Hey! Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! It's my Christmas update, something I do every year! See, I'm updating, and I may update more often for a while at least. I was just re-watching the series, and I had forgotten just how much I loved it. Maybe that's why Zoids is my favorite series, because no matter how often I watch it, I still laugh and love every blissful second. Ah…I'm starting to remember why I even started writing fanfiction (though this nostalgic feeling has me feeling just a bit sick…ever have that feeling? The kind where you miss what used to be? Like remember the good times? I always start feeling sick when I get like that…yeah…I'm strange, I know)

Anyway, onward, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 13: But We're Strong

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Leena sighed a bit as she sat in the waiting room with Bit. They had just gone to see Tori and had heard what had happened from Hikari. It was kind of hard to believe, but Tori really was losing it. He was being driven towards insanity, and they had Kageru to thank for that. Tori would have been better off not knowing about the Kaijin.

"I told you," she began, drawing Bit's attention. "I knew something like this would happen."

"He'll get better," Bit insisted, trying his best to remain optimistic in this rather depressing situation. "He's strong."

"You say that like you know it," she snapped, turning her fiery gaze to him. He was being just a little insensitive right now. Then again, Leena herself wasn't much for sentiments. However, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Tori. He had been through a lot. "He's your friend, right?"

"Yeah, so?" asked Bit, reclining a bit in the chair he was sitting in. Leena just growled out of frustration.

"How can you just not care?" She stood up abruptly, glaring down at him. "He could've killed himself, Bit!" Bit opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it. What could he say to that? He knew that this was no easy matter. Tori had nearly killed himself. He hadn't been seeing the hospital. He had seen the labs, the tubes that had connected him to the Kaijin. It was only a bit natural. After all, he had been through more than they could imagine. Maybe he was being a bit insensitive.

"Okay, so maybe it does look like I don't care," he told Leena, shooting her a small glare right back. "But I'm just trying to stay positive. What's wrong with that? Everyone's too depressed!"

"Gee, maybe because this isn't a very cheery matter," she shot back. The two of them just glared at each other for a moment, not having anything else to really say. If Jamie hadn't come at that moment, they probably would have just kept at it.

"Hey guys," he began, a question on his mind. He quickly drew their attention, and he hoped he hadn't interrupted anything. They both looked a bit intense. "Have you seen Tai and Kyouri?"

"No, why?" asked Bit.

"Because I can't find them."

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"Well?" asked Leena as she met up with Bit and Jamie at the receptionist's desk.

"Nothing," answered Jamie. "I didn't see them anywhere."

"Well, it's not like they could go that far," stated Bit.

"Excuse me," began the receptionist, drawing their attention. "Who are you looking for?"

"His name's Tai," began Bit. "You seen him? He probably came through here with a girl."

"You mean Tai Kenjitsu and Kyouri Raiden?" she asked them. Now they all rushed into her face.

"Where are they?" asked Leena. "Did you see them come through here?"

"T-they left a letter here for the Blitz team," she answered a bit nervously, holding up the letter she had been given. Indeed, it was addressed to them. Without a word, Bit swiped it from the receptionist. Jamie made a quick apology to the slightly startled woman and then turned his attention to Bit.

"Those idiots!" he suddenly exclaimed, handing the letter to Jamie and Leena. Dear Blitz team. Sorry, but we gotta get out of here. Thanks for helping us out the other day, and we appreciate everything you've done for us, but it's time we hit the road again. As soon as we find our team, we'll challenge you to another battle. Until then, take care! From Tai and Kyouri.

"So they left," summed up Jamie.

"Are they gonna go after Kageru?" asked Leena.

"But they can't!" Jamie stated. "He's too much for them."

"Come on!" stated Bit as he began heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? I'm gonna find them."

"Are you insane?" exclaimed Leena. "We can't just leave Tori, not to mention Dad has no clue where we are!"

"But…"

"Just let them go for now. As soon as Tori's up to it, we'll head out after them." Bit was about to say something else but decided against it. It was obvious he wasn't going to win this battle. Besides, even if he did go out looking for the two Hero team members, he wouldn't even know where to begin.

"Fine," he said, giving in. "Let's go check on Tori."

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Hikari heaved a deep sigh as she walked down the hallway. She had just gotten back from visiting Tori again, and he wasn't doing very well. It was hard to believe he had woken up so quickly considering the fact that he had lost so much blood. According to Kageru, he wasn't supposed to be able to recover so easily. Blood loss was supposed to be really hard on him. Maybe he'd been wrong.

Hikari suddenly froze in place, a chill running down her spine. She had felt this way before. There was only one thing that could make her shiver like this. Masaka…he's here. She quickly turned around and began heading towards the door to the hospital. She easily shoved through it and walked outside. It was dark out, the city lights being all that lit the area. They're here…I know it. But where…? In the distance, what looked like a huge building suddenly burst into flames. Hikari's attention quickly went to it. However, the rising flames and smoke weren't what caught her attention. It was the dark shadow above. Kaijin

The huge zoid began flying over the city. Upon closer inspection, Hikari could see that it really was the Kaijin. There was no mistaking it. There wasn't a single zoid on the planet that looked that terrifying. I've gotta tell the others! Hikari quickly ran back into the hospital, determined to find someone.

"Bit! Leena!" she shouted as she ran down the hall, not caring if the other people walking down the hallways found her behavior strange or not. A lot of patients were probably sleeping, now being awoken as she called out for her friends. However, this was so much more important than sleep. If something wasn't done, the Kaijin could level the entire city. They were really in trouble this time.

"Jamie! Brad!" she called out, trying to get someone's attention. She needed to find them. As luck would have it, they were all walking down the hallway, talking quietly amongst themselves. "You guys!" They all turned to watch as she ran up to them, breathing rather harshly.

"What is it?" asked Bit, a little confused. After all, it was probably about three o'clock in the morning, and here she was, screaming at the top of her lungs. They were all a bit tired. They didn't need this right now.

"I saw it," she began, trying to catch her breath.

"Saw what?" asked Brad.

"Kaijin." Well, that quickly got their full attention.

"What?" asked Bit rather quickly. "Are you sure?" She just nodded. They were all about to head towards the door when the whole building suddenly shook. People in the hallways began screaming as nurses and doctors began scurrying down the hallways to see if the patients were all okay.

"What was that?" asked Jamie, his voice a little shaky.

"It's gotta be Kageru," stated Bit. "Come on!" They all began running down the hallways, heading towards the door. They all burst through it, and what they saw had them frozen from either disbelief or fear. It was hard to tell by the shock on their faces. Quite a few buildings were on fire now, and in the middle of the street, a small distance away, stood the Kaijin in all its wicked glory. It's red eyes were shining brightly, and a low growl escaped its throat. Slowly, it began advancing.

"We've gotta get to our zoids!" stated Bit.

"Yeah, let's go!" agreed Leena.

"Demo…" began Hikari, catching their attention. "You didn't bring them."

"What?!" shouted Bit. That fact had obviously slipped his mind.

"You drove Tori here and left your zoids at his base."

"Oh yeah…" said Leena, finally remembering the event. "I guess we did…hey, where are Jamie and Brad?"

"Over there," stated Hikari. They all watched as Brad and Jamie got into their zoids, bringing them to life. The two of them had piloted their zoids into the city, and so had Tai and Kyouri. Bit, Leena, and Hikari had taken Tori's jeep when they had rushed him to the hospital.

"Don't worry," stated Brad. "We'll take care of him for now."

"Do what you can to warn the people in the hospital," added Jamie as he and Brad took off towards the Kaijin. All the while, Hikari kept her eyes on the dark dragon. Something was bothering her. Through all of this, she had yet to see Kageru. He would have contacted them by now if he was there, right? If he wasn't accompanying the Kaijin, then where could he be? Also, if he wasn't with the Kaijin, then was it possible for her to take control of it? After all, she had managed to make it react just yesterday when they were all attacked. Too bad she wasn't sure how she had done it.

"He's not here," she stated suddenly. Bit and Leena just gave her confused glances.

"Who's not?" asked Bit.

"Kageru," she answered. "The Kaijin's alone. I don't see him anywhere."

"But that's impossible, right?" asked Leena. "It can't act on its own, can it?"

"It's alive," she stated softly. "It probably can. However, I'm sure he's close by. He must be in one of these buildings."

"But why wouldn't he be with the Kaijin?" asked Bit. "Why miss his own battle? It's not like he has anything more important to do, right?" Hikari thought this over for all of two seconds before realizing just where Kageru was and what he was probably about to do.

"He wouldn't…" she began, sounding rather shocked.

"What?" began Bit, wanting to ask just what she was talking about, but she turned and ran into the hospital before he could get out another word. He and Leena quickly followed after her, running down the hallways as fast as they could. They just stayed a bit behind her, waiting to see what she was up to. She eventually stopped at a room…Tori's room. She walked in and sighed in relief, realizing that Tori was just fine. He was asleep, but it looked like Kageru hadn't gone after him.

"Thank the Gods," she whispered as she walked over to him, followed by Bit and Leena. However, Bit suddenly stopped when something caught his eye. He spun around and caught a glimpse of Kageru as the man walked past the room. If Bit wasn't mistaken, there had been a smirk on his face.

"Kageru!" he exclaimed as he turned and ran from the room.

"Bit, wait!" called Leena as she began to follow him.

"Don't worry! I'll be careful!" he called as he turned the corner, disappearing down the hallway. Leena just crossed her arms, an irritated sigh escaping her. Who said I was worried? She just turned around and walked back into the room for a moment.

"Hikari?" she began, watching as the girl sat down near Tori. "Just stay here. I'm gonna see how Jamie and Brad are doing." Before Hikari could comment, Leena began sprinting down the hallway. She eventually reached the doorway and looked out to see the battle that was taking place. Jamie and Brad were actually holding their own against the Kaijin. Man, I thought this thing was supposed to be really tough. If just two people can take it down, then there's nothing to brag about. Maybe it's like this because Kageru isn't here…

"Hello," greeted a voice behind her. Even though the voice was only slightly familiar, it still managed to freeze her in place. This man's voice was so icy yet smooth that he could probably hypnotize someone. Reluctantly, she turned around, and her eyes met a pair of cold silver ones.

"K-kageru…" she began, feeling a rather unlike fear. After all, she was Leena. No one was supposed to be able to scare her like this. However, Kageru wasn't a laughing matter. She began backing up, but a fist quickly connected to her stomach. She couldn't help it. She screamed. There was a moment of pain before everything went dark.

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"Man!" shouted Bit in frustration as he began walking down the hallway. He had failed miserably in his search for Kageru. It was like the man had just disappeared. What now? Guess I should go check on Leena and Hikari. As he was about to turn around and head back, a scream caught his attention. A few people in the hallway who had been walking suddenly stopped, startled for a moment, before going back to tending to the patients. After all, the city was still under siege.

Bit was frozen in place, his eyes wide. That voice…that was Leena! He began sprinting down the hallway, following the direction he thought her scream had come from. He was now approaching the doorway to the hospital, and what he saw there had him both quaking in fear and boiling with rage. Kageru stood there, an unconscious Leena held under one of his arms.

"Kageru!" Bit shouted, being overwhelmed by the rage bubbling within him. "What did you do to her!?"

"Nothing really," he began. "I just figured it'd be easy to deal with her if she were unconscious."

"Let her go!" There was a lot of fire in Bit Cloud's voice, something that was usually only present during matters of the battlefield. However, he wasn't about to let this man have his way. No one was going to take Leena. However, the smirk on Kageru's face stated that he was. In a matter of seconds, the Kaijin appeared at the doorway, and Kageru slowly backed out, his eyes holding Bit's the entire time.

"Bit Cloud," he began. "I've heard a lot about you. An exceptional warrior…I'll tell you what. If you bring me experiment Akari, I'll give Ms. Toros back, but…I also want a battle. I wanna see just how good you really are."

"Wait! Come back!!" shouted Bit, but Kageru was already being lifted away. Before he could say anything else, the Kaijin and its master left, taking Leena with them. Bit clenched his fists so tightly that the skin could break at any second. However, he just fell to his knees in distress.

"Damn it," he cursed, wishing he had something to hit right now. He felt like screaming, so he screamed the one thing that was currently occupying his mind. Somehow, he was going to get her back, and he would do it without sacrificing Hikari. "Leena!!"

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There, are you happy? A little Bit and Leena stuff finally! I guess I wanted to really put some in because I'm currently in the process of rereading Bit and Leena fics, and I'm starting to remember how much fun I had writing them. However, none of my fics will ever be as good as they were, like Premonition and Best Forgotten Past (though when I read them, I see every spelling mistake and poor description I ever wrote, and I fee like fixing it…but it's a bit too late now.)

Anyway, please remember to review! Until the next time! Happy holidays!

Bye!