DISCLAIMER: I don't own ZOIDS!
AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and who proved to me that spending a
little extra time on things evoke more positive responses! On a side note,
the original title of this fic was 'Why didn't you kill me when you had the
chance, fool?' but it didn't quite fit. Ah well, enjoy!
Chapter 2: What do you mean you're leaving?!
He yawned, then grimaced as his back creaked oddly. Sleeping in a chair was definitely not good for his back, and he realised with a start that it was midmorning. Had he slept through the entire afternoon and night? Surely he wasn't that fatigued just from fighting a couple of amateur pilots. In fact, he couldn't even recall feeling drowsy, or falling asleep in the first place. The last he remembered, he was sitting in this chair, bored. Copying the gesture to try and help him remember, Van winced when his hand struck a bruise shaped suspiciously like the corner of the table. He stood up, scowling, then sat down heavily on the bed, which felt quite warm...
Cursing, Van stumbled from the bed, tripping over the chair in the process and smacking his bruised cheek into the closed and locked door. 'Okay, now I know someone's been here.' A swift kick broke the lock and he flung the door open, ran out and down the stairs. Outside, he yanked on his boots and listened. The sound of a nearby Zoid was still audible, but it was too light to be the Geno Breaker or his Liger. He scanned the forest, and picked out a path different from the one he'd traveled on previously. Tearing down it, he grinned as the noise became louder. Zoids obviously had more difficulty moving through the forest; otherwise, he'd never have gained on it.
"Hey! Wait up!"
The Zoid -a Gunsniper- turned resignedly to look at him. He could vaguely see a female form with short hair in the cockpit, and concluded that it was Ryss. 'Explains why I fell asleep so suddenly,' he scowled, sending more mental abuse he hoped the Zoidian was listening to while stopping before the Gunsniper. The hatch opened, and Ryss jumped out, landing with a feline composure Fiona had never possessed while exiting a Zoid. Actually, Fiona had generally fallen out of the cockpit, or else spent quite a while on the ladders set especially for her, attended on both sides by several male pilots.
"You should still be asleep. That spell was programmed to keep you unconscious and off my back for at least twenty-four hours," Ryss explained peevishly, not apologising for her manipulation. "Though I should have known better than to assume when Van Flyheight is involved." "Why put me to sleep? You should have been able to figure out my intentions." "Yes, but as I said, one cannot assume with you. I didn't know if you were really clueless, or just acting. I don't believe someone who can best Raven in a zoid battle can be completely stupid, and if you're just acting..." She shrugged.
"Ryss, you're the only one who can help me find Raven." Blue bangs flew as she shook her head in frustration. "Believe me, if I could find that bloody hermit" Van coughed discretely at her usage of his term "I would be with him right now. I thought he'd be here, but now I don't know where the hell he is." "Where is 'here' exactly?" Surprise showed upon her face. "You mean you don't know? This is Raven's old house." "Raven and I aren't exactly best buddies," he pointed out wryly in response to her question. "He hates me."
Ryss pursed her lips, as though debating something of importance. "Maybe he doesn't hate you as much as he claims. I pray that be the case, because I am out of options." "Huh? What do you-" "I need to tell him something very important. Normally we're content to just bump into each other occasionally -Zoideve knows we'd tear each other apart otherwise- but this can't wait." "You're pregnant?" suggested Van, receiving a thoroughly venomous glare. "That's classified information. No. Take a look at this."
She handed him a innocent little book, opened at the first page. Bright orange words jumped out at him from a blue background. He frowned and read the introduction aloud. "'The adventures of Van Flihite, the champion pilot who single-handedly destroyed both the original and the Ultimate Deathsaurer continue, as he continues to hunt down his sworn enemy, the evil, malicious Raevin and his sneaky crony Shadow, to stop them from destroying the whole world. Armed with the all powerful Blaede Liga, he and his pal Zeque will fight against Raevin's Genoebraeka....' What the hell is this? And what's with the spelling?" the famous pilot demanded, face going both red with embarrassment and blue with horror, resulting in a particularly gruesome shade of mauve.
"Oh, the original names weren't... exotic enough, or something. This is the official Van Flihite manga series that has taken the world by storm, and has earned the Guardian Force a ton of money." "How much?" "40 million dollars for the copyright, and 30% royalties. "Shit," he breathed. "40 million dollars could buy an entire army, navy and air force, plus a century's worth ammo, and all the extra parts and pieces you could possibly want. Hell, you could probably buy a Deathsaurer or two with that much cash!" "That would be exactly what they did. Buy an army that is." Ryss frowned, trying to remember the details. "Although some of the money was split between the authority of the Guardian Force, there was still 30 million left for resources. They bought 500 Shield Ligers; those will be the backbone of this army." She noted his disgusted expression. "Propaganda purposes. Then there's 300 Command Wolves, 50 Gojulas, 15 Ultrasaurus, 400 Godos and 400 Guysacks."
The figures took quite a while to sink in. Ryss wondered whether Van was traumatised, when he asked monotonously, "What are they going to do with so many Zoids?" "First on the agenda is capturing Raven. They'll be deploying 50 Shield Ligers, 60 Command Wolves, 100 Godos and 150 Guysacks." "That's quite an army," he mused. "Yes, but the rewards for capturing him will be well worth it." "That's not fair!" "Of course it isn't, Van," replied Ryss cynically. "But life isn't fair and you know that. All you can do is to try and remedy other people's mistakes, or prevent them." "Yes. I have to warn Raven."
She eyed him critically. "You'll have to do much better than that. He has to disappear completely, and as much as he denies it, that guy can be quite attention seeking at times." "Tell me about it." "And don't bother with the 'if you die you won't be able to kill me' argument; he's over that. I think." A shrug. "Though when he declared that he was about 500 miles away from you. It's a long shot." The answering grin scared her. "Long shots are my specialty."
**********
Ryss had abandoned him after handing over a list of places Raven was likely to be, with orders to burn it afterwards. She declared that she had no intention of being caught by the Guardian Force and being coerced into revealing her knowledge of the maverick's possible whereabouts, or of being used as a lure. Van was unimpressed, and questioned her integrity to Raven; she logically retorted that if they split up, they'd have a better chance of finding him. He was positive there was some fatal flaw in her reasoning, but was unable to find it. Thus, he was now alone in the house, and at a dilemma.
"I could wait here a while longer for Raven to come and try to convince him to go into hiding before he kills me, or I could go and look for that jerk while destroying more bandits and stupid jocks who don't know anything about Zoids, then have an even harder time trying to stay alive while trying to convince him. I should naturally choose the first option, but I'll probably be bored to death anyway, then he'll come back and find my rotting body and then add another... no, two more reasons to kill me onto the long list that has Zoideve only knows what on it. Then, he'll probably be so busy plotting that he'll not notice or forget about my note telling him to run away. Then again, he was pretty civil in the fight against the Ultimate Deathsaurer, but only because we were fighting against Hiltz, someone he hated even more than me. Poor bastard, that's quite some achievement. Ow, now I have to stop trying to think like him. My mind can only get so twisted. So back to the initial problem. I think I'll go with the fir-" He cringed when the floorboards creaked spookily. "Um... the latter then."
With more enthusiasm than mere wood should be made to endure, Van stomped down the stairs and out the door, retracing the path from the previous day to find his Liger. Greeting the Zoid happily, he eyed the temperamental Zoid critically, searching for the slightest indication of mistreatment. The armour was brightly polished and flawless, the blades poised. Each gun was fully loaded, and the shiny new plasma cannon practically begged to be tested. Liger watched his pilot fondly, though with poorly-disguised impatience: he was fine, there was no need to stand there and gawk stupidly. He wanted to go now.
Satisfied, he popped open the hatch and climbed into the cockpit, practically wriggling with excitement. Somehow, the novelty of piloting this Zoid had never worn thin, or perhaps it had been thicker for him than most to start with. After all, it wasn't everyone who saw a Zoid form right around them as they waited to be shot to smithereens. Besides, this was the one asset he truly owned; he had no house, business, heirlooms or any other object of value. His Liger was essentially his life.
After plotting the coordinates of the house and cave onto his in-built map, Van set out randomly, humming tunelessly to himself. The storm clouds hadn't quite cleared, but there was no sign of imminent rain either. The weather was stuffy yet cool outside; inside, the climate was very comfortable. He strolled along, enjoying the leisurely pace for a while before breaking into a sprint. Liger liked these impulsive changes from placid to aggressive; they matched the Zoid's playful personality.
Sands whipped past as they ran at breakneck speeds, never in a straight line. Imaginary missiles fired, but Liger dodged them all with ease. They moved fast, faster than even a Lightning Saix could manage, because they were the perfect team. Once, he could not achieve this speed without the aid of the evolved Zeke, but after years of independence, he had done it. If he fought Raven's Genobreaker now, who would win? The ultimate speed/agility combination vs. the ultimate power? 'I forget to factor in our skills as Zoid pilots. Raven is also the ultimately skilled pilot, while I'm the gambler.'
Liger roared at his self-deprecation. It charged even faster, if that were at all possible, and practically burned a trail through the desert. Van forgot his doubts and popped open the hatch to enjoy the artificial winds. They moved so fast now, that sand dared not touch them; moving air particles spun a shield around them to keep away debris. The wind whipped back his hair and clothes, rattling the supplies stored in the back of the cockpit until he pulled the hatch back down with difficulty.
Recalling the list from the inside of his glove, where it had been safely stashed, he looked at the list thoughtfully. A few places he recognised; the others were completely foreign. Opening up the in-built map, he studied it, marking down the places upon the list with special dots. He searched for the ones he was unfamiliar with, hoping they were standard map places; Van could think of nothing worse than spending another two years to find some hidden but abandoned niche in the middle of nowhere.
Of the 32 possible places, he managed to locate 27. He would have to ask the locals about the last 5. Activating a special function, he watched lines join the dots and compared their positioning to the house he'd just left. He also highlighted the area free of bandits, and immediately noticed the relationship between all three. The places upon the list spiraled around the house, and the bandit-free area was contained within their borders. 'I was right after all. Raven was the one keeping all the bandits out of the area. But what for? Pity, irritation... he can move about freely within that town, and trusts the people in it to keep his secrets. Freedom, then? Or something else? Damnit Raven. Why'd you have to be so complicated?'
Saving the marked map on a seperate file and making a back-up, he considered possible routes. Liger shifted uncomfortably; he did not like standing around. As Van slid the paper back into his glove, Liger's ears pricked up at the distant sound of shifting rock, something his pilot could not hear. Experience told the Zoid that the noise was unnatural, and a buried memory suggested ambush in a chasm. He ran, confusing his pilot with the uninstructed movement, though the young man was willing to let it slide. Sand once again flew beneath his paws.
**********
"Whoa." They skid to a halt to look over the edge of a sheer but low cliff into a chasm. He checked his map, having lost track of their location: they were 20 miles away from the house. He rechecked the map, and read the useful information also available. The valley at the bottom was useless as an ecosystem; nothing but rock and sand cared to grow in such a place. Yet... he could detect slight movement. Several slight movements. Changing the focus of Liger's vision, Van could barely see figures hiding in the shade, and metal emerging from rock.
Bang! Crack! Several Zoids suddenly appeared: two Command Wolves, a Dark Horn, and a Guysack. The first three surrounded the figures, meanly brandishing the vicious guns and blades that had been attached while the Guysack stayed behind. 'Bandits, in all probability.' Logically, he should have charged right in to drive off the bandits, but he instinctively stayed his hand. Moments later, separate blasts pierced the two Command Wolves. The Zoids turned grey; they'd been shot through the Zoid Core. Van watched as one missile -remarkedly blue in colour- arced up, then turned back to plummet through the Guysack, while a third shot penetrated the Dark Horn.
'Clinical.' The owners of the dead Zoids climbed out, holding guns and knives. Two advanced into the shadows with their knives, but flew back out mere moments later. The others fired their guns, but the bullets rebounded off something, giving off a metallic chime just audible from the cliff. A dark shape barreled into the men, knocking both unconscious. It seemed about to attack, but paused as though listening. The shape haughtily withdrew, and he saw the figures continue in their initial directions.
"Hey, wait!" Liger jumped, smoothly diving at the figures. He thought he saw the taller one turn, and the silver of a very large gun gave him a single warning before the missile fired. Though Van quickly dodged midair, the projectile still only missed by a foot or so. The Liger landed awkwardly upon the opposite cliff face and skidded, fighting for a grip before they both tumbled off.
In the short interval it took to regain balance, the figures had disappeared. Van shuddered; he had no doubt that had the figure meant to hit him, Liger would not have been able to merely dodge. He would have had to throw up the shield to escape damage from the attack, something he hadn't done for ...a very long while. Sure, he used the shield to boost his Zoid's proficiency as a battering ram, and liked to intimidate young pilots with it, or used it when he was bored of dodging... but, need it?
"Come back here Raven!"
Chapter 2: What do you mean you're leaving?!
He yawned, then grimaced as his back creaked oddly. Sleeping in a chair was definitely not good for his back, and he realised with a start that it was midmorning. Had he slept through the entire afternoon and night? Surely he wasn't that fatigued just from fighting a couple of amateur pilots. In fact, he couldn't even recall feeling drowsy, or falling asleep in the first place. The last he remembered, he was sitting in this chair, bored. Copying the gesture to try and help him remember, Van winced when his hand struck a bruise shaped suspiciously like the corner of the table. He stood up, scowling, then sat down heavily on the bed, which felt quite warm...
Cursing, Van stumbled from the bed, tripping over the chair in the process and smacking his bruised cheek into the closed and locked door. 'Okay, now I know someone's been here.' A swift kick broke the lock and he flung the door open, ran out and down the stairs. Outside, he yanked on his boots and listened. The sound of a nearby Zoid was still audible, but it was too light to be the Geno Breaker or his Liger. He scanned the forest, and picked out a path different from the one he'd traveled on previously. Tearing down it, he grinned as the noise became louder. Zoids obviously had more difficulty moving through the forest; otherwise, he'd never have gained on it.
"Hey! Wait up!"
The Zoid -a Gunsniper- turned resignedly to look at him. He could vaguely see a female form with short hair in the cockpit, and concluded that it was Ryss. 'Explains why I fell asleep so suddenly,' he scowled, sending more mental abuse he hoped the Zoidian was listening to while stopping before the Gunsniper. The hatch opened, and Ryss jumped out, landing with a feline composure Fiona had never possessed while exiting a Zoid. Actually, Fiona had generally fallen out of the cockpit, or else spent quite a while on the ladders set especially for her, attended on both sides by several male pilots.
"You should still be asleep. That spell was programmed to keep you unconscious and off my back for at least twenty-four hours," Ryss explained peevishly, not apologising for her manipulation. "Though I should have known better than to assume when Van Flyheight is involved." "Why put me to sleep? You should have been able to figure out my intentions." "Yes, but as I said, one cannot assume with you. I didn't know if you were really clueless, or just acting. I don't believe someone who can best Raven in a zoid battle can be completely stupid, and if you're just acting..." She shrugged.
"Ryss, you're the only one who can help me find Raven." Blue bangs flew as she shook her head in frustration. "Believe me, if I could find that bloody hermit" Van coughed discretely at her usage of his term "I would be with him right now. I thought he'd be here, but now I don't know where the hell he is." "Where is 'here' exactly?" Surprise showed upon her face. "You mean you don't know? This is Raven's old house." "Raven and I aren't exactly best buddies," he pointed out wryly in response to her question. "He hates me."
Ryss pursed her lips, as though debating something of importance. "Maybe he doesn't hate you as much as he claims. I pray that be the case, because I am out of options." "Huh? What do you-" "I need to tell him something very important. Normally we're content to just bump into each other occasionally -Zoideve knows we'd tear each other apart otherwise- but this can't wait." "You're pregnant?" suggested Van, receiving a thoroughly venomous glare. "That's classified information. No. Take a look at this."
She handed him a innocent little book, opened at the first page. Bright orange words jumped out at him from a blue background. He frowned and read the introduction aloud. "'The adventures of Van Flihite, the champion pilot who single-handedly destroyed both the original and the Ultimate Deathsaurer continue, as he continues to hunt down his sworn enemy, the evil, malicious Raevin and his sneaky crony Shadow, to stop them from destroying the whole world. Armed with the all powerful Blaede Liga, he and his pal Zeque will fight against Raevin's Genoebraeka....' What the hell is this? And what's with the spelling?" the famous pilot demanded, face going both red with embarrassment and blue with horror, resulting in a particularly gruesome shade of mauve.
"Oh, the original names weren't... exotic enough, or something. This is the official Van Flihite manga series that has taken the world by storm, and has earned the Guardian Force a ton of money." "How much?" "40 million dollars for the copyright, and 30% royalties. "Shit," he breathed. "40 million dollars could buy an entire army, navy and air force, plus a century's worth ammo, and all the extra parts and pieces you could possibly want. Hell, you could probably buy a Deathsaurer or two with that much cash!" "That would be exactly what they did. Buy an army that is." Ryss frowned, trying to remember the details. "Although some of the money was split between the authority of the Guardian Force, there was still 30 million left for resources. They bought 500 Shield Ligers; those will be the backbone of this army." She noted his disgusted expression. "Propaganda purposes. Then there's 300 Command Wolves, 50 Gojulas, 15 Ultrasaurus, 400 Godos and 400 Guysacks."
The figures took quite a while to sink in. Ryss wondered whether Van was traumatised, when he asked monotonously, "What are they going to do with so many Zoids?" "First on the agenda is capturing Raven. They'll be deploying 50 Shield Ligers, 60 Command Wolves, 100 Godos and 150 Guysacks." "That's quite an army," he mused. "Yes, but the rewards for capturing him will be well worth it." "That's not fair!" "Of course it isn't, Van," replied Ryss cynically. "But life isn't fair and you know that. All you can do is to try and remedy other people's mistakes, or prevent them." "Yes. I have to warn Raven."
She eyed him critically. "You'll have to do much better than that. He has to disappear completely, and as much as he denies it, that guy can be quite attention seeking at times." "Tell me about it." "And don't bother with the 'if you die you won't be able to kill me' argument; he's over that. I think." A shrug. "Though when he declared that he was about 500 miles away from you. It's a long shot." The answering grin scared her. "Long shots are my specialty."
**********
Ryss had abandoned him after handing over a list of places Raven was likely to be, with orders to burn it afterwards. She declared that she had no intention of being caught by the Guardian Force and being coerced into revealing her knowledge of the maverick's possible whereabouts, or of being used as a lure. Van was unimpressed, and questioned her integrity to Raven; she logically retorted that if they split up, they'd have a better chance of finding him. He was positive there was some fatal flaw in her reasoning, but was unable to find it. Thus, he was now alone in the house, and at a dilemma.
"I could wait here a while longer for Raven to come and try to convince him to go into hiding before he kills me, or I could go and look for that jerk while destroying more bandits and stupid jocks who don't know anything about Zoids, then have an even harder time trying to stay alive while trying to convince him. I should naturally choose the first option, but I'll probably be bored to death anyway, then he'll come back and find my rotting body and then add another... no, two more reasons to kill me onto the long list that has Zoideve only knows what on it. Then, he'll probably be so busy plotting that he'll not notice or forget about my note telling him to run away. Then again, he was pretty civil in the fight against the Ultimate Deathsaurer, but only because we were fighting against Hiltz, someone he hated even more than me. Poor bastard, that's quite some achievement. Ow, now I have to stop trying to think like him. My mind can only get so twisted. So back to the initial problem. I think I'll go with the fir-" He cringed when the floorboards creaked spookily. "Um... the latter then."
With more enthusiasm than mere wood should be made to endure, Van stomped down the stairs and out the door, retracing the path from the previous day to find his Liger. Greeting the Zoid happily, he eyed the temperamental Zoid critically, searching for the slightest indication of mistreatment. The armour was brightly polished and flawless, the blades poised. Each gun was fully loaded, and the shiny new plasma cannon practically begged to be tested. Liger watched his pilot fondly, though with poorly-disguised impatience: he was fine, there was no need to stand there and gawk stupidly. He wanted to go now.
Satisfied, he popped open the hatch and climbed into the cockpit, practically wriggling with excitement. Somehow, the novelty of piloting this Zoid had never worn thin, or perhaps it had been thicker for him than most to start with. After all, it wasn't everyone who saw a Zoid form right around them as they waited to be shot to smithereens. Besides, this was the one asset he truly owned; he had no house, business, heirlooms or any other object of value. His Liger was essentially his life.
After plotting the coordinates of the house and cave onto his in-built map, Van set out randomly, humming tunelessly to himself. The storm clouds hadn't quite cleared, but there was no sign of imminent rain either. The weather was stuffy yet cool outside; inside, the climate was very comfortable. He strolled along, enjoying the leisurely pace for a while before breaking into a sprint. Liger liked these impulsive changes from placid to aggressive; they matched the Zoid's playful personality.
Sands whipped past as they ran at breakneck speeds, never in a straight line. Imaginary missiles fired, but Liger dodged them all with ease. They moved fast, faster than even a Lightning Saix could manage, because they were the perfect team. Once, he could not achieve this speed without the aid of the evolved Zeke, but after years of independence, he had done it. If he fought Raven's Genobreaker now, who would win? The ultimate speed/agility combination vs. the ultimate power? 'I forget to factor in our skills as Zoid pilots. Raven is also the ultimately skilled pilot, while I'm the gambler.'
Liger roared at his self-deprecation. It charged even faster, if that were at all possible, and practically burned a trail through the desert. Van forgot his doubts and popped open the hatch to enjoy the artificial winds. They moved so fast now, that sand dared not touch them; moving air particles spun a shield around them to keep away debris. The wind whipped back his hair and clothes, rattling the supplies stored in the back of the cockpit until he pulled the hatch back down with difficulty.
Recalling the list from the inside of his glove, where it had been safely stashed, he looked at the list thoughtfully. A few places he recognised; the others were completely foreign. Opening up the in-built map, he studied it, marking down the places upon the list with special dots. He searched for the ones he was unfamiliar with, hoping they were standard map places; Van could think of nothing worse than spending another two years to find some hidden but abandoned niche in the middle of nowhere.
Of the 32 possible places, he managed to locate 27. He would have to ask the locals about the last 5. Activating a special function, he watched lines join the dots and compared their positioning to the house he'd just left. He also highlighted the area free of bandits, and immediately noticed the relationship between all three. The places upon the list spiraled around the house, and the bandit-free area was contained within their borders. 'I was right after all. Raven was the one keeping all the bandits out of the area. But what for? Pity, irritation... he can move about freely within that town, and trusts the people in it to keep his secrets. Freedom, then? Or something else? Damnit Raven. Why'd you have to be so complicated?'
Saving the marked map on a seperate file and making a back-up, he considered possible routes. Liger shifted uncomfortably; he did not like standing around. As Van slid the paper back into his glove, Liger's ears pricked up at the distant sound of shifting rock, something his pilot could not hear. Experience told the Zoid that the noise was unnatural, and a buried memory suggested ambush in a chasm. He ran, confusing his pilot with the uninstructed movement, though the young man was willing to let it slide. Sand once again flew beneath his paws.
**********
"Whoa." They skid to a halt to look over the edge of a sheer but low cliff into a chasm. He checked his map, having lost track of their location: they were 20 miles away from the house. He rechecked the map, and read the useful information also available. The valley at the bottom was useless as an ecosystem; nothing but rock and sand cared to grow in such a place. Yet... he could detect slight movement. Several slight movements. Changing the focus of Liger's vision, Van could barely see figures hiding in the shade, and metal emerging from rock.
Bang! Crack! Several Zoids suddenly appeared: two Command Wolves, a Dark Horn, and a Guysack. The first three surrounded the figures, meanly brandishing the vicious guns and blades that had been attached while the Guysack stayed behind. 'Bandits, in all probability.' Logically, he should have charged right in to drive off the bandits, but he instinctively stayed his hand. Moments later, separate blasts pierced the two Command Wolves. The Zoids turned grey; they'd been shot through the Zoid Core. Van watched as one missile -remarkedly blue in colour- arced up, then turned back to plummet through the Guysack, while a third shot penetrated the Dark Horn.
'Clinical.' The owners of the dead Zoids climbed out, holding guns and knives. Two advanced into the shadows with their knives, but flew back out mere moments later. The others fired their guns, but the bullets rebounded off something, giving off a metallic chime just audible from the cliff. A dark shape barreled into the men, knocking both unconscious. It seemed about to attack, but paused as though listening. The shape haughtily withdrew, and he saw the figures continue in their initial directions.
"Hey, wait!" Liger jumped, smoothly diving at the figures. He thought he saw the taller one turn, and the silver of a very large gun gave him a single warning before the missile fired. Though Van quickly dodged midair, the projectile still only missed by a foot or so. The Liger landed awkwardly upon the opposite cliff face and skidded, fighting for a grip before they both tumbled off.
In the short interval it took to regain balance, the figures had disappeared. Van shuddered; he had no doubt that had the figure meant to hit him, Liger would not have been able to merely dodge. He would have had to throw up the shield to escape damage from the attack, something he hadn't done for ...a very long while. Sure, he used the shield to boost his Zoid's proficiency as a battering ram, and liked to intimidate young pilots with it, or used it when he was bored of dodging... but, need it?
"Come back here Raven!"