Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction ❯ Two Birds, One Arrow ❯ If At First You Don't Succeed... ( Chapter 1 )

*Disclaimer- I do not own Zoids in any way. I am not sure who does own it

(Maybe Sunrise... go figure) but it is definitely not meant to be implied

that the ideas and characters are my own. Of course, if I had my own

Liger Zero and the Panzer unit, I'm sure I could negotiate at least a little

piece of ownership <evil grin>. All right, here goes, first chapter!

TWO BIRDS, ONE ARROW

Chapter 1- If At First You Don't Succeed...

"I've got you now," uttered an eager Backdraft pilot, locking on to the Raynos before her. This battle was hers. Then, the unexpected happened. The green Zoid flew up and out of her sight. "Huh? Impossible! Where'd he go?" A few seconds of silence left her confused, but nothing prepared her for what she was about to hear.

"Back here!" The Raynos had done a complete loop and was now tailing her. Already locked on, the Wild Eagle reached for the trigger... "Say goodbye, little lady."

"Little lady?" Pierce replied, shocked and blushing. No sooner than the words had left her mouth, she found herself spiraling out of control to the earth below. Her ejection system launched her into the clear blue of the sky, and the Raynos soared past, as if it were strutting proudly in all its glory.

"See you next time, little lady!"

__________

Pierce screamed as she rose from her covers instantly. Her breaths were short but forced. The battle had ended four days ago, but the replay had consumed her mental being entirely. It was all she could think about, and she found herself gripping the covers tightly. A bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead. Losing was something that she hated passionately, but there was something else on her mind. Climbing out of bed, she inched her way to her alarm clock.

"Four thirty?" The alarm wasn't set to go off until six, so she knew sleep would not calm her nerves. Walking over to the dresser, she reached for her brush, stroking her delicate, long, green hair. She was wearing a simple, white nightgown. Her thoughts now turned to the pilot himself. "Cocky little bastard... I'll show him," she growled. "...but he was kind of cute." She did not notice that a smile had taken shape on her lips and continued talking.

"He had a confidence, an air to him that made me feel like I was challenging the king of the skies..." Looking into the mirror, she gasped to see herself drooling over the guy who defeated her and slammed the brush down, retreating to her bedside. She sat with a look of anxiety on her face.

"Is this why I lost? Because I was thinking of him in such a way? No, that's not it. He beat me with pure skill. I was completely focused." Her realization unnerved her even more, and she found herself more attracted to him because of it. She dropped the subject and prepared for the upcoming day. Returning to the dresser, she removed her warrior's attire, the usual red jacket and black, baggy pants. Along with that, she took out a simple, yet sexy black bikini. She planned to relax near the hot springs today, as the Backdraft Commission had given her temporary leave...

"You can't work in the state you're in. Take a few days to get yourself together. We'll pay for the accommodations."

"But, but sir!"

"That's an order! We know you're eager to get revenge, but you're not thinking straight. You've been daydreaming the whole time and it won't help the next time that you go up against the Raynos pilot. Besides, why would you turn down a free vacation?"

"I understand, sir... wait a second. You mean I'll be fighting him again soon?"

"Don't worry yourself with that right now. All you need to know is that the details are being worked out. Just be ready to go when we call."

"Yes sir!"

...The idea of an attempt at redemption amused her. She felt relief and returned to preparing for a day of fun in the sun. Walking to the shower, she giggled to herself about the idea of flaunting her extremely attractive features. "Maybe I'll see him there..."

__________

Jamie sat at the computer, developing new strategies for any upcoming battles. It wasn't that he was cautious or anything. The work simply helped him to relax his mind, and he had a lot on his mind...

"Great job, Wild Eagle!"

"Yeah, you did great out there."

"Huh? Guys, did we win?"

"What? Of course we won! Don't you remember, Wild Eagle?"

"No, I don't remember! And why are you guys calling me that?"

... The words echoed in his mind. He didn't know what his teammates were talking about, nor did he know why they insisted on calling him by his father's name. He remembered blacking out, only to wake up back at the base.

"What the hell were they talking about? I'm no Wild Eagle. I can't even break the sound barrier! Arghhh! I wish I knew what was going on!" Jamie returned to typing, but was startled when a voice crept in his ears.

/Do you really wanna know?/

Jamie screamed.

"Who said that?"

/I did./ Jamie looked around the room, full of anticipation. He still could not locate the voice.

"Who are you?"

/I am you./

"Oh, okay-- Hey! That made no sense at all!"

There was a knock at the door. Jamie screamed, then froze. Only Bit could knock on a door in such an annoying way.

"Are you okay in there, Jamie?" He sounded like he was half-sleep, which really didn't matter anyway. Jamie could outsmart him when he was at his sharpest. Jamie managed to gather his thoughts and finally spoke.

"Y-yeah! I'm fine," Jamie stuttered.

"You sure? It sounds like you're talking to yourself in there."

~Talking to myself?~ thought Jamie. It then dawned on him what could have happened. "I'm fine, Bit. You don't have to worry, really!" He heard Bit stretch and yawn from outside. "Whatever... I'm going back to bed."

"Oh, no you don't, Bit Cloud!" Hearing Bit scream, Jamie didn't even have to guess who else was on the other side of the door. "You stole my cookie!"

"Honest. Leena, I didn't steal anything!"

"Oh, no? Why are those cookie crumbs on your face?"

"I, uh... I-I j-j-just rem-em-embered s-s-something... Bye!" he said abruptly and started off. Jamie knew the sound of a stampede behind him was obviously his aggressor. /More like his assailant,/ countered the voice in his mind. The two trains of thought waited twenty seconds, staring at the door as they overheard Leena chase Bit back and forth. Jamie finally sweat dropped when a Bit-sized dent hit the reinforced doors, releasing a metallic clank and a girlish whine from Bit. The sound of Leena walking off could not be mistaken as her well-known maniacal laughter died down slowly until they could hear nothing. Bit finally fell from the mold in the door, which was evident in the thud that Jamie heard.

/Well, now that that's out of the way,/ the voice continued, /allow me to introduce myself. They call me the Wild Eagle./

"So you're the reason they were acting so strange. You won the battle?"

/Not me-- us. If it weren't for you blacking out, I would've never awakened./

"So how can you talk to me if I need to be unconscious?"

/You don't get it. I awakened when you blacked out. Your subconscious said you needed me, so I was born. I'm the courageous pilot part of you, that part you still haven't learned to tap into./

"So are you gonna be in my head forever?"

/No. I'm gonna stay until you can tap into the pilot in you at will. It's a shame though. You missed a good fight and that babe I shot down was good, too, if ya know what I mean./

"Babe? What babe?" Jamie's eyes lit up. Lately, the only faces of girls that he saw were Leena and Naomi, and while they were quite attractive in their own rights-- Naomi with her laid-back attitude and Leena with her forward and aggressive personality, not to mention their features-- it just really didn't click with him. Besides, they were working their charms on Brad and Bit.

/She's the one that shot you down. I think she likes you, though, or at least that confident pilot side of you./

"Oh..." Jamie replied dejectedly. ~So she might only like me because of you.~

/Don't be like that. She likes us, the whole package. My job is to help us unite, so she likes -us-. In the meantime, leave everything to me. I'll help you meet her, get her, and then, you're on your own, got it?/

"All right. Does she really look that good?"

/I'm made from your interests. Would I ever lie to you?/