His head felt like someone had been beating it with large, heavy sticks, but at least he was in a bed. That was nice. Opening his eyes slowly, Shinya struggled to remember just what had been going on; the battle with Dagger had to have been resolved in their favor, the fact that Takaya had blown the evil Tekkaman away with his most powerful weapon notwithstanding, he wouldnt have been waking up in bed if theyd been captured by the Radam.
In fact, if that had happened it was debatable whether he or Takaya would have been waking up at all.
Oh shit, Takaya!
"Chief, I think hes waking up," said a bright, colorful blur that sounded like Milly.
Opening his eyes fully, Shinya found that the blur did indeed resolve into Milly.
"Welcome back, son," Chief Freeman said. "You and D-Boy did very well out there; I would like to thank you boys, on behalf of the Space Knights, and the Earth."
"Youre welcome, I guess," he said, not knowing quite what else to say.
[Theyve asked us to stay,] he heard Takaya say, and he turned to look his brothers way.
[Thats nice,] he said cautiously; he knew that neither of them were going to take the offer. It was just safer to have no ties, no weaknesses to be exploited; the only person he could ever really let himself care for was his brother. [When are you planning to leave, Ta-kun?]
[After we get some food and supplies. We should at least be able to make it to some kind of a shelter before nightfall.] Sitting up on the bed, one knee tucked under his chin, Takaya was the picture of watchful silence.
[What about rest? Id kind of like to sleep in a real bed at least once before we start moving again.]
[These people they seem to want us to protect them,] Takaya said, his gaze discretely taking in the gathered Space Knights. [Though I guess I have to admit, a bed would be nice.]
[Maybe a day wouldnt be so bad; you dont really get to know people that well in just a day. And they do have a lot of nice things here, Ta-kun.]
I
He considered what Shinya had just finished saying; the thought of a bed, not just a cot or a sleeping bag like they would find in one of the tent shelters that had sprung up all over the place, was tempting to him as well. But the thought of falling in with people like the Outer Space Development Group or their Space Knights people who had no idea what they were getting into when they chose to face the Radam, people who could very easily get close enough that their deaths would hurt him wasnt one that he liked to entertain. Shinya understood that; that was why he wasnt suggesting that they stay.
His brother just wanted a comfortable place to sleep. So did he, for that matter.
"D-Boy?" Chief Freemans voice broke him from his thoughts. "Im sorry to interrupt you, but I would like to know if you and your brother have come to a decision yet."
"I guess we can stay," he said, speaking more to Shinya than to the Space Knights leader.
[Its nice to know you can see reason once in awhile, Ta-kun,] his brother said, and there was a ghost of his usual teasing smile playing about his lips.
[Dont be so silly, Shin-chan.]
"Well have quarters set up for you, then," he said, nodding sharply as his eyes passed over them.
Takaya returned the nod without words, more concerned about what else he might be asked to do now that he had agreed to stay. Even if it was only long enough to get food, supplies, and a warm place to sleep for the night. They didnt know that he and Shinya didnt intend to stay; he could tell from the way they looked at them.
Even Noals annoyance was indicative of that; he obviously thought he was going to have to deal with them for the long haul. Hed probably be relived when they were gone, though.
"So, what do we do now?"
"We should see about getting some food," he said, turning to look at his brother again.
"That sounds good," Shinya said, nodding as he levered himself out of bed. "Where do you think we should go?"
Just as he was about to say something, the alarms annoying in their shrillness started to go off again.
"This? Now? I really wanted to eat," Shinya said, sounding more fed up than truly angry.
He knew how his brother was feeling; hed been looking forward to getting a good meal, too.
"No rest for the wicked, eh?" Noal needled, standing in front of them even as they climbed out of the bed and headed for the main room.
It was best to get the talking over with so they could deal with the Radam creatures that Omega had to be sending out again. That was the only reason either of them could find for the alarms going off so soon after they had returned.
All but leaping out of the beds theyd been placed in, both twins made for the OSDG Headquarters main room at high speed. Most of the other Space Knights had already gathered there, and of course Chief Freeman was there waiting for them.
"Whats the situation, Chief?" Aki asked.
Neither twin was quite ready to consider himself a part of this organization, not after what they had been through, but they would do everything they could to help. These people were still human, after all.
II
The pain... the pain had passed long ago, but this near-complete sensory depravation was almost worse. At least the pain could be fought, but there was nothing to fight in this situation.
He was blind; his eyes sealed shut by what felt like a thicker variant of the slime that was imprisoning him in this pod. No sounds from the outside if there were any to be heard in the first place could reach his liquid-filled ears, leaving him in a void of silence that the blindness made all the more unbearable. The only thing he was left with was his sense of touch; his nose was filled with the same type of fluid as his ears, and he wasnt about to open his mouth to try and taste it.
The feel of his heart beating steadily was the only sensation he had in this place; the fluid was at the same temperature as his body, to the point where it was easy to forget it was even there.
All of this would have been bad enough without the constant whispers in the back of his mind; the voices that kept trying to press him into accepting a name that wasnt his. The name of a weapon; of one of Radams slave-warriors.
No; my name is Kengo, I am Aiba Kengo! He screamed silently, defying the voice that was trying to tell him that he was Tekkaman Yari, and that Aiba Kengo was dead. He was not going to give up his life to be a servant to the very things that had already killed most of his friends and utterly ripped apart his family!
Still, in the back of his mind almost unheard over the whispering voice was the nagging fear that he wouldnt be able to stand much more of this slow torture.
III
As they both helped to unload the boxes of supplies from the stack, carrying them into the Blue Earths hold and stacking them there, Shinya had to laugh to himself. Here theyd been all concerned about another Radam attack, and the alarm had turned out to be the general-alert. That was funny, if only in the sense that they should have been more curious about why the Space Knights hadnt looked worried when they had come into the comm. room.
Still, it was useful to know the difference between the emergency-alert and the general-alert. That had to count for something, even in spite of the fact that they werent going to be with the Space Knights long enough for it to matter; theyd already made plans to leave after this supply run was finished.
Once all of the crates and boxes had been stacked and secured in the hold, and after he and Takaya had used the excuse of checking the bindings to get some time alone Noal might have been easy to hate, but Aki was just as easy to like, and they couldnt afford to stay in one place long enough to bond with people Shinya followed his brother back to the cockpit. Theyd only have to deal with these people for this one day; not long enough to form the kinds of bonds that would hurt to break.
That was a good thing; both of them agreed on that point.
Once the Blue Earth was back in the air, carrying the cargo that the Space Knights needed to continue their operations out in the Arizona desert, Takaya found his attention captivated by the landscape passing by underneath the craft. He and Shinya were going to have to cross that terrain when they inevitably left, so it was best to know what they were going to be dealing with beforehand.
"All right, kids," Noal said, with the air of someone anticipating something fun. "Hold onto your lunch!"
Takaya barely had time to wonder just what the man was going on about, before the force of sudden acceleration slammed him back into his seat. He heard Shinya grunting behind him, and swearing fairly colorfully in the privacy of his own mind, before he made a point of reestablishing the mental walls hed been working to construct. It was starting to look like the only way they would get any real privacy when they were in close proximity was to block out the thoughts that always seemed to want to slip into each others minds.
He and Shinya had both agreed to work on that while they were packing the crates into the Blue Earths hold. It was the only way either of them were going to be able to avoid going crazy.
They soon arrived back at the Outer Space Development Groups headquarters. None the worse for wear despite what felt like Noals best efforts. Catching up with Shinya while the two of them walked along with Noal and Aki, but neither twin paid them much attention he touched his brothers hand briefly as he passed. Of course, Shinya wasnt going to let him go with just that.
Squeezing back as Shinya held his hand, Takaya was forced to let go as they descended the Blue Earths boarding ramp. When they rejoined each other at the bottom of the ramp, Takaya heard Aki calling to him. Shinya seemed to like her, insofar as either of them would allow themselves to like anyone, but they were still leaving this place.
"Well, should we report the situation to the Chief first? D-Boy, D-Two, come on!"
"Boys!" Aki called; both twins had made it clear that neither of them wanted anything more to do with them, but they seemed to be ignoring that. "Where are the two of you going?"
"We dont belong here; my brother and I are leaving now," Takaya said, over his shoulder. "Since none of you are going into space, well find another way," he said, almost slipping his arm through Shinyas before he thought better of it; best not to show any weaknesses.
"D-Boy, D-Two, could you hold off on that for a few moments?" He turned at Freemans voice, to see the man coming towards him with Milly alongside.
"What do you people want now?" he asked, mildly curious but not wanting to be delayed if he could help it.
"Id like to ask for the cooperation of you boys."
"Wed like to run a physical exam," Milly elaborated.
"A physical?" Shinya echoed, looking confused.
"Well, to find out about that system that lets you two transform into those Tekkamen, yeah?" Milly said, smiling and obviously enthusiastic about the idea for some reason.
[What do you think, Ta-kun? I know you said that you wanted to get out of here, but Im in favor of anything that causes trouble for the Radam.]
[So youre saying you think we should stay for this?]
[Yeah; just long enough for them to get some information. Who knows, they might even be able to make our lives a bit easier if we give them what theyre looking for.]
[All right,] he said, seeing the logic of his brothers argument but wishing for a moment that he hadnt. [Well stay long enough for them to find out what they want to know.]
Turning even as Shinya did, Takaya faced the Space Knights Chief. "All right, Ill go with you."
"Thank you, son," the man said, turning as both he and Shinya fell into step behind him. "Which one of you would be willing to undergo the MRI?"
"I will," he said firmly, knowing that Shinya would appreciate the gesture and also knowing that his brother wasnt one for lying still unless he had to.
Shinya would probably fidget through the entire thing; his brother wasnt really the type to stay still for any length of time when he was bored. And something like an MRI scan wasnt really the kind of thing Shinya would consider interesting enough to sit still for. Takaya let Freeman lead him away, and saw Shinya falling into step with them as the left; hed suspected that his brother wasnt going to leave him to face something even as mundane as an MRI without some kind of moral support, but it was nice to have it confirmed.
IV
The sensory-deprivation, as nice as it had been when compared to the pain he had been through while they were trying to make him into one of their warriors, was becoming almost the same kind of torture hed been put through before. He hated the Radam; everything about them was sorrow and pain and rage, and all they left behind was devastation and slavery and misery. Kengo knew, beyond any possibility of doubt, that he had to hold on to that hatred. It was the only thing that kept him out of their hands.
Everything else was starting to slip away from him, even the memories of home that he had once treasured so much, and he was left with only feelings and impressions. He couldnt love something he was having trouble even remembering, but he could hate the Radam for what they were doing to him. He could hate them for the pain they had inflicted on him.
And he could certainly hate them for what they were trying to turn him into; that hatred was his lifeline, and he was going to cling to it for all he was worth. It was all he had left.
V
When Milly had asked for his tekkaset, Shinya had been reluctant at first. It was, after all, his only real means of defending himself from the Radam. Still, when she had told him that she needed it so she would have a second one to compare with Takayas, he had recalled his and handed it over. If Takaya was willing to trust these people with his only real means of defense, than he couldnt really do anything less.
[How are you doing in there, Ta-kun? They treating you well?]
[Fine, Shin-chan,] his brother said. [Ill tell you when theyre done, so we can leave.]
[Well go together, Ta-kun.]
[Always, Shin-chan.]
Smiling slightly at the warmth in his brothers silent voice, Shinya leaned against the wall and waited for either Milly to come tell him that she was done with his tekkaset, or for Takaya to say that he was done with his MRI. Whichever came first. He kind of wondered what these people would do once they were gone, how they would cope with the Radam once he and Takaya had left.
It wasnt a fair situation to leave them in, but then fate wasnt particularly fair in the first place. It had certainly made that abundantly clear when... sternly, Shinya reminded himself that he wasnt going to think about things that couldnt be helped. It was what he and Takaya had both agreed on.
"D-Two," the calm voice of Chief Freeman greeted him, as the man walked up to him.
Takaya was beside him, and Shinyas eyes focused instinctively on his brother. [This is telling me when youre done, Ta-kun?]
[Sorry, Shin-chan, I fell asleep.]
[Silly Ta-kun,] he sent back, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "So, how did things go?" he asked.
"Not as well as I would have preferred, Im disappointed to say," Freeman stated, sounding almost as neutral as he always did. "We have a baseline reference now, so if you were to volunteer for the MRI yourself, Im sure wed have a better chance of understanding just what it is that were fighting."
Shinya cringed internally; the thought of lying still in a dark tunnel while his body was blasted with invisible rays wasnt really one that he liked to entertain. Kengo had always told him- but Kengo didnt exist anymore. He and Takaya were on their own; but that still didnt mean that he had to put himself into uncomfortable situations just to spite a memory.
"I dont think my brother would be willing to put himself through that," Takaya said, knowing just how much he wouldnt like that. "Where are you taking us, anyway?" he added, as they all continued on their way down the corridor. "Havent we cooperated with you enough?"
"Certainly. Youre both free to either stay here or leave, now," Freeman said calmly, and Shinya started to wonder idly if anything at all could faze him. "However, I would like to show you something."
"Show us?" Takaya asked, after looking to him for a second opinion; hed shrugged in response. He didnt have any idea, either.
Freeman said nothing, simply turning and hitting a button on a keypad next to the door. What they saw in the room beyond the door was something that neither twin had wanted to ever see again; even though they had both suspected that they would.
"Thats-!" Takaya began.
"The Radam!"
"We know far too little about the Radam," Freeman said, in response to the double-voiced shout. "All we know, is that they come down to Earth as seed-pods just like this, which are then buried in the soil by those creatures you and D-Two keep destroying. Thats all that we know, right now."
"Thats all?" Shinya asked, seeing that Takaya was too busy glaring at the tanks filled with immature tekkapods to notice that there was someone talking to him.
"But now you two, who know the name and purpose of these organisms, have come here. You say that these creatures, Radam, mean to conquer the Earth," Freeman said, laying his hand on the tank of pods. "Is there anything else that you can tell me about them? What are the Radam, anyway? How is it that you and your brother can become Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Varis, when you both have the same physical structure as an ordinary human being?"
"What has all your analysis told you?" Takaya asked, wary but curious.
"Unfortunately, its told us nothing we didnt know about you before," he said, obviously speaking to both twins.
"I see," Takaya said, seeming resigned. "I would have liked to know about all that stuff, myself. Why brother and I were chosen like this. But, the one thing I do know is that were the only ones on Earth who can defeat the Radam," he said, opening the glass container that held his and his brothers tekkasets. "Thats all."
"So, this is where we part ways," Shinya said, catching his crystal as Takaya tossed it to him. "Take care," he said, as Takaya came up beside him and bumped the back of his fingers; they would hold hands once they were out of the room, he knew; better not to reveal any weaknesses when they could avoid it.
"I hate to have to ask this again, but this ends our cooperation, right?" Takaya said, as they turned to leave.
"Indeed. But, even if you manage to leave us, neither of you are going to be able to find a space ship." He and Takaya both turned to look over their shoulders as Freeman said this. Neither of them quite knew what to think. This hadnt been in their plans at all. "I dont know where you boys intend to go, but how will you fight the Radam without a space ship?" Freeman paused, even as he and Takaya turned fully around to relieve the kinks in their necks before they could get really annoying. "So, it wouldnt be so bad an idea if you and your brother stayed here. It would be good for you, and for us as well."
Takaya frowned, and Shinya knew from his expression that he was being as patient as he could, under the circumstances. Neither of them liked being cornered. They left without another word.
When the door hissed closed behind them, leaving Freeman to do whatever it was he did during the day, he and Takaya clasped hands and continued on their way. It would have been nice to have at least some kind of a home-base, even though they would never really have a home again; even he wasnt hardened enough not to be able to admit that. And he didnt think Takaya was, either.
Still, there was too much at stake for them to settle down somewhere; he wasnt stupid enough not to see that, either.
"So, how far do you think we are from the exits, Ta-kun?" Shinya asked idly.
"Well have to find out the long way," Takaya muttered, clearly annoyed with their current predicament.
"At least this ways better than asking the people here. I dont think theyd let us go if they knew we werent coming back."
"Theyd try to stop us," Takaya said flatly, as he continued moving closer to that large room at the end of the corridor.
It might have been an exit, or it might not have; either way they were going to find out soon.
VI
Watching Aki as she took down the last of her opponents for the day, Milly smiled as she heard the man throw in the proverbial towel. Hed managed to last one round longer than the others, so that was likely to be a point of pride for him, but after five rounds against Aki, anyone could be forgiven for giving up. Milly certainly knew that she didnt have the skills to compete against Aki in any kind of a combat situation.
"D-Boy! D-Two! Hi," she said, turning to face them. "Did you two come here for a visit?"
"So, is the physical exam all over?" Noal asked. "Or are you just waiting for them to get re-set for your brother?"
"Yes," D-Boy said. "Brother didnt want to participate, so I went in instead."
D-Two, for his part, didnt seem interested in saying anything, and was in fact standing about a foot behind his brother.
"Well, if thats all over with, then how about a test of physical strength?" Noal said, and Milly smiled. "And, since D-Two hasnt been doing anything lately, whats say you both join in?"
"I bet you both could be a good match for Aki!" she exclaimed cheerfully; that would be fun. "You might even last five minutes, or maybe more."
"He might be just some weakling unless he turns into Tekkaman Blade," Noal said. "D-Two also."
"Id like to see that, too. How about it, D-Boy? Would you and your brother like to fight me?" Aki said, and Milly smiled.
She kind of wanted to stick her tongue out at Noal, but since shed been trying to take things a bit more seriously since the aliens had invaded, she didnt. Then, D-Boy spoke up again.
"Not a chance," he said, and she wondered why he didnt sound enthusiastic; or why D-Two was just shaking his head. "What good will it do for brother and I to test our strength against you? Fighting the Radam is enough."
She couldnt understand why anyone would say something so final sounding, but D-Boy and his brother left before she could ask either of them what they had meant by that.
"What?" was all she could say.
"Radam shmadam; theyre obsessed," Noal said with the air of someone who didnt really care. "What a pair of freaks."
So strange, she mused. Strange, and a bit sad, or at least that was the feeling she had. Something told her that both of them were sad, but she didnt know what about; she didnt know if she would ever have the chance to find out, either.
VII
When he felt Shinya squeeze his hand lightly, Takaya almost smiled. Even if there were people out there who didnt understand why they did what they had to people who wanted them to stay here in spite of all the danger that that presented to both sides he still had his brother to stand by him. Takaya didnt quite know what hed be like if Shinya hadnt... escaped from the transformation process when he did. He didnt know, and he honestly didnt want to know.
Shinya was with him here, now, and he wasnt going to waste time thinking about how things might have gone otherwise.
When they reached somewhere that looked like a large hangar, the first thing that Takaya noticed was the large, imposing bulk of the Blue Earth. Silently cursing his bad luck, and the generally confusing nature of the base, Takaya sighed.
[I guess this wasnt the right way,] he said.
[They dont even have any maps here,] Shinya said reasonably. [I think more people than us might have gotten lost,] Shinya chuckled mentally. [You think they could find us?]
He chuckled softly. [Shin-chan, youre so silly.]
[So are you, Ta-kun,] Shinya retorted, still smirking a bit. [Anyway, you know you love me.]
[Right,] he said, turning his attention outward to take in their surroundings again.
Now that he was really looking at the place, he found that it looked like some kind of huge, high-tech garage; only with space ships and some guy in a robot-suit working on them. Hed seen a few of those suits back- before, but that wasnt what he was concentrating on right now. What they really needed at the moment was an exit.
Just as he and Shinya were turning to leave, though, the man who was working there the same one who had attempted to crush the life out of him not two days ago called out to them.
"D-Boy, do you have a crush on Milly? With the way you keep looking at her, someone might get ideas."
"I think someone already has," Shinya said, before Takaya could think of anything to say. "Anyway, I dont think brother meant to do anything like that; Milly just looks like our sister. Well, at least a bit."
The large man smiled wryly, then he became serious. "Where are you two planning to go, anyway?"
Shinya would have probably been able to fast-talk their way out of this, he was better with people than Takaya was, but what Takaya wanted more than anything was just to leave. Some things were best handled bluntly.
"Were actually looking for a way out," he said, folding his arms. He didnt know if this guy was going to try talking him and his brother out of leaving, the way the others seemed determined to do, but he wasnt going to stand for it. "My brother and I are going to be leaving after today, and I wanted to know the location of the main exit so we wouldnt have to waste time looking for it tomorrow."
"That makes a certain amount of sense," the man concluded gruffly. "Still, why dont you two just stay?"
[They dont know what theyre asking us to do,] Shinya said, squeezing his arm softly; Takaya bit back a smile.
He didnt want to have to explain what he was feeling so pleased to someone who wasnt and never would be, if he had any say in the matter part of the small piece of family he was fighting to keep by his side. It wouldnt help anything, and it would likely only make leaving all the more complicated. It was just best not to bring things like that up in the first place.
"We should go," he said, and Shinya nodded slightly as the two of them stepped away from the landing-gear and left the dry-dock behind.
[Well, that was a big bust. And not the good kind, either,] Shinya said, folding his arms behind his head and stretching as he walked.
[Shin-chan, you know how I said you were funny?]
[You never told me that, Ta-kun,] Shinya said, turning a slightly fish-eyed look on him.
[Its because youre not,] he said, giving Shinya a not-so-gentle, brotherly punch on the shoulder.
[You just have no sense of humor,] Shinya said, punching him back.
[I like a good joke just as much as the next guy. You just never have one,] he returned.
Shinya swatted him for that, but they were both smiling; both of them knew that neither of them meant anything by their little jibes. They would stay together through anything; not even all of the forces that the Radam could send against them would force them apart.
VIII
As they made their way through the base, searching for the exit in a place that had initially looked more promising than the one theyd been in when theyd inadvertently met that big man working on the Blue Earth, both brothers looked up as a loudspeaker started blaring.
-"Paging D-Boy, D-Two, and the Space Knights, report to the control room immediately. I repeat: D-Boy, D-Two, and the Space Knights are to report to the control room at once!"- Freemans voice blared out over the loudspeaker, calm as it always seemed to be.
The announcement, and the request that didnt sound quite like any kind of request that Shinya had heard so far, was repeated twice more, and he heard Takaya sigh in what had to be profound annoyance.
"So?" he raised an eyebrow, knowing that his brother would understand what he was getting at.
"We might as well answer it," Takaya said. "Maybe Freeman can tell us how to get out of this maze."
"All right," he said, taking his brothers hand as they made their way back to the main control room.
He didnt know just what was going on, since neither the general-alert nor the emergency-alert had sounded before Freemans little announcement, but he hoped that it would give them a chance to find an exit from this labyrinthine command center that the Outer Space Development Group had set up for themselves. He knew that Takaya was hoping for the same; they were leaving today, no matter what else happened.
IX
When the various members of the Outer Space Development Group began to join them in the halls, all moving in the same direction, Takaya couldnt help but wonder just what was going on. It wasnt the general-alert, and he couldnt help the feeling that he and Shinya would have been the first to know if there had been another Radam attack, but something about this situation he wasnt getting the feeling that this had anything to do with the Radam invasion, but he didnt get a good feeling about it, either.
Humans couldnt be as bad as the Radam, though; even Noal at his worst couldnt manage that.
It was the one truth that he knew, the one thing that kept him going: even with all their faults, humans were worth fighting for. The Space Knights proved that, and even if he wasnt going to allow himself to get close to any of them, Takaya would still do his best to protect them and the Earth. He and Shinya had both made that vow.
As they filed in through the door, side-by-side since these doors were wide enough to allow for that, Takaya caught his first glimpse of the tableaux on the other side. It wasnt a promising one. There were several men with guns, standing in front of Freeman and obviously holding him back from doing anything.
There was also a bald man in the room who all the attention seemed to be focused on; Takaya didnt like to think he was one to make snap-judgements, but the bald man looked like trouble.
"So, youre D-Boy; Tekkaman Blade, are you?" the bald man said, getting into his personal space, and then grabbing his chin to top it off! He growled, slapping the bald man away from him with more force than was perhaps strictly necessary.
"Full of pep! Thats what I like to see." Judging by the look he gave Shinya shortly after he said that, his brother had probably kicked the mans ankle; Takaya would have thanked him, but there were clearly more important things at stake right now.
Neither of them could afford distractions.
"Now, then. This is the first time that all of you have been assembled as Space Knights," Freeman said. "Since you were never permitted to identify yourselves as such until now."
"Chief, does that mean that its time now?" Noal demanded.
Before any answer could be given, the large main screen activated, displaying a man that was so clearly a soldier, Takaya knew before he spoke that he was working for Colbert. Not listening to the words that were exchanged between them, Takaya focused his attention on the vehicles and military equipment behind them. This display couldnt be anything but a threat.
"What, you mean you want us to turn Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Varis over to the military?" Noal said, sounding if anything mildly disgusted.
"Yes. And its not something thats up for debate," Colbert said smugly.
"Chief, dont tell me that youre just going to do what this guy says!" Noal snapped, and Blade was surprised to hear the man who seemed to hate them being so passionate in their defense; maybe he just hated the military more. "We dont have a choice, huh?" Noal stiffened slightly, and didnt say anything else.
"Precisely, my boy," Colbert said, sounding even more smug than before.
"D-Boy, its all up to you," Freeman said, coming over to speak with him more personally. "Will you and your brother cooperate with the military?"
"Cooperate?" he said, irritated but slightly amused. "Were not the ones who should worry about cooperating. The military should cooperate with us! The Allied Earth Military has no chance of defeating the Radam. Theres no one who can defeat them but brother and I! So its the military that should cooperate! Or they should just stay out of our way." He turned to rake Colbert and the other AEM soldiers with a sharp gaze. "You can all just hide in some corner and watch us!"
"Bastard!" one of the AEM soldiers raged; most of them pointed their guns at him, though some of them aimed at Shinya.
"Shoot me, then," he sneered, knowing that nothing like that would happen. "Id like to see you try it!"
"Fire," Shinya sneered at Colbert. "Go ahead, General, have them aim right for my heart!" Shinya taunted, smirking as he pressed two fingers down on the center of his chest, his tone making the title sound like an insult. "Brother will kill you!"
That might have been an exaggeration on his brothers part, but they both knew that the sentiment behind it was true. He wasnt going to lose any more of his family. No matter what. "You want us alive, dont you, old man? "
Colbert snarled like a cornered tiger; a really ugly one. "Damn you!" he shouted, depressing what was obviously the transmitter button on his comm-link. "Open fire!"
The room shook and rumbled, and Shinya moved closer to him so that they could each draw a little strength from the others closeness.
"How did you like that! Now will you do as I say?" There was no response; he had to respect Freeman for not giving in to this Generals strong-arm tactics.
"General Colbert, we have only five minutes until it reaches the danger zone," Freeman said at last. Colbert just growled in response.
There was probably more to it than just what he was seeing, of course, but the rumbling didnt seem to be any worse, and no more than loose dust and other things of that ilk were falling from the ceiling. One of the aides announced that the Orbital Ring debris would be entering the atmosphere shortly, but that man Colbert didnt seem to care.
[Hes an idiot,] Shinya groused.
[Yes, he is,] he was not going to be intimidated by this idiot.
"Chief, theres a radio message for you," one of the comm. officers said, cutting into the tension that had been building up in the room.
"What? Just ignore it, then!" Colbert snapped.
"Its a top-priority message," she said.
"Dammit!" Colbert growled. "Who is it from, then?"
"Its from the President," Freeman said, and Takaya heard Shinya chuckling; he was even tempted to do so, himself.
If hed been in a position to have human friends, Takaya would have almost been willing to call this man one of them. He wasnt, though; friends could be killed, and humans were all the more vulnerable. They werent something he could afford the luxury of; Shinya was the only one who wouldnt die for standing at his side.
"Mr. Colbert, exactly what are you doing at the Outer Space Development Groups headquarters?" the President and wow, was that weird to think about; they were facing the President demanded.
"Im requesting that they place the Tekkamen Blade and Varis under the AEMs command, sir."
"Oh? Threatening them at gunpoint? Is that what you call a request?" the President said, almost fiercely for all the calmness of his demeanor. Colbert tried to say something, but the President cut him off. "You idiot! I already know what youve been getting up to! From this day on, Im reinstating the Space Knights as a special task force. Theyll serve as a reserve force with the Tekkamen Blade and Varis, independent of the Allied Earth Military!"
"But, Mr. President-!"
"Im not making a request, Colbert," the President said, by now sounding a bit fed up with Colbert; Takaya couldnt blame him: hed just met the man a few minutes ago, and hed be perfectly happy never to see his ugly face again. "Im giving you an order! You are to call off your forces, and provide whatever aid that the Space Knights need to destroy that falling Ring section. Is that understood?"
The screen went white as the connection was terminated, and Takaya felt the niggling sense of his brother trying to contact him.
[Thats a funny look on his face, isnt it?] And here, Shinya somehow managed to give him an image of Colberts face as he spoke into his comm. unit. [Eh, Ta-kun?]
[Yeah,] he responded, amused.
"Belay my earlier orders; the attack is off!" Colbert said, with an expression on his face that suggested hed swallowed something unpleasant.
Things looked to be getting serious now, though, so Takaya put aside his earlier levity; he saw Shinya standing straighter out of the corner of his left eye.
"All right, everyone. Here are my orders, Space Knights."
"Hold on a second!" he said, after exchanging a speaking glance with Shinya. "We never said that we would join up with your Space Knights, you know. Brother and I arent going to take orders from anyone; not from the military, and not from you, either!"
"Still," he heard Shinya say, suppressing a smile as his younger twins shoulder touched his own. "The food here is probably a lot better than the slop that the military serves."
"Right." Freeman nodded, clearly accepting that answer even though he didnt state it outright. "Launch the Blue Earth at once!"
"Roger!" all of the Space Knights shouted; he and Shinya followed them as they left the control room.
X
Moving through the corridors at a brisk run, Shinya kept his eyes peeled for an actual exit. He knew that Takaya would be doing the same, since they were still going to be leaving this base soon. This was just an unexpected but necessary detour. They couldnt allow that debris to just crash into the Earth, not with what they both knew about physics; not and still call themselves human beings.
Once they had reached the Blue Earths hangar again, Shinya caught sight of Honda waving to him.
"Ive put in a new chair for you, D-Two," the large man said. "Its just behind and to the right of your brothers."
"Thank you," he called, on his way into the ship.
And, just as promised, there was a new chair; it was within arms-reach of Takaya, and bolted securely to the floor. This obviously wasnt some kind of a temp-job; it made him almost uneasy about the fact that it would only be used this once. Still, it wasnt like they were obligated to stay with these people just because they were nice.
If anything, that was all the more reason for them to leave quickly.
"The target is on course to reach the atmosphere in two minutes," Aki informed them, drawing Shinyas attention back to the present. "There it is!"
The exclamation wasnt particularly necessary, but Shinya could understand; it really was an awe-inspiring sight, that of the huge hunk of hollow metal beginning to burn as it fell faster and faster down the Earths gravity-well. And a tragic one, too; for all the people that would die if it was allowed to complete its trip.
"Youll have to head straight for it!" Takaya exclaimed, and Shinya took a deep breath to begin his mental preparations.
The physical would be taken care of when he transformed, of course.
"I know! Here we go!" Noal said, as he guided the Blue Earth closer to their destination.
"Wait, those are-" Aki said.
"More of the Radam," he muttered, as he and Takaya both climbed up and out of their seats.
"Theyre hiding in the debris," Takaya said.
They both made for the air lock, summoning their tekkasets almost before the inner-door had sealed behind them.
"Teksetta!" he shouted, even as he heard Takaya echoing him in nearly the same instant.
The energy of the transformation filled him, nearly making Shinya feel giddy from the sheer rush. The few senses that he could use in this kind of environment, and in this kind of armor hearing, sight, and to a slightly lesser extent, touch were enhanced even beyond the baseline enhancements that the Radam had originally granted him. When the transformation was complete, something he knew by the way the energies had stabilized, the second thing that Varis was aware of was the horde of Radams creatures coming his way.
The first was, as always, the comforting presence of his brother.
XI
Varis had already moved in front of him, and was making himself a lethal obstacle to any Radam creatures in his line of sight.
[Shinya, give me enough time to get into position. Ill wipe this whole thing out with my Voltekka.]
[Yeah,] his brother said, and Blade could tell that he was smiling. [Ill give you all the time you need. Stay with me, brother.]
[Were always together, Shin-chan,] he said warmly.
And so they continued to drive forward, destroying Radams creatures one-on-one, and splattering more than a few with their combined efforts; each working to move him into a position where he would be able to destroy this entire section of Orbital Ring debris with one shot. It would have to be one shot; hed be too wiped out for another if this failed.
This one wouldnt fail, though; not with everything that was at stake.
Taking a deep, though admittedly unneeded, breath to steady himself, Blade began the charging process for his emitters. It would take some time to build up the energy he would need to get this done with one shot, but with Varis to keep the Radam creatures off his back while he let his body siphon the energy it needed, from... wherever that kind of energy could be drawn from, it wouldnt take nearly as long as it would if he were alone.
Feeling the energies of his contained Voltekka building almost to the point where he could no longer contain them, Blade turned his attention to his brother. [Shinya, move back, I have them.]
[Right, brother.]
He knew that Varis would want to stay with him, even if it wasnt particularly safe in the grand scheme of things, and there was no real point in trying to talk him out of it. They would always back the other up. It was just what they did.
[Damnit. Theyre not going to get away in time,] he said, as he raised his pauldrons and revealed his energy-condensers. [Take care of them for me, brother.]
[Yeah,] Varis said, turning and jetting off toward the Blue Earth. [Ill do that, Ta-kun.]
[Thank you,] he said, smiling.
Moving nearly into the mouth of the hollow hunk of space debris, Blade fired his Voltekka deep into he heart of the section of hollow Orbital Ring debris. A line of brilliant, coruscating explosions rushed outward from the point of impact, and Blade found himself smiling. His smile became a wide grin when he saw the results of Varis work: his brother had literally shoved the Blue Earth out of the path of the explosion that had just finished consuming the Orbital Ring debris.
Heading back for the air lock, Blade gave his brother a discreet, low-five as they caught up to each other and flew back side-by-side to the Blue Earth.
[This isnt the end,] he said, the rush of battle having given way to the deep pessimism that had been ingrained in him by all that had happened ever since he and Varis had become what they were now.
[I know, brother. Until Omega is dead, this will never end,] Varis said, sounding like he was starting to get tired; come to think of it, so was he. [Still, we won now. Thats enough for me.]
[Right,] he said, nodding wearily. The last thing he saw, before he slumped to the floor in a dead faint, was Aki making her way into the air lock.
At least hed have a bed to sleep in after this ordeal.