Chapter Text
The sense of both Cain and Conrad transforming, far enough away that Ness couldn’t help but worry what might be happening to his younger twin, drew his attention just as Ness was about to take another step. Ness slammed his right foot down in response, turning in the direction that his younger twin’s mental signature had just come from.
(Cain, are you all right?)
(I’m as well as I can be, big brother,) Cain said, his younger twin’s somewhat strained good-humor coming through plainly over the mental link the pair of them had shared for so long.
Ness could at least be grateful for that, if nothing else. (I’ll be out there soon, little brother. Keep safe.)
(I’ll do my best,) Cain said, and Ness had only a moment to wonder about the wry humor in his younger twin’s mental tone, before he turned to Pegas.
“Pegas, power on!”
Leaping into the interlock-chamber, Ness felt the energies that allowed him to become Teknoman Slade rushing through him again. Flying Pegas out through the nearest air lock, Ness grasped for the mental link that would lead him back to Cain again.
(Hold on, little brother,) he said, projecting as much reassurance as he could, even in spite of his worry. (I’m coming.)
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(That’s good to know,) he said, smiling slightly even as he flung himself out of the way of yet another lightning strike from Conrad’s lancer. (I’ll keep an eye out for you.)
Firing his thrusters, as Conrad threw another bolt of lightning at him, Cain activated the second form of his own lancer and launched it at Conrad to at least try to drive his and Ness’ crazed older brother back. He needed some space, if he was going to be able to use anything actually damaging on Conrad while they were fighting. His Tekno-bolt in particular.
But, for that, he’d at least need to keep Conrad in place.
(You have no idea how long I held to the foolish hope that I would be able to bring you and Slade back home, Saber.)
Cain laughed outright. (You know, I’m actually glad that this new transformation that Ness and I had to go through is consuming our memories each time we have to use it. That means I don’t have to remember every time I’ve heard that bullshit from you!)
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(What?) Spear demanded, feeling almost as though his own heart had stopped, rather than simply his thrusters, leaving him drifting in space as Saber – as Cain – came around to attack him again.
He hadn’t known, that was all Conrad could think about: he hadn’t known that whatever process the humans had subjected his dear little brothers to – in one more of their increasingly desperate attempts to drive Lord Darkon away before he could fully establish this new colony of theirs – had damaged the both of them so deeply. That damage, it had to be why Ness had been so quick to impale poor Sam through the head when the pair of them had fought that last time.
His poor little brothers clearly needed him even more, considering everything that had happened to them.
The sight of Ness himself, emerging from the Space Ring amid the faded yellow glow of his own thrusters drew Spear’s attention, and he turned to dodge out of the way as Ness’ lancer cleaved through the space between him and Cain. The pair of them – his poor, damaged little brothers, used by the humans as weapons against their own family and clearly about to be discarded once their memories were well and truly gone – joined up with each other, and Ness reached out to clap Cain’s right shoulder. Spear’s heart ached for the pair of them, and even as he forced himself to engage the twins, Spear searched for a way to subdue them so that he would be able to bring them home at last.
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When Cain started to struggle, clearly about to lose hold of his transformation in the worst possible place, Ness quickly sent his younger twin back into the Space Ring so that he would be at least safer than he would have been if he’d stayed out. Still, the fact that Cain’s time limit was creeping up on him meant that Ness’ own wasn’t going to last much longer, either. So, he knew he’d have to drive Conrad off as quickly as he could, if he wanted to get back inside the Space Ring before his own time-limit closed in on him, as well.
Charging up his Tekno-bolt, Ness fired, paused for a moment to make sure that Conrad had been driven off, then flew back into the Space Ring to meet up with Cain and Pegas.
Once he’d made it back inside the pressurized area of the Space Ring, with the air lock doors closed firmly behind him, Ness hurried over to Cain. His younger twin was leaning against the far wall, blinking slowly and clearly struggling to stay upright after having transformed back into his human form – rather than being forced out, since Cain would have been unconscious in that case – and Ness hurried over to where his younger twin was standing.
“Hey, Nessie,” Cain said, smiling wearily as Ness allowed his younger twin to lean against him.
“I’m glad you’re all right, Cain,” he said, gathering his younger twin up in his arms, even as he started making his way deeper into the Space Ring.
“Do you mind if I…”
“No, go ahead,” he said, as Cain closed his eyes, curling up in his arms as Ness carried him deeper into the Space Ring.
The heavy thudding of Pegas’ footfalls as the big mech followed him reminded Ness that this wasn’t really the best place for Cain to get any real kind of sleep. Not when Pegas was clearly going to be following him close enough to be annoying to Ness while he was awake, and so would clearly disturb any of Cain’s efforts to get some actual rest. The sound of another door opening drew Ness’ attention, and he tensed briefly as he tried to sense who it was and got nothing in return.
When Star came through the door, Ness let out the breath he’d been unconsciously holding, and made his way over to her. Pegas, naturally, followed with thudding footfalls in his wake.
“I’m glad to see you both made it back safely,” Star said, smiling widely, though Ness could clearly see the worry she was trying to cover; he couldn’t help but wonder just what the pair of them had once meant to each other, for her to be looking at him like that.
Cain would understand; his younger twin had said that he’d wondered the same thing about Maggie, when the pair of them had been making their way up to the Space Ring in the first place.
“Thanks,” he said, deciding to take more of a chance than he otherwise would have, considering how well Star seemed to know him, and how well he didn’t know her. “Would you mind taking him for me?” he chuckled softly, gesturing at Pegas. “With this big guy here following me, it’s not really the best place for anyone to sleep.”
“Especially either of you,” Star said, smiling softly, as she stepped forward to gently take Cain from his arms, actually leaning over to lightly kiss his younger twin on the forehead as she took Cain’s full weight in her arms.
Biting his lower lip, and tempted for a moment to look away from such an intensely personal moment between the pair of them, Ness couldn’t help but be reminded for a moment of his and Cain’s mother; that was just the kind of thing she would have done, and had, back when she’d still been alive.
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When Slade thanked her, heading off down a different corridor so that he could draw Pegas off and so give Saber at least some peace to get what rest he could, Star made her way over to a nearby wall to sit down. Carefully arranging Saber so that she could rest more of his weight on the ground than on her lap, Star sighed. She’d managed to smile so that Slade at least wouldn’t worry about her, but once he was out of sight down the corridor, Star found that she couldn’t stop the tears from coming.
She couldn’t stop herself from mourning the friend that she was losing, or the man she loved who no longer remembered what the pair of them had once been to each other; Slade might have been just down the corridor, while Saber was here in her arms, but Star was losing them all the same.
“I don’t know what I can do for you,” she muttered, tears falling to land softly in Saber’s hair, and to drip slowly down his right cheek.
“Give him to me,” snapped a heart-freezingly familiar voice, sounding like he was only a few steps from where she and Saber were sitting.
Groping for her gun, knowing that it was the only means of defense that she or Saber had at the moment, Star barely had time to blink before she found her left wrist in Spear’s grasp and the gun she was holding aimed uselessly at the floor.
“I’m giving serious thought to tearing your arms off, after what your kind did to my younger brothers,” Spear snarled, inhumanly red eyes boring into her as the pair of them faced each other over Saber’s unconscious form.
“As though you actually care,” she snapped back, the hatred she felt for Slade and Saber’s insane older brother – twisted into a monster by the Radam, and now only wanting to drag Slade and Saber back to Darkon’s ship so that they could be twisted into the same kind of monsters that he was – coming right back to her as she found herself facing him. “You just couldn’t stop pushing, could you? You’ve been chasing Slade and Saber ever since you woke up on Darkon’s ship. You were the one who forced them to use their powers, even after they started suffering from the side-effects that meant they needed to go through this new transformation,” she bared her teeth at Spear, even as she felt tears dripping down her cheeks. “It’s your fault that they’re both suffering so much now. You and all the Radam.”
“I would hardly expect a human to understand us,” Spear snapped, the seething contempt on his face almost matching what Star felt for him.
Blinking the tears out of her eyes, Star caught sight of Spear gathering Saber’s unconscious form up under his right arm, even as he continued crushing her right wrist with his left hand.
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The sudden sense of Conrad’s presence, so close to where Star had taken Cain to get what sleep he could in a place like this, drew Ness’ attention and sent him dashing back down the corridor, following the mental link he had with Cain. He could tell that Cain was still asleep, but with Conrad so close, that wasn’t a comfort at all. Signaling for Pegas to wait, and locking down his telepathic powers so that Conrad wouldn’t be able to sense him in turn, Ness hit the door controls and leaped through the closest door to where Conrad was standing.
Clenching his right fist, Ness drove it deep into Conrad’s floating ribs, aiming to stun his and Cain’s older brother so that he would be able to pull his younger twin away, to get Cain to safety before Conrad could try to carry him off. The sudden explosion of a gunshot, entirely too close for comfort, woke Cain up faster than even Ness had been expecting.
Watching Cain kick himself free from Conrad’s grasp gave Ness at least some assurance that his younger twin was going to be as well as either of them could be, considering who they were facing.
(Cain, get Star out of here,) he said, not wanting to shout or risk Conrad overhearing him.
(Right, big brother,) Cain said, dashing past Conrad, then lifting Star up onto his back without even breaking stride. (Keep safe.)
(I’ll do what I can, little brother.)
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When he’d managed to get far enough away from Conrad’s mental signature that he could stop without worrying too much about his and Ness’ older brother catching up to them, Cain pulled Star down off of his back and set her back on her feet.
“Are you okay?” he asked, having seen the tears on her face, but not having the time to do anything other than run while he’d been trying to get the both of them far enough from both Conrad and the air lock that Ness wouldn’t have to worry about hurting them when he started fighting again.
“It’s not fair,” Star said, hiccuping a sob as tears ran down her cheeks.
Cain actually laughed, even as he reached out to cup Star’s face, wiping tears out of her eyes with his thumbs. “No, it isn’t,” he smiled, as best he could under the circumstances. “I can’t even say it’s the worst day of my life, because someone always seems to take that as a challenge.” Holding Star for a long moment, the both of them taking what comfort they could, Cain found that he couldn’t keep the question he’d had in mind to himself anymore. “Are we,” he paused for a moment, hands on Star’s shoulders as the pair of them faced each other. “I mean, were we in love?”
Star’s eyes fell closed, but there was a sad sort of smile on her face. “Slade was the one I fell in love with,” Star said, tears spilling down her cheeks as she opened her eyes again. “You’re one of my best friends, and now…” she stifled another sob, seeming to gather herself. “You should go.”
“Yeah, I should,” Cain said, reaching out to gently cup her right cheek; swallowing felt like he had broken glass in his throat.
Turning to run, before he could think more than twice about everything he’d just learned, Cain closed his eyes briefly. Pulling the sense of Ness around him like a security blanket, Cain made for the nearest air lock.
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When Cain’s presence burst inside his mind like a newborn star, Ness couldn’t help the twisted sense of vindication he felt. Having Cain beside him, fighting Conrad as the pair of them ranged across the space between the Ring and Earth, was perversely comforting. For all that he’d always wanted to keep his younger twin safe, Ness knew that Cain would never forgive him if he tried to send him away.
If he even listened in the first place, anyway.
As the pair of them struck out at Conrad, Cain lashing him with his lancer-ribbon, and Ness flinging out his bladed boomerangs, the pair of them tried to steer him away from the Space Ring. Star was waiting for them there, and the last thing either of them wanted was to end up putting her in any more danger than she already was. Dodging out of the way of another burst of lightning from Conrad’s lancer, Ness dove in and kicked Conrad just as he’d been starting to prepare another bolt of lightning to throw at Cain.
Closing with Conrad, just as his and Cain’s older brother was bringing his lancer in line to stab Cain, Ness barely had a moment to brace himself before Conrad kicked him nearly into the Space Ring itself. Shaking off the disorientation after he’d been knocked through space, Ness was just about to try ramming Conrad, when the silent sound of Cain shrieking in agony drilled right into his brain.
The sight of his younger twin wreathed in lightning, writhing in pain with Conrad’s teknolance buried in his right side, blew all other thoughts out of his mind. All except for the fury that always seemed to be with him now. The rage that became power as soon as he’d seen what Conrad was doing…
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Carrying Cain back to the Space Ring, knowing that Ness would soon be after him with all the misguided fury that his younger brothers had always displayed when he tried to guide them back onto the right path, Spear managed to locate a nearby air lock just as Cain’s transformation began to fluctuate in the way that suggested his younger brother was about to lose hold of it.
There would have been few worse places for Cain to end up bereft of his armor, and so Spear took the both of them inside the air lock and cycled it quickly.
Carrying his insensate, vulnerable younger brother over to a clear patch of the Space Ring, Spear carefully removed Cain’s vest and gently tucked it under his younger brother’s head. Truly, it was the most comfortable that he could make his dear younger brother, under their present circumstances.
“I’ll see you again, Cain,” he promised, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on his youngest remaining brother’s forehead.
The sudden, nigh-overwhelming sense of Ness’ presence – the feel of a fully realized General in the same vicinity – prompted Spear to briefly close his eyes in anguish, even as he invoked his own transformation. This was just what he’d been hoping to prevent: his sweet, misguided younger brothers being forced to use the unstable, incomplete transformation that was devouring them alive, even as it granted them power.
Invoking his own secondary transformation, Spear followed the strengthened mental signal that would lead him to the elder of his two remaining younger brothers; knowing all the while that he might very well be forced to fight Ness again before all of this was over.
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Seething with rage, Slade found that the only thing that kept him relatively calm was the sense he still had of Saber. The link to his counterpart’s mind, dim as it was considering that Saber had lost consciousness from the damage that Spear had deliberately inflicted on him, was the only reason that he hadn’t cut that insolent creature down just as soon as Saber had fallen so horribly silent.
Still, he’d begun charging up a Vortex-bolt as soon as he’d sensed Spear’s reappearance on their present battlefield as the General that his and Saber’s enemy had somehow become, as well. As soon as Slade caught sight of Spear, approaching his position from the same location his remaining sense of Saber seemed to be coming from, Slade growled and fired just as Spear had gotten far enough from the Space Ring that he wouldn’t risk Saber’s safety when he did.
However, Spear was just as annoyingly fast as ever, and he managed to dodge.
Slamming up his mental walls, as he felt the intrusive probing of Spear’s attempted mental communication, Slade bared his teknolance and charged at Spear. Amusingly enough, that seemed to have taken his and Saber’s enemy by surprise, so Slade pushed his advantage even as Spear brought his own enhanced teknolance into place. Slade already had his target, however, and Spear had yet to choose his own.
That was all the advantage he needed.
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The sight of a familiar figure, laid out unconscious on the deck of the Space Ring, prompted Star to sprint the rest of the way over to where Saber was. The sight of Saber’s Space Knight vest, removed and rolled up under his head, to say nothing of the way his hands had been neatly laid out on his stomach, gave Star a brief, unpleasant chill. Seeing the clear evidence of Spear’s twisted kindness had never and would never be easy for her.
Still, when she crouched to pick Saber up, she found the sluggishly bleeding wound in his right side that had obviously been what had left him in this precarious position in the first place.
Ripping the sleeves from her own uniform, along with some strips from the lower half of her shirt, Star bandaged Saber’s wound as best as she could manage with the makeshift supplies she currently had access to. Picking him up, being as careful as she could, even as she moved quickly toward the place where she’d last seen Slade and Spear fighting.
Even if she could only serve as a reminder of what Slade had to come back home to, Star was determined to be there for him.
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Forcing himself back upright, Ness panted as he struggled to pull Conrad’s lancer free from his right shoulder. They’d ended up back inside the Space Ring again, though thankfully far enough away from Cain or Star that Ness had been able to fight without worrying about what might have been happening to them. Or, without worrying what might be happening to Star, since he already knew that Cain was injured.
Tossing away Spear’s teknolance once he’d managed to pull the thing out, Ness looked up as he heard Conrad’s heavy panting and armored footfalls coming closer to him. Ness tensed, wondering if he was going to be forced to fight again so soon. However, the sight of his own teknolance impaled through Conrad’s stomach brought him up short. Even as he struggled to rise back to his feet, Ness kept his eyes on Conrad.
His and Cain’s older brother finally seemed to be at the end of his strength, if the way he was panting and seemed to be trying to brace himself against something that was just a bit too far away to reach was any indication.
“I can’t… I can’t…” Ness heard Conrad muttering, just before his and Cain’s older brother lost his hold on the transformation that seemed to be the only thing keeping him upright, if the way he started to fall backward was any indication.
Rushing over to where Conrad was, his and Cain’s older brother’s teeth clenched to hold back a scream even as blood streamed out of the right side of his mouth, Ness found himself helpless for the first time since this whole battle had started. Conrad thrashed with his entire body, even as Ness tried to lower him gently to the floor.
Conrad slammed his left fist down on something, and even as his and Cain’s older brother choked up even more blood, there was an unsettling expression of tired satisfaction on his face.
“What was that?” he asked, speaking aloud for the first time, since the pair of them were surrounded by an atmosphere that could actually transmit sound, and the pair of them were at last close enough to talk.
“That was a Radam mind-parasite,” Conrad said, glancing down at the remnants of the creature he’d just crushed under his fist, before closing his eyes.
Ness suddenly found himself with his hands resting on Sam’s shoulders, looking down at the parasite attached to the base of his youngest brother’s neck, and then watching Sensei Goddard cover it with one of the scarves that Sam had packed to take along… the mental contact ended quickly, and Ness found himself shuddering as he realized how easily things could have been different.
“That was…”
“Yes,” Conrad said, as Ness found himself trailing off in a mix of sadness and horror. “That was how the Radam kept us obedient; how they kept us loyal,” Conrad closed his eyes briefly, and Ness knew that if he hadn’t been in full armor, he would have been weeping just like his and Cain’s older brother. “I’m only glad that you and Cain managed to escape.”
“Father did that,” Ness said thickly, feeling like he was swallowing broken glass with every breath.
“Yes, and I’m glad for that, too,” Conrad said, the gentle smile lingering on his face even with the tears still in his eyes. “Still, no matter how hard any of them – any of us – tried to push you, you and Cain never gave up. I’m proud of you,” Conrad reached up, and even though he couldn’t feel his older brother’s right hand on his cheek through the armor he was still wearing, Ness cupped it against his face for a long moment. “Here,” Conrad said, smiling even as his sharp eyes began to lose the intense focus that Ness always remembered them having. “This is what you’ve been looking for.”
“Thank you,” Ness said, taking the bright red teknocrystal Conrad presented him with, even as the sentiment itself felt hopelessly inadequate.
“Ness, I…” his and Cain’s older brother started, but Conrad’s eyes fell shut, his left arm fell limply to the Space Ring’s deck, and Ness never learned what his and Cain’s older brother had intended to say.
Even as he tucked Conrad’s horribly limp right arm over the gaping wound in his and Cain’s older brother’s stomach, the sense of his younger twin’s presence washing over him reminded Ness that there was still one member of his family that he’d managed to save from all of this. Cain was sleeping, sure, but with Star taking care of him Ness was sure that his younger twin would make it out of all this… If not all right, then as well as anyone could be.
There was just something about Star that Ness felt he could trust; something familiar, for all that he didn’t know her that well.
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Leaning Saber against a clear patch of wall so that she could get to the door-controls without disturbing him too much, Star tensed and the door slid open before she’d managed to hit a single button. The sight of Slade standing in the doorway, still wearing the armor that made him strong enough to protect the Earth, brought a small smile back to her face. Yes, she knew that he had to be hurting, given everything she’d managed to learn about the sacrifices that he and Saber had been forced to make, but given the way he reached out to embrace her and Saber, Star couldn’t help the warm feeling that spread through her chest.
“Thank you.”
“Always,” she said, smiling even though she couldn’t see the answering expression on Slade’s armored face. “I’m glad you made it back, Slade.”
“Yeah,” Slade said, reaching down to gently stroke Saber’s right cheek with his armored fingers.
Shifting her grip on Saber, since she didn’t need to open the door now that Slade had come through it, Star watched in mild surprise as Slade turned to make his way back into the room he’d presumably just been fighting in. When he came back out with Spear in his arms, cradled in almost the same way that Star had been cradling Saber ever since she’d found him unconscious in the wake of Spear’s final attack on him, Star couldn’t help tensing. Holding Saber tighter, even as Slade carefully laid Spear out on the deck of the Space Ring, Star couldn’t help shuddering.
Even as Slade leaned down to hold Spear close, his ragged breaths almost sounding like dry sobbing, Star bit her lower lip as Slade clearly struggled to compose himself.
“He’d want to be buried on Earth,” Slade said, his voice still sounding cracked and raw, even as he settled back on his knees beside Spear, stroking the side of his face, the same way he’d just done with Saber.
Or Spear’s corpse, given what Slade had just said. Burying her mouth in Saber’s hair, so Slade wouldn’t see how hard she was clenching her teeth at the sight of the monster whose latest murder attempt on her alone had been earlier this very day; to say nothing of what he’d done to Saber… But she couldn’t say anything to Slade, not with the way he was clearly mourning for his and Saber’s older brother.
When Slade stood back up, Star noticed the glittering, red teknocrystal he was holding in his right hand.
“That’s Spear’s, isn’t it,” she muttered, knowing the answer even before Slade had turned to look back at her.
“He gave it to me,” Slade said, holding Spear’s crystal up, staring at it as though it had some kind of answer for all of this. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned back to look right at her. “Take care of Cain for me,” Slade said, reaching out to engage the lever that controlled the door in this section with the same hand he’d clenched around Spear’s teknocrystal. “I’ll come back.”
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Once the interior door he’d triggered sealed him off from Cain and Star, Ness turned to the air lock in front of him, raising Conrad’s teknocrystal even as he did so. Watch over me, big brother; I’m not finished yet, he mused, climbing back on top of Pegas, Ness felt the Crystal Field form around him. The sheer speed Conrad’s teknocrystal lent to him would have made Ness giddy, if he hadn’t been so completely aware of what he was about to be doing.
If he didn’t know just who he was going to be fighting.
The Crystal Field enveloping him cleared up the fatigue that’d been dragging at him ever since Conrad had died in his arms, and the knowledge that Cain and Star were behind him – that they were as safe as anyone could be, under the circumstances – let Ness focus past the pure fury simmering in the back of his mind.
(There’s no one left for you to hide behind, Darkon,) Ness snarled, opening the mental link he’d forced closed for so long, now using it as a beacon to draw himself to the Warlord. (It’s just you and me.)
(Very well, Slade. Come, meet me in combat.)
Snarling at the arrogance he could still sense in the alien Teknoman’s mental tone, Ness pushed his thrusters for more power. Still, even as he grew closer to the Moon’s far side – where Darkon’s ship was waiting; where it had been waiting, since Father’s destruction of the Argos had crippled his ship and forced it to crash there – Ness could feel Darkon’s focus turning to him. Even as he forced himself through it, forced himself to keep moving, Ness could feel it dragging at him.
Not in the physical sense, of course, but pushing against the sheer force of Darkon’s mental presence was harder than Ness had ever imagined it would be. And this was after he and Cain had been forced to go through that second transformation of theirs. Ness could hardly imagine how much worse it would have been if he’d tried to fight Darkon as an ordinary Teknoman.
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Fully tied into his regenerating Deep Scout as he now was, Dakonith was aware of the exact moment when his Deep Scout’s regeneration cycle was completed at last. For all the soldiers that he’d lost to make it to this moment, he could at least be pleased that his Deep Scout was again spaceworthy. The sense of Slade – the rogue General who was so foolish as to challenge Dakonith on his own ground – grew steadily closer.
Not stronger, of course; the General had not been born who could truly challenge a Warlord, but closer all the same.
Still, as Dakonith stretched his awareness through his fully repaired Deep Scout, lifting off from the dust-ridden satellite at last, he devoted most of his attention to monitoring Slade’s approach. He had a new colony to establish, in addition to the rogue General presenting himself so obligingly before him. He’d subdue Slade, and then the pair of them could hunt down the young one’s twin, as well.
Firing his Deep Scout’s thrusters amid a hail of shattering crust from the satellite underneath him, Dakonith turned his attention to the eldest of the pair of little renegades that had been plaguing him for so long.
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(Traitor General, you overestimate yourself,) Darkon said, amused contempt all but dripping from his telepathic voice.
Slade felt it when Darkon’s will crashed into his, a Warlord’s will. Slade could only really describe it as taking a sledgehammer to the face and then being forced to keep running. He could almost see Darkon towering over him, claws bared and teeth sinking into the back of Slade’s neck to force him to submit.
Slade shook off the mental image as quickly as he could. (I am not your prey, Darkon!)
(Not yet.)
(Not ever!)
The Crystal Field around him was holding, but Slade didn’t know how long it would last with Darkon actively assaulting him. He could only be grateful that Saber and Star were back on the Space Ring, far enough away that Darkon wouldn’t be able to spare the focus to attack Saber before Slade finally killed him.
He could be grateful for that, as well as the fact that there were no more Spider-crabs to threaten the rest of his and Saber’s fellow Space Knights. Slade could be grateful for that, and he could hold tight to the memories of his and Saber’s fellow Space Knights – to the memories of the old family that he and Saber had once had, and the new family that the pair of them had formed; both of which were under threat from Darkon and the rest of the Radam – all while Slade pushed his thrusters for all the power they could give him.
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She’d seen Slade jetting off, enveloped in the eerie red glow that had always been the harbinger of one of the Radam’s Teknomen attacking them before, and Star couldn’t help but worry. Still, with Saber unconscious in her arms, there wasn’t much that Star could actually do. Nothing, but keep praying that Slade would come back; that he would keep his promise to her and Saber, and return to them.
“You know, Tina and I had been planning for awhile to drag Slade to the mall,” she said, blinking tears from her eyes, not quite sure why she was trying to talk to Saber when she knew he was unconscious, but feeling the need to at least say something. “We were going to get you to help us, of course, but there was never enough time. And now…” she pressed a desperate kiss to the top of Saber’s head, wishing that she could have done the same for Slade, before he left.
But that hadn’t been possible; only a Teknoman could hope to face Darkon in a fight, and with Saber injured and unconscious, Slade was the last hope any of them had.
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The feel of his rogue General drawing ever closer, even as his Deep Scout broke fully free of the lifeless satellite at last, brought Dakonith at least a modicum of satisfaction. The rogue was young, and though he had been forced to break the limits of what few physical barriers remained for one of their own, the simple fact remained that Dakonith was a Warlord, and Slade was merely a General.
A General without even his own Deep Scout, and so all the lesser for it.
Even the feel of the little rogue crashing his way into Dakonith’s own Deep Scout wasn’t so troublesome as it might otherwise been, given the fact that Slade was essentially presenting himself before Dakonith. Soon, Dakonith would have at least one of his little rogues back in his possession.
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Boring through the hull of Darkon’s ship, Slade soon found himself back inside the one place he’d have been all too pleased to never have to visit again: the interior of Darkon’s ship. Only the fact that he was hunting the Warlord kept the memories of what had happened to him in this place from coming back to haunt him. Growling under his breath as he found himself confronted by Darkon himself, seemingly wired into the ship all around him, Slade narrowed his eyes as he realized that this couldn’t be Darkon.
The form in front of him was entirely too humanoid to be mistaken for the Nandorian who’d been the main force behind the Radam’s invasion of Earth.
(So, where’d you hide your real body?) Slade demanded, pushing forward through the force of the Warlord’s will; Darkon hadn’t fully turned it on him yet, Slade could sense that much, but destroying the construct in front of him wouldn’t satisfy him nearly as much as coming to grips with the Warlord himself.
He wanted Darkon, not some cheap puppet made in the vague likeness of the species that Darkon had been aiming to conquer.
A sharp trilling – Nandorian laughter – seemed all the louder in the previously unbroken silence of Darkon’s ship. (Let’s see if you earn that information, little rogue.)
Before he could wonder just what in the hell Darkon was getting at, Slade found himself abruptly yanked down by a mass of tendrils wrapping around both him and Pegas. Darkon trilled again, and Slade at last felt the full force of the Warlord’s will crashing against his own. If what he’d felt before was like trying to keep running after taking a sledgehammer to the face, Slade could only compare this to being crushed under the full weight of an avalanche while trying to scale a vertical cliff face.
He could sense… Darkon… Dakonith… Takkonniku… Umegon Takkonniku… each of them merely a closer approximation, the closest that a human mouth and tongue and throat could come to pronouncing the alien syllables of the Fierce Tactician’s name. Slade could feel teeth buried in the back of his neck, a clawed hand digging into the meat of his left shoulder, and a large, three-toed foot pressed firmly into his spine.
(Time to submit, little rogue,) that hateful voice said, a rumbling purr of sheer pleasure seeming to vibrate through Slade’s entire body.
Slade thrashed, trying to throw off the mental images the way he had before, but he was pinned under the Warlord’s weight, long grasses brushing his face as the Warlord held him still… Pulling his awareness inward, casting back for anything that he could use to free himself, Slade concentrated as hard as he could. And, while Slade couldn’t find anything to free himself, he still reached out… and he reached back…
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Looking down at Saber as he shifted slightly in her arms, Star watched in shock as – even with his eyes closed and while he was still clearly asleep – Saber raised his Lapis Crystal. The Crystal’s “wings” snapped open, and as it started to glow brighter and brighter, Star couldn’t help wondering if it was actually possible for either of the twins to transform in their sleep.
Supporting Saber’s right hand with her left, Star looked down at Saber’s face. The clear glow of the secondary image of Saber’s Lapis Crystal that always showed when he and Slade would use the telepathy that they’d been linked by for as long as Star had known them told Star at least enough to know that Saber was communicating with Slade, but she still wondered what the pair of them could be saying with Saber unconscious and Slade still so far away.
Still, the fact that the pair of them were clearly in contact with each other gave Star at least some hope that she might be able to get through to Slade somehow. Brushing her fingers over the Lapis Crystal shape between Saber’s eyes, Star leaned down to brush a feather-light kiss against Saber’s lips. She could only hope that Slade could feel at least some of the love that she was feeling for him right at that moment.
She also hoped that Maggie would understand, when she explained things to the other woman; after the three of them made it back to Earth together.
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Breaths heaving as he- as they stood up under the force of the Warlord’s crushing mental strength, they threw off the mental image of the Warlord’s home planet – the grassy plains where the Fierce Tactician had lived and hunted, and hence where he felt most comfortable – and rose back to their armored feet.
(Radam Warlord, you overestimate yourself.)
The Warlord’s hissing was accompanied by a nearly overpowering wave of fury from over the link that the three of them now shared, and the next thing they knew they’d been unceremoniously blown back outside. Righting themself as quickly as they could, they turned to watch as the Warlord erupted from his own ship behind them.
(If you little rogues still refuse to submit, then I suppose you will simply have to die,) the Warlord said, the superficial calm of his mental tone barely overlaying the annoyance he clearly felt. (A pity; the pair of you would have been a great asset to the Empire.)
(Yeah, that’s not happening,) they scoffed.
(Clearly,) the Warlord returned, unimpressed.
Even as they threw themself into a thruster-aided charge, they could see what looked like constructs in the shape of the others – the ones they’d killed – rising up from the hull of the ship in front of them.
(Oh no, you’re not pulling this again!) they snapped, drawing their second teknolance and cutting through each of the constructs before they could pull their facsimiles of feet free from the hull underneath them.
(Yes, I suppose that humans are not best suited to this particular situation,) the Warlord said, some thread of actual amusement leaking back into his mental tone.
Before they could wonder for longer than a few moments just what in the hell the Warlord was getting at, they quickly found themself surrounded by inhuman – distinctly Nandorian – forms. Sure, they were just the same kind of constructs as the Warlord had tried to use against them before, but they’d known how to fight them. They’d known how to fight humans.
Now, finding themself alone against the Fierce Tactician’s own people, they couldn’t help feeling more than a little uncertain.
(I had originally been anticipating the chance to introduce my General to the rest of his clan-brothers. However, I suppose I will settle for watching their likenesses rid me of you, my traitor Generals.)
Once, when they’d been trying to explain the notes they’d been making to their fellow Space Knights, they’d heard Nandorians compared to kangaroos, and not having any other frame of reference they’d accepted the description. Now, with a group of constructs in their likeness surrounding them, they realized that kangaroos had been exactly the wrong kind of comparison to make. The creatures staring them down – constructs though they were – seemed far more like wolves than any kind of kangaroo that had ever lived.
Especially when they began circling, each one of them staying carefully out of range of both of their teknolances.
With a teknolance in each hand, they almost thought it would have been easier fighting the constructs all around them, but comparing the constructs to wolves had been even more correct than even they had been expecting it to be: the constructs circled like wolves, kicking and slashing from the front to draw out an attack, and then letting those in the back make an actual attack. Turning as quickly as they could, they tried to defend themself, but they knew that any one of the attacks from their front could become a real attack, just as soon as they turned their attention to one of those.
Lifting off from the hull of the Warlord’s vessel, they found the constructs following in their wake, still circling like wolves.
With bleeding wounds torn in their back, thighs, and calves, they turned to confront the circling constructs. With the sure knowledge that they wouldn’t be able to fight without injuries – this wasn’t like fighting humans at all – they turned their full attention to the constructs in front of them. That was where they were going to have to focus, if they wanted to have a chance of finishing this fight.
Still, their singular focus cost them more blood, since they weren’t protecting their back anymore in favor of focusing on a single target in front of them, but finally they were able to drive their teknolance into the head of one of the constructs. The remainder of the group split, almost as though the constructs could actually think, and continued circling. Forcing themself forward, even as the constructs went right back to gouging chunks out of their armor and flesh from behind, they turned their attention to the Warlord’s ship.
Knowing that, without the Warlord’s controlling intelligence to animate them, all of the constructs would return to being lifeless again, they started concentrating on their secondary transformation. They’d need to get far enough away from the Warlord’s ship to be able to destroy it with the single shot they were going to be capable of once they managed to transform. As the constructs continued to circle, they managed to stab one through the head, and then to cut another one in half.
More of the remaining constructs attacked, even as they pushed their thrusters to bring themself into position to destroy the Warlord’s ship, and they forced themself to focus through the pain; through the feeling of their flesh being torn out, past being kicked in the head, and beyond the hammering blows from the constructs’ tails.
They just needed to focus…
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Cradling Saber in her arms, helping to support his right arm and the brightly-glowing Lapis Crystal he still had in his hand, Star kissed the top of Saber’s head. She could only hope that the both of them could still remember just how much she loved them; how much all of the Space Knights cared for both of the twins. How deeply every one of them was hoping that they would make it back to Earth.
You both mean so much to us, Star mused, wishing for a moment that she could have been telepathic, herself. I hope you both still remember that. I wish I could tell you both everything I feel right now, but I’ll wait, she mused, lacing her fingers in between the fingers of Saber’s left hand. I’ll tell you when the three of us make it back to Earth. When we’re all together again.
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They could almost see him, through the mental link the Warlord had forced between the three of them. Or at least, they could see the Nandorian body that the Fierce Tactician was hiding behind. And, even past the Warlord’s nigh-overwhelming fury, they could sense a shadow of hope. It was a faint hope, sure – the hope of an end, more than anything – but it was still there.
They were still aware of it.
Having transformed for the second time, their armor renewed after having been forced to weather so many attacks from the Warlord’s constructs, they started charging up a Vortex-bolt. They’d need to position themselves to destroy the Warlord’s ship with the single shot they were going to be capable of, and they’d need to do it quickly, before the Warlord could bring whatever other weapons his ship might possess to bear on them.
The could see the Fierce Tactician himself standing in front of them, emerging from a field of the long grasses that the Nandorian whose body he’d stolen had lived and hunted on during his life- Shoving against the mental link that the Warlord had forced on them, they shook their head and raised the altered teknolance that they’d gained with their second transformation. As the Warlord swiped at them with those massively long arms he’d seemed to have grown with his latest transformation, they lashed out with one of the teknolances they were wielding, catching the Warlord between two of his fingers and cutting them free from the Warlord’s huge, upper “hand”.
The Fierce Tactician hissed at them, crouching down and leaping forward in nearly the same motion, sinking his teeth into their left shoulder as- they forced the mental connection the Warlord had opened with them closed again, but they weren’t quite in time to either dodge or sever the sharpened vines that the Warlord was using to attack them. Cutting through the vines imbedded in their right shoulder, they pulled the vines out of the wound to allow it to heal.
Even if it would be slower in combat.
Continuing to charge up their Vortex-bolt, they- could see a prone form trying to shift aside the stalks of long grass that blocked him from sight, and when they reached out to push those stalks aside they looked down at the one whose name meant Explorer and sounded like “Kaura”. He’d been the Fierce Tactician’s host for longer than even he could remember; they could see thin, strong Radam vines growing through his legs and tail, though for the moment his arms were still free.
As the Explorer struggled to turn his head, they noticed the thin wires that pierced both of his long, rabbit-like ears. Crouching, they reached out to the Explorer, allowing him to nuzzle them as well as he could with his head restrained so completely.
(Please, end this.)
Finding the telepathic connection that the Explorer had managed to forge with them snapping almost as soon as he’d managed to say those last words, they found that their Vortex-bolt was fully-charged. If nothing else, they could at least grant the Explorer’s last wish. They could ensure that the Fierce Tactician’s ambitions died with him.
Firing their fully charged Vortex-bolt, they could feel the last shreds of the telepathic connection that the Fierce Tactician had forced on them tearing away, and they spared a thought for the Explorer. They hoped he’d at least been content, in the end.
(Let’s go home, big brother.)
(Yeah, little brother. We’ll go home.)
Still, as he found himself alone in his own mind again, Slade found himself swamped by a wave of weariness that he hadn’t even subconsciously been expecting. However, the sight of that robot that had seemed to be following him around while he and Saber had been fighting the Fierce Tactician aboard his ship brought Slade at least some relief. Even as the robot opened itself up, splitting in half to reveal some kind of a chamber inside itself, Slade found his gaze turning toward one of the constructs that’d managed to survive the destruction of the Fierce Tactician’s ship.
It was lifeless again, sure, but as Slade found his consciousness fading, it almost looked like the Explorer was looking back at him…
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When the mental link between Slade and Saber had faded, or at least gone dormant again – the way she’d heard Slade describe it once was that he and Saber were always telepathically linked, but they could block out the link or let it go dormant – Star leaned down to gently kiss the point between Saber’s eyebrows that had previously glowed with his connection to Slade. Standing back up, carefully shifting Saber so she could lift him easier, Star glanced down at Spear’s corpse. Biting her lip, Star shook her head and turned away from the corpse, making her way to the closest elevator.
She’d let someone else know to pick up Spear’s corpse, since that was what Slade clearly wanted, but she wasn’t going to handle it herself.
Holding Saber close, Star shifted him slightly so that she could access the elevator controls, making her way onto the elevator and leaning against the wall while the car was in motion. Leaning her chin against the top of Saber’s head, Star couldn’t help wondering just how Slade was doing. She hoped he was all right, after everything that had happened.
She also wondered if any of the Space Knights would ever find out what had happened on Darkon’s ship, or if either of the twins would even remember it themselves.
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Making her way out of the Command Center, as the sky outside was lit up by thousands of shooting stars, Tina couldn’t help but wonder just which one of them was Slade, which one was Saber, or if the pair of them would even be coming down that way at all. They’d gone up to the Space Ring on one of the elevators with Star, so there might be a chance that they’d come back that same way.
Turning to make her way back inside, leaving the shooting stars to keep falling, Tina paused for a long moment as she caught sight of the communication console.
“Command Center, Tina here,” she said, as soon as she’d managed to make it to the comm. console.
“I’m glad to hear your voice again, Tina,” Star said, sounding tired, but also happy. “I have Saber here with me; we’re coming down on the Space Ring elevator.”
“I’m really glad to hear that, Star,” Tina said, smiling even as she felt tears coming to her eyes. “I’ll contact the rest of the Space Knights.”
“Thanks, Tina,” Star said, sounding almost like she was smiling, too.
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“Our friends will be here soon, Saber,” she said, even though Saber was still unconscious and so wouldn’t be able to respond. “We’ll have the chance to see them again soon.”
Still, she’d heard that coma patients could still hear what people said to them, so she’d kept talking to Saber, at least when she’d had something to say. Waiting at the elevator terminal, Star smiled softly as she began hearing the sounds of approaching vehicles.
“They’re here now, Saber,” she said, offering her dear friend a gentle smile. “We’ll be going home, soon.”
“It’s good to see ya again, lass,” Angela O’Roarke, who’d left with the other Space Knights when the twins had saved her and at least some of her people on the Space Ring, said.
“It’s good to see you again, too,” she said, carrying Saber over to the transport that Angela, and some of the Space Knights’ medics had come out to meet her in. “Spear’s body is back on the Space Ring,” she said, deciding to get things over with as quickly as she could.
“I’ll send some of my people to recover him,” Angela said, clearly having understood just what Star wanted; or really, what Slade had wanted.
“Thank you,” she said, climbing into the transport, and handing Saber over to the medics as soon as she could.
The group swarmed over him, and Star found herself sighing softly. Sure, she was glad that she and Saber had managed to make it back to the rest of the Space Knights, back down to Earth, but she couldn’t help wondering where Slade was. She couldn’t help wondering when he would be able to come back to the rest of the Space Knights.
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Sighing as he lowered his binoculars, Ringo looked down as he heard the sound of someone back at the Command Center trying to contact him.
“Ringo here, what is it?” he asked, wondering just what else was going to happen today.
“Star just made it back with Saber,” Tina said, sounding just about as happy as someone making that kind of report could have been. “Have you managed to find Slade, yet?”
“Not just yet, but I’m definitely going to keep looking,” he said, smiling even though Tina wouldn’t be able to see him through the audio-only connection he was currently using. “Thank Star for looking after the kid for me, all right?”
“I will,” Tina said, still sounding about as cheerful as she’d been when she’d first contacted him. “Good luck finding Slade, Ringo!”
“Thanks, kid,” he muttered, raising his binoculars and going right back to searching for signs of where that last kid of theirs might have landed.
Or crashed, but Ringo would have been the first to admit that that would have been a bit too much like what’d happened to those kids of theirs when they’d come back down to Earth in the first place. Catching sight of something familiar, just as he’d been about to lower his binoculars and move on, Ringo looked closer.
And there, making its way over the crater-strewn ground, under all of the falling debris that he hoped were the remains of Darkon’s ship, was Pegas.
Slade wasn’t beside the thing, or in its arms the way Ringo had seen before, but there was still the chance that the kid was inside the big mech. Hopping back into the Jeep he’d been traveling in, Ringo drove closer to Pegas, under the sky full of shooting stars. More than anything, he hoped that Slade was going to be all right.
Hell, he hoped both of their crazy kids were going to be all right.
Once he’d managed to unload Slade from Pegas’ interlock-chamber, Ringo got Slade settled in the back of his Jeep, glancing back at the kid for a long moment. He’d wrapped Slade in the blanket he’d brought, since the kid had managed to lose his clothes some time while he was fighting Spear, or Darkon, or both of them. He could only hope that the both of them were dead, at least.
Considering everything that both of their kids had gone through just today, it was really the least anyone could ask for.
Once he’d made it back to the Command Center with Slade, with Pegas following along as quietly as something the Teknobot’s size even could, Ringo found himself met by a team of the Space Knights’ medics before he could even get out of the Jeep. Sighing with relief as he left Slade in the capable hands of the medicos, Ringo tagged along with them as they took Slade to the main treatment room.
Saber was right there, and they put Slade down on a bed right beside him, because time was a flat fucking circle.
He caught sight of Star and Maggie, the both of them clearly hoping that their respective lover would be back on his feet soon.
“Hey,” he called softly, settling down next to the pair of them. “How are you two holding up?”
“I’ll be better once Slade wakes up,” Star said, hands tensing in her lap as she continued watching the medicos swarming over Slade and Saber.
“I’ve got more things to keep my mind off of all this,” Maggie said, sighing and folding her arms. “Still, I’ll be happier when the both of them wake up again, too.”
“We all will be, I’m sure,” he said, moving a third chair in so that he could plop himself down in it.
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When she’d been forced to leave the Space Knights’ infirmary to eat, the last thing that Star had been expecting was to be contacted by her parents. She was glad to know the both of them had managed to survive not only the invasion, but also make it through the evacuation efforts at the end of the war.
“Mom, it’s so good to hear your voice again,” Star said, wiping tears from her eyes as she struggled to compose herself.
“I’m glad we’re getting the chance to reconnect, Star,” her mother, Christine Summers, said with a smile clear in her voice. “It’s been so long since you moved out, and then everything happened…” her mother trailed off, clearly uncomfortable going any farther, and seemingly confused as to what was actually a safe topic to talk about.
And, while there were a lot of painful things that she’d witnessed during her time with the Space Knights, Star didn’t want to keep carrying the heavy burden of all the secrets that she had been keeping. Some of them she’d even been keeping from her fellow Space Knights, simply because she didn’t want to burden them with what she was thinking, either. Still, it was clear that, more than anything, her mother wanted to support her.
And, if nothing else, Star could allow the woman to do that.
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Turning at the sound of Star making her way back to the infirmary, Maggie smiled softly at the look on the other woman’s face. “You look like you’ve got good news.”
“My parents offered to let me, Slade, and Saber stay with them,” Star said, a wistful smile plain on her face.
“I’m glad to see yours survived,” she said, offering the other woman a gentle smile of her own.
“Yes,” Star said softly. “We were lucky.”
The sound of someone else making their way into the infirmary prompted Maggie to look up, as the Commander himself made his way inside.
“Has there been any change, Commander?” Star asked, before Maggie could articulate the same kind of question.
Finding out that both Slade and Saber seemed to actually be suffering from amnesia – where the pair of them had previously just been pretending to have it, to avoid the painful memories of what had happened to the rest of their family – did seem to be nature’s way of being kind to the twins. Even the fact that Saber wouldn’t remember anything that the pair of them had been to each other didn’t seem so bad, considering everything that had happened before she’d even met Saber or Slade.
“Yeah, that really does seem to be the best thing for them,” she said, brushing her left hand over the pocket where she’d stored the photo that she and Saber had taken together, before he’d needed to undergo the secondary transformation that had caused the pair of them so much trouble.
The photo itself was fairly simple: just the pair of them standing together, her left hand and Saber’s right forming the shape of a heart together.
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“Yes,” the Commander said, a thoughtful look on his face as all of them continued to watch over Saber and Slade while they slept. “Still, even though neither Slade nor Saber remember the Radam, the invasion, or what they were forced to do to the other members of their family, the rest of us must never forget their sacrifice.”
“Yes,” Star said, looking sadly at where Slade and Saber were both still sleeping. “They’ve done so much for the world, the both of them deserve the chance just to live in it.”
“Yes, they do,” the Commander said, looking a bit more thoughtful than she’d personally ever seen from the man before.
Still, if there was ever a time for being introspective, it was this one, Maggie knew.
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The sounds had stopped, and no one else was touching him with their cold hands, so Slade reached out for Saber. He was the only truly warm thing that Slade was aware of, and so he searched for his little brother, with both his own hands and the link that the pair of them had shared for as long as he could remember. Touching his little brother’s hand, the only warm hand Slade had felt since he’d ended up here in this strange place, Slade moved closer.
Curling up with his little brother, actually feeling comfortable for the first time since he’d ended up in this strange place, with all the cold-handed people who always seemed to be touching him, Slade sighed as he leaned into Saber’s warmth.
(It’s good to have you here, little brother.)
(It’s good to be with you, big brother.)