Chapter Nine: Aftershocks
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"Yeesh, what a mess!" Washu said, looking at the wreakage of the various robots. "Metal Overlord must have been one bad mamajama."
"Much more than that." Anthony said. "What's our battle status?" Washu let out a sigh.
"Well, thankfully, we haven't lost much. If anything, it's only Great Mazinger and Getter Robo G out of battle for the moment." Washu said.
"How so?" Anthony replied.
"Simple. First is Boss Borot. He's probably the easiest one to put back together since all he is is spare parts. The next are the Aesitvalis. I found out from one of the main mechanics here that those things have three battleframes, and what we lost were Zero-G frames. So all we need to do is switch them over to either their ground or their air combat frames." Washu said. "But, right now, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about Crystallis."
"Yes...I see what you mean..." Anthony said. "DAMMIT!" He slammed his fist into a wall. "What was he THINKING?! That IDIOT!"
"Calm down, Gamemaster, or I'll calm you down myself!" Washu said. "We don't want you to go Dark Gamemaster again."
"You...you're right, Washu." Anthony said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. What you did was reasonable and what Vegeta did wasn't." Washu said. "What Crysty did wasn't as well."
"What do you mean?" Anthony said.
"By punishing Vegeta, she punished herself." Washu said. "She's dying, Anthony."
"WHAT?!" Anthony said, eyes wide.
"Those seven gems of hers was what was keeping her alive. Not only that, if she doesn't have all seven with her, the others are affected." Washu said.
"Dammit..." Anthony muttered.
"Don't worry, I'll try to think of something." Washu said. "In the meantime, I think we need to distance ourselves with what happened for the moment. Go explore the Nadesico for a bit. That should be a bit fun for you."
"It just might..." Anthony said.
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"GEKIGAN FLAAAAAARE!"
From another area of the Nadesico, namely Gai and Akito's room, Koji, Tetsuya and the Getter Team were watching, in complete disbelief, an episode of Gekiganger 3, an anime from the Nadesico crew's past. Along with them were the ship's only three fans, namely Akito, Gai and Hikaru.
"AWRIGHT!" Gai shouted.
"Look at them go!" Akito said.
"Aren't they awesome?!" Hikaru said.
"Uh...hehehe... yeah..." Koji said. Tetsuya just shook his head in disbelief.
"They're ripping off Great and the Getters..." Benkei muttered. Soon after that episode ended, another one played. As it got to the end, Ryouma and Hayato looked on in shocked. It's ending was the death of one of the Gekiganer team.
"Okay, I think we've seen enough!" Ryouma said, turning around and leaving the room, Hayato following.
"Wh...what's wrong with them?" Akito said.
"I think that scene touched a nerve." Benkei said. "They also lost a member of their team due to an alien attack."
"Eh, besides that, the anime wasn't that good." Koji said. This didn't go well with the three Geki-fans. "Besides, Great Mazinger, hell, even Mazinger Z, could kick that 'bot's butt!"
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Gai shouted, offended.
"Yeah, right! That 'bot's a copycat! It can't stand up to the real thing!" Koji said as Gai got in his face. For the next thirty minutes, the two were arguing over who was better, much to the chargrin of the other pilots.
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Within the halls of the Nadesico, Crystallis, despite the protests from everyone else, was walking around alone.
"Vegeta...why? We could have handled that much more better...and look what happened." Crystallis said. Her breathing became more labored as the pain from the lack of all seven Guardian Gem's power. "Vegeta, you idiot, when we needed you the most... you do this..." She whinced in pain as she felt the scar started to reopen. She collapsed to her knees, than sat down. "Gotta...rest... I'm excerting myself to much." She layed her head back. "Ashura...where are you? I'm so scared..." With that, she began crying again. "Ashuraaaaa..." After a few seconds of crying, the pain became more intense, as if she was having a stroke. "Nnngh... h...help me..." Soon, the pain became so unbearable she was on the verge of blacking out, until...
"CRYSTY!" the voice of Anthony shouted. He dashed to her side. "Crystallis, are you okay?!"
"Huuuurts..." she moaned.
"I don't know if this'll work, but..." Anthony said, calling forth Biofeedback to try to stay the pain. "Did that help?"
"Yes... for now..." Crystallis said, smiling. "Thank you." Anthony's eyes went wide for a bit, then narrowed.
"Crysty, did you leave without permission?" Anthony said.
"I wanted some air..." Crystallis said. Anthony let out a sigh.
"I know it's tough right now, but you need to save your strength." Anthony said. "Without your gems, you're a sitting duck."
"I know, I know. I..." Crystallis said before getting cut of by the sounds of a fight.
"What in the world?" Anthony asked himself. Following the noise, the two found themselves in the Nadesico's environment room, a complete facsimile of a beautiful field... and right now, it was the stage of a three way sparring session between Metalla, Allenby and Aylissa, the White Wild Force Ranger. "Woah..."
"It's amazing... Metalla holding his own against two of the toughest female fighters around..." Crystallis said.
"Huh?" Metalla said, noticing the two, allowing the girls to deliver kicks to his stomach. "ACK!"
"Ha! Gotcha!" Allenby said, throwing up the peace sign with her fingers. "We win again!"
"Are you alright, Metalla? We didn't hurt you too badly, did we?" Aylissa said, walking over to the hunched over Metalla.
"I-I'm fine..." Metalla said, between coughs. "Back off...and let me get some air." Aylissa backed off and Metalla got back on his feet soon after. "Man, you girls back a punch!" He, then, looked up to Anthony and Crystallis. "What brings you two here?"
"Found Crysty trying to give everyone heart attacks." Anthony said.
"I wanted some air, that's all..." Crystallis said.
"Oh, there's plenty of air here: mine." Metalla said, causing a slight chuckle out of the group.
"Aylissa, how's Cole doing?" Anthony asked.
"He'll be fine. That helmet saved him from any real harm." she replyed. "Is that Vegeta person THAT vicious?"
"From what I understand, no. But, I think the Wild Force's sudden arrival and victory wounded his warped sense of pride." Anthony said.
"But, why?" Allenby asked.
"Vegeta's a odd sense of pride. He believes that the only way to eliminate any evil threat is to blow it up." Metalla said. "He believes that if he's saved by anyone weaker than himself, it's an insult. Most likely, being saved by the team was, in a way, an insult."
"Vegeta IS weird..." Allenby said.
"Where do you think he is?" Aylissa asked.
"Who knows." Anthony said. "I just hope he isn't causing trouble."
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Across the United States, in the city of Metropolis, a battle was raging of titanic proportions...and it was all Vegeta's fault. After leaving Animarium, Vegeta rushed elsewhere to cause some damage to blow off steam. Unfortuantly, the Watchtower systems considered that a threat, and a Justice Leauge was scrambled, consisting of Superman, Starfire and Green Lantern.
And Vegeta was on the losing side...
"Blasted alien! I'm going to KILL YOU!" Vegeta growled as he fired a few ki blasts at Superman, the hero dodging them, allowing Starfire and Green Lantern to knock the Saiyan away.
"Prince Vegeta, please, stop this fighting! You're one of us! A hero!" Starfire begged.
"A hero? A HERO?!" Vegeta growled. "Little Tamaranian, I was NEVER A HERO! I WAS A MURDERER! I ALWAYS WILL BE ONE!" He held his hands out towards Starfire. "FINAL FLASH!"
He launched his ultimate attack at the young hero, only to have it blocked by Green Lantern.
"Yeah, I've heard about what you've done in the past." Green Lantern said. "Before you met that Goku fellow. Destroyed planets, killed entire species, all in the name of that Frieza person."
"And that's all I'll ever be remembered for!" Vegeta yelled, going Super Saiyan, then Super Saiyan 2. He was ready to go Super Saiyan 3, until he rememebered he wasn't one of the Guardians anymore. But, that didn't deter him. He began firing ki blasts left and right, not noticing Superman flying in from below, landing a mighty punch to his chin. The force of the punch sent him into various buildings, finally coming to rest seven buildings later.
"Give up now, Vegeta?" Superman asked, flying up to him.
"Why bother...?" Vegeta whispered. "Go ahead. Kill me now. I'm not needed anymore." This shocked Superman.
"Wha...? Vegeta, that isn't necessary, we don't need to bring anymore pain or bloodshed into this." Superman said, the heroes flying behind him.
"Yes, Prince Vegeta, let's just forget this happened and just be friends." Starfire said.
"I don't have any friends..." Vegeta whispered. Starfire was shocked to see Vegeta...crying. "All I have are enemies."
"Then, what do you call the Heroes Council? Those so-called "Guardians"? Are they not your friends?" Green Lantern said.
"They abandoned me..." Vegeta whispered. "I went overboard...and they knocked me aside."
"I highly doubt that, Vegeta." Superman said. "If anything, they told you to get lost is so you could get your act together." Vegeta just sat there.
He's...he's right... Vegeta thought. I attacked that Ranger out of my self doubt in my abilities. I lost fair and square and I took it out on someone. He sat there some more and remember one last thing just before he left: hearing Crystallis' sobbing. Vegeta's eyes went wide a bit. Crystallis... she trusted me. She allowed me to use the Guardian Gem as a sign of trust... and she took it away, not because she didn't trust me, but because she cared for me. If I had that gem now, I would have taken those three's lives in my anger. Oh, god... Crystallis, I'm sorry. Vegeta stood up and his battle aura flared.
"What are you going to do?" Green Lantern asked, hoping he wasn't going for round two.
"Thank you. All of you. I know what I have to do." Vegeta said. Before he left, one last tear rolled down his face.
"What do you think changed him?" Superman said.
"Perhaps we had...talked some sense into him?" Starfire said.
"I hope so." Superman said. He rubbed his left arm. "I may be the Man of Steel, but he could of taken off my head with those punches!"
"I'm glad he gave up when he did." Green Lantern said. "I just hope what he's going to do next is the right thing."
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Though it was the middle of the night in Metropolis, the desert area where the Nadesico was now had just turned dark. In the distance was a small building on top of a mountainous hill.
"Hey, what's that?" Ryoko asked, seeing the building.
"That, everyone, is Ranger Nexus." Tommy said
"That small thing?!" Boss exclaimed. "You gotta be kidding me!"
"You're right. It's underneath that building." Tommy said, pointing outward. At that, the group saw a side of the mountain disappear, showing a massive docking bay.
"Woah..." Anthony muttered out.
"Look at all those robots inside!" Yurika said, noting all the Zords on the sides.
"I'll give you all a more detailed look around if you want me too." Tommy said.
"That'll be great!" Anthony said. Minutes later, the Nadesico docked inside, the battle damaged robots were unloaded and the heroes had all piled out.
[Wow, look at all this...] Metal Amy said. [It's amazing...]
"It's like a museum...only more...Power Ranger-y." Trunks said.
"Ryouma! Hayato! Benkei!" a voice cried out.
"Koji! Tetsuya! Sayaka! Boss!" another cried out. The pilots turned around to see two ladies running towards them. The first one was a light skinned girl with short brown hair, wearing an outfit almost similar to the Getter Team's uniforms. The second was a tanned skin woman with dark hair and a red and white flight suit.
"It's Michiru!" Hayato said, reconizing the first girl.
"And Jun!" Sayaka said, reconizing the other.
"Boy, are we glad to see you guys alive!" Jun said. "If it wasn't for the Rangers, WE'D probably be dead!"
"Wow, strange coinsidence!" Koji said. "If it wasn't for them...and Allenby...we'd be dead, too!"
"At least we're all here, safe and sound!" Michiru said. "Oh! That's right! We brought you guys somethings that might help!"
"Great! Lead the way!" Tetsuya said. With that, the girls lead the group to a part of the dock where they saw what they brought. In front of them were four planes. There were a sleek red and green plane, a silver plane and a bulky, yellow plane. The other plane was a demonic version of Great Mazinger's Pilder. Behind the planes was a muscle-bound Mazinger unit. It looked like it was part Mazinger Z, part Great Mazinger. It's chest plate was a red, bat winged-shaped with a red orb with a Z in the center, the whole thing held by a gold deceration. Behind the Mazinger was a large, gray glider of sorts with two laser blasters and a large spike on it.
"Al-RIGHT! It's Kaiser Pilder and Mazinkaiser!" Koji said, seeing the Mazinger.
"And the Shin Getter Machines!" Ryouma said.
"Along with Great Booster..." Tetsuya said.
"Great Booster Mark Two." Jun said. "The scientists at the lab modified it after the Machine Monsters destroyed the original in our last fight with Dr. Hell, remember?"
"Now we have decisive advantage in our fight." Hayato said. "The Megazords, Shin Getter Robo, Mazinkaiser..."
"We are unstoppable!" Koji said. "The Metallix better watch out, 'cause here we come!" Really anxious, Koji raced into the Kaiser Pilder.
"Koji, hold your horses!" Sayaka shouted. "We can't march out into battle now! We're still outgunned! It's best we wait until morning and find out what's going on with the White Base crew!"
"She's right." Anthony said. "We march out now, we'll get flattened. Let's get some sleep and take things from there."
"Fine, fine..." Koji sighed, climbing out of Kaiser Pilder.
"You know, I'm surprised that you guys are still active." Hayato said to Tommy. "I thought you guys disbanded."
"We did, officially, but, as you can see, there have been other threats that need the help of the Power Rangers." Tommy replied.
"Hmph... big whoop!" Metalla said. "I can still take care of you all..." With that, Metalla stalked off, Metal Amy right behind him.
"What's his problem?" Tommy asked.
"He believes he's better than you guys." Anthony said.
"Oy..." Tommy muttered, shaking his head.
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Elsewhere in Ranger Nexus, Metalla and Metal Amy was touring the place by themselves, noting the various Rangers and vehicals.
[Wow, Metalla, look at all this!] Metal Amy said.
"Meh... they're not that great." Metalla scoffed.
[Metalla, what's gotten you up in a huff!?!] Metal Amy yelled.
"What do you think?! Everything's gone wrong! Our forces have scattered, most of our weapons are damaged, Crysty's barely holding on to life..." Metalla said, trailing off at the end. "I don't know what to do anymore..."
[Y'know, I was saving this for later, but...] Metal Amy said, reaching for her head. A slight tug later, the head came off, steam coming from certain areas of the head. It scared Metalla for a bit until she pulled the head away, revealing a dark pink quilled hedgehog with blue highlights on her bangs and the ends of her quills.
"Metal Amy?! You too?!" Metalla said, shocked.
"Just call me 'Emi', Metalla..." Emi said, leaning in close. Tilting her head slightly, she gave Metalla his first kiss. Pulling back, she smiled at him. "Metalla... we'll make it through here in one piece. We just hafta have faith that it will."
"Yeah... you're right." Metalla said. "But...how did... when did...?"
"This? I was always like this." Emi said. That just flat out confused Metalla.
"Mind explaining?" Metalla said.
"When you first joined the side of good, Miss Washu noticed that you were going through a massive change inside. The Morphing Energies inside you were transforming you into what you are now. Washu decided to prepare a companion for you. She developed the Metal Amy armor you see now, but needed one more thing: someone to wear it. She approached me one day and told me of what was going on and, well... the rest is history." Emi said.
"Wow... so, this whole time, "Metal Amy" was really "Emi". Huh, and I never detected it." Metalla said. "Maybe that's because I..." he started blushing a bit. "...I was happy being with you."
"And I'm happy being with you..." Emi said, smiling. "Are you going to give your grudge with the Power Rangers up?" Before he answered, he looked up and saw a picture of the original team in the Command Center. He saw the Green Ranger within the group and mentally replaced him with himself.
"I guess I hafta. I'm one of them... and I guess you are, too..." Metalla said, turning to Emi. She held up a device resembling the Astro Morphers.
"Bingo!" Emi said, causing Metalla to smirk.
"C'mon, let's get back to the group." Metalla said. He leaned over and kissed Emi on the cheek, then wrapped his arm around her as they walked back.
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In the Metallix base, Metal Overlord, rebuilt in a new body, walked towards a special room, his lackey right behind.
"Damn it all... I was SO CLOSE! If it wasn't for the Wild Force Rangers and the Gundam Fighter..." Metal Overlord said. "And now I hear the Devil Gundam's been destroyed?! What more can go wrong?!"
"Don't worry, sire, it'll all be okay! I'm sure Master would understand." the lackey said. The two made it to the door and it automatically opened, revealing a massive tube with a large, shadowy figure inside. The two approached it and Metal Overlord dropped to his knees.
"Sire, I'm sorry. Both Devil Gundam and Soul Bird have been lost to us. Please allow me to make it up to you..." Metal Overlord said.
[Do not worry about it, my loyal servant. You did your best. Did you plant the tracer?] the figure said.
"Of course. It's on the Great Mazinger." Metal Overlord said.
[Great. I have gotten word that our forces have discovered a...Zord... on the moon. A machine known as Cyclopsis.] the figure said.
"Cyclopsis, sire?" Metal Overlord said.
[Yes, and I plan to take this into battle myself.] the figure said. [Snively...] Metal Overlord turned to his lackey as it morphed into a robotic facsimilie of Dr. Robotnik's long-nosed servant. [Prepare our shuttle.]
[Yes...uncle.] Snively said, grinning evily. At that, the tube opened up revealing a fat robot resembling the evil Dr. Robotnik that Anthony and the Companions defeated.
[Metal Overlord, go to the Gamemaster's Earth. Find my flesh and blood self.] Robotnik said.
"You mean..." Metal Overlord said.
[Yes. Julian Kintobor and...while you're at it... Reginald Snout. I'll retrieve the Cyclopsis and lead an army of Metal Sonics to where the tracer leads to. Today, the Empire of Robotnik shall be reborn! The Gamemaster shall fall under my might and the rest of Arcadia shall live the rest of eternity as my robotic slaves! Those who oppose me shall rue the day they did so! BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] For a few minutes, the echo of the three robots laughing could be heard throughout the building.