Disclaimer: I still don't own Ben 10, or Zoids! I also don't own the Static Shock reference used in this chapter!
Desert Tusk: Assault of the Warsharks!
"Okay, let's see what I'm working with." Ben said to himself.
He was currently trying to work the kinks out of the Liger Zero Overdrive Armor, and was growing a bit concerned. For some reason, the launchers for the missiles were badly jammed and this could pose a problem later on if things got too hectic in battle. Ben had already lost one Missile Pod in a battle against the Styraco Team, a team composed of three normal Dark Horn Zoids, but thankfully the Liger Zero wasn't damaged from the explosion.
The Blitz Team still won that battle, but Ben didn't wanna take any chances of a repeat performance with the missiles. Fortunately, Jamie was willing to give him a hand with figuring out how to fix this problem. But so far, it wasn't looking good.
"What do you think, Jamie? Can we fix this thing?" Ben asked.
"Well, it's hard to say." Jamie replied. "The launcher for the Missile Pod is jammed pretty bad. I think that we can fix it in time for our next battle, but with the condition this thing's in we may need to replace it."
Ben sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"That's what I was afraid of..." Ben said to himself. "Well, let's do what we can and hope for the best."
Although, Ben did notice that there was something wrong with Jamie. He seemed to be a little bit steamed about something, even though he did an excellent job at hiding it. Did it have something to do with the team not listening to him during the battle?
It was possible. Jamie did have a knack for coming up with awesome strategies on the field, but once it was battle time everything seems to fall apart and the team just does their own thing. Ben happened to know exactly how that feels.
"Hey, guys! We have a battle scheduled for the day after tomorrow!"
Ben and Jamie looked over to the entrance of the hangar, and saw Pierce walking in. Ben lowered the scaffolding, and Jamie looked pretty shocked that they had another battle so soon.
"But we just had a battle today!" Jamie said in shock.
"I know, but Doc has already accepted the battle, so we don't really have much of a choice." Pierce replied.
"Well, at least this'll bring in some much needed cash." Ben said. "Who're we up against?"
"That's the part that'll probably shock you. We're up against a team known as the Heavy Team. And the pilots are... Your parents." Pierce informed.
*THUMP!*
Just like Pierce thought, Ben was indeed shocked by this information. So shocked, in fact, that he fainted on the spot! Pierce and Jamie definitely freaked out when this happened.
"BEN! JAMIE, QUICK, GET THE SMELLING SALTS!" Pierce ordered.
***Later That Day***
Altile, commander of the Backdraft Group, was piloting a Dark Horn McMann custom along with two soldiers who were piloting a pair of Iron Kong PK's. He needed the assistance of a certain team of Backdraft warriors that were known to be as ruthless as those who fought in the old wars.
The location of these pilots was only known to a select few pilots in the Backdraft Group, and even then it wasn't easy to get there. But soon enough, Altile and his men arrived at the location of this team.
It was an old rock formation that looked like a giant set of carnivorous teeth. It was smack dab in the middle of a desert, and there were parts of various Zoids that had been destroyed here. Obviously, they were Zoids belonging to warriors who fought this team... And lost.
"This area is our sacred grounds...!" echoed a mysterious voice. "If you do not wish to be destroyed, state your business now!"
Altile didn't say anything. He just stood his ground with his eyes narrowed. Even as his radar system alerted him to the three Zoids that had somehow surrounded them. But the Iron Kong pilots were beginning to have a panic attack.
"Sir, three enemies have somehow surrounded us without our knowledge!" panicked one of the Iron Kong pilots.
"Stay calm!" Altile ordered.
But they couldn't stay calm. The enemy Zoids began to advance on them in an attack formation that just screamed eternal pain and suffering!
"They're attacking!"
In their panic and fear, the two Iron Kongs readied their weapons to attack the enemy Zoids. But this was something that Altile didn't want to happen.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Altile ordered.
But they didn't listen. The Iron Kong pilots fired at the "burrowing" Zoids in an attempt to freeze their systems. But this didn't work in their favor. The first Iron Kong was immediately shot down, while the second one was tripped up by a Zoid that attacked much like an Antlion. Only Altile and his Dark Horn remained standing.
"That was a little bit excessive. Even for the Fuma Team." Altile said.
Within the shadows of the rock formation materialized the leader of the Fuma Team. It was a woman that was about average height. She had wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. She wore a purple and black outfit, and seemed to move like a ninja from ancient Japanese history. Ironically, her name was the same as her team name.
"We apologize, master Altile." Fuma said. "We thought you'd be impressed."
The heads of three Shark Type Zoids emerged from the sand. And standing on the heads of those Zoids were three men. One had blue hair and squinty eyes, another had green eyes and a beard, and the other had black hair and brown eyes.
"We are nothing more than a shadow that moves through the darkness." said one man.
"We surprise our opponents with swift movements, and ambush attacks." said another.
"By the time they know what's happening, there's no time for them to attack or defend!" finished the last one.
"And I am very impressed by your efficiency in battle, Fuma Team!" Altile said.
"Thank you. So, master Altile, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Fuma asked.
"I'm assuming that you've heard about the Blitz Team. I want you to defeat them in battle!" Altile ordered.
Fuma didn't seem so sure about this. After all, the Blitz Team may have captured the attention of a few lower ranked officers, but they weren't all that special! Were they?
"Are you sure that's a wise decision, sir?" Fuma asked. "The Blitz Team is merely some rookie team that's caught the attention of some lower ranked members of the Backdraft Group. If we face them in battle and they lose, they may never recover!"
"I don't care! If the Blitz Team's Liger Zero really is the legendary Ultimate X Zoid, then your team may very well lose against them!" Altile argued.
He was adamant about finding and obtaining a legendary Ultimate X Zoid for the Backdraft Group, and was sure that the Liger Zero was this Zoid. He just needed this battle to take place so that he could confirm his suspicions.
"I want you to defeat the Blitz Team using any means necessary." Altile commanded.
"As you wish." Fuma replied.
With their meeting complete, Fuma faded back into the shadows while the three Warsharks sank back into the ground. Altile smirked as he thought of the battle that would surely bring about the destruction of the Blitz Team.
***Blitz Team Base***
It took awhile to wake Ben up from his fainting spell, but eventually they managed to get him up. But then, they couldn't blame him for fainting. I mean you would too if your parents were active Zoid Warriors in the A-Rank competition.
"So, what kind of Zoids do they have anyway?" Ben asked.
"I'm glad you asked, Ben." Doctor Toros said.
He typed in a few codes, and two Zoids appeared on the screen. They appeared to be incredibly heavy Zoids that had enough power to send many a warrior running for the hills. The first Zoid was a Spinosaurus Type Zoid that was built for Electronic Warfare. It was covered in cyan blue armor with a few purple details, red eyes in the canopy, and unlike most of its kind this Zoid had a set of anchors for something. Plus instead of having an ordinary sail on its back, this Zoid's sail resembled the teeth on a buzzsaw.
The second Zoid was an older model Tyrannosaurus Type. It had black colored armor, an orange visor for the canopy, and was more built for close range combat. It had plates on its back like those of a Gordos which suggests that its design was derived from the Zoid. It still had several powerful ranged weapons, but looked to be more of a close range fighter.
"Ben, your mother has a Dark Spiner that's actually a custom made model. It has a special weapon that no other Dark Spiner Zoid has. Your father covers the lack of close range fighting using his standard Gojulas." Doc informed. "I'm certain that you'll find this battle to be quite a challenge as opposed to the recent battles we've been winning."
"Yeah, and I have a feeling that we'll need Jamie to come up with another awesome strategy to use in this fight!" Ben said before turning to the young tactician. "We're all counting on you, Jamie."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say." Jamie said.
But he didn't sound as confident as he normally would, and Ben noticed that. He made a mental note to speak to the young tactician later that day. After all, Doc may have said that Jamie needs to figure this out on his own, but Ben understands that Jamie still needs guidance at this stage of his life.
Sure enough, later that night, Ben found Jamie messing around with some combat situations of the Blitz Team's battles. The boy obviously seemed to be confused about something, because he kept running the simulations over and over again, and each time ended with the same results. Failure.
"I just don't understand it." Jamie thought to himself. "How do we keep winning with the way Ben, Brad, Leena and Pierce pilot their Zoids?"
"Trying to figure out how we've been winning the way we do?" Ben asked.
The sudden question caused Jamie to yelp and fall out of his chair. He was breathing a bit faster, and holding his hand to his chest where his heart would be.
"Ben, you know I hate that!" Jamie yelled.
"Hey, sorry. I just wanted to know why you keep running these simulations of all of our battles." Ben said.
Jamie got back into the chair, and started to playback a simulation of the Blitz Team's battle with the Styraco Team. It simulated the battle with a very different outcome than what really did happen. The Blitz Team lost instead of winning that battle.
"Well, judging from how the statistics on the simulation are implying, we really should be losing more battles than we've been winning. And even though I come up with strategies that should be winning us the battle, you guys always just go off and do your own thing. It makes me wonder why I even bother coming up with strategies anymore." Jamie said in depression.
"That's what this is about?" Ben asked. "Jamie, you need to understand that not every plan works the first time. It's a little something called Murphy's law. But don't let that discourage you."
This little talk seemed to cheer Jamie up right away.
"Thanks, Ben. I needed to hear that." Jamie said with a smile.
With that little talk out of the way, both members of the Blitz Team turned in for the night. The battle was going to be a pretty big one, and they needed to be well rested to defeat the enemy this time. But in the back of his mind, Ben couldn't help but feel like something really bad was going to happen this time. Something he'd be unable to prevent.
And out in the darkness of night, the Fuma Team was advancing toward the battlefield where the Blitz Team's match with the Heavy Team would take place.
***The Next Day***
As the Hover Cargo was advancing towards the coordinates for the battle, Ben was getting ready to change armor units for the fight. He knew which one would give him an advantage, but be wanted a second opinion from Liger Zero.
"So, Liger, which armor should we use this time? Percival? Maybe Overdrive?" Ben asked.
But he was surely surprised when the Liger Zero selected the Zero X armor instead of Overdrive or Percival. It just didn't seem like a very practical armor to use against a Zoid like a Gojulas or a Dark Spiner. However, he also understood that the Liger Zero wouldn't choose an armor unit like Zero X unless it knew that the armor would be useful in combat.
"You sure you wanna go with Zero X?" Ben asked.
Liger Zero reared back its head as it roared in affirmative. Ben smiled and nodded, as he got ready to change the Liger's armor.
"You got it, partner. Jamie, activate the system… Zero X!" Ben ordered.
"Right Ben! Transforming now!" Jamie replied.
The CAS System did its job as it removed the Liger's base armor, before attacking the armor for Zero X onto the Zoid. All the while, doctor Toros was beginning to go on a bit of a rant about this armor unit.
"The Liger Zero X! Equipped with two Stun Blades, and two Electron Drivers, it'll really electrify the enemy!" Doc said. "It's the perfect armor to use against an electronic warfare Zoid like the Dark Spiner!"
Brad and his Zeekdober were the first to be launched, but Ben and the Liger Zero X weren't far behind. The catapult was readied, and Ben let loose the new battle call he came up with for this particular armor unit.
"Liger Zero X... Put a shock to their systems!"
The Liger was launched from the Hover Cargo, and skidded to a stop next to the Zeekdober. It roared as it saw its opponents come into view. Sure enough, Carl's Gojulas and Sandra's Dark Spiner walked onto the battlefield. This was going to be a battle that would span the ages of combat. Parent vs. Child!
But this battle would have to wait. For the Judge that landed wasn't one from the Battle Commission... It was a Backdraft Judge!
Ending Narration (Sandra): "These Warsharks are absolutely ruthless! They've been using every illegal move imaginable, and have even stooped to attacking the cockpit! Hey, you can't attack the transport like that!"
"Next time on Ben 10: New Century Zero; Liger's Rage: Team Up of the Blitz and Heavy Teams! Ready...? FIGHT!"
I'm afraid I had to cut this chapter short as I have once again reached an impasse. I don't know what to do for the next chapter! I have some options in mind, so I'm gonna post a poll on this subject. SO PLEASE VOTE AND HELP ME! Next up, I'm updating Ben Tennyson Ghoul of Flames.