Zoids Bits
Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids, but Tomy does.
Summary: After the Blitz team escapes the Royal Cup in victory, Laon and Brad are forced to contemplate their individual futures, bringing them to a shared destiny as they both seek new paths in their lives.
A/N: This is just a one-shot, but it could become a collection of one-shots in the future. Review and tell me what you think!
Birth of an Adversary: The Red Comets
It had been a day since Bit and the rest of the Blitz team claimed victory at the Royal Cup, catapulting their team into the S Class ranks. Over that time, they had been so busy with other priorities that they had yet to have a chance to truly celebrate the accomplishment. One such priority was Dr. Toros fixing the zoids, but as he worked on the Shadow Fox, the most damaged of all the zoids, he quickly realized that he would not be able to heal the Fox, which in effect cursed the zoid to a slow death. Another was making sure that Bit, Brad, and Leena were all okay, the trio having exhausted themselves over the battles. And finally, they had to make sure that Laon received the medical treatment that he needed, having been badly wounded when he saved Leena from the Charged Particle blast by shielding her with his own zoid. As such, Dr. Toros found himself in Laon's hospital room along with Leena and Brad, visiting his old friend, with whom he had buried any grudge that they had against one another after they had discussed the events in detail.
"Laon, there's something, something that I think you should hear," Dr. Toros said slowly, not really know how to say what he needed to tell him. He had heavy bags under his eyes, evidence that he had been working all night and had gotten very little sleep.
"What is it, Toros?" Laon questioned, staring up at Dr. Toros from his bed, sensing the tone of the man. While he had no animosity towards his friend anymore, he knew that their friendship would take time to redevelop, so he briefly wondered if Steve's hesitance to discuss the matter was because of the awkwardness still between them or because it was serious in nature.
"Your Shadow Fox, well, the zoid core was hit with a fatal blow, I'm sorry," Dr. Toros said solemnly to Laon, whom looked over to Brad. The mercenary was staring out of the window, presumably having already known about the fact and reacted to news away from Laon's view. "I tried everything I could to save it, but it's gone."
"That's a shame," Laon sighed, shaking his head in disappointment, saddened by the loss of his first creation. He had loved that zoid, and he was devastated when it was stolen from him, though he knew that it was in better hands with Brad than it would be in the Backdraft, where it would be used to further their nefarious schemes. "Thank you for trying."
"Thank you for saving, Leena," Dr. Toros replied, sincerely grateful for his old friend's assistance in the matter. His eyes looked up to the clock that was on the wall, and seeing the time, he knew that he should let Laon get his rest. "I'll come visit you tomorrow. Do you need you anything? I'll bring it to you when I come."
"No, I should be okay," Laon smiled, happy to have set aside their differences and moved on from their past. He had held a grudge for so long that it had tainted him, had sent him down a path that he would have not gone down if not for his anger, that it felt freeing to him to be able to move on with his life without the burden on his shoulders.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Dr. Toros nodded as he patted Laon on the shoulder, gesturing for Leena and Brad to follow him and leave the bed-ridden scientist to his sleep. Leena waved before she exited through the door while Brad slowly made his way across the room, his mind contemplating other things at the moment, not the least of which was his fallen zoid.
"I'll be seeing you, Brad," Laon said loudly, earning a questioning glance from the mercenary. Laon just smiled in response, not allowing Brad in on what he meant by what he said just yet. Nodding his head in confusion, Brad exited the room, leaving Laon to his own devices.
With a sigh, Laon turned his attention to the television in the corner, where it was replaying the news of the day. The news showed the highest members of the Backdraft Group being arrested by the Peacekeeping Bureau, with the Backdraft's top members being chained in handcuffs, including the committee of seven. He watched with furrowed brows as he noticed that one of the members of the committee of seven did not appear with the rest, seemingly escaping from the fate of the other's, though Laon did not know how. Again, he watched the newsreel, making sure he was correct in what he saw, before he frowned, realizing that something was wrong and that the most dangerous member of the committee had somehow escaped the Peacekeeping Bureau's grasp.
He flicked his eyes over to the table next to his bed, and reached over to grab the phone that was placed on it. Dialing a number, he brought the headpiece up to his ear and waited for the person to pick up on the other side. "Stigma," Laon said into the phone, hearing the familiar voice answer. "It's Laon. Yeah, I'm watching it; luckily we escaped. The reason I'm calling is because I need you to do me a favor, consider it making up for our past wrongs…"
Later that night found the Blitz team and many of their friends in a restaurant celebrating their win. The attendees included Leon, Oscar, Naomi, Harry, the entire Lightning team, and Pierce, who had escaped from being arrested along with Stoller and Sanders due to having left the Backdraft Group before their downfall. They all ordered their food and drinks, and then went off into separate conversations, enjoying their time together. Even with the numerous rivals that were present, they all thought of themselves as good friends, if not a family, which created a peaceful atmosphere that not many had the opportunity to enjoy in their life until that time.
As music played and the drinks were being served, Brad and Naomi sat in a booth off in the corner. The pair enjoyed a comfortable silence as they observed the on goings of the other party attendees. Brad watched as Jack and Bit playfully argued over something, though he did not know what, while Naomi kept her eyes on Leena and Harry as the man continually tried to flirt with Leena, only to be denied. Biting his lip, Brad lost himself in thought, going over all that happened in the last year and a half, the day that Bit Cloud had entered his life and joined the Blitz team. While his life had always been exciting prior to that point, his life seemed to go into over drive, seemingly creating more and more energy and pleasure than he had before then. A voice from his side shook the mercenary out of his thoughts, bringing his mind back to the party.
"What?" He asked the red haired woman next to him, shaking his head as he turned his attention to the pretty zoid pilot. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Naomi cocked an eyebrow, wondering what was going on with the man across from her. He seemed different, contemplative, as if he had a great problem on his mind that needed solving. "I asked if you were okay," She repeated, hoping that he wasn't going through any troubles or anything like that.
"Oh," Brad grinned sheepishly, not wanting to worry her. "Yeah, I'm fine, but I do have a question for you," He said, waiting until the woman acknowledged him before continuing, knowing that what he was about to ask would be greatly surprising to her. "Were you serious the other day?"
"About?" She asked, meeting his gaze, not understanding what he was referencing. They had talked about a lot of things over the past few days, some serious while others not so serious, so to recall what exactly he meant was not easy for her.
"Us," He said in a whisper, before taking a swig out of his bottle. He placed his bottle back down onto the table, and looking back over at her, his expression serious. "You know…joining together as a team."
Naomi blinked in surprise, truly shocked by the topic of conversation, having never expected it to be brought up again. "Yeah," She responded in the affirmative, nodding her head. While she had originally said it in a jocularly manner in playful flirtation, she was willing to go through with it nonetheless. "Of course I was. I like you Brad, you know that. We'd be a great team."
Brad nodded, and turned his attention back to Bit and Jack, who were now laughing with Leon and the Tasker sisters about a story that Bit was telling. While his facial expression was still neutral, his mind was going over a thousand questions: was he ready for Class S? Was he capable of fighting the greatest zoid warriors, the greatest Zi-Fighters on all of Zi? No, he admitted to himself, I'm not. In his heart of hearts he knew he wasn't good enough to compete in the upper level and would only be doing it for the prize money, but even that wouldn't be up to his satisfaction if he couldn't compete with the teams that the Blitz team would be fighting. If he truly wanted to better himself as a pilot, to become the warrior that he always dreamed of being, he needed to join with Naomi; he needed to continue to hone his abilities until he himself could will his team to the S class.
Additionally, he also knew something that would help make his decision easier for him: he wasn't a necessary part of the Blitz Team. Unlike when he first joined the team, where both he and Leon were integral, Bit had supplanted him; Bit was the main man now, the leader of the team. Not him, not Leena, but Bit, the newcomer to the group that had more natural talent than anyone else. The team would easily be able to find an equal replacement for him, which would not be the case if they were to lose Bit. Smiling, the mercenary knew his answer, and it surprised him a great deal, considering he was known for his love of prize money on the Blitz team.
He looked over to Bit, Leena, and Jamie, and while he was miss them, he knew what he was about to say was the correct choice. "I'll do it," He whispered, though Naomi heard it loud and clear.
"Really?" Naomi said excitedly, a large smile taking form on her face. While she had always been a loner, her time with Leon had opened her up to the positives of having a teammate, and a teammate like Brad, a man that she greatly admired and wanted to get to know better, who was also a skilled warrior, would be perfect in her opinion. "What about the Blitz Team?"
The former mercenary shrugged, not really worried about the implications that it would have on the Blitz team for the time being. "I would imagine that people will be jumping at the chance to be a pilot on a Class S team. They'll land on their feet, I'm sure of it. What about Leon, though? Does he know that my joining your team was a possibility?"
"Leon?" Naomi laughed, finding the question funny as it wasn't relevant given the situation. "He's not on my team anymore. He was only on it for the Royal Cup and once that ended, we went our separate ways in terms of teammates. He's still a very good friend, though, and I would welcome him back on the team any day given his sheer brilliance as a pilot."
Brad nodded in understanding, realizing that Leon still had a lot that he wanted to see before he joined with a team permanently. "We're going to need a new team name," Brad said amusedly, knowing that the name she had chosen for herself just wasn't acceptable. "I'm not participating under the Fluegel name, you know."
"Fair enough," Naomi nodded with a wry grin, another name immediately popping into her mind. "How about the Red Comets?"
"So you want to drop your last name and use your nickname instead?" Brad sighed, shaking his head in amusement at her antics. He took another swig of his drink as she continued to smile at him, seemingly daring him to tell her no. "Okay, okay, I'll admit that it does have a nice ring to it."
A few hours later, the party came to an end, with everyone mostly going their separate ways. Before they departed, Brad and Naomi promised to meet up to discuss their team at dinner after Brad announced his departure from the Blitz team. Leena left to get a good night sleep, wanting to be up early in the morning in order to be able to visit Dr. Laon. Bit and Pierce, meanwhile, stayed later than the others, each enjoying the other's company, though neither would admit it. Overall, it was a good end to a memorable couple of days for the Blitz team, one that they would all remember for differing reasons for the rest of their lives.
After waking up and having breakfast the next day, Brad called the Blitz team together in the briefing room. He was planning on telling the others about his decision to leave, believing that it would be best for all involved if he excused himself from the team as quickly as he could. For him, it would allow him to focus on finding a new zoid and hammering out the team details with Naomi. Likewise, the Blitz team would have the time necessary to find a new pilot and prepare themselves for the new S Class season that was to start in the coming weeks.
As he waited for all to arrive, the mercenary didn't know what he would say, but he figured winging it would do just fine. Unfortunately he didn't anticipate the lump in his throat that appeared as he stared down at his teammates—or former teammates rather. For some reason, though he did not understand why as it had never happened to him before, he felt sad that he was leaving them, as if there would be a great hole in his heart with not seeing his friends on a daily basis. He had grown to like all of them in their own special way, which was a great departure than what he was used to as a mercenary, where it was about the job and nothing more.
"What's up, Brad?" Bit questioned as he relaxed in the couch, looking up to his teammate and friend. He knew it was something important as Brad never called a team meeting on his own, which signified how serious the conversation would be.
"I called you all together, because I wanted to announce, that, well, I'm leaving the team," Brad said bluntly, not wanting to drag it out any longer than it had to be. He respected them all enough to make it as painless and as quick as possible.
"What!" Jamie exclaimed in shock, as the others reacted silently, though each was just as surprised by the announcement. "We just got to Class S, and you're going to leave?"
"I'm not ready to be in Class S just yet," Brad replied, admitting that he wanted to be a better pilot before he entered the highest class of zoid battle competition. He knew that even with all the skill he possessed, it still wouldn't be close to the other pilots in Class S, which would end up hurting his reputation and ability to command a high payout in the long run. If he worked hard, and won as much as he could, maybe…just maybe he would be good enough, but that wasn't the case at that moment.
"Is that a final decision?" Leena asked, wondering if they would be able to talk Brad out of leaving. If there was a way to sway Brad back to staying on the Blitz team, surely they would at least try to do it in her opinion.
"Yes," Brad nodded in the affirmative, knowing that his mind was made up and that there would be no swaying him from his chosen course. "I'm joining with Naomi and we're going to start our own team called the Red Comets."
"Well, I'm sad to see you go, but good luck, Brad, I'll be rooting for you," Dr. Toros said with a frown as he rose to his feet and walked over to the younger zoid warrior. He shook Brad's outstretched hand, and gave out a sigh as he stared at the rest of his team, before sitting back down at the table and furrowing his brows in thought. Then, looking to his table, he saw his zoid figurines and with a smile, he began to play with them, pretending that a Redler was fighting a Geno Breaker.
"I'm sorry," Brad apologized to Bit and Leena, hoping that his closest teammates would understand his decision and forgive him in time. The pair just shrugged, each having a small, yet solemn smile on their faces—both were disappointed, but not overwhelmed with sadness.
"No biggy, Brad," Bit grinned as he patted the mercenary on the back, not wanting his friend to think that there were any hard feelings. "Me and Liger can handle the team. Don't worry, we're still friends."
"Yeah," Brad smiled, knowing full well how much he and Bit had gone through together—if he was honest with himself, Bit had become his best friend over the course of their relationship, which surprised him in consideration of the fact that he didn't like Bit when the blond first joined the team. "Of course we're still friends."
"Well, looks like we're going to need a third pilot." Dr. Toros said even though his attention was towards the zoid figures he was playing with like a child would.
"And we're going to need one fast. The new season starts in a few weeks," Jamie sighed. Getting up from the table, the tactician made his way towards the computers, where he hoped he would be able to find the solution. Freelance zoid pilots sometimes posted on the ZBC list to offer their services, which was what Jamie hoped would help them find their new teammate. If he could somehow finagle one of them to help out just for one battle, then the Blitz team could search for a new pilot properly—rather then rushing to scavenge one for the upcoming battle and making a wrong choice.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll all work out for you," Brad said, knowing that the Blitz team would be fine in his absence. If they had survived Leon's leaving, surely they could survive his.
Brad and Leena left soon after, allowing Jamie, Bit and Dr. Toros in the room to talk about the future of the team. "What are we going to do?" Jamie questioned the other two, knowing that their opinions were more important than anyone else—Bit was the talent and the backbone of the team, while Dr. Toros was the financial and intellectual support needed.
"We'll just have to use you for the time being," Dr. Toros sighed in a serious tone, knowing that they were in a difficult situation. Zoid battles were about trust and understanding, tossing in a new warrior at the start of their S Class careers was not a wise thing to do—it could end up ruining them by destroying their zoids or worse, losing them so many points that they would have to pay in order to challenge another team, thereby hoisting more debt upon them.
"Leave finding the pilot to me, I'll handle it," Bit said, wanting to take on more responsibility with the Blitz team, knowing that he would need to be the best he could be in order to win in the S Class, where the warriors were twice as good. "I just hope that the zoid I have in mind will be ready in time."
"What zoid?" Jamie asked curiously, wondering what zoid Bit was talking about. As far as he knew, Bit only possessed the Liger Zero, and even that wasn't fully his just yet, as he still owed Dr. Toros a few more payments before he truly owned it.
"You'll see," Bit winked with a smile, not revealing his secret plan until it was completed. If everything worked out, the Blitz team would be a stronger team than they had been in Bit's mind, though he knew that there was still a lot of work to secure that future.
Meanwhile, former Backdraft warriors Stoller and Sanders walked through the halls of the hospital, heading in the direction of one room in particular. They had been called on to perform a task, and after completing their mission, they wished to discuss it with the man that requested their services in the first place. They entered the elevator, and pressed the button to the floor that they needed, waiting patiently for the doors to open once they arrived. Exiting, they looked both ways before walking towards the left, seeing that the numbers of the rooms counted upwards.
Moments later, they entered Dr. Laon's hospital room with a knock. The man in the bed seemed unsurprised by their arrival, and gestured for them to come in, sitting up in his bed all the while. "It's good to see you both," Laon said with a nod of his head, glad that the two noble warriors were able to escape the Backdraft and enter into honorable zoid battles for themselves.
"We went to where you sent me," Stoller started, taking a seat in the chair next to the hospital bed. Sanders stood off to the side, allowing the two to talk, but keeping an ear on the conversation nonetheless.
"And?" Laon prodded, wanting to know what the former Captain saw. He hoped that he had taken some unnecessary precautions by involving Stoller, but knew that, with the rest of the committee of seven locked away, they needed to make sure the final member did not take have the resources to fulfill his nefarious schemes.
"They were gone." Stoller answered, staring over at Laon with a neutral expression on his face. "The Fury, the three Geno Sauruses, all of them were gone when we got there."
"Were they?" Laon muttered, having hoped that he had moved quickly enough to secure them from the enemy. "I feared this would happen."
"All we found was Polta's Zaber Fang after searching Sarah's wreck of a Whale King," Sanders added, turning to face the pair. While he respected the pair's intellect and talent, he also knew that he himself was quite the warrior, so his voice was nearly as important in his opinion now that they did not outrank him. "We confiscated it to use on our team, but it certainly is not a Geno Saurus or the Beserk Fury."
Laon nodded, but stayed silent for the moment, going over all that he had heard. Stoller saw the look that Laon had on his face, and he immediately knew something was wrong, though he didn't know what. "Should we be on the look out for a potential threat?" Stoller inquired, silently wishing that nothing was wrong and that the peace found around the planet would stay.
"Maybe," Laon whispered, inwardly knowing that there was a threat out there, and it would be growing now the rest of the Backdraft Group was imprisoned and could not control it. "Maybe."
A few days later, a fully recovered Dr. Laon walked into the large hangar in his compound near Mount Iselina, flanked by Brad Hunter and Naomi Fluegel. "Why are we here?" Brad questioned, having been called to the compound by Laon just a few hours prior. The Doctor had said that it was to their best interest to come, and remembering Laon's proclamation to him in the hospital, Brad was overrun with curiosity, which forced him to accept the invitation.
"Since you lost me my Shadow Fox," Laon grunted, though the small smile on his face betrayed his seeming anger at the warrior. He was especially disappointed that the Shadow Fox had been destroyed, but because it was the Berserk Fury that had done it, an exceptionally powerful zoid in it's own right and and Ultimate X, he was kind of proud that his creation was able to stand up to the ancient Zoidian zoid, even if it was for a fleeting moment. "We're here to show you your new zoid."
"My new zoid?" Brad replied confusedly, not understanding why Laon would care about what zoid he used. "You're serious?"
"It is called the Fire Fox, a zoid of near perfection when it comes to stealth technology," Dr. Laon started, gesturing to the large tank that housed what seemed to be a silhouette of a zoid of similar size to the Shadow Fox. "It has the ability to mask its zoid core temperature, it can discharge clouds of thick white smoke to hide its presence, it is equipped with a flamethrower in the tail that allows it to send out streams of flames for attack, it possesses optical camouflage abilities, it can utilize the laser technology to enhance its attack power, and finally, it has a multi-weapon rack, making it capable of changing guns and weapons easily for greater flexibility on who, how, and where you fight."
Brad's gaze moved from Laon over to the zoid in the tank, raising an eyebrow as he listened to all that the doctor had to say. It had exchanged a few things in the Shadow Fox for other weapons, like the net gun being turned into a flamethrower, making Brad question whether the zoid was a less powerful version of his former zoid. "So it's the Shadow Fox's weaker brother?"
"Oh, no, Brad, this is an equal to the fox in every aspect. Both of these zoids came about after finding an ancient derelict fox-type zoid, so their models are near identical to one another. Unfortunately, while working on them both, I could not get the combat databank of the Fire Fox to process new commands, so I instead focused my time on the Shadow Fox. And because no pilot could bring out the maximum potential of the Shadow Fox before you, I never returned to work on the Fire Fox until now."
"So what changed?" Naomi asked, wondering why Laon had returned to the project after abandoning it. If he had deemed it a failure once, why return to it months or years later?
"Brad getting the Shadow Fox destroyed," Laon growled, knowing that it was the Shadow Fox's destruction that forced him to complete the Fire Fox. "I hope to transfer the Shadow Fox's combat data into the Fire Fox, which will make the completion that much quicker. Hopefully it accepts the programming, or else you may be out of a zoid altogether if I can't hammer out the issues." He walked over to a small command portal that was next to the tank, and looked back to Naomi and Brad with a gleeful smile and look in his eyes, like a kid in a candy store. "Watch as you witness the birth of a new zoid." He pressed a button, and with a beep, the viscous red liquid that was in the tank began to funnel out through the piping system at the bottom of the tank, draining itself out slowly.
Naomi walked closer to the tank, seeing the beginnings of the zoid appear as the liquid left the tank. "What is that stuff?" She questioned, flairing her nostrils a bit and noticing that it smelled metallic.
"You zoid warriors truly don't know anything these days, do you?" Laon muttered, shaking his head in frustration, having witnessed the degeneration of zoid knowledge throughout the years. "Knowledge of zoids outside of how to pilot them has seemingly fallen out of favor. In a few years, I'd be surprised if any of you knew the least bit about zoids."
"Can the attitude, old man," Naomi laughed as she rolled her eyes, finding the rantings of the older doctor quite amusing.
"That liquid is a blend of water and reggel, with large clumps of zoid magnate mixed into the formula," Laon informed them both, telling them one of the secrets of zoid creation. Reggel was a relatively unknown substance to the general public, even though it was vitally important to the zoids that many commanded on a daily basis.
Brad looked at the liquid through the glass of the tank, noticing immediately that it had an orange appearance and had a viscosity of soup. "What does it do exactly?" He inquired, wondering why it was so important that the tank could not be filled simply with water.
"Reggel is akin to food for zoids, for lack of a better term. It houses the metals and components from which the zoid's very body and armor is created. It allows the zoid core to more easily channel energy from zoid Eve, and also gives it the material it needs to grow its body. You see that pole at the top of the tank?" He questioned, pointing up to the tank, where a long, thick blue metal pole was fastened to the top. "That's pure zoid magnite, which is a natural substance found within active volcanoes that channels pure eveian energy. By connecting it to the tank, the eveian energy is flowing directly into the zoid core, giving it even more energy to craft its body."
"Zoid Eve? Eveian energy?" Brad muttered, not recognizing the terms at all, inwardly feeling as if he was in scientist class back when he was a child in school. It was true that he knew very little about zoids, other than its weaponry, but even still, he didn't know he was that ignorant. "What in the name of Zi are you talking about?"
"Zoid Eve is the power source for all zoids on Zi," Laon informed them, willingly granting them the knowledge only a select few possessed. "Think of it as the internal energy of this planet: it creates and empowers the zoids. Without it, the zoids would be lifeless and would turn to stone. Zoid magnite and reggel both channel the energy into the zoid cores, with the liquid reggel flowing through the zoid's body, giving it energy and acting like a lubricant. In that way, it is like the blood of humans for zoids."
"Interesting," Naomi said, truly fascinated by what the doctor said. While she didn't really care about it in a practical sense, it was a topic of conversation that piqued her interest quite a bit.
"In order to create a zoid, you need a zoid core," Laon continued, walking over to a panel that showed the readings of the inner core of the Fire Fox. "Humans cannot create a core from nothing, we need material—a core is procured by stealing a core from another zoid, cloning a core, by altering an existing core, or in the most unlikely scenarios, finding an ancient core like I did with the foxes. Then, by modifying its genetic code to match the proper zoid that you want if you desire to change it, you submerge it into a tank with a similar formula to the one I just explained. If you supply it with enough reggel and energy, the core will do the work on its own so you just have to wait. A more barbaric way to build a zoid is to keep tossing zoid cores into a tank of water, allowing your zoid core to feed off of that energy and material, albeit at the expense of all those poor zoids that you destroyed by stealing their cores. I don't do that, and I hope that practice is never used ever again," He finished, giving a small look of disgust, as if he was sick at the thought of going about zoid creation that way.
"Is that the only way?" Naomi questioned, having never really thought about how zoids were created before then. While she knew they had some semblance of sentience, it had never really crossed her mind that zoids weren't just war machines, but instead, living mechanical beasts that could be born naturally on Zi.
"No," Laon shook his head in the negative, knowing that there was another way for a zoid body to be crafted, albeit a less efficient one. "Humans can create zoid bodies themselves, but these tend to look less natural and more man-made, like the Gordos, and they are slow and lumbering, as well. As such, it is a better process to allow the zoidcore to craft its own body as it creates a faster, stronger, more mobile zoid that is based upon wild zoids of ancient times when they used to numerously roam the lands."
Confused but staying silent, Brad and Naomi both watched as the tank completely drained, revealing the Fire Fox for the first time. Its body shape was identical to that of the Shadow Fox, being the same height and length with the same thin, agile frame. It was barren of weapons, though they both understood that it was the humans that added the weapons most of the time, rather than them being a natural component of the zoid itself. At first sight, it appeared to them that the main difference between the Fire Fox and the Shadow Fox was simply its color scheme. "It's red," Naomi noticed with a smirk, flicking her purple gaze over to Brad. "Fits right in with the Red Comets name."
"That's really convenient," Brad grinned at the woman, earning a laugh from her. "What are the chances that a zoid by the name of Fire Fox would be red?"
"Well, it could have been yellow or orange or yellow and orange," Naomi rattled, sticking her tongue out at Brad when he gave her a look. "Maybe even have some flames on its legs; there were lots of options."
Shaking his head in amusement and turning his attention back to the zoid, Brad marveled at it for a few doting moments, losing himself in the excitement that came with a new zoid. The Fire Fox did indeed have a red body, with a silver cockpit canopy and silver accents, green eyes, and gold teeth, claws and joint caps. Overall, it was a very handsome zoid in Brad's opinion, one that was both beautiful and powerful and would work well with Naomi's Gun Sniper. "How many people on this planet can do what you did?"
"How many?" Laon repeated, thinking out loud as a slew of names jumped to the forefront of his mind. "Professor Alteil knows about it, though he does not have any practical scientific knowledge on the matter—he is a zoid historian, not a scientist. There are a few scientists of the Zoitec Corporation and maybe a couple at Zi Arms that could do it, presumably some within the Champ Organization, a small number of scientists at the Zoid Academy that can, and one or two rogue scientists like Dr. Pierce, as well. Either way, you can probably count them all on two hands, give or take."
"Not Dr. Toros?" Brad questioned with a cocked eyebrow, wondering if his old boss could do what Laon did. While he knew that Dr. Toros had a child-like demeanor sometimes, he also knew that underneath all of that was a very shrewd and intelligent man, one that could think of a solution to anything if there was a need.
"Steve is a smart man, brilliant when it comes to weapons application, but he is a weapons engineer, nothing more, nothing less. Armor, cannons, pulse lasers, he can craft them with the best of them, but whole zoids?" Laon said in an amused tone, though he didn't sound mocking, but instead truthful. "Laughable."
"Didn't you two study together?" Brad asked confusedly, not understanding how Laon could know so much when the pair had been trained the same ways. "How do you know how to do it then?"
"We concentrated in different areas while at the Zoid Academy," Laon answered, as the trio walked back towards the tank, where the newly emerged Fire Fox stood in the center of the emptied tank. "This is it, the Fire Fox!" Laon exclaimed, once the glass on the tank was completely opened, granting them access to the remarkable zoid. "Once I transfer the combat data, it should be operational within hours."
"First, I have a question," Brad said, stopping Laon from starting his work. He was perplexed by the man's actions up until then and he wanted his questions answered first before they moved on. "Why are you doing this? I stole the Shadow Fox from you, and now you're content with giving me your other prized zoid? Something doesn't add up."
Laon looked down at the floor, staying silent for a few moments, before turning around and facing the couple. "You see that Hammer Kaiser over there?" Laon asked quietly, pointing over to the other side of the hangar that housed a maroon hammerhead shark-looking zoid. "It's a bit smaller than a normal Hammer Kaiser, only being able three large zoids or six medium-sized zoids."
Brad and Naomi turned their gazes over to the far side of the hangar, where indeed there was a Hammer Kaiser, a zoid that had not noticed up until then. A Hammer Kaiser was a relatively rare zoid, with only a dozen or so in existence, so to see one in such good shape was quite the sight in their opinion. "What's your point?"
"I was hoping that I could go straight and join your team," Laon answered honestly, truly wanting to be part of the newly created Red Comets. "You know, travel around in that Hammer Kaiser, competing against other zoid warrior teams."
"Are you sure this has more to do with you wanting to go straight than the fall of the Backdraft Group?" Naomi questioned, wanting to know his exact motivation for his desire. Neither she nor Brad could afford taking on someone that had a vendetta; she wasn't one to allow herself to be used like that, to be used solely to further a plot against someone.
"I left the group when they put Leena's life in danger," Laon replied with an edge to his voice, having had no intention of returning to them, even if the Backdraft had not been defeated. Regardless of his differences with Steve, he had no qualms with Leena, and in fact liked the woman and knew that she was innocent, so to see her in danger completely changed his perspective and made him see the error of his ways. "And since I've been personally blacklisted by the Zoid Battle Commission, joining your team is the only chance I have to utilizing my talents."
"So you're saying you want to be part of our team for real?" Brad reiterated, making sure they were all on the same page and that Laon wanted to actually be part of the team, rather than just give his zoid to them to use.
"Certainly," Laon nodded his head in the affirmative, desiring the opportunity to fight alongside them. While he wasn't a warrior himself and wouldn't enter the cockpit of a zoid, he enjoyed creating battle plans and watching their execution. "As the tactician, the mechanic, you know those types of things."
Naomi stared at Laon for a second, not knowing why he would pick them to join instead of other teams. She had no history with him other than what she knew from Brad, so it seemed curious to her that he specifically searched them out to join with on a team. "Why us?"
"Honestly?" Laon said, meeting Naomi's gaze, trying to show that he was being as truthful as he could. "You're both the best A class pilots that are out there. And with you're connection to the Blitz team, it seems almost natural. I'm not looking for a team that I have to carry to victory; I want a respectable team that can win and win a lot."
Naomi and Brad nodded to each other, before walking away for a few minutes to discuss the proposal amongst themselves. Quietly, they talked about the positives and negatives of Laon joing their team, arguing both sides in order get the best answer. They continued for a couple of minutes, looking Laon's way a few times, before whispering once more and seemingly making their decision. "You get 10 percent of the earnings after the expenses are paid out, giving Brad and I 45 percent each." Naomi said when they walked back to him, giving him an affirmative to his proposal.
"With all due respect, Naomi," Laon started, giving her a large smile, not wanting her to think that he was angry at her offer. "I'm not in it for the money, far from it, but I know what I'm bringing to the table. A new zoid for Brad, a base of operations with all the tools and simulators a zoid pilot needs to reach their peak skill, and a carrier zoid that would allow us to enter more tournaments and competitions, and accept more challenges than your Gustav would allow. We both know that's worth more than 10 percent—at least 30 percent."
"25," Naomi replied, realizing that it the initial offer was really low in retrospect now that he had put everything he was bringing onto the table. With Laon's resources, the Red Comets would become a premier team, which suited them perfectly with the skill that the all possessed. "That's our final offer."
"Deal," Laon nodded, shaking her outstretched hand in acceptance of the terms. While he thought that he deserved more than he was receiving, he knew that 25 percent was more than enough to earn a great living and be able to fund all the projects he had in mind, which had been financed by the Backdraft Group until their dissolution.
"And the Red Comets just got stronger," Brad said loudly, looking up and admiring the Fire Fox, thrilled to have a new zoid without having to buy one himself. He had grown to love his Shadow Fox throughout their battles, and he hoped that it would be the same for the Fire Fox.
"If only we had the Elephander," Laon sighed, knowing that the trio would make a formidable team. "They were supposed to be teammates, you know, the Shadow Fox and the Elephander. The Shadow Fox, being a most agile zoid, covered the Elephander's deficiencies, while the Elephander brought the raw firepower that the Shadow Fox did not possess."
"That would be quite a potent tandem," Brad whistled, seeing the tactical brilliance of the pair together. He knew that the Elephander was a slow, ponderous zoid, lacking the speed to fight many of the quicker zords, which was something that the Shadow Fox excelled at when piloted correctly.
Naomi raised an eyebrow at Brad's statement, shifting her gaze over to him. "So are you saying you want to quit and join with the Elephander?" Naomi grinned, bumping into Brad playfully as they both walked closer to the Fire Fox to get a better look.
"Only if you're the pilot of it," Brad replied, as he ran a hand over the fox's leg, admiring the craftsmanship. Shaking their heads in amusement, they watched Laon get started on transferring the combat data between the Shadow Fox and the Fire Fox, intent on helping should the need arise. It would take a few hours, Brad knew, but he couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of taking the Fire Fox out for a ride, knowing fully well that it would be the beginning of a beautiful relationship together along with Naomi.
S/N: A few things: This story takes place in a combined universe of Fuzors and New Century/Zero and other video games with Zero taking precedence, hence the mention of Dr. Pierce. If I were to write another one-shot in this universe, the zoids would change with RD not piloting a Liger Zero, but instead another zoid, since the New Century would take precedence and Bit is the pilot of the Liger in my mind. And finally, I know it's called the Geno Saurer, but I wanted to keep the nomenclature of New Century/Zero, and in that series, they were known as Geno Sauruses.