I've been writing fanfics for a while, but that doesn't mean I'm particularly good at it.  This is the first fanfic by.. me.. that is being posted on a website for the world to see.  Be honest, ne?  Just not blatant. 

Warnings:             Please note that chapter 1 may start out slow.  I'm not good with beginnings.  Good.  Now, second – the html business on this site makes formatting difficult.  Bear with me here! 

Disclaimer:           Izumi, Shiro, and the Drache Rebirth are my creations.  Everything else is credited to the creators of New Century Zoids.

Anonymous Terror

                "Doc, we have an incoming message from the Fluegel Team.  It's from Leon…"

                "Leon!  Is he sending us a welcome e-mail already?"

                Steve Toros was ecstatic, jumping out of his seat behind Jamie in the cockpit of the Blitz Team's Hovercraft as he leaned forward to grin at the screen. 

                "No, doc."

                The young boy shook his head as he finished reading the e-mail from former Blitz Team member Leon Toros, "It sounds urgent from what I can tell."

                "Well he knows we're only an hour's drive away from their current location!"

                "Doc, you don't get it!  They need our help!  We're the only Zoid team close enough to be of any assistance at all!"

"What do you mean?"

"They were challenged to a battle about half an hour ago… but anyway, according to Leon, they're dealing with a new type of Zoid that he's never seen before, but it's obviously registered because the Judge permitted it to be used in battle against Naomi and him."

                "Wait, you mean they're up against just one fighter?" 

                "That's what it sounds like…  He says it's already taken out Kiyomi, Kazumi, and Naomi's Gunsniper."

                "I'd like to see this for myself…  Jamie, go see if Bit and the others are up yet.  Tell them to get their Zoids ready for battle."

                "Our interference will void this battle, Doc."

                "For the love of God, Jamie, just do it!"

                And just then, the detached head of a red Gunsniper struck their hovercraft as the craft was making its way over a hill that bordered the battlefield, nearly knocking the entire vehicle over onto its side. 

                "I think that should've done it…"

                Leon was desperate now as he tried to lure the enemy Zoid away Naomi's crippled, headless Gunsniper.  In the beginning of this battle, he had been confident that he could easily outrun the massive Zoid with his Blade Liger, but now he wasn't so sure as he turned his head to see the Dreigon gaining fast from behind.  The name "Dreigon" had been unfamiliar to him the first time he heard the Judge announce its name, and he was STILL unfamiliar with this creature and its pilot.  He was almost frightened by thoughts of what might happen to him.  Other pilots he'd battled or seen stopped when a Zoid was disabled, but the Dreigon was only content when it had ripped its opponents to pieces.  It'd torn the red Gunsniper's head clear off by its teeth and then hurled the head miles away with Naomi still inside.  Leon grimaced as he attempted to send the pilot a video-message.

                "What are you doing, you lunatic?!  I already requested to forfeit this match five minutes ago!"

                For a moment, he received no response, and the renegade fighter came up beside him before ramming his Liger into solid rock along the side of a cliff.  Then the Dreigon leapt away to let the Blade Liger slide to a gradual stop on the ground, half of it completely burned away by the friction between its body and the rock wall.  The pilot inside was barely able to stay conscious.  That Zoid was one of the bigger ones he'd seen, but it also looked lightweight, based on his quick scan of its body proportions.  If the Dreigon was so heavy, how could it support its own weight?  Much less travel so quickly on its own.  Its spiked armor probably provided an extra few tons as well. 

                "That was so pathetic…" 

                The pilot of the Dreigon had spoken.  A woman?  The voice was deep, but it was a woman all right.  Leon could tell that much.  She wasn't letting him see her face.

                A set of the Dreigon's grey claws came down over the Blade Liger's head, the tip of one claw actually piercing the glass of the cockpit upon contact.  Those claws were unbelievably sharp!  It must've been treated by some sort of laser.  No wonder…

                No time for speculations, Leon, you're a dead man.

                The pilot's voice came again, and it was much more courteous this time, despite the positions their Zoids were in, "Could you tell me how I might be able to contact the Blitz Team?"

                He couldn't possibly know the answer to that.

                "I'll let your Liger stay in one piece if you just tell me."

                The Dreigon wasn't even scratched… after they gave it everything they had!  Even the paint job had stayed the same, retaining its metallic purple and black sheen…  This thing was a beautiful piece of work.  Leon closed his eyes and sighed.

                "Get the hell away from my brother!" 

                Leena?

                An array of missiles and 40 mm bullets were spiraling toward the Zoid on top of his Liger, and when the storm of explosives struck the Dreigon, both it and the Blade Liger disappeared in smoke and dust.

                "Yeah!  Bull's eye!"

                "Uh, Leena…"

                Her teammate's Shadow Fox stepped up beside her blue Gunsniper.

                "I think you hit your brother too."

                "Nuh-uh!  I'm more careful than that!"

                "Look there."

                Leena Toros blinked up and was overcome by a state of shock to see the Dreigon still in one piece, and still standing over her brother's Blade Liger. 

                "I didn't even faze it!"

                "No, but I think you annoyed the shit outta' it."

                The Dreigon turned to face the two Zoids, stepping off of Leon's disabled Liger to plant its four clawed feet firmly into the ground, crouching slightly as the cannon over its back slid forward so it reached past its head and rose a few feet above the Zoid's back.  Before the two Blitz pilots could respond, the cannon was firing multiple shots toward them, yellow beams that came one after another.  It took two to send Leena toppling. 

                "Leena!"

                Jamie's voice rang in her ears as he made connection with her Zoid communication system. 

                "Ow!  What the heck was that?!"
                "It looked like a particle cannon, but it fired so much faster…  Oh well, at least the Shadow Fox is quick enough to dodge those shots."

                The Shadow Fox was quick enough.  It sped across the battlefield, and Dreigon's shots followed it, catching the tip of its tail a few times.  Then, a white lion flew from the dust of the red desert earth, taking advantage of the distracted Dreigon by leaping at it with its left claw glowing a bright yellow as it drew back.

                Once more, the Dreigon's pilot spoke, "Liger Zero!  You are Bit Cloud!" and pulled her Zoid toward the right so that the Liger Zero struck rock instead of her Zoid's jagged armor.  Before the Liger Zero could pull its claw from the cliff side, the Dreigon was upon the lion's throat, sinking its teeth into the white metal as if it were trying to kill a prey. 

                Bit Cloud was in a state of confusion until Leon's face popped up in a small window on his screen, "Bit, fight it!  The pilot and her Zoid won't stop until it's torn your Zoid apart by the seams!"

                The blonde could only offer a stiff nod to his former teammate, "Alright, Liger, you heard him…  Let's slay this dragon!"

                "Corny, Bit, corny."

                "Shut up, Brad!  Just give me a hand here!"

                The Shadow Fox had stopped by now, and it turned to face the preoccupied Dreigon before rushing forward in a frontal assault, preparing the vulcan cannon on its back. 

                "Those weaklings are no match for us, Dreigon…"

                The Dreigon released Liger, and then bowed its head to slide its two horns underneath it.  As it lifted its head, it picked the Liger off the ground, and with a swing of its head, it hurled the white lion towards the Shadow Fox, letting out a shrill cry as it watched the two Zoids collide, sending bits and pieces of black and white armor flying in different directions. 

                Jamie was stupefied as he stared at the screen and witnessed the defeat.  At least the battle had already been voided by its Judge…

                "Bit.  Hey, Bit, wake up."

                Bit Cloud, pilot to the Liger Zero.  He was awake now.  And his heard hurt so much he had no idea where he was or how he had ended up here; which wasn't all that true because he knew perfectly well he was in the snail-like Hovercraft of the Blitz Team, and he was in his bed, and he was without clothing, and he hurt all over – and he was wrapped in bandages.

                "Jamie," he groaned, "is that you?"

                "No, Bit.  It's me, Leon." 

                "Leon?  Who's Leon?"

                "I guess you did take a pretty hard hit when she threw Liger."

                "That Zoid…  Did we lose?"

                "Technically, yes, but it doesn't count against anyone because the Judge voided our battle when you guys showed up to save our butts.  I already thanked my dad, and now I'm trying to thank you, but you seem a little dazed."

                "Where…?"

                "The Dreigon's gone now, Bit, but the pilot did leave a message for you.  She asked us to pass it on whenever you woke up."

                "I'm awake…"

                Actually, he was barely able to support himself as he sat up off his bed to stare groggily into Leon's bandaged face.  Conscious for less than five minutes and already white linen was becoming a familiar sight.