Chapter 19

Joe grunted with the effort of holding his body up by his fingertips. It was actually proving to be more difficult for him than for Ryu and Jinpei, because of the weight of his cyborg frame. At least on K3 he had had footholds, and here, more often than not, there were none.

Although somehow the Swallow appeared to be having no trouble. The Condor was impressed by the ease with which Jinpei moved across the rock face. Joe guessed it was due to his low body weight, as compared to his physical strength and endurance. The Owl was obviously having trouble, but was managing to keep up with his teammates.

They had made some decent progress, but it had cost them. Joe was exhausted, and the strain was showing on Ryu's face. Only Jinpei appeared unaffected by their effort.

Inch by inch, they made their way across the rock face, stopping every few minutes to rest and search for new hand and footholds. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they were within two feet of the edge of the cave.

"I can't move any more!" moaned the Owl, sweat running down his forehead.

"You can do it, Ryu." the Condor encouraged him. "I'll go up first, and I'll help pull you up, okay?"

"I can help too!" cried Jinpei, and the Swallow skittered across the cliff and into the cave, as if he had been born a spider.

"How do you do that, Jinpei?" Ryu asked, amazed.

"It's easy!" Jinpei shrugged. "Just try!"

"Okay…" Ryu said, encouraged. The Owl lifted his hand.

But it found no purchase.

"Joe!" he cried, swinging dangerously on one handhold.

The Condor swung out, grabbing the edge of the cave with one hand and then the flailing Owl with the other.

"Thanks, Joe!" Ryu grinned, breathing heavily. "I thought I was a goner, there!" The Owl stared nervously at the magma-filled crater below them.

Joe grimaced, the strain showing beneath his visor. The Owl's weight was considerable, and in addition to his own, Joe could barely hold on.

"Can you help pull us up, Jinpei?" he grunted.

The Swallow suddenly realized the precariousness of the situation, and lay down on his stomach, pulling on the Condor's arm that was not holding the Owl.

"You're too heavy!" he said, tears of frustration in his eyes. "Can't you push up?"

"Push up where?" Joe yelled, "I'm holding on with my damn fingers! There are no footholds here!"

It was at that moment that the mountain began to tremble.

"Earthquake!" cried Jinpei.

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Gel Sadra approached the Swan, the syringe in her hand. The Eagle's mind screamed out against what he was seeing, but he was unable to stop it.

What would happen to Jun when she was given that Galactor drug? Ken didn't want to find out.

Gel Sadra plunged the needle into the exposed skin of Jun's upper arm. The Swan did not move.

Ken worked frantically at his bonds, his mind clearing rapidly with the urgency of their situation.

"Wake her!" Gel Sadra commanded, and another injection was made in the Swan's other arm.

Slowly, Jun began to stir, her eyelids fluttering. The moment her eyes were able to focus on Gel Sadra, she whimpered in fear, and attempted to move backward, away from her. But it seemed as if the Swan's limbs weren't cooperating. She flailed helplessly, and her expression of panic grew.

"Look, she can't move!" grinned one of the goons.

"Maybe, when the Mistress is done, she'll let us play with her." leered another.

Jun's face swung frantically back and forth between the faces standing over her, and she screamed.

The sound of it tore at Ken's heart. It was something he had never before heard from Jun.

It was the sound of absolute terror.

Whatever they had given the Swan was obviously driving her mad. Ken pulled at his leg restraint desperately.

The catch gave. The Eagle nearly wept with relief, but instead he leapt to his feet, drawing his Bird Saucer as he did so.

"Get away from her!" he growled in a menacing voice.

Gel Sadra was obviously shocked to see Gatchaman standing in front of her with murder raging forth from his eyes.

"If you attack, I'll have her killed!" the Galactor Leader shouted, indicating that her soldiers should point their weapons at Jun.

But the goons were too horrified by the White Shadow to listen to Gel Sadra. They stood, shaking in their boots, and that hesitation was their doom.

The Bird Saucer spun around the room, flashing as it neatly slit the throats of every soldier there, before narrowly missing Gel Sadra's voluminous costume.

"You haven't won, Gatchaman!" she cried as she ran from the room. "You just wait!"

But Ken didn't hear her. He only had eyes for the Swan, who was still quivering in fear on the floor, her eyes rolled back into her head.

"It's okay, Jun." Ken whispered to her. "I've got you." Gently he picked the Swan up, then moved rapidly to the exit.

He didn't have time to fulfill his task. Damn the mission. All that mattered was getting Jun out safely. He had to count on Joe, Jinpei and Ryu to set the charges, and if they didn't that was too fucking bad.

All that mattered now was Jun.

She whimpered as he held her, clutching his wings as if he were the only thing that was between her and an excruciating death. Perhaps, in a way, he was. And Ken certainly wasn't going to let her down now.

Not when he had nearly failed her.

His inability to protect her taunted him. He was the Eagle, the mighty Gatchaman, and yet he wasn't even able to keep his teammate safe, after she had trusted him to take care of her. Deep down, he knew that he wasn't worthy of the Swan. She deserved someone who would take care of her, no matter what: someone who would never find himself coming up short at a crucial moment.

The Eagle raced through the Galactor base, the Swan in his arms. He heard alarms sounding, but he ignored them. Green-suited goons blocked his path, but he merely leapt over them, running across the tops of their heads if necessary, to reach the exit as quickly as possible.

Eventually, he reached the narrow passage through which they had entered the mountain. There were no longer any signs of Galactor soldiers as he pushed through the rock, desperately trying to reach the outside.

But even as he ran, the ground began to shake, and the Eagle could hear the mountain trembling around him. Ken crouched down, covering Jun's body with his own just as a shower of rocks fell on top of them.

There was a sharp pain on his shoulder, and Ken cried out, pulling Jun closer against him. She moaned, as if she were in pain as well. The sound tormented the Eagle, and he cursed the earthquake that was temporarily impeding his progress.

He would get Jun back to the New God Phoenix, no matter what it took.

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The mountain shook, causing a small cascade of stones and pebbles to come sliding down the peak, bouncing off of Joe and Ryu's helmets. A particularly large rock landed on the Owl's glove.

"Ouch!" yelled Ryu, pulling his hand away, before realizing that it was the only thing still keeping him on the mountain. Immediately, the Owl swung around, grabbing the Condor's arm. He was now holding onto Joe with both hands, staring with large eyes at the swirling lake of magma below them.

"Ryu, you need to lose some weight!" Joe complained.

"What are we going to do now?" Jinpei asked in a frightened voice. "The rockslide has blocked off the cave entrance behind me!"

"Damn, I wish I had my cablegun!" Joe grumbled, his face showing the strain of holding up both his weight and the Owl's with one hand. "Why did the ISO have to give us these pathetic toys?"

"Cablegun…" Ryu muttered, a lightbulb turning on in his head. "I don't have a cablegun anymore either, but…" The Owl grinned, reaching into his belt.

He pulled out a greenish glob, then threw half of it up the mountainside, where it stuck firmly to the rock, the other half remaining in his hand.

"My Gripper!" Ryu announced proudly, now holding onto his weapon and the Condor's arm.

"That helps a bit, thanks." Joe grimaced. "But it's not going to help us get out of here."

The Condor sighed regretfully.

"Jinpei, call Pimer. We're going to need a pickup."