Author: Nadz
Email: vegitto02 at yahoo dot com
Disclaimer:
The title "Nightmare", as well as its storyline, is owned by the author.
All Tekkaman Blade characters are the property of Tatsunoko.
Any original characters are strictly owned by the author of this fan fiction.
This story may not be distributed to anybody without the author's permission due to version control. However, the author does encourage you to welcome your friends to read Nightmare on FanFiction dot net. Much thanks...
Tekkaman Blade III: Nightmare (Third Saga)
Chapter 51 - Advantage
The next day…
"You're giving me a chance… to become a Space Knight?" Okita raised his eyebrows, seeing his father return a subtle nod. The boy was stunned, for part of him was taken aback to be offered a position by someone who was still technically his enemy. Yet, he couldn't deny that a small part felt truly excited.
Was D-boy genuinely reaching out to him, after all he'd done? Was his father finally opening up?
'But… how can I betray Mother?' he thought, knowing how livid she would be if he jumped ship.
"You don't have to give me an answer now," D-boy said, sensing his hesitation. "Think about it."
The boy returned a soft nod before averting his eyes to the floor and slightly scowling. He didn't know what to say; it was an awkward situation, especially considering the information he needed to deliver.
"There is something I have to tell you, Father," Okita said, slightly scowling. "About an attack…"
Wiping his face with a sweat towel, Hayato trudged over to the water cooler and began filling himself a cup. He continued to breathe hard, feeling his heart pounding from his two mile jog. True, he had been instructed not to strain his body due to his ongoing treatment, but he knew he had to stay strong.
Yet, he was not the only one exerting himself. Natasha too was working out in the underground training facility, exercising her legs with a weight machine. Her hair was wet and appeared plastered down around her head. Hayato observed her silently while he drank. She had been going for a long time and was grunting with every rep. Yet, what was most noticeable was the focused, almost piercing look in her eyes.
Hayato snorted, knowing immediately the reason. He bent down and filled himself another cup.
"I know why you're mad, but you really shouldn't push yourself like that," the young man said, knowing full well that he was the last one to talk. Natasha said nothing in response, continuing another rep.
"Will there ever be peace between you and your father?" Hayato sighed, hoping to receive some reaction. It worked. Natasha let out a grunt as she stopped, quickly realizing how hard she was breathing.
"Not if he keeps… increasing the gap," she grated, giving a dirty look. "But that's my business."
He shrugged, lifting the cup to his lips and slowly sipping. He could tell that she had truly grown to love the Space Knights, considering how much her father's actions against the team were affecting her.
His thoughts were soon interrupted as D-boy's voice called for them through the intercom.
His arms crossed, D-boy stood sternly just inside the door of the large hangar area. Space Knight personnel were scrambling to prepare the two fighter craft for what was to come. Planes Beta and Epsilon rested adjacently, their engines warming up as the support crew refueled them and performed final checks.
As he watched, D-boy couldn't help but have mixed feelings on the situation. He was pleasantly surprised that Okita had openly told him about the impending attacks on the Military Headquarters in South America and West Asia. Yet, his mind kept questioning the trustworthiness of the youth. The man again reminded himself that if he wished to establish a tie with his son, he needed to give him a trusting chance.
'I'm taking a gamble with this, Okita,' he thought. 'But I'm going to be smart about it this time.'
The man broke his stare at Beta craft upon seeing a suited Goliate approach the plane and climb into its cockpit. Following him was Natasha, who plopped into the seat behind him. She turned her head and gave a subtle nod to D-boy, who returned the gesture. Natasha then turned to look at the other craft.
Into the cockpit of the brand new Epsilon fighter climbed a suited Hayato, who immediately began to get familiar with the controls after donning his helmet. D-boy looked at the boy with admiration, for the young man had decided that even though he could not fight as a Tekkaman, he would battle on as a pilot.
Soon, Dead End trudged towards the plane and climbed into the rear seat, saying nothing as he fastened his helmet. Hayato froze for a moment, letting it sink in that there was someone else – not Yumi – who was occupying that seat. A feeling of sadness rippled over him, but he tightened his jaw once again.
The time for departure had arrived, and the planes' engines hummed even louder. D-boy watched on as the hangar's doors slid apart, offering him an open view of the city in the distance. Soon, the ground crew moved away from the two metal birds, which turned and headed for the concrete runway leading out.
D-boy silently wished them luck as the craft shot forward and lifted off the ground into the sky.
Almost immediately, Beta and Epsilon split up and blasted away from each other in opposite directions. Within the former, Goliate steered in the direction of the base they were assigned to defend – that of the Western Asia Region Military. Natasha sat silently, her blue eyes focused on the video panel.
"You know, you can speak," Goliate urged, yet earned no response. "Natasha, are you alright?"
"I'm ready," she said curtly. Her right thigh muscle tensed, and she reached to lightly massage it.
"Okay then," the large man shrugged, turning towards a screen. "Hayato, keep in touch, will ya?"
"We'll maintain communications," came the response. In Epsilon craft, things were not much different. Dead End remained silent while Hayato continued to pilot. For him, flying never felt so familiar and yet so awkward time. It also felt far less empowering – he had so much more strength as a Tekkaman.
'But I'll continue to fight, despite what the doctors said,' he thought. 'I will not give up, Yumi…'
Some distance away, a dark-haired woman lowered the binoculars from her eyes before turning towards the other dark green-haired female standing with her arms crossed. The first woman thinly smiled.
"It looks like two of them are heading their separate ways," said Sayaki. "Wait until my signal."
In the armored, underground levels of the Command Center, the man waited tensely inside a large chamber along with a dozen guards, and a lively Shinya crawled on the floor before him. Neilus didn't like the idea of his fiancé staying upstairs to help D-boy, yet somebody had to keep the baby out of harm's way.
During their aerial journey, the two said nothing to each other. Dead idly stared out the window, observing the thick cluster of vegetation below that comprised one of the last few vestiges of rainforest left on the planet. It was a unique sight, considering he had lived most of his life in run down areas of cities; he even found it refreshing. To his chagrin, the ground transitioned to a lighter green, then to a reddish brown.
Dead reverted his sight to the seat in front of him. Hayato continued to pilot, only speaking when he was communicating some message with Goliate. Dead wondered why he was being so silent with him; yet, it wasn't his business to truly care. He shrugged before turning his head. Yet, this time, something caught the corner of his eye. He tilted his head for a better view and looked past the boy's shoulder – on the console was taped a small photograph of Yumi. Dead narrowed his eyes, realizing the obvious answer.
'David…' he lamented, remembering his friend and trying to subside the anger that arose within.
A beeping noise soon interrupted his thoughts. They had arrived; in the distance, the shape of the South American Military Headquarters became clearer amongst the rock formations and cliffs rising from the crusty earth. Due to the Space Knights' warning, troops and tanks were gathered, positioned around the perimeter of the base. Hayato sent a transmission identifying himself while scanning the surrounding sky.
Soon, a dozen buggers appeared from several miles away and continued to approach rapidly.
"Time to begin this child's play," sneered Dead, unbuckling himself and pulling out his dagger.
As they approached, it was clear that the assault had already commenced. Buggers circled around and dove towards the outer walls of the West Asian Military Headquarters, facing retaliatory laser fire that got some of them but missed others entirely. The survivors crashed into the steel and made large breaches.
On the ground, hundreds of Primary Body guerillas were engaged in vicious combat with ground forces. Laser fire was continuously exchanged, and both sides hacked at each other with blades. In the air, the form of Tekkaman Bane dove down like a hawk, taking apart tanks and cannons along with their men.
Natasha cringed at the sight, but she knew she could not shy away. Gripping her crystal, she flew out of the small hatch from Beta craft and felt the protective armor gently clamp around her skin. The shell burst, revealing a shapely Tekkaman that grasped her sword as she fiercely headed for her obvious target.
Tekkaman Bane turned just in time and clashed weapons with the female Space Knight.
"Damn it, it's just you?" he sneered. "I was so hoping for it to be the great Tekkaman Dead…"
In the Command Room, D-boy maintained contact with the two pilots and continued to monitor the situation – it seemed that the battles at the two bases had begun. He only hoped that his team members could hold their own. Soon, he heard a gasp from one of his comm. officers sitting nearby at the console.
"Mr. Aiba, we've picked up another Tekkaman outside the Command Center… It's the Chief…"
Immediately, the video screen displayed the red-plated demon hovering silently on her valkyrie.
"Aki," D-boy widened his eyes, his fist tightening. So, his hunch was correct – Delta had indeed intended to attack the Space Knight base while using the attacks on the two military sites as diversions, and she was using his wife to do it. It was almost the same as she had done when Yumi had been killed. That time, it was D-boy who had been lured away while Yumi had stayed behind. However, this time, he had suspected such a strategy – nobody else but he would bear the burden of defending the Command Center.
"Milly, please take over now," he said, turning towards her. "Just stay calm, and you'll do fine."
The form of Tekkaman Dead turned in the direction of the approaching beasts. A thin smirk made its way across the man's lips underneath his visage; initially he was irritated to have to do this, but getting another shot at avenging his late friend made it far more worthwhile. He powered the thrusters on his back.
"Wait!" Hayato called from inside the ship. "They might be carrying Primary Bodies inside."
Dead paused and acknowledged the request, mildly vexed at having to stop. The buggers began to circle around away from him and lower in altitude, continuing to head in the direction of the military base.
"Just wait, they'll land," Hayato said, tensing his body. "They have to drop off their Primary—"
Yet, the monsters showed no desire to do such a thing, and they swooped straight for the facility.
"What the hell!" an officer's voice yelled through the radio. "You really are letting them attack!"
Hayato cursed, realizing why the military would interpret the situation that way considering all the negative, unfair publicity that the Space Knights had been received recently. He yelled for Dead to attack.
"Don't order me around! Besides, why should I? After all, we're in league with Radam, right?"
"You…" Hayato muttered, pushing on his steering. Epsilon craft burst forwards, firing its lasers at the creatures from behind. He managed to take out one, but two others circled around and flanked him from behind. Hayato cursed, unable to get them off his tail, but he didn't have to worry for long. Dead tore through the two buggers and headed for the remaining ones that had begun their assault on the base.
"I don't want to waste my energy fighting a weak female," Bane rasped, pushing his sword against hers and knocking her away. Firing his thrusters, he headed for her, aiming his weapon for her chest; yet, Vesna side-stepped it and swung her weapon up, knocking his high before landing her elbow in his belly.
"Weak, am I?" she spat, hearing him back away and cough. "Just call me that again, I dare you."
"I'm so sorry, I won't say that again," Bane crouched. "Please forgive me… you weak bitch!"
They burst towards each other and collided, releasing flashes of energy as they circled and went on exchanging strikes. Natasha could feel a slight strain in her leg, and she knew he was still holding back.
All the while, another figure stood silently from a distance, calculating when to make his move.
Tekkaman Akai no Akuma (Red Devil) showed little hesitation against the gun turrets that fired in defense. She threw out her lance and directed it with her energy lasso, making it cut across several cannons and causing them to explode. Aki pulled back the thread, and the lance reeled back towards her before she grabbed it in the middle. She flashed a red eye and landed back on her valkyrie, only to see him approach.
Tekkaman Blade appeared in her way and locked his lance with hers, glaring hard into her visor.
"There's a full scale battle going on here – with Primary Bodies, buggers, and even a Tekkaman."
"Strange, we've got nothing here but buggers," Hayato responded to Goliate's transmission, then looked over to see Dead finishing off the last of the beasts. He frowned in thought, only to widen his eyes.
"Goliate, do you think Dead and I got sent here on a wild goose chase?" Hayato asked, earning a response saying it was possible. "Maybe they'll still come. We have to give them another minute or two."
He stayed put, knowing that if a Tekkaman were to arrive after they left, it would spell disaster.
Space Knight personnel screamed as they witnessed her dark figure. Her armor was a shiny jet black, sporting streaks of gold on her extremities as well as around various areas of her torso and facemask. Long, dark purple hair flowed freely from her skull, and a scarlet eye flashed menacingly through her visor.
The Warlady Delta made her way through the corridors, debilitating anyone who got in her way. Guards fired at her, but she merely batted them away and sent them crashing into the walls. Nothing would keep her from her two chief objectives – recovering her only child as well as that of her elder cousin-sister.
'Okita,' she projected out through her mental link. 'I'm here to take you back. Please come out.'
To her chagrin, she heard no response coming from him. Was he purposely avoiding her again? Sayaki frowned, for she had specifically told him that she wouldn't be angry with him. She continued to pass through from one corridor into another, following the map of the place that Aki had obtained for her and that she had memorized hurriedly. Shinya was not in his normal location, and she couldn't find Okita.
Delta cursed to herself. However, she soon realized that she had come upon the medical wing.
That is when she knew that she could fulfill a secondary, yet equally important, objective…
Crouched up against a wall in the privacy of his quarters, Okita shut his eyes as he tried to ignore his mother's words. Indeed, she had come back for him. What should he do? Would this be his chance to return to her without penalty? The boy grimaced, knowing he could not avoid making the choice for long.
"You too, involving all these innocent Primary Bodies for your greed," Vesna spat, periodically glancing at the violent battle taking place on the ground while defending against her opponent's attacks.
"Not for our greed, but for our cause, and our glory!" Bane returned, firing his thrusters and crashing into her. He pushed her downwards towards the ground at an accelerating rate, and Natasha fired her own boosters to break free. They were approaching the dirt quickly, and she squirmed in his tight grip.
Finally, she wriggled her arm loose and slugged him across the face. Bane cried out and let her go. Yet, that did not keep her from falling. Natasha desperately fired her thrusters to slow her down, but it was hardly of any use. She landed hard feet-first onto the earth, the shock of the impact going up her legs.
A shot of pain went through her thigh, and her right leg almost buckled under her weight. She let out a soft cry, but she clenched her teeth and tried to straighten her body. The dust soon cleared, revealing Bane hovering some dozen feet above her head. He lowered his hand from his face and gripped his sword.
"If you are so sympathetic to Primary Bodies, then it only makes sense that you help their side," he declared, turning towards the direction of the military soldiers. "And so, you wouldn't mind if I do this!"
"Wait, no!" Natasha yelled, seeing him swoop towards them with a murderous cry. As a Space Knight, it was her duty to stop both soldiers and Primary Bodies from fighting. She couldn't let either die. Charging the thrusters on her backside, she leapt into the air with pain in her leg and headed right for Bane.
At that moment, a figure crashed into her from the side and swept out her legs from beneath her. Vesna opened her mouth in surprise as she tilted backwards, only to recognize the dark form of Wraith as he lashed out and kicked her in the back. She was knocked upwards, and Bane appeared above her, ready.
"Dead, we played right into their hands… Natasha's up against two Tekkamen! We've got to go!"
Hearing the desperation in Hayato's voice, Dead briefly nodded before climbing aboard Epsilon.
"Is Delta controlling you so much… that you're willing to attack your own home?" he challenged, swinging at her lance and hoping to deprive her of the weapon. Aki almost felt her weapon slip away due to the force of his strike, but she re-tightened her grip on its center and directed the other end towards him.
D-boy raised the right end of his own lance, parrying and pushing her lance aside. Aki grunted.
"Does she have such an influence on you… that you're ready to betray all we've fought for?" he shouted. The Red Devil hesitated for a moment, her long hair blowing in the direction of the easterly wind.
"Where…" a soft, yet firm whisper came from beneath her facemask "… is my son?"
"Aki…" D-boy said, realizing that this was the first time since her conversion to Radam that she had uttered a word to him; yet, he soon narrowed his eyes. "So, you think you can just take him, do you?"
The woman simply flashed her visor a scarlet red for a brief second in response and charged in.
"It won't be that easy," Blade asserted, blocking her strike and pushing her away. Moments later, a transmission came through from Milly, stating that a black and gold Tekkaman was on the loose inside.
"Delta…" Blade rasped, his eyes widening as he realized the extent of Radam's plan. His heart now racing, he quickly turned and burst towards the Command Center. The Red Devil pursued him closely.
Author Notes: Sorry again for the delay. Just FYI, Delta had hinted towards her strategy a couple of chapters ago. Basically, she had to use the four to three odds to her advantage by ganging up two on one against two Space Knight Tekkamen while leading the third SK Tekkaman far away to be rendered ineffective -- it was just a matter of which two Space Knights would be ganged up on. Let me know what you think.
