Only one more section to go after this.  unfortunately, it happens to be the
largest chapter.

C&C welcome and encouraged.

Jazz
"AAAEEIII!!!!!!!!" quote from AT6

Chapter 10     INCOMING!!!!!!

     "Outnumbered, definitely.  Outgunned, maybe.  Outclassed,
never."
     DigiCom-Otaku Arising II
     Shaggy-Serendipity II

      "You have to ask yourself "Do I feel lucky?"  Well, do ya,
punks?"
      Harry-Dirty Harry
      Stanley Ipkiss-The Mask

     Jazz rumbled through the countryside, towards his
destination.  [I just hope I piece it together correctly from the
anime.  Of course, I could have ordered the orcs sieging
Metallicana to take me there.  But they were just too much fun to
blast.] thought Jazz with slight amusement.
     On his way out of Metallicana, Jazz opted to do a full
weapons test on the sieging force.  Between the gatling guns,
autocannon, grenade launcher, and mortars, the forces nearest the
bridge didn't stand a chance.  [At least I bought Crodyn and
Talon a day at most.  Every little bit helps.]
     Opening the throttle up to full power, Jazz transversed the
countryside at just under 50 mph.  Using his staff as a divining
rod, Jazz checked his course several times and made corrections.
     Crossing over into a darker, nastier realm, Jazz knew he was
getting close.  Using the telescope he had created, he saw the
castle he was looking for in the distance.  [Soon Karlos, we will
have that rematch.  Your magic versus my technology.  Wanna guess
who will win??]
     That night, he arrived within walking distance of Karlos'
castle.  Concealing his chariot in a tight rocky formation, Jazz
offered up a small prayer of thanks that he had kept it true to
it's original color scheme of gun metal gray.
     Extracting a large metal backpack from a storage bin, Jazz
pulled it on and cinched it tight.  Checking his tool belt one
last time for everything he thought he might need, Jazz pulled
out one last thing from the cockpit before shutting the chariot
down completely, venting the built up steam pressure.
     Managing to array himself in the cloak he had taken from the
cockpit, Jazz knew that he know looked like a hunched over
beggar.  Taking out his staff, Jazz willed it into full size and
began to make his way to the castle, hobbling.
     Forty minutes later, Jazz drew up to the drawbridge.  One of
the orc guards looked at the hunched over figure approaching the
bridge and called out "What do you want here, old man?"
     "I want to see Karlos."
     "No one sees Lord Karlos."
     "I am different."
     "Yeah right." said the guard, motioning his friends to
approach the cloaked figure from behind.
     "Don't move any closer, any of you, or else."
     "Or else what?  You couldn't possibly hurt us." said the
guard, advancing in the cloak figure.
     "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." said the cloak figure. 
Swinging the staff around, the cloak man caught one guard just
above the knees, knocking to his feet.  (Okay, we all know who
this is. -author) Jazz whirled the staff around, blocking twin
sword strikes.  Dancing out of the reach of the guards, Jazz
willed his staff to do something he hadn't tried before.  A
section of bridge exploded in a blaze of fire.
      It worked.  [Thank God.] thought Jazz, looking at the know
terrified guards.  "You will take me to see Karlos now."
     Nodding, two guards led the cloaked figure to Karlos'
private chamber.  "Lord Karlos', we have a visitor who...wants to
see you." said one of the guards fearfully.
     "I am not to be disturbed." said Karlos, casting a freezing
spell at the guard who spoke.
     "Tsk tsk, Karlos, I thought you would want to see me." spoke
up the cloaked figure.
     Karlos stepped back involuntarily, hearing and remembering
the voice.  "Y...you..."
     The figure stepped forward, pulling back his hood, Jazz
said, half snarling, half mocking, "Yes, it is me.  You wanted a
rematch.  Well, here I am."
     "GUARDS!!!!!" yelled Karlos.  As the guards came in from the
many entrances, Karlos yelled "Surround him!"
     Jazz looked at the guards surrounding him up to three guards
deep, most of them being orcs and trolls.  "What's wrong, Karlos? 
Afraid I'll bring this castle down around your ears."
     Karlos made to cast a spell at Jazz, first trying for a
target lock.  He suddenly stopped and began to chuckle softly,
gaining volume for a few moments.  "You are no threat to me. 
Without magic, you are nothing."
     Flipping a switch on his backpack, Jazz tried to retain his
bravo.  "If you do not release Geo, Tia, and Luche, I WILL bring
this castle down."
     "Right.  Guards, imprison this upstart." commanded Karlos.
     As the guards began to advance on him, Jazz roared at the
top of his lungs while throwing off his cloak.  Hitting another
switch on the backpack, Jazz felt twin cylinders click into place
on his shoulders.  "Eat flaming death!!!!" he yelled, opening up.
     The assemblies inside the cylinders began spinning at a high
rate.  Suddenly twin streams of lead spewed forth, holing the
advancing guards.  Karlos ducked behind his throne as Jazz turned
them his way.
     As suddenly as it had started, it stopped.  [Damn, should
have brought more ammo.] thought Jazz.  Seeing that Jazz no
longer fired his death stream, Karlos motioned his guards, what
remained to imprison Jazz.
     When Jazz had been stripped of his backpack, tool belt, and
forearm bracer, Karlos sneered "I don't know how you did that but
you won't do it ever again.  Throw him in the dungeon by his
friends.  I want his last day alive to be memorable."
     Jazz was carried away and tossed into a lower level, if not
the lowest level, dungeon, but not before having the tar stomped
out of him by the guards.  But the lowest level dungeon also
happened to be up in a tower.
     "Jazz?" he heard a voice ask softly.
     "Tia??" asked Jazz, trying to rise from the pile of straw he
had been thrown upon.
     "Jazz, what are you doing here?" asked Geo.
     "I...I came to rescue you." said Jazz, knowing they were
next door, but unable to see them.
     "Some rescue." replied Tia.
     "Tia...we WILL be getting out of here.  I...I just need to
rest." said Jazz, going back to his cot.
     "Rest now Jazz.  I just wish my magic worked here." said
Geo, with slight regret.
     "Geo, don't worry about it...Just be ready to make a break
for it..."
     "Okay..."
     "Geo...question, how often do the guards came through here?"
asked Jazz, trying to formulate an idea.
     "Every two hours or so."
     "Okay...thanks..."
     "Jazz??"
     "Geo...trust me."
     "Jazz, I hate it when you say that." spoke up Tia.
     "Sorry...rest now..."
     Reaching into the top of his boot, Jazz pulled out two small
clay vials.  [Hot and Cold water anyone?] he thought, finalizing
his plan.
     After the next guard patrol passed by his cell, Jazz popped
the cork on the cold water.  Stripping down to the clothes he had
worn under his jumpsuit, Jazz splashed the water in his face. 
Feeling the strange tingling sensation, Jasmine padded over to
the pile of clothes, fetching the belt and boots.
     Opening the heels of the boots, she extracted several lumps
of gray, malleable material.  Taking the belt, she pulled out
some more of the gray material and several small metal boxes with
two prongs out the bottom.  Putting everything into a pouch,
Jasmine prodded over to the window and literally pulled the bars
from the window.  Climbing outside, Jasmine dove into the air,
catching a breeze.
     Getting a general layout of the castle, Jasmine dove through
the air currents to land on top of a low lying tower.  After
wrapping her wings about herself, Jasmine made her way cautiously
down the stairs.
     Reaching where she figured center point of the tower was,
she pulled off a small hunk of the grey puddy.  Rolling it in her
hands, she placed it as if she were filling in a crack.  Taking
one the two prong ojects, Jasmine placed it with great care,
hoping it wouldn't discharge.
     Turning to go back up the stairs, a deep gutteral voice
behind her said "What we got here?"
     Looking back to see three orcs, heavily armed, Jasmine
backed away, up the stairs.  "None of your business." she said,
fearfully.
     "If it in the castle, it be our business." said the second
orc, bringing his club down on his upturned palm, threateningly.
     The three orcs continued to advance as Jasmine back up the
stairs hastily.  Reaching the outside, Jasmine turned and leapt
into the air, hoping to get away.
     Not being used to this body, Jasmine found herself hauled
from the air by one of the orcs in mid leap.
     "Oh, female." said the third orc, starting to drool.
     "Let go of me!" screamed Jasmine, trying to slash at the orc
holding her leg.  The orc caught her arm easily.  Trying her left
claw swipe earned another orc capturing her arm.
     Both orcs holding her arms painfully brought a foot down on
each of her feet to keep them on the ground, earning a scream of
pain from Jasmine.  "You can't get away.  It be long time since
we have woman." said the third orc brokenly.
     "Now we have one." said the orc holding Jasmine's right arm.
     She looked on with horror as the orc in front of her reached
out, grabbing the front of her tank top with one hand, the other
fondling one mound beneath the cloth.  Giving into the panic,
Jasmine began to struggle fiercely, her eyes glowing red.  "Don't
touch me!!" she screamed, as another sensation, a fire, built
within her.
     Tossing the orc holding her right arm, she claw slashed the
orc holding her left arm in the face.  Using her tail, she
whipped the orc directly in front of her, knocking him back a
couple of yards.  The orc, she had tossed earlier, came charging
back only to earn a side kick with toes extended.
     Melee combat lasted a few short moments with the orcs
deciding that the option of living wasn't worthwhile anymore. 
Leaning up against the wall, she panted shallowly, trying to
regain her breath.  [They tried to...] she thought, trying to
banish the thought of the "r" word from her mind.
     After about ten minutes, she climbed shakily to her feet. 
[I have got to be more careful.] she thought, reprimandingly. 
Looking around carefully, she hoped they wouldn't find the bodies
too soon as she once again took flight.
     For nearly an hour, she glided around the castle planting
little globs of the gray material along with one of the small
metal boxes in several key locations.  [A medieval version of
plastique.  Karlos should get a blast out of this.] she thought,
placing the last glob of the plastique.
     Avoiding several more guards, Jasmine made it back to her
cell, and changed back to human just before the guards came
through on a round.  [Okay...now to wait for the right time.] he
thought, just as sleep claimed him.

     The next morning, Jazz awoke to a spear being pointed in his
ribs.  "Wake up slave."
     "Up yours." replied Jazz, sleepily.
     "Maybe you need another lesson in manners."
     "Whatever.  I am awake now."
     "I'll be back later to teach you proper manners." said the
guard, continuing with his round.
     [Time for a jail break.] he thought, getting up stiffly from
his cot.  "Geo, Tia, up for getting out of here?"
     "Yeah."
     "Hold on then." said Jazz, finding his boots.  Pulling out a
small pouch of black powder, Jazz poured the powder on the lock
of his cell door.  In one stroke, he blew the lock out with a
minor explosion.  [Crap.  That will bring the guards arunning.]
he thought, working on the other cell door.
     In thirty seconds, Tia, Geo, and Luche were free.  Working
their way along the hallway, Jazz concentrated hard, trying to
make contact with his staff.
     "Jazz, where are we going?" asked Tia, keeping an eye out
for the guards.
     Stopping before a door, Jazz said, shoving the door open,
"In here, quick."
     Jazz managed to close the door just before an onrush of
guards went by.  Looking at the three would-be prisoners, Jazz
said "Okay, now we have to get out of here."
     Looking around, Tia said "At least we now have weapons."
     Walking to a pile of kibble, Jazz rummaged through, finding
his tool belt and backpack.  "Yes.  Everyone arm up.  We have got
to keep Luche safe."  The boy in question was holding onto Tia
fearfully, experiencing the cruelty of war for the first time. 
Lacing up his fore arm bracer with staff, Jazz continued "I have
a score to settle, but first we gotta get you three outta here."
     "Okay, how do you plan to do that?" asked Geo, having picked
up a staff and a mace.
     "Right through the front door."
     Geo and Tia looked at Jazz as if he were crazy and said as
much.
     "No, I'm not.  Come on." said Jazz, opening the door and
working his way down the hall.
     Four minutes later, the escapees arrived in the central
courtyard, heading for the draw bridge.  Suddenly a bolt of
lightning erupted around them, causing them to stop in their
tracks.  Turning to face the source, all four noticed Karlos with
a legion of soldiers.
     "Where do you think you're going?"
     "Outta here.  You WILL let us go." said Jazz, hitting the
power switch on his backpack.
     "And why should I let you leave?" sneered Karlos.
     "Because if you don't, I WILL bring down these castle
walls." responded Jazz defiantly.
     "You don't have the power to do that."
     "You wanna bet.  Taste my power." yelled Jazz.  Under his
breath, Jazz said "Be ready to run."
     All three nodded slightly.  Throwing a switch on the
backpack, Jazz began chanting in low tones, getting louder with
each passing moment.  "Chiso Nekoba Grata Mipo, Zist Boom Ba, 
Old One Old One Ra Ra Ra, Brain Brain Dead, Anime Squa Red, Nana
Hey Hey, Klaatu Barada Niktoo, Macho Macho Duck-uto, Ich Weisse
Du Nicht-o."  Jazz threw in everything he could draw on, trying
to make it sound impressive.
     Reaching a feverish crescendo, Jazz ended with "Ah heck,
enough with this crap."  Pointing at different towers, Jazz
yelled "BOOM!!!!" while hitting another button on his backpack.
     Suddenly, the plastique blew up in an interesting array of
reds, oranges, and yellows.  Turning to the three kidnapees, Jazz
yelled "Follow my lead."  Running towards the main gate, Jazz ran
right through the orc and troll forces, gaining the bridge.
     The four cleared the castle as Karlos tried to get
everything back under control.  A few minutes later, Jazz led the
posse to his combat chariot.  "Climb inside.  I made the cockpit
large enough to fit all of you inside." ordered Jazz.
     "Jazz, aren't you coming with us?" asked Tia.
     "No."
     "Why Not?" Tia practically yelled.
     "If Karlos isn't stopped here and now, he will keep coming
against Metallicana until he awakens Anthrathrax.  I can't have
that happen."
     "Okay...but how do you drive this thing?" asked Geo, looking
at the controls.
     "Okay, the steering wheel turns the wheels.  Steer right,
the vehicle goes to the right.  Steer left, vehicle goes to the
left.  On the floor, there are two pedals.  The one on the right
is the gas which makes the vehicle move.  The one on the left is
the brake.  It will stop the vehicle when you want to."
     Nodding, Geo still had a hard time understanding what Jazz
said but accepted it all on faith.  "When you get started, I want
you to keep the gas to the floor until you get to Metallicana."
     "Okay, but will happen to you?"
     "Nothing, if Karlos wants to keep his castle.  Just when
you get to Metallicana, look after Arshes for me please." said
Jazz, looking back to the castle.
     "We shall return with reinforcements." said Tia,
determinedly.
     "Tia, no.  I don't want to put anyone else at risk.  If I
walk away from this, I will.  If I don't, so be it."
     "Jazz..."
     "You three better get going.  I'll be fine and see you
soon." said Jazz, climbing down from his creation.
     Watching the low slung vehicle drive away, Jazz turned to
face the castle.  [Karlos, I hope you have life insurance because
it will soon be time to cash in your claim.] thought Jazz, almost
murderously.
     Climbing from the valley, Jazz approached the castle.  The
guards that stood watch on the drawbridge drew back in fear. 
"You have nothing to fear from me as long as you do not interfere
with my quest."
     Jazz passed the drawbridge and entered the central
courtyard, seeing the guards and Karlos, frantically trying to
put out the fires.
     Seeing Jazz, Karlos cursed and flung a low level spell at
the young man.  The spell hit Jazz like a ton of bricks, sending
him flying into a stone wall.
     Smiling slightly, Karlos took Jazz prisoner once again, by
guards that were more than a little intimidated by the once
wizard.  After having the snot thorough beaten from him, Jazz
found himself in an underground dungeon cell.  [So much for an
air escape attempt.] thought Jazz, as his mind registered all his
aches and pains.
     Jazz fell into a fitful sleep on the hard, wooden cot.  His
dreams were not the most pleasant sort.  Images of war, knights,
monsters, and other assorted evil invaded and took up residence.

     The next morning, Jazz awoke to a prodding in his ribs. 
Brushing away what was prodding him, Jazz woke up sharply at the
pain in his hand.  Looking at it, his hand oozed a little blood
from the shallow cut.
     Looking towards the doorway, he saw several guards having a
good laugh at their prisoner.  "Finally awake?" taunted one
guard.
     "And what would you like for breakfast?"
     At the sound of breakfast, Jazz's stomach gurgled, much to
the enjoyment of the guards.  Suddenly, a large lump of something
hit Jazz in the head.  "Here's you're breakfast.  Hope you enjoy
it." said another guard sarcastically.
     Finding it to be a very stale chunk of bread, Jazz carefully
broke off small hunks slowly chewing it. [Man, what I wouldn't
give for a real breakfast.] thought Jazz, thinking of Metallicana
in the morning.
     Several hours and a couple of guard patrols passed before a
clicking sound rattled on his door.  Jazz woke up from his nap to
stare into the face of Karlos.  "What do you want?" asked Jazz
with open hostility.
     Motioning the guards forward, Karlos said "I have something
to show you."
     Jazz found himself being dragged upright behind Karlos back
up to the central courtyard.  Karlos stepped to the side to allow
Jazz to see why he had been brought up.  His vehicle was there
and so were Geo, Tia, and Luche, all looking a little worse for
wear.  Jazz's anger welled up as he tried to get at Karlos.
     Jazz sudden found himself flying backwards into a rock wall. 
[Damn...] thought Jazz, as his world faded into black.

     Opening his eyes slowly, Jazz took in an overall stiffness
in his limbs.  Trying to move his arms, he found them to be
shackled tightly.  Trying his legs, he found the same thing.
     "Awake are we?" sneered a voice to his left.
     Looking at the source of the voice, Jazz suddenly wished he
hadn't.  Hideously deformed, the figure was horribly scarred. 
Jazz also noticed several instruments on the wall, instruments of
pain.
     Trying the shackles again, the figure said, with a laugh,
"You can't escape.  No one ever has and no one ever will."
     "I may just be the first."
     "I don't think so." said a second voice in the room.
     Looking at the source, Jazz said "Karlos, release us or
else."
     "Or else what??  You are powerless and Metallicana will soon
fall.  And shortly thereafter, Anthrathrax will be free to create
a utopia where I will lead."
     "Broad dreams, but there are a obstacles in your path."
     "You are nothing.  The forces at Metallicana are nothing."
     "If they're nothing, why have we kept you at bay for so
long?" asked Jazz defiantly.
     "We want you to think you actually had some hope.  With
Arshes Nei, Dark Schneider, and Gara to help, Metallicana might
have had a chance.  But those threats have been dealt with."
     "Just how did you re-enact the seal on Darschu?" asked Jazz,
banishing thoughts of Arshes' poisoning.
     "I'll just say the church in Metallicana is the key, as if
that will do you any good.  Now, you will tell me how you did
what you did before."
     "Yeah right, as if."
     "Chief Torturer, do you worst.  I want all the secrets he
has." said Karlos with a hand gesture.
     The deformed figure reached over to the wall and pulled back
a long metal rod, laced liberally with spikes.  Jazz tried to
draw away but was held firm in place by the shackles.
     Pain lit up Jazz's neural network and the rod hit him
multiple times.  "Not gonna talk??  Maybe we should work on the
one known as Tia.  Oh by the way, nice stick." said Karlos,
holding Jazz's staff, in compact form, in his right hand.
     "Don't you dare." threatened Jazz, fighting the shackles
with renewed vigor and attempting to call his staff to him.
     Karlos felt a sudden pull on the stick in hands.  Casting a
quick spell, he said "I can't let you have this.  You might try
to escape.  There will be no escape for you until you tell what
you did earlier."
     "Up yours!!" shouted back Jazz.
     Pain overloaded his senses once again as the torturer took
up another rod, similar as the first, and began to beat him
repeatedly.  Screaming in agony, Jazz left this reality as
unconsciousness claimed him.
     Stopping, the torturer put his tools away and turned to face
Karlos.  Karlos dismissed him with a gesture, while trying to
come up with a plan to break the man. [Your secrets will soon be
mine.] thought Karlos, leaving the chamber.

     Jazz awoke abruptly to a female scream.  Trying to move,
Jazz immediately discovered he had been shackled to a upright "T"
formation.  [Tied me to a crucifix?] thought Jazz, trying to see
all that was around him, and not liking it one bit.
     Geo and Luche, clothes torn and bleeding from multiple cuts,
were chained to a far wall.  Geo hovered over Luche protectively. 
Luche lay on the ground, tucked into a fetal position, and
unconscious.  The sight of Tia nearly broke his heart.  Strapped
to a table and having most of the clothes stripped from her body,
Tia's frame became the embodiment of pain.  Multiple bruises were
forming as several cuts still oozed a little blood.  Her head lay
tilted to one side, sweat rolling down her forehead.
     Tensing his muscles, Jazz strained against his bindings,
doing nothing but drawing attention to himself.  "So, you are
finally awake, oh magicless one." said the chief torturer.  "Now,
maybe, we can get some answers from you."
    Sending a lackey, the torturer sent word to Karlos.  A few
minutes later, Karlos and another figure, fully cloaked, strode
into the torture chamber.  Karlos looked at the hanging Jazz and
said "Now, you will tell me how you did what you did."
     "Yeah right.  I'll never talk." said Jazz, rallying a little
courage.
     "You will talk, or else."
     "Or else what??"
     "Or this." said Karlos, motioning the torturer forward.
     Jazz's legs and side erupted in pain as the batons struck
multiple times.  Hanging loosely, Jazz's legs gave out putting
more strain his arms.  Jazz screamed in agony, but the fire
continued to burn in his eyes.
     "Now will you talk?"
     Panting several times, Jazz rasped "Never!"
     His side erupted in another wave of pain as a sword tip ran
the length of his ribs, just deep enough to hurt but not cause
any severe damage.  Getting a nod from Karlos and the cloaked
stranger, the torturer smeared a white cream in the wound.
     "AAAAEEEEEEEIIIIIII!!!!!!!" screamed Jazz, his neck muscles
taunt with the strain of pain.
     After a few minutes, Jazz finally quieted down from the pain
wave.  "Will you talk now?  What did you do before?"
     Breathing shallowly and rapidly, Jazz said, his voice no
more than a whisper, "Tech...nology...that's...what I used..."
     "Good, you have finally decided to use a little reason.  You
can't escape.  What is this technology?"
     "Can't...explain it...just is..."
     "Not good enough.  Maybe we should work on the girl some
more till you decide to cooperate with us."
     Suddenly a guard came rushing into the room.  "Lord Karlos,
Metallicana has fallen.  Princess Sheila will be brought here
shortly.  Ninja Master Gara and Arshes Nei are dead."
     Jazz's heart fell and broke.  [My technology wasn't enough. 
Arshes...] he thought, tears beginning to flow down his cheeks.
     Looking back at Jazz, Karlos laughed.  "My, how the mighty
have fallen.  Torturer, do what you will with the girl."
     "Thank you, m'lord." said the torturer, evil intent in his
eyes.  Tia came back to reality and started screaming in pure
terror and the torturer approached her.
     Jazz started breathing slowly like a locomotive, increasing
in speed.  Drawing his lips back into a snarl, Jazz's mind raced
with all that was happening. [We should not have lost.  I can't
let it end this way.]
     Tia's screams reached a new level as the torturer stripped
her completely nekkid and threw two levers on the table.  The
table suddenly hinged at her knees and spread her legs apart. 
Tia struggled in vain against her bindings.  "NNNOOO!!!!" she
screamed, shaking her head violently, as the torturer laid a hand
on her left leg.
     Jazz's head suddenly shot straight up as he looked at the
torturer, Karlos and the stranger, who happened to be almost in a
straight line.  Jazz's eyes suddenly narrowed as an almost
visible energy aura surrounding him, his lips drawing back into a
snarl.  Torturer stopped dead in his tracks, beginning to back
away from Tia.

     <Popeye the Sailorman:Popeye, the Sailorman cartoon.>

     Jazz's muscles constricted suddenly, breaking his bindings
effectively.  He was beyond caring that the bindings had tore
deeply into his flesh before they broke, the pain screaming in
his wrists fueling the fire.  "Staff, to me!" Jazz yelled, as he
landed firmly on his two feet, upsetting the dust on the floor. 
Immediately thereafter, a silvery steak entered the room, forming
fully in Jazz's hand.  Extended to full length, Jazz swiped at
the torturer as an energy field formed around the staff.
     As the torturer's lifeless shell hit the ground, Jazz turned
his attention towards Karlos and the stranger.  "Now you die!"
     "Wrong." replied Karlos, as he and the stranger cast the
same spell towards Jazz.  Geo offered up a small prayer for
Jazz's soul as he became hidden from sight by the smoke.
     When the smoke cleared, Karlos and stranger stepped
backwards involuntarily at the sight of the pissed off young man.
     "Now, I am pissed off and you.  NEVER.  PISS.  OFF.  AN. 
ENGINEER." said Jazz, his voice deep and powerful.
     The stranger cast another spell which was deflected by
Jazz's staff.  "Wrong move, Abigail." said Jazz, as the
stranger's cloak blew open, revealing the form of Abigail
underneath.
     [Staff, empower what I do now, please!!!] begged Jazz
mentally, concentrating fully on his next move.  Directing all
his emotional anger at what was happening, grief at the loss of
Arshes, and hatred for the two men responsible for it all, Jazz
screamed, while bringing his hands forward to form a imaginary
dish, "SHI SHI HOKOUDEN!!!!!!"  A bolt of magenta energy leapt
from his hands, sending Karlos and Abigail flying backwards into
then through the wall.
     *Shift to the left* came a sudden thought in Jazz's mind. 
Shifting his hands to the left slightly, Jazz continued the
energy beam for as long as he could.  Crashing through the walls
of the castle like a locomotive meeting a piece of cardboard, the
dust settled to reveal a large hole going all the way outside. 
On the outside, Jazz could see...

Chapter 11     Deus-Ex-Machina

     "We're here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and we're out of
bubblegum."
     Rowdy Roddy Piper-(Forgot the movie)

     "We're here to eat sushi and kick ass."
     "But Zoner, we like ran out of sushi three months ago."
     "Bingo..."
     Zoner and q-Undocumented Features #3

     Nobemaza, Ann, Chiyuki, Crodyn, and Talon looked on as Jazz,
inside his chariot of metal rumbled out of Metallicana, heading
towards the holding place of Tia, Luche, and Geo.  The metallic,
low slung form disappeared over the crest of a hill, heading
directly into the lines of the enemy.  All five people suddenly
heard a high pitched buzzing sound as plumes of smoke and dust
erupted into the air.  "Looks like he is giving them a taste of
his technology." commented Nobemaza.
     "Yeah...I just hope it's enough..." replied Ann.
     "If I know Jazz, it will be more than enough.  C'mon, we
have strategy to plan." said Crodyn, heading towards a stairwell
leading down to Jazz's forge.
     Five minutes later, the five people arrived at the forge. 
"Chiyuki, are your vehicles ready?" asked Crodyn, seeing two
large metal plate monstrosities outside the forge and one on top
of the forge.
     "Yeah, for the most part.  We need to do a little fine
tuning but they are ready to go."
     "Good, when we get done here, I want you to finish up."
replied Crodyn, opening the door to the forge.
     "Sir Crodyn, why are we meeting here?" asked Talon.
     "Tell you when we get inside..." said Crodyn quietly.
     Gathering around the table, Crodyn said "I think may have a
couple of spies inside Metallicana."
     "How do you know this?" asked Nobemaza.
     "The attack first leveled at Metallicana was too well
coordinated.  They managed to cripple our three best fighters
before it began.  If it hadn't been for Jazz and you three,
Metallicana might have fallen."
     "So, how do we determine who the spies are?" asked Ann,
doing a visual sweep of the forge, looking for anything out of
the ordinary.
     "We can't."
     "What??  Why??" asked Chiyuki, hoping to kick some spy ass.
     "We go about business as usual.  I am going to be doubling
the guard around Princess Sheila since she will most likely be
the target for the next invasion.  Bonjovinia is seeing to the
defense of the King."
     "We," said Nobemaza, meaning the M.A.S.K. squad, "will make
sure nothing is wrong with our vehicles."
     "Good.  Talon, I will need you to check each artillery piece
personally.  I don't want anything to be sabotaged when the final
invasion happens."
     Nodding, Talon said "I was already planning on it.  How soon
do you think the attack will come?"
     "If Jazz did as much damage as I think he did, the invaders
have suffered a slight delay.  I would say, be ready for anything
a day from now." replied Crodyn, giving a best guess.
     "Do you think will have to launch the surprise Jazz told you
about?" asked Ann.
     "If you mean the thing down by the library, I hope not.  The
feeling I got from Jazz, whatever is behind that door, is
something not to be messed with."
     "If there is nothing else, Sir Crodyn, we have an invasion
to prepare against."
     Shaking his head, "That's all." he said.  "Oh, and report to
me any sort of damage to your weaponry that you might find."
     Nodding, the group dispersed, heading in all directions. 
Each followed on a specified plan of action.  Nobemaza, Ann, and
Chiyuki did thorough inspections of their anti-siege weaponry,
Talon looked over the artillery pieces, and Sir Crodyn walked
among the troops, getting a feel of anticipation and dread.
     Every four hours, guard duty switched off, allowing the
guards a chance to rest and be ready for anything.  The remaining
three M.A.S.K. members made final preps on their metal beasts,
setting the water and fire crystals in the specially design
cradles.  Tenchi and the squires assisted where they could,
filling ammo bins, calibrating controls, and such.  Over the
course of night, steam pressure slowly built, easing the systems
into full operational status.

     The cry of alarm and tolling bells rang out in the wee hours
of the morning.  Attack.  Leaping from his bunk, Sir Crodyn
swiftly climbed into his personal armor.  Grabbing his sword, he
ran from his tent into the main courtyard.  Surveying, he found
that a fiery redness surround Metallicana.
     At the top of his voice, he cried "TO ARMS!!!!!" just as the
first invaders cleared the castle walls.  The central courtyard
increased in activity to a point where it looked like an anthill,
thriving with activity.
     Running to the Talon's forge, Sir Crodyn cut down several
orc and troll invaders before reaching the door.  Getting inside
and barricading it behind him, Crodyn saw Talon finishing up work
on his combat armor.  "It's ready for launch." said Talon, seeing
Crodyn enter.
     "Good and none to soon." replied Crodyn, climbing into the
cockpit.  Strapping in, Crodyn threw several switches bringing
the metal armor to life.
     With a grinding of gears, Crodyn brought his armor to an
upright position.  Grabbing a 'his-size' ax, Crodyn trudged up to
the forge's main doors.  Upon a signal, Talon and his chief
apprentice opened the big doors, unleashing Sir Crodyn upon the
invaders.
     Sir Crodyn waddled into the ranks of orcs, trolls, and such. 
Giving them a true lesson in pain, the gatling launchers buzzed
loudly, sending a seemless unending stream of leaden death.  Many
opponents met a fiery end from the flame thrower.  What enemies
those two weapons missed, the left hand ax and right hand cleaver
found.
     Suddenly Sir Crodyn was rocked back by an explosion. 
Looking at his right arm, he found that whatever hit him nearly
took the arm off at the elbow.  Turning his gaze towards the
source, Sir Crodyn saw a human, one of Metallicana's own,
surrounded by orcs.  The odd part was that the orcs were facing
away from the human.  Crodyn barely managed to dodge to the side
as the human tosses another fireball his way.
     [A traitor?  Not for much longer.] thought Crodyn, bringing
his gatling launchers to bear.  Crodyn stared in disbelief as the
rounds fell just short of their target. [DAMN!!!  He's out of my
range.]
     "I know all your secrets and how to use them against you."
yelled the human, commanding the orcs to advance on Crodyn.
     Immediately thereafter, each orc went up in a blaze of
magenta flame.  Crodyn and the human traitor turned to the source
and reacted at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Both saw a young
human female with long blue hair, wearing a suit of nearly white
metallic armor.  This wouldn't usually cause someone to be afraid
but throw in the fact her hair was radiating out, her eyes a fire
with a magenta glow, and her aura blazing about her, you might
have a reason to be afraid.
     "Die, traitor!" yelled Felicia, leveling a golden fireball
at the human traitor mage.  Try as the traitor might, the
fireball plowed into, and then through, him, sending him to the
next plain of existence.
     Crodyn's heart leapt at the sight of glowing mage.  "A
little bit much don't you think?"
     "No!!" replied Felicia with sarcastic sternness s she threw
another fireball at a group of approaching trolls.
     Taking a step towards his love, Crodyn's mind suddenly
screamed alerts as the armor began to pitch forward.  Before he
impacted, Crodyn saw a magenta field between him and ground. 
Easing his way from the cockpit, Crodyn saw the additional damage
the traitor mage had done to his armor.  The right leg armor had
been stripped away as well as most of the under structure.
     "Damn!" exclaimed Crodyn, upon seeing the damage.
     Felicia approached the warrior, looking concerned.  "Can it
be fixed?"
     "Yeah, but not until after the fight." said Crodyn, drawing
his sword.
     Looking up in the sky, Crodyn and Felicia saw the Golden
Condor take a major hit to one of its wings.  Both watched as the
metal bird spiraled earthward, falling from sight beyond the
castle walls.  They might not have been able to see the Condor,
but the plowed up sod it sent skyward was clearly visible.
     "Felicia, we need to see if we can help." said Crodyn,
looking at the girl.
     Nodding, Felicia scampered off in the direction of the
crash.  Crodyn followed smartly on her heels.  As they neared
Metallicana's walls, a renewed wave of invaders descended on
them.  Crodyn proved why he was the commander in chief of the
armed forces as he slew anything that came in reach of his blade. 
Felicia sent many invaders to the great beyond with multiple
spells.
     "Crodyn, if we need to launch what Jazz mentioned, now is
the time." said Felicia, breathing heavy from the effort of
spellcasting.
     "Right.  Let's go." replied Crodyn, starting to edge his way
back towards the center of Metallicana.
     Crodyn fought at a dead run while Felicia watched his back,
casting spells left and right, making the targeted invaders wish
they hadn't come.  By the time the duo reached the library
entrance, both had several bruises beginning to form and
multiple, small gashes from near misses.
     Crodyn slumped against the doorframe, trying to catch his
breath.  Felicia rested against the other, also trying to regain
her breath.  Looking at each other, both nodded before heading
into the library.

     At the alert, Nobemaza, Chiyuki, and Ann ran to a set of
three locker wardrobes in the M.A.S.K. forge.  Tenchi and the
squires scampered around the metal behemoths to complete last
minute checks.  Pulling out the standardized uniform, Nobemaza,
Chiyuki, and Ann suited up, wearing something similar to what
Jazz had worn when he left a few days prior.
     Nobemaza looked at his two compatriots, saying "Let's do
this for Jazz."
     "Yeah.  Let's show these guys what it means to mess with
Metallicana." nodded Chiyuki.
     "They will pay." said Ann smartly.
     Nobemaza ran to his Iron Rhino, flipping the turbine
switches.  The Iron Rhino had changed majorly and minorly since
its days as the Gratan.  Painted a more steel blue with red,
gold, and silver highlights, it still looked somewhat like it's
forebearer with a few minor differences.  On the front prow were
two horns that curved upwards slightly, though could be lowered
for ramming.  The back fin was gone to be replaced by a rear
gatling gun emplacement.  The wheels also mounted spiked hubcaps. 
Two more gatling launchers as well as two flame throwers were
added to the available arsenal at Nobemaza's hand.  Reveling at
the crescendoing buzz, he ran a system wide visual assessment. 
Finding nothing wrong, he brought power up to full and waited
Chiyuki's and Ann's signals.
     Chiyuki scampered to his "Mount".  Before climbing the
ladder that led to the head, he took one last look at his
creation.  Imagine a full metal Griffin from mythology, painted
gold, black, and dark blue with silver, red, and green highlights
and pin striping.  While not as articulated nor as flexible as a
real griffon, Chiyuki hoped it would make up for it with
firepower, brute strength, and speed.
     Ann climbed the ladder quickly, getting to her mount. 
Seeing the squires doing a last check, Ann climbed inside the
cockpit.  Unlike the cockpits on the other two "Mounts", Ann had
to lie flat in hers.  Flipping the power switches, the eyes of
her condor began to glow with unearthly light.  When the power
finally peaked out, she had finished her pre-flight prep. 
Hitting her communicator, Ann radioed "Golden Condor ready for
launch."
     "Check.  Iron Rhino also ready.  Metal Griffon?"
     "I need a moment.  One of my generators isn't working
right." replied Chiyuki, grabbing a toolbox from inside his
cockpit.
     Nobemaza watched from his cockpit as Chiyuki climbed from
his and walk along the back of his "Mount".  Coming to an access
panel, Chiyuki unfastened it promptly, looking inside.  Nobemaza
watched amusedly was Chiyuki pulled out a hammer and gave
something inside the fasten a hard whack.  Suddenly the Metal
Griffon came to full power.
     Scrambling back to his cockpit, Chiyuki strapped himself in
while radioing "Metal Griffon is go for launch.  Let's kick some
butt."
     "Aye.  M.A.S.K. Squad....GO FOR LAUNCH!!!!" commanded
Nobemaza over the radio.  On the roof, the Golden Condor lifted
off.  What else would you call something that looked like a giant
winged bird that had been coated with a golden paint?  Inside the
forge, the Iron Rhino roared out, instantly engaging the
invaders.  The Metal Griffon lurched slightly with each step. 
Building the only "Mount" with articulated legs, Chiyuki yet had
to become completely familiarized with the controls.  Jazz,
Nobemaza, and Ann had tried in vain to change the young soldier's
mind.  By the time he got to the battle line, Chiyuki had his
"Mount" pretty much under complete control.
     Nobemaza lowered the front prow of his "Mount" and stepped
on the accelerator.  The orcs and trolls who happened to get in
front of the giant metal behemoth were either torn to ribbons by
the serrated dual prow or ground under the wheels.  From his
viewport, Nobemaza saw a group of orcs, with lit torches,
bunching up and heading for a grouping of buildings.
     Nobemaza angled the Rhino towards the congregation of orcs,
flipping two switches on the console directly in front of him. 
Two recessed port hatches opened to reveal a gatling launcher
each.  The orcs found themselves the receives of a gift of hot
lead.  One orc however managed to set fire to the grouping of
buildings.
     Cursing, Nobemaza dove into the moat, converting over to
nautical mode.  "Someone cover me." he radioed to his team.
     "Right." replied Ann, soaring above the water bound Rhino.
     Nobemaza flipped another switch.  Hearing the whine of
motors start up and then cease, he hit a blue button.  Another
motor started up as a stream of water vomited from the nuzzle
that had been revealed on the Rhino's back.
     Nobemaza hosed out the fire with minimal effort on the
Rhino's part.  Rolling up onto the edge of the moat, he watched
as a fireball hit the Condor, forcing it from the air.
     Seeing the Griffon gallop towards Ann's crash site, Nobemaza
also hit his accelerator, angling the Rhino through and over as
many enemies as he could manage.  Seeing a giant suddenly get in
his way, Nobemaza didn't break stride as he reached over and
flipped the cannon control switches.  The giant then decided that
life had no more meaning and that becoming a large, red splotch
on the terrain was alright.
     Chiyuki opted to take the fight to the invaders camp.  With
each earth shaking step of his Griffon, more and more targets
presented themselves.  Throwing a lever on a panel to his right,
a panel flipped up on each shoulder of the Griffon to display the
open end of his cannons.
     "FIRE!!!" yelled Chiyuki, squashing the red button fire
control on each movement control stick.  Both cannons spoke
uproariously, twin projectiles cutting into the ranks of orcs and
trolls.
     Turning his attention to the siege equipment, Chiyuki soon
reduced them to scrap metal and toothpicks using the Griffon's
claws, tail, and on board weapons.
     Chiyuki looked around in concern as the Griffon was suddenly
lifted from the ground.  Opening other side panels in the
cockpit, he saw that a giant had grabbed the Metal Griffon and
thought he was trying to crush it.
     The giant suddenly tossed the Griffon skyward towards a
friend who had a club ready.  Seeing where he was arching
towards, Chiyuki didn't like it and decided to do something about
it.  Stomping his feet on two floor pedals and hitting a button
on each control yoke, the Griffon extended it's wings and vented
steam directly into the air, providing lift.  While not as
efficient as the Golden Condor's flight system, it proved to be
enough to change the Griffon's arch.
     Winging over, Chiyuki guided the Griffon into a strafing run
on the two giants.
     Landing before he had completely used up his steam reserves,
Chiyuki still had to wait a few moments for sufficient steam
pressure to rebuild so he could move.  The invaders made a
tactical mistake, thinking that an enemy that couldn't move,
couldn't fight.  Chiyuki proved them wrong with gatling blasts,
mortar rounds, and cannon shots.
     The Metal Griffon regained it's feet.  Following Chiyuki's
will, it began to hunt out more invader emplacements.  Either
crushing them under foot or blasting them, Chiyuki cleaned their
proverbial clocks.
     But before he could finish off the last entrenched
emplacement, a mage within launched a fireball at the Condor,
knocking it from the sky.
     "ANN!!!" yelled Chiyuki, sending the Griffon into a gallop
towards the crash site of the Condor.
     Ann, herself, launched with little problem from the forge. 
The air was her's and she was gonna keep it.  Banking to the
right, Ann flew directly into the midst of the airborne part of
the attackers.  Opening up with the wing mounted gatling guns,
Ann left a trail of blood, lead, and falling bodies through the
sky.  Banking around again, she came face to face with her first
real challenge:a dragon.
     While not overly large, about 40' from nose to tail and
wingspan roughly twice that, the dragon knew it had to defeat the
air menace from Metallicana in order to please it's master. 
Winging over, he soon fell into the six position on the Condor. 
The dragon knew it was dealing with something where flight was
relatively new to it.  Getting his internal billows going, the
dragon sent a breath of flame up the Condor's would be tailpipe.
     Ann could tell she was in the fight of her life.  Here she
was, a newbie at flying, trying to take on a master of the air. 
Ann pulled all the moves that Jazz had coached her on and a few
he didn't.  Nothing seemed to shake her pursuer.  Heading into
cloud bank, Ann cut her engines, pulled the yoke back hard, and
opened the engines up again on full burn.  Winging over, she flew
out of the cloud mass directly at the dragon.  Flipping a
multitude of switches, the Condor's wing gatling guns, underbelly
mortars, and mouth flamer opened up on the dragon.
     The dragon knew it was in trouble when the Condor reversed
motion in the cloud, heading directly at it.  The first leaded
bullets bounced of his chest armor, but his wings were perforated
easily enough.  The one mortar shell hit the dragon full in the
head, knocking it loopy.  The dragon felt each mortar round as
they cracked and pitted it's hide.  The flame attack blinded the
dragon.  With it's wings useless and being blinded, the dragon
fell earthward, hitting head first with a sickening crunch.
     Ann offered up a small blessing on it's soul before heading
back towards Metallicana.  Getting back within sight, Nobemaza
called for assistance as he tried to extinguish the fires the
orcs started.
     Seeing Nobemaza finish up, Ann started to wing over as a
fireball hit her right wing, disabling the flight motors therein. 
Sirens squeeled inside her cockpit as she fought to bring the
Condor down gently.  At the last moment before impact, Ann
brought the nose of the Condor up.  A short time later, the
Condor came to a rest after plowing up close to 200' of turf. 
The Condor stopped abruptly, pitching Ann into the console in
front of her and knocking her unconscious.

     Crodyn and Felicia fought their way into the main hallway of
Metallicana.  Climbing over piles of rubble, the pair advanced
further along the hall, following the directions Jazz had given
them.  Descending a stairwell, Crodyn and Felicia came to the
main library door.
     Speaking the special command phrase, Crodyn and Felciia
hurried inside as the door slowly slid open.  Closing it, Crodyn
grabbed a glow before advancing further into the library.
     Following the painted line, Felicia managed to stop Crodyn
before he ran into the brickwall. "Fel-chan, why did you stop
me?"
     "You were about to smack into that wall." said Felicia at
being questioned.
     "Sorry. Jazz mentioned the wall is actually a secret door."
     "Okay." replied Felicia, putting her hands against the wall
directly above the painted line.
     Doing the same, Crodyn watched as the wall gave way to
reveal a dark enshrouded hallway. Grabbing Felicia's hand, both
headed down the short hallway to a considerably larger cavern.
     "Now what?" asked Crodyn.
     "We follow the line down the stairs." said Felicia, pointing
towards the line that seemed to disappear in the dark down the
stairwell.
     "We've got to hurry." stated Crodyn, grabbing Felicia's hand
once again.  Racing down the stairs at full tilt, the young
lovers skidded to a stop before a huge steel door.
     "So, how do we open this door?" asked Felicia, looking
mildly impressed at the size of the door.
     "Look for a plaque and a set of divots.  Jazz said those
would be the key." replied Crodyn, holding the glow up to the
door.  After a few seconds, he found the plaque.
     Reading the inscription, Felicia asked "What does it mean?"
     "See the two sets of divots?  Put your hands in the ones in
front of you and I'll put mine in these." replied Crodyn,
pointing to the two sets of hand shaped divots.
     As their hands made contact with the door, a flash lit up
the room temporarily, blinding both occupants.  As the spots
cleared from their vision, both saw the door had retreated. "That
was unique." quipped Crodyn.
     Now it was Felicia's turn to grab Crodyn's hand. "Come on,
hurry.  We don't have much time."
     Crodyn briefly gazed in wonder at the metallic hallway the
two young adults ran down.  Felicia saw a light at the end of the
tunnel and figured that is were they had to go.
     Suddenly the hallway ended out into a cavern that dwarfed
anything the two warriors had seen before.  Along the walls,
banks of lights glowed dimly.
     "What is this place?" asked Crodyn.
     "I...I don't know. Go up the stairs?" suggested Felicia,
pointing towards a slightly lit stairway.
     "Sure" said Crodyn, approaching the stairway hesitantly. 
You would approach it hesitantly too if you saw the condition.
Rickety does not begin to describe the staircase.  Built from
scraps of metal and wood, it extended beyond the feeble glow of
the portable glow.
     With several cautious steps, the duo wound their way up the
stairwell.  Felicia stopped more than once to get their bearings. 
After the third stop, the glow's light didn't touch the floor. 
She also noticed that whatever the stair was built against, it
was definitely shiny and metallic, at least what they could see.
A large portion of it was buried under rock and rubble.
     Reaching the top of the staircase-from-hell(tm), the two
adventurers eased their way down the gangway towards an open
portal at the other end.  Not seeing any other recourse, Crodyn
climbed through the portal.
     Felicia ran into the back of Crodyn who had stopped
suddenly.  "What is it?" she asked, slightly perturbed.  Her eyes
told her all the information all she needed to know.
     Arranged nearly on top of each other, two cockpits could be
seen.  The highest one seemed to be mainly comprised of two wrap
around, multi-layered keyboards with an opening in the exact
middle in the front and an arching metal spire in the middle in
the back.
     The other cockpit had a variety of controls situated around
the command chair.  Next to the chair, a strange like headpiece
rested on a holster.  Similar to the outside of the mecha they
were in, both cockpits were done up in golden tones.
     Felicia and Crodyn felt a sudden urge to sit the cockpits,
Crodyn in the lower one, Felicia in the upper one.  As both sat
down, the control panels before the two sprang to life.
     "YYYIIIIEEEE!!" said Crodyn loudly, resisting the urge to
get up from the chair.
     Felicia's reaction was very much similar though considerably
more quiet.  "It was as if they were expecting us." she mumbled,
looking at the instrument around her.
     "Yeah. So, what do we do now?" asked Crodyn, arching his
neck to look at his beloved.
     "Try to launch would probably be the best." replied Felicia,
half consciously.  Half consciously because the other half was
suddenly reliving/receiving/relearning vital information about
where they were, as if they had been buried in her subconscious.
     Crodyn was under going a similar process in the command
chair he sat in.  Reaching forward with both hands to grip the
main control yoke, Crodyn followed a hunch and pressed matching
green buttons on the grips with his thumbs.
     The giant structure began to vibrate as the enormous power
system came to full power.  Felicia watched in rapt fascination
as the panels around her lit up to full brightness.
     Crodyn reached over, grabbing the headgear.  Slipping off
his helmet with his right hand, he stuck the headgear on with a
deft motion of his left hand.  Reacting to his thoughts, the
giant sized visor viewer shifted left and right slowly.
     "Oh my..." started Crodyn.
     "What is it?" asked Felicia, feeling the cockpit area move.
     "Looks like Jazz wasn't kidding when he said that this would
turn the tide of battle."
     "The battle??!!!??  We have to launch now." said Felicia
urgently, hoping the Metallicana forces hadn't lost yet.
     "Aye.  Golden Knight going for launch!!!" yelled Crodyn,
drawing the yoke towards himself while throwing a variety of
switches and pushing a few buttons almost on instinct.
     The Golden Knight shuddered suddenly as the stairwell
leading up the cockpit broke away.  The rubble around the lower
portion of the metal monster began to shift.

<Spaceships in the Dark:Project A-Ko soundtrack>

     Up in the battle field, an orc captain was trying to busily
re-organize his forces for one last ditch attempt to take
Metallicana.  The pesky human with the power armor had already
been eliminated.  However, the artillery systems inside
Metallicana were still giving him problems.
     Suddenly the ground beneath the captain began to shake
uncontrollably.  Before he could get another command out, a giant
razor sharp hand and fingers poked through the ground, cleaving
him in half.  The rest of the invasion forced watched in terror
as a giant, golden armored knight clawed it's way up through the
ground.
     Inside the cockpit, Crodyn whooped loudly as he brought the
foot of the Knight down repeated on the invasionary force.
Felicia serenely smiled as she brought all the systems up to full
power and readied all guns.
     Seeing a conglomerate of giants, armed with trees, rocks,
and oversized weapons, heading their direction, Crodyn asked
"Felicia, is there anything we can use?"
     "Crodyn, I am routing power to the thing labeled BMFG-9000,
whatever that is.  It will be ready to fire in five seconds."
     "Check." replied Crodyn, initiating the Golden Knight with a
set of mental orders that brought the Golden Knight's main gun to
bear at the approaching enemy.  Crodyn still couldn't figure out
how he was able to operate, let alone understand, the mechanical
monstrosity both he and Felicia co-piloted.
     Shrugging, he returned full attention to the giants.  Taking
a deep breath, Crodyn yelled "FIRE!!!!!" while triggering the
appropriate toggle switch on both control yokes.
     The Golden Knight rocked backwards as the long barrel spat a
cone of energy directly at the giants, obliterating them and the
legion of orcs and two legions of trolls behind them.
     "M.A.S.K. to unknown mecha.  Friendly or foe?" erupted the
sound system to Crodyn's left.
     Reaching instinctfully for the transmitter, Crodyn replied
"Nobemaza, that you?  This is Crodyn.  Where are you?"
     "Just wait." replied Nobemaza.
     Felicia suddenly gasped in amazement as a giant metal giant
lumbered through the smoke from the Golden Knight's blast.
"Nobemaza, that you in that metal giant?" asked Crodyn, regaining
control of his jaw after initially seeing the metal behemoth.
     "Yes.  Now should we show these guys what it means to invade
out city?" radioed Nobemaza back.
     "Yes.  Let's get dangerous." replied Crodyn, copying
something Jazz had said a while ago.

     Five minutes prior, Ann clawed herself back into being
conscious.  That and having the communication system going off
quite loudly would wake just about anyone.
     "Ann, are you alright??  Speak to us." radioed Nobemaza.
     Grabbing the broadcast mike, Ann replied weakly "Yeah...I'm
hurting though."
     "Okay...  Can you lift off?" radioed back Nobemaza, relief
more than apparent in his voice.
     "Let me check." broadcast Ann, turning her full attention to
her cockpit controls.  Throwing the power up switches once again,
Ann heard the now familiar sounds of her turbines and generators
coming online.
     "Golden Condor will be ready for flight in thirty seconds."
she said over the channel.
     "Good.  We need to form a new strategy." replied Chiyuki,
galloping in to stand over the Condor.  Opening up with his guns,
the Griffon kept all invaders away from the Condor.
     "Chiyuki, Ann, I have an idea."
     "What is i...no, you can't mean...we haven't tested it..."
radioed Ann.
     "It's the only way.  We are spread out way too thin to be
effective." radioed Nobemaza.
     "Well, what else do we have to loose?  If it fails, we won't
be any worse off than we were before.  I say we go for it."
radioed Chiyuki.
     "What the hell.  Let's do it." radioed Ann in agreement.
     "Okay.  Ann, as soon as you are airborne, we start the
process." radioed Nobemaza.
     Pulling back on her command yoke, Ann guided the Golden
Condor back into the sky.  "Condor is airborne once more." she
radioed.
     "Throw the levers!!!!" radioed Nobemaza excitedly.
     In each of the "Mounts", the each M.A.S.K. member threw the
lever specially installed for this occasion.

     <MMPR theme: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers>

     The front and rear legs rotated to fold in flush with the
body of the Iron Griffon.  The area of the Griffon from the
shoulders on back rotated ninety degrees to point the tail up in
the air.  As a finishing touch, the entire body split into two
equal halves, right down the center.
     The Iron Rhino rumbled towards the waiting Griffon halves,
jumpjetting from the ground at the last moment.  The landed
perpendicular with the ground, it's rear facing cyclinders firmly
planted with the halves of the Griffon.  The wheels pulled into
the body as flattened slightly.  The top two cylinders extended
out to be parallel with the ground and perpendicular with the
upended "Mount".
     As the final touch, the Golden Condor winged over and
settled onto the top of the mechanical conglomeration. The front
head section rotated down to reveal a highly stylized helmet. The
wings folded into the back, to be ready for flight at a moment's
notice.  Not to be left behind, the landing pods for the Condor
extended out to reveal hands and crude forearms.
     Ann, Chiyuki, and Nobemaza came to rest in the chest of the
mechanical giant. As one they shouted "Go, M.A.S.K. force."
     The battle in the meantime had stopped temporarily to watch
the Mythizord being formed.  As soon as it was over, the fighting
began again in earnest.
     Deploying to where help was needed the most, the M.A.S.K.
squad stopped many of the invasion teams. Suddenly a huge energy
spike showed up on their scanners as a flash of white light
drowned out all other colors.
     Turning to face the source of the blast, Nobemaza caught the
glint of metal, rather tall metal. "M.A.S.K. to unknown mecha.
Friend of Foe?"

     Shortly thereafter, the invading army found itself under the
attention of two mechanical knights, nothing of which brute
strength, magic spells, and thrown weapons were shielded against. 
A cry went up from in the city as the last of the invaders were
either killed or sent packing.

     The M.A.S.K team opted to remain in the Mythizord form as
they climbed down from their ride to have a meeting with Crodyn
and the other war leaders.
     Meeting in Jazz's forge, Nobemaza looked at the table. The
M.A.S.K. squad was present.  Crodyn and Felicia were present.
Talon, Ironroot, Kawahi represented the craftsmen, and Bonjovinia
Jr. and Kraretha represented the soldiers.
     "Gentlemen, we fought and won a grave battle today.  But our
mission is far from over." said Nobemaza solemnly.
     "True.  We must rescue Jazz, Geo, Tia, and Luche." said
Crodyn.
     "And how do you propose to do that?  We lost a lot of good
people today.  We won't have enough forces left to both retrieve
the kidnaped and defend Metallicana." spoke up Karetha.
     "I know.  But we must try." said Chiyuki.
     "I can not allow this operation." said Ironroot.
     "Nobemaza, I must side with Master Ironroot.  While it is
necessary to get those who have been captured, we just don't have
the manpower necessary to pull it off."
     "We do.  If we go in with both armored Knights, we can get
them out with little problem." said Chiyuki, speaking up.
     "No feasible.  We would need at least one here to serve as a
deterrant for any remaining invaders." said Kawahi.
     "I will help defend Metallicana." said a weak voice from the
door to Jazz's forge.
     "As will I." replied another weak voice.
     "And I." said a voice, full of royalty.
     "Arshes, Gara, you should be in bed, resting.  Sheila, you
should know they aren't strong enough." said Ann.
     "Both teams need to go...in full force...it's the only way
you...will get them back..." replied Arshes, gasping after each
small phrase.
     "She's right.  We will defend the city.  Go after him and
the others." said Gara, leaning heavily on his crutch.
     "And I will help suppliment their magic." said Sheila.
     "Right.  We'll only take about half the soldiers with us.
They won't expect a direct attack so soon after a defeat here."
said Nobemaza.
     "Okay. You can go, but be sure you get back here as soon as
you can." said Talon resignedly.
     "Right. Here's a plan I have.  Crodyn, I want you in the
Golden Knight to..." started Nobemaza. The next two hours were
spent formulating and perfecting a battle plan with alternates
planned as extra measures for safety. 

     The next morning, both mecha knights started sauntering off
towards Karlos' Keep, 200 soldiers marching in time with them.
     At nightfall, camp was made with sentries posted newly after
every three hours.  The M.A.S.K. squad, Crodyn, and Felicia
finalized their attack strategies for the next day.
     Just before dawn, the Metallicana force hit and ran over the
first line of defense of Karlos' Keep.  At this point, both metal
Knight broke into a dead run towards the Karlos' castle.
     As both figures cleared the crest of the nearest hill, a
blast of energy erupted from a castle wall, blowing a large hole
in the wall and the hill that happened to get in the way.
     Examining a small figure at the mouth of the hole, Crodyn
ordered full attack mode. Using the PA system of the Golden
Knight, he also notified the approaching Metallicana troops.