Prequel: [Part Two] Resistance on the Snow
Source Page. Translations courtesy of Falcarius!
...5 years ago, as Yard was returning from delivering food supplies to a Republic army transfer station, he was suddenly engulfed in a thick fog inside a forest, his radar stopped working, and he lost sight of even his own location.
Within that white darkness, he spotted something shining faintly. When he moved closer, what stood there were two stooping Zoids he had never seen before.
They were combat Zoids that had already been given weaponry, but they had no fuselage marks.
He slightly regretted having approached carelessly, but for some reason he didn't feel he would be attacked.
Before long, the two machines moved towards him, and just as if they were bowing, slowly lowered their heads and opened their cockpits.
Inside them were children... a girl and a boy were sleeping in the two machines. They were Tis and Ki, and this was his meeting with Foxy and Lukexy.
For a soldier, it would be natural to report this to one's force, but Yard didn't feel like reporting this incident.
He had a hunch that if he reported it, these children would be caught up in the fires of war.
That was Yard's intuition, having seen this thing called war for a long time.
Yard decided at that moment. He would think of these children as a blessing from the gods, and would bring them up as his own....
[Part Two]
A fortnight had passed since then when late one night, a sleeping Tis jumped to her feet.
"Brother, enemies are coming again! And it seems like this time, there's more than before!"
"Got it, Tis!"
Ki pressed the button on the alarm device. A siren sounded out for the first time in the small village.
"What is it?"
Yard rushed in, confused.
"Sir, the Empire army is coming.... Get everyone in the village to evacuate!"
Ki stared at Yard with serious eyes.
"...Okay, understood!"
Answering loudly, Yard rushed out of the room.
Suddenly, they heard something roar from the silent forest, and at the same time, a pale flash came in from outside the window and the noise of a huge explosion roared.
It was an invasion by Byan's force, which had added a Sabretiger force under his command.
"Last time I got beaten, but that's not about to happen this time. I'll make you pay back what you owe me. Sabre team, commence the attack, and bring out those fox cubs!"
Byan ordered in a high-strung voice.
The pair climbed into the Foxes amidst a storm of approaching bombardment, and prepared to intercept them.
"I wonder if the villagers managed to evacuate safely?"
"I'm sure they're fine, I spotted the Zoid Mammoth running in the direction of the village."
"Beyond this is our village, we won't let you get past us!"
The pair stepped forward while quickly taking evasive actions.
They were uneasy under the desperate circumstances, but then a Command Wolf appeared from the side like a gust of wind, and sank its teeth into the back of a Sabretiger's neck.
Sparks scattered from the Sabretiger's neck.
"A-are those the Republic army's Trap Commandos...!?"
[Part Three]
"We spotted the flames of war, so we hurried over to join in. I don't know the reason, but you people have the Empire army for an enemy just like us. We shall assist you!"
It was the Trap Commandos, with the Command Wolf piloted by their leader Zappa at the head.
"Damn, we've got interference! No matter, crush them all at once!"
Along with Byan's command, the 2-Barrelled Beam Guns equipped on the backs of the Sabretigers fired.
One of the Trap Commandos was destroyed by the beams.
Despite moving at a speed and distance where beams wouldn't usually hit it, it was shot 5 or 6 times.
"The enemy machines are being supported by the Dimetrodon's firing control. Be careful!"
Zappa shouted.
The firepower of Byan's force with a Sabretiger force added was tremendous, and the power of both sides competed.
At that time, as the ebb and flow of attack and defence continued, a transmission came in from Yard.
"I've evacuated the people of the village safely. Tis, Ki, you okay?"
Spotting the Zoid Mammoth charging in from the direction of the village, Tis shouted as though scolding Yard.
"Sir, why did you come back!?"
"Could I abandon my own precious children - both of you, dodge left and right, open up the middle."
Foxy and Lukexy quickly jumped left and right.
At that instant, the flash of a beam ran straight between the two machines and hit a Sabretiger in front of them.
Yard volunteered himself to protect the siblings and Foxes.
[Part Four]
However, after those few seconds, there was the sound of an explosion behind them.
It was the sound of the Dimetrodon's latest weapon, a new model of guided missile, impacting against the Zoid Mammoth from above.
"It's simple to hit a slow-witted Mammoth that walks in a straight line."
Byan muttered with a self-satisfied smile.
The Zoid Mammoth was destroyed, but Yard narrowly succeeded in escaping.
"...How dare you hurt him!"
Tis glared at the Dimetrodon with sharp eyes and spread out the Wing Blades.
The Wing Blades shone while producing a beautiful note.
The sound of the super-high-frequency vibrations resounded in Tis' ears.
She accelerated in an instant, and drew near to Byan.
"Next is those blasted fox cubs! Sabre force, I'm leaving the Trap Commandos to you!"
[Part Five]
Byan aimed calmly, suppressing his feelings of anger, and accurately poured down Linear Laser Gun shots on Tis' Foxy as it plunged in headlong.
Taking shot after shot, Tis' Foxy lost its balance and collapsed due to the accumulating damage.
"D-don't, Tis! Calm down!"
"Ghh, brother...."
The Dimetrodon came nearer, and the barrels of its beam guns pointed at the unmoving Foxy.
"Ooh, now that I see it up close, it's a beautiful machine, suitable for my collection. Now where should I put holes in it to make it even prettier?"
As Ki went to help, a single Sabretiger blocked his path.
It was an ace pilot's machine with black shoulders.
It rapidly fired beams from its front. Ki's Lukexy avoided them by sliding into them with a low posture, and at the same time jumped in one movement.
Its Laser Vulcan spun with a soft, continuous whirr, and arrows of light poured down from the skies and pierced the Sabretiger's body.
These were the acrobatics of the Mirage Fox, which had high jump power and could control its posture even in midair.
With that force, Ki and Lukexy approached the Dimetrodon.
Ki determined his aim and pulled the trigger, but he was still some distance away, and the small-calibre Laser Vulcan with its short effective range could not give that much damage to the heavily armoured Dimetrodon.
"Insolent fox! I'll deal with you first!"
The Dimetrodon's missiles fired towards Lukexy.
Lukexy dodged them by a hair's breadth, but was sent flying sideways by the shockwave.
...However, with this attack, the line of fire of the Dimetrodon's laser guns moved completely away from Tis' Foxy.
"Now, Tis! Go!"
Tis' Foxy approached the Dimetrodon. At that moment, the Wing Blades gave off a dazzling light and produced a beautiful note.
Foxy mustered its last power and sliced the heavily-armoured Dimetrodon in half with its Wing Blades at maximum output, finally destroying it.
[Part Six]
"You two brave soldiers, we thank you!"
Zappa, leader of the Trap Commandos, bowed his head deeply, then led his team away.
The siblings climbed down from their Foxes and hurriedly ran over to where Yard was.
"...I'm okay now. I guess I was being reckless at my age.
But both of you are already fine adults."
"We're so glad you're safe... sir."
As the pair embraced Yard with relief, the brave expressions they had worn until recently disappeared, and they burst into tears like children.
Several days afterwards, the people of the village held a festival celebrating Tis and Ki's brave battle.
When everyone had fallen asleep, Tis and Ki got up stealthily, and each left a letter on the dining table.
They took a few photos out of the album in commemoration.
Closing the door to the house, the two loaded on their luggage, which they had gathered together in advance, and climbed into the Foxes.
"Have you turned on the switch for the silencing system?"
"...Yes, brother."
"Well then, stand up. If our transmissions get intercepted it'll be bad, so we'll cut off communications until the specified point. Keep up with me by eyesight."
"Understood..."
Tis' sobbing voice could be heard quietly.
"Don't cry. If we stay here, everyone in the village will be caught up in the fires of war. We mustn't stay here. You understand?"
"Yeah..."
Confirming Tis had answered in her almost vanishing voice, Ki cut off communications.
Tears were floating in Ki's eyes too.
Before the next morning came, the two white machines disappeared into the forest, illuminated by the slight glow of the crescent moon.
While half asleep, Yard suddenly felt something, opened his eyes and spoke.
"...Goodbye, Tis, Ki..."
Time flowed, and Yard passed away peacefully.
In a note he left in his last days, he wrote that "the two Mirage Foxes Tis and Ki drove were just like angels dancing in the sky".
It is reported that the Republic army later mass-produced the Shadow Fox based on the machines Foxy and Lukexy.
