Besides the steady chiming of the grandfather clock, I can only hear sobbing. Ever since I slipped out half an hour ago, Fritzi has been slumped over the dining room table with her head in her hands. Wagner has an arm around her shoulders, but clearly has no idea how to comfort her.
I wish I could flash her a smile and give her a hug to take the edge off, but, I doubt she'll even notice if I do. Instead, I just sit here wishing I could do something.
As the clock reports the hour, I notice someone standing in the front doorway. After getting the news, Fritzi had just stumbled over the table without closing the door. Now, a boy about my age waits there quietly. He seems mortified by the sight, quivering slightly with just one foot in the house.
"Tyler!" I hiss, beckoning furiously for him to come over. He shuffles up to me, tears streaming beneath his crooked glasses. He's a full head taller than me, though very lanky, and wearing a white lab coat with half a million pockets. His eyebrows are the same brown as his parent's hair, but his is bleached to a yellow-white color.
"Your mother needs you!" I whisper as harshly as I can. "Pull yourself together!"
He wipes his eyes with a sleeve, but doesn't stop sobbing. Raising a trembling hand, he points at the yellow medallion sitting on the dining room table.
I nod grimly, dropping my gaze to his buttons. "If it helps..." I start, knowing that it doesn't. "I hunted down the guy that did it..."
He chokes audibly, then snatches me up in a tight hug. With his face buried in my shoulder, he starts crying. Hard. As uncomfortable as it is, I don't resist.
For a moment, it seems like only I can hear the gunshots outside. Judging by the sound, several combatants are engaged just outside of town. I roll my eyes and push Tyler away; Fritzi is in no mood to fight, so I can at least spare her that.
Wagner shoots me a quick look and gestures toward the door with his head. I point at myself, then outside, then wave my fist around to convey 'fighting.' He nods, gesturing towards the door with a little more urgency now. I point at him, then outside, then wave my other fist around. He shakes his head, then jabs his chin at Fritzi a few times. I roll my eyes. He shrugs. I head for the door.
Outside, various zoids are scattered all over the road. Most of their pilots have climbed on top of their cockpits and are wielding binoculars; almost all of them are wearing the same lab coat as Tyler. None of the zoids are carrying any sort of recognizable weaponry. At least, not unless telescopes, radar dishes and shovels are the arms of the future.
Not long after passing the onlookers, I see a brown and black Sabre Tiger trying to shake a pack of surface-to-surface missiles. Even without a clear look at its markings, I can tell it's a Salirsth SO unit; probably being piloted by one of the soldiers from earlier. Somewhere to the left of it, obscured by an eroded rock wall, I can hear its allies battling the source of the missiles.
Turning the corner, I can see a gorilla-based zoid grab the relatively puny leg of a brown and black Command Wolf and fling the entire thing into a wall. Meanwhile, an identical Command Wolf pumps as much ammunition as possible at the enemy while standing guard over their toppled cargo; the spiral marked zoid. The Gorilla notices me immediately, though it can't seem to be bothered to do anything about it.
"Where's Wagner?!" A terse voice demands as the S.S.O Sabre Tiger trots up beside me.
"I am Wagner." I quip.
"We don't have time for your attitude." The voice snarls back. "Go home, get him here, now."
Admittedly, watching the Gorilla dismember the second S.S.O Command Wolf makes obedience a convincing prospect, but I stand fast. The spiral zoid is about a hundred meters away from me, but only a few steps from the gorilla. Even if I left now, Wagner would never make it in time.
The battlefield is hardly ideal either. We're fighting a wide, man-made pass about fifteen meters across. It slopes up towards us, making assault on the Gorilla tricky. In addition to avoiding its abundant long-ranged weaponry, we'll have to be careful to maintain control on the incline lest it snatches us up. Our safest bet is to use the height advantage to pelt it from afar, but even the S.S.O Tiger's guns won't do much to solve our heavily armored problem.
"You hearing me?!" The Tiger's pilot yells.
"Nope." I respond, switching my radio off.
The Gorilla gives us a final cautious look, then trudges away with the spiral in tow. The S.S.O Tiger takes off after it, careening downhill at breakneck speed. I wait...If I'm going to be forced to rush to my death, I might as well get a glimpse of what to expect.