Spring Brawl round 1 (Vaan&Shadow Zeranion)

[Shadow Zeranion]

"After the fight please tell me who gave you that lightning saix"

As his opponent said this, Shadow noticed the briefest of hesitation as if his answer had shocked him. Instantly, Shadow pushed the Lightning Saix's speed and closed the 4 Zoid lengths between them. As he approached the moment of surprise disappeared, but abandoning the attack now would probably be more dangerous than continuing it. As such, Shadow ran directly at his opponent and pounced in the air towards the wolf, mentally going over the possible counters its pilot might use. As he jumped though, he replied, "Perhaps if you prove yourself as a Zoid Soldier rather than a Zoid Pilot."

[Vaan]

The lightning saix made it's move and pounced on Vaan. He tried to think of counter attack. "I haven't been called a solider in a long time. Not since my traitor of a captain left us" Vaan said calmly. Vaan jumped to the right hoping to avoid the lunge and then lunged at the lightning saix's side.

[Shadow Zeranion]

The instant he touched down on the ground, Shadow shifted the controls to make the Saix pounce to the left where the command wolf was lunging at him. Jumping into the air with its claws outstretched, the Saix prepared to rip apart its enemy if it landed on top of it as intended. He said nothing about the comment as he did not know anything about his opponent's past.

[Vaan]

The lightning saix moved to the left as Vaan moved. "Crap. I can't move in time" Vaan thought as the lightning saix slashed the command wolf. Vaan was starting to really hate this opponent. The command wolf fell to the ground as the lightning saix grabbed it. Vaan hit his head when the command wolf fell over. Vaan could tell this was the end of the fight. There was nothing he could do in this position. Vaan needed some way to counter and attack but that seemed impossible.

[Shadow Zeranion]

Callously, Shadow commanded his Lightning Saix to grab onto the command wolf and dig its claws into it. Now that he had it grappled there was next to nothing his opponent could do using normal tactics. Perhaps if he had reacted instantly or had his cannon the Command Wolf could have countered this attack, but now it was too late. With the Command Wolf securely in the grip of his Lightning Saix, Shadow commanded his zoid to sink its fangs into the enemy Zoid. It bit into the white wolf ripping and tearing as best it could with its fangs. Even without energy coursing through them they could do decent damage and with the wolf held firmly the Saix could get even better bites in as it ripped and twisted pieces of the Zoid off. As he emotionlessly eviscerated the enemy zoid he thought to himself, "It seems despite his claims he was still just a pilot..." Still he did not let any emotions cloud his judgement and continued his relentless assault on the downed Zoid. The judge had yet to call the match.

[Vaan]

"No, it ain't over...not yet" Vaan said. He moved the controls on his zoid to make it crane it's neck and bite the lightning saix's front right leg. With energy coursing through the fangs it would be easy to damage the leg. Vaan just needed Shadow to back up and he could launch a counter attack. This fighting style and the ferocity of it finally got Vaan's memories. "You're sensei, it wasn't a guy named Stoller...was it" Vaan asked curiously. Vaan had a plan he thought might work he just need to time it right. When the lightning saix came to bite Vaan again had his zoid roll over and kick up dirt to cover the cockpit at the same time. This allowed Vaan to stand up and rush the lightning saix. His goal here was to knock the lightning saix over and attack like that.

[Shadow Zeranion]

Despite his opponent's attempts, he seemed to have forgotten one key factor. The Saix's claws were still embedded in the wolf, so when he tried to roll and jump away, the Saix was still firmly attached to the Wolf, never leaving contact with the zoid as it stubbornly held on, its claws digging into the frame and even biting onto the front right leg to get a better grip. Even when the command wolf bit into the Saix's right leg, Shadow didn't let go, instead allowing the damage in order to continue his assault. As a result, Shadow's Zoid was dragged by the Wolf even as it kicked dust across the Zoid's eyes. He didn't let this bother him however, he let the feral nature of the zoid ignore this as instead of pausing he simply tore his fangs from the grip they had on his leg, ripping a gash in it and bit into at the neck area of the Zoid which he was still firmly attached to with his two front claws. This was the true nature of a weaponless zoids match. Using the feral nature of zoids and unleashing it in its most unrelenting and unrefined form in order to rip your opponent apart no matter the cost to yourself.

As his Saix bit down again at the neck of the enemy zoid, the apathetic soldier replied, "Perhaps he was, perhaps he wasn't, but you aren't a soldier in my eyes so I feel no need to confirm or disprove your theory. You hold on too much to the honor of a pilot and forget the grim necessity of the soldier and warrior."

[Vaan]

Vaan's zoid was being torn up. The lightning saix was tearing up Vaan's command wolf. Vaan then heard shadow speak and smirked. "You just confirmed my theory. The bastard is the only person i know who would say stuff like that. Also your fighting style resembles his but yours is actually better" Vaan said. It was true, in the past Vaan has used that same rolling tactic against a lightning saix of Stoller's, except it had worked then. "You've surpassed you teacher, and I must coincide. Fenrir is in no condition to continue" Vaan said calmly. It pained him to surrender but he didn't want Fenrir to suffer anymore.

[Shadow Zeranion]

Shadow looked down apathetically as the zoid ceased its struggles. The battle had reached its conclusion and his opponent's conceding left only the judge's official ruling.

"You just confirmed my theory. The bastard is the only person i know who would say stuff like that. Also your fighting style resembles his but yours is actually better. You've surpassed you teacher, and I must concede. Fenrir is in no condition to continue"

Hearing this, Shadow dropped his "Apathy State" and gave a grim shake of the head. He smirked as he replied, "I won't confirm who my sensei was, but I will tell you this. I've met Stigma Stoeller and I know what he's capable of in a Zoid battle, and I am most definitely not at his level yet." his voice had a hint of mirth to it.

After saying this, Shadow heard the Judge call the end of the match. "Battle Over! Battle Over! The winner is... Shadow Zeranion!"

Shadow then released the Command Wolf now that his victory had confirmed and began piloting his Saix to the Arena elevator, his Zoid limping on its right leg thanks to the Command Wolf's bite and its armor scratched and dented from the tussles. He suddenly halted his zoid and made the Saix's head turn back and look over its shoulder as he continued in a distant voice, "That man has been through hundreds of life-threatening battles, and has improved far beyond that of simple Zoid pilot; if I could call him anything I'd call him a Zoid Samurai or Knight... Honorable, but fierce and devoted to victory, unafraid to spill blood if it means he can win. If I were to fight him I have no illusions that my chances of victory are minimal at best. He is something completely different than the pilots that are born in the ZBC, and his experience's with unregulated battles and near death brushes have made him into something far above either of our levels. Whatever impression you have of his weakness dispel it now. The man is completely different from these pilots with these mock battles and safety ensuring rules. He has evolved into a true Zoid Warrior and Soldier... and perhaps has even gone a step farther." With his piece said, Shadow made his way away from the arena, not looking back again.

/EXIT/