*I still don't own RWBY or Zoids! And this disclaimer will count for every chapter after this!*
"Organized under strict rules and regulations Zoid Battles are fighting competitions held on enormous battlefields using mechanical combat units known as Zoids."
"The enthusiast young warriors put their pride on the line and sharpen their skills against one another."
"Battle Mode approved."
"Area scanned…"
"Battlefield set up."
"Ready… FIGHT!"
The Prince Arrives! Harry Champ!
In a dark room, gunfire sounded loud enough for many people to hear. A single pilot with his best Zoid was shooting at enemy Velociraptor Type Zoids in a pitch black room in order to simulate his favorite Battle Mode. Battle Mode 0973: also known as Blind Battles.
His Zoid was built tough, and was easily taking down his enemies with no trouble at all! He took down the last of them with the Gatling Gun mounted on the back of his Zoid. The lights turned back on to reveal that the piloted Zoid hadn't taken so much as a scratch of damage from his training session. The final raptor Zoid hit the ground smoking and sparking just like its brethren.
"That completes the live ammunition training. All Rev Raptors destroyed. Perfect, Harry!" said a robotic voice.
The cockpit of Harry's Zoid opened up to reveal a pilot that was male and looked to be around the same age as Jaune. Maybe a year older. He had an arrogant air about him, and his aura screamed rich boy. He looked pretty smug from his little accomplishment during this training session.
"My name's Harry Champ. I'm a man destined to be king!" Harry thought to himself.
He opened his eyes, and looked at a wallet sized picture of Leena that was taped to the inside of his Zoid's cockpit. He seemed to be infatuated with the girl. Just don't ask me why, her tsundere personality would be considered a major turn-off for most men.
Speaking of Leena…
"Alright, Brad! Here I go!" Leena yelled.
"He's starting to panic!" Brad said in response.
The team was currently in a Zoid Battle with a team that was comprised of two Panther Type Zoids called Hellcats, and a Saber Tiger. No one on their team had been hit yet, but things were starting to get a little hectic. One of the Hellcats charged at Brad and fired.
Both shots from his gun missed, and Brad smirked.
"Take this!" Brad said.
He fired a couple of shots from his new cannon. They both hit their mark, and sent the Hellcat to the ground with its computer system frozen.
While this was going on, Jaune was overseeing the battle and waiting for the right moment to strike. Much like many of the earth's predator species. He knew that this team might try something cowardly, and he was right.
He knew exactly what this team was planning when he saw the Saber Tiger charging at Leena while the remaining Helcat circled around. No words needed to be exchanged between Jaune and Liger Zero Empire as they rushed in to save Leena and her Zoid.
"This Saber Tiger must be the leader of the team, huh?" Leena deduced.
She prepared her Dibison's Megalo Max cannon for her Zoid's signature attack. Several targeters appeared on her screen before converging on the charging Saber and becoming one.
"Well here's some tiger food for thought!" Leena said.
But before she could shoot, Jaune and the Liger chased off the enemy Saber Tiger and caused her to lose the lock on that she had. Needless to say, she was pissed the hell off!
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, Jaune?! I had him! Get out of my line of fire!" yelled Leena.
But Jaune wasn't intimidated in the least. After all, Yang is far scarier than Leena when she's mad. And that's just when she hasn't activated her Semblance!
"Don't let yourself be fooled by tactics like those! That Saber was just acting as live bait! Go after him, and I'll finish off the last Helcat!" Jaune ordered.
He didn't wait for a response as he ran off after that last Helcat. While Leena was a bit skeptical about that answer, she knew better than to question certain orders on the battlefield and went off to take down the Saber Tiger. The last Helcat went into a panic when their team's strategy was figured out, and began firing like crazy!
But the Zero Empire has far greater maneuverability and speed and was easily able to dodge all of the random gunshots from the enemy Zoid. Not wanting to waste time with any flashy stuff, Jaune and the Liger went with a technique that they were in the process of perfecting.
Coming to a stop a few feet away from the enemy, Liger Zero Empire roared as it crouched down and positioned its tail like a scorpion before opening fire with its tail gun. The shots hit home and sent the Helcat to the ground with its system frozen.
Now all that's left is the enemy Saber Tiger.
The pilot was shooting at the Dibison as it charged at the big cat Zoid. However, in the pilot's panic it missed every shot and Leena didn't even need to dodge. Leena smirked in anticipation. It's been awhile since she last used this particular attack.
"You should've realized that if you mess with a bull, YOU'RE GONNA GET THE HORNS!" shouted Leena.
Her Dibison rammed its horns into the enemy Saber Tiger before throwing it right up into the sky! Upon landing and tumbling across the ground, the impact was more than enough to freeze its system and win the battle for the Blitz Team.
"The battle is over! The battle is over! The winner is… The Blitz Team!"
It was another win for the Blitz Team… But at the same time, it was a rather close call. Had Jaune and the Liger not interfered with the team's plan for the Dibison, both the Zoid and the pilot would've been in serious trouble.
Meanwhile, Harry watched the whole battle from afar. He knew that Leena would've been fine, as the Dibison is built like a tank with heavy armor that is meant to protect both the pilot and the vulnerable internal parts of the Zoid. Harry removed his binoculars, and smirked at the screen.
"My name's Harry Champ. I'm a man destined to be king!" Harry said to the audience in his head.
That's when he suddenly noticed a very crucial fact. It was the fact that Leena was hitting on some random blonde guy! At least, that's what it looked like to Harry, since he's not very good at reading lips.
"Hold the train, who is that guy? And what's he doing with MY Leena?!" Harry asked himself.
Back with Jaune and Leena, Jaune was actually discussing some business with the enemy Saber Tiger pilot. Turns out, the man wanted to get rid of his 3-Barrel Shock Cannon and Jaune was more than willing to take it off his hands.
But he was definitely going to have his work cut out for him with fixing up this weapon.
*Later That Day At The Blitz Team Base…*
After getting the Shock Cannon back to the base, Jaune had worked tirelessly to get it repaired and up to snuff. He was currently in the process of mounting it to the Liger's belly.
"With this new gun, we'll have a much easier time fighting against enemies who use long range weaponry." Jaune said as he mounted the gun to the Liger.
With a metallic *CLANG* the Shock Cannon was fit into place on the Liger's belly. Jaune stepped back with a satisfied look on his face. Now THIS is a weapon he can definitely use for the Liger Zero.
"There! All set! So, how's that feel, buddy?" Jaune asked.
Liger Zero roared in approval at the feel of its new weapon. A lightweight weapon that didn't at all feel awkward to the Liger Zero. And Jaune smiled at his Zoid's satisfaction with the weapon.
"Glad you like it, Liger. And in our next battle, we'll take it for a test run!" Jaune said.
"Hey Jaune,"
Our blonde male pilot looked to see Leena walking up behind him. She looked like she had something on her mind, but he wasn't quite sure what it is.
"What's up, Leena?" he asked.
"I ran a scan of the battle stats when we got back. You were right. That Saber Tiger was just bait, and if you hadn't chased him off I would've been stuck between its close range combat and the Helcat's long range abilities. So… thanks for the save." Leena said sheepishly.
"No problem, Leena. I'm always happy to help a member of my team." Jaune said with a smile."
Leena was glad that Jaune was being honest, but mentally sighed at the boy's oblivious nature. He obviously never had much luck with women when he was growing up back on Remnant, and that Schnee girl's ice cold rejections didn't exactly help him.
Ah well, she'd worry about that later. Right now, she had other things to deal with.
"How's the Liger liking its new weapon, by the way?" Leena asked.
"He loves it! You know, it's so much better having a weapon integrated with the main body." Jaune said to Leena. "One of the gun barrels was cracked, so I worked around it and redid the armor. So while not as flashy as a triple barrel shotty, it still gives Liger Zero a boost in long range firepower!"
Jaune looked around for Yang and wondered why she wasn't back yet. She said she was going for a walk around the surrounding area, but the fact that she hasn't come back yet was kind of worrisome.
"Leena, I'm concerned about Yang-"
"KEEP AWAY FROM MY LEENA!"
Jaune and Leena looked up to see Harry diving down towards Jaune with his knee poised to strike him down. But Jaune moved out of the way at the last minute and Harry ended up hitting his knee on the concrete floor instead. His eyes bugged out from the pain and he wriggled around on the ground clutching his hurt knee.
"What the hell was that all about?" Jaune thought to himself.
After pulling through the pain, Harry got back up and glared at Jaune.
"THANKS A LOT! If you hadn't moved just then, YOU'D be in pain!" Harry said in anger.
"You must be pretty stupid if you think I'd just let you hit me like that." Jaune replied.
He took a moment to take in Harry's overall appearance. He had pale skin, green eyes, and brown hair that was spiked up at the sides. His clothing consists of a yellow jacket over a green and blue shirt, and brown pants. His jacket had red cloths hanging from behind his elbows, and pink fur details around his shoulders and waist that seemed to connect at the back.
"This guy seems to be a pompous, rich geek. Reminds me of a certain someone from my past whom I shall not mention." Jaune thought to himself.
"Harry? Wait, this should be good!" Leena thought to herself with a small grin.
"Don't try to change the subject! Answer me! Just what do you think you're doing hitting on MY Leena?!" Harry asked in rage.
"Oh, we are very close, you know? Can't get much tighter than this!" Leena said while glomping Jaune. "Isn't that right, Jauney?"
Harry gasped in shock and outrage. He turned whiter than a sheet and just stood there with a stupid look on his face as he tried to comprehend the impossibility that Leena was dating someone other than himself.
As for Jaune? He was beginning to blush due to Leena's apparent flirting with him. But he didn't want to believe that he was getting the wrong signals and tried to calm himself down. Which was quite difficult due to how Leena was pressing her chest against his back.
'Why me?' Jaune asked himself.
*Later At The Champ Team Base…*
Back at the base, Harry was sitting on the couch as he finished telling a purple colored robot named Benjamin about what happened at the Blitz Team base.
Harry definitely had an impressive collection of Zoids in his arsenal. He had Zoids like Cannon Tortoises, a Shield Liger, an Iron Kong, a Gordos, a customized Dark Horn, a Gustav, a Helcat, a Heldigunner, a Stealth Viper and even a Gojulas! But let's focus on our current pair of antagonist's feelings of depression, shall we?
"So that's why you were wandering around like a lost puppy!" Benjamin said in realization. "Huh! You're pathetic!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING PATHETIC?! I just... Happened to be looking for something out in the desert! That's all!" Harry said, trying to defend himself with a lame excuse.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Harry." Benjamin replied.
Harry closed his eyes, smiled sheepishly, and began to scratch his head.
"I guess you've got a point. I must've looked stupid." Harry said with a chuckle.
That's when he realized what Benjamin was implying.
"HEY! YOU WANT ME TO REMODEL YOU INTO A FANCY CAN OPENER?!"
While Harry was attempting to either strangle or dismantle the purple robot servant of his, a second robot that was short and green decided to come to Benjamin's rescue.
"Benjamin's right, Harry." Sebastian said.
Harry didn't seem too happy about the fact that the little green robot was siding with his fellow machine, but decided to at least hear him out.
"Are you gonna turn against me now too, Sebastian?" Harry asked.
"Some newcomer is after your girl! Are you just gonna sit back and watch him take her away from you?" Sebastian asked.
Harry recoiled at what the robot had told them, but he had to admit that he had a point.
"I guess not..." Harry relented.
"Then you'll have to defeat Jaune and take Leena back. Throw down the gauntlet, Harry! You were born to be king! Take him on, and defeat him!" Sebastian encouraged.
Harry gritted his teeth as he thought about a possible future where Jaune and Leena were together. And he hated that possible future! So he pulled himself together and summoned all of his available rage to ready himself for combat.
"YEAAAAAAAH! That's right my friends! My name's Harry Champ, and I'm destined to be king!" Harry declared dramatically. "I'm comin' for ya, kid! So watch yourself, 'cause nobody steals a girl from me!"
Harry began to laugh in a manner that seemed crazy at best, maniacle at worst. Obviously, this guy is obsessed to the point of being beyond reason. And his two robot servants can easily tell this.
"NOW you've done it! What're we gonna do with this guy?!" Benjamin asked.
"At least he'll be off OUR backs for awhile." Sebastian replied.
*Back At The Blitz Team Base…*
Later that day in the Blitz Team base, Jaune was busy doing physical therapy with Brad. his arm wasn't fully healed from when he and Yang were transported to this world, and he needed to get back into shape. But there was still one thing that put Brad on edge.
"You really should consider yourself lucky." Brad said.
"Why is that?" Jaune asked.
"Because Harry has a thing for Leena, and sees you as an obstacle for her affection. He'll do anything in his power to try and take you down." Brad explained.
"Hmph! So what else is new?" Jaune asked bitterly. "It's not like I haven't faced people who've wanted to kill me in the past."
And he's right. He's had to face the likes of Roman Torchwick, members of the White Fang and even some strange girl with an ice cream theme to her look. Still, he has to stay focused on the upcoming battle.
"But what can you tell me about this Harry guy? Is he a warrior, or something?" Jaune asked.
"He leads the Champ Team. He's a pompous rich boy who participates in Zoid Battles because it gives him something to do. But he is good, I'll give him that. On top of that, he's got the bucks to pour into fixing up his Zoids. If I were you, I'd take extra caution and watch my back." Brad informed.
Jaune reflected on this new information. If what Brad said was true, then Harry would really be a major threat if he challenged the team to a Zoid Battle. Especially since Jaune wasn't up to full strength just yet. But that's what physical therapy was here for. Plus, Jaune didn't know what kind of Zoids Harry's team would be using against them.
And if Jaune was guessing correctly, then that means he'd use his money to buy a powerful Zoid and customize it beyond its normal capabilities. The thought of this made Jaune's blood boil. Rich snobs like Harry and even Weiss always seem to have an unfair advantage with these kinds of things since they have money on their side.
But he'd worry about that later. For now, Jaune was going to just focus on his physical therapy, and try to get himself back up to par.
Meanwhile in the living room of the base, Leena and Jamie were playing a hologram Zoid version of chess where the pieces were all miniature Zoids. Leena's king piece was a Shield Liger, while Jamie had a Pteras as his king piece. But as they were playing, they couldn't help but talk about Jaune's little forced confrontation with Harry earlier that day.
"It's gonna be exciting to see what kind of move Harry makes first, right?" Leena asked.
"Not really. It's got nothing to do with me." Jamie replied.
"Why not?" Leena asked.
"I don't know, it just doesn't! That's all!" Jamie said, defending himself.
As they were talking, Leena and Jamie kept moving their game pieces in an attempt to outdo each other. Both of them were great strategists, but they also knew that Jaune has the greatest strategic mind anyone's ever come across. It's no wonder he was made a team leader when he attended Beacon.
"Well, you gotta admit Jaune needs more of a confidence booster." Leena said. "Sure, he's proven himself to be a capable warrior on our team, but he's completely lacking in many other forms of social interaction!"
"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean you should use Harry as a means of trying to get Jaune's confidence up." Jamie said as a rebuttal.
"Why would you think I'm using either of them?" Leena asked. "I mean come on! I'm not to blame if Jaune decides to set his goals high in terms of getting a girlfriend! I can't help it if I'm beautiful!"
"Whatever." Jamie said indifferently.
The Pteras pilot smirked and took advantage of Leena's vanity induced trance to deliver the finishing blow to her forces.
"Looks like I beat ya!" Jamie said.
"What?!"
It's true. While Leena had been busy with her little vanity session, Jamie had managed to get her in check mate by surrounding her king. She growled in anger, but then smirked. She turned her head and 'accidentally' knocked the game over with her foot. The game hit the floor and deleted the results making Jamie stare in shock.
"Ah, oops! Gee, sorry! My foot must have slipped." Leena said 'innocently'.
She got up and walked away, giggling to herself at her accomplishment. But Jamie wasn't too happy about Leena being a sore loser, and really didn't appreciate her antics over this game.
"Now there's a girl who had a stable upbringing under doc's care..." Jamie thought sarcastically.
And the sarcasm was well placed. Doctor Toros was in his office playing with some of his Zoid models like a little kid. I mean it's one thing to love collecting them, but playing with them as a grown man? Yeah, I think we can all agree that this guy needs to grow up!
Meanwhile, Leena was still in the bathroom after having gotten out of a most invigorating shower. She had a pink towel wrapped around her body, humming a small tune as she dried her hair. Her thoughts soon drifted back to the earlier interaction with Harry and her little flirtation with Jaune that added fuel to the fire that was sure to burst forth.
"Ahhh... A duel! Jaune and Harry put their lives on the line and battle it out for me. My legendary beauty is what drives them to such desperate measures." Leena said to herself before blushing slightly. "IT'S MORE THAN AN INNOCENT GIRL LIKE MYSELF CAN BARE TO THINK ABOUT!"
The next day, Jaune had just gone outside to go and do a little Junk Dealing as well as to look for Yang. She hasn't been home all night, and he was very concerned. If any of their former friends and teachers found a way to this world and ambushed her, it's quite possible that she might've gotten in over her head.
But as he made his way out of the hangar, he was confronted by…
"Mister Arc, I challenge you!"
You guessed it. Harry Champ... Again…
Jaune wasn't surprised by this challenge. He had expected as much from a pompous snob like Harry. He knew that Harry saw him as an obstacle for Leena's affections that needed to be removed, but he didn't expect the dude to go this far.
"A Zoid Battle with Leena going to the victor!" Harry challenged.
"Leena's not some prize to be won like you're making her seem! She's a person, and I will NOT put up with anyone treating her as anything else!" Jaune said with narrowed eyes.
If there was another thing in the world that he hated, it's slavery. He knows all about the Schnee Dust Company and their use of Faunus Slave Labor and their use of unwilling Faunus test subjects for dangerous and illegal experiments. And the way Harry said that makes Jaune think that Harry's referring to Leena in a way that she's nothing but property.
"But fine, I'll fight you! If only to get you to leave and stop bugging us!" Jaune said.
Harry smirked and took a piece of paper out of his pocket.
"Written on that paper is the time and place of our battle. We'll be battling it out in Battle Mode 0973, so you better prepare yourself!" Harry said, handing Jaune the paper.
Meanwhile, watching from afar, Leena and Jamie had witnessed this whole thing go down. And Leena was honestly touched by how far Jaune was going to defend her honor as a woman.
"Hey, did you hear what he said, Jamie?" Leena asked.
"I did, but I don't get why Jaune wants to fight." Jamie said honestly.
Leena playfully shoved Jamie as she began to go on another vanity tangent.
"Come off it, silly! It's obvious! Jaune's become bewitched by my charm and beauty, and has fallen under my magical spell!" Leena said before sighing dreamily as she envisioned a fantasy. "Oh my, beauty can be such a burden!"
But Jamie wasn't so convinced.
"Yeah right, But I wouldn't be getting so mushy if I were in your shoes." Jamie said.
Leena looked questioningly at the younger pilot, and he gave her his reasoning for not feeling so good about this type of battle.
"Have you ever stopped to think about what'll happen AFTER the battle? Like what if Harry wins?" Jamie asked. "Or Jaune. What if HE wins?"
Now that Leena thought about it, this battle does seem a little bit dangerous. If Harry wins, she may be forced to become his girlfriend. But if Jaune wins…? Actually, now that she thinks about it, becoming Jaune's girlfriend might not be so bad. But still, she had to act as if she didn't care about the outcome, or her intentions might become known,
"OH! What to do? It's too much for one girl to handle!" Leena exclaimed with a light blush.
"This is a hopeless cause." Jamie said in resignation.
Meanwhile, Jaune was walking back into the hangar to bring his truck out, when Brad decided to voice his opinion.
"Are you out of your mind?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked back.
"Are you really gonna take Leena as your own if you win the battle?" Brad clarified.
Jaune narrowed his eyes slightly, understanding what Brad was talking about. But he answered the mercenary anyway.
"Whether Leena decides to date me or not is her choice to make, not mine! I'm not opposed to the idea of dating her, and if she decided to I'd give it a chance. But I'm not gonna get my hopes up. There's absolutely no way an incredible girl like Leena would ever set her sights on a complete dork like me." Jaune answered.
Brad simply raised an eyebrow in response.
'Is he really THAT oblivious, or is he just faking it?' Brad wondered.
Both men were broken from their thoughts when they heard metal footsteps moving slowly through the air. They looked up and received the shock of a lifetime!
There was a Zoid walking up to their base! And not just any Zoid. It's an Elephant Type Zoid known as an Elephander!
This Elephander is actually a very rare variant of the three types of Elephander. It resembles a giant armored elephant that is quite large and equally heavy. It's ears are flat and round making the head resemble that of an african elephant as opposed to the Assault Variant's Indian Elephant look. This Zoid's base color under the armor is black while the armor is yellow with black streaks here and there. Even the stabilizer knobs are black. And where the eyes would be, the viewing visor of the cockpit is a gentle lilac color like Yang's eyes. But that's where the differences begin to show up.
This Elephander is the Scout Variant of the three Elephander models, and is actually quite different from many of its other Scout Elephander brothers and sisters. While the Scout Variant wasn't made for combat purposes while still having a means of defending itself, this Elephander was different. The back mounted cannon of this Elephander is replaced with several Dark Horn weapons along with the trademark 3D Radar Mast of other Scout Variants. However, the ears also hold a very sophisticated sensor array. On each shoulder, this Elephander sports an AZ 60 mm Hyper Laser Gun. And if one were to look closely, they'd see that it also has a High Capacity Thruster Unit on each side. This Elephander is also slightly thinner and sleeker than most others of its kind, suggesting that it's faster and more maneuverable than most Elephanders.
But what really threw them off about this Elephander Scout Variant is the trunk. The trunk of this Elephander is not a sensory device at all. It's actually the same ESCS device that belongs on the Command Variant of the Elephander. But it also looks like it has the Iron Claw weapon of the Assault Variant while having the Command Variant's tusks.
As for the weapons that replace the back mounted cannon, this Elephander is fitted with several standard Dark Horn weapons, as I mentioned. It has a Special Edition Gatling Rifle that can fire three thousand rounds per minute. And the Anti-Zoid 3-Barreled Linear Cannon is a special attachment as well. Finally, it has all the standard weapons of an Elephander: the Twin Crusher Tusk, the 2-Barrel 45 mm Beam Gun, a 45 mm Machinegun and an AZ 144 mm Rail Gun.
"WHOA! Guys, are you all seeing what I'm seeing, or is it a mirage?!" Jaune asked.
"Oh, it's no mirage, vomit-boy!" said a very familiar voice.
Everyone gasped as they saw who was exiting the cockpit of the Elephander. Even Doctor Toros, who had come out to investigate, was shocked beyond his wildest dreams.
It's YANG! She was the one who was piloting this incredibly armed Scout Variant of the Elephander! But how did she come across such a mighty Zoid?! Why was a Scout Variant Elephander equipped with such diverse weaponry instead of just standard weapons and equipment? Was it a Stray Zoid or a Wild Zoid? Questions for later.
"Yang? Is THIS the reason you were gone all night?!" Jaune asked incredulously.
Yang jumped down to the ground and everyone saw that she was covered in bruises and dirt from something. Even though her Aura was already working to heal the bruises very quickly.
"Yeah, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you how I came across this big boy." Yang said. "See, I got lost hiking out in the desert and came across some crags where I managed to find water and shade. I decided to rest and rehydrate there before heading home, but these sudden tremors caused several of the crags to topple and fall on top of me! I was lucky my Aura tanked most of the damage, but I got stuck under the rocks."
Yang's eyes started to water before the Elephander let out a small elephant trumpet and gently nuzzled her with his trunk. An action that made the blonde girl hug her Zoid's trunk.
"I couldn't get free and was frying out in that heat until night started to fall. I really thought I was gonna die out there, but then my savior came in the form of this gentle giant! He used his trunk to dig me out of the rubble and actually let me into the cockpit despite being a Wild Zoid. And I felt a connection with this big guy. Kinda like how you and the Liger Zero are connected, Jaune." Yang said, finishing her tale.
The Blitz Team was surprised that such a Zoid rescued their teammate, but they were also relieved that Yang was okay. Doctor Toros walked up and put a hand on Yang's shoulder, smiling at her while maintaining a bit of a 'stern father' kind of attitude.
"We're all glad you're okay, Yang. But you nearly lost your life out there too! I hope you'll think next time you want to go on a hike like that and use a buddy system." Doc lightly scolded. "But for now, why don't you and Jamie get your new Elephander registered as a Zoid of the Blitz Team. I think we can use it in the battle against the Champ Team."
Yang nodded at Doctor Toros and motioned for her Zoid to follow her into the hangar.
"Come on, Bumblebee. Let's get you settled into your new home." Yang said to the Zoid who trumpeted in response.
"Bumblebee? Who's Bumblebee?" Brad asked.
"That's what I decided to call the Elephander." Yang replied, walking past the mercenary.
Well, it looks like things are going to be a lot more lively with the Blitz Team now that there are two sentient Zoids in the team.
*The Day Of The Battle…*
The Blitz Team had finally made it to the battle location. It was an abandoned city that was due for demolition in a few days, but was perfect for the type of Battle Mode that was selected. It was a blind battle, which the Champ Team specializes in.
In front of the entrance to the city was the Champ team in their Zoids. Harry was leading the charge in his custom made Dark Horn. His Dark Horn looked like a styracosaurus that had a bunch of heavy arsenals attached to it. And while most Dark Horns were entirely black with green eyes and knobs, and a single black colored horn, Harry's Dark Horn had two golden yellow colored horns, knobs, frill pieces, and lighter green eyes.
The purple colored robot that was one of Harry's teammates, Benjamin, was piloting a brown colored Cobra Type Zoid known as a Stealth Viper.
And the smaller green robot, Sebastian, was piloting a dark green, almost black Monitor Lizard Type Zoid called a Heldigunner.
'My name's Harry Champ. I'm a man destined to be king!' Harry thought to himself.
Finally, the Champ Team saw their enemy rolling up in the Hover Cargo. But they were ready for this team of fighters. And Harry was still as smug as ever.
"Impressive. I thought you'd be too scared to show up!" Harry said to Jaune, even though the blonde boy can't hear him right now.
"Jaune Arc, good of you to come." Sebastian added.
"Sebastian, knock it off! Stop stealing all my lines right when it gets to the good part!" yelled Harry over the comm link.
As the Hover Cargo pulled up to the battle site, it readied the catapult and began to launch the three Zoids that would be fighting here. First up was Jaune and the Liger Zero Empire. Next was the Dibison. Finally, the front platform opened and out walked the mighty Elephander known as Bumblebee. Bumblebee let loose a loud elephant trumpet upon landing and actually mildly stunned Harry.
"An Elephander…! I've never seen one like that one, but it won't make a difference here!" Harry said to himself.
Once he was sure the enemy was ready for the battle, Harry began dealing out instructions for his team.
"Alright, nobody go after Jaune. He's my target!" Harry ordered.
"Then I'll go after that new pilot and her recently obtained Elephander." Sebastian replied. "Just because she has one, doesn't mean she knows how to pilot it efficiently."
"I guess that leaves me with Leena." Benjamin added.
"Yup! Just make sure to go easy on her. YOU HEAR THAT? SHE MAY BE THE ENEMY, BUT SHE'S MY LEENA!" ordered Harry.
While the Commission was taking the time to ready the Judge Capsule for the battle, Leena was busy voicing her thoughts and having another fantasy, not realising that she'd left her comm system for her team on.
"Just think of it. Jaune and Harry will be dueling for my love. How gallant! It's just like something out of a love story!" she said to herself with a heavy blush. "Leena, you're getting downright devious! Oh, if only people knew how hard it was to be stunning like me!"
Yang just rolled her eyes and tried to ignore that last comment. She didn't want to bring up any bad memories.
Meanwhile, Jaune was busy calibrating the Shock Cannon and making sure it wasn't going to interfere with mobility and such.
"It might be just a Shock Cannon, but it sure feels safer knowing we have an additional weapon, right Liger?" Jaune asked.
The Liger Zero Empire roared in response, agreeing with his partner.
Finally, the Judge Capsule landed and the Judge began to get the battle underway.
"Area scanned. Battlefield set up. The Blitz Team vs. The Champ Team. Battle Mode 0973! Ready...? FIGHT!"
With the battle started, the Blitz Team followed the Champ Team into the abandoned city. Everyone separated in order to pick off their enemies one on one, but it wasn't going to be that simple. Since this was a blind battle, no one was able to distinguish friend from foe. This was going to make quite the challenge for both teams.
"They're going in blind. In that case, they won't need us to provide back-up support, right Doctor Toros?" Jamie questioned.
But the boy was sorely disappointed when he saw the doctor wasn't paying attention to the battle at all. He was just playing around with a couple of Zoid models! A Pteras and a Redler, to be precise.
"If we attack from up above, they'll go like this! On the other hand, if we escape like so…"
Jamie groaned at his boss's immaturity.
"Doesn't he realize that this is a ground battle?" Jamie asked Brad, who was also watching the battle.
"Who knows." Brad said in response.
Leena and her Dibison were currently trying to find an enemy to try and get some individual points, but were having no luck just yet. And to be honest, this lack of combat was really beginning to stretch the girl's patience pretty thin.
"I can't believe they challenged us to a blind battle!" Leena complained. "The Dibison's firepower will be a total waste! Not to mention Yang's Elephander, Bumblebee, seems to be the only one who could navigate in this kind of battle!"
Suddenly a blip appeared on her radar, but it didn't say whether or not it was a friend or foe.
"Wait! This one's mine!"
The Dibison turned the corner with its Megalo Max Cannon poised to fire. However, Leena stopped herself from attacking when she saw that it was only Yang and Bumblebee.
"Oh, Leena. It's just you." Yang said, holding her fire.
Leena groaned in both disappointment and relief. Relief that she and Yang didn't hit each other, and disappointment that it wasn't an enemy.
"Watch what you're doing, Yang! It would be a shame if we hit each other!" Leena said.
"That's what I'm supposed to say." Yang quipped.
She and Leena went their separate ways to try and find their enemies, making Doctor Toros sigh in relief as his attention had turned to the battle a minute ago.
"That was far too close for comfort! They were about to fire on each other! But that's the risk you take. In blind battles, not knowing who's around the corner's what makes it so much fun!"
But it wasn't quite so fun for Doctor Toros when he accidentally snapped the head off of his Redler Zoid.
"What have I done to you?! Your head's fallen under the console!" Doctor Toros exclaimed in panic.
As he knelt down to try and get the toy's head out from under the darn thing, Brad and Jamie couldn't help but groan at the immaturity of their boss.
"Come on, Doc! The battle's over here." groaned Jamie.
'Why is this guy head of the team again?' Brad mentally groaned.
Quite honestly, if it weren't for the fact that he gets a decent paycheck for the battles he fights in for this team, Brad would've quit a long time ago.
Jaune and the Liger Zero Empire were currently walking through the abandoned city. They were searching for Harry, knowing that it was better to never get cornered in a blind battle. A bleeping dot on his radar alerted him to one of the enemies attempting to corner him.
"There he is! He's in the building right behind me!" Jaune said to himself.
He spoke too soon as Harry's Dark Horn burst through the building with its guns at the ready. Harry was grinning a maniacal grin that seemed downright evil!
"So there ya are, Ben! Come to papa!" Harry said arrogantly.
Jaune cursed and made the Liger run away at full speed while Harry kept shooting like crazy in an attempt to freeze the Liger Zero Empire's computer system quickly. But Jaune wasn't letting that happen without a fight! He maneuvered the Liger in ways that dodged the bullets from the Dark Horn while not losing speed. Up ahead, he saw something that would be his saving grace.
"There! We'll pull a tight turn up ahead! That Dark Horn won't be able to make a turn like that." Jaune said to the Liger Zero.
Liger Zero roared in agreement. Using his claws to get a better grip on the ground, the Liger drifted to make a tight left turn and sped off thinking that the Dark Horn wouldn't be able to follow.
And on a normal day against a normal Dark Horn, they'd be right. But this is one of those times where they were wrong.
The Dark Horn had somehow managed to make that tight turn, and kept running after Jaune and the Liger while firing like crazy! Jaune gritted his teeth in confusion.
"A Zoid like that shouldn't be able to make those tight turns! What's with that Dark Horn?" Jaune asked himself.
Harry was all too happy to answer if it meant he could brag about his Zoid.
"This is no ordinary Dark Horn, my friend! This is a Dark Horn Champ Special! It's fitted with a special Gatling Rifle that can fire three thousand rounds per minute! And this Altar High Density Output Beam Cannon is a custom component as well. Oh! And finally, I've got this High Capacity Thruster Unit!" Harry explained. "This Zoid is specially designed to have both high assault and maneuverability! It's perfect! And befitting a prince like myself! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
As Jaune and the Liger kept running, Harry and the Dark Horn kept running after them while firing a relentless barrage of bullets and energy blasts.
"OH HO, JUST TRY AND GET AWAY!" quipped Harry.
Meanwhile with Leena and her Dibison, she finally heard the gunshots that were ringing out from Harry's Dark Horn and knew that this meant only one thing.
"So it seems they found each other." Leena said to herself.
"Well, hello Leena." said a metallic voice.
Leena had no time to dodge as she was hit by a few shots herself. The barrage stopped as Benjamin and his Stealth Viper slithered over to her. The Viper hissed in challenge as Benjamin decided to taunt his opponent.
"It's not good for you to get distracted."
Naturally, due to her short temper, Leena took the bait and grew very angry by what Benjamin said.
"BENJAMIN, YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!" growled Leena.
She opened fire on the enemy Stealth Viper using her Bison's trademark Megalo Max cannon, but every shot she fired missed Benjamin! He and his viper slithered away as Leena and the Dibison were quick to give chase. And you should know better than to enrage a bull!
"Still firing at random without using your sights, eh Leena? How typical." Benjamin taunted further.
Naturally, this only served to further infuriate the girl as she began gritting her teeth so hard you could hear them grinding together.
"If I were you, I'd pipe down and start running!" growled Leena.
She fired several more shots from her Megalo Max cannon, drawing the attention of Yang and Bumblebee. Bumblebee trumpeted something that only his pilot could understand, and she grinned as she began to get back some of her old sense of humor.
"You're right, Bumblebee. That's gotta be Leena. Only she can be that bull-headed!" Yang quipped whilst making a pun.
Bumblebee made some sort of elephant noise akin to laughing while Yang just straight up laughed at her own ridiculous pun. But once their sensors picked up an enemy, Yang quickly activated the Hyper Energy Shield to protect them from the gunfire. Lowering the shield, Yang saw that she was up against the Heldigunner Zoid.
"Miss, I'll be your opponent! Count yourself lucky!" Sebastian said.
Yang just grinned and cracked her knuckles in anticipation. She hasn't gotten the chance to fight in a Zoid Battle until recently, and she's pretty excited about this.
"I'm just happy I got such an incompetent opponent for my first battle." Yang said.
"OHHH, I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET THAT!" Sebastian exclaimed in anger.
He fired two shots at Yang who proved that her Elephander was far more agile than average and jumped back to avoid the blasts. She readied her AZ 60 mm Hyper Laser Guns and opened fire against Sebastian. Unfortunately, Yang's experience in guns is limited to shotguns, so she missed her first strikes.
Meanwhile, Jaune and the Liger Zero were still running from Harry and his Dark Horn. The blonde pilot had a plan, but he needs to get to the right spot first in order to pull it off. And Harry was busy laughing as he thought that he had his opponent on the ropes.
"Don't be such a sore loser, Jaune! Come back and play!" taunted Harry.
But unlike Leena with Benjamin's taunts, Jaune had near perfect control of his emotions when in battle and just focused on trying to get to the right spot. And looky here, it's like Nascar! Here comes another left turn! And no surprise here, Harry just blindly followed him.
But watching from the monitors of the Hover Cargo, Jamie was ready with some tactical advice for Jaune as he saw something coming up ahead just around the corner.
"THERE! Take a right up there, Jaune!" Jamie said.
But rather than turning, Jaune and the Liger just ran straight ahead with the Dark Horn on their tails. An action that only served to further confuse Jamie.
"What's up? I don't get it! Why wouldn't ya turn to get out of the line of fire?" Jamie asked before adding "Besides, it's a dead end up ahead."
But Doctor Toros seemed to understand at least part of what Jaune was doing. Finally, Jaune was at the place where he would make the magic happen. He activated the Liger Zero Empire's Ion Boosters and rocketed towards the wall at the end of the path. Harry thought he was mad for pulling a stunt like this, but was soon stunned with serious surprise when the Liger bounced off of the wall with its claws and mane glowing with its signature attack.
"EAT THIS, HARRY! STRIKE LASER CLAW!" Jaune yelled.
The Liger came down with even more power to its claws thanks to the aid of gravity. Its claws sliced clean through the two legs on the left side of the Dark Horn. Having taken such extensive damage, the Zoid fell to its side as its system froze.
"NO! NO! NO! NO! LEENA, FORGIVE ME! I'VE FAILED YOU!" Harry wailed.
Back at the battle between Leena and her Dibison against Benjamin and his Stealth Viper, Leena had just managed to land quite a few hits on the Cobra Type Zoid and knocked the weapons clean off its head. As the Zoid fell to the ground, Leena and her Dibison stalked up to it. The grin on Leena's face was somewhat demonic as she closed in.
"You know, if you hadn't started taunting me, this would've been so much less painful for you." Leena said. "Any last words before I crush you like a cockroach?"
The Dibison raised its front hoof just as Benjamin began begging for mercy.
"I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean any of those things I said, please forgive me! No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Unfortunately, his pleas for mercy went unanswered as Leena crushed the Stealth Viper's neck under her hoof and froze the Zoid's computer system. And with that over, she sighed in relief and happiness.
"That feels so much better! Glad I got that out of my system." Leena said.
With Yang, she still wasn't having much luck against the Heldigunner due to her unfamiliarity with the weapons her Zoid possesses. But then she remembered an old saying she heard once. When range fails you, get in close!
And this was definitely the time to get in close!
"Bumblebee, let's swat this guy away like an annoying fly!" Yang said to her partner.
And Bumblebee agreed. He charged at speeds far greater than an ordinary Elephander and managed to evade every shot Sebastian fired at him. With a mighty swing of his trunk, Bumblebee sent Sebastian and the Heldigunner flying into a building where he got stuck.
"Now, bombs away!" Yang exclaimed.
She aimed her Gatling Gun at Sebastian and opened fire on the Heldigunner! It took a lot of damage and completely froze its combat system. The Judge rang the ending gong and announced the winner.
"The battle is over! The battle is over! The winner is… The Blitz Team!"
The whole team started celebrating yet another win, and Leena suddenly appeared on Jaune's screen.
"Hey Jaune, it looks like you won. Listen, I know you didn't agree to the part of the challenge where I become your girlfriend if you win, but I thought about it and I'd like to give us a chance. What do ya say?" Leena asked with a seductive wink.
Jaune's face reddened so bad, he looked redder than Ruby's cloak. All he could do was nod yes in response before blushing even harder when Leena blew a kiss at him. Once her comm system was turned off, Liger Zero Empire growled at his partner.
"You're right, partner. Women are confusing creatures." Jaune said.
With the battle done, the Zoid and its pilot began walking back to the Hover Cargo. It's been a long day, and they both wanted to rest.
*Later That Evening…*
Doctor Toros was sweating nervously as Jaune glared at him. He was not at all happy with the good doctor's parts order, and was now challenging him.
"You can't be serious about equipping these things to the Liger Zero, are you?" Jaune demanded.
He pulled up a hologram of Liger Zero wearing a blue armor with huge boosters on its back, an orange armor with lots of blades, and a green armor that looked bulky and heavy.
"This blue armor is great for high speed battles, but sucks at getting in close. If it had a few guns attached, I might be more inclined to keep it." Jaune said.
He pointed to the orange armor, which had seven blue laser blades.
"This armor has superb close combat abilities, but it has practically no way to fend off enemies that get too close. Again, it would require a few guns." Jaune explained further.
Then he pulled up the image of the green armor. It was an armor that was built like a tank with twin cannons on its back and lots of hidden artillery all over the body. But that probably weighed it down far too much.
"Now this armor is a real problem. It has awesome assault and defense capabilities, but it's heavier than an Elephander! No offense to you or Bumblebee, Yang. Like hell would I ever equip such heavy armor to Liger Zero! It would break him beyond repair!" Jaune said.
Doctor Toros slumped down from hearing the faults of these armors.
"I know, but they're meant to function as a single unit! Besides, they look so cool!" Doc said.
"I know that. But that's exactly why I cancelled your order. I know the guys you ordered from, and they know that If I'm not happy with something, then they don't give me the parts. Here, take a look at these instead." Jaune said.
He pulled out two wooden carvings that he had created in his spare time. They were both Ligers. One was black and red, and the other was a beautiful amethyst purple in color. One seemed to be streamlined and built for speed, handling, and mid to close range combat as well as high speed had many blades, but it also had a few different guns on it to keep any enemies at bay.
The other one looked like it was primarily built for defensive purposes and also seemed to have the greatest long range abilities. And best of all, they looked way cooler than what doctor Toros was originally gonna buy!
"I designed these armors myself while we weren't in combat or training. Let me talk to some Parts Dealers I know, and we can get the parts delivered to the base." Jaune said
"Well Jaune, I can't see any fault in your plan, so… You got a deal! I'll put in the order first thing in the morning!" Doc said.
"Sweet! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna turn in for the night." Jaune said with a yawn.
He left for his room to get some much needed rest. It had indeed been a long day for the whole team. Jaune was just wondering what sort of challenges awaited them tomorrow.
And then he stopped once Leena surprised him with a goodnight kiss on the cheek. He was still not used to such forms of affection from girls except for his mother and sisters, so he was in a bit of an unusual situation here.
*Warning! Jaune EXE. has shut down! Please assist!*
*To Be Continued…*
Ending Narration (Jaune): "What's going on?! They can't hit the judge! And where'd this Dark Judge replacement come from?! A sinister organization that bends all the rules has been seriously messing with the Zoid Battles. And NOW they've kidnapped Leena! Don't worry, Babe! I'll save you! Next time on RWBY New Century Zero; Illegal Battle: The Mysterious Backdraft Group is Coming After Us! Ready… Fight!"