Jaid: Okay, in this chapter we actually get a…PLOT! Are we surprised? ^_^ lol. Kidding. Erm…if anybody has suggestion for tournament rules and such, please share them. I'm not very good with fighting scenes…
Oh, and sorry about no e-mail messages last week. Computer trouble…
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Xander sighed. "Still no trace then?" he asked. The young woman shook her head.
"No sir."
"Keep looking." He told her and walked away.
"Sir?"
Xander turned. His aide, Nira, stood there.
"Yes?"
"There's two men waiting in your office." She said quietly. "A Major Polta and Captain Corgen, sir."
Xander felt his chest constrict slightly. "Did they say why they came?"
"No, sir."
"I see." Xander thought for a moment. "Tell them I will be there shortly."
"Yes, sir."
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The woman flicked away the cigarette ash that littered her part of the bar counter and sighed. Two weeks. Two weeks and not even a speck of a job. Standing, she paid for her drink and left the building.
Once outside, she had to put up a hand against the mid-afternoon sunlight. The crowd milled around her and she could feel the excitement. Not many common people got to witness a real Zoid battle, and they couldn't wait to head to the arena.
Tucking a strand of brilliant turquoise hair behind her ear, her gaze fell on a familiar young man, who looked vaguely Hispanic. She stiffened.
Well, well, well. She thought. The Wild Eagle himself.* Smiling, she watched as he tried to balance the various things he was holding, drop one, try to pick it up and spilling all the rest. Walking over, she said, "Need some help?"
"Yeah, tha-" the young man looked up. "You!"
The woman calmly picked up a tool and handed it to him as he stood. "You just going to gawk at me or can you be civilized and say hello?"
The young man swallowed. "Sorry. Hello, Pierce."
"Hello…Jamie, wasn't it?"
"Yeah." Jamie looked at her, his brown eyes wide and puzzled. "What are you doing here?"
Pierce raised an eyebrow. "What, I can't enjoy a Zoid battle?"
"Well," slight suspicion had crept into his tone. "You usually have a different idea of 'battling' than most people."
"A pity you think that way." She softly commented, then turned. "See ya around, Wild Eagle."
Jamie watched her go, unaware of his surroundings. Of all the people to meet…
"Hey, Jamie." Brad said, poking his shoulder. "You going to stand there all day, or come to the transport with me?"
"Huh? Oh, right." Jamie asked, a slight blush gracing his cheeks.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Brad asked.
"No! Nothing's wrong; why would you think that?" Jamie asked, walking quickly. Brad shook his head and walked after him.
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"Ready yet?" Naomi asked. Leon grinned at her.
"I will be soon." He said, then looked towards the hangar door. "Looks like a fine day."
"Yeah." Naomi agreed. "I'll be back in a few, k?"
"Sure." Leon said, waving her away. Naomi smiled slightly and stepped out into the sunshine.
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"Oooh, this is so exciting!" Jade said, eyes bright. Sky blinked at the very excited nineteen year old, then looked at Kirin. He shrugged, and then slugged his sister's arm.
"Hey, cut it out. You're driving Sky and me crazy." He said. "You've had too much sugar."
"Have not." Jade stuck her tongue out at him. "Two sodas are not enough to make me hyper. I'm just glad to be here, that's all."
"And this has absolutely nothing to
do with a certain blonde haired pilot, right?"
Sky asked in a deadpan, although her turquoise eyes were mischievous.
"Sort of- hey!" Jade glared and Sky burst into laughter. Kirin shook his head and put his arms around their shoulders.
"Let's head back and get ready, okay?"
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"I'll be cheering." Harry said.
"You're not fighting?" Jamie asked.
Harry shook his head. "Don't have a team, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Jamie said.
"Besides," Brad added. "Someone has to keep Leena happy during the fight; otherwise, she'll have more than our heads."
"Does she even know she's out of it?' Jamie asked.
"I think Doc's telling her right now." Brad said.
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"Are we ready to roll?" Kirin asked.
"Ready." Jade said.
"Ditto." Sky answered. Kirin grinned.
"Let's do it."
The Command Wolf, Dibison and Gunsniper stepped out into the ring. Sky took a deep breath, willing herself to be calm, willing herself to remember that here she made her own decisions, that nothing was going to force her against her will.
"Here it comes, oh, I hope we do okay!" Jade said over the comm. Sky smiled.
"We will." She said quietly. "We will."
The judge announced the teams and then, the battle began.
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"It is good to see you, sir." Xander said as the Major and Corgen rose to greet him. Xander couldn't help but feel uncomfortable; Corgen was a pale man and his eyes could seem colder than ice and sharper than steel. Polta on the other hand constantly wore a sort of visor that covered most of his face. It was un-nerving for the older man to stare into a face that had no eyes.
"And you, Xander." Polta answered easily. Corgen said nothing. Xander invited them to sit and took a chair himself.
"We came to look at your progress." Polta said, once everyone was seated. That was him; straight to the point without waiting for niceties.
"The system is the best anyone could offer." Xander said non-commitedly. "I, myself have never seen anything like it."
"Indeed?" Polta smiled. "That is good. And what exactly does this particular system do?"
"Surely you know by now?" Xander asked, surprised. "The council has not told you yet?"
"We preferred to hear its description from one of the creators, rather than those trying to market it." Polta explained.
"I see." Xander said quietly. "Well, it is a system that connects with a pilot's brain. I won't go into all the details and terminology, but I will tell you that the system is able to make a pilot into almost a machine. It takes consideration of a pilot's abilities, strengths and weakness, then does the same with the pilot's adversaries. Then, it boosts the pilot's ability to its maximum level. Each time a pilot experiences the system, his abilities are increased."
"Sound amazing to be sure." Polta said. "But are there any side affects? And where are the test pilots?"
"Ah…yes." Xander began to feel his chest constrict again. "Because the system hooks directly with a person's brain, it has caused some rather harmful side effects. In the best case, it causes them to suffer from depression, as well as insomnia from nightmares."
"And in the worst case?" Polta asked.
"In the worst case…" Xander swallowed. "In the worst case, the pilot cannot handle it. He goes into severe shock, and his body simply refuses to work."
"Thus killing him." Polta finished. "How often is the extreme case seen?"
"Not often." Xander assured him. "We've only had two pilots killed. The rest suffer from the small side effects and a few have had personality switches for up to a month afterward."
"How many did you test?" Corgen spoke for the first time.
"Fifteen sir." Xander answered.
"Two died. How many suffered from the insomnia and depression?"
"Six."
"How many from personality switches?"
"Four."
"Then there were three left. What happened to them?" Corgen asked.
"One was able to handle the system with almost no side effects." Xander told them.
"And the remaining two?" Polta asked.
"They went completely insane." Xander admitted quietly. "One became homicidal, killing and destroying everything in sight. The other…his brain simply shut down and he ceased to become a person. He still suffers from hallucinations."
"I see." Polta said, leaning back into his chair. "And is there any way to tell how a pilot will react?"
"Not that we know off." Xander told him. "We need to run more tests."
"Meaning you need more test subjects." Corgen commented, a slight hint of wryness in his tone.
"Yes." Xander admitted.
"What about this one that was able to handle the system from the start?" Polta asked. "Where is he? Could we talk to him?"
"I'm afraid not, sir." Xander said, the feeling in his chest becoming tighter and tighter. "She has escaped."
"She?" Polta sounded surprised. "A woman? How impressive."
"Escaped." Corgen said. "That doesn't help us much."
"I know." Xander told them. "I'm doing everything in my power to track her down."
"Then she is not a Backdraft member." Polta stated.
"No, sir. She was…a forced conscript."
Polta laughed. "Such a delicate way of putting it." He said, then stood. Corgen and Xander did as well. "Have your assistant give Corgen her description; we'll help you find her. If our cause is to be spread through Zi, we are going to need all the good pilots we can get."
"Yes, sir." Xander said, as they walked towards the exit. Polta stopped at the door and turned.
"Xander," he said. "Would you be averse to having more 'forced' conscripts to experiment on?"
"Not if that is what the Seven wish." Xander answered. Polta smiled again.
"A careful answer. I believe you will go far, Xander." He opened the door. "Good day."
"Good day." Xander answered, and then all but collapsed into his seat after they left.
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"I'M NOT WHAT?!!!" Leena's voice echoed through the hallway. Even Harry winced.
"I guess she found out." Jamie commented.
"You think?" Bit said. "I don't ever think she's been that loud since-"
"Uh-oh." Jamie murmured. Leena was marching straight towards them, fire in her eyes.
"She'll have our heads." Jamie moaned.
"Yeah, and not just that." Bit agreed. Jamie moaned again.
"Way to be encouraging, Cloud." Brad muttered. Leena stopped in front of them, and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, thanks guys." She remarked sarcastically.
"Wasn't my fault." Bit shoved his hands in his pockets. "I had nothing to do with it."
Leena turned her glare on Brad, Jamie and Harry.
"Look," Jamie began weakly. "You need to take things slow-"
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT, JAMIE HEREMOS!" Leena shouted. "How could you do this? I've been looking forward to a battle for months and now I'M ONLY ALLOWED TO WATCH?!"
"Leena, honey," Harry tried, stepping forward.
"Don't call me 'honey'!" Leena shouted at him. Crossing her arms, she scowled.
"I hate you." She stated and stormed away. The four males simply stood there, and then three of them looked at Harry.
"What?" he asked. "This isn't my fault."
"She's your girlfriend." Bit stated. "Go calm her down."
"Eh…" Harry looked nervous. "I maybe slow Bit, but I'm definitely not suicidal."
"Better get her before she does some damage." Brad suggested.
Harry sighed. He knew what kind of damage Leena could do when especially angry. Like when she thought he had stood her up on a date…Harry shuddered, then sighed.
"Okay, I'll go." He muttered.
"You're a brave man, Champ." Bit said with a straight face.
"Shut it." Harry growled, walking away.
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"Yes!" Kirin shouted as he climbed out of his Dibison. Laughing Jade ran over to him as he got to the ground. Picking her up, Kirin spun her around. Sky walked up smiling.
"Quite a rush." Jade gasped, as Kirin put her down.
"Yes, it is." Sky agreed laughter in her voice. "You both did well for amateurs."
"Yeah, and…" Kirin grinned. "We won!"
Sky shook her head. "You kids. I just have to tell you, that it gets harder here on out."
"Ahh, we can handle 'em." Kirin said, grinning. Sky smiled.
"And who could stand against such confidence?" she asked, eyebrows raised.
"Exactly." Kirin nodded. Jade laughed.
"Quit it you two. We don't have another battle for about an hour. Let's go exploring." She said. "Come on!"
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"Leena?" Harry cautiously poked his head in the door, and then beat a speedy retreat as a shoe was thrown at him.
"Leena, try to calm down." Harry's voice was muffled by the door. "We don't have to watch the battle if you don't want too. I'm not able to battle either."
"I've been stuck in a damn hospital bed for six months, Harry! I hated it there; I wanted to be out in the arena and I got my hopes all up and now all I can do is watch, so excuse me if I'm a little disappointed, okay?!" Leena yelled.
"Well, let's do something else then." Harry suggested, wondering if it was safe to open the door or not. "We could…I dunno, take a walk or something."
"I don't feel like it."
She's not yelling; that's a good sign. Harry thought, easing the door open cautiously. "Can I come in?"
"Fine." Leena was sitting on her bed, facing the window. Harry walked up behind her.
"You're really disappointed, aren't you?" he asked.
"Go figure." Leena said sarcastically. Harry blushed in embarrassment.
"You just want to sit here?" Harry asked. Leena didn't answer. Harry sighed and sat next to her.
"Nice view." He commented.
"Harry, the blinds are close-" Leena looked up to see him grinning. "That wasn't funny."
"But you're still smiling." Harry said. Leena hugged her pillow tighter.
"Quite a scene you made." He said looking at the ceiling. "But then you always do."
"And just what is that supposed to mean, Harry Champ?" Leena demanded angrily.
Oops, shouldn't have said that out loud. He grimaced. "Nothing really. I just, uh, I mean…" he gulped, unable to come up with an excuse. "You always…um…I love you?"
Leena looked as if she wasn't sure if she should hit him with the pillow or burst into laughter at his obvious discomfort. She did both.
"I feel better." She decided standing. "But Jamie and Brad are going to get it. In the mood for playing a practical joke?"
"What sort of joke?" Harry asked. Leena grinned.
"Just follow me." She said, unconsciously grabbing his hand and leading him out the door.
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"Brad?" Naomi asked, coming into the hangar.
"Over here!" the man waved from his Shadow Fox. Naomi smiled and walked towards it.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Pretty much." Brad answered. "Just making sure everything's ready."
"Sounds smart." The woman smiled. "Leon is going to be really glad to see you all."
"I'll bet." Brad said. There was a lapse of silence as Brad put his tools away. Naomi handed them to him and he put them in the box. It being done, he closed it up and stood.
"How much longer before your first battle?" he asked.
"Not long. Took me a while to get here to wish you good luck. There's such a crowd."
"You want me to walk you back?" Brad asked. Naomi shrugged.
"You don't have to."
"I'd like to." Brad assured her. Naomi smiled.
"All right." She agreed, as they walked out.
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*Just a note. I have no idea if Pierce ever found out who The Wild Eagle was, but for the sake of making this easier on me, I'm pretending she found out. I can do that right? *looks around* Right guys?
I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm cringing a little thinking of the next chappy, since it is the actual tournament. I just hope you guys are not too disappointed.
Thunderstorm – Okay, I have decided I will use both yours and Firestorm's armor, but one will be for Bit and I'll give another to someone else. Then it's fair and all. But not until later.
Wolfkcing – I think I spelled your name wrong last time. O.O Sorry! Thank you for the encouragement! It means a lot. Hee, hee, funny you should mention green hair…but I can't say any more. Yeah, that's what my friend and I thought. I hope you like this chapter as well.
Mookie – Goodness you leave long reviews! Not that I mind. ^__^ Yes. Like I told December last time, Kirin and Jade's relationship is based on the one my brother and I share. He's very protective…a little too much some times. O.O I don't know much about Leon. He seemed to be the one character we never got down, so I don't know how he'll turn out when he pops up later. Oh yeah! I thought Brad sounded familiar. ^__^ I haven't heard Richard Cox as Ranma, but hearing him as Inu-Yasha, I have a feeling I would agree. I like Sarah Stone's Ranma. Oh yeah! I just saw that episode! Poor guy with the monkey thing, lol. He was so cute and silly. You're right, he does seem to get those roles.