Chapter 11
"President Warren, are you sure about this?" Seto asked nervously. He eyed the silvery vessel in orbit right above them. "I mean, what if…?"
"Look. Not even I'm sure about this, but we have to see if what we received was indeed genuine," she said, looking at a small screen she held in her hands. The screen had Cybertronian symbols scrawled across its surface, which she had figured to be a note after having translated it into English.
"Still…what if the ship attacks us?" the CEO asked.
President Warren shook her head. "I doubt it will. And no trying to convince me otherwise, Seto. We need to see if this was indeed sent by him."
It had been not too long ago, about three hours, actually, that they had received a garbled transmission from somewhere in Earth orbit. The message had not been clear, but it had been enough for her to get an idea that someone was sending them a message. After repeated failed attempts to establish communications with the sender, they had gotten a message in Cybertronian lettering from the Communications Department.
"Ciel, how much farther till we're in position for docking?" President Warren asked, looking at the Orcan leader.
"About ten minutes, give or take," she reported.
"Sandra, weapons status?"
"One hundred percent efficiency and still climbing," the Blazian replied.
"Overmax activated?"
Sandra nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Mimi, shields?"
Mimi looked over at the President. "Shields are active and we're transmitting five-by-five."
"Excellent. Engine power?"
"All engines are at max," Famous reported.
"Good. Any enemies in the area, Cassie?"
Cassie shook her head. "None. No Dark Axis forces in the area."
President Warren nodded. "Okay. Take us in, Ciel."
Ciel nodded and she maneuvered the little shuttlecraft into position for docking. The next ten minutes were stressful as everyone prepped and checked their weapons for in case things got a little hairy.
The ship docked alongside the larger vessel a short while later and each member of the Federation leadership stepped out into the corridors, each wearing a customized spacesuit.
Ciel gripped her gun nervously as she noticed a camera aimed right at them. She aimed at it, but nothing happened.
She lowered her gun and turned nervously away, half expecting the ship to come alive and attack them.
Looks like we're gonna have to be careful, the President said, careful to speak in Cybertronian to avoid the ship's AI tapping into their comm links.
Right. the leaders agreed, keeping together as they ventured throughout the ship, weapons at the ready.
They made the wise decision to split up, for they had less chance of being caught individually, but they kept their comm links open at all times, each one set to the hidden frequency everyone had agreed upon.
Anyone find anything besides a bunch of combat drones littering the hallways? Seto asked.
No. Why? Mimi asked.
Hold up. I think what Seto is asking is what have we been able to detect on the scans, right? Famous asked.
Yeah, the CEO replied.
Well, nothing on this end, Mimi replied. Unless you count a gaping hole in the wall where an attack failed last time.
And I don't mean from last time! Seto snapped.
So, does that include a doorway on the far side of the bridge, because that's where I am right now, Mimi said.
That got Seto. What? A doorway? Was it there when you passed by?
No. It wasn't, but the next time I passed by, I saw a drone skittering off. That's when I saw it.
'Seems like someone's trying to send us a message.' the Kaxian thought to himself.
We'll be right there, Zero replied.
The leaders ran throughout the ship, homing on the comm signal from Mimi's spacesuit. They encountered no resistance from the ship as they neared her location. As the team approached the bridge, the tension grew amongst them, making them grip their weapons tighter. But, no movement, save for their own, occurred. No shuddering, no loud moaning, no screeching as the metal support beams for the ship burst through the walls, no wires flailing around, nothing. Not even a lone drone. The ship was utterly silent.
Looks like nothing's happening. Famous reported. I'm detecting no signs of activity from the ship, save for a few drones skittering around a few levels below. The place is deserted now.
Maybe the entity fled, Cassie suggested.
I doubt that highly. In fact… The President's voice trailed off as they neared the bridge. The door was wide open and they could see into it.
Unlike last time when it had been active, this time, it was completely still, exposing the interior to all of them.
A control console was situated in front of the main windows and a series of other consoles were lined up along the sides of the bridge. A main command station was placed a few yards away from the main console, which she guessed to be the place for the pilot or even the commander of the ship, should the need arise. An observation deck was located above the entryway they had come through, and on that deck were three other stations, which they guessed to be for sensors, stealth, and engine controls.
Beforehand, the place had been a major danger zone. Support beams had been jutting out of the walls, floor, and ceiling as wires had been slithering around on the floor like many snakes. The walls had opened and closed like gaping mouths while the floor had been open to the very bottom of the ship.
'W-wow…' Seto thought. He couldn't believe the sight of the bridge before him. 'It looks nothing like the bridge of the Blue Typhoon.'
And it wasn't.
In fact, this…was much, much better.
Wowee. This is impressive, Mokuba said, his eyes roaming over the whole bridge station.
President Warren, I found Mimi. And she is sure shocked by something, Steven said.
I'll be right there.
The President sort of half-hopped, half-walked over to the two humans standing in front of an open doorway, just like she had reported.
Holy shit…! Her voice trailed off as she stared into a strange room with wires snaking out to the walls, ceiling and flooring. In the middle of the room was a strange holding chamber. The bottom and top halves were connected by a clear glass tube that held within its grasp a small sphere with three rings around it. This sphere was bright blue-green with a golden flame inside, but the rings were bright white-blue, a clear indication of a Soul-Drive of Earthly origins. The twin halves of the holding chamber themselves were simply two cylinders that connected to the ceiling and floor of the strange room. The leaders were shocked by the simplicity of the room, along with the amount of wiring that snaked into the sides.
Seems like there isn't a whole lot of wiring that's connected to the ship itself, but maybe that's been bypassed due to system switches that tie into the systems themselves. Ciel mused.
Maybe, but that doesn't mean that they aren't connected in other ways. Remember, Optimus said that sometimes things aren't always what they seem, Zero stated.
Even so, we now know what powers the ship, but we still don't know if Anderson's here or no, Sandra said.
Wait. What's that? Mimi asked.
What's what? Cassie asked.
Static at irregular intervals could be heard in the bridge.
Static. And lots of it. Hold it! I'm picking up faint words! President O'hari reported. He had a hand to his comm unit on the side of his space helmet, his bug-eyes narrowed in concentration as he adjusted the frequency. Yeah. I got something. Hold on.
He dropped of the frequency, but they could clearly hear him over their standard comm units. "This is President O'hari of Gilar. Whoever this is, please respond."
"O….i…at…ou?"
"I can't understand you. Try a different frequency," O'hari suggested.
Again the words came through, still garbled, but not as badly. "O'hari…that…ou?"
"Almost there. Try 125.6 GH," O'hari instructed.
"O'hari? Is that really you?" a voice asked.
O'hari nodded. "Yes. It is."
"What…happened?" the voice asked.
"You don't remember?" the Gilarian breathed in shock.
"Not really," the voice murmured.
Hold on. Is that who I think it is? Ciel asked.
O'hari came back on the hidden frequency. It's him.
How…?
He says he doesn't remember much, but he does remember somewhat. O'hari said.
Is that really him? Cassie asked.
I already said it was. Clearly O'hari was getting ticked. She shut her mouth after that.
Now what? I mean…
Hold on. This time, it was President Warren who dropped off the frequency.
"Anderson? Is that really you?" President Warren asked.
"Yeah. It's me, Heather," the voice said.
"What…what happened?" she inquired.
"I…I really don't know. All I can recall is finding the vessel and inserting the sphere I found into the compartment, then nothing," Anderson said.
"Are you sure? Because we could try and find a way to reverse it," President Warren suggested.
"Sorry. I doubt that there's anything that can be done about it now."
"Still, there must be something that we can do."
"All we can do right now is continue the fight and win. That's the first thing."
President Warren nodded. "Okay."
"Just how long was I gone?" Anderson asked.
President Warren shrugged. "I don't know. It's been so long I've forgotten."
"Oh."
She glanced at her friends. "But, we managed to find some new allies, and we're grateful for that, considering how bad the conflict is about to get."
"I can take a guess," Anderson remarked.
"You knew?" she asked, shocked.
"Sort of. I managed to tap into the universal broadband, but the info I gained wasn't much."
"Slag…"
Hey, you done yet? Seto asked impatiently.
Unable to answer, she held up a hand for him to hold on just a minute longer.
"Anderson, we're going to get going now, but we'll be back."
"Okay. Just…"
She merely smiled and nodded. "We won't."
Getting back on the frequency, she turned to her friends. Okay, guys. Let's go home.
At the university…
Shute glanced at the Gundam who lay still in the bed beyond the glass of the observation deck, his armor removed to heal the wounds that had been inflicted by the Dark Axis during his imprisonment.
So far, most of them had been healed, save for the last few. Xenphyr was busy working on replacing one of the more destroyed components with a fresh one, so Shute could only see his back and a few other techies working alongside him.
He could only hope that his friend fully recovered soon.
As if he could read his mind, Xenphyr glanced up from his work and smiled at Shute, giving him the thumbs up.
Shute let out a sigh of relief, as he knew that the gesture was one of success and relief, or so he thought.
In truth, Xenphyr had done it so as to not reveal the truth: Captain was fading and fast.
But, he wasn't about to give up. The day wore on, the technicians, Xenphyr, and the medical personnel working hard to make sure Captain's internal bleeding was stabilized before they worked on fixing the external injuries.
Around two in the afternoon, the Reploid fell back into a chair, his face streaked with mech fluid and oil from the Gundam's injuries. His hair was disheveled and his white lab coat was rumpled, not to mention stained from drops of life blood for the military robot falling on it. His eyes were sort of glazed, but were still alert, as his mind was working in overdrive.
"Whew. At least the internal bleeding's stopped," he murmured.
"That's good though. Now we can work on the external injuries and fix him up," a nurse said.
"I doubt it. We still need to patch up all severed fuel lines and transfuse some more mech fluid into his body to keep his Soul-Drive going. And that could take till night," Xenphyr said seriously.
"…" The nurse was silent, unsure of how to respond to this. She glanced back at the badly injured Gundam before looking at him. "Then what?"
"Then we can patch him up." Xenphyr may have been serious, but a ghost of a smile flitted over his lips, making her smile back. She knew that underneath that hardened exterior was a man who worked hard to make sure his patients survived, even if it meant going to the Allspark and back, if it came down to it.
Outside near the boundaries of the university…
"Zako!"
"Quiet!" Shift hissed, his hand clamping over the Zako's mouthpiece. "No one must know we're here! Or else this won't work!"
The Zako nodded nervously as Shibaomaru glanced back at the unconscious form behind him.
Another Zako ran forward, holding a sack in its hands, clearly looking disgusted by the contents.
"Okay. Now, remember the plan. Shift, you attack the building and draw them out. Then I will come forth with our cargo, both of them. The Zakos will provide a distraction long enough for me to prepare myself for this," the Musha said.
Shift nodded, releasing the Zako in his grasp.
"Okay, now!" Shibaomaru cried.
The seventeen other members of the team ran out, weapons held and Mana powered for attack.
The Musha Gundam watched as the demon mage unleashed a barrage of Mana blasts on the grounds before him, setting a few trees ablaze, catching the attention of the pedestrians and fighters outside. The three fighters ran into the building, no doubt to get one of their own inside it. A few civilian organics were caught in the first attack, leaving their bodies charred beyond recognition.
He smirked.
Shift himself was having a good time attacking and destroying organics, as well as devouring their souls as he flitted over. He fired off another Mana bolt, exploding it against the side of the building, catching Sayla and the others by surprise.
"WHAG!"
They were thrown to the floor as the explosion rocked the building, shattering a few windows as it struck.
"Ugh, man! I hate it when this happens!" Zane snarled.
"Shift's here, no doubt!" Zero murmured, rubbing his helmet.
"Looks like you're right," Baston replied, pointing out the window. "And he's not alone. He's got some troops with him."
"Okay! Everyone get outside now!" Sayla snapped.
Just as she said those words, Kicker, Meisha, and T.J. burst into the room, all looking flustered and anxious to get out there.
"Guys, Shift's here!" Meisha said.
"We already know that," Syrus explained. "He blew the windows in."
"Oh. Well, it appears that Shibaomaru is also here, and he's got two beings with him. One of them might be Coby!"
That got everyone. "WHAT?!"
Sayla glanced at Kicker. "You serious?"
"Look. It's just a guess, but I'm guessing yeah. So, we'd better get out there and fast!" Kicker said urgently.
The teenage commander nodded. "Right."
They all ran out of the room and emerged into the sunlight a few minutes later.
Sure enough, the demon mage was going at the building before he broke off the attack and charged at them, his wings spread to full. Shift let loose a battle cry that rivaled those of the Indians long ago.
"NOW!" Sayla cried. "ATTACK!"
Zane threw his arm forward. "SUN MISSILE! LEVEL 40!"
The balls of energy gathered near his body, before launching in a flurry. The demon mage dodged them all and let out a cry that sounded like the howl of Cerberus.
Kicker gritted his teeth and ran for his fighter parked close by.
He needed the power and fast.
He hopped into the cockpit and closed it while pressing the button for the mode he knew would help him in this fight.
A flash of light erupted from the console and in a second, it began.
A bright light surrounded him as armor materialized onto his unclothed body. The Energizer Matrix was first to lay itself upon his naked chest. A set of armored gloves appeared on his lower arms and hands, a pair of blades sweeping back till about halfway up his upper arms. A chest plate appeared over his chest, shielding his heart and vital organs from fatal injury. His lower legs and feet were covered in armored boots with the same kind of blades sweeping off to the sides as a set of shoulder pads covered his shoulders. A set of waist armor appeared to cover his lower torso and on his back, the Energizer X took on the function of a jetpack. The last thing to appear on him was a helmet that nestled itself on his hair, clamping into place. A pentagonal gem flared as he opened his eyes and he struck his usual battle pose.
Kicker's armor was bright blue with a small hint of green on the gauntlets and boots, but near the edges. Red lines ran down his leg and shoulder armor, the bright gold of the gauntlets standing out. The blades were bright silver, as was the swept back design of his helmet. The exposed parts of his skin had been covered with some kind of black material to complete Matrix Mode.
Shift smirked. "What? A new form? That is nothing."
"Just tell us where Coby is!" Kicker snarled, clenching his fists.
"Oh, you mean your human friend?" Shift sneered.
"Yes!" Kicker hissed.
"Simple. I have him." Shibaomaru stepped out of the brush, holding in his grasp Coby's limp form.
"COBY!" The collective cry was enough to make him grin.
"You want him back, you'll have to fight me for him, as well as this," he said, motioning to a second form lying on the ground, bound up, eye screens dark.
Everyone gasped in shock as he grinned satanically. "Well? What will it be?"
"You are going down!" Jaden hissed.
"Heh. Try me, human!" Shibaomaru purred.
Jaden didn't even give him a chance to draw his katana from its sheath. He gripped his beam sabers and ignited the glowing golden blades. He charged at the musha Gundam, catching him off guard.
"GAH! You little…!" Shibaomaru was cut off guard by the sudden assault, especially from Sayla.
"AURA SHOCKWAVE!" The blue energy wave came right at him, but he dodged to the side.
Shibaomaru gripped his katana and unsheathed the blade. He held it in front of him as Sayla charged, her laser sword emerging from where her right hand had been. She slashed, but he parried the blow.
Just then, Zane fired off his Sun Missiles, impacting the ground around the Musha.
"Whoa!" He dropped Coby's form, and T.J. acted swiftly, engaging his engines and speeding low to the ground, scooping up Coby's body in his arms.
"Huh?" Shibaomaru looked around in confusion. What just happened?
"Nice try," T.J. chirped.
Demon magic suddenly erupted behind him, making him spin around.
You got the touch
You got the power
Kicker was engaged in battle with Shift, a full on fight between the Energizer X's pilot and the demon mage. His teeth were gritted and his eyes were narrowed in determination as he fired off the Energy Pulse. The pulses streaked towards the demon mage, but he barrel rolled out of the way as it struck the ground behind him.
"Now, time for you to die!" Shift hissed.
"I doubt that this time!" Kicker snapped.
After all is said and done
You've never walked, you've never run,
You're a winner
Kicker dodged to the side, his hands clenched into fists as he called upon the Energizer Matrix. The power coursed into his hands, releasing a warm tingling feeling as it gathered in his palms. "ENERGZIER BLAST!"
Shift sneered evilly before flaring his Mana wings and darting upward with a mighty pump. The blast sped right under him, causing Kicker to snarl in rage.
The boy fired the engines of his starfighter and flew right up after the demonic Gundam. Shift laughed as Kicker closed in on him, his eyes narrowed in fierce determination.
You got the moves, you know the streets
Break the rules, take the heat
You're nobody's fool
"So, you think you can defeat me and rescue your friends alone? Well, that is noble, but it will ultimately cost you your life," Shift purred.
"Not this time!" Kicker yelled. "ENERGIZER SHCOKWAVE!"
He spun around midair as his right foot began to glow with the power, unleashing a shockwave from his foot, right at the enemy in front of him.
Shift dodged to the left, but the human was ahead of him this time.
"ENERGIZER SLASH!" He slashed as hard as he could with the blades on his arms, unleashing that familiar shockwave he knew so well.
Smirking, his opponent erected a Dark Mana shield, the attack dissipating in front of it in a shower of white sparks. "Nice try, human."
You're at your best when the goin' gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough
"Kicker! LOOK OUT!" Sayla yelled. She spun in midair and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the head of a Zako soldier, taking its head clean off in a spurt of mech fluid and oil. She leapt on top of the body and kicked off, using her momentum to propel herself forward. The force from her jump added to her momentum, boosting her forward motion and she kicked out in a front snap kick. The Zako in front of her wasn't so lucky, for the treads on the bottom of her combat boots penetrated through its chest armor.
The two landed on the ground, Sayla already yanking her foot free before it even struck the ground. She began running, her lithe body seeming to move more like a fluid than a human being.
She lashed out with a double punch before kicking out in a side thrust, catching a Zako soldier in the lower torso, making it cough. She wrapped her arms around its arm and yanked, using the force from her tug to flip the soldier flat onto its back, the wind knocked out of its intakes.
She jumped over its still body and, using her gun as leverage, launched herself at Shift. Her hand transformed into her weapon and she slashed as hard as she could, catching the demon mage by surprise as he flitted up behind Kicker.
"GAH!" He barely dodged the strike, but it nicked him in the face, drawing mech fluid to the spot.
You got the touch
You got the power
"No one tries that while we're here!" she hissed.
"Oh, really?" Shift asked mockingly.
"Yes!" Sayla growled.
Shift cocked his head as if in deep thought, but then he sneered and teleported in a cloud of black mist.
Sayla instantly knew who he was targeting.
When all hell's breakin' loose
You'll be riding the eye of the storm
"JADEN! HE'S COMING!" she cried, whirling in his direction.
"Huh?" The human/Gundam glanced up, just in time to see Shift hovering there, Mana gathering about his hands, ready to attack Baston!
"NO!" Jaden cried, fear flooding his systems and circuits.
"JADEN! SEND HIM PACKING!" Sayla yelled, fierce determination filling her voice.
Jaden glanced down at his chest just as warmth flooded his systems, his Soul-Drive spinning at full power. A soft golden glow emitted from the compartment just as the fighting fire appeared in his brown eyes, his right fist glowing with bright light, electricity lacing the energy. "ELECTRIC PUNCH!"
He punched as hard as he could, the energy attack speeding right at the demon mage.
You got the heart
You got the motion
The attack struck, unleashing an incredible explosion that blew everyone back. Again, smoke curled upward from the spot, but not as thick as it had been the first time Jaden had unleashed his signature attack.
Shift spread his wings, throwing aside his cover. "HAH! Is that the best you could throw at me?" he crowed.
"Not even close!" Jaden smirked.
You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch
"SUN MISSILE! LEVEL 40!" Zane's signature attack, and his most powerful, sped out of the smoke that covered him and impacted around Shift, creating smaller craters and throwing up clouds of dust.
A few narrowly missed him, but one or two found their targets and impacted him and a few Zakos that had managed to find their way to him. A Zako cried out as one of Zane's missiles blew its chest plate open, exposing its power core before it was blown to bits from the force of the explosion. "Zako!"
Shift looked up, barley dodging the attack unleashed by Syrus. "SONIC WAVE!"
The demon mage smirked as the attack struck the ground, barely making a crater.
"Heh. Seems like that's the strongest attack you have," he purred. "You shall be first to die!"
"I don't think so!" T.J. yelled, his wing blades glinting dangerously as he sped right at Shift.
You never bend, you never break
You seem to know just what it takes
You're a fighter
The demon mage dodged the young mech's attack before delivering a punch that T.J. blocked, but barely.
His teeth were visibly pressed together as he struggled to prevent Shift from attacking him.
"Nice try," the Gundam demon purred.
Instead, T.J. smirked as he kicked Shift in the torso, forcing him back. Now, T.J. could unleash it. His wing blades swung back as he held his right hand out in front of him, the barrel for his signature Shocker Cannon emerging from its subspace compartment. The barrel formed around his hand, which was now clenching the trigger within the weapon itself.
"SHOCKER CANNON!" T.J. roared.
The ball of electricity gathered at the tip, growing larger in size and power, boosting its lethality as it did so.
He released the trigger, and it fired in a blast of energy and sound, making even Guneagle's beam rifle seem pale in comparison.
It's in the blood, it's in the will
It's in the mighty hands of steel
When you're standin' your ground
The beam sped right at Shift, who wasn't prepared for an attack like this. It struck him, blasting him to sparks.
"SLAG! A clone!" T.J. hissed.
"That's right. You underestimate me," the demon mage purred from behind.
"TAKE THIS!" T.J. cried. He fired off a second shot from the weapon, but it missed his hiding spot by only a millimeter.
Shift sped upward, his hands glowing with demonic Mana.
"HAH!" He fired off a blast, but T.J. dodged to the side.
And you never get hit when your back's to the wall
Gonna fight to the end and you're takin' it all
The beam of Mana exploded against the ground, tossing up a huge plume of dust, shielding T.J. from view. He smirked and locked onto Shift's energy signature, using his infrared vision.
"Gotcha!" he purred.
Shift gasped as T.J. aimed one of his submachine guns at him, firing off several rounds.
The bullets impacted Shift's body, damaging him, but not life threateningly. He shouldered the pain aside and forced himself to focus on his prey.
"Meisha! Your turn!" T.J. shouted.
You got the touch
You got the power
"Right!" Meisha replied. She aimed her pistol, locking onto Shift's location and firing off a few shots. Most missed him, but one struck him in the chest, damaging him a little more, and drawing out mech fluid.
"GAH!" Shift winced in pain as the wound sparked.
She smirked.
Even though she may have lacked the skills the others had, but she more than made up for it with her skills with a pistol, especially one like the one she held in her hands, and her ability to solve problems.
"How did you like that?" she quipped.
When all hell's breakin' loose
You'll be riding the eye of the storm
Shift let loose a cry that rivaled those in the Pit. He fired off three Mana spells, one after another, hoping to strike them and incinerate them, but instead, they missed and burst three trees into flames before automatic fire cannons came out of the ground and let loose gallons of seawater onto them, suppressing it.
"Nice try!" Sayla shouted, a smirk on her face.
Kicker nodded, his hands glowing with the power of the Energizer Matrix.
"Just try me!" Shift hissed.
Deed decided to get into the fray at that point, forcing Shift onto the defensive with a powerful spell launched from his scythe.
"Deed!" Sayla blurted, shocked. She hadn't even known that he had arrived via a teleportation spell!
"Looks like you all could use some assistance," he remarked.
"Boy, are we glad to see you!" Sayla said, relief evident on her face.
Shift growled as he let out a howl of rage and hatred.
You got the heart
You got the motion
The demon mage unleashed spell after spell, but Rele was fast with her own spells, firing them off and blowing Shift's spells into oblivion with her own. A few missed, forcing her to throw up a Mana shield to deflect them.
"Close one," Baston murmured.
"I'll say," Jaden whispered, clutching his racing Soul-Drive.
Guneagle, who had been lurking behind, sped up holding his beam rifle. "Eat laser, you freak!"
The bright pink beam sped out the barrel and right at Shift who barrel rolled to the side, firing off a spell as he did so.
Guneagle barely dodged it, but it was close enough to make his Gunsoul pound in his chest. "YIKES!"
You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch
The flyer jerked his body upward horizontally as the spell sped beneath him, striking one of the trees and turning it into metal coated with rust.
"Geez! Is that what he was planning!?" Guneagle remarked, a large sweatdrop running down the side of his head.
"Looks like he got the idea from the Titanic," Jaden gulped.
"We'd better be careful," Zane said grimly.
"I shall turn you into scraps!" Shift yelled.
"I don't think so this time!" a new voice yelled. "Tenkyouken!"
A bright, fiery X sped out of the smoke caused by the recent spell explosion and nailed Shift, scorching his body and making him cry out in pain.
"Bakunetsumaru!" Zero gasped.
The red and white Musha Gundam emerged from the smoke, his katana drawn and ready for battle.
You're fightin' fire with fire
You know you got the touch
Baku stopped in front of them, holding both katana in his battle stance.
"You want to turn them into scrap, you'll have to deal with me, and the others, in battle!" Baku spat.
"Oh, really?" Shift asked.
"Yes!" Bakunetsumaru hissed.
"Very well. MANA DESTRUCTION!" Shift roared.
"ENERGIZER BLAST!" Kicker thrust both hands forward, launching his signature move in a blaze of white light and heat.
"SHOCKER CANNON!" T.J. fired off his own move, the beam combining with the Energizer Blast.
"GUARDIAN ASSAULT!" Meisha called forth her starfighter's weaponry and blasted back with everything she had, the assault combining with the other two moves.
The screen showed their three faces as they called out their combination move. "ENERGIZER ANNIHILATION!"
Both attacks sped right at each other, one a combination, and the other, a devastating concentration of Dark Mana. The first, created by three separate attacks, impacted the second, holding it off before an explosion occurred at their meeting point. The shockwave blew Shift back, along with Kicker, Meisha, and T.J.
The three humans landed on their feet, Shift on his backside in a very painful position.
You're at your best when the road gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough
"Owwww!" Shift moaned as he sat up, holding his head.
"Nice one!" Guneagle cheered from the sky.
"We just did what we had to do. We couldn't let him destroy Baku, so we had to attack," Kicker explained.
"GRAH! You shall pay for that!" Shift snarled, his eyes narrowing.
"I doubt it this time!" Zero purred, holding his Vatras sword in one hand, his shield in the other. "For now, you must face all of us!"
"Heh. I still have the human," Shift sneered.
"Oh really?" The Gundams and the others looked around, eyes searching for the source of the voice. Kicker was the first to spot the source, a red mechanical spider with four legs and one single cannon mounted on it, with the Autobot sigil planted firmly on one part of it.
"Coby's scrapmetal vehicle!" he gasped. "Then that means…" He smirked. "Nice try, but I guess you don't realize the benefits of Federation tech! Once a procedure is done once, and you try another, the procedure from before will occur again!" he explained.
"So that explains why he did not turn into a Gundam with my spell," Shift muttered.
"And that's why I'm still here!" Coby explained.
You got the touch
You got the power
"If that is the case, then you must be destroyed!" Shift hissed.
"Not this time!" Zero shouted. "SUPER MAGICAL VIOLET TORNADO!" The magical winds laced with violet petals sped at Shift, striking the demon mage and throwing him a good fifteen meters before he landed on his head and falling down.
"OWCH!" Kicker and the others winced, but Shift just groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position.
"That does it! Oh Dark Mana, grant me my sacred lance and shield, become my weapons and help me defeat my foes!" Shift roared, holding his hand to the skies. But Sayla and the others didn't give him the chance to summon them forth.
"AURA SHOCKWAVE!" Sayla slashed as hard as she could, unleashing her shockwave.
"SUN MISSILE! LEVEL 40!" Zane threw his arm forward, firing all of his Sun Missiles at Shift.
"ENERGIZER BLAST!" Kicker thrust both hands forward, launching his signature move in a blaze of white light and heat.
"SHOCKER CANNON!" T.J. fired off his own move, the beam combining with the Energizer Blast.
"GUARDIAN ASSAULT!" Meisha called forth her starfighter's weaponry and blasted back with everything she had, the assault combining with the other two moves.
The screen showed their three faces as they called out their combination move. "ENERGIZER ANNIHILATION!"
"TENKYOUKEN!" Bakunetsumaru slashed with both katana, unleasing his own move.
"SUPER MAGICAL VIOLET TORNADO!" Zero swiped with his sword, summoning forth a whirlwind with violet petals mixed in.
"MANA BLAST!" Rele fired off a blast of Mana, aiming it right at Shift.
"ELECTRIC PUNCH!" Jaden thrust his fist forward, unleashing his own move once again.
"SONIC WAVE!" Syrus fired a blast of sound from his outstretched hands, right at Shift.
"CRYSTAL MANA! COME TO ME!" The last one came from Baston, who had recently learned how to call upon his Mana and concentrate it into a powerful attack, something similar to his Crystal Lance.
The eleven attacks merged into one, backed up by Guneagle's missiles and Shute's glue. The powerful beam slammed into Shift's shield just as it dropped down from the Mana circle above his head. "GRAH!"
"NOW!" Sayla roared.
You got the touch
You got the power
The screen showed all eleven of their faces as they called out a new combination maneuver. "TRIPLE DEVASTATION MAX!"
The beam exploded against Shift's shield, causing the demon mage to go sailing and slam right into the ground.
The smoke that covered the area was so thick it seemed to block out the sun, but thanks to a light breeze, it was fading.
The battle worn fighters emerged from the smoke, and each one glanced down into the crater made by Shift's impact.
"Well, he got away," Sayla muttered angrily as she kicked a stone down into the crater.
"Yeah, but at least we saved Coby and Genkimaru," Guneagle said, glancing at the young Musha child, who lay not too far from the battlefield.
"And we have Zako prisoners," Baston remarked.
"Not exactly. Before the explosion, I saw them all escaping through the Zakorello gate," Zane explained.
"Slag!" Baston swore.
"Just drop it already, guys, all right?" Jaden moaned.
"What happened?" Syrus asked.
"I think it has to do with his Soul-Drive. Maybe using it more than once wears him out," Zane mused.
"You may be onto something. We'll have to check it out with Cerverau," Sayla mused.
"Uh, that may not be such a good idea," T.J. cautioned.
"Why not?" Guneagle asked.
T.J. bit his lower lip before speaking. "Well, I kinda overheard him and Guardian talking about a week ago, and that's not good."
"What!?" The collective gasp was full of shock and amazement at his betrayal. "Cerverau's…a traitor?" Sayla murmured.
"Yeah. And…well…he was planning on implanting something into my systems, so…" T.J.'s voice trailed off as the others got the basic idea.
"Oh. That's not good," Syrus moaned.
"You bet the slag it's not!" Zane hissed.
"Well, then I guess we'll just have to let this slide for now. We need to find out why he's a traitor, so let's talk to Xenphyr. Hopefully he'll have some answers," Sayla said.
"I sure hope so," Zane murmured.
In the university's ICU…
Shute sat out in the waiting room, holding his legs close to his chest. The memories of everything that had happened during the time they had been here played over and over in his mind's eye as he waited for the news.
The door slid open with a quiet hiss, and the human boy glanced up, seeing Xenphyr emerge from the room, his hands covered in Captain's mech fluid.
"How is he?" Shute immediately asked.
Xenphyr had a grim look on his face, but he could tell what Shute was thinking. "The good news is that he's not in danger of passing on, but he's seriously injured. It will take about ten days for his wounds to heal, but the greatest damage I fear was done to his mind during the intense interrogation done by the Dark Axis."
"So…" Shute feared the worst.
"He'll be fine, but I fear that he'll never be the same again emotionally, or at least, not the same as he was before," Xenphyr said, reassuring the boy's fears. But when he saw Shute's worried expression, he understood Shute's concern.
Xenphyr looked at Shute and sat down beside him.
"Shute, listen. Before I became a doctor, I was once a political assassin for the Orcan government. I usually took out many enemy leaders who threatened Orcan interests, and sometimes corrupt politicians. Mostly enemy leaders though. I would go in and find out a little about what they did in their home organizations, and I've seen this kind of stuff before," he said.
"You have?" Shute asked.
Xenphyr nodded. "Yes. And many of the beings who went through the intense interrogation weren't the same afterwards. Some were reduced to childlike intelligence, and some weren't able to do anything at all. They didn't even know who they were."
"And that was intense?" the boy asked, worry filling his voice.
"Yes. The more moderate version, which is what the Dark Axis used, normally left beings in an emotionally wrecked state. They were unable to cope with even the most basic of human touches, because they felt that it meant pain. And that is the most horrific of all. Unable to hold the ones you love, unable to touch them, help them, comfort them; now that is the most horrible experience I've seen. It makes my soul ache just thinking about it," the Reploid said.
"But, what did you mean when you said that he won't be the same as before?" Shute asked.
"He may be a bit traumatized by this, so you'll need to be there for him. He may need you more than ever. A few who have escaped the emotional trauma of being tortured…" Xenphyr's voice trailed off. Even now it still bothered him.
"Yeah?" Shute prodded.
"They were given a chance to start anew. But, they never fully recovered. It haunted them for the rest of their lives. One took his own life, one lived ten years before she jumped off a cliff, and one is still alive, struggling to put it behind him, but so far, it's failing," the medic said.
"And that being is an Orcan?" Shute inquired.
"Cybertronian, actually. A former prisoner of war. It's only because of his friends and family and bondmate that he's able to live this long," the Reploid said, looking down at his hands.
"Really?"
Xenphyr looked at Shute and nodded. "Yes. So, if you really love him, you'll be there for him."
"Huh? I don't love him!" Shute cried, his face turning red at the mere thought of what Xenphyr was implying.
"Shute, don't be afraid to hide it. It's actually encouraged here, even if you both are male. It increases diversity, and it further inspires others to finally be with the one they love the most," the former assassin said.
"It does?" Shute asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Xenphyr nodded. "Yes. Freedom to be with your true lover…that is another freedom we fight hard to achieve. Freedom to pick your life, your love, and your future."
"…" Shute was silent. He couldn't believe that this man, a former assassin, could be so kind and caring.
Xenphyr laughed. "And don't be fooled by the stereotype that others paint for us assassins. We're not cold and ruthless killers who kill for enjoyment and who care mostly about money and pathetic goals like that. In fact, most are actually quite humane when you think about it. Out there in the universe, there are probably more humane assassins than there are corrupt ones. Most fight for democracy, really. That's how the democratic powers have survived this long. An extensive assassin network tied into the central organization that keeps it all together: the Universal Assassin Corps."
"Really?" Shute asked. He never had even guessed that there were even humane assassins to begin with!
The retired assassin nodded. "In fact, it's because of that that most organizations look upon them as ruthless, uncaring, and money loving."
"Assassins get paid?" Shute blurted.
Xenphyr grinned at the boy."Yep. Large amounts, depending on the organization that's hiring them."
"Wow…"
"So, Shute, don't be afraid to reveal how you truly feel for Captain. In fact, if anything, I think he feels the same way about you. He just won't admit it. If you tell him, maybe he'll tell you," the medical Reploid said.
Shute fell silent as he considered Xenphyr's words.
"You really think that?" he asked softly.
"I know it," Xenphyr assured him.
"How…?" Shute's voice trailed off. How had Xenphyr known in the first place?!
He seemed to sense Shute's thoughts and he grinned. "I've seen it in the way he was looking at you when you were in a coma after that attack, and in the way you were urgently asking me to save his life. Shute, it's okay. Just remember, here in the Federation, no one is holding you back. It's all up to you how things can turn out."
With that, he stood up and left, leaving the door open for Shute to see into the room.
Shute stood up and walked over to the room, peering in, looking at the still form of Captain Gundam. He let his eyes roam over his friend's body, taking in the damage that had been fixed up. Flexible metal bandages covered his wounds, hiding them from view.
"Captain…"
As he looked at him, he made a decision.
'If we win this war, if we do, then I'm gonna tell him how I truly feel!' he thought to himself.
The end of the first infiltration mission ending in failure and success, Shute and co. prepare to begin a new mission: to find out more about the Dark Axis' past, and the Federation's past. While they search for information, the Orcan leaders go to see an old friend from a war long past. Calling an emergency meeting, the Federation leaders arrive on Earth, and new information is uncovered. But, what does this friend have to say? How does it tie in with the Dark Axis?
What new answers lie in the mysteries of time? And what about the Elders? What is their decision regarding Vector Prime? What new keys lurk as they struggle to uncover new clues?
Many new answers will be found and new revelations uncovered on the next segment of Twilight of the Gods: Part V: New Revelations.
Next time on Twilight of the Gods!
"NO!" My voice was hoarse as I yelled as loudly as I could. The attacker didn't even stop from going after my friend.
Hunter barely dodged, but he got impaled on the side with the glowing beam sword. Xenphyr spun around, slashing with his assassin knife, cleaving the head off and he was blinded by the mech fluid that splattered across his face.
He wiped it clean off, but boy, was he pissed!
I have never seen anyone as angry as Xenphyr got when he lunged and hacked that Zako away to pieces that day. His body was covered in mech fluid when he was through with it. All he held in his hand was the memory chip, and his knife in the other.
"Nice one!" Hunter cheered. I'm not sure why he looked up to as cold blooded a killer as Xenphyr, especially when enemies were concerned.
He was a good fighter, Hunter was, and it showed as he attacked a Zako, blowing it to pieces with his secret weapon.
Not even I know what it was, for he never told me, nor did he reveal it in battle, except for when he needed it the most.
That day, we lost quite a few soldiers, but it was well worth it, for we had gained some information that truly surprised us all.
What information was gained? How does it tie into the present day? And what happened on Orca that caused the Dark Axis to attack them? How does this reveal anything about the Superior Dragon, and Baston's heritage? All this, and much more will be revealed on the next episode of Twilight of the Gods!
