NINETEEN
MATCH OF THE APOCALYPSE, PART 2
Review Corner:
jdoug4118: I will try. I apologize, the last few weeks I was getting hit from all direction, so I wasn't able to fill the quota for September. But now things are slowing down so I should be posting at least once a month. I hope you enjoy this one.
Northern Mountain,
Central Continent, Planet Zi,
February 23, 2128
The Arosaurer loomed over the fallen Leostriker but when it was getting on top of the lion the Command Wolf tackled it from behind. The momentum carried both zoids flying a few dozen meters before crashing down in a tumultuous cartwheel. Both ended on a cloud of dust, several meters apart. The 'Wolf clambered up first; its dorsal cannons bent out of shape, rendering the canine offenseless without its primary weapon. The Arosaurer struggled to get up in the dust cloud. Its right shoulder cannon was nowhere to be seen, but with its left still intact, the zoid was nonetheless a formidable combatant at mid range.
Saskia winced in pain as she overcame her own twinge; her head throbbed so bad her eyes felt like hanging out of the sockets. Her ears could barely pick up any sound barring the incessant beeping of the Leostriker's console. Her joints were on fire. Her lungs were full of everything but oxygen, forcing her to gasp and cough in the mist of burning plastics. Yet she pulled herself together to assess the situation, and was glad to see that her imminent threat had been gone.
Watching the Command Wolf and the Arosaurer gathering themselves in the distance, Saskia realized that Royce had engaged the Arosaurer in a brawl to protect her, and was now in a severe disadvantage. The 'Wolf had mediocre melee weapons, only enough to keep it out of trouble. Without its long dorsal cannons, it wouldn't last against the Arosaurer's brute force. But perhaps Royce didn't have a choice. He had to take Cassiopeia out before she crippled Saskia. It made her mad at herself; her ineptitude in zoid combat had cost him dearly.
Defying her own ache, she pulled her zoid up and launched it toward Cassiopeia but the Saber Lion cut her path and jumped on the Leostriker. The Leostriker twisted to dodge the Saber Lion's broadsword, but the Saber Lion sank its claws to the back of the Leostriker, pushing it down. The Leostriker blasted the ground, creating a swath-like crater and a wall of dust. The Saber Lion pinned it to the ground but the Leostriker curled up its body and stabbed the Saber Lion's right leg. The Saber Lion roared and was forced to release its grip to avoid losing its leg.
Saskia regained control of her senses and quickly planned out her defense. The Saber Lion had a bigger sword but nigh nonexistent ranged weapons. The only chance Saskia had was in a shootout. Unfortunately she ran out of mortars, so she had to rely on her cannons. She cursed, miffed by the fact that she was stuck with guns that could barely kill insects. But right now they were all she got.
"Take shots from range, Leo!" Saskia steered her zoid to build a gap from the Saber Lion. The Leostriker used its speed to stretch a gap between the Saber Lion and itself. The Saber Lion realized what the Leostriker was doing, and it broke into a sprint, eating the gap with the Leostriker. Saskia floored her pedal, bringing the Leostriker into a racing bullet, then jerked the joystick in looping motion. The Leostriker leapt into the air, engaged a half sommersault, then fired a laser volley at the Saber Lion. Needles of light rained down on the lion's body, shredding armor platings layers by layers. The Saber Lion pulled all stops to dodge the beam strands, kicking up dust and debris in the process. But the cloud of dust acted as a smokescreen; The Leostriker ceased fire.
Saskia realigned her crosshair with the Saber Lion but all she got was shadows. The dust cloud hampered her radar. Running out of option, she saturate-fired the vicinity, hoping that some shots crippled or at least hurt the Saber Lion. But of course it was just a wishful thinking. When the cloud cleared, the Saber Lion wasn't there.
Saskia switched her radar to infrared, and the heat signature of the Saber Lion popped up on her radar. She quickly turned to its direction and let loose a vicious barrage. The Saber Lion crisscrossed its path, eluding Saskia's salvos, while lowered its head to make a thrust with its broadsword. She ran in circle while bringing her Zan Strike Sword up, covering her rear end in case the Saber Lion tried to jump on her again. The Saber Lion swept low, hoping to catch the Leostriker's legs, but Saskia extended her tail sword to parry it. The blades clashed again, ever so fiercely, forcing the two lions to veer off their path. Saskia gripped the joystick hard as the Leostriker twisted and staggered to compensate the impact force from the Saber Lion.
The Saber Lion teetered on its heeled for some time before regaining its footing, but the staggering put it several dozens meter apart from the Leostriker. Saskia wasted no time to pepper the Saber Lion but she failed to account the Arosaurer. A devastating salvo fell upon the Leostriker from behind. Servo and drivetrain links burst into the air, jostled by internal explosions by the Leostriker's hind quarter. Saskia cried out as the seat harness bit into her shoulder when the Leostriker fell on its side. Sparks and smoke filled in the cockpit, churning her stomach with the acrid smell of burning plastics.
"Angry shots may have found your ass, but don't mistaken intention," Cassiopeia's voice crackled on Saskia's half-fried console. "My guns are meant for Royce, yet you stood between us. Lesson well learnt. If you value your life, stay down while I finish this lover's quarrel."
"Lovers?" Saskia grimaced as she struggled to get up. "You and Royce were lovers?"
"Knowledge absent fact, yet heart set to die for him!" Cassiopeia sniggered in response. "Poor Saskia, wallowing in the shadows of lies and deceit! There is much to learn about your traveling partner... or is it shag mate? Am I to assume that he shared body with you too?"
There was a twinge in Saskia's heart upon hearing Cassiopeia's last comment. Her eyes were waterlogged from the smoke, her lungs were about to explode from asphyxiation, her shoulders throbbed from the harnesses, but everything she cared about was that pinch like a barb stinging her heart. It was hard to accept that Royce, the first man that ever set her womanhood in motion, had slept with Cassiopeia, the girl who allegedly kidnapped and tortured her friend. A girl who didn't even speak highly of her past romance. Her brain had been brimming with confusion, but this one just pushed everything to the new dimension.
"You lie!" Saskia cried out. "Lie! Lie! Lie!"
And just as she poured out her frustration in a screaming tantrum, the Leostriker began to change. The armor platings stripped and rearranged themselves in different parts of the body. The legs retracted and folded tightly underneath the body, and the cockpit restructured itself, now sitting at the base of the Zan Strike Sword. The console went haywire, illuminating different body parts and calling out sections of the Command Wolf.
"Royce?" Saskia called out her partner in utter confusion. "Royce, what is happening?"
"I don't believe it!" Royce gasped with a child-like gusto. "We're going Fuzor! We're going Fuzor! Command Striker, Fuzor combine!"
Both the Command Wolf and Leostriker basked in glowing light. The 'Wolf dorsal turret jettisoned itself and the Leostriker – or what used to be one – attached itself at the back of the 'Wolf as a massive turret with the Zan Strike Sword overhanging above the 'Wolf's head. The beam cannons icon on her console flashed in emerald glory, leveling at 500-percent nominal condition. Saskia turned her joystick back and forth and the entire turret twisted and turned at her whim, completely removed from Royce's control.
"Am I to tremble upon showing?" Cassiopeia scoffed. "We were all on equal footing. Now you stand outnumbered."
"Outnumbered we might be, but by Mother Zi we will not be outmatched!" Royce hissed as he brought the Command Striker to a gallop toward the Arosaurer. "Behold the wrath of Fuzor… and be devoured by it!"
The Command Striker blasted its jets, propelling the beast like an arrow launched from its bow. Saskia lost her vision when the G-force nailed her to her couch, and for a moment she thought she was in her Gilvader. She didn't expect a 45-ton zoid had that much power. In fact, nobody anticipated the extreme power the Command Striker had over the Command Wolf and Leostriker. The Fuzor zoid rammed the Arosaurer on the midsection before Cassiopeia could even blink. The Arosaurer stumbled and rolled in the sand for dozens of meters before it finally stopped.
The Saber Lion swung to the rear and made a dash, but Saskia caught its maneuver. She twisted the turret and fired off the cannon. Blitzing rays of light leapt from the gun. She abused the trigger, raining down torrential beam daggers at the Saber Lion. The Saber Lion had taken shots from the Leostriker before but this time it was different. Each shot shredded a layer of armor, and the Saber Lion lost half of its platings in a short time. The Saber Lion realized the Leostriker was not the enemy it fought half a minute ago, so it wisely broke off and escaped its line of fire.
"You could've unlocked this Fuzor function two weeks ago!" Royce grumbled over the comlink, watching the Arosaurer and the Saber Lion as they regrouped. "Why didn't you get it earlier?"
"Did you lay with Cassiopeia?" Saskia blurted.
"Do you really find it paramount?" Royce snarled. "Zi's future depends on the outcome of this mission, yet your priority is whom I had laid with in the past?"
"Then why hold tongue against me?!" Saskia growled back, almost as menacingly. "What other secrets hide behind your silence? You married? You have kids?"
"And why are these critical?" Royce blubbered, utterly confused by Saskia's irrational outburst.
"Because you're lying to me! Trust begs honesty, yet you warrant none of sort!"
"Honesty?! About sex?" Royce scratched his head. "You hold tongue about past sex escapades either! You're as much a liar as I am!"
"No! I said nothing because there is nothing to say!" Saskia cried out. The conversation turned into total absurdity, but she didn't know how to stop it, nor she wanted to if she could. She just had to keep on going. "My tongue merits honesty! I have not shared bed with anybody!"
"Who gives measures about past relationship?" Royce bemoaned. "I give no damn about yours! Why do you give a damn about mine, all so sudden?"
Yes, why did all of sudden Saskia get upset about Royce's and Cassiopeia's past relationship? They were in the middle of a pitched battle against two very skilled opponents, and there were half a dozen issues about Royce's past that churned her stomach, but his love life seemed to take precedence. Why? Was she really looking for Royce's honesty, or was she consumed by jealousy? Was her mind playing tricks on her, or did she feel that strongly about Royce, a guy she barely knew? Saskia didn't know the answers. She opened her mouth, but she couldn't find any words that wouldn't embarrass her further.
"Hey, turn head back to fight!" Royce yelled over the comlink. "They're regrouping! Watch our six!"
Saskia shed her thought as she watched the Arosaurer and Saber Lion launched a two-pronged attack. The Arosaurer stood at the distance, firing its shoulder cannon, while the Saber Lion dashed toward the Command Striker to take a shot with its broadsword. Royce steered the Command Striker clear from the Saber Lion's trust and lunged at the Arosaurer. The Saber Lion gave chase but Saskia unleashed hell upon the small lion, forcing it to once again break off and escape the murderous beam shots from the Command Striker.
The Arosaurer gave everything it had, firing its shoulder cannon and swatting its tail to keep the Command Striker at bay, but nothing could stop the Command Striker. The Fuzor zoid just walked through the Arosaurer's shots and pounced. Saskia twisted the turret to aim the Zan Strike Sword at the Arosaurer. The Arosaurer mustered all energy to parry the attack, but against the speed and power of the Fuzor, its fate was sealed. The Zan Strike Sword sliced its chest clean. Fire burst from the incision, and the Arosaurer stumbled in agony.
As the Arosaurer crumbled, Saskia wondered if she did the right thing. Why did she ax Cassiopeia? Was it an act of valor or jealousy? She didn't even know if Cassiopeia told the truth. What if it was Royce who made things up to gain her support? His behavior showed that he was not exactly a character of integrity. Yet she punished Cassiopeia for that last comment and for having a romance with Royce.
"Oh God what have I done?" she buried her face in her palm. "What have I done?"
"Commendable strike, executed with conviction!" Royce sneered as he turned the Command Striker to face the Saber Lion. "Cassiopeia is out, but the Saber Lion is still standing! Shoot it down!"
Reluctantly Saskia lined up her crosshair with the Saber Lion and mashed the trigger. The Saber Lion put all stops to get out range, jumping and sprinting in sawtooth pattern, erratically changing direction. But the 360-degree twisting capability of the Command Striker turret enabled Saskia to track down the Saber Lion movement anywhere it went. The lack of ranged weapon put the Saber Lion at a serious disadvantage, and it was only a matter of time before Saskia scored a critical hit on the small lion.
But Royce didn't have enough patience. He slammed home the throttle and pushed the Command Striker to full speed. Its booster jets opened wide, spitting blue flame and long white smoke. The Command Striker whizzed like a bullet with extended claws and teeth. The Saber Lion pulled off every bit of energy to dodge the attack, but the Striker's claws tore a deep gash on its right side. Sparks bled from the gash, and the Saber Lion staggered hard to keep standing.
The Command Striker hunkered down for its final pounce to finish off the Saber Lion, but suddenly the combined zoid trembled. Strands of light lit up the joints. Saskia's console rang out of control; warning sign blared one after another in convoluted sequences it was hard to decipher what was really happening. The main screen showed an image of the Command Striker flashing and breaking apart, and all parts returned into their original form.
"What is this?" Saskia grimaced in panic. "What is happening?"
"We are getting undone!" Royce replied. "Energy is depleted! Reroute all power to main generator!"
Saskia rearranged the output of her generator to support Royce's, but it didn't help much. The turret jettisoned itself from the Command Wolf's back, then rearranged its armor pieces and body parts back into the Leostriker. But it was a far cry from its best form. It could barely stand; its knees wobbled, steam hissed from each joint, and the Zan Strike Sword sagged onto the sand. The Command Wolf was no better, with buckling knees and weak growl.
"Useless piece of junk! Return to form! Command Striker Fuzor Combine!" Royce screamed, banging on his console. "Saskia, see Fuzor up again!"
"I can't," Saskia replied haplessly as she flicked all toggles and pushed all buttons in vain. "My core is depleted. Fuzor drained too much energy. Now I stand but a hollow shell. Go, save yourself. I will hold the Saber Lion."
"We stood as one," Royce dragged the Command Wolf to take up fighting chance. "We shall fall as one."
After all was said and done, Saskia still felt warmth creeping on her heart. But she set it aside as the Saber Lion, now the sole aggressor left standing, started its destructive run. Saskia thumbed her trigger, but nothing came out of her cannons. The core didn't have energy left to power the beam generators. The Saber Lion aimed its broadsword at the Command Wolf, and Saskia could only watch as the small lion pried the 'Wolf off the ground, eviscerated its midsection, and flung it into the air. A long trail of machinery spewed out of the 'Wolf's midsection. It crashed into the ground, kicking up a big cloud of dust.
"Royce! ROYCE!" Saskia yelled, but her comlink only gave her static. She watched the dust cloud slowly dispersed, revealing the motionless body of the Command Wolf, looking for a sign of Royce but saw no movement whatsoever.
"You aided the wrong man," Leila hailed from her Saber Lion. "Royce DesGagne was a fugitive."
"He is of many things, fugitive is not one of them," Saskia turned to face the Saber Lion. "And what of the one you aid? A child tormentor, hidden behind the vanity of Rottiger?"
"I give no measure for twisted tongues," Leila replied curtly. "I am a cop, I serve but justice. My word to Maia has met fulfillment. Cassiopeia shall deal with Royce at her discretion."
"Leave Royce alone!" Saskia moved up to block the Saber Lion from the downed Command Wolf.
"Heed my words, Saskia. See yourself reunited with Kenny and Maia and take no part in Rottiger affair."
Once again Saskia was in a proverbial crossroad. Should she go with Kenny and leave Royce, or defend Royce and forget about Kenny? Defending Royce would almost certainly lead her to her death since her depleted Leostriker had no chance against the Saber Lion. But what if there was no Kenny? What if it was just Leila's ploy to lure her into another trap? Saskia didn't know her, and her story was hard to believe.
With such a limited vision, Saskia had to make a decision. In the end, she went with Royce. It might be the wrong decision, but at least Royce was real, and whoever he was – a special agent or a fugitive – he stood by her in the advent of death. Saskia owed him that much.
"Go to hell!" she yelled and rerouted all energy left to the beam cannon. The cannons sparked one last time and shot a pair of beam strands. The Saber Lion roared in anger as the beam javelins hammered its neck. It crouched then leapt forward like a spring with its broadsword aimed straight at Saskia.
"Apologies, Leo," Saskia said as she pulled the ejection lever. Two rockets at the base of her command couch blasted, sending her bursting through the plexiglass canopy and flying in the air, seconds before the Saber Lion crashed into the Leostriker. She felt bad about the zoid; the lion was one of few that followed her direction, and one that lifted her morale that she actually could control a zoid. However, she had no choice but to sacrifice the Leostriker to buy time for Royce and herself.
As the Saber Lion pulled away from the Leostriker, Saskia landed in a sand dune, and was immediately pulled away by a strong hand. She looked up and for a moment her heart lit up to see it was Royce. He dragged her behind the sand dune and activated some kind of electronic device.
"Frequency jammer," Royce explained. "It jams the zoid's radar so it can't find us."
Saskia just kept her head down until a few Backdraft buggies stop nearby to salvage their artifacts. Royce and Saskia sneaked into one of those buggies and rode back to New Helic City, unbeknownst to the Saber Lion.