Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Outlaw Star Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Reaper ❯ Meet The Reaper ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids, I wish I did, but that's beside the point. I do own a Zoids model kit, but I don't think that counts for much. Blah, blah, blah, yadda yadda yadda.

This is my first fic, so have mercy when you review it. This is only the first chapter, so look forward for more. This story is about action, adventure, and mystery, with a little romance thrown in.

The Reaper

Chapter 1: The Boy with Different Eyes

"BIT! BIT CLOUD, GET BACK HERE WITH MY CEREAL!" came Leena's usual morning yell. It echoed through the halls of the Tauros base. She kept her eyes glued to Bit's back as she chased him down the main hallway to the hanger. They passed Brad with his hair pulled back and a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth.

He was used to this by now. Ever since Leena went on that diet, Bit was stealing her cereal. She got it back anyway. Bit called this her "morning exercise." Brad spit out the foam in his mouth and checked his hair in the mirror.

THUD!

Brad knew Bit had been caught, probably about to get into his liger. It was the only safe place for him when Leena was like this. There was a crunching sound and another thud. He looked out of the doorway again and saw Leena walking back towards the kitchen with her cereal. Turning around he saw the small icon on the computer screen light up. The YOU'VE GOT MAIL message appeared in big red letters. He clicked the icon and read the e-mail that popped up.

It was from Naomi Flugal. Brad read the e-mail and was about to close it when five more popped up. He sighed and closed the e-mails, then left the room and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. When he entered and sat down at table Bit was there rubbing his sides.

"Kidney punches?" Brad asked in a low enough voice that Leena wouldn't hear.

"Nope, bear-hug. I think I need a chiropractor," Bit answered continuing to rub his sides.

"Well then, you shouldn't have taken my cereal," Leena said, then she whispered in his ear, "Thanks for not spilling any."

"Good news, team!" Doc said as he stepped in followed by Jamie. "We've got a battle scheduled for Wednesday, against the Zeros Team."

"I've heard about him," Leena said getting up and putting her bowl in the sink. "His name's Nate Sindel, right?"

"Yeah, and he's got a pretty powerful Zoid," Jamie said as he sat down.

"What is it, a Gogulas, a Genosaurer?" Bit asked.

"It's a Death Raptor, this thing makes the Berserk Fury look like a rag doll," Doc said, he suddenly had a very serious look on his face. "Do not underestimate it." He stepped over to the wall monitor and typed in the name. Up came a picture and stats on the Death Raptor.

Name: Death Raptor

Zoid Type: Dinosaur

Function: Assault/Command

Class: 4

Weight: 95 tons

Height: 15 meters

Length: 34 meters (overall), 8 meters (main body), 20 meters (tail), 16 meters (horn length), 6 meters (neck and cockpit)

Speed: 175 kilometers/hour (normal cruising speed), 750 kilometers/hour (maximum speed)

Armaments: Quantum Particle Cannon (2), Smokescreen Generator (2), Strike Iron Claw, Tail Blade Slash, Lightening Javelin (1), Twin Vulcan Assault Cannons (2), Long Range Dober Gun (1, optional), Wild Weasel Total Assault Pack (1, optional), Hardened Alloy Claws and Teeth, Conversion Armor System (CAS)

Background: A newly discovered Zoid, said to be the rarest in the world, only one exists. This Zoid's long legs and tail stabilizer allow it to reach speeds thought to be impossible by any land-based Zoid. It is the only ground based Zoid capable of breaking the sound barrier. The wide array of adaptable weapon's ports makes this Zoid one of the most versatile on the planet. It has able to battle underwater, and with the optional booster pack, can attack from the sky as well. Its main weapon is the two Quantum Particle Cannons, QPC, located on the head. The Death Raptors owner, and finder, Nate Sindel, developed these weapons. Because of this he is the soul owner of the most powerful weapon on Zi. Capable of punching through any known shield, or armor, the QPC is also the most effective weapon. The beam's wake alone is enough to disable an Ultrasaurus. Even though the weapon is extremely powerful, the strain on the pilot is too much to use it in succession.

Then they looked at the picture. It looked like the raptors in Jurassic Park. The tail was long and low-slung, the middle toe claws were golden, and there was a white blade on the top of its head. On either side of the head were the horns, which arced back over its body to hang over the middle of the tail. On it's shoulders were tubes where the smokescreen was excreted. Above the tubes were two blades, which looked like stabilizers. The arms were small, but that didn't mean they weren't strong. Each hand had only two fingers, and on the wrists were the Twin Vulcan Assault Cannons. The last 5 meters of the tail was a long scythe. The snout was long, about 3 meters, and inside was the second QPC. All in all it looked like a leaner meaner Berserk Fury. Just so you all know, it's green.

"So this is the kind of competition in Class-S?" Bit said staring at the picture.

"Dad, you got any information on the pilot?" Leena asked quickly shoving Bit out of the way so she could see. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the Zoid. It was the coolest thing she'd ever seen, next to the Gun Sniper, of course. She tapped the scroll button on the screen to see any information on the pilot.

"It's right there, Leena," Doc said pointing to the link on the screen. It said: ZOID WARRIOR INFO. He tapped it and up popped the picture of a boy in his late teens. He had very pale-green eyes, like if you mixed steel gray with olive green. His hair was long, down to below his ears, with a part in the middle. The left side of his face seemed to have seen more action than the right. His left eye was of a more steel color than green, and there was a long scar down his cheek. Another scar went right down through his eye. This just made him look more dangerous.

Name: Nathan Sindel

Nick Name: The Reaper

Age: 19

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 145 lbs.

Eye Color: Pale Green (Right), Steel Green (Left)

Hair Color: Gold

Marital Status: Single

Relatives: Matt Sindel (father/dead), Erica Sindel (mother/dead), Mayuka Masaki (stepsister), Danni Sanders (Cousin), Ricky Sanders (cousin)

Zoid(s): Death Raptor

Background: Background Not Available

Achievements: Inventor and soul owner of the Quantum Particle Cannon. Youngest Zoid pilot to ever win the Royal Cup, age 14. Discovery of the Death Raptor.

The list seemed somewhat short for someone who was so famous. Then Jamie noticed a small green icon below it that read:

`CLICK HERE FOR

FULL LIST'

"That's him?" Leena asked mesmerized by the picture. "HE'S CUTE!" she yelled and ran out of the kitchen yelling something about what she should wear. Before she got ten feet she crashed into none other than…yup, you guess it…Harry Chump. Whoops… I mean Champ… hehe, sorry.

"Leena my darling, I heard your cries for me all that way at my base," he said about to put his arms around her. Leena suddenly realized where she was. She shoved Harry out of the way and continued down the hall around the first corner on the right, then another right, and then a left. She ran into her room and threw open her closet, wanting to find something very sexy to wear to the battle. Just in case she met him. As for Harry... well… he just stood there.

"So Harry what brings you to our humble abode?" Doc asked as he helped Harry up.

"I heard that you're team is challenging the undefeated Zeros Team."

"News travels fast," Brad said in his usual very casual voice. He just walked by and went into his room to read the e-mails from Naomi. He later found out that the letters were sent from Naomi's friends.

"My father has customers at the Zoid Battle Commission. I've asked them to update me on everything that your team does, Zoid related of course."

"Of course," Bit said rolling his eyes.

"Harry, you still haven't answered my question," Doc was getting frustrated, "Why are you here?"

"When I heard the news I came to ask if there was anything I could do to help."

"Harry it's not like we're battling the Backdraft Group. We have never asked for your help, and we don't ever plan on asking you for help in any of our battles."

"Alright," he said turning around and walking away, nobody notice him take the first right. He walked through the halls till he was outside Leena's room. The door was slightly open, and being the straightforward person that he was, took this as a sign to come in. He gently nudged the door open and peaked inside.

There was Leena, the girl of his dreams, rummaging through her closet. Her back was to him. She pulled out a top that looked very similar to what Naomi always wears, except it was green and a little smaller. She pulled it over her head and stood up to look in the mirror. That's when she noticed Harry staring at her from the doorway. She knew he didn't know she knew he was there. She reached around on the table next to her mirror, pretending to be looking for her comb. Grabbing the back of the table, with an insane grin on her face, she flung it at the partly open door, slamming it shut.

"And stay out of my room you perve!" she yelled with a laugh as insane as her grin.

Nate woke up a bit uneasy, and his breakfast seemed a little bland. Something was missing, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He had won his eightieth battle in a row, after moving up to Class-S five years ago, just last week. He was seen as a rich and famous loner. He was somewhat of a loner; not many friends and not many relatives left alive after the gate accident over Zi. Nothing seemed to be making sense to him now; usually the only thing that was wrong was that he wanted to battle.

Then he realized what was wrong. It was so simple he couldn't understand why he didn't see it before. He was lonely; his reputation as The Reaper hadn't exactly made him popular with the lady Zoid pilots. There was one thing other thing that could pull him out of his slump, to lose in a Zoid battle. And if that didn't help, he might actually give in to his stepsister's advances.

He pulled the computer on the table over to him, and turned on the holo-screen. He spoke with the Battle Commission representative. After about a minute or two of talking he had set up a battle with the Blitz Team. The newest team to Class-S, they had a Zoid that would hopefully prove to be a worthy challenge.

"Liger Zero, you're all mine," he said, leaning back in his chair. He typed in the team name and researched them. The Liger Zero, a Gun Sniper, and the Shadow Fox. "Very nice team, and such diversity. A Raynos as well, I'm going to have my work cut for me on this one." He thought for moment that this might be the perfect chance to test the Zero System. "Naw, I'll cut them a break and run some more tests before I use it."

He stood up and walked down the hall back to his room. He pulled off his clothes and got in the shower. He washed off the previous night's sweat. `Damn, it's too hot,' he thought, `friggin heat gives me nightmares.' He got out of the shower and pulled his wet hair back into a short ponytail. Even though he was alone he still pulled a towel around his waist. He stared at his eyes in the mirror, still remembering the day it happened. They tried to recreate the color, but his was rare, so they used the next best thing. Then he punched the mirror, but it didn't break. It was made of a piece of steel 3 inches thick.

Opening the door he nearly dropped the towel, out of shock. Sitting on his bed was Mayuka, his stepsister. He didn't expect to see her there so early. He just stared at her, sitting there, reading. Then she looked up, giving him the most innocent looking eyes you ever saw.

"Hey Maya, what's goin' on?" he asked walking over to the walk-in closet. All along every rack in the closet was the same outfit. Black baggy pants, a green tank top, and black boots. Further down were some clothes for cold weather, but he rarely wore them. He got dressed and walked out, tucking in his tank.

"Not much, why don't you sit down?" her voice cooed, it was sweet as honey. Nate almost did, but decided to change the subject.

"No thanks, did you see the news the other day?" he asked opening the small panel in his left arm. He pulled out a small memory disc.

"What's that?" she stretched, thrusting her arms up, and her chest out. He let go of the disc, letting it float up above the metal palm of his left hand. A small holographic image was projected from the disc on the wall. It showed a man going into the ER room with a mechanical hand. When he came out after only an hour of surgery his hand was organic again. Full muscle, tissue and bone reconstruction.

"They've perfected reconstructive surgery. That means I could get this arm back," he said pointing to his arm, and placing the chip back in storage.

"That's great," she said, jumping up and hugging him. "So are you gonna do it? It's been so long since the accident, you deserve to be whole again."

He couldn't help looking at her perfect face. Her blue hair falling loosely around her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness, and her lips, which were practically begging for his. She got up on tiptoes, and did something he never thought she would; she just kissed him on the cheek. He blinked, and she winked. She then sat back down on the bed, picked up the book, and started reading again.

"How's Tenchi and Sasami?" he asked wanting to continue the conversation with her.

"Mommy and Daddy are fine, they want to know why you haven't sent any coms lately," her voice seemed different, distant even. She had never been like this. Her expression quickly changed though; she got all happy and hyper. She jumped on him and pressed her lips to his, worming her tongue in to play with his. Nate pushed her off him, and sat up. Mayuka didn't protest, she was used to him being shy. He'll come around, she thought, even if it kills him.

Wednesday, middle of the Zarochi Flats, 2:30 PM

The hover cargo was on its way to the designated battleground. The Zoids were all ready and loaded up. It would be all four of them against the Nate and the Death Raptor. Harry had come along, don't ask me why, I'm just the author. Anyway, he had come to make sure Leena would be okay. They tried to stop him but his Whale King was hanging back, just far enough that it wasn't in the designated area.

"So what's the battle mode again?" Bit asked from the cockpit of the Liger Zero Schneider.

"It's Battle Mode 0956, both teams can use as many Zoids as they see fit, and there's no limit on the arsenal," Doc's voice said over the radio.

"I just hope Leena can handle it."

"Whadda ya mean by that Bit?" her voice full of anticipation of meeting him. She was wearing the green top I told you about along with a pair of black bike shorts.

"From what I've heard he goes after the heavy arsenal Zoids first," his voice a bit apologetic as he cringed from the picture of Leena on his console.

Everyone was silent after that till they arrived at they're destination. When they got there the Death Raptor was waiting for them. The pilot clearly visible as he stood on top of the head. Behind him was a red and black hover cargo. Almost identical to their hover cargo. He smiled when they approached.

"Ready, Death Raptor?" he yelled jumping down into the cockpit. His Zoid roared in response. "Organoid System online, Zero System offline," he said flicking one switch up, another one down.

The Blitz Team launched all it's Zoids to face the most powerful Zoid ever built. They stared at each other, growling, stepping forward then back. Then the judge capsule fell right in the middle.

"The following 12 mile area has been deemed a Zoid battle area. All civilians and nonofficial personnel please leave the area immediately," the judge said with monotone enthusiasm, "Today's match is the Blitz Team vs. the Zeros Team. Battle Mode 0956. Readyyy…FIGHT!"

CLANG!

The battle was on. The Raptor wasted no time going to full speed and breaking the sound barrier. It left the others dazed and confused. The Raynos was the only Zoid still up, duh, but the others recovered quickly. Jamie went after it, his confident side in control now. He was almost right on top of the Raptor, when it disappeared in a cloud of dust.

"Where did he go," Jamie said circling the spot where he vanished.

There was an explosion behind him, and he saw the Gun Sniper go down. `Shit,' he thought, `it went underground.' Indeed it had, the Raptor was now playing a game of smoke-tag with the Shadow Fox. Both were excreting their smokescreen and circling each other, at high speed.

"This isn't worth my time," Nate told them over the com-link. He stopped dead in his tracks and let the smoke envelop his Zoid. Brad wasn't stumped so easily, the infrared vision on the Fox was tacking his movements. Brad charged, and Nate dodged, Brad charged, and Nate dodged, Brad charged again, but this time the Raptor didn't dodge; it charged. The white spike on its head flipped forward and glowed white on the Fox's screen. It was getting closer, closer… closer. Brad was stuck in his tracks, he couldn't move. It was the first time he felt actual fear.

At the last second the Raptor jumped into the air, just as the Schneider was about to use its Buster Slash. The jump landed Nate right on top of the Fox, forcing it to the ground.

"Lightening Javeliiiiiiiiiiinnnn!" Nate yelled as the Raptor rammed the spike into the Fox's back, putting out of commission. Then he turned to the Liger, laughing. "What a rush! This is more fun than I thought it would be!"

"You're gonna pay for that!" Bit retorted over the com-link. He ran straight at the Raptor, not caring what happened. "First Leena, now Brad, you're not gonna win this if it's the last thing I do." The Liger Zero roared in defiance as it ran. A light on the console caught Bit's attention. It read: Seven Blade Attack. "You sure about this, remember what happened last time?" Liger roared again, louder than ever. All seven blades on it pointed forward and it charged like a fireball.

The Raptor just stood there. It opened its mouth to reveal a hidden cannon. A blue/white ball of energy began to gather there. Liger was practically right on top of it; the Raptor pointed the cannon down and caught Liger on its horns, and flipped him off. Nate was laughing almost as insanely as Leena does.

"You want to see my ultimate weapon, everybody does," he said through his laughter, "Say sayonara to the Raynos." The cannon pointed upward just as Jamie flew over, about to fire. "Quantuuum Particlllllllle Cannooooooooon!" Nate yelled and a gigantic beam of blue/white light lanced up towards Jamie. It missed, by a lot, but the shockwave and the particle wake were enough to singe the wings and send the Wild Eagle to the ground. "Now it's just you and me, Bit Cloud. Are you ready for the shortest and most embarrassing battle of your life?"

"Wait till you see what I have in store for you," Bit said calmly, almost too calmly. "Doc get the Panzer armor ready, I need a change of clothes."

"Gotcha Bit, return to the hover cargo for Liger Zero CAS," Doc said enthusiastically.

"This is what I've been waiting for," Nate said breathing heavily, the QPC takes a lot out of the pilot. He saw something out of the corner of his eye, near the Gun Sniper. It was a girl, roughly the same age as him. He had that screen zoom in; it was Leena, climbing out of her Gun Sniper.

"Leena!" came a voice over the com that was unmistakable. A red Whale King came zooming in, stopping to hover over the hover cargo. "Leena, darling, are you alright?" The girl on Nate's screen made a face then signaled something in his direction. She pointed up, then at him, then at horns on the Raptor's head, then up at the Whale King. "I'm Harry Champ, a man destined to be king. Nobody damages my future queen and gets away with it." Leena sighed, and Nate understood.

Nate sighed then he tapped a panel next to his seat. The panel slid open and a small weapon's rack slid out. Inside was a caster pistol and ten shells. He looked at the shells and pulled one out.

"A number 15 should do enough damage," he said putting the shell in and opening the cockpit. He stepped out onto the top of his Zoid's head and aimed. `Why didn't the judge call him for being here?' he wondered to himself. Looking over at the judge he saw that its vision was obstructed by the smokescreen, which had blown that way. "Unwanted obstructions must be dealt with," he said taking aim at the second engine on the Whale King.

Leena smiled a big, insane smile, and started laughing at the weapon he was using. It didn't look like any anit-zoid weapon she'd ever seen. She saw the gun glow and then blast a black mass of energy at the flying Zoid. It hit the second engine right on target. The engine exploded, causing the Zoid to role up on its side.

"Nate, you shouldn't have used that powerful of a shell," Mayuka's voice yelled over the radio.

"Shut up, I have my reasons," he spat at her. He looked down at Leena who was staring at him in disbelief. "It's a caster, you've never seen one?" he yelled to her, she shook her head. He just laughed and got back in his Zoid.

"Mobilizing Liger Zero Panzer," Bit yelled from the hover cargo. The side opened up and green armor of the Panzer could be seen being dropped.

"Finally, a challenge!"

Instead of being the stationary armor that it was, the Panzer was moving with incredible speed. Bit was shocked at this, usually this armor stayed still and fire its weapons. He heard Nate laughing over the com-system. Liger stopped about fifty meters from the Raptor.

"It's all come down to this, Reaper," Bit said his voice full of confidence, "Your Zoid versus mine."

TBC

I hoped you like the story so far. Expect the next chapter soon, if my comp doesn't crap out on me. But I digress. I'm looking forward to your reviews, if I get any. If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer them. If you have any suggestions for the next chapter, I'll be glad to put them in. I put in some elements from other series to spice it up a bit. Mayuka was is from Tenchi, the caster is from Outlaw Star, and the gate is from Cowboy Bebop. I hope your suggestions include ways to incorporate them. Thanks again.