CHAPTER 4

Rescue the President!

"Gambit!" Crow yelled. The boy turned back toward the man after being ordered to leave. "Not you," Crow said, "we need to talk." Gambit sat down, Predator taking his flank and growling. "Your piloting skills, while remarkable, are far too reckless," Crow explained, "this is the second time in two days the mechanics have had to completely reassemble your Gun Sniper. Your rage gives you power, yes, but it also blinds you. It pushes you forward and holds you back all at once, it's time we learned how to harness it. Follow me."

A few minutes later, the Gun Sniper and Stealth Dragon sat side by side just outside of the mountain base. "What are we doing?" Gambit asked.

"I'm going to help you master your rage, help you learn how to use it as the ultimate weapon against the Spawn" Crow said. The Stealth Dragon hissed and opened its wings, activating its boosters and shooting into the air. Then the Dragon swooped back around and headed straight toward the Gun Sniper. Both pilots yelled for their organoids which both responded by fusing with the awaiting Zoids. Just before the Stealth Dragon had reached the Sniper Gambit's world went red and the raptor-like Zoid sprang out of the way. Crow smirked and the Dragon lashed its tail forward, catching the Sniper in its chest and throwing it back with immense force. Crow followed up the maneuver by showering the fallen Zoid in anti-Zoid bullets.

Gambit winced, but quickly recovered, the Sniper boosting to its feet and returning fire as the Stealth Dragon prepared for another swooping attack. The Wild Weasel Unit's multiple gun barrels flashed to life, the shots slamming into the Dragon. Crow's Zoid roared in pain, but flew right into the shots, using its downward momentum to slam right into its opponent. The Gun Sniper fell to the ground, the Stealth Dragon using its superior size to pin it. Gambit screamed in rage and the Sniper began tearing at the belly of the Dragon with its hardened alloy claws.

"Wrong!" Crow yelled. The Dragon poured AZ bullets down on the pinned Sniper, tearing through each arm mount. "Now focus! Focus all your rage into one attack!" Crow commanded. At first, Gambit simply ignored the command and desperately tried to lash out through his Zoid. Realizing it was futile and further struggle would result in his defeat, the boy slowly began to calm down. His world went from red to a dull gray, somehow becoming far clearer. Gambit waited patiently, his face turning from anger to a blank stare. The Stealth Dragon whipped its tail from side to side, helping keep its balance. Just as the Dragon went to shift its weight Gambit struck. Activating the Gun Sniper's boosters, Gambit shot the Zoid up, throwing the Stealth Dragon off of it. "There you go" Crow whispered.

Gambit yelled a battle cry and the top of the Gun Sniper's boosters opened up, revealing missile pods which exploded to life. Leaving a stream of white smoke, eight missiles rocketed into the Dragon, exploding on impact. Gambit followed the maneuver up by charging forward and whipping the Gun Sniper around, using its tail to smash the side of the Stealth Dragon's cockpit. The Sniper roared in bestial rage, watching its opponent fall to the ground. Next, the armless Zoid stepped on top of the enemy Zoid's head as a sign of victory. Crow smiled. The Stealth Dragon's hardened alloy tail club came out of nowhere, clashing with the backside of the Sniper and throwing it forward.

Crow's Zoid twisted and turned to face its opponent, but the Gun Sniper had nothing left, it was spent. The words "Combat System Freeze" appeared on Gambit's command screen. He sighed and waited for Predator to eject him from the cockpit. Meeting Drake and Crow on the ground, Gambit and Predator shared looks of disappointment. "No worries guys," Crow said, "you did fine. For a moment there you had it, what changed?"

"I don't know," Gambit said, "my rage just took a back seat for a minute. It was still there, but controlled and focused. Then I lost it again and you beat me." Crow patted the boy on his back and directed him back toward the base. Crow grabbed a walkie-talkie from his waist and held it to his mouth.

"Get the mechanics out here" he said.


The skies of Zi lit up with gunfire. Juliet's Raynos twisted to the side and boosted out of the way of an oncoming missile from an enemy Zabat. The pterasaur-like Zoid shrieked and opened fire with its tri-30mm beam cannons as it approached its bat-like opponent. The Zabat pulled up at the last second, trying to outmaneuver the Raynos. Juliet just smirked and easily followed the Zoid through the skies. The aerial Zoids flew between some dueling Pteras and Redlers, their shockwaves throwing the Zoids out of their way. As their speeds reached mach 2, Juliet kicked the Raynos into gear, boosting out ahead of the Zabat and maneuvering in front of it. A barrage from the Anti-Missile Defense 40mm machine guns equipped on the Raynos's tail knocked the Zabat out of the sky.

"Ace, come in" Juliet said over the intercom, Ace's face appeared in response. "How are the ground forces holding up?"

On the ground, the Green Horn roared and charged into a Godos, easily tossing the small framed Zoid to the side with its Crasher Horn. "Everything is going according to plan Juliet, my sensors indicate a significant number advantage on the ground" Ace reported. Suddenly, a line of enemy Iron Kongs broke through the ranks and charged the Green Horn, opening fire with their shoulder-mounted 60mm gatling guns. The Green Horn stopped momentarily, nearly pinned down by the enemy fire, before charging right toward them. Every gun muzzle on the Horn flashed as shots sprayed from its weapons, pounding the Kongs. The first few immediately fell from the fire, but the others managed to survive the assault, watching as the Green Horn closed in.

Ace yelled a battle cry and the Horn lowered its head, preparing to impale the first Iron Kong it saw. The gorilla-type Zoid bellowed and pounded its chest with its fists before reaching out to grab the oncoming Green Horn. The two grappled for a moment before Ace's Zoid maneuvered under the Kong's reach and struck it in the stomach. With enormous strength, the Green Horn tossed the Kong into its teammate, knocking both Zoids out immediately. The last Iron Kong hesitated as the Horn turned to face it. A fatal mistake. The Horn charged forward, blowing a hole into the Kong's chest with its weapons and finishing it off with a Crasher Horn to the belly.

The large encampment the Resistance had attacked now began to falter and Ace and the ground forces seized the moment, pushing them back even further. Countless Spawn-controlled Zoids fell, slain by the opposition. In the air, Juliet and a flock of Storm Sworders closed in on the final Black Redler, surrounding it from all sides. Juliet opened fire, striking the Redler's right wing and sending it plummeting to the ground. The Storm Sworders swooped down and took turns cutting it into pieces. Juliet watched as Ace and the ground forces finished off the final enemy below, a Zaber Fang.

Ace took a deep breath of relief and opened the Horn's cockpit, jumping out and running to the wreckage of the Zaber Fang. He busted open the cockpit of the enemy Zoid and drug the wounded Spawn out of it. "Tell me what I want to know or I slay you where you lie" Ace threatened. The Spawn, a zombified child, was dressed in uniform and had many "badges" decorating him, signifying importance. Upon closer inspection, Ace was disgusted to see that the badges were human body parts. The Spawn weakly opened its mouth and began to talk.


Elsewhere, the Special Forces, led by Victor silently snuck into a small Spawn base on the outskirts of where New Helic City had once been. The Attack Arachnid was followed by a pair of Leomasters, three Helcats in camouflage and a Snipe Master waiting in the hills for support. A spotlight desperately searched the ground all around the base, the Spawn being on high alert after the attack on the encampment Juliet and Ace had taken over.

"Gabriel," Victor said, "you guys ready?"

Just outside of the base the midnight black Dibison pawed the ground, anxious for battle. Behind it, a squad of Genosaurers awaited his command. "You know it" Gabriel said.

"Commence attack!" Victor commanded. A shot from the hidden Snipe Master pierced the night air, slamming into the tower that held the searchlight and blowing it in half. The Dibison shook itself and began charging golden energy in its cannons, the Genosaurers following on queue by locking down their feet and bending forward. The Dibison groaned as the Megalo-Max fired, streaming forward and breaking into separate beams which rained down on the Spawn base. The Genosaurers fired their Charged Particle Guns, the blue and purple energy destroying numerous command tents and bunkers.

The Leomasters charged forward, turning on their powerful shields as enemy Rev Raptors opened fire. The modified Shield Ligers rammed the enemy Zoids and knocked them to the ground, finishing them off in different ways. Victor bombarded an oncoming Gordos with anti-Zoid bullets, cutting through the stegosaur-like Zoid's thick armor. The enemy Zoid moved to counterattack but was shot from out of nowhere, falling to the ground in a heap. Victor was glad they had brought the Snipe Master. Just then another siege from Gabriel and his forces fell upon the base, filling it with flames and carnage.

A single Zoid emerged from the wreckage, its familiar form illuminated by the flames all around it. "Gabriel, it's Craven, fire at coordinates AA-09!" Victor yelled. The Psychosaurer boosted forward, charging up the Max Charged Particle Beam as it went. A roar from beside it signified the approach of the Leomasters as they jumped between the Saurer and the Attack Arach. The Max CPG fired in a blaze of red and purple energy, but uselessly slammed into the anti-CPG shields of the Leomasters.

"You fools can't stop me!" Craven yelled. The Psychosaurer viciously tore at the shields with its blade-like pincers until they finally faded. Next, the Saurer boosted between them and began to attack the Ligers at close range. Beams of golden energy carefully maneuvered around the Leomasters and clashed with the Saurer, Gabriel scoring a direct hit. Craven's Zoid roared defiantly as it tried to shake off the attack, then its cockpit slid open. The Death Wraith held a frightened President, the woman bloody with wounds and fighting with every last ounce of strength she had. "Don't fire!" Craven yelled demandingly.

"Cease fire, wait for my command!" Victor ordered. The Resistance paused for a moment and the tension became razor thin. "What do you want Craven?"

"Simple fool," Craven said, "I want the Mad Thunder, I know what you idiots have up your sleeves. My master won't allow you to win that easily. Now call back your forces or the Madam President dies!" The Death Wraith unsheathed a small dagger and held it to the woman's neck.

"You're bluffing, you need her alive just as much as we do!" Victor yelled.

"On the contrary," Craven cackled, "without the Mad Thunder your plan will never work! The President is the only one who knows the location of it, I need her for nothing! However, to obtain such as power as the Thunder would please my master greatly and he has similar plans as Crow."

"Prepare to fire on the Psychosaurer!" Victor ordered. The pilot in the Snipe Master carefully began aiming his shot. Craven laughed mockingly and playfully slid his knife across the President's neck, careful not to actually harm her. The act ignited Victor's fuse and the Attack Arachnid sprang forward. "Fire!" Victor commanded. The Snipe Master's tail-mounted AZ144mm sniper cannon flashed and fired, the shot slamming into the cockpit of the Saurer. Craven gasped, momentarily releasing the President as he tried to balance. The woman dove out of the cockpit. "Gotcha!" Victor yelled, the pinchers of the Attack Arach snapping closed and cutting through the President's dress, holding her midair. "Retreat!" Victor commanded.