Prior to the A team departing to Echo City, the B team first had to act. The B team consisted of: Homura, Weisz, Hermit, Sister, Aiden, Ano, G, Lluvi, and Percival. They had the task of drawing in the Golden Knight Gear and taking it down. Something as formidable as that was undoubtedly going to cause problems if they left it unchecked, which is why they had to draw it out. "Does everyone remember what the plan is?" Aiden looked to the others and they nodded. "Let's go over it one more time."
"Alright." Hermit said. "First, Sister, Weisz, Homura, and I, will board the Eden's Zero. We're going to act as if our ship is going to take off, and in doing so, this should attract the Golden Knight Gear. It's going to want to prevent that."
"I would like to use the Warrior Maid to fight, but it needs to be repaired. We haven't been able to get to it since we landed." Homura said. The Warrior Maid 95 was right next to the Eden's Zero, but it sustained damage earlier and Homura couldn't risk operating it in its condition. "So I believe this means we will have to restrain such a powerful foe with our own strength."
"A shame…such a powerful Knight Gear would be helpful against a foe like that." Aiden sighed.
"It's not going to be easy." Lluvi was already bracing herself. "But we need to get Ano close."
"My snakes will be able to shut down all functions of the Life Link." Ano said proudly. "With that done, Hermit should be able to hack into it and shut it down for good. That way we won't have to worry it."
"It would be easier if I could just hack it and be done with it, but of course that wouldn't be so simple." Hermit wasn't looking forward to this, but it had to be done.
"I hate playing battlefield nurse, but that's what I'm here for today." Sister said. Her usual tactics weren't going to work against a Knight Gear of all things, but she could help keep people alive and that was the important part.
"This is, like…gonna be rough. We just gotta get Ano in close, right?" Percival was half paying attention. People were worried about her the most.
"That's simplifying it, but that is our basic objective." Aiden said with a nod. "We have the numbers, but that's the only thing keeping this an even fight."
"I'll tip the scales." G said confidently.
"Yeah, sure." Weisz just rolled his eyes. There was a lot of talking going on, but action was more important. Getting to the Eden's Zero was easy, since they did crash in the middle of a forest, all they had to do was follow the trail of collapsed tress and they soon arrived.
"Is that your ship?" Percival stared at the Eden's Zero. "Whoooooooa. It's so cooooool…"
"It's not that cool." Ano grumbled.
"Get ready." Hermit said. "The ship is going to enter takeoff sequence, but we're not actually going to leave. We just need to cause a scene that only a Knight Gear could intervene with. Once it arrives, it'll be up to the rest of you to ambush it. Use the fallen trees as cover."
"You heard the lady." Sister said, motioning for the others to get behind some cover. She, Homura, Hermit, Aiden, and Weisz entered the Eden's Zero. While the others went for cover, they started the ignition sequence for the ship. "I'm surprised it's been untouched all this time. We've been gone longer than I would like."
"They had the ship pinned down; they probably weren't worried since we couldn't get to it." Hermit said. "Anyway, get ready…" The Eden's Zero prepared its takeoff sequence. It wasn't very subtle as the ship started to lift off into the sky,
"Are you sure this is going to work…?" Homura was a little nervous that this plan could fail.
"Positive." Hermit replied. "They're not going to want us to try leaving this planet. We're too much of a threat at this stage. They may not take notice immediately, but…"
"Something's on the radar!" Weisz reported.
"…Right on time." Hermit grinned. Just as they thought, the Golden Knight Gear appeared before them, prepared to attack the Eden's Zero in the event it tried to take off from the planet.
"And just where do you think you're going?" The Golden Knight Gear asked. One could almost see a smirk on the faceplate, "Not turning tail and running are you? Things were just getting interesting!"
"Actually, we were waiting for you." Weisz said. "We almost forgot about you until you showed up the other day, so it makes me wonder who's really sitting behind that cockpit. A human, or an android? I can't wait to find out."
"Oh, is that how it is?" The Golden Knight gear asked. "So you're turning your sights on me, are you? That's fine. We have some unfinished business. I won't allow you all to slip from my grasp a second time. I'll make you regret your decision of ever coming near this planet."
As the Eden's Zero kept the Golden Knight Gear distracted, the others down below were quietly moving along. All they had to do was get Ano attached to the Knight Gear, and the problem would be solved. Lluvi created a barrier for Ano to stand on, while G was using his God's Gravity to lift adjust Ano's flight path…
"The regret shall belong to you on this day!" Homura exclaimed. "Because we know full well what your Knight Gear is capable of…"
"NOW!" Hermit exclaimed.
"Gravity Launcher!" G threw his arm forward, launching Ano forward. A BOOM echoed out and several trees toppled over from this force.
"Here we go!" Ano said while having several snakes at the ready. All he had to do was touch the Knight.
"What!?" The Golden Knight Gear glanced over towards the incoming Ano. It raised its sword to get ready to cut Ano down as he flew, but the Knight Gear's limbs were suddenly bound by large vines emerging from the ground.
"Sorry…it'll be easier if you can't move." Percival said with a yawn, but she was taking this seriously. It was her job to ensnare the Golden Knight Gear and limit its movements as much as possible.
"Code: 001! Snake Bite!" Ano was just about to make contact with the Golden Knight Gear for an easy victory, but they were sorely mistaken if things were going to be that simple. Even though it was bound, the Golden Knight Gear had a cannon emerge from its shoulder, firing off a blast of ether towards Ano. "…!" Ano was airborne and had no time to dodge, forced to take the full brunt of the attack…!
"Ano!" Lluvi acted fast, creating a barrier around Ano to protect him from the blast. The barrier did hold strong for a bit before breaking. Ano was alright, but he did still hit a tree and grimaced from the impact.
"It didn't work…" Aiden said while narrowing his eyes.
"Did you think I wasn't aware of your friends in the shadows? I have a radar that detects heat signatures." The Golden Knight Gear then spun around, slicing through the vines that Percival created. "It was a good effort, but not enough! I already know all your tricks."
"How is that!?" G said with a snarl. "We just came up with this plan!"
"But you've been monitored this whole time." The Golden Knight Gear gestured to their eyes. "You've been watched…and all of your combat data has been given to Prometheus, Pandora, and the Goldstones…all because of me."
"Because of you!? But how could you be watching us this whole time…?" Sister said. Unless…
"That's right! There is a traitor in the Resistance, and it is ME!" The Golden Knight gear exclaimed.
"So there's a human piloting this thing!?" Weisz growled. "But who…!?"
"We can worry about that later when we take this thing out!" Sister said. "Fire Scorpion Missiles! Aiden, get into combat gear and head to the secondary weapons with Weisz and Homura!" Since Aiden couldn't actually fight,
"I'll do what I can." Aiden nodded. He, Weisz, and Homura hurried off while Hermit and Sister commanded the bridge. They were a little shorthanded, but they could still make this work. The Eden's Zero fired off numerous missiles towards the Golden Knight Gear, who flew into the air to avoid and slash at them. Multiple explosions occurred in the sky, and if nothing else, their plan was still working, they just hit a snag in the road.
G, Lluvi, Ano, and Percival were watching from below. "Damn, we're too far from the Eclipse Ark to join the fray. We should've moved closer with the ship…" G grunted. They could've manned the ship to fight in the sky.
"That would hardly be better." Ano shook his head. "I think this is perfect. Now whoever is in there is properly distracted, we can try again. I just need the right opening. You guys can still help from down here too."
"We're not playing second fiddle to the Eden's Zero!" Lluvi said with a grin. "We're going to show them that we can out preform their ship."
"That's cool." Percival gaze a lazy thumbs up. However, just because they weren't actively involved in the fray, that didn't mean they weren't still targets. The Golden Knight Gear deflected a Scorpion Missile towards them. Lluvi created a barrier that barely withstood the impact and she grimaced as a result.
"…We need to figure out something fast. I can't play defense forever against a Knight Gear that strong." Lluvi said with a sweat drop. She could only defend for so long.
The Eden's Zero was zipping through the sky in a circle, keeping pace with the Golden Knight Gear. It did attempt to slash at the ship with its sword, but the ship was capable of narrowly avoiding such precise strikes. Weisz was manning one of the guns and linked it together with his Ether Gear. "Take this!" From the gun he was manning, multiple electric nets that aimed to ensnare the Golden Knight Gear. But the Golden Knight Gear was easily able to slash through them.
"Missile Barrage!" The Golden Knight Gear fired off multiple missiles from their shoulders that sought to target and strike the Eden's Zero.
"Incoming!" Sister reported.
"I can take care of it!" Aiden took aim at the missiles with his turret and began to fire. His aim was decent enough to take down most of the missiles, but a few of them did strike the Eden's Zero, causing the ship to shake slightly. "Damage report…?"
"We're fine!" Hermit shouted. "The shields took a hit, but they're still active."
"Where is Homura's support fire…" Aiden questioned. He and Weisz were doing all they could, but they were missing some additional firepower.
The Golden Knight Gear then pulled out an assault rifle, taking aim at the Eden's Zero. It started to fire, but found that the bullets stopped in mid-air. "Huh?"
"Did you forget about us!?" G was using his God's Gravity to float in the sky and control the bullets. He changed the trajectory of the bullets to strike back against the Golden Knight Gear, forcing it to take a defense posture. The bullets pelted against it, and G pulled out a sword and flew high into the sky, before allowing his center of gravity to increase and he dropped sword first. "STINGER!"
The Golden Knight Gear dropped the Assault Rifle, instead pulling out a shield with spikes along the outer edges. It brought this shield up, clashing with G's sword. It was a fierce struggle as G attempted to overpower a Knight Gear of all things, but it didn't work in his favor and he was pushed back. The Golden Knight Gear then hurled this spiked shield at G, who had to barely defend with his sword as it carried him into the distance. "Who's next!?"
"Guess I have to try." Percival took a deep breath and her absent gaze focused. Her green eyes shimmered and she lifted a hand, snapping her fingers together as numerous roots started to rise from the ground. "Frenzy Planet!" These large roots shot from the ground and started to move towards the Golden Knight Gear to strike it.
"Do you think that's enough!?" The Golden Knight Gear's sword easily cleaved through these roots like nothing. If it were a normal person attempting to deal with this, it would be a near impossible attack to handle. But the radar picked up rapid movement approaching, only to see G riding the top of the shield, using his gravity to try and slam it back into the Golden Knight Gear! "Tch!" It was a fierce clash and neither side was backing down but the Golden Knight Gear won out, aiming to swing G and the shield into the Eden's Zero to slice the ship in half.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Hermit shouted and they were just barely able to turn the ship away from the threat. The Golden Knight Gear was going to attempt to attack the Eden's Zero, but found that its sword was blocked a familiar one. "Yes!"
"What?" The Golden Gear turned, only to see the Warrior Maid 95 clashing with it. "You again?"
"I thought the Warrior Maid was out of commission?" Aiden seemed confused.
"It's condition is far from perfect, but a quick diagnostic showed me that we can still make use of it." Hermit explained. "I checked it while we were taking off."
"It does need repairs, but it is still usable!" Homura replied. It was no lie that the Warrior Maid 95 needed repairs done, its condition was far from perfect, but it was usable. She clashed with the Golden Knight Gear before they both pushed off from each other. This whole time, they weren't able to do any damage to it, but that was about to change. "Oden's Strike!" Homura's ether gear flowed through the Warrior Maid 95, causing multiple crimson blades to appear and swirl forward.
"I see you really want me destroyed!" The Golden Knight Gear had to retreat, swinging its sword at the incoming blades Homura sent towards them. It was capable of knocking down numerous blades, but several of them still connected and dealt damage, causing the Golden Knight Gear to stagger slightly. "Agh…!"
"Damage confirmed!" Homura exclaimed. She pursued and brought her sword back, the Warrior Maid preparing to strike again. "Warrior Maid Single Sword Attack: DRAGON FLASH!"
"GOLDEN BLADE!" The Golden Knight Gear's sword shone in a bright gold light, nearly blinding those who looked upon it. It brought the sword down against Homura's Dragon Flash, causing a shockwave to loudly boom out, toppling those on the ground over. "You're all putting up a good fight, but to think you're struggling this much against a single Knight Gear! I suppose it's no surprise, considering this model is as strong as a Knight Gear can be!"
"You talk a lot." Homura grit her teeth, just focusing on the task at hand.
"Firing the Scorpion Missiles once again!" Sister reported. The Scorpion Missiles fired towards the Golden Knight Gear. Homura backed off and the missiles began to pelt the enemy, numerous explosions occurring on the spot. The Golden Knight Gear sustained damage from these impacts, but it was far from finished. "How tough is this thing…?"
More roots sprouted from the ground, Percival and Ano running up along them. Percival led the charge, pointing her hands forward. "Leech Seed!" A small seed shot from her hand and attached itself to the Golden Knight Gear. "Gotcha."
"What is this?" The Golden Knight Gear didn't feel anything at first, but soon vines spread around it. It didn't impede its movement or anything, but soon, it could feel the ether supply draining slowly. "The Ether…!?"
"It drains away ether from anything it touches, and…" As Percival explained this, the vines started to grow larger and thicker. "It fuels it to become even more of a nuisance. I love this move, I barely have to do anything."
"Nice one, Percy!" Lluvi grinned.
"It's slowing down! This is our chance!" Weisz said. "We can shut it down now!"
"Like hell you can!" The Golden Knight Gear snarled as numerous cylinders appeared along its shoulders. These cylinders charged up before releasing lasers in every direction. Everyone was forced to hide for cover or evade. "I'll make you regret choosing to face me alone! Humans can't defeat machines, and I'll make you aware of these limits!"
"Is he trying to destroy everything!?" G grit his teeth. "We need to shut it down NOW! Ano!"
"I'm ready!" Ano said. He was staying out of the fray as much as he could. Ano was the crux of their plan – if he went down it was over. But it was now or never, so G once again hurled Ano into the sky with his gravity. "It's all or nothing!"
The Golden Knight Gear was very obviously aware of Ano approaching, and prepared to swat him down with its sword. But it was stopped with a barrier that appeared in front of it. "You again!?" It was Lluvi's doing. She was doing her damnedest to ensure that sword wouldn't move. "No matter!" It would simple aim one of its many lasers towards Ano instead, but those were being intercepted by Percival's plants, on top of G manipulating Ano's flight path with his gravity.
"Do not take your eyes off of us!" Homura exclaimed. The Warrior Maid came in for a slash that was easy to defend, but that was her goal. Because now the Golden Knight Gear expended all of its attention and resources on them!
"This is it!" Ano was going to end this, now entering a free fall! But he wasn't expecting something: a small drone to shoot from the back of the Golden Knight Gear with claws. It was rapidly approaching and he had to twist his body to avoid it slashing at him. But despite missing, it then fired these claws towards him, impaling him in several places before they exploded. "…!"
"ANO!" Everyone watching completely stopped. They weren't expecting a trick like that. It was essentially a heat seeking missile that propped up at the last second.
"Did you think I wasn't prepared!? My claw drone never misses its mark!" The Golden Knight Gear said smugly.
Ano was falling, but he wasn't dead. If he hit the ground he wouldn't make it, but his consciousness was flickering. This wasn't his time to die; he had more to offer to Casey and the others. They chose him for a reason, and he was going to abide by that choice! Ano's body was riddled with injuries, but he placed his hand to his chest. "Code: 005: Data Copy!" His Snakes wrapped around his body, and soon he 'downloaded' the copy of the Arsenal suit data he obtained when the Eden's Zero was near Iceberg.
"Huh?!" Hermit and Weisz were shocked.
"How did-!?" Weisz gasped. That was HIS suit after all!
Ano, in his armored suit, landed on the back of the Golden Knight Gear, his fingers digging into its back. "I'm shutting you down now! Code 007: BLACKOUT!" From his fingertips, his snakes established a direct link with the Golden Knight Gear. His hacking prowess was coming into plan, completely overriding most of the basic functions of the Golden Knight Gear, especially lowering its internal firewall.
"NO! GET OFF ME!" The Golden Knight Gear tried to fling Ano off, but between the Leech Seed rapidly draining its ether supply, and Ano slowing down its basic functions, it was starting to slow down considerably. "No! It's not listening! Work! Work!"
"Hermit, you can hack it now." Ano said with a smirk.
Hermit instantly access the internal network of the Golden Knight Gear and smirked. "This'll be easy." It didn't take Hermit very long to hack into the Golden Knight Gear, completely shutting everything down. No defenses, no offenses, no resources. It was completely exposed. "HOMURA!" It was up for Homura to deal the finishing blow!
Homura nodded and flew back with the Warrior Maid, before rearing her sword back. This was pushing her Knight Gear to its limits, but this would be the decisive blow. "DRAGON FLASH!" She flew past the Golden Knight Gear, slashing across its chest. The Warrior Maid instantly crashed into the ground due the stress it was put under. The Golden Knight Gear slowly started to tip backwards before crashing onto the ground. All of its functions were shut down and it just lied there, defeated.
"We did it…" Aiden let out a huge sigh of relief.
"That…was harder than I was hoping for." Sister wiped the sweat from her brow. That was far from a pleasant experience, but they managed. "Everyone who fought, get onto the Eden's Zero now. I'll heal you up. Ano gets first treatment; I don't want to leave him with those injuries."
"Oh, that's…" Ano was pretty weak. He was about to make some kind of remark, but…
"I'm only doing this because we're currently allies, and I'm a doctor. I can't leave someone injured, especially after that." Sister stated. "I still haven't forgiven you for attempting to hack into our network. So if you want this to go smoothly, you're going to do what I ask, got it?"
Okay, Sister was still scary…Ano just gulped and nodded. He wasn't in the physical condition to say no. "G-Got it…"
.
.
The Eden's Zero landed before the fallen Golden Knight Gear. Considering the fight they just had, G, Lluvi, and Percival decided to help them dock the Warrior Maid 95. Homura let out a quiet sigh. "That was as far as I could push it. It truly needs repairs now."
Meanwhile, Hermit, Aiden, and Weisz were standing atop the fallen Golden Knight Gear. It was completely shut down, and now they were staring at the cockpit. "…Who do you think is sitting in there?" Weisz asked.
"We'll find out soon enough." Aiden said, before he and Weisz pried open the cockpit. They weren't sure what they were expecting, but there was an unconscious body in there. It was…
"…An android?" Hermit was stunned. "But that…doesn't make sense. It should be a human in there, right? They said they were the traitor and everything?"
"…I think I understand what's going on here." Aiden stroked his chin. "Recall that I've mentioned how Ziggy has been copying the piloting skills of humans and importing them into androids? I believe that the original pilot of this craft is long dead, but their memories must have been implanted into this android."
"I can't believe Ziggy is doing such a thing…" Hermit hated to hear it. She wished she knew how Ziggy changed, but she could only wonder for now.
"So the thing plaguing us this whole time was just an android?" Weisz didn't even see anything remarkable about this android model – it was the same Skeleton Army android he's seen before. That only told the story of how much of a threat this process was. Weisz decided to pry the android out of the Knight Gear, taking note of the injuries. "That Life Link stuff is serious, even androids huh?"
"…I think we can use this." Aiden said. "Hermit, would you mind restarting its basic functions? Even I can piolet something simple. I want to get everyone's opinion on using this against the enemy."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Hermit looked to Aiden.
"I just want their opinion on the matter. If everyone is comfortable with it, we could use it as a boon. An ironic twist on our enemies." Aiden said proudly. "But if not, I will simply fly it away somewhere that it cannot be found and used. It doesn't hurt to check."
"I guess not…but I'm in the camp of keeping this thing shut down." Hermit said. This whole situation had her a little skeptical. Weisz nodded in agreement. But if it could help their battle…. "Okay, I'll restore its basic functions. I won't go beyond that until we reach a consensus. I have a lot of questions about this thing…."
Aiden crawled into the cockpit with a bit of an uncomfortable expression. "A little too cozy for my liking, but it's fine…"
.
.
Present Time.
The Golden Knight Gear stood in front of the A team in Echo City, but the cockpit opened and revealed that it was Aiden inside. Soon, the Eden's Zero followed. "What do you think?" Aiden said with a grin. "Of course the mission was a success. We've assumed control of the Golden Knight Gear as well."
"Oooooh…" Rebecca felt like her heart was going to drop for a second. "I thought something bad happened to everyone for a second.
"Mission complete, Captain!" G said while looking at Casey with a thumbs up.
"I expected nothing less." Casey said while crossing his arms. He glanced around, only to see that Omega wasn't anywhere to be seen now. He sure left fast…
"Should you really be in that thing, Aiden?" Tristan looked at Aiden with concern.
"Don't worry, we will deliberate the matter further. For now, I think it's best that we keep something as strong as this in our back pocket." Aiden said. Everyone was a little uneasy about it, but the logic did track a little bit.
"Did we really do it?" Asuka was looking hopeful.
"Looks like everything is looking up for us." Shiki said with a smile. "Which means that tomorrow…we end this." His gaze went towards the Communications Tower in the middle of Echo City. All this fighting and suffering was close to ending. Shiki looked up at the tower, and he could feel the Goldstones, who were watching, looking back at him.
Athena had a faint smile while looking down at the Resistance Force. "Well, well. Looks like things are going to come to an end one way or another tomorrow. I suppose we should get ready…
For the final battle."