Creation began on 02-05-25
Creation ended on 02-14-25
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Welcome to your Escape: The Miracle of the Clover's Rogue
Five Minutes Before
Even from a distance, it pained Shinji to see his teammates engage his father without him because he was to serve as the Clover Team's trump card, their ace in the hole, in case the Death Stinger was able to defeat them. He wanted to get in on the fighting, to show his father that when he was given time and space to process information for the reason he was approached for, he could do better than expected, but the reason he had initially wanted him to go to Tokyo-3 for…was something he was not going to do for him. This was who he was now, not some pawn in a twisted game orchestrated by his parents, but a Zoid pilot that wanted to win the Royal Cup, to solidify his hopes and dreams of walking away from his heartache-filled past and forge his own future, to be free from the cruel strings of fate. And whether his father liked it or not, this was something Shinji wasn't going to change, for better or worse.
He watched with anticipation as the Death Stinger just rips the wings off of Geisha's Storm Sworder, rendering it incapable of flight.
If that was her Fire Phoenix, she would be pissed, he thought as he watches Drake's G-Rex open its torso up to reveal a cannon that looked like a satellite dish.
"If I use an EMP on an enemy Zoid," Drake had once explained the nature of the weapon, "it'll affect the Zoid to a degree, weakening their mobility and disabling some of their weaponry, but depending on the level of digital technology over analog technology within a biomechanical organism, some Zoids won't be affected at all while others will be."
"Nearly everything but the Zoid Core itself will be affected by an EMP," added Nico to the understanding of how Zoids were affected by EMPs. "Even artificially-derived Zoid Cores can be unaffected by them, due to the fact that they are alive. But depending on the radius of any electromagnetic pulse used, if you're outside the sphere of influence, your Zoid won't be affected at all…and you have the opportunity to take the foe down."
Shinji was fortunate to have Liger Rogue away from the battle; he was too far away from G-Rex to be affected by the EMP, and if his father's Death Stinger had been modified with newer technology to accommodate him, most of the technology being digital, he would have some problems until the effects wore off.
Beep. A blue light flickers on his console on the left side of the cockpit, and he looks down at it.
"Battle Adaptation Update"? Shinji reads to himself, and presses the blue button, causing something to pop on his screens. "Do you wish to engage Alpha Mode?" What is Alpha Mode?
He taps a different button and opens a communication window to Nico.
"Nico, do you know anything about Alpha Mode?" He asks her.
"Alpha Mode?" She replies, a little confused. "Yes, I know a little bit about it. Why?"
"Liger Rogue is asking me if I wish to engage it. What does it do?"
"Shinji, Alpha Mode is…it's a Zoid augmentation function that exists in Zoids that have achieved a high degree of combat success or have evolved over time. It's a booster for the Zoid to unlock more power of the battlefield than previously seen before. I think Liger Rogue has qualities that make it like an alpha Zoid, an apex predator that is strong enough to overpower most other Zoids…but can't be overpowered by some other Zoid. Be careful when and if you decide to use it. It's within the rules and regulations to be used during a Zoid battle, but it takes a lot of effort to control."
Shinji sighs and nods his head in understanding. Still, he wanted to win the Royal Cup. He wanted the whole team to win it.
"Alright," he utters, pressing the button. "Here we go."
With the activation of Alpha Mode, Shinji hears an electrical hum inside the cockpit, and the exterior of Liger Rogue glows a subtle blue aura…and on his screens appeared a silhouette of the Zoid…growing from its original height of fifteen meters to nineteen-and-a-half meters, just big enough to take on the Death Stinger.
"Shinji?" He hears Nico's voice as he sets out to engage his father for the first and last time in this tournament. "Good luck out there."
"Thanks, Nico," he replies.
-x-
Present
Gendo is in disbelief over what is happening right now. Not only was his Death Stinger down a pincer, but his son was pushing him around due to his Zoid getting a little increase in height…and really getting on his nerves.
"You really think that just because your Zoid's a little bigger that you can win?!" Gendo asks Shinji as he tries to use his Zoid's stinger to land a blow against Liger Rogue.
"It will end for one of us," Shinji responds, and Liger Rogue backs away to avoid the stinger, "and to the victor goes what they wish to seize. If you get an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance, to seize all that you ever wanted in a single moment, would you take it…or let it slip away from your grasp? I'm not letting this slip from my fingers, Father. You're in my way of securing the final outcome."
"Just as you're in my way!"
The Death Stinger's tail charge with energy as it fired its charged particles once more, but Liger Rogue dodged the attack, its impressive mobility undeterred by its overall mass.
Gendo was making it no point to hold back how he feels right now. With everything that happened, with what was happening right now, he gets to express every thought he has ever had towards his son in this moment of might, of brutality, of populace entertainment for the people of Earth and Zi that was a business venture for those that sought to turn a bunch of random nobodies into false idols of grandeur.
"All you had to do was pilot the Eva!" He yells at Shinji as the Death Stinger continues to fire its CPC at Liger Rogue, unable to touch it, but cutting through other obstacles as it chases after the mammalian Zoid. "All you had to do was face the Angels! So long as you survived, that was your only function! But no! You had to be approached by some aliens that look like we do! That have similar intelligence as we do! That have a foolish treaty with humans!"
"I can respect the treaty after learning more about it," Shinji responds. "The fact that it exists is proof that there is life beyond the Earth. That there are people out in the ocean of space that are as smart as we are, maybe smarter than we are, in the Milky Way. And it's a good feeling, to meet people that see you as someone that can do something that is better than what some other people expect from you. You wanted me to pilot the Eva, something I had no memory of, that you didn't even bother to mention at any point in the past, against some creatures you called Angels, which you also failed to mention to me at any point in the past, with no guarantee that I would even live to see the next day, even if I did face one that day you wanted me to go to that city. You were the one at fault, Father. You and Mother. You withheld things from me and expected me to do as you wanted with no regard for my feelings, and that was wrong. Even if it were still something you wanted me to do, I'd still refuse to do it. Why? Because I hate what you've both have done. I hate what you've wasted your whole lives doing…and it's just another reason to leave that past behind and forge my own future without you or those relatives that gave me no joy."
"It was never about what you wanted, boy! It was about the future of the human race! A future you jeopardized by leaving the planet! Just to come here to participate in some stupid game!"
"In the end, it was my choice to make!"
Liger Rogue jumps into the air and slams down on the Death Stinger before jumping into the air again. So long as Gendo kept firing that CPC of his, Shinji knew he was endangering his team close by, and had to get him away from them. And he knew just how to lure his father away from the others to settle this.
"I'm going to the finish line and laying claim to victory," he tells Gendo, and heads toward the Ultrasaurus head close by to find the control panel with which to enter his Zoid Gear and secure the Clover Team's victory. "If you want to win, you gotta stop me."
Gendo fumes and commands his Death Stinger to chase after the liger with a fury unmatched by most others within the Zoid battles. He didn't care if it was a violation of the rules…or the rules themselves. He was going to deal with Shinji the hard way. Permanently.
You're going to pay with your last breath! He thinks as the Death Stinger, no longer affected by the lingering effects of the EMP, pursues the Liger Rogue across the terrain.
-x-
"No way!" Asuka gasps, seeing the larger Liger Rogue being pursued by the Death Stinger up the exoskeletal spine of the Ultrasaurus remains. "The kid must be cheating or something! His Zoid looks bigger!"
"No, he's within the legalities of the Royal Cup," Kaji tells her. "As he's the last one of the Clover Team left to face his father, and his father is the last of the soloists in the tournament, it's practically anything goes right now. Whatever he can do to help him win is whatever he can do with that Zoid of his. The same goes for his father, but if either one tries to use excessive force on the other, and they die from an injury, they automatically lose the Royal Cup. Meaning if Gendo so much as causes his son's death, the Clover Team will win by default and Shinji gets into Class 'S' posthumously…where he'll be remembered only for his involvement in the Clover Team. Believe me, even if it only happens after being killed, you don't want to die just to get into the big leagues."
"And I find it difficult to fathom how people here could want this boy to win. Sure, he got picked by some girl to join her team of nobodies and ended up making it to the Royal Cup, but the girl only picked him because of some nonsense that he didn't know about until after she informed him, right? I mean, it says so on his Zoid profile. His father made a poor string of decisions that go back his entire life. Both his parents, in fact, and the little girl chooses him out of half the global number of teens who were better than him…and the half that were worse than him…and he ends up piloting a Zoid that picks him out of countless others…and not once did he ever do the job he was expected to do when he was called upon. His old man constantly threw a fit over his lack of presence before getting fired and developing a vendetta against him. Then he goes all the way to this Zi just to try and get even. What does that say about his father? What does that say about his entire family?"
"In a word, Asuka? Nonexistent is my word of choice in this case."
"Nonexistent?"
"Well, yeah. As Shinji put it down on his profile, both his parents were up to no good, and they attempted to exploit him, to take advantage of his lack of knowledge over the previous situation. If Ms. Megumi hadn't picked him…or poached him when the opportunity presented itself, yes, he would have been forced to pilot the Eva against the Third Angel…and likely the Fourth Angel…and then the Fifth Angel, never knowing what they really were or whether or not he'd live to see the next day in one piece. In addition, Shinji openly admitted on his profile that his other relatives think nothing much of him, so even if he did lose and have to return to Japan, he would likely be on the streets because he has no place to go back to. It's easy to be by yourself when you have nobody in your corner to actually be around when you're at your lowest."
Asuka hates to admit it, but Kaji is right about this; it was easy to be alone when you have nobody in your life. And this Shinji Ikari, despite his relatives, despite his father, was as alone as any other person alive without any meaningful bonds. The guy practically has nobody waiting for him on the planet, let alone this country, and winning the Royal Cup was his one chance to become a self-made man for the foreseeable future, and for someone like him, that was more important than piloting the Eva against the Angels.
"Then," she hears the voice of the First Child say as she's watching the broadcast, "this final battle that is between Commander Ikari and his son…is akin to might vs. right. Or right vs. wrong. Past vs. present."
This being the latest Rei has ever spoken up regarding this matter since Gendo was relieved of his command because of his obsession with his son, it was all true that this final battle was all of that and more. It was…probably the only time father and son would ever have to express every thought they ever had about each other.
-x-
Gendo chases after Shinji atop the remains of the Ultrasaurus and sees an opening on his right that led under the ruins of the large Zoid. He was confident that his Death Stinger could maneuver under it, as it was a Zoid designed for combat on land and in the water.
You can run, but it won't matter, he thinks as he enters the opening with his Death Stinger. You're going down.
Shinji runs up the spine of the Ultrasaurus and reaches the base of the neck. He turns Liger Rogue around, but doesn't see the Death Stinger. But in his Zoid's line of sight, he takes notice of an object that has to be what he was looking for.
Is it? He wonders, zooming in on the object…and seeing an indentation for a device he was versed in. It is! The panel!
But he couldn't go to it yet; so long as his father was lying in wait for an opportunity to strike, the tournament was still in play. So long as a rival lingers, he could not achieve the victory the Clover Team desires. He needs to defeat the last obstacle before he could achieve total victory and secure their rightful place in the pantheon of Class "S".
Where are you? He wonders as he looks around the ruins. You want me? I'm right here!
The ground beneath him starts to shake, and Liger Rogue leaps to the right, just narrowly avoiding a burst of light that shot out from under the rusted metal and into the air.
"Whoa!" Shinji gasps as the tail of the Death Stinger emerges from under the back of the Ultrasaurus, followed by the rest of the black and orange Zoid, sporting a glowing pincer.
"I've had enough of you!" He hears Gendo's voice through the intercom.
"It's mutual, old man," he replies, letting Liger Rogue engage with its Strike Laser Claw against the pincer. "Aaaaaurgh!"
Clash! The Death Stinger's remaining front pincer and the right claw of Liger Rogue impacted upon each other, releasing arcs of energy that were being sent in random directions.
"Careful!" Shinji tells Gendo. "There's only one console nearby, and whoever accesses it wins the tournament!"
"Oh, I don't care about the tournament!" Gendo expresses. "All that matters to me is that you lose everything you desire!"
"Now, why do you make it sound like a death threat?"
"Because it is one. My prize is your end!"
Shinji frowns; even if his father didn't truly mean it, the mere fact that he spoke it was enough to convince him that his life was in jeopardy because of this man. If his father didn't care about winning the Royal Cup, why else would he enter the tournament? But Shinji knows the other reason for why anyone would do what his father is doing; it was for nothing more than self-righteous revenge. Revenge for being refused by him, for being denied his aid against an enemy he originally knew nothing about, that he had a right to refuse him aid against, and it was coming back to the forefront for them. But Shinji refuses to lose this tournament or have his life ended by his father; he has come so far since he arrived on Zi, and here, in this moment, there was a lot riding on him to win…and he wants the success enough to swallow his own fear of certain doom for it.
-x-
"Oh, no," Nico utters in response to the eavesdropping on the conversation between Shinji and his father, discovering that Gendo's threat on Shinji was a verbal violation of the rules and regulations designed by the Zoid Battle Commission. "This is bad."
If she overhears any mention of an actual, life-ending threat towards another competitor, she was bound by her oath to the ZBC to report it. The one making the threat would be disqualified if they received more than three warnings not to engage in petty vendettas…but in this case, she fears that Gendo would not allow for anyone or any rules and regulations to impede him from carrying out his insignificant need for vengeance. This, in and of itself, meant that warnings were not going to cut it in this matter. As she contacted the ZBC, she continues to watch the final battle between father and son atop the wreckage of the Ultrasaurus heads in the canyon.
"Zoid Battle Commission Security Devision," a female voice responds over her radio. "How may I be of service to you today?"
"Zoid team manager Nico Megumi of the Clover Team," Nico replies. "I'm reporting a verbal death threat made by soloist Gendo Ikari against one of my teammates, Shinji Ikari."
"When was the verbal death threat made?"
"Less than two minutes ago."
"And there was no indication that he was joking?"
"None. He's piloting a Death Stinger that has been damaged in the last fight of this year's Royal Cup. The rules are clear: If a death threat is made against another competitor with every intention of carrying it out, the one who makes the threat must be dealt with."
There was a silent pause from the woman on the other end of the communication channel, and Nico wasn't sure if they were taking this serious like she was.
"We just received a confirmation recording of the verbal threat he made against his son," she hears the woman finally respond. "It's a legitimate threat. Gendo Ikari has violated the rules and will face the penalty for doing such."
As much as Nico wants to feel at ease over this, she doesn't. Not until Gendo is stopped. In addition, this wasn't how she expected her team to win; Gendo's threat against Shinji would mean an automatic victory for the Clover Team, regardless of whether or not Shinji made it to the console he needed to find representing the finish line. Still, it was a victory, for better or for worse, and all she can do is accept it.
"Nico to Drake, Valerie and Geisha. Over." She contacts the other team members. "Do you read? Over. I repeat, do you read? Over."
"Valerie to Nico," she hears Valerie's voice. "I read you. Over."
"I hear you, too," Drake's voice adds in. "Over."
"Geisha here," Geisha also adds in. "What's going on?"
"I just reported Gendo for making a death threat against Shinji."
"He what?!" Drake reacts, causing Nico to cringe. "Oh, he just bought the crown for losers."
"Does Shinji know?" Valerie questions.
"No, but he's going to get an update soon. The ZBC confirmed the legitimacy of Gendo's threat. We have more than likely just secured our victory here."
"It doesn't feel right," Geisha says in response to this. "To win like this. Not like this."
"I know," Drake replies. "It's a bitter taste on your tongue. It pales in comparison to the real taste of victory."
-x-
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! An alarm goes off nearby on the Ultrasaurus wreckage, getting Shinji and Gendo's attention.
The Judge nearby is blinking red; something was clearly wrong here.
"Battle foul!" The Judge declares, pointing its red arm towards Gendo's Death Stinger. "Battle foul! Gendo Ikari! You are in violation of the Zoid Battle Commission's rules and regulations! A verbal threat of death is prohibited under combatant protection laws! You are hereby disqualified from the Royal Cup tournament and ordered to cease and desist further combat!"
Shinji couldn't believe this! His father was disqualified for making a verbal death threat? This meant the fight for control over the console was no longer valid, meaning the Clover Team won by default because of Gendo's death threat towards him! It was beyond unbelievable!
But Gendo… Gendo turned his attention onto the Judge, aiming his right rear pincer at it! Since he has little to absolutely no respect for any authority beyond his own, he wouldn't play by the rules any further.
"You…you're nothing more than a robot…and you think you can order me around?" He questions, the pincer opening to reveal a small rocket inside it.
"Cease and desist, Gendo Ikari!" The Judge orders. "By order the Zoid Battle Commission, you are disqualified from further competition! The Clover Team wins the Royal Cup by default! Any defiance is punishable by higher courses of actions!"
"Oh, I don't intend to defy any further," Gendo responds. "I intend to destroy you!"
The rocket was fired at the Judge, and it reduces it to pieces, surprising Shinji with his father's arrogant behavior over what they both just heard.
"Aah!" He shudders.
-x-
"What the Hell?!" Misato reacts in response to Gendo's act against the Judge.
-x-
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," went Shinji's uncle upon seeing Gendo destroy a Judge.
"I wish," his wife replies. "He just lost it big this time."
-x-
Fuyutsuki is in disbelief over this turn of events. Because of Gendo's actions against Shinji that confirmed he made a genuine threat on his son's life, he was disqualified from the Royal Cup, earning Shinji the win for his team, only to destroy the Judge that disqualified him.
"Ikari, what are you doing?" He wonders.
"Is he completely crazy?!" Asuka questions. "He just attacked a Judge!"
"Must be crazy!" Kaji suspects.
"He must have a logical reason for this behavior of his," Rei states, but then sees the Death Stinger open fire on Liger Rogue, which jumps out of the way and returns fire. "Oh."
"There is nothing logical about this!" Asuka insists. "If these Zoid Battle Commission people just confirmed that making a death threat against one of the competitors is against the rules and you get disqualified for doing such, you don't continue like you're still going to win! And look at what he's doing! He's still trying to attack his kid! This can't be a petty rivalry! It looks more like an attempt to commit neonaticide! The guy's deliberately trying to murder his own son!"
Although this was only Asuka's claim, Fuyutsuki doesn't doubt it for an instant. It really seems like Gendo was out to end his son's life…simply for refusing to return to Japan to pilot the Eva…and learning everything he should've known beforehand. If this was the case, then Gendo was unlikely to stop unless he was dealt with severely.
On the tablets and screens, everyone at NERV HQ could see Liger Rogue charging towards the Death Stinger while still firing laser rounds from the cannons that emerged from its back.
"It's unbelievable, people!" The voice from before utters. "Despite having been disqualified from the Royal Cup, Gendo Ikari is still attacking Shinji Ikari, forcing the Clover Team competitor to react in self-defense! The ZBC has just issued a unit to the finish line site after Gendo destroyed the Judgeman assigned to the location, but things are not looking optimistic for Shinji Ikari right now. This might not even be a battle to decide the outcome of the Royal Cup. This may just be a battle to decide which one of them comes out of this alive."
Fuyutsuki can only wonder what Yui might have done if she had learned that her husband was trying to kill her son.
-x-
"Shinji, a penalty squadron is on the way to your location," Nico informs Shinji as he climbs atop the back of a different Ultrasaurus Zoid, keeping his eyes on his father's Death Stinger. "You can get away from there. We've won the Royal Cup. It's moot to fight for control over that console now."
"That may be the case, Nico," Shinji responds, "but it's not over for my Father and I. He set this in motion when he sent for me to come to Tokyo-3. Although you gave me an alternate choice to choose from that was better than what he wanted me to do for him, Father can't let go of a grudge. And he and I have a score to settle. It's either him…or me. How long until the penalty squad gets to where we are?"
"Twelve minutes. Shinji, you have twelve minutes to stop your father. Be careful. This isn't a sanctioned match, so if there were a Battle Mode, it'd be what the old Backdraft Group used in their day: Zero-Nine-Nine-Nine. No holds barred. Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Shinji looks at the Death Stinger as he's sure his father is staring back at him with unrelenting hatred. He was bound to have a struggle in this just to see the next day.
"Shinji," Nico repeats, "are you sure you're ready for this?"
"Yeah, Nico," he answers her. "This is gonna get ugly…and only one of us is coming out of this with the last win."
"Be careful. Even with just one front pincer left, the Death Stinger is still a versatile threat. But after the degree of damage you and the others inflicted upon it, I would say that your chances of success are within the forty-percentile range. Forty-five percent at best."
"Still better than zero."
"Hey, Shinji," he hears Drake's voice through the intercom. "The Royal Cup might be over, but this is a fight that has to be won! I'm rooting for your success!"
"We're all rooting for you to come out of this on top, Shinji," went Geisha's voice in addition.
"Kick your father's Zoid into the ground," Valerie's voice tells him.
"Thanks, y'all," he praises them. "I got this."
"Rrrrraaurgh!" Liger Rogue roars down at the Death Stinger as it climbs up the back of the Ultrasaurus. "Rrrraurgh!"
"Let's go, Rogue!" Shinji says, and Liger Rogue charges toward the enemy Zoid.
Gendo glares as he fires his remaining rockers at the liger, a barrage of firepower intended to cripple his son.
Die, he thinks as he watches the rockets explode across the Zoid wreckage. Die on this waste of a planet around these wretched aliens that look like humans! Die for your insolence! Just die!
The explosions ring for a long minute, and Gendo had run out of rockets to fire.
Where are you? He wonders as the smokescreen is thick with darkness, preparing to fire his CPC, just in case of another surprise attack.
Burst! Liger Rogue emerges from the smokescreen and slams right into the Death Stinger, surprising Gendo with how fast and bold his son was being right now.
"Rrrrraaugh!" Liger Rogue roars at the Death Stinger as it claws at its sides, causing further damage to the Zoid. "Rrrraurgh!"
"Die!" Gendo yells, aiming his CPC down at Liger Rogue. "Die and burn in Hell!"
He opens fire at Liger Rogue, more than aware that he runs the risk of endangering himself in the process, but is so focused on killing his son that he doesn't care, so long as he kills him. The beam of charged particles hits it on its back, but the Zoid continues to deal in damage to the remaining pincer, and Gendo can only watch as the liger separates the pincer from the rest of the body, watching it fall away.
"Is this the best you can do?!" Gendo demands from Shinji.
His eyes widen at the liger's resiliency; despite being hit by the charged particles, the armor that had been used to replace the previous purple and green armor was still holding.
-x-
Prepping for Dangers
"…An anti-particle coating?" Shinji questions as Drake is looking up at the large, robotic arms in the hangar.
"Yeah," Drake replies as he presses a button and the arms start spraying his G-Rex with a light-like coating. "Since the Death Stinger is among the blacklisted Zoids that use Charged Particle Cannons, I'm coating my G-Rex in anti-particles as a safety measure. The coating might only last for a few minutes against repeated and prolonged blasts, but it's better than just going into battle with just the gear I have."
"Yeah. Say, will you be coating all our Zoids with these anti-particles?"
"That's the general idea. Out of all the known weapons ever mounted on a Zoid that could use them, the Charged Particle Cannon is among the most powerful and most dangerous. Now, you saw those simulations of the one used by the Death Saurer, right?"
"Yeah. That one is considered the most powerful version, with later variants being less potent due to being equipped to Zoids of lesser size, sacrificing much of the power for stability."
Drake nods in response to Shinji's understanding of the CPC, and tells him that it should take no more than an hour to coat all the Clover Team Zoids in anti-particles against charged particles.
"Whose team aiming for the top?" Drake says as Shinji walks away.
"Our team!" Shinji replies.
-x-
So far, the coating of anti-particles was withstanding the brunt of the Death Stinger's CPC, but Shinji wasn't going to risk jinxing his opportunity to defeat his father for good, and has Liger Rogue continue to bite and claw at it to disable it.
"Any last words, boy?!" He hears Gendo question.
"Yeah, two," he responds. "Got you!"
Liger Rogue's left claw tore through the Death Stinger's armor and sent a series of small explosions down the back of the scorpion Zoid's body, right up to the tail, which ceased firing its CPC. As the Death Stinger collapses right after, Liger Rogue takes an additional bite out of the Zoid and causes the head to be dislodged from the rest of the body, causing the Zoid to perform a minor impression of a death rattle.
Gendo couldn't believe that he was defeated by his son! All systems in his Death Stinger were no longer functional! With the exception of the Zoid Core being intact, the Zoid itself wasn't going to be moving on its own at anytime now.
"Grrrr… Aaaaaaurgh!" He yells at Shinji. "Aaaaurgh!"
"Rrrrrraaurgh!" Liger Rogue roars into the air, taking satisfaction in its victory against the Death Stinger. "Rrrrrrraaurgh!"
-x-
"He did it!" Geisha cheers as she, Valerie and Drake saw Liger Rogue trash the Death Stinger. "He did it!"
"He sure did," Valerie expresses with a smile on her face.
"He's a badass now," Drake claims. "He kicked his father's ass."
Geisha looks out into the distance and spots something in the air.
"Well, I'll be," she says, pointing towards the object. "It's a Great White Whale King!"
A Great White Whale King was basically a Whale King that was white in its coloration, and in the case of the Zoid Battle Commission, it was operated by their security division.
"They're late to the party that ended two minutes ago," Valerie utters.
"They still get at least one party favor," Drake says.
-x-
From out the Great White Whale King, Shinji saw several smaller Zoids capable of flight coming towards him as he made his way to the console he saw earlier. Even though it was now unnecessary to do so, he feels that this was proof of his victory. Placing his Zoid Gear into the console, he enters his name and team.
"Congratulations, Shinji Ikari of the Clover Team," a female electronic voice tells him. "You and your team have entered the pantheon of Class 'S'. Welcome aboard."
Shinji smiles and looks up at the sky, feeling like he has just earned his victory.
"We made it," he tells himself.
Whoosh! A breeze swept past him as he turns around to see a Nightwise landing nearby, followed by eight more of the Zoid and a Hurricanehawk.
People vacated the Zoids and about six of them went to the Death Stinger while the rest went to where Shinji and Liger Rogue were. They were dressed in red, white and blue uniforms with the initials Z.B.C. on their arms, chests and backs.
"Shinji Ikari?" The leader, a large, muscular woman with short, light green hair and a blue inverted triangle on her left cheek, addresses as they approach him. "Are you Shinji Ikari?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answers her.
She looks over at the damaged Death Stinger that was being vacated of its sole occupant, albeit against his will as the men placed restraints on him, and then back to Shinji.
"Did you do that?" She questions, pointing to the ruins of the Zoid.
"We did it," he replies, pointing to himself and Liger Rogue nearby, who roared triumphantly.
"Impressive. A bit extreme, but better than the alternative outcome. Even though your Clover Team automatically won the Royal Cup when your father made his verbal threat of death towards you, you continued to fight until he couldn't persist before proceeding to the console and entering your Zoid Gear."
"It…it felt like the right thing to do," Shinji confesses.
"Even so, I must say this: Congratulations on making it into Class 'S' this way, and I don't mean being targeted by a competing opponent…but by facing your opponent and prevailing. Not only is making death threats against other competitors prohibited, it disqualifies you from future Royal Cups until you have proven you can treat the tournament like any other game where the goal is to win, but not by unnecessary means."
"Defeating the opponent means they can't continue to participate, but not because of an extreme act of violence that is illegal and excessive. No Zoid match should be to the death at all."
"Exactly."
Shinji watches as Gendo is being dragged away in full-body restraints, restricting his movements. He also had a restraint mask on his face, obscuring all but his eyes, which narrow at Shinji as he is taken away.
"Is all of that necessary?" He asks the woman.
"Only for those that try to fight back," she answers him, "and he tried to fight back."
"What's going to happen him?"
"Since he's from Earth, he'll get a speedy trial and then be sent back to the other side of the Milky Way from whence he originates. Worst-case scenario, he gets banished for life."
"Meaning…he can never return here?"
"Right."
It was one thing to want to leave one planet for another of one's own volition after careful consideration, but it was another thing to be sentenced back to one's previous planet and forbidden to travel back to the one you were banished from…is almost comparable to being made to endure the end of the world while everyone else got to leave towards a sanctuary. But this was the fate his father brought upon himself for threatening his life, so it wasn't really on Shinji in any way. It was Gendo that decided to threaten him, and he alone would answer for doing so. All Shinji did…was what he decided to do to put an end to his father's fury.
"So, how does it feel to win the Royal Cup?" The woman asks Shinji.
"It feels like anything is possible now," he says, looking up at the sky.
As he was being placed inside large capsule attached to the legs of a Nightwise, Gendo could not believe he was defeated by his son, apprehended by some aliens that look like human beings…and caged like a rabid dog just waiting to be put out of its misery. He knows that if his son's Zoid hadn't grown a little to rival the Death Stinger, he would've won. Even if it had armor that put up a strong defense against the CPC, it wouldn't have lasted forever, and he would've likely killed him. But fate played its hand and spared Shinji from an undeserving fate, something he blamed God for doing. And he couldn't change any of it, not when the opportunity presented itself…and he will never get another chance to make his son pay for his insolence.
Soon, he would be sent back to Earth with the warning that he never return to Zi.
-x-
"Mein Gott," went Asuka as she could not believe that Shinji defeated his father and secured his place in this Class "S" group with his team. "That idiot really won."
"Yeah, and against his father who was trying to kill him," adds Kaji, looking at the tablet and screens that show Shinji and the rest of the Clover Team as the victors of the Royal Cup. "Still, a victory earned is a victory deserved, and he earned it."
-x-
Misato was stunned by Shinji's success against his father as he was arrested and taken away by the ZBC authorities.
"Crazy, huh?" She asks Pen-Pen, who nods in agreement with her.
-x-
"He won the Royal Cup?!" Shinji's cousin demands from his parents, seeing on his tablet that his cousin and the team he was on had made it into Class "S". "For real?! No fooling?"
"He beat his father who tried to kill him," his mother explains, "and then watched him get dragged away."
"On the plus side," his father says, "this means that now, because he won and secured his own future, we don't have to concern ourselves with him, anymore."
"We don't?" Their son asks them.
"Shinji made his own choice about not coming back to Earth if he won the tournament," his mother explains. "Since he won, he doesn't have to return. At all."
"He's really just going to…live on Zi? On an alien world with aliens that look like people? Can he really do that?"
"Unfortunately," his father utters, "he can now. And his status as a member of this Class 'S' group has more than likely given him the means to secure his future. Winning the Royal Cup bestows the victors with an impressive bounty."
"How impressive?" The son wishes to know.
"Like winning the lottery."
-x-
"…Oh, these three are looking at three weeks of repairs," Nico tells her team as Geisha's Storm Sworder, Drake's G-Rex and Valerie's Geno Saurer were air-lifted onto her Gustav's massive trailer, pieces and all. "On the plus side, their Zoid Cores are all intact, so they'll be good as new in due time."
"Somehow," went Valerie as she looks at her baby, "this revelation doesn't make me worry so much, anymore."
"We're in Class 'S' now," Drake explains. "For the next year, we don't have to fight anyone to make it to the top. We got nothing but time."
"And we owe it all to Shinji and Liger Rogue," says Geisha, looking at Shinji.
"Please," Shinji responds as he shakes his head in the negative. "There's no 'I' in 'team' or 'me'. It wasn't just me or Liger Rogue. It was all of us. We all did our best and gave it our all to win. Whose team won the Royal Cup?"
"Our team!" They all respond, and Shinji smiles.
Unlike his father, Shinji is not out for himself. He is part of a team, and each member has quirks that made them want to compete and get to where they are now. It didn't matter any further who they were before they met up, who believed in them or cast their doubts upon them, because they were here now. They were all here, and it was a good feeling.
"He's right," went Nico. "You all did good out there. I know you're only the first team I've ever made and managed in my short life…but I have to say this with complete honesty. I'm proud of you four and your success. Very proud of you."
All four fighters felt elation at hearing this.
"We're among the best," Valerie utters.
To be continued…
A/N: It's not over yet. The Royal Cup is over, but the rest of the journey is far from done. I forgot that it's Valentine's Day today. Enjoy the love today.