Arizda: Hey! Hows ma audience doin' tonight/today? ^_^ I want u all to say hi to the co-author of this story--Reesesluver! From now on, she'll be helping me out along the way as I write this ficcy. I'm glad to know that you all like what I've done with it so far. To tell you the truth, I was surprised! It's the first time that I feel I've done something right! :D Now, let's get to business *passes out snacks* . ON WIT DA FICCY!

Reesesluver: *sits crosslegged and holds up a stop sign hurriedly* Hey hey hey, hold et for a sec! Anyhow, like Arizda sed, I be Reesesluver - the semi-co-author that's acting as battle scene mistress and beta reader. Uh huh. ^^; A few of you already know me, more than a few don't - but hey! You do now! I'd advise you to guard your reeses related products very closely around me...And on a more relevant note, I've been wracking my brains to try and find ways the remaining characters we's gots can fit in. I'll hafta talk wif Arizda though but just letting everyone that has a charrie-that-hasn't-been-put-in-yet know that we HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN BOUTCHU! *coughs and swaps into her announcer style voice* And now back to your regularly scheduled fanfic.

DISCLAIMER: YAAAAAAAH! I don't own Zoids. 1, 2, 3, I'll say it again. I don't own Zoids. :p I own my few original characters, while out of the generosity of others, I am using OTHER'S characters, since this is an interactive ficcy. :) Okie, on we go...
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Runa didn't know WHAT she felt when Zero began walking out of the room. She felt like her heart was being squeezed and twisted into a big tangled mess, similar to the way her emotions were coming along. She glanced around the console room and looked at everyone working hard to put on the upgrades to her Zoid.

"Come on, Runa! We only need YOU to complete the Berserker Dawn White Marlin! Midnight needs to form to Dawn in order to stand a chance alone in this battle!" Dalanette replied. Runa's heart dropped.

"...A... Alone...?" she whispered.

"O-oh! Nononono, not ALONE alone, just if you end up getting separated from the rest of the Star Team in the battle. You'll be able to do a lot more damage in battle with Midnight's upgrade in Dawn," Dalanette corrected. Runa nodded. However, there was a small piece of her that was left out of the discussion. She couldn't do it.

'Aaaaah, c'mon, Runa, what's wrong?' Runa hugged herself tightly and walked off to one of the other, smaller consoles. She stood in front of it, trying to figure out what Zero meant. It didn't make any sense to her. She sighed, and fingered a thin, shiny cord around her neck. On the end of the cord was a thin, glossy pendant, which she hid in her top. The pendant was simple. Silver, with a simple aquamarine stud in the center. She hardly ever let anyone see it, but for a brief second, she took it out and stared at it.

'What did he mean...?'

'!!!'

'What!? What is it? What--'

'RUNA! Your parents!!'

It was then that Runa let out a gasp, one that caught Lewis's attention. He turned to her, worry in his eyes as he watched her fumble around on the console she was in front of, fear struck in her watery eyes.

"Oh... no... no..." Runa mumbled, her hands instantly covering her mouth. Sobs shook her already shaky and nervous body, and tears flowed from her sad, blue eyes. Lewis practically jumped from his chair and ran up to help her as she fell to her knees. She kept repeating the word "no", as she cried into Lewis's shoulder. He read over what was on the screen...:
REYUSUKE KIRAZUNA

RELEASED
AS OF PAST SIX YEARS, MAY 2ND
HIKO KIRAZUNA

RELEASED
AS OF PAST SIX YEARS, MAY 2ND
'I can't believe it...!!! How can THIS be happening!? It all picked a perfect time to start...'

'What am I gonna do...? My parents... they're... in The Confederation!'

'Hold your head up strong, Runa... at least until there's something we can do about it...'

"Runa! Runa, it's okay, what's wrong?" D-chan asked, rushing over to her best friend's side.

"What's this all about?!" Kashie asked, staring up at the screen.

"I don't wanna do this anymore!" Runa cried. She wiped the tears from her face, only letting more stream down. "Leave me alone!"

With that said, she ran out of the console room as fast as she could. Kashie only stared up at the screen with a perplexed look on his face.

'That was smooth.'

Runa didn't bother to acknowledge her inner self and kept running. She could barely see where she was going through the haze of tears but it didn't matter. Nothing really mattered now.

'What good is running going to do for you? Turn around and face your past, Runa!' There was a hint of contempt laced in the message but it was lost on Runa.

She found herself in the hangar, still crying hysterically and the one 'person' she couldn't shake wasn't giving her a whole lot of sympathy.

'What would you know?'

'Enough to know that you, *YOU*, are a big factor in this battle! You ran away from the people that care about you without bothering to explain anything and instead of doing your job, you're crying like a baby in some -'

Another blast rocked the hangar, abruptly cutting short her irate subconcious. Alarms and sirens blared briefly before it fell dark as the power gave way. All Runa heard was her own ragged breathing, punctuated occasionally by hiccuping sobs but those were becoming fewer and far in between.

'Who would be -'

'Who else? If I was you, I'd be hoping that the upgrades to your Zoid were done.'

There was a sudden pounding of feet in the corridor that led into the hangar, echoing in the metal room. D-chan skidded into the room, looking relieved she had found Runa but in the same token, worried for her friend. "We finished on Dawn just before the base blacked out. You going to be okay to fight?"

Runa felt empty as she weakly nodded, trying to wipe the tears off her face. 'Not like I have much of a choice,' she thought bitterly.

D-chan watched with concern for another moment before speaking again. "The Berserker Dawn White Marlin's in the next hangar over. Everyone else is getting in their Zoids. I'll see you out there, ok?"

Runa could only nod, heading slowly for the next hangar. 'I don't want to do this..'

She entered the massive room quietly, and despite herself, had to smile at her Zoid. The change was significant from the regular Landmarlin - it could almost be mistaken for a different Zoid entirely. The usual armor had been replaced by a gleaming silver version that was highlighted in a pearly white and there was extra armor to boot. The claws and teeth were the same shade of white as the highlights and the wingspan could've easily doubled. Lastly, the Starbuddy armor had been added and the overall appearance could only be described with one word -- cool.

Dawn acknowledged her with a soft growl as Runa climbed to the cockpit. Her emotions had been purposefully put on hold and for once, her subconcious was quiet. She opened the canopy and dropped into the seat. Even though the controls hadn't been altered, it seemed all that was missing was a pine freshener for a car. Lights blinked on and status reports flickered to life all over the cockpit as the Berserker Dawn White Marlin came to life.

Runa briefly wondered how she was going to get out of the hangar. It WAS opened electronically after all. Another explosion blasted the building, this one far closer than the last had been. It was followed literally a second later by one that blew an Elephander-sized chunk out of the hangar wall.

'Well, that answers that.'

The newly revamped mecha stepped warily out of the hangar, glancing sharply around before proceeding further. It's pilot didn't notice the figure that slipped into the hangar as they left.
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Miyuki strode through the dark base, systematically checking the hangars for the Setsunakute Ii. Her eyes glittered as she finally found her horse-type Zoid, smirking to herself as she advanced. Paul was in his Iron Kong PK outside, waiting for her and staying out of the way of the already heated fighting. Their plan was simple - draw Runa away from the main group, take her down then haul ass out of there before anyone noticed.

It would work flawlessly. There was nothing that could go wrong.
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Izumi paused a moment to bring the open channel com-link up, voice strained as she narrowly avoided an overly enthusiastic Rev Raptor. "Has anyone seen Runa?!"

There was a chorus of 'nope's, 'no's and 'negative's from the rest of the Star Team, save for a belated response from D-chan.

"I saw her in the hangar a bit back. She's somewhere around."

"Okay." Izumi left it at that, cutting the connection and cursing *LOUDLY* as a missile struck home.
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'Oh, this is just *GREAT*!'

Dawn backed up a bit, uneasily looking from the slowly advancing Iron Kong PK to the far swifter and far more imposing, Setsunakute Ii. Runa continued retreating, the Berserker Dawn White Marlin beginning to growl lowly. Absently, she wondered exactly how Miyuki had recovered her Zoid but the thought was put aside as the Iron Kong opened fire.

She dodged the majority of the blasts, trying to dart to the left and escape the line of fire only to find the Setsunakute Ii leaping at her. Dawn wheeled around, surprisingly nimble for such a heavily armored Zoid. It bounded a short distance away before sliding to a halt and slowly turning back to face its two opponents.

Miyuki studied Dawn, calculating for a moment before murmuring something to Paul on the private channel. He merely nodded his consent. It was what he would've chosen to do anyway.

Runa watched them, readying herself to dodge more missiles. As expected, Paul opened fire again but the volley of ammunition was far more vicious this time. Dawn buckled for a moment under the impacts then leapt to the right, responding with a salvo of its own. The Iron Kong returned the blows easily, its pilot unconcerned. The shots had gone slightly wide. The girl was getting nervous.

'Runa - this isn't right.'

'You know, this isn't really a good time for a conversation!!'

'RUNA! Listen to me! The Iron Kong shouldn't be the only one attacking! Where'd the -'

Warnings appeared wildly all over the cockpit, giving Runa only seconds to pull Dawn out of the way. The Setsunakute Ii slammed into Dawn's midsections, not hitting as directly as it's pilot had intended but it had hit all the same. Dawn whirled, jaws gaping as it lunged for a section of its attackers armor.

Miyuki started in surprise, wondering how Runa had retaliated so quickly - and with half of a very heavy Zoid bogging it down. She quickly regained her composure though, pulling away and leaving Dawn with a chunk of armor in its mouth. The horse Zoid reared back, front hooves flailing wildly. A few of the blows struck home, the pearly white of the Berserker Dawn White Marlin's armor turning a pale grey, highlighted by angry bullet holes and dents with occasional streaks of soot and exhaust marring the grey.

Runa winced as she was thrown around in the cockpit, slamming her head against the side of bars that were meant for safety. She groaned, sitting dazed for a moment before stirring herself to move Dawn. The Zoid's performance was down by twenty eight percent and most of her remaining ammunition had been rendered useless or jettisoned. 'Wonderful,' Runa thought bitterly as her Zoid fell into stride, closing fast on the Iron Kong PK.

Paul sucked a breath in sharply, trying to slow the White Marlin's progress with a few well placed missiles. Each hit was only worth a seconds recoil though and the armored Zoid simply plowed through his deliberate shots.

In a short burst of speed, the White Marlin was on the Iron Kong, stunning it for a moment with a gouge from the horn on its head. Electricity crackled around the new hole in the monkey, the power supply dropping substantially. Runa didn't pause in her attack, Dawn ripping into the Kong's armor and guns. Paul scowled, cocking his Zoid's heavy fist back and letting loose a left hook that would've made a professional boxer proud.

Dawn staggered, the overall performance dropping an additional ten percent and then dropping steadily as the Setsunakute Ii hammered it on the opposite side. It was all Runa could do to stay concious and keep Dawn upright, aside from counter attacking.

She shuddered, breathing heavily as her heart pounded in her throat. She was NOT going down this easily! The White Marlin somehow ducked out backwards from both of the attackers, then choosing Paul to Miyuki, lashed out at the Iron Kong PK again. The hole in the Iron Kong's chest was hit heavily and the power cell was disconnected from the main computers completely. The well armed Zoid crashed to the ground in a crackling heap. Runa smiled shakily.

'Score one for the home team!'

Dawn pushed away from the fallen monkey, turning her Zoid to face the Setsunakute Ii. It was barely damaged, save for the comparatively small piece of armor missing, the wiring inside exposed. Runa studied the performance level for a moment, sighing. The dramatic fall had stopped then rose a bit as Dawn remained stationary, leveling off somewhere around sixty percent. Not good. The individual statistics weren't exactly confidence inspiring either. The armor was functioning at about sixty five percent (which Runa found surprising, considering all the beatings the White Marlin had already taken), the attack systems were down by thirty percent and the speed and manueverability was functioning nicely at about ninety percent.

Miyuki wasn't one to just stand around at an impasse, especially when the mission was this close to being completed. The Setsunakute Ii charged forward, clashing with the White Marlin. There was a sickening crunch of metal from both Zoids as they strove to push further into each other, paws and hooves stirring dust into the sky. The sky had taken on a dirty hue from the exhaust, smoke and ash in the air, making it seem as if it was in the wee hours of the night instead of the morning.

Dawn strained against the larger and heavier Zoid but it was slowly losing ground, despite how much it dug its claws into the ground. Miyuki smirked, wrenching her Zoid's front quarters to the left then to the right, shaking the White Marlin from itself and flinging it several Zoid lengths away. A plume of fire flickered up as her few remaining missiles were crushed on touchdown, brightening the dark sky for a few seconds.

Runa slammed her head again, on the same safety bar, crying out sharply.

'Whoever put that in is *SO* going to pay later..'

Runa tried to coax her Zoid to its feet, receiving only a whine of the paw joints. She looked to the slowly advancing Setsunakute Ii and redoubled her efforts. The whine increased in volume but the Zoid slowly gathered itself and forced itself to its feet.

Miyuki smiled to herself. This one was in the bag.

The horse-type mech suddenly broke into a run, rearing on its hind legs and thrashing the White Marlin's midsections. The disabled Zoid shuddered under the blows, the joints whining again. Even the Starbuddy armor wasn't meant to be able to take a beating like this. The Setsunakute Ii fell back for a moment, turning around and kicking out with its hind legs. The powerful blow hit Dawn in the neck and partially on the head and sent the Zoid flying, crashing down roughly and rolling with the momentum.

The limp and half broken form that was thrown out of the canopy as the cockpit glass shattered could have easily been mistaken for shrapnel.

Runa laid half concious in a pool of her own blood, which had already soaked the earth into a semi-mud like state. She was distantly trying to figure out why there it sounded like another Zoid was coming up - fast. The steady pound of hydraulics became a rhythm that she concentrated on, focusing on to stay awake. She wondered if it was just her head pounding and whether what seemed like ion boosters being initialized was merely the distant sounds of battle.

The last thing that Runa saw before lapsing into unconciousness was a black and grey blur gracefully clear her body then Berserker Dawn White Marlin in a single leap, front paws outstretched, their claw tips glowing dark crimson.

Miyuki stared at the new Zoid that had literally come out of nowhere, seemingly detaching itself from the now dark grey -- nearly black -- horizon. It didn't have the markings of either the Alliance or Federation, in fact, the Zoid was unmarked at all. Just a big, black canine with green 'eyes' -- the cockpit -- and what looked to be a lightweight vulcan gun mounted on its back. But the gun wasn't what was worrying Miyuki. It was the claws.

The unknown Zoid slammed into the Setsunakute Ii, shearing away armor and taking a substanial chunk out of one of the horse's wings. It perched on the larger Zoids back, anchoring itself with a set of very sharp wrist blades. In almost the same fluid action, it leaned down and bit into the Setsunakute Ii's armor, snarling. Miyuki cursed as her Zoid let out a screaming parody of a whinny, hauling it back onto its hooves in an effort to dislodge the Zoid. It clung on for a moment more before retracting its wrist blades and ricocheting off. Miyuki watched the video screens as the Setsunakute Ii dropped back to all fours, her Zoid moving in perfect unison with what she wanted to do. Just as the unknown Zoid would've cleared her range, the hind legs whipped out and caught it in the back.

Much like the White Marlin, the canine flew. Unlike the White Marlin, the pilot had anticipated this, having watched it happen to the White Marlin. Ion boosters kicked in as it would've slammed chest first into the ground. Would've been annihilated as its legs were ripped off with the momentum. Would've had the cockpit glass shattered and the pilot surely killed. It wasn't.

The ion boosters corrected the sharp ascent and to a stander-by, someone would've thought the pilot of the fox Zoid had a death wish, going faster when it was already out of control. The ion boosters bought the pilot time to bring the canine's legs under itself and when it was, the ion boosters cut. The black mech hit the ground, leaning back as it skidded in a cloud of smoke and dust. It self arrested with its front paws, the hind quarters sweeping around as it pivoted to face the direction it had come.

Miyuki watched in surprise. The wolfish fox Zoid hadn't been destroyed when it should've been. The pilot was very good, compared to most every other person she had come up against. Perhaps a match for her own skills. But still, this...this...*thing* shouldn't be a problem. She shrugged, coming up with a makeshift strategy and putting it into motion. Nearly at the same time, both Zoids took off running. The Setsunakute Ii lowered its head threateningly and in response, the claws on the canine began glowing again, first a pale red then steadily darker. The details of both Zoids became more and more evident to the pilots as they closed the space between each other and Miyuki quelled the trepidation growing in her throat.

This Zoid - no, its pilot, Zoids didn't act on their own - was far too confident, too assured, too bold. It should've been afraid. The Setsunakute Ii outweighed it easily, could overpower it easily. Didn't the pilot realize that she, Miyuki, had just felled the Berserker White Dawn Marlin? Felled a Zoid that was heavily armored, armed and manned by a skilled pilot.

...And those claws. Whoever heard of a Strike Claw type attack with a *red* power up?

Instead of the expected clash, the canine didn't attack. It leapt up and *over* the Setsunakute Ii, landing behind it and whipping around on a dime. Miyuki gasped, startled and angered at the stunt her opponent had just pulled, feeling slightly stupid for falling for it. The claws had been a ruse. For once, the unshakable pilot was nervous.

She tried slowing the Setsunakute Ii, but at the pace it was already going, it wouldn't matter by the time she slowed it enough. To make things even more frustrating, at the speed she was going now, turning around would knock out one of the legs. The hybrid Zoid streaked towards the horse, ion boosters kicking in again. It drew even with the horse's hind quarters, almost casually leaning over and latching onto the Zoid's flank. It allowed itself to be dragged, persistently hanging on despite the damage it was taking to its legs.

The bizarre task the wolf was trying to accomplish was finally pulled off. The Setsunakute Ii's left hind leg pulled free of it's motors, remaining attached but virtually useless. A dead weight. The canine dropped away from the dislocated leg and slowed to a halt, it's pilot grinning as the Setsunakute Ii tripped. The horse was by no means totalled but it sure as hell wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

Glancing back at the wreck of the Berserker Dawn White Marlin, the Zoid warrior hesitated for a moment. If the Setsunakute Ii was left unattended, its pilot could very well escape. But if the pilot of the white Zoid didn't get some medical help soon...

The problem was solved with a compromise. The vulcan gun on the black Zoid's back pivoted, locking on the Setsunakute Ii. The pilot opened the com-link while setting up the targetting program to keep its sights on the horse, tone venomous and low with unbridled contempt. "If you even *try* to move your Zoid or get out, I shoot. I shoot until you aren't recognizable as a human, much less whoever you are. I think this is far more than reasonable, considering what you did to that other pilot. I know I'm making a mistake by not killing you now." The communications radio was closed as quickly as it had been opened and the canine moved slowly towards the Berserker Dawn White Marlin, head turned towards where Miyuki was seething in hatred, not in the least intimidated by the threats.
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There was a stunned silence from the entire crew that was fighting; having just heard a *VERY* angry sounding transmission on the communications systems on nearly all channels. Even the remaining forces they were fighting seemed to pause and hesitate, unsure of whether it had to do with them or not. Kashie was the first to speak up.

"You think that had anything to do with Runa?"

"Kash, that wasn't Runa," D-chan muttered. "Runa doesn't sound all evil-like."

"I know that wasn't Runa!" Kashie snapped.

"Well, we haven't heard from her this entire time," Lewis commented. "It'd be worth it to check it out."

Izumi joined the conversation, sounding just as tense as the rest of them, possibly more so if that was possible. "Well, if it's worth it then why don't a couple of us go over there? There's gonna be hell to pay if that had to do with Runa.."
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The pilot of the weird Zoid -- a short girl in her mid-to-late teens -- studied the unconcious and heavily bleeding warrior on the ground next to her. It appeared as if she had been thrown clear of the Zoid, either that or regained conciousness and crawled out. She glanced back at the wrecked white Zoid then to her own, shaking her head. "Fusion, you watching that..horse..thing?"

The black Zoid growled in acknowledgement.

The girl sighed. "Good." She stood up, frowning further. She was no medic by any means but even she knew that this much blood was bad. "Actually, bad is an understatement," she corrected herself humorlessly. "It's not everyday you find someone that's been bleedin' so much the ground's turned to mud under them.."

She half jogged to the crouching Zoid she had called Fusion, popping the canopy and half hanging inside. The teen rummaged around for a moment then dropped out holding an emergency med kit. She continued to talk in low tones to the Zoid and was rewarded by a soft growl or a glance in her direction after each pause. "Just *had* to be five minutes late. She might not be this bad if we had gotten there five minutes faster.."

Returning to the girl, she crouched down, hesitant to touch her. Not because of the blood but for fear of making things worse. Again, she sighed and set about cleaning up the more accessible cuts.

Minutes later the black Zoid snarled viciously, its pilot looking up sharply in fear that the Setsunakute Ii was moving again. Instead, she watched a group of Zoids advance on the wreck site. She pushed her unruly brown bangs from her eyes and stood up, realizing distantly she just got her headband bloody. She shrugged after a moment, mumbling to her irate mecha. "Great day this has been so far, huh?"

The wolf rumbled a growl, glancing almost anxiously from the horse to the few Zoids coming towards them. The girl wiped the blood on her hands off on her jeans, casually, as if it was oil from working in a garage. "Cool it, Fuse. I don't think those guys are out to get us. Then again, if they are.." she paused, letting out a breath she was unaware she had been holding in. "..we're...very...screwed."
Reesesluver: *holds her breath anxiously* ..Alright, I'm absolutely terrified I mangled something and it's probably not a good idea to tell this to you folks, but that's alright! Arizda likes it but I'm scared of you lot. *shudder* Anyhow, Arizda shall be taking over again for next chapter; she's on a mental lunch break right now. *serious nod* Fricasseed F.O.R.D. raccoons, perhaps. ..or possums. Mmm. Possum. ..Anyhow, we'll try an' get that next chapter up for you lot ASAP and I have nothing more to say..so..I'm out!

Arizda: Hola! Yesyesyes... SEE HOW MUCH GREATER THAT THIS IS, now that Reesesluver has a hand on it?! It's like... ten TIMES better... how does she do it? Anyway, sorry for taking such a ridiculously long time to get this done. Heh. Well... *passes out snacks* Read and Review, and I promise that the next chapter will be up before eight months ^_~ Geez... it's been so long, someone could've had a KID by now.................