"Aquamarine Hoshino, can you hear me?" a voice called from the comms channel, waking him up from the turmoil.
The moment he grabbed the keys from Sapphire's hands, it felt he entered in another world. Although he could hear instructions through the comms channel, he followed them without really realizing what he was doing, as if pure instinct took him over.
Getter-2 was airborne in its jet form, a large, dark blue craft, with wings shaped like a crane, with round edges. He looked below and could see the city there, along with explosions happening right in front of him.
"Aquamarine Hoshino?"
He picked up a feminine voice speaking in perfect Japanese, with a hint of Spanish accent. Her voice sounded almost robotic, like a newscaster that could announce a disaster that killed dozens and, then, the weather.
"Uh…yeah!" he replied, "I'm…still getting used to it. What's your name? You can call me Aqua, by the way."
His life had one objective now: avenge his mother, whatever it takes! It was the last thing he could think of when he made contact with Getter-2's keys from Sapphire's hands.
In all of Sapphire's strangeness, he could feel something familiar…a unique kind of tenderness that…
He was ready to hold back his tears forever, if it wasn't for Sapphire saying it was okay to cry.
Mom would say something like that.
He never fully understood mom's actions. She was so weird, and yet so sincere in whatever she did.
She never said that she loved them until it was too late.
He felt a shudder in his bones. Like a fire burning in the depths of his soul. Like a volcano it would erupt and kill every single alien bastard that was involved in mom's death.
"Let me introduced myself again: my name is Margarita. I'm also Colombian, but from Cali. I'm your personal communications officer."
She sounded annoying to his ears. He just wanted her to shut up.
"Your Japanese is pretty good."
For the moment, a pleasant façade would be enough.
"I was a diplomat before the devastation of Tokyo. We can leave further introductions for later. These aliens need a good chancla."
"What is a chancla?"
Aqua lied. He knew pretty well what was a chancla. He had to admit he wasn't a very filial son when they arrived in Colombia. The frustration made him involved with delinquent gangs in Bogotá, learning Spanish quite well.
His gang told him he'd get a chancla he'd never forget when mom discovered he was hanging out with them. Instead, mom couldn't stop crying. Even the rest of his gang felt bad.
The face she made…it made him promise that he would never again make her sad.
He failed.
"Your mother never gave you a chancla, right?"
"I don't think so."
"…You have a good mother, Aqua."
Had.
"My team is here to help you, please trust us," she continued; her voice sounded softer and more empathetic, "You should have visual contact by now."
In front of him, an urban battle took place. Two military vehicles from the Colombian army blocked the way. There was a third one in front of them on fire. The Colombian soldiers took cover behind the two ones. Aqua obviously had no military training, but saw them marked as APCs in his screen, in blue.
In front of them, an alien vehicle was stationed in front of an electronics shop. It had a red color and it seemed a tank made of tubes. It fired purple energy shots at the Colombians. The enemy soldiers were protected in some sort of armor. But he could see their forms, resembling vaguely human-like lizards and bugs.
"Select your Vulcan gun. Follow the indications in the panel."
Pressing the buttons, Aqua saw a crosshair in Getter-2's screen, aiming right at the aliens. He pressed the trigger.
A salvo of getter-infused bullets came out, making the cabin tremble. The bullets exploded upon contact and, soon, the enemy vehicle was reduced to a pile of scrap. After a loud, secondary explosion, the enemy soldiers jumped out; they lied dead in the floor, their armor burned.
"Excellent work, Aqua!" Margarita said, her voice sounding excited; in the ground, the Colombian soldiers waved their guns in the air in celebration.
"Strike it when the iron is hot," Margarita continued, "Next target is at Parque Santander."
Aqua made a large grin.
The power…
It destroyed those monsters so easily. They were nothing but paper dolls next to the green wave of energy that flowed in Getter-2's body.
More than that: the power understood him!
Believe in getter…
All his grief, all his pain…it was like each bullet he fired had a bit of vengeance, a bit of hatred, a bit of…of…VICTORY!
This…this power will avenge mom!
He giggled, while the map indicated the next target.
The panel's gauges beeped furiously. The energy output skyrocketed.
"Aqua? Aqua? Answer me! Aqu…"
He heard Margarita saying something, but his mind stopped paying attention as the energy flowed through his body. His left eye shone a faint green light, the blood vessels around it started to show a green glow.
The volcano in his heart erupted in all its awe and horror.
I hope brother is having a better time than me.
She held Getter-3 controls tightly. It was so, so strange guiding what essentially was a giant building with legs. Every step was an earthquake. Everything looked so small from the cabin. She felt she would trip anytime and knock down a building or two. What if she hurt someone? She didn't even know how to ride a bicycle, why was she piloting a giant robot?
"Ruby, get a grip! You need to work your coordination." Noriko's voice was harsh, quite rude for a fellow Japanese; for some reason, however, Ruby didn't feel too offended. It had an air of authority; she knew she could trust her instructions.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Gosh, just call me Noriko! Now, look at the panel at your left."
Ruby did as said. The movement of the giant mecha stabilized more – she could start feeling as if she was in control indeed.
"See the walk cycle? Pay attention to it! It'll switch to automatic when there's no danger. But you need to familiarize yourself. Move the pedals, one at time."
"Yes, ma…I mean, Noriko."
"You have to learn in five minutes what takes at least three days, so put some god-damn drive into it!"
She gulped down a bit of her saliva. She felt her body shuddering as Getter-3 walked through the avenue that now looked so narrow
Her mind couldn't stop thinking about the moment she picked the key from Sapphire's hands.
Why did I lie?
She lied when she said she wanted to be an idol. Literally, any girl like her would've chosen that dream.
But not her.
Her dream was to be a mathematician, just like mom.
She had no intimacy with numbers. Nothing made sense. If math was a language, she was sure she was born without a tongue.
And yet, the way her mom just weaved symbols and formulas was just…music. Strange letters in foreign alphabets became elegant solutions to problems that mattered. Cascades and cascades of numbers were reduced to a simple and yet beautiful ending. The Fields medal – that mom won when she had her age – hanging in their cupboard was proof of her genius.
For some reason, against all that Ruby expected, mom didn't want them to go through that path – she only taught the basics, and yet always ranted how numbers were liars.
Ruby always studied behind her back. She wanted to impress her, deriving a difficult formula and then be praised by her.
But that wasn't possible anymore.
Now, there she was: piloting a giant robot because…because…why did that Sapphire woman felt like…
"Goddamn, the drug store Sapphire mentioned is not in our database."
Noriko's sudden outburst helped her to snap out.
Courage, Ruby. Believe in the Getter. I can't go back anymore. I have what it takes to avenge you mom!
"I can see it. Maybe it's new? Or they didn't update the internet maps."
"Heck, good work! Get it quick, because we have no way to talk to you!"
"Yes, Noriko."
Noriko remote controlled parking Getter-3 to save time. Ruby quickly exited and entered into the drugstore.
It was a mess. Some cases were in the ground, due to the battle tremors, but otherwise it was a normal drugstore. The massive number of Spanish words started to overwhelm her a bit. She had to admit her Spanish was still lacking even after a couple of years living there.
What was the medicine?
Metil…Metil….
"¿Nena, qué hacés acá? ¡Andá buscate un refugio!"
A clerk emerged from the counter. He was a middle-aged man, wearing glasses.
She didn't understand that man at all. His accent was too thick. She really wished bro was there, he could speak Spanish so well.
"…Hola…eh…Yo…look…medicina, medicina! Metil…Metil…"
"Vos estás re loca, pero... ¡ah sí!"
Ruby had the feeling the guy was insulting her. But he returned with a box of the medicine requested.
"Metilprednisolona, inyectable. 40 mil pesos."
"Gurachias," she said, while tossing all the money she had with her. The clerk tried to warn her about something, but she was already outside and running to Getter-3's cockpit.
"Noriko, Noriko, I got the medicine!"
"Good job, Ruby. I have bad news though."
"What happened?"
"Enemy reinforcements incoming. Get ready, Ruby, shit's about to get hot!"
Ruby gasped. She had to fight. She didn't want that, but…she was piloting a massive war machine, of course she'd have to fight, eventually.
Why did I take Sapphire's offer?
She could feel her arms trembling. She avoided fights and, whenever someone caused her trouble, Aqua just stepped in. He wasn't available at the moment.
Then, fight for it, so that more mothers can see their children's dream realized.
Sapphire's words echoed through her mind. They didn't dissipate her fear, but she could feel a resolve emerging from her heart. If she didn't fight, those aliens would destroy the world…just like they killed mom.
Her grip in the controls tightened. She took a deep breath. She gritted her teeth, narrowed her eyes, tried to put up a "war face". However, she knew if she looked in the mirror, she'd look like a wet puppy angry at the bath.
Maybe if I pretend I can pilot this thing, I will be able to.
"Contact in ten seconds, prepare yourself."
"Ah!"
She heard the sound of something flying above her, followed by an impact nearby. Another one fell, close to the first one. After the dust cleared, she saw two spherical forms, painted in a dirt bronze tone, in front of her, between her Getter-3 and Sapphire's Getter-1.
Six limbs emerged from the spheres and they got up, its eyes glowed yellow. They were Beetles. Although they weren't as tall as Getter-3 alone, they were a different model than the one Sapphire fought earlier.
Ruby noticed they looked at her. They pulled spears from their forearms and put themselves in offensive stances.
Her face turned pale.
"Ruby!" Noriko's authoritative voice boomed in her cabin, "It's time for your baptism of fire. Our job is to help you win and, if that's not possible, bring you back home. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes!"
"You have to trust us. Watch the getter energy outflow. Activate your weapons."
Getter-3's weapons were located arounds its forearms. As the getter energy flowed through them, the spikes around it expanded; the rings slid through its arms, right into Getter-3's hands.
"These are called chakrams. They work in a simple way: you can either bash them against the foes or toss them and let them reduce it to shreds."
"Right!"
It was just a giant rim with spikes, with green lines.
The enemy Beetles slowly approached, holding tight their spears.
Ruby's body started to tremble; her teeth chattered. This wasn't just some videogame she played to pass time.
Fight or flight – no in-between.
"Ruby, what are you doing?"
Closing her eyes, turning around the controls, she ran away from the Beetles.
What was that Sapphire woman thinking when she said "she had what it takes" to pilot such an expensive and sophisticated machine? She just lost her mother and if she stayed there, she'd join her too soon. The fact that she could concentrate enough to turn Getter-3 on was a miracle in itself.
She wanted to cry. She had failed to avenge mom and all she could do was run away in shame.
"Ruby! Ruby! Dammit! Stop running!"
When she thought she was far enough, she looked again at the Beetles. She just ran away a short distance. She thought she had ran through half the city, but the size of the robot could give a different impression.
The Beetles ignored her, going for Getter-1.
Ruby felt a knot in her throat. She could let this happen and, like a coward, doom the only pilot that could save the world.
But she owed her life to her.
She couldn't abandon her.
She had to fight, somehow.
"Ruby, calm down…" She heard Noriko's voice.
She closed her eyes. She could feel the getter energy flowing through the chakrams and ran to the Beetles, flailing her arms as fast and strong as she could.
"Ruby, you're not going to get lucky!"
The charge was short-lived.
One of the Beetles stopped her with a smack of its spear in her right leg. It didn't even pierce it. It just smacked it, making Getter-3 trip; it felled close to Getter-1.
"That was stupid." Ruby said, "Sapphire, if you can hear me… I want to say I'm sorry for being so useless."
Both Beetles approached again, this time they were quicker. She knew they would finish her off.
No, she had to do something. Putting herself together, Getter-3 had both knees on the ground, one bended, while holding both chakrams. She still thought of running, but to where? Her mom was gone, the city she was forced to call home was being destroyed and a lot of people placed their hopes on her.
If she was going to die, at least she didn't want to die like a coward.
That is the lie I choose to believe.
She closed her eyes as she thought about the best moments with her family. The laughter of her mother, the caring indifference of her brother; all the moments where they ate ice cream in a Sunday afternoon; how hard mom worked in her room, with all that math; even when she scolded Aqua for joining delinquents.
Mom always said the world, in spite of all the suffering, was a place full of love.
At least she could lie in name of these things.
On the verge of tears, she opened her eyes and tried to make a "war face". She knew it just made her look like a wet puppy again.
Her glance, however, captured something in the panel – the getter efficiency actually climbed up. She remembered the green bars weren't as tall as they were now. She also could feel her body less stiff.
It was like the green energy itself, that flowed through the panel and the entire mecha, was willing to guide her, teach her, help her.
Just what happened?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a flurry of bullets hitting the Beetles. They shielded themselves and stepped back.
From the above, Ruby saw a flying blue jet-like mecha approaching in high speed.
"WRRAAAAGH!"
"Bro?"
The mecha transformed mid-air into a humanoid mecha. That had to be Getter-2, right? Then, it was Aqua piloting it.
It passed just above her and slammed the Beetles, like a bowling ball hitting pins. It not only it knocked out the Beetles, but also all the abandoned cars in the street, all lampposts and trees in its way, leaving a large crater there.
"Brother? Noriko, can you patch me up?"
"Hell, there's something wrong."
"Ruby, this is Margarita, Aqua's personal communications officer."
"Uhm, nice to meet you."
"We don't have time for that, there's something wrong with Aqua."
"What do you mean?"
Her attention perked up. She didn't want to lose another family member that day.
"There's a leak in Getter-2's system flow. The excess energy made him go berserk!"
"AAAAAAA!" Getter-2 emerged from the rubble, raising both his arms. The hands retracted and, in their place, two large blades emerged from each socket. Each blade was serrated, with small and sharp teeth in its edges – a green energy flowed throughout the teeth.
A Beetle was nearby. Before it could pick its spear, Getter-2 plunged its blades into the Beetle's chest. A massive cloud of yellow sparks and green energy, the grinding sound of getter-infused metal crushing everything inside the enemy, until the tip of the blade was visible, protruding from the Beetle's back.
Cracks emerged throughout the enemy mecha until it exploded right in front of Getter-2. Although the explosion engulfed both, Ruby could still see a faint green glow around Getter-2; the shield worked.
After the explosion subsided, Getter-2 lifted its blades. From its speakers, a massive, maniacal laughter erupted.
"Way to go, bro!"
Ruby smiled. Aqua would definitely protect her.
"No, Ruby, this is terrible!"
"W-what do you mean, Margarita?"
"I said that Aqua has gone berserk. If we don't do something, he'll be subsumed into getter energy."
"Subsumed?"
"His body will break down, he'll die…"
Ruby gasped.
She would lose him too.
Tears again started to accumulate in the side of her eyes.
No, not now. NOT. NOW.
She wiped her tears. The grip in the controls tightened. Her eyes narrowed, her teeth gritted. With all her might, she pushed the controls forward.
She finally had a "war face".
"Be careful," Noriko said, "We don't know if Aqua can tell friend from foe in that state."
"Me and the tech boys are trying to run some codes to disable some of Getter-2's functions, but they're getting overrun. Ruby, you might have to apply gentle persuasion."
Margarita didn't even need to explain what that meant. Aqua needed help and she had to do everything in her capacity to help him.
She never really fought with him. Discussions, fights for the dessert or to change the channel, sure, almost every day. But getting to exchange actual physical contact, never. She would lose anyway.
But, this time…
That laugh that moments ago filled her heart with hope, before morphing into a matter of life or death, became louder – it was a cry for help.
She could see Getter-2 playing around with its prey. The Beetle crawled down, trying desperately to escape Aqua's wrath. Each flourish of Getter-2's blades, removed a piece of the Beetle's armor.
"Bro, stop it!"
Ruby cried, while Getter-3 slammed Getter-2 with its shoulder and hugged it from behind, in an attempt to paralyze it.
"You're losing your mind!"
"Grrr…"
Getter-2 started to flail wildly, but Getter-3 tightened its grip around it. The remaining Beetle fled.
Ruby could feel a weird warmth around her. Getter-2 overflew with getter energy from almost every opening; some of it would go through Getter-3.
It felt so inviting…so seductive.
Her favorite dessert after two years in Colombia was postre de nata. Every time mom brought postres de nata, her day instantly became better. That energy felt like eating postre de nata for every meal. She couldn't get enough of that.
"Hehe…" she started giggling. That energy made her feel so wonderful, so mysterious and, above all, so powerful! She could take on those alien monsters who killed mom alone. The universe was in her hands.
PAFT!
She slapped herself with both hands.
It hurt a bit.
What's wrong with me? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS…THING?!
"Ruby, the tech guys managed to override Getter-2's cabin code." Noriko's voice echoed through her cabin. This time, however, her voice had little of her harsh tone. It sounded dreary. "Ruby, listen to me: I promised to keep you safe, but we found only one way to save him before it's too late."
Ruby gulped down again her saliva.
Noriko didn't need to finish explaining.
She had already decided that she wasn't going to die a coward.
Moving backward the controls, she made Getter-3 sit down, along with Getter-2, still hugging it as tight as possible. Its legs also immobilized Getter-2's legs in a scissor.
"Initiate remote procedure," Noriko said, "Redirect all energy available to the arms and legs. We need to have Getter-2 clamped for as long as possible!"
Getter-3 cabin opened, as Ruby got up from her seat. She made her way crawling through Getter-3's surface, slowly approaching Getter-2's cabin.
It was a quite short distance, Getter-3's head was quite close to Getter-2's in their embrace. It was like descending a stair in a normal house. Except the stair was like volcano that could erupt without warning. Each centimeter forward had a tremor behind it. She had to carefully descend one degree per time, holding on to the rail.
Her feet could feel Getter-2's pulsating below her, while Getter-3 held the berserk back. She looked above and saw lights above.
This can't be!
A particularly stronger grunt from Getter-2 made her panic and stop for a moment, holding onto a Getter-3's chassis. She looked down and saw how far she was from the ground. 15 meters? 20 meters? It didn't matter, she would be dead if she felled. She held tightly on the chassis and resumed her walk, this time managing to reach the cabin.
The hacked cabin opened.
Ruby's eyes widened just like when she saw mom die; she placed both her hands in front of her mouth and suppressed the scream until she couldn't anymore.
"Brother!"
The veins around his left eye glowed green. Both his eyes were glowing so brightly…his beautiful blue eyes seemed nothing but a memory compared to the chaotic green overgrowth.
That person sitting in the cabin wasn't her brother…or was about to become something else than him.
Ruby grunted. She took a deep breath and slapped him in the face.
PAFT!
The slap was so strong that she held her right hand in pain. It was nothing like she saw in the movies.
"Ruby?"
The green glow disappeared from his eyes.
"Aqua…" her right hand still hurting; that didn't stop her of slamming her fists at his chest, "You idiot!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You almost died, you let yourself almost be eaten by green energy."
She hugged him, sobbing a bit.
"I already lost mom, I don't want to lose you too."
"Ruby…" shock and horror started to settle on his face. He looked around and it was clear it was like he woke up from a trance that would look like a nightmare to everyone else.
"Ruby, we need to leave. This is madness!"
"We can't!"
"Why?"
"Aqua, only we and Sapphire can pilot those things. I saw lights in the sky, the enemies are coming and they will kill us all if we don't pilot those things!" She, again, slammed her fists on his chest, "I want to save this world, Aqua! I want to save this world mom loved!"
Aqua put his hands on her shoulders, "Then we'll have to find a way of doing that without becoming monsters. Margarita, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear."
"Sorry for the trouble, but I'm back."
"Don't worry about it now, the emperors' counterattack is about to start. Ruby, return to Getter-3 and help Sapphire!"
"Sister, we need to do this, I won't give up!"
Ruby nodded.
"For mom's sake!"
"Ruby, enemy reinforcements are coming," Margarita said, "You need to give the medicine to Sapphire."
"I'll cover you, sis."
Ruby exited Getter-2's cabin and returned to Getter-3.
Letting go of the embrace, both mechas got up.
Getter-2's blades extended from its hand sockets, along with a pole. Both joined into a massive polearm. Then it placed itself in front of them, waiting for the incoming enemies.
Loud noises of hard landings reverberated through the area.
Ruby didn't look back. She picked up the medicine in her cabin and, with Noriko's help, she guided Getter-3 to Getter-1, while a ten second video teaching how to apply the medicine showed in the panel.
More and more enemies landed. The dust cloud was already reaching their position.
"Sapphire!" Ruby said, as she entered Getter-1's cabin. She found the tall pilot spread down over the panel. She felt a bit disgusted with the tears and drool over it, but Sapphire was poisoned, she couldn't help herself.
She could see Sapphire's eyes moving when she entered, so she felt a bit guilty for thinking that.
"I brought the medicine, Sapphire. Don't worry, Noriko showed a video how to use it."
Without wasting time, she unzipped Sapphire's left sleeve, exposing it. A bit nervous, she injected the medicine into her veins.
"I guess it'll take a bit to work."
Sapphire's eyes blinked.
"I have to go now. My brother needs me."
She got up, after closing Sapphire's uniform.
She looked at Sapphire. She didn't even know which emotion she should feel at that moment and just stared at pilot sprawled over the panel. The silence cut deep, as they could hear Getter-2 engaging the enemies outside. Then, she gave her the saddest of the smiles.
"I don't know what you saw in us…we don't have much to live for now that mom's dead. I keep telling myself pretty lies that I want to fight for this world mom loved…but…but I would be really happy if I died with my brother today."
The star in her right eye was black.
As Ruby left the cabin, Sapphire's eyes blinked without stopping. It was all her body could do at that moment before the medicine took effect.
And yet, regret emerged from her heart like a flood.
What have I done?