Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction ❯ Return of the Death Stinger ❯ Contruction of a team ( Chapter 1 )

The morning began like any other. Sunny, warm, and dry were the usual conditions in the desert. I ate my breakfast, then took the cruiser out for a trip to the local zoid dealer. I'd gotten a letter in from him saying that he'd received a new zoid, and a rare one at that. I'm always interested in what's new, especially zoids. I want to be a warrior, but I'm looking for the best zoid. This sounds like it might be the one. When I arrived, there was a huge box in the doorway. I squeezed through and there stood Zed, the dealer, pondering the label on the box.

"Black Dragon T-Type…Oh, hi Drake, I didn't see you there. How are things?"

"Just fine, Zed. What the heck is this thing?"

"The box says the Black Dragon T-Type. It's a new zoid and it's expensive."

Zed opened the box and there it stood. The Black Dragon T-Type: an enormous dragon with shiny black armor, two horn-like spikes on its head, and a set of blade tipped wings. There was a sheet of paper on the ground with all of the vital stats:

Dragon type Zoid-Black Dragon T-Type

Cost: $500,000

Combat System: Drgn001 ion

Armor: Lightweight Titanium Alloy

Armament:

Charged particle mini missiles

Blade tipped wings

5000 RPM high impact laser rifle

Top Speed: Mach 3

Transformation parts: Land Combat

Special Armament for Land Combat:

Back mounted auxiliary charged particle mini missile launcher

Two side mounted 2000 RPM high impact rifles

Optional long-range back mounted rifle

Two shoulder mounted jet engine boosters

Four underside hover thrusters

Stealth Capabilities: Flies so fast appears to be invisible. It has actual stealth capabilities that make it disappear from radar.

"Well, well, well. This is one powerful zoid. I can hold it for you if you can make a down payment," Zed said after looking the sheet over.

"Thanks. How much?"

"For you…2000 dollars. Anyone else I would charge 10 grand. The transformation parts will be in stock in about two weeks. An extra thousand dollars will reserve you a set."

"I'm glad I brought my wallet. 3000 dollars…here you go. How much are the transformation parts?"

"You just bought them. A full set of ammo is included with the parts."

"Thanks Zed, see you in a couple of weeks."

I squeezed back through the door, hopped in my cruiser and sped off. There was no way I could come up with 500,000 dollars in a couple of weeks. There was only one guy with that kind of money, and I knew just where to find him.

I arrived at Harry Champ's place at about sundown. He was in the hangar, swooning over a picture of Leena Tauros, a girl that lived at the blitz team base about 50 miles down the road.

"Still in love with Leena, huh Harry?"

"Ah!!!-Oh its you Drake. Of course I am. I will never stop loving Leena!"

"It's sad, but if you pay me…500,000 dollars I will fix you up on a date with her."

"Really? Oh wow! You bet! I will pay any amount of money to see Leena. It's a deal. I'll go get you the money, you fix me up. Be back in a sec-"

Harry left for a minute or two, then came back with a briefcase.

"I assume I don't have to count it, Harry?"

"500 grand, like I promised. Its all here."

"I'll go by the tauros base in the morning, but now I gotta go."

"Later Drake."

The next morning was like the last, I sure wish the seasons would change. It was going to be a rough day. Convincing Leena to go out with Harry was not going to be an easy task since she hated his guts. I got ready then headed to Zed's place. I took the hover carrier this time.

"Hey Zed, I'm here to pick up that zoid!"

"Back so soon, Drake? I thought it would have taken you a longer time than 24 hours to get that kind of money."

"I told that Champ kid I would set him up with Leena Tauros and he paid me."

"Nice job, kid. Bring your carrier around back so I can load it up."

Zed rigged up a conveyor belt and loaded my dream zoid into the carrier. I had already decided that I would be a freelance warrior, no teams for me unless asked. The Black Dragon T-Type would be enough to fight on its own. Team members to protect would hold it back. Once the zoid was loaded, I went back to my base to drop it off. I locked up the sped out on the cruiser to complete the hardest part of the day-setting Leena and Harry up. Even at the cruiser's top speeds, it took a while to get to the tauros base. I arrived just about in time for lunch.

"Hello?!" I shouted in the hangar, "Anyone home?"

There were four zoids in the main hangar, a Shadow Fox, a Rainos, a Gunsniper, and the Liger Zero. The white liger was what helped the blitz team get into class s. A hatch opened on the far wall of the hangar and the pilot of the Liger Zero stepped out, Bit Cloud.

"Who are you?" said Bit.

"Name's Drake. I'm a friend of Leena's."

"Oh alright. Come on inside, everyone is getting briefed for the next battle."

I followed Bit inside to the control room. Leena, her dad, Jamie the strategy guy, and this mercenary named brad were all in here.

"Drake! To what do we owe the surprise?"

"Actually…I need to talk to Leena."

"Okay, go on outside," Doctor Tauros smirked.

"Shut up dad, he's just a friend."

Leena and I stepped outside and I spilled it.

"I need you to go on a date with Harry Champ."

"What!!!! How could you do this! You know that I hate Harry!"

"I do too, but I needed money to buy a zoid. It's really cool too. But to get the money, I had to set you up with Harry because he is the only one around here with that kind of money. I'm not saying that you have to like it, just go out with him!"

"Dang, this sucks. If I say no, then you will have to give the money and the zoid back. I don't want to do that to you. I'll go out with him."

"Thank you Leena! You don't know much this means to me! I will finally get to become a warrior! I'll tell Harry to call you and set up the date."

"You owe me big time, Drake. If and when you make it to class s, I want a battle, one on one."

"You got it Leena."

With that, I left the tauros base. I hopped in the speeder and flew up the road to Harry's place. I slipped a note under his door and left. I began the long ride back home. On the way, I passed a town. I stopped to grab a bite to eat. A quick stop in a diner allowed me to eat while watching a zoid battle on the television. I left the diner after the battle was over and headed home. It took a couple hours, but I eventually got home. Once inside, I began to register as a zoid warrior. I filled out the computer survey, and at the end of it I received a message from the zoid battle commission.

"Congratulations warrior! Your first battle is set for two days from now. Hope for the best, your opponent is the tigers team."

The message window closed. The tigers team? They were the lowest ranked team in the league. Good for practice.

* * * *

Two days later I began loading up the ammo in my zoid. I doubted I would need the missiles, but who knows. The battle was in a few hours, I had better get on the road. I loaded the Black Dragon into the hover carrier and lifted off. This battle may or may not be hard. I had practiced maneuvering the dragon eight hours a day for the past two days. I think it's beginning to trust me. I had a plan, I just hope it would work. I set the carrier down when the battlefield came in sight. I then mobilized the dragon and set it down in the field. The tigers were already there.

"Guess what boys, we're up against a rookie! This is his first battle! Lets wipe him out!"

"You bet!"

"Lets get him!"

The judge capsule then hit. I didn't even feel the shock wave in my cockpit. It rose out of the ground and opened.

"Battle mode…0990! The tigers team versus the dragon team! Battlefield set up! Ready…FIGHT!"

I took off on the word fight. I kept the engines on low, around 600 mph. The tigers began firing shots, most of which I evaded thanks to my training. One shot did glance the armor, it just scratched the paint job.

"You're wasting your shots, tigers," I said over the radio. As I prepared to put my plan into action, I strapped on my oxygen mask. Its standard equipment on this zoid with the speeds it can reach.

"That's where you're wrong, rookie. Our shots are planned down to the second!"

"Whatever."

I pulled to the edge of the battlefield and banked low to the ground. The tigers were so predictable, they thought the shots could hit me back here.

"What's the matter, rookie? Gonna run home scared? Hahahahaha!"

I ignored the comment and increased speed to mach 1 while activating the blades on my wings. I switched into stealth mode and charged the laser rifle. I was closing on the tigers fast. I kicked it up to mach 2 and took out the center tiger with my rifle. I then sliced the other two tiger's legs off with my blades and hit the brakes. I slowed to stop. No doubt, the battle was mine. Turning off the stealth, the judge noticed what had done this to the opposing team.

"The battle is over! The battle is over! The winner is…the dragon team!"

"Noooo!!!!! Beaten by a rookie! We hit rock bottom boys."

I signaled the carrier's computer to come pick us up. It swooped in and I walked the dragon into the cargo hold. I locked everything down and took off. Another message from the zoid battle commission appeared on my screen.

"Congratulations on your first win! The prize money will be mailed to your account"

It seems I now have some spending money since I didn't really waste any ammo. Both the blades and laser rifle store a lot of energy and recharge when not in use. So I decided to check and see if anyone saw my match. I know that really has nothing to do with my extra money, but I have to brag to someone. There was a local town nearby and I check the diners. One had shown today's match and some people must have recognized my voice from the radio.

"Wow that was impressive!" one said, "I have never seen a zoid move like that!"

"Well thank you," I responded.

A girl approached me. "Hi, I'm Laura. Do you have anyone to pilot that whaleking of yours outside?"

"Actually, no I don't. You want the job?"

"Sure. I'm really good at repairs, too. Electronics are my thing but I specialize in zoids."

"That's good. You might want to run a scan on mine though, because I doubt you've ever seen anything like my zoid."

"You know, I'm a pilot too. I own a Storm Sorder and have gotten quite skilled at flying it."

"Load it up and we'll be on our way."

So Laura loaded her zoid into the main chamber along with my dragon and we took off. We were on our way back to the base when Harry called. "Drake, you jerk! Leena stood me up! I want my money back!"

"Harry, I never promised that she would show up. I got you the date…Leena decided not to go. Its not my fault. Plus I already spent the money."

"I still want a battle! One on one…just you and me!"

"I accept Harry, but I doubt that you will win. In addition to the prize money…the winner gets the zoid their opponent fights with!"

"Sounds good to me, Drake Black. I'll take care of the registration work."

The connection closed.

"He'll use that darkhorn of his. Wonderful zoid, but he doesn't stand a chance."

"We're approaching the base. I'm bringing her down."

After we landed, I helped Laura unload all of her stuff into a spare room.on our way back down, I noticed a message was transmitting. It read, "Zoid Battle Commission."

"Lets see what they have to say," I said.

I opened the message and a voice spoke. "You have been challenged to a battle by Harry Champ, battle mode 0982. Do you accept? Please send a reply accepting or declining this challenge."

I typed in yes on a reply message and sent it. Laura and I then ate dinner and spent the rest of the time scanning my zoid for anything unusual. On the scans, there was one box-like area that was completely blank. "This is very unusual," said Laura, "nothing escapes these scanners, there is only one explanation, its an organoid."

"Organoid? What may I ask is that?"

"Its a system that allows the zoid to learn, expand its mind and think on its own. It gives the zoid artificial intelligence."

"I've heard of those, they are known as the ultimate x zoids. Bit cloud pilots one, the liger zero. I've also heard of a kid named Vega who piloted a zoid called the berserk fury. He was supposed to be unbeatable but Bit and zero proved him wrong."

"You were right, Harry doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

We flew out early to catch some breakfast before the battle. After that, we sped out at top speed to the battlefield. We were waiting on the field when Harry arrived in his darkhorn.

"Thats an impressive zoid Drake. It will be a pleasure to take it off your hands."

"Lets make this quick Harry, I have to go pick up my transformation parts today."

The judge then hit. As he rose up out of the ground I strapped on my oxygen mask. The judge then began to recite the battle information. "Attention! Attention! The area within a 12 mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield! Only competitors and personnel have authorized access! All others must evacuate the area immediately! The Dragon team versus the Champ team! Battle mode 0982! Ready, Fight!!!"

The starter bell rang and I took off. I wasn't going to toy with Harry. I immediately sped up to mach 2 and charged up my blades. His shots were more accurate than the tigers, I actually had to dodge.

"Very impressive, Harry, you are giving me a slight challenge."

I began firing shots with my laser cannon. The darkhorn's armor was impressive, the shots bounced right off. Time for a larger weapon, I said to myself. I deployed a mini missile. "Goodbye Harry," I said over the radio then switched to stealth mode.

"What do you mean goodbye? You didn't even fire anythin-"

The darkhorn shook as the missile pierced the armor. "What was that?" Harry said.

"That is the sound of your defeat, Harry. Its too late now. Goodbye."

The timer on the missile ran out and it exploded, blowing the legs and most of the weapons off the darkhorn. Its system froze and I turned off stealth mode and landed. The judge made it official. "The winner is the Dragon team!" The capsule closed and then took off. I switched frequencies to communicate with the wahleking. "Laura, bring the transport around, we won!"

"So I noticed. What was that that you used to defeat him?"

"I'll tell you in a sec. Bring the transport here."

"You're the boss."

The whaleking soared over and set down.the main hatch opened and I walked in , hopped out and locked the dragon down.

"Now, what was that thing you used? I've never seen an explosion do so much damage."

"They are Charged Particle mini missiles. They are so tiny they are undetectable by radar and can pierce any armor or energy shield."

"Impressive. I suppose that they are expensive?"

"You have no idea. Luckily the dragon has a magazine of a few thousand so replacements aren't a problem. Lets take off, we need to pick up my transformation parts."

"You got it. Zed's place, right?"

"Right."

Laura and I took off after loading up Harry's darkhorn. That makes three zoids that belong to me now.