1. Fire Wheel Team Battle

Zoids: Call of the Fire

Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Zoids, I am
borrowing the names, settings, etc. under fair use and
without making a profit. This work cannot be sold for
profit or retransmitted and reposted without my express
permission.

Continuity: Takes place after the Raynos appear in
the series.

------------------------------------------------

East Flatland Waste, 1400 Hours, Day 1

"Who would'a thought that I'd get so lucky as to find
a whole Viper!" Bit Cloud exclaimed, leaping out of
his jeep in excitement.

Lying on its stomach, under a thin layer of dirt
blown onto its metallic surface, the black Viper Zoid
lay prone, and appeared to be in reasonable shape.
Certainly, there were holes in its armor, and one of
its side-mounted grenade launchers was missing, but it
was still left there, after the battle held only an
hour earlier. Whichever team owned the Viper was
likely on the losing team.

It all seemed too good to be true, Bit thought.
Well, if they're going to leave something like this
out here in the middle of nowhere....

Bit made his way to the cockpit, raising his left
arm to his face to block the dust blowing his
direction as the wind picked-up. Viper Zoids were very
common Zoids, and in fact they were really nothing
special. There was only a few teams that Bit knew of
that used Vipers seriously, and none of them impressed
him. Yet salvaging this discarded Viper was not for
the Zoid itself, but for the parts.

Although a thin layer of dust formed over the
cockpit window of the black Viper, Bit could make out
the silhouette of a person-- the pilot, likely--
within. Immediately thoughts of dismantling the Zoid
transformed into disappointment, then into worry that
the pilot might need help.

He pounded his gloved fist against the window.
"Hey!" Bit cried, over the wind. "You need any help?"

Bit got no immediate response from the pilot. He
wiped a section of dust off the window, then cupped
his hands around his eyes, and peered inside.

The pilot was a young woman, appearing to be in her
late teens, her eyes shut, as if sleeping... or
meditating. She wore a heavy black coat, buttoned only
at the collar, and wore it almost like a cape, as its
length seemed to stretch to her boots and her arms were
folded under its folds rather than inserted into the
sleeves. Her dark hair was tied up in a red chord,
curiously in a shoelace knot.

Bit watched as one of the girl's arms appeared from
under the coat and reached over to the console. He
jumped at the sound of her voice, demanding, "What do
you want?"

It was obvious from her voice that this warrior was
young, but also no-nonsense. Bit summoned his
composure. "Hey, are you okay? What're you doing out
in the middle of nowhere, anyway?"

"Who're you?" she asked sternly. "If you're a
junker then I was here first. Salvage Law."

Bit cursed mentally, wondering if the pilot really
was a warrior. According to the Salvage Law the first
person who found the salvageable goods had claim to
them-- which also meant whoever this was is holding the
goods in the battle area. "Just wanted to see if you
were okay."

"I'm fine, thank you," the pilot replied, although
Bit thought she could use a little more work in
sounding sincere. "You sure you want to wait outside
like that?"

"Nah, that's okay," Bit answered, sitting up and
away from the cockpit window. "You're waiting for
something?"

"My friends, actually. If you hadn't noticed, this
Zoid isn't exactly equipped to lug any of the garbage
around here home."

"Yeah, I've noticed. By the way, who are you?"

"Shizuka, of the Fire Wheel Team."

So she is a warrior. "'Fire Wheel Team?' Name
sounds familiar... but I can't place it."

The pilot within laughed, genuinely amused. "You
wouldn't be the first. That's because barely anyone
accepts our challenges. Who are you?"

"My name's Bit Cloud!" he proclaimed proudly. "I'm
with the Blitz Team. Maybe you've heard of them."

"Heard of them? Who hasn't?" Shizuka, for her part,
did not sound as if she were awed by his presence,
which disappointed Bit. "You're the guy that joined
when they got that big winning streak that the
Lightning Team took away. That was a nice match."

For some people, he thought. His eyes passed down
the length of the Viper. "Your Zoid looks kind of
beat up. Was it that close of a battle?"

"You could say that," she granted. "Now that the
battle's over we need to pick up the pieces. We can't
afford to leave our equipment lying around like some
other teams can. We're stripping for cash."

"Yeah; sometimes you can find some nice things out
here," Bit agreed. "I find some equipment to stick on
my Liger all the time!"

"Feh. Some people think, that they have Zoids like
that, that they're better than people like me that
don't use powerful Zoids. Vipers aren't exactly
competitive in this Battle Commission, you know."

"I know what you mean," he replied with a nod, "it
must take a lot of work to keep this thing in
competition."

He heard a tone through the intercom, followed by a
slight pause. "My friends are coming. You'd better
get outta here; they don't like junkers, and they don't
like guys from other teams scouting their Zoids."

"Well, then," Bit said, standing, planting his arms
by his hips. "I guess I'll be seeing you around
sometime, then, Shizuka?"

"Heh. Later... Bit Cloud."

No sooner had Bit jumped off the nose of the Viper
the Zoid powered to life, rising from the sand. He
hurried back to where he left the jeep, narrowly
avoiding the sand shower of the Viper shaking-off the
dirt from its armor. The snake Zoid's head turned in
his direction for a moment, as if the pilot wanted to
say something, but then turned away, heading out to
meet her comrades.

Bit waited a few minutes as a monstrous juggernaut
appeared in the distance. As it drew closer he could
make out its features. It was an armored creature
modeled after a lobster, its upper armor halves painted
red and the lower portions metallic gray. It walked
on eight insect-like legs, surprisingly able to carry
the transport's weight. It came to a full stop, its
right claw opening to reveal a ramp and hangar.
Emerging from the hangar was the smaller, violet-
painted lobster cousin of the transport-- a Macurtis--
probably modified for salvage operations, as the
Macurtis was designed for both surface and underwater
combat.

"Wow, a Dragoon Nest!" Bit exclaimed. "You don't see
one of those every day!"

A portion of the lobster shell on the transport's
back opened up, revealing a hangar in the rear. A
large blue flying Zoid, a Salamander, launched. The
winged lizard Zoid vaguely resembled a legendary
dragon, and was the larger cousin of the Pterras which
Bit was already familiar with.

Although the display of such expensive Zoids all
together was marvelous, Shizuka's words were probably
true-- they wouldn't like people like Bit around while
they were conducting business, and that was probably
why the Salamander was deployed-- to act as an aerial
scout. Even though it didn't look like it was sporting
any weaponry whatsoever the Salamander was still large
enough to squash the jeep.

Of course, Bit reminded himself, Salamanders had too
frail of a frame to handle close-quarter combat.

Turning on the ignition, Bit's mind wandered. "The
Fire Wheel Team, huh?"

Blitz Team Base, 1900 Hours, Day 1

Bit's memory of the odd team name suddenly jogged
and caught up to him.

"Tomorrow we're facing the Fire Wheel Team," Jamie,
the tactical advisor, stated, standing next to the
projection screen displaying an overview of the team's
specs as made public by the Zoid Battle Commission.

"'Fire Wheel Team?'" Leena echoed, sitting at the
chair across from Bit. "Aren't they the biggest losers
in Class A?"

"That's what I heard," Brad confirmed, sitting back
in his chair with his arms folded, appearing not to
care, as usual. "They're also one of the biggest teams
around, with eight possible warriors."

"Except that some of them left the group, and the
team itself is having financial difficulties," Jamie
corrected. The screen changed to display three Zoids--
a Guysack, a Storm Sworder, and a Stealth Viper. "Only
three of their registered Zoids are used anymore
because they can't afford the upkeep for the rest of
them. Most of the Class A teams refuse to challenge
them or accept their challenges because of their
reputation, so the Zoid Battle Commission has to
arrange all their battles for them."

"Reputation... what reputation?" Bit wondered.

"They're supposed to be unpredictable because of the
amount of Zoids they have at their disposal," Brad
answered. "It's also because each of them have very
capable pilots, so people are afraid to challenge them
over that."

"But it's still hurting them even when they're not
like that, huh?" Leena finished. "Glad I'm not on
their team."

"The current rankings of their current pilots from
the last Zoid Trials are lower than our scores," Jamie
continued. "In fact their Stealth Viper pilot scored
in the low sixties."

"On the other hand it's only a Stealth Viper," Bit
added, remembering what its pilot said earlier that
day.

"What, are you worried about a dumb Stealth Viper?"
Leena teased.

"It seems to me," Dr. Toros said, interrupting, "that
those Zoids they're using are military-issue. Meaning
they're probably surplus hardware from back during the
war before the Zoid Battle Commission was set up."

"That makes them OLD!" exclaimed Bit. "If they're
winning using fossils then no wonder they're Class A."

"Not to mention Storm Sworders are one of the
hardest air Zoids to find, since they're so good,"
added Brad. "It sort of makes up for their other two
below-average Zoids."

"Right, so we can't take them lightly," Jamie
agreed, "and we're not handling the Stealth Viper like
we did with the Viper Team."

"If you say so," Leena said, unconvinced.

Continuing, "Guysack is armed with a tail-mounted
20mm cannon and two pincer claws-- that's it. They've
only switched out the tail for the gunnery pod on three
occasions, but I don't think they're going to do it
this time. The tail cannon can fire in every
direction, but the claws are forward-only; the key to
beating this one will be getting in close and behind it
or to the sides."

"The Storm Sworder can fight both on the ground and
in the air, but it's in their favor to going into the
air. It's only got one forward cannon under its
neck, and relies primarily on blades attached to each
wing."

"I'm sure you can out fly it easily," Brad said.

"Last of all, the Stealth Viper. It's got two 40mm
cannons, two grenade launchers, twin dual pod
launchers, and two image-recognition surface-to-air
missiles. It has good heat suppression and radar
deflection armor. Since it is military-issue, it is
also equipped with an ECM unit, making missiles less
effective against it. So when you go up against it
you want to use something other than missiles."

"Guess you're out of this one, Leena," Brad added,
jabbing at his fellow warrior.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "You're not going to go out
and get easy points while I'm sitting around here!"

"It'd be pointless to waste good ammo on something
that can't be hit by it," he continued.

"Guys, guys!" Bit said, getting between the two
warriors. "Geez, you don't have to get so worked-up
about it Leena."

"If it's not such a big deal, Bit, why don't YOU sit
out on this one?" she yelled angrily.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Toros
interrupted. "Bit hasn't sat out of a battle since he
joined, and we don't want to make it look like he's
the only reason we're winning...."

"Uh... thanks, Doc..." Bit said, uneasy. "But don't
you need me and Liger out there?"

"I'm sure we can handle it," Brad replied. "Even if
they are Class A they're still the lowest of Class A,
so these guys shouldn't be a problem."

"And we do need the Raynos to help with the Storm
Sworder," Jamie added. "They only have three Zoids, so
we have to be handicapped according to the rules."

Bit sighed, then shrugged. "Well, I guess you guys
can handle it...."

"Just don't let Leena go against the Stealth Viper,"
Brad persisted.

Fire Wheel Base, 2200 Hours, Day 1

The leader of the Fire Wheels, Mizuki, a woman in
her mid-twenties, sat back in her chair, giving her
full view of all three monitors set up at her station.
Her youthful face betrayed the experience she had
behind the Guysack, the Zoid of her choice. She ran
her hands back through her waist-length volume of dark
hair, throwing it over the back of the chair to ease
some of the strain of sitting back, facing her
similarly-aged lieutenants.

The left monitor held the master tactician and Zoid
pilot woman, "Spider"-- her battlefield name. Although
she was only two years younger than Mizuki Spider was
unusually brilliant, but rather cold and calculating.
Her eyes seemed to pierce into Mizuki's soul like icy
daggers, and although her peers wanted her to lighten-
up she refused to change her ways. Her role on the
battlefield these days was as the sometimes secondary
gunner for the Guysack, since her Warshark's ammunition
couldn't be paid for anymore.

The center screen beheld "Warlock," the chief
technician and chief Salamander pilot; the secondary
pilot left when the team split, so he had to modify
the large Zoid to fly without assistance. Unlike many
other pilots who wore eye lenses Warlock required them
in order to see, as they helped correct his poor
vision. His breaths exhaled, revealing cold wisps of
air, reflecting his current position deep within the
base, a forgotten military installation. The
Salamander was similarly impaired as the Warshark, but
Warlock's task now was to decrypt the doors to the
lower levels of the installation-- and that took him
to the cold recesses below, without heating.

Finally, on the third monitor was "Ziel," the ace
pilot of the team's Storm Sworder. Just like the
vicious iron raptor he piloted Ziel was very efficient
in aerial combat, utilizing the Storm Sworder's
unpopular blade option now that ammunition was scarce
for the team. The lights in his chamber were kept
purposefully dim, and only a dark silhouette could be
made out on the monitor, as Ziel seemed to like to keep
to himself most of the time.

Behind Mizuki stood Shizuka, her apprentice. Even
before three members left the team to form their own
team Shizuka was always the youngest of the pilots,
narrowly shy of twenty years. Where three Zoids were
denied ammunition the Guysack and Stealth Viper got
first dibs, and whatever was left over went to the
Storm Sworder's cannon, as both of the former Zoids
were effectively crippled without ammo. Mizuki lead
her apprentice by example by not wasting that ammo
needlessly, forcing herself and Shizuka to become
better shots. She was proud of her apprentice's 57%
accuracy rating in the simulators; it was a good
margin of miss and more than half the bullets hit
something.

Shizuka's field name was "Silencer," but Mizuki
herself had no such name. It was always something
generic like "Boss."

"Let's hear it," the boss said, expecting her
trained warriors to deliver their reports.

"I've finished up the battle plans," Spider began,
careful to hide her obvious pride in her brilliance.
"And I've analyzed the public data given on the Blitz
Team. The one we have to look out for is their Liger
Zero; it has a transforming parts capability, and we
will be unable to predict with certainty which armor
they're going to use."

"I would count on them using the Schneider," Mizuki
suggested. "Make a contingency for each of their
armors."

Spider nodded. "Right. Anyway, they've got a
Raynos now, which isn't reflected in the records yet,
as they've only recently acquired it. You can be
almost certain they're going to use it against our
Storm Sworder."

"I can handle that thing easily," Ziel chirped in.
"Raynos aren't equipped for mid-air melee like my
Storm Sworder is, so he's going to have to rely on his
two cannons. If he hits, first of all...."

"You flyboys are full of it," Warlock interrupted,
although he himself flew a flying Zoid.

"They've also a Gunsniper with a Wild Weasel Unit
attacked, so it's nothing like the other Gunsnipers
we've encountered," continued the master tactician.
"History shows that the pilot is prone to waste ammo,
but she also hits a lot, too."

"If I had that much ammo to throw away, there
wouldn't be a Zoid left," Shizuka grumbled.

"That also makes you rely too much on your ammo,"
Mizuki added sternly. "And that's unacceptable. The
Stealth Viper's ECM unit should be able to deflect most
of the missiles from that Wild Weasel Unit."

"Of course, boss, but they're the Blitz Team, and I
hardly think they're going to be THAT dumb," Spider
pointed out. "They're too good for that."

"Don't make the mistake of overestimating your
opponent," the leader countered. "If they're really
that good they wouldn't have lost to the Lightning
Team. The fact that they lost means they are beatable,
too."

"Of course, we lost to the Lightning Team, too,"
Warlock added under his breath, although Mizuki didn't
say anything to that. It was certainly true that the
Fire Wheel Team themselves weren't as good as some of
the other teams, but it helped to keep the team's feet
on the ground.

"You can't go into the simulations assuming that your
opponent is always going to make the best choice at the
right situation," Mizuki continued. "That's why I make
you do several simulations for each possible scenario;
if there is a possibility the opponent will make a
mistake, we need to know how to maximize our ability to
take advantage of it."

"Yes, boss," Spider said with a sigh. "Lastly, they
have a Command Wolf; my probability suggests that the
Blitz Team will rotate this one out for the match, so
I haven't done any serious simulations with it."

"Go back and do the simulations," the boss ordered.
"For all you know they'll switch out the Gunsniper
instead and then we'll have a problem." She turned to
face Warlock. "And you?"

"I'm still working on it," he reported. "Every time
I get past one security block there's always another
one behind it. I'll finish up the next block tomorrow
evening, but who knows how many more blocks there
are."

"If there's something usable, or sellable, we'll
need it."

"Yeah, I know, I know...."

"Ziel?"

"All the Zoids are prepped," the flyboy said. "I
went through and replaced all the parts damaged in the
battle this afternoon, and restocked the ammo to your
Guysack and the Stealth Viper, but I've few rounds for
my Zoid."

"Tough luck," Shizuka replied. "My snaky is totally
worthless without ammo."

"If it wasn't for the stupid scheduling we wouldn't
have to do two fights in a row," Ziel complained. "And
by that I mean the Battle Commission shouldn't screw
us like this."

"We're screwed as is, remember? Blitz Team, one of
the most promising teams in the league. Fire Wheel
Team, least-promising team in Class A. Ammo shortages,
bad armor, and uncompetitive Zoids." She sighed, then
chuckled to herself. "Don't you just love these
uphill battles? We are soooo going to lose."

"I don't plan on losing," Mizuki replied, amused by
her apprentice.

"Oh, and Shizu?" Spider voiced. "Do not, I repeat,
do NOT, use the switch. My calculations are doing the
simulations without that, and if you do use it that
could screw up our future battles."

"Dammit, why not?!" she complained. "You've kept
telling me that ever since I got that sucker, and I
could've used it to win all of the battles we lost!"

"It's a huge advantage to keep secret your ultimate
edge," Mizuki explained. "If you use it, and rely on
it completely, others will come to expect it, and
counter you. Then it won't be such a good edge
anymore, will it?"

"But you keep insisting I practice WITH it in the
simulator!"

"You'll know when to use it when you get there; not
a moment before, and not for the Blitz Team. They
aren't worth it."

"Besides," Spider added, "we've won those other
battles without it. We don't even NEED it."

Battleground, 0800 Hours, Day 2

The Judge Capsule landed on time, creating a massive
crater all around it. The capsule raised out of its
hole, and swung open, revealing the white Judge within.
Its head 'surveyed' the land as it habitually did,
declaring, "The land within a thirty-mile radius is a
designated Zoid battle zone."

To the Judge's left, the Blitz Team Hover Cargo
pulled to a stop at the edge of the battle area,
deploying its three Zoids from its top-mounted
catapult: a blue Command Wolf, a heavily-armed
Gunsniper, and an aerial teal Raynos.

At that moment the Fire Wheel Team's Dragoon Nest
pulled inside the zone. Its rear hangar catapult
released a dark silver, bird-like Storm Sworder, and it
banked hard to its right to orient its direction back
into the battlefield. The lobster-type transport
opened its center ramp, located under the head-bridge,
allowing a black-painted Guysack off, snapping its
scissor-like claws together in anticipation. Finally,
the Dragoon Nest's left claw opened up, allowing a
black Stealth Viper free.

Satisfied, the Judge continued, "All unauthorized
contestants and personnel must leave the battlefield
immediately." It once again made a quick scanning
sweep of the field. Most of the terrain was barren
rocky waste, with few rocky cliffs here and there, but
none large enough or significant to use as high ground,
rather as cover.

"Area scanned; battlefield set-up. The Blitz Team
versus the Fire Wheel Team. Battle mode '0983.'" The
Judge raised its arms into the air. "Ready... FIGHT!"

* * *

"I'm going on ahead," Wild Eagle announced. The
flyboy alter-ego of Jamie added boldly, "I'll see if I
can clip that Storm Sworder's wings quick."

"Roger that, Wild Eagle," Brad acknowledged in
reply, leading with his Command Wolf, Leena's Gunsniper
following behind and to the right. "If it's still
close enough to the Guysack and Stealth Viper try to
draw it away."

Over the system they heard Bit's voice from the
Hover Cargo. "Good luck, guys!"

"There won't be anything left of them," Leena
boasted, "when I'm through. This'll be a piece of
cake!"

* * *

"Raynos is moving out ahead of the pack," Spider
said, appearing suddenly on the screen in the Guysack's
cockpit. "The other two are running on behind it."

"So, they're coming to meet us, huh?" Mizuki
determined, amused. Although the Storm Sworder and
Stealth Viper were very fast, the Guysack was not, and
the boss wanted to be certain she had cover so as not
to get caught by something a lot faster than her.

That was essentially every other Zoid in the battle,
of course. "Uphill battles are more interesting," she
mused.

"I'll get the Raynos," Ziel stated, breaking out of
formation.

"Negative on that," the boss commanded. "Stay with
us."

"Why not?" he complained, wavering back into
formation.

"Because you're too damn eager to plug the Raynos,
that's why," Silencer answered. "If we can plug it on
the first pass then the battle'll be easier, and
that'll be a lot harder if I can't shoot it."

"That's a big 'if.' We all know he's better than
that, and you're going to miss with only TWO STA
missiles."

"Maybe. Or maybe not."

"Cut the chatter," Mizuki ordered. She sighed,
leaning back slightly against her pilot chair. The
Liger Zero, unexpectedly, was not present for the
battle, which disappointed the Fire Wheel boss.
However, that gave their team the best scenario for
victory, provided they could get rid of the Raynos.
The Stealth Viper and Guysack could retaliate against
aerial threats, but not exceedingly well; if the Storm
Sworder failed to bring it down both the Viper and the
Guysack are sitting ducks to strafe runs.

* * *

"Wild Eagle here, I've visual contact. I'll pull
the Storm Sworder out, and the rest is yours!"

He considered doing a quick strafe on the Guysack
and Stealth Viper, but the Storm Sworder was already
moving ahead to intercept. The Wild Eagle cracked a
smile, eager to duel against a fellow aviator.

The communications screen flickered to life, and an
unfamiliar man stared back at him, although most of
his features were obscured by a sun-visor flight
helmet. "Let's make this quick, kid," the pilot of the
Storm Sworder challenged.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Wild Eagle
answered in reply, killing the visual. He felt the
cannon beneath the cockpit rumble to life as he
readied it to fire, intending to take out his aerial
rival in the first pass.

Thumbing the firing trigger, a stream of deadly
bullets flew out toward the Storm Sworder, but the
Raynos was forced to bank right to dodge a hail of
fire from the Storm Sworder's own cannon. Wild Eagle
turned his head around and saw that the Storm Sworder
banked left, and was wheeling around to get behind the
Raynos.

A warning alarm flared, tracking a missile lock.
Undaunted, he kicked the throttle to full, breaking
out of the surface targeting easily. Wild Eagle didn't
need to think to know it was the Stealth Viper trying
to take a potshot at him, as the Storm Sworder wasn't
equipped with any missiles-- only the forward cannon,
its retractable head sword lance, and its wing blades.

Which meant, once the Storm Sworder was out of ammo,
it would be forced to make mid-air slash passing, and
that was only a problem if it somehow managed to keep
up with the Raynos.

He yanked the stick left, then right, avoiding
another deadly hail from the silver Zoid. He had no
idea how much ammunition the Fire Wheels loaded it up
with, but the way it was firing the Storm Sworder was
going to run out of ammo fast, and for nothing.

"Wow," he shouted, knowing the enemy pilot was
listening, "I'm not impressed!"

"I've flown head-on in a lightning storm; don't you
screw around with me, you little punk!" the pilot
cried, obviously angry. "Dammit!"

The sudden cause for alarm on the part of the Storm
Sworder's pilot was evident, as the bullet streams
ceased. Wild Eagle snorted in amusement; the Storm
Sworder had even less ammunition than he thought. "Now
I'll be happy to oblige your request and start playing
seriously!"

He cut the speed of the Raynos, then hard-turned to
line up his own shot. The Storm Sworder's head lance
was already extending, as if getting ready for its
mid-air joust. Satisfied that the enemy was committing
to the joust Wild Eagle thumbed the trigger, unleashing
his own stream of bullets.

However, at the last moment the Storm Sworder broke
from its intended flight path, veering off to the
right and over the bullet stream, pulling a braking
maneuver. The Raynos was moving too fast to slow
itself down as the Wild Eagle knew what the other pilot
was intending to do. Letting out a roar he kicked on
the afterburners, pushing the Raynos further ahead and
past the Storm Sworder, narrowly missing its clipping
dive with its right wing.

He spared a quick glance over his shoulder, killing
the afterburners after knowing the Storm Sworder was
getting ready to make another pass. "That's more like
it!"

* * *

"I've contact with the Guysack!" Brad announced as
his Command Wolf bounded across the wasteland.

Although visual contact had not been reached the
radar blip for the Guysack was within strike range.
The mercenary had long since switched-off the blips for
the Raynos and Storm Sworder, as it made him sick
watching them move around on the radar screen the way
they do. Brad looked over his shoulder, visually
confirming that Leena had kept up with him.

"The Guysack's hiding behind the rocks over there,"
Leena said, indicating a point slightly to the left of
Brad. "I can't track the Stealth Viper."

"It's definitely got good heat suppression," Brad
added, quickly toggling the heat tracker on the
console. "It looks like they're hiding out and waiting
for us, as expected."

He brought the Command Wolf around to circle the
rock the Guysack was hiding behind from the left,
while Leena's Gunsniper took off for the right,
intending a pincer attack. It would appear to others
that they were trying to flank and corner the Guysack,
but both pilots knew it was only an attempt to draw
out the hiding Stealth Viper. The longer the Viper
stayed in its hiding hole the harder it would be to
take it down later; it was better to flush it out now
by pressuring its teammate.

The moment the Command Wolf exposed itself to the
Guysack's 270 degree arc of fire its tail cannon opened
fire, but Brad pushed hard on the acceleration, moving
faster than the turret could rotate, but several
bullets bit into the Wolf's rear right leg armor. At
the same time the Gunsniper entered the range of fire,
but a loud scream and gunfire signaled to Brad that
they found the Stealth Viper.

Moving in a wide arc Brad now saw what the enemy was
doing. The Guysack, with its back to the rock, had a
natural gun position toward him, as the tail could
swing faster toward its natural forward position
rather than 180 degrees around. Coiled on top of the
Guysack's back was the Stealth Viper, firing its two
head-mounted 40mm cannons on the Gunsniper, and it was
hitting, as the Stealth Viper's head could move with
greater mobility than the Guysack's tail gun.

"You guys are history!" Leena cried.

"Wait, Leena!" Brad yelled, braking his Command Wolf
to turn and line a shot against the Guysack.

But it was already too late, as Leena was already
flipping switches. "I'll take them both out at once!
Weasel Unit Total Assault!"

As he expected the Guysack and Stealth Viper were not
moving from their position, seemingly unconcerned that
a hail of missiles originating from the Gunsniper was
about to rain destruction. Brad tried to ignore the
noise and squeezed off a few shots from the Wolf's top-
mounted cannon, then broke off to avoid more bullet
rounds.

He felt the blast of explosion behind him, followed
by Leena's protests of disbelief.

"N-no way!"

* * *

Bit stood up from his chair, having watched all of
the Weasel Unit's missiles fly over, around, and past
the Stealth Viper and Guysack combination, either
blowing up its hiding rock or the dirt behind it.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "That's the first time I've
seen that happen!"

"That's actually quite clever," Toros admitted,
scratching his chin. "Not only did they hide the
Stealth Viper's radar, heat, and physical presence
by standing on top of each other, they're using the
Viper's electronic countermeasures to distort targeting
the Guysack as well."

"They're WHAT?!" they heard Leena scream. "You guys
didn't say anything about that!"

Her complaints were cut short as the Stealth Viper
continued fire on the Gunsniper. The radar screen
showed that the Stealth Viper and Guysack were now
splitting-up, now that their rocky cover was gone,
with the Viper going after the Gunsniper and the
Guysack the Command Wolf, as predicted.

Although the Command Wolf could handle the Guysack,
the Gunsniper would be in trouble once the Stealth
Viper got within melee range, as the Gunsniper's
cannons could not hit targets that close.

"Leena, you'd better fall back," Bit suggested.

"Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled back angrily.
"I'll get this guy before it gets to me!"

Sighing, Bit closed the transmission to the Gunsniper
for a moment, turning back toward Toros. "Hey, Doc...?
What do you think's going to happen?"

Toros folded his arms. "What'll you think will
happen, Bit?"

He looked up toward the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well,
I guess the Stealth Viper's going to get that close to
the Gunsniper, and the Guysack is buying time with the
Command Wolf until the Stealth Viper is done. Then
after that they could assist the Storm Sworder in
taking down the Raynos."

"Pretty good," Toros complimented. "That's what I
was thinking, too."

"So Brad needs to take out the Guysack and help
Leena, and then they can handle the Storm Sworder,"
Bit added.

"Mm-hmm. The only problem is we don't know how good
the Guysack pilot is with that Zoid. It's all up to
those two now."

* * *

"Did you hear that, Brad?" Toros said. "You must
take out the Guysack as soon as possible and help
Leena."

"Yeah, I gotcha, Doc," the mercenary pilot replied.
"Easier said than done."

The Command Wolf took two bounds to the left, then
turned and fired shots at the Guysack, but the
scorpion-type Zoid was unexpectedly nimble for an
insectoid monstrosity. Its lower center of gravity
afforded it better control on surfaces, making the
Guysack suitable for combat on all terrains; its only
flaws are a distinct lack of armor and effective
weaponry. If Brad wanted to hit the Guysack he would
have to get into melee range, but that would also mean
he had to put up with the Guysack's pincers. However,
since the pincers were forward-only, all he had to do
was find a way to get on one of its other three sides.

Since the scorpion was so maneuverable tackling it
from the left or right would only end in facing the
pincers, so the best way to get around it was to attack
from the rear. However, the tail cannon could easily
nail him from there, but there was not much choice in
it. As much as Brad liked to get out of such a simple
battle without a lot of holes in his Wolf's armor, he
needed to finish this now, before it got worse.

* * *

"Come on, now!" Silencer cried, weaving her Stealth
Viper around the bullet shots as it slithered closer
to the Gunsniper. "You can aim better than that!"

It was not dodging bullets at all; there wasn't any
Zoid built that she knew of that could do it. The
Gunsniper pilot, in her panic, was making predictable
moves, and it wasn't difficult to judge where her
sprays were going just by carefully watching how the
top platform of the Gunsniper was moving. Silencer
scoffed; the Wild Weasel Unit was overrated.

For her part the Viper pilot was taking her time,
savoring the moment as she weaved the snake Zoid back
and forth in the dirt, inching closer, but not close
enough for one good strike. The trick was to not put
the Gunsniper pilot in a state of panic such that she
would break and run; the Gunsniper, although top-heavy,
could still outrun the Stealth Viper. The Silencer
only needed for her to forget about that.

"'Tis I, the snake charmer," she said to herself,
having not squeezed off a single shot of her own during
the Stealth Viper's dance. "Paralyzed with fear, I
shall strike, and savor my prey!"

The moment the Gunsniper's cannons spun dry, the
Stealth Viper reared its head back and lashed out,
quickly coiling around the weapon platform's legs.

"What ego comes up, must stay down!" Silencer cried,
squeezing the Gunsniper's legs together.

* * *

"Computer frozen?!" Leena cried in disbelief, a
high-pitched whine the only response the Gunsniper
computer would give her. "You've got to be kidding
me!"

She slammed a fist against the console, in
frustration. The Stealth Viper that bested her lifted
its head into view, and stared down at her, as if
contemplating whether or not to finish off its prey.

* * *

Mizuki risked a glance in the Stealth Viper's
direction, glad to see that the Gunsniper toppled
over on its own weight. Quickly she tore herself
back to the fight at hand, quickly remembering that the
Command Wolf was the bigger threat.

Said opponent fired several more shots in her
direction, which were easily avoided, then the Wolf
ran off in the opposite direction.

"What the hell?!"

"Boss, the Command Wolf is retreating," she heard
Spider say, receiving audio-only.

"I can see that; I want to know why."

"I don't know, but don't go after it."

"I know," Mizuki acknowledged, her thoughts following
the same train as her tactician. "I need to see what
he's up to first."

Another communication came in, this time from
Silencer. "Gunsniper locked-up. I'm on my way."

"No, keep your distance," the boss ordered. "The
Command Wolf is up to something, and if it gets both
of us, then we lose."

"Roger that," her apprentice replied.

This time Ziel checked-in. "Hey, if you're not that
busy, how about creating a diversion for me? This
Raynos guy is pissing me off."

"Oh really?" Silencer said, feigning sweetness.
"I've two kids here that could help you out. Just say
'please.'"

"Look, fire the damn missiles or I'll strafe YOU!"
the flyboy yelled angrily.

"Shizu, go help him," Mizuki ordered. "This is no
time to argue."

By this time the Command Wolf had turned around, and
was heading for Mizuki's Guysack at full speed.

"A running start?! He's got to be joking!"

Mizuki frantically put the Guysack in reverse,
falling back and quickly scanning the grid for any
rocky outcroppings, but the closest one was the victim
of the Wild Weasel Unit. Cursing her timing, the boss
of the Fire Wheels cut the reverse, powered-up the
electrical charges in the pincers, and charged
forward at full speed.

"This'll be the last thing you expect, Wolfie!" she
cried, grinding her teeth together.

* * *

As Mizuki predicted, Brad wasn't expecting the
Guysack to charge, which meant the pilot knew what he
was trying to do. Quickly he redid the calculations,
coming up with a new solution now that the Guysack was
in forward motion. The jump would have to come sooner
than expected, but there still should be enough speed.

That is, provided the Guysack didn't make a sudden
stop or turn on the way, but Brad was confident he got
the Guysack pilot worked-up enough to make her forget
about that.

He watched the radar grid closely, and the solution
appeared, just in front of his position. Bracing
himself, Brad switched on the boost drives that forced
the Command Wolf to jump.

As he hoped, the Guysack hadn't changed its course,
and the Command Wolf landed square on top of the
scorpion's back, smashing through its armor with its
weight and momentum. The cockpit rocked Brad around a
bit, but the satisfactory crunch that came from
crushing an aluminum can underfoot was there to greet
him when it stopped.

Brad looked out to the sides, satisfied that the
eight legs supporting the Guysack had given way under
the weight of a Zoid heavier in density than a Stealth
Viper. He barely heard the Judge disqualify the
Guysack from the battle, and turned his attentions
toward Leena's Gunsniper.

Too late, however, as the Gunsniper was already down
on the ground, and Leena was complaining loads over the
channels. The Stealth Viper had disappeared again,
but this time there was only one blip left on the
radar.

"Guess you don't have good enough stealth after all,"
Brad noted, commanding the Wolf to give chase.

* * *

"Mizuki! Mizuki! Are you alright?"

Popping open the cockpit, coughing from the smoke
that suddenly billowed within, the boss of the Fire
Wheels watched the Command Wolf bound off. The Guysack
was completely flat against the ground, and all eight
of its legs had snapped-off. Not to mention the
telltale paw prints on the Guysack's back.

"Damn," she cursed, ignoring Spider's communications.
"That's going to cost a lot of paint jobs."

* * *

For the most part, Ziel was sick of flying around
in circles, dodging bullets. As he circled for
another pass he considered the Raynos. Its pilot was
very good, no doubt, squeezing shots only to keep Ziel
away from a mid-air wing slash. It was all he could
do to ignore the itch in his trigger finger, to fire
off the ammo he reserved, and hopefully, by now,
convinced the Raynos pilot he didn't have any. Spider
was correct; they were counting on him to run out of
ammo.

The only trouble was he couldn't find a good time to
shoot. If he fired at the wrong time he would miss
his chance for a flyby hit, and then his advantage
would be gone. If he waited too late the Storm Sworder
may be nose-diving. But now that the Stealth Viper was
free, it had two good STA missiles to annoy the Raynos
with. If he played his cards right that could lead to
a decisive victory.

The moment the Stealth Viper launched the STA
missiles the Raynos would try its best to shake them
off, and Ziel guessed it wouldn't be difficult for the
pilot to do so. That would hopefully open a window of
opportunity for the Storm Sworder to make its strike,
and he would likely have to unload some of the reserve
ammo to set up the wing clipping.

"Here goes nothing!" he heard Silencer cry.

As if on cue the Raynos reacted, and Ziel's radar
indicated that the two STA missiles have indeed
launched. Even though that gave away the Viper's
position it wouldn't matter if he could take out the
Raynos; whatever was left on the ground would be his.
The teal Zoid tilted right and kicked its
afterburners; Ziel maneuvered the Storm Sworder to his
right to catch the Raynos on the turnaround.

He mapped-out the scenario in his mind. The Raynos
would try at all costs to ditch the missiles. Even
though the Stealth Viper's STA missiles didn't pack
enough punch to destroy the Zoid it was still enough
to clip its wings. Since there were no good rocky
outcroppings within the immediate area the only true
solution would be to dive, then pull up at the last
moment, causing the missiles to impact against the
ground. All Ziel had to do was be there when he dove.

Keeping one eye on the radar the Raynos purposefully
weaved to and fro and around in arcs; the Storm
Sworder moved along the outer arc to meet the opposing
Zoid. Both missiles kept up with the Raynos, and were
gaining fast.

Ziel pulled his eyes away from the radar; the Raynos
wasn't diving as expected. Instead, the pilot was
aiming directly toward him at high speed.

"Clever," he muttered, unwilling to participate in
an exchange of targets. Reaching onto the console the
pilot killed the engines, angling the stick downward.

As gravity caught him and threatened to yank him
back to terra firma the Raynos and both missiles
zoomed past him overhead, and Ziel congratulated
himself. Even though the missiles were identity-lock
they could still detonate prematurely if they
impacted against something else-- say, a Storm
Sworder-- while pursuing the target. Keeping the
engine on would only have served to cut the margin
closer as the Raynos and Storm Sworder's distance
would've been closer to one another, and there would
have been a greater chance of eating the missiles.
Only an ameteur would make that mistake.

Quickly bringing the engines back online Ziel kicked
on the afterburners and quickly regained control of
his descent. Taking a quick glance out each side of
the cockpit window he finally realized that the Raynos
was making its diving maneuver to ditch the missiles;
its pilot probably understood what was going to
happen. Ziel yanked the stick downward to pursue.

The landscape quickly became larger in the windshield
and the sky disappeared completely as Ziel brought
the Storm Sworder in a near-straight nosedive. The
Raynos descended at a less steep angle, but began to
pull-up. Ziel ignored the missiles, easing his angle
of descent to line-up his cannon with the Raynos. The
moment the targeting computer pinged, he thumbed the
trigger.

"I hate easy targets," Ziel said, grinning to
himself.

Fire rained down upon the Raynos, putting holes
through its wings and producing satisfying plumes of
smoke.

* * *

The Wild Eagle felt each bullet tear through the
armor of the Raynos, and he frantically tried to
level out the Zoid's body for a safer emergency
landing. He had to give the Storm Sworder pilot
credit for fooling him; he never expected him to have
any more ammo left, not after this long of fighting
without using it. Of course, such a stunt was going
to cost the Storm Sworder, too.

Land caught up to the Raynos quickly, and Wild Eagle
braced himself. The only consolation for being shot
down was, judging from the Storm Sworder's frantic
attempt to get the shot in, it wasn't going to have
time to pull-up before hitting the ground.

* * *

Silencer watched as the Storm Sworder narrowly
missed a flat body landing. The Zoid's neck tore a
hole in the ground, then flipped the craft over from
momentum. Then it flipped over several more times,
on its wings, and then sliding off somewhere on its
back.

"This isn't going to be pretty," she muttered to
herself, quickly moving the Viper from one rocky
outcropping to another.

The Command Wolf was still in reasonably good shape,
and the Stealth Viper was attempting to find good
ground from which to strike. After firing its missiles
Silencer was forced into a quick skirmish before
losing the Wolf, and now she was forced to hide while
she tried to think of a way to beat her opponent.

She wiped her palms against her coat, forcing herself
to relax and breath. Her heart pounded with
exhilaration, being up against someone that was
obviously better than she was, and who beat even
Mizuki.

"Perhaps this Blitz Team does deserve its
reputation," she mused. "So it's just me and him,
huh?"

"Don't use it," Spider insisted. "You have to beat
him without the secret weapon."

"You don't have to remind me," Silencer replied,
punching more keys on the console. A chest compartment
along the Stealth Viper's body opened, and a mechanical
arm holding a mortar appeared. She guided the arm
downward, shoving the mortar into the ground, orienting
it upward. "It won't be as satisfying, will it?"

"That's the kind of stuff I want to hear!" Mizuki
encouraged. "This is what you've been trained for;
even though Command Wolves outclass your Zoid in every
way you can still beat him!"

"Cut that 'you can do it' bull," she hissed,
annoyed at her sudden virtual pep squad's appearance.
"If you pressure me I'm going to crack."

The pilot reached under the console, and adjusted
the heat suppressor further, praying silently that
she really was gone from the Wolf's sight. The boss
was right; the Command Wolf outclassed her Zoid, and
the only true advantage was to live up to the Stealth
Viper's name. All she had to do was wait for the right
moment to strike.

Or rather, make that opportunity.

"Okay, Shizu," she told herself, "he's nothing
special. Just another punk kid with an overpowered
quadruped... you can take care of him...."

Silencer imagined that the others were amused by
this, and the tingling sensation in her arms wouldn't
go away.

"I don't understand. Why can't I calm down? What
is it about this battle that excites me?"

* * *

"I don't see her, Doc," Brad said, his eyes scanning
the area in his forward arc. "This Stealth Viper may
as well be using stealth technology, too."

"But it's not," Toros replied over the link. "You
must keep your eyes open. Don't rely on the radar to
help you."

"Easy for you to say."

Slowly, Brad edged the Command Wolf around each
rocky outcropping, knowing that the Stealth Viper was
hiding behind one of them. The problem was, each time
he rounded a corner the Wolf was vulnerable to attack,
as the top-mounted back cannon could not turret; its
range of fire was only directly ahead. So for a few
precious seconds the Command Wolf would be open to
attack and the Stealth Viper was free to take shots or
run off to another hole in another direction; the snake
Zoid had the advantage of being far more maneuverable
than a quadruped Zoid.

"Not as easy as you thought it would be?"

Brad froze in his tracks, not recognizing the voice.

"Come on," beckoned the woman's voice, and Brad
realized it must be the Stealth Viper pilot. "Show me
your true power!"

"Triangulate that," he ordered, relaying the message
to the Hover Cargo.

"Don't bother. By the time you figure out where I
am, it'll be too late."

The Command Wolf's head swung side-to-side. "This is
getting kinda old," he taunted, hoping to bait the
pilot into making a mistake. "I thought you Fire
Wheel guys were better than this."

"Heh, heh. You guys are amusing, taking out one Zoid
of ours for each one we take down. Too bad the trend
is going to continue, and you'll be out of Zoids to
take ME out with!"

So she's a talker, too. He edged the Command Wolf
away from the rocks. "I was kinda hoping that you'd
give me a better challenge. Too much talking, and not
enough shooting."

"BANG!"

Brad jumped in his seat, alarmed at the sudden yell
in the audio link. He switched on the visual for a
moment, noting that the female pilot was making faces
at him, then killed it. It was then followed by
terrible, cackling laughter.

"Brad," Dr. Toros said, over the sound of the mad
cackling, "we've got a fix on the Stealth Viper's
location. It's...."

All at once three explosions rocked Brad in the
cockpit, realizing that three of the nearby rocks were
now smoking. A second later launched grenades impacted
against his blue armor, rocking the Wolf further. Bits
of shrapnel rained downwind.

Suddenly a red blip flared to life on the radar, but
it was already on top of the Command Wolf. The Zoid
protested against a physical hit, of steel grinding
against steel. Looking over his shoulder, upward, the
Stealth Viper had sheared-off the cannon, and was now
staring down at him menacingly.

No, the Viper wasn't simply standing on him, it was
wrapped around the Command Wolf's body.

"Game over," the enemy pilot shouted, obviously
pleased with herself.

Gritting his teeth, Brad yanked hard right on the
controls, forcefully turning the Command Wolf onto
its side, bringing the Stealth Viper down with him.
Machine gune fire kicked up dirt where the cockpit used
to be, but Brad was thrown hard against the cockpit,
with the window pressed against the ground. He looked
straight up out the top of the window, and spied the
Stealth Viper's head lying on its side in the dirt.
He certainly hoped the system froze from the impact.

But sadly, the Viper's head reoriented itself back
to face him. "That was a funny little stunt, but it's
over now."

* * *

"Battle over!" declared the judge. "Battle over!
The winner is... the Fire Wheel Team!"

Toros sat back in his chair, sighing. "Well, so
much for that one."

"Ah, that's no sweat, Doc," Bit assured him. "We're
still better than they are. We'll just have to
challenge them again, and I'll win it for you!"

One screen flickered to life, and Leena appeared
quite annoyed. "WHAT did you just say?"

Another came up, this time with Jamie. "Uh, guys,
how about picking me up?"

"Come on, Bit," Brad complained, opening his own
transmission. "It's not like you're the reason we
win, you know."

"How do you know I'm not?" Bit replied boastfully.
"Me and Liger could've beaten that Stealth Viper... no
problem!"

In unison, each of the pilots yelled, "BIT!!"

* * *

Shizuka the Silencer sat back against her seat,
sighing in relief, but the tingling sensation would not
go away. In the span of a few seconds, she finally
understood what it was that was egging her. Reaching
to the console, she opened a channel to each of the
Blitz Team members.

"Congratulations," she told them.

"It should be you that is congratulated," a middle-
aged man, probably the Blitz Team technician, said.
"Using remote grenade launchers like that as a
distraction...."

"It was a cheesy trick," Shizuka interrupted. "In an
even match I would have lost; but then, battles are
hardly even, aren't they? Mr. Wolf pilot, I salute
your abilities; maybe next time it'll be even closer."

She smiled, amused by the bewildered expression on
the Command Wolf pilot's face. "Uh... sure."

She gave a quick, informal solute. "From here I'll
train harder. I hope you guys will do, too, for the
next time we fight."

* * *

Mizuki ran her fingers down the side of the smashed
black Guysack, just as the Dragoon Nest arrived and
deployed the Macurtis. The smaller lobster's claws
were adjusted for scooping, and was strong enough to
tow the wrecked Zoid. In the other direction the
Stealth Viper was approaching.

How many years was it, father? Yes, it was over ten
years ago I first laid eyes on this black scorpion. It
was similarly as long ago I trained myself to pilot it
against your wishes. I remember the first singles
match; you were so angry, and I was so proud, slicing
that guy like a tuna can. I think, those times as I
earned money for our family, that I started helping the
others in town, building our team slowly from the
ground up. Every scratch and dent on your armor,
Guysack, was our badge of honor, and we never gave in
despite how easily we became outclassed. I'm proud of
all those years....

A live communication came in from Spider, from within
the cockpit of the Macurtis. "Damn, that thing's a
wreak."

"This guy's beyond salvage now," the boss said. "It
was a good last battle, wasn't it?"

"Cheer up, boss," Spider encouraged. "We can use the
prize money to buy another...."

Mizuki shook her head. "We'll strip this Guysack for
parts. Anything else we can't use we'll sell for
cash. I can't pilot another Zoid like I could him."

The Macurtis pilot remained silent.

"Our first priority is to fix the Stealth Viper and
Storm Sworder, then we'll re-outfit the Warshark to
take my place. From there we'll just have to rebuild
our finances, slow but steady." Mizuki cast her eyes
to the approaching Stealth Viper. "I think we've
enough capable warriors to carry this team on... to
victory."

* * *

Fire Wheel Base, 1600 Hours, Day 2

"Got it," Warlock muttered, finishing keying the
decryption code to the security door.

He looked out the window of the control room to the
hangar, and to the number of decrypted passkey doors
required to open the chamber at the far end. Warlock
counted six-- now seven-- open. The last six times his
efforts were rewarded with another sealed door;
whatever it was that was back there was certainly
something the old military didn't want people to
touch easily.

The sliding double doors parted, protesting against
the cold condensation the entire hangar was suffering
from ever since the facility was abandoned. It was
sheer luck Mizuki found this place, and it was this
place that prompted her to start the Fire Wheel Team in
the first place. Each of the Fire Wheels came from a
class of people who simply could not afford to buy and
maintain Zoids; to people such as them, having the
ability to enter Zoid battles was a dream come true.

Warlock stood up in his seat, catching the
reflected glint of white and blue armor. Boxy armor
at that. He scrambled for the controls, heart pounding
in realization that this was it. Flipping all the
light switches of the underground hangar on, more of
the new Zoid's features could be made out.

It stood low to the ground, and was as large as a
Liger. Its white and blue armor was made of very
simple geometric shapes, but looked incredibly sturdy
despite its bulky appearance. A cockpit window 'visor'
armor rest in a raised position, providing what would
be complete armor when in the lowered position, like a
tank. From the front it was armed with two clamp-like
claws, rather than Guysack's scissor pincers. It stood
on eight legs, like the Guysack, but the legs were
more armored and reinforced in all the structurally-
weak places. On its back was a mounted, turreted dual-
barreled shock cannon. Up and along its back formed
a scorpion-like tail, with one large gatling cannon as
its stinger, and two smaller cannons to each side of
it as backup.

Sliding back to the control console Warlock brought
up the technical specifications of the mysterious Zoid.
Reaching to the comm, he said, "Mizuki... everybody, to
Hangar 7, immediately. You should come see this."

It was rare to see a Deathpion these days, as they
are expensive as heck, but this was no ordinary
Deathpion, according to the specs. It was the second,
unfinished, Death Stinger, one of the military's top-
secret ultimate weapons in the war.

* * *

No words could describe what Mizuki was thinking,
staring at the Death Stinger head-on in the cold
hangar. Every aspect of the beast was just like the
Guysack, and then some.

"Is this a sign?" she wondered. "How could I...?"

"Boss," she heard her apprentice say, her voice
echoing in the empty chamber. "Please don't think of
this as a replacement. Think of it as... well... your
gift. A gift from all of us, for what you've done for
this team."

"It will never replace my Guysack."

"Nor should it," Shizuka agreed. "Nothing will
replace your old partner." She waved her arm,
gesturing the Death Stinger. "The past is done; now
all there's to do is lead us to our great future. Only
you can do that, because you are our leader."

Mizuki snorted, lowering her head. "It figures, I
guess. You guys would fall apart without me."

Turning away from the Death Stinger, she ordered,
"Get the simulator ready! Add this guy into the
database; we're in it for the long haul."

-----------------------------------------------

Author's Rant

The Dragoon Nest, Death Stinger, Salamander, all
exist in the Zoids universe. The Death Stinger, too,
exists; in a previous Zoids series it was one of the
top-secret weapons of the Guylos Empire (the other was
Geno Saurer). This series may or may not be the
successor to that series, but I thought it added a bit
of spice to add slight references to it.

Macuritis, Warshark, Guysack, and Storm Sworder all
appeared as Backdraft Zoids on the show. The Stealth
Viper was used many times: Backdraft Group, Champ Team,
and Viper Team.

-- Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

	2. Stardust Team Battle

Zoids: Call of the Fire 2

Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Zoids, I am
borrowing the names, settings, etc. under fair use and
without making a profit. This work cannot be sold for
profit or retransmitted and reposted without my express
permission.

Continuity: Takes place after the Raynos appear in
the series.

------------------------------------------------

Wasteland Stardust Camp, 1900 Hours, Day 3

Three warriors sat around their modest campfire,
staring at the dancing flames, while guarded all along
the outer circle by their three Zoids-- a manta-like
Sinker, a standard Cannon Tortoise, and a quadrupedal
aerial Redler, a purple winged lizard-like creature.
It was an uncommon sight to see a team composed of one
male and two female warriors, much less warriors that
owned such a strange diversity of Zoids, but the three
members of the Stardust Team have proven themselves
seasoned veterans in their own right.

"Yesterday," one of the girls, who held her hair in a
pony-tail, said, "the Blitz Team lost to the Fire
Wheel Team."

"I heard that too," the second girl, who kept her
hip-length hair free, confirmed. "I mean, could you
believe that such losers could beat one of the better
teams?"

"I'm a little surprised," their leader, Johan,
replied. "For people with so little resources the
Fire Wheels, by all rights, should've lost." He
scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe the Blitz Team
isn't all they're cracked up to be, losing to the best
Class A team and then the worst Class A team."

"It's gotta be luck," the long-haired girl stated.

"So you're itching to see what they've got, Chika?"
the pony-tailed girl guessed. "Just because one of the
most hyped teams lost a couple battles doesn't mean
we're going to win."

"So you'd rather take on the Fire Wheels instead,
Ayame?" Chika asked in return.

"Won't it help us more if we beat the guys who beat
the Blitz Team?" Ayame wondered, staring off into the
sky. "I mean, I know we can't beat the Lightning Team,
so why don't we?"

"We'd garner more prestige," Johan countered, "if we
defeat the Blitz Team." The warrior got to his feet,
and dusted off his pants. "I'm going to transmit a
challenge proposal to the ZBC tomorrow. I'm sure our
opponents will accept." Turning away from the campfire
the leader of the Stardust Team regarded his Sinker.
"I'm dying to test the new thruster modifications I
installed in this sucker."

Ayame cast her eyes toward each of the Zoids. It was
true that the Sinker was the star of the Stardust Team,
as it possessed the greatest amount of missiles and
guns. The Cannon Tortoise was only armed with a single
mortar on its back, and the Redler its strike claws on
each of its four feet and a blade attached to its
tail. Arguably the Redler held an advantage over other
quadrupedal Zoids in that it could fly and was just as
good in the air as on the ground, but its lack of
projectile weaponry killed a lot of strategies. Yet,
melee combat was what Ayame thoroughly enjoyed.

Chika was too scared to get into melee combat, which
made the Cannon Tortoise perfect for her, even though
Johan tried and failed to convince her to trade it in
for a Gunsniper instead. It didn't surprise her, as
the Cannon Tortoise was also well-armored, despite
being incredibly slow and a huge target. Panic often
settled in for each battle in which the opponent got
within the Tortoise's minimum attack range, so Ayame
and Johan made it a point to help maintain Chika's
health and sanity as much as possible.

Johan himself was a speed fanatic, and hated the
feeling of a Zoid running through the wastes, which
is why he settled on a hovering model instead. Chika
claimed Johan got sick in the stomach driving a Shield
Liger, but the leader would deny it always. Ayame
simply didn't care, so long as Johan was good enough to
continue fighting. Other than speed customs Johan
added four top-mounted missile launchers, two to each
side of the cockpit. Ayame thought it was for surface-
to-air, but Johan insisted it was meant to hit things
behind him.

Customs often ended up being the cheaper choice, as
the Stardust Team did not earn enough money to buy a
new Zoid outright.

"Blitz Team, huh?" she mused.

Toros Base, 0900 Hours, Day 4

It seemed to Toros that his team all but forgot the
battle two days prior, and he felt it was a good a time
as any to accept another battle.

He stared at the screen mounted on his desk, then
reclined in his chair, and stared at the ceiling of
his office. It was the Stardust Team, another Class A
team looking for a piece of the Blitz Team's
reputation, but Toros knew right away that this team
wouldn't lay claim to that.

His mind wandered back to the battle two days prior;
the Fire Wheel Team certainly seemed more than the
records indicated. It seemed that their skill levels
were evenly-matched to the members of his own team, but
Toros dismissed the thought, appending the fact that
they were playing with an unofficial handicap.
Certainly, it was interesting to see some good
competition every once in a while, but now that he saw
them in action Toros resolved that the next time his
team went up against the Fire Wheels the outcome would
be different.

It wouldn't hurt to regain the team's confidence by
destroying a more reasonable-leveled team, he decided.

Fire Wheel Base, 1100 Hours

"'Backdraft Group?'" Mizuki said, perplexed.

It was one thing to get an unsolicited call from
someone you didn't know, but it was another to be
interrupted while in the simulator. On one screen was
Shizuka, who was holding the call, but the Fire Wheel
leader wasn't paying her any attention; her eyes were
forward, concentrating on manipulating the Death
Stinger on the virtual battlefield. It was like
learning how to ride a bicycle all over again.

"What do you want me to say to them?" her apprentice
asked.

"I don't care," she replied. "Just get rid of them."

* * *

Killing the transmission to the simulator, Shizuka
faced another monitor, which she placed on hold. The
creepy-looking guy with the tear-shaped sunglasses was
waiting on the other end, some Major what's-his-name,
was it? She snorted; military types were major pains
in the rear.

She sat back in her seat, and stared at the three-
screen console, and listened to the music Major Moron
was probably getting sick of, propping her feet on the
desk. Suppressing her grin, she reached back over with
her heel, and put the Backdraft guy back on.

"Well?" he asked, with a tone of impatience.

"Sorry, Major Asshole--"

"That's Palta," he corrected, now more than
irritated. "Get it right!"

"Whatever," she replied, waving her hand off in a
mock salute. "Not interested."

What was it they wanted? she asked herself again.
Oh yes. The Backdraft Group heard that the Fire
Wheels beat the Blitz Team, and wanted them to do it
again. Shizuka sighed. "Hell, you guys don't make
very good offers."

"We are offering five-times the normal prize money if
you win."

"Five-times won't cover all our expenses, especially
if they trash our Zoids. Besides, what happens if we
lose?"

"The Backdraft Group will confiscate all your Zoids
as compensation."

Shizuka's eyes narrowed. "Are you dumb, or just
plain stupid? If we run a risk fighting and losing our
Zoids if we win, and lose them if we lose, then why
the hell don't you just come down here and shoot me?
That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard."

Major Palta groaned, and looked about ready to slam
his head on the desk in front of him. It was more than
obvious he wasn't enjoying this, and for that Shizuka
could draw a little satisfaction. "Don't be surprised
if you hear from us again in the future, Fire Wheel
Team!"

No sooner had the Backdraft representative killed the
transmission, another line was ringing in. Annoyed,
Shizuka once again tapped the console with her foot.

This time it was a wild-eyed looking young man, his
hair cut neatly. The kid's backdrop caught Shizuka's
attention, as it seemed to be some kind of hangar-- one
filled with lots of Zoids.

"Greetings, Fire Wheel Team," he began. "I am Harry
Champ, a man destined to be king!"

Immediately Shizuka's expectations dropped a few
notches. Putting on her most bored tone, she asked,
"And what would His Majesty want, such that he'd grace
our lowly hovel?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Harry replied, obviously
missing the dripping sarcasm. He pressed his face
closer toward the screen conspiratorially. "You're the
one known as 'Silencer,' are you not?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Somehow she knew where this
was going.

"It seems that you're registered as a mercenary, my
friend," he said, briefly flashing some printed
records. "Which means it's possible for you to fight
on behalf of another team."

"Dear god, no," Shizuka said, flat-out refusing. "I
don't work for peanuts anymore."

"W-wait!" Harry cried, his tone settling into panic.
"I need your help! You beat the Blitz Team!"

She rolled her eyes. "You, too? Who do I look like,
the Tooth Fairy?"

"But I need to defeat my rival!" he pleaded. "You
must've beaten him, at least!"

Rival? "Well, now, that's interesting. You want me
to beat up your 'rival,' huh? And how much are you
willing to pay me to fight him?"

"You'll do it?!" he exclaimed, obviously excited.
"Name your price!"

"Maybe if you fixed-up all our busted Zoids, and
bought me a particle cannon...."

"Deal!" Harry yelled, ecstatic. His attention was
now turned away from the screen. "Bit Cloud, you will
regret the day you got between me and Leena!!"

"'Bit Cloud?'" the warrior whispered to herself.
"The junker is this guy's... 'rival?'"

She sighed. "Moron, I didn't agree to this...."

Champ Base, 1100 Hours

"Harry!" Sebastian, one of two robot warriors in the
Champ Team, protested. "Why did you just agree to
give her the particle cannon ahead of time?"

The leader of the Champ Team turned away from the
console, having finished conducting business with the
Fire Wheel. "She says she needs it if she's going to
take on Bit Cloud."

"And you're trusting her on this?!" Benjamin, the
second robot, complained. "Didn't the last time you
hire a mercenary we still lost?"

"But this time we've got one that beat Bit already!"
Harry claimed. "This time I'm sure to win!"

Fire Wheel Base, 1200 Hours

"Going out, I see."

Professionally, people called her the 'Spider'
because her analytical mind was very good at weaving
carefully planned webs of deception, but off-duty
others knew her as Kanna. She leaned with her back
against the hangar door, between the interior and the
exterior, once to the darkness and once to the light of
the noon sun. Her arms folded, eyes narrowly open
staring toward the other side of the entrance, she
barely made out Shizuka walking out a beat-up motor
bike out of the corner of her eye, out of the gloom.

"Yeah," the other girl replied, kicking the stand on
the bike to slip on her sunglasses and scarf. The
beat-up motor bike was nothing like any real
motorcycle; it was more of a dirt bike, caked with
dried mud in all the appropriate places, and beat up
from age.

"Don't stay out long," Kanna directed. "We're
supposed to go into town tomorrow to buy some more
parts to finish the Death Stinger."

"Yeah, I know," Shizuka moaned, sounding as if she'd
heard the same conversation ten times before. "I think
I've just been volunteered to help someone, so I'll go
and come back, okay?"

Kanna opened her eyes fully, and eyed the other
warrior. "You mean someone actually bought you out?"
she asked neutrally, maintaining her poker face.

"How could I refuse? The guy came up on my offer to
pay for the repairs of all our Zoids if I fought his
rival. It's not my fault if he doesn't know what we
have."

"So you're saying you're doing this for the good of
the team?"

"I'm comin' back, you know," Shizuka insisted. "I
mean, I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for
Mizuki, so I owe her at least that much."

Kanna snorted. When it looked as if the Fire Wheel
Team was going to go under due to financial
difficulties Shizuka opted to change her registration
to reflect herself as a mercenary, and hoped that there
would come a time that someone would hire her out and
she wouldn't have to feel bad about deserting like some
others did. It was a rather cowardly way to say that
she wanted better financial stability, but it amazed
Kanna that Shizuka stuck around for as long as she did;
she had monitored her transmissions for the first six
weeks going to Shizuka and it seemed that she had been
getting offers from other teams. Yet, the only
conceivable reason Kanna could formulate that would
keep Shizuka from going was that each of those teams
did not possess the same kind of facilities the Fire
Wheels did. It was as if she wouldn't settle for
anything that was below her perception of a normal
life, even if it was at a near-poverty level.

Financially the Fire Wheels could have avoided their
money problems had they sold their more 'useless'
Zoids, the Warshark and Salamander, but both Kanna and
Shion refused to part with their machines. The Dragoon
Nest, too, was expendable, but nobody seriously
offered it up, particularly since the rooms in it beat
sleeping on the dirt. It was simply expensive to keep
that many Zoids around, especially if they weren't
being used.

Shizuka lifted her scarf over her mouth and nose,
signing off with a mock two-finger salute before
revving her motor bike. Kanna watched impassively as
the girl sped off into the desert, the sound of the
motor echoing across the landscape.

"You're getting more clever all the time," she noted,
recalling what Shizuka told her of the terms. "The
Death Stinger Mark II prototype, unfinished as is,
will surely benefit from being sponsored." Kanna cast
her eyes back into the dark hangar. "It's fortunate
that completing it won't require too many extensive
modifications, I suppose. I only wonder how well
that'll do in practice."

Toros Base, 1300 Hours

The moment the sliding double doors to the lounge
opened, Toros shouted, "Guess what, people!"

The lounge was centered around an oval table, as low
as a coffee table. To each of the oval ends were
comfortable padded seating, with Brad lounging across
one of them as if he owned it, and Bit and Leena
sitting across from him, eating lunch. Jamie sat in
another padded, but one person, seat at the opposite
end of the table from Toros, folding laundry quietly,
as usual. All of their eyes, except for Brad, of
course, were now on Toros.

He held up a data card. "We've got a match
scheduled tomorrow against the Stardust Team." He
tossed the card gently to the table, allowing it to
clatter against the table's surface.

"'Stardust Team,' huh?" Bit said, reaching for the
data card. "Is this another nobody team?"

"Stardust is the splinter group from the Fire
Wheels," Brad said, keeping his eyes shut in his
relaxed manner. "It's three people who broke off from
the bigger team because they didn't want to deal with
their financial problems."

"How come I didn't know this?" Leena asked.

"It's not as if they're very well-known," Jamie
chipped in. "There's just so many three-person teams
out there that they don't really stand out as much as
the Fire Wheels."

"But they're good on their own, too," added Brad.
"Seems to me they want a piece of us now that their
former teammates beat us."

"Well, then," Leena said, suddenly fired-up. "We'll
just have to show these guys that we're not push-
overs!"

"Or maybe that you aren't," Bit murmured.

"What did you just say?!"

He held up the data card for Leena to see. "Just
look at this: a Redler? A Cannon Tortoise? A Sinker?
Does this sound very good or what?"

"Don't try to change the subject!" she yelled,
fuming with anger. "I'll show you who's a push-over!"

"Uh-oh, here it comes," Brad said, sitting up
quickly.

Champ Base, 1400 Hours

Standing in the Champ hangar was like coming to one
of the great wonders of the world, Shizuka thought.
She turned about, her eyes cast upward, passing from
Zoid to Zoid, awe-struck.

"Impressed, eh?" Harry said, smirking.

"If I had all the pilots in the world working for me,
and this hangar, I'd conquer the world!" she declared
boastfully.

"I'm glad you approve," the leader of the Champ
Team replied.

She broke herself out of the reverie, turning her
full attention toward the young man. "Um, about our
arrangement... this will be one-on-one, or not?"

"Of course not!" he answered. "I want to be there
when you beat Bit Cloud in front of Leena!"

"Okay, whatever." She sighed. "So, what Zoid are
you best using?"

"Uh, the Dark Horn, I guess...."

A loud explosion interrupted him, throwing both
Harry and Shizuka to the floor. Debris rained down
from above, and Shizuka felt something fall over her--
probably Harry, trying to be a hero. She risked a
glance upward, ignoring the foppish guy, and indeed the
ceiling was blown away, revealing the sky.

Or rather, it seemed as if the ceiling was peeled
open like a can of sardines. High above, a silhouette
in the sky, Shizuka could make out some sort of
aircraft, vaguely fish-shaped. Immediately her view of
the aircraft was obscured by another, much larger
aircraft, descending into the hangar.

More correctly, it was closer. A black, bat-form
Zoid was landing, followed by two more. Shizuka had no
idea what this new type of Zoid was, nor did she know
why they descended, but the moment the lead Zoid's
cockpit hatch opened she knew.

It was the same guy from before, Major What's-his-
name, with the teardrop sunglasses.

"We can do this the hard way," the Backdraft officer
stated, a smile on his face. "I do prefer it like
this."

* * *

"So that's the Backdraft Group," Kanna said,
leaning closer to the console monitor of her Warshark.

Submerged beneath the sands meters under the ground
the land-modified Warshark served as Kanna's personal
submarine in the sandy ocean; she even had a tracker
periscope mod added on for such things. Sitting only a
mile outside the Champ Team base she watched the black
Whale King pry open the hangar, and deploy its black
bat Zoids. They only remained in the hangar for a mere
two minutes before taking off again.

She waited a few moments until the Whale King started
to leave, then checked her instruments to make sure
that Shizuka was indeed no longer in the hangar. One
life sign remained, for sure; it was probably the other
person Shizuka was meeting.

Retracting the periscope, Kanna powered-up the
Warshark. She shook her head. "Sometimes, Shizuka, I
wonder about you."

Undisclosed Location, 1900 Hours

She spent most of her time in the dark cell sitting
Indian-style, with her head down. Meditation was hard
for Shizuka, but Mizuki insisted it was a good
exercise in discipline-- to bring chaos into order.
For what it was worth, Shizuka tried it, but it would
do nothing to prevent her from pondering the meaning of
life.

By the time the cell door opened, and the man with
the black cape entered, Shizuka realized she spent all
of her time trying to push questions about the
Backdraft Group out of her mind, essentially making her
more edgy. This newcomer was different from the
major guy; his head was devoid of any hair, and he wore
dark goggles that looked like they were designed for
night vision, but really was probably nothing special.
A fashion statement, maybe?

"Please excuse our Major Palta," he began, his voice
deep, but with a touch of arrogance. "I am Colonel
Martin, representing the interests of the Backdraft
Group."

"So far you haven't interested me," Shizuka shot back
bitterly.

"Our organization exists not for kidnapping or
extortion, as you may or may not think," he said,
turning to the side. "We are interested in Zoid
battles worthy of entertainment. You, my friend, have
attracted our interest."

"You want me to work on your behalf; I've heard as
much."

"We want you to battle the Liger Zero for us," Martin
said bluntly. "Although we understand you cannot give
us any guarantee on that regard, your team has managed
to defeat the Blitz Team once already. I consider it
enough qualification that you could see through their
tactics and defeat them; it should be no more
difficult to defeat the Liger Zero."

"What's the big fuss over the Liger Zero, anyway?"
Shizuka asked. "It's 'Liger Zero this,' or 'Liger Zero
that;' what's the big deal?"

"That's not important," the officer told her. "What
is important is that Liger Zero is an obstacle to our
vision. We must have it."

"That's right," she recalled. "You confiscate Zoids
when the opposing team loses. So you want the Liger
Zero yourselves. If you guys recall, I don't want to
play under those rules."

"And here is we make a revision to our offer," Martin
said. "Fight for us, Shizuka, in one battle. After
the battle you are free to go, and your Zoids remain
yours. The Backdraft Group will leave you alone. If
you win you will receive five times the prize money.
If you lose... there is no penalty for losing. We want
you to fight for us."

"So what if I refuse?"

The colonel glared at her, and Shizuka understood
that she didn't want to know that answer.

"I see. Well, you know, I don't have my Zoid with
me or anything...."

"One will be provided to you. It has special
modifications which may interest you."

"Fine," Shizuka said, shaking her head. "So when's
this battle, anyway?"

Martin smiled. "Tomorrow."

Zoid Battlefield, 0800 Hours, Day 5

Leaving the Cannon Tortoise and Chika behind the
Redler and Sinker rushed out, flying low over the
ground at high speeds. The landscape was devoid of any
rocky crags or outcroppings; it was simple flatland,
the battleground where the Redler and Sinker could
truly take advantage of their off-surface speeds.

It was a simple enough plan, Johan thought. Chika
always remained at the border of the battlefield,
launching heavy shells into the battlefield to keep
the opposing team on their toes, while Ayame and
himself took care of the three opponents. Rarely, if
ever, did anyone get past their two Zoids without a
fight. The Redler's low flight speed and its strike
claws was usually enough to tear good holes in Zoid
armor, and the Sinker's guns and missiles were usually
on their mark, but sometimes the Cannon Tortoise did
hit things.

"I'll show you, Mizuki," Johan said to himself. "We
will beat this Blitz Team and make your victory look
insignificant in comparison!"

* * *

"Two incoming fast!" the Blitz Team warriors heard
Jamie warn.

Bit's Liger Zero, outfitted with the Jager unit, was
intended to help match the predicted high speeds of the
Sinker and Redler; Jamie said, according to records of
previous battles, the two Stardust Team warriors seemed
addicted to speed. The Redler dragon-type never took
off into high atmospheric flights, making surface-to-
air modifications unnecessary.

With the Command Wolf and the Gunsniper to each of
his flanks, Bit lead the charge. "Well, Liger," he
said, "it's time to show these guys what speed is all
about!"

* * *

"This sucks," Chika complained, pounding the dash of
the Tortoise's cockpit. "Every time I always have to
stay back here."

She watched the Redler and Sinker blips on the radar,
moving ever closer into the 10-mile-radius area the
Judge declared to be a battlefield. Every battle the
Stardust went into she always had to stay behind in
the Tortoise, and just shell anything she felt like
shelling. It was almost as if Ayame and Johan felt
she was a burden.

Ayame always said it was because Chika would not get
hurt, but Chika realized they only needed her for
three-on-threes.

If the battle went as it usually did the Sinker would
run circles around the opponents, drawing fire for the
Redler to make rushing tackles. The Redler had the
advantage of being an aerial Zoid with standard melee
equipment, giving it better maneuverability than a
Shield Liger or Saber Tiger, but lacking in decent
range weaponry. The only time Chika got someone was if
the opposing team somehow forgot she existed, and that
only worked once per battle.

Although it was just as annoying, co-piloting her
brother's Salamander was more enjoyable than sitting
around all day.

Chika sighed. "What good is it to be on a Zoid team
if you're not even participating?"

* * *

"That thing's faster than they usually are," Leena
noted, as the Gunsniper's targeting computer was
having difficulty pinging a lock on the Sinker. She
directed to the Hover Cargo, "Someone get a calculation
compensation for the Sinker's extra speed!"

"I'm working on it," Jamie assured her.

"What's with this Redler?!" she heard Brad shout in
surprise. "It's trying to run into me!"

"They're just playing with us," Bit realized, and
Leena checked the radar to confirm those words. Both
the Sinker and Redler were making quick passes at each
of them, probably to shake them up.

Impatience got the better of the Gunsniper pilot.
Flipping switches, Leena input her best guesses into
the targeting computer, and fired off a salvo of six
missiles at where she guessed the Sinker would fly
into. But surprise was not on her side, as the Sinker
veered off away from the Gunsniper, and the dumb-fired
missiles missed completely.

"Jamie, where's that calculation?!" she complained.

* * *

"I think we've got things under control," Ayame said,
psyching herself up for the strike claws. "I'm going
for the Command Wolf!"

"Gotcha," Johan replied. "The Liger Zero is mine!"

Smiling to herself, Ayame prepared to shut off the
Redler's boosters, circling around for one more pass on
the Command Wolf. This time the Wolf fired several
shots at her, some barely missing, but one shot got the
left wing. Deciding she had to cut to the chase sooner
than expected she killed the booster, and extended the
Redler's legs for ground position. The Zoid's claws
sank into the ground, into the dirt, against her former
velocity. Bracing herself against the cockpit from
the rough, forced landing she barely felt the Redler
being shaken by the Command Wolf's shots.

"No," she groaned, "it can't be over this early!"

Forcing the Redler into a run Ayame charged the
Command Wolf head-on, wishful that her Zoid had a
cannon on it. She dodged to the right, avoiding the
latest shot, then leaped into the air.

"Eat my Strike Claw!" she yelled, rearing back the
Redler's front right claw.

Ever watchful, the Command Wolf fired again, this
time on the Redler's underbelly. Ayame cried out in
surprise, feeling herself and the Zoid recoiling
backward against her forward momentum, slamming her
back against the seat.

The Redler landed upside-down, and Ayame looked up to
see only dirt. A high-pitched whine echoed, breaking
the sudden silence, and she knew it was already over.

"Over before it even began," she said, chuckling to
herself. "Johan's in for it this time."

* * *

"What the hell?!" Johan yelled, listening into the
Judge's transmission, disqualifying Ayame's Redler.
"Ayame! What the hell did you do?!"

Gritting his teeth, the Stardust leader shut out the
rest of the world, focusing on the Liger Zero. The
lion Zoid was right on his tail, having not fired a
single shot his direction, but it was gaining ground
every time the Sinker banked on a turn. The Gunsniper
was still sitting idle, and the Command Wolf was about
ready to come after him, too.

"Chika," he transmitted. "Fire on the Gunsniper and
Command Wolf!"

"What?" he heard the Tortoise pilot say, as if she
were not paying attention.

"Shoot them, dammit!" he ordered, fuming.

"Gee, thought you'd never ask."

Johan didn't particularly care which target she shot
at; the Liger Zero was going to catch him eventually.
He had no idea that Zoid could keep up with him, but
suddenly he realized it was the boosters on the beast's
back.

So he's a speed demon, too, eh?

He flipped on the top-mounted missile launchers,
which were oriented skyward. Adjusting the targeting
computer, hoping for a good hit, Johan launched two of
the deadly warheads, and hoped for a miracle.

* * *

"What?!" Bit exclaimed, bringing the Liger Zero to
an emergency halt.

Almost by reflex he bounded the Liger off to the
left, away from the missiles the Sinker fired off into
the air that suddenly fell.

"He's using the missiles like mines," Jamie informed
him.

"So he's sick of this 'follow the leader' game, too,
right?" the pilot decided. "Well, this is the game I
want to play, too! Right, Liger?"

Just as predicted, the Sinker was making a hard
turnabout for a strafe run against the Liger Zero.
Its wing-mounted cannons fired off its deadly gatling
volley, blowing up a dust trail in the ground before
Bit and Liger, but each shot was getting closer each
fraction of a second. He began to power-up the Strike
Laser Claw.

"Now I've got you!" he heard Leena shout.

"What the...?!" Bit cried, and the Liger aborted
the attack to escape the volley of missiles coming his
direction. The explosion rocked him in the cockpit,
and his eyes barely caught the Sinker flying into, and
through, the inferno.

"What's the big idea?!" he shouted, directing his
ire at Leena.

"Missed?!" she yelled in disbelief. "Don't get in my
way, Bit!"

"He's mine!" Bit claimed.

"Not if I get him first!" Leena countered.

"I'll get him!" Brad decided.

Yet the protests were cut short when the heavy
shell landed. The impact of the shell blast the Liger
Zero off its feet and onto its side, knocking Bit
against the cockpit. An even greater fireball sprung
to life, and the radar fritzed for a few seconds. As
he got Liger back to its feet, the radar returned, but
this time with one less friendly.

"I'm down!" Brad yelled.

"My computer's still good," Leena reported. "It's
a little cooked over here."

By now the smoke had cleared somewhat, and Bit
realized that it was the Cannon Tortoise.

"Jamie!" he shouted. "Where's that Cannon Tortoise?"

"I got it," Jamie replied. "It's on the other end of
the battlefield, and it looks like it's getting ready
to fire off another shot."

"Thanks; I'll get the Tortoise." Directing his
attention back to Leena, he added, "The Sinker is yours
if you can catch it!"

"Stay out of my way," she replied. "The Sinker will
sink if I can help it!"

Firing up the Jager's boosters, checking for any
signs of the Sinker, Bit rushed off, hoping to get
the Cannon Tortoise before another shell did something
like fry Liger again.

"I'm with you, partner," he said. "I hate being
shot at like that!"

* * *

"This is kind of pathetic," Shizuka noted, sitting
in the cockpit of the black Backdraft Zoid, monitoring
the battle zone the Whale King was about to breach.

"Trust me, it'll become more interesting in a
moment," Martin assured her. "It is rather fortunate
the Liger Zero is relatively unharmed."

Yeah, and a total luck shot by Chika, at that.
"We'll see about that."

"Remember," the Backdraft officer informed her, "you
will not have the luxury of the ejection system
available to you. Secondly, if you try to attack us
we have armed an explosive device under the seat,
which I can detonate by remote here on the Whale King.
Fight well, and you may live. Do we have an
understanding?"

"Clearly," Shizuka said, nodding slowly. The thought
passed in her mind to open fire while still in the
hangar, but thought better of it; not only would she
take out herself and that jerk Martin, but anyone else
who was unlucky enough to be on the ship, and Shizuka
didn't want that on her conscience when going down.

Yet something about that bomb bugged her.

* * *

"Warning!" the Judge announced. "You are in
violation...."

The white Judge had no time to finish its sentence
when a large, boulder-like black sphere crushed the
capsule like a tin can.

"What?!" Jamie shouted, just as another capsule
landed near where the first judge capsule used to be.

Out from its crater the dark capsule raised, opening
to reveal the familiar Backdraft Dark Judge.

"It's the Backdraft Group!" Jamie informed Bit and
Leena, just as Brad entered the Hover Cargo's bridge.

"This battle has been taken over by the Backdraft
Group!" the Dark Judge declared, just as the black
Whale King descended to the ground.

* * *

"What the hell is this?!" Johan yelled, bringing his
Sinker to a halt.

The Whale King's mouth, the loading ramp of the
airship, opened its toothy maw. As the Dark Judge
droned on, declaring the presence of the Raijin Team,
two black Zoids emerged-- Rev Rapters, each armed with
cannons mounted on their fore claws. The two Rev
Rapters marched down the ramp silently, then moved to
each side to await their leader.

"Stay out of this battle if you know what's good for
you," came a transmission over the comm system.

"That voice," he noted, trying to remember who it
belonged to.

Those thoughts were interrupted by another, a man
Johan was unfamiliar with. "We are the Backdraft
Group. The Raijin Team hereby challenges the Blitz
Team's Liger Zero to a match, one-on-one."

"'One-on-one?'" he heard the Liger Zero's pilot
echo. "Isn't your guys' style 'no rules?'"

"If you refuse, I will destroy each person on this
battlefield until only you are left."

"What?!" Johan exclaimed. "Who the hell do you think
you guys are?"

Both Rev Rapters started firing in his direction, and
it was all Johan could do to minimize the damage by
quickly retreating.

* * *

"Now that's fighting low!" Bit complained. "Fine; I
accept your challenge!"

"Good," the Backdraft officer replied. "And here is
your opponent; you will receive five times the regular
prize money for victory. If you lose, the Liger Zero
is ours."

Both of the Raijin Rev Rapters stepped back into
formation, and Bit knew his opponent was emerging from
the Whale King. The panther-like Zoid, decked out in
black plated armor, strolled down the ramp, acting as
if it owned the world. It came with its standard twin
forward-facing 20mm cannons mounted under the head, but
from there it was obviously heavily-customized.
Mounted on a turret on top of its back was a double-
barreled CP-4, similar to the one Brad used on his
Command Wolf. Mounted to each side were twin beam
cannons, running a cable from the back of the cannons
to the Zoid's power plant. Each of those weapons, too,
were decked in black plated armor.

Bit only saw this type once before, but it was easy
to recognize the familiar Backdraft Group's custom
Stealth Helcat.

"Come on," he shouted, "don't you guys have anything
better than that?"

"The ones you fought before were amateurs," the
Raijin assured him. "This time I've acquired an expert
in stealth units. I believe you've met."

As if on cue, another view screen flickered to life.
As the Raijin commander promised, Bit did recognize
the pilot on the other end. Although it had only been
a few days since they first met in the desert Shizuka
looked incredibly bored and depressed, slouching back
in the pilot seat as if chained down. She removed the
knot from her pony tail, wrapping the chord around her
left hand, across all her fingers.

"You won't believe how many people want to see you
lose," she said bleakly, sounding a bit tired. "Time
to earn my pay."

"Why are you working with the Backdraft Group?!" Bit
demanded.

She shrugged. "Well, the plot sucks, but I'm willing
to do it anyway." She gave the universal hand sign for
'money.' "Shall we begin?"

"Looks like we have no choice, then," he decided.
"Alright, Liger, this should be a piece of cake!"

She doesn't look like she's going to try, Bit
thought. How hard can it be?

* * *

Up periscope, and Kanna was just in time for the Dark
Judge to declare the battle.

"That Helcat is built with a similar thought as the
Stealth Viper," she mused. "Obviously, whoever is in
charge of this Backdraft Group isn't stupid. The
question is, will Shizuka use it to her full advantage,
or hold back?"

Kanna scratched her chin thoughtfully. Although the
Zoid was different the principle was the same; the
stealth models were designed for hit-and-run when on
the offensive. If she guessed correctly, the Helcat
was also equipped with the same secret weapon as the
Stealth Viper.

She moved the periscope to focus on the Whale King,
which, after collecting the two Rev Rapters, was
lifting off. "My Warshark doesn't have the
capabilities to hit things that high in the atmosphere,
but... there is something that can!"

Lowering the periscope, Kanna sat back in her seat,
and scanned for the Cannon Tortoise's position.

* * *

The Helcat pivoted in place as it fired its twin
beam cannons, carving a dust trail right behind the
Liger Zero. Bit felt a rush, understanding that Liger
knew the beam was slowly catching-up. He kicked on the
Jager's thrusters, pulling out ahead of the beam and
continuing in his wide arc around the Helcat.

As Bit expected, the beam cannons could not sustain
such a long burst like that. He guided Liger Zero
toward the center of the circle of destruction, and
powered-up the Strike Laser Claw.

"Playtime's over; now we finish this!" he proclaimed.
"Strike Laser Claw!"

Liger Zero's front claws flared to life, and the
great lion leaped into the air for a mighty swipe. At
the last moment the Helcat jumped backward, allowing
the Liger to smash the ground where it used to be,
kicking up a great cloud of dirt into the air.

"Nuh-uh," he heard from Shizuka. "You'll get dirt
on my armor."

Bit pulled Liger away from the Helcat's line-of-
sight just in the nick of time, unwilling to fall for
the same kind of tricks Jack's Lightning Saix would
pull. As he made his escape the thought crossed his
mind that the Helcat might actually be tuned to be
faster, but discarded the thought, knowing that the
Helcat can't be tuned to go much faster than it's
going already; Liger Zero Jager at its top speed was
already over twice as fast as the fastest Helcat. The
only explanation was the pilot's reflexes were very
good.

On the other hand, if they were really that good,
Shizuka should've hit him by now. Bit snorted
confidently, comforted by the thought that his own
reflexes were faster than hers.

"We'll just have to hit faster, right, Liger?"

* * *

"What the hell are you doing?!" Martin demanded.
"Stop toying with the Liger Zero and defeat it!"

"Or you'll do what, blow me to smithereens?" Shizuka
countered, toggling the 20mm cannons. "Then you'll
definitely lose."

"Use the cloaking field, NOW!" the officer ordered.

"Hey, if I don't tell you how to run your Raijin
Team, then you don't tell your hired gun how to play
the game!" she thundered, taking two more shots at the
fleeing Liger Zero. "I don't need your retarded
cloaking field, OR your fake bomb!"

Shizuka killed the visual link, tired of seeing
Martin's head about to explode. She recalled many
times in the past of Kanna insisting to skip using the
cloaking field on the Stealth Viper and work with
everything else; back then it made absolutely no sense
to Shizuka. Today, however, she understood; it was not
simply to maintain an advantage. The cloaking field
was also a crutch, just as much as having too much
ammunition-- you tend to rely on it even when you don't
need it. She understood why the Backdraft Group never
beat this Liger Zero; they were too stupid to realize
this. The difference between her and their stealth
pilots was that Shizuka didn't need the cloaking field
to win her battles, and, as such, it remained her
advantage.

There was also another issue; if the Liger Zero
was equipped with heat sensors then it wouldn't be
difficult to spot the Helcat. While all Helcats were
designed with heat suppression this Helcat, unlike her
own Stealth Viper, did not have the extensive amount of
heat sinks that effectively masked her presence from
all but the top-of-the-line sensors. Shizuka would not
consider using the cloaking field until she was 100%
certain Bit Cloud wasn't going to see her; it meant the
difference between a successful attack and a dead
merc.

After that, the last major issue was that the
cloaking field merely obscures vision, but not the
Helcat's presence. Unlike the Stealth Viper, which
could 'meld' its shape into its surroundings, the
Helcat was still the same oversized panther it was
when visible. Raising a big dust cloud, for instance,
would help alert the opponent of her presence as the
cloud formed around the Helcat's huge frame. She was
certain Bit Cloud knew this; it was one of her
disadvantages to be fighting out in a loose-sand desert
like this, and she would have preferred a rocky canyon.

The Liger Zero turned for another pass for the Strike
Laser Claw, and Shizuka brought the CP-4 online,
buying time for the beam cannons to recharge fully. It
was her hope that her 'ameteur,' mistaken use of the
beam weapons would prove her edge later. The thought
of ensnaring the Liger Zero into her trap made her
giddy, and suddenly the blood drained from her arms,
replacing it with the same tingling sensation as
before. Shizuka twitched involuntarily at the sudden
change, and her heart beat like a drum.

It took all of her effort to slide her thumb over the
firing trigger, and she gritted her teeth. The
targetting computer registered the Liger Zero into her
firing range, and she squeezed the trigger. One after
another, chain-liked fire, the 20mm cannons and the
CP-4 fired, each hitting wide and very off the Liger.
She cursed herself, trying to regain control of
herself, but her shots continued to fly wide of the
opposing Zoid.

And then the Liger Zero's claws flared to life. In
reflex reaction Shizuka oriented the broad side of the
Helcat toward the attacker, then darted out of the
way as the blue and white beast leaped into the air.

* * *

"Missed again?" Jamie exclaimed, surprised as he
monitored the battle from the Hover Cargo. "The
Helcat can't move that fast!"

"It's actually not," Toros explained, just as Brad
and Leena entered the room. "The Helcat's pilot is
predicting Bit's movements and reacts accordingly."

"Somebody want to explain to me what's the deal
here?!" Bit demanded, his voice over the comm link
betraying a hint of panic.

"Bit, you've got to use the Jager's boosters to help
hit the Helcat before it has a chance to escape,"
Toros suggested. "The Helcat is watching your
movements."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, calming down a bit.
"But if I use the Jager boosters I might overshoot
her." A pause, then Bit continued, "You think we can
do it, Liger? Well, let's give it a shot!"

"There they go again," Brad said, and Bit and Liger
were maneuvering for another pass.

"The Helcat pilot was always given a few seconds
warning every time Bit charged the Strike Laser Claw,"
the leader of the Blitz Team mused, scratching his
chin. "Most people stand around like deer to
headlights on a mountain road, but this one's overcome
that innate fear enough to recognize the danger. So
the only way around that is to force a lapse in
judgment."

* * *

"Geez, you're trying to pull the same crap again?!"
Shizuka muttered, checking to make sure the beam
cannons were full. "Third time's a charm, I guess!"

She oriented the Helcat's forward direction toward
the Liger Zero, but her readings suddenly registered
something Shizuka didn't want to see. "That damn fool
is speeding up?! He'll miss and crash at this
velocity!"

To use the Strike Laser Claw at such high speeds
would require Bit to power them on early. Shizuka
switched the chain-linking of her cannons and set them
to single burst, which would discharge all sets of
cannons at the Liger Zero at once. She had no
intention of backing out of this chicken match-- not
this time.

* * *

Far from the battling feline Zoids Chika monitored
the two Zoids, unsure as to who to root for. Johan
quickly transmitted that the Helcat pilot was
Shizuka, recognizing her voice alone. The thought
confused her and Ayame, as neither of the two girls
imagined their former comrade would pilot anything
other than that snake she cherished like a baby.

Leading herself to the second surprise of the day, as
a new transmission kicked in. "Hello, Chika. Long
time no see."

This time Chika had no doubts about who it was.
"Kanna? What are you doing here? Where are you?"

"I'm not on the Whale King, if that's what you're
asking," Kanna replied. "I'm right under you. I need
a favor to ask you, because I don't have any weapons
on me."

"Still don't have enough money?" she jabbed. "You
guys drive me nuts; you won't sell any of the surplus
Zoids for money and would rather have them sit around
while you eat rice and noodles every day. What good is
having a nice place to live if you have to live there
in poverty again?"

It disgusted Chika that her former teammates, each
coming from families that couldn't afford Zoids and
now suddenly had access to some, chose to live at that
old military bungalow living the same way as they had
before. Mizuki and her followers refused to give up on
anything they found, but Johan got sick of this
attitude. He chose to live nicer even if that meant
camping out in the desert every day. The Stardust
Team was better-off financially for that reason; they
were willing to make sacrifices to live decently, while
the others were crazy enough to remain content as poor
packrats. The Dragoon Nest alone would've commanded
enough money to satisfy their food and weapons needs,
at the very least.

Kanna shook her head. "No, it's not that. I was
supposed to go into town to buy some parts, but I have
to look after Shizuka. She gets in trouble when she's
by herself, you know."

Chika nodded, knowing this to be true. "So you're
cutting me a deal... with a rival?"

"I'm not cutting deals; I'm asking a friend for
help. We aren't rivals."

"Kanna, this is probably going to be my last
battle anyway. What's the use of recruiting me back
onto your team like this when I'm so useless?"

The Spider remained silent. "We've always a place
for you. Ayame and Johan, too. But that's neither
here nor there. Help me, please."

"And what can this stupid bucket do?" Chika
demanded, frustrated with herself. "Cannon Tortoises
are slow and are just big moving cannons; I want
something more... like a Sea Panther."

"A Sea Panther? You're joking; that's practically
the same thing."

The Tortoise pilot shook her head. "Nuh-uh! They
look like hermit crabs, have a really big cannon, a
bunch of other cannon attachment options, and a really
good missile box! They're faster than the Tortoise to
boot!"

Kanna groaned. "Geez... you pirate. Fine, but we'd
have to do some trading...."

"I don't care about the Tortoise; if you get me a
Sea Panther I'll do anything you say."

"Anything?" Kanna echoed in disbelief.

She nodded confidently.

"Well... uh... okay."

* * *

"Let's do it, Liger!" Bit screamed. "Strike Laser
Claw!"

He felt the rush of the boosters propel the Liger
Zero's leap forward. The right claw tore through the
air quickly, and it seemed to Bit that he would hit his
mark; the Helcat wasn't budging.

Then the nasty surprise came for him; the reason the
Helcat stayed put was that it was going to retaliate
this time. All six cannon barrels mounted on the
black panther Zoid fired at once; both beam cannons
fired their stream shots past Liger Zero, but the other
four cannons found their mark. Yet it was not enough
to kill Liger Zero's forward momentum, as the Jager's
boosters continued to propel Bit and Liger forward.
Yet, the impact of the shots was enough to force Liger
to miss its mark, redirecting the attack on the front
left leg to shear the left beam cannon off instead
with Liger's full body.

Crashing into the dirt hard, Liger got up and quickly
shook off the dirt. Bit recovered from the momentary
shock, throwing a look over his shoulder to see the
state of the Helcat. Now minus one beam cannon the
Helcat was now off-balance, putting more weight on the
right side of the frame. While the attack wasn't a
complete success, it wasn't a complete failure, either;
Liger Zero escaped with minor damage.

"Nice shot," he heard Shizuka say, congratulating
Bit. "Too bad it wasn't what you intended."

"You're not so bad yourself, if a bit crazy," Bit
replied.

The girl laughed. "'Crazy?' That's the nicest thing
someone could call it, I suppose." The Helcat turned
to face the Liger Zero. "Now, then, where do we go
from here?"

Another voice interrupted, this one belonging to the
Backdraft Group officer. "What are you doing?!
Destroy the Liger Zero!"

"I think I've wasted enough time here, then,"
Shizuka decided. "Give me everything you've got, Bit
Cloud!" Shizuka cried, and the Helcat suddenly lurched
into motion.

"I hear ya, then," Bit agreed, a smile forming on his
face. Liger Zero rushed to meet the charge.

A great explosion rocked Bit around the cockpit. He
stopped in his tracks, as did the Helcat, and looked up
into the sky, to see that the Whale King's left wing
was smoking.

"Someone's attacking the Whale King?" he said,
surprised.

* * *

"What in the world is going on?!" Marin demanded, as
he was thrown from his command chair.

"We're under attack from an unknown surface
location!" one of the technicians reported. "It's not
coming from the Hover Cargo, or any visible unit
within the general area!"

"Is it the Zoid Battle Commission?" he wondered,
hearing that Altile was wrung into a similar trap
before. "Get us out of here before they shoot us
down!"

"What about the battle?"

"Forget the battle!" Martin yelled, seething. "We
cannot lose the Whale King over this!"

* * *

"There's two!" Chika announced, launching a second
missile into the air. This time the missile hit the
Whale King near its trailing engine, and the great
airship wavered in the sky. Dark smoke poured forth
from each new fissure.

She waited for the third hardpoint to load up, but
the Whale King was already trying to retreat. "That'll
teach you goons to ignore me!"

* * *

Bit's eyes followed the Backdraft Whale King retreat,
followed by the Dark Judge capsule that was withdrawing
from the battle. He sighed; it looked like they
weren't going to get the Backdraft prize money after
all.

"It looks like we'll have to settle this another
time, then," Shizuka said, sounding disappointed.

"Yeah," Bit agreed. "The Dark Judge is gone, and the
regular Judge is out of commission."

The other pilot snorted. "Well, then, until next
time." The Helcat began to leave.

"Wait, Shizuka!" he yelled, trying to get her
attention. "Why were you working with the Backdraft
Group?"

The Helcat stopped in its tracks, and the panther
Zoid's head turned back to look. "Like I said, there
seems to be a number of people who are interested in
defeating you. I've got to go collect my pay, so I'll
be seeing you later-- hopefully, extra rich."

Bit raised an eyebrow, having no idea what the girl
was talking about.

* * *

"She's gotten better," Ayame noted, sitting back
against her Redler's leg. Her eyes moved over to
Johan, who was sitting on top of his Sinker to get a
better view.

"I can't believe she got that thing to move faster
than the Liger Zero," Johan said. "How did she do
that?"

Ayame shrugged. "I don't know; why don't you ask
her?"

Johan sighed, then looked back down at her. "Well,
then, maybe I will. Coming?"

Champ Base, 1000 Hours

The noise of construction workers busying themselves
with repairing the hangar filled the air, as Harry
stared up at the black Helcat that suddenly showed-up.
Behind him, his two robot assistants slowly backed
away, clearing the creature's shadow, as it blotted out
the sun above.

"Harry Champ," Shizuka said sternly, "where's my
money?"

"Money?!" Harry cried. "You didn't beat Bit Cloud
already, did you?"

"'Beat?' Who said anything about defeating the guy;
you agreed to hire me to fight him."

"What? Are you joking?"

He heard the sound of a button press, followed by
a mildly-distorted voice: "And how much are you willing
to pay me to fight him?"

Next came the part Harry wished he didn't remember:
"You'll do it?! Name your price!" The color drained
from his face when he realized what he'd done; Harry
jumped the gun and forgot to be specific.

"Maybe if you fixed-up all our busted Zoids, and
bought me a particle cannon...." Click.

The Helcat's head lowered closer to the ground.
"You can keep the particle cannon; I'll feel bad if I
took that, but the rest stands," Shizuka added. "Well,
then, Mr. Champ?"

Fire Wheel Base, 1500 Hours

Kanna was definitely impressed with Shizuka as Rowan
finished going through their newly-acquired black
Helcat. Shizuka claimed that the Backdraft officer
said there was a bomb on it, then added there wasn't
a bomb. Kanna had to make sure of it before allowing
the Zoid into the hangar. When Rowan came back with
the confirmation, she was relieved.

She was also suprised that Shizuka saw through the
ploy, as often it was either true, or designed to
scare into cooperation-- sometimes both. But then,
Shizuka reasoned, they'd be shooting themselves in the
foot by destroying one of their own units like that.

Silently she watched as Ayame's Redler and Johan's
Sinker arrived. Chika already changed her registration
back to the Fire Wheels, waiting for the Sea Panther
she was promised, and now it was Kanna's task to make
sure to reabsorb the other two members of the Stardust
Team.

It wasn't the rewards from her boss, Mizuki, that
Kanna was after; she felt it necessary to look after
her own teammates.

She watched both Ayame and Johan disembark from their
respective Zoids, approaching her wordlessly.

"Welcome back," she greeted.

"There's rumors going around," Johan replied, a sly
grin on his face, "that you guys have earned a good
sum of money."

"It could only grow larger if we combine our
resources," Kanna added, fully prepared to play the
game of words. "The Stardust Team has done well for
itself since then."

"But not enough to beat the Blitz Team," Ayame
added. "When you guys stole Chika back to your team
we couldn't rematch them from the interrupted battle
this morning."

"Your Redler could use some weapons customs, don't
you think?"

"Yeah, maybe...."

"And Johan; your Sinker can be pushed further. The
Liger Zero's boosters could still overtake you.
Wouldn't it be prudent to buy something more
powerful?"

"Yeah," Johan admitted, "there's this one engine I've
been meaning to install, and.... Wait a minute. Are
you trying to sucker me?"

"We'll get you that engine," Kanna promised, "if we
combine the assets of our Fire Wheel Team with your
Stardust Team. It will be as it was before, only this
time we will be able to keep our weapons and our
lifestyles at the same time. We're going to fight
more aggressively now that we've got this opportunity
given to us. So, the question is, are you with us, or
not?"

The strategist was satisfied to see that Johan and
Ayame paused to consdieration. She was already
certain she hooked Johan, and now it was only Ayame who
could hold out. The reason she never customized the
Redler with cannons was out of pride, but this recent
battle with the Blitz Team proved how ineffective she
could be without a ranged projectile of her own.

"No strings attached?" Ayame asked finally.

Kanna shook her head. "Mizuki's got a surprise for
you guys; it's a new Zoid. Once she's satisfied she
can pilot it, we'll be unstoppable. Until then, we
need you to help bring us the income with which to
complete it."

At last, she knew she had Ayame hooked. "Well, if
you put it that way, count me in."

Backdraft Group HQ, 2100 Hours

Colonel Martin did not like standing in the presence
of the elite heads of the Backdraft Group. The dark
hall was devoid of all illumination save one-- the one
light beating down over his head. The shadowy heads of
the organization remained in the darkness, and Martin
hated that; he would rather know who to hate by seeing
them rather than go on ear alone.

His reasoning for being there was simple: "Why did
you allow the Helcat to be stolen?"

For that, Martin could give no explanation. He could
take any demotion and loss of prestige for the Raijin
Team; that girl, and the Liger Zero, however, would
have to pay.

-----------------------------------------------

Author's Rant

Another chapter from the Bad Guy Writer. Yes, the
Stealth Viper's secret weapon is a cloaking field, as
was alluded to in the first, and now in this, chapter.
It isn't used for that given reason; you could call it
personal handicap but it really isn't. Not only that
but I am also trying to portray its pilot as having a
nervous problem despite how good she is. I am not
happy with Anime simply stating that somebody is
'excited' about the battle, because there is more to it
than that; there's a certain exhilaration that goes
with it, the fear of losing, the thrill of battle, and
of course that certain numbness that seems to occur at
the wrong times, such that you have to force yourself
to keep moving. It's a strange feeling.

The Raijin Team is made up, and so is Colonel
Martin. It didn't feel right to have Altile or some
random flunky do these things.

-- Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

	3. Endgame

Zoids: Call of the Fire 3

Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Zoids, I am
borrowing the names, settings, etc. under fair use and
without making a profit. This work cannot be sold for
profit or retransmitted and reposted without my express
permission.

Continuity: After the Royal Cup takes place.

------------------------------------------------

Wasteland, 1500 Hours, Day 1

The great, lobster-like Dragoon Nest served as the
mobile command base of the Fire Wheel Team-- eight
strong in number, of great skill. For a while it
looked as if such a promising, large team would drop
out of Class A due to lack of accumulating points in
battle, but after their successful upset against the
Blitz Team their battles have been going up in
frequency.

Mizuki, leader of the Fire Wheels, sat back in her
command chair behind her station on the bridge,
watching eagerly as her warriors defeated Zoid after
Zoid. The Royal Cup competition, the event which all
Class A teams aspired to conquer to move on into Class
S, was within reach, after many years of waiting and
planning. Although the Fire Wheels was made up of
eight Zoids only four, by regulation, could compete in
actual battles during the event, and it was with
careful thought that she chose her four most able
warriors to fight: Shizuka the Silencer, in her Stealth
Viper; Kanna the Spider, in her burrow-modified
Warshark; Johan, in his mach-speed modified Sinker;
Rowan 'Ziel', in his polished Storm Sworder. The
others-- Chika, Ayame, and Shion 'Warlock'-- remained
on board the Dragoon Nest as support crew.

The battle has gone on for most of the day; the Zoid
Battle Commission required that a team win a grand
total of five battles before the location of the goal
could be revealed. To that end, at the start of the
competition Mizuki paired-off Johan and Ziel, then
Kanna and Shizuka, mainly because their Zoids
complemented each other well. The Sinker and Storm
Sworder pair had already picked-off three battles on
their own without suffering too much damage, while the
Warshark and Stealth Viper pair was in the midst of
their second battle. Admittedly, though, the Warshark
was doing very little work, serving as a mobile
tactical supplement for the Stealth Viper.

Kanna in particular was a vicious strategist; when
she encountered the Wolf Team, consisting of three
Command Wolves, she and Shizuka forced down two of
them and made the third one flee the field, allowing it
to escape. The third Command Wolf stopped once it was
convinced it was away from the opponents and Judges,
but Kanna and Shizuka dogged it into running into one
of the Judge circles, and now they intended to put the
poor Zoid out of its misery.

She watched on the monitor as the Stealth Viper
purposefully revealed itself to the Command Wolf. As
predicted the Wolf's attentions were fully on the
singular threat, as it started to turn and fire at the
snake's direction. Shizuka squeezed off several pulse
laser shots for good measure, just as the burrowed
Warshark began to surface.

It was over in a few seconds; one Command Wolf was
no match for two hit-and-run guerilla units.

"Congratulations," Mizuki aired over the comm. "We
are receiving the coordinates from the Judge."

"We're recalling the other team," Warlock added,
sending notice to Johan and Ziel. "Um... Boss, we've
got a problem."

Mizuki's attention perked up. "What?"

"The goal location is in the opposite direction from
where we're headed. If we don't get there fast enough
someone closer is going to beat us," he reported.

Losing her calm composure, she slammed her fist on
top of the desk. "No!" she seethed. "We were this
close!" Taking a deep breath, she said, "Ping the ZBC
and see if anyone's won yet."

The technician shook his head. "Nope, not yet. But
we'd better get a move on. I'm sending Johan and Ziel
ahead to the goal point; they can get there faster."

She nodded. "Do it. I haven't gone through four
years of training just to have the Royal Cup snatched
away from me again!"

Wasteland, 1600 Hours

It was already too late.

The bridge of the Dragoon Nest was completely
silent, save for the constant hum of machinery. The
eyes of the five gathered warriors were on Mizuki when
Ziel and Johan reported that the Blitz Team had already
claimed the Royal Cup, narrowly defeating the Backdraft
Group's entry.

She kept her head low, in a futile attempt to hide
her tears. Mizuki was no stranger to defeat, but it
was nothing like the total defeat handed to her four
years ago, in the previous Royal Cup; this time her
team had a chance. This time her team was ready. This
time, she was robbed of victory.

Over her thoughts, Shizuka, one of the veteran team
members from that time, said, "I'm sorry."

Mizuki sighed, then wiped her eyes with her left
arm. Slowly, she raised her head. No, not all of them
knew of the humiliating defeat of four years ago, but
they did feel the heavy weight of the loss, just as
much as she did. Even Ziel, poker-faced as ever on the
main monitor, seemed to express his understanding.

"We're not taking this lying down," she announced,
swallowing her emotions. "I cannot accept that the
Blitz Team-- a team younger and more inexperienced than
us-- has won."

"I'm with you," Shizuka voiced, ever supportive of
her mentor.

The others nodded in agreement.

"The Blitz Team may claim Class S," Kanna stated,
"but that doesn't mean we can't still fight them if
they agree to it." She walked over to one of the
consoles. "Shall I put it through to the ZBC?"

Mizuki nodded. "In this situation, there's only one
thing that'll satisfy me, and that won't be a three-on-
three battle."

The strategist looked back at her, surprised.
"You're not seriously considering using the Death
Stinger, are you?"

"There's a time for ethics, and a time to set them
aside," the boss replied. "Its power prevented me from
entering it into battle before, but now, I don't feel
that restriction holding me back anymore. It has been
six years in the making, but I think now it's time to
show the world the power of the Fire Wheels."

Toros Base, 1900 Hours, Day 2

Despite the fact that the Blitz Team was still in
debt, they wasted no expenses in throwing a party.

Steve Toros, the leader of the team, took the
opportunity to step aside from the party to take a
call. Sitting down at his desk, he turned on the
video phone.

At the other end was a young woman, around twenty-
five years of age. He vaguely remembered the face.
"Congratulations, Blitz Team, on your victory in the
Royal Cup."

"You're the leader of the Fire Wheels, right?" Toros
remembered. Assuming airs, he replied, "I appreciate
the gesture, really!"

Yet the woman did not look as if she were sharing the
jovial air. "The Zoid Battle Commission has approved
our request-- our team against yours."

Instantly, Toros cast the jokes aside, realizing she
was serious. "A battle... already? Your team is only
in Class A; there's not enough incentive to accept your
challenge."

"Oh yes you do," the Fire Wheel replied, holding up a
data card. "The Commission has approved an all-out
battle royale-- all of our team against all of your
team. Feel free to invite others into your ranks, up
to a maximum of eight warriors per team. I assure you
we've already filled that quota; it is up to you to
fill in the rest."

That caught his interest immediately. "When you put
it that way...."

"The battle starts in three day's time at these
coordinates," she added, transmitting data across the
line. "Know this: you may have won the Royal Cup, but
you still aren't the best."

* * *

"You WHAT?!"

Each of the four warriors making up the Blitz Team's
fighting force had their turn to yell and protest at
Toros' decision, killing the party mood.

"We haven't been in Class S for a day and we're
already fighting a Class A?" Brad said in disbelief.
"Give me a break."

"It'd figure they'd be jealous," Bit added, feigning
calmness.

"Doc," complained Jamie, "we haven't even fixed all
our equipment yet!"

"Well, it is in three days..." Toros excused,
twiddling his fingers. "And the prize money is three
times the usual for such a prestigious match...."

"Dad," Leena added, "we don't even have that many
people? Where are we going to find four more people on
such short notice?"

"And that is why I volunteer the Champ Team!" came a
familiar voice. Harry Champ jumped out, causing Leena
to jump herself in surprise.

"Harry, when did you get here?" Bit asked.

"Whenever there's something my dear, sweet Leena
might want, I'll always be there!" Harry proclaimed.

Leena laughed nervously, waving him away slowly.
"That's not what I had in mind...."

"We could ask Naomi and Leon to help," Brad
suggested.

Instantaneously, Leena's expression changed into
excitement. "That's right! With Leon on our team,
we'd be unbeatable."

"Even if we did get them, that means we're still
short two people..." Bit said.

"Wait, don't you mean 'one?'" Harry interrupted.

"Come on, Harry," the other warrior said, "it's not
like... well...."

"So, you don't think I'm good enough for her, Bit
Cloud?!" Harry yelled, angry. "By this time tomorrow,
you'll be begging me to help you!"

All eyes watched as Harry rushed out. Leena blinked.
"What was that all about?"

Toros Base, 1700 Hours, Day 3

"Well, you've got to hand it to Harry," Bit said,
standing outside the hangar with the rest of his
teammates, "he sure knows how to throw money around."

Harry Champ laughed to himself, obviously proud of
what lay in the hangar of his Whale King. Lined-up in
neat rows were weapons-- each custom for any Zoid
imaginable, from pulse lasers to hyper cannons. Beyond
that were missiles of varying hardpoints, bundled
together neatly and polished for presentation.

In other words, he knew exactly how to win both Doc
Toros and his daughter.

"All of this can be at your disposal if only you give
me this one chance to fight side-by-side with my dear
Leena!" Harry proclaimed.

Toros leaned to whisper to his daughter. "I think
you should take it."

"This could help solve a lot of our problems," Brad
added, knowing the ammo stockpile was more than enough
to coerce Leena.

"But... with Harry?!" Leena complained.

"It's not like he hasn't done this before, so you
should be used to it by now," Bit added.

"We do want to win, right?" Toros added.

"Even if Harry's not that good we can put some of
those weapons to good use," Jamie said, joining the
bandwagon.

"Okay," Leena said, talking to herself, "what's just
one little battle with Harry compared to all the ammo
I want?" Her face reddened at the thought. "How can I
say 'no' to all that ammo?"

Warriors' Bar, 1400 Hours, Day 4

"So that's what it's like, huh," Leon said, taking a
sip from his coffee mug, his attention full on Bit,
seated across the circular table from him. "You guys
are asking me to come back now."

"Well, you don't have to come back permanently," Bit
explained. "We're just asking for your guys' help."

To Leon's left, Naomi Fluegel, seemed interested. "I
think this could be a good change of pace. It's not
often you can have such a large team battle like this."

"I don't know," Leon admitted. "The Blitz Team
doesn't feel as if it's my team anymore. It's your
team, Bit; the team you lead to Class S."

"It's not like you didn't help or anything," the
other warrior said. "You're a great warrior; I'd love
to fight alongside with you, even if it's just once.
Besides, Doc and Leena are excited to have you back."

Leon chuckled, closing his eyes as to recall the
memories of times past. "Yeah, I know." Gathering
himself, he added, "Tell you what, Bit. I'll join you
guys this one time. If after that time I don't wish to
remain, you'll allow me to walk away."

"Well, it's not my position to...." Bit shrugged.
"Ah, what the hey." He extended his hand. "Good to
have you aboard, Leon!"

* * *

"That's a shame," Jack Sisko, mercenary Zoid pilot of
the Lightning Saix said, "my plans include staying with
the Lightning Team for a while."

Across from him was Harry Champ, a former client.
"Remember last time when you said you'd fight another
battle for me for free? I'm calling in that favor."

Jack smiled. "Oh? You aren't planning on fighting
the Blitz Team, are you? They're way beyond your
league now."

Harry shook his head. "It's not that; I'm asking you
to fight for them."

That caught the warrior's curiosity. "Oh really? I
think they're capable enough, don't you think?"

The richman slid a data card across the table. "The
Zoid Battle Commission approved of a battle royale
between the Blitz Team and the Fire Wheel Team. An
eight-on-eight battle with no restrictions. Naturally
my dear Leena asked for my help, and I want to make
sure I fulfill her trust!"

Jack whistled. "So, you're doing this for a girl,
huh? I guess this is your lucky day, then. Sure, I'll
win this battle for you, this one time." He picked up
the data card, and punched a few keys. "That's a good
amount of money going around there."

A few seconds later, alarm struck him. "They can't
be serious."

Harry leaned closer. "What is it, Jack?"

"Did any of you see what the Fire Wheels have
registered?" he asked, putting on a serious tone. "As
expected they asked for a team limit of eight because
that's the number of warriors they have total. Their
registrations have been updated only a couple days ago.
They're using some serious hardware here."

Harry leaned back, perplexed. "I don't see how that
can be a problem...."

"I'll still fight, there's no mistake about it," he
assured Harry. "I want to see what this infamous
'Death Stinger' can do first-hand."

"'Death Stinger?' I thought all of those were
destroyed."

"Not according to the Zoid registry. The Fire Wheels
have a Death Stinger of their own. If it's anywhere
near complete as those Geno Saurers were the other day,
we might have our work cut out for ourselves."

Undisclosed Location, 2000 Hours

Ever since the event, a few days prior, when the Zoid
Battle Commission destroyed all the Backdraft Group
Judge Satellites, the Backdraft Group has been
scattered to the winds. While the Zoid Battle
Commission ordered the immediate surrender of all
Backdraft operatives, many elected to take flight, and
many of them were in hiding. That was more than they
could say for the top brass: people such as Altile were
in custody. The Berserk Fury and the Geno Saurers were
confiscated, and many of the other Zoids were lost in
the confusion.

For Colonel Martin of the Backdraft Group's Raijin
Team, it was like becoming a fugitive. He was annoyed
that the top brass would dare to attack the Zoid Battle
Commission head-on during the Royal Cup battles, and
disappointed that it brought the organization's
downfall. Now as a 'resistance cell leader,' Martin
felt as if it were his duty to somehow bring prestige
back to the outcast Backdraft Group.

Beside the sudden lack of equipment, there was also
the unmistakable lack of funding. The shadowy backers
of the Backdraft organization vanished whence they
came; their greedy gambling habits and high society
bluster took flight the moment things started to look
bad. While it was very likely those same people
wouldn't mind funding another organization like the
Backdraft Group, Martin realized, if he wanted to keep
the organization clean, he would have to do some of the
important tasks himself.

Before the organization's fall Altile was charged
with obtaining an Ultimate X Zoid for the Backdraft
Group; with such a Zoid financial backing would be a
non-issue, and clients' faith in the organization would
effectively become unwavering. The Liger Zero and the
Berserk Fury were both Ultimate X Zoids; the Zoid had
to be exceptional in every way.

Which is why the Fire Wheels suddenly caught his
interest. Before, Martin kept tabs on the Zoid team,
as one of its members stole a Helcat from his team. By
sheer luck, a possible Ultimate X may have fallen into
his lap-- a new Death Stinger model, probably found in
the Fire Wheels' base somewhere. It was obviously a
well-kept secret if they've had the Zoid for so long;
Martin wondered why they hadn't used it until now. It
probably could have won the Royal Cup for them.

"I've only heard legends and folk tales about the
Death Stinger," he murmured. "It is said to be a
fantastic beast if used in the correct hands; its tail-
mounted particle beam cannon was extremely potent. In
one tale, it was launched into outer space, orbiting
the planet, and the cannon incinerated an entire city."

He raised a clenched fist. "I would have that power
if it means restoring the organization!"

Battle Zone, 0800 Hours, Day 5

The Zoid Battle Commission deployed four Judge
capsules to the battlefield that morning, as the one-
hundred mile radius battle area needed good coverage on
all sides. In particular it was difficult for one
Judge to keep track of sixteen Zoids at once for such a
large area. The battlefield itself was divided into
four quadrants, one under the jurisdiction of each
judge, centered at their respective quadrants with
little overlap.

The first quadrant, taking up the northwest area,
consisted of rocky canyons. It was expected that most
of the battle would take place at the bottom of the
network of canyons, and whoever got to the high ground
would have the area covered. There were also plenty of
places to hide.

The second quadrant, in the northeast area, continued
the rocky canyons, but tapered-off into the wasteland.
Rocky outcroppings still dominated here and there, but
it was not as dense as the canyon itself.

Directly to the south of the second quadrant was the
third, a vast expanse of wasteland, nearly all flat.
It was expected that many of the high-speed battles
would take place in this area, as it was the most open
space available.

Finally, the fourth quadrant in the southwest area
housed a mostly-open stone ruin, believed to formerly
be a city lying against the canyon in the north.
Although there was much open area here as well there
is also a number of craters dipping below the
foundations, where one could easily become trapped and
disabled. Such unfavorable ground made this the area
least likely to be traversed.

In the Royal Cup the Fire Wheels were one of the
favored teams to win the tournament, but it was the
Blitz Team, who upset many favorite picks, that won.
Warriors everywhere flocked to bars and stadiums to
catch what was termed the 'Rematch' battle, so soon
after the Royal Cup concluded. This time it was the
Blitz Team that was favored to win, as word spread
around fast that they gathered the strongest of
warriors to participate in the battle on their behalf.

Early on the Blitz Team agreed to the Fire Wheels'
choice of battleground; it essentially gave the Fire
Wheels a 'home' advantage, as they knew the battle
terrain better. In fact, the Fire Wheels already
deployed their Zoids in each of the four quadrants
before the battle started, while the Blitz Team and its
allies were only entering from the third quadrant. So,
as many expected, the initial three hours or so would
be a game of hide-and-seek, despite the fact that the
Dragoon Nest was deployed at the edge of the second
quadrant.

It was a fairly impressive gathering of Zoids for the
Blitz Team: two Ligers, one the Liger Zero, armed with
its Jager armor, and a red Blade Liger. Two
Gunsnipers, one red, one blue with a heavy arms
loadout. A teal Raynos, a black Shadowfox, and a dark
Lightning Saix, then finally a black Darkhorn. For the
most part each of the Zoids retained their usual
loadout, but Harry arranged for ammunition depots to
be set up around the battlefield when necessary, as
the battle was expected to be long. The only obvious
waypoint was the Blitz Team Hover Cargo; the rest the
Fire Wheels had to find and capture, if they could.

It was expected that the Fire Wheels, who own at
least three aerial Zoids, would put a lot of pressure
on the Raynos. If pattern followed, however, only the
Storm Sworder and Salamander would join such an aerial
dance, as the Redler usually remained near the ground.
However, none of those were detected in the air, making
it obvious that they were still on the ground
somewhere.

"So, are we splitting up, or sticking together?"
Naomi asked, breaking the silence.

"Splitting up," answered Jamie. "Stick with the plan
for now," he added.

"Right," the other warrior replied.

* * *

"They're splitting up, as expected," Kanna reported,
broadcasting her transmission on the Fire Wheels'
personal frequency, her eyes on her custom periscope.
"Looks like... both Ligers and the Raynos are heading
for Q2. The Shadowfox and Lightning Saix are heading
for Q4, and the Darkhorn and two Gunsnipers for Q1."

"Good," Mizuki replied. "Let the Shadowfox, Saix,
and both Ligers go; pick off the Gunsnipers and
Darkhorn before they get to the canyon, if you can.
Don't get too reckless; you're on your own right now."

"I hear you," she said, retracting the periscope.

Relaxing against the seat Kanna waited silently
below the earth as the blips for the Blitz Team and
friends dwindled down to the slower Zoids. It was a
very sound strategy to supplement each of the Zoids in
such a manner; it was only her luck of the draw that
the Spider would have to deal with the three most
armed Zoids on the battlefield. If she wasn't careful,
while Kanna was taking out one Zoid the other two could
pop her.

She called up a tactical readout on her console,
then determined she ought to take her chances against
the red Gunsniper. Its pilot was a crack shot sniper,
and, if Kanna wasn't careful, she could take her out in
one shot. That is, if the Warshark even allowed her to
get into a sniping position. The other two relied
heavily on ammo consumption to get their way, and Kanna
wagered they were lousy shots.

She hoped.

* * *

The attack came without warning as the red
Gunsniper's left leg fell into a sinkhole, throwing
the Zoid off-balance and onto its side. The other two
pilots became alert.

"It's got to be the Warshark," Leena explained, her
eyes scanning the sandy field.

"There's such things as Warsharks with burrow
modifications?" Naomi wondered, trying to get her Zoid
upright again.

"It's here!" Harry cried.

Sure enough, as Leena was accustomed to the sort of
attack by now, a black-armored Warshark burst out of
the sand, into the air, attacking with the morning sun
against its back. Trusting the targeting computer to
do the work for her Leena fired off several missiles in
the enemy Zoid's direction, squinting. However, the
computer did not register any hits.

She heard a loud cry from Harry, and it was apparent
that the Warshark was taking this opportunity to taking
out his Darkhorn. Several explosions erupted from the
missiles launched from the pod on the fish's back, each
hitting the Darkhorn in all the vital spots-- its legs.

A wave of sand tossed against the cockpit window, and
Leena knew the Warshark burrowed again.

"Whoever that is," Naomi said, her Zoid's leg free of
the sinkhole, "sure has this hit-and-run thing down."

"I'm okay, Leena my sweet!" Harry declared. "My
Darkhorn suffered moderate damage, but don't worry!
I'm okay!"

"Great," Leena muttered. She waited several
heartbeats. "So why isn't the Warshark attacking
again?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the other Gunsniper pilot said.
"That warrior is taking his time on us, probably soften
us up for whatever else we run into."

"You've got to be kidding."

"At least, that's what I'd do if I were the Warshark
pilot."

* * *

Kanna called up the Darkhorn's technical readout.
"Although it's heavily modified with more weapons and
maneuverability, the Darkhorn wasn't designed to carry
the amount of weight it's hauling around." She
magnified the support mechanisms on each of its four
legs, with red areas marking the areas which she hit
earlier. "If I let nature run its course, the Darkhorn
will fall over by itself in less than an hour, provided
it keeps up this marching pace."

She sat back against her chair. "The blue Gunsniper
knew where I was attacking from; I'm going to have to
watch out for both of them, it seems."

Quadrant 2, 0900 Hours

"Things are too quiet," Bit complained.

"They're likely planning an ambush," Leon agreed.
Directing his attention to Jamie, he asked, "Do you see
anything from up there?"

"Nothing," the Raynos pilot answered. "The Dragoon
Nest is nearby, and it... wait a minute. It's
launching the Storm Sworder!"

"Just the Storm Sworder?" Bit asked, confused. "I'd
have thought they'd have the Redler and Salamander
along with it."

"That means whatever the Storm Sworder is being sent
here to support, it's on the ground with us!" Leon
realized.

As if to punctuate on that fact, a large explosion
threw both Ligers onto their sides, a huge crater
replacing the dirt that stood between the two.

"We're being shelled," Bit knew. "It came from the
west!"

"It's probably hiding out in the canyon," Leon
guessed. "Seems we're going to have to come to them,
doesn't it?"

"I'll take care of the Storm Sworder," Jamie said.
"You guys should go after the mortar unit."

"Gotcha," replied Bit.

Quadrant 1, 0900 Hours

"I'd think you'd want to fire up their nose, not
across it," Shizuka noted, transmitting her comm to the
Sea Panther.

The hermit crab-like Zoid Sea Panther, armed with a
plasma mortar on its back, craned down a couple
degrees. "That was only a warning shot," Chika, the
pilot, assured the Stealth Viper pilot.

"You missed," the other warrior insisted.

"Well, it's not like you're doing any better. Crawl
back under whatever rock you're hiding under, and I'll
deal with the Ligers."

"Yeah, right. As if a mortar could take out the top
Zoid in the Royal Cup."

"Knock it off, you two," Mizuki said, cutting in.
"Not only are the Ligers heading your direction, but so
are the two Gunsnipers. Kanna took out the Darkhorn,
but she's not nailing those other two fast enough."

"So you want me to go get 'em?" Shizuka asked.

"Remain where you are; lure them into your den, not
lure yourself out of it," the leader of the Fire Wheels
insisted. "This story's only beginning; no need to
throw yourselves recklessly before the climax."

Quadrant 4, 0900 Hours

The Shadowfox and Lightning Saix tread carefully over
the ancient stone grounds of the ruins, careful not to
break a hole into the ancient sewer system. Ancient
ruins such as this was an unpopular location for Zoid
battles because one false step could knock a Zoid
enough to freeze the computer system. Some people
attributed this to shoddy engineering of Zoids in
general, while others attributed it to the operating
system, but one thing that was agreed upon, it happened
quite frequently when falling in ruins.

"Those Fire Wheels must've been crazy to pick this
area as a battlefield," Brad complained. "It's as
much of a hazard to them as it is for us."

"They're certainly not amateurs," Jack warned. "I
wouldn't take their choice of field lightly."

A strong heat source registered on their computers,
and both warriors guided their Zoids away from a
powerful heat jet leveled at them. Without anything
around to burn the flames quickly died, disappearing as
suddenly as it appeared.

Tracking with his computer, Brad shouted, "Salamander
nearby using its flamethrower! Three o'clock!"

Sure enough, the blue dragon Zoid's neck craned out
from the hole where it had been hiding, large enough to
conceal itself, and, most likely, also large enough for
it to take off at a given instant. The Salamander's
jaw opened wide, spewing another flame jet in the
Shadowfox's direction, threatening to overheat the
Zoid's systems.

"Pretty bold of you to take us on, two-on-one!" Jack
said, swinging the Lightning Saix around for a shot.

Twin beams lanced across Jack's path, and the warrior
tore his eyes from his target long enough to recognize
the Salamander's backup: the violet Redler, mounted
with twin pulse cannons, having emerged from its own
hiding hole.

"I'd say this'd even the odds," Ayame, the Redler
pilot, said.

Jack snorted. "Interesting. You think you can keep
up with my Lightning Saix?"

"Jack, behind you!" Brad warned.

Just in the nick of time the Lightning Saix leaped
forward, then broke off in a sprint as a third attacker
appeared-- the Sinker-- from behind.

"Nope," Johan said, "I'll be the one that dances the
highway with you!"

"Hmph, three-on-two now, huh?" Brad noted, amused.
"I didn't know I was that popular."

Dust kicked up quickly as the Salamander took off
from its hiding hole, and Brad took the opportunity to
flip on the Shadowfox's smokescreen generators, hoping
to make the opponents lose him in all the smoke. He
kept an eye on the Redler, knowing he would have to
take that out while Jack took care of the Sinker.

It was then obvious why the Fire Wheels chose to duke
it out in this terrain: none of the three Zoids had to
deal with setting foot on the ground if they had to.
The Redler was equally adept at fighting on all fours
or in low-level flight, the Sinker hovered, and the
Salamander's strength relied on its flight abilities.

That only made the battle more interesting.

Quadrant 2, 0900 Hours

The Blitz Team Raynos was within his sights as the
Storm Sworder rocketed toward its aerial adversary.
Ziel could barely contain his excitement at the thought
of getting revenge against the so-called Wild Eagle who
forced them into a draw the last encounter.

In his mind's eye he remembered frantically pulling
up on the stick as the ground became larger in the
cockpit, desperately trying to avoid a straight nose-
dive plummet. Ziel barely escaped with his life, as
he only remembered the Storm Sworder's nose scraping
against the ground, and forcing him to flip over
several times. He remembered, by the time he woke up,
that his Zoid was upside-down, and the paint was
scratched everywhere.

He ground his teeth together, formulating plans in
his mind that would bring the Raynos to a similar fate.

"Raynos pilot," he broadcast, "this is your
adversary! My Storm Sworder is itching to take a bite
out of you."

The other end came up with the cockpit view of the
same guy, yet, somehow, he looked different. "Excuse
me?" he said.

"It took me a week to repaint this sucker," Ziel
continued, "and another to polish it! Every moment of
it was spent thinking of ways I could make you suffer
the same fate!"

Yet the kid on the other end looked like he had no
idea what Ziel was talking about, and seemed ready to
panic. Killing the transmission, Ziel found himself
already in strike range. He thumbed the console for
two light rockets, and waited for the tracking ping.
The moment the Raynos was locked-on, he fired.

Already the Raynos was banking away from the two
missiles, and the chase began. Ziel kicked on the
afterburners, moving out ahead of the rockets to take a
few shots of his own, confident the radar tracking
would maintain lock on the opposing Zoid.

He powered on the wing blades of the Storm Sworder,
rolling the stick for a sideways, vertical slash
against the Raynos. Disappointed that the Raynos was
making straight line escapes, Ziel kicked the
afterburners on and dove for the left wing. He felt
the satisfactory grind of his left wing into the
Raynos' wing, followed by the dual impact of the two
missiles.

Glancing out the cockpit, the Raynos was spiraling
downward toward the ground, just as predicted in the
best case scenario of the simulator.

"This is rather disappointing," he muttered. "I
expected more of a challenge."

Yet, when he was ready to write-off the Raynos to
plummet to its doom, it suddenly started to recover
from the death dive despite damage to its left wing and
engine. Smoke trailing behind, the Raynos pulled up
and away from the ground below, then shot back up on
afterburners.

"Thought you could count me out that easily?" the
familiar, cocky voice of the Raynos pilot said.
"You've had your fun, and now it's my turn!"

Ziel snorted. "Foolish; you're not going to beat me
crippled like that, kid! Once you're out of
afterburner fuel, you're history!"

"Heh, guess I have to finish this quick," the Wild
Eagle replied, unfazed.

"It takes more than guts to win this battle!" Ziel
screamed angrily. He lined up the Raynos' ascent with
his gatling cannon, and squeezed the trigger.

Already moving at its top speed the Raynos could do
little to avoid getting pelted by the shots, yet the
Storm Sworder had to compensate greatly each moment to
maintain line of shot. The teal Zoid shot up and out
of firing range, looping over Ziel's head for a shot in
the rear. Getting a taste of his own medicine the
Raynos unloaded its own hail of bullets, and Ziel spun
the Storm Sworder off to the right to avoid the shots.

"Ameteur!" Ziel cried, killing the thrusters and
pulling the stick back.

The Storm Sworder initiated a steep climb for which
the Raynos was unprepared for, and shot past
underneath. Ziel pushed the stick forward, only having
to wait two heartbeats for the lock-on ping before
unleashing a heavier missile.

Although sluggish, the heavy missile propelled much
faster than the lighter missiles used earlier, and
easily caught up with the Raynos. The Zoid's engine
erupted into flame, and Ziel was certain this time the
enemy wasn't going to get another extension on life.

Quadrant 3, 1000 Hours

"Leena, wait up!" Harry shouted.

Both Naomi and Leena looked back toward Harry's
Darkhorn, lagging behind in formation. Although it
looked to be in fine shape before, slowly, before their
eyes, the Darkhorn collapsed under its own weight, and
it pitifully dragged itself along the ground. Now,
however, it seemed that it could go no further.

"Geez, you're hopeless," Leena said, turning her
Gunsniper around. "If it wasn't for the fact that the
Judge didn't disqualify you we'd leave you behind."

"You know," Naomi added, "some people think it's
merciful to put a dying animal out of its misery."

"T..that's cruel!" Harry protested.

"Maybe, but this is even crueler!" replied an
unidentified voice.

"It's the Warshark!" Leena warned, alerted.

This time the black fish burst out of the ground from
behind the Darkhorn, using their own teammate as cover
for an attack. Naomi froze for a second, but Leena was
on the ball, firing both her gatling cannons without
hesitating, over Harry's protests. She felt a few
impacts against her own Gunsniper, but as light as they
were Leena knew it wasn't the missile box this time.
Sand rained over her cockpit window once again, this
time directly in front of her. She felt the Gunsniper
sink into the sinkhole slightly, but soon the hole
plugged itself up.

"I know I got her that time," she said.

"Remind me why we're on the same team?" Naomi asked.

"Oh, come on!" Leena protested. "Harry in the way
is only good reason for them to attack us that way!"

"Leena, I understand," Harry said, seemingly sure of
himself.

"Sure of what?" she asked.

"I'm only holding you back like this," he replied.
"I can't stand the thought that I would be at fault if
you lost this match, so you should go ahead without
me."

"Harry...."

"Mighty noble of you," Naomi noted. Pulling the
Gunsniper away, she added, "See you."

As Leena's Gunsniper followed suit, Harry lost his
composure. "Hey, wait! Aren't you going to give me a
good-bye kiss?"

"Bye, Harry," Leena purred. "Take care of the
Warshark for us."

Hearing the sound of her heavenly voice, Harry
mellowed out instantly. "Anything for the pursuit of
love...."

Seconds later, the Warshark surfaced, and put the
Darkhorn out of its misery.

Quadrant 4, 1000 Hours

The Shadowfox leaped into the air at the oncoming
Redler, ignoring its laser fire, and dove with its
left Strike Claw. Metal tore through metal as the
Redler passed quickly through the path of the strike,
ripping armor away like a can opener. Landing hard on
the stone, Brad quickly spared a glance backward, glad
to see that the Redler was smoking on its right side
and losing control.

"The Redler's bugging out," Brad informed Jack. "Now
for the Salamander!"

Destruction rained from the heavens, hailing bombs
all around the Shadowfox. Bracing himself, the
warrior knew the Salamander had missed him, but when
the ground started to give way underneath the
Shadowfox he knew the aerial threat did that on
purpose.

* * *

"Damn Shadowfox," Ayame cursed. "I'm heading back
for the Dragoon Nest."

"I think I got it," Shion said. "I can't tell from
all the dust, though."

"That's nice," Johan replied, "but how about nailing
the Lightning Saix while you're at it?"

Bringing the Salamander about, Shion answered, "I'm
coming."

An explosion rocked the flying dragon, and the
warrior knew he was under attack. "God dammit, the
Shadowfox is still functional."

Several more shots fired from the middle of the dust
cloud where the Shadowfox disappeared earlier, each
taking good hits at the Salamander's fragile wings--
its obvious weak spot for such a heavy Zoid. Cursing
his luck Shion brought the blue dragon into descent,
pulling back against the stick for a controlled
landing.

* * *

Jack regarded the Sinker as both his and the opposing
Zoid sped across the ruin. He had no idea that a
Sinker could have such a high thrust as to keep up with
him, and he considered ramming its wing to tip it off
balance. Such an action would probably kill the pilot,
however, and it simply wasn't Jack's style.

The only true advantage the manta ray Zoid had was
that it didn't have to rely on contact with the
ground, and that was offset by its poor balance. The
Lightning Saix's guns only fired forward, which meant
Jack had to get the Sinker ahead of him somehow. The
other guy looked as if he had no intention of giving up
on this pissing contest.

Smirking, Jack braked the Lightning Saix, and the
Sinker zoomed on ahead.

"Right on target," he said, lining up the Sinker in
his sights and firing.

* * *

The other Fire Wheels called him 'Warlock' because
at times he seemed to weave miracles like magic, but
Shion felt at a loss as the situation deteriorated
quickly. The Salamander plod toward the north, away
from the enemy quickly, having been grounded swiftly
after underestimating the opponent. All three members
of the ambush party were routed, and that looked
poorly on himself as a field commander.

"My drive's going to fail any minute," Johan
complained. "I covered my retreat with a few missiles,
but if that Lightning Saix decides to chase after me
I'm through."

Yet Shion was only a technician, not a strategist;
his forte was not on the battlefield, but in the
confines of a computer. Certainly, his tricks were
implemented in all the Fire Wheel computer systems, but
the damage they were suffering now was physical in
nature. There was nothing he could do about that.

"Pull back to the mountains, if you can," he ordered.
"If we get to the Dragoon Nest we may be able to
service our Zoids and get out again."

* * *

"Shall we go after them?" Jack asked, even though
both warriors knew the answer to that question.

Brad shrugged. "I want that Salamander; it's got to
get me a lot of points."

Quadrant 1, 1100 Hours

"So Shion and Kanna failed," Mizuki said neutrally.

"Don't worry, boss," Shizuka assured her, "we'll pick
off the leftovers. They've been fighting for the last
few hours, and we're still fresh."

"Speak for yourself," Chika said, amidst the sound of
mortar shots. "If I keep this up my power supply is
going to run dry soon."

"Have Ziel bring the Dragoon Nest closer," Shizuka
asked. "Since we're all going to be in this localized
area anyway, we may as well have our maintenance deck
close by."

"I see," the leader of the Fire Wheels said. "I'll
pass it on."

* * *

Naomi and Leena heard the Redler pilot crying over
the common link, obviously torn up at having her Zoid,
already damaged in battle by something, blown full of
holes by two Gunsnipers. The pair came upon the
fleeing dragon on its low-level flight up the mountain,
likely heading for the Dragoon Nest up north for some
quick repairs. Whatever the Redler had problems with
before, it wasn't going to get the chance to fight back
now.

"Let's go," Naomi said. "That should make up for
losing the Darkhorn."

"I suppose," Leena conceded, "but I don't think that
was such a big loss...."

* * *

Cruising near the surface, the Warshark came upon
the smoking wreckage of the purple Redler. Its pilot,
Ayame, stood outside several meters away, staring
blankly at her Zoid, oblivious to the Warshark
surfacing from its burrowing mode.

The once-proud royal Redler, mounted with the twin
pulse lasers stripped off the Helcat, would not be able
to get back up on its own power. At least, not without
some good servicing.

Opening the cockpit, Kanna stood up, confident that
no Blitz Zoids were coming her way. "Hey, you okay?"
she yelled.

Turning slowly, Ayame wiped her eyes on her arm.
"I'm out. You're still in; get those Gunsnipers for
me."

Kanna shook her head. "Wish I could. The one with
the Wild Weasel unit is a lot more dangerous than I
thought; she damaged the drive a bit when I was taking
out the Darkhorn, so it's going slower than usual. I
was thinking about going back to the Dragoon Nest and
get the Maccurtis... want a lift?"

Ayame snorted, then shrugged. "I guess it beats
standing around out here."

* * *

"I see it!" Bit cried. "It's a Sea Panther!"

Rushing through the bottom of the canyon, both Liger
pilots looked up and ahead, to the hermit crab Zoid
that stood sentinel at the top of the canyon, near the
edge, its plasma mortar aimed high in the air to keep
the Ligers in its area of effect. However, the
distance was closing fast, and soon the Sea Panther
would be in trouble.

In fact, it already was. "If we take out the ground
from under it, the Sea Panther will lose its height
advantage," Leon suggested. "Would you do the honors?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Bit replied, readying
the Liger Zero's impact cannon.

Beams of energy lanced out across Bit's cockpit,
exploding to his right. Bringing Liger Zero to a halt,
he cast a glance toward his left, toward the assailant
unseen on the tracking computers. Sure enough,
emerging from behind a corner, was the black Stealth
Viper.

"You're the only one who can bring Chika down easily,
so you have to go out," Shizuka said in greeting. "So
naturally I chose you as my opponent."

"I had a feeling it would be you," Bit said. "You're
mine, then!"

"I'll get the Sea Panther," Leon said. "Then the two
can't support each other."

The Stealth Viper allowed the Blade Liger to
continue its path, followed by more shots missing it
and blowing up dirt everywhere. It reared back its
head and barred its maw, revealing polished fangs and
a small launcher within.

"Back then I was using a Zoid I was off with," the
Viper pilot explained, "but this time it's not only my
home turf, but it's my Zoid. Don't hold back on me."

"I don't plan on it," Bit assured her.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Chika cried, near panic. "Get away from
me!"

She pulled the Sea Panther back, away from the cliff
edge, and lowered the mortar, as the Blade Liger used
its speed to make quick progress up the side of the
canyon. Quickly she flipped switches to arm the
missile box and smaller cannons, and aimed them toward
her initial position.

Instead, the red Blade Liger emerged to her left, on
the blind side of her cannons. Screaming frantically,
she unloaded the missile box. A cluster of small
missiles launched out, each impacting the ground behind
the Blade Liger as it danced around to her rear.

"With such lousy support, no wonder you're going
down," the enemy pilot said.

Chika felt the Blade Liger ram her in the back, free
to do whatever it pleased, as all the weapons were
mistakenly facing forward. Each shove put her closer
to the edge of the cliff, and she braced herself for
the inevitable fall.

"Someone help me!" she cried.

* * *

Jack surveyed the wreckage of the fallen Sinker,
having crash landed by itself halfway up the mountain.
"Well, he didn't get far."

Beside his Lightning Saix, Brad's Shadowfox surveyed
the area. "No sign of the Salamander. That thing is
moving faster than I thought."

"You may have clipped its wings, but its boosters
are probably still good," the mercenary said. "That
would help pick up its otherwise terrible running
speed."

"Don't I know it," Brad replied, remembering how
terrible the Salamander's smaller cousin, the Pteras,
did on the ground. "Let's meet up with Bit and the
others, and then we'll deal with the Salamander."

* * *

Leon peeked over the edge of the cliff, and looked
down at the Sea Panther, lying on the mortar side of
its shell, unable to get up. The local Judge had not
declared disqualification yet, indicating that the Sea
Panther's computer didn't freeze from the fall, which
was unusual.

"All that's left is to finish the job," he told
himself.

"Not so fast," said another, and Leon tore his
attention to the newcomer behind him.

Towering over the Blade Liger was a blue Salamander,
its wings folded out and its weapons pointed directly
at him. Parts of the wing looked damaged in areas,
indicating that it was unable to fly. While it
suffered a distinct disadvantage on the ground, the
Salamander was still far from helpless.

"Picking on little girls?" the warrior said jokingly.
"The only one who gets to do that is her brother...
me!"

"Hey, I'm not a little girl!" the Sea Panther pilot
protested. "And you're late!"

"So now it's your turn," Leon said, smiling.

* * *

Liger Zero Jager dashed in a wide arc around the
Stealth Viper, bullets biting into the cliff wall
behind it. Bit turned hard, aiming his forward
cannons at the mechanical snake. The Viper slinked
back against the initial barrage, but flinched hard
when the shots hit their mark. The serpentine beast
fell over backward behind the rock which it hid.

"Gotcha!" he cried triumphantly.

Without hesitating Bit guided Liger Zero around the
rock, wishing to make certain that the Stealth Viper
really was down. But the moment he cleared the bend,
the only thing left was a quick trail in the sand left
by the snake's wheels.

"You've got to be kidding."

His eyes followed the trail left by the Stealth
Viper, trying to figure out where Shizuka ran off to,
but it abruptly ended at the cliffside. Looking up
and around the cliff face, he saw no sign of the
Stealth Viper.

* * *

"Dammit," Shizuka hissed, breathing hard and heavy.

The only thing keeping her in her seat was the
seatbelt, as the Stealth Viper, cloaked under its
secret weapon, stared down at the Liger Zero as it
clung to the cliff face. The blood drained from her
arms and legs, effectively freezing Shizuka in place
as the Liger stared dumbfounded by the vanishing
trail.

So long as the Stealth Viper remained perfectly
still, she couldn't break loose some rocks and draw
attention to herself. So long as her body remained
numb, that was not a problem. Shizuka knew she was
very close to losing the battle, as the numbers showed
that her Stealth Viper was no match for the armored
Liger Zero at all.

Over the comm she heard her mentor demand to know
what happened, but Shizuka could not wrench her hand
free of the controls, her fingers deadlocked along with
the rest of her arm. Her lips parted, but no words
formed.

* * *

"Something's wrong," Mizuki decided, worried that
Shizuka wasn't responding.

It was very likely her apprentice was frozen in
shock; it seemed to occur with disturbing regularity
these days. It wasn't as if it was Shizuka's fault,
really; it was a psychological reaction from when their
hometown was attacked by bandits using Zoids. Ten
years ago Mizuki stole her dad's Guysack and fought
them off skillfully. Yet, Shizuka was still a young
and impressionable kid back then, and the attack left
an emotional scar on her. It always happened when she
was on the verge of losing, effectively equating that
with dying, losing everything. The last one left.
Being alone.

Mizuki had to convince her that she wasn't alone.
The others had to keep fighting.

She keyed in the video feed from the Salamander and
Sea Panther, just in time to see the Blade Liger slash
the Salamander's left leg, causing it to fall over. It
was more than obvious that the situation was
deteriorating on every front.

There was only one solution, and that was to lead the
charge herself.

"Kanna," she said, keying in her comm, "I'm going
out."

The Warshark pilot appeared on the screen, her
cockpit stuffed with another passenger, Ayame. "I hope
you know what you're doing," Kanna said.

"You show 'em!" Ayame shouted, and Kanna winced from
the noise.

"I'll have to go get them before they take Chika out,
too. Get Ziel to launch again, and Kanna... get
Shizuka up and running again."

"Roger."

* * *

"What happened to the Stealth Viper?" Leon asked,
careful not to move over to the cliff edge where the
Sea Panther fell earlier.

"Beats me," replied Bit. "It just... disappeared."

"While you're down there, how about taking out the
Sea Panther?" he suggested.

Leon heard a loud rumble. Quickly surveying the
area around him, he checked the grid. "Bit! Something
else is down there with you!"

"What?!"

* * *

Bursting from the ground before the Liger Zero
emerged the blue sea scorpion Zoid, its thick armor
reflecting the afternoon sun. Liger Zero took several
steps back involuntarily as the great beast's tail,
towering overhead with its mounted charged particle
cannon, stared downward.

"What the heck is that?" Bit cried.

"You know," he heard the pilot of the beast say, "I
never intended to use this creature in battle; it would
be so unfair to use a legend like Death Stinger in a
fair fight."

"'Death Stinger?'" he echoed. Liger Zero roared, and
the pair knew they were in trouble. "Can such a thing
still exist?!"

"Get out of there, Bit!" Leon shouted.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Bit replied,
turning Liger around and kicking on the boosters.

Beams and bullets streaked past Liger Zero Jager as
it attempted to flee, and fear overcame him, as Bit
knew the Death Stinger was simply buying time to
power up the charged particle cannon, which could fry
him and Liger in one shot. Unlike previous bouts with
such a weapon his confinement in the canyon only
served to hamper the running room.

Liger rocked as one of the beams lanced through the
left booster, killing the overall running speed. He
guided Liger Zero up the cliff face, hoping to hit the
high ground.

"I'm heading back to the Hover Cargo," Bit informed
Leon. "Stay out of that thing's way until I get back!"

"I'll be waiting," Leon said.

* * *

"That's one nasty guy," Naomi said, perching in her
snipe position. Putting the Death Stinger in her
sights, she aimed for the charged particle cannon, and
fired.

The shot only served to get the Death Stinger's
attention, as the shot seemed to only bounce off the
creature's tank-like armor.

"I didn't even dent it?!" she hissed in disbelief.

"I'll just have to show you how it's really done!"
Leena declared, opening up all her missile boxes. She
guided her Gunsniper near the mouth of the canyon,
seeing the blue monster heading their direction.
"Weasel Unit Total Assault!"

Bullets and missiles rained down on the Death
Stinger, converging for one huge explosion concentrated
on the center of the beast.

Long before the smoke cleared, Leena declared
victory. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

"Leena, pay attention!" Leon ordered. "You barely
scratched that thing!"

"That sounds typical," she heard Brad say. "Your
sister sure knows how to waste ammo."

"Doesn't look like you dented it much," Jack added.

"When did you guys get here?" she asked.

"Heard this was where all the action was," Brad said.
"Looks like we outnumber that Death Stinger thing by
a lot."

"Don't underestimate it," Leon warned.

Sure enough, as the smoke cleared the Death Stinger
was already on its way up the cliff face. Both Leena
and Naomi ran their Gunsnipers in opposite directions,
unwilling to fight the legendary beast directly.

* * *

"Get a grip of yourself, Shizuka!" Kanna shouted over
the comm. "Where the hell are you?"

Eyes closed, she spoke wordlessly, repeating to
herself, "I'm going to die."

"Come on, I know you can hear me," the other
persisted. "It's not that bad! Just relax. Relax.
It's going to be okay."

"He SHOT me!" she screamed, and for the first time
she realized she was crying. "I can't beat him!"

"Stop being such a big baby!" she heard Ayame say.
"You can at least still get up and move around, so do
it! Avenge my Redler! Remember how to breathe!"

"Just calm down," Kanna insisted. "It's not any
different from the other battles. So what if he's won
the Royal Cup. So what if his Zoid can turn your Zoid
into snake skin. That's not what you're good at. Just
remember to calm down, relax, take a few breaths, and
go help Mizuki and Chika. Ziel's on his way out, so
you're not alone this time. Do what you do best."

Shizuka swallowed her words, forcing herself to count
her breaths. She opened her eyes, stared down at the
ground in front of her, and noticed that the Liger Zero
was gone.

"Hit and run," she told herself, knowing it was now
high time to utilize the cloaking field to its fullest
extent as a secret weapon.

* * *

"It's moving much better than in simulations," Mizuki
noted, having cleared the canyon. The Gunsniper that
attacked her earlier had retreated back a distance,
regrouping along with another Gunsniper, a Lightning
Saix, and the Shadowfox unique Zoid. The Blade Liger
was also coming up from behind, but the Liger Zero was
retreating to its home Hover Cargo.

She deployed the extra blades on the Zoid's claws,
and opened up the rear missile boxes. "Come on, Death
Stinger. Let's see if you can surpass simulation
further!"

The enemy Zoids were all taking snipe shots at her,
but the Death Stinger heavy armor deflected the attacks
easily. Mizuki launched a flurry of missiles at each
of them, forcing each of them to scatter. By this time
the Blade Liger was already approaching melee range,
so she switched on the rear cannons and fired to keep
it away. She thought better of it, and brought the
Zoid around to face off against the Blade Liger, her
own blades ready.

"Come on," she purred, "prove to me the lion type is
superior after all!"

The red Blade Liger deployed its infamous blades,
and rushed head-on. Mizuki raised the right claw to
meet the joust, and held it in place to parry the Blade
Liger. Much to her surprise, however, she felt nothing
as the Blade Liger's right blade snapped clean off in
the first pass, despite its power charge.

"That was... a little too easy," she noted, turning
the Death Stinger around as the other Zoids kept
shooting at her. The Blade Liger fell on its side, but
was getting up quickly. She looked to the right claw's
extended blade. "It didn't even dent it."

She brought the sonic wave cannon turret on the
Zoid's back to bear on the Blade Liger, and fired. An
invisible wave of force, visible only on sensors and
through the dust, blew the red Zoid off into the
distance, and down into the canyon. Mizuki shook her
head, disappointed.

Turning to face the others, she found they were
scattering. "If I could take out one of their best
this easily, then the rest, other than the Liger Zero,
are no match for me." She pulled back the controls,
raising Death Stinger's claws up and down. "We don't
have time to play with small fries."

Activating the burrowing mechanism, she raised the
comm for the rest of the Fire Wheels. "The Liger Zero
is mine. The rest are yours. Take 'em out."

* * *

Leena maneuvered her Gunsniper back down into the
canyon, hoping to ditch the Death Stinger by hiding
from view. Thumbing the comm, she said, "Leon, are
you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, shaky. "I don't
think Blade Liger can take much...."

There was a loud explosion, and the comm went dead.
Before she could have time to worry about what happened
the local Judge announced that Leon was no longer able
to battle.

"What the heck?!" she cried.

Fate chose the moment to dish out a similar fate as
a plasma mortar hit her Gunsniper dead-on.

* * *

"That's two," Chika announced, having gotten her Sea
Panther back in an upright position. While sitting at
the bottom of the canyon limited her field of attack,
and limited her scanning computer's range, it also
obscured her from being a target to something like the
red Gunsniper.

Over her head, the crippled Salamander, with her
brother at the helm, continued to give her a tactical
feed. While the Blade Liger did manage to kill its
left leg the Salamander was still kicking, if unable
to move quickly. Only Mizuki's timely appearance on
the battlefield prevented the Salamander from being
finished off completely.

"That's good," Shion encouraged. "Lay low for a
couple minutes; the others are sure to be cautious
now. It doesn't help to fire continuously like that."

"I know," she replied.

Continuing his guidance, he added, "Herd the red
Gunsniper to the following coordinates...."

Not knowing what Shion was up to, unable to see what
he saw in the computer, Chika resigned herself to
trusting him. She squeezed the trigger, launching
another plasma shell.

* * *

Naomi Fluegel's heart raced as the plasma shell
barely missed her Zoid, but three shots was good enough
to triangulate the Sea Panther's current position. She
spied the crippled Salamander on the cliff just above
the hermit crab, and when she was certain she was out
of range from its attacks Naomi assumed the sniper
position.

Aiming for the rocks just beneath the Salamander,
she declared, "It would be poetic justice if you
knocked out your own partner...."

A split second before she could squeeze the trigger,
however, the power seemed to drain from the Gunsniper.
Alarmed, she pulled out of her snipe position, and
checked the computers, but found that they had died
suddenly.

"This can't be happening...."

* * *

The needle-like projectile was the only true evidence
of any attack on the red Gunsniper, as it stood there
dead in its tracks, its computer crashed. Well, that
was what the Lancer was for, anyhow-- it delivered a
operating system command glitch that caused the
standard Zoid computer to crash, and is the tech geek
Shion's finest weapon, once you got past the Crash
Guard program installed in each of the Fire Wheel
Zoids.

Standing right in front of the Gunsniper, cloaked
under field, Shizuka turned her Stealth Viper about to
search for another target-- preferably the Liger Zero.

* * *

"Where'd that Death Stinger go?" Brad shouted,
scanning the area around him, but picking up nothing
but disappearing Blitz Team blips.

It was very apparent that, after taking on five Zoids
at once, the Death Stinger was no pushover, and the
Panzer unit was the only thing that had enough
firepower to break through the hardened tank armor.
Yet, while the Jager was quick the Panzer was very
slow, and so Brad retreated toward the Hover Cargo to
regroup. Apparently, Jack decided to do the same, but
on a different route.

He then picked up an enemy blip on the computer, and
Brad had only seconds to maneuver out of the way as
sand flew in the sky. The enemy Warshark fired down on
him from the air, missing with each shot as the
Shadowfox was too quick, then submerging again.

"I don't have time for this!" he cried, keeping his
eye on the computer for the Warshark's next entry
attack. He brought the Shadowfox to a halt, intending
to rely on the turret to attack.

It was coming from the left. The Shadowfox hopped
forward once, bringing the turret to bear, and fired.
Brad was rewarded with black plumes of smoke as he
nailed the Warshark the moment it surfaced, beating
back its attack run, and slowing it to a halt.

"That's another down," he said, satisfied.

Quadrant 2, 1300 Hours

Jack snorted in amusement as the Storm Sworder
appeared from behind his Lightning Saix. "So you want
to play the speed game with me?"

He accelerated, pushing against the sound barrier
as much as possible as the Storm Sworder continued to
gain on him. The human body could withstand only so
much at such speeds, and it seemed to Jack that the
pilot was draining himself just trying to catch up to
him. Jack was betting that the Storm Sworder would
exhaust himself a lot sooner than himself.

Bullets flared from behind, but too slow to hit the
Lightning Saix. Jack jockeyed the stick left and
right, weaving around obstacles and avoiding the Storm
Sworder's attacks easily. He almost wished he was up
against the Sinker again.

A few moments later the Storm Sworder's speed seemed
to slow, and that was indication to Jack that the pilot
exhausted himself. Slowing the Lightning Saix as he
turned Jack oriented his cannons on the silver Zoid,
and squeezed off several shots. Each shot hit their
mark, and the Storm Sworder wavered in its flight as
it zoomed past him without attacking.

Looking over his shoulder, Jack celebrated quietly.
"Have a nice landing."

* * *

"How could the situation get this bad so quickly?"
Bit wondered, the Liger Zero Panzer moving out just
ahead of the Hover Cargo. "Only Brad and Jack are
left."

According to the Judge information, the Fire Wheels
now only had four Zoids left, as the Storm Sworder
only moments before was disqualified. According to
Leon the Salamander was crippled, but not out, and add
the Sea Panther to the list of 'deal with later,' as
it could not move very fast. That left the Stealth
Viper and Death Stinger, whenever they arrive.

"That Stealth Viper's probably cowering in the rocks
as usual," he reasoned, "so that only leaves the Death
Stinger."

"How perceptive," he heard someone say, and Bit
jumped in surprise as said Zoid emerged from the sand,
its gun ports opening quickly. "So, how 'bout we get
this pissing contest over with?"

"You won't be so cocky soon enough!" he countered.

Standing his ground, he allowed the Death Stinger to
unload ammunition on him, as the Panzer armor easily
deflected such minor offerings. Bit squeezed off a few
shots of his own, but they were having similar
effectiveness against the Death Stinger's armor. The
only thing he really worried about was the charged
particle cannon, which could fry his Panzer armor in an
instant.

Well, the whole Zoid, he amended.

"Charging Hybrid Cannon!" he announced, and the Liger
Zero arched its back as its shoulder mounted cannons
powered up. Bit felt the chargeup build on both sides
of the cockpit as Liger braced itself against the dirt
for the inevitable kickback, but his confidence
faltered as the Death Stinger started moving out of
Liger's forward attack arc.

The blast of the Hybrid Cannons blew Liger Zero back
several meters, unleashing deadly bolts that flew past
the Death Stinger, past where it used to be right
before the chargeup.

"Give me a break," the Fire Wheel said, "do you
seriously think I'm going to stand still for that?"

"It used to work before," Bit replied. Liger Zero
roared. "Alright, Liger," he said, speaking to his
Zoid, "you think we should attack the armor behind the
cockpit, too? I agree!"

"Bit, wait up!" he heard Brad shout, and the
Shadowfox appeared behind the Death Stinger.

"No use wasting all that ammo on the party if you
don't have backup, kid," Jack added, his Lightning Saix
appearing to the right.

"Glad you two could make it!" Bit replied. "Attack
the soft spot I make." Liger Zero prepared for the
attack, and Bit squeezed the trigger. "Burning
Bigbang!"

All at once Liger Zero seemed to heat up as all the
missiles and explosives launched at once, concentrating
on a single point in the Death Stinger's armor. But
the moment the missiles cleared, as if on reaction,
Bit felt a shock blowing against Liger Zero, probably
from the sonic wave cannon, knocking him and partner
back and away.

He got up as the smoke billowed over him, and gunfire
from both the Shadowfox and Lightning Saix gave Bit
the indication his attack was successful. Jettisoning
the Panzer armor, Liger roared triumphantly, but it was
cut short, turning into a cry of pain.

"What is it, Liger?!" Bit cried, concerned.

The computer responded by showing him a schematic of
Liger Zero, then diagramming a needle-like projectile
sticking out of its exposed left. "What the heck is
that?!"

"Liger Zero is most vulnerable after its Panzer
transformation after it unloads its ammo," he heard a
familiar voice say, calmly. "I reviewed the tapes of
the Royal Cup, and that much is apparent to me."

"Shizuka," he hissed, although he could not detect
the Stealth Viper. He brought Liger about to retreat
to the Hover Cargo for the Schneider armor, but the
controls felt sluggish. "Darn it, why are we going so
slow, Liger?"

"Looks like your Zoid's resistant to the Lancer,"
the enemy pilot continued, as the smoke thinned. This
time Bit could see the Stealth Viper, its maw open,
revealing a cannon with another harpoon weapon within.
"I'll just have to pin you up a bit more."

"Oh come on," Bit complained, "at least let me get
some decent armor."

"I still owe you for the last time," Shizuka said,
puncturing Liger Zero with another Lancer. "I'm
disgusted; how could YOU win the Royal Cup when you
keep playing around with such bold tactics as this?"

She unloaded several more Lancers into Liger Zero,
and with each shot Liger grew less responsive and the
painful howls seemed to dull, as if it was getting used
to the pain. Bit protested against the controls,
knowing he had to make it back to the Hover Cargo to
stand a chance against the Stealth Viper. Without
armor he was just as weak as the snake Zoid.

Risking a glance behind him, he was flabbergasted
that the Death Stinger was still standing, and was only
lowering its claws after having just clobbered the
Shadowfox and Lightning Saix with its blade attacks.

"How are we supposed to beat such a monster?!" he
wondered. "That thing's like the Berserk Fury; could
it be an Ultimate X?"

A viewscreen flared to life, revealing the mug of the
Fire Wheels' leader. "'Ultimate X?' Tell me, Liger
Zero pilot, what is this?"

"You ought to know," he replied. "You know, black
box, organoids, Zoid learns from mistakes... stuff like
that."

"'Black box?'" she echoed. "Hardly. We went over
this thing eight times, and there wasn't anything like
an organoid in this thing."

* * *

Colonel Martin was shocked, stunned, as he listened
in on the conversation, tapping into the line from his
listening post just outside the battlefield. "What
does she mean, not an 'Ultimate X?' That's
impossible!"

Yet, in the legends, the greatest Zoid pilots used
organoids to augment their abilities, but there also
existed warriors who fought without such things. Some
saw it as an unfair advantage, some thought it got in
the way of the purity of the Zoid. Or some people were
just so good they didn't need one to unlock a Zoid's
full potential.

Like this Mizuki, perhaps? It would take someone of
extraordinary talent to harness such thing as a Death
Stinger so well without assistance.

* * *

"I'm sorry to say, I don't feel as if I've won this
battle," Mizuki continued. "Six years ago I intended
to lead the charge to victory with my partner, my
father's Guysack that is no longer with us... not this
horrid, overpowering beast. What was I thinking?"

She closed her eyes. "Judge, I request a
withdra...."

"Mizuki, you can't do that," Shizuka protested.
"Even though you're our leader, you're only cheating
the rest of us if you surrender now. Why are you
throwing away OUR accomplishments because of your
selfish reasoning that you don't feel good about the
fight?"

The leader chuckled. "Just as your pride dictates
you have to beat the Liger Zero with a Stealth Viper,
so does my pride dictate I haven't won."

"But that's different," the apprentice countered.
"The former was a personal vendetta; the latter takes
the rest of our fates into your hands."

"There's no reason for you to surrender," Bit added,
jumping in on the conversation. "You guys took
advantage of us at each opportunity, exploiting all our
weaknesses we still have as warriors. Sure, we won the
Royal Cup, but that doesn't mean you guys are worse
than us; you might even be better."

"He's right," Shizuka said in agreement. "We didn't
train for six years and lose both times because we are
bad warriors. We ARE good. You were exceptional even
when you still had the Guysack, and you're phenominal
with the Death Stinger; you don't overhandle it or
waste its potential at all, like newbie kids would do.
Newbies would depend entirely on the charged particle
cannon, and you haven't fired a single shot of it and
still beat five Zoids at once. The Death Stinger's
greatest strength is its phenominal defense; all the
fancy-pants weapons are just icing on the cake."

Mizuki was surprised at the two of them. "You guys
are crazy," she said, smiling. She killed the
transmission to the Judge. "I pushed all of you guys
hard because I wanted to prove we were the best. I
couldn't convince myself that we were ever good enough,
or even great. You're right; we don't need recognition
and praise to know we're good."

"I hope to meet challenges like this in Class S," he
continued. "If anything, thanks for the wake-up call;
better we see it now than later, huh?" Bit added with
a laugh.

But then Shizuka was noticing the Liger Zero was
still slinking off to the Hover Cargo. Her guns
spinning to life, she hissed, "Oh come on, you're not
getting off THAT easily."

* * *

It was now obvious to Martin why the Stealth Viper
girl and the Liger Zero pilot beat him the other time:
they really were good warriors. He chuckled to
himself, wondering if the Backdraft Group would be in
its current state if it had more skillful warriors in
lieu of money-grubbing noblemen. Martin sighed,
realizing something plainly obvious: the Backdraft
Group has outlived its usefulness. It could do nothing
to compete against true warriors of skill, as the Blitz
Team proved time and again in numerous unsanctioned
battles.

Disabling the transmissions, Colonel Martin, formerly
of the Backdraft Group, turned to his gathered
remaining soldiers of the defunct organization. Some
of them were his own Raijin Team, others from different
teams lost in the mixup of the power struggle, but all
looked toward him, the highest-ranking officer, for
direction.

"We aren't worthy to harness such a superior power,"
he declared. "It's obvious to me that the Death
Stinger already has its best pilot. I think it's best
if we don't bother those people any longer... and find
another way to achieve our destiny."

-----------------------------------------------

Author's Rant

This is a wrap-up to the battles against the Fire
Wheels, due to lack of reader interest and my decision
to move on. Ah well, when the muse strikes again....

Thank you for reading.

-- Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

	4. Cast List

Zoids: Call of the Fire Cast List

Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Zoids, I am
borrowing the names, settings, etc. under fair use and
without making a profit. This work cannot be sold for
profit or retransmitted and reposted without my express
permission.

------------------------------------------------

The Fire Wheels

Mizuki. AKA The Boss. Leader of the Fire Wheel Team.

Owns and operates a black Guysack that once belonged
to her father. Her father was a competent warrior who
fought to earn money for the family in their poor
village. She secretly trained herself to pilot the
Zoid, which eventually came out into the open when
bandits using Zoids raided the village. After chasing
them off, Mizuki eventually won her father's approval
to enter Zoid battles herself.

Mizuki distinguished herself fighting by herself for
a time, until she encountered the wanted criminal
Shion by chance. Eventually the two decided to join
forces, and suddenly Mizuki had a number of resources
available to her in order to start her own team.

Two years after formally creating the Fire Wheels she
attempted to take the Royal Cup, but failed early on
in the competition. She plans on winning the next
Royal Cup, training her warriors and herself hard to
make up for their obvious deficiencies after waking-up
to the thought that they weren't as good as they
thought they were. Mizuki is haunted by this failure
and pledges to win the next Royal Cup if it's the last
thing she does.

A talented warrior Mizuki uses the aging Guysack
with fierce loyalty, unwilling to settle for anything
else. She wishes to use her talents to bring
prosperity to her family and her village, using any
excess prize money to help promote the impovrished
children of her hometown to a better life. It is
speculated that if she used a stronger Zoid her
ability may be unmatched.

Shizuka. AKA Silencer. Stealth Warrior.

The Stealth Viper pilot hails from the same village
as Mizuki; she was but a child when bandits raided it,
and it left a strong emotional scar on her, orphaned.
However, even early on in her career Mizuki recognized
that Shizuka could become a fine warrior if trained
properly, if only she could harness her fear and turn
it into a weapon.

Shizuka did not start piloting until after the
encounter with Shion; she chose the cloaking device-
equipped Stealth Viper as a mirror of her battle
philosophy: strike when they least expect it. Under
Mizuki's tutelage she miraculously defeats opponents
much stronger than her, creating fantastic upsets in
many battles. She has, to date, never used the
cloaking device in battle, at the insistence of Kanna.
On the battlefield Shizuka is quick on her feet and
is able to come up with daring plans at times, despite
her usual 'missing a few screws' personality.

However, such a gifted warrior has one major
weakness: she has a tendancy to go into shock. Due to
the raid during her childhood Shizuka goes into shock
out of fear of being the last one left alive, and then
dying alone. If she does go into shock, Shizuka is
almost useless for the rest of the battle-- the only
way out of this is if someone (usually Mizuki) can snap
her out of it. While her teammates try to help her
recover and conquer it Shizuka finds it impossible to
overcome. Therefore, her primary motivation to battle
is to overcome this irrational reflex reaction.

She looks up to Mizuki as both her mentor and her
hero, and treats Kanna like an elder sister. Shizuka
is also slightly jealous of Chika, having a crush on
Shion, as Shion tends to pick on his sister more than
her.

Kanna. AKA Spider. Battle Tactician.

This cunning pilot was attracted to the Fire Wheel
base after learning of her friend Shion's alliance with
Mizuki. She initially used Maccurtis exclusively until
she learned that a Warshark can be modified to burrow
under the sands of Zi. Kanna treats her Warshark like
a submarine in absence of many bodies of water, even
though she is arguably stronger with Maccurtis. With
the Warshark, however, she utilizes hit-and-run
tactics unavailable to the slower Maccurtis. Her
combat style favors no casualties, as she is obsessed
with devising the flawless battle strategy.

Kanna is a brilliant strategist and tactician; her
tactics are nearly foolproof as she dedicates much time
on researching means to win. However, she is also slow
to think, meaning that opponents can capitalize on her
weakness by issuing battles earlier than she can
compensate for. She is not known for coming up with
strategies on the fly like Mizuki and Shizuka. Kanna
gets upset when plans don't go her way.

As second-in-command of the Fire Wheels Kanna has
just as much authority as Mizuki. She treats Shizuka
like a younger sister and watches over her paternally,
wishing to cultivate her cunning in Kanna's image.

Shion. AKA Warlock. Technician.

Owner of the abandoned military facility the Fire
Wheels now use as their base of operations, and pilots
a Salamander. His abilities as a warrior are below
average, and the Zoid and his technical expertise make
up for this. Thoroughly hating the way Zoids freeze up
all the time he wrote a program that helps guard
against system crashes, effectively boosting durability
of the computers by 50%. Shion also learned a great
deal about the standard Zoid Operating System, and
knows how to successfully trigger a crash in all but
the latest system upgrades.

Shion is known under alias as a cyber terrorist by
the Zoid Battle Commission for computer crimes, and is
not at all eager to draw attention to himself. He
protests against the stranglehold the ZBC has over all
walks of society, as nearly everything on Zi revolves
around their organization. To that end he augments the
Fire Wheel Zoids with better computer programs and
viral weaponry (used sparingly in case the ZBC becomes
suspicious) in order to get his message across. Shion
supports maintaining a small army could accumulate
enough strength to challenge the ZBC one day.

His current guise, hiding under the ZBC's collective
noses as a lowly warrior, helps protect him from
discovery. Of the Fire Wheels he is the most
sympathetic to the Backdraft cause, but only in that
they, too, oppose the ZBC. Shion would much rather
eliminate Zoid battles entirely and focus on
revitalizing the deserts of Zi, feeling that the ZBC is
ignoring the core problem of the planet and hiding it
by distracting the people with such wasteful battles
that continue to destroy the landscape.

Rowan. AKA Ziel. Mechanic.

A loner who transforms into a boastful braggart in
the cockpit. He loves his Storm Sworder so much that
he spends all of his free time polishing its armor or
adding new parts, essentially treating it like people
would treat their favorite car. Being a 'Zoid' person
he naturally became friends with Shion, who held many
Zoids under his possession.

Ziel loves flying, plain and simple. Egotistically
he believes he's the best fighter pilot in the world,
and isn't afraid to prove it to anyone that challenges
such a notion. He paints marks for each target he
shoots down in battle on the side of his Storm Sworder.

Johan. AKA The Dance Man. Mercenary Speed Demon.

Obsessed with speed, therefore modified a Sinker to
break the sound barrier. He does not enjoy high
atmospheric flight nor does he enjoy the bumping around
in bipedal/quadrupedal Zoids, as Johan tends to get
sick in the stomach. He won't admit this, however.
Johan was the last member to join the current group of
Fire Wheels and therefore does not share the same
dreams as Mizuki as the others tend to; Johan was more
interested in accessing their facilities and
equipment.

Johan used to belong to a bandit gang, but left
after its members chased him out for making his Sinker
better than the others'. Convinced they were jealous
of his abilities, he sold his services to the Fire
Wheels, owing no true allegience to Mizuki's cause. He
feels winning the Royal Cup will wipe the smug faces
off of his old gang.

For a brief time he broke off from the Fire Wheels
and formed his own team, the Stardust Team, after a
heated argument with Mizuki over the use of financial
resources. He is later coerced back when the Fire
Wheels rectify their financial situation, lured by the
promises of money.

Ayame. AKA Ferret. Aerial Support.

She joined after the Fire Wheels lost the Royal Cup
the first time, and pilots a standard, violet Redler.
True to form she uses it for low atmospheric passes
with her tail-mounted switchblade, which is difficult
to avoid when the opponent is distracted. Ayame favors
gang-up situations in her favor and does poorly in
single combat; others tend to make up for her lack of
personal ability in battle.

Ayame serves as the cohesive force on the team,
holding all the clashing personalities together most of
the time with her simplistic personal charm. She goes
nuts when people fight and make the organization
dysfunctional. A good friend of Chika, who is the
most rational, down-to-earth member of the Fire
Wheels.

Chika. AKA Weasel. Long-range Attacker.

Her favored Zoid is the Cannon Tortoise because she
is afraid of close-range combat; Chika would prefer to
hit people from afar before they get close enough to
hurt her. Ability not exceptional by any stretch of
the imagination, and she questions why she is even on
the team, when she is arguably the worst warrior on the
team. Chika's advantage, however, is that opponents
tend to underestimate her, as she strikes hard by the
time they forget she's even around.

Chika mildly dislikes her older brother Shion for
teasing her, and is at odds with Shizuka because she
makes fun of her for some reason. She gets bent out of
shape when people mess around with her like that. The
most 'normal' of the eccentric Fire Wheels.

The Raijin Team (Backdraft Group)

Colonel Martin. Leader of the Raijin Team.

One of the highest-ranking officers in the Backdraft
organization Martin leads the elite Raijin Team, which
is at odds with the more skillful Fuma Team. He
competes with the Fuma Team for the honor of being the
organization's most valuable team, but the ninja-like
warriors always seem to oust him somehow.

Martin is a model soldier dedicated to the Backdraft
Group, and fiercely defends its interests. He would
like nothing better than to become a member of the
Committee of Seven, however, in order to exert a more
military bend in the organization. While his team
tends to use Rev Raptors and cloaking device-
equipped Helcats, Martin himself uses a souped-up
Glaive Quama.

-----------------------------------------------

Author's Rant

Short reference list for the Fire Wheels.

-- Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html

End file.

Call of the Fire by Razorclaw X