Chapter 3

ANUBIS, THE DARK JACKAL

Guylos City. Early evening 3 days later...

The Black Dragon Team members had now gotten their first true taste of victory, their parents had seen to that by treating them to dinner at a rather decent bar in Guylos City, the largest city of Nyx. Cooper and James had their own conversation over the louder conversations of the parents. Axel, the only one not accompanied by parents, sat quietly and ate his food, while Shiva toned out the lively conversations around her and sank into her own inner thoughts.

"We won, sure, but that team wasn't really THAT hard. Heck, one of them lost for being a complete idiot." She thought to herself. "I can only hope we run into some more formidable opponents someday."

Her thoughts were cut off upon hearing a crash right behind her. She turned and saw a young man maybe a little older then her pushing a younger man against his table.

"Alright, you little shit, hand over the money you owe my superiors. NOW!" The young man ordered. He was about maybe 5'10 or so, with spiky dark brown hair with some black streaks in it, and eyes that were a light and piercing gray. He wore a black tanktop and loose black pants and boots, and a dark red headband with a picture of a jackal's face in the middle. A long black leather duster with some sort of armor plating on the shoulders that seemed to run around the back was laying over his chair. Not someone to be messed with clearly, as the young man he had down on the table looked absolutely terrified. "Now look what you made me do!" The first man continued. "You made me make a scene. My boss is going to have a hard time covering this and explaining to the managers here, you know." He reached into the pocket of his duster and pulled out what was clearly a switchblade and held it to the younger man's throat. "Namely what I'm about to do to you..."

Shiva had had enough. She could care less about the fighting, but did it have to be done HERE! She got up and had her hand clamped firmly on the man's wrist before he saw her. In surprise, he ended up dropping the switchblade and the younger man scrambled off the table and slipped away. The man in black did not look pleased.

"Stay out of this, pretty-boy, or you're gonna be sorry." The man said in a threatening tone, fooled by Shiva's boyish attire. Shiva glared.

"Oh really?" Shiva said, unimpressed now that she had disarmed him. This guy was clearly tough, but when she was angry, so was she. Soon enough everyone couldn't ignore this conflict anymore and were all watching. Some worried, others seeming pleased to have some excitement occur. Both Shiva and the young man looked ready to punch each other.

"Um, excuse me you two." The bartender said from a far corner, clearly wanting to avoid getting them both angry. "Could you not have a confrontation here? You're disturbing the other customers."

Shiva softened her grip on the young man, who sighed with a hint of annoyance and retrieved his duster from his chair and slid it on. The plating on the back was carved into a flat design of a jackal face as well, with two narrowed red eyes. The young man briefly turned around to glare at Shiva. "Next time..." He said sternly. "I won't be so lenient. Trust me, we'll meet again." He grabbed his switchblade and pocketed it, and stormed out of the restaurant. Realizing she's caused enough of a disturbance for one day, Shiva and the rest of the Team and their parents payed for their meal and left the bar, Shiva wondering who that man was and who would have sent him. Didn't matter really. Another battle was coming in a few days, and it'd be another chance to improve.

2 days later...

The three black Redlers and single Storm Sworder that made up the Black Dragon Team's zoid arsenal waited on the battlefield patiently for their next opponents to show up. Moments later, a Gustav came in towing a Shield Liger, two HellCats, and a Pteras. The four zoids hopped off and got into position.

Seconds later, the Judge Capsule plummeted from the sky and crashed nearby, the capsule rose from the crater and opened, revealing the white Judge inside.

Shiva leaned back and waited for the Judge to finish his speech. With any luck, this would be a team she'd been hoping for last night.

"Area scanned. Battlefield set up! Battle Mode 0982! The Black Dragon Team vs. The Cats Team! Ready..." The poor Judge failed to complete his speech as another capsule smashed right down on him, only this one was black. Shiva snapped to full attention at this unexpected arrival. The capsule opened, and within was a different Judge. Only this one was black with a ridged visor and spikes on its shoulders. The black Judge cackled maniacally.

"I, the Dark Judge declare this battle taken over by the Nyx Division of the Backdraft Group! You, the Black Dragon Team shall now face off against a team of our own!" As he finished, a new group of zoids entered the field, a trio of black Konig Wolves entered, led by a red and black Geno Breaker. The four new zoids immediately opened fire on the Cats Team's zoids, taking them out of the battle, and just for good measure, the Breaker turned toward the Gustav and fired at it relentlessly till it sustained enough damage. Suddenly, the sky seemed to become covered in some sort of digital dome designed like a night sky. The Dark Judge's laughing fit continued at the sight of the destruction as the enemy zoids came to face Shiva's team. "Battle Mode 0999! No rules, you either win or you lose! The Black Dragon Team vs. The Dark Jackal Team! READY! FIGHT!" With that the Breaker took to the air, moving at twice the speed to be expected from such a zoid, clearly the pilot had installed thrusters to increase the zoid's speed. Shiva's Storm Sworder leapt into the air and prepared to face off with it, ordering her men to handle the Konig Wolves as best they can.

The Breaker fired its laser rifles on its sides repeatedly at the Storm Sworder, eventually landing a grazing blow on the zoid's side and left leg, causing its flight pattern to falter a little but not by much. Shiva cursed and swung the Sworder around to get behind the Breaker, only to be snagged by its pincher claw, helpless. The Sworder was fast, but this zoid was much faster. The Breaker finally opened communications, and Shiva was surprised to discover the pilot.

"So, it's you again. Now who's got the upper hand?" The young man from two nights ago said smirking from within the black t-rexlike zoid's cockpit as the Geno Breaker hurled the Storm Sworder clear across the field, sending it skidding across the sand like a rock skipping over water. James and Cooper, who were doing their best against the Konig Wolves, called out to their fallen team leader, but Shiva was too surprised by the assault the Breaker had dished out to reply. The zoid landed in front of the Sworder, the man laughing cruelly. "Consider this a little payback from last night..." with that, he kicked the fallen sworder in the side and spun it further. From his capsule, the Dark Judge laughed in amusement at the ongoing battle.

"Yes! Yes! Fall before the power of the BackDraft!" The deranged robot sneered as Axel's Reddler was swatted out of the sky by a lucky blow from a Konig Wolf. The Dark Judge's mood changed when the Wolf was hit from behind by James and Cooper, taking it out of the battle.

The Breaker kept its attention on Shiva and her fallen Storm Sworder. "By the way..." The young man said. "I don't think I ever properly introduced myself. I'm Anubis, the BackDraft's top mercenary warrior. Mind telling me yours?"

"Shiva..." the girl answered back, badly bruised from the beating her and her zoid had received. Seeing an opening, Shiva tilted the Sworder's head up and turned its forehead to face the Breaker. "And it's a name you won't forget..." Before Anubis could react, the Sworder used the remainder of its strength to fire its forehead spike into the Geno Breaker's leg, incapacitating the black zoid. Shortly after, Shiva stared blankly at the system freeze on her screen.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Anubis cried out in shock as the leg ceased functioning. It would take a lot of repair work to handle this. At the same time, James and Cooper had just managed to bring down the remaining Konig Wolves, and Anubis turned his attention to them as they approached. The young man sneered as his zoid flew back into the air, faced them, and opened its mouth wide.

That Night...

Shiva lay on her bed, bruised and somewhat in a trance. That psycho in the black Geno Breaker toyed with her! He held back plenty of what that zoid was capable of. No questions about it. It was quick enough to grab her Storm Sworder, and was able to fire a full-powered charged particle beam while airborne. The blast hit Cooper head-on, James managed to dodge the attack and fired at the Breaker, but the Zoid's shield prevented any further damage than what Shiva had done, and picked him off with the side guns. The rest of the team got out with just a few bruises here and there, James and Axel's zoids were still in fairly okay shape, but Cooper's would need some work. Shiva knew her Sworder was done for. It had taken a very painful beating that no zoid like hers could ever make it through. She'd need a new one; a better one at that, if she were going to stand a chance. "Or maybe I'm just not strong enough..." She muttered to herself. "He was a man... and I'm just a girl..."

"Ayane?" She heard her father's voice from outside her closed door. She ignored him and continued to contemplate on the battle and how she'd be able to beat Anubis next time. Until he was defeated, and by her no less, she refused to think of herself as anything special.

TO BE CONTINUED...