DR: Here we are, the climax to the battle. Big explosion ahead!

Shadow: (tips last of popcorn out of bucket into mouth) cool!

Kinsey: And this is just why I say...

O'Neill: Kinsey, shut up.

Kinsey: Colonel, with all due respect, you can not order a United States senator... (Mementh steps on Kinsey)

DR: Nice work M.

Chapter 59: The Final Act

Sarah moved about as fast as she could, her motions tired and filled with exhaustion. When the wounded had begun to stream up to the top level, she had offered to help the medical teams that treated them. Due to her lack of proper medical training, she had been assigned to assist with triage and the light cases. Now, almost six hours later, Sarah was practically dead on her feet. Her hair had lost all shine, and her clothing was stained with the blood of the wounded.

As she washed her hands again in medical alcohol, she looked about her, at the hundreds of wounded people. Most were simple cases of shrapnel injuries and blast damage, but slowly the influx of other types of injury was increasing. Ever since the Cybrids had penetrated the city, more and more of the infantry were coming up, with a range of injuries. Laser burns, bullet wounds, shrapnel… everything one could imagine.

And each was horrible in its own way. The bullet wounds tended to be both deep and numerous, while the shrapnel tore the victims apart. And the bleeding… Sarah didn't know how many had died because of blood loss. The laser burns, while lacking the blood loss, had another, more hideous side effect… the smell. It was one Sarah expected that she would never forget, no matter how much she would want to. It seemed to have gone up her nose and lodged itself right in her mind, never to shift.

The smell of burned human flesh.

Like everyone else she had been ecstatic at the arrival of the others from across Zi, but she could not help but worry about the rest of the team. What had happened to them? She had seen Stoller brought up, unconscious but otherwise fine. Naomi had come up too, battered and dazed. She had said that the others were okay, but Sarah couldn't stop thinking about Leon. In reflex she felt the ring he had given her, slipped into an inner pocket just before she had helped her first patient. Slowly she began to waver on her feet…

"Whoa, easy there…" One of the nurses took her shoulders as Sarah began to stagger. "You've been going all night. Why don't you take a break? We seem to have hit a lull…" Sarah allowed herself to be led over to the outer wall, and sat down on a convenient bench. "You rest here for a moment…" The nurse said gently as she stepped back, before dashing off to assist another wounded man.

Back at the wall, Sarah looked out with dull eyes, unfocused. Slowly she slipped the ring out and back onto her finger, not caring about the residue of blood that remained. She ached in every bone of her body, and her heart was gripped with fear for her beloved Leon…

Leon slowly moved amongst the wounded, searching for Sarah. Naomi had told him when he arrived at the top level that Sarah was helping with the wounded. So once his dislocated shoulder had been reset, he had gone looking for her, desperate to feel her next to him again. Pierce and Jamie had yet to appear, but her Storm Sworder was lying on its belly near to the main zoid hanger, the once silver skin almost black with burns and soot.

Sarah looked back at the wounded, her eyes filled with tears. She felt for all those who had suffered that night. How many families had lost a member in this battle? She looked out again at the thin line of zoids that stood before the tide of Cybrids that advanced towards them. How many children would never see their fathers? How many wives, daughters, fiancées…

Motion out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Pierce and Jamie walk slowly over. Pierce's motions were of pure exhaustion, and she had to lean heavily on Jamie. The set look on his face told that he would support her in any way he could for as long as was required. "Pierce, you okay?" Sarah called; relieved to see the younger woman, but a note of concern filled her voice at Pierce's condition.

"I'm okay." Pierce replied as she sat down besides her. Jamie stood at her side, an arm round her shoulders. "You?"

Sarah nodded slowly, her eyes turning back outwards.

"Leon?"

"He hasn't come through yet, so…" At that moment a pair of arms encircled Sarah's waist gently.

"I'm all right, my love…" Leon's gentle voice, despite the pain and tiredness in his voice, drove away the fears that clouded her heart.

"Leon!" Sarah cried out in joy as she spun round to hug him back. The two of them clung tightly to each other, neither of them caring where they were, what was happening or anything other than that they were together again. She cried into his neck, her tears soaking into his collar. Tears fell down his cheeks too as he let his emotions out.

"I was so worried…"

"Hush… I'm here…"

That was how they were found by the rest of the team, who had worked their way back up the city to the upper level. Pierce leaning against Jamie, her eyes closed in shear exhaustion. Leon and Sarah were still holding each other, he slowly rocking her back and forth to comfort her.

It was only as Naomi sat down besides them that Leon and Sarah finally parted enough to look about them. With the exception of Stoller, the whole team was there, tired, battered, but alive. Off to one side Derek enfolded his family in a hug, tears streaming down all of their faces. Further off, Captain Cortez lent against her Genosaurer, her hair hanging about her head in sweaty clumps.

Bit turned his head to face Leena, his eyes searching her face.

"Leena… did you mean what you said before… about a family?"

Leena's hope filled violet eyes looked back at him. She tilted her head towards him as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Yes, I did…"

Bit slowly closed the distance between them for a kiss, but a sudden roar of pain, anger and fear split the air. As one every member of the team snapped their heads to look out onto the plain, to where the Death Saurer stood…

X-X-X-X-X-X

The Death Saurer staggered about, his body raked with pain. The Imperial Whale Kings were circling him now, unleashing a continuous barrage into him. The Ultrasaurus sent volley after volley of heavy shells crashing into his body, causing hideous damage. And Mnementh continued to crawl all over him, his claws digging deep into the larger zoid.

Despite the horrific pounding the Death Saurer was taking, he could still return. He knew that this body was not going to last much longer, but if he could get away, find a new subject…

Mnementh sensed the change in the Death Saurer as it stopped trying to dislodge him, before standing straighter, taller. …Christian! The Death Saurer is going to attempt to escape its body again!

"Oh no, he's not getting away this time!" Christian snarled as his eyes narrowed to slits. He quickly hit his comm system. "Ultrasaurus control! Target the Death Saurers chest! Hit it with everything you've got!"

The Commissioner quickly looked at the tactical display, before turning to his master gunner. "Do it!" He yelled.

Emperor Nicholas nodded. Outside the Cybrids had sent a legion towards them, over two thousand units. Their relentless advance was closing in on the thin line of zoids they had deployed, and he was getting reports from his units within the city that they could not hold on much longer…

The Ultrasaurus fired its main guns again. All four shells slammed into the Death Saurers chest, smashing apart the interlocking covers over the core. A gaping crater appeared in the metalwork, and the towering zoid staggered backwards. Before the Death Saurer could eject his core however, Mnementh stuck his head into that crater, jaws agape.

"Time to die, you son of a…!" Christian yelled as Mnementh unleashed his flame breath again.

The jet of superheated liquid flame roared forth, filling the region around the Death Saurers core in an instant. The monster bellowed in incredible agony as the white-hot flames began to melt away the cores outer layers. The scales that covered the core itself began to break apart under the intense heat, allowing liquid fire to get through. Mnementh poured all his energy into burning the heart out of the monster.

Suddenly a jet of flame burst out of the Death Saurers side, where one of the Ultrasaurus main guns had hit. The red glow around the monsters faded, the eyes growing dull…

X-X-X-X-X-X

Jameson cursed as he saw the Cybrids closing in. "Boss, we have to go!"

"No! We stay here as long as possible!"

Jameson's eyes widened in fear as the leading Cybrids began to fire their cannons. Tracer whined through the air as they locked in the position of the Burning Rain team. 'Those eyes…' Jameson could see his death in those blood red eyes, which stared back with nothing but merciless hatred and evil…

Suddenly the Cybrids stopped firing. They even stopped moving, as if they were frozen on the spot. Jameson watched in bewilderment as the eyes began to flicker. "What the hell is going on with them?"

"Look, the Death Saurer!" Michelle called, her normally cool and collected voice filled with awe and wonder. For second Jameson didn't realise it was her, so startling a change had she undergone. He looked were she had instructed, and his jaw fell.

"What in the name…?"

X-X-X-X-X-X

On the far side of the plain, Raven stood besides Van, his arm in a crude sling. Behind them Shadow rested on Zeke, and all four of them watched the death of the Death Saurer.

"Die you bastard…" Raven muttered.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Flames were pouring out of the Death Saurers particle intake vent, the vent itself molten. The eyes were almost black, and the whole zoid stood still. Mnementh continued to pour fire into the beasts' heart, despite the pain that tore through his systems.

An internal explosion tore apart the side of the Death Saurers neck, sending armour fragments flying. More explosions followed, flames jetted out from every crack in the armour. The entire machine began to shake. Mnementh ceased his flame attack, pulling his head out of the monsters chest. An explosion blasted forth, and the dragon was barely able to duck in time. …Everyone get away! The Death Saurers about to blow!

The Imperial Whale Kings vectored away, their engines pushed to full power. Mnementh turned to follow them…

The series of explosions escalated, before the entire Death Saurer was enveloped in a single powerful detonation. As a sphere of destruction expanded, a dart of light shot forth from it, outpacing the wave of energy. The ball contracted into itself, before a massive shockwave blasted outwards. Chunks of the Death Saurers armour were thrown hundreds of meters, while the shockwave bowled over dozens of inert Cybrids. The explosion revealed the Death Saurer, standing as before, but turned to stone. For a handful of seconds it remained as such, and then cracks began to spread throughout it, linking up with each other. At first it seemed that the monster would continue to stand, then a claw fell away, breaking into hundreds of shards on impact. Fragments began to fall, and then, with the sound of a thousand cannons, the upper torso slowly fell off, falling head first towards the ground. Without the weight of the head and shoulders, the hips tipped backwards, the tail dragging the remainder over. As the massive upper torso hit the ground, it shattered into rubble, the head breaking away and rolling off to one side. The tail formed a line of broken rock, as it broke apart underneath the weight of the remaining body of the Death Saurer. The legs toppled, and dust rose as they too shattered apart.

Slowly the dust settled to reveal Mnementh, standing before a small mountain of dark red rock. All that remained of the Death Saurer. For several seconds he stood there, unmoving, before he threw his head back and roared, the sound splitting the air. Along with his roar of triumph, he broadcast a single thought to everyone in range.

…People of Zi, rejoice! The Death Saurer is at long last dead, and with him goes the entire Cybrid army!

The soldiers looked about them in amazement, staring at the Cybrids that simply stood there, unmoving. Their eyes had faded and died, and now they seemed nothing more than statues. Zoids roared and people cheered, splitting the air again as the realisation that they had won settled in.

Down on the plain Mnementh lowered his head to look again at the remains of the Death Saurer. Within his cockpit Christian slumped back, every bone was aching and his body feeling numb.

"We did it partner. We did it…"

"We all did it…" Fiona's weak voice came from over his shoulder.

Slowly the aura of light that surrounded Mnementh faded, until only he was left. A shaft of light leapt up from his shoulders, before arching down and forming a humanoid figure besides him. Zoid Eve stood there, her very pose one of great exhaustion.

"It is done Mnementh, my greatest and most loyal servant. Now, rest…" slowly the figure faded from view. Mnementh stood there, stock-still. Then his legs began to tremble, his wings, head and tail dropping. Cracks appeared along his hide, before the outer layers began to flake off like it was some form of paint finish. The metal revealed was charred and warped.

Then he dropped down, his jaw hitting the ground with a thud as he collapsed into the zoid version of unconsciousness. Within the cockpit both Fiona and Resse were already out, and Christian hung his head.

"Yes, we can rest now…" He whispered before his mind drifted off.

X-X-X-X-X-X

It was several hours later before everything had calmed down. When the Death Saurer had died, the entire Cybrid Legion had shut down along with him. The Land Skimmers had fallen from the sky, raining down on the city. The scores of wounded needed treatment, and the relief doctors worked furiously for many hours.

The Ultrasaurus took up position just in front of the ruined gates, looking out over the ruined plain. Once they had returned their zoids to the transports, The Republican and Imperial soldiers set to work assisting in fighting the fires and tending the wounded. Salvage Gustavs were dispatched to bring in every damaged zoid to the central bay on the top level.

The members of the City Guard, along with the Blitz Team, the Raiders, Captain Cortez, along with Christian and his team, had withstood the full fury of the Cybrid Legion's attack, and held them back long enough for the nations of the planet to come to their aid. Every one of them was crowned a hero.

But the cost was high. Mnementh was a pale, charred shadow of his former self, and the rest of his team were battered. Jamie's Raynos was almost completely destroyed when it struck the ground, and all the other Blitz Team zoids were badly mauled. Derek's Genosaurer was terribly damaged, and almost fifty zoids of the City Guard were fatally damaged. Of the twenty Apocalypses' that had fought, only one remained in working order. It was reckoned that only another four could be assembled from the wreckage of the others.

The city itself was a mess, the ground level in ruins and the gateway a pile of rubble. The upper levels had escaped the worst of the damage but there were still many buildings that had been hit. Only their solid construction had prevented total collapse. The streets were clogged with inactive and destroyed Cybrids, along with the remains of too many zoids.

The fertile plains were gone, vanished under a cratered moonscape. Whole farms had been destroyed and forests uprooted, the trees broken apart. Scattered about were the remains of hundreds of Cybrids, choking the streams and rivers.

The death toll had reached almost three hundred, including pilots, infantry and support crews. Two organoids had expired while healing damaged zoids, while over a dozen hanger personnel were dead. Councillor Traven was found dead in his home, a single gunshot wound to the head. Self inflicted. It was surmised that he had cowered in his home during the attack, and when the Cybrids began to break in, he had taken his own life. Considering the fury of the attack, and the ruthless nature of their foe, the casualties were considered light.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Leena slowly limped towards the Hover Cargo, Bit supporting her all the way. She had at first refused, but Bit had managed to convince her to have a doctor look at her old injuries. Despite the terrible pain in her leg, there was no lasting damage to the muscles. The cuts on her arm had opened up a bit, but given a few days without stress and they should close again.

As they slowly made their way, both of them looked over the battered remains of the Blitz Teams zoids. Dominating the group was the Iguanosaur, resting its bulk against the Hover Cargo itself. The Liger Zero lay next to it, his head resting across the larger zoids neck. The Fury was slumped down besides them both, his pose one of utter exhaustion. Pierce's Storm Sworder stood upright, but the wings were hanging down, the tips resting on the ground. Before its feet were the charred remains of Jamie's Raynos, the once streamlined flying zoid now a crumpled mess. Leon's Blade Liger lay off to one side, the severed leg next to it. The Shadow Fox and the Snipe Master were together, the raptor like zoids head resting besides the Foxes. The Elephander was slumped further off, the rear legs barely attached. All the zoids were battered and damaged, their armour charred and buckled. Laser fire had carved deep furrows while cannon fire had punched through, leaving trails of neat holes. Mud was caked across the legs and lower bodies of nearly all of them, and their once gleaming hides were now covered in soot and blast marks.

"So much pain…" Leena whimpered, clinging onto Bit a bit tighter. "So much loss…"

"Hush…" Bit gently squeezed her shoulders as he kissed her head tenderly. "We're still alive, and the zoids will recover…"

"Except the Raynos…"

Bit had no answer to that. Jamie had virtually fainted at the sight of what was left of his Raynos, his jaw hanging open. Since it had been brought up, he had barely done anything. Not even the attention of Pierce could snap him out of the state he had fallen into.

He had been almost as badly affected when the ancient team of zoids had re-entered the city. The people would have cheered their bravery, had they not been shocked and horrified at the cost.

Terry's Apocalypse HERC had walked in under its own power. Despite the gapping hole in the side, the venerable machine continued to work. Panthro, Zeke and Shadow had managed to enter the city unaided, but their motions were weak and pain filled. Aries had also limped in; the once graceful eagle zoids wing tips dragging along the ground.

Thunder had staggered forward, the change in his appearance frightening. The Death Saurer's charged particle cannon had stripped away vast amounts of his armour, and what was left was charred and warped. All his ranged weapons were gone, and his eye horns were reduced to half their length.

Eros had required a Gustav to bring her in. Her once silver hide was now blackened, and she lay there on the trailer as if dead.

But the worst shock of all was the state Mnementh had been in. His entire skin was black and warped, and every tiny movement caused flanks of his skin to fall away. His head tails had crumbled into dust, and bits of his wings were breaking off. Fiona, Resse and Christian had been recovered from within the massive zoids cockpit, all three unconscious. Van and Raven had fallen asleep at the sides of their wives.

Bit looked about the plateau, at the dozens of tents that contained the wounded, the slumped zoids dotted about. He drank in the pain that seemed to fill the air, but there was something else, something that was slowly growing.

Hope and joy.

Bit looked down at Leena again, his mouth twisted into a semblance of his trademark grin. "I'm sure everything will be alright. Trust me."

Leena looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears and hope. "You think so?"

"I know so."

DR: And that's it. the Death Saurer is gone. For good this time.

Zeke: Thank Eve.

Shadow: You said it.

DR: Now, I suggest everyone gets their best suit/dress out of those wardrobes, because next time... Da da dumdum, da da dadum.