". . . so the Snipe won't evolve. . ."

Sue and I were sitting in that same pool hall, she had just learned everything I was willing to tell.

"It takes after the owner, apparently. . ."

She glared, but it was true, Geno or bust.

". . . so how did Psy trick the Liger into going through puberty?"

". . . psychology. You notice that for some reason, Psy kept talking about evolution?"

She nodded to herself.

"And the Liger got jealous. . ."

Bingo, I nodded. I left the money we owed for the check on the table and we walked back to the Pier, where the Whale was floating. In the living room we talked a bit more about this whole Eve scenario. Then she invited me into her room for something I didn't expect.

. . . she was trying to set me up with her friend.

"She is REALLY nice, I'm telling you!"

". . . then why aren't you going out with her?"

As you can see, I was a bit reluctant.

". . . I don't like blondes, but seriously, one date."

"I really don't think. . ."

". . . or else we won't let you battle tomorrow, Psy can handle himself. . ."

"You. . . sick. . . bit. . ch"

I said this while holding a dramatic pose with my finger shakily pointed at her nose. She shrugged.

". . . thanks."

Yep, I was going on a date.

Now, once again, our little friend in the bar. He had to work late, sorry. How about some one just as good, some guy in a hat. He walks in, turns on a blank screen and watched the battle in private, easier to pay attention. The Judge touches down, yadda yadda yadda, and the teams walk up. There's the usual close camera of the Saix, then all of a sudden every, single camera is on Rax. That. . . zoid. . . about every person in the bar is looking. Is that even a Liger?! The blades. . . god, the blades. . . soon everyone knows what it is, then they look at the Mona Lisa-level street art. Is that the Blade he's had since he joined the team? Dear god, another reason to buy a Shield Liger cheap.

But back to the battle, the other team is three Saixes. I'm serious. No, I'm serious. They call themselves Team Thunder, a Lightning Team wannabe. There's a few groans at the sight of the Reckless Snipe, why haven't they gotten another mutant to complete the set? The Judge buzzes the battle on, and Team Thunder takes off in different directions. Then falls flat on their heads as their guns are shot off by the 'plain' Snipe Master. Then the 'not so plain' Saix flashes by each of them so fast the cameras can't catch it. Then the new Liger pounces each one in one sprint, landing in a cloud of dust as if to be dramatic. Um. . . it didn't do anything! He's just standing there posing! Wait. . . their heads fell off. The Judge actually starts laughing. . .then buzzes the battle to Reckless. But something is new. A window pops up on every screen showing the battle.

'Team Reckless has completed the Minimal Trial in Class C Section of the Zoid Battle Commission. Please vote now for action to be taken.'

Two web addresses popped up. One will vote yes, the other no. Soon a graph popped up and in eight seconds the left side of the screen stacked to the top, the blue bar next to it staying at zero. Our little friend in the hat also voted for Reckless to go to A Class. We were officially in the leather.

But about the guy in the hat. . . um. . . it was kind of yours truly. You see, that thing about dating Sue's friend. . . I saw a picture of her. That was Psy himself out tearing up those little Saixes, I had been in the ol' tavern watching. Funny thing, as I voted to go to A Class some guy tapped me on the shoulder.

"Ain't you. . ."

I looked at him from under my hat brim.

". . . more or less."

He just nodded to himself slowly, probably confused to the point he can't remember whether he married that one woman or if they're just friends. I paid for the screen use and walked out to the Pier, I had an hour before they'd get back from the Desert. Note to self, I hate missing battles.

I took my time walking the nine blocks. I had on my 'casual' outfit. Semi-nice jacket, plain shirt and jeans, and the old hat with new sunglasses on the brim. The fashion trend this side of town, the exact same outfit I had on. Only in all-black or bright colors. What was it called again. . . the Reckless Movement? It's weird they misspell it with an R just like we do. Hey, I was still just a tad idiotic.

I saw a few preteen girls wearing sunglasses. It was cloudy, overcast, and getting ready to rain. Just what this planet needs, Sue the Role Model. How the heck did a C Class team get this kind of coverage? Was it because this was our supposed home town? None of us exactly loved Vigilian. I mean, it was warm, cheap economy, and had a nice waterfront but the housing was a bit pricey and everybody had bad taste in celebrities. People kept complaining how the Sectors got won by some lousy bastard from that dump out in the desert.

Ah, the desert dump. My home country. Yeah, I just found out it's a separate country. Barely as big as a city, but it's registered as a country for fugitives to go in and never come back. Like my biological parents, those two freaks who liked to bash me up every day. I still have no clue why Max built a house out there, was it quiet? He didn't have any rap sheet, not even a bad rep in the bars. Oh yeah. . . that whole Zoid Eve using us as finger puppets thing.

I really should visit Max. I haven't seen him in nearly six months. The last time we talked was when he told me to take the Saix and run. I'm pretty sure Psy can't write emails, so he hasn't seen his Saix either. They probably have a few things to discuss. Didn't Max mention an Ultimate X he had his eye on? HA! Wait. . . he actually said that didn't he. . . meh, I'll ask Psy to ask the Gal Upstairs. While I was scrambling around in the attic of my head I had walked all the way to the pier and was had ten minutes before the Whale would land. Geez, is this what not being a zoid pilot is like?

Maybe I should give in and go on a date with Sue's cross-eyed, albino friend with the overbite. With the little schizophrenia quirk. Sue had assured me she was very nice, after three forced pills and a round of drinks. If Zoid Eve thought I was so important, why can't she have it rain super models on my head? I don't need much, just a light drizzle of stereotypical shallow women to drop down from the sky without the whole physics thing breaking their legs from the drop. For the last freakin' time, I'm not drunk.

The giant fish-mammal robot landed on time, I jumped into the mouth ramp and got lost for twenty minutes trying to find the section of rooms we lived in. And this thing was half-size, imagine a full-size Whale King. I walked into the Pad to see Rax and Sue staring at a screen.

". . . anything good on?"

They just pointed, I took a seat next to them. They were watching ten guys in robes talk at a round table.

". . . is this that movie where the blonde. . ."

". . . they're discussing our Class Promotion. . ."

. . . wince when can Rax pronounce-HOLY!

". . . oh. . ."

I pushed them both slightly to the side. So, the voting thing was just a statistic? I heard about a council, just never thought into it.

'Well, they would draw in marketing audiences but they can't turn into a sideshow'

'Technically, one of them used to be a sideshow pilot'

. . . These guys looked really similar. Same hair style and robe. Was this a public channel or did Sue hack into it?

'. . . they have filed to sign on a fourth, a new pilot from a Sectors family.'

That's Riz. . .

'Well, if they get promoted what Class would they blend in with?'

Wait. . . we could skip a Class to S Class?!

'. . . give them a while to get their image redone, and we'll see.'

Translation? Heeeeere's . . . Sue

". . . we're in. . . and if we take it up a notch we'll get into S. . ."

The next thing I knew I woke up in our living room with a hangover. Sue was next to me, and Rax was dozing on the table. What the. . . I shoved sue off and looked out the window, it was morning?! I check the date on a screen and saw some headlines off to the side.

'RECKLESS MAKE IT, PILOTS SEEN LIVING IT UP'

Ohhhhh. . . we were drunk. . . that explains a lot. . . I read my messages until Sue woke up.

". . . did we kill anyone?"

I shook my head while tapping the screen.

"Don't think so, may have trashed some public property. . ."

She seemed relieved.

"Whew. . ."

Ten minutes later six girls walked out of Rax's room and out the door. Don't, ask. . .

The zoids seemed fine, Psy eagerly told me the details on the battle I missed. Then he asked what the heck happened last night, we kept buzzing the intercom and asking him to do a beer run.

"I mean, you're asking a freakin' zoid to buy beer. . ."

". . . did ya get us any?"

"Yeah, three cases."

"Good Kitty."

Max sent me three emails. We got a week before we even get the paperwork for A Class. I'm thinking take a quick trip down South. 'Bout time Max got a look at Team Reckless.

Author's Notes

Eh. . . they won't do this all the time. They work hard enough, they should be able to play hard. Give it a while before Eve does anything about the Snipe. And Trey was just a tad out of it this chapter, don't judge him. We all try alcohol for the first time eventually.