Shadowwolf: MORE reviewers! XD

BladesDeath – Ah, yes. Glorious cliffhangers. -evil laughter- Enjoy!

Life is but a Dream2000 – I did make him say "Gahr," because of Dodgeball…'twas fun!

Nabooru – Thank you very much. I thought it was kind of interesting…and it sure is fun to write. Nehehe…

Starheart – Purely evil? Why, thank you. XD

BlackHole Army CO – I know it was short. ;.; Too short…and I s'pose you're right. It's still a shame…

Saku – Or can it? -evil smirk-

Bluefly7 – -whistles innocently-

MatrixSaix – Yeah, what's up with that? Where's McAfee or Norton when you need 'em? Thanks, Matrix. -hug-

Rynn Abhorsen – Good to hear from you again! Your review is greatly appreciated.

Zinou – -lashes out at Zinou- Wonderful stories, you've done. If I could just stop being so lazy I could actually get through all of them. -sigh- Sorry about the short chapter! It hurt me too. But this one's better! Five pages! … I have not abandoned Inner Strength. Actually, I'm eager to finish it because you sound so interested in it. -stupid grin-

ShadowLiger – Thank you!! Stupid words, why do they always run when you need to use them? Enjoy. -smile-

Shadowwolf: Wow. I feel so loved—

Brad: Not again. Just. Start. The. Fic.

Shadowwolf: -thinks- Okay! Disclaimer: Psh. See the last two chapters. -.- I hope everyone enjoys this, and thank you all for reading!

-

The Mask of the Fox

Five?

-

In a few seconds, Brad saw three things that were all very important to him.

First, he glanced down and spotted a small timer next to the skull icon on his status screen. It was still counting. He could see the seconds ticking by as his Zoid lifted its paw. This had an enormous emotional impact on him. The feeling of hopelessness that had first surfaced when he realized he couldn't control his Zoid had now grown into something that was nearly unbearable. Every second he watched tick by seemed to be in sync with the rapid beating of his heart.

Next, he saw the canopy of the Command Wolf below him open, and the pilot stumble out. He tried to shout to him, but no sound came out. It was suicidal, Brad thought, to get out of your Zoid in such a situation. But then, would it be better to sit and wait for that paw to come down and crush you, all while you know it's too late to move your Zoid or climb out? Surely not.

Finally, Brad turned enough to catch a glimpse of the judge waving its arms. It had clearly said something, but Brad couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear anything but the pounding of his heart. More importantly, something else caught his attention near the judge. It was a streak of white, black, and gold. He didn't have time to think before whatever it was hit his Zoid hard and forced it away from the Command Wolf and its pilot. Suddenly, the ability to hear returned to him and horrible metallic crunching sounds greeted him.

Saved! was all Brad had time to think before the force threw him against the side of the cockpit and he lost consciousness.

-

Brad woke to find himself in his room, in his bed, back at the base. His head was pulsing, and he found it a very uncomfortable feeling. With a groan, he looked around and sat up.

The room was empty, he had no visitors. But I'm in my room… he thought, I'm not in jail…or dead… Suddenly, he was struck with dread. "The pilot! What happened to the pilot?! He must be…okay…I mean, I never got a chance to attack…" Brad muttered to himself, realizing his mistake in saying "I never got a chance."

"The Zoid never got a chance," he sighed heavily. This was all worse than he had imagined. He never thought the virus he discovered would turn the Fox into a vicious killing machine. That was what it had become, right? He didn't know. Nothing seemed to make sense.

Slowly, Brad pulled himself out of bed and put on a hooded sweatshirt. This was also new, as Brad rarely got cold. But now, he found it hard not to shiver. Muttering and cursing to himself, Brad left his room and made his way downstairs, hoping to avoid everyone and make it into the hangar unnoticed.

Unfortunately, the entire Blitz Team and several ZBC officials were in the living room, and there wasn't a single one of them that didn't see Brad come down. He stopped dead in his tracks. One of the officials stood up and removed his hat, revealing a bald head.

"Brad Hunter?" he asked as he took a step forward. Brad didn't move.

"That's me."

"Pilot of the Shadow Fox?"

"Yes."

"Please have a seat. We need to have a word with you," he ordered, gesturing toward an empty seat on the couch. Brad nodded, mentally fired off every swear word he knew, and sat in the spot opened for him. Doc was on his left and Bit was on his right. Leena leaned on the shoulder of the couch and Jamie watched from the kitchen.

Brad remained calm on the outside as he looked to each one of the officials. There were five of them. A visit from one meant you'd messed up; three meant you wouldn't be piloting for some time; Brad wasn't sure what five meant. He'd never wanted to know.

"Now, Mr. Hunter, we are all very aware of the events that unfolded in the battle this afternoon," the bald man stated. Brad was compelled to look at the clock. It was nearly 9:00pm. As fast as he looked to it, his eyes were snapped back to the man as he continued his spiel, "But are you aware of the consequences?"

"Excuse me, Mister…?"

"Inspector Stevens."

"Right, Inspector Stevens, I—" Brad stopped. Stevens? He'd heard that name before, but where? The paper! Linda Stevens had her Zoid destroyed…

"Continue, please," the inspector prompted, interrupting Brad's thoughts. Brad cleared his throat.

"Right, uh…I'm sorry, but are you related to Linda Stevens?" he asked tentatively.

"I am. She's my daughter."

"Oh…I see."

"So, Mr. Hunter, can we stay on topic?"

"Er, yeah. Um, I…I didn't willingly attack the cockpit."

"Not willingly?" the inspector said with a raised brow. Brad shook his head.

"I lost control of my Zoid. It just…it was unstoppable. The controls didn't work," Brad explained, knowing even as he said it that he would lose his Zoid no matter what. If they didn't believe him, he would go to jail and the Shadow Fox would be sold. If they did believe him, it would be destroyed.

"Really?" Inspector Stevens asked with interest, leaning forward slightly. Two of the officers behind him began to whisper to each other. Brad nodded slowly.

"I tried to communicate to the pilot, and it didn't work. Nothing worked. I would never purposely attack the cockpit, you can ask any of my teammates and they'd tell ya," Brad said, glancing sideways at Bit. No one said anything until Inspector Stevens piped up.

"Well?"

"He's right. He'd never do it on purpose. Brad's a mercenary, but he's not scum," Bit said slowly, as though he was thinking on each word. It was Bit in the Liger who had tackled him, stopped him from doing something awful, and saved the pilot's life. He had come to Brad's aid again. Brad sighed slightly with relief, but it didn't last.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hunter, but I don't think that will be enough to convince me and prevent the consequences of your actions," the inspector said roughly. Jamie looked up from the kitchen.

"Actually, Inspector, the Zoid has been acting strangely lately. I did a few scans, and nothing came up, but the problem could be deeper than a simple scan can reach," Jamie stated timidly, surprised at his own boldness.

"Really, now?" the inspector asked, although he didn't expect a response. He seemed to ponder the information given to him before speaking again. "Here's what we'll do: I want to get a look at this Zoid and analyze it for myself. If I agree with what has been said, Mr. Hunter will not be jailed. The Zoid, however, will have to be confiscated and destroyed as deemed by ZBC law. Is this understood?" he finished, looking Brad right in the eyes.

"Understood," Brad answered, mixed emotions leaving him looking rather blank.

"Good. If I don't agree, off to jail you go, Mr. Hunter. Your Zoid will be sold, and your license revoked. Just like a car," he added with a harsh chuckle. Brad decided, then, that he didn't like this man. "Understood?"

"Understood," he replied once more, slight bitterness in his voice. The bald inspector nodded and returned his hat to his head. His eyes pierced Brad with a look that seemed to reach into his very thoughts.

"In case you're wondering, Mr. Hunter, I am considering you as a suspect in the Romeo City case. The one involving my daughter," he stated in a low growl. Brad blinked and froze where he was. And here I thought it couldn't get any worse…

-

What seemed like an hour-long process only took twenty minutes. Inspector Stevens had looked over the Shadow Fox and had come to a decision. Brad, his teammates, and the ZBC officials all stood, waiting.

"I, Inspector Julius Stevens, have concluded," he began, "that this Zoid, the Shadow Fox, is indeed malfunctioning. As Mr. Jamie Hemeros hypothesized, there seems to be a problem that has worked its way deep into the Zoid's system, and cannot be found with simple scanning. Therefore, Mr. Brad Hunter is not to be jailed, but his Zoid is to be confiscated immediately and destroyed within the next twenty-four hours."

Brad watched him carefully, mentally repeating every word as it was said. He thought of how harsh the ZBC laws were. Why couldn't they just repair the Zoid? Naw, too easy…nothing's ever easy with them.

However, he couldn't help wondering why the inspector was suddenly using such intelligent words. Truthfully, it was getting on his nerves. There was a clicking sound behind him, and he turned just enough to see one of the officials turn off what looked like a tape recorder. Brad sighed and turned back to the inspector. "Thank you, Inspector Stevens," he said as he shook the man's hand, his voice laced with bitterness.

"You're welcome, Mr. Hunter. I'll have you know that I haven't taken you off my suspects list, but I shouldn't need to visit you again anytime soon, with your Zoid gone."

"Right," Brad responded, trying to sound as amused as the inspector, although the thought of losing his Shadow Fox was painful. He looked up to it, his face showing nothing more than tiredness. A siren sounded shortly outside the base, and one of the officers opened the hangar door.

"Ah! They're here," Inspector Stevens exclaimed as three blue Saber Tigers and a red Lightning Saix came to a stop just outside the base. A man jumped down from the Lightning Saix and approached the inspector. They turned away from Brad and started a rushed conversation that Brad only caught fragments of.

"The Zoid is too unpredictable, we'll need to put a control chip on the console and lead it out that way," the inspector commented.

"Then our Zoids can escort it the rest of the way," his assistant finished. They both nodded and continued on, but the rest of the conversation was lost in Brad's thoughts.

Should I have told them about the virus? No…no, they wouldn't understand. Besides, I stole the Shadow Fox. Even though I took it from that Backdraft coward of a man, Laon, they wouldn't let it go. It was still theft. I couldn't tell them…I can't tell them.

He looked down to his watch. During the inspection, he had placed a small chip on the controls, which transmitted the timer and various other bits of information to his wristwatch. The whole system was a way for Brad to keep track of his Zoid, even when he was far from it, but now, if he'd done it right and nothing had changed, he had a copy of the timer right there, on his wrist. Brad wasn't sure why he'd bothered doing such a thing, but it made sense at the time, and it reassured him for one reason or another.

Two young men exited their Saber Tigers and climbed into the Shadow Fox's cockpit to install the control chip. Brad hoped they didn't find his. As the men climbed down and closed the canopy, it seemed they hadn't. He couldn't hold back a smirk.

"Everything's ready," Inspector Stevens said as he shook Brad's hand again. "Find a new, more reliable Zoid, and behave yourself. That way I won't have to come back."

"I'll do that. Thanks," he said, not sounding grateful at all. The inspector and the officers boarded a Whale King Brad didn't remember noticing before. As soon as the giant transport Zoid was off the ground, the others climbed into their respective Zoids and cleared a path for the Shadow Fox.

Brad turned and looked around to see that his teammates were gone. He was alone in the hangar. With nothing else on his mind, Brad stood and watched as the Fox's eyes began to glow and it came to life with the assistance of the chip. It began to walk forward, to exit the hangar, when it turned its head slightly and seemed to look at Brad. He blinked up at it and sighed, as though saying there was nothing he could do.

The Zoid looked ahead once more and continued to walk. Brad thought about Laon suddenly. It looked like he wouldn't have to speak with him after all. That was one positive thing to come from this, he thought.

The Fox's tail disappeared as it passed through the giant hangar door. Brad walked forward and stood in front of the open door, watching his Zoid continue its march. The Lightning Saix pulled ahead of it, and the three Saber Tigers took positions to its left, right, and rear. Brad couldn't help thinking the procession resembled that of a prisoner on the way to his execution. And maybe, Brad thought, that's what it was.

Before they had made it even one hundred yards from the base, something went wrong. The Shadow Fox must have stopped, as did the others. Brad took a few steps out into the desert sun to get a closer look. The Lightning Saix was turning around, but the rest of the Zoids stood in place. Then, without warning, the black form of the Shadow Fox leapt high into the air, over one of the Tigers, and landed on the Saix's back. There wasn't time for a struggle before the Fox ripped a huge hole into the Zoid's neck, and it fell to the ground in a heap.

All three Tigers turned to confront the rogue Zoid. Brad watched in disbelief as they fired round after round, missing nearly every shot. The few shells that did hit had no effect on the Shadow Fox, as it charged forward and disabled one Tiger, and tackled another. The third pilot must have been horrified, because he hesitated as the Fox came after him. He committed an awful blunder by rearing up on his hind legs and allowing the Fox access to the Tiger's underbelly. As Brad continued to watch, motionless, the Shadow Fox tore off one of the Tiger's rear legs and ripped into several power cords, sending it to the ground where the others lay.

When all four Zoids were on the ground, it began to walk around and tear at the carcasses and play with the pilots. Some of them were sure they would be crushed, but were thrown around instead, shaken to death. Another, unfortunately, left his cockpit and was chased around on foot until his own nasty demise. Brad felt his knees weaken and shake. Deliberately, the Shadow Fox turned and looked back to the base. Brad was sure it was focusing on him, deciding the gruesome way in which he should meet his fate.

Shadowwolf: I did it again. -giggle- Hope that was okay. Please review no matter what your comment! =3