ZOIDS ASTRAY ACT 007

 ACT 007: EXT. THE PLAINS

Danny slides down a steep bank, dust kicking up around him. He stumbles, but keeps balance with one arm out, the other gripping binoculars.

DANNY
That’s... a lot.

Nyssa stands by the Darkhorn, arms folded.

NYSSA
What’s the situation?

DANNY (dusting himself off)
Astrays. Hundreds. Scattered over miles, a few groups of four or five.

NYSSA (eye-roll)
Any chance of sneaking through?

DANNY
None. If even one gets a whiff, the rest will follow.

PAIGE (from Aqua Fox’s open cockpit)
They move in herds? Like Tor’s cows?

DANNY
Not exactly. They emit signals, yeah—that’s why our comms are trash. Sometimes smaller ones cluster around bigger ones... but this?
(glances toward the horizon)

PAIGE
Like something’s calling them.

Everyone goes quiet. Nyssa narrows her eyes.

DANNY (nodding)
Exactly.

INT. DARKHORN – COCKPIT

Danny types at a terminal, screens flickering with scans.

DANNY
There’s a cave about a click out—high ground, good view. We’ll nest there and eject the cores. Put the boys into deep sleep.

NEKU (over comms)
How long?

DANNY
Few days, minimum. Depends on their pace.

NEKU
We’ll miss our rendezvous.

NYSSA
We go through, we get torn apart.

DANNY
I’ll send a drone once we’re set. Let Inu and the others know what’s up.

EXT. MOUNTAIN CAVE – EVENING

The Aqua Fox and Darkhorn rest in the shade near the cave entrance. Danny works beside the Darkhorn’s open side panel. Paige holds tools, watching.

PAIGE
What’re we doing?

DANNY (focused)
Ejecting the core.

PAIGE (worried)
Won’t that hurt it?

DANNY
Nah. Think of it like a nap—no pain. Just shuts off its signature completely.

A hiss. The Zoids core disengages and lifts with a click. Danny snaps a monitor onto it, closes the hatch.

DANNY
All done. Big lug’s asleep.

EXT. CAVE ENTRANCE – LATER

A fire crackles. Neku and Nyssa sit nearby. Danny and Paige approach, the last light fading.

DANNY
Them two are down.

NYSSA
Good work. Prep a drone and let the others know we’re running late.

PAIGE
Others?

NEKU (smiling)
My sister Inu, Skarfi, and Tilly. Other half of our crew.

DANNY
We split the load. They did one target, we took the…..

NYSSA (cutting in)
Danny...

Danny looks down and cracks open his laptop.

DANNY
Right, right. Drone...

PAIGE (pointing at the glowing horizon)
What’s that?

In the distance, a mountain with a jagged scar that looks like a huge bite glows in the moonlight.

DANNY
The Mountain? That’s Gouge.

NEKU
The ship hit there—took a chunk out of the mountain.

DANNY
Supposedly the impact melted the ground—created an entire glass basin, massive structures—shards rising out of the earth like frozen waves. Gorgeous. Light hits them just right and it’s like the whole place is singing.

NYSSA (flat)
Drone, Danny.

PAIGE
Is the ship still there?

NYSSA
Long gone. Stripped for parts decades ago.

DANNY
Nothing left but myths and melted stone. Metals in the ship aren’t found here so it was been completely stripped over time.

He stands and tosses a small drone into the air. It zips off.

DANNY
And… we’re done!

NYSSA
Right. Let’s settle in. We’re here a while—might as well get comfy.

EXT. CLIFF EDGE – NEXT MORNING

Paige sits on a rock at the cliff's edge, gazing out. Astray Zoids wander the plains far below. The rising sun paints everything gold and red—light glinting off hidden lakes. The mountain, Gouge, glows like it’s still cooling from the impact.

Neku approaches with two mugs in hand, sits beside her.

NEKU
Hey, you okay?

PAIGE (awestruck)
It’s amazing.

NEKU
What is?

PAIGE (pointing)
That.

Neku watches her a moment, then turns to the horizon. Paige leans into her, head tucked under Neku’s arm. Neku wraps her arm around her and pulls her close.

NEKU (soft)
Been a long time since I stopped and looked.

She smiles.

NEKU
It really is beautiful.

FADE OUT