"Um... Isis? Can I ask you a favor?" The redhead asked the question nervously, shifting slightly from one foot to the other. "You know that I've never pilotted anything but Verde, and I was going to ask you if you could give me a few tips." Looking at her, it would be hard to classify her as anything but a warrior. Clad from head to toe in gleaming metallic armour, she looked powerful enough to go against the zoids by herself. The truth was much more amusing. "Right, I can do this..." Looking up she looked around the empty dorm room she stood in and smiled. "Now I just have to find her and actually ask her." With that she left and made her way towards the restaurant where she had agreed to meet the other girl.

The young server weaved in and out of the tables, her long brown hair swinging with each step. The unforgiving sun beat down on her, her thick black work clothes beginning to stick to her body. She despised the new outside eating area, especially on days like today.

Isis stretched back in the white patio chair, the sun falling over her pale face. In the corner of her eye, movement caught her attention and she swung her head to look at the incoming server. 'That was fast,' she thought as the waiter stopped at the side of the table, her head just below the edge of the umbrella towering above the table.

"Can I get you anything?" The waiter asked, hand on hip, a white pad held in the other.

"Yeah. I'll get a glass of red wine, please," Isis responded, a little annoyed at the way the girl asked her.

She plucked a pen from her pocket, and scribbled on the pad, then turned and walked away.

'I hope Emily gets here soon,' Isis thought, her hands fiddling with the napkin placed in front of her on the glass table.

With a sigh, Emily forced her way through the crowded streets towards the cafe. She had managed to find clothing that did a good job of concealing the armour she wore. The gleaming white cloak probably didn't do much to help, but it kept the sun off. Approaching the outdoor seating area, she threw back her hood and stepped into the shade. For that brief instant she seemed to glow with an inner light. The silvered finish of the metal and the pure white of the cloak reflected the sun giving her the image of a crusading angel. As she sat down and pushed the edges of the cloak behind her, they appeared almost winglike as if trying to continue the image.

"Isis, I'd like to ask a favor of you." She pushed her hair back away from her eyes, leaving the circlet exposed to the light. It was bright enough that you could see your reflection in it. "You know how to pilot and I... don't. I was wondering if you could teach me?" She smiled cautiously before continuing with her plans. "I heard about somewhere nearby where we could rent Molgas or something so I could try working with something other than Verde. If you think that would work..."

It didn't take long for the waiter to return with her wine, setting it on the table without a word, then scurrying off to help another customer. Isis turned her attention to the glass, then supported the bottom of the cup with her palm as she tipped it into her mouth. The liquid swished around in her mouth, then was swallowed. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste, then the seat beside her slid out from the table. She opened her eyes, her head turning to look at Emily. "Hey," she said as she placed the glass on the table.

Isis listened intently to what she had to say, nodding here and there, and even snickering when she mentioned renting Molgas. There was no way anybody would ever see her in a Molga. If Aphrodite saw her in a Molga, she would most likely make fun of her. She smiled t the thought, then said, "Well, sure. I would love to teach you." She paused, an idea formulating in her head. "You do need experience in a Zoid other than Verde. You need to learn to not rely on the Zoid. Once you do that, you are ready." She nodded, then continued, "So, how about you use Aphrodite, and I'll use Verde. That way we both learn."

She reached down, grasping the glass, and sipped the wine once more.

On hearing Isis' suggestion, Emily's face paled enough that she almost matched her cloak. Pilot an Energy Liger? Me? I don't have any clue... The power to lift ratio... How? Shaking her head to try and still her thoughts she looked back at the other pilot. "This is a joke right? This is supposed to be funny?" She giggled nervously for a second before the smile froze on her face.

Her entire life, she had been the 'intellectual' type. Memorizing facts and recalling things that most people forgot took her through her classes with suprising speed. It wasn't what warriors did though, it wasn't what she was good for. The only fighting she had ever done was fencing and a bit of swordsmanship after she mastered the patterns of the other art. There was so much to pilotting a zoid, so many things that she didn't know about... What if I crash? What if I mess up and hurt someone... Her mind raced on and on, feeding her fear with all of the possibilities.

"I... I couldn't possibly pilot Aphrodite. She's your zoid and in the 'Legendary' class at that! I don't want to harm your livelihood on accident. Can we please start with the demilitarized Molgas? I know we can't really hurt people with those. They don't even have weapons!"

'Is this supposed to be funny? Did she really just say that? And I thought I had problems,' she thought, forcing herself to pick up the wine and take a quick gulp, holding the glass firmly in her hand. She was ready to put it back on the table, but then she started with the self doubting, and she had to take another sip. She wasn't getting tired of her already, she just wasn't having the best of days; that waiter really got under her skin. She took another sip, swooshing it around in her mouth; it was an annoying habit she had picked up, she just couldn't get rid of it. Then, Emily said something that surprised Isis. So much that she blew out her mouth, the wine spewing out in a red cloud, the majority of it landing on Emily's white cloak.

Laughter poured out of Isis's mouth, the noise making other customers turn and look, an annoyed expression plastered to their faces. She finally controlled herself, and managed to say, "THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE WEAPONS!!!???" She intended it to be more harsh than it was. However, the previous event prevented this, and it sounded more playful than humiliating.

She set the glass on the table and looked sternly at Emily. "I'm sorry about your cloak thing. But, that's a bit ridiculous. Battling each other with Zoids that don't even have weapons." She paused, allowing Emily to respond; in the back of her mind, she had a feeling she didn’t know that they would be battling.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it wouldn't end well. She barely had time to close her eyes before the wine that Isis had been drinking hit her. Shaking her head to free some of the red liquid, she cracked one eye open and looked at her companion. "The cloak is fine. It just means I have to bleach the stains out of it again, which is a bit of a pain considering what the fumes do in a small dorm room. You have no idea how light headed you get..." She smiled to herself at the memory of the first time she had done it. She had sworn to herself that she would open a window the next time, even if it was snowing outside.

Picking up a napkin from the table, she wiped the wine from her face and opened both her eyes. "Isis, you know that I'm not a warrior. Before Verde was given to me last week, I'd never even been in a zoid before. I spent my entire life training to be a scholar, to live a normal life where I wouldn't have to fight or be in that kind of danger. I mean, sure it was boring at times but I enjoyed the safety of it." Not to mention the fact that I wasn't being hunted down by madmen focused on the apocalypse. "I didn't think we would be battling here, honestly. I just wanted to get more comfortable with the controls and my thought was to practice on something simple before moving to something... Um... Overly complex?

She's not going to back down on this, she's a fighter. Someone who loves to just jump into things with no actual planning..........You can't be that ungenorous, you're making generalizations about her again just like the first time you met. Generalizations that don't compliment you or portray her in the correct light... But I know that I don't have the capability to pilot the Liger... But you also know that you'll never be able to unless you try, and you're smart enough to pick up the controls on the fly. Again. It's just like learning to drive a car, except there are more controls, an AI system, and it has the ability to destroy a town. Just like a car... Right, I almost believed myself there for a second, but it can't be that hard or else so many people wouldn't be able to do it. Alright, I'll do it. "Alright, I'll do it."

It took all she had to not burst out laughing yet again when Emily told her little story. It wasn't all too funny, but Isis could find laughter in everything right now; once she started, she could almost never stop. A grin crossed her lips, and she curled her lips in, trying her hardest to not laugh again. The picture that forced its way into her mind did not help. 'Deep breaths, Isis, deep breaths,' she told herself, taking a large breath as she did, her lungs filling with air, throwing the soon-to-be laughter attack out the window. She felt relief, and she focused on Emily once more.

She reached down and picked up a cloth napkin, running it over her chin several times before dropping it to the table, not taking her eyes off of her. She waited until she was finished, and said, "Oh come on. Safety's overrated." She grinned, then continued, "You might not be a warrior right now, but after time, you will be just as much a warrior as I am. Just give it time... this whole pilot thing will grow on you. I promise. You just have to -"

She was going to say, "give it a chance." And then, "I won't take no for an answer," but she was cut off when Emily agreed.

"Well, that works too," Isis said, knowing inside that she was going to do it whether she liked it or not... she is a Champion, after all. "Aphrodite will walk you through the controls, and might even help you a bit. It will be fun, trust me. Just look at it as a challenge."

She swung the white purse she brought with her off of the back of the chair, and placed it on the table. It was more of a bag then a purse, and Isis could rarely find what she need in it. She opened the top and peered inside, her hand plunging into the darkness and pulling out a gold pocketbook. She opened this, and placed a couple of coins on the table, leaving very little for the waiter as a tip. Then, she closed the pocketbook, placed it in the purse, and slung it over her shoulder.

Isis pushed the chair back and stood, looking at Emily and said, "Shall we leave?"

"A challenge... If you say so. Standing up, she pushed her chair in carefully and got ready to wait for her friend to finish. "And Verde will be more than happy to correct you if you start doing something wrong. She does that to me all the time..." She murmured, more to herself than anyone else. The darn wolf didn't take much glee when she messed up, didn't take much glee in anything really, but she made sure that her pilot knew when something went wrong.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She sighed. "My zoid is in one of the warehouses on the outskirts. It's the only place I could actually afford to store the beast. Meet you on the beach in fifteen minutes?"

Isis crossed her arms, "You think I'm going to mess up? Please!" She smirked, then said, "And don't' think for a second Aphrodite won't do the same."

"Hey... don't sound so down. You'll do fine. I promise you." She smiled, then continued, "And... fifteen minutes?" She laughed, not harshly, and not sarcastically either. "I'll be there when I get there. I have a long way to go too. Hey! I'll race you."

She knew that she would win no matter what... she had a flying Zoid. But crazier things have happened. She smiled, then turned and took off running down the street, weaving in and out of pedestrians. She finally grew tired, and held her hand up in the air, waiting for a taxi.

One finally stopped for her and she quickly threw herself into the backseat. "Front gate, please.

"Huh?" The driver asked, a confused look on his face.

"Um. The huge ridge at the beginning of town. GO!" Isis impatiently yelled this last bit.

"Oh. That. Will do," the driver said, pushing the pedal down, the car taking off through the streets.

Watching Isis take off, she shook her head. I never agreed to a race. With a sigh she started to walk to the warehouses near the docks. Without wanting to she ran scenario after dooming scenario about what could, and to her would, happen when she took command of the Energy Liger.

...A sudden downdraft caught the zoid on one wing. The cat tipped enough that a leg hit the surf and the friction tore the zoid out of the air and smashed it into the water. Parts were ripped off and twisted and spewed everywhere...

...Her fire with the cannon missed its mark by a few feet. The beam of destructive energy kept going into the heart of the city, blowing a hole in a busy thoroughfare. Bodies flew outward from the impact before lying there, still...

...She pulled the trigger and input a command into the mainscreen, hoping to fire the gatling. The zoid and half the city was incinerated in a nuclear firestorm as the Energy Charger self destructed...

She shook herself mentally and looked up to find herself in front of the warehouse. Not surprising since most of the good cafes were within walking distance of the pier. Nodding to the gatekeeper and swiping the key card she'd been given she walked down the row of buildings until she came to the one housing the Sword Wolf.

With a further swipe of the card, this time on a panel beside the door, a loud groaning rumble sounded as the massive aperture started to open. Corrugated metal slowly slid into the ceiling as she walked inside. Climbing a small ladder, she made her way into the cockpit and activated the zoid.

"About time, you should have visited me sooner. You don't have time to waste."

"Too bad, I also need to learn how to pilot. Come on, we're going to the beach." She pushed the controls forward to get them out of the garage, then brought them onto a course that would bring them out of the city. This had better work.

"GO! GO! GO! She's probably there already. Can I take the wheel? Pleeease?" Isis pleaded with the driver. He was not going as fast as he could... probably out of fear for his life. But when there was a competition going on, Isis always wanted to win. No matter what.

"Nooo. I cannot let you do that." The man stated, angling his head to the right, but not fully looking at Isis. It was weird. 'Why would he turn his head and not actually look at me? That's dangerous. If he's not going to look at me, then he should just not even turn his head in the first place.' She figured it was just what people do. But that didn't take away from the weirdness.

Isis frowned, then eased back in her seat, wishing that this idiot would actually press down the pedal. "Uggggh," she protested, then that was the last thing she said on the issue.

The car finally pulled up to the ridge, and she pushed her door open.

"That would be... 20 Gallos, please," the man said, holding a palm out to Isis.

"Huh. Like you deserve it," she said, pulling a couple of coins from her purse. "Here. Take it," she said as she dropped the coins into his palm, then turned and started running up the ridge.

She had done this plenty times, and in a matter of seconds, she was standing at the front door of the base. 'Crimson Lookout... 's what Johnny calls it anyways,' she thought as she turned the handle, shoving the door closed behind her. She bolted for the garage, throwing the door open, and climbed to the top of the Energy Liger. She pulled the hatch release and the canopy rose into the air immediately. She dropped into the cockpit and pressed a button on the roof of the cockpit after the canopy closed.

Semi-fast, the garage door opened, and Isis activated the Zoid. She flipped the Wings switch, then pushed the throttle all of the way up, waiting for the boosters to charge. "Hey Aphro. You ready?"

Oh I'm ready, the Zoid responded, letting out a low growl.

Isis smiled, then the Zoid took off out of the garage and into the air. She angled the Zoid to the right, the Energy Liger turning to face the city. They soared over the various buildings, and in a couple of seconds, they would be flying over the beach.

Humming to herself, Emily pushed the controls forward taking them through the last red light before they reached the city limits. I wish those lights were faster... then again, I also wish there was some way to put a turn signal on a zoid. She opened her mouth to ask that very question when Verde interrupted.

"Absolutely no way on Zi am I getting signalling lights installed on my chassis. They're gaudy and completely counterproductive in a combat zone. Imagine, signalling which way you're going to evade before you do so! Useless!" Emily's mouth snapped shut at the rebuttal. Maybe it wasn't a good idea after all.

Pulling to the right, she started driving them straight to the ocean. It was almost picturesque, white fluffy clouds hanging over the deep blue-green ocean. A soft line where grass met the sands of the beach. Even those little bird... things... whatever they were called... running back and forth near the surf. Hot sand, hot sand, hot sand... COLD WATER!... Hot sand- She smiled. Hopefully they wouldn't disturb it too much.

((Sorry for the RIDICULOUSLY late post. D: I fail... epically.))

"Come on... come on... come ON!!!" Isis screamed as she accelerated in the air. She was so full with excitement that she didn't even notice the beach blur by beneath her... or maybe it was the fact that she was on the edge of mach 1. Yeah. Probably that.

"OH SHIT!" Isis proclaimed as she realized that she was flying deeper and deeper into the ocean. "Aphroooo!" she said, stretching the o to sound more like a child begging her mother for something.

What?

"Why didn't you tell me that we were flying over the ocean?"

I dunno, she answered, trying to stifle a laugh. It didn't work, however.

"Uh huh." Isis jerked the controls to the left and towards her, the Zoid cutting a very sharp, very fast, U-turn.

One of these days, you're going to make me sick.

Isis laughed as she decelerated the Energy Liger. She could care less about the "competition", as Emily was already on the beach. She chuckled as she opened a comm link to her, "I see that you are the victor. Congratulations."

She pulled the throttle all the way towards her as she approached the beach, and landed the Energy Liger beside Emily and her Sword Wolf.

"What do I get? A new robe?" She smirked as she popped the cockpit and leapt over the side. The fall was about eight meters but the armour managed to contain the pressure of the landing. She did leave a pair of large footprints however. With a worried expression, her eyes traced the shape of the Energy Liger. This is going to go real well.

"Where are you going? I thought you said you were going to practice... Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no." The Wolf kneeled to look into her eyes. "You are not trading me out for a Liger. It's... Cliche! Emily just patted the zoid on the nose and turned back to wait for Isis to disembark

Isis popped the canopy and dropped to the left side of her Zoid, a little bit of sand splashing up onto her blue jeans. She turned to Emily and immediately started blabbering on, "Okay... you've got to remember that all of the monitors are touch screen. Weapons display screen is on the left side. Main monitor is in the middle. Controls slash throttle to the right. Triggers and joysticks to move weapons in the center. Oh... and the shield button is the big red button directly in front of you below the triggers and joysticks and all of that. And please please pleeeease do not break it. Okay?" She waited for Emily to say something, her hand on her hip and a worried look on her face.

Em nodded slowly as Isis explained all the controls to her. "Okay!" She said giving Isis a thumbs up and not catching a single thing that was said. Joysticks to steer weapons... How do you steer the zoid! She shook her head trying to visualize the cockpit before she replied.

"All the weapons are line of sight, well the guns pivot but that's just a thumb stick on the right control handle. Um... The main movement controls are standard, except for the catch for the boosters. Have to depress a button under your left thumb to ignite them. Offensive weaponry selection is all on the right panel, labeled, though it responds to vocal commands on the fly. Vertical blade is on the right trigger, horizontal on the left. Communications and scanning is focused on the left side, with the results being... nevermind I guess your results would be put up on the central screen." She sighed. Typically I'd just hallucinate the requisite images as they're supplied by the crown. Makes my eyes itch when she does wire frames though. "And I guess that's it. Good luck." She extended her right hand to her opponent and psyched herself up for the fight before making her way to the Energy Liger.

"Hail Mother!
The Sun has risen.
Another day has begun.
I wash my face in these new born rays
And take my first step in the ways of love.

By the Divinity of Three,
So mote it be!" She murmured as she neared the head. I hope you appreciate it Aphrodite, I looked up one of the old prayers for you.