ZOIDS: Thunderstruck Dawn: Ep.2 The Meeting

By drakora_master

A lone Redler glided silently over the vast expanses of the empty desert. A rare creature, the black dragon-like zoid flew as a loner, the last survivor of the once-glorious Isenbaac unit. Wings a deep emerald green, body as black as the night itself, the Redler flew steadily onward, its presence stirring the desert creatures below. Beneath it, the landscape rolled, its panorama unchanging. The pilot of the Redler heaved a sigh as his weary eyes scanned the merciless desert. He had been sent on a mission to locate the source of some strange pulse -a rare hertz- but so far nothing had presented itself. The pilot was about to turn back, when something caught his eye. A deep and wide crater sat defiant in the midst of the savanna. It went down into the blackness, and nothing was viewable beyond the light. Landing on its four taloned claws, the Redler surveyed the area as the pilot made his report.

Deep beneath the earth, Zayre was lost. She glanced around cluelessly at the four tunnel entrances that she was to pick from. Each tunnel was the same as the last, and somehow Zayre got the impression that she had already foregone this chamber. Gritting her teeth frustratedly, the young girl turned to the monstrous creature abreast of her. Corona reached a silver claw up to her brow and scratched, while Zayre appealed for advice once again.

"Corona, do you have any idea where we are going?"

Corona heaved her metallic shoulders in a sort of awkward shrug and growled. Zayre rolled her eyes and snorted.

"'Works for me."



"Are you absolutely certain that these are ancient ruins?"

The Redler pilot nodded vigorously.

Lieutenant Redblade averted his gaze to the dizzying chasm before him. There were scratch-like marks along the walls of the tunnel, as though a creature of monstrous girth had clawed at the walls as it descended, and dry mud encrusted its borders. "Hmmph"ing descisively, Lieutenant Redblade hopped into the cockpit of his crimson Hel Digunner. The iguana-like zoid hissed as it submerged into the sands, melding with the desert itself. Down it dived, heading for the heart of the underground ruins, where a Demon lay.

Demon growled impatiently and shifted his weight. The poor Diloforce had been waiting hours for the return of his partner, and he was beginning to become anxious. Ancient Zoidien Ruins are not safe. This Demon knew quite well, for the instinct and heritage bestowed upon him by the surviving spirit of Zoid Eve, whose voice whispered words of wisdom that reverberated from the very deepest and most ancient cracks of his zoid core. Demon knew all to well what traps and precautions Ancient Zoidiens placed in their tombs. Yet, he had been restricted by the will of his pilot, a will to discover and face these dangers in order to discover what lay beyond. Now the Dilophosaurus zoid could only watch and wait for the return of his master.

The lighted match in Zayre's hand flickered and died. The blonde blinked sadly at the smoldering remains of her match, and with a flick of her hand, tossed it away. Corona turned her head and pointed her golden snout at a faint, red light. Zayre nodded understandingly and proceeded forward, guided by the strange golden aura that surrounded the organoid, which served as a useful beacon. Suddenly, after several paces, Corona halted abruptly and bared her fangs as a deep rumbling sound filled the chamber. It was the sound of a zoid growling. Zayre, however, did not stop, and headed defiantly toward the source of the sound, which seemed to come from the dim red light. Smiling, Zayre reached up and patted Demon's snout. His red eyes flashed menacingly for a moment, and then the growling ceased. The Diloforce became silent with quiet relief as he checked his pilot over carefully, making absolute sure that this was indeed Zayre.

Corona stood frozen on the spot, unsure if this was just a hallucination. Why was this ferocious zoid allowing such a sweet and naïve girl to control him? Then again, why was she, Corona, following the same girl? It made no sense. She was supposed to have been rejoined with her assigned Ancient Zoidien partner. That was the duty of an organoid, right? And yet, Corona felt that somehow she must protect this girl and bend to her will. Approaching Zayre and Demon, Corona made herself known.

At this point, Demon had noticed the golden organoid and was highly suspicious. Organoids were dangerous, ruthless beings, and though they were no threat to other zoids, they did not usually take lightly to humans. Demon growled hostilely as the dragon organoid shuffled forward to face Zayre. Corona growled pleadingly, as if asking for attention, while the Diloforce made disapproving gestures with his head. Zayre nodded and turned to her zoid.

"Demon, this is Corona. I found her in the ruins. She will be traveling with us from now on."

And at this Zayre smiled sweetly, but the expression quickly reversed when she took notice of her zoids' behavior. Demon made snarled and made threatening, gruff noises, while Corona hissed and bared her gleaming, silver fangs. It was evident that neither creature liked the other.

"Oh c'mon, can't well all just get along?"

Apparently they couldn't. Demon rose from his perch and opened his mouth wide, exposing the ominous black jaw gun. Corona, however, was fazed by neither size nor weaponry, and continued to stand her ground.

Suddenly, a loud crash that sounded from farther down the chamber caught the trio's attention. Dust rose up in a low cloud, and boulders, jerked loose from their aged positions, cascaded down for the ceiling. And, within a moment's notice, something else began to appear out of the cave-in. Something blood-red, ruthless, agile, and vociferously evil. It took the form of a zoid. A red zoid. A red Hel Digunner.

The Hel Digunner spilled into the chamber, bringing with it several more loose chunks of rock. It was an impressive zoid, painted a metallic red, eighty feet long and fifteen feet high. The zoid had a short, curved snout, with jaws lined with hundreds of dagger-like fangs. Its body and legs were short, and it sat sprawled on the ground like a lizard. On the Hel Digunner's back lay an enormous cannon, and a set of six brutal missiles rested beneath the zoid's chin. Most intimidating of all was the Hel Digunner's tail, which accounted for much of the zoid's length. At the very tip of the whip-like tail sat four, razor-sharp swords, which poked out of the tail's sides. Now the Hel Digunner hissed and began to advance upon our travelers.

Zayre looked about. There was nowhere to run, nor hide. The only option was to fight, and defeat this red assailant. Hastily mounting her Diloforce, Zayre closed the cockpit door and switched on the com-link.

"Who are you and what do you want with us?"

An aged lieutenant, who looked as though he had seen better days, (though his blood-red hair was as vivid as humanely possible, thought Zayre) appeared on screen.

"I am Lieutenant Redblade of the Imperial Army. These ruins are hereby excavational territory of the Imperial Army. We demand that you leave the area and hand over the organoid!"

"Corona? No way! I found her first! Besides, she'd never listen to you!"

"In that case, we'll have to take it from you!"

In a flash, a Guyzack equipped with an electromagnetic net appeared from the shadows. The tan, scorpion-like zoid fired and struck Corona square in the chest, and before the organoid could fuse with Demon, a net had wrapped around her midbody, preventing movement. Corona howled in distress as electricity pulsed over her body, numbing her very core..

Zayre growled threateningly, which was shocking for such a sweet girl.

"You'll pay dearly for that one!"

Demon hissed as the battle began. Lieutenant Redblade advanced at a surprising speed, mounted cannon firing simultaneously. Demon dodged and raced forward on his raptor-like hind legs, claws clasping, eyes flashing. The Hel Digunner leapt into the air, attempting to take out its adversary with a aerial attack of his tail blades. But Zayre was just too quick- in an instant, the enraged heroine had safely sidestepped, and as the iguana zoid sailed past she sank the fangs of her Demon into its side. Lieutenant Redblade cried in frustration as the Diloforce gnashed at the Hel Digunner's body, which hung limply in the air as Demon continued to grip his opponent between his teeth. With a flick of his head, Demon tossed the Hel Digunner into a nearby wall. Zayre grinned maliciously and opened the mouth of her zoid. Taking careful aim, as it was difficult to see in the darkness, she set the cursor on Lieutenant Redblade's zoid. The pilot fired, and the Hel Digunner screeched as it went up in flames.

"Well, that was a bit easy. Now, as for you-" here she refocused her attention to the Guyzack, which was now fleeing into a nearby tunnel "- I'm afraid that you are about to suffer the same fate."

The Guyzack scuttled as fast as its eight legs could carry it down the chamber. Close behind, was the Demon of the underground, out for vengeance. Corona lay miserably tied into a bundle, which dangled from the end of the scorpion zoid's tail.

Demon roared, and his cry echoed across the walls of the underground tunnel, sending the Guyzack into a fit of terrified hysterics. Coming across a dead end, the creature turned around to face the outraged girl who pursued it.

Zayre's eyes were blazing with the heat of the battle now. She had transformed from a sweet, innocent girl to a bloodthirsty warrior. Crying out in anger, she thrust forward the levers on either side of her to charge, when the cornered Guyzack consequently fired a net shell. Demon hissed in surprise as an electromagnetic net enveloped his head. Deprived of sight, the Diloforce could only rely on the skill of his pilot to guide him in battle. Zayre quickly evaluated the situation and headed forward, having memorized the direction of the tunnel by now. The Guyzack mercilessly fired a barrage of gunshots from its tail, knocking the Diloforce off balance and ruining his black and yellow armor. Zayre had only one chance to pull this off before it was too late for her Demon.

"Ok, here goes.."

With her vision deterred by the snagging ropes of the net, Zayre blindly controlled her zoid toward the direction of the projectiles. Instantly she brought her Diloforce into a gallop, and dived at the Guyzack. Opening her jaws in mid leap, Zayre waited for the exact moment to come before she closed them around the body of Corona. Demon sailed past the tan zoid with Corona clutched protectively in his jaws, while the Guyzack stood rigid, maimed by the blood-red blades that had popped out of Demon's sides to slice him in half. Gently depositing his precious cargo onto the cold stone floor, Demon roared triumphantly as Zayre leapt down from the cockpit. Kneeling down beside her fallen organoid, the maiden began to stutter apologies as she unwound the ropes that had rendered her friend unconscious.

"Corona! Corona? Can you hear me? I'm so sorry, this is all my fault.."

Liberating the golden organoid's head from the infernal ropes, Zayre smiled sadly as Corona growled forgivingly.

Corona had learned something today. For this human wasn't just any other human. This human was her destined partner.

To be continued..

A/N: Sorry that I took so long to update. I'm getting lazy..