Disclaimer: See previous chapter
Chap. 57
Shhkkkkkkk!
Aki cut down another Radham monster in the air with her lancer. As the beast fell down in pieces, Aki was suddenly aware of the high-speeding object that was coming at her. Whipping her head toward the source, she readied her lancer and no sooner than she did than a loud clash rang out, when her lancer clashed with Dead's
"Dead, what are you doing?"
Dead gave no reply as he pulled pack and struck at her again. Aki twirled her lancer and deflected the next blow, but Dead rushed forward and hit her with his shoulder. His boosters then ignited and propelled them both into the side of the Command Center. Aki gave out a low moan, but managed to kick Dead back. Her own boosters then flared to life and she rushed toward him. Dead saw her approach and reflexively slashed out, but Aki suddenly shot upward into the air. She twirled around, spun her lancer high in the air and struck down hard. Dead turned and defended, but he didn't expect her strike to come so powerfully. Come to think of it, her tekka-mode did look different to him. Her usual robes were missing, exposing the armor beneath. Ignoring it, Dead struggled and finally pushed her back into the air. Aki shot upward and Dead pursued. Streaks of light slashed across the air as they attacked and counter-attacked each other and Dead saw that the Chief was a lot more of a challenge than he thought. She managed to deflect many of his attacks and come back with a few of her own. It was almost like when he fought Blade. For a minute, Dead felt impressed by her fighting spirit, but he forced himself to dispel this in order to tap into his rage. 'She is my enemy. She is my enemy. She is the Red Devil.'
"Ngggaaahhhhh!"
Dead suddenly swooped at her with oppressive force, energy shimmering around his body. Aki was caught off-guard and was mauled by the dark crystal hawk. Dead swooped upward in the air and came in for another pass. Again, the Scarlet tekkaman was engulfed in it and hurled aside on the ground. Dead swooped upward and returned once again. Aki staggered on her feet, but leveled her lancer in her hands. The crystal hawk closed in and Aki suddenly charged at him with a cry. Dead was surprised by this act and Aki swung her lancer just as the energy hit. The result was a blast of energy between them and followed by a figure crashing to the ground. Moments later, another hopped out from the sky and turned to their fallen opponent.
"Dead. Stop this."
Dead staggered up to his feet, completely surprised by what had happened. Somehow, the Chief had broken thorough his energy field with a simple strike. That was more than just skill. She was more powerful that she was letting on. It felt the same way with Blade. Even though he had to initial advantage in their fight, he always felt that there was more to the white tekkaman than he let on. In the end, it wasn't necessary for him, but Dead End knew there was more power that he hadn't displayed. It was the same here. And he used that to fuel what little rage he held.
"Yaahhhhhhaaaaaaaa!"
Dead barreled his way at Aki and once again tackled into her. The two bodies flew toward the Command Center and Aki saw that she was about to be smashed again. Grabbing hold of Dead, her boosters ignited as well and with great effort, she twisted herself and Dead around, smashing him into the Command Center as well. But the force of the impact was great and both of them smashed right into the base itself. Aki arose from the rubble and debris, her head crystal flashing wildly.
'I don't have much time.'
Looking aside, she saw Dead practically exploded out of the rubble and lifted his lancer ready to attack.
"Wait."
Dead didn't know why, but he halted his advance. Aki was half-surprised, but continued on.
"Are you truly that scared?"
Dead seemed to tremble, but whether it was out of rage or uncertainty, she didn't know. Neither did he for that matter. The rage he had been creating for himself was hollow. He never liked Aki much, but he did have a respect for her. And her question baffled him. It sounded just like the question Blade had asked him at their last battle years ago. "Are you really that sad?" And just like then, Dead answered the same way.
"What?"
Aki managed to straighten up. "Slayer. Your sister. You're afraid of what will happen if you choose to fight her."
"What do you know?" Dead snapped back immediately. "You can't possibly understand."
"Perhaps not." Aki replied. "But I've seen it before. When the Radham first invaded, it was Tekkaman Blade who fought them off. But to do so, he had to fight his own family. His worse enemy was his own twin brother." Her armored head lowered slightly as did her voice. "I saw the look on his face, the hurt in his eyes every time he went out to fight. He didn't say it, but there were times where he wanted to give up because of it. He was afraid of fighting them, not because of defeat, but because of victory. The price of victory would be for him to kill his own family."
Beneath the armor, Dead's eys widened. 'His own…family?' Very few knew about Blade's connection to the invaders of the First Radham War. Aki lifted her head as she continued speaking. "But he faced his fears and conquered them. Now it is your turn, Dead End. Will you face your fears?"
Dead was now more unsure of himself than ever. The truth was that he was afraid of fighting her. He had grieved over his sister for so long and now that she had returned, he didn't want to lose her. But to let the Radham do as they please would mean the destruction of all humankind. Dead gave no reply, but he did lower his lancer. Aki took this as a good sign and was about to approach when a flash of light caught her attention from outside.
"Dead! Look out!"
Dead whirled around behind him only to be engulfed by a stream of explosions that blew up across the side of the command center. Dead was hurled to the floor and nearly into Aki. Aki managed to grab Dead before he flew too far away, but he his armor was badly damaged by the blast.
"Dead. Dead!"
"He's done for."
Aki looked up as a new figure strode into the command center. The figure was heavily armored and holding a axe lancer in his hands.
"Identify yourself."
"I am Tekkaman Shrapnel. You are doomed."
Libra
On the bridge of the Libra, the exit doors opened up from behind, revealing Relena Peacecraft, with Dorothy just behind her. Dorothy lent her hand forward and beckoned.
"Go ahead, Miss Relena."
Relena strode into the bridge, keeping her eyes centered on the main chair in the middle and the person sitting in it. Milliardo Peacecraft; leader of the White Fang, and her brother.
"The Earth only seems beautiful because we have the chance to see it like this, from outer space." Milliardo quietly stated as she came toward him from behind. "Those on Earth can't possibly appreciate its true beauty."
Relena floated over to the side of the chair. "Are you suggesting all of humanity should come up into outer space?"
"Those who don't want come here certainly don't have to." he answered. Then he added. "I won't simply ignore powers on Earth that are a threat to peace here in space."
"Surely that's no reason to become the largest threat to peace yourself though." Relena countered. "The time has come for Earth and Space to discard all their weapons."
Milliardo was unfazed. "No. This isn't the time for your world of total pacifism. Therefore outer space must first direct all its force against the people on the Earth using the battleship Libra."
"No. You're mistaken Milliardo." Relena retorted. "That would only lead to our mutual destruction."
The older Peacecraft shut his eyes softly. "How would you know?"
"I know that because I am Relena Peacecraft." Indeed, if anything, her lineage told her that peace was the only solution for all of mankind. To do otherwise would destroy them, either by other powers or the alien Radham.
"My dear Relena…" Millardo opened his eyes and then stood up from the seat. Relena was a bit surprised by this and she nearly stepped back as he approached her. But then Milliardo put his arms around her in a loose embrace. "You've grown up strong Relena." he said with a light smile. "But your strength is no longer needed. I want you at least to remain a kind woman."
Relena was quiet for a moment and then she lowered her head. "In truth I don't even know whether I'm being held in the arms of Milliardo, the kind brother that I once knew…" She heard Milliardo's low growl, but continued. "Or in the bloodstained hands of Zechs Marquize."
Milliardo sighed mentally. "If you want to return to the Earth, I'm not going to stop you. If you want to stay in space, I'll find you a safe place to live in a colony."
She broke out of his embrace and stared up at him. "I am staying right where I am, until you change your mind."
'Stubborn. But I expected no less from a Peacecraft.' Looking over to the side, he called to Dorothy. "Do me a favor. Show Relena to the officer's room, Dorothy."
"Right away." Dorothy moved next to Relena as Milliardo stepped back into the command seat. Placing her hands on Relena's shoulders, she motioned. "Let's be on our way, Miss Relena. It'd be wiser to continue this discussion after you've had some rest."
Relena looked over at Dorothy for a moment and then back at Milliardo. She wanted to say more to him, but judging by the look on his face, this discussion had ended. 'For now…' Back to Dorothy. "Perhaps you're right. Show me the way then."
"Sure."
As Dorothy led Relena back out the bridge, Milliardo glanced over at his second-in-command. "Do you consider me a weak man, Kanz?"
The elder man answered. "On the contrary, if you hadn't been looking out for someone, I wouldn't have welcomed you as the White Fang leader."
"Thank you for saying so." With that, he returned his gaze to the image of the Earth.
'Beautiful… It's almost a shame really…'
Peacemillion
The gundams and Space Knights have reassembled in the main deck of the battlestation. After the incident with the colony, the group has seen what Milliardo intends to do and is now debating over their next move.
"Now then." Howard started. "How shall we proceed?"
"Destroy Libra. That simple." Wufei answered.
"But will that end the war though?" Sally questioned.
Quatre looked up from the monitor. "No, it won't. On Earth, Trieze is preparing to send a military force into space." He looked back at the screen. "The colonies will have to retaliate against that."
"But we can't just leave Libra." Duo proclaimed. He then raised his hand. "I agree that we should destroy it."
"Sure thing, Duo." Trowa agreed. He then added. "But can we destroy it?"
"Are you saying we take on Zechs as our enemy?" Noin replied, trying slightly to defend her comrade.
Duo looked away and countered. "Are you saying that that guy is our ally?"
"Well…"
"I can't…"
The group soon turned to the speaker, who was Yumi. She was sitting in one of the seats with her head down. Hayato gave her a questioning look. "Yumi?"
Yumi stuttered her words a bit. "I almost killed someone out there yesterday. A human… I…"
"We have to do what needs to be done."
"I'm not like you." Yumi shot back, tears beginning to trickle in her eyes. "I'm a Space Knight. I fight against the Radham, not other human beings. I don't want to be a murderer!"
"Yumi…" Anita whispered.
Trowa spoke up. "The Radham are dangerous, yes. But our present enemy right now is the White Fang and the Libra. If we don't stop them, many more people will die."
"What's the point?"
The new speaker was Natasha, who decided now to voice her thoughts in. "I have to agree with Yumi on this. Fighting other humans is foolish while we have to deal with the Radham also. We trained to save humanity, not destroy it."
"I understand your feelings." Quatre voiced quietly. "But we can't just let the White Fang be."
Duo lay back in the seat. "Maybe we should split up and take to each our own."
"Separating would only prove fruitless." Sally replied. "We need to stay together if we are to survive any of this."
"So who is our real enemy?"
Noal shook his head at the situation. "It shouldn't have to come down to this. What's your take on this, D? D?"
Turning to the Space Knight leader, he found that D-Boy was still against the wall, looking straight ahead at Heero. His tekka-set crystal was lightly shimmering on his forehead. The others noticed this as well and also saw Heero doing the same thing, albeit opposite and looking at D-Boy
"Are you guys alright?" Goliate asked tentatively.
D-Boy didn't turn to him, but he spoke. "Is that the only way?" Looking over at Heero, they noticed that he nodded and his tekka-set crystal had formed in his hand. D saw this and his own crystal materialized. "Very well. Tek-Setta!"
The others were in shock as D- Boy burst into energy and shot out, but not as shocked as when Heero followed suit soon afterward.
"Zero Tek-Setta!"
The energies shot out through the station and materialized outside, both armored warriors of great power.
"Tekkaman Blade!"
Tekkaman Zero!"
Without a second delay, Zero swooped straight at Blade with his sword lancer. Blade brought his twin lancer to bear and clashed with Zero. The two struggled against each other, backed away and struck at each other again. They repeated this a third time and Zero kicked out, hitting Blade in the chest. Blade shot back briefly and suddenly charged at Zero. Zero blocked the attack and their lancers locked. Backing away, both tekkamen shot around the space above the Peacemillion in bright streaks of light.
"What the…?" David asked as they all watched the battle above. "What the heck are they doing?"
"D-Boy! Heero, stop this!" Yumi cried. "You shouldn't be fighting each other."
Wufei watched the fight as well, but with knowledge of its purpose. "It's the only way it can be settled now. Neither one of us can decide on whom our enemy is, so they will."
David was just as confused as Yumi. "By fighting each other?"
"When words fail, action must be taken." Wufei answered. "They must fight to find out who the greater threat is."
"But…but…" Yumi stammered.
"There's nothing that can be done now." Noal said, cutting her off. "We can only wait."
Libra
Dorthy entered the officers' lounge to find Relena sitting in her seat deep in thought. With a smirk, Dorothy walked in and leaned in front of her. 'Let the games begin.'
"So tell me, have you thought of a way to persuade Mr. Milliardo?
"I'm not going to persuade him." Relena replied. "I must convince him."
Moving back, Dorothy placed her hands on her hips. "It's impossible to convince him, because Mr. Milliardo is dead serious about destroying the Earth."
Relena frowned. "I just can't believe my brother is actually thinking of initiating another war though."
"There will be another war, just as Mr. Trieze predicted."
Relena shot up from her seat. "I won't let there be!"
Dorothy floated back and replied with equal force. "How will you stop it?"
Relena looked down. "I'm not sure." This situation felt far beyond her. She couldn't even talk straight to her brother now.
"Use this."
"Huh?" Looking up, Relena saw that Dorothy wad handing a gun to her. Dorothy went on to explain.
"It's the only way you'll be able to stop Mr. Milliardo. You can do it, Miss Relena." Playing her trump card, she added in. "If it means preventing a war from starting…"
"No. I could never do something like that."
"Because you can't shoot your own brother?" Dorothy snapped. "Or because it's against your idea of pacifism? It must be because you're Relena Peacecraft, and you are unable to take action being constrained by your ideal world."
"That isn't true, Dorothy."
"Huh?"
"I just don't believe true peace could be obtained through assassination."
Dorothy was briefly stunned. She had expected to expose Relena's weakness to her and leave the girl crushed. Instead, Relena was showing that remarkable strength and resolve once more. 'Truly remarkable' Dorothy thought and she closed her eyes and smiled.
"Oh. Then that leaves me no choice."
Dorothy then turned around and exited the room. The door slid close and Dorothy activated the outside lock. Realizing this, Relena moved up to the door and tried to open it, but failed to.
"Dorothy? Open the door!"
"Just stay in here until everything is over Miss Relena." Dorothy replied before leaving the now-trapped girl.
Aki was now holding a downed Tekkaman Dead and faced with a new tekkaman. And judging by the armor design, it was definitely a gundam tekkaman.
"Hm. Two birds in one stone." he growled through glowing red eyes. "Just the way I like it."
Aki lowered Dead to the floor and reclaimed her lancer. "If you want me, you've got me. Leave him out of this."
Shrapnel lifted his axe toward Dead. "He has everything to do with this. My master wanted to make sure he was loyal. Since that is not the case, then he must be eliminated. You and this command center are just extra bonus points."
Aki moved in front of Dead's body and leveled her lancer. "Sorry. But he is a Space Knight. If you want him, you'll have to go through me."
"You say that as if that was a problem."
Shrapnel suddenly dashed at Aki, axe lancer reared back to strike. Aki followed his pattern, charging at him with a fierce cry. Blade met blade in a terrific strike between the two and they both hopped off to the other side. Shrapnel turned to Dead and continued to go after him. But Aki lashed out with her arm and her energy wire halted Shrapnel's attack. Then with all her might, she shot out of the command center, dragging the dark gundam with her outside and into the air. Shrapnel snarled at her and then pulled back, causing Aki to turn around toward him. But her boosters were still ignited and with a wild cry she attacked. Shrapnel swung back and again the two clashed heavily while still connected. More strikes were exchanged between the two and Shrapnel realized that he had underestimated the power of the Scarlet Tekkaman. 'But not by much…'
"I can sense your weakness." he mocked as they dropped to the grounds outside the command center. "You desperation is apparent. You don't stand a chance against me."
Aki knelt down for her next attack, but in truth, Shrapnel was right. The battle with the Radham as well as Dead had drained her severely. Right now, she was going on fumes. And to top it off, her crystal was beginning to affect her again. But she had to go on. Her friends' lives were at stake. She had to beat him. Aki ran at him with her lancer pointed forward and stabbed forward to impale him. Shrapnel deflected the stabbing blow and brought his lancer back to slap her on the side. Aki was knocked aside, but she lifted her wrist to pull up on the wire and right herself just before she lunged again. Again her attack was deflected, but this time Shrapnel was unable to counter-attack. Aki had flown by, tugged on the wire again, and came at him once more from the side. Shrapnel soon realized what she was doing as he blocked the third lancer strike.
"Is this what you have to resort to? Petty attack tactics?" With a mighty heave, Shrapnel shot his arm and lancer up, knocking her in the chin and sending her soaring. And as she did, he brought the axe down on the wire, cutting it and letting her slam into the ground.
"Guah!"
"How pitiful." Shrapnel mocked. "In truth, I expected more from the Space Knights. But if this is all you have, then I'll have to put you out of your misery."
"No!"
Suddenly, Dead flown out of the Command Center and toward the gundam tekkaman. But in a surprise twist, Shrapnel had charged up his voltekka cells and aimed them straight at Dead.
"Voltekka!"Dead, who was caught off guard by the fact that Shrapnel knew that he had revived, was shocked by the oncoming wave of energy that slammed him right to the ground. Shrapnel laughed and Dead hit the dirt.
"Took you long enough. Toying with her isn't all that fun."
Dead struggled to get back on his feet, but lost his footing and fell down. He had lost it. Lost it all. His sister…his friends…everything… All because of the mistake he made. Lifting his head, he saw Shrapnel standing over him, his axe overhead and ready to come down upon him.
"For you, this is the dead end!"
"Yahhhhhhh!"
Shrapnel blinked and turned to the source of the cry. Aki had risen up from the floor and was now glowing in a brilliant light. Her arms and legs were outstretched and energy began to pour out from her.
"Power of Space to one!"
The armor of the Scarlet Tekkaman suddenly glowed to white and began to change. Both Dead and Shrapnel watched in amazement and shock as Aki transformed once again. Her armor became enhanced and the energy grew immensely. The glow soon stopped, leaving the sheer energy in its wake as Aki had almost changed completely before them. Shrapnel stepped back as he realized what had occurred.
"Impossible. How…? A Blastor Tekkaman?"
Aki didn't reply at first, but then her voltekka cells opened, both on her shoulders and her arms. Energy crackled out like wild lightning and Aki aimed her new weaponry at Shrapnel.
"Blastor…VOLTEKKAAAAAAAAA!"
A monolithic wave of intense energy shot out from the cells. Dead barely managed to roll out of the way as the wave engulfed Shrapnel completely.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The wave tore up the ground and soon into the air, taking with it the dark gundam as it disappeared into the atmosphere. Dead managed to lift himself up, but was shocked by Aki's power. 'How…? Why…?' But then, the armor shone again, and this time Aki screamed. The armor flashed in and out and then ultimately disappeared from her body. Aki let out a long, drawn out cry before she collapsed onto the ground. Dead quickly moved over to her.
"Wake up. Wake up!"
Placing a clawed hand on her chest, he could feel a heartbeat, but just barely. Looking back at the command Center, he scooped her up in his arms and weakly flew back toward the base, hoping he could get there before it was too late.
'Aki…!'
Blade halted in his fight as he sensed the pain of his beloved. It was strange that he was even able to sense her from so far away. Before he could reflect on this though, Tekkaman Zero charged at him, bringing him back to the fight. With a parry, he managed to push aside and open him to an attack. But Zero was fast and he wheeled around and deflected Blade's attack as it came. Their boosters flared simultaneously and they soared through space, hacking away at each other for supremacy. It was a decision they had both consented to. They both felt strongly about what must be done. In their earlier days, they would have done it alone, fighting their battles without anyone to help or aid them. But that could not be the case anymore. If they were to fight together, they had to decide whom they had to fight.
Regardless of the cost…
The twin lines of light zigzagged through space and ultimately landed on top of the white battlestation, with the tekkamen still locked in a hold. They broke away and stood still, posed for the next attack. So far, both tekkamen were evenly matched in skill and speed. However, the strength and overall power went over to Zero, who had been on the offensive throughout most of the fight. Only Blade's experience managed to avoid much of Zero's attacks and at times, counter with some deadly moves. Speaking of which, Blade separated his lancer into two and charged at Zero for once. Zero saw this and followed suit and the armored warriors ran along the ship side-to-side. Blade then leaped up and struck down with one of his lancers. Zero jumped up as well and instead of blocking, he batted it away and sliced back. Blade brought his other lancer in to defend, quickly putting him back on the defensive again. There was more to Zero than just skill and strength. It was almost as though Zero…knew what he was going to do beforehand. It was just like his battle with Tekkaman Dead.
"Heero is winning."Duo stated as the group continued to watch the fight from within the Peacemillion. "He has Bladeup against the ropes."
Yumi frowned at him. "Blade will win. Just wait and see."
"This is not about victory."Wufei quietly rebuked them. At his words, the other quietly remembered what this fight was really about. About their indecision and their current weakness. Because of it, two of their strongest warriors were now battling one another to determine what course they must take.
Meanwhile, the battle ravaged on above the Peacemillion once again. As Wufei stated before, Heero was definitely winning. Blade found himself at the end of his resources as the augmented tekkaman pressed on. 'He's even stronger than Dead' Blade reasoned as he backed away. Rather than follow though, Zero held his position. Then his arm voltekka cells illuminated, catching Blade's attention. 'That voltekka…!' Zero lifted his arm and unleashed a wide blast of energy. Quickly, Blade's shoulders snapped open and his voltekka shot out to counter. The collision of energies rippled through space and rattled the battlestation below. Onboard, everyone had to grab hold on to something to prevent from falling onto the floor. In space, Zero and Blade were still faced off. But it was Blade that in worse condition. Using the voltekka that way had strained him and for the moment, he was badly weakened. Even if he could recover, he would never be able to let off another blast that way. Even his reflectors wouldn't be enough now. And given Zero's power and skill, Blade knew he was about to be finished. But he couldn't give up. Not now. His sister…Aki… This was too much to lose now. That left one option. An option he'd never though he'd ever have to use again.
"Power of Space to one!"
As the battle between Blade and Zero takes a heated turn, they are suddenly assaulted White Fang forces. The gundams go into action but find their strength waning amidst the numerous forces and without the Space Knights. With Milliardo now targeting the gundams themselves, the situation seems hopeless. As Aki is recovering from her ordeal, Dead is left to think about the consequences as well as what to do now. But as he does, Radham once again besieges the base, this time with Virgo Dolls and Tekkaman Slayer. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Decision
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AN: For those wondering where I got the line for the Blastor transformation, it had come to my attention that when Teknoman/Tekkaman Blade aired, there were three ways Blade cried when he transformed. "Tek-Setta!", in Japan, "Tekno Power!" in the US and "Power of Space to One!" in Brazil (I think). I liked how it sounded, so I decided to use it here.