As they made their way back to the Command Center, Ringo couldn't help stealing glances at Saber; and at the empty chair that he was sitting behind. Slade should have been there, curled up and sleeping just like his brother. Maybe if we hadn't- Ringo cut himself off; now was hardly the time for self-recriminations.
Besides, he tried to make it a point not to waste his time with stupid things like that; it had happened, it was in the past, and now all that remained was for the Space Knights to deal with the problem.
Flying out of the area before Slade's attention could fall on them again, probably severely injuring them in the process, if not killing them outright, Ringo pushed the thrusters a bit. They would be perfectly capable of refueling once they got back to the Command Center, but if they got into a scrap with Slade while he was going berserk like this, then all three of them would be in serious danger. Especially with Saber conked out the way he was right now.
Breathing more easily as he passed the halfway point between the power plant where they'd all been fighting and the Space Knight Command Center, Ringo took another look at the back of Saber's head. He wasn't particularly looking forward to telling the kid about what had happened to his brother; of course, maybe he'd already know when he woke up. He'd heard that twins were kind of freaky that way; theirs just happened to be a bit more freaky than most.
Landing back in the Command Center, Ringo shut down the Blue Earth, climbed down out of his piloting station, and went over to check on Saber. The kid was still sleeping, and when Ringo moved his head, he saw that the kid's face was all nice and peaceful. That wasn't going to last; not when the kid found out what had happened to his twin, or just how close all of them had come to getting killed by the kid himself.
Unstrapping Saber from his seat, Ringo glanced over at Star as he gathered the kid into his arms. She still seemed to be suffering from shellshock; still, given what the both of them had just been forced to watch, Ringo couldn't really find it in himself to blame her. If he hadn't had Saber to look after, he would have been right there to comfort her.
Knowing that Star would come out when she'd managed to regain at least some of her composure, Ringo made his way out of the Blue Earth on his way to Saber's room. He knew now that the Wonder Twins had liked to spend time together when they'd had an especially bad day, something he still thought was pretty damned adorable, but since Slade wasn't exactly himself right now, Saber was just going to have to get along without him.
Balancing Saber's weight against the wall, Ringo punched in the override code for his door and carried the kid into his room. Taking off his boots and vest, Ringo put Saber in his bed and covered him up so that he could sleep more comfortably. Looking back at the kid as he left his room, Ringo sighed.
Poor kid; his own brother had just gone off the deep end, and he hadn't even been able to do a thing.
11010001000
When he had gotten the report from Ringo about what had happened to Slade, Hamilton Jamison had begun to make plans for what would need to be done. He would have to speak with Saber, of course, since that young man possessed the same type of power that his brother did and hence would be of great use to their efforts to discover exactly what had happened to Slade, as well as how the problem might be corrected in the future. It would also help Saber to keep his mind off of what had happened to his brother; he knew from long, bitter experience that it was best to keep a soldier distracted under these kinds of circumstances.
Making his way out of his quarters, Jamison made his way down through the corridors and into the area of the general crew-quarters. He passed Slade's empty quarters, pausing outside the door for a moment to make a silent vow. We'll see you returned to us as soon as possible, son. Just hold on.
Making the rest of his interrupted journey to Saber's quarters, Jamison paused outside. Common courtesy dictated that he ring the privacy chime and give Saber a chance to compose himself, but under the circumstances he thought that it would be best to let the young man know what had happened quickly. As well as what they would all need to do to resolve the situation.
Overriding the door controls with his personal code, Jamison made his way over to Saber's bed just as the young man himself began to stir. Saber shifted slightly, bangs falling away from his forehead to reveal a strange spot of light. Curious, Jamison moved closer in an effort to observe it more clearly.
It seemed to be a vector-style image of his teknocrystal, small enough to fit in the space between his eyebrows, and placed in the center of his forehead like some kind of third eye. It wasn't the strangest thing that he had seen in relation to these two young men, but it was yet another oddity that he hadn't been given cause to suspect. As Saber's eyes began to open, Jamison stepped back to give the young man a modicum of personal space.
Saber yawned, sitting up in his bed and rubbing at his right eye for a brief moment. As the strange, vector-image of his teknocrystal appeared on Saber's forehead once more, the young man's face contorted into an expression of worried concentration. Jamison, beginning to suspect what Saber was trying to do, and now rather curious about just how he was doing it, decided that now was the time to speak to the young man about their current situation.
"Saber," he called, drawing the young man's attention to him.
"Commander? What are you doing here?" Saber asked, and then shook his head briefly. "Wait, that's not important. Where's Slade?"
"This may be difficult for you to hear, son," he said, stepping forward so that he could lay his right hand on the young man's right shoulder. "On the last mission, when you and Slade split up to deal with the Spider-crabs and that new Teknoman, respectively, Slade was forced past the thirty minutes that he could safely remain in his Teknoman form." Seeing the expression on Saber's face, Jamison squeezed his shoulder gently. "I want you to know that I do not hold you in any way responsible for what happened; you had no way of knowing the outcome of that battle in advance, and your intervention may very well have saved the Blue Earth from the Spider-crabs."
"Spear," Saber said, his eyes lowered; Jamison wondered for a moment what the young man was talking about. When Saber looked back up at him, however, he realized that the young man was attempting to distract himself from the implications of the information that had been presented to him. "That new Teknoman; his name is Spear."
"Spear, then," Jamison said, watching Saber's face for any signs of further guilt or self-recrimination.
"Look, whatever you want me to do, I'll do it," Saber said, looking up at him with solemn, light-blue eyes. "Just... help me get him back."
"I will do everything in my power to return Slade to us safely, Saber," he said gripping the young man's shoulder just that much tighter. "You have my word. I would also like to thank you for offering your assistance. I am going to need your help during this crisis; clearly, the data I've been gathering on the tekno-power system isn't sufficient as yet. I'm going to need some time to make preparations for gathering the necessary data, however, so I'll return here once I've finished with them. Will you wait?"
"Yeah," Saber said, nodding and smiling in a way more rueful than happy. "I have to get my day started properly, anyway. Though, if you're going to need me to transform, I'm going to need to have something to eat."
"I'll keep that in mind," he said, stepping back and away from Saber's bed so that the young man could rise to his feet without feeling crowded. "Thank you again for your cooperation, Saber."
"You're welcome, sir," Saber said, giving him a tired sort of salute.
"At ease, son," he said gently, clapping the young man on his left shoulder. "I'll be back shortly."
"I'll be here," he heard Saber say; the young man sounded listless, as if all that he'd been informed about had just started to register emotionally with him.
Jamison knew that it would therefore be in need of the all the distractions that could be reasonably provided to him, and as he left Saber's room so that he could confer with the Space Knights' research staff, Jamison resolved to give the young man what he needed to keep him from driving himself mad with worries about his twin brother's state. It would do a great deal of good, not only for Saber himself, but for the Earth as a whole. There were clearly aspects of the Radam's tekno-power system that he had not yet discovered; Slade's descent into this dangerous psychosis was clear proof of that.
0010010100
Curled up inside yet another of the teknopods that had devoured the crew of the Argos even as they had tried frantically to escape, those that had been conscious to do so at least, one of the ones who hadn't even had the chance to run was starting to stir once again. She'd lost consciousness from the pain of the initial stages of the process, but now, in the absence of any pain, or indeed of any particular stimuli at all, she was beginning to regain awareness.
She still remembered who she was: her name was Katherine Wallace, and she had been traveling with her younger brother, her fiancé, and the members of his family. Not to mention the rest of the crewmembers aboard the Argos. Katherine didn't know just how many of the others had survived to this point, but now that she knew just what it was that the Radam did to their surviving captives, she hoped for all of their sakes that the people she knew had died.
It was a sad thing to hope for, but under the circumstances it was the best that she could do.
Katherine could almost feel herself sliding backwards, back down into the abyss of unconsciousness that she had so recently climbed up out of, and as her mind slowly shut down again, Katherine Wallace hoped that she would never wake up.
0010010010
When he returned to Saber's room, Jamison found that the young man had dressed himself in his Space Knight uniform and settled down on his bed. Saber wasn't wearing his boots, however, the fact that he currently had his knees slightly bent and his feet up on his bed offered an explanation for that before Jamison could wonder about the fact for more than a few seconds.
"Finished already?" Saber asked, turning to him with a slightly more calm expression on his face; he seemed to have adjusted to the situation.
"Yes," he said, nodding. "I would, however, like to ask you about one thing, before we begin."
"Oh?" the young man asked, looking up from putting on his boots. "What's that?"
"What was the cause of that symbol appearing on your forehead?" Jamison asked, moving slightly backward as Saber stood up.
"I was actually trying to contact my brother," the young man said, smiling in a morose fashion. "See how he was doing, after that fight he'd been through with Spear."
"You and Slade are telepathically linked?" he asked, having started to suspect that such would be the case but wanting also to have it confirmed by the young man himself.
"All Teknomen can communicate telepathically," Saber said, as the two of them began making their way out of his quarters and down the corridor to the medical research division for this particular sub-section of the Space Knight Command Center. "I just can't seem to get through to Slade. I mean," the young man shrugged, seeming to be looking out at something only he could see for a few, long moments. "I can sense him well enough, the way I always can when the two of us contact each other that way, but- it's like there's some kind of mental static blocking me out."
"I see," he said.
The implications of what Saber had said, the full implications of the young man's words, were not lost on Jamison after he had finished speaking. After all, if every Teknoman was indeed capable of both communicating with and sensing one another with only a mental effort, a slight one at that, if what he had seen from Saber was any indication, then it was logical to surmise that Spear - or indeed any other Teknoman that the Radam might be able to create - would be able to do the same. He would have to ascertain the full capabilities of the telepathic link that Teknomen were all implied to share.
Not only for Saber and Slade's continued mental health, but possibly for the continued safety of the Space Knights as a whole.
When they arrived in the medical research division, Jamison took a moment to survey the room. All of the tools necessary for gathering data about Saber's transformation, and by extension Slade's in a more general sense, had been moved into the room.
"Good morning, Commander Jamison."
"Good morning, Silvia," he greeted, nodding to the head of his research staff. "I trust you have everything you need."
"Yes, Commander," she said. "So, this is the young man we're going to be working with, is it?"
"Yes," he said, motioning Saber forward. "Saber, I would like you to meet Dr. Sylvia Woolfe, head of medical research for the Space Knights."
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Woolfe," the young man said, shaking her hand. "Sorry if I'm a bit distracted, sometimes."
"You're just worried about your brother," Sylvia said, smiling gently as she released Saber's hand. "I would be, too, if I were in your position."
Saber offered a small smile in response. "So, what do I do first?"
Moving off to the side of the room, wanting to observe Saber's reaction to the tests more than the tests themselves, Jamison listened with half an ear as Sylvia explained just what Saber was to be doing during the series of examinations that would be run to determine the nature of his powers. And just how that information might be used to help Slade in the near future.
Watching as Saber removed his vest, Jamison wondered briefly about the dubious expression on his face as he stood before the upright scanner. It only lasted for a few seconds, and Saber didn't resist being directed to step into the scanner, but Jamison was still curious about it. Saber closed his eyes while he was being scanned, but Jamison could see that the young man wasn't entirely comfortable in his current position; there was an expression on his face that suggested he was concentrating in an effort to keep himself from walking out of the scanner before its full scan-cycle had been completed.
Once the scan had been completed and Saber had been allowed to leave while the scientists gathered the recorded data, Jamison walked over to speak with the young man before the next set of tests could commence.
"Saber, I noticed that you seemed uncomfortable while you were inside the scanner," he said, watching as the young man put his vest back on and seemed to make an effort to recompose himself. "Is there anything that could be done to make you feel more comfortable?"
"No," Saber shook his head, chuckling in a rueful sort of way. "That thing just makes my skin tingle something fierce. It's like my whole body went numb, or something."
"Ah," he said; it was a slightly strange reaction, but then Saber was not quite an ordinary young man. Perhaps this was just another symptom of that. "Are you feeling better now?"
"I think I'll be all right, just as long as I don't have to spend time in that thing again for awhile."
Saber looked over his shoulder as Sylvia called him back over, then nodded to him and turned to make his way back toward the gathered scientific staff. The medical bed that had been brought in for the more detailed examinations was wheeled into the center of the room, placing it more directly under the large overhead lights. Saber seemed mildly dubious, but in the end he went over to sit on the bed.
Sylvia's assistant, a young man named Shiyu Odagiri, took a pair of blood samples from Saber's right wrist. The young man himself watched as the needle was inserted slightly, then turned his face deliberately away. Jamison made a mental note of the young man's seeming aversion to needles, before stepping forward.
There was one more request that he wanted to make of the young man, before he transformed in preparation for the next round of tests.
"If you could spare a few moments, Sylvia, I would like to speak with Saber about something," he said, having made his way over to the medical bed where the young man was still sitting.
"Of course, Commander," Sylvia said, stepping back so that he could stand in front of the brave, determined young man who had chosen to volunteer for these tests, all so that his brother would benefit from the results.
"What was it you wanted to talk to me about, Commander?" Saber said, looking up from his examination of his wrist.
"I wanted to ask if you would be willing to provide a small tissue sample, so that we might be able to determine the composition of that crystal-substance that we detected in Slade's body when we ran the MRI on him," he explained, watching the young man's face as he spoke. "You're free to refuse if you wish, of course. I wouldn't force you into something like this, but I do think that it would be beneficial for us to have such a sample."
"How small is 'small'?" Saber asked, clearly dubious about the idea but still seeming willing to be persuaded.
"One inch, square," he stated.
"That doesn't sound so bad," Saber said, an expression of relief slowly appearing on his face. "I can deal with that."
Nodding, he stepped back as Sylvia and her assistants began to prepare for the operation; setting up the equipment that they would need to monitor Saber's vital functions while he was placed under general anesthesia, as well as the gasses that would be used to induce such a state. Saber kept his eyes on what the scientists were doing, even as he removed his vest, shirt, and then his boots. Situating himself more comfortably on the medical bed, he glanced over at the tools that were being brought over.
Then, he seemed to deliberately turn his attention away from the tools that were going to be used to collect the tissue sample that he had offered to give. As the breathing mask was affixed to the lower half of his face, Jamison moved closer so that he would be able to observe the operation in more detail. Watching as Saber's light-blue eyes lost their usual focus and intensity, the lids falling shut as the mixture of gasses slowly took effect, Jamison felt humbled by the trust that Saber had offered him.
After all, if he had been a different sort of man, it would have been very easy for him to order Saber vivisected while he was helpless like this. Saber had ultimately put his own life in Jamison's hands, the young man trusting him to ensure that he was allowed to wake up from the anesthetized state he had been placed in. Jamison made up his mind, then and there, that he would strive to be worthy of that kind of trust.
"Thank you, son," he said softly, brushing the top of Saber's head with his right hand.
Sylvia smiled gently at him, even as she finished removing the tissue sample that Saber had offered. "He really is an amazing young man."
"Yes," he said, looking down again at one of the two extraordinary young men who had chosen to offer themselves in defense of the Earth; it was not just their powers that made Saber and his brother so noteworthy, but the fact that not many people who had been granted this kind of power would have chosen to fight for the sake of people they didn't know. "They both are, truly."
"Yes," Sylvia said, as she began to reseal the incision that she had made in Saber's left side, two inches below his arm.
When a line of bright, red light appeared briefly on Saber's flesh, stretching from the young man's flank to the underside of his arm, Jamison wondered at it for a moment. At least, he did so until he saw the wound in Saber's side sealing itself tightly shut.
"Seems there's a bit more to these boys than even we suspected, Commander," Sylvia said, smiling slightly as she ran her fingertips over the location that she had taken the tissue sample from; it showed no signs of ever having been disturbed at all.
"Yes, doctor, I think you're right," he said, looking down at the unbroken skin of Saber's left side.
It was interesting, the way that he could find out something entirely new and unexpected, when he was simply searching for a way to help Slade regain his senses, and to prevent a reoccurrence of such a thing in the future. As Saber began to revive, assisted by the pure oxygen that was being fed into his respirator mask, Jamison wondered for a few moments just what the following round of examinations would reveal about the nature of Saber's tekno-armor.
1110010111
Searching for Star throughout the halls and corridors of the Space Knight Command Center had been something of a bust, but Ringo could at least say that it had given him some idea of where to look next. Star had mentioned that she had taken the Wonder Twins to the bio-dome, so that was as good a place as any to look for her. Making his way to the bio-dome, Ringo went inside and started his search for Star again.
It didn't take him long to find her.
"Hey," he called softly, crouching down next to Star as she sat under a large bush of blooming lilac flowers. "You feeling all right?"
"You know, when Slade came into Comm. One yesterday, I never thought that something like this would happen," Star muttered, staring down at the bunch of amaryllis flowers that Ringo hadn't noticed her holding up until right then. "I mean, I knew something was going to happen, with the Radam Spider-crabs attacking, and that new Teknoman appearing the way he did, but I didn't think things would turn out like this."
"There wasn't really any way that you could have known, Star," he said, wrapping his right arm around her shoulders and letting her lean into him. "It's not like that Teknoman told us what he was planning to do to Slade."
"But, maybe if I-"
"Hey," he said, gently cutting her off before she could get too down on herself. "Why don't we go see the Commander?" he suggested gently. "I'm sure he already has a plan all worked out to deal with this crisis."
Actually, he wasn't sure at all about what he was saying, but he wanted to get Star out of this funk she'd obviously sunk herself into about Slade. Besides, this was the Commander he was talking about; he probably had at least some inklings of a plan to get them all through this. He just hoped that nothing too drastic happened while they were all working to put together a strategy.
Leaving the bio-dome with Star in tow, Ringo made sure to keep an eye on her, wanting to make sure she was really as all right as she was obviously trying to convince herself she was. Maybe I should see about having Saber talk to her for a bit, he thought; sure, Slade's brother wasn't too much like the kid himself, something that Ringo often found himself grateful for, but he still shared that same essential toughness with his twin. If anyone would be able to convince Star that Slade was going to be just fine, it would have to be him.
Speaking to a few of their fellow Space Knights, he soon found that the Commander was with the scientific division. It sounded like he was doing something pretty involved with Saber, probably trying to find out all he could about that armor that the twins had. Knowing where the Commander was now, and pleased to have Saber so close at hand besides, Ringo lead Star to the scientific division's niche in this particular sector of the Command Center.
Making his way forward, tugging Star along when she seemed inclined to fall behind for one reason or another, Ringo soon came to the lair of the lab-jockeys; or so he liked to call it when no one was listening.
The first thing that caught his attention was the large, red-on-black figure of Teknoman Saber standing in the center of the lab; and at the center of attention for all of the lab-jockeys, but that was only to be expected. Even though Saber was on their side, this was still a Teknoman they were dealing with. Moving unobtrusively into the back of the room, Ringo watched as Saber in Teknoman form was put through his paces.
The funniest part, though, had to be when the lab-jockeys wanted Saber to walk though the upright scanner so they could get a more in-depth reading off his armored form. Only problem was, said armored form had those incredibly oversized pauldrons. Those things stuck out even further than Slade's, for Christ's sake, and Slade's were already pretty huge.
To be fair, though, Slade fired his Tekno-bolt out of his pauldrons; Ringo just didn't know what Saber did with his.
But, as the various techs and lab-jockeys tried to figure out a way to get Saber in full armor to fit through the scanner, the kid brought his arms forward. The huge pauldrons both folded down over his arms, and there was a sound like a pair of knives being unsheathed at once. Which was pretty fitting, considering the fact that Saber was now sporting a pair of extremely sharp, foot-and-a-half blades from the place where his hands used to be.
As the kid folded his arms in front of him, obviously trying not to damage any of the equipment in the room or accidentally stab himself in the foot, Ringo rolled his eyes. As Saber was put through the scanner again, after a brief comment from Commander Jamison that he couldn't quite hear over the general goings-on in the room at large, Ringo chuckled under his breath. Well, at least now I know why he has those huge pauldrons, he mused; of course they were the size of his lower-arms, they fit over his lower-arms when he needed another weapon or two.
Still, he couldn't help thinking that the whole blades-up-the-shoulders bit was kind of overkill; what with the Tekno-bolt-in-the-chest, the giant-bladed-boomerang/staff that was just a bit taller than he was, that could also fire off some weird kind of laser-grappling beam, and be split down the middle into the world's biggest throwing-star.
Well, at least no one can say we're sending these kids into battle under-armed, Ringo mused, as he continued to watch the lab-jockeys putting Saber through his paces. Things seemed to be going pretty well, up to the point where it occurred to him to wonder just how much time they'd all been at this. Saber only had twenty-five minutes to Slade's thirty, but the upside of that was that overstaying his time-limit didn't make him go crazy the way Slade had. It just made him pass out.
Then, as if someone out there had been listening to him, Saber started breathing more heavily, like he'd just run a marathon. Or else like he'd just used up the last of his energy and was running on fumes. When the kid started cupping his armored face with his right hand, Ringo stood up from where he'd been leaning against the far wall of the room.
The Commander called Saber's name, trying to find out what was wrong with the kid, even as Ringo himself made his way over to where Saber was standing. The blue, glowing crystal-shape that always showed up whenever one of the Wonder Twins transformed into or out of that armor of theirs faded in around him, and Saber's armor vanished into blue-white light just a few seconds after. Moving quickly through the room, he caught Saber just as the light had faded out entirely and the kid had started to pitch forward.
"Easy, kid, I gotcha," he said to the top of Saber's head, gathering the kid into his arms.
It always amazed him how light Saber seemed. Not that the kid was actually light or anything, but it had always seemed to him that, given what Saber and his brother were capable of becoming, that the kid himself should be heavier. He seemed about average weight for his height and level of physical conditioning, but all things considered Saber still seemed too light to him.
"Where do you want me to put him, Commander?" he asked, as the man himself came over to them.
"Lay him down on the medical bed," the Commander said, after he'd paused to look the kid over for a bit.
After he'd gotten Saber all nestled back into the bed, Ringo turned his attention back to Commander Jamison. The Commander's eyes stayed on Saber for a bit longer, before he turned his attention to Ringo.
"It seems that Saber operates under a different set of constraints than Slade," the Commander said, folding his arms.
"Yeah," he muttered, looking back over his shoulder at the kid before turning his attention back to the Commander; the kid looked pretty peaceful, but Ringo honestly doubted that it was going to last, considering the current crisis they were facing. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Commander, but Saber only told me when we were heading out for that mission yesterday."
"I understand," the Commander said, his right hand on his chin. "Still, it is something else to consider."
"Right," he said, then sighed. "Commander, what are we going to do about Slade? I mean, we can't just leave him out there on his own. To say nothing of the damage he's got to be causing, I'm sure that Saber would be worrying himself sick if he didn't have all of these other things to distract himself with." Or if he wasn't conked out in a med-bed at the moment, Ringo thought but didn't say.
"I know," the Commander said, nodding sharply. "That is why, once Saber has had a chance to rest and refresh himself, I want you, him, and Star to monitor Slade's actions from the Blue Earth. I want to know what's going on out there, and I expect that Saber will, too."
"Well, you'd be right about that, Commander," he said, looking back over his shoulder at the kid as he slept on.
11010100111
She could hear Ringo and the Commander talking, discussing what they were all going to do about Slade; how they were going to be keeping a strict watch on Slade, but she wasn't paying all that much attention to the conversation. Saber was still asleep on the medical bed in front of her, and as she stared down at him, Star couldn't help thinking of Slade.
Anyone could see that the twins were related, and most people who only got a quick look at them wouldn't really be able to tell them apart. Still, with Slade gone, all Star could see were the differences: Saber's skin was a lighter shade, almost creamy in its paleness; Saber's eyes, covered now by his closed lids, were the same blue as the open sky; his face unmarked, and his hair falling perfectly straight down to his shoulders. He smiled and laughed where Slade brooded, joked where Slade was silent, and was cheerful in the face of pretty much everything the Radam threw at him.
He and Slade were really such different people, in spite of the fact that they were twins.
When Saber had awakened again, Star offered to take him to the cafeteria to get some food. Saber agreed readily, and neither Ringo nor the Commander offered any objections to her doing so. She'd known that Saber wouldn't be opposed to the idea of getting food, since he'd used up so much of his energy transforming, even though he hadn't been forced to fight; something that she hoped would hold true for the rest of the day, but they were going out there to face Slade. Maybe not to fight him, but with what she had seen him do when he caught a glimpse of the Blue Earth...
Star just hoped that nothing too drastic would end up happening today, that was all.
Finally, Saber finished with his meal, and the three of them made for the Blue Earth to take off. Seeing Saber in what was usually Slade's chair, working the controls that his brother usually busied himself with, made Star acutely aware of just how different this day was from all of the other ones that had proceeded it. She just hoped that next time Saber ended up at his brother's station, if there was a next time, it wasn't under circumstances like this.
The pre-flight checks completed, the Blue Earth was boosted into the sky by its pre-launch vehicle, and Star caught her first glimpse of the outside world since they had flown back to the Command Center so that Saber would be able to rest. She thought it was appropriate how night had fallen, how the sky around them was filled with dark clouds; even the weather seemed fitting: there was a thunderstorm going on. It would have felt so wrong if they had been chasing Slade on a sunny day, with white clouds drifting lazily in the sky.
It would have felt like the worst kind of mockery.
They were re-tracing their flightpath from earlier today, back to the place where they had lost Slade, to see if they could find him again along that heading. He hadn't seemed particularly coherent, so there was a silent consensus that he hadn't flown away. At least, she hoped he hadn't.
As they came closer to Cooper Nuclear Fusion Plant, and the field of flowers beyond it where they had lost contact with Slade, Star looked over at Saber. She'd been about to ask him if he was all right, since it couldn't have been easy for him to be out hunting down his brother like this, even if they were trying to avoid a fight. When she turned to look his way, however, she found that Saber's eyes were closed and he had his arms folded over his chest.
There was an expression of such focused concentration on his face that Star wondered what it was that he was thinking about; she didn't think it was a good idea to disturb him, though.
"He's that way," Saber said, opening his eyes and unfolding his arms. "If we keep going straight along this heading, we'll catch up to him in a couple minutes."
"How in the world do you know that, Saber?" Ringo demanded, before she herself could articulate a similar question.
Saber looked over his right shoulder, his gaze taking in both her and Ringo. "We have selective telepathy," he said, after a few silent, contemplative moments.
"Ha!" she heard Ringo exult. "I knew you two had freaky twin powers."
"Right," Saber drawled, giving Ringo a look that Star thought combined equal parts annoyance and amusement.
As they closed in on the location that Saber had indicated, Star wondered for a moment if he really could sense Slade, the way he'd said that he could. All of those thoughts were pushed right out of her head by what she saw next, however: the AEM's ground forces were moving forward in formation, obviously about to engage someone. And, Star had a feeling that she knew just who that "someone" was.
Saber's weary sigh let her know that he had realized that, too.
Watching as the tanks, mobile pillboxes, and missile trucks all began to fire on Slade at once, Star felt her heart leap into her throat. She did know why they were doing it, at least on an intellectual level: Slade was dangerous, unstable, and he had likely already started attacking them before they had brought out the heavy artillery to confront him. She knew all of that; emotionally, however, she was watching a friend, or someone who she thought could be more than a friend, as he was pelted with live ammunition and artillery.
It was probably even worse for Saber, since this was his own twin brother who he was watching be hammered with the military's various heavy-weaponry.
When the dust and the light from the various weapons that had been aimed at Slade had cleared at last, Star was at least somewhat relieved to know that Slade had made it. They were going to bring him back, but at this point he was still dangerous. She didn't know quite how she felt about this operation, but Star suspected that Saber felt just the same.
"Look at that," Ringo said, after the three of them had watched helplessly as Slade destroyed all of the tanks, their crews and the rest of the artillery that had been sent out against him. "Pounding him with everything they've got, and he's still just standing there."
"Yeah; whatever else you could say about my brother, now, he's as tough as he ever was."
"We've still got to find a way to stop him," she reminded them all; herself in particular.
"Yeah," Ringo acknowledged, circling high over Slade's head so that they could all keep him in sight. "C'mon, Slade; wake up, pal. You've gotta get out of that suit," he muttered, sounding like he was just talking to hear his own voice. "I might just have to ram him with the Blue Earth."
Before she could begin to berate him for having such a stupid, most likely suicidal, idea, the Commander spoke up. "Forget it, Ringo."
"Commander Jamison," he exclaimed, sounding just about as startled as she felt. "I had no idea you were- I mean, I was just thinking out loud."
"No need to apologize, son," the Commander said. "We're all grasping at straws here, but what we need are solutions, not noble gestures."
"Well, then maybe I should-"
"No, Saber," the Commander said, firmly cutting him off. "The last thing we need now is a fight between brothers."
Saber laughed then, a sound with little humor and less mirth, and Star wondered for a moment what he was thinking. "Yeah."
"Commander, is there any hope?" she asked, not wanting to give up on Slade, but not knowing what any of them here could do to help him.
"There's always hope, but we need results."
"How do we get them?" she asked.
"Obviously, a frontal-assault won't work," the Commander said. "The Blue Earth would be incapable of breaching Slade's defenses, and a fight between Saber and Slade would most likely end in a stalemate. At least so long as Saber is able to remain in his own transformed state." Left unsaid was what was likely to happen when Saber was forced to transform back, but for a few moments, before she clamped down on her overactive imagination, Star could see Slade standing over the maimed, bleeding form of his twin. Slade would never forgive himself if he harmed Saber, so it really was best that Saber stayed behind on the Blue Earth. For all of their sakes. "However, there is another possibility."
"What kind of a possibility?" she asked, since as far as she could see there was nothing anyone could do.
"Getting a reading of his brainwaves, and his life-support system. Seeing if it differs from Saber's in any significant ways. Then finding out what causes his thirty-minute transformation limit, and fixing it."
"Good plan," Saber said, and this time his soft chuckles sounded genuine.
"Affirmative, Commander," Ringo said, with the formality he only displayed when things were desperately serious, and he sent the Blue Earth circling back around over Slade again. "Firing remote-sensors."
The small, almost unnoticeable sensors, equipped with special electro-magnets that would help them cling to Slade's armor no matter how much he moved around, came flying out of the back of the ship. As Star watched Slade leap forward, slashing and striking out against what she thought in his mind might be a small horde of Spider-crabs but in reality were only the small rock formations that he had been standing in front of, she felt her heart go out to him. It seemed now like he was lashing out in pure, blind panic.
"Oh, Slade," she said, as he paused for a moment and she saw his large, armored shoulders heaving as he breathed deeply. "We want to help."
0010010011
"I'm afraid we may be too late," Jamison muttered, staring at the young man, armored, armed and dangerous as he was, displayed on the main screen.
It was a problem that he had personally hoped that they would never have to face: the prospect of one of his Space Knights becoming such a danger to the very people that all of them were ultimately fighting to protect, but it was one that he had tried to prepare for all the same. After all, with the Radam here in force – and that new Teknoman, Spear – obviously looking to capitalize on any of their weaknesses, it had truly been only a matter of time before this obvious weakness of Slade's had been discovered and exploited. However, Jamison could at least find some solace in the fact that Saber's weakness was still undiscovered as yet.
If it had been discovered, then it was more than likely that Spear would have killed the young man at the end of yesterday's skirmish, the same way that he had used Slade's own exploitable weakness to turn that young man into what seemed like some kind of mindless berserker.
"Poor Slade. Isn't there anything we can do, Commander?" he heard Tina mutter, and for a moment he turned a bit of his attention to the youngest of his Space Knights. "He's so alone, and Saber must be so worried."
There was no answer that he could give, nothing that he could say that was likely to provide any measure of solace to the youngest of his Space Knights; nothing that he could state as fact with any degree of certainty, at least, and he was not about to lie to one of his own. So, he merely stood, watching the video-feed from the Blue Earth from behind the darkly-tinted visor that he used to help emotionally distance himself from what he was seeing or doing at times like this one. It was all he could do, for the moment.
00001010010
He ran, Amaryllis flowers in full bloom to either side of him, as he lead Shara and Cain on a merry chase through the fields they were all running through. Cain was catching up to him, though, and with a lunge his younger twin tackled him to the ground and they began to wrestle. Laughing as a storm of Amaryllis petals was knocked loose, falling all around them as he and Cain rolled and tussled through the field. Shara was laughing, either with them or at them, and he laughed even harder as he heard her.
Finally, though, Cain managed to pin him down on a clear patch of ground; laughing, his younger twin flicked him on the forehead. Lunging forward as Cain laughed at him, he winced as his and Cain's heads smacked together. Looking back up at his younger twin as he got to his knees, rubbing his forehead where it had smacked against Cain's, he couldn't help but laugh.
It was funny, and Cain was laughing too, so that made it okay.
He didn't notice that Cain had stopped laughing for a what felt like only a minute, but when he looked back at his younger twin, he froze in sheer horror. There were vines tightly wrapped around both of Cain's wrists, coiling up his arms and lifting him about a foot off the ground. Cain was struggling against their hold, but it looked like the vines were about to rip his arms off.
Rushing over to where Cain was being pulled in two different directions, he grabbed his younger twin's left arm and clawed at the vines wrapping around it. He'd pull them off, and then he'd get Cain's other arm free, and then they would both get out of this place. Cain was struggling really hard, trying to pull himself loose from the vines; he was glad to see that, it meant that Cain was still okay.
When had it gotten so dark, though? It didn't look like night, just like it had gotten really dark all of a sudden.
Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the vines wrapped around Cain's left arm. It wasn't too dark to see, so he wouldn't trip on anything once he had Cain loose, so he wasn't going to worry about it. It probably wasn't important, anyway.
When Cain screamed, then started to gag like there was something caught in his throat, he looked back up to see if he could see what was wrong. Another pair of vines had stabbed Cain in the left side, and even as he watched the vines dug deeper into his younger twin's body. Cain was calling him by the special nickname that he'd made up, and there was blood, so much blood, coming out of his younger twin's mouth.
More frightened than he could ever remember being, he looked back over his shoulder to see if he could find anyone who could help Cain. Conrad was there, standing with his back to them; he smiled. Conrad would be able to help him and Cain for sure!
He called out, shouting to get Conrad's attention and to try to get him to turn around so he could see what was wrong with Cain. Finally, after he didn't even know how long, he got his and Cain's big brother to turn around. There was kind of a weird look on his face, but that was probably just him worrying about what was happening to Cain. Cain was calling to him again, so he patted his younger twin's cheek and tried to comfort him. Big brother would be there to help them soon, he thought, turning to look back over his shoulder again.
Wait, what was Conrad doing with that spear? It looked like it was bigger than he was. He was getting closer now, though, so that was... wait, what was that armor he was wearing? It looked really scary.
As Conrad, still wearing that scary-looking dark purple armor, walked slowly over to them, he shuddered and turned back to Cain. He had to get Cain loose; he didn't know why Conrad was wearing that weird, scary-looking armor, but he didn't like it. Still, maybe Conrad would be a better help to him and Cain while he was wearing that scary armor of his.
Looking up at Cain's face as his younger twin gasped, he saw that Cain was staring at something behind them with a fixed expression of horror. Just as he was about to look over his shoulder to see what it was, he felt something sharp ram into his back. The sharp tip of what could only be that long spear that Conrad had been holding even before he had been covered in that weird, scary armor.
He felt the blade splitting his spine, ripping its way through his guts, and stabbing right through his body and into Cain's besides. His eyes locked with Cain's as the two of them were pinned body-to-body by the spear that Conrad had stabbed them with. His younger twin looked so frightened. He tried to say something, wanting to comfort his younger twin; to just say something to make Cain stop looking so frightened.
When Conrad rammed the spear deeper into his body, he screamed...
... and screamed, as he swung his teknolance down and through the armored body of a tank and the gunner inside it in one complete, fluid motion. Turning and twisting, following the line of the latest group of AEM tanks that had been sent out to fight him, Slade tore through them without even seeing them. Screaming in the grip of his waking nightmare, Slade ripped his way through them as flames and explosions followed in his wake.
When he left the line of devastated tanks and the strewn forms of barely-alive soldiers who had been fortunate enough to survive the attack that Slade had made on their unit, he didn't hear one of the soldiers making his last transmission; he didn't hear them reporting on what he'd just done.
11010010111
"Jamison!" Gault looked furious, looming over him and the other occupants of Comm. One from the large screen in the room. "What is going on out there?! Your Teknoman Slade has gone crazy!"
"Slade remained in his transformation mode for too long, General," he said, forcing himself to put aside the worry that he felt for both of the twins; this was bound to be hard on Saber, and Slade would doubtless feel remorse for what he had done once he had been returned to his proper mental state. "I warned you about this thirty-minute time limit some weeks ago."
"I don't care why it's happening! You're responsible for endangering the city!" Gault growled, seeming to be trying to gather his composure. "I don't even understand why you've let things go this far in the first place! The Teknoman Saber is still clearly in his right mind, so why haven't you sent him out to deal with the Teknoman Slade?"
"Slade and Saber are twins, General. Their combat capabilities have proven to be, while different, of equal power as far as we have been able to determine," he explained calmly. "Any engagement between the two of them would more than likely end in a stalemate. Aside from that, the damage that those two would likely inflict on the surrounding area while in combat would most likely be double that of what Slade himself is currently causing." Gault sat back in the seat that he had clearly just vacated, gritting his teeth in obvious displeasure. "You can be assured that all of the Space Knights are doing everything in our power to bring Slade back under control, General."
"Good," Gault said, though he didn't sound particularly pleased; Jamison had honestly doubted that he would be. Gault was the kind of man who preferred a more direct approach, no matter what the ultimate cost turned out to be. "I'm giving you the same thirty-minute time limit, Jamison."
"Half an hour?" he asked, prompting Gault to tell him more.
"That's it, Jamison," Gault said. A topographical map was then projected on the main screen, with enough transparency that he could still Gault's face as the other man spoke. "After that, we'll deal with your Teknoman Slade my way. We'll have to; by that time, the city will be within rage of his weapons. We've warned the population to prepare for a total evacuation of the city, but it's been rather chaotic dealing with the panicking civilians." Jamison nodded; he could well understand the kind of terror that would be felt by anyone who had to face the threat of a Teknoman, especially one who had been fighting for them. To anyone who didn't know the true circumstances, it would seem like the worst kind of betrayal. "Once he reaches the urban area, the damage he could inflict is beyond calculation. We cannot allow your Teknoman Slade to get near the city, so the following is our fallback position: in this instance, if your team is unable, or rather unwilling," Jamison narrowed his eyes at that, but he knew it wouldn't do any good to argue the point, so he said nothing. "To deal with the situation, my crew will handle things. We will be using a tactical nuclear warhead."
Gault's image vanished from the main screen, and Jamison finally allowed himself to sigh; he had been expecting that something like this would be brought up, especially considering the fact that Gault had always been one to advocate for drastic measures. At the same time, he himself was well aware of the fact that dealing with Slade as he was at the moment was going to require the application of more drastic measures than the Space Knights had been wont to use in the past. He just hoped that it wouldn't come to such an extreme as Gault seemed to expect.
He would have to contact his Ringo, Star, and Saber aboard the Blue Earth; best they knew what could be happening soon.
1110010011
He could practically feel the tension in the air, crackling and vibrating like invisible guitar strings, and for a second or two he was tempted to crack a joke or something. Saber didn't seem to be feeling up to par at the moment, which was pretty understandable given what was going on with his brother, and even Star seemed to need a bit of cheering up. They both seemed to have picked up Slade's brooding habit, which would have really been funny under other circumstances but right now only reminded him of how wrong everything seemed to be going right now.
The Commander's voice on the comm. came as a great distraction from all the worrying they were doing, at least until what he was saying actually had a chance to register.
"General Gault is going to do what?!" he demanded.
"He's going to tac-nuke my brother?!" Saber snarled, speaking almost at the same time, so their voices ended up having this weird kind of overlap thing.
"He can't really mean it!" Star exclaimed; he knew from harsh experience that she was wrong, but now wasn't really the time to get into that.
Still, that didn't mean he wasn't entitled to express his concise opinion of AEM command in general and General Gault in particular. "Well, Gault is just a-"
"Ringo," the Commander said sternly; he dropped it. "Now, listen: if we can't bring Slade back to normal within the next thirty minutes, move the Blue Earth to a safe altitude and wait."
"What?" Star exclaimed; hell even he was surprised by how cold the Commander seemed to be right now. "What do you mean, move? No!" she shouted, as the familiar chirp sounded. "Don't disconnect! Commander, wait!"
He almost expected Saber to say something about then, since it was his brother out there and all, but the kid seemed to be closing himself off pretty well there. He was starting to act a bit too much like Slade for Ringo's peace of mind at the moment. Sure, he was trying to be understanding here, but if he hadn't been staring down at Slade's red-on-white armor out of the windows of the Blue Earth's cockpit he might just have started to think that it was really Slade up here with them.
"We've got half-an-hour to save him," Star said, sounding like she'd managed to regain at least some of her composure.
"Yeah?" he prompted, not wanting the silence to stretch too long. "Or what?"
"Or, we save ourselves when they drop the bomb."
Saber drew in a deep breath, like he was about to say something, but all the kid actually did was sigh deeply. C'mon, Saber, this isn't anything like the snappy, sharp-tongued kid I know; at least say something. I know you and Slade are twins, but you don't have to act like Slade, you know. "Let's do it, then," was all he said, in the end.
Guiding the Blue Earth back out over Slade, pacing him from high up and just a bit behind, he sighed. He didn't know just what they were going to do to get through to the kid, but no one on Earth would be safe if they didn't do something. Damned if he knew what, though.
He just hoped that Star or Saber would have some kind of idea.
01001001001
"Slade!" she called down, amplifying her voice with the Blue Earth's speakers as much as she could. "Slade, please listen! You've got to snap out of it! This is not you! Listen to me!"
"It's no good," Saber muttered, with another weary sigh. "I can't get through to him, you don't seem to be able to get through to him," he slumped back into his seat, looking so much like Slade for a moment that Star felt her heart wrench, just a bit. "I don't know what else we can do."
"You've been calling out to him too, Saber?" she asked, splitting her attention between Slade and Saber for a moment.
"I've been trying," he said, turning a worn, bitter version of his usual smile on her. "But... it's like trying to talk to someone on a radio that transmits in heavy static. I can't get through it."
Suddenly, as if in answer to what his twin brother had just been saying, Slade's large, armored form stopped dead in its tracks. Smiling as hope like she hadn't felt since the beginning of this horrible night bloomed in her heart, she was just about to call out to Saber, when Slade turned and lunged up at them, his lance held high like he was fighting some Spider-crab.
"Brace yourselves!" Ringo shouted. "We've moving out of here!"
As she held tightly to the armrests of her chair, Star looked over at Saber, wanting to know how he was doing. Saber's teknocrystal had appeared in his hand, but the way he was clutching at it, combined with the look on his face, suggested that the crystal itself was just there as some kind of comfort factor; like it was his lifeline in this crisis. Star wished for a moment that their seats were close enough that the two of them could hold hands; she was starting to feel the need for a lifeline, herself.
There was a new voice on the comm. then, telling Ringo that he had just entered a restricted zone. Ringo rebuffed them, strongly enough that Saber actually chuckled, and Star felt a bit of honest relief. If Saber could still laugh, then things weren't quite so grim as they seemed.
"Not quite as colorful as I would have been," Saber said, and when she looked over at him again Star saw that his teknocrystal was gone again. "But you certainly got your point across."
"Yeah, well," Ringo said, obviously preening. "I figure it's better not to get into the habit of telling military people to go perform various illegal, immoral, and probably physically impossible acts with various livestock. Just for the sake of interpersonal relations, you know?"
"You might actually have a point, there," Saber said, after what seemed like a moment of consideration. "You know, aside from the one at the top of your head."
Saber was grinning, and for a moment Star thought that he was feeling better, but then she caught a glimpse of his eyes. His blue eyes were haunted and dark, fixed on where his brother was standing. Slade was being pelted with shells from a relatively small group of tanks, his armored form shining in the harsh glare of the spotlights that had been fixed on him, but the shelling seemed to be meant more to keep Slade in place than anything else. To distract his attention so he didn't just keep moving along his present course; the one that would take him into the city if they didn't manage to stop him.
She wondered why he was heading back into the city in the first place. Was it just a coincidence, or did Slade somehow remember that she had asked him to come there with her not so very long ago? Either way, though, they couldn't let Slade reach the city as he was right now; with the way he was acting, he'd probably think it was filled with Spider-crabs and destroy it.
"Time's almost up," Ringo said, and Star clenched her hands on the armrests of her chair.
This couldn't be the end! Not after everything that they had all been through together. Not when she had just been starting to explore the feelings that Slade had stirred in her heart.
She could hear Saber muttering softly beside her, although whether he was cursing or praying she couldn't tell; though it might easily have been both, given the circumstances.
1110101001
As he kept watch on his younger brother, skimming across the surface of Ness' mind when he could, Spear sighed softly. He was still in his armor, knowing that the slight energy drain was a small price to pay for the emotional distance that the armor provided him with. Ness was all alone down there, and when he had skimmed the surface of Cain's mind – a slightly more dangerous proposition, considering the fact that his other younger brother was fully conscious – he had found that Cain was half out of his mind with worry.
However, he had also found that Cain did have an emotional attachment to the woman that he had seen in that spacecraft yesterday. He also seemed to have one to the pilot, but it was of a subtly different nature than the one he possessed with the woman. Spear was curious about the nature of the bonds that his younger brothers had both likely formed with the humans in that craft, but as Ness' mind was incapable of giving him the information he sought in its current state, and since Cain was likely to try blocking him out under the present circumstances, Spear was left with his curiosity.
Curiosity that would have to be set aside for the moment, of course.
(So, Spear, you mean to tell me that there may be someone of particular interest to us on that planet?)
(So it would seem,) he said, folding his arms and forcing himself to relax a bit; he'd be no good to anyone if he allowed himself to become too tense. (My younger brothers seem to have formed emotional bonds with one or two of the humans they have been working with.)
(Understandable, I suppose, since they lack the support of their clan. Still, it will be rather inconvenient to deal with.)
(Perhaps,) he said, tilting his head slightly in thought. (Still, the woman seems to care deeply for Cain. Perhaps she, at least, would be amenable to reason.)
He hoped so, at least; he knew that Cain would never truly forgive him if he killed someone his younger brother cared for.
000100101
They were back on Slade's tail again, and Saber seemed to be back to his old self, but he knew just as well as anyone that things weren't nearly as hopeful as they looked. There was only a couple minutes or so on the big countdown; a couple minutes until they would have to break contact with Slade and leave the kid to fend for himself. Leave him to get blown up by a tactical nuke, more like, Ringo thought, and shuddered briefly in sheer distaste.
He hated the thought of having to leave the kid to that kind of thing; hell, he was sure that Saber hated it, too, and that was probably why he wasn't talking anymore.
"I'm afraid you're out of time," the Commander said, appearing on the secondary comm. screen in front of him. "You have to leave, now."
"But, sir-!"
"Now, Star," the Commander said, sharply cutting her off; since Saber didn't seem like he was going to say anything, Ringo decided to see if he could do any good.
"Commander, look," he said. "We can't just leave Slade to that. Isn't there some way we could delay that countdown? You know what a tactical nuke is going to do."
He saw the Commander pause for a moment, like he was thinking heavily on something, but then he continued right on: "Yes. I'm well aware of what the weapon can do, but that is not your concern now. Now move out of the area."
That last was clearly one of the Commander's orders, and Ringo had long since learned that there was only one response to one of those: "Aye, aye, sir," he said, in concert with Star.
Bringing the Blue Earth into a steep, fast ascent, Ringo soon had her out of the range of the nuke that Gault, high-strung, miserable bastard that he was, was about to drop on Slade. He didn't know what was up with Saber at the moment, but Star was looking after him as best she could. That was really all he could ask for right now.
"Ringo, they've launched it," Star said, sounding stricken.
As the nuke arced through the air, following the trajectory that would land it on Slade's head, Ringo closed his eyes briefly. He didn't really want to watch this kind of thing happening to a friend, but it was also because Slade was his friend that he felt compelled to watch this as it happened. He could see the nuke falling toward the ground now, losing sight of the thing as it passed through the cloud-layers, but even as he did he knew where it was going.
It was going to blow Slade to kingdom come, with the force of however many megatons it had been rated for.
"He's gone, Ringo!" Star shouted, turning stricken eyes back toward him.
He was just about to say something to her, when Saber of all people spoke up. "No, he's not," the kid said softly, sounding as if he didn't quite know how he felt about that.
Ringo could definitely relate.
"What do you mean-" Star began to ask, but then she fell silent.
Because right there, right through the cockpit windows, the haze from the explosion cleared and there Slade was, all in one piece. Sure, he was at the bottom of the largest impact crater that Ringo had ever seen up close, surrounded by fires, and molten rock, and with wisps of what looked like steam or smoke seeming to rise up from his armor; and oh, he was still completely whacked out of his gourd, but at least they still had a chance to save him.
"He's okay," Star breathed, sounding like she didn't quite believe it.
"Yeah," Saber said, and he heard the kid chuckle; it wasn't quite a happy sound, but then this wasn't quite a happy time. "This armor, his and mine... I'm pretty sure we could fly through a solar-flare and not even notice."
"You know, kid," he said, circling over the new crater where Slade stood, motionless as an armored statue. "I think you just might be right about that."
01001001001
As he continued to oversee the events of this particularly eventful night from the relative safety of Comm. One, Jamison sighed soundlessly. It had been something of a gamble, trusting in the strength of Slade's armor to protect him from a nuclear explosion. However, with all of the studies he had made on both Slade and Saber's armor and the powers that they possessed, he had felt that the risk was a calculated one.
He was pleased to know that he had come to the correct conclusion; to say nothing of the mental anguish that Saber would have suffered from the death of his brother, Slade was one of his Space Knights, and all of his Space Knights were ultimately under his protection.
"Good," he said, displaying his usual outward calmness. "Slade's tekno-armor protected him, just as I thought it would. You're still here, son," he said, speaking both to himself and to the young man on the other side of the screen. "There's still hope."
However, he was forced to admit to himself that he didn't know just what hope they had. Slade's defenses were all but impregnable to anyone but another Teknoman. He was also well aware that Saber would have his own set of difficulties if he was sent out to fight Slade; all of them related to who Slade was rather than simply what. It was something that Jamison understood, and so he was not going to send Saber out to fight.
No matter what Gault thought would be more expedient.
110101011
Seeing that Slade guy rampaging around, having obviously gone completely off the deep-end for whatever reason, Balzac knew that it would be up to him to report the circumstances of the kid's condition. If this was what happened if either of those freak-brothers stayed in their armored forms for too long, that made it all the more important that he get enough data to the AEM for them to start building replacements for them; no way in hell was he going to put his faith in those two when all it took for them to turn on their supposed allies was just over half-an-hour in those armored forms of theirs. Aside from that, their powers had obviously come from the Radam, no matter how dead-set those two were about denying it.
Nothing that came from the Radam could ever really be trusted; he knew that now more than ever.
He'd have to begin making deeper forays into this Command Center that the Space Knights maintained; he needed to know everything that that Commander of theirs had found out about those freaks and their Radam-derived powers. Not only would it get him in good with General Gault, but it would also give him and Marlowe something else to talk about while they were renewing their old bonds.
He'd been trying not to think about his old friend while he was working so deeply undercover, trying to be the man in his I.D. rather than the man he really was; hell, that was the whole reason he'd grown the damn beard in the first place. He didn't want to think about what Marlowe had been doing all the time he was gone, even if it was probably just heading up his section of the R&D Division; he wasn't ashamed to admit that he missed his old friend, even if he wasn't going to actually say anything. Not here, to these people, anyway.
Still, his plans for getting the information he needed would clearly have to be put on hold, at least for the night. He might not need to know the rest of the story concerning those freak-brothers, but the General would prefer that he was as thorough as possible when making his next report. And, hell, he wanted to see what the end of this story of theirs was ultimately going to be.
10100000101
He ran, over broken rocks and under a dark sky that seemed to actively want to press down and smother him, through a landscape that seemed to be tearing itself apart, he ran; turning to look back over his left shoulder, he saw that Conrad- no, the Radam Teknoman Spear, was still stalking him. No matter how fast he moved, no matter how far he ran, Spear always seemed to be right at his heels. It was like some kind of a nightmare!
The armor seemed to fade for a few seconds, or maybe that was just him remembering what Conrad had been like before the Radam had turned him into one of their monsters; either way, he kept running.
He turned to look ahead, and there, under the light of a red moon, stood three people that he was trying to recognize, even as he shouted desperately for them to run. Spear would kill them all, if he managed to reach... but, when the three of them turned to face him, they all faded away, replaced by three more of the Radam's monsters. Leaping back, knowing that they would kill him even if Spear didn't manage to get to him, he felt the ground crumble away beneath him.
Screaming, he was sure that he was going to end up falling to his death, since the only thing beneath him was hard, broken rocks that would shatter every bone in his body when he hit them. But he didn't. Looking back up, having been paying more attention to the ground that he had been about to slam into, he saw that he'd actually managed to find the last of his family even in this horrible place. Shara and Cain were with him now; Shara holding his left hand, and Cain gripping his upper-right arm with enough force that that he would probably be sporting some bruises for it later; that was funny, really, if he tried hard enough to ignore the fact that he was hanging off of a brand-new cliff's edge.
Cain looked like he was trying to say something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was. When Cain and Shara both started flickering, his twin brother and his sister both fading out in place of just two more of the Radam's monsters, he thrashed. He wouldn't be taken like this!
Shouting denials in the face of the Radam Teknoman Dagger, he managed to get he-it to let go of his arm. The Radam Teknoman named Saber was more persistent, his armored talons digging deeper as Saber held on just as tight as he ever had. Thinking of what Cain would have done in a situation like this, he lunged forward and bit the hand nearest to his head; it almost felt like he was sinking his teeth into yielding, human flesh, but that wasn't possible. Teknoman Saber was covered in armor, just like Teknoman Dagger; there was nothing human about either of them.
Screaming as he fell, still knowing that the fall on top of the rocks would kill him faster than those Radam Teknomen ever would but wanting to live all the same, he was surprised when all he felt was something slightly warm dripping on his face. Opening his eyes, he saw that Shara was sitting right there, right beside him as he lay flat on his back. When he managed to regain his bearings, he noticed that Cain was there, too.
Cain had his head resting in Shara's lap. It looked like his younger twin was napping, and he had to laugh; typical Cain. Shara told him to rest, and when he made a joke about Cain, his younger twin opened his right eye and stuck his tongue out slightly. He laughed, and Shara even giggled a little; he was happy that he could make his siblings laugh.
Sitting up, he smiled at Shara and reached out to stroke Cain's head the way he could remember both Dad and Cain doing for him at different times. Cain chuckled, and he felt his younger twin leaning into his hand a bit; he smiled. This was good; he wished this moment could last forever, just him, Shara, and Cain.
Just then, Cain shoved Shara to the ground, covering her with his body. Cain fell into his lap, a thin, bleeding gash carved into his younger twin's right side. The gash started halfway down Cain's right side and ended just a couple inches above Cain's knee and Cain was bleeding all over him and Spear was right there! Spear hovered above them all, the Radam Teknoman's lancer coming back up in line to stab.
Before he could do anything, Cain threw himself forward again. Spear's lancer plunged into Cain's chest, slathering his legs with his younger twin's blood as Cain was skewered by the tip of Spear's lancer. He could hear Cain's heavy breathing, and when Cain turned to look back at him, he could see blood dripping down his younger twin's chin.
Cain was talking to him now, smiling and asking him to protect Shara; he tried to remind Cain of their promise, but Cain just laughed and told him that he would have to make a new promise, then. Cain asked him again to protect Shara, since they couldn't very well protect each other anymore; he tried to deny it, but Cain just laughed again, more weakly; typical Cain.
Reaching out to cup Cain's left cheek, he felt Cain leaning into his hand; and then he felt Cain's body going limp and heavy as his younger twin bled out. Spear was gone now, but he had taken Cain with him; not the body, Cain's body was still laying face-down, draped across his lower-legs, but everything that had made his younger twin the person that Cain had been, the person that he had loved for all his life, was gone.
Pulling Shara close to him, he reached out to gently stroke the back of Cain's head; he knew that it was a stupid thing to do, he knew that Cain wouldn't be able to feel it, but it made him feel a bit better at least. Cain was gone now, but Shara was still with him. Shara was... Shara...
0001001001
As she continued to watch, helpless to do anything but happy that Slade had managed to survive the missile that General Gault had launched at him, Tina clasped her hands and began to pray. She was still sitting next to the vase of flowers that she had set out on the control console; the scent of lilacs was still lingering in the air, even in spite of the fact that some of the flowers had started to fall. There were three of them lying next to the amaryllis petal that had fallen yesterday.
Just before she'd heard the news about what had happened to Slade, that's when that petal had fallen; she hadn't wanted to think too much about what it had meant at the time, but she knew now that it had been fate's way of warning her about just what had happened.
"Sensors show unstable brainwave patterns, sir," one of the other technicians reported, reminding Tina that she wasn't the only one worrying about Slade. "He just keeps repeating this name."
Listening to what Slade was saying for a few moments, long enough to hear the name that he kept repeating. "That name, Shara, where have I heard it before?" she muttered to herself, thinking hard; she could almost hear it... You actually have the same face... Shara was our younger sister. "Oh!"
"Tina? You know something?" Commander Jamison asked.
"That name Slade keeps saying, I know who it is," she said, turning her chair around so she could see him better. "They told me, Commander." She didn't even wait for him to prompt her, she just told him: "She's Slade and Saber's younger sister, and, well Saber said I looked a lot like her. Slade agreed, too."
Commander Jamison actually took off those sunglasses he'd been wearing ever since they had gotten here for the night, then he went over to the comm. setup next to her. "Engineering? What's the current status on the Teknobot?"
"We're just finishing up the last of the repairs now, sir," Mac reported.
"The final re-fit checkout should be done in ten minutes, Commander," Maggie reported, seeming a bit more relaxed, with her arms folded behind her head and all.
Commander Jamison turned toward her, then, so serious and determined that she just knew he had something brilliant in mind. "Tina, I have a plan, but I am going to need your help. I want you to take a ship with the Teknobot in it, and I want you to go talk to Slade."
"Commander, you simply cannot put her in danger like that!" Ringo's voice came in over the comm. before she could do much more than gasp about the responsibility that the Commander had placed on her. "Sir, you're just-"
"Your Commander," Commander Jamison verbally steamrolled. "Making command decisions for the good of this project and this planet. Tina has just the same rights, and responsibilities, as any soldier," the Commander said; she shuddered, staring down at the three lilac blossoms that had fallen. It was like there was one for each of them; one for her, who sat in the Command Center worrying, one for Saber onboard the Blue Earth, and the last one for Slade. "This is a mission only she can handle."
"Aren't you going to say anything about this, Saber?!" Ringo demanded.
Saber, who she could see had leaned his elbows on the console in front of him and had had his hands in front of his mouth, sat back up; that pose he'd been holding had made him look like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "It's dangerous, but I think it just might work."
"I'll go, Commander," she said, sitting up straight after having gathered up the lilac blossoms and tucked them safely away in her right pocket; one for her, one for Saber, and the last for Slade.
As Commander Jamison arranged for her transport, and she talked to him about what she would need to do to get through to Slade, she felt the Commander grip her right shoulder. It made her feel a lot more grown-up than she usually did, and so did the things that Commander Jamison was saying to her; they also made her acutely aware of just what she was going to be risking by going out there. She wouldn't have anyone to protect her; even Saber would be far enough away that he wouldn't be able to help her in time if Slade tried to attack her.
She didn't really like thinking about that possibility, but it seemed like Slade couldn't recognize anyone; she didn't know what would happen if she couldn't calm Slade down, but she also hoped she didn't have to find out.
1101010011
Ringo was steadily cursing under his breath; Saber could hear it clearly, and he found it kind of morbidly funny. Ringo had certainly learned some interesting varieties of vulgarity during his tour of duty; some of them were even new to him, even after all of the time he'd spent working with Dad and... other people. Looking down at the passing scenery in an effort to distract himself from thoughts he didn't particularly want to entertain, Saber realized that he could recognize the place they were flying over.
"Across this bridge, and he's in the city," Star said; Saber settled back into his seat with a weary sigh.
Now wasn't the time to think about the good times that they had had not so long ago, it wasn't even the time to think about what might happen when they all met up with Slade again; now was the time to act.
When Tina's transport came up level with the Blue Earth, Saber waited for a few seconds to make sure that Star and Ringo were distracted enough that they wouldn't notice what he was doing until he was nearly done with it, then he got out of his brother's usual chair and made his way to the back of the ship; he was heading for the air lock. Ringo turned to look at him as he made his way out of the cockpit, and he winked in response to the other man's question.
He wasn't going to explain this; they would both try to stop him if he told them what he intended to do, and he wasn't going to be stopped.
Making his way out to the secondary air lock, Saber opened the thing and stepped out onto the edge of the deck. He didn't know how long he had, before the Blue Earth pulled away from Tina's ship or someone noticed that he had the air lock doors open, so he moved quickly. Leaping from the Blue Earth's air lock as the air lock of Tina's ship came into rough alignment with them, Saber tucked his arms and legs in like a sky-diver to reduce air resistance.
He was glad that Tina's transport was flying slightly lower than the Blue Earth, otherwise he would have had to transform to get to it, and Saber didn't want to burn off any of the calories he'd taken in. Especially since he hadn't had a good meal since he, Star, and Ringo had all started tailing Slade.
The wind whipped past his face, and Saber narrowed his eyes to keep them from watering too much. Grabbing onto the lip of the air lock doors on Tina's ship, he was just about to try yanking them open when they slid neatly open on their own. Slipping inside quickly, he stepped out of the range of the doors and started trying to rub the feeling back into his hands. Cupping them against his mouth, Saber blew on them and then rubbed his hands together again.
He suspected that certain people would have some harsh words to say about what he'd just done, but he wasn't about to let Tina go off to face Slade alone; not when he was in his current frame of mind.
"Hey," he said, smiling as he made his way into the cockpit with Tina.
"Hey, yourself," she said, laughing. "Ringo's really mad at you, you know?"
"No; but I kinda suspected he would be," he said, settling into a chair on Tina's right.
"Saber! That was possibly the most deranged, stupid, borderline-suicidal-" Ringo's tirade was cut off in mid-yell as Saber hit the button that deactivated the radio-link.
"He can finish yelling at me when we get back to the Command Center," he said, in response to the look on Tina's face.
She laughed. "Right," she sobered quickly, though, as their ship settled to the ground. "Come on," she said, and he let her take his left hand and lead him toward the ship's air lock.
"Those are nice flowers you have there," he said, smiling as he saw the Amaryllis blossoms pinned to her shirt.
"Thanks," she said, looking down slightly, before she locked eyes with him. "I'm really glad you're here, you know? I didn't really want to do this alone."
"Happy to help," he said, smiling as she held up a sprig of lilac flowers and then gently pushed them between their clasped hands.
Slade had been moving forward all this time, and now the three of them were facing each other under the dark, rainy sky. A breeze tugged at his still-dry hair, and Saber quickly tucked the errant stands back behind his right ear. He could hear Tina talking, and her words vaguely registered to him, but most of his attention was taken up by the armored form of his older twin. He knew that he would have to be ready to react at a mo-
Oh, hell! Throwing himself forward, he shielded Tina with his own body as Slade rushed forward. His older twin's armored hands wrapped tightly around his throat, and Saber darted a glance at Tina even as Slade yanked him up off the ground. She was okay, though she'd been knocked to her knees when he'd shoved her; better than the alternative, he was sure.
"Hey... brother," he said haltingly, Slade's grip on his throat not quite tight enough to impair speech, though it was kind of a near thing. "I know... you haven't really... been... having the greatest night... But... don't you... think... you're overreacting... just a bit?" he gagged as Slade growled. The pressure on his neck increased then, and Saber instinctively grabbed at the armored hands around his neck. "I... still love you... you know? You're not alone." Forcing himself to let go of Slade's hands, even as spots began to appear in the edges of his vision, Saber took as deep a breath as he could. "I'm here... I'll always... be here."
Slade hissed, and he could vaguely hear Tina shouting in the background, but his vision was starting to tunnel, and he only had enough air to say one last thing: "Sorry... brother... Looks like... I won't be... able to keep our promise."
It felt like he was falling then; when his head landed in someone's lap, Saber realized that Slade had actually let go. That was good. Staring up into the face of his rescuer, he used the last of his energy to smile gently up at them; he would have said something, but everything seemed so very, very far away right now...
0100010011
It couldn't have been... I wouldn't have done... That armored monster would have... As he fell out of Pegas' interlock-chamber, not even bothering to catch himself, he heard someone come up behind him.
"Slade, you all right?" he heard Ringo ask.
No; nothing was all right, nothing was ever going to be all right again. How could it be? He'd just tried to murder his younger brother with his own hands; that "armored monster" was him! "Saber," he managed to say, furiously blinking the tears out of his eyes.
"He's fine," Tina said, smiling as she smoothed down Saber's hair. "He's still breathing, he just passed out."
"Good," he said, even as he wondered how Tina could trust him after what he'd just almost done; if Saber hadn't been there to protect her... "No thanks to me," he growled, looking down at the ground between his hands. In this one instance, he was grateful for the rain; he couldn't see his own tears through it. Lunging at Ringo, knowing then that there was another person who had to answer for the atrocity that had almost taken place today, Slade gathered his battered composure and forced himself to speak. "The Space Ring," he ground out. "I've got to get up there, right now! And you're going to take me!"
"That's nuts!" Ringo said; Slade gripped the man's large collar tighter.
"Your body couldn't handle another transformation so soon," Star said; he knew she was trying to be kind, but he could see what she couldn't: he could see the way Saber just lay there, limp as the corpse he'd come so very close to being.
He wasn't going to forget that; he couldn't forget that. "I've got to go!" he shouted. "I've got to," he muttered.
"All right," Ringo said, though he didn't sound particularly enthusiastic.
11110100111
His connection to his younger brothers' minds, tenuous as it had been, was gone entirely now. Wondering for a moment just what had happened, since he had lost his connection to Cain's mind rather violently, rather than having his younger brother begin to notice him and hence block him out. It had almost seemed as if... Spear dismissed that possibility out of hand, since Ness was not the type to murder his siblings; misguided he may have been, but his elder younger brother was no killer.
However, that still left him with the question of just what had happened; he could no longer pull even vague impressions from Ness or Cain's minds, which suggested that they were either fully aware of his presence, or that both of them had fallen unconscious.
When he began to sense Ness' presence, growing stronger and more clear within his own mind even though he still remained unable to read his younger brother's intention, Spear smiled slightly. It seemed as if the elder of his two wayward younger brothers had indeed decided to return to him. He wondered for a moment where Cain was, but then he realized that he and Ness would easily be able to return to Earth and retrieve the younger of his wayward brothers; as well as that woman that Cain seemed to be so enamored with.
However, when the space in front of him began to fill with brilliant, coruscating green light, the kind of light that could only be generated by a Tekno-bolt, Spear tensed. Surely Ness couldn't mean to fire that at- Spear's thoughts were abruptly interrupted as the energies of his younger brother's Tekno-bolt surrounded and nearly consumed him. Screaming in the wake of the heat and pressure of the attack that had been unleashed on him, Spear was left staring up at the fathomless depths of interstellar space directly above him.
Why, little brother? Why would you attack me like that? Spear wondered, his thoughts lost to the uncaring cosmos; he would have asked Ness directly, but his younger brother was still blocking him out. What happened to you down on Earth, that you would attack your own family like this?
00100100101
When Pegas released him for the second time, and he slumped, exhausted to the Blue Earth's deck, Slade hoped for a moment that he would be too tired for dreams. He knew what kind of dreams he would be having, after an experience like this, and while he knew that he would fully deserve each and every one of the nightmares that he was going to have, he didn't want to break down in front of Ringo and Star. Star in particular; she'd never let him go until she knew everything he was feeling.
Even the things that could only be spoken about with family.
Closing his eyes for what only felt like a few seconds, Slade wasn't surprised to find himself waking up in his bed, in his quarters. Rising, he shoved his feet into his boots, grabbed his vest, and made his way out of his quarters. He had to make at least some form of amends for this, even though he knew that nothing would really be the same between him and Saber; even if his brother tried to act like everything was still just the way it had been, he would still know what he'd done.
When he came to Saber's quarters, Slade rang the chime, looked up and down the corridor to make sure that none of the other Space Knights were coming, and then dropped to his hands and knees. He hadn't wanted anyone else to see him like this, but he had to make things right with Saber. He had to.
The door slid open, and Slade took a deep breath. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for what I did today. I know that just saying this-"
Slade froze, feeling his younger twin's arms wrapping around him. "I forgive you."
It was like all of the air had left his lungs when Saber said that; so when his younger twin kissed his right temple and began to guide him backwards into his room, Slade was too confused to offer any kind of resistance. How could Saber just forgive him like this, after what he'd nearly done? He'd nearly killed him, even after the two of them had promised that they would always protect each other!
When Saber sat down on his bed, Slade, overwhelmed by the sheer number of emotional shocks he'd been subject to during this long, horrible night, began at last to cry. Sobbing into his younger brother's lap, Slade managed to gather himself enough to send one, last message: (Just let me stay. Please Saber, just let me stay.)
(Of course, brother,) Saber said, and Slade felt Saber's hands on his head; his left just resting there, while his right combed through Slade's hair. (Of course you can stay.)
