"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 Dark Giant! The Invincible Elephander!

Back at the Blitz Team Base, the team was celebrating their win against the Beacon team. The prize money was more than usual, so they were having a celebratory dinner that Jaune and Sarah had cooked up using prime ingredients they bought at the store.

"Well done, team! Another win for the Blitz Team!" Doc said, congratulating the team.

"We sure showed those Beacon dweebs who's boss!" Leena declared with her fist pumped in the air.

Brad nodded in agreement. Just from Ozpin's behavior alone, the ex mercenary could tell that Beacon's headmaster thought this would be an easy win for his team. Boy was HE proved wrong! Jaune walked into the common room carrying a tray of drinks like a professional waiter at a fancy restaurant, a big smile on his face.

"Phew! Boy, am I glad I finally gave my former team the slip! Pyrrha just doesn't know when to quit! And Nora wouldn't stop hounding me for a rematch just for the heck of it!" Jaune said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Aw, come on! It couldn't have been THAT bad!" Leena said, accepting a drink.

Jaune gave her a deadpan stare as a response before saying "Nora has more energy than anyone should be able to handle. Not to mention that she can only create MORE energy by using her Semblance to generate and absorb electricity in her body to not only increase her own strength, but to create a powerful shield and vaporize most enemies."

The team took a moment to think about having to fight someone with such abilities and all but Yang and Jaune shuddered at the thought. They'd be nothing but dust in less than a minute!

"Well, ignoring that gruesome image, let's not get hung up over the Beacon Team. This is a celebration! Let's enjoy ourselves and have fun!" Doctor Toros said.

The whole team raised their glasses and cheered to that.

And so, they spent the whole night partying, sharing stories from their pasts and just having a good time. Despite the troubles that no doubt lay over the horizon.

*Later That Month…*

In a canyon region, a Zoid Battle was currently underway between the Blitz Team and the Viper Team. The battle was going in the Blitz Team's favor, but a thunder and lightning storm had happened. All of the electricity was making the Dibison and Leena nervous. It was no big secret that Zoids were natural lightning rods, whether they were wild Zoids created naturally or man-made Zoids.

Leena grunted as another bolt of electrical death just missed her Zoid. The lightning was seriously screwing with her Dibison's radar equipment, and Leena was struggling to keep her temper under control.

"Just my luck, to rain on my battle! How can I see the enemy when I can't even see what's in front of me?" Leena asked herself.

Brad appeared on Leena's comm monitor to try and get the girl to stay focused.

"Leena, keep your eyes peeled. The enemy's not far away!" Brad said.

"I know that, I saw him!" Leena said. "And the only one left is that one Stealth Viper, right?"

Leena's radar began to beep as it caught a signal. From behind a rock, the final Stealth Viper appeared. It must've been trying to ambush Leena, but the pilot got impatient and blew their own cover!

"Got it!" Leena said.

The targeter for her Megalomax Cannon locked onto the Stealth Viper as Leena prepared to take it down in one shot.

"This one's mine!" Leena declared.

She was ready to pull the trigger and take out the enemy, but stopped when her Thermal Sensors beeped. Leena looked to her scanner, and saw something. Something big.

"I'm picking up a heat source from behind the enemy Stealth Viper." Leena said. "What could be that enormous? I wonder..."

But that's when Leena got a closer look at the shadow's outline. It looked different… yet at the same time so familiar.

"Wait, isn't that…?"

She didn't get the chance to finish that train of thought as a huge shadow suddenly appeared behind the Stealth Viper, and whatever it was seemed to have its sights set on Leena and her Dibison! Whatever it was shot a lethal blow at Leena and her Zoid and totalled the mighty Bison! This is Schubaltz of Chaotic Century and his own Dibison all over again!

"This is an emergency! This is an emergency! Battle cancelled! Battle cancelled!"

Up in the atmosphere, just over the battlefield, the Judge Satellite was orbiting the planet and receiving emergency signals from the Judge. Signals that meant the battle has been interrupted by an unidentified Zoid with malicious intentions.

"Satellite, lock on to the unregistered Zoid that has illegally entered the battlefield and interrupted battle!"

"Locked on!"

"Attention, Unidentified Zoid! This is a warning! This is a warning!"

"Unidentified?" asked the pilot.

He laughed a bit and said "We're the Backdraft Organization!"

His Zoid's ears fanned out and began to emit a high pitched hum as they started glowing. And as luck would have it, this humming glow is actually a jammer that's meant to hide the Zoid's presence from enemies. And this is no exception, as the guns on the surveillance satellite began aiming all over the place.

"Lock-on disrupted! The target has disappeared!"

The pilot of this Zoid laughed darkly as his Zoid made its way away from the crashed battle.

In a hidden location, several men in business attire were watching from various screens as this Zoid performed its task admirably. Each of the men gave words of praise, and even though their eyes are hidden by dark visors you can clearly see the evil in their eyes.

"He just shot down the Dibison with a single strike!" exclaimed one man.

"And it was somehow able to avoid the detection of the surveillance satellite!" said another.

An older gentleman grinned as he stroked his long beard.

"Very interesting indeed…!" he praised. "A Zoid like that could breathe new life into the world of the dark battles!"

Hovering on a platform is the only man who's actually there in person. A man with gray hair and is wearing a long coat with faux fur.

"That was just the tip of the iceberg, gentlemen! We will demonstrate its full power in the next match!" the man declared.

"Does that mean we can look forward to an unsanctioned battle sometime soon?" asked a younger man.

"I know I'm looking forward to it!" said an older man with a chuckle.

The man in the room who was speaking with these other men chuckled darkly. He loves this job!

*Blitz Team Headquarters…*

Leena groaned loudly as the whole team was staring up at what was once the proud and mighty Dibison. The Zoid was barely recognizable! One of the horns was shot off, the back mounted cannons were totalled, it was covered in soot and the armor might as well be shrapnel! However, key components like the core and the Zoid's memory banks were still intact. But that doesn't make Leena any less pissed off.

"My Zoid gets all this damage and the battle ends up getting cancelled! This stinks!" whined Leena.

"We got no prize money and no points! If we'd at least gotten the money, we could fix the Dibison up enough to get it back on it's feet, but now there's nothing we can do!" Brad added.

"Let's not forget that the Viper Team is in the same boat as we are." Jamie said.

"The battle commission has made their decision, so we'll just have to go along with it, I'm afraid." Sarah stated.

Raven groaned, obviously disappointed by these events. She hated when stuff like this happened, and just KNOWS that the Backdraft Group is somehow behind this! She can feel it in her gut! Or perhaps that is the chili cheese mango she had at dinner last night finally passing through her system? Hard to tell.

"I hate to say this, Leena, but your Dibison is finished!" Jaune regrettably reported.

He looked at his soulmate and saw how depressed she looked over her Dibison's passing. Luckily, its armor did its job at protecting her, and her Aura healed what little physical damage she DID take. However, it wasn't enough to stop the bison from dying like it did.

Jaune put a comforting hand on Leena's shoulder, making the girl look him in the eye. She saw only concern, love and a sense of commitment not found in many men these days.

"Don't worry, Leena. I know how much you liked the Bison, but I have a plan! Let me sell this old Zoid to a contact I know, and I can buy you an incredible new Zoid of your own." Jaune said.

Leena was disappointed that the Dibison couldn't be saved, but she was touched by Jaune's willingness to go the distance to help her. She smiled and nodded.

"Just make sure that I'M the one to pick the Zoid." she said.

Jaune nodded and went off to inspect the Dibison. He has a pretty good idea of who done it, but he needs to be sure.

"Too bad about the poor Dibison." lamented Jamie.

"What's REALLY too bad is the fact that its armor wasn't strong enough to protect it!" Raven commented.

Leena scowled at what the older woman said, but there was really nothing she could offer as a rebuttal. After all, for such a heavily armored Zoid, her Dibison had been taken down rather easily by that Zoid.

Speaking of which…

"Guys I just remembered something! During the battle before me and the Dibison were shot down, I caught a faint outline of what the Zoid was! It looked just like an Elephander!" Leena reported.

"An Elephander?!" the rest of the team gasped.

"You mean like the one Yang's Geno Saurus used to be?!" Raven asked.

Leena nodded in affirmative.

"Yeah, only this one was bigger and had a lot more armor!" Leena replied.

"You might be right about that, Leena." Jaune said from the Dibison's back. "The Dibison looks like it's been shot by an AZ 60mm Hyper Laser Gun. And we all know only ONE Zoid that has THAT kind of firepower!"

Doctor Toros nodded in understanding.

"That makes perfect sense! But who could've been firing at Leena?" Doctor Toros asked before grinning. "Boy, that was some kind of assault, wasn't it?"

His attention turned from the Dibison to the video phone as it beeped, signaling an incoming call. Doctor Toros checked the screen and saw a Judge from the Zoid Battle Commission was the one calling them.

"Attention, Blitz Team. The Zoid Battle Commission has decided on a rematch to make up for the cancelled match with the Viper Team. The time and location are as follows."

"I understand." Doctor Toros said as the time and location of the battle were given to them.

"So we're gonna have a rematch?" Leena asked.

"Good! We'll have another chance to earn some points AND the prize money!" Brad said. "Then maybe we can get Leena an even better Zoid."

"But this does beg the question. How will Leena go into battle without a Zoid? What is she supposed to pilot?" Sarah asked.

She only asked because Doctor Toros preferred to have Leena out on the battlefield since she was able to give the team cover fire due to her Dibison's superior long range abilities. But with the Dibison out of commission, there's not much else he can do.

Doctor Toros closed his eyes as he mulled over his options.

"Well, I can't send out Yang and her Geno Saurus. She took him out for a few repairs and to get the power of their weapons enhanced. And Raven is still working on figuring out why that White Fang terrorist group seems to be working with the Backdraft Group, so…"

Doctor Toros turned to Jamie as he made his choice.

"I'll just have to send you and your Pteras. Our chances aren't as good, but there's no choice."

Jamie gasped in fear at that choice. He still has serious confidence issues and doesn't like to fight, so he was hoping that he WOULDN'T be chosen for this fight.

"You want ME and my Pteras to fight in the battle?!" he asked incredulously.

"Jamie…"

The boy turned around to see Leena looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face. But he could feel the subtle underlying threat of castration if he didn't fight in the battle.

"Someone must seek revenge for my Dibison! I'm counting on you!" Leena said.

Jamie's face turned a little blue as he felt the menacing aura coming from the first of Jaune's soulmates. Why does HE have to be so timid and cowardly?!

*Unknown Location…*

"Captain Stoller, how is the Elephander coming along?"

High above the clouds in a Backdraft Whale King, the same man from before was talking with one of the Backdraft Group's leading officers.

Stoller is a tall man of average build with short silver hair, icy blue eyes with slit pupils that looked much like those of a snake, and pale skin. He's the one who leads the project for the Elephander which was dubbed the Battle Jack on account of it being able to crash official Zoid Battles while using jamming technology to sneak away undetected by the Battle Commission.

"Smoothly. I can safely say that it's virtually invincible." Stoller replied.

"I certainly hope you're right about that!" said the man on the screen.

"Sir? I don't follow." Stoller said.

He was confused by the harsh tone of his commanding officer. Did he unknowingly do something wrong in the man's eyes, or is it something else?

"I mean your opponent in the next battle is the Blitz Team." he said.

"Oh." Stoller said in understanding.

Stoller's apparent boss laughed a bit at some sort of inside joke as he imagined the Blitz Team's reactions to losing to the Backdraft Group and having all of their Zoids taken from them. They just got lucky that one time, but that redhead and her Blade Liger aren't there to help them this time!

"They'll certainly make a good match for the Elephander!" said the man from that room.

Stoller just stared for a few seconds before closing his eyes. If there's one thing he doesn't like, it's that the rest of the Backdraft seem to always underestimate their enemies.

"I'll have my men start preparing the Battle Jack for battle, sir." Stoller said.

And with that, he cut off communications with the other man. Looking out the porthole of the Whale King, Stoller grinned as he remembered something that would make the battle so much more interesting, as well as test the limitations of his best warrior.

'I suppose it's worth testing.'

*The Next Day…*

The Hover Cargo made its way to the designated battlefield. It was a deep canyon with very tall walls, and plenty of rocky crags. The perfect place for those Stealth Vipers to launch a surprise attack against the enemy.

"Here we are, team! At the battle site!" announced Doctor Toros. "Just like last time around we're facing very adverse terrain."

"Then the Pteras's aerial attacks and the Liger Zero's high degree of maneuverability won't be of much use in this battle." Jamie said, thinking only about the negatives again.

And that got on Jaune's nerves a bit.

"Jamie, what have I told you? You need to stop being so negative when you go into battle, or you really WILL lose!" Jaune scolded.

"He's got a point." Brad said.

Leena knew that she had to play the mediator here, otherwise Jaune might get tempted to rip Jamie a new one for his timid negativity. Seems Yang's short temper is transferring to Jaune through the Soul Mark.

"Let's not get all hung up over the terrain! The Viper Team's a pushover, so what're you worried about?" Leena stated.

"You see? She's got the right idea!" Jaune said.

Doctor Toros nodded in agreement while Sarah smiled at how the slightly dysfunctional team was still getting along in their own way. It warms her heart to see how well Jaune is getting along with his team. Even Raven looked happy for these children.

"Wish I could be so sure…" mumbled Jamie.

"Just play it by ear, Jamie." Yang advised.

"It'll be fine!" Leena added.

"We'll all watch each other's backs in this fight!" Jaune declared.

But little did the Blitz Team know was that the same Whale King from before was now flying over the battle site, and it was ready to cause some serious problems.

Walking up to his commanding officer, a young man named Sanders reported in about the Backdraft's most powerful Zoid. Well, it's only its CURRENT most powerful Zoid, but they don't need to know that.

"The Elephander is complete, sir. We can deploy at any time." Sanders reported.

"Listen Sanders, I want you to use the Computerized Voice Command System in battle this time." Stoller ordered.

"The Voice Command System? You want me to input verbal commands?!" Sanders asked.

And he had a right to be nervous. This new system is still very new, so they don't know if there are any bugs in the system that could cause it to crash. I mean, who's to say it'll work at all? But Stoller wasn't deterred.

"That's correct. We've got to give the enemy a little handicap." Stoller replied.

"Right! Listen Captain," said Sanders. "Are you sure that I'm the man for this?"

Stoller turned to his right hand man, clearly confused by this question.

"What're you getting at?" Stoller asked.

"But Captain, you're far more skilled than I am as a Zoid warrior! I'm convinced you're the only one who can bring out the true power of the High Performance Elephander!" Sanders explained.

Stoller couldn't help but smile at those words. He appreciates Sanders' hard work and loves him like a brother, but the younger man's naivety would be his own downfall one day. And Stoller would know that. He learned that lesson the HARD WAY.

"You're overestimating my skills. I've retired as a Zoid warrior." Stoller stated.

But Sanders didn't seem convinced.

"Captain!"

"Sanders!" warned Stoller.

The younger man immediately calmed down and stood at attention. He knows better than to go too far.

"Yes sir."

Stoller turned around and smiled at his longtime friend, knowing he'd need a little boost in confidence to win this battle.

"I want you to win." Stoller ordered.

Sanders recognized the look in his captain's eyes. A look that told him that Stoller has every confidence in his combat skills. So he stood at attention and resolved to win this battle for the honor of his captain.

"Sir!"

Back at the battle ground, the three Stealth Vipers belonging to the Viper Team appeared from behind the rocks and hissed at the enemy transport. They were ready for this rematch, and planned to win for their own glory.

"This is it, team! Time to launch!" Raven declared.

The Hover Cargo's catapult opened up and brought out the ramp, and the first up to be mobilized was Ben and the Liger Zero in its base Imperial armor.

"Jaune Arc and the Liger Zero Imperial prepared to launch!" Jaune declared.

Electromagnetic energy from the catapult built up around the Zoid's paws and gave it the speed and lift it needed to get off the platform and onto the battlefield. The Liger was launched, and the blank platform was replaced with the one that had the next Zoid. It was Brad and his Command Wolf.

"Brad and Command Wolf in position! Prepared to launch!" Brad declared.

With that, the wolf was launched into the battle. The final Zoid that was ready to be sent into battle was Jamie and his beloved Pteras Bomber.

"Jamie and the Pteras, prepared to launch…" Jamie said nervously.

With a yelp, Jamie and his Pteras Bomber were launched into the battlefield.

And up in the planet's orbital field, the Judge Satellite was ready to launch the Judge down to the planet below.

"Coordinates E37514; Battle Mode 0983! Zoid Battle approved! Judge Capsule release!"

The capsule was released from the satellite and began its long and seemingly life threatening journey to the planet below. It didn't take long for the Zoid Battle Commission Judge Capsule to make landfall. Both teams were ready for combat, staring each other down as the Stealth Vipers hissed in challenge at the enemy Zoids. The capsule began to rise up from the ground and got ready to begin battle protocol.

But while this was going on, things were beginning to really go down with the Backdraft Group. Stoller made a hand gesture that told his men to standby, and up in space a black and red version of the ZBC Satellite had just dropped a Dark Judge Capsule from its own confines. And just like in the first battle against the Blitz Team, the Whale King launched a black ball from its nose.

"Area scanned. Battlefield, set up!"

The ball made a high pitched whistling sound as it careened as it fell to the ground. Its target? The Judge!

"The Blitz Team vs. The Viper Team! Battle Mode 0983! Ready..."

Before the Judge could start the battle, it was hit by the steel ball that was launched from the Whale King! The Blitz and Viper Teams were shocked at this revelation, but only the Blitz Team was vocal about it.

"THE JUDGE HAS BEEN HIT!" Jaune yelped.

"Who'd do that?!" Brad asked.

"That can't be...!" panicked Jamie.

Just as Jamie said that, something landed right on top of where the Judge used to be. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that this was a Dark Judge Capsule.

"This battle will now be taken over by the Backdraft group!"

While the Dark Judge rose from the ground, Stoller's Whale King landed in the battlefield. It opened its mouth to lower the platform and something began to lumber out of the huge transport Zoid. It was the Elephander!

It was just as Leena had suspected. Unlike Yang's old Elephander, this one was a standard Assault Type Elephander with far more bulk, much more armor and smaller tusks. It's ears were triangular in design and looked like they could fold out. The armor of this Elephander was dark blue with red accents and white tusks and feet. Mounted to the tip of its trunk was the same 60 mm Hyper Laser Gun that destroyed Leena's Dibison, and its tusks looked sharp enough to pierce anything! The Elephander let out a loud trumpeting noise like that of an organic Elephant as it challenged the two teams to a Zoid Battle.

"That's the battle jack!" Leena gasped.

Doctor Toros hummed in acknowledgement. Unlike with most battles, he was now completely serious and in what was dubbed 'leader mode' by the team.

"They've taken over another Zoid Battle!" Doctor Toros exclaimed.

Liger Zero Imperial roared in challenge at the Zoid that had killed off one of his friends, and the Elephander responded with a loud trumpeting noise of its own.

Stoller got his Whale King out of there just as a dome made out of black energy materialized overhead. Jaune growled as he realized just what he was up against.

"They're putting up a dome?!" Jaune asked in outrage.

"The Pteras can't fight with that shield up!" Jamie whined.

The Stealth Vipers of the Viper Team began looking all over the place for an exit, panicking about what just happened to their battle. Within Stoller's Whale King, the technicians and battle tactics members were going over everything they needed to know.

"Black Hex is set up!" reported one technician.

Surveillance Satellite disconnected." reported another.

"...Fine." acknowledged Stoller.

Back with the Judge Satellite belonging to the ZBC, they immediately noticed that something was wrong. Something very wrong and very dangerous was going down.

"Visual contact lost with Battlefield at coordinates E37514! Transmissions from Judge 55 have ceased!"

The camera pans now to a scene depicting a giant sauropod Zoid known as an Ultrasaurus standing out in the middle of a desert. And within it, several crew members of the ZBC were ready to mobilize.

"Send an investigation team at once!" ordered the commanding officer.

But little did they know, Stoller of the Backdraft Group overheard their little talk.

"Sanders, the Commission's sending an investigation team down there! Finish up the battle BEFORE they arrive!" he ordered.

"I won't let you down, Captain!" Sanders replied over the comm link.

Stoller nodded and switched the communications from his warrior to the Blitz and Viper Teams. It's time to get the show on the road.

"We're the Elephander Team associated with the Backdraft Group. We challenge both the Blitz and the Viper teams! You'll accept, if you know what's good for you!" Stoller challenged with an underlying threat.

Unfortunately, there are some people here who are not very wise as to heed said threats.

"We refuse! The Viper Team's policy is to fight ONLY official Zoid Battles!" exclaimed the leader of the Viper Team.

"Is that a fact? I'm sorry to hear that." said Stoller. "Sanders."

"Yes sir!"

Sanders had the Elephander turn around to face the Viper Team and pointed the gun at its trunk at the three snake Zoids.

"Elephander, deploy AZ 60mm Hyper Laser Gun!" Sanders ordered the Zoid.

The massive Zoid immediately complied and took aim. Unlike Yang's old Elephander, however, this Elephander seemed to only be capable of shooting its Hyper Laser Gun one barrel at a time instead of both at once. But it did its job perfectly, defeating all three Stealth Vipers with a single shot.

"You can't do this!" yelled the Viper Team's leader.

But the Elephander didn't care what these guys thought. It just turned around and trumpeted loudly as it was now challenging the Blitz Team. Leena slammed her fist on the console in anger as her suspicions were confirmed.

"That's him! That's the Zoid that shot down my Dibison!" exclaimed Leena.

"They're going to force us to fight them!" Sarah said, realization hitting her like a sack of hammers.

"Now you're getting the picture." Stoller said over the communicator screen. "But know that we're not about to fight you without making a little wager. If you win against us, you'll receive some prize money. Five times the normal."

"F-Five time?!" stuttered Doctor Toros.

From within the Liger's cockpit, Jaune was doing a bit of mental math.

'With that kind of money, we'll be able to pay off all of our outstanding debts. Not to mention I'll be five payments ahead of paying for the Liger Zero and his transformation parts! THEN when I sell the Dibison…'

Jaune smirked as he realized there'd be enough leftover to get Leena an even better Zoid than what either of them had in mind! He got out his Zoid Gear, and placed it in the Liger's computer.

"We accept your challenge!" Jaune declared. "Besides even if I wanted to back out, Liger Zero wouldn't stand for it!"

"No way am I gonna let my team down, OR pass up on all that prize money!" Brad said.

Of course, even though Brad is no longer as much of a mercenary as he used to be. However, old habits die hard since Brad still seemed to be pretty interested in the prize money. But Jamie seemed to still be pretty worried.

"Will somebody think straight around here?! Are you forgetting that if we lose against the Backdraft Group they'll confiscate all of our Zoids?!" Jamie said, panicking.

"Then we'll just have to win!" Jaune said before adding "You need to have more confidence in your abilities as a warrior, Jamie. How many times do I have to tell you that before it gets through that thick skull of yours?"

Stoller smirked. FINALLY, a team that would actually give his warrior a decent challenge AND prove the capabilities of their Elephander Zoid!

"I admire your courageous decision, warriors." admitted Stoller.

"Yeah, gang! And I'll admire you for avenging my Dibison!" Leena said to her team.

"I'm just glad I'M not in the battle this time." Yang admitted. "I don't think I'd be able to fight against an Elephander after piloting my partner for so long, even if I HAD to!"

Raven put a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder, knowing that watching this battle might be a bit hard on her. But Doctor Toros and Sarah were far more focused on the situation at hand.

"Let's not get careless, team! Don't forget that they're part of the Backdraft Group, so they'll use any kind of dirty stunt in order to win!" Sarah reminded.

Jaune was plagued by a few flashbacks of his battle with the Backdraft Group when they had to fight to save Yang that day.

"You don't have to tell me twice, Mom. They were absolutely vicious the last time!" Jaune said.

But Sanders said something that they could tell was the complete and honest truth.

"I have no intention of fighting dirty! The mighty Elephander is going to blow you out of the water!"

And the Elephander trumpeted, agreeing with its current pilot and trying to show its status atop the pecking order.

Meanwhile, in that same room with all of the viewing screens, we see that Salem has actually joined that other man in announcing this battle! It seems as though her new plans involve the Backdraft Group in some way. But I'm not sure how yet.

Salem is a beautiful woman wearing robes as black as the shadows, with pure white skin, white hair that kind of looks like a spider at first glance, and red eyes with black sclera. And from her eyes on the sides of her face, there are these black lines that sort of resemble veins in a way. She appears to be in her mid to late twenties, but is actually as old as Ozpin.

Just don't say that to her face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we hereby present to you a battle between the Backdraft's greatest Zoid, the Elephander, and the currently undefeated Blitz Team!" she announced. "One Elephander will compete against three enemy Zoids! We will be in combat with the Blitz Team's Command Wolf, the Pteras Bomber and the Liger Zero Imperial!"

"Just one against three?" a young business woman asked.

"Yes, but that Elephander has what it takes!" declared an older gentleman.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, sit back and enjoy!" said the man, who we now know is called Altile.

Several voices reverberated throughout the room as the viewers made their bets on who would win the battle. A vast majority placed their bets on the Elephander, but there were those who voted on the Blitz Team winning. Salem included. When asked why by Altile, she just stated that she likes rooting for the underdog.

With all pilots having said their piece, the Dark Judge started the battle procedure.

"Battlefield, set up! Battle Mode 0999! The Blitz Team vs. The Elephander Team! Ready... FIGHT!"

The gong sounded, and all Zoids on the Blitz Team charged in to fight the Elephander. But Sanders was ready for them, and got the Zoid's trunk into position.

"Elephander, deploy the AZ 60 mm Hyper Laser Gun!" Sanders commanded.

The Elephant Type Zoid positioned its trunk to target the Liger Zero Imperial, and fired at the feline Zoid. But each shot missed as Jaune had the Liger moving fast enough to avoid all of the shots using the Liger's superior maneuverability to dodge. Brad had managed to get far enough away from the Elephander to fire a few rounds from his Long Range Cannon.

The blasts may have missed, but they were enough to draw the Elephander's attention. It began shooting at Brad who had remained stationary for one reason or another. A shot had managed to strike the Wolf's foreleg and blow it up below the elbow joint.

"GAH! I'm hit!" Brad yelled.

"You gonna be okay?" Jaune asked.

"I'm not out of the fight yet! You keep attacking, while I provide cover fire!" Brad ordered.

Jaune nodded and increased the Liger Zero to full speed. The Liger pounced at the Elephander, but the Zoid was too big and Liger couldn't get a good grip with its claws. Fortunately, the Liger's system didn't freeze and it landed on its feet. But Sanders smirked.

'He's in range.'

"Elephander, Strike Iron Claw." Sanders ordered.

The Elephander made four claws that seemed to be made for gripping spring out from the front of its trunk, and lunged at the Liger Zero. The claws grabbed the Liger by one of its shoulders in a vice grip, and the Liger struggled to shake off the Elephander! Said Zoid lowered its tusks and Jaune came to a horrible realization. Sanders was gonna try and impale Liger Zero!

Jaune has experience in these things due to Yang using the claws of her old Elephander a lot in previous battles.

"Hurry, Liger! We gotta shake him off somehow!" Jaune yelled in panic.

Liger Zero roared in agreement, but it was barely slowing them down as it was. This Zoid had so much physical power, it wasn't even funny!

"It's just as I predicted! Once your maneuverability is gone, you're finished!" Sanders said.

Jaune growled in response to that. As much as he hated to admit it, his opponent is right. It's one of the only weaknesses that all Liger Zoids share.

"Jaune!"

Jamie move his Pteras Bomber forward a bit, then fired all six missiles from the Bomber Unit on its back. Sanders saw this, and took the appropriate defensive measures.

"Deploy the Hyper Energy Shield." Sanders commanded.

The Elephander stopped pulling the Liger Zero towards its tusks, and fanned out its ears. The front panels of the ears glowed, and a powerful Energy Shield appeared in front of both the Elephander and the Liger.

The results were the missiles being blocked, and exploding harmlessly on the energy field. Once the assault was over, it turned off its shield and awaited further orders from its pilot. It didn't need to wait long.

"Deploy the AZ 105 mm Beam Gun, and the AZ 115 mm Pulse Laser Gun! Target is the Pteras."

The Elephander did just that, and fired a powerful barrage at the Pteras. Since the poor Zoid couldn't get airborne because of the dome, Jamie couldn't dodge in time. His Zoid was down and frozen before it even knew what hit it. Ben was enraged even further from this.

"JAMIE!" exclaimed a worried Jaune.

He growled and flared his Aura as he glared back up at Sanders and his Elephander.

"You're gonna regret that!" snarled Jaune.

But Sanders didn't seem to perceive him as a threat.

"Now let's finish this!" Sanders said to the Elephander.

The Elephander resumed trying to impale the Liger Zero Imperial, but it lost its grip and let go of the Liger when the trunk was shot by Brad's Command Wolf.

"You okay there, Jaune?" Brad asked.

"Yeah, we'll be fine. Thanks for the assist there." Jaune replied.

"Try to stay focused, and we'll find a way to win this fight!" Brad said.

From inside the Hover Cargo, Doctor Toros, Sarah, Raven, Yang and Leena were watching the match. They couldn't believe how badly their team was losing right now. Yang sighed as she remembered how powerful her own Elephander was when her Geno Saurus was still pretty much two halves of the same Zoid. And this one was no exception!

"The Backdraft's Elephander has a Hyper Energy Shield and several powerful Beam Guns! Not to mention all that raw power!" Doctor Toros said to himself. "That Zoid doesn't have ANY vulnerabilities!"

"Oh, dad…" Leena said.

Doctor Toros looked serious for a moment, before smiling like a little kid.

"I'd love to have one of those again!" Doc said.

"Oh, man! Gee dad, snap out of it!" Leena groaned.

The other three ladies just sweatdropped at the man's behavior. Again, why is someone so immature the manager of this team?

Liger Zero and the Command Wolf continued to fire a relentless barrage at the Elephander using the Liger's Shock Cannon and tail gun and the Command Wolf's Long Range Cannon, but it did no good. The Elephander's shield was just far too strong for any of their attacks to get through!

"Nothing's working! The Elephander's offense and defense capabilities are perfect! This is hopeless!" Brad said in defeat.

"I'm not giving up just yet!" Jaune declared. "Cover me! I'm gonna go and switch armor units."

"I'll try." Brad said.

Sanders was confused at Jaune returning to his team's transport. He wasn't worried, but a small part of him felt he should be concerned.

"Is he trying to escape?" Sanders asked himself. "Elephander, use the Double 45mm Magazines! Target is the Command Wolf."

The Elephander began to launch a rapid fire assault from the gun at the base of its trunk at the Command Wolf. Brad retaliated using firepower from his own cannon. If he was going down, he'd be taking this guy down with him! Or at least, that would've been the plan. But something deep within the Command Wolf's soul had finally awakened.

The wolf's canopy suddenly started glowing with an intense light as it let loose a loud howl that caused Sanders and the Elephander to stop firing for a moment.

"What the heck's going on?!" Sanders asked in slight panic.

Even Brad didn't seem to know what was happening, but he gasped in surprise as his Command Wolf was enveloped in a bright cocoon of blue light. This process was so foreign and yet so familiar to Brad. Almost as if he instinctively knew what was going on.

"What the…? What is this?" Brad asked himself.

"You taught me something, Brad." said a distorted voice.

"Wha?! Who's there?!"

"In fact, you taught me many things. You may not have realized it yet, but I am your Zoid."

The voice started becoming much less distorted and far more feminine signalling that the Zoid was a female. And Brad was shocked by just what he was hearing.

"What?! YOU'RE the Command Wolf?!"

"That's right. Ever since I was first given to you by your father, I have been watching you in our battles, unable to free my soul from this artificial body made by man. I watched as you learned and grew alongside your band of mercenaries known as the Wolf Fang, and how you joined the Blitz Team. Once the new members of the team, Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao Long joined the team, you slowly began to change for the better."

Brad gasped as several memories from his time with his team began to play before him. Back when he used to be all about the money like a real mercenary, when Jaune and Yang joined the team and the battles that followed. He saw that as time went on, he began to care less and less about the money and soon enough he saw his battle with the Backdraft Group. The rescue battle that turned him into the man he is today.

"You soon stopped caring about money so much and lost the need to satisfy your own greed that you acquired as a mercenary. Your kindness and your selfless actions gave me the strength I needed to awaken. You formed powerful bonds with your teammates, always helping them in their time of need. And although they don't come right out and say it, they love you for it."

"Yeah… my team… my friends…!"

Brad smiled at all of the fond memories of his time with his team. Their victory against the Tigers Team was just the first step towards his own journey of self improvement.

"You're right. My friends ARE the most important thing to me! I'd do ANYTHING to keep going on these adventures with them! And I won't let the likes of the Backdraft Group stop us from reaching the top!" Brad declared.

His attention shifted from his Zoid to the control panel in front of him and saw that it had changed slightly. No longer was it a standard Command Wolf cockpit. Now, it was something else.

"What… What's all this?" Brad asked.

"It's okay, Brad. It's just me. I have improved and become something greater."

The cocoon of light shattered away to reveal the Zoid underneath it. And everyone was astounded by what they saw! The Command Wolf was now a completely different Zoid!

"Wha?! What is that?!" Sanders asked.

"A Konig Wolf…!" Leena gasped in awe.

The Konig Wolf is certainly a step up from the standard Command Wolf! Rather than looking like the more well known Grey Wolf, the Konig Wolf's design is more like that of a Dire Wolf from the Pleistocene era, having a distinctly noticeable mane. It's body is less artificial and more derived off of a wild Zoid type much like the Liger Zero. The Zoid was covered in the same blue armor that once covered Brad's Command Wolf, only now it has far greater armor protecting it. The eyes of the canopy are orange like the old Command Wolf, and the Konig Wolf has sharper teeth and claws than before.

Equipped to the Konig Wolf is the same Long Range Rifle that Brad used to have on his Command Wolf, and it also has an 8-Missile Pod on each front shoulder.

The Konig Wolf howled loudly as she challenged the Elephander, showing that her evolution has completely healed the damage that had been done to her when she was still a Command Wolf. Doctor Toros was like a kid in a candy store seeing this!

"Wow! I've never seen Zoid Evolution in person before!" he said excitedly.

"Try to stay focused, Doc! We've got a battle to win here!" Sarah told her old friend. "Jaune, are you ready? Because we need to hurry and stop these guys!"

"We're ready mom! Get ready to mobilize the Liger Zero Destructor!"

But Liger Zero has other ideas. Jaune looked down to his monitor screen to see that Liger Zero was calling on the Cuchilla Violeta armor. This confused the Arc boy.

"You want to use the Cuchilla Violeta armor? Are you sure it'll work here, Liger?" Jaune asked.

Liger Zero roared in response, knowing that the armor would help immensely in this fight. Jaune grinned and nodded at the Liger.

"Mom, scratch that! Instead, we're activating the system Cuchilla Violeta!" Jaune said.

"Roger that!" Sarah replied.

The robot arms appeared from the walls again and began to strip the Liger Zero Imperial of its armor and stored it in the walls. As the walls around the Zoid rotated to the Cuchilla Violeta armor, and thus began the chapter of a brand new armor. The doors opened revealing the purple armor with a set of red Laser Blades, and as the mechanical arms began to equip the armor to Liger Zero Doctor Toros gave Jaune a quick tutorial of how the armor worked.

"The Liger Zero Cuchilla Violeta! This is one combat Zoid that's designed for superior close range battle while having an extra gun for long range attacks. Equipped with four High Output Thrusters, and two Shoulder Mounted High Output Thrusters as well as seven Laser Blades, it can cut down even the fiercest enemy! But not only does it have all of that, but it's also equipped with its own Hyper Energy Shield, a 72mm AA Cannon Turret Emplacement and a superior Optic Camouflage system that makes it completely invisible to any Zoid! Even being able to keep its own gunfire from being seen until it's too late!"

Jaune quickly checked the Liger's systems to make sure the armor was working right. He couldn't risk something going wrong before they'd won the battle, or they would all be toast! Detecting no anomalies in the armor, Jaune had the platform raised up to the catapult as he and Liger Zero Cuchilla Violeta got ready to fight once again.

"Liger Zero Cuchilla Violeta prepared to launch!"

And thus, the Liger Zero in its new armor was launched from the Hover Cargo. And just in time, too! It doesn't look like Brad and his new Konig Wolf can take much more! They've been shooting for some time now and haven't even made a dent in the Elephander! And it looks like it was about ready to try and smash the Konig Wolf with its Strike Iron Claw!

"Look out! I'm not ready to retire yet!" Brad declared.

He aimed his Long Range Cannon up a little bit and fired a shot from it. Unlike all the other blasts, this one didn't miss and he was too close for Sanders to put up his shield in time. So he ended up shooting off the Elephander's back mounted cannon. Needless to say, the Backdraft warrior was pissed off.

"TRYING TO RESIST ME IS POINTLESS! SURRENDER WHILE YOU CAN!" shouted an angry Sanders.

He readied the Elephander's trunk to smash the wolf, making Brad grit his teeth at his own weakness.

"Thanks for buying us some time, guys!" Jaune said over the intercom.

Sanders, Brad, and the Konig Wolf looked back to see Liger Zero in its new Cuchilla Violeta Armor charging right into battle! Brad and the Konig Wolf decided to stand back and rest for a bit while the Liger took out the Elephander.

"This battle's just getting started!" Jaune declared.

Meanwhile, watching from his Whale King, Stoller was both amazed and confused by this new development.

"Where'd that purple Liger come from?" Stoller asked himself.

He saw that it was the same Liger from when the battle had started, but it had changed armors. But that should be impossible! Unless…

'Don't tell me that it's the Ultimate X!'

Having come to the conclusion that he shouldn't waste any more time with testing the Voice Command System, Stoller quickly contacted Sanders and gave him new instructions.

"Come in Sanders! You can't fight against that kind of cutting power and speed using the Voice Command System! Switch to manual control!" Stoller ordered.

"Roger!" Sanders replied.

With the controls switched to manual, Sanders began to try and shoot down the Liger Zero using the 60 mm Hyper Laser Gun. However, the Liger Zero Cuchilla Violetta was too fast. It started heading towards the wall next to the Elephander, leaving afterimages as it did. This was surprising for everyone, seeing as how this armor wasn't built for High Speed Battles.

Sanders' eyes widened in shock from the sheer speed of the Liger Zero Cuchilla Violeta.

"How can he be so fast?!" Sanders asked himself.

The Liger began to scale the cliff face, and Jaune had a grin on his face as he figured out how he was going to defeat the so-called "Invincible Elephander"!

"You're vulnerable to attacks from above!" he declared in victory.

The Liger leapt off the cliff, and locked all weapons onto the Elephander. It was time for a little payback for Leena's Dibison! Ladies and gentlemen, this is not gonna end well for the Elephander or the Backdraft Group! But that doesn't mean that Sanders is going to go down so easily!

"Oh no you don't!"

He pulled the trigger and shot a blast from the Elephander's Hyper Laser Gun, and Jaune pulled a stunt that really gave the Elephander a run for its money.

"Watch out!" he yelped.

He unsheathed two of the Liger's smaller cheek mounted Laser Blades and sent plasma energy flowing through them. The results were the blades cutting right through the blasts of the Hyper Laser Gun, and with gravity aiding them, Jaune and the Liger Zero Cuchilla Violeta were ready to cut down the Elephander.

"Let's end this, Liger!" yelled Jaune.

Liger Zero roared as it tried to slash through the Elephander, who swung his trunk to try and bat the Liger away. The Elephander missed by mere inches and Liger Zero landed on the ground beside it before running a few feet away. At first it seemed like nothing happened. But then the Elephander's right leg started sparking from damage.

"What'd he do?!" demanded Sanders.

Having taken too much damage from the battle, the Elephander fell onto its side with its computer system frozen. Liger Zero roared in victory and joy, having avenged its fallen comerad. And like the first time this happened, the Dark Judge was not happy with the results.

"What?! But you can't! Rrg! Dh-dh- NNOOOOOOOOOOOO HO HO HOOOOOO! Game over. *Sigh* The winner is… The Blitz Team."

The ending gong sounded through the canyon as the black dome was finally lowered and the Blitz Team was free to go home after a long and hard battle. But back with the Backdraft Group and Salem, the viewers of the battle were in a frenzy. The majority of them were outraged that the Blitz Team won and were acting like a bunch of sore losers. But Salem didn't seem to be all that unhappy.

And not just because she made a killing for betting on the Blitz Team rather than the Elephander.

'So the Zoids are capable of feats such as this? Very interesting…' Salem thought with a sinister smile.

But Altile just clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes.

'You've proved me wrong, Liger Zero! YOU'RE the Ultimate X!'

Back on the Whale King, Sanders and the Elephander have just been brought back and the younger pilot was reporting to his commanding officer.

"Forgive me, Captain."

"Don't worry, we won't lose next time." Stoller said.

Sanders was a little confused. He honestly thought that Stoller would be much more angry than that. But he's not one to look a gift in the horse's mouth and just rolled with it. After all, it just means less desk work for him!

"Uh, yes sir!" Sanders said.

"Sanders… I'm starting to think about coming out of retirement." Stoller admitted.

"Then you'll be fighting the next one?" Sanders asked.

Stoller didn't say anything. But the look of anticipation on his face says it all.

Jaune was breathing hard from pulling off a stunt like that. He doesn't understand why, but in every battle he would feel the damage that Liger Zero felt. He chalked it up to his own Semblance beginning to awaken. Stoller appeared on Jaune's video screen, seeming to be pleased by the battle results.

"Congratulations, you have won the battle. The prize money should be being transferred to the Blitz Team account as we speak. That was a most satisfying battle from you in particular, warrior." Stoller said.

"Thank you mister…" Jaune trailed off.

"Stoller. Call me Stigma Stoller."

"Well Stoller, I hope we can meet in an official battle someday." Jaune said. "And tell that guy who piloted the Elephander that I said he was an exceptional warrior."

"Very well. We'll meet again, Jaune Arc." Stoller said.

And with that being said, the Whale King flew off back to the Backdraft Group Headquarters. There were obvious modifications that needed to be made to the Elephander, and Stoller was determined not to lose next time!

*To Be Continued…*

Ending Narration (Jaune): "The marauding Sand Stingray Gang has been terrorizing the desert sands around Romeo City for some time now, and NOW they've set their sights on the Hover Cargo! Bunch of juvenile punks, the lot of them!"

"Wait a minute, what's going on with Naomi?! She has a Soul Mark connected to me too?! Oh geez… How am I gonna break this to Yang and Leena? Well, at least Yang gets to spend a little sisterly bonding time with Ruby. Next time on RWBY New Century Zero: Rewrite; Desert Tusk - The Hover Cargo's In Danger! Ready, FIGHT!"

Here are the current results of the poll. Remember that the first to get to fifty votes or has the most votes by the official thirteenth chapter of the story will be the winner.

Geno Saurus (Fuzors Variant: Black and Yellow): 6 votes

Geno Saurus (Standard Colors: Black and Purple): 5 votes

Geno Saurus (Raven Custom: Black and Red) 5 votes