ZOIDS ASTRAY ACT 003

 ACT 003: EXT. CAMPSITE – NIGHT

The fire crackles, casting a golden glow across the clearing. The team sits on logs and crates, the smell of charred fish wafting in the air. Paige eyes her portion of food with hesitation.

PAIGE (sniffing, then poking it)
This was alive… not long ago.

DANNY (mouth full)
Still is… in my heart. That’s the taste of victory.

PAIGE (quietly, but intrigued)
It smells… nice. Like... not-bad nice.

NEKU
Give it a try. You’ll know soon enough if you like it.

Paige takes a small bite. Her eyes widen. She chews, then swallows with visible delight.

PAIGE
Oh! That’s... amazing.
(beat)

Can we eat other things too? Like the fluffy ones? Or the fast ones?

DANNY
Oh no— she’s caught the hunger.

NEKU
It begins.

NYSSA (amused, sipping from her canteen)
You want to hear about a fluffy one we don’t eat?

Paige perks up, nodding eagerly. Nyssa leans back, her voice softer, more relaxed than usual.

NYSSA (CONT’D)
There’s a herd of wild cows that roam near the Northern Valley. Probably the last real herd out there. Been roaming for generations. They were livestock once, brought down from the sky. But not anymore, they’re part of a reservation and get looked after.

DANNY
They got adopted.

PAIGE
By people?

NYSSA
By a Zoid. A Dibison named Tor. Massive old beast. Been with the herd since before I was born. An old battle Zoid returned to the wild. He protects them—keeps bandits and predators away.

DANNY
Some say he thinks he’s one of them. Moves slow, grazes with 'em. But gods help anyone who tries to harm that herd.

PAIGE
He sounds... kind.

NYSSA
He is. A kind mountain with cannons.

They laugh gently, the conversation bouncing around them. Danny starts to yawn, curling onto his side with a smile as Nyssa continues, telling stories of Tor getting stuck in a river and charging headlong into a poacher’s buggy like a freight train.

His eyes grow heavy, the laughter around him dimming as he drifts off—still smiling.

Nyssa stands, pulling a folded blanket from a crate. She walks over and gently drapes it over Danny’s small form, tucking it around his shoulders. She places a hand on his back for a moment.

The protector of her herd.

Across the fire, Paige slowly begins to shuffle closer to Neku, hesitant but drawn in by the warmth. Neku offers a soft smile, unsure.

To her surprise, Paige leans against her—then slowly rests her head in Neku’s lap.

NEKU
Oh… I—

She stops, startled but not pulling away. She looks down at the girl nestled against her legs. With a single finger, she gently brushes a stray lock of hair from Paige’s face. A soft smile creeps in, surrounded by quiet contentment as she watches the girl breathe peacefully.

Across the fire, Nyssa watches. Her expression unreadable at first… then it hardens. Stern. Concerned. Protective.

The fire crackles. Somewhere far off, a Zoid’s engine pulses once in the dark. The night holds them all, still and quiet.

FADE OUT.

EXT. LAKEFRONT – DAWN

The rising sun ignites the lake, burning orange and red across the water. Mist coils over the surface. Camouflaged Zoids sleep under tarp cover nearby. The forest is hushed.

Neku sits by the low fire, sipping from a tin mug. Paige lies curled beside her, sleeping with her head on Neku’s lap. Across the flames, Nyssa keeps watch, arms crossed.

Danny walks over, still bleary-eyed, rubbing his face. He stretches with a yawn—

SPLASH.

A ripple.

Then another.

Then—a shape breaching the surface.

DANNY (blinking, confused)
Wait... what the hell? That’s a Barigator. What’s it doing this far inland?

He squints, stepping closer to the water’s edge—

A MASSIVE ASTRAY BARIGATOR EXPLODES FROM THE LAKE.

Its body is stone-grey, as if fossilized. Deep green glow leaks through the cracks in its armour, its cockpit fused shut, glass like melted rock. Its roar is corrupted, sharp and mechanical, full of pain and fury.

DANNY (shocked, Shouts)
Astray!

Paige jolts awake, terrified.

Neku is already moving.

NEKU (snaps)
DANNY—Heads up!

She grabs Paige and hurls her across the fire pit.

Danny catches her with a shocked grunt, stumbling back as she clutches him, eyes wide with fear.

NEKU
Get her clear!

Danny’s stunned confusion burns away instantly as instinct kicks in. He backs up, shielding Paige, eyes locked on the monster.

Nyssa deactivates the camo tarp, Neku jumps up towards Aqua Foxes cockpit.

EXT. LAKESHORE – EARLY MORNING

The rising sun paints the water in streaks of orange and red. The eerie green glow of the Astray Barigator pulses like a wound in the landscape.

INT. AQUA FOX – COCKPIT

Neku drops into her seat, already strapping in as the Aqua Fox stirs to life.

NEKU
Lets go, Aqua.

The Zoid surges forward, instinct and training taking over.

EXT. CAMPSITE

The Dark Horn stomps between the threat and the campfire, towering like a living shield.

NYSSA (over comms)
Get in cover, you two!

With a WHUMP, four stabilizing bolts slam into the ground from the Dark Horn’s legs, anchoring her in place.

NYSSA
Line it up… I’ll take the shot—

NEKU (over comms)
On it!

EXT. LAKESHORE – WATERLINE

The Aqua Fox hits the water, sending up a wall of spray. Its mods engage:

Vents seal shut.
Lateral wings snap out..
A large tail-fin unfolds, stabilizing.

The Barigator twists violently, glowing cracks running down its stone-coloured hide. It snaps its massive jaws, surging toward Neku.

INT. AQUA FOX – COCKPIT

Neku grips the controls, her eyes steady.

NEKU (to herself)
Come on… dance with me.

EXT. WATER – CONTINUOUS

The Aqua Fox sidesteps the lunge, barely missing the crushing jaws. On the next pass, Neku deploys the Aqua Foxes wrist blade—a sleek edge gleaming.

The Barigator lunges again.

This time, Neku doesn’t dodge—she charges. The blade slashes in an upward arc, severing the upper jaw clean off just beneath the cockpit.

The Barigator reels, thrashing violently, its body rolling onto its back in the shallow water.

NYSSA (over comms)
Clear!

INT. DARK HORN – COCKPIT

Nyssa’s expression is stone as she fires.

EXT. SHORELINE

The rail cannon unleashes with a sound that sucks the breath out of the air. The Aqua Fox leaps backward just in time.

Impact.

The bolt punches through the Barigator’s exposed underbelly—right below the fused cockpit.

For a second, everything holds still… then the Zoid detonates.

Metal erupts into the sky. Its chest collapses inward, core obliterated. The green light vanishes—not flickering, not fading—just gone.

Silence.

The Zoid crashes back into the water. Motionless. Lifeless.

The Aqua Fox watches from the surf.

Dead.

AFTERMATH – QUIET RETURNS

Steam hisses from the corpse as water laps against it. The morning mist swirls in the silence.

Danny still holds Paige, trembling slightly, staring at the fallen Zoid.

NYSSA (furious, approaching fast)
You just stood there! Gawping!

DANNY (quiet, still processing)
I—I didn’t think it’d be this far inland…

NYSSA
Exactly! You didn’t think! You froze. You’re lucky you’re not dead, we’re all not dead!

DANNY
I—I’m sorry—

NYSSA
Sorry doesn’t stop a goddamn Astray!

Her fists clench at her sides. Shame mixed with fury.

NEKU (stepping in, firm)
Nyssa, That’s enough.

Nyssa glares—but backs off.

PAIGE (quietly, shaken)
What… was wrong with it?

NEKU (soft)
That was an Astray. A Zoid infected by the virus.

PAIGE
It looked alive…

NEKU
It wasn’t. The virus kills the Zoid—locks the cockpit, overrides the Core. The body’s just… moving metal. It spreads by contact.

PAIGE (softly)
That’s awful.

They look out across the lake. The stone-plated corpse silent and still.

Beat.

Aqua Fox and Darkhorn march away through the mist.