Chapter 6
SECOND COMING
Black Dragon Base, noon...
Half a week later, the team was back on its feet. The Redlers that Shiva's teammates piloted had been repaired, the Gunguyarados had been fitted with a substitute charged particle beam and a few grenade launchers (a big necessity since the Zoid didn't seem suitable for close-range combat), and the group had a new battle coming up that Shiva was less then impressed with: A rematch with the Hip Team. Oh joy.
Shiva brooded in the den of the Black Dragon base. She could only hope those idiots from that "team" had improved their fighting technique at least a little. Either that or the ZBC's been letting just anyone in. Then again, the fight she was looking forward to wasn't with them; it would be with who would undoubtably make an appearance at some point in the battle. At this time James entered.
"Shiva? The Whale King's loaded. We're ready to move out," the boy stated.
Shiva stood up and faced him. "Good. Then let's go."
Battlefield, afternoon...
This couldn't be happening. It was ridiculous! Shiva and her team were not having a remotely hard time with these clowns this time! Shiva's Gunguyarados had given the Gunsniper substantial damage almost instantly. Not entirely because the dragonlike Zoid was a great deal stronger then a Gunsniper, but because the Gunsniper's pilot tried to ram her! The Iron Kong still managed to put up somewhat of a fight, but there were no signs of improvement since the last fight. Dan couldn't stop bragging about his shiny Command Wolf long enough to actually fight so he spent most of his time dodging everything. Meanwhile the Cannon Tortoise had been replaced with a heavily-armed Red Horn, and was really the only real threat on the battlefield. The pilot was a lucky shot and had managed to score some hits on James and Cooper.
Shiva blasted the Iron Kong with her grenade launchers, then dropped to the ground to get ready to execute the Gunguyarados' charged particle beam, when suddenly...
KABOOM! The Judge was smashed by a familiar black capsule. Everyone turned their attention to the rising black object as it opened up, revealing a familiar black robot. The Redlers piloted by Shiva's teammates landed alongside her Gunguyarados.
"Well, well, well!" the Dark Judge taunted. "If it isn't the team that got their asses handed to them last time we met!" The Dark Judge faced Shiva's Zoid. "And it looks like you got some new toys! The Dark Jackal Team's leader's been looking to have a rematch! Now why don't we get things started?"
At that, a massive Whale King descended from the heavens and opened its mouth. From it a familiar black Geno Breaker emerged, followed closely by several equally familiar black König Wolves, landing in the soft sand below.
"Who are these boors?" Dan demanded angrily "How DARE they interrupt my battle!" The moment he finished that, the Geno Breaker landed in front of his Command Wolf and Anubis' face appeared on his monitor.
"Sorry, rules changed!" the Dark Jackal leader sneered as he blasted Dan's Zoid head-on with a charged particle beam, sending Dan's Zoid flying back a record distance. The pilot of the Iron Kong opened communication with Anubis.
"What the hell are you doing!" she demanded. Anubis smirked cruelly. "I believe you've got your own problems to worry about, little girl!" With that the Geno Breaker lunged forward and grabbed the Kong with its pincher claws. Seconds later, the apelike Zoid no longer had a head and the pilot soon faced a system freeze.
The Geno Breaker turned its head to face the König Wolves and Shiva could hear Anubis shouting out for his men to put the rest of the Hip Team's Zoids out of the fight. The König Wolves took no hesitation to do just that.
Just then, the digital night sky dome appeared over the Black Dragon Team and the Dark Jackal Team, and the two groups faced one another.
"The Black Dragon Team vs. the Dark Jackal Team!" the Dark Judge began. "Battle Mode 0999! Ready...FIGHT!" Then all hell broke loose.
The Geno Breaker started the fight by shooting out one of its grappler claws at the Gunguyarados, but Shiva's Zoid jumped out of the way just in time, and all the claw got was a handful of sand. Anubis appeared on her screen, smirking. "So, we meet again! I've been wanting to have a rematch with you! Good thing I hacked into the ZBC's upcoming battles or I may not have found you."
"Save it, Anubis." the purple-haired girl answered as her Gunguyarados landed back on the ground. "And let's continue this."
The Gunguyarados opened fire on the Geno Breaker with its grenade launchers, but the Breaker activated its shield and successfully repelled the attacks. The T-Rex-like Zoid rose into the air and charged forward at incredible speed, ramming the Gunguyarados and sending the dragonlike Zoid tumbling backward. Afterward, the Breaker landed in front of the Gunguyarados. The black T-Rex Zoid's foot anchors slammed into the ground, the intake fan activated, and the charged particles began to gather. The Gunguyarados stood back up and took to the air just in time to avoid getting hammered by the beam. Anubis pounded his console furiously. "Why... won't... you... stay... DOWN?" he shouted as he had his Zoid's foot anchors retract and Anubis' Zoid took to the air to join the Gunguyarados for an air battle.
Down below, the Redlers battled it out with the König Wolves, who were all equipped to take on airborne Zoids. Axel had managed to take one of them out, but Cooper and James still had their hands full with their opponents. The enemy pilots seemed more skilled then before, their shots cutting closer, and occasionally getting a hit. Cooper's Zoid wound up taking a hit to the wing which restricted him to ground battle. James and Axel remained in the air and double-teamed one of the other König Wolves, but a well- aimed shot put Axel's Zoid out of the fight.
Back up in the air, the Gunguyarados and Geno Breaker clashed. Sometimes ramming one-another, other times firing. Despite Geno Breakers being known for their destructive power, it was becoming more and more evident that the Gunguyarados was gaining the advantage, being more suited for air combat. Anubis tried several times to snare the dragon Zoid with the Breaker's grappler claws, but no success. He then attempted to fire a charged particle beam at her. It was too late before he realized his mistake in underestimating the Gunguyarados' air speed. Shiva whirled her Zoid around the Breaker, got behind it, and before the Breaker could turn around, opened fire.
Anubis stared in utter shock as one of the pincher claws and one of the arms fell from his Zoid and plummeted to the ground. The damage caused the Zoid's charging CPC to fizzle out. He barely had time to react to either of these facts when Shiva's Gunguyarados impaled the Zoid in the stomach with its drill tail. A blank look came over his face as the Zoid dropped to the ground with a crash, and he stared at the command system freeze before him, not a single word leaving his mouth.
At this time, Cooper and James had managed to finish off the remaining König Wolf, which then fell to the ground in defeat.
It was then that Shiva's Zoid landed in front of the Dark Judge, glaring at it with its fierce red eyes. The Dark Judge was furious, stomping on his platform and waving his hands madly. Finally, with a mechanical sigh, he spoke. "The winner is...the Black Dragon Team. You will receive your prize money shortly..."
Black Dragon Whale King, late afternoon...
Shiva sat in the Whale King's spacious den, completely quiet. As pleased as she was that she'd manage to overcome Anubis, there were still bigger fish to fry. The Nyx Royal Cup Tournament wasn't that far away. While winning an unsanctioned battle did score her team a good amount of points from the ZBC and push them up the ranks, she could only hope to make it as far as the tournament. The best of the best will be there, and it would take more then luck or powerful Zoids to win that.
Her train of thought would have carried on further had James and Cooper not come in asking about dinner. From the looks on their faces, and the incredible amount of prize money the Backdraft supplied them, Shiva could tell they had something expensive and restaurant-based in mind.
TO BE CONTINUED...