Author's note: Hey, thanks for all the reviews! And I'm glad FF.Net has finally gotten things straight. Ryan, I agree that Van will need some prodding, and it might take Erin to do it. And I hope your bad day got better, Dracou! So, Thomas, how's the AI unit JdL paid you doing? *wink*
Thomas: *lying under computer table with pillow over his head* .....
Shelly: *sigh* I think you shamed him, Jdl. *smirk*
Thomas: What did I ever do to deserve this?
Shelly: Don't worry, Thomas, AnimeQueen still loves you.
Thomas: She does?
Shelly: Yeah! But only because I bribed her by telling her she can pilot your Dibison for a day. Mwahahaha!!!
Thomas: No one loves me anymore!!!
Shelly: *sighs again as she hugs him* Thomas, I still love you. Otherwise I wouldn't pick on you.
Enjoy!
The Most Precious Gift by Shelly
CHAPTER THREE
Thomas sat back in the cockpit of his Dibison, his mind wandering as he followed Van towards the site of a recent excavation, a place that had once been an underground weapons storage facility. Recently it had been attacked by what appeared to be a band of mercenaries, and they had taken every bit of what had been stored there, and the Guardian Force had been called in at this point to take things from there.
"Why do we have to be the ones to investigate this?" Thomas asked. "Can't the military handle it?"
"That's not for us to question," Van replied. "Apparently they thought it might've been more than just a simple robbery. There's a chance it could be the work of some of those that Tragar named, if we can trust what he told us is true."
"Which is why we must be careful before we go pointing any fingers," Thomas added. Then they became quiet as they neared their destination, eventually arriving and surveying the area for themselves before determining a course of action. It was obvious that whoever had done this wasn't very smart as they had left behind footprints of their zoids in the sand.
Deciding to follow the trail, they started off after it and soon hit a dead end as the tracks seemed to stop all of a sudden. Had they been smart enough to cover them after all? Or maybe the wind had filled them with sand?
They soon got their answer as they were suddenly struck from all sides with enemy fire, both of them wondering where the shots were coming from as they couldn't see anything, both with their eyes and with radar. "This is insane!" Van cried. "Where are they?"
"Beek!" Thomas shouted. "Come on, there's got to be a way to find them!" Both of them had resorted to firing in the direction from which they were being hit, but all that was accomplishing was little to nothing except when they scored a lucky hit on one. "They're Helcats!" he cried.
"Great!" Van exclaimed as he continued firing and trying to dodge the barrage at the same time. "How are we supposed to fight against something we can't see?"
"You men," a female voice joined in. "Always relying on your machines instead of using your eyes."
"You're a good one to talk," Van returned.
"Oh, I'm not part of the enemy," the voice replied. "I was just passing through and saw the battle. Thought you could use some help since you're doing such a bad job of it."
"You expect us to believe you?" Thomas demanded. "After we're through with these Helcats, you're next!" Next thing he knew, he saw a flash out of his cockpit window, and his eyes widened as he looked upon the most unusual zoid he had ever seen. It was clearly a fox-type zoid and it appeared to be able to see the enemy clearly as it decimated their ranks quickly, pouncing on some and making short work of them with its claws while using its back-mounted gun to blast through the others. His only thought was that to be a female she was amazingly good at controlling her zoid, but too bad for her she was on the wrong side. "Megalo Max," he said as he lined her up in his sights. "Fire!"
The Dibison let loose with an enormous blast from its cannons that carpeted the area with a heavy barrage and kicked up a lot of dust in the process. He sat inside smirking at what clearly had been an easy victory for him, his smile fading when he saw the zoid burst through the dust cloud, claws glowing brightly as it slashed at his left front, scoring a minor cut that did just enough damage to ensure he would be limping back to the Empire.
But the zoid didn't stop there. It kept running past him to a target only it could see, firing at it and disabling the stealth shield that had hidden a Gustav and its precious cargo, which was none other than the weapons that had been stolen earlier that morning. And with one swipe of its claws, it cut loose the cargo beds and promptly turned back towards them.
"How about it, Liger? You wanna piece of me, too?"
Van was struck speechless at the abilities of this new zoid, excited that he was going to get his chance at seeing for himself just how good this zoid and its pilot really were. "Sounds good to me," he replied. "Let's do it, Zeke!"
Zeke roared and spurred the Blade Liger into action as the fox-type zoid emitted a strange high-pitch cry and braced its front feet into the sand as it fired its gun at Van, who easily dodged it and attempted to pounce on it. But the zoid deftly sprinted forward just in time to avoid him, and Van took off after it, gasping in surprise when it discharged a thick, dark cloud that obscured his vision. He stood there for a moment as he didn't want to move and give away his position, bracing himself when he was hit by gunfire.
Having had enough, he extended his blades and kept his eyes open for any sign of movement in the smoke, and when he saw it he lunged forward, hoping that he would hit something and he did when he heard the cry of the zoid as well as that of the pilot. When the smoke cleared, he saw that he had sliced off its right front leg, and now it was lying on the ground, but the fight hadn't gone out of it altogether as it was swiveling its gun towards him for a last shot, and he stepped on it to keep this battle at a standstill. He needed her alive and conscious if he was going to get any answers out of her.
"I wouldn't if I were you," he said. "This battle's over, and you're under arrest."
"I told you, I'm not part of the enemy!" she retorted, angry that he had defeated her Shadow Fox.
"If you aren't, we'll release you after we've confirmed it. It's just a precaution," he explained then switched to another channel to let the military know that they found the thieves and needed a Gustav with a cargo bed to transport a damaged zoid back to the capitol as he was sure the Dibison could make it back on its own.
Erin sat on the warm desert sand, watching as the two men began repairs on the Dibison while they were waiting for the military to get here, her hands tied securely behind her back. Not only was it hot out here, she was already miffed that he had defeated her Shadow Fox and was going to take her back to the capitol as his prisoner. Although after watching the young warrior, she couldn't resist the thought that she wouldn't mind being his prisoner as he was quite cute, but that uniform he wore made him downright sexy.
But then she sighed as she knew it wouldn't do any good for her to even hope for anything as nothing ever came of her relationships with those of the male persuasion. She always became good friends with them before anything else, and then when she thought she could take the next step they would say that they would rather remain friends as they thought of her as a sister more than anything else. And as a result she had refused to allow herself to even consider becoming involved with anyone, making her one very lonely warrior.
Shaking herself from her thoughts, she looked up to see the tall blond pilot offering her some water, and she had no choice but to accept his offer as her throat was parched. The only problem was that he had to hold it so she could drink it since she couldn't use her hands, but he did very well since she managed not to spill a drop, and she looked up to thank him. Or she had planned to before she found herself gazing into a pair of eyes that were a startling shade of green, almost like hers were.
But then she looked away as to look too long meant to get lost in them, and she had to guard herself against that if she was to retain any shred of her dignity about her. "Thanks," she said.
Thomas stood there just as dumbstruck as he had found her own eyes to be just as enchanting. But he reminded himself that she was the enemy until proven otherwise and he was to treat her as such until they went their separate ways. "Y-you're welcome," he stammered, embarrassed that it had come out that way, and he turned and quickly walked back to his Dibison to help Van.
She appraised him with a wide-eyed stare, wondering what on Zi was his problem as he seemed a strange type. Cute, but strange.
*******************
Before anyone says anything, I know that the Shadow Fox has never been mentioned in the Guardian Force series, but that doesn't mean it can't exist. And I hope I'm getting a little better at writing battle scenes. -_- Anyway, thanks for reading!
Thomas: *lying under computer table with pillow over his head* .....
Shelly: *sigh* I think you shamed him, Jdl. *smirk*
Thomas: What did I ever do to deserve this?
Shelly: Don't worry, Thomas, AnimeQueen still loves you.
Thomas: She does?
Shelly: Yeah! But only because I bribed her by telling her she can pilot your Dibison for a day. Mwahahaha!!!
Thomas: No one loves me anymore!!!
Shelly: *sighs again as she hugs him* Thomas, I still love you. Otherwise I wouldn't pick on you.
Enjoy!
The Most Precious Gift by Shelly
CHAPTER THREE
Thomas sat back in the cockpit of his Dibison, his mind wandering as he followed Van towards the site of a recent excavation, a place that had once been an underground weapons storage facility. Recently it had been attacked by what appeared to be a band of mercenaries, and they had taken every bit of what had been stored there, and the Guardian Force had been called in at this point to take things from there.
"Why do we have to be the ones to investigate this?" Thomas asked. "Can't the military handle it?"
"That's not for us to question," Van replied. "Apparently they thought it might've been more than just a simple robbery. There's a chance it could be the work of some of those that Tragar named, if we can trust what he told us is true."
"Which is why we must be careful before we go pointing any fingers," Thomas added. Then they became quiet as they neared their destination, eventually arriving and surveying the area for themselves before determining a course of action. It was obvious that whoever had done this wasn't very smart as they had left behind footprints of their zoids in the sand.
Deciding to follow the trail, they started off after it and soon hit a dead end as the tracks seemed to stop all of a sudden. Had they been smart enough to cover them after all? Or maybe the wind had filled them with sand?
They soon got their answer as they were suddenly struck from all sides with enemy fire, both of them wondering where the shots were coming from as they couldn't see anything, both with their eyes and with radar. "This is insane!" Van cried. "Where are they?"
"Beek!" Thomas shouted. "Come on, there's got to be a way to find them!" Both of them had resorted to firing in the direction from which they were being hit, but all that was accomplishing was little to nothing except when they scored a lucky hit on one. "They're Helcats!" he cried.
"Great!" Van exclaimed as he continued firing and trying to dodge the barrage at the same time. "How are we supposed to fight against something we can't see?"
"You men," a female voice joined in. "Always relying on your machines instead of using your eyes."
"You're a good one to talk," Van returned.
"Oh, I'm not part of the enemy," the voice replied. "I was just passing through and saw the battle. Thought you could use some help since you're doing such a bad job of it."
"You expect us to believe you?" Thomas demanded. "After we're through with these Helcats, you're next!" Next thing he knew, he saw a flash out of his cockpit window, and his eyes widened as he looked upon the most unusual zoid he had ever seen. It was clearly a fox-type zoid and it appeared to be able to see the enemy clearly as it decimated their ranks quickly, pouncing on some and making short work of them with its claws while using its back-mounted gun to blast through the others. His only thought was that to be a female she was amazingly good at controlling her zoid, but too bad for her she was on the wrong side. "Megalo Max," he said as he lined her up in his sights. "Fire!"
The Dibison let loose with an enormous blast from its cannons that carpeted the area with a heavy barrage and kicked up a lot of dust in the process. He sat inside smirking at what clearly had been an easy victory for him, his smile fading when he saw the zoid burst through the dust cloud, claws glowing brightly as it slashed at his left front, scoring a minor cut that did just enough damage to ensure he would be limping back to the Empire.
But the zoid didn't stop there. It kept running past him to a target only it could see, firing at it and disabling the stealth shield that had hidden a Gustav and its precious cargo, which was none other than the weapons that had been stolen earlier that morning. And with one swipe of its claws, it cut loose the cargo beds and promptly turned back towards them.
"How about it, Liger? You wanna piece of me, too?"
Van was struck speechless at the abilities of this new zoid, excited that he was going to get his chance at seeing for himself just how good this zoid and its pilot really were. "Sounds good to me," he replied. "Let's do it, Zeke!"
Zeke roared and spurred the Blade Liger into action as the fox-type zoid emitted a strange high-pitch cry and braced its front feet into the sand as it fired its gun at Van, who easily dodged it and attempted to pounce on it. But the zoid deftly sprinted forward just in time to avoid him, and Van took off after it, gasping in surprise when it discharged a thick, dark cloud that obscured his vision. He stood there for a moment as he didn't want to move and give away his position, bracing himself when he was hit by gunfire.
Having had enough, he extended his blades and kept his eyes open for any sign of movement in the smoke, and when he saw it he lunged forward, hoping that he would hit something and he did when he heard the cry of the zoid as well as that of the pilot. When the smoke cleared, he saw that he had sliced off its right front leg, and now it was lying on the ground, but the fight hadn't gone out of it altogether as it was swiveling its gun towards him for a last shot, and he stepped on it to keep this battle at a standstill. He needed her alive and conscious if he was going to get any answers out of her.
"I wouldn't if I were you," he said. "This battle's over, and you're under arrest."
"I told you, I'm not part of the enemy!" she retorted, angry that he had defeated her Shadow Fox.
"If you aren't, we'll release you after we've confirmed it. It's just a precaution," he explained then switched to another channel to let the military know that they found the thieves and needed a Gustav with a cargo bed to transport a damaged zoid back to the capitol as he was sure the Dibison could make it back on its own.
Erin sat on the warm desert sand, watching as the two men began repairs on the Dibison while they were waiting for the military to get here, her hands tied securely behind her back. Not only was it hot out here, she was already miffed that he had defeated her Shadow Fox and was going to take her back to the capitol as his prisoner. Although after watching the young warrior, she couldn't resist the thought that she wouldn't mind being his prisoner as he was quite cute, but that uniform he wore made him downright sexy.
But then she sighed as she knew it wouldn't do any good for her to even hope for anything as nothing ever came of her relationships with those of the male persuasion. She always became good friends with them before anything else, and then when she thought she could take the next step they would say that they would rather remain friends as they thought of her as a sister more than anything else. And as a result she had refused to allow herself to even consider becoming involved with anyone, making her one very lonely warrior.
Shaking herself from her thoughts, she looked up to see the tall blond pilot offering her some water, and she had no choice but to accept his offer as her throat was parched. The only problem was that he had to hold it so she could drink it since she couldn't use her hands, but he did very well since she managed not to spill a drop, and she looked up to thank him. Or she had planned to before she found herself gazing into a pair of eyes that were a startling shade of green, almost like hers were.
But then she looked away as to look too long meant to get lost in them, and she had to guard herself against that if she was to retain any shred of her dignity about her. "Thanks," she said.
Thomas stood there just as dumbstruck as he had found her own eyes to be just as enchanting. But he reminded himself that she was the enemy until proven otherwise and he was to treat her as such until they went their separate ways. "Y-you're welcome," he stammered, embarrassed that it had come out that way, and he turned and quickly walked back to his Dibison to help Van.
She appraised him with a wide-eyed stare, wondering what on Zi was his problem as he seemed a strange type. Cute, but strange.
*******************
Before anyone says anything, I know that the Shadow Fox has never been mentioned in the Guardian Force series, but that doesn't mean it can't exist. And I hope I'm getting a little better at writing battle scenes. -_- Anyway, thanks for reading!