Timeless
Part Nine: Family Pride





The Death Stinger surfaced from the fjord, seeing Castle Eisen-Kreuz, the ancestral home of Clan Schubaltz engulf in flames, crumbling from structural damage. A sadistic grin crept on Hiltz's lips, he folded his arms and closed his eyes. "Samara didn't hold her end of the bargain.... so I had to do it for her."

Y'all need ta learn how to behave!

"WHAT!!!" Hiltz was hit the a particle beam just as powerful as his own, the Death Stinger slammed into the rocky ledge of the fjord's cliffs and tumbled into the water. It sustained MASSIVE damage, the cockpit was retaining water, Hiltz looked up to see a T-Rex type zoid with buster claws extended, its' eyes glowing red.

"Nice toy, Raven." Hiltz smirked, his ankles now swallowed in sea water.

Raven? Who's Raven? It's just Lil 'ol Belle Starr.

"Belle Starr?? You're Aethelwulf's zoid..." Hiltz snarled, putting his hands on the controls, the Death Stinger arose from the mud. "That means Aethelwulf is still alive."

The Berserk Fury rushed inside the collapsing structure of the castle and rooted around for Leon, when she found him, the buster claw worked very gently to extract him from the rubble. The canopy opened, revealing that Belle wasn't exactly working alone... Karl was in the cockpit, strapped in for one wild ride from a classy lady. The buster claw gently set Leon in Karl's arms, the canopy closed, Karl turned up the boosters and they tore out of the wreckage.

"We got to tell Bianka! Samara might try and do physical harm to her!!" Karl shouted, looking back as the rest of the castle was consumed in another particle blast.

[We got you covered, Colonel Schubaltz.]

"Flyheight! Thomas! You're a sight for sore eyes!" Karl smiled as the Blade Liger and DiBison approached, he looked at the console. "Belle! They're friends! Open the canopy, Leon needs to be taken to the Ultrasaurer for medical attention!"

Whatever yah say, sugah. The canopy opened, Karl lifted Leon into his arms, the Blade Liger's canopy opened, Van let Leon inside.

"Take him back to the Ultrasaurer! I'll catch up as soon as I get Bianka and her son to safety!" Karl shouted as the Berserk Fury's canopy closed.

"Good luck, Colonel!" Van nodded, the Blade Liger made a U-Turn. "Hurry up, Thomas!"

"Karl!!! Unsere Schwester! Ist sie ganz recht? Was über unser Haus??"
[Translation: Karl! Our sister! Is she all right? What about our home??]

"Zerstört, Thomas. Zerstört durch den Todesstinger. Samaras, das mit Hiltz plottet!"
[Translation: Destroyed, Thomas. Destroyed by the Death Stinger. Samara's been plotting with Hiltz!]

"DIESES WEIBCHEN!!!!!"
[Translation: THAT BITCH!]

"Go, Thomas!! NOW!!"

"Good luck, Karl." The DiBison did a U-turn, running after the Blade Liger. Karl turned toward the rolling hills as thunder rolled and lightning flashed, the hills came alive with the sound of clashing Great Zabres. Belle stopped to look around, the lightning intensified with their strikes, lighting the path.

"Why'd you stop, Belle?"

Ah dun know, sugah. Mah avata' just wants me to stop...

"What do you see?"

A catfight, Karl-hun.

"Take me there!" Karl pulled on the controls, his voice frantic as is his commands. "Those Great Zabres are pilotted by my sisters!! Schubaltz females are given Great Zabres for reaching the age of 18!"

You got it!




His indigo eyes opened, Leon looked up, moaning a bit. He saw he was in the backseat of the Blade Liger as it neared the Ultrasaurus. The Imperial Exemplar closed his eyes again, pretending to be asleep, but with his mind's eye, he was looking through Karl's. The Blade Liger and DiBison were loaded simultaniously onto the Ultrasaurer and into the hangars they went.

"Castle Eisen-Kreuz had been destroyed."

"Did Schubaltz get out alive??" Hermann asked, nervous as all Hell, his hands gripped the seat with white knuckles.

"He's alive, sir. But he left us to find someone important before Hiltz does." Van looked out onto the viewscreen as lightning flashed, illuminating the bridge.

"Why aren't you out there with him?? Where's Aethelwulf!?"

"Unconscious. He was caught in the rubble as the Clan castle was destroyed...." Thomas reminded him, a sad look in his piercing green eyes.



(Colonel-sama's notes: This scene was inspired by Final Fantasy X's 'Mt. Gagazet theme')



[SCHUBALTZ!! THE ULTRASAURER WILL BE PULLING OUT OF HARBOR IN 20 MINUTES!! YOU BETTER BE ON OR YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET BACK ON!]

"..." Rain beat heavily onto his viewscreen as the forest gave him wide birth to a battlefield where two Great Zabres were fighting with tooth and claw. Bianka's was easier to tell from Samara's, Samara went through great lengths to scratch off the Emblem of Clan Schubaltz.

"Why did you turn against your family, Samara? Why did you disown the proud name?" Bianka asked, making a last ditch effort to reach her half-sister.

"I was never a Schubaltz to begin with...!! From Day One, I was treated as a freak because I didn't have blonde hair and green eyes!! All I heard about was Karl the Prodigal Son or Bianka the Perfect Lady or Thomas the Boy Genius!! All I got was Samara the Circus Freak!!! Vater was too ashamed to look at me and muter was too busy flaunting over Karl and his achievements or you with your grace and beauty and your work as an active member of many charity banquets or Thomas and his wonderful inventions and gadgets!! What did I have!? NOTHING!!!"

"Samara!! If you wanted help, you should have asked us!! Karl or Thomas or I could have helped you!!!" Bianka held onto her controls, a fingernail broke off from the white-knuckling.

"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!!!! ASK YOU FOR HELP!?" Samara snarled, her Great Zabre clawed at Bianka's with rage and force. "Karl acted like I grew a third eye and tentacles, you and Thomas treated me like a bitch! I hate you!! I HATE YOU!!!"

The Great Zabre tore into Bianka's with such force, parts began to fly, Bianka screamed in pain and agony as her tiger-zoid staggered. "I will ENJOY watching you die, Bianka Celes Schubaltz!!!"

"...then.... I shall DIE like a Schubaltz..." Bianka snarled, in her last ditch effort, her Great Zabre's fangs grabbed Samara's and tore it apart. The dented Zabre buckled and leaned to one side. "....fighting the evil that plagues our land, that is the Schubaltz way!"

"Spare me family pride, Bianka!" Samara shouted, aiming her Vulcans at Bianka.

"Before you kill me, Samara.... I have a question for you..." Bianka's green eyes pierced into Samara's blue eyes, anger and the lure of death in their lime hues.

"Last words, sis?" Samara smirked, her thumb against the triggering mechanism.

"Why? What drove you to kill your own father and the baby you had in your belly?" A thin trail of blood slowly trinkled down Bianka's forehead.

"I figure if I slept with Icarus Lancaster of Clan Lancaster, I can discredit our humble family by getting pregnant. But when I learned that the cursed puppet people of Heimatland took pity and rallied their support for Clan Schubaltz and smeared me in the mud and trampled me like the sheepskin rug I was... I drank bleach until the baby was melted out of me.... as for vater.... I will admit he had broad shoulders... which made it easier to plunge the dagger between them!"

"....you are right.... you are no Schubaltz..." Bianka frowned, clutching her pendant closely and closing her eyes. Samara grinned at that remark and opened fire, laughing as Bianka's Great Zabre was riddled with bullets and began to smoke black, billowing smoke. Samara laughed with sadistic glee as the Great Zabre erupted into flames, but she continued to fire upon the zoid with psychotic blue eyes staring into the fire with cruel enthrallment. Samara's Great Zabre was soon smacked away from the fiery wreckage by a missile barrage, standing on the tallest hill, illumated by the lightning, was the Berserk Fury known as Belle Starr, a classy Southern gal in the body of a truly powerful zoid.

"Well, if it isn't Big Brother Karl descending from Up High to mingle with the commoners. You liked that, didn't you, mama's boy? Look at the flaming pile of bullshit that used to be your sister, Bianka!!! Look how it flames, look upon her death, Karl!! For soon you shall be joinin---!!!" The Great Zabre was engulfed in a charged particle beam, incinerated instantly. There was nothing left of the Great Zabre, not even rubble. Exhausted poured from the particle intake valves, the buster claws closed and holstered to Belle's side. The valves closed and the pilons dug from out of the ground, Belle closed her jaws and make a u-turn, walking away.... walking away from the carnage, carrying Karl with her. Karl held his emblem necklace to his chest as he blinked back the tears, he looked at the stormy night sky. "....you died like a Schubaltz, Bianka.... Thomas and I will never forget thee..."

Belle continued for the Ultrasaurer...




--Continued--