[PSP] Guardian Sentai Roboman #12

[utsukushuu.dreamer]

>From PSP:
http://www.night-jaeger.net

---

GUARDIAN SENTAI ROBOMAN #12 - "Science Island Revolt"
Component 04.3
March 1st, 2010
by Adrian J. Watts



New Orleans

It was after three o'clock in the morning when Sei, Ikku and Kiko
returned to 'Hey, Pizza!' and found it, like every other business in
the heavily-damaged city, closed for the night. They briefly
considered looking for somewhere else to stay - but they knew the
Black Battalion safehouse they had occupied when they first arrived in
the city was no longer safe... and the sewer was not appealing.

Ikku banged his fist loudly on the door.

"Hello, Trick!" he shouted. "Let us in! I still have dishes to wash!"

They heard something stirring inside the store and waited. A moment
later, Trick Star appeared on the opposite side of the glass door and
unlocked it for them. They entered, but stopped when they reached the
counter. Trick locked the door again then walked up beside them.

"I think this belongs to you," he said. He gestured at the pile of
items they had already been staring at: guns, holsters, large watch-
like items and a small mound of what looked like stained glass - and
sitting on top of it all was a tiny robot.

"Cog!" Sei stepped back in surprise.

"Sei!" the robot cried happily.

Sei picked the robot up and placed it gently on the counter. Behind
him, Ikku and Kiko rummaged through the pile of items; Kiko attached a
brown belt and gun holster to her robosuit, while Ikku examined a
small, handgun-sized weapon.

"What are you doing here?" Sei asked quietly. "Doctor Nagura
deactivated you, so that you could not be detected by anyone searching
for your energy signature."

Cog nodded. "Doctor Brachis sent me. She's a friend of Doctor Nag - "

"I know Doctor Brachis," Sei interrupted. "Is she safe?"

Cog nodded again. "That's what she sent me to tell you! Doctor Brachis
is..." she paused for a moment "... safe. So is Doctor Nagura. But
they wanted you to know that Director Satoshi has taken over Blizzard
Base Zero and that you should tell your friends what is going on.
Doctor Brachis said she would contact you herself as soon as she gets
the chance."

"These items?" Sei asked. "Are they from Blizzard Base Zero? I have
never seen them before."

Cog shrugged. "They were here when I arrived! I can tell they were all
built from Doctor Nagura's designs, but that's all I know!"

Sei thought for a few long moments as he looked around the room. Trick
had disappeared, but Ikku and Kiko were delighted with their new
equipment. They had already adorned themselves with weapons holsters
and the weapons as if they already knew what they were and how to use
them. Sei did not think they were ready to know what he knew, but if
it was what Dr. Brachis wanted...

"Ian. Miss Sato," he said. Ikku and Kiko looked at him like children
fearing that they may be reprimanded for their behaviour. Sei tried to
smile, but it did not seem to calm them. "You wanted answers? Sit
down; you are going to get them."

Ikku and Kiko sat at the long counter and looked down at Cog, who
waved back at them excitedly. "Hi! I'm Cog!"

"Ikku," Ikku said.

"I'm Kiko!" Kiko said enthusiastically. "Are you a... girl robot?"

Cog nodded. Kiko smiled.

"Cog has come from Blizzard Base Zero," Sei said. "I - "

He did not know where to begin. There was a long pause, and Ikku and
Kiko looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Sei... What are those coloured glass things?" Kiko asked.

"Eternity shards," Sei answered quickly. "They are what allow us to do
what we do. There are several types: raido shards are blue and allow
us to teleport. We have already used those several times since
arriving here. Kenaz shards are red and can create minor illusions - "

"Like my Chaos Sword!" Ikku exclaimed. "Sometimes, it looks like there
are four or five swords at once!"

Sei nodded. "Jera shards are yellow and can speed, slow or even
reverse time."

"My Electro Blaster and Lightning Jet," Kiko said.

"There are others, but those are the three we use," Sei revealed.

"Where do they come from?" Kiko asked.

Sei gestured at Cog.

"The shards began to appear all over the world as early as the
nineteenth century," Sei explained. "No-one truly acknowledged them
until a few years ago, when Doctor Nagura discovered a large number of
shards across North America and Australia. He collected and studied
them, but most of his work was in secret - only the Japanese
government took him seriously, and assisted him by funding his work,
which centred mostly on examining humans who seemed to be able to use
the power of the shards. People like Sorceress Miko.

"Doctor Nagura soon discovered, however, that most attempts to use the
shards' energy by people not naturally able resulted in injury or even
death, but with the continued assistance of the Japanese government,
Doctor Nagura was able to discover a larger concentration of Eternity
shards in Antarctica, and it was there he discovered Blizzard Base
Zero... and Cog."

Cog waved again.

"When Doctor Nagura found Cog, he realised she was built to use and
control the energy of the shards." He pointed at the narrow slits on
Cog's back, each the perfect size to contain one of the shards. "He
managed to repair and activate her, but Cog had no knowledge of who or
what she was or where she came from - only a basic knowledge of how
her body operated, and how to use the shards."

Kiko looked at Ikku to see how he was taking it all in. She saw him
staring at an empty spot on the counter, and he said nothing. She
could not guess what was going through his mind, so she let it go -
but made a note to speak to him later.

"Doctor Nagura soon realised that if he could find a way to adapt
Cog's technology to humans, they may be able to use the Eternity
energy as well. Already acknowledged as the world's leading
bioroboticist, he established Project: Roboman to do just that - and
once the Japanese government led the formation of the Earth Defence/
Leadership Directorate, a multinational committee designed to pool
funding for potential military defence development, he was able to
work with almost no restrictions: and the robosuits were the result."

Ikku rose from his seat and walked quickly out of the store.

"Ikku!" Kiko called after him.

"Guys!" Kiko and Sei heard Trick call loudly from the rear of the
store. "You better look at this!"

They rushed passed the kitchen and through a pair of swinging plastic
doors which led to a small living area, consisting mainly of a couch,
a television and a computer. Trick was staring at the image on the TV
screen, and Sei and Kiko watched as well.

They saw dozens of robots marching through the streets of the city.
Footage taken from the sky showed them approaching from at least four
different angles and converging on one central point where another,
larger robot - which seemed to be made of a tangled mess of pipes and
tubes - stood calmly.

As they marched, the robots smashed metal fists and feet through
anything they passed - car windshields, concrete walls, wooden fences.
The streets were all but deserted at three a.m., especially
considering the events of the previous two days - which had seen the
city assaulted by two giant monsters - so no-one appeared in immediate
danger, but -

"Sei! We have to do something!" Kiko cried.

"Doctor Brachis asked that we remain in hiding and keep a low profile
until she makes contact," Sei said.

"Look at the damage they're causing!"

"I am sorry. The Black Battalion will need to deal with the
situation."

Kiko stared at Sei for several moments, then "Let's go, Robo!" The
thin yellow fabric of her robosuit flashed brilliantly as jagged metal
jutted through various openings, forming metal gloves, boots, a thick
chestplate and a helmet. "Electro Blaster!" There was a blue flash,
and the small, handgun-sized yellow weapon appeared in her right hand.

"Sei...!" she said pleadingly. He shook his head. Kiko ran from the
room.

Sei continued to watch the television, which shifted focus from the
attack on New Orleans to footage of wreckage in the centre of Tokyo -
wreckage he recognised as once being the Earth Defence/Leadership
Directorate headquarters.

"Sources have confirmed," the newsreader said, "that the EDD
headquarters in Tokyo has been completely destroyed by the same
robotic army seen attacking New Orleans. Attempts to contact the Black
Battalion on Science Island have also met with failure, leading to
speculation that - "

"Sei..." Trick said. "The Black Battalion isn't helping."

Sei looked at the ground.

"What would you have me do?" he asked. "There are too many of them."

"I am sure that those vehicles of yours have a few tricks you haven't
shown the others yet."

Sei thought about Trick's words for a moment, then smiled.

"Yes!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "But... it will need all three
of us, and Ian has left."

Trick rested a hand on Sei's shoulder. "You're a smart robot, Sei. I'm
sure you'll think of something."

Sei nodded. "Let's go, Robo!" He allowed his transformation to
complete before trying to speak again. "Thank you, Trick."

"No problem," Trick said. "Just... try to keep the store safe, okay?
I'm sure you'll all want somewhere to sleep when you've saved the day.
Again."

Sei nodded and quickly made his way out of the room, out of the store,
and down the street. Minutes later, a familiar face rounded the corner
and rushed through the open door to 'Hey, Pizza!'.

"Trick-san? Trick-san!" Kageki shouted. "Are you here?"

Trick rushed from the back of the store to see what was going on; what
he found was Kageki, staring at the tiny robot on the counter... and
raising a spatula above his head.

"Kageki!" Trick shouted. "No!"

He lunged forward and pushed Kageki aside, giving Cog a chance to hide
herself away. He looked sternly at Kageki who, he realised, was
wearing his pyjamas, and asked what he was doing walking the streets
in the middle of the night.

"Trick-san, didn't you hear?" Kageki asked. "There are robots all over
the city! I wanted to make sure you were safe!"

Trick smiled. "Kageki, that's sweet, but you don't need to worry about
me. We'll have to keep you here until it's safe, but you really have
to go home and - "

Kageki shook his head. "No, Trick-san! I want to stay here and defend
'Hey, Pizza!'!"

Trick rolled his eyes, and laughed.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sei slowly stepped through the soft earth at the edge of the city
where he knew he would find Ikku waiting. None of them had any
connection to New Orleans, at least as far as he could determine - and
other than 'Hey, Pizza!', the only place he could think of where Ikku
may have developed significant feelings of safety of compassion were
the swamplands where he and Kiko had released Shellshock after using
the Lightning Jet's weapons to turn him back into a normal tortoise.

He searched for fifteen minutes before he found Ikku sitting in a dark
area between two trees, looking out over a large pool and dank and
murky water. He tried to remain silent but, as he approached, Ikku
turned and stared directly at him.

"Go away," Ikku said. He turned back to the water.

"No," Sei replied. "We need to talk."

Ikku shook his head, but said nothing. Sei was not certain how he
should respond; he had always been direct with his feelings, when the
situation warranted their discussion. He had never understood why
people kept things to themselves, when discussing them openly could
relieve tension, or even resolve the underlying problem. While Ikku's
motives were beyond his ability to understand, he remained sure that
talking was the only way to achieve his goal.

"Ian - "

"It's Ikku," Ikku replied softly.

"Ikku. I know why you are upset - it is because Doctor Nagura trusted
me with information about Project: Roboman which he concealed from
you."

Ikku did not respond.

"He allowed me to progress to phase two of the project, revealed Cog's
existence, and told me how the Earth Defence/Leadership Directorate
was formed. It makes you feel as if he thought you less intelligent,
less capable or less reliable than I."

"Duh," Ikku muttered.

"Well, grow up," Sei said simply. He turned and began to walk away.

"What did you say?" Ikku asked.

Sei turned back to face him. "I said 'grow up'."

Ikku stood and took a few steps toward Sei.

"Who do you think you are?" Ikku asked.

Sei shook his head.

"Not a whining little child," he replied. "It would not surprise me if
Doctor Nagura was ashamed with you, considering the way you are
behaving now."

Ikku leaped at Sei, his hands in front of him, reaching for the other
man's throat. Sei calmly stepped aside, leaving Ikku to fall facefirst
into the muddy ground.

"That is my point," Sei continued. "I am wearing the Roboman armour.
Even if you did hit me - "

Ikku climbed to his feet and swung his left fist, hard, at Sei's
chest. It hit the metal chestplate with a loud clang!, and Ikku pulled
his hand away.

"Ow!" he shouted.

"You complain, you are emotional, and you do not think," Sei said
tauntingly. "Do you need me to prove it?"

Ikku raised his hands in front of his body, ready to fend off any
attack Sei may throw at him - or so he thought. "Go for it."

"Did you ever stop to think that Doctor Nagura may have treated you
the way he did because he loved you?"

Ikku froze.

"Think about it, Ikku," Sei continued. "Doctor Nagura adopted you five
years ago. He could have selected anybody else, but he chose you. When
looking for candidates for Project: Roboman, he chose you. If he
thought you were stupid, or incapable... he had the resources of the
EDD at his disposal! Why would he waste his time?

"Could it be that he allowed me to do what I did because he wanted to
keep you safe? He chose to put me in danger, to test the limits of the
robosuit, to possibly be destroyed, so that when the time came you
would learn from my mistakes? That you would be the one to show the
world, right from the start, exactly what the robosuit could do? That
you could lead his Roboman team, that you could lead the world to the
better place he thought his technology would create?"

Ikku said nothing.

Beep-bip! Beep-bip!

Sei heard the noise and noticed, immediately, the flashing red light
on the small unit strapped to Ikku's wrist. It was one of the watch-
like accessories he had seen in the pizza store but not examined for
himself. He took Ikku's hand and saw that the flashing light was
attached to a small red button, which he pressed.

"Hello? Hello? Is anybody there?"

He heard Kiko's voice clearly through the device.

"This is Sei," he replied.

"Yay! These things aren't that complicated once you think about it!"

"Kiko, what do you need?"

"Oh! I've been fighting these things for as long as I can - they're
herding me back towards 'Hey, Pizza!'. I could really use some help
right about now!"

"I am on my way," Sei said. He released Ikku's hand and looked into
his eyes. "No, I don't think you considered any of that. Consider it
now, Ikku. Consider it while Kiko and I risk our lives to save this
city and do what your father dreamed his son would one day
accomplish."

He walked past Ikku but paused when he heard Ikku move behind him.

"Sei..." Ikku said slowly. "You said 'this team'. Is that what we are?
A team?"

Sei smiled. "I believe that is what Doctor Nagura hoped for."

"And I'm meant to lead this team?"

Sei's smile faded. "... yes."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ikku ran forward and clapped a hand on
Sei's back. "Let's go, Robo! Let's go... team Roboman!"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You should stay away from the windows," Trick told Kageki. "Something
might hit them and - "

Kageki ran into the kitchen and returned with a frying pan, a spoon
and a spatula and stalked determinedly toward the door. Trick ignored
him until his hand was on the door handle, then: "What do you think
you're doing?"

"I'm going out there!" Kageki cried. "Those things are coming closer,
and I am not going to let them destroy the best pizza place in the
whole world!"

Trick smiled. "You're a dork, kid. You know that, right?"

Kageki smiled back - then opened the door and ran into the dark
street.

"Kageki!" Trick shouted. Damn! I thought he was just being his version
of macho - I never expected - ! He looked up and saw, through the
glass doors, that Kageki was not even able to cross the road before
being surrounded by the invading robots. Damn it! I'll have to -

BANG! BOOM!

Trick heard a gunshot - and the robot closest to Kageki exploded
violently. Another gunshot - another explosion. Kageki turned and ran
back into the store. He cowered behind a seat, just poking his head
out far enough to see what was going on through the window.

He - and Trick - could see a human figure, dressed entirely in black,
making his way quickly through the attacking robots. In the flash from
each gunshot they could see that in one hand he carried a small, black
pistol and in the other was a piece of jagged metal, with one end
wrapped in black fabric. He alternately shot and slashed at the
robots, which seemed to explode or fall apart the moment they were
touched and, when the street was clear, he made his way inside 'Hey,
Pizza!'.

He slumped over the counter and begin to breathe heavily. Trick
hurried into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water, and
Kageki wrapped his arms around the man's waist.

"Amazing!" he said in obvious awe. "How did you - ?"

"Get off me!" the man interrupted loudly. He pushed one arm back and
Kageki fell onto the floor. "I just need... a moment..."

Trick handed the man the glass of water. "Who are you?"

"My name is Senshi," the man said. He downed the water in one go. "I
am a member of the Science Island guard. Where is the nearest EDD
outpost? I need to return."

Trick shook his head. "Science Island has been destroyed. You can stay
here until morning, then figure out where you're going to go, but - "
he pointed at Kageki " - try not to push my best customer around,
okay?"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiko was trapped. Surrounded on all sides by the advancing robots she
knew that, soon, she would be wherever it was they all seemed to want
to go. The small robots were easy enough to destroy - a single blast
from her Electro Blaster utterly destroyed them - but the larger robot
she had seen on TV was not something she wanted to face alone.

She also knew that she was only a few metres away from 'Hey, Pizza!' -
but was it safe to return there? Was it fair to risk putting Trick in
danger? Did she have any choice?

"Kiko!" She jumped with surprise when she heard Ikku's voice behind
her. She looked around and saw Ikku and Sei running towards her - and,
to their side, the large robot she had feared confronting alone. He
watched them, and walked slowly towards them.

"Ikku! Sei!" Kiko shouted. "Look!"

The two men stood beside her and followed her gaze - they saw the
approaching robot, too, but neither of them felt any fear at his
approach. Ikku even took a step forward, and Sei and Kiko stood behind
him, one on each side.

The robot stopped walking.

"You are the product of Project: Roboman?" the robot asked. "You do
not look like much - but at least you are all together now. I won't
have to send my Gears searching the city for you."

"You came here to fight us?" Ikku asked. "Are you crazy?"

"Ikku, don't!" Kiko whispered. "I don't think we can fight him!"

"Of course we can!" Ikku whispered back. "We're a team! Together, we
can do anything!"

"I am Buki Robo!" the robot exclaimed. "Combined, my weapons can level
mountains! But I do not think I will need them to eliminate you.
Gears! Attack!"

Ikku shook his head, and the Gears stopped in their tracks. They
turned their skeletal robotic heads back to Buki Robo - it seemed they
had not expected such confidence from their victims.

"Courage is victory!" Ikku shouted. "The compassion to care for those
I protect! Red Robo!"

He's crazy... Kiko thought. He's gone completely insane!

"Knowledge is power!" Sei shouted. "Cool logic is my greatest weapon!
Blue Robo!"

Not Sei, too! They're going to get us killed!

Suddenly, Kiko realised that everyone - the Gears, Ikku, Sei... even
Buki Robo - was staring at her. She shrugged.

"Understanding is unity!" she shouted. "Empathy can bring together
even the most hated enemies! Yellow Robo!"

"Courage! Knowledge! Understanding! The power to succeed through
unity! Guardian Sentai Roboman!"

That was bizarre, Kiko thought. Really bizarre.

Buki Robo began to laugh.

"Gears!" he bellowed again. "Attack!"

The Gears moved forward - and this time, they did not stop. Suddenly,
Ikku faced Kiko and patted the small gun contained within a holster at
his side. Kiko nodded.

"Robo Rifle!" they shouted. They readied their weapons and, before the
Gears could react, pulled the triggers. They could not see anything
emerge from the tips of the weapons, but the Gears at which they aimed
exploded violently.

Ikku turned to Sei and handed him as Robo Rifle. "Chaos Sword!" he
shouted. There was a brief blue flash before the translucent red-
bladed sword appeared in his hand. Ikku ran forward and slashed at one
Gear after another as Sei examined the weapon he had been given.

"Robo Rifle: Stick Mode," Sei said. He almost dropped the weapon as
the trigger retracted into the barrel of the gun, which extended to
become almost one metre long. Sei swung it around his body, and as its
tip struck each of the Gears he passed, sparks sprayed from the point
of contact and they collapsed.

"Electro Blaster!" Kiko called out. She returned the Robo Rifle to its
holster just in time for the Electro Blaster to appear in her hand
again and she fired at two of the remaining Gears. They fell, exploded
and, suddenly, the Robomen realised there was no-one left.

No-one except Buki Robo.

"Vertex Shield," Sei said calmly. The semi-transparent blue shield
appeared and attached itself to his right arm while he approached Ikku
and Kiko. He nodded to each of them, then detached the shield and held
it in front of his body.

Ikku lunged forward with his Chaos Sword and passed it through the
shield, and smiled as he saw two small handholds appear - one on the
sword's blade and one on the back of the shield. Kiko raised the
Electro Blaster and slid its barrel over the hilt of the Chaos Sword -
and the Robo Defender was born.

"Robo Defender, Slash Containment Burst!"

Kiko pulled the trigger on the Electro Blaster, sending a spark of
yellow energy along the length of the Chaos Blade, directly at the
centre of Buki Robo's metal body. The area around the battle turned
pitch-black, the only light provided by the crackling energy that
struck Buki Robo. The robot staggered, fell... and laughed. The
darkness receded and the Robomen stared at the completely unscathed
robot.

"That almost hurt," Buki Robo said, "and I did not expect you to
destroy the Gears so easily. But now... Hardware Upgrade!"

The moment Buki Robo finished speaking there was a bright red flash,
and the seven-foot-tal robot was replaced by one almost five hundred
feet tall. Sei, Ikku and Kiko all knew what they had to do.

"Phase Three! Go Robo Vehicles!"

The metal that formed their chestplates, arms and helmets separated
from their bodies and expanded, then reformed to become three distinct
vehicles - a large red tank: Red Robo's Flame Tank; a sleek yellow
jet: Yellow Robo's Lightning Jet; and a long blue speedboat: Blue
Robo's Water Cutter. The three Robomen climbed into the cockpits of
their respective vehicles, and Kiko quickly took to the air.

"Away!" Buki Robo shouted. He swung one hand out in front of his body
and knocked the Lightning Jet sideways; Kiko managed to steady herself
only a moment before she would have hit the ground.

["What do we do?"] Kiko asked.

["We hit it hard and we hit it - "] Ikku began to reply.

["No,"] Sei interrupted. ["We initiate phase four. Yellow Robo - use
your communicator to contact Cog."]

There was silence as Kiko fumbled with the device strapped to her
wrist, and then ["Got it."]

["Ask her to activate Robo Fusion."]

"Robo Fusion!" The three Robomen all heard the loud voice of the two-
inch tall robot echo through the cockpits of their vehicles, followed
by a loud click as a metal panel slid away to reveal a red button.
They each pressed the button.

"Robo Fusion! Gattai Robo!"

They heard Cog's voice a second time and, suddenly, the Flame Tank and
Water Cutter were surrounded by the familiar blue raido energy and
lifted into the sky.

["Sei! I don't think tanks can fly!"] Ikku shouted.

A moment passed, and the blue energy was joined by a mixture of red
and yellow. Time seemed to speed up - and when the energy faded, the
Robo Vehicles were gone. Ikku, Kiko and Sei sat in one large cockpit -
and they stared Buki Robo in the eyes.

"W-what happened?" Ikku asked.

"The Robo Vehicles have combined to form Gattai Robo," Sei explained.
He looked at Kiko. "Are you - "

"This. Is. Amazing!" Kiko shouted. "We are in a giant robot!"

Ikku and Sei smirked.

"We're also fighting a giant robot!" Ikku said. Buki Robo lunged
forward and struck at Gattai Robo's left arm. "Sei, how do we control
this thing?"

"I... do not know," Sei said. He glanced over the cockpit controls.
"Doctor Nagura never discussed Gattai Robo's operation with me."

"Well... we'll play it by ear," Ikku said. "Wouldn't it be really cool
if I summoned the Chaos Sword and - " There was a blue flash, and the
Chaos Sword appeared in Ikku's right hand. Simultaneously, an enormous
but otherwise identical sword appeared in Gattai Robo's hand. "That is
the most amazing thing I have ever seen."

He moved his sword forward, and Gattai Robo's hand copied his
movement.

"Oh, this is going to be easy!" Ikku said. He stood up and slashed his
sword in Buki Robo's direction; Gattai Robo emulated the action and
the giant Chaos Sword cut easily through Buki Robo's body. The robot
staggered backwards... and laughed again.

"You fools..." it said. "You saw how the Gears exploded after your
attacks. Imagine... how much damage I will cause!" Sparks began to
appear in the opening made by the Chaos Sword.

"No," Sei said. "I think we will allow Director Satoshi to see it
firsthand." He reached out with his left arm, and Gattai Robo gripped
Buki Robo with its own left hand. Sei concentrated, and blue raido
energy crackled along his arm - along Gattai Robo's arm - and
surrounded Buki Robo's body.

An instant later, Buki Robo was gone and with the threat eliminated,
Gattai Robo began to fade away. Raido energy surrounded the Robomen
and they re-appeared standing safely outside 'Hey, Pizza!' as Gattai
Robo disappeared completely.

Inside the store, Kageki and Senshi could not contain their surprise.

"Sei-tachi!" Kageki shouted. He ran out into the street to confront
the three people who had saved his city three times in twenty-four
hours. He was surprised - anyone would have been - but stronger than
that were his senses of joy and admiration. Trick and Senshi watched
as he took Sei's hand and shook it firmly.

Kiko, Senshi thought as he watched Kageki. What is she doing here?

"Hah!" Trick laughed. "Isn't it funny, Senshi, how - " he paused, as
he realised Senshi had disappeared. "Senshi?"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blizzard Base Zero

Jinsei, Sorceress Miko and Damien Sinclair stood in the mangled mess
of metal that had once been Blizzard Base Zero. Much of the ice around
it had turned to water, melted in the heat of the explosion that had
torn through it moments earlier.

"Satoshi was not fit to serve the master," Miko said. "I am returning
to New Orleans. I will deal with the Robomen myself, if they get in my
way." She raised a hand and two pixies flittered up from the rubble to
land on her wrist.

"Wait!" Jinsei said. "Get me out of here!"

Miko stared at her red-skinned ally and nodded. One pixie lifted away
from her hand and settled on Jinsei's shoulder. The pixies closed
their eyes and their masters disappeared in a shower of blue energy.

Damien Sinclair was alone.

"So much for Operation: Guardian," he muttered. He turned and started
to walk away. He did not know where he was going - he was in the
middle of Antarctica, and did not think that cruise ships regularly
passed by.

"Sinclair! Wait!"

He turned back toward the rubble - and saw that part of it was moving.
He had to focus before he realised it was not the scrap metal making
its way towards him; it was a man. Director Satoshi.

"Director Satoshi!" Sinclair rushed forward to support him. He
realised, as Satoshi leaned across his shoulders, that the man had
been torn almost in half by pieces of metal - mostly massive pieces of
piping from Buki Robo's giant body. Still, somehow, the metal that
jutted through his flesh and fused, in the heat, to his bones did not
seem to be causing him any pain, and he was certainly still alive.

"They ended my plans so easily," Satoshi said. "Teleporting Buki Robo
into our base the moment before he was destroyed... why did I not see
it coming?"

"With all due respect, sir," Sinclair replied, "it was a pretty simple
plan. Those Gears weren't going to last very long."

Satoshi laughed and revealed a sharp metal spike reaching from the
back of his head and into his mouth. It appeared to Sinclair as though
the man had a harpoon in his mouth, ready to fire it at anyone who
crossed him.

"I did manage to destroy the EDD - and my current state gives me new
ideas," Satoshi explained. "Why use machines to dominate the world...
when I can simply transform the world into machines and dominate them?
Come, my guardian - we have work to do."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Orleans, Twelve Hours Later

Trick, Kageki, Cog, Sei, Ikku and Kiko sat around the small television
in the back room of 'Hey, Pizza!' and watched as, every fifteen
minutes, news updates showed them exactly what they had accomplished
the night before. The damage done to the streets had already been
cleaned up - "record time" according to the newsreader. Reports of two
giant robots fighting in the heart of the city had been dismissed as
fantasy -

- but no-one denied seeing three people dressed in red, blue and
yellow, risking their lives to save the city. Some even mentioned a
fourth man in black.

Senshi, Sei thought. He's still in the city. We will have to find him,
at some point.

"... United States, France, Russia and Britain have issued a joint
statement regarding the Earth Defence/Leadership Directorate," the
newsreader announced, "revealing that they will not be supporting
Japan's motion to investigate the attacks on the organisation's bases
worldwide overnight. Instead, they have vowed to dismantle any
remaining EDD installations and reallocate remaining staff and
resources."

"What?!" Ikku shouted. "That's crazy!"

"We cannot guess at their reasoning," Sei said. "We must trust their
judgement."

"But... if there's no EDD," Kiko mused. "What about us? Do we turn
ourselves over to the government?"

"Hah!" Trick laughed. "You'd trust any government with your
technology? Without the Black Battalion levelling the playing field,
everyone is going to be looking for a way to come out on top."

"Without the Earth Defence/Leadership Directorate, there is no-one to
look for Doctor Nagura," Sei said simply, "or ensure that Director
Satoshi and his allies no longer pose a threat."

"So... what do we do?" Kiko asked again.

"We stay here," Ikku said. "If it's okay with Trick?"

Trick shook his head. "I can't keep four people here. Not
indefinitely."

"Hopefully it won't be long," Ikku said. "We stay here, we track down
Sorceress Miko and that Satoshi guy and make sure they're out of
action... then we find Doctor Nag - we find my dad."

Sei nodded, but Kiko remained silent and still.

"Miss Sato?" Ikku asked.

"I have always wanted to work with Doctor Nagura. I guess I can't do
that if he's off hiding somewhere." She smiled. "And what better way
to impress my idol than show him I know his work just as well as he
does?"

Ikku smiled back at her.

"Then I guess that's settled," Ikku said. "Look out, Miko. Look out,
Satoshi. Look out world - Guardian Sentai Roboman's here to stay!"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEXT: Girls' day out!


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COG'S SPECIAL REPORT!

Hi! I'm Cog!

The Robomen use a lot of complicated technology, and sometimes it can
be a bit hard to get your head around it all - especially when you
can't
actually see what's going on! (Hey, if you can accept that a two-inch
tall
robot is talking to you, you better be able to accept that than they
can
break the fourth-wall and acknowledge they're a character in a work of
fiction!)

http://www.night-jaeger.net/fiction/roboman/alertbracer.jpg

To help you out, I'm going to pop in from time to time to let you know
what I know about the technology - and that isn't as much as you might
think. Doctor Nagura told me a lot, but he's a world-famous
bioroboticist... and while I might have been one at one stage, I'm not
100% sure!

Today, we are going to talk about the Alert Bracer. The Robomen don't
know what it is called yet, so Sei called it a "communicator". I'm
going to tell Kiko what is is called next time, but hey - now you know
something they don't!

This is what it looks like - in colour!



The brown parts are the strap that attaches to their wrists. They may
look a bit like brown leather, but they are not - they are made of the
same thing as the basic robosuits, to Gears and Buki Robos and Pixies
and all those other things that are out to get them can't cut them off
easily!

The big round circle is an LCD display. It is normally lit red, except
for the part in the middle, which can display short messages like
"Alert!", "Help!" or "Run!" or even co-ordinates. Doctor Nagura once
showed me that the red light changes colour, but he never told me why,
so I can't help you there!

The buttons on the left can be programmed to save time when using
weapons or activating a henshin. For example, pressing '1' and then
'Enter' will put a Roboman back in their basic robosuit, while
pressing '3' and then 'Enter' will call on the Robo Vehicles! It is
like a speed dial - thankfully, Shellshock and Buki Robo were pretty
slow, so they didn't take the chance to attack while the Robomen were
figuring out what to do, but the next big villain is really fast, so
they better - oops, I almost said too much!

The Alert Bracer can also be used as a communicator, as Kiko has
already shown us. Each of the other communicators is assigned a number
- Ikku is number one, Sei is number two and Kiko is number three (and
I'm 'Enter'! I don't know how Kiko figured that out)! If you hold down
the number and talk, the other person will hear your voice - there's a
built-in microphone and speaker underneath the red LCD display!

I think it's pretty cool. Doctor Nagura must have been really smart to
invent it! I hope he never turns evil - imagine if all that
intelligence was turned against humanity!

Next time I'm going to talk about the Robo Defender - you've already
seen what Senshi saw on Science Island, but there is a little bit more
to it than that, believe me!

See you next time! ^_^