DR: And now, we finally meet the great one himself... Oh, and just so you know, I tried to write 'him' (you'll know who I mean) to be like all those old and wise men that appear in many a story... Sort of a fusion between Kosh, Yoda and a few others...XD

Chapter 41: The Greatest of Them All

The Blitz Team slowly came back to reality. Raven's tale of pain and revenge touched them all. They had all been swept up in the emotions that flowed out. Christian and Van had supplied their own viewpoints to the events, but the tale was Ravens.

Bit could easily relate to Raven's state of mind. When he had thought Leena was gone, he had been ready to tear the world apart if that was what it took to find her killers. Sarah could also relate to time it took for Resse to recover, after her misfortunes in life.

As he shifted in his seat to get comfortable, Leon noticed that Christian had a far-away look in his eyes. He stared at the table, but he didn't seem to see it, his eye's half closed…

"So, when do you think Leena can be released?" Bit asked Christian, not noting his look.

"What?" He murmured, almost to himself. Bit looked at him oddly.

"I said…"

"Stop there." Susan said, sitting up and raising her hand. "He's talking to his zoid."

Bit's eyebrows shot upwards so fast they might have had rocket boosters attached. "How?" Brad asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Chris's zoid is, technically, the second oldest zoid on Zi. He has undergone several evolutions in that time." Fiona supplied.

Susan nodded. "His zoid is also telepathic. He and Chris have a mental connection that allows them to communicate over great distances."

Christian seemed to sag in his seat. "Damn, not again… all right, I'll alert the crews…" He blinked several times, before refocusing on the others.

"Sorry about that. Mnementh intercepted another distress call. But he didn't get there in time to save the pilot. The zoid is fatally wounded, and he's bringing it back here." Christian seemed troubled by something, and stood up in a distracted fashion.

"There's something else isn't there?" Steve asked gently.

Christian nodded slowly. "Yea. The zoid in question… it's a Dibison with a… unique history…" He was reluctant to go on.

"Well, spit it out!" Stroller demanded.

"Well, this Dibison…" Christian looked at Steve sadly. "…Is the one Leena used to pilot."

The shock that ran across the old Blitz was clear. Brad almost dropped his coffee into his lap, while his jaw did just that. Bit's eyes went round as he thought back to the last time he had seen that old zoid.

Jamie blinked a couple of times, his jaw hanging. And Steve… could only think back to when he had first got the zoid, as a gift for Sandra. She had always liked the solid build of such a zoid. When she died, it had passed onto Leena, since Leon already had his eye on his dad's Shield Liger.

The day Leena had sold the Dibison was a troubled memory for Steve. On the one hand it had been a family heirloom, a reminder of his late wife. But Leena had bought a custom Gunsniper with the money, which almost any zoid collector could be proud of…

"Just a minute here." Pierce asked, confusion written plain across her face. "Your zoid is a flyer right?"

Christian nodded.

"Then how can it bring a Dibison here, alone?" She asked. "You'd need a cargo Hammerhead at the least to be able to airlift a zoid of the weight that a Dibison is."

Christian smiled another one of his crafty little smiles. "Really?"

"That's right…" Stroller jumped in. "And you never explained how you were able to defeat those, Cy-brids…" He struggled with the unusual name. "…In the first place."

"I think it would be best to show you all." Christian's eyes went unfocused again. "Mnementh, would you mind landing out front, after depositing the bison?" He muttered under his breath. "Some of the Blitz team are questioning your power…"

Distantly, but growing ever more powerful, he heard the zoids reply.

…Really? Well, we can't have that now can we? The zoids mental voice was amused.

"No we can't…" Christian pulled his mind back before facing the Blitz. "He'll be landing soon. If you would care to follow me?"

As everyone got up, the organoid stretched. "I'm afraid I must return to my duties, as tempting as it is to converse with my old mentor…"

Christian smiled. "I'll tell him you said hello."

X-X-X-X-X-X

As Leena allowed Samantha to wheel her across the plateau, she couldn't help but gaze around in wonder. When she had arrived she had been barely conscious, for too gone to notice where she was or who was around her. But now that she was on the road to health again, she began to take note of things again. The two of them had talked for almost an hour, Samantha filling Leena in the brief version of her family's history.

Seeing Bit and the rest of the Blitz had helped her recover, but Leena was still unsure about herself and her life. She gripped the shard of metal – now almost completely stone – without thinking about it. Ever since she had arrived, no one had talked about her zoid to her. What had happened to her Gunsniper?

What kind of zoid pilot was she without a zoid? Not that she was ever any good as one. A good pilot would have been able to escape that attack…

As they approached the hanger, Leena noticed that the Blitz Team Hover Cargo was parked next to it, and around the base of the huge transport the rest of the team stood, along with another half dozen people. As they got closer, Leena was able to distinguish the one man who had saved her. He had visited often during that first day, worry in his age-old eyes…

"Ah, just in time." He called out. Leena noticed his eyes dropped to her side, and tightened slightly. She gripped the shard again out of reflex.

"So this is the famous Leena Toros." A brown hair man said. His hair was swept back in a series of spikes, streaked with grey. His face was lined, but there was something familiar about it…

As Bit stepped towards her, she realised what was so familiar. The other man – who she could have sworn she knew of – was very similar to Bit in both build and hair style. A woman standing besides him had compassion filling her crimson eyes, and her silvery-blond hair shimmered in the sunlight…

"Leena!" Bit's face was filled with relief, and she couldn't help but smile at the tone of his voice. He dropped down to one knee to hug her gently. "How you feeling?"

"Better, I think…" She replied, not truly sure herself.

As they parted, Bit noticed the necklace just protruding from underneath her gown. With one finger he gently lifted it clear, his breath whistling in when he saw the full extent of the craftsmanship. "Now where did you get that? Suits you…" Leena blushed as she looked up at Samantha.

"It's… a family heirloom, that should have passed down from my grandmother to my mother, and then to me…" Others in the team had gathered round, and she saw her father nodding.

"Yes, I remember seeing that around Sandra's mother's neck on our wedding day…" His eye's drifted back to that day…

"Listen, you would not believe the tales we've been hearing today!" Bit told her excitedly. "Nor who we've been talking to for the whole morning!"

"After what I was told myself," Leena smirked. "I somehow doubt that."

"Well, try this. Those four people…" Bit waved to the foursome who Leena was sure she knew from somewhere. "Are in fact Van Flyheight, his wife Fiona, along with Raven and Resse! Not only that, but some of us are related to them!"

Leena stared at the heroes and villains of the past, but then recalled whom she had been talking too. "Well, I've been talking to my mother, several generations removed…"

Bit turned his head to stare at Samantha. "Guilty." She said quickly, putting her hands up in mock surrender. The motion revealed the necklace round her neck, just like Leena's.

"Man, we seem to be well connected! I mean, I'm apparently descended from Van and Fiona, while Vega and Sarah are direct descendents of Raven and Resse."

"But that's not all." Christian stepped in. "Those heritages show up again. Jamie's a distant relative of Van, while Pierce is descended from Raven like Vega." He smiled at their stunned looks, mainly Pierce's. "The hair gives it away. Resse is the only source of that particular gene." Resse blushed in embarrassment.

Leon opened his mouth to say something, but he held his tongue as a blue blur rocketed into the air from behind the mountainside that housed the hanger. A deafening roar filled the air.

"Ah, I see the star attraction has arrived." Christian smugly smiled.

The whole Blitz Team watched as the blue form rocketed around the plateau too rapidly to make out any details, before swooping out over the plains beyond the city. With another roar, the zoid made a sharp turn and headed straight back towards them. It came in like a missile, before back winging just as it reached the battlements to land gracefully on the plateau before them all.

"Members of the Blitz Team, I give you my zoid partner, Mnementh."

One and all the entire Blitz Team was open mouthed in pure awe. The zoid standing before them was colossal, almost as large as the Hover Cargo. It stood on four powerful legs, arranged in the standard style of the forelegs being slightly slimmer than the hind legs, which were tightly coiled with a raised ankle joint. A long neck arched up from the shoulders to its great long head, while a tail almost as long as the rest of the body was curved out behind it. The massive teeth lining its long jaws were each as big as a man, while a row of spikes ran down from the back of the head down it's spine to the tail, ending in a great blade. The teeth, spines and the claws on the feet were all a rich gleaming gold. The rest of the zoid was mainly a rich royal blue. It was almost entirely coated in form fitted, smooth metal plates, just like the skin of an organoid. The digits on all four feet – three on the forepaws, four on the rear ones – were all fully articulated, giving the zoid great dexterity. Leon could also just about make out signs that the inside digit of the forepaws could swing right round and become an opposable thumb. Those few parts not covered and the gaps between each smooth curved plate were black with a bronze tint. A jet black 'V' started at the tip of the zoids snout, running over each eyebrow and the brightly burning blue eyes, before somehow leaping off the back of the zoids 'skull' to form two long thin head-tails. Bit was reminded of the magnetic head-tails that Leena tended to wear. Each tail was not rigid, but shifted and waved both in the gentle breeze and the zoids movements.

But most impressive of all was the great wings that were mounted on its back. From two slim but very powerful looking boosters on the zoids back, the wings appeared to be tightly compressed plates, with a thin folded arm on the leading edge.

"Mnementh, would you mind extending your wings please?" Christian asked, and in reply the zoid did so. In a fluid motion the arms unfurled, and the plates spread out like a fanned pack of cards. The first third of the arms carried a rack of large missiles slung underneath, while a row of missile tubes lined the leading edge. Beyond them was a bugle in the arm, were the last part of the leading arm and three smaller, thin spars that were spread throughout the wing were pivoted. Another gold claw protruded from the 'wrist' as a thumb, and slung underneath was a twin weapon pod. Each barrel was a squat cylinder, with six hemispherical depressions in a ring on the end. The total wingspan was as great as the zoid was long. Truly this zoid was a monster amongst zoids.

The massive head shifted, and each member of the Blitz in turn found him or herself staring into those bright eyes, gazing down along the sharp snout over that black 'V'. While there were no features to the eyes, it seemed like there were, so intently did the zoid look at them. And on each of them it had a profound effect.

Sarah was the first, and a peace fell over her that she had never known before, and a deep wisdom filled voice gently filled her head. …All wounds heal in time. Despite your troubled road, you have prospered. It is long past time for you to live for yourself. Return to your instincts, and find happiness again… Sarah felt tears prick at her eyes, while a great weight was lifted from her shoulders.

Vega stared back into those glowing eyes. …You have the most to live for little one, and have already overcome great hardship. Now it is time to grow, to expand… Vega felt empowered by the old zoids words. He felt like he could move mountains with his bare hands!

The huge zoid shifted to look into Brad's eyes. …One must always listen to one's heart, for otherwise we are not true to ourselves. Do the right thing, or live in shame forever, knowing you not only betrayed her, but also yourself… Despite it not saying any names, Brad knew exactly whom the zoid had been referring to. In his heart a conflict he had been silently wrestling with ever since he had learned of Naomi's pregnancy was put it rest.

Steve found that gaze fixed on him next. …She would be proud of what you have achieved since she left. Now you have to focus on the future, not the past…

Naomi found herself captivated by that almost fatherly gaze. …You have always been in control. But life needs chaos to grow. Do not fear for your daughter's future, for it will be long and fruitful… She was stunned to hear such words. She was carrying a daughter! Naomi felt freer than ever before.

Leon was next. …We spend our whole lives defining who we are, and proving that. Your time to find yourself is over. Now live knowing you are a man who people look up to. Do not fear your zoid, for while Blade has some of the memories of Ambient, he is not that one… Leon breathed easily for the first time since he had learned the root cause of his zoids quirks.

To Pierce, the huge zoid was no longer menacing, but an angel given form. …No longer must you hold yourself, your name, in contempt. We must in time forgive all trespasses. Now, forge your name anew… Pierce felt the guilt she had carried around about her stepfather fade away. She was able at last to stand tall.

Jamie tried to look away, but that stare held him captive. …The worst thing that can happen to someone is to not know who he or she is. Know now that you are Jamie Hemeros, son to Oscar Hemeros and the next generation 'Wild Eagle'… Jamie felt something in his head shift, and suddenly he felt the strength of character to stand up straight and meet that zoid eye to eye.

Stoller found that look slightly unnerving, as it seemed to strip away his soul. …The problem with a suspicious mind is that you can never accept anything at face value, even when people help you out of compassion alone. If one does not trust, then one will always fall…

When Bit found himself under that gaze, it was almost a shock. …You have much courage and latent wisdom. You have proved your heritage time and again. Now prove how much you love her. Stay with her through her darkest hour…

The zoid finally dropped its gaze to look into Leena's eyes. For a second there was nothing, and then the zoid began to speak. …Your life has been filled with ups and downs. You have endured much, and are no longer true to your nature. The death of your mother robbed you of an important balancing point. It is time to let go, and find your true self. You are far more skilled and intelligent than you believe. It is easy to find reasons to die for. The question you need to ask yourself is 'Is there anything worth living for?' If you answer that question honestly, you may be surprised at what you find… Tears trickled down Leena's cheeks at the tone in the zoids 'voice'. Clearly it… he believed what he was saying, and thought she had a future…

The dragon zoid drew back, rose onto its hind legs and spread its wings wide. Throwing back its head, the zoid roared again, a roar that seemed to come from deep within that royal blue body, and was filled with power. It echoed around the plateau, filling the air in a way that neither the Fury nor the Liger Zero could ever do.

As the great zoid settled down again, Bit faintly heard the sound of great metallic feet lopping towards them. The Liger burst out of the hanger, the Fury just behind it. #Old friend!# It roared in joy. The Fury echoed the Liger.

The huge dragon turned its head to look at the Liger. #At long last we meet again# It roared back, stepping towards the smaller zoids as they came closer.

#Where have you been?# The Fury bellowed.

#Been cruising around, listening for those Cy…# The Dragon suddenly paused, its head turning sharply to the right. Its entire pose tensed up. Something was wrong.

Christian was the first to react. "What is it Mnementh?"

The zoid didn't reply direct, but bellowed out over the city. It stepped to the very edge of the battlements, and stared downwards. Below the sounds of running zoids could be heard. Christian pulled a comm headset from his pocket and slipped it on.

"What on Zi is going on?" Stoller asked sternly. The sounds of nets being fired could be heard now, and the clash of metals. Christian listened intently, before speaking a few words into the mike. He quickly replaced the headset, a troubled look on his face.

"What is it?" Steve asked, worry coiling around his gut.

"We have an intruder." Christian sighed. "A Cybrid. Mnementh recognised the energy output. The city guard have caught the machine and are bringing it up here."

As one every being there, be they Human, Ancient Zoidian or Zoid, turned to look at the entry ramp. The clunk of lightweight zoid footfalls heralded the arrival of a Rev Raptor. It was quite different from the norm for the class. Jet black with brightly polished gold trim, the eyes glowing a gentle blue. Instead of the huge scythe blades on its back the raptor mounted two medium sized guns, while the weapons on each forearm were mismatched. The inside toe of both feet was larger than normal and a lot sharper looking.

Held within the fore claws was a spindly thing wrapped in netting. It seemed to be a mass of legs, some of which were clearly damaged. But from within the centre a blue-tinged red eye stared out, the mark of a Cybrid. The team felt shivers run up their spines.

The City Guard Rev Raptor set the machine down before Christian. Now it was closer it was easier to make out the details. The machine was based on a spider, with a central body and eight long legs. The body was not much larger than a human's torso, but the legs made it much larger. Trapped in the metal netting it was not going anywhere, but that eye continued to blaze out.

Christian took a long look at the machine. "Susan, tell our techs to get ready. I want a full examination of this thing."

"Don't bother…" A voice emerged from the machine, filled with malice and cruel laughter.

The effect that voice had on Van, Raven and their wives was extreme. Van's eyes snapped open as his jaw dropped, and Fiona looked like she was about to faint. Raven's eyes contracted to slits, and Resse stepped behind him, her eye's filled with terror. Both the Liger Zero and the Fury bellowed in shock and rage.

Laughter emerged from the Cybrid as its upper body unfolded to reveal a holo-projector. With a crackle it powered up, and an image formed. The man shown was slightly taller than Raven, with flaming red hair that was turning grey. His suit was dark, and his face was pale. But the most horrific thing about him was the scaring. There were deep slashes in his neck, right cheek and forehead, but instead of raw flesh underneath the skin, there were the hexangular panels of a zoid core. He had a hump just behind his right shoulder, and the left leg seemed thicker than it should. Both arms were folded across his chest, and the back of the left hand was covered in core scales. The nails of his exposed right hand were also formed of those scales.

But despite the scars, there was no mistaking that face, with a look of pure contempt and evil in his eyes. A cruel smile was plastered across his mouth.

"Hiltz…" Raven breathed, pure hatred in his voice.

Shadow: Oh no...

Zeke: Oh my...

O'neill: Damn...

Carter: Holy Hannah!

DR: You guys said it. Just what is Hiltz going to say to our heroes? What was the cost of netting that Cybrid? Plus Christian gets an, idea (evil grin)...