Anakalypsi Prologue: Perchance to Dream

It has been twenty years since the defeat of Hiltz and the Deathsaurer.

Thirteen since the death of Van's long time rival, Raven, and Van and Fiona's discovery of Raven's young son, Leith.

Leith is now nineteen and living with the Zoids researchers Gilbert and Abigail Fairbairn, who are unaware of his lineage.

Meanwhile, the Loyalist movement has only gotten stronger and rumors of a powerful unknown zoid leading them have begun to surface.

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The crystalline sound of water droplets being absorbed into mirror-like puddles somewhere in the distance. The darkness of the underground dissuaded only by the few dim lights installed precariously to columns of cold stone.

This place was like death. No, he was convinced now, this place was death. It smelled of it. It was bathed in it. A dark place filled with little more then shadows. Places like this were only good for dying, and that was fine. That was his only reason for returning here, after all. He would walk through this section of eternity until he came to that place where everything had begun and, when he reached it, he would lay down there and wait. Just wait for the end of it all. It would be a fitting end for a being that had been so useless to the only creature he had cared for.

As the organoid trudged doggedly through the darkness, he began to hear things, voices, somewhere not far away. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but they seemed excited. Stopping, he raised his metallic head, looking in the direction of the noise. Obviously, he couldn't see them, nor did he want to, but they presented a danger. A threat to his plan. If they discovered him they would try to take him away from this place, away from his end and he was in no condition to resist them. He would have to avoid them.

He turned away from the voices, but paused as a weakness spread through him. His body no longer obeyed his will. He fought to continue, it wouldn't be long now. He was sure of it! If he could only make it a little further. He tried to take a step but his broken body gave way on him as he lifted his clawed foot. He crashed to the ground and lay there motionless. After months of struggling to get this far was this his fate? Maybe he just wasn't meant to ever accomplish his goals. Maybe it would be best if he just faded away here.

More excited voices. Closer now. Had they found him? Those humans. Oh, well, it was too late anyway. The slight glow in his eyes faded out and he fell into darkness.