* PROLOGUE *
In a world that was driven into chaos by a massive war that span all across the whole planet. Many robotic machines were created to battle in this war. These machines are called Zoids. The war has been over for years and humanity has gotten some control. Zoids are still being built, but not for war. Zoids are used in small, regulated, battles. Some battle for pride, some to test themselves, other’s for money. But all people who battle are trying to advance themselves.
* START *
Sho walks down the street of a large city in the southern area of what was once the Empire. All around him people go about their daily routines unaware of the new person walking by them. Sho seems to be staring off into nothing, but he’s really carefully looking around.
Luna’s Hover Cargo is driving down a road heading towards a battle field. In the bridge, Luna sits at the controls. Diana sits in the command seat while Clair are standing off to the side and Teela is sitting at a computer looking at the blue prints of an armor that was thought for the Liger Zero, but it doesn’t fit.
Clair “So, who are we fighting this time?”
Diana “The Fox Team. It’s made up of three enhanced Command Wolves.”
Luna “Why are they called the Fox Team?”
Diana “It’s a family team and their last name is Fox.”
Luna “That’s pretty lame.”
Diana “Maybe.”
Clair “This battle wont be a challenge.”
Luna “Teela, how’s that armor check coming?”
Teela “It’s infuriating. The armor is so close, yet not right.”
Luna “Could it be that the armor isn’t made for Liger Zero?”
Teela “There’s always that chance, but what Zoid could it be for? There are no other Zoids with such a build.”
Clair “There was rumor of another Liger Zero.” All three of them look at Clair.
Clair “During the war. There was a rumor that there was a Liger Zero that fought on the side of the Empire.”
Diana “But the Liger Zero is a Republican Zoid.”
Clair “I know, that’s why it’s believed to only have been a rumor.”
Teela “But there’s always a chance that the rumor was true.”
Luna “Maybe I should have some friends check around about it.”
Clair “If you do. Check around the southern area of the old Empire. I believe the rumor that said that it was part of the Empire’s 120th Southern Division.”
Luna “Quite a memory you have there.” They’re surprised when Clair just looks away.
Sho has left the town and is walking along a road in the desert. To the southeast is a single mountain in the middle of the desert. Cars randomly pass by as Sho walks. Suddenly Sho stops and looks around as he hears the sound of a heartbeat.
Sho “What is that?” Sho continues to look around, then sees a sudden glint off the mountain side.
Sho “There? What’s there?” Sho walks towards the mountain as the heartbeat gets louder. As he walks towards the mountain, he feels a familiar force but he doesn’t know what’s so familiar about it.
Sho “What is it about this place? What am I heading towards and why does it feel so familiar?”
Sho arrives at the mountain and finds the ruins of an ancient city.
Sho “Ruins? I was pulled towards ruins?” Sho looks around annoyed that he got side tracked by ruins. Suddenly the heartbeat stops. He’s shocked when he hears a loud roar. Sho looks around and says “What’s that?” Sho begins to study the area, then suddenly he hears the repeating thuds of a four footed Zoid. Sho looks at the center of the ruins, where the sound is coming from. The ground begins to shake, then suddenly Liger Zero X breaks out of the ground and lands in front of Sho. Sho falls back surprised by the large Zoid landing in front of him. Liger Zero X looks at him and roars loudly. As Sho looks at Liger Zero X, something inside him feels that he knows Liger Zero X. Sho slowly stands up and looks at Liger Zero X.
Sho “Did you call me here?” Liger Zero X lowers its head and opens its cockpit. Sho looks at the cockpit carefully.
Sho “You want me to get in?” Liger Zero X growls. Sho slowly gets into Liger Zero X’s cockpit and looks around. Sho’s surprised when the safety harness drops down over him. Sho takes a deep breath, then says “What now?” The cockpit closes and Liger Zero X roars loudly. Suddenly Liger Zero X starts running, then releases its thrusters and runs at its top speed. Sho is thrown back in the seat as Liger Zero X runs.
Sho “WHOA!” Sho grabs at the controls and tries to get Liger Zero X stop, or at least slow down.
Sho “Hey, what’s going on? I don’t feel like being a pancake!”
Luna Hover Cargo is sitting in front of the Liger Team Base. The base was once a Republican Base, but it was stripped down and abandoned after the war. In the main room, Clair and Teela are sitting at a table playing a game of chess. Diana is sitting on a large leather couch watching the two of them as Luna is talking on the phone.
Luna “Really? Are you sure? That’s interesting. Okay. Well, thanks for the information.” Luna hangs up the phone.
Diana “What was that about?”
Luna “We have an unconfirmed rumor that a Zoid resembling Liger Zero was running through a desert to the southeast of the old Empire.
Diana “Really?”
Luna “Its unconfirmed, but it was a good friend of mine and I trust her.” Clair moves a piece, then says “You want to go hunt it down?”
Luna “No point. It’s a five day trip and by then, it could be anywhere. Besides, we have another battle in three days.”
Clair “Shame. It’s been a while since the Blade Liger and I have had a chance to hunt down a Zoid.”
Luna “How about after this battle? We take a couple weeks off then see if we can find it.”
Clair “Sounds like fun.”
Teela “It would be interesting to see another Liger Zero.”
Clair “Don’t forget. The Blitz Team has a Liger Zero.”
Teela “Oh, yeah.”
Diana “Who could be piloting it? Or is it wild?”
Luna “We’ll find out when we hunt it down.”
Liger Zero X is still running around the desert. Sho sits in the cockpit manipulating the controls still trying to get Liger Zero X to stop.
Sho “Hey, will you stop already? I have no idea what to do or how to do it.” Liger Zero X slows down, then finally stops.
Sho “Finally.” He looks around the cockpit and says “You got a manual or something?” Just then the screen in front of him starts playing a tutorial of who to use the controls. Sho watches carefully.
Liger Zero X starts walking.
Sho “Okay, lets take this one step at a time.” Liger Zero X starts to walk faster, then makes a sharp turn.
Sho “I hope you’re helping me.” Liger Zero X growls.
Sho “Okay. Lets go.” Liger Zero X starts running. Liger Zero X charges towards a small boulder. As Liger Zero X runs towards the boulder, it’s forepaws begin to glow a bright green as it charges up its Electromagnetic Claw.
Sho “SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!” Liger Zero X jumps up into the air, then comes down right at the boulder. Liger Zero X shatters the boulder into pebbles with it’s Electromagnetic Claw.
Sho “Yeah, now that’s an attack. What else have you got?” Liger Zero X turns towards another boulder and charges towards it. Liger Zero X’s head stabilizers extend and a green electrical charge shoot out from the stabilizers. The electrical charge turns into a green Electromagnetic Shield. Liger Zero X plows right through the boulder and shatters it.
Sho “Yeah! I think I’m going to like you.” Liger Zero X roars loudly.
Luna’s Hover Cargo is driving down a road heading towards their battle. When the Hover Cargo reaches the battle site, the Blade Liger, Shield Liger, and Liger Zero are launched from the Hover Cargo.
Teela “What’s that?”
Diana “It looks like Command Wolves.” In front of the three Zoids are the remains of several Zoids.
Clair “Who did this?” Just then a Judge Capsule lands nearby.
Teela “Its the Judge.” The three of them are shocked when they see that it’s a Dark Judge.
Teela “The Dark Judge.”
Clair “What’s he doing here?”
Dark Judge “Battle field setup. The Liger Team versus the Fang Team. Battle mode, 0999. Ready... Fight.” The three Ligers look around.
Diana “We have no choice, but to fight now.”
Clair “Doesn’t matter to me. I’m looking for a challenge.” Just then some shots come from seemingly nowhere and hit the three Ligers.
Diana “Where are they firing from?” Teela presses a couple buttons and scans the area.
Teela “They’re using Stealth Equipment. I can’t track them.” The three Ligers start shooting randomly, hoping for a hit.
Pilot 1 “Those fools will never hit us firing like that.”
Clair “Teela, you better come up with a better way to hit these guys.”
Teela “I’m thinking as hard as I can. The only thing we can hope for is to get something so we can see their Zoids.”
Diana “Kick up some dirt, it will hit off their Zoids.” The Ligers start shooting along the ground, kicking up pieces of dirt. Two Saber Fangs become visible as chunks of dirt land on them. Liger Zero and Blade Liger charge towards them. Suddenly they’re knocked over by the shots from two other Zoids.
Teela “There’s at least four Zoids here.”
Clair “The only way they can beat us is to outnumber us.”
Diana “If I can get to the Hover Cargo, I can change into Schneider.”
Clair “Head towards the Hover Cargo, we’ll cover you.” The three Liger run towards the Hover Cargo. When they reach the back of the Hover Cargo, they see four Saber Tigers waiting for them.
Teela “They’ve cut us off.” The eight Saber Tigers start shooting the Ligers mercilessly.
Inside the Hover Cargo.
Luna “No, they’re going to kill them.” Luna brings up the Dark Judge.
Luna “Judge, this isn’t fair, they’re outnumbered almost three to one.”
Dark Judge “Like I care.”
Luna “How can you call yourself a Judge?”
Dark Judge “You keep this up and I take it as the Liger Team forfeits.” Luna growls loudly.
The three Ligers have taken heavy damage from the endless assault. Suddenly there’s a loud roar. They all look around, then spot Liger Zero X standing on the road.
Dark Judge “Who is that?”
Diana “It looks like a Liger Zero.”
Dark Judge “Get out of here.” Sho smirks as he targets the Dark Judge.
Sho “No.” Liger Zero X uses its Dual Impact Cannons to shoot the Dark Judge. The Dark Judge’s command system freezes. The Saber Tigers turn their attention to Liger Zero X. They start shooting at Liger Zero X. Liger Zero X brings up its shield to deflect the shots.
Pilot 2 “What the hell?” Liger Zero X charges towards the four visible Saber Tigers. When the pilots of the Saber Tigers realize that their shots aren’t breaking through the shield, they start to run away. Liger Zero X releases its thrusters and chases down the Saber Tigers. Liger Zero X plows through the Saber Tigers and disables all four of them. The four invisible Saber Tigers try to surround Liger Zero X, but it’s advanced sensors detect the four Zoids. The computer identifies them as Saber Tigers. Sho looks around at the Saber Tigers.
Sho “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t hide from me.” Liger Zero X lowers its shield. The four Saber Tigers surround Liger Zero X and start firing. Liger Zero X jets towards the first Saber Tiger and uses it’s Electromagnetic Claw to disable it. Liger Zero X quickly spins around and charges towards the next Saber Tiger.
Pilot 1 “How does he know where we are?” Liger Zero X uses it’s Electromagnetic Claw to disable the next Saber Tiger. The last two Saber Tigers run away.
Sho “Cowards. Even the odds a little and they go running.” Liger Zero X walks over to the road and start walking.
Diana “Wait.” Liger Zero X keeps walking away. The three Ligers get to their feet and try to follow after Liger Zero X, to get it to stop, but they’re too damaged to follow.
Diana “Hey, who are you?” Liger Zero X just disappears from view.
The Hover Cargo drives down the road. In the bridge.
Luna “There’s no sign of that Zoid.”
Clair “There was no communication from the cockpit. That gives us good reason to believe that it’s a wild Zoid.”
Teela “But why would a wild Zoid help us?”
Luna “Maybe it saw that you were piloting Ligers and it decided to back you.”
Clair “Whether its wild or being piloted, after my Blade Liger is repaired, I’m hunting it down.”
Diana “Picking a fight with a Zoid that we’re going to try to ally with isn’t a good idea.”
Clair “I don’t care.” Diana shakes her head.
Teela “I must admit that the Liger we saw is very interesting.” She presses a couple buttons on the control panel she’s sitting at. A video clip of Liger Zero X using it’s shield to disable the Saber Tigers is played.
Teela “From what I can tell, this shield is very similar to the shield of a Shield and Blade Liger. But from these scans the shield is a bit different, but I can’t tell how.”
Luna “What do you mean its different? The only difference I can see is the color.” Teela freezes the clip on an image of Liger Zero X with it’s shield out. The image turns into a wire-frame view of the image. The shield totally disappears as if it wasn’t ever there. Then Teela brings up an image of her Shield Liger using it’s shield. When she changes that image to a wire-frame view of the image. The shield of the Shield Liger remains.
Teela “The shield of a Shield and Blade Liger is solid, like it’s metal. That’s why it can break. But the shield of this Liger isn’t solid.”
Luna “So how did it stop those shots? And disable those Saber Tigers?”
Teela “I don’t know. The only was I can tell is to scan the Zoid.”
Diana “What about that Strike Laser Claw attack it has?” Teela brings up a clip of Liger Zero X using it’s Electromagnetic Claw to disable an invisible Saber Tiger. Teela freezes the clip when the Liger Zero X is in midair.
Teela “I can’t get any information, but I’d assume that it’s like the two shields. Similar, but different.”
Diana “I see.”
Luna “I must admit, I like the coloring.”
Diana “Not my style. I don’t think red and gold go good together.”
Luna “To each their own.”
Clair “Lets focus a it more on it’s abilities. How did it know exactly where the Saber Tigers were?”
Teela “I can only assume that it has some advanced sensors.”
Clair “Looks like the only way we can get information on this thing is to fight it. I think I’m going to enjoy this hunt.”
Diana “Clair, no one said you could leave us to go hunt another Zoid.”
Clair “I’m a mercenary. If I want to leave, I’ll leave.” Diana and Clair look at each other sternly.
Liger Zero X is walking down the side of a road.
Sho “Is it wrong that I just left them in that condition?” After a minute, Sho says “No, I don’t know them.” Sho closes his eyes. Liger Zero X continues to walk.
Sunset. Sho is sitting near a campfire. Liger Zero X lies nearby resting under the crystal clear sky. Sho stares deep into the fire.
Sho “I hate the setting sun, because it makes me feel lonely.” Liger Zero X cocks its head to look at him. A brief shimmer of sadness passes through Sho’s eyes just before he closes them. Sho sighs deeply, then lies back and drifts off to sleep.
Sho awakens to Liger Zero X roaring loudly. Sho quickly jumps to his feet and looks around. He sees the Liger team coming towards them. He sees the Shield Liger, Blade Liger, and Liger Zero Jager running towards Liger Zero X with the Hover Cargo in toe.
Sho “Lets go.” Liger Zero X lowers its head and Sho quickly gets into the cockpit. Liger Zero X closes it’s cockpit, then starts running away.
Teela “I could be mistaken, but I thought I saw someone enter it’s cockpit.”
Clair “Are you sure?”
Teela “I think so.”
Diana “I’ll go ahead and try to block it’s escape.”
Teela “Be careful, we know nothing about this Zoid.”
Diana “I will.” Liger Zero Jager uses it’s Ion Thrusters to dash a head of Liger Zero X. Sho watches the blue streak pass by, then stop in front of Liger Zero X. Liger Zero Jager turns towards Liger Zero X and roars. Liger Zero X roars, then heads to the right. Liger Zero Jager dashes ahead and cuts Liger Zero X off, again.
Sho “You’re starting to annoy me.” Liger Zero X roars in agreement. Liger Zero Jager roars as if to challenge Liger Zero X. Just then the Shield and Blade Liger arrive. The three Ligers surround Liger Zero X. Sho takes a deep breath. Liger Zero X takes a submissive stance. Clair opens the cockpit to her Blade Liger and stands up.
Clair yells “Who ever you are, just give up. We don’t want to fight you, but we will if you leave us no choice.” Suddenly Liger Zero X roars with all it’s might, causing all three Ligers to shake. Clair falls back into her seat. Liger Zero X charges at Liger Zero Jager.
Diana “What’s it up to?” Just as Liger Zero X reaches Liger Zero Jager, it jumps high into the air. Liger Zero X passes over Liger Zero Jager and keeps running. Clair growls, then says “Damn.” The Blade Liger closes it’s cockpit, then chases after Liger Zero X. Liger Zero Jager quickly chases after them. The Shield Liger just stands there. Teela carefully targets the ground a head of Liger Zero X. The Twin 8-Shot Rocket Boxes come out of the Shield Liger’s sides, then fire one missile each. The missiles streak by all of them, then hit the ground just in front of Liger Zero X. Liger Zero X steps into the hole created by the missiles and falls over. After sliding across the ground for a bit, Liger Zero X lies on the ground motionless. The three Ligers walk up to Liger Zero X and look at it. The Blade Liger walks up to Liger Zero X and softly nudges it with its foot.
Clair “I think it’s out cold.” Liger Zero Jager walks up to Liger Zero X and Diana gets out of the cockpit. She walks over to Liger Zero X and opens it’s cockpit. She’s shocked when she sees Sho sitting in the cockpit. He’s unconscious and hanging limp from the restraints. She moves towards Sho and softly touches his neck to check his pulse. As she touches his neck, she notices a small line of blood coming out of his hair line.
Diana “Oh no.” She quickly gets out of the cockpit and yells “Get Luna over here. The pilot’s bleeding.” Teela gasps as she hears Diana’s words. Clair opens a link to Luna and says “Get over here quickly. The pilot of that Zoid is hurt.”
Luna’s voice “I’ll be there in a minute.” Diana carefully releases Sho from the restraints, then pulls him from the cockpit. She softly lies Sho on the ground and carefully looks him over for any other injuries. Teela gets out of the Shield Liger and walks over to Diana. She looks down at Sho and says “Is he okay?”
Diana “I’m not sure. He seems fine, but Luna’s the medical technician.” Teela kneels down next to Sho and carefully looks at him.