[PG 13] Zoids: Cataclysm (Part II)

[The Bartender]

"Now Michael. Exactly how high up is Pete?" He linked eye contact with the man, winking at him and looking towards the door with a casual expression. "Because that is going to have an influence on this whole thing. If we don't know how high up this Zealot bastard is then we don't know how much of an influence he has on the rest of the city."

Mora snugged, if they didn't even know what kind of a person Pete was then they wouldn't have no chnace against him even less against Prime.

The mini-zoid shattered into pieces.

Mora jumped up and pressed a button in her clock inside her cloack to give Matter a signal to pick her up and put on her mask as the "Black Knight" stormed out and pointed at her with his gun.
She turned around and said to the man;
"Good luck buddy, you will need it." Mora's voice was twisted due of the mask and she sound a lot like a boy. Then, in a blink of an eye, she jumped into the air and grabbed the almost invicible wire that flew over her head and flew away while Matter pulled her higher and higher into the dark night sky.

***

After they had flew away few miles, Matter landed and let Mora down so she could start her report.
"Are you okey Mora? Did you get hit?" The rather small zoid asked;
"No, they were too slow to act properly before I could get away. But I still could hear what they are planning..." She said and started the transmission of the recording she had made with the spy Zoid. After few minutes she received a reply that told that the higher-ups had been warned and they would sent units into Dust town immidately. She also was told to keep on following the group if they were to leave the town before the reinforcements would arrive...

[MaskofSilence]

Understanding Cad's signal, Nell waited patiently for them to enact their plan. She wanted to do something, but knew there was nothing that she could do that wouldn't give them away. At that moment, she wished that she had some mental link with Necros. He could have come from the outside and trapped the spy.

A loud noise brought her out of her thoughts. Micheal had shot the spy Zoid and then ran outside. Standing, she went after him, only to see the person escape with the help of a Raynos. Necros, who had been sleeping in the back, woke up to the sound of gunfire. Alert, he ran to the front of the building only to find his rider and a guy standing there. Nell wasn't surprised when Necros came around the corner of the building. Although, she was surprised when his gaze fixed on the gun and then Micheal, tail flicking back and forth in warning. An audible sigh left her mouth. "Necros, he's not enemy."

Automatically, Necros backed down. Coming to stand next to Micheal, Nell started to message her temple, she could feel the headache coming on. "There going to send reinforcements." it wasn't a question, but a statement. Looking at Necros, she found a soft smile come to her face. She knew that had been bored with Nell's current occupation, he would be happy to fight again.

Turning her attention back to Micheal, she then remembered him saying that he needed to fix his Zoids stabilizer. "I pulled out some tools that should help with fixing the stabilizer in your Zoid. They are in the red box next to the chair that I was sitting in earlier." she commented casually.

[MarchingThunder]

The attempt Agera had made to signal that they had a listener outside had gone well enough, but the attempt to capture them had not gone well enough as Michael Knight had generously signaled his intentions by shooting the scout zoid before giving the eavesdropper a chance to surrender rather than just capturing them.

Agera may have been reluctant to join all things, but she did believe that any action one took had to be decisive, not half-assed like this had been. With a sigh she stepped outside and sent a message to Fury telling him to come join her at the shop as she waited for more developments as one of the people, Nell, spoke about having parts to repair a zoid. Agera knew she couldn't fix Fury, he was as fully functional as he was going to get any time soon, Agera's fusions with him had told her that.

"You botched that," she said softly looking to Michael, "It was already clear she wasn't friendly we would have been better off if you had attempted to wound him or eliminate him." As she finished speaking, Fury strode to a stop next to her outside the building before crouching down next to her.

[TheDoctor]

Cadmus was about to break through the window and grab the spy when Michael shot at the spy zoid. What the hell is he doing?! The idiot just let the listener know that we are here! Sure enough, as he peered out the window, he saw the boy lifted up by a line from a Raynos. Dammit, Michael. This isn't what we need right now. Sighing and allowing his built-up tension to leave his shoulders, he stood up, shaking his head as he left the shop.

All of them stared at the rapidly vanishing Raynos that flew further and further into the night, its outline just barely illuminated by the night sky. It was way too fast for Cadmus to pursue on his own. The bastard got away. Then he turned, seeing the bladed Katfysh. Looking at the zoid, he nodded towards it with a slight grin. Necros was Nell's zoid, the one that she had taken through Devil's Canyon and beyond.

"You botched that. It was already clear she wasn't friendly we would have been better off if you had attempted to wound him or eliminate him."

Cadmus heard the girl speak to Michael with a quiet voice. He spoke in as well, shrugging his shoulders. "To be honest, Michael, I'm gonna have to side with her on this one. I had no idea that you were gonna shoot that zoid. I didn't even notice the thing. I was just gonna break through the window and grab the-"

He cut off as he saw the Berserk Fury crouch down next to Agera. Shit...do we have that thing on our side? It seemed friendly to the girl, yet Cadmus continued to stare in shock. Wow...well...that's pretty convenient. Then he looked over at Necros, then at the Kinami, which was a fair distance away. Sighing, he tucked his hands in his pockets and turned his back to the group, looking at the ground.

Everyone has their zoids. Everyone but me.

[Ushima]

The Raynos came and picked up his target. He drew his other gun and started firing at the zoid. Emptying both guns within seconds. "I Have recorded the Raynos' signal. I'll know if we see it again."

"Good." Reloading he holstered his weapons.

"You botched that. It was already clear she wasn't friendly we would have been better off if you had attempted to wound him or eliminate him."

To be honest, Michael, I'm gonna have to side with her on this one."

"They'll be expecting us. But they don't know when, they don't know how, they don't know where. Paranoia will set in as they wait, choas could spread through the ranks. Maybe not on the scale I've seen at Metropolis during the first war but setting them on edge will be our advantage." Michael removed his tie and shirt. "There's more than one way to fight battles other than shooting everything."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that." Delta moved over to the Kinami.

"I know. Feels weird saying that." Michael grabbed some tools and climbed up on top of the Liger. "We need to move soon. I got a safehouse not far from here we can talk more there. I need these repairs done while I'm here at the shop with adequat equipment. Nell I could use your expertise up here. Cadmus how are we on essential supplies?"

[MarchingThunder]

"They'll be expecting us. But they don't know when, they don't know how, they don't know where. Paranoia will set in as they wait, chaos could spread through the ranks. Maybe not on the scale I've seen at Metropolis during the first war but setting them on edge will be our advantage."

"There's more than one way to fight battles other than shooting everything."

Agera simmered at this declaration from Michael. She may have abhorred getting into needless fights, but her upbringing had taught her how to wage proper wars including the mental side of combat and counter intelligence. With a clenched jaw she began speaking to him again. "There may be more than one way to wage war, but if you were going to let her get away like that you should have given them more information like a false time table to put them on edge, but far worse than any information is no information. The fact that that eavesdropper survived means that they'll know you have someone in their command structure most likely that was passing you this information and they'll probably be purged. In other words you're failure will likely cost someone vital to your cause their life."

At that she began to turn away to climb up into the now open cockpit of the Berserk Fury though before she could make it that far she caught a glance from Cadmus that carried an all too familiar emotion: loss. For a brief second she locked eyes with him and gave him a brief sad smile that showed she knew the same pain as she nodded to him before climbing into Fury's cockpit which quickly closed and sealed up.

She knew the reinforcements would be there soon, but she had no interest in being part of the blood letting unless she absolutely had to. She and Fury were more than capable of handling the usual groups they encountered with ease.

[MaskofSilence]

"I know. Feels weird saying that. We need to move soon. I got a safe house not far from here we can talk more there. I need these repairs done while I'm here at the shop with adequate equipment. Nell I could use your expertise up here. Cadmus how are we on essential supplies?"

While he was talking, Micheal had taken his shirt off. For a second, Nell felt her mind stop. Shaking her head, she climbed up on the Zoid with him. "Do you know what you need done?" she asked, while starting the check over herself. She knew they didn't have a lot of time, so they had to make this quick. She found a couple things wrong; the stabilizer needed a new hydrolic line, a couple holes here and there needed plugging, software upgrades and the blades needed work. A lot to get done in a short amount of time. Pulling out some tools, Nell got started.

Her mind was focused on the Zoid, completing forgetting about the people around her. The only other person she was remotely aware of was Micheal and that was because he was working on the Zoid as well. Even while she worked, she found her mind going to what was to come. Micheal may have a safe house, but what about the people living in Dust Town? She had helped more than one on many occasions. She even made one or two friends, not matter how reclusive she was. Could she really just leave them?

[TheDoctor]

When Cadmus looked up, he saw Agera looking at him. Then she gave him a sympathetic smile, and he froze as he looked into her eyes. What is that? Is it...understanding? He kept eye contact with her after she nodded, but then she turned away, climbing into the Berserk Fury. How could she possibly understand? I don't even trust her yet, but she seems to think that she knows what I am feeling.

"Cadmus how are we on essential supplies?"

Cadmus looked at the ground, his mind distant. He had barely even picked up what Michael had said, but he nodded nonetheless. "Yeah...I'll go check on that." His voice seemed smaller than it had been before as he walked back into Nell's shop, heading into a room separate from the garage.

Closing the door, he walked into the middle of the room. The lights were all off, and starlight poured through the window to illuminate the room with a dull grey light. He paused as he closed his eyes, allowing his mind to flee from him while his face remained passive. His mind, which had previously erected impassible barriers over certain memories of his past, was wide open to him. Flashbacks bombarded him as he sorted through the memories.

Then they suddenly stopped as memories of his zoid played behind his eyelids. Memories of his companion, the Murasame Liger that had filled his heart when was empty. Memories of Rigon.

Memories of how he ceased to be.

~~~~~

Why did you do this, Rigon...Why...

I needed to, little one. I would rather see you live in this world without me than I without you. You are young. You have so much to see in this world. I can see nothing but hate.

No! Don't you get it?! Who will I have?! My mom is dead, my dad left me! I need you, Rigon! You're all I have left! You're my life! What am I supposed to do without you!?

Live. Experience life without me. Find your father, and find another zoid. We always knew that this time would come.

I can't, Rigon! This isn't right! Please, don't leave me! You don't have to go! I can help you! I can fuse with you-

No, Cadmus. You can't. My zoid core is damaged. This is inevitable...this has to happen.

Rigon...

Be strong, little one. Please be strong in my memory. I will find you again one day, and we shall run through the plains of infinity.

...Thank you for everything...I love you, Rigon.

I-

~~~~~

Cadmus did not feel a single thing as his fist collided with the wall next to him, causing the drywall insulation to crack and slightly crater. That was only a physical pain. That would leave as the body healed. But what of pain of the heart?

Tears streamed down his cheeks like raindrops, tracing lines on his skin that shined with the reflected starlight. He didn't even realize that they were there, but there was nothing that he could do to stop them anyway. He stood there silently, clenching his teeth with his eyes closed. A lump of bitter sadness was building in his throat, and he did everything in his power to stop it. However, he could not.

Collapsing to his knees, Cadmus finally submit himself to his emotions, something that he had refused to do ever since the incident had happened in the first place. Quiet sobs shook his body as he allowed the sorrow to envelope him, ignoring the urge to resist. Placing his forehead in his hands, he felt the small drops of water fall from his face, sparkling briefly in the starlight before bursting on the ground beneath him. His back trembled as he drew in long yet shallow breaths, releasing them in hushed, sporadic cries.

No one could possibly understand! She could never know what I have to deal with, the constant lingering loneliness in the back of my head! It reminds me, every second that I check it... His eyes cracked open, and through his clouded vision he saw his own shadow dimly in the light from the night sky. I touch that part of my mind instinctively every time I wake up, expecting him to be there. But no...he's never there. I'm only disappointed further every time that I try. His eyes flooded with tears again, and he squeezed them shut, causing the tears to fall. He was all that I had! The only real friend that I could always count on! The only one who stayed with me...but then he left, just like the others...

Slowly yet steadily, his quiet sobs fell to silence, and he took deep breaths again.

How could you, Rigon...how could you...

[MarchingThunder]

It was several minutes into Agera's self-imposed isolation when Berserk Fury popped a small image up on one of the side screens for her to see. Opening her eyes to look at the image, Agera gave a small grumble as she took in what she saw. "What do you want me to go do about him?" she questioned. The answer Fury gave her was rather obvious as he reopened the cockpit, leaving her sighing in annoyance. She had been there and she had no desire to go back, but trying to help Cadmus would be doing just that.

A small jostle from Fury beneath her served as further antagonism to go and help Cadmus with his grief.

"Fine. Fine..." Agera mumbled softly as she ditched her jacket in the cockpit before nimbly climbing down Fury's body to the ground. Once she was on solid ground, Agera made her way into the shop and towards the stairs that would lead her up to the next floor where Fury had shown her Cadmus was venting his anger and grief on the walls. As she reached the next landing she could hear Cadmus punch the wall above her and sighed as she quietly stepped into the room he had taken over to sulk in.

As he cried and leaned against the wall, Agera carefully balled her right fist before striking out and smacking directly into Cadmus's cheek. Unprepared to be hit, she knocked the man flatout on the floor as she said, "You need to quit sulking Cadmus. You're not the only one who has suffered the loss of a partner."

[Ushima]

"Here." Michael moved behind Nell. He placed his hands on her. "Hold that here like this. I need to secure it." Moving next to her where the line connected to the stabalizer. Grabbing his equipment he started fastening bolts to it. "Ok it's good. You can let go now." Now that was done the Kinami would be able to move at maximum speed without the risk of a leg falling off. Michael moved into the cockpit. Opening up a storage compartment he pulled out a drive. "Hey think you can install this while I do some patch work? It's simple, just pop it in and follow the on screen instructions." He held out the drive to Nell. "Unless you don't want to do software work on a rare zoid?"