Return of Vega
Chapter 2: Preparations
Tetsuya smiled at the new visitor and shook his hand. "So you're the alien prince that my brother's been bragging about. I'm Tetsuya. Tetsuya Tsurugi-Kabuto."
"Duke Fleed. And you must be the impulsive big brother that Koji couldn't stop bragging about!" he smiled as he replied.
Tetsuya chuckled. "Guilty as charged! Now let me introduce you to the others, then we can all go sit at the dining room table and discuss this. I'm sure you know some of them."
After introductions were made, they all sat around the dining room table, where each of them told Duke about their nightmares.
"And that's why I called for you, Duke," Koji finished. "It's too weird to be a coincidence. I mean, it felt like a warning or something. And it's weird! I mean, the only ones here who knew of Gandal were you, me, and Boss."
"Wait a minute!" Boss protested. "I thought ol' Frankenstein Face got killed!?"
Duke nodded. "He did, and so did the rest of the Vegans. So there's no way he could be bothering you. Unless…"
"Unless, what?" Jun asked. "Wait, you don't think he got brought back to life, do you?"
Shiro frowned. "Dr Hell got brought back to life, I guess he can too."
Duke took a breath. "I learned from my late former fiancée that some of the Vegans believe that if they die and go to hell, they can come back and wreck vengeance on those who wronged them in life. For a price."
"So you think that this Gandal guy came back…nah," Tetsuya shook his head. "No way."
Koji looked at him. "Do you really think that, Tetsuya? Didn't you hear what Shiro just said!?"
He sighed. "You're right, Koji. But why us? Like you said, Gandal or whoever doesn't even KNOW us!"
"Maybe he does," Duke replied, "Maybe whoever Gandal made a deal with DOES know all of you."
Jun facepalmed. "Oh gosh, not him. The so-called Emperor of Darkness knows ALL of us! And he and his goons nearly killed ALL of us!" She held her husband's hand.
Koji nodded. "We never really destroyed that monster, either."
"And you won't. You can't." Duke replied. "From what I understand, he's a demon from hell, and you can't destroy a demon, you can only send it back."
"So, what can we do?" asked Shiro.
Sayaka looked at the prince worriedly. "I don't want anyone to die. I don't want HIM to die!" She held Koji's hand.
Duke looked at them all reassuringly. "No one's going to die, not on my watch. Koji, you did the right thing in contacting me. None of your mechas can stand a Vegan's might, especially a resurrected one. However, I've brought with me some tech from home that'll upgrade them all. Yes, Boss, I'll upgrade yours too."
Boss smiled widely. "I'd love that, thank you!"
The alien prince gave him a grin. "Alright, here's the plan: I'll have three teams of workers doing the upgrades. We can only work on three mechas at a time, so we're gonna start with Borot, Robo Junior, and Diana A. Mazinger Z, Great, Mazinger, and Venus A will be on standby, in case the enemy attacks early."
Tetsuya nodded. "The weakest three gets upgraded first, and the strongest three will hold off any attacks, then the two will tag off."
Duke grinned. "Exactly. Sounds like someone's had some training in tactics."
Koji looked at his elder brother. "Showoff," he whispered playfully.
Tetsuya stuck his tongue out at him. Jun stifled a giggle, thinking how silly it is to see a Great Mazinger pilot sticking his tongue out at his kid brother.
Duke then got up. "Alright then, let's all go get some rest. We're all gonna need it."
Tetsuya was sound asleep when he heard a faint whisper speaking his name. He then felt someone poking his shoulder Replying to his soldier's instinct, he jumped out of bed and grabbed at someone's shirt. He then sighed in relief when he saw his brother. "Koji, don't do that. I almost.." He was stopped by a hand over his mouth.
"Shhh. Come with me, and get into your uniform." He whispered, then placed a pillow on a sleeping Jun's back.
The elder brother noticed Koji was in his own uniform, then nodded. He went into another room and came out in his pilot's clothes, then followed him outside. "What's going on, Koji? And why are we both dressed for work?"
"Climb on, I'll explain on the way!" he replied, getting on his bike. Tetsuya climbed on behind him and held on.
"Just before I went to bed last night, I saw that the moon started turning red. Well, a pinkish red," Koji explained. "Dad's science lab has the best radar equipment, plus two of our mechas are there. I brought you with me in case of trouble. Gosh I hope I'm wrong about that moon…"
They got inside the lab, where they ran to the observatory. "It's 9 AM here, but 8PM in Houston." He then got on the radio. "Houston, this is Tokyo Observatory Niner. Come in, over."
"This is Houston. Tell me about G-Force. Over."
"Always five, acting as one. Over."
"Thank you. And how may I help you, Mr. Kabuto? Over."
Koji grinned at his brother. "I know people." He then looked at the mike. "I need to know two things. One, what color is the moon? And two, do you see any bogeys coming from there? Over."
A slight pause. "The moon is deep red in color. No bogeys sighted. Over."
"No…" he whispered, then said into the mike. "Roger, Houston. Keep me posted on this channel. Over."
"Will do. Out."
Tetsuya noticed his brother's worried look. "Vega?"
He nodded. "Vega."
They both felt a tap on their shoulders. They turned around just in time to receive a slap in the face by two very angry women, both in their pilot suits.
Jun: You!
Sayaka: Stupid!
Jun: Hardheaded!
Sayaka: Impulsive!
Jun: Inconsiderate!
Sayaka: Bullheaded!
Jun: Reckless!
Both: IDIOTS!
Tetsuya gulped. Then he looked at his brother. "I think they're pissed."
Koji nodded. "Oh yeah, they're pissed." He then looked at them. "Look, I can explain. And Jun, it was my idea, so don't get too upset with him, ok?"
Jun glared at him. "He is older than you, he should bloody well know better!"
Tetsuya sighed, rolling his eyes. How many times has he heard THAT before!
Koji nodded. "Yeah yeah, I get it. But see, I, we were working on a hunch, and we didn't want to worry you two needlessly in case we were wrong."
Tetsuya was about to say something when he noticed a green light flashing, followed by someone speaking urgently, "Tokyo Observatory Niner, this is Houston. Come in, over.".
"Koji, phone." The elder brother pointed at the mike.
The younger Kabuto picked up the mike. "This is Tokyo Observatory Niner. How big is Gigantor? Over."
"This is Houston. Gigantor is a great big robot. Over."
"Thank you, Houston. What have you got for me? Over."
"We just spotted about a dozen bogeys coming from the moon. Over."
"What is their trajectory? Over."
"They seem to be heading towards your way. Over."
"Thank you, Houston. We'll take it from here. Out." He banged his fist on the console. "Shit, I knew I was right!"
"How long before they get here?" Sayaka asked worriedly.
"They're here already. Look!" Jun pointed at the sky, where several balls of light flew by. "They're headed for Mount Fuji!"
Tetsuya nodded, "That's all I need to know!" He took off in a flash.
"Tetsuya, wait! Tetsuya!" Koji gave an exasperated sigh, then looked at Jun. "How do you put up with him!?"
She smiled. "How does she put up with you?" she replied, indicating Sayaka. "Anyway, I'm going too." She went to the elevator and went down.
Koji hugged his girlfriend close, then looked at her. "Listen. I want you to go to Duke, tell him what you saw. We're gonna try and hold them off, just like we planned."
Sayaka looked up at him tearfully, remembering her dream. "Don't you dare die out there, Koji Kabuto!"
He smiled and held her close, then kissed her deeply. "I won't, I swear it. Now go." He then took off for his mecha.