Chapter 4
The Black Star and the Red Comet
Zoids isn't mine. Still. There. It's a disclaimer.
"Warriors,
thank you for coming today," said a woman, as she entered the tent. "My
name is Pierce, and I have been sent by my master to offer you a job...for a
good price."
Jack leaned forward. "You've got my attention."
Pierce smiled. "There is something we want. A certain..." she scanned
the room, and her gaze stopped on Leon. "...something." She stared
at Leon for a moment, then averted her eyes, only to see Bit. She seemed at
a loss for
words, but she quickly regained her composure. "If any of you would like
to fight for my guild, just a few battles, we will pay you more than you could
ever imagine." She looked at Jack. "We need speedy warriors,"
her gaze turned to Naomi, "and snipers of skill."
Leon stood up. "I'm not impressed," he said. "I'm leaving."
He walked towards the exit without looking back. "Come on Bit," he
said. "There's nothing here for warriors of our status."
Bit stood, confused. "Leon? What's gotten into you?"
"Yeah!" Omari said. "Just because you're the special Toros Warriors
doesn't mean you're better than us," he sneered.
Naomi stood. "Maybe not me or Jack," she said. "But they're definitely
better than you." Without hesitation, Naomi followed Bit and Leon from
the tent.
Pierce turned around, her gaze cutting through the remaining warriors. "So
they're scared of a little combat," she said with a laugh. "Are you?"
"Leon!"
Bit yelled as he hurried to keep up. "What's gotten into you?" he
asked.
Leon turned to face Bit. "Do you really want to know?" he asked.
"Of course I do," Bit said, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Leon sighed and looked at the sky. "Pierce. That's what's wrong. Rumor
has it that she's a member of the Guild of Seven."
"So is that why you left?" Bit asked.
"Of course," Naomi said, coming up from behind them. "I don't
want to have anything to do with criminals, especially not ones who plan on
attacking the castle of Zibice."
Leon looked at Naomi with surprise. "The Guild of Seven is planning to
attack Zibice? How do you know?"
Naomi smiled. "Just a little observation I had, that's all."
"Well, go on," Bit prodded.
"Did you see the way Pierce choked when she saw you two? She knows that
you're part of the Toros Warriors," Naomi stated. "And the Toros Warriors
are the guards of the castle."
Leon was concerned. "Do you really think the Guild of Seven will try something
like that?"
"After all I've seen," Naomi said, "I wouldn't be surprised.
I even talked with Brad about--" She stopped dead in her tracks. "Brad!"
The Gustav sped
over the ground as Naomi searched for Brad. She hadn't seen him in quite awhile,
and her fears began to get the best of her. She had found Brad's Command Wolf
still on the tournament grounds, but no sign of Brad. Surely something was wrong.
A dark zoid appeared in front of her, and she slammed the brakes of the Gustav,
screeching to a halt mere inches away from the zoid. Naomi stood in the Gustav.
"Hey you! Watch where you're going! I could have hit your zoid!"
The gold head of the zoid swung to face Naomi. "I thought you'd be happier
to see me," came the amused reply. The cockpit lifted slowly.
"Brad!" Naomi gasped. She raced towards him. "You're okay!"
Brad smiled and leapt from his zoid. "You could say that," he said
and he caught her in a swift embrace. "Although Lord Altail will definitely
pay."
Naomi took a step back. "Altail? What did he do to you?"
Brad grimmaced. "Apparently, Altail is part of the Guild of Seven. He tried
to kill me so the Guild could fix the bets on the tournament."
"How did you escape?" Naomi asked.
"Funny thing there," Brad replied. "Some guy called Wild Eagle
rescued me. He seemed to know who I was too." Brad shrugged. "Wild
Eagle dropped me off, and that's when I ran into this beauty." Brad indicated
the dark zoid that stood behind him.
Naomi stared up at it. "What is it? I've never seen a zoid like that before."
"Neither have I. I named it the Shadow Fox."
"That's a good name," Naomi mused. She looked up in sudden interest.
"Brad! The Guild of Seven is recruiting new warriors. With your Shadow
Fox, you could join and they wouldn't know it was you."
Brad held up his hands in defense, "Slow down, Naomi. The Guild of Seven
is recruiting?"
Naomi nodded. "They were at the tournament today, and they asked the winners
to join them. I don't know what they're up to, but it must be something big."
"Of course," agreed Brad. "So you want me to join, using the
Shadow Fox?"
"Not just you," Naomi corrected. "I'm not going to let you go
in there alone."
"Won't they recognize your zoid?" asked Brad.
Naom smiled. "Not really. The gunsniper I used at the tournament was a
common one, since the custom one I ordered isn't done yet. Tomorrow, I should
have a beautiful red gunsniper, ready to fight."
Brad turned to face his zoid. "A red Gunsniper, and Shadow Fox, eh? I think
we could manage."
Leena stood on
the shore, gazing at the sea. The sun was setting, and her eyes lit up with
the beautiful orange hue. She pushed back a stray hair caught in the breeze.
Although calm on the outside, her insides were churning. The recent events she
had been through had caused her to question the kingdom's peaceful existence.
Everything from the Guild of Seven's first attack, to the kidnapping of Mary
and the death of Jamie, to what Leon had just told her. The Guild of Seven would
attack Zibice. "What will we do?" she whispered to the wind. "The
Guild of Seven is putting together a huge army. Leon told me they were recruiting
at the tournament today." Leena sighed, her deep purple eyes gazing longingly
at the sea, as if begging for an answer. "Can we really protect the castle?
The Immortal Zoid holds limitless power. If it were to fall into the wrong hands..."
Leena felt weak at the thought. Her body collapsed into the sand. She rolled
over and stared at the clouds in the sky. "Ah, to be a cloud," she
said wistfully.
"LEENA! MY DARLING!" Leena bolted up. There stood Prince Harry a smile
on his face. "Don't be downcast! You are too beautiful to be sad."
"Harry," Leena replied. "The Guild of Seven will attack us soon
with a powerful army. I'm afraid that they'll get their hands on the Immortal
Zoid."
Harry stared at her for a moment, then his smile grew bigger. "I'm not
worried at all, Leena. I trust you and the Toros Warriors to protect the castle,
and the world."
"Do you really think we can do it, Harry?" Leena closed her eyes for
a moment. "Do you?"
Harry knelt on the ground in front of her. "Leena, I trust you. I trust
the Toros Warriors. The Immortal Zoid will remain safe as long as people like
you are here to defend it."
"WARRIORS
ATTACK!" Pierce commanded, as a barrage of fire came from the zoids in
her unit. She hovered above the battlefield in a Storm Sworder, watching the
destruction below. Unfortunately, most of it was being caused by the Zibice
army. Her Rev Raptor forces were being methodically destroyed by a until of
Command Wolves under the command of Kris and Kelly Tasker. Their two Lighting
Saixs sped through the group, leaving a wake of destruction in Pierce's troupes.
Kelly's face popped up on Pierce's communcation channel. "Are you ready
to surrender?" she asked. "The Lighting Sisters never loose. You should
have known that."
A strange black layer of smoke covered the field. Pierce noticed the look of
surprise on Kelly's face before she broke off the connection. From her Storm
Sworder, she heard two faint shots as the smoke began to clear. On the ground
lay two Lightning Saixs. Each had been dealt a swift shot in the neck, and had
been easily immoblized. With their leaders down, the Command Wolf unit was easy
pickings. "Rev Raptors, move foward!" Pierce commanded. Within a few
minutes the Command Wolf unit had been beaten.
A dark zoid and a red Gunsniper appeared from the shadows. Pierce linked to
their systems and greeted them. "Warriors. I don't know who you are, but
it's thanks to you that we have won today. May I know your names?"
"Black Star."
"Red Comet."
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