SUPER ROBOT WARS S ZERO RELOAD
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Chapter 14 – Dendoh And Zambot To The Rescue
As the streets became overcrowded with the unknown enemies from outer space, a group of stragglers had found themselves under attack from a Zeravire drone - the massive creature, looking like some twisted cross between an ape and an immense bug, towered over them as it lifted one of its heavy limbs and prepared to use it to squash the terrified civilians, its inhuman eyes only showing that it was gauging how much power it needed to use to kill all of them in a single blow. A single girl in the group screamed in horror and tried to avert her glance as she prepared for the end...
But the end never came. Just a split second before the alien beast could move, something swooped in, landing with a deafening impact right in the middle of the street, and cracking the concrete with its weight! The girl and her companions were sent backwards for a bit and landed with a painful thud on the wrecked street, but the girl was soon able to look up, and see the face of their saviour...
A huge anthropomorphic robot, covered in bright blue armor with golden highlight all over, a red orb embedded in its chest, and a stern expression on its metallic face, was standing in front of them, placing itself protectively in front of them and boldly challenging the alien monster, who took a step backwards and let out one of their blood-curling screeches, all the while trying to free its arm from the combat robot's grip! The Zeravire drone struggled and pulled, but it was no match for the robot, and a few moments later, the mecha lashed out with a tremendous punch that smashed through the alien menace's armored chest, spurting a disgusting blood-like ichor all over the place, and causing the Zeravire to crumble into dust.
"A... a robot?" the girl murmured, still too shaken to stand up as some of her companions rushed to help her up. "Where... where did it come from?"
"You need to get to a safe place!" the voice of a young man called from the robot's speakers, taking his attention away from the battle for just a moment. "Get to the closest shelter. We will handle these aliens."
"O... Okay... Thanks... for your help..." one of the teenagers stammered, finally managing to get their companion back on her feet. Inside the combat robot's cockpit, Touga Tenkuuji, the same blue-haired young man that Eiji had met in the mysterious underground room, nodded to himself, his cheerful expression now overtaken by a thoughtful, concentrated frown. He quickly looked around to see his other teammates engaged in battle with the rest of the invaders - the G-Driller, an heavy vehicle with a pair of drills in front, was carving its way through a bunch of Zeravire drones, only to come under fire from a group of Gulfer Principle Units that were flying overhead.
"Kyaaaah!" the green-haired, glasses-wearing Eina, one of the two pilots of the G-Driller, screamed in alarm as her companion Luna swiftly dodged to one side and managed to foil the surprise attack. "Luna, we're being targetted! We need to get away from here!"
But a second later, a hail of machine gun fire cut down two of the humanoid Gulfer robots, causing them to detonate in midair and the rest to scatter in confusion. A sleek-looking fighter flew in a dizzying, acrobatic pattern around the killer robots, strafing them with its automatic weapons and destroying quite a few of them!
"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little heads off, girls!" the busty Mizuki Tachibana reassured her younger companions. "Now that we're here, we have a better chance at handling these things! And it seems we're not alone either!"
As soon as she said this, two Zeravire drones were smashed on the concrete near the humanoid robot, clearly critically damaged from another battle... and soon disintegrated in a huge blast, as the ones responsible for their destruction stepped in - the ZamboAce, the ZamBull and the ZamBase entered the battlefield, the humanoid-shaped robot looking at Touga and his companions with what could be seen as suspicion and slight confusion.
"Mr. Touga, are those..." a surprised Luna stated, as the ZamboAce took a fighting stance. The other battle vehicles held back, only firing a few shots to shrug off any stragglers from the invading army.
The blue-haired young man examined the newcoming machines for a moment, then nodded. "Yes... they are our allies from Planet Bial, the Jin family and their companions." he stated, recognizing the three robots from the descriptions he had been given during his most recent training sessions. He nodded and opened a comm channel to the ZamboAce, trying to hail the young pilots. "To the pilots of the ZamboAce, ZamBull and ZamBase... this is Touga Tenkuuji of the Gran Knights. We ask you to confirm your identity."
The answer arrived quickly, and much to the Gran Knights' surprise and displeasure, as soon as the comm windows opened near their consoles, they could see that the newcomers were children, about Luna's age if not even younger! The boy piloting the ZamboAce, in particular, couldn't have yet been a teenager... and he wasn't going to make things easier, either!
"Hey! And who the hell are you, standing right here thinking you're hot stuff?" Kappei exclaimed.
"Excuse me?" Luna fired back, not appreciating Kappei's sass at all. "In case you haven't noticed, we're standing right here, trying to fight against those things as well! We were told about you for Mr. Sandman, and we would hope we can try to cooperate at least!"
"N-now, Luna, there's no need to get so angry..." Eina tried to assuage her more hot-blooded companion.
It was Keiko who tried to play mediator, placing her own unit between her companion and the Gran Knights, all the while shooting a nasty glance at Kappei. "Mr. Sandman, you say? We have heard of your group... the Gran Knights, right?" she stated. She did not remember ever meeting them, and yet, she remembered their team name and the name of their leader... was that an effect of the mind conditioning she and her friends had undergone as well? But this wasn't the time to think about that. "My name is Keiko Kamikita... and these are my cousins and companions, Uchuuta Kamie and Kappei Jin! We apologize for the confusion... we are here to support the Gran Knights in their defense of Earth!"
"Meh. I'm sure we can do it by ourselves..." Kappei muttered to himself. "Whatever..."
Touga nodded in understanding. "Then we're glad to be counting on your help." he stated. "For now, we require your assistance in destroying or driving away the combined forces of the Gulfer, the Zeravire and the Gaizock. Can you help with that?"
"Sure. You don't even have to ask, pal." Uchuuta answered confidently, his tank-like mecha firing a round that smashed into a Gulfer Principle Unit. "Alright, everyone! We'll be keeping an eye out on the small fries and stop them from swarming the Gran Knights!"
"Speaking of assistance, where is the G-Attacker?" Mizuki asked as she watched the G-Driller rush towards a Mecha Burst Domira and grind its leg off, causing the Gaizock robot to fall to the ground where it was soon finished off by Touga's robot. "The Gran Kaiser is holding its own, but without the G-Attacker and the G-Shadow, we cannot combine."
"Combine?" Kappei asked, his ZamboAce taking cover behind a ruined building and opening fire on a couple of Zeravire drones. Now that the enemy had found resistance, more of their numbers were converging on the Gran Knights and the three cousins from Bial, trying to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. "You mean that... these guys can combine into a bigger robot like we can?"
"So you remember that part, huh, Kappei?" Uchuuta answered. "As a matter of fact, yes... I just know that they can form a more powerful robot called Gravion."
"Speaking of which, we need to combine into Zambot 3 as soon as we can!" Keiko exclaimed, narrowly dodging a barrage of lasers from a group of Gulfer robots. "Guys, try to match my timing!"
"You got it!" Uchuuta answered readily, keeping a few enemies away from the G-Drilled and the G-Striker while the Gran Kaiser destroyed a small group of Zeravire drones.
Unfortunately, Kappei seemed to have other ideas. "Nah, I don't need to combine to kick ass! Just watch me take down all these robotic dummies by myself!" he answered cockily, much to Uchuuta and Keiko's displeasure. They knew Kappei could be hard-headed, but this was really not the time!
"What?" the blonde girl stated as the ZamboAce broke ranks and punched a Zeravire drone to the ground, easily avoiding its slashing claws. "Kappei, what are you doing? We won't hold out for long in our separate units! We must combine into Zambot 3!"
"Ugh... seriously? Is that kid really going to go by himself?" Luna asked rhetorically, rubbing her forehead in annoyance. "And where's the G-Attacker anyway? It was supposed to be here already..."
"About the G-Attacker..." a suddenly doubtful Mizuki answered after looking at her onboard instruments. "There seems to be a problem here... it's coming, but..."
"But what, Mizuki?" Luna asked, not sure whether she was going to like the answer. As Eina kept an eye on the enemies, which by now had been significantly reduced in number, Luna looked at her own onboard consoles and managed to see where the G-Attacker was... flying around in an erratic pattern, without a set route and stumbling around like a maddened fly! "Huh? What's going on? Why is the G-Attacker flying around like this?"
Touga smashed apart a Gulfer Principle Unit that was threatening the ZamboAce - over Kappei's protests about the Gran Kaiser pilot stealing his kills - and took a good look as well. Indeed, the G-Attacker was not flying well, and most of all, it wasn't converging on its companion units. What was going on with it?
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"What... what.. what the Hell have I gotten myself into?"
Eiji frantically tried to move the controls of that strange fighter plane he had found himself piloting. Around him, a tremendous battle was raging - countless alien forms were swarming the streets and the building, destroying all they found. And some of them had targetted the flying unit Eiji was on - the boy could see several humanoid robots flying in formation towards him, their guns pointed and ready to fire!
In a panic, Eiji grabbed the controls and pulled inwards, managing to fly to the side and avoid a series of laser beams that the Gulfer Principle Units were shooting at him. Feeling himself pushed into his seat by the extreme g-forces, Eiji grit his teeth and tried to keep himself uptight on his seat. "D-dammit... what am I supposed to do? What the Hell are those things? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, DAMMIT? LET ME OUT OF HEEEEREEEEE!" he shouted in a state of ever-mounting terror.
His answer came in the form of the face of a teenage girl with light brown hair tied in a ponytail that was glaring at him in a cross manner. "If you'd stop screaming for a moment and listen up, then I'd be able to give you a few answers!" Luna angrily called to him. "You're onboard the G-Attacker, and at the most inconvenient time, too!"
"And who the Hell are you supposed to be?" Eiji asked in exasperation, as he got a glimpse of the intense fighting going on in the streets below. "What are these things? Where am I? And what am I supposed to do? I didn't come here to be caught up in a crossfire!"
"Will you stop your whining for just a moment, you big baby?" Luna rebuked him. "Now, don't touch anything until you get told to!"
"And why should I listen to you, anyway?" the boy fired back. "You just pop in here and... AUUUUGH!"
Another attack from a Zeravire drone in freefall cut off Eiji before he could say anything else, and the G-Attacker, though undamaged, was sent on a spiralling course towards the streets below! Screaming in panic, Eiji gripped the controls even tighter and pulled with all of his strength, hoping in some miracle. Somehow, he was able to right himself and regain altitude, flying closer to the place where the Gran Knights were fighting together with Kappei and his cousins.
"You don't have to be such a jerk about it!" Luna scolded again. "I'm doing you a favor here! Why don't you relax a little bit like Touga?"
"Touga?" Eiji frowned, once again hearing the name of that mysterious blue-haired young man.
"That other boy in the Gran Kaiser. The blue mech." Luna explained with an hint of arrogance. When Eiji looked at it, he could see that the blue humanoid robot was indeed doing a number on the invaders, taking apart several of them with the skill and the accuracy of a veteran pilot. An Orbiton went down after the Gran Kaiser had nailed it with an acrobatics flying kick, crashing on the street before being finished off by the ZamBull's main cannon, while the ZamboAce fired a few rounds from its gun and nailed another Zeravire.
"Touga... Wait a sec... who are you? And what's going on here?" Eiji asked again, now a little calmer than before.
He got his answer when another screen popped up in front of him, and upon it appeared the face of a red-haired man wearing an elegant silver mask on the top half of his face. "We can explain it in greater detail later, Eiji Shigure. Right now, what you need to know is that our mother Earth is in terrible danger." he explained. "What we are facing are the combined forces of the Zeravire, the Gulfer Machine Empire and the Gaizock, invaders from the deepest depths of space that have come to eradicate mankind. All of us are putting our strength together to stop them... and we are going to need your help right now."
"What?" Eiji exclaimed. "W-wait! This is crazy! How am I supposed to help you? And anyway, who are you, and how do you know my name?"
"All in due time. Right now, the important thing is to defeat the enemy in front of us." Raven explained, right before an eerie red beam of light began tearing through the darkened skies, immersing that whole section of the great city in a disquieting atmosphere of dread. The surviving Zeravire drones halted their assault, and the few remaining Gulfer units retreated in order to protect the place where the red light was coming through... some sort of tear that had spontaneously opened in the sky!
"What's going on now?" Keiko exclaimed from the ZamBase's cockpit. In the G-Driller's shared cockpit, Eina let out a terrified scream as something began to descend from the supernatural rift in reality.
"Here it comes!" Luna warned.
Mizuki pursed her lips in anticipation. "Looks like the main body has arrived."
Quickly finishing off a Zeravire drone, Touga threw its remains away and faced the coming monstrosity, his once-warm blue eyes narrowing in cold determination. A massive and terrifying shape slowly but implacably descended upon the terrified city, the smaller invader units gathering around it as if it was a commander of sorts - it had a truly otherworldly shape, looking like some sort of massive, deformed organic plane covered in iron-hard greyish blue skin, its body tapering into a pair of curved, hooked blades where the head of a normal creature should have been. Another pair of razor-shaped blades protruded from the creature's rear part, adorned in steel-grey spikes that only made it all the more threatening. Veins of red light ran over the thing's sides, adding to its innatural appearence.
"That must be... a Zeravire Destroyer!" Uchuuta murmured in awe. Again, he knew he had never seen one... and yet, the knowledge came to him spontaneously.
Kappei was hardly impressed. "Feh. Who cares? It's just a bigger target! We'll take it down just like the others! Leave it to me!" he exclaimed. Smiling confidently, the young boy powered the ZamboAce's boosters to jump high and tried to land a flying kick on the larger Zeravire... but by doing this, he dropped his guard and exposed himself to the Gulfer Principle Unit's cover fire, and the ZamboAce was peppered by a barrage of red beams and send sprawling on the ground, Kappei screaming in rage and frustration as he landed. "AAAAAARGH!"
"Kappei!" Keiko exclaimed in worry. She and the Gran Knights heaved a sigh of relief when the ZamboAce picked itself up.
"This is crazy! That attack didn't even come close to landing..." Eiji commented.
"Ugh... why you bastard! You're not getting away with this!" Kappei angrily jumped up again and tried for another head-on attack, this time whipping out the ZamboAce's gun and firing at the closest enemies before landing on the Zeravire's massive body and land a fast barrage of punches, none of which was able to even make a dent in the alien monstrosity's body. With an hideous, high-pitched noise, the Zeravire Destroyer opened a pair of plates on the front side of its body, revealing a pair of glowing red orb embedded in it... and fired a powerful surge of energy that struck the ZamboAce head-on, sending it sprawling on the ground again amidst Kappei's angry shouts.
"Kappei, you're not doing anything to that monster! Can't you see that we need to combine?" Uchuuta tried to rein his impulsive younger cousin in as the ZamboAce stood up once again. Kappei murmured something and glared at Uchuuta as if he wanted to shout back at him, but Keiko intervened before Kappei could run his mouth off once again.
"Uchuuta is right, you know! Your head isn't there just so you can get clobbered on it!" the blonde girl answered. "Besides which... we're no match with that thing on our own, and we have our hands full with the small fries too!"
Eiji grit his teeth when the Gulfer Principle Units continued their assaults on him, and barely managed to swerve in time to avoid their lasers, just as Touga attempted to launch a flying kick on the larger Zeravire, only to get swatted away as well by the alien creature's energy pulse. He managed to right the Gran Kaiser before slamming on the ground, but the tremendous blow still sent him on the side of a building, knocking over part of its side.
On Eiji's comm screen, Raven seemed to frown ever so slightly. "This is the form of the enemies of mankind, as you can see." the masked man explained calmly but sternly. "The unit you're piloting, the G-Attacker, is a part of Gravion, a powerful fighting robot that has been created to defeat them. Right now, we need your aid to stop this attack, before it claims more victims."
Eiji felt a cold shiver run down his spine while he stared at the massive Zeravire Destroyer and the small host of alien machines swarming around it. Fighting such horrors from outer space certainly sounded like a daunting task... but could he really just sit there in panic and let those monsters destroy Tokyo and kill countless more innocents? As much as he was afraid and confused, and as much as this wasn't the reason why he had infiltrated Sandman's party... at the moment, that seemed to be the only thing to do.
"Fine." the young man answered grimly. "Just tell me what to do... and I'll do all I can to help!"
Luna smirked victoriously as she steered the G-Driller away from the Zeravire Destroyer's reach. At least that guy seemed to have a little fight in him...
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"What is this thing? What the heck is going on?" a panicked Ginga exclaimed, squieming in his seat just as the Mecha Burst continued striking Dendoh with its flailing tentacles, failing to yet put a dent in the massive robot's armor.
"Calm down! You have to calm down!" Hokuto tried to get his new friend to quiet down, so that he could try and think of a way out of this terrifying situation... even though the massive Mecha Burst trying to force Dendoh's chestplate open certainly didn't help matters. Every hit made the massive robot shake, and while its armor was holding out very well for now, Hokuto couldn't help but wonder just for how long that was going to last... "The attacks haven't damaged us yet... this robot, whatever it is, is pretty sturdy."
"So what? I'm going crazy staying here!" Ginga exclaimed, thrashing and kicking around even more frantically.
"Well, obviously screaming isn't going to help!" Hokuto answered.
"But if we don't scream, nobody will come and save us!" the other boy fired back, feeling somewhat irritated at how Hokuto could remain so calm even in such a situation.
Hokuto groaned. "You're too noisy! I'm stressed out already without all this noise from you!"
"What good is thinking in this situation, idiot?"
"Hey, why are you calling me an idiot, now?"
"Hey, kids? Kids can you hear me?"
The boys were distracted by their quarrel by a female voice coming from a pair of speakers placed in their respective cockpits, calling out to them, and they managed to calm down enough to aswer quickly to that.
"Huh? Who's there? Can you see us?" Hokuto asked the stranger. A fair distance away from them, Vega was standing close to her motorbike, using a communication device to speak with them and instruct them on what to do, despite her own hesitations...
"Yes, you are now in the cockpit of Gear Fighter Dendoh." Vega explained. "I understand that you must be afraid and confused right now... believe me, we are just as confused and uncertain. But since things have turned out this way..." she paused for just a moment, taking a deep breath in order to quell her own misgivings. "...all we can do is ask for your help, as much as we regret having to involve you."
Hokuto blinked in confusion, straightening himself on his piloting seat. He was still eeling lost and confused, but he realized that this was probably their only chance to get out in one piece and escape the attacking Mecha Burst, so he took another deep breath and tried to steady himself. "Okay... so, now, what should we do?" he asked.
The masked woman nodded, feeling a little more confident. "Now, stand up and take a step... both at the same time!" she answered, expertly hiding her anxiety. "You must try to act in synchrony with each other, in order to move Dendoh."
"Okay... let's try this!" Hokuto stated, before turning to his companion. "Ginga, can you do it?"
The black-haired boy was still looking quite nervous, but swallowed his saliva and decided to give it a shot. "Yes... I can do it! Hold on a second as I get ready..."
Ginga and Hokuto stood by for a second... and then, they tentatively took a step forward, only for the massive robot they were on to imitate their move! It stood up, towering over the attacking Mecha Burst who stopped its relentless assault and tried to back away from it... and as Ginga and Hokuto stepped forward again, Dendoh began to advance as well! In only a few seconds, the mighty robot was already moving, advancing with a slow but steady gait towards the Mecha Burst Domira, who seemed to be trying to make sense of what was going on.
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Inside GEAR HQ, the personnel was breathing out a collective sigh of relief as live footage from the place of the battle began to appear on their screens, confirming that Dendoh had been activated and was getting ready to face the Mecha Burst in front of it!
"Looks like they did it, gentlemen." Chief Shibuya stated, watching with growing hope as Dendoh walked slowly but steadily towards the enemy. The Mecha Burst screeched and stepped backwards, getting into a fighting stance as it prepared to face the massive humanoid robot. The distance between the two combarants was getting shorter and shorter with every step Dendoh took, and they were going to clash any moment now…
Any moment now…
…
…
And Dendoh just walked past the Mecha Burst, leaving all the GEAR HQ personnel surprised and crestfallen.
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Even the Mecha Burst seemed caught off guard by Dendoh's actions. It had simply ignored the mechanical alien menace and was now in the process of walking away like nothing happened…
But its surprise was nothing compared to Vega's. The blond woman stood in place, her eyes wide in a comical expression of shock, and her mask shifted ever so slightly on her face. She was so flabbergasted that she couldn't do anything but stare at the retreating form of Dendoh in utter disbelief, before grabbing her comm device and recalling the two boys.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she exclaimed, getting a comical flush on her face. "You are supposed to be fighting that thing!"
Dendoh stopped in its tracks, the two boys at the controls shocked at the reveal. Hokuto blinked and looked around, before turning around towards the place Vega was speaking from. "Huh? Hold… hold on a second, miss… weren't we supposed to use this robot to run away?"
"No, Dendoh was made to fight against those enemies!" Vega answered, frantically pointing to the Mecha Burst Domira that was already turning around to pursue them. "What's the point if you just run away?"
Hokuto and Ginga stood in place for a few seconds, as if trying to elaborate what they had just heard… and then, they both screamed in panic when the Domira lunged at them, flailing its tentacles in seeming anticipation! The two boys desperately tried to cover themselves and brace for impact…
"Raise the right arm! Hit that thing with a punch!" Vega exclaimed. Shaken out of their panic, Ginga and Hokuto did what they were told to – indeed, it's not like they had any other choice – and Dendoh imitated their movement, raising the right arm and nailing the Mecha Burst with a tremendous punch as it was about to reach them! The murderous machine was struck and sent flying a fair distance, before landing in the middle of the parking lot, crushing several cars under its bulk!
Hokuto and Ginga were incredulous. They had actually done it? They had managed to strike back against that monster? And they had done it by simply moving like they wanted that robot to move? It was amazing… so amazing that, at least for a moment, they were able to forget about their earlier fear, and they felt a rush of excitement washing over them… almost forgetting about the horde of mechanical monsters that was swarming over Tokyo!
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Butcher snarled angrily as he saw his Mecha Burst collapsed under Dendoh's tremendous blow on his flagship's screens. This was not going according to plan… between that, and the Gran Knights along with those meddling kids interfering with the assault, his good mood had taken a plunge.
"Hmph… so the Earthlings are not as helpless as I thought." He commented. "Pooey, it's no fun when my opponent can fight back. I'll make those foolish humans pay for spoiling my fun. Come on, Mecha Burst Domira, stand up and tear those little vermin apart! As slowly as possible, of course!"
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The mechanical monster did not need to hear its master's orders. It was already picking itself up and getting ready to attack Dendoh again... and this time, it was not going to be caught off guard. With a quick lunge from its tentacles, it whipped the opponent in its chest and shoulders, causing little damage but shaking Hokuto and Ginga in their cockpits!
"Gah!" the chestnut-haired boy exclaimed as he tried to hold on to his seat. "This thing is really tough! What can we do to even the odds?"
Once again, it was Vega who came to their aid. "Look in front of yourselves! Can you see something that looks like an handheld video game?" she asked.
Hokuto and Ginga managed to steady themselves and looked at their piloting interfaces... and, more exactly, to a small object that had been secured on top of them, one of each pilot. It was a small device which could easily be held in one hand, with a chassis made in what looked like colored plastic, and it had a small liquid crystal screen in front, surrounded by some sort of toothed wheel that acted as a frame of sorts. Realizing that this was what Vega was talking about, the two boys quickly grabbed the devices in front of them.
"We got 'em!" Ginga stated. "Now what?"
The Mecha Burst attacked again, this time by opening its mouth and firing a beam of pure energy that Dendoh barely managed to avoid. It grazed the robot's shoulder, unleashing a shower of sparks, and Hokuto was sure he could feel Vega grit her teeth in alarm from wherever she was standing. "Yes, just so! Those are your GEAR Commands! Now... you need to enter this combination: A one time, LL two times and LR one time!" she quickly explained, hoping they would understand. There was no time, now that the Mecha Burst was rushing towards them once again...
"Ginga! Do as she said!" Hokuto told his reluctant comrade, using his thumb to quickly spin the GEAR Command's wheel. As soon as he completed the combination, the device's screen lit up, and both boys felt a brief surge of energy going up their arms... only to be snapped back to reality when the Mecha Burst Domira slammed upon them! Dendoh was forced with its back against the ground, barely withstanding the blows from the thing's tentacles!
"Place the GEAR Commands into your dashboards! Now!" Vega continued.
Struggling under the Domira's pressure and brutality, Hokuto and Ginga steeled themselves, and finally managed to insert the devices into two ports that seemed to be made especially for them. A split second later, a dazzling light show erupted from the GEAR Commands' screens and bathed the cockpits, causing both boys to jump up in surprise... and on their screens, the image of a turquoise-haired young girl, bearing a serious and somewhat melanchonic expression on her face, appeared. She looked at them for a split second before turning away and disappearing, while the turbines on Dendoh's arms and legs began frantically spinning, causing the robot to simply slip away from its opponent's hold! The Mecha Burst Domira fell to the ground once again, as Dendoh sped away and got back up with an elegant turn. The faceplate on Dendoh's head lifted itself up with a low whirring sound, revealing a humanlike face with glowing green eyes.
"Wow! Will you look at that!" Hokuto exclaimed, impressed by the maneuver. The Mecha Burst Domira stood up once again, and Hokuto could have sworn it looked furious at the two young children who were making fun of it... "I get it. This is the command installer, right?"
"Command installer?" a rather clueless Ginga asked.
Hokuto quickly explained. "It's basically a machine that tells the computer what to do."
"Exactly! You'll be able to control the turbines on Dendoh's arms and legs with that. A is the arm, while LL is the right foot."Vega compunded the explanation as the two boys focused once again on the mechanical menace in front of them.
"Okay, I got it down already!" Hokuto said. "Ginga, can you do that spinning kick trick you did at school today?"
The other boy's eyes widened in surprise. Had his friend gone mad from a combination of fear and excitement? "What? Are you seriously suggesting we try THAT... to defeat that mechanical monstrosity?"
"We need to at least try, Ginga! Or that monster and its friends will kill us and everyone else!" Hokuto pointed out. "Right now, we are the only ones who can stop it! You can do it, Ginga!"
The Mecha Burst attacked again, trying to entangle Dendoh with its tentacles... but Ginga reacted in time, lifting an arm and using the spinning turbines to deflect the Domira's attack, ripping out two tentacles in the process! Screeching in fury, the killing machine stepped back, just as Ginga gathered his resolve and decided to go for the finishing blow! His face set in determination, the young martial artist spun the GEAR Command's screen frame, entering a command, and together with Hokuto, he plugged it in his dashboard!
"Okay! Here goes!" Ginga exclaimed as Dendoh once again flared to life. Ginga took a fighting stance, the robot quickly imitating him... and then, Dendoh dashed forward and delivered a powerful punch to the Mecha Burst Domira's head, forcing the thing backwards! But Ginga was not done yet. Making full use of his skills, he made Dendoh duck low and aim a sweeping kick at the Mecha Burst's legs, which propelled the mechanical terror in the air, and finally grabbed it and executed a flawless throw!
"Shippu San Nen Geki!" Ginga exclaimed, calling out the name of the move.
The Mecha Burst Domira smashed into the ground at tremendous speed, and exploded soon after, being reduced to nothing but a pile of molten slag and scrap metal, while Dendoh stood up and struck a martial arts pose! From her position, Vega sighed in relief, while further away Kirakuni stood watching the scene along with Jupiter and the child they had rescued.
"They actually did it..." Kirakuni commented.
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On the Bandock's main bridge, Butcher let out an enraged snarl and snapped his pipe in half as he saw his Mecha Burst being destroyed.
"Ugh... accursed humans! They would actually try to fight back?" he exclaimed, before calling out to his subordinates. "Order all Mecha Burst units to converge on the place where the units we have lost where! We must destroy those meddling fools who dared interfere with us!"
"R-right away, Butcher, my lord!" one of his subordinates, a strange grey-skinned creature with drooping long ears that looked like a humanoid bulldog in a Gestapo uniform, answered promptly, before relaying the order to the rest of the crew. "You heard our lord! Those intruders must be wiped out at once! Send all the Mecha Burst units to support our Zeravire and Gulfer allies!"
"Aye-aye, sir!" the Gaizock soldiers answered at once.
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At the same time, in Rasenjo's innermost chambers, the Gulfer commander and his three most trusted commanders were watching the battle as well...
"I did not think the humans on this planet would possess such power." a figure with a lithe crimson body and a featureless orb for an head stated in a mechanical, emotionless voice. On the window in front of it and its companions, Dendoh could be seen standing in front of the destroyed Mecha Burst.
"Isn't that Knight Gear?" asked an abstract-looking creature that seemed to be made of quicksilver that somehow retained a solid, somewhat flower-like shape.
"How is that possible?" asked a third, looking somewhat more humanoid than the others, bulky and covered in yellow armor.
But the Gulfer commander, Rasenjou, was not of the same opinion. "THAT IS NOT KNIGHT GEAR." it spoke in a thunderous, yet still emotionless, voice. "THAT IS THE OTHER GEAR FIGHTER. THE ONE THAT HAD BEEN MISSING, THE ONE OUR EMPIRE HAD BEEN SEARCHING FOR A LONG TIME."
"Really?" the creature in yellow armor asked. "What of the Legendary Data Weapon, then?"
"IT IS WITH THE GEAR FIGHTER." the master answered. "WE MUST HAVE THE DATA WEAPON. HAVE ALL OUR UNITS CONVERGE ON THE GEAR FIGHTER."
"Yes, master!" the three of them answered in unison.
oooooooooo
"Well... we seem to have done it! What now...?" Hokuto breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the burning wreckage that once was a Mecha Burst.
"An excellent job, both of you! But I'm afraid this isn't over just yet." Vega's voice came. "I'm afraid that the one you destroyed was just one Mecha Burst, and soon, more of them, along with Zeravire and Gulfer robots, will be converging on you."
"Yeah... we kinda saw that there are many of them..." Ginga answered uneasily. "So... is this robot capable of fighting off all of them?"
"Doesn't Dendoh have some sort of weapon on its own?" Hokuto asked. "I mean, beam rifles, rocket punches, electromagnetic waves, arrows or yo-yos?"
Vega's answer was quick and to the point. "No."
Both Ginga and Hokuto sweatdropped at this. "Er... okay, so... how are we supposed to fight off that many?" Ginga asked.
"You're not the only ones fighting the invaders." Vega stated. "Move towards the northern quadrant from here. Some of our allies are fighting off the enemy there. Together with them, you stand a chance of repelling these invaders!"
"O-okay! Leave it to us!" Hokuto answered, steeling himself as he saw that a rather large swarm of Orbiton, Zeravire drones and Gulfer Principle Units was already gathering and moving towards them... and at the same time, two more Mecha Burst emerged from the streets and set their sights upon Dendoh - two tremendous-looking robots that looked like some sort of crimson tank with the paws of a lion and the head of an eagle.
A few Orbitons immediately opened fire, targetting Dendoh with numerous missiles unleashed from the lower parts of their bodies, and a few stray hits managed to hit the mighty robot while it was in the process of retreating, while one of the Mecha burst opened its beak and shot a gout of crimson flames at its target. The two boys did all they could to avoid the attacks, while at the same time retreating towards the destination.
"Ginga! We need to hurry! These things will catch up to us in no time!" Hokuto exclaimed, moving as fast as he could in order for Dendoh to go faster. It wasn't easy, having just now learned how to operate the robot, but reaching GEAR's allies was their only chance to hold their own against so many invaders.
From her place, Vega quickly mounted her motorbike and drove in the same direction, hoping to at least be of some help to the boys. It was the least she could do, after getting them involved in this mess...
oooooooooo
"Uh-oh... our guests have called in quite a few reinforcements here!" Kirakuni commented, kneeling a bit to stand almost eye-to-eye with Jupiter while still holding the child they had rescued, who was still sniffling a bit, but was now looking at the retreating form of Dendoh with renewed hope. "We need to get out of here, we're just going to be in the way. Lets get to GEAR HQ and try to assess the situation. You're with me, boy?"
"Woof!" Jupiter barked back. The rescued child waved at Dendoh in an attempt to wish it and its pilots good luck, before the group began heading to their destination.
oooooooooo
Back in the northern quadrant, the Gran Knights along with Kappei and his cousins were still fighting the Zeravire Destroyer and several other lesser units, trying their best to fend off their relentless attack.
"Dammit, there is just no end to them..." Uchuuta cursed as he weaved his ZamBull away from a couple of Zeravire drones dive-bombing upon him. "Can you guys buy us some time to combine?"
"We're doing the best we can, under the circumstances!" Luna answered, using the drills on her vehicle's front to keep away a few Gulfer Principle Units. The Gran Kaiser was still fighting like a demon, smashing apart another of the humanoid Gulfer robots, while the G-Striker covered him with a strafing run on a few lesser enemies, but the G-Attacker was still flying in a clumsy way as Eiji was getting used to the controls.
"Ugh... dammit, this sucks..." Eiji exclaimed, seeing that the Zeravire Destroyer was powering up, ready to unleash another attack. The ZamboAce fired a few shots, but none of them was able to penetrate the creature's unnaturally thick hide. "What am I supposed to do? That thing is going to fry us all unless we move it!"
"Just concentrate on distracting the enemy for now!" Raven told him for his comm window. "As soon as Zambot 3 is formed, you should have more time to combine into Gravion yourselves!"
"Ugh... I'm still not sure I get it, but okay..." Eiji stated, trying to fly close enough to the enemy to distract them and at the same time not be an easy target. An anti-air blast from the G-Driller pierced through an Orbiton's arm, causing the mechanical beast to lose altitude... and be shot down by a precise shot from the ZamboAce's handgun. The Zeravire Destroyer began charging up again, and the two orbs embedded in its body glowed for a moment, before unleashing a powerful surge of energy that scattered the Gran Knights' units... all except the Gran Kaiser, who managed to stand its ground and retailed with a powerful flying kick that forced the alien creature backwards just a few steps... enough for the three Bial refugees to get their act together and start their combination!
"Fine, guys, let's do this." Kappei stated, still a little annoyed that he wasn't going to be able to do it all himself. He reached out and grabbed a lever close to his unit's console, before pulling it towards himself... and in their respective units, Uchuuta and Keiko did the same.
"Zambot Combination... IN!" Kappei exclaimed.
"IN!" Uchuuta continued.
"IN!" Keiko finished.
Right then, a series of colored arcs of lightning erupted from the three units, linking them to each other as they aligned and matched each other in speed. Before the enemies could reorganize themselves and attack, the ZamboAce, ZamBull and ZamBase began floating in midair and hovering closer, changing their shapes and combining into each other through an as-of-yet unseen mechanism. In a few seconds, the three units had joined together in a single whole new unit, and continued changing their shape under the Gran Knights' eyes. At the end of the whole process, a blinding flash swallowed them... and soon faded to show the result of their combination!
"Well, I'll be! Now that is one cool-looking bot!" Eiji commented, staring at the newly-formed robot with an impressed expression. The three units had combined into a huge robot that looked like a samurai, its body shaped into a sleek yet powerful frame with large red shoulder pads that contrasted with its deep blue torso, shins and arms, and the shining steel-grey of its joints. It was wearing a red helmet with a golden crescent moon attached to its front, and it seemed to sport a silver faceplate that hid the lower half of its face, with a pair of glowing golden eyes shining above it. On its chest was a V-shaped plate of golden armor, with golden spikes jutting out of the new robot's shoulder pads. It rose higher in the air, and struck a fighting pose, as its young pilots exclaimed its name in unison!
"ZAMBOT 3!"
"Now that's more like it." Mizuki commented, smiling cunningly.
"They... combined into a larger robot?" Eiji mouthed in surprise. "Now I've seen everything!"
"Our machines can do the same, you know!" Luna answered in an uppity tone. "Just wait and see for yourself!"
The invaders all seemed to hesitate, and most of them took a step back as soon as the new robot appeared on the battlefield in all of its glory! As it took a fighting stance, Zambot 3 stared down all the enemies, and in its main cockpit, Kappei took his place in the pilot seat, having to admit that, for all that he didn't like the idea at first, this combined robot was plenty powerful.
"Woah! So that is the combined Zambot 3? Not bad at all!" the cocky young boy stated. "Heh, I can just imagine Ginga's face if he knew I'm a robot pilot! That loser would be totally humiliated!"
One of his screens came to life, and after a few seconds of static, it showed Hikozaemon's bearded face with a noticeable angry frown upon it. "Kappei! This is no time to get cocky! Have you forgotten that there are still those invaders out there? You need to face them and buy some time for your allies to combine! Remember the sleep training and get to it!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, grandpa..." Kappei answered, muttering something about having the right to strut his stuff. However, he quickly focused on the enemies once again, and got ready to face those who were inching towards them. "Alright, here we go! Zambot 3 is ready to go and kick some ass! Uchuuta, Keiko, you better be ready!"
"Hey, speak for yourself, dude! We were ready much earlier than you've ever been!" Uchuuta protested.
"Will you two just stop it and focus on the mission at hand?" Keiko called out both boys. "Alright, Kappei, this is it! We need to defend this city and everyone in it!"
"That won't be a problem!" Kappei exclaimed. "Zambot Claws!"
The combined robot unsheathed a pair of sai - small weapons that looked like pointed daggers with two curved prongs projecting from the handles - and dashed towards a group of Gulfer Principle Units that had placed themselves between the defenders and the Zeravire Destroyer. The humanoid weapons fired their lasers, but the beams bounced off of Zambot 3's armor and dissipated, leaving the Principle Units defenseless as Zambot 3 reached them and executed a flawless double thrust that impaled two enemies, one on each dagger! Smirking, Kappei quickly had Zambot 3 shrug the shutting-down Principle Units off and join the sais at the hilts, which turned them into a single halberd-like weapon with a sai at each end.
"Zambot Brow!" Kappei exclaimed, skillfully twirling his new weapon in front of his robot and deflecting an attack from a Zeravire drone that was launching itself at Zambot 3. He then executed another thrust and struck down the attacker, just as the Gran Knights' units began shooting down the remaining Principle Units. Alarmed, the other enemies gathered themselves around the Zeravire Destroyer, and tried to fire back, but Zambot 3 reacted quickly: Kappei resheathed the Zambot Brow and turned his robot's sais into a new weapon, a shining broadsword with a sturdy white blade! "And now... chew on this, you jerks! Zambot Cutter!"
Zambot 3 executed a powerful two-handed slash, tearing through a Mecha Burst Domira with tremendous ease and an ear-splitting sound of torn steel! The murderous machine fell, cleaved in two halves, and exploded a moment later, and Zambot 3 quickly jumped into the fray, decapitating an Orbiton and slashing a few more Gulfer Principle Units apart. As if roused by the ease with which its lessers were being annihilated, the Zeravire Destroyer flew forwards, ramming Zambot 3 with all of its weight before the sword-wielding robot could react, and sending it hurtling onto the nearest buildings!
"AAAAARGH!" Kappei screamed in rage. "D-Damn you, you gigantic piece of shit!"
"That guy is stronger than the others!" Touga warned, his Gran Kaiser dodging an Orbiton's missiles before downing the alien machine with a well-placed axe kick. "You can't just charge it head-on, even with Zambot 3! Try to find a weakness!"
"We're doing all we can!" Uchuuta protested, as Zambot 3 picked itself up, shrugging off what remained of the building it had crushed. The Zeravire Destroyed swerved in and out of reach with incredible speed for a creature that big, keeping Zambot 3 and the Gran Knights focused on itself so that the lesser enemies could fire upon them without issue. "Kappei, we need to be more focused! We have to lock down that Zeravire so we can hopefully deal a decisive blow!"
"Wait a second, guys! I'm picking up something else on my radar!" Keiko exclaimed as she took a quick look at her onboard instruments. "More enemies coming... along with an unknown unit! Still, it's identified as friendly..."
"I'm picking it up as well..." Luna said, before another friendly unit showed up on her radar! "Wait! There is another one! Isn't it..."
"It's the G-Shadow! It has come, at last!" Eina completed the statement for her.
A split second later, a ripple appeared in midair... and a new unit materialized, one that resembled a stealth bomber, until then camouflaged so well that no one had been able to see it coming! It fired a few missiles at the invaders, and managed to down an Orbiton and a Mecha Burst Domira that were about to attack the other Gran Knights units! It flew straight into a bunch of Gulfer Principle Units, causing them to scatter in disarray before turning back and flying close to the G-Attacker and the G-Striker!
"Phew! Nice one, pal! That was one hell of an entrance!" Eiji complimented the pilot... whoever that was, since he didn't get any response from the newcomer, and was unable to even see his or her face. "Huh? Strange guy... Isn't he even showing his face?"
"Well, if you survive this, you'll probably get to know our most mysterious pilot." Mizuki said with a playful wink. "For now... get ready to combine, and to greet another ally of ours!"
"Huh? What sort of..." Eiji asked in puzzlement, before taking a look to his right... and seeing Dendoh rushing towards them, turning around from time to time to fend off an Orbiton or another enemy that had gotten too close. The mighty robot was gettig closer, only stopping when it had almost reached them. "And what's that other robot there? It's just one big surprise after the other today!"
"It seems to be running away like a big chicken though..." Kappei commented. "Whoever the pilot is, I'm sure he's a huge wimp!"
oooooooooo
"We've lured all the invaders we could here!" Hokuto exclaimed, as he noticed Zambot 3 and the Gran Knights' machines up ahead. "Miss, are those the allies you were talking about?"
"That they are!" came Vega's voice from wherever she was at the moment. "Our HQ has already been notified of what is going on, so don't worry about being shot at!"
"And what's that huge thing they're fighting against? It's like one of those black guys, but much bigger!" Ginga exclaimed, noticing the Zeravire Destroyer that was managing to hold its own against Zambot 3 and the Gran Knights.
"That's a Zeravire. They're in cahoots with the Gulfer and the Gaizock, so they're fair game as well." Vega answered quickly. "Right now, though, you need to deal with the more immediate threat... those Orbiton swarming you! Now, I'll tell you what to do... install SP1 command in the GEAR Command!"
"Roger!" Hokuto answered.
"You got it! Let's show everyone what this guy can do!" Ginga followed up with a cocky grin. Both children grabbed their GEAR Commands and inserted the instruction Vega had told them to use, then jammed them in their consoles and transmitted a surge of energy to their robot, whose eyes lit up for a moment! Several Orbitons fired a barrage of missiles and lasers, but Dendoh was able to defend itself by simply taking a guarding position and causing all the attacks to bounce harmlessly off of himself. The turbines on its arms and legs started spinning again with an ear-piercing noise, and the mighty robot quickly took to the air, followed by a large chunk of the Gulfer Empire's mechanical enforcers... and a pair of air vents opened up on its shoulders as Dendoh joined his hands, arc of bright blue electricity arcing between its arms!
"Senkou Rai Jin Geki!" Ginga and Hokuto screamed in unison!
Dendoh unleashed its attack, spinning around with its arms outstretched and crackling blades of blue electricity appearing from its hands! It swung its electric blades around, slicing through the Orbitons and any other enemy in their range like a red-hot knife through butter, and reducing them to little more than scrap metal in the blink of an eye! Only a few pursuers were able to get away in time not to get cut down, but by then, their number had been drastically reduced!
"Woah! That was incredible! I'm almost terrified at what this robot can do!" Hokuto exclaimed. "Still... if we are to stop these invaders, this Dendoh is our best chance... along with those other guys up there!"
"Let's get to them and join them!" Ginga proposed as Dendoh elegantly landed near Zambot 3. He quickly looked at his control panel, before blinking and realizing there was something missing in his idea. "By the way, how do I make a call from this walking tin can?"
"That's not a tin can! That's Dendoh! Have a little respect, please!" an annoyed Vega shouted in his ear.
oooooooooo
"Amazing... it destroyed all those Gulfer machines in one fell swoop!" a wide-eyed Keiko Kamikita commented from her cockpit. The debris that had been a bunch of murderous, seemingly unstoppable machines just a few seconds earlier were still raining from the skies. She had no time to ponder this further, though, as Dendoh dashed towards the Zeravire Destroyer, catching it off guard and attacking before it could get a new attack off. Dendoh's right fist caught the alien creature in what passed for its midsection, and pushed it away a fair distance, before a group of Gulfer Principle Units and a Mecha Burst Domira put themselves between Dendoh and its main target!
"That's Gear Fighter Dendoh! Our allies at GEAR HQ have managed to activate it!" Kappei's portly older brother Ichitaro informed them, appearing on their comm screens. "I'll try to get in contact with the pilots... and I'll patch them to you! Hold on a moment..."
"Ugh... try to do it fast!" Kappei exclaimed as he watched his older brother fidget with the consoles. Ignoring his little brother's impatience, Ichitaro pressed a few buttons, and managed to contact the newcomer.
"King Biar to Dendoh. King Biar to Dendoh. Dendoh, do you copy? This is Ichitaro Jin, of the King Biar crew... What?" Kappei was quite surprised when he saw his brother widen his eyes in a clear expression of surprise. "What do you mean...? Yes... Yes, of course! No problem! I'll patch you to Zambot 3 and the Gran Knights right now! Hold on a second..."
"Brother! Hey, bro, what's goin' on?" the younger Jin sibling asked in confusion. Ichitaro sighed in resignation before patching the Dendoh pilots through to both Zambot 3 and the Gran Knights machines. As a pair of new comm windows opened up on his screen, Kappei was suddenly face to face with an image of Hokuto... and one of his sworn rival, Ginga Izumo! "Hey, you two! What's the..." he began to say, before freezing in surprise and staring wide-eyed at Ginga!
"Zambot 3, this is Gear Fighter Dendoh... WHAAAAAAT?" Ginga couldn't help but shout from the surprise of seeing Kappei in the main cockpit of the other robot! "Kappei Jin? WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING THERE?"
"I COULD ASK THE SAME QUESTION, YOU DUMBASS!" Kappei shouted back. "What do you hope to sitting there like an idiot and flailing about?"
"I wouldn't call that earlier attack 'flailing about', though." an annoyed Uchuuta commented.
A huge sweatdrop poured down Hokuto's forehead. "Uh... Ginga, isn't he the guy you were fighting with back at school, today?"
"I just hope they don't kill each other before that Zeravire..." Keiko sighed.
oooooooooo
Back in the huge ballroom hall, Klein Sandman raised his eyes to the holographic map representing the battlefield, upon which several blue dots were shining...
"The players are all in one place." the purple-haired billionarie stated cryptically as his guests watched tensely. "Now... it begins."
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's notes: Phew! It's not exactly easy to write an intro for not one, not two, but three series! But I hope I did a decent job of it... rewatching the first episodes of Zambot 3, Gear Fighter Dendoh and Gravion helped a lot with it!
Next chapter, we wrap up the battle with the invaders, and watch Gravion take action again! Then, we'll get some denouement... and in the chapter after that, two other series will make their debut in this story!
See you next time! And if you can, please review!