Princess of the Zoids: Could it Be Me

Notes: Well, I promised, so the inside joke in chapter 7 was the room number, 426. 2002's Sakura-Con started on 4-26 (which wasn't over a year ago when I wrote it).

Chapter 9: Information

"You've got to be kidding, Doc!" Bit exclaimed.

"How are we supposed to go into battle without our strategist? Especially against a team that's supposed to be as powerful as the Twin Eagles," Ballade commented.

"But... the prize money! And it'll help take your minds off of everything else!" Doc tried countering, but he knew it wasn't working.

"Dad, we're not doing it. So go tell the ZBC that were not going to fight until we get Jiemi back."

"They WHAT?!?!" Arasu yelled. "But it had already been approved and accepted! They can't back down!"

"Apparently, they gave some folderol to the ZBC about the team being too distraught to battle," Raon replied, trying to get her to lower her voice.

"Distraught? Distraught over what? Jiemi? He came here on his own, didn't he?" Arasu stormed out of the room, leaving Dr. Raon on his own.

She's begining to get out of hand... Something may have to be done about her before she spoils my plans...

Bit was wandering around the base. He couldn't sleep, not knowing if Jiemi was alright or not. Not even realizing it, he had wandered to the strategy room. How many times had he been wandering around in the middle of the night and found Jiemi here, working on last minute strategies? Bit couldn't remember, it happened so often. Of course, Jiemi always knew exactly what he was doing up in the middle of the night. And promply sent him back in the opposite direction of the kitchen. Bit smiled, remembering how he'd wait until Jiemi finally went to bed, and then go straight back down to the kitchen. He wondered if Rinon had ever figured out that trick, having lived with the kid for so long. Bit shook his head, trying to get those memories out of his head. Wait for Jiemi to get back before being happy, Bit, he told himself. He was about to wander off again, when he noticed a light flashing on one of the consoles. What's this? Bit walked over to the console, and realized that it was an incoming transmission. He wasn't awake enough to realize that whomever was sending the transmission had deliberately not activated the sound notice, which is why he hadn't heard it.

"Hello?" Bit asked, after pressing the button.

"It's about time someone answered," a testy female voice came back over the com unit. He couldn't see what she looked like, because there was no video. "I have information you might be interested in."

"Yeah, well what's that?" Bit pressed.

"If you want to find out what happened to your strategist, accept the battle invitation from the Twin Eagles team."

"What? Hey, wait a minute! You're that girl from the battle the other week! What have you done with Jiemi!?!"

"I haven't done anything to young Hemerosu. I told you. If you want information, accept our battle invitation. That is all I wanted to say." With that, the transmission ended.

Accept their battle invitation? What does the Twin Eagles Team have to do with Jiemi's disappearance?

"Accept their battle, and we'll get information on Jiemi? What kind of lead is that?" Rinon yelled at Bit.

"The only one we have!" Bit yelled back.

Ballade sighed and looked at Doc. While it was true that it was harder to go into battle without a strategist, it was nowhere near impossible. And if going into battle meant possibly getting the kid back, Ballade decided he didn't care if they went against the Twin Eagles or not, as long as he was paid. With him in the middle, Bit on one side, and Rinon on the other, it was up to the Doc to decide whether or not they would accept the challenge.

Doc stood up and walked to the center of the room. He looked at Bit. "So the entire message was that if we want information on finding Jiemi, we need to fight the Twin Eagles, correct?" Bit nodded. "Did the person say anything else?"

"Not really," Bit said, trailing off. "Wait! I did ask her what she'd done, and she said she hadn't done anything to him. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that she's the one with the information, and that she was telling me the truth."

Doc nodded. He turned to his daughter. "Rinon, do we have any other information to go off of, as to Jiemi's whereabouts?" Rinon shook her head. "Then isn't it true that we should at least look into any lead we have?" Rinon looked down, and then nodded.

Lastly, Doc turned to Ballade. "Do you have anything to add to this discussion?"

Ballade sighed again. "If Bit's conclusion that our caller was indeed the girl from the battle, then we know that she's a member of the Backdraft group, and that she's working for Dr. Raon. We also know that Jiemi disappeared right after that battle, and that this Twin Eagles team popped up after that, and are using the same tactics that she used on us in our battle. I know that Jiemi was working on some new strategies that could keep us safe from Backdraft's new toys, so maybe they grabbed him to keep him out of their way?"

Doc nodded. "That makes sense, and it's the best theory we've got. So will we accept the battle?" Doc looked at the three remaining members of his team, and got three nods. "I'll finish the paperwork. I'll also call Leon and Naomi, and Oscar. They may be able to help us out.

"Ara! Ara!" Jiemi yelled, running through the halls of the Whaleking looking for his sister. He finally found her in her office, working on some data tablets with Raon.

Arasu looked up as her brother entered. "What is it, Jiemi?" she asked.

"They've accepted our battle! We get to battle the Blitz Team!"

Raon looked up, surprised. He had not expected Torosu to change his mind. "That is indeed great news, Jiemi. Why don't you go down and start making sure the Reinosu are in top condition, while Arasu and I finish up here?" Jiemi left the room, and Raon closed it behind him, before turning to Arasu. "Arasu, I have no doubt that you have had a hand in this turn of events. Would you like to explain yourself?"

"Not really," Arasu replied somewhat coldly, not looking up from her work.

"Arasu Hemerosu. Tell me what you have done, now! This is an order," Raon demanded.

Arasu looked up, shock on her face. In the seven years that she had been with him, he'd never raised his voice or his hand at her, and now he'd done one, and possibly would do the other, if she didn't cooperate. "I called the Blitz Team last night," she said suddenly, looking down at her lap.

"And told them what?" Raon said, anger in his voice.

"I told them that if they wanted information on Jiemi, they had to battle us. It wasn't like they were going to battle us if something wasn't done! And aren't your orders to capture the Raigaru? We can't do that unless we battle them!" she yelled back.

Raon took a deep breath to calm him. "While I understand your reasoning, you may have just put a large setback into my plans. Finish your work here, and then join Jiemi in the hangar." With that, he left himself.

Arasu sighed. Raon says we have to get the Raigaru. How else can we get it without a battle? And Jiemi looked so excited. I never would've thought he'd be so excited to fight his old team. Something's not quite right about that. That or the fact that Jiemi didn't tell his team where he was going. I wonder what's actually going on?

Yay! I finally finished another chapter! Happy me.