Happy fourth of July! Yeah, I know it's been…seven months and all, am I'm sorry for that. I got pretty caught up writing my newest original story, and I received some good advice recently about becoming published. Books don't sell as well as they used to, but there's a definite increase in manga sales. I'm gonna try to find someone who'll draw me one of my stories in manga style. That or I'll try to learn how to draw (I literally can't draw worth crap though…) I think I'll try really hard to do that, since that's how I originally saw all of my stories. I wanted them to be anime :)

Okay, anyway, I forgot if I mentioned how many more chapters there were or not, so whatever number I said…forget it, cause I don't know if that'll be the right one or not.

(…) indicate a zoid speaking, since I can't use the carrots anymore… :(

I'm sorry if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes. I didn't check this before posting :P Oh well…and it may be a little...um...short of a chapter.

Here you go! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids.

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Josh tried to get up, to move from his spot in the corner of his prison cell, but it was impossible. His body had suffered far too much. It was too broken, harboring far too many injuries. When he twisted a little too far, his hand shot up to cover his side, his broken ribs once again stabbing at him. He couldn't take the pain. He was helpless to watch as the door to his cell was open and the leader of this Backdraft faction stepped in. He hadn't been trying to move to escape though. His enemy was moving towards Maria, and before he could even call out to her, to tell her to run, the taller man reached out and grabbed her, locking his arm around her upper shoulders, close to her throat.

Maria began to struggle, to try and squirm out of his grasp, but it was just no use. He was far stronger than she was, and every attempt she made to try and hit him or kick back at him, he'd place more pressure against her throat, rendering her helpless. There was nothing they could do to get out of this situation, and that man knew it. The confident smirk on his face was really starting to irritate Josh.

"Kain," he called, drawing the man's attention. "Let her go."

"You're in no position to make demands," Kain stated, his smirk still intact. He was truly enjoying this. "Besides, I specifically told her not to visit you, and she disobeyed me. She'll have to be punished."

"Damn you." He tried yet again to get up, this time working past the first signs of pain. However, his wounds soon overwhelmed him, and he fell to the cold floor in pain. He could feel the darkness pulling at his eyes, begging him to rest. He raised them to Kain, an angry scowl on his face, one that threatened the man's life. The commander only laughed though, taking pleasure in the hatred he had brought about.

"Do you hate me, Josh?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Good. Despise me for all I care. You're never leaving here alive anyway, so I could care less. I will keep you alive long enough though…for that sister of yours to attempt a rescue."

"What?" he asked, his anger fading, replaced by shock. Was it true? Was Star trying to save him? That idiot. If she comes, they'll just use her. She should just leave me here. Why won't she just let me die?

"Pathetic," Kain stated. "You're no fun. However, the next time we meet, you will tell us what we want to know. If you don't, all of the pain you would usually feel…will be directed to this incompetent little girl."

By now Maria had tears running down her cheeks. She had given up struggling, realizing that it wasn't getting her anywhere. Nothing she tried was going to loosen his grasp. She was nothing compared to him. He was far swifter, far stronger. He wasn't their leader for nothing, and despite their longtime companionship, he didn't seem to care at all about her life. He would probably kill her himself soon anyway. She was sure of it. She had broken the rules. She had aided the enemy.

"I'll be taking my leave now," he said as he turned towards the door. "I'll give you some time to think. A spy like you should have known better than to get attached. If only you hadn't been so emotional…you probably wouldn't have gotten caught. The ZBC should have known better than to send out children for such an important job."

He closed the door behind him, leaving Josh alone in his cell. The looming darkness behind his eyes was still there, begging his weary mind and body to take a break. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and Kain's visit had just made it all so much worse. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't have any more options left. Everything was truly falling apart. They had come so far, and now thanks to him the Backdraft was going to get exactly what they wanted. If only I had been stronger… Star…don't come. Please…just stay away. Before he could even move another inch, his eyes closed and he fell into unconsciousness, praying against all odds that his sister didn't come for him. Her presence would only cause more problems. She was the Backdraft's target, after all.

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The members of the Blitz team all stood in the huge hanger at the ZBC headquarters. They were all waiting around, watching as the last finishing touches were put on all of their zoids. The ZBC had restocked their ammo and had made sure that everything was in perfect working order. After all, there was no room for mistakes. Their operation had to be carried out perfectly. Their goal was to get Josh out alive. That was going to be the hardest part. Only Star knew her way around the base, so they were relying solely on her.

"Hey Leon," called Bit, drawing Leon's attention. "You sure you're up to this? You were just released from the hospital…"

"I'll be fine," he assured his friend. Hopefully that was true. The wound had more or less completely closed up. As long as they didn't get into a huge battle, nothing bad would happen. At least that's what he was hoping. All of them were hoping to have an easy time. Fighting the Backdraft now that they were under new rule was far from fun. They missed the old Backdraft, the one that was full of fools more so than combat veterans. So much had changed. Now the Backdraft was full of murders. They didn't want to take over the ZBC, they wanted to completely obliterate it. They wanted every last official dead.

"I'm back!"

They all turned and watched as Star came running up to them. On her back was a backpack of sorts. It seemed pretty full. Of what, they didn't know.

"What's in the bag?" asked Leena.

"Just some stuff we'll need when we infiltrate the base. Have to be prepared for everything." She had such a bright smile on her face, as if this was nothing to her. She had been on plenty of missions, but that was no reason to seem so calm. Her brother's life was on the line. They knew she was aware of that, but nothing about her stated it. "Shall we go? The base is pretty far from here."

"Alright," Bit said as he turned towards the Liger Zero. "Let's get going. The sooner it's over, the better."

"Agreed." The sooner it's over, the sooner I'll get to see Josh. Please be alright, brother. I'm coming.

They all got into their zoids, mobilizing them quickly. With Star in the lead, they all took off, heading out across the dusty desert of Zi. They had a lot of ground to cover, so they had to get as far as they could as quickly as they could. This little mission had to start and end quickly, because with the way the Backdraft treated their traitors, Josh was in a lot of trouble. If they didn't hurry, he'd probably die. They couldn't allow something like that to happen. Star would be devastated. He was the only family she had left.

(This is it, Star) storm said to her as she sat quietly at the console.

"I know."

(How are you feeling?)

"…I'm scared. It's been a long time since I've been there. So much could go wrong. What if they're expecting us? What if we're caught before we even get in? What are we supposed to do?"

(Don't worry about it. Whatever happens happens.)

"I guess…" She glanced down at the locket that hung around her neck, and her eyes began to water. She was so scared right now, so worried about her brother. It was making her sick. She had to save him, no matter what it took. However, she was well aware of what would happen if she was caught. The Backdraft would exploit her power, use it for their own benefit. They would destroy everything she had worked for, the very organization that had raised her. They'd take everything away that was important to her. She couldn't allow that to happen. It would put the lives of her friends in danger.

The entire trip was silent. None of them spoke as they kept their minds focused on the task at hand. After half a day of traveling, they reached it. Before them was the Backdraft's base, the one that Josh was at. This was really it. Their mission was about to begin.

"Remember," began Star. "We're not here to take out the base. We're just trying to get Josh out."

"Um, Star?" began Jamie, a pair of binoculars in front of his eyes. "You might wanna see this."

On her screen, Star brought up a closer image of the base. She could see a slit opening near the small observation tower they had. That tower wasn't there back when I worked here. She zoomed in closer, and what came from the slit wasn't at all what she had been expecting. It was a long range gun, and she watched as it trained its sights right on her zoid. Oh hell no. You've gotta be kidding me! The gun fired, but she had already made the motion to move. Damn! The mission just started and now it's already ruined!

"They know we're here!" she shouted to them. "We've gotta get out of here."

"But…" began Bit. He wasn't exactly protesting to the suggestion. Instead he was motioning towards the hanger doors of the base. Zoids were pouring out from it.

"Looks like they were expecting us," Brad stated, readying the Shadow Fox for combat. Everyone else did the same, preparing to attack. There was no other way. If they didn't fight now, they would just be hounded down. They couldn't escape all of those zoids, especially since there were a few Lightning Saixs with them. This was really it this time. If they couldn't get through this, there was no way they'd be able to save Josh.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Bit. All of them prepared for a charge.

Star sat there at her controls, gripping them tightly. She had to stay focused. It was now or never. It looked like rescuing Josh was going to be impossible unless they took out this Backdraft faction too. It was like killing two birds with one stone. I don't care how many I have to take out. I know we can do this. We'll all make it, and no matter what…I will see my brother again.

"Let's go!" And without a single moment of hesitation, they were off…ready to face their enemy.

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Ah! A short chapter! I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to get something out, and I'm running out of time for my new years update…so I just made a short one. The next chapter'll be really long though. It'll be their entire mission. I promise I'll get it done before the end of the summer. I should be able to manage that at least. Once I'm done with my original story, it'll be easier to update fanfiction.

Okay, well, I'll see ya later!