Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids or any of the characters who might appear from the series, but everything else, yeah that's mine.
Chapter 1
As a black on red König Wolf ran across the desert at a reasonable pace, a fourteen year old young man with sapphire blue eyes, black hair cut short and a scar running over his right eye was sitting back in the seat letting the Zoid run on its own. As he stretched out in the seat his shoulders popped as did his neck and back before he settled back into his seat only slightly more comfortable. He wore a lightweight grey shirt and loose fit black pants that stayed out of the way of his piloting very well.
A red and black Organoid ran alongside the Zoid, easily keeping pace with the larger machine. What stood out most about the velociraptor like machine were the four black spikes over its smoke grey eyes and jaw near the back of its head that appeared almost slicked back.
*Wolf, are you sure you want to leave home like this?* the Organoid growled with concern.
"Yeah, I think it's time I try making it on my own for a while," the black haired young man replied coldly as he closed his eyes against the midday sun, "And if you don't stop asking Blaze, I'm gonna put a dent or two in that armor of yours."
They had been traveling for several days, the König was powering through what appeared to be an open desert. A single alarm went off in the cockpit before a shot rang out and the sand a few meters ahead of the wolf exploded into a dust cloud.
"Who goes through our territory?" A voice rang through his speakers before Wolf's reflexes even tried to kick in, no video screen on the cockpit glass told Wolf it was someone not wanting to be identified.
"My name is Wolf Novis, I'm only passing through, looking for anyone who can teach me to be a better pilot," the young pilot responded calmly as he brought the König to a stop.
"If you're willing to join our ranks I'm sure we can come up with something," the voice rang out again.
"Where are you? What do you pilot?" Wolf asked getting a little nervous.
"Look behind you and find out," the voice replied with the slightest hint of amusement lacing its calm tone.
Wolf obeyed and slowly turned the König to face the person he was speaking to, keeping the guns in their closed positions to avoid getting shot. He saw a black and white Zaber Fang with a lot of modifications; it had a beam Gatling gun from a Dark Horn on its left side and a heavy duty looking cannon that Wolf couldn't identify on the other. It stood in a relaxed pose seeming to know Wolf and his König wouldn't be a threat to them even if they did try to shoot before running away.
"What's your name sir?" Wolf asked trying not to sound as scared as he felt just as a view screen popped up on the glass beside him.
"My name is Razor, I like your Zoid, I'm curious how you learned to control it at all though, but that can wait until we've gotten back to base, follow me," a tall man with short blonde hair and emerald green eyes said as he turned his Zaber Fang towards an entrance Wolf had either failed to notice or was hidden from sight before.
Once they were inside the base Razor formally introduced himself and his brother Vailen and explained that they ran a small ten pilot crew along with three or four mechanics that stayed at the base all the time. Wolf noticed that there weren't any other people or Zoids in the hanger but theirs but chose not to say anything about that.
"Well young Mr. Novis, this is our base, go anywhere you like, nothing but the Zoid hanger on the south side is off limits and that's where we keep our very special Zoids," Razor said wrapping an arm around the young man's shoulders.
"What does special Zoids mean exactly?" Wolf asked as they walked around.
"Oh, just that they don't get used every time we go out, they only go out on large scale targets, and we tend to stray away from that, draws too much attention," the older blonde man said laughing a little.
"You guys are bandits aren't you?" the black haired boy asked as Razor continued to lead him. Blaze hoped that the answer would sway Wolf's decision to leave home so soon.
"Yes we are, but we are not in it for a profit like other bandits, we do it for our village," Razor replied as he let him arm fall off of Wolf's shoulder.
"So where do I stay?" Wolf asked with a greedy smile.
"The dining room is over there, and the quarters are over here," the blonde haired man said as he pointed a few places out while walking down the halls, Blaze and Wolf close behind him.
*Wolf, I don't think this is a good idea,* the red and black Organoid growled as they entered a cabin that Wolf was assigned.
"Hey, I'm only here till I can fight on a military level then I'll dump this crew and go military and we can come back and bust these goons," Wolf said quietly as he lay down on the bed.
"Razor, are you sure about this kid, I mean he's only 14, I still need Tyrant's help some times," Vailen, a tall man with long blonde hair and pale green eyes, asked as they walked back down the hall, "What makes you think he can do more than walk that Zoid of his?"
"That kid can control a König Wolf, one of the few Zoids around that chooses its pilot, he shouldn't be able to control it at all without his Organoid but he can. It will be interesting to see what he can do when he's well trained big brother," Razor replied icily.
"We can teach him, but what if he over throws one of us," Vailen asked worriedly.
Razor didn't reply before walking away from his older brother. 'I wonder if this kid really could be that good, I don't know anyone who can pilot a König so easily,' Razor thought as he continued down the halls of the base.
Wolf spent his first day wandering the base learning where the more important areas were, including the firing range, where his first time shooting a gun knocked him on his ass. It was his second day on the base before any other Zoid came into the main hanger, it was a Pteras with a custom blue and red paint job, and yet another day before the rest of the crew arrived.
The black haired young man learned that the ten other pilots in the crew mostly went by their given names until in the cockpit, he was slightly dismayed at the fact his call sign would remain 'Rookie' until his first full combat raid.
*We're being followed,* Blaze growled quietly as they walked back towards their room after looking over the König.
"I know, I saw her when we turned that last corner," Wolf said as he turned another corner and leaned against the wall.
They heard hurried footsteps just before a brown haired girl about fifteen years old wearing a beat up pair of coveralls tied at the waist with a green shirt turned the corner and nearly plowed into Blaze.
"Hi, mind not following me around anymore?" the blue eyed young man said with a tone as cold as ice.
"No need to be mean, I was just trying to find out who you were," the girl responded calmly as she straightened the knot in her coveralls, it was only then Wolf noticed her hazel eyes.
"Then ask next time," Wolf said as he started to walk away.
"Who are you?" the girl asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Names Wolf, his name is Blaze," the black haired young man responded pointing to his Organoid.
"My name is Melody Rosten and I think you're kinda cute, I'll make sure you stay in one piece after the training sessions if you'll let me," Melody said as she followed the pair, "I'm the crew medic."
"That's fine with me, might wanna ask Blaze and my König about keeping them in one piece too," Wolf replied coldly.
"I'd rather you be nice first fella," the young woman said with a smirk, "I'm only part time on the mechanic crew."
"I'll be nice when you tell me why you're still following us."
"You need to know your Zoid, I need to know its pilot so I can fix him if it comes to that. That a good enough reason for you?"
"You know, I'm either starting to get used to being annoyed, or I'm starting to like you," Wolf replied with a chuckle as he turned back towards his follower, his eyes shining bright red.
"Woah, your eyes changed color!" Melody said with an amazed tone as she stepped a little closer and looked at his eyes rather than looking into them, "That is so cool! How did you do that?"
"I get angry, they change, simple as that."
The brown haired young woman took another half step towards Wolf, the young man didn't blink as she did so to Blaze's amazement. They stood in silence for a few moments before Melody finally took a step back.
"It's not contact lenses or some kind of treatment to change their color," she muttered to herself causing Wolf's smirk to grow, "Maybe a temporary treatment applied on a whim?" she asked looking to him for answers.
"Nope, I told you what it is, obviously you don't believe me," the black haired young man said just before closing his eyes and scratching the scar over his right eye, when he opened them again they were his usual deep sapphire blue, "See, no treatment would be that short term."
"Then what the hell is it?" Melody half shouted causing Blaze to start laughing.
"First person I meet that isn't scared out of their wits by that and she can't figure out what it is," Wolf muttered to himself with a slight chuckle, "Its genetic, me, my father, and my little brother all have this thing, my kids and his kids will have it too," he added in reply to the young woman's curiosity.
They moved their conversation to the kitchen so Melody could get something to eat. They talked a little more about Wolf's eyes and swapped a few personal stories before the young man got curious about the group he'd joined up with.
"So tell me about this little crew of ours," the black haired young man said leaning back into his chair.
"Well there's Razor and Vailen, the two guys who brought you into the hanger if you need reminding, they run the Trazen Crew, the only bandits with a hometown," Melody replied with a giggle, "See, everything we take goes to this little village that literally straddles the border between the Helic Republic and the Guylos Empire, no one will claim it so they can't get any help."
*Honorable thieves, sounds a little hard to believe,* Blaze growled gaining a slightly angry look from the young woman.
"Blaze, just because they have to steal to help others survive doesn't taint the reason their doing it," Wolf replied with an admonishing tone before turning his attention back to Melody, "Tell me about the pilots."
"Well you'll make number nine outside the bosses. First in line is Vanessa, she and Razor have this thing going though neither of them thinks anyone knows, but she's tough as nails and pilots a Heldigunner. Second and third are Tango and Lemur, those are nicknames obviously I doubt even Razor knows their real names, nice guys, little overly playful sometimes though, they usually fly Redlers but they do pretty well in Command Wolves and Rev Raptors too. After them there are the Tillion sisters, Luna, Tammy and Sarah Beth, they all pilot Command Wolves painted up like foxes, they even had armor added to their cockpit glass to look more intimidating, they'll probably be the ones you train with most."
"What are their call signs?" Wolf asked as he processed the information.
"They don't have any, Razor just calls them the fox sisters," the brown haired young woman replied with a smile, "Tammy is about our age so watch out or Luna will be trying to set you two up."
"Well thanks for that heads up," the black haired young man replied with a genuine laugh, "So who is left?"
"Just Hawk and me, he pilots an Dark Horn we basically scrapped together, twin Zaber style Gatling guns over the usual single hybrid vulcan, I never have cared enough for the man to find out his real name though."
"And what's your Zoid and call sign?"
"I fly a Pteras, probably noticed it in the hanger, blue and red paint scheme and all, they call me Bomber when I do fly, which isn't very often."
"Why not?"
"Don't much like piloting, I know how, I'd just rather be fixing Zoids or people than causing damage."
"Yeah, 'cause you've got a lousy shot," a strong but feminine voice came from behind Wolf with a chuckle, "Who's the new face?"
"Wolf Novis, meet Vanessa Terath a.k.a. Ripper," Melody replied with an only half angry glare towards the older woman.
Wolf turned in his chair and saw a woman a bit taller than himself with waist length black hair tied in a complicated braid standing behind him. She looked the perfect bandit in loose fitting sand colored pants, one pistol on each hip and a loose red shirt. The woman quirked a brow and folded her arms across her chest as she started down at the younger man, Wolf just stared right back.
"So how did Razor recruit you?" the black haired young man finally asked breaking the silence.
"The three of us grew up together," Vanessa replied coolly, "Razor didn't have to recruit me, I just followed."
"Following your lover?" Wolf asked making Vanessa shift and take a step back.
"Who said we were lovers?" the black haired woman said with just a hint of confused panic in the cold façade of her tone.
"Your reaction just did, plus your tone picked up a little warmth when you said his name."
"Everyone will know for sure now!" Melody called with a laugh as Vanessa turned and left the room, "You know we've been trying to get them to get that relationship out in the open for a year now, you did it in ten seconds," she added as soon as Vanessa was out of earshot.
"I'm talented that way," Wolf replied with a smile, "More so when I have a heads up," he added with a laugh.
"Wolf, get to the hanger when you're finished with whatever it is you're doing," Razor's voice said calmly through the small radio on Wolf's hip causing the younger man to grab it off his belt.
"On my way boss," the blue eyed young man replied before he stood up and replaced the radio, "I think I'm in trouble after that stunt with Ripper," he added to Melody with a chuckle.
Melody laughed as Wolf left the kitchen headed for the hanger bay. It took him a minute and one wrong turn that landed him in the Zoid weapons storage locker to remember how to get where he and Blaze were supposed to go.
"You could have told me I turned the wrong way," Wolf muttered towards his Organoid when they finally got to the hanger.
*Learn your own way around and you won't need me,* Blaze growled with a hissed laugh earning him a quick but rough back handed fist to the snout, to which he let out another hissed laugh as they walked towards Razor.
"Mount up Rookie," The blonde haired fellow said gesturing towards the König that was wondering around the hanger deck by itself, "And can you get that thing to stop pacing? It's worrying some of the mechanics."
"I'll talk to her, when we get back," Wolf replied with a little extra emphasis on 'her' just before he whistled.
The König Wolf's head jerked towards the whistle before it bounded over almost happily which caused the three mechanics in the space and Razor to go wide eyed as it slid to a stop just short of Wolf. Razor got a bigger shock with the massive mechanical wolf knelt down and gently nudged the black haired young man in the chest before opening its cockpit to the younger man. The blonde haired man snapped out of it when he heard the cockpit of the wolf seal and jumped into his black and white Zaber Fang and led his new crewman out into the open sands of the desert.
"Wolf today is your first training session, this crew will teach you everything you need to know about how to pilot a Zoid," Razor said through a video link with the König Wolf, "First, we need to know what you can do. No live ammunition has been loaded into the Zoids, just paint shots so don't worry about getting hurt or anything."
Wolf took this as a signal to attack his green eyed boss, the König leaped into a full run without its boosters active, and without Blaze wrapped around the core.
"Rule number one, always use your full potential while you're learning, then learn to hide the skills," Razor said as he side stepped the charge and shoulder slammed the König causing it to stumble, fall to the ground and slide a few feet in the soft sand.
"I want to learn without over using Blaze," Wolf said as he pulled his Zoid to its feet.
"That's all well and good then but maybe you should learn with him first," the blonde said as he waited, "Tyrant does amazing things with strategy for Vailen, also ups reaction time between control movements and Zoid actions, Blaze could do the same for you."
"I like being able to form my own, and my König can think for herself so Blaze stays parked for now."
Wolf tried to take his opponent by surprise; he pulled the controls and ran in a different direction. The Zaber followed closely behind him. 'Perfect,' Wolf thought as he jerked the controls, spinning the König on the spot and taking a swipe at the lower jaw of the Zaber.
Razor just barely had enough time to react, but it was enough to fire on the Zoid in front of him. The paint splattered all over the cockpit forcing Wolf to stop the fight because he couldn't see anymore.
"Rule number two, never underestimate your opponent. Now clean your cockpit and return to the hanger," the emerald eyed man said as the turned around and went back into the base.
*That was a good move, he was just faster that's all,* Blaze said trying to console a rather upset Wolf.
The pair got back in only a few minutes after Razor, but it seemed to be enough to gather all of the pilots and the mechanics in the hanger deck. Wolf was shocked to see faces he'd never seen before considering the size of the crew as he dropped from his cockpit.
"What's this?" the black haired young man asked as he stepped a little closer to Blaze as the Organoid took a defensive stance.
"This is the Trazen Crew," Melody supplied with a giggle as she stepped towards three women standing together, "This is Tammy Tillion," she added gesturing to a shorter young woman who had pale blue hair down to her shoulders wearing the same loose red pants and gray shirt as the other two, "This is Luna," she said pointing at the taller woman in the middle, she had the same blue hair as the first but it hung curled at shoulder blade length.
"The last one is Sarah Beth," Razor jumped in pointing at the tallest of the three blue haired women, who wore her hair in a messy bun at the back of her head hiding its length, "They'll teach you everything to do outside the Zoids, hand to hand combat, how to disappear in a crowd, that sort of thing."
"Wait, I'm gonna have to fight girls?" Wolf asked, instantly regretting it as the three women turned cold death glares his way, "I'm not trying to insult anyone here, but I was taught that's not good," he added nervously, holding his hands up passively.
"We'll worry about what's good and not here," Sarah Beth replied keeping her glare cold, "So come on Rookie, let's see what you've got."
Wolf stood there dumfounded for a few moments before looking to his Organoid, Blaze shrugged and shook his head. Finally the black haired young man let out a resigned sigh and took up a fighting stance as Blaze backed off. Sarah Beth launched into her run with her left leg bringing up her right fist for a blow, Wolf stepped to his left and hooked his own arm around hers and used her momentum to get her in a headlock before anyone else could react.
"I'm a lover not a fighter," Wolf said with a chuckle as he playfully kissed the older woman on the cheek and let her go with a wink.
"And I thought Tango and Lemur were playful," Razor laughed from the side lines.
"You're gonna pay for that," Sarah Beth growled a she wiped her cheek and set her stance again.
"What did I do?" Wolf asked with a smirk just before the older woman lunged again.
This time Wolf didn't bother with playing, he shunted the punch to his right and gave a half step worth of ground before grabbing Sarah Beth's still outstretched arm and pulling the older woman off balance long enough to sweep her legs out from under her. The blue haired woman hit the ground face first and everyone on the sidelines gasped in shock.
"A good defense makes a decent offence where I'm from," Wolf said with a matter of fact tone as he held out a hand for the woman, "Didn't hurt that pretty face did I?"
Sarah Beth shook her head and took the offered hand and kicked Wolf hard in the gut while his guard was down before she jumped to her feet. Wolf remained standing as he held his stomach with mild amusement playing on his lips and his eyes.
"What are you smiling at?" Sarah Beth shouted as his smile grew wider and the younger man closed his sapphire blue eyes.
"Nothing at all, let's go for real now," Wolf replied with a deepened tone as he opened his bright red eyes.
Sarah Beth launched several failed attacks in the space of the blink of an eye and Wolf had her giving ground while on the defensive. After a moment the blue haired woman started for a round house kick but Wolf caught her leg before she even got half way through the spin and head butted her, the sickening crack echoed through the hanger for a moment before she fell to the floor with a thud.
"Damn," someone on the sideline muttered as Wolf stood over his opponent.
"Whose up next?" the black haired young man asked through his heavy breathing when Sarah Beth gave a surrendering gesture as she caught her own breath on the floor.
Everyone took a step back except Luna who stepped in to help her sister up off the floor, holding her up a little as her balance returned to normal.
"You're good kid, where did you learn to fight like that?" Sarah Beth asked with a genuinely curious tone.
"I wasn't always the tough guy in my village, took quite a few beatings before Blaze, sparing with him toughened not only the skill set but the body," Wolf replied as his eyes shifted back to blue.
"Well, we'll teach you how to be invisible and tough so don't think you can skip out on training," Luna replied sounding a little angry at the younger man.
"That's why I'm here, so I wouldn't skip anyway," the black haired young man replied with a smile.