Flesh and Blood revisited: Gemini

by Cyblade Silver

Takaya and Shinya Aiba: twins divided by a cruel fate. Sometimes, however, fate can be more kind...

14. Demon Tied by Blood

Looking down at the twins as they huddled together, seeming to be on the verge of some kind of emotional breakdown, Aki wondered what that new Tekkaman of Omega's had said or done to have such a profound effect on the twins. And D-Two in particular, since he always seemed to go out of his way to appear completely composed and unaffected, even during the times she suspected that he wasn't either of those things.

"Come on," Noal said, moving to put his hand on D-Boy's back. "Let's got going."

They rose, moving almost listlessly toward the waiting Blue Earth, and Aki gave Noal a look over both of the twins' backs. He returned it with a solemn nod; whatever they could do to help D-Boy and D-Two recover from… whatever it was that had happened to shake them up so much, they would do it. No matter what it was; neither of the twins was really the type to ask for anything unreasonable, she knew.

Shepherding them back into the Blue Earth, her right hand on D-Boy's left shoulder and Noal's left on D-Two's right, Aki felt her heart swell with compassion for both of them. They had always seemed so strong, like they could handle anything the world in general or the Radam in particular could unleash on them, that to see them both so broken made her feel as if the world had tilted off its axis. As the four of them drew closer to the ship, D-Boy and D-Two each drew closer to the other, and by the time they had made it to the boarding-ramp the twins were leaning heavily on each other in on obvious effort just to keep going.

Part of that seemed to be simple physical exhaustion from having fought for so long, but she could see in the eyes of both twins that the emotional side of things was also weighing them down. She just didn't know why they would have such an emotional reaction to Omega's new Tekkaman; they hadn't had a reaction like this to facing Dagger, and he'd caused them a lot more trouble than this new Tekkaman. But, it was like they had both forgotten about Dagger entirely.

She didn't know just what had made them feel this way after only one battle with that new Tekkaman, and she didn't know if she would ever find out, but Aki was determined to do whatever she could to make them feel better after what they had just gone through.

Helping them into their respective seats aboard the Blue Earth, Aki wasn't surprised to see D-Boy turn his chair around entirely, facing D-Two, and as the Blue Earth lifted into the sky, D-Boy wrapped his arms around D-Two and buried his face in his younger brother's chest. D-Two wrapped his own arms around D-Boy, gently leaning his right cheek against the top of his brother's head.

"Oi, D-Two, pull yourself together, eh," Noal said, sounding like he was trying to distance himself from what had just happened and not entirely succeeding.

"Yeah?" D-Two asked, turning to look back over his shoulder at Noal; Aki caught the haunted look in D-Two's eyes and sighed in sympathy.

"Yeah," Noal said. "I know you and D-Boy have had a rough time, but have to get back to OSDG headquarters and report this to the Chief. He's going to want to know what happened to you boys, and you both need your rest; anyone can see that."

"Yeah," D-Two said listlessly, seeming to fold in on himself as he held D-Boy tighter. "Rest, of course."

With a last look over at the twins, D-Boy with his head nearly buried in D-Two's embrace, and D-Two himself closed off from the world just like his brother, Aki turned her attention back to her navigational duties. She had to get them all back to OSDG Headquarters, or the twins would never get their rest. Still, hearing how D-Two had sounded at the prospect of returning, she thought that it might be good for the both of them to spend some time in the bio-dome.

It wasn't entirely like going outside, but the outside world wasn't a very safe place at the moment.

I

When he and the mount that Omega-sama had bred for him returned to the Orbital Ring, Spear resumed his human form and entered the tekkapod that had been prepared for his use when he had been given the mission to deal with his wayward younger brothers. His clothes were neatly folded, laid just outside the tekkapod that was infusing him with energy for the final leg of his return journey to Omega-sama's ship. It was a journey that he had been hoping to make with Takaya and Shinya in tow, but apparently that would have to wait.

He was not going to just give up on his own younger brothers; he simply had to find a way to present his case that his younger brothers would not be able to argue against. Or, failing that, he would simply have to overpower the both of them and bring his younger brothers back to Omega-sama by force. He was the eldest of them, after all.

It was the duty of an elder brother to look after his younger siblings, and that included bringing them back onto the right path when they strayed every once in awhile. He'd never expected Takaya and Shinya to actually fight his influence, but then they were still at that rebellious age. He'd just have to handle them differently next time; and to hope that Omega-sama could be persuaded to be understanding about the matter.

He would have to present his case carefully, Spear knew.

II

When they'd all made it back to OSDG Headquarters, with the Gemini Boys looking like the end of a whole month's worth of bad days, he and Aki helped the kids out of their seats and gently guided them into the building. They seemed to have recovered a bit, though the both of them still looked pretty beaten-down. Aki was clucking over the both of them like some kind of hyperactive mother-hen, so Noal figured he'd leave her to it.

It wasn't like those boys had anyone else to take care of them when they were having especially bad days.

Guiding the boys back to their respective quarters, after he and Aki had unwound their limp arms from around the other's, he took charge of D-Two while Aki helped D-Boy to get back to his own room. The kid was leaning on him now, since he didn't have D-Boy with him, and when Noal looked into his eyes, he shuddered. He'd only seen eyes that empty on people who'd lost everything in the world that they had ever cared about, or someone who'd just come out the other end of a war.

Now sure, they were in a war against the Radam and all their creepy monsters, not to mention those freaky Tekkamen that the enemy seemed to love throwing at them, but the battles against the Radam monsters just seemed to consist of the Gemini Boys going through them like wet tissue paper. Sure, the Tekkamen were a lot tougher than any Radam monster alive, but the only one who'd caused them any real trouble was Dagger, and Tekkaman Blade had atomized that guy about a month or so ago.

This new guy, whatever his name was, was just one more in a long line of lackeys that that maniac Omega had sent out, and the Gemini Boys would handle him just like they had handled Dagger. Still, anyone could see that neither of their D-Boys were in any kind of emotional state to talk about what was going on with them. Of course, since D-Boy never seemed to be in the right kind of emotional state, Noal knew that he would have to go to D-Two if he ever wanted any kind of answers about what was going on in their heads.

When the two of them finally reached D-Two's quarters, the kid himself seemed to wake up a little. It was a good thing, too; Noal hadn't been about to open the door for someone who wasn't conked out, but he hadn't been quite sure how he was going to handle the issue of getting D-Two to come out of his funk for long enough to get inside his room. It was nice to see that the kid hadn't completely gone bye-bye on him.

"Get some sleep, D-Two," he said gently, as the kid made his way over to the bed that he nominally slept in; Noal didn't know if he was going to get much actual sleep, not after how he'd been looking, but he could at least plant the idea.

"Yeah," the kid said, falling listlessly on top of his bed, still wearing his full uniform. "Right, Noal."

His last words were muffled by the pillow he'd buried his face in, but Noal heard them well enough.

"Good night, D-Two," he said softly, turning to head for his own room as the door to D-Two's slid closed.

III

He felt like he had fever-chills, like he couldn't stop shivering; Shinya knew why, of course, and he knew that neither he nor Takaya would be getting much sleep tonight. Not alone, anyway.

(Shinya?)

(Are you going to come to my room, Ta-kun? Or do you want me to come to you?) he asked, already knowing just what it was that Takaya wanted.

(I don't think I'd make it to your room, Shin-chan,) Takaya said, and Shinya could tell that his brother was just about to fall asleep from the sheer emotional exhaustion they had gone through earlier in the day.

Levering himself up and out of bed, Shinya headed out the door and down the corridor that would lead him to Takaya's room. Using the code that Takaya had given him, Shinya opened his brother's door and walked in. Takaya was lying face-down on his bed, the same way that Shinya himself had been doing not so long ago, and as he heard the door slide closed behind him as he made his way over to Takaya's bed, Shinya sighed. They were both dealing with the aftermath of seeing what Kengo had become; he'd have to handle it a bit better, though, for Takaya's sake.

Kicking off his boots, he set them down by his brother's bed, then slipped off his Space Knight vest, folded the thing, and set it down on top of the table by his brother's bed. When he climbed into bed, Takaya scooting back a bit to accommodate him and then wrapping his arms around Shinya's waist as they settled into bed together, Shinya breathed deeply. The nightmares would still come, of course, but at least they wouldn't have to face them alone.

Closing his eyes as Takaya buried his face in his chest, his brother shuddering slightly, Shinya gently kissed the top of his older twin's head as he himself began to drift off into a troubled sleep.

IV

When his personal stores of energy had been fully replenished, Spear took the clothes that he had appropriated for his own use and put them back on. Then, transforming once again into his armored form, Spear met up with his mount and resumed his interrupted journey toward the moon and Omega-sama's vessel on the far side of it. He had soon passed out of sight of the Orbital Ring, though not without a last look back at the planet it encircled. His dear little brothers were down there, somewhere.

They were still clinging to the illusion that they were mere, weak, ultimately worthless humans. It was, however, somewhat understandable considering their circumstances. Those humans in that spacecraft had obviously done something to his younger brothers; something that made them think they had to stay back on that little mudball hovering so innocuously behind him.

Spear didn't know just how those humans had managed to turn his own younger brothers against him, as well as forcing them to think they had to abandon their proper places in the cosmos, but he was determined to ensure that they suffered for it; no one would keep his family from him.

The side of the moon that was bathed in both the bright light of the Sun, and the meager light reflected by the planet that was the focus of Omega-sama's attention for the moment, filled the whole of Spear's field of vision as he dropped low to skim just above the surface of the satellite. Following the natural curvature of the moon, dodging and weaving around the larger of the craters that scarred the surface of the satellite, Spear blew silently past the sharp line that divided lunar day from night.

He could sense Omega-sama's presence in his mind growing ever stronger as he neared the site of his master's damaged vessel, but Spear could also feel his body steadily weakening as he drew closer. He would have to rest before making his report, but he thought it best that he informed Omega-sama that he had something to report before he slept.

(Omega-sama, I've returned,) he said, still disappointed by his failure to retrieve Takaya and Shinya, but the feeling was now tempered by the knowledge of what those filthy humans had done to them.

(I see your brothers have failed to return with you,) his Warlord stated.

(Yes,) he said, feeling a slight pang at the mention of Shinya and Takaya, but quickly suppressing it. (I understand what happened to them, though. I will handle it.)

(I will leave it to your discretion, then, Spear.)

(Thank you,) he said, relieved. (I also have something else to report.)

(Rest and return to me, then,) Omega-sama said, his tone giving nothing away.

Spear smiled nonetheless. (Of course; I'll be there shortly. Thank you, Omega-sama.)

V

His eyes snapped open on darkness, and for a few panicked moments Takaya thought that he had been captured by Spear and was even now in Omega's hands awaiting death by torture... if he was lucky. Then, as he felt the warmth of his surroundings and heard the reassuring beat of another human heart coming from very close by, Takaya relaxed. He knew where he was, now: he was safe at home, in bed with Shinya, where they could both be safe from the nightmares that had haunted them ever since the Radam had ripped the rest of their family away from them.

Well, safe in that neither of them would have to face their nightmares alone.

Leaning his forehead against Shinya's chest again, having moved back when he'd awakened suddenly, Takaya squeezed his eyes shut; it really had been better not to know what had happened to Kengo. At least that way they'd been able to believe that he'd died in the latter stages of the transformation process; rejected like their father, just one more reason for them to hate the Radam. Now, though... Takaya didn't know if he would have been able to face Spear alone.

But he wasn't alone, Shinya was there; Shinya would always be there, that was their promise. As he curled in closer to his brother, taking comfort from Shinya's simple presence and the warmth of his younger twin's body, Takaya tried to relax again. He was still a bit tired from yesterday.

VI

When she'd rung the privacy chime for D-Two's room a full three times and still had no answer, Aki turned and made her way toward D-Boy's room. She still remembered where she had found D-Two yesterday; it was embarrassing enough that Aki didn't think she would forget it anytime soon. Maybe that was a good thing, though; if she remembered it well enough, how annoyed the twins were when she and Noal had barged in on them while they were sleeping, then there would be much less of a chance that she would repeat the mistake she had made by letting Noal talk her into breaking into D-Boy's room.

Noal, fortunately, hadn't been up when she had come out to see if one or both of the twins would be interested in coming out to the bio-dome with her, so she at least thought that she would be able to meet with the twins on their terms.

As she made her way down the corridor that lead to D-Two's room, Aki began to hear raised voices coming from that direction. Turning the last corner, Aki stopped in her tracks as she saw Noal go flying out of D-Boy's room to slam into the opposite wall. As he stood back up, rubbing his backside where he had impacted with the wall, Noal had just opened his mouth – likely to yell, judging by the expression on his face – when another, smaller object came sailing out of D-Boy's room to impact with shattering force on the wall right next to Noal's head.

"Hey!" Noal shouted, looking from the door to the shattered pieces now scattered on the floor. "That was my camera, D-Two!"

"Don't spy on us again, Noal," D-Two snapped, and as she drew closer to the scene of their confrontation, Aki could see him standing just inside D-Boy's doorway.

He had his uniform boots on, and the white pants, as well as the white shirt with long, black cuffs; the only thing missing from his ensemble was the red vest that he and D-Boy always wore, and of course the belt. Aki hadn't thought about what the twins wore to bed, but this made a lot of sense considering the fact that neither of the twins had any form of sleepwear.

When D-Two's eyes landed on her, he smirked slightly. "Aki-chan, would you get him out of here? I'm going back to bed."

"Yes," she said, and saw D-Two wink over his shoulder just before the door slid closed to block him from sight.

Turning on her heel, Aki grabbed Noal by his right ear, ignored his protests and indignant rambling, and dragged him back down the corridor to his own quarters. She would meet up with the twins later, if there wasn't some kind of an emergency that needed dealing with, and then she would talk to them about making an excursion to the bio-dome so the three of them could have some much-needed time off.

And maybe she could find out a bit about why the twins had seemed so unnerved by that new Tekkaman that Omega had sent out.

VII

As he settled back into bed, Takaya curling back around him in the way that his older twin never did unless he was feeling particularly vulnerable, Shinya sighed. He really should have expected Noal to pull a stunt like that, especially given how funny he'd seemed to find seeing him and Takaya sharing a bed. Still, there were things a man needed to be able to do in order to preserve his own sanity; their usual nightmares could be handled with just a bit of time spent together in the mornings, but after seeing Kengo again, and hearing just how much the Radam influence had warped his mind… neither of them had been in the mood to test their luck.

Now, though, with Takaya beginning to stir more noticeably and his own feeling of actually being rested for the first time in several days, Shinya thought it was probably best that they get their day properly started. There was probably going to be another Radam attack today, and knowing Omega he wouldn't pass up the chance to sic Spear on them again, so it was really best that they get their fill of both food and quiet-time before they had to go out and face the newest of Omega's armored attack dogs.

"Hey, Ta-kun," he said, looking down into his older twin's green eyes as Takaya opened them. "How about we go get breakfast?"

"That sounds nice," Takaya asked, looking up at him with a strained sort of good-humor.

"Yeah," he said, making an effort to smile; he didn't know if it came out quite right, since like Takaya he wasn't quite at his personal best right now, but Takaya did seem to accept it.

Climbing out of bed, Shinya made his way to the bathroom while Takaya fixed up his bed. Shucking his clothes and tossing them into the hamper, he stepped through the door into the bathroom that he had used only yesterday; though it felt like a hell of a lot longer, given all the emotional upheavals that he and Takaya had been put through between then and now. Climbing into the shower when the water had reached the right temperature for him, hot enough to relax his muscles and let him wash away his tension without being hot enough to scald, Shinya washed up, wrung out his hair, and headed over to grab the towel he'd used.

There was only one, and while it felt a bit strange to be using the same towel that his brother used, it also kind of reminded Shinya of the times that he and Takaya were bathed together, back when they were just little kids.

Heading out of the bathroom, dodging around the bare-chested form of his older twin as Takaya made his own way inside, Shinya dressed in one of his brother's spare uniforms and gathered the vest and boots that had been left around the room when he and Takaya had settled down to sleep. Setting the boots down by the side of the bed, he went to drop the vest in the hamper and then doubled back to put on his boots. Well, they could have been either his or Takaya's, but given the fact that both sets were identical in every respect he figured that something so trivial wasn't worth thinking about.

Slipping the boots on, Shinya looked up as Takaya came back into the main room, smiling slightly and giving his brother a small wave. Takaya returned both gestures, heading over to his closet to pull on one more in the long line of uniforms that he had been to use by the Space Knights. Shinya would have been more amused by the fact that he was wearing Takaya's clothes if there was even the slightest way of telling one Space Knight uniform from the next.

As things stood, though, he was still a little amused by the idea.

The left Takaya's room together, just as they'd done yesterday, only without Noal and Aki accompanying them to the lounge that neither of them had had any reason to suspect existed before yesterday. In fact, it was kind of debatable whether Noal would want to be with them after the way that he'd smashed the man's camera. Still, Noal had been asking for it when he'd come barging in the way he did.

The man should have been grateful that Shinya hadn't decided to pitch that camera at his head; though he'd been a bit tempted at first.

Heading down to the cafeteria with his older twin by his side, Shinya tried to put the events of yesterday behind him. There was really no point in dwelling on them, and if they were going to be able to kill Kengo – or rather Tekkaman Spear – when he returned, then he at least was going to have to get ahold of himself. Takaya would need him to help keep his head on straight; god knew that Takaya could never quite manage without him, or maybe he just didn't want to try.

Either way, Shinya would need to have his head on straight to deal with things as they were now, not to mention when things started getting worse.

VIII

Making her way into the cafeteria, after she'd finished lashing Noal up and down for the stupid stunt he'd pulled this morning, Aki took a moment to look for the twins. She knew they would likely still be there, since given what their powers demanded of them it was obvious that they needed to eat larger meals than anyone else that she had ever come to know in her time. Knowing that, Aki had made some sandwiches for them all to share while she showed them around the bio-dome.

She had a feeling that they would both enjoy what she had to show them; well, she knew that D-Two would, anyway. She'd never really gotten to know what D-Boy liked, outside of the things that made his brother happy. Aki often wondered just why D-Boy still seemed so reluctant to open up to the rest of the Space Knights, since it was clear that there was still a distinct wall, a separation, between the twins and the rest of the Space Knights.

Even D-Two seemed to be holding to that, in spite of how easygoing he seemed if you didn't look too deeply.

Looking out over the cafeteria, Aki found that the twins were just leaving, so she slung the bag of sandwiches over her left shoulder and hurried to catch up with them.

"Hey, wait up!" she called, smiling as both of them turned to look back at her.

"What is it, Aki?" D-Two asked, after he had traded a speaking glance with his brother.

"I just thought that you two might want to have some time off," she said, falling into step with the twins as they continued down the corridor.

"You think that would work?" D-Boy asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Well," she trailed off; Aki in fact didn't know if this latest attempt at relaxation would go over any better than the last one had.

Sure, since they were all going to be inside OSDG Headquarters, there wasn't much of a chance that either of the twins would encounter someone that they seemed to know, or else someone that seemed so familiar as to unnerve them, but there was still a chance that she, Noal, and the twins would be called out to deal with another attack by the Radam. Aki hoped that something like that wouldn't happen, or that if it did it wouldn't be as bad as whatever had happened yesterday, but you could never really know what would happen in the future.

As she and the twins made their way down the corridors, Aki told them about the bio-dome and the plans that she had tentatively made to show them around it. She didn't mention her thoughts about the activity helping them to get over whatever it was that they had had to face yesterday that had shaken them up so badly. Aki didn't want to remind them of bad things when she was trying to help them feel better; she just hoped that the Radam wouldn't attack so early in the morning.

IX

Shinji, my name is Shinji Mabashi. Well, if you really wanted to get technical about things, then you'd say his name as Mabashi Shinji, but the principle still stood. He knew who he was, and he definitely knew who he wasn't; he wasn't Tekkaman Lance, and he would have nothing to do with the Radam for as long as he could hold his own mind together. Shinji didn't really know just how long he would be able to hold out, and he didn't know if any of the others were in the same position.

Hell, he didn't even know if any of the others were even alive at this point; he hoped not, though.

There'd been an old joke that Takaya and Shinya used to tell about his last name, something involving an old anime that they had all liked to watch, but he couldn't remember what it was anymore. That frustrated him; sure, it was just some silly little word game that he and his friends used to play when they all got together, but it was still theirs. It had been something that he remembered enjoying back when they had all been together on Earth.

Back before he'd gone to sleep in a steel chamber, then awakened screaming inside an alien plant.

X

As Grant Goddard tried to hold the dissolving links between his memories together, not wanting anything that was his to fall into the abyss of oblivion that was waiting to claim him like it had claimed Sasuke, Kengo, and Fritz before them, Grant wondered for a moment how the others were doing. None of them had his full training in mental discipline, so he didn't know if any of the others – the ones who hadn't been his students – had managed to hold their own minds together for as long as he had.

He still took comfort in the fact that the twins had escaped all of this, that they had been set loose by his old friend Kouzu and were even now working to frustrate Omega's plans to add the Earth, all of the remaining people living on her, and their remaining natural resources to the Radam's interplanetary empire. He held to that knowledge, and the pure satisfaction of having it, and used both feelings to bolster his will to resist.

He was going to hold out, to hold onto his humanity and his memories, for as long as he possibly could; he was not going to give these monsters another enslaved super-soldier. Not until or unless he was forced to. He would hold to that promise, even when all other things were being taken from him.

XI

Rising from his tekkapod, his energy fully restored and wearing the armor that had been granted to him by the transformation process, Spear moved through the dark, solitary space of Omega's vessel toward the place where he had met up with the Warlord before. On his way there, Spear passed those members of the Argos' crew who had been fortunate enough to survive the transformation process. He could see their armored forms through the thin-seeming, transparent skins of the tekkapods, but he was moving too quickly to be able to have a chance to identify them.

Perhaps he would come back later, to see if he could hazard a guess as to who they might have been; for the moment, however, he had a report to make.

(So, you've discovered the weakness of those renegade Tekkamen of ours,) Omega-sama said, and he was again aware of the ancient weight of his Warlord's mind pressing down on his own.

(Yes, I have,) he said, bowing his head slightly as an image of Takaya, clutching at his head with his right hand with Shinya's limp, unconscious form dangling from his curled left arm seemed to appear before his eyes.

(And, you will be able to put it to use?) Omega-sama said sternly. (I expect nothing less, Spear.)

(I know,) he said calmly; Omega-sama had not ordered him to kill his younger brothers, but even he could agree that Takaya and Shinya needed to be stopped. Poor, misguided things; he didn't know what those humans in that spacecraft had done to them, but Spear was determined to correct it.

(There is also another thing I require of you.)

(Yes: I am to secure a new energy source for the cultivation of Radam creatures.) He fully understood the necessity of what he was about to do, what he had to do; it was necessary that he secure a new power-source, to prevent the needless deaths of more Radam monsters, and it was necessary to remove his younger brothers as an obstacle, so they wouldn't be killed in the ensuing battles. Still, he thought, reaching out to cup the image's armored cheek, that didn't mean that he was particularly pleased about the idea.

He knew what he had to do, he had seen the Radam monsters on the Orbital Ring dying out from the lack of energy that they needed to be able to metemorphosize into their adult phase, and he wasn't about to let anything like that happen to any of his fellow Tekkamen. Intellectually, he knew that such a thing was unlikely in the extreme, since even damaged as it was the engines of Omega-sama's vessel were still capable of generating power. He hadn't been about to suggest something so absurd as drawing power from Omega-sama's vessel to supply the Radam monsters on the Orbital Ring, of course.

It was completely impractical, to say nothing of the fact that the engines were needed to supply power to the Tekkasystem.

No, he would need another power-source to replace the one destroyed by the humans' forces. Finding it somewhere on Earth would also be sure to draw out Takaya and Shinya; misguided as they were, his younger brothers were certain to come out from wherever it was that those humans in the spacecraft were holding them, if only to satisfy their human captors. He would have to be prepared to fight them, as much as he didn't particularly want to, and the plan that he was formulating would be the best way to draw them out.

Still, he would need to return to the Orbital Ring, so that he wouldn't need to use up so much of his own energy moving back and forth between Omega-sama's vessel, the Orbital Ring, and the Earth itself. Best to start now, then, before he could be distracted by something else. Leaving the chamber where he had made his report, bypassing the tekkapods that contained his fellow Tekkamen quickly so as not to be distracted by his own curiosity, Spear made his way back out to the far forward-section of the vessel so that he could launch.

The mount that Omega-sama had bred for him followed along docilely as Spear made his way out of the main area of the vessel, Spear absent-mindedly patted the creature as he continued on his way out. He had plans to detail and finalize, before he could bring his younger brothers back into Omega-sama's fold. First, he needed to cut their ties to those humans and whoever else it was that was holding them captive; it would be a hard thing for all of them to bear, but this new plan of his would make that possible.

XII

Waking up with Shinya, since the nightmares that had driven them to this in the first place were only slightly less prevalent than they had been yesterday, Takaya turned his head so that his right cheek rested against his brother's chest and tried to relax. He, Shinya, and Aki had spent most of yesterday and the day before it in the indoor gardens that the Outer Space Development Group maintained. He hadn't been particularly interested in them, since they'd just seemed to be a place where the OSDG grew the food they ate, until he and Shinya had been shown the other side of the dome.

The side that hadn't been used for growing food plants; the side that had looked more like some kind of garden for people here to just enjoy during the times that they weren't being buried under an avalanche of Radam monsters. That had been interesting, but only because of certain things that he'd been able to see growing there. Things that had reminded them both of happier times.

He didn't know if he actually wanted to go back, now that he knew what was planted there he also knew that he and Shinya would have a hard time staying away from that place. They'd taken something of a momento with them when it was time for them to leave, something to remind them of happier times back at home. Times that they would never have again.

Someone rung the chime on the door just as he was thinking about trying to fall back to sleep; he thought it was probably Aki, since she seemed to be the one most interested in them even in spite of the fact that there was no pressing need for the three of them to stay together, with the Radam being so quiet lately. Aki actually seemed to be making an effort to get to know them, which was something that no one else but Milly seemed to be interested in doing. Takaya didn't know quite how he felt about that, not really, since he was still getting used to having all of these people around.

People who actually wanted them around. At least, most of them seemed to. Chief Freeman was still as unreadable as ever.

(All right, Takaya?) Shinya asked, and Takaya looked up into his brother's still sleep-fogged blue eyes.

(Yeah,) he said, levering himself up and pulling back the covers so he could tuck them back around his younger twin. (Go back to sleep, Shinya.)

Leaving his younger twin to his rest, Takaya shoved his feet into his boots and strode over to the door. Opening it, he saw that it was Aki, just like he'd thought.

"I brought you a vase for your flowers," Aki said, holding out a pale violet vase that tapered from a wide base to a slightly narrower tip.

"Thank you," he said, as she handed over the vase.

He wondered for a moment where she had gotten it, but not enough to call her back when she wished him a good day and then left. Turning around as the door slid closed behind him, Takaya headed over to the table by his bed. On top of the table was a jar, filled to about an inch below the rim with water and holding the two amaryllis flowers that he had picked, as well as the clipping from the lilac bush that Shinya had managed to find.

The amaryllis flowers were for Miyuki, she had loved them since she was just a child, and seeing them had always made Takaya feel closer to her. The lilacs were for Shinya and Miyuki both; Miyuki had found the idea of such tiny flowers adorable and funny, and both she and Shinya had come to love the scent of them. Especially once she had realized that the amaryllis didn't have any scent at all.

Taking the flowers out of the jar, Takaya poured the water into the vase and set the flowers in that.

"I like it," Shinya said, and Takaya turned to smile at his younger twin.

"Yeah, so do I," he said, looking back at the new vase; it really did look good, the white petals of the amaryllis made a nice contrast, and the lilacs added a different shade. Not to mention their scent.

When the chime on his door was rung again, Takaya went over to answer it. It was probably Aki again, coming to ask him how he liked the vase that she had given him. When the door to his quarters opened, however, Takaya was surprised to find Milly of all people standing just outside.

"Aki said you were up already, D-Boy," Milly said, smiling up at him. Then she looked past him, smiling a bit wider. "Hi, D-Two!"

"Good morning, Milly," Takaya heard his brother call back, then he felt his Shinya's hand on his right shoulder. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she said, smiling. Milly grinned, looking up at him with a distinctly mischievous expression. "Are the two of you planning to sleep all day?"

Shinya laughed. "Well, that would be nice."

Takaya sighed, shaking his head. "You're crazy."

"Oh, so you weren't, then?" Milly asked.

"Brother and I were just about to head to the cafeteria, then to gym for some sparring," he said; sure, it had been an interesting diversion, seeing a place that he hadn't had a reason to believe had ever existed before, but the break in his and Shinya's routine had been just that, a break.

Besides, this peace and quiet couldn't last forever; Omega and his forces were still out there, and he and Shinya needed to be in top form to stand against them.

"Oh, you guys can do that later," Milly said, pursing her lips in annoyance.

Before he could say anything else, Milly pushed past him and headed into his room. For a few moments, Takaya was too surprised to do anything but watch as the youngest of the Space Knights came into his quarters and looked around. He didn't know what it was that she was looking for, and Shinya was clearly having too much fun with the whole thing to be of any use at all, and Takaya found himself just standing there staring for the few moments it took Milly to get over to the table where the flowers that they had picked were standing in the vase that Aki had brought for them.

"These look really nice," Milly said, looking down at the vase with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah," Shinya said, striding over to the table to stand next to her. "Aki gave us the vase; we had the flowers in a jar."

"I see," Milly nodded. "I didn't know either of you liked flowers so much."

Without another word, Milly snatched up the vase and turned to leave the room. Still stunned by the way Milly had barged in, not to mention what the young Space Knight had just done, Takaya reacted a bit too late to stop her.

"Milly!" Shinya exclaimed, sounding like he'd been caught somewhere between amusement and annoyance and couldn't quite decide which side to fall on just yet. "Get back here!"

Milly laughed. "You're going to have to catch me, D-Two!"

"If you break that vase I won't just tell Aki whose fault it was, I will never speak to you again!" Shinya shouted, dashing out of the room after Milly.

Following the echo of his younger twin's voice, Takaya jogged down the corridor to meet up with his brother again. Catching up with Shinya as his brother was just about to turn a corner, Takaya ran with him. Milly's lead was shrinking fast, both since he and Shinya had longer legs than her, and because of what they had been made into by the Radam.

Takaya tried not to think about that.

When he and Shinya were almost on top of her, Milly turned around and shoved the vase into his arms. Quickly re-balancing himself so he wouldn't either drop the vase or end up spilling the water still inside it, Takaya blinked, feeling more than a bit stunned by this sudden turn of events.

"Funny, Milly," he heard Shinya say, just as he noticed what was missing, himself. "Give back the flowers."

"You're just going to have to catch me!" laughing, Milly stuck her tongue out at them and ran off down the corridor again.

"She's cute, eh Ta-kun?" Shinya asked, turning an expression of wistful amusement on him.

Takaya smiled slightly. "Yeah."

This was something like Miyuki would have done, whenever she'd wanted them to pay more attention to her; it seemed like Milly was just the same.

Shinya took off, running down the corridor after her just slightly faster than the average human with their kind of physical conditioning would have been capable of. Takaya, knowing that he had to move more carefully if he didn't want to end up spilling the water or breaking the vase that Aki had given them himself, followed Shinya at a much more sedate pace. He could still hear Milly and Shinya, even after the two of them had passed out of his line of sight down yet another corner.

He was starting to recognize the place they were all heading, and for a moment he wondered just what was going on in Milly's head; they'd both find out soon enough, though, so he wasn't going to think about it too much.

XIII

When she made it into Comm. One, with D-Two dogging her heels like some kind of bloodhound, Milly couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't quite known just how she was going to get D-Boy and D-Two to come out and rejoin the rest of the Space Knights instead of sitting around moping in D-Boy's quarters or trying to hide in the bio-domes, but when she had seen the flowers that both of them had seemed to like so much, the idea had just come to her. D-Two had seemed to be enjoying the chase, at least.

Scampering over to the front of the room, just as she heard the doors sliding open behind her, Milly clasped the flowers in both hands and turned to watch as D-Two made his way into the room. D-Two wasn't running anymore, and since she'd pretty much let him corner her, she smiled as he came forward. Now he'd smile in that way he always did, and she'd hand him the flowers and tell him to try to keep D-Boy from getting too depressed and shutting himself up in his quarters again.

When Milly saw his face up close, the expression he was wearing as his eyes came to rest on her, she wasn't really sure what to make of it. D-Two was smiling, but the smile itself was small; nothing like the wide grins or sly smirks she'd usually seen on his face, in fact the expression itself was almost… sad, in a way. And the look in his eyes, it was like he wasn't seeing her at all, not really; like D-Two was lost in his own memories somehow.

Though how in the world someone could be lost in memories they didn't even have was a question that she would probably be thinking about later, but that was what it looked like.

When D-Two came up to her, that same strange, almost sad smile on his face as he turned one of the chairs around and sort of slumped down into it, Milly offered him the flowers. But, if anything, that only made the smile on his face look sadder. When he reached out, stroking her head with his right hand, Milly looked right into his eyes. She knew then that it wouldn't do any good to talk to him; he didn't even seem to be looking at her so much as he was looking past her, into some place that she couldn't see.

When she noticed D-Boy coming up to where she was standing, Milly was just about to ask him what might be wrong with D-Two when she noticed the expression on D-Boy's face. It was almost the same as D-Two's. He wasn't smiling, but then D-Boy never seemed to smile for anyone but D-Two. They were both staring at her now, but it was clear that neither of them were seeing her at all. D-Boy and D-Two were looking at someone else entirely.

When D-Boy put the vase carefully down on the inter-base communication console, moving slowly so that none of the water would end up spilling out, Milly waited until he had finished getting Aki's vase settled, and then she put the flowers that she had snatched away from them back inside. D-Two seemed to come back to himself then, if the way he'd stopped mussing her hair was any indication. In fact, when she looked from D-Two to D-Boy and then back again, Milly found that the both of them seemed to be looking at her now instead of whoever it was that had seemed to make them so… sad and kind of happy at once.

Leaning back against the console and letting her eyes come to rest on D-Boy; he seemed to be the one most likely to want to talk at the moment, especially given the way D-Two's eyes were still lingering on the flowers themselves. "Do you like those flowers? Do you know what they're called?"

"The white ones are Amaryllis; the light purple ones are lilacs," D-Boy said, looking at the flowers for a long moment, before he turned his attention to her. "I think Amaryllis stands for silence, in the language of flowers."

"It doesn't smell like anything, though," D-Two said, drawing Milly's attention to him "The lilacs are nice for that."

"Wow, D-Boy. I didn't know you knew things like that, " Milly said. "The lilacs do smell nice, though," she said, winking at D-Boy's brother.

D-Two laughed. "Yeah," he grinned.

"Brother doesn't know what they mean, though," D-Boy said, the slightest little smile on his face; almost like he was actually teasing.

It was such a weird thing for her to see that Milly didn't notice that Aki and Noal had come in sometime earlier and were even then having a conversation of their own.

XIV

"There's no malfunction between points P and S," Aki reported.

"Awesome! Now this is what I call peace and quiet," he said, leaning over Aki's left shoulder to get a better look at the radar screen. Turning, he moved away from the empty radar screen.

"Who knew it could be this quiet without a Radam attack?" Aki said.

"Who knows how long this silence is gonna last," he said; it wasn't that he minded all the R&R he was getting, he just didn't want to get complacent. Getting complacent was pretty much bound to get people killed nowadays. "But, the next time the Radam attack, it's going to be that new Tekkaman." He made sure not to look over his shoulder when he said that, though he was fairly sure that he could feel one of the Gemini Boys' glares boring into his back; he'd give fairly good odds that it was D-Two. "Only we don't know anything about him," he continued, opening his eyes slightly; D-Two was glaring at him, so he won that bet. "We want to know about the enemy, but certain people won't even open their mouths."

"Noal, shut up," D-Two said, and out of the corner of his right eye he could see D-Boy's younger brother turning his chair around to face him more squarely.

"Noal," Aki snapped.

"They have amnesia!" Milly shouted. "There are things they just can't remember, no matter how much they want to!"

"There might be things they remember, and just don't want to tell us," he said, not wanting to concede the argument but not particularly wanting to get into a fight about it, either.

"Noal! Don't' say horrible things like that!" Milly shouted.

The next thing the Gemini Boys did was to haul themselves up and out of their swivel-chairs and march right out of the comm. room; D-Two didn't even shoot him any dirty looks over his shoulder, though why that was he didn't quite know. Milly tried to call them back, but not even D-Two turned to look back at her.

"I thought even D-Boy seemed a bit happier these days, but…"

"Yeah," he muttered, looking at the path that their Gemini Boys had taken out of the room. "But, ever since they ran into that purple Tekkaman, even D-Two's been a gloomy Dark Boy."

"I'm worried. I'm going to go check on them!" Milly exclaimed, running off after the Gemini Boys the way he'd been starting to suspect that she would.

Left alone in Comm. One with only Aki to keep him company, though he doubted that she would be particularly enthusiastic about talking to him for awhile, Noal rolled his eyes. Sure, he might have been a bit to-the-point with what he'd had to say, but it wasn't as if he'd said anything too out of line. Besides, anyone could see that the Gemini Boys didn't act like your typical amnesiacs.

XV

Shinya had looped his arm around Takaya's own as they walked, and for once Takaya found that he didn't care what anyone who saw thought of them. He was actually starting to feel that he and Shinya had a place, here with the Outer Space Development Group's Space Knights; of course, there were still issues. Mostly involving Noal, and his constant demands for information that neither he nor Shinya actually had.

He'd wanted to yell at the man, to tell him that he hadn't the slightest idea of what the Radam were planning, and that all of this peace and quiet was making him just as nervous as any of them. He wouldn't, though; Takaya knew that if he ever got into an argument with Noal, given the way the man still seemed bound and determined to antagonize him and Shinya both, then things were bound to become uncomfortably complicated. The man was like a bulldog; he wouldn't let up on something until he found out everything he wanted to know.

And, there were just some things that couldn't be talked about with outsiders; and, no matter what kind of place that he and Shinya had found here with the Space Knights, these people weren't family.

The scent of hot coffee wafting up toward him broke Takaya out of his musings, and he looked to his right to see Shinya just settling back down next to him.

"Here," his brother said, before Takaya could ask or even say anything.

"Thank you," he muttered, wrapping his hands around the cup, both to absorb the heat and so that he could tell when it was cool enough for him to drink without burning his tongue. "What did you get?"

"Guess," Shinya said, smirking slightly.

"Chai?"

Shinya chuckled. "Close."

That meant that it was probably hot chocolate; his brother had always had something of a sweet-tooth, and this was just the kind of chance to indulge himself that he would take. It was nice to know that, while they weren't quite the people that they had started out as, his brother hadn't really changed all that much. It was nice to have something he could depend on.

As the chatter in the lounge washed over him, Takaya tried his best not to listen in on any particular one; it was kind of hard, what with the enhanced senses that had been forced on him by the Radam, but Takaya didn't want to eavesdrop. He heard a pair of women, chatting amiably to one another, passing by on his left-hand side, and he tried to ignore what they were talking about. It didn't really involve him, and he wasn't going to start eavesdropping on people.

But, when he started hearing the sounds of someone calling for their father, a little kid; a boy, just the same kind of boy that he and Shinya had both been. A long time ago...

He could remember the fields of Amaryllis flowers that Miyuki had loved so much; he saw them in his mind's eye, even as his gaze settled on the man and his small family. He could see things the way that they had once been...

Aiba Shinya was there, laughing as Miyuki showed him the Amaryllis flowers that she had picked; he could see himself, as if he was standing outside of his own body, as Aiba Takaya laughed with the two siblings he'd once had. He wanted to shout to the boy he'd once been, to yell at him to enjoy these times while he could; to warn him that everything he had ever known would be gone in an instant, and he would have to hold on to the few things that had been saved.

He couldn't, however; these were just memories of days gone by, and he had no voice in any of them.

He watched, heartsick with the knowledge of what his eldest brother had become, as Aiba Kengo crouched, folded his arms on top of his knees and spoke to his younger siblings. Grinning, Kengo reached out to muss Miyuki's hair; Aiba Takaya and Aiba Shinya stood next to her, laughing as she did under the comforting touch of their older brother's hand. Takaya, watching all of this from the sidelines, wanted to close his eyes; to look away from what he knew was going to happen, what he knew had already happened.

Aiba Kengo rose back to his feet, dark purple armor surrounding and encasing him, and by the time he stood back up, it wasn't Aiba Kengo at all anymore; Tekkaman Spear had taken his place. Spear towered over them all, a terrifying apparition, powerful and deadly; Omega's attack dog. Aiba Shinya ran, ran at the Tekkaman; the same armor that had encased Spear covering his younger brother from head to feet; Tekkaman Varis interposed himself between Takaya and the towering form of Spear, his arms spread as if to ward off an attack.

This... this was wrong; things weren't supposed to be this way. He was the older brother, he was supposed to protect Shinya; Shinya wasn't supposed to have to protect him.

When he heard someone calling his name, Takaya looked over his shoulder, away from the tableaux of Tekkaman Varis facing down Tekkaman Spear, Takaya felt his heart just about freeze in his chest. Miyuki was there, unarmed, clutching at a bunch of Amaryllis flowers. She was defenseless, and even though he knew that Tekkaman Varis would be at her side in a second if Spear made any kind of aggressive move, he was still terrified to see her like that. Tekkaman Varis might easily die fighting Tekkaman Spear; he called out to her, Takaya was sure of it, but...

"D-Boy?" Milly asked; Takaya tried to calm his pounding heart.

"Milly."

"Sorry, I guess I surprised you," she said, crouching down to pick up the cup that he hadn't even noticed he'd dropped. The small family left the lounge; Takaya watched them go, trying not to wish for things that couldn't happen. "Hey, who's Miyuki?"

"Miyuki," Shinya said, sweeping his gaze over Milly, his cup of hot chocolate held in his left hand, with his right supporting its base. "Well…"

Milly laughed, closing her eyes. "Come on, D-Two. Was she one of your girlfriends?" she asked, giving his younger twin a sly glance.

"She was our younger sister," Takaya said, before Shinya could get too into the spirit of things.

"You mean, I look like your younger sister?" Milly said, leaning forward a bit.

"Yeah," he said, briefly worrying the inside of his lower lip with his canine teeth.

"So, you two have a younger sister named Miyuki," Milly said, looking between the two of them; then she seemed to have some kind of revelation. "Wait… if you both remember your younger sister, then does this mean you've regained your memories?"

"No, I don't remember anything," he said; he sometimes he wished he actually could forget, just forget what the Radam had done to them. To him, to Shinya, to Kengo, and to everyone else who had been a part of the Argos' crew.

"But…" For a moment, he envied Milly her innocence.

(It doesn't mean anything, Ta-kun,) he said; Takaya was grateful for his brother's hand on his arm, and he moved closer so that he could lean on Shinya for a bit more support.

(Yes, I know. We renounced our past to fight the Radam; it doesn't mean anything.)

Milly said; she seemed about to say something else, but the emergency-alert started going off right then. Shinya had laced his fingers together with Takaya's own, and as the two of them were forced to separate in order to make their way back to Comm. One, Takaya bumped Shinya's shoulder in passing.

He hadn't believed for a second that this quiet spell they'd been having was going to last; now that it was over, though, Takaya didn't quite know whether he was relived to be right, or angry that he and Shinya were being forced onto the front-lines again; Omega and Spear had to have something in mind for them to be doing this.

When the three of them made it back into the comm. room, he wasn't surprised to see the others standing there waiting for them; Chief Freeman nodded in acknowledgement as he, Shinya, and Milly took their respective places among the gathered Space Knights.

"The Radam are attacking the Cooper Nuclear Fusion Plant," the Chief informed them, as the main screen displayed scenes of Radam monsters descending upon a power plant like some horrible parody of carrion birds. "I'd assumed they'd try to seize some alternate form of power, with the generators on the Orbital Ring destroyed."

"Damn," Noal said, sounding like he didn't quite believe what he was seeing. "Who'd have thought they'd target a power plant here on Earth!"

"Milly, what's the current situation?" the Chief asked calmly.

"The generator's power is diminishing, bit by bit," Milly said, turning away from her post at the main comm. console. "The Radam must be absorbing the energy... there's no other explanation."

"What the hell?" Noal demanded.

"They'll store the energy in their bodies, and carry it back to the Orbital Ring. Like bees bringing nectar back to their hive," he said.

"Like we'll let that happen!" Noal growled.

"Chief?" Aki asked, when the Chief fell silent for a bit too long.

"Launch an immediate attack on the Radam to protect the power plant," Chief Freeman said, as calmly as he ever did.

He and Shinya were out of the room almost before the Chief finished speaking; Shinya was a bit faster than him, but the two of them made a point to keep pace with each other, at least when they weren't having a race. This wasn't the time for playing, Takaya knew, so he and Shinya were careful to keep pace with each other on their way to the Blue Earth. He knew that they were going to have to break into the spare rations that had been laid in for them, but it was better that they did something like that rather than trying to make a stop off at the cafeteria before such an important mission.

XVI

As he watched the flying Radam monsters that had been given to him for this mission descend upon the nuclear plant like the swarm of worker bees that they so closely resembled, Spear held his red tekkaset, key to the power that Omega-sama had granted him and his misguided younger brothers, with both hands. He had accepted that this subterfuge he was participating in was necessary, both to preserve and increase the amount of Radam monsters that they needed in order to keep the humans from mounting any kind of organized resistance against them, and to protect the lives of his dear younger brothers. Spear didn't know if any of the other Tekkamen that Omega-sama had created would be so understanding about the plight of his younger brothers.

Miyuki and Sasuke probably would be, but those two were going to have enough on their respective plates just overcoming the obstacles that their comparative youth would present for them without attempting to argue for the sake of those who had abandoned their own cause, as well as their proper place in the universe, family or not. So, that meant that he had to convince Takaya and Shinya to return to Omega-sama's fold with him. And that would entail breaking the both of them free from those humans who had taken them captive.

In light of that, this plan of his was a necessary evil; still, as Spear pressed his thumbs against the sides of his red tekkaset, clutching the gem that granted him access to his full power, he was forced to concede that necessary evils were still evil in the end.

XVII

As the Blue Earth flew steadily toward her destination, Takaya gripped the armrests of his chair briefly, trying without too much success to calm his jangling nerves. He knew that Spear was there, he could sense the person that had once been their older brother; Shinya was so clearly trying not to fidget that for a few moments Takaya was reminded of the long car trips that their family had taken. Back when he and Shinya had actually had a family.

"The Allied Defense Force has been almost completely destroyed," Aki said, as they drew close enough to the power plant to see the full extent of the massive swarm of flying Radam monsters attacking it. "The main damage to the generator seems to be concentrated on the electrical cables."

"They're having a damned free-for all. Not one of them will make it back into space! We're counting on you!"

"Right, Noal!" Shinya called over his shoulder, even as the two of them climbed out of their seats and made for the main air lock at top speed; he vaguely heard Shinya calling out in acknowledgement when Noal wished them good luck, but for the most part Takaya's focus was on what he and Shinya were about to be doing.

What they had to do.

"Pegas, Teksetta!"

"Teksetta!"

Leaping into Pegas' interlock-chamber as the echoes of his younger twin's shout reverberated in the air behind him, Takaya felt the familiar rush of energy as he engaged his own transformation. The rush of energy filled him, and he felt it as Pegas was launched from the Blue Earth; he could also sense Shinya nearby, and it was with decidedly mixed feelings that Takaya flew into battle this time. Spear was waiting for them, Takaya was more than certain of it by now, and the evil Tekkaman had already attacked Shinya once; Takaya didn't know what he would do if Spear tried to deliberately attack Shinya in an effort to get to him. He still remembered Spear doing the reverse, just a few days ago.

Landing on Pegas' back, Tekkaman Blade looked over his left shoulder as Tekkaman Varis landed just behind him.

"Well, Ta-kun?" Varis drawled, a wry tilt to his head.

"Let's go," Blade said, trying to match his younger twin's tone but not knowing if he'd managed it. Turning his attention to the masses of Radam monsters that had swarmed the fusion plant that they had been sent to rescue, Blade took a deep breath; it was time to get down to business. Shoving his fears, doubts, and worries into a dark closet in his mind and then bolting it shut; they would be fine. Everything would be fine.

Spinning his tekkalance to deflect several sprays of sticky venom from the small group of Radam monsters that had broken off from the main force, smiling slightly as Varis made exaggerated gagging noises behind him, Blade cut down the strays even as Pegas shot them down with his blasters.

"Shinya?" Closing his eyes as he heard the sound of armored hands clapping, Blade cast an annoyed glance back over his left shoulder. "Funny."

"I know," Varis said, that same, wry tilt to his head that Blade had seen before; he could all but see Shinya's amused smirk.

Without another word, Tekkaman Varis stepped forward, standing next to him, the two of them drew back their respective tekkalances and hurled them into the mass of flying Radam monsters swarming over the fusion plant. Given what he'd been sensing, and the fact that the feeling had been growing stronger the nearer he got to this place, Blade wasn't surprised at all when a spinning tekkalance slammed into both his and Varis'. The new tekkalance knocked them both off-course, and caused the three tekkalances to bury themselves point-down in the sand about ten or so feet from the place where they had originally been aimed.

"Damnit," he heard Varis mutter, and as he cast another glance back over his shoulder, Blade made a silent promise to himself that, no matter what else happened, he would not let Varis suffer like he had last time. "Spear!"

"Yes, I'm here now." Spear's arms were folded over his broad, armored chest, his right pointer finger tapping on his left arm; Kengo's usual pose when their older brother had been exasperated with them.

"How wonderful," Varis sneered, his tone matching anger with fierce sarcasm.

"Shinya, don't be rude."

As Pegas swooped down after Spear's flying-platform / Radam-mount, the three of them yanking their respective weapons out of the sand that they had stuck themselves in, Blade looked over his shoulder. Varis was standing just behind him, his gray-armored hands fisted tightly on the shaft of his tekkalance; if he hadn't known full well that Varis would have told him to shut up, he would have asked his younger twin to break off and let him handle Spear. He didn't want his younger brother to be hurt, but he knew that Shinya would go his own way.

Shinya always had.

"So, are you planning to carry through with this? Or will you come home now?" Spear asked, his tekkalance having been stuck point-down in the sand, close at hand but not quite close enough to be threatening.

"Oh, let me think," Blade heard Varis say, and he turned to look back over his shoulder; Varis had to be planning something devious, there was no way that he would even consider going over to the Radam, but Blade didn't know just what it was, yet.

The forward-point of Varis' tekkalance, trailing its bright, dangerous ribbon of energy, launched from the space just under Blade's left arm. Blade, watching as the energy-ribbon lashed out at Spear, knocking the evil Tekkaman from his perch atop that strange-looking mount of his, breathed a quiet sigh of mingled relief and apprehension. He'd known that Varis hadn't been about to go over to the Radam, but Spear wasn't going to be happy with them now.

"Was that your answer, Shinya?" Spear growled, rising back to his armored feet.

"That's for both of us, Spear," he snarled, moving to the right so that Varis could stand beside him rather than just behind; so that the two of them would be able to bring their lancers to bear on Spear without worrying about the other being in their way.

"Well then, I suppose I must carry this through," Spear sighed, shaking his head. "Forgive me."

Not particularly caring about the mental anguish of Omega's pet assassin, Blade directed Pegas forward, charging flat-out at Spear with his lancer aimed forward to stab or slash, and Varis' right next to it. Before they could come within arm's reach of Spear, though, a shadow fell over them and Spear's mount knocked both him and Varis off Pegas' back.

"Damn it," he heard Varis' annoyed mutter, as he picked himself up from where he'd gone sprawling in the sand after being knocked free of Pegas.

Tekkaman Varis had already gotten back to his feet, using Blade's own body to help lever himself up since the two of them had landed on each other because they'd been standing so close, and Blade could see his younger twin scanning the skies for any sign of Spear's mount. Spear, of course, chose that very moment to rush at the two of them. Spear seemed to be focusing most of his attention on him, something Blade was grateful for insofar as it kept the evil Tekkaman's attention off Varis. Even knowing that his younger twin could handle himself in battle didn't mean that Blade worried about him any less.

Out of the corner of his left eye, Blade saw Varis climb back up onto Pegas and swoop off after Spear's mount; at least he wouldn't have to worry about that thing attacking him again, Blade reflected, turning his attention to Spear. The evil Tekkaman was standing there, holding his lancer at a shallow angle, seemingly content to just watch. Blade rushed him; he needed to get this over with quickly.

There were still things he needed to do; there were still Radam monsters to deal with out there.

XVIII

As he and Pegas pursued the freakish-looking flying-platform that Omega had probably made in mockery of his big brother's combat partner, Varis began to consider just what it was that he was doing. Sure, he knew that Blade was good in a fight and all, but the both of them had sworn to protect each other, no matter what. He wasn't going to be the one to break that promise.

"Pegas, can you handle this?"

"Roger."

"Good," he said, nodding. "I'm going to go help brother."

"Roger. Good luck."

"Yeah," he said, with a soft chuckle.

Opening up his thruster units, Varis found that he didn't even need to bother looking for Tekkaman Blade; his brother and Spear were fighting in the air, lancers clashing amid the kind of high-speed kicks and punches that seemed to be a staple of battles between one or more Tekkamen. Aiming to ram Spear's left side, knocking the evil Tekkaman away from his brother, Varis wasn't entirely surprised when Spear cut his own thrusters and dropped out of the way.

"Shinya, what-"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Ta-kun," he said, brandishing his own lancer as the both of them swooped down on Spear.

The evil Tekkaman dodged back into the air, and as he joined his brother in chasing him down, Varis couldn't quite help the feeling that he and Blade weren't so much chasing Spear as they were being lead somewhere. Almost like lambs to the slaughter. Varis would have smacked himself upside the head for having such a stupidly morbid thought, since things like that were pretty much inviting his and Blade's capricious luck to turn against them again, but he had other things to think about at the moment.

He, Blade, and Spear all slammed into the top of a particularly tall tree, the three of them slashing and hacking their way through the foliage as gravity pulled them all back down to the ground.

"Are you really so determined, little brothers?"

"We're not your brothers," Blade hissed.

"Stop saying stupid things, Spear," he added, tightening his grip on the shaft of his own lancer.

XIX

"Really, you're determined to forget everything? Even this place, here?"

"What?" he demanded, looking around at the place where they had all ended up. "What could be…"

He hadn't seen it; not when he and Shinya were both fighting for their lives against Spear, not when he'd had the sharp end of a tekkalance aimed at either his head or Shinya's heart, but now…

"It seems you remember more than you want to admit, Takaya," Tekkaman Spear said; Blade breathed heavily, his eyes roving to take in one familiar landmark after another: the lighthouse, the beach, the cliffs that bordered it... and, even though he wasn't in a position to see it, he could remember the cove that he, Shinya, Miyuki, and Sasuke had once found.

"Why?" he muttered, seeing this place for the first time since they had all come here; seeing what would never be again. "Why here?"

"This place holds so many happy memories for us," Spear said, as he jammed the butt-end of his tekkalance into the grass just beside him. "Don't you want those times back, too?"

Spear didn't... no, Kengo probably knew just how close to home that was hitting; Takaya would have given almost anything to have the rest of his family back, to have them all free from the Radam, or even to have not had the Radam come in the first place. If he could have turned back time, somehow managed to convince Father not to explore that ship… He knew, though, that what Tekkaman Spear was offering them wasn't at all what he or Shinya had in mind.

It was just slavery, nothing more.

"Not that way; not his way," he said firmly, gripping his lancer tighter as he brought the point to bear.

"Forgive me, then, Takaya."

"For what?" he heard Shinya demand, and Takaya moved to stand closer to his brother.

"For this."

Without even a second's warning, Spear retrieved his tekkalance and brought it down in a sharp, sudden slash. Since he and Varis were about three feet beyond the range of Spear's tekkalance, Blade didn't worry so much about this first attack. He didn't, that was, until the crackling arcs of electrical energy that had somehow been generated by Spear's tekkalance came crashing down.

Crashing down into Shinya; as his younger twin's screams filled his ears, Blade froze. He hadn't even expected that Spear's tekkalance would have been capable of something like that.

"You think that hurt?" Varis demanded; Blade could hear his younger twin's heavy breathing, and knew that Shinya was just putting up a front. "Here!"

The tip of Tekkaman Varis' tekkalance lashed out, wrapping around Spear's tekkalance and the hand that held it, Blade breathed a brief sigh of relief, stepping slightly to the right and bringing his own tekkalance into line for a charge; one that would end with his lancer slicing through Spear's armor, or at least forcing him to back away from Varis. When Varis pulled on his tekkalance, obviously trying to unbalance Spear, Blade crouched slightly and prepared to spring.

Spear moved faster than the both of them; the armor on his right shoulder dropped down onto his arm, revealing the same long, thin, swordlike blade that he had stabbed Varis with only a few days earlier. Shinya screamed as Spear rammed the blade into his left side, just below his arm. Tekkaman Varis' tekkalance fell from his hands, as his younger twin fell to his knees.

"Spear!" Blade raged, running flat-out at the evil Tekkaman that had just impaled his younger brother; their younger brother, but Takaya was trying not to let himself think about that. (Shinya, are you all right?)

(You think I wouldn't be?) Varis retorted, as he shot back to his feet and slammed a hard side-kick into Spear's face. (This is nothing, Ta-kun.) Varis grabbed his tekkalance, opened the covers of his thrusters, and jetted off into the sky in almost a single, smooth motion. (He's a hundred years too early to beat me. Still, if it makes you feel better, I'll go help Noal and Aki,) Varis said, his teasing tone making Blade smile, just a bit.

(Yeah,) he grinned under his helmet. (Go on, Shinya. Do your best.)

"So, you've decided to face me alone, Takaya?" Spear asked, his armored head turning briefly to watch Varis' progress before he focused his attention solidly on Blade.

Blade was almost glad for it. "You're going to die for this, Spear."

"Perhaps," Spear retorted flatly.

Blade almost expected him to attack after that, but he turned tail and flew off, with only a single look back over his shoulder, as if beckoning Blade to follow him. Knowing as he did just how dangerous a Radam Tekkaman on the loose would be to everyone and anyone in the vicinity, Blade tailed Spear without hesitation. Spear turned on him quickly, hammering Blade with swift, brutal strikes from the bladed end of his tekkalance, forcing Blade to block and dodge.

Spear was moving too fast for Blade to try taking back the initiative, so when Spear slammed both feet into the top of Blade's head, all Blade could do was try not to land too awkwardly. Pulling himself back to his feet, he saw something delicate-looking sticking out from his armored left hand. Holding his hand up, Blade opened it to reveal the detached blossom of a mostly-intact Amaryllis.

"Is this really what you want, Takaya?" Spear asked, almost gently; a couple steps forward saw Spear sliding down the small, rocky outcropping where he'd previously landed. Crouching for a moment, Spear picked one of the many Amaryllis blooming in this field. "To be human," the evil Tekkaman said softly, once again sticking the sharpened base of his tekkalance into the ground as he made his way forward. "Does that really mean more to you than going home?"

"Shut up!" Blade, seething, gritted his teeth. How dare this monster try to talk to him about home! How dare he speak to him and Shinya of family, when all he wanted was to drag them screaming back into Omega's clutches!

Their own father had died so that he and Shinya could be free! Takaya wasn't about to forget his sacrifice.

Roaring his fury as he charged, tekkalance held high in preparation for slamming it down on Spear's armored head, Blade was caught entirely by surprise when Spear brought his own tekkalance back to bear. As the arcs of electrical energy generated by Spear's lancer slammed home, Blade screamed in agony. He had a brief thought for Shinya, and what his younger twin had suffered when Spear had attacked him, but that was quickly overwhelmed by the pain that he was feeling.

As Spear continued to torture him, Blade only hoped that Shinya would be all right, wherever he was.

XX

Landing back on top of the Blue Earth, Tekkaman Varis breathed deeply to regain his bearings. He'd been dealing with swarms of Radam monsters trying to destroy the ship he was standing on for longer than he really liked to think about, and definitely longer than he could keep track of without a watch. There were several hundred flying Radam monsters, however, and just one of him, so he wasn't making much of a dent in their numbers. He couldn't even use his Voltekka, since the Radam monsters were all so close to the power plant.

And, just to make things just that much more fun, he was starting to feel the familiar disorientation that meant his time in Tekkaman form was almost up.

Throwing his lancer at another knot of Radam monsters, even as he saw the Blue Earth's laser-cannons firing into a lower part of the group, Varis retrieved his lancer and took a moment to catch his breath again.

"Aki, Noal, how are you doing?" he asked, tapping the Blue Earth's comm.; the one he really wanted to spear to was Takaya, but he knew that his older brother probably had his hands full with Spear. Best not to distract him.

"We're doing better with you here. Thank you, D-Two," Aki said warmly.

Varis smiled. "Of course."

"D-Two, you have five minutes," Noal said, drawing Varis' attention back to the matter at hand. "Get back inside."

"Not yet; there are still more monsters," he responded, boosting himself up above the Blue Earth with his thrusters and straight into another knot of Radam monsters; slicing and slashing with his tekkalance, Varis dealt with them and landed back on the Blue Earth.

"There are too many monsters," Noal said, sounding a bit annoyed. "I don't want to have to tell D-Boy that you died out here because you were too stubborn to fly back into the air lock while you still could. Don't be an idiot."

Varis laughed. "Yes, Noal-sama."

Leaping from the top of the Blue Earth, Varis angled his way back to the secondary air lock and landed inside. Well, he didn't so much land as slump to his knees in the exhaustion he'd been pushing away for the last maybe-twenty minutes, but that was all right. He was safe here.

Still, just because he was safe didn't mean that everyone he cared about was; Aki and Noal still had to deal with all of the Radam monsters that he hadn't managed to kill, and Takaya was still out there somewhere fighting against Spear. But there was nothing that he, personally, could do about that right now, so Shinya focused on what he could do at the moment. He could get some rest, so he'd be able to help Takaya get settled when they both got back to OSDG Headquarters, and he could make sure that his brother took care of himself when they were resting up from this ordeal.

His resolution made, Tekkaman Varis let his transformation fade. The energy that had been sustaining him, keeping him conscious in spite of how much he'd used fighting those Radam monsters, faded away. Slumping the rest of the way to the ground as the last of his energy deserted him, Shinya spared a brief thought for Takaya.

He hoped his older twin was going to come out of this alive.

XXI

Takaya's screams filled his ears, and Spear closed his eyes as he continued to press the tip of his electrified lancer into his younger brother's armored back. At least Takaya hadn't tried to beg him to stop; Spear didn't know if he would have been able to continue under those kinds of circumstances. Hearing his younger brother, someone he still honestly cared about in spite of the harsh circumstances that the both of them were faced with now, beg him to stop what he was doing might have just managed to persuade him to do so.

Omega-sama would not have been pleased with him if he did so, and so he was glad that Takaya refused to beg; it might have just been foolish pride, but in this case Spear was glad for it.

The alarm on Takaya's helmet had started to ring by this time, letting Spear know that this plan of his, ruthless as it was, had begun at last to bear its bitter fruit. His younger brother had begun to call out for something, or possibly someone, named Pegas. Not knowing exactly what his younger brother was talking about, but suspecting that if he let Takaya meet up with this Pegas then his well-laid plan would go more awry than he could cope with, Spear raced forward and drove the point of his tekkalance into Takaya' chest.

"Forgive me, Takaya," he said, his words lost in the harsh sound of Takaya's screaming. "I am truly sorry that it had to come to this between us. But this is my duty to Lord Omega. You understand duty, don't you, Takaya?"

Takaya's screaming vied for prominence with the sound of his younger brother's helmet-alarm, and Spear turned away slightly; he couldn't bear to see his younger brother suffer this way. Still, it was for Takaya's own good; Spear found that he had to keep reminding himself of the truth of that statement as he carried through with his plan. He also took what little comfort he could in the fact that he would not be forced to make Shinya suffer to such a degree.

He would simply have to track down the ship that carried the second of his lost, misguided younger brothers, and then take Shinya back after he had dealt with the humans.

The momentary distraction nearly cost him, as he saw Takaya's pauldrons splitting open to reveal his younger brother's energy-condensers. Dodging back and out of the way of the Voltekka that Takaya had just attempted to fire at him, Spear sighed. It was good that Takaya was so tenacious, since such a trait would serve him very well among Omega-sama's ranks, but under the circumstances Spear wished that once, just once, Takaya would be amenable to reason.

He truly hated to see one of his own family suffering this way.

Takaya fell to his knees, his breathing ragged and his helmet's alarm sounding almost like it was screaming; that harsh, shrill ringing coming at such rapid intervals that it sounded almost continuous at this point.

"You've fought very well, Takaya. Anyone would be proud of you, but rest now, little brother," he entreated, moving slowly closer to the kneeling form of one of his misguided younger brothers. "I can handle things from here."

Takaya was still facing him, his ragged breathing and the quasi-shriek of his helmet's alarm unchanged, but as his younger brother hadn't made any aggressive moves, Spear felt safe enough to move slightly closer. The alarm on Takaya's helmet fell silent then, winking out almost as if a switch had been thrown, and Spear breathed a soft sigh of mingled relief and sorrow. This wasn't what he truly wanted, merely a first step; it was, however, an important one. The humans who sought to use his own younger brothers as weapons against the very one who they had been reborn to serve, and against those who they shared bonds of both friendship and family, were not likely to tolerate one of their prize "weapons" going out of control to such a degree.

Moving to stand in front of Takaya, knowing that his younger brother would be unable to move for the few moments that it would take his mind to recover from the strain of being forced into a position like this, Spear jabbed his lancer into the ground within easy reach. Even after Takaya recovered, he knew that Takaya's mind would only be operating in the most rudimentary sense. His younger brother would be feral, a berserker, until such time as Spear was permitted to bring him back to Omega-sama's vessel to complete his transformation.

"Wait for me, Takaya," he said, cupping his younger brother's right cheek as he stood before him; he knew that his younger brother was incapable of understanding him at this point, so Spear spoke for his own benefit. Turning to leave, mentally signaling to the mount that Omega-sama had bred for him, Spear looked back over his shoulder. "I'll come back for you," he promised.

Lifting off, he quickly located the ship carrying the humans who had taken the second of his lost younger brothers captive. Confronting them head-on, intending to carve open the cockpit and rip Shinya free, Spear was confronted by the oddest sight: the woman, the one who had been communicating with Takaya the last time that he had seen this selfsame ship, was holding Shinya in her arms. She actually seemed to be taking great care as she moved closer to the front of the cockpit, seemingly trying not to jostle Shinya as she walked.

When she saw him, the oddest expression came over her face. It was almost... defiance, of a sort; the human held Shinya closer, almost clutching his younger brother's insensate form to her bosom, and glaring up at him as if daring him to make an aggressive move. It was almost a maternal gesture; a mother defending her young against all comers. It was noble, in its way.

Perhaps not all of the humans working for those who had stolen two of his younger brothers away from him needed to be dealt with so harshly or permanently as he had once thought. Perhaps this female, whatever her name was, could be convinced to leave with himself and Shinya. It was something to consider, given the way she seemed so determined to protect his other younger brother.

However, the fact that he could sense Takaya re-awakening from his fugue-like state let Spear know that now was no longer the time to contemplate his actions. Nodding respectfully to the human female who still held Shinya in her arms, Spear ordered his mount to turn and leave. He would have to speak to Omega-sama about what he had found, once he had returned to the Orbital Ring.

XXII

When that evil Tekkaman had appeared in front of the Blue Earth, staring down at her like some kind of nightmare creature, Aki hadn't known if she was going to live to see the next few hours. Still, with D-Two lying helpless in her arms, and Noal trying to get a lock on the Tekkaman when he was barely an arm's length away from the cockpit windows, Aki wasn't about to give one of Omega's monsters the satisfaction of seeing her cower before him. Holding D-Two closer to her body, even as she was completely aware that this Tekkaman could kill her and Noal, and even D-Two himself without expending much of his energy, Aki glared defiantly up at the Tekkaman. There were clear differences between this new Tekkaman and the twins, though his armor was almost as dark as Tekkaman Varis' own.

She could hear the sounds of the targeting computer signaling a lock, when the tall, dark-purple Tekkaman nodded and suddenly turned away.

"What the hell was that?" she heard Noal mutter from behind her.

"I don't know," she said, strapping D-Two tightly into his seat. "But we have to help D-Boy!"

Aki clutched the armrests of her chair briefly; D-Boy had to be all right. They might have cut it a bit fine considering his time-limit, but D-Two had almost done that, too, and now he was here with them. D-Boy was coming home with them, too.

"Pegas has reached D-Boy. He'll just be able to make the transformation limit," Aki said, having regained her composure. When Tekkaman Blade turned around, Aki sighed in relief. "D-Boy," she muttered.

The only thing Tekkaman Blade did in response was to fire his thrusters and come flying at them. The white-armored form of D-Two's twin brother lashed out at the Blue Earth with his weapon.

"We've got to ascend!" Noal ordered fiercely, and Aki braced herself against his sudden evasive maneuvers. "Don't tell me he's… Stay back! Stay away, D-Boy!"

"Stop, Noal!" she exclaimed, running to place herself in front of the pilot's station.

"He's not D-Boy anymore!"

"What do you think D-Two would say if he knew that you had shot his twin brother to death in front of him?" she demanded, trying to get Noal to see sense.

Turning so that she could see what Noal was looking at, Aki saw that it was true; Tekkaman Blade had just attacked his and Tekkaman Varis' combat partner.

"We've got to retreat for now," Noal said, having obviously activated the secondary comm. unit. "This is the Blue Earth. Tekkaman Blade went over his transformation limit! We're unable to contact D-Boy, but D-Two was able to disengage safely. It's too dangerous to interact with D-Boy right now, especially with D-Two unconscious, so we're going to retreat!"

That was really all that anyone could say, and as she returned to her seat, Aki looked over at D-Two. Noal's maneuvering had caused him to shift a bit from the position he'd been in when she'd settled him into his seat. Now, with his head bowed as if in sorrow, it was all Aki could do not to go over to comfort D-Two where he sat.

Instead, Aki turned her attention back to her navigational duties, trying to immerse herself in ship's business so she wouldn't have to think so much; so she wouldn't have to feel.