- Episode 9: The Valley of the Monster
Characters: Van, Fiona, Irvine, Moonbay
Zoids: Zeke, Shield Liger, Command Wolf IT, Gustav, Molga
A misunderstanding has caused the Imperial Army to attack our main team. Piloting all Republican Zoids, it's difficult for them to explain that they're just passing through, and so they make the choice to try to fight. After the Zoids begin to act strange, and the gun sights appear to be out of alignment, the Imperial army retreats.
In a near by canyon, the group attempts to pilot their Zoids, and they rapidly begin to malfunction. After Irvine instructs the group to initialize a Pulse Guard, he explains that a Rarehertz has struck the valley, and that the pulse inflicts Zoids to make them malfunction. He also explains that Zoids affected are often driven to become violent.
Zeke loses control as the Rarehertz Pulse becomes more powerful, and eventually loses his mind and merges to the Shield Liger. In a fit of rage, he fires at the Command Wolf and runs away from the group. Van begs Irvine for his Zoid to go after Zeke, but he refuses, telling Van that he'd have to fight him for his Zoid. To avoid a fight, Van leaves on his own, to track Zeke on foot. The Shield Liger watches his progress slowly, but frequently departs whenever he gets near.
Upon the first close encounter, Zeke merges back to the Shield Liger and attempts to crush Van beneath the Liger's paw. The moment of hesitation reminds him who his master once was, and in confusion, he turns to flee the group again, only to have the Shield Liger burried under the collapsed canyon that was shot down by Irvine. Without any other choice, Zeke defuses from the Liger and Van follows him on the hover board.
At the end of the line Zeke finds himself unable to go any further. A cliff blocks his only exit path, and when Van attempts to regain control of his Zoid, he's struck twice by the massive metal tail of his Organoid. His determination backs Zeke over the edge, and without hesitation, Van dives to grab onto the Organoid to hold him up. The weight of the metal creature drags him over the edge, and when Zeke realizes that Van is willing to die to save his life, he returns to his normal self.
Comments: This scene was removed because of blood (almost every instance of blood is removed from the show. Almost.) but the symbolism was really sweet, and I was sad to see it go.
- Screenshots
