Hey there, Vegeta here. I had one person ask me if the speed rating mentioned in Chapter 3 was accurate for the ZOIDs. I'll say again that I have the technical specifications on almost every ZOID created. If you have a question about any ZOID or want the technical specifications on any ZOID, e-mail SnakeVnm8@aol.com.

Some terms to know:

Class : The combined statistics (length, height, weight, max speed) and power of a ZOID. Class-1 ZOIDs have the lowest statistics, while Class-5 ZOIDs have the highest.

Command ZOIDs : Command ZOIDs are small Class-1 ZOIDs that are used mainly for recon missions or sent out in large numbers to overwhelm opponents.


BTW, Lena... the idea you gave me... I was already planning on something like that for this chapter.

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Last time on "ZOIDs: Futile Ambition"

The world around them dissolved, and Vista found himself standing on sand, the twin moons of planet Zi shedding their light on his metallic form.

Vista gazed up at the moons, "Well, after going through a five-hour mirror maze through the cosmos and slaying the Dragon of Chaos... I think searching for information on Shifter will be a pleasant little interlude."

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Chapter V - Discoveries and Duels

Rhodry paced back and forth inside the Zero Temple. Under the floodlights from the ZOIDs, Van and Irvine watched her.

"You've been pacing for hours... Rudolf told us to find information on Shifter." Irvine yelled to Rhodry, "How about we start doing what we were sent here to do?"

"Key word there, Irvine... *we*. Meaning Vista as well." Rhodry snapped, "Me and Vista have never been apart since we met... now because of that damn hunk of scrap metal you call a Dibison, I've lost my Organoid."

"Well what about Thomas? In case you haven't noticed, he's gone too!" Van snapped back.

"Forget your damn pilot! I want my Organoid back!" Rhodry shouted angrily.

Just before Van and Rhodry could resort to fisticuffs, Rhodry's Diloforce stepped in, "Let's stop fighting amongst ourselves... I'm sure Thomas and Vista are fine. Let's concentrate on what we were sent here to do."

Rhodry sighed heavily, "You're right... Vista wouldn't want me to hang around waiting."

Shoving past Van, Rhodry walked deeper into the ruins. The Diloforce looked at Van apologetically before following its pilot.

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Rhodry traced an ancient rune with her index finger. Turning to her Diloforce, she smiled, "This inscription is what started it all. I was standing right here when I released all of you."

"And we are grateful for it." The Diloforce replied, "You may have also awakened the mortal... or rather immortal enemy of planet Zi, but you had no idea. We cannot hold simple ignorance against you. Not even we were aware of Shifter's presence."

Rhodry sighed, looking up at her ZOID, "Maybe this could've been prevented if I never would've released you."

The Diloforce tilted its head, "I do not think you are that cruel. Besides, the fact of the matter is you did release us, regardless of consequences. What is done is done, and not even the strongest ZOID can turn back time."

Rhodry clenched her fist, "Before I found you guys, I wanted a ZOID so badly. I wanted one so that I could have a partner... a friend. I wanted to see the world, to go adventuring. But once I discovered all of you, I realized the power I held at my command... I realized that with the power I held, I could rule all of Zi. I could make it so that there was no Republic and Empire, and I thought that if there was only one faction, under one rule, there'd be no more wars, no more conflict. My intentions... my intentions were good, but the road I wished to take was less than that. Perhaps in some ways I'm no better than Shifter..."

Rhodry squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to cry in public. Seeing this, the Diloforce lowered its head and opened the cockpit.

"It's okay to cry, my itoshii hikoushi. But if you'd like some privacy in your misery, hop in." The Diloforce said fondly (AN: 'itoshii hikoushi' translates to 'beloved pilot').

Rhodry crawled into the cockpit and sobbed brokenly, whimpering about how it wasn't fair, how she was only sixteen and shouldn't have to deal with an omnipotent demon bent on destroying the world.

After a while, the Diloforce spoke up, "I hope you feel better, because I've found something."

Rhodry crawled out of the cockpit, looking at the ancient heiroglyphics on the wall the Diloforce was looking at. It depicted the Deathstinger in thick fog, with a Shadowfox slinking around behind it, the fog coming from the Shadowfox's smoke dischargers.

At second glance, Rhodry realized that a Shadowfox generally discharged black smoke with the purpose of obscuring it from view. But a white Shadowfox, like Rhodry's for example, wouldn't be obscured by black smoke... instead, a white ZOID would discharge fog instead of smoke.

"Rhodry, LOOK!" The Diloforce pointed to another picture. This one showed a pure-black Snipe Master facing a pure-white one. Next to that one was a white Ultrasaurus against a black Dibison.

The entire wall was covered with heiroglyphics depicted battles between an evil or black ZOID and a white ZOID. Occasionally it showed other ZOIDs, but they were never actually engaged in battle.

Rhodry turned to the portion of the wall that slid over to reveal the ancient ZOID hiding place. Looking at the inscription on the wall, she turned to her Diloforce.

"Can you read that?" Rhodry asked. Her Diloforce lowered its snow-white saurian head, peering at the inscription with glowing red eyes.

"It is a prophecy. It states: 'Dark and light, different and same. Between friend and kind, the white dragon must choose a side. The white dragon's choice shall determine the outcome of the final duel, as the light shall fall if the dragon wills it so.'" The Diloforce read slowly and carefully, making sure each rune was read correctly.

"White dragon? What white dragon?" Rhodry asked, confused.

"I'm guessing a white ZOID... what Dragon-type ZOIDs are there?" The Diloforce tilted its head.

"Just the Redler and Gunguyarados..." Rhodry said, calling up their holographic images on her IBATU.

"The Gunguyarados is a very powerful ZOID... a Class-5... if I were an insane demon trying to destroy the world, I'd want a powerful minion like that." The Diloforce sighed, "We'd better keep an eye on the Gunguyarados... and the Redler too, just in case."

"I'll send the Beeshooter to watch those two while we take care of this." Rhodry replied, a holographic image of the Command ZOID appearing on her IBATU.

"Beeshooter." Rhodry commanded the Hornet-type ZOID, "Keep an eye on the Redler and Gunguyarados... watch for anything suspicious with those two. Alert the others in the hanger as well."

Before the Beeshooter could reply, a cry from the front of the temple drew Rhodry's attention. Instinctively, she shouted, "Transport Konig Wolf!!"

With a flash of light, the Wolf-type ZOID appeared in front of her, ready to battle. Running off to the front of the temple where she heard the cry, she remembered that she could've very easily fought using her Diloforce and hoped it wasn't insulted.

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When Rhodry and her two ZOIDs arrived on the scene, she found the Blade Liger and Lightning Saix facing a very familiar ZOID.

"It's the Dibison!" The Diloforce said happily, jogging up to the Dibison, "Hey Thomas, is Vista with you?"

The Dibison mooed and fired a single cannon. The shot hit the ground in front of the Diloforce, causing him to stop short and look at the Dibison.

"That's not Thomas!" Van said in a low voice.

"Thank you Captain Obvious..." The Diloforce sneered, extending the blades on its legs.

The Konig Wolf stepped forward to join the others, speaking in its gruff voice (AN: This sounds like one of the wolf pups in Princess Mononoke), "Leave now, Dibison, and we will not harm you."

Rhodry, inside the cockpit of the Konig Wolf, prepared the Wolf for its Electromagnetic Bite. It would result in a temporary power freeze, but it was strong enough to also freeze the enemy.

The Dibison mooed again, shaking its horns at the Konig Wolf. The Lightning Saix snarled at the Dibison, green eyes flashing in anticipation of a battle. The Blade Liger roared a challenge.

The Diloforce backed away slowly, preparing for an attack pattern that Rhodry had thought of once before.

"We can take that phony Dibison..." Van said confidently, "Attack!"

Electricity danced about in the Konig Wolf's mouth as it turned and lunged. The Blade Liger stopped in its attack as it heard the Lightning Saix's mechanical scream of agony. Turning, Van saw the Konig Wolf had bitten down on the Lightning Saix's neck. The Saix's green eyes stopped glowing as the command system froze. The Konig Wolf's system freeze was not far behind, air vents opening all over the body and venting air to cool down the Wolf.

"Rhodry! Traitor!" Van screamed, "Irvine, are you okay?!"

The cockpit opened on the Lightning Saix and Konig Wolf, the two pilots jumping out of their respective ZOIDs.

"Thank you, Rhodry." Irvine said, shaking from the experience.

Van exited his ZOID, looking clueless, "Thanks for what? Shutting down the Lightning Saix?! We still have the Dibison to worry about!"

Van turned to see the Dibison, and gasped in shock. The ZOID was a wreck, the only thing keeping it alive was the ZOID Core. How it had walked all the way to the temple was a mystery.

"The Dibison was an illusion." The Diloforce said from its position behind the Lightning Saix, powering down its light particle cannon, "Shifter wanted us to attack Thomas' Dibison, while Shifter himself took control of Irvine's Lightning Saix."

"The rounds fired by the Dibison to stop the Diloforce's advance was actually from an electromagnetic pole on the Dibison's nose. The shot actually came from the Lightning Saix, but was turned to make it look like it was the Dibison." Rhodry explained, "I noticed that the color of the Lightning Saix's eyes was green... the color of a normal Lightning Saix's eyes. However, since Irvine's uses the ZOID Core of a Command Wolf, the eyes of his Saix are brown. Noticing the change in eye color, I concluded that the Lightning Saix was the enemy. I told the Diloforce to get behind the Saix and charge its light particle cannon in case the Saix evaded the Bite. Once I shut down the Lightning Saix, Shifter left it and dropped the illusion on the Dibison."

/I SEE YOU'RE SMARTER THAN SHIFTER THOUGHT... OR PERHAPS SHIFTER WAS JUST CARELESS. EITHER WAY, YOU AREN'T NEAR OUT OF THIS YET./ Shifter's voice resounded through their minds.

A mass of black energy appeared behind them, condensing to form a Gunbluster. Golden cannons glistening in the floodlights from the ZOIDs, the Ankylosaurus-type ZOID fired.

The three pilots dashed for their ZOIDs, hearing the sound of the Gunbluster's barrage tearing up the ground behind them.

Rhodry screamed as a round that would tear through the Konig Wolf impacted her body. Her strength rapidly failing, Rhodry used the last of it to crawl into the cockpit of the Konig Wolf, where she instantly passed out.

Shifter's maniacal laughter followed as he shifted into a Genobreaker and flew outside the temple.

The five ZOIDs stepped outside, where the Konig Wolf spoke, "My pilot's hurt... we have to finish this quickly so we can take her back to Guygalos. Leave it to me and the Diloforce... this is our battle."

The Konig Wolf jettisoned Rhodry, watching as Irvine and Van exited their ZOIDs to assist the injured pilot. The battle begin instantly.

The Diloforce powered the blades on its legs, snarling at the Genobreaker. Powering up to full, the Diloforce dashed for the Genobreaker. The Genobreaker responded by firing its grappling claws at the approaching ZOID, clamping the left one on the Diloforce's right leg. Falling to the ground with a roar, the Diloforce clawed at the ground, trying to break free of the Genobreaker's claw. Soon, however, the Diloforce found itself staring up at the Genobreaker as it raised a hind claw to stomp the smaller ZOID.

With a defiant roar, the Diloforce flicked open the blade on its tail, lashing said appendage upward. The Genobreaker roared as the blade cut into its chest. Detaching from the Diloforce, Shifter backed away.

A powerful blast hit Shifter's side. The Genobreaker turned to the left to see the Konig Wolf on a hill not too far away, its back to Shifter in a sniping position. Shifter fired the grappling claw at the Wolf with a scream of rage. Taking the opportunity, the Diloforce dashed forward, staying low. The tail blade sliced the cable that attached the grappling claw to the body. The claw landed just short of the hill. Skidding to a stop, the Diloforce turned to the right and fired its light particle cannon. The beam hit Shifter head-on, and the Genobreaker backed away with a scream.

"He's weaker than a normal Genobreaker..." The Diloforce mused.

The Genobreaker lunged forward, the large crablike claws on either side of the Genobreaker's body grabbing at the Diloforce. A smooth leap back and another beam from the Diloforce's cannon sent the Genobreaker reeling.

Activating its boosters, it shot towards the Diloforce. Stunned by the speed, the Diloforce couldn't move in time, and the Genobreaker spun, hitting the Diloforce with its powerful tail.

The Konig Wolf dashed from the hill, leaping atop the Genobreaker. Powerful claws tore at the Genobreaker's body, tearing off the blade atop the Genobreaker's head. Opening its jaws, the Konig Wolf clamped down on the Genobreaker's neck, delivering a powerful Electromagnetic Bite. Shifter screamed in agony, fighting back a system freeze. For a while they were locked together, each one hoping the other froze first. In the end the Konig Wolf's systems shut down, and Shifter threw him into the Diloforce.

With a roar of triumph, the Genobreaker lowered so its body was horizontal, dropping the foot anchors and straightening its tail.

/FOOLS!!!/ Shifter sounded pissed, /I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!!!/

The Diloforce and weakened Konig Wolf watched in horror as the Genobreaker prepared to finish them off. It was heavily damaged, but unfortunately they were moreso.

A giant blast impacted the side of the Genobreaker. Shifter screamed again as the foot locks were overloaded and the Genobreaker's left leg 'broke' under the pressure. Raising the foot locks, the Genobreaker turned to face this new attacker.

"It's the Dark Spiner!" The Diloforce cried happily.

Sure enough, the new ZOID was a white one, signifying it belonged to Rhodry. It had a large sail on its back, raised in the back like the front of it was on a hinge. Its tail was raised up, tail fans open. The Dark Spiner closed its tail fans and lowered the sail, straightening up for a roar of triumph.

Shifter, outraged that the Diloforce and Konig Wolf's demise was to be delayed, shot towards the Dark Spiner with all the speed it could manage. The Dark Spiner dodged the large claws of the Genobreaker, firing its pulse cannons to destroy one of them. The other one attacked, the claw closing around the Dark Spiner's body. But at 16.6 meters to the Genobreaker's 13.7, the Spiner was much too big to be hurt much by the smaller Genobreaker, and definitely could not be lifted.

The Dark Spiner broke free of the Genobreaker's hold, ducking low and smashing its head into the Genobreaker's chin. The Genobreaker went reeling back, struggling to keep from falling over. While it did, the Dark Spiner charged another Charged Particle Cannon.

The Genobreaker regained its footing just in time to see the beam of pure energy approaching fast. Shifter screamed in protest, then in pain as the beam impacted, engulfing the Genobreaker in a resounding explosion and a cloud of dust.

When the dust dissipated, the Genobreaker was gone. In its place was a black cloud with blazing red eyes. It hovered slowly over them all.

/VERY NICE. SHIFTER SEES YOUR PILOT HAD ENOUGH ENERGY LEFT TO CALL YOU. BUT SHE IS DEAD NOW. TAKE SHIFTER'S ADVICE AND LEAVE WHILE YOU STILL HAVE YOUR LIVES./ Shifter disappeared, the cloud shooting off towards the horizon.

The sound of ZOIDs approaching drew the other's attention. The three white ZOIDs turned to see the Blade Liger and Lightning Saix approaching.

"Shifter's lying... Rhodry's alive, she's with me, but not doing too well... she expended what little energy she had left calling the Dark Spiner." Irvine reported, "We need to get going now if we want to save her."

The Konig Wolf and Dark Spiner nodded, "We cannot run as fast as you... go ahead of us, Lightning Saix."

The Saix nodded and ran for Guygalos at top speed, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. The Blade Liger followed suit, opening its attack boosters to match the speed of the Lightning Saix.

"Our pilot..." The Konig Wolf said, watching the two depart, "Dark Spiner... if you'd come by a moment sooner, we would've been destroyed. I don't know how Rhodry would handle losing either me or the Diloforce."

The Dark Spiner nodded, looking from the Wolf to the horizon, "I think we... all of us ZOIDs... should go it alone. Rhodry's a human... if our bodies are injured, we can survive as long as our Core is intact. If Rhodry's body is injured, she could die. Humans are fragile creatures... we almost lost Rhodry today, and we may still lose her. We can't take any more chances like this. The Genobreaker was weaker than a normal Genobreaker, but it was still almost strong enough to destroy us all."

The Diloforce was silent for a while, then spoke up, "I disagree. If we go it alone, and any one of us is destroyed, Rhodry would be no better off. We're her partners... and what's the good of being partners if we don't face the same dangers?"

The Konig Wolf looked at both dinosaur ZOIDs, "We'll need all the help we can get... Dark Spiner, you go on ahead. When you reach Guygalos, I want you to tell Rhodry to send out a few flying ZOIDs to search for wild ZOIDs to enlist in the battle. I'll go to New Helic City and enlist the help of the Republican ZOIDs... I'm a Republican ZOID anyway. Diloforce, you have a map of every building and ruin on Zi... I want you to go on a Sleeper hunt. Find every Sleeper you can and explain our situation. Do the same to any wild ZOIDs you find. Dark Spiner, I want you at Guygalos to not only enlist the help of every Imperial ZOID (you are an Imperial ZOID, anyway), but to protect Rhodry. You're the strongest out of all of us. You'd be the best bet if it came down to a fight."

The Diloforce dashed off in one direction, while the Konig Wolf went in the direction of New Helic City. The Dark Spiner watched them for a while, then ran off in the direction the Blade Liger and Lightning Saix had taken.

"Shifter was weaker than a normal Genobreaker... but he still almost defeated us. Is our skill level that low? And what will happen if Raven or Hilz decide to cause trouble for us again? We can't have another super-powerful, super-evil ZOID to deal with." The Dark Spiner said as it ran, "With the help of the other ZOIDs we'll find, we'll be stronger. But if another evil power appears, we don't stand a chance."

Thinking about this, the Dark Spiner continued its journey towards its pilot and partner, praying that she was okay. Because if they lost her, they lost the war.