Chapter 16 – The Master of the Fist
Not long after the destruction of the first alien battleship, the Robot Masters prepared to drop down from their Skyranger, freshly painted blue, into the middle of a bustling megalopolis, filled with frankly monstrous skyscrapers.
In previous centuries, the city had been heavily modernized and expanded, becoming not only massively populated, but also bearing an eclectic mixture of architectural styles from various cultures, ranging from stone pagodas to western cathedrals to the towering behemoths of glass, steel and concrete that seemed to be trying to reach into the heavens.
From his office, Asaru watched on, monitoring both the deployment and the estimated trajectory of the second battleship, over twice the size of its predecessor.
"Of all the places… It had to go to Guangzhou."
"What about it?" Gilliam asked, looking a little confused.
"Remember what I told you about Operation Slingshot? That battleship we hijacked mid flight and picked clean on another Earth? Guess what city we boarded it over."
"Parallel universes are a baffling thing." Gilliam remarked. "Sometimes it feels as though some higher power enjoys taunting us with echoes of our past."
"We have other concerns right now though." Asaru said, glancing in the direction of the tactical display, which was showing several cities under attack by alien spacecraft in combination with the typical robot units. Whatever the aliens had in mind, it seemed that they were trying to cause as much of a disruption as possible to allow the battleship to move unhindered.
"It appears they have changed tactics…" Gilliam noted. "Our MEC units may be giving as good as they get, but the aliens have an aerial advantage."
Actual alien spacecraft had not been seen since the opening salvo at Nova Vinea. X-COM suspected that whatever fleet the aliens had mustered was hiding somewhere in space, but the invaders' reasons for not simply swarming down in force were still unknown. Interrogations of alien captives proceeded apace, thanks in no small part to Asaru's psionics, but so far all of them seemed to be either grunts without a grasp of the bigger picture or criminals forcibly enlisted in some sort of penal regiment – the kind of people who wouldn't be entrusted with any kind of sensitive information.
Asaru's expression remained unreadable as he watched live footage of a MEC squad trying to take down another alien vessel with rocket launchers.
"The Asian air wings are in pretty bad shape after taking on that first battleship. A pity we can't equip our MECs for aerial combat just yet."
"It's still a juggling act." Gilliam lamented. "We're going to have to step up our alloy production and push out the new fighter craft models. There's only so much we can do by refitting existing ones."
"I suppose we should be glad that we managed to avoid getting the whole project canned after so many years of peace." Asaru noted with a scowl. "But no matter the Earth, it seems I'm fated to fight bean counters and bureaucrats as much as alien invaders."
With that, the Major's eyes narrowed and he furrowed his brow.
"I just wonder what could have prompted this change in tactics."
"I suspect we'll find out soon enough." Asaru said with a somber expression. "And we probably won't like the answer."
Meanwhile, at the Sanctum...
"Aren't you a little too old for this?" Atreus protested, visibly embarrassed to have his sister perched on his back, with her arms latched around his neck.
"You said it yourself." she retorted with a mischievous smirk. "I shouldn't move around too much until I get a full check up."
"People are going to get the wrong idea if you keep doing stuff like this." he grumbled.
"Don't care." she replied, fatigue starting to seep into her tone. "One day some lucky girl is going to snatch you away. Might as well get you to spoil me a bit longer."
After disembarking from the Hoplon – or rather being eased outside by her overly concerned brother – she had caught him off guard and claimed that perch. For his part, despite the obvious embarrassment to find himself in such a position at his age, he only really put up token resistance.
"You can really be a handful sometimes…" he thought as the elevator's doors shut and the cabin carried them to a higher floor. "I was never very good at saying no to you."
His mind drifted back to a time many years prior, when both of them had been considerably smaller. During one of his countless hikes across the island, she had insisted on following him yet again, only to trip on a root while going through a forested area. While the ever-vigilant Phantom had tried to take her home himself, she had instead insisted on having her brother carry her instead.
"I suppose you were always good at using your cuteness to get what you wanted…" he recalled with a smirk. Their family had doted on the two, using a caring but firm approach in an attempt to instill them a sense of morals and discipline tempered by kindness. Sometimes, however, even the dutiful Guardians could find it difficult to be strict when dealing with her.
"You may be taller these days, but you haven't changed that much on the inside."
While she could and would act like an adult and a budding scholar in public, when she was alone with the family she could be a bit more capricious and mischievous – but never malicious. While the two were a year apart in age, the close bond they shared could be compared to that of twins.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened, and the siblings continued on their way.
"Really now?" Fairy scoffed as Atreus carried his sister past the entrance lobby and into the small room on the ground floor where they kept a stash of emergency medical supplies and examination devices.
"What can I say?" Atreus retorted. "I guess I'm a bit of a sap when it comes to her."
"It's a good thing Fighter isn't here or he'd take a few pictures for the scrapbook." Fairy remarked with a smirk as he set Amelia down on a chair. "I suppose at least she stopped using you as a teddy bear."
"I was six!" Amelia protested, now feeling the sting of embarrassment herself.
"I guess we don't have to worry about concussions, seeing how you're as much of a smartass as ever." Fairy retorted with a smug grin, though she still set about examining her. "Still, it can't hurt to be sure."
A few moments later, Cadmus and Ciel stepped into the room, both of them trying to rein in their obvious concern.
"So, what's the verdict?" Ciel asked.
"Nothing to worry about." Fairy said, to the relief of the concerned parents and brother. "Just a few bruises."
"Time to step up the plans for the new piloting suits." Ciel said, having been working overtime on them after witnessing the X-1's awkward tumbling.
"It looks like the internal integrity fields held." Cadmus said, still holding a tablet with the Hoplon's readouts. "Small victories, but we definitely need to improve the armor and the visor."
"It's going to take a while to crank out enough high grade Titanium X to refit the Robot Masters and the entire Pantheon, but at least for now we should be able to manage this much. Those alien alloys look promising too..."
"They got lucky with that cheap shot." Amelia pouted from the reclining chair she was sitting on. "But I won't exactly say no to upgrades."
"Of course you didn't miss the chance to tug at a certain someone's heartstrings." Ciel added, glancing at Amelia.
"I spoil her too much, I know." Atreus conceded with a shrug.
The Imperative and the Affirmative had gone through much together and played various roles in their lifetime. Scientists, research partners, leaders. None of that could have prepared them for the role of parents. Seeing the family back to the usual banter definitely helped put them a little at ease.
"To be fair…" Cadmus said with a knowing smile. "When these two start doing the puppy eyes, our higher brain functions shut down."
"You can say that again…" the voice in the back of his mind chimed in. "Damnit Ciel… You've taught our little girl a little too well."
"Do you think they're evil psychic aliens out to conquer us all?" Atreus joked.
"Interesting choice of words…" the voice in the back of the Imperative's mind remarked, noticeably amused. "Do you think he's onto something?"
"Who knows?" Cadmus retorted with a shrug, earning a scoff from his unseen companion. "Maybe they use their powers to look adorable and steal hearts. If we're not careful, they could end up taking over the whole galaxy."
"Oh please." Ciel retorted with a grin. "I've got everything I could possibly want right here."
She then walked up to the chair and lightly flicked the tip of Amelia's nose.
"But what have I told you about teasing your brother like that?"
"I can't help it." Amelia said with a mischievous smile. "He's like a big puppy!"
"You're going to scare away all the other girls at this rate." Cadmus pointed out, trying to stifle a chuckle.
"Meh." Amelia retorted with a smirk. "Anyone who gets scared off by someone as harmless as me doesn't deserve to have him anyway."
"You, harmless?" Atreus scoffed. "Cool story Sis."
"I'm perfectly harmless." Amelia retorted, making a cherubic expression. "And anyone who complains can just get a kick to the shin."
"I wonder if the other me on the Earth next door has to deal with this kind of stuff…" Fairy thought.
After her creation along with her siblings, the bioroid Fairy Leviathan had dedicated her life to the protection of Neo Atlantis under the auspices of the Founders' AI, Nur-Ab-Sal. Deep inside, she had always yearned to become something more, something closer to humanity, and her path had changed forever after being assigned to protect the future Imperative before he was even aware of his role in the greater scheme of things. While Project Unity had not ushered humans into a new age of immortality as he had once dreamed, it had still changed the lives of Navis and humans, as well as those of the four siblings.
While Fairy tried to present a firm but dedicated facade, the truth was she had grown to love the siblings like a doting but stern aunt from the day of their births. In Ciel, she had found something resembling a sister and in the Imperative and the being sharing his corporeal shell she had found kinship and frustration in equal measure.
"You never really know where life will lead, do you?" she wondered with a wistful sigh. "I just wonder if I'll ever find…"
She abruptly interrupted her train of thought, before letting out another sigh.
"Maybe I've become a little too human…"
"Auntie, you're spacing out." Amelia remarked, breaking her out of her musings.
Startled back to the present moment, Fairy sighed again.
"The rest can wait. I've got enough on my plate keeping an eye on all of them."
The thoughts coursing through the Imperative's mind as he watched his children, however, were of a more somber nature.
"Even if they don't remember…"
"Yeah…" the voice in the back of his mind added. "Even if they don't remember what happened to them, it's left its marks."
"They were always like this." Cadmus thought with a heavy heart. "Ever since that day when Alouette first awakened… and again, after they returned to us. If anything, they're even more protective of each other this time around."
"We didn't tell them anything so they wouldn't have to relive that trauma…" Cadmus recalled."But the peaceful life we wanted for them didn't last."
"It doesn't matter." the voice in the back of his mind retorted. "He brought them back. Now it's up to us to do the rest."
The Man From the Stars had changed their lives forever, first by bringing forth visitors from a parallel Earth and then by intervening in the events leading to the Sigma Uprising and its conclusion. He had given the Hikari twins the nudge they needed in order to bring out their growing power, lent his own power in the fight against Sigma and fetched Lan and Sean from their unplanned trip into what they had eventually started referring to as the Earth next door.
They had not seen the strange man or his two strange companions again for several years, but the results of his actions were still evident. Though they did not know for certain what sort of sorcery he had employed, the Imperative's family were personally grateful to him for another, more discreet favor.
"Things are going to have to change though." Cadmus thought, narrowing his eyes. "How do the twins cope?"
"They cope because they must, like they always have." the voice in the back of his mind pointed out. "As for us, the only thing we can do is become strong enough, and we don't need any bullshit relics for that."
"Right. We have the Saber and the will. The rest will come in time. But before we do anything else, I need to ask. Do you have any regrets?"
"Do you? We may have ended up like this as an accident, but I wanted to stay. To taste life as a man, in an organic body instead of another Copy Bot."
"I did some stupid things back then that I'm not proud of…" Cadmus mused. "But if you, Ciel and the children are happy and safe, that's all I need."
"And there you have it."
"I guess all this crap was making me start second guessing myself again. Thanks for talking some sense into me for the millionth time… partner."
"Well then…" Atreus said, oblivious to the silent exchange taking place in front of his eyes. "The others are taking on another battleship farther east. I should…"
Then he let out an involuntary yawn and suddenly realized just how drained he was feeling from the battle and the effort of carrying his sister out of the Hoplon.
"Don't worry about it." Alexander chimed in, standing from his position leaning against a nearby wall. "I'll go. You two get some rest."
"Are you sure you don't…" Atreus tried to say before another yawn, louder than the second, interrupted him.
"You really should listen." Ciel said, before placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can't and shouldn't try to do everything by yourself."
"I don't understand…" Atreus muttered. "The first time I fought, I somehow managed to keep going for nearly two days. Why am I feeling so drained now?"
"Well…" Alexander remarked. "You two were probably the ones pushing yourselves the hardest out there. Not to mention you had to deal with another exertion once you got back."
"Was that a crack about my weight?" Amelia asked, glaring at him.
"That aside, you're still human." Ciel said, looking intently at both her children in turn. "Don't overdo it, please. What you're doing is important, but you need to pace yourself. The others have plenty of backup ready to step in."
"We still don't fully understand how those machines work." Alexander pointed out. "But it's clear they rely on willpower and our mental state. You won't be doing yourself or the others any favors riding into battle again so soon after pulling that stunt."
"I suppose you're right." Atreus reluctantly conceded.
"Don't worry." Fairy reassured him. "The other Guardians are already on their way. They should be arriving soon."
"Come on." Ciel said, grabbing her son's arm. "You need to take better care of yourself."
"Yes Mother…" he muttered, feeling a little awkward as she started leading him towards the elevator.
Despite the circumstances, Alexander and Cadmus couldn't help smiling at the sight of the tall young man so utterly disarmed by his petite mother.
"The same goes for you." Fairy added, staring at Amelia.
"Fine…" she grumbled. "But only for everyone's peace of mind."
With that, she stood from her seat and headed to her room.
"Now this feels familiar." Alexander remarked once his young friends were out of earshot.
"If I know your mother, then she probably acts the same way behind closed doors." Cadmus said.
"Pretty much." Alexander said with a nod. "I know that some of us are treating this whole thing like a grand adventure, but I can't imagine what it must feel like for a parent to have their child fighting in the front lines."
"I'm not particularly devout or anything." Cadmus said somberly. "In fact, a good chunk of the people on the island are agnostic at best, so this is going to sound weird, but… Pray that you never have to find out."
"Well, they're my friends too." Alexander said resolutely. "I'm not letting anything happen to them on my watch. I just hope I can get there in time."
"Go on, then." Cadmus said. "Give them something to remember."
Alexander nodded and started making his way to the hangar where he had left the Leonarch. Along the way, he found Ciel, standing there as if waiting for him.
"Your parents have done a great job raising you." she remarked, casting an appraising glance at the young man.
"So have you raising those two." he replied, raising his gaze towards the upper levels where the living area was located. "I'm guessing they're out cold by now?"
"Didn't even make it to their rooms." Ciel said with a hint of amusement. "Sleeping like babies on the living room couch."
"Really now? Those two never change." Alexander remarked with a knowing smile.
"I do hope they won't change where it counts." Ciel said. "Things are bound to get worse before this is all over. Watch yourself out there, my boy."
"Will do." he said with a polite nod.
"They've been pushing themselves as far as the rest of us." Ciel said with a sigh. "When they're not out there fighting, they're training or visiting the lab in the mainland."
"I wonder if their head of research has something to do about it." Alexander mused. "By all accounts, she's really something."
"What?" he asked, noticing Ciel's grin. "I have eyes!"
"Are you sure you're not projecting?" Ciel playfully retorted. "Then again, I haven't met that young lady yet. I probably should pay X-COM another visit soon."
"A heart to heart then? From one genius to another?"
"Maybe." Ciel said with a shrug. "What did you say she was called? Rachel Thorn?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Thorn…" Ciel pondered, recognizing the name. "Wasn't that…?"
"I'll see you later then." Alexander said before continuing on his way.
A few minutes later, as the Leonarch emerged into the light of day and took to the skies, flying without any visible means of propulsion much like the Apotheosis, Alexander turned his gaze westward.
"No point in plowing through half of Eurasia to get there…" he muttered to himself, estimating the distance.
The Leonarch started picking up speed, startling a flock of seagulls in the distance. So focused was its pilot on reaching his destination that he failed to notice another, much smaller form following him, leaving a faint shimmering trail of purple energy. The masked figure in the armored dress cast a brief glance at the construct and then, with a surge of power it abruptly darted in the same direction he was heading.
"What was that?" Alexander muttered to himself, spotting the brief flare before it faded.
Around that time, on the other side of the world...
The blue Skyranger came to a halt, overlooking a gathering of alien machines. Rather than cutting a random path of destruction as usual, the infantry models seemed to be intently combing the city for something in a more organized pattern, but the Robot Masters were not about to take any chances.
"That battleship should be getting in range in another couple of minutes." Lan informed through the radio. "Considering it's even bigger than the other, it's safe to assume it's packing even more firepower. Careful out there."
"No holding back!" Shingo growled, already picking up targets during the Drill Machine's descent. Being reduced to a bystander in the X-1's duel had definitely frustrated him and he had the perfect outlet in sight.
"When did we ever?" Raito retorted, doing exactly the same.
"Don't get cocky, kids." Dex warned. "Remember what happened to the X-1 last time."
"Did you ever listen when you were their age?" Chisao pointed out with a knowing smirk.
Above them, the Spark Machine clawed its fingers and crackled with energy, momentarily halting its descent. The targets were locked, the capacitors charged and the pilot fuming.
"Begone buzzards!" Aya shouted with a sweep of her right arm. "THUNDER BREAK!"
From the Spark Machine's outstretched hands twin streams of electricity burst upwards, until they struck a cloud, and then back down, searing a group of alien infantry units below. While Aya and Shingo were barely on speaking terms, they shared the same frustration at not being able to do more for their friends.
"It looks like Aya is in a bad mood today…" Maria noted as she steered the Gemini Machine towards the freshly cleared landing zone.
Throwing subtlety out the window, Shingo fired a burst of Drill Missiles. Two of them struck home and the impact tore an alien machine's head off, sending it rolling across the highway it was standing on and reduced a good portion of the torso to mangled metal.
A second Skyranger, painted in the traditional black color scheme, flew into the scene. Locating an empty parking lot nearby, it momentarily hovered in place above it and then two hatches opened on its sides. A pair of Gespenst units, one white and one red, jumped out, firing their thrusters to break their fall.
"Ah, good." Casval remarked as the Comet touched down. "We're still in time for the festivities."
The other alien units farther out abandoned whatever they were doing and opened fire on the group, but the Gemini Machine's hard light barriers promptly surged into existence, interposing themselves in the path of the shots. Without pausing, the Gemini Machine raised both hands and released a pair of crescent shaped energy waves, which surged forth and cut through an alien machine each.
"She just keeps getting better at this." Shingo noted with growing pride as the Gemini Machine gracefully touched down. "And to think I was supposed to be here to protect her..."
Despite the sentiment, he still had no intention of lagging behind. Instead, he adjusted the output of the Magnetic Levitation Engine, steering the Drill Machine into an interception course with its wrist mounted drills pointed down.
Ignoring the small caliber shots pelting the outer plating of his machine, he slammed down, plowing through two infantry models before surging forward to drive the drills into the chest of a third. His brief moment of triumph was cut short, however, as an alien rocket struck the back of the Drill Machine. The plating held, but he was still annoyed at being caught off guard.
"Do not simply charge in blindly like a fool!" Aya scolded, before striking the offender with a Spark Shot.
"What do you care?!" he snapped without thinking.
"Hey!" Maria interjected. "Let's not start that again, you two."
"Not this again…" Raito thought in annoyance, before promptly destroying the alien machine's launcher with a Metal Blade just to be safe. Some of the other alien pilots shuddered in their cockpits and instinctively got as far away from the intended target as they could.
A trio of infantry models focused fire on the Spark Machine from its left flank, but Aya did not bother dodging. Instead, some sort of golden energy barrier crackled to life around her robot, absorbing the energy projectiles.
"Looks like the Spark Barrier is holding." she thought with a smile. "The Professors are just amazing."
The Spark Machine turned to face its assailants and Aya cast a withering glare at the aliens before pinning them in place with a Spark Burst. As if on cue, the Great Harpuia barreled in out of nowhere, holding its wrist blades forward and drilling through the immobilized alien machines.
"That technique again..." Aya muttered to herself, recognizing something familiar in that attack from the old shows Lan had playing on a near constant loop at his office.
The Great Phantom reached into a pouch and started hurling some sort of black pellets that erupted into a strange thick smoke that blinded both the sensors of several alien machines and the eyes of their pilots before moving in for the kill.
"Fricking weeaboo…" Fighter grumbled under his breath, annoyed at his brother's tastes but reluctant to use profanity near the children again after the reprimands from his sister.
The irascible Guardian then proceeded to unload the Great Fefnir's oversized cannons on another group of alien machines, tearing through the shields. The two X-COM pilots seized the opportunity, finishing what he had started with their magnetic auto-cannons.
The arrival of three of the Four Guardians and the two young soldiers definitely made the battle more vicious – and hectic – as they unleashed their arsenal with single-minded fury. After the brief moment of levity, they were definitely getting serious.
More alien units started descending around them, but their design was somewhat different from the typical infantry models, with thicker helmets decorated by a single horn, larger arms and each of them bearing a single orb on its chest where a strange silvery mist churned.
The X-1 fired a burst of Buster shots at one of the new opponents, but just as they were about to hit the target a silvery energy bubble formed around it, absorbing the projectiles.
"Ah, these must be the mid-season upgraded mooks." Raito said, looking unfazed.
"They have shields now?" Shingo asked, somewhat concerned.
"I guess that makes it a fair fight." Raito retorted, rather cockily as the X-1 broke into a sprint towards its target, already charging up the next shot.
"Those kids have guts, but the longer this goes on the more likely one of them will get hurt." Amuro mused.
The thrusters on the white Gespenst flared. In the blink of an eye, it overtook the X-1 and raised its magnetic accelerator rifle, spewing a volley of metallic shards. The target's energy shield shuddered under the onslaught but did not collapse immediately.
This, unit, as it turned out, was not remote controlled or piloted by a rookie soldier. The alien pilot began evasive maneuvers, trying to fire back before his shield was overwhelmed. The X-1 's torso was grazed by the burst, but the alien failed to land a solid hit. Unfortunately for them, their machine found itself on the receiving end of a Spark Shot, which finished off what was left of the barrier.
Before the alien could react to the sudden loss of the shield, this was followed by an Iron Cutter seemingly out of nowhere that nearly took off the robot's left leg, sending it into an awkward tumble. With a satisfied smirk, GutsMan turned his attention back to rushing the enemy right in front of him.
Not bothering with niceties or trying to get the alien to surrender, Casval simply fired up the Arc Thrower module on his Gespenst's right arm, then covered the distance to the immobilized machine before smashing the Jet Magnum's prongs through the cockpit visor and unleashing a jolt of energy upon the hapless occupant. If they survived the battle, the alien pilot would wake up hours later in a holding cell with a headache.
Meanwhile, Maria lingered in the back of the formation, studying the battleground with NumberMan's assistance.
"These new units are all manned." the Navi pointed out. "Are you sure you want to…"
"I'll just have to be extra careful." she said with a determined expression. "But just to be safe, please update the display. Highlight all the new manned units to the team."
"Done." NumberMan said as the display was updated with new data, which he then relayed to the other machines.
The petite girl nodded appreciatively and then rushed forward, summoning five of the Gemini Machine's hard light duplicates. The doppelgangers rushed around the battlefield in a random pattern, making a nuisance of themselves with tackles, punches and dodges, distracting the opposition long enough for the others to take advantage of the confusion.
Meanwhile, the nearly identical cousins found themselves in a heated struggle with a particularly tenacious enemy pilot, trading rapid fire shots without either side being able to land a direct hit.
"Looks like they were saving their best guys." Raito said as a stream of blue energy projectiles barely missed the X-1's head.
"No more messing around." Maito added.
The two tried to recall how they had slipped into Full Synchro twice before, but the power would not readily answer them. The battle was simply too hectic and they couldn't focus. Not letting this frustrate them, they elected to try more of the X-1's arsenal.
"Plan B." Maito said.
"Let's go!" Raito cried out, already going through the weapon selection screen. "Electric Spark!"
The X-1's arm transformed again, launching a burst of purple tinted energy orbs that struck the nearest alien unit, burning through the shields in a few hits.
"And now… Shotgun Ice!" Maito added.
The aptly named weapon burst forth, peppering enemy units with razor sharp shards. The one whose shields they had just burned was soon frozen in place, but two others nearby were still hit by the spread. Seizing an opening, Casval finished off the unshielded alien machine with a magnetic accelerator rifle shot.
"Our weapons, our robots… Was all of this really made with technology from our world?" he silently wondered, watching as his target came to a halt with the power source built into its torso out of commission. Predictably, the two boys quickly moved on to the next opponent, and so he prepared to provide covering fire.
Around the same time, Amuro found himself face to face with two shielded units. Gauging his opponents with measured moves, he switched weapons, then rolled out of the way of a rocket and retaliated with a burst from his magnetic auto-cannon.
"Guess it's time to try those Split Missiles the Captain mentioned."
He dodged another volley, then as soon as the machine's targeting computer finished locking onto the targets, he pulled the secondary trigger.
The Gespenst ejected a pair of pods from its back, which flew forward above its head towards the two alien machines. Mid-flight, they burst open, releasing clusters of small rockets, which peppered both of them. While they were reeling from the pummeling, Amuro fired his pair of Slash Rippers, which buzzed around and struck them from behind.
The first impacts encountered some resistance, but eventually the shield of the unit to his right collapsed under the sustained onslaught. Amuro finished it off with another auto-cannon burst to the midsection while the unit to his left found itself relieved of a leg by a Metal Blade.
"These things cut through shields too?" Maito said appreciatively. "Nice!"
"Don't get cocky." Maito scolded. "Amuro softened it up for us."
The young MEC Trooper let out the breath he'd been holding, but before he could relax his senses informed him of another threat.
He abruptly looked to the right and barely had enough time to roll out of the way of an incoming rocket. While the explosion did not catch the white Gespenst head on, it was still enough to momentarily blind its sensors. While the machine's systems tried to compensate, he moved in for a Jet Magnum strike. Before he could do so, however, the Guts Machine barreled past, ramming the alien with a full body tackle that sent it tumbling across the pavement. As she watched the battle from the lab, Ms. Yumi couldn't help grinning in satisfaction at her handiwork being put to good use.
The tactical displays on the Robot Masters' machines suddenly beeped in warning and a new reading appeared on the map, heading their way. A massive form loomed on the horizon, drawing steadily closer.
"It looks like it's time for the boss fight." Raito said as the black dagger shaped craft, at least twice the size of its predecessor, disgorged another wave of shielded units from hatches on its underbelly.
"As we suspected, this one is on a completely different level from the first." Asaru remarked as he continued to watch from his office.
"But would they seriously sacrifice an entire battleship as a decoy?" Gilliam wondered.
"They had no compunction against throwing their goons at HQ while they were plundering elsewhere." Asaru pointed out. "They are either callous, desperate or both."
"And we're still no closer to discerning their true goals." Asaru added. "The interrogations so far have been a complete waste of time in that regard."
"We'll just have to wait and see." Gilliam said with a shrug. "Jumping to conclusions at this point won't do us any good."
As their new adversaries showed themselves, the Robot Masters scrambled to cover each other's backs, dashing across the debris-ridden battlefield. The Guardians moved their machines around them in a wide triangle formation, ready to intercept any incoming threats.
"Mine!" Fighter roared, once again unleashing a barrage of fiery projectiles from the Great Fefnir's cannons, punishing the alien units for daring to approach. Sage shifted position and the Great Harpuia took off again, raking them with its wrist blades and further depleting their shields.
"Hey…" Raito realized. "We didn't check if there was anything new in the weapon list after that last fight."
Scanning through it, he found a new unlocked entry.
"Maser Blade? Is that what I think it is?"
"Only one way to find out." Maito said with an excited grin.
After making sure that the others were out of the way, the boys activated the weapon. The X-1's right hand transformed into Buster form, but instead of a bolt an orange tinted energy shaft emerged instead, twice the length of its arm.
"Oh yeah!" both boys cried out excitedly.
Needing no incentive, Raito charged forward, swinging the blade in a wide arc. As it turned out, it was rather effective, disrupting the shields of an enemy machine and cutting through the alien plating like butter. Getting some payback for what the aliens had done to the X-1 in the previous fight was rather gratifying, but the boys still tried in earnest to avoid the cockpit, instead reducing the target to immobile scrap by slashing at its weapons and limbs.
"Oh, it's on!" Raito shouted, tightening his grip on the controls and moving on to do the same to two other units. A rocket struck the center of the X-1's chest, making it shudder and scorching the plating, but the boys ignored the damage and pressed on, slicing through the next rocket mid-air and then proceeding to dismantle two machines, again leaving the cockpits unharmed but thoroughly wrecking most of the rest.
Watching on between firing Gemini Beams at other enemies, Maria couldn't help feeling a little uneasy at their display of destruction.
"The energy drain on this thing is insane!" Maito warned, watching the display like a hawk. "We'll have to use it in short bursts."
"How did that staff pack enough energy to keep it on for so long?" Raito wondered.
"More importantly, what are we going to do about that thing?" Shingo chimed in, turning his gaze to the battleship overhead.
"Are the bastards ignoring us?!" Shingo fumed, glaring daggers at the craft before firing up the Magnetic Levitation Engine and pursuing it from the ground, dashing across the empty road.
The boy steadied his aim and launched a Boost Knuckle at the alien craft's underbelly. While it struck true, caving in a section of the plating, the vessel was undeterred. The aliens aboard retaliated, bringing the ship's swiveling turrets online and unleashing a volley of sulfurous yellow energy projectiles upon the machine.
Unable to dodge in time, Shingo braced for impact, shielding the frontal section with the arms. Maria stifled a gasp and hastily conjured one of her hard light barriers, but some of the shots still broke through, peppering the Drill Machine's surface and leaving it a bit worse for the wear, with scorch marks in various locations and its surface briefly sizzling from the heat. The ship's size was definitely not the only difference from the one Atreus, Amelia and Alexander had previously downed. The weapons also seemed a notch above.
"It's gonna take more than that!" Shingo defiantly proclaimed, before firing a Dill Missile at one of the turrets. He took only the briefest moment to enjoy the small explosion before seeking out another turret to destroy.
"Don't just stand there!" Maria scolded. "Dodge!"
As if on cue, the turrets launched another volley. While the Drill Machine was not as agile as the X-1, the Magnetic Levitation Engine had made it somewhat nimbler and the boy was able to put that to good use, narrowly avoiding the projectiles. As they struck the asphalt, Shingo winced.
"I guess I can't keep relying on the armor forever…"
The battle started feeling like it might drag on indefinitely, but the Robot Masters refused to relent. Instead, the Guts Brothers took point and their machine started plowing through the opposition like a raging bull. Instead of trying to break through the alien shields, instead they reverted to their earlier strategy of grabbing one of the enemy machines and using it as a club to pound the others. While it was a crude strategy, it was surprisingly effective. Apparently the shields only accounted for projectiles and melee attacks, not grappling.
"Those three are going full beast mode there…" Shingo remarked with a wince as their improvised club came down again, sending one of its compatriots into an awkward tumble.
"Hey!" Raito shouted. "You're gonna kill someone at this rate!"
"Guess you're right." Chisao acknowledged, changing tactics. The Guts Machine dropped the hapless alien robot and shifted into a traditional fighting stance.
"Think we can pull this off in here too?" GutsMan wondered.
"Only one way to find out." Dex said, cracking his knuckles before gripping his set of controls again.
The Guts Machine seemed to tense up, much like its pilots, before stomping its right foot and raising its right leg. The three inhaled and then sprung into action.
"Shinkyuu…" Dex hissed.
"Tatsumaki!" Chisao growled.
"Senpukyaku!" GutsMan roared.
With its leg raised, the towering robot broke into a mad spin, hovering slightly above the ground, then plowed into the enemy formation, knocking the alien robots around like rag dolls with a furious kick that unleashed a gust of wind in its wake.
"How does something so big move so fast?" Casval wondered, rather dumbfounded.
Sharing the same sentiment, still watching the battle from the other side of the world, Asaru abruptly choked on his drink.
"Just roll with it." Raito retorted with a cheeky grin.
"In the meantime though, what are we gonna do about that thing up there?" Maito added.
"I'm afraid we can't just cut that thing in half like your friends did." Amuro chimed in, nervously watching the craft's trajectory, edging ever closer to the city center.
"Not over land, no." Raito conceded.
"Which means we've got to find a way to lure or push that thing out south beyond the estuary." Casval reasoned, before destroying an alien machine's rifle with a precision shot from his own. The disarmed alien attempted to flee, but a quick Slash Ripper to their robot's left leg disabused them of that notion.
"Well, if we can't shoot it…" Dex said, a little dizzy after the all out attack, but still very much in the fight.
"We can still punch it!" GutsMan added, cracking his knuckles.
With that, the Guts Machine's Magnetic Levitation Engine flared, propelling the bulky robot in the battleship's direction with both fists raised.
"Fly, fist of iron!" Chisao proclaimed.
"ROCKET PUNCH!" GutsMan bellowed, firing the Guts Machine's right fist at the massive craft.
While it shuddered from the impact, it was clearly going to take much more to change its course. The retaliatory fire from the ship's turrets quickly followed, scorching portions of the thick robot's plating.
"Think we should…?" Chisao wondered as the Guts Machine backed away to make another attempt.
"Not yet." Dex answered, shaking his head. "This ain't the time or place to try that."
"What are those three up to?" Shingo wondered, watching them approach the much larger opponent without a care.
The oversized fist reattached itself and the Guts Machine continued its trajectory, ignoring the bursts of incoming fire and the gouges they started tearing into the plating as it winded up its right arm for another blow.
"Let's go!" Dex said.
"Megaton…" Chisao growled.
"PUNCH!" GutsMan roared.
Once again, the craft shuddered as the Guts Machine struck, putting its entire mass into the swing. Still, it wasn't enough.
"Try this on for size!" Shingo shouted, as the Drill Machine's targeting computer locked onto several spots in the superstructure.
"Now is not the time for showing off…" Aya grumbled, rolling her eyes before reaching for the controls. "But if you absolutely must, then do it properly."
"I don't need your approval." Shingo retorted.
"There they go again…" Maria thought with a sigh.
"DRILL MISSILE BARRAGE!" Shingo roared as a fusillade of missiles burst from the Drill Machine, tearing through the battleship's defenders and its outer plating alike. Due to the craft's sheer bulk, however, the missiles seemed almost like pinpricks in comparison.
"You have had your fun." Aya said, sounding unimpressed. "My turn."
With an almost maniacal gleam in her eyes, she released the safeties and thrust the Spark Machine's hands forward. Instead of directing the Energizer at another machine, the reactor instead poured its full output into a sustained burst of fulminating lightning. For a brief moment, Aya lost the practiced composure of a high society heiress, letting out a rather unsettling cackle.
The surface of the alien vessel sizzled as the unbound energy surged through the hull, visibly disrupting the craft's engines as its ponderous trajectory slowly came to a complete halt. Satisfied that it would be unable to fight back or escape for a while, she eventually stopped.
"She does take after her mother." Chisao remarked, completely deadpan.
From the X-1's cockpit, Raito and Maito snickered, knowing that while Yai could have a bit of a temper, she was not prone to such outbursts… at least not in public.
"Now!" Aya called out. "Throw those fools over the horizon!"
Needing little incentive, the Guts Brothers kept going, ramming the battleship in a full body tackle. The alien metal groaned in protest and the craft shuddered.
"Go!" Raito shouted, dialing up the power on the Magnetic Levitation Engine and the Rush Jet, following after the Guts Machine to deliver a few blows of their own.
Meanwhile, the Gemini Machine started shimmering, until it conjured five of its hard light doppelgangers, which quickly rushed to add their strength to the effort, shoving as hard as they could before fading out.
"Keep pushing!" Dex groaned, manhandling the controls. Thankfully, being aware of the Guts Brothers' strength, the twins had had the foresight of making the joysticks and steering handlebars out of Titanium X, or they would have likely snapped.
It was then that someone else joined the battle.
Wrapped in purple energy, an increasingly familiar figure in white soared through the skies, heading directly for the battleship.
"We meet again." Raito remarked, before blasting another of the ship's turrets with a charged Buster shot. Energy overload or not, he didn't want to take any chances so close to them.
"Is that the one who showed up that other time?" Aya asked, taking a moment to admire the armor's design. "Such a graceful figure!"
"But there is something rather unsettling about it right now…" she realized with a sudden shudder.
Raito felt it too. While in the previous encounter the strange figure had exuded a sense of warmth and serenity, instead the air seemed to shimmer and crackle with barely contained energy, and the lithe figure was projecting a nearly palpable pressure as it glared at the alien vessel.
"Somebody else is in a bad mood today…" he thought, feeling a sudden chill.
"Casval…" Amuro called out, still keeping his machine's magnetic auto-cannon trained on the battleship's hatches in case something else reared its head.
"I feel it…" Casval replied. "What is this pressure in my head?"
"It's doesn't feel exactly like that white machine, but I wouldn't want to be in her sights right now." Amuro remarked.
The armored figure raised both its hands forward and clawed its fingers. The air around the alien craft began to stir and, with strained groans, some of the plating began to bend as if crushed by colossal invisible hands.
"No doubt about it…" Asaru remarked as he watched the engagement through the local X-COM forces' camera feed. "Psionic… and considerably powerful at it."
With the combined efforts, the alien vessel was forced further away from land, sliding southward towards the sea in an unsteady trajectory.
"And one more for the win…" Dex huffed, getting ready to charge again.
"Wait!" Maria called out, struck by a sudden flash of inspiration. "We need to be smart about this."
Deducing her train of thought, Aya nodded.
"Remember. Force equals mass times acceleration. The Guts Machine has the former and the X-1's Rush Jet has the latter, so…"
"Exactly!" Maria said with a grin.
"Why didn't we think of that?!" Raito chided himself.
Watching from the lab, Lan and Hub exchanged grins. Hub had been just about to suggest the same thing and seeing the young pilots demonstrating their resourcefulness filled both of them with pride.
"I'm not sure if it's gonna fit." Dex pondered. "Those docking clamps weren't made for the Guts Machine's size."
"Still worth a shot though." Chisao said.
With that, the Guts Machine and the X-1 backed away.
"We'll handle the Rush Jet's steering from here." Lan chimed in.
"You guys just focus on hitting that thing as hard as you can." Hub added.
Next to them, Ms. Yumi watched on, silently assisting with the trajectory calculations. Truth be told, she was struggling to conceal her excitement, mostly out of fear of accidentally outing herself.
The X-1 detached from the Rush Jet, staying in the air solely through the Magnetic Levitation Engine's power. The add-on then made its way to the back of the Guts Machine and the docking clamps opened as wide as they possibly could.
"Here goes nothing…" Lan said, trying to complete the docking sequence.
"The waist is too wide." Ms. Yumi pointed out. "It won't fit like that."
"Go for the arm!" Hub suggested.
Lan nodded and adjusted the trajectory, moving the Rush Jet's wings to a vertical position and attaching the docking clamps to the Guts Machine's right arm.
"Bit weird, but it'll do." Dex said with a grin. "Now let's send these clowns packing!"
"Dad and Uncle Tetsuya will definitely love to meet this bunch." Ms. Yumi thought as a smile crept over her face. "I suppose I'll have to put something together for the Guts Machine later too. Maybe a Great Booster?"
The Guts Machine soared with redoubled speed, circling around the alien craft and positioning itself north of it. There were no ships or other objects in the immediate trajectory to worry about and so the plan continued. The flying colossus backed away as the pilots put themselves far enough from the alien craft to build up momentum. Satisfied, Dex nodded.
"Fire it up bro!"
Lan did just that, dialing up the Rush Jet's thrusters to full blast. The Guts Brothers found themselves pressed against their seats by the sudden burst of speed, but their resolve did not waver.
"Screw the copyrights!" Dex bellowed, giddy and a little dizzy. "SCRANDER PUNCH!"
With a thunderous crash that send shockwaves reverberating through the air, the Guts Machine drove its fist forward at a speed comparable to a jet fighter's. The impact knocked the flying behemoth clear of the city and a good distance over the sea.
Winded up after such a blow, Dex took a moment to look at the Guts Machine's mangled fist. The impact had been a bit too much for the imperfect Titanium X and their machine would need repairs later, but the attack had been undeniably effective. One of the Rush Jet's wings had also snapped, likely due to the alloy being cut so thinly in that section, but the thrusters themselves still seemed to be working.
"And now…" Dex panted, preparing to renew his onslaught.
Suddenly, the Guts Brothers tensed, sensing a familiar presence, and glanced around in time to catch a glimpse of a human-sized shape leaping from the top of a shoreline skyscraper and darting through the air in a blur.
"Was that…" Chisao muttered.
His thoughts were interrupted as a small explosion erupted on the massive craft's upper surface.
"What was that?!" the alien commander inside shouted from his seat in the bridge.
"Unknown, sir!" an adjutant said. "That area should still be outside their weapons range."
"Damage report!"
"Anti-air batteries in sections 11 and 32 are in pieces after that last impact." the aide reported apprehensively. "We can barely stay airborne. If they keep pounding us like this we're done for!"
The ship started drifting further off course, veering further southward.
"The stabilizers are failing! We're losing balance!"
"Sir!" another adjutant cried out in alarm. "Incoming camera feed! It's..."
"What?!" the commander shouted. "What is it? A new weapon?"
"Sir..." the second adjutant said hesitantly. "It's a human!"
"What?!"
"A single human, sir. Male, indeterminate age, unarmed… wearing some sort of… traditional outfit..."
"WHAT?! How did he get up there?!"
Inside the X-1's systems, Iris diligently sought out any devices she could use to get a view of what was happening at that altitude. After a few seconds, she found an old government satellite with a suspiciously powerful camera and cut through the security systems with ridiculous ease.
"Holy…" Iris thought, her eyes widening in recognition. "What's he doing here?"
Atop the massive battleship, the man stood, unbothered by the winds at that altitude.
He was tall, projecting a serene yet imposing presence, with short dark hair decorated with a red bandanna and brown eyes, clad in a simple sleeveless white gi and a black belt. His age was difficult to determine, seemingly somewhere between his twenties and thirties, though the sheer presence he projected threw any estimates out the window. Through his stoic countenance, the faintest hint of a mischievous smirk emerged.
Iris surreptitiously forwarded the live feed to the monitors of the Robot Masters' machines and the Guts Brothers stared incredulously for just a moment, until recognition dawned on them.
"Kids…" Dex said with a predatory grin. "Back away."
"What?" Aya asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"You're gonna see some fireworks." GutsMan added, flashing an identical grin.
"This technique is capable of sinking islands..." the man thought, looking at his raised fist. "Let us see what it can do here."
"Sir!" one of the aliens cried out in alarm. "He's doing… something! His hand is…!"
Ryu's right fist glowed with a fierce, flaming bluish-white light as he raised it into the air.
"Kongou... Kokuretsuzan!"
He then launched into a vertical jump and slammed his fist into the craft's surface on the way down. A ludicrously massive burst of energy erupted from the point of impact, spreading vertically, pulverizing the metal of the hull and everything else along its path until the battleship literally cracked in two and tumbled into the South China Sea, kicking up a massive water spout.
"What the hell was that?!" Raito cried out.
Dex's laughter echoed through the communications channel.
"I'll tell you what that was." answered, sounding as giddy as a boy watching his favorite superhero show. "That was my old Master showing us kids a thing or two."
"I guess you weren't kidding…" Shingo said, recalling some of the stories he'd heard before as he straightened his glasses. "Is he even human?"
The Guardians simply exchanged awkward glances.
"It looks like he's gotten even stronger than last time." Fighter thought.
"He's not gonna turn evil and attack us with a silk scarf and giant robot zombies, is he?" Raito asked with his usual dose of irreverence.
"Don't be silly." Dex replied, between laughs. "He doesn't wear pink and doesn't even have a mustache."
"Speakin' of wearin' pink…" GutsMan thought. "I wonder what happened to that other guy."
While everyone else watched the aftermath of the battleship's destruction, the figure in the armored dress quietly slipped away. However, its trajectory seemed a little off, slightly erratic.
"Stay here." Sage said, glancing at the other Guardians.
And with that, the Great Harpuia took off in the same direction.
Meanwhile, at the base hidden underneath the Black Forest…
"What in the world…" Asaru muttered, watching the scene unfold on one of his monitors.
"Ah yes." Gilliam said. "The notorious Wandering Master of the Fist. It seems his reputation is far from exaggerated."
"I need a drink…" Asaru muttered, sinking into his chair and placing a hand on his forehead as if on the verge of a migraine.
"Strange though…" Gilliam noted. "If I recall, he's supposed to be at least fifty years old by now, but he certainly doesn't look a day over twenty."
"To think that people like this exist on this world…" Asaru mused. "At this rate I may need to reconsider my stance on Project Geist…"
"Geist?" Gilliam asked, visibly tensing up at the mention of the name.
"The psionics program." Asaru clarified. "I suppose Moira's habit of assigning code names to research projects rubbed off on me."
A good distance away from the battlefield, a cloaked alien machine watched. Inside, the female pilot was dividing her attention between conversing with someone and monitoring the situation further.
"My Lord… the situation continues to degrade."
"What of the mission?" a male voice asked, calm and composed.
"Xelmath has acquired some artifact samples, but… I fear the bulk of the forces here are more concerned with venting their frustrations."
"And the state of the planet?"
"The natives are showing a surprising amount of resistance. Their capabilities far exceed what the initial scouts estimated."
"If the conflict continues to escalate, there may not be much left by the end of it."
"How much time do we still have, My Lord?"
"Difficult to say. The main fleet was delayed, but we will need to make a decision soon enough."
"There is… something else, My Lord."
"Yes?"
"The Machine Soul that has humiliated Belphes twice… It may…"
"It may…?"
"It may hold what we seek."
There was a long pause and then the male voice spoke again.
"Are you certain of this?"
"Not yet… but… It has already exhibited something resembling the Unison Trance mentioned in the ancient texts on two separate occasions."
Another long pause followed.
"My Lord?" she called out.
"Continue to monitor the situation and avoiding contact with either side. I will be in touch soon."
Once the tension of battle subsided and the X-COM recovery teams arrived at the scene, the Robot Masters gathered. Collateral damage had been thankfully limited, but they were still left with many unanswered questions.
"So you're Master Ryu." Shingo said, a little taken aback. "I would have expected you to look a little… older."
"Yeah…" Dex added. "What gives, Master? You look like you haven't aged a day in twenty years."
"I am as perplexed by this as you are." Ryu explained. "In fact, it is part of the reason why I left."
"There you are!" another voice intervened.
The others glanced in its direction and saw a middle-aged but exceptionally fit man with long golden hair tied in a ponytail, starting to gray at the temples and a matching beard. Much like Ryu, he was wearing a sleeveless gi, only red.
"Is that who I think it is?" Shingo asked.
"C'mon bro!" the man said, staring at Ryu. "Don't just go running off like that."
"I merely seized the opportunity." Ryu stated, with a hint of mischief seeping through his usually stoic expression.
"I swear, you only get worse with age." the man playfully scolded, before turning to Dex. "Yo Dex! It's been a while."
"It sure has Ken." Dex acknowledged. "But when did you two get here?"
"Four." a familiar woman's voice corrected.
Two women, seemingly in their twenties, stepped into view.
The first was wearing a sleeveless white gi with a black belt and a pair of red running shoes. A white bandanna was tied around her forehead, though there wasn't much apparent need for it seeing how her hair was cut at neck length in a rather tomboyish fashion. Her brown eyes glanced around and a smile bloomed on her soft face as she recognized some of the people present.
"Of course you'd be here too." Dex remarked with a grin.
"Somebody has to keep an eye on these two." the woman said with a smirk.
The second woman, however, they did not recognize. She seemed slightly younger, and was wearing a black jacket, open over a red buttoned shirt with an Eastern style serpentine dragon embroidered over the left side of the chest, blue jeans and a pair of sturdy black hiking boots. Her face bore clear evidence of Asian ancestry, with almond-shaped green eyes and round cheeks, and her black hair was caught in a bun.
"A pleasure to meet you." she said with a polite nod. "I am Li Li."
"Nice to meet you." Dex said, shifting back to formal enunciation in the presence of a stranger. "I didn't know the Masters had taken another pupil."
"I am not their pupil." she clarified. "I am here for a different reason."
"Her grandma asked her to give us a hand with our little investigation." Ken explained. "The reason why Ryu and Sakura here haven't aged a day in twenty years."
"That was why we left." Ryu reiterated.
"Not that we're much closer to finding the truth…" Sakura lamented.
"Just when did this start?" Dex asked, still trying to process the situation.
"Some thirty years ago, give or take." Sakura recalled. "We've been all over the world, looking for clues and consulting some of our more mystically inclined friends."
"So you stopped aging?" Shingo chimed in. "You do look like you could pass for someone younger than the Master."
"It is unnatural." Ryu said with certainty. Though he masked it well, Dex could tell that his old master was unsettled.
"I can think of worse things than remaining at your prime indefinitely…" Aya mused.
"We came to this region a month ago, seeking another source of insight." Ryu added. "We were not expecting this invasion, however."
"So what exactly are you looking for?" Dex asked.
"We do not know." Ryu said. "Only that there is a peculiar energy in the air that seems to be… calling out to us."
"We managed to narrow it down to an old section of this city, but then the aliens came in." Sakura elaborated.
"I must confess…" Li Li admitted. "I always thought Grandma was exaggerating some things, but after what I've seen here today…"
"So, what's the plan?" Raito asked, excited at the prospect of a little adventure between battles.
"The plan is for you kids to stick to your machines until we get back." Dex said.
"Aw c'mon!" Raito protested.
"Listen." Dex said, placing one of his massive hands on the boy's shoulder. "We don't know if the aliens are bringing any more of their buddies. We can't all be wandering around outside the machines."
Sensing the boy's reluctance, Dex insisted.
"Besides, some folks around here might need help. You know the aliens usually make a mess."
"Fine." Raito conceded. "But if you find anything interesting, we wanna hear every detail."
"We're staying in the area for a while longer." Casval informed through the radio. "The Commander tasked us with making sure the local civilians are safe before we head back to base."
"The more the merrier." Shingo said, impressed by their prowess and glad to have two extra pairs of hands around.
A few moments later, the Leonarch flew into view and touched down nearby.
"Looks like I missed the party." Alexander remarked.
"Pretty much, yeah." Maito said. "What happened?"
"Not much. I just had to drop those two off at home first. Amelia needed some rest and to get the Hoplon patched up."
"Did something happen to her?" Raito asked worriedly.
"Just some bruises." Alexander clarified. "That bomb drone did a number on the Hoplon though. It was dangerous to let it go around like that."
"And Atreus?" Raito asked.
"That last fight took a lot out of him. When your mother tells you to stay put, you'd better listen."
"Yeah…" Raito muttered, knowing how fierce his own mother could be at times. "Anyway, you two aren't the only ones with neat swords now."
And with that, he ignited the Maser Blade for a short demonstration.
"So you copied that alien weapon from last time, eh?" Alexander deduced.
"Yeah." Maito chimed in. "Unfortunately it eats up energy like crazy. I wonder if our Dads have something better in the works."
"Where are the Guts Brothers anyway?" Alexander asked, noticing the conspicuously motionless Guts Machine.
"They ran off somewhere to check something with their old master." Raito said. "I would have gone with them but Dex wanted us to stay in case someone needed help or the aliens came back."
One look at the younger boy's face told Alexander all he needed to know.
"You're just dying to find out what they're doing, aren't you?"
"Yeah… but…" Raito said.
"Well then… Seeing how I'm late, why don't you go on ahead?"
"B-But…" Raito said hesitantly.
"Don't worry, I'll pick up the slack." Alexander said. "I've had time to rest a bit on the trip here, so if anyone needs help or anything else happens I'll handle it."
Raito exchanged glances with his cousin and then looked back at Alexander.
"Thanks buddy." he finally said with a smile.
Meanwhile…
Through winding streets, Ryu's search took him to one of the oldest sections of the city, where the traditional architectural styles of the region were still prevalent. The streets were still deserted in the wake of the alien attack, but there was a tension in the air.
"Do you feel this?" he asked, glancing at his old pupil.
"Something doesn't feel right." Dex confirmed with a nod.
"There." Sakura realized, pointing in the direction of a small park decorated with a modest old shrine. Some sort of explosion, possibly from a stray alien rocket, had thoroughly ruined the stone structure and whatever statues had once ornamented it had been reduced to splintered stone.
As the group stepped closer, they realized that something was amiss. Underneath where the base of the statue had once stood, a large gaping hole was exposed, large enough for a person to climb through. Not only that, but they could see lights coming from inside.
It did not take any words for them to decide what to do next. Without hesitation, Ryu jumped inside, landing with a crouch on what looked like a surprisingly ample grotto. Instead of the darkness one would have expected, he instead found the light of several chemical flares and heard the sound of boots on the humid rock.
The others soon followed, one at a time, and Ryu promptly gestured at them to remain silent. As quietly as they could they continued onward, on the lookout for any unpleasant surprises. Eventually they reached a narrower section of the cave, where only one person at a time could walk, and realized that they were not alone.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Dex whispered at the sight of what looked like armed mercenaries in tactical vests, all bearing the same insignia – a golden hand with clawed fingers, grasping a crimson flame.
"That insignia…" Chisao remarked, keeping his voice down. "Didn't one of them show up to talk to Lan and Hub some time ago?"
"Do you know who they are?" Ryu asked.
"Only a name. Prometheus." Chisao explained. "But some of our new friends don't seem to like them too much."
"Then we shall uncover the truth behind their presence here." Ryu said without a hint of hesitation.
Deciding that the time for stealth was past, Ryu took point and walked up to them in slow, measured steps.
The armed men tensed up, betraying no expression through the black visors on their helmets. They made no obvious aggressive gestures, but they still did not give way.
"What are you doing here?" Ryu asked evenly.
"You don't need to know that." one of the guards retorted. "If you're not authorized to be here, then I suggest you leave."
"At least they're not stupid enough to pick a fight with the Master…" Dex thought, trying to read their body language. "Good thing we had the kids stay put."
"Guys!" Raito suddenly intervened, stepping in view with his cousin by his side.
"Damnit…" Dex thought with a wince.
"What are you two doing here?" Chisao asked. "I thought we asked you to stay put."
"Alex offered to cover for us." Raito explained. "Things are quiet topside anyway."
"He'll let us know if anything happens." Maito added. "It's important for us to be here."
"Why?" Dex asked.
"Oh come on!" Raito said. "Your Master came all the way here for this. It's gotta be something important!"
"Besides, you sing the guy's praises to high heaven." Maito added. "We had to take the chance to meet him."
"That does sound like something Alex would do…" Chisao conceded. "But you should have said something to us first. What if you got lost?"
"But…" Raito tried to argue.
"Boys…" Dex said, before letting out a sigh. "What am I gonna tell your parents if anything happens to you? You're my responsibility. You're my best friends' kids."
The nearly identical cousins were definitely not accustomed to seeing this side of their coach. Despite his towering size and intimidating physique, the display of concern in his expression and tone made them feel a pang of guilt.
"Sorry…" Raito said, lowering his head.
"We just…" Maito added, just as downcast.
"Guess I should have expected that from Hikari boys." Dex grumbled. "Well, since you're here, you might as well come along. Just stick close."
Seeing their regret quickly replaced by excitement, he raised a finger.
"But! If it gets dangerous, you stay back. Especially you, Patch!"
"Yes, Coach." Raito said, relieved that he hadn't made him too upset.
One of the guards discreetly reached for his helmet's microphone, taking advantage of the helmet's sound dampening properties.
"Mr. Sardonicus, we have a problem."
"I thought the aliens had been expelled from the city." Hades answered.
"They have. But the Robot Masters and some associates are trying to access the site. You did instruct us to notify you immediately in case of any direct interactions with them."
"How did they even find that location?" Hades asked.
"No idea, sir. They had no reason to come this way."
Hades quickly weighed his options. The artifact inside had resisted any attempts at studying it, but the staff onsite had already reported sensing a strange energy emanating from it that they could not identify or quantify.
"I wonder…" he thought, scratching his chin. In a moment, he made up his mind.
"Let them in, but don't share any unnecessary information. We'll see if they manage to get a reaction from the artifact."
"Yes sir. We will inform you if there are any changes in the situation."
"One more thing." Hades added.
"Sir?"
"Since the Robot Masters are openly working with X-COM, we'll probably need to clear the site soon before they start sticking their noses in too."
"We will have to do so without the artifact then, sir. None of our tools could dislodge it and anything more extreme could easily bring the cave down on our heads."
"Fine." Hades said with a sigh. "We've extracted as much as we could from that thing anyway. We know there's something there but there's no reaction."
"I know a thing or two about handling artifacts of destiny…" Hades mused. "If I'm right, then this thing is waiting for the right person to come along."
With slow, deliberate movements, the guards stepped out of the way, letting them further into the cave. The passageway widened and in to their surprise they realized that a square section of the floor was actually covered not by rock but by tiles. In the center of the chamber they saw a strange rectangular stone slab, seemingly embedded into the ground, carved into what looked like a very old depiction of a dragon.
"There is no doubt about it…" Ryu said, stepping forward. "This..."
"This is…" he muttered as he ran a hand across the surface of the slab.
He stood transfixed in place, wide-eyed, and as the others watched on, he suddenly found himself in a sea of endless blackness, unable to see or hear anything at all.
Then, breaking the silence, he heard the sound of a heartbeat, and the blackness parted, revealing a large golden eye with a strange black pupil, shaped like a vertical slit. Unflinching, Ryu stared back, and a deep guttural voice echoed across the empty void. He did not recognize the language, but he had the distinct feeling that he had heard it before. It seemed familiar, stirring a strange sensation in his heart.
With that, the strange vision abruptly ended and Ryu found himself standing in front of the slab again.
"You OK buddy?" Ken asked.
"I do not know." Ryu said, visibly drained by the experience and the preceding exertion. "It feels as though I have gained something by coming here… but I am not yet certain what exactly."
A vast distance away, in a strange garden floating above a seemingly endless sea of clouds, Raziel abruptly stopped his reading and closed his eyes.
"The ward has been tripped." he muttered to himself. "This could only mean one thing..."
He let out a loud sigh and rested his chin on his knuckles, before summoning a strange silvery medallion into his open right hand, forged in the shape of a dragon. The teardrop shaped gem set in its center shimmered.
"I suppose it was inevitable that we would meet again… old friend."
The group left the cave some time later and returned to where the others were waiting.
"It looks like we didn't need to dig anyone out of the rubble this time." Shingo said, visibly relieved.
"It does seem that the aliens were completely ignoring everything else this time." Aya remarked. "I do not understand."
"Neither do we." Ryu said. "Yet."
"So what's the plan, Master?" Dex asked.
"I need to meditate on these events and try to discern the next step." Ryu said. "But it does seem that our search will need to be postponed, given recent events."
"You mean…?" Dex asked, trying to conceal his excitement.
"We do not hone our fists merely to find the truth in the heart of battle." Ryu said. "If we do not protect the innocent, then our strength serves no purpose."
"I hear you buddy." Ken said. "Guess that's one thing that's never gonna change."
"Sometimes I wonder if I could have followed your path, Master." Dex said, staring at Ryu. "Guess I wasn't strong enough."
"It is not a life for everyone." Ryu said, shaking his head. "As the years pass, I often find myself questioning my choices."
"You, Master?" Chisao asked.
"It is easy for those without attachments to preach the virtues of a detached path." Ryu said. "But if you neglect those around you to grow your strength, is that not an act of selfishness?"
"Is that what you meant all those years ago?" Dex recalled.
"Indeed." Ryu said. "The image of a sage atop his mountain loses its luster when others suffer and he does nothing."
"I suppose even someone as stubborn as you can learn a thing or two." Sakura said.
"Yeah…" Ken chimed in. "Speaking of which… I really need to phone home. Eliza was mad enough that I didn't head back when this whole alien invasion crap started. If she doesn't hear from me soon…"
"You certainly know a lot of interesting people." Casval remarked, disembarking from his Gespenst.
"I know, right?" Raito replied. "Maybe I should start a scrapbook."
"We must return home." Phantom said, succinct as always.
"Give us a call if you need a hand again." Fighter added, for once with a genuine smile instead of his usual smirks and grins.
A few hours later, at the Hikari Laboratory…
"And that's that." Raito said with a sigh of relief as the X-1 began its descent towards the hangar hatch.
"That… was really something." Shingo said, still struggling to process what he had seen.
Lan, Hub, Mayl and Roll were already there waiting for them, along with Higsby and Yai. For whatever reason, Roll was wearing a white labcoat on top of her pink dress.
"We cannot begin to tell you how proud we are of your courage… and your growing prowess." Yai said with a smile.
"Not to mention that you keep coming back without a scratch." Higsby added. "The machines can be repaired or replaced. You can't."
"Our family chefs have prepared a little something for you all." Yai announced.
She then turned to Higsby.
"Go on ahead. We'll join you in a moment."
With that, the young pilots and their coaches followed Higsby to a meeting room where a veritable feast awaited them. Mayl and Roll exchanged glances and a nod, and Roll stayed behind as well.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Yai's expression turned serious again.
"So…" she said. "Are we proceeding as planned?"
"After what happened last time, we've been pushing even harder to get it done." Hub said. "I think the Guts and Drill Machines can keep going a little longer with their armor plating and the Spark and Gemini with their barriers, but…"
"I'm not gonna lie." Lan added. "What happened last time has me worried."
"Those two larger machines were ridiculously powerful compared to the rank and file." Yai said with a nod. "And now they are deploying more advanced models alongside those flying monstrosities."
"I expect things are only going to get more dangerous from here on out." Lan said. "Even if we have all those new weapons and a guy who can punch battleships in half, we can't slack on this."
"But thinking back to the attack on the lab, we can't afford to have all our machines down or away at the same time." Hub added. "For now we're getting the X-1's upgrade parts. Between the others and the Proto Machine, we shouldn't be caught off guard again."
"Speaking of which…" Lan said, staring intently at Yai. "I don't suppose he's changed his mind?"
"You know he can be as stubborn as you." Yai said with a pained expression.
"Just what exactly happened, anyway?" Lan insisted. "He was so excited about this… by his standards, at least, and then he went all quiet."
"I'm sorry." Yai said. "He asked me not to discuss the matter with anyone. Especially you. But I can tell that this is paining him as well."
"That husband of yours was always stubborn." Roll chimed in with a pensive frown. "He may have mellowed out with age, but that hasn't changed."
"It's fortunate, then, that I'm more stubborn." Yai retorted with the hint of a grin. "I suppose I'll just have to take an indirect approach."
"Then…" Lan tried to say.
"Talk to him." Yai said, giving him a pleading look. "I cannot talk sense into him regarding this matter, but maybe you can."
"And if that fails…" Roll added with a mischievous smile. "We'll just have to think of something else."
"I have to ask…" Yai said, glancing at her. "Why the wardrobe change?"
"Oh, there was nothing to do at SciLab now that Yuichiro and Regal sent everyone home." Roll explained. "The kids will be fine with their grandparents, so I thought I'd make myself useful here."
"And the labcoat?" Yai insisted.
"It's one of mine." Hub explained with an awkward smile. "She said it would help her get in the mood."
"You should wear these more often." Roll said, absolutely beaming. "Do you have any idea how great you look in them? In fact, if we get you a turtleneck sweater and some round glasses like X's then maybe…"
"I'm not a doll, Roll…" Hub protested, starting to get a little embarrassed.
"I disagree." she retorted, lightly tugging at his cheeks. "I could just..."
"Do you two need some alone time?" Lan teased, flashing a smug grin.
"Maybe later." Roll answered before abruptly puffing her cheeks and pointing at him. "But you, mister! You'd better start coming home at decent hours. You don't want Mayl getting grumpy."
"Did she put you up to this?" Lan asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Oh please." Roll retorted, puffing her cheeks again. "You know if she wanted to, she'd just tell you off. But she knows what you're doing here is important, so she doesn't complain… unless you make a really bad joke."
"That's what I keep telling him." Hub said. "I've been trying to take on more of the work so he'll actually rest and spend some more time at home."
"You know I can have a one track mind." Lan said. "But yes, I know I've gotta stop doing this."
"At least you stopped guzzling coffee like a maniac." Hub conceded. "But come on. Trust the people around you."
"You're right." Lan said with a nod. "I've got you here and now Roll. I've got a small army of engineers, Tron and Sayaka."
"The kids love spending time with you, too." Roll added, her expression softening. "They keep asking for Net Battling coaching and stories of the old days."
"I won't be able to give them a proper demonstration without Hub…" Lan noted. "But yeah… I think I can still teach them a thing or two."
"I'll get the tournament footage and some snacks ready by the time you get home." Roll said. "Don't keep them waiting."
During all of this, those present in the hangar failed to spot the dark-haired boy, clad in a striped shirt, shorts and running shoes, sitting atop the X-1's head. He adjusted his cap and frowned, resting his hand over his chin. Once everyone else had left, he patted the blue robot's head.
"They really are something…" he muttered to himself. "And so are you, big guy. But this is still far from over."
He then sighed.
"Well then… Let's see…"
The boy started humming a strange melody to himself and then raised his hand and reached for the X-1's forehead. As he did so, his hand started glowing with a white radiance. He let his touch linger for a few more moments, then abruptly disappeared in a flash of white before reappearing atop the Guts Machine's head and doing the same. He repeated the process with each of the Robot Masters' machines, reappeared in the middle of the deserted hangar, contemplating his handiwork.
"That should hold them a little longer." he muttered to himself.
With that, he stretched his limbs and then broke into a sprint towards the back of the hangar, building up speed. Right before hitting the back wall, he abruptly disappeared in another flash.
Meanwhile, standing on the rooftop, a very excited Axl was gazing into the distance.
"Those kids are going places." he thought."Too bad our Ciel is still sticking to her no giant robots rule."
A smile crept across his face as he recalled words he had heard long before from the mouth of a precocious girl.
"But Zero… You may person sized, but after all the stuff you, X and Axl did, wouldn't it be fair to call you Super Robots?"
Then he noticed the pair of Gespenst landing outside, next to the parking lot and the two pilots that climbed out of them.
"Wait a minute…" he muttered to himself as he spotted the two young men in X-COM piloting suits.
"No way…" Axl muttered, edging closer to the safety railing to get a better look.
"You were holding out on me, X." he thought with a wide grin. "Do the kids even know who they've got here?"
"Are you one of the Professors' assistants?" Casval asked as he spotted the young woman standing at the reception. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms…"
"Yumi." she said, looking slightly tense for whatever reason.
"Really?" Casval asked, a little surprised as he took a good look at her face. "The name does fit."
"She knows." Chisao said. "And she really doesn't like being reminded of it."
"I really should have picked a better alias…" Ms. Yumi fumed inwardly."I guess I brought this upon myself."
"But where are my manners?" Casval added with a polite nod. "I'm-"
"I know who you care, Captain." Ms. Yumi cut him off, trying to stay calm and collected.
"I can't leave you alone for five minutes…" Amuro interrupted with a smile, glancing at his colleague. "Remember, you're engaged."
"You wound me." Casval retorted in mock offense. "I just wanted to know the people helping those brave kids."
"I should have expected to run into them eventually…" Ms. Yumi thought, completely aghast. "But I wasn't prepared for this."
"Are you all right, Miss?" Amuro asked. "You look a bit pale."
"I-I'm fine." she replied, carefully backing away. "I just need to sit down for a while."
With that, she stepped out of the lobby, oblivious to Axl watching the entire exchange from out of sight, and made her way to the ground floor break room.
"Even if they're not the same people… it's still too much…"
She grabbed a can of juice from one of the large fridges and sank into the nearest couch before popping it open.
"They really have no idea, do they? But it won't do any good to tell them."
"There you are." a woman's voice said.
Ms. Yumi glanced in the direction of the voice to find a slender black-haired woman with a round face and gray almond-shaped eyes staring intently at her. She was wearing a loose fitting white dress with peach colored stripes and baggy sleeves, a long skirt, also peach colored, comfortable black shoes and a yellow silk scarf. Her hair was tied in an elaborate braid, held in place by a golden brooch with an amethyst at the center clasped near her right temple.
"Are you not joining the others upstairs?" she asked.
"Sorry Dr. Jasmine. I completely forgot."
"Come then." Jasmine said with a smile. "Lan isn't the only one around here who needs to take better care of himself."
Ms. Yumi nodded, knowing better than to argue with the strong-willed doctor. As the resident medical expert for the Robot Masters, she was more than equipped to deal with stubborn people.
"While we're at it…" Jasmine added. "Has there been any change in your condition?"
"M-My…" Ms. Yumi stammered, momentarily forgetting her hastily cooked cover story. "Oh right. No."
"It is one of the strangest cases I have ever seen." Jasmine said, with a pensive frown. "The trigger may have been psychological, seeing how there was a complete lack of brain damage."
"I… suppose so."
Jasmine then spotted the two young men in piloting suits, wandering around and looking a bit lost.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" she asked.
"Where is everyone?" Amuro asked.
"Enjoying a meal together, courtesy of our sponsors." Jasmine said. "Since you've come all the way here, why not join us?"
Meanwhile, at the base underneath the Black Forest…
"They've definitely taken to those Gespenst units you prepared for them like fish to water." Asaru noted.
"If anything, they are consistent in that regard." Gilliam said with a nod. "Every single version of them that I've met had an unnatural talent for piloting."
"I just wonder…" Asaru said, completely deadpan. "If their performance would improve even further if we got them a couple of those… What were they called? Huckebein?"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Gilliam retorted, leering at Asaru.
A few hours later…
As the Great Harpuia began its approach to the hangar entrance, the erstwhile passenger perched on its shoulder stood up, nodded appreciatively and then hopped off, flying in a different direction wrapped in glowing purple energy. Moments later, on a metallic landing platform, mounted on a cliff overlooking the ocean, the figure in the armored dress else, clad from head to toe in a black suit of light armor, was already waiting.
Out of breath, with a bent knee, she rested an armored hand on the platform.
"Are you all right?" the figure in black asked with the voice of a man, stepping closer to help her up.
"Head hurts a bit…" the figure in white said with a woman's voice, sounding out of breath. "Guess I overdid it."
"I don't want to be a jerk, but I warned you." the figure in black said, offering a hand.
"Sorry to be such a handful." she said with a sigh, taking the offered hand, then letting him help her up. Once she was back on her feet, she rested her head against his chest for a moment.
"We promised to stick with you through the good and the bad, didn't we?" he retorted, patting the top of her helmet.
He let out a sigh and wrapped an arm around her.
"We don't have the right to try to stop you. We just wish you'd be a little more careful."
"Sorry…" she repeated.
"Don't be silly." he retorted. "We'd be right there with you if we could. Now come on. Your bath is ready and we managed to put some things together in the kitchen."
Without hesitation, he picked her up.
"Smooth." she teased.
"It's been a while since I got to do this." he fondly reminisced, before carrying her inside, through a set of reinforced metal doors that parted automatically and then closed again behind them.
Another hour later…
"You've been pushing yourself too far, as usual." he muttered to himself, glancing in the direction of the petite form, fast asleep under a white sheet. She would likely not wake up for several more hours.
"Time for us to get serious too." he added, clenching his gloved fist.
With that, he exited the chamber, walked through a hallway completely lined in metal and made his way to an elevator, emerging a few floors below. He reached another metallic door with a keypad, entered an access code and stepped inside. In the next chamber over he came face to face with a large metallic hoop, suspended in a vertical position by a series of metal beams affixed to the walls, floor and ceiling.
With practiced ease, he stepped up to the computer console mounted a few steps away from the object and entered another access code. He navigated the touchscreen interface and the object came to life, surging with a strange bluish-white energy that coalesced within the hoop, taking a shape resembling the surface of a lake. Without hesitation, he stepped through the gateway.
As the disorienting flash faded, he stood in a secure windowless room completely fashioned from gray metal, bereft of any other decorations. In front of him stood a locked metal door with a security keypad mounted on the wall next to it.
As he stepped closer and prepared to use the keypad, the door opened on its own and someone else stepped through, clad in a rather form-fitting black body glove that exposed the outline of a fit body, with a ridiculously long golden ponytail trailing behind them.
"Well well…" the figure in the body glove said with a confident male voice. "Haven't seen you around here in a while."
"Hello, me." the figure in the armored suit said in another voice, nearly identical to the long-haired man's, before reaching for a polished metal cylinder hanging from his belt.
"It's true then." the long-haired man said, not sounding particularly surprised.
In response, the armored man held the object horizontally in front of him, then pushed a button and with a snap-hiss a blue energy blade erupted from the tip of the object, pointing to his left. He held it in place for a moment before speaking.
"Yes…"
"But we're not stupid." he added, his voice returning to the initial softer tone. "We know we're not ready yet."
"I can see where this is going…" the long-haired man said. "Very well."
With that, he cracked his knuckles and then reached for his own belt and produced a very similar item, igniting a green blade.
"But I've gotta warn you. If I think you're going overboard, I'll put the brakes on the whole thing. After all, you're not as durable as I am."
"We place ourselves in your capable hands." the armored man said, with both voices blending together.
"Very well." the man in the body glove said. "Let's see if you still have what it takes to carry the name Zero."
