Jaid: Hey! I'm back! Miss me? Lol. Here is a new chapter for you guys; thanx for all the wonderful reviews!
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"The Blitz team versus the Blood Eagles!" the judge announced.
"Told you it was a good name." Kirin muttered to Sky and Jade as they watched in shield protected benches. The girls rolled their eyes.
"Please." Jade said. "If we had called ourselves that, then we have had to be called the Blood Eagles 2 or something."
Kirin snorted then turned his attention to the battle. The Blood Eagles had a Zabat, and a Command Wolf. Kirin whistled as the War King appeared.
"Talk about fire power." He muttered. "I want one of those."
"Hm." Sky agreed. "Probably doesn't have great speed though."
"Jade!"
The group turned to see Leena and Harry taking seats behind them.
"Hi, Leena!" Jade smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm just fine." Leena said, looking more cheerful than Jade thought she would.
"Hey Harry." Kirin said, nodding. Harry smiled back, a little wanly. They turned back to the battle.
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Bit grinned as he and Liger ran forward to engage the Wolf. The wolf saw him coming and ran to meet him.
'Looks like this guy likes head on battles.' Bit thought. 'Fine with me.'
At the last minute however, the Wolf swerved out of the way and Bit stopped trying to recompense. The Wolf rammed into his side and managed to push Bit a little. Bit spun around with the push and faced forward, firing at the Wolf. It ran out of range.
Jamie, meanwhile, was engaged in an air-to-air battle with the Zabat. Jamie bit the inside of his cheek, almost wondering if his alter-ego would come out.
The Zabat interrupted his thoughts by firing bullets on him. Jamie pulled up, but the Zabat followed on his tail.
"Hey Jamie!" Bit appeared on screen. "I'm all done here. What's takin' you so long?"
Jamie sweatdropped. "I'm doing my best."
Bit shrugged. "Okay. Whatever."
Jamie sighed as a bullet from the Zabat made contact. Speeding forward, he made a loop to come around behind the Zabat. The Zabat's pilot swerved away, but Jamie followed, firing.
"You know if you aim, you have a better chance." Came a laughing voice. It was the owner of the Zabat. She grinned at Jamie. He smiled wanly back.
"No hard feelings." He said, shooting a missile. The woman's dark eyes widened in surprise, then she shrugged.
"Oh well."
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"Oh man, what a day." Jamie sighed as they entered their rooms.
"Yep and we've got all day tomorrow to battle to." Bit reminded him, grinning. Jamie smiled weakly back as Brad unlocked the door. Stepping in, he stopped as soon as he had turned on the light.
"Something smell funny to you?" he asked.
"Dunno. You won't let us into the room." Bit commented.
"Huh." Brad stepped aside to let them in. Bit and Jamie sniffed.
"Smells okay to me." Bit commented.
"I smell perfume." Jamie wrinkled his nose. Bit sighed, shrugged and went to open his bag.
"I get dibs on the bath room." Brad said, walking through the door.
"No fair!" Bit yelled as the older man closed the door. "You'll take forever Brad."
"Will not!" Brad shouted back. Bit growled and sat on the bed. Jamie was on his cot. A few moments later, he sat up sneezing.
"What's wrong?" Bit asked, standing.
"I-*sneeze*- I don't-*sneeze*- know!" Jamie cried. "I just-*sneeze*-started-*sneeze*"
"Yeah, I get the picture." Bit commented, walking over. "Lemme see…what is this stuff?"
"What-*sneeze*-do you-*sneeze*-mean?" Jamie gasped.
"This. It's all over your pillow, right under the cover." Bit explained. "Pepper?"
"Great-*sneeze*." Jamie moaned. Bit shook the pillowcase out in the garbage, but Jamie still suffered sneezing attacks. They were looking for a reason, when the bathroom door opened. Brad came out and Bit and Jamie's mouth dropped open. He looked at them.
"What?"
"Brad…" Bit began. "Uh…"
"Yeah." Jamie agreed, sniffing. Brad looked at them confused. Bit motioned to his hair. Brad went back into the bathroom. Bit and Jamie heard him scream. "GREEN?" Brad came back out, frantically looking through his stuff.
"Whatdya looking for?" Bit asked.
"A hat." Brad said. "To cover my now neon green head. I'm going to ask Leena where she was this afternoon."
"Well, Harry was with her…" Jamie began and the two men exchanged looks.
"Traitor." Brad growled. Finding the hat, he bunched his hair up under it and left. Bit grinned and shook his head, going to the door.
"Where are you going?" Jamie asked.
"I'm going to Jade's room. I'm hoping she'll let me borrow her shampoo. Frankly, I don't trust the one in our bathroom an inch."
Jamie nodded and stood. "I'm coming with you."
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"This is weird." Sky shook her head at the TV.
"I think it's funny." Jade smiled, as they watched a cartoon. A knock sounded.
"I'll get it." Sky said. "It's probably your brother anyway."
Opening the door, she was greeted by the faces of Jamie and Bit.
"Oh, hi guys." She said. "What's up?"
"We need some shampoo." Bit answered, smiling. "Ours has been tampered with."
"Really?" Jade asked, coming up behind Sky. "You guys can come in by the way."
"Thanks." Bit said. Jamie smiled, but shook his head.
"I'll get some shampoo." Sky said.
"I think I'll go back." Jamie said. "See ya, Jade."
"Bye." Jade waved then closed the door. She and Bit sat on the sofa, while Sky went to get some shampoo.
"What happened?" Jade asked.
"Brad took a shower first and came out with puke green hair." Bit said.
"Oh." Jade's hand flew up to her mouth, but her eyes were laughing. "I see."
"Yeah, so, Jamie and I thought we'd come over here and borrow some." Bit said. "Leena's going to get it, I'll bet."
"You guys think it's her?"
"Well, I don't think it was the Doc and unless you decided to go on a practical joke spree…"
Smiling, Jade shook her head.
"I didn't think so." Bit grinned. "Hey, I still owe you a dinner, right?"
"Sure, anytime." Jade said.
"Doing anything tomorrow night?"
"Not that I know of…I'd have to ask Sky." Turning towards the bathroom, she called, "Hey Sky! Get lost in there?"
"Nope. Just distracted." The dark-haired woman answered, coming out with a magazine in one and a bottle of shampoo in the other. Handing the bottle to Bit, she flopped down on an armchair.
"We doin' anything tomorrow night?"
"No, I don't think so…" Sky said. "Unless your brother is planning something."
"Okay, so I'm free." Jade told Bit. He grinned.
"Great! How about I pick you up here at about…seven?"
"Sure."
"Okay, see you tomorrow. Thanks for the shampoo!"
"bye." Jade waved as she closed the door. Sky smiled behind her magazine.
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Pierce was walking through the hotel lobby when somebody bumped into her.
"Sorry." The man said. Pierce frowned and did a double take.
"You're the Blitz team's merc." She said. Brad inwardly grimaced.
"Yes. Sorry I bumped into you." He said, staring to walk away.
"Wait!" Pierce put a hand on his arm. An idea had struck her. "I saw you guys battle today. Not up to your normal standard, huh?"
Brad shrugged. "That happens when you lose a warrior."
"Could you take another?" Pierce let the words come out before she had a chance to change her mind. It was Brad's turn to do a double take.
"Excuse me?"
"I've been out of a job for a while." Pierce explained. "And I don't have a lot of funds left."
"Why don't you have a job? If I remember, you were a pretty good pilot, especially with a Storm Sworder."
"Can we discuss this somewhere else?" Pierce asked. Brad looked around at the lobby, then nodded.
Guess my 'talk' with Leena'll have to wait. He thought. "There's a little café down the street from here." He said, remembering it from the short lunch he had shared with Naomi. "We can go there."
"Okay." Pierce said, as she walked after him.
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"What a day." Harry sighed as he entered his dark room. "Wonder if there are any messages."
Idly, he picked up his cell. There was a blinking phrase that stated there were two messages. Harry pressed on "play".
"Hi Harry!" Leena's voice came on. "Thanks for your help, I can hardly wait to see the reactions." She giggled. "Anyway, things are probably going to be hot around here for a while, so would you meet me in the lobby at seven thirty? It'd probably be safer for me to eat out. See you then, bye!"
Harry smiled. She actually wanted him to take her to dinner. That was a nice change.
"Hello Harry." Mary's voice was on the next message. "I'm just calling again to warn you that Father was not happy about your decision."
"I'll bet." He breathed.
"However," Mary continued. "He is willing to talk to you about it. We'll be there tomorrow afternoon. We'll meet you in the hotel lobby." There was a pause. "Look, I guess I should warn you, seeing as how you're my brother. Father isn't as concerned with this Zoid obsession you have, as he is with the way you are pursing that…girl. If I'm right, that's what he's going to be discussing the most with you." Another pause. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Good-bye Harry."
The message ended and Harry sat on his bed. He glanced at the clock. Seven twenty. Jumping up, grabbed his coat and wallet and headed out the door, his family problems temporarily forgotten.
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"So." Brad began as soon as he and Pierce were settled. "You want a job with my team?"
"Yes."
Brad leaned back and cocked his head, studying her for a moment. "You know, I don't really have the authority to do that."
"I know." Pierce answered. "But maybe you could plead my case."
"What case?"
Pierce leaned back in her own chair and coolly examined him with her vivid green eyes. "Most don't hire me because they know of my background with the Backdraft. No one wants a pilot connected with a radical fanatic group."
"Okay." Brad said. "So, give me a reason to trust you. How do I know you're not still with the group?"
Pierce smiled. "You could wait and see." She suggested.
"No, I don't think so."
"I didn't think you would." Pierce's smile faded. "Maybe you would like to know why I left."
"That would be a start."
Pierce's face had become serious. "There's something happening there. Now, you know I don't agree with the ZBC; I think what they call 'battles' are more appropriately called 'skirmishes'. They don't test a pilot's true potential."
"I know all this." Brad interrupted. "We've been educated in the Backdraft's way of thinking."
Pierce's lips tugged at the corners. "All right, just so we have that down. Something else is happening. I'm not sure what. They've become more…obsessed if you will. I don't know…the level that they are striving for makes me un-easy."
"So you quit."
"Not exactly. One doesn't quit the Backdraft group; not nowadays. Let's just say I've dropped out of sight."
Brad leaned over the table. "Are they after you?"
"Maybe."
"Meaning you don't know."
"Maybe."
Brad sighed.
"Look, Hunter," Pierce said. "I can't give you the answers you want. I'm not even sure of them myself. Right about now, I figure the safest place for me is on a team." She let out a breath that was slightly shaky. Brad frowned. He'd only met Pierce once or twice, but she had always seemed a collected, calm sort of person; this woman in front of him was frightened, but hiding it exceedingly well.
"I'll talk to the Doc." He said. Pierce looked at him, slight surprise in her face. Then she smiled.
"That's all I ask." Standing, she handed him a piece of paper. "That's were I am." Turning, she walked away.
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"I think we're pretty much trap free." Jamie said.
"I hope." Bit grumbled. "Is my face still red?"
Jamie looked at him. "No. You just look like you have a little sunburn, that's all."
"Great." Bit sighed. "You two make her mad and I suffer for it."
"I wonder just how she got that dye in our stuff without us knowing." Jamie mused. Bit turned on the TV.
"I don't know, but I think its payback time. What's a color that Leena really hates?"
Jamie thought. "I don't know." He admitted. "She likes bright colors; I guess she's not one for black or brown or something like that."
"That's not helpful." Bit grunted. "Well, better wait till Brad gets back. Maybe he'll have some ideas."
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Brad knocked on the door. "Doc?"
"Come in."
Brad opened the door and walked in. Tauros looked up from the computer.
"Hat a new fashion statement, Brad?" he asked. Brad grimaced and took it off, allowing his long, now neon green hair to fall down. Doc just stared, opened his mouth closed it and then repeated the process several times.
"Leena?" he finally asked.
"I think so." Brad admitted.
"She went to the lobby about ten minutes ago; said she was meeting Harry."
"I do want to talk to her, but I have something to tell you as well."
"Oh?" Tauros nodded to a chair and Brad sat.
"I was looking for Leena in the lobby earlier and I bumped into Pierce." Brad began. Tauros nodded for him to go on.
"It seems she's falling on hard times and she needs a job." Brad spoke slowly. "Unfortunately, not many are willing to take her because of her past with the Backdraft, but she thought that maybe we would hire her."
Tauros leaned back. "I don't know." He said quietly.
"That's what I said. I asked her why she had quit the Backdraft, but she didn't give me a definite answer."
"Well," Tauros said. "What do you think?"
"Of what?"
"Of her answer."
Brad weighed his thoughts for a moment, and then spoke. "I think she's honestly scared of something. I also think that we're sort of a last ditch effort for her; she was surprised when I said I would talk to you about it."
"Hmm, and you feel that she's not the type to be easily frightened?"
"Yes."
Tauros was quiet. "I don't know." He said again. "She's a talented pilot and we could use her, but I don't know if it's worth the risk. I'll have to think about it."
"Yeah, I know." Brad stood. "See ya later, Doc."
"Good – night, Brad."
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Erm…I'm not sure if Brad would take Pierce's word like that. I think he is probably the most down-to-earth character, but I still couldn't see him being very suspicious of her. Why? I have no idea…O.o
Thunderstorm – Um, okay. Thanx for the review…
Wolfkcing – Thanx for the advice; it really helped. My battle scenes still need a lot of work, but I'm coming along slowly. ^_^
Mookie – lol. Yeah, that's what first sparked it; the Zero system I mean. I've never seen that eppy and neither did my friend. Oh well! *sweatdrop* I loved writing these Leena/Harry scenes. Too much fun! ^__^
Angelus – Hiya! Wow, thanks for the compliments. I sure can't wait for more of your story! ^__^