HomeEpisode 3 - Enter the Fire Phoenix
We start with another SHEPG meeting, this time in a hangar and with Burton replaced by Luke, a youngish-looking kid in Timmy shorts (watch a Gamera movie and you'll know what I mean). They're looking over a brand new Zoid, which has been tied down by cables-it's a large birdything with even larger cannons, the Buster Eagle. Sandra tells Blake they spared no expense in bringing it here for him to use and she'd better see some results-he assures her he'll get them. The Eagle's none too happy about being tied down, and starts thrashing around until Luke shocks it, commenting that it's like it has a mind of its own. Blake says he likes a challenge and that the BE is just what he needs to take down RD as Luke continues zapping the Eagle...
Title screen, and back to Mach Storm's base. They're all watching TV, where one Doctor Wolfgang Pierce is on TV explaining the concept of Zoids Fuzors for people who don't get it-it's the complex integration of the systems of two Zoids. All Zoids have the potential to combine, but he doesn't know which yet. Everybody in the base perks up at this, seeing the obvious plot potential and impact on battles this will have...except for RD, who's busy sulking. Sweet asks him if he's okay, he claims to have just been thinking.
Before she can poke him further, an overly hyper Dan bounces in, raving about the news broadcast. Helmut tries to bring things back on track, asking him if he found out anything about the Changing Armor System (not conversion, see? CHANGING). He says of course, and dashes off to the hangar to show them readouts on the three armors, leading to people claiming this is proof Fuzors is a sequel to /Zero, ignoring that the descriptions are more what a battle story person would say (even if they're in /Zero order and steal its animation models-way to mess with heads, eh?). He also says that they only change external stuff and they don't do anything else-in other words, they're no help in terms of unraveling the Fuzors mystery. Still, all they have to do is figure out what is the match for the Zero. Everyone else starts asking what else Dan could find out for them.
But RD is zoning out again, and this time Helmut asks him what's wrong. RD says he doesn't like the Fuzors idea-if the Liger isn't broke, he protests, why try to fix it? They're fine as they are, and he and the Liger don't need anyone else. Dan yells after him to think of the possibilities as he roams off to sulk, the others wondering what's wrong.
RD's sitting around and moping on a park bench, wondering why everyone wants to change things. And then he freezes as someone jabs something into his back, ordering him not to move, let's see your hands, and don't try anything funny...it's Ciao, threatening him with the dreaded banana gun to the back trick and telling him to relax. Deed tosses him an apple, which he just stares at, insisting that nothing's bothering him. They refuse to give up, Ciao plopping down next to him on the bench in an attempt to cheer him up. She can tell what's bothering him-the whole Fuzors thing, and wonders why he doesn't like the idea. He says it's not so much that, it's that ever since he got the Liger they've had their own way of doing things, which he doesn't want to just abandon for a fad. If he can't beat them, then he'll join them.
Ciao says she gets what he's saying: that if he combines with something else, he'll lose control of his own destiny, and he agrees. Deed says that's just an excuse, and RD's afraid of the unknown and that anything that helps you out is a good thing. Ciao scolds him as he walks off without helping her carry the food, cheering RD up a bit...
...at least until he gets back to the base, where he goes back to sulking on the couch. Sweet starts poking him, telling him to quit the silent tough guy thing, and that maybe the Fuzors thing would be good for him and the Liger...and to stop being so serious! She laughs and RD blinks, as the others walk in, inviting Mister Sulky on a mission. A guy's called them, saying there's a bunch of wild Unenlagia causing trouble in his village, and they need to go round them up. RD perks up at the idea of getting to do something useful, and they set off.
Out in the desert, Helmut's in charge, laying out their plan. RD and Helmut will herd the Unenlagia back to Sigma, who's armed with electromagnetic net guns-no crazy stunts, Sweet reminds RD, and the three Zoids head away from Sweet's Gustav with RD promising he'll try not to hit her-she comments that she's doomed.
Off in the rocks, a Berserk...Fury roars ominously, Blake watching the goings on and laughing evilly...
Eyecatch music (despite lack of eyecatch), and we cut back to our intrepid Zoid herders. The Command Wolf uses War Cry, causing the Unenlagia to be scared and not attack...er, the Command Wolf roars, three Unenlagia backing right into Sigma's sights. They go down in the electromagnetic nets, wiggling their little feet in the air while model buffs wonder why the heck they're purple. RD suddenly yells a heads up-he's got a whole pack of the little buggers running ahead of him, the Liger Zero bouncing at their heels like a feline sheepdog. Sigma isn't too happy about the lack of warning but nets them all, and RD bounds off to catch his next batch.
Bounce, bounce, bounce through the desert goes the Sheepliger, followed by an ominous glint in the sky-Luke's Buster Eagle. The Liger stops, radar going off, and RD tells the Liger to jump just in time as weapons fire explodes behind it. It's Blake, the BF hovering...er, standing (bad animators!) on a hill. RD tells him he doesn't have time for this, but Blake says it's time to finish what they started and charges, shooting. RD goes for the fight option this time, not having a cargo carrier stuck to his back to protect, and charges with SLC blazing...straight into a shield.
He seems to do that a lot.
The Unenlagia RD were chasing have somehow made their way back to Sigma and Helmut, the former complaining that yeah, they got all the Unenlagia, but now they have to go and find RD. Helmut can tell something's up, though, his Command Wolf perking up and staring into the distance. He think he's heard something, and goes to check it out, leaving Sigma with the Unenlagia.
Back at the fight, Blake gloats, the Liger again charging and the two Zoids going down in a surprisingly-cool-for-early-Fuzors mess of claws and blades which ends when the BF backhands the Zero across the face with one of its eggbeaters. Their next charge is broken off by a warning shot-it's Deed and Ciao with their Gorhecks and Aro Saurer, telling them both to stand down as battles are forbidden in this area. Blake doesn't think much of this, telling them to butt out and punctuating the order with a shot from Buster Eagle, which blows away both PKB Zoids in a single shot.
RD stares in disbelief as the Eagle flies down, fusing with the BF. The newly-fused Buster...Fury opens fire on the Zero...
Helmut's CW gallops along as Tilly's eyes bleed from its early run cycle-he can feel vibrations in the ground now, and knows there's trouble now for sure. A swooosh sound effect overhead catches his attention, as a strange red and yellow bird Zoid flies past.
The Zero's on the run now, Blake and the BE chasing him with heavy cannon fire. RD is apparently planning to lure Blake somewhere, but then abandons this to try and get behind the BuF (I can't well call the Buster Fury BF too) and gets a tailwhip for his troubles, followed by a cannon shot at point blank that sends the Zero tumbling end over end. It struggles to stand, one hindleg twisted and sparking, as the BuF charges its CPC...and is knocked off its shot by a shockwave, the strange bird Helmut saw barreling past it with a screech.
The fight music-what we'll later know as Enemy of Life, the Japanese intro theme-starts up, RD staring at the bird Zoid in disbelief.
(The Japanese version, in addition to fixing the shot of the BuF firing, has a different version of Enemy of Life, presumably because by then the actual song was finished and they could use the proper instrumental, much as /Zero does with No Future.)
Luke can't find any data on the bird, but the Liger Zero roars weakly up to it, RD telling it they have to figure out what the bird is. The screen blinks, telling RD Fire Phoenix and the Liger Zero are a Fuzor combination. RD thinks it's freaky, and the Phoenix seems to think so too, as it's not doing any fusing-rather, it settles for shockwave-ramming the BuF again, as Blake yells at Luke to find data already. Luke tells him that's not gonna happen-the Buster Eagle's shorting out, and his control panel's doing that happy explodeysparky thing Star Trek ones are so fond of. Blake asks him if they can still fly and Luke says yeah, but that's about it. The BuF hightails it out of there, Blake telling RD that if he thinks things are over, he's in for a rude awakening.
The villains gone, Fire Phoenix flies around as if studying RD and the Liger. He watches it too, amazed, thinking there just might be something to the whole Fuzors thing after all. It screeches and flies low, RD wondering if it's trying to tell them something. The Phoenix's response is to smack the Liger upside the head, screeching again and flying off for good.
"Maybe not," RD says, popping the downed Liger's cockpit open and staring after the Phoenix anyway. Helmut shows up in the CW, telling RD he's got some explaining to do. Explain he does, in a fanboyish manner, going on about the Fire Phoenix as Helmut asks him if he's all right...
"I'll see you again, Fire Phoenix..."
Previously: 1 + 1 = ?
Next up: Fuzors Combine! Liger Zero Phoenix
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