Arratra here, reporting in for the first chapter of Zoids: New Century Zero X
Warning: long chapter ahead.
Zoids does not belong to me, nor do customised Zoids (mostly)
Zoid Battlefield
Two months after the ending of Zoids: New Century Zero
"My name's Harry Champ. I'm a man destined to be King!" an ostentatiously dressed Zoid pilot yelled into his COM, as he always did.
"Jeez. Give it a rest, Champ," Ben grumbled, "This is our third battle. We know already!"
As a brand-new Class-B team, the Dragons were pitted against Harry and his two robots fairly regularly. It was barely a month into the regular season, with the Class-S and Class-A seasons about to begin, after the two-month break following the Royal Cup.
"This is Battlemode 0982," Harry said, "Where are your other two Zoids?"
"They're coming, Champ. Keep your hair on."
"Shot Eagle and Hayden in the Gairyuki are launching," Ben's father reported to him.
The Dragons Team's transporter was a colossal dragon-type Zoid called the Battledragon. Developed by the Helic Republic, the Battledragon was a carrier, designed for both land and aerial movement, although moving by land was slow (for the massive zoid, which could easily exceed Mach 1 while flying). This particular one had a BEEK-class AI installed around its core. This allowed it to target each of over sixty point-defence "Riot guns" independently and simultaneously, without the need for an excessively large crew. If the safety restrictions were removed, this Battledragon could potentially fight completely unmanned, but for safety's sake, at least one crew member was required to be aboard whenever the Battledragon went into combat, in order to ensure that it didn't target friendlies by mistake.
In addition to its point-defence guns, the Battledragon was equipped with four independently-rotating triple-barrelled, wide-bore beam cannon turrets, one on each of the shoulders and hips. Beneath these were the twin linear catapults on the shoulders, and missile banks on the hips. Then there were the enormous wings, which doubled as the shield conduits; the Battledragon's omni-directional E-shield was projected through them. Between these was the heavy catapult (designed to launch heavy zoids such as the Gojalus, or airborne zoids such as the Shot Eagle or the Raynos, although any of the three catapults were up to the job of launching aerials) a landing deck for airborne Zoids, and a pair of medium-heavy dual-purpose artillery cannons. Additionally, the Battledragon's mouth contained a laser beam projector, a powerful weapon that acted somewhat like the Deathsaurer's Charged Particle Cannon, except that it was considerably less devastating.
Finally, the recreation decks and living quarters were beneath the Zoid hangars, meaning that they took up much of the lower chest and belly area.
Ben's best friend, Hayden, was the pilot of the Gairyuki, the blue-and-orange tyrannosaur-type Zoid that landed to one side of Ben's Zoid, a Gungyarados. What landed on the other side of the rather large Zoid was actually unmanned; the Shot Eagle was a Transfighter, one of three that belonged to the Dragons Team, and the only flying one. Transfighters were designed to transform and fit onto a power connection port, thus augmenting the other Zoid's capabilities with their weapons and power supply.
Harry Champ's lineup, as opposed to the Dragons team, consisted of a Stealth Viper, a Heldigunner, and a heavily customised (and overburdened) Dark Horn, all of which had been recovered after the Royal Cup and returned to him (along with about fifty others).
"Judge is incoming," Hayden said, having spotted it on his radar.
A series of beeps and electronic whistles sang quietly from a speaker on Ben's left, and he glanced at the screen that had popped up.
::Standing by for orders:: the Shot Eagle reported. All three Transfighters were equipped with AI units, similar to the BEEKs in the Battledragon and Rick's Gun Sniper, but they were a tad less sophisticated.
"As soon as the match starts, open fire on the Stealth Viper," Ben ordered the Shot Eagle, "Hayden, you take the Heldigunner. Do it quick, before the Stealth Viper can deploy steam. And watch out for the Dark Horn's beam launcher and gattling rifle, both of you. I'll fire on the Stealth Viper as well. Once that's done, we concentrate on the Dark Horn."
"Boop-weep!"
"Roger that."
The Judge had hit the ground by this point, and was just emerging.
"Warning, warning, this area is now a Zoids battlefield. All unauthorised personnel must leave at once. Only competitors and support staff are allowed entry. Area scanned… Battlefield set up! The Dragons Team versus the Chump Team!"
"Hey, what did you just call us?" Harry Champ yelled from inside his cockpit, while the two Dragons Team pilots on the field burst out laughing.
"What? What did I say?" the Judge asked, bewildered, "What's so funny?"
::You just called Harry Champ and his team the Chump Team:: the Shot Eagle replied in its beep-and-whistle language.
"Um… whoops," the Judge said, an electronic sweatdrop running down his visor. "Ahem… Area scanned. Battlefield set up. The Dragons Team versus the Champ Team. Battlemode 0982. Ready… FIGHT!"
Instantly, the three Dragons Team Zoids opened up, shutting down the Stealth Viper and Heldigunner in a manner a little too familiar to Harry.
Flashback:
The battle begins, and the Blitz Team opens up on the Zoids to either side of Harry's.
End flashback
While Harry was busy with his flashback, the Gairyuki had charged off to the left, and the Gungyarados had gone right, along with the Shot Eagle, which was transforming… Wait a minute!
"Judge, the Shot Eagle is performing an illegal manoeuvre," Harry said… then had his hopes crushed by none other than the judge.
"Negative, warrior. Manoeuvre is legal. Transfighter Zoids are allowed to transform and attach to Power Connection Ports mid-battle. There is no rule against it, as long as the Transfighter was launched prior to the battle commencing."
Gritting his teeth, Harry opened up on the Gungyarados and the Shot Eagle, but both of them were moving too fast, and the shots missed, especially when Harry was forced to dodge again by the Gairyuki, which seemed to only have those four guns on its backpack, the two Gojalus cannons that had been mounted on its backpack's sides, plus what looked suspiciously like the muzzle of a Charged Particle Gun in its mouth. However, every time a beam hit the Zoid, nothing seemed to happen; it was just absorbed by those orange panels.
This was why Harry absolutely hated being matched against the Dragons Team; their Gairyuki was impervious to beam attacks, and, while he'd never seen the Transfighter before, several of the opposing team's Zoids were equipped with Power Connection Ports. They had also deployed a Gunblaster last time, a move Harry had simply not been expecting.
Harry knew it was over when the Gungyarados emerged from cover, the Shot Eagle attached to its connector port, and had Harry squarely in its sights. The Champ Team's leader knew that there was no way he could dodge, or turn in time, and simply released the controls.
"I forfeit," he said to the judge with a deep sigh.
"Harry Champ has forfeited; the battle is over, the battle is over. The winner is; the Dragons Team!"
Harry slumped forwards, resting his head on the console.
"This is humiliating…"
The judge turned his capsule to face the Battledragon.
"Congratulations, Dragons Team, on your win. You have moved up in the rankings and earned Class-A status. Report to the test grounds in one week for standard obstacle course ranking. I shall see you- Gah!"
A black pod had just slammed down, and was emerging.
"A Dark Judge!" Harry exclaimed, "Benjamin, Sebastian, get your Zoids back up and running!"
"Rebooting command systems," Benjamin replied, as the Heldigunner staggered to its feet, followed by the Stealth Viper.
"Warriors, leave the area immediately," the Judge ordered.
"What? What are you doing still alive? I was supposed to be aimed at you!" That being the Dark Judge, obviously
"Obviously, you missed," the ZBC judge said cheekily, as the Dragons Team Zoids retreated towards the Battledragon. The Gungyarados disengaged the Shot Eagle, which flew up towards the catapult, while the Gairyuki had already reached the tail, and was running up its dorsal armour surface. This surface also doubled as the ramp leading up to the Battledragon's loading bay. As the blue-and-orange Zoid vanished inside, a beam shot dissipated and was drawn into its absorption plating. A second shot went through the Gungyalados' torso, piercing through the Zoid Core. The Zoid, already airborne and preparing for a landing on the top deck, lost control and came crashing down onto the landing platform, which immediately started lowering as the Battledragon activated the E-shield, while simultaneously recovering the Shot Eagle via the right-shoulder catapult.
Harry Champ and his two robots managed to reach their Whale King, which closed its mouth immediately. But they did see the Gungyarados getting hit, and its extremities beginning to turn to stone as it crashed.
"The Gungyarados' Zoid Core has taken a hit," he told the ZBC judge, "It looks seriously bad."
"Acknowledged," the Judge said, "All warriors, leave the vicinity at once. Initiating core overload."
Harry sprinted onto the bridge of the Whale King, hitting the lift-off control with a hurried finger. The Battledragon lowered its shield for a brief moment while it took of, then re-established the protective barrier, while the Whale King lifted off, and began thrusting towards the edge of the battlefield. Of course, they went in different directions, but soon left the blast radius.
"Core overload procedure complete. Detonating in five, four, three, two, one," the Judge announced, before everything within a mile suddenly went white.
Romeo City
Bit Cloud frowned as the screen cut to static for a moment, before changing to a breaking-news broadcast.
"So, what do you think, Vega?" he asked his companion.
Twelve-year-old Vega Obscura frowned, then faced Bit.
"It took down a Gungyarados in one shot with some form of beam weapon," he said, "Whoever they are… I don't want to fight them without serious backup… Still, those are some seriously wicked Zoids they've got. The Gairyuki is more advanced than my Berserk Fury, and that little one can attach to another Zoid."
Bit nodded, leaning back in his chair.
"I'm surprised they're only Class-B… Well, Class-A now. Their piloting skills place them at least high-level A, probably S-class," the Liger's pilot said, "How's the Fury's repair going, by the way?"
"The techs say that he'll be up and running any day now… although they've been getting weird readings from his combat system. Oh, don't worry… I don't think he'll want revenge," Vega said, "But… I think he might actually want to fight alongside the Zero."
"Worthy foe becomes powerful ally?" Bit asked, a little surprised.
"So it seems…"
"So you've been recruiting, too, huh?" Brad said, making Bit jump slightly; he hadn't been aware that his teammate was there. With him were Naomi Fluegle, and Leon Toros.
"Naomi, Leon, good to see you two," Bit said, getting up and offering a hand, "It's good to have you on board… am I right?"
"You're right, and I'm glad to be here," Leon said, smiling as he shook Bit's hand, "It was an amazing battle we fought during the Royal Cup, and I decided to come back since the Blitz was doing so well. I saw the battle with the Fury, by the way. You both fought incredibly well. Congratulations on winning the Cup, Bit."
"Thanks, Leon," Bit said, grinning, "You fought really well, too. Four out of five in the Royal Cup is excellent work. I didn't even see a scratch on the Blade Liger before our battle."
"I also found Stoller and a brother-and-sister pair that pilots a single zoid," Brad said, "They're already on their way to the base… Only problem is that we now need to find a transporter large enough to handle them all… that or use the Hovercargo and another unit."
"Would a Battledragon be of any use?" Vega asked.
"Usually," Bit replied; he was fairly familiar with the design of the collosal Zoids, having seen a few during his years as a junk dealer. In fact, he had seen the Dragons Team's one in person before it had come into their possession, "Their capacity is certainly big enough, but they also usually require a rather large crew. We just don't have enough support personnel with us."
"Oh…"
"The Dragons Team had a BEEK-type AI installed around the core when they bought it," Bit continued, "It's why theirs is able to operate with such a small crew. It's a really pricey upgrade, though, so the Blitz team can't afford it… Mainly thanks to Doc," Bit added under his breath.
"We could get the proper support staff from Harry," Brad offered, but Bit snorted.
"He'd demand the Liger or Leena as payment, Brad," Bit said, although he was sorry that he had to shoot the idea down; it would've been nice to be able to be aboard a Battledragon again.
"And he'd get you with the Zero no doubt," Brad said, "Yeah… You'd kill each other. Not the best idea in the world…"
"Why do you call him that, anyway?" Bit asked, a little bemused.
"Helps avoid confusion. The other Liger Zeroes out there just get called that. And remember, there are other Liger types out there."
Bit shrugged and the group walked out.
"How're they going to find a new Zoid for their ace pilot?" Vega asked, "I mean, the Gungyarados was a very powerful Zoid, there's not really much that can stand up to one."
Zoid Dealership, Beta City
"Need a zoid, medium price range, possibly with GU part compatibility? Sure, I got that," the dealer said, leading Ben into the hangar of the store. In each of the stalls was a different Zoid; this guy dealt in second-hand, but fully-functional units. They passed a Konig Wolf with a battered blue paint job, a bright orange Gul Tiger (where he'd gotten that was a mystery), and several gun snipers before finally arriving at a Houndsoldier. Usually there would be a Hound Shock Cannon beneath the triple-barrel one, but instead there was a double-barrel cannon that looked like it had been stripped from a Blade Liger.
"As you can see, this Houndsoldier has been modified with twin-barrel shock cannon," the dealer explained, "It also already carries the GU-03 unit, attached to its belly. That means it can still attach a second GU part if you want to."
The Zoid shifted so that it was looking down towards the humans below.
"Erm… As you can also see, it has a bit of a personality of its own. If it doesn't like a pilot, it won't respond to the controls. I've had fifteen people try, only three of whom could actually pilot it. Dunno why they didn't buy it; they said it handled like a dream."
"You're going to let me test-drive it?" Ben asked, a little surprised.
"Of course… weapons unloaded, of course," the dealer added, shrugging, "For safety's sake."
The Houndsoldier lowered its head, opening its canopy as it reached the floor. Ben climbed in and sat down, studying the controls.
"Looks like the cockpit of a Liger Zero," he murmured; he'd seen the interior of Bit's Liger once during an interview just after the Royal Cup.
As the electronics came fully online, Ben whistled in appreciation; the GU-03 unit was linked directly with the Zoid's HUD, providing active info on his surroundings, including the surrounding Zoids and their modifications.
A short time later, he came back in, paid the dealer just a tad more than full price for the Zoid, and left.
"Glad I could get you, Houndsoldier," Ben said, smiling at the Zoid's monitor, "You handle like a real dream on the ground; nothing like the Gungyarados I used to pilot."
The German Shepard-type Zoid panted happily as he guided it up the Battledragon's ramp and into the bay.
Zoid Trials, pilots viewing area.
"So that's the Dragons team?" Jack murmured to his two companions, the Tasker twins.
"That's them all right," Chris replied, "Not many can use a Gairyuki well… But I heard that they lost their best Zoid… Still got the wreckage apparently."
It was currently the team's Gun Sniper making its way through the course, moving surprisingly quickly despite the Weasel Unit it was carrying. It kept bouncing from side to side fairly agilely as it ran through the obstacles, as if avoiding incoming fire. Then it zipped through the finish line, and the results popped up.
"Tenth place in a Gun Sniper?" Jack spluttered, startled.
"Rick Sullivan, one of their two snipers," Chris explained; she'd payed closer attention to the team than her twin Kelly.
"The other sniper?"
"Rhys Brunsma, the brother of their Gairyuki pilot. He pilots a Konig Wolf, though. It's fitted with a Dual Sniper Rifle."
"Is that a Houndsoldier?" Jack asked incredulously; those Zoids had been presumed junked for decades, since the meteor disaster that had obliterated one of Zi's moons, showering the surface with debris… But then, the Dragons Team had already fielded a number of Zoids fitted with the unique power connection ports that had been so prevalent just before the disaster.
It did, indeed, appear to be a Houndsoldier that had stepped up to the mark, but modified somewhat; the standard shock cannon on the chest had been replaced by a double-barrelled one that looked like it had come off a Blade Liger.
"This should be interesting… Wonder who's piloting it," Jack murmured, rubbing his chin.
The entire Lightning Team watched curiously as the machine pounded along the pavement, juking and jumping as if dodging incoming fire.
"That pilot's used to a high-speed Zoid… Has to be their Gungyarados pilot."
Zoid Battlefield, near Romeo City.
Three days later
"I didn't realise we'd be battling so soon into the season," Jack said, eyeing the team's lineup for this battle. Gairyuki, Redler (where'd they get a white one?), and a Battle Cougar.
"Yeah, it was a surprise to us, too," the Gairyuki's pilot replied, although he neglected to open a video link. It was an interesting selection that they'd gone for. The Gairyuki was impervious to beam weapons (rendering the ranged weapons of all three of the Lightning Saix Zoids utterly useless), and the other two were fliers, and had an advantage over the ground-bound Saixes, the Battle Cougar in particular; it was equipped with an additional booster pack (and quartet of guns) that had been mounted on its connector port.
The Judge happened to land at that moment, and rose out of the ground a few seconds later.
"The area within a twenty-mile radius is now a designated Zoid battlefield," it announced, staring across the group of Zoids, "Contestant noted utilising GU-type enhancement part. Contestants are to be aware that GU-type parts are considered conversion-type equipment, and may be swapped during a match. Area scanned, battlefield set up. The Dragons Team versus the Lightning Team. Ready… Fight!"
Jack immediately led the Tasker twins in charging the Gairyuki, which stood its ground. A burst from the quad machine guns in the backpack of the machine reminded them of the supercannons, and the trio scattered.
"You've got to be kidding," Jack muttered, "They broke our charge like it was nothing."
The other two machines had taken off by now, and the chase radar of the Saixes (them chasing, naturally), wasn't showing them. They could be anywhere on the battlefield by this point.
Or could be right behind them; a laser blade sliced into the back-pack of Chris' Saix and it went down, skidding and sparking.
"No way!" Jack muttered, startled. He had known that Redlers were fast, skittish flyers but he'd been taken completely off-guard. The pilot had used the traditional attack for a Redler pilot, though; using the tail-mounted laser blade. He had managed to take them completely off-guard, though, a mistake on Jack's part.
And then it was gone again.
"Oh, come on!" Chris yelled over the COM line, "The battle's hardly even started!"
Jack gritted his teeth, elbowing the booster switch. His Zoid leapt forwards, as did Kelly's… but that one was suddenly forced to stop by a barrage of fire from above.
"They're not letting up," Jack grumbled… then realised his mistake. He'd been moving in a straight line, which had allowed the Gairyuki to get a bead on him…
The Supercannons fired, and the twin shells streaked in front of the Saix, forcing Jack to swerve… right into a stream of bullets. Instantly, the command system froze up, and Jack went down. Seconds later, the other Saix went down, its backpack impaled on the horn projecting form the Battle Cougar's head.
"Battle over, battle over. The winner is; the Dragons Team! Competitor Hayden Brunsma, this is a reminder not to fire on the cockpit of an opponent Zoid."
"Sorry Judge, Jack, I was aiming for the backpack of the Saix. Blasted Supercannons need fine-tuning."
"Weapon inaccuracy noted," the Judge stated, "Accessing computer… Confirmed. Targeting reticule was centered on Lightning Saix's backpack."
"Can you send the data over to the Battledragon? We need to get this fixed…"
Jack sighed. Hayden Brunsma wouldn't risk his sterling reputation with dirty tactics. The only problem was that weapons tended to drift over time, even beam-based ones. The Supercannons were also annoyingly inaccurate… although they were powerful enough to punch right through an Iron Kong's armour.
"Sorry about the repair costs," Jake, the Redler's pilot, said, "And we wanted to make it more of a challenge but Xavier and I need experience in the cockpit."
"Don't worry about it," Jack said, smiling slightly, "We have plenty of money stashed away in case of such events."
Blitz Team Base
"You're having the base renovated?" Bit asked Doctor Toros, surprised.
"With all the new Zoids joining the team, I decided that the base was in need of an update… Also, I sold off all those useless parts I kept buying to fund it… but I kept any parts that might be useful. Some of the new Zoids will be able to mount some extra equipment… Bit, this time I didn't sell all those parts you keep picking up. Maybe you can use some of them to upgrade the Liger and its armours?"
"Or even build entirely new ones," Bit said, smiling to himself as he thought of the possibilities.
"Brad… fixing the Fox is likely to be difficult and expensive… Two things that are bad for your mercenary sensibilities," Jamie said, shaking his head at the Fox, which was currently suspended in the cargo bay of the Hovercargo with its two disembodied legs next to it, "Both right-side legs severed, and the main torso in bad shape… I'm sorry, but there's just not a lot I can do."
"What about the Raynos?" Brad asked, jerking his head in the direction of the pteradon-type, which was currently wedged just beneath the catapult.
"That's a relatively easy fix," Bit said before Jamie could reply, "I had a look in there, and it's not a whole lot except structural members and some drive cables and hydraulic lines. We could even pull what's left of the wings off and just stick new ones right on."
"That's right Bit," Jamie said, a little surprised that he knew that, "I'm planning on welding the wings back into place and just letting the Raynos heal itself. I'll use my portion of the prize money to buy myself a new Zoid to go alongside the Raynos… Maybe a new Pteras or a Salamander."
"I say go for the Salamander," the Doc said, "They might be harder to find but they're more powerful… especially when you mount Supercannons on them."
Leena had just walked in and shook her head at her father.
"What about my Gun Sniper?"
"The reinforced parts you put in there managed to save it from any significant damage, even when it got hit by Layon's Whale King, although it'll take a bit for it to self-repair," Bit noted, "Maybe you should get a targeting system upgrade? I know you like spraying all over the place, and that's great for suppression fire, but sometimes sniping scares your opponent even more than a firestorm. And what happens if you end up fighting an enemy that uses ECM?"
Leena winced. ECM was a nightmare for missile users like herself. Although she envied Bit his panzer armour's hybrid cannons, she knew that those were high-precision weapons. But the weapon in her Gun Sniper's tail could deal out similar damage if aimed properly…
"But using smart munitions… well," Bit added, grinning.
"Grandé boom!" Leena finished, grinning herself. Let Naomi have her Gun Sniper NS. Her own Gun Sniper LS was capable of raining hell on her opponent if she so chose… and obliterating them from a distance before they knew what hit them. But she needed something to handle close quarters… Yes, replace that chest gun she never used with a close-assault shotgun. That would do nicely.
"Guys! Something's happening to the Fox!" Jamie said, grabbing everyone's attention. Indeed, the Shadow Fox was vanishing behind some form of energy field, which, although it didn't harm the Hovercargo, was reading as high-energy.
"Is that what I think it is?" Bit murmured, leaning close to the window that gave them an overlook of the cargo bay, "Brad, your Shadow Fox is evolving. But how? It's so soon."
"You've seen this before?" Brad asked.
"Twice in my life," Bit affirmed, "A Godos evolving into a Gojulas and a Shield Liger evolving into a Blade Liger."
"But what's my Shadow Fox evolving into? And how long will it take?" Brad asked, bemused.
"It can vary from a few days, anywhere up to two months. The one that I saw that took two months was the Godos evolving into a Goju."
"What makes a Zoid evolve anyway?" Jamie asked, at which Bit shrugged.
"It seems to vary, but experience is absolutely vital in it. That's why I'm so surprised that the Shadow Fox is evolving so soon."
Ruined Helic Republic base
Former Guardian Force staging point
Two days later
The Battledragon stood silently, keeping watch for the team as they explored the base. Despite the fact that the team was pretty well-off, they weren't above salvaging old equipment for spare parts and money.
Ben was the first in, exiting a dilapidated corridor… only to find a gleaming Zoid hangar.
"What the-?" he murmured, looking around. There were six Zoids standing there, apparently in some form of hibernation. Ben didn't have the clearance codes to awaken them, but the computers might.
He paused to take a closer look at the Zoids. A blue Blade Liger equipped with Attack Boosters, a red Geno Breaker, a white Shield Liger Mk. II, a blue Genosaurer, and a red-marked Liger-type that Ben recognised, but couldn't believe was with them; an Energy Liger. At the far end of the hangar was a large-scale Zoid, one that Ben recognised as a Gil Vader… which astounded him. Supposedly, they'd all been wiped out in the meteor disaster, and yet here was one, fully functional, that was just sitting in a hangar.
Another door in the bay opened at his approach, and Ben froze. He hadn't thought of it when he'd seen the lights, but the power was still on here. It looked like this place was so vital it was absolutely necessary to keep the power flowing.
After taking a deep breath, he stepped inside, and was again surprised.
"What in the-? Are these… Stasis tubes?"
Ben reached forwards and wiped a bit of condensation from one, leaning close and looking inside. Barely visible inside was a sleek, armoured form with wings. There were nine tubes in total, all of them marked with names, except one.
:Lieutenant Van Flyheight:
:Consultant Fiona Elise Linette:
:Private Raven:
:Private Reese:
:Zeke:
:Shadow:
:Mikal:
:Specula:
:?:
Ben leaned close to the last one, frowning. In doing so, he rested a hand on the tube to help support his (admittedly somewhat small) weight, inadvertently pressing a button. Instantly, the stasis tube hissed, then hinged open, knocking Ben backwards, and then subsequently dumping a rather heavy miniature Zoid onto him.
*Gwrrr…* the thing growled, seeming groggy, as it stared into Ben's eyes. The human felt something brushing him, which solidified into some form of… link. To the thing on top of him?
"Rayza," he said suddenly, the name popping into his head, "Mind getting off me?"
The creature rolled to one side, groggily rubbing at its face and the golden-yellow eye-covers.
"Wait a minute… Is this guy what I think he is?" Ben murmured, leaning forwards, "He's an Organoid… Rayza?"
It turned to look at him, tilting its head.
"That's your name, then. You think we should wake these others up?"
Yes, the organoid replied, and Ben both heard the growling noise and the words, which resonated through the link that he now had.
Ben took a deep breath, and activated the wake-up procedures for each of the stasis units. Barely a minute later, the room filled with steam, as the occupants of the pods groggily sat up. Fortunately, unlike the Zoidian stasis pods, these more advanced versions allowed the sleepers to be clothed.
"You all OK?" Ben asked, before being interrupted by a crash as the silver organoid staggered out of his pod and knocked Rayza over.
Over the resultant roaring, Van yelled, "Yeah, we'll be OK… Just give us a couple of minutes to recover."
"So these are your Zoids?" Ben asked, resting a hand on the leg of the Energy Liger. Unexpectedly, the mech turned its head, and the group all jumped.
"It's an Ultimate X Zoid," Fiona interpreted as it growled out a message, "It needs a partner… but it can get out of here under its own power."
"Her," Reese corrected, "The Zoid is female."
"How can you tell?" Ben asked.
The Zoidian just shrugged.
"In any case, we need to get out of here. The outer doors are jammed, so we need to blow them open…" Ben said, trailing off
"We're not capable of piloting the only Zoid in here with enough firepower to blow open the doors," Raven grumbled, "It's too confined to fire the charged particle guns on the Genos. The Beam Smashers on the Gil Vader, and that Drillgan unit…" he blew a breath out of his nose, "Unfortunately, none of us can pilot it."
"I can," Ben contradicted, "Hopefully at least. I've piloted a Gungyarados."
Raven nodded, clearly not liking the odds, but with no choice in the matter.
Ben clambered up the gantries until he reached the retractable catwalk that led to the Gil Vader's canopy. It opened at his approach, responding to the access code Rayza was transmitting. The cockpit itself was quite roomy, allowing Rayza to curl up behind Ben as he settled into the seat.
:Gil Vader powering up from hibernation:
:Beginning systems check:
:Zoid Core degraded by 0%
:Fuel Tank at 50% capacity
:Magnetic vibration system online
:Radar shield online
:Beam Smashers online
:Needle Guns online
:Plasma Cannons online
:Gravity Cannons online
:Plasma Particle Cannons online
:Power connector ports clear
:Gil Vader online and ready:
"Beam Smashers online. Stand back, everyone!"
Energy beams crackled from the buzz-saws on the wings and backpack, tearing apart the hangar doors and clearing a path through the rubble outside.
"Battledragon, this is Ben Finlay, currently piloting Gil Vader. We're free… and we've got four new pilots and five new Zoids."