Tears of the Repentant

_Watching the news tonight, I couldn't help but be reminded that people are fairly horrible creatures sometimes, but sometimes they can surprise you with unexpected kindness. It made me think about a small part from the Zoids anime that I really liked. A part that deserved being revisited. A part that I couldn't quite work out how to fit Spider-Man into, so it's not going to be as good as it might otherwise have been._

**Tears of the Repentant
By KAndrw**

I hate you.
You murdered my family, then you watched me burn to death.
I will never forgive you.

He woke screaming, his covers drenched in cold sweat. Just as he had every night for the past two years. It was the dream about the girl again. He had murdered her family, years ago, then he had set fire to the family's house. He hadn't realised that she was inside. It hadn't really mattered. He hadn't given it a second thought. He didn't even know her name, but since the visits started, he had decided to call her Sylden. It was as good a name as any for the ghost of an eight year-old girl who was steadily driving him insane.

He had been five years old when his parents were killed by soldiers. They might have been from the Empire, or maybe it was the Republic. Possibly his father was the enemy, or possibly his family just had something the soldiers wanted. He didn't remember those things. What he did remember was the cruel smiles on their faces when they shot his father, and the look of derision they gave his mother as they pulled her away from the corner where she was sheltering him. They laughed as one of them slit her throat. His family was not even human to them. The soldiers climbed back into their zoids and left. He remembered holding his mother's body until it grew cold.

He remembered being taken into the orphanage. He had been small. His shoes and clothes were several sizes too small for any of the other children, but they had taken them anyway, leaving him bruised and bloody in payment. Being bullied became expected, from the moment he was woken in the morning by a punch to the face. The random torture and violence continued through the day until well after darkness fell - when the other children finally went to bed, leaving him to cry himself to sleep in his bloody cot, soaked in the spit and urine of the others. The 'holy men' who ran the orphanage turned a blind eye to it all. Perhaps they thought it built character. He would never have asked for their protection anyway. Even he had some understanding of what happened to those they took an interest in. The beatings from his peers were better than that.

He first killed another person on the day of his seventh birthday. Two older girls had decided to teach their brother how to break somebody's fingers. His fingers. They had dragged him into a shed, wrestled him to the ground, and were sitting on his chest and shoulders. One of the girls was about to start the demonstration, and had turned away to tell her brother what to watch. Her attention diverted, she did not see him grab for the screwdriver lying discarded on the floor beside him, did not see him twist his grip and drive it into her thigh. Her surprise and pain gave him a chance to get free and stab the other sister in the arm, the blade punching between the girl's radius and ulna, severing a bundle of nerves and making her scream so loudly that she burst blood vessels in her retinas. In an ill-considered moment of bravado and family loyalty, the brother threw himself into the fray, and was killed instantly by the screwdriver plunged though his eye and into his brain.

He expected to be beaten by the men who ran the orphanage. Maybe even killed. It was hard to care. He was surprised by the way they looked at him. Afraid. There was something in their eyes. Greed, glee, excitement. That day he was sold like a dog, and his life as an assassin began.

For ten years he stole and murdered for the man who bought him. Some of the people he killed probably had it coming. They looked scared as they died, but they didn't look like they felt he was being unfair. But sometimes the people he killed just looked confused as his poison spread through their bodies and burned away their lives. He wondered whether those people had realised what they'd done to make somebody else want them dead. Sometimes he even wondered whether he might have got the wrong person. Not that it really mattered.

One day he arrived home to find that the man who owned him was dead. He was free, as if that word really even meant anything. He drifted from job to job, never finding anything that could hold his attention. Then somebody offered him money to commit another murder. It was easier to accept than think about what else to do. After a couple of jobs, he realised he was a mercenary.

Sylden's parents owed somebody some money, or somebody owed them some money and didn't want to pay it, or they had demanded money in order to keep something quiet. He was pretty sure that money was an issue in some way. It was so hard to remember the little details. He poisoned their water. Actually, his employer had been a little vague on exactly where they lived, so he had poisoned the whole street's water. Once they weren't able to move any more, he set fire to their house. Was it to destroy some evidence? It probably was the keeping something quiet thing after all. Anyway, the girl was upstairs sleeping. He saw her at the window, screaming, as he padded away from the house in his zoid. It was probably better for her to die then than to have to grow up an orphan.

Eventually he slipped up, and a job went bad. His zoid was defeated and the authorities caught up with him. That was two years ago. He had been in jail for two years. It had been the worst two years of his life.

He had expected to have to fight for survival. He had expected debasement and violation. He had expected to need to kill. It was worse. They treated him like a human being. The wardens stamped down on violence between prisoners, and daily life became dominated by introspection. He realised that he was a monster. That's when the girl had started haunting him.

I hate you.
You murdered my family, then you watched me burn to death.
I will never forgive you.

Every night she came, just as he managed to drift off to sleep. He wasn't sure whether she was a figment of his guilty conscience, or whether she was an actual ghost. Did he believe in ghosts? Did it matter? She was real enough to make his life hell. He gave her a name, and Sylden gave him a reason to wish he were dead. Time and again, he thought about taking his own life, but every time the thought was overwhelmed by Sylden's voice.

Coward.
Murderer.
I hate you.

So every night he woke up screaming. And every morning he reminded himself what he was, what he'd done. He didn't even know how many people's lives he had destroyed. It was a lot. This morning the wall exploded.

Something was attacking the prison. Something big. Something powerful. The cell doors had automatically opened, and the prisoners were fleeing for their lives. His door was stuck. Figures. He called out for somebody to help him open the door, and to his surprise two of his fellow inmates threw their weight against the door, dragging it open. He realised that he mustn't be the only prisoner who had looked inside himself and not liked what he'd seen. This was a chance to begin again. To be the person he wanted to be. To kill the monster.

He burst into the courtyard with two of the men he'd worked with in his previous life, just in time to see the attacker pass. It was a giant scorpion type zoid, and it was destroying everything in its path, shrugging off every attack directed towards it. Malevolence leaked from it, filling him with a poison he'd felt before. Felt his entire life. Anger and indignity. Hatred and spite. The difference was that now he recognised the poison for what it was. He had no use for poison any more. He would not be the monster any longer. And he would not stand aside and let the monster pass by.

It was time to fight again. Not for pleasure. Not for survival. Not even for money. But because it was right. Because somebody had to stand against the monster so that children like Sylden would not have to experience terror.

He found a zoid. It was a Sabre Tiger. Good. He knew Sabre Tigers. In his former life, he piloted one. It felt good to be back in the cockpit. His former colleagues had also found zoids, and they charged out to meet the monster. They hit the monster with everything they had. It did nothing. As the smoke cleared, he saw the brilliant light of the monster's primary weapon charging up.

This was it. He was going to die. Alone. He was going to die alone, just as he had lived alone, almost his entire life. In the final seconds of his life, he heard Sylden's voice.

I hate you.
You murdered my family, then you watched me burn to death.
I will never forgive you.
But I am here with you, Stinger.

His vision blurred by the first tears cried since childhood, he did not see the Deathstinger kill him.

End file.

Tears of the Repentant by KAndrw


Digital Love

I do not own Zoids. It's like copyright for some dude. I don't own "Digital
Love" either. It's property of Daft Punk!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Digital Love Last night I had a dream about you

In this dream I'm dancing right beside you

And it looked like everyone was having fun

the kind of feeling I've waited so long

Don't stop come a little closer

As we jam the rhythm gets stronger

There's nothing wrong with just a little little fun

We were dancing all night long

The music becomes pulsating as the lights flicker with an array of colors. Everyone feels the power of the rave. Bit stares at Leena. Bit thought, 'So beautiful.' They both have a bright smile.

The time is right to put my arms around you

You're feeling right

You wrap your arms around too

DJ Shadow yells, "Let's tone it down a bit here. Take the person closest to you and feel the love." Bit wraps his arms around Leena as they begin to blush. They rock to the harmonious tune. Leena leans in to kiss Bit.

But suddenly I feel the shining sun

Before I knew it this dream was all gone

Bit awakens then sits up. Sigh, "I wish that were true."

Ooh I don't know what to do

About this dream and you

I wish this dream comes true

Ooh I don't know what to do

About this dream and you

We'll make this dream come true

Why don't you play the game?

Why don't you play the game?

"I love you Leena Toros." Bit says under his breath.
THE END!

End file.

Digital Love by Shadow Death Dark


ZOIDS the mysteries of ULTRASAURUS RED

We will look into mysteries

ULTRASAURUS RED!

End file.

ZOIDS the mysteries of ULTRASAURUS RED by deathxdorugoramon


Soldiers

**Disclaimer:** I don`t own Zoids.

Soldiers

* * *

What is it I read that one time as a kid? I think it was in one of those _really_ old comic books...

Something along the lines of "Once, someone asked me why I do what I do... Why I lead and fight rather than just lead or fight. It took me days to think up an answer, but when I did it became blaringly clear to me. I fight because I am a soldier, I lead because I have no other option."

And there you have what`s been my motto for the past eight years I`ve spent in the military.

My name is Captain Richard O'Connel*, I am a soldier.

I fight, I take orders and I lead when nobody else is left to do the job.

It`s what I do.

I could be Major or General by now, Rob knows I`ve got the skill but I`ve turned down every promotion offer I`ve had since becoming Captain. Heck, I don`t even like being a Captain anymore. It has it`s moments but I liked being plain old Lieutenant O'Connel.

Captain is too far up the chain of command for me, I`m a soldier far more than I`ll ever be a leader and I know that.

That`s why I refuse to lead. Because I can`t do as good a job as others would. Small groups like I had when I was an Lt., sure, but companies, platoons and divisions? No.

I am a soldier.

I fight and I take orders but I can and I will lead when nobody else is left to do the job.

It`s what I do and it`s what I love.

I can`t take being a full command level officer, Rob can have that job but me? I`m a soldier to the bitter end.

Soldiers fight, commanders lead. Soldiers die, commanders get medals. Soldiers have stories, commanders have legends.

But I`ll take being a soldier any day of the week.

It what I`m made for, like Rob was made for commanding.

That`s one thing about him few people understand, Rob Hermann didn`t rise to power in the military because the brass wanted it or his mom happened to be in the position of being the president, he came to power because we wanted him there. Us, the soldiers.

He may be a rotten bastard sometimes but he`s _our_ rotten bastard, and we`ll take orders from him only before we _ever_ take orders from some stupid idiot who`s never been on the front lines. Rob rose through the ranks from Private to Major, he didn`t get fancy military schooling like half the chain of command, and that`s why we`d all gladly lay our lives down for him.

Rob Hermann is a soldier, but he`s also a leader.

I am a leader, but I`m also a soldier.

That is why I refuse a promotion.

Not because I can`t handle it, or because I don`t want it. Both are true but the real reasons are loyalty to Rob and loyalty to the men and women I`ve served most of my career with.

We are brothers and sisters in peace.

We are comrades in arms.

We are soldiers.

We fight. It`s what we do.

I am Captain Richard O'Connel.

I am a soldier. I fight. It`s what I do.

* * *

**Author`s Note:** Hope you enjoyed, Sick Little Fiend :P

* = I`m not sure if O'Connel`s name was ever said in the series but since I haven`t seen anyone use his full name before(or him at all for that matter) I figured that Richard just fit. Hope nobody minds.

_Sh33p_ out.

End file.

Soldiers by The Sh33p


Put the Raven in its Cage

This in a simple one-shot. I was thinking of how Raven though about zoids and how Bit could talk to Liger Zero and this was the end result.

I don't own zoids or any of it's characters. I wish I had a Geno Breaker though.

* * *

The Geno Breaker came to a stop in the middle of the desert. Raven sat inside fiddling with the controls.

"Why you stopped Shadow, I never told you too" he said, Shadow growled at him. "Do you think I care what would happen to the zoid if I push it, it's just a machine it can be fixed" Raven said.

Shadow seperated with the zoid and stood at its feet. Before Raven could say anything the cockpit opened and the zoid leaned forwards throwing Raven out of the cockpit.

"What the" Raven said as he turned to look at his Geno Breaker who in turn looked down at him and growled at him. "How is this happening?"

"What, you didn't know zoids where alive" a deep voice said seeming to come from the Geno Breaker. Raven looked at the zoid wide eyed.

"No, zoids can't talk, there,"

"Just lifeless machines, that's what you think" the Geno Breaker cut him off. "Every pilot can talk to his own zoid and vice verse"

"But,"

"Don't say anything" the Geno Breaker said angrily. "I've heard enough from you. You abuse zoids, not caring for them at all"

"What are you talking about" Raven said dragging himself a few feet away from the zoid.

"Your Zabre Fang, you said he caused you humiliation and after hearing that he wanted to regain your approval so he went along with the foolish task of breaking through Van's shield just to please you but in the end you just destroyed him and didn't even feel any grief"

"How do you know that happened?"

"A zoid makes a mental link with its pilot. We know everything you do. After him you went on to me, when I was still a Genosaurer, I killed the Shield Liger for you but when fighting the Blade Liger you were reckless and lost"

"If that was you then how are you here now"

"Ambient brought me back, you've met him before but not under good circumstances so let's not go into that. But here I am and you're still the clueless spoiled brat you always were"

"Stupid zoid, I'm your pilot you can't talk to me like that!" Raven got up and shouted. The Geno Breaker grabbed him in one of it X Breakers and lifted him off the ground, the grip was enough to keep him from escaping but not too much so that he wouldn't be crushed. Raven struggled to get free.

"You are in no position to talk to _me _like that"

"Let me go you piece of scrap or I'll,"

"You'll what?" the Geno Breaker cut him off and asked sarcastically. "Look at you, look at all you humans. Useless" the Geno Breaker hissed. Raven's eyes went wide when he said that, remembering all the times he said that to a zoid. "You have no weapons, you come to our planet and use us for your wars not knowing that if we really wanted we zoids could obliterate you in one day"

Raven began to struggle again and the Geno Breaker momentarily tightened its grip causing Raven to scream out in pain.

"It's useless, you can't escape. You're at my mercy, the mercy that you never gave to any zoids and the mercy that I just might not return" the Geno Breaker flipped forwards it's head blade and brought it to Raven's chest."Maybe I should just kill you now and save myself the abuse, in fact I think I will. Any last word you monster"

Raven looked down having given up his struggle some time ago. All the things his zoid had said was going thought his mind then a he did something he hadn't done in years, he began to cry. First one tear drop, than another and before he knew it there was a steady stream. "I'm sorry. For you, for my Zabre Fang and all the other zoids"

The Geno Breaker put its head blade back in its non attack position. "What was that zoid hater?"

"I said I'm sorry. The truth is I say I hate zoids but it's only because I'm afraid of them. I'm scared of their power and I mask my fear with hate. I destroy then because I'm afraid of them, just like someone stepping on a bug if they're scared of it"

The Geno Breaker slowly brought him to the ground and let him go.

"You're not gonna hurt me?" Raven asked.

"No, I just wanted to make sure you knew the truth yourself"

"You knew all along?"

The Geno Breaker nodded. Raven smiled a little as the cockpit opened and the seat lowered.

"I promise I won't trat you like the others, I'll take care of you" Raven said. Shadow merged with the zoid and the Geno Breaker flew of once more.

End file.

Put the Raven in its Cage by Nukascar101 aka RevRav