A noise could be heard in the silent valley as Littlefoot drove into the area in his Agito suit, getting into the little entranceway before getting off and shifting back into his normal form.
He looked ahead as Shorty came running up to him. He had wanted to go with Littlefoot to help him face Kusaka, but Littlefoot left before he could prepare.
Shorty ran up and looked right at him. "Did you do it?" he asked. "Did you face him?"
Littlefoot nodded softly, not saying anything at the moment.
"So…" Shorty enquired. "Did you kill him?"
Littlefoot just shook his head.
"Ah, man!" Shorty exclaimed. "Don't tell me you let him get away!"
"Don't worry Shorty." Littlefoot responded finally. "He's not going to be bothering us anymore." He had not seen what Logia did to him after he left, so he thought he was still alive.
"How can you be so sure?" Shorty furrowed his brow.
Littlefoot just looked to him and said, "Because it's hard for someone like him to attack with a broken belt, and only one arm."
Shorty's eyes widened as he heard this, and smiled a little. "Oh, I see. You crippled him, and left him in disgrace. I like that. Hehe, now his fate's left with the sharpteeth."
Littlefoot smiled and shook his head a little as he chuckled, while Shorty walked along next to him. "I still can't believe you wouldn't take me with you though. I knew her too, you know. I should've had a shot at him."
"Shorty, I needed someone to stay here." Littlefoot responded. "Cera and Ali are off doing who knows what in the mysterious beyond, and we can't keep counting on Ducky and Takumi to solve all our problems here, or whoever that Leangle guy is for that matter. The impactors could have taken advantage of that and invaded the valley, and I'm convinced they would have needed your help if they did."
Shorty nodded a bit. "I didn't think of it that way. I just thought that you didn't think I was strong enough to take Kusaka for a moment."
Littlefoot immediately responded. "You're a great fighter, Shorty, I'm not questioning that. I mean, I wouldn't even be alive now if it wasn't for you saving me from Doras. I just thought it was more important for you to stay here. We don't want to forget our friends or family here, do we?"
Shorty just shook his head slowly. "No…" he then looked at Littlefoot again. "Sorry I assumed things too quickly."
Littlefoot smiled "C'mon now. Let's go see My dad and Grandpa, and tell them we don't have to worry about Kusaka anymore."
Shorty nodded and walked alongside his "brother".
Meanwhile, back on the ship, Lucia was looking over the device that Logia had brought back from the battle where Kusaka had met his end. She studied the markings and the small number pad closely, as General Balcus paced around the room.
"Do you have any idea what it is?" Balcus asked Logia.
Logia shook his head slowly. "No. I'm not quite as familiar with this form of Paxerian weaponry as Lucia is."
Balcus walked over near Lucia as she was examining the odd case-like device, looking at it very closely as he gently ran a hand over it.
"Perhaps it's some sort of bomb…" Balcus theorized.
"No…" Lucia shook her head quickly. "This is much more complex than any bomb. I'm surprised a troglodyte like Kusaka was able to work on such a thing."
"You know what it is?" Logia asked, stepping forward.
Lucia nodded. "I believe I do…this is a photon amplifier."
"Photon amplifier…" Balcus muttered to himself, before speaking up. "Photon as in those photon streams that power up those Paxerian battle suits?"
"Yes" Lucia answered. "Kusaka intended to use this as a power-up for the Kaixa gear, which would have increased its strength tenfold and given him extra weapons to use."
"Extra weapons?" Logia asked.
Lucia turned to Logia. "That's right. See this case, once it's fully activated, can change itself into the form of powerful gun, as well as provide the suit with a strong jetpack that can enable the wearer to fly." She pointed out the points on the case that enabled these utilities.
Logia nodded. "Well then, I guess it's a good thing that I picked this up too…" he then reached into a bag, and pulled out the shattered remains of a belt and driver.
"Is that what I think it is?" Balcus asked Logia, a curious tone now in his voice
"Yes…what you see here is what remains of the Kaixa gear." He then turned and brought the pieces to Lucia. "I was hoping to see what you could for it."
Lucia gently took the remains and studied them, picking up the Kaixa driver and opening it up, having a look at the inside of it as Logia and Balcus looked on, wondering what her conclusion would be.
Lucia then sighed a bit as she put the driver down and shook her head.
"I'm afraid that the main processor is completely shattered, and many of the photon router chips are missing…I can't fix this."
Logia looked on, surprised. "Not at all?"
She looked up at Logia. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that Kaixa is now as dead as Kusaka is."
Balcus clenched his fist. "Damn! Just as we thought we had a new weapon."
Logia walked over to Lucia again. "Well, I guess we have no need for this, then." He began to pick up the belt, so he could dispose of the junk someplace.
It was then that Lucia's hand suddenly went over his own, grabbing his wrist.
"Wait a moment…we may still have a use for this…"
Balcus looked at her, puzzled. "But, I thought you said you couldn't fix that."
Lucia nodded. "Indeed, the Kaixa gear is damaged beyond repair, but we're quite fortunate to find a mostly intact Paxerian driver and belt that I can study thoroughly…"
"Study for what?" Logia asked, intrigued as he put the belt back down.
"For the possible creation of a whole new battle suit made in this style" Lucia answered.
Balcus stood perfectly still as he heard this, keeping his gaze right on Lucia. "You could do that?…"
Lucia looked right back at him. "I'll have to get this Neo-Organism fellow to cooperate with me for it, but yes, I believe it is possible for me to duplicate this technology."
Balcus then walked to the door of the main bridge where the Neo-Organism resided. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's get the thing's attention."
He then pressed a com-link button, as the image of the Neo-Organism appeared on the screen.
"Oh…it's you." The Neo-Organism flatly said to Balcus.
Balcus just sighed as he remembered what happened last time.
"Have we learned to be polite now?" The computerized creature asked.
Balcus just nodded. "Yes, sir." He cringed a bit at the "sir" part, but kept quiet about it.
"Good." It responded. "Then what is it you wanted?"
"We have a project we'd like to start with your help." Balcus stated.
"Oh?" The Neo-Organism responded, curiously.
Lucia walked up with the shattered belt, showing it to the creature in the monitor. "It's true. What you see before you is the shattered remains of Paxeria's Kaxia gear. It's broken beyond repair, I'm afraid, but I think with the right amount of materials and assistance, I could use it to help create a new warrior system in this style. Do you think you could help me build one once you're finished with whatever it is you're doing now?"
The Neo Organism looked down at the shattered belt and back at Lucia, examining everything closely before finally responding.
"Are you joking? I could make two of them…"
Meanwhile, out in the Mysterious beyond, Cera, Ali, and Slick were all driving out on their bikes in their Blade, Chalice, and Garren suits respectively. They were all looking for any signs of Doras, but with little success, as he proved to be just as elusive as ever.
All seemed hopeless until Garren's sharp eyes caught something in the distance, pulling off on his bike.
Chalice took notice and pulled up next to him, as Blade followed.
"Do you see something?" Chalice asked, trying to get a look at whatever Garren saw.
Garren nodded lightly. "It's way out in the distance, and it's very shiny…"
Blade scoffed. "So what? It could just be a pond reflecting the sunlight…"
"No." Garren shook his head slowly. "This is no pond. Believe me."
With that he suddenly started his bike and drove off in the direction of his sighting. Blade looked at Chalice questioningly as she simply shrugged and followed off on her bike.
"I hope we're not wasting our time." Blade sighed, as she revved her bike up and followed as well.
All doubts would quickly be dispelled as Garren lead the way to his sighting, making sure he was looking at the right object as Chalice and Blade followed.
The trio was amazed by what they saw next from the bushes nearby. It was large and metallic. It looked exactly like a starship.
"Oh wow…" Blade responded, now sorry she ever doubted Garren.
Chalice gazed right back at Garren. "Do you think this…"
"…Is where our enemies have been working?" Garren finished her sentence. "Yes. I can't think of any other place around here." He smiled lightly.
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Blade said as she got out her sword. "Let's go put an end to all this, right now!"
She was about to make a beeline for the entrance before Chalice grabbed her by the shoulder.
"No! Cera there could be tons of weapons and those fighter guys out there. We can't just charge in there, especially not without the help of the others."
Blade just looked at Chalice and shrugged. "So, what are we supposed to do then? I thought you wanted to kill this Doras guy. Well, there's a good chance he's in there!"
Before Chalice could answer, Garren spoke up.
"I'll go in…"
Chalice looked over and shook her head. "No, Slick. You don't need to do anything that brash right now."
"No, it's ok." Garren smiled under his helmet. "See, I figured out a while ago that the Garren suit is a unit made for the purpose of deception. Illusion."
He looked to Chalice. "You remember earlier, when I split myself in two, right?"
Chalice nodded as he continued. "Well, that was a basic illusion attack right there. I have another tactic as well."
He turned to them as he raised his hand a bit, and ended up vanishing into near-nothingness, a mere outline of him the only thing visible as he activated the stealth camouflage on his suit.
"See…I can make myself invisible." He boasted, before changing back to his visible form, as Chalice and Blade watched, amazed.
Garren then re-activated the unit, making himself nearly invisible once more as he jumped over the bushes, heading for the ship. "Wait for me right here, ok?"
Chalice nodded as she stepped back into the bushes, while Blade leaned against a tree, waiting.
"Oh, and one other thing…" Garren called out as they heard him take out his gun. Before anyone could respond to these sounds, Both Chalice and Blade felt an energy bullet hit their shoulders, making their armor spark.
Chalice grunted as Blade yelped and shouted. "Hey! What was that for?"
"Shhh!" Garren simply responded. "I was shooting off the homing devices on your suits…we don't want the enemy knowing we're out here, do we?"
Blade sighed. "I guess not…but a little advance warning would have been nice!"
Chalice shooshed Blade softly again as Garren made sure his stealth camouflage was in place, before running softly to the ship, finding an open window and climbing inside…
Garren's boots gently touched the metal floor of the ship as he slowly walked along the interior, his camouflage still in place, as he made sure not to make too much noise. The long hallways seemed empty as he made his way along, feeling a bit more confident that he could learn the secrets of this fortress.
That was, until General Balcus could be seen walking in his direction. He quickly and softly reached for the nearest door, finding it locked as Balcus walked closer. Not finding any other alternatives, Garren backed up against the wall, hoping the General would simply pass by.
It seemed like he would, until Balcus stopped just short of Garren, turning his head as if he sensed something. Garren held perfectly still as the Impactor walked closer to the stealth covered figure, not really able to make anything out.
After a few moments, Balcus shrugged and muttered, "My visor needs a check-up…" before walking off, and leaving Garren alone.
Garren sighed softly as Balcus disappeared.
"That was way too close…" he thought to himself. "I should get out of here at soon as possible."
He slowly crept along the halls, at first looking for another window, before he saw something else out of the corner of his eye. General Balcus had left the door open to the room he had just walked out of, a kind of odd habit he had aboard a ship like this. Garren thought over whether to take another chance and walk in, before he heard more footsteps.
This time it was Logia who was walking up the hallway. Well, Garren sure didn't want to stand around with this guy present, so he immediately crept into the open doorway, right before Logia stopped and looked in Garren's direction.
Logia didn't see Garren's outline however, as he just shook his head and muttered, "That lazy oaf…" referring to Balcus as he pressed a button and closed the door behind Garren.
Garren examined the closed door, searching and finding the button that controlled the open and close function before going further into the room he had just entered.
No one seemed to be around inside the room as Garren searched the area. The lights were still on, which made it simple, but that also meant that either Balcus or Logia would be back soon, so he had to work fast. He was about to try and look for another doorway, before his eye caught something else, walking over and examining the Photon amplifier that Lucia had been looking at earlier…
As this was going on, General Balcus was walking idly alongside some of the windows, oiling his large sword as he had placed his shield down for a moment. Lucia was in another room, examining the inner workings of the busted Kaixa gear, as Balcus walked along, before suddenly stopping and turning his head to look out the window. It was then that he saw the lengthy horn on the top of Blade's helmet sticking up from the bushes.
Balcus easily recognized what a horn like that would belong to, as he quickly walked over to where Lucia was working.
"Lieutenant!" he called out to her as she raised her head and looked to Balcus.
"With all respect, sir, I'm rather occupied at the moment…"
Balcus just walked in and stated flatly, "I think someone's spying on us…"
Meanwhile, Logia was in another room, making adjustments to a monitor. Right after he had witnessed the fight between Kaixa and Agito, he had gone back to the Valley and set up a camera in a hidden spot. A special camera that scanned body heat as well as displayed images, since those who had the suits seemed to have a slightly higher body temperature than the others. Logia had never gotten a good look at the creatures who inhabited these suits, and knew that two of them had managed to remove their homing devices a while back, so this was why he set this all up.
All looked normal in the valley as Logia panned the camera left and right with a remote on his armor, looking for the first sign of a slightly elevated body temperature.
He then suddenly froze right in his tracks, and looked right into the screen…he stared for what seemed like an eternity, as if he had just seen something wholly unbelievable.
After this, he slowly turned off the monitor, and rose to his feet. He walked to one of the exits of the ship, saying absolutely nothing at all as he quickly changed into a ball of light and teleported away.
It was then that Lucia walked quickly along the halls, trying to locate the commander as she called out his name, but not finding him anywhere. She then sighed and walked back into another hallway, as she shook her head.
"Now where did he go off to?…"
Outside of the ship, Blade and Chalice looked on at any of the openings, looking for signs of Garren.
"How much longer should we wait for him?" Blade asked.
"I don't know" Chalice responded. "But he's been gone for a while now. Let's just wait a little bit longer, and then go back and get help if he doesn't appear by then."
Blade nodded slowly, and went along with this, before they suddenly heard someone making the sound of clearing their throat in back of them!
The two immediately rose and turned to find General Balcus standing behind them both!
"Well, well…waiting for something?" Balcus asked them, withdrawing his large sword as he readied his shield. "Perhaps just the right moment to come inside and kill all of us, right?"
Blade just took out her own sword and faced down the General.
"Oh right. As if we had to wait for your guard to go down to defeat you at all!"
She then yelled and charged towards Balcus before Chalice could stop her, swinging her sword wildly before Balcus caught it on his sword, throwing it off her hand with a quick swing as he took her down with a hard upward slash, making sparks fly!
Blade grunted as she fell onto her back, as Chalice quickly took out her bow and fired, only to have every shot blocked by the General's shield as he quickly placed his sword on the shield, making a secret compartment open on the thing, which revealed a gun that rapidly fired energy bullets, which sprayed and hit Chalice repeatedly as she yelped and grunted, falling near the downed Blade.
Balcus just shook his head as he looked down at the two warriors. "Did you really think some simple spy work was going to be enough to take us down?"
He kept his back turned as he said this, unaware of Garren, now out of his camouflage, readying an odd, orb shaped weapon behind him as he carried the Photon amplifier in his other hand.
"You creatures really are foolish." Balcus continued. "What good do you think hiding from us is going to accomplish?"
The answer two his question arrived as Garren grunted and threw the orb, which stuck to the back of Balcus' shoulder. Balcus turned to see Garren behind him, readying his shield gun for another blast, unaware of the orb sticking to his back as it suddenly exploded!
"Gahhhhhhh!" Balcus yelled, as the explosion made quite a lot of damage on the right side of his upper body armor. He stumbled and coughed as the smoke from the explosion surrounded his helmet, while Garren helped Blade and Chalice to their feet, waving them over as he ran to his bike, quickly stowing the amplifier into his own bike before taking off with the other two, leaving behind the injured Balcus as he stumbled back towards the ship, finding Lucia as she ran out through the front entrance.
Lucia ran to her injured comrade and helped him stand.
"What happened to you?"
Balcus coughed. "Three of those damned warriors were spying on us, and one of them had a stickybomb!"
Lucia helped him walk back to the ship as he coughed more.
"Where the hell is Logia?" he asked. "We could have easily foiled those three together!"
"I have no clue!" Lucia responded. "He just disappeared a little bit ago."
Balcus grunted in frustration as the two went back inside.
Back in the Valley, Littlefoot was busy explaining what had occurred between him and Kusaka as Grandpa and Bron listened to him, along with Shorty, who was eager to here all the details.
"So, I'd say you have nothing to fear from Kusaka from here on." Littlefoot smiled as he addressed all of them.
Bron nodded, proud of what his son had accomplished. "So you didn't kill him, but in fact crippled him, and left him in shame without giving him the kind of death he wanted. I'd say that's fitting for someone like Kusaka."
Grandpa nodded as well in agreement. "Yes. You did well, Littlefoot. You stood up to that murderer and fought, but you didn't forget whom you really are inside. Your Grandma would be proud, as well as your mother."
"Thanks, Grandpa. I think so too." Littlefoot responded.
"Ah, I still wish I could have been there, and gotten a few free hits on the guy!" Shorty grinned. Petrie and Spike were listening to this as well, along with Ducky, who was holding the Delta gear while Takumi was standing behind her.
All seemed well until a voice called out in back of them all.
"Still eager to fight, are you?"
They all stopped and turned to find Logia walking in, with his gun at the ready, looking right at Littlefoot.
"You…you're the one who defeated Kusaka, right?"
Littlefoot just nodded silently as Logia walked up closer. "Incredible. You went up against a trained and powerful, albeit unstable, young Paxerian warrior, and you still managed to defeat him." He then cocked his gun and gazed at the young Longneck. "Think you can accomplish the same thing against an Impactor?"
Littlefoot just gazed back at Logia. "You've been on this world for a while now, right?…why do you suddenly want to fight me so badly?"
"Now is not a time to be asking trivial questions." Logia responded, before aiming his gun at a nervous Bron. "Just fight me…or do I have to take another loved one from you?"
Shorty, having heard enough of this, quickly leapt up and roared as he shifted into his Gillis suit, charging Logia, only to get thrown to the ground as Logia aimed his gun at Gillis.
"Did I say anything about you fighting me, pest?" Logia growled, as he prepared to fire.
"No!" Littlefoot shouted, quickly changing into his Agito suit.
"If you're so intent on fighting me, then I guess I have no choice but to oblige you."
"Very good." Logia responded, as he took out a familiar device. "As for the rest of you…Giga fighters!"
He yelled the last two words into the device as he threw it into the air, as it split apart and took the form of several giga fighters, making sure they kept everyone else at bay as he faced Agito down.
Takumi quickly slapped on the Faiz gear as he punched in 555 on the driver. STANDING BY… Ducky looked on as she slapped on her belt and punched in 333 on her driver. STANDING BY… The two looked and nodded to each other as Spike and Petrie cheered Ducky on, as they both called out "Henshin!" and slid the drivers into their belts. COMPLETE/COMPLETE…
The giga fighters ran in as the two shifted into Faiz and Delta, while Gillis got back on his feet and charged in as well, knocking a few fighters away with some well-placed kicks before extending one of his tendrils, wrapping up one fighter in it before throwing it into another fighter, smashing them both into pieces, while Delta grabbed one fighter and threw it towards Faiz, who had his sword at the ready as he slashed the fighter, making it split in two as Delta punched another fighter, smashing its helmet.
As this was going on, Agito and Logia faced each other down, before Logia fired his gun at Agito, as he ducked out of the way and kicked Logia in the chest plate, letting loose with a calm flurry of kicks as Logia grunted and suddenly extended a blade from above his right wrist, slashing it at Agito as he jumped back, avoiding each swipe as he suddenly stood in one place and concentrated hard, almost growling as he assumed his burning form once more.
"Yes!" Logia looked on approvingly. "Show me even more of your true power!"
Agito then made his blade weapon appear as he ran in and clashed with Logia's blade. Logia would fire with his gun every so often, as Agito avoided each shot as best he could.
Meanwhile, Gillis was being ganged up on by a group of giga fighters, being punched and kicked from all directions. This wound up Gillis to no end as he suddenly raised his fists and roared out to the sky, suddenly transforming into his "Exceed Gillis" form once again, tendrils now shooting out of his back as well as the arms of his bulkier form as he growled and used them to grab and throw and smash many giga fighters, before extending longer blades on his heels. He then leapt and somersaulted as he targeted one fighter, jamming both the blades into both of its shoulders! The Giga fighter froze as Gillis roared and threw himself off the fighter, which then exploded, and threw all the other fighters aside.
Ducky quickly got out the hand device from before as Takumi readied his sword, fighting off giga fighters at the same time as they prepared their weapons, both of their suits saying READY…
Faiz went first as he pressed the enter key on the driver. EXCEED CHARGE. Energy traveled from the belt to the arm where he held the sword, powering up the balde before he swung it, creating a red energy wave that swept up many giga fighters, holding them up in the air as Faiz ran over and yelled out, swinging his sword twice as it cut through all of the fighters, making them all turn to dust as they crumbled around him, the red Faiz symbol glowing in the dust.
Delta soon followed as she pressed her enter key. EXCEED CHARGE. White energy flowed from the belt to the hand that held the device over it, as it began to make a beeping noise. Delta kicked a few fighters away, until it fully charged, and she soon brought the covered fist forward, smashing it into one fighter as the Delta symbol appeared over it, slowing down for a moment before the impact took its full effect, and the giga fighter went flying and smashed into several other fighters, before exploding.
The fight between Agito and Logia escalated as Logia jumped and spun, firing his gun three times as dodging became even tougher for Agito, getting clipped in the armor more then once as he deflected other bullets with his blade weapon, as Logia extracted his own blade once more, swiping fiercely as Agito clashed with him, being pushed back rapidly.
Gillis saw Logia giving Agito a hard time, and grunted as he threw out one of his tendrils, knocking one of Logia's arms away from Agito! This gave his "brother" an opening, as Agito brought down his blade with a hard slash across the impactor's chest plate!
Logia yelled out in pain as the sparks flew, rolling onto the ground as he fell, getting onto his back.
Faiz suddenly froze and looked on at the downed Logia, as blood began to flow from a under a part of his chest plate!
Logia grunted and rose to his feet, clutching his wound as he eyed Gillis. "You certainly have mastered the art of fighting dirty!" he yelled, before looking to Agito and snarling a bit. "As for you…we're not finished with this…not by a long shot…we will meet again, and when we do, you will cry in pain for the same amount of time you've lived before you finally die!"
Agito stood, unfazed by the threat, as Logia turned into a ball of light, and retreated once more.
Faiz ran up to where Agito was standing, and looked to where Logia was retreating. "Did you see that?…that's not right!" he shouted.
"What are you talking about?" Agito asked?
"Logia…he was bleeding…" Faiz said as he looked on, shocked.
"So?…what should we care about that?" Gillis asked.
Faiz shook his head. "Don't you get it? Impactors are completely robotic life forms! THEY DON'T BLEED!"
Agito, Gillis, and Delta all stood completely still as Faiz revealed this information to them.
As this had all happened, no one was aware of what had just occurred, as the Neo-Organism finished with its experiment, as the closed off lab area began to light up with activity.
Doras looked on as the computerized creature sank slowly into the screen in the middle and began to do something underneath. The screens were all bustling with activity, as images of DNA chains began to come together and organize, shaping into a formation never seen before as it utilized what was found in the remains of the dead female Saurapod.
The engines in the computer were working overtime now as Doras looked on at the screen, as something big began to emerge from under it, rising slowly.
The creature emerging from the screen was big and muscular, having a humanoid shape like Doras, but definitely more reptilian in appearance as it's small brownish scales glistened under the lights, it's eyes red without any pupils, Like Doras, as it was also female, though that wasn't fully noticeable at first glance, due to all the muscle.
Soon, the generation was complete, and the creature stepped off the screen, walking slowly as she breathed heavily and extended the claws on her fingers, just staring ahead as The Neo-Organism appeared on the screen once more, looking to her, and Doras.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" The Neo-Organism mused as it addressed Doras, who simply growled and looked on.
"I thought you'd agree…she has your strength, your agility, and an top of that, the instincts and knowledge of an experienced inhabitant of this planet, something that you, my friend, are sorely lacking."
Doras just growled again as The Neo-Organism smiled. "Doras…say hello to your new sister…I shall name her…Viras."
Doras simply looked at the newly christened creature as she looked back at Doras and growled a feminine sounding growl, opening her mouth to reveal her grotesque and sharp teeth…