Pointy Muses Fic II - Back in the Saddle

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Dear Tasch, Siske Stroemer wrote on her computer as she sat back in her seat on the private jet. Its good to hear from you again, even if you do remind me of how slack I've been with replying to your e-mails.

She smiled to herself as she wrote. Siske looked so much like her younger sister that they were occasionally mistaken for twins; the same height and build, they had very similar faces, and the same eye and hair colours. Siske's features were a little sharper then her sister's, however, and she wore her hair at shoulder length, shorter then Tasch's.

I'm glad to hear that your whole team's back together for the new season, she continued. And I can't wait to hear how things turn out. I'll admit now that Zoid battling has never been my thing; you certainly have all the talent in the family in that department. I couldn't begin to do some of the crazy stuff you seem to pull of every day.

Sadly, it seems like my work is going to keep me away from you again. The next six months are looking to be very big to us with a lot of big developments going on all over the world. So yes, it looks like I'll again miss out on seeing you in action. Hopefully I'll be lucky and have a chance to pop in and say 'hi' for about five minutes. Then, of course, I'll have to run off on another flight to who-knows-where before I know it.

Trust me, Tasch. This is another case where I definitely envy what you do for a living.

Please say "hello" to the team for me, as well as tell Mum and Dad that I'm fine. I feel bad about not seeing you or them for so long.

And, unfortunately, I have to go. I'll try and write more often, okay?

Your big Sis.

She finished up the message and sent it, before shutting down and stowing her laptop computer. Checking out the window, she could see that it was inky black outside with thick cloud cover. Perfect.

"Ms Stroemer? It's time." A voice called out form the other end of the cabin. She stood, walking over to the far end of the cabin where a single flight attendant was waiting. Her attire could not have clashed more obviously with his neat suit, being clad in a black, form-fitting bodysuit. Pulling up the hood, she took a harness, parachute and breather mask from the overhead luggage locker.

"Ready." She began.

He nodded, then opened the door to the rear of the cabin. Stepping in, she entered the small, sealed vestibule area at the back of the plane. Checking over her gear one last time, she shut the inner door behind her, then keyed in the release code for the specially modified external access hatch. Counting down ten seconds, she stood back as the door swung open, the air around her whipping and howling.

Smiling inside, the mask, she leaped out of the plane, plunging into the inky depths of the overcast night.

*****

Pointy Muses Fic II

Chapter One - Back in the Saddle

By Rick R.

*****

Traffic in the city was locked solid, both the conventional and the unconventional. The City's streets were packed with vehicles as a flood of tourists, sightseers, visitors and sports fans poured in, all here for a single event. That event was also the course of its unconventional congestion, as the roadways dedicated to Zoid Traffic were all packed solid with various mechanical animals heading into the city. Both new competitors and those returning after previous seasons packed the roads as they headed into the city.

For those who participated in or followed Zoid battles, one of the biggest events of the year was closing in, the reason for this mass migration. It was a week out from the start of the next season of Zoid battles, and everyone wanted to be there.

Even the skies over the city were packed. Massive Transport ships delivered Zoids and supplies, while numerous flying Zoids belonging to competitors travelled towards the city proper and their team facilities within. From tiny Blitz Hornet utility Zoids to massive Salamanders, the skies were a riot of exotic forms moving with an almost hive-mind like degree of orderly precision.

Tasch Stroemer's Black Redler had joined the airborne lanes of traffic well outside the city; following the standard flight path in, she'd been redirected into the flow of traffic above the crowded streets. She didn't mind the wait; she knew how important it was to keep the airspace over the city well organised, both form the perspective of safety and security.

A beep from her console indicated an incoming communication, the display indicating that it was coming form the city's air traffic control. "Ayep?" She began as she answered it.

"This is PKB Air Traffic Control." The voice at the other end spoke up. "You are cleared to leave standard lanes and begin approach for landing."

"Thankyou." She nodded. "And y'all have a day, okay?"

"Uh, sure."

Nodding, she disengaged the Redler's Autopilot, peeling away form the rest of the lane. Due to its design, the Redler didn't need much space to take off or land in; its VTOL capabilities (The best of any airborne Zoid) meant it needed just enough space for its body. The black Zoid decreased altitude, heading out over the city's outer suburbs while staying out of the air traffic lanes, before stopping over an old industrial district. Then, the Zoid slowly descended, landing outside a single old factory. Its main door was open, so the Zoid simply walked in.

Inside she could see three other machines gathered around; a Gunsniper, a Liger Zero and, towering over them, the hulking form of an Iron Kong. An' its all just as I reMember it, she thought as she opened her Zoid's cockpit and clambered out. The other Zoids didn't seem to have changed at all since she had last seen them over five months ago.

She clambered out of the Zoid, grabbing her backpack as she went. Hefting it over her shoulders, she walked up the stairs into the converted living room, then stepped inside. Looking around, she could see that the place was a mess, with bags strewn all over it, some still closed and some half-unpacked already. Otherwise, it looked almost the same as she'd left it at the end of last season. However, more important then that were the three people in the room already. Stephen Chesterton, Neil Notbob and Rose O'Bannon, her three team mates and now, in all likelihood, her closest friends.

"Heya all." She began, waving as she stepped into the room.

"Tasch!" Rose called out, skipping over the mess in the middle of the room to reach her. Grabbing Tash, she embraced her in a strong hug for a moment before letting go. "It’s so good to see you."

Tasch nodded to Rose. The taller woman looked near identical to how she'd last seen her, only now she was sporting a tan. It made for a startling contrast to Tasch's pale skin, a result of both genetics and climate. "Yeah, it’s good to see ya too."

"Our secret weapon has returned." Neil quipped as he smiled at her. "Good to see you back."

"I ain't yer secret weapon." She replied. "Because that would mean that nobody knows about me. Except everyone does know about me 'cause of all the matches I was in."

"Well I meant more of the way you tend to do crazy stuff mid battle..." Neil offered. "But hell, its good to have ya here."

"Thanks." She smiled. "An' I'm glad yer here as well."

"So that's all of us." Stephen finally spoke up, a little more understated then his two team mates. "Great to see that you're well, Tasch."

"Yeah." She nodded. "An' you too." She finished, then dropped her pack on the pile. "So how was things over the break?"

"Nothing too exciting." Neil commented. "Spent time with my family, mainly. Mum worried over me and decided that I wasn't eating enough-"

"Well, I don’t know, you get plenty of potato chips." Rose interjected.

"Yeah, yeah." he shook his head. "And that I needed to settle down and get a proper job because Zoid fighting’s so dangerous and her little baby boy might get hurt and all that sort of stuff." He nodded. "So that means she loves me. And it was a great time, actually. I won't show you the photos as, well, they're as boring as Zabatrcrap, and besides, I'm not that mean."

"Sounds wonderful" Rose rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well..." Neil shrugged. "I know it sounds a bit boring, but I like it. I'd been away from home for so long that it was good to catch up with people, you know. And having some quiet do-nothing time was kind of neat after spending six months of being chased by guys out to kill me."

Rose nodded, then smiled. "Well, yeah... I had a pretty good time, actually." She started without being asked. "I took a holiday and spent a lot of time on the beach, as you can tell."

"Mmm..." Neil began, nodding then leaning towards Rose. "So should I ask how much of you got a tan?"

"Neil!"

"Sorry." He grinned. "Too good to resist."

"Anyway," She continued, nonplussed, "the big news is that my mum has been pressing some of her contacts. She figures that she could get me a deal to do some swimwear endorsement stuff. It'd be a big boost to my reputation and profile, and also bring in some extra cash while letting me show off how hot I am."

"And modest." Neil muttered.

"Well congratulations." Stephen spoke up. "I'm glad to hear, Rose. Sounds just like what you wanted."

"Thanks." She nodded. "So yeah... I caught up with my family as well, and they're all doing good. Dad and Vi were really proud of how well I'd done this season and couldn't wait to see how I did this year."

"An' how about Jill?" Tasch asked. "How's she doin'?"

"Ah... I must admit, I haven't seen her." She began. "We don’t often keep in touch; she doesn’t usually associate with the rest of the family because of her, uh, past. And besides she's just a bit..." Rose shrugged. "Weird, you know?"

"She seemed like a nice person to me." Tasch commented.

"Case proven." Rose finished. "So how was your holiday, Stephen?"

"Yeah, it was okay." He muttered.

"Just... okay." She pouted. "Nothing beyond that?"

"No." He replied.

"Well... sure. That's fantastic. Great to hear about your wonderful holiday then." She finished, then shrugged.

"Well what do you want?" He asked. "It wasn't that exciting or interesting, really. I just took some time off, that's all."

"Nothin' wring with that." Tasch finished. "In fact, it sounds like it'd be pretty nice, really. Its kinda like what I did for my holiday; I went back home an;' saw my family and took a few walkin' trips around the area. Got some nice pics of the Maze of Mercy and the Chaoscape as well that I'll have ta show y'all later. Jus' a pity that my sis couldn't make it like she said she would, but we're kinda used to that."

"You have a sister?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, Siske, my big sister." She nodded. "But she's got a big important job an' travels a lot, so I almost never see her."

"Pity that." Neil noted. "Its a pain to never get to see relatives. Well, except if you’re me, in which case its a blessing." He smirked. "So how was the weather there?"

"It was pretty nice... all dark and overcast most of the time, with a few neat storms over the Chaoscape. Made for some great pics too."

"Only you would think that was a good holiday, Tasch." Rose finished.

*****

Ron McGonnagle looked over the list of teams for the first round of this years competition. To say that it was daunting was an understatement; by anyone's estimate, this year would feature the biggest number of Zoids teams ever entered. More interesting was the fact that many of the new teams were made up of complete amateurs who had never competed professionally before.

He knew exactly why that was the case, however. Last year, an all-amateur team had entered the competitions and made it all the way to the semi-finals. Even then, they hadn't been defeated but rather had been forced to drop out due to outside interference. There were many who speculated that, had they not dropped out, they could have made it into the finals - or even been the champions.

The ZBC's management had loved them. They were young and amusingly offbeat, and showed a certain flair and individual streak that made marketers go wild. The fact that they had managed to get so far, further then any rookie team had ever managed, had attracted a lot of attention, seeing record audiences tuning in and attending in person just to see how far this team could go. And the fact that they'd achieved all this while being the targets of an illegal battle organisation carrying a grudge and determined to force them into unsanctioned fights had only served to make them seem that much more determined and capable.

The audience had loved them. So much so that the period between seasons had seen a rush of new pilots registering with the ZBC, determined to emulate the success of their newfound heroes. To his mind, Ron thought that they were being morons. It wasn't that he knew the reality of the situation that he figured this, however. He and the rest of the ZBC management knew full well what the odds of another team being able to pull off their success were like.

The problem was simply that he hated that one team.

In their one year in competition, they had made his life incredibly difficult. They'd nearly cost him his job and, more importantly, his freedom. He'd been working as an agent for the illegal group who had been pursuing them, feeding that organisation information on the ZBC's activities and, specifically, the one team that had been causing them so much grief. After the organisation had been shut down, he'd managed to survive the subsequent witch-hunts for informers and agents.

Of course, what really worried him was how he had survived. One of the agents of that organisation had guaranteed that there would be no trail back to him. Of course, that guarantee had come with a price - that Ron kept working for them. Either way, it meant that he lost.

And it's all because of them. He poked at a name on the screen. The Broken Chairs. How I hate you all.

He went over the running order of the first day of competition. The Chairs had been put on the list for the first day as a way to draw the crowds in. Attempts to provide a sensible match for them had proven to be difficult to say the least; measuring the team's capabilities and expected performance seemed to be impossible. They had a reputation for defeating opponents that were theoretically their superiors, often through a mixture of blind luck and doing the completely unexpected.

Now if I was in charge... he ran his finger down the list. I'd pick something a little more drastic. He settled on one name, the Iron Giants. Winners for three years in a row, they probably would have been the Chairs' opponents had the team not dropped out. The Giants had a well-deserved reputation; not only were their pilots skilled professionals, but their Zoids were some of the biggest and most powerful in the competition. And fluke victories or not, any battle between the two teams would have been crushingly one-sided.

It wasn't that he really liked the Iron Giants. He didn't. He simply didn't like Zoid pilots at all. It was an irony, considering where he worked, but he had his reasons. He'd joined the ZBC because at the time it was one of the biggest up-and-coming names, a place where someone could go places and earn really big money. He had; he'd shot up in their hierarchy while bringing home huge pay packets. At first it had seemed good.

"How's the ordering look?" a voice interrupted his thoughts. He spun around on his chair to see a woman entering the office. He knew her well; Elisa Clayboourne, his immediate superior in the ZBC, and the source of most of the problems he had with the industry.

Elisa had joined the ZBC's staff well after he had. While he had come in with a fistful of degrees and qualifications, she had none. Yet she'd been promoted past him, despite being younger, less qualified and certainly less experienced. The reason why, of course was that she was a former Zoid pilot. They'd promoted her above him simply because so many of the managerial staff in the ZBC were also former Zoid pilots, and were determined to look out for their own. He knew it.

"Well, it's mostly good." He commented. "Though I'm not too sure about the placement of some of the teams."

"How so?"

"Well, how about the Broken Chairs?" He began. "They're still a new team, last year's performance not withstanding. Why not put them up against another new team like, say, the Wild Hunters?" From what he'd seen, three of its four Members were completely new to the competition. The fourth was a veteran of several years in single competition but never a Member of a team.

"The matchup was made on the basis of their skills, not their experience." She explained. "The Winter Wolves have a bit more experience and, as such, should provide a better match then the Wild Hunt would."

He couldn't help but notice her emphasizing the correction of the team's name. You just keep putting me down because I've never been a Member of your little club. I'll show you. "Of course. It was just a suggestion."

"Understandable. We've been so inundated with new teams that it's been hard to find places for them all. Mainly we've just ended up putting new teams on against each other just to give everyone in the run order a chance." She shrugged. "Still, ita a promising line-up."

"I just thought it would make for a better match," He replied, rather defensively. "What with that guy in the Wild Hunt having a Liger Zero X. That's balance the Broken Chairs' Zero and make for an interesting confrontation."

She raised an eyebrow. "It’s a Zero EM." She stated. "Zero X is the CAS unit. Zero EM is the straight red Imperial model."

"Uh, yeah." He muttered. "Still-"

"The Winter Wolves have some high-performance machines of their own, Ron. They'll provide an interesting match." She stated, then dumped a folder on his desk. "Anyway, the main reason why I came here is that I have an important meeting with the network and need this finished up."

"Right." He continued. "I'll get on it right away."

"Thanks!" She beamed. "Later." Then turning, she strode out of the office.

Ron watched her go, glaring at her as he did. Stupid bloody Zoid pilots. Think they can walk all over us because of who they are or what they do. He knew that she hadn't piloted in competition for years, but the point remained. She was only able to boss him around because of what she had been and how she had gotten into the organisation.

His thoughts were interrupted by his mobile ringing. Irritated, he picked it up and checked the number, only to find it was one he didn't recognise. Sighing, he answered it. "McGonnagle speaking." He began in a gruff tone.

"Hello Ron." A soft, seductive female voice replied. "It's good to hear from you again after so long."

"Uh..." He paused, then swallowed loudly. "What... what do you want?"

"Oh, not much." The voice coyly replied. "But I'd really like one little thing from you."

"What?"

"I'd like..." it paused. "Well, I'd like this year's complete ZBC roster, actually. Just the copyeditors, but with their files."

"That's..." he swallowed again. "That's a big ask."

"I'm sure you can do it, Ron." She continued. "Because if you don't, I'd be very disappointed in you. And that would not be good for you."

He knew exactly what she meant by that. "Right." He stammered. "I'll get you that information."

"Very good." She finished. "I'll send you an e-mail address, and you are to reply to it with the information I requested. Thank you, Ron." She hung up before he could finish.

He quickly turned to his computer and began opening up the files she'd asked for. He didn't even think about complaining. Even though she hadn't said anything, he knew exactly what would happen if he did.

*****

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It had taken Neil only a few minutes to unpack his bags and get settled back into his room. Truth being told, he didn't have much on him; he preferred to travel light, and liked to get as much wear as possible out of something. That and the simple fact that Gunsnipers didn't have much room for luggage - or pilots. He'd often wondered if one of the reasons why there were so many female Gunsniper pilots was simply because they could fit in the small-sized Zoid better then a man could.

A ringing noise caught is attention, coming form under a pile of empty bags. Fossicking through them, he found his mobile phone, beeping like crazy to indicate a call. Picking it up, he answered it quickly. "Yellow?" he began.

"Hey Neil!" The voice on the other end beamed. He instantly recognised it as belonging to Nadia Sverdlova, a (very cute) pilot he'd met and hung around with the previous year. She was friendly and witty, and had a lot in common with Neil, which was a surprise. She also piloted an Elephander for the Iron Giants, which gave him ample reason to stay on her good side. "How's it going?"

"Good, um, good." He was a little flustered and caught off guard. "Just back in town. You?"

"Jeroen had us back in base a month ago, and we've been prepping like crazy. But that's just him." She replied. "But I'm glad you're back in town, actually."

"Oh really? Miss me that much?"

"Yeah, right." She snorted with amusement. "But I had hoped that you were around."

"Going to get the game back together?" he asked, hopefully.

"Amongst other things but..." She paused. "Because we're a big team and Jeroen knows people, I've managed to get an advance copy of this year’s teams roster. It’s got all the entries and the breakdown of who's in which team and piloting what. Barring last-minute surprises, it’s as good as it gets."

"Sounds good." He began.

"It should be. We've been training against it for the last week." She replied. "J figured that if we knew what we were up against, we would be better prepared and do better on the field."

"And here was me thinking that it was your use of honking big Zoids and overkill firepower that did it." He smirked.

"Har har. Maybe I should test that theory on you." She replied.

"I'll be good." He hasty replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Aaaanyway, I figured that you'd like a copy."

"Like it? I'd love it." He replied as he grabbed his laptop out of a satchel. He'd bought it during his holiday, a decrepit, beat-up model that made Tasch's one look like a work of art by comparison. "Send it to my e-mail... you have still got the address, right?"

"Yep." She said. "And I'm going to dump a metric butt-load of game material on you too, so watch out... and sent."

"Thanks Nadia." He finished. "This means a lot to me."

"Yeah, yeah. Just hope they don't put you against us in the first round."

"Meep." He finished. "Okies, bye."

"See ya later." She added, then hung up.

A few minutes later, he strode into the main living room, Laptop in hand. "Hey guys..." He began, beaming. "Want to see the running order for this year's teams?"

"Definitely." Stephen began, stepping out of the kitchen. "I want as much information as I can get. We definitely need to get planning for this years season."

"We didn't plan for last year and we did pretty well." Rose observed, then walked off.

"So maybe with planning we can do better." He countered. "Let's see what you’ve got, Neil."

Neil sat, opening up the laptop to the information he'd gotten from Nadia. Stephen loomed over him, reading over the list. "Interesting." He began. "I see a lot of familiar names and, more to the point, an awful lot of new ones. It looks like there’s been a bit of an explosion of numbers in the last few months, but a lot of these look like first timers."

"I see Firestorm's still there." Neil commented, noting the presence of their one-time rival team, the one that had come the closest to defeating them. "And if they've gotten better, then we're really in the poo."

"Our line-up of Zoids hasn't changed at all." Stephen added. "That's both good and bad. Good because we know our capabilities and we don't have to change our planning for anything new. Bad, because our opponents are going to know us better and be better planned for what we can throw at them."

"I don't think anything could prepare someone for Tasch's piloting." Neil quipped.

Stephen shrugged. "Possibly. But I think a few more people are going to have some idea of what she can do. Last year, she had a lot of shock value going for her."

"So in other words, they should expect the unexpected." He finished. "Makes sense to me."

Stephen scrolled through the list, checking over the names and teams. "There's Firestorm." He noted. "And the Golden Eagles, the Black Warriors, the Venom team, the Steel Sirens... I see every team we fought last year."

"Except for those Milk and Cookies guys." Neil added.

"No surprise there." Stephen commented. "They shouldn't have even been competing. They had no idea what they were doing and certainly weren't capable of competing at a professional level."

"That's a bit harsh." Neil muttered. "Especially given that we were outsider armatures at the time."

"Difference is, Neil, we knew what we were doing." He offered. "They didn't."

Neil smirked to himself. “If you say so, Steve." He quipped. "Me, all I knew was that I was small and squashable and that I was best suited to running away fast. On the other hand, I suppose that I was very good at it."

"Actually, your ability to run way was very useful." Stephen commented, seemingly half-joking and half serious. "You caught a lot of people off-guard that way."

"Well then, I shall continue to run away." Neil finished. "For it is my duty." He looked over the list again. "Seriously though, what do you think? Can we make it this year?'

Stephen examined the list again. "To be honest, I think that we've got little to fear from a lot of these new teams. Many of them look thrown together - even more so then we were. Also a lot of them are competing with less then top-of-the-line equipment, which will further be to our advantage."

"I'd hardly call a beat-up old Gunsniper top of the line."

"True, but compare it to some of what we've got here; Godos, Molgas, Leoblazes..." He indicated at the screen. "We're coming out well ahead of a lot of these guys."

"So you think we're good?"

He nodded confidently. "I'd say that we don’t have anything to worry about from the newcomers. Instead, I'd say what we really have to watch for is the more established teams. They'll be seeing the competition, and I know that they’ll do everything to stay ahead of it."

*****

The Heavy Arms Koneig Wolf's rifles spat fire, the rounds slamming into the Wild Weasel-equipped Godos as it tried to bring its guns to bear. Shots tore through the machine's chest, ripping it apart and sending the Zoid crashing down to the ground. No sooner was it down then the Wolf turned towards a second, near identical Zoid, opening fire on it. Again the Zoid was knocked over, this time crashing down on its Weasel Unit and snapping it off its back.

"Targets three and four down!" Drake Storm yelled as he turned his attention to the sole remaining Zoid. "Go for it!"

"And you know I will." Miles Slate yelled back. "Okay people, let's do it!"

Firing its thrusters, Krystal Lake's Arosauruer charged forwards, its cannons opening fire on the enemy Genosaurer. Several shots blasted into its flank, gouging off the armour over its shoulder but not doing any serious damage. Moments later, Eliot Morgan's Parablade charged in form the other side, its rail cannons stinging the Genosauruer over the hip.

The enemy Zoid turned to face what it perceived as the greater threat, opening fire with its two pulse cannons on the smaller Zoid. Ready for this move, Krystal fired her booster again, skipping out of the enemy Machine’s line of fire. Continuing to move, she turned the Arosaurer's two wrist cannons on the enemy machine, flames washing over its armoured hide. The attack did little damage but it kept the enemy pilot focused on her.

Which was exactly what Miles wanted.

His Death Raser surged forwards, its wing-like blades crackling with blue plasma energy. His Zoid bore down on the distracted Genosaurer, charging forwards as it continued to try and bring down his smaller team mate. At the last moment, the enemy Zoid saw him coming, and turned to face him - but it was too late. The plasma-charged blades tore through the Genosaurer's side, ripping its arm and leg apart and tearing them free from the body. The huge black Zoid collapsed on the ground, its flank a torn wreck.

“The battle is over!” A monitor drone announced as it flew over the battlefield “The winner is the Firestormer team!”

"And a spectacular victory there for the Firestormers." 'Big Jim' Beef began as he looked over the battlefield. "One of last season's favourite teams, they were cut short at the Quarter Finals. It looks like this year they're just as serious and determined."

"Indeed they are, Jim." Henry Urgleflogger, his fellow commentator added. "And the Tyrant Kings are not going to be happy about this crushing defeat either."

"No they're not." Jim continued. "A scoreless loss is always bad, but to happen in the first round, well... that's about as bad as it gets." He chuckled. "Well, except for a scoreless loss in the last round."

"Folks, we'll be taking a break." Henry spoke up. "But don't go away; there's more excitement to come, and later today we'll have the return of a particular favourite team, one that I know you've all been waiting to see again."

*****

"Impressive." Stephen commented as he watched the battle on the monitor. "They've tightened up from last year."

"We've beaten them before." Rose replied in a dismissive tone. "I'm sure we can handle them again."

"I wouldn't be so confident." Stephen shook his head. "They're a lot sharper and a lot better coordinated then they were last year."

"And we've beaten them in two battles." She countered.

"But that ain't too useful a fact." Tasch commented. "'cause two ain't that useful a number fer determining statistics. Naw, if we wanted to know that we could beat 'em, we'd need to have a lot more battles an' try to figure out the proportion of how often we beat them against often they beat us. Then we could say if we could beat 'em with some degree of certainty."

"Way to let the wind out of her sails." Neil quipped. "Good one."

"I'm jus' sayin', that's all."

Stephen smiled, then walked over to the central briefing table. "Now I know that we're all excited about our first battle of the new season. And I know that you're all wanting to leap put there into action."

"Speak for yourself." Neil added. "Some of us want to be behind those leaping into action?"

"Including the backwash of the Kong's thrusters?" Rose quipped.

Neil waved his hands in front of his face. "Pont taken. Nobody wants to catch a Kong fart."

Stephen glared at him for an instant before he returned to the table. "Okay, now that we've got the obligatory bodily function joke out of the way, we can go over the battle."

"Suits me." Neil continued.

Without reacting, Stephen continued. "Today's opponent team are the Winter Wolves, a team who have been around for the last two seasons ands have blobbed around the middle-lower end of the ladder. While they're not the most capable team, I still think that they could be dangerous and certainly are not to be underestimated. This year, by all reports, the team competition is attracting a lot more 'names' to it and people are going to be fighting a lot harder."

"I'll say." Rose added. "Did you see that first battle and the way that the Black Warriors pounded that Rookie Team into the ground? Messy. And to think, that was nearly us last year."

"Yeah, them Nova Ghosts." Tasch commented. "At least they got an appropriate name."

"How so?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Well, 'cause 'nova' means 'new.'" She offered. "And since they're all rookies, it means that they're a new team."

"I see..."

"Getting back on topic." Stephen loudly stated. "The Winter Wolves go for a 'fast and agile' approach. With no big, slow Zoids, they're able to keep mobile and concentrate on flanking and evasion without breaking up their team too much. Their leader, Miri Albion, pilots a fully kitted-out Koenig Wolf, which is their most powerful Zoid."

"I read about her." Neil spoke up. "She's rated in the bottom 25% of Koenig Wolf pilots by Zoidfans."

"That's a fanzine." Rose replied. "I'd hardly take it as a good reference."

"Well it must be useful. And given their jokes about Koenig Wolf pilots, it also must be dire." He finished with a smile. "And besides, I'm sure you’d be more friendly if you saw how much they drool over you."

"What?"

"Getting back on topic!" Stephen continued. "Putting all jokes about her abilities aside, she still has a powerful Zoid that we need to watch out for. Tasch may be our best bet to harass her and tie her up while we put down the other Members of the team, then we can combine fire and finish her off."

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Tasch nodded. "If I can keep her confused, that'd work."

"Tasch, you're an expert at confusing people." Rose offered.

"Thanks."

"This brings me to her number two, Karl Brenn." Stephen spoke up. "He's the oldest Member of the team, and while he has less experience he seems to have more skill and tactics."

"What's he got?" Rose asked.

"A stock Whitz Wolf. No swords, no Savinga, nothing."

"Tricky." Neil commented. "Stock Whitzs are rare. If someone’s got one, then you know he's up to something." Very few pilots used the Whitz Wolf as stock; most either had a Savinga handy or had traded up to a Sword Wolf. This had led to a lot of disgruntled people (and a few traded in Zoids) with the recent release of the new Rez Wolf.

"Maybe its just that all the team's money gets siphoned into one Zoid." Rose quipped. "Last I heard, those Koneig Wolf cannons didn't come cheap."

So is he dangerous because he don't have an upgraded Zoid?" Tasch asked. "I mean, would he be less dangerous in a Sword Wolf or a Whitz Tiger? Is his threat inverse to his capabilities."

"Uhh..." Rose trailed off.

"Well, if all those jokes about Iguans are to be believed..." Neil added with a smile. "Then yes."

"I think he's going to be the one we most have to watch for." Stephen continued. "He's got their fastest and most mobile Zoid, and its no slacker on firepower. He's also got more kills then any other team Member, so that usually indicates that he's onto a good thing."

"Or he just vulches." Neil added.

"I don't think so." Stephen shook his head. "All I've seen of this team suggests that Miri is in charge and a bit of a glory hound herself; if anything, she seems like the type to steal kills form others. No, I figure he achieves his kills through his own work."

"So who are our other two Mad Elvises?" Neil continued.

"Mick Heep and Jason Hunter; both pilot Command Wolves. Heep's a good shot and often provides long-range support for the other team Members; his Zoid has a CP-04 which gives it a disproportionately high punch for its size. He's also proved to be adept at getting in places where he shouldn’t and sniping people from behind."

"Sounds like I'll be keeping my eye on him." Neil replied. "As he appears to be following my playbook to a tee. Use a small, very squishable Zoid with lots of firepower, let people ignore you and cause chaos."

"And the other one?" Rose asked.

"He thinks CP-14 is a good weapon for a Command Wolf." Stephen finished. "Harmless."

"Now who's being dismissive?" Rose began.

"And with that." Stephen continued, regardless. "Its time for us to get going."

*****

[Deadborder]

The doors to the arena opened, the four Zoids of the Broken Chairs team stepping out into the sunlight as they readied for the battle. At the same time, there was a tremendous cheer form the audience, piped back form their remote location, as they saw what had become one of the fan favourite teams emerge.

"As fun as the holiday was," Neil began. "It feels good to be back here."

"I'll say." Rose replied. "I've really missed this place. The excitement, the action..."

"The adoring public?"

"That too." She finished with a smug done.

"It ain't that good." Tasch spoke up. "Sun's still way too bright, an' the sky's still way too blue."

"Only you would say that." Rose giggled.

Looking around, however, Stephen couldn't help but agree with the comments of his team-mates. It was good to be back here, in this familiar place where they had managed so much last year. Despite all that had happened, all that had gone wrong, all the disasters and their invasions, when he looked back on that first year, he always had an immense feeling of satisfaction and happiness. It wasn't just that they had done insanely well for a rookie team, however. It was the feeling of meeting new people and getting to know them, and the joy of working alongside them.

He'd be ready to say that it was the happiest year of his life. And, while this year could be as good a one for the team, he knew that, in truth, it wouldn't have that same degree of well-being from simply growing to know people. Still, that wasn’t to say that there wasn't good times ahead...

He bought himself back to reality as the doors opened at the far end of the arena. The enemy team entered, immediately displaying a degree of uniformity that he found surprising. The team's name wasn't just a label; all four enemy machines were indeed Wolf Zoids and, more to the point, were all coloured primarily white. He also could see that his information was right, at least in regards to the Zoids and their configurations; a fully armed Koenig Wolf, a stock Whitz Wolf and a pair of Command Wolves, one with a CP-04 Assault Cannon and one with a CP-14 Viking Lance.

"And there they are." Stephen commented. "Our first opponents of the new season."

"So, ready normal people?" Neil spoke up.

"Ready." Tasch began as she looked over the enemy team while adjusting the tint on the Redler's cockpit.

"Ready." Rose added, a confident edge in her voice.

"Ready." Stephen finished, somewhat surprised at his own voice.

A ZBC monitor drone floated over the arena, settling into the middle. All eyes were on it as they waited for the battle that was about to begin. “The Broken Chairs versus the Winter Wolves.” The electronic voice announced. “Both teams confirmed. Arena confirmed. Contestants ready… fight!”

As expected, the Winter Wolves were the first to act. The four Zoids took off, all breaking into high-speed runs downfield towards the Broken Chairs' start position. The Koenig Wolf, largest and obstinately most powerful of the team, took the lead, the Whitz Wolf not too far behind it.

"Go!" Stephen called out as he opened up his own throttle, the Iron Kong lumbering forwards on its heavy knuckles. Around it, the other Zoids leapt into action; Rose's Liger sprinting past him on the right, Neil's Gunsniper on the left, and Tasch's Redler taking to the air behind him. Charging forwards, he lowered his sights, ready for whatever the enemy team may have in store.

The Koenig Wolf was first to act, its twin rifles folding forwards into position, then spitting rounds out at a surprising rate of fire. Stephen reacted quickly, the manoeuvre thrusters throwing his Zoid to the right and out of the enemy Zoid's line of fire. The rounds tore through the air where he had been instead reaping into the ferrocretre floor of the arena. She's barely even aiming, he observed. More of hitting the trigger and hoping.

As planned, Tasch's Redler passed over him, diving at the Koenig Wolf. Opening up with its own cannons, it sent a stream of fire towards the larger enemy Zoid. Shots tore into the Wolf's flank, peppering the armour over its body and hips but not doing any apparent damage. She pulled away, twisting the boosters sharply as she did.

It was a good move- the Wolf turned and opened fire with two of its missile boxes, sending a flight of ten warheads after her Zoid. The pilot, however, had been too hasty; half the missiles simply failed to track the Redler's sudden move, flying straight through the space where the Zoid had been. Tasch clearly saw the rest, the Redler rolling over and beginning to turn as they closed in on her machine. She threw the thrusters again, the Zoid pulling around a second sharp turn that pulled well inside the enemy missiles ability to track, sending them scattering across the skyline before self-destructing.

"I think I got her attention." Tasch called out over the channel. "Okies, y'all can go fer the others now."

Several shots from the Whitz Wolf struck the side of the Iron Kong, hammering the armour but not penetrating it. "Thanks Tasch." Stephen commented as he turned to face the enemy machine. "Keep at it, we'll handle things here!" The Kong's Hyperbeam launcher opened up, spitting out a brilliant beam of energy. However, the other pilot seemed ready, the Wolf nimbly skipping out of the line of fire.

"That's what you need me for, reMember?" Rose commented as her Zoid charged forwards, barrelling past the Iron Kong and heading towards the enemy machine. "So just let me handle him. You put down the rest of the crew."

The Liger surged forwards, roaring as it bore down on the smaller Zoid. Grinning with anticipation, Rose opened up with the Impact cannon, sending a volley of shots speeding towards the enemy machine. A few of them hit home, blasting off armour before the enemy pilot reacted, twisting and leaping through the fire directed at him. Rose kept piling on the fire, knowing that it would be enough to keep him off balance and allow her to strike.

The Zero's claws began to light up with energy as the Strike Laser system activated, ready to strike a crippling blow to the enemy machine. Seeing a chance, she charged forwards, leaping at the Whitz Wolf as it was seemingly still recovering form her assault. To her shock, however, the enemy pilot was more then ready for her. The Wolf leapt out of her path, the Zero's claws sailing through empty air where the enemy machine had been.

Flipping out the stabilisers, she tried to bring the Zero around in a sharp turn to keep the Whitz in her sights. As her Zoid turned, it was hammered by several shots to its side that smashed through its armour and rocked it on its feet. Glancing around, she could see the culprit; a white Command Wolf with a CP-04 unit on its back. "Damn it!" She called out. "One of the CWs is onto me!"

Flaring its own boosters, the Whitz quickly turned, heading back towards her Zoid. The machine opened fire with its own impact cannon as well as the two back cannons, several more shots hammering into the Liger Zero. Crying out in alarm, Rose fired the boosters, her Zoid sprinting away form the other two as they tried to close in.

"Guys!" She yelled out. "They're onto me!" Glancing in the rear-view monitor, she opened up with the tail-mounted cannon on the pursuing Whitz Wolf. One of her rounds hit its mark, while the others went wide of the elusive machine. The Command Wolf hung back, instead using its long-ranged cannon to keep taking pot-shots at her.

"I'm on my - whoah!" Neil called out as his Gunsiper charged forwards, only to skip backwards past a volley of cannon fire. The Koenig Wolf charged towards him, spraying rounds form its twin rifles at his Zoid while charging after him. Hopping and skipping while firing its boosters, the Sniper ran ahead of the Wolf's line of fire, barely able to avoid harm. "Well I think I've found the limit of her marksmanship!"

"I can't tell if she's using saturation fire to pin Neil down then go for the fangs, or if she's just that bad a shot." Stephen grunted. "Either way, it works..." he checked over the situation. "Hang in there, Rose! I'm coming!" The Iron Kong charged forwards, bearing down on the two enemy machines. The shoulder missile pod flipped open, spraying its contents at the two Zoids. Several shots slammed into each of them, enough to focus their attention.

Each of them saw what was coming and picked the best course of action, breaking off and splitting up rather then stand and fight with the massive Zoid. "Tasch! Get the pressure off Neil!" he added as he tried to follow the two targets.

"Gotcha!" She called out, her Redler looping over and then diving down towards the Koenig Wolf from behind. As it approached, she again opened fire with the cannons, the rounds tearing armour form the Zoid's rear and tail. The enemy pilot realised what was going on, suddenly breaking into a run, abandoning the Gunsniper to turn their attention to the return of the Redler. As before, they rippled off two volleys of missiles as Tasch pulled out of her attack run.

It was a marginal shot at best, exacerbated by the Redler's stealth systems which meant that the missiles had a hard enough time tracking it to begin with. Several of the missiles failed to achieve a target lock, simply streaking straight past the escaping Zoid. Tasch seemed to be ready for the rest, pulling a tight corner to again turn inside their course.

Wheeling around, Tasch dived towards the Koenig Wolf again. Confident that the enemy pilot had no defences left against her (Having expended all their missiles) the rolled the Redler over as she dived, extending out the tailblade. The enemy pilot, clearly caught off guard by this move, didn't attempt to defend themselves as she swooped down on it. The Redler passed over the Wolf, the blade tearing through the CP-22 unit on its back, neatly bisecting it before she pulled up and away.

In frustration, the Koenig Wolf's pilot elevated the cannons, clearly intending to open fire on the fleeing Zoid. Instead there was an empty whirring sound as the damaged servos attempted to feed non-existent ammunition into the non-functional rifles.

"That help?" She asked as the Redler rolled over.

"Very much so." Stephen replied. "Now let's try and finish this. Neil, take that second C-Wolf. Rose, you and I will concentrate on Whitz and his friend."

*****

"Gotcha." Neil called back, his Gunsiper hopping past the larger Iron Kong. The small Zoid charged downfield, headed towards the enemy Command Wolf. "Take on a Command Wolf, huh? Care to give me n easy job?" He muttered as he sized up the situation, half-jokingly. The two Zoids were equally fast, and both were known for their frailty. Thee difference however, lay in armaments; the Command Wolf (at least, its base model) was considered by many to be underarmed for its size. By comparison, the Gunsniper was considered to be over armed, almost ridiculously such. And while the enemy wolf carried a Viking Lance, Neil was pretty sure that it wouldn't enter into the equation.

He opened fire on the enemy machine at extreme range, the two wrist-mount gattling cannons spitting fire at the enemy Zoid. Several rounds hit its shoulders and flanks before the enemy pilot reacted, skipping out of Neil's line of fire. The Wolf's top turret turned back towards Neil's Zoid, replying with fire from its own cannons.

"Okay, so he can shoot back." Neil muttered as he fired the Sniper's boosters, the small Zoid skipping out of the way. "I hate it when they do that."

Taking the opportunity, the Command Wolf charged forwards, barging past Neil's Zoid. As it ran, it fired off two of the smoke canisters on its back, kicking up a huge cloud of thing black smoke that obscured the Zoid from view. Glancing at the enemy machine, he could see that it was headed towards the Iron Kong. "Stephen, keep an eye out. I think our Wolf's looking to be a hero and score a big name kill with his spork."

"Can you deal with it?" He called back. "I've still got my hands full here."

"Gotcha." He nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard..." He turned to run after the Command Wolf, plunging headlong into the thick cloud of black smoke it had left behind it to discourage pursuit. Nice idea, Neil figured. Pity it's not going to work at all. The Gunsniper's advanced radar system cut through the smoke, locating and locking up the Command Wolf as it ran, and nicely placing Neil directly behind the enemy Zoid. "And that's just what I was looking for."

He thumbed the trigger, the two rocket launchers on the Gunsniper's back flipping open before disgorging sixteen warheads towards the enemy Zoid. The Command Wolf's pilot didn't realise what was going on until too late, the weapons slamming into the weakly-armoured rear of his machine, blasting through the hind legs and rump. The Zoid stumbled, then crashed to the ground, its lance ploughing into the floor of the arena as it skidded to a halt.

"One doggie down." He called back, wheeling the Gunsniper around.

*****

"Thanks for that." Stephen called back. "Now let’s see to putting down the rest of this pack." The iron Kong turned and opened fire, the Hyperbeam cannon blasting at the Koenig Wolf. The shot tore through the Zoid's flank, obliterating two of the empty missile boxes as it shredded armour and tore into the frame. Despite the severity of the damage, however, the Wolf remained standing.

Shaking off the damage, the Zoid broke into a limping run, heading towards his Iron Kong. As it charged, he could see that the fangs were beginning to crackle with electricity, indicating that the pilot was charging the Zoid's dangerous melee weapon. "Lady, you don't want to do that." He commented to himself as he pushed his Zoid into a run. "Going toe-to-toe with a Kong is never, ever a good idea." Strangely enough, he figured that the enemy team were probably telling her the same thing.

"Of course, you have to get there first." he added as he opened fire with the pulse cannons, aiming to knock the Zoid out quickly. To her credit, she managed to keep the Wolf's more damaged flank out of his line of fire as she ran. Regardless, Stephen's shots managed to land home, peppering the Koenig Wolf's flank with fire.

The Wolf suddenly veered, then came running straight at the Iron Kong, its fangs bared to strike and crackling with electricity. Stephen saw his chance, firing the thrusters to leap to one side, then swinging around with one of the Zoid's massive armored fists. It collected the Koenig Wolf as the machine leaped to strike, slamming into its exposed underbelly and sending the Zoid reeling. The Wolf crashed to the ground on one side, clearly out of action. The electrical charge across its fang popped and sizzled, then dissipated as smoke began to rise form the Wolf's over-taxed systems.

"That's the funny thing about Zoids with a killer melee weapon." He mused. "Their pilots get so overconfident in their ability to swat anything with them that they forget about everything else."

"That's nice, Stephen." Rose cut in. "But can I get a little bit of help here? This guy is being annoyingly persistent."

With a sizzle of energy, a bolt from one of the Whitz Wolf's Electron Cannons narrowly missed her Zoid. A second blast, however, struck home, searing armour off the Zero's flank. Rose wheeled her machine around, trying to work her way out of the Zoid's line of fire while bringing her own guns to bear. All of a sudden, the Zero's limited arsenal was beginning to bite hard.

"We need to get me one of those CAS units." She commented over the channel as she bought her Zoid around, then opened up the throttle. "I think it'd direfully improve our performance." The Zero ran towards the Whitz Wolf, firing its impact cannon as it ran. Several shots hammered the enemy machine, but weren't enough to bring it down. Confident, she drove towards the enemy Zoid, then leaped to strike with her Zoid's deadly claws.

The Whitz pilot, however, was ready for her, twisting out of the Zero's path as it struck. She came down, and was immediately greeted with a volley of fire form the Command Wolf, one of the shots blasting into the armour over the Zero's thrusters. "Guys? Where are you?"

As a response, a volley of shots slammed into the side of the enemy Command Wolf, ripping into its armour. The Zoid turned away, opening fire on Neil's Gunsniper as it closed in. In turn, the Gunsniper peeled away, taking a few passing shots at the Zoid as it ran.

"Gotcha." Rose smiled to herself as the Command Wolf turned to face the smaller machine. Swinging around again, she charged at it just as it levelled its weapons at Neil. "Sorry, boy, but this is the end for you." She added with a grin as she closed in for the kill.

The Whitz pilot must have warned his comrade about what was going on, but it was too late. The Command Wolf swung around but, lacking the speed or the agility of its larger brother, didn't get a chance to react. Several impact cannon bursts slammed into its side, tearing up the armour on the hips and slamming into the servos. As the Wolf staggered under the assault, Rose fired the boosters and leaped on the Zoid, the Strike Laser Claws scything through the air at it. Tracing a brilliant golden arc, they sliced through the CP-04 unit, ripping it free from the machine’s body, before continuation on their path of destruction. Slicing through one of the exposed hips, they tore the Zoid's foreleg apart.

The Wolf crashed to the ground, its side and back a tangled mess of parts. "Awesomesauce." Rose muttered to herself, a confident smile on her face. It evaporated a moment later as a pair of shots slammed into her Zoid's back, causing the Zero to stagger under the assault. Glancing behind her, she could see the Whitz Wolf charging towards her, evading fire from Stephen's Zoid as it advanced. Another couple of shots hit home, throwing her forward against the console.

He's crazy! She thought as she fired her own thrusters, trying to get out of the Zoid's line of attack. Either that or he's determined to get a point or two for his team. Either’s good for me. She added a couple of shots form the tail gun, but they went well wide of their mark.

Seeing a chance, the Whitz Wolf leaped at her Zoid, its own claws and fangs ready to strike. In never landed the blow; a black shadow passing before it for a second, then suddenly veering off course as if struck. The Zoid crashed to the ground on its side, one of its legs neatly sheered off halfway down.

"Whew." Rose began, slumping back into her seat. "Nice work there."

Tasch's Black Redler swooped around and then stopped in a hover over the battlefield. "Well, I was tryin' to get him ." She commented. "An' I saw a chance."

"Wait, his leaping at me is a chance?" Rose asked.

Tasch nodded. "It meant he couldn't manoeuvre none an' would have a pretty hard time reactin' to anything I did."

"I see..." She finished, then grinned. "Heh, either way, you did good there."

A small monitor drone floated overhead, passing under the hovering Redler. “The battle is over!” I announced after a brief survey of all the Zoids involved. “The winner is the Broken Chairs!”

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Neil commented as his Gunsniper walked over to the Zero, Stephen's massive iron Kong lumbering behind it. "I think I speak for all of us when I say this; it's good to be back"

******

[Deadborder]

"Welcome back , folks." Henry J. Urgleflogger began. "We're here today at the first round of this season's team tournament. For those of you just joining us, we've just seen an excellent showing by the Scarlet Crusade, with a spectacular four-nil win over the Violet Lightning."

"Loskey in particular has shown a lot of improvement." Jim Beef continued. "His performance this year has been well up on his previous showing. And while some may just put it down to the new Zoid, I think there's more to it then that."

"That it may be. The competition so far has been very fierce for a first round." Henry offered. "Not what I'd expect."

"Well, after last year, we're getting a flood of eager young rookies." Jim observed. "And with the performance of the Broken Chairs in last year's competition, who can blame them? There's a whole lot of first-timers out there who want to be the next big thing."

"We could be seeing this year's winner here already." Henry added in a rather pointless statement. Of course this year's winner was here. One of these teams would be the winner, it was a given with the structure of the competition.

Ignoring him, Jim turned to the subject of the next battle. "Up next we have a returning favourite, the Renegade Legion. CK is confident that this year will be his team's big year. Certainly, they do have the experience."

"But then, they say that every year." Henry quipped.

"Well, everybody has to get lucky some time." Jim continued. "They'll be facing off with a new team, the Red Shadows. A last minute entry, we really can't say too much about them." He paused, then tapped his headset. "Hold up here... I've just been informed that the Red Shadows will be using only a single Zoid in this battle." He raised a surprised eyebrow. "That's a very confident move, I must say."

While a Zoid team could consist of two to four Zoids, the team was not required to use its full strength during a battle. Instead, they could opt to leave one or more of their machines out of the battle. While rare, it did have its advantages; a victory with a smaller team was worth more points.

"Confident or stupid." Henry countered to his partner. "And it looks like this may be the Renegade Legion’s big year after all. They'll be going into this battle at four on one now, favourable odds in anybody's books."

"Did you hear that?" CK began, turning away from the big screen in the ready room. "Our opponent has just intentionally crippled themselves." He grinned, showing his nicotine-stained teeth. "I don't know if they are overconfident or stupid but, either way, its a big advantage to us. We shall use our numbers and drive them into the ground."

Porcha replied with a roll of her hideous, cackling laugher. "The fools. They've set themselves up so marvellously. It'll be a joy to watch them fail."

"Yeah." 'Chopper' added. "Real cool."

"Do not be too overconfident." Akira commented. "If they think they can handle this match with a single Zoid, then they probably have a good reason. I would advise caution in this battle."

"Oh, Akira." CK shook his head. "You worry far too much. We'll take this easily. This will indeed be our big year." he turned to his team. "So saddle up, men. This is going to be an easy one."

A few minutes later, the Renegade Legion’s four Zoids stepped out into the arena, proudly standing in the bright sun. CK Grinned to himself as he surveyed the battlefield, already contemplating what would be an easy victory. It doesn't matter who they think they are and what they think they can do. They don't stand a chance against the four of us. His Gravity Wolf slowly walked forwards, Porscha's Leomaster next to it. Behind him, Chopper Dave's Doublesworder took to the air, hovering in place above them, while Akira's Storm Sworder stood ready to launch.

"Okay, boys." CK grinned. "There's only going to be one challenge here today; who takes this sucker down." He grinned broadly. "And I intend for that man to be me."

"This will be a glorious battle." Porcha added. "And it'll be so much fun to crush this fool under our feet." She finished, then burst out laughing.

The noise died as the doors at the far end of the arena opened, a single Zoid stepping out. It was a Liger like Porcha's machine, but that was where the similarity ended. Far larger, it had a rather rocco, rampant style, with long, flowing curves designed to only enhance its size. A pair of orange drums rested behind its head, while a pair of large cannons were mounted on its forelegs. A golden horn on its head rounded out its arsenal. The massive red and black Zoid roared, as if issuing a challenge to the pilots it was facing.

"And here we see the single Zoid that the Red Shadows have chosen to field." Henry commented. "And it’s a doozie."

"Well they're going four on one, but that one is a lot with an Energy Liger." Jim replied. "So let's see how this turns out."

The ZBC monitor drone floated over to the middle of the arena, rotating as it surveyed the combatants. “The Renegade Legion versus the Red Shadows.” The electronic voice of the battle monitor began. “Both teams confirmed. Arena confirmed. Contestants ready… fight!”

"Go!" CK shouted. "Tear him apart!" His Gravity Wolf converted into its motorcycle mode, taking off with its wheels screeching on the concrete floor. A moment later, Porcha's Leomaster broke into a run, keeping up with the smaller Zoid. Akira's Storm Sworder took to the air, joining the Doublesworder as it buzzed downfield.

The Energy Liger broke into a run, taking huge strides as it charged towards its enemies. It raised its cannons, the Charger Gattling spitting a stream of fire into the air as it closed in. Akira swerved his Storm Sworder out of the line of fire, the black and purple Zoid climbing and soaring away from the Energy Liger's charge. Dave was less lucky, the shots tearing through the Doublesworder's body before he was able to act. Rent with fire, the smaller Zoid crashed to the ground, skidding across the arena floor before coming to a halt.

"Get him!" CK called out, his Gravity Wolf speeding up and charging forwards. In reply, The Liger simply ran straight at his Zoid, bearing down on it. "I've got you right in my sights..." He slurred as he lined up a shot, the opened fire with the Wolf's single Gravity Missile. "Scratch one-" he began, but cut himself off as the Liger opened fire on the weapon. Shredded by fire, the missile simply blew apart in mid-air, detonating in a spectacular, but harmless fireball.

Porscha's Leomaster deployed its twin beam cannons, opening fire on the charging Zoid. The Energy Liger leaped, bouncing across the arena and then leaping up one side wall, deftly evading its fire. The Zoid's wings swung out, the machine taking to the air as it swept around, not firing but rather concentrating on evasion.

"He's behind us!" CK called out. "Come about!" The Gravity Wolf skidded through the turn, righting itself before charging off after its target. Moments later, the Leomaster joined it, charging downfield. The Energy Liger swung around, landing in a fast run, heading towards their machines.

"I'll run him into the ground!" Porcha snarled, her Zoid's energy shield flaring to life as it ran forwards. "There's nothing more satisfying then the sound of somebody going under!" She added with a cacking laugh.

The two Zoids charged forwards, the Energy Liger responding by running straight at them. The Zoid opened fire with its pulse cannon, the shots impacting on the Leomaster's shield with brilliant blue flares of energy. While the shield initially held, the Liger's pilot simply continued to pour on the shots. As they closed, the shield suddenly flickered and gave way, shutting down just before the two Zoid's met.

"What's he doing?" CK shouted as the Liger leaped at the pair of them, its wings flicking out from its body. The Zoid passed between the two Renegade Legion Zoids, seemingly ignoring them before it leaped past them. Then, as it ran, both the Gravity Wolf and the Leomaster simply toppled over.

"I warned them." Akira muttered as his Storm Sworder wheeled around. "Still, there is always hope." Swooping down, he dived towards the enemy Zoid. The four cannons on the Sworder's wings opened up, spraying the enemy Zoid with shots. Several shots struck the Liger, but for the most part didn't seem to do anything. The Zoid instead accelerated, sprinting past the Sworder's arc of fire. Akira pulled up and away, trying to keep his eyes on the enemy machine as he bought his Zoid around.

For its part, the Energy Liger took several long strides before leaping into the air. Bouncing off one of the arena walls, it leapt towards the Storm Sworder, opening fire with its twin cannons. Several rounds struck Akira's Zoid before he rolled over, managing to twist between shots. Turning towards the Liger, he opened up the throttle, extending the Storm Sworder's trio of blades. "This is it!" he called out. "You go no further!"

To his shock, the Liger turned towards him. The Zoid rolled over, bringing up one of its own wings across the Sworder's path. Glowing a brilliant orange with all the energy being channelled through it, the blade at the wing's leading edge sliced through the Storm Sworder's wing, sending the Zoid spiralling downwards.

It was all over.

“The battle is over!” The monitor drone announced after surveying the battlefield, as if to underscore Akria's feelings. “The winner is the Red Shadows!”

"Certainly an upset there." Henry commented as he looked over the battlefield. "Four Zoids taken down by a single pilot, and nary a scratch to show for it."

"There you go." Jim offered. "It proves that you can't expect anything in this sport."

"You sound like you were expecting this, Jim." Henry spoke up.

"Well, sort of." Jim replied, a smug tone in his voice. "I heard a rumour that former ZBC champion Jill Constantine had returned to the competition." He glanced down at the red and black Zoid that was standing in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by its downed foes. "Looking down there, I'd say there's some truth to that."

*****

Rose stared at the monitor, looking at the four wrecked Zoids strewn across the arena. What amazed her was not how quickly they had been taken down, but the fact that they had been dispatched by a single Zoid. That she knew who the pilot was only made things worse.

"That's..." She began as the Energy Liger roared out again. "That's amazing."

"She took out the whole team on herself." Neil commented. "Its far from encouraging. And then when you think of what she did to all those NUBG guys..."

Rose nodded slowly. She distinctly recalled their first encounter with the Zoid, where it had saved her and Neil from an NUBG attack. It had done this by effortlessly taking out a Dark Spiner and a Liger Zero X, tearing both Zoids apart before they were even aware of its presence. Rose had been shocked not only by the speed of the attack, but by the level of damage inflicted upon the two Zoids. And even after the mysterious attacks had continued, there had been a strange kind of reassurance. Rose had somehow known that, even though she had no idea who the pilot was or why they were doing what they had, the pilot was on their side and looking out for them.

"And we're gonna have to fight it some day." Tasch added. "Well that should be interesting."

And that was the point. She'd known that they'd never have to fight it. But now, that was looking like it wouldn't be an option any more.

[Mecheon]

Woo, Pointy Muses is back!

Though the italics at the beginning have been sporked

Hehe, Scarlet Crusade. Loksey, Mograine, Whitemane and Herod by any chance?

[Deadborder]

Consider the italics sporked, Mech. Yay.

ANd yes, the other SC members are Mograine, Herod and Whitemaine... although I havent yet assigned Zoids to them, and probably never will. But I'd say that either Herod or Mograine have to be in an IK PK.

Glad ya liked.

Rick R.

[terb8210]

(does crazy dance of joy) ;D

Been a wile since I posted, I'm suprised they didn't dleat my account. Anyway, I'm thrilled to see that you've continued the Pointy Muses Fic, and (yes i'm a hopeless romantic) hope that Rose and Stephen make up and get back together again (makes sense to me, hot girl + big mussle bound, gun toting, anger managment lacking brute, with both being zoid pilots) . It's a shame that you're not posting on fanfiction.net anymore.

[Tilly]

Nothing wrong with being a hopeless romantic. I still say Neil/Tasch would be funny, though. *hides from Rick*