Okay, here's chapter 8. Please read and review. I don't own Zoids, blah blah blah. Enjoy.

Part 2

Chapter 8

            Just as Lyle went to take a large bite out of his cheeseburger, the door to the Eatery swung open and three people stepped in. Rayne cast only a fleeting glance in their direction but balked as she recognized those that had just entered. She swallowed, which was difficult, and took a few silent but deep breaths as she waited for their inevitable encounter. But the three weren't going to just walk over and talk. Instead they went up to the front and ordered, then seated themselves at the other end of the Eatery. After their food had come and been eaten they stood and walked over to the now nervous Ace Team.

            "Well, long time no see."

            "What do you want, Sai?" Kristie and Kelley stood behind him, grinned in their usual silent fashion.

            "Oh, just to challenge you to a battle."

            "Send the details to our base and-"

            "How about I just tell you the details now?" Rayne didn't say a word in response. "Today in two hours outside your base. No rules. Got that?"

            "If it isn't a legitimate match, we're not participating."

            "Yes you are."

            "No, we're not."

            "Yes, you are." Sai began to chuckle. Something was definitely different about him now.

            "I said we're not! Get it through your thick skull! No, no way, no how, no!" He smirked as he stood up and turned to leave.

            "Why don't you ask how your team feels about it?" He left then, Kristie and Kelley trailing him like puppy dogs.

            "What the hell'd he mean by that?!"

            "Rayne, we're behind you one hundred percent. We don't want to participate in an unsanctioned battle either. I don't know what's gotten into your brother but he sure as hell is sure of himself. I don't think we should accept. He's got to have something up his sleeve." Rayne visibly relaxed and looked over at Gin.

            "I agree. Lyle, what about you?"

            "I don't want to have to fight him again. We already know we can kick his ass so why bother fighting him again?" Both Rayne and Gin nodded in agreement. They paid their bill and left the eatery, but on the way back to their base a though struck them.

            "Uh, Rayne. If it's supposed to take place outside of our base in two hours, how are we going to avoid it? I mean, it's going to take an hour and forty five minutes to get over there and well over fifteen minutes to get the zoids loaded onto the Gustav. And even if we managed to do that someone would still have to pilot a zoid out of here. What if they took that as we accepted their challenge?"

            "Damn… Now I know why Sai was so sure of himself. He knew that no matter what we did he'd either fight us or steal our zoids. Bastard…"

            "Rayne, settle down. We'll deal with him and his team accordingly." The younger girl looked out the window at the desert landscape.

            'What does he have up his sleeve? I know he has something planned…'

            About an hour and a half later they reached their base.

            "We made good time, but not enough to get out of this mess."

            "It gives us more time to get prepared. I have to use Saix in this battle, Sworder didn't take any damage but I still feel uncomfortable in an aerial zoid. And besides, I know Saix can beat Sai's Terrace. I just have to get in close enough. I'm going to try it."

            "It didn't work the last time you tried that, if you remember." Gin added, looking over her own zoid just in case.

            "Yes, I remember. But it'll never work if I don't practice. It's nothing against Sworder," she glanced up at the huge Storm Sworder that stood before her, "and I really do think that he's an amazing zoid. I just want to see if I can win without an organoid system." It was a long moment before anyone spoke again. In fact, Lyle went inside long before Rayne even turned away from Saix and Sworder. Gin stayed and looked over her Hell Cat's combat data and then the Gunsniper's. She climbed down from the cockpit and walked over to the younger woman, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The younger woman glanced up at her, grinned, and then spun around, knocking Gin's hand off of her shoulder.

            "Rayne?"

            "I'm kind of excited. I get to face Sai without and organoid system, and I'm going to win. I don't care if the odds are against us. I'm going to beat Sai, whether he likes it or not. So, do you have a battle plan?"

            "Except we take out the Rev Raptors while you annihilate Sai and his Terrace? No."

            "Hm, well you'd better get to work, Madam Tactician."

            "Since when have I been the tactical expert on this team?!"

            "Since you joined, of course."
            "What?! You're serious? All of your battles before I joined… You played them by ear? You didn't have any plans?!"

            "Exactly, but I suppose that's not such a big deal…"

            "Big deal?! I though you all were a true class A team! Now I find you're nothing but lucky idiots with some barely average zoids!"

            "Shh, they'll hear you!" Gin and Rayne both started chuckling, which evolved into sporadic fits of laughter. But it didn't last long. Lyle came into the hanger with a morose look on his face. He sighed and pointed out the hanger door.

            "They're on their way." Rayne looked down at her watch, shook it, and then sighed as well.

            "Either they're early, or my watch is dead…" Lyle glanced at the clock on the wall.

            "Your watch is dead." Rayne's shoulders slumped a little but she soon regained her composure and was climbing into Saix's cockpit. She glanced down at Gin and Lyle, still standing there.

            "Well are you going to get ready or not?" Both of the glanced up and nodded, each going to their respective zoid.

            In a matter of minutes all three of their zoids stood outside the base and waited for the arrival of the now infamous Whale King. It arrived shortly thereafter, but the Crimson Team wasn't yet prepared for battle. Sai's face popped up on the screen above Rayne's terminal.

            "So you decided to fight after all?"

            "Sai, you know better than anyone that the choice wasn't ours."

            "Oh, so you figured it out. Well, let's see how you do in battle-" He looked from side to side before continuing, "- without an organoid system." Rayne grimaced. She didn't remember mentioning anything about that to Sai, but her memory failed her. Maybe she had… It was possible. She rolled her eyes and disconnected the link, leaving Sai staring at a blank screen in the control room of the Whale King. He smirked lightly and then proceeded down to the docking bay, where Kristie and Kelley were almost done readying their Rev Raptors for combat. He waved lightly to them as he walked over to his Terrace and hopped in. He entered a couple of commands and then positioned his zoid for an easy take off.

            A moment before Sai was supposed to take flight, a judge capsule fell from the sky, creating its own crater. When the dust settled and the view was clear, Rayne noticed the discoloration of the capsule. The dark judge. It opened and there he stood.

            "Crimson Team versus the Ace Team. Battle mode 0999. Ready?" Sai waited for his last word. "Fight!" He took off at the signal and circled high above the battle field while the Rev Raptors on his team jumped out of the Whale King and took the initiative against the opposing team. It took a moment for Gin, Lyle, and Rayne to realize that the battle had started. In fact they were very nearly pinned down by enemy fire before the thought of evading even came to their minds. But when it did, they acted quickly.

            "Lyle, move behind me." Gin said. He nodded as he realized what plan she was going to use. The two zoids proceeded down the battle field while Rayne attempted to keep the Rev Raptors' attention. It succeeded for a while, but Kelley noticed the two missing zoids and gave chase. "Now!"

            Lyle's Gunsniper jumped clear over the Hell Cat in front of it and continued running while Gin proceeded in a wide arc to meet her charging opponent. Gin fired a few shots before evading a few and returned fire shortly after. She made relatively quick work of her opponent and continued after Lyle. She didn't get very far.

            Sai noticed the plan they were attempting to carry out, and he knew that their chances for success were very high if they got to the other end of the battle field. He lowered his altitude a little and, when he was close enough to the Hell Cat, let loose with a flurry of shots which immobilized the zoid quickly. He returned back to his original altitude but kept an eye on Lyle, who was now unsure of what to do.

            'Carry out the plan… Carry out the plan… Carry out the damn plan!' She shouted at himself in his mind as he kept up a good pace. He knew Sai was on his tail and waiting for a time to strike. A sudden, quick bleeping from his terminal alerted him to the approaching Terrace that had, apparently, seen his opening. But Lyle wasn't going down that easily. He spun his Gunsniper around and, when Sai's Terrace was low and close enough, jumped into the air, coming down on top of the aerial zoid. Using the anchors that were normally used to steady his zoid when it was sniping, he latched onto the Terrace and leaned far to the right, attempting to flip over, taking Sai with him. Sai nodded his approval at the attempt, but noticed a flaw in his attack. Even the Gunsniper's anchors couldn't resist gravity. At least not forever.

            Sai flipped his zoid over completely, leaving the Gunsniper to hang on for dear life. He took a bunch of winding and sharp turns in an attempt to loosen the zoid's hold. A red light began flashing in Lyle's cockpit. If he didn't do something soon, he was going to fall off. He shook his head in defeat as yet another plan to regain control failed. He glanced around at what he could see of the battle field. He realized how amusing it had to be to see an upside down Terrace with a Gunsniper attached to its back. He grinned and glanced to where Rayne was fighting the Rev Raptor. She was unaware of Gin's defeat and had been using her ammo wisely, but she was running low. When Sai suddenly veered that way, Lyle saw a chance that could result in victory for the team.

            As Sai flew over the battle field, both Kristie and Rayne looked up at the two zoids. They were both speechless and for a moment neither moved. That's just what Lyle needed. When he was directly over the enemy Rev Raptor he let go with his anchors and dropped onto it. When the dust settled it was clear that both zoids' command systems were frozen, if not completely wrecked.

            "Lyle! Lyle?! Answer me, damn it! Lyle!" No reply came from the downed zoid. Rayne feared the worst. "Sai!" Tears filled her eyes as she watched her brother's Terrace fly away. "Get back here! Sai!" She charged after him in her Lightning Saix. He looked back at her, noting her mental condition.

            'At best she'll be able to scratch my Terrace. In her state I doubt she can see straight.' He smirked and did a wide turn until he was charging directly at her. It was time for an old fashioned show down.

            They were thirty meters away, twenty, ten, five, and then they had passed each other. The Lightning Saix stopped. It had incurred no damage from the assault. The Terrace kept flying. It hadn't taken a hit either. Sai pushed down on his controls, causing his Terrace to climb higher. Eventually, the stress of it became too much for the damaged frame.

            Sparks began flying from the gash that Lyle's Gunsniper had left behind and a small explosion erupted from out of no where. Rayne glanced behind her in time to see the Terrace lose altitude fast and plummet from the sky, impacting the earth and sending a wave of force straight for his younger sister. The agile but lightweight zoid couldn't withstand it and toppled over onto its side. When the dust has almost cleared Rayne climbed out over the edge of her cockpit and fell onto the sand, coughing and sputtering for breath as dust and dirt swirled around her. She put her arm up to shield her eyes and wandered in the direction of Sai's fallen zoid.

            Rayne approached the Terrace wearily but as soon as she saw the damage it had taken, she threw caution to the wind and jumped down into the crater the impact had created. She pushed, pulled, and kicked her way into the cockpit and, seeing Sai glaring up at her from his seat, sighed and relaxed.

            "Are you alright?" He stood up instantly and knocked her into the wall of the crater, pinning her with his elbow on her chest and his face up in hers.

            "This isn't over, Rayne." She averted her eyes and he got off of her. "Go get your friends. I'm leaving." He climbed out of the crater and started walking away from the battle field. The dark judge had already taken off, though that crater was still there, and Sai cast a quick over to where he had been and, reluctantly, announced the winner. But no one had been listening.

            Rayne clambered out after him, pausing to brush the dust and sand off of her pants before jogging to catch up to her brother.

            "Sai-"

            "Get away from me!" He shouted, knocking her back a few steps. She didn't continue after him then. She stood there and watched him walk away. He was heading towards the sun and his tall frame was silhouetted against the bright ball of fire. He was heading to the nearest town, which happened to be over one hundred miles away, and the end of his journey would be illuminated by Zi's two moons. If he wasn't picked up by the Whale King. The Backdraft transporter had disappeared shortly after the battle began and had yet to return. Rayne glanced up at the sky before turning around completely and heading to where Gin was pulling Lyle out of his totaled Gunsniper. She sighed and ran the rest of the way, helping Gin move Lyle from the burning wreckage. When both he and Kristie were a safe distance away - Kelley had already been escorted to the Ace Team's base - Rayne sat down and put her face in her hands. All hell had broken loose at that battle, and it was unlikely that the Ace Team would be fighting for a while.

Okay, finally done with this chapter. Did I do a good job with the battle? Please review! Thanks!