These are the words of Hung Nguyen. I just have permission to post them and make it easier to read. Just want to give his stuff the recognition it deserves.
I am scrunching both works into one story, maybe even adding something extra. Any new updates will be told here. Think of this as the "Remastered version". Welcoming new and old readers alike!
Disclaimer: Ranma, Tekkaman Blade, Vandread and any other characters from any other series that I mention in this story belong to their own creators.
italics: Thoughts
Chapter 14
Evolution
Slade was racing through space in his armor. Behind him were the three transformed Dreads. Ahead of him was the enemy. Cube-Type fighters and other ships from the Earth were blasting away with strange red beams and the Tekkaman was finding it hard to evade them.
He immediately combined with Dita's Dread to get more firepower, but as soon as they formed the Tekkadread, they were struck hard by another blast, which sheared off the right arm. Inside the cockpit, Slade and his copilot Dita were in pain. Sparks and smoke were being emitted from the control panels as the huge machine floated helplessly in space. Slade tried to get the remaining blade working, but as soon as he pointed it at the enemy, it shut down and became useless.
More energy beams lanced toward them. Slade and Dita watched in horror as Meia and Jura's Dreads were blown away. The communications caught their final screams as they were atomized. Then the enemy began firing at the Nirvana. The pirate vessel shuddered as the shields were stripped away. In mere moments, parts of the ship were blasted off and then it was totally engulfed in a huge explosion.
Slade screamed as Tekkadread Dita was also caught in the explosion and torn apart. In one brief instant, he saw an image that looked like his armor, and yet was not.
"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
THUD!
Slade groaned as he sat up from the floor of his quarters. The nightmare had caused him to fall out of bed. He shook his head as his breathing and heart rate slowed down to normal levels. As he stood up, he began wondering if that had really been a nightmare, or was a sign of a dark future to come.
Ever since defeating one of Earth's motherships, Slade had been feeling somewhat strange. His reflexes were operating at a slightly higher level than usual. He had also been experiencing bouts of light-headedness lately, as well as a few migraines. Though Duero had assured him that it was merely fatigue from constant combat, Slade knew that his body was different from a normal human. Something deep within him was changing, he could feel it.
Another thing that he noticed was that he was stronger. Just last week, he had accidentally smashed a control board in the Register when it had malfunctioned. He had only meant to smack the side, but ended up caving in the console. Another time, he had caused some injuries to a trainee while executing a simple Judo throw during a light workout. The females had been getting a bit nervous around him. Slade had made a note to get in more training to control his newfound power. Since then he had been putting in an extra two hours per session.
He then decided that getting out of his quarters for a while might ease his tension.
The hangar...
Slade stared up at Pegas as the Tekkabot was currently in its Recharge Mode. As he gazed at his robotic partner, his thoughts drifted back to that nightmare. He was so mentally occupied that he did not detect the presence of three others.
"Mr. Alien?"
Slade turned to see Dita, Jura, and Meia standing behind him. Meia was wearing her usual black and gray jumpsuit, but without the chest and shoulder padding. Dita was dressed in flannel pajamas with an image of a green alien on the top. As for Jura, she wore a kind of fancy nightdress with pink fur and ruffles. However, all three girls shared the same apprehensive expression.
"What are all of you doing here at this time of night?" Slade asked.
Meia was the first to speak. "It was... trying to tell us something. At least, that's what I think it was trying to do."
Slade immediately caught on to her words. "You mean... you all saw it, too?"
Dita perked up at this. "So Mr. Alien had the same dream?"
Jura became just as worried. "Still, why did we all have THAT dream?"
"It could be because we all have a common experience." Meia hypothesized as she remembered back to the Paksis implosion. "The transformed Dreads and Slade's ability to combine with them is proof. Now we can also combine with Pegas, since it used to be a Vanguard before it got changed."
"It may be more than that." Slade added.
"What do you mean, Mr. Alien?" Dita asked.
"Well... I've been feeling strange lately. I'm stronger, but I can't control my strength. I'm breaking nearly anything I touch and... I think it may have something to do with the Tekkaman Power System and the Paksis."
"Explain." Meia prompted.
Slade shrugged as he remembered back to that last battle. "Before I got my ass handed to me by Tekkaman Saber, the Paksis had engulfed me, and showed me some images that I didn't understand. It started reacting to me in a way that was familiar, but was unfamiliar. Then, after I... uh..."
"Died?" Meia supplied.
"Yeah... when I died, the Paksis engulfed me again and showed me some more images. Some voice kept on saying that I wasn't Slade."
"Huh?" Jura remarked.
Slade shrugged. "It kept on saying that 'Slade was not Slade.' At first, I didn't know what to make of it. Then I realized that it was telling me that Slade wasn't my real name."
"You mean... Mr. Alien isn't Mr. Alien?" Dita inquired.
"Now don't you start." The Tekkaman said with some irritation. "I had enough of that when I was dead."
"So if Slade isn't your real name, then what is it?" Meia asked.
Slade shook his head. "For the life of me, I can't remember. In fact, I can't remember anything beyond several months before I came aboard the Nirvana. I don't know what planet I'm from, I don't know who my parents were, if I had any brothers or sisters... heck, I don't even know when my birthday is or how old I am."
"Honest? You don't know?" Dita was shocked to hear that Mr. Alien couldn't remember his own birthday.
Slade shook his head. "Duero estimated my age to be around eighteen or nineteen, but that's only a conservative number. I could be a lot older or younger for all I know."
The cosmic warrior had no idea of just how much older he is. At that point, Dita asked another question.
"So what do you remember, Mr. Alien?"
Slade cocked his head to one side in thought, then replied. "Well, I remember everything that I experienced during my travels between planets before I came to Tarak. But before that... I can only recall bits and pieces of what might be my childhood, but nearly all of those memories are either blurry or incomplete. When I was dead, the Paksis showed me what it claimed to be my lost past, but it had been all jumbled and indistinct. I caught a glimpse of a few images that I know are from my early life, but I have no real recollection of ever having experienced those events."
"What's the earliest memory that you can clearly recall?" Meia asked.
"Well... I remember... awakening." Slade began.
"Awakening?"
"That's... what I call it. It felt as if I had just finished a very long, long sleep. I remember a place that was dreary... and desolate. I found myself completely alone and the place had a LOT of storms. Nearly everywhere I went was covered in water. I think it was the planet that I was born on, but I can't be certain. The outside was all machines and... I didn't see anyone else. The thing I remember most was that it had been the first time that I transformed into a Tekkaman using the Tekkaman Power System."
"That's another thing I've been meaning to ask. What exactly is the Tekkaman Power System?" Meia asked.
"I... don't know."
"You don't know, Mr. Alien?" Dita was even surprised.
"I know that it's called the Tekkaman Power System, and I know how to use it, but I really don't know how I got it or where it came from."
"That's strange." Jura remarked.
"I'll say it is. It was almost as strange as when the Paksis first changed us. I was in the process of transforming when those torpedoes hit and set off the reactor." He made his crystal appear, but was surprised to see it alternating between its usual green hue and a crimson color. "Whoa. It never did that before."
All four gazed upon the heart of Slade's transformation process. It was then that Slade noticed something peculiar. On each girl's forehead, Slade thought that he saw a glowing dot of light in the shape of his Tekkacrystal. Dita's symbol was blue, Meia's was white, and Jura's was red. Before he could ask about them, the symbols quickly faded away. He shook his head again and assumed that he had just been seeing things.
Finally, the crystal went back to its normal coloring and stayed that way, leaving them even more puzzled than before.
Jura then winced as pain began throbbing in her head. "I'm... going back to bed." She walked off to her quarters, leaving the others in the hangar.
0530 hours...
As Slade headed back to his quarters, he was still in deep thought. As such, he didn't notice a certain somebody.
"Mr. Alien!"
Slade sighed as he turned to face Dita as she came running up to him. "Yeah. What do you want?"
The red-haired Dread pilot became a bit nervous as she twiddled her fingers in front of her chest. Her cheeks were tinged with pink as she tried to get her mouth to work. "I... well, I..."
"Just say it." Slade said with a bit of irritation.
"Right. I... was wondering... when you were going to come to my room. Remember, you promised?"
The Tekkaman winced as he recalled that time before they had gone out and destroyed one of the Earth's motherships. "Oh... ah, yeah... I guess... I did promise, didn't I?"
Dita perked up at this. "So are you going to come today?"
"Uhhh... no... not just today."
"Then tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? The day after that? When?"
Slade scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of an excuse, then turned around and headed down the hall. "Soon."
Dita became a bit disappointed, then perked right back up. "Then how about we have breakfast together?"
Slade sighed, then decided what the heck. "Whatever."
Meia watched as the two went towards the cafeteria. She had a bit of a forlorn look in her eyes as she briefly imagined herself walking beside Slade. After months of working together aboard the Nirvana, she had grown... used to having the males around, especially Slade. What was it about that Tekkaman that made her feel so... she just couldn't describe these sensations!
"Today will be an interesting day!"
Meia looked over to her right and saw that Paiway was up early and was busily writing down her observations on a notepad. Floating beside her was Pyoro.
The precocious eleven-year-old held up her frog puppet and said in a comical voice, "Dita and Slade are really acting strange! Kero, kero!"
Pyoro however, wasn't feeling as chipper as he floated up in front of Paiway and... hiccupped? "Actually... that's normal."
Paiway shoved the machine to one side while scolding at it. "It's impolite to interrupt a lady!" She then became a bit puzzled. "Hey, since when does a robot hiccup?"
"HIC!"
The briefing room...
"We're approximately ninety days away from Mejele space." BC commented as she, the captain, and the head supplier were having a conference meeting.
"The message pod that we sent to our homeworld should have arrived by now. The planet Tarak should have received one as well." The captain said.
"And there hasn't been any response." Gascogne stated. "Maybe we're being ignored."
"Well, I suppose that the information would be very hard to swallow, especially coming from us." Magno reminded. As pirates that preyed on both Mejele and Tarak ships, they weren't too popular with the governments of both planets. "After all, the enemy is after our reproductive organs."
It was then that the three received a message from the engineering section.
"Captain, we've got a problem down here." Parfet announced.
"What is it?"
"It's the Paksis. Something's happening. I'm not sure what's going on, but overall power levels have dropped by thirty percent."
The three women became puzzled at this new development. Then Buzom voiced out a suggestion.
"Could it be that there are still some rejection issues between the male and female ships? After all, the Nirvana used to be the old section of the Ikazuchi and our own cruiser."
"Maybe the ship is like us?" Gascogne said. "The gender gap is pretty large. There are only three men and over 150 females on board. Some of us are STILL not used to having them around."
Duero was immersed in a book that he had found in the old section of the Ikazuchi. Sitting beside him and munching on nutrition pellets was the navigator of the Nirvana.
"It was said that women ate men's livers and..." Bart stopped in his prattling as he noticed that his companion wasn't listening. "Hey, what's so interesting about that book you found?"
The doctor showed him the cover of the hardback, which was actually a children's 'How-To' manual on the... (ahem) birds and the bees. "It's a book I found that dates back to the old Colonization Era." He then began to read out loud. "The male donor, or father, gives the seed called the sperm to the female recipient, or mother, which combines with one of her eggs or ovum. The fertilized ovum, also known as a zygote, gestates into a fetus over the course of nine months..."
"Well isn't that interesting?" Bart commented sarcastically.
"It's VERY interesting!" Duero said with a glint in his eye. After studying female anatomy and treating the Nirvana's crew, he was more than eager to learn every nuance of the opposite gender.
Both men then noticed a tired individual stagger toward his bed. Slade let off a tired sigh as he laid down.
One of the women's restrooms...
"It's strange." Xian Pu commented as she spoke to Ukyo. "We've been with the men for months now and..." She let her voice trail off, as she couldn't describe the feelings about the males, especially one in particular.
"I know. It's funny." The descendant of the original Ucchan pondered for a moment. "I had been taught ever since I was born to hate all men, but... I can't bring myself to hate Slade. He... saved my life once. He saved us all on more than one occasion. It's kind of hard to hate someone who risked his life for you. And there are those other talents of his. Who would've thought that a man could sing, play music, dance, and even cook?!"
"Same here. There's... just something about him. Hey, you don't suppose...?"
Ukyo the XVII shrugged as she understood her crewmate's unspoken question. "Well, according to that old video record that they found on Christmas, men and women USED to live together... and even had kids... though I'm not really sure how they did it."
"What do you think? Could you ever...?"
Ukyo became a bit flustered. "Huh? Me?! NO! Whatever gave you that idea?!"
"Well... would it be so bad... with Slade? Come on, be honest! I asked some of the girls in the Warrior Squadron and they all admitted to thinking about asking Slade to be an Ohma."
"Slade as an Ohma? Get serious! What kind of kids would we have?" Ukyo scoffed.
The Amazon girl smirked. "Ohhh, so you HAVE thought about it."
"Huh?"
"You said what kind of kids 'WE' would have. Were you thinking about becoming a Fahma?"
Ukyo's face reddened. "Well... okay, it did cross my mind... once... er, and... ah..."
The descendant of Shampoo chuckled as she let up on her teasing. "Actually, I've been thinking about what would happen if Slade became my children's Ohma. Would they be like me or would they be like him?"
Both girls became silent as images of chibi versions of themselves and Slade danced in their minds. At that moment, Barnette entered the restroom on her way to an adjacent corridor.
"You know, if those men, and especially Slade, had not come to live with us, we would have never even considered such things." Ukyo remarked.
Xian Pu nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We used to think that they carried diseases and stuff. I guess they're not as bad as we thought."
"Prisoners are prisoners." Barnette said coldly as she walked passed them. Though she and Slade had more or less buried the hatchet, she was still a bit irritable toward the male gender. She turned to them, as she reached the exit. "If we let our guard down, the men will take advantage of us again!"
Just as she departed, both Xian Pu and Ukyo became anxious.
"What do you think she's going to do? Is she going to cause another ruckus like before?" Xian Pu worried.
"Maybe we should tell the Captain or the Commander?" Ukyo suggested.
Just then, Barnette popped her head back in and said angrily, "I'm not going to do anything!"
Both girls remained tensed after she had left.
Unknown to both of them, another had been listening in on their conversation from the other side of the restroom. Jura became introspective.
Hmmm... Slade as an Ohma?
She winced as the headache came back with a vengeance. She made a note to visit the sick bay if the pain persisted.
"You made a promise?" Duero asked as he, Bart, and Slade spoke with each other.
"Yeah, I said it by mistake during that battle with Tekkaman Saber and that Earth mothership."
"So what's the big deal? Just go and see her." Bart said nonchalantly.
"It's not that easy!" Slade retorted.
"What do you mean?" Duero asked with his interest rising again. In addition to learning more about the female physiology, the physician was also interested in the ancient social interactions between men and women. After finding that old video during Christmas, the healer had been looking up every book on the subject. And since it had been revealed that Slade knew about those mysterious practices...
"Well... it's like this..." Slade stammered as he tried to think of the best way to explain. "I may know the mechanics... but, I... er, never really... er, uh, applied them and... well, let's just say that I've... never been on a date before!"
"Date?" Bart became puzzled.
"What's a date?" Duero wondered.
Slade sighed as he bowed his head, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right. I keep forgetting that you two are from Tarak. Ah... let me put it to you this way. Well, when two... men on Tarak get to know each other really well and REALLY like each other's company, then they can decide to make a kid together, right?"
Bart nodded. "Yeah. Genetic material from both men is spliced together and the baby is formed in a vat. We learned that babies come from factories in grade school."
"Okay." Slade nodded. The process was similar to the cloning techniques of Terra II. He continued to explain. "Now two guys don't just decide to make a baby right off, correct? There's a period between meeting one another and making that decision that I guess one would call a... courtship." And I use that term loosely.
"Courtship?" Duero inquired.
"The process of getting to know one another. To see if each person is emotionally attracted to the other, to find common ground, similar interests, and stuff like that."
"Ah." Duero nodded in comprehension. "Yes, that occurs very often on Tarak. I happen to know of several happy couples."
"Okay..." Slade had a bit of a sweatdrop on the back of his head as he continued with his explanations. "Well, this period of courtship was also called 'dating' back in the old days. Every time a couple was together to do something... enjoyable with each other's company, that was called a date."
"I see." Bart nodded. "So what you intend to do with Dita is something that you and her will both enjoy."
"Uh... well, I guess you could put it that way. The thing is... well, I'm not too sure how far it's going to go. I'm... ah, well, I don't expect IT to happen the first time, but one-night stands have been known to occur on the other worlds I've visited. I'm straight and... well, it's been really tough for me lately being on a ship full of attractive women. I've been taking cold showers for months now and even they're not working as well as they used to!"
"What do you mean IT?" Duero asked then added. "And I am not familiar with the terms 'straight' and 'one-night stand.' Please clarify."
"Yeah, and what do cold showers have to do with anything?" Bart inquired.
Slade winced as he realized that he'd have to be more blunt. Taking a deep breath, he took on a more serious expression. "Tell me something, Doc. You said that there are several happy couples on Tarak, right?"
"Yes." The doctor nodded.
"All right. Now then, let me ask you this. Do these couples engage in certain... intimate acts to express their feelings for each other? I mean, with their... ahem, private parts?"
Both Tarak men considered his question then realized what he was hinting at. "OH... THAT!" Both men exclaimed while nodding.
The Tekkaman nodded. "Yes, I mean that."
"Well why didn't you say so?" Bart said with a shrug. "Yeah, we do that. We call it-"
"Yes, yes, I get the picture." Slade interrupted quickly then took another deep breath. "Well, here's the big bomb. A man... can do that... with a woman."
There was a long moment of silence for the revelation to sink in.
"Get out of here!" Bart said with a disbelieving expression.
"Really?" Duero looked back at the book he had been reading, then made the connection. Holding it up for Slade to see, he then posed another question. "So if a man can be intimate with a woman, then does that mean...?"
Slade read the book's title and let off another sigh while nodding. At least one of them finally understood. "You got it. That's how humans made kids before cloning and gene splicing. In fact, that's what nature had intended."
"Gross!" Bart shuddered a bit, then began getting some images of himself and the First Officer Buzom. He wondered why his groin area was getting stimulated.
Duero took on a contemplative expression. "Actually, that sounds about what I've always suspected. I mean, it's obvious from the evidence that we've found that humans had to have reproduced naturally before the times of cloning and genetic manipulation. That might also explain the differences in the extremities of males and females. Tell me Slade, do these differences compliment each other? Do they play a key role in the process of procreation?"
"Ahhhh... yeah, that's... about right." Slade then got the image of a key entering a lock. He shook his head to clear it.
"Sounds like a lot of trouble to me." Bart remarked.
"Well, actually..." Slade began hemming and hawing. "The process of procreation was not... an exact science, not like what you have. The... ah, timing had to be right, conditions had to be favorable and... well, both partners had to be... er, in the... mood. And even when it's done, it... doesn't always guarantee... ah, conception. Sometimes it takes several attempts."
"If it's that much trouble and so unreliable, then why did they do it?" Bart asked.
"Well, it was quite... um, pleasurable. And when the two feel very deeply for one another, they enjoy repeating this ritual, sometimes just for the sake of it. You guys must know about the meaning of the word love, right?"
"Fascinating." The physician smiled as he took in this new data. "Where did you learn of all this?"
"Well, there are some worlds out there, in which they still reproduce the natural way, without the use of any machines or technology."
Duero put a hand to his chin in thought. "I must say, this... ritual sounds very interesting. It certainly would save up on resources, time, and effort. So how exactly did they accomplish this? Can you demonstrate this process for us? Since you're going to Dita's room, why don't you ask her to volunteer?"
THOOM!
That was the sound of a Tekkaman doing a facefault.
Naturally, the doctor didn't understand Slade's reaction. "Or perhaps Jura or Meia would volunteer as well?"
THOOM!
Later that morning in the sick bay...
"Wow! It's gotten big!" Paiway remarked as she looked at the image on the ultrasound. "Look at it move!"
Beside her, Pyoro also watched the image with interest. The robot had already decided that the baby would be named Pyoro 2, though Ezra had other ideas.
Duero nodded as he waved a probe over Ezra's enlarged abdomen. The bridge officer was lying on the examination table and gently rubbing her belly.
"By my calculations, the baby will be ready to detach any time now." Duero announced.
Ezra shook her head. "We call it giving birth."
The young apprentice nurse became a bit worried. "Hey Ezra. Where are you going to have the baby? We don't have the right equipment and..." She glanced at Duero. "A man certainly can't do it."
The physician cleared his throat while holding up the 'How-To' book. "Not to worry. I've already completed my studies on pregnancies and childbirth."
Both women and Pyro developed huge sweatdrops. (Hey I'd be worried too.)
At that moment, Jura entered the sickbay with a hand on her forehead.
"Doctor, I've got a splitting headache. I need something."
"A headache?" Duero thought back to his conversation with Slade. "Come to think of it, Slade also mentioned having a headache this morning." He then gazed at Pyoro, who happened to be floating a bit erratically. "The Paksis isn't functioning normally. I wonder if they're related?"
"Doctor! Would you give something for this headache?" Jura said with irritation, then softened up. "I'm sorry for shouting."
The healer nodded as he gestured for her to sit. "I'll prepare an analgesic."
As the voluptuous blonde waited, she noticed on the table the book that Duero had been reading. She picked it up and started scanning its contents. Her eyes widened a bit, then she looked up at the ultrasound.
Wow. Ezra's baby has gotten big. Jura's mind began recalling Ukyo and Xian Pu's conversation. Slade as an Ohma...
Duero was in deep contemplation as he prepared Jura's medicine. His hands moved with practiced ease as he carefully measured the dosage. As he worked, his thoughts went back to his conversation with Slade. What the Tekkaman had told him and Bart had been shocking, yet the physician couldn't deny the possibility that man and woman had been able to procreate new life before the time of Mejele and Tarak. The evidence that he had found in that old storeroom during Christmas also dated back to that era, more than a hundred years ago.
As he thought more and more about it, he then remembered back to his conversation with Ezra when she had explained how women reproduced on Mejele. At that point, he began formulating a new train of thought. His hands quivered a bit as he also recalled his medical classes on genetics and the science of bioengineering and manipulation.
Could it be? Could that happen?
Duero thought about it or a while longer, then decided that he would need more research. After finishing with Jura's prescription, he then went to his medical log terminal and began typing in a new entry for a series of tests that he would run. As he went to give Jura her headache relief, he also took along an aspiration needle to collect some samples.
Jura came to a decision an hour later as she and Barnette were in the holographic target range. Her companion was shooting at targets with an old-style handgun. Her accuracy was flawless as she continued to fire at circles of light. Then Jura said out of the blue...
"I want to have a baby."
This caused Barnette to miss her next target completely. She turned her shocked expression to Jura. "A baby?!"
"Yep." Jura said with a whimsical smile.
"A-A-Are you asking me to be the Ohma?!" The gun in her hand wavered as the Dread pilot found herself trembling.
Jura shook her head. "No, not that. I mean I want to make a baby with a man."
"WHAT?!"
The blonde Dread pilot stood up with a starry look in her eyes. "Making a baby with a man! The first woman to do that! Think of how famous I'd be if I came back to Mejele with that baby! I'd be the heroine of a new era!"
Barnette developed a sweatdrop behind her head. "Well that sounds just like you." She let off a sigh. Once Jura got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her. "So tell me, where are you going to get the seed? Who's going to be the donor?"
Jura smiled as she replied, "Well, there ARE three men on the ship..."
Jura's friend became more edgy. "Don't tell me that you're thinking about asking Bart..."
Jura shook her head. "No, not him. He's too much of a crybaby."
"You mean the doctor...?"
"No. He's nice, but I think Parfet may object to it. She seems to be getting very attached to him."
"But... that only leaves..."
Jura's grin became more pronounced. "Yes! Slade! Just as our combining forms the perfect Tekkadread, we will combine to form the perfect child!"
However, Jura wasn't the ONLY girl on the Nirvana who was entertaining thoughts of becoming a Fahma with Slade as the Ohma.
Ukyo Kuonji XVII had paused in her work in the Register as she thought back to her conversation with Xian Pu. She had begun to imagine herself with a baby that had her face, but with Slade's eyes. She had noticed lately that the Tekkaman had the most intriguing blue-gray eyes. Whenever he worked in the Register, the okonomiyaki chef had found herself staring at him and taking note of his movements. He moved with a practiced grace, like some predatory cat and his very presence was so...
Ukyo shook her head. Why was she feeling this way about a man? Weren't all men the enemy? She had been taught since the day she was born to hate the opposite gender. They were not to be considered as anything but dishonorable creatures. It had been a man that had destroyed her great ancestor's honor. They were less than low-grade garbage.
However, try as she might, she still couldn't get Slade out of her mind, plus her conversation with the Amazon Vanguard pilot. Would it really be so bad? Slade was not at all like the way she had expected of men. He showed kindness and understanding toward his fellow crewmembers, regardless of what gender they were. He was strong, brave, honorable, and full of surprises. She could... get used to having him around on a more personal level, very easily. She had finally realized that there was no need to hate him. In fact, she had realized that she could actually grow... to love him.
After thinking about the subject for a while longer, Ukyo then made her decision. If Slade were willing, then she would ask him to be the Ohma of her children, and damn the family's edict to hate all men. To the descendant of the original Ucchan, it was time to change that centuries-old and practically nonsensical policy.
Xian Pu was also deep in contemplation as she worked on tuning up her Vanguard. Her thoughts were about a certain Tekkaman.
She had always been proud of her Amazon roots and had strove to be like the great warriors of her distant past. She had excelled in hand-to-hand combat and it seemed that no one could be her equal, and most certainly not a man. Then Slade had appeared. Not only did he prove to be her equal, but also he went on to show himself as her superior. Initially, that had caused her to resent him and had been a great blow to her pride as a fighter. However, he had then made her second-in-command of the Warrior Squadron and placed great trust in her combat skills, whenever he had to relinquish leadership to combine with the Dreads.
Despite being a man, Xian Pu had to respect his skills as a fighter and the power of a Tekkaman. Slade was exceptionally talented with the art of combat. Even the man-hating Amazon had to admit that there was no one else who could measure up to his level. Then she began thinking back to the ancient texts of her Amazon lore and recalled that there had been some mention about a law that dealt with men. However, the old scrolls were extremely faded and near to crumbling with age. The ancient laws had long been forgotten or revised over the centuries, so their original purpose was unknown. However, she had recently begun to reason that the Amazons had to have had children some other way, before the times of artificial insemination and gene splicing. And if the rumor that men and women used to live together was true, then what did that mean to her ancestors? Like Duero, Xian Pu had reasoned that there must have been some natural means in which her ancestors produced offspring, which meant that men and women COULD have children together.
If there were men like Slade in the past, then wouldn't the Amazons WANT such strong genes and fighting abilities bred into the next generation? If that was the case, then a total absence of men during those times would have made no sense, especially since the methods in which Mejele women reproduced would not have existed back then.
Xian Pu thought about it some more, then made a note to review all of the old texts she had in her possession. If what she suspected was true, then that forgotten law about men may allow her to do the unthinkable... with Slade.
Slade wondered why he felt that certain doom was approaching, and it wasn't about that nightmare he had before. It was just after he had explained the 'facts of life' to his Tarak crewmates. Just afterwards, as he walked down a hallway, a chill went down his spine and for some unknown reason, he had begun to think about Jura, Ukyo, and Xian Pu. He shook his head and continued on. His train of thought was interrupted when an alarm went off, signaling for him and the Dread pilots to scramble. He nodded as he ran toward the main hangar to activate Pegas.
The bridge of the Nirvana...
Buzom and the captain nodded as they watched the image on the main monitor. They had just picked up a distress signal, which was being broadcast on a Colonization Era frequency. When the object came within range of the sensors, it appeared as some kind of escape pod. Life signs were detected and the captain had decided to bring the object in for examination. However, she also wanted the fighter groups to provide cover in case the enemy Earth fleet was to show up.
The Dreads and Vanguards were launched, along with Gascogne's supply ship. A moment later, Pegas came alongside the supply ship with the Tekkaman riding on its back. He carefully guided the Tekkabot to float near the pod, as the head supplier engaged her vessel's grappling arms to catch the capsule.
"Need a hand?" Slade asked.
"I've got it." The older woman replied, then winced as her threat sensors went off. They had company.
KABOOM!
The supply ship was hit hard and its robotic manipulators were sheared off from a barrage of plasma bolts. From out of nowhere came some new types of Cube Fighters. Unlike the previous ones, they were more cylindrical in form and fast, very fast.
Inside the pilot's cabin, Gascogne groaned as she lifted herself from a sparking and smoking console. "What the Hell?! How did they come up from below?"
The Dread squadrons and their Vanguard escorts began following their attack patterns. Recently, Meia and Slade had come up with new battle plans in which the smaller Vanguards would compliment the Dread fighters. For every Dread, there would be two of the humanoid mecha assisting it. However, it seemed that the enemy had also come up with some different tactics. A few of them swept up the pod and began flying off with it.
Magno nodded as she watched the battle on the bridge.
"So it seems that we weren't the target this time."
"It looks like they're after that pod, too." Buzom observed.
"Well then, if it's so valuable to them, then we can't let them have it, now can we?"
"Damn! These things are faster than those other Cube-Types!" Barnette said as she tried to shoot them down. However, the new enemy drones were far more agile than usual.
Slade also found it more difficult to take down his opponents. Several of the robotic machines had managed to score some direct hits as they swarmed about him like maddened wasps. However, some of the pressure was relieved as Xian Pu came by in her Van-Type and strafed a few from behind. This gave the Tekkaman the opportunity to cut down the remainder of his assailants with his lance.
"Thanks for the assist, Xian."
"You're welcome. By the way, Commander... I wanted to ask you something..."
Slade shook his head. "Fight now, talk later!" He leapt off his perch of Pegas and initiated his Battle Mode. Both Tekkaman and Tekkabot combined into one and let loose with an aura of quantum energy and ki. Like a huge comet, they slammed through the formations of enemy fighters. He made a beeline toward the pod, but just as he neared his objective, several more opponents came in diving at him and fired, forcing him to break off.
Meia's Dread came alongside of him as the blue-haired girl raised him.
"We'll combine and retrieve the pod!"
Slade nodded as he leapt off Pegas and initiated the fusion. Both Tekkaman and Dread became Tekkadread Meia. The dragon mecha sped towards the pod at unbelievable speed and was about to catch up, when the new Cube-Types pulled their own surprise and shot forward with an increase in their velocities.
Inside the dual cockpit, both Slade and Meia were caught off-guard by this new development.
"What the...?" Since when are Cube-Types THAT fast?!" Meia gasped, then winced as several of the enemy machines engaged the Tekkadread, slowing it down even more. The pod was taken further away.
Slade winced as well. "Looks like they're adapting to the Tekkadreads and their abilities. Okay, let's see if they've adapted to this! PEGAS! COMBINE!"
The Tekkabot acknowledged the order and flew alongside Tekkadread Meia. Another section in the larger machine's aft portion opened up, allowing the modified Vanguard to link up. The dragon mecha underwent its second transformation as the wings became broader and took on a more feathery appearance. The head formed a beak and the talons became curved like a bird's.
In the cockpit, Slade focused his power into the systems.
"PHOENIX FLARE... VOLTEKKER!"
In a fiery blast of phoenix power, Tekkadread Meia X raced forward and let loose with a huge fireball from its mouth, obliterating anything in its path. Both of its pilots smiled in triumph as the claws carefully closed around the pod. However, just as they were about to head back to the ship, a huge red beam of light struck the machine dead on, causing an enormous explosion. An instant later, Meia's Dread, the Tekkabot, and Slade went tumbling separately in space. Inside her fighter, Meia looked about and assessed the damage that it had sustained. Pegas was listing and many of its systems were either offline or severely reduced.
The Tekkaman shook his head and found that he was in his armor again. "What the Hell was that?!" He looked about and saw the pod drifting nearby.
"What happened?" Magno asked.
The bridge crew was just as surprised to see Tekkadread Meia X suddenly become separated, and it had been in its most powerful form.
Not wanting to waste time, Slade immediately headed toward the pod. However, the enemy had different ideas and intercepted the Tekkaman before he could get near the capsule. Luckily for him, Jura was nearby and flew toward them.
"I'VE GOT IT!"
Both Tekkaman and Jura's machine combined into its first Tekkadread form, which was the crab. Thought the blonde pilot didn't care much for it, it did have its uses, especially in terms of defense. With its protective shielding, the enemy fighters couldn't get near it or the pod.
Inside the cockpit, Jura smiled seductively at her co-pilot. "Well now, how was that?"
"You certainly took your time." Slade said with a bit of irritation.
Jura however, leaned even closer and began whispering in his ear. "By the way, I wondering just what you'd give for my baby."
Slade immediately turned red and began shouting back. "WHAT?! WHAT KIND OF NONSENSE IS THIS?! THIS ISN'T THE TIME!"
A Vanguard came flying near them and the pilot raised them, which was Xian Pu. Apparently, Jura had left her communicator open... on all channels.
"Hey! I wanted to ask him that!"
From the Nirvana, Ukyo also voiced out her objections. "What are you talking about, Sugar? He's going to be MY Ohma!"
"Hey! Mr. Alien is mine!" (Don't have to guess who that was.)
Meia didn't know what was going on, and now wasn't the time, though she had felt a bit of the green-eyed monster herself. She raised Tekkadread Jura. "Jura, Slade, get back to the Nirvana! We'll cover you!"
"Roger." Jura replied as the giant crab made its way back its mothership. However, it was slow-going as Tekkadread Jura in its first form had not been built for speed.
"We have to get there quicker and we're using up a lot of energy maintaining the barrier." Slade said.
Jura smiled with delight. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
The martial artist sighed sadly. "Yes... it does." He then reached for the red button on the console.
Tekkadread Jura immediately assumed its second form, becoming sleeker and more agile. The pod was carefully cradled in the jaws as the tiger mecha emerged. Using the repulsor discs to block any incoming shots, it began racing toward the Nirvana, swiping at any Cube Fighter that got near it to pieces. The tail blaster blew away any foe that tried to catch it from behind.
Inside the cockpit, Jura started to become a little concerned when she noted that Slade was breathing heavily.
"Is something wrong?"
"Just... a little tired. That... last combining with Meia took a lot out of me and I still don't know what caused us to separate. I'll be fine and..."
Just then, another blast of red energy lanced from the distance, striking Tekkadread Jura. Once again the fusion between Dread and Tekkaman was severed and the two went tumbling in space.
"Red light?" Meia gasped as her nightmare began to come back to her.
"That's the second time that's happened!" Buzom exclaimed as she ordered the bridge personnel to pinpoint the source of the attacks.
"Something about that red light is causing the Tekkadreads to separate." Amarone declared. "I'm reading heavy damage on Jura's Dread, but she's alive and Slade is..."
BC did not hear her report as she gazed on the severely injured Slade. He was drifting and had several cracks and dents in his supposedly indestructible armor.
I haven't seen him this badly hurt since that battle with Tekkaman Saber.
Damn! That hurt! Slade groaned as he got his thrusters to work. That... beam felt like Tekkaman Saber's... Anti-Voltekker... but much worse!
His vision began to become blurry, but the Tekkaman wouldn't admit defeat. Seeing that he was near the pod, he managed to maneuver close enough to grab hold of it. Just as he latched onto it, another barrage of laser and plasma bolts came raining down on him, but his luck held out as Dita flashed onto the scene.
Though it strained him to his limits, he initiated the combining process and Tekkadread Dita claimed the pod in its massive left hand.
"Hah! We won't let you have it!" The energetic redhead declared as she turned to her partner. "Right, Mr. Alien?" However, her glee turned to shock as she saw that her Mr. Alien was in a very bad state. He was pale, nearly unconscious, and barely breathing. When he started coughing up blood, the Dread pilot knew that they were in trouble. She looked down in horror as the crimson liquid was spattered on her right shoulder.
"Oh no! Mr. Alien!" The red-haired girl began to panic. Slade had just recently been brought back to life, and Dita couldn't bear it if she were to lose him again so soon.
Meia flew by and saw that Dita's Tekkadread was starting to go limp. She raised it on her communicator. "Dita! What's wrong? Why aren't you heading back to the Nirvana?"
"It's Mr. Alien! He's hurt really, REALLY bad! I can't work the Tekkadread without him!"
It was that point that a third blast of red light appeared and clipped Tekkadread Dita in the right arm, causing its circuits to short out and rendering it useless. Inside the cockpit, Slade let off a scream of agony as pain shot up his right arm. Dita also felt a bit of pain, but not as much as her co-pilot did. Through supreme effort, both pilots managed to raise the left arm with the energy cannon mounted on its wrist. They tried to direct the weapon in the direction of where that red beam had come from, but the arm suddenly deactivated. All of the weapons and main systems, except for life support and communications, shut down and Tekkadread Dita became nothing but a floating mass.
"Have you finished with the analysis yet?" Buzom asked with a bit of anxiety in her voice.
Her answer came from the head engineer when she raised the bridge. "Commander! Captain! The Paksis is reacting to that light in the same way that it did when Slade was defeated before! The red beam is the direct opposite to Slade's Voltekker! It's an amplified Anti-Voltekker!"
"What?!" Both women exclaimed.
"That's impossible!" BC denied. "Slade destroyed Tekkaman Saber and..."
It was then that the threat alarms went on full blast as something emerged from the shadow of a cloaking device. The craft was huge, and looked like some kind of giant manta ray. Near its head, stood a figure in crimson armor.
Inside the inert Tekkadread, Slade's blood ran cold when saw what was coming for him.
"No... no... I destroyed you!"
However, it seemed that the doppelganger was very much alive and was nursing a big grudge against with the Nirvana's Tekkaman.
"Hello Slade. Good to see you again." The red Tekkaman said with a deadly tone.
The souless monster began powering up his Anti-Voltekker units and directed them at the front of the vessel he was riding. The energy he fired off was collected between two tines and then magnified five hundred-fold before blasting forth as a huge beam of scarlet.
Tekkadread Dita was struck dead center and was forced apart into Dita's Dread and Slade. His armor was so badly damaged that it would certainly not survive another direct hit. And when he saw that his enemy was powering up for another shot, he knew that there was only one thing he could do.
"P-PEGAS!"
Despite being heavily damaged, the loyal Tekkabot diverted all of its remaining power to whatever systems that were still operational. It sped toward him and Slade managed to get on its back, narrowly evading the killing blast from his adversary.
"Pegas... prepare the... Super-Voltekker..."
"Affirmative."
The Vanguards went in to try and run interference for their commander, but the modified Cube-Types kept both them and the remaining Dreads busy. With the three Paksis-powered fighters heavily damaged, the only hope left was the Tekkabot.
Tekkaman Saber decided to momentarily forget about finishing off Slade and directed his attention to the Nirvana. Without any hesitation, he began firing off volley after volley of amplified Anti-Voltekker beams at the pirate vessel.
The Nirvana's shields buckled under the strain and in his navigation well, Bart was feeling pain like he never felt before. He contacted the engineering section and demanded why the shields weren't stopping the blasts.
"That's what I'd like to know!" Parfet shouted back as she looked at the reactor with worry. It was glowing red, just like it had done before, and even little Pyoro seemed to be getting sicker.
Slade struggled to his feet as the energy collectors of the Tekkabot raised to receive the power from his Voltekker. He would only get one chance at this as he began concentrating the last of his energy reserves.
"Pegas... set for maximum payload!"
"Roger."
Slade trembled, as all the power he was focusing was primed for release. The effort might kill him, but he would make sure that Saber would go down with him! Gripping the two handles of the collector units, he aimed at his target and...
"SUPER... VOLTEKKER!"
A massive beam of blue-green quantum energy and ki lanced toward the scarlet Tekkaman. However, the enemy vessel turned and Slade's opponent opened fire with a beam of his own. Both attacks struck each other and for a moment, it seemed that they would cancel each other out. But in the end, Saber's beam overwhelmed Slade's and the massive backlash slammed into the two of them. The enhanced Vanguard was put out of commission and it seemed that its pilot was also no longer able to fight back. The enemy vessel advanced on the now drifting Slade to finish him off.
"SLADE!" Meia cried out.
"NO!" Xian Pu exclaimed.
"GET AWAY!" Ukyo shouted.
"IT CAN'T END THIS WAY!" Jura sobbed.
"MR. ALIEN!" Dita desperately tried to get her fighter moving, but it wouldn't respond fast enough. She had to do SOMETHING to help Mr. Alien. At that moment, a bright blue light appeared on her forehead. At the same time, Meia and Jura also had lights on their foreheads, colored in white and red respectively. Each light took the shape of Slade's Tekkacrystal.
"Do you know how long I've waited for this moment, Slade?" The scarlet Tekkaman said as he took dead aim. "Ever since that defeat, I thought of nothing but your total destruction! And now, with my Ultra Anti-Voltekker, I can at last defeat you, once and for all!"
Slade tried to move, but he was too much in pain. Power was seeping out of the cracks in his armor and his body was numb and growing cold. As he saw the enemy ship with Tekkaman Saber astride it, he knew that this might be the end. As Saber powered up for one final blast, Slade focused whatever willpower he had left into his ki.
This... may be like my nightmare... but... that's only when I'm asleep! Slade thought.
The amplified Anti-Voltekker was primed.
"I'm almost sorry that you are defenseless, Slade." Saber taunted.
When I'm awake... I don't have to worry about some stupid dream! The White Tekkaman began powering up his aura.
"After all this time, this was sadly... too easy!" Tekkaman Saber fired off the beam.
I WON'T LET YOU BEAT ME! Slade let loose with his ki. At the same time, a green light in the shape of his Tekkacrystal appeared above his eyes as he felt some new kind of strength being lent to him by some outside forces.
The Ultra Anti-Voltekker engulfed the stricken Tekkaman, causing a huge explosion.
"SLADE!" Meia and Jura screamed at once.
"MR. ALIEEEEEENNNNNNNNNN!"
At that moment, the three symbols on their foreheads became as bright as newborn stars.
Magno became solemn as she watched the apparent demise of a great ally... and an even greater friend. It seemed that the Grim Reaper would not be denied a second time. However, just as tears began to form in her eyes, something caught her attention. Something... no, someone was emerging from the center of the blast.
The figure cleared the explosion and flashed toward the enemy vessel. It was surrounded in a nimbus of emerald light and if one looked closely, one could see that it was human-shaped. It seemed that the pressure, intensity of the attack, plus three outside catalysts, had triggered a startling metamorphosis.
"What's... happening?" Buzom gasped as the pirates watched in awe.
Slade found himself glowing with more power than he had ever thought was possible as his ruined armor began reformatting itself, becoming larger and more robust. The shoulder guards became raised and took on a brighter sheen. His helmet became a bit bulkier and the armor on his legs and arms became thicker. Two winglike appendages emerged from his mid-section as the evolved Tekkaman was born. Tekkaman Slade had just become... TEKKAMAN BLASTOR!
"COOL!" Dita exclaimed.
"And... I thought he was elegant before!" Jura said breathlessly.
Meia was totally speechless.
All three pilots were unaware that glowing symbols had appeared on their foreheads.
"I don't believe it. Slade has..." BC tried to find the right words for the unexpected transformation.
"He's... evolved." Magno said simply.
"WHAT IS THIS?!"
Saber was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events but instantly got over it and let loose with another blast of amplified Anti-Voltekker.
However, the newly evolved Tekkaman Blastor easily dodged the attack, then disappeared from sight.
"WHAT?! NO ONE IS THAT FAST!"
Slade reappeared behind the alien vessel and held out his arms horizontally in front of his chest. Sections of his gauntlets opened up to reveal small energy collectors. His shoulder plates also slid out to reveal larger units. His body trembled as black orbs of energy condensed within each Voltekker unit. They came together into one large ebony sphere that resembled a miniature black hole. More energy pulsed about in front of him as he prepared to release his awesome payload.
Saber desperately swung his ship about and began preparing to fire.
"I don't know what is this transformation, but I WILL DESTROY YOU SLADE!"
Just as another amplified Anti-Voltekker blast was released at its target, Tekkaman Blastor let loose with his own attack.
"All ships! Pull back!" Magno commanded.
As the pirates raced to get clear, Gascogne managed to snag towlines to the pod and Pegas and got them inside her ship. An instant later, she put up her shields to their highest settings.
"MEGA-VOLTEKKER!"
The energy blast was at least ten times more intense than Tekkaman Saber's attack. The red beam was reflected back easily and coupled with the massive beam of Blastor's, the resulting explosion sent energy pulses throughout the entire sector of space. The alien vessel was atomized, and it seemed, so was Saber. The remaining alien fighters were reduced to scrap. The Dreads, Vanguards, supply ship, and the Nirvana just barely survived the explosion, which was equivalent to a millionth of a supernova's force. Their shields had been strained to their maximum levels, but they managed to escape annihilation.
When all became dark in space once more, Tekkaman Blastor, now totally exhausted, drifted like a chunk of space debris. Luckily for him, Xian Pu flew toward him in her Vanguard and carefully cradled him in the mecha's hands. She made an about-face and headed to the Nirvana.
On board the three Paksis-powered Dreads, the three pilots let off sighs of relief. The symbols on their foreheads faded away as they followed the Amazon Vanguard operator back to their mothership.
As the evolved Tekkaman was brought to the hangar deck, the effects of exhaustion and energy depletion took their toll. In an instant, his armor faded into nothingness, leaving a severely injured Slade in the arms of Xian Pu's Vanguard. Once he was set down on the hangar floor, the unconscious Slade was immediately put on a stretcher and was raced to the sick bay.
Two days later...
Slade woke up in an infirmary bed and was immediately hugged by a concerned Dita.
"Mr. Alien!"
"Arrgh!" Slade gritted his teeth, as his body was sore all over.
The redhead immediately released him and stepped back. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Alien!"
The Tekkaman shook his head and looked about. Several members of the Vanguard squadron, including Xian Pu along with Meia, Jura, Barnette, the captain, the first officer, Bart, and Duero, surrounded his bed.
"Welcome back, Slade." The good doctor said.
"Ooh." Slade rubbed his forehead as he felt a major headache coming on. "How long was I out?"
"About two days." Duero replied. "I must say that you're have the fastest healing rate I've ever encountered. You sustained enough injuries to kill a normal person a hundred times over, but now all you have is a mild concussion and several bruises. By tomorrow, I'd say that they'd be all gone."
Slade shrugged. "Something I've learned during my training journeys. So what happened?"
"We were hoping you'd tell us." Magno said. "How did you change into that... more powerful Tekkaman?"
"You know... I really don't remember much about that." He scratched the back of his head.
It was then that Parfet contacted the sick bay.
"Captain. The pod is finally ready to be opened. We've cleared it of all that excess quantum energy and the life readings within it are still stable."
Magno nodded as she turned back to Slade. "So, you think you're well enough to go down and greet whoever you saved?"
Slade was silent for a moment before nodding.
An hour later, in the main hangar...
"And that should do it." The head engineer said as she keyed in the last of the codes on the locking mechanism of the pod. The capsule let off a hiss as the insides depressurized and the hatch swung open.
The crowds that surrounded the capsule leaned forward to see its contents.
"It's a girl." Meia said as she and the others gazed upon a young, slender human female in a yellow and white jumpsuit. She had dark blue hair that was tied up in a simple ponytail and wore triangular earrings. She appeared to be in a deep slumber.
Slade, who was standing on the opposite side, decided to move to get a better look.
"Is she an alien?" Dita asked.
"No, she's human, like us." Parfet replied.
Slade found out that he was still a bit unsteady from the battle, so it was understandable that he tripped over someone's foot and fell forward. He landed in front of the open capsule and found himself looking into a pair of eyes.
Eyes?
The figure in the capsule had awakened and had begun to look about. When her gaze met Slade's, her earrings twinkled and a small holographic image of a blob with eyes appeared. The image twittered and seemed to speak in a kind of language composed of beeps and chirps.
The girl smiled as she looked up at Slade. Then... she spoke.
"You... you're the one who saved me?"
Slade was a bit unsure of how to answer. "Uh, well... technically speaking... I helped save you."
The girl let of a squeal of joy as she suddenly sat up and looped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her.
"Oh thank you, my Prince Charming!"
Of course, this elicited some very unhappy responses from several females.
"PRINCE?!"
"CHARMING?!"
"AIYAH!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO! MR. ALIEN WILL UNITE WITH DITA!"
In the back of the crowds, Paiway was busily scribbling down notes.
"This is a very strange and exciting development! Pai check!"
On Earth...
Saber had failed. Their latest weapon against Slade had ultimately proven to be ineffective. The news of its demise and the appearance of the evolved Slade had quickly reached the leaders of the once blue-green planet, and they were getting desperate. The Harvest so far had hit quite a few snags, ever since that first battle with the crew of the Nirvana and the accursed Tekkaman Slade. Despite their best efforts, the space warrior had continued to defy them and destroy every one of their attempts to procure the necessary human organs to continue their existence.
The planet of Melanos had become even more resistant to their attempts to harvest them just after they had met the Tekkaman. The planet Anpathos had recently given up their ideals of worshiping their gods, the Munya. Having been forced to think for themselves, the inhabitants were now realizing that their own lives were more important than blind obedience to an unseen deity.
This could not continue. For the sake of their own lives, (at the cost of the lives of everyone else), the Tekkaman must be destroyed! Copies of the Tekkadreads and Slade himself were not enough.
It seemed that it was time to up the ante...
In space...
The red Tekkaman thought he was dead. In fact, he may as well be as his body floated among the debris of his now devastated fleet. He had just barely managed to escape obliteration by letting his Anti-Voltekker ship take the brunt of Slade's Mega Voltekker. His armor was so badly damaged that it was only fit to be recycled. His body was in so much pain that death would have been welcomed at that point.
However, the enemy Tekkaman had no intention of dying. His thoughts were of revenge and puzzlement. Thoughts about defeating his rival, and puzzlement on how Slade had attained a more powerful Tekkaman form danced in his head.
How? How did he do it? How did he get so much power?
As he continued to drift, Saber noticed that he was no longer receiving any cybernetic impulses from his Earth masters. That could only mean one thing. He had been abandoned. The leaders of the Harvesters no longer considered him as important and had wiped their hands clean of him.
Well that suited Saber just fine. However, he couldn't attack the Earth leaders, due to that bio-chip in his brain...
Wait a minute... why don't I even feel the presence of the obedience chip?
Saber made an internal check on himself, and smiled evilly at the results. Apparently, the effects of the Mega-Voltekker had an unexpected dividend. The bio-chip had been burned out when the blast had hit. It had caused Saber immense pain, but the chip was now inactive and therefore...
Though it would take some time for Saber to recover on his own, the red Tekkaman knew that he was free of his Earth masters. In time... he would take his revenge on them. Then... there would be a reckoning between he and Slade.
To be continued...
Preview...
Slade: "We thought we saw the last of Saber, but we were wrong. After beating him, we recovered a capsule drifting in space, and inside was…"
Misty: "Oh my! You're so handsome!"
Dita: "HEY! Keep away from Mr. Alien!"
Slade: "Things just got more complicated… and now, Ezra was going into labor! To make matters worse, she's trapped in the elevator with Dita and me while the Harvesters attacked!"
Duero: "Slade! Though I can't do anything about it, you've got to do the delivery yourself!"
Slade: "SAY WHAT!? Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'Baby Blues'. Man… this is a LOT harder than fighting an army of Harvesters…"
Author's Notes
Whoa! That was a long first chapter of the second stage. So how did you like the introduction of Tekkaman Blastor?
One of the things I liked about Vandread was the fact that the crew had to rediscover themselves and the intricate relations between men and women. In this case, Slade ALREADY knows about it and has to... instruct the others about it. Furthermore, we have the crew themselves questioning their current cultures and present ideals. Eventually, this will develop into some comedic and serious events as the story progresses.
Please read and review!