A Zoids Fan Fiction

By Erin Prazan

Chapter One: New Surroundings

"Generator output reading 8.05 terabels! It can't possibly go any higher then that!" Cried Lieutenant Thomas Richard Shubaltz to his brother, Colonel Karl Shubaltz in the gun control room of the Ultrasaurus as they prepared to shoot Van Flyheight and his Blade Liger at the Death Saurer like a human cannon ball. Thomas was in panic, fearing that they might not have enough fire power to be able to pull of this stunt.

"That's good enough." Answered Karl, his voice as calm as he could make it as he tried to align the gun of the unsteady Ultrasaurus. "Our destinies ride with Van Flyheight from now on!" Meanwhile, a blue Blade Liger, who looked as of it had been in some serious battles recently, loaded up into the cannon of the Ultrasaurus, ready and willing for whatever happened to it in the moments to come.

"Blade Liger loaded up and ready!" Announced Irvine as he held the trigger of the gun steady, praying in his head that nothing would go wrong. In the gun barrel, the Liger let out a roar of courage, lifting the spirits of its pilot, Van Flyheight, as they got ready to risk their lives to save the people of Zi. It unfolded its blades, putting towards the opening on the opposite side of the gun barrel. A golden shield engulfed the Zoid, illuminating its paint and Van's face.

"Lock on to coordinates S54W10!" Ordered Colonel Shubaltz as he continued to get the gun steady.

"What's going on out there Moonbay? Keep this thing straight!" Barked Irvine to his old time friend, Moonbay the transporter.

"I'm doing everything I can to keep this thing in aliment!" Moonbay barked back, trying to regain usage of the controls of the Ultrasaurus. *Why doesn't this thing want to get back up? Damned leg!* Moonbay said to herself as the control to the Ultrasaurus' front left leg kept sticking since the leg was damaged by Hiltz' Charged Particle Gun. But all was in their favor as the gun began to charge.

Meanwhile, in the heat of the battlefield, a red Geno Breaker continued to try and blast at the Death Saurer's energy shield. "Come on Shadow!" Cried Raven as he willed his organoid to give the Geno Breaker more power to its Charged Particle Gun. *Van, you're the only pilot I respect.* Raven thought, willing everything in his being to help Shadow get more power. And as luck would have it, an explosion rocked Hiltz in his chamber within the Death Saurer's chest.

"What. What's happening?" Hiltz roared to Ambient, but Ambient wasn't at side anymore. "How could I forget, I probably killed him. Stupid organoid, they're no use to this world anymore." Hiltz swore under his breath. "Bring on whatever you've got Flyheight! I can take it!"

"Van now!" Cried Raven as his Geno Breaker fell to the bottom of the building where it had once been standing on.

"We're locked on!" Announced Colonel Shubaltz.

"Fire!" Like a burst of flame the Blade Liger shot out of the cannon with a strong burst of force. It soared through the air like a bullet, racing to its target, the Death Saurer's heart.

"Not a chance Flyheight! Have some of this!" Hiltz roared, shooting a Charged Particle Beam in Van's direction. But the shield surrounding the Liger was too strong and with the help of its boosters, cut through the beam. "NO!!!" Hiltz cried out as the Liger hit its target, ripping Hiltz apart.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"AAAAHHHHH!" A man with deep red hair and red eyes shot up from his resting place. A cold sweat drenched his face, hair and the collar of his uniform. He was gasping for breath, his chest throbbing in pain as if he just had a huge heart attack. Hiltz, as the man was called, buried his face in his hands in an attempt to calm himself. He worried that if he didn't do so soon, he would die from shock. *Wait a minute.* He told himself, bringing his hands away from his face, and looking into them, confused. *Aren't I supposed to be dead now?* Hiltz, deciding that he was alive somehow, wiped the sweat from his head and the back of his neck and looked at his surroundings. What he saw would have been enough to shock anyone from Zi. He was in a grassy field in the middle of what looked to be a mountain range with snow capped mountains and trees just on the outskirts. Hiltz took off his glove and ran his hand over the grass, which let off a beautiful scent, not like the grass he knew. It was sweeter and more fragrant. The trees, or what he could tell from his standing point, seemed to have more off a redder bark, slightly, purple? No, they weren't purple, they were more of a red color, but the leaves looked bluer.

Hiltz brought himself into a cross legged sitting position, allowing him to cross his arms and close his eyes in thought. He defiantly wasn't on Zi anymore, but where in the hell was he? This was a new place he had never seen before, and the new smells and sights were slightly intriguing. A crash overhead snapped Hiltz out of his dream state, causing him to look up. Angry storms clouds were beginning to gather were there had once been blue sky. He could see lightning coursing through the clouds, and he could hear the thunder echoing in the valley where he sat. "I'd better stop my thinking for now and look for shelter." Hiltz told himself, getting up on his slightly unsteady legs and walking as fast as he could to the forest nearby. By the time he reached the forest's edge, the rain was pelting down, drenching Hiltz right down to his skin. "Man, one thing I know now, this place has cold rain." Hiltz began running through the thick undergrowth of the forest, occasionally tripping over a root or two as he continued his run.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Hiltz came to a stop in front of what looked like a roomy cave. "Finally, someplace warm and dry." Hiltz marveled, quickly covering his nose from a strong stench that filled his nostrils. "To bad it smells like rotting meat. Ugh, man that smells terrible! Where the hell is it coming from?" Hiltz asked himself, walking into the cave with his head turned toward the outside. As soon as he was inside the cave, he felt a warm breath on the back of his neck, coming out in short angry puffs. Hiltz stiffened, slowly turning around to have his gaze meet two pale, pupil less eyes. He could slightly make out the pale pupils in the two pale orbs, but he quickly turned his attention to the row of fangs that was being shown in his face.

"How dare you enter my domain?" Growled the creature, pure malice in its voice. Hiltz could tell by the depth of the voice this creature was male, but he wasn't in the situation to worry about that. "Well human, you got about five minutes to explain yourself before I rip you to pieces."

"Now, now, now Mister. I don't want trouble." Hiltz replied shakily, not really sure how he should handle this situation. He was usually able to put up with anything, but that was on Zi, where he knew what creatures were there and what humans could do. But this place was new, and he didn't want to take a chance with those fangs. "I'm lost, I have no idea where I am and I was just looking for a place out of the rain. But if you don't want me here, I'll leave." Hiltz offered, slowly backing away from the creature.

But the creature didn't seem to take kindly to this. "To bad human, I don't like humans much, and you're not an exception, especially since I was just about to enjoy a meal of Orc." The creature moved menacingly forward, emitting low growls in Hiltz's direction.

"Oh please, I beg of you." Hiltz pleaded his back now against a tree. "I've already died once in a Zoid battle I don't want to die again!" At this, the creature stopped. Malice and anger were gone from his eyes, which were now filled with surprise and shock. The fangs disappeared from view as well.

"You're dead?" The creature asked his voice a little softer. Hiltz nodded, at least he thought so. All of a sudden, after what seemed like ages, the creature began to laugh. "Hahahaha. you're.. you'!" Hiltz frowned. Now what did this monster think was so funny? "Dude," the creature said finally after gaining control of himself, "why didn't ya say so? I would have been breaking my code as a Death unicorn if I killed ya! Man, Dogma would have had a fit!"

Hiltz was now thoroughly confused. Death unicorn, Orc, Dogma? What the hell? "May I ask what the hell you're talking about?" Hiltz inquired, putting his hands on his hips and looking rather mad. The 'Death Unicorn', as it called itself, lifted what looked to be a hoof and beckoned Hiltz to follow him back into the cave. Hiltz, now really confused, just looked off to the side of the creature and shrugged, like any cartoon character would do, and followed the Death Unicorn into the cave.

"OK pal, as a human, you can build a fire right?" The Death Unicorn asked, entering the cave with Hiltz in tow. Hiltz nodded, he was shivering madly and the word 'fire' seemed really cozy as he was freezing as if he was in the coldest part of Zi. "Well, I can get you some dry wood from the back of the cave. I think I have a blanket I got from scavenging, so you can try to dry off and warm up. Oh and by the way, my names Xavier."

"My n....Hiltzz." Hiltz hissed, so cold his words slurred. "I .Hiltz." Xavier turned towards Hiltz once they were getting deeper in the dry cave and handed him a thick wool blanket. "And thanks for letting me stay here after all. I mean I was trespassing in your personal space."

"Well, you weren't necessarily trespassing. You see, I only stumbled on this cave this morning when I was Orc hunting. I just prefer to be left alone. But as you are already dead, and probably had a tragic death as you look really young, I decided hell why not." Xavier answered, stopping so Hiltz could become level with him, the blanket draped over his shoulders. "Besides, you don't seem too bad. Oh, and don't mind the smell, it's just some rotting Orc carcasses from this morning, I'll drag them closer to the front." No sooner had Xavier said this when a terrible, foul stench filled Hiltz's nostrils, making him almost reel in the odor. Through the darkness and with the help of the glowing magic of Xavier's horn, Hiltz was able to make out three carcasses and a pile of dry leaves, sticks, and tree bark, a small package of dry matches next to them. "You go ahead and start the fire. I'll start dragging these things towards the entrance." Xavier commented, bending down. Hiltz could hear through the sound of hooves and grunting, and the sound of a small body being dragged along the rocky ground.

Hiltz shivered. He knew he was an ex-terrorist, but being in a dark, foul smelling cave that reeked of old carcasses, strong enough to make anyone toss their lunch, and hearing their bodies being dragged off when you're in slightly poor condition to really be doing anything really wasn't helping at all. Hiltz shivered again and lit a match. Most of the cave came into clearer view, and allowed Hiltz to look into the face of what he guessed was an Orc that Xavier was talking about. It was a gruesome creature, it lying there dead with its evil looking yellow eyes open. It had dark, dry skin that was covered in scars and half of its face was covered in crude looking stitches. Pointy ears were visible through its course black hair and its mouth was slightly open, showing rows of disgusting yellow, decaying teeth. But just above the color of the Orc's dark, crudely make armor was the real kicker for Hiltz's stomach. Its throat, which Hiltz guessed had once been as ugly as the Orc was now, was slashed and ripped mercilessly, supposedly by long sharp fangs. That was it for Hiltz. He promptly went to the back of the cave, now over come by the smell and the sight of rotting flesh, and threw up behind a rock. Luckily, Hiltz had dropped the still lit match into the pile of wood he was going to light, and a fire began to burn merrily in the timbers.

Xavier came back to find Hiltz losing his lunch and the fire burning. "Poor guy. Can't say I blame him though. I still get sick whenever I have to this." Xavier picked up a stick on the floor and stroked the fire, adding the stick to it afterward and walked over to Hiltz. "Disgusting aren't they?" Xavier asked, lightly resting his hoof on the still sick Hiltz's back. "To bad for their ancestors. Orcs were Elves once." Hiltz straightened slightly and wiped his mouth of the throw up remaining and looked at Xavier. "Elves and Orcs are entirely different races now. The peace loving elf makes the most beautiful things the worlds have ever seen, they protect and cherish forests and have a good relationship with Men. Orcs on the other hand, can make nothing beautiful, destroy and burn forests, and kill Men almost without thinking." Xavier pulled his face into a scowl and walked back over to where the remaining Orcs were laying.

Now that Xavier was in the light, Hiltz could see him perfectly. Xavier was a unicorn, but he looked different from unicorns Hiltz heard about in the past. Xavier was totally black and rather stocky in build, rather then silky white and lightly built like a deer. His hooves were like onyx and his horn was white and smooth, not spiraled. Then his pale, pupil less eyes, which glowed gruesomely in the dim light. Xavier lowered his head and took hold of a dead Orc's shoulder with his long sharp fangs, digging deeply into the rotting flesh. Xavier then lifted the Orc with his strong neck muscles, and carried the Orc towards the entrance of the cave. Hiltz stayed back by to where he had gotten sick for awhile, watching Xavier as he moved the bodies. "They're hideous." Hiltz said to himself, his eyes glued onto Xavier and the dead Orc's. "Why would someone want to make such hideous creatures, if they are even man made at all?"

"Simple, they kill and they aren't afraid to be killed. Plus they listen to commands from their masters better then other warriors." Xavier answered, not caring if Hiltz was talking to him or not. "They are bred to kill and only kill, not fearing death like most creatures. They are the samurai of the demons. Putting their pride before anything else. From what I understand, most Orc masters reward Orcs who have fought in battles, sustained terrible wounds and kill the most people, making them top ranking soldiers in their armies or something." Xavier scowled, throwing the last Orc towards the cave entrance and lying down in a spot next to the fire. He nodded to the spot across from him, telling Hiltz to take a seat and try and settle his stomach. Hiltz slowly got up and walked over to the spot and sat down, sit slightly ill. "You'll feel better when you have something to eat. I'm not even going to try and give you the meat Orc's carry with them. It might be human. I think they have some bread, stale bread, but its better then nothing." Xavier once again hoisted himself onto his thick legs and walked to the front of the cave, returning with a loaf of stale bread and an empty water flask. "Lucky for you this flask is brand new and not used. I don't even want to know what Orc's like to drink." He tossed the bread and flask towards Hiltz, lying down back in his spot and looking through the fire at him. "Oh, and Hiltz, there's an underground stream about three feet from here. Go get some water."

Hiltz wobbly got to his feet, still feeling slightly queasy as he did so. He reached the stream, the smell of his vomit still lingering in his nostrils, as well as the odor of the decaying Orcs. Hiltz held the bread in his mouth, already tasting the stale crust. He dipped the flask in the water until it was full, and removing the bread, took a nice long swig of the refreshing spring water. It ran down his dry, parched throat and entered his empty stomach, relieving the pain of hunger slightly. Even though he was hungry, he was rather dreading the first bite of the stale bread. He lifted it up to his mouth and took a bite. The taste was sour beyond reason, like gallons of lemon juice was used in its making. It was hard and tough, making Hiltz's jaw muscles hurt while he chewed. He sat by the stream, chewing his bread for a few minutes before returning to Xavier and the fire side. Even through the bread's sour taste, his stomach was no longer screaming in hunger, and he felt slightly relieved. "So," Hiltz began, taking another drink of his water, "who is this Dogma you spoke of?"

Xavier, who was watching the fire flicker, didn't look up. Instead, he sorta huffed in an impatient manner and flicked his ears. "Lord Dogma is my master. He rules the Underworld where I was born, raised, and trained. I hold my allegiance to him, and he treats me with respect." Xavier closed his eyes in what appeared to be a remembering fashion. "Lord Dogma is. a demon." Hiltz choked on the gulp of water he was drinking. He was a demon! "But, he is different then most demons." Xavier continued, his eyes still closed. "He treats humans with respect, and protects them in times of need. He is an Elemental, a demon who protects and controls an element of the universe. Dogma controls Death; he can cause it, and can sometimes reverse it, but only under special conditions." Hiltz coughed up the water in his throat and sighed. Maybe Dogma was someone to trust after all. But he was a demon, so he might not be entirely trustworthy. "Do you still think Dogma is untrustworthy?" Xavier asked, now looking Hiltz square in the eyes.

"I don't know what to think." Hiltz answered truthfully, looking down at the fire. "Half of me says to trust him, he's fine, but the other half says not to trust him, he's a demon after all." Xavier chuckled, closing his eyes again, smiling, and amusingly shaking his head.

"Hiltz, Hiltz, Hiltz. I guess there's no other way around it. I'll just have to take you to the Underworld to meet Dogma himself." Hiltz's head shot up. Xavier was going to take him to see Dogma in person?! When will the torment end? "And you needn't worry. Dogma's an OK guy. He has a great sense of humor and very kind, it's his scribes, RavenNight and Azriella you should watch out for."

"How come?"

"Well, let's just say they are a little less forgiving then Dogma. Take this new guy we got a couple days ago." Xavier said, using his front hoof to scratch behind his ear. "He was charged for murder, attempted murder and the attempted resurrection of a super Zoid. He's from Zi, like you."

"Um, what was the man's name?" Hiltz asked timidly, afraid that Xavier might say what he thought he was going to say.

"Gunther Prozen." Hiltz choked on his water. "Why, what's wrong?"

"He was my supposed 'boss' while we were resurrecting the Death Saurer. Oh, he's not going to be happy to see me at all."

"Well, his reaction may be small talk compared to what Azriella and RavenNight's reaction will be if you get accepted into Dogma's Underworld in your initiation trail. They blew a fuse when Dogma said Prozen could help them in the library as his sentence so they could get their work done faster." Xavier closed his eyes and shook his head. "You see, they think that punishments for deeds done by people like you or Prozen should be severely punished for all eternity. They believe in the whole eye for an eye deal." Hiltz was now feeling slightly uncomfortable. He didn't like the sound of the two scribes. "Azriella says the only way to punish and 'teach' people about their wrong doings is to make them feel the pain they put on other people. Her brother RavenNight thinks the same way."

"They're brother and sister?"

"Yeah, Azriella and RavenNight Shadowblood. Although we just call RavenNight Raven for short. They're demons too, but they're the kind of demons who think of humans as nothing more then a virus, a disease. They think of themselves as the cure." Xavier made a snort of disgust. "Yeah, they are a lot of different kinds of demons out there. Human lovers, human haters, half human, and some in-between. How do I know, I'm a demon unicorn, a type created by a goddess, a goddess of light and hope. For me, it just depends on how humans treat me. I was in a slightly bad mood from the smell and the fact that I'm injured when."

"You're injured?!" Hiltz interrupted, leaning forward slightly with concern at the unicorn. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Didn't think it was important." Xavier said truthfully, shrugging. He stood up slowly and turned so his right side was facing Hiltz. Hiltz could see why he wasn't able to see the wound when he was classifying Xavier before. Xavier's blood was black as night, blending in with his shiny black coat. Hiltz could now see a large gash running from Xavier's flank to his hip. It was huge, about three inches wide and several inches deep. And it didn't look like it was healing.

"Xavier, you should really get some help." Hiltz said. Even though he only met Xavier twenty minutes ago, Xavier was the only person who was ever really friendly to him in his whole life. The person except. Ambient. The organoid had always been by Hiltz's side since Hiltz found him in the lab of Raven's parents. "Xavier," Hiltz started, "that cut looks really bad."

"Don't worry about it." Xavier interrupted, waving a hoof. "A demon like me heals quickly. Plus there is special hot spring we're stopping at on the way to the Underworld that's said to do wonders on injuries like mine." Hiltz wasn't convinced, and Xavier had a feeling he wouldn't. "Look, get some sleep. I've already filled your head with too much information to be processed. You're in a new place, and you need some time to recover. I'll be fine, but try to get some sleep." Although Hiltz was still not convinced, he welcomed the idea of sleep. He bunched up his now dry blanket and laid his head on it like a pillow. It was still full of Orc smell, but less from the smell of rain and Xavier's horsy scent. Xavier was already breathing softly in sleep on the other side of the cave, his eyes closed and his sides rising slowly up and down.

Hiltz lay awake for several more minutes. He was still worked up on the prospect of being in a whole new world. Finally, his eyes grew heavy and his head sank into the make shift pillow. He took one last look over at Xavier and then fell asleep, whispering the words, "Thank you, friend."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, that's the first chapter of my new Zoids fiction! If you're reading my Kenshin fic, you might want to read this story first if you want the whole account of the conflict between Dogma and the villain in the Kenshin fic. It doesn't involve Zoids at all, only the characters. It may mention Zoids in flashbacks or maybe if I'm feeling generous or if I decide, I might squeeze in a Zoid or two. But that's just me. Well Arigato for reading my fics! Phoenix-sama out!