Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Outlaw Star Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Reaper ❯ The New Prince, Zenebas First Strike ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids.

The last chapter ended with no such cliffhanger. I'm almost out of ideas, please help me. For the rest of the story Eric is going to be five-years-old from now on. Aria Lanette is Nate's mother's name. Nate comes to terms with a few things after receiving a mysterious message; written in the ancient Zenebas language. More secrets are revealed about him, for one we see what his relationship with his "father" really was. We also, briefly, meet Harry's son. This boy becomes infatuated with Isalina, much like his father was with Leena. How many of you didn't see that coming. Probly less than I'm expecting. Thanks for the reviews, and please have some ideas. I am really going to make this and the next chapters count. Only a few more to go, then comes the new story about Isalina and Eric's team.

` ' thought

<< >> radio/vidscreen/TV

" " speech

***** scene change

( ) author's notes/mumbling during speech

Chapter 16: The New Prince, Zenebas' First Strike

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Hemeros Base, Blitz 2

The scene is exactly how we had left it, only about five minutes later. Everybody was sitting down, thinking of things to do. Even Mary, who was always full of ideas, was lost for something to do. Isalina and Eric were looking over the specs for his new Genosaurer, which was arriving at the end of the week. Its main weapon was the CPC, like all Genosaurers. It also had twin 120mm cannons on its back, 20mm and 30mm nose cannons. The grappler claws, which normally have a strike distance of 50 meters, have been upped to 100 meters. But the main improvement over the standard - if you want to call it that - model was that his had twin heavy railguns, one on either of the hind legs. I realize that Genosaurers are extremely rare, and it took them a very long time to find one; I call those standard because they have not been upgraded such as Eric's.

Nate stretched and yawned, looking around at the people staring at him.

"What?" he asked. "There is nothing to do."

"Dinner's ready!" Toros yelled from the dining room.

Everyone was instantly up and had made a mad dash to get a good seat. The only one who hadn't done so were Nate and Mary. Mary because she had not been raised to run around like an idiot, and Nate because it didn't matter where he sat. They walked in silence, the only noise was Nate humming a small tune. Nothing in particular, just whatever came to his mind. It wasn't really a happy tune, or a sad one; there is a genre for it but I just don't know the name. He stopped at hearing footsteps on one of the side hallways. Mary, not hearing them, did not stop; she did when she saw that Nate had.

"What is it?" she asked looking at him, then around behind her.

"Footsteps, down that hallway," he answered pointing at the second one on the left. That hallway led to the door to the outside.

The two proceeded forward, beginning to hear voices. It was a long hallway, and whoever was coming must be walking slow. Nate looked around the corner to see two people; one was Harry, the other he didn't know. He figured it must be Harry's son; it looked just like him,why not.

"Dad, why do I have to be here?" the boy asked in a whiny type of voice. A very scrawny sounding voice, no muscle in it at all.

"Because we have to congratulate Bit on his victory, Terry," Harry said. His hand was behind his son's back, pushing him forward. There is a pattern the Champ's names. The pattern is Harry, Marry, Terry, get it, got it, good. Harry looked up at Nate and Mary standing in the doorway.

"Well," Nate said almost lost for something to say, "this is an unexpected (and unwanted) surprise."

"Harry, why are you here?" Mary asked, her hand on her hips. "You hate Bit, you always have."

"I've put that behind me," he said, then shoved Terry forward. "I also wanted to introduce you to my son."

"That's great and all, Harry, but I really don't give a damn," Nate replied turning to walk away.

"Hey, you can't talk to my dad like that," Terry said in his scrawny voice.

Nate turned to look at him, an icy glint in his eyes. As expected Terry receded back behind his father. He then turned and walked away, mumbling something about another one destined to be king.

"Harry, now is not the best time," Mary said then realizing something was missing. "Where's Kelsey?"

"She on a little vacation," he said, "so I figured this would be a good time to get Terry acquainted with the others."

"Come on then," Mary said suddenly cheerful. "I'll introduce you."

The three of them walked down the hallway, emerging into the dining room. It was really nothing fancy, just chairs and a table loaded with food. Terry was behind his father, only able to see half the table, but something caught his eye. Isalina turned to look at him, and quickly turned away. His face went red and he stepped, almost jumped, out from behind Harry. Everyone else at the table, except for Isalina and Nate, looked at him with a slightly surprised look.

"What's with the mini-me, Harry?" Leena asked with a mouth full of food. A few of the others laughed lightly at her joke, those who laughed I leave up to the reader. Whoever you think might have found it funny.

"Everyone this is my son, Terry," Harry said placing a hand on Terry's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you," Toros said from his seat at the head of the table.

"Too bad he shares your sense of style," Bit added getting a few more laughs. Indeed Terry was wearing the same exact thing as his father; right down the platform shoes.

Harry - too embarrassed to be seen - dragged his son, kicking and screaming, out of the immediate area. All the while all Terry wanted to know was her name, that's all he wanted to know. It's too bad nobody knew who he meant. Harry, after being the one bossed around over the past few years, has become very sensitive. You'll find out why when you meet his wife.

"I wonder what that boy's problem was?" Renee asked looking around, her eyes finally resting on Isalina; she understood then.

*****

A few days later Isalina was going through a few exercises in the Liger Zero. The Whale King had landed in an area of rocky outcroppings and cliffs. The Liger was jumping around inside one of the small canyons. Hitting one wall and jumping across to the next, and back again. She was getting pretty good at the controls.

"Beginning live armament test," Mayuka said from the command deck. Nate was not in the room; in fact even I don't know where he is…yet.

Two side panels on the Whale King's head opened and missile racks were exposed. Each rack held four missiles each, 16 in all. The first missile was launched, streaking towards the Liger Zero. A split second before it would have hit, Isa pulled the Liger up, and landed on top of the missile. This forced the missile into the ground and the Liger jumped free of the explosion. This happened again with the next three missiles.

The next missile was fired and it went right past her. Believing this was a misfire, Isa didn't pay much attention to that missile. But the aim was not off, as the missile curved in a large arc; heading straight for her. Another missile was fired; this one was aimed for her. The alarm alerted her to the missile coming from the side, and from the front. She didn't know what to do. Dodging wouldn't help in that enclosed area. Running wouldn't help either; both missiles would turn with her every move. There was a slicing sound, followed by an explosion. Isa opened her eyes and saw the Raptor Zero; its tail had slashed the first missile, the second missile was in its mouth. The jaws closed, and both Zoids were engulfed in a large amount of smoke.

"A dud," Nate said with an air of amusement in his voice. "It's situations like this that should make you glad you're on a team."

"Yeah," she said nodding, then she realized something. "Hey, I thought you checked all of the missiles, Dad."

"I did, I checked that one to make sure it was fixed," he said laughing. Over the com Mayuka's laughter could also be heard.

The next two missiles were launched. These two went up into the sky, where the opened and dropped a hundred large spears; 50 per missile. Nate's eyes scanned the falling projectiles and manipulated the controls. The Raptor's body twisted into an odd shape; this shape allowed the spears to fall harmlessly to the side. Isalina, on the other hand, was jumping around, dodging all that she could. But that was no use, the Liger Zero was speared through its left, front shoulder; another spear went through its rear, right paw. More spears were coming, and Isa was trapped. The dragon-like Zoid leapt from where it had been safe, with its wings spread. The last of the spears bounced harmlessly off the armored wings. When he landed he pulled the spears out of the Liger. Nate maneuvered the Raptor's head under the Liger Zero, and flipped it onto its back. He then carried Isa and her Zoid back to the Whale King. Though, all the while, Nate felt as though their session was being watched.

Inside the Whale King, a message was being received. It was in a language that Mayuka had never seen before. There was also a voice; a low, evil-sounding voice. It spoke words in a language she couldn't translate; and the translater program didn't do much. She did know one word that it was saying, Tyran. She figured she should have Nate listen to the message, and see if he understood. Just at that moment Nate walked in, carrying an exhausted looking Isalina.

"Nate, have a look at this," she said tapping the replay button on the screen.

"Gisuna tegro fehaut Zenrem opolen nek'hatset, Tyran. Bac tem far botonae, ni retsu tenra olepiso. Kasi murit wenon carino," the voice on the transmission said.

Nate listened to the transmission a few more times. He wasn't sure how but the words started to sound more and more like English. It wasn't long before he could tell Mayuka what it meant.

"It says `The rise of the Zenebas is near, Tyran. This is a holy time, bac tem far botonae. You are our warrior of prophecy'," he said speaking while pointing out the words.

"What does bac tem far botonae mean?" she asked noticing he didn't translate that.

"It's an incantation, supposed to ensnare the listener's mind. It was never proven to be truly affective. All the people it was tried on only experienced disturbing dreams," he said thinking of asking Ronak to allow him to ask his mother.

"Who are the Zenebas?"

"The name of the race now called Ancient Zoidians. They disappeared about 1000 years ago. Many were put into stasis, like myself; these must be a group those," he looked over the message again. "I don't know why they say the rise is near, or why they call me the warrior of prophecy."

He had just answered her next two questions, so she was staying quiet.

"What kind of dreams did they have?"

"Violent dreams, war usually. After that they usually became…" he stop himself after thinking of what they said. "I have to take care of something."

He then ran from the room down to the hangar, where the Raptor Zero was waiting. The Zoid seemed to know what he wanted to do and opened the cockpit. He jumped in and the Raptor began to move forward; the mouth of the Whale King opened to allow him exit. He went out not realizing that they had already taken off. The wings opened and he stopped about 10 feet from the ground. The wings kicked up a lot of dirt and rocks.

He activated the mental interface. This one was slightly different from the Liger Zero X's. The Raptor Zero's was a small earpiece, without the eyepiece. It instead created a sort of energy visor in front of his eyes. This energy was tuned to the Raptor's visual sensors. The controls slowly changed as well; a cover slid over the main console. The side panels flipped around, becoming flat. The control column retracted underneath the main console. His hands, having nothing to do, were placed in small compartments in the side panels.

Once he activated the interface he felt the floating feeling that always accompanied the transition.

*****

Opening his eyes he saw the wide-open field of grass. He was wearing the robe over his regular clothes. His mother was there; looking somewhat worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked stepping up to him.

"You never told me?" he asked her through gritted teeth. "Why didn't you tell me that the Zenebas were planning to overthrow the ZBC?"

"I didn't know, how could I have known?" Aria asked.

"You knew, do not lie to me. You also knew I was genetically enhanced," he stepped toward her, his hands balled into fists.

"I did know that. But about this uprising, that must be recent," she said placing a hand on his shoulder. At her touch he calmed down considerably.

"Bac tem far botonae," he whispered. "You and I both know what happens when we hear that."

"Yes, but for you it will be different," she slowly lowered him to sit on the ground. "If you hear it in battle, you will turn on those fighting with you. You would be controlled by the one who said it."

"And you know who that is, don't you?" he said, his fists loosening. A small bit of blood trickled down his palm, falling to the grass below.

"Yes," she looked down at the blood on the grass.

"I thought it might be him," Nate said placing a hand on his mother's shoulder.

"You should be very careful," she looked into his eyes. "Before the Deathsaurer went into its dormancy, a very powerful weapon was developed to destroy it."

"What kind of weapon?"

"Stronger than even the Quantum Particle Cannon in the Raptor Zero. It was mounted in a satellite and launched; it hides behind the far moon till needed," a tear ran down her cheek at the memory of it. Her husband had gone mad working on it, till even he had become deranged as the others. "If the incantation's power does not work on you, he will use it."

Nate looked up at the two moons, visible in the daylight, "Father."

"Tyran, you are the warrior of prophecy, destined to lead the Zenebas to glory. But which glory that they find is up to you," she stroked his cheek. "Someone else wishes to speak with you. I must leave."

With that she faded away. The landscape changed; he recognized what it was becoming. What he was now looking at was Earth. He stood at the bottom of a large crater, caused by many of the meteors that had struck the Earth. On the far side of the crater was a man; a man he knew. As the figure walked closer, he saw he was right. The man was his human father.

"Nate, you seem to have grown up," Matt Sindel said looking at the young man who he called son. "Don't give me that look."

"Why not?" Nate asked, his face held no expression, he was not happy to see this man. "You never really thought I would be so ignorant as to not know?"

"Know what?" Matt asked looking like he really didn't understand.

"You were afraid of me ever since I beat you at chess at only two years old. You never really cared about me; you knew what I was and tried to suppress it. But it's too bad that your own lack of involvement caused me to strengthen this power," Nate said stepping towards Matt and smashing him across the face. "You really have no idea how much I hated you all those years. You never really hate me, you just never felt anything for me."

"Yeah, so?" Matt said standing up from where he had landed.

"Do not come here and expect me to all of a sudden welcome you into my life. You were never a part of it anyway. Just because you saved my life does not mean we're even."

He stepped up to the person he once called father and kneed him in the stomach. Twining his hands together to make one large fist, he slammed that down onto the back of Matt's neck.

"All I wanted was your forgiveness," Matt said from the ground.

"Too bad," Nate said turning around and walking away.

"Please."

"We wouldn't be doing this if you hadn't been such an ass all those years. You had a coward's death. All those times you shunned and ignored me, just to save my life. You were only thinking of yourself, and your stupid Christian afterlife."

"That's not it at all."

"Bullshit, don't act so stupid. Heaven and Hell, at least what you believe, do not exist. There is no God, no Satan, no Christ. The Bible is a book of lies (no offense to those of you who are Christian, Jewish, or any other religion along those lines. I'm an atheist, and don't believe)," Nate said, his knuckles white, blood running down from his palm. "Now just get away from me."

"That is not how you talk to-," he started but Nate cut him off.

"This is how I talk to you, you are not my father," his teeth were gritted, if you listen hard enough you could hear them scraping against one another. "I have no father."

The terrain went black and there was the floating again.

*****

When he finally saw light, he was back in the cockpit of the Raptor Zero. The controls had returned to normal, and the interface node had receded into the seat back. I'm not sure if I mentioned what the cockpit of the Raptor looks like. It's pretty much the same as the Berserk Fuhrer or the Shadow Fox. But the restraints are like the Liger Zero's.

"Well, that was enlightening," he said. He tilted the Zoid's head back and looked at the moons. Behind the far moon was the weapon he had been warned about.

His thinking was somewhat cloudy, considering the new information. He had always thought his father had been killed by the Deathsaurer, but he had been wrong. His work on the cannon had consumed him to a point where he just didn't care, and became evil. He launched the satellite and placed himself and his crew in stasis. Now they were awake and were going to use him against his own family.

<<Tyran Lanette>> a voice said over the radio, the same voice from the transmission.

"Yes, what do you want?" he asked the voice who he was sure belonged to his father.

<<We are glad we found you, warrior of prophecy>> the voice continued.

When the voice was finished Nate saw what they had in store for him. A small group of armed, and armored, Zoids; three Madthunders, a Dark Spiner, and a Storm Fuhrer. All three Madthunders fired at him at the same time; he dodged easily. The Spiner was in front of him in a flash and the Fuhrer was behind him. The spines on the green Zoids back flipped forward and charged the particle gun; the Storm Fuhrer did the same. All Nate had to do was spread the wings and lift off. In an instant there was a shot from above. He dodged quickly and turned to see that a Gilvader had been using a stealth shield. All three Zoids fired at him at the same time; he dodged, and the three charged particle cannons cancelled each other out. The Storm Fuhrer opened its own wings and took off. The only drawback of these wings was that they were not that maneuverable. Nate flew straight at it, flapped the wings and got above it, and sliced through the whole length of it with the large claw on its foot. The rest of the group, seeing their fallen comrade, fled the area in a great hurry. One of the Madthunders grabbed the Storm Fuhrer and retreated with the others.

<<We will meet again Tyran!>> the dark voice yelled at him.

Nate sat back in his seat and directed the Raptor towards home. On the way he went over some data on the deadly satellite. Turns out it had been there since before the humans had come from Earth, and was in perfect condition. Many people had tried to get close to examine it, but were always shot at by laser cannons on the moon's surface. The area around it had been declared forbidden. He had never known why before now.

*****

"Move the cannon out from behind the moon!" Sigren Lanette yelled.

He stepped up and shoved the ops officer out of his chair. Sitting himself down he took over the controls. The screen in front of him showed the satellite's trajectory around the far moon. The large thrusters on the satellite allow it to move with a great amount of speed. For standard engines the trip around the moon would have taken 30, maybe 40 minutes; with these thrusters it took only five minutes.

The cannon was in place, but the target was unknown at the time. They couldn't possibly handle the Zoid's Battle Commission at their present status. In a few years, more of them will have woken up. These individuals will have complete memories of their past, and their assignments. Many have Organoids with them, which will only make it worse for their enemy.

"Sir, are you sure moving the cannon out this early was a good idea?"

"Yes, Hilran, good things come to those who wait," Sigren said getting up from the chair at the console. "And we have waited long enough."

*****

A few weeks have passed and no word from the Zenebas. No attacks, no messages, not a single encounter. It was beginning to become unnerving. Isalina had finally chosen a name for herself while battling. The name was along the lines of her parents'. She had picked the name Fioria, Zian Goddess of Death. Eric's Genosaurer had finally arrived, and it was taking him longer to learn the controls then he thought. It was much larger and more powerful than the Gun Sniper. The railguns on wither side had an enormous kickback when both were fired at once. When just one was fired the whole Zoid slid backward, and to the right or the left.

The weather at the moment was not good; thunderstorms, hail, radical lightening, rain. There were even reports of a tornado or two, but those were nowhere near the Whale King's present position. The hail coming down was the size of volleyballs, and the rain was the size of golf balls. Of course I'm exaggerating about the rain. The forest below them was betting a pounding from the hail, but it was also getting much needed water from both the rain and hail. The region had been under a severe drought warning over the past few months, and this storm was just what it needed.

The occupants of the Whale King consisted of only the Zeros team members. Isalina, who had never seen a storm this huge, was behind her father. Mayuka was sitting on the floor with her. Nate was at the controls. They were all on the command deck; I am unsure why I put them there at this time. It was strange that a storm like this had so suddenly kicked up out of no where. Though, it was a good change from the bright, sunny weather they had been having; at least to Nate it was.

"Mom, when is the rain gonna stop?" Isalina asked sounding more like a child than ever before.

"I don't know, it could be hours or days," Mayuka answered looking at her daughter. "Don't be such a scaredy cat, we're safe here."

That is exactly how my own parents talked to me when I was that age.

"Yeah, Isa, the rain isn't that bad," Nate said with a smile. "Just be glad we don't have to battle in this weather. We would have an unfair advantage over our opponents."

Mayuka laughed knowing that rain was, for some odd reason, Nate's best battling weather. He saw through the rain, without using any sort of sensory equipment. He would just see the gaps, and find his enemy.

"It's not the rain or the hail that's scary," Isalina said standing up and holding onto her father's leg. "I just don't like the lightening."

As if on cue a huge bolt of lightening struck directly in front of the Whale King. Isalina screamed and jumped back behind Nate.

"I used to be afraid to," he said, "but then I realized that lightening is as scary as monsters in the closet. There is nothing to be afraid of; except the noise perhaps."

TBC

There it is, chapter 16; just a few left now. I need ideas for the next chapter, seeing as how I got none for this chapter. Same rules apply pretty much, submit your idea in a review, and if I use it, your name will be mentioned at the end of the chapter. I need ideas for any kind of new Zoid, team names - especially Isa and Eric's team - also I need ideas for people's names. Please, I am on my knees - literally - please, please, please. I am so very tired, and am going on another stupid trip. For five days I will be away from my computer and need you, my loyal readers, to review with great, over the top ideas. Thanks again for reading, and remember this one thing, good things come to those who wait. It's pretty much the Zenebas motto; they've been waiting a thousand years, that's pretty much long enough. The next chapter will be set ten years after this chapter ends, so take that into account with your ideas.