Chapter 57: Hold the Line!

Bit and Leena charged into the main square where the rest of the team waited. As the Liger slowed to a stop, Bit looked over all the other zoids. All of they were battered and scarred. Michaels Gordos was without its shield; the once golden back plates dark and charred. The Elephander stood wearily, the trunk lying on the ground. Both Blade Ligers were sprawled out, their armour blackened and buckled. Only the Fury stood tall and defiant, running on its huge reserves of endurance.

Bit felt just like the zoids did. He was weary to the bones, and every muscle ached. The high of the adrenaline rush had come and gone, leaving behind just pain and tiredness. He understood now the many advantages that the Cybrids had over him and everyone else. 'They don't need food, or sleep. They don't feel pain or fear. They can carry on fighting long after we have collapsed from sheer exhaustion…'

"Heads up! The gate is going!" The yell cut across his thoughts. Looking up, he peered past the line of Apocalypse HERCs to see the massive gate fold in on itself. A Cerberus stomped forward out of the gloom, the blazing red eye gazing back with nothing but merciless hatred.

"All units, OPEN FIRE!" As one the City Guard opened up, their combined barrage tearing the Cerberus apart before it could do much more than fire a few laser blasts back at them. But behind the exploding machine the glow of hundreds of red eyes could be seen…

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Sir, we are approaching the mountain chain."

Emperor Nicholas acknowledged the report with a nod. Ahead he could see the line of mountains, their peaks dark against the night sky. The path carved through them was clearly seen: from behind the mountains and filtering down that path a red glow filled the air, the light of fires.

The Guylos Whale Kings began to reform into a line astern formation, the Republic Hammer Kaisers flanking them. Surrounding them all was the flyers of both sides, united for this one night against a common foe.

"Sir, we're picking up a set of contacts entering the… passage." The sensor operator called out, his voice catching for a moment on the last word. "Running the analysis now…"

Everyone on the bridge of the Whale King held their breaths, wondering. Were these contacts more Cybrids heading to the fighting?

"We have an ID… A ZBC Ultrasaurus and a number of support vehicles!" A great sigh of relief filled the air as everyone relaxed, for the moment. They only had to look at the red tinted sky to remember what they were going to face.

Emperor Nicholas looked down at the force that was moving forwards. The Ultrasaurus took the lead, its titanic form filling the carved passage. Behind it two Hover Cargos rumbled along, staying far enough back to avoid the massive zoids tail. Overhead a pair of Whale Kings and four Hammer Kaisers kept pace.

"Hail that Ultrasaurus." He commanded. Once the connection was made, he was not surprised to see the ZBC commissioner sitting in the command seat. "Commissioner, glad you could join us."

"And greetings to you too Emperor." The Commissioners face was grim however. "I see you brought everything you had."

"Well, all the heavy stuff. I'm surprised though that you've got only a few transports here."

The Commissioner shrugged. "These were all the teams close enough to assist. I've got a full load in here with me, but we don't have that much hardware." The Commissioner grinned wryly. "Don't worry; we've got fire support on the way. It should be in position shortly after dawn."

Nicholas frowned. 'He said "It" should be…' His eyes widened when the answer came to him. "The Judge Super Satellite!"

"Aye laddie, we've shifted its orbit to bring it right over the battlefield. We'll have to provide target plotting for it, but it should come as a shock for those bloody machines!"

As the link closed, the Emperor lifted his eyes again to look at the red sky above. The Ultrasaurus was making good time, despite its seemingly sluggish pace. Its massive legs moved slowly, but it took huge long strides, keeping the huge zoid ahead of all the other transports. 'I just hope that come dawn, we don't find that beautiful city drenched in blood…'

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Come on, you've got to get out of there!"

"We need just a couple more minutes!"

"We don't have them!" Bit yelled as the Liger lurched to one side to evade a hail of tracer. The Cybrids had pushed forwards through the ruined gate, daring the defenders to take them all down. Soon they were walking over the wreckage of their own, but they continued to push forwards.

The Apocalypse's had extracted a heavy toll, but the Cybrids had pounded them continuously, not giving them a chance to recover. Other City Guard zoids had stepped forwards to help out, but the defenders were forced back.

Several carrier Bulldogs had charged forward. Unhampered by weapons systems, they had been able to work up to quite a speed. Their heavy armour and shielding had protected them from harm long enough for them to almost reach the defenders. As each one had crashed to the ground, the tiny Scarabs had poured out, before engaging the Apocalypse's directly. Dozens had swarmed each one, climbing up the legs to fire into the machines joints and vents.

Now only a handful of the old war machines were still active, the remainder burning in the square, some destroyed by Cybrid weapons fire, a couple brought down by the Scarabs. The battle had degenerated into bitter and deadly street fighting, where the defenders struggled to bring enough firepower to bear on a single target to ensure a kill. The Scarabs had switched to storming buildings, searching for the infantry that pestered their larger cousins. Despite the huge advantages the defenders had, the Cybrids had the numbers to simply overwhelm any defence, no matter how strong it was. Already almost half of the outer circle of the city had fallen.

Now the Blitz was covering the evacuation of one of the zoid bays in that area. Everyone had been ordered to fall back to the second level, where they could hopefully hold the Cybrids off a while longer. The Fort around which the path went was filling the air with tracer, swatting any Land Skimmer that tried to attack the zoids and people that fled up past it.

Naomi was also covering them. She had been spotted by a Land Skimmer and had only just got back in time. With the city breached and her sniping position busted, she had moved to the top of the first ramp up, which gave her a clear view down the main street leading to it.

The Liger jumped onto the back of a Diablo, bearing the machine to the hard ground. Once down, the Liger tore its back open with his claws, wrecking the internal systems. Bit could see the tide of Scarabs getting closer. "Listen, we are out of time! We can't hold them back any more!" He yelled to the techs in the bay as Leena blasted another Diablo to scrap metal.

Several seconds later, a trio of Gustavs rolled out. "That's it! We've got…"

Suddenly twin yellow lightning bolts shot out from a side street, to slam into the third Gustav. The discharges flayed the small zoid apart, and over the comm channel the screams of the people trapped inside resounded.

Bit shuddered at the sound. The Blitz had gained a healthy respect, and fear, of those weapons. The Fury had nearly been killed by an attack like that, and Stoller was out of the fight now due to one. A Cerberus had slipped up behind him while he had been dealing with another. Cassandra had cried out and had fired her lasers, but her aim had been off, and she had only clipped one of those weapons from the machine. The Elephanders rear had been torn apart, the zoid completely frozen. While the damage was not as bad as the Fury's had been, the Elephander was out of the fight for good. Stoller himself was knocked out by the discharge, and both of them were being taken up to the highest level.

As the Cerberus stepped out from the street, it began to turn its body towards the remaining two Gustavs, clearly intending to subject them to the same treatment.

"Oh no you don't…" Bit snarled as he fired his missiles. The mighty war machine was rocked by the detonations, before slowly turning about to face him. The central red eye gazed back, a bottomless pit of hatred.

Leon dived past the machine, his side blades active. The weakened shields failed and the Blade Liger went through, the Cerberus's right leg severed just below the knee. The machine toppled slowly, sending a hail of tracer upwards as it did so. "Thanks Leon." Bit called, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Just looking out for my little sisters' fiancée." Leon called back, causing a grin to form on Bit's tired lips.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Pierce blinked rapidly a few times, trying to drive the tiredness from her eyes. Even though they were now fighting over the city itself, allowing its guns to fire at them, the Land Skimmers were still numbered in the hundreds. The constant strain of fighting against such a number, while at the same time evading AA fire and the city itself was taking its toll on her. Jamie helped as much as he could, but most of the time he was reduced to being a passenger.

Worse, the Storm Sworder was on the verge of shutting down. The once silver skin was blacked by far too many near misses, and the zoids motions were more akin to a wounded bird than an aerial killer.

But looking down at the city itself, Pierce could feel her heart sink. There were fires burning uncontrolled throughout the lowest level, with the Cybrids forcing their way in, slowly but surely taking the city one street at a time. The defenders were reduced to a fraction of their initial numbers, the upper levels filling up with the wounded.

She could see the distinct forms of the rest of the Blitz Team, fighting right at the front line. She had seen the Elephander fall, and her heart had almost stopped at the thought of Stoller being killed. Word that he was okay had cheered her, but it was only a passing moment. The Raider team had suffered more, with only Anna's Blade Liger left to fight at the front. Michael had pulled back to the airfield, using his AA weapons to carve an empty space in the sky. Derek's Command Wolf was too thin skinned for the heavy close quarter fighting going on below, so he had pulled back to support Naomi, while Jane's Zaber Fang had been taken down by the Scarabs crawling all over her. While they had been chased off before they could kill either her or the zoid, both were out of action.

Cassandra's red Genosaurer was a maelstrom of destruction, the powerful zoid tearing into anything that came within reach. The Fury was even worse. The fires made him seem like a ghost, flitting from one fight to another, leaving smashed Cybrids in his wake.

But despite the fighting skills of the Blitz, they were being forced back, and there were still thousands of Cybrids left to engage…

X-X-X-X-X-X

Out on the plain, the Death Saurer and Mnementh continued their bitter titanic struggle. Filled with the power of Zoid Eve, Mnementh moved faster and struck harder than he had ever before. The lithe dragon evaded every attack the Death Saurer made, while his return attacks cut deep. Slowly, he was drawing the Death Saurer away from the city, his home. It pained both Mnementh and Christian to see their home in flames, but that anger was fuel for their determination to bring down the monster before.

The Death Saurer was still much stronger than Mnementh, and was vastly larger and heavier, but that was made up for by Mnementh aerial mobility. Overall the battle was at a stalemate, because while he inflicted damage to the monster, the Death Saurer had incredible regeneration powers. Mnementh simply could not do enough damage fast enough.

And time was not on his side. It was clear that the City Guard were losing ground to the overwhelming Cybrid horde, and once the Cybrid army turned on him, there would be too many guns for him to evade. Worse, the fusion with Zoid Eve was potent, but it was also harmful. Her sheer power was slowly burning him out. In an hour, maybe two, they would have to separate, or he would risk permanent damage. The two zoids circled each other, like gladiators from another time sizing each other up, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

#Give it up Mnementh!#The Death Saurer roared. #You can't win this fight! Surrender Zoid Eve to me, and I will spare you!#

…You want me to betray my own creator? I don't think so… Mnementh's claws lashed out, tearing deep slashes in the Death Saurers chest.

#Why do you persist in working with these puny humans? What do you see in such a pathetic race?#

…Mankind has a lot of untapped potential. They have performed deeds and created masterpieces that rival anything we have done! They seek understanding, and their imagination has no bounds. Given the right upbringing, they are possibly the best thing that has ever graced this planet!

#NO!# The death Saurer lunged forwards, his huge jaws snapping shut where Mnementh had been a second before. The smaller zoid had rocketed into the air, and now hovered overhead. #The only thing that belongs on Zi is Zoids! And only the strongest survive! AND I'M THE STRONGEST OF ALL ZOIDS!# His forehead lasers snapped off a barrage of shots that filled the air with heat and light. Mnementh danced out of the way, but deep in his core, the dragon zoid felt the pain of his systems slowly failing…

X-X-X-X-X-X

Leena sat back in her seat, her eyes fixed on the gate ahead of them. "Bit?" She asked tiredly.

"Hmmm?" His voice was filled with exhaustion, his eyes dull.

"How long do you think we've got?"

"Twenty minutes, maybe less…"

The last of the defenders had drawn up in a line behind the gate that allowed access to the second level. The Cybrids had pushed them up all three ramps, and had even managed to push their way onto the second level. But in a final gasp of defiance, the defending zoids had rallied around the returning Apocalypse HERCs, and had driven the Cybrids back enough that the gate could be closed. But the price was high. Only a few dozen zoids remained active, including Bit, Leena, Brad, Naomi, Leon, Vega, Derek and Cassandra. Scarabs had swarmed Anna's Blade Liger, and most of the Rev Raptors had proved to be too thin-skinned for the bitter close quarter fighting. It was reckoned that a third of the infantry were down.

Now the last defenders were preparing to hold the line as long as possible. With all the organoids exhausted, there was no way any zoid could get repaired now. In the front rank were the Blitz Team, Cassandra, and the three remaining Apocalypse HERCs. Behind them the remaining Dibisons and Gojulas stood, their guns angled to fire over those in front. Rev Raptors and Blade Ligers were on the ends, while infantry were digging in every building that had a view of the gate.

The gate itself was rattling in its hinges from the constant pounding it was taking. The Cybrids were unable to bring their heavy Bulldog units into play, so they were using a set of Cerberus's to batter the gate down. Firing at point blank range, the gate on their side was running molten from the laser hits and lightning discharges.

"I want you all to know, it was a privilege and an honour to fight besides you all." The commander of the Apocalypse unit called, his voice tired.

"Same here. At least when people tell our stories, they will remember that we stood our ground and did not flinch." The ranking Gojulas answered. The comm net was filled with other echoing the sentiment. Leena listened to the messages past back and forth for a few seconds, before she punched in a private call to Bit.

"Bit?"

"Yea Leena?"

"I wish we could have been married already. Then at least our graves would have shown that we were."

Bit nodded in sympathy. "I know. I'm sure that the others are thinking the same thing."

Leena nodded and was quiet for several minutes. "Bit?" She called again.

"Leena?" Bit looked at her questioningly.

She swallowed, the words she wanted to say sticking in her throat. "I wish we could have raised a family together…" Bit's eyes filled with sadness.

"So do I…"

The two of them looked into each other's eyes over the comm system for a long moment, loosing track of time itself. Neither took any notice that the gate was beginning to glow red from the constant pounding.

Naomi sighed as she set her sights on the gate. 'The first one of those bastards through is getting a bullet in the eye…' She slowly reached down to stroke her belly, and felt her unborn child within. 'I'm sorry, but it looks like we'll never see each other…'

Leon fingered the small picture of Sarah he had taped to the inside of the Blade Ligers cockpit. He raised his eyes to look at the gate, where a tread of molten metal was beginning to run down the inside now.

In the skies above, Pierce plunged the Storm Sworder through a thicket of Land Skimmers, before rising up to evade hostile fire. As a trio of Cybrids fell, the dirty and battered Storm Sworder rose up. As they crested the mountain, a shaft of brilliant sunlight suddenly blinded both her and Jamie.

Brad looked out across the plains, towards were Mnementh continued to duel with the monstrous Death Saurer. He had never seen such a display before, and he knew deep in his heart that there was no future for any of them. He watched the rising sunlight slide down the far mountains…

Vega sat calmly, knowing he was going to die. But he would go with style, and defiant to the last.

#We will go out together, you and I# The Fury rumbled to him, a tinge of exhaustion in his voice. #One last battle for glory#

"Yes. We have earned a place in history." Vega left out the fact that there was not likely to be much history anymore, since the human race on Zi was doomed…

Derek looked at the pictures of his wife and children he carried with him all the time. Smiling sadly one last time, he slide them home back into his wallet before taking a firm grip on the old Command Wolfs controls. It had been his first zoid, purchased here, in this city. It was his place of birth, and his spiritual home. He was not going to let those bloody tin cans destroy it without a fight, and he could feel the same determination coming from the zoid.

Bit stared fondly at Leena, his heart slowly and sad. Despite the sweat, dirt, blood and tears that marred her face, he thought she was angelic. "Leena, I…"

Brads sudden cry of joy startled everyone. Bit's head snapped up to look at the Shadow Fox, perched on a rocky ledge just a little higher that the Liger. "Brad, what is it?" He called in worry. Had the ever cool, collected mercenary lost it?

Brad continued to laugh manically, too overjoyed to respond verbally. But he could point, and he did so, stabbing his finger across the plain. The Fox lifted its head and howled with hope.

Naomi frowned, but she looked across to where Brad had pointed. Her jaw fell as she saw what he had seen. "Everyone… look at the passage!" She cried out, relief and hope driving fear from her heart and causing tears to form in her eyes.

As one everyone looked, or swung their sensors around to get a view. The view was everything they could have wished for. The zoids all howled and roared, the pilots cheered, and the infantry began to jump for joy. For they had regained something that they had all thought was lost: hope.

Across the plain, striding out of the passage the Cybrids had carved through the mountains, the ZBC Ultrasaurus was bathed in the light of the new sun, the pale armour gleaming like a new born star. Flowing out on both sides came a stream of Whale Kings, Hammer Kaisers, and dozens of flying zoids.

The reinforcements from Guylos, the Republic and the ZBC had arrived.

Bit: Now that's an entrance!

Leena: Just like your first entrance to our team...

Bit: (grins) Yea love... (gathers Leena in a hug)

DR: (shakes head) Ah well, things are looking up! Next time, the reinforcements get their kicks in...