Ancient World ( Private )

[Marcus Takumi]

<About ten minutes later...>

"So this moves... this? And this makes your claws lash out? Ah, okay! I see how it is!"

Marcus, despite being caught up in one of his hot-blooded moments, had instead taken the time to learn more about the controls of his Zoid's new body, the Liger Zero. Each passing minute would be the result of him testing out each of Ex-Vee's initial movements, controls, and workings, before the boy had managed to learn the ropes of the new body. Pumping his fist in victory, he had managed to get it to where the rusty Zoid was now well capable of freely moving his joints around with little effort, minus the dangerously limited power core.

"Alright, buddy, let's ditch this joint. You need to get fixed up." he would finally suggest towards Ex-Vee, guiding him towards what appeared to be a crack in the wall south of his location. Standing the creaky body of the Liger Zero in front, Marcus shifted the controls so that the front and hind legs crouched down in a pouncing position, his reckless brain working its "magic" once again. With a swift thrust of his arms, he jammed the grips forward as hard as he could, forcing Ex-Vee to dive into a ferocious tackle towards the wall, causing the metallic head to slam against the cracked structure and force it to collapse into a large pile of rubble.

Shaking about in the cockpit, Marcus knew the job was done as soon as he saw the wall get decimated by the powerful headbutt of Ex-Vee. However, he sort of winced and seethed through his teeth as the Damage Indicator for the Liger Zero's head flashed violently, warning the pilot to further avoid any damage to the cockpit, or else a total -- and permanent -- system failure would occur. Groaning out towards his pilot, disagreeing with his rather foolish decision to tackle the wall down, Marcus bowed his head slightly in apology. "Sorry, Ex-Vee. But given your current condition, I don't think scratching the wall down would have been a good option." he had tried to explain. Growling a low thrum, as if mentally stating "Remind me to never let you pilot me again", Ex-Vee had trotted through the massive hole in the wall and down the large corridor that lay conveniently in front of them.

Who knows where Max could be right now? Well, given he felt a rumble earlier, Marcus assumed he found something quite epic, which made him smile slightly. Perhaps the boy had found a weapon of sorts that could further bling out his Shield Liger? Or maybe he had found some rare and ancient artifact that could have been worth millions, possibly billions? Or perhap he found another Zoid entirely, which would further increase his army from one Shield Liger to... Well, who knows?

However, by the time he had assumed he had found something of epic proportions, he converted the idea to make himself believe that he could try and use this said "epic proportional item" against Marcus and further ruin his chances of becoming a decent Zoid battler. Grinning wildly, he cocked his head to the right, a loud, cracking noise popping. "Not on my watch, bucko! Just you wait -- I'll have Ex-Vee pimped out in no time! Then, we'll see who's the top dog!" he would blindly imagine as he led Liger Zero down the long halls, hoping to find an exit sometime soon.

[xX Max Xx]

< Ditto. >_> >

[/b] muttered Max to himself, playing with the controls. The youth was testing his new toy, the blade shifting from side to side. Sometimes the blade would stop mid slide, the boy having been testing the various angles. According to his calculations, he was right on his previous estimates of the blade's range.

It indeed couldn't go a full three hundred and sixty degrees around the Zoid's body. But it could go in a three hundred degree arc. Seeing how far around the blade could go, Max wanted to test one more thing. Seeing a nearby pillar, the youth had an idea on just how he would go about testing it.

The Shield Liger would sprint forward, the blade twisting to lock into position on the side the pillar was on. Then, Max would mess with the controls some more. The blade itself would move from a position of the tip facing the back to fully extended outward, as if it were an actual blade liger blade.

With a leap, the Shield Liger would attempt to drag its blade though the pillar, aiming to cut through it. The Shield Liger, however, found the blade stuck in. Apparently, it wasn't strong enough to cut through fully. Max sighed, flipping a trigger to fire off two shots from the sword mounted cannon.

The pillar would crumble as Max retracted the blades and immediately made the Shield Liger sprint toward an exit out of the room. The boy knew for certain that the room would collapse with the pillar gone. Stepping meticulously through the halls, Max would sigh as he made the Shield Liger adjust the blade to rest a top its back as it had upon attachment.

"This'll prove to come in handy, eh Liger?" Max said softly to his Zoid, petting the console. It was then Max remembered Marcus, wondering what became of the youth. Now he was somewhat worried, seeing as it had been at least a half an hour already. Hearing oncoming footsteps from around the corner, Max would stand his ground as he awaited whatever lurked towards the Shield Liger.

[/ul][/ul][/sup]

[Marcus Takumi]

The Liger Zero's weakened skeleton continued to trod through the corridor until it had finally reached a turn in the massive structure, Marcus forcing the mammoth Zoid to halt. Taking a deep breath in relief, he could see that there was light on the right side where the corner turned, the boy checking the power core's energy supply again. Still around eighteen percent. Good, at least it would get him through the ruins and back to Romeo City.

"Alright, let's get the hell outta here..." he would finally say, before a small, blipping noise, followed by more sparks and static, started to resonate in the cockpit. "Radar." Marcus had simply grunted, as a heads-up display of the surrounding 5 meters popped up on screen. Though the "map" was rather fuzzy and full of noise, he could tell that a small dot had started to beep on and off the screen. Given his current experience with basic Zoid accessories, the dot represented an opposing Zoid. "Ex-Vee, you think you can get a good visual on it?" he asked kindly, a rather blurry and static-ridden image of a blue Liger Zoid popping up.

Chuckling to himself, he had recognized the image, before it dispersed into noise, as Max's own Shield Liger. Scanning the area, he had realized the entire corner had been smothered in darkness, and because the Liger Zero he was piloting had no armor, the frame itself was nearly all jet-black. Perfect camouflage practice. Slowly creaking Ex-Vee along the path until he had gotten towards the point where the darkness would finally dissipate into the light, (practically right in front of the Shield Liger, save for a few meters backward), he flipped a button to force Ex-Vee's crimson eyes to send out a rather menacing flash of ruby light; activating the lighting systems that miraculously remained intact.

Popping open the blue, glass panel that now had no problem opening up, Marcus stood up from his crappy, leather seat, one leg mounted on the consoles as if he were a captain of a pirate ship. Folding his arms in complete confidence, he had thrown up a false gang sign towards the pilot of the Shield Liger, sticking his tongue out playfully. "Lralg drec cred uid, ou!" he would shout out in Max's native tongue, as if he were homaging and thanking him for taking Marcus along for the ride.

Let's just hope he wouldn't bag on him first. Or attack out of reflex. Last thing he needed was for Ex-Vee to explode again...

[xX Max Xx]

[/b] pondered the youth to him. The Zoid had stoppped movement towards the two, which meant the Shield Liger wouldn't spring at the guy to slice it. What a relief, too. That blade could have done some serious damage to an unarmored Liger Zero, no matter how strong the Zoid itself was. But the next thing was a real surprise.

The cockpit flipped open, revealing none other than Marcus. Max grinned, his own cockpit opening as the Shield Liger righted itself from its "prowling" position. Marcus would utter some words to Max that left him confused for a moment. Not because they were of a different language, but because they were of his native language.

"Muugc mega ouin Wuet'c kyhkcdy," began Max, deciding to shrug off the fact that Marcus could speak his language. After all, so many of the dwellers of Farsa found there way to the Zoids Warrior profession that it didn't surprise him if he was somewhat literate in it. He would point a thumb at the new blade on his Zoid before continuing.

"Seha ec bnaddo kyhkcdy yc famm." he would mutter to Marcus, a slight smirk on his face. Indeed he was proud of his discovery, and perhaps he would seek out other ruins to find weapons like it. But he knew that for now that both he and Marcus needed to high-tail it out of there.
[/ul][/ul][/sup]

[Marcus Takumi]

Look's like your Zoid's gangsta. Marcus would mentally translate Max's choice of words, trying to determine whether or not that was a compliment, or an insult. Considering his Liger Zero was practically chop-shopped and rusted, he would sigh, knowing it was probably a sarcastic insult. But then again, this was Max, and he knew that he probably wouldn't do anything to piss the boy off to an extent. Watching him point to a massive sword mounted to his own Shield Liger, he translated the following in his head: Mine is pretty gangsta as well.

"Frydajan. E ghuf drec drehk E's eh'c yd dudym beala uv cred, cu tuh'd dno du vmyddan sa!" he would add on in the native tongue of Max, laughing heartily. Lightened up, he stroked an invisible beard, thinking about just how the blue-haired boy got that sword. He was going to have to find a way to get the Liger Zero back into battle-ready condition, or else he would be in for the fight of his life. "Yhofyo, fa ybbynahdmo kud fryd fa lysa vun. Crymm fa?" Marcus would ask fluently, before forcing Ex-Vee into a slow stride.

"Tuh'd ycg ruf drec drehk kud cdnebbat, E vuiht ed mega drec." he would add on, hoping that Max would come to terms with Marcus' current position. He was rather meager in appearance, but right now, Ex-Vee was fine where he was, and despite his rusted exterior, he seemed to like his new body. It was certainly a bit easier to run on two legs, sure, but he was slowly getting the hang of moving on four paws now. Thinking once again about the sword that Max had seemingly just installed on the Shield Liger, he had tilted his head as he continued to walk towards the alleged exit that lay before him.

"Ruba oui tuh'd seht... Pid lyh oui ramb sa veq Aq-Jaa ib cusadesa? Uhla E kad rec Bufan Luna nabmylat, uv luinca..."

[xX Max Xx]

[/b] spoke the youth with a grin, pressing the communication link button so that he could close his Liger's cockpit. Then he realized why Marcus had stood up out of the Zoid instead of opening communication. It sure wasn't for a dramatic entrance.

"Yhofru, mad'c kad kuehk pavuna drec fnalg lusac lnispmehk-- Fryd dra v-?" Max's question would be cut off by shots that missed both youths and hit the walls beside them. There were Helcats, four of them, who had apparently gotten sick of the two boys hanging around their home. Max would throw a nod to Marcus before plopping down in his cockpit seat, adjusting the blade on the Liger to the side and then to face forward.

Two had their sights on Marcus while the other two clearly aimed at Max. Going by this, they were somewhat intelligent. Or just organized. Max would waste no time, making his Shield Liger fire two shots from the dual sword mounted cannon, blasting one of the Helcats away. For some reason, none of the others engaged their camoflauge, even after witnessing their friend go down.[/sup][/ul][/ul]

[Marcus Takumi]

Marcus sighed at the mention of Max's alleged affiliated team; the Aegis. Even though the black-haired boy loved to help others out, and he would obviously take up the opportunity to get some help from the blue-haired youth, he never liked the concept of teams. He felt as if though some of them seemed one sided, and occasionally, some of them picked on the lower and more newly-formed teams as well. Hazing like that was frowned upon in his eyes, but as far as he was concerned, the Aegis saved his life. The least he could do is spread the word about them, if not, give them something to do.

"E'mm drehg ypuid ed. Kuddy kad icat du drec Wuet vencd." Marcus shouted out, forcing Ex-Vee into a slower stride. True, Max was probably willing to help him out, but then again, doing so would give the opponent an equal opportunity to learn about his new Zoid's weaknesses, too; leaving Marcus exposed for future battles to come. But was Max really the kind of person to resort to unfair gaining of knowledge, or even sabotage? Shaking his head, he tapped a foot onto the fried communications console, cursing slightly.

Before he could say another word, or Max, for that matter; two laser bolts had narrowly missed the male duo, forcing the black-haired boy to snap his gaze up at the would-be attackers. Tilting his head, trying to identify the Zoids that had shot at them, he forced himself into his seat, strapping himself in and flipping on a few controls.

"Ramlydc. Vuin uv 'as. Drao tuh'd muug cu duikr!" Marcus shouted out, trying to analyze the enemy as much as he could with the limited technologies he was given. Hey, if your Zoid was practically useless in all aspects, you'd be stuck like that, too! But Marcus kept his cool, even in the heat of battle, working his controls around and doing his best to come up with a strategy while he was at it. Ah, who was he kidding; reckless was his middle name! And he wasn't going to let Max have all the fun, either!

"Ruf 'puid fa cbmed dra vuttan tufh dra settma, cajahdo-veja du dfahdo-veja?" he would mischievously ask Max in total lack of logic, finally getting himself situated enough for battle. Licking his lips as if he were thirsty for the lifeblood (Or in this case, lifeoil) of Zoids, he had reached for his cockpit hatch, the menacing, red eyes of Ex-Vee shimmering on and off before that chilling gaze flashed into full view like headlights in fog. Watching the Shield Liger ice one of the Helcats to kingdom come, he had forced the cockpit closed, grinning that wicked smile.

"Kiacc E lymm tepc uh dra nacd uv 'as!"

Without so much as a second thought, he had thrust down the control grips as hard as he could, forcing Ex-Vee into a rather rusty sprint; and as bad as it sounded with metal scraping against rusted metal, the Liger Zero ran as smooth as it did when it probably came off the assembly line. Forcing his Zoid to "play chicken" with the other Helcats, he jammed the thrusters to the right, pushing Ex-Vee into a turn that would hopefully get the attention of the rest of the pack and lead them away so that Max could get a clear shot at them.

I might need some support on this one, Max; I'm kinda lacking in armor and weapons at this point!

[xX Max Xx]

[/b] yelled Max, moving around controls to adjust the blade. He remembered one thing the moment he had laid eyes on the Helcats, and that was that they had the ability to camoflauge themselves. The only thing that came to mind upon realizing this was that they had to defeat the Helcats before they engaged the said feature. After all, Marcus's Liger Zero probably couldn't handle a fight with a cloaked foe.

Still, that brought up another thought to him. Normally, Helcats would use their camoflauge from the very beginning of a fight. Thus another consideration came to mind, that perhaps these Helcats were so old that their camoflauge software had faded. But was that even possible? His pondering wouldn't go on long enough, as Marcus called out to him.

"You call that splittin' down the middle? Well, I was never really good at math." joked Max, responding to the mischievous tone of his friend. As he started up his run to lure the Helcats away, Max would smirk as the Helcats ran after. One was behind him, and dared to pass him to go along with the chase.

"The hell you think you're goin'?" questioned Max rhetorically with slightly playful tone. The Shield Liger's new sword would roll around its body, locking in place at the side while extending outward. This was a literal clothesline to the Helcat, resulting in the sword slicing into it, deliberating it as it fell to the ground.

The sword would then rotate over to the otherside of the Liger, the blade retracting as it was of no use at such a far distance but the cannon still pointed in the direction of the two Helcats. Max would adjust his sights, targeting one. Squeezing the trigger, the targeted Helcat would find one of its legs taken out by the fired shot.

"Eat dirt." muttered Max, almost gleefully as he squeezed the trigger once more after locking onto the second one charging after the Liger. Another leg was taken out, resulting in both Helcats losing balance in their run and to hit the floor with a short distance slide, completely vulnerable for the Liger Zero to strike.

"S'up to you now, bud- Marc!?" yelled the youth, eyes widened as he had lost sight of his comrade. Did they guy just get to wrapped up in his run to remember they were in a battle? Was it just some technical difficulties? Max would groan, facepalming as he engaged the Shield Liger's shield and ran out of the ruins, running off to his base. He was sure that wherever Marcus has disappeared to, he would turn up again.

[/ul][/ul][/sup]

[exit]

[Marcus Takumi]

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU STOP THIS THING!?!?!"

Marcus had screamed nearly the entire length of the jungle as the Liger Zero he had been piloting suddenly decided to turn defiant against his will, forcing itself into a full-fledged mad sprint down the shrubbery, and eventually out of the sights of Max, as the boy desperately tried to pull the throttles back so Ex-Vee could grind to a complete stop. Unfortunately, one of the throttles had completely snapped off its hinges, Marcus staring at his hand that gripped it in total horror. Just what the hell kind of damage had it suffered over the years?!

"Just why won't you stop, dammit!? We're already half way to Timbuktu, thanks to you!" he yelled in agitation at the rogue Zoid, only receiving a labored purr as Ex-Vee continued its mad dash out of the jungle and onto a large field, straight back to Romeo City. From what the angered human could tell by how apprehensive the thrumming sounded, he realized that he was piloting a literally bare Zoid; no weapons or armor, save for the severely rusted claws and fangs.

Taking the liberty to calm down, he had collectively snapped the dislodged throttle back into its respective socket until he gained full control over the right side of the Zoid; still allowing Ex-Vee to "auto-pilot" itself back towards the glowing city. Forcing his head into a bowed position, he could only think angrily towards himself for making him look like such a fool. Not only that, he was sure Max took all the glory in stealing his first, potential kill. Slamming his right hand against the dash, he had huffed a hiccup in slight aggravation.

"I'm not going empty-handed here... Not while I draw breath."

<exit>