Disclaimer: See previous chapters
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Chap. 65
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"Kyyyaaahhh!"
Another Doll was sliced in half as the Space Knights continued their fight against the Radham/Doll horde. Despite being severely outnumbered, they held their ground and managed to kep the invading force at bay. However, for every one they took out, twenty more seemed to take its place.
"There are so many." Hiver thought out loud as she destroyed another Doll. "Can we really take them all?"
One of the Radham came up behind her and rushed forward to strike. Hiver turned around as it closed in, only to find the monster already ripped in half. Emerging from behind was Tekkaman Vesna, her lancer blade fresh with the blood of the creature.
"We can't give up yet, Yumi."
Hiver nodded and returned her attention to the battle where in the distance; Sommer had hacked away another Doll and landed on Beta ship. The other two moved to join him when Anita called to them.
"Hey guys. I'm getting a message from MO-II."
Patching them through they soon heard Milly's voice coming in. "Space Knights, come in."
"Miss Milly?"
The elder Knight delivered her message. "Space Knights, the Peacemillion and Libra are starting to fall back to Earth. It has to be stopped." Her expression became grave. "This is a command authorization from Chief Aki to be delivered in case the need. Execute formation Trinity."
At this, the three knights gasped in response. "Are you serious?" Sommer spoke. "We've never even had the time to practice it."
"There's no choice." Milly explained. "If Libra and Peacemillion hit ground, the Earth will be destroyed."
That was a shock to them. They knew the damage a crash would cause would be great, but they never knew it would be to that extent. Milly sighed and spoke once more in a lower tone.
"I know that it is dangerous, but you guys may be our last chance here."
"...Roger that."
As Milly cut off the communications channel, Sally moved up beside her. "Formation Trinity?"
Milly didn't turn from the viewscreen, but she answered. "The greatest weapon of the Space Knight tekkamen. The three unique voltekkas they possess are designed to be capable of combining into an even greater energy weapon." She then lowered her head. "However, it requires precise aiming and focus because once it's unleashed, the tekkamen will have used up most of their energy and be unable to fight afterward."
"A one shot move..." said Lady Une.
"Yes. Aki briefed me on it as they received the weaponry." She finally turned her head to the two. "Because of the energy drain and the power it has, it was designed to be used in only the worse case situations."
Relena came up around the other side of the woman. "Is it really that powerful?"
Milly turned back to the viewscreen, keeping her gaze on the moving tekkamen. "I should hope so. At this point, it's the only option we have."
The team of three soared through the chaos of space, looking for the best target and place for their attack. They soon found a clear area to station themselves and stopped short.
"The target is the center rear of the Peacemillion." Vesna ordered, pointing to the massive starship. "That should reduce that thing to bits before it reaches the Earth."
Hiver turned to her. "What about the gundams? They might still be on the Libra."
Sommer turned to the two starjets. Can you guys try to contact the gundams? Tell them to evacuate the Libra immediately. They have one minute. That's all the time we can spare."
"Roger that. Be careful guys."
The starjet flew off on their mission as well as to give the three tekkamen room for their attack. They began to assemble in separate positions, giving the others the minute needed to contact the gundams. However, they were unable to start, for two shadows soon descended on them.
"We meet again, Space Knights."
Tekkaman Sliver and Tekkaman Sai... Servants of the Radham...
Radham Mothership
"Rrraahhhh!"
Blade charged at the massive frame of Dagger Omega, lancer aimed forward and ready to strike. But as soon as he came close, the giant tekkaman disappeared from sight and reappeared right behind him.
"Not like before, is it Blade?!"
Blade whirled around, and charged again. He wasn't surprised by Dagger's warp-like speed. It was the same as the first Omega. But he wasn't. He was much stronger than before. Not that this would be an easy fight, but it wouldn't be as brutal and painful as before.
This might be worse...
Swkkkkk!
Once again, metallic tendrils whipped out of the ground and walls, stabbing at Blade and tearing his off shards of his white armor. Blade worked to dodge the tendrils as fast as he could, but they were all over the place. There was only one course of action to take.
Change the terrain...
Dodging a set of tendrils, Blade's shoulders quickly opened and its cells charged. Aiming them upward toward Dagger, Blade unleashed the full force of his voltekka on the tekkaman warlord. As before, Dagger shifted out of the way, but Blade's true target was the ceiling. His blast blew a hole straight through the ship, thus proving Blade's theory. Although the tendrils and parts of the ship were made from gundamium, the ship as a whole was not and therefore vulnerable.
Blade soared up and out onto the deck of the mothership and whirled around. Soon Dagger emerged from the vessel as well, with the Earth in the backdrop and closing fast.
"Perfect, Blade." The warlord boomed as he gazed down at the Earth. "I couldn't have planned this better. The conquest of Earth, the destruction of all possible resistance, and..." He turned to Blade and glared. "My revenge against you." In a grand gesture, he raised his lancer. "And now you come out to witness your home be destroyed. Just perfect."
"It's not over yet, Dagger." Blade retorted, readying his lancer to attack. "Not as long as I am here."
"On the contrary..." Suddenly, multiple tendrils shot out of the ship and quickly encircled Blade. Blade was unable to escape as the cords grabbed hold of him again, causing him to drop his lancer. Blade struggled to escape, but there were more cords holding him this time and they hand his hands and legs tied and stretched out. Dagger made a slight motion, causing the tendrils to shift and direct Blade toward the Earth. Blade continued to struggle, but the gundamium was holding him tight, preventing release this time.
"Gnnnhh!"
"It is over!" Dagger shouted. "For you, your Space Knights, the gundams, Earth, the colonies, everything!" Dagger lifted his lancer and twirled it sideways. In a flash, barbs of energy arrows formed along it, all pointed at Blade.
"Oh don't worry. I won't kill you, yet. I want you to see this. To know that everything you have ever cared about and loved be destroyed before your very eyes. and you will be powerless to stop any of it. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Shrrrrrrkkkkk! Shrrrrrrkkkkk! Shrrrrrrkkkkk! Shrrrrrrkkkkk! Shrrrrrrkkkkk!
Libra
Within the Libra, the clash between the two powerful tekkaman tore apart the innards of the battlestation, smashing through the halls and walls in their fight. Both warriors were unrelenting in their attacks and unyielding to the attacks of their opponents, no matter how much it hurt. Their fight soon led to a Virgo docking bay where they lunged at each other and then circled around afterward.
"The colonies have started moving towards total pacifism all on their own." Zero shot out as he backed away. "What you're doing is meaningless!"
But the crimson tekkaman had no intention of stopping. "My destiny is smeared with blood and I won't be talked out of this transgression." His lancer leveled up. "I'm going to settle this here!"
With a blast of his boosters, Epyon charged forward full force, his armored wings spreading with in attack. Zero did likewise, opening his own wings as his boosters flared, sending him toward Epyon head on. Loud battle cries filled the air as the two came at each other, readying for what would be the final strike of this battle.
"Raaahhhhhhhhh!"
The strike came so fast that it wasn't even seen. And as they touched down to the ground, it appeared that nothing had happened. But soon Epyon's lancer clattered to the ground, with the tekkaman himself on one knee and holding his chest, where a long mark razed across his chest.
"Why...didn't you...kill me?"
Despite the damage, Epyon realized that Zero's attack had been held back. With the speed and force that was used by Zero, even for someone like Epyon, he should have been torn apart. Zero kept his back to Epyon, but he straightened up and answered calmly.
"Relena would be sad."
Space Ring
The crystal hawk of Slayer swooped in fast on Dead after she had dodged his voltekka blast. As she came, her lancer was set and ready to finish her former brother, aiming to take off his head. Dead saw her near, but was unable to stop her approach.
"It ends here, Dead End!"
Dead gave no reply as she slashed out at him. Slayer let out a cry of victory as she struck, but that was soon replaced with a gargle of pain. She had been so into striking him that she hadn't seen him redirect his lancer upward. And since she was charging at him, she had rushed right into weapon, causing it to impale herself on it.
"Naaahhh!"
But Dead wasn't completely out of the woods as he had to rush out of the way of her attack still. Her blade struck, hitting the collar of his neck, but no more. The momentum of the crush interlude propelled the two into the Space Ring once more, wheeling and spinning as they did until they crashed, hard.
"Guuah!"
Dead rose up from the crash, hurt and damaged from his fall. Checking the slash he had received, he found that even though it was deep, it wasn't too serious. Staggering, he moved over toward the fallen Slayer, who had crashed nearby. Dead's lancer was still impaled within her as she lay on the deck. Dead moved over to her and pulled out the lancer, causing her to gargle painfully. Looking up, she saw Dead towering over her, his lancer held just over her. She was at his mercy and they both knew it.
"So...you actually pulled it...off...eh?"
Dead said nothing and simply stared at her prone form. He could now end this. Since this all began, she had been trying nothing short of destroying him. Now she was down and out and he could finish her off for a change.
Except...he couldn't...
"What are you...doing?" Slayer croaked out. "Finish it."
However, Dead didn't move a muscle, aside from a light trembling of his lancer. He was hesitating
-'Guuuaahhh!'-
Dead's head lifted up and away. It was a telepathic surge of another tekkaman...someone in pain...Blade... Dead realized the direction he was looking and saw the great Radham mothership looming just some distance away from the Libra. Blade was in great pain. Since the Space Knights were embroiled in the battle with the Libra, there was no one to help him. The same could be said for the gundams. And he couldn't sense Aki's mental signature, so it's unknown what happened to her. That only left him to do something. Dead turned and began to walk away, but stopped when Slayer screeched at him.
"Where are you going? Finish me!"
Dead turned his head to her, but said nothing. As it stood, he was still uncertain as to what to do about her. But he did know that Blade needed help right now. This was all he could do. Whether it is the right decision or not, he didn't know. But it was the only one he could think of.
And so he flew toward the mothership, with the screams of the wounded tekkaman behind him...
Space
The three knights were confronted by the dark gundam tekkamen. This presented a major problem for them. Sliver was dangerous enough, but Sai was a new one to them. If Slayer was any indication, they were sure to bet that this new female tekkaman was serious trouble. And they couldn't use their Trinity formation as long as they were there. To top it all off, they were sensing Blade's distress from the incoming Radham mothership.
"What's the holdup?" Sai beckoned, twirled her jagged weapons in readiness. "Shall we start this or not?"
The Knights lifted their lancers as well, but this would only play into the Radham's hands and allow the Libra and Peacemillion to crash into the Earth. They had to get out of this...somehow.
"Let's begin."
The two quickly charged at the Space Knights, but they suddenly veered away as a new form dove in from above. Backing away, they were now faced with the glaring emerald eyes of Tekkaman Hellscythe.
"Sorry we're late. Traffic was a mess."
Altron soon flew in as well, his trident lancer whirling behind him. The Space Knights were both surprised and glad to see their comrades join with them.
"Duo! Wufei!" Hiver cheered.
Hellscythe raised his scythe lancer. "Leave these guys to us."
"What about the others?" Vesna questioned
"Take a look."
Hellscythe indicated up to the raging Radham and Dolls, now being assaulted by the combined force of Heavyarms and Sandrock, who were also accompanied by the Magnagac. Yet even as they fought, some of the Radham broke through their offensive and headed for MO-II.
Only to be destroyed by a pink flash of light...
The Radham halted as they were faced by a new presence that hovered before the space station; that of Tekkaman Rapier. Her sword lancer shone before her as she confronted the invaders.
"Long ago, I said that this was my battle. So come on!"
As Sandrock and Heavyarms fought the Radham and Rapier defended the resource satellite, Hellscythe and Altron remained in between Sliver and Sai.
"Don't you three have work to do?" Altron half-growled.
"But...what about D-Boy?" Hiver said with worry.
In answer, a flash of purple light flew past them from behind, heading straight toward the advancing mothership. Tekkaman Dead...
"Leave it to me."
As Dead continued on, Sai and Sliver turned to stop him. However Hellscythe and Altron charged, meeting with Sai and Sliver in a head-on clash. Enraged, the Radham tekkamen fought back against them, leaving the Space Knights to themselves.
"Dead..."
"You heard him. Leave it to him."
This, surprisingly, came from Vesna. The female tekkaman looked at her comrades and continued. "We have to do our part now."
"Right." Sommer then looked at the two. "You guys ready for this?"
"As ready as we'll ever be." they nodded.
Nodding back, Sommer hovered forward, Vesna to the left and Hiver to the right. This made for a triangle formation at which the armored warriors began powering up their weaponry. While it is true that in terms of power, human/Radham tekkamen excel over the Space Knight created type. This is evidenced both by the powers of Blade and Dead End. Also, the gundams seemed to be an advanced form of that, giving then enhanced defensive abilities and augmented voltekkas.
However, the Space Knight tekkamen possess a power of their own as well. Though they seem weaker in comparison, the truth is that this only leaves room for them to be upgraded, obtaining unique abilities that can make them capable of dealing with a greater assortment of threats, as demonstrated by Hiver's Reactor Voltekka. But now, an even greater power was about to be unleashed.
"Now!"
Vesna went first, spreading her arms out wide. Her eyes shone brightly as the voltekka cells on her shoulders and body began to glow.
"Pulse...!"
Bubbles of energy floated out of the cells and formed around all three of them. The bubbles pulsed and grew to a medium size, but they remained in place. Now it was for the second sequence
"Cannon...!"
Aiming his lancer toward the Libra, Sommer's voltekka cells flared to life and formed a dual beam of energy on both sides like a rail gun. Energy crackled in between the energy beams, with one of Vesna's energy bubbles in front of him. With the two now set, the time had come for the weapon of activation. Hiver crossed her arms and readied her weapon.
"David, get ready!" Hiver shouted as she charged her voltekka. This was the part that they all had to be ready for. If they lapsed in concentration at this moment, they would wind up destroying themselves. Not only that, Libra and Peacemillion would destroy the entire Earth.
Failure was not an option...!
"Reactor...!"
The swirl of energy shot out and upward, soaring right toward one of the energy bubbles of Vesna's Pulse voltekka. Vesna braced herself, knowing the stress that would come from impact. The Reactor hit the bubble in a flash, but it didn't explode. Rather, it formed into a crystal form and then spread to the two below them. With both of them in concentration, the now two beams hit the bubbles below, resulting in the same effect and then connecting to form a triangle around them. With now three crystals posed, they all shot at the bubble in the front, which was also connected to Sommer's Cannon voltekka.
'Here it comes...'
The three beams hit the central bubble, combining with Sommer's beams and creating a bright light that reflected throughout the entire sequence until they were all surrounded by a prism of crystalline energy. Within, Sommer struggled with the immense energy that was before him, forcing himself to keep the aim straight. Behind him, Hiver and Vesna, both still focusing on the power they were creating. Suddenly, at the same time, all of their eyes shone brightly, signaling the moment that had come.
"VOLTEKKA TRINITY!"
The prism soon exploded, unleashing a beam of pure light so massive that it easily resembled the beam cannon of the Libra itself. The energy soared through space, disintegrating any and all the Radham and Dolls that were in its path without letup. The beam finally collided with the Peacemillion and began to bore its way in…
Libra
Within the Libra, Zero sensed the immense energy of the combined voltekka beam beginning to tear through the Peacemillion and the Libra. The tekkaman turned only slightly to regard this. The energy would not only rip the battlestations in half, but it would also be enough to set off the power generators within, causing a chain reaction that would destroy them and save the Earth.
In any case, the mission was complete.
He had stopped Zechs and Libra was soon to be destroyed. However, he was too deep in the Libra to escape safely now. Turning, he saw the light of the voltekka blast beginning to come in down from the corridor.
'Farewell... Relena.'
To his surprise, Epyon rose up to face him. The scar still gleamed deeply on his chest, but he had enough strength to pull himself up. Seeing the energy coming in, he spoke to the white tekkaman behind him.
"There's only one more thing required to attain total peace... As strong heart that can empathize with people." Epyon turned to him. "Like yours. You're too pure and too kind. But I guess that give you the right to live."
Zero stared at him silently, taking in his words, as the light behind them soon became a twister of explosions and flames. Epyon then roared aloud.
"Just watch me! I'm going to live right to the bitter end!"
Without warning, Epyon suddenly lunged at Zero and grabbed hold of him. Zero was surprised by this and Epyon lifted him off the ground.
"Zechs!?"
"I'll live the hard life of a warrior!"
With a burst of his boosters, Epyon shoved Zero straight into the wall. Only...it wasn't the wall. Zero was thrown through an adjourning corridor, the zero gravity propelling him through. As Zero soared back, Epyon remained where he was, with the light growing brighter behind him as he continued.
"Zechs, no!"
'Till we meet again, Heero." was the last thing he said before being engulfed by the flaming explosion.
Radham Mothership
It didn't take long for Dead to reach the Radham mothership, largely due to the fact that it was advancing on Earth anyway. Soaring along the underbelly of the alien ship, Dead unsheathed his lancer and struck, ripping a hole in the ship. Flying inside, he soon began to sense a high-energy source. Even more so because he was heading toward it.
The core...
Dead stopped short, standing in front of a pulsating bubble of glowing energy. Veins connected to the ball and circulated around the chamber. Dead's lancer tilted upward, intent obvious. With Blade in battle above, striking the core would provide the distraction needed as well as stop the mothership from reaching the Earth. Dead brought his lancer back ready to strike when...
"Not so fast, Dead!"
Dead stopped short and dove off to the side as Slayer shot up from behind with a flying lunge. Getting back up to his feet, Dead faced his sister, amazed that she was still able to get up, much less follow him here and attack. But that must have been the last of it, for as she turned around, her wound was still fresh and open on her side, with blood still dripping out and her body trembling a bit. Dead noticed this and lowered his weapon.
"There's no reason for us to fight anymore."
"Hehehe… And here I was mocking you for being halfhearted." A cough escaped her before continuing. "Indecisive between trying to save the Earth and hoping to save me."
"Auroua… "
"Don't get your hopes up." she chuckled painfully. "I am Tekkaman Slayer, bound to kill you right to the point that I would pay the price of my life to rid the cosmos of your existence. And yet…" She paused for a moment, seemingly in thought. "...There is another part of me…the part that as your sister…would pay an equal price so as to protect you."
Dead was silent at this proclamation. In a way, she was exactly like him. Enraged at present, yet grief-stricken by the past, with no sight of the future in her mind. Lost in the flow of time... And despite this, she was still trying to hold on to the one thing that mattered through it all.
Him...
"And so…" Her eyes lifted up and began to glow bright. "...for me to be truly satisfied…" Her body then began to flash as well, illuminating the ground below them.
"I will fulfill both desires!"
"Aurora!" Dead shouted with concern. "What are you doing?"
The body of the dark tekkaman continued to flash, glowing more brightly as she stood there. "My life is what I would give for both you destruction and your salvation. So here it is. My life!"
She opened her arms wide and she crackled, her body illuminating the room almost as much as the core. Dead had to cover his eyes from the sight and backed away from her. Slayer continued laughing as her entire armored form shone in brilliant light.
"Kenji... Dead End... It's up to you now to determine who smiles in the afterlife. Hahahaha…Hahahahahahahaha!"
"NOOOOOOOO!"
Above, Dagger Omega sensed the shock from his servant too late. The ship rumbled beneath him and then began to emit shards of light.
"What...! NO!"
The answer came in a massive explosion from the belly of the ship, which poured up and out everywhere. The alien vessel soon began to erupt from everywhere and soon parts of it blew off. The tendrils that were holding Blade loosened and the tekkaman tore them off of him and flew upward. Dagger too, soared up into space and growled as he beheld his now damaged ship. All because of his most powerful subordinate. He knew she was the more unstable of his minions, but he never would have guessed that she would do this.
"Slayer? What have you done?!"
His rage was soon directed toward the now released Blade. Lifting his lancer once more, he assembled his energy arrows once more and fired them upon Blade. Blade was torn apart by the hail of energy and drifted backward. Rage had not left the tekka-warlord however, seeing the damage his ship was in. It was moderate at best, but it would delay his conquest, during which it would be possible for a sizable resistance to form. A resistance in which Blade, should he still be alive, would lead.
Change of plan...
Looking over at the now reviving Blade, Dagger called forth another energy arrow, larger and more concentrated than the previous ones. Energy sparked out of it as he aimed it at the recovering tekkaman. He didn't want it to be this way. He wanted Blade to live long enough to see Earth fall under his complete control. But as it stands, letting him live any longer would be foolhardy.
"Goodbye, Blade. Give my regards to the oblivion!"
The arrow fired out like a beam and soared right at Blade. But before it could meet him, a dark bolt of energy shot out and intercepted it, colliding and exploding in a bright flash of light. Shock overcame Dagger as he turned to the source.
Tekkaman Dead...
The dark tekkaman was injured and damaged from the Slayer self-destruction, but he had managed to escape alive. He wasn't even sure how he survived, nor did he think he would even make it. But here he was, alive and now in confrontation with Dagger Omega. But his attack was his last. The damage he suffered was extensive and his last reserve of energy was just used on the voltekka that stopped the energy arrow. And now an enraged tekka-warlord was facing him.
"You insect!" His lancer turned toward Dead and another energy arrow was summoned. Dead was vulnerable now and even if he was at full strength, he doubted he would be able to fight such a force. But he wouldn't have too, for a loud cry came out from the collision explosion, causing both tekkamen to turn toward it.
"Power of Space to One!"
The explosion soon blew away, revealing the still damaged Tekkaman Blade. But now he was aflare in a green light. His armor seemed to dissolve in it, but then it turned out that a newer armor formed into place. Dead was stunned as he watched a new tekkaman took the place of what was once Tekkaman Blade.
Blastor Tekkaman Blade...
Dead wasn't the only one surprised. Dagger too was shocked to see Blade's transformation as well. He wasn't aware of a advanced level of tekkaman aside from his Omega metamorphosis. 'Was this how Omega was defeated? By this? No.' There's nothing stronger than a tekka-warlord. Nothing! Dagger summoned another arrow of energy, but by that time, Blade was soaring at him in full crystal hawk form.
"Die!"
The arrow hit dead on, but it had no effect as Blade kept on coming, smashing into Dagger and causing him to flail backward. Blade suddenly veered directions and smashed into Dagger again and again. Dead was in complete shocked by this. Blade never displayed this power when they fought. Was this transformation new? Or had he been holding back that time they fought, even when he was defeated the first two times?
At the battle, Dagger revived, astonished and shocked not only by this newer power, but by the fact that it was overwhelming him. All his work seemed to be disappearing before his eyes. His survival, his planning, his great army and force, his newer power...all of it was being scattered to the winds.
'No! I will not be denied my revenge!'
When he was Omega's servant, Omega once spoke to him and discovered that his greatest motivation was revenge. And this proved true as Dagger charged and slashed out with his lancer with a roar. The swing connected with Blade, but was blocked by his lancer. Dagger began to force his lancer on him.
"I will not be defeated by you!"
Blade seemed to struggle to hold Dagger back and for a moment, he seemed to be weakening. But suddenly, Blade pushed back and with a sharp downward thrust with his recovered lancer, he shattered Dagger's own weapon.
"What?!"
Dagger reeled back from Blade's attack. His anger and rage was soon dwarfed by hesitation and...fear? This was just the same as before, at their last confrontation. Even when Dagger had the advantage, had managed to shatter Blade's crystal, and made him helpless, he had failed to finish him off, and it resulted in his unforeseen defeat.
- - - - - - - - - - -
"No way. You're a tekkaman again. But how? Your crystal was shattered."
"Amazing what they can do with shattered crystals nowadays, isn't it?"
"Very well then. Tekkaman against tekkaman. A battle to the finish!"
"Got that right."
"What are you doing?"
"You know what time it is, Dagger?"
"What?!"
"It's time to say goodbye...Voltekka!"
"I'll get you for this Blade! Guuuuaahhhhhhhh!"
- - - - - - - - - - -
History it seemed, was now about to repeat itself. Blade relinquished his lancer and crossed his arms. This caused the voltekka cells in both his arms and his shoulders to click open and charge. Energy crackled around Blade in a maelstrom of power so great that even Dead feared getting caught in it and forced himself to move away. Dagger backed away as well, although unconsciously. Blade's eyes flashed bright as they were trained on his first and now last tekkaman enemy.
"This time Dagger, stay gone! VOLTEKKA!"
The energy surrounding Blade formed into the same shape and form as his crystal and in another flash of light, a translucent beam of sapphire energy blasted out. It soared straight at Dagger and hit him dead on, causing him also to collide with his damaged vessel. This resulted in both Dagger and the mothership exploding in a massive shockwave of power and force.
"KKKRRRRAAAAAABBBBBBOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!"
Space
The beam of the Trinity Voltekka finished blasting through the Peacemillion and Libra, literally shredding it in two. And as Heero predicted, the energy beam set off the power generators within both battlestations, setting them off and causing them to explode as well. The end result was a great light that was followed by devastating explosion. Chunks of debris flew everywhere, wiping out everything nearby. On the bridge of the Libra, everyone bore witness to the destruction through shielded eyes.
"We did it." an aide cheered. "Libra and Peacemillion have been completely destroyed!"
However, this may have been a premature statement, for as the light cleared away, the radar displayed another development.
"Wait a minute. A section of Libra has broken away." On the screen, one of the diamond-shaped sections of the destroyed station moved away from the explosion and continued on its course down.
"It's still descending toward the Earth!"
"Is the power generator still intact?" Sally asked.
Checking the scanner, Howard nodded in dismay. "I'm afraid so. That block alone can cause a never-ending winter on Earth."
"Is there anyway to stop it?"
As if in answer, another soldier announced. "Wait. I'm picking up something."
As the fragment of the Libra soared through the atmosphere of the Earth, a flaring object trailed beside it and soon raced ahead. A crystal hawk...
"It's Tekkaman Zero!"
"Heero?" Relena whispered.
"He's not gonna make it." Howard grimaced as Zero began to descend into the atmosphere, his armor burning within the heat.
But Sally countered. "No, he'll make it. I think he'll be okay."
"But he's got to make it through the atmosphere's high temperatures." one of the aides said.
Une simply answered. "From what I've seen, the gundams can overcome any difficulties."
Relena nodded in agreement. "That's true. I know we can believe in him." Her memory briefly recalled their last conversation.
-
"Believe in me…"
-
"Because Heero is the kind of person that gives everyone hope." she finished.
As the spectators watched, Zero continued to soar ahead of the falling section of Libra. His armor, already damaged from his fight with Tekkaman Epyon as well as the destruction of the Peacemillion/Libra, was now tearing off in the fiery heat. Regardless of this though, Zero pressed on, wheeling around to face the falling chunk. Extending his arms forward, he began to call forth his voltekka. But the tremendous speed, heat and turbulence were throwing his aim off. On top of that, he was suffering from the pain of all the accumulated damage he had in addition to this.
"Ghhhhh!"
His vision wavered and blurred, making targeting the wreckage all the more harder. Pain coursed all over his body and Zero realized that he was way beyond the limit he could normally take.
"I..."
The Libra dove in closer and Zero began to get a better bead on it. However, to fire at this range may mean death for him, for he was unsure if he could survive the explosion. And that was assuming he could even hit it correctly. It had to be direct and centered. Any deviation from that and the full force of his beam wouldn't work. If he could even hit it full force...
"I will..."
He was losing it. The fire around him had every nerve in his body on fire. His armor tore away more, with one of his armored wings burning off completely. Zero was still trying to gain a lock on the Libra fragment, pushing, if nothing else, his will and determination.
"I will...!"
Death was coming close to Zero in all direction. But he couldn't give up. It was not an option. He had to do this. The Earth was counting on him. The colonies were counting on him. Relena was counting on him...
"I will survive!"
With everything he had, he focused in and unleashed the power of his voltekka. The beams soared up toward the Libra fragment and hit dead on, striking it and them plowing through it. The force and the heat was enough to cause the fragment to burn up completely and explode, engulfing Zero in it as well.
Above in space, the other gundams watched as well as the Space Knights, Tekkaman Rapier and the Magnagac. In MO-II, cheers erupted from the personnel at the destruction of the Libra, aisde from the main group, who continued to look on. But none more so than Relena.
'Heero...'
The light of the explosion continued before them, but then soon another light formed within, rising out of the light like a phoenix. The crystal hawk of a tekkaman...
Hiver pointed to the flare. "He made it!"
Zero had indeed survived, flying out of the light and rising high over the Earth. His armor was reduced to make him almost unrecognizable. But he made it. If anything, he could thank the gundamium armor for taking it all. But in truth, it was all him. His will and determination had allowed him to survive and succeed.
"You did it, Heero!" Hellscythe cheered.
"Yeah." Altron agreed. "Naturally."
"He's quite the person." Heavyarms acknowledged.
Sandrock's gaze on Zero was more in realization. "I get it now. The Space Heart...is him..."
"Mission...complete."
As the crystalline form of Zero soared away into the stars, he passed two figures in space. Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Dead drifted in space, both bruised and battered but okay nevertheless. Blade was motionless, his armor back to normal and thus quite damaged. But while Blade watched the lone tekkaman fly away, Dead's focus was on what was left of the mothership.
"Auroua..."
Blade remained motionless, but his head tilted at the dark tekkaman's whisper.
"I know..."
Dead lowered his head, wondering if he should be angry at the comment. How could anyone know what he felt like now? If it had been anyone else, he might have snapped. But Blade...D-Boy...was a different matter. He...really knew...firsthand too.
"Do you...?"
"Yes."
Dead turned away from the debris and partly toward the white tekkaman. "How did you deal with it?"
Blade gave no answer at first, but then turned to look up and across in space. Following his gaze, Dead saw to incoming Blue Earth, flying in to retrieve the two. It was then that Blade answered him.
"I had help."
"Hm." Despite the pain he was feeling, Dead allowed himself to smile at the answer. It seemed to make all the sense in the world. And as the remains of the Libra, Peacemillion and the Radham mothership burned up in the Earth atmosphere and the Blue Earth moved in closer, Dead had only a single reply.
"Of course."
AN: One more chapter left…