Zoids: Battle for the Royal Cup
Zoids: New Century Zero side story by Joshua Bull.
Disclaimer: I in no way, shape or form own Zoids, the Zoids world, the established Zoids characters and machines, or anything relating to the established Zoids universe.
Chapter IThe Jet Wolf.
In the far reaches of the Milky Way, on the planet Zi, there exists mechanical life forms with superior combat abilities. These are the Zoids. Warriors by nature, Zoids have been used for wars in the past, but in these times of peace, Zoids are used for multiple reasons, transport, construction and most of all, combat sports. The Zoid Battle Comission organizes tournaments and battles for the brave men and women who pilot zoids in battle in order to win prizes and honor. The ultimate goal of the Zoid Warriors is to fight through the season and earn a place in the Royal Cup, the ultimate competition.
"I know, I know, but the prize money is good." Said the young pilot of a Konig Wolf, which growled angerly at its pilot. "Oh shut it already!" The pilot was busy arguing with his own zoid on which direction to take. The wolf wanted to go east to New Helic City to compete in a large battle royal, but the pilot wanted to head south to Wulok City where a one on one tournament is held. "Why do you have to restock anyway? Your only weapon is the strike laser claw!" The wolf continued its resistance to its pilot's wishes. "Fine! We'll head to the closest town (which we just left two days ago), then we'll decide what to do next." The wolf growled in submission, neither the pilot, nor the wolf, wanted to retrace their steps, but it was better than sitting in the middle of nowhere arguing. Besides, the desert is a hot place.
The pilot's name was Jenos Wolfe, he wore a brown leather trenchcoat over a grey shirt and blue jeans with black tennis shoes. His hair was short, thick, black and rather messy, though it was obvious that it was naturally flat. His brown eyes were covered by thin oval shaped glasses and, when not arguing with his zoid, he wears a carefree smile of a freelance zoid warrior. His Konig Wolf looked like every other Konig Wolf except for the black paint job.
The wolf turned around and made its way towards Craft City, a small city in the middle of the desert deep in the Helos Republic. Most of its population were either store clerks, clergy or mechnics. In fact, Craft City was so well known for its mechanics that the vast majority of zoid pilots that were there were either there modding their machines or trying to hire a freelancer. The young pilot and his Konig Wolf had stopped there three days ago simply to rest and find news on the singles circuit. They had only found two worth noting within a 500 mile radius. A small tournament in Wulok City and a battle royal in New Helic City. While Jenos agreed (with the wolf) that the battle royal would have been more fun, the tournament was about 100 miles closer (albeit in a totally different direction), the prize money was greater and there would probably be less chance of facing enemies that would end up smashing them into bloody (or in the Konig Wolf's case, oily) pulps. Either way, turning around probably meant that both of the events were out of question, but this particular Konig Wolf had tendencies to be a bit stubborn.
The next day, not long after Jenos continued his treck back to Craft City in the morning, the Konig Wolf's scanners picked up a high speed zoid heading their way from behind, Jenos figured it was just a Lightning Saix, but he was surprised when a wolf type zoid hailed his communications and asked him where Craft City was.
The wolf looked like a Konig Wolf, but it was far too lightly armored and it had large, almost massive, boosters mounted on its back. top of this, the visor that usually gave the Konig Wolf a scope and heat sensors was permanently mounted on the front and was much more streamline that the stock visor, same with the zoid's lighter than stock armor.
When both zoids stopped at the side of the road to share their information, the Konig Wolf's pilot was surprised when he saw what looked like another Konig Wolf. This one was piloted by a young woman with light green hair tied in a pony tail and green eyes, she wore a dark pink jump suit, probably so her clothing wouldn't get in the way of piloting a high speed machine, but it did make her excellent figure more obvious.
"Hi there!" she said in a surprisingly lighthearted and cheerful voice, leaning over the edge of her zoid's cockpit. "I seem to be lost."
"Where are you trying to reach?" Jenos responded, still seated in his seat, but his head facing towards the other pilot.
"Just Craft City, I need some work done on my zoid's stabilizers." The young woman responded.
"Why not come with me?" Jenos asked, "I'm headed there as well because my wolf here doesn't want to fight in a singles tournament and I don't want to fight in a battle royal. Sure you could probably get there in about an hour alone considering your zoid's speed, but it always more fun to travel in groups."
"Your wolf?" The female pilot asked herself before she said outloud "Sure, but I think I'll want to know your name first."
"Jenos Wolfe, the last name being a coincidence." Jenos said, adding th last bit to show that his surname being Wolfe was indeed a coincidence. "I'm a freelance pilot, a merc as some people like to say."
"Nice to meet you Jenos, I'm Ren Onella, and this is the Jet Wolf." The female pilot, who revealed that her name was Ren, said. She sat back down into her seat while Jenos was dumbfounded by what the Jet Wolf was.