[PSP] Guardian Sentai RoboMan #16

[utsukushuu.dreamer]

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

---


GUARDIAN SENTAI ROBOMAN #16
"On Guard"
Component 06.1
March 22nd, 2010
by Adrian J. Watts



New Orleans

"... as United States military personnel prepare to move the last of
the high-tech artifacts from the Earth Defence/Leadership
Directorate's formerly secret London research laboratories. The
Japanese government has advised strongly against the United States'
decision to unilaterally handle the transport of the precious cargo,
arguing that even their most highly-trained experts are no comparison
to the security that would have been provided by the disbanded Black
Battalion."

Ikku, Sei, Kiko, and Trick crowded around the television screen in the
dark back room of 'Hey, Pizza!', watching a live newscast from London.
The information it contained came as a complete surprise to everyone -
not just the Roboman team and their allies, but the entire world.

The day before, news agencies worldwide announced the revelation by
the EDD of a secret research facility in the centre of London, where
it was speculated testing of new Black Battalion hardware and other
EDD science projects were taking place. It was also revealed that for
almost two weeks the United States had been single-handedly organising
the transport of the discoveries to various former EDD member states,
including sending the last of the facility's treasures to the EDD's
most prominent supporter, Japan.

And the Japanese government was not happy.

"What do they think they're doing?" Ikku asked. "They must know none
of that stuff is safe. We know Miko's still out there."

Trick shook his head.

"You know Miko's back, because you've had to fight her," he suggested.
"Maybe the government thought, like you did for two weeks, that Miko
was gone."

"What should we do?" Kiko asked. "The Japanese are right. The United
States military can't protect against an attack by Miko and her
pixies."

"It is not our responsibility," Sei replied. "If they wished for our
help they could have contacted us. The Earth Defence/Leadership
Directorate knows we are here. Doctor Brachis knows we are here."

Ikku shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "It seems to me that whether they want us
there or not, it would be a good idea to make sure Miko doesn't get
her hands on whatever they're moving."

"I agree," Kiko offered. "If it's a weapon, or something that can
block our powers..."

"Then it's settled!" Ikku exclaimed. "We're going to London."

Sei frowned.

"Are we? I am not convinced - "

"But I'm the leader and I said we're going!" Ikku grinned.

"We do not have enough raido shards to travel such a distance."

"Oh."

Bip-bip-bip. Bip-bip-bip.

Kiko looked down at the Alert Bracer strapped to her left wrist. The
large red circle on its right flashed brightly as the speaker beneath
it beeped loudly. She could clearly see the time on its display - 4:30
PM.

I set that alarm for a reason, Kiko thought. What did I need to -

"I'm late for work!" she cried. "I've got to go! But I think we should
go to London!"

She ran through the flapping plastic doors which led from the back
room into the store's kitchen, leaving Sei, Ikku and Trick alone. Ikku
glanced again at the television which continued to show images of a
nondescript building surrounded by British police officers, on a
street heavily-barricaded at both ends as American military personnel
loaded trucks with everything from plastic chairs to bizarre metal
pods, their contents unknown.

"If we can't go we can't go," Ikku said. He shrugged. "I just hope
Miko keeps her nose out..." He raised his eyebrows. "Hey! Is there any
way we can get more raido shards?"

"No," Sei replied. "Doctor Brachis and Doctor Nagura are the only
sources I have. Until they contact us - "

"I get it, I get it," Ikku pouted. "I'm gonna go for a walk."


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

The Amazon

Hot, humid and full of mosquitoes. Generally unpleasant for all but
the most dedicated explorers and masochistic animals, the Amazon
Rainforest was not somewhere anyone would want to visit for fun - and
that was exactly why Jinsei loved it.

He strolled naked through the dense green foliage, taking delight in
the sensation of his bare red toes sinking into the soft earth.
Torrents of sweat trickled over his skin and while that did not
concern him, it was less-than-pleasant for the pixie bound tightly to
his left forearm by a thick green vine. Its hands were given special
attention; the pixie's hands were tied, palms down, against his skin.

The pixie tried to squirm free of its bonds but they were far too
tight; Jinsei noticed its frantic movement and smirked.

"I told you I will set you free once you supply me with raido shards,"
he said. The pixie shook its head vigorously. "Feel free to try
teleporting. Bound as you are, you will simply take me with you."

The pixie stopped moving. Jinsei kept walking, moving closer to a
small green pool. He sat at the water's edge and slowly dipped his
right leg into the water. Something hard and scaly brushed against his
foot but he did not care - he feared nothing that lived.

"I hope you don't mind getting wet," he told the pixie. He stared at
the creature's sweat-damp hair and laughed. "Wetter than you already
are, I mean. But I need a bath - I just can't seem to shake the scent
of that foul building your master considers a 'home'." He scowled.
"What could be more homely than this, the natural landscape in which
we were all spawned? Miko, Miko, Miko..."

Jinsei slid forward and dropped into the water. For a moment he was
completely submerged in the warm water and he took the chance to stare
at the many small creatures that called the green depths home before
he kicked his way back up the surface.

As he felt the humid air against his face again he felt something
pulling on his left arm. He tried to raise it but whatever had latched
on was too strong for him and he found himself pulled under the
surface again. He closed his eyes and red and green energy surrounded
his body; six narrow slits opened on his neck, three on each side, and
suddenly, like the creatures around him, he could breathe underwater.

"What have we here?" he asked.

He stared down at his arm and saw a small crocodile with its teeth
latched onto the pixie's strong bonds. He kicked out with his left
foot and nudged the crocodile's sensitive underside; it opened its
mouth and swam away.

Jinsei made his way back to the surface and pulled his body out of the
pool. He ran his right hand through his short black hair and laughed
loudly before he checked on the state of the pixie. It took a moment
for him to realise that the pixie was missing one arm and, worse, was
not moving at all.

"Oh well," he shrugged.

He unwrapped the vine and lifted the pixie into the air. Small, blue,
mist-like droplets dripped from the pixie's open wound. He caught some
in his free hand and tested it with the tip of his tongue; it tasted
bitter and he spat it out. The mist sprayed forward and settled on the
surface of the warm pool... and turned solid. Two translucent blue,
glass-like objects floated on the water's surface and Jinsei knew
immediately what they were.

Raido shards!

He grinned enthusiastically as he approached the pool and took one of
the pixie's legs in each hand. He valued life in all its forms; to
him, life and its many potentialities were more important than
anything else. While he would gladly cause suffering and pain to
others if the mood took him, he found himself reluctant to take the
life of less evolved creatures or benefit from their deaths. He did
not eat meat. He did not wear leather.

But he had not killed the pixie, the crocodile had, and while he took
no pride in what he was considering, he knew it was the only way to
achieve his goal. He tensed the muscles in his arms. He tightly
gripped the pixie's legs.

He tore the pixie in half.

Blue blood - what Jinsei suspected was actually a liquid form of raido
energy - splashed in all directions. Some washed over his face and
dripped down his arms and chest, but most fell into the pool's green
water and instantly turned into solid blue raido shards.

He dropped what was left of the pixie by the edge of the pool and
kneeled. He smiled and with one hand he scooped up the six raido
shards he had created.

Now I only need to figure out how to use them, he thought. If I had
another pixie, I could -

On the far side of the pool a swarm of mosquitoes had gathered drawn,
Jinsei suspected, by the strong and unique scent of his own body.
Their rapidly-moving wings caught his attention and he moved his eyes
back and forth from the frantic, energetic mosquitoes to the lifeless
pixie.

An idea was forming.


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

New Orleans

"You're lying to them. Still."

Trick stood between Sei and the doors leading out of the back room of
'Hey, Pizza!'. He was not angry, but was making no effort to hide his
disappointment in the Roboman.

"You know you could get to London and back. You have enough raido
shards to transport this whole city to London and back."

Sei stared directly into Trick's eyes. Neither man's expression
changed; Trick frowned and did not blink while Sei remained seemingly
emotionless. He gave no indication that Trick's judgement bothered him
in the least.

"I do not need to justify my decisions to you," Sei said simply.

"No... but you do need to justify your decisions to yourself... and
your teammates."

Sei scowled.

"Neither Ian nor Miss Sato even recall the large number of raido
shards that arrived with the Alert Bracers and Robo Rifles," Sei
reminded Trick. "They may be able to defend this city when it is
attacked by a single monster, but they lack the dedication, knowledge
and perception to participate in an operation as complex as
safeguarding the transfer of cargo in another country."

"Maybe if you kept less secrets they might be more effective," Trick
suggested.

"Perhaps."

There was a long silence as the two men continued to stare at one
another. Neither man moved, neither man blinked, but at the same time
neither man was in any way aggressive. There was simply a difference
of opinion; not an argument, not a debate.

"I need to get back to work," Trick said. "The dinner rush will begin
soon."

He turned and made his way through the plastic doors into the kitchen
area of the store just in time to see Ikku and Kageki enter the store
side-by-side. Kageki smiled and waved as he came behind the counter
and tied his white apron around his green t-shirt and black pants, but
Ikku just stared at the floor as he walked past.

Trick sighed.

"Ikku, come here for a second."

Ikku stood beside him.

"The best way to prove a point," Trick whispered, "is to have all the
facts."

Ikku looked up.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Just... look under the couch," Trick told him. "And," he added more
loudly, "clean under there once in a while. I pay Kageki to cook
pizzas, not to do your housework!"

Ikku grinned and ran through the plastic doors. Sei was nowhere to be
seen.

"Sei?" he called out. "Cog?"

There was no response.

Under the couch, he thought. Weird advice... but here goes...

Ikku dropped onto his stomach and turned his head sideways to peer in
the dark space beneath the couch. Even in the darkness he could make
out flat, narrow shapes. He reached in with one hand and picked up a
handful of the small items and brought them into the light.

Eternity shards! And most of them are raido shards, he realised. Sei
lied to us!

"You found them."

He dropped the shards when he heard Sei's voice behind him. He rolled
onto his back and looked up - the Blue Roboman stood directly over
him, with the tiny Cog perched delicately on his shoulder.

"You lied to us, Sei!"

"Yes," Sei replied. "I am sorry."

Ikku blinked.

"W-what?"

"I believed that you were not ready for so difficult a mission. Trick
disagreed, but raised no issues of value," Sei explained. "Cog,
however, has pointed out the ease with which Miss Sato and yourself
have begun to master your abilities and that it would be unfair of me
not to allow you to at least attempt the mission you have taken it
upon yourself to complete."

Ikku blinked again.

"What are you saying?"

"Miss Sato will be returning soon. We will go to London and watch over
the transfer of the last Earth Defence/Leadership Directorate
technology," Sei glanced at Cog. "You will lead the mission, Ian."

Ikku blinked a third time.

"Thanks?"

"Do not fail."

Sei sat at the computer and began to type in a series of commands;
Ikku did not know what he was doing, and he didn't care - he was more
concerned with Sei's behaviour. He could never figure out what his
teammate's true agenda was: one moment he would insist on sticking to
the rules as much as possible, the next he would seem... normal, like
everyone else. What Sei said - what Sei did - didn't really bother
him; what worried him were the drastic, extreme and sudden changes...
and the lies.


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

Antarctica

Doctor Brachis blinked. Then she blinked again. Her back was cold. She
could see nothing but blackness in all directions. She could not move
her arms. Her legs were held fast. She could not speak.

Where am I? she wondered. What's going on?

"Rose?"

The voice was familiar. Someone she had seen recently, but also an old
friend.

Doctor Nagura.

"I am glad you are awake."

Suddenly, Rose Brachis could see again. Her arms moved freely and so
did her legs. She was in a massive room with grey walls, bright lights
and no furniture except for a long metal bench on which she had been
laying naked.

Beside her stood Doctor Nagura Scott but he looked nothing like how
she remembered him. Her Doctor Nagura had been older - older than
herself - and struggled to speak. The new Nagura seemed completely
different; he seemed visibly younger, more like someone in his late
thirties than late fifties. He spoke clearly. His body appeared well-
defined beneath the black and red skin-tight bodysuit he wore.

However, none of this disturbed Brachis as much as the changes to her
friend's face and hands. Thick, raised black lines covered every
exposed piece of skin and a long scar stretched from his right temple
to his chin. She recalled seeing a similar transformation in him once
before - after he had been tortured by Jinsei.

Her immediate response was to examine her own body for any similar
changes, but she saw nothing. Nothing at all. Not even the slightest
blemish. Birthmarks, pimples, even acne had all disappeared from her
body.

"Where are we? What have you done to yourself? What have you done to
me?" she asked.

Doctor Nagura smiled.

"We are inside Blizzard Base Zero," Nagura replied.

"That's not possible!" Brachis cried. "I remember... Blizzard Base
Zero was destroyed... and the wreckage fell on - "

Nagura shook his head.

"Your friend Sinclair saved us."

"Damien...? What? How?"

"When the enlarged Buki Robo appeared inside the base he appeared and
teleported us both into the sealed off sections beneath the ice,"
Nagura explained.

"Sealed... off...?"

"Of course. You did not believe Blizzard Base Zero consisted of only a
head, did you? We are inside the body of a giant robot, one which I
have never been able to activate. I sealed off most of the body so
that I could focus on the technology located within the head module,
which seemed more than sufficient for the goals of Project: Roboman.

"We have been down here for three weeks. You were injured when Buki
Robo exploded and I could save you only by inducing a coma. I was
concerned that you would not wake up."

Brachis nodded.

"What did you do during all that time?" she asked. "Did you contact
the outside world? Did you call for help?"

Nagura shook his head.

"I developed these."

He reached under the bench and retrieved two folded pieces of fabric,
green and black, which he handed to Doctor Brachis, then gestured at
his own black and red uniform.

"Three robosuits," he explained. "One for each of us, plus this new
design I am testing now. Unfortunately I had to wait for you to
recover before I could fully develop them."

"What happened to you?" she asked. "Your face... your hands?"

Nagura smiled.

"I am as Jinsei made me. A healthier, younger, stronger Nagura Scott."
He tapped the scar on the right side of his face. "A Nagura Scott that
is going to destroy Sorceress Miko... destroy the Robomen... and then
destroy the world."