Throwing himself into a thruster-aided charge once he saw the situation his older twin had gotten himself into, Varis grabbed Blade under his armored shoulders and pulled. The thick, viscous sludge was stuck fast to Blade's armor, and clearly strong enough to restrain a Tekkaman that couldn't use his thrusters, but Varis managed to tear the both of them loose before any more of the stuff could wrap around them.

(Thanks, Shinya.)

(Always, Ta-kun,) he said lightly.

There was a moment of silence, and then. (Of course.)

Varis allowed himself a brief chuckle, before firmly returning his attention to Axe. It seemed that Wraith had joined the other Tekkaman while he'd been unsticking Blade from their little trap. That had both good and bad implications, really. Still, it was what they had to deal with, so he'd deal; really, it was the only thing he could do, considering their circumstances.

(So, which one do you think we should focus on, Ta-kun?) he asked.

He didn't get any kind of answer from Blade, but that was only because Wraith charged him before either of them could get even one more word in.

(Are the both of you just going to stand there, Master Shinya? Maybe you should just give up and die!) Axe snapped, and Varis would have rolled his eyes if he'd still had the facial features for it; seemed stupidity sprang eternal in some parts.

The only answer either of them gave was the slash and thrust of their respective lancers, driving Wraith to jump backwards. However, when Axe used the haft of his own lancer to knock Blade's free, Varis threw himself forward into the same kind of shoulder-barge that the oldest of Omega's Tekkamen seemed to favor using. Finding himself picked up bodily and unceremoniously hurled into the ground at Axe's feet, Varis grinned slightly as his older twin took the opportunity he'd been given, quickly retrieving his lancer and forcing Axe to block with his own as Varis hauled himself back up.

The only problem they were really having in this situation was Wraith, since he was much faster and more agile than the lumbering brute he'd been partnered with – which was probably one more of the reasons that the two of them were working together, really – and could strike them multiple times from multiple directions while the pair of them were trying to concentrate their blows on Axe. Sure, he was smaller and more lightly-armored than any of the other evil Tekkamen that Omega had enslaved, but his lancer was just as sharp as any of theirs, and the lighter armor he wore only meant something if they could actually hit him.

It was annoying and dangerous, since dealing with the both of them at once meant that they couldn't really concentrate their attacks on either one of their targets without all but inviting the other one to attack them in turn.

(Wraith's annoying, eh Ta-kun?)

While he wished he had an answer for his younger twin, Blade knew that the question Varis had asked didn't really need an answer. Bracing himself as Axe slammed his halberd down into his own lancer, Blade let himself crouch slightly so he could throw Axe back and away from the pair of them. Turning slightly, he caught sight of Wraith, with his small, swordlike lancer out, poised to ram into Varis where he stood.

Forced to jump away from his younger twin as Axe leaped forward with the aid of his own thrusters, Blade turned to see Varis swatting Wraith aside with his own lancer. Breathing a bit more easily for the fact that his younger twin was as safe as anyone could be in a situation like this, Blade turned his attention back to Axe. He had a brief moment to wonder what was happening to Noal and Balzac, before Blade found himself forced to focus on Axe's halberd so he wouldn't end up with the thing imbedded in his skull.

I

Being forced to sit on the sidelines and just watch, as Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Varis were forced into another fight by Axe and that little Radam brat that seemed practically grafted to him was the worst kind of situation he'd ever been stuck in. He was just glad that he wasn't literally stuck like Balzac; that Radam goop was no laughing matter.

"Noal!" Levin shouted, and he saw the redhead's head whipping from one of them to the other and then back again; he didn't look happy. "Balzac! I powered up your machines! You can handle a little slime, can't you?!"

"If I could, I'd have done it already! If I could only get my arms out," Balzac groused, and Noal could practically hear him grimacing.

He didn't have anything to add, really; anyone who looked could see that he wasn't exactly in fighting-shape, either.

II

It wasn't something that he would have ever wanted, and he couldn't honestly say that he was pleased with the situation as it stood, but Axe had always been someone who could accept the world as it was. It was a lesson that he had tried to teach all of his students, but it'd become all too clear during his and Sasuke's various clashes with Blade and Evil that those two hadn't learned the lesson nearly as well as he would have wished.

(It looks like you boys have been honing your skills while you were away,) he said, taking care to include Sasuke and Evil in their conversation, just in case there was something that they truly wished to say. (That's very good to see. It makes things more interesting!)

(Axe, you're annoying!) Evil snapped, and Axe could feel the sharp edges of his younger-middle student's sarcasm projected clearly in his tone.

(Since I know both of your powers, your habits, your motives, and your personalities, just how do you boys plan to fight me?) he asked, raising his lancer to block a heavy blow from Blade's own.

(We'll find a way!) Blade snapped.

Knowing that his wayward students wouldn't listen to anything more, that they were far too determined for their own good, or that of anyone else in their family. It was yet one more reminder of what he needed to do; no matter how he might have wished that things could have been different, Axe knew his duty.

(They're not coming back, are they, Axe-sensei?) the youngest of Omega-sama's Tekkamen asked, his dejection projected along with his words.

(It hurts me, too. Sasuke, I want you to retreat. Master Kengo is going to need to know what went on here, and he's going to need your support after this. Once I raise the walls, I want you to fly away.)

(Yes, sensei.)

(Good boy,) he said, grabbing Evil and pivoting to throw the younger Tekkaman into the ground. (You're getting reckless, Shinya!)

(Shut up!)

Sighing, knowing that he wasn't going to come out of this without blood on his hands, Axe shook his head sadly. Sasuke and I are going home without you, then; Blade, Evil, he mused, holding the thought within his mind, so that he wouldn't distract Sasuke from what he had asked of him, and also so that Blade and Evil wouldn't be able to overhear. Now, more than ever, secrecy was key.

(Are you going to be raising them soon, Axe-sensei?)

(You'll know when I do, Sasuke,) he said, wanting for a moment to stop and comfort the youngest of his students – Sasuke sounded so bereft, even at this early stage – but knowing that that wasn't going to be possible.

(Yes, sensei,) Sasuke said, as he and Blade clashed again; Blade seemed to be hesitating, and while he was pleased to know that none of his students had fallen so far that they would casually attempt to murder one of their own, it was more than obvious that the stubborn determination he'd observed in every member of the Aiba family wasn't going to let either of the twins give up on this self-destructive endeavor of theirs. (Thank you, Mr. Goddard.)

(Of course,) he said, locking his and Blade's lancers together, so he could kick Blade far enough away to hurl an energy-scythe at him.

Bracing himself as Blade split his lancer and threw both halves at him, Axe shifted his feet and caught Sasuke with his left arm as the youngest Tekkaman went stumbling from Evil's throw.

(Steady, Sasuke,) he said gently, setting the smaller Tekkaman back on his armored feet. (Go deal with those armored suits we've been having trouble with. Kick them to pieces, little rabbit. I can handle things here.)

(Yes, sensei.)

(Good boy,) he said, smiling softly as Sasuke jetted off to deal with those two persistent annoyances.

III

When he and Balzac had both started to make some actual progress in getting that damned Radam-goop off of their respective Sol Tekkamen was, of course, when that little Radam brat showed up again. Their first warning that he'd come down on them was the sound of those engines that all Tekkamen seemed to have on their backs, roaring almost like the Blue Earth's as they drove him through the sky. The next was one of those damned energy blasts from his little sword.

"Scatter!" he and Balzac shouted to their fellow Space Knights, as Noal took aim at the little Radam brat and tried to drive him off long enough for Balzac to get himself out of the goop still encasing his suit.

He didn't manage quite as well as he would have liked, what with the fact that Tekkamen could fly and all, but he'd kept the little Radam brat off them long enough for Balzac to get back to his feet and take up harassment duty. Shooting his own way out of the goop that'd encased his Sol Tekkaman from the pauldrons down, Noal forced his bulky Sol Tekkaman back to its armored feet and joined in on Balzac's efforts.

"Noal!"

His fellow Sol Tekkaman pilot barely managed to get the word out, before Noal found himself on the wrong end of a pile-driver from that little Radam brat. He was lucky his neck hadn't snapped from the impact, and as Noal forced himself back to his feet again – this time under the dubious protection of another withering barrage from Balzac's Sol Tekkaman – Noal could only hope that his and Balzac's fellow Space Knights had managed to get somewhere safe while the two of them handled Wraith.

He'd hate himself if anything happened to his friends while he was trying to protect them.

Feeling the impact as one of that little Radam brat's limbs slammed into his back just a bit too hard to be a punch, Noal whipped around and fired to ward him off. He didn't know just how long he and Balzac were going to keep this up, what with Blade and Varis both occupied with Axe, so he and Balzac were clearly going to be on their own for quite a while. And, while that wasn't a thought he was particularly fond of, Noal knew that the two of them were going to stand their ground until they were either able to drive off the little Radam brat harrying them, or Blade and Varis met back up with them and drove him off for them.

Those were the only two outcomes Noal was going to let himself think of.

When the little Radam brat came back around for another pass, though, Noal managed to shoot him dead-center in the chest with a burst of Fermion. It knocked the little thug dizzy, sending him crashing to the ground in an ankle-deep crater, but that turned out not to be the best thing in the world. The next thing Noal knew, he'd been slammed with a literal flying-tackle from the Radam brat who'd already been giving them so much trouble.

"Pests!"

Rolling clumsily out of the way of a stab that would have gone right through his head if he'd been slow enough to let it connect, Noal managed to catch himself a breather while the little Radam brat was looking away. He didn't know just what it was that'd drawn Wraith's attention, but from the way he'd frozen while looking back at that huge clump of Radam foliage that'd just sprung up, he almost thought that one of the other Tekkamen was using that selective-telepathy that Blade and Varis had mentioned.

IV

(Sasuke, I've raised the walls.)

(Goddard-sensei…)

(Listen to me, Sasuke,) Goddard-sensei said, his telepathic voice horribly gentle; it felt like he was wrapping Wraith up in all his courage and strength, just so he would be able to go on after what was going to happen. It was nice, but Axe-sensei was going to be gone… Wraith would have traded all his courage and more if it just meant that he could have his sensei back. (Run away now, Sasuke. Find a ride back to the Moon with the Radam monsters, and report this to Master Kengo.)

(Yes, sensei.)

(That's a good boy. No tears now, Sasuke-chibi. I'm counting on you, Tekkaman Wraith.)

Jetting away from the human in the stupid-looking Tekkaman costume before he could get any other stupid ideas, Wraith turned his flightpath toward the large clump of Radam vines that Axe had raised around his battleground so that he'd be able to take on… the traitors without anyone else getting in his way. He knew that Axe- that Goddard-sensei wouldn't be happy with him for staying so close for so long like this, but he wasn't just going to let his sensei die alone.

He wanted Axe-sensei to know that he wasn't alone, even though he'd insisted on fighting that way.

(Sasuke, why are you still here?)

He heard, just as he was coming to land on top of the tangle of Radam vines and other plants that Goddard-sensei had raised up around his battlefield.

(Goddard-sensei…)

(Sasuke, when I give you an order, I expect you to obey,) Goddard-sensei said, sounding more stern than he had the last time Sasuke had spoken to him; he wasn't surprised. (Still, I understand. I'll arrange transport for you.)

(Mr. Goddard…)

When he sensed the Radam monster coming up from behind him, wrapping its tendrils around his torso and waist and then almost gently tugging him back to lay against its belly as it flew away, Sasuke wished more than anything that he could have cried. He knew that it wasn't what Mr. Goddard would have wanted at all, he knew that Mr. Goddard had told him not to and he'd be disappointed if he knew, but… Either way, he couldn't have done it; his face, under the outer-armor that concealed his identity, was had been changed into a thinner kind of armor to better protect him.

He couldn't cry, through the transparent crystal that shielded his eyes.

Shifting enough within the Radam monster's grip so that he could wrap his arms around himself, Sasuke felt his body wracked with the closest to sobs that a Tekkaman could manage. Goodbye, Mr. Goddard…

V

Knowing that the last of his loyal students was on his way back to Omega-sama's base, somewhere he would be protected from what was coming, provided Axe at least some comfort in his present situation. Still, the fact that he was aiming to murder two of his remaining students almost completely canceled out what little comfort he could draw from the fact of Sasuke's survival. He knew that the younger Tekkaman would be devastated to lose him, but Axe knew better than most just what kind of sacrifices loyalty demanded.

He certainly knew better than Blade and Evil.

(This is a coliseum made of Radam trees!) he informed the pair of them. (The three of us can fight face to face here! I'll send both of you to hell, together!)

(We're not going to be killed by you, Axe!) Evil said, the defiance in the younger of his former students' voice transmitted along with that same feeling. It was going to get them both killed, but then that was their choice; it was the wrong one, but Axe couldn't deny the twins their determination.

(We won't die until we've killed every last one of you!) Blade snarled; Axe held his silence.

(All the more reason to kill you both here! I have a duty to protect Master Kengo, after all!) he said, knowing the younger Tekkamen were simply trying to needle him, and so disregarding both their tone and their words.

Blade and Evil looked to one another briefly, and whether they communicated without words or not, Axe could clearly see that they'd planned something in the short time they'd taken to confer. The pair of them split from one another, leaping to opposite sides of their isolated battleground with the aid of their thrusters. Axe had a reasonable idea of what their next tactic would be, and as he looked over his left shoulder to where Evil had positioned himself, Axe found his suspicions confirmed.

The twins had moved themselves so that they were both directly opposite the other, and as the pair of them both reactivated their thrusters, Axe braced himself for the harassing attacks that the twins were about to begin launching on him. Sure enough, Axe was forced to raise his halberd to deflect a slash to his head from Blade's lancer, and then to hop forward to escape a stab from Evil's. The pair of them were orbiting him almost like satellites, each launching their own attack in concert with the other, and if he hadn't been on the receiving end of them, Axe would have commended their strategy.

He was still tempted to, in any case.

VI

As they finally managed to begin making some openings in Axe's defenses – even if they'd ended up having to make them personally, in the end – Blade let himself breathe a little easier. Sure, there was no way in hell that this fight they were both in was going to end so simply just because he and Varis had managed to make a little headway, but it was a first step all the same.

So, Blade was going to be grateful for the opening, and he was going to ruthlessly exploit it at the same time.

Hammering against Axe's remaining defenses, forcing him to focus on protecting his front so that Varis could strike him from behind more easily, Blade smiled grimly. With every step he managed to take, Axe was driven two steps back and took a blow from Varis' lancer besides. He wouldn't know if his younger twin had actually managed to wound Axe until the pair of them had driven him into a corner, but it was nice to see that his and Varis' strategy was paying off again.

There were so many ways this fight could have turned against them, after all.

(I've done my duty by Sasuke, now. So I can give my all to killing you, Blade and Evil!)

(Sasuke's dead! The Radam killed him! Tekkaman Wraith was never Sasuke!) he snapped, driving forward with a slice from his lancer.

(There's no difference at all! You've just forgotten your duty! I haven't!)

Blade had known that there would be no reasoning with Axe from the moment he and Varis had first engaged him in combat, so he didn't let himself think about the evil Tekkaman's words; they weren't true in anything but the most distorted way, just like everything the Radam had touched.

(Axe, why haven't you used your Voltekka?) Varis mocked. (You said you were going to kill us.)

(Use my Voltekka, when neither of you can do the same? Master Shinya, that wouldn't be honorable at all!)

He and Varis shared a brief glance, even as they dodged to either side to escape Axe's charge. It was just the same; the same distorted sentiment they'd heard so many times from Spear.

(Don't you boys worry about it! I have everything I need to deal with the both of you, right here!) Axe growled, brandishing his halberd as he turned and charged them again. (I'll send you to hell, together!)

Coordinating with Varis, Blade shoved Axe's intrusive presence out of his mind as best he could. Raising a mental barrier would have taken time he and Varis didn't have, not to mention concentration he couldn't spare. So, bracing himself as well as he could, Blade dove back on the offensive again.

Even if it cost him every member of his family other than Shinya, Blade was never going to go back to the Radam!

VII

When the Jeep's radio had gone off, Aki hadn't known quite what she'd expected; the Chief was waiting for contact from them, after all, and she didn't know of anyone else who would have had access to the frequency they were using. So, finding out that it was a small contingent of ADF forces being led by O'Toole of all people was a welcome surprise, though no less shocking for all that. She'd been a bit more concerned with how Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Varis were doing than just why it was that O'Toole and his people had come out to meet them they way they had.

Especially now, when they were trapped in there with him.

Still, knowing that O'Toole and his people were going to be coming soon – even though she didn't know just how soon – was at least some form of comfort in the face of everything that seemed to be going wrong. Though, with everything doing on all around them, she hadn't had the chance to tell any of her comrades what O'Toole had said to her.

"We don't stand a chance in hell, do we?" Noal asked, turning to look back at the high, imposing wall of tekkaplants that towered over them all. "Even with that Radam brat gone, we'd never be able to make it through those damned weeds."

"We have to do something!" Levin fretted. "If either of our beautiful Tekkamen get hit with a Voltekka in an enclosed space like that, they won't last a second!"

"Both of their time is starting to run out," she said, biting the inside of her lower lip as she checked her watch, then looked up at the dome of tekkaplants herself. D-Two's time-limit might already be over…

"There's nothing we can do," Balzac said, sounding exhausted and resigned at once.

"I hate just being force to sit back and watch, but with those weeds in our way, I don't know what else we can do," Noal said, and Aki bit her lower lip as she watched Milly give him what support she could.

Every one of them, having worked so closely with Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Varis for as long as they had, knew just what spending too long in their respective Tekkaman forms would do to the twins. Even Tekkaman Varis was in more danger than usual, since losing his armor around Axe could easily end up being fatal.

The sight of the purple slime that had been creeping up on them being blasted away suddenly brought Aki's attention back to the message she'd gotten over the radio, as well as the fact that she hadn't had the chance to share it with anyone before her worries about what might have been happening to their D-Boys – Tekkaman blade, and Tekkaman Varis – had pushed the thought right out of her mind.

The sight of more Jeeps coming up on their position, as well as O'Toole himself standing up, a large rifle in his right hand and a targeting sensor over his single remaining eye, brought back at least a bit of the hope that Aki had steadily been running out of as their D-Boy's respective time-limits slowly ticked down.

"You know what they say: treasure is garbage unless you put it to use," O'Toole said, his tone a lot more jovial that she could be, under the circumstances.

"Who are you?" Balzac asked, reminding Aki once more of the strange circumstances that had brought all of them together as Space Knights; Balzac hadn't had the chance to even hear about O'Toole.

"I'll introduce myself later," O'Toole said, sounding as calm as he ever did. "Are my boys inside that thing?"

"Your boys?" Noal echoed. "You mean, the Gemini Boys? I don't know who you are, but it won't be easy to bust that clump of weeds open."

"Those weeds won't be any trouble," O'Toole said, chuckling at Noal's description of the Radam foliage that Tekkaman Axe had raised to cut them all off from Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Varis. "We just need to make those weeds wither away."

"He makes it sound like they're just mowing the lawn, or something," Noal said, and Aki found herself wondering just how O'Toole intended to get them through that wall of foliage, as well.

"The energy line is on standby," another man, clearly one of O'Toole's weapons technicians, said.

"The gun barrel is on standby," another tech reported, closing up a panel and stepping back a pace.

"The sensor lock is on standby," a third reported, and Aki allowed herself to breathe for the first time in what felt like entirely too long.

When O'Toole gave his men their target, Aki took a moment to pray that D-Boy and D-Two would be all right when they managed to get through them. Then, feeling the sudden kind of reckless impulse that she been feeling more and more the longer she spent around D-Two in particular, Aki threw herself forward.

"I'll go, too!" she exclaimed, even as Levin did likewise.

"There's not enough room for the both of you," O'Toole said gruffly, though he tossed her the rifle he'd been carrying. "Here, take this and protect the rest of your people. Leave those boys to the professionals."

VIII

No! Goddamn it! No! Pushing his thrusters for all the speed he could wring out of them, just as Varis' armor began to shine bright blue and the crystal-cage that surrounded them when either of them transformed reappeared, Blade caught sight of Axe, just beside him but out of arm's reach. The evil Tekkaman was moving just as fast as he was, and as Shinya's armor dissolved under the bright blue light to leave his younger twin's unconscious human form behind, Blade ground his teeth and pushed his thrusters all the harder. He was in a race for Shinya's life, and Blade was determined to win.

Finding himself slammed aside by Axe at the last moment, Blade shoved himself back to his feet as Axe grabbed the back of Shinya's Space Knight vest just as his younger twin was beginning to collapse to the ground.

(Master Takaya, do you truly believe that humans are the only ones who deserve to live? Humans consume plants and animals to survive, just as the Radam consume and spread! It was fate that the Radam came to Earth!) Blade tensed almost to the breaking point, as Axe laid the cutting edge of his halberd against the base of Shinya's neck. (If you can't accept that, you and Master Shinya will have to die, right here!)

For a breathless, horrible moment – as the keen edge of Axe's halberd bit just enough into Shinya's neck to draw a thin line of blood – Blade found himself frozen where he stood. Then, gathering himself and blocking out whatever else Axe might try to say, Blade resolved himself to his next course of action. Launching all four of his bladed boomerangs from both ends of his lancer, forcing Axe to move his halberd away from Shinya's throat just long enough for Blade to grab his younger twin's vulnerable, human body and carry it to the other side of the enclosed battlefield.

"Oh, I see you're getting slower, Master Takaya," Blade narrowed his eyes as Axe chuckled. "Are you giving up?"

"I said, we're not going to be killed by you, Axe!" he snarled, holding Shinya as tightly as he dared with his enhanced strength.

Axe scoffed in response, but the evil Tekkaman didn't seem like he was going to say anything else. That was the best thing he could have hoped for, since with Shinya having reverted back to his human form, Blade knew that he only had five more minutes to end this fight before he lost control completely. He'd have to do it one-handed, too, since with all the Radam foliage around him and Axe inside with him, there was no safe place that he could lay Shinya down and fight unencumbered.

Nowhere was safe but Blade's own arms.

Axe's sudden charge nearly threw him off balance, and as he curled his armored form around Shinya to give his younger twin what little protection he could while he was still in open combat, Blade spun up and threw his lancer to drive the evil Tekkaman back far enough that he could actually breathe for a moment, the sight of a large explosion off to his immediate right drew both his and Axe's attention. However, while Blade could trust in the fact that he had people who were ready and willing to pull him out of trouble when he needed it, Axe's situation was just the opposite.

Collapsing his right hand into the sharply-compressed form that the appendage always took when he used his Crash Intrude, Blade drove forward and into the evil Tekkaman's gut. He took a heavy blow to the right shoulder for his trouble, with Axe's halberd cutting halfway down to the bone, but that was a small price to pay as far as he was concerned. Shinya was safe, and there wasn't so much of a chance of him losing control if he managed to get to Pegas quickly.

"You've gotten much stronger, Master Takaya. You even protected Master Shinya, as well," Axe said, laughing softly. "You're a lot different than you used to be. You and Master Shinya, you both deserve to be commended; it's clear you both know what it's like to fight on the edge of death. As your mentor, I'm impressed by what you boys are capable of now!"

Blade didn't quite know what to say to that; even the sentiment had been twisted by the Radam's efforts, but even knowing that didn't quite stop him from wishing that it could have been true.

"I never wanted all this power," Blade said, managing to regain at least some of his composure. "I wish I'd never changed into what I am now! Shinya would say just the same!"

"Even so, Master Takaya, I can't allow you and Master Shinya to make it to the Moon. I can't allow either of you to take my crystal!" Axe said, struggling back to his feet even in spite of the wound that Blade had inflicted on him. "Sorry to break my promise, but I'm going to use my Voltekka! This is for Lord Spear! I'll kill you both, right here!"

Blade barely had time to brace himself before Axe charged straight at him and he was forced to leap backwards with the aid of his thrusters. He could see Axe's chest armor beginning to reconfigure in preparation to fire off a Voltekka, and even as his changed eyes widened at the implications of that kind of thing, Blade curled his armored body around Shinya as tightly as he could manage without the risk of crushing his younger twin's vulnerable body with his larger, bulky form.

As Axe's Voltekka washed over him, Blade heard the sound of another distant explosion. He wondered briefly what it was, then he lifted his head from its curled-over position so that he could actually see what might have been going on. Axe's Voltekka had scorched the ground around him, and while Blade had expected something just like that, the hole straight through the foliage wall that Axe had raised around them was something entirely new.

He didn't have much more than a few seconds to think about it, with Axe rising back to his feet and clearly preparing to charge again, but this time Blade found himself surprised: a bolt of what looked like the same kind of Fermion that Noal and Balzac used when they were in their respective Sol Tekkamen smashed into Axe's face. What was even more surprising, though, was that the shell tore right through the evil Tekkaman's armor, exposing his and Shinya's old sensei's face.

The shell also seemed to have sheered off the underlying layer of armor as well, since Blade could see Axe's human face as opposed to the thinner layer of crystalline armor Blade could feel encasing his own.

Rushing forward with a driving stab, Blade turned and ran quickly away from the dying form of Axe; it was really too much to hope that their former instructor wouldn't try to kamikaze them both even while in his death throes, and Blade wasn't about to risk both his and Shinya's lives by sticking around longer than he absolutely had to. Throwing himself out through the hole that'd been burned through the Radam's encircling foliage, his eyesight already starting to blur with the strain he was feeling, Blade briefly caught sight of someone he could swear was familiar…

IX

When the lad came dashing out of the dome of Radam's clump of weeds, still in full armor and carrying his young brother in his arms, O'Toole was quick to take D-Two from him before the lad himself fell straight down on his armored face. He'd made sure to keep the Space Knights appraised about where he was headed, so the sound of their Jeep coming his way wasn't much of a surprise. When those lads wearing the Sol Tekkamen gathered Blade up, he followed them back to their Jeep, D-Two still slumbering in his arms.

Setting the lad down in the back of the Jeep, O'Toole noticed two things: there was a trail of dried blood on the lad's collar, and the red-headed Space Knight seemed particularly enamored with him, if the way he was curling up beside the lad was any indication.

Turning at the sound of Pegas snapping itself open so that Tekkaman Blade could shed his armor, O'Toole smiled softly. These people almost reminded him of his own crew, at times; just as loyal and dedicated to their fellows, and not easily cowed by the danger they were all facing. With a last look at D-Two, happy that the lad seemed to have found someone to share his life with, strange as it might've seemed to anyone else, O'Toole made his way over to the group of Space Knights who were all gathered around D-Boy.

The lad himself seemed a bit unsteady on his feet, but none the worse for wear considering what had gone on.

"Wraith ran off, but did you manage to get Axe's crystal, at least?" that second blond Space Knight of theirs, the one O'Toole hadn't been introduced to, asked.

The lad turned away slightly, his gaze fixed solidly on the ground, fists clenched in either anger or worry; O'Toole could fully understand both reactions. "D-chan, where is he?"

The lad's deep, bright green eyes locked on him as O'Toole made his way over.

"He's sleeping in the Jeep," he said, smiling slightly. "I can take you to him, but there's something I need you to do for me, too."

"Sergeant Bernard," the lad said, sighing softly. "It's been a long time."

"Do you remember our promise?" he asked, smiling gently.

"Yeah, I do," the lad said, reaching out to gently grasp the neck of the bottle O'Toole offered to him. "I'm sure brother does, too."

"Of course," he said, leading the pair of them over to the Jeep where D-Boy's young brother was sleeping.

Smiling, he watched as the four of them – three of whom were actually conscious to participate in the process – arranged themselves together in the back seat, O'Toole turned and made his way back over to his people to start getting them organized again. Sure, seeing them all together was a nice thing, but there was a reason that he'd come to these people, and it wasn't to watch those two pairs of lovebirds at play.

X

He'd heard the sounds of sniffling from the door, and with the sense of Sasuke's presence in his mind – hesitant, but recognizable for all that – and so Spear had made his way over to the door of his quarters aboard the remains of the Argos, where he'd taken to staying when he wasn't recovering from combat with Takaya and Shinya in one of the tekkapods. Looking down at the trembling form of his youngest brother, Spear reached out to gently touch Sasuke's narrow shoulders.

(Kengo,) the sheer misery in his youngest brother's mental voice struck right to Spear's heart. (Niisama…)

(Welcome back,) he said, crouching slightly to pick up his youngest brother's small form.

As Sasuke curled up against him, clearly trying to stifle the sobs that still wracked his tiny body, Spear made his way over to the bed that he'd been using on and off ever since he had recovered enough of his strength that he could do so with some assurance of safety. Sitting at the head of his bed, leaning his and Sasuke's weight against the wall, Spear gently stroked his youngest brother's soft hair.

(Pull yourself together, Sasuke-chibi,) he said gently, even as his eyes narrowed in thought. (Tears don't suit Tekkamen like us.)

Sitting on his bed, with the youngest of his brothers sobbing in his arms, Spear continued to stroke Sasuke's hair while he himself reflected on everything that had happened lately. Everything seemed to come down to Takaya and Shinya; those two were the lynchpin of Earth's defenses, and it was becoming increasingly clear that the pair of them hand no intention of returning to their proper place. Shinya, Takaya, is this really what you want…?