Finding D-Boy and D-Two both passed out on the floor of the air lock was starting to become something of a - mildly disturbing - tradition. They were both naked, the way they always seemed to be when they transformed back into their human forms; for whatever reason. Trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks, and the seriously distracting images that the more lavicious part of her brain was trying to impose on her - whipped cream and twincest was not conductive to getting her job done, nor was it in any way remotely likely; not that she actually wanted it to be - Aki went to grab a couple blankets from the hold. She'd been taking them along on the off-chance that either one or both of the twins would be called upon to transform.
Since she'd seen the results of that once before, and she'd thought that it was likely to be repeated under the same circumstances; she didn't know if being right made her feel better or worse about the situation, but she was more than a little embarrassed about it.
Once she'd gotten both boys wrapped up and strapped into the seats they'd been assigned on the ship, all the while ignoring whatever commentary Noal might have been making about the situation, Aki settled back into her own seat and set her mind on getting them all back down to Earth safely. They wouldn't do anyone any good if they ended up getting killed by some stray Radam beast before they made it back to OSDG Headquarters.
Especially when they were so very close to being defenseless.
I
When he woke up again, Takaya found that he wasnt, oddly enough, staring up at the ceiling of the infirmary the way he had been the last time something like this had happened. Nor, he realized, sitting up and looking around the small room he found himself inside, was his brother anywhere in evidence.
[Shin-chan? Shinya!]
[No, really Ta-kun, I wasnt trying to get any sleep or anything. And you didn't really wake me up.]
[I'm sorry, Shinya,] he said, settling back onto the bed and looking around the room again. [I was just worried; this is the first time I've woken up somewhere other than the infirmary.]
[Yeah; and the first time you woke up without me,] Shinya said, sounding thoughtful. [At least since... everything happened.]
[Yeah.]
Laying back down on the bed, Takaya wondered for a moment just how he and Shinya were going to be able to leave this place with a minimum of fuss. He knew that they wouldn't be able to leave entirely without a fuss, since all of the Space Knights would be expecting them to keep staying on to help after what they'd gone out and done. Still, it wasn't as if they could have just ignored what was happening; that piece of Orbital Ring debris had obviously been one of the Radam's plans, and both he and Shinya had made a silent promise that they wouldn't allow the Radam to succeed in any of their plots; to say nothing of the damage and loss of life that they had prevented.
But just because they were willing to give what help was necessary, that didn't make them obligated to stay; he doubted the Space Knights would understand, but that was just the way things were.
Getting up, and grabbing the jacket off the table by the bed he'd been placed in, Takaya made his way down the hall in search of his younger brother. He'd found out about this strange extra power of theirs almost by accident, since whenever they were communicating with one another, he always managed to get a sense of just where Shinya was at the moment. For times like this, he was grateful to have it.
Still, there were other times when the full implications would start to sink in again and he'd shudder; after all, if it was this easy for him and Shinya to find each other, then it was probably just as easy for one of Omega's Tekkamen to find them.
II
He didn't really know just where he was anymore, but the place seemed pretty comfortable. It wasn't loud, it wasn't bright, and there was nothing else to distract him from the restful warmth that surrounded him on all sides. Nothing, that was, except for the slight feeling of wrongness at the back of his mind. He didn't really know what any of that might be, since as far as he knew there wasn't anything... wherever he was that was capable of threatening him.
He felt a subtle twinge, almost an itch, at the back of his neck then. Before he could work up the will to scratch it - he really was feeling astonishingly apathetic about everything - it dulled to barely anything and then stopped entirely. He was grateful for that, insomuch as he could be grateful about anything, and tried to settle back down into sleep.
There didn't seem to be anything else to do, aside from sleep. Maybe try to find out where he was, but he found that he couldn't really work up the will for that, either. That probably should have worried him, at least just on general principle, but that would have taken effort to care about.
He was finding that effort of will extremely hard to maintain, and he didn't really care about that, either.
When he had resigned himself to never moving from this spot, not a hard thing in his current condition, he began to become aware of the... Whatever you would call whispering when you couldn't actually hear a word of it. Spear, it said, and spear again; he wondered if that was supposed to mean anything.
Maybe his name? He didn't really have one to speak of; not that he was concerned, but it would be nice to have something to go by. The silent whispers grew more insistent, and so he decided to go along with them; he had a feeling that there would be less hassle this way, and it wasn't like it cost him anything to accept the name he was being given.
Spear was a very... sharp name, anyway. Once he'd made up his mind, not that he was being given many options either then or now, a sudden wave of tiredness rolled over him. It didn't make much sense, but Spear couldn't care; he was too tired now, for one thing, and the apathy still held him like a thick, sticky cocoon.
Lulled back into an apathetic doze by the presence within the tekkapods, the Tekkaman now known as Spear settled back into sleep.
III
Omega, through his connection to all of the Radam bio-technology within his ship, felt a sense of profound satisfaction. The human named Kengo Aiba had been particularly obstinate in his resistance to the mental reconditioning that was being imposed upon him; such a strong will would serve him quite well in his new life, but first he had to be made to accept that his old life was over. Such was the way with all Tekkamen, no matter their species.
He had been the same way, he knew; he had loved his own world - not so much the people that had shared it with him, but the world itself - and he had helped the Radam to add that world to their glorious empire.
It would be no different for any of these "humans" of his, once the traitors had been either captured - something he honestly preferred, but since he doubted it would be feasible with this small amount of warriors that had managed to survive the transformation process, he had to be pragmatic about matters - or killed. This earth planet of theirs reminded him oddly of his own home at times; the climate seemed warmer on the whole, yes, and the wildlife - that he had seen in the minds of his new warriors - was vastly different, but other than that...
Perhaps he was merely becoming homesick after so long; he made up his mind to pay a visit once he had finished with this planet. The triumphant conqueror, returning home with his spoils of war. Yes, that would suit him nicely.
IV
Sitting in the room that Shinya had been moved to by the Outer Space Development Group, Takaya considered it. It hadn't been that far away from his own, and was furnished in the same way. The rooms themselves were generic enough that they could really be used by anyone, which was a good thing, considering the fact that the Outer Space Development Group were going to have to assign them to someone else after he and Shinya had left.
Which they were finally going to do today; he'd learned enough about the layout of this OSDG Headquarters of theirs that he was confidant he wouldn't get them lost again while they were looking for the exit.
"So it's time now, brother?" Shinya asked, leaning back on his hands as they both sat on the bed together.
"Right, Shinya," he nodded. "I've seen enough of this place to get out without getting lost this time."
"Noal would be happy to hear that," his brother said, with a sidelong, sardonic smirk. "That's if we were actually going to tell anyone about our plans."
"I know."
That was the problem with working alongside people like the Space Knights: it was easy to start to respect their courage and their convictions, and then to want to stay on to help them. To become a part of the family they had so obviously formed for themselves out of what had once been just working relationships. But, all of the Space Knights were human... and he and Shinya had already had a family.
Taking his brother's hand, Takaya began to make his way out the door and back into the hall. He didn't care how long it took him this time, he was going to find a way out of this command center before he and Shinya fell in with these Space Knights by default. He knew that it was possible to stay around people long enough that the act of leaving would start to seem more difficult than the decision to stay, and he was hoping to avoid that.
Leaving aside the mistrust that Noal so clearly had for them, all of the other Space Knights were just the kind of people that he could find himself coming to like. They'd discussed it while they were making their plans, so he knew that Shinya felt just the same. Aki and Milly in particular seemed intent on getting them to stay, although clearly for different reasons, and he didn't want anything to do with either of them.
Not so much for his own sake as for theirs. Still, there were selfish elements to his desire to leave quickly; Milly was an almost dead-ringer for... someone that he and Shinya had both been very close to. Dealing with the constant reminder of all that they had lost wasn't appealing to either of them, and so Takaya moved more quickly through the corridors.
The more quickly they left this OSDG Headquarters and all of the Space Knights behind, the better it would suit them both.
"Strange," Shinya said, pausing in mid-step. "Ta-kun, do you hear people talking?"
Just as he was about to answer in the negative, Takaya began to hear the same voices that had brought his brother up short. "I think that's Levin," he said.
"Sounds like he's talking about you," Shinya said, giving him another sidelong smirk.
Stopping to listen, Takaya found that the people in the next room did indeed seem to be talking about him. Noal was there, the way he always seemed to be lately. Deciding that they could spare a minute or two to satisfy their curiosity, Takaya stopped in the hall just outside the room.
V
"You mean, you both believe that crap those kids are spouting?" he said, looking at the hand of cards, some that he'd been dealt, and some that he'd picked up for himself during the course of the game. "I'll take another card," he slanted a look at Levin.
"You bet I do!" Levin leaned back, holding his cards up again. "Those boys are wonderful! I'd let them do anything they wanted to me, no problem! I'll take two more cards."
He scoffed. "I think with you, that's more a case of lust than trust," he let his gaze pass over Honda and Levin both; looking for any hints about what kind of cards they might have held. "Still, do you think you could keep your twin threesome fantasies to yourself? I'm sure our D-Boys have more than enough action without you trying to horn in on any of it."
"You really think so, Noal? I don't know," Levin added pensively. "They're brothers; it's only natural they'd be so close," he looked over his hand again. "Still; they're both so beautiful! D-Boy shines like the moon; pale and sensuous! D-Two is as mysterious and alluring as space itself! Their strong, masculine chests; their sharp, graceful waists... Ah! I could just burst! I really wish they could both stay in their Tekkaman forms all the time."
"Well, they're the perfect men for a mecha-loving weirdo like you, then," he said, rolling his eyes and settling back to look at his cards.
"What was that?" Levin demanded; Noal ignored him.
"What do you think of them, old man?"
"It's true that there's a lot we don't know about D-Boy and his brother," Honda said. "And, there's some creature, or robot, on the other side that looks a lot like them. Even so..." old man Honda trailed off, and he seemed to be thinking deeply on something. "I think those boys can be trusted."
"Honda's right! There's just no way people as cute as our Tekkamen could be evil!" Levin exclaimed. The giant lipstick heart with the word "love" written in it was a bit unexpected, but Noal figured that he should have been expecting it, what with the way Levin had been going on.
"You're both way too trusting!" he exclaimed, exasperated. "All right, let's call this game."
"I've got queens; three of a kind!" Levin said, laying his cards on the table; it was a good hand, but nowhere near as good as Noal's own.
"I've got kings; three of a kind," Honda said; he would have beaten Levin, if Honda had only been playing against him.
Still, might as well have a bit of fun with them. He groaned, not too theatrically of course, he wanted to make this believable, and threw down his own hand. Carefully, so he wouldn't reveal his trump card, but harshly enough that he looked believably petulant, if he did say so himself. "Oh, shoot!"
Noal almost gave himself away by smirking. Honda laughed, and Noal knew he had him.
"Hold on," he said, blocking the large man's hand just as he started to reach for the pot.
"Uh-uh, no way!" Honda said, wagging his finger. "No backing out of a competition, you know."
Smirking at last, Noal reached down to reveal his trump card.
"What the hell? You've got a Joker?" Honda exclaimed. Gotcha, Noal thought.
"He has four of a kind," Levin said, staring down at the cards all laid out on the table.
"That's right," he said, with a wink to show there were no hard feelings. "Now do you understand? If you trust someone too much, you're just going to end up digging your own grave. It's the same in poker as in life."
"Boys!" Levin said suddenly. "D-Boy! D-Two! Why don't you come over here and join us? It's really fun!"
"You're just wasting you're time, asking them to join in. They're not like us, you know?"
"Oh, D-Two heard you say that," Levin said, starting to sound amused.
"Why d'you say that?" he asked, vaguely curious.
"He's giving you the finger."
"What?" he looked up, and sure enough; D-Two, standing next to his brother, with his back squarely facing him - like someone who didn't have a care in the world - had his left arm raised, and his middle finger extended in the universal gesture for "fuck you".
VI
"He saw me?" he asked, after he had heard Levin enlightening Noal about his current activities.
"He saw you," Takaya said, continuing to look over his shoulder at the card game that had evidently just ended. "He's angry now."
"Good," he said, then turned to stare Noal right in the face, Levin was laughing softly next to him, he could tell from the way he was moving. Pulling down his right eyelid, he stuck his tongue out at the blond. Levin thought it was hysterical, but his main focus was on Noal.
Noal wasn't amused.
Turning on his heel, Shinya left the room beside his brother. "Well, we know what they were talking about, brother," he was perfectly willing to admit that this little detour was as much for his benefit as it was Takaya's. "Do we leave now?"
"Yes," Takaya looked back over his shoulder for a few moments. "We really should."
"If you're still thinking about what Noal was saying about us, don't," he said, putting his left hand on his brothers right shoulder. "He's an idiot."
"Not Noal; Honda," Takaya said, sounding morose; moreso than usual, anyway. "He's right: they don't know much about us."
"Isn't that what we wanted?"
Before his brother could make any kind of response to that, Aki came around the corner. She had the mien of someone who was looking for something, and when she saw them she smiled.
"I'm glad I found you," she said, smiling. "But, if you wanted a tour of our headquarters, you could have always asked."
"Sorry, we didn't think about that," he said, since Takaya didn't seem like he was going to say anything.
"You've been alone too long, I guess," she said, and sounded sad enough about it that he had to smile, if only just a bit. "The Chief wants us to gather some more samples from those plants the Radam have been spreading out all over the Earth, and I was wondering if you two would like to come with me. I think it'd be good for you boys to know whats been going on Earth for all this time. You've both lost so many memories," she said, looking at them with sympathy plain in her eyes.
At least it wasnt pity.
"I guess we could do that," he said, after looking to Takaya for confirmation. "Are we going to be taking the Blue Earth?"
"No," she shook her head. "A job like this would be better suited for the Polaris," he was confused, but she continued quickly enough that neither he nor Takaya had the chance to ask any questions. "That's the transport we used to take you and D-Boy back to Headquarters with us."
"Oh," he said. "All right."
[Something else to keep us here, eh?] Takaya asked, sounding wistful.
[You didn't say anything,] he said, feeling mildly reproving.
[I guess...]
[What is it?] he asked, concerned; that wasn't a tone Takaya usually used.
[Nothing important.]
[I thought we weren't going to keep things from each other. We're all that's left, remember?] he countered.
[I've just been thinking about the future,] his brother said, sounding contemplative.
[What do you mean, Ta-kun?]
"We're here," Aki said, breaking into the conversation she didn't even know was happening.
"Great," he said, smiling. "Let's go."
"All right," she said, punching in a code to open the doors; Shinya didn't bother to pay attention beyond that.
He didn't really think they'd be leaving anytime soon, but they'd probably be issued codes - or taught them, at least - when they were fully inducted into the ranks of these Space Knights.
[So, we're going to stay for a bit longer, Ta-kun?]
[I guess,] Takaya said, taking his hand as Aki lead them into the hangar, and they stood in front of the Polaris for the first time.
"Now, since Noal isn't here," [Thank God,] he interjected, and saw Takaya struggling to hold back laughter. "I'll be the one flying today. Normally, the Polaris here requires both a pilot and a navigator, but I thought-"
"You thought that, since we could fly the Blue Earth, one of us could take the post of navigator," Shinya finished, just as Aki began to look uneasy about continuing.
It wasn't exactly one of their finest moments, stealing the Blue Earth and using it to fly up to attack the Radam infesting the Orbital Ring; it was nice of her not to bring it up.
"That is what I was thinking," Aki said, smiling.
"I'll take care of navigation," Takaya said, before he could open his mouth to say anything.
"All right," Aki said, smiling at the both of them. "Let's get going."
Tucking his hands into the pockets of his white Space Knight pants, Shinya followed his brother and Aki into the Polaris hangar. It was kind of interesting, seeing the ship from the outside for the first time. They didn't see it for very long, of course, since they were boarding it at the time, but it was interesting all the same.
It was starting to look like they were going to be staying here for awhile, so he might as well learn the layout of the base more intimately.
VII
Settling himself into the navigation station in the Polaris, Takaya looked back over his shoulder as his brother settled into the seat next to him. It was good to have him there, but he was starting to have second thoughts about going out on this mission for the Space Knights. They were going to be heading out into the heart of the Radam's power on Earth; one of the many places where they had planted their tekkapods with the aid of their mindless beasts.
He hated them; he hated everything they had done, and everything they were trying to do.
Aki, who didn't have nearly the same level of experience with the Radam as they had - and, if he had anything to say about it, she never would - took a moment to program the auto-pilot. He started to wonder why, but before he could ask, she was talking.
"D-Boy, there's something that you and your brother really should know," she said. "Look. This area has already been completely covered with Radam plants and Radam trees."
He knew; he wanted to say that. He and Shinya both knew just how and when - but not, he hated to say, why - Omega and his monsters had seeded the Earth with the giant masses of tekkapods that he could see passing beneath the belly of the Polaris. He knew that there was something that he should have known about them, something that was important to the Radam and therefore all the more reason that the plants growing beneath them needed to be destroyed, but for the life of him he couldn't think of it. He and Shinya had discussed it often in the days since they had been transformed, so he knew that his brother wasn't in any better shape.
"It's not just here, either," she paused for a moment, probably needing to marshal her thoughts; he wasn't particularly concerned. "All of the major cities on Earth have already been covered."
Shinya had been right, they were all they had; joining up with the Space Knights would just burden them with the fate of people who could die entirely too easily. It was best that they both left after this last mission. Better for everyone involved if they just disappeared.
"After Radam's monsters descended to Earth, destroying everything in their path, they turned into plants somehow," Aki continued. "They begin by invading densely populated areas," she said, as the Polaris passed over a particularly thick cluster of tekkapods. "Or, maybe I should say that they begin by colonizing them. Anyway, most of the major cities in the world are covered with Radam trees now. We still don't know why the Radam have planted their trees all over the Earth, the way they've done here. All we really do know, is that so far none of the trees have harmed any humans. But, there's really no way to know when these things might start; and not just people, these trees could be a serious threat to the Earth itself! Before these plants can start causing any trouble, we have to find a way to destroy them!"
[She sounds so confident about that,] Shinya said, clearly paying more attention to the tekkapods on the ground than to what he was saying; it was even possible that he hadn't intended to use his telepathy at all. [Of course they haven't harmed anyone. They're not even fully grown yet.]
[Yeah. I'd burn all of these plants to the ground myself if I could,] he said, deciding to respond whether or not his brother had consciously intended to start a conversation.
[So would I.]
"D-Boy! Don't just sit there in silence! Say something, will you?" Aki shouted suddenly. "The Earth is in danger every minute! Don't either of you feel anything?"
"Well, what do you want us to say?" he asked, slightly annoyed at having his contemplation interrupted, even in spite of the fact that Aki most likely hadn't even known that they were thinking about anything. "Why do you even care?"
"I- well, I just wanted you two to know what was going on. Since you're comrades of the Space Knights now," she said, staring at him with a subtly reproving expression.
"I don't think its a good idea for you to get too used to us being here, Aki-san," Shinya said, speaking aloud for the first time since they'd set off on this mission of theirs. "We're not really your comrades."
"Your people should just support us, and try to stay out of our way," he said; he wasn't going to risk opening his heart again, not with the Radam here in force. Not to humans. "There's really nothing else you can do."
Aki didn't say anything else after that, just looked reprovingly at him and Shinya, as though she was disappointed in them. She was going to have to get used to that feeling, if she kept expecting him and Shinya to stay.
Turning his attention back to the outside world, he found that the Polaris was settling down to land in a small clearing. It was just on the edge of a thick cluster of immature tekkapods, but since that was what they were all out here to study, he supposed he couldn't really complain about that too much. Shinya would probably see to that.
"That'll do, for now," she said; he wasn't sure if she meant that as a promise or a threat. "Follow me and I'll get you two prepared to leave the ship."
"How?" Shinya asked, rising from his seat and falling into step just behind him; Takaya was glad for the company. It would be easier to deal with Aki if he wasn't the only one trying to argue his point.
"Since we don't know the effects of the gas that these plants release into the air would have on a human body, the Chief has given orders that anyone trying to take samples be equipped with a breather-mask, if not a full Hazmat setup."
"That makes sense," he said, not wanting to be any more exposed to the tekkapods than he had to be; when he paused to think about it for a moment, he realized that he knew what the gas that the tekkapods released would do to an unprotected human: at its full potency, released from a mature tekkaplant, the gas would serve to knock any human in the area unconscious.
It would leave them defenseless; easy prey for the tekkapods to snap up.
"Let's get going," Shinya said, as they made their way into the storage area amidships.
"Right," Aki said.
Soon enough, the three of them were walking down the boarding-ramp with the special breather-masks fitted to their faces. He almost found himself listening for the exaggerated, raspy breathing that his brother would usually be doing at a time like this. But that was something the old Shinya - Aiba Shinya, Shinya-sune - would do; this new Shinya was more serious, more defensive of them both, than that Shinya had ever been.
There were times he missed his lazy, silly younger twin brother; but Aiba Shinya and Aiba Takaya were hardly suited to fight a guerrilla war with the Radam Empire.
Aki walked away from the Polaris carrying a large, gunmetal gray case. Probably some sort of portable computer. He and Shinya stayed behind, knowing that she wasnt in any real danger from this batch of immature tekkaplants; still, they would both stay close behind.
There was ash, still drifting in the air from the destruction that the Radam's beasts had caused. It looked enough like snow that Takaya almost found himself expecting cold breezes to start blowing in at any moment. Up ahead, crouched before one of the largest of the tekkaplants, Aki was muttering to herself.
He stood atop a wide, curled tekkaplant root whose exposed surface had been covered in ash. It made a good vantage-point to survey the lay of the land, and to make sure that no one could sneak up on them without him knowing about it. Shinya stood next to him, facing the opposite direction; they might not have been staying, but he would be damned if he let someone else die on his watch.
All the while, as he continued to keep his senses primed to detect any incursion by the Radam, he found that he couldn't help turning Aki's words over in his head.
[What do you think of them, Shinya?]
[The Space Knights? Well, aside from Noal, I think I like them. I mean, that Chief of theirs is a bit strange, but from the things I've seen him do, I think he'd be trustworthy when it mattered. Should I ask why you want to know, Ta-kun?]
[No; I think you know what I mean, Shinya,] he said, feeling his lips curl into a small, almost unnoticeable smile.
[Oh, I definitely do.] Shinya returned, and Takaya could just hear the smile in his brothers voice.
[I think you just might,] he said, smiling a bit wider. Before he could say anything else, though, he heard a sudden, sharp scream piercing the air; there was only one person it could be. Aki!
VIII
This forest had a strange beauty all its own, but for all that it was still incredibly dangerous. She knew that just as well as anyone, after what had happened...
While she had been successful in blocking out the thoughts of what had actually happened to the people who had once lived in this place - the same way that she had done with all of the other places that the Radam had rolled over in their attempts to conquer the world; attempts that would fail, if she and the other Space Knights had anything to say about it - seeing that doll in the heap of ashes that had coated the whole of this place - what had once been a normal neighborhood like any other, like hers had been before - had brought the feelings all roaring back. Full force; she couldn't pretend not to see something like this.
It just wasn't in her.
The twins were at her side in what seemed like half a second; D-Boy asking her what was the matter, and D-Two crouching down beside her to check for any injuries. She was grateful to them both; but sympathy wasn't all she needed right now. Not even all the sympathy in the world would bring the dead back to life.
"Aki? Why are you crying?" D-Two asked, reaching out to gently touch the side of her head; it might not have been very polite of him, but Aki leaned into his hand and smiled sadly.
"Thank you, D-Two," she said, swallowing past a lump in her throat. "I didn't really want you to see me like this."
"Aki, was your hometown destroyed by the Radam?" D-Boy asked.
"It's completely covered in Radam trees now," she said, digging the doll free from its prison of ashes. "These Radam trees are a sign of tragedy for all humanity. Still, researching them - trying to find a way to get rid of them - is my way of fighting back."
Leaning into D-Two as he put an arm around her shoulders, she held the doll for a long moment, before she brushed the last of the ash from the bedraggled doll, and stood back up. D-Two's right arm was still around her shoulders, though how he'd managed that without leaning on her for support she didn't quite know, and she was grateful to him for staying with her.
She just wished that he and his brother would decide to stay longer; that was all.
"Aki? Is there anything that brother and I could do to help you?"
IX
She said nothing, walking back and handing him the doll even he saw Shinya's semi-confused look from over her shoulder. He didn't know just what had made him ask that; it was a stupid question, for one thing, and he hadn't even really gotten an answer.
The next thing he knew, they were making their way back to the Polaris, evidently finished with their excursion for the day. He was glad to be going back; glad, not so much to be fighting for people rather than against them, but just that he and Shinya had somewhere to go. He wasn't going to try to make friends with these Space Knights, but he would do all that he could to protect them.
Once they were back inside the Polaris and settled comfortably in the seats for take-off, Takaya considered what Aki had been saying. It was pretty much an unspoken consensus that they were going to stay on with the Space Knights and help them with their fight against the Radam, but maybe one of them would end up telling her later. Still, it looked like she was going to be pretty busy for awhile, and they still had to get settled in if they were going to be of any use to the Space Knights.
They wouldn't do anyone any good if they kept getting lost all the time.
X
When he'd finished sharking Honda at cards, and won a very nice antique quartz watch on top of that, Noal gathered up his various winnings and headed back to his quarters. There didn't seem to be anything that needed the Space Knights' attention today - a situation that probably wasn't going to last very long, he knew from bitter experience - so he was determined to take advantage of what downtime he was being given. He'd probably have to deal with the Gemini Boys sooner than later, and he wanted to be rested enough that he wouldn't end up snapping at them too much. Aki hated it when he did that.
He still wasnt going to trust them so easily, of course; good things did not just fall out of the sky the way these two had done. The only thing that fell out of the sky these days was trouble, and these two definitely fit the bill. He didn't know just what their angle was yet, but he was going to make it his business to find out.
XI
When the three of them had returned to OSDG Headquarters - somewhere Shinya figured he was going to have to start getting used to; once Takaya got an idea in his head, he wasnt the type to abandon it until it had either panned out or... not - they followed Aki to a place that had been designated "computer room three". It gave him something of an idea just how large this command center of theirs was. There were only two chairs in the room, though; both bolted to the floor on swivels so you couldn't shift their positions much.
At least, not in any real way.
It had been mutually decided that Takaya would handle the computer, since he was more inclined to use them for actual work instead of just goofing off the way Shinya tended to like doing. Needless to say, this proved to be of some interest to Aki.
"You both lost your memories, but you remember how to operate a computer, D-Boy?" she said.
"Yeah, I do."
[Nicely covered, Ta-kun,] he said, after his older twins slight hesitation. [I bet Aki-san won't suspect a thing.]
"There's something called the Object-naming Exam, designed for people who've lost their memories to re-learn the names of everyday things, and how to use them, so they can function better, and maybe even regain some of what they've lost." Aki looked from Takaya to him. "I think you might want to consider taking it, if you can, D-Two, since D-Boy seems to remember more than you do."
"I don't know," he said, leaning forward so he could look over his brother's left shoulder. "I don't think we're going to have any time for things like that; besides, I have brother here to help me. I'm sure I'll be all right."
Aki looked understanding after hearing that, so Shinya knew he'd found just the right thing to say. "I guess you're right about that, D-Two. I just hope the two of you come out all right."
"Thank you for your concern," Takaya said.
Before anyone else could say anything, the alarm started to go off. And, since this didn't sound much like the 'general-alert' - though he'd only heard that once - Shinya figured that he and Takaya had better start heading for the main part of the command center. The way Aki shot up out of her chair made him all the more certain that he had guessed right.
"Another Radam attack, eh?" he said, resigned for the most part, but still kind of annoyed; Takaya was almost the direct opposite.
Leaving the computer room at a sprint, they fell in behind Aki as she made her way swiftly back to the comm. room at the rough center of OSDG Headquarters. It didn't take them too long to make it there, which was good, since he might have been tempted to put on enough speed to outrun Aki, and that might have ended up getting him lost again. He could tell that Takaya had been thinking along the same lines.
When they finally reached the comm. room - the doors sliding apart to admit them the way he'd seen them do before - he saw Chief Freeman turn to look at them.
"We've discovered an unidentified flying object in the stratosphere," the man said, though he seemed as reserved as ever; Shinya was starting to suspect that this was just the way he was. "Space Knights, you're to mobilize immediately to investigate it," he said, as the screen behind him began to display something that Shinya almost felt should be familiar to him; it felt like something the Radam had taught him to recognize, so that was already a reason to hate it. "If it has anything to do with the Radam, you're authorized to destroy it. But, don't forget about the "Demons of the Stratosphere"."
"Demons of the stratosphere?" Takaya asked; Shinya wondered what that meant, as well.
Freeman walked over to the main computer and started to type, changing the view on the screen to one of the things that Shinya would have been just as happy not to see: one of Radam's flying beasts. "Look at this," he said.
"They're flying Radam monsters that go after ships in the stratosphere," Aki said, sounding purely disgusted; a sentiment that he and his brother both unreservedly shared.
"Those are the ones you really don't want to run into," Noal said; he had his eyes closed so he looked more calm.
"Go now, Space Knights!" Freeman - maybe he should start trying to think of him as Chief, though - said, in that fierce way he had.
"Ro-," Takaya said, quickly cutting himself off.
"Yes, Chief," Shinya added.
Aki's soft, quickly suppressed laugh let him know that they'd definitely said the right thing. And who knew, maybe with their help, these Space Knights would manage to survive what was coming. He could at least hope so.
XII
As they all made their way back down the corridors of OSDG Headquarters on their way to Hangar Three and the Blue Earth, Aki smiled. She'd had a good feeling about the twins, once they'd had a chance to settle in and to realize that the Space Knights were fighting for the same thing that they were. Whatever the reasons they'd had for wanting to continue fighting alone, they were all better off now that D-Boy and his brother had decided to stay.
She decided then to tell them just that. "I'm glad you two decided to stay," she said, ignoring Noal's scoff and eyeroll. "We need all the help we can get."
She thought D-Boy might have muttered something, probably something not-so-nice, judging by the way D-Two dug his elbow into his brother's ribs. He tried to be subtle about it, but Aki was good at spotting things like that. She almost wondered what D-Boy had just said, but D-Two smiled and started speaking before she could ask.
"We're happy to help," D-Two said, his smile looking genuine; for the most part, Aki thought that she could still see some degree of unease there.
She didn't quite know why yet, but she was determined to find out when time permitted. Now, though, when they were standing at the threshold of Hangar Three as the heavy doors opened in front of them, really wasn't the time for that kind of thing, though. Still, as they all piled into the Blue Earth and took their respective stations in preparation for takeoff, Aki found herself watching the twins as they settled into the seats they'd been assigned.
There was clearly a lot more to them than they wanted to let on, and she wanted to find out what it was.
"Look at this, Aki! Isn't it something?" Noal preened. "This is the antique quartz watch I won from old man Honda. Hey, Aki, when both hands overlap at midnight, why don't you and I-"
"Launch preparations complete," she cut him off quickly, deciding not to listen to whatever inane thing Noal was talking about; Noal would say it was a guy thing, and that she couldn't understand because of that; she would have said it was an idiot thing, and that no one sane could have understood it.
And then they would get into an argument that would take up valuable time. Not to mention making them look crazy in front of the twins. Best not to say anything.
The launch proceeded normally, at least up until they had left the last vestiges of the upper-atmosphere behind. Then, just as she began to see the first, leading edge of the legions that the Radam had sent out to surround the Radam construct that Chief Freeman had wanted them to investigate. But, more than that, there was the Radam construct itself.
"We're moving into the stratosphere!" she informed them all. "Target confirmed!"
"That's it!" D-Boy snarled, leaning forward in his seat, looking for all the world like he wanted to leap out of his seat and transform right then and there.
But, just a second or two later, D-Boy seemed to re-collect himself, and settled back into his seat. D-Two seemed to be completely calm throughout the whole situation, though when she looked at his face, there was a clear expression of restrained anger there. Violence, just barely contained.
It was sort of frightening, how intense D-Two could be; he seemed so laid-back most of the time, but still waters often ran the deepest, she knew.
"Geez, those demons don't look like anything from Earth!" Noal exclaimed.
"An unidentified object is approaching quickly from behind," she said, checking the radar screen.
"Damn! Its one of the Demons in the Stratosphere!" Noal exclaimed.
No one had anything to say to that.
XIII
When the ship pitched violently, slammed from the side by one of Omega's beasts, Takaya gritted his teeth and glared at one that had just appeared in front of the cockpit windows. [Let's go now.]
[Right, brother.]
Shinya's response brought a small smile to his face; Noal's, not so much: "Good luck out there, D-Boys!" he said, but Takaya could tell he didn't mean it.
Aki's shouting the pilot's name was quickly followed by Shinya's response. "Stop being an idiot, Noal."
"Why, you little-"
"Oh, shut up already," Shinya said, cutting Noal off before he could work up to some kind of a tirade.
"We're the only ones who can fight the Radam, Noal," he said at last, getting the last word by the simple expedient of taking his brother's arm and pulling him toward the air lock.
[Why are we putting up with him, brother?] Shinya asked.
[He's a member of the Space Knights,] Takaya said, a slight, bitter smirk pulling at his lips.
Standing beside his brother inside the airlock, for the third time since they had joined up with the Space Knights - but only the first since they had declared themselves to be members of the team - Takaya raised his crystal, and felt the subtle, answering resonance that let him know Shinya had raised his own.
"Teksetta!" he shouted, almost perfectly in time with his brother.
As the energy filled him, and the air lock released them both, Blade headed for the swarming Radam beasts and whatever it was they were guarding.
[Are you getting the same bad feeling about that thing back there, or am I just being paranoid?]
[I am, Shin-chan,] he answered. [I definitely don't like the look of that purple thing.]
Before they could deal with whatever new thing the Radam had set out for them, however, they had to make sure that the Blue Earth wasn't in any immediate danger. Knowing that there was at least one - though probably a lot more - of Radam's beasts coming up from the right, he landed atop the ship and looked around. Sure enough, there were two creatures in close to the ship, as well as a larger number that he didn't bother to count farther out.
It didn't really matter, though; they'd be dealing with those things soon enough.
"Damned bugs," Varis said.
"Die!" he said, drawing his lancer and watching as Varis did the same.
The space around them was periodically crisscrossed with the beasts' sticky venom, but he and Varis dodged it easily as they passed back and forth over the Blue Earth, protecting her from any and all Radam beasts in the vicinity. Hacking his way through the press with his lancer, Blade spied Varis spearing a knot of Radam beasts with the energy-ribbon contained within his own. He would have thought to launch his bladed boomerangs, but he knew he couldn't control them nearly as well as Varis could his energy-ribbon.
He would have to take care of them the hard way.
Raising his lancer, joined together into its double-ended form, he carved through any of the Radam beasts that managed to make it past his brother. Knowing that Varis would back him up if he really needed it, and that his brother would protect the Blue Earth if he got too far away, Blade began to hack and slash his way closer to the large, purple mass that the Radam's beasts seemed to be protecting. It obviously had something to do with the Radam, or else they wouldn't be going to so much trouble to block his way; for that he hated it, and he would destroy it.
Carving his way through another pair of beasts, Blade felt something slam into his back. It wasn't one of Radam's beasts, he would have known in an instant if it was and he would have been in a lot more trouble besides, but when he tried to fire his thrusters and maneuver himself back into the battle, he found that his movements were sluggish and barely responsive; it had to have been a spray of their venom.
[Shinya, get Aki and Noal out of there!] he shouted over their link; Varis would probably be annoyed with him later, but it was all he could do.
He wasn't much good to anyone if he could barely move.
[What? Takaya, what are you thinking? I won't leave you!]
[Shin-chan, listen,] he said, trying to be calm, even as he raised his lancer again and prepared to defend himself. [One of the Radam beasts hit my thrusters; I'll kill them and then I'll meet back up with you.]
[What happens when one of them moves too fast for you?] Varis demanded; and out of the corner of his eye, he could see his brother moving in to back him up. [You're not moving like they can; one of them could kill you without any trouble.]
[I'm not helpless, Shinya,] he grumbled, though he was grateful to see Varis so close at hand.
[You might as well be,] Varis said.
Blunt as ever, he mused, deliberately keeping his mental walls up. [Thank you, Shinya.]
Another of the beasts slammed into them then, trying to force the two of them apart. Grabbing his brother's hand as it was offered to him, he raised his lancer in his opposite hand and saw Varis doing the same. Ramming the point of his lancer into the fleshy back of the Radam beast, even as the thing's momentum drove them away from the Blue Earth, he looked ahead to see the Earth itself looming closer.
[Shinya, we have to escape. The Blue Earth is still in danger.]
[I'll get our lancers, brother, then fly us both back to the Blue Earth.]
Just then, though, as if to mock their efforts at escape, the thin, leg-like spines on the fleshy underside of the Radam beast they had inadvertently hitched a ride on closed over them. Pinned to the creature's back, all Blade could do was laugh; nothing was really funny about the situation, not when you really thought about it, but Blade found that he couldn't quite help himself. All of that work, and this was how they ended up.
It was either laugh or scream; laughing hurt his throat less.
As the beast dragged them inexorably back to Earth, Blade sifted through his available options. What few of them there were right now, anyway; they were both about as stuck as one could possibly get, flattened against the back of one of Radam's beasts with no way to retrieve their weapons, and he didn't know yet how to deal with that.
[Now what?] he asked, even as he started to feel strangely weak.
[I don't know, brother. But, I-] Varis said, sounding more worried than Blade would have honestly expected him to.
[What is it, Shinya?] he asked, hoping that what was starting to happen to him wasn't happening to his brother.
[I feel... I don't know, weak all of a sudden. I don't know whats happening.]
He sighed; it was always something, and it was usually something bad these days. [I guess it was too much to hope that it was only happening to me.]
[Don't go getting all noble on me, idiot,] Varis said; Blade hadn't honestly expected him to be so annoyed, but maybe he should have, considering all they had been through up till now.
[I'm sorry,] he said, abashed. [I didn't mean to make you worry.]
[Ugh, I feel dizzy,] Varis said, and Blade could feel his brother squeezing his hand more tightly. [Do you have any ideas, brother?]
[We need to find a way to get this thing to let go; we need the room to maneuver, and I think...] he trailed off, twisting the blade of his lancer.
The spines, or legs or whatever they were, slackened and loosed their grip on them. And, since he'd managed to get his bearings, although just barely, he knew that the Radam's hideous construct wasn't all that far away. [Shinya, charge up your Voltekka and fire it when I do. Whatever the Radam have heading for Earth, it's right in front of us.]
[All right,] Varis said, and out of the corner of his corner of his eye he could see his brother nodding.
Starting the charging process, and knowing that Varis would be doing the same, Blade felt the energy of his Voltekka peak. Willing his pauldrons to open, Blade fired at almost the same instant as Varis did. The pure, destructive energies of their respective Voltekkas ripped through the space in front of them, completely obliterating the Radam construct and its complement of flying beasts.
Blade was glad for it; he felt as if he was only staying awake through sheer willpower, he needed rest. He needed food, but rest had to come first. He was just about to collapse as it was.
[Shinya?] he asked; there was only a small, weak moan over their link in response. [Don't worry, brother; I'll get you back to the Blue Earth.]
[Thank you, Ta-kun,] Varis said, in what Blade thought was the mental equivalent of a whisper.
Wrapping his arms around his brother's waist, Blade fired his thrusters; tried to, anyway. He'd forgotten entirely about the venom still gumming them up. Normally, he would have tried to fire them in short bursts, relying on his own momentum and the lack of inertia in space to let him coast over to the Blue Earth, but he was evidently more wrung-out by that dual Voltekka he'd participated in; he barely felt capable of moving anymore.
And, to make matters worse, he could see the remaining Radam beasts beginning to gather around his and Varis immobile forms; like vultures around a corpse.
XIV
Sitting at her post in the navigator's chair, Aki watched in helpless horror as the insensate forms of the twins continued to drift in space. What made it even sadder was the fact that D-Boy's arms were wrapped around D-Two's waist; he was still trying to protect his brother, even though something had clearly happened to them both.
"Damn, I wonder if D-Two just died or something," Noal said, and she wondered how anyone could be so heartless. "Aki, we should head back to Earth as fast as we can."
"There's still-," she said, trying not to let what Noal had said get to her.
"Yeah; that flying nest where the Demons in the Stratosphere live," Noal said. "Why the hell isn't D-Boy fighting back? Does he think D-Two's going to do anything on his own?"
Radam's beasts were starting to gather closer around them, circling like some evil parody of carrion birds, and probably for the same reasons. She wasn't about to let the Radam get their hands on the twins; not when they'd obviously worked so hard to escape, and not when she had just started to get to know them.
"Aki, what are you doing?" Noal demanded; she ignored him, rising from her seat and heading for the secondary airlock.
"D-Boy, come back," she muttered to herself. "You've got to get D-Two somewhere safe." Entering the relevant commands, she looked over to watch the secondary airlock slide open. "You've got to."
D-Boy didn't say a word, but his exhausted, heavy breathing carried clearly over the ship-board comm. Worried, Aki bit her lower lip; she'd heard D-Two's breathing as well, so she knew he wasn't dead, but she still didn't know what she could do for him.
"Noal! Make a hard turn!" she shouted over the comm. "Back to the base!"
"Hard turn at top speed! Roger!" Noal responded easily.
Breathing more easily, knowing that they would all be safe soon, Aki made her way to the aft section of the ship; both the main and secondary airlocks led there. And it was where the twins always went when they needed to transform. With the atmosphere restored, the doors hissed open without protest, and she stepped inside without another thought.
The twins were there, D-Boy's arms still wrapped around D-Two's waist, and Aki paused for a moment as she considered what she was going to do next. There was no way that she was going to be able to carry both of them for any length of time, but it was clear that the twins both needed urgent medical help. Taking a short breath to fortify herself, Aki walked into the airlock and crouched down beside the twins.
The fact that they were still clothed registered then, vaguely, but she was still grateful for it in a way. Gently unclasping D-Boy's hands, she unwrapped them from D-Two's waist; it wouldn't be good for D-Boy to have his circulation cut off, which was what was going to happen if she left D-Two where he was, so she carefully lifted D-Two up off of his brother's right arm. The least awkward position, at least relatively speaking, since she wasn't going to have an easy time carrying them in either case, was for her to sling one of the twins over her back, and then try to drag the other one.
Aki was fully aware that she was only going to be able to make it as far as the cockpit, but that was really the only place she needed to be. Noal was there, and as much as he clearly didn't like or trust the twins, she didn't think he would be heartless enough to ignore them when they were so clearly incapacitated. At least, not now that they were on-board, she reflected with a slight wince.
Grabbing D-Two's arms, Aki pulled him up onto her back and clasped his crossed wrists with her left hand. Still crouching, she paused a moment to regain her balance, then wrapped her right arm around D-Boy's waist, braced her feet against the deck, and forced herself back to her feet. Struggling out of the airlock under the combined weight of the twins, with D-Two's breath tickling the back of her neck with every step, she finally made it back into the cockpit after what felt like a short eternity.
"D-Boy, are you all right?" she called, her voice strained from what she had just done. "Your brother's safe now; he's here with us."
"Damn you!" Noal shouted. "How dare you come back after abandoning us like that!"
"There's no time for that!" she shouted as the Blue Earth pitched under the assault of what had to be another of Radam's beasts.
She felt herself and D-Two slammed into a wall, both D-Boy's body and D-Two's right hand breaking free from her grip on them. Aki could only be thankful that she hadn't landed on D-Two's legs, since she didn't think she could have done that without damaging them with the violence of the ship's pitching and rolling. The ship pitched again, worse this time, and Aki found herself slammed violently back into D-Two's chest, driving the breath out of him with a force that she hoped didn't end up breaking one of his ribs.
D-Boy's body was driven forward into her as the ship was slammed brutally into something she could only hope was the ground, and Aki found herself slamming back into D-Two again. She'd brought her arm forward to try to brace D-Boy against her body, so she didn't worry too much about breaking one of D-Two's ribs that way, but she still had her back against his chest, so she couldn't relax entirely.
It may not have been as concentrated a blow, but blunt-force trauma could be all the more dangerous in the long run.
Once the ship had mercifully come to a stop, she pulled D-Two free from her back and began to check him for injuries. Pressing down lightly on his ribs yielded nothing like a break, which she was profoundly grateful for, but when she moved to examine the rest of him, she found a small cut on the back of his right hand. Probably when he had been tossed against the wall and she had lost her grip.
However, the worst of his injuries by far was the one she found on the back of his head. He was bleeding badly, though when she looked at his head, she found that the blood itself was hidden in his black hair.
"D-Two, please don't die," Aki said, caressing his cheek as she put D-Two's head in her lap and waited. She would have liked to have checked on D-Boy, but that wouldn't have been possible without disturbing D-Two. Noal came to check on her a few moments later.
"Aki!" he called. "I tried to bring the ship down as gently as I could, but- you're hurt!"
Aki looked down at her right hand, where Noal's gaze was fixed. It was the very same one that Aki had used to check D-Two's injury.
"Noal..." Aki muttered.
"Here, let me help," Noal said, not seeming to be listening to what Aki had been saying. Pulling her to her feet, Noal either didn't notice or didn't care when D-Two's unconscious and injured body slid back down onto the floor.
Aki was speechless for a moment, before she got over her shock. She had known on an intellectual level that Noal wasn't very fond of either D-Two or his brother, but she had thought that he would have at least given some thought to the fact that they were both lying unconscious on the floor. Grabbing the First Aid kit from the back of the Blue Earth's cockpit, Noal began to go through it.
"This might sting," Noal said, trying to prepare Aki for the mild discomfort he was sure was about to come.
"Noal-" Aki began.
"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm good at this," Noal grinned in a way that was probably intended to be reassuring, but only came off as annoying given the fact that Aki was trying to tell him something that he kept ignoring.
As Noal started to wipe away the blood on Aki's hand, Aki decided to let him. Noal would probably be more willing to listen to her once he found that Aki wasnt injured like he thought. Just then, Noal finished cleaning away the last of D-Two's blood, then he began to get out one of the bandages from the First Aid kit.
"Noal, you should check the wound before you bandage it," Aki suggested, hoping that Noal would get the message that she wasn't the one who needed help.
"Right," Noal nodded.
Noal looked over Aki's hand, searching for some kind of injury that would explain all the blood that had been there a few minutes ago. There was only clean, unbroken skin.
"What? I thought you had a cut on your hand," Noal said, gazing at Aki's hand with a look of eloquent confusion.
"I'm not the one who was injured."
"Well if you aren't, who is?"
"D-Two. I thought you might have noticed; he and D-Boy are both unconscious on the deck," there was no accusation in Aki's voice; she was trying to give Noal the benefit of the doubt.
"I guess I didn't notice that," Noal said.
"You didn't," Aki said neutrally. "Come on, let's go see what we can do to help him."
"All right, after you."
Once they were back behind the pilots chair that overlooked the cockpit, Aki hurried over to D-Two's side. He didn't look any better, but he didn't look any worse, either.
Aki quickly picked D-Two up, cradling him in her arms despite the fact that D-Two obviously weighed more than she did. Noal picked up D-Boy. Once they managed to get the boys out of the Blue Earth, there was still the matter of getting D-Two the medical attention he so obviously needed. Luckily for all of them, Milly and Levin were standing just off to the side of the Blue Earths exit ramp.
"What happened?" Levin demanded. "Did something happen to our Tekkamen?"
"D-Two was hurt, but I think D-Boy is still all right," Aki said, worried, as Noal brushed past her on his way to the infirmary. "I'm going to get him to the infirmary. You're welcome to come along, if you want."
"I will."
With that decided, Levin followed Aki as she sprinted to the OSDG infirmary. Once inside, all Aki had to do was call one of the doctors. Levin took care of that job, determinedly explaining the situation as he knew it to one of the more attentive of the medical staff. They soon took D-Two off of Aki's hands, and another of them even contacted Chief Freeman.
The Chief was a good man, and would want to know about the injuries that one of his crew had sustained. As the doctors swarmed around D-Two, checking him for other injuries and tending to his head wound, the Chief himself walked into the room.
"What just happened?"
Aki was again impressed by the way that the Chief could be so calm, even in this kind of near-crisis. That was part of what made him such a good person to work under, that and the way he cared so much about the people who did work under him.
"Sir," the doctor who had just finished wrapping D-Two's head in bandages saluted. "D-Two has sustained a minor fracture in the back of his skull, along with a superficial wound to the back of his right hand, and moderately bruised ribs. The fracture has been taken care of to the best of our abilities, but he will still need to have time to heal."
"How much time?" the Chief asked.
"Three, maybe four days. Five at the most."
The Chief nodded. "What about D-Boy? Did you have a chance to examine him?"
"Yes. All that was wrong with D-Boy was a severe case of exhaustion, along with minor scrapes and bruises. He'll be fine once he wakes up."
"Thank you. Keep me updated on D-Two's progress."
"Yes, sir."
With that, Chief Freeman walked out of the infirmary. Noal came in a little while after the Chief had left.
"How is he?" he asked, not sounding all that concerned.
"What do you care?" Aki snapped, finally getting angry at Noal for his callousness.
"I just want to know when he'll be back on his feet is all," Noal shrugged.
You're going to tell D-Boy about it? Aki said.
"Yes." Noal asked.
"D-Two was injured during the descent," Aki said. "His skull was cracked, and the doctors think he'll be out for at least three days."
"Thanks for telling me, Aki." Turning to look at D-Two even as Aki left, Noal saw that the Tekkaman was now hooked up to a respirator and a heart-rate monitor. "I guess even you can't trust him. He really is a Dangerous Boy." Noal looked down at D-Two.
Turning away from D-Boy's brother, Noal went to look for one of the medical staff. Walking over to one of the doctors that was still in the room, Noal questioned her further about D-Two's condition. Once he had finished with that, Noal turned and left the room. It was time to find D-Boy.
XV
Takaya had just woken up, and he still felt weak and disoriented from the aftermath of the battle he had just taken part in. He was also nervous; something had seemed to be there, hidden at the back of his mind. It had to be the Radam, and for a moment Takaya wondered if Shinya had gone through the same thing during that battle. Then he decided to ask.
[Shinya?] Takaya called, trying to be as unobtrusive as he could about using his telepathic power. [Shinya, are you there?]
That's strange, Takaya thought to himself. He could sense his brother still inside OSDG Headquarters, but for some reason Shinya wouldn't answer his call. Even if Shinya had been asleep, the telepathic contact should have awakened him. Just as Takaya was about to try again, Noal walked into the room.
"Hello, D-Boy."
Noal had the look of someone who was delivering particularly bad news, and Takaya wondered for a moment what had happened. He shoved those thoughts aside quickly, though; Shinya was more important.
"What do you want?" Takaya asked.
Noal grabbed Takaya by his right wrist and hauled him out of the room. "I've got something to show you."
Takaya considered fighting, then decided to go along with whatever Noal wanted him to do. It would be just as easy to find out where Shinya was after Noal had finished showing him whatever the other Space Knight wanted him to see. As Takaya was pulled along behind Noal, he wondered just why they were heading toward the infirmary.
Takaya had come to know the way to the Space Knight infirmary a great deal better than he would have preferred. Shinya would probably say that that was because he, being an idiot, spent entirely too much time there; Takaya would probably have to agree with him. Once they were inside the observation room, Noal let him go.
Takaya took a moment to gather his wits.
"Noal," Takaya asked. "What the hell was that about?"
"There's someone in the treatment room," Noal said flatly. "Look."
Wanting to have this over with as quickly as possible, Takaya strode over to the large window that looked in on the treatment area. There was someone lying in the med-bed, clearly injured judging by the bandages that had been wrapped around their head. At the moment, though, Takaya was more concerned with finding his brother than trying to figure out who this new person was.
"I looked," Takaya said, turning away from the window with a decisive snap. "I'm going to find my brother now, Noal."
Noal frowned. "That is your brother."
"What?" Takaya turned back to the observation window, looking at the injured figure in the med-bed for the first time since he had been dragged into the room. No. Please. Not my Shin-chan.
But it was. Lying there, fresh white bandages covering his long black hair, was the very person that Takaya had been about to start searching for.
"You said he was your younger brother," he said, looking at Takaya like he was some kind of vicious, evil thing. "What kind of older brother lets his younger brother get injured so easily?"
Takaya wasn't really hearing what Noal had to say; being more focused on his injured brother. Oh god. Oh, Shinya. I didn't mean for this to happen; it should have been me in that bed. I'm supposed to protect you, little brother. Takaya had pressed his hands up against the glass, and was now leaning his head against it.
"D-Boy." When Noal grabbed Takaya's left shoulder, Takaya pulled out of Noal's grasp and ran. Noal stumbled, falling to the floor and bruising his right wrist. Unfortunately, this was the same wrist that he wore the watch he had won from Honda on.