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

I'm pretty horrible with proofreading anything I wrote…  Read on, anyway.  Please?  ^^;  … ah, thank you.  Inform me if you catch any mistakes.  Thank you.

Everything Burns

                "Uh, hey, Brad… uhm, sleep well?"
                "Shut up, Bit…"

                Jamie glanced at the two from the kitchen, "I guess when he wakes up earlier than usual, Brad's grumpier than usual…"

                "Good morning, Jamie Hemeros."

                The boy turned abruptly, jumping slightly as he noticed Izumi walking in through another door.  She paused when he offered her a cup of coffee, taking it in both bandaged hands, "Thanks."

                "I'm glad you're feeling better…"

                "Thanks to your team.  I feel that accepting help from… you, however, is a little inappropriate on my part."

                "Don't worry about it!"

                Both turned at the same time to face the dining room door where Doctor Toros was standing, "You can make it up to us by letting us hire you!"

                "What do you mean?  Why would you hire me after I did all that damage to your Zoids?"

                "Because your Zoid has caught my attention, and I must have a chance to study it while it's in combat!  I just… assumed you were a mercenary.  Only mercenaries would fight alone…"

                "I guess…"

                "Great, then it's a deal!  We'll pay you the same amount we're paying Brad right now, and I think you'll be pleased with the amount!"

                The doctor didn't even wait for her to respond before leaving the kitchen, whistling happily to himself as he left Izumi and Jamie staring after him.  Brad and Bit were also watching him leave. 

                "Uh, Brad…  Did the doc just…"

                "Looks like we've got ourselves another warrior." 

                Doctor Toros popped up only half a second after leaving, grinning as always, "Oh, by the way, last night after you had all gone to bed, the Judge Administration informed me that our next opponents had been chosen.  It's the Behemoth Team, and I heard they were a pretty tough team so everybody, get ready!  They'll have four fighters on their team so we could use the extra hand, Izumi.  The battle is due in thirty minutes!"

                Bit almost fell out of his seat, "So that's why he invited her to join…"

                Izumi stepped from the kitchen, pausing to look from Brad to Bit, "I look forward to working with you.  Who's going to break the news to that girl?"

                Both men lifted their heads to cast meaningful glances toward Jamie.

                "Oh no, I'm not telling Leena!"

                One by one, Zoids were launched from the Hovercraft, and they landed side by side in a neat row, starting with Leena's Gunsniper, Brad and his Shadow Fox, Bit and Liger Zero Schneider with its orange weapon system rather than its usual white armor, and Dreigon at the very end.  They stood still as all four pilots took a moment to scan the battlefield, searching for their enemy.  Liger turned its head toward the Dreigon just as Jamie sent a transmission to each pilot's cockpit, "The Behemoth Team has two Iron Kong PKs, a Heldigunner, and a Dark Horn.  The Kongs are what we're most worried about, and I think that the Liger and Dreigon might be the only two strong enough to take care of those Zoids.  Brad, Leena, I'd appreciate it if the two of you handled the Heldigunner and Dark Horn…"

                "I see where they got their name…"

                "Hmm?  Did you say something, Izumi?"

                "The Behemoth Team.  The term 'behemoth' is often used to describe something very large, and the team we're facing off against seems to consist only of large and cumbersome Zoids.  We shouldn't have much trouble even if we can't take them close-range.  All of the Blitz Team's Zoids, including my Dreigon, are designed to travel at high speeds and are also equipped with long range weapons which might be able to make up for the Zoid's inability to hold out when going head to head." 

                "Uh, that's… right."

                Leena interrupted, "Shut up with all the technical crap and let's get this show on the road!"

                All conversation ceased and the four Zoids broke into a run, stampeding across the tall grass that covered the fresh battlefield.  Missiles and ammunition from automatic weapons rained down almost immediately, breaking their formation.

                Liger and Dreigon tore forward as the Shadow Fox and Gunsniper ran in opposite directions to divert the gunfire.  The lion and dragon were side by side as they ran toward the gunfire, and eventually, two black Zoids came into view: the Heldigunner and Dark Horn.  They paused to face the oncoming Zoids, the vulcan cannons mounted over their backs taking aim before opening fire.  Much to their surprise, or at least to the pilots inside the cockpits, the Liger and Dreigon were able to leap out of range, their movements completely in sync as they jumped to the sides and then over the two black Zoids, so high that the two lumbering reptilian Zoids were unable to stop them. 

                "The Kongs should be right up ahead, waiting."

                "Nothing they do will matter because we'll destroy them before they're even aware of us…"
                "That's not a very healthy mentality, Izumi."
                "Shut up and fight, Bit Cloud."

                "Shiro!"

                Stoller was in another desperate state of mind, "Shiro!  Lieutenant, you're in no condition to leave so soon!  You can't fight the Dreigon or the Liger like this… Do you not remember how your last encounter with the Blitz Team went?"

                He had to raise his voice in order to be heard above the roar of the engines that penetrated the walls of the carrier through an open doorway in the hanger that exposed the open sky, ready to deploy the white Genosaurer. 

                "Captain, please don't try any of your 'reasoning'.  You don't know what it is I'm after, so don't try to stop me…"

                Shiro tossed her coat to him as she climbed into the Lapin Blanc's cockpit.  As the glass began to close, Stoller's hand shot up to stop the lid, his other arm hugging onto the pilot's seat to keep himself steady as he boots were planted firmly over a rickety ladder of rope that had allowed Shiro into the Genosaurer. 

                "Captain Stoller, control yourself!"

                "I'm in complete control, lieutenant, believe me."

                 Neither was aware of the mechanics and operatives shouting at them from other corners of the hanger.  They were unaware of the roaring suction of air, everything that surrounded them – this lasted for an eternal minute before Shiro's hand reached down to trace a finger over a crease along Stoller's face – proof of his aging, "Quit being so protective.  We're soldiers, you know."  She smiled, "Besides, I'm just doing the dirty work, like always…  No sweat, captain.  It's all a hush-hush deal, you understand."

                She leaned forward, using the touch of her finger to draw Stoller in.  Her head tilted slightly, her lips closing in on Stoller's, stopping as Stoller closed his eyes to accept the kiss – only, the kiss was never felt, and when he opened his eyes, she had already pulled back and reclined against the back rest of her seat in the cockpit.  Shiro offered a wink instead as she pushed him from her Zoid, closing the lid of the cockpit before she could see Stoller land at the Genosaurer's feet.

                "Shiro!" 

                The white Zoid turned away and leapt from the hanger, falling toward the planet below. 

                "Frankie, help me!"

                "No one is going to help you now!"

                Leena broke into a paroxysm of mad cackling as she unleashed a barrage of ammunition from every cannon on her heavily modified Zoid, clouding the area with dust, and when the dust cloud cleared, the remains of a Heldigunner Zoid were lying before her Gunsniper, silent for two seconds before it was consumed by an explosion.

                "Hah!  What a loser!"

                Brad's black Shadow Fox ran to the Gunsniper's side, tilting its head as its pilot sent a video-message to Leena, "Two down.  I took care of their Dark Horn, so now all that are left… are those two Iron Kongs."

                "Unless Bit and that new guy took care of them already…"
                "'Guy'?  Do I sense bitterness?"

                The Gunsniper leapt off without a response, leaving Brad to catch up.  Before he could do so, however, Leena's Gunsniper was already rushing back, Leena screaming from the cockpit, "Brad!  Ru-un!"

                "Brad!"

                It wasn't Leena's voice, but Izumi's, as her Zoid leapt from a cliff overhead, ramming into the Shadow Fox and knocking it aside before whirling around in time to see an Iron Kong hurling toward them, dropping from the sky as if the sky were raining Zoids (of course, it was only thrown up there).  The Dreigon crouched on its forelegs before lunging into the air to meet the oncoming Zoid, snapping its jaws over one of its arms to toss it off course so it landed where there was nothing but empty land, no other warriors that might be crushed by the massive gorilla-Zoid.

                This time, Brad was the one crying out, his voice ringing through the Dreigon's cockpit in unison with Bit's as both pilots sent a message to Izumi at the same time, yelling out a warning, "Izumi!"

                The lady-mercenary turned as she caught sight of the second Kong Zoid – it was flying straight at her, having been flung into the air by Bit's Liger.  The Zoid struck the Dreigon in the head, and for a moment, the other three pilots were held in shock (or suspense), convinced that the impact of the blow would've crushed the Dreigon's cockpit along with the pilot.

                "Bit, you idiot!  You killed her!"

                The Dreigon plummeted.

                "What do you care, Leena!?"
                Before the black dragon could crash into the earth, and before Leena and Bit could continue their argument, the motionless Shadow Fox disappeared in a burst of flames that seemed to be coming from the ground beneath it.  Slowly, the culprit revealed itself to be a purple Genosaurer buried beneath the surface soil as it rose slowly, then springing up at the last second to toss the charred fox away.  Two other Zoids of the same type and color emerged from the earth as well, rushing to attack the Gunsniper that was now defenseless without its ammunition.  They seemed to be completely ignoring the Liger until one last Genosaurer came to the surface, painted red this time.  It turned to face the Liger, and Bit blinked in realization, "You're that lady from the Fuuma Team!"

                "Correct, Bit Cloud…  I always said I would return to pay you back for humiliating the Fuuma Team the way you did…"

                "Not so fast, Miss Fuuma…"

                "What?!"
                A shadow loomed over the red Genosaurer before the Dreigon came crashing down toward it, but just before it could land, one of the purple Zoids had leapt forward to tackle the Dreigon away with its weight.  As the Dreigon skidded to a stop against the grass, the three Genosaurers left their prey to take advantage of the Dreigon's temporary moment of vulnerability.  They leapt at it and soon, had their heads buried in the metal like a flock of hungry vultures ravaging a carcass. 

                "Izumi!"

                The Liger ran toward them, only to be intercepted by the red Genosaurer, "Your opponent is me, Bit Cloud…"

                Bit almost choked as he glanced around him to see the Shadow Fox lying on its side a few yards away, and the Gunsniper still flailing pathetically like a fish out of water.  Then there was the Dreigon, now underneath the three Genosaurers that were tearing it apart.  Oh God, he was starting to feel sick…

                Suddenly, a purple Genosaurer flying over their Zoids distracted both him and the Fuuma Team's leader.  Its pilot was screaming as a plasma beam turned it into a flaming comet rather than pilot and Zoid.  As the two Zoids turned their heads, they saw the remaining two purple Genosaurers fleeing from the Dreigon, which was now on its four feet, its head bowed forward slightly as if it needed to breathe.  The pilot inside the cracked cockpit was panting, but she seemed to be handling her Zoid just fine…

                The Dreigon ran after one of the fleeing Genosaurers to catch it by its tail, dragging it off its feet before pouncing on top of the smaller Zoid, sinking its teeth into its cockpit, killing the pilot and rendering the Zoid useless. 

                "Izumi?"

                There was no response as the Dreigon tore forward, lunging for the red Genosaur with a thundering roar, and the pilot inside screamed, "I'll kill you!"

                The red Zoid stumbled back, and its pilot was screaming as well, "Get away from me!  You monster!"

                "Izumi!"

                The Liger rushed forward to pin the Dreigon down with its weight, which was difficult considering the Drache weighed nearly two times more than the Liger, "Don't!"

                "She's… She's getting away!  Bit, you fool, let go of me!"

                Sure enough, the red Genosaurer was running from the battlefield, galloping on its hind legs, looking straightforward and never looking back even once.

                Izumi screamed again, teeming with violent frustration.

                The nameless pilot was panting as she slid from the cockpit of her red Genosaurer, "What was that monster…"

                "It is the Drache Rebirth, of course…  But I'm not expecting you to know anything about that."

                The woman jumped as she saw a white Genosaurer approach.  Its pilot was riding on its head, so there was no one at the controls and yet it continued to move, "Lapin, stop."

                The Genosaurer stopped and allowed Shiro to hop down.  Shiro…  Like herself, a woman with no origins, "What are you doing here, lieutenant?"

"You look frightened.  Did something go wrong?"
"What?  N-No!"

                "Liar…" 

                Shiro smiled, and pulled her hand from behind her back, revealing the 9mm in the tight grip of her fingers, her smile widening when she saw the bewildered look over the other pilot's face, "The organization is tired of this, you know.  You're just one failure after another, and so, you've worn out your usefulness."

                She raised the gun, her finger tightening around the trigger as the handgun clicked.

                "No, don't!"

                "Oh my, please don't start begging… That would be embarrassing."

                She squeezed the trigger, her arm lifting about twenty degrees from recoil.  She didn't mind it.  The wet thud of a body losing its soul was always music to her ears.  The blood was a feast for her hungry eyes…

                Shiro turned away then, climbing back up her Zoid and into the open cockpit that awaited her.  She shoved the gun under her seat and leaned forward to tap a red square button that triggered the white Genosaurer to open its mouth, revealing the flamethrower between its teeth.  The barrel ignited before a stream of fire burst forth, forming a sweltering curtain around the woman's dying body and the red Zoid that would've been the only witness to this just crime – aside from the Lapin Blanc.  The evidence was gone…

                "Everything burns…"