Pointy Muses Fic 8 - Relative Pain

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Pointy Muses Fic

Chapter Eight - Relative Pain

By Rick R.

*****

The sound of the front door buzzer rang throughout the converted factory that served as the Broken Chairs' team base. After yesterday's events, this cause nothing short of a moment of brief panic as the four members of the team tried to figure what was going on.

"You don't think its NUBG again?" Neil began.

"Aren't the PKB meant to watching this place?" Stephen added, walking out from his room with a pistol in hand.

"Whoa, put that thing down!" Rose called out. "Let's not get too panicky guys. Why would NUBG be at our door?"

"Maybe they're tryin' to get people into illegal battles by goin' door to door." Tasch began. "You know, they offer ya a place in an illegal battle, but this way they don't broadcast it or anything, so its kinda secret."

"Okay, that's just nuts." Rose shook her head. "You're all being nuts. Your average NUBG goon isn't smart enough to think of that."

"They were smart enough to ambush us." Neil interjected. "That should tell you something."

"I don't think the NUBG would be going door to door." Stephen spoke up.

"But what if that's what they want y'all to think?" Tasch asked. "I mean, they hope that y'all aren't expecting them to go door to door, so they do it because you don't expect it."

"...It’s too early in the morning for this." Neil sighed.

The door buzzed again. "Fine, I'm going down there." Stephen spoke up as he stuffed the pistol into the back of his pants. "If you hear shooting, come down." He walked past them, stepping out of the living room and into the Zoid hanger where their machines were waiting. The four Zoids all bore scars from yesterday's battle, and all would need a lot of work before they were all fully operational.

He walked over too the front door and partially opened it, warily looking out at the people outside. It was a young man and woman, both dressed in PKB uniforms, both holding up their warrant cards. Behind them, he could see a pair of squad cars parked outside the factory. "Stephen Chesterton?" The woman began. "I'm PC Lisa Page, and this is PC Tony Cole."

"Uh, hi." He began, not expecting the PKB to be here, and wishing he didn’t have his gun on him. "Can I ask what this is about?"

"This is a follow-up to the incident from yesterday." Tony explained. "Something's come up that we'd like you to have a look at."

"Sure." He replied as he glanced inside the hanger. "Did you want to see me or the whole team?"

"The whole team, actually." Lisa stated. "We'd like you to look over something that we think might be related to it."

"Okay then." He really wished that he didn't have his gun on him now. "Just give me a minute to get everyone."

"Thank you for that, mister Chesterton."

He ducked back inside the base, walking into the main living room where everyone was waiting. "Well?" Neil asked. "NUBG, Encyclopedia Salesmen or other?"

"PKB, actually." Stephen replied. "They want us to come and look at something that has something to do with the NUBG battle yesterday." He explained.

"Care to be any more vague?" Neil quipped.

"Come on." Rose glared at him. "We might as well help them. Last thing I want to do is get on the PKB's bad side."

The four of them stepped out of their base, joining the pair of officers. A short ride in the two squad cars took them out to a run-down industrial district on the outskirts of the city, the same area that Neil and Rose had faced off with the NUBG Dark Spiner and liger Zero X. As the cars approached, thy could see several cars as well as a couple of PKB Zoids parked nearby.

"What in the heck do ya think is going on?" Tasch asked Neil who was sitting next to him in the second car.

"Maybe it’s a private party." He commented. "Or maybe they found a bit of Dark Spiner that they missed which has all its vital details on it. Serial number, purchaser, pilot's name, shoe size and favorite film."

"They can tell all that from one piece of evidence?" Tasch asked. "I didn't think their forensics were that good."

"Sure they are. Don't you ever watch that cop show?"

"The one with the Pteras? Naw." She shook her head. "But I do like some of the Cop shows from home."

"What, where the officers make wisecracks, talk about their private lives, chase down young tearaways, beat them to within an inch of their lives and sentence them to ten years hard labor for jaywalking?"

"Oh, so you watch 'em too?" Tasch asked.

Neil wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Instead, he just watched the ride.

The two cars pulled up near the group of Zoids, the PKB officers leading their four passengers over to another group of PKB officers. In the middle of their group was a middle-aged man in a suit with a shaved head, presumably to cover the fact that he was very bald. He turned to face them as they arrived. "Chief Detective Jack Hindle." He began. "Thanks for coming."

"Can I ask what this is about?" Stephen asked.

"We'd like some answers." Neil added. "Rose doesn't like to be up before ten."

"Hey!"

"If you'd like to follow me, I want to show you what's going on." He lead them through he crowd of Zoids and personnel to cordoned off area. In the middle of it was a mass of twisted, dismembered Zoid parts. Most of them were bright orange, but there were some black and silver parts. "We found this Lord Gale this morning. We were wondering if it was the same one as you fought yesterday."

"Lord Gale?" Stephen asked. "I'm surprised that you can identify it as such."

"Well, its pumpkin orange." Tasch offered. "So there ain't too much else that it could be."

"What about a Flyscissors?" Rose asked. "Or, uh, a couple of Flyscissors?"

"Naw, Flyscissors is a far brighter orange." Tasch explained as she shook her head.

Stephen looked over it. "I guess it could be the same one. There's very little left in the way of identifying marks." He examined the debris. "Hey, Tasch, did that lord Gale have anything on it that made it stand out?"

"It has some sorta logo on the wings." She replied. "Sorta like a claw thing or the like."

Rose looked at the mess of parts. "Say, where are the wings?"

Hindle shook his head. "We haven't found much of them yet. We think that they were shot off or destroyed by whatever did this."

"I can't see its claw arm thing either." Neil spoke up. "And you did slice it off."

"Yeah..." Tasch looked around. "Y'all found what bit is its right arm?"

"Over here." Hindle indicated to a length of twisted orange servos lying next to a silver blox that looked like it had been chewed on. The end of the arm, however, looked different to the rest of the debris. Whereas most everything else had been ripped or torn, the end was rather neatly sliced off. "This what you were talking about?"

Tasch looked at the sliced off end. "Yeah, that looks like it." She commented. "I sliced off his arm, and commented that he was a Hemmignway fan." She snickered for a moment. "That was kinda fun, actually."

"Don't ask." Rose added to Jack.

"So do you know who or what did this?" Stephen asked. "Trust me, the lord Gale wasn't like this when we last saw it."

"Initial analysis suggests that it was attacked with some sort of charged claw and fang weapons." He explained. "So current suggestion is a big cat."

Neil glanced at rose. "So, what were you up to last night?"

"Don't look at me." She put her hands in the air. "The PKB were watching us all last night. I couldn't have gone anywhere last night without them knowing. Besides, my Zero's still full of holes. I wouldn't have gone out like that."

"Do you know anyone else who this could have been?" Jack asked. "Anyone else who you know? I'd ask who has a grudge against the NUBG, but I know that’s casting too wide a net."

"Nobody I can think of." Neil admitted. "Rose is the only sharp cat pilot I know of."

"Uh, yeah." She replied. "I, uh, I couldn't think of anyone myself."

"How about however it was who attacked the Spiner and the Zero X?" Stephen asked. "Think it could be the same person?"

"We've considered that option." Jack admitted. "But we don't have any idea who that was. We were hoping that you’d be able to shed some light on it."

"Anyone’s think that we had someone followin' us." Tasch added. "What with it attackin' three different Zoids that have attacked us."

"Great. We have our own deranged stalker." Neil commented. "Just what I always wanted. I guess we really are famous now."

“What about the pilot?” Stephen asked.

“No sign.” Jack pointed to the cockpit module which was lying nearby. It was a bit battered, but relatively intact. The pilot was either not in the Zoid when it was destroyed, or he got incredibly lucky.

"Is there anything else we can help with?" Stephen asked, trying hard not to think about the implications of what he'd just said.

"No, I think that should be fine." Jack commented. "Thanks for your help. If anyhting else comes up, we'll let you know."

*****

Miles Slate stepped into the cafe, looking around for his contact. He'd made this meeting after learning some interesting things about the next round of the Zoid battles, and which teams would be matched up against each other. The information he'd gained presented a few opportunities for him.

He liked to project the image of the professional sportsman. He was sophisticated, intelligent, mature and skilled at what he did. He was humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Or at least, that's what he liked to pretend. He also knew what the truth was. Deep down, Miles Slate hated to loose. Being defeated was the one thing that really, really got to him. Simply put, he didn't like it. He liked to always be ahead, be number one. He wanted to be on top of the world, and not one of the also-rans. He hated to come second.

Of course, he didn't get mad. No, he wasn't like that idiot Slash who chucked temper tantrums and cried to his parents. No, he planned and thought things through, and looked for other ways to get an advantage. When the Firestorm Team had been just squeezed out of the finals last year, he'd figured his way around it. He'd used the departure of two of the team members as an opportunity to rebuild the team and recruit a very skilled pilot into its ranks, as well as another one who, while not as skilled, was still very capable. And, he figured, hiring Krystal had other bonuses too.

Their battle with the Broken Chairs had been rather upsetting for him. It wasn’t just that they'd lost which got him. It was that they'd lost to a team of amateurs who seemed to have more luck then actual skill. That they had lost by such a close margin was little consolation. After all, he wasn't the last of them to go down. The fact that his team were otherwise undefeated so far in the season only made it hurt more.

So today was all about revenge.

He sat down in a booth, quietly waiting for them to arrive. He was rewarded a moment later when a pair of attractive young women joined him, sitting in the seat opposite him. He knew the taller of the pair of them, who had been a member of the old Firestorm team before being headhunted. "Hey there, Keiko." He began.

Keiko Morimoto nodded. She had long black hair worn in a ponytail and almond shaped brown eyes which had just a very vague reddish tint to them. She was dressed in a rather simple blouse and slacks, which made her a stark contrast to her companion. "Good to see you, Miles." She replied.

"And this is?" He asked, turning to her companion.

Shorter then Keiko, she couldn’t have looked too much different. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes, and dressed somewhat differently then her friend. She wore a tight, vee-necked shirt that showed off her ample cleavage, as well as a miniskirt and high-heeled boots. "Michelle Levesque." She replied. "Pleased to meetcha."

"Likewise" he replied, appraising her form. Not too shabby, actually, he thought. I wonder if she’s free tonight? He figured that Krys wouldn’t know, as she'd be too busy trying to get into Drake's pants.

"So what's this all about?" Keiko asked. "I'm guessing this is not a former Firestorm reunion, as we're a bit short."

He shook his head. "Actually, it’s a bit of an opportunity for the pair of you." He began. "I have an offer for you."

"Do go on." Michelle began, leaning closer. Keiko remained impassive for now.

"There's a certain team that I know you are going up against in the next round." He explained. "One that I've dealt with in past."

"That's the Broken Chairs." Keiko spoke up. "And you're carrying a grudge against them."

"I wouldn't say that-"

Keiko gave a smug grin. "Oh, I know you too well, Miles." She spoke up. "I know what you're like when someone beats you. And I that being whipped by those amateurs won't have gone down well with you."

Miles remained calm. "At any rate, the chairs have ad a few run-ins with NUBG." He explained. "And while they've managed to get out of it both times, they haven't gotten off scot free. Their Zoids got badly banged up in their last battle and, while they probably can repair them, I can imagine that they're probably getting low on supplies and parts... and low on cash to replace them."

"Your point being?" Michelle asked.

"I can do something for you if you can do something for me." He continued. "I've fought these guys. I can tell you everything you need to know and what you need to look out for, which will help you beat them. I know that you guys are surrendering a lot of weight to them, and you'll need every advantage you can get."

"This is true." Keiko admitted. "It sounds good."

"So what do you want?" Michelle asked.

"Simple." He replied. "I don't just want them beaten. I want them broken. If you get the chance, put the boot in. Throw in a little overkill. Hit them when they're down. That kinda stuff." He grinned. "Make them look bad, and beat up their machines as much as you can."

"So in return for your helping us win, you get your jollies from watching us beat them down." Keiko finished. "I don’t see anything wrong with that."

"Sounds good to me too." Michelle finished. "And trust me, we will beat 'em good."

"That’s what I wanted to hear." Miles finished, a smug grin on his face. "Good luck, girls."

*****

After the excitement of the last round of the tournament (and the endless hours of police interviews and statements that had came after it), it had actually been rather quiet around the Broken Chairs' base. There had been little to do aside from work on the Zoids and try to get them back into shape for the next round of the tournament, and then spend the rest of their time waiting around.

Tasch's experience as a Zoid tech had actually paid off well here. She'd taken charge of the repairs and managed to get a good amount of work done on getting their machines back into shape herself with some help from Stephen. It'd helped cut down the amount of time they'd expected to take, and saved them a bit on labour, if not parts. Of course, the repairs from the battle had left them rather out of pocket, especially given that they hadn't won anything from their battle with the NUBG team.

"Well that's done." Tasch began as she walked into their living room. She was dressed in a baggy jumpsuit and covered in grease, which didn't discorage her from flopping down into one of their battered chairs. "All the Zoids are now in full working order. An' I'm comptletly pooped."

"Thanks for that, Tasch." Stephen said as he walked past her. "Can I get you a drink?

"An orange juice would be real good, actually." She replied and smiled. "So how's the rest of you doing?"

"Not too bad, actually." Neil spoke up from his seat in front of the console. "Save for the fact that Rose has been kicking my arse from here to the Bloody Gate."

Rose gave him a rather silly pout. "After endless rounds of loosing to both Tasch and Stephen, its good to have someone who I can actually beat."

"That's it." He replied. "Next win we get, I'm getting us a game besides Corona. One I can actually win at."

Whatever reply Rose could give was cut off by a loud, rhythmic crashing noise form outside. "Wha?" She asked. "What is that?"

"It sounds like a running Zoid." Stephen replied. "One that's moving very, very fast."

"In a suburban street?" Neil shook his head. "They'd be nuts."

"Hey, it ain't NUBG is it?" Tasch asked. "Like they're comin' to our door to deliver us a challenge?"

"They'd be nuts to do it with the PKB still watching us." Neil commented.

"Either that or very, very stupid." Rose added. "So don't rule it out."

There was a loud screeching noise from the front of the factory. As one, the team turned to look out the font as a Zoid entered, turning wildly on the concrete. The Zoid, a blue Liger Zero with a similarly coloured Fire Phoenix attached to it, skidded to a halt just in front of the factory.

"Who the hell is that?" Stephen asked as he looked down at the fused Zoid.

"Whoever it is, they're nuts." Neil added

"It has to be the NUBG." Tasch commented.

Rose looked over the Zoid, a sickening feeling in her stomach. She noticed something on one of its wings that confirmed her worst fears. It was a custom logo, a grinning smiley face with a pair of cat ears on top. "No," she muttered. "It’s worse." She rushed past the three of them, sprinting down the stairs to the main hanger.

"What's up with you?" Stephen asked as she dashed by.

"Can't talk." She added as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Okay, this I have to see." Neil commented as he followed her down. "Anything that has her that panicked has to be either very good or very, very bad."

Rose reached the front door with Neil just behind her, opening to find a figure standing in the doorway. Looking over them, Neil noted that they looked a lot like Rose. Their hair was a bit darker, and they had blue eyes instead of Rose's green. What was the most striking was their size. The woman was a lot taller then Rose (Who was herself very tall) and probably a hair above Stephen.

"Violet!" Rose began, an apprehensive tone in her voice. "So good to see-"

"OHMYGORD!" The other woman squealed out as she stepped in through the door, grabbing Rose in a bone-crushing hug. "Rose! Look at you, you're a real Zoid pilot now! You look fantastic, you know that? You look really really good and it is so damned good to see you! I have not seen you in, like, forever since you left home and stuff and now here you are in the big city as a professional Zoid pilot and kicking butts! That is like so totally amazing, you know that? I have missed you so, so much, Rose and I want to hear al about how you are going and stuff!" She vomited out without even stopping for breath.

"I'm great, Vi, really." Rose managed to get out as she was let go and staggered back. "And how are you going?"

"I'm fantastic, Rose, really great. I've been on an extended holiday on all my winnings and all the product endorsements that I got and its been really, really cool and I've been on a self guided tour of the Eastern Continent (And why do they call it the Eastern Continent? Doesn't it have a name like Europa or Delpoli or Nyx even?) and taking in all the sights and all the beaches and lying around and having a good time and chasing guys and avoiding fanboys and having a great time of it. Okay, so I had to do a shoot for one of those swimsuit companies I endorse, but it was cool 'cause it was two weeks of lying around on beaches and getting paid for it! How awesome is that?"

"That's great to hear, Vi." She continued, a rather apprehensive tone in her voice. "You sound like you're having a really good time."

Neil, who had been standing there, staring in gobsmacked horror finally spoke up. "Uh, hi there." He managed.

"Oh, hey there!" She blurted out. "You must be Neil, right? Rose has told me all about you guys and I figure you're Neil since you’re a bit on the short side and she said that there was a tall guy and a short guy on the team and it makes sense that you're the short guy then. So, hey there Neil, name's Violet, I'm rose's older sister but you probably already figured that out by now. Anyways, I was just passing through and I figured that I'd drop by and say Hi to my baby sister and meet the wonderful team that she's been telling me all about."

"Baby sister?" Neil asked.

"She's two years older." Rose replied. "But always noticeably taller."

"Really..." Neil replied.

"So, Sis." Violet continued, apparently not noticing a thing they'd said. "When do I get to meet this cool team of yours? Well, I mean the rest of it as I've already met Neil here and I just can't wait to meet the others if they’re as cool as you've described them as."

"Well, Violet, If you want to meet them, we can go in..." Rose offered.

"Think that's safe?" Neil asked.

"We couldn't stop her if she wanted too." Rose muttered back, then turned to Violet, who was looking around the hanger. "So, wanna stop hanging around in the doorway and meet the team?"

"Well all righty then!" She called out. "I have so been looking forwards to this, Sis." She began as she stepped into the room. "Hey this base is pretty neat, actually. I like the post-industrial grunge look of the place, sort of all bleak and run down but in a cool way not an awful way and the bare concrete has that sort of cool stark minimalism kind of thing that's really in right now. When I was competing I just rented a simple Zoid hanger with attached living space which was kinda minimalist but at the same time all that I needed because I rarely spent much time in it."

Rose lead them up the stairs into the main living room. Tasch and Stephen were both apprehensively standing by the window, watching the Zoid outside as if it were about to explode or something. "Er, guys?" Rose began. "I, uh, I'd like you to meet my older sister, Violet O'Bannon."

Violet stepped into the doorway, grinning and waving. "Heya guys!" She called out.

"Violet, this is Stephen Chesterton and Tasch Stroermer."

"Pleased to meet you." Stephen began as he turned to her.

"Oh hey, Steve!" Violet began. "Well, I'm guessing you're Stephen, since you look more like a 'Stephen' then she does and, well, you fit the description and the photos that Rose sent me and, well, hell, that’s what makes the most sense to me. Anyway, I'm Violet, Rose's big sister who used ot look out for her but trust me, from all that Rose has said, it sounds like you're doing pretty well in keeping her out of trouble if you know what I mean. Anyways, I'm not overly protective or going to bite your head off or anything like that so if you’re having it off with my baby sister it’s all cool with me. Okay, got a bit carried away there, but I guess you know what I mean, right?"

"I think so, yeah." Stephen replied, momentarily lost for words.

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"Hey there." Tasch interjected. "Darn pleased to meetcha all."

"Well hey there!" Violet squealed out. "Nice to meet you, Tasch. Rose has said a lota things about you, and you sound like a very interesting person, you know. I mean, she said you're some sorta ace pilot who does really, really weird things with your Redler that she never expected and sure as heck as I'd like to see that some day. She also said that you were from Nyx which I can see from your eyes which probably has a lot of people wondering if you're related to that Gilvader pilot guy what with the name and the Nyx thing and the fact that you pilot a black dragon Zoid and all that."

"Yeah, it happens to me a lot, but I kinda got used to it." Tasch replied. "But thanks for that.. Maybe y'all could hang around for our next match and I can show off some of what I can do." Behind her Rose was frantically shaking her head.

"You know what, that's kinda cool." Violet continued. "Yeah, I'd really like to see you guys in action after Rose told me so much about all you guys in how much butt you've been kicking. Sure as heck as I want to see what she can do but I also want to see the rest of you guys in action. Just because I'm not competing any more doesn't mean I'm not keeping my eyes open to see what's going on. 'sides, I'm planning to come back some day and when I do I want to see what all you kids are doing these days, know what I mean."

"Yeah, it makes sense." Tasch replied. "I mean, y'all would want to keep up to date with the competition. You wouldn't want to jus' walk in and find that everything’s different... like all of a sudden everyone was usin' Lidiers or the like. That's be horrible."

"Well, yeah!" Violet nodded enthusiastically. "So that's an even better reason to hang around here. I can catch up with all my old pals and all my old rivals and see how they're doing and what they’re up to and if there's any new trends so that when or if I get back into the swing of things and get back to kikin' butt. And who knows... I may end up crossin' paths with Rose or the rest of ya."

"Yeah... but there's one thing." Tasch commented. "If ya'll had a brother, what would he have been called? I mean, there ain't too many floral names that work for a guy."

Violet paused and considered this. "You know what, I never really thought of that. I never realised that mum and dad were so totally obsessed with the whole floral names thing until you just bought it up like that. Okay, that is weird. I may have to write to them and ask them just what they woulda done, ain't that right, sis?"

"Uh, sure." Rose looked over tp her. "Say, uh, you haven't heard from, uh..." She trailed off.

"Nnnnooo... you?" Violet replied, strangely apprehensive for a moment.

"Somehtin' up?" Tasch asked.

"Ah, nothing really. Just a little old silly thing, anyways." Violet continued. "Anyways, I saw your Redler on the way up. Its kinda interesting, what with the CP-24 on the back like that. I don't think I've ever seen a Redler like that... and I bet that there are very few others who have and that means that you probably surprise a lot of people with it. Heck, I'd have no idea what a Redler with CP-24 on it can do simply because I've never ever ever considered the possibility."

"Well, it ain't exactly common." Tasch shrugged. "'sides, it probably ain't as interestin’ as havin' a Fuzor like your Zoid is. Yeah, that'd be kinda cool... being a shiny pointy birdy kitty and all. But I wonder... does havin' the Phoenix head on top of the Liger head affect yer view?"

"Well the thing is that the Phoenix’s head ties into the Zero's cockpit displays or something like that." Violet began. "And the Phoenix’s feeds are combined with the Zero's feeds so that both pilots can get a full picture of what’s going on around them. Well, that is, if there's a pilot in both Zoids. Of course, there’s only one pilot in my Zoid which is me, but you get the idea. At any rate, I can see all of what's going on without the head of the Phoenix getting in the way or anything like that."

Neil watched the pair of them talking at each other. "Am I the only one who finds it kind of worrying that those two are getting along so well?" he asked.

"I'm just amazed that they understand each other." Stephen replied.

"And to think that she's a former ZBC champion." Neil continued. "I wouldn't have picked it."

"Still, it makes our odds look a bit better, I guess."

"Also true." Neil commented. "So, how about you? Got any scary siblings you're not letting us know about?"

"Definitely not." He angrily replied, glaring at Neil.

"Oookay." Neil shrugged back. "I'll just go... get out of the hazard area. Yeah." He glanced over at Violet. "Next continent should be fine."

*****

There was a bizarre belief in popular culture that criminals were some how glamorous or exciting people because what they did was illegal. The thought was that, simply because what they did was against the law, these people lead more interesting lives then those who walked the straight and narrow. The truth was anything but the case. Criminals were just as dull and boring as their law abiding counterparts, and their lives just as unexciting.

Rachel Golden firmly believed in this fact. Even though she was the personal assistant to the leader of the NUBG, and often the person that did a lot of the day to day work that kept the organisation running, her work was, in truth, no more exciting then that of any other office worker in the city. As she went through the financial records from the previous weekend's battles (including the one between their Bloody Claw team and that ZBC team), she could have just as easily been anywhere else in the city. The only difference was that she couldn't talk about her work, and there was always the risk of being caught. And she would have happily explained that there was no thrill in avoiding capture. It was just a matter of survival.

She finished the analysis of the weekend's takings. Even allowing for repairs needed to three Zoids (and possibly replacing a fourth) as well as a few bribes, they had come off rather well from the weekend. More to the point, they had done very well form the one battle alone. The audience hadn't so much enjoyed the battle between the Bloody Claw and that other team. No, they had lapped it up. They didn't care that the NUBG team had lost. They enjoyed it for the sheer excitement of seeing a battle between two teams from different orgnisations, ones that would otherwise never clash.

Which bought her back to her earlier point. They only enjoyed it because it was illegal. She shook her head as she thought about it. It was a very stupid mindset, but it was what made the NUBG its money and, as a result, put cash in her pocket. So who was she to argue?

A small message popped up in the corner of her computer's screen. Checking it, it bought up some very interesting information. Looking over it, she decided that Michael would have to know this. Standing up, she walked into his office. "Excuse me, Mr. Heywood." She began.

Michael looked up from the handheld video game he was playing. "What's up, Rach?" He asked.

"The PKB have found Templar's Zoid." She explained. "Or, at least, its wreckage. It appears to have been completely destroyed."

"Destroyed?" He asked. "What happened?"

"They're not sure. Whatever did it completely destroyed the Zoid, reducing it to parts and leaving behind very little evidence. I think that we can say that the Zoid is completely unrecoverable. All the PKB can say is that they think it may have been some sort of Liger or Tiger Zoid."

"Dammit." He muttered as he put the game down. "What about Jean? Any sign of him?"

"No." She stated. "He appears to have escaped his Zoid before it was destroyed. However, he's yet to report in anywhere, so we have to assume that he's missing."

"I see." He shrugged. "Tell people to keep a look out for him, just in case he turns up somewhere. Last thing I want is for him to get caught and end up spilling the guts to the PKB or the like." He leaned back in his chair. "And also see about getting the Claw a new leader or something. They're too popular to break up or anything like that."

"Yes, mister Heywood."

"Also, lets see about getting another shot at that ZBC team." He continued. "Things are looking up. Well, save for that whole 'loosing an entire arena' bit."

"Actually, Mr. Heywood, there was one other thing." She spoke up. "It may be a good idea to leave that team alone for the moment."

"Explain."

"I heard that former ZBC champion Violet O'Bannon was in town. She's the older sister of one of the pilots on that team - in fact, the Liger Zero pilot who caused this trouble to start with." Actually, it was entirely the fault of a single brainless pilot and the NUBG's poor screening procedures. "I was thinking that attacking a former ZBC champion would be more trouble then it was worth. Or, for that matter, attacking her immediate family while she's around."

"And you said it was a Liger that did it..." Michael trailed off. He sat up in his chair, opening a draw and pulling out a beer from his desk. "Here's what I want you to do, Rachel." He began as he opened the can. "Tell our people to keep an eye on that team as well. I want to know what they're up to, as well as when Violet is out of the picture. And put out more feelers to see about another battle. I like the way your balance sheets are coming up. "

"Certainly." She replied. "Anything else?"

"Naw, it’s cool." He finished, then took a swig from his beer. "Just keep at it, Rachel."

She nodded and then left his office, sitting down at her desk again. No fear there, she thought as she looked over her screen. Tracking down Jean would have to be a priority for now. He was one of NUBG's senior pilots, and, as a result, could be a danger to the organisation if caught. Still, it wasn't all gloom and doom. She'd been hoping that Michael would be pursuing the mater with the Broken Chairs further. It was proving to be quite interesting.

*****

Rose had been politely volunteered by the other members of the team to take Violet for a tour of the base. Rose figured that it was part because of the fact that she was, after all, Violet's sister, and part because both Stephen and Neil appeared to be afraid of her, and she was afraid of what Tasch may say. As they had been walking around, Rose had been filling Violet in on bits and pieces of what had happened to them since the start of her career in the Zoid battles.

"Yeah, I know NUBG." Violet began. "I was there for that one year where they got really, really annoying. I mean to say more annoying then they usually are, if you know what I mean. Of course, I was just a rookie then and not the devastatingly powerful and amazing champion that I would eventually come if you catch my drift. Of course, as a result of which I was far, far less interesting to them then I would have been if I was the champion, and we all know who was the champion at the time."

"Well, I guess." Rose replied, a little uncertainly. "Anyways, uh... I know you never said anything about it, but did you ever have any, uh, run-ins with the NUBG, so to speak?"

"They attacked individuals a lot less then they attacked teams probably because almost all the individual battles took place in the arena rather then out on the fields that you get so often in team battles like that last couple you told me about. Anyways, I never got involved directly with their battles but there was this one time that I did get involved with an NUBG battle after a fact." She continued.

"Really?" Rose asked. Violet had never said anything about fighting the NUBG. "Can i ask what happened?"

"Well, it was a stereotypically dark and stormy night because these sorts of things always happen on dark and stormy nights you know." She began. "Anyways, I was on my way home when I came across a Shadow Fox that was being chased by a Liger Zero X. I recongised the Fox as belonging to this guy I'd known and had a few battles against. He was kinda a funny guy too because he never really spoke to anyone. I mean anyone at all, what's up with that? Oh, and he wore all black except for blue gloves which was also a little weird. Anyways, it looked like he was trying to run and hide but he was being chased by a Zero X which is a lot bigger and a lot nastier and of course a lot faster. And as we were nowhere near an arena, I figured that it had to be NUBG."

"So what happened then?" Rose glanced at her.

"Well I figured that this battle was pretty unfair and that the NUBG guy was being a creep anyway and so I decided to help the poor guy out." Violet continued, unabated. "Anyways, I decided to charge in and teach him a lesson not to pick on poor ZBC warriors especially not ones who's Zoids are a lot smaller and less capable then theirs is. Anyways, I charged on in and opened up on the Zero X and did a pretty good job of smashing him up. At any rate, he broke off and ran away but I was happy to let him go besides which Zero Xs are all stealthy and the like and I didn't really feel like chasing him through the night but I gave him what for anyway."

"I see..." Rose considered this. "And after that, what? You never had any other run-ins with them?"

"Nnnope. None at all." Violet shook her head. "Of course it wasn't too long after that when NUBG suddenly stopped their attacks and we didn't really hear much from them again. I don’t know for certain but I have to wonder if I hadn't beat up some kinda bigwig and really discouraged them from doing anything stupid like that again. Or at least that's what I'd like to think happened." The pair of them walked into the Zoid hanger. "Hey, that's your Zero, right?"

"Yeah." Rose replied, wondering what else it could be. Violet already knew that she piloted a Zero, and it was the only Zoid that fit the description of 'large white cat' in the hanger. "Its one of those newer ones."

"Oh yeah, it’s missing the black spots on the head." Violet observed. "Still that kinda neat and hey! You got your own logo on your Zoid too." She called out as she leaped down next to the Zoid. The armour over the Zero's hips on its forelegs sported a large rose logo, similar to the tattoo on her abdomen. "That’s really cool, sis. I like it a lot. I mean, it suits you because it’s a rose and your name is Rose and you've got that cool tat (not that I’d ever get a tat but each to their own, huh?) and its just so very you."

"Yeah." Rose blushed a bit. "It was a bit expensive, but I think it was worth it. Makes the Zoid a bit more 'mine' I guess."

"Damn right it does, but it really works too." Violet continued. "I mean, I got my own custom logo on my Zoid and I think that its very me and makes the Zoid very much my own machine and tells everyone who I am and that logo is kinda cool anyways. And I think I've got the same logo on my regular blue Zero armour which is what my Zoid would use if it wasn't using its Phoenix fuzor which I hardly ever do but if I did it'd have the logo on it somewhere."

"Yeah, yours is pretty cool." Rose admitted.

"And hey the rest of your team have pretty cool Zoids too." She continued. "I mean, you've got an Iron Kong and that' pretty cool because the IK is a pretty classic design and its one that's pretty hard to go wrong with and that ones got all the gear like them Pink Kongs (I mean, that’s what PK stands for right? It is kinda pink and all) and that really kicks arse. Trust me, sis, Kongs are tough in a fight, especially when they’ve got the thruster pack and you do not want to be on the receiving end of a punch from one, yes indeed you better believe it."

"I've seen what happens when Stephen punches something with that Zoid." She commented. "It stays punched."

"Well it can crush a Leostriker in one hit, did you know that?" Violet continued. "I say a Leostriker because I saw an Iron Kong do that once and actually I think it was a Pink Kong. Anyways that's cool and the Gunsniper is also pretty neat because its a rather psychotically over armed Zoid for its size and you can kick a lot of arse in one of those, especially if you can get to cover and stuff and they say that Gunsnipers are smart Zoids and they can learn from their pilots and it makes me wonder if that Gunsniper has learned anything."

Probably how to steal potato chips, she thought. "No idea." She added.

"Oh, and you've got a Black Redler too!" Violet added, patently not noticing what Rose had said. "You said there was a Redler but you didn't say it was a Black Redler and that's really surprising because they're pretty rare and rather dangerous because they're all stealthy and elusive and stuff and the way that the Redler there is set up is pretty weird with the Flexible Boosters on the wings because I’ve never seen one like that and I'd say that its pretty dammed unique and I like it." She finished.

"Well, Tasch is a pretty... unique and unusual person" Rose explained. But then, you're pretty unique in your own way. I still can't believe it that you and her can carry on coherent conversations.

"Yeah, that’s a pretty cool lot of Zoids but I think that in the end I'll probably still be a pointy cat person." Violet explained. "Its got all the speed and agilty and stuff that I like and its pretty funky and I like the colours and besides which I noticed that pointy cats seem to run in the family. I mean, you have your Zero and I have my Zero Phoenix and dad has his Shield Liger that he kicked so much arse in and managed to get to the championship in which was a real surprise to everyone apparently, what with Shieldys being so underrated and all and then there's, uh..." She trailed off.

"...yeah." Rose nodded.

"Say, how are mum and dad doing?" Violet asked. "I mean, I know you haven't seen them in a while but I know that I haven't seen them for longer and you've probably been in more regular contact with them what with your being in one place for a lot longer then me so you can exchange long letters or e-mails or stuff rather then me who just sends off the odd postcard or maybe an e-mail and I usually don't have that much to say, actually. But then they'd probably also have a better idea of how you're doing and what you're up to by simply following the sports reports and watching what's going on because you know Dad obsessively watched during my season and he probably is going to for you too."

"I guess they are." Rose replied. "I know that they're both doing fine. I do talk to them every now and then and send letters and e-mails on occasion." In truth, she felt that she was being a little slack. "But they sound good."

"So how's about it, sis?" Violet suddenly butted in. "I don't want to pry but, you know me, I love to know what's going on with you and how things are hanging... and sooooo... are you with anyone at the moment? I mean, heck, you're sharing your base with a pair of rather eligible looking bachelors and Stephen looks kinda hunky and is pretty tall and buff if a bit plain around the face and that Neil guy's kinda cute even if you do tower over him or is it that there's someone else you're seeing? Come on, sis, its not like I’m gonna tell anyone." She needled.

"Well..." Rose blushed a bit. "There’s a guy who I'm not so much seeing but I am kinda friendly with anyways. He's a member of another team, one that we fought recently. His name's Drake Stone and he's-"

"Drake Stone?" She squealed out. "OHMIGORD! He is such a hunk isn't he? And he's so cool and he's such a great pilot to boot. I mean, I fought him for the grand final in my championship year and he was pretty damned hard to beat. But forget about his mad Zoid skills, you've got a prize catch there. I mean, he’s so buff and he's so polite and he's very well mannered and his hair is sooo damned cool. So are you actually with with him or is it just a friendship thing that you’re hoping to make into more?"

"Well, its just a friendship thing so far." She replied, blushing some more. "I didn't know that you two knew each other."

"It was only a bit." Violet replied dismissively. "We talked a bit and stuff after battles but we never went out or anything like that but then you guys are dearly a lot further down the road then I was if you're at a friendship thing stage because we only got to the stage of talking to each other on occasion and complimenting each other on our piloting skills and how we did on the battle but on the other hand it could have just been just us trying to figure the other one out before our battle."

"I see..." Rose nodded.

"Hey guys!" Neil called out as he stepped into the hanger, cutting off anything Violet may have said. "We've got another battle scheduled."

"Cool." Rose looked up to him. "Any idea who it’s against?"

"Some team called the Steel Sirens." He replied. "I don't know much about them."

"Steel Sirens..." Violet began. "Nope, I've never heard of them at all. But then they could be a new team I guess. I mean a lot of new teams could have formed since I've been away and this could be one of them or it could have formed out of several other teams or members of other teams or it could be some other team that's been renamed because every now and then a team does rename itself especially if there's a new team leader who takes over and he decides that the team's name doesn't suit what he wants for the team."

"Did you understand a word of that?" Neil asked.

Rose nodded, then turned back to her sister. "Tell you what, Violet. Do you want to come along to see the battle? I mean, I know I can't guarantee you a seat or anything, but..."

"Its cool, sis." Violet replied. "After all, I know a few people who know a few people and besides which I think that as a former ZBC champ I'd be able to pull a few strings or beat a few people up and probably get myself a halfway decent seat anyways. But don't doubt it, sis. One way or another, I'll be there for you, rooting for ya all the way. I mean, this is a golden opportunity to watch my baby sister and her pals kick some arse and I'm damned if I'm gonna pass that up. And i can also see if there's anyone else I know around and maybe say hi to them and see what they're up to."

"That's good to hear." Rose replied, wondering if Violet's presence would be a good thing or a bad thing.

*****

[Deadborder]

One wall of each of the team meeting rooms in the ZBC arenas consisted of a wide pane window that looked out over the team's Zoid hanger. In general, Zoid pilots liked to look over their Zoids prior to a battle, and the presence of the viewing windows allowed them to check on things while planning for the battle. It was a simple luxury, but one that went a long way towards improving the overall pilot performance.

Vanessa Baker, the leader of the Steel Sirens, turned away form the window to look over her team. Dressed in a rather plain, of form-fitting charcoal grey jumpsuit, she had rather big hair that had been obviously coloured bright red with a black streak in the middle. "Okay team, this is a big one." She began. "We've got a challenge ahead of us today. This battle is not going to be easy, but I think that we can handle it if we remain focused."

She knew that her pilots were capable and that their teamwork was good, but at the same time, she knew that they weren't invincible. The secret to their success was their focus and drive, their ability to stay on target and not get distracted. And today’s battle would be a real test of those strengths. "The team we're going up against is made up of amateurs. However, I do not want you to underestimate them because of this. They're all very skilled and have had a considerable degree of success so far. They're also still undefeated, which should give you an idea of their skill."

"We'll have to do something about that." Leticia Mayrose, her second in command spoke up. The tallest of the team, she had long dark brown hair with lighter streaks, pale skin and dark blue eyes that were emphasised by her dark eye shadow. She was dressed in a rather stylish backless purple flightsuit, with a pair of glasses perched on the end of her nose for no reason other then to look cool. Despite this, Vanessa knew that she was a skilled pilot. She wouldn't have hired her otherwise.

"It won't be easy." She continued. "They severely outmass us. The Iron Kong alone weighs more then most of our team, and its amour is thick enough to resist most anything we can throw at it. Leticia, I want you and Keiko to focus on it first and try to get it out of action as quickly as possible."

Keikio, now dressed in a form fitting silver and green bodysuit, nodded. "I should be able to handle it. If you can keep the Redler of my back, it'll be relatively easy."

"Yeah, Keiko and I had a look over some of their battles." Michelle Levesque, the last Member of the team spoke up. Like Keiko, she was now dressed in her pilot's suit; a black and gold bodysuit that she left unzipped at the front. "I think that we can handle things."

"Do tell." Vanessa looked over them.

"Well, we know that not only is the Gunsniper the weakest Zoid on the team, but its pilot is the weakest of them." Keiko spoke up. "He seems to hardly ever get any kills."

"He knocked out two of the Venom team." Leticia dryly observed. "That should tell you something."

"Well, yeah, but that's the Venom team." Michelle replied, a sarcastic tone in her voice.. "And Vanessa knows how much of a threat they are." She giggled.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Certainly." She muttered. "Anyway, I think that the Gunsniper is the least of our worries. But don't take your eyes off it, Michelle. I want you to focus on the Zero. Do it how we discussed - fast strikes. Don't try to get in close to it. Leticia, you will provide fire support to her as well; try to pin it down. But if you get the chance to take a quick shot at the Gunsniper, don't hesitate to take it out."

"Certainly. As long as Keiko can take the Kong out quickly, I know that I won't have any problems. I've got more then enough firepower to bring that Zoid down. And I doubt that the pilot is going to be up to too much."

"It’s easy." She replied. "I know the way he fights. One missile volley will be enough to finish him."

"And you don't have to worry about the Zero either." Michelle added. "I can handle things fine."

"That only leaves the Redler." Leticia spoke up. "Now, do you think you can handle it?"

Vanessa nodded. "The pilot thinks that they can pull a few tricks, but I think that I have their number. All I have to do is keep moving and stay away from any support that their -" She was cut off by a knock at the door. "Just a second."

She walked over to the door to the room and opened it up. "Whoever you are." She began before she even checked to see who it was. "Come back later. This is an important meeting."

"Hey Vanessa!" A voice called out. "Long time no see, huh?"

Vanessa stepped back for a moment as a woman stepped into the room. There was no mistaking her; the better part of two meters tall, stupidly long legs and dressed in a violent purple, black and neon-pink ensemble, there was only one person it could be. "Violet O'Bannon!" She began. "Long time, huh?"

"Damn right it is!" Violet exclaimed. "I haven’t seen you since, well, the last time I was in town which was just after I won my championship, which was, what two years ago now? One and a half? Something like that. At any rate, I thought that since I was in town and I was passing by and you had a match on today that I'd drop by and say hello and stuff. I abused a few old contacts to let me get in here backstage so that I could pop down here and say hi to one of my old friends and see how she was doing... and what do you know, there's a few others here too."

"Yeah." Vanessa began. "Its good to see you too, Violet, but I'm-"

"And so how are you doing?" Violet continued, not paying any attention to what she was saying. "I can see that you've got your own team here now which is really, really cool what with you being such a good leader and all. I mean, I thought that you should have always been the leader of the Outlaws because you sure as heck knew more about running a team then its actual leader did and you kicked so much arse in that Raynos of yours and had the best kill rate on the team if I recall correctly. Speaking of which, are you still with Larry? I mean, I know that you and him were kinda going out and all."

"Well-" She tried to speak up, wanting to tell Violet what exactly she thought of her former teammate and, more importantly, that she was very busy right now.

She never got a chance. "But I'm guessing by the fact that he's not in this room and thus by extension not on the team that he's been dumped or something, right? For some reason that doesn't surprise me. I mean, he always struck me as a bit of a coward, what with that whole 'I've got a stealth Zoid, that's my justification for always hiding in the battle' act he had going on. Heck, I can see form the looks of things you've used this as the opportunity to form that whole 'grrl power' team concept you had hanging around and wanted to do some day. I mean, all the pilots here are girls."

"Well, yes." Vanessa continued. "But-"

"Speaking of which..." Violet bounced over to where her second was sitting, planting both her hands on Leticia's shoulders. "How's ya going, Leticia? I shoulda figured that if anyone would be on this team it'd have been you. I mean, you were easily the best pilots of the 'Night Children' and the only one who wasn't a poseur. I mean, you had the whole 'pale skin and dark eyes' thing naturally rather then needing lots of makeup and black lace like the rest of those clowns did because you did it so naturally and looked so much better then the rest of them did and you were a good pilot too. I mean, anyone who uses a Stylarmour has to be either very good, very brave or very stupid, right?"

"Yes." Leticia choked out though clenched teeth as her glasses slowly slid further down her nose. "I guess so."

"And how are you going Keiko?" She yelled out, shouting past Leticia's ear. Violet vaulted across the table, landing next to her. "I haven't seen you in forever either. I'm guessing that you're no longer in Firestorm either because you're here and not with them, wherever the hell they are and thus, by extinction, you’re no longer snogging whatsisface, their team leader, right? I guess not because that would probably just complicate matters and, well, everyone figured that you two it was all about the sex and less about any sort of relationship or anything like that."

Keiko managed to remain impassive, despite digging her nails into the table's finish. "Yes... I left them a while ago." She managed.

"Good on ya!" Violet exclaimed. "And good to see you..." She turned to look at Michelle. "Who are you?" She asked.

"Um..." Michelle replied. "My names Michelle... I'm new here."

"Well, good on ya, Michelle!" Violet called out. "You're in real good hands here with these guys. They'll treat ya real good, and they can kick some serious butt! In fact, I'd wish you a bucket load of luck except for the fact that I’ve got a vested interest in rooting for the other team. But good luck anyways, 'cause I know you're going to need it!"

"Thank you for that." She nervously finished, grinning in a worried way.

"Sure thing! Well, I gotta go, I got a premier seat saved for me and I want to get there early to get snacks first. See you guys on the battlefield! Love you all and let's not be strangers for so long next time. See yas!" She leapt over the table and bounded out of the room.

There was a long silence. Finally, Michelle spoke up. "Who the hell was that?" She began.

"That was Violet O'Bannon." Vanessa replied, an apprehensive tone in her voice. "She was the champion two years ago."

"She retired undefeated, still the champion." Leticia added. "She's one of the youngest ever champions, and has one of the fastest rises from rookie to champ ever."

"Hang on... O'Bannon, right?" Keiko spoke up. "There's a Rose O'Bannon in the team we're fighting. In fact, she's the Zero pilot."

"And Violet Piloted a Zero Phoenix." Leticia observed.

"Liger Zero... O'Bannon... floral name..." Vanessa analysed it. "Oh hell. There's another one of them." She looked over the team. "She's got a sister or something. She's got family."

The thought sent a collective shudder through the team.

*****

"Good afternoon sports fans and welcome back to the show!" Henry Urgleflogger called from his spot in the commentary booth overlooking the arena. "For those of you just joining us, I'm Henry J. Urgleflogger and with me is 'Big' Jim Beef and it has been a spectacular day of competition so far."

"That's right, Henry." Jim continued. "Today’s' matches so far have been great stuff; we've seen a lot of skill and energy out there on the battlefield today. However, I get the feeling that the best is yet to come."

"I think I have to agree with you there, Jim." Henry replied. "Up next we have the Broken Chairs, an up and coming team of amateurs who have taken the competition by storm. So far this season they've managed to remain undefeated, which is no mean feat. In fact, the question on many people's lips has become this. Who will be the team to break the Broken Chairs?"

"Well, today's opponents may just be the ones to do it." Jim offered. "The Steel Sirens are a very experienced, very capable team. They've also managed to get this far in the season without a defeat. The Broken Chairs may just have met their match this time."

"Not to mention they're not too bad to look at." Henry quipped. "Three of the team's Members are some of the most skilled - and best looking - pilots in the ZBC today."

"You're hopeless." Jim muttered.

"Speaking of pilots who are both attractive and capable," Henry continued, unabated. "I've just heard that former ZBC champion Violet O'Bannon is in the audience today. I wonder if she's checking out what’s happening before a possible return to the competition, Jim."

"Well, if you checked over the teams, you'd see that there's a Rose O'Bannon in the Broken Chairs, Henry." Jim observed. "Now I couldn't say for sure, but I'd hazard a guess that she's a relative of Violet's. After all, she's using the same type of Zoid."

"Well, you could be right for once, Jim." Henry jokingly replied. "Speaking of which, here come the Broken Chairs now."

Down in the arena, the doors at one end opened up, a quartet of Zoids stepping outside. A massive red and grey Iron Kong towered over the other three Zoids, a Liger Zero, a Gunsniper and a black Redler. The Zoids halted just by the doors, waiting for their opponents to arrive.

"The Broken Chairs rather diverse combination of Zoids have been a key part of their successes." Jim commented. "But we'll have to see about how they do against the Sirens and their more concentrated offence."

Across the other end of the arena, the second set of doors opened up to allow a quartet of Zoids to enter. At the lead of the formation was a a black and yellow Lightning Saix, the sleek feline Zoid seemingly glaring at the opponents across the other side of the field. A Raynos walked out to one side of it, while a rather unusual black and dull red Zoid waked out on the other side. The Machine was quadruped, but with surprisingly long and slender legs supporting a thick body. A trio of horns projected form its head, while a pair of gattling guns were mounted on its back. Finally, a lance-equipped Hammerhead hovered out behind them.

"With their two flying Zoids and the Lighting Saix, the Steel Sirens definitely have the speed advantage." Jim continued. "But they're still short on firepower compared to that Iron Kong. On the other hand, their use of a three Zoid Fuzor, the Stylustorm, may be enough to tip things to their advantage."

"Three Zoid Fuzor?" Henry asked.

"The Stylustrom combines a Stylarmour with both a Scissor Storm and a Laser Storm." He explained. "It can put out a devastating barrage of fire from its twin canons, then close in for the kill with its powerful Chain Scissors."

"And here comes the Judge Drone now." Henry continued. "Keep watching folks, the show is about to begin."

“The Broken Chairs versus the Steel Sirens.” The electronic voice of the drone began. “Both teams confirmed. Arena confirmed. Contestants ready… fight!”

*****

As soon as the signal was given to begin, three of the Zoids took to the air. Keiko's Hammerhead lifted off the ground, rising into the air but not moving too far. In front of it, Vanessa's Raynos took several hopping steps forwards then leaping into the air. She could also see that the enemy Redler wasn't waiting around, also lifting straight up.

"ReMember the plan, team." Vanessa began over the team's comm link while her Zoid soared towards the enemy Redler. "Take out the enemy team as we covered. I'll keep the Redler off your back."

"Sure." Keiko replied, then closed the link. She quickly sized up the enemy team as her Hammerhead sped towards them. The Iron Kong loomed up large at the end of the arena, easily the largest Zoid present and her primary target. Near it, she could see the Liger Zero, running towards her team mates. The plan was for Michelle to take it out while she dealt with the Iron Kong, which seemed simple enough.

Of course, this was the same Liger Zero that was piloted by the younger sister of a former ZBC champion. A former ZBC champion who had the second fastest ever rise from Rookie to Champ. A former ZBC champion who had just burst into their meeting room and humiliated her in front of the rest of her team by blurting out all the details of her previous relationship. Needless to say, that had made her rather unhappy.

She clenched the control stick, her knuckles turning white as she glared at the Liger Zero. While she liked to pretend to be clam, cool and sophisticated, there were two things that Keiko couldn't stand. Being humiliated was one of them. She had spent years building up a professional image, one of a dedicated sportswoman and team Member; an intelligent and capable woman who could be relied upon to help deliver a team to victory. There should be nothing that anyone could embarrass her over. But if they did, it tended to get her very, very angry.

The other thing she couldn't stand was small children. She just found them to be incredibly annoying.

She wanted to get back at Violet for what she had done to her. Of course, since Violet was not competing, there was no direct way to do it. Glancing down, she could see the Zero, dodging fire form the other Members of her team as it tried to close in with them. An idea began to form; if she couldn't get her revenge on Violet directly, then she could do it though eliminating her sister from the battle.

And if she managed to take out two Members of the enemy team, then Miles would probably be even more financially grateful.

The Hammerhead's targeting systems locked up both the Liger Zero and the Iron Kong, painting targeting boxes around both of them on the HUD. "Hey Violet, I've got a little message for you." She gleefully began as she thumbed the trigger. "Nobody messes with me."

The six vertical-launch silos on the Hammerhead's back opened up, its half dozen missiles soaring into the air before veering off towards their targets. Three of them turned around and streaked towards the Iron Kong, while the other three dived towards the Liger Zero, rather then all six at the one target as the original plan had indicated. Keiko grinned as she watched the missiles head for their targets. "You can't escape me now." She smirked to herself. "Tell Violet I said 'hi.'"

The Iron Kong fired its huge thrusters and leaped to one side, just as she had predicted it would. Its pilot, however, had made one key mistake; he'd underestimated the capabilities of her weapons. The trio if high-maneuver missiles swung around, managing to track the Iron Kong despite its sudden movement, still closing in on it. Just as it looked like it was about to be hit, however, the enemy Zoid did something she genuinely didn't expect.

The Iron Kong slammed one of its fists into the ground, swinging around on it as it continued to fire the thrusters. Then, as it was coming around, it swung open the hatch on its shoulder and opened fire with a volley of missiles from the concealed launcher. The Kong's missiles slammed into her own, blowing them out of the air. Then, before she knew it, a second volley streaked towards the Zero, blowing apart the trio heading towards it.

She snarled as she saw the results of her attack. Both Zoids had escaped her volley of missiles unharmed, and she had expended her most powerful weapon. That the Iron Kong had to expend all the missiles in its launcher to do so was a small consolation to her.

"Keiko!" Vanessa called out over the communicator. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I-" She began.

"Stick to the plan!" She yelled out. "You've blown our chance for a quick win!"

"But-"

"No arguments!" Vanessa continued. "Leticia, take out the Kong. Keiko will support you."

"Certainly." Leticia cooly replied.

"Yes, boss." Keiko added, quietly fuming to herself. The last thing she wanted was to be someone's second fiddle. Snarling, she opened up the Hammerhead's throttle, heading straight for the Iron Kong. Below her, the Stylustorm charged forwards, both of its gattling cannons blazing.

Looking out the other side of the cockpit, she could see the Zero trading fire with the Lighting Saix. She glared at the Zoid before moving on. I'll deal with you later.

"Hey Keiko!" Michelle called out. "I've got this one in the bag easy." She began, an almost taunting tone in her voice. "Maybe I should move onto the Kong once I'm done. I guess you could take care of the Gunsniper."

Her only reply was to narrow her eyes and quietly snarl.

*****

[Deadborder]

*****

Neil's Gunsniper sprinted across the arena, heading around its side as he tried to get closer to the enemy's line. These guys were proving to be very tightly focused, which was proving to be a problem for them. Normally there would be at least one flake going out of his way to be a pain, which was a weakness that they could exploit. Unfortunately, these guys seemed to be smarter then that.

Down the far end of the field, the Stylarmour Chimera thing was steadily advancing, blazing away with its twin Storm Gattlings as it went. With the fire it could put out, that Zoid could easily pin down or threaten either the Iron Kong or the Liger Zero. It was also, he noted, more then enough to knock his Gunsniper out of action.

The only good news was that they seemed to be ignoring him so far. This was pretty much what he wanted, for the enemy to ignore him and his Zoid. A lot of opponents tended to do that, seeing his Gunsniper as being rather small and comparatively harmless, and the other members of the team being far more of a threat then he was. Neil didn't mind at all. In fact, he encouraged that attitude. He'd done very well off that simply because of opponents ignoring him and focusing on other people.

A beep on his sensors told him that another Zoid was approaching him; in this case, the Lighting Saix. He twisted the Zoid's controls to one side as the enemy Zoid charged towards him, seemingly coming right for him. So much for being ignored, he thought as his Gunsniper scampered out of the enemy machines's way. The Saix tore past him but, to his surprise, didn't come around to attack him again. Rather, it sprinted towards Rose's Zero, opening fire on it with the twin beam cannons.

"Hey!" He called out. "Come back here! I'm not that uninteresting am-" He was cut off by a burst of fire peppering the ground near his Zoid as one of the Stylustorm's cannons turned towards him. Firing the boosters, he accelerated the Gunsniper away from the other Zoid, trying to get out of its arc of fire. At the same time, he opened fire with one of the wrist gattlings, spraying shots at the enemy Fuzor. Several rounds hit it, bouncing off the armoured plate on its forelegs without any apparent effect.

To his annoyance, the Stylarmour continued to head downfield while still keeping one of the Gattlings trained on him. The cannon spewed shots at him, several of them striking the Gunsniper in the flank. The Zoid stumbled, the force of the attack almost knocking it off its feet. As he fought with the controls, the Styularmour galloped away, its pilot apparently figuring that he was out of action or, at the very least, no longer a threat.

He bought the Gunsniper upright, turning to face the enemy Zoid. The Styluarmour had its back to him and was heading away, which seemed to be a good enough opportunity for him. His Gunsniper broke into a run, charging towards the enemy Zoid from behind, while Neil lined it up in his sights.

Before he could open fire, however, the Styluarmour's pilot spotted him first. The Zoids' sword-like tail turned to face him, a crackling electric charge building up across its body. Then it fired, sending a single projectile tearing towards his Zoid at high speed. Yow! That thing's got a BFG as a tailgun? The Gunsniper twisted out of the line of fire of the enemy Zoid, the projectile hitting the ground next to it and then bouncing up to slam into a wall. Okay, not that way either. Damn it, how do I get to that thing?

"Neil!" Rose called out over the communicator. "I could use a little help here!"

"I could too!" He called back as the Gunsniper scampered away from the Stylustorm. The Enemy Fuzor gave him a quick glance, then turned back to facing the Iron Kong, both guns now trained on it. "Okay, you've got a minute before the triphibian monster there decides to chew on me again."

"Good." Rose snapped. "Anything would be nice!" Her Zero leaped to one side as the Saix opened fire on it, the shots only narrowly missing it. Not deterred, the enemy pilot opened fire with the head Vulcans. Several shots sprayed the side of the Zero, tearing into the armour over its hip. "This little creep is being dangerously persistent!"

Rose managed to bring her own Zoid around, opening fire with the dual impact cannon. To her annoyance, the Lightning Saix was able leap out of the way of the shot, then charge straight at her own Zoid, leaping into the air. The Saix's strike laser claws traced a brilliant golden arc through the air. The Zero skipped out of the way, the Saix coming down right where it had been. Before the Zero could react, the Saix fired its boosters, again taking off and sprinting away from the other Zoid.

Rose flicked out the Zero's tail, opening fire with the cannon mounted on its end. The shots went wide, the Saix managing to sprint away before she could find her mark. The Zero turned around, running after the Saix but clearly being left behind by it as the Zoid sped off. "Like I said..." she gasped out over the communicator. "Dangerously persistent."

"I gotcha." Neil began. "I'll try to think of something." The Gunsniper sprinted towards the Saix, opening fire with its twin wrist cannons. The shots peppered the ground around it, several managing to hit the Zoid on its flank as it ran. The shots gouged into the armour, but didn't appear to do too much beyond that.

Unfortunately for Neil, it did manage to get the pilot's attention. The Lightning Saix turned towards the Gunsniper, now charging straight at it. The Zoid opened fire again with the head Vulcans, the dual cannons spraying fire at Neil's Zoid. Several more shots chewed into the Zoids damaged flank and leg as he tried to twist it out of the enemy machine's line of fire. The Zoid tore path him at speed, further buffeting him as it accelerated past.

Fighting with the controls, Neil managed to keep the Gunsniper upright as he swung it around on its good leg. The Zoid turned to face the fleeing Saix, the twin rocket pods on its back flipping open. The Gunsniper rocked on its feet, its damaged leg shaking and threatening to give way as all sixteen rockets blasted out from the launcher, heading straight for the Saix. Before the enemy pilot could react, they slammed into its hindquarters, literally lifting the Zoid off its feet. The Lighting Saix flipped over, rolling and bouncing before coming to a halt in a tangled mess of limbs.

"Nice work, Neil!" Rose called out. "You did it! You took her out."

"Yeah..." He commented as he looked over the downed enemy Zoid while checking his own damage indicators. "I guess I did."

*****

The Stylustorm opened fire with its twin Gattling Cannons, spewing forth brilliant blue energy beams at the Iron Kong. Several of the rounds slammed into the Zoid's chest, rocking the huge Zoid despite its mass. Opening up the throttle, Steven knuckled out of the other Zoid's line of fire, then opened up with the wrist cannons. Several shots struck the enemy Zoid, but bounced off its thick neck shield.

Several more shots peppered the Iron Kong form behind, slamming into its back and shoulder. Checking the sensors, he could see that the Hammer Head had swung around and was trying to take him from behind, the pair of them aiming to sandwich him between their fire. Even without its main missile battery and most of its secondary weapons replaced with the Viking Lance, the Hammerhead could still pack a considerable punch. Of course, the Lance posed other problems.

He fired the boosters again, the Kong turning out of the line of fire of the other Zoid. The Hammerhead blazed past him, pulling away from his Zoid before he could open fire on it. As the enemy pilot pulled away, they fired several volleys from their tail gun; less to knock him out and more to discourage him from trying anything.

“This is nuts.” He growled as one of the shots bounced off the Kong’s shoulder armour. He couldn’t get a clean shot at either of them because of the amount of fire they were pouring onto him. If he could get one of them distracted fro a moment, then he might have a chance. Might. “Tasch!” He called over the communicator. “Can you help me out here?”

“Well, I’d love ta.” She replied. “But I right now I got a bit of trouble.”

The Black Redler zipped past, its twin boosters on full bore. A moment later, there was a burst of gunfire followed by the Raynos, trying to close the distance between the two of them and get a clean shot on its opponent. The Redler’s boosters suddenly twisted to the right, the Zoid frantically rolling out of the way of its opponent, then climbing away.

The Raynos banked sharply, its pilot doing her best to keep Tasch’s Zoid in its sights. The pair of them climbed away, their paths crossing over and back from each other in a classic scissor-fight pattern, small bursts of fire occasionally erupting between the pair of them.

Okay, so no air support for now. "Rose? How are you going?"

"Battered, but passable." She reported. "What do you need?"

"Can you try and tie up the Stylarmour for a bit?" As he spoke he opened up the throttle, the Iron Kong lumbering along at high speed out of the path of the enemy Fuzor's fire. Checking the sensors, he could see the Hammerhead approaching for another attack run. "Even if just ofr a minute or two."

"I'll see what I can do." She replied.

"Thanks. Neil? How are you doing?"

"One of my legs is bung. I can possibly limp along, but that's about it." He explained. "But I'm a good distance from any of the bad guys that are still standing."

The Iron Kong skidded around, Stephen raising its left arm to fire on the Hammerhead. The shots peppered its hull, doing some damage and causing the pilot to break off their attack. At the same time, Rose charged across the battlefield, heading for the Styluarmour. The Zero twisted and leaped as it ran, managing to keep out of its line of fire, despite the high number of shots it was pumping out from the two cannons.

Rose lunged at the Stylarmour, the Zero's claws glowing as they prepared to strike. Before she could land a blow, the Stylarmour bellowed and swung around its head, slamming into the Zero's side with its horns. Rose's Zoid was knocked aside, crashing to the ground before rolling and managing to regain its footing.

Not wanting to give her a chance to strike again, the enemy pilot opened fore again with the twin Storm Gattlings. Several rounds slammed into the Zero before it broke into a run, sprinting away form the enemy Fuzor Zoid. The Stylarmour turned to follow it, keeping its cannons trained on Rose's machine. The twin cannons spat fire, the Zero sprinting away from them.

Stephen watched the situation for a moment before turning back to the Hammerhead. He opened fire again, another burst of shots from the pulse cannon narrowly missing the Hammerhead, but still forcing it to climb up and away from him. Satisfied that he had discouraged the enemy pilot for the moment, he turned his attention to the other Zoid. Near as he could tell, there was one good way to get rid of it without getting too close to those damned cannons.

"Rose!" He called out. "Run!" The Iron Kong turned to face the Fuzor, its hands smashing down onto the ground to stabilise it. The two massive tactical missiles on the Zoid's back launched, trailing thick plumes of smoke as they climbed into the air. On the other side of the field, the Liger Zero, its pilot knowing what was about to happen, sprinted away from the Styluarmour.

The Stylarmour's pilot had other plans, however. The enemy Zoid crouched, rising its tail into the air. The Laser Array on the top of the tail came to life, the beams slashing through the air towards the twin missiles. Several beams pierced through the first one, detonating it and sending it up in a spectacular fireball. A few moments later, the lasers found the second missile, blowing it apart too.

"Aw come on!" Stephen shouted out. "*Watch your language!* laser array..." The sensors beeped to warn him that the Hammerhead was coming around to strike him again. The enemy Zoid dived at the Iron Kong, its canons blazing away. He bought is Zoid around to face it, then saw what it was doing. Rather then its usual hit and run attacks, this time, the enemy Zoid was literally, diving straight for him, its Viking Lance set to impale the Zoid.

Seeing no other option, Stephen aimed the Hyperbeam cannon at the enemy Zoid. The weapon usually lacked the rate of fire to be effective against airborne targets, but this time he could see its use. The cannon fired, the beam streaking towards the incoming Hammerhead. The shot struck home, blasting the Lance apart and then tearing into the Hammerhead's side, blasting two of the engines free form its body. The crippled Zoid began to plummet, diving straight at the Iron Kong.

Seeing an opportunity, Stephen had the massive Gorilla Zoid reached up and grabbed the damaged Hammerhead. "Rose!" He shouted out over the communicator. "Move! Now!"

"Wha?" She called back. "I've got a face full of angry Fuzor-"

"God damn it, just do it!!" He yelled out.

"Whoah, okay!" She shouted. The Zero fired its boosters, leaping away form the enemy Zoid.

Seeing that she was out of the way, Stephen stomped on the foot pedals that activated the Kong's maneuver thrusters. The massive Zoid spun around, then let go of the Hammerhead, sending the crippled Zoid hurling towards the Stylustorm. The Fuzor twisted out of the path of the improvised projectile, but still ended up being slammed by it, sending it sprawling. The Hammerhead skidded to a halt nearby, clearly disabled.

"Now, Rose!" He shouted out.

"I see it!" She yeled back. The Zero leaped across the battlefield, charging at the Stylustorm before it could recover. The Zero's impact cannon opened fire, blasting into the Stylustorm's side, further staggering the Zoid as its pilot tried to regain control of the machine.

"Okay, Vi, I hope you're watching this." She said to herself, grinning as the Liger leaped at the enemy Zoid. The Zero roared loudly as it bought its Strike Laser Claw down on the Styluarmour. The beams sliced through its body, shattering the neck shield and the chain scissors, before continuing through into the Zoid's frail structure. The Fuzor bellowed loudly as the Zero's claws sliced through it, then collapsed.

"Yeah!" She called out as she glanced back at the downed Zoid. "Nice work there, Stephen. They can't have seen that coming." She sat back and laughed. "Fish to the face... that is a classic."

*****

Tasch knew that she was in trouble the instant that she saw the Raynos heading straight for her. The enemy Zoid hadn't wasted time with subtlety, instead flying straight at her Redler, its chest cannon blazing away. With only very little time to react, Tasch had manage to swerve out of the way, narrowly avoiding the other Zoid's fire.

The Raynos pilot reacted quickly, turning her Zoid to follow the Redler. Tasch opened up the boosters all the way, pulling back on the stick and going into a vertical climb away from the Raynos. The enemy Zoid fired its own booster, climbing after her. Despite her boosters, the Raynos was doing a very good job of chasing her down. The two Zoids were almost matching their speeds and acceleration.

Tasch knew that this wouldn't be an easy battle. The Raynos was created specifically to defeat the Redler in battle, and boasted superior agility and firepower to her Zoid. Of course, with her flexible boosters she had some advantages.

"Okay, let's see ya'll try this!" Tasch announced to herself as she twisted the footpedals. The Redler's boosters slewed around, the Zoid performing a surprisingly sharp turn in mid-air, coming around to face the Raynos head-on. The Redler screeched loudly as it dived on its target, Tasch opening fire with the twin beam cannons on the Zoid's wings.

The Raynos twisted and turned in the air, several shots narrowly avoiding it before one skimmed across its wing. Apparently unaffected by the hit, the Raynos still banked away, twisting out of Tasch's line of fire. "Hey! You ain't gettin' away from me that easy!" She called out as she turned the Redler to pursue its opponent. She dived on the Raynos, trying to line up the enemy Zoid in her gunsights. "I got you now."

Before she could fire, the Raynos opened up with the twin cannons mounted on its tail. Several shots struck the Redler's side and back before Tasch could react, twisting out of the other Zoid's line of fire. "Dangit, I forgot about them." She muttered to herself as the Redler came around. "That's gonna make things a lot harder."

The enemy Zoid came around, turning in a surprisingly sharp arc and closing in on the Redler's tail. Tasch rolled the Redler sharply to the right just as the Raynos opened fire again with its cannons. The shots tore through the air where the Redler had been, narrowly missing the Zoid. The Raynos' pilot turned to follow the Redler, again opening fire with the cannons.

Tasch twisted the controls back, cutting back on the throttle as the Raynos closed in on her. The Redler cut across the Raynos' path, managing to get behind and below the other Zoid. "Now I gotcha!" She called out, the Redler opening fire again with the booster cannons. Several shots struck the Raynos' underside before the other Zoid rolled away, firing the tail cannons at her own machine.

"Dangit, yer slippery!" Tasch shouted as she broke and rolled away from the Raynos. She hadn't expected the tail guns to be able to depress that far, which had caught her completely by surprise. The two Zoids pulled away from each other, then pulled back towards each other. Both pilots opened fire at the same time, shots filling the space between them to surprisingly little effect. As they closed, Tasch flicked out the Redler's tailblade, ready to strike. The two Zoids passed by each other, the Raynos only just remaining out of the reach of the blade... and her Redler only narrowly avoiding its claws.

"Dangit... that was too close." She muttered as she searched around for the other Zoid while trying to formulate a plan. She'd noticed that the Raynos didn't use its tailguns in the close passes, but only when she'd gotten into an advantageous position. "So she probably can't split her attention fast enough to take a quick shot at me... probably too busy keepin' her eyes on me." Tasch thought out loud. "So that sounds like the best plan... don't try to hang on her tail 'cause she can watch me too close."

She sighted the enemy Zoid out of her eye, coming around to close in with her. Twisting the controls, she turned to head straight for the enemy machine, pulling around inside a tight turn to try to get to the enemy Zoid's underside. The Raynos' rolled over, then closed in on her, opening fire again with its beam cannons. Several shots rocked the Redler, but at the same time, her own rounds struck the enemy Zoid, scarring the armour on its back and side.

The two Zoids again passed each other, Tasch stomping on the footpedals and twisting the boosters to try to pull a harder turn. The g-forces pressed her into her seat, electing a loud "omph" from her. However, it paid off for her, the Raynos crossing over her sights for a moment. Seeing a chance, she squeezed the trigger again, the Redler's beam cannons spiting fire at the Raynos.

The other Zoid fired its booster, quickly rolling out of the way of her shots as she accelerated towards it. She crossed its path again, the Raynos pilot trying to reduce thier speed to corner tighter. “Tasch!” Stephen called over the communicator. “Can you help me out here?”

“Well, I’d love ta.” She replied. “But I right now I got a bit of trouble.” The Raynos closed in from behind, opening fire with its beam cannons again on her. Several shots streaked past her Zoid, narrowly missing it. Tash pushed the controls, the Redler's boosters flexing downards, pushing her out of the Raynos' line of fire.

She quickly reduced the throttle, then suddenly twisted the boosters again, the Redler passing under the Raynos. Seeing a chance, she again opened fire with her beam cannons. Several shots struck the Raynos, savaging the armour on its leg and side. The other pilot suddenly twisted the controls, rolling out of the way of her Zoid. Wary of a burst form the tail cannons, Tasch again pulled away, widening the gap between the pair of them.

Twisting the booster controls, she again bought the Redler around and tried to close in on her opponent, managing to line up a shot on the Raynos with the cannons. Tasch squeezed the trigger, the shots narrowly missing the Raynos as the two Zoids closed in. She desperately fought with the controls, trying to close in on the Raynos while keeping it within her sights.

The Raynos twisted away, managing to evade Tasch's shots as she closed in. The Redler streaked past the Raynos, the other Zoid quickly rolling out of her path. As the Redler streaked past it, the Raynos rolled around, banking then turning to close in on the Redler's tail. Tasch violently twisted the controls, rolling her Zoid out of the way of the Raynos just as it opened fire with its cannons.

She dived away from the Raynos, opening up the throttle as she headed back down towards the arena. The Raynos banked and dived to follow her, again opening fire with the chest canons and filling the air aorund her with shots. Glancing back over her shoulder, Tasch twisted the controls, the Redler managing to evade the other Zoid's fire. She opened up the boosters again, trying to increase her lead over the other Zoid and break away.

The Raynos pilot was surprisingly persistent, however, managing to remain on her tail and even close the distance between the pair of them. "Okay, I gotta get this guy away form me." Tasch spoke to herself as she weaved her way through the other Zoid's fire, still descending towards the arena. "And I gotta stay focused and figure what to do. Okays, Tasch, You gotta get it together. C'mon, get it together."

She repeated this to herself as she dived towards the arena, pulling up and banking sharply. The Raynos followed her, opening fire again with its beam cannons. The shots streaked past her Zoid, tracing a line of fire across the arena floor and wall. Tasch glanced across the battlefield, trying to get a better idea of what was going on before pulling away again. "Hey..." She thought out to herself. "Okay. That's what I gotta do."

Even though they had been covering a surprisingly wide area, they had still been within what was defined as the arena's airspace. It was a lot larger then the area the arena covered, simply to allow dogfighting Zoids more room to move. However, they could only actually touch down inside the arena itself; landing anywhere else would count as being out of bounds and grounds for disqualification.

Tasch dived towards the arena floor again, the Raynos closing in on her from behind. As she swooped down, she suddenly pitched up the Redler's nose while, at the same time, twisting the boosters to push her downwards and killing the Redler’s main engines, instead going into VTOL mode. The Redler landed in a crouch, pressing itself down and skidding across he area floor.

The Raynos pulled away from her at the last second, the pilot not willing to follow the Redler down to ground level, just as Tasch had suspected. As it pulled up, Tasch flipped up the boosters while making the Redler sit up, angling up the cannons as much as possible. Squeezing the trigger, she pumped rounds into the Raynos' tail as it tried to evade her. The shots slammed into the Raynos' back and tail, ripping through its body. Smoke billowed form the other Zoid as it tried to climb away, then suddenly lost control and instead crashed to the ground. The Zoid bounced once and then skidded to a halt.

"Well..." Tasch began. "Whadda ya know. It worked."

A monitor drone flew over the field, surveying the downed Zoids. “The battle is over!” It announced after a brief pause. “The winner is the Broken Chairs!”

*****

[Deadborder]

Miles Slate looked at the monitor, quietly snarling as he watched each member of the Steel Sirens being knocked out of action. He'd been hoping for a lot from them in this battle and had been quietly predicting a win. At the very least, he figured, they should have been able to knock out at least one of the enemy Zoids. Instead, it seemed like they had completely fallen apart, their supposedly precise teamwork disintegrating into an ill-coordinated mess.

Damn it, he thought. What happened to them?

"Interesting tactics." Drake observed as he walked over next to Miles. "They are quite unconventional and very unexpected. Certainly I wouldn't have planned on having one of my teammates thrown at me."

"Well, no." Miles admitted.

"And it is quite a good battle." Drake continued. "The Chairs are doing quite well. They're a really good team, all things considered."

"I suppose so." He muttered.

"I mean, they did manage to beat us." Drake continued. "And while it was a close battle, I think that, with experince, they'd be rather capable."

"I suppose so..." Miles added. It was the last hting that he wanted to hear, actually. What he wanted was for the Chairs to be unsuccessful, for their win over his team to have been a one-off or a coincidence. What he wanted was for them to fall behind, to be defeated in some way that cost them heavily. Instead, they seemed to be doing better then he had expected, being able to overcome whatever it was that fate threw in their way.

He almost wished that NUBG would make another attempt at tem, if only to grind them down a little.

"Come on." Drake added, casually slapping him on the back. "We're on next. Besides, there's supposedly a former ZBC champ in the audience tonight. We do want to look good for them, right?"

"Yeah, right." He muttered in reply, glaring at the screen.

*****

Stephen climbed out of his Iron Kong, looking over the damage to the Zoid's body. While none of its systems had been damaged, the armour damage was rather severe. He dropped down to the floor, looking around as the other members of his team also disembarked form their Zoids, and noticed the damage that they had all taken. Rose's Liger was in a similar state to the Iron Kong, with damage to much of the armour on its body. The damage to Neil's Gunsniper was limited largely to one leg, but the machine seemed to have developed a severe limp.

Most surprising, however, was Tasch's Redler. The black Zoid's armour was riddled with holes form its nose to its tail, with others on its wings and legs. From the looks of things, it was a sheer miracle that the Zoid hadn't suffered any severe damage. Still, it was easily the worst he had seen the Redler. So far, Tasch's Zoid had managed to come through just about every battle more or less unscathed.

The Zoid's canopy swung open, Tasch standing up inside the Zoid. Her cheeks were rather flushed, but otherwise she looked fine. "Well." She began as she looked over the Redler's body. "Dangit, that was a hard fight." She climbed out of the Zoid, walking over to the others. "Yeah, that was probably the hardest dogfight I've ever been in."

"You've been in two so far." Neil observed.

"Yeah, and it was the hardest of the two of them." Tasch replied. "Yeah, she was a lot harder then that Lord Gale."

"Still, you did rather well." Neil continued.

"Ah heck." She commented. "I didn’t do that well. I mean, my Redler's all full of holes and stuff. And if I'd done well, it wouldn't be."

Neil shook his head. "You're so modest too."

"Really?" She asked. "Well, I guess I am. Especially compared to Rose... what with those silly low cut pants of hers."

"What's that about my pants?" Rose asked as she butted in.

"Well, they're rather low." Tasch commented. "And when you bend-"

"Good work, guys." Stephen spoke up as he stepped in, trying to prevent an argument before it began. "We took on a well-coordinated and experienced team there and managed to beat them out. And even if our Zoids took a bit of a beating, we still won."

"Hey, if anyone deserves the big cheers, its you." Neil spoke up. "I mean, throwing the Hammerhead at that Fzuor was brilliant. I doubt anyone saw it coming and, well, it’s definitely going to make play of he week on the sports shows."

"Yeah... that was definitely the point where their team Jumped the Shark." Tasch commented. "Which is weird, cause the shark flew over them..."

"Don't think too hard about it." Rose joked. "You may hurt yourself."

'What I don’t get is why do they call it 'Jumpin' the Shark'?" She continued. "I mean, is there something special about Hammerheads which means that you shouldn’t jump over 'em? Or is it a Helldiver thing?"

"Well, I-" Neil began, but was cut off before he could finish.

"OMIGORD!" Violet squealed as she ran into the hanger, grabbing Rose in a spine-cracking hug. "You are fantastic, you know that? I mean, that was really, really well done! You managed to kick some arse out there and do it while looking really really awesome which is a surprise because I know the other team (Or at least, three of their members) and I know that they're pretty experienced and pretty dammed good but yet you were able to just walk all over them and kick their arses and you did great and it would have been really fun to see the look on Leticia's face when you carved up her Fuzor thing like that and I would have bet that she'd be having a severe sook by now."

"Uh, thanks Vi." Rose managed as she struggled free form her sister's death-grip. "It was a tough battle, I'll admit but I think we did well."

"Did well?" Violet asked. "Damn it, you did awesome to kick their arses like that and completely own them like that going nil-for-four in your favour which is the last result I would have expected against them but it is kinda weird because I know what Vanessa's like and I can imagine that she'd have a well-coordinated team and I have to wonder why they were all running around and being so unco and spazzy and I have to wonder if there wasn't some sorta inter-team strife but if so you'd have to ask yourself what caused it."

"Well, I think that if they had been better coordinated then we would have been in trouble." Stephen commented. "As they were, we had a hard enough time."

"Hard time, you?" Violet turned to him. "Can I just say now that what you did with that Hammerhead was pretty damned awesome and incredibly kickarse and I wouldn't have expected you to grab and hurl it like that especially not at another member of their team who certainly wouldn't have expected a flying fish missile to come at them like that but then it was a petty awesome move and it allowed you to get both of them out of action and I only hope they give you the points for the kill and that you don't get people making lame 'jump the shark' refs at you."

Stephen nodded, pretending to keep up with what she was saying. "Well, it was just a plan that came to me at the spur of the moment, really."

"Well I like it and I like it a lot." She grinned. "Speaking of cool, even though I don't know who it as in that Saix beyond it being some rookie I think that you did a great job of looking after it and knocking it out of action like that and certainly I don't imagine that the other guy expected to get a dozen or so missiles up the date like that and, besides which, how many people can say that they managed to punk out a Lightning Saix in a Gunsniper especially a stock one and not one of those over-armed monsters that so many people seem to use these days."

"Ah, its what I do." He replied. "I try to look harmless and then take them out when they ignore me. That's why I didn't do so well against the Stylarmour. Its pilot was paying attention."

"Well at any rate you did pretty cool work there." Violet continued. "But no offence to any of you but I think that the coolest performance out there today had to be Tasch because that dogfight she had against Vanessa was really awesome and I hadn't expected her to be able to match skills with a more experienced pilot so effectively and manage to even pull off a few tricks that she hadn't expected to do and what you did with those boosters was just crazy stuff and very, very cool which makes me wonder how you learned to do some of that stuff because I want to know your secrets."

"Ah, it ain't nothing really." Tasch replied. "Some of it I learned from my ex-boyfriend. A lot of the rest of it is all made up. I kinda just do whatever I need to do at the time."

"Well at any rate you did some really really crazy stuff up there and I was rather amazed at what you did and stuff like that." Violet babbled out. "And one day I think we'll have to have a dogfight with me just piloting the Phoenix portion of my Zoid and taking it up against that crazy Redler of yours and I'm still amazed that you managed to kick so much arse up there which makes me wonder how many dogfights you've been in I mean for real ones, not mock ones or simulators or stuff like that."

"Well, that was the second."

"The second?" Violet all but exploded. "That's totally amazing you know that? Its the last thing that I would have expected from you because you acted and moved like you were some sort of ace pilot with a zillion kills to her name pulling off some really crazy stunts of the sort that I'd expect out of a pro and not just someone who was only starting out and I dunno if its some sort of crazy Nyxian thing but you guys seem to be really tough fighters but then I guess you must be some sort of natural genius or the like and I really, really need to know what's your secret Tasch?"

"Well..." Tasch trailed off. "Lemme see... I suppose... well, it can't hurt to tell."

"oooh..." Violet began.

"My secret? Well..." She blushed a bit. "Well... I kinda only ever did it for the first time a while back. Me an' him were celebrating because I'd just got my pilot's license and all..."

There was a pause, with Violet momentarily lost for words. Finally she spoke up. "And that's incredible. I mean, I hadn't expected anything like that but yet it makes perfect sense. Maybe if I'd kept my pants on for longer I would have been a champion in my Rookie year! Thanks for that, Tasch! Its real genius and I'll have to keep it in mind for future reference and I guess that means that you're not going to go from rookie to champ in your first year either, Rose."

"Shut up, Violet." Rose muttered.

"Something you're not telling us?" Neil needled.

"Go to hell, both of you." She added.

"Well I'm about to as I've got a ticket to Hell which is a mid-sized city overlooking the Maze of Mercy where I'm going to be doing some PR stuff for the ZBC." Violet spoke up. "'cause the ZBC wants to open up more markets on the Dark Continent and they think that there's big growth potential there and I wouldn't know becuse I've never been to Nyx in my life but it sounds kinda interesting though."

"I been to Hell once." Tasch spoke up. "I got a guidebook that I could lend ya if you want. It’s a few years old, but its pretty neat."

"Wow!" Violet whirled around back to her. "That'd be really, really cool of you and you'll have to tell me all about it and maybe you could give me some other travel tips for the Dark Continent because I want to know more about it like where all the best beaches are what there is to do and see and other stuff like that and I think that you should tell me all about it what with you being a native of the place and all."

Stephen, Neil and Rose watched the pair of them ramble on for a while. "Amazing." Stephen finally spoke up. "I don’t know what's more insane, Tasch's piloting skills or Violet's ability to talk."

"So Rose." Neil asked. "Got any other terrifying relatives that you care to warn us about?"

"Shut up, Neil." She snapped and walked off.

"Geez..." He shrugged. "Well, what do you think? Are we doomed or what?"

"I don't know." Stephen replied. "There's something bothering me."

"Do tell."

"The PKB said it was a large cat Zoid that took out the Lord Gale. And while you said you didn't see the Zoid that whacked the Spiner and Zero X, it was a quadruped." He looked over at Violet. "An NUBG Zoid gets taken out by a large cat, and then, all of a sudden, Rose's sister turns up in a Liger Zero."

"What, you think that Violet whacked them?" He glanced at her. "I say that she's not the only nutbar around here."

"It’s just a thought."

"Yeah, a nutty one." He finished. "Come on. Let's go find Rose and see if we can give Violet a new target."

*****

Author’s Notes:

Violet O'Bannon was inspired by a character created by Justin Norman. Wherever you are, Jus, there's some cake for ya.

Stylustorm is a Tomy-officialish Fuzor; details can be found here. It looks very cool with the Fuzors versions.