Very clever fanfic. It makes it so that characters from two eras which are hundreds of years apart end up meeting. The main Zoid in here, called The War Wolf, is very believable. Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com
Sakura's Disclaimer: This goes for all chapters,so I don't have to write this dislaimer again...I don't own Zoids and don't get paid for writing this.Thank you.
I shivered coldly as I sat there,embraced by the darkness.Where was I?Was I dead?I remembered...being in the hospital before...after I collapsed in the desert...I was talking to Van...I fell asleep...
Maybe I was dreaming?But...could I possibly feel this cold in a dream?Maybe it was an after-effect of the heat sickness?
Then,suddenly,my surroundings changed.The darkness around me seemed to swirl and brighten,changing i's shape and forming into a world that seemed somewhat familiar to me.The inside of a Starfreighter.
"Wha-what am I doing here?"
I asked myself,standing to my feet slowly.I still felt cold and frigid,but I was curious about where I was.
"Where am I?"
I asked no one imparticular as I started down a corridor.I noticed everything looked really big compared to me.Had everything grown?
I looked down at myself.
No,I had shrunk!I was just a little kid again!
"Wh-what the heck's going on here?!?!"
I yelled,but the last half of my sentence was drowned out by the sudden sound of blaster fire!I looked back to see...
"Stormtroopers?!?!"
No...no,this was'nt happening...not this all over again...no...
I swallowed hard and started running as fast as my 5-year-old legs would carry me.
"Someone,please!Help me!"
I cried out,then feeling someone jump on me and knock me down from behind,a beam of crimson hot light flashing past right where my head had been!
"You okay?"
The person who had pushed me down asked.I stood and looked at him.He was a couple of years older and,like me,had blonde hair and aqua eyes.
"C'mon..."
He said,gripping my wrist and leading me quickly into a room.We hid under a contol panel.
I knew this scene too well...way too well...no...no...how could this happen again?How?
Two people then ran into the room.A woman with long,brunette hair and aqua eyes,and a man about her age with short blonde hair and brown eyes.
"Mama...papa..."
I said quietly,knowing what was going to happen next as I saw the Stormtroopers who had cornered them there raise their blasters.
I closed my eyes and screamed.
"Sakura!Sakura wake up!"
I heard someone call my name as they shook me.I opened my eyes slightly.
"V-Van?"
I said,hot tears streaming down my face as I awakened from the nightmare.
"Sakura,are you all right?You were tossing and turning and screaming...you were even crying..."
I swallowed hard as I looked into his concerned eyes.I did'nt bother to answer his question,but simply lunged forward and hugged him,crying into his shirt.He was surprised at first,but then embraced me,rubbing the back of my head.
"It's all right,Sakura...it's okay...ssshhh..."
I just continued to cry.Van wondered what in the world I had dreampt about that made me cry like that,but decided not to ask.
Finally,after my tears had wet down his shirt a good bit,I pulled back far enough to speak without my voice being muffled by fabric and said,
"I...I'm sorry Van...it's just...I saw it happen all over again...just like before...when I was a little kid...they...they took them away from me,Van..."
Van blinked,not having any idea what I was going on about.
"What're you talking about,Sakura?What happened all over again?Who took what away from you?"
I sobbed loudly and replied through many tears,
"The...the Stormtroopers...I was five...my parents...they...right in front of me...they murdered my parents,Van...right in front of me..."
Van was thouroughly shocked!He knew I must've had some kinda powerful past to become the rough mercenary that I am,but he never suspected anything like that!
"Sa-Sakura..."
He whispered softly,the shock allowing him to speak no louder nor past that last word.
I sobbed again,getting Van's shirt even more wet without intention.
"It...it was awful,Van...I dreamed it happened all over again..."
I choked out,my entire body shaking like Jell-O.
"The Empire's gone now,but...but it still happened...they're still gone,Van...and I'll n-never see them again..."
Van swallowed hard and hugged me tighter.
"Oh,Sakura.I had no idea your past was anything like that.It's no wonder you have'nt talked about it."
I just sort of nodded,sniffling.
"Well,it's okay.You've got me here with you now.I won't leave you.I promise.I'll always be here for you."
"Th-thanks,Van..."
"That's what best friends are for.You can tell me anything or ask me anything."
"Y-You mean it,Van?"
"Of course I do."
I sobbed again,hugging him tightly.
"Oh,Van...you really are my best friend..."
I said,sniffling.
Van smiled.
"And you're mine.Only a best friend would have come and rescued me from those scientists like you did back there."
I smiled back slightly and said,
"Well...it's the least I could do after you came forward in time 300 years just for me...and besides,only a best friend like you would give a mercenary like me a shoulder to cry on...a best friend is what I've always wanted,I just...never could have one..."
"I remember you saying that in your prayer when I saw you in the pond...what did you mean by that?You're rough,sure,but you're really a nice person.Why would'nt anyone wanna be your friend?"
"It's...not that they don't wanna be my friends,it's just...this curse..."
Van blinked and remembered that I had said something about a curse.A loneliness curse,if his memory served him right.
"But...there's no such thing as curses..."
"There is with me,Van...I have this curse on me...whenever I have a friend or a family,something always happens to them...the only reason I even let you stay around me was because I think God sent you here for me,and I figured if God sent you,then maybe you would'nt be effected by my curse..."
Van sat there listening to me.Was he really hearing all this?It was pretty hard for him to believe.
"What do you mean 'something always happens'?"
He asked with a double blink of confusion.
I sniffled and replied,
"After...after the Galactic Empire had my parents killed...I was taken to this concentration camp for kids,where I learned how to pilot a Zoid and did lots of hard work...I was the best pilot there,and the Empire was'nt about to give me up,so when these rebel soldiers came to free me and the other children and sent me to live with a new family,the Empire came after me and took them away from me,too..."
Van became more and more shocked with every word that escaped my lips.He could'nt believe what he was hearing!Had all this really happened?He knew it had to be.He knew I could'nt just make all that up.And plus it served for how tough I had become today.
Van finally brought himself to words and said,
"I...I had no idea,Sakura...but,what happened after that?Where did you go?What did you do?"
"I...I had managed to get away from the Empire again and...and since I was a good Zoid pilot,the Zoid Battle Commission took me in temporarily until they could find me a new family...but I had seen what happened when I was around family...I knew my new family was just gonna get killed because of me so I ran away and became a mercenary..."
"And so...here you are today...and that's why you think you have a curse..."
"That Zoids I pilot...the War Wolf...it's the same Zoid I ran away in...you see...the Empire trained me in a Command Wolf,and the War Wolf was the only Wolf type Zoid there,so..."
"So you piloted it when you ran away..."
I nodded.
Van sighed,feeling some tears sting his own eyes.He held me tighter.
"Look,Sakura,you don't have a curse.Things...happen.And sometimes these things...get really bad...and really terrible...but you have to realize that it's not your fault.There's no such things as curses,Sakura.It was the Empire that did all that,not you."
I sighed,my tears starting to dry some as I leaned against him.
"Do you...really mean that Van?"
"Yeah,I do.It's the honest truth.None of it's your fault,Sakura.There's no curse on you.That was all the Empire's doing."
A couple more tears ran down my face as I looked at him,unable to say a word.I was surprised he had reacted this way after I had told my tale.Then again,I had'nt told anyone else about my past,so...I had'nt experienced how anyone else reacted,anyway.
"Sakura,these things just happen,and you can't do anything about them.My parents,they died when I was young,too..."
"Huh?"
I looked up at him,blinking away some tears.
"Oh,Van...I'm so sorry to hear that..."
Van sighed,silent a moment before speaking again.
"My Dad died in the wars...he was killed in battle...sacrificing himself to save the rest of his squad...and my Mom...I never even saw her...you see,she died giving birth to me...Sakura,I pretty much know how you feel..."
I gasped and hugged him tight,rubbing my face in his shirt.
"Van,I...I honestly had no idea...I did'nt know anyone else felt like I do...Van,I..."
I became silent,not wanting my tears to start flowing again as I clung to my friend.Van hugged me back just as tightly and said,
"It's okay,Sakura...it's okay...there's nothing either of us could do about it...you just have to realize that...I felt for a long time like I was cursed too,but I realized that I could'nt help what happened,and you can't help what happened either."
"Y-you're right,Van...th-thank you so much..."
Van patted my back.
"No problem.It's what best friends are for,Sakura."
He said with a smile.
We finally pulled out of the hug and I smiled back.Van pulled a tissue from the nearby box and dried my tear-stained face.
"There ya go.See,it's okay.None of it was ever your fault."
I just nodded,feeling like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders.I thanked the Lord that He had sent me Van.Van and I shared similar problems,and so he understood me when no one else seemed to.
Van smiled again as he saw me feeling better,glad I was'nt thinking the same way about myself now.Glad that I was'nt thinking of myself as a curse anymore.
That's when there was a sudden knock at my door.Van told whoever it was to come in and the door opened,the doctor stepping through.
"Well,good afternoon,Miss Solo.You're looking much much better."
He said as he flipped through some papers on a clipboard.
"So much better in fact,that you can leave now whenever you wish."
I smiled and said,
"Really?Gee,thanks."
The doctor simply nodded and left the room.
Van smiled at me.
"Well,that's good news.I know how much you hate hospitals."
He said handing me my clothes and turning his back to me as I changed into them.As I did so,I replied,
"Darn right I hate hospitals...they're so...creepy...and why's everything white as a Konig Wolf?Yeesh..."
Van simply shrugged,not looking around as I dressed as he kept his back turned to me,eyes trained on the floor.
I finished getting my clothes on and picked up my bag.
"Okay,I'm decent."
I told him.He turned around,seeing me in the usual camouflage tank top,jeans and combat boots.
"Geez,don't you ever wear anything else?"
He asked.
I just shook my head.
"Well,it's sort of a tradition for mercenaries to dress in resemblance of their Zoids.Brad always wears blue,which is the color of his Command Wolf,and Jack wears black,like his Lightning Saix."
Van simple nodded and said,
"So you wear camouflage like the War Wolf."
I nodded.
"Yep.Me and that Zoid've been through a lot together.I have'nt even told you half of my past yet."
I said with a smirk.
Van smiled and said,
"Well,what say we get out of this place and add some new chapters to your life of mercenary adventures?"
I grinned,showing lots of white teeth.
"Good plan."
End of Chapter Six
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