Chapter Eight
Ignition
As PAC-1's cockpit hatch closed, it mimicked the feeling of desperation engulfing my heart. New Helic City was over a week away from the Southern Frontier. In a week's time, Major Nevets could obliterate half of the Europa Continent. Kavid would have to go there ahead of us in his Redler, but it had no Plasma Armor—there was no way he could survive even a conventional weapons attack. The dangers were too high, but we had no choice. We would just be sending him to his death.
My eyesight was gazing into oblivion as my Zoid walked back up to the plain atop Mt. Hoploy, but PAC-1's growl re-awoke me.
The Blade Liger Vampire and Bruno's silvery Gustav were gone. Odds are the big guy chased after Skyler. One lone Zoid stood out on the green grass, staring directly back at me. It was a moderately-sized Zoid, with a black main body, ruby-red armor and…and silver weapons! It was a Command Wolf! It was my original PAC-Wolf-1!
As for who was piloting it, well, there could only be one answer to that question. I flicked on my comm. "Katrana. How do you like the cup-holders?"
Her solemn face appeared on my HUD-Comm. "Don't make this any harder, Jeremy."
Rain drops started to pat my Zoids windshield. "We don't have to make this into anything, Katrana. You can help us."
"I am sorry for having betrayed you and your friends as much as I have, but I swore to my father that I would never stop until you all paid for what you did to him." She was forcing her pain to become anger, even though truly, it wasn't there.
"Your father was a freaking lunatic, Katrana!" Bad move, Kavid. "And now it sounds like he made you feel guilty for his mistakes. Don't do it!"
Thunder began to rumble across the mountain, and lightning soon followed in spectacular obedience. Nearby, a bolt of electricity struck a tree, striking the plant-life like a wick, and igniting a fire that began scampering across the dry grass, daring the increasing rainfall to put it out.
"My father was a great man," praised Katrana, "He needed what you took away from him."
"But even you saw that he was wrong—" I tried to emphasize.
"Damn the morals of it all!" she slapped back. "No one would have died! The Particle Charger doesn't kill! You've seen that!"
"No," solemnly responded Kavid, "But it makes you wish you were dead."
Katrana was silent. "Enough. I'm through with this talk. My mind was made up the day my father died. You took the glory he deserved away from him, and now you must pay the price for what you did to him!"
Another thunder and lightning combo shook the sky as the fire grew. Katrana's PAC-Wolf fired its 150mm cannon at me, and the energy shells shook PAC-1 a lot more than the rain did. Sifen ran PAC-3 next to me and opened its missile launchers, but I called my friends. "No, guys. Let me do this. When you get down to it, this is between me and her."
PAC-3's dripping wet launcher panels slowly closed and the Wolf backed off. Kavid called in. "She's all yours, buddy. Just don't lose."
I was too lost in concentration to let Kavid's remark bother me. Katrana ran to the left and started downhill, making for the forest. Another lightning bolt hit nearby. My targeting sights ached to lock onto her PAC-1, but she was too good, too maneuverable. Still, I attempted to predict her movements and fired a series of shots at her feather-footed Zoid. They all missed.
Despite the massive downpour of rain, the forest fire was upheld by the constant input of lightning bolts across the widely spread trees. The dry ground needed a good burning, and it was getting one.
In this sparse forest, the only place Katrana could hide from me was behind the flames, and she had plenty to make use of. A large oak tree was drenched in fire, and the original PAC-1 jumped behind it, spun its cannon at me and started a barrage. I took a couple of hits before I dove behind a boulder. The giant rock soon exploded from the assault, and left me open for another assault.
"Katrana! This is a waste of time!" I pleaded, "We are in two indestructible Zoids! Our weapons are useless against each other. Let's solve this another way." Despite what I had just said, I wanted to prove the paint, and fired three shots at her PAC-Wolf—they all just ricocheted away uselessly.
Then, curiously, she froze. Katrana just stood about 100-meters away from me, holding a motionless stance. I jumped as a lightning bolt slammed the ground behind me, unable to stand still myself.. Rain ran off of the dented armor of her PAC-Wolf and dripped off the end of her 150mm cannon as she stared at me in dead silence. What was she waiting for?
Finally, she spoke. "You're almost right, Jeremy, but I'm afraid you've made your last mistake."
Did I see the sparks sizzling out of the side of her Command Wolf's jaw before it happened, or did I just have some gut-instinct? I don't know, but whatever it was, it saved my life.
Katrana's PAC-Wolf cocked its head back and dropped its jaw. In an instant, a blinding white burst of energy fired from its mouth sending a waving stream through the air—right at me. But that gut-instinct or whatever it was already had me moving, and PAC-1 was leaping to the right, avoiding the beam by centimeters.
It was an overcharged Particle Charger beam, or "Wave-Smacker," as Bruticus liked to call it. It was a blast specifically designed to destroy whatever it hits. Not as violent as a CPG, but if used correctly, just as destructive.
As PAC-1 landed, I knew that speed was the only thing that could save my life. Dashing for Katrana, I pounced through the fire before she could charge-up another blast. Our two wolves clanged together in a metallic smash that drove my cyberphonic implants crazy. Even if it was a waste of time, I had to stay face-to-face with her—she couldn't have any shooting distance.
My veteran PAC-1 slammed my original PAC-1's head to the ground and scraped its neck with its claws. Katrana's Zoid fought to escape, but my Zoid had it pinned.
"Get off of me, Jeremy! I won't let you live!" Katrana's voice was starting to get panicky.
"If I have to hold you here forever, I will." I warned her. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Fate makes the rules, though.
The rules just changed.
"Jeremy! Get the hell out of there!" Kavid's scream was the loudest I would ever hear him yell. I couldn't even turn my head before the red flash hit PAC-1's cockpit with a thundering roar twice that of the storm raining down upon us.
My Zoid's rattling made concentration difficult. I could sense that I was flying yet again, a victim of a massive concussive blast. This was something that pilots in "normal" Zoids never had to deal with. Their Zoids always just exploded when hit this hard. Mine didn't—it just flew off. This was starting to get annoying. Naturally, a hard, tumbling crash followed the flight. I seemed to remember that my original PAC-1 could somehow reduce the impact of concussive force from blasts and crashes. This second one didn't seem to have that feature. That first guy must have been special upgrades—like the cup holders.
"Kavid, what got me?" I asked as PAC-1 ran out of the burning forest moments later. I was lucky my cyberphonic implants still worked.
"Twin Buster Cannons."
"Crap. Nevets."
"He nailed you long range. I'm flying to intercept." Kavid took off in his heroic way.
"Don't be a fool! You can't stop him!" I begged.
"Well, neither can you. I'm not going to just sit around and wait for him to incinerate all of us. I'm going down with a little pride. I suggest you do the same." A perfectly-timed lightning bolt accentuated his bold statement.
I smiled up at my friend. "You're right. Let's go. You with us, Sifen?"
"Of course, sir, as is Mansod." That really got my blood boiling.
I suddenly realized that we had lost track of Katrana. Where had she gone to after getting shot by the Geyser's Buster Cannons? She couldn't be hurt, not in a PAC-Wolf. Now I was really nervous.
When we approached Nevets' dragon, we realized we were too late.
The Geyser of Fire hovered in front of the Mt. Hoploy Command Center's main entrance. The Zoid's mouth was red hot, and it slowly pushed its neck forward, spewing its virtual lava of death straight into the core of the mountain. A massive eruption was ignited throughout the small mountain. Bursts of fire shot out of hidden vents and exhaust ports spread across the mountainside. The landing pad up at 3,000-meters was blasted off of its supports and came sliding down the slope, stripping off rocks and plant-life as it scraped the surface.
The entire forty-acre sub-surface complex that took seven years to dig out and another three to build, was obliterated in less than thirty seconds.
Then, as quickly as the structure exploded, it started to implode. The mountainside began crashing in upon itself, desperately attempting to fill the gap left by the obliteration of the Command Center. A deafening roar shook the air as massive potholes caved in all about the mountain.
"You bastard!" screamed Kavid, "Have you no morals at all?" His Zoid rocketed across the stormy sky, held back from full speed only by the constant firing of the Redler's Hybrid Thruster Cannons. Shells of energy bashed against the body of the Geyser, but they did no harm. However, their constant concussive force did force the dragon to lose a fair amount of altitude.
Why didn't it put up its shield? I asked myself.
PAC-3 ran up next to me. "Sir, I've noticed an anomaly."
"So have I, Sifen. The shield, right?"
"Yes, sir. I have a theory."
"So do I. What's yours?" I thought I'd be polite.
"The Geyser of Fire may be low on power." Sifen's theory was exactly the same as mine. As impossibly powerful as Nevets' big lizard seemed to be, it must have some sort of limit, and it was reaching that limit. But still…
"Even if it totally fizzles out, it has its Plasma Armor. We can't break it." I replied.
"But if it has no power, it can be restrained. I suggest we keep attacking it until it can no longer move, then restrain it." It was a difficult plan, but it might work. Bless you, Sifen.
"That could take hours." I warned.
"To quote a private I once knew, 'Let's do it!'" Those lightning bolts sure knew when to hit.
I smiled. "Damn right."
Kavid was running rings around Nevets—Buster Cannons weren't exactly the fastest shooting guns. PAC-1 and PAC-3 ran in and joined the fray. Sifen's missiles shook the dragon up quite well, but my 150mm cannon did little harm.
"You morons! You're just as stupid as ever! You can't hurt me, you will just die like that idiot Captain Kelt did!"
Whoa. He didn't know I was there! He must have thought my Wolf was Mansod's. I was debating whether to reveal myself to him, when he got his second wind.
As Kavid soared around for another pass, the Geyser of Fire lurched out and bit his Redler by the neck, snapping its head off. The little dragon's head, the one that my friend, PAC-1 and I had worked so hard to re-attach, fell to the ground as the back-body tumbled in a ball of fire and smoke.
"Kavid! No!" Slamming PAC-1's accelerators to the max, I sprinted towards Kavid's potential drop point. Moments before the head was to strike, I leapt my Wolf through the air and opened its jaw. PAC-1 clamped onto the Redler head, getting its own head jerked left as it came down. The head still banged the ground, but nowhere near as hard as it would have alone.
"Impressive move, Jeremy." I looked up to see Katrana's PAC-1 staring at me from the flaming trees.
"Don't do this, Katrana. What I'm doing here is too important for any spite you have towards me." I turned back towards the Geyser, still carrying the Redler head in PAC-1's mouth. PAC-3 was desperately fighting Nevets, and in dire straits.
"How dare you turn your back on me?" snarled Katrana, "I could kill you with the flip of a switch, and you turn your back on me?"
"So this is about power?" I let that sink for a moment, "Why don't you stop wasting your time fantasizing about revenge on us, and maybe focus on what your father wanted. He wanted to use the Particle Charger to save the Republic. Well, here's your chance to use it to save the whole damn world! You're the only person on the planet that can stop Nevets! You can credit it all to your father if you want, but I'm telling you, Katrana, killing me will get your father absolutely nothing." With that, I ran off to help Sifen.
PAC-3 leapt over a Buster Cannon blast and shot off some feeble turret shots at the dragon, who was now in obvious control of the battle.
"I grow weary of this. This battle ends now!" growled Nevets. Unleashing a volley of missiles, he knocked back Sifen's Zoid 200-meters. The Geyser then turned its focus onto Kavid's fallen Redler. Crashing upon the broken dragon, the mighty dragon used its massive claws to rip through the body of its prey, until the Redler's Zoidcore was exposed. The core still weakly glowed with life—it hadn't died quite yet. Memories of Gellenos shivered through my spine. I almost felt…hungry…again. But Nevets did what I didn't get the chance to: the Geyser reached down and bit the core, tore it out of the Redler's body and raised it high into the air. Then, almost magically, the Geyser of Fire absorbed the energy from the Zoid core, sucking the last bits of life from a dying life-form. It was just like in the legend of the Blade Liger Vampire. This was how the Geyser gained all of its massive power—it sucked it from the hearts of its enemies.
"Now, you pathetic 'Castaways,' I once again have enough strength to fire the Plasma Particle Cannon. Your fate is sealed." I was shivering, but I knew it wasn't because of Nevets' laughter.
The red glow began to grow again in the dragon's mouth. I wasn't right next to Sifen, but I knew that I couldn't escape. After all this time, all these struggles to survive, to be beaten by that squeaky bean-pole Nevets. I…I couldn't find the strength anymore. Was I too scared, or was PAC-1 too frightened? Either way, the strength was gone.
The Geyser cocked its head back and opened its mouth.
The storm had weakened in the last couple of minutes, so when the bolt of lightning shot through the air, I was surprised. When it struck the Geyser of Fire, I was really surprised. When the dragon shattered into billions of particles, leaving Nevets in a sitting position up in the air, I was shocked.
But that bolt hadn't come from the sky, nor was it lightning. It was a wave, fired from the forest. Katrana had fired her Wave-Smacker. She hadn't betrayed us after all. I would thank her later. Right now, there was something else I had to do.
Major Nevets' body fell thirty meters to the ground and hit hard. There wasn't much chance he would survive, but I had to see him one more time.
More importantly, he had to see me.
I jumped out of PAC-1 and ran through the rain and across the muddy ground up to my arch-enemy. The mud must have softened his fall, because although his limbs were shattered, he still had some life left. His quivering, writhing-in-pain body lay soaked on the ground as I reached it. I rolled the major over and forced Major Nevets' eyes open so that I would be that last thing he would ever see.
"N…Nooooo…" With that, Major Erem Nevets, slaughterer of thousands, died on the broken slopes of Mt. Hoploy.
Kavid's eyes flickered open about six hours later.
"Where…where am I?" He asked.
I smiled from the foot of his bed.. "You're in the Intensive Care Unit of a Whale King, buddy.
He looked up at me, and almost started laughing. Almost. "So, this time I'm the one in the bed and you've been waiting for me to get up?"
I nodded. "Yup. Really boring job. How do you stand it?
"I think up poetry." That one caught me off-guard. Kavid sat up and looked at the floor. "So we got him? He's gone?"
"Yeah, we got him." I huffed. "Actually, Katrana got him. I lost."
Kavid looked confused, then shook his head. "So I suppose we have to thank her."
"If we ever find her. She disappeared right after the battle."
"Figures. Seems like we're always making friends with our enemies." That truth hurt so much I couldn't respond to it.
The room suddenly felt darker as Kavid turned and looked straight at me. "When we stood by the granary outside Klaylos, I agreed to help you because you promised I could go home when it was all over." Kavid's eyes teared up. "Can I go home now, Jeremy?"
Feeling the tears in my own eyes, I took his hand and shook it. "Let's go home, buddy."
With those words, the "Castaways of the Republic" ceased to exist, and Republic citizens Jeremy Kelt and Kavid Deen were reborn.