Helic Republic
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The Helic Republic is a fictional nation from the Zoids universe.
The Republic's government appears to be based around some sort of representative senate or council, but the president does not appear to be elected directly by the population. This is evidenced by the fact that the first president, Helic Muaroa II, served for at least 78 years.
The Republic is usually depicted as the "protagonist" force in Zoids stories. In the Anime the situation is rather clear and direct that the Republic are the "Good Guys", but in the battle story, the situation is more realistically ambiguous.
[edit] Battle Story
The precursor to the Helic Republic, the Helic Kingdom, was formed in ZAC 1957 when King Helic Muaroa, the leader of the Wind Tribe, unified a number of the disparate tribes of the eastern half of the Central Continent of Delpoli. He then worked with Guylos, the ruler of the Earth Tribe, to unify the entire continent under the one nation.
Guylos, however, had his own plans. In ZAC 1958, he started a war to control the newly-unified nation. His armies, supported by strange Zoids from a distant land (The Dark Continent of Nyx), clashed with Helic's. In the end, Helic triumphed and Guylos was exiled. However, he succeeded in splitting the continent in half; the eastern half ruled by Helic and the western half ruled by his own people.
King Helic died in ZAC 1978, naming his son, Helic Muaroa II, as his heir. Upon assuming the throne, Helic dissolved the monarchy and recreated the government as a republic. Helic's younger half-brother, Zenebas Muaroa, was made commander in chief of the armed forces. However, Zenebas was discovered to be plotting against the government. He was charged with treason and exiled from the Republic.
Zenebas travelled to the western half of the continent and, with the aid of Guylos' soldiers, seized power and formed the Zenebas Empire. Tensions mounted between the two nations leading to, in ZAC 1980, a border dispute over the Red River area that triggered the first Central Continent War. The war continued for some forty years, consisting mainly of low-intensity skirmishes. During this time, both sides used early Zoids as well as conventional infantry forces.
Matters changed in ZAC 2029 when an Earth ship, the Globally 3, crashed in the middle of the continent. The surviving humans were absorbed into both the Republic and the Zenebas Empire. Using the advanced earth technologies, both sides were able to improve the power of their Zoids. The intensity of the war increased as both sides began to field newer and more powerful weapons.
In ZAC 2030, the Republic deployed the Gojulas and used it to great effect against the Zenebas forces. However, the Zenebas Empire counterattacked with the Iron Kong, causing the war to continue until ZAC 2039 when the Republic deployed the super-heavy Ultrasaurus Zoid. The Ultrasaurus' firepower was enough to drive back the Zenebas forces, the Republic eventually taking their capital and ending the war. Zenebas himself fled to the Dark Continent of Nyx, while the remainder of the Empire surrendered.
In ZAC 2042, however, Zenebas returned with a new army of powerful new Zoids. The new forces quickly regained control of the old Zenebas Empire, then invaded the Republic. In ZAC 2044, the Zenebas Empire used the new Deathsaurer to destroy the Republic's capital. The remaining Helic forces fled to the mountains at the eastern end of the continent and waged a guerrilla war against the Zenebas Forces.
The Helic army used this time to secretly build a new weapon to defeat the Deathsaurer, the Mad Thunder. In ZAC 2048, the Mad Thunder was completed and used to spearhead an assault on the captured capital. The Zenebas forces, unable to stop the new Zoid, were driven back to their own territory. The Helic army continued, driving towards the Zenebas capital once more. In ZAC 2049, they took the capital, crushing the Zenebas Empire.
Now in control of the entire continent, the Helic Republic spent the next few years rebuilding and absorbing the remnants of the Zenebas Empire. However, in ZAC 2051, strange events began to occur. Plants and animals began to die, the ground became parched and lakes and rivers dried up, as if the continent itself was dying. The source of these events was revealed when the continent was invaded by the Guylos Empire's army, which used a number of 'Dark Zoids' powered by Deochalcum. The Guylos forces absorbed the remnants of the Zenebas Empire, before invading the Republic.
In order to counter the Guylos forces, the Republic invaded the Dark Continent in ZAC 2053. What started as an invasion turned into a bloody stalemate, and then an all-out disaster, as Guylos Empire's Gilvaders destroyed the Republic's army. The Gilvader force then attacked the Republic, devastating it before being defeated by the Orudios.
In ZAC 2056, the Republic launched a counter-attack with the King Gojulas, aimed at destroying the Guylos Empire. As the Republic's forces prepared for the final assault on the Guylos capital, disaster struck. An asteroid struck one of the three moons of Zi, shattering it and causing debris to rain down on Zi. The meteors devastated the planet; the Central Continent was split into three sections while a portion of the Dark Continent sank into the ocean. Both the Republic and the Guylos Empire suffered severe losses and were unable to wage war; instead they were left struggling to survive.
The Republic, now in complete control of the Central Continent, spent the next forty years rebuilding itself after the devastation under its new leader, President Louise Camford. (Helic's fate is unclear, but he is assumed to have perished during the meteor strike) The Central Continent was peaceful during this time, because the Guylos Empire no longer could directly attack the Central Continent due to the presence of Triangle Daras, the so-called Sea of Witchery, a massive impenetrable storm between the two continents.
In ZAC 2099, the Guylos Empire invaded the Western Continent of Europa, aiming to use it as a staging ground for an invasion of the Republic. The two nations again went to war, the Republic eventually driving the Empire back in ZAC 2101. The Helic forces then launched an invasion of the Dark Continent, aimed at defeating the Guylos Empire once and for all. The invasion was a disaster for both factions, with both the Helic and Guylos armies being wiped out by the emerging Neo-Zenebas Empire.
The Neo-Zenebas forces swept onto the Central Continent, reclaiming the western half as their new Zenebas Empire. Many of the people of the continent supported them, wanting to see the return of their original leaders. The Neo-Zenebas Empire continued their campaign to bring the entire continent under their control, using the new Seismosaurus Zoid to crush the Helic forces and again take the capital in ZAC 2106. President Camford was apparently killed in the battle, her son, Colonel Rob Hermann, taking control of the remnants of the Republic.
The Helic army fled to the Eastern Continent where they came into contact with the remnants of the Guylos Empire and the ZOITEC corporation. The Republic built a new army and, in ZAC 2109, invaded the continent, driving towards their capital. The Helic forces engaged the Zenebas army, the two sides being evenly matched. However, Emperor Wolff Muaroa's Energy Liger was badly damaged and threatened to explode, which would have destroyed both armies and the entire city. He was saved, however, by a Republic Liger Zero Falcon which managed to channel the energy from his Zoid's core and disperse it in a massive beam. Wishing to avoid any further conflict, Wolff Muaroa withdrew the Neo-Zenebas forces from the city, allowing the Republic to reclaim it. This ended the era of conflict between the two nations.
As of ZAC 2230, the Helic Republic still survives in some form.
[edit] Anime
The Helic Republic served as the "Protagonist" faction during Zoids Chaotic Century. The Republic's origins in the series are unclear, though Prozen describes them as "rebels usurping the land", making it likely that the Helic Republic split off from the Guylos Empire at some point. The Republic resembles the version found in the original battle story, only controlling the eastern half of the Continent.
At some stage, the Republic went to war with the Guylos Empire. This war was rather indecisive, and left a large section of the continent as a vast no man's land of wild gangs, small towns and abandoned military facilities.
Following the death of the Guylos Emperor, the Empire once again invaded the Republic. Despite initial setbacks, the Empire was able to swiftly advance through the Republic and reach the gates of its capital. A second Imperial force staged an amphibious assault on the capital, surrounding it. Before the Imperial forces could attack, however, Guylos Emperor Rudolph recalled his forces and ended the war.
Despite this, tensions still remained between the two nations. Guylos regent Gunter Prozen used this as an opportunity to stage a coup, kidnapping Rudolph and framing the Republic in order to restart the war. However, the truth behind Prozen's plot was revealed, the Republican army sided with the Imperial forces loyal to Rudolph. Prozen tried to destroy them with a Deathsaurer, however the combined armies were able to defeat him.
Following the war, the Republic and Empire signed a peace agreement. The two nations formed a joint peacekeeping force known as the Guardian Force. However, the Republic would later come under attack by an Ancient Zoidian known as Hiltz, using a Death Stinger. Hiltz devastated large areas of the Republic, including the capital. He also attempted to destroy the Empire with a resurrected Deathsaurer, but was defeated by the Guardian Force.
Its worth noting that the Republic's capital building in New Helic City bears an uncanny resemblance to the White House.
It is not clear if the Helic Republic still exists at the time of Zoids: New Century Zero, or if it ever existed in Fuzors. However, in episode 24 of the former series, a Judge Capsule impacts in an area where wrecks of skyscrapers are seen. Since New Helic City is the only location in the Chaotic Century/Guardian Force seen to have skyscrapers, it is possible that these are the ruins of New Helic City.
[edit] Republican Zoids
The Helic Republic created the first full-scale Zoid, the Garius in the ZAC 1930s. Other early Zoids include the Elephantus, Glidoler and Bigasaur. With the arrival of humans, the Republic was able to create newer and more powerful Zoids like the Gojulas, Gordos and Godos.
The Republic's Zoids are usually grey or blue in colour, with dull grey or black parts and smoke-coloured or orange canopies. Earlier Republican Zoids had canopy-style cockpit covers, while later ones had eye-like canopies, similar to the Empire's Zoids. Aside from those mentioned above, other notable Republic Zoids include the Shield Liger, Blade Liger, Command Wolf, Gunsniper, Shadow Fox, Storm Sworder, Mad Thunder and Ultrasaurus.
Ironically, one of the most notable Republic Zoids, the Liger Zero, is actually a design stolen from the Guylos Empire.
