DR: Not much to say right now...
Chapter 39: Tales From the Past
As they turned the last corner on the path that led up to Christians home, the Blitz suddenly came up short. Ahead, just by the gate that led inside, was a miniature zoid. Miniature when compared to normal zoids anyway. It was almost fifteen feet long, nose to tall. Its shape was that of a tyrannosaur, and its skin was made up of smoothly curved bronze segments. As the thing stood up on its powerful hind legs, a heavy necklace with a central glowing gem hung down between its fore arms, each arm ending in a trio of wickedly sharp claws. The glowing green eyes underneath its swept back brow looked at them coolly.
Vega had a sudden flash of recognition. He'd seen this form before, in the Fury's mind. After everything he had learned today, there was only one thing it could be…
Christian however was completely unfazed by the appearance of the organoid. "Councillor Racknor. This is a surprise!"
The organoid growled, and the crystal in the necklace began to pulse with power. "Greetings Councillor Masters. I heard that you had brought the Blitz Team here, to our city. I wished to meet them myself." Each pulse of the crystal was in time with the syllables of the speech. Clearly the necklace was some kind of translator, dressed up as jewellery.
"Ah ha." Christian nodded, a slight smile on his lips. "This wouldn't happen to have been a suggestion from say, Councillor Traven?"
The Organoid's return growl was almost a laugh. "Yes, he did mention it. The old fool is getting even more paranoid these days…"
"And your not? After all, you have been on the council longer than him."
"And you've been on the council since it was conceived. I know better than to not trust your judgement."
Bit turned to look at Christian. "Wait, he said that you've been on the council since it was first created. But you said…"
Christian faced the team. "I think you'll all want to be sitting down when I tell you the tale of this city, and mine." His face told them all that he was not kidding. "Councillor, would you care to join us? I'm sure we can dig out something for you."
"I would be honoured to join you at your table."
X-X-X-X-X-X
Deep within the heart of their secret base, Helios watched the Dark Lord continue to brood about the Blitz Team. Their recent disappearance had really off set him, and not even the reports of the latest attacks could excite him.
Helios was not duly concerned. He had had the foresight to dispatch an infiltration Cybrid to attach itself to the teams transport. A report was due from it soon. Wherever they had gone, Helios would find them.
Of more concern were the fragments of data he had recovered from Raymond Gojulas zoid, and from the remaining databanks of the two Diablos. Helios now ran all the operations that the Dark Lord used to. A hidden agent within the ZBC had sent them all the data that had been pulled from the ruined machines, before destroying the ZBC's own records. They would have nothing to go on about his legions.
Piecing together the fragments revealed not much, but clearly a zoid of immense power had engaged his force. Raymond's account, the reports from the ZBC rescue team, the fragments of data, they all allowed Helios to build a shaky picture of what had happened.
This unknown zoid flew, and was heavily armed and armoured. According to Raymond, it was large enough to hold a Diablo in one forepaw, and it breathed flames hot enough to melt down the old Ramses units. It also had a charged particle cannon, backed up with missiles and pulse lasers.
What ever it was, once he brought his full force to bear, it would not survive…
X-X-X-X-X-X
Bit almost choked on his drink. "You're kidding? Over eight HUNDRED years old?"
Christian sat back, chuckling as he looked over the expressions of pure shook and disbelief that covered the Blitz's faces. "Yes. Eight hundred and seventy-two next autumn."
"But, how?" Pierce asked in a quiet voice.
"First, I have to explain the origin of this city. When the Death Saurer came for the Ancient Zoidians capital, Eveopolis, Zoid Eve came up with a daring plan. She knew that the Death Saurer could not be destroyed forever, so she planed to trap it for eternity."
The gathered team listened in awe as Christian explained.
"She began to create a pair of special zoids, powerful enough when working together to overpower the Death Saurer and encase it in the very fabric of her power. However the process was taking too long and the Death Saurer was closing in. In desperation, a call went out, for any zoid willing to hold a line in the sand long enough for her to complete the zoids." He sighed deeply.
"Hundreds stepped forward, to protect their god, their mother. They engaged the Death Saurer a few miles beyond the city limits. They all knew they were as good as dead, but every second they could hold the monster up, the more chance that Eve could complete her work. The defenders were forced back, their numbers thinned rapidly. The Death Saurer was close to obtaining its goal…"
"And that was?" Stroller asked.
"To completely possess Zoid Eve." Fiona answered, her face grim. "With her power as its own, the Death Saurer would have been able to remake the whole world as it saw fit." She felt ashamed at how Prozen had twisted her vague memories to do his bidding. If it hadn't been for Van, she would have made a terrible mistake. One that would have killed her, nearly everyone in this city, and all the zoids on the planet, except the Death Saurer itself.
"By that point, there were only five zoids left to slow it down." Christian picked up the tale again. "They pushed themselves beyond their limits, trying to buy just one more second for her."
The whole team felt in their hearts a deep felt respect for those zoids. It was the same respect that is given to anyone who willingly stands at the gates of hell itself, determined not to let the monsters within pass. And all for one person, one who meant more to them than life itself.
"One by one, they were cast down. The last one to fall was the last one anyone had expected to survive. He had been at the forefront of every battle that tried to stop the Death Saurer. From the beginning to the very end, he had survived. And he had been nothing more than a Redler, and a 'sport' one at that. He was so old he had evolved to the next level before that final battle.
"But their sacrifice was not in vain. For even as the Blue Redler – as he was known - was brought down from the skies where he had ruled for so long, Zoid Eve finished her work. Her two newest creations did their job, but they would have never been able to do so without the self-sacrifice of all those other zoids. Entire strains of zoids had been wiped out. Thousands had been killed, their cores taken to feed the Death Saurer's hunger for power.
"But even as the Death Saurer was entombed, it managed to prevent itself from being completely stopped. It released its core, and abandoned its body. Eve and her scorpion guards did not have the strength to stop it. So the Death Saurer's evil spirit escaped, to someday return."
The Blitz team felt almost let down, and Naomi wrapped an arm round her belly in reflex.
"Eve knew that she was too weak to hold it off again, due to the efforts of a set of priests who how somehow decided that if she was destroyed then the Death Saurer would have been destroyed with her, and her scorpions were drained. She told her most trusted Zoidian priests, who had remained loyal to her, to place the Scorpions in a stasis pod, to allow them to recover. Using the last of her power, she resurrected those last five zoids. And to them she entrusted a sacred mission."
"What?" Leon asked quietly.
"To stand before the Death Saurer again, the next time it returned. She gifted them with improved powers, and a small fragment of herself. These zoids became immortal, never to die of old age, and with incredible healing powers. Nothing less than total destruction of their cores could kill them now.
"Years later, the Death Saurer found a mind it could use, and warped him. It was reborn in a cloned body, nowhere near as powerful as its true form, but enough to wipe out the last dregs of the Ancient Zoidian civilisation. Together they laid waste to the world.
"The team of zoids stopped him before he could wipe out all life, but the price was high. Many emerging towns had been destroyed, leaving few, if any, survivors. Those who did tended to be badly wounded. To save them, they were placed in life support pods, so that they could heal and one day be released. Unfortunately, several were forgotten about."
Fiona sniffled, and Van put an arm round her shoulders. Resse too looked troubled.
"To survive, the remaining Ancient Zoidians decided to start a new city, one that they would keep hidden. And so this city was first conceived.
"Shortly afterwards, mankind first set foot on Zi." Christian sighed. "I was the leader of the HERC division sent along as escorts. As reward for my efforts in the final battle against Prometheus, on Earth's moon. First contact with zoids was, difficult…" Christian smiled wryly. "But things worked out in the end.
"However, one of our colonists became the Death Saurer's new puppet, and he brought it back again. It destroyed a large section of the colony ship, and killed a sixth of our people. Nearly all the other pilots died fighting it, but my team was held back, by a bigoted governor who thought he could get the Death Saurer on his side." Christian rolled his eyes.
"Disregarding direct orders, we went in. And in spite of all the odds, we destroyed that clone. In the aftermath, the original team of zoids, which had been created to stop the Death Saurer's return, approached us. We had stopped the clone ourselves, and as such were worthy to join them.
"We became immortal, just like the zoids. And we came here, bringing all the colonists with us. When we arrived, there was no plan, no thought to the future. We planed this city…" He flung he arm wide to sweep across the city. "…To be the last refuge in case the Death Saurer ever returned.
"Over the decades people left the city to build new lives elsewhere. To each and every one of them, we made sure that they knew this place would only be safe as long as its location was secret. Over time, the city was forgotten to all but a few."
He grinned at Van Flyheight. "Then the Death returned twice in quick succession. Each time we didn't know until almost too late. The council at the time was filled with old, conservative men who had decided that as long as we remained isolated, the Death Saurer would never trouble us again. They even prevented us from leaving the first time round.
"When the Ultimate Death Saurer was released from its ages old prison, my team was at last allowed to go. But it would have been too late to stop it, had it not been for a certain two young men." Both Van and Raven grinned with pride.
"Let me guess, they gained the same benefits as you?" Bit asked.
Christian simply nodded. "And now here you are, bringing back all of the remaining players from that time. Both zoids and…" Christian hesitated. "…Three of the organoids involved."
All but Leon looked puzzled. He frowned, and began to get a sinking feeling.
"What do you mean 'three'?" Vega asked. "I know we've got two, in the Liger Zero and the Fury, but the third?"
Christian glanced at Raven, who nodded slowly. "The third died while fused to a zoids core, imparting some of its power and memories to the zoid. But it didn't evolve the zoid like what happened to the Liger Zero or Fury, where the organoids permanently fused with the zoids."
"So, which one is it?" Stoller asked.
"Leon's Blade Liger." Christian looked apologetically at Leon. "And the organoid in question… was Ambient. The Organoid companion to the Death Saurer's first puppet, Hiltz."
Shadow: Ambient! WHERE?
O'Neill: Oh oh...
DR: How did Ambient end up in Leon's Blade Liger... tune in next time!