Chapter 3
Tournament of Champions
Zoids isn't mine. There. It's a disclaimer.
"So what do
you think it means?" Naomi asked. She gazed intently at him as he stared
at the paper in front of him. Naomi had written down the broken message that
she had intercepted and Brad now sat beside her, trying to understand what the
message had been.
"It doesn't look good," he mused. "Something about destroying
the Zibice empire. I can see that much." He ran his finger over one section.
"I don't understand this part about new recruits is." He turned to
Naomi. "Are you sure the man you saw was Lord Altail?"
Naomi nodded. "It may have been a fuzzy interception, but it was definitely
Lord Altail. I don't know who he was talking to, though."
"Hmm..." Brad said. "It can't be good. Here's something about
Fuma. She was the one who kidnapped Princess Mary."
"Altail must be up to something," Naomi said. "But what?"
The tent flap lifted up, revealing Bit's silhouette in the bright afternoon
sun. Brad and Naomi both shielded their eyes from the glare.
"Hey you two," Bit said with a grin. "The tournament's about
to start! Get your zoids."
"Be there soon, Bit," Brad said.
"Okay," Bit replied. He left the tent and walked across the field.
The day was warm, and the clouds were floating lazily along in the sky. Bit
looked up. "Ah, to be a cloud," he said with a smile.
A loud voice brought him back to reality. "BIT! GET IN THE LIGER NOW!"
"Sure thing, Leena," he mumbled, leaping into the Liger Zero's cockpit.
Today was the the day of the Tournament hosted by the royal line of Zibice.
Zoid warriors fought against each other in tournaments of speed, skill, and
power. Prince Harry stepped up to the platform that had been set up and he spoke
to the crowd. "My loyal subjects!" he cried. "Thank you all for
coming today. It's an honor to have all these amazing fighters here, and I'm
sure today's battles will be spectacular." Harry turned to the field. "And
now for the races!"
A giant flag was raised into the sky above the twenty zoids that stood ready
at the starting line. Bit was at the far end in the Liger Zero Jager. He stared
out across the stretch that made up the race. "Not a problem!" He
said, confidently.
"On your mark..."
A voice clicked on his comlink. "Are you sure?"
"What's that?" Bit said. "Are you challenging me?"
The face of a young warrior with dark purple hair appeared on the screen. "The
name's Jack Cisco. I'm willing to bet that my Lightning Saix will beat your
Liger hands down."
"Get set..."
Bit grinned. "I'll take the bet."
"Go!"
The zoids took off across track in a burst of energy. Most of the zoids remained
neck-to-neck, but two zoids pulled ahead of the pack. One was a black and red
Lightning Saix. The other a blue and white Liger.
"Not bad," Jack said as he maneuvered his Lightning Saix around a
tight turn.
"Same to you," Bit said as his Liger leapt over the hurdle. "But
this race is mine."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Jack said as he cleared the last hurdle.
The track lay straight in front of him, and he pushed his Lightning Saix for
an extra burst of speed.
"Let's go Liger!" Bit yelled as his zoid put on extra speed for the
final stretch. The two zoids flew across the finish line.
"Wow," Doc said, watching from the hovercargo. "Looks like a
photo finish."
The crown waited anxiously as the judges watched the recording of the two zoids
crossing the finish line. They rewound it and stopped at a single frame. Harry
stood up and proclaimed "It's a tie!"
The crowd erupted into applause. "Well, well," Jack said, leaning
against his zoid. "Who would have imagined?"
Brad stood beside his Command Wolf. The dueling would start soon, and he was confident he would win. None of the other competitors entered in even stood a chance against his firepower. He stretched his arms out, looking up at the sun. Suddenly, his world went dark.
"Ugh...where
am I?" Brad asked, struggling to sit up. He found that his arms were shackled
to a table.
"You're here, of course," came a deep voice.
Brad lifted his head and stared out into the dark. He could barely make out
a looming figure standing near the table. "Why am I here?"
The voice replied, "You're too good. The Guild of Seven can't have you
in the duels, you're bad for betting."
"The Guild of Seven!" Brad exclaimed. "Why, they're a bunch of
no good thieves!"
A low chuckle. "Thieves is such a harsh word. Besides, the people bet on
warriors willingly. We just tweak the outcome of battles a little."
Brad dropped his head. "So too many people bet money on me as the winner.
You'll make a nice collection from their bets...Altail!"
"So you know who I am," Altail laughed. He stepped forward. "Not
like it will matter in a few minutes. Some of my warriors are going to use you
for target practice."
"No sweat,"
Naomi said as she fired off her last shot. The shooting competition was hers
before she even got into her Gunsniper.
"I'll get you next time, Naomi!" Leena yelled.
Naomi smirked. "Congratulations, Leena. You managed to hit your target...and
everything else within a thirty meter radius," she said, indicating the
large area of black where Leena's target had been.
A voice clicked
on Naomi's comlink, "Congratulations. You are truly one of the best of
the best. If you are interested in a special opportunity, then meet in the black
tent at the far end of the field."
Naomi shook her head before leaping from the Gunsniper. "Okay, what's this
all about?" She found the tent and entered. "Bit? Jack? What are you
guys doing here?" She asked in surprise.
Jack turned around to face her. "It seems the winners of the different
competitions have been invited her. There's Leon Toros. He won the jousting
competition."
Naomi looked around the room. "Omari!" she exclaimed. "What's
he doing here?"
Bit shrugged. "He says he won the dueling. It was only a fluke because
Brad never showed."
Naomi turned to Bit. "Brad never showed up! Where is he?"
"I don't know," Bit said. He looked up at Naomi's frantic eyes. "Calm
down, Naomi. I'm sure he's okay."
"Keep moving,
Brad," Altail said as he lead the warrior down a long hallway. They stopped
at a large wooden door. The door swung open slowly the reveal a long walkway
around the outside of the castle. "Meet Warrior Polta. He's going to be
your executioner." Altail pushed Brad through the doorway. Brad glanced
around, looking for an escape.
"It's no use," Polta said. "We're in Lord Altail's castle on
the top wall. Try and jump off, and you'll have made my job easier." Altail
came up behind Brad and forced him to the ground.
Brad stood and ran to the low wall. He looked over and saw a dizzying drop to
the ground. He took a step back.
"I don't lie," Polta said with a smirk. "And I'm not lying when
I say your time has come!" He lifted a bow to his shoulder and notched
the arrow calmly.
"I wouldn't try that," came a voice from the other end of the walkway.
"Who is that?" Polta asked with surprise. A figure in a cloak and
mask came slowly down the walkway, cloak blowing in the wind.
"Who am I?" he asked, mockingly. "Don't you wish you knew."
Polta pulled back the arrow. "You have two choices right now," he
said. "You can die from getting hit by this, or you can dodge the arrow
by leaping over the wall, thus killing yourself on the ground four stories below
us." He let the arrow fly.
"I like the second option," The cloaked figure leapt over the wall
and went plummeting towards the ground.
"No!" Brad yelled. He stood and ran to the wall. "I don't believe
it..." he said, slowly stepping back. A Raynos hovered a few feet beneath
the wall, and now rose into the air above Brad. A rope ladder rolled out from
the Raynos, and Brad grabbed on. The Raynos lifted into the air, and flew away.
Brad was out of
breath. The Raynos had landed, and he now lay on the ground, gasping for air.
The cockpit opened, and the cloaked figure leapt out. "Are you okay, Brad?"
he asked.
Brad sat up. "How do you know my name?"
"I know you, and you know me," he said. "As long as you're okay,
that's all that matters." He turned and leapt back into the Raynos.
"Wait!" Brad called. "Who are you?"
The Raynos rose into the air. "You can call me the Wild Eagle!"
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