ELEVEN
GHOSTS OF FUZOR
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Owl City,
Eastern Continent, Planet Zi,
February 7, 2128
The acquisition of the Leostriker proved to be a good maneuver for Saskia and Royce. The lion zoid was very well behaved, easy to handle, and even helping Saskia in fixing the Command Wolf. She anticipated that the 'Wolf would be up and running in 2 weeks, but with the Leostriker help she finished her job a little over a week. It was a considerable boost for Royce's plan.
But even with the mounting pressure to fix the Command Wolf quickly, Saskia found time to pilot the Leostriker. Some days it was just an hour before sleep, other times she accumulated three to four hours throughout the day. The predictable control and the zoid's easygoing temperament quickly won her heart, and she wondered if she was more suited for ground zoids rather than flying ones. She could only imagine what would happen if she applied for Helic Military ground force instead of the Air Division 5 years ago. She could've been still with the military by now.
As the Command Wolf was getting back to its form, Royce started to get obsessed about combining the two zoids into Command Striker. This change made Saskia a bit upset; when they first met he was a determined Rottiger agent whose sole intention was to stop Wolff Muroa from raising a zoid army based off her Gilvader. Then, by a mere word of the Command Wolf and Leostriker being Fuzor partners, he turned into a zoid nerd, completely abandoning his 'mission' and focusing on zoid ultimate power via Fuzor, a concept none of them fully understood.
"I have seen their kind, and they are not worthy of note," Saskia tried to reason with Royce. "Their great output is offset by their short period of usefulness. What does it worth if you can only use it for less than 5 minutes? Give me regular zoids instead, constrained in power but blessed with longevity."
"Your eyes deceived you," Royce mumbled. "Have you ever attempted Fuzor? And bask in the glorious white power the zoids produce?"
"Well… have you?" Saskia miffed.
"No. But I desire it."
"Then what of Wolff Muroa? What of people of Zi? What of my Gilvader? I had words that you would deliver him back to me!"
"Things changed," Royce snarled. "When necessities arise, we must respond."
"In what way?" Saskia huffed exasperatedly.
"Cassiopeia, to begin with."
"Cassiopeia might have fallen dead. We are losing opportunities in favor of obscurity."
"Is that a fact?" Royce looked at Saskia in the eyes. "Do you swear upon father's grave?"
"Do not bring my father into this!" Saskia raised her voice. "Have respect for the departed!"
"Then you shall have my respect if you lose life in the absence of choices!" Royce returned the heat, showing signs of frustration with Saskia's unwillingness to embrace Fuzor.
"We have choices!" Saskia grimaced. "We had stealth and a head start! You didn't take it! Now we have number advantage over Cassiopeia. You don't take it either! You have to have Fuzor none of us know anything about!"
"I believe in absolution," Royce growled curtly. "Fuzor will absolutely overpower Cassiopeia's Arosaurer. That is a fact! That is an absolution!"
"I believe in what my eyes laid upon," Saskia let out a long breath. "I see we are wasting time."
"This is still my mission," Royce hissed. "I say we go forward with Fuzor. That's the end of it. Now see yourself inside cockpit. We shall find a way to extract the power of the Fuzor!"
Saskia didn't know what kept her up with Royce's irrational conduct. Perhaps she understood that Royce was her greatest chance to go back with her Gilvader. Perhaps, as an engineer and master technician, she wanted to know what really happened during the fuse process. Or perhaps she was just attracted to stubborn, irrational individuals. She kept up with the Gilvader even though initially it didn't let her pilot it. And although they made a strong bond, she had to constantly fight the zoid for control. But that was how she liked it. There was never a dull moment inside the cockpit of the Gilvader, largely due to her and the zoid's stubbornness.
Perhaps it was the same with Royce.
Whatever it was, she had to set it aside for a moment. Royce already mounted his Command Wolf, waiting for her to meet him in the field. She puffed a long, tiresome sigh, then climbed aboard the Leostriker. The zoid greeted her with a series of growls which - despite her best effort - she couldn't decipher yet. But she could take for granted that the zoid was not as pissed off as she was.
"OK, Leo, I will need your help," she led the zoid to regroup with the Command Wolf. "If you know how to fuse, fuse now. Take control and fuse with the Command Wolf. I don't know how to do it, and I don't desire doing out. Just do what you are supposed to do."
The Leostriker emitted a low confused grunt, then took a place right next to the Command Wolf. But as Saskia suspected, nothing happened. The Leostriker was as clueless as she was. It purred at the Command Wolf, almost like a meow, trying to get its attention, but like everybody else the 'Wolf didn't have any idea what it was supposed to do.
"What now?" Saskia called Royce.
"Let's run them," Royce replied. "Run your zoid in sync with mine. Maybe that'll trigger the fuse sequence."
"Alright," Saskia shot an unenthusiastic reply. The 'Wolf bolted toward a vast plain, and Saskia throttled up to match Royce's maneuver. The Leostriker fired up its engine, running in full speed, matching the dash of the 'Wolf although Saskia could see that the smaller Leostriker wouldn't be able to keep up with the larger Command Wolf for an extended period of time.
"My zoid is falling out of form," Saskia called Royce. "Whatever your mind is speaking, do it presently."
Royce tried to press all buttons, flicked all toggles, pulled all levers within his reach, but nothing worked differently. The Command Wolf just kept running, and the Leostiker strained to keep up. Royce trigger the rocket booster, and the 'Wolf pulled away from the Leostriker.
"Let's go Fuzors!" Royce cried out in desperation. "Fuzors Unite! Unizon! Fuzors Combine! Bah! Worthless piece of junks! Fuse, dammit! FUSE!" But nothing he did helped the situation. The 'Wolf kept pulling away, and the Leostriker – seeing that it fell farther and father behind – just slowed down to a mere jog.
"Put mind into it, Saskia!" Royce barked as he brought his Command Wolf around. "I cannot do this alone!"
"I have done your demands," Saskia replied spitefully. "I can't do what I don't know to do."
"You're the one that has laid eyes upon Fuzors! You're the one that knows how it works!" Royce erupted into a fit of rage. "Set mind to purpose and find your tongue! Why can it happen anywhere else but here? Why can others do it but not us? What is missing in our present state?"
"I know of Fuzors only in passing," Saskia hissed. "I fought four small zoids. They fused into a larger, more powerful one. I didn't stop to ask how it was done. I just shot at it."
"Fought," Royce muttered, as if a light has just been lit inside his head. "Fought. Shot. That's the missing key element! The presence of threat, the sense of urgency, the feel of mortality under enemy's fire! Our zoids don't fuse because they don't have a reason to. But set upon duress, they will combine in a blink of an eye!"
"Are you sure about this?" Saskia said, still unenthusiastically.
"To the point of certainty," Royce chimed in response, but quickly added, "But we need to test it out. I will summon that big man from the junk yard, Dagonet. His Gun Sniper Wild Weasel is the perfect platform to provide simulated combat situation."
"Royce, zoids are not dumb," Saskia tried to reason with Royce, but somehow she knew she wouldn't budge Royce's decision. "They can tell the difference between a real combat situation and simulated one."
"Then they should be smart enough to figure out what we demand," Royce sneered in response. "Sit tight. I will fetch the brute."
Desert,
Eastern Continent, Planet Zi,
February 8, 2128
The many deserts of Eastern Continent provided the same landscape: vast stretched plain in drab yellow hue with a few dunes and rock 'islands' here and there. A number of places had tall precipices that zoids could use to ambush convoys or caravans. But for the most part, the deserts were barren lands perfect for mock combats.
Despite already had a job, Dagonet agreed to assist Royce and Saskia to unlock the secret of the Command Striker. The Wild Weasel took position at the center of the desert while Royce's Command Wolf flanked it on its right. Saskia's Leostriker was on the opposite side of the desert. They were miles away from the closest hill or rocky terrain. The ground was flat as far as their eyes could see.
Saskia didn't like Royce's idea. Zoids were intelligent beings. They could feel if a shot was fake or laden with malice. If they didn't fuse before because they didn't feel the threat, they wouldn't fuse now because they still didn't feel the threat. She couldn't fathom why Royce thought that he could make the zoids believe that they were in a real battle. It didn't make sense. But she also learnt that Royce would do it regardless what she said. He had been calling all the shots, and he would continue to do it, no matter what logic dictated.
"Just a heads up: I'm using live ammunition," Dagonet called from his zoids. "Any shot at your zoids is not intentional. Whatever happens, do not retaliate. If you do, I will bear guns upon you and you will not like it. Are we in accord?"
"Yes," Royce replied firmly.
"Before we proceed, are you sure that the Leostriker is the Fuzor partner of the Command Wolf?" Saskia asked. "Does Command Striker even exist?"
"There are accounts at Blue City that it is the case," Dagonet replied. "It is not a common sight since Fuzors are short-lived. But it has happened before."
"In what condition?" Saskia pressed on.
"I don't have the luxury of that knowledge," Dagonet replied. "There is, however, a scientist of Fuzors renown at Blue City. His name is Dr. Pierce. Look him up if you want to know more about Fuzors. Shall we begin presently?"
"I'm ready," Saskia sighed, knowing that the end would be another setback for the dysfunctional pair.
"Watch your head!" Dagonet said as his guns belched fire. Hundreds of cannon shells raced past the desert toward the Command Wolf. Royce dodged the attack and fired his cannons in return, but he intentionally set the crosshair high. His twin beams just zipped past the Wild Weasel's head, drawing no damage. Dagonet shift to his left, looking for the Command Wolf's broad side, then launched his missiles. More than two dozen warheads leapt from the tubes, chasing the 'Wolf with murderous intention. The Command Wolf let out its battlecry and charged the Wild Weasel, weaving left and right to dodge the missiles. A couple missiles exploded too close to its leg, throwing it off course, but others missed the mark and exploded harmlessly on the sand of the desert, far away from their intended target.
Saskia was not under pressure at the moment but she tried to envision a combat situation. What would she do if this were a real combat? The Leostriker was a close-range slugger so she needed to go in to use its best weapon: the Zan Strike Sword at the tail. So she armed all weapons and sprinted toward the Wild Weasel. The Wild Weasel was still occupied with the Command Wolf so she fired her missiles to disrupt its attention, thus taking the heat off Royce. The Wild Weasel acknowledged the incoming threat; it shifted right and Saskia's missiles struck void, exploding haplessly at the far end of the desert.
Saskia adjusted the course to run straight at the Wild Weasel but the gunboat zoid fired another missile salvo, forcing her to veer off course. Her radar screamed; those were heat-seeking missiles coming at her. Panic surged through her veins, and she froze, trying to find a way out of the missile lock, but the Leostriker took control just seconds before impact. It fired its missiles in a close proximity. The resulting fireballs attracted the heat seekers. They immediately charged the fireballs and rammed themselves into the ground.
"Well play… well play, Leo!" Saskia took a deep breath, acknowledging the zoid's intelligence. "I should leave you in charge more often."
The Leostriker purred in response, almost like a chuckle. Saskia took over the control and steer the zoid toward the Wild Weasel, but Dagonet didn't let her come close. His gatling cannons roared furiously, spitting armor-piercing shells like torrential rain. They were not directed straight at Saskia but they formed a wall of ballistics so thick Saskia couldn't break through without getting hit.
"That should do it! Try now!" Royce yelled. "Fuzors Combine!"
Both the Command Wolf and Leostriker let out their battlecry and tried everything they could think of to make a change. But it just didn't happen. They just ran in circles under Dagonet's pressure, but nothing changed. Royce and Saskia virtually pressed every buttons in their consoles to start something, but nothing worked.
"Come on, Leo, give me something," Saskia pleaded desperately. "If you have it in you, tell me how. We need it. We need it bad."
The Leostriker just responded with a series of grunts, as if getting annoyed by Saskia's unreasonable demand. Saskia exhaled long and hard. She didn't want to burden her zoid with something she didn't even believe. But on the other hand Royce had to be pleased. She had to give him absolution; otherwise he would get them stuck in this desert.
"We need more pressure!" Royce barked as he fired his long cannons at Dagonet, dangerously close to hitting the Wild Weasel. The Wild Weasel sidestepped the attack, then launched a hail of ballistics at the Command Wolf. The 'Wolf barely escaped the fire, but the Wild Weasel pressed the attack with missiles. White smoke blanketed the Command Wolf, but its animal instinct – combined with Royce's reflex – guided the zoid through the missile rain unscathed.
One, however, slammed into the 'Wolf's shoulder and exploded in brilliant colors, almost taking it down.
"You bastard!" Royce cursed. "Saskia, take him down together!"
"Don't get carried away, Royce! Dagonet said any hit was unintentional. You're the one that asks for more pressure," Saskia tried to calm Royce down lest the situation became out of control.
"The intensity will bring the zoids closer, then maybe they will fuse," Royce growled. "Together! As one!"
Saskia was about to open her mouth but the Command Wolf was already halfway toward the Wild Weasel. She had no choice but to follow Royce. The 'Wolf and the Wild Weasel traded fire, and Royce didn't even flinch against Dagonet's assault anymore. He took some hits, then fired his cannons center mass. The Wild Weasel, not expecting intentional shots like that, doubled over in pain. Smoke twirled from its midsection.
"Use head, Rottiger! I'm warning you!" Dagonet spat as he took a fighting stance. His Wild Weasel spread its legs and lowered its head, a sign that now it was fighting for real.
"Bring it! Bring it on, Mercenary!" Royce replied. The 'Wolf front claws glowed in bright yellow, and Royce slammed the throttle forward. The Command Wolf leapt forward, fore legs extended, aiming for the Wild Weasel's center torso. But once again the raptor-type zoid sidestepped the attack, then blasted its cannons at point blank range. The 'Wolf wailed as multiple cannon rounds peppered its back, grinding armor into shrapnel.
Saskia jumped into the fray with cannons and missiles, but she intentionally aimed her weapons low, blasting the ground, hoping to relieve the pressure off Royce without hurting Dagonet. But the Wild Weasel completely ignored the Leostriker and continued to bombard the Command Wolf with malicious shots. The 'Wolf jumped around to parry the attack then came back with its own. Soon the two zoids traded real blows for real.
"Start Fuzor now or you will kill yourself!" Saskia cried out.
"Fuzor Combine!" Royce hollered, trying everything he could to initiate the sequence. But the result was still the same. Nothing happened. The two zoids just wouldn't fuse.
"Stop! Stop! Stand down, both of you!" Saskia quickly stepped in between Royce and Dagonet, preventing them to kill each other. "Royce, this is not working. We have done everything we could. So please, abandon this Fuzor obsession of yours and restore original mission. Stop Wolff Muroa and get my zoid back. We have burnt too many daylights already. Let's move on."
It took a long time for Royce to answer, "Alright. We'll go now."
As the Command Wolf walked slowly away from the desert, Saskia turned to Dagonet. "Much gratitude for your assistance," she said.
"Apologies, it doesn't work out," Dagonet replied casually.
"None needed, you have done a lot for us," Saskia smiled in response. "In fact, my heart swells with such performance. You are not built for guarding junkyards. If you are ever dulled by the job, come with me. I may find you work well suit for a man of your measure."
"Gratitude, but I have no desire to chase ghosts," Dagonet replied. "If you have the job, come find me. I am going nowhere."
"Fair enough." Saskia opened the canopy to wave at the Wild Weasel. "You will hear from me."
"Good luck with your ghosts," Dagonet replied as the Wild Weasel made a quick nod.