Disclaimer: Nope, didn't own Zoids then, don't own them now.

Old Larry prattled on about the Konig Wolf he was trying to sell him. Refurbished armor. Good joints. If Rain committed to it, Larry would throw in a few free replacement stabilizers. It was a decent proposal, but still he couldn't pull the trigger on the sale. They kept walking down the warehouse aisle. They had dismissed the Raynos because another rehashed Wild Eagle storyline would be a waste of time.

Overall, Rain was underwhelmed, even as the money burned a hole in his pocket.

At the same time, he couldn't leave without a new Zoid.

The warehouse was dimly lit, deep shadows clung to metallic claws and teeth. Larry wasn't selling the newest models, but he typically had a diverse stock. And Rain needed something special.

It wasn't good enough to be a talented pilot these days. You needed a story. Preferably, a tragic back story of some kind. Who died and put you on a path of revenge? Can the audience forgive your roguish ways because you grew up in the slums of the Capitol? You had to grab the audience's attention in 30 seconds or less or be doomed to the late night battles aired between reruns and classic war reenactments.

Rain's representative, Tina, had called him this morning and told him they were dumping his current character. She already decided to dye his hair blonde and had asked him for his opinion on a new costume. Long sleeves were out, she said, everyone wanted to see biceps flex.

His boyfriend, Randy, told him to get out of the battle business. Maybe try his luck making movies. Not terrible advice. After five years, the pattern of creating a new character for himself only to dump it after a few months was tiring. At the same time, Randy was set engineer himself, designing the stages of the greatest Zoid battles of the last decade. It was nearly impossible to not be tied to Zoids in one way or another. Rain didn't have the talent for something like that, nor did he want to give up piloting Zoids.

He just needed his big break.

They were deep in the warehouse now. Larry had lit a cigar and paused to eye him. "Well?"

Rain hadn't been listening. He pursed his lips and glanced up, trying to look thoughtful. They had passed the Konig Wolf awhile ago. Larry had a glut of Raptors, probably left over from the Jurassic craze a few years ago. Not worth entertaining. Deep in the shadows, Rain spied a Liger Zero.

He snorted. "What's the deal with the naked Zero?"

Larry spun slowly and squinted into the dark; he'd forgotten about the damn thing, Rain realized. But there it was, a Liger Zero without an armor set. A second glance and Rain corrected himself, a partial armor set. Schneider, if he's remembering correctly. Very old school. The gears in his head churned.

"He's a picky son-of-a-bitch in a time when Zoids can't afford to be," Larry said with a smoky sigh.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Cockpit always reads Pilot Error no matter who gets in or what I do."

"Huh." Rain's heart beat just a bit faster.

"I mean, it's a decades old model," Larry said lazily. He wiggled his cigar at the Zoid. "Original Organoid programming as far as I can tell. I've just been stripping his armor for parts. I found a clever way to adopt the Schneider armor to a Gun Sniper..."

Rain tapped a finger on his chin.

Sometimes you got your story from your Zoid.

"Mind if I take a look?"

Larry swallowed the second half of his sentence and shrugged. "Let me know when you wanna talk about the Wolf."

Rain didn't wait for Larry to walk away to start climbing the Liger's front leg. It was such a long shot he laughed carelessly, a man caught up entertaining a childhood dream. How pissed off would Tina be if he came back with an outdated Liger Zero? Gods, the Premier League was overflowing with flashy, nearly divine models of them these days. But there was something intriguing about an old clunker.

Everyone loved an underdog tale.

He hadn't played that part yet.

Rain pressed the cockpit release and slid in. He coughed once on the dust. The corner of the seat was torn and releasing stuffing. Finger smudges coated the panels. He could make out individual prints on the front screen. Probably Larry's. Thoughts whirled through his head. He patted the money in his pocket and bit his lip. It really wasn't as dumb as it sounded. The thing about older models was that the controls lasted forever.

It probably wouldn't work anyway and there still was that Wolf.

Indulgent, he tapped the screen. He held his breath as it lit up.

The Liger let out a deep, chest rattling rumble.

Somewhere a fan whirled, struggling to push out dust. The panel sparked to life, one green light after another.

Ready to Mobilize.

A throaty chuckle rippled through Rain. It blossomed into shoulder-shaking laughter. "Son-of-a-bitch."

His story could be about a junker. A junker who finds a Zoid that no one else could pilot...no... Rain smirked as he gripped the controls to anchor himself. That was already someone's story.

"Alright, partner," he said softly. The Liger growled again. Rain shook his head in disbelief. He checked the armor status. Larry wasn't kidding when he said he had salvaged the parts. The Liger had the Schneider tail addition and the two large side blades. Rain bit the inside of his cheek.

"Well, I've always been better at close combat anyway. And that could be our thing." He patted the side panel. "We were robbed and now we fight to get our parts back. Or something to that effect."

Maybe Randy could help him flesh it out.

The giddiness wore off slightly and the awe settled in. He pressed the controls forward and the Liger took two steps out of the darkness. Smooth as butter, seamless response time. Rain shivered.

How could he not take it? It was just like the old tales: Hero finds Zoid partner in the most unlikely of places.

By the gods, he was going to put money down on a Liger Zero.

Larry came running down the warehouse, waving his arms franticly. "Woo wee, you Bit Cloud wannabe!" He slapped his thigh.

"You better get the paperwork ready, Larry." Rain's voice echoed off the metal walls.

"Fuckin' hell, I can't believe this." Larry laughed so hard he wheezed.

The Liger reared back and roared.

Author's Note: Seriously muse? I don't write Zoids for freakin YEARS and after indulging in the purchase of ONE model, I want to write Zoids again? Lol. Hi. It's been a long time.

I've turned zoid pilots into pro wrestlers and I don't feel bad about it.

Cheers-randomcat23.