuka said from her position behind the control column. "Isalina wasn't even born when he last battled in a forest."

"This should be good," Brad said with a slight hint of enthusiasm.

The judge finally landed up on a small hill overlooking the forest.

"The area within a 20 mile radius is a designated Zoids battlefield," he said turning from side to side. "This zone is now restricted. The Pandas team versus the Raptor Zero. Battlemode 0954. Area scanned, battlefield set up. Ready…FIGHT!"

CLANG!

Let me tell you something about Battlemode 0954. It is called mutilation by many. Anything goes, no limit on Zoid numbers, armaments, or the amount of damage done to your opponent. The only drawback is that you can't directly attack the cockpit. Its not like the usual battlemodes that only call for a system freeze, this one calls that your opponent has to lose a limb, or it doesn't count. Just so all of you know; it used to be Nate's favorite battlemode, but he wasn't the one who chose it. Think of it as a legal version of Battlemode 0999.

Nate swiftly went into the trees, planning ways to use them to his advantage. To his surprise, and delight, a thick mist began to drift down from Mount Isalina. This battle just kept getting better and better. The mists on Mount Isalina were known to scatter most heat sensing equipment. He decided to try something new for this battle. He stopped and turned to the tree nearest him; it had to be one of the largest he had ever seen. Like jackknives the large claws on the feet whipped out and sank into the trunk. The long, clawed fingers aided in climbing the tree. Upon reaching the lowest branch he saw that it was wide enough for the Raptor Zero and the Blue Fury to stand side by side.

A shot rang out below from somewhere ahead. Over the com he heard the Pandas team talking to each other.

"Linna, watch where you fire that cannon," a female voice said.

"Sorry, I thought you were him, June," the girl named Linna said.

"You sure picked a fine day to battle, Mary," another female voice.

"Hey, you were the one who was supposed to check the weather, Clair," Mary said. "Besides, June was the one who picked this place for our battle."

"For a team that won twenty-two battles in a row, you sure sound frustrated," Nate said in a mocking tone. "And, thanks for choosing this battlemode."

He walked along the branch, easily transferring to the next tree.

"It's men like you that make us glad we're gay," one of them said, I really don't care which.

"Big words for someone about to be taken out," he said deciding to try some mind games. "Look behind you."

He was not behind her; he was, in fact, directly above her. He could see through the rain and mist to see her turn around.

"Uhp, too slow," he said. "How about looking up."

The black and white Bear Fighter looked up to see a massive shadow drop down towards her. By a sheer stroke of good luck, she dodged him. But that didn't help her; his tail whipped out and sliced the front legs in half, and while it was underneath the Zoid, it turned upward and sliced the Bear Fighter in two. He whipped his tail back behind him and took off into the woods.

Another one of the Pandas team lumbered into the clearing to find her fallen teammate. There was a noise behind her and she whipped around, firing the hiblit cannon on her back. It turns out that was another teammate, coming to check on her friend. The shells didn't hit her, since the mist was so thick, she couldn't see straight.

"Sorry, I thought you were him again," Linna apologized.

"It's alright, I almost shot you first," June said.

She was about to say something else, but it only came out as a scream. Nate had run up from the side and rammed her, smashing her against a tree. Then the claws whipped out and sliced her Zoid's side open. It shoved its snout in and ripped at the internal parts. When he yanked the snout out it pulled a few pieces came with it. Linna was too shocked by this sudden attack that she panicked and froze.

"And then there were two," Nate said before disappearing into the mist again.

June and Mary have been taken out, and that leaves Linna and Clair. Both were equipped with hiblit cannons, and twin 100mm hyper laser guns. They also had shields available to them, but weren't sure when was the time to use them. If they couldn't see, then they wouldn't know where he is.

Together they wandered around, strength in numbers. They figured that by walking together they would have a better chance of spotting him. Their cannons and laser guns continued to move up, down, and side to side.

Then it happened, in a flash Nate's claws whipped out from the mist and grabbed Clair's Bear Fighter. He then dragged her with him back into the fog. There were sounds of tearing metal, a few shots were fired before silence set in.

"And then there was one," he said over the com laughing.

"You jerk," she spat him.

"Oh, you sound mad," he said and continued laughing. "Were you expecting me to show mercy? Well think again."

She saw it, the Raptor Zero, standing at the other end of a clearing in front of her. For some strange reason the fog had lifted from this spot. The Raptor bent over Clair's Bear Fighter, its mouth opened and closed on its neck, crushing it with ease. Not really caring about what happened she opened fire with her hiblit cannon. Every shot connected with the Raptor, but not a scratch appeared on it. She tried her hyper laser gun, but he dodged it easily.

"This is your first and last warning," he said, "surrender now or I will rip your Zoid's core from its dying husk."

"You wouldn't dare," she said sounding a bit shaken. Nonetheless she aimed her hiblit cannon and continued to fire.

He dodged it and swiftly got right up in her face. The forehead spike flipped forward and he tilted the Raptor's head sideways. As he ran past her the blade sliced right through her Zoid. The legs were separated from the main body, which had already been sliced in half, laterally.

Both halves of the Bear Fighter fell to the ground and Nate stepped up to it. Sure enough, there was the pure white Zoid core. Using the forehead spike he skewered the orb and tore it from its housing. Slowly it lost its color, becoming gray as stone.

"I warned you," he said laughing louder. "So much for girl power."

He dropped the now useless core on the ground next to the shattered remains of its former host. As he turned away from the mutilated Zoids he felt like a desire deep within him had been fulfilled. The mist began to recede back to Mount Isalina, and the rain stopped. The clouds began to part and the sun shone down on the wreckage of the four Bear Fighters.

"The battle is over, the battle is over," the judge said. "The winner is…the Raptor Zero." His right arm went up to show Nate as the winner.

The Raptor Zero roared, and everyone thought it was in triumph. But Nate understood what it was saying.

"You're right, skip the pickaxes and the shovels, they're gonna need a fuckin' backhoe to get out of that hole," Nate said laughing along with his Zoid.

"Nate, what are you talking about?" Mayuka asked him.

"Inside joke."

*****

The next few days were relatively peaceful. No calls from Terry, no threats from hardened lesbians complaining about their lovers, and best of all, not one sign of the Zenebas. He, unlike everyone else on Zi, could feel them, he knew they were close. They were just biding their time, waiting for the best time to attack. His peaceful thoughts were interrupted when the phone began to buzz.

"Eric, Terry's on the phone!" he yelled. He didn't even have to answer the phone, he knew.

The buzzing stopped and Nate's thoughts turned to the new Berserk Fury. She seemed to be having a problem with Kanor. Twice since Sacra evolved the Geno Breaker she had scuffled with the Blue Fury. He wasn't really sure why that was. He had designed Kanor to be female, for Mayuka to be the pilot. He figured that Sacra might be feeling superior because she wasn't artificially created. Then there was the small matter of Ronak. The order in the cargo bay was as follows: Blue Fury, Raptor Zero, Liger Zero, and finally Berserk Fury. For some strange reason the Berserk Fury would shove the Liger Zero out of the way, and stand next to the Raptor Zero.

"Eric Cloud I challenge you to a battle," Terry said thrusting his index finger at Eric.

"Yeah, okay," he said. "You got the prize money?"

"Fifty times normal Class S amount," he said and ran a comb through his hair.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, it's just gonna be you and me."

"Fine," Eric said and reached for the button to hang up.

"One other thing," Terry said almost worried he would be hung up on.

"What?"

"To the winner goes Isalina's love," he said.

"Fine," Eric said. He wasn't really interested in Isalina, but he felt like doing something nice for her. By beating the crap out of Terry, he might be able to get him to stop bugging her, and him.

The screen went black and Eric slumped back onto the couch. On the table in front of him was a Raptor Zero model kit. Like his grandfather he loved his Zoid models more than anything in the world (**author dodges charged particle beam from Berserk Fury**). Except for the Berserk Fury of course. This model, and the Death Raptor and Blue Fury were extremely hard to come by. So he was lucky he had one. Isalina, being Nate's daughter, had three of each. She said she would give one to Eric, but he said he would get his own (unlike the models you buy at stores now, these are fully poseable, not motorized walkers). So he went to work building his model.

"Oh shit," he said as his head snapped up. "I forgot to ask Terry and when the battle would take place."

Then he thought he could just ask the ZBC, they would know, or they would just send him the info. They were usually pretty punctual about it, but, as usual, the Champ team challenged before getting conformation with the ZBC.

Looking up he saw Isalina sitting across the table from him. She had on a loose, light blue tank top, that stopped just above her abdomen. Just the bottom tip of her black sports bra could be seen. She had he elbows on her knees, and her chin in her hands watching him build the model. Many thoughts ran through his head when he saw her. Maybe she was just bored and looking for something to do. Or maybe she was setting him up for something. His gut told him to just keep building, and his mind agreed.

"I told you I would let you have one of mine," she said picking up the box and looking at it. "Why did you spend so long looking for one?"

"Because I had to do it on my own," he said as he placed the forehead spike in the slot and closed the head armor around it. He had a little problem with accepting help on little things like this.

"Oh," she said standing up. "Well, I'm going to take shower. I'm all sweaty."

*****

The next day the ZBC contacted Eric and gave him the information for the battle. It was to take place in the same forest that Nate had his battle just the other day. He was unsure as to why Terry would choose that place, but he would be sure to keep an eye out above him. It was obvious that Terry was expecting to fight the bulky Geno Breaker, since no one but Nate, Mayuka, and Isalina knew about the evolution. They kept it well secret from everyone. The ZBC didn't have to know, since the Berserk Fury evolved from a Zoid already registered, it needn't be registered again. The battlemode was 0993, one on one, no restrictions on armaments. The battle was to take place in two days, at 2 PM.

"I still don't get why he wanted to battle me in the forest," Eric said looking over a detailed map of the area. It was just him and Nate in the tactics room, Mayuka and Isalina had gone shopping.

"He'll try an attack from above, like I did," Nate said pointing to the map. "He's going to set up an ambush in this tree."

"Nate, if you don't mind I don't want any psychic help," Eric said taking a good look at the map. It was true, that was the perfect place for an ambush.

"I can't see the future," Nate said pointing to another spot on the map. "If his first try doesn't work, he'll try and get you to go through here. There's a big sinkhole just under the path between the trees."

"How do you know this?" Eric asked.

"I almost fell in it, that's why I went up that tree," he said looking slightly foolish. How embarrassing would it be if the great Reaper fell into a sinkhole. "You have to make sure that you know how far the Berserk Fury's feet sink into the ground."

"But what if he's not going over the information as much as we are?"

"Oh, he is, trust me. If Isalina is on the line then he'll do whatever it takes."

"But he won't cheat," Eric added.

"Right, his mother cheats, she cheats all over the place," Nate said laughing. `Dear Gian, do not let them win the Royal Cup.'

"I don't think I've ever seen his Zoid before," Eric said sorting through the information.

"The Lycanthrope? It's a Zoid that his grandfather built for him," Nate said clicking the appropriate icon.

Name: Lycanthrope

Type: Werewolf

Class: 4

Function: Assault/Command

Team: Champ team

Weight: 128.5T

Height: 14m

Length: 10.4m

Max speed (open range): 240kph

Armaments: 40mm Laser Vulcan Gun (x1), multi-directional missile pods (x4), Strike Laser Claw (x2), Stealth Shield (x1), Smoke Discharger (x4)

Background: A new Zoid created by the Champ Foundation. Design is based primarily on the Shadow Fox, owned by Brad Hunter. Designed by Dr. Layon, who also supervised the building of the Lycanthrope. Also, capable of transforming to move on four legs.

The Lycanthrope looked like the Shadow Fox, except it stood on its hind legs. These legs were large and powerful looking. The lower torso was thin and flexible. The chest and shoulders were wide, but appeared to be able to become slimmer, to allow it to run on all fours. Jutting out laterally from the junction of the shoulder was the neck and head. On it's back was the Laser Vulcan Gun. It was exactly like Brad's, and could fire at a variety of angles. It was also larger than the original Shadow Fox.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Eric said looking the Zoid over for weaknesses.

Indeed there were many vulnerable spots. Layon may have designed and built it, but his heart wasn't in it like it had been with the Shadow Fox. The cockpit itself was extremely vulnerable, seeing how it was right out in front.

"Never do business with the Champ Foundation," Nate said, "you'll only be there to design, then they change what you designed to fit them."

The Laser Vulcan Gun, Nate noticed, was also in a very vulnerable spot. An attack from behind could disable it. It could not fire directly behind it. They were too cocky with their design, and that would cost them.

(This is just a little something I forgot to mention about this Berserk Fury. The heavy railguns I told you about, I forgot to mention what I did with them. On the Geno Breaker, they had been concealed in the claw shields. But I couldn't figure out where they should go on the Berserk Fury [**author dodges charged particle beam again**] its perfect just the way it is. I guess the only explanation I can give is that they were removed, and could be exchanged with the array blades if needed.)

Meanwhile, at the Champ team's base Terry was pouring over all the information he could find on the Geno Breaker. For its size and bulk it was extremely fast, but that wouldn't be the problem. What he was looking for was information on stopping the Charged Particle Cannon. There were concealed missile racks behind the claw shields, and that could be a problem.

"Now," he said, "let's see."

He was now looking at the map and was planning exactly what Nate said he was.

"Terry, you know I don't approve of you fighting for some girl who will probably end up a whore anyway," Kelsey Champ said as she rested her hands on her son's shoulders.

"Mom, I wish you wouldn't talk about Isalina that way," he said running over the last bits of information. "Plus I gotta beat this kid."

"Oh, so that's what it's about," she said placing a hand on her chin. "What happens if he wins."

"Then I have to leave them alone."

"Well, I have a phone call to make."

She turned and left the hangar. Here's a very easy way to describe what she looks like. Picture someone like Sara from the Backdraft Group; that's all.

*****

Finally the day of the battle came, and Eric was more than ready. Today there was no mist, no rain, not even a cloud in the sky. He had spent all the previous day walking through the woods, finding spots to ambush Terry. Also, he had found just how far down the feet sank into the damp soil; they sank almost a foot down. Anything more than that and he would avoid it. His plan was simple, find a place where the enemy could hide and torch it. Second part of his plan was to watch the ground; with the stealth shield the Lycanthrope could be right in front of him, and him not know it. Another major weakness in the shield was that there was always a slight distortion in scenery behind it.

He was still inside the Whale King, ready to head out. The mouth opened in front of him, and he started forward. Leaving the carrier he dropped down to the ground from about 50 feet up, leaving a very deep hole. Then the gasps started over the com.

"Eric, where the hell did you get that Zoid?" Bit asked remembering the last time he saw the Berserk Fury.

"She evolved from my Geno Breaker, Dad," Eric said as he scanned the sky for the judge satellite. "Nate can explain it better than I can."

"Nate, you better have a damn good explanation."

"Hey, I can't control what Organoid bonds to which Zoid. I didn't know about Sacra till I scanned the Geno Breaker a few days ago. It was already close to evolving anyway," Nate said shrugging his shoulders.

It took a few more minutes before they were all caught up with the little details.

"That's how it happened," he finished up.

Turning to look out the window Nate saw the red Whale King coming from the distance. A small smile crossed his face when he saw the black Zoid drop in to the trees. The tree it fell through swayed back and forth. He knew it had stayed in the branches.

"Eric, he's in the tree I told you about," Nate said still watching the tree. It had stopped swaying, so he knew Terry was still there; if he had dropped then the tree would start swaying again.

The judge dropped down into the same spot the other judge dropped into. He said his usually thing and the battle was started (I really didn't feel like writing out the whole thing twice).

"I'm Terry Champ, a man destined to be king," Terry said over the now open com. "That's not the Geno Breaker, what are you trying to pull here?"

"I guess it slipped my mind to tell you that my Zoid evolved," Eric said in a mock apologizing tone. "Sorry."

Engines on the Fury's legs opened and it began to act like a hovercraft. It skid around the trees with greater maneuverability than it would have with the bulky Geno Breaker. In no time he reached the specified tree, but he didn't go into the clearing beneath it. One of the array blades whipped forward and fired a single shot of the AZ 185mm beam cannon. It hit its mark, but the Lycanthrope wasn't taken out, only the stealth shield was damaged.

He then ducked behind t a tree as Terry opened fire with the missile pods. The missiles blew out a whole side of the tree. Eric moved both of the array blades forward and embedded them into the tree. He then shoved the Fury's head against the tree and began to push the tree over. Thanks to some careful planning the tree was right in line with Terry's Zoid. Once the tree was falling without his help he pulled the blades out and settled back, ready for when Terry to drop out of the tree.

When Terry did drop out of the tree he made a critical error; he didn't look to see if Eric was still there. But indeed he was still there, and ready to attack. The Berserk Fury ran forward, the array blades tucked against its back. The Lycanthrope turned at the last second and tried to punch the charging Zoid. The Berserk Fury braced itself, opened its mouth, and caught the punch. For those of you who saw that episode of CC when we first see the Genosaurer, Raven did the same thing to an Iron Kong.

The Laser Vulcan Gun swung around the Lycanthrope's side and pointed at the Berserk Fury's side. But Eric was ready for this, he and Nate had gone over enough strategies and planning to make his head hurt, now he was glad they did. The array blade on the right swung out and cut off the gun. Terry then opened the missile rack on the front of its legs. Eric didn't notice this, it was under his field of vision, but Sacra was aware. She reached out, grabbed the flaps that had opened, and closed them. The missiles detonated, blowing off the Lycanthrope's legs.

"Thanks Sacra," Eric said, patting the top of his controls.

"DAMMIT!" Terry yelled slamming his hand down on top of his controls. He quickly pulled it up and rubbed it. The message `combat system frozen' appeared on his screen.

"The battle is over, the battle is over," the judge said waving his hands over his head. "The winner is…the Berserk Fury!" His left hand went up this time.

"Nice move Eric," Leena said (she hadn't said anything in a while).

The congratulations were cut short though by an explosion somewhere else in the forest. There were no other people here besides them; the next battle on this field isn't to start for another hour. Everyone in the Whale King was pressing against the windows trying find out who was there. Everyone, that is, except Nate, he knew who it was. Turning around he ran from the control room, he wanted to get to the cargo bay as fast as he could.

The Whale King was currently moving to settle in the clearing beyond the forest and pick up Eric and Berserk Fury. But when the mouth opened, Nate and the Raptor ran out and into the forest. He ran right past the Berserk Fury, which was making its way through the forest. As he past the downed Lycanthrope, he whipped the tail blade out and sliced the head off. No real reason, he just felt like it. Everyone tried to call him on the com, but he wouldn't respond. They couldn't get through to him, but he could get through to them.

"Listen everyone, that includes you Champ team, mobilize all your Zoids," he said in a next-to-monotone voice. "They're here."

Everyone on the green Whale King knew what he meant, but Harry, Kelsey, Sebastian, and Benjamin had no clue who `they' were. That didn't keep them from making a mad dash to the cargo bay. All of them except Kelsey, for what he did to her son's Zoid was unforgivable (don't worry, she'll get her just rewards). She wasn't going to help him, even if it meant being killed.

"That means you too bitch," Nate said. "I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU KELSEY!"

That made her jump almost three feet in the air. She didn't want to seem too anxious to see what he was blabbing about, so she walked slowly to the cargo bay. An explosion rocked the Whale King, giving her a little incentive to move faster to get to her Storm Tiger.

"Ronak, open a channel to the Zoids Battle Commission," Nate said, and instantly the face of a withered old man was displayed on his screen. "The Zenebas are here, their in the forest at the base of Mount Isalina."

The man's face changed from a look of passiveness, to worried, to pure terror. The channel went dead before Nate could get anything out of him. They were attacking there too.

As he came upon the clearing where he slaughtered two Bear Fighters (the bodies are still there) he saw something that made his blood run cold. Another Iron Saurer, larger than the last, and it had a good meter and a half on the Raptor Zero; if it was at full height (If you don't know the changes, the Raptor is, at full height, 13.7 meters tall, at the shoulder. Take a good look at the height of some Zoids; it's measured at the highest point of the Zoid. The Berserk Fury is 12.3 meters tall, but that's at the top of the back mounted arsenal, not the shoulder or head. I just want you to think about it). It wasn't just the sight of the Zoid that made his blood like ice, it was knowing who was in the cockpit.

"Hello Tyran," an all to familiar, but strange voice said over the com. "I see you've brought some friends. Good."

"Everyone, stay back," he commanded, and they did, by god they stayed way back.

"There is no way to protect them Tyran," Sigren said, "from you."

"What are you playing at, Sigren," Nate asked through his teeth.

"One thing," he replied calmly, "bac tem far batonae."

The change was physical at first. His pupils started to grow smaller, and smaller, till they were just not there. His hair, which had been growing for the past ten years, and was quite long, sectioned itself to look like tentacles (think Predator, but larger and longer). Next came the mental shut down of who he was. It wasn't gone, just locked away as another personality came into control.

The Raptor turned around and faced the others; Ronak had changed as well, or else he wouldn't allow Tyran to work the controls.

"I am here to serve you," he said. His voice was utterly devoid of emotion.

TBC

There's chapter 18, I hope you like it. I put the extra, extra long battle between Nate and the Pandas team for the one guy who reviewed for it. It wasn't supposed to take up the better half of six pages. So I made the chapter extra long to compensate for that. In the next chapter Tyran, which is who he is now, goes against the Zeros, Marauders, Blitz, and Champ teams, minus the Lycanthrope. A little inside information on the next chapter, someone will die. Who is it? Even I don't know, or do I? I have an idea on how I can get reviews, and you people can get chapters, faster. I want one review per chapter; that's all I need. Is it good, or not? If it is, review, if not, don't review. Thank you.