The interview itself told us a few things about Guy which aren't very important. Except for one tiny little detail.

". . . This is suicide. . ."

Sue was lying on the couch in the fetal position; Rax was shivering under his bed probably. I was making myself something to eat.

". . . So, he is having us have a match against Team Backdraft, what's the big deal?"

Idiot, idiot, idiot. . .

". . . Trey. . . Backdraft isn't exactly a Team. . ."

Two Minutes Later

"We're dead, we're dead, we're dead. . ."

Now I was the one in the fetal position.

". . .dear god, well, what kind of zoids are we talking?"

Sue checked the printout on the table.

"Um . . . the Elephander?"

Yep, we were dead.

"And six Rev Raptors."

. . .okay, slightly more dead to a lesser extent.

"Well, where?"

"A busted up old city."

"Wait . . . what region?"

"Northwest, why?"

". . . What time of day?"

"Trey, spill it."

The day of the battle

Once again, I take you to that guy in the bar watching battles after work. Not much has changed. Maybe a 'Team Reckless' beer sign on the wall. The guy on the far left got a haircut. And our little audience member just got new shoes. I'm not sure how Backdraft releases footage, so this is a guess. Maybe a guy ordered a movie from one of the screens with a code he got from a friend, and he reads the list of battles scheduled against our favorite twisted gambling empire. Team Etc, Team Etc, Team Reckless, holy crap that one that one, etc. And all his close friends, including the little executive with the new shoes, gather around. An abandoned city or possibly a base pops up on the screen, a black Judge Capsule visible on the horizon.

The camera is panning quickly, trying to find the action. Something blips and the focus is quickly on a large zoid tromping next to an old warehouse, the infamous Elephander. It appeared to be grappling the Saix with its trunk, like two swordsmen dueling. Of course, Stroller used his trademark giant pink shield of in your face-ness. The Saix kept its distance but kept lashing out whenever it had a rare opening. A small energy burst hit behind the elephant, must be the Reckless sniper. The next shot hit right on the flank of the large-eared tank. Suddenly the Saix moved back, its head tilted a bit. How does that Brand guy make his zoid show emotion like that? It's a bit obvious they just found out that the shield doesn't protect from behind. The Saix then literally disappeared; it was like a special effect when that thing got to top speed. A radar screen popped up for the audience, showing where it went. The networks had given up on trying to film that thing when it got going, that is one slick alley cat.

The elephant showed annoyance, Stroller always was a drama king. The Snipe Master was probably hiding on a roof somewhere, but where was Rax? Stroller was now trotting as fast as possible toward where the cat was, Brand must be talking to him and exchanging witty banter comprising of how stupid Stroller's mullet is.

Well, ten minutes later that giant slug got there. The Saix was lying down like a tired cat, waiting for it. The two continued their little duel, while the camera switched to what appeared to be the scene of a holocaust. No, it was just Rax running a circle around the wreckage of a group of Raptors. He stomped happily on the last of them and ran off toward the distant flashes of blades. Geez, that guy has got to have friends in high places, or he made a deal with people in low places. The camera finally figures out where the Snipe is, she's on a roof watching Felix the cat and Dumbo on steroids fight over who is more important to Disney. Eh, all we had was old 2D films back in the Desert, sue me.

The snipe hopped off the building onto the concrete and took off sideways. No idea where Rax is, the cameras lost track. Back to the duel, Stroller was still using the shield and that trunk-blade, they were sparring next to yet another warehouse. The Snipe ran up from the open side and started firing wildly at the tank. What?! The sniper was pulling a Toros! It didn't dent Stroller but he backed up a bit. Then all of a sudden there was a grey Blade Liger on the back of the Elephander, riding it like a dog in heat.

The entire bar is watching, and laughing. Rax had jumped off a roof onto its back, the shields powerless. And now it was stomping around trying to shake it off. Six guys started taking pictures, a Liger mounting the scariest zoid in the ZBC, perfect! He was ramming it into a wall, trying to shake off Rax, and it was braking the ears off the thing. And what was the Judge doing? Laughing his cocky little aluminum ass off. All of a sudden there was a notice saying Stroller had conceded. Why? Did the Backdraft not want this getting out? Or was Team Reckless blackmailing Stroller into giving up or everybody would see his zoid being taken advantage of by a Liger? Dear god. . . .

Yeah, we used blackmail. The Elephander is unbeatable, but threatening to release hilarious pictures of a guy's zoid in that position is just. . . well, you see, deep in the recesses of my mind is a hamster asleep in his little plastic ball. Well, when I saw Rax turning the Elephander into a cheap date that little hamster turned over in his sleep, making the ball move.

Technically, this isn't a formal battle. We still have to fight a bit before getting into A Class, this was just something Guy cooked up. Guy's partner let us in on exactly why he wanted to manage a team. Well, he wanted to use us for advertising. And he also enjoys gambling to the point that when the Backdraft see him walking down the street they tell the accountant to clear up some room in the vault. But hey, it was a seven on three, triple prize money. Plus a lovely picture to put over our mantle, with the caption 'Having a bad day?' Geez, Sue has really had a negative influence on me. Ten minutes after leaving the scene of the crime we were sitting in the kitchen in our pilot suits discussing the formal matters of post-battle reflection.

". . . and then he started BEGGING us not to take a picture!"

. . . hey, I learned soda can come out your nose. Sue was pounding the counter and trying to catch her breath.

"God, god. . . I'm keeping a camera in the Snipe from now on."

Rax and I, also laughing even though I barely got it.

"Whew. . . to think if we lost he would have taken our zoids. . ."

The intercom buzzed. The heck? We were all in the same room! I blinked and pressed it, and heard my own voice coming out of the speaker.

". . . why does the Liger get to do photo ops? I mean, could you have even taken a picture with me laughing my tail off at him off to the side?"

Sue checked the back of her camera.

"Yeah. . . got you in three different phases of laughing. . ."

"Thank, you. . ."

And he buzzed out. Don't ask where he learned to use the intercom. So, how did having Psy around change our lives? How are we reacting? Well, it's pretty easy. Psy just hangs out in the Hanger watching movies; somehow, I honestly don't want to know. He's pretty handy in battles, and in casual conversation. And he keeps to himself most of the time, so we don't have to listen to his cocky remarks all night long. If he would only stop chasing Rax around saying he ate people, we'd be fine. Rax was currently shivering under the counter hearing the digi-mix of my voice through the speaker. He got over it pretty fast, Rax ain't the brooding intellectual type.

"So, any plans for our shares?"

I shook my head.

"Nah, no major upgrades we need."

Rax walked off to his room, probably going to play a screen game.

". . . what does Rax do with his shares, anyway?"

Sue shrugged.

". . . how about we send him off with some creds and see what he comes back with?"

". . . What, like seeing if he brings back a bunch of girls, or a cool looking rock or something?"

". . . yep."

"Give him a hundred and drop him off in the city for an hour."

So we sent him off in that near-empty city with a hundred creds in his pocket. And Sue and I were left alone to our own doings.

". . . Trey, you touch any of my figure again, you're dead."

. . .we were playing chess. . . her figure meant her little line of pawns. Thankfully I was too innocent to get innuendo. Now, I wasn't the big dumb idiot. I was more of the farm boy who's never seen a motel room before.

"Fine, I won't. . ."

Next game, I check-mate her without even touching one of her black pawns. Eh, did I mention Max taught me a bit about chess?

". . . can we do something else?"

I shrugged and packed up the chess set from my old duffel bag.

"Like what? Rax ain't gonna find his way back for a while."

". . . eh, I have some suggestions for the good of the team?"

"Shoot."

I spent the next hour modifying our zoid consoles. Sue had an idea that would make everything easier, a program that picked who would do the battles where only one person was needed. Basically, it was rock paper scissors except holographic and with cool sound effects. I also installed a few simple games to keep the other two buys. Cards, puzzles, move a ball between two paddles, a full-length action-based roleplayer with online and offline multi, and this little web game where you maneuvered a Liger onto the back of the Elephander. Hey, the web-geeks were making games about us. It's a good sign. I was starting out on the 'RP' something and making a character when Sue walked in and said Rax was back. He had invested his hundred into what looked like a collection of zoid models. About six hundred little zoid replicas. Dear god, that guy is messed up.

I got an email from Max. Geez, do we ever have a battle that guy doesn't see? Another review of how our plans worked, some comments on the zoids, questions about Psy, questions about the rumors about us.

No, Sue and I are not an item, no, Rax and Sue aren't an item. Can my zoid talk? Who cares! Is Sue dating my zoid? Actually, I never asked.

Author's Notes

Sorry for the delay, the next chap will be up by Friday. No, there are no pairrings going on. Thanks for the reviews. And if anyone is offended by my disgracing that ugly elephant, well, go talk to Rax. He'll actually give a care. Then again, he also cares about sparkly objects and cup holders.And as for the people wondering if Psy is an Ultimate X, an Ultimate X is just a fancy title for arrogant zoids.