Lay Of The Last Minstrel: Canto Second

[Orange]

Pg-13 for my horrible launguage. But then again, they can say this stuff on Food Network now. Up to you.

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Chapter 6: Breaking Ravenstaad

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Is yon the star, o'er Penchryst Pen,
That rises slowly to her ken,
And, spreading broad its wavering light,
Shakes its loose tresses on the night?
Is yon red glare the western star?
O, 'tis the beacon-blaze of war!
Scarce could she draw her tighten'd breath,
For well she knew the fire of death!


"I know this area better then any damn Kellenberg." Craig began, his limping Bearfighter making the pace of the group's travels. "It's why I could stay out here so long. Bastards jumped me and a gang I was leading. They trashed my guys, but they got theirs. Once they were finished off, I hid here. I knew you'd be coming in sooner or later, and that roadblock would be my best bet.

"How long you been out here?" Babe questioned.

"Three days. Bastards prolly think I'm dead. I'll show 'em what-for."

"You eaten?" Babe wondered. Craig was hardly a slight guy, and had a reputation as a glutton for good food.

"I had a box of granola bars stashed in the cockpit. Been snacking on those since." Craig almost sounded disdainful, of all the luck to have just granola. "So, who's the kid?"

"Timbre. He washed up on the beach, no memory or anything. He's a good guy though."

"'Zat right? What you say to that, Timbre?" Craig asked.

Timbre blinked, only half listening to the conversation. He was starting to get tired again, his strange weakness still ruling his waking life. "Yes. I was on a beach somewhere, and Babe was kind enough to take me in. Saved me from some rampaging bloodthirsty seagulls while he was at it."

"Hey, those bastards are MEAN little jerks. You ever get nipped by a gull? Near as bad as getting a goose pinch." Babe explained, defending his position.

"Sorry Babe, I grew up in a civilized home. Not all of us had the pleasure of growing up in a barn." Craig joked.

"I'll get you for that, Craig. We had a damn house." Babe replied, sounding a bit testy.

"Calm down, Conway. Just jerking your chain. Forgot you had such a soft spot for the old farmstead." If life had emotes, Craig would be doing the smiley. "You'll like Ravenstaad then. Lots of farmers and aggie people. You'll fit right in."

"You're head'll fit right into a square hole if you don't quit it."

Craig laughed. "See, Timbre, Babe's not a guy you want to make fun of. Oh, he dishes it out fine, but don't you dare insult his mother."

Babe shot back, "My ma was a SAINT."

Craig ignored the comment. "Anyway, Babe's a good guy. I'm not surprised he took you in. And you got an advantage over him, not having any sort of weird childhood for us to poke fun at."

"It was a farm! Holy hell, nothing weird about it, man." Babe replied.

"Yeah, whatever, Babe. I'll bet your still shook up about how they ate Cluckers for dinner. Poor little turkey..."

"I'll kill you. I swear."

Timbre took this moment to interject, saying, "So, what's wrong at Ravenstaad, Craig?"

Craig shrugged. "Kellenberg is the next town over, run by a bastard with a Shadow Fox and a giant ego."

"See?! Shadow Foxes again. I hate those things." Babe interrupted.

"Yeah, great Babe. The guy's name is Connan, and he thinks that Ravenstaad is a great little place to annex into his territory. He didn't count on my crew being such a bunch of tough bastards, though. He's been a *Watch your language!* and sending raids into the farms, but we usually beat them off. But now he's got this little army of cheap ass Rev Raptors crewed by idiots. I swear, the Revs he uses are crap. I shot the heads off of six already, not counting the last one. But he's got about fifty of them, to my crew of ten. Six now. It's completely bunk. But fortunately, I got the calvary riding in. You 'n Babe ain't the first. Also got Gordon and Barney in."

"No *Whoops! I tried to be kewlziez and use a naughty word!*? I thought Gordon kicked off years ago." Babe said.

"Who's Gordon?" Timbre asked.

"Gordon's a weird guy. Really withdrawn, doesn't say a word." Craig started to explain. "Well, mostly because his throat was mangled when he was a kid, but whatever. He and his bud Barney ride together in Saberlions."

"A Saberlion's basically a small liger with a bigass sword on it's head." Babe explained. "Gordon's is orange, Barney's is blue."

"Barney recently switched to a heavy-support load out, or however heavy support you can get on a 'Lion." Craig started again. "He's got a CP-26 All Direction Missile Unit on that sucker, it's really slick." Craig paused to guide the Bearfighter around a large rock, which Fiver just jumped over, showing off a bit. Timbre had to take the time to go around it as well, an uncomfortable process for someone unused to piloting a Gustav.

"Manuel also made it in." Craig added.

"Manny? Where do you dig these guys up, Craig?" Babe asked.

"He has a shop in the city, he's a travel agent. He dusted off Rags for a fight."

"Now Rags is a GOOD Rev Raptor. Sleek gear caps, alcohol cooled armor system, diamond sharpened claws, integrated 3BEEK development matrix system..." Babe sighed. "I want an alcohol cooled armor system."

Fiver grumbled, making his desires known as well.

"I'll get you one for yer birthday." Craig crooned, sarcasm showing right though. "Boozefighter systems do rock, though. A bit heavy for Fiver, though. Don't you like to keep light and tight, Five?"

Fiver gave a short woof.

"See? Can''t argue with a zoid." Craig joked.

"So, where are we headed? Back to Ravenstaad?" Babe asked.

"Yeah. They have it surrounded, but there's a weak spot we can bust through. I cant do much melee work with Bear's busted leg, but with you as my meatsheild and the Gustav as a bowler, we should be able to clear a path in. Once the guys see us coming in, we should get some support shelling."

Babe laughed. "Yeah, meatsheild. I bet I mangle more Revs then you."

Craig slowed his Bearfighter up, nearing the base of a hill. "Right, here's your chance. Camp of twenty over the next few miles, blocking the main road into town. Another ten running perimeter. Others scattered around as guards. If Gordon, Barney, and Manny have been doing their jobs, they've been running them ragged. So all their attention is on the town, not their backs. This should be an easy break-in."

"I have a question." Timbre started. "If it's going to be so easy for us to get in, why cant the Rev Raptors?"

Craig laughed. "Hop out of the Gustav and take a walk up that hill kid. Take a look."

Timbre did as he was told, popping the Gustav's hatch and jumping out, taking an easy jog up the hill. It was tiring for him, his muscles still not used to working for any amount of time. The incline was particularly steep for a hill of it's size, and the going was tough. But the view at the top was worth it.

Over the hill, and out a few miles, lay Ravenstaad. Surrounded by open fields and clear sky, it was a small monolith on the open plains. It's walls encased the area, topped with crumbling turrets that looked recently destroyed. In the center, a large tower craned into the sky, five times as high as the walls, which themselves were twice as tall as a nearby Rev Raptor that trooped around it.

"Ravenstaad was not always a town."

Timbre turned to look at the source of the voice, and saw a short, dark skinned man approaching. His head was usualy shaven bald, but three days growth showed that what hair he did have was receding. He had no zoidscar, but his face was rough, and scarred in various other ways. Burns on his left cheek made the impression of a paw-mark. He was wearing heavy clothes, despite the temperate weather. Long pants, heavy boots, long sleeved t-shirt, red tunic and over it, and a padded vest. A smoldering cigarette hung from his lips, smelling strongly of cloves. This was Craig.

"Once upon a time, Ravenstaad was a fort. It was abandoned a long time ago, and taken over by a family of farmers. They farmed the land outside of it's walls, and allowed traders to rest and pass though. It soon grew, and now, the land for miles around are farmed. This whole time, even, we've been walking over a massive resting, un-sown field." Craig paused to pull the cig from his mouth, and ash it. "This is my home now, and I want to protect it with everything I can give. You understand that, right?"

Timbre stared out at the fort town, it's dark appearance on the fields below. It hardly looked welcoming, but there were touches of life. Bright rooftops and hanging wash lines could be seen beyond the walls, even in this time of war.

"Yes. I understand."

Craig smiled, and ruffled Timbre's short blonde hair. "Yer a good kid. If Babe decides to move on, yer more then weclome to stay with me and my family."

"Family?"

Craig nodded. "Yeah. Wife, son a bit younger then you, and my little daughter. Two dogs and two cats. I miss 'em all." He ashed his cigarette again. "I hope they haven't been worrying."

[Orange]

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Chapter 7: The Rush

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The livelong night in Branksome rang
The ceaseles sound of steel;
The castle-bell, with backward clang,
Sent forth the larum peal;
Was frequent heard the heavy jar,
Where massy stone and iron bar
Were piled on echoing keep and tower,
To whelm the foe with deadly shower
Was frequent heard the changing guard,
And watch-word from the sleepless ward;
While, wearied by the endless din,
Blood-hound and ban-dog yell'd within.


Craig settled into his Bearfighter again, strapping into his harness. "Alright boys, here's the plan. Timbre leads the rush, acting as our battering ram and shield. I follow in close to keep off close opponents, and Babe runs point. Yer chance to wreck a few Revs."

"Why give Timbre point? He's just a kid, dude." Babe protested.

"He can handle it, I trust him. That, and the Bearfighter can match the Gustav's pace, and Gustavs have massive amounts of armor. All the Revs have are wimpy machine guns and numbers, and that cant hardly dent the armor. Tam'll be fine. Right boy?"

Timbre nodded inside the cockpit. "I'll be fine. What's another wall of zoids after the last one, right?"

Babe grumbled. "I still don't like it."

Craig sealed the cockpit of his Bearfighter. "I'm not asking ya to like it, i'm asking ya to DO it." He clicked on his main HUD, securing his weapon safeties. "Once we get over the ridge, I'll pop a flare. That'll let the guys inside know we're coming in. With any luck, they'll open the gates and let us in. With more luck, Gordon, Barn and Manny'll pop out to kick some ass with us. In that case..." Craig swung the Bearfighter's head over to look at the Gustav and Timbre, "I want you to cut and run, get the hell inside. If it comes to prolonged fighting, you get the hell out. If you do anything dumb, I'll shoot you myself. Clear?"

Timbre nodded. "Nothing dumb, Craig. I promise."

"Good. Leave the fighting to the old pros. I know kids like to have heroic streaks and all, my own does stupid 'hero' things every once in awhile."

With that, They took off, Timbre leading point up the hill, Craig in close second, and Babe taking up the rear.

As the Gustav grinded over the top of the hill, Babe made a decision. He split from the rear, and sprinted out of the line.

"Hey!" Craig protested.

"Sorry Craig, you never told me anything about heroics. That, and I like to make a habit of not paying attention to you. C'mon, Fiver!"

Fiver snarled, adjusting his pace from a sprint to a steady run, the AZ Gatling clicking into place.

"Bastard.. Timbre, speed it up! Bear can take a bit more speed."

"Yes sir." Timbre said, relieved. He was hardly enthusiastic about having to take point, and was quite pleased that Babe had taken it upon himself to break the wave of Raptors. Unlike Craig, Timbre had a naive trust in Fiver and Babe's skills. From inexperience, yes. But also trust. In the short time he had known him, Babe quickly became a trusted figure. Someone to rely on. And for Timbre, that was enough.

Craig stepped up the groaning Bearfighter's pace from a steady walk to a paced jog, trying to keep the pressure off the wounded leg. On the Bearfighter's neck, right behind the head, a flare ejected it's self from it's casing, and rocketed into the sky, exploding in a white phosphor cloud.

That caught everyone's attention, to say the least. The encamped Rev Raptors, already on alert from Babe's presence, were already starting to rouse from recharging when the flare went off, diverting their attention for that moment. Babe's long experience, and Fiver's instinct reactions, seized the opportunity in full.

"Rip 'em a new one!" Babe cried as he slung the sights of the Gatling on the closest Raptor, spinning up the barrels of the gatling, and opening a full can of whupass.

The first Raptor caught the blasts full on, and it's inferior armor failed to absorb the blasts. It was as if every strike landed on unprotected parts, and the Raptor fell on the spot. But in it's place came three more. Fortunately, these were dumb enough to keep standing in the way of Fiver's direct fire.

As the other Raptors roused, their full wakening was interrupted by two exploding mortar shells slamming into the middle of the camp. The pilots that were not killed or wounded, were now seriously shaken. And for good reason, for another two shells came screaming in.

Fiver continued his charge into the face of the enemy, Gatling still ripping. Babe allowed Fiver's armor to absorb the light machine gun fire, keeping a careful eye on the Gatling's heat, and their distance from the first pack of Raptors.

"Little more, Five..." Babe muttered, pulling back on the throttle a bit, slowing the Wolf's pace and the time to closing distance. The light machine gun fire got heavier. And heavier. The heat levels of the gatling were rising, and rising...

Babe hauled back and down on the controls, throwing Fiver into a spastic leap, then tossing the balance off, turning the Command Wolf in mid-air. Fiver landed in a sliding stop, the smoking barrels of the Gatling silenced. Hardly feet from the firing Rev Raptors, Fiver took off to the left, in a full sprint. A pack of Raptors followed after him.

Another pack broke from camp and charged for the Gustav. Timbre cringed, but did not stop the Gustav's rolling pace. Suppressing the instinct to slam on the brakes, Timbre did the opposite, throwing the Gustav into a higher gear and speeding up.

The first Rev Raptor misjudged the closing speed of the Gustav, and was slammed into, tossed to the side like so much debris. The others had better luck, swerving to the side in an attempt to flank and strike with their blades.

Whoops, angry bear.

Craig had maneuvered to the one side of the Gustav, allowing the distance between them to open. With a clear sight on the Raptors, he opened up his laser cannons and light machine guns to devastating effect.

Babe was having a bit of difficulty. His Gatling had overheated, and was taking too long to cool down. His original plan had been to run the Raptors around the wall of Ravenstaad and pick them off with the Gatling swung behind. It being his only real weapon, and being slowly overtaken by eight angry Rev Raptors, left him being somewhat screwed. Well, at least until the missiles came in.

Two medium seeker missiles streamed in from the rear of the pack, slamming into the two rearmost Raptors, destroying them outright and knocking three others off their feet and off the chase.

As the three gathered themselves up, a new figure appeared. From above. Landing heavy on the ground close to the wall, the new zoid gathered himself up, and rose to it's full height.

The three surviving Raptors were confused for a moment. Standing in front of them was another Rev Raptor, painted identically to their own stock maroon and black, except for a silver chromed head canopy. It's weapon load was different as well, with an impact cannon mounted on the chest, and the light machine guns on it's arms replaced with what looked like a sawed-off medium machine guns. It was also vaguely bulkier What WAS this? A new commander? Someone from Connan? An enemy?

"Morning, 'migos." A voice said over the radio, apparently coming from the new Raptor. This relaxed the three others somewhat, taking off the edge. One of the Raptor pilots spoke out.

"Where did you come from? We could use the help, these guys are kicking our.."

The pilot never finished his sentence, as a curved scythe blade neatly lopped of the Rev Raptor's head.

Three Rev Raptors still followed Babe, and were beginning to present a real problem. Fiver could only dodge and weave so much, and his jinking had hardly thrown them off his trail. His Gatling was STILL overheated, and Babe cursed the evil that was anything to do with a Shadow Fox.

His cursing did not last long, as an orange streak quickly overtook the band of Raptors. Over the radio, a mechanical voice said "Incoming." in an emotionless, toneless way. Fiver took this to mean 'get out of the damn way', and took a quick jump to one side. An excellent choice, considering the circumstance.

With speed not usually seen from a zoid of it's kind, A Saberlion slammed through the center of the pack, ramming the middle Raptor with an extended forehead blade, and slicing into the legs of the flanking two with extended diamond-sharpened mane blades.

The impact was intense for all parties involved. The flanking Raptors collapsed on now sliced legs, and the center Raptor found it's self impaled on another zoid's head. Not a pleasant situation at all. Especially when you proceed to explode.

The explosion took the Saberlion for a tumble, throwing it head over paws in the air, landing heavily on it's side many feet away. It recovered quickly, and roared defiantly, forehead blade still extended. This gave any viewer a chance to observe the particular Saberlion. It was painted an almost obscene bright orange on black, obviously not made for stealth. Mounted on it's back was a modified booster 'borrowed' off of a Gunsniper, rockets still intact and usable. Unlike the usually near-naked legs of the Saberlion, this particular specimen had it's joints cased in what looked like a rubberized chain-mail. A closer inspection would lead the viewer to notice this Saberlion had a name. Inscribed in a solid impact font on the sides of the top mane, were the words 'Rocket Crowbar'.

"Jeeze Doc, take it easy. Yer wife is gonna kill me if you get knocked off." A voice said over the open radio. Another Saberlion approached, this one dark blue and equipped with a modified CP-26 All Direction Missile Unit. It slid to a stop next to the orange Saberlion, and looked over at Fiver.

"Hey, Babe! You alright?" The blue Saber asked.

Fiver turned to face the Lion, and started up at a jog. "Never better! Okay, I'm nicked. C'mon Barney. Gordon." He said as he trotted past the Saberlions. "Looks like Craig is being a *Watch your language!* about the whole 'getting inside' dealie."

The three took off together, soon joined by the silver headed Rev Raptor. They passed the sight of that particular zoid's carnage.

"Manny, did you have to cut ALL their heads off?" Barney groaned.

"I was bored." Manny replied. As he said it, it almost looked like his Rev Raptor was smirking.

In the time it took Manny, Gordon, Babe and Barney to dispatch the eight, Timbre and Craig had been experiencing difficulties. Their last mile was being hindered by Raptor after Raptor, further slowing their already crawling pace.

A swarm of five had started to form, making a simple moving pack formation around the Bear and Gustav, progressively rushing and retreating, keeping the pressure on the already wounded Bear.

"Timbre, go for the fort!" Craig shouted, the last mile getting harder and harder.

"But they'll kill you!" Timbre called back.

"You are NOT here to ask questions Get you ass into the fort NOW!"

Timbre took that as an unquestionable order, and sped the Gustav up to full speed. Two of the five Raptors fell in along the Gustav, continuing to strike at it in the proven pattern of advance and retreat. Finding the carapace of the Gustav carapace, they instead concentrated on the smaller target of the cockpit. The other three continued their assault on the Bearfighter.

A hard strike on the Bear's flank caused the Bear to roar out in pain, and quickly collapse. The Raptors were quickly upon the fallen fighter, but found themselves repelled by the Bear's light machine guns and impact cannon, felling one of the eager Raptors in it's assault.

The screeching whistle of missiles and rocket engines quickly filled the air, and two Raptors were struck hard. One was blown back away from it's prey, landing hard and for the last time. The other just caught the outside of the blast, and got the hint, quickly high-tailing it away from the Bearfighter.

In the Raptor's attempt to flee, it was struck by a final shot from the fallen Bearfighter, it's aim still true with the Laser Cannons. It's head lolled to the side for a moment, as if exhausted by the entire fight.

Gordon's Rocket Crowbar arrived at the scene first, scoping the damage. "Get up." The mechanical voice said.

"Agghhh.." Craig groaned. "Don't think I can."

"Get up." The mechanical voice demanded again.

Manny and Rags ran up. "Got the crap kicked out of you, 'migo." Manny said over the radio. "Get on out and squeeze in with me."

"No, I gotta.. Gotta get Bear up." Craig mumbled.

"No time!" Babe cried. "Scope's got bogies coming up from the road. Looks like they discovered the roadblock incident."

Rocket Crowbar growled, taking a pace towards the unseen but still incoming bogies. "Barney, Missile count."

"I got six. What's up, Doc?" Barney asked.

"Manny. Take Craig to fort. Babe too." The mechanical voice said. "Barney. Wait for hill breach, fire missiles, run fort close door".

"What about you?" Demanded Babe. "You better not have one of your crazy ideas again..."

Rocket Crowbar shook it's head, as if speaking for the pilot. "Not crazy, ahead of it's time. Go."

Manny sighed. "You heard the man. Craig my friend, come. We will get Bear fixed up later."

Craig was silent for a moment, then the Bearfighter's cockpit hatch creaked open. Rags head bobbed down to the dirt, and Craig reluctantly climbed in.

"Gogo!" Gordon's mechanical voice demanded. Babe and Manny did not have to be told twice. Neither of them relished the idea of facing down the other twenty Rev Raptors that were coming down the pike.

Inside Rocket Crowbar's 'cockpit', if you could call the covered space between the Lion's head and neck a cockpit, Gordon sat strapped in to the seat. One hand rested on the controls, the other tapped away at a small keypad handy to the right throttle. He typed quickly, using a quick shorthand he liked to call 'utterly *Watch your language!*'. It got his point across quickly, and was more effective then his usual habit of eloquent writing. The drawback of Gordon's shorthand was, of course, making him sound stupid when he had to communicate over the radio. He took this lull in the fight as an opportunity to type a bit more civilized.

Barney's Saberlion turned to look at Rocket Crowbar. "So, you have a plan?"

"Of course." The mechanical voice replied. "You fire your missiles to dent the charge. It gives you the chance to get the hell away and into the fort."

"Soo, why don't you run into the fort too?"

The Lion was silent for a moment as Gordon typed.

"If we are lucky, six will be taken out with your missiles. That leaves fourteen storming the walls. Actively storming the walls, not the usual siege. They are angry. The doors are weak as it is. Any kind of concentrated attack will take out the doors and let the Raptors in." A pause as Gordon continued to type. "We are in no shape to fight now. If I get a good strike in now, I can take some of the wind out of their sails and stave off the attack."

"So why cant I help with this?" Barney asked, confused.

"Because if this plan fails miserably, better that I be taken out instead of you. You can reload. Your CP is the best strength we have for long range. Also, I hate to think of those nice boomers going to waste without you around." Rocket Crowbar proceeded to grumble at this, almost a chuckle.

Barney clicked the scanners of his missiles on, anticipating the now close Rev Raptor charge. "Right. And how do you plan to get back in the fort?"

"It's not Rocket Crowbar for nothing."

As Gordon finished, The Rev Raptors breached the crest of the hill, firing their light machine guns at the distant Saberlions. It was to little effect, but the message was clear. 'Leave or die'.

"Nownow." Gordon typed, switching back to shorthand. The Saberlion jumped into action, charging the Rev Raptors head on.

Barney wasted no time in firing his last missiles, making sure to assign each one an excellent target of opportunity. Without waiting to see the carnage, Barney turned tail and ran as fast as his Saberlion would take him.

As Barney soon as Barney slid into the open courtyard at the other side of the walls, the heavy steel door slammed shut, locking out all visual contact with the battlefeild outside. All that they knew, was from what they heard. Tense seconds passed, then minutes. All that could be heard was the sure approach of the noises of combat. A roaring Saberlion, screeching wild Rev Raptors, and the occasional explosion interrupting the near-constant rat-rat-tat of machine gun fire.

Then, there was one explosion at the wall, louder then all the others had been. And with it, came an orange streak plummeting through the sky, somehow clearing the walls. The streak landed hard in the courtyard, tumbling several times before skidding to a stop only yards away from an unlucky storefront.

Everyone within sight of the thing stared silently, expecting the thing to be dead. It was covered in dents, the armor riddled with holes and massive dents, completely missing in some cases. The forehead blade was completely gone, as well as one of the side mane blades. What was once orange was now blackened with soot, oil, and the grime of battle.

The Saberlion lay still for moments more, before the mouth opened. The Saberlion seemed to cough, a puff of smoke rising from it's scarred maw. And then, Gordon climbed out.

Seemingly un scarred, and only a bit ruffled, the lanky man gave a grin and double thumbs up to Barney, who was still in his Saberlion, stunned.

A teenager in the crowd that had gathered to assist the Zoids was the first to speak out.

"The cheatery bastard conc-jumped!"

[Vig]

OOh horrible language, sounds good already, I just need to get round to reading it,im sick of being in a hurry

EDIT: horray, I enjoyed that, I was looking forward to horrible language but it seemed to be replaced with *Whoops! I tried to be kewlziez and use a naughty word!*? and *watch your language*.But I enjoyed what there was
i think i like manny, mainly because of the beheading of many raptors,"Manny, did you have to cut ALL their heads off?" Barney groaned. I laughed. And why did I like It when the mechanical voice said "It gives you the chance to get the hell away and into the fort."

I like craigs style but I like the orange and black sabrelion better, I could picture that and I could imagine how awesome it'd look damaged near the end, all oily,sooty and dented, i can't get enough of that.

anyway I gotta wake up for work in like 4 hours so im killing myself here