Pointy Muses Fic 13 - Don't try this at home

[Deadborder]

Pointy Muses Fic

Chapter Thirteen - Don't try this at home

By Rick R.

*****

Rose blinked awake, the room around her resolving to little more then a grey blur. She knew that it was one of the rooms in the team's base, but at the same time, it didn't seem like hers. Glancing around, a bright blur caused her to screw up her eyes for a moment. The window... that's not in the right place, she thought, trying to think her way through the haze of her hangover. She quickly took stock of the situation. She was in bed and, after a quick check, definitely naked. Which meant..

She glanced behind her. Stephen was lying in the bed next to her with his back turned, apparently fast asleep. Delicately glancing under the sheets, she could see that he was just as naked as she was. Which meant that...

Rose screwed up her eyes as she reMembered what had happened. She'd been, well, more then a little drunk, and in a good mood. She'd given Drake a piece of her mind, she’d seen Neil run off with some girl from another team (Which still confused her, but..) and then... she'd kissed Stephen and...

Hell.

She hadn't planned on this. She hadn’t meant to end up in bed with a team-mate. She wasn't sure if she even particularly liked Stephen. But, at the same time... she shook her head. Nothing for it now but to try and limit the damage, and maybe try and pretend that it didn't happen.

Rose slipped out of the bed as slowly and carefully as she could manage, making sure not to rouse or disturb Stephen in any way. Pulling on her bra and briefs, she discretely picked up the rest of her clothes from the floor of the room. Making sure that everything was accounted for, she opened the door the slightest crack and peered out.

Nothing. There was no sign of anyone. Perfect.

She opened the door slowly and quietly, then stepped outside into the hall. Closing it behind her, she turned to go. her room was at the other end of the hall, but it felt like an eternity away - she was still hung-over and a bit dizzy, and trying to move as quietly as possible. That she was near naked didn't help any.

"Hey Rose."

Rose stumbled, dropping her clothes in surprise. She spun around, only to see Tasch standing behind her. Her surprise turned to embarrassment as she realised just what she had been wearing. "Um... Tasch.." She began. "I, um. that is, well... its not what it looks like."

"It ain't?" Tasch asked. "Cause it looks like a rose."

"A wha?" She began.

"Yeah, a red rose. And its kinda cool, how you got a stem and all, which goes onto yer thigh."

Rose shook her head, then realised what Tasch was talking about. "Oh yeah, that." She began, realising that her friend hadn't cottoned onto why she was walking through the hall almost in the altogether. "Well, yeah, its a rose. Yeah. Because, um, my name's Rose and, I, uh, like them."

Tasch nodded. "That makes sense. I jus' never saw then end part of it, that's all."

"Yeah, well..." She finished. "Its because, um, I've usually got pants on."

"Yeah, that'd make sense too." Tasch finished.

"So, um... I have to go and... um.. .got some pants on." She finished. "See ya." Turning around again, she picked up as much of her clothes as she could and dashed down the hallway, cheeks burning with embarrassment. As soon as she reached it, she dived into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

*****

Miles took a long drag on his cigarette as he looked down at the Zoid bay, glancing over the quartet of machines below him. Of the four of them, none of them were able to stand of their own accord. The Koenig Wolf had been propped up on a stand while it was being worked on, being barely able to support itself otherwise. The Arosaurer was in a similar situation, needing support to remain upright.

The damage to those two was relatively light, while still being enough to disable to them. In both cases, the worst of it was concentrated on a single area; the Wolf's neck and the Arosaurer's chest. Both of them could be make operational restively quickly and easily.

The other two Zoids weren't being supported, mainly because there was no way that they would be able to stand on their own. Both of them were currently lying on the floor of the hanger, partially disassembled while their damages were being assessed. Unlike the Koenig Wolf and Arosaurer, however, the damage to the Death Raser and Parablade was substantial and spread across both their bodies. Both Zoids had limbs torn off and other parrs crushed, and both would be a long time before they were operational.

"Damn it." Miles snarled to himself. "Damn it all." here was no real need to repair the Zoids in a hurry; the season was over for their team. Despite that, he wanted to get them all back in fighting shape as soon as possible. The reasoning was simple; as soon as he could get the team back on the go, the sooner they could begin working on practicing for the next season.

"Hey there, babe." Crystal began as she walked over next to him. "I missed you last night." she added with a giggle.

"I wasn't in the mood." He all but snarled back at her. "Damn it, we've got work to do."

"Awww..." She pouted. "I'm sure I can make things better for you..." She moved closer to put her arms around him.

"I said I’m not in the mood." He snapped. "So leave it off, okay?"

Crystal slinked back for a moment, then paused. "Fine then." She glared at him, her eyes narrowing. "I'll go. And maybe I'll find a different team while I'm at it." If she'd wanted to make a threat, it didn't work. Miles continued to glare at the damaged Zoids. "Hmph." She added, then turned to walk away.

"Fine then!" He shouted after her. "Go if you want. You ran way from your last team as well, didn't you? At least we did better than them! And I'm a lot better then your loser ex too!" He snarled. "I may not have gotten to the finals, but at least I didn't get suspended from the ZBC for being a dumbarse!" Crystal kept going, ignoring him. "You'll be back, I know it! You're getting it good here, the best you’ve ever had, and I know that a little tart like you can't pass that up!"

He watched her walk off for a minute, then turned back to the Zoids. "Damn it."

A sound of footsteps behind him caught his attention. Not wanting to be caught a second time, he turned to face whoever it, was, only to see Drake there. "What?" He snapped.

"I heard something up here." Drake calmly replied. "I was wondering what it was."

"Little argument between me and Chris." He calmly stated. "Nothing to worry about."

Drake nodded, clearly not wanting to be drawn into personal matters. "I see."

"Yeah..." Miles turned back to look over the Zoids. "So tell me, Drake" he began. "You’ve seen more action then I have. You've almost been the singles champion once, and got into the quarters another year" He sighed. "So I need to know. What did we do wrong?"

"I'm sorry?"

"We had a plan." He continued. "We knew what we were doing. We had allowed for losses. We should have taken them. But we didn't. So what happened?"

"I don't think that it was any failing of our team's." Drake replied. "In fact, as far as I’m concerned, we did everything right."

"So then what is it?"

"It’s simple." Drake replied. “In the end, they were better then us."

"What the hell?" He snapped. "How the hell do you figure that?"

"It’s simple." Drake explained. "They managed to last against a team that was more experienced. Furthermore, when we trumped their greatest asset in the opening seconds - a move they clearly didn't anticipate - they were able to adapt and come back quickly. While yes, I do think that Crystal was taken out a lot quicker then any of us had anticipated, the point remains that our plan was sound, and our team did the best they could. It’s not any fault of ours, but rather that they simply managed to do that extra bit more to get there."

"So... you're saying that a bunch of rank amateurs were better then us?"

"Not amateurs by any means." Drake shook his head. "Yes, they were inexperienced, but the point is that they learned and adapted rather quickly. They're all skilled pilots and all have shown a lot of flexibility. That’s what they had. We've seen it happen in past - lets not forget that we've had somebody go form rookie to singles champion in a single year."

"Whatever. So how do we beat them?" Miles' eyes wandered over the battered Death Raser. The Zoid had been pummelled senseless during its battle, and looked like little more then a wreck.

"We continue to train and practise." Drake finished. "We adopt, adapt and improve. We develop new plans and new tactics. We find out weaknesses and work to reduce or eliminate them. And we retain our focus."

"Right." Miles snarled. He didn't believe a word of what Drake had said, but it seemed like a good idea to keep him on side as well. "I'll think about it."

Drake nodded. "Thanks. I think that, with a bit of planning, we can easily take it next year." he smiled at Miles. "If it’s all okay, I was going to pop out for a while. Things I had to do."

"Sure." He finished, waiting for his team-mate to leave. Yeah, right. If we're gonna do better, then something needs to change around here. Its nice to say 'well you did your best' but, in the end, there's only one place that matters. And I intend to be there.

*****

As Drake stepped out of the Firestorm team's base, he spied a figure walking past, one that he thought that he recognised. It was a tall, muscular woman with short black hair, dressed in a dark purple maintop and matching pants. Hold on a second, he thought as he watched her go. That's not... He jogged up the street after her, trying to get a little closer to confirm his thoughts. It is! What's she doing here, I wonder? Well, there's only one way to find out.

"Jill Constantine?" He asked.

She turned around, glaring at him with angry purple eyes for a moment before stopping, then smiling. It was a toothy smile, one that made her look like she was about to bite. "Heeeeey." She began. "Drake Stone. Well I never."

"The same." He replied. "I didn't know you were back in town."

"Well, you know..." She shrugged. "Got stuff to do, people to see."

He nodded. "Are you... re-entering the competition? I mean, its a bit late this year but..."

"Maybe next year." Jill began, looking off to a point just past his head. "Yeah, maybe then."

"I look forward to it, actually." Drake continued. "You were quite a fighter. And to go from rookie to champion in one year-"

"So what about you?" She interjected, suddenly changing the topic. "What are you up to?"

"I'm on a team now." He had been caught off-guard by the sudden change in subject, but managed to collect himself. "The Firestorm team, actually. We made it all the way to the quarterfinals this year."

"Firestorm, huh? Well..." She trailed off. "That Slate guy is an eligible bachelor, after all."

"It’s nothing like that." Drake shook his head. "In fact, our relationship is purely professional. And besides, he's already involved with someone else on his team"

Jill nodded. "Of course." Then she grinned again. "Well, I have to run. Things to go, places to do. Later." And then, without saying anything else, she simply turned and walked away, leaving him behind.

Well that was... unexpected, he thought. But then, she was always an odd woman. Still, it’s good to see that she's back. He wondered if she was planning to enter the team completion next year, and quietly hoped that she would A chance to rematch with her in a team battle would be a good challenge, one that he looked forward to.

But I shouldn't let myself get distracted by thinking about the hypothetical. He mentally added, chiding himself. First thing’s first. I need to get started on improving this team. If we're going to win next year's competition, be it against the chairs or Constantine or anyone else, then we're going to have to do a lot of work. This will be a challenge. And if there was one thing that drake enjoyed, it was a challenge. Smiling to himself he happily walked off, in a confident and happy mood.

*****

Leaving Drake behind, Jill strode down the end of the street. Waiting there, casually leaning against a wall was a brown-haired woman, a little shorter then Jill was but still notably above the average. She was dressed in a dark green and grey suit, and wore sunglasses. "So, did all go well?" She began.

"Yeah, they were there." Jill replied.

"See?" She continued, a smug tone in her voice. "I'm always right."

"I don’t like this." Jill scowled. "It’s too bright, too open here."

"Yeah, but it’s the last place anyone would think to look." She explained. "People meet in smoky bars or out the back of grimy clubs. Nobody ever expects you to meet in the nice part of town."

"I guess." Jill snarled. "So now what?"

"I'll let you know next time something happens." The woman finished, sliding her glasses down her nose. Her light green, nearly yellow eyes glanced at Jill's purple ones. "Because I know that you'll want to be there."

"Oh yeah." Jill grinned. "No way would I miss any of the fun."

*****

The Monday after the quater-finals weekend was insanely busy for the ZBC. Even though the season was in its wind-up period, there was a lot of work to be done. The ZBC's marketing department was going into overtime to hype the forthcoming battles, doing their best to promote the four remaining teams. It wasn't helped by the fact that one of them was an outsider rookie team who had next to no public face, which made them a lot harder to promote.

There was a lot more work to be done with regards to the actual battles. While there were only three battles left until the finals in the teams series, the four teams themselves needed to be carefully measured up and assessed to determine what would be the most 'fair' battles. The last thing that the wanted in what was meant to be the exciting and dangerous end of the season was a one-sided affair where one team simply stampeded the other.

To cap it all off, security was a lot tighter then it normally was. At this time of year, the ZBC typically did everything in its power to make sure that no information got out about what was to come; the idea was that a surprised audience were a more excited one. The presence of the NUBG made things even tighter; with them suddenly active, and more to the point, taking an interest in one of the semi-finalist teams, the ZBC didn't want to take any risks. The fact that there was an ongoing investigation into just who it was that had been selling information to them made things even more difficult for everyone involved, putting them all on edge, guilty or not.

The sound of Ron McGonnagle's phone ringing was almost enough to cause him to leap out of his chair in surprise. Fumbling through the drawers in his desk, he picked out a single phone that he didn’t usually keep lying around, just in case somebody found it. Picking it up, he held it close to his face and covered his mouth, then hunched over as if he could hide form some unseen observer. "What do you want?" He hissed. "This isn't a good time!"

"I don't ferking care what time it is!" Heywood bellowed on the other end of the line. "I want to know which one of your tractor-driver pilots laid into my men!"

"What?" He began. "What's going on here, Michael? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me, Ron." He continued. "I had a special event on last night, and somebody barged into it and laid out both teams, reducing all involved to so much smoking rubble! I had five Zoids disabled, and two pilots in hospital with severe injuries! And, more importantly, whoever the hell it was trashed all my remote cameras, so we didn't get any of it on tape. I just lost big time, Ron."

"So what does this have to do with me?" He asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, wisearse." Michael snarled. "Outside of NUBG, only a couple of people knew what was going on last night. And I know that you were one of them. So somebody had to rat us out, and I need to know who it was."

"Michael, I hear what you're saying, but you have to believe that it wasn't me." He offered. "I don't have anything to gain by ratting you out, and I can say now that the ZBC certainly isn't behind this. Contrary to what the tabloids say, we don’t have secret mercenary death squads that we use to take care of our opposition. Frankly, I can't think of a current ZBC pilot who could take on five of your best pilots-" (He managed this without a hint of irony in his voice) "-all on their own. It wasn't me, Heywood. Really."

"Then who was it? The fricking tooth fairy?"

Ron sighed. "I have no idea, Michael. And trust me, I’d like to know too. In fact, I'd like to get my hands on whoever it is who’s been doing this. They're making my life just as much of a pain as yours and, frankly, I'd love to be rid of them."

"Right." Heywood finished, clearly not entirely convinced. "Well, tell you what. If your internal investigation turns up some connection, let me know. We may just spare the ZBC the pain of doing something about it."

"Of course." He added. Rubbing his temples, an idea occurred to him, one that might get Heywood off his case, of only for a little while. "I'm going to send you the contact details - that's e-mail, phone, and street address for that team you love so much." Which should give you something to obsess over and leave me alone.

"Sure!" He replied. "Thanks for that, Don."

"Just don’t forget, it won't come free." He added, then hung up. Sighing, he put the phone back into the desk. As much as he wanted to do something about this, he knew that now was not the time to act. The last thing he wanted to do was raise his profile or do anything that could get him noticed.

Instead, he quietly went back to work, pretending for a moment that none of these problems even existed.

*****

Neil cheerily walked into the kitchen, smiling happily to himself. "Good morning all." He began. "And how are we?"

"Pretty good, yeah." Tasch replied as she sat down at the table. "Yeah, I slept pretty well."

"No nagging bruises or the like?" He asked. "I mean, you got spun around pretty badly when your Zoid was shot down yesterday."

"Naw, it’s cool. My safety harness and stuff meant I didn't get too bad. And I slept most of it off." She nodded. "Yeah, I'm not too bad."

"Well that's cool." He grinned. "Because I, for one, feel fan-bloody-tastic."

"Really?" Rose asked as she walked in.

"Morning Rose." Neil asked. "And how are you this beautiful morning?"

"Crappy." She replied, clearly meaning it. Her eyes were bleary and her hair was a mess. “We got any coffee here?"

"Hit the sauce a little hard last night, did we?" Neil asked.

"Yeah, I did." She muttered. "Damn it, where is it?"

"Tried the big tin labelled 'coffee' next to the toaster?" Neil quipped.

"That's make sense." Tasch added, "Seein' as that’s where it always is."

"Very funny." She muttered as she opened the tin. "Okay, so maybe I overdid it a bit." She admitted. "But then, I was in a good mood. You can hardly blame me. With what we'd managed today and... other things, I felt really, really good for once. So I cut a little loose. It’s not like I did anything stupid."

"I'm not blaming you at all, Rose." Neil replied, defensively. "I'm just being my usual self."

"Besides." She smiled. "I saw you going off with someone earlier." She laughed to herself as she spooned coffee. "I didn’t think you had it in you, Neil."

"Well, you know." He leered. "Once I get started, I can just keep going all night." He smiled. "In fact, I didn’t even sleep here. I just crept in a bit before dawn."

"You sly dog you." She finished as she sat down. "So how was it?" Rose slyly added.

"Fan-bloody-tastic." He continued.

Rose was taken back for a moment, not expecting such openness from Neil. "It was?"

"Oh yeah." He took a sip from his orange juice. "We knocked over Tarantulon Caves in an hour, which is a pretty good time for a two-man group. Then we did a whole bunch of stuff out in the Flatlands, and I managed to get my mining skill up to 150. Oh, and then we went into one of the Arenas and we had a great time beating upon Zombiekids who tried to defeat us with their hideous typing. It was a laugh. Oh, and I bought Fiver some new knees."

"Say... wha?" Rose asked.

"Zoids World Online." he explained. "We were playing it all night. What did you think we were doing?"

"Sleeping?" Tasch offered.

"Well..." Rose began. "No, you're right." She finished.

"See? It all works out good." He smiled.

"Yeah, I can imagine." Tasch continued. "'cause I would have done that too, except I don't play it at all. But if I did, I would've done something like that too. And we could've made a big night of it all, yeah."

Rose shook her head. "Well that made no sense at all."

Neil nodded. "But then, what did you expect?" He glanced up as Stephen entered, looking only a little better off then Rose was. "Hey there."

"Morning Neil, Tasch." He began, then stepped over behind Rose. Leaning over, he slipped his arms over her shoulders, and leant down next to her face. "And good morning to you, Rose." he sweetly added.

"Hey, get off me!" She snapped.

"What?"

"You heard!" She stood up, pulling her arms off her.

"Rose?" He asked. "What's up with-"

"What's up with me?" She cut him off. "What about you, creep? What's with all this-"

"Well I thought that after last night-" He began to explain.

Rose glared at him. "What about last night?"

"Well, we did slee-"

"I was drunk, okay?" She snapped. "And I... I didn't mean to do it. And if I did, it was just a one-night thing, okay?"

"Huh?" He shook his head. "Wait, are you saying that... damn it, why didn’t you actually explain that?"

"I thought it would have been obvious!" She snapped. "Its not like I’ve had any interest in you in past, and you should have been able to tell that I was drunk, okay?"

"Wait a second-"

"I think we should go, Tasch." Neil began.

"You think?"

"Definitely." He stood as quietly as possibly, trying to get to the door before-

"Where are you two going?" Rose demanded.

"Well, since this ain’t about us-" Tasch began.

"Don't... what..." She shook her head. "Damn it, you're all impossible, you know that? I don't know what I'm even doing here!" She added, then stormed out.

"Rose, wait a sec-" Tasch began, but Stephen cut her off, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave it, Tasch. I know how she feels." He admitted. "I just messed things up big time."

"Yeah." Neil nodded. "But I bet it was good, wasn't it?"

"Shut up, Neil."

"Shutting up, sir."

"Well..." Tasch began. "If y'all are feeling bad, there's something good fer it."

"Which is?"

"We can work on our Zoids an' try to get 'em fixed." She nodded. "Its what I do when I'm not feelin' too good."

Stephen thought about it, then nodded. "Good idea, Tasch. I like it. Let me get a bite to eat, and we'll get going."

"And I'll... umm..." Neil began. "I'll hold your stuff. Yeah."

"Sure!" Tasch finished. "Thanks fer that. I could always use a stuff holder." She walked out. "I'll get started on assesin' all the damage, kay?"

*****

[Deadborder]

Heywood angrily slammed down his phone, then looked over his computer screen again. At the moment it was displaying a list of figures that was covering the finances from last night's fiasco. It had been a particularly bad night for NUBG; the battle had to be cancelled and he'd had to refund all the bets placed. Not just that, but he'd have to cover repairs for all the Zoids as well as the medical fees for the pilots - and surgeons who didn't ask questions didn't come cheap.

Finally, there was the battle field itself; it was clear that somebody outside the NUBG knew where this supposedly secret battleground was, and, more to the point, they had revealed its location. It meant that he could no longer safely use it, which meant in turn that all the money he'd poured into it had been wasted, which was another black mark against the night.

It annoyed him. It annoyed him a lot. No, annoy was too mild a word. It angered him. It ate him up inside, simply because he had no idea who had done it and who had informed them. This meant that he couldn't retaliate against them and couldn't teach them a lesson. He wanted someone to suffer for what they had done to him, but the problem was that there was nobody he could do it to.

He tried to distract himself by going over videos from recent battles. He always found that when he was in a bad mood, watching some violent programming made him feel better. It got his creative juices pumping, letting him think of new ideas and new matches that he could use to further promote and expand the NUBG. Going through his computer, he cued up a list of his personal favourites, the ones that he always liked.

However, this time they weren't doing anything for him. Instead of making him feel excited, they were, well, rather boring. They seemed to be nowhere near as interesting as they used to be, as if... there was something lacking, something that he couldn't quite grasp. He wanted more, something better, something more exciting... and what the NUBG had to offer just wasn't enough any more.

Looking over it, he realised what it was. It was that singe damn ZBC team, the one that had beaten his best on so many occasions. That's it. It’s them that's the problem. None of his pilots had been able to get a win over them. And while Shane and Julian had come close, that wasn't exactly a televised battle and certainly nothing that they could place bets on.

What I need to do is get them into some battle, one where the odds are against them, one where there's no chance of them winning... but yet the backers will play it up and bet big-time on it. He grinned to himself. Then, when I've reduced them to rubble, I can claim the winnings and finally get them out of my hair. Perfect.

But how do I do it? That was the key stumbling block. The ZBC knew that NUIBG were still interested in this team. And, given that they were now in the top four, they would be extra careful to look after them. There was no way the NUBG could take over one of their remaining battles; it’d mean an all-out invasion of the centre of the city, something that he knew he didn't have the resources to achieve.

One of his phones rang, grabbing his attention. He was surprised, as it was one of his few surveillance agents, a small core of hired spooks who NUBG used to gather info that their regular network of paid informants couldn't quite get. It was useful to him, and had proved to have well paid for itself. "What is it?" He asked.

"This is Wyoming." Heywood instantly recognised his code-name as belonging to the men he had watching that team's base. "Just reporting in. One of the targets, the Liger pilot, has left their base. Do you want us to follow?"

"Yes." He began. "No, change that. I want you to grab her."

"What?"

"You heard me, grab her and bring her here." He said. "Don't hurt her or do anything to her, just... just bring her in. And for gods sakes, make sure she doesn’t see where you’re taking her."

"Sure." Wyoming finished. "Right away."

He closed the phone, then sat back and smiled. All of a sudden, things were looking good.

*****

Rose really had no idea where she was going. She just was going away. Right now she wanted to get as far away from the rest of the team as possible, and try to forget that last night - and this morning - hadn't happened.

She was very angry; angry with herself for allowing herself to get that drunk to end up in bed with Stephen like that. It shouldn’t have happened, she shouldn’t have been so... so damned stupid. And then to have made such an arse of herself sneaking out of his room and everything else that had happened.

She was angry at Stephen for completely misinterpreting what had happened, and then making such an arse of himself, and of her, in front of the others. It should have been obvious to him that it was just the booze speaking, and, simply because she hadn't been next to him when he woke up, that she didn't want to dwell on it at all. But no... he had to make a big act of it in front of Neil ant Tasch and make it obvious that something had happened between them.

Those two hadn't helped either. Neil had been his usual snarky self and hadn't helped any, while Tasch had just been... well, she'd been Tasch, which was bad enough.

And to cap it all off, it was a considerable hike to the nearest bus stop. That only made her just a bit angrier. That she discovered when she reached it that she'd just missed one and, more to the point, it was the better part of half an hour trill the next one just served to make her angrier still.

She stood fuming for a few minutes, before feeling something prod into the small of her back. She wanted to turn around and yell at whoever it was, but then she realised what it was. It was something small and cold, like the feeling of metal. Something with a circular gap in it. Something like a gun.

"I suggest that you don’t do or say anything." A mans voice behind her said.

"We're in broad daylight." She began, her anger suddenly drained to fear.

"And there's nobody around. The bus doesn't even stop here most days."

"You're NUBG." She surmised. She didn’t know that they had spooks with guns, and hadn't thought that they were in the business of kidnapping people. "What do you want?"

"I have a car." He simply stated. "I suggest that you get into it."

She considered her options for a moment. He was right; there was nobody around who could see or hear her, so shouting or putting up a fight wasn't going to help any. And while she knew she could try running, he did have a gun pointed to her back, which were odds she didn't like.

"All right then." She muttered. "And there's no need to push me." Glancing across the road, she could see a single black sedan pulling up, presumably her ride to... wherever it is. She noticed that it had tinted windows, so whoever was in it had some idea what they were doing. "You guys are NUBG, right?"

"Lets not talk, huh?" He replied. "I don’t want to make this difficult for either of us."

"That’s a yes, then." She finished. Makes sense too... NUBG are the only people that I can think of who would be after me for some reason. And this move is about the level of stupidity I've come to expect from them. She shook her head. Just... be calm. And don't panic. The pair moved towards the car, one of its back doors swinging open. Here we go...

*****

Rachel Golden stormed into Michael's office, a look of pure rage on her face. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Heywood?" She snapped.

"What’s that, Rach?" He casually replied as he looked up from his computer.

"You know what I mean." She continued. "I just heard that two of your goons came in dragging that O'Bannon woman form that ZBC team from a car. From that, I took it as a fair guess that you’ve kidnapped her."

"And?" he asked.

"Are you insane?" She continued. "Do you know what this means? You've just made us a lot, lot more dangerous in the eyes of the law! You've just given them even more reasons to come after us! And... and what if they were followed? What if she gets out and finds her way back to the PKB or the ZBC? What then? What the hell were you thinking, Michael, or were you even thinking at all?"

"Relax, Rach." He replied, leaning back on his chair. "It’s all under control."

"What do you mean?" She continued. "Do you realise what this means?"

"Yes, yes I do." He continued as he lit up a cigar. "You see, Rach, you're not thinking about it at all. Why do you think I told Wyoming and Texas to snatch her?"

"...Wyoming and Texas?" She asked.

"Their Code-names, Rach." He replied as he took a deep drag. "Why do you think they snatched her?"

"Because... you wanted revenge on her for what she did to the NUBG?" Rachel offered.

"It’s not that, Rach." He explained. "I'm not going to harm her in any way, if that's what you’re thinking. Its be against my better interests to do such." He took another drag.

"So... what are you doing?"

"Simple, Rach." He continued. "I'm gonna use her as a bargaining chip. I'm gonna use her to force her team into a battle on my terms, one that will be used to end this little affair once and for all. If they win - and they won’t - then she goes free and I never bother them again. If we win, well, we stop bothering them as well, simply because we won't need to. And yes, she'll go free afterwards." He grinned. "And don't panic., Rach. I'm smarter then to hold this battle on NUBG turf."

"But sir..."

"Rach, I've got this all worked out." He explained, waving his cigar around. "Our audience will go nuts for this, seeing this bunch shoved into a battle that they can't possibly win-"

"Like the last three battles?"

"Bear with me, Rach. This time they're not gonna win." He grinned. "But at any rate, the betting will be wild. Will they win despite the odds? Will they loose? Will they win despite the odds? Either way, we'll make a fortune off the bets and video sales. It’s not insanity, Rach. Its genius. Sheer bloody genius."

Rachel sighed to herself. "I understand, sir. And I apologise for not seeing it before."

"You see, Rach?" He took another puff on his cigar. "I've got it all worked out. You were right to be concerned, but that's simply because you didn't see the bigger picture. And that, Rach, is why I'm in charge. I'm creative. I'm a thinker, someone who's prepared to do the unusual and the unexpected. What might look bad immediately is all a ploy... I throw people off by giving them the unexpected, the last thing they’d think of."

She nodded. "I'm sorry I doubted your plan, sir."

"Relax, Rach. You weren't to know." He took another puff. "Not everyone’s as smart as me, you know."

"No, sir. they're not." She finished. "If you'll excuse me, please?"

"Certainly, Rach." He replied. "You go and get ready. This is gonna be the biggest match in NUBG's history."

"I'm sure it will be, sir." She agreed as she stepped out of his office. Glancing around, she left her own desk, instead walking off further into the NUBG faculty itself. Navigating her way though the maze of passages and tunnels, she instead headed for a little use service entrance.

Stepping out, she emerged just outside the derelict factory that was the cover for the NUBG's headquarters and main arena. Glancing around to make sure that there was nobody around, she pulled out her phone and quick dialled a number that she had memorised. She never committed any of the numbers to the phone's internal books, seeing them as a security risk.

After a moment, the Phone picked up. "Hello, Elden?" She began. "It’s Rachel. Sorry to interrupt you, but I need a favour. ReMember those stocks I asked you to liquidate? Well, uh... could you do the rest of them?"

*****

Tasch finished adjusting a bolt on the Redler then stood back to admire her work. While most of its side armour was still missing pending being replaced, the sleek black Zoid's structure and systems were now fully operational. It had taken a lot of work, but it meant that now, at the very least, they had two functional Zoids. "Yeah, that's it."

"Looks good." Stephen added as he walked around to join her. "In fact, I'd say that's just right."

"Naw, it ain't yet." Tasch shook her head. "'cause it ain’t got any armour on it yet. 'course, were gonna work on that in a minute."

"Well, I was thinking that it may be a good time now to take a break." He offered. "We've already worked through lunch."

"A late lunch would do me fine." Neil called out from his seat in the Liger Zero's cockpit. "Yum, food."

"How's it going up there?" Stephen asked.

"Not bad. Thanks for giving me a job I can actually do." He replied. "It’s just on the last steps of the configurajugama now, so I think that is all good to go." The Koenig Wolf's fangs had fried most of the Zero's systems, which meant that many of them needed to be re-loaded. Since he had a lack of mechanical skills, Neil had instead volunteered to watch over the Liger's OS as it rebooted. He'd figured that 'push a button when it says to and call us if it looks bad' was about up to his skill level.

"Well, I'm glad ya'll could help." Tasch replied. "'cause it did need doin' and all that."

"Well, any time you need a button pressed, I'm your man." He offered, jokingly.

"Thanks!" She nodded. “I mean, it'd be real useful too. 'cause there's a lotta different things you could need a button pushed for." She began. "Like... if you wanted to get in a lift, but your hands were full... that'd be real handy."

"Well, I suppose..."

"'course, you could try to get it with your own finger, or yer elbow or something. But if it’s a really big and tough load, then, well, then you'd be in trouble." She continued, apparently off in her own world. "And you could get stuck there, waitin' fer somebody to come along."

Neil shook his head. "You’re amazing, you know that?" He hopped out of the Liger's cockpit and joined the air of them. "So how's things going?"

"We fixed the Redler's internals, so now all we need to do is replace the armour." Stephen replied. "I figure that we can start on the Zero after lunch now that you’ve rebooted its system."

"Not going on the Kong?" He asked.

Stephen shook his head. "It’s still operational, which is more then the rest of our Zoids can claim. Despite that, it’s also going to need the most work to get back into top shape. Kongs can take a lot of damage before going down, but the drawback is that they need a lot of repairs afterwards."

"An' they're real big too, which makes it even harder." Tasch added. "'cause there's a lot more to repair."

"That too." Stephen continued. "And trust me, I've done the assessment, that big monkey is in a world of hurt right now."

"It looks like that Dekault tried to go at it with a cheese grater." Neil commented. "I'm amazed that you lived through that."

"Well, you know." Stephen began as he headed up the stairs to the living room. "I was determined not to let that jerk beat us. I stood my ground and did what I can. But I really, really couldn't have done it without your help, Neil."

"Ah, it was nothing any other kamikaze wouldn't have done." He replied dismissively as he followed Stephen up the stairs. "In fact, as a kamikaze, I suck big time."

"'course y'all do." Tasch added. "'cause you're still alive. If y'all were a good kamikaze, then you wouldn't be here to talk about it. It means yer an unsuccessful kamikaze."

"I cannot argue with your flawless logic." Neil shrugged as he entered the room. "Hey, what’s that little beeping thing on the computer mean?"

"What's that?" She began as she walked over to it. "Well heck, that’s odd. Looks like someone’s trying to connect to us for a live conferency thing."

"Does it say who it is?" Stephen asked.

"It’s an anonymous generic request." Tasch replied. "But it has to be someone who knows our contact details, which would be the ZBC. Can't think who else it'd be."

"ZBC already?" Neil began. "That’s unusual. Shouldn’t we let Rose know?"

"When she's done sulking, sure." Stephen muttered. "But if they’re going to live conference us, then this can't wait."

"Sure thing." Tasch replied as she flicked on a couple of options and activated the small camera built into her computer. "Right, all ready?"

Both Stephen and Neil nodded, then Tasch pushed the 'accept' button. After a few seconds, a video window came up - with the NUBG logo splashed across it. "The heck?" Tasch began as it dissolved, replaced with a darkened room. A single figure sat in a chair, his figure entirely concealed in the shadows with no features visible, save for some light reflecting off his glasses.

"It’s good to meet you at last." He began, his voice digitally altered to give it a very low, very deep electronic tone. "After such a long rivalry, I wanted to speak to you personally before I bring it to an end."

"What do you want?" Stephen snapped. "Or are you just calling to waste our bandwidth?"

"I have a proposition for you." The figure continued. "Your team will have one last battle with ours to end this feud forever. If you win, then we will leave you alone. If you loos, we will take your Zoids for our own as compensation for all that you’ve cost us so far."

"Great deal." Neil commented. "So why should we agree to your terms? We know that you clowns are just going to rig it in your favour."

"There is a little sweetener to the deal, something that I think makes it worth fighting over." He replied. "I'll let you take a look yourself."

His image dissolved, replaced with a woman sitting in a dark room. Unlike the man, however, her features were clearly visible. "Rose?" Stephen began.

"Hey..." She started. "What do you-" She glared straight at the camera. "Hey! Get that thing away from me! Just leave me alone, you bunch of pervs!" She got up and ran towards the camera, which suddenly backed off to show a metal door, a pair of armed guards by it. The scene dissolved again, cutting back to the shadowed man.

"There, is that enough for you?" He began.

"What have you done to her, you monster?" Stephen growled, his hands curling into fists.

"Nothing yet." He replied. "For now, she remains a Guest of the NUBG, albeit an unwilling one. For the moment, no harm will come to her."

"That's ain't nice." Tasch continued. "In fact, that's pretty damn low. Yer a pretty vile man."

"So here is the deal. If you agree to the battle, then we will release her to fight alongside you. After all, as the woman who started all this, she has just as much a place in our little showdown. If you decline my invitation, then, well, I cannot grantee what will happen." The figure paused, and Stephen could swear that he was grinning. "And we're watching your base. If you leave the base, we will know. If you go to the PKB or the ZBC, we will know. If you contact anyone besides us, we will know."

"We can see you. We know what you're doing. We know who you're speaking to. We know where you live."

"Fine." Stephen replied. "We get the picture. What do we have to do, you maniac?"

"Here's the deal. You will remain inside your base. I will allow you one phone call to hire a par of Gustavs. At one-thousand hours in on the day after tomorrow, you will leave with all your Zoids, O'Bannon's included. You will travel to the abandoned IrKen industries factory on the corner of Hogger and Ursal, and await one of my men there. He will then lead you to your final destination."

"But that’s..." Stephen glanced down, "Less then two days away. That's barely enough time to repair our Zoids, let alone-"

"You will make the deadline, or else Ms O’Bannon will suffer the consequences." He interrupted. "If you are followed, then she will suffer. If we see anyone else, then she will suffer. Do you understand?"

"Sure." Stephen snarled. "We'll be there."

"Excellent." The figure finished. "I look forward to seeing you there." The image dissolved into the NUBG logo, then vanished.

"So what do we do?" Neil asked as he nervously glanced at Stephen. "I mean, they've got Rose but... this is so going to be a trap."

"Well, I think that we have to go along with 'em." Tasch replied. "'cause if they took Rose, it means they're either a lot more dangerous then we thought or a lot more stupid then we though. An' either way, they're that we should do what they say or else they're gonna end up doin' somehtin' real bad. And we don't want that."

"That makes a sad amount of sense, actually." Neil replied. "And I'm beginning to think that when Rose described them as a bunch of mindless jerks, she was right after all." He shrugged. "Go figure."

"Right, here's what we'll do." Stephen finished as he stood up and turned around. "Tasch and I will get to wok on our Zoids. Neil, I want you to rent us a couple of Gustavs. And, uh, get us a bite to eat. We're going to be very busy."

"Gotcha, chief." Neil replied. "Anything else I can do? I mean... I feel a little useless otherwise."

"Well..." Tasch began. "If I say 'hold this' can y'all do that?"

"Standing around and looking confused while hanging onto something is my specialty." He grinned.

"Thanks, Neil." Stephen finished. "Okay guys, let’s get to work, for Rose's sake."

*****

Heywood waited, staring at the camera until the computer operator gave him a 'thumbs up' to indicate that they were finished. He grinned to himself as the lights came back on, standing and walking over to Rachel, who was waiting by the camera. "So what did you think?" He began. "I have always wanted to play the villain, Rach. And that was awesome."

"It was a... memorable performance." She offered.

"It was bloody awesome." He grinned. "I should include it on the next video as a bumper or something... yeah."

"So what do we do now?" Rachel asked.

"Just what we said we'd do." He replied. "We wait and see what happens. And I know that they're gonna go for it. They're not going to risk anything happening to their teammate."

"I see." She finished. "Is there anything else, sir?"

"Not at the moment, Rach." He grinned. "But I want you to start putting out promotional feelers to our crowd. Tell them... tell them that this will be the final showdown between us and that team. After this one, there will be nothing else, either way. Say high stakes, everything on the line... you know, all that sorta stuff. But don’t mention how we got them into this battle. Even our backers don’t like kidnappings."

"As I can imagine, sir." Rachel nodded.

"Good. Well, get to it. I have an empire to run." He finished, then paused. "You know, I could really, really begin to like this. Yeah... Michael Heywood, evil manager." He grinned. "I mean, I swore I'd never appear on-camera, what with the whole 'illegal acts' thing but... I dunno, its got some appeal to it. Maybe I could be this sinister shadowy figure who hands down dire commands..." he trailed off.

Shaking her head, Rachel walked off. She had a lot of work to do, and not all of it was in preparation for the upcoming battle. Striding into her office, she sat down behind her computer, and looked over the figures for a moment. Then she stood up again, walking out to he officer's lounge, where the ZBC's top pilots usually hung out. Today there was only one man present, which was just the person she was after.

Sighting Cole, she sat down next to him, glancing around the room. "I thought I'd find you here." She began. "We need to talk."

"Heywood's plan, right?" He began.

She nodded. "I don't want to sound... alarmist, Cole, but this is beginning to remind me of what happened a few years ago." Her eyes strayed to his open coat, and his scarred chest under it.

"No, I undestand what you mean, Rachel, and I agree." He replied. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm thinking that we need to keep an eye on things." She offered. "And prepare for the worst. I don’t know the full details of where exactly he's planning to have this showdown, but he assures me that its not going to be in the NUBG central arena. This, unfortunately, limits my disaster planning."

Cole nodded. "I understand. I think our best bet is to simply be ready for anything."

"Like me, I see you're that convinced that this is a mistake." She observed.

"Very much so. What about the others?"

She shook her head. "All of them want to be the one who takes down that team. None of them are going to listen, even Shane or Julian."

"So when it all goes bad, it'll be us only."

Rachel nodded. "Thereabouts." She paused. "I think I may be able to lever things to our advantage, however. Give me some time, and I'm sure I can engineer a better outcome." She stood.

"Certainly." He agreed. "Whatever you want to do, I'll back you all the way."

"Thank you, Julian." She finished. "I'm glad that not everyone in NUBG is so blind."

"I learned my lesson." He agreed. "Sadly, it seems that nobody else here has."

*****

[Deadborder]

Rose sat sulkily in her cell, glaring at the door. She'd been somewhat surprised that the NUBG even had cells, not being sure what to expect. A part of her wondered if these things had been purpose built, or, if like what little lese she'd seen of the NUBG base, it had been converted after the fact from something else.

Things had gone a lot better then she'd expected, really. She'd feared for the worst, that they were going to torture her or something equally as unpleasant. Instead, they'd simply hassled her off to a cell and shut her in there. Save for sticking a camera in her face, she'd been left alone otherwise.

Wonderful. She thought to herself. Here I am, rotting in an NUBG Hellhole. This has to be about the lowest point of my career so far. She sighed to herself. Great end to my first year in the competition; stuck in an NUBG cell, staring at the ceiling. Wonderful. She shook her head. Vi never went through anything like this. What did she say? She once saw a NUBG guy and swatted him and that was the end of it.

So now what do I do? I can't get out, and I don't want to sit around in case they have something in store for me. She shivered at the thought. Okay, Rose, be sensible. Try to think about your situation ad figure a way out of here. You're smart, you're cable, you can figure something.

She stood up and walked over to the door, looking over it. It seemed to be using a relatively simple lock, but one that was also very solid and, more to the point, on the other side of the door to where she was. A few quick pokes revealed that both the door and the wall were very solid, not the sort of things that she could easily knock down. There was a small slit at eye level, and a larger one at the bottom of the door, but that was it.

Okay, so no immediate way out. Just keep thinking. I'm sure I can think of something.

A knock at the door interrupted her train of thought. There was a brief scraping noise as a tray slid under the door ,several Styrofoam packets and a plastic cup on it. "What's this all about?"

"It’s your dinner." A female voice on the other side of the door began. "Takeaway chicken burger, chips and an orange juice."

"Gee, thanks." She muttered, then turned to the door. She could see a bit of the person on hte other side; a blonde woman wearing glasses. "Hey, what's-"

"Its not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking. Or drugged." The woman began. "In fact, Its currently in our best interests to keep your alive and well."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, her eyes narrowing.

The woman glanced around, for a moment. "What I mean is that you're being used as bait to bring the rest of your team into a battle, presumably with you a part of it. I don’t know the details, but, well, they'll want you to be a part of it."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"To reassure you?" The woman offered. "Probably just to help put you at ease - and yes, I know that it’s not much." She admitted. "And to warn you. The match they're planning will be heavily stacked against you - more so then normal, I mean."

"Thanks." Rose quipped.

"Look, I didn't support this move. In fact, very few people around here did." She continued. "I know that you hold a very low opinion of NUBG, and I know that there's nothing I can say that will change matters, especially not after today."

"You got that right." Rose continued. "I mean, this is low, even by the standards I expect form you clowns."

"Ms O'Bannon, I want you to know this much. While you are here, I will do everything I can to at the very least, lessen your discomfort."

"Well that's reassuring."

"As I said, I didn't support this move." She continued. "But, there may be a positive light out of this. I may be able to... force matters to result in a change in NUBG leadership, one that would make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again."

"Right. Sure you will."

"Believe me, Ms O'Bannon. I want the best outcome for all of us."

*****

Despite the rather abrupt timeline given to them by the NUBG, Tasch, Stephen and Neil had managed to get all four of the Team's Zoids back into full working condition. They'd worked flat out over the last two days, with relatively little sleep and virtually no other breaks, pushing themselves to the limit of their endurance. Yet nobody had complained about the situation. They knew that they were doing it for another member of their team, one who was relying on them. And each of them knew that they others would happily do the same for them.

It wasn't something that they needed to communicate each other. Rather, it was an unspoken bond, one that they each acknowledged, the idea that no one of them would ever be left behind or abandoned to their fate. Despite their small squabbles and their arguments, the months of fighting together had bought them a lot closer, making them into more then just a team. They were friends, strong ones who would not just abandon the others to save themselves.

Finally, with about half an hour before the deadline, the last panel was closed, and the quartet of Zoids were ready for whatever the NUBG had planned for them.

"Well, we're done." Stephen stood back and admired his work. The repairs to the Iron Kong were by no means pretty, but they were otherwise complete. It'd still take a lot of finishing to make the machine look perfect, but for now it was fully functional - which was what really mattered.

"You know, I’ll never, ever underestimate what you guys do again." Neil added. "Really. I was amazed to see you two in action there."

"Yeah, it's hard." Tasch finished. "But it ain't too hard, really, 'cause we still managed it. If it was too hard, then we wouldn’t be standin' here sayin' how hard it was, 'cause we'd still be workin' on them."

"Very wise words." Neil commented.

"Right then. Let's go." Stephen added. "The NUBG won't wait for us."

Half an hour later, their two rental Gustavs were headed through the city, the four Zoids parked on their trailers. Tasch was driving one of them, with Stephen in the cockpit of the other. Neil rode in the cockpit of his Gunsniper, keeping an eye on his radar scope for any sign of the NUBG. In addition to Rose's Zoid, they'd also bought her pilot's suit. Nobody had dared say anything about what condition she'd be in, instead just hoping that she'd be okay and ready to fight.

Stephen's Gustav rounded a corner, stopping outside a large, derelict factory that had once been used to manufacture Zoid components. Looking over it, he checked his mapbook. "Well, this is the place." He began. "But I'm not seeing a thing on the radar. How about the rest of you?"

"Nothing here." Tasch began. "Well, 'cept for clutter from all the buildings. But I kinda expected all that."

"Well, my 3D scope isn't showing a thing either." Neil finished. "So what the frelnuts is going on here?"

"You don't think they stood us up, do you?" Stephen asked. "Or else..."

"Naw, I don't think it’s that." Tasch added. "I think that we can trust 'em."

"Because they're criminals?" Neil began.

"Yeah but... they want us to get to their battle." She replied. "So they can sell the videos or something. So it don't make no sense to attack us here."

"I guess so... hold up." Neil continued. "I'm getting something." He peered into the scope. "Its a very faint return but... its definitely there."

"Where is it?" Stephen asked, glancing around.

"Ah hell! It’s right in front of us!"

"Say what?" He turned back, only to see the air in front of his Zoid shimmer and ripple. A black shape materialised in front of him, looming over the Gustav's cockpit. He recognised the Zoid as being a Shadow Fox, a type that he'd seen the NUBG use in past. "Hey! What's going on here?" He shouted.

"You made it on time." A voice called out over the Shadow Fox's PA system, the same digitised voice as had been on the original threat. "Very good. My agent has come to make sure that you make it the rest of the way."

"So where are we supposed to go then?" Stephen began. "This can't be it."

"Not unless you guys are even dumber then you seem." Neil added, sarcastically.

"Open up your Gustav's navigation system." The voice continued. "And look up grid ref F7U3M."

"That's... that’s in the middle of the desert outside of the city." Tasch began. "There ain't much of anything out there."

"More to the point, it’s a ZBC restricted area." Stephen added. "What is this?"

"Well, it makes sense." Tasch spoke up. "I mean, the last place that I'd look for the NUBG is in a ZBC place, cause they wouldn't want to be there at all. Yeah, it makes perfect sense."

"Only if you’re completely nuts." Neil muttered.

"You will head there for our battle." The voice continued. "My agent will track you and make sure that you stay on course. As an added incentive, he'll remain invisible throughout, so you won't know where he is. That way, if you try anything, you won't know where he is. He's only shown himself now to deliver this message." The Fox snarled then walked past the two Gustavs, shimmering and vanishing as it went. "So, shall we begin?" He added.

"We have no choice." Stephen finished. "Lets get on with this." He opened up the Gustav's throttle, the transport Zoid clanking and rumbling forwards. A moment later, Tasch's Zoid followed it. The pair of them rolled through the largely derelict industrial district, the same place that Rose and Neil had run through when escaping form the NUBG all those months ago.

"I wonder if they planned this for some ironic statement." Neil commented. "Or if they're even that creative."

"Just keep your eyes open." Stephen replied. "I still don't trust these guys."

"Yeah..." Tasch added. "I got a blip on the very edge of the scope though. I think its... hang on."

"What is it?" Stephen asked.

"I got static all over my scope." She continued. "You guys gettin' it?"

"Same." Stephen replied. "Neil?"

"Definitely." He shook his head. "These guys aren't messing around. They got someone out there making a lot of noise for our benefit."

"Probably just to make sure that we don’t try shouting to the PKB or anyone else." Stephen continued. "Maybe they are smarter then we thought."

"Smart people wouldn't have escalated things like this." Neil began. "That's just plain rock stupid."

"More of dangerous, really." Tasch added. "'cause of all the Zoids and stuff."

"Stupid, dangerous and armed with top-of-the-line Zoids." Neil shook his head. "Nice combo."

The Gustavs left the city proper, instead heading out along a single long stretch of rather disused-looking highway that headed off into the distance. The maps showed that this was the only route to their destination, hading straight out to it in a single long, unbending stretch. The pair of transports, presumably along with their unseen escort, continued along the path for the better part of an hour, with nothing around save for the empty, dry earth.

In the distance, a single large structure loomed up on the horizon. Shimmering in the heat, its form was rather featureless, yet imposing, dominating the featureless plains around it. As they approached, the trio of pilots could see that it was similar in many ways to the massive main arena in the heart of the city. At the same time, it was clearly old and worn, having spent many years exposed to the elements with no maintenance.

"What in the heck is that?" Tasch asked.

"It’s... the ZBC's first arena." Stephen replied. "It was built over fifty years ago, back when the Zoid battles really began to become popular."

"So what’s it doing out here?" Neil asked.

"Back then, the city council didn't want Zoids walking around their city and had lots of concerns about holding battles inside it. So the ZBC were forced to build way out here. Over time things changed, so they relocated to inside the city, eventually to its heart. I don't think this place has been used in decades."

"Which is why we're havin' a battle here." Tasch finished. "'cause it’s the very, very last place anyone'd think to look."

"Welcome to the NUBG stadium, my friends." The voice boomed out again. "Now hurry up and get inside. I'm eager to get things started." As they approached, the arena's front gates opened, as if to swallow their Zoids.

"This is it. There's no turning back after now." Stephen began.

"Good. 'cause I ain't going nowhere." Tasch continued.

"Damn right. Lets get in there, for Rose." Neil finished.

The two Gustavs rolled inside the arena, the door grinding shut behind them.

*****

[Orange]

Ooh, kidnappings. Ooh, fighting. Ooh! MMO's!

Nicely done as always, Rick. Now kick my ass a bit so I get inspired to do more lolm.

[Deadborder]

Kick, kick, kick

And thanks. I allways appreciate the commentary.

Rick R.

[Orange]

I'll get to it once I'm done with this contest peice for the teen-titans club on devart.... Wait! No! I'm not doing fanart! It's... oh hell i'm a TT fangirl. Damn the inate cuteness of Beast Boy's antics! DAMN THEM.

[Tilly]

I finally catch up on this (I missed 12 somehow) and you do this? AUGH CLIFFHANGER.

At least it wasn't Tasch kidnapped. The name jokes would never end then :p.

[Deadborder]

Actually, I suspect that anyone who kidnapped Tasch would just hand her back after a day, having been driven out of their tiny, tiny little skulls.

But yes, the name refences wouldn't have stopped.

Rick R.