Zoids: A New Beginning

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If by now I have to tell you I don't own zoids then you haven't been reading this whole thing.

Brad sat back on the couch in the team lounge. It was always good to relax after a hard battle. The last battle he had been in had been particularly tense. They had barely managed to win by a sliver. Both the Liger 0 and the Gunsniper had to have some pretty expensive repairs done.

Fortunately, after four straight wins in Class S it was beginning to look like the team's financial problems were going to be a thing of the past. The prize money for winning a battle in Class S was an astronomical sum. A sum that would only increase as the Blitz Team moved upwards in rank.

On another upside, the battles were always challenging. Brad realized that it had been a while since he had been as exhilarated as he had been in the past few battles. Brad realized that Class S was nothing like the other classes he had been in. He remembered when he had first signed on the Blitz Team as a mercenary. Then, he found he liked the Blitz Team members, especially Leon. It had been Leon who had convinced him to remain on the Blitz Team.

Brad then turned his thoughts to the events of recent times. When Bit had joined the Blitz Team, the team had gone on a spectacular winning streak. Even against tough opponents like Naomi or Jack Sisco Bit had been able to pull them through. Even against the cheating tactics of the Backdraft group they had triumphed. Losing to the Lightening Team had been a minor setback and they did not experience such a loss again. During the Royal Cup, it was Bit who again pulled through for them. When Bit finally defeated the Berserk Fury, the Backdraft Group was finally out of options and was forced to surrender to the Zoid Battle Commission.

Now, Brad's thoughts turned to the Backdraft Group. The Backdraft specialized in setting up unsanctioned battles for the benefit of clients who gambled on the outcome. Since gambling was illegal, and virtually impossible to do during a sanctioned battle, the Backdraft received near unlimited funding to hijack battles so that others could wage money on the outcome. For over thirty years, the Backdraft Group had been a thorn in the side of the ZBC. The ZBC lost thousands in Zi currency to pay for the replacement of judges continuously destroyed by the Backdraft's own black judges. It was a good thing that the Backdraft Group was gone he reflected.

Stroma too, was reflecting on the Backdraft Group's history. The only difference was that his opinion of past events was not so relieved as Brad's. Stroma had been a financial backer for the Backdraft's unsanctioned battles. He remembered the fun he had, and the millions he had earned, gleaned from the spoils of the battles fought, were an additional perk.

When the Backdraft Group had finally fallen, he had managed to cover his tracks, showing no connection. In public he was Stroma Pearson, a very wealthy businessman whose company designed and marketed very useful zoid components. The loss of the Backdraft Group wasn't even a minor setback. However, without the entertainment they had provided him, he was bored to death. Stroma decided that the time was ripe for the next generation of the Backdraft Group.

He activated the intercom, "Have my whale king prepped for launch and have my team meet me on board, we are about to begin stage one." The Blitz Team had made a fine end for the last Backdraft Group, now they would make an even finer beginning for the new one.

The Blitz Team was on their way to their next battle. Their next opponents were the Redfire Team.

"I hope these guys are good," said Bit.

"I just hope that I get paid before the Doc spends all our prize money," said Brad.

"I don't why you guys are so worried, we have plenty of money," muttered the doctor, "What's wrong with spending a little."

"Because, once you start spending, you can't stop," said Jamie.

"Come on guys, don't get tense, why don't we just enjoy the battle," said Leena.

An hour later, the hover cargo arrived at the battlefield. The battlefield was completely unoccupied.

"Where's the other team?" asked Bit under his breath. The Blitz Team's zoids had already been mobilized, but still, nobody showed.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling," said Jamie.

"You always get a bad feeling," said Leena.

"No, I mean bad in a familiar way."

"I'm getting a bad feeling too," said Bit. There was a sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach that there was going to be nothing good coming up.

Up above the battlefield, hidden by stealth systems beyond anything the Zoid Battle Commission had ever dreamed about, the whale king belonging to one Stoma Pearson was doing some preparations of its own.

Stoma was on the bridge, looking down at the battlefield below. Behind him stood a young man. The man's gray hair had grown long. His eyes, like his hair, were gray as well. He wore a black bodysuit that was preferred by many zoid warriors. His name was Garret, leader of the Strike Team.

Once representing the elite of the Backdraft Group, the Strike Team had been at the top of the ladder. However, unlike other Backdraft teams, the Strike Team had a strong sense of honor, and refused to resort to the pathetic tactics of the lesser teams. They needed no tricks, nor did they need to resort to attacking the other team's transport. They had a secret weapon of their own.

Stroma did not look over to acknowledge Garret's presence. He instead asked, "Has the other team been dealt with?"

Garret replied, "They have."

"Are the preparations for the battle done?"

"Yes."

"And the microwave antenna?"

"Deployed and charging."

"What is the judge capsule's ETA?"

"Thirty seconds."

"Get to your zoids, this will be a battle to remember."

Bit's heart almost leapt into his throat when the judge capsule arrived. He was so concerned about the other team's absence, that he, nor anyone else on the team, noticed the slowly descending whale king.

The capsule had begun to free itself from the crater it had made when Bit finally looked up and spotted the threat from above. "What's that whale king doing here?"

"Maybe it belongs to the other team," suggested Leena hopefully.

"I doubt it," said Brad.

Even as he spoke, the air rippled around a dish antenna that had unfolded from the whale king's belly. The rippling effect suddenly extended until at rested on the judge capsule, which had not yet opened. Then, the rippling column of air suddenly became a beam of energy, which hit the judge from directly above.

A storm of lightening surged around the judge capsule for a moment, then it opened. "Uh guys," said Leena, "What the heck is happening?"

"Hahahahahahahaha," laughed the judge. Bit was now trembling slightly. More frightening than the judge's laugh was its voice, shrill, like another kind of judge he knew. More frightening still was the pronouncement the judge made next.

"This battle has been taken over by the Backdraft Group." The whale king had pulled away slightly and now its underside hatch was opening. The judge continued, "Battlefield set up. The Strike Team vs. the Blitz Team." From the whale king's hatch came a fully equipped Shield Liger. Following it came a Gunbluster and after that, a weird bipedal zoid that Bit did not recognize, but reminded him a lot of the Berserk Fury.

Leena was the first to recognize it. "We saw three of those things at the Royal Cup. They were the zoids with charged particle cannons that attacked the Berserk Fury, never got its name though."

A cold measured voice came over the communications channel. "This zoid is called a Genosaurer. In the hands of one who knows how to use it, it is unstoppable."

"What's your name?" Bit demanded.

"My name will be none of your concern. Your primary concern will be the outcome of this battle."

The judge tired of waiting continued. "Battle mode 0999. Ready…Fight!"

"I'll take the Porcupine!" shouted Leena, giving the nickname for the Gunbluster.

"I've got the Shield Liger," said Brad coolly.

"I guess that leaves me the Genosaurer," muttered Bit, "Just great."

Leena ran to one side and aimed (if you could call what Leena does aiming) at the Gunbluster. "Gunsniper Weasel Unit…Total Assault!" she yelled. All of the Gunsniper's weapons fired simultaneously. The Gunbluster, which was already charging at her, suddenly did a ninety-degree turn, still skidding towards Leena.

The attack hit it full on. Leena started to cheer but the cheer died before it left her mouth as the smoke cleared. An energy shield was between her and the Gunbluster.

"The spikes on the side act as generators for an energy shield that extends around the perimeter," Jamie said informatively.

"Great, thanks for the advance warning," Leena grumbled. The Gunbluster started charging towards her again. She fired the Gunsniper's gattling guns at it, but they did little to slow the Gunbluster's charge.

The Gunbluster hit her hard with its nose spike and sent her sailing through the air. The Gunsniper landed, bounced once, and ended up on its side. It got back up though. However, Leena gulped when she saw that all twenty of the Gunbluster's cannons were pointing her way.

Meanwhile, Brad was having an easier time with the Shield Liger. Shield Ligers were hard zoids to control and it was difficult to bring out their full potential. This one was fully equipped with a double-barreled heavy beam cannon and a pair of eight shot missile launchers.

Brad did his best to stay alongside the zoid rather than in front of it. Fortunately for him, the Shield Liger's heavy beam cannon couldn't pivot around, while Brad's vulcan laser gun could. However, the pilot of the Shield Liger was no novice. He spun the Shield Liger in a ninety-degree turn, presenting Brad's Shadowfox with an energy shield to deflect his shots, and bringing him into the firing arc of the heavy beam cannons.

Brad pulled back on the controls, causing the Shadowfox to jump way from the energy beams the Shield Liger fired. He then tried to leap straight over the zoid, but barely missed being obliterated by a pair of missiles from the missile launcher.

The pilot spun his Shield Liger 180 and just barely managed to get the shield up in time to deflect Brad's next shots. Brad wiped sweat from his forehead before sending the Shadowfox into a dive to avoid another shot from the beam cannons. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought."

Bit was having problems of his own. The Liger 0 charged at the Genosaurer. The Genosaurer fired with its back-mounted pulse laser turret and with the gun on top of its head. Bit activated the Liger's ion boosters, causing the zoid to accelerate under the line of the Genosaurer's shots.

The two charging units on either side of the Liger's head opened up and the claws began to glow. "Strike Laser Claw!" Bit shouted. The Liger 0 jumped and slashed downwards. But the claws only cleaved through the air where the Genosaurer had been but seconds ago. As the Liger landed, it jumped backwards before Bit even registered that his attack had missed. It was a good thing took, laser blasts punched into the ground where the Liger had landed seconds ago. Not for the first time Bit silently thanked whatever forces were at work in the universe for allowing him to pilot an organoid zoid.

When he looked over to his right, he saw that the Genosaurer was a fair distance off. "That's strange, how can it move that fast?" He got his answer when the Genosaurer suddenly accelerated his was. The Liger leapt straight upward as the Genosaurer passed under him, Bit saw something glowing and burning. "Jets," he exclaimed, "That thing has hover jets, no wonder it's so fast."

When the Liger landed, he took off after the Genosaurer, only to find that the thing had stopped and was now facing him. The Liger closed to quickly for it to fire and tried to attack with the Strike Laser Claw again. But, the Genosaurer ducked down, swayed to the right, the Liger's claws passing mere inches from its flank. It then spun in a full 360 circle, sending its powerful and thick tail smashing into the Liger 0's side.

The Liger went flying, hitting the ground on its other side and skidding to a stop. Bit righted the Liger and looked to find the Genosaurer advancing on him at a walk. "Uh oh," he muttered.

Leena was in trouble. All twenty of the Gunbluster's cannons fired at her. Surprisingly, when the smoke cleared, she found that the Gunsniper was in one piece. She tried another Total Assault with the Weasel Unit, but the Gunbluster pilot was quick enough to present its flank to her and activate its shield.

Leena looked down on the data screens. "Uh oh, I'm almost out of ammo," she muttered. Then she looked and spotted something on the screen. The long-range rifle that was integrated into the Gunsniper's tail was fully stocked with ammunition. That surprised her. She never used the rifle and never thought to even load the thing.

Thinking fast, Leena made a mental note to thank Jamie (who was in charge of making sure that the zoids were loaded with ammunition, among other things). "Well isn't that ironic," she muttered angrily, "I never thought I'd have to resort to Naomi's methods to win this."

She then looked around and spotted what she was looking for. A fair distance off was a cliff that ran up to a small mesa. It was a perfect sniping position. The Gunsniper fired one last barrage at the Gunbluster. The Gunbluster once again spun ninety-degrees to present her with its flank shield. However, the attack was not targeted at the Gunbluster, but rather the ground around it. A thick cloud of smoke as all of the munitions detonated obscured the zoid's vision. Considering how much ammunition Leena had used, it was very thick.

She then took off at top speed for the cliff. Then she realized that she might even be able to make it to the cliff before the smoke cleared, if she dumped almost all her weapons. She cursed under her breath, then hit the switch that jettisoned all four missile pods and the shoulder mounted assault gattling units. Her zoid was now moving much faster.

Looking back she could see bullets and missiles flying wildly from the cloud of smoke. It was now a race to see if she could get to the cliff before the Gunbluster pilot figured out what she was trying to do.

Brad was still having problems with the Shield Liger. The Shield Liger's pilot was very experienced, and several times had almost blasted Brad. Only the Shadowfox's incredible agility had saved him time after time.

"It's time I took charge of this battle," said Brad. He activated the smoke discharger. Black smoke trailed out behind the Shadowfox as it ran around the Shield Liger in a circle. The Shield Liger was completely blinded by the smoke. Brad continued to circle around until the Shadowfox stood at the Shield Liger's left flank. The Shield Liger fired blindly, taken by surprise.

Brad then fired at the Shield Liger. The Shield Liger leapt forward. It almost managed to make it out of the line of fire, but Brad's shots raked its haunches, blasting of the two missile boxes and completely disabling the left, rear leg. When the smoke cleared, the Shield Liger was partially disarmed and limping badly.

Brad chuckled as he moved in to finish the Shield Liger. "You almost had me a couple of times, but now the battle's mine," he remarked casually over the communication's channel.

"If that's what you think, then you are sorely mistaken," came the reply. Brad was taken aback by how calm the speaker was. The next order made him jump in his seat. "Release the secret weapon!"

Brad instinctively looked up at the whale king, half expecting it to fire on him. But instead, a small hatch opened on the whale king's underside. A dark brown object dropped from the hatch. Somewhere on the thing, jets ignited and the object flew through the air.

Brad's first thought was that it was a missile directed at him. But the UFO's behavior soon proved him wrong. It came in low, but sailed over the Shadowfox without a second thought. It flew on until it was directly over the Shield Liger. Brad watched in awe as the object disappeared in a flash of blue energy that shot straight down into the Shield Liger.

The fireworks were nice, but what happened next nearly stopped Brad's heart. The Shield Liger's blue exterior was suddenly emitting a bright whitish-blue light. The light condensed around the damaged leg. When it was gone, the leg was as good as new. Then, two glistening threads of energy leapt from the Shield Liger and came to rest on the two detached missile boxes. The missile boxes glowed blue-white, then dissolved into energy, and the threads retracted back into the Shield Liger. There was another flash and the two missile boxes sat side by side, reattached and ready to go.

"Oh no," said Brad as the newly repaired Shield Liger turned to face him. Its shields came up and it charged at him with a leap.

Bit's problems were even greater. The Liger 0 zigzagged back and forth, getting a little closer, while dodging the Genosaurer's shots. Just as the Liger was in range for the Strike Laser Claw the Genosaurer abruptly turned around and swung its powerful tail downwards.

The Liger jumped back with less than a second to spare as the tail slammed the ground where the Liger had been standing. Bit fired the Liger's shock cannons, but the Genosaurer leapt straight up over the shots and came down facing the Liger, firing its cannons.

Bit dodged to the side and tried to rush past on the Genosaurer's right flank. The path took him right by a very large rock, which he noted could be very effective cover if he needed.

The Genosaurer surprised him yet again as its right fore claw shot at the Liger, attached to a thick cord. The claw caught the Liger by its right rear leg. The Genosaurer swung left, bringing the Liger off the ground. The Genosaurer suddenly changed the direction of its swing, cracking the cord like a whip and nearly ripping the Liger 0's leg off. Now swinging in the other direction, the Liger found its flight was obstructed by the same rock Bit had noted earlier.

The impact severely jolted the Liger, but it was not as badly damaged as Bit feared; though it did leave a nice Liger 0 shaped indentation on the rock as the Liger slid to the ground.

Bit was dazed, but the Liger 0 was not. The zoid leapt behind the rock just as the Genosaurer's shots cratered the ground. While the Liger was behind the rock, Bit managed to get his head together. He couldn't think of a way to beat the Genosaurer. The Genosaurer was heavily armed and armed, with agility and speed to boot. The zoid had no weaknesses as far as he was concerned, and if it fired its charged particle cannon while the Liger 0 was pinned then Bit was dead for sure.

"Awww, come out and play little kitty," taunted the Genosaurer's pilot. Garret was finding the battle very amusing. The Liger was an exceptional zoid, and Bit was an incredible pilot. Several times he had managed to thwart Garret's attacks with his jumps and dodges. But now, now that the great Liger 0 was reduced to cowering behind a rock, Garret's amusement knew no end.

"If you don't come out, then I'll just have to blast your cover." Using the hover jets, he moved back a ways. Then, he engaged the Genosaurer's foot lock. To spurs dropped down from the back of the legs. The Genosaurer's body straightened, the tail stretching straight out behind it. Three vents on the dorsal and ventral sides of the tail opened, and a barrel extended from the Genosaurer's open maw. A glowing ball of energy began to collect around the end of the barrel as the Genosaurer readied its most fearsome weapon, the charged particle cannon.

In a restaurant, miles away from that very battlefield, two people watched the continuing battle with more than a little interest. Leon and Naomi, the members of Naomi's Fluegal Team were astonished with the events of the battle.

The Blitz Team's battle with the Redfire Team was an eagerly anticipated event. However, when the Redfire Team had failed to arrive, and then the self announced new Backdraft group had appeared, there had been a small measure of panic.

The Genosaurer was a new zoid to both of them. The Shield Liger and the Gunbluster were familiar models. Leon was full of concern for his sister Leena, and for the other members of the team, whom he knew well.

Naomi was more concerned about Brad, having no small amount of affection for him. She did however, note with interest and amusement the fact that Leena had jettisoned the majority of her weapons and was making for a high point with all speed. "Now she'll understand why it's called a Gunsniper," said Naomi.

Leon continued to watch, with growing concern, the events unfolding in the fight between the Liger 0 and the Genosaurer. "Bit's in big trouble. That zoid has him pinned and it looks like it's going to fire a charged particle cannon."

"You're kidding," said Naomi, astonished. The charged particle cannon was a dangerous weapon. So dangerous in fact, that it had been made illegal to use in an officially sanctioned zoid battle. Unsanctioned battles were another matter, however.

"I just hope Bit and the others make it through this," said Leon.

"Me too," agreed Naomi. She tried to keep a calm face, but her hands were starting to tremble, "I'm too afraid of what will happen if they don't."

Leena was surprised at the success of her plan. Her Gunsniper was at the base of the cliff and the Gunbluster had not yet emerged from the obscuring smoke. Her primary fear was that it would take too long to scale the cliff and reach her sniping position. She needn't have worried. The Gunsniper had been designed with dashing for a vantagepoint in mind. The zoid made it up the cliff in less time than it took for the Gunsniper to reach the base.

Leena then armed the long-range rifle. The Gunsniper's feet anchored it in place while the tail straightened and extended. Leena's seat pivoted around and she put her shoulder into the shoulder brace and looked into the targeting screen. Using the screen to guide her, she found the Gunbluster just emerging from a cloud of smoke.

The rifle found a target lock immediately. She didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. The shot took the Gunbluster right behind the cockpit. The zoid dropped, completely and totally disabled.

Leena shouted for joy, but her joy was short lived when out of the corner of her eye she saw a very bright flash of light. Then the memory came back to her, of a trio of very familiar zoids almost killing her with an unreal blast of energy. "Oh no," her hands trembled, "Bit!"

Brad was in trouble. Not only had the Shield Liger repaired itself, but also it was stronger, moving and reacting faster. He was barely able to dodge the zoid's shots. The pilot of the Shield Liger was trying a new tactic. He activated the shield then charged forward, turning the shield into a powerful battering ram.

Brad was able to stay ahead of the shield, but he knew that he couldn't avoid the Shield Liger's attacks forever, he had to find a way to end this, and quickly. As the Shield Liger charged again and the Shadowfox dodged, Brad quickly formulated a plan.

After dodging the Shield Liger, the Shadowfox started to run away. "What? Leaving so soon," came the taunting voice on the other side of the communications channel. The Shield Liger activated its shield and charged after the Shadowfox.

It was what Brad had hoped for. The Shadowfox's tail opened up and fired. The missile fired by the Shadowfox blew apart, revealing a net. The net flew with deadly accuracy, but its flight was halted by the Shield Liger's shield. Lightening crackled as the net's electromagnetic charge fired.

Brad knew this was the critical juncture. He stopped and spun the Shadowfox 180. He fired the vulcan laser gun. The fire spattered across the shield. It held for a moment, then collapsed under the strain of both the net's electric charge and the Shadowfox's gun.

Brad wasted no time in carefully aiming his fire. His first and second shots took of the top and bottom generators, disabling the shield. Then the Shadowfox charged the Shield Liger for a change. The claws started to glow and the Shadowfox leapt into the air. "Strike Laser Claw!" Brad cried.

The attack almost ripped the Shield Liger in half, but Brad was not done. After landing from the Strike Laser Claw attack, he fired the vulcan laser gun, peppering the Shield Liger with a continuous stream of shots. He did not let go of the trigger until he saw a flash of light that became a brown object flying under jet power away from the mortally wounded zoid.

Suddenly, a flash exploded on Brad's left and he immediately spun the Shadowfox in that direction. When he realized what it was, his heart sank in his chest. "Bit!"

The flash of light momentarily blinded Bit. The Liger crouched as low as it could to avoid the debris as shards of rock buzzed about like enraged hornets. Garret had aimed the Genosaurer's charged particle cannon too high. The blast had obliterated most of the rock, leaving behind only a low piece, which barely concealed the Liger 0.

Bit knew that Garret was toying with him before finishing the job. Garret had only to aim the charged particle cannon a little lower and it would all be over. Bit looked frantically for some means of escape, but he could see none. "This is it," he said under his breath.

Leena knew she didn't have time to aim carefully. The Genosaurer was already charging for another blast. She swung the rifle's end around and pulled the trigger. She hoped that she might disable the Genosaurer. The rifle fired.

Leena's shot went a little too high. It missed the body of the Genosaurer, but on the other hand, the turret was blown off. Garret growled in frustration. He would have to deal with the sniper before finishing the Liger 0. He retracted the Genosaurer's foot lock while turning towards the distant cliff where the Gunsniper perched.

Setting down the foot lock again, Garret ran the cannon up to full charge. The charged particle beam shot towards the cliff. However, it was to far for Garret to aim effectively, and the beam hit the cliff below the Gunsniper.

Bit's eyes widened, "Leena!"

Leena managed a strangled scream before the cliff gave way beneath her, sending her plunging towards the unyielding ground at its base.

At the restaurant, Leon stood up so quickly that his chair fell over. "Leena!"

The Shadowfox ground to a halt as Brad saw the Genosaurer fire at Leena. He then realized that he needed to help take that thing down or more people would be hurt. Without hesitating, he spurred the Shadowfox onward.

The Gunsniper hit the slope of the cliff, hard. Inside the cockpit, Leena was bounced around, until she hit her head on a control panel and lost consciousness. The Gunsniper hit the ground in a heap.

Garret watched with satisfaction as the Gunsniper slammed into the ground. He then turned the Genosaurer towards Bit. "Now it's your turn." The Genosaurer began to power up its charged particle cannon. Garret caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He canceled the particle cannon. The Genosaurer then ducked quickly.

Glowing light swept past overhead as the Shadowfox's Strike Laser Claw missed the Genosaurer by mere inches. Bit, taking advantage of Garret's distraction made a break for it in the opposite direction. He turned around and faced the Genosaurer.

Even though he was outflanked by the Liger 0 and the Shadowfox, Garret was not worried in the least. The Shadowfox charged. The Genosaurer used its hover jets to propel it forward, and out of harms way. His forward movement almost carried him into the remains of the stone that had provided cover for the Liger 0.

Instead of stopping, Garret did not deactivate the hover jets. The Genosaurer placed one foot on the stone and jumped. Propelled by the force of the hover jets, the Genosaurer jumped high into the air, performing a perfect 180 in the air. As the Genosaurer started to come down, Garret fired the cannon on its head.

The Shadowfox easily avoided the shots, and ended up standing side by side with the Liger 0. Garret saw the perfect opportunity to dispose of both of them. He charged them. At the last minute, he deactivated the hover jet in one leg and used that leg to kick of the ground.

The kick spun the Genosaurer rapidly into the two other zoids. The Liger jumped, barely clearing the whirling tail. Brad, on the other hand, was caught off guard by the maneuver. The spinning zoid's tail slammed into the Shadowfox, sending it flying. It crashed a few hundred yards away, out of the battle.

Bit eyed the Genosaurer warily. "I don't think we can beat it partner." The Liger roared its defiance at its opponent. Then, of its own volition, it turned and sprinted for the hover cargo.

In the hover cargo, Jamie looked down at the status screen. A flashing message caught his eye. "The Liger 0 is calling the Schnider armor."

"Great idea partner," said Bit, "The Shnider'll rip his zoid to pieces."

Garret watched the retreating zoid with almost casual interest. "Must be off to change its armor," he said. He walked the Genosaurer so that it was positioned in a straight line to the hover cargo's front. The Genosaurer began charging its cannon.

Inside the hover cargo, the Liger finished the transformation to Shnider. "Liger 0 Shnider CAS complete," announced Jamie. The Liger went up to the catapult.

"Go Shnider!" The Shnider hit the ground running. Bit wasn't the least bit surprised to find the Genosaurer waiting for him. Around him, the five blades of the Shnider's Buster Slash began to form. They extending and came out around the Liger's head.

"Get out of the way Bit," cried Jamie, "It's going to fire its charged particle cannon." Bit ignored Jamie's warning, and so did the Liger.

Garret sneered, "Fool." He fired the charged particle cannon.

Bit yelled, "Buster Slash!" as the Liger's charge carried it right into the charged particle beam. For a moment he was blinded by the light, but the Liger continued forward.

Jamie watched in stunned amazement, "The Buster Slash is cutting right through the charged particle beam."

The Liger pressed onward until it found the beam's source. The Liger's blades deeply scored the Genosaurer's left flank, slicing off its arm and leg on that side. Behind the Genosaurer, the Liger skidded to a halt and roared in triumph as the Genosaurer collapsed.

"Battle over! Battle over!" The judge slumped forward and slowly raised one arm, "The winner is…the Blitz Team…Humph!"

The capsule closed and the judge capsule lifted off, nearly clipping the whale king.

On the whale king, Stroma looked on calmly. "Well we lost," he reflected, "But we shall be all the more ready to win the next time. The gains far outweigh the losses." He turned and walked from the bridge.

Down on the battlefield, Garret carefully reviewed the course the battle had taken. He no longer harbored any doubts as to the Liger 0's power. He also had a new found respect for the skills of the various members of the Blitz Team. Defeating his team was no easy feat. He looked up at the whale king hovering above, knowing the precious and powerful cargo it contained. "Perhaps," he reflected, "I can find an even better use for that power."