Memory Lane

“He should get the message any moment now.”

Deep inside the Highguard base, located inside the Captain’s Quarters, slept one Takeshi Kimari. The man was now Captain of the new formed team, despite everything. He would be stirred awake by a message from a system he didn’t know the quarters possessed. Above his bed, warning message appeared before it flickered and changed to an image. The holographic display was almost three dimensional. It showed an image Takeshi hadn’t seen since before the war. A canyon in the desert. The words beneath the picture simply read: They say you’re fast. Only closer inspection, the message would come from one Angelus Ignis. Shortly after, as the Captain made his way through the base, he’d over hear a news report on the television.

“The mysterious pilot Angelus Ignis struck again yesterday,” the young news anchor read from the autocue in front of him. The report showed the image of a black liger-class zoid but it was a poor, grainy image. “Once again however, by the time the press were aware and could get there he had left. We only have this footage taken on a phone from one of the spectators.” It showed a black zoid battling what appeared to be a Command Wolf. The picture quality wasn’t great. The Liger moved like lightning. A trained eye could tell that not a single blow was landed before the Liger had dispatched its opponent in short order. “Once more, questions arise as to who this mysterious pilot really is. We are also waiting to find out who his first official battle will be against. Stay tuned for more information as we get it!”

It was probably about four in the morning when the man who called himself Angelus Ignis had sent the message to the Captain of Team Highguard. The sun was just beginning to rise over the desert and the cold air was beginning to clear. His tall form sat on a rocky outcrop above the canyon known as the Gauntlet. The detailing on his black pilot’s suit and helmet were lost in the void of darkness he had shrouded himself in. His gaze was fixed on the waterfall that had cause this great scar in the earth as he listened. Both to the water and for the sounds of approaching zoids.

His partner, the obsidian monster, lay behind him, scarlet optics fixed on the horizon. Like her pilot, she was garbed in midnight. The only things that weren’t black were the eyes, which gleamed with anticipation. She had her front paws crossed, gripping something that she appeared to be knowing on absentmindedly. She rumbled suddenly and Ignis responded with a chuckle.

“You’re right,” the voice modulator inside the helmet made his voice raspy and metallic. “But it’s something I need to do.”

The buzzing pierced its way through the nightmare addled sleep of the Highguardian Captain as he rolled over, stirring now despite the pervading darkness that hung over the room’s occupants like a warm blanket. The man’s bleary eyes covered in the grit of sleep, one hand rubbing over them as he sat up in his bed to look at the hologram image that displayed itself before him. The last dregs of sleep evaporated in an instant as though he’d been slapped full in the face as the pilot looked over the image of the familiar canyon; The Gauntlet, where Blaze had begun the then young Takeshi’s training. Seeing it now, with the challenging message of “They say you’re fast” hanging beneath it was somehow perverse, as if some unknown enemy had reached into his heart and found the things that were most personal and precious to the aging pilot.

He simply stared at the words for several minutes, his body numb to his surroundings as his bed partner stirred from the sudden movement and the sudden cool air as the blankets were shoved aside. A slow burning anger began to build inside the pilot as he looked on, the anger turning to a deep abiding rage at the challenge, his hands finding his black jeans in the darkness as he began to dress, thumbing a message to the hangar to have Thunder prepped with the Jager armour before he got there. Takeshi’s hands danced with something close to his old fervour as he pulled on clothes and his signature team jacket, arms threading through into the comforting warmth of the suede interior. The image was ruined of course when, as the enraged pilot exited the room, his hand clasped the neck of a bottle of rum as he stormed through the hallways of Highguard.

He gave the news a passing glance on his way, another pilot causing chaos on the ZBC’s amateur circuit, the team Captain snorted as he watched the Liger pilot school a Command Wolf, there was something familiar in the way the Zoid moved, but in his enraged state the man chalked it up to being a mere copycat fanboy trying to emulate Takeshi himself. After all the Black Liger was his signature Zoid, more than that, those were the same moves he himself used, had he been paying attention perhaps he’d have noticed crisp, clean precision with which said moves were executed and demonstrated how much so the pilot was Takeshi’s superior.

Within moments he was seated in Thunder’s cockpit and the hangar doors were opening. The pilot took a long gulp from the bottle of rum, somehow forgetting that it was only a little after four AM as they left the base, setting a course for the Gauntlet, his eyes burning holes in the cockpit’s glass as they ran at high speeds across the open desert, the rage burning now like a cold flame his skin covered in equal parts goose bumps and sweat, as a terrifying calm settled over him.

It wouldn’t take very long before pilot and his black Liger stood proudly at the entrance to the canyon, roaring out their own challenge to any who could hear. “Alright, show yourself, if you think you’re going to get to me like this you’re dead wrong, what do you want?” The Highguardian thundered across the airwaves, “I can assure you if you mean to challenge me I am more than simply fast and no one knows this track better!”

Ignis saw the form of Thunder long before his pilot had seen him. He smiled behind his mask, thinking back to the old days as he saw the navy blue armour that adorned the black of the liger. But that brought back memories of her as well and the smile slowly faded. He had his part to play anyway. He took in a deep breath, watching from his position. There was something not quite right about how Thunder moved. Had it been anyone else, they may not have noticed. But Ignis was different. Not only did he have a far better idea about the pilot than most, he knew the zoid he piloted like he knew his own skin.

It was subtle. A minor flaw a lesser mechanic would say, unable to tell the difference. But Thunder’s stride wasn’t quite as long as it should be. But was that down to the parts on the zoid or was that down to pilot error? The new Captain of Highguard should have been able to rehire some of the old team at least. So he doubted it was because of a botched repair. Which just left pilot error, that was another problem he could fix. But that was more difficult. As Thunder came to a halt and roared, it echoed down the canyon. Ignis activated the communications link in his helmet.

“If I’m wrong and this doesn’t get to you,” Ignis stood up from his position above them. His tall, black frame a shadow against the sun behind him. His arms were folded in a relaxed position across his chest. “Then why are you so angry?” The modulator did plenty to hide his voice behind a metallic tinge. He laughed. It was harsh and cutting in the early morning air. “Perhaps it’s just that bottle of alcohol you carry with you that is angry?” He held himself in a relaxed manner. His movements were confident. His voice and tone were even and never wavered.

“What I want, Captain Kimari,” he spoke slowly, almost as though he spoke faster Takeshi wouldn’t understand the words. “Is to challenge you. Though whether you will actually be a challenge remains to be seen.”

A large shadow rose behind the man. The armoured form of the liger gleamed in the half light of sunrise. It stepped forward and tossed its massive head. The shape it had been chewing was the leg of another zoid. It crashed down in to the canyon with the crunch of broken alloys. She bowed her head and the cockpit flipped forwards to allow Angelus Ignis to climb in. The cockpit sealed shut and she rose to her full height. Red optics flashed red and she threw her head back letting her voice be heard. The sound made the very ground shake with the promise of power. The obsidian liger stalked forwards, every movement dripped with menace. She made her way down the side of the canyon towards her opponent. Takeshi at this point would realise exactly what kind of liger this was. The smaller form and sleek lines of the Liger Zero were obvious now. Each step she took was controlled and calculated to show as much threat as possible. She snarled as she approached just to drive home the point.

“They say you’re fast, Captain,” Ignis snorted in derision. “While they are right, I doubt you’re as fast as they think. Menace certainly doesn’t think so.” The liger rumbled in agreement. “I have to agree with her. Just because you tell yourself that lie every night in the mirror doesn’t make it true.” Menace shook herself, as though limbering up for what was to come. Her tail flicked back and forth.

“But, if what you say is true,” You could hear the smirk of satisfaction in his voice. “You should be able to take the lead through the Gauntlet and I shouldn’t get close.” Menace lined up alongside her Thunder. Her body crouched and coiled like a spring, ready to dash forwards. “By all means, when you’re ready, Captain.” The wind suddenly picked up. It rushed between the two zoids and down into the first part of the canyon. It soared round the twists and turns of the first section before the cave.

The words stung, there was no avoiding that fact, the truth was simple; this black clad stranger had struck a nerve by choosing this place and had already wedged himself firmly under Takeshi’s skin like a particularly painful splinter. More than the simple acknowledgement of his anger though, the comment about the alcohol struck the pilot like a slap to the face, how could this stranger know about his habit? How could this person know anything about Takeshi? He stared at the half-drunk bottle of rum in the cockpit with a horrified expression, sweat dripping down his neck like bullets. His chest constricted as he felt his darker self laid bare for this other man to see in the stark light of the rising sun. The Highguardian’s throat felt tight as he tried to speak around the lump that had risen there.

“Don’t speak of what you don’t understand, whoever you think you are,” The pilot’s words were meant to be angry and cutting but the effect was not conveyed well, he was clearly rattled by the intimate details that the stranger had thrown at him so casually, almost flippantly, and that terrified him. “You’re just a coward hiding behind a mask.” He spat defensively at his critic, the words feeling hollow in his mouth though as he realised that his previous rage had almost dissipated under the painful onslaught of the other man’s words. Takeshi shook his head trying to get a grip on himself once more, in an effort to win back the advantage in this verbal joust though he could feel the momentum slipping irrevocably into the man in black’s favour, like some unstoppable tidal wave sucking the water back out into the ocean in preparation for the devastation it would unleash in mere moments.

The challenge was a harsh one, the words were without a doubt a glove slap, for all the way the Gauntlet worked this was a duel of honour and Takeshi knew it, whoever this person was whether a true threat or just a particularly obsessive fan, they had to be taught a lesson, they couldn’t be allowed to step onto the Captain’s private places and throw words around so carelessly, he was the Blue bolt of Highguard known for his speed, prowess and raw power, no one would stand before him, not here. A ghost of a vicious grin played across the pilot’s lips, “Challenge me?” He asked incredulously, some of the previous power returning to his voice, “You’re mad boy, you have no idea what this place is…” His dark laugh cut across the radio with mirthless cruelty, “The gauntlet is a Zoid graveyard for a reason, few can handle its deadly beauty, in fact in all the years I’ve been piloting I’ve only known two people to make it through at top speed,” The arrogance dripped from his words as he continued to grow in confidence, he would show this pretender what it meant to demonstrate real skill as a pilot. “Myself and my teacher Blaze Angelos, and you’re a fool if you think yourself on that level.”

The black Liger Zero joined them then, this threw Takeshi off once more, he hadn’t truly known that another black Zero existed, he’d thought only Thunder bore that distinction. The newcomer growled its own challenge at the large Jager clad Zero, Thunder answering in kind, pawing at the ground and raising his hackles in challenge. Not known for subtlety the old Liger Zero roared defiantly at the opposing liger, his silver fangs glistening in the dawn light, the small amount of condensation and moisture that had come to cling to the large razors shone like stars. Takeshi sneered at the other pilot, “Call it a lie if you wish, and maybe I’m not as fast as they think, but I’m still faster than anyone else on the pro circuit, and certainly faster than some amateur no one’s even heard of like you.” He almost spat the words with the vehement hate of a stung badger, the dark evil of it glared forth from the man’s eyes, “Menace is a good name for your partner, and it shows a great deal about you, all bluster but no substance, I’ll lead us through the Gauntlet, but Thunder will not be slowing down for you and if you get wrecked on one of the turns, don’t expect any help.”

The black Jager strode into place, his paws gripping the sandy ground almost casually, if a machine of his size could ever truly be said to look casual. Still the Liger moved with a feline grace that belied its mechanical nature, something every pilot admired in a Zoid, their ability to move as seamlessly as the animals they were modelled on. Spurred on by the nonchalance of the challenger Takeshi gripped his leather wrapped controls with a white-knuckled intensity as Thunder kicked off his back legs, the powerful movements of the Liger launching them headlong into the mouth of the canyon.

It had been some time since they’d been to the Gauntlet, but every twist and turn was familiar and Takeshi revelled in the memories that were born from it. First a tight left turn that had the Liger running parallel to the ground as they rode along the wall of the canyon, powerful claws gripping tightly to the stone as they began to hit their nearly full acceleration, passing effortlessly over the shattered remains of a shield liger they fell to the canyon floor once more driving hard against the hardpacked earth and stone. “Alright Thunder don’t hit max speed yet, I want to see how this wannabe handles the first few corners, we’ll give him the boosters once he knows he’s bitten off more than he could chew.” The pilot whispered to his partner in a conspiratorial tone, the cruel glee evident in his voice. Though the distraction cost him as the Liger’s shoulder scraped the canyon wall as they slid a little too far on a right turn, the growl of disapproval was obvious from Thunder, Takeshi apologised quickly, turning his full attention back to the course, the gauntlet was dangerous for even the most experienced pilots.

When he mentioned Blaze Angelos, Ignis laughed. It was cold, brutal and unforgiving. “You are more of a fool than I gave you credit it for, Kimari,” he spoke with that same even stone. “Your arrogance is astounding. You’re a washed up, sorry excuse for a pilot. You overestimate your skills in your dusty old ruin you call a zoid.” Menace growled as she readied herself.

Thunder broke away from the start with all the bluster and poise Ignis had been expecting. So, Takeshi planned to test him first, did he? He wanted to see if Ignis was actually as capable as he claimed to be. But it soon became clear to Menace and Ignis that was not the case. Thunder was not subtle. His movements were heavy set. His line around the wall of the canyon mere showboating. He actually believed that Ignis was not going to be a challenge. “Surely this Blaze Angelos taught you better than that,” he was clearly impressed by Takeshi’s abilities.

Menace leapt forwards a mere fraction of a second after Thunder moved. Quick enough to keep up but slow enough to full in directly behind her opponent. Rather than a massive leap forwards to propel her away, Menace seemed to be entirely opposite to her opponent. Almost like they were two different zoids. Whereas Thunder was all brute force, Menace moved with a grace and elegance that betrayed the true abilities beneath. They even took a different approach to the first corner.

Thunder went high, running across the side of the wall, barely slowing down in the process. Menace stayed low. Ignis held her to a clean line, each footfall was meticulously placed. Her sheer proximity to the canyon wall caused dust to be thrown up as the turn arrived. She sliced across the corner making it as straight a line as possible. Sweeping to the inside, she was mere millimetres from the wall. It was impossibly close. At these speeds, one misstep would have her joining the graveyard. She leapt smoothly over the fallen Shield Liger, taking it without breaking stride. As they rounded the next few corners, Menace easily kept up with Thunder, seemingly untroubled by her opponent.

“If this is top speed Kimari,” Ignis had been relatively impassive up to this point. But now, there was disappoint in his voice. “Then you need a better teacher.” As Takeshi and Thunder made their error, Ignis made his move. Menace’s eyes flashed a crimson red and the pair of boosters on her back activated taking her to her top speed. It happened in fractions of second. Ignis clearly had a phenomenal reaction time that Takeshi had probably only seen in one other person. Menace altered her line mid corner and powered out of it.

As Takeshi recovered, he’d find his opponent sailing past him and in to the lead. As soon as she was ahead, the boosters stopped firing. It was almost as if he wanted to prove a point. It ws almost as if he wanted to show Takeshi that he was not the god he seemed to think.

Takeshi almost spat the word, “Bastard!” As Ignis’ cold words struck home burying themselves ever deeper in the pilot’s brain. It was all his greatest fears laid bare, was he finished? Were his best years long behind him? The eldest son of the Kimari family had no real response, and it was obvious the prospect rattled him, the sounds of the world retreating behind the fog of his shattered confidence. Only the cold, malicious laughter of his darker reflection existed in this pale shade of existence, for a moment he was no longer in the Gauntlet, the world fading away to leave only an inky black stage.

Upon the stage stood two Takeshi’s, each staring at the other, one was darker in many ways, his hair less brilliant white, his eyes a darker shade of green and in them the cruel light of a sadist who enjoyed nothing so much as the pain he inflicted. The dark twin’s smile broadened as he saw the fear in Takeshi’s eyes, “He’s right you know,” The oily voice spoke, quiet but the edge was hard and razor sharp, “You’re nothing, not even a has been though, you’re a never were.” The laugh was cold and cruel, “A few lucky victories does not a hero make.” The widening of Takeshi’s eyes was all that Doubt needed, “After all, that’s what you’re meant to be right?” He chuckled again, “A hero.” He almost spat the word, venom oozing from between his lips.

“You tell yourself every day that it’ll be better this time, that you’re worthy of the crowd’s adulation, but deep down, you know you’re not, you know that’s why they left, you’re a disappointment to both Miyo and Blaze, hell even Mei left you and she reckoned she’d love you forever, you’re pathetic Takeshi, not a hero, not a pilot…you can’t even win a stupid race against this rank amateur.” The voice had begun to fade as Takeshi’s eyes hardened, the sounds of the real world returning to him once more as they crashed yet again in to the cliff face of the canyon, the Gauntlet’s twists and turns taking their toll on the beleaguered Liger Zoid. The pilot glared out of the cockpit at his opponent.

“You can insult me all you want pup, but never tell Thunder he’s a ruin.” Takeshi gunned it with renewed vigour, Doubt was wrong, he had to be, and this was just a first step to proving it. The Captain may not have been as young as he once was but with age came experience and he’d learned a thing or two in his years. The Jager System finally came to the fore, the Ion Boosters exploding in a hail of rock dust and slate chips as Thunder raced up the canyon wall once more running parallel to the ground before pushing off with all four feet, twisting his large mechanical feline body mid-air to land ahead of the smaller form of Menace. Digging his claws deep into the earth to push off hard, Thunder hit his top speed and for just a moment there was a flash of the old Takeshi, high speed and adrenaline surging through his body, the gee forces hitting his chest like a sledge hammer, Thunder’s stride lengthening to the perfect gait.

It was however but a flash, it wasn’t long before the old anger took over once more, blinding the pilot and reducing the effectiveness of his abilities, precision was replaced with brute force and for now at least he had missed the tell-tale signs his opponent had left, missing the simple truths that would save him, just as usual. The entrance to the cavern, the second leg of the Gauntlet, loomed high before the two pilots as they raced, speed and power being tested to the absolute limit. Takeshi’s smile was cold and arrogant, “You might be alright on the bends boy, but the Cavern will destroy you, do yourself a favour and bail out now.”

Ignis watched as Thunder smashed into the walls of the canyon. He sighed, shaking his head. Maybe it was time to get serious? He had been toying with him so far. But he seemed reluctant to activate the boosters and he was never going win without activating those.

“I wouldn’t call him a ruin if his pilot didn’t treat him like crap,” despite the disguised voice, the anger and disgust in his words was unconcealable. Takeshi was not taking care of the liger. As one of the few gifted with the privilege of piloting such a wondrous zoid, he had a duty of care more so than any other pilot did to a regular zoid. “He’s as much of a wreck as you are.”

Then he heard it. The whooshing crackle of the ion boosters firing. As they rounded another corner, Takeshi used his speed to wall run around and past Menace. The move caused the pilot to smile behind the mask. There it was. The spark, that glow. In that one moment, the recklessness had vanished. Takeshi and Thunder worked as one to get ahead. But his smile quickly vanished as the Liger slowed in to the next corner. Ignis flicked off the comms a moment.

“Alright, Aurora,” he breathed out, letting himself relax. “I’ve seen enough. Let’s roast him.” His hand moved from the controls to his special holographic displays. He turned a dial to full and felt the change instantly. Energy surged through Menace’s body. Lightning crackled along her frame as all her systems engaged. Armour plates shifted to allow the full freedom of movement. Her stride became impossibly long as the boosters atop her back fired once more. She roared in anticipation.

The arrogance of the Highguardian sickened Ignis. He was blind to his opponent. He could only see his own status called in to question and laid bare. Maybe he had been wrong all those years ago? Takeshi knew better than this. “I thought you’d hold yourself to a higher standard than this, Kimari. I thought you were one of the Guard. I didn’t think any of them were filled with as much hot air as you. It’s pathetic.” Ignis pulled back on the controls. Despite the Jager’s speed, Menace was not only keeping up but gaining. Her lines through the canyon were tighter and executed with millimetre precision. “My dear Captain. It is you who should bail out. The Saurer’s Teeth will chew up someone unprepared and I don’t think you are.”

They rounded the last corner, Thunder’s line slightly too wide. Menace streaked alongside and then past her opponent. This time though, there was no slowing down. She roared again. The canyon vibrated with the sheer power of it. Each foot fall was light, but each piston fired with punishing force. Her legs carrying her towards the opening maw before them. Even for someone experienced, these were reckless speeds and she showed no signs of slowly.

“Do try and keep up, kid!” Ignis didn’t notice himself using his old nickname for Takeshi as the thrill of the moment overtook him. The obsidian liger plunged headlong in to the cavern. But she moved like a salsa dancer, sliding through the smallest gaps, weaving at crazy speeds. But Ignis was not quite in the moment. Ignis was always a few turns ahead. His mind whirred like a mechanical powerhouse. Processing the information his senses proved him. His hands moving instinctually as he planned each move, sometimes four or five steps in advance.

The Saurer’s Teeth were stalagmites that had form over the millennia to form large jagged obstacles, perfect for an obstacle course. Every now and then, one had been crushed in to rubble to be replaced by another zoid carcass. Some of the teeth had even grown around the remains.

To attempted this part, at the speeds Ignis was doing, was almost impossible. Takeshi inly knew one person that could take this anywhere close to these speeds. But he hadn’t piloted a zoid in years, had he?

Realisation struck Takeshi hard like a slap to the face; he was going to lose. More than that though, he was going to lose to this unnamed pilot, this nobody that he’d never heard of before, he was one of the finest pilots on Zi regardless of his age and how out of practice he was, there were still few who could hope to match him, fewer still that could do so in this place, and yet here he was being taught one of the most painful lessons possible; he was not invincible anymore, if he ever had been to begin with. With that thought bouncing around in his skull it hit him like the punchline of the greatest joke ever told, and Takeshi doubled over the console laughing, the mirth bubbled forth unexpectedly taking even the pilot himself by surprise and startling the normally impassive mind of his partner; Thunder. The great Liger’s booming voice sounded through their neural link with a shocked question.

”What do you find so amusing Takeshi?” It was clear to Takeshi that his response to the situation was unexpected to say the least, his hand brushed across the console affectionately as he spoke what he hoped were soothing words to the old Liger.

“Just a few things becoming clearer old friend.” He murmured to his partner, the liquor that he’d drunk had long since cleared his system, and the remaining scotch sat forgotten in its bottle at the pilot’s feet, whether by sheer luck or a stroke of fate the Captain had somehow not drunk his usual amount that morning and instead his mind was left clear and unhindered in its attempts to pilot the Liger Zero. The vicious words of his opponent barely registered to Takeshi as he leaned over the controls once more, years melting off his features and had anyone been watching, for just a moment, it appeared that a much younger Takeshi was seated in the cockpit.

Then it happened, the one word that completely shattered the dark cloud that hung over the old pilot, his opponent called him “Kid” and like that the rage, alcohol and depression faded away, it was as if it was the first time he’d been there and Blaze was leading him through the circuit and instructing his young protégé on how to be a true pilot of the Guard. All the while this was happening Takeshi had begun to see the Saurer’s Teeth as he used to, planning his trajectory through the rising stalagmites and the ruined Zoids around the enormous yawning cavern. Moving with all the grace of a large feline Thunder pirouetted around the stones like a ballet dancer, of course Takeshi would never risk the Liger’s wrath by actually comparing him to such, roaring exultantly as he felt some of the old fire across their linked minds.

“You know, you’re right.” Takeshi said across the communications link, “I’m not the pilot I was, if I was ever that good to begin with.” His voice was wistful, even apologetic in its tone, his arrogance had left him like a ship’s sails that had lost all of their wind, “You’re a fine pilot, in fact I’ve only ever seen one your equal on this course, and he was the only pilot I ever admitted was better than me, shame he’s not around anymore, I dare say he’d have liked you.” Nostalgia was evident in the Highguardian’s voice, “However, you don’t know me, so from one pilot to another, I ask you have some respect, I’ve seen and done horrible things in the defence of this planet, I’ve given most of what was good in my life to this world and received nothing but a broken body and a fractured mind for my service, that is why I drink as I do, it helps me forget for a little while.” The words fell out in a torrent, once started the pilot could no longer stop the confession, “I’ve lost more and sacrifice more than you can likely comprehend, so don’t presume to lecture me on what you no doubt don’t understand.” While the malice had left his voice and he was doing his best to be diplomatic, Takeshi’s words still had a hardness of resolve to them, “You are right though, Thunder deserves to be treated better,” His tone was apologetic once more, giving the controls a reassuring squeeze he spoke again and although the link was still open he was clearly speaking to the Liger, “As soon as we’re done here, I’m going to take you back to base and spend the rest of the day giving you a new coat of paint and a fresh run of oil, and I’ll fix the coupling on your back leg, it’ll be just like the old days, the team can do without their Captain for a day and Lex can handle any paperwork.” With a roar of approval Thunder gunned his ion boosters once more, the Jager clad Liger racing across the cavern floor leaping from stalagmite to stalagmite with calm precision, this was their home, and Takeshi wasn’t going to just roll over and die, no matter how good this masked pilot was, no matter how much he moved like….like Blaze. Takeshi frowned as he watched the other man’s movements, it was heart-achingly familiar in every line, had Blaze taken on another student? Had he finally realised that Takeshi was not worthy of his tutelage and moved on to instruct someone better suited to it.

Takeshi shook his head, Blaze would have said something, it was just a coincidence, there was no way Blaze had just up and replaced him without a word. For all that they hadn’t spoken in years now, Takeshi knew in his heart that had something important happened Blaze would have contacted him, he’d have found some way to let Takeshi know. All the same the nagging reminder that the Captain’s own agents had been unable to locate Highguard’s former chief mechanic in Takeshi’s attempts to revive the team.

The change in Takeshi didn’t go unnoticed. As the realisation began to dawn on the young Captain his whole stance change. It was almost like someone had come and stripped the years away to a time far more care free. Like all the hardships they had both suffered over the last few years had been blown away like cobwebs. Thunder’s movements became more fluid, getting closer to his opponent. Although still subtly different enough to show that they weren’t simply the same zoid.

“And since you’ve been doing this, have you needed the bottle?” Ignis retorted. His voice softer, more controlled, almost like a teacher schooling a student who had lost his way. “You don’t drink to forget. You drink because you’re scared. You drink because the you’re afraid that the choices you made are the wrong ones. Trust me, you don’t want to forget,” he said the last sentence quietly. For the first time since Takeshi had met this man at the other end of the canyon, he showed a chink in his armour. ’Miss you, Anna. My world is darker without you.’

Ignis loosened his grip on the controls, relaxing in to his seat as he heard Takeshi talk to Thunder. “I’ll hold you to that, Kimari,” he said after he’d finished. The cavern opened out suddenly in to the wide-open basin that marked the end of the course. Menace burst in to the open. Her obsidian flanks gleamed in the harsh light of the now risen sun. Ignis looked over his shoulder to something behind the pilot’s seat. Had Takeshi been able to see, he would have noticed Menace’s eyes flash blue for a moment.

Almost impossibly, Menace seemed to go faster. A lot faster. Like lightning from a storm cloud, she burst across the rolling terrain of the basin. Her strides long, perfectly timed for maximum speed. The boosters atop her back crackled with lightning as they pushed the black Liger forwards.

“We’ll see each other again, Kimari,” Ignis sounded excited. “We still have a score to settle.” As she crested another hill, it would appear as though she stepped through a portal to another world. Menace vanished from view as the stealth system activated. She vanished from all sensors like a ghost.

Once a safe distance away, Blaze removed his helmet. He let his head ball back on to the rest behind him and laughed heartily. It had been a while since he had pushed himself that hard. Takeshi had gotten a lot better. If he hadn’t been showing off, maybe he would have beaten him. Blaze would have definitely had to consider the Jager again then. There was a burst of electrical energy as Hunter defused from Aurora to curl up behind the seat again. Aurora rumbled.

“Yeah, I know girl,” the mechanic patted the controls of his beloved zero. “It has been far too long. Not much longer and then we can remove this mask. I believe we have long since fulfilled our contract.”

“We better have done,” Hunter snorted, the blue dragon was fed up. “I would love to go outside again.”

“Me too, old friend,” Blaze gave a pained grin over his shoulder. If the organoid had eyes to roll, he would have done. “I know a place to camp Aura, would you be so kind?” She purred and altered course slightly.

Deep down, he felt bad. On some level, he knew he had failed Takeshi. But Rhianna had been his priority when he left. In the end, it had all been for nothing. He shut his eyes and he could see her smile, the compassion in her eyes and her cyan hair blowing in the wind. Her passing had been quiet, hidden from the world that she could never be a part of. Neither of them had any family left and Blaze had been too selfish to contact anyone after she passed. But Zi spun on and he continued living.

And soon, people would see that he was very much alive.

Total word count: 3,044

Takeshi nodded as the words sung in, despite this man’s need to hide his identity there was no denying the wisdom he was spreading, the Captain was scared. In his own mind, Takeshi knew he had every reason to be scared, the one person he thought he couldn’t live without had left him, Lightning had left him, and now he was responsible for the team he held so dear to his heart without the steadying hands of Blaze and Miyo to help him make the right decisions, but as Ignis finished his sentence Takeshi’s mind momentarily flashed back to just before Blaze had brought him to the Gauntlet for the first time. A young sweat drenched Takeshi had just come off his second loss after a very promising first battle he had struggled to recreate that initial flare and in desperation to try and change his career trajectory he’d run to Highguard’s most successful veteran for advice.

In Blaze, Takeshi found his mentor, a kindred spirit who had shown him the path to Zoid mastery. In time, he’d come to find Thunder and piloted a Liger Zero with CAS capabilities just like Blaze had done. Highguard’s Blue Bolt had risen then and come to prominence as his mentor’s successor after Blaze had moved on from the pro circuit. He smiled at the memory, then he’d been truly happy, he’d felt he was making his teacher proud and had been a pilot his team could be proud of, not the wreck he’d become. The reminder of where he was now sat uncomfortably in his mind as the Liger and pilot continued to dance through the Saurer’s Teeth. Takeshi piloted almost unconsciously as Thunder found his footing easily, oddly enough the man’s abilities seemed heightened in his distracted state, without the need to concentrate he simply did.

It wasn’t long before they burst free into the shining light of the morning sun on the basin that marked the end of the Gauntlet. The Black form of the Jager clad Liger Zero skidded to a halt as they watched the streaking form of Menace explode at ridiculous rates across the basin before seeming to blink out of existence, leaving Ignis’ challenge hanging in the air. For but a moment before the pair disappeared Takeshi could have sworn he’d actually seen Aurora standing there, he shook the idea away as nothing but juvenile fancy, he missed his teacher and wanted to see him again, but Blaze had had his reasons for his disappearance and Takeshi trusted the man to find him when the time was right. He sat there staring at the place where his erstwhile opponent had been, a million questions racing in his mind, but at the same time juxtaposed against this turmoil was a calmness of emotion that he’d been missing for some time, the smile tugging up the corners of his mouth as he continued to watch the desert. “I look forward to finishing what we started here today, two Liger Zeroes going toe to toe, well now, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He chuckled as he finally started turning Thunder in the direction of home, only stopping to toss his bottle of liquor out of the cockpit to smash against the hardpacked earth, “I guess we’d better get back to training bud.” He murmured to the Liger in a conspiratorial tone, his pulse racing with the thrill of the hunt to come. As if sensing his pilot’s change in mood and disposition, Thunder roared to the sky his own challenge.

“I’ve missed you Takeshi.” The old Liger answered. Takeshi didn’t bother questioning it, he knew what the Zoid had meant, now they had a real battle to prepare for, one in which both pride and honour were on the line, and for the first time in years he’d be entering a fight knowing he was the underdog, just like old times.


It didn’t take long before they made it back to Highguard base, and true to his word Takeshi spent the remainder of the day in the hangar dressed in a tight fitting white singlet and blue Highguard overalls that hung at his waist, unwilling as he was to do them all the way up and work in the stifling heat with an extra layer on. Thunder purred gently, though even so it still sounded like the roiling herald of lightning strikes that preceded a storm, as the Captain oiled every part of the Zoid’s inner workings and began work on a slightly damaged coupling in the Liger’s back leg. Shooing away any staff that came near and informing them that Lex would handle any issues for the day, he did have the decency to feel a little guilty for palming off his work onto the older Highguardian, but today he needed to spend the time with his partner, it had been too long since the pair had spent this much time together and really it was about time they reconnected.

Takeshi grinned as a familiar song started on his old stereo that sat by Thunder’s right foreleg as he worked, the opening riffs began to echo around the hangar as the Pilot began to rock his shoulders in something close to a dance. “What do you say old boy, you got another thunder strike in you?” He asked the Liger, hands on hips and grin plastered across his face. Thunder roared his answer, there was no opponent the Liger would back down from, not even this mysterious new Liger.

On the gantry above unbeknownst to the duo down on the hangar floor a third party observed them; the youngest Kimari, Adam. He watched with a contented smile, he hadn’t seen his brother this happy since he’d first come to visit Highguard base as a ten-year-old boy to watch his brother work, he offered up a silent prayer for good luck, “Whoever you’re going to fight Tak, whoever has you feeling this way, I hope I get the chance to thank them.” He chuckled quietly and headed for the mess, happy to leave the two in peace to be about their work.

Angelus: 30RPC + 10RPC extra credit

Takeshi: 43RPC + 10RPC extra credit (muwahaha enjoy the uneven number!)