Sorry to take so long on this next chapter. School and soccer just got out of hand. Plus this chapter is pretty long. Please enjoy and feel free to review. I don't own Zoids, yadda yadda yadda… Enjoy. Oh, and we've now reached part 3.

Part 3

Chapter 9

"We've already fought them, though." Rayne complained, reading over the conditions of the battle with the Omega Team. Lyle had agreed to it before either Gin or Rayne had woken up.

            "More money for us, right? Besides, we need the cash to fix up Saix."

            "We also need a break from battling! Sai practically annihilated us! I don't feel comfortable going into battle again so soon!"

            "Come on, Rayne. The Omega Team is a complete pushover! We need the money. Come on. Just one battle and then we can relax."

            "Alright…" Rayne complied slowly. Gin walked in, having heard most of the argument. Behind her were Kristie and Kelley, both recovering quickly from the rough battle. The three of them walked over to Lyle and Rayne, though no one said anything until Rayne walked out. Gin looked over at Lyle.

            "She's really worked up about losing…"

            "I guess she never forgave Sai for abandoning her way back when…" Lyle replied. He was shaking his head slowly. He knew there was more to it than that, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He turned to Kristie and Kelley. "Do you guys know anything that might make them hate each other?" They both said the same thing and at the same time while Gin and Lyle looked on, slightly bewildered.

            "Sai isn't the kind of person that you would expect to be a caring brother. He's the opposite. He never felt much for his parents or sister, he said. But he also said he remembered that for a while, before the attack on his hometown, Rayne really looked up to him. He was at the age when he was learning to pilot a zoid. He said she would go outside and watch him practice. But one time, only about a week and a half before the accident, he was in his Terrace. He was trying a diving maneuver, the one you saw in the last battle. It caused a major draft of air to head straight for the ground. We're talking hurricane force winds here. Anyway, the winds went straight for Rayne. She was literally blown away. She was alright, but later that night his parents scolded him for his reckless piloting. After that he hated it when Rayne came to watch him practice. It meant that he couldn't try anything fun. He thought that that meant he wasn't going to ever get any better. So, when the attack happened, he saw his opening and took it."

            "So Rayne feels betrayed and Sai resents her because of an accident that he caused? Seems kind of wrong to me…" Lyle continued to shake his head, putting his hand to his forehead and sighing audibly.

            "Sai's hatred is unfounded and so it is weak. He's not as bad as he was, say, two weeks ago. Back then he wouldn't stop talking about how much he wanted to get Rayne. Now it's just an unmentioned detail. It's not so much that he wants revenge now. It's more that he's started taking orders from the guys above. Needless to say he's not used to taking orders. He's used to giving them. It's been seriously trying his patience and it shows. Now I think he wants to relax and stop battling as much as Rayne does."

            "If given the opportunity, do you think Sai would quit the Backdraft and stop battling?" Gin had been silent up to this point.

            "It is a possibility, though it's not likely. Sai lives to battle."

            "I assumed as much."

            "Sai won't let his mixed emotions get in the way of carrying out his orders. Your team will have to fight him again. It may be soon, or perhaps later. We thank you for your hospitality but now we have to go."

            "Where are you headed?"

            "To find Sai. You have been very hospitable, but we have to try and talk him into leaving the Backdraft." Gin nodded lightly and Lyle have a look of surprise, worry, and, strangely enough, content on his face.

            Rayne stood up from her leaning position just outside the room. She sighed inaudibly and turned to leave. She took one step before the door to the room opened and Kristie and Kelley stepped outside. They looked from side to side and, after spotting her, stopped.

            "Rayne? Are you alright?" They asked together, their concern apparent.

            "I'm fine… Tell my brother, when you find him, that… That I need to speak with him. That's all… Please…"

            "Of course." They said, glad that that was all she had asked of them. They turned and left quickly, taking their newly repaired zoids from the Ace Team's hanger.

            About six hours later the Ace Team was just reaching the battlefield. Lyle and Gin climbed out of the Gustav's cockpit and climbed into the cockpits of their zoids while Rayne flew overhead in Sworder. She went from one end of the battlefield to the other, surveying the landscape and the enemies. She spotted them about five hundred yards from the northeastern corner of the field. She noticed there was something different. They had a different zoid.

            A Saber Fang, D-Bison, and an Iron Kong were strategically positioned about one hundred yards away from each other. In her mind Rayne went over the details for the battle plan she was creating. They couldn't take them out with a single, quick flurry of shots. If they attempted that they'd hit only one zoid, possibly. They'd have to get close and take aim. But because their D-Bison had a long range weapon, that could become difficult. She calculated the possibilities of a successful air strike and came up with an eight out of ten chance of failure. They had certainly though ahead for this battle. Silently she praised their tactician for a job well done.

            The judge arrived shortly thereafter, but before he could announce the beginning of the battle, the Iron Kong fired a few shots at Rayne and Sworder, which they easily dodged. She opened a communications link which the other pilot quickly completed.

            "What do you think you're doing?! The battle hasn't begun!" She shouted angrily. She couldn't see the other pilot, he was sitting too far back in the cockpit, but she recognized his irritating chuckle. "Is that you-?"

            "Yes. It's me." The pilot leaned forward.

            "Ryan?! You… joined the Omega Team…"

            "The price was right… And I wanted to see your new Zoid in action."

            "Hm… Fine. But be warned, I'm not going easy on you." She closed the communications link and flew back over to her side of the field. She didn't know why she was so short tempered with Ryan. Maybe the whole ordeal with Sai was taking its toll.

            "Ready? Fight!" Rayne had missed, or ignored, the rest of what the judge said. She was tired, and sick of battling. She was going to end this quick.

            "Guys, let's finish this. I-"

            "No need to say anymore. Let's dispatch these amateurs and go grab some lunch."

            "Lyle…"

            "I have to agree. All of this constant battling is getting monotonous. And a bite to eat doesn't sound bad at all."

            "Gin… Alright. Let's finish this."

            All three zoids took off at top speed. Rayne was fastest, then Lyle, and finally Gin but not much distance separated them. The Omega Team began more conservatively. It wouldn't matter, in the end.

            Lyle sent sporadic bursts of fire ahead, which warned the Omega Team about the oncoming onslaught. Rayne slowed down, climbing higher into the air. She had something planned that would blow them away, literally.

            Gin raced ahead of Lyle as he reloaded and directly charged the Saber Fang. She took it down with one strike and dodged the D-Bison's returning fire. Lyle finally caught up and jumped over Gin and landed on the D-Bison and, using his anchors, torn away at the zoids armor.

            With his teammates command systems frozen, Ryan was starting to feel the pressure. He fired at Gin and Lyle who backed off a little.

            "What, scared of me?" He laughed. Lyle glared at his image on the screen.

            "Yeah, right… We thought we'd leave some action for Rayne."

            "Speaking of Rayne, where is she?"

            "Look down," Ryan did, but apprehensively. "Now look up." Rayne took that as her cue and began her dive, the same one Sai had used against her. Her entire Zoid shook with the force of free falling from so far up. Ryan was shocked when he saw Sworder plummet into view from behind a dark cloud. Even before he was hit by the massive winds, he knew it was over.

            Sworder, moments before striking the ground, opened its massive wings and slowed itself down. In effect, the air beneath Sworder's wings was forced downward, creating powerful winds that were directed straight downward. Once they reached the ground the spread out, losing momentum as they went. Though she centered her attack about thirty meters away, Ryan's zoid was knocked backward. Command system frozen. Lyle and Gin, who had backed up more during Rayne's dive, received only a pleasant breeze from the attack, which they savored as they opened the canopies of their zoids and grinned happily. Victory was theirs.

            "The battle is over. The battle is over. The winner is… The Ace Team!" Gin laughed softly as Lyle jumped up and down.

            "What a way for us to come back after that last battle with Sai!" He laughed out loud, his hands on his hips. "We've still got it!" Rayne smiled and laughed half-heartedly. For a moment it was like old times, back before the ordeal with Sai. She shook her head and smiled a genuine smile.

            "Alright guys… Let's go grab lunch."

            After talking shortly with Ryan and sharing a few laughs about old times, the Ace Team arrived at the After Battle Eatery. They opened the door and walked over to their familiar table. Gin and Lyle pulled ahead of Rayne, who lagged a little as she scanned the Eatery.

            'What am I looking for?' She asked herself, shaking her head slowly. 'Was I expecting Sai to be here? Why do I do this to myself? I act like I hate him and then I worry when I can't find him… I'm pitiful.' She stopped for a moment, collecting herself. She glanced around one more and then went to take another step.

            "Rayne." She spun around, bewildered to have heard her name called. "Looking for me?"

            "… … … Sai?" There sat her brother, cocky as ever. He grinned up at her from his seat. Kelley and Kristie were next to him, smiling lightly. Sai glanced to them.

            "They said you wanted to talk to me." Rayne nodded.

            "Yeah."

            "We need to speak with Lyle and Gin." The two girls said, standing up and walking away.

            "Have a seat, Rayne." Rayne complied, seating herself across from her brother. She was somewhat nervous, but not too much. After all, she needed to talk to him. She needed to figure things out.

            "Sai… Why the hell do you hate me?!" He chuckled lightly at her opening remark.

            "I had a feeling you'd ask that."

            "Then answer it!"

            "Look, my hatred has always been unfounded and unfair. I had no right to be mad at you, or mom, or dad. But the point is I was. I can't change any of that now… And I'm sorry."
            "Sai…"

            "You know… I haven't those last two words in a long time…" He looked up at the ceiling for a short while and then closed his eyes. He pulled his elbows up to the top of the booth and tilted his head back.

            "Sai. You're right. You didn't have any reason to be angry for so long. But I dismissed it as arrogance a long time ago. I don't care what you decide to do, it's your life. But I want to know that you won't attack me or my team again. I don't want to have to fight you."

            "Alright. I promise I won't." Rayne stood and looked down at Sai, who had opened his eyes now and was looking at her.

            "And remember… Backdraft or not you're still my brother. I wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt you."

            "And I guess that's why you've been holding back while fighting?"

            "How'd you know I was-?"

            "Rayne… Mom and Dad were great pilots. I figured we both inherited at least some of their skill. Look, I've got to go. I'll catch up with you later…"

            "Alright, Sai." Sai stood as Rayne backed away a little, allowing him room to maneuver. When Kelley and Kristie noticed he was ready to leave they left Gin and Lyle and followed. The Crimson Team walked out the door together, and Rayne was left feeling a lot better.

Is the rivalry between Sai and Rayne really over? What about the Backdraft? And what's the next battle the Ace Team's going to have to undergo? All will be revealed next chapter (let's just hope I don't get caught up in school again… I was dying to get back to writing!). Please review!