Finding out just how much danger Takaya and Shinya were still in, even after they had gone through so much hardship in an effort just to survive all of the horrible things that the Radam had done to them… It was just too much. Chief Freeman had sent Noal and Balzac out to help them, but Aki found that she couldn't stop worrying.

She couldn't stop herself from wondering how things could possibly get worse.

Reporting what was happening to the twins to the rest of her fellow Space Knights had been bad enough, but knowing that the pair of them were currently fighting Tekkaman Spear and Tekkaman Wraith out in the snow, not even knowing the kind of danger they were truly in… It had been almost as bad as when the pair of them had been suffering from the tissue-degeneration that had come so very close to killing them both.

D-Boy and D-Two – Takaya and Shinya – truly did seem to have been cursed by fate. Truly, all of the Aiba family seemed to have suffered from that same, cursed fate, ever since they had left the Earth behind.

More and more, as everything around the twins seemed to be spiraling toward some kind of ultimate confrontation, Aki would find herself wondering if it wouldn't have been better for the Aiba family to have stayed back on Earth. Even if she wouldn't have had the chance to meet them – even if Takaya and Shinya Aiba would have been entirely different people from the young men she'd come to know so well – Aki knew that they would have at least had the chance to live.

The chance to just be people, alongside the rest of their family.

Now, knowing that the pair of them were being forced to confront the last two members of their family, all Aki could find herself thinking about was how cruel fate could be to the people who least deserved it. Even moreso now, now that she knew that each time the twins transformed it was still pushing them closer to destruction. Not the same kind of destruction they'd been facing before – not the death they'd both been all but running toward – but destruction of the people they'd been.

Destruction of the memories that had bound the twins to the Space Knights to begin with.

I

As the four of them clashed again, Takaya forced all of the thoughts he'd been having out of his mind. All that remained was the strike, block, and parry of his and Shinya's respective tekkalances; all that remained was their battle with Spear and Wraith. Even as he and Shinya smashed their way out through the roof of the OSDG Headquarters and landed in the snow, Takaya opened his mental link with Shinya, catching a brief glimpse through his younger twin's eyes of Shinya kicking Sasuke into the side of a nearby mountain.

Throwing himself out of the searing bolt of lightning that Kengo nearly brought down on his head, Takaya barely had time to bare his own tekkalance before Kengo had charged him and the pair of them collided in the air.

II

"It doesn't seem like Spear is fighting the same way he used to," Aki said, shuddering as she once again found herself watching helplessly as Takaya and Shinya – her shooting-star heroes – fought to save the Earth and her people from the broken remains of their family.

"He's like an entirely different person. It doesn't even seem like Wraith can keep up with him," Honda said, sounding more angry than worried, though Aki knew that that was just his way of dealing with stress.

"What's keeping Noal and Balzac? They'd at least be able to keep Wraith away," Levin said, and Aki reached out to hold the other woman's hand.

"Chief, Spear's speed, power, reflexes… compared to his earlier data, Spear has improved them all by thirty percent!" Milly exclaimed, fingers flying over the keyboard as she continued to record data from the battle taking place in the air above them all.

"Wait, does that mean that Spear somehow became an evolved Tekkaman, too?" Levin asked, sounding about as worried as Aki was starting to feel at the thought of that.

Spear was horrible enough on his own, without being able to transform a second time.

"Not exactly," Chief Freeman said, sounding thoughtful even in spite of the battle they were all forced to watch helplessly. "Evolving into Tekkaman Blaster wouldn't change Spear's normal fighting capabilities."

"Then, what's going on?" Levin asked, clutching Aki's hand tighter.

"I suspect Spear has been training himself, particularly given how protective he seems to be of Wraith," the Chief said, and Aki bit her lower lip.

She'd almost managed to forget that Sasuke Aiba was trapped inside the armor of Tekkaman Wraith, just as much as Kengo Aiba had been trapped inside Tekkaman Spear's armor. The fight… It had to be even worse for the twins, since it was their brothers who had been taken from them; their brothers, who'd been returned to Earth only to kill the both of them. It had to be hell for them.

III

Narrowing his eyes, Spear paused for a long moment outside the hole where he'd buried Blade. He'd driven Evil off with lightning strikes every time he'd tried to get too close to Sasuke, but now Spear found himself concerned. Blade, with his misguided determination, had never been one to simply lay still when someone he considered an enemy was so close.

Almost before he'd finished that thought, however, Spear found Blade all but leaping back into the air to try to slam into him.

Dodging out of the way of Blade's attack, Spear flew a tight loop around their current battlefield, narrowing his eyes and slammed a bolt of lightning down between Evil and Sasuke again. However, this time Evil deflected the bolt with his own tekkalance, continuing his attack on Sasuke. Before Spear could drop from the air, Blade dove at him again, and Spear was forced to leave his dear little brother to Evil's mercy.

Forced to leave his dear little brother to face a murderous traitor alone.

Spear had just turned his attention back to Blade, when he heard Sasuke's pained shout in his mind, and then found himself being fired upon by the pathetic imitation Tekkamen that the humans had developed with the aid of the traitors that he and Sasuke had been specifically sent to kill. Snarling under his breath, even as he broke off his pursuit of Blade and flew to Sasuke's aid, Spear shielded his little brother from one of the false-Tekkaman's attack and quickly threw down a lightning bolt to cover their escape.

IV

"Damn it," Shinya muttered, narrowing his eyes at the path Kengo had taken through the sky, even as he found himself being supported by Noal.

"Easy, little brother, you're all right," the man said, and Shinya could have sworn that he was smiling. "Let's get out of here, before Spear and Wraith find their way out from under that iceberg, yeah?"

"Yeah," Shinya said, more than a little curious about what Noal had been thinking, calling him "little brother" when the only older brother he and Takaya had anymore was Kengo.

And Kengo was dead.

"Come on, little brother, you should transform back before you end up passing out on the way into the Headquarters," Noal said, and Shinya had the feeling that the man was smiling at him again.

Or maybe he'd never stopped.

Sighing, even as he let go of the energies that had been keeping him in his Tekkaman form, Shinya turned to Noal. He could tell that the other man was trying to be nice, but some things needed to be said.

"Noal-san, you really shouldn't be calling me your little brother," Shinya said, making sure that no one was close enough to overhear them, since he didn't want to embarrass Noal with what he was saying.

"Little brother-"

"Noal," he said sharply, cutting the other man off before he could finish speaking.

When he and Takaya met back up in the main room of the OSDG Headquarters, Shinya found Takaya glaring at Chief Freeman.

"Why did you pull us back?!" his older twin demanded, glaring at the Chief, even as Shinya moved to stand beside him.

"Because, if you and D-Two continue transforming into Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Varis, you're both going to keep losing your memories," Chief Freeman said, and Shinya couldn't help a lingering glance at Noal.

The blond's eyes locked with his, and Noal sighed, nodding sadly.

"You're even starting to forget the promise we made, little brother," Noal said, clearly not about to let anything remain unsaid between them.

"What do you mean?" Takaya asked, before Shinya could say so much as a single word. "Shinya and I promised to protect each other, but Noal was never part of it."

"We made our promise later," Noal said, looking determined and more than a little sad. "Since neither of us have much family left, we all made a promise to be each others' family."

Shinya didn't know what to think, particularly about the way that Noal seemed to believe what he was saying, but before anyone else could say anything, Takaya grabbed his wrist and pulled Shinya from the room.

"What's wrong, Ta-kun?" he asked, once the doors to the main room had closed, though not without Noal calling after them.

"Every one of them seems to think that Kengo's going to give up just because they want him to," his older twin said, glaring at the inoffensive plating of the wall in front of them, before folding his arms and leaning back against that same wall. "But I know he's not dead," Takaya snapped. "Neither of them are, so they're going to come back."

"Yeah," Shinya said, folding his own arms and sighing softly. "They always come back."

V

(You've done very well on your own, Sword,) Omega-sama – who might have given her beloved Kengo his true name, but had made no such allowances for Sword herself using it – said, clearly pleased.

(Thank you, Omega-sama. All of our Radam forces will have landed on Earth soon,) she said, feeling more than a little pleased, herself.

(Yes, our preparations have been proceeding well on that front,) Omega-sama continued, seeming thoughtful. (The ship's regeneration is nearing completion, as well. Our efforts have brought us a fine catch, contested as they have been.)

(Yes,) Sword said, finding her own thoughts drifting back to Kengo; she hadn't heard from him or little Sasuke in long enough that the lack of contact was beginning to worry her in earnest.

Yes, she was fully aware that Kengo was strong enough to fight the traitors and come out the victor against both of them, but she also knew how gentle he was. She knew how being forced to fight the traitors, how knowing that his own younger brothers were traitors, weighed on his heart.

(You're concerned,) Omega-sama said. (You and Spear, you're both rather close, aren't you.)

(Yes,) she said, in spite of the fact that Omega-sama's words hadn't been a question, and such a question hardly needed an answer, considering the telepathic links that all Tekkamen shared with one another.

(You had been intending to undergo some manner of pair-bonding ceremony before you came to us, yes?)

(We had,) Sword said, finding herself more than a little surprised at the direction Omega-sama had taken their conversation.

(Truly, the both of you remind me more than a little of a pair of my clan-siblings; Kouha and Kouka are a mated pair, just as you are,) Omega-sama said, the nostalgic pleasure of his reflections coming through clearly over their mental link. (Truly, Spear reminds me more than a little of Kouha, himself. The pair of will enjoy each other's company, I think.)

The reflective tone of Omega-sama's mental voice deepened, and Sword found herself wondering if she had been meant to hear those last words at all.

(Do you wish to go to him?) Omega-sama asked, his attention clearly having returned to the present again.

(Will you not be needing me here, Omega-sama?)

(I can maintain awareness of our shock-troops for a time,) Omega-sama replied, his mental tone seeming pleased and rather amused, for some reason. (Go; I can see that you worry for him. Learn his fate, and give him and Wraith your aid, should they need it.)

(Yes, Omega-sama,) Sword said, smiling even though she knew that the Warlord wouldn't be able to see the expression. (Thank you.)

(Of course.)

The mental link between the pair of them went dormant once more, and Sword quickly made her way to a nearby air lock, transforming once she was inside and cycling it so that she could leave the Orbital Ring at last. Kengo… I'll be with you soon, my love, she promised, keeping the thought to herself, just in case her beloved was in battle, or facing some other kind of situation that he needed his full focus on to handle.

VI

Having extricated both himself and Sasuke from the remnants of the iceberg that that troublesome false-Tekkaman had attempted to bury them under, Spear narrowed his eyes as he searched for the mental impressions of Blade and Evil. He knew that the pair of them had been taken – perhaps escorted, perhaps forced – from the battlefield when he had been digging Sasuke out from underneath the shattered iceberg, and now Spear found himself preparing for when they would return. It was inevitable, since they had chosen this place and these people to make their stand beside.

And now, given everything that had happened between them – everything that Takaya and Shinya had forced him to do – it was inevitable that Blade and Evil would confront him and Sasuke as enemies.

VII

He'd asked Shinya to wait for him, since his younger twin was the only one who could have gone out to fight Kengo without needing to tell anyone what he was doing, but trying to talk to Levin… It was more troublesome than he'd been expecting.

"Listen, Spear is out there, and I'm not going to let Shinya fight him alone!" he snapped, annoyed with the way Levin continued to stand in his way.

"D-Boy, you and D-Two shouldn't go out to fight Spear at all," Honda said. "Neither Spear or Wraith have launched any attacks, so you boys shouldn't go out and provoke them!"

"You don't understand!" he snapped, growing more and more annoyed with Honda's obstinance and Levin's obvious fretting. "Spear isn't going to leave just because you want him to! If Shinya and I don't go out there to fight him, he's only going to come in here to fight us!"

"D-Boy," Balzac – the other blond, the one who Shinya agreed acted strangely, even for one of the people who claimed to know the pair of them so well – said, that strange, unreadable expression on his face again. "Come on, I'd like to talk to you and D-Two."

Deciding to ignore the strange, annoying repetition of the nicknames that these people insisted on using for him and Shinya, Takaya followed Balzac out into the hallway. Shinya had decided to wait out there while he retrieved Pegas – or at least tried to – and his younger twin tilted his head curiously as Takaya made his way back out. Gesturing to Balzac, following closely behind him, Takaya shook his head in annoyance as Shinya came to join him.

"So, talk," Takaya said, folding his arms and glaring at Balzac. "Shinya and I don't have much time before Spear starts breaking down the walls to get to us."

Balzac sighed. "I'm not going to try to stop either of you D-Boys, since I know I can't. But, you boys shouldn't try to forget the names D-Boy or D-Two, if only for Aki and Levin."

"What do they have to do with this?" Shinya asked, before Takaya could ask any questions of his own.

"The both of them have been fighting the Radam right by your sides, but the both of them have always known you boys as D-Boy and D-Two," Balzac said, sighing. "That might not mean much to you boys anymore, but Levin and Aki… Those names are precious to them. They represent the connection that Aki and Levin shared with you boys. But, I guess I shouldn't talk," Balzac continued, laughing in a strangely self-depreciating way. "Considering the way I left my own girl behind."

The pair of them stood in the darkened hallway for a long moment, and Takaya turned to glance at Shinya; yes, Kengo was still out there hunting them, but the new information they'd been given was still something they had to consider.

VIII

Crossing the snowy tundra that he and Sasuke had chased Blade and Evil to, Spear narrowed his eyes as he searched out the mental links that bound all Tekkamen to one another. Wrapping his armored left arm around Sasuke's narrow shoulders, Spear sensed Blade and Evil as the traitors made their return to their current battlefield.

(Sasuke.)

(Yes, Nii-sama,) the last of his brothers said, turning to look in the same direction that Spear himself had looked, as soon as the traitors' mental signatures had reappeared.

However, it wasn't either of the traitors who challenged him and Sasuke, but the pair of false-Tekkamen who Spear had seen entirely too much of already.

(Sasuke, deal with these creatures for me, would you?)

(Of course, Nii-sama,) Sasuke said, turning to confront the false-Tekkamen as Spear kept his own senses primed for the approach of the traitors.

Glancing back at the pair of false-Tekkamen as Sasuke engaged them, Spear turned his attention back to watching for the traitors as their mental signals began to both draw closer and grow stronger. The sounds of pitched battle beginning between Sasuke and the false-Tekkamen who had come out to challenge them became steadily less important as the mental signals of the traitors Blade and Evil grew steadily stronger.

Though, Spear did fire a lightning bolt from his tekkalance at the green-armored false-Tekkaman, before he heard the sound of approaching thrusters and returned his attention to the traitors.

Sure enough, the machine that Blade used in place of the mount that Takkonniku-sama had bred for him was coming in fast, with Evil landing atop the machine as soon as he had finished transforming. Turning to face Evil and the machine he was riding, even as Blade himself finished his transformation and emerged to stand beside Evil. A burst from his own thrusters flung Spear into the air, and a blast of lightning from his tekkalance scattered Blade and Evil, separating them from the machine they'd been riding.

IX

With Kengo's focus squarely on the pair of them, Shinya found that he had only a brief moment to glance over at where Noal and Balzac were fighting against Sasuke. The both of them were struggling against even the youngest and smallest of Omega's Tekkamen, so it was really better for everyone that he and Takaya took care of Spear.

And they'd need to do it quickly, since he could sense Feng approaching the battlefield, though she was far enough away that he doubted she would come in time to help Kengo with anything but retreating; Shinya hoped so, at least.

Joining Takaya in the air, after the pair of them had been forced away from Pegas when Spear had fired a bolt of lightning between them, Shinya bared his own tekkalance and dove on Spear from above, just as Spear had been bearing down on Takaya. Still, their big brother was just as fast as he was the last time he and Takaya had been forced into a fight with him.

And, even though Noal and Balzac had come out like idiots to try to fight him and Sasuke on their own, Tekkaman Wraith was managing to hold the both of them off alone.

So, Shinya knew that he and Takaya weren't going to be getting much help from them, if any at all. Wraith briefly turned his attention in their direction, but Spear must have told him off for that, because the little Tekkaman went right back to attacking Noal and Balzac after only a few moments. Shinya didn't have time to notice anything after that, because Spear went right back to attacking him and Takaya after that.

Finding his own tekkalance in Spear's hands, Shinya cursed under his breath and then was forced to dodge out of the way as Spear fired another bolt of lightning almost directly at his head. For a moment, he could see the Radam Tekkaman looking down slightly, almost as though he wanted to bow his head, but Takaya threw himself back into battle and Spear moved again.

Narrowing his eyes, wishing he could be more than he was – that he could actually fight Spear, instead of just helping Takaya to survive him – Shinya began to feel a strange sort of energy building up inside him. Even as he rejoined Takaya in the air, he could feel it building, surging inside his body and as his senses sharpened, Shinya could feel the same kind of surge from Takaya's body.

It almost felt like he'd let himself be struck by one of Spear's lightning bolts, but it felt…good…

X

…Shaking off an odd sense of confusion, Varis turned to see Blade hovering next to him.

(I'll take care of Wraith.)

(Right,) he said, turning his attention to their other enemy. (I'll deal with Spear.)

The pair of them parted without another word, and Varis swooped after Spear, slamming his and Blade's enemy clear through one of the mountains surrounding their battlefield, then paused for a moment as Spear leveled his tekkalance directly at his chest and fired another bolt of lightning. Scoffing as their enemy realized how futile his attacks were, Varis turned slightly as the sense he'd previously had of Wraith was suddenly cut off. The sight of Blade with Wraith impaled through the back of the head on the end of his tekkalance, as well as the sound of Spear screaming as the Tekkaman launched himself at Blade, brought a thin smile to Varis' altered face.

At least one of their enemies wasn't going to be leaving this snowfield alive.

Baring his own tekkalance, Varis felt more than a little annoyed when Sword – who had apparently been shielding her presence from him and Blade – grabbed Spear and dragged him away from the battlefield. Snarling under his breath, Varis glanced over at Blade as the pair of them turned to pursue Sword and Spear.

Before either of them could do more than look in the direction where Spear and Sword had flown off, Varis felt the energy suddenly rushing out of him, and quickly had to get his legs back under him as he fell from the sky. He briefly noticed that Blade had fallen beside him… but…

XI

Hurrying over to their kids' sides, just as D-Two fell out of the sky and buried himself in his own snowy crater, Noal couldn't help but find his gaze drawn to the sad little corpse of Tekkaman Wraith, laid out in the snow with a grisly halo of bright red blood around his head.

"At least Blade managed to get one of them," Balzac said.

XII

"Yeah," he muttered, though Noal found that he couldn't get the image of the little albino kid under that armor out of his head.

Sure, he'd only met Sasuke Aiba as the Radam brat who'd nearly taken him apart – and had broken his arm – but the kid was still the Gemini Boys' little brother. And now they'd lost him, just like they'd lost their little sister. Just like they were going to lose their big brother.

Sighing as he leaned down to pick D-Two up and carry him back into the Headquarters, Noal carefully shifted the sharp edges of Tekkaman Varis' armor, and could only be relieved when D-Two managed to hold onto his transformation long enough to get back inside the Headquarters where it was warmer. Tekkamen might have run hotter than any human Noal had ever met, but being out in that kind of cold wasn't good for anyone.

When he and Balzac made it into the infirmary at last, the medicos were quick to take D-Two off his hands, and Noal was grateful for it; whatever else happened, D-Boy and D-Two were at least as safe as they could be.

XIII

Finding himself in bed again, the first thing that Takaya reached for was Shinya's comforting presence. His younger twin was right with him, the same way he'd always been, but there was something about this place that seemed… Both familiar and unfamiliar at once, strangely enough.

Opening his eyes slowly, Takaya looked up at Milly. Then, he looked past her to where the rest of the Space Knights were just coming into the infirmary room where he and Shinya had ended up again. Takaya wondered if Shinya might make a joke about that kind of thing, since it did seem to be happening more and more lately, but the vase of flowers that someone had brought into the room that he and Shinya were sharing caught Takaya's eye before he could think much about what his younger twin might do.

Out of the corner of his left eye, Takaya saw Noal, Levin, and Aki make their way over to the beds where he and Shinya had been sleeping while they recovered from whatever else had happened to them, but most of his attention was on the strange, white flower that someone had brought into the room with them. Even as Shinya started talking to the three Space Knights who'd come in first, and Chief Freeman joined them, Takaya found that he couldn't make himself look away from the white flowers.

They seemed to mean something, but Takaya couldn't have said what it was.

"Ta-kun," Shinya called, drawing his attention away from the flowers and back to their fellow Space Knights.

"Sorry," he said, sitting back up in his bed and trying to smile. "The flowers are beautiful. Thank you, Milly. Just looking at them, I feel… better. It's like they give me peace of mind, somehow."

"See, Milly-chan?" Shinya said, smiling wider. "It was a good thing you brought them in."

Takaya laughed softly. "Yes. Thank you, Milly."

He almost wanted to ask what the white flowers were called, but that kind of thing was really more of an idle curiosity than anything else. Shinya would probably say the same thing, if he didn't just laugh at Takaya for asking something so silly when there were more important things for them to do. He still wondered about it, though.

Of course, when Shinya asked for food, Takaya found himself reminded just what one of those "more important things" actually was, and laughed softly as he added his own request for a meal to Shinya's.

Grabbing the shirt that Noal tossed to him, Takaya looked over at Shinya, just as Levin of all people went over to cuddle him.

"Shin-chan, you have a girlfriend now?" he asked with a smile, pleased to have finally found something harmless that he could tease his younger twin about.

"Takaya, you don't remember?" Aki asked, looking honestly worried.

Takaya didn't know what to make of the worried expression on her face, nor of the way she also seemed to be sad, too. The expression stuck in his mind, even as all of them sat down at one of the tables in the cafeteria and Levin leaned her head against Shinya's. Takaya could tell that his younger twin found the whole thing more than a little strange, though more from the mental link the both of them shared than any expression on Shinya's face.

Shinya had his polite mask on, both to cover his unease and because he didn't want to worry these people – their fellow Space Knights – any more than they clearly already had.

XIV

His throat was raw from screaming, and he could hardly feel Feng-chan's arms as she embraced him around the waist in an effort to calm him down, but the only thing Spear could see was Blade's tekkalance as it pierced through the back of Sasuke's head. Breaths heaving, Spear felt Feng-chan gently turning him around to gently tuck his head into the crook of her neck. Sighing, Spear shuddered as he allowed Feng-chan to soothe him at last.

The sense of Takkonniku-sama's presence swiftly approaching the place where he and Feng-chan were both standing drew Spear's attention, and he pulled slightly away from Feng-chan so that he could stand up and face the leader of the Radam forces in this area.

(Takkonniku-sama,) he said, bowing to the Warlord for a long moment, before standing up once more. (I- That is to say, Sasuke and I-)

(Wraith was slain by the traitors, yes?) Takkonniku-sama said, his clear sympathy coming as more than a bit of a comfort to Spear under the circumstances.

(Yes,) Spear said, sighing as he gathered his composure once again. (Takkonniku-sama, do you know what that strange transformation that Blade and Evil were able to make use of?)

(It seems as though the pair of them, separated from the Empire as they have been for so long, were required to undergo the secondary transformation.)

(Secondary transformation?) Spear asked, finding his curiosity steadily becoming more powerful than the terrible feeling of loss that Sasuke's death had left him with.

(Whenever one a new creature joins our ranks, they undergo the initial transformation into a Primary Body,) Takkonniku-sama said. (However, Primary Bodies are only made use of in the most desperate circumstances, or else when we have settled a new colony. The true initial stage is the stage you and Sword remain at,) Takkonniku-said, a familiar crimson light enveloping him as his armor – white and gold, something that Spear had to admit that he hadn't been expecting to see – receded, and he leaned back on his long, counter-balancing tail. (The secondary transformation is referred to as General, and that is the one that I have thus far remained at. However, it seems as though the traitors have undergone this secondary transformation, as well.)

(You mean, Blade and Evil have become Generals, like you?) Spear asked, feeling an unsettled feeling slowly creeping up his spine.

(So it would seem,) Takkonniku-sama said, seeming more than a little displeased. (Under the circumstances, it seems that you and I must undergo transformations of our own.)

(You intend to undergo a transformation of your own, Takkonniku-sama?) he asked, curious.

(There is a third and final transformation, referred to as a Warlord among our kind,) Takkonniku-sama confirmed, though Spear wasn't certain just how the General felt about what he was clearly going to need to do; what the pair of them were going to need to do, truly. (That is the one that I will need to undergo, even as you yourself undergo The Harrowing.)

(Harrowing, Takkonniku-sama?) he asked, feeling slightly unsettled, even as the General came over to gently nuzzle his forehead.

(The traitors have clearly survived such a thing, as you will need to do yourself, Spear,) Takkonniku-sama said. (It will be a lengthy, difficult process, yet I do think that you yourself will manage to survive it, as well. Sword,) Takkonniku-sama called, turning his attention to Feng-chan. (Spear and I will be relying on you for protection, while the pair of us undergo the next stage of our respective transformations.)

(Of course, Omega-sama,) Feng-chan said, bowing deeply.

(You may refer to me by name as well, if you so wish,) Takkonniku-sama said, as the three of them all stood together in the chamber where the General had spoken to his forces on so many previous occasions.

(Thank you for your consideration,) Feng-chan said, though she still seemed slightly uncertain.

Though, it seemed to be simply Takkonniku-sama's physical form that disconcerted her so. Spear supposed he could understand, given how truly, thoroughly inhuman Takkonniku-sama truly was. Yes, they were all Radam, but he and Feng-chan had been born as humans, and it could hardly be more obvious that Takkonniku-sama had not.

(I have prepared the Tek-system within the ship,) Takkonniku-sama said, drawing Spear's attention back to the present, and all of the upheavals therein.

It was hardly a thing that could be avoided, of course, but Spear was at least glad to have had a reprieve.

(I'll follow wherever you lead, Takkonniku-sama,) he swore again, bowing deeply and then reaching back as the General reached out to take his hand.

(I will ensure that the both of you are well protected, Takkonniku-sama,) Feng-chan said, making her own way over to where the pair of them were standing.

(I thank you for your consideration, my soldier,) Takkonniku-sama said, as the three of them began making their way deeper into the ship that had brought the General to meet them in the first place.

As the three of them continued on their way, Spear could only wonder what was going to come next. Yes, Takkonniku-sama had given him some idea of what was in store for the pair of them, but Spear still found himself more than a little curious. Still, Spear knew that it would be best if he contented himself with the fact that he'd soon have no need to ask such a question.