Disclaimer: Seep previous chapters
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AN: Again, I went a little overboard. But it's worth it, I'd say.
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Chap. 62
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Bang!
The bullet from Dorothy's gun hit Quatre's straight on, knocking the weapon out of his hand. Quatre held his hand for a moment and rubbed it as he refocused on the girl before him, who was still holding the gun on him.
"This is no time to be fighting! It's too dangerous to stay on this battleship!"
Despite his words, however, he had an ominous feeling from her. A dark…and familiar sensation. Dorothy's sharp eyes remained on him and she began lowering the gun, but the sensation still remained in Quatre.
"Quatre Raberba Winner...I thought so. You're by far the most misguided one out of all the Gundam Tekkamen."
Noal was in trouble…
Maybe trouble was too small a word, even for a guy who had survived the First Radham War, then later was imprisoned for a long time by secret forces. Right now, he almost wished he was still in his cell. After Blade's departure underground, he and Aki worked to fend off the remaining dark tekkamen. Even though the majority of the dark tekkamen were ignoring him, it seemed that one, Shrapnel, was taking a particular interest in toying with him. Noal tried hard to attack, firing bolt after bolt at him. But despite his large bulk, Shrapnel nimbly dodged each blast and slowly walked toward the Space Knight.
"Come on. I'm right here." he taunted. "You'd think with a gun that big, you'd be able to hit a target like me. I guess all you wannabe tekkamen are all show and no substance."
"I'll show you substance." Noal grumbled to himself as he took another aim at the tekkaman. But instead of firing directly at him, he shot a blast off the left, hoping that Shrapnel would veer off there and take the hit. But to his half-surprise, Shrapnel didn't even try to move and the blast flew on past him, exploding behind.
"Now that was just pitiful. Perhaps I should demonstrate a more proficient attack?"
Shrapnel's boosters soon ignited to full and he soar across the lunar soil; his axe-lancer held high and ready to cut the Sol-Tekka and pilot in half. But just as he moved in close, Noal shot off into space, leaving the tekkaman behind for a second.
Which is all it took for his real plan to kick in…
BOOOM!
After Noal had fired his failed shot, he had left behind a quantum grenade just under himself. When Shrapnel attack, Noal dodged and the bomb was triggered, blowing up the tekkaman with it. Noal landed back on the moonsoil, training his gun in the flowing dust particles. Had that been a thermal fusion bomb, he would be less worried and more confident that he did real damage. He knew first-hand how much damage a tekkaman could take. But that grenade should have been strong enough to damage Shrapnel.
So you could imagine his surprise when he found Shrapnel walk out without a scratch on him…
"Are you kidding me?"
"Hello? Gundaminum armor, remember?" the tekkaman mocked as he patted his armored chest. "Capable of taking more that than puny thing. That was an interesting trick though. What else have you got? Heh, heh, heh…"
Shrapnel continued his slow, deadly stride toward Noal, who was now fresh out of ideas. 'Aki… I could sure use your help right now.'
Speaking of which, Aki herself was in a grueling lock with Tekkaman Sai and beginning to be forced back, the daggers of the dark gundam tekkaman edging closer to her. She had been battling Sliver earlier and managed to floor him, but this tekkaman cornered her down, putting her in the position she was in now. Aki was injured and her armor showing burning marks from Sliver's attacks on it, showing her weakened condition. But she would not yield. She couldn't. Not as long as she was with Blade.
Not after everything they had been through together…
She hadn't even realized when she began to love him. Perhaps that moment when the Radham attacked the military base where D-Boy was being imprisoned. She and Noal had gone in to save him, but his despair at the taunts of being called a monster had taken a great deal of his confidence and sanity. But when he risked his life to save her, she told him that a monster would not do such a thing.
"Actions are what prove a man's worth…"Thanks to her, he regained his humanity and continued to fight. But unknown to him at the time, it was that moment when they realized how much they meant to one another. It took more time (and Noal's encouraging) for them to finally come to grips with their feelings about each other and express them. Even the war, as hard and as painful as it was, was not enough to break the bond between them. They had fought so hard for it and nothing short of death would stop them.
Aki made sure of it…
After Omega's defeat and the sudden attack by the tekka-pods and the remaining Radham, it was decided that only a tekkaman would be able to quell these disasters. However, D-Boy had completely lost his memory and his crystal at the time had been destroyed. However, they still had Evil's crystal, which had some power left and with it, a chance. The current Chief, Freeman, had wanted to use the crystal to recreate a tekkaman, with D-Boy as its wielder. Aki however, would not stand for it and insisted that she take the place of D-boy instead, not wanting to put his life in that kind of peril again. It was a pain-staking choice, but ultimately, Aki got what she demanded and thus, with the recreated Pegasus II, she was reborn as a tekkaman. The Scarlet Tekkaman…
But it wasn't without its side effects…
For starters, Aki's normally blue hair had been changed to emerald green, just like D-Boy. Also, she was only permitted to transform through Pegasus. The reason for that was because Evil's power was so great during the last time it was used, that that power increase had altered the transformation as well. Without Pegasus II to regulate that power, Aki would transform into a sort of cross between the normal tekka-form and the Blastor mode. And although Aki gained greater power in this, the instability made it so that she could only be in that form for fifteen minutes after which it would backlash against her and begin to kill her, much as what Blade went through with his thirty minute time limit. But in a twist of fate as it were, D-Boy had regained both his memory and his powers. Aki didn't let his return change what she had done. He had taken the burden of the world on his shoulders and if she could, she would make the same decision all over, no matter how much it hurt. She would never let him fight alone again, never take up that pain of seeing him leave and be helpless to do anything.
Never looking back…
Her eyes shone brightly at this and in a shock to Sai, she managed to shove her back, hard. The dark gundam was surprised by this and her surprise was cut short when Aki let out a wild cry and charged at her, smashing her shoulder into Sai's chest. The dark gundam reeled back and hit the dirt as Aki stayed back to recover. As much as she wanted to press the attack, she needed a breather more. But it was then that Sliver decided to make a return appearance.
"Why won't you die!"
An energy beam sliced across Aki's left leg, causing her to grimace within and kneel down halfway. Lancer set, Sliver soared at her for the kill. But again, Aki managed the element of surprise and in a rush; she hopped up and whirled around. She had hoped to hit the dark tekkaman on the head and floor him for good, but Sliver's reflexes caught her blow and they wound up locking blades instead, with a violent clash between them.
"I must say. For an outdated and nameless tekkaman, you are pretty resourceful when it comes to battle." He pushed harder and with a sudden snap upward, he disarmed her and a sweeping blow knocked her down. Moving over to her, he kept the point of the lancer downward toward her. "But like your beloved Blade, you can not hope to win against the Radham. What do you have to say about that?"
Her answer was simple. "Pegasus!"
Sliver blinked and whirled around to see the tekkabot fly in from out of nowhere and almost plow him down. Sliver dodged the charge, but Aki let out one of her wires and latched out to the passing machine, flying along with it as it flew up to a higher altitude. Climbing on to the top, Aki directed the tekkabot back toward Sliver and commanded it to fire. Energy bolts rained down and Sliver scattered away to dodge. As she neared the surface, her wire flew out again and hooked her fallen lancer. However, before it could reach her, a beam of light severed the wire, causing it to fall again. Aki turned to see what had caused it and looked in shock as to what it turned out to be.
Tekkaman Shirken…Somehow, the tekkaman had survived Blade's early blast and was trudging his way toward the battlefield. His armor was nearly demolished as parts where missing and others hanging out jagged. Nevertheless, he still had enough power to fire a shot like that and Aki worried he may still have a good deal of power left if he was willing to reenter the fight. Either way, it was now four on two and she was without her lancer.
In short, she was in trouble…
The fight between the White Fang and the World Nation intensified. Despite the major blow to the Libra, courtesy of the Peacemillion, the Sol-Tekka Dolls continued to attack and the Leo pilots fought back along with them. The Libra itself became the battlefield as the two forces fought alongside its hull.
"Move it!"
Amidst this battle, Tekkaman Altron continued his warpath, cleaving through the Dolls as he charged in search of his true opponent, who was currently blasting away his own set of Dolls with his cannon. Trieze Khusrenada…
"That's him."
Upon seeing his approach, Trieze wasted no time in firing on the gundam tekkaman. Altron dodged the blast and unlocking one of his dragon arm cells, he fired a voltekka blast as the Sol-Tekka. However, by the time the beam got there, Trieze was already gone from the spot.
"Gotta do better." Trieze taunted. "I'm over here."
"Silence, you!" Altron spat as he charged at him. Swinging his dual-trident lancer, he struck the shield arm of the Tallgesse, only to be stopped and pushed back forcefully. 'That shield…' Wufei began to note. It had managed to take an attack like that, meaning that it must also be made of gundamium. Trieze was obviously prepared for this fight. What else did he have?
"There was a time when battles could be won and lost with a mere push of a button." Trieze began speaking. "And these Moblie Dolls are absolute root of that detestable and hateful spirit. And their extension is the Libra... there." Looking down at the wrecked battlestation, he continued. "When wars are dehumanized, both victory and defeat become miserable, and God no longer lends a helping hand."
Altron had heard enough and charged back toward him. "Enough with the fancy speeches! Too many people have died for nothing because of you and the battles you fought!"
Altron swung out to strike again, but the Tallgeese Sol-Tekka flew out of the lancer's slicing path and behind the gundam himself. Rushing forward, Trieze kicked Altron in the back, sending him away again. But not as far, for the gundam had managed to control himself enough to halt and turn around.
"If you're going to fight anyone, then fight me and no one else."
Trieze became quiet for a moment before finally acknowledging. "You're absolutely right."
Discarding the cannon, Trieze reached into the back storage compartment and unsheathed a metallic half-blade, which soon extended into a full-length blade. Gundamium as well, Altron reasoned as he whirled his trident lancer around in preparation, his emerald eyes glowing with the same determination.
"Are you prepared for the worse, Trieze?"
"Of course I am." Trieze answered. "But this time I won't go easy on you."
Annoyed at talk of their previous duel, Altron charged forward. "Enough talk!"
Trueze simply smiled as the gundam came at him. The beauty of battle indeed…
Srrrrrkkkkkk!
Entrenched within the raging battle, the three Knights continued to fight against the Dolls, who despite the Libra's damage, continued to fight against them. And the number of them seemed to have no end as they continued to come in upon them. Regardless of this, the Space Knights fought on, with the forces of the World Nation fighting alongside them.
Dying alongside them…
"Guuaaahhh!"
Another Sol-Tekka exploded beside Alpha as Hiver moved in to attack. She was unable to really take note of it at the moment as she was focused on her pass. In fact, she was a bit surprised that she had gotten angry about it. Sad yes, but angry, that was unusual for her. During her training, the Chief had taught them that this was common in war. That life would be lost no matter what was tried and as a Space Knight, it was their duty to fight so that others wouldn't have to suffer. But in turn, that meant that they would have to kill themselves.
"This is battle… This is war… This is what it means to be a tekkaman… This is what we do…"
It was out of her character to get angry as she did, but she couldn't help it at the time. A living human being had died right in front of her eyes and she couldn't stop it. That had never happened to her before, so the experience and emotion was new. Against the Radham, she could manage to put those feelings aside, reminding herself that they came to destroy them. But this was different. It was Earth against the colonies. Correction, against the White Fang. The colonies would never support this destruction. In any case, the fight was here now. Yumi put her focus on one thing; surviving. Living past this with her friends. And in order for that to happen, they had to destroy the Sol-Tekka Dolls.
Every single one of them…
"Yahhhhhh!!"
Leaping off of Alpha, Hiver dove in on a squadron of Dolls that was currently embroiled in a battle with a Sol-Tekka unit. Reversing her lancer, Hiver stabbed downward on the soulless machine and then lashed her wire out to hook another one. She then pulled away from the destroyed machine and using the momentum, she ripped through the second one. The remaining Dolls began to focus their sights on her and attack, but two more fell as Alpha soared through in pass and Hiver latched on to the starjet.
"Good move, Yumi." Hayato cheered within.
Beneath the armor, Yumi smiled. 'Leave it to Hayato to cheer me up.' But the moment was cut short when another squadron on Dolls fired on them, hitting Alpha on the side and causing the engine to burst. Hayato began to veer out of control and along with Hiver, they plummeted down right into the Libra.
"Oh, man! Hang on!"
Gritting his teeth, Hayato tried hard to control the soon-to-be crash landing. The Libra began to come up quickly and Hayto practically began to yank the controls out of its place. Narrowly, he managed to ease the landing, which was still rough as the starjet crashed and tumbled alongside the battlestation's structure, stopping only after it slammed into a laser cannon turret.
"Uhh… Not exactly one of my best landings..." Hayato muttered. "Yumi, are you alright?"
"Yeah." The young tekkaman stood up on the top of the starjet after having hung on for dear life as it crashed down. "What about you?"
Hayato checked with his controls. "Well, systems are a total mess. Engines are out too. In short, I'm stuck here."
As if that wasn't bad enough, the Doll unit that had shot them down was still coming in on them. Seeing the wrecked starjet and the tekkaman on it, this was the prime opportunity to destroy a pivotal target. And as they charged up their cannons, one thing was certain.
They weren't going to pass it up…
Libra
Within, Trowa continued on his search to find the control center of the Dolls. However, as found a schematic and began to head toward the area, the bay he began to pass through suddenly loaded up with Dolls. Upon seeing the young man, the Dolls quickly turned and fired upon him, knowing his identity as a gundam. Trowa quickly shot through the zero-g bay and into a wide corridor as the beams streaked around him closely. The Dolls followed him and continued firing, forcing Trowa to back away into a corner. The young man looked over at the Dolls.
"It seems I have defied death a number of times up until now." Looking down at his hand, he called forth his tekka-set crystal. The crystal shone as he began to turn back to the dolls.
"This time will be no different."
The Doll were soon turned to waste as the now transformed Trowa, Gundam Tekkaman Heavyarms, pelted down beams of destruction upon them, destroying them with every volley. Unknown to him though, Duo and the five gundam engineers had gathered in an airlock not far away from where he was. Duo floated ahead of them as they prepared to make their escape, or so it would seem.
"So...what have you got up your sleeves?" Duo questioned, still upset that he found them at all.
Dr. J spoke in answer. "Well, the first thing we want you to do is to take us over to Peacemillion."
"To Peacemillion?" Peacemillion was in worse condition than the Libra. What would they want to go there for?
Prof. G went on to explain. "Zechs will certainly have his way unless we do something to stop him. We want to change Libra's course, but in order to do so, we have to board Peacemillion."
Duo quickly took note of the scientist's first words. "When you say Zechs' plan..." His mind went quickly until finally he realized it. "You mean he's really...?"
The scientists were solemnly silent, indicating what he thought was true. Zechs was planning on the unthinkable.
"That's right." J confirmed. "He's targeting the Earth to the very end." He lowered his head and spoke with determination. "We'll be able to atone for our sins the moment we can put a stop to this maniacal plan."
"All right then." Duo nodded. "Follow me."
Space Ring
"Ryaaaahhhhhhhh!"
The scream of Slayer echoed in space as he struck down on Dead End, hurling him into a tower sticking out of the Space Ring. Dead struggled to regain his composure, but Slayer's rushed attack forced him up and away before she struck again and she ending up tearing apart the tower he jumped away from.
"Dead… This is no time to be pussyfooting around!"
Her booster ignited violently as she shot back to connect with him in mid-space. Their lancers clashed hard, as Slayer lunged at him repeatedly, with Dead defending himself and failing. This was far different than when they fought before. She was really intent on beating him to within an inch of his life and then taking that away. As a result, her attacks were more violent, more powerful than before, as she constantly tore at him and causing a good deal of structural damage to the Space Ring in her attacks. And to make it worse, Dead was refusing to fight back against her. A sudden blow sent him plummeting back to the Ring and as he rose up, she finally stopped and stood above him in wait.
"Come on, Dead. I know you're going to lose, but how about putting some effort into it?"
Dead End finally rose to full height, albeit weakly. At this pace, he wouldn't last much longer and they both knew it. He would have to fight her, but he knew that if that happened, he might kill her. And he didn't think he could do that. He was already tormented with the loss of his family and friends on Black September. For his sister, the only one left, to die at his own hands, it would be devastating.
But the opposite it seems, is also true…
"Auroua, please…"
"Man, are you thick." Slayer spat, shaking her head. "How can I make this any more clearer? You are dead!"
Her boosters flared once more and she charged. Reaching Dead, she stabbed forward from the left. Dead sidestepped the stab, but she suddenly jerked her arm to follow him and the lancer slashed his forearm. Turning, Slayer pressed the attack, colliding into him once more and the two of them smashed right into the lower deck of the Space Ring.
"Gaahhhh!"
"Look at you." Slayer stepped back in order to examine her prey, who had slumped down against a metal wall that had left him crushed. "What a mess you are. But don't fret. You are not the first. And when my master arises from the moon, you will not be the last."
"What?"
"You heard me." She pointed out at a nearby window toward the moon. "At this moment, he prepares to rise from the Moon and descend upon the Earth, along with an entire legion of Radham. And when he reaches Earth, everything will be ours. The planet, the colonies, everything." Slayer waved her lance in dramatic display. "The Radham will have finally conquered this system! And there will be nothing to stop us!"
"No…"
Slayer watch with mild interest as Dead struggled to rise up again. Dead was now efforting to hold his body upright.
"I…will…stop…you…"
"You?" she laughed. "Surely you're joking? You won't even get past this battle alive to care about what happens to the Earth and the colonies. It is such a pity though. You could have been a master of the cosmos." Her lancer then leveled at him. "But as it stands, you will only be space dust."
"Kaaahhhhh!"
Slayer was in for quite a surprise when Dead End suddenly ignited his boosters and flew at her. Their lancers crossed and they went sailing right out the window and back into space, with Dead still pushing on her full force.
"Well, there some fire left in you. This won't be as boring as I thought. But…!"
Slayer suddenly broke the lock and smacked her weapon down on the back of Dead, forcing him to break off. Slayer then spun around, ready to sever him in two. But Dead managed to recover enough to block the blow and return one of his own. Slayer was caught right in the face and she wheeled back.
"That's enough!" Despite his retaliation, Dead still hoped that he could talk her out of this fight. But when she turned back to face him, her eyes were gleaming red, a sign that she was not going to be listening to reason anytime soon.
"On the contrary…This is only the beginning!"
SHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Libra
"Have you finished calculating the wave course yet?"
On the bridge, Quinze was informed of Milliardo's continued plan to strike the Earth and worked about to proceed with the plan.
"Yes. We can enter Earth's atmosphere if we continue on our present course." the soldier answered him. "There's a 69 chance that we'll collide on land in the northern hemisphere. The energy that will be released is estimated at around 6,000 megatons."
Nodding to himself, Quinze relayed over the comn. "Did you hear that information, Commander Milliardo?"
"That will be plenty." Tekkaman Epyon replied from outside. "If the Peacemillion and Libra both crashed on that blue planet, seasons would cease to exist and then they'd be plagued with an everlasting winter."
Quinze continued. "However Commander, this calculation is based on the assumption that Peacemillion's drive system remains turned off."
Epyon took a brief glance at the white ship. "Peacemillion used to be a ship of mine. I know it'll understand my intentions."
"Yes, sir."
"Can you say that about the Gundams pilots, Zechs?"
From beside him, Noin posed the question. As she stated, she did not try to stop him and merely wanted to be by his side. At this point, there wasn't anything she could do anymore, except talk to him.
"Of course. No doubt they will everything they can to try and stop me."
So, you're waiting for them huh?"
Epyon turned to look at her. "Those warriors don't act in a way that perceived as inevitable or predestined. That's what makes them professionals in combat, like me...Zechs Marquis..."
It was true. While many soldiers and warriors could accept defeat and simply disappear into obscurity, these five have been a constant presence, always fighting for a cause in which they believe in until death itself comes to stop them. But while Noin knew this, she also became aware of the fact that Epyon had called himself Zechs instead of Milliardo, showing without a doubt that the man she knew was still in there. Deep within the crimson armor was an honorable man, who fought for what he believed in, just like the other gundams.
"Yes..."
Peacemillion
In a lone hanger area, Relena watched as Heero opened the airlock on his way to leave. Milly was on her way to pick up Relena, so it was time for him to depart into battle once more. But as Heero turned to close the airlock, Relena suddenly moved in place of the door and grabbed hold of his arm
"Wait. Heero. Tell me why it is necessary for you to go too?
Heero paused and only looked up at her briefly. But she didn't let go of his arm and continued speaking to him.
"Libra is going down. There isn't any reason left to keep on fighting. My brother...Milliardo Peacecraft and the White Fang have been defeated."
Heero looked at her once more, but this time, he held the gaze, his expression oddly lightened given the situation.
"I'll make you a bet. Zechs doesn't think that he's lost. Once more, I doubt him or Trieze are ever going to allow this battle to end."
"What?""That's why I've got to go and fight them." he finished, beginning to turn back again.
Despite this explanation, Relena still continued to hold Heero's arm, fearing what he may be trying to do. But even still, she wanted to truly understand why. "Do you really think if you go, that the war is going to come to an end?"
Relena was suddenly surprised when Heero turned back around to her again and held her arms, giving them a loose, but close embrace to each other.
"I'll defeat Zechs, then I'll go get Trieze. Then the war will be over. Afterward, if you make it out of here, there will finally be peace. This is the only thing I can do for you, Relena."
Spellbound by both his action and close proximity, Relena could only whisper in response. "Heero..."
The young man continued. "I promised that I'd protect you. But in order to protect you and the Earth Sphere, I have no choice, but to fight."
"No…"
"Please let me fight." he pleaded.
"I won't." she refused softly. "No way. Heero, you're planning to die, aren't you?"
Unbeknownst to her, Heero had reached up to the side of her helmet and slid on the faceplate. Heero continued to hold her focus on him as he made her a silent promise.
"Believe in me..."
The without warning, Heero gently pushed her backward and out of the airlock. Relena was completely surprised by this and as she floated away, Heero began to close the airlock chamber
"Heero?!"
The door soon closed and Relena, who had touched the wall behind her, moved over to the side. There, a view glass revealed Heero standing still with his faceplate on as the airlock began to open into space. His hand opened slightly, causing the tekkaset crystal to emerge in his grip. Relena had no choice but to watch him go.
Watch him…and believe…
"I do...believe in you." she spoke softly once more. "Yes, I do."
As the doors to space opened fully, Heero slowly raised his arm, pointing the crystal toward the open space. The crystal's energy began to show as Heero was glowing softly. Yet, before he departed, he gave Relena once last glance.
"Goodbye...Relena."
"Huh?"
Heero exploded in a flash of light and soon rocketed off into space. His human form began to fade away and disappear altogether, with the mighty armored warrior in its place. Zero Gundam Tekkaman…
"Heero!" was all Relena could shout as he flew away.
Libra
Back to the confrontation between Dorothy and Quatre, the two gazed over at each other for a good minute. Dorothy soon gave him a sly smile before tossing her gun away, letting the zero-g take it away. Quatre relaxed a bit, but the familiar sensation he had been sensing was still about. Just as he was coming to pinpoint it, Dorothy grabbed hold of a helmet nearby. As soon as she touched it, the room lit up with various lights and technology. Dorothy continued to hold the helmet as she reached inside it as Quatre made the startling realization.
"I sense…Zero..."
Dorothy's smile grew. "You've got it. We have connected the Mobile Doll control system to the Zero crystal. So now you know. Through here, my desire to fight activates all Dolls in battle."
It made perfect sense to Quatre. Considering how the Dolls moved and how deadly they continued to be, it would be something birthed out of Zero. He knew that better than most. Dorothy's hand continued to rummage inside the helmet and soon she pulled it out; a medium-sized, transparent crystal. Quatre watched as she soon took out something else from her back. A smaller, diamond-shaped crystal. It was as he suspected in the Sank Kingdom. Dorothy Catalona was a primary body. The young woman simply gazed at Quatre as she held the two items together, causing them to glow in reaction.
"What are you doing?"
"Quatre Winner." she started formally, although it was just her usual mock appearance. "I challenge you to a duel. I lost the battle when each of us used the crystal, but I wonder what will happen this time around."
The young man narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about? I never used the crystal against you."
"Not completely, but even you must have sensed the residual energy from Zero during our encounter. It was enough for us to be matched on the battlefield."
Quatre blinked as his memory retraced back to that moment. In that battle, he had led the Knights and Gundams through the battle by matching Dorothy's moves every step of the way. And since she was using the Zero crystal to control the Dolls, the only way to match her that way…was if Zero's power was still within him somewhat. But that didn't make any sense. The crystal had long bonded to Heero. How could he have still had the trace power of it?
"But now that energy is no longer present in you." Dorothy continued, breaking into his thoughts. "So you decided you can fight without the Zero crystal, right?"
Quatre returned his attention to the present and answered her. "I wouldn't fight if I could help it. But unless I keep on fighting, you people won't surrender and the war will never end."
"That's absolutely right." Dorothy declared, inching her crystals closer together. "Now let's determine for ourselves which is more advanced. A Zero-enhanced primary body or gundam tekkaman with the bare human consciousness."
Quatre was about to warn her not to do this, but too late as her hands slid together, inserting the smaller crystal within the second one and causing both to glow in a light purple haze. She seemed bent on fighting, but Quatre hoped that this wouldn't be the case. With an inward sigh, he simply asked her.
"And if I refuse?"
A predatory smile emerged on her lips as she gripped hard on the crystal. Quatre knew what was to come, but that still didn't prepare him for it.
"Tek-Setta!"
Dorothy flashed in a bright glow as the crystal went to work, transforming her body into a new creature, cloaked in dark violet armor and armed with a lancer in the shape of a fencing blade. Her hair continued to spray out from behind like a cape of gold. Quatre wasn't sure he should be horrified or amazed, but Dorothy made the decision for him as she suddenly shot at him, her lancer ready to impale him. Quatre quick ducked off to the side and kicked back, narrowly dodging a back swipe from her. Rearing her blade back, Dorothy charged at him and struck. But her blow met with a clang, for Quatre had transformed as well, into Tekkaman Sandrock.
"How come you're so attached to war?" Sandrock cried out as he held her back with his lancer. "Why must we go through this?"
"You're so kind, aren't you Quatre?" Dorothy retorted. "And what reason do you have to fight?"
"I fight for my family. I have to fight if I'm to ward off my family's sorrow." Sandrock answered.
Dorothy's eyes shimmered. "My father did that. He fought so that I wouldn't feel any sorrow and he died for it. That's why I'm going to die fighting a beautiful battle as well!"
With a straining sound, Dorothy suddenly pushed against Sandrock, propelling herself backward and away from him. Sandrock held his place, still trying to talk her out of this before it went too far.
"Then you actually hate war too, don't you?"
Dorothy said nothing at first, but as soon as she touched to wall behind her, she kicked off of it and slashed out. Sandrock was again forced to dodge, but Dorothy suddenly swung around with a kick, knocking him out of the entrance and into the hallways behind. Sandrock shook his head to recover, but Dorothy was upon him, slashing out with her lancer once again. Sandrock jumped up and backed away through the hall, but Dorothy relentlessly pursued, attacking him all the while and tearing apart the halls with her slashing.
"No! War is not to blame for destruction and massacre. The enemy we must defeat is in our respective hearts! Ha! Ha!"
"I believe in peace because it surpasses war." Sandrock replied, deflecting her strikes. "I believe in the heart that hopes for peace."
Dorothy continued to drive him through the hall and the two ended up flying through an empty hanger bay. Sandrock was being hard-pressed by Dorothy as her attacks became more precise and stronger, drawing closer to breaking his defense.
"Then I'll ask you this. You say that you've fought for everyone. But what has everyone done for you in return?" she spat out, attacking with three quick slashes.
Sandrock deflected the first two and dodged the third. "I'm not fighting to receive any kind of compensation."
Her eyes glared brightly as her arm arched across her body and back. "That's why you're so ignorant!"
The slash was nearly dead on target, Sandrock's neck. Bu the gundam tekkaman had managed to dodge once more and with a heavy push, he rushed into Dorothy and shoved her upward into the upper wall of the bay. A cry of pain emitted from her and Sandrock looked on.
"Please stop this, Dorothy." he pleaded.
But the only response he received was of laughter as the woman tekkaman chuckled.
"The colonies betrayed the gundams. The colony citizens killed your father. And finally, the armed colonies declared independence from Earth before truly understanding what was going on." She lifted her head to him. "All of your battles up until now have been a true waste of time. Your sympathy toward others, too much sympathy toward others, has resulted to this worse case scenario."
Sandrock found that could not reply to that one. Largely because there may have been a sting of truth to it…
And then her boosters ignited…
As the destruction continues and the war is fought, those who are to meet will fly forth to their destinies. But as Libra continues to descend toward Earth and a hidden force emerges from the Moon, will outer space and the Earth be sacrificed before this conflict can come to an end? Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Faced with Fate and Destiny