Disclaimer: I don't own pilot candidate or any of the characters. I do own the things that I make up and you'll know who and what they are soon enough.



Chapter 1 Copy

"Hey, guys!" Rioroute called happily to the 5-goddess pilots. The smile on his face drooped instantly when he saw the seriousness floating in the air. He walked over to the nearest couch and looked at the faces of the others. Their faces reflected that something was seriously wrong. Yuu and Gareas were looking down at the floor with their heads down. Erts was staring out into space, the space in the room, and Teela was zoned out. Rioroute looked around hoping for their expressions to lift so he wouldn't be the only one in the room who wasn't tense. None moved. Rioroute then sat down and tried his best to be as serious as the others. That didn't last.

"Alright! Now what's up that I don't know about!" he yelled with one fist in the air. No one moved to answer him.

Getting angry, one of his eyebrows twitching, he reached for Erts by his collar. He lifted up the youngest pilot into the air by his collar so that his feet were dangling in the air. Riouette pulled Erts's face up to his, but Erts's face never changed.

"Alright, now you better tell me what's going on! I'm a part of this team too! Why is it I'm the only one who doesn't know?" he spat in Erts's face.

Erts looked up with his face never changing. Rioroute seemed relieved that at least someone had moved. Erts's face came up slowly to meet his. When their eyes met Rioroute could see not only seriousness in his face, but fear, and concern. Erts read Rioroute's mind accidentally and quickly turned away.

"Wha-? What is it Luhma-Klein?"

"Victim," was the only word Erts uttered. "Victim is getting stronger. Surely you've noticed since out last battle that they were harder to beat than usual."

"Oh," said Rioroute slapping his forehead with his free hand. "Is that all you're all worried about? Don't worry. Don't forget we're getting better as well. Victim may be getting smarter, but we're getting better every battle," he said swinging his other arm so Erts body swayed along with it.

"No, it was different this time," Erts said letting the fear show in his voice. "The last one they were better than ever. It's as if they're come up with something that'll make them stronger, faster, smarter."

Rioroute looked at Erts with confusion. "Whadaya mean?"

"It seems that." Erts couldn't finish telling him before the alarm went off. Red lights flashed from every corner and hallway. The sound blared and echoed through the many empty rooms. All the pilots stirred and looked up as this happened. They calmly walked out the doorway and to their mechas. Rioroute put Erts down and followed the line of zombies to where their repairs were waiting for them.

As they entered the room the doors shut tightly behind them. The doors also blocked out the sounds and flashes coming from the hallway. The room where they prepared for battle was mostly white with only a small walkway running through the center. There were 4 small outlets coming out from the walkway with each leading to a goddess. The last one, Ern Lattes, was right where the completely straight walkway ended. The goddess stood proud and tall, as did their pilots. Their repairers were already there and doing some last minute checks. The four women tapped the different buttons on the panels and frequently looked up at the goddess they were checking. When they slowed their pace the pilots took the cue to get into their battle machines. They walked straight to their goddess making only 90- degree turns. The repairers bid their pilots a final farewell before deploying the goddesses for launch. They knew that there was a chance that the pilots might not come from the battle alive, and this might be the last time they will see them. Gareas looked behind his shoulder to see Leena standing there.

"Ready, Gareas?" she asked rhetorically. He just turned his head back and walked forward, without answering her.

The pilots stepped through the layer between the outside and the cockpit. They seemed to vanish through the layer of black. The door then closed and locked. The scan then began inside. When it was complete the two head response receivers that floated above the pilot's head spun into position. They goddesses were then deployed and launched.

The light in the tunnel flashed before the pilots. They were now seeing things from the goddesses' eyes and soon the bright light faded to the black with specks of white. All five were now in space. The first thing they did was look around for the enemy, they then followed their repairers from there.

"Victim approaching in sector 1182," Leena said over the intercom.

Gareas led the others to the sector where they took their positions.

"I see type A, and B coming," Phil.

"I can detect a lot more type A than B," said Erts after sending out the sensors from the back of Luhma Klein.

"There are about 50 type A and 5 type B," said Tune.

"Aqui-Keameia deploying shield," said Rioroute.

"Stay in formation Alpha-Bravo until we get visual confirmation," said Teela.

The goddesses flew into position, and then hovered within the shield. The pilots waited in anticipation as they looked out as far as they could. Rioroute, Gareas, and Yuu were in battle ready stances, while Teela and Erts just stood and waited. It wasn't long until a swarm of black/red shapes appeared. They appeared as tiny blobs, and then slowly grew in size. The once innocent little balls turned into blobs with sharp points, and fearsome faces.

"I detect possibly 5 different groups with one type B as a possible leader," Erts said to the other pilots.

"Alright then," said Gareas, "Let's get it over with."

"Shift to neutral position 4-A," said Teela. "Attack what you can, but only to the shield's barriers."

"Rodger that. Tellia-Kallisto now going on the offensive," said Yuu.

"There are more behind them. One group is splitting," said Erts.

"Eeva-Leena, go to sector 976 to take care of the extra group."

"Rodger Errn-Laties. I'm going to the back."

The battle was now underway. Victim approached, and many were slaughtered at the hands of the goddesses. As the last of them approached and were destroyed the goddesses rested.

"Klein, any others?"

"None detected, Errn-Laties."

"Good then let's go back," said Rioroute.

"Wait, some object has been detected by the radar," said Phil. "It's approaching to the west."

The pilots turned to see a big shape approaching. It wasn't like any of the Victims they had faced before. It wasn't black, gray, or red. It was silver with some other colors, but it was so far away it was hard to tell what they were. What was most weird about it was that it looked human-like in shape.

As it approached the pilots saw a sight of pure horror. It was another goddess with 2 large victims guiding it, one on each side. It looked like a goddess at least, it was different in someway. It was about the same size and it had the same features. It was the looks that threw a loop for the pilots. It had wing-like shoulder armor like Teela's; only it came from behind like wings were attached to the back. Its arms weren't thick with weapons or armor but it looked like it was wearing metallic gloves that became wider near the "elbow" where it stopped. The legs had the same kind of armor. Out from where the wings came out there was also, what looked like a "backpack" that looked like a box peeking out from the "armpits" when the arms were raised. It also had a metal "dress bottom" around the legs only they resembled flukes more, and were pointed at the end of the triangle. The head had the same flukes that came down and pointed out the same way. The points were at the ears and went out straight front. 3 more flukes stuck out the top, two parallel to each other while the other pointed up straight. There were also what looked like jewel patterns on the arms, legs, flukes, and helmet. They were red violet so they shined out from the white and green pattern. Despite the colors it looked nothing like Errn-Laties. It had its colors but it also had parts that looked like they were from the other goddesses. The alikeness was scary, but the difference was also frightening. The face of the goddess didn't look at all human, but more like a computer generated face.

The arms hung at its side. The Victims seemed to be holding it up by the "armpits". The goddess drooped as if it was dead. The pilots could only wonder what or who was piloting it, and whether it was alive or not?

The Victims then stopped and moved away from the goddess and seemed to flee away, as if they didn't want to be around when the fight began. The pilots still hadn't made a move, and now they were waiting for their opponents first. Even Teela couldn't give orders since she didn't know what kind of attack to initiate.

The copy goddess then stirred. It's arms moved and the legs spread apart so that it looked like it was standing. The head never bothered to be lifted up. It raised its left arm and then lifted its head, as its eyes seemed to gleam, and even seem to glow. The arm then shifted and seemed to change. It transformed into a sword that came out of the glove. The pilots all cowered, even though they had been taught never to be afraid. The copy goddess was now ready to attack.

It first attacked the closest one, which was Yuu. In a flash it was in front of him before he could react. With a slice of its sword it sliced down the chest of the goddess. Yuu cried in pain as the cockpit rocked. The copy goddess then hit him another 3 times before Yuu fell onto the cockpit floor on his knees. It then stabbed him in the side and stood back while the goddess drooped. Yuu was bleeding, and unconscious on the floor.

"Yuu!" Gareas screamed. He then turned angrily to the copy goddess who still seemed to droop. "I don't care who, or what you are, I'm taking you down!" he yelled as he charged toward it.

"Gareas! No!" yelled Teela, but it was too late for him to stop. He stopped a few miles away from it and started firing like crazy. He shot all his lasers, cannons, and all the ammo he had.

"Gareas, please stop! If you use it all you'll be totally unguarded!" yelled Leena.

Gareas didn't care about how much ammo he had; he just wanted to take this thing down, no matter what it took.

The copy goddess looked up to see the upcoming shots and quickly moved. The arm that was the sword changed back while the other changed to a shield just in time to block the shots. Gareas was still firing like crazy and kept even though he knew about the shield. The goddess then flew toward him using its shield to block the shots. It flew right in the path of the lasers, and followed them up to Eeva-Leena. It stopped right in front of him so that their faces were level. Gareas had just run out of shots and looked at the goddess's cold, human-less expression. The goddess only paused for a second before punching him in the stomach hard.

Gareas reeled back clutching his gut as he fell to his knees. Spit flew out of his mouth as the cockpit rammed right into him. The goddess then attacked him using only the free hand that wasn't the shield. Not only that, but it used some style. Almost like it was using a form of martial arts.

The other pilots watched in terror as Gareas fell.

"Gareas? Gareas! GAREAS!" Leena yelled as hard as she could into the intercom.

"Yuu? Brother, please answer!" Kazuhi pleaded.

The pilots also called, but with no answer. The fake goddess turned to them and turned its gaze on Aqui-Keameia.

Rioroute barely had time to scream before the goddess rammed him hard with its elbow. The cockpit shook, but he wasn't harmed enough to fall to the floor. The goddess then held up the shield hand, which changed to a gun. It wasn't the kind of gun that Gareas had either. It was bigger, and looked like a particle gun. It resembled a cannon with a tube in the middle. Rioroute looked up to see his fate. The fake held its cannon up to the goddess and .

"Rioroute!" Phil screamed as the shot was fired. Luckily it missed the center where the cockpit was, and damaged the side with a big hold only inches away from where Rioroute stood hunched over unconscious.

"Oh, my god!" said Phil as she covered her mouth. She then sobbed into them.

"Ernest! Get out of there!" Tune yelled.

Ernest looked at his fallen teammates and didn't move. He instead stared determinably at the copy goddess.

"Ernest? That was an order!"

"Someone has to stop this thing. Errn-Laties can't handle this alone."

Tune was shocked at his answer. "Alright, if that's the way you want it done then," she said punching at the controls. She looked up to see the other repairers had either slumped over their screens, or were crying. Leena was on the ground with her knees pressed together on the floor. She had a look of terror and shock on her face that didn't seem to want to leave. She was sweating and shaking. Tune knew she had to save Erts, he was the only one left.

Erts held strong waiting for the goddess to turn its sights on him. No sooner did he think this did it look up at him. He tried using his EX to reach the pilot. Hopefully it was human. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He was now in the goddess and all he could see was blackness. He then saw lights of computer screens, the only light there was. The screens showed readouts and seemed to glow on the interior. He tried to concentrate to focus the picture, but all it did was get fuzzier. He opened his eyes to see the goddess now right in his face. He tried to listen to its thoughts. No matter how he concentrated he couldn't hear anything. Right before it struck he heard the pilot's thoughts. He heard, "Attack, Lady Gwenevere."

The arm turned into a blade and sliced through the goddess. The arms were nearly cut off while the head was halfway cut off. Erts had fallen down and was now unconscious as the others. He wasn't hurt as badly as the others, but had a cut going down his side.

"Erts," Tune said sadly. "Now you're gone too, just like your brother." Tune broke down and cried, not bothering to hide her tears since all the others were also grieving.

Teela had been watching all this without making a move. It was very unusual for the leader not to try and save their team, but Teela had been frozen by fear that kept the others from attacking. After Erts had been taken down she instantly snapped out of it. She turned her sights to the copy and readied her attack. She had never before attacked an enemy without the other's help, but she was now the only one who could protect Zion.

The copy lifted up its head and didn't look at Teela at all. It instead looked out onto the glowing sphere hanging in space. It's boosters fired up and it flew off in that direction. Teela gasped, the thing had found Zion.

She quickly maneuvered her goddess and came right in the path. The fake stopped right in its tracks as Teela blocked its way to Zion.

"I will not let you anywhere near Zion," Teela declared before she launched her attack.

She first tried hand-to-hand combat. The fake dodged them all and then got as far away as it could from her, slipping out of her grasp. Its hands then transformed into twin blades, it then unleashed its attack on Teela. She instantly tried blocking. The force hit her hard, and she struggled to hold it back. She winced in pain as she used most of the energy she had left just trying to hold the attack back. She managed to summon enough strength to blow the attack back, but it left her exhausted. She panted as sweat ran down her face. Her long light blue hair had lost its glow and perfection as strands stuck out from the main piece of hair. She quickly took a fight position, and then tried another attack.

She tried some tactics this time. She came from the front first. When the copy came to block she swerved to the right and struck it in the side. While it was still recovering from that attack she hit it in the back with her sword.

She backed away to get some distance between them before she initiated her final blow. She lifted her hands into the air and pulled them apart, the movements for the attack. A huge light came from that point and shined pure white. Energy exploded as the supernova ripped through space. The legendary attack, Errn-Laties special move, the "death blow" had been called on.

Teela's strategy had worked and the copy had followed her only to be faced with the head on attack. The deathblow also had a big range so it wouldn't be able to escape no matter how far it flew. The explosion rocked space; even the colonies on Zion saw the explosion.

Teela stood back as the light faded. She slowly blinked her eyes, making sure she wasn't seeing things. The fake goddess was still there.

It was now within a protective bubble with its feet up to its chest. The bubble surrounded it like a force field, protecting it from the blast. It moved its legs down to their normal position and as it did the bubble faded. It looked up and with one fluid movement it sliced through the abdomen of the goddess with lightning speed.

Teela withered in pain. She clutched her side as a red stain leaked onto her pilot outfit. She winced as she tried to get back up. Being the strongest she had managed to survive the first attack.

The goddess turned its head to look at the knelt down Errn-Laties. It then hovered over the fallen goddess and prepared for the final strike. Just as it was to hit, Errn-Laties blocked and pushed it away. The fake goddess then stopped as far as Teela had pushed it away. It watched as the fallen goddess stood up.

Teela winced as the pain in her side wanted to keep her down, but she got up. She managed to get back onto her feet. One hand held her sword while the other clutched her side. Her fingers were stained with red and were starting to stick together.

"I will not let you near Zion, no matter what. I will not let you annihilate humankind!" she screamed as she rushed in for an attack. She raised her sword into the air and tried to strike the head. The goddess blocked Teela's futile attempt easily.

As Teela gritted her teeth she heard something. A sound, no, a voice coming through the intercom. The imposter was tapping into the same intercom used for the pilots to communicate with each other and their repairers. Teela stopped when she heard this. The voice was so soft, gentle in a way. It sounded numb and cold in a way, and somehow seemed robotic.

"Hu-man."

"Wha-?" Teela said releasing the pressure on her sword.

"Hu-man," the voice answered. The word didn't roll off its tongue, but it seemed as if it was hard to pronounce. Like it was hearing it for the same time in a new light. "Are you human?"

"What? Who?" Teela was so confused she couldn't answer the question.

"You are human."

Teela stared at the fake goddess who also seemed to let up. Teela put her sword away and the other goddess changed their blades back into hands. The other goddess also seemed to straighten up instead of droop. Teela then knew something was wrong with this pilot.

"Just like me."

Teela gasped at the words that came over. This goddess was an enemy, yet a human controlled it. The voice did not sound like it was brainwashed. It sounded like the words were really being said and meant. Teela could only wonder how this was possible.

"You're human?" Teela asked hoping it would answer her.

The other goddess seemed to nod its head before it reeled back. It clutched its head and seemed as if it had a really bad headache that made it bring its head down to its waist. The goddess looked as if something was destroying it from inside.

"Wait!" Teela yelled reaching her hand out.

What she heard next was a scream, a high-pitched scream that showed pain, and fear. Something was wrong.

++++++++++++++++++

The screens flashed and blinked. Stats and components were shown on the screen. Everything was flashing. Something was getting in my head. Something was getting in, trying to take me. It wanted to take me away.

I clutch my head and squeeze it as hard as I only hope that I can squeeze it out. I cover my ears and close my eyes. I scream in pain to the human. I can only hope she can hear me, my pleas. I look up to the screen to see something on the screen, what was causing this. The only problem was everything was getting blurry so I couldn't see what it said. Everything is spinning, getting blurrier. I open my eyes to see random things that don't make sense. I try to focus, but after a while my vision fades and the darkness of the room consumes me.

+++++++++++++++

Teela could only watch at what was happening. She reached out her hand to try and help the pilot. The goddess looks up at her, only this time the cold face shows the emotion of the pilot. It then sent out an attack, which was like an energy wave. It knocked Teela back and onto the ground of the cockpit on her back. The knock-back causes her to move her arm off her side causing more pain. She finally manages to get up before looking to see where the goddess was, gone. The fake goddess had disappeared in that shock wave.

"What was that?" Teela asked herself. She then regained composure and contacted the repairers. "Listen, I want you all to check on your pilots. Make sure they're still functioning. They should all be, it would take a lot more to kill them. I also want you to get them outta here. I don't have the strength left to bring them back. Hurry! I can't." Teela's vision faded as she too fell to the floor of her goddess like her teammates.