Post by Nymbryxion on Nov 6, 2007 10:33:59 GMT -5
First fanfic, so pleeeaase leave feedback.
Anyways, here goes chapter one!
Wolf Hunt- Chapter One: Life Yet Lives
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Echoes over dunes. Wind over skin. Light and heat.
It must have been the orchestral clash of the end credits that woke me. I could have sworn I heard echoes. My senses reignited as the class buzzed with activity. I stretched and took a look around the room. Through the dimly lit flourescent lighting I spied the clock, arms poised at five before three.
Then the teacher said something unintelligible under the chatter of the class, and kids began to file out, leaving what little education that mattered for next week. I rose too, moving to be the last out of the room, but the teacher gace me a sharp look over her glasses.
"Sleeping again?" She winked at me and was out the door with her belongings. I paused and tried to recall the topic of the movie. Something about zoid core origins.
Then, as I took a step toward the door, I faltered. A sound rung through narrow alleyways and cramped concrete walls. It was a bark, almost a whinny, and it somehow made my hair stand on end. I darted to the window, thinking perhaps it was a zoid.
Sure I had seen them. I had even built zoids, but I wanted to see the one that made such noise. I had no such luck. I saw nothing but another half-mile of ruins and sand. As I turned back to go, a gleam caught my eye. I stood waiting to see something again for another whole minute, but it must have been my imagination, for nothing was there.
Any unregistered or Republic zoid here could put us in danger. The town wasn't much, if you could even call it a town. A zoids shop, a handful of family businesses, a school, and roughly 50 families all thrived here, in these century-old ruins. We couldn't have been important to either faction here either, due to our remote location, but a republic zoid would most likely trigger an Imperial attack.
My father had left my mother and I here to protect us. He did well, picking the most remote chunk of unwanted desert imaginable. He was off fighting for the Republic in his Gordos.
The gordos had always been a little disagreeable for me, and a little slow for my taste, but it was a wise old battlezoid. I had piloted it whenever my father came to visit for a few weeks. Short-lived as his visits were, I didn't find myself crying over him, with the exception of wanting to become his wingman.
I kept my ears sharp and eyes peeled as I made my way to work, but I saw and heard nothing outside the usual. Every day around three I would make my way to the zoid shop, where I, and three others would work for the boss, Dolarus Knobbs. It was a huge garage mostly, with three hangers of space, and rightfully divided into three sections. In hanger three, usually stood a massive Dibison. Property of the boss. He constantly had it under repairs or customization, but he never offered to sell it. In hanger two were walls of parts, which also littered the floor. hangar one was empty as of last night, but I had a hint that we would be filling it today.
We made odd bits of money doing custom and repair work for outsiders and foreigners. Repainting, cap replacement, system re-installment, part-swapping, weapons installment, even cleaning. It all made a good chunk of change for a teenager. We even owned our own parts, as Knobbs would award them to us when we took initiative to save money or resources. Ironically, he would dote on one of us for a day, hoping to get a part back for whatever project we were on next.
I thought about my next payday eagerly, as I came to the shop, following a few other kids who has stopped to goggle at the newest shop project. Today, Knobbs had managed to raise three large legs into upright position on his own, with one still on its side. A body frame was hoisted between the legs, and secured to them. Although the legs were devoid of any armoring, I could easily see the canine shape in them.
I strode in as the kids took off toward home, and looked around for Knobbs. He was probably in back, prying parts of a zoid carcass. I spotted a couple large gears and belts lying about, and a lower jaw in a pile of parts in hangar two.
" Vore, lad. Ready to get this baby done?" Knobbs blathered from the back door. He was wiping grease from his hands, like an iconic mechanic from a cheezy movie, as he strode out to meet me. "I got big plans for this 'un." He muttered as he lumbered towards hangar two. "Grab some grub in the kitchen and join me when yer full." Knobbs was often gracious enough to offer refreshments in the back of the garage to me and the other three assistants before work. I slapped him on the shoulder as we passed, and smiled, making my way to the back room.
As I ate a cup of pasta, and nearly choked on a killer roll, one of the other assistants walked in. He had shoulderlength black hair, very dark compared to my brown. His face was sort of rounded and he slouched alot, making him a wee bit shorter than me. Today he wore a green hoodie with a stenciled Guysak insignia on it. He usually wore trademark khaki cargos, and sported a cheap digital watch. This was Revu, my best bud and conscience for several years now, despite his year of age over me.
Revu was followed closely by his little brother, Zeph, who was only two years younger. Zeph had shorter and lighter hair than his brother, but it was still pretty long. he looked alot like his brother, with rounded face and slouched stature. He wore jeans all the time, and an ever-changing t-shirt. Today it was a maroon shirt with a framed dibison on it. We considered Zeph to be the joker of the group.
"I don't suppose you have any idea what the hell the boss has got goin' in there?" Zeph said in a mocking tone. The brothers took seats by me, and helped themselves to food.
"Wooks Konig to me." I said between steaming mouthfuls of noodles. "He haddn't got a core yet though." Zeph smirked at my poor chubby-cheeks language.
"Definitely canine," Revu said, wiping butter on a roll," I was going through some weapons inventory yesterday, and I think the boss has a few good ideas for this one." Revu was usually statistically thinking. He had lists of parts in his head, mostly weapons systems. He liked to do damage.
As we all buried our thoughts in stuffing our faces, the third assistant, and my girlfriend, Solentra came in. She had honey colored hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She was quiet and concerned, often pointing out obvious, but important things. I could have sighed if not for the bread stuffed in my mouth. she often wore jeans and a brown zip-up hoodie, imprinted with a Liger Zero. I gulped and took a sip of fruity juice.
"Hey Soley!" I sang, rather winded from the large mouthful. I waved frantically to be cute, and smiled. She came over with a grin and pecked me on the cheek, seating herself to my left.
As alot of the food dissappeared, we talked more about work and school, and soon we were joined by the boss, who proceeded to explain.
"As you might have guessed!" Knobbs began dramatically. "We have here a Konig Wolf in production." He took a lengthy pause. "From other zoids, I was able to salvage the legs and many caps, but the insides were scrambled, so we're starting from scratch. Oh it's not so hard," He chuckled a little seeing our faces. "I've got the systems all green, but we have to get tons of wiring and welding to do. I'll bet my kneecaps we can get it done tonight though!" We finished up with lunch, and headed out into the hangar, where Knobbs proceeded to give us orders.
"Revu, the crane if you will. Get the body beds in. Sol, please clean and prime the glacier systems, and make sure the caps are all in order. Zeph, help your brother weld those body beds, and Vore, please come with me." The others nodded and ran off to thier duties. I however, followed Knobbs as he steered himself into a room behind the crane. The room had a glass shield for observation in the hangars, and a large table, for plans.
"This here is the Konig Wolf's blueprint." Knobbs said, unravelling a large scrolled peice of graph paper. It covered the whole table, and had detailed peices and descriptions all over it. In many places, Knobbs had scribbled lines, reminders, and new ideas. I had no idea why he wanted me here, Revu was the genious, but I continued looking it over. "you know the glacier system well lad, right?" Knobbs asked. I nodded. "That's right. You did install two after all. I wanted to ask your opinion on this idea I had. Well, you know how a Konig relies on the glacier system to keep running for more than a few hours, so the enemy, knowing most opponent's weaknesses, goes straight for the core, and hits the cooling system. The Wolf is shot, or at least faced with inevitable overheating." Knobbs was definitely onto something. "So what if we put two Glacier systems into one. We could link them together so if one gets damaged, the other takes over. On top of that, the duration of activity is lenghtened as well." Knobbs looked down to me, and I thought. I took over the conversation like an officer.
"Expense?" I asked.
"Roughly another five hundred, money wise, but the part is relatively easy to come by, and I believe the good outweighs the bad." Knobbs expertly answered.
"Well, we should go for it." I stated simply. "It's looking like a good theory to me. Where we put it might be a bit tight, but it's a great idea." I reread some of the notes Knobbs had written. "Whats this here?" I asked. It was a small note, indicating the back armor. It said something about a blade, but the handwriting got too small.
"Nevermind that. I was up too late." Knobbs mumbled.
"Nono, no holding back on me boss." I jested.
"Well," he began. "I was thinking about close range combat for this Wolf, but I haven't got the parts for it. Plus, we uh...kinda don't have a core yet." He shifted nervously.
"Ah, no core." I was a little dissappointed. "That would be important. We'll definitely get one soon though."
"Yes, I've been writing my firends for a wolf core for a few weeks now, but they all have nothing they can spare." Knobbs rose a chubby han to his chin, and thought for a brief moment. "Alright then. Get on out there and help Zeph get the plates in. We'll start wiring soon too." He patted me on the back and I was off into the hangar.
The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful, save a few near-accidents involving heavy parts. I explained the boss' plan to the others, all of whom agreed. Thus, by the time we could see the stars the Konig Wolf had come a long way. It theoretically had all systems operational, but we could not test them without the core. The wolf had little body armor, no leg armor, and the weapons were left off for the night.
We cleaned what we could for the finish, and Knobbs dismissed us, complimenting our had work. We parted with the usual farewells, the boys escorting Solentra home, and I set off in the opposite direction. I picked up a brisk jog as I went through a common intersection of alleys, almost home.
And then my hair stood on end. I came to a halt, and suddenly all the shadows became threatening. I heard nothing, and saw nothing, but I could not make my legs move. I was frozen wth terror. There were plenty of hiding places amongst the alleyways and crumbling houses. Someone, or something must have been there. Slowly, I began to move forward, not daring more than a slow walk.
Suddenly I heard an explosion, and debris hurtled off a nearby rooftop. Among the rubble was hulking figure, which also landed a few feet away. I saw that the rooftop that this bulky creature had hurtled downward from was shattered. It had been swept away by some form of explosive.
The creature lay motionless, surrounded by fallen stones, and shattered concrete. My heart slowly sank back down into my chest, but it continued its frenzied pace. Logic began to crash down around my mind, and so many questions sprang into life.
I jumped what must have been a few meters, and my heart returned to its lodge in my throat. The creature had gotten back onto its feet like lightning. There was no mistaking what it was. The size and form indicated power, but agility. Its skin was metallic, but flexible, shimmering in the scant light. It was wolfish in appearance, and menacing in stance. This was most definitely a wild zoid.
It snorted, sniffed, and slowly turned its head toward me. I froze horrified at becoming a victim, or dinner. It studied me, and sniffed a little more. It was so beautiful, yet so terrible at the same time. Its ice blue eyes locked me into place for what seemed like several minutes.
I cannot say what drove me into motion, but ever so slowly, I shuffled my foot forward. The beast tensed, lowered its stance, ready for a spring into action. I could almost see muscle rippling under the shimmering skin. While I was fighting the urge to flee, the zoid was giving into it, and took off in the opposite direction, causing me to jump yet several more feet worthy of an athlete.
I shook my head and stood still until my heart's racing eased up. Then I ran home, mind racing, perhaps faster than my heart.
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Edited: Finished it and quickly read through.
Feedback? Questions? Errors?
Come one, come all!
-Nym-
Anyways, here goes chapter one!
Wolf Hunt- Chapter One: Life Yet Lives
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Echoes over dunes. Wind over skin. Light and heat.
It must have been the orchestral clash of the end credits that woke me. I could have sworn I heard echoes. My senses reignited as the class buzzed with activity. I stretched and took a look around the room. Through the dimly lit flourescent lighting I spied the clock, arms poised at five before three.
Then the teacher said something unintelligible under the chatter of the class, and kids began to file out, leaving what little education that mattered for next week. I rose too, moving to be the last out of the room, but the teacher gace me a sharp look over her glasses.
"Sleeping again?" She winked at me and was out the door with her belongings. I paused and tried to recall the topic of the movie. Something about zoid core origins.
Then, as I took a step toward the door, I faltered. A sound rung through narrow alleyways and cramped concrete walls. It was a bark, almost a whinny, and it somehow made my hair stand on end. I darted to the window, thinking perhaps it was a zoid.
Sure I had seen them. I had even built zoids, but I wanted to see the one that made such noise. I had no such luck. I saw nothing but another half-mile of ruins and sand. As I turned back to go, a gleam caught my eye. I stood waiting to see something again for another whole minute, but it must have been my imagination, for nothing was there.
Any unregistered or Republic zoid here could put us in danger. The town wasn't much, if you could even call it a town. A zoids shop, a handful of family businesses, a school, and roughly 50 families all thrived here, in these century-old ruins. We couldn't have been important to either faction here either, due to our remote location, but a republic zoid would most likely trigger an Imperial attack.
My father had left my mother and I here to protect us. He did well, picking the most remote chunk of unwanted desert imaginable. He was off fighting for the Republic in his Gordos.
The gordos had always been a little disagreeable for me, and a little slow for my taste, but it was a wise old battlezoid. I had piloted it whenever my father came to visit for a few weeks. Short-lived as his visits were, I didn't find myself crying over him, with the exception of wanting to become his wingman.
I kept my ears sharp and eyes peeled as I made my way to work, but I saw and heard nothing outside the usual. Every day around three I would make my way to the zoid shop, where I, and three others would work for the boss, Dolarus Knobbs. It was a huge garage mostly, with three hangers of space, and rightfully divided into three sections. In hanger three, usually stood a massive Dibison. Property of the boss. He constantly had it under repairs or customization, but he never offered to sell it. In hanger two were walls of parts, which also littered the floor. hangar one was empty as of last night, but I had a hint that we would be filling it today.
We made odd bits of money doing custom and repair work for outsiders and foreigners. Repainting, cap replacement, system re-installment, part-swapping, weapons installment, even cleaning. It all made a good chunk of change for a teenager. We even owned our own parts, as Knobbs would award them to us when we took initiative to save money or resources. Ironically, he would dote on one of us for a day, hoping to get a part back for whatever project we were on next.
I thought about my next payday eagerly, as I came to the shop, following a few other kids who has stopped to goggle at the newest shop project. Today, Knobbs had managed to raise three large legs into upright position on his own, with one still on its side. A body frame was hoisted between the legs, and secured to them. Although the legs were devoid of any armoring, I could easily see the canine shape in them.
I strode in as the kids took off toward home, and looked around for Knobbs. He was probably in back, prying parts of a zoid carcass. I spotted a couple large gears and belts lying about, and a lower jaw in a pile of parts in hangar two.
" Vore, lad. Ready to get this baby done?" Knobbs blathered from the back door. He was wiping grease from his hands, like an iconic mechanic from a cheezy movie, as he strode out to meet me. "I got big plans for this 'un." He muttered as he lumbered towards hangar two. "Grab some grub in the kitchen and join me when yer full." Knobbs was often gracious enough to offer refreshments in the back of the garage to me and the other three assistants before work. I slapped him on the shoulder as we passed, and smiled, making my way to the back room.
As I ate a cup of pasta, and nearly choked on a killer roll, one of the other assistants walked in. He had shoulderlength black hair, very dark compared to my brown. His face was sort of rounded and he slouched alot, making him a wee bit shorter than me. Today he wore a green hoodie with a stenciled Guysak insignia on it. He usually wore trademark khaki cargos, and sported a cheap digital watch. This was Revu, my best bud and conscience for several years now, despite his year of age over me.
Revu was followed closely by his little brother, Zeph, who was only two years younger. Zeph had shorter and lighter hair than his brother, but it was still pretty long. he looked alot like his brother, with rounded face and slouched stature. He wore jeans all the time, and an ever-changing t-shirt. Today it was a maroon shirt with a framed dibison on it. We considered Zeph to be the joker of the group.
"I don't suppose you have any idea what the hell the boss has got goin' in there?" Zeph said in a mocking tone. The brothers took seats by me, and helped themselves to food.
"Wooks Konig to me." I said between steaming mouthfuls of noodles. "He haddn't got a core yet though." Zeph smirked at my poor chubby-cheeks language.
"Definitely canine," Revu said, wiping butter on a roll," I was going through some weapons inventory yesterday, and I think the boss has a few good ideas for this one." Revu was usually statistically thinking. He had lists of parts in his head, mostly weapons systems. He liked to do damage.
As we all buried our thoughts in stuffing our faces, the third assistant, and my girlfriend, Solentra came in. She had honey colored hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She was quiet and concerned, often pointing out obvious, but important things. I could have sighed if not for the bread stuffed in my mouth. she often wore jeans and a brown zip-up hoodie, imprinted with a Liger Zero. I gulped and took a sip of fruity juice.
"Hey Soley!" I sang, rather winded from the large mouthful. I waved frantically to be cute, and smiled. She came over with a grin and pecked me on the cheek, seating herself to my left.
As alot of the food dissappeared, we talked more about work and school, and soon we were joined by the boss, who proceeded to explain.
"As you might have guessed!" Knobbs began dramatically. "We have here a Konig Wolf in production." He took a lengthy pause. "From other zoids, I was able to salvage the legs and many caps, but the insides were scrambled, so we're starting from scratch. Oh it's not so hard," He chuckled a little seeing our faces. "I've got the systems all green, but we have to get tons of wiring and welding to do. I'll bet my kneecaps we can get it done tonight though!" We finished up with lunch, and headed out into the hangar, where Knobbs proceeded to give us orders.
"Revu, the crane if you will. Get the body beds in. Sol, please clean and prime the glacier systems, and make sure the caps are all in order. Zeph, help your brother weld those body beds, and Vore, please come with me." The others nodded and ran off to thier duties. I however, followed Knobbs as he steered himself into a room behind the crane. The room had a glass shield for observation in the hangars, and a large table, for plans.
"This here is the Konig Wolf's blueprint." Knobbs said, unravelling a large scrolled peice of graph paper. It covered the whole table, and had detailed peices and descriptions all over it. In many places, Knobbs had scribbled lines, reminders, and new ideas. I had no idea why he wanted me here, Revu was the genious, but I continued looking it over. "you know the glacier system well lad, right?" Knobbs asked. I nodded. "That's right. You did install two after all. I wanted to ask your opinion on this idea I had. Well, you know how a Konig relies on the glacier system to keep running for more than a few hours, so the enemy, knowing most opponent's weaknesses, goes straight for the core, and hits the cooling system. The Wolf is shot, or at least faced with inevitable overheating." Knobbs was definitely onto something. "So what if we put two Glacier systems into one. We could link them together so if one gets damaged, the other takes over. On top of that, the duration of activity is lenghtened as well." Knobbs looked down to me, and I thought. I took over the conversation like an officer.
"Expense?" I asked.
"Roughly another five hundred, money wise, but the part is relatively easy to come by, and I believe the good outweighs the bad." Knobbs expertly answered.
"Well, we should go for it." I stated simply. "It's looking like a good theory to me. Where we put it might be a bit tight, but it's a great idea." I reread some of the notes Knobbs had written. "Whats this here?" I asked. It was a small note, indicating the back armor. It said something about a blade, but the handwriting got too small.
"Nevermind that. I was up too late." Knobbs mumbled.
"Nono, no holding back on me boss." I jested.
"Well," he began. "I was thinking about close range combat for this Wolf, but I haven't got the parts for it. Plus, we uh...kinda don't have a core yet." He shifted nervously.
"Ah, no core." I was a little dissappointed. "That would be important. We'll definitely get one soon though."
"Yes, I've been writing my firends for a wolf core for a few weeks now, but they all have nothing they can spare." Knobbs rose a chubby han to his chin, and thought for a brief moment. "Alright then. Get on out there and help Zeph get the plates in. We'll start wiring soon too." He patted me on the back and I was off into the hangar.
The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful, save a few near-accidents involving heavy parts. I explained the boss' plan to the others, all of whom agreed. Thus, by the time we could see the stars the Konig Wolf had come a long way. It theoretically had all systems operational, but we could not test them without the core. The wolf had little body armor, no leg armor, and the weapons were left off for the night.
We cleaned what we could for the finish, and Knobbs dismissed us, complimenting our had work. We parted with the usual farewells, the boys escorting Solentra home, and I set off in the opposite direction. I picked up a brisk jog as I went through a common intersection of alleys, almost home.
And then my hair stood on end. I came to a halt, and suddenly all the shadows became threatening. I heard nothing, and saw nothing, but I could not make my legs move. I was frozen wth terror. There were plenty of hiding places amongst the alleyways and crumbling houses. Someone, or something must have been there. Slowly, I began to move forward, not daring more than a slow walk.
Suddenly I heard an explosion, and debris hurtled off a nearby rooftop. Among the rubble was hulking figure, which also landed a few feet away. I saw that the rooftop that this bulky creature had hurtled downward from was shattered. It had been swept away by some form of explosive.
The creature lay motionless, surrounded by fallen stones, and shattered concrete. My heart slowly sank back down into my chest, but it continued its frenzied pace. Logic began to crash down around my mind, and so many questions sprang into life.
I jumped what must have been a few meters, and my heart returned to its lodge in my throat. The creature had gotten back onto its feet like lightning. There was no mistaking what it was. The size and form indicated power, but agility. Its skin was metallic, but flexible, shimmering in the scant light. It was wolfish in appearance, and menacing in stance. This was most definitely a wild zoid.
It snorted, sniffed, and slowly turned its head toward me. I froze horrified at becoming a victim, or dinner. It studied me, and sniffed a little more. It was so beautiful, yet so terrible at the same time. Its ice blue eyes locked me into place for what seemed like several minutes.
I cannot say what drove me into motion, but ever so slowly, I shuffled my foot forward. The beast tensed, lowered its stance, ready for a spring into action. I could almost see muscle rippling under the shimmering skin. While I was fighting the urge to flee, the zoid was giving into it, and took off in the opposite direction, causing me to jump yet several more feet worthy of an athlete.
I shook my head and stood still until my heart's racing eased up. Then I ran home, mind racing, perhaps faster than my heart.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited: Finished it and quickly read through.
Feedback? Questions? Errors?
Come one, come all!
-Nym-
