Book 5: The Blaster Master

by Fir100

Gaius and his team travel to the Blaster Master universe in search of the next Gjallarhorn fragment. However, an army of mutants hidden within the underground areas stood in their path. With the help of Jason Frudnick and his Metal Attacker, SOPHIA III, will they be able to complete the mission while also looking for Jason's missing frog named Fred?

11. Freeing The Earth

Book 5: The Blaster Master

Chapter 11: Freeing the Earth

---

Guardian Base

"Take this!" Laura yelled, firing her shoulder-mounted railgun at the group of mutants from afar while the rest of the Guardian troops fired at the other approaching mutants that were trying to invade the base.

Grey and Aile fired homing lightning and homing laser shots at another group of mutants and landed beside Laura before firing rapidly at another group. Explosions and turret fire were also heard as the mutants triggered the trap before they were destroyed. The trap was able to hold a number of mutants at bay, but was soon overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the mutants as they destroyed the turrets and marched on ahead.

"Geez! Are these guys ever going to give us a break?!" Ashe complained while firing her hand cannons.

"Only when we are dead, Ashe! And they won't stop until the Mutant Lord is defeated!" Laura stated before firing another railgun shot.

"I just hope they won't take too long, or we'll get overwhelmed!" Grey said, firing a charge shot at one more mutant.

"Tch…! They had better win." Ashe muttered. "If only we could get help from the EDF, but even they have their share of mutant problems and are heading for their base as we speak."

And suddenly from the skies above, a large storm of missiles struck the groups of mutants, killing them with multiple explosions. This surprised everyone, wondering where those large sets of missiles came from.

"Is everyone okay?"

They turned to the voice coming from the sky and reacted with wide eyes and in shock at what they saw.

(Play BGM: Hero Senki from Super Robot Wars Original Generations Gaiden OST)

It was a large black mech with a red visor, yellow exhaust ports on its chest and shoulders, a flight-pack with a large buster cannon and missile canisters on the back, and three bucklers on its left arm.

"What… the heck?!" Ashe exclaimed.

"State your name, mech pilot!" Laura asked.

"Gilliam Yeager, pilot of the Gespenst Type-RV and recent addition to Team XDR. I'm here to assist with the defence!"

"Gilliam?! You're the one Prairie met inside the EDF Base!" Grey recalled.

"That is correct."

"More are coming this way!" A Guardian troop reported, pointing at another mutant horde coming.

"Let me deal with that quickly." Gilliam complied as metal parts purged out of the flight-pack. The parts then circled around till it fused into a metal saucer, generating an orange energy glow. "Leap Slasher!" The Gespenst launched the saucer right at the mutants, slicing every single of them with ease before they exploded.

"Whoa…!/Amazing…!/Incredible…!" Ashe, Grey and Laura remarked with awe at how Gilliam was handling the mutants as the saucer turned back into pieces and reattached back into the flight-pack.

"Don't relax just yet! More are coming this way!" Gilliam reminded, looking at another mutant horde at a distance.

"Understood!" Laura replied as she, Grey and Ashe nodded before facing the upcoming mutants with their weapons ready.

"By the way, how's the progress of the strike team?"

"If I were to guess, I think they're fighting the Mutant Lord right now. And if the leader goes down, the rest of the mutants along with the mutant meteor goes down with it." Ashe answered.

"I see. Then our fate lies within their hands."

"Don't worry! They can handle it after the expeditions they've been through so far, so we're putting our faith in them!" Grey assured.

"Hmph. That's good to know." Gilliam noted as the Gespenst prepared its M90 Assault Rifle with a missile attachment. "Alright, get ready for the next wave!"

"Right!" The group nodded before turning their attention to the mutants.

(BGM End)

---

EDF HQ

Meanwhile, numerous EDF troops are stationed outside of the base gates with their weapons armed, awaiting the arrival of the mutant invaders approaching at a distance. The inside of the base has artillery tanks ready to bombard the mutants from afar with Reynold commanding them, looking at his tablet showing the mutant horde in the distance.

"Artillery unit, get ready to fire on my signal!" Reynold told the artillery squad.

At the top of the gates, two special EDF troopers wielding sniper rifles and assault rifles holstered on their backs are watching the mutant horde in the distance approaching.

"Well Az, this is it. No turning back now. Though I was hoping you'd stay on the sidelines and let me do all the work." The male trooper said. He had messy dark blue and dark green hair with sky-blue eyes, along with wearing a red scarf around his neck that reached his chest.

"Edge, Mitsuba instructed both of us to defend this base. And besides, I'm not letting you have all the fun and I can take care of myself." Az reminded. She has amber eyes and long blue hair that's tied into twintails that's held up by red and orange butterfly-shaped ribbons with a pair of blue cloth.

The male trooper named Edge sighed. "...Oh well. Still, we're not gonna let them destroy this base. It's our home, after all. Though I'm surprised she mentioned Jason Frudnick making some allies and battling the mutants earlier. And I thought he was busy during research."

"Yeah, I was surprised as well." Az agreed. "Would be nice if we could meet him again, for old times sakes."

"Hmph." Edge smirked. "Well he was smarter than the both of us back in the EDF Academy, though I never expected him to be that good when it comes to combat. But not as good as us though. If I were to meet up with him again, I'm challenging him to a shooting contest."

"Hehe, of course you would." Az giggled before staring at the mutants. "But first, we're gonna have to survive this mutant horde until Jason's team destroys their leader."

"Yeah." Edge nodded. "They'd better not screw this up, or they're gonna get it from me. And you'd better not die on me either, Az. You're the only sibling I've got."

"Don't worry Edge, I'm not planning on dying either." Az assured with a smile as they armed their sniper rifles.

"Good, that's what I'm counting on." Edge smiled back.

---

Inside the Mutant Meteor

Back at the domain, Jason's team are preparing their battle against the Mutant Lord's true form with a Gjallarhorn fragment inside of it.

"Remember, we need to wear down its stamina so I can get an opening to pluck that fragment out of his body!" Geiz reminded.

"Right!" The group nodded as the Mutant Lord roared once more.

"Alright team, time for Round 2!" Jason declared.

=WARNING=

THE LAIR OF

"THE GALAXY MASTER'S TRUE FORM"

=MULTIDIMENSIONAL OVERLORD=

(Play BGM: Multidimensional Overlord (Final Boss) from Blaster Master Zero OST)

The overlord raised its fiery hand as red drills started appearing from below at a rapid pace.

"Everybody split!" Gunvolt yelled before the group scattered in multiple directions to avoid the approaching drills.

As the group were avoiding the drills, Jason fired wave shots at the overlord, but to his surprise, the shots were ineffective. "It didn't work?!"

"Try another shot! One of them has to be effective!" Geiz advised while firing his X-Baton Blaster with support from the Arrow Legion firing energy arrows. Their shots were somewhat effective, but not by much.

Vent fired charge shots from his ZX-Busters along with Shirabe launching slash-waves with her yo-yos. Both of their attacks were able to at least damage the overlord. "At least some of our attacks are working!" Vent remarked as he and Shirabe kept dashing away from the drills on the ground.

Gunvolt was also able to damage the overlord with his Lightning Leader along with tagging it, prompting him to unleash lightning bolts at the target. "Good thing I can still tag him, but he just kept attacking without being stunned!" He said while dashing away from the drills.

"He must have super armor equipped." Shirabe stated.

"Then maybe we should try close range!" Houki suggested while flying away from the drills. "Geiz, let's attack together!"

"Worth a shot!" Geiz complied before he, Houki and the Arrow Legion rushed towards the overlord. But then the overlord lowered its hand and changed its color to orange, crossed its arms and swiped them wide open, unleashing a powerful shockwave that caught the three off-guard, sending them flying till they crashed onto a wall which knocked them out, with the Legion vanishing back into the Legatus after the crash.

"Geiz! Houki!" Jason exclaimed.

"It can change color?!" Joule gasped.

"Not good! They're down for the count, including the Legion!" Shirabe added with worry.

"Okay, that Mutant Lord is really going all-out on us…!" Vent muttered. "Stay on guard and watch for its movements!"

"Right!" The remaining fighters nodded as they saw the overlord changing color again, now in green. It then created large green rocks that's the size of a tank and launched them towards the group, including the downed fighters.

"Oh crap!" Jason's eyes widened, noticing the large rocks heading straight for the unconscious Geiz and Houki. "Someone stop those rocks before they crash right onto them!"

"Leave that to me!" Gunvolt complied, rushing in front of the two with a lightning flash-step, holstered his Armed Gear and prepared a combat stance with his fists. A pair of blades appeared from the front of the gauntlets before spinning rapidly into drills along with generating electricity. Once one of the rocks got close to Gunvolt, he punched onto it as the drills slowly began showing cracks on the rock before he let out another drill punch from his other arm, destroying the rock completely.

As for Shirabe, she unfolded her metallic twin-tails that revealed a pair of large buzzsaws and threw them at the approaching rock, slicing it cleanly in half.

Gamma Style: Swastika Kasha

As for the other large rock approaching, she fused her yo-yos into one massive buzzsaw and threw it at the rock, slicing it in half.

Beta Style: Giant Saw Judgement

"Shirabe! I could use a hand!" Jason requested, trying to destroy another rock with the Auto Shot and grenades.

"On my way!" Shirabe complied, skating towards him to assist.

As for Vent, he used his ZX-Buster Sword to slice through another large rock in half. Afterwards, he turned his attention to the overlord who immediately summoned more large rocks at him. In response, he charged up his ZX-Buster Sword while raising it upwards, and once fully charged, he unleashed a large vertical slash-wave, followed by a horizontal wave that sliced through multiple rocks until the combined wave struck the overlord which stunned him along with taking damage. But when the overlord recovered, it was caught off-guard when Vent fired his fully charged ZX-Twin Busters at close range, pushing the overlord back while Vent landed a few steps away from it while changing to the ZX-Double Saber.

This enraged the overlord as it changed color to blue and created dome-shaped objects around Vent, Jason and Shirabe, along with Gunvolt and the unconscious Geiz and Houki. "I don't like the looks of those domes!" Joule remarked. "You guys better destroy them now!"

"Easier said than done!" Vent complied, slicing the domes around him in half before they could detonate.

Shirabe and Gunvolt did the same thing for the domes around them, slicing them in half with the former using razor yo-yos and the later using his sword.

As for Jason, he fired Diffusion Shots at the domes to quickly destroy them before they detonated. However, the overlord kept creating more domes around the group, forcing them to attack the domes. "Tch… these things won't stop coming!" Jason muttered while firing Diffusion Shots at the domes around him.

"He's trying to tire us out before going for the kill!" Vent stated while slashing away more domes around him.

"Then someone needs to attack the Mutant Lord now!" Gunvolt answered while slashing away more domes. "Though it'd be a little easier if Houki and Geiz are awake so we wouldn't have to protect them!"

Jason pondered for a moment, until he remembered something before entering the domain. "Shirabe, you said that you have an ace up your sleeve in case the Mutant Lord has another form?"

"Hai." Shirabe nodded. "But you're going to have to cover me until the transformation is complete."

"Got it. I'll watch your back." Jason nodded. "GV, you have the ability to heal wounds, right?"

"Depends on how much Septima I have left." Gunvolt answered. "If you're asking me to heal Houki and Geiz, I can do that. But someone needs to distract the Mutant Lord for a while."

"Leave that part to me, I can still keep going." Vent volunteered, switching to his ZX-Busters.

"Alright, start whenever you're ready, Shirabe!" Jason requested, changing to Striker Shot.

"Here goes!" Shirabe tapped the relic crystal on her chest and with a flash of gold light, she's encased in a transparent gold barrier field with her metallic twintails vanishing. Her battesuit also changed with her armor parts dispersing in place of a pink, black and white bodysuit with a short skirt; pieces of gold on her arms, the sides of her shoulders, her right wrist and two on the front of her waist; and a pair of pink and white knee socks. Lastly on her chest is a magenta and gold relic crystal in a shape of a butterfly.

"Whoa…" Gunvolt remarked with awe at Shirabe's new form while using his Septima to heal Houki and Geiz until they woke up. "So this is one of the special Symphogear forms Elfnein talked about… the Amalgam Gear."

"The fusion of the Symphogear and Faust Robe… Amazing…" Joule added.

"So this is your ace in the hole, huh?" Jason commented to the Attuned.

"Hai. The Amalgam Gear." Shirabe answered with her hand still on the relic crystal. "Right now it's in a Cocoon state. But in a few moments, I'll be able to fight when I'm in the Imago state."

"Got it. Take your time, Shirabe. I'm not going anywhere." Jason noted and kept on guard. He also deployed several turrets around himself and Shirabe for protection.

"Joule, could you do me a favour?" Shirabe asked.

"What is it, Shirabe?"

"Once I'm in the Imago state, we're doing a duet together. And we'll be singing that one song Kiri-chan and I sang when we're in Amalgam Form. Hope you remember the lyrics."

"Wait, we're singing that song together?"

"I know Kiri-chan is in Teyvat at the moment, so you'll have to be my partner for the time being. Can you do that for me?"

"Um…"

"Don't worry, Joule. Trust in Shirabe. She knows what she's doing." Gunvolt assured with a smile.

"GV…" Joule whispered before making her choice. "Alright Shirabe, we'll give it a shot!"

"Arigato, Joule." Shirabe smiled. "For now, just wait a while longer until I'm ready."

"Got it!"

Meanwhile, Vent continued to fire charged shots at the overlord as a distraction, but in response, the overlord changed to red and created drill spikes from below. "Oh geez!" He exclaimed, dashing away from the drills while firing at the overlord.

"Careful with the Mutant Lord's attacks depending on the color state!" Model X warned.

"Appreciate the reminder though!" Vent replied while dashing away from the drills and kept attacking the overlord from a distance. But then the overlord changed to green color, created more large rocks and launched them towards Vent. "Not these things again!" Vent muttered, changing to his ZX-Buster Sword and sliced through the rocks in half, one by one. But when he sliced the last rock, he was caught off-guard by the overlord who appeared in front of him and in orange color, and unleashed a shockwave that sent Vent flying till he crashed into a wall, knocking him out.

"Oh crap! Vent!" Jason exclaimed before turning to the overlord, now giving an intimidating glare as it slowly approached him and Shirabe.

"Jason, I'm just about done here, but let the Mutant Lord approach us!" Shirabe informed. "On my signal, move to the side!"

"Got it!" Jason nodded while he and his deployed turrets kept firing at the overlord who kept moving ahead. And when he got close, he crossed his arms.

"NOW!" Shirabe shouted, prompting Jason to dash to the side while Shirabe raised her hand and unleashed a gold aura shockwave in a shape of a blooming flower that broke open her barrier field and pushed back the overlord several steps away, though the shockwave also destroyed Jason's turrets in the process.

"Whoa…" Jason remarked with awe, noticing Shirabe now wielding a round gold shield with pink on the round edge and a pink crystal on the front.

"Joule, showtime!" Shirabe shouted.

"Let's do it!" Joule complied as she and Shirabe began to sing.

(BGM Change: Cutting Edge×2 Ready go! by Shirabe Tsukuyomi and Joule)

And once the music starts, Shirabe and Gunvolt's aura began to flare up which also affected Jason and the unconscious Vent, Houki and Geiz. "...Now we're talking." Gunvolt grinned with confidence, preparing his Lightning Leader and Armed Gear while turning his attention to the overlord.

Jason was surprised as he looked at his own body, now having a flaring gold and azure blue aura. "This power… I feel like I can handle everything thrown at me…!" He thought, before turning to the overlord with his Blaster Rifle ready.

Soon after, Geiz, Houki and Vent slowly began to wake up, now noticing Gunvolt, Shirabe and Jason's aura flaring up, before noticing their own auras flaring up. "Heh, it's about damn time." Geiz smirked before shaking his head and slowly standing up. "Also, oww…"

"Good to see you back on your feet, Geiz." Gunvolt smiled.

"Are you alright, Vent?" Model Z asked as Vent slowly stood up and shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Damn mutant got the drop on me." Vent replied before noticing his aura flaring up. "But now, I'm ready for some payback." He turned to Shirabe and was surprised at what he saw. "Huh, well this is new."

"This must be one of the Symphogear System's other forms." Model X said.

"I see. Well I never expected her to have a shield. But you know what, as long as her songs can revitalize my spirit, I'm not complaining." Vent noted, before turning his sights onto the overlord and prepared his ZX-Double Saber. "Now to finish this fight."

Houki also noticed her aura flaring up. Not only that, her IS' HUD showed her energy increasing past its limits. "S-Sugoi…! What is this overwhelming power?"

"That's the power of Joule's 'Muse' Septima and Shirabe's Attuned powers combined together when they sang a duet. It revitalizes our fighting spirit and gives us a power boost until the song ends." Gunvolt explained.

"Wow…" Houki remarked with awe.

"Now then, I believe you have some payback to take care of?" Gunvolt turned to the overlord, trying to shake off his stunned state from Shirabe's aura shockwave.

"...Definitely." Houki replied with resolve, preparing her katana named Amatsuki, along with her blade bits purging out of her IS and floated beside her.

"Alright, no more mister nice Kamen Rider." Geiz declared, summoning the Arms Legion thanks to the aura that also recharged the Legatus quickly. He also took out the Wizard Ridewatch, turning the dial and pushing the button.

=WIZARD!=

He inserted the Ridewatch onto his belt, slammed the tilt button and gave it a 360 spin, triggering the transformation as a red magic circle appeared from above before it descended onto him which formed his WizardArmor in a flash of red light with the yellow katakana for 'Wizard' slamming onto his visor.

=ARMOR TIME!=

=PLEASE! WIZARD!=

"...Wizard?" Houki repeated, looking at Geiz's armor with awe.

"Pretty neat, right?" Geiz smirked. "Oh, and as for my blue and white armored floating companion, that's my Legion. I'll tell you more about them and the Kamen Riders later."

"U-Um… okay." Houki nodded as the team regrouped. "So what's the plan?"

"We now know what the Mutant Lord is capable of. We need to take note on which attacks it will dish out depending on its color and capitalize on it." Vent stated.

"And thanks to the power of song from Joule and Shirabe, our strength and powers have been boosted. But it'll only last until the song is over, so we need to make use of it to the fullest." Gunvolt added.

"Loud and clear." Jason noted.

"But first, we need to get that Gjallarhorn fragment out of that mutant. After that, hit that thing with everything we've got." Geiz reminded.

"Roger." Houki nodded as they saw the overlord changing to red and unleashed red drills from the ground heading straight for the group. "Incoming!"

"Move out!" Vent shouted as the group quickly split up to avoid the incoming drills.

While the group kept running away from the drills, the overlord changed to green and unleashed more large green rocks towards the group.

"Rocks incoming!" Gunvolt shouted as he ran towards the rock and slashed it in half with his Armed Gear.n half before launching Dragonspheres at the overlord.

Houki also sliced the approaching rock in half with her katana before her blade bits rushed towards the overlord, quickly attacking it in multiple directions. She even provided support fire by firing lasers at the overlord.

Jason kept running away from the drills before noticing the large rock approaching him, only for said rock to be sliced in half by Shirabe's shield with its round blade becoming a razor-blade. "Thanks, Shirabe!"

"Keep moving and attacking! I'll cover you!" Shirabe replied as her shield returned to her hand by pulling a bound pink line while she ran beside Jason.

"Right!" Jason nodded as he fired the Auto Shot at the overlord while Shirabe sliced another large rock approaching from the side.

Geiz took notice of the overlord taking damage from the others while the Arms Legion broke the approaching rocks with its fists. "I think the time is now! Legion, fuse me!" He ordered the Legion to grab his body and fused into it, allowing him to wear the Legion like an armor. He then boosted towards the overlord while punching through the large rocks thrown at him. Once he got close, the overlord changed to red and crossed its arms as it's about to unleash another shockwave. But then Geiz used Wizard's power to summon magic chains around the overlord and wrapped its arms and body around, preventing it from attacking. Geiz also used the Legion's strength to bear-hug the overlord to halt its movements even more. "Vent, use the Distortion Ridewatch onto the mutant before it breaks free!"

"On it!" Vent complied, dashing towards the bound overlord from behind while quickly materializng the Distortion Ridewatch using his Zikan Phone. Once he got close, he turned the dial, shoved it onto the overlord's back and pushed the button, causing the Ridewatch to absorb the Gjallarhorn fragment's energy as the overlord roared in pain.

Despite the overlord being bound by the Legion and the magic chains, it was able to change to blue and created multiple domes around Geiz and Vent. "Oh crud, someone stop those domes from detonating while we do our work!" Geiz shouted.

In response, Gunvolt and Houki took out the domes around Geiz with their blades while Jason and Shirabe destroyed the ones near Vent. "Thanks, guys! But don't let your guard down!" Vent cautioned.

"Right!" The four nodded as they kept destroying the domes that the overlord summoned, while Geiz and the Legion kept restraining the overlord and Vent using the Ridewatch to extract the fragment out.

Soon after, a click was heard from the watch, causing a shockwave that pushed everyone back on recoil along with the restraints broken from the force. Luckily, everyone was back on their feet, except for the overlord feeling completely exhausted and vulnerable due to its energy being drained from the extraction. "I got the fragment!" Vent showed the now colored Ridewatch to the group before putting it away. "Now we can finish off the mutant!"

"Then it's time for a finale!" Geiz declared as he purged out of the Legion. "GV, let's hold him down!"

"Oversurge, Azure Striker!" Gunvolt holstered his Armed Gear and raised his electrified fist. "Voltaic Chains!" He then punched the ground, summoning chains around the overlord and restrained it before electrocuting said chains to damage the overlord. Geiz also supported by summoning more magic chains to restrain the overlord even more. "Houki, Shirabe, you're up!" Gunvolt shouted.

"Roger!" Houki and Shirabe with the latter throwing her Armed Gear above as it transformed into a gold and pink metallic marionette with razor-blades for hands and legs, a pink visor and a pair of long rabbit ears which also has razor-blades. The marionette attacked the bound overlord with its razor-blades in multiple directions with Houki's blade bits providing support as they attacked in multiple angles.

Twin Beta Style: Consecutive Execution Blade

"Legion, time for a Gravity Storm!" Geiz commanded as the Legion clasped its hands together to form a large cannon and fired a gravity bomb towards the overlord. Houki's blade bits and Shirabe's marionette moved away in time for the bomb to struck the overlord, trapping it inside a gravity sphere along with sucking in the electro and magic chains. "Jason, Vent, Finish Time!"

"Got it!" Jason and Vent complied with the former charging his Blaster Rifle with the Wave Shot active and the latter changing to the ZX-Twin Busters and charged its energy.

"And here's something to add the finishing touch." Geiz summoned a large magic circle in front of the three with a finger snap. He then summoned his Zikan Zax Yumi Mode, slotted the Wizard Ridewatch onto it and took aim as it generated red magic energy.

=FINISH TIME! WIZARD!=

"Fire at the magic circle to amplify the power of our combined shots." Geiz advised.

"Roger!" The two complied, now taking aim at the magic circle.

Once their weapons are fully charged, Jason let out his final words to the overlord. "Get off my planet, you bastard! And take your mutant friends with you!"

=GIWA GIWA SHOOT!=

The three then fired their charged shots at the magic circle, causing an even more powerful amplified shot to be fired from the other side of the circle. The attack landed directly at the gravity sphere, causing a massive explosion that vaporised the overlord to nothingness. And once the explosion subsides while the team regrouped with Shirabe's marionette turning back into a shield and Houki's blade bits reattached to her IS, the overlord is no more to be seen.

(BGM End)

"Just to be sure, Joule, can you confirm that the Mutant Lord is defeated?" Gunvolt asked.

"One moment please." Joule complied, using her Septima to sense any more dangerous auras nearby. "Nope, that did the trick! We won, guys!"

"At last… Earth is saved. It's over." Jason smiled as the group holstered their weapons while Shirabe reverted back to Base Form and Gunvolt dispersing his Faust Robe. The girls cheered with high-fives while the guys shared fist-bumps. Geiz even shared a fist-bump with the Arms Legion before the latter vanished back into the Legatus.

But their celebrations were cut short as the area began to rumble with the organic walls spewing out green blood. "W-What's going on?!" Houki asked, looking around the area.

"The moment the Mutant Lord is defeated, the entire meteor will collapse and explode." Shirabe answered.

"In other words, we need to leave. NOW." Vent stated.

"Geiz, get us out of here!" Gunvolt requested.

"One magic portal, coming up!" Geiz complied, summoning a magic portal in front of the group with a wave of his hand. "Everybody through the portal, now!"

"Time to go!" Jason declared as everyone quickly rushed into the portal before it vanished, just in time as the area started collapsing and exploding.

---

EDF Base

"Fire at will!" Reynold commanded the artillery team to fire at the approaching mutants from a distance.

The EDF troops and the base turrets also fired at the approaching mutants that are nearing the defensive line.

Edge and Az also fired sniper shots at the mutants from atop the base walls before reloading their ammo. "Tch… these things are starting to get on my nerves!" Edge muttered, firing another sniper shot before reloading.

"Same goes for me too." Az agreed, firing another sniper shot before reloading. "But we can't stop now, we need to hold on just a bit longer!"

"Well it better not be too long or we're done for!" Edge replied, but then noticed something strange. "...Huh?"

"What's wrong, Edge?"

"You might wanna look at this." Edge replied as the two siblings saw the mutants stopped moving, prompting everyone to cease fire.

And one by one, the mutant army fell to the ground and turned into rotten corpses with no chance of coming back to life. The EDF troops were in silent confusion until one of the troops cautiously approached a mutant corpse and poked it with his rifle. Moments later, the troop smiled and turned to his fellow soldiers. "Everybody, it's over! We've won!"

And in response, the EDF troops began cheering with some of them firing their rifles to the sky in victory. The Sainklaus siblings sighed with relief and lowered their rifles. "Heh, it's about damn time." Edge smirked.

"Jason and his strike team, they've done it, right?" Az asked with a smile.

"Heh, damn right they did." Edge smiled back as the siblings looked to the sky, with Edge resting his sniper rifle over his shoulder. "You and your team did good, Jason Frudnick. Real good."

As for Reynold, he watched the cheering EDF troops on his tablet before smiling. "Artillery team, cease fire. It's over." The drivers got out of their vehicles and cheered while Reynold looked towards the sky. "Jason Frudnick, Xross Drive Rebellion, you and your team have defeated the Mutant Lord and brought an end to the mutant invasion. Job well done, all of you."

---

Guardian Base

Back at the Guardian Base, the Guardians cheered in victory after noticing the mutant army collapsing into corpses with Grey, Ashe and Laura watching over them with smiles on their faces.

"Phew… thank gacking good it's finally over." Ashe sighed with relief as she and Grey holstered their hand cannons.

"Yeah." Grey nodded. "The strike team finally pulled through."

"I'm glad for that as well." Laura also nodded. "My IS was nearly out of energy from the defensive battle." She then looked at the Gespenst Type-RV with its cockpit opening on its chest and out came Gilliam Yeager and gave a nod and smile to the group. "If it weren't for Gilliam's assistance, there would've been casualties for our troops."

"That's true." Grey agreed. "Not to mention how amazing his mech is."

Ashe chuckled. "Still debating if I should get a Time Mazine or a Gespenst."

"I think I would prefer if you pilot an IS instead, Ashe." Laura said.

"Hmm…" Ashe tapped her cheek. "I'll think about it after taking them for a test run."

"Anyway, all we can do now is wait for the strike team to return." Grey said. "Hope they'll come back safely."

"If I were to guess, they're probably escaping the mutant meteor that's collapsing once the Mutant Lord is defeated." Ashe assumed with her hands behind her helmet. "I should know because it happened to me and Grey, trying to escape an exploding enemy base after defeating Master Albert."

"Really?" Laura asked.

"Yup." Grey nodded. "Though technically, Ashe and I blanked out from exhaustion after defeating Albert. Good thing Vent and Aile were there and brought us back to the Grand Nuage safely."

"I see. That was a very close call."

"Very, very close, Laura." Ashe replied.

---

Inside the Mutant Meteor

Back inside the meteor, the group waiting outside of the domain saw the mutants collapsing into corpses. "The mutants… they're dying!" Cecilia said.

"Looks like they've accomplished their objective." Bronya assumed.

"Though they're not gonna like the news once they come back." Aile said as the group holstered their weapons, along with noticing the entire area rumbling with walls spewing out green blood.

"So what should we do now?" Samus asked from inside the Time Mazine.

"Once we pick up the others, we're getting the heck out of here of course!" Lola answered from inside Rairyu.

"But we still need to look for the hijacked SOPHIA. Eve and Fred are still inside." Copen reminded, also inside Rairyu.

"Can the Metal Attacker detect other Metal Attackers using the Receiver system?" Adam asked from inside the Time Mazine. "Now that the Mutant Lord is defeated, the signal should be clear now."

"Let me try for a moment." Copen complied, checking Rairyu's Receiver and navigation system. "Damn it, no signal at all, not even in the other sectors. I think the hijacked MA is too far away from us."

"I'm guessing that mutant used the other mutants as a distraction so it could escape from our grasp." Cecilia assumed. "I hate to admit it, but that's actually clever."

"But where would that mutant go since this meteor is about to collapse?" Aile pondered.

"We will think about that later. For now, escaping this meteor is our main priority." Bronya stated.

Soon after, a red magic appeared in front of the group and out came Jason's team with Geiz coming out last and dispersed the portal.

"Sorry we took a while, but we've finally defeated the Mutant Lord." Jason informed.

"And we're able to extract the Gjallarhorn fragment too. It's in my pocket now." Vent added.

"Great going, guys." Aile smiled. "We also heard music while we're outside fighting off the mutant horde."

"I did not expect Joule to perform a duet with Shirabe. And chose that one song Kirika and Shirabe sang of all things." Lola said.

"It was Shirabe's idea." Joule replied. "Though it does feel odd when I have to say 'Dess' a few times in the lyrics. And no, I'm not adding 'Dess' as my verbal tic, thank you very much."

"Aww… would've been cute though."

"It kinda is though." Gunvolt remarked.

"GV!" Joule retorted in embarrassment, making the group chuckle briefly.

"Wait…" Houki noticed something missing. "Where's SOPHIA III?"

"Yeah… about that…" Aile poked her index fingers together. "A mutant hijacked the MA right under our radar, with Eve and Fred still inside."

"WHAT?!" The group exclaimed.

"Bunny and our vehicles didn't detect that mutant hijacking the MA until we saw it for ourselves." Bronya explained.

"Not only that, the MA fired a Cannon Shot at us before escaping. Luckily, we're alright." Cecilia added.

"Can you still detect SOPHIA's signal using Rairyu's Receiver?" Shirabe asked.

"We tried, but no signal detected. Even after checking the other sectors on the navigation system, still no luck." Copen answered.

"We can assume that the hijacked MA, along with Eve and Fred, are no longer inside the meteor, or even the other sectors." Adam added.

"Damn it…" Jason muttered. "Eve… Fred…"

"We'll find them, Jason. But after we get out of here first. This place can't hold on for much longer." Aile said.

"I hate to say it, but Aile is right." Geiz agreed. "But don't give up hope, Jason. We'll get them back. I promise."

"Hmm…" Jason gave Geiz and Aile's words some thought… until a large purple wormhole suddenly appeared in front of the group. "What the…"

"Geiz, did you…"

"I didn't create that." Geiz answered Gunvolt's question with raised hands. "If I did, it would be a magic circle."

"Wait…" Vent blinked. "If you didn't do it, then who…"

Numerous debris from above started falling from above and into the ground. "No time to wait. We gotta use it." Houki stated.

"What?!" Cecilia exclaimed. "But we don't even know where that wormhole will take us!"

"Well… it's better than taking the long route, that's for sure."

"Houki's right, I'm afraid. We're running out of time." Shirabe said.

"...Guess we have no other choice right now. We're going in!" Jason declared, dashing right into the wormhole.

"Wait for us, Jason!" Geiz exclaimed as everyone and the vehicles quickly went inside the wormhole before it vanished as the entire area began collapsing with walls exploding.

---

The group then got out of the wormhole which lead to an unknown location before it vanished behind them. "The Bronya wonders where we are right now?" Bronya pondered as they looked at their surroundings.

"Let me check for a moment." Copen complied, looking at the navigation screen. "...What the heck?"

"What is it, Ix?" Gunvolt asked.

"That wormhole took us straight back to Sector 1!"

"EH?!" The group exclaimed.

Shirabe took another look at her surroundings again before her eyes widen. "He's right! I know this area before, especially the forest and grassy areas!"

Suddenly, they heard loud croaking sounds around the area. "Wait… I know that sound!" Jason realized and followed the source of the croaking and found a very familiar creature. "Fred?!"

"Huh?! Did you just say Fred?!" Vent asked, heading for Jason's location and saw what he picked up.

"Yeah, this is definitely him. Same features and all." Jason confirmed, holding the croaking frog in his hands.

"Wait just a gacking minute! Wasn't he inside the hijacked SOPHIA with Eve some time ago? How did he get out?" Aile questioned.

"Hmm…" Jason hummed in thought while placing Fred on his shoulder. And then realization sets in. "Ah, I remember now! Fred has the ability to summon wormholes!"

"Oh yeah! Eve mentioned the drone having a wormhole function installed!" Lola remembered.

"So that's how Fred got out of the hijacked MA." Houki noted.

"Hold on. If Fred was here, then where's Eve?" Cecilia questioned.

"I can answer that question for you." Said the arriving Reiko with her faceplate gone, with Charlotte and Volnutt beside her.

"Reiko!" Gunvolt, Copen and Geiz exclaimed.

"Charlotte!" Houki and Cecilia added.

"Volnutt!" Vent and Aile also added.

"Welcome back, you guys." Volnutt greeted the strike team with a smile.

"Good to be back in one piece." Geiz greeted back. "So how did you guys find Fred?"

"Actually it was Kohaku who found Fred, along with Eve." Reiko answered.

"...Eve?!" The team exclaimed in complete shock, especially Jason.

"I have to wonder why they appeared at the Guardians camp so suddenly?" Charlotte questioned. "According to Kohaku, a wormhole appeared above the camp and popped out Fred and Eve. Fortunately, Kohaku was able to treat their wounds."

"And after we saw the mutant army falling apart, Fred went hopping away from the camp, prompting us to follow it." Volnutt added.

"And then you ran into us." Geiz finished summarizing. "Well at least we now know that Fred and Eve are safe."

"And I'm pretty sure I know who's responsible for that wormhole." Jason added.

"Really? Who?" Reiko asked.

Jason turned to the croaking frog on his shoulder. "It was Fred, using its wormhole ability."

"Huh?!" Reiko, Charlotte and Volnutt gawked.

"Eve confirmed it when Cecilia asked her why Fred looked like a frog." Bronya mentioned.

"A drone… that creates wormholes…" Charlotte was rendered speechless.

"Yeah, the R&D team at Planet Sophia are something else." Joule remarked.

"Huh. Will wonders never cease." Reiko commented. "Anyway, did you guys retrieve the Gjallarhorn fragment?"

"Got it in my pocket right now." Vent confirmed.

"Though we did not expect the Mutant Lord to become a being of fire after his armor shattered." Geiz said.

"However, I've anticipated this and used my Amalgam Gear along with performing a duet with Joule." Shirabe said.

"Our combined song powers are enough to give our team the advantage on taking down the Mutant Lord." Joule added.

"I see." Reiko noted. "Regardless, nice job defeating the Mutant Lord and obtaining the Gjallarhorn fragment. So I guess our job in this world is over?"

"...Not just yet." Jason answered.

"Pardon?" Reiko raised her eyebrow.

"The mutant that hijacked SOPHIA is still on the loose. If we leave it alone for too long, it might strike us while our guard is down." Jason stated.

"Not only that, SOPHIA has all of its functions and upgrades. Including the Acceleration Blast." Adam added.

"Ugh… it's like fighting the SA-X again." Samus groaned. "Only this time, it's a battletank."

"The SA-X?" Volnutt repeated.

"A dangerous parasite that infected my fully upgraded old power suit. It happened during my mission at the BSL Space Station. BSL is short for Biologic Space Laboratories, by the way. Dealing with that thing for the first time is never fun, especially when most of my Fusion Suit upgrades are not fully functional, which is why I had to take the stealth approach."

"Ugh… why do you have to mention that nightmare fuel, Samus?" Geiz mentally groaned. "It's because of that thing, I had to be extra cautious unless I want to die in less than 30 seconds. Still, at least I managed to beat that game."

"That sounds terrifying." Charlotte commented.

"It is. But boy does it feel good to give it an ass-kicking once my Fusion Suit became powerful after unlocking most of its features."

"Anyway, I think we need to head back to Guardian Base to give Prairie our report." Vent said.

"Though we should probably pick up Eve first inside the Guardian Camp." Aile added.

"There's no need for that for the latter. Kohaku already escorted her back to Guardian Base so the nurses can treat her at the Medical Bay." Reiko informed. "That, and she told Kohaku to give Fred to me to watch over him."

"Ah, I see. Thanks for letting us know." Gunvolt noted.

"You guys don't mind giving the report to Prairie while Fred and I visit Eve at the Medical Bay?" Jason requested.

"No problem, Jason." Geiz nodded. "Guess you're really worried about her, huh?

"She's my co-pilot, remember?" Jason reminded with a smile.

"Charlotte, Volnutt, go with the others back to Guardian Base. Me and my troops will take care of the clean up." Reiko said. "Thanks for the assist."

"No problem./Always a pleasure." Volnutt and Charlotte replied.

"Finally we can rest. I could really use a nice shower considering we've traversed through the inside of a living meteor." Cecilia sighed with relief.

"The meteor was alive?" Charlotte questioned.

"We'll tell you about it on the way back." Houki replied with a smile.

"Well, gotta go. See ya later, Reiko." Jason said before the group headed for the location of the elevator leading back to the surface.

"Have a safe trip back and get a good rest. You've earned it." Reiko smiled back as she watched them leave.

---

Guardian Base, Medical Bay

Several minutes later…

Back inside the base, Eve recently finished being checked by the nurses and is now taking a nice long sleep on one of the beds. Jason (with his helmet out along with Fred sitting on his shoulder) entered the room and saw Eve sleeping. He and his team recently finished taking a quick shower after their fight against the Mutant Lord. Afterwards, he and Fred decided to pay Eve a visit while everyone else went to see Prairie for the mission report. "Eve…" He whispered and smiled, walking over to Eve's bed and took a seat nearby. "Good thing the nurses informed me and the others about Eve's condition. She's going to be just fine." He thought while staring at Eve. "Although, I feel kind of bad that SOPHIA was hijacked by a mutant. That MA does belong to Eve since she was chosen to drive it. But what kind of mutant had an ability to hijack an MA? Is there another intelligent mutant besides the Mutant Lord that we missed? Hmm…" He hummed in thought with his hand on his chin. "Maybe Eve might know something about it. Guess I'll have to wait for her to wake up."

And like clockwork, Eve began to slowly open her eyes and noticed Jason and Fred right next to her. "J-Jason…? Fred…?"

"Hey." Jason greeted while Fred croaked. "Did you have a good rest?"

"Mhm." Eve nodded, moving her body up straight, revealing her white patient attire.

"That's good to know." Jason smiled. "Anyway, we're able to defeat the Mutant Lord and retrieved the Gjallarhorn fragment from it. Though that mutant put up one hell of a fight, especially its second form."

"I see. Well I'm glad to hear that you and the others are still alive."

"Mm." Jason nodded. "I've also heard from Aile and the others about SOPHIA III being hijacked by a mutant, with you and Fred still inside."

"Yeah… sorry to make you worry." Eve apologized, rubbing the back of her head. "To be honest, I never expected something like that to happen, despite being surrounded by the others."

"True. I guess there's some things that we can't predict or control. But at least I know that Fred was able to save you using the wormhole ability."

"Oh. I'm guessing Reiko told you about how Fred and I appeared from above the Guardians Camp using the wormhole."

"Yup, pretty much." Jason nodded in confirmation. "Guess I made the right call leaving Fred in your care while I fought the Mutant Lord. Though now that I think about it, it sounds like Fred was the one taking care of you."

"Hehe. I guess you're right." Eve giggled. "Things would've been different if you took Fred along."

"True."

"Hey, um, Jason?"

"Yes?"

Eve then hugged Jason which surprised him. "Thank you so much for everything. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to finish my mission."

"You're welcome, Eve." Jason smiled back as they broke off their hug.

"Though I should also thank Fred for finding help while I was unconscious." Eve turned to the frog who croaked again.

"Huh, now that I think about it, you're right." Jason noted before looking at Fred. "If I didn't find Fred, he wouldn't have led me to SOPHIA III, and eventually you."

"Yeah." Eve nodded. "And speaking of SOPHIA III…"

"I know." Jason nodded back with a serious look. "The Mutant Lord and the meteor may be gone, but our fight is not over yet."

"That's right." Eve confirmed with the same look. "The mutant that hijacked SOPHIA is still out there. And it's even more powerful than the Mutant Lord."

"A mutant more powerful than the Mutant Lord?"

"I was able to check on SOPHIA's database before Fred warped us to the Guardians Camp. It's called the Mutant Core; a being with the same intelligence as the Mutant Lord along with its ability to create more mutants. But it also has an ability to infect any kind of machinery."

"Infect any machinery, huh? But why did it chose to infect SOPHIA?"

"Remember, the Metal Attackers are the mutant's sworn enemy. Although… I think it went after SOPHIA once all of its functions were unlocked."

"So it was waiting for the right moment to infect the MA."

"Yeah." Eve nodded. "And when the Mutant Lord jammed our signals, the Mutant Core took its chance to infect SOPHIA."

"Those sneaky yet clever bastards…" Jason muttered. "Is there still a way to save SOPHIA from the Mutant Core?"

"I'm not sure, actually." Eve shook her head. "But by the time we find SOPHIA, it'll be far too late, as the Mutant Core will fully infect the MA. And the only way to stop it… is to destroy SOPHIA III."

"Destroy… SOPHIA…?" Jason repeated in shock.

"I'm sorry, Jason, but it's the only way stop both SOPHIA and the Mutant Core from hurting anyone." Eve stated sadly.

Jason took a deep breath upon hearing the inevitable fate of his Metal Attacker. Eve shared his sympathy when she looked at his face. "After everything we've been through, this is how it ends for SOPHIA?" Jason questioned.

"I know how you feel about this. If there's a way to save SOPHIA, I'd gladly take that chance. But in our current situation, it's too late for that now." Eve replied.

"...I hate to say it, but you're right."

Suddenly, Gaius entered the room as his footsteps earned their attention. "Hey, you two." He greeted. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Ah, no. It's nothing./Not at all." Jason and Eve shook their heads.

"You feeling okay, Eve?"

"I feel fine, Gaius. Thanks for asking." Eve smiled.

"Hey Gaius, can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, Jason. What's up?"

"If you were a pilot of a Metal Attacker, and its being hijacked by a mutant, what would you do?" Jason asked.

"...This is about what happened to SOPHIA, isn't it?" Gaius asked back in realization, earning a nod from Jason and Eve. "Well… if there's a way to save my MA from being infected, I'd gladly take that chance. But if it's too far gone, I'd destroy it without a second thought, because it's no longer my MA."

"I see."

"But there's one thing that can never be taken away." Gaius gestured his thumb to his own chest. "It's a machine's spirit."

"A machine's…/Spirit…?" Jason and Eve repeated.

"Jason, Eve, you've been with SOPHIA for a very long time that her spirit became a part of you. The MA are just parts, and said parts can be rebuilt. But as long as you have SOPHIA's spirit, she can be reborn either in the same or different body, or maybe even becoming more powerful than the previous one."

"Rebuilding SOPHIA, huh…" Jason pondered.

"Speaking of which… Eve, do you know who created SOPHIA III?"

"Oh. I didn't mention that yet?" Eve remarked.

"Nope./Not yet." Gaius and Jason shook their heads.

"Oh. In that case, allow me to explain. The one who created SOPHIA is the same person who built me and Fred. That person, or rather… 'persons', are none other than Kane Gardner and Jennifer Gardner."

"Kane and Jennifer Gardner, huh…" Jason repeated.

"A couple built all of that? Wow." Gaius remarked.

"Well they were not a couple at first." Eve said. "Jennifer's last name was at first Cronet. But after the battle against the mutants on Planet Sophia ten years ago, she and Kane got married. Eventually, she gave birth to a female child named Eva."

"That's a cute name." Jason smiled. "Now that I think about it, they called you Eve because of their little daughter, huh?"

"Hehe. That's one way of putting it." Eve giggled.

"Wait a sec." Gaius interrupted with a raised hand. "Kane and Jennifer fought the mutants ten years ago?"

"That's right." Eve nodded. "Jennifer was the one who developed the very first Metal Attacker: NORA MA-01. While Kane was the one who piloted the MA, becoming the very first MetaFighter."

"Wow." Gaius remarked before turning to Jason. "I guess that means you must be walking on Kane's shoes the moment you wield that Blaster Rifle and drove SOPHIA III."

"Huh. Now that you mention it, I think so." Jason noted. "I guess that means I'm a MetaFighter now."

"Yup." Gaius nodded. "Though personally, I think your title should be called 'Blaster Master' instead."

"Blaster… Master?" Jason blinked.

"You use a Metal Attacker and a Blaster Rifle to blast through the mutant invaders to protect the planet." Gaius explained. "At least, that's what I think."

"Hmm…" Jason pondered with his hand on his chin. "What do you think, Eve?"

"Hmm… Blaster Master…" Eve gave the title some thought before smiling. "Actually, I like it. It's a great title for you, Jason. If Kane's the very first MetaFighter, then you'll be the first Blaster Master."

"Heh, I see." Jason smiled before looking at Fred croaking and hopping happily. "And I think Fred likes the name too. Alright, Blaster Master Jason Frudnick is it then."

"Great." Gaius nodded. "Ah, I almost forgot. I came here to see if you two are ready to head for the command center for a meeting on how to deal with the hijacked MA. Also, Commander Mitsuba is there on the comms line."

"Mitsuba is there too?" Jason asked in surprise. "It's been a while since I last saw her."

"You guys stay outside for a moment while I get changed." Eve said as she got out of bed. "Since I'm feeling better now, I'll be joining you. There's something important I need to share with everyone."

"No problem./Take your time." Gaius and Jason nodded before leaving the room and closing the door while Eve went to get changed to her normal attire.

---

Guardian Base, Command Center

"Sorry if it took a while, everyone." Gaius greeted the team (minus Reiko and Kohaku as they were in the Guardians Camp) as he, Jason and Eve arrived.

"It's fine." Prairie nodded, sitting on the commander's chair.

"Jason Frudnick and Eve." Mitsuba on the holo-screen greeted with a salute.

"Good to see you again, Commander Mitsuba." Jason greeted back as he and Eve saluted before lowering their hands.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Eve added.

"Likewise, Eve." Mitsuba nodded.

"I'm really glad you're alright, Eve." Cecilia said. "You gave us quite the fright when you and Fred were trapped inside the hijacked SOPHIA."

"Yeah. Sorry for making you worry." Eve apologized.

"That's alright. At least you're safe and sound." Cecilia smiled.

"Yup." Eve smiled back, turning to Fred on Jason's shoulder. "And you can thank Fred for helping us escape by creating a wormhole."

"Wait, he can do that?!" Ashe exclaimed in shock, with Grey, Prairie, Mitsuba, Charlotte, Laura and Volnutt sharing the same expression.

"Hai." Houki confirmed with a nod. "Eve told us about what the drone can do. The R&D personnel on Planet Sophia are something else…"

"Wow…" Grey responded with awe while staring at Fred.

"Anyway, Gaius and the others already informed me and Mitsuba about the success of the mission." Prairie informed. "Also, the Gjallarhorn Ridewatch is now in my possession. I've already called in someone to transfer it to the Symphogear world where it will be kept safe."

"Thanks for the heads up, Prairie." Jason noted. "By the way, I was wondering where the owner of that large black mech is. Gaius called it a Gespenst, I think."

"Right here, Jason." Gilliam raised his hand.

"Ah, nice to meet you." Jason responded. "Gilliam Yeager, right? Gaius also told me about you on the way back to base. Dimensional Quake hit you too, huh?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Gilliam nodded. "But I'm willing to help with their mission as I try to find my way back to my version of Earth."

"Good to have you on the team." Jason smiled.

"Wait, there's a black mech around here?" Eve blinked.

"I think you were unconscious when Kohaku took you back to the airship." Grey assumed.

"The mech is just outside, by the way." Ashe said. "That Gespenst really kicked ass out there."

"Gilliam came to our aid with the defence of our base. And like Ashe said, that mech had plenty of weapons to deal with the oncoming mutants." Laura mentioned.

"Wow. Charlotte and I missed a lot while we're busy defending the Guardians Camp and the elevator." Volnutt remarked.

"Houki, I think your sister will be ecstatic when she sees the Gespenst." Charlotte said.

"Maybe." Houki replied.

"Anyway." Prairie spoke up. "We may have defeated the Mutant Lord, destroyed the meteor, and retrieved the Gjallarhorn fragment… but our mission in the world is far from over."

"Yeah." Aile agreed as she and the team nodded. "The mutant that hijacked SOPHIA is still on the loose."

"If we don't find that mutant soon, it will use the MA to attack us without warning." Vent added.

"Tracking that mutant down will be difficult. But maybe we can use Rairyu's systems to find its location since its frame is the same as SOPHIA." Bronya said.

"Speaking of that mutant…" Copen turned to Eve. "You said that you have something you need to tell me. But that message was cut off thanks to the Mutant Lord jamming our comms."

"Yes." Eve nodded. "The mutant responsible for hijacking SOPHIA is called the Mutant Core. It has the same intelligence as the Mutant Lord along with its ability to create more mutants. However, it's far stronger than the Mutant Lord since it has the ability to infect powerful machinery and take control of it."

"The Mutant Core…" Gunvolt repeated.

"So that's the one responsible for hijacking SOPHIA." Gaius noted.

"But why would it go after SOPHIA?" Joule questioned, standing beside Gunvolt.

"I think I know why." Adamspoke up. "It's because it looked like the aircraft that attacked the mutant army on Planet Sophia."

"Oh yeah, I remember Eve mentioning that part." Samus (wearing her Zero Suit) recalled. "I'm guessing it wants to use our own weapons against us."

"Yeah." Jason nodded. "Especially since most of SOPHIA's functions are unlocked, including the Acceleration Blast."

"Acceleration Blast?" Gilliam repeated.

"It's basically one massive laser beam that obliterates everything in front of the MA." Lola explained. "We saw it firsthand against a mutant guardian. And hoo boy… that weapon really packed a massive punch."

"Even moreso when two MAs fired the same weapon at the same time." Shirabe added.

"That weapon was dangerously scary to watch, even from a distance." Cecilia slightly shuddered at the memory.

"I agree." Houki shared the same expression. "That weapon must never be used as a tool of destruction."

"Unless it's a last resort." Laura stated.

"And now that dangerous weapon is in the hands of the Mutant Core." Charlotte said with worry.

"All the more reason to find the mutant and destroy it." Prairie stated.

"Hmm… so even in this world, there's such dangerous weapons existing." Gilliam thought. "But at least they are aware of how dangerous those weapons can be."

"But… that also means destroying SOPHIA as well." Grey said, as all eyes are on Jason and Eve.

"Eve, is there a way to save SOPHIA from the Mutant Core?" Mitsuba asked.

"Unfortunately, by the time we find SOPHIA, it'll be far too late as the mutant will fully infect the MA." Eve answered. "Destroying it is the only way to prevent the MA from hurting everyone."

"I see…" Copen noted.

"Damn it…" Ashe muttered. "After everything we've been through, this is how SOPHIA's journey will end?"

"I'm afraid so, Ashe." Jason replied. "But there's one thing the Mutant Core will never take away."

"And what's that?" Grey asked.

In response, Jason gestured his thumb on his chest with a smile. "SOPHIA's spirit. As long as Eve, myself, and even Fred are alive, SOPHIA can be reborn in a new body."

"You're planning on building a new Metal Attacker?" Lola guessed, standing next to Copen.

"Yup." Jason nodded. "The very first Metal Attacker built on Earth."

"A Metal Attacker… built on Earth?" Eve repeated in surprise. "Jason, are you sure you can make it possible?"

"However I can, the best I can." Jason smiled with confidence.

"Fufu. Well said, Jason." Mitsuba chuckled. "If you're planning on starting that project, might I recommend Mayve's assistance?"

"If she's interested, then sure thing."

"Who's Mayvy?" Eve asked.

"The head scientist of the EDF's Research & Development." Jason answered.

"Ah, got it."

"So you're really okay about destroying SOPHIA?" Houki asked.

"Considering what the Mutant Core has done to her, it's no longer my MA. It's now a tool of mass destruction that must be stopped." Jason answered. "Gaius already agreed to SOPHIA's destruction. What about you guys?"

Everyone looked at each other, thinking about Jason's choice of destroying the infected MA. Moments later, they answered with a determined nod, making Jason, Eve and Gaius smile. "Thank you." Jason smiled. "And besides, like I said earlier, I can always build another MA."

"And I'll be right beside him to help." Eve added, with her hands on his shoulder.

"Lola and I can help too, if you want." Copen offered. "It'd be an interesting experience to build a Metal Attacker from scratch."

"That's right!" Lola added. "Oh, and the Rairyu has the same functions as SOPHIA, so we'll install those functions onto the new SOPHIA, mainly the Crusher Shot with the Laser as a charge shot, the Warhead and Homing Missiles, Energy Shield, Hover Pack, Dive Module and Wall Climb. Dunno about adding the other functions though. But the Acceleration Blast, definitely a no-go unless it's a last resort."

"A wise decision." Gilliam agreed. "Sometimes less is more."

"That reminds me…" Laura spoke up. "How are you going to fight SOPHIA without a vehicle to use?"

Jason was about to answer, but then suddenly realized Laura's logic. "Crap… that never crossed my mind. I can still fight with my suit and Blaster Rifle along with its unlocked functions, but fighting a powerful MA on foot, I've got no chance against it."

"My Fusion Suit is fully upgraded, but I don't know how I'll fare against it." Samus said.

"The only one that can go toe-to-toe with that MA is GV's Rairyu since it also has most of its functions unlocked." Cecilia stated.

"That's true." Gunvolt confirmed. "Plus, its abilities can be boosted when I use my Septima on it."

"Oh yeah, I remember you using that power on your MA against that frog mutant, GV." Houki recalled.

"Ah, I remember that too." Volnutt also recalled. "Gotta say GV, that was shockingly cool."

"Heh. Thanks, you two." Gunvolt smirked.

"Your… power?" Gilliam raised his eyebrow.

"Ah, Gilliam, I forgot to mention that Gunvolt, Joule, and even Lola, have a superpower called a Septima." Prairie mentioned. "Gunvolt can manipulate electricity; and Joule and Lola can boost everyone's fighting spirits with their songs."

"Though technically, I had to share Lola some of my Septima in order to have the same power as mine." Joule added.

"I see." Gilliam mused. "In my world, there's also people with powers, with the most notable ones called Psychodrivers; people with psychic powers."

"Psychodrivers?" The group (minus Gaius) repeated.

"Mm." Gilliam nodded. "One such exceptional pilot is Ryusei Date; pilot of the R-1 and a member of the SRX Team."

"Ah… Ryusei Date. A badass psychodriver who happens to be a mecha otaku." Gaius thought. "Who would've thought an otaku would be essential to becoming an excellent pilot. Heh, and they say people can't learn stuff from video games and anime."

"Wow. I'd like to meet him and his mech someday." Ashe said.

"I'm interested about who the SRX Team are." Vent added.

"If you can visit my world, then it's possible." Gilliam replied. "But back on the topic at hand. Gaius, can your Time Mazine also fight the infected SOPHIA?"

"Honestly, I'm not too sure myself. Didn't even get a chance to go sparring with the MA to know that answer." Gaius replied.

"What about your Ridewatches you can use while in its Battle Mode?" Shirabe asked.

"Hmm…" Gaius thought as he briefly took out his Faiz and Wizard Ridewatches before putting them away. "I'm not too sure about that other method either, but I'll give it a shot."

"Battle Mode?" Charlotte repeated.

"Ah, forgot to mention that Gaius' Time Mazine can become a mech." Grey mentioned. "Though not as big as the Gespenst when comparing the two."

"Seriously?!" The IS girls and Volnutt exclaimed, earning a nod from the group.

"Well, at least you guys have something to deal with the infected MA." Mitsuba remarked, "Unfortunately, none of our vehicles can handle against an advanced machine. Sorry if we can't provide you with a spare vehicle, Jason, Eve."

"That's alright. Eve and I will be on board the Time Mazine as support." Jason replied.

"And I happen to know SOPHIA's weapons and its weaknesses." Eve added. "Though it would be nice to have a spare MA to use." But then she noticed Fred hopping off Jason's shoulder and went to the center of the room, earning everyone's attention. "Hm? Fred?"

"What is he doing?" Bronya asked.

"Something wrong, Fred?" Jason asked the frog as it began to croak loudly… until a purple wormhole appeared in front of it, shocking everyone.

"EH?!"

"D-Did that frog create a bloody wormhole inside the base?!" Cecilia exclaimed.

"Well, we all saw it, so it's definitely a 'yes'!" Laura confirmed.

"But why would he do that though?" Charlotte questioned.

Fred turned to Jason and croaked. "What is it, Fred?" Jason asked as the frog continued to hop and croak.

"...I think it wants you to go inside the wormhole with him." Eve assumed.

"You sure?"

"I'm not sure. I can't speak frog, you know." Eve shrugged. "But judging from its reaction…"

"Hmm…" Jason pondered while looking at the wormhole. "Is that what you want me to do, Fred?" In response, Fred turned to the wormhole and hopped inside. "H-Hey! I haven't answered yet!"

"Hmm… if I were you, I'd follow that frog." Gilliam suggested.

"You sure?"

"Mm." Gilliam nodded. "It might lead you to something useful."

Jason took another look at the wormhole before making his decision. "Well… if you say so. Everyone, stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

"Very well, Jason." Prairie approved with a nod. "You may go after him."

"Remember to be careful in there." Eve said.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright." Jason assured with a smile and a thumbs up, materialing his helmet using his Zikan Phone and went inside the wormhole before it vanished.

"I wonder what Fred is going to show Jason?" Mitsuba pondered.

"If I were to guess… a way to even the playing field against the infected SOPHIA." Gaius assumed.

"Tulip, if you sense a wormhole appearing, contact us immediately." Prairie requested.

"Yes, ma'am." The operator nodded, looking at the console while the team awaited Jason and Fred's return.

---

Unknown Location

When Jason stepped out of the wormhole, he found himself in an unknown cave while the wormhole behind him vanished. "Fred? Are you there? Sound off so I can come to you!" He shouted, looking around the cave. He then heard a frog croaking loudly at a distance, prompting him to walk towards the sound. Eventually, he found Fred, who's standing in front of something large that caught his attention. "Whoa…"

It was a large futuristic-looking four-wheeled battletank with a blue color scheme on the body and rims, grey on the main cannon, center rims and exhaust ports with some yellow color added in, a green-tinted cockpit, a wing-shaped spoiler on the back and mufflers on its back with four of them separated each, two pairs on the upper area and two pairs on the lower area, and two large green vertical rocket ports.

Jason was speechless and in awe when he looked at the battletank. "Is that… a Metal Attacker?" He slowly approached the new MA while Fred hopped onto his shoulder. "It looks like SOPHIA III and Rairyu but… something is different." Once he got close, the cockpit opened up by itself which surprised Jason. Eventually, he got inside and took a quick look at its database. "Let's see here… So this MA is called SOPHIA Zero… Is this some kind of upgraded MA, or maybe a prototype since it has 'Zero' on its name. Not only that, its abilities and weaponry seem even more powerful than SOPHIA III and Rairyu. At its core though, it's still the same as those two. If that's the case…" He then took out his Blaster Rifle and moved it in front of the console. "If I use the Blaster Rifle in front of the console…" Once the monitor scanned his rifle, a message was heard.

BLASTER RIFLE AUTHENTICATION COMPLETE=

=SWITCHING FROM AUTOPILOT TO MANUAL OPERATION=

"There we go." Jason grinned, holstering his rifle and checked the database. "Well, what do you know… This MA can find the coordinates for SOPHIA III! With this, we can finally hunt down the Mutant Core." But then, he noticed something else on the database. "Hm? Is that a message?" He took a moment to read the message, and then began to smile afterwards. "Ah, I see… So that's what it is." He turned to his frog. "You sent them a message about our problem, didn't you?" Fred answered with a nod and a croak. "Heh, good boy." He smiled, patting the frog's head. "Alright, time to tell the others the good news. They're gonna love this. Fred, get us back to Guardian Base!" In response, Fred created a large wormhole in front of SOPHIA Zero, prompting Jason to start up the engines, letting out green flames on the mufflers. And with a stomp on the accelerator, the MA blasted right into the wormhole before it vanished.

---

Guardian Base, Command Center

"Everyone, a wormhole is appearing outside the airship!" Tulip reported, looking at the console.

"That must be Jason and Fred coming back." Prairie stated, standing up from her chair. "Everyone, let's go outside and meet him there."

"Yes, ma'am!" The group complied with a salute before leaving the room.

"Mitsuba, guess we'll have to end our transmission for now." Prairie said.

"I understand." Mitsuba nodded and saluted. "I wish you and your team the best of luck against the Mutant Core."

"Thank you. See you again soon." Prairie smiled and saluted back before the holo-screen vanished. Afterwards, she left the room to go after the group.

Once everyone is outside the airship, they saw the large purple wormhole as it soon popped out a large blue advanced Metal Attacker which surprised the group while the wormhole vanished.

"Oh. My. God." Ashe, Lola and Laura remarked.

"What in the world…?" Cecilia added.

"Sacré bleu…" Charlotte also added.

"Is that… a Metal Attacker?" Gunvolt asked.

"Judging from its frame, that's definitely it." Copen answered.

"This is what Fred wanted to show Jason?" Grey asked.

"I think so." Eve answered. "But I never expected it to be another MA of all things…"

"S-Sugoi…" Houki and Shirabe remarked with awe, with the latter having starry eyes.

The group then saw the cockpit opening up as Jason (with his helmet off) hopped out of it with Fred on his shoulder. "Everyone, say hello to SOPHIA Zero." Jason announced.

"SOPHIA… Zero…?" Gaius repeated.

"So this is the way to even the playing field against the infected SOPHIA." Giliam thought with a smirk. "Hmph. Not bad."

"How did Fred find an MA like that?" Aile questioned. "Because that looks more advanced than both SOPHIA III and Rairyu."

"I'll get to that in a bit." Jason replied. "But more importantly, this MA can locate the infected SOPHIA's coordinates."

"For real?!" Volnutt asked in shock with everyone sharing the same expression.

"Mhm." Jason confirmed with a nod. "If we move now, we can hunt it and the Mutant Core down before they can do anything."

"I see." Prairie noted. "But with a name like SOPHIA Zero, does this mean that this MA is a prototype?"

"I think so. Though most of its functions and weaponry are more powerful than before, which is more than enough to even the score against SOPHIA III."

"Interesting…" Adam mused. "Though when it comes to prototypes, it can be very dangerous to use."

"True, but it's our only chance. But once the threat is gone, I'll leave this to Mayvy on what to do with the MA prototype."

"Fair enough." Samus noted.

"Anyway, as for how this MA appeared on Earth…" Jason took out his Zikan Phone. "It was because of a message left on the MA. I've copied the message onto my Zikan Phone so I can show it to everyone, especially Eve."

"M-Me?" Eve responded, pointing at herself.

"Have a look." Jason showed the message on the holo-screen for everyone to see.

"To our precious daughter: Please use this machine to protect them."

-Kane and Jennifer Gardner

After Eve saw the message, she began tearing up with a smile which earned everyone's attention.

"Eve? Is something the matter?" Houki asked.

"Why are you crying?" Bronya also asked.

"And who's Kane and Jennifer Gardner?" Grey also asked.

"It's because Kane and Jennifer are the ones who created Eve and Fred. Also, Jennifer was the one who developed the very first Metal Attacker on Planet Sophia." Gaius answered.

"Eve told me and Gaius about them while we're at the Medical Bay." Jason added.

"Eh?!" The group (minus Gilliam) exclaimed.

"Ah. So Jennifer Gardner was the one responsible for developing the Metal Attackers." Gilliam thought with intrigue.

"Huh, how about that." Lola remarked.

"As for Kane, he's the pilot of the first Metal Attacker; NORA MA-01. And he used it to fight off the mutant invaders on Planet Sophia ten years ago." Jason continued.

"Whoa…" The group remarked with awe.

"Fred must've sent the intel of our Mutant Core situation to Planet Sophia. Afterwards, I think they used the MA's warp system and Fred's signal to transfer to Earth." Jason then turned to Eve. "Eve, I'm guessing they sent SOPHIA Zero not only to destroy the Mutant Core, but to give it to you, to help keep you safe."

"I see… So that's how." Eve noted, wiping away her tears.

"Well then…" Jason approached her and offered a hand. "Ready to put an end to this together?"

Eve was silent for a moment, but then made up her mind and grabbed Jason's hand with a smile. "Yes, let's finish it together. That's what Kane and Jennider wants me… no… wants us to do."

"Thanks, Eve." Jason smiled back before turning to the group. "So, anyone else wants to join me in defeating the Mutant Core?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Gaius smirked. "We may have gotten the Gjallarhorn fragment, but I don't like leaving things unfinished, so count me in. My Time Mazine is raring to go as well."

"The same goes for me, Joule and Rairyu." Gunvolt added as he and Joule stepped forward. "We're with you till the very end."

"Count Lola and I as well since I'll also be joining GV for this final mission." Copen also added as he and Lola stepped forward.

"Gaius, GV, Joule, Copen, Lola, thank you." Jason replied as he and Eve smiled. "Anyone else?"

"I'm joining this time." Aile stepped forward. "Vent got his chance to fight against the Mutant Lord, so I'll be taking on the Mutant Core this time."

"I'm going with Aile." Grey also stepped forward. "Something tells me that the place where the Mutant Core is hiding is not unlike the underground areas. You're gonna need my A-Trans ability for this."

"I'll be joining the fight as well." Volnutt also stepped forward. "You're going to need plenty of help for this."

"I'm joining in too." Samus also stepped forward. "I'm not sure how we're going to deal with an infected SOPHIA, but we're going to try anyway."

"I will join my Lady to watch over her and everyone else." Adam added, floating next to her.

"The Bronya will also join on this final mission. The Bronya's hacking skills should be able to find some weakspots on the infected MA." Bronya stepped forward.

"I'm coming too to finish the fight. We cannot let the mutants infect this planet or use SOPHIA as a tool of destruction." Houki also stepped forward.

"Hmph." Gilliam smirked before stepping forward. "Let me be a part of this mission as well. My Gespenst power suit will be a valuable asset for the team. And I can call in the Gespenst Type-RV in case the Mutant Core tries something unexpected."

"Thank you, everyone." Jason smiled.

"Maybe someday, I'd like to invite all of you to Planet Sophia." Eve said to the group. "But first, we must win our fight against the Mutant Core or it will bring back a lot of mutants to attack this planet, along with using the infected SOPHIA to cause massive destruction."

"Don't worry, Eve. Team XDR will get the job done, no matter what." Gaius answered.

"Alright then, this will be our strike team for the final mission." Prairie declared. "How long will it take for you to make preparations?"

"15 minutes should be enough." Jason replied.

"Understood." Prairie nodded. "Everyone else, I may ask you to search the underground areas once more in case there's any surviving mutants. Even though the Mutant Lord and the meteor are gone, we need to be cautious."

"Understood, Prairie." Laura nodded.

"Strike Team, good luck out there. And come back safely." Prairie saluted.

"Yes, ma'am!" The team saluted back before heading for the Hangar Bay to begin preparations while Jason, Fred and Eve board SOPHIA Zero and drove after them.

"Scout Team, follow me back to the command center for your new orders." Prairie said.

"Yes, ma'am!" The team saluted back as they followed the commander back to the command center.

---

15 minutes later…

Later on with their preparations completed, SOPHIA Zero, Rairyu, and the Time Mazine are outside the airship as the three vehicles are positioned in a straight horizontal line with SOPHIA Zero at the front. Inside SOPHIA Zero has Jason, Eve, Fred, Houki, Samus and Adam; while Rairyu has Gunvolt, Copen, Aile and Grey (both of them as MegaMan ZX and MegaMan A respectively); and lastly the Time Mazine has Geiz, Gilliam, Bronya (using Yamabuki Armour) and Volnutt.

"Alright, listen up!" Jason spoke up. "I've already transferred the coordinates to the Mutant Core from SOPHIA Zero to Fred since he'll be the one creating the wormhole. Be ready for what's in store once we arrive at our destination!"

"Understood!/Got it!" Gunvolt and Geiz complied as the three vehicles revved up their engines.

"Okay Fred, you're up!" With Jason's command, Fred croaked loudly as the large purple wormhole appeared in front of SOPHIA Zero. "Here we go! Blaster Master, Jason Frudnick, blasting ahead!" Jason shouted, boosting the MA right into the wormhole after stomping the accelerator. Rairyu and the Time Mazine quickly follow suit, boosting right into the wormhole before it vanished.

"Well, there they go." Ashe said as she, Vent, Laura, Cecilia, Charlotte and Shirabe observed from the airship's sky deck.

"Hope they'll be able to beat the infected SOPHIA." Shirabe said.

"At least Gilliam is with them to assist." Laura said. "Though it's a shame that I won't be able to see him use his power suit."

"Maybe next time, Laura." Charlotte replied.

"Hmm…" Cecilia pondered with her hand on her chin, earning everyone's attention.

"Something on your mind, Cecilia?" Vent asked.

"There's one thing that's been bothering me. The mutant meteor, or rather, 'meteors'."

"Are you talking about the ones that landed on Earth and Planet Sophia?" Ashe guessed.

"Correct." Cecilia nodded before looking at the sky. "What if there's more mutant meteors that crashed onto the other planets? If so, then who was the one who ordered the meteor strikes?"

"Wait." Laura interjected with a raised hand. "Are you saying that there's a mutant more powerful than the Mutant Lord and the Mutant Core?"

"That would be the case, in my opinion anyway." Cecilia replied. "And maybe, just maybe, there's some kind of mutant homeworld or planet."

"A mutant homeworld…" Shirabe silently repeated with her hand on her chin… until she gasped with widened eyes. "Cecilia, I think your opinion might be possible somehow."

"You think so, Shirabe?"

"Mm." Shirabe nodded. "Especially when you mentioned a mutant homeworld and a mutant more powerful than the Mutant Lord and the Mutant Core. And that powerful mutant might be hiding in its homeworld, commanding the mutants and launching those meteors at the other planets. Considering those alien movies I've watched with Kiri-chan and the others, that might be possible for a mutant homeworld existing."

Everyone was shocked in realization after what Shirabe said. "So even after the Mutant Core is defeated, the mutant conflict is far from over." Vent muttered as the group looked at the sky. "I think we need to let Prairie and Mitsuba know about this possibility."

"Good idea." Ashe agreed.

"Should we tell Gaius and the others about this as well?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, just in case. After they come back from their mission of course." Vent nodded. "Though we still need to do our underground area scouting in case of any surviving mutants lurking around."

"Of course. Let's begin our preparations." Laura replied as the group went back inside the airship to prepare for the scouting mission.

---

Chapter 11: Freeing the Earth

END

---

Author's Note: And now the final chapters are coming up as the Strike Team head for the Mutant Core's location. For those who went for the True Ending Route of Blaster Master Zero, you know what I'm talking about. Still, I felt good writing the part where Shirabe used her Amalgam Gear along with singing a duet with Joule, using a song from Shirabe and Kirika.

Speaking of which, Eve was rescued much sooner thanks to Fred and his wormholes, so consider her mutated fate on Blaster Master Zero 2 obsolete. That also means there's going to be plenty of changes to that story in the future.

While the Strike Team goes after the Mutant Core, the Scout Team will search the underground areas once more for any surviving mutants. Gotta be cautious despite the destruction of the Mutant Lord and the meteor. Also, Cecilia and the others realize there's a possibility that more mutants are lurking around in the other planets, so it's not just Gilliam who figured it out.

Another thing, I even gave Edge and Az Sainklaus, the two protagonists from Super Robot Wars 30, a small role in this chapter. But they won't be meeting Team XDR until much later in another future Book. Plus, I also gave Ryusei Date, another Super Robot Wars protagonist, a small mention by Gilliam since he fought alongside him before.

For now though, it's time to focus on the Mutant Core and the area it resides in. Till then, stay safe and see you next chapter!