Author: Nadz
Email: vegitto02 at yahoo dot com

Disclaimer:
The title "DragonTek" is owned by the author.
Any characters owned by the producers of Tekkaman, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, or Rurouni Kenshin are, of course, the property of those respective individuals or companies. Any original characters are strictly owned by the author of this fan fiction.
The story line of the entire DragonTek series is also owned strictly by me.
This story may not be distributed to anybody without the author's permission. However, the author does encourage you to welcome your friends to read DragonTek on FanFiction dot net. Much thanks...

DragonTek (Part II: The Blood Saga)

Chapter 24 – The Brilliant Void

Soon, the energy ball was complete, and Shinjo threw it high above. It tore through the ceiling, creating a gaping hole to the air outside. When it stopped moving, it shined its light and exploded in brilliance. The air cleared, and the object glowed with the intensity of a white sun.

'What is that thing?' Alena thought as she looked up at the ball of glowing light.

Shinjo felt his heart beat loudly, and his eyes bulged as his irises shrunk. Blood turned towards him and watched in horror as the man's body grew and expanded. The scouter on his eye fell to the ground and shattered. He unwrapped the tail hidden around his belly, and his clothes stretched and tore due to his body's expansion. Blood watched as Shinjo's hands turned into claws, and then into huge hands. He grew dozens of feet tall, and fur appeared all over his body. His mouth protruded, and huge fangs emerged from his gums. His eyes turned scarlet red, and he completed his transformation to the Saiya-jin Oozaru were-monkey form. He roared as he pounded his chest. Blood looked at the beast that stood seventy feet tall.

"What the hell are you… But anyway, large size doesn't always mean victory," Blood said as she drove her lance into Oozaru Shinjo's leg. He howled and grabbed the Tekkaman. Blood struggled to loosen herself from his grasp as he brought her closer to his face. The loud roar he emitted deafened her, but she blasted his hand with a Voltekker pulse. Oozaru Shinjo growled as he held his burnt fingers. With a roar, he smashed his other fist into Blood, sending her crashing into the far wall. Alena cried out in pain.

'I must finish off this monster quickly,' she thought. 'Or else I'll expend too much energy.'

Alena roared, and soon a white aura surrounded her. She flew through the hole in the ceiling and hovered in front of the glowing ball. She turned around and saw the huge were-monkey snarl; it opened its large jaws and shot forth a potent energy beam. Blood dodged out of its path and saw the beam strike and obliterate the glowing ball. Within seconds, the beast began to slowly revert to its human from, and Alena sighed in relief upon seeing a naked, human Shinjo collapse to the ground unconsciously.

'It was so stupid that it destroyed its own source of power,' Alena thought. 'Now I must finish this place for good and move on to my final target – the Earth's Allied Military.'

Alena gathered energy for several seconds until she had all the power she needed.

"Final Flash!" she yelled as a huge mass of light burst from her armored palms. She watched in ecstasy as the energy ball smashed through the roof of the Command Center. Within seconds it made its way down to its ground floor and exploded like a miniature atomic bomb. Everything within two thousand feet was destroyed, and Alena looked down at the smoldering rubble of the former base with satisfaction.

'I'm finished here,' she thought. 'Earth military, prepare yourselves.'

Shinjo lay unmoving, in much pain, as he saw his opponent fly off. He had no idea how he had survived that attack. All around him lay the torn pieces of what used to be the Space Knight Command Center. Fortunately for the Earth, the deep underground levels of the base had been untouched, for they contained the escape routes and secret labs.

"Saki, Kenshin, I will come for you soon," he whispered to himself. "Until then, be safe."

Heavily burned from Blade's and Saber's Voltekker attacks, Goku and Vegita lay weakly on the floor, their power drained and their bodies injured. Yet, they would not give up so easily – even if their minds were disoriented completely. With grunts, both struggled to push themselves up and gather energy.

"Forget it!" yelled Bezel. Twin shots of powerful energy burst forth from his palms and slammed into the two Saiya-jin, sending them crashing brutally hard into the far wall. Spear and Saber approached.

"Take those two away back to your main base," Bezel ordered. Spear and Saber dragged Goku and Vegita, now unconscious, away and out of sight. Aki turned her eyes and cursed in her mind – she had failed to rescue them. She looked back towards Blade and again stared at his crimson irises through his visor. Aki struggled but managed to breathe in Blade's chokehold, and she gazed desperately at his eyes.

'I will have to do it,' Aki thought, painfully placing her hand onto his arm. Bezel looked on with great interest as a soft glow outlined her hand.

All around him, there is nothing but white. The sky is white, and the floor is white. His red vest, red boots, and gray pants are the only traces of color in this colorless world. His eyes scan the emptiness in front of him; not a sound is made, not a sound is heard.

'Where am I? What am I doing here?' he thinks. He had been sleeping, but now he was woken in this world of whiteness. Why has he been disturbed from his rest? His thoughts are interrupted as he hears a small noise behind him. Soon he feels something touching his shoulder, and he turns around. He sees a woman, a beautiful woman, who keeps her hand on his shoulder.

"Blade…"

"Aki… I haven't seen you in so long…"

"Yes, it must have felt like forever in here hasn't it?"

"Aki, where am I? Before I was in a black void. Now I'm here."

"That black void is the jail in which they trapped you."

"Then what is this place?"

"This place is the fusion of my chi and your chi."

"My chi?"

"Yes, we all have it. Some people have developed it more than others. It is our life energy."

"How did you get inside my chi?"

"I have the special power that allows me to do this."

"Aki, can you help me? Can you help me get out of here?"

"Yes, Blade, I will try to help you, but I cannot force your chi. Only you have control over it."

"I feel so trapped; there is nowhere to go…"

"I know. The Radam side of your body has taken over your conscience."

"Then what am I?"

"Your sub-conscience."

"Then what are you?"

"My sub-conscience," she replies.

"How can we be talking like this?"

"The true being has far more powers than the ones humans possess in their every day life. I am tapping into some of that power. That power lies in the sub-conscience."

"How are you able to tap into that power?"

"My ability is a part of me. I had been born with it."

"Aki…"

"Yes?"

"How do I conquer my Radam side? I feel as if I have no power left to fight it."

"You do, Blade. A person's sub-conscience is far more powerful than his or her conscience."

"But why do I feel so trapped?"

"Because you've allowed yourself to be trapped."

"What do you mean, Aki?"

"You have a weakness that has allowed them to take over you."

"Then we got to find it… and stop it," Blade says.

"What do you want?" General Galt barked as he lay in his private quarters. He was back at Allied Military Headquarters, where they had refortified their defenses since Operation Sunset. The number of projects he had to manage was large, and he was about to enjoy a relaxing nap, only to be interrupted by a message that came in through the intercom.

"Sir, the Space Knight Command Center has just been destroyed," reported one of his lieutenants.

"You can't be serious," Galt said, bolting upright in his bed. "How did it happen?"

"A Tekkaman gained entry from the inside and destroyed it, sir," came the reply. "By inspection of the photographs transmitted, we believe it's the same one that attacked here during Operation Sunset."

"Any word from Commander Freeman?" Galt asked as he felt the sweat developing on his forehead. 'If that maniac Tekkaman destroyed the Space Knight base, it could be in the vicinity soon.'

"No, sir. Commander Freeman had been killed in the attack," the lieutenant reported, his voice becoming agitated and nervous. "This just in, sir… the Tekkaman is heading here, sir, right here."

"What! I'm coming down to the Command Room this instant!" barked Galt before he raced out of his quarters. "Initiate defensive measures immediately!"

"Where is this weakness?" asks Blade.

"You are your own weakness; it resides within you."

"But how do I find it?"

"We will have to discover it together. What do you like?"

"I like being alone."

"Do you mean that?"

"No, I guess not."

"Why do you choose to be a loner?"

"Because I am hurt."

"What has hurt you so much?"

"The Radam, they have hurt my whole family."

"So they have taken away people very dear to you, and you feel alone."

"Yes."

"And so, you avoid other people so that you cannot get hurt in the same manner?"

"Yes."

"What about the people that care for you – your friends, us, the Space Knights?"

"I do care about them, but I am afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid that one day, I might lose them to the Radam as well."

"So does that prevent you from opening up?"

"Yes, it does."

"And so you have closed your person to the rest of the world."

"Yes."

"Do you know that it is this that makes you weak?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep worrying about us, that we are a weakness to you. But in fact, that makes you weak."

"That weakness has resulted in the Radam taking control of my body?"

"It is one of them."

"How do I overcome this weakness?"

"Have faith in us, Blade. Have faith in the people who care about you. Have faith in the people that fight around you. We may die, but that is not your fault. It is in the destiny designed for each of us."

"I lost my faith when my family was taken by the Radam. Spear and Saber are my brothers. Miyuki is my sister."

"Incredible. How did you all receive your powers?"

"The answer to that is something too horrid… too traumatic for me to tell you…"

"What else do you fear?"

"I fear that I won't be able to save the human race."

"This is your own wavering self-confidence."

"I suppose so."

"You don't trust yourself, do you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I allowed you to get hurt."

"And this is why you don't trust yourself?"

"Yes."

"You thought that you weren't good enough to help me?"

"Yes."

"Here is your second weak point, Blade. You still expect this whole war to be a burden only on your shoulders. We are here to fight this together. Realize that you are not all powerful. Accept the fact that you cannot protect everybody all the time; it's only human. Trying your best is what truly counts."

"I think I understand..."

"Remember, this is not Blade versus the Radam. It is humanity versus the Radam. You want personal revenge because they captured your family."

"I… I think so."

"This vision of vengeance has clouded your thoughts. It allows you to anger easily. You want more power in order to defeat the enemy."

"Yes."

"And in those seconds when you became a Radam, the Radam side of your nature offered you that greater power."

"Yes, but I did not want it. It was evil power."

"Perhaps, but the side of you that wanted more power craved for it, didn't it?"

"Yes."

"And with the addition of your other two weaknesses, you could not hold a strong barrier against the Radam force invading your mind. You could not strengthen your mind enough to keep control of it."

"…" Blade remains speechless.

"Your sense of vengeance is your third weak point. You can overcome it by fighting for the protection of the planet, not for revenge. Fight with clarity in mind, not clouded ness. This third weak point of yours is the greatest. You were not pristinely clear from the beginning; yet no human is. However, the Radam know about this weakness in us and, in your case, exploited it. They used it to turn you against us."

"Aki, why are you doing all of this for me?"

"Because I… I care for you, Blade."

"I care for you too, Aki."

"Blade, if you care for me, then conquer your fears once and for all. Use those solutions to wake up now, Blade, because you are hurting me. You are really hurting me badly. Use the last of my power to execute the answers to your fears. Use it to help your sub-conscience break out of its jail and beat your Radam conscious. Finally… open your eyes."

"Aki? No… NO!" Blade yelled as he saw Aki's body slump. Her complexion had turned blue, and he saw her hands drop to her side. In an instant, he released his grip on her and roared as she fell to the ground. Her body began to spasm, for it struggled for air. Blade watched in silence as her body stopped its convulsions. He sighed in relief to himself, for she had started breathing again. Aki lay on the floor unconscious, drained physically as well as mentally.

"You!" Blade said, turning towards the disdainful Bezel. "You're the cause of all this!"

"Yes," Bezel extended his palm and fired a large energy blast, which smashed into Blade's chest and sent him crashing against the wall behind him. The blast badly damaged the torso region of his armor, and Blade breathed heavily as he tried to recover.

"I see that you have regained your humanity," Bezel smiled. "But it is of no consequence. You see, I still have my pet, Tekkaman Blood. She is my most powerful creation, and you are nothing but vermin when compared to her power."

Blade only cursed himself, attempting to overcome the pain endured from Bezel's attack.

"You see, Blade? You don't have a chance," the Radam sneered. "In fact, you can even take your sister lying there. The information that she will tell you may be important, but it will not make much of a difference to you. You will be too late to stop it anyway."

"She served as good bait, and Goku and Vegita are now in my possession," continued Bezel, stepping away. "I knew that this would work out to my advantage."

"Miyuki…" whispered an injured Blade, trudging forward.

"I have accomplished what I wanted," Bezel smiled. "I could crush you easily, Blade, but you won't pose a big threat to me. Goku and Vegita are more powerful than you will ever be, and I have defeated them now."

Blade gritted his teeth and looked back towards Aki, now unconscious.

"So best of luck to you," Bezel chuckled as he disappeared into the darkness.

"Miyuki…" Blade pleaded to himself as he cut her bindings. "Aki…"

With his fading strength, he carried both girls through the tunnel. Bezel's blast had truly done a number on him, and he couldn't think of a way in which to get them all back to Earth. At the end of the tunnel, Blade sighed with relief, for the Blue Earth was waiting there for them.