CHAPTER 5

Hired Help and Maniacal Minions

The Stealth Viper slithered into the Avalanche Colony weakly, its body tweaking and surging from the damage it had received from the Genosaurer's Charged Particle Gun. The Helcat covered it from behind, Victor ever vigilant in protecting his younger friend as his commanding officer had ordered. Drake burst out of the Viper and landed on the ground just between the first two buildings in the village. His chest opened up and Crow walked out from the blinding abyss inside. The boy turned and looked over the damage his Zoid had suffered.

The body had taken the brunt of the force, but it was better than being consumed by a beam of charged particles. A small segment near the Viper's center box was pushed way to the side, throwing the Zoid off balance and causing most of the tweaking and surging. It would take a few days for the Zoid to be back to 100, a few days that Crow just didn't have. Anytime Craven or more of his lackeys could show up and without some support Crow was afraid Victor wouldn't be able to handle it.

Walking around the village the trio found a man capable of working on the Zoid who had a shop near the center. "I can have it ready by morning if you really need it and if you have the right amount of money" the repair man said. Crow looked the scruffy man over. His short, round appearance seemed to limit his maneuverability but he was covered in grease and oil and seemed like an honest man with experience so Crow OK'd it.

"Now what if Craven attacks?" Victor asked.

"Guess it'll be up to you and Drake," Crow said, turning to the green organoid, "right buddy?" The organoid roared in acknowledgement. Crow cocked a slight smile, at least he didn't have cowards as partners.

"You guys needing some muscle?" a voice asked from behind them. Crow turned around to see a man of just a few years under Victor standing there waiting for a response. The man was tall, with messy red hair and confident eyes. His features were rugged and rough but something about him suggested he wasn't immediately dangerous.

"Who are you?" Crow asked.

"My name is Scar, professional mercenary at your service" the man said.

"What kind of Zoid do you pilot?" Victor asked. "Because we need something capable of standing up to a Genosaurer."

"I'm sure me and the Whitz Wolf can be of some assistance" Scar said, pointing to the other Zoid standing in the repair man's garage. Crow glanced over at it. The dark red Zoid resembled a wolf, hence the name, with features similar to the Command Wolf. But the Whitz Wolf was equipped with a trio of boosters just above its tail, Dual 50mm Photon Particle Rifles and a Dual Impact Cannon. Suffice to say it was a rather impressive Zoid, the color scheme and green cockpit giving it and its pilot some similarities. "After all," Scar said, "the village already paid me to protect it so as long as I'm not stepping on anyone's toes."

"Your help would be appreciated" Crow said, calmly shaking the mercenary's outstretched hand. "So where are you from?"

"New Helic City" came the reply.

"You're a Republican huh?" Victor asked.

"Well, I was born in Republican land, have a Republican Zoid and a Republican attitude but I wouldn't say I'm actually Republican" the mercenary said. Victor just smiled and shook his head. "So, we're up against a Genosaurer huh? How'd you guys make that big of any enemy?" Scar asked. Crow pointed over at Drake and preceded to tell the mercenary the story behind it all. When he was finished Scar just nodded and absorbed the information.

"What made you become a merc?" Crow asked.

"I come from a poor family," Scar began, "we used to live in the roughest part of the city, the part you never saw. Behind the giant White House and all the dazzling lights New Helic is a pretty tough city. With no other jobs available to me or any money to inherit I turned to doing odd jobs for some pretty shady characters, until they screwed me and I turned on them. Ever since then all I've wanted to do is work for decent, honest hardworking people, and I have."

"That's pretty cool," Victor said, giving the guy a low five, "you're alright for a Republican." The two shared a quick laugh.

But the cheers and laughter were quickly broken up by the sound of gunfire and screams. Scar didn't even look to see where the fire was coming from, he just ran into the repair hangar and a second later the Whitz Wolf came boosting out, the trio of boosters rocketing the Zoid forward.

"Victor," Crow said, grabbing the man before he could get away, "don't let them get to this hangar, got it?" The soldier nodded in acknowledgement and ran toward the parked Helcat. "Drake, go help him" Crow said. The organoid roared and shot into the air, morphing into a beam of pure energy and slamming into the Helcat, disappearing inside just as Victor hopped in the cockpit. Crow pulled a pistol from behind his back and cocked it, nobody was getting near this hangar until the Stealth Viper was back in action.

"Scar, what's the deal, who's attacking us?" Victor asked.

"My Infrared Sensors are picking up three heat signatures at the end of the village," Scar reported, "looks like a pair of Zaber Fangs and a . . . wait a minute, what is that?" Victor was suddenly rocked by a blast striking his Zoid's side. He winced and activated the Helcat's Stealth Shield. Then he turned to see what had shot at him. The Zoid he saw was as terrible as the Genosaurer in ferocity, with just as intimidating an appearance. The Zoid resembled a Republican Spinosapper, but with a much closer resemblance to a spinosaur. The Zoid was blood red and black in color, with a dinosaur-like appearance and a massive line of spines running down its back.

"A Dark Spiner!" Victor yelled.

"What's a Dark Spiner?" Scar asked.

"A Zoid with the Charged Particle Gun like the Genosaurer and a multitude of other abilities including the Ionization Field and Communication Jammi-" but Victor was cut off. Scar tapped his screen but heard nothing else. "Damn it!" Victor yelled. The Helcat silently stalked the Spiner while the Whitz Wolf sprang into action.

The red wolf Zoid boosted into the first Zaber Fang, throwing the tiger type machine back. The Zaber dug its claws into the ground to stop but was only met by a pair of shots from the Wolf's Dual Impact Cannon. The shots exploded on impact, tearing the Zaber Fang's own Impact Cannon from its mount. The cat-like Zoid roared and jumped forward, digging its claws into the shoulders of the Whitz Wolf as the other Zaber Fang moved into an offensive position.

"Now I got you in my sights" Jack said, aiming the Dark Spiner's AZ140mm cannon toward the battling Whitz Wolf and preparing to pull the trigger. But an explosion from his rear forced him to turn the Spiner around and see what the commotion was about. A barrage of laser beams cut into his new Zoid's armor, alone not doing much but together beginning to chip it away. Jack frantically looked around to find his attacker but the evening sun blinded his vision and all he could see was a blotch of sunlight as Victor kept firing.

The second Zaber Fang sprang forward just as Scar activated the Whitz Wolf's boosters, throwing the Zoid and the first Zaber forward. Then Scar hit the brakes, the momentum carrying the first Zaber through the air, it landed roughly on its stomach. "Guess cats don't always land on their feet" Scar mused, firing a few shots from his Dual Photon Particle Rifles to finish off the fallen Zoid.

"Show yourself coward!" Jack screamed, firing in every direction possible. The shots blasted into small corners of houses and taverns, reducing them to rubble in instances. Seeing that his stealth was putting innocent lives in danger Victor tried a different strategy. The Helcat de-activated its Stealth Shield and threw itself at the Dark Spiner. The cheetah-like Zoid landed hard on the Spiner's back and began tearing away at the Zoid with its hardened alloy claws. Jack retracted the Dark Spiner's spines into their protective case and shook his Zoid from side to side. When that didn't work the Dark Spiner backed up into a building and threw itself backwards. Victor screamed as the Helcat fell through a few stories of a local inn.

Scar turned to face the remaining Zaber Fang, squaring off with his opponent for a moment before the cat-like Zoid lunged forward again. Scar activated the smoke dischargers of the Whitz Wolf, filling the air with billows of chalky black smoke. The Zaber Fang slashed into the air momentarily before realizing the Whitz Wolf wasn't there anymore. The pilot looked around him but all he could see was darkness. Suddenly a flash of light pierced the shadows and slammed into his Zoid's side. The Zaber Fang turned and fired but only heard the shots uselessly hit the ground.

The Helcat slowly tried pushing itself up, but to no avail. The Dark Spiner turned around and Jack smiled arrogantly. With a snapping noise the Spiner's spines slid back into place and the Zoid leaned forward. Dual foot locks dug into the ground and the Spiner's tail vents opened. "Say goodbye soldier" Jack said coldly.

"Don't think so buddy!" Scar yelled as the Whitz Wolf collided with the Dark Spiner, pushing it to the side just as the beam of charged particles expelled from the Zoid's mouth. The charged particle beam cut through the air and knocked down a few people on the ground with the following shockwave. Jack turned to face the Whitz Wolf but found it had disappeared into the fog of smoke again.

The last Zaber Fang viciously charged through the smoke, clawing the air all around it as it scrambled to get out. Shots flashed from beside it, blowing a hole in the ground just ahead of the tiger-like Zoid. The Zaber Fang tripped and fell forward as the Whitz Wolf jumped forward and pounced on top of the falling Zoid. A few point blank range shots from the Wolf's impact cannon separated the Zaber's head from its main body. "Gotcha!" Scar yelled triumphantly. Just then a beam of blue and purple energy cut into the air just above the Wolf's back, the shockwave tossing it like a rag doll.

"Perfect shot!" Jack exclaimed excitedly. The shockwave had also blown the smoke from the Whitz Wolf's dischargers away, giving the lackey a clear shot at the mercenary. Scar fell limp in his cockpit upon impact with the ground and the Wolf remained motionless. The Dark Spiner bent forward and locked down its feet just as a draconic roar came from behind it. Drake shot into the Whitz Wolf, bathing it in green light as the charged particles began to gather.

The Wolf suddenly stood and sprang to the side, just in time to dodge the CPG but not the shockwave. The tremendous blast of air once again threw the Zoid through the air. But this time when it landed Drake burst out of it and landed exhaustedly on the ground, panting from all the energy he'd been using that day.

"Now just come with me little organoid and I won't have to kill you" Jack said, the Dark Spiner stepping forward. Drake roared defiantly before collapsing in utter exhaustion. Jack just smiled and opened the cockpit of the Dark Spiner, preparing to grab the dragon-like creature.

"Don't move you son of a bitch!" Crow yelled from beside the Dark Spiner, leveling his pistol and aiming it at the minion's head. Jack froze momentarily. "Get out of the Spiner and we'll see who won't have to kill who" Crow demanded. Jack began to climb down from the cockpit when a moan from the skies distracted both pilots. Crow glanced into the sky as the sun was eclipsed by the sight of a Whale King descending from the heavens. Seeing Crow was preoccupied by the sight Jack scrambled toward Drake. A shot from Crow's pistol pierced the man's hand and he fell over screaming in pain before he could reach the organoid.

A familiar beam of crimson colored energy rocketed into the Dark Spiner and suddenly the Zoid came to life, swooping down and grabbing Jack before running toward the open mouth of the Whale King. Crow fired a few shots at the retreating transport Zoid but was just happy to see his friends still alive. He ran over to Drake, helping the organoid up and giving it a bear hug.

Victor and Scar joined them moments later, the group gazing at the retreating enemy and wondering how they were ever going to defeat opponents wielding weapons of mass destruction with just a pistol.