GEAR Fighter Dendoh: The Mirrored Swords

by Laura Rola

GEAR Fighter Dendoh Ten years after the destruction of the Galfa Empire, Ellis recieves a package from an old friend. Can two planets of humans coexist peacefully?

GEAR Fighter Dendoh: The Mirrored Swords

Aurora here.

For those of you who have seen GEAR Fighter Dendoh, you know that it is a show aimed at a young audience. The series is pretty good overall, although in certain respects, it is a bit too happy and nice. It also thinks rather highly of human beings overall. For those who haven't seen Dendoh, I hope you can jump into this story anyway.

Also, if things haven't changed much by the time this is uploaded, it will be one of a rather small number of GEAR Fighter Dendoh fics on the net. And since they haven't changed much since 2007 when I started writing this, it might be perhaps the only one on fanfiction-dot-net.

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own GEAR Fighter Dendoh or its respective characters and mecha, they belong to Sunrise.

-Chapter 1-

"Passing point Bravo, Soldier Three, no sign of suspicious activity." The pilot calmly stated into the transmitter. Flanked by two other craft, the unit flew silently. The turbines on the arms were still, and the unit was moving its limbs only minimally. For the life of him, the pilot couldn't figure why the people of Alteas would harbor enough resentment to the United Nations to construct an anti-space defense system, but his compatriots had been told to be on the lookout for it on approach. It was his third reconnaissance mission in three days, but it was more boring than tiring to be flying over the surface of such an undeveloped landscape over and over again. He began to think about his orders to inspect a planet whose government wasn't even considered part of the UN, since such inspections were usually reserved for member nations who had gone rogue and produced dangerous technology. "Passing point Charlie, Soldier Three, no sign of..." the pilot began, before noticing an approaching building. It had the look of a warehouse, but it was a bit bigger, and stood out in the forest, despite having no noticeable road leading to or from it. Looking downward to the building, the pilot noticed a red motorcycle leaving from one side of the warehouse, which he could only surmise was the entrance. The bike and its rider disappeared into the forest to the east. As if answering a request he had yet to make, Soldier Two sent a picture of the motorcycle and its rider to his display. Inspecting the picture, he noticed that the rider had long blue hair, and was wearing a head-encasing mask with a spike on one side, as well as one on the forehead.

"Soldier Two here, this Hyper Scanner is impressive. I'm amazed at the detail of the picture I could get with it," one wingman said over the comm system.

"Contact headquarters, Soldier Two. We need to get them these images post haste," the squad leader replied, as the three units began descending little by little to get a closer look at the building. As the squad reached the treetops, radar picked up small, fast approaching objects from the east. Moving to intercept the objects, which were soon known to be missiles, Soldier Three raised its left arm for its right shoulder.

"Firewall!" The pilot yelled as he brought his arm forward, as if to point at the missiles. A flame built around the arm turbine, then vanished as a barrier of light was projected in between the missiles and their targets. The missile did what they did best, exploding upon impact with the firewall barrier. Almost immediately after that happened, a black unit approached thorough the smoke, punching the Soldier Three unit in the face. The blow sent the unit tumbling, but it was quickly obvious to the pilot what had just hit him.

Soldier Two spoke aloud what all three of the pilots then knew. "It's Knight Ogre! GEAR Knight Ogre!"
"You two, let me handle this," the leader said, flying upward and over the Ogre. "Viper Drive, Install!" As the leader yelled this command, the right arm turbine of his unit now sported a metal snakehead. Looking to the Ogre after recovering from his fall, the pilot of Soldier Three noted not only the Ogre, but also additional armaments, including missiles on the calves of the legs and a revolver pike situated on the left arm turbine. In each hand, there was a sword, and arcing electricity was moving between each blade. Along with its rounded shoulders and turbine limbs, the units mask was up on top of its head, revealing two glowing eyes that seemed to radiate the pilot's will.

The leader launched the snakehead, called the Viper Whip, at the Ogre. Skillfully flipping forward, the Ogre dodged the whip and fired the calf missiles at the Soldier One. Meeting the missiles in the air, the Soldier Three projected a second Firewall barrier to destroy the missiles. Soldier One moved it's left arm forward and, with the words "Illusion Flash," the unit disappeared from view. The Illusion Flash allowed the Soldier unit to accelerate, and accelerate it did. Ogre soon moved involuntarily from the punches it received from the fast-moving Soldier unit. As the unit continued to take each impact, the two wingmen watched on in awe. The Ogre dropped one of the swords it was holding as it tumbled toward the treetops below. At that moment, the Soldier One reappeared with a sudden halt, extended the snakehead whip, and began spinning the whip above its head. Energy was emitted from the viper head, glowing brighter and hotter with each revolution. Vents on the back of the Soldier One opened, belching forth light and heat as the Ogre continued to fall.

"Viper Whip, Final Attack!" the leader yelled as he swung the Soldier's arm forward, directing the now quite pronounced ball of energy toward its target. At that moment, the GEAR Ogre rotated to face the ground, positioning its arms forward and crashing through the trees with all four turbines spinning. As the four limbs touched down, the unit zipped to the right, knocking down several large trees as the edge of the energy sphere hit the ground only a few feet to the Ogre's left. The heat release incinerated the trees in a 40-foot radius from the impact point, and managed to cook the GEAR Knight's left shoulder. For another forty feet, the once healthy trees caught fire, and the forest was soon burning brightly. Standing on the ground, the Ogre moved its head, as if looking upon the burning woods for a solution to its predicament. As nonchalantly as a giant robot could, the Ogre walked over to the sword it had dropped earlier and pulled it from the ground.

The pilot of Soldier Three was understandably astonished at how resilient this one enemy proved to be. He'd been taught that in all testing of the Data Weapon Final Attacks, the energy from a Final Attack could destroy a Soldier Unit provided it came within 10 feet of its target, but in a shorter range than that, the GEAR Knight had taken only minimal damage. "No way," echoed his thoughts from the mouth of Soldier Two's pilot. In their stunned state, they didn't even see the Ogre rush at Soldier One. With a pair of quick stabs, the Ogre stabbed both of its swords into the shoulders of the Soldier One. Moving to attack the GEAR Knight, Soldier Three's pilot saw the Soldier One convulse as electricity coursed through it from the Ogre's blades. Dropping the now limp GEAR Soldier, Ogre turned its attention to Soldier Two.

Thinking quickly, Soldier Three's pilot turned the dial on his controller. "Unicorn Drive, Install!" He shouted as a metal horse head appeared on the Soldier Unit's right arm. He didn't hear it, but Soldier Two's pilot must have installed the Leo Drive, as the circular lion-like head appeared, mounted on the right leg of the unit, as the Ogre approached. The two units began to kick at each other in the air as Soldier Three took careful aim. The horn of the unicorn began spinning rapidly, building energy, as the vents on the Soldier opened to expel the excess energy. "Unicorn Drive, Final Attack!" the pilot yelled as he thrust his right arm forward. His unit followed suit, sending a torrent of energy at the GEAR Knight. With a jolting motion, the Ogre dodged backwards, just as the pilot had intended. Avoiding the Unicorn attack, the Ogre was soon beseeched by a spinning blade of light from the Soldier Two's Leo Circle. Flying toward the Soldier Two, the Ogre shifted to a horizontal position, melting a bit of the armor on its chest as it evaded the attack. Thrusting the arm mounted pike into the cockpit of the Soldier Two; the GEAR Knight Ogre cut short the scream of the doomed pilot as a cartridge in the revolver cylinder hammered in the pike. The arm turbine rotated a bit, moving the revolver cylinder with it. With a slight shift, the Ogre pushed the Soldier Two to the ground, smashing through the surface of the burning trees. Turning its attention toward the last unit, the gaze of the GEAR Knight Ogre penetrated the heart of the Soldier Three's pilot.

Again, the pilot began charging the Unicorn Drill. As the energy built up, the Ogre held its right hand forward. At that point, what appeared to be a curved staff materialized in the Ogre's hand. Grabbing the staff with its other hand, the Ogre drew its hands back, revealing that the staff was, in fact, two swords that sheathed into each other's handles. Thrusting his arm forward, the Soldier Three sent a second spear of energy at the GEAR Knight, but it was to no avail, as the unit dropped onto its knee turbines and evaded the attack. Watching as it closed in on him, blades drawn, the pilot couldn't help but wonder if, even in his wildest dreams, he had expected to die fighting what was once one of the Earth's greatest defenders.

-Ogre is one of the two main mecha of the original GEAR Fighter Dendoh series-

"A package?" the young woman had just arrived back at her apartment to find a box lying on the ground in front of the door. Carefully, she inspected the box, noting a lack of a return address label, but nothing else suspicious about the package. She lifted the package, addressed to 'Ellis,' and was taken aback upon realizing not only the familiarity of the sender, but also of the apartment manager, who usually kept packages in the office. Pulling her key from her pocket, Ellis inserted it into the lock smoothly, turned it, then proceeded to carry the rather light package through the door. Closing the door behind her, she tossed her keys casually on the nearby table. Pulling her shoes off, she stepped over to the small couch, letting herself fall into its cushions. It had been a hard day, considering that her co-workers were old enough to be stupider then she had thought possible, and her boss apparently had no knowledge of programming whatsoever. I guess he is new there, but so am I, she thought as she looked again at the package lying next to her. As she reached to the package, a thought of someone else crossed her mind, so she pulled herself from the comfy sofa, and walked to the answering machine on the table next to her keys. A familiar voice greeted her as she punched the message button, telling her that she had a new message to listen to.

"Hi, honey. Sorry about this, but I'm gonna be late again tonight. They need me to do some nighttime tests of the new software, and it could be a few days before they let me go. My mobile is on, so if you need me, just call. See ya later. Love you."

Another of those pesky thoughts crossed her mind. "Why did I have to fall for a test pilot?" Ellis said aloud, as if speaking her thoughts would clear them away. That never did work. Moving again to the inviting couch, she again fixed her eyes on the strange package lying in wait for her. She took a moment to grab a knife from the kitchen, and then returned to work the package over. Cutting away the tape and pulling open the flaps, she pulled a mess of papers and packing material out, scattering it around to be cleaned up some time when she wasn't so worn out. At the bottom of the package, there was something she had never expected. Lying atop a thin sheet of metal, there was a GEAR controller, the black gear controller. For a moment, time stopped for her, as she remembered her old job. Reminiscing, somewhat fondly, on the old days of working for GEAR, as an expert on the Data Weapons, and now, she was programming the interface for the Earth Defense Force's new GEAR Soldier units. Short of the new mass-produced types, she hadn't seen a GEAR controller for ten years. And here, in front of her, was Hokuto's old GEAR controller. She cycled though the commands, turning the small wheel on the face of the controller with her thumb.

She turned her attention to the papers she had scattered. Noting the print on them, she ordered them as best she could without reading them. Quickly, she began to read through the letter. Most of it was fluff, explaining thing she already knew, particularly about the tension between the nearby planet of Alteas, the result of her's and other's actions those ten years ago. She continued to skim through the letter pages, eventually coming upon an invitation to meet with the writer. Somehow, knowing that in all realistic logic, she shouldn't go near this individual, she felt an incredible excitement and wonder, considering that whoever it was had access to Hokuto's GEAR controller. Turning the device in her hand was soothing after the day she'd had. Again leaving the couch, she went to the phone. It wouldn't hurt to just go out for a little while, even if it was to see someone potentially very dangerous.

"I'll leave James a message," she said, dialing his cell number slowly. Listening, she heard the rings on the other end. One, two, three, four, five rings before the voicemail prompt. "Hi, dear. I hear you left your phone on in the car again. Call me later, 'kay? Thanks and bye." Hanging up the phone, she grabbed a saucepan and put it in the sink. As the water rose in the pan, she looked at the letter once more for a time and place. The address sounded familiar, but she was a bit too tired and hungry to care much about that at the moment. At about dusk, the mystery man would be waiting for her, and she needed to bring the controller. "It's vital to what I have to say," she read aloud, grabbing the saucepan handle and moving the pan to the stovetop. A quick dinner, and then I head out, Ellis planned, pouring some noodles into the saucepan.

-Ellis was a child genius and technical specialist in GEAR Fighter Dendoh.-

"Altair-sama!" An overly eager technician sprinted over to her leader, smiling far too brightly for his taste. The tall man would be considered quite attractive in human terms, being of medium muscular build and having beautifully flowing long, blue hair, but that didn't make him feel any more interested in the tech girl's enthusiasm. Pulling his metal helmet mask off, he turned to the young tech, his glare indicating his distaste. She didn't get the hint. "Altair-sama, how did the mission go?"

"Gwen-san, please stop with the perky routine and just refit the Ogre," Altair stated, looking as if he'd just gotten hit by a barrage of mattresses. He didn't pay any attention to her responses, but instead proceeded directly to the exit door. Stepping out into the forest, one deep breath was enough to refresh him. Getting on the nearby motorcycle, he rode off through the trees, avoiding each with a skill only attained though familiarity. Pulling into the next production building, he took a long hard look at the group of giant robots standing before him.

The GEAR Soldiers, each housing exact data copies of specific Data Weapons, were the mass-produced version of the GEAR Fighter Dendoh. The Dendoh was the super robot that two children used to protect the Earth from the Machine Empire of Galfa, which had grown to consider human life forms as dangerous to the natural environment they had been programmed to preserve. The Alteans had originally created the Galfa computer system to allow them to stop worrying about the environment of their planet. In a strange way, Galfa did allow the planet to return to a naturalistic form, full of pristine lakes and forests, undamaged by the surviving humanoids of Alteas. The people of Alteas now lived in a way to prevent damage to their planet. The Dendoh had done such a good job of defeating the Galfa machines, that the UN had begun producing a mass-produced version of the machine, even figuring out a way to create copies of the Data Weapons.

Now, looking at the GEAR Soldiers produced by the Alteans, Altair felt a sense of inexplicable pride and elation. He knew that in some way, he would make sure his mother and uncle had not died in vain. Turning the bike for the exit, he sped off into the forest again, off to inspect the next production site.

-Alteas is the name I'm using for the planet from which the GEAR Fighters originated. I am unsure of an accurate name and am open to suggestions.-

Now Ellis was sure of where she'd seen the address before. Upon arrival to the mentioned meeting point, she remembered that the now abandoned amusement park she stood at the gate of was once the front for the GEAR organization. Who in the world could be trying to bring up the past like this, she thought to herself as she approached the rusted gates. A cursory inspection revealed the absence of a padlock or chain. However, the remnants of the chain lay upon the ground, now little more then a shattered pile of dust. Reaching out, Ellis pushed the gates open with so much ease, she was now undoubtedly certain that someone else had already come here.

As she walked across the silent grounds, she took in the sight of her past lying in disarray. The Ferris wheel had long since been taken down due to the hazard it posed, but still around were the merry-go-round, the spinning cups ride, and even the centrifugal force chamber. "Why here?" Ellis queried the pieces of the past, the silent reminders of both the great deeds she had done and the shortcomings of her childhood.

"I really couldn't think of a better place." The voice of a man came from behind her, and startled her for an instant. Turning slowly, she saw standing before her a young man. He was wearing a casual suit, almost what one would expect of a mystery man, though a trench coat and fedora were strangely absent from the cliché. The fellow's short black hair and tan skin were the only features that Ellis needed to know just who had asked her to meet here.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect anything more inventive from you, Ginga."

-Ginga was the main pilot of the GEAR Fighter Dendoh-

"You understand your orders, Lieutenant? You are to draw out the Dendoh in any way you see fit." James couldn't really comprehend what it was the military was expecting from the Dendoh's old pilot, but he couldn't wait to see the Dendoh again. Those ten years ago, he had watched the Dendoh battle against the Galfa machines. A part of him never lost the desire to fight for the sake of the Earth, so he was ecstatic that his first assignment as a GEAR Soldier Specialist would involve the Dendoh. Like a child meeting his hero, it seemed that the reality of the assignment was a little strange, but it was a great excuse. What he really didn't get was why the military had told him to draw Dendoh out any way he saw fit, and then gave him the information on where the pilot's family was living. Guess they wanted me to have all my options open.

Lifting off, James glided over the city, toward the residential area. The GEAR Soldiers that the Special Forces used were unique. As intended for all the Soldier models, but only realized within the Specialist models due to cost and training time, the GEAR Soldier Specialists had access to every single data weapon, as well as all the features the weapons provided. With the Phoenix data, the unit didn't require the replacement of the Hyper Dendoh Batteries that the original GEAR Fighter and GEAR Knight required. As such, the Soldier units had no need for downtime or Cell Fighter support to deal with protracted battles. Descending upon the address given to him, James came upon a grand idea. He landed on the street next to the listed house and took a knee. What a surprise he would have when the GEAR Fighter found him waiting. "I'm waiting to take you with me, Dendoh. Come to me, Ginga-kun."

-Each Data Weapon in the series had an additional feature for the unit it was equipped to. Firewall, Hyper Scan, and Illusion Flash mentioned earlier were some of these abilities, along with Crash Ray, Clock Manager, and Bold Pressure.-

"Why did you look me up, Ginga? If it's to ask me out, you should know that I'm engaged."

The young man was somewhat dumbfounded by the idea of anyone actually finding Ellis's company a permanently welcome prospect. Ginga smiled, and calmly asserted, "That is not what I came for. Although, your wedding is definitely something I wouldn't like to miss. I can't imagine believing it if I don't see," he said, only one quarter joking.

Ellis was a bit miffed at that comment. "What do you mean, you wouldn't believe it? Jerk."

"Sorry, just seems a little unusual to me. I almost feel like I've only grown older, not grown up." Ginga's attitude belied his true thoughts. Maybe there was a part of him that had liked her, a few years ago, but he just couldn't have the courage to tell her the truth. It seems that even after facing death numerous times, he was still afraid to open up his heart. "I really would like to come, that's okay, right?"

A smile graced Ellis's face. "Sure. So, why the meeting? I haven't seen you in about four years, maybe more. It's been so long, I really don't remember."

A serious look became Ginga's new expression. "The answer lies in what was in that package." With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his blue GEAR controller. Holding it forward, he was silently beckoning for Ellis to bring the controller he had sent her out. Ellis reached into her purse and retrieved the desired object. Holding it to Ginga's controller, the two screens emitted a bright green light, just as they had when the controllers had been brought together for the very first time. His suspicions had been correct: The GEAR Fighter would accept her as a pilot. The serious look became one of joy, a joy Ellis had not seen in Ginga before. At least, that's what he figured based on her reaction.

"What was that about, Ginga?"

"The GEAR controller was basically saying you're qualified to be a GEAR Pilot."

Shock was the next expression to cross Ellis's face. "What? Wait, why did you send me this?"

Ginga knew the next thing he said wouldn't be taken well, no matter how he said it. He had perhaps expected that since his life really hadn't gone anywhere, her's hadn't either, but he now knew he was greatly mistaken in that assumption. "I need a new co-pilot, and you're the only one I can trust."

"Okay, that I kind of get," Ellis replied, as grounded as Ginga had ever remembered her. "But, why do you need a new co-pilot? What are you planning, Ginga?"

"It's not what I'm planning, it's what the UN military is planning." Ginga didn't wait for a response before continuing. Looking away, so as not to watch Ellis as he spoke, he went on. "The UN military is planning an invasion of Alteas. They want to use the planet for its natural resources and space. The population is getting to be too high."

Ellis looked at him like he was an idiot. "Okay, how would you know they were planning an invasion? Did they ask for your help?"

"In a round about way," Ginga replied coyly. "They asked me to lend them the Dendoh and my services as a pilot. Hokuto told me what was going on. Just a couple days ago, he destroyed three of the UN's new mass production model GEAR units."

"He did what?" Ellis looked a bit freaked as Ginga again glanced at her face. "I worked on those. What were they doing there, and why did he destroy them?"

"If you are looking for the Hokuto you knew before, you're going to be a bit troubled. After his mother and uncle died in that shuttle accident, he hasn't been himself." Ginga almost choked on his words for a moment, the memory of Hokuto after his mother's death flooding his mind. "But he truly loves that planet Alteas. He's my friend, and I want to help him."

A long pause waited between the old friends. Ellis was quiet in her contemplation of what had happened, and Ginga didn't know what she would say next. Her reply was less then he had hoped. "I don't know. I mean, I care about Alteas too, but I'm just having trouble buying this story. How about I travel with you to Alteas?"

Before Ginga could answer her, a voice rang through the night. "To the pilot of the GEAR Fighter Dendoh," the voice rang, like a nightmare to Ginga, reminding him of the time that Altair had once challenged them to a fight with a public announcement. Glancing to Ellis, he saw a look of pure disbelief on her face, disbelief that could only come from recognition. "Again, to the pilot of the GEAR Fighter Dendoh, I am waiting for you at your family's residence. Meet me here, I have a proposition for you."

Ellis bolted at Ginga with nothing but her voice. "Take me with you. I need to speak to the man who is challenging you." Turning to head for where he had hidden the Dendoh, Ginga quickly beckoned Ellis to him and began his run to the GEAR Fighter.

-Dendoh is capable of being operated by either one or two pilots. Ogre, on the other hand, only has one pilot, despite also being theoretically capable of using two pilots.-

Even in the midst of such a stressful scenario, Ellis felt an incredible rush as the Dendoh glided over the rooftops of the residential area. For ten years, she always wondered how it would feel like. Now, knowing what she was missing, it made sense that Ginga and Hokuto were so easily convinced to pilot the Dendoh in the first place. Her concentration lapsed during this time, and despite Ginga's best efforts, the Dendoh began to wobble in the air. "Ellis!"

The voice threw her back into gear. "Sorry!" Adjusting, she realigned herself to Ginga's movements, and the Dendoh corrected itself in response. This is harder then I thought, she thought as the Dendoh began to land. Confused, she looked to Ginga through the cross cockpit monitor.

"I adjusted the controls to solo mode. We can work on synchronizing later." Ginga didn't even look to her when he spoke, but it didn't take more then a cursory look to the front for her to understand why. The familiar homes of both Hokuto and Ginga stood to their right, but a horrifyingly familiar giant was standing at the top of the incline in front of the houses. It was a GEAR Soldier unit. The very same thing she had been working on for the last year was now standing menacingly before her, green eyes glowing above the streetlights and houses.

Ellis looked frantically around the cockpit for a communication switch. "Ginga, where's the comm switch? I need to speak to the pilot." Ginga did not reply, but the man who was piloting the GEAR Soldier spoke first, so it made sense that he would listen before telling her what she wanted to know.

"Pilot of the GEAR Fighter," the voice boomed from the menacing giant before the two old friends. Ellis was in a state of near shock, but the resolve to know whether or not she was right about the pilot's identity drove her to keep looking for a switch. "I have a proposition for you. The UN would like to solicit your services as a consultant and pilot trainer for the GEAR Soldier forces."

Whispering to Ellis, Ginga quickly said, "Your comm system doesn't work if your cockpit is disabled." Turning his attention to the voice from the giant, Ginga spoke to the man who was talking to him from behind the metal of the Soldier's cockpit hatch. "You threaten my family and you expect me to just join you for that?" Noticeably tightening his grip on the GEAR's hand controls, he gave his complete answer in two words. "Fuck you."

"Fine, then I'll take the GEAR Fighter from you!" the voice blared forth, and with that, an orange colored robotic bull head appeared on the GEAR Soldier's right arm. Ginga grabbed the GEAR controller, made some quick turns on the front control dial, and connected it to the download console. Ellis watched in a strange kind of horror, hoping that she wasn't watching a vicious struggle between two people she cared about, but almost knowing that her fears couldn't be founded. With this thought, she didn't notice the monitor in front of her telling her that the Dragon Drive had been installed. A red dragon appeared on the lift leg of the GEAR Fighter and began spinning its inner turbine. The GEAR Soldier brought its arm to the front, raising the Bull Horn into the air. "Bull Horn, Final Attack!" Slamming the Bull Horn into the ground, a discharge of energy cracked the road in front of the Dendoh. Ginga shifted his position, placing himself in a kneeling state, even if he was suspended in the cockpit. The Dendoh followed suit, taking a knee and aiming the Dragon Flare forward. The battery hatch on the Dendoh opened, belching forth heat and light as the Dragon Flare continued to charge.

"Dragon Flare, Final Attack!" As the red energy blast spewed forth from the Dragon Flare, large purple crystals began to burst up through the road in front of the GEAR Solder, fast approaching the Dendoh. The blast from the Dragon cut though the crystals, melting them with an incredible heat, but leaving the buildings around the road untouched due to the heat absorption of the crystals. Bringing its arm forward, the GEAR Soldier projected a Firewall barrier, stopping the Dragon Flare from damaging it, but in doing so, the pilot was thrown off balance, and the Bull Horn was pulled from the ground before the crystals would have reached the Dendoh.

The GEAR Soldier physically clapped, a sound that was as disturbing as it was loud. "Very good, Ginga-san. Your skills are truly impressive." Without so much as a pause, the GEAR Solder launched into the air. Producing a sphere of green light, it moved upward and pulled its hands to the side. Ginga quickly left the ground as the GEAR Solder's hands moved forward. "Clock Manager." With that, the green sphere was launched. Pulling up above it, Ginga again used the GEAR Controller, installing the Boar Drive this time. The Gatling Boar appeared on the Dendoh's chest, a green boars head with horns and a four-barreled gun for a nose. Looking below them, Ellis noticed a dog in the street, floating just inches above the surface of the road in mid stride. It was stuck there, trapped in a short term time warp that froze it in place. If that Clock Manager had hit us, she began to wonder, and then proceeded to stop herself. To adjust her thought to the things at hand, she looked forward, and noticed that the GEAR Solder had also equipped the Gatling Boar. Taking aim, both the Dendoh and the Soldier began to charge their Final Attacks.

"Ginga, this is insane! The energy release…"

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing!" Ginga replied as he pulled the trigger on the controls. "Gatling Boar, Final Attack!" he yelled, in perfect synchronization with the Soldier's rather zealous pilot. Bursts of energy spheres erupted from both weapons, colliding in the air in an extravagant lightshow. The heat from the energy collisions scorched the roofs of the houses lining the street below, and several streetlights that had remained standing through the Bull Horn attack now melted and fell to the ground. The Dendoh had remained in the air, but the GEAR Soldier couldn't stand the heat. Falling from the sky, it shifted in the air for no noticeable reason, and came to rest in the worst possible place. Crushing the roof, it smashed through the top of Ginga's home, falling sideways thorough the top of the building.

Ellis looked on in horror, feeling something ominous enveloping her. It was a strange feeling. Grief? Anger? No, this was different then anything she had felt before, a kind of animosity that began to embrace her with a kind of warmth that such feelings shouldn't have. Looking at Ginga, she knew that if she was feeling this, it would be best to have a grasp on the reality of what had just happened. The horror and anger in Ginga's face sent chills though her warm animosity, breaking her from the hold of this strange feeling. As the GEAR Soldier stood up, pieces of rubble and debris shifted and fell, but one thing stood out. On the left arm of the Soldier unit, there was a dark stain, rather large, and it hadn't been their before. It took Ellis no time to figure out what it was. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Ginga was moving the dial on the GEAR Controller again. The death of someone he cared about didn't seem to affect his instincts, but his emotions were definitely out of control now. His rage came through as he spoke his next words. "Ellis, I'm going to make him pay for murdering them. I'll make him pay for his crimes." A chill again rushed at Ellis as she watched him connect the GEAR Controller to the console. "Kiba Drive, Install!"

The GEAR Soldier was able to only barely get back to its feet before it seemed to shiver at the words Ginga had spoken. As Ellis watched, the Unicorn Drill and the Leo Circle fused in midair, heeding Ginga's call to them. Slowly drifting down to his hands, the combined unit changed shape, appearing as a kind of lance and shield in one. Gripping it tightly, the Dendoh took careful aim at its target. The pilot spoke to reply to Ginga's threat. "The Kiba Drive? What a strange thing this is. Does it only come to you when you're mad enough?"

"Shut it, bastard. You intentionally shifted that unit of your in the air to crush my home." The Dendoh's pilot was resolved in his decision. There would be no backing down, even as Ellis watched on, now sure that the GEAR Soldier's pilot must have been someone she didn't know.

"Oh, that. But it was an accident, Ginga-san. The military would never intentionally harm civilians." The GEAR Soldier generated the Unicorn Drill on its right arm, and placed its left arm forward, as if to stop the GEAR Fighters attack. Ellis knew that this fight was over already.

"Kiba Striker, Final Attack!" Dropping to its knees, the Dendoh began to shine with a golden hue as the lance of the Kiba Striker spun faster and faster. The turbines spun, and the Dendoh lurched forward, quickly accelerating to top speed in less than a couple seconds. The GEAR Soldier projected the Firewall, but as the Kiba Striker's point struck the barrier, it vanished in an instant, overpowered by the Final Attack. Thrusting the point forward, the Dendoh struck the Soldier hard, tearing though the layers of its armor and ripping the left arm from the unit with one swift strike. The arm fell to the ground, and the cockpit of the GEAR Soldier was torn to all hell on the left side. The energy compartment was damaged, and the cockpit hatch was more or less gone, revealing a white pilot suit. The GEAR Soldier fell to its knees, its eyes fading out as it went into an emergency power state.

Ellis was confused for a moment. "Ginga, why didn't you…"

Looking kindly at her, with tears in his eyes, he spoke with great difficulty. "Killing him won't make me feel any better, and it certainly won't bring my family back. I want him to face what he has done." Turning the GEAR Fighter around, Ginga moved the Dendoh down the incline, stepping between the melted crystals and lightposts, past the scorched houses, and past his home, step by step away from the horrible events of the night. Then, as Ellis contemplated Ginga's words, she felt the GEAR Fighter turn around quickly. At that moment, the front panel of her cockpit was ripped away, and she saw the GEAR Soldier thrusting the Unicorn Drill into Ginga's cockpit. The spinning point tore through the cockpit cover, jamming into the place where Ginga was located. Turning to the cross cockpit monitor, she had to immediately turn away, now physically ill from what she had just seen. She couldn't control her stomach, violently vomiting on the floor of the cockpit. Almost in response to her actions, the console in front of her lit up, now allowing her to control the GEAR Fighter.

Is this some kind of sick joke? What am I going to do now? A small set of voices spoke to Ellis, and that strangely warm animosity began to slowly return to her. Looking out she saw the pilot of the GEAR Soldier, moving in a way indicative of someone laughing. She could no longer control her desire to yell. "What right do you have to laugh? Do you have any idea that you just killed innocent people?"

The pilot figure stopped cold in his laughter only a few moments after she had begun to speak. Taking off his helmet, he confirmed Ellis's worst fears in one short move. Staring back at her, here in the night, was the face of her fiancé, James. "Ellis?"

Her eyes wide, Ellis couldn't bring herself to speak. She stared blankly at James, the man she had fallen in love with over a year ago, when she had started working on the GEAR Soldier project. Who did I fall in love with? I don't remember loving a monster. Ellis again heard the small voices, speaking to her in varying pitches and tones, but one stood out. It asked her a question. A simple question that anyone could be asked, but rarely is there a good answer for it. "What do you desire, warrior?"

The voices assaulted her mind, and James was also yelling to her. It seemed like it was some kind of explanation for his actions, but she didn't care. She never really knew him. What did she know, anyway? Would Hokuto tell her the truth? Why was the UN so interested in the Dendoh? What did this all mean? Why did Ginga have to die so horribly? The questions, the answers, and the voices accosted her, until, finally, in a moment of clarity, she knew what she had wanted. That warm animosity, the feeling she had gotten from the Dendoh, she loved it. She wanted to embrace it with all she had, to have it fulfill her. It was something she had never really known before, and for a mere moment, she was elated to feel warmth in her soul from the idea of just hating James for what he had done.

"What do you desire, Warrior?"

"Revenge." A smile slowly emerged from her face, filled with conviction and resolution.

x-End of chapter-x

I find it easier to write something that is a sequel concept compared to writing a story that is an alternate universe story, or a completely different take on the series. I'm hoping that people who like Dendoh may enjoy this, but I know that so few people in America have seen the series, that I'm basically just writing it for my personal experience.

As usual, if you have questions, comments, constructive criticism, et ceterea, please put them in a review of the story or email to aurora-dot-chance73-at-gmail-dot-com. I look forward to posting the next part of this soon.