Well, it's getting towards the end of the fic and everything will soon be resolved. I'm having too much fun and honestly; this chapter took a lot longer than I thought it would. I had to make it up as I went along, since I only knew bits and pieces of if. Well, here it goes.
Disclaimer: I don't own zoids.
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"Alright, now what's the plan?" asked Bit. They had been sitting around for a half an hour thinking about what to do. They now all stood around a computer as Taban was putting in some data. A simulation was soon brought up on the screen.
"Well," started Taban. "First off, I'd like to remind you that this is suicide, so whatever plan we come up with has a good chance of failing. But I see this won't stop you guys, so here's the thing. There will be 11 of us, as you already know." He punched in a few more things and 11 zoids appeared on the simulation. There was the Liger Zero, the Gun Sniper, the Shadow Fox and the Raynos from the Blitz team; the red Blade Liger and the Gun Sniper from the Fluegle team; the Lightning Siax, the Rev Raptor, and the Spino Sappa from the Fire Star team, and then there was the Phoenix and the Panther. The simulation showed them all standing on one side of the holographic field. "These, of course, are our zoids. And these…" He pushed a few more buttons. "…are the enemies zoids."
"Whoa, hold up!" said Bit. He pointed to the screen. "Since when did the Backdraft only have four zoids?"
"Since I created this simulation," responded Taban.
"But it's not true. Try about 400. If it's just four, then there's no way this can be suicide," argued Bit.
"Look. When you guys attacked the base the other day, you wiped out all of their zoids. They only have these four left."
"How do you figure that only four are left?" asked Leena.
"It's simple. The four left would be the Neo Breaker, the black Blade Liger, the Genosaur and the Rector."
"Taban, I don't wanna be mean or anything, but do you really think that…" started Bit.
"Yes, I do think Risai will be there. In fact, I know she's still alive. It's a brother sister thing. Anyway, moving on. If they do have other forces, then we'll take them out first without even thinking of attacking these four until they're all wiped out. But we're gonna say that they don't have any other forces for now, since our main struggle will be with these four zoids," said Taban.
"So what's the plan?" asked Rick.
"I'm getting there," said Taban.
"But you're going too slow!" complained Bit.
"If you two don't stop interrupting, we'll come up with a new plan involving the two of you as sacrifices," said Leena. Rick and Bit looked scared.
"You wouldn't really do that," said Rick.
"Don't underestimate her," whispered Bit.
"My team mates wouldn't let you use me as a human sacrifice."
"You're right," smiled Meiyuu. "We'd be the ones to use you as a human sacrifice. You could be our shield. It's a great plan, don't you agree?" Everyone nodded their heads except for Rick and Bit.
"We'll shut up now," said Bit. Rick nodded in agreement.
"Fine. Moving on. The Neo Breaker was easy to take down last time. The best way would be of course to put air types against air types, so Miharu and Jamie will take care of the Neo Breaker."
"It'll be just the two of us?" asked Jamie.
"You're the only air born zoid pilots we have," responded Taban.
"We've done it before and we can do it again," said Miharu.
"Didn't you guys say you won that one by fluke?" asked Leon.
"Moving on," said Taban. "Once you guys finish off the Neo Breaker…"
"Don't you mean 'if' they finish off the Neo Breaker?" asked Bit.
"Sacrifices," reminded Leena. He was quiet.
"Anyway," said Taban. "Once you guys finish off the Neo Breaker, I want you to help out whoever needs it the most. We'll be breaking off into groups in order to fight the remaining zoids. We'll start with the black Blade Liger. This zoid, of course, uses its blades only if it's necessary. It uses its maneuverability in order to run circles around its enemies and shoot them while they're confused. This is possible because of the back mounted cannon it uses. The cannon can pivot and shoot from all angles, giving the Blade Liger a good offense and defense. It's fast, and the pilot has extremely good aim."
"Unlike someone I know," said Bit. He looked at Leena, who didn't look happy.
"What did you say!?" yelled a very angry Leena. Bit put his arms up defensively.
"SHUT UP!" yelled Taban. They were all quiet again. "That's better. Moving on, I think it'd be best to send in the whole Fire Star team on this one. You guys battle at your best when you're together. We need the Siax there, on account that it's the only zoid fast enough to match that Blade Liger. I have the utmost confidence in you."
"Then why do you keep telling us this is suicide?" asked Rick.
"Boy, you really wanna be a sacrifice, don't you?" said Mattei.
"At this rate, the base will get attacked before we even know what the plan is," said Naiomi.
"Well, let's move on. The next zoid is the Genosaurer. First off, this is a powerful zoid, as you already know. The idea is to come up with a strategy that will take her by surprise. Take it away Jamie," said Taban.
"Right. The Genosaurer has many different weapons. Some include pulse laser guns and of course, the charged particle cannon. There are many other weapons involved and Risai likes to use the claws as well. This zoid is both strong and agile. We decided that the best approach would be to attack her from long range and catch her off guard in order to gang up on her afterwards. Naiomi, we're gonna need you to catch her off guard by engaging her in long range combat. You have good aim and we need you to snipe her. After that happens, I want Leena, Brad, and Leon to engage her in close range combat and take her out before she can…"
"Wait, wait a second," interrupted Bit.
"You have something to say, sacrifice?" taunted Brad.
"Look, enough already. Let me get this strait. You're sending Jamie and Miharu to fight the Neo Breaker, the Fire Star team to fight that Liger, and then you're sending out Naiomi, Brad, Leena, and Leon to fight the Genosaurer? But that only leaves me and Taban to fight the…"
"We know," said Taban, Miharu, and Jamie, the people who came up with this strategy.
"But why?"
"I'm agreeing with Bit on this one. That's the toughest of all of the zoids we're going up against. Why do you want to send in just two zoids to fight it?" asked Leena.
"That's suicide," said Rick.
"I know it is, but you're the ones who wanted to do this. Think about it. This is the only logical way to fight this battle. We've put together the only teams we can in order to pull this off. We have to take out the Neo Breaker, the Blade Liger, and the Genosaur as soon as possible, because think about what would happen if we carelessly sent out a group and they were beaten. The zoid wouldn't stop there. They would attack the other groups and we'd all be annihilated quickly. We have to think this through," said Taban.
"But it's not worth it if you and Bit get killed right off the bat. We can't stand up to that thing alone," said Leena.
"We won't get killed," said Bit. "Look, we're all going into this battle, and we're all gonna make it out."
"I thought you didn't like this plan?" asked Jamie.
"It doesn't matter. It's really the only way. We have to do this the right way the first time, cause there won't be any second chances, not in this battle," said Bit. They all nodded.
"Alright then. Like I said to Jamie and Miharu, when you're done with the enemy, I want you to go and help out the other groups. We have to do this right," said Taban. They all nodded. He just smiled. "It's late now. We should all get some sleep."
"I agree," said Miharu. They were walking out of the room, when Doc looked to the Fire Star team.
"You're more than welcome to stay here for the night. We have plenty of extra rooms," said Doc.
"Thanks. We appreciate it," said Rick. They all walked off to their own rooms in order to get well rested. Tomorrow would be a big day. Leena was about to walk into her room, when she turned to see Bit coming her way.
"Hey Leena," he said.
"What?" she asked, a little nervous and a little scared.
"Whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to know I will always love you," he said. Leena was scared now.
"Bit, don't do that. You said so yourself, we're all coming back."
"I know, but I still want you to know that." He bent down and gave her a kiss goodnight.
"Good night Leena. I love you."
"I love you too Bit. Goodnight." Bit smiled and then walked off to his room. Leena stared after him for a while, but then quickly walked into her room. She knew that her sleep would not be easy tonight, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for what she was about to see. She put on her pajamas and crawled into bed. She soon drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
******
(A/N sorry, but I gotta explain something. I don't wanna spoil the battle or anything, so I'm gonna only show bits and pieces here. Just wanted to say that^.^ sorry for the interruption.)
The desert sun was blazing above them as they arrived on the battlefield. The eleven zoids just stood there, making sure that they were where they were suppose to be.
"Are you sure this is a good place to be? What if they take a different route, or what if they've already passed through here?" questioned Bit.
"They couldn't have, otherwise we would have known about it. That's the only strait path from their base to your base," said Taban.
"We had to make sure that we'd get here first," said Miharu. "The whole plan relies on us being able to take them by surprise. Everyone, get ready."
"Roger," they all said. Naiomi took her sniping spot on some nearby cliffs and awaited the enemy. The other zoids spread out and covered a wide area. Some hid behind rocks, since they were ordered to. The enemy could soon be seen, making their way through the desert and onward towards the awaiting teams. Leena looked to her radar, which was detecting something approaching.
"Here they come," said Leena.
"I'm detecting 2 enemy zoids, no wait…four…wait…it's…uh, over 200 units!" said Miharu. They all looked panicked.
"Well this can't be good," said Taban as he slouched a little in his chair. A com-link popped up on his screen revealing a very angry Bit.
"TABAN! You said there were only going to be 4 zoids!" he yelled.
"I'm aware of that," responded Taban. The scene soon faded into blackness. The first thing that came back was the sound. The sound of metal hitting metal and of screams and of cheering. The scene soon came back, only to reveal a lot of wrecked zoids lying around. They mostly consisted of Zabats and of black Rev Raptors. The scene shown was like the plan had originally been. The groups had split up and were fighting their designated enemy. Things were pretty much going in nobody's favor. It seemed equal. The scene faded again, and soon the sounds left too.
"Seven Blade Attack!" yelled Bit. The scene was still black, but the sound was there again. The sound of shattering glass could be heard, and then the scene came back. The enemy zoids were wrecked, and that included the Neo Breaker, the black Blade Liger, the Genosaur, and the last to fall was the Rector. Other than the Liger Zero, all the other zoids seemed to be out of commission. The surviving Backdraft pilots were gathering around their fallen leader, who stood near his zoid. Taban and Miharu had their hands busy dealing with Risai. The rest of the Blitz, Fire Star, and Fluegle team were fighting off some of the Backdraft pilots on land. Toran and the men that were with him had began to run and Bit wasn't far from them.
"Get back here, you jerk!" yelled Bit. Toran stopped were he was and turned around to face Bit, his men stopping with him. Bit stopped a good distance away from him.
"It's over. The Zoid Battle Commission is on their way. Face it, you lost," said Bit. Toran just smirked and laughed a little.
"I'm afraid you're the one who just lost," said Toran. Bit looked to him, a little scared. Toran pulled out a pistol from his belt. He aimed it and fired. Bit flew back as the bullet made contact. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the bullet shot. They were all wide eyed. Bit fell against the sand, blood flowing from the whole in his chest. Leena was the first over to Bit, followed by the others. They completely forgot about what they had been doing, and the Backdraft pilots didn't seem to mind.
"Bit, hold on," said Leena, with tears in her eyes. "Please Bit, don't die." He forced his eyes open and looked up at her as she held him close.
"I'm sorry Leena. I didn't want it to end like this, I really didn't. Forgive me," he said, barely above a whisper.
"Darn it," said Taban. "It's happening again."
"You guys did your best," said Bit. He then moaned in pain.
"Just hold on Bit. The ZBC will be here soon and then we'll take you to a hospital. You just need to hold on," said Leena. Bit reached up and touched the side of her face, wiping away some of the tears.
"Sorry Leena. I want you to know that I love you and that I always will," said Bit, his voice barely audible.
"Bit…" said Leena nervously.
"Goodbye and…thank you." Bit closed his eyes and his hand fell back to the ground. His breathing stopped and now he lay limply in Leena's arms.
******
Leena sat up quickly in bed. It was another dream. She was covered in a cold sweat and she was quivering. She then hugged her knees and just sat on her bed, wishing she knew what to do. She began to cry and just sat there like that. She was afraid.
"What can I do?" she asked herself. She then thought back a little and Taban's words came back to her. 'The protector must sacrifice their own life,' he had told her. His voice played through her head, over and over. What was she going to do?
"I have to think of something," she told herself. She then laid back down on her bed and fell back asleep, hoping that the answer would come to her.
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Gee, I actually came up with a really good chapter here, or that's just what I think. There are only two chapters left. And I bet you're all just inching to find out what happens next. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can, I promise. I went through, so there shouldn't be any mistakes. Well, until the next time, I'll be seeing ya!
Audi^.^