Disclaimer: See previous chapters
AN: Sorry for the long delay. Writer's block can be a real hassle.
Chap. 50
Space Knights Command Center
"Surrender to us or be destroyed."
Tekkaman Sliver stood in the midst of the battle-ravaged field, accompanied by a group Virgo Sol-Tekka dolls, all now under his control. Inside the Command Center, workers were moving franticly to find out what happened, with an angered colonel above them.
"Can we disconnect the signal he's using on the Dolls?"
"Negative, sir." the soldier responded. "We don't even know how it's being transmitted."
"You better find out then!" Dontello roared. "Without the Dolls, we are defenseless."
Just below him, Aki stood impassively watching the scene, "It doesn't matter. Even with the Dolls, they would be no match for a tekkaman like that."
The OZ commander ignored her completely, "Can we call in for reinforcements?"
"Negative. The same signal that's controlling the Dolls is also jamming our communications."
"What about here? Do we have any reserve forces?"
The soldier blinked in surprise, "Yes, but…"
"Send them all out."
"Sir?"
"You heard me." he barked back.
"That's crazy." Aki intervened. "You're sending them out to get killed."
Dontello finally decided to hear her. Hear, but not listen. "Hardly. The number of forces will overwhelm him and take him down."
"That won't work." she refuted. More than anyone, Aki knew the power of a tekkaman like that. Even if somehow they had gotten past the dolls, the tekkaman will simply finish them off.
"You have a better idea, Chief?"
"Relinquish Pegasus." she answered. "Let me fight with them. At least your men will have a chance with me there."
"Ha!" the colonel laughed. "You'd like that wouldn't you? The Space Knights save OZ's hide, is that it?" He sat back in his seat, "Forget it. We don't need your kind of help."
"Your men will be killed!" She couldn't believe this man's pride and stubbornness in this. Even he should be able to see that this was a bad situation. There was no time for such foolishness.
"Silence! Send out the units at once."
The command was relay and the side screens showed the Sol-Tekka pilots suiting up. Aki watched this with sobering pity.
'They're all going to die.'
Circus
Outside the massive tent, Trowa out from within the folds, holding a bucket of food. He moved to the cages where several animals awaited. The lion nearby growled after seeing him with the food, causing him to smile a bit as he approached.
"I know. Hang on, I'll get to you." Trowa bent down to pour in the food when he heard his name called from behind.
"Trowa…Trowa!"
Trowa turned from the animal to see a blond-haired young man standing behind him. The youth's eyes were wide with joy.
"It is you, Trowa!"
Trowa's eyes gazed over him briefly before asking, "Who are you? Do you know me?"
Quatre blinked in confusion, "Trowa…Don't you recognize me?"
"Trowa! Go inside."
Both of them turned to see Catherine standing by the tent, holding the cloth open. She was glaring openly at Quatre, though Trowa didn't understand why.
"But, sis..."
Quatre blinked in surprise, " Sis?"
"Just do it!" Catherine shot at him. But after seeing his soon-to-be distressed face, her expression softened. "I'll feed the animals, so you go help the ringmaster, okay?"
Trowa looked at her and then at Quatre for a moment before rising up and entering the tent. Quatre moved from behind, but Catherine stepped in front of his path.
"Wait!"
Her angry glare returned. "What did you come here for?! You plan to take Trowa away to the battlefield again?!"
The blond-haired Arabian looked at her with a mix of frustration and confusion. "Who are you?"
"Trowa is my little brother." she answered. "He's part of our family here."
Quatre was stunned by this proclamation, "But, he-"
Catherine didn't let him even start, "I don't want to let him suffer any more. He lost his memory. And his past is so painful. I don't want him to remember that!"
Quatre took in the full scope of her words with a train of guilt slamming into him. Sadly, he lowered his head, "It's…it's my fault. I'm sorry. Trowa sacrificed himself to make right my mistake." His fist clenched, "It's not something I can be forgiven for just by apologizing, but I am truly sorry."
Her fierce glance softened, but her voice remained firm, "If you really feel that way, then you should just leave him in peace. He doesn't need to fight anymore."
With that, Catherine stormed away, leaving a distraught Quatre behind.
"I'm sorry... Trowa..."
Unbeknownst to either Quatre or Catherine, Trowa had hidden himself on the side and had overheard their conversation. He examined Quatre until the boy turned to leave.
"Who is... that...?" Trowa thought aloud. Suddenly, Trowa felt a surge of pain rip into his head. He bent down and grabbed his head, trying to soothe the pain he felt. His tekka-set shimmered on his forehead briefly as the pain began to subside.
"I…I know him..."
L4 colony
D-Boy and Noal had remained in the L4 colony after Quatre's departure. Based on D intel, the group had once occupied a section of the colony, but it was unknown as to where or by whom. However thanks to Quatre, they were able to find out, mainly because Quatre was there when he became a gundam tekkaman. But that's another story. Anyway, they discovered that there was a building complex that had been abandoned some time ago, right after the gundams left for Earth (again, another story). I wasn't a lot to go on, but they had nothing else. Upon finding it however, they knew that they had hit something here.
"Looks like there was a lot of equipment here." Noal noted after seeing the surroundings, "Whoever was here sure moved it out in a hurry."
D examined the area as well and pushed open a door, revealing a couple of computer terminals.
"Not fast enough apparently. Let's check them out."
The two of them switched the computer on and began to search for anything that might have anything to do with the gundams or the scientists that created them. After browsing a few moments...
"Hey, D. Look at this." Noal called. D stopped from his search and moved over to Noal's terminal. On it were displays of colonies nearest to Earth as well as the Space Ring. As the screens flashed on…
"Operation Meteor. No…" Noal gasped as he saw realized the full scope of what he was seeing. "Were they insane? To even think about using a plan like this?!"
"We better download this now." D grabbed one of the nearby disks and inserted it inside the computer. As the download completed D-Boy added, "Information like this wouldn't be just left out in the open like this."
"You're quite right."
The two quickly wheeled around to see a group of men standing in front of the doorway, holding rifles and guns on them. A grey-haired man stood up in front, holding a gun himself.
"I don't think we've been introduced." Noal said.
The man answered with a half-sneer, "I already know who you are, Noal. I'm not sure how you managed to escape, but that doesn't matter now." His focus then turned to D, "And the ever elusive D-Boy. A real pleasure."
"Who are you?"
"Quinze." His eyes moved to the computer screen for a moment, "I'm one of the creators of Operation Meteor."
"You have to have been insane to come up with something like that."
"Earth needs a lesson, a lesson that we will still provide."
Waving his finger, Quinze motioned the soldiers to surround the two Space Knights. At the same time, he grabbed the disk from Noal's hand and placed it in his jacket pocket.
"What about the Radham?" Noal questioned. "Countless lives will be lost if Earth is ravaged the way you intend and the Radham will be there to pick off what is left."
"The colonies suffered just as much horrors during the First Radham War. We suffered while Earth for the most part, remained unscathed. And then afterward, we were oppressed further by Earth, treated as underlings for their Alliance and then OZ. Now is the time for Earth to suffer." He raised his gun, "And you two are in the way of that."
Suddenly an explosion ripped across from somewhere, catching their attention. Using the distraction, D-Boy and Noal quickly shoved the capturers aside and dashed for the exit. One of them raised his gun to fire, but Quinze held him off.
"Let them go." He held the disk up, "Without this, they can't know the true extent of project M. Besides, we have other thing to worry about."
Outside, D and Noal had cleared the complex and was well outside. They slowed down when they had reached a considerable distance.
"Well, that was close." Noal sighed aloud. Looking back, "Where'd that explosion come from?"
"Yours truly, of course."
The two men turned to the direction of the voice to see the long braided gundam sitting on the branch of a tree.
"Duo." D muttered.
The boy grinned and jumped down, "You're lucky I tagged along."
"You followed us?"
Duo shrugged, "Yeah, well Quatre told me what you guys were up to, so I figured I'd see for myself. Good thing too. I saw them come in some time after you did and I guessed it wasn't for a social call."
D looked back at the complex, "The system will most likely be deleted now. That disk had everything we needed."
"Good thing we still have it."
Now D was surprised, "Huh?"
Noal reached into his back and produced the disk, "The hand is quicker than the eye."
D-Boy took hold of the disk, "Now to discover what this Operation Meteor is all about."
Duo folded his arms, "I could have told that."
"So could have Quatre." D retorted. "But there's more to Operation Meteor than even you gundams know." Looking down at the disk…
"And this may hold the key."
Command Center
The hatch on the base of the Command Center opened and a large squadron of Sol-Tekkas swarmed out. Sliver's eyes glowed as he saw the approaching Sol-Tekkas and a dark smile formed beneath the armored head. 'Come, my little lambs. Come to the slaughter!' The Sol-Tekkas soon got into range and fired on the lone tekkaman, with their disruptors active. But Sliver made no move to avoid the blasts as they bounced harmlessly off his armor. Regardless of the futile effort, the OZ soldiers continued to fire. Sliver slowly walked through the shower of energy and lifted his hand. At that moment, the dolls sprung to life and fired back on them. The Sol-Tekkas were forced to retreat from the fire, but the dolls made no move to pursue.
"Huh? It doesn't even look like they're trying to hit us."
"That's right. Their job is to distract. The prize is mine."
Sliver suddenly dashed forward and stabber into the lead Sol-Tekka. The pilot inside could only gasp in shock as he realized that he had been stabbed through. Tossing it away, Sliver strode over to the next one and the next, repeating his actions slowly and deliberately. Aki saw what he was doing. While the Sol-Tekkas were grounded by the energy beams of the Dolls, the dark tekkaman could easy walk up to them and pick them off.
"Our forces are grounded sir. We're being picked off. Instructions, sir? Sir?!"
Dontello was frozen in his seat, shocked at what was transpiring before his eyes. 'No…It just…one tekkaman…how can…he be doing this?'
Aki wheeled on the stunned commander, "Dontello!"
"I…can't…I don't…"
Aki shook her head and turned to the soldier up front, "Where is Pegasus docked?" The soldier blinked and began to turn to the colonel for affirmation, but was cut off by Aki's voice. "Now, before it's too late!"
"Uh, docking bay 20."
Wasting no time, Aki left the Command room and dashed for the bay. Wreckage was littered all around her, a sign that Sliver was coming closer. Going around debris and injured bodies, she finally reached the docking bay. Several engineers saw her entering, but she looked past them, searching for her tekkabot. It didn't take long. It was settled right to the right of the bay. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was settled in pieces.
"What happened?"
One of the engineers answered, "The colonel wanted a detailed analysis of Pegasus systems, so…"
'Damn!' Aki didn't even stay to listen to the rest of the explanation. Without Pegasus, their chances had just dropped. She wouldn't be able to transform now.
At least, not safely…
'I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this.' she thought grimly and she moved toward the exit. Looking outside, she saw the last of Dontello's forces fighting desperately just to stay alive. Aki raised her hand high and a red crystal materialized. The crystal opened up and glowed brightly.
"Tek-Setta!!!!!"
Circus
Trowa and Catherine were both finished dressing for their act when the ringmaster entered in, telling them that they were the next act up.
"Catherine, Trowa! The house is packed! Good luck today!"
Catherine nodded and smiled, "Leave it to us! We'll show you a performance that the customers will remember all their lives, right, Trowa?" He turned to Trowa, who didn't answer, but seemed to be staring out into space.
"...Trowa?"
Trowa blinked out of it and looked at Catherine, "Huh? Oh yeah. We should go."
Meanwhile, just outside, Quatre stood looking inside the tent when a man approached him from the side. Quatre turned to face him, "What is it?"
The man responded, "Mr. Quatre, there are OZ and White Fang units engaged in combat and heading for this area. If nothing is done, it's possible that this colony will be caught in the middle."
Quatre frowned deeply at this news. "Why?!" he thought aloud. "When these people here only want to live quietly in peace?!"
At that very moment, true to the servant's words, the battle raged just over the colony. The White Fang, using Taurus Sol-Tekkas, were in a fierce fight with OZ's Dolls. The Dolls flew toward the colony to gain some space and fight back against the White Fang, who was being drawn in toward the colony as well.
"OZ scum!" one of the White Fang pilots yelled. "Bringing the fight to the colony!"
Despite this, the battle continued. The ferocity of the fight was so bad that many stray blasts impacted with the colony and caused it to rock. Inside, people panicked and ran for shelter. It was the same situation at the circus. People inside fled for the exits while the performers all tried to make sense of everything.
"Lead the customers' out." the ringmaster ordered. "Whoever's free is to take care of the animals!"
The performers did as ordered, escorting the people out. The ones closest to the cages began moving the animals in them before they went crazy. Among them, Catherine and Trowa were moving in the lions. Another explosion rocked the colony causing Catherine to nearly fall. But she caught her footing and wobbled to her feet. Looking up and the adjourning cages, she saw Trowa bent down on the floor as well.
"Trowa!"
Catherine quickly dashed over to Trowa, closing the cage along the way and she knelt next to him.
"Are you okay, Trowa? Trowa?"
Trowa shivered lightly and wrapped his arms around himself, I'm scared."
The older girl put her arms around him and held him close. "It's okay, it's okay." she said soothingly, "I'm here with you."
"Sister..."
"Trowa!"
The two of them looked up to see Quatre emerging from outside. Quatre found them and moved close just as the colony shook again.
"This place is dangerous! Hurry and get to safety."
Catherine half-stood to Quatre, "What's happening?"
"A group of Sol-Tekkas and Doll are fighting near the Colony."
Catherine frowned once more and yelled, "Why? We just want to live quietly in peace! How much must we sacrifice before they are satisfied?! I can't stand it anymore!" Her shoulders began to slump and she bent her head down. "I can't stand to lose any more loved ones." she said softly.
"Don't cry, Sis." Trowa said, consoling her this time. "I'll protect you."
"Trowa..."
Quatre silently watched the two of them with each other. Turning to the side, he addressed her, "I understand. I don't want to lose any one else either." Looking at Trowa, "You-- you created my heart for me. So this time, I'll protect everyone." His crystal materialized into form and began glowing.
"That's what gundams were made for, right?" he said lastly before shooting up into the sky in a flash of light.
Outside, the fighting reached a new peak and the combatants were now practically on top of the colony. The OZ Dolls were gaining control of the fight and beginning to hammer in the White Fang. But that was until they caught sight of a streak of light that shot out of the colony and veered toward them. It was Quatre, or better yet, Tekkaman Sandrock!
"I won't let you hurt the colony any more!"
Lancers drawn, Sandrock raised them high and ripped through two of the dolls. Sandrock then rotated around and slashed through another doll nearby. The White Fang thought about joining the tekkaman in battle, but after seeing his destructive assault, decided it would be better if they retreated and leave the dolls to Sandrock. Which was a wise move considering Sandrock might have attacked them as well. Sandrock managed to bring down a considerable amount of dolls before he felt his strength waning. The dolls had already activated their crystal disruptors and were now affecting him. 'Guess this won't be as easy as I thought.' The dolls fired away on him and Sandrock shot out into space, diverting the fire away from the colony. But his reduced energy began to strain on him and slowed him down enough for the dolls to get a few hits on him, blasting him across his body.
"Guuuuuaaaaahhhhh!!!"
Inside the colony, Trowa stopped suddenly and looked upward. The animals were all locked up and loaded and the customers had all but disappeared from the tent. Catherine looked up from her work to see Trowa still in place. He then began walking away and outside.
"Trowa! Trowa, where are you going?"
"He's calling me." the youth whispered.
Catherine blinked and turned her head side to side, "Trowa. No one's calling you."
But Trowa shook his head, "I know it. I can hear him…sad."
Trowa continued to walk and Catherine dashed around in front. It was then that she got a full view of his face, or more importantly, his forehead and the tekkaset that shimmered upon it.
"No!" she screeched. "You've suffered so much already and you think you're going back to fight again?"
Trowa looked at her and saw tears threatening to leave her eyes. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he looked back up again, "Acting according to our feelings is the right way for humans to live, isn't it?"
A single tear finally broke out from her eyes, but she gave a light smile, "You're really going to go, aren't you. You idiot. You're just as stubborn as ever."
Trowa returned the smile as he looked down at her, "I promise I'll make it back alive, Sis."
Trowa released her shoulders and walked out of the tent folds. Catherine simply stood there and watched him leave, tears still trickling down her face.
"Trowa... You really are... such an idiot, you know?"
Outside the colony, Sandrock was a little worse for wear, but still fighting. Despite the armor damage to his body, he was still fighting as fiercely as ever. Ripping through another group of dolls, Sandrock turned around in space and saw the remaining dolls advancing on him.
"I've got to finish this!"
Suddenly, a small set of voltekka cells formed around Sandrock's hands, connecting to the lancer and causing them to glow in deep crimson. Sandrock shot at the dolls and gave one massive slash. The added energy increased the attack, allowing Sandrock to rip straight through several dolls in one strike. Then in a twirling action, he flung both lancers away.
"Hyyyaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!"
The spinning blades sliced through the dolls like a hot knife through butter; clean and with no resistance. The lancers continued to fly away until the Sandrock shot out his energy wires and caught hold of them. They returned to his hands as the last remaining dolls exploded into space dust. Breathing heavily, Sandrock looked over to make sure they were all gone and to his relief, they were. The White Fang Sol-Tekkas had disappeared, likely escaping during his assault. His head gem shimmered, causing the desert tekkaman to turn toward the colony. To his surprise, a shuttle was approaching him, holding a lost friend on board.
"Trowa..."
Command Center
Sliver continued his slow assault on the grounded Sol-Tekkas, casually striding to them one by one and striking them down. Every now and again, one of the soldiers would come up in an attempt to attack, but get shot down by the beams of the dolls. They were trapped and they knew it.
Fssssshhhhhhhhhhhh
Suddenly, a flash of red light zoomed overhead through the fire and straight at the dolls. The crouched soldiers soon heard the sounds of explosions and looked out to see for themselves. There, battling the dolls in full force was the Scarlet Tekkaman. She was clad in her usual armor and garbs, but her lancer was spiked somewhat like dark crystals. Also, her shoulders now sported voltekka cells. Sliver caught sight of her entrance and walked toward her. His walk soon became a jog, then run, then flight into the sky. Aki flew toward him as well and the two clashed in the sky.
"So there is a tekkaman left here after all." Sliver pulled back and stabbed forward, but Aki parried it to the side and brought it back to his face. Sliver's speed, however, saved him as he rolled to the side and avoided the slash. Aki wheeled around with a wide swipe and Sliver caught it in another block. The lancers remained locked as the two battled for supremacy and neither of them winning as they were pushed away by their own force.
"This may be better than I thought."
Unknown
"Awaken, Shrapnel."
A pulsating blob in the middle of a dark chamber soon stopped beating and suddenly erupted. A metallic figure flew out and smashed into the floor below. Slowly it arose, revealing a heavily armored figure. The creature stepped forward a bit before it knelt down.
"What is thy bidding, my master?"
Aki battles in a grueling fight against Sliver, but how long can the former Space Knight commander hold out against the powerful tekkaman? Quatre, Noin and Trowa continue to work on rejoining the gundams. David and Natasha decide to head out into space, but encounter a possible resistance when an OZ group gets in their path which turns ugly when an invading Radhma force comes in as well. As the White Fang become more aggressive in their movements, on Earth, Relena moves to unify the world in peace. But Heero has decided that Relena is too much of a figurehead and seeks to kill her. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Drive for peace
