Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction ❯ Two Birds, One Arrow ❯ Birds of a Feather ( Chapter 3 )

*Disclaimer- what the companies of Zoids do know is that right now I am saying that I own nothing of the canon and characters/Zoids except what I create. What they don't know is that the Shadow Fox, Raynos, Custom Gun Sniper, Red Blade Liger and Red Comet have all decided to aid my poor Liger Zero and take over in a few months (heh heh heh!). That being said, I hope you look forward to me making new episodes of the show we fic writers have all come to love! In any case, moving on…

Chapter 3- BIRDS OF A FEATHER…

Pierce lay on her sofa, reading a novel that she had recently purchased. She was once again in her nightgown, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. Ever since she had been indefinitely relieved of her duties, she had plenty of time to relax on her own, doing what she liked. In contrast to going out to the beach and movies and such, she would rather relax at home, alone with a sense of omniscience and freedom. Staying home for such a long time didn't upset her anyway. Besides, the Backdraft Commission had allowed her to keep her Zabat and Stormsworder simply because it had been Layon's orders to attack the Hover Cargo. The authority at the head of the commission had ordered her to fight the Liger Zero, and she probably would not have gotten off so easily had she defied him instead. To be truthful, the only reason for her suspension was that she had lost the battle, on which major bets from the Backdraft's high-ranking officials had been placed.

Normally, reading novels was one of her favorite past times, but she was bored out of her mind this time. She was expecting a phone call from someone. Anxiety had gripped her tightly within its powerful coils, and a lingering sense of anticipation loomed in the air, more so, the entire house. ~Why the hell hasn't he called? I left him my number. Does he enjoy making me wait?~ She was well aware that he had a tendency to play mind games with her, something that really aggravated her. But something told her that this kind of annoyance was nothing of his nature. ~He couldn't be doing this on purpose. Not after he sent me such a beautiful e-mail response. I'm sure there must be a problem.~ She decided to leave out for a run in her Stormsworder. She was actually quite surprised that Layon had let her keep it. He went on rambling about something involving Tauros' pure evil being too powerful for even the Stormsworder and ultimately deemed it worthless. Since no one was really around to see her, she didn't bother with getting dressed and flew off in her newest ally.

Back in the house, her computer screen lit up, flashing the sign that let her know there was mail to be read. Further still, the name from which the e-mail had been sent was Jamie, the Wild Eagle.

____________

Jamie paced back and forth in his room, anxious as ever and worried that he had screwed everything up. He was new at this: trying to impress girls and the like. Sure, his father, Oscar, could have spent plenty time giving him tips, but he had been working on the Tauros base and Hover Cargo ever since he was little, and really didn't think of doing much else.

"I hope I didn't do anything wrong. Geez! How can I be so inexperienced at this?" Jamie continued walking, disturbed by the fact that his mental twin, who usually shot off at the mouth any other time, was remarkably quiet. He wanted the Wild Eagle to say something anything. To let him know not to worry: that he hadn't screwed anything up, that he could still fix things, hell, that he had screwed things up.

Jamie continued pacing, reflecting over everything that he had done. He hadn't done anything to communicate with Pierce except--. ~Oh no! That e-mail I sent! How could I have been so stupid?~ Finally, the voice in his head from which he could not escape had answered him.

/ Ya got that right! That's gotta be the sappiest thing that I've ever seen in my life. 'I appreciate you as much as you appreciate me…' Oh brother! /

"Shut up! What do you know? And why the hell didn't you say something sooner?"

/ Well, I figured that since you were doing such a good job of beating yourself down alone, why ruin the moment? Anyways, cheer up! It's not that bad. /

"It's… not?" Jamie stopped pacing.

/ Naw… of course not. For all you know, she could be into all that sappy stuff. You may have even made a good move, and it wasn't me that did it. You let her see the macho and soft side Jamie. /

"Hey, you're right! Thanks, Wild Eagle!"

"Jamie! Come watch TV with us! Don't brood in your room all night!" Bit's voice sounded through the entire facility. Jamie smiled and decided to go join his friends. As he left, he did not notice Dr. Tauros standing by the doorway, apparently eavesdropping on the entire one-sided conversation.

"Wild Eagle, huh? Hmm…"

Jamie entered the living room, where Leena was playfully wrestling with Bit and Brad was watching the latest information on Zoids battles. From Bit's perspective, however, it seemed more like Leena was practicing an attempt at homicide. She had his arms pinned down with her knees and was tightly choking him. Bit, having toughened up from countless Leena assaults, was still breathing, though most people would be blue in the face by now. Jamie laughed halfheartedly. ~Poor Bit. Guess I'm lucky Leena doesn't like me. Love must really hurt.~ Deciding to play it safe, Jamie walked over to Brad.

"Hey, Jamie. What's up?

"Nothing much. Just trying to clear my head."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Got a lot of stuff on my mind myself."

"I hear you. About Naomi, right?" Brad cringed. Leena stopped choking Bit and looked up, determined to hear what was about to be said for however long it took. Bit took the opportunity to squirm from underneath her and move a reasonable and logically safe distance away, which Leena was too preoccupied to notice.

"Yeah. One of her friends asked me if I thought she was cute. So she'd leave me alone, I said yes. Since then, Naomi's been trying to get a hold of me every chance she can." Leena was amused by Brad's apparent disposition.

"Hah! Naomi's got a crush on you! When are you two gonna get together? The suspense is killing me. I should just call her up right now and set you two up on a date. Of course, I'd have to say it was all your idea!" Brad grew annoyed by Leena's tactless taunting.

"CAN IT LEENA!" Brad exclaimed, blushing partly from anger and mostly from the truth that Leena played with indelicately. Bit decided to save the day, diverting Leena's attention.

"Ah, you're just jealous that Brad doesn't like you! Besides, who would like being around a ranting monster anyway?" Bit backed away, preparing himself for the long run he was going to have. Leena turned and snarled.

"What did you say?" she snapped eyes bulging in all her fury, a fury that the Berserk Fury, which the Blitz Team had neither battled nor heard of yet, could never match.

"Well, that's it! Gotta go! Bye!" he finished, starting to run as fast as his legs could carry him. Leena blazed out the room, intent on continuing her choking session. Free to talk, Jamie and Brad sighed out of relief.

"Hmm, I really should thank him. Maybe I'll give him a share of my prize money, a -small- share, but a share nonetheless. Anyways, what did ya want to talk about?"

"Um, I gotta ask you, what do you know about girls?"

"Uh, Jamie, apparently a lot. I mean, one -is- stalking me right now."

"That's not what I meant. You see… there's this girl I like."
"Wow, that's a first. I never thought you'd have a crush on someone."
"Could you save your remarks until after I finish? This is kinda embarrassing." Brad stretched his arms, sprawling all over the couch.

"Whatever. So what ya wanna know?" asked Brad. Jamie thought carefully and cautiously about his next couple of lines.

"I just got done sending this beautiful girl some stupid message, and I'm positive she likes me, but I'm afraid I made an idiot outta myself." Jamie looked down to the floor, depressed over the whole thing.

"You're worrying too much. If she really likes you, what you sent couldn't have been that bad, so don't worry about it. Things will work out in the end," Brad replied reassuringly. A voice crept up in the back of Jamie's head.

/ See, told ya so, but you wouldn't listen to me, would you? /

Jamie, as usual, replied with a simple term.

~…shut up.~ He turned back to Brad, smiling and relieved. "Thanks. Hope the Naomi thing works out."

"No biggie. Maybe if I ask her out, she'll stop being so aggressive. That scares me, especially after seeing Leena. That reminds me. How long -has- Bit been able to hold out?"

"A minute and thirty seconds. Not bad! That's a new record for him."

In the distance, the mighty roar of the Liger Zero echoed.

"C'mon boy! Let's get outta here before it's too late!" cried Bit, as the sound of the Liger Zero pounded off into the silent beyond. Leena, weapons blazing, pursued mercilessly.

"It s too late! You're not going anywhere." Brad and Jamie sweatdropped. In the main control room, Dr. Tauros was making a phone call.

"Hello? Is this Dr. Kadowaki? I need your help on multiple personality disorders."

______________

Pierce returned from her evening flight, calm as ever. Given a new sense of ease, she was finally able to relax without worrying about Jamie's reply. Her calmness soon became little more than a mere memory when she noticed her e-mail flashing. Running over hectically to the screen, she smiled to see Jamie's name on the message and clicked the screen as though her life could end at any moment. His message read:

Sorry I haven't been able to call you. It's just that things are a little too busy and I don't want the team finding out about who you are. I'll call you tomorrow. I know I can get to you then. In any case, do you want to go out? Friday sounds nice to me.

-Jamie, the Wild Eagle

Pierce's eyes lit up, and she immediately went about her wardrobe, looking for something appropriate to wear two days in advance. She was surprised that she could be so worried over a date, especially when she didn't particularly care for them anyway. But this, this was definitely an exception.

~How can one guy have me feeling this way? Honestly, Pierce, get yourself together or you'll screw the whole thing up.~ She backed away from the closet and decided that she would wait for him to call her.

______________

Jamie was sound asleep. Being that he had been up all night trying to help Dr. Tauros and Brad pry Leena's teeth from Bit's jugular, he was worn out. The most memorable moment was when they realized that she had reached some degree of insanity and was imitating a lion's hunting methods (the jugular bite in the neck), and when she shouted "I AM LEENA! HEAR ME ROAR!" unleashing a roar that apparently caused the Liger Zero to shiver in the garage. As one can see, it was a very exhausting night.

/ All right, rise and shine. We got work to do. / Jamie was not conscious, however, the subconscious of Jamie's consciousness had yet to become unconscious. / Get up! / Jamie dragged himself to his feet, groggily rubbing his eyes and managing a rather long yawn. He stretched and walked over to the mirror.

"What time is it?" he asked in a whiny tired tone, scratching his head and trying his hardest to stay awake, at least long enough to drag himself back into bed.

/ Geez, you guys sleep late! Do you wanna call Pierce or not? /

"I said what time is it?"

/ You're awfully cranky in the morning. In any case, how the hell would I know? I can only see what you see! / Jamie couldn't think of anything to say after this and went to check the alarm clock, despite him having yet to become fully coherent.

"7:30 A.M.? I'm going back to bed…" Jamie yawned again. As he turned back to the bed, however, a shout in his head brought him back to reality.

/ Idiot! Are you purposely trying to screw this date up with Pierce? Get up, now! /

"How do you know she'll be up this early?"

/ How do you know she won't? Take every chance you get to call her. Besides, she's a Backdraft pilot. I'm sure she's used to getting up this early anyway. /

"You got a point there."

Jamie washed his face in the bathroom sink, ultimately heading to the phone. Wild Eagle took over the proceedings, as usual. Dialing the number, he waited patiently for the receiver to pick up on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pierce. It's the Wild Eagle."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Just wanted to know if you wanted to go out on Friday."

"Hmm… let me think about that for a second."

"What's to think about? You don't have anything else to do." He heard hesitation on the opposite end. / Heh heh! Who do you think you're trying to fool? / following the long pause was a nervous chuckle.

"Wadda ya know? Guess you were right. Friday, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, since you know so much, what should I wear?"

"Just some casual clothes, you know. I mean, it's just a date."

"All right, see ya!" Pierce said, hanging up. Wild Eagle just sighed, a smile taking form on the curves of his lips.

"Well, glad that the hardest part's over. Aren't you glad you listened to me?" he asked. Jamie simply replied his usual remark. ~…shut up.~

The day dragged on slowly, the two sides of the same pilot bored out of their minds. Jamie tried occupying his mind with the chores to do that day. He was even glad that it was his turn to cook, willing to ignore all of the chanting that Doc, Leena, and Bit continued to do. He was even amused how far Bit had decided to stay from Leena, reminded by the tooth marks on the side of his neck. He had been standing as far from Leena as possible for that entire day. Later on, he would find a hickey on his neck, and he would be forced to run again, chased by Leena who would pretend to be offended by "such an accusation." He was so busy running, he didn't even notice that Leena was blushing furiously, her face remaining red long after the comment.

/ Told you that she likes him. /

"…shut up."

Finally, as late afternoon drew near, the two complementary minds were growing restless. Finally, Jamie decided that it was time to go.

"Hey, Doc. I'm gonna go ride around in the Raynos for awhile. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Why? Is something wrong?" Jamie laughed, obscuring all signs of nervousness and wiping the slight sweat away that appeared on his brow.

"N-not at all. What makes you say that? Brad and Bit take their Zoids out all the time. Can't I do the same?" Finally able to talk his way out of the situation, Jamie hurried along to his green Zoid, determined not to encounter any more distractions. Up and out, the airborne Raynos flew off into the sunset. Doc stood in the garage, watching as it flew away.

"I hope he's all right."

___________

Pierce was completely ready to enjoy the night's events. Fully dressed and climbing into her Stormsworder, she waited patiently for a familiar sight to fly by, and fly by it did. Taking off, she followed in pursuit to catch up with Jamie, who had already converted to his other half. ~Glad he could make it…~

"So what took you?" she asked, waiting for one of his usual sly remarks.

"Nothing, just a little business with the Doc, that's all." The two flew to a nice restaurant, right on the outskirts of a small town, called "Ashley's." The couple climbed out of their rides, meeting each other in between the two high-flying vehicles. The Wild Eagle took the time to notice Pierce's attire. She wore tight black leather pants and a white tank top underneath her black jacket, which was partially zipped up. He held his chin with two fingers from his right hand, thinking about what he would say about it. Obviously, he was very pleased with the attire.

"I'm definitely beginning to think that black is your color." Pierce blushed, caught off-guard and unsure of what to say. Smooth as always, Wild Eagle suavely slid up and took her by the arm. "Let's go inside, shall we?" At the door, the owner, Ashley Dugger, greeted them. She was rather short, a light-skinned black woman who wore braids, but she was rather attractive. She always welcomed fellow Zoids pilots, and she knew the Blitz Team very well.

"Hey, Jamie. So who's your friend?"

"What's up Ashley? This is Pierce. She's with me tonight, so could you make this a special occasion?"

"Sure thing. She's quite the catch. Never thought you'd ever go on a date, though. Of all people…" Wild Eagle scratched his head. Pierce simply smiled. ~Never dated before, huh? I thought a charming guy like you had girls on each arm.~

Ashley escorted the two to their seats, a cozy little corner in the best section of the restaurant. There were other pilots scarcely scattered at the other tables, and a large group celebrating at one of the party tables. Wild Eagle decided to engage in some light conversation before the menus arrived.

"How long have you been into flying Zoids?"

"All my life. I used to watch my father fly in them all the time when I was little."

"Yeah, my father was always flying, too. I guess that's why I like them so much now."

"They truly are a remarkable creation."

"Yeah… so why do you live in the middle of nowhere? Don't you ever want to see your family? Seems kinda lonely to me." Pierce froze, and the look on her face changed drastically.

"My mother passed away when I was born, and my father… he died in the Backdraft's service. I'm all alone." Sensing discomfort in her voice, Wild Eagle looked at her apologetically. Pierce half-heartedly diverted his concerns, cheering up a little. "But don't worry about that. I lost most of my regrets a ling time ago, and I enjoy working and being with my friends, so I never feel lonely." Wild Eagle still wasn't convinced. He tried hard to think of something else to talk about. "Really! Don't worry," Pierce tried to say reassuringly.

"So uh, I was just wondering…"

"What is it?"

"What's a nice, beautiful girl like yourself doing working for the Backdraft?"

"It's like I told you. I guess that when my father died, I wanted to follow in his footsteps as a pilot, specializing in flying Zoids. Some of his closest friends trained me and helped me improve my flying skills. They even said that I surpassed him as a pilot. But I guess a more practical reason would be what I told Bit the other day…"

"And what would that be?"

"I told him that I found unsanctioned battles interesting. I said that fair fights were just too simple for my skills and I decided that I needed little obstacles thrown in battle to spice things up. But since I fought you guys, I've realized that fair fights are just as interesting. Maybe I don't have that good a reason, but I do know I didn't become a warrior to harm people. Besides, a warrior should be able to handle all situations."

"Yeah, I guess that if you look at it that way…" Wild Eagle was about to continue, but Ashley had interrupted when she distributed the menus. "Thanks, Ashley."

"Just don't screw this date up."

"Who, me?" replied Wild Eagle innocently. Ashley left the two alone to look over what they were going to order.

"So what do you want for an appetizer?"

"Just some garlic bread."

"The breadsticks are good." From across the room, Ashley intervened, challenging, "All things at my restaurant are good!" Wild Eagle sweat dropped.

"We'll have breadsticks and garlic bread then."

"You said you wanted the 'special occasion.' I'll bring that dinner out then. Pierce, you're going to love it!" Pierce smiled as she watched Ashley head back into the kitchen. Turning back to her date, the two just stared into each other's eyes. / God she's beautiful, / thought Wild Eagle. In his mind, Jamie was stirring. ~Just don't screw this up.~ Wild Eagle replied with Jamie's words. / …shut up. /

Pierce was completely entranced. ~Wow, I've never felt this way before.~ Her stare grew deeper, and Wild Eagle froze, a little surprised. Before he could speak, he found himself being pulled closer, locked into the gravitational attraction between to objects in space. Everything has an attraction with whatever's nearby, but as these two found their complete entities, their souls, pulling deeper and deeper, unable to resist the flow of attraction that had completely engulfed them, everything else seemed so insignificant, so… obsolete. They were within less than an inch of space between each other, eyes closed, neither wanting to ruin the moment, and just as their lips touched, the action was broke, completely shattered by some unruly yelling on the other side of the room.

"Hey, baby! You're making a big mistake," shouted one of the men from the group at the party table. His tone was directed at Pierce.

"You know, I should really teach that guy some manners…" muttered Wild Eagle. Pierce objected instantly.

"No! Just ignore him. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves tonight. Now where were we?" Pierce tried again, closing her eyes, and Wild Eagle, still a little torn between over what to do, closed his as well, restarting what had failed to be achieved just a few seconds earlier. By this time, however, the man and two of his friends, pushed on by the cheering of drunken men from the table, walked over to where the lovebirds were sitting.

"Hey, baby! Didn't you hear me?" Pierce looked up, disgusted at what she observed. The man had a nasty skin tone, as well as ugly, dark-brown hair, and a smile that just screamed lecherous intent. She could smell the beer on his breath and scoffed. She tried to ignore his friends, who were just as disgusting, if not, more.

"Hey pal, can't you see we're in the middle of something here?" growled Wild Eagle.

"Yeah! I was about to stop this babe from making the biggest mistake of her life." He leaned in closer to Pierce, and as he spoke, the cloudy, bad smell of his breath made her eyes water, and she was forced to close them, as well as drown out the scent by holding her breath, which was also failing. It was so strong, she could taste it on the tip of her tongue, and she grew nauseous. "Why don't you ditch the loser?" Pierce stood up, ready to respond, with a smile on her face. The man being drunk, he actually thought she agreed.

"Yeah. Let's ditch the loser. C'mon Jamie, let's go!" she snapped. The sounds of instigation made by the man's friends were not helping the situation, and he grabbed her by the arm.

"Look, bitch! No one gets away with talking to me like that." Wild Eagle stood up. He had seen enough. He walked over and smacked the man's hand away.

"Look man. You got something to say, say it to me," he challenged, ignoring all protests from Pierce.

"C'mon Jamie, let's go. Don't let these creeps ruin our night. We can go somewhere else." Pierce really wasn't looking for a bar brawl. The man simply smiled.

"Yeah, listen to the girl. Why don't you leave, you scrawny little punk!" Wild Eagle turned to leave, but turned right back around, swinging at the man. He fell flat on his back, his head snapping up from the recoil caused when it bounced off the floor. One of his friends pulled out a knife. Wild Eagle dodged the stab, grabbing his arm and flinging him onto the table, which broke from the impact. Finally, Wild Eagle walked away, the third friend tending to the other two. The man regained his senses, and sat up, threatening Wild Eagle.

"You haven't heard the last from me! Nobody messes with the Jurassic Team Gang!" Pierce and Wild Eagle climbed into their Zoids and flew off at a regular speed. Not long after, they picked up a large amount of Zoids on their radars.

"A gang? That's a frickin' army!" exclaimed Wild Eagle.

"Looks like we're gonna have to fight 'em," Pierce said, disappointed that her whole evening had gone down the drain. ~Why didn't you just listen to me?~ From behind them swarmed over a hundred Zoids, consisting of Pteras, Iron Kong, Dark Horn, Sabre Tiger, and Gojulas types. The gang apparently consisted of more than the thirty or so men at Ashley's. "So many of them. We definitely don't have enough ammo for this."

"So what? We'll use sonic boom tactics."

"You sure that'll work?"

"Right now, we don't have a choice. All I know is this: you and I are an invincible team!" Pierce was in awe of the power in his voice. She smiled and turned to her systems to engage in combat, joining her 'partner' in complete focus on the battle. The two broke the sound barrier together, flying side by side and soaring past the first wave, causing massive destruction to the Pteras squadron. "We're not letting you lightweights push us around. Bring it on!" cried Wild Eagle as he circled around to fire missiles into the fray, damaging several of the Sabre Tigers. His accuracy was dead on, yet the Iron Kongs and Dark Horns were little more than affected. "What? I didn't even scratch them!"

"Jamie! Be careful! I've spotted about thirty Iron Kongs and three Gojulas out in the back, and they're packing plasma cannons!"

"What? That's crazy! Even with our speed, we can't dodge a complete barrage of that kind of firepower. We're gonna get killed for sure!"

"What're we gonna do?" Wild Eagle froze, nothing but terror consuming his mind. He heard fear in Pierce's voice, and knew very well that this may be their last battle. To keep morale up, he raised his spirits, taking command and leading the charge.

"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do! I'm willing to keep fighting. I'll make them remember the day they messed with the two of us! Besides," he began to continue with a more calm tone, "if I'm going to die tonight, I'm glad you were right here, fighting with me." Pierce's heart was pounding. She was confused on whether she should stay or walk away from all this. She couldn't figure him out. She was angry that he had caused this trouble to begin with, yet deeply moved by his words and found, somewhere deep inside her, the strength to continue fighting. "Let's go!" he charged, his voice rising to a full-blown yell as he blazed towards the enemy in a second assault. His sonic boom left several Dark Horns and Iron Kongs out of commission, causing explosions everywhere.

"Hey there! Remember me?" sounded a voice, familiar to their ears from the night's proceedings.

"It's you! What's the big idea, you drunk bastard!" screamed Wild Eagle, fuming at his aggressor, who apparently was piloting a Gojulas.

"Now, now, it's rude to call people out of their name. I'm Tirano, and I told you that I'd make you two pay, so here I am, keeping my promise. Prepare to die! Plasma squadron, assemble!" The Iron Kongs and Gojulas lined up, firing squad position, preparing to fire their devastating barrage of powerful plasma beams.

"Pierce! Hurry. If we get behind their line of fire before they shoot, we'll still have a good chance of making it out of here." The two immediately engaged their hyper thrusters, reaching mach 3 instantly. The cannons were just reaching critical mass and were ready to fire. Wild Eagle made it past just in time, however…

"Too late for you, babe! Fire!" commanded Tirano, as every Zoid in the line let loose fierce blasts at the helpless Zoid. Pierce avoided all direct hits, but the resonance and resulting force from so many blasts was enough impact on her and drop her out of the sky.

"Pierce!" Wild Eagle tried to fly over but when he was assaulted by a barrage of the normal firepower he realized it was hopeless. Trying to get in touch with her over the com-link, he was mortified and his face spawned a morose look to receive no answer. "How could I let that happen to her?" he sobbed, a tear escaping from his eye. His hands trembled, and his mind grew hazed with nothing but rage. He was about to charge with another sonic boom, not caring from this point whether or not he died, when suddenly, his system screen flashed. "Huh? Raynos, are you trying to show me an attack?" The screen read 'Whirlwind Fury' and Wild Eagle grabbed the controls again. "All right! Here goes!" He flew high into the air, so high that his enemies lost visual confirmation of him.

"No matter, prepare the cannons and fire straight into the air. Huh?" Wild Eagle dived back down, spiraling fiercely. The effect had created a huge tornado path around him, swirling as he dove closer in his speed, still breaking the sound barrier.

"All right, you bastards! Here goes… Whiiiiiiirlwinnnnnnd Fuuuryyyy!" Just as he was about to hit the earth, he turned, blasting through the regular troops. The whirlwind hurled every Zoid high in the air, crashing them down in complete ruin. Zoids clashed together, exploding in mid-air. Those not close enough to be picked up were finished off by a resulting extremely powerful sonic boom. The Stormsworder was far enough away not to be affected by the impact. The Raynos soared high into the air again, Zoids still swirling around it and still engaged in Whirlwind Fury. He dove, but the Zoids armed with plasma cannons were not affected. They were too heavy to sustain damage. / Damn! / he thought. He attempted to try again, this time confident that he'd deliver a striking blow. Tirano signaled for the firing squad to unleash fire again.

"I don't care if you hit any of our men! We can't afford to lose everybody! Fire!" The blasts were locked on, however, the tornado grew so powerful that the plasma blasts mixed and swirled, making a plasma tornado. Wild Eagle smirked as he dove down again.

"And now for a taste of your own medicine. Whiiiiiiirlwinnnnnnd Fuuuryyyy!" He turned, blasting past the straight line of the firing squad. They were all caught in the plasma that surrounded the tornado, and one by one, each of them collapsed in rubble. After the Raynos settled and returned to normal flight speed, Wild eagle found himself breathing extremely hard. "Wow! An attack like that must take a lot out of a pilot! I almost forgot. I've gotta get Pierce home!"

"Jamie! That was amazing!" Pierce exclaimed. She had been unconscious for a few minutes, but had caught the Whirlwind Fury attack right as it was unleashed.

"Are you all right? Can you fly?"

"I'm fine, but my Zoid's too damaged to fly."

"I'll carry you home then." The Raynos clamped onto the Stormsworder, giving it an airlift back to Pierce's home. As they landed, Pierce and Wild Eagle climbed out of their Zoids.

"Shall we continue where we left off?" inquired Wild Eagle. Pierce was amazed that he'd even be asking for a kiss right now after ruining their date. Smirking, she played along. ~I'm gonna get you back.~

"Sure…" Wild Eagle closed his eyes, awaiting the embrace that Pierce's ruby lips were supposedly about to give, but Jamie protested. ~You had so many chances tonight and you screwed them up. Besides, you're supposed to let me kiss her anyway!~ Wild Eagle surrendered. / Okay, fine. You can kiss her this time. / Their minds switched. However, Jamie's victory was short-lived when Pierce punched him, knocking him to the ground.

"Nice try, but don't expect a kiss from me when you've ruined our night. Of course, you're welcome to try again when you find a way to make it up to me." She walked into her house, leaving a bewildered Jamie on the ground, rubbing his red cheek. ~Oh, thanks a lot! You knew that was coming, didn't you?~

/ Not at all. It was just luck! Looks like she could've handled Tirano herself. But ya gotta admit. You gotta love her style! / Wild Eagle laughed in Jamie's mind. Jamie replied the usual way.

"…shut up."

___________

Pierce watched as Jamie climbed into the Raynos from her window. She wasn't really mad at him, but she didn't think he had the right to play everything off as though nothing happened. Sitting down in her chair, she thought, ~Maybe I was a little too hard on him. Hope I didn't hurt his feelings.~ She sat back and smiled.

"Oh well, knowing him, he won't give up so easily." Outside, a man dressed in black took photos of the Raynos and Stormsworder.

"What's Pierce doing fraternizing with enemy, especially someone from the Blitz Team? I'll have to report this to the Backdraft Commission.

___________

Returning home, Jamie felt terrible from such a crumby evening. He had gotten into a bar fight, almost got killed, almost got Pierce killed, didn't get to eat, and to top it all off, what did he have to show for it? A punch and a very sore cheek, not to mention a subconscious that would never let him live it down.

He entered the garage, worn out and ready to climb right into bed. However, upon entering the living room, he was surprised to find Dr. Tauros sitting at the table drinking coffee. It was almost as if he had been planning on intercepting him the entire time.

"Hey Doc," Jamie greeted, trying to take the tension out of the moment. The Doc turned to him and smiled.

"Hey Jamie, or should I say, Wild Eagle?" replied the Doc. Jamie screamed. / Uh oh! Busted! /

~…shut up.~

___________

Back where the battle had commenced, a sole hand emerged from the rubble of a Gojulas. Pulling himself out, Tirano looked off to survey the scene, watching for any survivors. He was relieved to see all of his men helping each other out of their totaled Zoids. None were dead, but many were injured, sometimes to critical extents. He stared off into space, a glare in his eyes.