Updated Part

TITLE: The Karawong
AUTHOR: Zuzanny (lionette@m...)
HOMEPAGE: www.geocities.com/zuzannylancaster
ANIME: Chaotic Century Zoids
PAIRINGS: Implied ShadowXRaven
DISCLAIMER:The characters and universe do not belong to me, but the story does. Please don't steal it.
SUMMARY: Prozen has discovered how to create the ultimate organoid, and he want's Raven to help. Only Raven doesn't know what Prozen actually wants until it is too late. MWAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!!

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Chaotic Century Zoids do not belong to me. AU. OOC-ness. Bit of squeek... I think that's the right sort of term. Blah, blah... My evil muse has come for a visit! YAY! Comments welcome, but flamers will be slapped. Tee hee hee! ;p) November 2002

The Karawong

part 1 (?)

***

(secret underground location)

Prozen looked up from his desk as a young man with dark grayish hair was escorted into his cavernous office. The young man stopped in front of the desk, arms crossed and violet-grey eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Ahh, Raven," Prozen smiled across the desk at his charge. He stood and motioned for the young man to sit. "how good of you to come."

"Get to the point, Prozen." Raven snarled. He hated the way Prozen always looked at him. Like he was a piece of meat or something. It was... unnerving.

"Sit, just sit." Raven did as he was told, watching every move that Prozen made. Prozen walked around him to a cupboard retrieving a bottle of red and two glasses. He brought them to the desk, poured two glasses and sat. "I've been rather impressed with your battle performance lately." Prozen swirled the wine around in his glass, looking at Raven with hooded eyes.

Raven refused to touch his wine glass. "And your point is?"

Prozen took a sip from his wine, eyes fluttering closed with pleasure. Raven made an impatient sound and rolled his eyes. Prozen slowly lowered his glass. "My point is that you have great..." Prozen's eyes wandered up and down Raven's body suggestively. "Potential."

"Potential?" Raven sneered, and pushed his chair back to leave. "Is that all? Can I go now?"

"Actually, no." Prozen took another swallow of his wine. "Sit back down, boy."

Raven glared, but did as he was told.

"My researchers have made an incredible breakthrough. I plan on creating a new organoid. A more advanced species than there has ever been. One that combines Organoid DNA with that of a human."

Raven wasn't sure he was liking where this was going, but leaned forward anyway. "I'm listening."

"I want you to participate in this project."

Raven nodded. "How, exactly?" Prozen smiled in his disturbed way. "So glad you asked!" He pressed a button on his desktop intercom. "Shadow." The door opened again, and in clomped Raven's organoid. He stopped just behind Raven. Raven gave Prozen a questioning look. "Shadow," Prozen said. "TAKE HIM!"

Shadow's chest compartments opened, shooting out cords and cables which wrapped around Raven's arms, legs and waist, even as Raven jumped away from them. They pulled him off his feet and towards the gaping chamber inside Shadow.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Raven shrieked struggling ineffectively against his organoid's hold. "Shadow! Let me GO! What's wrong with you?! DAMN IT!"

Prozen just laughed and sipped his wine, watching Raven's struggles with amusement. "My dear Raven, didn't I tell you? You have been selected as not only a genetic donner, but a host."

"No, NO!" Raven shrieked in terror as he felt the cords sliding up under his clothes, reaching for all his intermit place, coiling around his body.

"You should be proud. Through you a new race will be born. For the glory of the New Empire."

"DAMN YOU PROZEN!" Raven screamed as the compartment closed with him inside. Shadow made a contented, throaty noise. Prozen rose and walked over to shadow. He could still hear Raven screaming from with in the organoid. He grinned evily, and patted Shadow's chest plate.

"Don't worry, Raven." He soothed, although he knew he could not be heard. "It wont hurt for long."

part 2 (?)

***

(twelve months later)

Van, Fiona and Irvine were sitting at a cafe catching up on life.

"So I told him he'd have to try a whole lot harder than that!" Irvine concluded his story to Van's laughter.

"You crack me up!" Van cackled.

"So how's business with the Guardian Force?" Irvine asked over his coffee.

Van took a sip of his. "Actually it's been pretty quiet for the last year or so. Now we're mainly doing drill, drill, and more drill." Van took another sip, frowning. "It's getting kind of boring. What about you?"

Irvine lent back in his chair and set about telling Van another of his Great Adventures.

***

While the boys were talking, Fiona was looking out the window at the approaching gustave that was driving rather erraticly. People and vehicles were scattering from it's path.

"Va-an," Fiona tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "Look at that."

The gustave carreened into the side of a building a few doors up from the cafe. Frightened screams filled the air. Van, Fiona and Irvine ran out to see what was going on. Irvine snagged a running boy.

"Go call and ambulance!" He ordered, and the boy nodded and ran to do so.

The gustave opened and a man in a lab coat staggered out, clutching what seemed like a bundle of rags. Van and Fiona ran to help him. He was bleeding from a leg wound.

"Sit down," Van told him, but the man refused.

"Gotta save the child!" The man gasped staggering away from the gustave Van pried the bundle from the man and handed it to Fiona, then supported the man by letting him lean on his shoulder.

"Come on." Van said and dragged the man towards the cover of the cafe. Fiona looked up as there came the sound of approaching air craft. The man made distressed sounds.

"Save the child! Please help me!" He gasped into Van's ear. Irvine also lent his support and they pulled the man into the cafe. Irvine then grabbed the first aid kit the shop owner was holding out and set about tendong the man's wounds on one of the cafe tables.

"Everything will be okay." Van told the man.

Then the gustave exploded as it was bombed by the flying Zoids who then turned and flew off. All the glass from the windows exploded inwards, and the people screamed and tried to duck away from it.

"What the hell?!" Irvine yelped

"They just bombed the gustave!" Fiona said, then looked down at the bundle in her arms, her eyes widening. "Va-an," her voice rose with unease. "come look at this!" She turned to show what was fast asleep in the bundle of cloth.

"Is that a-a baby?" Irvine gaped while tending the man's leg wounds.

"Not one that I've ever seen before." Van said not sure if he should be horrified or not. The baby looked human except that it had a silvery sheen to it's skin. It had dark grayish hair, and looked rather remarkably familiar. The baby snuggled closer to Fiona's chest, which made her blush deep red.

"Oh no, baby," She told it. "I'm not your mommy."

"Please help us," The injured man pleaded. "You must not let Prozen get this child back!"

"Hang on, did you say Prozen?" Van was shocked.

"I thought he was dead!" Irvine was also shocked.

The man shook his head. "No. He has been holed up in his secret base and has been making us research genetic cross breeding. It's horrible! If he were to get his hands on this child then... then his Zoids would become unstoppable!"

Van and Irvine exchanged looks. "We've stopped him before." Van said to the man.

"I know! But what if you were fighting not against a Zoid with a human pilot, but a human Zoid?"

"What do you mean?" Van asked slowly, thinking this man most likely stuck his head rather hard as well.

"This child," The man said, "Is an organoid like none other. It is capable of merging with any Zoid with out the benefit of a pilot because it IS the pilot. It is an organoid with a human soul. The ultimate fighting machine. The power and strength of a Zoid with the passion and soul and mind of a human."

"An ORGANOID?" Van gaped at the man.

"Are there any more of these... children?" Irvine asked the man.

The man flinched. "Not... yet." He said cautiously. "I tried to release the child's sire as well, but..." He hung his head with shame. "I couldn't."

"Can you tell us about this base." Van said, reaching for his come unit to inform Shubaltz of what was going on, glad to have something more than drill to do. "Where it is, what kind of defences it has, blue prints, that kind of thing?"

The man nodded. "Anything I can." He looked out at the wreckage of the gustave that the fire fighters were dealing with. "As you can see, they did not want the child to escape. If it was not to be His, then no one could have it. I just hope they don't think I survived and will change anything I tell you before you get there."

Van nodded.

***

(later that night in their hotel room)

Fiona was giving the baby organoid a bath and thinking at the same time.

"Va-an," Fiona called grabbing the attention of both Van and Irvine. "this baby... Don't you think he looks a lot like Raven?"

Van and Irvine came to peer art the child over her shoulder.

"Yes it does." Van breathed. "So that's where Raven has been. All this time he has been quiet because he's been off making babies."

Back in the bed room behind them, the man cringed as he heard their conversation.

"Well that's better than blowing up bases." Irvine and Van then began making crude comments about Raven and any chance that the joining that created this child was consential or not. The man cringed again.

"Don't say that!" Fiona snapped at them. "Especially infront of the baby!"

Van's com unit crackled to life and he used the opportunity to leave the room to talk to Karl Shubaltz about the situation. Irvine also apologised and backed away. Fiona pulled the baby from the water and wrapped him in towel.

"I wonder what happened to your mother?" Fiona wondered morosely. "You poor, beautiful, little thing, taken from your mother." she cooed down at the child. "don't worry, we'll take care of you."

The baby opened violet-grey eyes and looked up at her with a beautiful smile. Fiona suddenly felt warmth fill her from head to toe. A feeling of absolute trust and understanding and adoration. She beamed down at the baby. "Yes, we will." She told him.

part 3

***

(Secret underground location)

"Tell me he's dead." Prozen said to the pilot who's face was transmitted across his desktop com-screen.

"Target has been destroyed." The pilot confirmed.

"Excellent." Prozen disconnected the message and turned his seat away from his desk, frowning. He stood and walked over to his wine cupboard, pressing a secret panel on the wall that caused a door to open. Prozen walked through the door and into an elevator. He pressed the down button, and leaned in the corner, arms crossed and eyes closed. The elevator went down, down, down... Lights flashed across his white hair as the elevator passed floors. Finally it surged to a stop and the door opened. Prozen pushed himself away from the wall with his foot and walked out into the lab. It was a large room filled with equipment and machinery... and right in the centre of it all was the master piece...

A pod of man-made origin. Glass on the front allowed observation of what was inside. Wires and tubes running to and fro from the pod to the monitoring equipment allowed the scientists to pump oxygenated fluids into the pod, and nutrients directly to what was inside. All wastes were collected and analysed.

Prozen approached the pod, scientists scattered out of his path. His hand came to rest upon the thick glass with a soft plunk, and he looked within to the young man held suspended with thick cords twisted around his outstretched arms. The young man looked so peaceful, the flow of the ever cycling oxygenated water making it appear like a wind was stirring his dark hair.

"It's a pitty you can't hear me," Prozen said quietly. "But it's just as well. I wonder how you would feel knowing that your first son was just killed? It was regrettable, but unavoidable, I'm afraid." Prozen turned away to talk to a scientist, not seeing the violet-grey eyes slowly opening behind him, and an expression of absolute agony crossing the young man's face. "How long until fertilisation can begin again?"

"Anytime now, Sir." The scientist said.

"Good. Do it." The scientists moved to do so. "The more we have of these the better. Losing the first one is unforgivable. Who was responsible for letting your former comrad escape?" Prozen looked around at the group of them.

Another scientist stepped forward, holding his head up. "I take responsibility." He said.

"Good." Prozen promptly pulled out his pistol and shot him once through the head. The other scientists shrieked and stared in horror. Prozen gave them all meaningful looks. "Any further slip up's will likewise be unforgivable." He walked out.

***

(Elsewhere)

"Va-an," Fiona called across the room breaking the zoid pilot's meeting.

"What?"

She pointed down to the baby on her bed who was cooing and looking rather pleased with himself. "He needs a nappy change."

"So change him." Van told her.

"What?"

"You're a girl, you look after him." Van went back to his meeting, not seeing the other men exchanging looks of 'that was a stupid thing to say'. Then he sniffed. So did the other men. They checked the bottom of their boots.

"What is that reek?" Irvine covered his face, then looked up to find Fiona standing next to Van holding the baby, looking rather pissed off.

"So," she said quietly. "You think that just because I'm a *woman* this is all I'm good for?"

Van looked up at her trying to think quickly and tactfully. "Nooo... I'm just busy here-"

"And I'm busy too. Besides I remember you saying we'd take turns."

"I don't remember saying that."

"Actually Van-" Irvine began.

"Shut up!" Van hissed. "Fiona-" But then he had a stinky bundle of baby in his arms and the men pushed away from the table gagging at the smell. "Fiona!" He looked around and saw her back as she left the room.

***

Fiona seated herself infront of the computer library researching nappies and other baby things. "Just because I'm a woman he thinks I know all about babies."

***

"Doctor D," Irvine said to the com screen. "How is it possible that this child is an organoid? I mean... cross-breeding like that is, um, twisted enough, but how could it possibly work?"

On screen Dr. D frowned and thought for a moment. "No idea!" He said finally. "Wht does your scientist friend say about it?" "Not much at the moment. He lost a lot of blood. He said that they combined human and organoid DNA and this is the result. I still don't understand how this could be possible." Irvine shook his head.

"Well, I think I may have to ask him in person when you get here. By the way what's his name?"

Irvine and Van looked bashful. "We haven't asked." Van replied, bouncing a clean-nappied baby on his knee. The baby gurgled with pleasure.

Dr. D leaned in close to the screen to take a better look. "How old do you think the baby is? Do you know?"

Irvine and Van shrugged. "No idea." They replied. Suddenly the baby burst out crying making Van look rather panicked.

"Hmmm.... Sounds like he's hungry." Dr. D. told the two.

"How do you know?" Van called over the noise.

Dr. D. gave him a cryptic smile. "Trust me. I'll see you all later!" The screen went black.

Fiona came running in carrying baby bottles filled with milk. "Va-an! Look what I've got!"

Part 4

***

(secret underg