This fic was written as part of the Gatchamania 2011 holiday gift exchange. This was my request:
I'd like to receive a fanfic based on the Gatchaman Universe (preferably Gatchaman Fighter as always, but anything from the whole Gatchaman trilogy would be more than welcome!). Main character would always be preferably the Eagle and I'd like to see some angst this time with any hint of romance with the Swan involved … even any hint about the tight friendship between the Eagle and the Condor! A kind of sequel to the ending of Gatchaman Fighter would surely be a bonus, but please feel free to choose anything for me which could match even the smallest part of my request! Anything would be great!
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Gatchaman struggled to rise, but found his body lacking. His strength had been entirely drained in the fight. The dark, metal walls of Sosai Z's pyramid seemed to close in on him, crushing hold im beneath their weight. Ken mustered all of the rage that was flowing through him, screaming out in defiance, yet it was not enough. Barely a whimper passed through his lips, and it was then that he knew the bitter taste of defeat.
Around him lay the broken and battered bodies of his teammates. He had let them down, in more ways than one. He was their leader; it was his responsibility to ensure that they survived, that they lived to fight another day. From the time he had first become Gatchaman he had had one desire: to see that his friends were old before they died. No matter what happened to him, Ken wanted his teammates to live full lives, to survive to enjoy the peace they had fought so hard for. And now, he had failed not only them, but also himself.
They were counting on him; he was the only one who could save them. Yet his wretched husk would not obey his commands, his flesh refusing to respond to the orders issued by his brain. He was rotting away in despair, decaying in his own weakness, betrayed by his own inability to defeat the enemy who even now taunted him from on high.
"You are pathetic, Gatchaman." Z's voice echoed around the metallic chamber, ricocheting through his mind until he thought his skull might burst in agony. "You cannot defeat me. After all of these years, haven't you learned how weak you are when compared with a being like me? I am more powerful than I have ever been, and I will turn your feeble little planet to dust."
Ken fought to stand, to raise his Fencer in defiance, but barely managed to lift a finger. He gasped for air, his throat choking him from within…
He awoke from the nightmare in his mind, only to resurface in the tragedy of his life. Breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, Ken struggled to sit up in his own bed, his fingers trembling as he reached for the light switch. As the harsh artificial illumination flooded the room, he caught sight of himself in the mirror.
For a brief moment he was startled, then fascinated by the stranger who appeared before him. He was unable to tear his eyes away from the sallow skin, lank hair and dull gaze that swam before him.
The old proverb said to be careful what you wished for. In perverse fashion, his wish for his companions had turned on him. Ken was old. No matter his chronological years, his body had aged far beyond recognition. To some degree, the same had happened to his teammates. Of late he could see their age as well, etched into the lines of worry that criss-crossed their faces, the fading light in their eyes, their pained and lethargic movements whenever they were around him.
They were not dead yet, but they were so very close.
The curse of it all was the Hypershoot. At first it had seemed to be their savior: a weapon so powerful it could destroy any mecha Galactor threw at them. The Firebird they had used for so long had finally proven to be ineffective: Sosai Z had discovered ways of protecting his iron beasts against its attack. And so Dr. Nambu had spent long hours developing a new offensive: one that was capable of counteracting the enormous warcraft commanded by Count Egobossler and his men.
The Firebird hadn't been enough, and so the Hypershoot was more: more powerful, more deadly, more draining. Yet the Firebird had required all five members of the Science Ninja Team to operate. Not just their vehicles, but also their bodies. The Science Ninja Technique: Firebird had merged with them, using their strength, their energy, to fuel itself. Only together could they accomplish this feat.
The Hypershoot was different. It also ran on energy and strength, yet it was wielded by only one person: Gatchaman. Ken alone was responsible for powering and directing the Hypershoot weapon. When he used the Hypershoot, Ken felt as if he could do anything, fueled by an adrenaline rush the likes of which he had never experienced before. But at the same time that he was dealing death to Galactor, the Hypershoot was doing the same to him. Only that morning Ken had seen the results of Dr. Nambu's latest scans. The Hypershoot was eating away at his very core, spreading a slow poison throughout his body. He was literally rotting from the inside out, turning himself into a corpse through continued exposure to the lethal price that had to be paid.
Ken was unable to move, barely able to fend for himself, but not because of anything Sosai Z had done to him. No, this was something he had done to himself, by continuing to use the Hypershoot, even once Dr. Nambu had figured out what was going on, even knowing the terrible consequences that would ensue.
"Ken?"
He looked over to see Joe's head sticking through the doorway.
"What is it?" Ken snapped, a little too harshly.
"I thought you might want to talk." Joe shrugged, not the least intimidated by Ken's foul mood. "The medical techs said you were awake."
"The medical techs? How did they know…?" Ken suddenly realized the answer to his own question as he felt the electrodes attached to the side of his head. Angrily he pulled at them, yanking them from his skin and leaving a raw feeling behind. Yet he welcomed the pain, appreciating the honest, direct sensation. How different from this insidious illness that weakened him, yet never surfaced from its hidden depths.
"I see you're feeling better." Joe smirked, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms in a sardonic fashion. He reached into his pocket for a feather shuriken to chew, then frowned in disgust. Despite his grim situation, Ken had to smile. It had been more than five months since the Science Ninja Team had been allocated their new hand weapons. Joe's shuriken had been upgraded to include options for poison gas, fuel power and flaming attacks. Yet all of these improvements had made the feathers too lethal for chewing, even for a cyborg like Joe. Even after all of this time, Joe was still frustrated when he was unable to engage in his previously habitual behavior.
"A little." Ken admitted. He could feel his strength returning to him slowly. Carefully he propped himself up on his arms, so that he was leaning on his elbows. The rest of his body still lay uselessly underneath the sheets. For the moment, rest was the only way for him to regain his abilities, yet this cure was far too slow. As it was, in his current condition, it would take him at least a year of rest to regain a normal level of health, and that was under the presumption that he never used the Hypershoot again, and that he continued to improve at the rates Dr. Nambu had projected. But a year was far too long to wait. A month was too long. If the Doctor was right about what he suspected Sosai Z had planned, the Earth could be destroyed within a matter of weeks.
What was one life, in comparison to all of the lives on an entire planet? How could he even contemplate not making this sacrifice?
Joe's gaze narrowed as he watched Ken struggle with such simple movement. Something passed through his eyes for an instant, before it was hidden behind the Condor's usual mask of detachment. Yet it was too late: Ken had seen the emotions written on his friend's face.
"Don't pity me." Ken growled, anger surging up inside of him. As the Hypershoot ravaged his body, it also brought forth his rage, eating at his hard-won emotional control. Of late, it seemed that Ken was angry more often than not, railing against the world… or anything else that crossed his path.
"I'm not…" Joe sighed as Ken glared at him. "I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do."
"What the hell can you do?" Ken lashed out. Joe didn't deserve this, but he was there, caught in the sights of Ken's anger.
"Let me use the Hypershoot." Joe said suddenly. "Just once, or maybe twice. Long enough to give you a chance…"
"There's no chance, and you know it." Ken spat. "There isn't enough time for me to heal, no matter what happens. Once or twice won't do anything for me. But for you…"
"I know what Dr. Nambu said." Joe cut him off, waving his hand dismissively. "The Hypershoot would irreparably damage my cybernetics. But he's been wrong before."
"And suppose you're the one who's wrong this time?" Ken shot back. "What happens if using the Hypershoot, even once, is enough to melt your circuits and fry your brain? Who's going to bring you back, Joe? Dr. Raphael is dead, Dr. Pandora is dead. Dr. Nambu isn't an expert on cybernetics. Hell, Kamo's an engineer, maybe we'll let him patch you up and see what kind of job he does of it."
"It's worth the risk." Joe insisted. "Ken, I can't just stand here and watch you die!"
"So it's better that you die?" Ken laughed harshly. "It's still the same old thing with you, Joe, isn't it? Even after all of these years. You are the one who's supposed to die. You're the one whose life is worthless. You're the one who can afford to be noble and self-sacrificing."
"I'm already living on borrowed time, Ken."
"Cut the crap. I heard enough of that when you came back from the dead." Ken snorted.
"You stole it from me, you know." Joe pointed out. "My 'noble sacrifice'. I should have been the one who destroyed Sosai X."
"So you're sorry I saved your ass?"
"No, of course not." Joe grimaced. "And for what it's worth, I've saved your sorry ass more than once, so we're even on that score. But in this case…"
"There's nothing different about this case."
"There is and you know it."
"All right, Mr. Smart Guy, tell me what's so different."
"We can do something to prevent this." Joe's steely glare bored into Ken's heart, as if his cybernetic eyes could see past the flesh and muscles to the cancer inside. "We know it's happening. There's a chance for us to change things."
"And how do you propose to do that?"
"I've already told you."
"Then I'll ask you again. What makes you better suited to dying than me?"
"You have more to live for."
"Ha!" Ken snorted derisively. "What makes you think I have anything to live for? Once Galactor has been defeated, I've served my purpose."
"Jun."
"I…" Ken opened his mouth to respond, but found the words suddenly lacking. He fell down onto his pillow, his arms trembling as they gave way underneath his body. Jun…
Years past, he had buried his feelings for Jun deep inside. Nothing could ever come of them, and he had more important things to worry about: a higher purpose. Long ago, after Berg Katse had died and there had been a brief moment when they had thought the fighting might be over, Ken might have given those emotions free rein. Yet he had been too ravaged by grief, both for his father and for Joe, to let anyone else into his personal hell. By the time he had managed to work through his inner turmoil, Galactor had surfaced once more, and Ken had returned to his duties as Gatchaman. There had never been any time for Jun: she was a luxury he simply couldn't afford.
His desire to defeat Galactor was as strong as ever, perhaps stronger, thanks to the effect the Hypershoot had had in eradicating his emotional stability. Yet at the same time his anger had been let loose, so had his other emotions. Of late his feelings for Jun had surged to the fore more than once, particularly on the few occasions when they were alone together. If anything he had been harsher with her because of it, in a vain attempt to hide what he was experiencing. Still, his emotions ran wild, as if he were a young teenager dealing with latent hormones suddenly rampaging all through his body.
"There's nothing between Jun and myself." he said stiffly, his words directed more into the pillow and toward the wall than they were at Joe.
"No." Joe agreed. "But there could be, if this damn war were over."
"Irrelevant. This war isn't over, and the way things look right now…" Ken's voice dropped off. No matter what he felt in the depths of his heart, it was an entirely different matter stating it out loud. Gatchaman was not allowed to have doubts, much less express them.
"This war will be over someday, and then you'll have your chance." Joe insisted.
"Who's to know for sure? And you're presuming that Jun would even have me."
"Trust me, you don't need to worry on that score."
"I'm not. I mean, it's not something I think about. I mean…" The words twisted around in Ken's mind, until he wasn't even certain what he wanted to say anymore.
"All of this is irrelevant, in any case." Joe suddenly noted. "Now that you're off the Team…"
"That's only temporary!" Ken's anger fueled his body, and he suddenly found the strength to sit up. Yet once he had achieved the desired position he was exhausted, forced to lean against the wall for support.
"Of course it is." Joe answered smoothly. "Until you've been able to rest and regain your strength. But in the meantime, we'll need someone to use the Hypershoot."
"You can't use it without me." Ken replied smugly. "You need all five G-Machines to unite to create the Gatchaspartan."
"I know." Joe admitted, and for the first time, Ken caught a glimpse of Joe's concern on his face. His friend was truly worried… not just about him, but about their fight against Galactor.
"Look, Ken…" Joe bowed his head for a moment, coming to grips with his emotions before speaking again. "We have to last long enough to defeat Galactor. If you burn yourself out, it doesn't do anyone any good. Let me use the Hypershoot, even if only occasionally, just to give you a break. To help your body recover."
"Maybe I won't need a break." Ken whispered hopefully. "There's still the Cytechno Beam." The Cytechno Beam was a relatively new medical advancement that was still in the experimental stages. In fact, so far it had only been tested on animals. But even as they spoke, Jun and Dr. Nambu had gone to evaluate its potential in curing Ken's cancer.
"It's your best shot." Joe agreed. "We should be hearing from Dr. Nambu shortly. He and Jun have been gone for a while now."
No sooner had Joe spoken the words than his bracelet lit up.
"Joe!" Jun cried. "Come in! Joe!" Ken's heart caught in his throat. Jun sounded absolutely terrified. Something had gone horribly wrong.
"Jun, what is it?" Joe responded immediately.
"It's Dr. Nambu! We were evaluating the Cytechno Beam when Galactor attacked! They knew we were there. I didn't want to but… Dr. Nambu insisted that I leave him while I took Dr. Ross and the Beam device…"
"Jun, are you saying that you left Dr. Nambu behind at the research center, in the middle of a Galactor ambush?"
"I had no choice! He ordered me to get the Beam device back to ISO Headquarters, so Ken could be cured. I'm almost there. We have to go back and save Dr. Nambu!"
"We'll meet you on the roof." Joe agreed. No sooner had he terminated the communication than Ken had jumped out of bed, his strength suddenly returned as his mind grasped the urgency of the situation. If Galactor captured Dr. Nambu… Ken didn't want to think about what Count Egobossler would do to the man he looked upon as a second father.
"Wait, Ken!" Joe called, grabbing Ken's arm just as he was headed out the door. "You can't leave! You've been temporarily relieved of duty! You have to stay here!"
"I can't stay!" Ken retorted, yanking his arm out of Joe's grasp. "Galactor is attacking Dr. Nambu! We have to save him!"
"But Ken!"
Ken didn't listen. He dashed off down the corridor, heading for the roof of the ISO building, where their G-Machines waited. Ryu and Jinpei came out of a side corridor, and Joe shouted at them to follow.
Ken barely heard. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, lending him the strength to sprint up to the roof, ready for action. All that mattered was saving Dr. Nambu. To hell with his illness!
Ken leapt up the stairs two at a time, energized by the urgency of the situation. He reached the door to the roof, throwing it open, dashing heedlessly across its expanse to the G-Machines on the other side. Yet before he was halfway there, a gust of air crashed into him, nearly sending him to the ground. He held up his arms, shielding his face from the wind that buffeted his body, his strength suddenly seeming insignificant with the arrival of this new force.
A jet was landing at ISO Headquarters. Jun piloted the aircraft down to the roof, landing twenty meters away from Ken. An older, portly man was with her, and he held some kind of mechanical device in his arms. Yet Ken ignored him, his eyes focused on Jun as she leapt out of the pilot's seat and onto the roof, her white wings flaring out behind her. She approached Ken purposefully, her eyes wild and her stance firm.
She stared aghast at him, raising her arm and landing a sharp slap on his left cheek. Ken gasped in sudden pain, taken aback by the aggressive action of the usually mild-mannered Swan. He held his hand to his cheek, gaping at her in shock.
"I can't believe you would do something so stupid!" Jun lectured, her face stern, but her eyes holding a hint of compassion. "I contacted Joe because you are relieved of duty! Right now your duty is to stay here and let yourself be treated for your condition! Ken, once you rebuked me for giving up, for not fighting until the bitter end. But now you, yourself, have given up! You're accepting that your fate is to die, rather than fighting your illness." Inwardly Ken winced. Jun throwing his own words back in his face was a low blow, and yet she was right. He had given up. He had let his fears for Dr. Nambu's safety overwhelm him. His emotions were out of control, and he had let them get the better of his common sense.
Still, the mere idea of letting his teammates go off without him hurt more than any wound he had ever suffered. How could he let them go into battle alone, without him to lead them?
"Dr. Nambu sacrificed himself to ensure that you received the treatment you need!" Jun went on, her words cutting far more deeply than any slap. "You're an idiot! An idiot! How could you do such a thing to him, to us?" Tears brimmed from her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks, and yet still she held his gaze, her emotions a reprimand in and of themselves. Finally she allowed her tears to fall, bowing her head.
"Ken… please…"
He had thought that he could not be any more ashamed, and yet she had proven him wrong. He bowed his head, grimacing at his own weakness, both physically and emotionally. Ryu approached, clapping his back in sympathy. Jinpei glared at Jun, clearly angry that she had taken it upon herself to reprimand Ken. Ken wanted to tell the boy that Jun had the right of it, but lacked the ability to do so. They moved on toward their G-Machines, Joe following behind, His friend stopped to place a hand on his shoulder in silent understanding, then ran off to join the others.
Jun was the last to depart, sadly turning away from him. He raised his eyes, seeing her white-winged form leaving him behind.
"Jun…" he called softly, unable to bear the pain alone. "I'm sorry…"
"I know you'll do your best, Ken." Jun said, refusing to look at him. "You always do…"
With a choked sob she ran off, joining the rest of his Team as they took to their G-Machines. He forced himself to watch as they launched into the air, four where there should have been five.
"Good luck…" he whispered tears prickling at his eyes, "and thank you…"