Building Zoids in a World of Titans

Alex woke to the sound of footsteps in the hallway. The room was too bright, morning sun cutting through gaps in the shutter slats. His head throbbed. Not the sharp pain of exhaustion, but the dull ache of sleep that hadn't been enough.

Ziya appeared in the doorway, followed by Rhian. Both of them looked rested. Of course they did.

"Morning," Ziya said.

Rhian nodded, bouncing slightly on her toes.

Alex rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Noon," Ziya replied. "We came to see if you were awake. Thought you might be hungry."

He sat up. The room tilted once, then settled. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm hungry."

Rhian's face lit up. "We're going to the market. There's this place with actual vegetables, not just ration bars."

Alex swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His legs were steady enough. "Lead the way then."

They walked through Millcross's streets together, the morning crowd parting around them. Alex kept pace with Ziya, while Rhian darted ahead to point out stalls and shout back observations about prices. The simple act of moving through the town—Ziya's quiet presence beside him, Rhian's excitement at every vendor—felt like something he'd almost forgotten how to do.

They found a small eatery near the riverbed, where the owner served them stew with actual root vegetables. Alex ate without thinking about the taste, just grateful for the warmth spreading through his chest.

Alex finished his stew, the bowl scraped clean. He set it aside and leaned forward.

"So," he said. "What did you find?"

Ziya exchanged a glance with Rhian. The girl's shoulders slumped.

"Nothing," Ziya said. "Just rumors. People saying it's a curse, or that the river gods are angry."

Rhian kicked at the floorboards. "We asked everyone. The mill workers, the guards, even Old Man Hemlock. Nobody saw anything."

Alex nodded. That was what he'd expected.

"The tremor was real," Ziya continued. "But it was small. Not the kind of thing that should drain an entire river."

Rhian's voice dropped to a whisper. "Maybe something big moved underground. Something that didn't show up on the surface."

Alex felt the familiar weight of a problem with no clear solution. He'd seen the gorge where the river should have been. Twenty meters deep, dry riverbed at the bottom. Something had carved that channel, but what?

"The town's holding a meeting tomorrow," Ziya said. "About what to do."

Rhian looked up. "We should go. See if there's anything we can help with."

Alex considered it. He didn't mind. The people here were scared, and scared people made mistakes. Better to have eyes on the situation.

"I still need to check my spoils from last night," he said.

Ziya frowned. "What do you mean?"

Alex's fingers traced the edge of the table. "Went out hunting. Found something worth bringing back."

Rhian leaned forward. "What did you hunt last night?"

Alex set his fork down. "Redridge Stalker."

Ziya's head snapped up. "A C-Rank?"

He nodded. "Small, but the components are solid. I can make another core."

Rhian's eyes widened. "Can I see it?"

"It's in the Mule." Alex pushed back from the table.

Ziya stood, smoothing her skirt. "After we eat."

They walked together through Millcross's streets, the morning crowd thinning as they approached the stable yard. Alex kept his hands in his pockets, watching Rhian bounce ahead with that same restless energy that had gotten her into trouble more than once.

The Iron Mule sat where he'd left it, its hull still smudged with last night's dust. Alex climbed into the cargo bay, the familiar groan of hydraulics greeting him as the doors opened.

The cargo bay doors groaned open. Alex stepped inside, followed by Ziya and Rhian. The familiar smell of hydraulic fluid and Titan bone hit him like a memory.

"RRRROOOO—"

The Liger Zero's head turned toward them. Amber optics glowed in the dim light.

Rhian waved. "Liger! We're back!"

The Zoid's jaw relaxed. Not quite a smile—machines didn't smile—but something close to recognition.

Then Rhian saw it.

Her breath caught. "Oh."

The Redridge Stalker lay between them, its carcass stretched across the bay floor. Crimson scales dulled in the morning light, claws still curved in that final, desperate grip.

"You killed it." Rhian's voice was small.

Alex nodded. "Last night. Took longer than I expected."

"Why?" She stepped closer, then stopped. "They're dangerous, aren't they? Stalkers?"

"Annoying." Alex crouched beside the corpse. "Tricky. Hit-and-run tactics, camouflage that works even when you know where they are. This one had a burrow system carved into solid rock."

The Liger nudged forward. Its claws scraped against the metal floor.

"RROOO—RRRROOO—"

Proud. That was the closest word. The Liger's head tilted, amber eyes bright.

Rhian's shoulders relaxed. "You did good, didn't you?"

"ROOO—RRRROO!"

The Liger's roar echoed off the bay walls. Alex felt that familiar swell in his chest—not pride exactly, but something warmer. The machine had earned this moment.

"Yeah," Alex said. "We did good."

Ziya crouched beside the corpse, her boots scuffing against the metal floor.

"You're going to make it into a Zoid core right?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah. The shell's already prepared."

She studied the Redridge Stalker's elongated limbs and curved claws. "Raptor-type, isn't it? Based on the build."

"Predator classification. Speed and agility focus." Alex reached into his satchel and pulled out the core shell—a smooth sphere of pale Vita-Alloy that hummed faintly in his palm.

The shell was cool against his skin. He pressed it against the Stalker's chest cavity, feeling the familiar resistance as organic matter met refined metal.

"RRRROOO—"

The Liger's roar echoed through the bay. Alex ignored it, focusing on the contact point.

The core shell hummed against the Stalker's chest. Alex watched the flesh dissolve into liquid light, flowing like molten copper into the Vita-Alloy matrix. The shell's surface rippled, veins of crimson spreading across pale metal.

Organic matter became data. Data became structure. The Stalker's essence folded into itself, reshaping into something new.

Alex's HUD flickered. Numbers scrolled too fast to read. The core pulsed once, twice, then settled into steady rhythm.

CORE SYNTHESIS COMPLETE

NEW BLUEPRINTS UNLOCKED

Alex exhaled. Another Zoid waited to be built.

Advance chapters on my p@tR$0n/Najicablitz.

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