*****The Generation Of The Liger: First Battle*****
Disclaimer: I don't own it! It being Zoids! Blah.
Author's Note: I got it up!! Up up up!! Oh yeah.. Thanks to review stuff. Yeah!
*****
Previous chapter...
*****
"What're you smiling about?"
Leon Torros looked up as his father and younger sister came over to stand behind Brad, each watching him as Jamie continued to mess with the controls.
"Nothing... nothing at all."
*****
Bit coughed as he felt the Zoid jerk one last time as it pulled its head back and let loose an ear-shattering roar, then came to a rest in the hanger. The cockpit slid open and he fell out, gasping, as he lightly patted Liger Zero on the head.
"Thanks for the ride, buddy, but next time, try to be a little more gentle, will ya'?"
Catching his breath, he pulled himself off the Zoid and climbed down the ladder, hearing the glass window slide back over. He jumped off the bottom rung of the ladder then dusted himself off as he looked up at the quiet Leon. He nodded to him and followed the older teen back to the main room, where the rest of the Blitz Team was waiting.
As soon as he entered, Leena glared at him and Jamie fell silent, eyebrows rising as Bit turned and sat himself. Leon grabbed a chair as Steve Torros, Doc, stood, and addressed him.
"Whatever happened in that hanger, I'd like to know sometime, but not now. I just can't understand how you got that Zoid to do anything; when any one of the Blitz Team members tried to battle with it, it didn't even move half of the time."
Brad smirked as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Leon here says that you seem to be pretty good with it, and wants you to stick around for awhile and to maybe stay with us, to become a member of the team."
Bit jumped up, pumping his fist in the air.
"*Yes*!!! I'm so--"
"--Don't get so excited, kid. You'll have to learn the ropes and it could get pretty tough," Brad interrupted, eyes looking up to examine the blonde teen.
Jamie stood, walking to the side of the couch.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get ready for tomorrow's fight. It's going to be us against the Thunder Team, they've got a Ptera Striker, a Gun Sniper and a Shield Liger," he spoke, glancing at Leon as he mentioned the Shield Liger. "The battle is going to take place tomorrow, noon-time, means we'll have to actually be up at a time that's fresh and early for several of us." This time, Jamie glanced at Leena, who scowled at the mention of the time she'd have to get up.
Doc Torros nodded, understanding.
"Brad, you'll have to use your Command Wolf, and Leena, you'll be using your own Dibison, which should be relatively repaired enough by tomorrow. What are we going to do about the last fighter, though, with Jamie's Ptera Striker still in the works out and Leon with a broken arm?"
Leon stepped up, smiling slightly.
"I'm surprised it's not obvious. We'll just have to use Bit Cloud, here, with Liger Zero."
Leena sighed, knowing it was the only way, but not liking it. She muttered as Bit stuck his tongue out at her behind Leon's back, and returned the favor by flipping him off with both hands.
"Leena!"
She blushed, quickly yanking her hands behind her back.
"Sorry."
Doc Torros turned back to Leon, shaking his head after catching his daughter basically cussing at their newest crew member, at least tempoarily.
"Well, alright, I suppose we have no choice in the matter."
Bit silently cheered as a wide grin spread over his face, while Brad bent his head down, smirking slightly. He knew the kid would be overexcited, so hopefull.
Leon turned and started heading back to his room, happy to know that the matter of who was going to fight was resolved, while Jamie turned to the computer, Doc coming up behind him.
"I figure that we should have the Dibison go after the Ptera Striker, since the aerial unit will be easiest to hit with missiles, and the Shield Liger taken by the Command Wolf. That leaves the Gun Sniper for the Liger, should be simple enough."
Jamie turned to glance at Bit, smiling slightly.
"The Gun Sniper shouldn't be hard to take out at all, considering you've just started Zoid fighting."
Bit muttered under his breath about being treated like a kid while Leena giggled. Doc stood, yawning.
"It's time for you all to go to bed. We have a fight tomorrow, and getting no sleep won't help the matter," he stated as he turned, walking out of the room. The four teenagers stayed in the control room for several minutes, all remaining silent, until Jamie stood clumsily, the silence making him uncomfortable.
"Good night, Brad, Leena, Bit," he nodded to each in turn, and left, Brad following close behind.
Leena coughed to break the silence as Bit turned his head to the side, scratching the back of it uneasily. After several seconds of no sound whatsoever that seemed to last hours, both left to head in different directions, each mumbling a barely audible g'nite to the other.
*****
[Next Morning...]
Bit sat up from his cot in the spare room, yawning loudly as he stretched out both arms. He smacked his lips several times as he stood and stretched again. It wasn't exactly comfortable sleeping in your normal day clothes, but it wasn't as bad as sleeping in your normal day clothes on top of the steering wheel of a truck whose break tended to slip off so that the truck would start rolling down the nearest hill. He let out a sigh of bliss.
Thank God he screwed things up with the Dibison.
The teen wandered out of his room after he'd slipped his boots back on, into the main control room where breakfast would probably be ready.
He was right; the breakfast had been made and was near gone as Leena leaned forward sluggishly to grab the last of the doughnuts. Bit blinked and walked by her, whistling, then swiped his hand out to snatch it. After this, he ran like hell.
"What.. the.. hey?!" Leena spoke, confused for several seconds. Soon, however, she realized what Bit had done and ran after him, yelling threats that revolved around her beating the crap out of him.
Jamie sighed as the two ran in circles around the couch in the center of the room, while Brad leaned back, hands behind his head as he closed his eyes. Doc Torros was still getting up, and the room was left to the teenagers.
"Bit, gimmie my food!!"
"You ate everything else!"
"It's *mine*!!!"
"Yeah well not anymore!"
"Don't you--"
Bit shoved the doughnut into his mouth and kept running while Leena shrieked in anger.
"You.. you.. you big jerk!!!"
Jamie sighed again and leaned down, banging his head lightly against a desk. This daily routine was beginning to give him a headache. Finally, to his great relief, Steve Torros emerged from the main halls and the two fighting adolescents fell silent and nodded cheerfully to him.
The man sat after greeting each member of the Blitz Team jubilantly, and then commenced to review the battle plans. He reminded each of those who were to fight; Brad, Leena and Bit; that they were to stick as closely to Jamie's battle tactics as possible. Jamie smiled slightly as he turned to his computer, typing furiously on the keyboard. Seeing his well-planned fights play successful on the field gave him something similar to a sugar rush.
"All ready, you three?"
The teens responded with a chorus of yes', which was enough to satisfy Doc.
"Then move out!"
Leena, Brad and Bit headed to the hangers, Brad in front as the other two argued behind. Fortunately, they only had a few minutes before they found themselves in their Zoids, preparing to launch.
The platforms each turned, facing outwards as the ramp slid open.
"Let's gooooo, Liger!"
With a loud roar, the lion Zoid leapt from the ramp to run at a brisk pace to stand by the other two Zoids, Brad's Command Wolf and Leena's Dibison. The three other Zoids, the Ptera Striker, Shield Liger and Gun Sniper stood opposite them, each shifting in their place.
A loud crash was heard from across the plains, a cloud of smoke billowing out from a small white capsule. The front of it opened to reveal a robotic judge, who waited, poised.
"The area within an 20 mile radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield. This zone is now restricted. Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. Danger! All others must leave the area at once. Area scanned. Battlefield set up. The Thunder Team versus the Blitz Team. Battle Mode 0982. Ready...FIGHT!"
A foghorn sounded, and the Zoids sped into action. The Thunder Team immediately seperated, each heading in different directions, while the Blitz Team followed, each Zoid going after its designated target.
Leena pulled back on the controls of the Dibison, watching as the Ptera Striker soared higher into the air, curving to fire quickly at Brad.
"Oh, no you don't!" she yelled as she grabbed onto the Dibison's missile controls. Laughing crazily she was about to launch all of her ammo at the idling Zoid when she felt a massive impact from the back, her Zoid flopping over.
"Huh?!"
The Ptera Striker spun in midair, unharmed, as the Shield Liger ran past her, its head turning to watch her. Leena yelped and started yelling into the monitor at Brad, who didn't respond, instead hitting the ignore control. A window of Jamie popped up on his screen as he shook his head, obviously surprised.
"Brad! How did that happen?!"
The teen could hear the wails of Doc Torros in the background. Brad lifted his eyes, shaking a bit of brown hair out of them and shrugged slightly, face impassive.
"I have no idea. One second he was there, the other he wasn't. I'm guessing he used cloaking on me, then accellerated so that he was behind Leena's Zoid. He must've known she was going for the Ptera, then took her out. Guess she shouldn't been paying more attention,"
"*Paying more attention*!" screamed an agitated Leena from her Zoid as she heard Brad's response from the window of Jamie, which had a window of Brad pasted on it. She grumbled under her breath then folded both arms across her chest as the glared at the beeping words that constantly flashed across her screen; "Command System Frozen. Command System Frozen. Command System Frozen..."
[Two miles north of Leena and Brad]
Bit whooped as he ran after the Gun Sniper, who seemed to obviously care more about running then turning around and defending.
"That's it, Liger, we'll catch up to them at this rate!"
The Liger Zero sprinted faster so that it was eventually level with the Gun Sniper. The Sniper turned to look at it, then fired a quick shot which was easily dodged. Smirking, Bit shoved the controls forward as the Liger jumped into a powerful leap.
"Take it out with your -- What the heck?!"
The Liger leapt over the Gun Sniper and skidded to a stop, a low growl issuing from its throat.
"Man, where are your weapons, buddy? Let me do a check on these.. Just make sure you don't get hit."
This wasn't said to soon as a missile whistled past the Zoid's head to crash into a nearby tree, the wood exploding into flame immediately. Bit typed in a search on the control panel, then leaned forward to examine the results; None!
He pulled back and blinked in disbelief. Sure, the Zoid was great but.. No weapons?
"Liger.. Move!!"
It jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a large arsenal of long range weaponry. Muttering, Bit smacked himself upside the head as he nudged the lion slowly forward.
"Guess we'll just have to trick them into running into a wall, huh, Liger?"
The Zoid roared in response, seemingly disagreeing. Bit Cloud shrugged in response as he replied "Whatever you say," then sent the Liger running back into the open at a full run.
The Sniper had already disappeared. The Zoid and its pilot spun, searching the area then stopped, deciding upon impulse to return to wherever Brad was.
"He's probably getting all the action," grumbled the young teen under his breath.
[Two miles South of Bit]
"No!"
Brad slammed his fist down onto the panel as he was hit in the back by the Ptera Striker. He raised his head to glare at the Shield Liger who stood before him, seemingly prancing about. He should've watched for the other Zoid instead of just concentrating on one..
::*Where in the hell is that kid.*::
Bit arrived in time to see Brad's Command Wolf being shot down, and he froze his Zoid, staring. Two windows popped up on his screen, one of an agitated Leena, and a Brad who actually looked.. annoyed.
"Bit!" they both yelled. The boy winced and grinned sheepishly at the pair.
"Hey guys.. What's up?"
A shot erupted next to the Zoid and Bit spun slightly in his seat as he was jerked forward. With a semi-apologetic grin he closed both windows and spun the Zoid to face the oncoming Ptera Striker, Gun Sniper and Shield Liger. He turned, realizing that he was surrunded.
[In the Hover Cargo]
"Oh.. no!!" Doc yelped into his hands as he turned to look down, his face covered as he leaned forward.
Jamie stared at the screen in shook then shook his head as he began typing quickly on the keyboard, trying to record everything that had just taken place.
Leena's Dibison was hit from the back by the Shield Liger. Brad's Command Wolf was shot in the side by the Ptera Striker. And Bit and his Liger were surrounded by all three opposing Zoids. Things couldn't get worse, and most definately couldn't get better.
::*There goes my next paycheck.*::
[Back on the Battle Field]
Bit spun his Liger around in a circle, facing each of the Zoids. He stared wide-eyed as he heard the laughs from the other pilots. A screen of a man who seemed to be in his twenties popped up on the window, his face smiling cockily.
"You want to do it the hard way, or the easy way, kid."
The blonde-haired teen heard the cries of Jamie from his screen for him to surrender, but pride took over instead. He shook his head and flashed a smile, a smirk appearing on his lips.
"We're doing it *my* way, buddy!"
With a roar, Liger Zero launched into the air and landed outside of the circle of three Zoids, and turned into a sprint. The Ptera Striker spun in midair to speed after him as the two other Zoids pursued by land, neither gaining as Liger slowly sped up.
A tactical solution to the problem formed, and Bit grinned slightly as he leaned forward, watching as they neared the perimeter of the battle field, a crevice which opened into a river below. He turned to look at the radar; as he had assumed, the Shield Liger and Gun Sniper were right on his tail. The boy turned to look ahead again, and muttered a command under his breath to the machine, who growled quietly in reply. The teen suddenly sat up, steadying himself as they neared the edge, then yanked back on the controls.
The Gun Sniper let loose a loud cry of surprise as it turned its head to watch the Liger, its claws not catching on the ground as it slid in the loose gravel. The Zoid slid over the edge of the crevice and fell into the river, which wasn't too far below, but dealt enough damage to put the Sniper out of commission. The strategy didn't work with the Shield Liger and Ptera Striker, however; the Shield Liger had skidded to a stop before the ledge and was now running directly towards the Liger Zero.
"Liger.. Move!"
With a roar, the Zoid jumped powerfully upwards, over the opposing Zoid. It landed and spun, then turned, running to get back to the center of the field.
"Good job, Liger!" shouted Bit happily, but soon became silent as he remembered the remaining Zoids. At least the score was more evened out; 2 - 1.
[In the Hover Cargo]
"No way, no way noo way!" Leena stomped angrily into the control room, followed by Brad who remained silent as usual.
The control center was unusually silent, the only sound being the quiet sobs of Doc Torros as he tried to add up the costs of the damages.
"$556... $589... And no prize money..." he choked out before flopping over on the desk, crying wildly into his arms.
Jamie remained in front of the computer, not typing currently, but instead watching as he paled, his mouth hanging partially open. A large window of the Liger Zero covered the screen, as well as several others focused on the remaining enemy Zoids. Leena stood behind Jamie, looking up at the screen.
"He's still up and going at it?" she questioned in amazement, while Brad snorted in the background as he sat down on the couch.
The black-haired teen nodded, still in shock, as he sharpened the images on the screen.
Maybe, just maybe, they had a shot at that money.
[Back on the Battle Field]
"Awesome!"
The Ptera Striker's pilot had somehow managed to mess up in overconfidence, and had crashed into a nearby cliff. All that remained was the Shield Liger and Liger Zero, the latter turning to face its opponent.
Bit Cloud leaned forward, staring at the Liger in front of him as he talked quickly to his own.
"Okay, buddy, great job. You're gonna do it, we're a great team! Just--"
He was cut off as the Shield Liger charged at him, the Liger Zero leaping to the side in response with a loud roar. The Shield Liger spun and turned to face him again, and stepped back slightly, launching out several blades in Bit's direction.
"Uh oh... Heads up!!"
The Liger Zero backed up quickly and turned, running out of range of the large blades that fell towards it, pinning themselves in the ground. The Shield Liger ran forward in response and began weaving between the fallen blades, which seemed difficult for the Zoid. A window suddenly popped up on the screen in front of Bit, several words flashing across it. The blonde-haired teen brushed back a strand of hair and looked at it, surprised.
"What... What's this? Oh well, might as well give it a try! Come on Liger, let's go!"
A loud roar erupted from the Zoid and it backed up several steps, then began charging towards the Shield Liger who was still in the process of manuevering through the blades.
Bit leaned forward in his seat and yelled as he pulled back on the controls, the Liger leaping into the air, its claws glowing.
"Strike..."
The claws tracted out, sharpened.
"Laser..."
A golden glow surrounded each as the Zoid began to descend towards its opponent.
"Claw!!!!"
The claws came into contact with steel, and they sliced through the side of the Shield Liger, the machine slowly falling to the side with a loud squeal of metal. It collapsed on the ground as the Liger Zero slammed down, landing, its knees bent. It straightened, then pulled back its head to roar victoriously to the sky as the foghorn sounded again.
"The battle is over, the battle is over! The winner.. The Blitz Team!"
Bit Cloud jumped out of his seat as the glass shield slid off the top of the cockpit, both arms raised.
"Yes!! We kick ass!"
*****
Doc Torros smiled happily, a dazed look on his face.
"We... won..??"
Leena continued to shake him excitedly as Brad stood nearby, leaning against the wall, silent.
"Dad!! We kicked butt!!"
Steve Torros grinned again then flopped over on the couch, passing out with stress. Jamie turned to look at him then sighed, shaking his head as he stood to stand by the couch, sitting in the middle. Brad and Leena sat on each side of him and waited until the Bit appeared in the hall, a large smile plastered over his face.
"We are the best! We are undefeatable! We are cookin'!! Speaking of cooking, is dinner ready?"
The firey-haired girl muttered profanities under her breath as the others sighed iritably, bending their heads.
Bit looked around at them, confused.
"What, what'd I say? No, really, what'd I do?"
"Just leave it at that, Bit," replied Brad as he stood to move away from the others, one of which had already began fuming.
Leon stood in the shadows of the darkened hall, watching the newest Blitz Team member raid the refridgerator of all its food. He smiled slightly as he turned, walking back towards the hanger. Bit could replace him. He had seen him fight, in a room farther from the others, and had seen the potential behind the big words and super-sized ego. Bit Cloud could make it with the Liger Zero, and the team wouldn't need him to help them anymore. Plus, he wanted to try and see what he could get out of the world, maybe take a shot at Bit's old life.
Bit would be taking over his place, and he Bits'. All within the span of several days.
Leon Torros turned slightly to look back, the voices of the team almost telling him to stay. But he wouldn't, he'd come back sometime, but he needed time to himself.
With that, Leon was gone.
*****
To be continued...
*****
Ha, got another chapter up, and it's like.. semi-long. Sorry if parts of it seemed rushed, I wanted to get this out sometime in this millennium but I really wanna sleep, too.. It's like.. freakin' tomorrow.. as in its past midnight. Yeah. So, ja ne, I'll work s'more on this.
Disclaimer: I don't own it! It being Zoids! Blah.
Author's Note: I got it up!! Up up up!! Oh yeah.. Thanks to review stuff. Yeah!
*****
Previous chapter...
*****
"What're you smiling about?"
Leon Torros looked up as his father and younger sister came over to stand behind Brad, each watching him as Jamie continued to mess with the controls.
"Nothing... nothing at all."
*****
Bit coughed as he felt the Zoid jerk one last time as it pulled its head back and let loose an ear-shattering roar, then came to a rest in the hanger. The cockpit slid open and he fell out, gasping, as he lightly patted Liger Zero on the head.
"Thanks for the ride, buddy, but next time, try to be a little more gentle, will ya'?"
Catching his breath, he pulled himself off the Zoid and climbed down the ladder, hearing the glass window slide back over. He jumped off the bottom rung of the ladder then dusted himself off as he looked up at the quiet Leon. He nodded to him and followed the older teen back to the main room, where the rest of the Blitz Team was waiting.
As soon as he entered, Leena glared at him and Jamie fell silent, eyebrows rising as Bit turned and sat himself. Leon grabbed a chair as Steve Torros, Doc, stood, and addressed him.
"Whatever happened in that hanger, I'd like to know sometime, but not now. I just can't understand how you got that Zoid to do anything; when any one of the Blitz Team members tried to battle with it, it didn't even move half of the time."
Brad smirked as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Leon here says that you seem to be pretty good with it, and wants you to stick around for awhile and to maybe stay with us, to become a member of the team."
Bit jumped up, pumping his fist in the air.
"*Yes*!!! I'm so--"
"--Don't get so excited, kid. You'll have to learn the ropes and it could get pretty tough," Brad interrupted, eyes looking up to examine the blonde teen.
Jamie stood, walking to the side of the couch.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get ready for tomorrow's fight. It's going to be us against the Thunder Team, they've got a Ptera Striker, a Gun Sniper and a Shield Liger," he spoke, glancing at Leon as he mentioned the Shield Liger. "The battle is going to take place tomorrow, noon-time, means we'll have to actually be up at a time that's fresh and early for several of us." This time, Jamie glanced at Leena, who scowled at the mention of the time she'd have to get up.
Doc Torros nodded, understanding.
"Brad, you'll have to use your Command Wolf, and Leena, you'll be using your own Dibison, which should be relatively repaired enough by tomorrow. What are we going to do about the last fighter, though, with Jamie's Ptera Striker still in the works out and Leon with a broken arm?"
Leon stepped up, smiling slightly.
"I'm surprised it's not obvious. We'll just have to use Bit Cloud, here, with Liger Zero."
Leena sighed, knowing it was the only way, but not liking it. She muttered as Bit stuck his tongue out at her behind Leon's back, and returned the favor by flipping him off with both hands.
"Leena!"
She blushed, quickly yanking her hands behind her back.
"Sorry."
Doc Torros turned back to Leon, shaking his head after catching his daughter basically cussing at their newest crew member, at least tempoarily.
"Well, alright, I suppose we have no choice in the matter."
Bit silently cheered as a wide grin spread over his face, while Brad bent his head down, smirking slightly. He knew the kid would be overexcited, so hopefull.
Leon turned and started heading back to his room, happy to know that the matter of who was going to fight was resolved, while Jamie turned to the computer, Doc coming up behind him.
"I figure that we should have the Dibison go after the Ptera Striker, since the aerial unit will be easiest to hit with missiles, and the Shield Liger taken by the Command Wolf. That leaves the Gun Sniper for the Liger, should be simple enough."
Jamie turned to glance at Bit, smiling slightly.
"The Gun Sniper shouldn't be hard to take out at all, considering you've just started Zoid fighting."
Bit muttered under his breath about being treated like a kid while Leena giggled. Doc stood, yawning.
"It's time for you all to go to bed. We have a fight tomorrow, and getting no sleep won't help the matter," he stated as he turned, walking out of the room. The four teenagers stayed in the control room for several minutes, all remaining silent, until Jamie stood clumsily, the silence making him uncomfortable.
"Good night, Brad, Leena, Bit," he nodded to each in turn, and left, Brad following close behind.
Leena coughed to break the silence as Bit turned his head to the side, scratching the back of it uneasily. After several seconds of no sound whatsoever that seemed to last hours, both left to head in different directions, each mumbling a barely audible g'nite to the other.
*****
[Next Morning...]
Bit sat up from his cot in the spare room, yawning loudly as he stretched out both arms. He smacked his lips several times as he stood and stretched again. It wasn't exactly comfortable sleeping in your normal day clothes, but it wasn't as bad as sleeping in your normal day clothes on top of the steering wheel of a truck whose break tended to slip off so that the truck would start rolling down the nearest hill. He let out a sigh of bliss.
Thank God he screwed things up with the Dibison.
The teen wandered out of his room after he'd slipped his boots back on, into the main control room where breakfast would probably be ready.
He was right; the breakfast had been made and was near gone as Leena leaned forward sluggishly to grab the last of the doughnuts. Bit blinked and walked by her, whistling, then swiped his hand out to snatch it. After this, he ran like hell.
"What.. the.. hey?!" Leena spoke, confused for several seconds. Soon, however, she realized what Bit had done and ran after him, yelling threats that revolved around her beating the crap out of him.
Jamie sighed as the two ran in circles around the couch in the center of the room, while Brad leaned back, hands behind his head as he closed his eyes. Doc Torros was still getting up, and the room was left to the teenagers.
"Bit, gimmie my food!!"
"You ate everything else!"
"It's *mine*!!!"
"Yeah well not anymore!"
"Don't you--"
Bit shoved the doughnut into his mouth and kept running while Leena shrieked in anger.
"You.. you.. you big jerk!!!"
Jamie sighed again and leaned down, banging his head lightly against a desk. This daily routine was beginning to give him a headache. Finally, to his great relief, Steve Torros emerged from the main halls and the two fighting adolescents fell silent and nodded cheerfully to him.
The man sat after greeting each member of the Blitz Team jubilantly, and then commenced to review the battle plans. He reminded each of those who were to fight; Brad, Leena and Bit; that they were to stick as closely to Jamie's battle tactics as possible. Jamie smiled slightly as he turned to his computer, typing furiously on the keyboard. Seeing his well-planned fights play successful on the field gave him something similar to a sugar rush.
"All ready, you three?"
The teens responded with a chorus of yes', which was enough to satisfy Doc.
"Then move out!"
Leena, Brad and Bit headed to the hangers, Brad in front as the other two argued behind. Fortunately, they only had a few minutes before they found themselves in their Zoids, preparing to launch.
The platforms each turned, facing outwards as the ramp slid open.
"Let's gooooo, Liger!"
With a loud roar, the lion Zoid leapt from the ramp to run at a brisk pace to stand by the other two Zoids, Brad's Command Wolf and Leena's Dibison. The three other Zoids, the Ptera Striker, Shield Liger and Gun Sniper stood opposite them, each shifting in their place.
A loud crash was heard from across the plains, a cloud of smoke billowing out from a small white capsule. The front of it opened to reveal a robotic judge, who waited, poised.
"The area within an 20 mile radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield. This zone is now restricted. Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. Danger! All others must leave the area at once. Area scanned. Battlefield set up. The Thunder Team versus the Blitz Team. Battle Mode 0982. Ready...FIGHT!"
A foghorn sounded, and the Zoids sped into action. The Thunder Team immediately seperated, each heading in different directions, while the Blitz Team followed, each Zoid going after its designated target.
Leena pulled back on the controls of the Dibison, watching as the Ptera Striker soared higher into the air, curving to fire quickly at Brad.
"Oh, no you don't!" she yelled as she grabbed onto the Dibison's missile controls. Laughing crazily she was about to launch all of her ammo at the idling Zoid when she felt a massive impact from the back, her Zoid flopping over.
"Huh?!"
The Ptera Striker spun in midair, unharmed, as the Shield Liger ran past her, its head turning to watch her. Leena yelped and started yelling into the monitor at Brad, who didn't respond, instead hitting the ignore control. A window of Jamie popped up on his screen as he shook his head, obviously surprised.
"Brad! How did that happen?!"
The teen could hear the wails of Doc Torros in the background. Brad lifted his eyes, shaking a bit of brown hair out of them and shrugged slightly, face impassive.
"I have no idea. One second he was there, the other he wasn't. I'm guessing he used cloaking on me, then accellerated so that he was behind Leena's Zoid. He must've known she was going for the Ptera, then took her out. Guess she shouldn't been paying more attention,"
"*Paying more attention*!" screamed an agitated Leena from her Zoid as she heard Brad's response from the window of Jamie, which had a window of Brad pasted on it. She grumbled under her breath then folded both arms across her chest as the glared at the beeping words that constantly flashed across her screen; "Command System Frozen. Command System Frozen. Command System Frozen..."
[Two miles north of Leena and Brad]
Bit whooped as he ran after the Gun Sniper, who seemed to obviously care more about running then turning around and defending.
"That's it, Liger, we'll catch up to them at this rate!"
The Liger Zero sprinted faster so that it was eventually level with the Gun Sniper. The Sniper turned to look at it, then fired a quick shot which was easily dodged. Smirking, Bit shoved the controls forward as the Liger jumped into a powerful leap.
"Take it out with your -- What the heck?!"
The Liger leapt over the Gun Sniper and skidded to a stop, a low growl issuing from its throat.
"Man, where are your weapons, buddy? Let me do a check on these.. Just make sure you don't get hit."
This wasn't said to soon as a missile whistled past the Zoid's head to crash into a nearby tree, the wood exploding into flame immediately. Bit typed in a search on the control panel, then leaned forward to examine the results; None!
He pulled back and blinked in disbelief. Sure, the Zoid was great but.. No weapons?
"Liger.. Move!!"
It jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a large arsenal of long range weaponry. Muttering, Bit smacked himself upside the head as he nudged the lion slowly forward.
"Guess we'll just have to trick them into running into a wall, huh, Liger?"
The Zoid roared in response, seemingly disagreeing. Bit Cloud shrugged in response as he replied "Whatever you say," then sent the Liger running back into the open at a full run.
The Sniper had already disappeared. The Zoid and its pilot spun, searching the area then stopped, deciding upon impulse to return to wherever Brad was.
"He's probably getting all the action," grumbled the young teen under his breath.
[Two miles South of Bit]
"No!"
Brad slammed his fist down onto the panel as he was hit in the back by the Ptera Striker. He raised his head to glare at the Shield Liger who stood before him, seemingly prancing about. He should've watched for the other Zoid instead of just concentrating on one..
::*Where in the hell is that kid.*::
Bit arrived in time to see Brad's Command Wolf being shot down, and he froze his Zoid, staring. Two windows popped up on his screen, one of an agitated Leena, and a Brad who actually looked.. annoyed.
"Bit!" they both yelled. The boy winced and grinned sheepishly at the pair.
"Hey guys.. What's up?"
A shot erupted next to the Zoid and Bit spun slightly in his seat as he was jerked forward. With a semi-apologetic grin he closed both windows and spun the Zoid to face the oncoming Ptera Striker, Gun Sniper and Shield Liger. He turned, realizing that he was surrunded.
[In the Hover Cargo]
"Oh.. no!!" Doc yelped into his hands as he turned to look down, his face covered as he leaned forward.
Jamie stared at the screen in shook then shook his head as he began typing quickly on the keyboard, trying to record everything that had just taken place.
Leena's Dibison was hit from the back by the Shield Liger. Brad's Command Wolf was shot in the side by the Ptera Striker. And Bit and his Liger were surrounded by all three opposing Zoids. Things couldn't get worse, and most definately couldn't get better.
::*There goes my next paycheck.*::
[Back on the Battle Field]
Bit spun his Liger around in a circle, facing each of the Zoids. He stared wide-eyed as he heard the laughs from the other pilots. A screen of a man who seemed to be in his twenties popped up on the window, his face smiling cockily.
"You want to do it the hard way, or the easy way, kid."
The blonde-haired teen heard the cries of Jamie from his screen for him to surrender, but pride took over instead. He shook his head and flashed a smile, a smirk appearing on his lips.
"We're doing it *my* way, buddy!"
With a roar, Liger Zero launched into the air and landed outside of the circle of three Zoids, and turned into a sprint. The Ptera Striker spun in midair to speed after him as the two other Zoids pursued by land, neither gaining as Liger slowly sped up.
A tactical solution to the problem formed, and Bit grinned slightly as he leaned forward, watching as they neared the perimeter of the battle field, a crevice which opened into a river below. He turned to look at the radar; as he had assumed, the Shield Liger and Gun Sniper were right on his tail. The boy turned to look ahead again, and muttered a command under his breath to the machine, who growled quietly in reply. The teen suddenly sat up, steadying himself as they neared the edge, then yanked back on the controls.
The Gun Sniper let loose a loud cry of surprise as it turned its head to watch the Liger, its claws not catching on the ground as it slid in the loose gravel. The Zoid slid over the edge of the crevice and fell into the river, which wasn't too far below, but dealt enough damage to put the Sniper out of commission. The strategy didn't work with the Shield Liger and Ptera Striker, however; the Shield Liger had skidded to a stop before the ledge and was now running directly towards the Liger Zero.
"Liger.. Move!"
With a roar, the Zoid jumped powerfully upwards, over the opposing Zoid. It landed and spun, then turned, running to get back to the center of the field.
"Good job, Liger!" shouted Bit happily, but soon became silent as he remembered the remaining Zoids. At least the score was more evened out; 2 - 1.
[In the Hover Cargo]
"No way, no way noo way!" Leena stomped angrily into the control room, followed by Brad who remained silent as usual.
The control center was unusually silent, the only sound being the quiet sobs of Doc Torros as he tried to add up the costs of the damages.
"$556... $589... And no prize money..." he choked out before flopping over on the desk, crying wildly into his arms.
Jamie remained in front of the computer, not typing currently, but instead watching as he paled, his mouth hanging partially open. A large window of the Liger Zero covered the screen, as well as several others focused on the remaining enemy Zoids. Leena stood behind Jamie, looking up at the screen.
"He's still up and going at it?" she questioned in amazement, while Brad snorted in the background as he sat down on the couch.
The black-haired teen nodded, still in shock, as he sharpened the images on the screen.
Maybe, just maybe, they had a shot at that money.
[Back on the Battle Field]
"Awesome!"
The Ptera Striker's pilot had somehow managed to mess up in overconfidence, and had crashed into a nearby cliff. All that remained was the Shield Liger and Liger Zero, the latter turning to face its opponent.
Bit Cloud leaned forward, staring at the Liger in front of him as he talked quickly to his own.
"Okay, buddy, great job. You're gonna do it, we're a great team! Just--"
He was cut off as the Shield Liger charged at him, the Liger Zero leaping to the side in response with a loud roar. The Shield Liger spun and turned to face him again, and stepped back slightly, launching out several blades in Bit's direction.
"Uh oh... Heads up!!"
The Liger Zero backed up quickly and turned, running out of range of the large blades that fell towards it, pinning themselves in the ground. The Shield Liger ran forward in response and began weaving between the fallen blades, which seemed difficult for the Zoid. A window suddenly popped up on the screen in front of Bit, several words flashing across it. The blonde-haired teen brushed back a strand of hair and looked at it, surprised.
"What... What's this? Oh well, might as well give it a try! Come on Liger, let's go!"
A loud roar erupted from the Zoid and it backed up several steps, then began charging towards the Shield Liger who was still in the process of manuevering through the blades.
Bit leaned forward in his seat and yelled as he pulled back on the controls, the Liger leaping into the air, its claws glowing.
"Strike..."
The claws tracted out, sharpened.
"Laser..."
A golden glow surrounded each as the Zoid began to descend towards its opponent.
"Claw!!!!"
The claws came into contact with steel, and they sliced through the side of the Shield Liger, the machine slowly falling to the side with a loud squeal of metal. It collapsed on the ground as the Liger Zero slammed down, landing, its knees bent. It straightened, then pulled back its head to roar victoriously to the sky as the foghorn sounded again.
"The battle is over, the battle is over! The winner.. The Blitz Team!"
Bit Cloud jumped out of his seat as the glass shield slid off the top of the cockpit, both arms raised.
"Yes!! We kick ass!"
*****
Doc Torros smiled happily, a dazed look on his face.
"We... won..??"
Leena continued to shake him excitedly as Brad stood nearby, leaning against the wall, silent.
"Dad!! We kicked butt!!"
Steve Torros grinned again then flopped over on the couch, passing out with stress. Jamie turned to look at him then sighed, shaking his head as he stood to stand by the couch, sitting in the middle. Brad and Leena sat on each side of him and waited until the Bit appeared in the hall, a large smile plastered over his face.
"We are the best! We are undefeatable! We are cookin'!! Speaking of cooking, is dinner ready?"
The firey-haired girl muttered profanities under her breath as the others sighed iritably, bending their heads.
Bit looked around at them, confused.
"What, what'd I say? No, really, what'd I do?"
"Just leave it at that, Bit," replied Brad as he stood to move away from the others, one of which had already began fuming.
Leon stood in the shadows of the darkened hall, watching the newest Blitz Team member raid the refridgerator of all its food. He smiled slightly as he turned, walking back towards the hanger. Bit could replace him. He had seen him fight, in a room farther from the others, and had seen the potential behind the big words and super-sized ego. Bit Cloud could make it with the Liger Zero, and the team wouldn't need him to help them anymore. Plus, he wanted to try and see what he could get out of the world, maybe take a shot at Bit's old life.
Bit would be taking over his place, and he Bits'. All within the span of several days.
Leon Torros turned slightly to look back, the voices of the team almost telling him to stay. But he wouldn't, he'd come back sometime, but he needed time to himself.
With that, Leon was gone.
*****
To be continued...
*****
Ha, got another chapter up, and it's like.. semi-long. Sorry if parts of it seemed rushed, I wanted to get this out sometime in this millennium but I really wanna sleep, too.. It's like.. freakin' tomorrow.. as in its past midnight. Yeah. So, ja ne, I'll work s'more on this.
