New Age Chapter 9, a Zoids fanfic by Sh33p

Hats off to this fic. It tops most fics I've read....including most of the ones I posted here. Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com

Sh33p Disclaimer: I don`t own Zoids, but I do own roughly 80% of the OCs in this story(the others were either thought up or inspired by friends)

"They call themselves the Schlag Team," Jamie stated mundanely, leaning back into his chair in the hospital room while Bit and Brad sat across from him, with Leena and the Doc placed across the room, one in bed, the other sitting next to it. "They`re another new group to Class S, won in on a thirty win streak through the Guylos Official Tournament. Not too well known since they aren`t one of those super loud mouthed teams, low key and thought out. They each use the same type of Zoid with small changes here and there, ranging from cosmetics to actual arsenals," Jamie explained, holding up a finger at Bit to shut him up before he could ask the question.

"Blade Liger Simulacrum, Shield Ligers that`ve been modified to simulate the arsenals of real Blade Ligers. They aren`t quite the same though, no shield and their blades don`t feature any built in blasters, but they still have missiles and added a pair of light machine guns to the head, above and aft of the cockpit," Jamie informed, answering Bit`s question ahead of time. "Sounds like a decent challenge," Brad stated with his usual drab tone. "'Decent' isn`t the word I`d use for it Brad. These guys kept their streak going even after they got into Class S, adding another three to their tally before they issued the challenge to us. You two are in for some major Hell when you fight them," Jamie retorted with a sigh. "What about me?" Leena spoke up.

"You aren`t up to get out of bed right now except to use the bathroom, Leena, let alone pilot a Zoid," her father answered sternly. Steven Tauros was probably one of the only two human beings alive at present who could tell Leena what to do and get away with it. The other was Leon Tauros, her brother. "... I hate when you`re right," Leena growled annoyedly. "Why isn`t Jamie fighting?" She asked.

"Because I`m still waiting for the Raynos to have it`s wings glued back on," Jamie answered in a fierce growl, glaring daggers over at the Doc. "Mainly since someone practices a bit of favoritism," he added annoyedly before going back to the laptop he had on the table. "Anyway..."

"Who`re the Schlag Team members anyway?" Bit asked. "Let me see... Victor Weathers, Canon Petresun and Ambrose Gierling are their main team, Verity Weathers is their back-up rotational pilot and a guy named Solomon Gierling is their sponsor/strategist and tactician," Jamie answered after a few seconds. "A brother and a sister, a vet and a father and son," Brad mused. "Actually, Verity is Victor`s wife," Jamie replied with a snicker. "Ah, so the great Brad Hunter`s skills of reading people begin to fail," Bit pointed out. "I only heard their names, Blondie. Shut up," Brad replied casually, taking another sip of his morning coffee.

"Anyway," Jamie cut in. "It looks like it`ll be a two-on-three, or a two-on-four. Think you two can handle that?" The young strategist asked. "Depends, did you get the Liger`s transformation armors repaired yet?" Bit asked. "Panzer wasn`t damaged, Zero is still lacking a fresh re-coat of paint, not to mention it`s main booster, and Schneider is pretty much finished. Surprised how quick you guys put the Liger back together in the first place after the number that psycho did on it," Jamie mused. "We work fast when we`re angry," Brad and Bit both stated at the same time.

"I`ll take your word for it... Jaeger won`t be usable for another few days though and Zero is a major risk since it`s primary booster is out of commission still," Jamie stated. "That Harlock guy did a number on the boosters," he added annoyedly. "So we`re basically stuck with the Liger being unable to go to either of it`s choicer armors," Bit grumbled. "Good thing the Scout Fox isn`t that hard to repair," Brad muttered. "Either way, you two have your work cut out for you..." Jamie stated, leaning back and glancing out of the window.

"Yeah you are," Bit pointed out. "And you`re blushing too," Brad said with amusement.

"... Is it that obvious?" Jamie asked. "Yes," Bit and Brad answered again. "Smoother than glass," the Wild Eagle chided. "Shut up," Jamie shot back instantly. "Uhm..."

"What do you think, Brad?" Bit asked gingerly. "I think she`s... 5'8", Jamie`s age or a bit younger, bluish hair, tan, perceptive and good natured," Brad pointed out after several seconds of pause, leaving Jamie`s mouth to hang open to the extent that his jaw was virtually coming unhinged. "Nice," Bit commended. "Nah, you just gotta know how to read his breathing," Brad replied.

"... How the hell did you know that?" Jamie gaped. "Because I`m just that damn good," Brad replied with a shrug. "So, what`s her name?" Bit asked smugly, kicking his feet up onto the table and grinning like an idiot. Brad all on the other hand, kept to sipping his coffee and delighting subtly in the torment he was inflicting. Sure, Jamie was his teammate and all that, but it didn`t mean that Brad couldn`t have a good deal of fun at his expense, right?

"Her name`s Leyla, let`s leave it at that," Jamie growled, reaching across the table and roughly shoving Bit by the feet, causing his chair to topple over and sending the Royal Cup champion crashing to the floor. "Besides, you two have your match in only one hour," he pointed out. "Then we`ll just go get ready," Brad shrugged, getting out of his seat as Bit scraped himself off of the floor, nonchalantly stepping on the blonde youth`s chest in the process and shoving Bit back down to the floor on his way out.

"They obviously can`t be that good if one Zoid trashed the whole team after a rookie drew with their best member," Canon stated dryly, leaning back in the backseat of the cockpit, watching the clouds drift by as the Schlag Team-owned Hammerhead II trailed through the stratosphere at mach one. "On his first match no less," Canon added sourly. "You underestimate them too much," Solomon commented, continuing a few seconds later. "People don`t win the Royal Cup on luck alone and their own rookie streak was terminated by the Lightning Team a full month or two before the tournament," the aging tactician stated.

"Apparently they did if you go by the account that their team`s owner gave to the press after it happened," Canon retorted. "It doesn`t matter either way," Verity cut in, stepping into the cockpit and handing Solomon a cup of coffee before settling down into the co-pilot`s seat and taking over. "If most of the Class S veterans go down to the kind of tactics we`ve been employing in the past, this will be an easy win regardless," she affirmed, guiding the Hammerhead towards the ground a few seconds later.

"Speakings of tactics," Victor began while entering the cockpit, placing a peck on his wife`s cheek and then swiping the last remaining seat, behind Solomon and across from Canon. "What`s King Senile thought up for us today?" He asked. "Bow and Liger," Solomon replied snappily, annoyedly glaring at his employee. "Bow and Liger? So that means all four of us then?" Canon asked. "Bit overkill this morning, huh?" Verity quipped as the Hammerhead II slipped onto the edge of what would be the battlefield, touching down softly with a number of loud gasps as the compressing shock absorbers in it`s landing 'legs' did their job and allowed the large Zoid to set down.

"Overkill is probably the only chance we`ve got if you fools keep underestimating your opponents," Solomon grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his nose up.

"Not our fault our opponents so far have been weaker Class S warriors," Canon retorted. "Actually it is, or are you forgetting that you guys pick who you challenge?" Solomon asked snidely. "... That isn`t the point here," Canon grumbled.

"Sure it`s not. Go get ready for the match, it`s happening in thirty minutes so you don`t have much time," Solomon ordered, getting to his feet and stretching out the cramps from his aging frame.

"Mobilizing Liger Zero Schneider..." Sounded into the cockpit as Bit uncrossed his arms from over his chest and took a moment to tug his gloves into place a bit tighter, grabbing the controls another second after that. The roar of the magnetic railing of the launcher system filled his ears a few seconds later. Adrenaline was flowing, his heart was pumping and his reflexes were at their usual height while the Liger bent forward and then blasted off of the launch system with a roar, touching down onto the ground an instant later with a skidding shriek of dirt and rock under the weight and speed of the large Zoid`s movements.

It had been ten minutes since they arrived on the battlefield eleven minutes early. The other team had been waiting for them, that seemed to be a running tradition these days, but Bit didn`t mind it. Just meant they were either anxious enough to exhaust themselves with waiting or patient enough to want to get a glimpse of the Liger and the Fox as he and Brad launched.

Another shriek, this one through the air as a far lighter quartet of thuds and skids sounded through Bit`s ears. Brad had just launched alright, and the golden form of the Scout Fox came to a dead stop next to the Liger with a shake of it`s head. "Ready?" Bit asked. "Yeah... Fox is feeling kinda smug actually," Brad replied with a smirk, tensing the Zoid a bit and waiting for the Judge to arrive. "How so?" Bit asked.

"Good excuse," Bit commented, earning a growl from the Zero. "Can it, we`ll take their numbers down soon enough," Bit soothed over the Zoid`s annoyances. "Just as soon as the damned Judge Ca-" The rest of Brad`s sentence was promptly annihilated by the roar of a super sonic impact from low orbit, throwing up a visible pillar of superheated dust and smoke from the crash landing.

"The area within a five mile radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield. This zone is now restricted. Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. All others must leave the area at once. Area scanned. Battlefield set up. The Blitz Team versus the Schlag Team. Battle Mode 0982. Ready..."

"Hey Brad," Bit began quickly as the Judge paused. "Bet I can come through this with less damage than you," he challenged. "I don`t gamble any more," Brad replied sourly.

"One of them is missing," Brad observed as the Fox and the Zero started to run forward alongside each other. "From line of sight anyway," he amended an instant later. "I noticed," Bit replied as the Schlag Team started at them, firing off a hail of machine gun rounds at the two solitary Zoids of the Blitz Team, which artfully dodged through with only minor damage. "Guess they can`t aim, huh?" Bit asked with amusement at the fact that the Schlag Team didn`t try to follow them with their guns.

"Wrong guys," Jamie cut in from the Hover Cargo. He was the only member of the Blitz Team aside from Bit and Brad present for the battle. "Take a look at how far apart these guys are spread," he ordered. Right then, Bit and Brad both felt like smacking themselves and promptly started opening fire, trying to get one of the enemies to back out of formation. The plan failed.

And then the Simulacrum Blade Ligers all switched their blades out, slinging the weapons to their sides and boosting forward at the two Blitz Team Zoids, leaving Bit and Brad both more than a little uncomfortable. "Grand," Brad muttered sourly, backpedalling the Scout Fox as quickly as the small Zoid could manage, followed by the Schneider, which had a far better time of it since it had forward facing thrusters by default. "They`re gonna try and push you off the battlefield or dice you and those Ligers can all make pretty good turns so they`ll be able to chase you for a long time," Jamie explained, keeping his cool at an impossible time.

"Any ideas then, whizz kid?" Bit and Brad demanded. "For one, stop saying the same thing at the same time, for two, split up!" Jamie ordered. "Alright, ready Brad?" Bit asked. "As I`ll ever be," the former mercenary replied as the remainder of the Blitz Team continued running backwards through the two empty spaces between rigid lines of fire. "I`ll go left, you go right and be ready to try and dodge those blades..."

"Just shut up and get moving," Brad ordered, lunging the Scout Fox over of the Simulacrum`s twin streams of fire, narrowly dodging by inches while the Schneider corkscrewed sideways over another, with both Zoids jumping again in near perfect timing to try and dodge over the blades of the soon-to-pass Blade Ligers.

Neither was very expectant of the missiles both caught a few seconds later, blowing their Zoids out of the air and having the added effect of flinging them back down into the ground hard while the normal Shield Liger trailed after the three false Blade Ligers, leaving Bit and Brad to land hard on the ground behind the team, which executed an oddly graceful turn-around, with the three Blade Ligers skidding around on their forepaws while the Shield Liger jumped and corkscrewed into a flip over them, landing at the exact distance behind them as it had been at the start of the match.

"Well, that could`ve gone better," Jamie mumbled as Brad and Bit brought their Zoids back up. "Any genius ideas left now?" Brad asked. "Just try and split them up, both of your Zoids have a speed trump card and Bit has the added bonus of being more agile... With any luck they`ll split in two and one of you can try and take that Shield Liger out," Jamie muttered. "Not your best strategy," Bit commented. "But it`ll have to do," Brad replied. "Sadly," Bit grumbled. "How much ammo do those head guns of their`s have?"

"Ammo-count wasn`t listed in the public data the ZBC let me access," Jamie replied dryly. "Lovely," Bit muttered as the Schneider and the Scout Fox both annoyedly turned tail and started running from the attacking Schlag Team.

"Is this all the Blitz Team can do?" Canon asked over the broadband, trying to chip away at the other team`s confidence. "Not quite," Brad replied, swinging the Scout Fox around and darting it underneath another dual stream of firepower, while Bit sped off into the opposite direction.

And then the Shield Liger went flying over the other Schlag Team Ligers, shield activating in a flurry of pinkish-tinted energy while the Zoid blasted into a twist, shield-ramming the Scout Fox right off of it`s feet and sending the smaller Zoid tumbling along at high speeds that would likely rip most Zoids apart.

"... Crap," Jamie muttered annoyedly. "Now you know why it`s called the Bow and Liger tactic," an aged voice stated over the broadband as the three false Blade Ligers continued chasing after Bit and the Schneider, leaving Brad and the Scout Fox to limply stand back up again, staring down the Shield Liger at near point blank range. "And now you know why you`re about to lose," Verity cut in, dropping her shield and opening fire on the Scout Fox only to watch the nimble little Zoid dodge out of the way and vanish before her eyes.

"Say`s your mom," Brad chided, just as a hail of plasma rained in on the Shield Liger`s side, throwing the Zoid off of it`s feet in the process while Bit finally jumped the Schneider up and over the three false Blade Ligers, boosting back down and deploying the side blades with brutal precision.

"I think that means you guys just got Blitzed," he stated cheerfully. "We don`t need a catchphrase Bit, just keep trying to take them down," Jamie cut in as the Schneider`s side blades slashed into the hind legs of two of the false Blade Ligers, grazing through armor and then swiping forward in a manner that sliced off two of their blades and two of their front legs in the process, manuevering into a jump as the two Zoids smacked into each other head first in their fall, then skidding along sideways while the remaining Simulacrum dodged away from it`s fallen comrades and swung around, opening fire with it`s Double Impact Cannon.

"Canon and Ambrose may be down, but not me," Victor stated as the Schneider rocked back from the impacts across it`s face, only to swing it`s five head-blades forward with a metallic sheen, each blade beginning to glow brightly. "Not yet anyway," Bit replied as the Zero charged forward.

Brad grunted as the Shield Liger opened up again. It`s pilot might have been panicking but she might also have just realized that she was only going to hit him on luck at the rate she was going, but either way, she was royally tearing at the Scout Fox by literally coating the area around herself with all of her missiles and cannon rounds, even swinging the Shield Liger`s hidden beam cannon up into place and using that to try and further the damage she might inflict by chance. At this point, none of the shots had hit him yet but with all of the close calls he was getting, he was genuinely starting to get more than a little annoyed and a little worried that she might fluke a hit on him.

"Come on out!" Verity demanded as the Liger swung it`s weapons back into their hiding places, suddenly lunging at Brad as the Scout Fox passed through a cloud of smoke and came back out, disturbing the layer of thick black smoke in just such a way that it left the outline of the small Zoid visible for an instant. He was ready though, and Verity found out the hard way that it paid to keep the shield up when trying to attack at point blank with a Shield Liger, meeting a hail of plasma into the space of her Zoid`s chest cavity while the Fox darted under her, pausing in it`s run just long enough to swing open it`s tail and catch her again as she landed.

The Shield Liger shuddered and Brad whipped around, dropping his cloak and jumping the Scout Fox over the Schlag`s Liger, kicking it in the rear again with the Fox`s hind legs and springing back up into the air a good distance as a result while Verity was left to curse to herself. This wasn`t the kind of battle she had been hoping for at all.

Bit on the other hand was having a bit of trouble of his own. Despite the fact that the Schneider easily overpowered, outmanuevered and outpaced the remaining Simulacrum, it`s pilot had just enough skill to dodge out of the way of each attack and try to get in a hit of his own. The two hadn`t landed a single shot on each other with blades yet but Zero had a plan and Bit was willing to go along with it.

"This has been fun and all, but I think it`s time to quit playing around," Victor stated as the Simulacrum charged forward, firing off it`s cannons at the Schneider, which merely jumped back a bit more each time, swinging it`s jet boosters back up onto it`s back while disengaging the main blades, allowing the Simulacrum to get a little closer with each second. "That makes three of us," Bit replied as a few rounds finally hit home, taking a sizable chunk out of the Schneider`s crests while the Zoid only growled in agreement with him.

An instant passed and the Schneider jumped upward as the Simulacrum crossed the remaining distance and swerved to the side to try and gut the other Liger on it`s right blade, only to find that the Liger Zero had all but used it`s own attack against it, firing off the thruster in the remaining crest, as well as the two jet boosters to swing itself to the left in a downward spiral, stabbing roughly into the Simulacrum`s forward half while twisting, gutting through the other Zoid and tearing noticable chunks out of it before landing on all fours perfectly, never having used any of it`s full attacks.

"Shit!" Victor yelled as the Simulacrum tumbled along hard, slamming into the ground on it`s side while a circular portion of it`s insides landed into a trail along after it, smoking badly as a result of the damage the Schneider had just caused. "Told you we were gonna quit playin` around," Bit smirked. "We didn`t exactly get into Class S because we rely on luck only yanno," he informed as another explosion sounded through the battlefield.

The Shield Liger roared defiantly in mid-air while the Scout Fox twisted sideways under it, hooking it`s claws into the throat of the larger Zoid and almost slinging it to the ground on it`s back in a Judo-sort of way before drawing back again and stabbing into the same gap it had just used, severing a good many of the vital controls of the Shield Liger, just as Verity let out a bemused utterance or three of every cuss word in the book.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is... The Blitz Team!" The Judge exclaimed, motioning towards the Blitz Team with it`s blue hand while Jamie sighed in relief over the broadband. "So I was right," Solomon commented, virtually unphased by his team`s fresh loss. "The Blitz Team doesn`t rely on coordinated strategy," he mused. "Actually we do," Jamie replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "They just never follow the plan exactly," he replied annoyedly. "I know how that goes," Solomon replied, a faint Germanic accent finally shining through in his voice. "Tell me about it," Jamie muttered.

"Looks like they did pretty good without you," Steve commented, settling the tray onto his daughter`s lap and helping sit the bed up. "Yeah," Leena replied, none-too-enthused about it all. "They sure did do better without me, didn`t they?" She asked before beginning to eat. Doctor Tauros may have caught that glint in her eye as she said the words, but if he did, he didn`t say anything. She was probably just tired, right?

Author`s Note: Yay! They won! Sorry this one was shorter than the last few but I`m still gettin` my Zoids groove back on so... May be a few chapters before I churn out lengthier chapters. It`ll also probably be a week or so before I post again but I`ll do my best to try and get back into the swing of things.

Shiro: Since I keep screwing up your full name, I`m just stickin` with callin` ya Shiro. Hope ya don`t mind x_x;

And on a parting note: The names of the Schlag Team members come from the storyline of the Earthsiege/Starsiege computer games, jumbled up a bit for variety. Harabec`s first name also comes from there but that`s about it :P

And if you`re curious, Schlag means Shock or Shocker in German, whichever. Blitz means Lightning in German so Blitz Schlag = Lightning Shock. Behold my cheesy pun abilities...

New Age by Sh33p

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New Age

Chapter 9

Welcome to Class S! Blitz Schlag!