Fury of the Fuhrer (Working Title)

[D00mLiger]

Daggnabbit! Do I still get topic-necromancy points if the thread's only been empty for a week and I'm just compulsive?
Well, despite uppity (and raunchy) trees, bouts of senelity, and a lack of E-Acess, I'm still here. The next chapter is under construction. Hopefully it'l be finished within a week or so... hopefully.

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And once again, I in-/outdo myself! At least I think so.
Here's chapter 5, the mandatory "pre-battle banter" chapter. This is when I do the most horrible thing I've ever done; write canon character dialouge. Tremble in fear! Fear, I tell you! Next chap, everyone trots out, and the battle starts-ish. It's mostly really cool smiting, but still...
So skim this for plot, then hope for chapter six!

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Chapter Five: To Hell We Ride

For the seventh time in twice as many minutes, Jamie Hemeros opened his eyes.

He was normally a rather sound sleeper... but what exactly was normal these days, anyway? The Wild Eagle drowsily chided him for staying awake, and then went back into a full dormant state. Jamie sighed and left his bed, and walked out of his room, down the hall.

The corridors of the Hover Cargo were dark, except near the windows, where the final bits of afternoon daylight struggled through. Jamie passed though a pool of orange light and looked out at the dying sun. Sure is pretty... might be the last sunset that-I

“Stop talking to yourself,” Jamie muttered forcibly. “It’s a bad habit. Besides,” he sighed, “they say things are the most beautiful the last time...”

“That’s awful depressing of you, Jamie.”

Jamie jumped a bit, and turned to see Leena standing behind him, glass in hand. “Leena!” he squeaked, voice cracking. “W-w-what are you doing here?”

“Nothing,” she answered nonchalantly, takinga sip of her water. “It’s one of those personal quirks, I suppose, and glass of water before bed. The question is, what are you doing here?”

“Er... I was just... I couldn’t sleep, is all….”

Leena tilted her head to the side. “Well that’s hardly a good thing. You were sounding depressed, and that’s downright unhealthy.”

“Well I-”

“Not buts! Worrying doesn’t do any good for anybody. Now that’s a bad habit,” said Leena with finality, taking a spot beside Jamie at the window.

“Yeah, I guess...” admitted Jamie. “But Leena, about tomorrow... we could die. I mean, you saw the Berserk Fuhrer in the desert. It’s something else. We’re messing with things that shouldn’t have been messed with, and now people are going to pay for it, I just know it.”

Leena’s expression softened a bit. “Yeah, I know, Jamie, don’t think Dad hasn’t read me the old stories. But you can’t always stop all the bad things from happening. Then the best thing you can do is fix them. That’s what we’ll do tomorrow. They’ll be plenty of other pilots right out there with you. It’s just one zoid, after all, and these are the best zoid pilots in the world. It’ll be fine.” Leena turned from the window, and started walking away.

“Still, you’re right,” she said, just loud enough so that Jamie could hear. “There’s such a high price for negligence in this world.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++

“Well, Leon, I’ve gotta say, this is one heckuva plan.”

Bit leaned closer to the table, peering at the spread out map of the city with the surrounding plains. Bit and Leon had spent the last half-hour going over plans for the battle tomorrow morning. Despite hearing the overall plan the Commissioner had given them, Leon felt it was best that he and Bit had a separate plan to take down the Berserk Fuhrer. He had outlined it thusly:

The Blade Liger and Liger Zero X were to charge with the rest of the non-bombardment zoids, a.k.a Group A. Once within striking distance, both zoids would move to the front and separate, approaching the Fuhrer from both sides. The Blade Liger would initiate a Hyper Blade attack, while Bit hit it with an Electromagnetic Discharge. Once the Hyper Blade Attack was done, the Liger Zero would move in, followed by the Blade Liger and the rest of Group A to finish the Fuhrer off.

“It’s a bit unilateral,” Leon admitted, straightening and stifling a yawn. “But from the looks of things, we don’t want to be caught flat-footed. Especially considering…” Leon let the sentence trail off, suddenly uncomfortable.

Bit smiled briefly. “Never mind it, Leon, it’s okay. I know the thing’s out to get me and the Liger. That’s the reason it’s here. It’s got a score to settle, after all.”

Leon’s face grew graver. “The Berserk Fuhrer.” He sighed at the floor, then looked Bit in the eye. “Are you sure about this Bit? I mean, this is completely different. You aren’t going up against a person out there, though we all wish. Vega held the Fuhrer in check by a lot. I researched the thing. The people who built it worshipped it as an angel; a goddess. But then something went wrong. The Berserk Fuhrer went on a rampage… and that’s when their society disappeared. Swallowed up and burned to so much ruin by one zoid.”

“Exactly,” Bit said, staring Leon straight in the eye. “If we have to but this thing down, why are you thinkin’ about doing it with anything less than everything? I’m not going to lie and say I ain’t afraid of the Berserk Fuhrer. Anything else would be ridiculous. But we’ll fight it anyway. The fact that it’s so dangerous makes it all the more worth fighting.”

“I knew you’d say something like that, Bit.”

“Well, that’s just the way things are right now. Worrying about them instead of doing stuff will just make things worse.” Bit stretched, letting out a large yawn. “Well, I’m going to check on Liger then go to bed. Good night, Leon.”

“Goodnight, Bit,” Leon said as he watched Bit room. He smirked. “Here’s hoping you’ll keep on surprising us tomorrow.”

[D00mLiger]

Woo! Done at the eleventh hour before school starts again (curses!) After grinding out the last chapter, several new songs came into my posession.... and caused my brain to start vomiting good-sih ideas again. It's a big one, so be warned. I'm expecting to end with chapter ten, so y'all know. To cap; the battle starts, Fuhrer arrives, people get blown up sans description, Jamie almost get eggbeaten, and the Fuhrer uses the fan-invented fancy-footwork needing CPG-of uberdoom: The Breath of Eve (a tri-CPC fired upwards, then the sphere expands, and eventually pops.) It's also back to the old melodramatic style for ol' chapter six.

Chapter Seven is forthcoming, but in the meantime...
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Chapter Six: Hell’s Dawn

The moons were setting over the Serratos Plains by the time the ZBC force arrived. They had chosen a large, shallow basin as the place where they would meet the Berserk Fuhrer. The artillery zoids, known as Group A, were lined up on the basin’s rim that was closest to the city, distant by about two kilometers. The close-assault zoids, Group B, were half a kilometer farther, on the basin floor.

“This is a communications check,” said Ventriss over the radio. “All pilots, link your targeting systems and sensors to the appropriate stations and channels. Group A, slave your targeting systems together and reroute control to Headquarters. Group B, deploy in a wedge formation and await further instructions.”

Ventriss turned to face Doc, who was set up at an impromptu workstation. “Toros, what do you have?”

Doc looked up. “Well, Commissioner, I’ve got, among other things, a fairly accurate reading on the Fuhrer’s power levels, now that it’s coming into range. It’s about ten minutes away at this time, and seems to have nothing running apart from its thrusters and basic systems.”

The other man nodded. “Good. Link to the mainframe. It’ll be a great help to know when that thing’s going to fire its charged particle cannon.” He turned to the radio again. “Attention all units, the Berserk Fuhrer is approaching. ETA fifteen minutes. Group A, initiate countdown until initial salvo. Group A stand ready… it’s almost show time.”

+++++++++++++++++

Leena squirmed in the seat. She wasn’t so much scared as impatient. All this waiting wasn’t suited to her. She would have preferred if the Fuhrer has swept in right then, so she and the rest could blast it back to that box it had been dug up from. She looked at the Gunblasters standing to either side of her and grinned. This’ll teach it to raise its ugly face back up from the dead. Come on then! Show me why I should be afraid!
++++++++++++++++

Jamie looked at the moons as they dimmed, slipping below the horizon. Focus. Focus, focus, focus! Looked down at the Raynos’ console. It’s just like a regular battle… only against a homicidal-

Stop it! The Wild Eagle snapped at his other half. Stop worrying and wringing your hands! I’m right here. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Say it with me.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Jamie muttered. He looked uncertainly at the runway in front of him. Suddenly, Jamie felt a familiar wave of courage pass over him. He smiled.

“The Wild Eagle fears no one.”

+++++++++++++++++

Bit looked at the countdown timer as it reached zero. He looked upwards to the basin’s far rim, and felt a chill. The Liger rumbled and growled, scratching the ground.

“It’s here.”

++++++++++++++++

Thrusters cooled from brilliant white to bright blue to nothing. The still-living moonlight caught on feared blades and claws. Red eyes pierced the twilight. The Berserk Fuhrer gazed down on the mass arrayed before it, and roared, long and loud. “Here I am,” it jeered to every pilot. “You want my life! Come take it from me!”

++++++++++++++++

“Sir! It’s arrived!”

Ventriss turned from the area map. “Patch through to Group A; tell them to initiate the first barrage. Blow that zoid straight to Hell!”

+++++++++++++++++

Leena tightened her grip on the controls as the order came through. “Okay then,” she said her sights locked on the Berserk Fuhrer. She pressed the triggers.

“Chew on this!”

+++++++++++++++++

At the exact same instant, 137 zoids opened fire.

Bullets of every caliber tore through the pre dawn. Lasers and plasma burned the air. Missiles soared up and away, like angry harpies destined to reach heaven and tear it asunder. All this force descended on the Berserk Fuhrer. A soaring flood of destruction closed in.

The Fuhrer gave a small, humorless chuckle, and activated its shield. “We’ll see about that.”

++++++++++++++++++

“Sir, Group A has successfully fired the first salvo, sir. The Berserk Fuhrer appears to have raised its shield, however…”

“Hmmmm… have Group B prepare for immanent attack. Presently, send in the aerials.”

+++++++++++++++++++

The Berserk Fuhrer burst from the immense dust cloud, Buster Claws spread wide, mouth agape. “Petty creatures. Can any of you so hope to touch an immortal?” It looked up. “The insects swarm across the skies.”

++++++++++++++++++

The Wild Eagle brought the Raynos lower, and fired the fordward beam cannons. “I’ll show you this insect has a sting!” The Raynos swept down, with fifteen other flying zoids, from Storm Sworders to Pterases to Redlers. “Here I come!” he called as the Raynos set up to deliver a sonic boom. “Prepare yourself!

The Fuhrer seemed to hear the challenge and cocked its head. “I recall this insect. You are quite the irritant. Now, bothersome gnat-” The Fuhrer raised its Buster Claws to attack position. “Fly no more!”

The Fuhrer struck, blades charged-

Time seemed to slow. The Wild Eagle turned and looked out at the Berserk Fuhrer. He saw the tips of the three blades scrape across the Raynos’ wing. He felt his hands jerking the controls, up and away. He saw the eyes of the thing… they burned at him, piercing straight into his soul. And then- it was over.

With a wild cry from both pilot and zoid, the Raynos rocketed up and away from the Berserk Fuhrer, bleeding smoke from its damaged wing.

The Fuhrer didn’t turn to see the gnat escape. There were other insects to be crushed. And crushed they would be. Every last one.

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Bit had watched in morbid wonder as the Fuhrer weathered an assault that had should have reduced it to scrap. Now he watched in horror as the Berserk Fuhrer decimated the aerial zoids.

Rays of energy stabbed upwards in a forest of lethal light. Beams shredded wings, pierced engines, found cockpits and cores and savaged them. Flaming, smoking wreckage rained down around the Fuhrer.

The Liger growled in barely-contained fury. “The Queen of the Dead and Damned…!”

Bit clamped his hands tighter around the controls, eyes hot and angry. “You…! You’ll pay for that!”

“Attention all units. Group B is to immediately deploy and charge the Fuhrer!”

“You heard the man,” Bit said across the radio to Leon. “Let’s get her.”

The Blade Liger roared. “With you every step of the way.”

The Liger Zero roared back and charged. “I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done!”

The Berserk Fuhrer stood upright, regarding the oncoming zoids. “Quite the fool you are. Quite the fool. Have your eons of slavery softened your mind, old one? Bringing them to the Altar, where you hope to burn my body.” The Fuhrer suddenly straightened itself parallel to the ground, its body going rigid. In the blink of an eye, a swirling sphere of brilliant energy built up in its jaws and discharged into a lethal, terrible beam. The Fuhrer swept the beam just over the heads of Group B, turning the desert behind them into a sea of molten rock, then past them, wiping out half of Group A in a brilliant flash. Group B stopped as the ensuing shockwave buffeted their zoids, pinning them in place.

“Now, I shall deal with you later,” sniggered the Berserk Fuhrer, as it activated its thruster and leapt bodily over them. “The temple must be cleaned.”

++++++++++++++++

“Sir! We lost half of Group A to that charged particle beam!”

Ventriss was incredulous. “What? Dammit! Where’s the Fuhrer headed now?”

“It’s currently inbound, sir! It’s heading in our direction!”

Clever bastard… “Give orders to fall back and protect the city. We’re still running evacuations. Did we send out the general alarm?”

“Yes, sir. We’ve sent out a distress signal to all registered teams, transports, and zoids in the area. The nearest PKB installation says help is about two hours away. We’ve already gotten responses from several Whale Kings. They’re inbound now and should be here shortly.”

“Good. Now-”

Alarms trilled, sounding a desperate alert.

“Sir! We’ve lost the Fuhrer on our sensors! It’s-”

The control room fell silent as they all gazed at the main monitor. In soared the Berserk Fuhrer, boosters burning, Buster Claws deployed, eyes aflame.

“LIE!”

There was a horrible screaming, and then they knew no more.

++++++++++++++++++

Swinging Buster Claws in wide arcs, the Berserk Fuhrer quickly and efficiently stripped the Citadel down to the cliff on which it stood, savoring every scream and each life taken. Turning back to the plains, it saw the onrushing remains of the task force. “And now-

Footlocks slammed down. Buster Claws spread wide, and lifted upwards towards the brightening sky, head craning to join them. Vents opened, as particles began to collect and charge.

“-they shall see miracles!”

+++++++++++++++++

“Bit! It’s charging its charged particle cannons! We’d better move quickly!”

Bit ground his teeth. “I know, I know!”

“Group A is still trying to pull together enough coordination to fire another salvo. Some of them say they might be able to pull it off in about thirty seconds to a minute. We’ll need to stall until then.”

“Alright… tell Group B to come in after us. We’re going in!”

Heaven help us…

+++++++++++++++++

“Their hope soars to heaven, only to fall to hell.”

The charge was almost complete. Raging spheres of particles stood at the three points, the light from the rising sun turning them into miniature stars.

“They believe they know the unending internal wonders of the soul! They turn to heresy now! Look to the skies, wretched ones, for all fall before me.”

The spheres dispersed, feeding into shining beam that raced upwards to meet each other.

“Eve’s Breath falls upon you!”

+++++++++++++++++

The three particle beams streaked upwards until they met. Once joined, they pooled into an even large, electric blue energy sphere. The ball grew and grew until its light swallowed that of the sun, illuminating miles upon miles with its light.

And then Eve breathed.

The sphere collapsed, transforming into horrible dome of energy hundreds of meters across. It fell from the sky and roared across the land in a wave of destruction. The city vanished in a storm of fire and smoke that seemed to spew forth from the deepest depths of the underworld. Miles of buildings, millions of people dead in an instant.

“In the end, all fall before me.”

On this the sun rose.

[Fulano]

Sweeeeet. ;D

Now start quoting from 300.
"TONIGHT, WE DINE IN HELL!!"

[D00mLiger]

But if I didz that, Leonidas would, like, smite my butt dead and killed-like. And that would be bad.
Glad to know it delivered on some level.
Chapter seven will resume growing this weekend (too much stuff this week.) But don't worry! I gots plans (and deus ex machinas that aren't!)

[D00mLiger]

Arg. This chapter took high on a month to finish, the vast majority of that time spent on the second half of the text. It wove through an essay, a (still-progressing) respiratory infection, and oak pollen season. It's the Chappie The Could. And for good reason; it's an important chapter, because I do the (un)thinkable. Yes, folks, Vega gets smited.
Oh, I so went there. But you'll see it yourselves! Teeheehee!
That aside, quality control took a holiday, so.... yeah. There's a surprise for you in it, though.

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Chapter Seven: Devil’s Little Sister

The earth burned.

Half a dozen miles of shattered, wasted metropolis leapt into the sky. The ruins belched smoke, choking away the light of the morning sun, leaving only flickers of red, orange, and yellow to light the devastation. What had once been a shimmering jewel of steel and stone was now a deep, festering wound that bled an inferno.

But yet the light had not gone out.

+++++++++++++++

Bit moaned softly as he straightened into a proper sitting position and slowly opened his eyes. The Liger Zero’s cockpit was dark, but almost instantly systems crawled back online. Bit looked and saw that the Liger was surrounded by the charred remains of what seemed to be an office building. Shaking his head to clear it, he brought the Liger to an upright stance. All around, the blasted remains of the city were burned an ashen black. Overhead, moody clouds kept the sun away, light from beneath by the fires that still smoldered. Bit tried the radio. “Leon? Leena? Jamie? Anybody….?”

At length he heard. “I’m here, Bit.”

“Leon!”

“I’m in one piece, so is Leena. Jamie’s still missing, but I’m fairly sure he made it away. Apart from some burn marks and bruises, most everybody’s intact.”

“Alright,” Bit acknowledged. He was a bit startled by Leon’s tone. Despite seeing a city obliterated and his father killed, Leon was surprisingly calm, even in his voice. No, calm wasn’t the right word…. ‘hard’ more fitting.

“Now,” Leon said at length, “we find the Berserk Fuhrer, and kill it.”

“Let’s get to it, then.”
++++++++++++++++

The Berserk Fuhrer stood tall on the elevated ruins of what had once been the ZBC Citadel. From its vantage point it could see the various human piled zoids that remained, as they regrouped and set about their appointed objective. The saurian sneered. “They rush in red and purple…. From the red clouds of the morn. To the temples where the yellow gods shut up their eyes in scorn.”

Red optics searched and found what they sought: the Red Blade Liger and Liger Zero, who had gathered a contingent of zoids and were closing in slowly.

“Time to die…”

++++++++++++++++

The Liger’s proximity sensors warned Bit an instant before the Liger itself; Berserk Fuhrer inbound!

The Zero leapt backwards, shattering the remains of a building as it did. The two dozen zoids following ground to a halt.

The two parties were facing each other across a ruined plaza; neither moved. Then, with a fierce roar, the Blade Liger and Liger Zero both charged forward.

“Hold!” admonished the Fuhrer. “If you sought an audience so dearly, you would have done well not to bring wretches!” Boosters blazing, it soared over the Ligers’ charge, and into the onrushing support zoids, who seized the moment and attacked.

“Come and get me.”

They came.

The first to arrive was a Shield Liger, which sprang for the Berserk Fuhrer’s throat. That move was cut short by a Buster Claw punching through the Liger’s lower jaw, then the cockpit, before tearing free and skewering the victim’s core. The next two assailants, a pair of Sinkers, were swiftly crushed flat when the Shield Liger’s corpse was used as a hammer.

Freeing itself of that mess, the Fuhrer sprang forward. A Heldigunner found itself torn in half lengthwise, and a trio of Rev Raptors was pummeled to death via the Fuhrer’s tail. The saurian dervish rammed a Command Wolf headfirst into the pavement until it came apart at the waist, then pile-drove the remains through the cockpits and core cavities of the rest. Such was the price of audacity.

Turning, the Fuhrer fairly grinned. “Now, then, you may have your audience.” The two charged, fangs bared, blades aflame, Buster Claws flashing, Strike Laser Claw blazing-

Without warning, the Fuhrer was consumed by a cloud of ash and smoke. When it settled, the Fuhrer was being assaulted by four Saber Tigers, including three very familiar-”

“What? Omari? Lineback? Kirkland?” Bit cried in disbelief. “What-”

“We were nearby,” replied Kirkland, who was obviously very much occupied with the Fuhrer. “And we got the signal. Lucky that kid knew a guy with a Whale King-”

Bit winced was a Saber Tiger, which he now believed to be Kirkland’s, was rattled roughly at its post by the Fuhrer’s left. “Kid? But-”

“Enough of this!” exclaimed Leon abruptly. The Blade Liger bellowed as it pounced, blades out and charged. “It’s time to end this!” The Liger Zero followed belatedly afterwards.

“Wait a minute…. Vega?” Bit called out over the comm.

There was a brief was of static, then a sharp crash as Bit saw a black and gold Saber Tiger get clipped by a flailing Buster Claw, just before a yellow Tiger piled on top of the weapon, guns blazing. “Bit!”

“Vega? You’ve got to get out of here! The Fuhrer-”

The Zero finished his thought. “If the Fuhrer recognizes him… ”

There was a deafening roar from the gigantic dogpile that housed the Fuhrer. With one massive movement, it threw off all five of its assailants. Its eyes cast a cruel red light upon the one who had done it so much wrong.

Vega.

The Fuhrer moved faster than eyes and sensors could track, jaws clamping down on the Tiger’s neck, one Buster Claw punching into the zoid’s backside, the other driving straight down into the shoulders. “You! Miserable, heretic, perfidious!” It fairly screeched with rage. Twisting, it tore the Tiger’s body free of its neck, then rent the torso into half a dozen pieces, trading precision for brute force. Soon, all that remained was the Tiger’s head, which was nestled in the Fuhrer’s jaws.

By this time, the five had recovered. “Put him down...” Bit snarled. Not taking his eyes off the Fuhrer, he keyed the commands for the Liger’s Electromagnetic Discharge. The four golden blades on the Liger’s back spread and flipped forward, electricity beginning to accumulate around them.

The Blade Liger and Saber Tigers roared and rushed the Berserk Fuhrer, the Blade Liger shrouding itself in a twisting shield of red and gold energy.

“Ah! The whelp,” The Fuhrer snarled haughtily, spitting out ‘whelp’ with incredible contempt, “Is dear to you I see! If you so desire union,” it growled derisively, “then enjoy your space in Hell!” Light began to shine between the Fuhrer’s jaws, swirling around the disembodied Saber Tiger head. “Oh, you old fool, if you could her his screams,” the Fuhrer whispered, with an almost giddy tone.

“Oh, no you don’t,” retorted Bit. He thumbed the EM Discharge trigger. “Fry, you bastard!” Lightning raced away from the Liger’s blades, arcing over Leon and the three Saber Tigers towards the Berserk Fuhrer.

“Too late.”

The light suddenly died, until eyes realized that it was actually burning through Vega’s captive cockpit. The Tiger’s head glowed a dull orange, then white, then was gone, wisps in the wind. The beam stabbed out, raking slowly left to right, melting the Tigers into nothing. The beam reached the Blade Liger, wavered, and then split, fraying into a dozen smaller beams that scorched the wrecked plaza.

The Blade Liger’s field flickered and deactivated. Leon looked to see the Fuhrer wading through the smoke, head high. “Now do you see, witless fools? And now,” declared the Fuhrer, Buster Claws raised to strike down the Blade Liger, “You shall die.”

“Don’t you move!”

The Liger Zero stormed forwards, vaulting over the Blade Liger to tackle the Fuhrer to the ground. Leon watched as the two went down in a tangle of claws, fangs, and blades, with energy beams and lightning bolts stabbing outwards.

The Liger had an upper hand at first, pinning the Fuhrer on its back, but the other countered, activating its thrusters and forcing the Zero up and away, to land heavily on its back. The Berserk Fuhrer sprang back upright using its tail, and jumped in pursuit of the foe. Recovering, the Liger righted itself and brought the blades upwards, halting the paired advance of the Buster Claws. The two combatants growled and strained.

“Vile insolent beast!” hissed the Fuhrer venomously.

“Prideful devil!” retorted the Liger Zero.

Suddenly the Blade Liger rammed the Berserk Fuhrer directly in the side. The Fuhrer stumbled, roaring indignantly. Before the Ligers could react, however, the Fuhrer struck, knocking its two assailants to the ground with is Buster Claws. Turning from them, it ignited its thrusters and leapt away into the air.

“I’m not through yet!” it snarled. “But the audience? Flesh and fire, flesh and fire…”

+++++++++++++++++

*collapses*
Urg.