I'm finally ready to write the next chapter. I hope it's longer than the other one is, but I won't know. Sorry it's been so long, but this was my last week of school, and well, being in high school means that you have about 10 finals. I had 4 in Spanish! FOUR! It's not fair! No es justo! Uh…sorry, slipped into Spanish. Anyway, hope you enjoy this, and like I said, this is far from over.
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"What?!" said Rick Star. "You guys are going to take on the Backdraft group on your own?"
"Wouldn't be the first time," responded Naiomi from the other end of the videophone. He seemed surprised.
"Well, then we'll have to come and help you."
"No way. I called because in case something happens out there, you'll know where we went and you can tell the ZBC and they can come and find us. We don't want you out there. You're still injured."
"Come on! You can't expect me to just sit around here while you guys go out there alone."
"He's right!" said Meiyuu.
"Hey, this is my call!" said Rick.
"We're all part of the same team you know. Mattei and I should have some say in this too."
"She's right!" said Mattei.
"I'm the leader of this team!"
"You're also the one whose suppose to stay in the hospital for a few more days," said Meiyuu. The three of them bickered while Naiomi just sweatdropped. 'This is ridiculous!' she thought.
"Look, I called to tell you where we would be. I didn't call for help," said Naiomi.
"We know…" said Rick, giving in.
"When will you be setting out?" asked Meiyuu.
"Early tomorrow morning."
"Alright," said the members of the Fire Star team.
"Well, that's it. We'll see you when we get back. Bye," said Naiomi as she pressed a button, turning the screen off. Jamie then walked in.
"Did you call them?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Naiomi.
"Well, what'd they say?"
"Rick wants to come, but I'm sure they're staying there."
"Well that's good. We don't need anymore fatalities."
"And besides, we've already dragged them into more trouble than they need."
"You're right. We should go check and see how the preparations are going."
"Yeah, oh and by the way, where did Doc go?"
"He left a few hours ago, just before Miharu came back. He said he'd be gone for a few days."
"So, are we going to tell him?"
"I guess it all depends on what happens out there."
"Well then, let's hope for the best."
"Right," finished Jamie. They walked off to their rooms to get some sleep. Everybody else was already sleeping, resting up for their big day tomorrow.
*****
The morning rolled around fast, but if you were to look out side, you wouldn't be able to tell it even was morning. The sky was still cloudy and gray, but the rain had stopped and the lightning quit. They were all working as fast as they could to get ready.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Miharu. She stood in the hanger of the Toros base, looking up at Bit, who was fixing up the Liger. He wanted to get going as soon as possible.
"Of course I'm sure. Taban saved my life, so I gotta repay the favor. And besides…you guys are our friends, and that's what friends do," responded Bit.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. You guys would do the same for us."
"Right."
"So, when do you think we'll be ready to go?" asked a voice from behind them. Leon came walking in.
"As soon as everyone's ready," responded Bit.
"Alright, but I was wondering. How are you going to go?" Leon asked Miharu. "I mean, your zoid is somewhere in the desert, just laying around."
"I know where it is, so we'll go there first and then head to the base," she said.
"Sounds good to me," said Bit.
*****
"I think we're finally ready to get going," said Bit. Everyone was there and ready to leave. All the zoids had been fixed to perfection. "We'll get going as soon as Miharu gets back."
"Well then, let's leave," said Miharu as she came walking in. She was wearing a pair of black shorts and a blue, short-sleeved shirt, along with a black jacket like before. She was wearing her same black boots that came just past her ankle. Leena smiled, but then remembered something. She turned to Naiomi and Jamie.
"You two remembered to make the calls last night, right?" she asked. They both nodded their heads. "So, what did they say?" asked Leena.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that the Fire Star team will stay out of this battle," said Naiomi.
"Well that's good," said Bit.
"And Charles said that he's happy you're alright Miharu and told us that he's thankful that we're helping out. And if I may ask, how do you know where the base is?" asked Jamie to Miharu.
"I know because of this," she said, pointing to the bracelet around her wrist. "It's a tracker. Taban has one to, so that we can always know where the other is. They don't just summon our zoids," she said.
"That's pretty handy," said Brad.
"Yep."
"Well, let's get going!" said Bit.
"Wait. Who will I ride with until we get to my zoid?"
"Well, can't you just summon it?" asked Leena.
"No. Usually my zoid is operational, but during the battle, the system froze, so even if I tried, it wouldn't work."
"You can ride in the Gustav with us," offered Leon.
"Alright," she said. They all soon got into their zoids and Leon, Naiomi, and Miharu got into the Gustav that carried their zoids.
"Alright, everyone ready?" asked Bit.
"Ready," they all said.
"Then let's go!"
******
"Well, were you able to take care of the job?" asked a man darkened by the shadows.
"No sir," said Risai.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I thought you were an ace assassin."
"I am sir. Every time I try, someone else interferes."
"I don't like excuses."
"Sorry sir."
"You do remember your mission, don't you?"
"Yes. Destroy Bit Cloud."
"Good. You are dismissed." Risai turned around and walked out the door. She walked silently, until the silver band around her wrist started to beep quietly and glow. She stopped and looked to it. The small purple gem was glowing brightly, then fading, then glowing again. She looked at it, and then shook it.
"What is with this thing?" she asked out loud. "And how do I turn it off?" She twisted the gem, and the glowing faded, along with the beeping noise. "That's better." And with that, she walked down the white painted halls to her room.
In the basement of the base, or otherwise know as the prison, Taban sat in a room that looked like a prison cell. The silver band on his wrist was doing the same thing that Risai's did. He just looked at it.
"I guess this means they're coming," he said to himself. 'I hope they can make it,' he thought to himself. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
******
"Are you sure this is where it is?" asked Bit from the cockpit of the Liger.
"Yes. This is where my zoid should be," responded Miharu. They scanned the area, until just in front of them, they saw the two zoids. They all stopped and Miharu jumped out of the Gustav. She ran over to her zoid and quickly jumped in the still open cockpit. Nothing seemed damaged. She quickly sat down and took off the bracelet and twisted it. 'This should only take a minute,' she thought to herself. The gem stopped it's glowing and then she raised it high into the air. The gem glowed and the zoid's controls came back on line. The Phoenix raised its head and the cockpit closed. Miharu was now strapped in and the zoid soon took off into the sky. She quickly opened a com-link to the rest of them.
"Is everything alright?" asked Bit.
"Yep, everything is online and working perfectly," she said. She quickly remembered the bracelet and twisted the gem again, placing the tracker back on. She placed the bracelet into an area on the control panel, which brought up a map of the area, and a small flashing, yellow light that represented the place where Taban was. "All set."
"Then let's get going," said Bit.
"Wait a second," said Miharu.
"What is it?" asked Bit.
"We can't just leave the Panther here."
"You can load it on our trailer," said Naiomi.
"Thanks." The Panther was soon loaded and they set off in the direction of the Backdraft group's base. They walked for a long while, before the signal became stronger.
"How far away are we?" asked Bit.
"If you really wanna know, we're about 600 miles away," said Miharu.
"No way! It feels like we've been out here forever! At the rate we're going, it'll take at least another few hours!" said Bit.
"Just be patient!" said Leena.
"I'm hungry," said Jamie.
"Me too," said Leon.
"Maybe we should stop for a while and get something to eat. Did anyone bring any food with?" asked Naiomi.
"No," said Bit, as he took a bite out of a sandwich. "I don't think so," he said with his mouth full. He smiled to himself, thinking that he was fine, since the video link wasn't on, but of course, his voice gave away something and Leena turned on the video link, seeing Bit eating, eyes closed and smiling. Leena's temper flared.
"Bit Cloud!!" she yelled, startling Bit, nearly making him choke. He looked in front of him, only to see a very mad Leena staring back at him over the video link.
"Uh…oh…yeah, I have food. Silly me…" he said. Leena gave him a "that's better" look. They all stopped and got out of their zoids in order to eat. Bit had brought with a lot of sandwiches. They were eating in silence, until Leena spoke up.
"Miharu? I have a question," she said.
"Shoot," said Miharu, taking a bite of a sandwich.
"I know that you and Taban don't like talking about this and all, but, do you know what happened to Risai? I mean, why she's like this."
"To be completely honest, I don't know."
"But the three of you were always together, so how could it have happened?" asked Bit.
"We weren't always together. First off, the war lasted for nearly 100 years. I know that's a long time, but we weren't together for all of it."
"Why?" asked Leon.
"They decided that the three of us were their best soldiers, so they sent us off to places that could use more help in the battles. Taban was sent off to the south, Risai was sent to the north, and I stayed where I was. It was hard being apart, because we battled best together. We all saw things that we hope never to see again. Let's hope a war like that never happens again, and if it does, I hope none of you ever get mixed up in it. The three of us were all too cocky, thinking that nothing could ever take us down, but when we rejoined and Risai wasn't there with us, well, let's just say that things have never been the same. Risai was taken by the enemy, and never found. We knew she was alive and after the war ended, Taban and I decided to look for her, following the reports of sudden deaths that were caused by a plasma gun or a sword. We've been tracking her for a long time. The best way for us to find her is to try and protect the people she's trying to kill."
"So, that's why you came to us?" asked Brad.
"Yes. We're here to make sure nothing happens to any of you, but so far, Bit seems to be the only one in trouble," she said. She looked to Bit.
"I don't know why they'd wanna kill me," said Bit.
"Maybe it's because if it wasn't for you, the Backdraft would've taken over during the S class tournament," said Jamie.
"Well, then that's probably it," said Leena.
"I guess so," said Bit. He seemed distant. They all finished their sandwiches and got back into their zoids. They continued along the endless road, until Miharu landed her zoid.
"Wait," she said.
"What is it?" asked Bit.
"We're here," she said. They looked downward, seeing a huge, black complex. They were all standing on a cliff, peering into the lower, rocky area below where the Backdraft base stood.
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This is my present to you. I'm celebrating my freedom from school! I ended today. I started writing this about 3 days ago, so sorry if what I say at the beginning is a little outdated. I always feel sad at the end of school, but I'm officially a sophomore now, and yes, you do spell it that way, so don't complain. And sorry for any spelling and or grammar mistakes. Anyway, that's all. See ya, or as I say it, Audi^.^