DR: So Shadow, how many Trick-or-Treaters did you scare off?

Shadow: About a dozen. And those costumes were meant to be scary?

DR: (shrugs) I don't get the point of it either...

(Zeke enters room) Zeke: So Shad' did you scare some people good?

Shadow: yea, except for the first one. Little tyke thought I was in costume, and tired to pull my face off!

Zeke: 0.o (rolls onto floor laughing)

Shadow: (growls) shut up.

DR: Okay, I had better just mention that this chapter is a little short, but a lot happens, so keep your wits...

Chapter 24: Unleash the Dogs of War

The man sat in his retreat, watching though the Cerberus's eye. Helios had informed him that it was time, and he had pulled out one of his few bottles of Nic Champs Whiskey, the one good thing that mankind had created. Apart from Helios and his kind of course. The Blitz base lay ahead in a valley, the gathered pilots outside. Three zoids stood with them, one of which was the Fury. Off to one side was the Hover Cargo, looking like new. Almost hidden by the transport was a small boxy structure, which looked very flimsy when compared to the main building.

'That Hammer Kaiser that my force just put down must have delivered the Fury' he thought. The other two zoids he knew. 'The Liger Zero and the Elephander! Looks like Vegas not the only warrior joining the Blitz…'

Sitting back, he put his feet up and prepared to witness the death of the Blitz Team. Raising his glass in mock salute, he laughed manically as the first few shots fell around the team…

X-X-X-X-X-X

Liger's roar of defiance snapped the Blitz out of their shock. Quickly Bit turned and ran towards the Liger, which was already dropping its head down.

"Everyone to your zoids, now!" He yelled over his shoulder. "These guys don't look friendly!"

Stoller quickly started climbing back up the Elephanders trunk as the zoids on the ridgeline advanced, the Command Wolves firing long-range shots as they did so. The nightmarish creation advanced more slowly, as five more, things, crested the ridge behind it.

As the initial shots began to fall around them, the rest of the team ran. Steve and Sarah began to run towards the Hover Cargo, while Jamie and Pierce headed towards their zoids as fast as they could. Leon, Naomi, Leena and Brad dashed back into the hanger, while Vega simply turned to the Fury. "Fury!" He yelled.

The Fury understood perfectly. It quickly lowered its head again and opened its canopy so Vega could hop in. Even before Vega had fully sat down in the pilot seat, the Fury's canopy snapped shut and the zoid pulled itself back up. After three months of inactivity, the Fury was ready for some action!

Bit scrambled into the Ligers cockpit just in time: it leapt to one side to evade a set of laser bolts that cut though the air right where it had been standing. They struck somewhere in the back of the hanger. Bit winced as he belted in. That was going to cost them.

Stoller was throwing switches even as he belted in. Realising that the others would be vulnerable as they emerged from the hanger, he deliberately moved to block the firing line to the entrance, powering up his shield as he did so. Hopefully, that would also prevent any collateral damage to the base. Swinging round, he acquired the nearest attacker…

Bard and Naomi had ducked when the beams had shot overhead to strike the hangers rear wall. A set of crisp holes had been burnt right though the thin metal into the main base.

"Watch yourself out there!" She screamed at him as Leena began to power her Gunsniper up. Outside the roar of cannon fire raised a notch as Stoller returned fire.

"You too!" he yelled back. "Remember, you've got an extra passenger now!"

She gripped him in a tight hug before they both split towards their respective zoids.

Vega quickly gripped the controls as the Fury turned towards the attackers. With most of his ranged weapon non-functional, he'd have to use the Fury's mass, teeth, claws and tail to fight this battle. The Fury told him that the main cannon was partial operational, but couldn't guaranty that it'd work.

"We don't need it Fury." He told the zoid as he started forward. He noticed that one group of zoids – a Command Wolf and four Rev Raptors – appeared to be focused on him alone. Smiling slightly to himself, he urged the Fury to charge right into their midst, bowling four of the zoids over. But as he turned to deal with the last one, the others got up again. "What?" He cried his jaw dropping. A head on collision with the Fury should have triggered a Command System Freeze!

Stoller, with his shield up, was able to take a moment to take in what was happening. The hostile force appeared to be split into several distinctive units. He, the Fury and the Liger all had a group of zoids attacking them alone, while he spotted two Dibisons standing on the ridge. Another set of zoids was heading towards the hanger. Then there were those unknown units. The largest one was hanging back a bit, but the other five were driving forward.

Stoller frowned. The arrangement of those five looked odd. A single unit was hanging back, while the other four – all the same type – were arrange ahead of it in a screen. He was about to comment when his sensors detected the Dibisons firing their artillery guns.

"Heads up! Incoming!" He yelled as the whistling sounds of falling shells drowned out the roar of weapons fire.

Jamie climbed rapidly into his Raynos; Pierce scrambling into her Storm Sworder a bit faster since she didn't have to climb up so high. He dropped into his seat as she began to take off.

'This is bad.' He thought as her Storm Sworder began to build up speed. "We're completely off guard and unprepared.'

Throwing on his belts, he hit several controls faster than he thought possible. Though the controls he felt the Raynos come alive as its engines kicked in.

'Here goes nothing!' He thought as he hit the boosters. The Raynos rocketed into the sky, just ahead of Pierces Storm Sworder. Both of them only just got airborne in time; a scything line of fire cut across the places where they had both been just a second before.

Leena was just stepping out of the hanger when Stoller called out his warning. Dancing left, she managed to evade a hail of shells as they rained down. A few struck the hanger it self, tearing the metal apart.

'These guys don't care what they hit,' she realised. 'They're here to destroy us, not matter want gets in the way!'

A set of small laser shots brushed past. Turning, she saw an entire attack group heading right for her. Gritting her teeth, Leena planted her zoids legs firmly into the ground as she acquired all five zoids on her targeting computer.

"WEASEL UNIT TOTAL ASSAULT!" She cried, opening up with her entire arsenal. Even under her trigger-happy rage, Leena noticed something odd. None of the zoids attempted to evade her target locks…

Bit dived out of the way of another shot from the Command Wolf that was dogging him. The Rev Raptors were trying to pen him in, but Bit was having none of that.

"Let's get them Liger!"

With a roar the Liger leapt into the air to crash down on one of the raptors. That should have taken it out right away, but the smaller zoid continued to struggle. Leaping away to evade more fire, Bit fired a volley from the splinter racks into the fallen zoids belly. The missiles torn into it, but the zoid refused to shut down. Despite the damage, it struggled up and attacked again!

Vega was surrounded by his attackers as they tried to bring him down by simple numbers. The Fury's tail smashed one Raptor to the ground, but it got up again, unfazed by the huge dent running along its flank. The others all tried to dig their scythe blades into the Fury, while the Command Wolf fired shot after shot into him 'Damn, this is not going to be easy!' He thought as the Fury gripped one raptor by the neck in its jaws.

Steve and Sarah only just made it to the Hover Cargo: a hail of cannon fire had traced them the whole way. Running to the control room, Steve threw the switches to engage the transports shield. Just in time, as a barrage from one of the Dibisons smashed into the side. He franticly began to holler into the radio for help as the battle outside went into full swing…

Brad pushed the Shadow Fox to full speed as he dived out of the hanger, closely followed by Naomi. Leon had to stop as another hail of shells rained from above: Only the last second engagement of the Blade Ligers shield save him. Once the barrage ended, he dived around Stoller to engage the attackers head on. "That's it Stoller!" He called out. "We're clear!"

"Good. Now can someone give me a hand here?" Stoller yelled as his shield weakened from the constant barrage he was receiving from not only the zoid element that was attacking him, but also that strange group of five… whatever they were.

Jamie pulled up besides Pierce, as they circled round towards the battlefield. "Any ideas?"

"Sure. Hit them hard and fast." Pierce put words to action as she rolled over and dived towards the Dibisons that were continuing to shell the Blitz team and their base. Jamie rolled out and followed her, angling towards the five things that were pounding Stroller.

Brad had the Fox loping around the flank of the attack, intending to attack the Dibisons directly. But that plan was put on hold when the zoids that were attacking Stroller turned and re-engaged him. Weaving though the hail of shots, he swung his Laser Vulcan around and sent a hail of short laser pulses back at them. Despite several hits, none fell. Cursing to himself, he turned to engage them head on.

Leon tried to assist Stoller against the unknown things approaching, but a trio of Rev Raptors broke away from the others and surrounded him. He dodged their fire and sliced one apart with his laser blades, but before he could make it two a set of laser blasts slammed into his flank. Rattled around within the cockpit, Leon took a moment to clear his head. But as he struggled to get the Liger up, something heavy landed on the Ligers back. Glancing over his shoulder, he came face to face with a Rev Raptor. The red-shifted eyes were even worse at this range. Bucking the Liger, Leon struggled to remove his passenger before it did too much damage.

Naomi raced towards the rear of the base, looking for some high ground. Seeing nothing she could use within reach, she pushed her zoid up and on to the roof of the Blitz Base using her custom jump jets. 'Hope it holds!' She knew that the bases structure could withstand a considerable load. The question was how much? As her zoid settled onto the roof, Naomi held her breath. The supports groaned and flexed beneath the weight of the Gunsniper, but it held. Releasing her breath in relief, she mounted the hanger roof in a similar fashion.

Pierce began her attack run, pushing her zoid to full speed as it dove out of the clouds. She swept towards the Dibisons at well over mach two, who had stopped firing their back mounted cannons and were starting to turn towards her. 'At least they're not shelling the base…'

The first had no chance. She was past it in a second, her sonic shockwave bowling it over. The heavy zoid thudded into the dirt on its side. The other turned to face her fully, and the air ahead lit up with tracer. Cursing, Pierce rolled away from the AA fire, her powerful shockwave dissipating. The Dibison tried to track her, sweeping the air with cannon fire. Pierce rolled again and pulled up into the clouds, out of sight.

Jamie swooped in, and began firing the second the unknowns were in his sights. Blast after blast shot out of the Raynos's belly guns, tearing up the ground around them. As cannon fire cut across his path, he had to pull up sharply. He was moving too fast to tell if he had managed to score any significant damage…

Stoller's jaw fell as he watched Jamie's shots strike an energy shield that surrounded each unknown. These shields didn't show up like a normal shield at all. His sensors couldn't even detect them! At least with the zoids that had been harrying him gone, he could concentrate on these threats now. Swinging the Elephander around, he opened up on the nearest unit. His shots again struck a shield, while his own was being depleted from the constant pounding he was receiving in return.

Bit and the Liger Zero body tackled another Rev Raptor down, before snapping the smaller zoids neck with one sweep of the Ligers Laser Claws. Seeing Leon in difficultly, Bit fired off a volley from his LRMs. Both missiles slammed into the small zoid, pitching it off the Blade Ligers back. "Thanks Bit." Leon called, his voice strained. Bit would have responded, except a Raptor tackled the Liger at that moment.

Leena continued to dance around. Her initial barrage had knocked all the attacking zoids down, but they had simply got back up again! Another volley, concentrated on the Wolf, had put it down for good, but the four Rev Raptors continued to circle her. So far she had evaded any critical damage, but neither had she landed any hits on her attackers. It was taking all her concentration to evade their attacks. She pulled off moves that she never thought she would ever have been capable of doing.

Vega simply let the Fury go. Right here and now, they needed unbridled aggression. The Fury lived up to its name. Tossing a Raptor away with one great shake of its head, it had used its jump jets to leap high into the air before crashing down feet first on another raptor. The unfortunate Raptor had been squashed flat, snarling once before dieing. Bellowing in victory, the Fury had charged another Raptor. It had stood its ground, continuously firing its arm weapons.

Steve and Sarah watched from within the relative safety of the Hover Cargo. Things were bad. These attacking zoids were fighting on long after their command systems should have let them, and the unknowns pushed onward inexorably. But on the plus side their whole team was out and fighting, and seemed to have the edge in skill…

Naomi reached the edge of the hanger. Finally in position, she engaged sniper mode. The Gunsniper spun round before its tail extended outward, priming the long-range sniper rifle built into it. Within the cockpit Naomi's seat flattened before pivoting around, bringing her face to face with the sniper controls. Settling into the familiar controls, she began to look for targets. With the melee in full swing below, she swung her sights towards the far ridge. Sure enough, the two Dibisons had righted themselves and now returned to throw shells into the valley, not caring who they hit. The base itself had already taken a few hits, and the ground outside was fast becoming nothing more than a mass of craters.

"Not anymore." She whispered as she pulled the trigger.

The hyper velocity bullet smashed into the Dibisons shoulder, punching through the gap between the shoulder armour and the body. It rattled around inside, tearing apart the actuator. The Dibison stumbled, but regained its footing. As it rose up to continue to fire, she fired on her true target, just below its neck. The round struck true, but the Dibison stood firm. 'That's impossible! A hit there should have knocked it out!'

Bit had finally managed to put down another one of the Rev Raptors. There was no way it could continue to function when carved in two by Ligers strike laser claw. A near miss cleaved a leg off another, but it continued to fire its arm-mounted weapons. "What the hell is going on here?" He cried, as another Raptor was sent flying over his head by the Fury. He took a double take at the sight, before shaking his head and going after the Command Wolf that continued to fire linked blasts at him.

The Fox leapt backwards, evading a swinging blade by a hair. Brad mopped his forehead at the nearness of the blow. One Rev Raptor lay dead, blasted apart at close ranged with the laser Vulcan. Another was fighting off the effects of the electro-net, which should have knocked it out cold. 'Something very strange is going on here…' He thought as he fired a long burst from his laser into the Raptor that had tried to take his head off and had over committed to the swing.

Pierce swept in low, upside down. She had the head laser blade extended, and cut a path right alone the spine of one of the Dibisons. The blade flashed right though the zoid and the sonic boom sent it tumbling down the ridge. But as she pulled an outside loop, Pierce noted that the Dibison was getting up again! Cursing up a storm, she rolled and weaved to come around again.

Jamie again strafed the things harrying Stoller, and this time saw his shots hit a shield. But then the shots began to hit the armour! As he pulled up out of the line of fire, he called up his discovery to the others. "Watch out everyone. The unknown things shields can be worn down. We just have to hit them hard enough!" As tracer tore towards him, he jerked to the right. Sweat trickled down his brow. Those bursts were getting closer and closer each time…

Stoller grimaced as he continued to fire on the first unit. The thing's shield had failed, and now his shots were slamming into its armour. But his weapons were barely harming it! It strode forward, regardless of the hits it was taking. He could see fragments of armour spinning off, but he seemed unable to seriously hurt the thing! All four machines in the front rank were unloading their own guns into him in retaliation. On the screen before him he could see the power level of his shield dropping lower and lower…

Sarah was watching the battle, a cold chunk of dread in her gut. 'This is wrong.' She thought. 'Something else was going on here…'

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a gauge was climbing higher. Frowning she bent over to take a closer look. Radiation. The Hover Cargos sensors were reading a source of radiation close by, and getting nearer…

She looked again at the battle display, that cold chunk of dread transforming into pure terror. It fitted the pattern. There was no other way to explain the tactics of the attackers, a headlong rush by one small unit, while other elements ran interference…

She grabbed the radio. "That unknown group, the central one! It's got a nuclear weapon!" She heard Steve gasp in horror. "It's a suicide mission!"

DR: The cat's out of the bag now...

Shadow: Oh yea...