Here we are at Chapter 28. Let's see if Team Lockhart can deliver a sucker punch to Nexus before they make their next move. I do not own Zoids. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 28. Enjoy.


Chapter 28: A New Strategy

Team Lockhart drive through the desert, heading toward the mountain range that Patrick told them about. So far, they haven't found any trouble along the way, or traps set up for them, but that doesn't ease the building tension between them. If anything, the fact that they haven't found any opposition yet only makes them more nervous.

"How long before we reach the mountains?" Rickie asks.

"Not too much longer. Sky, I want you to launch in the Pteramander and stay high in the clouds. If you see anything in the skies, give us a heads up. And if they have something set up for us, then a least we'll have a trump card up our sleeves," Sarah says.

Sky nods and heads into the hanger bay.

"What about the rest of us?" Grace asks.

"Grace, Colt, head to your zoids as well, but stay inside the Hover Cargo. I'll let you know when to launch," she says, and the two head to their zoids. "Rickie, can you drive this thing?" Sarah asks.

"Pfft. Who do you think you're talking to? Of course, I can pilot a Hover Cargo," Rickie replies, offended.

"Okay, when we reach our destination, I'll give the controls to you. Fall back a bit and keep the defenses up in case you get attacked while we're gone. If you do, call us right away, and we'll head back to you," Sarah explains.

"Roger that," Rickie replies with a mock salute.

Sky launches into the air and heads into the clouds, out of reach of any enemy fire from the ground. Soon enough, the group reach the mountains, seeing nothing particularly special about them other than the twin peaks that appear to be at the center of them. The others move to their positions.

"Sky, you see anything of note?" Sarah asks as she heads to the hangar bay.

"Nothing. Be careful," Sky replies.

Sarah reaches her partner, and hops into Geno's cockpit. Rickie drives the Hover Cargo into an area near the edge of the range to conceal it visually. After that, the rest of the team head out in their zoids, careful to not be too eager for what awaits them. For a short while, the group travel through the mountains, finding nothing so far, not even a single enemy zoid waiting for them. It feels like forever before Geno starts growling a bit, gaining Sarah's attention.

"Geno, what is it?" she asks.

The Geno Storm-Blade looks ahead, around a corner of one mountain, towards the twin peaks. The team move around to the other side, only to find exactly what they've been looking for: a large military base, filled with black Rev Raptors all strutting about around the perimeter of the base. They quickly move back behind the mountain side for cover.

"Geez, you never said they would have a small army of Rev Raptors here," Colt notes.

"I didn't think there would be this many," Sarah retorts.

"So, what do we do now?" Grace asks.

"We go in. They probably won't be expecting us. Sky, rally to our position and launch a long-range attack with your missiles," Sarah orders.

"Roger that," Sky replies.

Within seconds, Sky's attack comes in, with several missiles hitting in and around the horde of Rev Raptors, sending them into a scramble. Sarah and Colt use this chance to launch a direct attack, firing off their laser cannons at the enemy before they can regroup. More Rev Raptors get taken out from the surprise attack, and the Bravejaguar and the Geno Storm-Blade rush in for close-range combat. The Geno's blades slice through enemy after enemy as it zooms by them. The Bravejaguar clamps its jaws down on the neck of one Rev Raptor, taking it and throwing it into another nearby. The remaining Rev Raptors regroup and begin their counterattack, firing off their laser guns. Sarah and Colt book it to evade the attacks. What the Rev Raptors don't see coming is the missiles launched from the Spinosapper after it snuck by them, hitting them from the side and taking out a few more of them. A few Rev Raptors change course and attack Grace with their curved blades, while she readies her zoid's chainsaws.

Meanwhile, Sarah finds herself surrounded by a score of Rev Raptors from all sides. Sarah just smirks and hits a switch in the cockpit. The Geno roars and starts spinning around, blades out and laser cannons firing at all cylinders, taking out every enemy around her. Once the enemies have been dealt with, she stops spinning, but is very dizzy.

"Ugh, I'm not doing that again," Sarah groans, holding her head.

Meanwhile, Colt pilots his zoid, running along the side of a mountain in order to move around one enemy and attack another, slicing it with his claws. A Rev Raptor attacks from behind, but he counters with the blade on his zoid's tail, knocking its head back and giving him the chance to fire his cannons, taking it out. Just then, Sky enters the fray, firing his laser cannons from the air, taking out several more Rev Raptors.

"These guys are usually tougher than this," Colt notes.

"Must either be rookie pilots, or because we've fought against them several times by now, that we've gotten used to how they fight," Grace thinks.

"It doesn't matter. Finish them off and get into that base," Sarah says.

The Geno Storm-Blade opens its jaws as its charged particle cannon starts charging. Sarah engages her zoids thrusters, and has two blades pierce the ground around her. She fires her charged particle cannon while her partner spins around, taking out the rest of the enemy zoids in one swoop with her attack. When the dust settles, the Geno Storm-Blade roars into the air. The rest of the team regroup with her, except for Sky who remains in the skies above the base.

"Well, that was easier than expected," Colt notes.

"Stay on your guard, Colt. If there were guards here, then that means that this base is still operational. Let's get inside and see what we can find. But, be careful. We don't know who or what is in there. Sky, stay out here and keep an eye out for enemy reinforcements. Let us know if you see anything," Sarah says.

"Will do," Sky replies before flying back into the clouds.

"Come on guys. Let's see who's home," Sarah says.

The group make their way to the main entrance, finding it fortified. However, that doesn't stop Geno from destroying it with its blades, carving a way in for them. Of course, as soon as they enter, they receive incoming fire from a lot of enemy soldiers, with machine guns and rocket launchers. The machine guns do little harm, but they group block the rockets just in case. The Spinosapper fires its gatling guns at the soldiers, causing most of them to scatter. The Bravejaguar moves to take out the infrastructure around them, taking down the guards on the floor above them.

"So, if this place is a zoid manufacture facility, should we destroy it?" Grace asks.

"Not yet, there might be data or files here that could be of use to us. Let's take care of the small fry first, and then we'll sort out the rest later," Colt replies.

Their zoids fire their weapons, careful not to deal any direct hits to the soldiers, but enough to injure them or force them to retreat. The battle is pretty one-sided and soon enough, there isn't much of the enemy left that can still fight, most of them unconscious while the rest have fled. With that done, the group head further in, looking for some kind of terminal or data center where they can get some info on these guys. Throughout the facility, they find machines and equipment designed for building zoids and developing zoid parts. Of course, they were sure to shut those down so they couldn't make any more zoids for Nexus.

"It's like this place runs all on its own," Grace notes as she looks around.

"There are a few zoid facilities like that. There are scientists that control the operations, but when it comes to the manual labor, they have machines for that, and a set of buttons to push, of course," Colt notes.

"Well, let's see if there are any around that work for Nexus," Sarah adds.

The Geno Storm-Blade breaks through one wall, finding a light room with hundreds of blue lights circling all around. It almost looks like a small arena. Of course, they were not alone.

"Welcome, Team Lockhart. So glad you could join us," they hear a male voice on speakers throughout the room.

"Who's there?" Sarah calls out. A screen lights up on one side of the arena, revealing the face of the leader of Nexus. "You," Sarah mutters with hate.

"A pleasure to see you again, Sarah Lockhart. I must admit, I'm impressed that you found this place, and that you managed to get inside," the man says.

"Who are you?!" Grace yells.

"You may address me as Kaiser, Grace Flintwood," Kaiser calmly replies.

"He knows my name," Grace mutters.

"Where are you, Kaiser?" Sarah demands, Geno roaring for emphasis.

"Nowhere near you, my dear. You managed to get this far. I'm not entirely surprised. Those soldiers we had standing guard here were still rookies in our ranks, and this place was losing its value. If anything, you did me a favor," Kaiser replies.

"Why are you doing this? Going up against the ZBC and attacking zoid teams?" Colt asks.

"Haven't you been listening? Zoids are machines of immense power, but now they are merely used as toys for a game. It's sickening. The world has forgotten where it came from. I am here to remind them. Zoids are weapons for war, not toys for other people's amusement. Soon enough, they will realize their mistake, even if we must kill hundreds of people to do so. Peace can make a species weak, stagnant, but war will force them to evolve, to grow to new heights of power. That is the only way to survive. Through war," Kaiser explains.

"You're insane," Grace says with disgust.

"I'm a realist, my dear. Now then, you came all this way, it's only fitting I give you a proper welcome," Kaiser says.

Just then, a section of the floor in front of them opens up, and up comes a modified, black Gojulas cannon. The cannons have been replaced with large miniguns, thrusters have been placed on its back and its legs, a pair of small laser guns on its tail, and wires coming from a section of the backpack connect to the cockpit.

"Oh boy," Colt mutters.

"Let's see how well you handle yourselves against this. Engage Z-Link system," Kaiser says.

The wires on the zoid glow, as does the cockpit on its head before the zoid roars and engages its thrusters, charging at them faster than a normal Gojulas cannon. The team scatter as it races by them, and it turns around to fire off its miniguns at the group. The Bravejaguar runs for it, avoiding the rain of bullets, but the Spinosapper is having a harder time and has to use its chainsaws to block the bullets. The Geno Storm-Blade comes in from the side, swinging its blades, but two of them get caught in the Gojulas' claws. The Geno fires its laser cannons close up, getting a clear it, but then the Gojulas swings its tail at it. The Geno Storm-Blade has barely enough time to evade the swing, only to get a surprise hit in from the laser guns on the Gojulas' tail. The Spinosapper fires its missile launchers, but the enemy fires its miniguns again, taking them all out.

"Strike Laser Claw!" Colt yells as he jumps in from the side with his claws out.

However, the Gojulas dodges out of the way at the last second, and grabs the Bravejaguar by its tail, swinging it into the Spinosapper and knocking them into the side of the wall behind them.

"Grace! Colt!" Sarah yells.

"I'd be more worried about myself if I were you," Kaiser says as he watches the battle.

The Gojulas turns to her and roars.

"That's it. Let's go, Geno," Sarah says, and engages her Z-Link system.

Geno's eyes glow as it roars at its opponent. The Gojulas fires its miniguns again, but the Geno Storm-Blade flies by it, firing its laser cannons in retaliation. The blasts hit their mark, but the Gojulas shrugs them off and charges forth. The two zoids collide, but the Gojulas slowly pushes the Geno Storm-Blade back. However, the Geno swings its blade up, slicing through the barrels of the miniguns, forcing the Gojulas back as they explode. However, after that, the Gojulas starts acting weird, swinging its head and tail around in a frenzy

"What the Hell?" Sarah mutters.

"Oh dear, looks like this one is a failure as well. I suppose we'll need more test subjects," Kaiser says.

"You bastard. Isn't this one of your men?" Sarah says.

"This is war, my dear. There will always be casualties, especially when it comes to righting the wrongs of this world," Kaiser replies nonchalant, not caring at all.

The Gojulas roars and charges at Geno, attempting to clamp its jaws onto his hide. Sarah moves her partner around, slicing off one arm from their enemy and then slicing off another in a hit-and-run attack. While the Z-Link system for their opponent may be going haywire, theirs is working fine since Sarah is compatible. The Gojulas slowly turns back to them and roars into the air before opening its mouth at them, revealing a high-powered laser cannon within. It fires, bu the Geno Storm-Blade moves just in time and then goes in to finish this duel. The Gojulas fires again, and misses again, and then Geno stabs all of its blade into its mouth, through the back of its neck. The blades pull out and the Gojulas falls to the ground, its system frozen.

Kaiser claps his hands, "Well done, Sarah Lockhart. Most impressive. But then again, I'd expect nothing less from one who is compatible with the Z-Link system," Kaiser says.

"Do your own troops mean so little to you?" Colt demands as he and Grace rejoin Sarah.

"A necessary sacrifice. Besides, there's plenty more where that came from," Kaiser replies.

Sarah growls, "Where is Hunter Krato?!" she yells.

That makes Kaiser raise his eyebrows, if only a little it, "Oh, so you figured that part out, hm. It seems I have underestimated you a bit. Don't worry... I won't make that mistake again. But, as much as I'd love to continue this little chat of ours, I'm afraid it will have to wait until another time. Besides, I have a marvelous gift for you, anyway," Kaiser replies.

"What gift?" Grace asks.

Kaiser hits a button from his location, and all of a sudden, red lights and sirens start going off in the base.

"Warning. Warning. Self-destruct sequence initiated. Five minutes until core meltdown. Please evacuate immediately," they hear around them.

"Ah crap!" Colt curses.

"Until next time, Team Lockhart," Kaiser says, and then the screen goes black.

"We have to get out of here!" Grace yells.

The pilots book it out of the base, trying to get out as fast as possible before the whole base explodes, and with them inside it. They break through wall after wall, making their own little shortcut. When they get near the exit, the Bravejaguar and the Geno Storm-Blade fire their laser cannons, punching a hole to freedom. Making it outside they continue back to the Hover Cargo.

"Sky, you reading me?" Sarah calls out.

"Loud and clear," Sky replies from up in the air.

"The base is about to explode! We have to get back to the Hover Cargo now!" Sarah responds.

"Roger," Sky replies and flies down to join them.

The group barely make it out of the blast radius in time before the base explodes, sending up fire and debris in every direction. Luckily, the Hover Cargo was closer to the edge of the mountain range, taking cover behind some of them for safety. Once everyone returns to the Hover Cargo, Sarah gives the rundown of what happened inside to Rickie and Sky.

"So, they've got more pilots using the Z-Link system, or at least trying to before they go nuts because the system won't work with them," Rickie notes.

"It makes me sick how that bastard Kaiser can just use his own people like that and then throw them away when they've been used up, like they're just puppets. How could anyone work for someone like that?" Grace subtly rages.

"There could be several reasons: fear of being killed or tortured, fear for a loved one, money, loyalty, or because they believe in this cause as much as he does. Maybe some of them even believe they're compatible with the system and think it'll be easy to master. There could be a whole bunch of reasons. It doesn't change that fact that as long as they keep trying to kill us, we have to fight back," Colt explains.

So, what do we do now?" Rickie asks.

"We should tell the ZBC about the base. Maybe they can scrounge something up from the wreckage, even something to help us locate Hunter or Kaiser, preferably the later so I can kick his face in," Grace says.

"Agreed. We'll inform the ZBC about our findings, and head back to the village, rest up there, and then think about what to do next," Sarah concurs.

"Alright, let's do it," Rickie nods.

The group make their way back to the village, with Colt having informed ZBC about the destroyed base and what they found. He told the team that they'll send a crew to search the site for anything useful. However, when they come closer to the village... they see smoke rising into the sky.

"What's that?" Grace asks, worried.

"Oh no," Sarah mutters.

They quicken their pace before finally seeing the village in sight, or rather... what's left of it.

"My God," Colt mutters in shock.

The whole village is burning, smoke rising into the sky and slowly turning it from blue to black. Everything building is destroyed, and as far as they can see, there are no more signs of life from that place. The sight makes Sarah realize something.

"This is what he was talking about. This was the surprise he had for us," Sarah mutters in horror.

"But, I thought his beef was with the ZBC," Grace notes.

"Not anymore," Sky says, even his usually stoic persona a little shaken by the scene.

"It seems that he'll kill anyone to achieve his goals, even people who don't fight or are not affiliated with the zoid battle business. This was a message to us," Colt says.

A single tear falls from Sarah's eye, and her fists clench.

"Kaiser... He will pay for this," she mutters with hate, the bright flames seen in her eyes.


And that's the chapter. Team Lockhart managed to deal a blow to Nexus, but it seems it came at a heavy cost. The battle against Nexus continues, but how many more lives will be lost before it finally comes to an end? Will Sarah stop Kaiser and his malicious plan? Until then, please Read and Review.