Foreshadowing, totally open

[Steel Cerberus]

[This technically takes place before the whole Helic-explosion, since it makes my timeline stuff work better.]


New Helic was quiet and innocent, unaware of what was going to happen to it. But, well, it was a week prior to that fateful day, and nobody had any idea anything bad was going to happen. In fact, it was a pretty sleepy day.

It was so sleepy, that nobody even noticed the albino twin girls sitting at a cafe. Perhaps it was because they were dressed like normal people for once; long sleeves, jeans, one with a big khaki floppy hat and the other with a cowboy hat.

"So I think I have a better idea now. How about a virus or something? There has to be some kind of biological difference between Zoidians and humans," the one with the floppy hat looked up, blinking twice when she noticed her sister looking across the street at another restaurant. She didn't even bother seeing what she was looking at, instead jabbing her in the arm with a finger.

"Huh?"

"What are you even looking at?"

"Oh," she looked back across the street, then at her sister. She leaned in close to whisper, "There's a cute boy at the curry place across the road."

People on the other side of the planet heard Dakota facepalm.

"I don't even have words for you. Can we concentrate here?" Kota sighed, drawing her hand down her face dramatically and looking at her sister. Maxine grinned a huge sheepish grin.

"Sorry. What about a virus now?"

---

Across the road at the curry place, Blade was enjoying his lunch and pondering over his next assignment. He was more curious about why he got this particular assignment then anything else. The story in the file was familiar, if only because it was a complete opposite of something he had already lived through.

"Somebody going around targeting Zoidians to murder. Sounds like Seijaku if she would have been born a human," he sighed, reaching for his drink, "I somehow don't think it's the best idea to send a Zoidian to take care of this, but I guess that fact isn't on file or something."

Maybe they figure your emotional investment in the whole thing will make you work harder? Maelstrom suggested, trotting up and pulling himself up to sit on the other chair at the table. The black wolf organoid scratched at his ear with a front paw while his zoidian partner eyed him.

"Where have you been?"

Trying to look up girls' skirts.

The only response that Blade could conjure was a deadpan stare.

"Seriously?"

No. I was sitting on the corner and whistling at pretty girls, though, the wolf seemed to grin, spiked tail wagging, It was fun, you should try it sometime,

Blade decided to ignore Maelstrom for a while and go back to his lunch, dead set on not listening to Maelstrom's snickers or his thoughts.

[The Crimson King]

"Ooooh look at that, Jasp!" Isis said in a high voice as she pulled Jasper's head down to the case.

"Yeah... what about it?"

"Isn't it beauuuuutiful?" Her face was lit up like a kid on christmas morning.

"It's just a ring..."

"It's not just a ring," she huffed. "It's a beauuuuuuuuuutiful ring." She placed her palm on the glass covering and imagined it were hers.

Jasper rolled his eyes and tilted his head back. Looking at the clear blue sky, he let out a sigh of exasperation. They had been running all over New Helic for hours now and it was just getting more and more frustrating. The only shopping he could do for hours would be for Zoids. And he'd end up spending around two million gallos. So far, Isis hadn't even spent one. "Women," he scoffed, shaking his head.

He looked back at the case, but Isis was gone. A look of surprise and shock came across his face upon not seeing her, and the one word he could think of was, 'Freedom?' And then just as the word had popped into his head, it was gone as an invisible force was pulling him to another outlet.

"I told you to keep up," she said as she released him from her grip.

Brushing himself off, he noticed that they were now on the corner of an intersection. He looked at the sign on the pole and it read to not cross. He obeyed, and looked around at his surroundings. Several markets and shops stood out, but the one thing that stood out the most was the word, 'Bistro.' His stomach rumbled when he saw this.

As Jasper was doing this, Isis made eye contact with a wolf Organoid sitting near her. The wolf whistled at her once and she placed a hand on her hip.

"Pig," she said to the wolf right after Jasper asked, "Could we just get something to eat?"

Jasper's mouth dropped in shock and he said, "...how am I a pig just because I want to get something to eat?!"

"Not you, Jasp. This wolf," she said as she watched it leave the corner. "Sure, let's get something to eat."

Jasper immediately took her hand and led her to a table at the bistro, where he would have to wait even longer for a waiter.

((Random muse is random...))

[Imperial Dragon]

There was a dragon on the corner of the road, stretching his wings beneath a clear blue sky, with what appeared to be a mild look of content resting gently on his face. He gave a great yawn, one that might have come off as a little too lazy and deep, and turned his great head down towards a sudden piercing sound, some sort of sharp pang in the air. He didn't like it. The whistle had come from a black wolf Organoid who had suddenly turned about and trotted into a nearby curry restaurant.

"It feels good to be home, doesn't it, Jormungand?" Nemesis had her hand resting on his leg, timidly watching the sleepy city from the Gungyarados' huge shadow. She'd seen a rather exasperated-looking man lead a girl in after the wolf disappeared.

"It does," admitted Jormungand quietly, flexing his claws on the pavement. He was enjoying the moment of rest that seemed to overtake the capitol. They'd just gotten back from a long trip from Terrone Town, where Nemesis' father had taken up another commission from a man in need of a statistical consultant. The whole family was used to traveling, and was always stopping around Zi to accommodate the demands of the job.

Still, it was pleasant to return once in awhile to New Helic City, with its giant buildings and shops, streets packed with people moving about. The Gungyarados swung his neck around every once in awhile to ensure he wasn't blocking up that road, being rather large as he was. But no one had complained so far, so he settled back down and continued to sun-bathe.

"Why won't you go grab a bite to eat, little one? That cafe seems rather popular."

His pilot looked up at him meekly, her single visible eye filled with a kind of dormant fear. "I... I don't want to go in there alone," she whispered, embarrassed.

The dragon purred and tilted his head to the bistro. "Ahh," was all he said, observing the customers through the restaurant window. He seemed to understand her shyness, and was patient with it. "Where should I take you, then?"

The girl squinted back at the cafe with her good eye and shrugged, drawing her cloak around her. "We could stay here awhile?" she suggested. They were in no rush. It would be awhile until her father was called away on another errand--probably a couple more days to their next departure. It was time to relax and take things easy.

So with a nod, Jormungand stood steady on his edge of the street, fanning his ruby wings in and out, listening for words he couldn't make out that came from the conversations taking place at the dining outlets. Background diversion came rumbling in with the color and familiar buzzing of the city. It made for an interesting show.

[Steel Cerberus]

The universe apologizes for not being detailed enough. Both Blade and the Twins were sitting outside at tables, not inside. Whoops!

Maelstrom had a good time whistling at girls. Some thought it was cute, some were annoyed by it, and some thought that a human nearby had done it. Either way, he was amused.

Hey, hey. Blade, whatcha think of that girl over there? Maelstrom pointed with his horn as the red-head and the guy she was with went past them. He was so tempted to whistle again, even though she had called him a pig. Blade looked up without interest as he finished his spicy lunch.

"What, the redhead? Meh."

I keep forgetting that the only kinds of girls you're interested in are the short, chubby blondes with anger problems and blood made of whiskey, the Organoid said, bobbing his head with every other word. Blade glared at him, which was kind of an unnatural look on the skunk-haired man's face.

"And there's no problems with that at all,"

I guess. I still like to tease you, he yawned and plopped his head onto the table.

---

Across the street, Max was distracted again. She had finally noticed Maelstrom and watched the two talk. Now, having an Organoid did not immediately mean they were a Zoidian, but the pair were so similar. The extreme similarities made her think that they were, which kind of concerned her. Evil Zoidians did not eat curry and have cute skunkstripes and smaller Organoids.

"If you're that attracted, go over and talk to hi-" Kota stopped when she noticed the same thing her sister did, and frowned. She had to squint against the bright light, but there was no mistaking an Organoid for anything else.

"Well, they like to make it obvious huh," she grinned toothily, pulling a small device out of her pocket that looked something like a handheld radar. After flicking it on and slouching down in her seat to fiddle with it, Kota's eyebrows shot up.

"Wow, we're on a break and there's more then one Zoidian around. How long do you think it would take us to grab the Zoids?" she looked at her twin, who chewed her lip thoughtfully.

"Long enough that they'll be gone by then. And besides, I wouldn't want to do anything with that Gungy right there," Max pointed over at the dragon sitting a bit down the street. Kota was forced to agree that she was right.

"Mmm. Guess it's the slimy bastard's lucky day," she grumbled, flicking the thing off and putting it back into her pocket. Unintentionally and unnoticed by her sister, Max sighed with a little relief. They were taking a break, damn it. Enough stress and fire and fighting for at least a few days.

[Imperial Dragon]

Downtime was much appreciated. Being able to relax and take things easy was something Jormungand welcomed promptly as he purred on his corner of the street, his optics dimmed and misleadingly inattentive. He'd gotten over the high-pitched whistling from the Organoid, and was now watching the black wolf converse with its owner. The canine wore an unmistakable look of amusement that the Gungyarados noticed almost immediately. It seemed to be enjoying itself.

Nemesis, in the meantime, stayed still at his side, keeping her hand on his taloned toes and mulling over things. She regretted her awkward timidness and wanted to summon the courage to at least walk across the road and inspect one of the restaurants for herself. Her Zoid would have stayed there or even accompanied her, kept a careful eye on her at all times, so what was she so afraid of? Maybe the pair of albino twins seated across from the curry outlet? "Um... Jormungand?" she whispered under her breath.

"Yes, little one?" Was there a mischievous vibe about those two? The dragon was looking their way quietly; he could have sworn he saw one of the girls pull some odd contraption from her pocket, though he was a little far away to tell. The pleasant rumbling coming from his throat sounded much like the ringing of a thunderclap on a particularly stormy day, something sonorous and extreme--still, he gave no outward hint of his covert caution as he recalled one of them pointing a finger his way.

He rocked on his feet and leaned closer into the intersection, pretending as if he was only swaying from boredom. "What is it? Would you like to go now?" his gaze, still dark and dull, flickered from the white-haired girls to the wolf Organoid and his skunk-haired owner, then back again.

"N-no," she said. "Not yet. But could we cross the street?"

"Of course," and the Gungyarados went with her, over to the other side towards the two curious little eating outlets.

[Steel Cerberus]

Neither Blade nor Maelstrom seemed to notice that they were the object of some nearby attention. It was something they were kind of used to by now, and didn't even give it a second thought. Skunk striped and Organoids weren't exactly the most common thing ever. Especially wolf-whistling Organoids.

You're one of the few guys who can have cute girls watching him and not even care, he said suddenly, ears moving to stand straight. Blade looked at him curiously, and the noidyface gestured his head very minutely across the street, Two albino girls checkin' you out over there.

Blade glanced over, and sure enough, the one twin that was looking at him quickly looked away and hid behind the newspaper that they had sitting nearby. The Zoidian just scratched his head.

Twinsssss. One for each of us~

The humanoid slowly looked at his organoid, who grinned where he still had his head resting on the table, Don't wanna share, then? I could just take both of them.

Blade made it a point to not look at what the organoid was thinking, and barely resisted flicking his spoon at him.

That Gungy nearby was watchin' us too, I think. Hard to tell with those things.

That interested Blade a little more, and he twisted around in his chair to look at the dragon.

---

"He's not looking anymore."

Max looked up, sneaking a glance to make sure her sister wasn't lying, "Shame he's a Zoidian."

Dakota made a noncommittal noise, watching as the dragon Zoid nearby headed a little closer to their street, actually sort of heading down it now. She looked down at the girl next to it, then back up at the dragon. It was an impressive machine.

"Zoidians seem a lot more like Zoids then we do, huh? I wonder how different they really are from us," she mused, picking at a rusted spot on the table, "We've only ever just killed them. We should get one and dissect them or something."

"Ew."

[Imperial Dragon]

Jormungand caught the sudden flash of movement, something blurry and black and white, while he lumbered behind his pilot across the painted intersection. The skunk-haired man had turned around in his chair, the Wolf Organoid close by him, and was looking directly at him. It wasn't that the Gungyarados minded, exactly, but rather that he couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious of these odd characters. Maybe he was just a little too cautious, but protecting his human was something he wasn't planning on ever failing to do.

"D-do I really have to go in by myself?" asked Nemesis quietly. She had her head downcast and her hands stuffed into cluttered pockets. They'd reached the other street and stopped before the restaurants.

The dragon gave a soft, metallic sigh. He peered down at the buildings through his crimson-colored eyes. "You know the answer to that," his voice was soothing and deep, not quite lost in the commotion of the city, but almost part of it.

The girl shrunk back and examined her options again with her one good eye. There was a cafe, one with out-door seating at that, and a pleasant-looking outlet specializing in curries, all nestled among a few other shops that she glazed over fairly quickly. "Let's try the cafe, then," she said, recognizing that she could sit outside with her Zoid.

Jormungand nodded slowly. He'd since turned his attention back to the albino pair seated nearby; one of them had shot a glance in his direction. To Nemesis, back up to him again. He smothered a disgruntled snarl that rose in the very back of his throat as his pilot chose a table and started slowly towards it--something wasn't quite right.

They were all watching each other.

[Steel Cerberus]

Blade watched the jagged, old Zoid with more of a open curiosity then anything else. He was familiar with them, since Diego had one, but other then that he didn't see too many. This one was also stock colors like Trogdor.

He turned back to his Organoid, "Not like it matters. Wonder why they're staring."

Hey, not every day that a handsome Organoid is sitting out in the open like this, he puffed his chest out, standing up a little.

Blade gave him a flat look over his drink.

Stop looking at me like that.

The Zoidian shook his head, pushing his bowl away and picking up the folder he'd had spread out, and tucking things back into it, "Well, guess we could get on this case. I have a bad feeling about this, though."

Doesn't help much that one of them has a Soul Tiger, either. Those things are fast, Maelstrom sighed, setting his head on the table. Blade shrugged, not voicing his own concerns, and flipped a page in the briefing. He didn't see a piece of paper, just a map of one of the continents with dots and labels, go fwooshing out of the folder and float a distance away to rest on the sidewalk.

---

"I'm serious. It'd be a good way to learn."

"You can take care of that, then," Max shook her head, looking a little sick. Kota rolled her eyes, picking at something on the table pensively. She stopped suddenly, looking at the skunk-haired man across the road again.

"Zoidians have more metallic content in their bodies then a normal human, right? It's how our scanners work," she tapped the device in her pocket, and her sister nodded in agreement, "So it would stand to reason that perhaps we could figure out something that would attack that oddity. Make it something we could drop on a population and only kill the Zoidians," she rapped her knuckles on the table, and suddenly jumped up, "We should go get working on this, I'm sure it'll be really complicated," she stood up and headed towards the edge of town, where their zoids were hiding, without even waiting for an answer.

"No rest for the wicked," Max sighed, standing up and meandering after her sister who had already disappeared down the street.

[Imperial Dragon]

"What's wrong, Jormungand?" asked Nemesis, her hands in her pockets and her single eye cast up towards her pensive partner.

The old dragon bent down and stretched out his blood-colored wings, only to reposition them at his sides. Gently, exactly, slow to fold them back so as not to create a disturbance, say... knock up against a building or conjure up an artificial wind. The sun was warm and mild and he lowered his face from it momentarily to bow. "Nothing you need to worry about at the moment, little one." Though his head remained still, he gave the street another glance. 'At the moment,' unfortunately, was decisive.

The skunk-haired man seemed friendly enough, though the Gungyarados resisted the urge to send his wolf Organoid an admonishing snarl when it stuck out its chest. Let it be, he figured--it wasn't really threatening them in any way.

Nemesis was watching Maelstrom too. Only she was interested, rather than slightly irked, at his presence. She noted his black coloring that accented golden horns, the claws, the spikes that ran down his neck. It was when he stood up a little that she shrunk back in her seat, frightened the slightest, or maybe just caught off guard. She did notice, however, that a lose sheet of paper had fallen from the man's folder onto the nearby sidewalk.

She stood, careful to push her chair in soundlessly. Jormungand turned his attention back to the albino duo, who seemed to have vacated their spot. There was something about them that he didn't trust, perhaps the way one of them kept handling some concealed item that he couldn't see, or the way they were whispering to each other earlier. It was unfair to jump to a conclusion, he thought, but he was admittedly glad when they'd begun to take their leave.

Hesitant, curious, Nemesis retrieved the sheet, taking it gingerly between her fingers. It looked like a map--the very distinguishable outline of one of Zi's continents, and decorated with various details. She didn't study it, but looked up to the dragon, who only nodded slowly.

"U-um. Excuse me?" she approached Blade with her head turned down, sure to leave plenty of space between herself and the wolf-Organoid. She extended both hands, presenting him with the paper, "I--erm. Sir, does this belong to you?"