Building Zoids in a World of Titans

Ziya didn't hesitate. She grabbed Rhian by the arm and pulled her toward the Iron Mule's cab, the girl stumbling half-asleep against her side. "Come on. Move."

Rhian blinked, the red eyes in the forest not quite registering. "What—"

"Inside. Now." Ziya shoved her toward the door, and Rhian scrambled up into the cab, Ziya right behind her.

Alex was already moving toward the Liger Zero. The Zoid dropped its haunches as he approached, the cockpit hatch hissing open. He grabbed the handhold, pulled himself up, and dropped into the pilot's seat. The hatch sealed behind him with a pressurized snap.

The HUD flickered to life across the panoramic display, painting the forest in overlapping layers of thermal and seismic data. The red eyes resolved into shapes.

Eight of them. Maybe more lurking just beyond the tree line.

They were spider-like, low to the ground, their bodies mottled grey-brown and matte, as if the light bent around them instead of reflecting. Elongated front legs — twice the length of their bodies — swept the air in slow, deliberate arcs, covered in what looked like thousands of fine, hair-like sensors. Their fangs were folded flat against their undersides, and their eight small black eyes caught the Liger's light in dull, unblinking clusters.

They moved with a horrible, coordinated patience. No rush. No noise. Just the whisper of silk lines unspooling from the canopy above and the faint, rhythmic tapping of their front legs against the web cables.

"Tik-tik-tik..."

The sound carried through the Liger's external audio sensors. Not random. A pattern. Communication.

The Liger Zero's core pulsed with a low, rumbling growl that vibrated through the cockpit.

"VUMMM-vummm-vummm..."

Alex pushed the throttle forward. The Liger Zero launched from the Iron Mule's flatbed, paws striking earth in a burst of speed.

The nearest spider didn't flinch. It rose on its back legs, front appendages sweeping toward him.

He closed the gap before it could react. The Strike Laser Claws ignited, golden light trailing, and he carved through its thorax in a single pass. The creature collapsed, legs curling inward. One down.

A second dropped from a low branch directly in his path. He pivoted, hindquarters swinging, and caught it with the AZ 208mm shock cannon. The shell punched through its carapace and it folded, twitching.

Two down. The rest scattered into the canopy.

Too fast. Too coordinated.

"Tik-tik-tik..."

The tapping came from everywhere. Above. Below. The silk cables strung between the trees hummed with vibration.

"RROOOO-AAARRR-GHRRR!" The Liger's roar tore through the forest, challenging the dark.

Something landed on the Liger's hindquarter. A sharp pinch at the hip joint. Then another, on the shoulder. He twisted, trying to see, and a third dropped onto the cockpit housing.

Fangs. Piercing the seams.

The Liger bucked. The one on the hip fell away, but the one on the shoulder drove deeper. Pain lanced through the neural feedback, hot and electric. His left foreleg spasmed, the joint locking mid-stride.

He swung the Liger's head, snapping at the one on the cockpit. His jaws caught nothing but air. It had already retreated, disappearing into the branches above.

The one on the shoulder was still there. Still feeding.

He dropped his weight and rolled. The Liger's armored side crushed against the ground, and the spider shrieked as it was pinned. He felt it detach, felt the hot trickle of hydraulic fluid down the Liger's flank.

"SHRIIIIEEEK!"

But they were already repositioning. Circling. The tapping intensified.

"Tik-tik-tik-tik-tik..."

His left foreleg wouldn't respond properly. The joint fired in stuttering bursts, the hydraulic fluid congealing around something wrong. Something in the bite.

Six left. Maybe more. And they weren't fighting him. They were herding him.

* * *

Rhian pressed her face against the Iron Mule's viewport, her breath fogging the glass. Outside, the Liger Zero's golden claws slashed through the dark, and the spider-things scattered and regrouped like shadows given legs.

"What ARE those things?" Her voice came out smaller than she wanted.

Ziya stood beside her, one hand braced against the bulkhead, her face tight with concentration. "Threadwhip. Rank C, technically." She paused, watching a spider drop from the canopy onto the Liger's back. "But they hunt in colonies. Swarm tactics. Coordinated." Her jaw clenched. "That pushes them closer to B-rank threat levels."

Rhian's stomach dropped. Alex was out there alone. Well, not alone. He had the Liger. But still.

"Can he win?" The question tumbled out before she could stop it.

Ziya didn't answer right away. She watched the Liger crush one of the creatures against a tree trunk, watched another land fangs on its damaged shoulder. Watched the way the spider-thing retreated before Alex could retaliate, disappearing into the canopy like it had never been there at all.

"I don't know." Ziya's voice was quiet. Honest. "I've never seen anything like this."

Ziya pulled the comm unit from her belt, her fingers steady despite the chaos outside.

"Alex, are you all right?"

Static. Then his voice, tight with exertion. "Fine. These things are—" A crash. A curse. "—they keep disappearing before I can hit them. Like fighting smoke."

Something slammed against the Iron Mule's hull. The entire vehicle shuddered, and Rhian grabbed the bulkhead to keep her feet. Ziya's eyes went wide.

"They're trying to get in." She moved to the viewport. A spider-thing clung to the door, its fangs scraping against the reinforced steel. "The Mule can take it. But we need Alex back here."

"He's busy!" Rhian's voice cracked. Outside, the Liger Zero spun, claws slashing, but the spiders were everywhere and nowhere. Alex cursed again, the comm crackling with his frustration.

Rhian's hands clenched. She was just a kid. She couldn't fight. She couldn't help. She was useless.

No.

She turned and ran toward the flatbed.

"Rhian!" Ziya's voice chased her. "Where are you—"

Rhian didn't stop. She scrambled up the hydraulic ramp, her bare feet slapping against metal, until she stood in front of the Arosaurer. Its canopy was dark. Its eyes were off. But she could feel it watching her.

"Please." She pressed her hands against its hull. "I need your help. Alex needs your help."

The Arosaurer's head lowered. Slow. Deliberate. Its jaw servos clicked, and the canopy hissed open, revealing the cockpit interior.

It was inviting her in.

Rhian's heart hammered. She grabbed the cockpit rim and pulled herself up, settling into the pilot's seat. The controls were familiar. Alex had taught her the basics months ago, sitting her on his lap in the workshop, explaining every switch and lever.

She gripped the joysticks. The systems hummed to life, amber light flooding the HUD. Power thrummed through the frame, up through the controls, into her hands.

It felt like waking up.

"Arosaurer." Her voice didn't shake. "Let's go!"

"SKREEE-CHAK-CHAK-CHAK!"

The Zoid's roar shook the Iron Mule. The Arosaurer surged forward, off the flatbed, its massive feet hitting the forest floor with an impact Rhian felt in her chest.

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

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