Zoids: A New Beginning
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I do not own zoids, never have never will.
Bit was feeling restless and was taking Liger out for a run. He remembered when he had met Derrik Fay on the Ultrasaurus during the dinner held for the Blitz Team by all the other Class S teams. Derrik had seemed like such a nice person. It was a shock to find that the casually talking man was the top warrior in Class S.
He remembered what he had heard about Derrik Fay. Derrik's zoid of choice was a Rev Raptor. Rev Raptors were the cannon fodder of the zoids world. Rev Raptors were known to be weak in both the areas of attack and defense. Their two scythe blades held no laser generators and thus were no match for most zoids with that kind of weaponry. Their arm mounted cannons (their only ranged armament) had virtually no penetration power and would be hard pressed to punch through the lightest armor. And even though they were fast and maneuverable, they could be brought down with the lightest hit.
The primary fact about Rev Raptors was not their weakness, but rather the fact that they were inexpensive. Dozens of teams started out with nothing more than Rev Raptors because Rev Raptors were the best they could afford. Such teams rarely made it very high until they earned enough prize money to get more powerful zoids.
If Derrik had been able to make it into Class S with nothing but a Rev Raptor, Bit reflected, and then made it to the top of Class S, his skills would be unreal. Bit wondered how hard this battle would be.
Back at Toros Base, the other members of the Blitz Team, Brad, Jamie, Leena, and Dr. Toros had an unexpected visit from Leon and Naomi. Leon had arrived with no warning. Jamie was first to spot him.
"Leon!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly. Leon had been the Blitz Team's leader before Bit had arrived. Soon after Bit hired on Leon had left in an attempt to define the extent of his skills. He later joined Naomi on the Fluegal Team, his Red Blade Liger's close combat capabilities complementing the long range combat power of Naomi's Gunsniper.
Leon had supported Bit during his beginning time on the team. He came back later as Bit's prime rival. Bit had finally defeated him in the Royal Cup. Despite their rivalry, Leon remained on good terms with the entire team, Bit included.
"How are you guys doing?" asked Brad.
"We're doing pretty well for ourselves," replied Naomi. After the incident involving a gang called the Desert Stingrays, Brad and Naomi had become very close. It was no secret that they harbored affection for one another, yet neither ever really announced it.
"I hear that you're going up against Derrik Fay in a few days," said Leon.
"Yeah, Bit's feeling a little nervous about it so he took the Liger 0 out for a run," said Leena, instinctively knowing her brother's next question.
"I'd like to talk to him when he gets back," said Leon.
"How in the heck did this happen!" cried a pilot in frustration. The pilot was none other than Garret, the leader of the Backdraft Group's Strike Team. The team, consisting of a Genosaurer, piloted by Garret, a Gunbluster, and a Shield Liger, was participating in another unsanctioned battle. Their opponent had been a lone Rev Raptor.
A casual observer would have never known a Rev Raptor had been a participant in the battle had he not seen the Rev Raptor for himself. The zoid was a blur of motion as it fought, its movements unpredictable, and guided by a pilot of unbelievable skill.
Garret looked out at the remains of his team. The Gunbluster had been gutted by an explosion from within. Somehow the Rev Raptor had fired a shot straight down one of the Gunbluster's cannon barrels, detonating its entire store of ammunition.
The other member of his team, the Shield Liger, was downed by a number of slashes that cut weapons off and deeply scored the side. Its condition was beyond the power their secret weapon had.
Garret's Genosaurer was still standing, that changed in a matter of seconds. The Rev Raptor came in, spinning like a top. Its blade delivered a single strike, with a follow-through by the outside edge of the second blade, and a second follow-through by the first blade as the zoid spun completely around. The Genosaurer collapsed defeated.
The Rev Raptor stood over its opponents as the judge reluctantly handed the victory to the Raptor Team. "Underestimation is a powerful weakness," Derrik Fay said with a smile.
When Bit finally came back from his run with the Liger 0, Leon was waiting for him. Naomi and Brad had gone off to have dinner together while the others waited for Bit's return. Leon smiled when Bit hopped from the Liger's cockpit. "You must be nervous, you've never been out that long," Leon commented.
"Hey Leon, come by for a visit?" asked Bit.
"Yeah you could say that," he replied.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" asked Bit, getting very suspicious of Leon's tone.
"I have some important information about Derrik Fay," said Leon.
"Is this something that you want me to hear or can the rest of the team hear it?"
"The rest of the team can listen in."
"Anything that'll give us an edge over this guy," stated Leena flatly.
"Well my information won't necessarily give you any kind of edge," said Leon, "But it is very important."
"Well, lets go to the briefing room and hear what you have to say son," said Dr. Toros.
A few minutes later, the Blitz Team (with the exception of Brad who was still out with Naomi) and Leon were all seated.
Leon began, "I did some checking up on the history of the Liger 0. It wasn't easy to find. It appears that the Liger went from auction to auction after various people bought it and found that none of their team members could pilot the Liger 0."
"And what does this have to do with Derrik Fay?" asked Bit.
"I finally managed to track records all the way back to when the Liger was first auctioned off. I found this very interesting piece of information. The first person to own the Liger 0 was none other than Derrik Fay."
Silence reigned around the room as the Blitz Team took time to digest Leon's announcement. None of them had ever known anything about the Liger 0's past. Was it possible that perhaps Derrik Fay was not only the first person to own the Liger 0, but could he have been its creator as well?
During the silence, Leon left. Bit already knew that he had no more answers. That night, Bit couldn't sleep with the questions racing through his mind.
A few days later, the Blitz Team arrived at the battlefield for their battle with Derrik Fay. They mobilized the Gunsniper, the Shadowfox, and, of course, the Liger 0, equipped with the Shnider armor. On the other side of the battlefield, Derrik's lone Rev Raptor stood.
The judge capsule plummeted from the sky. "The area within a 30 mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield…" ect. "The Blitz Team versus the Raptor Team. Battle mode 0993 ready…fight!"
The Blitz Team surged into motion. Leena went to the left to line up for a good shot at the Rev Raptor while the Liger 0 and the Shadowfox went in opposite directions to hit the zoid from both sides.
The Rev Raptor held its ground. It was slowly shifting the aim of its right arm cannon. Leena did not pay it any mind. The Rev Raptor would be lucky to hit her from that distance, much less disable her. Inside the cockpit of his zoid, Derrik smiled and pulled the trigger.
The single shot fired by the Rev Raptor hit the Gunsniper in the right knee. Unable to hold its own weight, further stressed by the heavy weapons, the Gunsniper sagged, then collapsed, unable to fight in the battle any more.
"What the?!" Leena exclaimed, "How did he take me down with one shot.
"He targeted the area of the most concentrated stress on the Gunsniper," said Jamie, "That was the knee. With all your modifications, the Gunsniper wasn't able to stand and collapsed."
"Just great," Leena growled.
"Let me try this Bit," said Brad.
"Don't be a fool Brad, lets stick to the plan or he'll take us down one by one," said Bit.
"Don't worry," replied Brad. The Shadowfox stalked in close to the Rev Raptor. It then activated its smoke dischargers, flooding the area around them with heavy, black smoke. Derrik quickly lost sight in the thickening cloud.
Derrik did not need his eyes, or the Rev Raptor's sensors to guide him. He quietly waited until the expected flash came. He leaned the Rev Raptor to the right the Shadowfox's shots passing inches from his left side.
On his sensors, Brad saw an explosion on the Rev Raptor's left side, flinging it to the ground. "I think I got him," said Brad.
"His zoid's down, but the command system hasn't frozen yet," said Jamie.
"Better not let him get back up," said Brad, moving the Shadowfox into point blank range to get the best shot he could. The Shadowfox stood over the Rev Raptor and started to angle its cannon down. Suddenly, the Rev Raptor's left arm moved. Brad found the Rev Raptor's arm cannon almost touching the Shadowfox's neck.
"Fooled you," Derrik said and pulled the trigger. The Shadowfox sagged to the ground, defeated.
"What happened?" asked Bit, unsure of what was happening in the smoke cloud.
"Derrik was playing possum," said Dr. Toros, "That's pretty clever."
"Would you give our team a little more support Doc?" whined Jamie.
"Guess it's up to us partner," said Bit, the Liger 0 roared in agreement. "Let's go Liger!" cried Bit.
With a roar, the Liger 0 charged into the smoke cloud, blades extended, and out the other side. Bit saw the Rev Raptor retreating towards a nearby cliff. "Oh no you don't," he said and then gave chase.
The Schnider fired its jet boosters to close the gap with the retreating Rev Raptor. The side blades were extended and charged with laser energy. Derrik looked back to find the Liger closing with him. "So far, so good," he commented to himself.
The Rev Raptor was almost at the base of the cliff when it jumped. Bit almost halted his charge when he saw the Rev Raptor jump. The Rev Raptor reoriented in the air and hit the cliff feat first, pushing off towards the Liger 0.
Because it had jumped up to reach the cliff, the Rev Raptor was coming at the Liger from an above angle, where it was unprotected by its laser blades. The Rev Raptor's scythe blade cut straight through the Liger's back along its midline. The Liger went a couple more steps and fell.
"The battle is over. The battle is over. The winner is…the Raptor Team," the judge announced.
From a restaurant where he had been watching the battle, Gene, the leader of the Burning Sands Team commented, "I guess they weren't the exception."
"Aww we lost Doc," sighed Jamie.
"That's alright Jamie," said Dr. Toros, "You can't win every battle."
Out on the battlefield Bit watched the Rev Raptor as it walked away. "Wait a minute," he shouted, "I want to talk to you Derrik."
The Rev Raptor paused. "How would you guys like to come have dinner with me?" he said, "I'm quite sure I can answer you question's there."
"Sure," said Bit.
An hour later, the Blitz Team was having dinner with Derrik at his home base. Derrik proved to be a phenomenal cook. While the Blitz Team was having dinner, Derrik waited for the inevitable questions.
Finally, Bit spoke, "Leon did some research and found that you were the owner of the Liger 0."
"And you want to know if I created the Liger 0," said Derrik. It was a statement, not a question. Bit nodded anyway.
Derrik closed his eyes, remembering. "Back in my younger days (I started fighting in zoid battles when I was nine) I got the idea that I would create the perfect partner. The zoid I had in mind was going to be powerful, not only with regard to weaponry. My plan was for the zoid's true power to be in its intelligence. I dreamed of creating a zoid that was akin to a living creature.
"I remembered hearing stories passed down to me by my father who received them from his grandfather and so on. Those stories dated back to the days of the war between the Helic Republic and the Guylos Empire."
Brad whistled, "That's a while back."
"Two hundred, thirty-seven years to be exact," said Derrik. "Among a few of those stories were about both sides of the war trying to obtain special units called Organoids. These Organoids are not the same as the one bonded with the Liger 0. Back then they were separate units altogether, with the power to fuse with the zoid core of any zoid they chose. Organoids could enhance a zoid's performance, increase speed, power, and reduce reaction time. They could even perform limited repairs on a zoid.
"My first thought was that if an Organoid could be permanently fused with the zoid core of a zoid, it would be a hundred times more effective. And thus, I began my first attempt at building an Ultimate X, a zoid with a permanently bonded Organoid, one that would be more powerful after each battle, whether it won or lost.
"I was naïve when I started, and foolish enough to try and use a Genosaur as a base model for producing an Organoid. Organoids are living things with feelings and emotions. An Organoid permanently bonded with a zoid takes on emotions that match a zoid's capabilities. A Genosaurer's capabilities were so destructive that the Organoid immediately took on powerful aggressive tendencies. In the zoid I created was a deep-seated need to destroy. I realized that such a zoid was too dangerous to ever be used in a zoid battle. I buried it under the sea, but not before giving it a name, the Berserk Fury."
"You created the Berserk Fury too?" exclaimed Jamie.
"Yes, I did not anticipate that there would be anyone who could control it to the degree that Vega Obscura could. He had done well in reigning in the Fury's destructive attitude. I have no intentions of taking the Berserk Fury away from him."
He paused then continued on his original course, "After my failure with the fury, I looked to a zoid that would not instill such aggressive tendencies in an Organoid. I realized that in order to do that, I would have to find a zoid that was not so purely destructive as the Genosaurer. I finally settled on a Liger type zoid. I realized I was successful as soon as it was completed, but I did not realize the scope of my success.
"I was surprised and annoyed when the Liger 0 refused to allow me to so much as enter the cockpit. Then I realized that this zoid would not be a danger to a person who possessed it, unlike the Berserk Fury. I did not want to reduce such a beautiful thing to scrap simply because it would not allow me to pilot it. I knew that there was someone out there somewhere, someone whom the Liger 0 would approve of. I figured the best way to do that would be to release the Liger 0 onto the open market and hope that through random events that it would eventually meet its chosen pilot.
"However, the creation of the Berserk Fury and the Liger 0 bankrupted me. I had barely enough money to buy the Rev Raptor. I realized that I would have to not only know how to pilot the Rev Raptor, but also how to bring out its full potential if I were ever going to last long enough to try again at building an Ultimate X."
"You're going to try and build another one?" asked Leena, stunned by the story.
"Yes, when I built the Liger 0 and the Berserk Fury, I had but a tiny fraction of the funds I possess now. With the prize money I won from today's battle, I will have enough to start with more than enough to fall back on if I prove incorrect in my latest theorems in building and Ultimate X."
"What unit are you going to base this one on?" asked Bit.
"I will base it on my favorite type of zoid, the Rev Raptor," said Derrik.
"Should be fairly inexpensive then," said Jamie.
"No, I expect this to be a very expensive endeavor. I plan on building a completely new kind of zoid. The Rev Raptor is mostly my inspiration, but the zoid I am going to create will be completely original from the raw materials up," he said proudly.
Brad, who had been silent up until then, spoke. "You mentioned that the early Organoids had the power to fuse with any zoid they chose, enhancing its abilities?" he asked.
"Yes."
"During our battle with the Backdraft Group's Strike Team, they used something called their secret weapon. Whatever it was fused with their Shield Liger. Afterwards, not only did it repair itself, but it also enhanced its performance."
"Hmmmm, I fear that you are too accurately describing an Organoid for my liking. It could be extremely dangerous for an Organoid to be in league with a group such as the Backdraft Group."
Brad's eyes narrowed slightly, "Maybe it's being forced to help them."
Derrik's expression did not change, "No, remember that I said an Organoid has emotions. There is one emotion an Organoid never experiences, fear. In addition to that, when an Organoid fuses with a zoid, it has the option of taking complete control of a zoid. An Organoid can not truly be controlled. There are some that might recognize and respect someone as superior to them, but they follow only by choice. No, an Organoid cannot be forced into coercion.
"My greatest fear is the potential this Organoid has. If an Organoid fuses with a zoid often enough and gains enough experience enhancing the zoid in battle, then the Organoid can alter the zoid and its core. This process is an evolution, the zoid that emerges from an evolution is substantially more powerful than its previous form. If the Organoid evolves just one of the Backdraft Group's zoids, then battles will be even more difficult."
Derrik glanced at his watch, "I think you should be getting back to your own base."
The Blitz Team got up to leave. Brad looked back and said, "By the way, when we fought today, I noticed that it seemed like your zoid had been hit pretty bad in the smoke cloud, but I didn't touch it, did I?"
Derrik smiled, "No, I placed explosive charges along the length of my Rev Raptor. When your shots grazed by, I detonated the charges. The force was meant to fling my zoid to the ground, giving you the impression that you hit me. I counted on you coming in close for a coup de grace."
Brad turned and left without another word. Derrik watched them go, "Good luck Blitz Team, I wish you luck, and the only certain thing about the future is its uncertainty."
At the headquarters for Stroma's legitimate business, the head of the Backdraft Group was making plans for his next move. "We have made a good start, but it is time to show our enemies the meaning of fear," he muttered.
