[PSP] Guardian Sentai Roboman #5

[utsukushuu.dreamer]

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

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GUARDIAN SENTAI ROBOMAN #5
"Phase Three! Go Robo Vehicles!"
Component 02.2
February 28th, 2010
by Adrian J. Watts



Science Island

Senshi knocked loudly on the open door to Dr. Brachis' office. He
could see his direct superior sitting at her desk, staring down at the
small screen of her laptop computer - in fact, Senshi realised, he
rarely saw her doing anything else. He had never questioned what it
was she did with the machine all day, although he was curious about
it. They were security officers, after all - not scientists.

"Come in," Dr. Brachis said.

Senshi stepped into the room and snapped off a salute, then slowly
allowed himself to relax a little. Normally, he would have waited
patiently until given the order to stand at ease, but he was excited.
He had a plan, a good plan, and he wanted Dr. Brachis to know about
it.

"Yes?" Dr. Brachis prompted him.

"Dr. Brachis," Senshi said. "We have confirmation that the pixie dust
was spread no further than the Black Battalion squadron sent to
Blizzard Base Zero and the guards keeping watch over Sorceress Miko."

"That's good news. We can allow transport to and from the island now."

"There's something else." Senshi almost started to jump up and down as
he spoke, he was so excited. He caught himself, calmed down, and hoped
that Dr. Brachis had not noticed the slip in his usual calm and
professional demeanour. "I spoke to Commander Henderson."

Dr. Brachis frowned. "I did not ask you to do that."

"... sorry, Dr. Brachis."

"Well? What did he say?"

Senshi smiled. "Not very much. His memory was weak. That's why I think
I should go to Blizzard Base Zero and investigate firsthand."

Dr. Brachis stared directly at Senshi for several long moments.
"You're joking."

"No, I - "

"Senshi, I asked you - no, I ordered you - to make sure the spread of
Miko's pixie dust was controlled. You have done that. Now you will
return to your regular duties."

Senshi opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it. He
straightened his back and saluted Dr. Brachis again. He was not happy
with the way she was speaking to him, or her decision not to allow him
to use his initiative, but she was his commanding officer and he knew
he had to do whatever she told him to do.

A soft buzzing noise caught Dr. Brachis' attention, and she pressed a
button on a small panel set into the surface of her desk. "This is Dr.
Brachis," she said.

"Doctor," a woman's voice came through the panel, "there is a
situation in New Orleans - some sort of monster is attacking the city.
The EDD has asked that we deploy our security teams to handle it while
the Black Battalion elite are recovering. Specs on the creature have
been uploaded to your terminal."

"New Orleans?" Dr. Brachis repeated. "Damn."

"I can have a team there in fifteen minutes," Senshi offered.

"No!" Dr. Brachis responded quickly. "You have your duties. I will
send Sinclair to take care of this."

"Yes, Dr. Brachis," Senshi acknowledged the order.

Dr. Brachis spoke into the panel. "Tell them we're on our way." She
released the button and crossed the room. "Senshi, don't come to me
about Blizzard Base Zero again. That incident is not your concern."
She left the room and turned off the light behind her, leaving Senshi
alone with the bright screen of her laptop.


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New Orleans

"Let's go, Robo!" Ikku shouted. His stolen pants and hooded top were
torn to shreds as jagged pieces of metal emerged through almost-
invisible openings in the tight-fitting red jumpsuit he wore beneath
them. A moment later, Nagura Ikku was Red Robo, clad in his powerful
armoured form - a silver chestplate, gloves, boots and a helmet
covering his entire head and face.

Feeling somewhat safer, Ikku stared through the two-way mirror set
into his helmet, which allowed him to see out but made sure anyone
looking at him saw only black. He wasn't crazy - the giant turtle he
had seen swinging a lamp post at him and throwing around mailboxes was
still there, and it did not seem to care about his sudden
transformation.

"Big turtle?" Ikku said. "I really don't want to fight you, because I
can make a really cool sword appear out of nowhere, and that might
hurt you. Do you think you could maybe surrender?"

The turtle shook its head.

"The name is Shellshock!" it said. "I was created to kill you. Take
your best shot - I guarantee you won't hurt me."

Ikku shrugged. "Chaos Sword." There was a brief blue flash, and when
it faded, Ikku saw his black-and-silver hilted, translucent red-bladed
sword become solid in his right hand. He swung it slowly back and
forth, making sure that Shellshock could clearly see he was armed.

"Sure you don't want to surrender?" Ikku asked again.

Shellshock charged. He lowered his head, bent forward, and ran
directly at Ikku. Ikku raised his sword and swung it hard against the
beast, but found that it did no damage. Shellshock's hide was simply
too thick.

Uh-oh, Ikku thought. He scrambled backwards to avoid being crushed as
Shellshock continued to run towards him, and tried to think of a new
plan. What do I do now? Stabbing at it didn't work... hitting it won't
work... what don't turtles like?

Ikku noticed that the street around him had become deserted, and he
allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. He wanted to stop
Shellshock - the monster was causing too much damage. But if no-one
was going to be physically harmed, he did not feel as much pressure.
It made it easier to think, to plan -

WHUMP!

Shellshock swung a massive fist at the pre-occupied Ikku, who barely
managed to roll to the side and send the turtle's hand smashing
through the wall of the pizza store in which he had, only minutes
earlier, been placing an order.

Do turtles like pizza? Nah... only on TV...

Shellshock turned and swung at him again, but Ikku was expecting the
strike and easily stepped out of the way. Shellshock was clearly
strong and apparently impervious to blows from the Chaos Sword but,
Ikku slowly realised, that strength came at the cost of speed and
agility - still, he had no idea how to use that knowledge to his
advantage.

Ikku made his way behind Shellshock and, after making sure he had a
firm grip, he used the Chaos Sword to hack at one of the many bony
protrusions he saw sticking through Shellshock's shell. Each blow was
met with a lad clang! and the sensation of strike vibrations passing
through the sword, suggesting to Ikku that the spikes were actually
made of metal rather than bone but, futile as the attack may have
been, without another plan to try he figured he had nothing to lose -
he struck again and again, keeping behind Shellshock as the beast
tried to face him.

"I hope you realise that does not hurt," Shellshock said. "However,
this will."

Ikku kept up his assault even as Shellshock pulled his head, arms and
legs into his shell, which fell and clattered against the ground. The
sword swung low and hit one of exposed spikes - but instead of a
clang!, Ikku heard a bzzzt! and pulled back as a spark of energy ran
down his sword and into his hand.

"Ouch!" he shouted. The pain was excruciating. It felt almost like a
severe burn. Since when can turtles shoot electricity from their
shell? I wish Sei and Miss Sato were here...


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

Inside their Black Battalion safehouse, Sei and Kiko closely examined
online reports of the fight between Shellshock and their teammate.
Most of what they saw was ground-level footage, filmed by amateur
cameramen from such a distance that it was unclear precisely what was
happening - but they did find one useful source, a video stream taken
from a news helicopter watching the fight from above.

They clearly saw Ikku continue his futile attempts to pierce
Shellshock's shell with his Chaos Sword - and they also saw Shellshock
emerge from his shell, wrap a massive hand around Ikku's right arm,
and throw their red-clad ally clear across the street. He struck a
lamp-post - hard - and dropped onto the asphalt road.

Shellshock slowly walked over to Ikku's barely-stirring body and
kicked him hard in the ribs; Ikku could do nothing to defend himself.

"Sei..." Kiko began.

"I can anticipate what you are going to say, Sato Kiko," Sei said. "I
cannot consent to - "

Kiko nodded and stood up. "If this is about what Ikku said before he
left, I am sure he didn't mean it. He was just angry, and shocked that
you were keeping things from us. I'm... not sure I blame him." She
paused. "I won't argue with you. I am going to help our friend. You
look into your heart - I'm sure you will figure out the right thing to
do. Let's go, Robo!"

Yellow energy cascaded over Kiko's yellow-suited body as her silver
breastplate, gloves, boots and helmet emerged from within her suit.
Yellow Robo nodded to Sei and quickly made her way out through the
door.

She ran through the streets of New Orleans, which were more crowded
than anywhere she had seen before. Dozens of people pushed forward,
trying to see the fight between Shellshock and Red Robo - but many,
many more hurried in the opposite direction, fearing for their lives,
trying to get to safety.

As she hurried on her way, Kiko felt that the people around her were
blurring together. She arrived at the battle site, several miles from
the bunker in which she and Sei had been talking, in only a few
minutes - her speed surprised her but, she knew, determination, drive,
and fear can be powerful motivators.

"Electro Blaster," she said calmly. There was a bright flash, and a
small, handgun-sized energy blaster appeared in Kiko's hand. She
raised it, aimed carefully, and fired several small bursts of yellow
energy at Shellshock's chest.

Shellshock slowly raised his head and, when he saw Kiko, began to
lumber towards her. His movements seemed slow and sluggish, even
compared to his earlier, drawn-out attacks against Ikku. Kiko had no
trouble backing away from and keeping out of the reach of the giant
reptile.

"So, monster," she asked. "What is it you want?"

"My... masters... sent... me... to kill... the red one..." Even
Shellshock's speech was slow and slurred, but it was quickly returning
to normal. "I am happy... to kill you too."

"Hyaa!"

Kiko looked up and saw a sight that both surprised and amazed her:
Sei, transformed into Blue Robo and carrying his Vertex Shield, leaped
from a nearby rooftop and extended one leg ahead of him. The armoured
sole of his foot struck the back of Shellshock's head hard and he
slumped forward.

Kiko nodded her approval and rushed to Ikku's side. His body was limp
but, through his chestplate and helmet, she could not tell if he was
breathing. She tried to gently shake him into activity, but nothing
happened.

"Sei!" she thought for a second. "Blue Robo! I need to de-henshin
him!"

"Only Ian can deactivate his henshin," Sei replied. "Give him a
moment. He is merely concussed."

Sei slowly walked around Shellshock's unconscious body, debating what
to do. The watching crowd had gathered closer to the scene of the
fight, eager to see exactly what Shellshock was. He debated whether to
usher the crowd away for their own safety or permanently incapacitate
Shellshock to prevent any further attacks, but the decision was taken
out of his hands before he could act.

Half a dozen soldiers wearing Black Battalion uniforms pushed their
way roughly through the thick crowd, each armed with a small handgun
and a long rifle. Sei recognised the rifle's unique design - it was
created to serve a specific purpose; one not friendly to anyone
wearing a robosuit.

"Robo Yellow. Is Robo Red conscious?" Sei asked.

"Yes," Kiko replied. Ikku had finally managed to sit upright, but did
not speak. He turned his head, wobbled, fell into Kiko's arms, and
finally stood. Kiko turned and saw the Black Battalion soldiers moving
into position around them. "What's going on?"

"Come here," Sei said. Kiko helped Ikku stagger his way to stand
behind Sei. Together, the three stepped forward to meet one member of
the Black Battallion, who had broken their circle and walked quickly
towards them.

"My name is Captain Damien Sinclair," he said. "I know who you are,
but I don't think these good people - " he gestured at the listening
crowd " - need to. We are taking that creature back to Science Island,
and you need to come with us."

"Captain?" one of Sinclair's men spoke up. His captain did not
respond.

Sei glanced at Ikku before speaking. "Why did the Black Battalion
attack Blizzard Base Zero?"

Sinclair looked surprise. "I don't know. We're not - "

"Captain!"

"What?"

Sinclair, Sei, Kiko and Ikku turned as one to see what the man was so
concerned about. He was pointing at Shellshock's body, which was
surrounded by a cloud of green mist. The guards raised their handguns
and opened fire, but their ammunition did nothing.

The mist dissipated and, as it did, Shellshock stood up. The spikes on
his back were longer and sharper; his shell was visibly thicker; and
his skin was covered by the same hard substance as the spikes. He
seemed disoriented and did not move, but it was clear to everyone that
if Shellshock did attack, a simple kick to the head would not bring
him down a second time.

"Captain," Sei said. "We can defeat Shellshock, but we need you to
call off your men first."

Sinclair thought for a moment, then raised his left hand. His team
lowered their weapons. Sei quickly removed the Vertex Shield from his
right arm and held it in front of his body.

"Red Robo, please pass the Chaos Sword through the Vertex Shield."

Ikku was confused. He had dropped the Chaos Sword while fighting
Shellshock, but he saw it resting near the feet of one of Sinclair's
men. They picked it up, tossed it to him, and he approached the Vertex
Shield.

In its centre he saw a thin opening, equally as wide as the widest
point of his blade. He carefully slid the Chaos Sword through the
slit, and felt it lock in as the hilt touched the shield's surface.

"Robo Yellow," Sei said.

Kiko could guess what he wanted. She lifted the Electro Blaster and
slid its barrel over the exposed hilt of the Chaos Sword. It, too,
locked in; the trigger began to glow, and two small triggers appeared,
one on the Vertex Shield and one near the tip of the Chaos Sword's
blade.

Sei quickly wrapped his finger around the trigger on the Vertex Shield
and Ikku grasped the Chaos Sword's trigger tightly.

"Guys..." Ikku said. "Is it just me, or is the fact that Shellshock
isn't moving really creepy?"

"Its body is adjusting to the energy to which it was just exposed,"
Sei explained. "Whoever engineered Shellshock did not do an effective
job. Red, Yellow - it is time for the fourth command on your list."

"Robo Defender, Slash Containment Burst!"

Ikku, Sei and Kiko squeezed their triggers in unison as they spoke the
fourth command on the list presented to them inside their helmets. In
the split second that followed, blue energy streamed from the Vertex
Shield, washing back over them even as it burst forward and struck
Shellshock.

The immediate area turned pitch black and Captain Sinclair, his men
and the crowd disappeared from view. A spark of yellow energy sped
from the Electro Blaster along the Chaos Sword and hit the giant
reptile, who started to move - but before he could attack, the Chaos
Sword glowed brightly, almost illuminating the area and allowing a
bright red fireball to strike Shellshock.

The darkness was lifted in time to see Shellshock stagger backwards,
fall, and be consumed by a fiery explosion so large that it knocked
Captain Sinclair's team off their feet.

"Is it gone?" Kiko asked.

"It's gone," Ikku replied.

"Whew... I think?"

"Yeah... Sei... er... Blue Robo? Why are we the only ones moving or
speaking?"

Sei looked at the crowd. They were frozen while performing a variety
of actions; several were even floating in the air, in the middle of
cheering.

"The Electro Blaster must have malfunctioned," Sei said. "The effect
will be temporary, but if I can examine it, I should be able to - "

"This is my fault?" Kiko muttered.

"No!" Ikku shouted. "No, don't help them! You heard what that Sinclair
guy said... the Black Battalion... they want to take us back to
Science Island!"

Sei nodded.

"Don't you see? They kidnapped my father, and now they want to take
us! We can't go with them! Leave them stuck - we'll get away, make a
plan - !"

Sei and Kiko looked at each other. They knew Ikku was right, at least
to some extent - they had to wonder why the Black Battalion had
attacked Blizzard Base Zero. Until they knew that, they could not
trust them.

"Why didn't they use their rifles against Shellshock?" Kiko asked.

"The rifles are designed for us," Sei replied. He looked at Ikku. "I
agree with Ian. We should leave until we have the opportunity to
analyse all the information. Robo Yellow?"

Kiko nodded. Sei lifted the Robo Defender, and it split into its
component parts. He returned the Chaos Sword and Electro Blaster, and
reattached the Vertex Shield to his right forearm. He took hold of his
teammate's hands, focussed, and the three Robomen vanished in a rain
of sparkling blue energy.


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NEXT: Muteki Robo!