Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 42

Sank Kingdom, Relena's quarters

Yumi had entered Relena's room in order to inform Relena of her departure. The Chief had called in an hour ago and Yumi had to pack her things before leaving. Hayato was already waiting at Alpha ship in the docks and Yumi felt that she had to say goodbye personally.

"So you are leaving now?"

"I'm afraid so." Yumi answered, both the arms swaying behind her. "I really don't want to, but I have my orders."

Relena gave a light smile, "No need to worry. The Sank Kingdom can protect itself now."

Relena then stood up and began to approach her, "But even so, I appreciate everything that you've done for us. And for saving my life. Twice."

Relena held her hand out and Yumi grasped it.

"Well, I better get going." She let go and moved toward the door. "Take care, Miss Relena."

"You too."

************

Outer space...

A troop of Taurus Sol-Tekka carriers flew through space at a slow pace. Most of the Sol-Tekkas were dolls, but the pilots seemed to be on edge and not without good reason.

"Keep your eyes open." The commander from one of the Sol-Tekkas called. "There have been reports of units disappearing in this area."

"Roger."

The carrier soon arrived at its destination; a debris field. They had been called into that area after a convoy had mysteriously exploded. Assuming that it was Radham, it was decided that a group of Dolls go in case of attack. After reaching the point, the Sol-Tekkas, both Dolls and manned, were launched. The manned units moved in toward the largest point of debris. Judging from the damage found, it wasn't torn apart, as was the case with Radham attacks. Rather, this one was neatly sliced. They all were.

Sir, I'm picking up a distortion wave." One of the soldiers called. "Source unknown."

The commander immediately checked his radar scope, only to find it distorted.

"My radar is on the fritz..." Another soldier announced. "Wait...I'm picking up somet..."

Shrannngggg!!!!

The commander turned to the soldier that spoke, only to find it sliced in half a second before it exploded. The space around the destroyed machine wavered and shimmered, ultimately forming the demonic visage of a tekkaman. A gundam tekkaman.

"It's a tekkaman! A gundam!!!"

Tekkaman Hellscythe swiftly spun his lancer, a double bladed scythe, over his head and brought it down on the hapless Sol-Tekka, cutting it in two. The commander quickly flew back and ordered his Dolls to fight. The Dolls obeyed, activating their disruptor crystals as they fired. But Hellscythe didn't seem worried and turned to face the enemies.

"The angel of death is back from hell!"

Hellscythe charged right into the fire, dodging it occasionally as he closed in on the first Sol-Tekka Doll. Scythe spinning in his hand again, Hellscythe brought in down, cutting through the Doll and slashing apart another one behind it. Bringing it back up, he caused the scythe to carve through another pair of Dolls. The fight continued this way, with Hellscythe slicing through the enemy Dolls like wheat. His focus finally locked on the sole Sol-Tekka, the one with the commander inside. It was currently docking with the carrier and beginning to fly away. But Hellscythe wouldn't have any of it and raised his left arm.

"Running away? Not in this life, buddy."

A couple of voltekka cells formed and Hellscythe fired a blast of energy. The energy quickly caught up with the escaping carrier and ripped right through it, causing it to explode into pieces. As the fire died down, Hellscythe simply surveyed the damage he had caused and then faded away to the darkness once again.

***********

Space Knight Command Center…

"Yumi François, reporting in Chief."

Hayato saluted in kind as the Knights reassembled once again. Dead and Noal were absent from the meeting, but Millia was present and beside the young group. Aki's face was once again its usual serious calm.

"Due to the timing of what I am to tell you, I will be brief. As you all are aware, we are facing grave situations. The Radham, Romefeller, and now this new tekkaman. To prepare you further, I've decided to complete your tekkaman transformations."

Naturally, the team gasped at this proclamation. Natasha was the first to speak up for it. "Complete it?"

Aki continued, "As you may recall, the initial transformation was interrupted by the Radham attack on Earth and thus you only reached 90% of your completed transformations. There wasn't any need to finish it fully. Until now."

Aki then tapped a button on her console, showing the team the same schematics she showed Noal and Millia earlier.

"In addition to this Natasha, you and David will be given new upgrade module weapons."

"You mean...like Yumi's Reactor Voltekka?" David asked.

"Correct. Tekkaman Sommer- David, you will receive the Voltekka Cannon. Tekkaman Vesna- Natasha, you will receive the Pulse Voltekka. Both these weapons are as powerful as the Reactor Voltekka and take just as much control, so you will need to use them carefully. The process will begin in three hours, so you are to prepare immediately."

"Yes Chief."

Millia simply looked at the group and smiled inwardly, sensing the emotions and feelings from them. 'They are so young. But they have that kind of strength. Now I know they'll succeed, without a doubt.'

***************

Peacemillion…

Zechs walked along in the corridors of the massive spaceship. He didn't expect the ship to be so huge. And the name, Peacemillion…what did that mean? He had asked Howard earlier about it, but Howard just responded that he wasn't sure about it himself. Currently, Howard was leading Zechs to the hanger that held the Tallgeese. As they moved, Howard was explaining to him the abilities of the Zero Crystal that he now possessed.

"So it's a tekkaman weapon system?"

Howard nodded, his hands stuffed in his pockets, "Well, it's a little more different than that. From what I know, the Zero Crystal acts as an enhancement for a tekkaman itself. By linking it power into the user brainwaves, it can create and direct power that enhances the tekkaman's overall ability."

"It sounds powerful. But why me?" Beneath the mask, he frowned. "I'm not even a full tekkaman."

"Well, I'm not too sure about that bit. I didn't know it would link to primary bodies too."

Zechs narrowed his eyes. So far Howard has been helpful, but he couldn't help wondering if there was more to the seemingly laid-back man. Especially considering the knowledge he had.

"Would? What does that mean?"

"Well...that another thing." he explained. "The crystal is tied directly to mental waves. As a result, it can be summoned through the same means."

"So you are saying that I summoned it somehow?"

Howard nodded again, "That would be the case. It reacts to high mental activity, whether positive or negative. But it also has the same results. The high power it grants also makes the user unstable."

"Unstable? How?" he questioned.

"The crystal affects the user on a mental level. So the strain on a person, any person, would be incredibly high. As a result, if the mind isn't strong enough to control it, then it would lead to an eventual breakdown and insanity."

Zechs took in this new information as he raised his hand to his chest and grasped the crystal. It was in fact two crystals now, with his crystal embedding inside the larger crystal. They both shimmered in his hand, reflecting of the light of his mask.

"A dangerous weapon. But a necessary one now."

Howard gave Zechs a glance and then turned to the right. "Well, here she is."

Howard had led Zechs right into the hanger area. There were one or two Sol-Tekkas, Taurus, as well as a few carriers. But in comparison to the massive hanger, those things didn't take space, leaving it somewhat barren. In the center though was the familiar white Sol-Tekka, currently being worked on by engineers.

Zechs muttered, "Tallgeese."

Howard heard his low reply, "Well, it's a shame if you plan on using the crystal that this machine will be set to waste."

Zechs walked up to his machine. It was obviously battle-scarred, but in good condition. Zechs lent a hand on it. "Hardly. Tallgeese and I still have battles to fight."

"And the crystal?"

Zechs looked at his crystal again, "I am a Sol-Tekka pilot. But I am a tekkaman as well, at least in part. I may need this."

*************

Colony...

Duo had just returned from his attack on the Romefeller troops in space. He was heading to his house, but decided to take a break and rest a bit. He plopped himself on a nearby bench and sighed. Despite his new powers, he still hadn't had a clear direction as to what to do. For the moment, he would just fight Romefeller in the only way he can, just as he fought OZ before on Earth.

"So how did it go?"

Duo trademark grin arose at the sound of the voice. Turning his head, he looked up to see Hilde standing beside him.

"Oh you know the usual. Just shooting the breeze."

Hilde simply smiled as she sat next to him. After their encounter at Lunar Base, Hilde had decided to leave OZ behind and help Duo. Which seemed to more trouble than it was worth. But she didn't mind. She liked him a lot, even if he was always acting like a clown.

"Hey, I'm hungry. How about we go get some chow?"

"Good idea."

The pair arose from the bench and moved over to a nearby hot-dog stand. As Duo began to order, Hilde joked about his appetite which wasn't far-fetched as he ordered four hot dogs for himself and began munching away immediately.

"Watch. You're going to choke one day."

Duo answered, mouth still full of food, "Oh...come on. I'm....not that bad..."

Suddenly, the entire area rumbled and Duo accidentally choked on the hot dog and began coughing. Hilde patted his back to help and Duo managed to clear his throat. Hilde would have made a comment at that point, but the rumblings continued and she didn't retort. Both of them looked upward outside the colony dome to see the problem. An entire force of Radham aliens was attacking the colony. The defense lasers fired, but it wasn't enough and the Radham closed in quickly. Hilde turned to Duo, who had already taken out his tekka-set crystal.

"Well, gotta go to work, babe."

"Just be careful." she answered.

Duo gave his usual grin and then raised his crystal. It opened up and the energy shot out of it and engulfed him as he cried...

"Tek-Setta!!!"

The blinding light shot out into the sky and out of the colony. As it flew, the light began to fade away to reveal the dark armored tekkaman. Flying through space, the gundam armor unfolded further to reveal a set of dark, wing-like protrusions, completing the metamorphosis.

"Tekkaman Hellscythe!"

Hellscythe wasted no time in charging into the invading Radham. A blade of energy formed in his hand and turned into his double-bladed scythe. With a cry, Hellscythe swung his weapon forward and sliced into a Radham monster. The creature shrieked before it was rendered in two and Hellscythe moved to his next victim and destroyed it in the same fashion. Two more approached him from the back, but he was more than ready for them as his shoulders fired thin laser beams that injured the creatures and halted their attack. Bending a little, Hellscythe suddenly tossed his lancer at them. The scythe spun in a circular blade and it ripped through the Radham. It continued to spin and it began to course its way back to its master. Hellscythe simply put his hand out and the scythe returned neatly into his armored hand. Without wasting a second, Hellscythe swiftly spun around and sliced a Radham that was closing in on his back. The pieces flew past him and later exploded. Hellscythe looked to see the Radham was begin move away and was ready to chase them when…

Twannggg!!!

Hellscythe suddenly found himself dodging a small beam of light. It flew from out of nowhere and had hit him on one of his wings. Turning to the direction, Hellscythe saw a figure standing on top of one to the platforms of the colony. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be…a tekkaman.

"Ah, hey. I don't think I remember meeting you."

The tekkaman strode out so that Hellscythe could get a better look at him. This one lean in figure and had dark grey and blue armor. The shoulder armors were forked upward and in its hands was a long staff lancer, with a straight blade on one of the ends. A single red eye glowed menacingly at Hellscythe.

"No. And I can assure you; this will be our only meeting."

"I don't suppose you'd like to introduce yourself." Hellscythe retorted. "I'm..."

But the mysterious tekkaman cut him off, "I well know about you, gundam tekkaman, is it? I am Tekkaman Sliver."

Sliver bent down slightly to the floor, "Now that the introductions are out of the way..."

Sliver suddenly shot upward right at Hellscythe. Hellscythe got himself ready, but this new tekkaman was fast and he blew right past him. But not without leaving a parting gift as his blade racked across Hellscythe's chest armor. Hellscythe growled and Sliver turned around and charged again.

"Alright then. Bring it on."

****************

Space Knight Command Center, Outside

A single stone skidded across the water before disappearing underneath the blue. From the opposite end of the stone's flight, Dead sat by the bay. His usual careless face was gone, replaced by one of deep thought and sadness. He just couldn't understand it. His sister was alive, but she was trying to kill the Space Knights. But that shouldn't have bothered him too much. Some time ago, he had tried to kill the Space Knights. Driven by an insane rage that was forged from sorrow, he had even managed to best their greatest warrior, Tekkaman Blade, twice. But he wasn't thinking straight at the time. He was just too sad over the loss of his colony and his sister in particular. He still remembered the time he spent with her…

"Sis. What is this?"

"A crystal, young one."

"Crystal?"

"That's right. Your crystal. See. Just like mine. If you protect it, it will protect you."

"You will protect me too?"

"Sure. Always."

Dead picked up another stone. Why was his sister attacking them now? It couldn't be because of him. She had already known he was alive. So why fight at all? Where had she been all this time up until now? And why the Space Knights?

The only answer was the sound of the stone flickering across the water…

************

Space...

Shraaaacckkkkk!!!!! Shraaaacckkkkk!!!!!

The space over the colony flashed as Hellscythe and Sliver clashed relentlessly against each other. Despite Duo's best efforts, this new tekkaman was proving to be quite a tough character to fight. Sliver was just as fast as he was and seemed to be more agile. They violently rushed into each other and held each other in a powerful grapple of weapons. They continued to push and wound up spinning through space wildly. Eventually, both parties separated and dove downward at the colony. Flipping around, they landed on their feet and faced each other.

"You are fast, I'll give you that." Sliver commented. "But you are only prolonging your own demise."

Hellscythe merely held his lancer tighter, "And here I thought you know who I was."

Hellscythe suddenly charged, green eyes blazing, and slashed his lancer out. But Sliver leaped up and Hellscythe missed him totally. Hellscythe flew up after him and brought his lancer-scythe back, reading to swing. But Sliver suddenly held his lancer leveled and a blade of energy formed on it. Sliver fired it and Hellscythe was slashed heavily on the shoulder. Groaning, Hellscythe grasped his shoulder in pain. Brushing it away, Hellscythe was suddenly faced with a single blur just before it slammed against him and caused him to fly away. Sliver laughed as his spun the lancer around and slammed it down on Hellscythe again, bashing across his head. Hellscythe soared back and Sliver raised his lancer for a third strike. But Hellscythe managed to recover and raised his lancer-scythe to block the blow. Again the two grappled and began to spin around. But before they could, Sliver released his right hand and grabbed hold of Hellscythe's face. Hellscythe screamed as the tekkaman began to apply pressure, crushing it in.

"You're finished."

Hellscythe struggled, but was unable to move away. His hands were trapped beneath the lock of the two lancers and he couldn't fly away because Sliver was currently pushing him. And his head diadem crystal began to flash wildly in response to the danger. Nevertheless, he managed to crackle out.

"You...still....don't know...I.....am....Death...one way....or another..."

Sliver was about to retort when Hellscythe began to flash brightly with energy. 'What? He's going to self-destruct?' Sliver quickly released Hellscythe and backed away, giving him time to recover. Sliver then summoned another energy blade and locked on to Hellscythe. Rearing back, he flung the blade and it flew at Hellscythe with deadly speed. But Hellscythe had raised his left arm and the Voltekka cells blazed to life.

"Voltekka!!!!"

A dark beam flashed out and smashed into the energy blade, causing it to evaporate into nothing. The beam continued right toward Sliver and he held up his arm in defense.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The beam engulfed him and Sliver was blown away into space. Seeing the threat gone, Hellscythe lowered his lancer and the wings closed around him like a cloak. But inside, Duo was breathing heavily. He was almost killed and was forced to nearly self-destruct just to get the advantage. He wished he could say that Sliver was no more, but judging from the fight with him, he knew that the evil tekkaman still lived. But why did he come after him in the first place? He obviously wanted him. That was why he led the Radham against the col... Suddenly, it hit Duo. He was leading the Radham? But he didn't seem like a Radham tekkaman. He was far too strong to be one. He was definitely human. But the question was who was he?

----------------------------

In outer space, Romefeller continues its own oppression on one of the colonies, Colony L5, Wufei's home colony. But as Wufei is ready to fight, the colony is destroyed, leaving Wufei with nothing left but to fight. On Earth, the tekkaman team enters the first stage up their upgrades into complete tekkamen. Meanwhile, Duo and Hilde go to a nearby circus act and is met up with an old friend thought dead. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: The return of Wufei.