The four of them had arranged themselves carefully in the back of the Jeep, and Slade had made sure to thank Star when he'd gotten settled next to Saber. He could sense that his younger twin hadn't woken up yet, but he'd still kept his mental barriers slightly lowered so he'd know when that happened. O'Roarke had been kind enough to give him some of the rations he'd had stored in his own transport, and Slade was grateful for the consideration.
Now, that just left the question of why O'Roarke, of all people, had been the one to come and meet them out here.
When their newly-expanded group drove up the ramp and into the Green Earth's hold, Slade blinked as everyone started getting out. He leaned a bit more on Star than usual as she helped him up, laughing softly as he watched Maggie carrying Saber away to their sleeping quarters aboard the cruiser, and half-closed his eyes as Star led him back to their own sleeping quarters.
He was tired enough that he felt like he could sleep for a week, but at the same time Slade wondered if he'd get the chance; the Radam were always waiting in the wings to attack.
Still, he, Saber, and their fellow Space Knights all made it to bed without an incident, so that was nice.
The next morning, when the Green Earth was filled with light and sound, and everyone was starting to get up, Slade was tempted to stay in bed for at least a few more minutes. That probably wasn't a good idea, since they were going to be moving out again, and they'd probably encounter at least some Spider-crabs on their way to whatever their next destination was going to be. And really, if he wasn't up at his usual time, the others would start to worry about him.
Not to mention the way Saber would tease him.
Levering himself up and out of bed, Slade searched briefly for the mental signature of his younger twin. Smiling as he felt Saber's presence wash over him, knowing that his younger twin was also happy – and suspecting he knew at least some of why that was – Slade made his way out to the Green Earth's eating area to pick up some breakfast. Watching as his and Saber's fellow Space Knights all began to gather at the table with their trays of food, Slade tried not to yawn; he still felt like he needed a bit more sleep.
He could tell that all of them were happy to have something besides potatoes; the thought almost made him laugh, but Slade stifled the urge, since he didn't want to end up getting food down his trachea. For what felt like a long few minutes, Slade was able to sit and relax while he ate his breakfast. He had no way of knowing just how long this peace would last, or what he, Saber, and their fellow Space Knights would end up needing to do – or else being asked to do – by even the end of the morning.
Will all of the other Space Knights gathered around them in the same room, Slade felt comfortable enough to relax. Then he felt Saber nudging him; O'Roarke had apparently been talking to the pair of them. Nodding to show he'd noticed that fact, too, Slade gave at least some of his attention to the man he and Saber had met all those months ago. Just months, Slade reflected wryly; there were times it felt like so much longer.
Of course, there were also times it felt like he and Saber had met the man yesterday.
"I've been talkin' to you lads for the last few minutes now," the man said gently, though there was a trace of worry in his eyes that Slade didn't know quite how to react to.
"Sorry," he said, working up a small smile for all of his and Saber's friends; it took a bit more effort than usual, for some reason. "I guess I might need a bit more sleep than I thought."
Noticing the warm weight leaning against his left arm, a bit too warm to be any of the others, Slade nudged Saber. (I don't know about you, little brother, but I think I could use some more sleep.)
(I was just about to suggest that, myself,) Saber said, with a sleepy sort of amusement.
"Saber and I are going to go take a nap," he announced, just as it started to look like some of the others gathered in the main room with them were getting worried. "Wake us up if anything happens, all right?"
0101001001001
When those two lads had departed, ostensibly to catch up on their sleep for the day, O'Roarke watched them carefully for signs of the instability that the Space Knights' Commander Jamison had told him about. He insisted that the other Space Knights should leave them to sleep, even in the case of a Spider-crab attack, and let himself out of the Green Earth to think.
The other Space Knights seemed to think those two were still just tired from having to face off against that big fella Axe yesterday, but he himself wasn't so sure. Yes, he hoped it was only a bit of lingering fatigue from all the fighting they'd clearly done just the other day, but given what he'd learned… O'Roarke took a long drink of whisky, and hoped that he'd just been worrying for nothing.
He honestly doubted that that'd been the case, but he hoped for it all the same.
01001001001001
He found himself waking up at odd times throughout the day, never quite feeling ready to get up, or do anything but roll over and close his eyes. He did spend a bit of time when he was lucid checking up on Slade, of course, but that was both ingrained habit and his end of the promise they'd both made to each other by this time. Saber didn't quite know why he and Slade both felt so… listless and exhausted, since there were plenty of times that he and Slade had faced off with Spear, and they'd never needed this much time to recover after those battles.
It made him more than a little uneasy, at least when he could manage to hold onto a certain thought long enough to examine it during the times he was actually awake.
Someone had come in during one of those times: times when Saber's mind was awake, but he couldn't muster the will to get up and out of the bed he was lying on, small as it was. He'd closed his eyes, having been mindlessly staring at the wall of the room he and Slade had been sleeping in while he tried to motivate himself to get up and see if he could get Slade to do the same. From the sound of their footsteps as whoever it was had made their way in, Saber had guessed it was either Ringo or one of the soldiers traveling with them.
He didn't know which one it was, but the feel of a rough, calloused hand resting for a few moments on his upturned right cheek and then moving to his forehead was a bit surprising in and of itself; it wasn't that the pair of them were sick or anything, he and Slade were just a bit more tired than usual.
When he finally managed to get himself ready to get up and out of bed, not feeling entirely rested but not quite wanting to spend the entire day just lolling around in bed, Saber couldn't quite manage to stifle another long, jaw-cracking yawn.
Sitting up, Saber saw Slade doing the same, and turned away slightly as he covered his mouth to stifle yet another yawn.
(All that sleep and I still don't feel rested,) Slade groused, a clear sense of annoyance projected along with his words.
(I know the feeling. Come on, the others are going to be waiting for us.)
The pair of them still hadn't started working to rebuild the mental barriers that kept them out of each other's minds, both since there was a certain comfort factor in not being alone inside their minds while they were being forced to fight against so many of the people they'd known and loved, and because it was honestly starting to seem like too much trouble for nothing at this point. The two of them made their way back out into the Green Earth's main room, to meet with the others and see what they wanted.
"Finally managed to catch up on your sleep, boys?" Ringo called, and Saber turned to see his and Slade's fellow Space Knight smirking at the two of them.
"Well, not quite," he said, answering Ringo's smirk with one of his own. "We just thought we should put in an appearance."
Sharing an amused chuckle with Ringo as he and Slade settled down on the small couch near the back of the Green Earth's seating area, Saber turned a smile on Maggie as she set a tray of food on the low table in front of him.
"Thanks, Mags," he said, then turned his attention to his and Slade's fellow Space Knights, along with O'Roarke and some of his people. "So, what did we miss?"
"Both of you slept through the entire day," Star said, the expression of honest worry on her face cutting through Saber's lingering good-humor from his and Ringo's exchange. "I was just about to go check on you again."
"Thanks," Slade muttered, just loud enough for everyone with human-standard senses to hear him.
The rest of the night passed pretty peacefully, all things considered, right up until he found Star hovering in front of them with an almost painful expression of worry on her face.
"We've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes," she said, as he felt Slade shifting slightly against his right side, almost nuzzling his cheek; though his older twin always held himself back from going that far when they were around people. "Is something wrong?"
"Just tired, that's all," Slade answered, wrapping both of his arms around Saber's right before he himself could think of anything. "I guess we might've needed a bit more sleep."
"Well, if you lads can both manage to keep your eyes open a bit longer, I think I have something that'll let you sleep more soundly," O'Roarke said, reaching into the bright orange overshirt of his uniform and pulling out a small video disc.
Saber kept his eyes on the man as well as he could manage, when he went around to the front of the room and presumably stuck the disc into the reader there. He couldn't quite muster the will to shift so he'd actually be able to see what was going to be playing on the screen, and there was also the matter of Slade's clear desire to stay where the pair of them were, but Saber figured he'd at least be able to hear whoever it was delivering their message.
It turned out to be Commander Jamison:
"Hello, how is everyone doing?" Saber wondered for a moment if this was an actual, two-way connection, or if the Commander had just added that part to be personable. "So far, everything here is going according to plan. But, there's not much time, so let's get right to the point: I sent you out on a mission, to investigate the proliferation of the alien plants. I was hopeful that you might be able to obtain a suitable space ship. I realize, of course, that that was wishful thinking on my part, but it was crucial to our operation if we were to meet our deadline. I had a hunch you'd run into Slade and Saber at the same time, and if you're listening to this disc, that's happened." Saber smiled softly; it was always nice to be appreciated. "I'd like you to come to the new Command Center, right away."
"That's it," O'Roarke said, sounding like he was smiling in his usual soft, calming way. "Your Commander wanted me to bring this disc to ya. He wanted you to know that your vessel's nearly ready."
"That's terrific!" Tina exclaimed, turning to grin at the pair of them. "With the Blue Earth back in action, we don't need those crystals!"
"Isn't that great news?" Maggie exclaimed happily, clapping him on both shoulders before she settled in next to him on the small couch. "You won't need to go hunting down any more evil Teknomen; you and Slade can get some real rest for awhile."
His eyes had clearly slipped closed when he hadn't been paying attention, and while he thought that Maggie might have still been talking about something or other, Saber found that he just didn't have the energy to pay attention for very long. Feeling someone warm leaning against his back – probably Slade – he smiled softly as that same someone laced their fingers through his own; definitely something Slade would do. As the pair of them settled in, leaning together for warmth and more general comfort, Saber thought he could hear some of their fellow Space Knights talking about something or other.
Still, here and now, Saber found that he couldn't quite spare the attention to wonder about that.
1101001001001
Having begged off questioning from those Space Knights, after they'd taken Slade and Saber to bed, Miles had made a fire for himself and settled down outside that Green Earth of theirs to brood. It had become more and more plain to him that the instability the Space Knights' Commander had spoken of was no laughing matter. Still, knowing that something was happening didn't at all mean that he'd any damned way to do anything about it.
The sound of another of the Space Knights – Ringo, judging by his voice – calling out an admonishment to him drew his attention, and Miles looked over at the man; he might not have looked like much, but to hear Jamison say it, he was a crack pilot and an excellent marksman. Miles hadn't really had the chance to see him in action in any real way, so he couldn't have honestly said.
"Hey, go easy on that!" the blond Space Knight – though Miles couldn't have told the color of his hair from where the pair of them were standing relative to each other, and less so in the dark – called. "There's not a lot of fresh water left."
"All right," he allowed, feeling rather amused; he wondered if all of the Space Knights had come by their fussiness honestly, or if it came of having to look out for those boys of theirs for so long. "Don't cry; there's more in the Jeep."
The sound of light footsteps on the gravel let Miles know that the solitude he'd come out to this place for was about to be intruded on. Still, it wasn't as though he could have kept to himself for the rest of the night. Not considering what he'd seen; not and consider himself one of their own.
"I know our boys probably didn't have a chance to thank you, but you really did save their hides back there when they were fighting Axe and Rapier," Ringo said, and Miles turned slightly to watch as the man settled down next to the fire, just to his right.
"I only did what any good soldier would do," he reminded the pair of them; it wouldn't do, getting too attached in uncertain times like these. "And that's to protect your best weapons. I hate to say it, but those boys are the only chance we have against the Radam."
"Yeah; sometimes I wish it didn't always end up on them," Ringo said, a morose expression overtaking his face.
"We're all in this together, son," he reminded the man, turning so he could face him more squarely. "And we're fighting for our lives. Every one of us is going to have to do our part, if we want to survive this battle."
"So, when do we leave?" Ringo asked, the expression on his face shifting to one of determination. "And, where are we going? Exactly where is this new Command Center?"
Miles looked over the younger man with his remaining eye; he couldn't deny the lad his dedication, not to the cause and not to his comrades. Still, there were good things and bad things about that; particularly given what was clearly happening to Slade and Saber, and the ultimate cause of their degeneration.
"Well, the new Command Center itself is in Alaska, but we've got a stop to make along the way."
It was clear that Ringo hadn't been expecting that. "What're you talking about?"
"Iceland," he said, keeping his tone calm. "We're manufacturing some arms for us to use on the Moon," he said, watching as Ringo's face cleared of confusion, though he didn't look happy about the delay. "There's a warehouse there that has a special microchip we need to pick up before we go to the Space Knight Command Center in Alaska. Ya follow me?" Ringo nodded, humming slightly in agreement. "Good, lad." He leaned down to stir the fire a bit, shifting the unburned fuel around so it'd burn more evenly. "Now, we should both get some shut-eye, we've got a long journey ahead of us."
Still, even if it was important that the pair of them got what rest they could while they had the time, Miles also knew that it was on him to take care of those twins of theirs; particularly now, when it was becoming obvious that the pair of them couldn't quite manage on their own. So, when Ringo bid him farewell for the night, Miles called him back.
"Hang on." Staring into the fire for a long moment, Miles sighed softly. "Before ya hit the sack, there's something I should tell ya about."
And so, Miles told the man what he'd seen, only the night before last: of how he'd walked past the window of those boys' room, and caught sight of Slade getting up to get a glass of water. He told the man about how, just as Slade had been about to grab the glass, the lad had seemed to suffer some kind of full-body spasm, and when Saber came in to help him – the way anyone who'd spent any time around those lads would have expected – even he hadn't quite been able to catch the fragile glass before it'd fallen to shatter on the floor.
The lad had also looked surprised by the fact of that, something that Miles made sure to mention when he was recounting what he had seen.
He concluded his account by telling Ringo about how those lads had seemed all too keen to keep this latest development between the pair of them; something he couldn't allow, considering how it was poised to affect each and every one of them in the most immediate of ways.
"Impossible," Ringo exclaimed, though he did so quietly enough that Miles wasn't worried about any of their other comrades taking note of it; particularly the lads in question. "That's crazy."
"I wouldn't have believed it either, if I hadn't seen them," he said, turning away from Ringo's stricken face; it reminded him entirely too much of the expression he'd worn when he first saw those lads struggling to stay upright the way they'd both been doing in the end. "Let's just hope that this condition of theirs is temporary. Because, when we run into another group of those aliens, and those two aren't at one-hundred percent, the Radam are going to win." He could see the helpless, undirected anger written in every line of Ringo's face, but there wasn't so much he could really do about that, right here and now. "Don't tell anyone else about this; I don't want to alarm the others."
Getting Ringo to agree with him took a moment, but in the end the Space Knights' pilot was willing to concede that the loss in morale – over a condition that could easily end up being temporary – was too much of a risk under their present circumstances.
110100100111
As he made his way back into the Green Earth, Ringo tried not to think too hard about what might have been happening to the Wonder Twins. Those kids of theirs were supposed to be indestructible; sure, they'd both taken more than their fair share of hard knocks, but they'd always seemed to bounce back from it. Still, as he made his way back into the Green Earth, Ringo took a moment to hope that Slade and Saber's condition was as temporary as O'Roarke had suggested it might be.
As he made his way down through the still-lit corridors of the tank, Ringo stopped short when he found the pair of them curled up on the couch together. Slade had his head tucked against Saber's collar, and Saber was gently stroking his brother's hair. It was kind of a cute scene, but Ringo couldn't help wondering just what the two of them were actually doing.
"Hey, shouldn't you two kids be in bed?" he asked softly, catching Saber's eye.
"Slade couldn't seem to get comfortable there, so I offered to stay up with him for awhile."
"Yeah, that's all well and good, but it's night out, and you kids need your sleep," he said, hoping that he could at least get Saber to see sense.
Slade was probably a lost cause, given what was happening and how much Slade would want to hide something like that. Still, Saber could usually talk his twin around when Slade was being particularly stupid, though the kid had his occasional bout of stubborn bull-headedness, too. Still, on the whole Saber did have his head screwed on tighter than Slade, so he was the one you wanted to talk with when you needed his twin to see reason.
Or, on occasion, to have reason smacked into his thick head.
Turning to watch the pair of them as Saber helped Slade climb up into his bunk, Ringo felt himself tensing almost to the breaking point when he saw the way Saber was forced to catch his twin when Slade missed his grab and nearly fell out of his bunk. It wasn't something he'd been at all prepared to expect, even considering the subject of his and O'Rourke's conversation not so very long ago. Still, the pair of them made it into their respective bunks eventually, and so Ringo said his goodnights and left for his own room.
Still, when he looked back at the glittering remains of the shattered glass on the floor – the few that one of the twins had managed to miss when they'd clearly tossed out the larger shards – Ringo couldn't help the thought that this wasn't supposed to happen; they were the good guys here. Weren't things supposed to go right? Chuckling bitterly once he was far enough away that neither of the Wonder Twins would end up being disturbed by the sound, Ringo shook his head.
Really, when does anything go right for those kids of ours? He mused, sighing deeply as he made his way back into his own room for the night.
0100100100100
When he woke up the next morning, telepathy a bit tangled up with Slade's, but not badly enough that the two of them couldn't tell just who and where they were – even thinking about the possibility of that had woke Slade from more than his fair share of sound sleep, leaving Saber to have to reassure his twin so that the pair of them could actually get some of the sleep they'd be needing to deal with whatever the Radam were going to throw at them next – Saber stretched out, looking up at Slade's still-slumbering form. Really, he wished that he could have just let his brother sleep for even a few minutes longer. Still, it was plain for anyone to see that, just because he and Slade were starting to wear out a bit faster than usual, that didn't mean the Radam were going to let up on them.
If anything, those bastard aliens were probably going to come at them all the harder, once one of the others reported to them.
"This little piece of the puzzle could mean the difference between winnin' this war, or losing it," O'Roarke elucidated, once he, Slade, and their fellow Space Knights had all been assembled in the main area of the Green Earth for breakfast. "It's a computer chip," he continued, setting down his fork.
"A computer chip?" Star echoed.
(So, what're we going after?)
(It's some kind of a computer chip,) he reported, keeping his eyes firmly on the presentation that O'Roarke was making; he'd started providing visual aids, even as Saber himself had been keeping his twin informed about all the goings-on of the Space Knights while he got what rest he needed. (Sounds like it's being stored in a warehouse at the bottom of an Icelandic lake.)
(Sound just perfect for us,) Slade muttered, and Saber could plainly feel the shadow of the same exhaustion he himself was determined to push past in his twin's mental voice.
(Yeah,) he said, smiling gently even as he felt the room seemingly tilting beneath his feet.
"How's Slade doing?" Ringo asked, clearly having seen the signs that he'd been keeping his twin posted about the new developments going on while he was out of it.
"He should be fine," Saber said, smiling for the other occupants of the main room. "He just needs a bit more rest."
"Speakin' of which, the briefing's over, Saber. So, you should go get some rest, yourself," O'Roarke said, a hand on his left shoulder as the man passed him by.
"Here, let's get you up," Ringo said, hurrying over to his side before Saber could make more than the most cursory of efforts to lever himself up and out of his seat.
"Thanks," he said, offering his fellow Space Knight a good-natured smile as the pair of them made their way out of the main room and down the hall toward the room he and Slade had claimed for themselves.
"You feeling all right, Saber?" Ringo asked, as Saber tried for the umpteenth time not to trip over his feet as the floor seemed to jerk and see-saw underneath him.
"Just a bit of a dizzy-spell," he said, knowing that Ringo would badger him unmercifully if he said it was nothing, but not wanting to worry the man, all the same. "Don't worry about it."
11010100100111
"Yeah," he muttered, knowing that Saber wouldn't say anything else even if he did try to grill the kid about what was really going on, but not happy about it in the slightest.
Still, it was a damned sight more than he'd have ever gotten from Slade, so Ringo knew that he should probably just be grateful for small favors and try to move on with his life. It wasn't like they really had time for any of this crap in the first place, what with the Radam still out there waiting for them. So, holding back a sigh through sheer force of will, Ringo turned and made his way back to the Green Earth's cockpit.
If he was going to be stuck brooding over their current situation, then he was at least going to do it somewhere with a view.
10100100110000
When he sensed Saber's presence in their collective room again, and more than that when he heard his younger twin climbing back into the bunk he'd claimed for himself, Slade allowed himself to relax from the state of alertness he'd been holding himself in just in case the others needed him. And yeah, it looked like that was going to be the case a lot sooner than he would have liked, so Slade knew that it would be best for him to get what sleep he could while he could.
Still, there were a few things he needed to know before he let himself do anything like that.
(How're you holding up, Saber?)
(I've got a bit of vertigo, but I should be all right if I can just get some sleep. How about you?)
Knowing that, connected as their minds still were – if only by the sheer necessity of having their telepathic senses primed to detect any of the remaining Teknomen that Darkon had left to send after them – Saber would know if he lied, Slade sighed softly.
(My skin still feels a bit tight. But like you said, it should be fine after we get some sleep.)
Knowing the exact moment when his younger twin managed to relax, just enough so that the pair of them would be able to get what rest they could, but also manage to respond to any situation that might call for the kind of help that only they could really give.
1110100100111
When they'd all arrived at the Icelandic facility that held the microchip they were all searching for, Star was disappointed – though by no means surprised – to find it in ruins. Given how determined each and every one of the Radam's monsters – whatever they ultimately looked like – were to cripple each and every means of defending themselves that humanity might try to employ, it would have taken a genuine miracle for this place to have remained even slightly intact aboveground.
Still, knowing that something was true was quite a different thing than seeing the proof of that right in front of your face.
Of course, if there was one thing even worse than being forced to face the results of the devastation that the Radam and their horrible Spider-crabs kept raining down on the Earth and all of her remaining people, it was seeing Slade and Saber offering themselves up to go and get the chip from wherever it had ended up within the underwater part of the complex. Even in spite of the way that anyone who so much as looked at them for more than a handful of seconds could see that they were suffering. It had to be something the Radam had done to them.
There was no other explanation.
"What?" O'Roarke gasped, as their entire group turned around to look back at the Green Earth standing behind them.
And to see the pair of stubbornly determined figures making their way out of her. Star felt her heart wrench in her chest, watching the way the pair of them were forced to lean so heavily on each other, just to be able to get across the snowy tundra.
"You kids sure you're all right?" Ringo asked, in spite of the obvious fact that neither of them – not even Saber, who seemed to be allowing Slade to lean on him for stability when it was clear that he was having just as hard a time walking as his brother – was in any way all right.
"Wait!" she called, desperately rushing over to where the pair of them had stopped in the snow, Saber's entire body tight with tension as Slade's went slack against him.
She could see a slight flush, all the more obvious for being on Saber's pale cheeks, and when she put her hand on the foreheads of first one twin and then the other, she found something that she hadn't been expecting.
"You're warmer than usual," she said.
It was something that she'd grown used to, the fact that Teknomen like Slade and Saber ran hotter than normal people, but this was too much to be just that.
"Our bodies might just be overcompensating," Saber said, in a tone that was clearly aimed to be reassuring, but seeing both him and Slade barely able to stand, let alone walk, put paid to that. "You know, with the cold and all?"
"Maybe you two should go back to bed," she suggested, hoping that Saber would at least take her words in the spirit they were offered.
"Yeah," Ringo added. "You kids go catch some Z's. If it's the cold that's tweaking you out this much, you boys should stay out of it as much as you can."
"We've been out of it practically the whole day, Ringo," Saber said, smirking in a way that Star couldn't help but think looked more tired than amused.
"So? Consider it a vacation," Ringo said, his returning grin seeming tired and even a bit forced to Star's eyes. "It's not like we're going to be heading into battle, here. All we've got to do is recover the microchip," her friend and fellow Space Knight continued. "Balzac and I can do that. It's really no big deal."
"Yeah, that's fine," Balzac said, though there was something uncertain about his manner; she couldn't put her finger on why, but she hoped that it wasn't something that would cause problems for them in the future.
"That's right," Maggie said, nodding as she came over to wrap her arms around Saber from behind, allowing him to relax, even if only slightly. "Their Tekno-suits were designed to operate in all kinds of hostile environments, so it'll be no trouble at all for them to move around underwater."
"Why don't you lads sit this one out?" O'Roarke asked, though it didn't really sound like he was making a suggestion so much as giving an order.
She could only hope that Slade and Saber would listen, or at least that Saber would, so he could convince Slade not to do anything rash. Anything that would let the two of them feel comfortable with staying behind where they would be able to rest up and heal, while Ringo and Balzac took care of retrieving the computer chip that they would need to finish the upgrades on the Blue Earth. Anything that would mean that Star didn't have to sit back and watch as Slade and Saber threw themselves recklessly into deadly danger again.
Anything so that she could know one of the closest friends she had made, and the man she had fallen in love with, would be getting the rest they needed to cope with their clearly deteriorating conditions.
Sighing with relief as Slade and Saber allowed themselves to be gently chivvied back aboard the Green Earth, Star fell into step with them as their group made their way back onto the all-terrain transport. Ringo and Balzac, naturally, split off from the main group so that they could head for the Green Earth's launch-bay to retrieve their Tekno-suits, while she, O'Roarke, Tina, Maggie, Slade, and Saber all headed for the cockpit, so that they could observe the operation in some semblance of safety and comfort.
Wrapping her left arm around Slade's waist as he started to stumble, Star tried not to shudder as she felt the increased heat of Slade's body through his clothes. There wasn't much of a chance, at least not as far as she was concerned, that this kind of thing could be just the product of Slade and Saber's bodies overreacting to the cold they were even now surrounded by. Even if she didn't know much more about a Teknoman's physiology than what Slade and Saber had told her, Star couldn't help the feeling that what she was seeing wasn't natural even for a Teknoman.
Helping Slade to get settled in one of the chairs near the back of the cockpit, Star turned to look over at Saber when she heard his weary sigh.
"You shouldn't keep pushing yourselves like this," she said, knowing that it probably wouldn't do much good – not only were the Radam still out in force, but there was also the matter of how neither of the twins had seemed to react well to bouts of forced inactivity; it was as though the pair of them thought they had to be moving, even when they didn't seem to have anywhere to go – but feeling like she had to say it, all the same. "We're all here to support you," she sighed, hoping at least Saber would choose to listen, since that would make it easier to talk Slade around. "There's no shame in asking for help when you need it."
"That's nice of you to say," Saber said, smiling wearily up at her.
00100010011000
As he watched the monitors that the youngest of the Space Knights had been assigned to oversee, Miles also made certain to keep an eye on Slade and Saber, since those two lads had stubbornly insisted on staying put at the back of the Green Earth's CIC. True, it was entirely too likely that they'd end up needing the assistance before the day was out, but the sight of those two, Slade's face beginning to become noticeably flushed where Saber's had been in such a state for the last day and a half, both of them slumped in the chairs in the back of the CIC made something in Miles' chest contract almost painfully.
That was what made the transmission from Ringo all the more of a relief, knowing that he and Balzac had completed their mission successfully and would soon be returning to their transport.
"Real nice job," he said, smiling with both the relief of a job well-done, and the knowledge that he wouldn't have to ask one more impossible thing of those lads in the back of the CIC than he'd already done.
"See ya top-side," Ringo said, the man sounding as though he wore the same, relieved smile that Miles could feel stretching his own face.
All that remained, now that the hardest part was over and done with, was to wait for Ringo and Balzac to return to the Green Earth.
"I'll bet that's a load off your minds, eh lads?" he called, turning to look back over his right shoulder to where Slade and Saber sat, each with their respective lady friend close enough to wrap an arm around them.
Before either of them could say a word, however, Ringo's voice crackled over the comm, sounding distinctly less hopeful: "Mayday, folks. We got a whole lot of company down here."
Saber's bitter chuckle seemed to encompass the mood of the CIC well enough, as well as the words he spoke. "Doesn't that just figure."
"These things," Ringo paused, sounding like the man was attempting to regain at least some of his composure. "I don't know quite what they are, but they look like some aquatic version of Spider-crabs."
"Are you guys all right?" Tina asked; Miles wondered the same thing.
To say nothing of how those lads would come out of the fight they might very well find themselves embroiled in all too soon.
"The Z-tron cannon?" Maggie echoed, sounding dismayed; Miles knew enough to know that when an engineer of Maggie's caliber was worried by something, any soldier with a brain and any ambition of keeping their limbs intact needed to sit up and take notice. "No, don't! Don't shoot!"
Evidently, those underwater beasties were just as dangerous as the land-dwelling sort, because Ringo had clearly tried to fire on them.
"Ringo, are you okay?" Maggie called over the comm..
"Yeah, I'm all right," the man said, though he sounded quite a bit worse for wear, to Miles' experienced ears. "But if I wasn't wearing my Tekno-suit, I'd be chowder right now."
"You got that right," Maggie said, not sounding entirely pleased. "That's why I tried to stop you from firing your Z-tron Cannon. As you've just discovered, Ztronic antimatter – or any kind of antimatter, really – explodes when discharged in water."
Holding back a sigh through sheer force of will, Miles tried as hard as he could not to look back at Slade and Saber where they sat. It almost felt like fate was conspiring against them; like some force of the universe wanted those young lads of theirs to head back out into combat, in spite of what it would do to the pair of them if they did.
"There's just too many of them, and our weapons are against them!" Balzac reported, sounding harried by all of the underwater beasties he and Ringo had to be facing. "We could really use our boys, down here!"
11010011110101
"We're on our way," he called over, he and Slade helping each other back to their feet.
No matter how weary they both felt – and Saber could personally attest that the pair of them felt pretty much like crap, currently – they'd both made a promise. Not only to be there for each other, but also to protect anyone who couldn't protect themselves from the depredations of the Radam Empire. That, of course, included their fellow Space Knights.
"Please, don't go down there," Star said, worry clear on her face as he and Slade linked arms so that they'd be able to move more quickly; and without so much risk of falling, too.
"You know we can't do that, Star," Slade said, as he wrapped his own left arm around Saber's waist, just above Saber's own right arm.
"Slade, Saber, don't listen to Balzac." Saber looked up, startled, at the sound of Ringo's voice over the comm.
(The hell? What's he on about?) Saber wondered, in the breathless moments of dead air after Ringo's transmission.
(I don't know, but we can't just wait around thinking about it,) Slade said.
(Right,) he said, allowing himself a deep, fortifying breath, before the pair of them began moving forward.
It was a struggle to even start, and Saber found himself passingly grateful for whatever transmission from Ringo had drawn the attention of their remaining fellow Space Knights away from them. At least for moment, anyway. Maggie and Star in particular, since neither of them would have been particularly happy if they'd seen what he and Slade were aiming to do.
"I'm afraid she's right," O'Roarke said, clearly continuing the conversation that had drawn attention away from them in the first place. "I was waiting for the right time to try and tell you lads this…"
"Come on, you're making it sound like we're dying, or something," he said, working up a good-natured smile to try to break the smothering tension in the room.
When O'Roarke turned to face them squarely, wearing a stricken expression that Saber had never thought to see on the man's face, he had the distinct impression that his little joke had hit much closer to home than he'd been aiming for.
"Ya are," O'Roarke said, the expression on his face slowly shifting into what almost looked like a finely-controlled sort of despair. "Your bodies are deteriorating."
"What do you mean?" he asked, feeling a distinct chill; something that couldn't be mistaken for the bouts of increasing vertigo he was subject to, and also feeling a shiver of that same uncertainty through his link to Slade.
Neither of them quite knew what to make of what they were hearing, but he couldn't help the suspicion that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good.
"Your tissues, your nerves… your entire body… Both of your bodies are collapsing," O'Roarke said, seeming like he was struggling to keep facing the pair of them, but also too stubborn to turn away.
Saber could respect that, but…
"Just tell us what you mean, O'Roarke," Slade said, as Saber felt another wave of vertigo pass through him.
"Apparently, every time either of ya transform, it takes a toll on ya," he said, the weight of his words almost physically pressing down on them all. "And, the wear-and-tear on your bodies is cumulative. Commander Jamison was doing some research, and stumbled upon the fact that this Teknoman business is very hard on your bodies. Ultimately, you will drain all of the energy your bodies naturally produce, destabilizing your central nervous-system enough that you'll both find even the simplest tasks, like holding a glass of water," the man paused for a moment, hard eyes fixed on the pair of them. "Or even standing unaided, are difficult," O'Roarke ground his teeth, and Saber could understand the man's sentiment completely. "That's why Ringo didn't want you lads to try to help him and Balzac, because he knows that if either of ya transform one more time, ya won't make it back."
"Thanks, for being honest with us," he said, smiling for the rest of the Space Knights that stood in the CIC with them. "But, you guys should know by now that, even with everything that's going on, we're not just going to abandon Ringo and Balzac down there with those Spider-crabs."
"Hey," Maggie said, presumably having come over to him when his and Slade's attention had been taken up by what O'Roarke had had to say. "You know I want you to live, right?"
"Yeah," he said, smiling gently for her. "So do I, but you know we can't just leave Ringo and Balzac down there."
"I know," Maggie said, what sounded like a strangled laugh struggling out of her throat.
"C'mon, Mags," he said, leaning his forehead against hers as the pair of them stood together. "You're going to make me cry."
There was that same, strangled-sounding laugh out of her, before she latched onto him almost desperately, kissing him and holding on as though she never wanted to let him go. He could fully understand the sentiment, considering that he returned it completely, but he knew – better than anyone except Slade – just what was at stake if they left Ringo and Balzac where they were.
"Don't you boys dare do it!" Ringo shouted from the comm. – Saber knew that it would have been the height of hypocrisy for either of them to call the man out on his self-sacrificial attitude, but he couldn't help finding the whole thing funny – as he and Slade turned around, both of them pulling each other toward the Green Earth's launch bay. "Don't come down here!"
(Well, there's an argument I never thought we'd end up on the other side of,) he said, smirking slightly as the pair of them made it into the hangar-bay.
(Yeah,) Slade said, his mental tone carrying the same weariness that Saber could feel pressing down on him.
(You scared?) he asked, gently nudging Slade, as the pair of them stared up the length of Pegas' impressive bulk.
(No,) Slade said, just a little too quickly for Saber to take him completely at face-value. (You?)
(Of course not,) he returned, smirking.
"Pegas, power on!"
"Tekno-power!"
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Grinding his teeth, knowing that those two idiot kids of theirs would be coming down into this death trap that the Radam had laid for them, Ringo tried not to hold it against Balzac; hell, if circumstances hadn't been what they were, he'd have been the first to call the Wonder Twins down to help them out. Still, as he watched Slade and Saber's armored forms jetting through the water, chasing down those half-fish Spider-crabs that had pinned him and Balzac down, Ringo swallowed the harsh words scraping at the back of his throat. He knew that, for all of the times he'd called Slade a self-sacrificing idiot, Saber was just the same, when it came to their comrades.
"Ringo, you and Balzac hurry up and get out of here!" Slade shouted.
Ringo closed his eyes. "Yeah," he muttered, wishing that there had been at least some way of keeping those crazy kids of theirs from diving into the water.
Something that would have kept those crazy kids of theirs from basically killing themselves, just to get him and Balzac out of a tight spot.
111010011101001
As he connected briefly with Saber's mind, the both of them having had the thought that getting two pairs of eyes working on the problem of their respective – and entirely too sudden – difficulties with double-vision, Slade staggered in the water as his – as their – thoughts tangled with each other. He – they – needed to surface. Yanking as hard as he could on his own mind, Slade managed to mentally isolate himself, looking over at Saber as his younger twin quickly made for the surface just beside him.
Shuddering, he sighed in relief as the pair of them finally surfaced, both helping to pull the other out of the water.
Hearing Saber panting harshly beside him, Slade forced himself to sit up, if only so that his younger twin would be able to lean on him the way he seemed to need to. The sound of their armor clattering softly together, even amid the shouting of some of their fellow Space Knights and the familiar hissing-roar of charging Spider-crabs, almost distracted Slade from what he and Saber were going to need to do.
(Looks like there's just one more thing to take care of,) Saber said, his mental voice sounding about as exhausted as Slade felt.
(Yeah,) he said, smiling softly even as he forced himself back to his feet. (Just one more thing.)
"Tekno-bolt!"
Almost before the last word had left his mouth, however, Slade found himself overwhelmed by a pain that – while it wasn't nearly as bad as what he'd felt when Gunnar had used the Spectrum Disruptor crystals on him, and it couldn't hold a candle to the pain he'd felt when he was being transformed in the first place – caused his vision to white out briefly, and left Slade with a sort of crackling sensation that made him feel like he'd just had raw lightning shoved down his throat. Saber's groan from beside him reminded Slade that he wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Grabbing his younger twin around the waist, even as he heard and saw the sounds of intense, pitched battle all around them, Slade struggled to stay on his feet, even as the vertigo that Saber had been dealing with on-and-off for the past several weeks slammed into him like a fully-loaded transport convoy.
"Thanks, Ringo," he muttered, as his fellow Space Knight came to support him, just like he was supporting Saber.
"Thanks for saving our bacon down there," Ringo said, his tone a little too grim to match the smile on his face.
"You'd have done the same for us," he said, smiling even though Ringo couldn't see it.
It was true, after all; even if not all of them knew what they'd done for him and Saber, all of the Space Knights had helped to save them in more ways than either of them could really repay. And, as he heard the rest of them – Star and Maggie in particular – calling his and Saber's names, Slade smiled all the wider. Sure, he might've done himself more than his fair share of damage – and he'd have been lying if he said he was okay – but at least the people he could still allow himself to care about were safe.
For the time being, at least.
As he let himself be guided back to Pegas' interlock chamber, a familiar flash of turquoise light shining briefly in the right corner of his field-of-view, Slade finally allowed himself to relax while Ringo told their fellow Space Knights about his and Balzac's success. The familiar rush of energy left him alongside his armor, and Slade found that he felt all the more normal in the wake of its departure.
"Hey," he said, smiling as he tried not to look as weary as he knew he felt. "Sorry we didn't manage to make it down there sooner."
"Yeah," Saber said, picking up his fairly obvious cue as Slade himself stopped speaking. "Things got a bit hectic, I guess you could say."
He didn't hear anything else that anyone might have said, however, because a rush of that same, horrible, world-bending vertigo that he and Saber had both been dealing with came up suddenly, making it look as though the ground itself had reached up to smack him in the face… but his surroundings faded into blackness before he fell more than what felt like a foot… Saber…
