CHAPTER 7
Evolution
Victor bent down and untied Colonel Payne, constantly looking over his back at the wreckage of the Genosaurer. "Thanks soldier," Payne said, "now where'd Crow go?" The Colonel hopped in the Helcat and together him and Victor followed the slither marks left by the Stealth Viper in its unexpected retreat. They came around a rocky carapace and saw it, a massive egg of pink crystals, with Crow standing in front of it like he was hypnotized.
"Crow, what's happening?" Victor asked, jumping out of the cockpit and landing next to his partner. Crow just shook his head, signaling he didn't know.
"The Stealth Viper is evolving" Colonel Payne stated.
"What do you mean evolving?" Crow asked.
"When your Zoid emerges from that egg it will be different, far different," Payne explained, "just you wait and see. When a pilot reaches a level of skill that the Zoid can't keep up with anymore it evolves to meet the pilot's requirements for a Zoid. In terms of sheer power, speed and maneuverability the Stealth Viper will become the perfect Zoid for you." Crow gazed at the egg in wonder for a moment.
"But my piloting abilities couldn't have improved that much in just a few weeks," Crow said, "it's impossible."
"Perhaps it's Drake" Victor said, pondering the idea for a moment.
"What do you mean?" Crow asked.
"There are hundreds of organoids out there, think about it," Victor said, "why does Craven need yours so badly unless there's something special about it?" Crow had never really thought about that before, he grabbed his chin as he began to put the pieces together.
"Maybe Drake can evolve a Zoid faster than your average organoid," Crow suggested, "that's why they've only been collecting certain organoids. They're trying to evolve something very quickly, and with influence from all different organoids like Drake we'd be dealing with something far more devastating than the Deathsaurer!" Crow heard clapping from behind him and turned to see a familiar hooded figure. Crow and Victor drew their pistols and leveled them at the clapping Death Wraith.
"Very good child," Craven's raspy voice said, "very good. I never thought a simpleton like you could figure out our grand plan. Too bad you don't even know the half of it, the Awakening will be far more grand than anything you could imagine. Haha, if you thought I was bad, you're in for a nasty surprise." Crow and Victor opened fire, the bullets rocketing toward their target. Craven just laughed as the bullets went right through him like he wasn't there.
"It's a hologram! Someone's messing with our heads!" Crow barked. Craven continued laughing maniacally as his image began fading away. "Get back here and face me you unholy piece of shit!" Crow yelled, but there was nothing there anymore. He breathed heavily for a moment as he tried to calm down. Colonel Payne put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I sure hope whatever comes out of that egg is ready for the challenge ahead" Payne said.
"What if Craven comes with the other Wraiths and tries to destroy it or us before the Stealth Viper comes out?" Crow asked.
"You just leave that to me" Colonel Payne said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a square shaped walkie-talkie.
Craven bowed before his master, kneeling on one knee and removing his hood. "No green organoid," Craven's master said, "why do you return to me?"
"Great Master Necros, please forgive me," Craven said, "the boy destroyed my Genosaurer. Without a Zoid I cannot possibly recover the green organoid as you have decreed."
The green haired, silver eyed man turned to his servant and touched the Death Wraith on his bald head, digging his nails into the undead flesh. "I gave you the chance for a second life slave and all you do with it is disappoint me!" Necros screamed. Craven moaned in pain as black ooze began seeping from where his master's nails pierced his flesh. Necros shoved the Wraith to the ground and released his hold. "Fine," he said calmly, "I will revive the Genosaurer. And what will you do in return?"
"Bring you the green organoid master" Craven said. Necros smiled and snapped his fingers. A roar from behind the Wraith signified the approach of an organoid. A bolt of crimson energy landed next to Necros and shaped itself into a dragon-like creature.
"Rex here was recovered but is not one of the Chosen Ones," Necros explained, "therefore he is a willing sacrifice to our cause." The crimson-colored organoid gave a confused growl and looked toward its master. "Bring me the Genosaurer's Zoid core!" A group of four Wraiths brought over the orb-like heart of the Genosaurer, setting it in front of their master and then scuttling away. In the battle with the Stealth Viper the core had been damaged by too much pressure against it from all angles, causing it to bend inward and then crack. Craven stared at the cracked orb in loathing. Necros snapped his fingers again and Rex obeyed, morphing into a ball of red energy and floating toward the dead Zoid core.
In a flash of light the organoid and Zoid core fused into one and the core began mutating. A puddle of red energy washed over the core, repairing the crack as the orb-like heart began throbbing in all different directions. Then the orb stretched out in both directions and became box-like in shape, with round edges. Craven stared in awe as metal tendrils reached out of the box and combined together, forming a small solid form as they began expanding and mutating around the core. Necros smiled evilly as his plan unfolded. After much more throbbing, surging and morphing a new Zoid took shape around the Zoid core, something that wasn't the Genosaurer or the organoid. Something far more grand.
"Genosaurer no more, it has evolved into the Psychosaurer!" Necros declared with excitement apparent in his voice. Craven stared at his new Zoid, looking it over. The Genosaurer's bulkier body had been narrowed out, leaving the Zoid with a much sleeker form. The armor was crimson colored, as Rex had been, with spikes emerging from the shoulders and to the side of the knees. The Psychosaurer's head was raptor-like, with long, powerful hardened alloy fangs and a much more oval shape than before. On either shoulder an armored case held a concealed pincher blade that could slide forward and be used with devastating effects.
The Psychosaurer's forearms held a pair of powerful AZ188mm repeaters on one side and AZ144mm spine launchers on the other. Like the Genosaurer before it these arms could be fired forward, but with much more destruction possible because of the mounted weapons. The feet concealed boosters and the Psychosaurer boasted no foot locks, allowing it to fire the Charged Particle Gun without having to lock in place due to a Charged Particle Converter on its back. Craven and his master shared maniacal laughs as they stared in splendor at the abomination before them.
A few days later . . .
A plethora of Imperial and Republican Zoids stood guard just outside the perimeter of the evolution egg. Crow saw Command Wolves, Dark Horns, Gordos, Iron Kongs and even Gojulas and Genosaurers standing guard to protect his Zoid. He just hoped they would be enough to stop Craven and the other Wraiths. Colonel Payne stood next to him, staring at the united force he had amassed. "It's always good to have friends in high places" the Colonel said, winking at the boy. Then the military man turned and looked at the egg concealing Drake and the Stealth Viper. "A new Zoid is created about once every decade or so," the Colonel said, "you're about to join the ranks of the first pilots to pilot a whole new Zoid. I hope you understand how great a gift Drake is giving you right now as he works on the Stealth Viper."
Crow nodded. "I do, and maybe with this new gift together Drake and I finish what we started with Craven."
"Sir!" a soldier yelled, running up to the pair. "Urgent message from one of our scouts!" The soldier handed the Colonel a walkie-talkie.
"Colonel Payne, unidentified Zoid approaching!" Victor's voice yelled over the walkie-talkie. "It's horrible sir, if I didn't have my Stealth Shield equipped I'd fear for my life right now!"
"Son, calm down," Payne said, "tell me what you see."
"The Genosaurer, only not," Victor tried to explain, "it's far beyond the Genosaurer sir and it's approaching at a speed of roughly 350 kilometers per hour!"
"Craven" Crow growled, running up a small mountain face and looking into the horizon. He watched as a small red dot came into view, coming closer and closer every second. Colonel Payne turned to see the evolution egg behind him begin to crack. The crystals shattered one by one as they dematerialized out of thin air, giving small glimpses of what was beneath.
"Protect the Stealth Viper with your lives!" Colonel Payne yelled over a megaphone as Crow ran to watch the egg hatch. The entire mixed guard of Imperial and Republican Zoids opened fire at the approaching terror. Republican Supercannons and Heavy Imperial Hyperbeam Cannons rained shots down on the ground all around the Psychosaurer as it boosted through the desert and toward its target. Craven smiled as the Charged Particle Converter began taking in charged particles from the air, a cloud of them forming at the base of his new Zoid's mouth.
"Max Charged Particle Gun!" Craven yelled. The cloud turned into a stream of glowing purple and red energy as it shot forward. Smaller beams of charged particles split from the main one, diverting their courses toward different targets than the original. Separate Charged Particle Beams slammed into the defense forces, slaying each Zoid they hit instantly. A Gojulas moaned as it fell backward, a glowing hole of red imbedded in its chest. A Iron Kong collapsed into a heap, missing half of its original body.
"Return fire damn it!" Colonel Payne yelled. The defense Genosaurer's bent forward in unison, opening their tails vents and locking down their feet. A group of Charged Particle Beams fired back at the Psychosaurer, coming in from virtually every direction. Craven smirked as he saw the oncoming beams of power and shook his head. The Psychosaurer jumped up, activating its boosters and rocketing into the air as the Charged Particle Beams slammed into the ground where it had just stood. The massive explosion of kinetic energy that followed hurled the Psychosaurer even farther into the air and the Genosaurer pilots screamed as the Psychosaurer came down upon them.
Crow stared at the Stealth Viper as it emerged from its egg, shaking its newfound body free of the crystalline shell that held it. The new Zoid was far more draconic in appearance than it had once been, but it still remained true to its snake-like origin in shape. The Stealth Viper had gained a small pair of arms where its center box had once been, with boosters lining its stomach. The new Zoid's body segments were more rounded, allowing for far superior maneuverability and speed. The Zoid had glowing green eyes like those of Drake and a pair of mouth-mounted AZ40mm machine guns inside its jaw, which was lined with rows of blade-like teeth. The Stealth Viper's new tail a sharp octagonal shaped weapon at the end, making it ten times as dangerous as before.
"Come to me Stealth Dragon!" Crow yelled, the Zoid obeying and levitating into the air with its stomach boosters. Drake shot out of the hovering Zoid, grabbed his partner and melded back with the Stealth Dragon after dropping Crow in the cockpit. Crow looked around at the new cockpit controls, familiarizing himself with them briefly through trial and error. He heard a scream over the intercom and watched as the Psychosaurer switched its pincher-like blades forward and cut the head off of a Genosaurer.
Next the Psychosaurer turned and fired its arm mounted weapons at another defense Saurer, blowing a leg off and watching it fall uselessly to the ground. The final Genosaurer pilot locked his Zoid in place and activated the Zoid's CPG. Craven turned to his opponent and did the same. In unison the two super weapons collided, pushing at each other. The Psychosaurer's Max CPG easily overwhelmed the Genosaurer's CPG, throwing it back and breaking into separate beams which in turn sliced into the Genosaurer from all different angles. In a split second the Genosaurer fell into at least a dozen different pieces.
"Craven!" Crow bellowed. The Psychosaurer turned toward the Stealth Dragon, its eyes glowing a crimson colored red.
A/N: Sorry to end the chapter there but I felt it necessary to build up anticipation. The Psychosaurer is of my creation, but sadly the Stealth Dragon isn't. I also created the Max CPG with inspiration from the Megalo-Max.
