SUPER ROBOT TAISEN S ZERO RELOAD
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Chapter 2 - Mazinger to the rescue
The Aphrodite A and the Boss Borot slowly backed away, their pilots keeping their eyes on the monstrous Machine Beasts and their leader, on board the colossal Flying Fortress Guul, advancing menacingly towards them. Sayaka had managed to send a distress signal, which had surely already reached Kouji, Tetsuya and Jun, but until at least one of them arrived, she and Boss' gang were to hold their own themselves against the mechanical monsters. A really bad situation, considering their their robots had had far from exceptional showings against the mechanical monsters until now... But the teenagers' courage and stubbornness put their fears to rest, and their robots, after backing up against a group of trees, slid in a guard position and got ready to defend themselves.
Which only amused the half-man half-woman creature at the Guul's commands. "Heheheee... so you have decided to stay and fight, huh? Whatever that strange object you want to recover is, if you are willing to risk that much to protect it, that means taking possession of it will be a great boon to us! Dr. Hell will be proud of my achievement!" Baron Ashura said, before turning to the rest of the Guul's crew, armored humanoids wearing golden helmets vaguely resembling miniature pyramids, who were frantically keeping track of the flying fortress' functions. "Everybody, take position. If I know how things usually go, Mazinger Z will be here any moment! We have to be ready to greet him! And after we take out these fools, we'll take care of that... 'meteor'!"
"At your command, Baron Ashura!" one of the warriors answered in a dull, metallic voice. The evil baron nodded in satisfaction and raised his staff, giving an order to the Machine Beasts outside...
"And you, my mechanical slaves... Go! Destroy those ridiculous toys!" he/she exclaimed.
The mechanic beasts almost seemed ecstatic to obey the order, and a fierce red light lit up in their eyes when their master brought his staff down with a quick movement of his arm. In an instant of pure fear, Sayaka saw that the creatures' movements had become more fluid and quicker... and they definitely didn't show any hesitation, as if they were driven by some primal murderous instinct. The Garada K7 dislodged one of its crescent-moon sharped horn blades and held it in one of its bony hands, while the two-headed dragon, the Dabras M2, readied its missiles for launch, and the Toros D7 lowered itself on the ground and took aim...
But Sayaka and Boss had other plans. "Alright, it's just Boss and me right now... no matter, we can still find a way to neutralize these monsters! If only I could find a weak point..." the brunette thought to herself.
"Nuke! Mucha! Take care, they're coming!" Boss exclaimed, turning to his attendants. "As soon as one of these thing approaches, we'll drive the engine to its limits and strike down those things with my new and improved Borot Punch! They'll have to think twice before tangling with us!"
"Phew... wow... all... alright, Boss, but please allow us a moment to take our breaths..." a wheezing Mucha answered. "We have been pedaling for all this time... and we are... kind of... tired..."
As soon as the Garada K7 started raising its blade-wielding arm, the Aphrodite A bent its knees and got ready to receive the attack...
"NOOOOOW!"
Sayaka almost jumped in her seat when Boss' harsh voice blared from her communicators... and, with all the speed its clumsy body was able to muster, the Boss Borot launched itself against the mechanical skeleton, catching both it and the other enemies off guard - Baron Ashura included! None of them was expecting such a direct, reckless frontal assault, and the Machine Beasts had no time to even react when the goofy robot made of scrap metal raised its right fist and tried to strike the Garada K7 with it!
"YAAAAH! Borot Punch!" Boss screamed as his robot's disproportionate limb sped towards its target... and was separated from the rest of the Boss Borot's body by the sheer force of the attack! There was a loud metallic clash as the joints broke, and the serrated fist, a part of the mechanical arm still attached to it, flew towards the Garada K7 and struck the skeleton monster on its wrist, forcing it to drop its blade, which embedded itself uselessly in the ground!
As if surprised by the fact that it had been disarmed, the Garada K7 stepped backwards, but this availed it nothing, as the Boss Borot slammed on the bony Machine Beast with all of its weight! Much to Sayaka and Baron Ashura's amazement, the Machine Beast actually buckled under the blow! The weak and comical junkyard robot, the Boss Borot... had managed to inflict some damage on a Machine Beast! That was simply unheard of!
Even the other two remaining Machine Beasts seemed too amazed to react, as they saw their "companion" trying to regain balance, and electrical sparks shooting out of the dent Boss Borot had inflicted upon it. With a loud slam, the Boss Borot fell to the ground in a mess of dented steel, among the screams of the boys inside... but still, it had managed to damage the robotic monster, and Sayaka shook off her stupor just in time to take advantage of this unexpected distraction.
"I never thought Boss and his friends could do it... but I'm not going to let this chance go to waste! Koushiryoku Missile!" the girl shouted. Her female robot stopped, pointed to the still-reeling Garada K7... and, with a low sound of activating reactors, its, er, breasts detached themselves from its torso, revealing themselves as the heads of a pair of red and white missiles which were immediately substituted by a new pair. In an instant, the strange projectiles covered the distance separating them from their target and struck, exploding on the Machine Beast! One of the missiles only struck the mechanical monster's shoulder, doing negligible damage... but the second one embedded itself in the already damaged area on the Garada K7's chest, reaching the vital circuits before exploding! The mechanical skeleton fell, its torso viciously blown apart, and exploded in a huge fireball and a large puff of brey smoke, metallic parts scattering everywhere!
On the Guul's main bridge, Baron Ashura and his soldiers remained open-mouthed! Never before that weak and normally useless robot had managed to hold its own against a Machine Beast, much less destroy it!
"WHAT?" the hermaphroditic Baron exclaimed. "This is absurd... one of my Machine Beasts was destroyed by that hunk of scrap metal?".
But their wonder was nothing compared to Sayaka's, who was looking wide-eyed at the blackened stain where the mechanical skeleton had been destroyed. Her disbelief soon turned into pride and joy, and the brown-haired girl stood up and pumped her fist in the air! "YAY! I did it! I destroyed that thing!" she exclaimed. "Hey, Boss, guys... I owe you one! Thanks for creating that distraction!"
On her comm screen, after a bit of static, Boss' blackened face appeared, and the boy rubbed his throbbing head with a hand, giving a thumbs-up sign with the other! "Heheheee... we had to do our part, didn't we, guys?" he said with a grin, as his dazed sidekicks slowly stood up again.
"Uuuugh... next time, sir, we might want to avoid high speeds..." Nuke murmured.
Mucha nodded, looking like he was going to be sick. "My stomach is going into my skull..."
"Oh, and quit crying like babies, you two pushovers!" Boss jokingly repriminded them. "We managed to get what we needed, right? Not exactly as we thought we would, but who the heck cares about that? We still beat that big hunk of scrap metal! Now get up, you two, we still have work to do!"
Sayaka put her hand in front of her mouth and giggled gently. No matter what happened, those three always remained the same klutzes they always were...
But the moment of joy and triumph was short-lived: Baron Ashura had not taken kindly to his/her Machine Beast's destruction, and wanted to make Sayaka and Boss pay for their audacity! "Damn you! I don't know how you brats did it, but you're not going to get lucky twice! Dabras M2! Toros D7! Take down those fools, and try not to get caught off guard!" the reanimated mummy ordered, his/her dual voice resound through Sayaka and Boss' comm devices. Sayaka immediately composed herself and grabbed the commands, before having her robot assume a guard position. Sadly, she knew Ashura was right... the unexpected had come to their aid, but they had two more Machine Beasts on their hands, and they couldn't count on getting lucky a second time...
The Dabras M2 immediately made clear that it was no easy prey: with a metallic roar, the twin-headed dragon opened its chestplate and shot a salvo of small missiles, as the Toros D7 rooted itself to the ground and marched towards the rising Boss Borot. Sayaka gasped and pulled her cloche towards her, but the dragon-like Machine Beast's missiles were too fast for her to dodge completely, and some of them struck the Aphrodite A's chest and abdomen, dangerously shaking it! Sayaka screamed in fear and managed to keep her robot upright, but she knew from the blaring red emergency lights that she was not going to last much longer. She spared a glance at one of her monitors, which showed the Toros D7 charging head-on towards the Boss Borot and sending it airborne! The clumsy robot crashed noisily a couple dozen metres away, covered in dents and its eyes turning into spirals. Sayaka's mind was a whirlwind of fear and desperate haste... she had to think of something to hold her own against those two monsters... but she knew her weapons were too limited to do so! She barely managed to dodge in time when the Dabras M2 opened both its mouths and shot two burning red beams towards her, scratching the female robot's shoulder and causing sparks to erupt from its thin armor!
"Aaaaagh!" Sayaka screamed. "We're not going to last much longer this way..."
On the other hand, Baron Ashura was delighted, watching in fierce joy as his/her Machine Beasts continued taking the Aphrodite A and the Boss Borot apart. His/her grin faded for just a second when the Aphrodite A managed to take advantage of a hole in the Dabras M2's defence and struck it with a powerful kick... but the draconic Machine Beast recovered quickly and retaliated with a powerful tail slam which shook the entire cockpit and bruised the young female pilot! The Toros D7, on the other hand, was not even facing resistance as it approached the downed Boss Borot, which Boss and his sidekicks were desperately trying to place upright once again...
"Heheheee... well done, my creatures! Put those foolish kids in their place!" Ashura laughed. "Finally, for this once, it's all smooth sailing! Dr. Hell will be so very pleased with me..."
A dark shadow, all too familiar in shape, flew over the Guul, and the undead baron froze immediately, the victorious grin immediately leaving his/her horrific face as a loud, arrogant and brave-sounding male voice blared from his console's speakers!
"Guess again, two-faced freak!" the newcomer said. The iron-masked soldiers started chatting fearfully among themselves, knowing all too well whose voice was that, and the implications of it... "Looks like heavy winds are going to blow you back to your boss to report your latest failure!"
If Ashura had any blood in his/her veins, he/she would have felt it run cold... and, as he/she pressed a few buttons on the console, the robot belonging to the boy who had just spoke appeared in all of its glory...
Ashura's worst nightmare had come true, as the black demonic-looking robot called Mazinger Z, with the infamous Kouji Kabuto at the helm, was floating in the air in front of his Guul, its Jet Scrander wings majestically spread and its fist closed and ready to strike. Both Machine Beasts were distracted from their targets and retreated slightly, looking at Mazinger Z as if it could somehow strike fear in their computerized brains... and at the same time, Sayaka and Boss breathed in relief!
"Kouji! In the nick of time!" the girl exclaimed, wiping her forehead.
"Ugh... just in time, Kabuto! If you had arrived later, I would have gotten all the fun myself!" Boss joked, not resisting the temptation to boast a little even if it was plain that he would have been defeated had the battle continued. Nuke and Mucha, behind him, murmured something in protest...
Kouji laughed briefly at his friend and rival's boastings. "Your definition of fun seems to be to get yourself smacked around like a soccer ball, but who am I to judge? Heheheee... now, everyone, I'll take care of this! You two retreat and support me, okay? I'm taking out these hunks of scrap metal!"
Ashura's dual face appeared on one of Mazinger Z's screens, glaring in cold rage at his hated enemy. "You mean to say that you want to take on both my Toros D7 and my Dabras M2... together with my Flying Fortress Guul, Kabuto brat? Don't make me laugh!" the reanimated mummy growled. "Your bravado will be your undoing this time, Kouji Kabuto!"
Kouji sighed, halfway between exasperated and bored. "Yeah, right... I heard this so many times, I already lost count. Wanna bet it will be no different this time!"
"Grrr... you and your big mouth, Kouji Kabuto!" Ashura growled, waving his/her staff. "This time, I'm shutting you up for good! Dabras M2, Toros D7... strike down Mazinger Z! Destroy it! I want it to vanish without a trace!"
With a pair of metallic roar, the ancient mechanical monsters turned to Mazinger Z, who slowly and calmly descended to face them. Once again, the Dabras M2 attacked first, shooting more missiles from its chest... but Kouji was unfazed and simply had Mazinger Z assume a guard position. In quick succession, the Machine Beast's missiles slammed on the Chou Goukin Z armor and exploded... but Mazinger Z was left intact, with only a few black spots on its armor to show that it had been hit at all!
"Well? That's all your beasts can do, Ashura?" Kouji asked mockingly. "I seem to recall they were stronger than this... by the way, Sayaka, as I was coming, I saw that there were four hostiles on the radar, and one of them disappeared before I could arrive... is there one more Machine Beast other than these?"
Despite her Aphrodite A being in less than optimal conditions, Sayaka smirked proudly. "Exactly, Kouji... and, believe it or not, me and Boss managed to destroy it! If you look around, you can see its pieces..." she answered, enjoying her friend's surprised expression. Kouji was always known for being quite sexist...
"Yeah, and it wasn't that hard, too..." Boss echoed after finally getting his robot to stand.
Kouji stood in surprised silence for a second, before answering. "Unbelievable... For once, Sayaka and Boss manage to destroy a Machine Beast on their own! Well, guys, I sure have to hand it you, so... congratulations!" he said, this time without his usual air of superiority. He was sincerely complimenting his friends!
Sayaka widened her eyes in embarassment and turned away, hoping Kouji hadn't noticed the blush on her cheeks... then, she composed herself and answered with a small smirk on her face. "Ooooh, that I didn't see coming! Kouji Kabuto actually complimenting his team mates? I wouldn't be surprised if the Fujiyama erupted tomorrow!"
"Hehee... now, let's not get too uppity, okay?" Kouji answered, waving his index finger.
The friendly discussion was interrupted by the Machine Beasts. As if they were feeling ignored, the Toros D7 fired a volley of its back quills, while the Dabras M2 started firing its lasers again. However, Mazinger Z was able to dodge the attacks with relative ease, moving about to shield the less combative robots with its own body.
"Hmph... Dr. Hell's flunkies should learn not to interrupt people when they talk! Rocket Punch!" Kouji exclaimed. With incredible quickness despite its thick armor, Mazinger Z raised its right arm... and its fist detached from the rest of its arm and flew towards the hexagonal beast, scarlet flames erupting from a group of propulsors placed behind the wrist! The Toros D7 tried dodging, but Mazinger's signature move was too fast for it to dodge and struck the beast in its face, drawing an enraged roar and making it flinch! Then, the flying fist returned to Mazinger Z and placed itself back on its arm... and before the Machine Beast could recover, thedemonic robot's eyes lit up with a frightening yellow light!
"And now... Photon Beam!" the young pilot exclaimed. By simply pressing a button, Kouji shot an high-temperature yellow beam out of Mazinger Z's eyes, striking the stunned Toros D7 and burning a hole right through it! The mechanical monster freezed, as if it couldn't believe what happened to it... and then detonated in a satisfying blast, its charred remains scattering around for metres. Kouji smirked in self-complacement... but just then, a salvo of missiles struck Mazinger Z's side, leaving a mark and jarring the pilot in his seat! Undaunted by its companion's destruction, the Dabras M2 had attacked again.
"Ugh... you Machine Beasts just don't play by the rules, do you? Fine by me..." Kouji commented. "It takes more than that to give trouble to my Mazinger!"
The black robot turned around as if itching to avenge itself against that surprise attack, while the Dabras M2 reared back and shrieked in fury, preparing to let loose with another attack!
"Kouji! You alright?" Sayaka asked, her robot approaching Mazinger Z, who answered with a slight nod.
"I'm alright, Sayaka! You and Boss stay back, I'm taking care of this one!" the young boy answered, still confident. "I've blasted apart far stronger Machine Beasts than this one..."
"Hey, Kabuto! There! Take care!" Boss' gruff voice alerted Kouji to another danger, and the boy turned to Baron Ashura's Guul... noticing, much to his chagrin, that the flying fortress was charging its lasers...
"Damn you, Kouji Kabuto!" Ashura roared, for the umpteenth time in his/her unlife. "I have had quite enough of you! You'll never be an hindrance to my master Dr. Hell's plans again! Men, charge the lasers to maximum powers! Target Mazinger Z and its little friends! We're wiping them off the map this time!"
The iron-masked soldiers obeyed without hesitation, like well-programmed machines, and directed all the energy they could muster towards the lasers, as their leader glared hatefully at the trio of enemy robots, eager to see them destroyed...
"Dammit, just what I didn't need..." Kouji swore between serrated teeth, as he tried to dodge another on the Dabras M2's volley of missiles. "Mazinger Z can fly, but Sayaka and Boss wouldn't be able to dodge in time! I must stay here and protect them... while also defending against this guy! And to top it off, if I attack that Machine Beast, Sayaka and Boss remain exposed..."
"Kouji, look out! It's about to attack!" Sayaka warned, her feminine robot's finger pointing to the Dabras M2. The two-headed Machine Beast had opened both its mouths, charging an highly concentrated beam inside its maws...
"Oh no, you don't, you big hunk of metal!" Sayaka challenged, the Aphrodite A turning to the new menace. "Koushiryoku Missile! FIRE!"
Once again, the female robot's breast-missiles shot out, just as the Dabras M2 shot a pair of red beams against Mazinger Z. Sayaka's projectiles and the Machine Beast's lasers slammed againstthe missiles, causing them to explode in midair! But still, the girl had achieved her objective, as the mechanical monster, caught off guard by that move, backed away in an attempt to elaborate another attack strategy. That distraction was all Kouji needed. As the Flying Fortress Guul's lasers were still charging up, Mazinger Z turned to it and rose upwards, as the red plate on its chest began heating up, spreading an innatural heat all around...
"Heh... Thanks for the save, Sayaka! Guess I owe you one... for once!" Kouji exclaimed, secretly surprised at how his companion of so many fights had managed to become useful two times in the same day. "And now, Ashura... you well know what awaits you, right? Hehee..." He smirked at the end of the sentence, as Mazinger Z spread its arms and pointed its burning chestplace against the fish-shaped flying fortress...
"Baron Ashura!" one of the iron-masked soldiers frantically shouted. "High... high energy concentration coming from Mazinger Z! We're under attack!"
The evil baron grit his/her teeth, knowing all too well what was going to happen. He had seen that particular attack far too often to be mistaken... "Damn it! Take evasive measures! Turn 30 degrees to the right and push the engine to its limits! We have to avoid it at all costs..."
"Energy charge reached its maximum!" another soldier exclaimed. "Brace for impact..."
Kouji stood up a little from his seat, quickly checked thatall systems were functioning... and then pressed a red button on his console, activating one of Mazinger Z's most powerful attacks! "Chew on this, Ashura! BREAST... FIRE!"
The effects were just as immediate as they were lethal! Mazinger Z's breastplate lit up completely, and an enormous beam of crimson, high-temperature energy erupted from it, striking the Flying Fortress Guul on its muzzle, melting and destroying several parts of the engine! An horrible screeching noise of melting steel was heard all around, and the internal chambers of the Guul were shaken as if they were hit with an earthquake, unbalancing many of the soldiers and Baron Ashura himself, who was forced to grip the control console with all his/her strength!
"Aaaargh! This... this was not part of the plan!" Ashura roared, tightly clawing at the control panel as Mazinger Z's Breast Fire hammered the Flying Fortress Guul without mercy. "That damn Mazinger Z... has hit the Guul's engines! Damage report!"
"S-sir..." an iron-masked soldier murmured as he tried to regain his footing. Countless red alarm lights were lighting up all over the control room, already filling with a thick black smoke smelling like burning rubber. "Engines down at 50 per cent! Propellers malfunctioning! We have to bail out!"
Ashura swore viciously. "Damn! And here I thought I had Mazinger beaten this time..."
Mazinger Z had turned its attention to the last remaining Machine Beast and had launched itself towards it, and the still-stunned Dabras M2 could not react quickly enough: the demonic robot was upon it in an istant, its scarlet red wings ominously shining under the rays of the sun!
"Your turn now, you brainless heap of scrap metal!" Kouji exclaimed as his robot attacked the two-headed monster! "Scrander Cutter!"
The Dabras M2 tried desperately to strike back with its claws, raising an arm and slashing at Mazinger Z... but, with incredible agility, the demonic robot dodged the blow and struck the Machine Beast's arm with the razor-sharp edge of its wings! A shower of electric sparks flew from the mechanical monster's limb as its hand was separated from the rest of its body... then, Mazinger Z turned back and slashed the foe's chest apart, cleaving it neatly in half before returning to the Aphrodite A's and the Boss Borot's side! The two halves of the Machine Beast floated in midair for a split second, crackling ominously...and finally blew up in a satisfying explosion, as Kouji allowed himself one of his cocksure grins.
"Well, that's about it!" he commented. "Now, Ashura, what about it? Have you had enough for today, or would you rather stay and..."
"Wait, Kouji!" Sayaka's sharp voice called out to him. "Look at your radar! There are more objects approaching! Four... no, five! And there's a particularly big one among 'em!"
Kouji's victorious grin died on his lips as Mazinger Z's pilot turned to his radar. In fact, Sayaka was right... there were five objects on the screen, the largest of which was preceding the other four, which were following it in an orderly pattern. Suspecting he already had a clue about what it could be, Kouji pressed a few buttons and looked at the images taken by the onboard cameras...
And swore through grit teeth when he saw that it was a second battleship just like Ashura's, with only a few cosmetic difference in hull coloration! It didn't take a genius to figure out who it could be...
"Dammit, we've got enough problems as it is..." the boy cursed. "Sayaka, Boss... we've got another Guul on our hands! And you can bet your ass Brocken is on board!"
"Oh, wonderful! We just needed that!" Boss lamented, as the Boss Borot was standing upright once again thanks to his and his underlings' joint efforts. Even Sayaka couldn't hold an exclamation of disappointment as the second Flying Fortress Guul floated in their view...
And just then, the girl noticed the four smaller creatures following the Guul... and, much to her surprise, she saw that they weren't Machine Beasts! They were smaller, looked more agile and reminded Sayaka of red-skinned pterodactyles, with a single unblinking yellow eye in their foreheads, and missiles mounted upon their membranous wings...
Sayaka gasped when she realized what those creatures actually were! The Mazinger Team had never directly fought them, but somefriends of theirs had talked a lot about them... "Kouji! Look there, behind that Guul! Aren't those things...?" she exclaimed.
"They're... Mechasaurus units!" an equally stunned Kouji answered. "They're Bado models, if I recall correctly! Ryouma and the other spoke to us about them... but what are they doing, following one of Dr. Hell's servants? Aren't they supposed to be part of the Hundred Demon Empire army?"
Boss gulped. "Damn... so that means the Hundred Demon Empire and Dr. Hell joined forces? This is not good at all!"
Mazinger Z's pilot nodded grimly in agreement. The Hundred Demon Empire, led by the tyrannical Emperor Brai, was another of the numerous enemies threatening humanity, and was supposedly after the Getter energy discovered by Professor Saotome, one of the many brilliant scientists working to make sure Earth could get through those times of crisis. Thanks to the efforts of the Team Getter, consisting of the hot blooded Ryouma Nagare, the stoic Jin Hayato and the boisterous Musashi Tomoe, the Hundred Demon Empire had been repeatedly repelled, especially thanks to the powerful Getter Robo created by professor Saotome... but still, if the reports coming from the Saotome labs were any indication, the demons and their armies were nothing to sneeze at!
"Boss, Sayaka! Get ready!" Kouji exclaimed, shaking himself from those thoughts. "We have to deal with these guys as well! Damn that Tetsuya, where is he now? Just now, we could use his help down here!"
"I dunno, Kouji..." Sayaka answered. "I sent a distress call to him too, and I hope he's here soon..."
Things were equally chaotic on board of AShura's damaged Guul, where numerous iron-masked soldiers were busy with makeshift repairs to keep the Flying Fortress afloat... and where Ashura him/herself was glaring at his comm screen, where his colleague and rival's face was gloating at him.
"I can see your... brilliant... strategy is not having the results you were hoping for, yah, Ashura?" Count Brocken, Dr. Hell's other lieutenant, mocked in his trademark German accent. Second for experience, but definitely not for importance, in Dr. Hell's army, Brocken was a tall and somewhat imposing man dressed in a decorated Gestapo uniform, with a Nazi cross etched on his chest, an old-model gun hoisted on his belt, and a sword sheathed on his other side, and he was also wearing knee-high black boots and blue pants. However, the most noticeable part of him was the head, with messy brown hair, a ferocious scowl on his face, a thin moustache and a looking-glass placed over his left eye...
But most unsettling of all was not the fact that his face looked so menacing... but the fact that his head was detached from his body and was being carried under his right arm like some kind of bag!
In fact, this could all be blamed on Count Brocken's origins. An SS officer fallen in combat during the Second World War, Brocken had been resurrected by Dr. Hell, who had managed to create a mechanical body for him and transform him into a cyborg, thereby ensuring his loyalty. For some reason, Dr. Hell had made it so that Brocken's head could be separated from his body with no ill consequences, creating a disquieting and quite macabre effect!
Ashura grunted in response. It was no secret that the two were bitter rivals. "Hmph! Don't you come and talk to me about strategies, I could give you a lesson in them!" he growled. "More to the point, what are those Mechasaurs doing following your Guul, huh?"
The former Nazi hierarch's expression turned into an uncertain frown. "Actually, that I don't know myself... As I was coming to support you, I found these strange birds, and they were idetified as friendlies by the radar... I don't have a clue why the Hundred Demon Empire wants to help us, but I'm not one to look at a gift horse in the mouth, yah? So... go, Mechasaurs! Show me what you can do against Mazinger Z and his little friends!"
Ashura got seated, eager to see what the robot pterodactyles were capable of doing... and the beasts immediately broke ranks and, in a spectacular aerial maneuver, they separated from Brocken's Guul and went straight for the Mazinger trio, preparing to shoot thir missiles. "All right, then, Brocken... let's see what the Hundred Demon Empire flunkies can do!" the hermaphroditic mummy murmured, his/her staff placed to the side.
"Take care! Those overgrown bats are upon us!" Boss exclaimed as the Bado began swooping down. The Aphrodite A has raised its guard, while Mazinger Z had spread its Jet Scrander's wings and had leapt to the attack, hoping to catch the flying reptiles off guard. But his hopes were soon dashed as the Bados responded by shooting a swarm of missiles from their membranous wings. The demonic robot nimbly dodged the first few, sending them to harmlessly blow on the ground below... then, a compartment opened on Mazinger Z's abdomen, revealing a small missile of his own!
"Missile Punch!" Kouji exclaimed, letting loose with a shot. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the agile winged Mechasaurs, who scattered just in time to avoid being hit. Just one second later, the Bado shot another salvo, and this time, Mazinger Z was hit in rapid succession and thrown to the side. Kouji grit his teeth, trying to stop himself from being thrown around his cockpit, and dropped his altitude, preparing a counterattack as soon as the beasts slowed down... but the flying Mechasaurs seemed to have predicted his strategy, and as two of them swooped down to keep him busy, other two flew to the almost-helpless Sayaka and Boss!
"Shit..." Kouji swore, zigzagging to avoid the attacks of the Bados who was keeping him on his toes. "Sayaka, Boss! Get away from here! Those damn beasts are too agile for you to hit!"
"We can see that, Kouji! My missiles won't hit them!" Sayaka shrieked in frustration, as another of her Koushiryoku Missiles missed the agile winged monsters, who in turn locked their targets and prepared to shoot their own missiles...
"Koushiryoku Beam!"
All of a sudden, two purple energy beams rained own on the nearest Mechasaur, blasting its left side apart and burning its wing off! The Bado could barely shriek in despair before it tilted to one side and exploded completely... and the flabbergasted Ashura and Brocken, who had been watching the scene with absolute glee, stood up from their command seats and looked to the side through the onboard cameras...
"Great Boomerang!"
They barely had time to understand what was going before a razor-sharp red boomerang struck the remaining Mechasaur, tearing the wings off its body! The mechanical pterodactyl shrieked and fell to the ground, electric sparks gushing off the remains of its wings, as the boomerang arched in midair and returned to its owner, who grabbed it... and reattached it to its chest!
"Ugh... can't believe it, nein! It's still them!" Brocken swore.
Ashura grunted again. "Well, believe it... they've come to ruin our day!"
"Jun! Tetsuya! We've glad to see you, things were looking pretty grim!" Sayaka exclaimed, turning to the newly arrived robots - two humanoid robots who looked like upgraded versions of Kouji and Sayaka's: on the left, the robot who had just thrown the boomerang, a larger, more agile-looking and much more powerful-looking version of Mazinger Z, with black armor, white arms, legs and abdomen, larger wings and a more complex headgear, who gave it an invincible countenance, even more demonic than its smaller "relative". Two small golden horns jutted out of the larger Mazinger's temples, and its cold white eyes were glaring at the enemies with terrifying severity!
Slightly behind the new Mazinger, another female robot, looking more advanced - and more pleasant - than the Aphrodite A was slowly flying towards the battlefield: taller than Sayaka's robot, its chromatic scheme was not that much different, except for the crimson color of its torso, forearms and legs, which served to make it look more streamlined than its predecessor. Even the face had a more feminine countenance, and its head was topped by what looked like shoulder-long brown hair. A small opening in its forehead allowed to see the cockpit, in which the pilot, Jun Honou, was sitting - a beautiful dark-skinned young woman with long brown hair, slightly older than Sayaka and of obvious mixed ancestry. She was wearing a tight-fitting red and white pilot suit, with an helmet shaped like a cowboy hat.
On the other hand, the pilot of the larger Mazinger was a dark-haired, tough-looking young man with an angular face and cold black eyes, sharing little if any at all of Kouji's bravado - despite the fact that he was just one or two years older. His piloting suit was similar to the Mazinger Z pilot's, with red torso, gloves and boots, but his helmet was more elongated and sported a protection for the chin. The young man's body was well-endowed with muscles, obviously from the incredibly tough training he had gone through for much of his life, and his cynical expression spoke of a child forced to grow up too quickly. The famous pilot of Great Mazinger, Tetsuya Tsurugi, was quite probably the best pilot the Photon Power Lab could count on, though Kouji was often irritated by his self-centered demeanor. In fact, the two weren't exactly friends...
"Kabuto, what's the situation?" Tetsuya asked, as his Great Mazinger and Jun's Venus A stood ready to fight both the remaining Mechasaur Bados, and the Flying Fortresses Guul, who were hovering in place as if their commanders were asking themselves what they could do to solve the new problem!
Kouji furrowed his brow. He hated to admit it, but his sempai had come at the right moment... those Mechasaurs and the two Guuls were giving him trouble! Still... he wouldn't be caught dead admitting it!
"Yeah, yeah... thanks, no need to get all patronizing!" Kouji answered. "You stay there and look, I'll take care of these guys!"
"Kouji! Is that how you're thankful?" Sayaka harshly repriminded the Mazinger Z pilot for his attitude.
Tetsuya, however, didn't seem to mind Kouji's arrogance, and just shook his head. "Hm... Try not to push yourselves beyond your limits, Kabuto. You can't do this with just Mazinger Z."
"WHAT? What are you trying to say, let's hear it! You're saying that my Mazinger Z is weaker than Great Mazinger?" the younger boy challenged.
Before the two could get carried away, Jun decided to put an end to the pointless bickering. "Cut it out, you two!" she exclaimed. "We're in the middle of a battle, and the Neo Zeon forces are probably already after us! We have to end this battle now!"
"I know, no need for you to remind me." Tetsuya answered harshly. The two remaining Mechasaurs were heading towards Great Mazinger and Venus A at breakneck speed, and both Flying Fortresses had shot a salvo of missiles, trying to destroy the newcoming robots before they could get dangerous. Used to similar situations, Tetsuya glared coldly at the attacking force... then, he raised Great Mazinger's right arm and pointed its index finger to the sky, which immediately began to be covered in stormclouds out of nowhere! The Venus A stepped back a few metres, knowing what would happen...
...and Great Mazinger went in for the kill!
"Thunder Break!" Tetsuya exclaimed. An enormous bolt of azure-white energy descended from the clouds above and fell, with a deafening crackle, on Great Mazinger's raised finger, which absorbed the electricity... then, with a brief movement of its arm, the demonic robot pointed his crackling finger at his enemies and shot a devastating thunderbolt, which tore through the air and struck the remaining Bados, incinerating them like tissue paper before they could even scream! The bolt proceeded on its path and scraped the hull of Ashura's Guul, before striking Brocken's Flying Fortress on the conjuction between the main body and the right wing, in a volley of azure sparks!
"AAAAAAARGH!" the former Nazi hierarch screamed, almost dropping his disembodied head! The Thunder Break had torn apart the Flying Fortress' side, showing the underlying circuits, and a cloud of thick grey smoke was emanating from the damaged parts! "This... this is bad, let's retreat! We can't do morethan this, nein!"
"I dislike having to agree with you, but we have no choice..." Ashura growled, before turning to his sworn enemies, as the skies cleared above them. "Kabuto! Tsurugi! It won't end like this, you can bank on it! Next time, we will get our revenge!"
The two damaged Flying Fortresses turned back and flew away at their maximum speed, pieces of scrap metal and clouds of black smoke trailing behind them. Mazinger Z tried to take flight and pursue them, but Great Mazinger landed beside him and stopped him with a gesture of its arm.
"That could be a trap, Kabuto." Tetsuya coldly said. "It could be a false retreat to another ambush, for all we know, and our mission is just a recon anyway. Risking it all isn't worth it."
Mazinger Z stood firm for a moment, as Kouji seethed in anger. How could Tetsuya not understand that, if they could take out the two enemy generals, Dr. Hell would have suffered a major blow? It was a great chance, and they were passing it up like that? Howver, Tetsuya was still Kouji's sempai, so the younger boy reluctantly agreed. "Alright..." he murmured venomously.
"Kouji, Sayaka, Boss... is everyone alright?" Jun asked as he landed her Venus A. "We were kind of far from here when we got your distress call, so we took some time."
Sayaka nodded and smiled to her friend. "Doesn't matter, Jun, we still managed to hold our own! We only started to have problems when those Mechasaur robots showed up, we really didn't see that one coming!" she commented, looking at the scattered mechanical parts. "However, we'd better get away from here. With all the ruckus we've made, I'd be surprised if Neo Zeon had not located us. We'll be back for that 'meteor' later."
"Much as I don't like the idea, I guess that's the only thing we can really do..." Boss murmured, as his robot's arms crossed on its barrel-like chest in annoyance, and a pulsating vein comically popped up on its forehead, anime-style! "But I'd still like to know what some Mechasaurs were doing among Dr. Hell's beasts!"
"We can talk about this later." Tetsuya cut him off. "For now, let's go back to the Photon Power Lab and report."
Kouji cleared his throat. "And maybe we should also contact the Saotome Labs and inform Ryouma and the others of what happened, right? If there are Mechasaurs around, it's something that concerns them too!"
"Prof. Kabuto will have the final say." the older boy cut the discussion short, as both Mazingers and the Venus A begin flying back to their base, Aphrodite A and Boss Borot following them on foot. "I agree that the situation is getting more complicated than we thought, though. An alliance between Dr. Hell and the Hundred Demon Empire would be a threat to everyone."
Kouji rolled his eyes and snickered. At least, there was something they both agreed on...
TO BE CONTINUED...
oooooooooo
Author's Note: And once again, the battle with Dr. Hell's minions is very much the same as in the original draft. And for once, Sayaka and Boss get to be useful! This might not necessarily be the last time, mind you. Of course, the fact that a bunch of Mechasaurus units were aiding Dr. Hell's forces is cause for worry... and the reason why they were doing that will come clear in time!
The next chapter will focus more on Dr. Hell and his minions, but I might add something compared to the original version. Until then, well, I hope you had a good time reading my story, and I'll see you soon!