[PG 13] Zoids: Cataclysm (Part II)

[TheDoctor]

TO THE OOC

The wasteland of Zi was certainly not a place to be alone in. Not only does water have to be carefully rationed, but the environment itself could kill you. Injuring a leg or losing consciousness in the wasteland would most certainly mean death. That isn't even taking to consideration the massive bandit population, showering the planes of Zi with crime. Not to mention the constant threat of the Zealots, who would either try to recruit you or slaughter you right on the spot. Occasionally, they did both.

And Cadmus Lakonen was all alone.

The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows from small rocks. It was going to set in a couple hours, and fortunately Cadmus was walking away from it. He stumbled through the planes, staring at his own lengthened shadow as he mindlessly walked. Brushing his now blonde hair out of his eyes, he saw that there were several zoids off in the distance in front of him. They should move. And they should move soon.

To the group in the distance, all that they saw was the wavering figure of a somewhat tall and muscular man in the glare of the fading sunlight. They didn't even seem to notice him until he was within 200 feet of them. There were three men, two Command Wolves, both of which looked to be piloted at that moment, and one Pteras, which did not look to be piloted. Two of the men had pretty large builds, but one of the men was a bit smaller than Cadmus. The two men had rifles slung on their shoulders, and the smaller one was holding a piece of paper. As Cadmus approached them, they straightened up, noticing the incoming stranger. When he was within 40 feet of them, the smaller one waved, and Cadmus didn't respond. They should move. Now.

Then he was within 10 feet, and the smaller man, who looked like he was the leader, hailed him. "Hello traveler! How is your journey?" His voice had a jovial tone that Cadmus could tell was faked. He responded to him with silence.

When the man saw Cadmus continue walking with his eyes on the ground, he raised an eyebrow. "Alright then...anyway, have you considered joining the Zealots?"

Cadmus snapped his head up. It was only then that he spied the symbols on the sides of the Command Wolves and the wings of the Pteras. Zealots. I'll be damned. Sure enough, when he looked at the partially exposed chest of one of the men, he saw part the symbol tattooed onto his chest. They all have it. They all have that cursed tattoo. He stopped in front of them, only five feet from the group. As a comfortable breeze blew past them, Cadmus linked eye contact with the man.

"Zealots." He let out a short chuckle. "I wouldn't join you bastards if my life depended on it."

The grin on the man's face instantly fell, and it was quickly replaced with a snarl. "And why is that?"

Cadmus shook his head. "You are all simply tools for him. All of you. Fools. And I will kill him."

This time, it was the man's turn to let out a laugh. "Kill him? You've gotta be kidding me! You can't even take out us, let alone him!"

In response, Cadmus glared at him. "I will kill the Zoid Prime. And if you do not step out of my way, I'll do the same to you."

The man grinned smugly, shruggin cockily. "Fine, your funeral." He turned away, walking towards the Pteras. "Kill him."

As the two men with the rifles cocked their weapons, Cadmus let out a short yell. He leaped forward with great speed, grabbing one of the men's rifles with one hand to push it away and smashing his palm into the man's nose at the same time. The man released his weapon with his left hand, instinctively bringing it to his nose, which was broken and spurting blood. Knowing that the other man was ready to shoot, Cadmus moved himself behind the man with the broken nose, lifting the rifle with his own hand. Locking his forearm around the man's neck to use him as a "meat shield," he raised the rifle so that the uninjured man was in his sights and fired. The man fell to the ground as several bullets pierced his flesh, and Cadmus quickly knocked the man that he held unconscious.

At this time, the smaller man turned around, almost to his Pteras. His eyes opened wide for a second, but then the grim expression returned again. He shouted at the two Command Wolves, and they quickly stood up, lowering their weapons at Cadmus.

Then Cadmus let out another yell, and he started to glow, vanishing into a ball of light. This was a technique that he had created, the one that had earned him his notoriety as the "Blue Devil." In a the ball of blue energy, he flew high into the air and then arced downwards. The two Command Wolves followed his position, firing shells in his direction. None of them hit, and then the ball of energy took a sudden turn and propelled through the Command Wolves' necks, knocking them into Command System Freeze.

The smaller man was extending the wings of the Pteras, ready to fly, but the ball of energy turned towards him, smashing holes through both of the Pteras' wings. As the Command Wolves fell to the ground with the Pteras, the ball of energy landed on the ground, quickly dissipating and leaving Cadmus kneeling on the ground, breathing quickly. The attack always had a toll on him, and he felt his body and head aching. His breathing was shallow and fast, and there was now a fine layer of sweat on his skin.

Bastards. He stood up slowly, allowing his breath to return slowly yet steadily.

Then he felt a sudden shock of pain hit his right side, and he fell to the ground again, letting out a cry of pain. Looking up, he saw the smaller man with a metal club in his hands. The Pteras cockpit was open behind the man, and he had a grin on his face. "I told you it was a bad idea, boy." Raising the club, he start to bring it down on Cadmus' head.

Then Cadmus started to glow again, vanishing in the ball of energy which then launched itself up at the man from the ground. It knocked the man to the ground and landed on top of it, and as the ball of energy vanished, Cadmus' body returned. He was holding the man by his throat on the ground with one hand, and with the other hand, he reached behind his back, pulling out a long dagger with a foot long blade. Grabbing the man's shirt collar instead of his throat, he put the dagger to the man's neck, glaring into his eyes with a mad frenzy and seeing fear in response. Then he whispered to him furiously.

"The Zoid Prime can't hide any longer. I am the Blue Devil, and I will kill him. Goodbye."

And with that, he slit the man's throat.

Wiping the blood on the dead man's shirt, Cadmus sheathed the dagger in its hidden sheath behind his back, standing up from the man. As he did so, he let out another short cry of pain, clenching his right side. Lifting his shirt and jacket up, he felt around the wound, feeling his fingers travel over the numerous scars that he had gained in his travels. The skin had split slightly and it was undoubtedly going to bruise heavily, but the ribs did not feel like they were broken. Lowering his shirt and jacket, he crossed his left arm over his body, holding his side. Then he kept walking.

He arrived at his destination when the sun was setting. Dust Town. The place where it had all started. Where he had met the Paladin that had brought him into the group, which Cadmus unofficially left. Where he had met Cyrus, the man who started as an enemy and became a very close friend. Where he had escorted Elle to, the girl that he thought he loved.

It had all started here.

Pushing open the door to the closest bar, Cadmus walked in, ignoring the glances of the curious. At this point, his worn out Paladins jacket was only draped over his shoulders, for his arms weren't through the sleeves. His left arm still held his side, his right arm hanging lazily. Taking a seat at one of the stools at the bar, he ordered some whiskey. When the bartender returned, he placed the bottle on the counter in front of the blonde haired man.

Nodding at the bartender, Cadmus took a swig.

[MarchingThunder]

Sticking to the farthest corners of both rooms and the world had always served a particular patron of the Dust Town bar rather well and as a new patron very nearly stumbled into the building, she found herself all the more thankful she had taken the booth second from the corner which avoided much of the suspicion common to the corner booth while still permitting her a clear view nearly the entire room. Her clear, hard, olive colored eyes took in the room with quiet contemplation as she began forming her opinions about the new comer. he was clutching his side for starters though he wasn't bleeding so either broken or bruised ribs, and he was already going for the liquor. So trouble was clearly written all over him and with that observation she resigned herself to avoiding him if at all possible as trouble never did Agera any good, a sentiment confirmed by a wave of reassurance she felt wash over her from her partner well outside of town.

Partner, that was an understatement for her mentally linked compatriot she thought with a brief smile as she looked towards her own drink. Berserk Fury had now been her near constant companion for years, only separating from her when he absolutely had to such as when Agera entered towns to sell off the scrap they dug up and salvaged across the planet. occasionally she took him into a city, but most often the sight of the two of them was met with fear and suspicion, few trusted the pilots of tyrannosaurid type zoids for whatever reason in her experience, perhaps due to the fact their zoids were predators by nature, but Agera and Fury had never bothered delving into that, instead they had settled for simply doing what was needed to avoid fights with locals and to just make ends meet.

And this particular week, they were doing rather well. Well enough that even with that standard amount saved from excess funds after purchasing supplies she had still had enough to go out and relax a bit, and that was how she had ended up in Dust Town's bar with a small tumbler to drink from and a bottle of one of the bar's finer whiskeys. With her heavy jacket laying on the seat beside her and even her beret off to let her hair down, both literally and metaphorically, Agera knew she drew occasional glances from the men of the room but she settled for simply ignoring them and enjoying her evening, when she was finished, she would head back to Fury and they would move on to their next find, hopefully they could avoid more of the Zealots, they had been nothing but trouble and no show of force or attempt to flee was enough to dissuade the royal pains in the asses from trying to involve her in their nutty plans, and that more often than not had lead to nothing but regret on Agera's part as she and Fury had been involved in more fights and caused more pain than she wanted to imagine.

[MaskofSilence]

Not a sound was heard around the near empty workshop besides the occasionally sound of metal against metal. In the very back of the shop, a girl with long brown hair, which was put into a side braid, and gray eyes was crouched in next the joint of a rather small Zoid. The Zoid was one that very few people had ever seen before and that is because it was a Katfysh, an old model that had stopped being developed long ago. The only reason this girl owned one is because she was the one who fixed if up and upgraded it. This girl's name was Nell, and the Zoids name was Necros.

It had been one year since Nell had seen Zoid Prime. One year since she had seen Korzai and everyone else that she had met along the journey. After the experience, she had made it to the nearest small town, Dust Town, and settled down. She even opened her own shop, which was well known about and popular around town and even outside town. She had even gotten some every popular pilots in her shop, asking her to look at their Zoids. While she worked on their Zoids, they would examine and stare a Necros in wonderment. Sure, it wasn't the best life, but it was one that Nell and even Necros, enjoyed.

At this particular moment, Nell was working on one of Necros's right joint because the it needed to be tightened and redone. While working, she generally wore looser pants and a black tank top and her tools were always in reach. Right now she was just putting the finishing components on the joint, which was one screw. Once she was sure the screw was on right, she stood and stretched. "Try that," She told the Zoid, while standing slightly back. Her eyes carefully examined the leg as it moved, making sure that every was moving according. Much to her relief, it was. Wiping the sweat from her face, she smiled. She was now officially done for the day.

Walking further back into the shop, she came upon a small room with a single bead, a dresser and a small bathroom. Stripping, she stepped into the shower and let the water wash her clean. In her mind, she debated on wither nor not to go to the bar, but her mind rationalized that she needed a quick drink after a long day of work. Stepping put, she got dressed and headed out, bidding Necros good bye on the way. She was fairly close, so she just walked.

Arriving, she opened the doors and took a seat at a booth that faced away from the bar. Ordering a drink, she ignored the stares that she was getting. Sighing, she leaned her head back on the booth, Why did I come here again?. A drink was suddenly placed in front of her. Oh yeah. That's why. Lifting the drink to her lips, she took a gulp. Defiantly what she needed after a long day.

[Ushima]

"General Kinght, come in." The voice over the radio called out.

Said man, Brigadier General Michael Knight, raised a hand and brought it down onto his console. "Yeah."

"What's the progress on your mission." The image of General Ceaser appeared. "And wake up damn it."

Michael sat up. "Sorry sir." He saluted. "Was up late raiding a stronghold. It didn't yeild any results I'm affriad."

"This is troubling. You've been out in the wasteland for months. You'd think you'd have something by now." Ceaser pinched the bridge of his nose. "We have reports of down zoids and bodies several miles from you position. Check it out."

"Yes sir." Ceaser's image faded. "Delta. We're moving."

"Affirmative." The organoid brought the Kinami Liger out of sleep mode, a mode which Michael wished he was still in.

"We got the coordinates. Let's move." The Kinami roared before taking off running. The zoidian hadn't changed much over the year. His hair a bit longer, features a bit more defined, oh and his cybernetic eyes. It amazed him what they could do. It took some getting used to but he did. Michael had only lost one eye in the battle against Zoid Prime. But when replacing his eye he demanded the other one match. Something about symmetry, he was weird like that. Thinking about the battle a year ago made him think of his friends. He hdan't seen Vega, Curtis and Cadmus at all. Michael assumed they were laying low, avoiding the war. It was smart. And it was all the more reason for him to track down Zoid Prime and destroy it. So he could end the war and reunite with his commrades. Prime was all the proof he needed that humans hadn't attacked the genezoid transport. And Michael would drag Prime's burning husk to Zyphron.

"We have arrived." Delta informed him.

Michael blinked, looking at the site before him. He had been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't realized. "Thanks." The cockpit opened and Michael jumped out. He drew one of his guns as he approached, ready for anything. Delta joined him. "Seems we missed the party."

"I wouldn't call this a party." Delta approached the bodies. "No pulse."

"The Devil's been here alright." Michael eyed the zoids, the Zealots symbol filling him with rage. People who would willingly ally themselves with that monster made him sick. Prime was responsible for the near extinction of his race. There was about three thousand still in cryogenic stasis somewhere. Delta refused to reveal the location until Prime was slain.

"A lot of people in the wasteland are wondering when the Black Knight will meet the Blue Devil." Delta spoke up, breaking Michael out of his glare.

"I'm wondering that myself. The sooner I find him the sooner I ask him to help me exterminate the Zealots. Then after that it's a straight shot to Prime." Michael clenched his fist, knuckles cracking. Deciding not to stay longer Michael and Delta scavenged the area, taking what supplies he needed before calling an Alliance team to take the zoids. The Alliance could always make use of more zoids, either for combat or parts. "Delta. What's the nearest town? That's got to be his next destination from this."

"Scanning.......nearest town is three miles west. Dust Town." Michael paled. "Is there a problem?"

"No. It's just where this all started. One could say it's ironic." Michael holstered his pistol. "Let's move out." Michael got into the Liger as Detla fused. Then they took off toward the town. Once their he parked the Liger next to a Beserk Fury, that zoid made him shiver, last time he fought one of those he almost died. Luckily back up arrived and he managed to take it out with their help. Getting out of the zoid he started into town. "Wait here Delta. Monitor radar and radio frequencies. Keep me informed." There was a spot he wanted to check out, for nostalgia's sake. Finding the bar was easy enough, it seemed to be doing well. Going inside he nearly bumped into someone. Michael stared at their back as he made his way to the bar. "Asshole." Shaking his head he looked for the bartender. "Excuse me. Bottle of your strongest." The bottle was set before him and Michael took a seat. "Now what can you tell me about the Blue Devil?"

"Well he ain't here. Other than you no zoid has showed up so he obviously is somewhere else." Michael let out a curse, he was sure he'd come here for supplies, repairs or...something. "Why you looking for him?"

It took a few seconds, and a drink, for Michael to answer. "I need his help. As badass as I am I can't take on an army on my own. And no way the Alliance can spare me troops to fight." Michael had been in a lot of close calls, being on his own was dangerous. That's why he'd been working with Curtis and Vega all the time. "If I had him on my time. Those Zealots would be dust by now and my true enemy would be a burning charred husk." His grip on the bottle tightened, nearly breaking it.

"Well good luck. Nice seeing you again, Mr. 'Black Knight.'" With that the bartender went back to serving customers.

"Good. Tch yeah right." Michael took another drink.

[The Bartender]

Mora was flying high above the desert of Zi, scanning the area inside her Raynos, Matter.
It was already getting dark as she noticed two Zoids moving in the desert and as they stopped, Mora also noticed the three dead zoids in the ground and as she zoomed nearer she could see the marks of the Zealots in the Zoids. The Blue Devil... She thought as she flew toward the next town where she hoped to find this person.
"Group 52 is dead." She reported with her radio into the HQ and waited for the answer;
"Do you know who it was Mora? That was already the fourth group inside one week." A voice of a man answerd;
"it was the Blue Devil, the Zoids were destroyed with only one hit, it can only be him..." Mora said frustrated, "I think he is provoking us into a direct warfare all by himself." She said,
"Well, if he thinks that will happen, he must be a fool. Our leader has his own plans..." Came the answer, "Mora, I want you t find this "Blue Devil" and follow him and report us his movement. Do you understand?" Mora nodded;
"Of course, you can count on me." The young woman said and flew toward the Dust Town.

-------

Mora landed a short distance from the town and tok off her mask and let her white hair fall down on her shoulders. She looked at Matter;
"Okey, you can fly back into the base and let them wash the marks on your body okey?" She patted the head of the big creature which hissed silently and then took off, flying into the direction of the Zealot HQ. Mora herself hid her mask inside her cloak and entered the town.
Such a small town, nobody outside... Mora thought and entere the bar and looked around, only few quests were inside, mostly concentrating into their drinks but looking at the door as Mora entered but returned to their own businesse quickly. The young woman walked to the bar and asked the barkeeper;
"Why is it so silent in the town? Is it because of the war?" She received a cold look and a pint of beer;
"Yeah, most of the people have fled or entered the army." Then the man returned to his own business, washing the glasses.
Mora looked around the bar; a man, propably a soldier... a woman in the corner... another, younger woman, she was maybe as old as Mora, or one year older and a big man at the bar who looked to be a traveller.
Mora sank to her drink and took a long sip before she noticed it had alcohol.... Damn, why do I drin this stuff? She thought and spilled everything in her mouth back into her glass.
"Could I have a glass of water?" She asked the barkeeper and after a long stare she got her water. Mora sighed and took a sip from her water.

[TheDoctor]

Cadmus heard the door almost constantly opening and closing as he sat there with the whiskey, feeling the slight buzz of alcohol soothe away the ache in his side. Damn, never knew the bar to be this busy. He lifted the bottle, tipping a sip of the spirits down his throat. Not that it matters. I'm staying here with this booze, and that's final. Taking another swig, he heard parts of a conversation coming from the man who had just sat down at the bar.

"Now what can you tell me about the Blue Devil?"

"Well he ain't here. Other than you no zoid has showed up so he obviously is somewhere else."

Heh, hiding in plain sight. Good luck catching me, asshole.

"Why you looking for him?"

"I need his help. As badass as I am I can't take on an army on my own. And no way the Alliance can spare me troops to fight. If I had him on my time. Those Zealots would be dust by now and my true enemy would be a burning charred husk."

Cadmus grinned. Damn right they would be. Hell, on my own, I could probably take them out by the end of this year. He glanced down at the bottle in his hands, half smirking. Booze must've gotten to me fast. There's no way I can take them all out. But hey, if this Republican asshole wants my help, I must be doing a pretty good job.

"Well good luck. Nice seeing you again, Mr. 'Black Knight.'"

As the conversation ended and the man left to tend to a small white haired girl who probably didn't belong in a bar, Cadmus' eyes grew wide. I'll be damned. I'll be fucking damned. It can't be. Is it? Glancing to the side, he saw the man that the bartender had been talking to. Shit. This is surreal.

Sitting on the barstool a couple of seats away from Cadmus was Michael. Michael Knight, the so-called "Black Knight." He was much different from when Cadmus had first met him. The man had completely different eyes, replaced by ones that were bright blue. His face had changed from cocky to sullen in the span of a year, and his posture had even changed. He went from holding his head high to slightly slouching over his drink.

Cadmus turned back to his drink, returning to a calm, relaxed expression. He doesn't need to know. He can just walk out of the bar, and I'll never see his sorry ass again. I'm different, he probably wouldn't even recognize me. I've changed. I don't need a companion for this.

He brushed a strand of blonde hair away from his dark blue eyes. But if I want to find the Zoid Prime...Michael is my best shot. Maybe I'll enjoy the company. He winced slightly, partially from his side and partially from a flood of memories from the past. From his journey with Michael and all of the others. From the battle that had killed-

No. It will only hurt. It will only remind me of what I've lost. I can't do it. Glancing down at the bottle in his hands, he took another swig. But...a reminder could be what I need. A reminder of why I'm doing this. Placing the half empty bottle on the counter, Cadmus set it out of comfortable reach. No more booze for me tonight. Then he looked down at the bar in front of him, idly locking his fingers and speaking towards the new Michael but not facing him.

"So. I hear you're searching for the Blue Devil."

[MarchingThunder]

There it was.

There was the line from the one Agera had marked as trouble that indicated just how much trouble he was. He had opened his mouth and questioned one of the other people in the bar about the fact they were looking for the Blue Devil. The one he asked was already acting like trouble on his own too with rampant bragging about his skills and the fact he was a lone soldier didn't help. That meant either a mission or a desserter, neither good for Agera's plans to stay out of the lime light.

Besides those two though, two additional people had come into the bar during this time, one woman Agera had recognized as the town mechanic from her occasional visits and the gossip through the town. The other though was a girl that didn't even look old enough to have gotten into the building much managed to order a drink, a fact confirmed by her request for a water instead of the pint she had been initially given.

As time decided to continue passing though, Agera found herself paying much less attention to the mechanic and the young girl and far more to the two men at the bar, even as she slowly refilled her tumbler with whiskey from the bottle she had purchased up front.

This was going to get interesting and she wanted no part in it other than to observe. Her expression settled in to disinterest as she kept her eyes sweeping the room, though she never strayed far from the two men at the bar.

[MaskofSilence]

By the time Nell had sat down and finished a drink, the door had opened several times and each time she found herself looking to see who it was. She knew most of the people in town and she was surprised by the fact that so many out-of-towners that had walked in within the last couple minutes. When did the bar become so popular.

One out-of-towner in particular caught her attention that she found herself staring intently at him. Something about him was so familiar, but at the same time something was distant. Sighing, she tilted her head back against the booth, thinking. Her mind was a little groggy from the alcohol, but it wasn't so much that she couldn't think. For some reason seeing that one stranger brought back memories of Zoid Prime. She had been curious about it and even asked the people that came into her shop about it, but they never said much.

Straining her ears, she listened to what the man was asking. The name "Blue Devil" was mentioned several times. This guy was looking for the "Blue Devil" because he needed help with finding...Zoid Prime. She was in shock. This guy was looking for Zoid Prime. Another voice then interfered, apparently he had been ease dropping on the conversation as well. Calling the waiter over, she ordered another drink. She had been planing on leaving after one, but his conversation was getting to exciting for her to leave in the middle of it.

[Ushima]

"Yeah." Michael answered the man who decided to speak with him. "I need his help. Anyone going after the Zealots with such ferocity wouldn't be a bad guy to get to know." Raising his bottle up he took another drink. "It's funny though. I remember when I was the most feared pilot in the wasteland. Now this Blue Devil goes and takes my title from me." Michael gave a soft chuckle. "Don't know if I should be jealous or thankful. On the one hand I no longer have a target on my back. But my reputation doesn't carry nearlly as much weight anymore." Taking a final few drinks he finished off his booze. "Suppose it doesn't matter anymore." Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bills, setting them down on the bar. "Nice talking to ya." All he wanted to do was leave, get back to his mission. Stopping for a nostalgia trip was nice but he didn't have that much time.

Leaving the bar he took a deep breath and sighed. "He wasn't here Delta."

"That is unfortunate." Came Delta's response.

"Tell me about it." Michael began making his way back to his zoid. Once there he sat on a crate. Pulling out his guns he set them on another crate. "Delta. Scan for the next closest settlement. There's a chance he went there instead."

The Dino Organoid materialized next to his partner. "Scanning." While his partner scanned Michael set about taking apart and cleaning his guns. It had been awhile since he performed any maintenece on them. "Scan complete. Next town his ten miles south-west."

"We'll head out soon." Michael's hands moved mechanically over each piece of his weapon. It showed how skilled he was, that he had years of experience with firearms. He was a master of combat afterall.

[TheDoctor]

As Michael left, Cadmus still sat on his bar stool, grinning. He has no clue. I need to grab him before he leaves. When the other man passed through the door, Cadmus stood up, placing a tip on the bar counter. Stretching his aching side, he started to walk towards the door. When he reached a certain point, he saw the back of a brunette girl's head. Out of curiosity, he turned to glance at her face for an instant, then started to turn away.

Wait. Hold up a damn second. Doing a double take, he glanced back at the girl, holding a gaze with her that was slightly too long. His face showed obvious shock, one of his eyebrows raised. Is that...her? He thought he saw her, one of the ones who had traveled with him and battled the Zoid Prime. She was there when the incident happened.

But...is that really her? No...it can't be. Turning away, Cadmus shook his head. That isn't her. I've definitely had too much to drink. Sighing, he pushed open the door to leave the bar, coat still draped over his shoulders. He saw Michael over near his zoid, sitting on a crate and cleaning his gun. The bastard always loved to show off. His organoid that he gained last year stood next to him as well, still as a statue.

Cadmus walked towards Michael with his hands in his pockets. The organoid shifted, looking at Cadmus as he approached. Nodding to the organoid, he locked eye contact with Michael. Then he put out his hand, grinning smugly.

"Nice to meet you, Black Knight. You can call me the Blue Devil."