DR: As promised, chapter 5 of this story. Time for the world of Class S to learn the full power of the Iguanosaur...

Leena: (starts laughing manically) (DR looks at her sharply)

DR: I thought I cured you of that trait?

Leena: (stops laughing and goes all pale faced) You did...

DR: Well, don't slip up again. And get back into the story!

Leena: (runs out)

DR: Anyway, just to let you knowthere is a chance that 'Ancient Legacies' may be published as a proper booksometime in the near future! (Still at early stages ATM) I will rework it a little (tone down the LOTR bits), and still have to see what the publishers propose, but still... I'll let you know how it turns out! (Of course, IF 'AL' is published, AND makes money, then this story and the planed third one will go the same way...)

Chapter 5: Pride Cometh Before a Fall

Even as the judge started the battle, the Liger Zero, Fury and Iguanosaur were already in motion, all three powerful zoids bounding forwards. Both Pierce and Jamie rocketed into the air, while Brad and Leon broke let and right respectfully. Naomi shifted the Snipe Master around, before belting towards a rocky outcrop. With the massive amount of heavy hardware heading towards them, it was easy for the Helic Team to miss the little red zoid.

As they punched through the clouds to meet the Helic's flyers, Pierce was still struggling to comprehend whom she was about to face. 'Rico… here?'

Stroller swung his sights across the field as the Elephander ambled forwards. While the Elephander would never win any records for speed, it more than made up for that with its durability and strength. Smirking, he aimed the dorsal guns and fired off a long burst, the rounds screaming across the field to tear up the ground just ahead of one of the opposing Command Wolfs, the zoid itself rattled around and tripping up in the newly created uneven ground.

Ahead, he watched as twin long jets of flame leapt from the huge Vulcans on the Iguanosaur, the stream of shells tearing into one of the Shield Ligers ahead. The zoid itself was now belting forwards on its rear legs, the fore limbs tucked in close to the body. Each leg took long strides, the feet hammering the ground while the body remained level and stable. Even from this distance, the banshee's roar of those guns could be heard.

The unfortunate Shield Liger had raised its shield in time, but the shear power of the larger zoids main guns brought the Liger to a complete stop, the multitude of high speed explosive impacts creating one hell of a kick. Slowly, the Liger was forced backwards, despite digging its claws into the ground.

The Helic Gunsnipers were racing for the rocks, but both Brad and Leon were determined to not to let them get into position. Leon engaged the boosters on his Blade Liger, sending the heavy zoid tearing across the plain. The Shadow Fox meanwhile was lopping along, all four legs leaving the ground at points. As he moved forwards, Brad noticed one of the Pteras swooping in behind him. Smiling, he used his thumb control to rapidly swing the laser Vulcan round.

The pilot of the Pteras was just setting up his attack run when the Foxes gun shifted round to point back at him faster that he could follow. Shocked and stunned at the unexpected range of motion of the small zoids weapon, he wasted a valuable second recovering before he banked away to evade the stream of laser pulses that cut up at him. Brad panned the gun around, tracking and trying to lead the small flyer. Realising that the Fox was no easy picking, the pilot tried to break away, but Brad's fire tore into the zoid. The Pteras managed to remain airborne, though it trailed a tail of smoke and one of the Vulcans was ruined.

Major O'Connell stared at his displays with a sense of awe. Centre to the screen was the three Ultimate X zoids. The Liger Zero was centre, the sunlight gleaming from its masses of laser blades. To the left was the Fury; its foot claws suspended just above the ground as the heavy zoids hover jets rocketed it forwards. The dark grey armour and the blood red eyes gave the whole zoid an air of menace, and he knew the Fury's reputation.

On the other side was the massive Iguanosaur, and O'Connell was amazed at how the zoid moved. It was perfectly balanced on its hind legs, while the body was now a solid platform for the heavy weaponry it carried. 'If we had had that during the last war, the Guylos Empire would have been beaten with ease…' Bringing himself back to the fight, O'Connell focused on his tactical displays. His eyes narrowed as he saw that already one Pteras and a Wolf were damaged, while the Shield Liger that Leena had singled out was out of the fight, its shield overwhelmed by her concentrated fire.

"Men, remember the plan. Concentrate fire on one zoid at a time! Marcus, find that Snipe Master! She could take any of us down from beyond our range…" As both Cannon Tortoises and one Gojulas settled into firing positions, he noticed that Slater was advancing. "Slater, get back in formation!"

Slater refused to answer, instead firing his zoids heavy guns at Leena's zoid. The Iguanosaur jinked left, dodging the incoming shells that crashed down well over. In reply, the side missile pods spat out a total of sixteen missiles, all of which came tearing in to slam into Slater. The towering Gojulas was heavily rocked by the multiple detonations.

O'Connell sighed. Slater was too arrogant by far. He had been around almost as long as O'Connell, and it was no secret that he saw himself as the next leader of the Helic Team. But he was not only arrogant, but his skills were not too good either anymore, not to mention his over confidence. Once, when he first joined the team, he had been good, but now age was eroding those talents.

"Alright, everyone target the Liger Zero!" As one, the rest of the team armed their weapons. The two remaining Shield Ligers opened up their missile pods, while both Wolfs brought their guns to bear. "FIRE!"

It was an impressive salvo, as each zoid fired almost together. Both Ligers spat half a dozen missiles each, while the Wolfs sent linked blasts out from each side. Both Tortoises were rocked back on their stubby legs as their cannons belched fire, while his own zoid and the Gojulas on his shoulder unleashed a heavy barrage.

But more impressive was the way the Liger Zero reacted. Roaring loudly, it flicked from side to side, shells crashing down to each side but never striking. It actually leapt over the shots fired by the Command Wolfs, before all the laser blades around the Ligers head and body folded out. The side blades came down, while the five head blades formed up, all pointing forwards. The missiles screamed in, and the Liger was rocked by multiple detonations. However, at least a third of the missiles missed, while almost half only got glancing hits. The liger roared and continued onwards undaunted.

At that point, Major O'Connell realised the talk about the power of the Liger Zero had not been exaggerating. In fact, the rumours might have been underestimating the Liger.

The Liger itself didn't carry any guns usable at this range, but the Fury at its side did. Pulse laser blasts stabbed out, and the damaged Command Wolf was blasted clean out of the fight.

In the air, Jamie swept down on one of the Pteras as it tried to make a run on Leon. His belly lasers flashed again and again, sending bolts of coherent light slamming into the lighter zoid. The Pteras wobbled in flight, before rolling over and falling for the plain below. Banking round to go after the second, Jamie glanced upwards towards where Pierce was duelling with the other Storm Sworder. In such a match, with identical zoids, which ever was the better pilot would decide who won. So far Pierce was all over her foe, his manoeuvres getting more and more desperate.

Rico felt a cold trickle of sweat run down his spine as he wrenched his zoid out of Pierce's line of fire. She had certainly improved since they had last seen each other! He was barely holding on in this fight. Every move he could think of she had a counter for. When they had tried for the Barons, they had both been about equal in skill; the only reason he flunked the tests was because he had tended to the women on the base rather than his work, including Pierce. But now…

Naomi settled into position, well away from the centre of the field. Gently caressing her belly once more, she engaged sniper mode. The zoid spun round so that it's tail point towards the battle. Both raised foot claws hammered deep into the ground, while the tail extended and the rifle built within primed. Naomi's seat flattened before twisting around to bring her face to face with the rifle controls. This was the part that she had been worried about, as she was now hanging from the seat supported by the seat restraints. The lap belt was tucked underneath her belly, uncomfortably digging into her, but not enough to worry her at the moment. 'Just got to get through this battle, then I'm out.'

Vega's face curled into a smile as he cut the hover jets. The Fury responded to his thoughts and straightened out. With the ease of experience, the main gun was primed in plasma mode. Since the plasma cannon required much less power than the charged particle cannon, the system responded very quickly. A glowing sphere of plasma formed in the Fury's open jaws…

Ahead of him, the pilot of one of the Shield Ligers saw this, and his eyes widened in shock. "WATCH OUT!" He yelled as he threw his zoid to the left, just as the Fury fired. The Liger escaped the worst of the beam, but both right legs were badly scorched. The Tortoise behind him, with no warning and lacking the responsiveness of the Liger, didn't have a chance. The shearing plasma beam shot right over the cockpit before slamming into the heavy armour of the Tortoises 'shell'. For all its failings, the Cannon Tortoise was tough, far tougher than its class would suggest.

But when set up against the Fury, even when only using plasma mode, very few zoids could withstand a direct hit. The plasma burned right through the armour, and proceeded to wreak the guns support systems. As the stream cut off, the small zoid stiffened, then collapsed to the ground. The paintwork on the top of the head was blistered from the heat, and the pilot inside found himself sweating buckets. In addition, there was a spreading warm patch between his legs.

Another crashing volley of fire lanced out towards the Liger Zero, but Bit and Liger danced through the barrage unscathed, a broader version of his usual grin on Bit's face. And the Helic Team were suffering for their constant focus on Bit, as both Vega and Stroller were raining fire on them. Naomi's first shot took down the lone Command Wolf, while the central Shield Liger now had a bad limp, as her second round had struck the hip joint with incredible force. And all the while Bit and Liger drew closer…

Theresa, piloting the Gunsniper on the Helic's right flank, smiled as she entered the rocky region. An expert marksman, she knew that the Blitz would struggle to find her with the broken terrain. At least, that's what she thought. The sensors on the Shadow Fox were far more advanced than on regular zoids, and they easily made up the form of the small zoid. Brad smirked as the Gunsniper slowed before starting to climb to a higher point.

To one side of the main battle, Slater's Gojulas zoid was again rocked by heavy fire from Leena and her Iguanosaur. Within the cockpit, Slater himself was cursing up a storm. How could such an inferior pilot be this good? His mighty zoid was forced to take a step back as a long burst of rounds from her main guns slammed into him.

"Mitchell, Kelly, your going to have to use your shields to block the Liger Zero!" O'Connell yelled to his remaining Shield Liger pilots as he continued to fire off volleys towards the rapidly closing Liger Zero.

"Roger that…"

"Yes sir!" Despite the damage to their zoids, both pilots refused to give up.

On the far left of the field, the pilot of the Helic Gunsniper looked over his shoulder in fear. Right behind him and closing rapidly was the Blitz's Blade Liger, the dark red colouration sparking a sense of dread. "Someone help me here!" He called out in alarm. "I can't keep ahead much longer!"

Theresa had finished setting up her position, and quickly swung her sights towards her partner. She zoomed in to get a good look at the burning red Blade Liger, and began to lead it. Before she could pull the trigger though her sensors began to wail. A zoid was getting dangerously close. Looking up, she was treated to the sight of the Shadow Fox running right up the cliff as if it was level ground to get at her. Her jaw dropped.

Bit watched both the damaged Shield Ligers move together; then deploy their shields as one. His eyes narrowed slightly, but his confidence was undiminished.

"Let's get them both at once Liger!" He yelled. "Right down the middle!"

#Oh yea!# The Liger responded, before all seven blades began to rotate round to point forwards.

Vega, seeing that Bit was heading right for the Gordos, swung his sights round to focus on the remaining Gojulas, which continued to hurl rounds towards the Liger Zero. In fact, the pilot seemed to be so completely focused on Bit, that he didn't see Vega and the Fury coming in…

Rico dived low, Pierce riding his exhaust. She was all over him! As he punched through the clouds, he saw their remaining Pteras desperately trying to escape the faster and more manoeuvrable Raynos. Suddenly he had an idea, and he acted on it at once. 'Let's see you can keep up with this, Pierce!' He dived towards the smaller zoid as she blasted through the clouds.

Brad watched as the Gunsniper he had chased began to unlock itself, but he was already on top of it. The Fox's claws glowed with laser energy, and with one final leap, the black zoid came down on the Helic Gunsniper. The claws dug deep, slicing off one of the wild weasel arms and carving deep into the smaller zoids hips. With one rather pathetic snarl, the Gunsniper collapsed. The Fox, stood still for a moment, unleashed a howl of victory.

The remaining Gunsniper pilot, seeing that he was not going to make it to the rocks, decide to make a stand while the much larger Liger was still a distance away. He stopped his zoid and spun on one foot, bringing his weapons to bear. Both the forearm weapons and the secondary lasers of the 'Wild Weasel' unit opened up, the streams of tracer following the needle thin beams of light. But his fire was panicky, and Leon just simply charged forth, bringing his laser blades into position. The Gunsniper was easily decapitated, the Ligers blade slicing through the thin neck with ease.

O'Connell watched the demise of both his Gunsnipers with regret, but at least they had drawn away two of the Blitz Teams zoids. But that still left their most powerful ones to come right at him… and his close in men.

"Roberts, the Fury's coming right at you!" He yelled as explosions smothered the remaining Tortoise. The Gojulas at his side took a step to the left, startled at how close the Fury had gotten. Both zoids stood there for a second, staring at each other. While they were both based on the same creature, the Fury was leaner and held its body flat, while the Gojulas was upright, towering over everything else. Snarling, the Fury leapt forth, slamming feet first into the Gojulas.

Rico pulled in sharply to the Pteras, before rolling around it and blasting away, startling the pilot. It also startled Jamie, who had just fired on the Pteras. The pilot, evading the shots, jinked the Pteras away from Rico out of reflex… right into Pierce's line of flight.

"Shit!" She cursed as she was forced to drop lower and then roll around the slower, smaller zoid. The Helic pilot, understandably confused, was barely able to maintain level flight. Jamie quickly put him out of him misery with a quick burst from the Raynos's lasers.

Naomi was just lining up her next shot when alarms began to ring around her. Rico, having rocketed away from the other flyers, had seen her stationary zoid, and had snap fired a pair of missiles. One missed and impacted on the rocks nearby, but the other hit her dead on. The sudden impact sent the lightweight zoid staggering about, and Naomi gasped in pain and horror as the lap belt shifted and began to dig in deeper. Terrified, she cancels sniper mode, the seat swinging back around too slowly for her. Once that was done, she scrambled to get the restraint undone, before gently caressing her belly.

Rico began to bank around for another pass, when suddenly his target sent out a general broadcast. "Judge, this is Naomi Hunter. I'm withdrawing from the match."

"Understood. The Blitz Team Snipe Master is no longer a competitor and is not to be targeted."

Rico cursed as he saw the chance for an easy kill spill through his fingers. "Coward."

Brad however was alarmed. He knew that anything that would get Naomi to withdraw would have to be serious. "Na', what's wrong?"

Her face in the comm window was pale, terror stricken. "When I got hit, the belt… dug into me…" Her hand was still pressed against her belly, and the lap belt was undone. Brad quickly figure out what she meant.

"Good Lord Na', are you alright?" Both of them knew that he really meant was their child all right.

"I don't know, maybe."

Pierce, having heard everything that went between them, locked her gaze on the other Storm Sworder. Her eyes narrowed as she closed in. Naomi had become like a second older sister to her. If her child was harmed by that punks attack…

Kelly gasped in shock as she watched the Liger Zero continue to charge right at her. All seven of the laser blades were deployed now, and the entire zoid was encased in a glowing energy shell. "Can our shields stop that?"

"Course they will, that's what they're meant to do…" Mitchell's voice was not as confident as his words though.

Leena for her part was enjoying herself immensely. She had closed in with Slater, and had decided to have little fun with him. Her side lasers stabbed out again and again, and each time another of his weapons was taken out. He twisted the Gojulas around, trying to bring working guns to bear, but every time the more agile Iguanosaur jinked away. Leena could sense that her zoid too was enjoying making the arrogant Republican pilot eat humble pie.

Bit and Liger Zero charged in, diving right between the two Shield Ligers. "SEVEN BLADE ATTACK!" He yelled as the energy shell that surrounded the Liger countered the shields of the other two ligers, allowing the charged laser blades to pass through. The side blades cut deep into each zoid, and as the Liger Zero bounded onwards towards the Gordos, both Shield Ligers collapsed.

O'Connell gasped in shock as he watched the Liger Zero punch right through towards him. He'd never seen the shield of a Shield Liger breached with that much ease! Clearly he was going to have to reassess the Blitz Team. "Roberts, where are you?"

"Sorry sir, but I'm little tied up at the…" His voice was drowned out by a sudden ringing impact, causing O'Connell to look to his left. The Gojulas was face first in the dirt, the Fury standing atop it. One great foot rose, before slamming down into the downed zoids back. The impact froze the Command system of the Gojulas, which let one last roar before flopping down.

Pierce sidled up to just behind Rico, matching his every more. "Not very brave of you, picking on Naomi."

"How so? She's a legitimate target, or rather she was. What kind of coward pulls out of a battle half-way through and leaves her team in the lurch?"

Pierces eyes narrowed. Yes, this was the Rico of the latter few months of their previous relationship. 'What did I see in him?'

"How about those who are expecting a child?" She asked, her voice filled with ice. "And are worried about them?"

Rico's jaw fell. "You… you sent a PREGNANT woman out to fight? What kind of team are you?" As he said this, he stopped twisting and turning… a fatal mistake.

Pierce activated all her laser blades, before kicking in her boosters and bending the wings up. She had been slightly above him, but now she lost altitude as she closed in. Her wing blades sliced both wings off his zoid, and her head blade opened up his lower engine like a gutted fish. As he began to plummet from the sky, she answered his question. "The family kind."

O'Connell watched as the Liger Zero closed in. His displays showed the Blitz Teams zoids coming from all sides, with only his and Slater's zoids still active. And the only reason Slater was still in the fight was because Leena To… Leena Cloud was still toying with him. She had taken out all his guns, and now was putting a single shot into each gyro cap, crippling the Gojulas without taking it out. Over the comm, he could hear as Slater ranted at her tactics.

'You have all fought well today…' He tipped his head to the team as the Liger Zero began its final charge. He was firing all his weapons at it, but nothing seemed to be hitting.

"BUSTER SLASH!" Bit yelled as he hit, the five head blades on the Liger biting deep into the Gordoses shoulder. The larger zoid shuddered, before falling onto its side.

Leena smiled as she watched Bit take down the last remaining zoid on the Helic team. With the notable exception of the one who had insulted her at the start. Now his zoid was barely moving, every joint frozen. She planed to finish him off, but first she just had to call him up.

"So, Slater is it? What were you saying about this zoid being too big for someone of my size and gender to handle?" For this call she put on her 'sweet little girl' act, fluttering her eyes and resting her left hand just beneath her collarbone. The sunlight caught her wedding ring, causing the stones to gleam.

Slater's eye narrowed as he scowled. That blasted girl had taken him out, bit by bit. And now she was going to rub his nose in it! Her zoid stood before his, stuck still, as if inviting him to attack. But he couldn't. All his guns were down, and the Gojulas itself was barely able to move anything. He could see on the sensors the other Blitz team zoids gathering around on both sides, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"All right, fine. You can handle that zoid." He ground out, his teeth grinding together. "I expect you want me to surrender now, right?"

"Oh no…" Leena said, her eyes narrowing. She dropped her act, and at last Slater saw the inferno like fury in her eyes. Her voice dropped lower, and lost any trace of warmth. "I'm not finished with you yet." She glanced towards her displays… and the grin that appeared on her face caused a tingle of dread to slide down his spine.

Slater's eyes shot open as he saw the Iguanosaur turn to face him full on. All four feet were placed flat to the ground, and the head was lowered till the neck was straight. The mouth yawed open… and the muzzle of a gun slid out of the back of the throat like some kind of tongue.

"HYBIRD CANNON FIRE!" Leena cried, before the hybrid cannon mounted in the Iguanosaur's neck unleashed a blindingly bright beam. The Gojulas vanished behind a glare and smoke. For a few seconds all that could be seen was smoke, but then it cleared. Revealed was the Gojulas, but there was something wrong with it…

"Whoa…" Brad gasped, his eyes wide.

"Ouch…" Stroller commented, even his normally composed expression showing awe.

"That's… serious power you've got there, Sis."

#NO SHIT!# The Fury agree with Leon.

"Man…" Bits voice was a whisper.

Leena herself was amazed, her jaw hanging down as her rage vanished. "Holy shit…"

Before her the Gojulas remained standing, but there was now a gaping hole burned right through it just below the shoulders, just above the zoids core. There was barely anything holding the zoid together. Although the features of the zoid had not changed, it seemed that even the Gojulas itself was in stunned shock.

"Was that… supposed to happen?" Vega asked as he put a shot through the hole, just to see if it was real.

"I don't know…"

"Okay, we're going to have to work on this…" Bit stated, a grin returning to his face. Leena couldn't figure out what he was grinning about. "We'll have to work on this a lot." She got the message then, and her face split into a grin almost as big as his. It would mean spending a lot of time together…

"The battle is over! The battle is over! The winner is… the Blitz Team!" The Judge closed up before rocketing back to the heavens.

x x x x x x

As the Hover Cargo rumbled away from the battlefield, Naomi, Brad and Sarah were all in the transports small medical bay. Sarah had, during her first two months with the Blitz, taken up her medical training again. She figured that having at least a qualified medic in the team would be a wise precaution. Now while she was not a full doctor, she was the closest thing the team had to one. And truth told the team trusted her more than they would anyone else, being family and all.

Brad and Naomi held hands tightly, both looking into each other's eyes. As soon as she had gotten back to the transport she had gone straight here, desperate to have her child checked out. Sarah had foreseen this and had been waiting for her. Now while the system processed the information, Naomi remained on the bed, Brad sitting at her side. They only looked up when Sarah came over to stand opposite him.

"Everything's fine." Both expectant parents sighed in relief, and even Sarah looked relieved too. "There's no sign of anything wrong with your child Naomi. But I would suggest you take it easy from now on."

"I understand, and thank you." Tears began to run down Naomi's cheeks as Sarah stepped away. The Hunters embraced as she stepped out into the main cabin.

"Well, how is she?" Bit asked first. Everyone else on the team was sitting around, waiting for news.

"The child's okay." The relief that rushed through the cabin was so real and thick one could have bottled it.

x x x x x x

Slater stood watching the receding Hover Cargo, his thoughts fixed on that upstart little girl. How dare she make a fool of him in front of the rest of the team! And what she did to his zoid… it was criminal!

'I'll get you back for that, I swear…'

Further back in the teams' own transport, Rico laid back on his bunk, recalling everything he knew about Pierce. She had certainly improved since they had last spoken. He wondered if she had retained her looks from before. It had always bugged him that she had slipped through his grasp, denying him a clean sweep.

A lecherous smile formed on his lips. Oh, how he had wished to one day finish what he had started. He had never expected her to cross his path again, especially after she became embroiled in the Backdraft. But her recent rise to fame with the Blitz, and today's battle, meant that he now had the chance to fulfil that wish…

He looked again towards the wall at the back of his bunk. On it was a picture of a class of pilots. It was taken the day they both had enrolled for the Barons training course, and had included the support staff at the back. Thick black marks covered all the male faces, except his. All the female faces had red rings round them…

…Except one: A younger, shorter haired Pierce.

DR: You know, I had planned for this battle to have been more difficult for the Blitz, but this is how it came out... (sigh) Still, it's a good demostration of 'why you don't annoy Leena Toros Cloud.'

Zeke: Hell no!

DR: Well that's it for this week. Next time Pierce steps onto a slippery slope... Don't forget to R&R!