Quest One: My Kingdom For A Power Core (Open)

[Marcus Takumi]

<Enter>

Marcus had made it to the Recreational Plaza of the bustling city of lights, Romeo City. Well, it was his home, after all, and he knew all the stops and the sites to go to in case he needed some entertainment. But as of now, Marcus needed to ease his stressed nerves. He had recently returned from a rather erratic excavation with somebody by the name of Max, whom had helped him obtain a new Zoid body for the memory drive of Ex-Vee. Unfortunately, because the Zoid, a rather bare version of a Liger Zero, had undergone massive disrepair over its years of discontinued use, it had suffered rust and calcium damage; even so far as to the Power Core degenerating to uselessness.

It would seem as if though the ponytailed boy's eighteen year streak of good luck had come to and end, though, considering all of the misfortune he had suffered, but he was optimistic. He would drive on until something rather crazy happened, or something that turned his luck around a full one hundred eighty degrees.

He skimmd through all of the pockets on his tight, dark blue denim jeans, hoping to find some pocket change for some food after getting tired of eating cup ramen back at his place. Clicking his tongue in success, he had scrounged up a few bills and a few coins from the right one, and had eagerly played with the cash as he searched for a decent meal place. Sorry, Ex-Vee! Human survival before Zoids! Besides, you don't need food. he would chuckle mentally, grinning that bright and sunny grin he was well known for.

________

Finally making his way around the plaza for what seemed to be two blocks worth of nothing but window shopping, he had managed to finally choose what he wanted most -- pizza. Who could blame him? Pizza was the tour de force of food these days; and as of now, they were having discounted prices on select combo meals, something that the boy could definitely use. Walking up towards the counter, he had ordered a triple slice platter of the Meat Supreme -- considering he never really liked his vegetables -- and a large soft drink before sitting down in eager anticipation to stuff his face full of actual food.

Looking around at all the Zoids now, especially the ones with Power Cores, let alone armor and weapons, he brought up images of Ex-Vee within his mind, and how he was probably the only Zoid out of a few that had none of those -- a practical paperweight. "Maybe I should've thought about going with Max a bit more..." he would contemplate, actually believing that it probably was a bad idea to actually just grab whatever Zoid he could find, then just run off like the wind.

Wincing in pain at his left wrist, he had thrown his elbow into his respective sleeve of the black shirt he was wearing, sighing in relief of the tension release it had caused his body. Yeesh. Destroyed Rev Raptor, broken arm, minor burns, a crappy Liger Zero with no weapons, armor, or Power Core... And worst of all, no money! he would ponder further, his face slightly grimacing at the poor conditions he had been left in in a span of two days. Thinking back to his chance meeting with Patrick Norstein, he had thought about putting all his blame on him, because of his inspiration to Zoid battle, but shook his head at the thought, knowing that he didn't cause his recklessness.

But Marcus ended up smiling cheesy once again; despite the fact he never really knew how to pilot Zoids, or even shoot Zoid ranged weapons for that matter, but he wasn't one to just sit back on the sidelines firing full salvos of missiles and pumping enemies full of lead or plasma. Not only that, karma had struck during his fight with Max and his Houndsoldier ended up getting totalled as well, so it at least gave him some form of experience with Zoid fighting. (Albeit all luck).

Like you keep sayin' Marc!" he would finally speak aloud as his number was called back at the pizza place; he aptly rose from his seat, grabbed what he came for, and sat back down with another wide grin on his face. "With every negative situation; there's always a positive outcome!" he practically shouted before he took the first, ravenous bite of pizza; not even giving a care in the world as a few people walked past the boy with rather unamused looks or possibly raised eyebrows.

What a strange kid...

[Rui Zeal]

[enter]

Rui watched the sandy landscape stroll leasurly by as Ciel continued towards Romeo city, fresh from their most recent mission of saving a village from a group of vicious vandels. Unlike most pilots, Rui wasn't in the cockpit, and didn't need to be, instead opting to pass the trip resting on Ciel's back. Takeing a swig of water from her canteen, she began singing a song softly to herself.
Face to the sea
I hear the wind
Calling me to truth

It was the first bit of a lullaby her mother used to sing to her. Even now, it still reminded the village girl of her home, nestled in an unimportant valley far off in the country. It had been a quiet little village, and even now, she hated bandits with a passion. Perhaps that's why this last mission had been so satisfying.

Close your eyes
And dream beneath
The warmth of skies of blue

Perhaps that's why she was feeling so nostalgic. The whole situation felt so familar. A small, unimportant town, attacked by bandits. The only difference was this time Rui had been there to do something. Even the leader had looked just like the leader of the bandits who had destroyed her village.

Longing to rest my weary bones
So long the path
O be still my soul

Rui sat up and brushed a tear from her eye. These were her most painful memories. Before she could remenisce anymore, Rui had arrived in town. She parked Ciel in a Zoid Storage area on the outskerts of town and went in on her own. She did some window shopping before heading to the food court for some much need nourishment.

She decided on yôshoku, Japanese food based on more western styles. In the end, she ordered Tonkatsu with rice and a plate of Supageti with an Omuraiso. She also got a large Coke to compete the meal.

However, it was lunch time, and the food court was packed. Spotting an open seat that she wouldn't have to run a gauntlet for, she walked over, precauiously ballencing both the large soda and the tray with her lunch on it, and asked the only person currently at the table, a boy about her own age with Jet-black hair longer that her own, "Sumimasen, mind if I sit here?"

[Marcus Takumi]

Marcus grunted like a ravenous wolf as he tore through the bread and meat of the pizza he had been eating; the only good food he had been able to eat since he had nearly lost all of his money. It was a fabulous day indeed; the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and Marcus, despite him being nearly flat broke and left with a near-useless Zoid, was in the best of moods.

Sumimasen, mind if I sit here?"

Looking up in curiosity, he had noticed a young woman not too far from being his own age, with hair obviously shorter than his own. She was rather attractive, to be quite honest as well, so he was forced to blink twice, hoping she didn't find it offensive. Swallowing what he had in his mouth and wiping his face off with a napkin, he had smiled with warm intentions and waved a hand towards the open seat across from him. "Be my guest, miss!" he would softly exclaim, his radiant blue eyes shimmering in the sun.

Looking around as he took a swig of his soft drink, he noticed the load of food she had apparently ordered. An eyebrow raised near instantly; does this chick eat or what? Looking up in a nervous smile, he pointed to her food. "May I ask what that is? It's looking really good right now." he had humbly asked, laughing slightly while sweating a bit as well.

To be honest, Marcus never really was strong around women. He never knew what to say to them, and was always afraid he would end up offending one. And to be honest once more, he had much of an easier time conversing with the same gender as well; probably because males thought similarly. With women, however, he could never muster up the courage to really say "hello", or even ask one out on a date, to be honest. But this was no time for romancing - as business was to be made.

"Uhh... I hope you don't mind me asking, but..." he would begin, taking a small sip of his soft drink before leaning in slightly, as if he was about to tell her a dark secret. "Do you know where I can get a new Power Core? I need it to repair a Zoid back at my place." he questioned as he explained his situation, hoping she would understand his lingo. Ever since he was exposed to the world of Zoids, everyone he met could have been a potential pilot, so it normally didn't hurt to ask for information these days.

"R-rather, do you know how to make a quick buck? I'm flat broke right now - this meal cost me all I had left." he continued, laughing lightheartedly at his given situation. It was a good start, for a conversation with a girl, anyway. Besides, before he could even dare get a Power Core, he needed the cash for it; and he was willing to accept any job he could to get some credits.

[Rui Zeal]

"Arigato." Rui said as she sat down. The boy was kind of cute, but definatly not Rui's type. After the boy asked, Rui began to point to her plate, giving a short disciption of each dish. "Well, this is Tonkatsu, pork cutlets breaded with panko and deep fried." she said, indicating sliced strips of a white meat, a little pink in the middle, with golden brown break crumbs on the part that was obviously the outside before it was cut.

The next item was the Supageti, a dish consisting of thick red noodles made from buckwheat. The red color on the noodles came from the Tomato ketchup they were cooked in. After that, Rui indicated the Omuraiso, a thin omulet stuffed with rice cooked in the same kind of tomato ketchup that the Supageti was. However, this 'Tomato Ketchup' was more like American Tomato Sauce than American Ketchup. The Omuraiso also happened to be the only part of this meal that you couldn't easily eat with the chopsticks provided. Instead Rui would a plastic fork.(also provided)

As Rui's eating companion asked a couple more questions, relating to Zoid power cores and the allmighty (enter Zoidworld currency here), she murmered 'Ittadakimasu' as she broke apart her chopsticks and began to dine, taking a piece of Tonkatsu and useing the chopsticks to wrap it in Supageti noodles. "Well if you're talking about the zoid's powerplant, then it shouldn't be too hard to fix. If it's the Zoid Core, then you could always salvage one from a zoid that uses the same Core type. Say if we're talking about a Pteras, you could try and salvage one from a Raynos, Storm Sworder, or Redler."

Rui took a small pause to devour the morsle that she had prepared, then proceeded to take a sip from her Coke. "As for the money, you could look on the bulliten board for any jobs to take if you have a zoid," Rui pondered for a moment. He probobly wouldn't be asking about Zoid Power Cores if he had a working zoid, so that was out, "You could also join a team and borrow one of their spare zoids, if they have any, and do missions, Zoid Battles, and stuff like that to earn money."

Rui clicked her fingers as she remembered something. "That reminds me, I think my team is looking for some new tallent. And I know that we have spare zoids." Rui paused to eat another bite of food much like her previous. The cook at the place that had prepared her meal was among the best whose wears she had tried, the pork melted in her mouth, and the flavor of the Supagetti was just right, not too strong, not too weak.

Rui noticed how Marcus had been eyeing her food for a while, least that's what she was interpreting. She passed the fork and Omuraiso over to him before he started drooling, saying: "Here, can't have you fainting from hunger when you meet the boss. Anyway, I'll show you there after I finish my meal." She took another two bites and good sized drink from her coke, a large, and said, "By the way, watshi no namae wa Rui Zeal, hajimemapoope." She paused a moment, "Anata no namae wa desu ka?"

A rough translation for the above conversation would be 'by the way, my name is Rui Zeal, it's a pleasure to meet you. And what would your name be?'

[Marcus Takumi]

Marcus nodded in confirmation of the girl's explanation about Power Cores, as well as her meal of choice, his hunches about her being a pilot were right on the mark. Looking at her food, though, he probably wasn't showing good manners. He instantly diverted his gaze from her food, nodding his head as in apology.

So - apparently the only way to get a Power Core was to find a compatible Zoid, or a wrecked Zoid, and salvage it from that; or he could join a Team and use one of their spares. "Teams". He had outwardly shuddered at the very mention of that word. Marcus was never one to work well with others; most likely because he hated being told what to do, how to do things, etc. Like the mythical dragon, he preferred isolation over society, though he wasn't always one to reject it completely; as he had always accepted help whenever it was offered to him.

As for money, simply viewing the Bulletin Board for current jobs was good enough for him. Hell, he could use the cash right now; especially if he was to get Ex-Vee shined up, suited in armour, and decked out in weaponry. Judging by its type, a Liger model, simply going to other Liger models for Power Cores would work wonders, especially since he had the skills to install one as well.

"Here, can't have you fainting from hunger when you meet the boss. Anyway, I'll show you there after I finish my meal."/b] the young woman would tell Marcus as he drifted off into imagination, blinking twice and watching the omuraiso be passed to him. Looking down at his plate, he had seen he had only eaten one slice of his triple slice pizza plate. Gently pushing it back, he shook his head with a smile on his face. "It ain't polite to eat others' foodstuffs." he would kindly reject her offer to feed him; though, from the looks of it, and by the way she mentioned "seeing the boss", she was part of a Team herself.

Shaking his head again, he waved his hand. "Sorry; I don't work with other people. I'm a free man; making money off of everybody's how I roll." he would state his reason for not joining a Team wiht a laugh; including explaining his position as a mechanic whom had recently gotten interested in learning how to pilot Zoids. "Besides; I feel as if though others are at a sort of disadvantage for not having me on theirs, so it kind of makes it unfair." he would jest, laughing heartily before literally devouring another slice of his now-cold pizza.

Hearing some form of foreign language erupt from this chick's mouth, however, was offsetting though, as he had never heard this dialect before. But, if he could guess right, she had introduced herself somewhere along the sentence, and probably would ask for his name in return. Tilting his head slightly, he simply smiled a warm grin, hoping to wing it and answer correctly. "Marcus Takumi. Hela du saad oui yc famm."/color] he would spout "nice to meet you as well" in the "Farsan Dialect"; having picked up that specific term from hanging around the boy named Max as well.

[Rui Zeal]

First the boy rejected the food, then the offer to join the team, then finally spouted some nonsensical giberish. Though of course Rui didn't mind, it was his choice, and they still might run into each other somewhere along the line, "Well, you don't have any money for stock, nor a working zoid to earn money with, and you don't want to join a team, you could try a provisional contract."

A short pause, "Make a legally binding contract with a team to allow you to borrow a zoid of theirs, and in return promise to pay them, say twenty-five percent of your earnings until you have enough to repair your zoid." Rui paused for a while to finish the Tonkatsu and Supageti, "And what type is this zoid of yours with a busted power core any way?" Speaking of busted zoids, Rui had a busted Beserk Fuhrer and Whale King that badly needed some TLC. "You could also hire yourself out as a Merc, fighting for the highest bidder."

She pulled the neglected Omuraiso back to her side of the table, and took a decent sized bite. "The problem is still the fact that you don't have a zoid of your own. But if the only problem is the power system, then just take the parts you need from the same type of zoid, like parts for a stormsworder from a stormsworder." Rui took another bite of her meal, now almost half-done with it.

Back to the issue of Rui's own busted zoids. Kuro, the Whale King, could take some time to fix, but would end up as a fantastic mobile base once restored to working condition. Fury, Rui's Beserk Fuhrer, on the other hand, would need almost ninty percent of her parts replaced before she would work again. In fact, Rui was considering upgrading to a Gairyuki, both had the same body, and only the armor, head, and backpack was different. Plus it could fuse with Ciel.

All of a sudden Rui got an idea. What if she developed a CAS armor for the Beserk Fuhrer that duplicated the Gairyuki near perfectly. She could just use the B-CAS armor from the Gairyuki, and with a little modification perhaps, use it perfectly well on a Beserk Fuhrer. The head wouldn't be much of a problem. Just some paint, and some spare Gairyuki parts, and voila, you have a new Beserk Fuhrer CAS.

[Marcus Takumi]

"Hire myself as a--?! Ah-heh. No thanks on that offer, missy!" Marcus would almost shout back at Rui whom had offered the idea of hiring himself out as a Mercenary. Even if he did enjoy the occasional fight or two, Zoid or classic street brawl, he could never bring it upon himself to kill his opponents. Though he had tilted his head slightly in response to her other suggestion. "Although this 'provisional contract' bit sounds a bit... Shady, considering it's binding, but it's a thought." he would apprehensively state his thoughts towards the slightly menacing girl. Well, in his own mind, anyway, she was probably one of the more serious and menacing females he had met - a Zoid pilot, nonetheless.

"I'll consider the former. Oh, and it's a really crappy Liger Zero." he would reveal the model of his Zoid to the other girl; thinking about the whole Power Core compatability spiel while he was at it. Putting his hand on his chin, he thought in deep concentration. "Now that you mention core compatability, isn't there a lot of Liger models out there anyway? I mean, aren't they the staple Zoids these times around?" he would ask curiously, having been a rather big fan of the Zoid battling all around, despite the fact that he was rather... inexperienced in piloting himself.

All this time, though, he would slightly drown out all forms of distractions at times, thinking about the provisional contract idea. Looking back now, he had had way too many run-ins with the Aegis Team's member, Max, whom he had a lot in common with. Should he try it out? Going back to his topic on his Liger Zero, he had downed the rest of his drink before looking back at Rui. "And by 'crappy' Liger Zero, I mean... We're talkin' approximately, like, years of deactivation and disrepair. Hell, it looks like it's been off the field since it first came off the production line, when I found it. And when I did find it, the core was only around, like, twenty-so percent power; all of it was spent trying to outrun some Helcats." he explained further, a look of frustration on his face. Sighing, he added on. "The odd thing was, was that when I was out of firing range after I put the Liger into a sprint, it wouldn't stop running; even me forcing the controls back didn't stop it! Call me crazy if you want, but I know what happened."

Look at him. Exchanging stories that only he could believe to some random chick he had no clue of, whom seemed as if though she would eventually get tired of this boy's blathering about events she never really could or should care about; in the middle of a wide open food court in broad daylight. What had Marcus come down to these days? Nowadays, it seemed as if though he had simply reverted from a professionally trained mechanic to a psychotic, rambling maniac...

[Rui Zeal]

Rui finished her meal and downed another good portion of her drink as Marcus talked about his zoid, a Liger Zero. "Well, yes, Ligers are rather common, however, the Liger Zero has unique systems, after all, the bulk of it's systems were built by the Guylos Empire, and the rest are of Republican construction. Still, you could probably get all the parts you need from a junk dealer."

Taking another sip, she began to relate a story from her childhood. "That sounds a lot like my old Berserk Fuhrer. When I first met her, I think I was about eight, and she slaughtered all the Command Wolves that the village, myself included, were fighting him with." This was a story Rui had never told anyone before, though it wasn't like she really had any chances. Up until recently, she had been living with just a Whale King and said Berserk Fuhrer for company.

"Somehow, after that battle, she got busted up by some other zoids and wound up near the village. I fixed him up and he left. After a while," Rui paused, this was the sensitive part of the story, "some things happened, and I met up with her again. Then we became partners."

Rui checked the clock, and decided it was time to go. "Well, it was nice talking to you." she said, standing up and finishing off her drink. "But I really should be going. Maybe we'll see each other somewhere along the line, it ain't that big world." She dumped her trash and waved goodbye to her new friend, "Catch ya around sometime!"

[EXIT]

[Marcus Takumi]

Finishing off the last slice of pizza in just a few, short bites, he had intently listened in on Rui's backstory - something about "Berserk Fuhrer" or whatever that was. It certainly wasn't any Zoid he had ever heard of, that's for sure. Though his mind was more or less set on the Guylos Empire being the real builders of the Liger Zero or something - the rest being Republic bulk and add-ons. Either way, a Liger was still a Liger; and he could get a Power Core from one regardless.

Watching her talk about leaving, he had, mentally, sighed in massive relief. Sure, she didn't sound menacing now, but was she ever serious! Marcus simply frowned in false playfulness before smiling warmly once again. "Hey, thanks for the advice! I hope it ends up helping me in the future!" he would shout out as she dumped her trash away, laughing optimistically. "Catch you later, too!" he shouted back, waiting until she finally disappeared out of view, sighing in relief. "GWAH! That's the last time I talk to a female Zoid pilot in the history of EVER." he nearly shouted out, before he calmly had dumped his own trash away.

Thinking back on a provisional contract, he had started to think. Maybe this would be the best way to do it. Maybe it'd allow him to, you know, make some moolah for once. Either way, he didn't want to end up cleaning septic tanks for only a few credits. Lolling his tongue out in disgust at the latter thought, he had instantly left for another casual stroll, thinking about who to provide his services to. There's always that Patrick guy - the dude with the orange. he first thought about Patrick Norstein; the pilot of the Command Wolf, and probably the first "professional" Zoid pilot he had ever come across. Shaking his head, in apprehensive thought that somebody of that caliber probably wanted nothing to do with a simple, professionally-trained mechanic like Marcus, he then switched to Max and his team, the Aegis.

Tch. Then there's that one kid. He called me "emo", dammit! he had angrily thought about Jonny Delwas; whom was the one boy who had recently discovered something called an "Ultrasaurus". Though the whole thought about him calling Marcus "emo" had forever been burned into his mind, hotblooded anger seared through his veins as he grinned a wicked grin, cracking his knuckles in devious thought. Hehehehe... We'll see who's the emo next time around, you little punk! he thought, before dropping the ponderisms instantly as he went back to deciding whether or not he would want to make a contract with Aegis. After all, Max *had* helped him get Ex-Vee's new body. The least he could do was to, hopefully, be of some use and practice his mechanical prowess before he had let them rot away.

<Exit>