After earth and metal, it would have been reasonable to assume that the monsters had a clear, laid-out pattern to follow, but this new appearance shattered it completely. Whoever had made it had a taste for sweets. And not any sort of ordinary sweets, this clearly extended to include those with big appetites.

 

It looked like a great parade balloon, or a blimp, 500 feet long or more, a taiyaki cake like those visible in any Japanese shop window. The waffle batter exterior looked ghoulish in the glow of the city's artificial lights, the dead-eyed, open-mouthed stare of the sea bream turned horrifyingly merciless! It floated silently above the streets, just high enough cars had to divert to avoid smashing into its underbelly.

 

Of course there would be a Geomorph right here, right now. The night was going so well that naturally it was too good to be true.

 

... And then it attacked! When the disturbing snackonstruction opened its mouth, vomits of all flavours poured out onto the street, gushing like fire hydrants to blast pedestrians with custard, red bean paste, chocolate, sweet potato... and as the buildings of the city came under fire the damage was immense, slicing them in half or leaving gaping holes and crumbling mortar and plaster. The taiyaki left a garish array of many-coloured pastes in its wake as it bore down on Kenta and Sunset.

 

“We’re the targets!” called Sunset, turning to escape. But could she get them out in time?

 

Kenta was furious... but when he realized the giant living pastry was turning towards Sunset that swiftly changed to panic. After seeing the destruction wrought on the city, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that sort of thing would do to the human body. His eyes went wide.

 

Kenta ran, grabbing Sunset and turning her away from the incoming blast of red bean paste as he dived to roll out of the way. The edge of the bean beam rocked him in the air, exploding the back of his jacket into shreds and leaving lacerations all across his back. He hit the ground shoulder-first, his lovely date still unharmed in his arms... apart from the side of her dress closest to the blast being in tatters.

 

Helping Sunset to her feet, Kenta lifted his M-Watch and thrust it outward and then back in to his face before exclaiming "COME! RAKURAIZER!"

 

But the response from HQ was as swift as it was hopes-dashing. It looked like, to divert resources to construction and training, Rakuraizer was in a powered-down state at the moment. They'd need a few minutes to get it battle-ready.

 

“What about G-Corona?” asked Sunset in a frenzy.

 

“G-Corana is operational and in the field,” answered the tech.

 

“Great, then I’ll - wait, what? It’s already been deployed? Then who’s the pilot?”

 

"Awright! That means it's my time to shine!"

 

Sunset turned pale as she recognized Cozy shouting down the comms. And then, like a bad dream, the shape of G-Corona appeared high overhead, blotting out the moon, hurtling through the air, crashing down on the highway with a meteoric impact.

 

"Cozy!" cried Sunset.

 

"Cozy!" shouted Swan down comms.

 

"Cozy!" called the rest of the crew on-board.

 

"Dat's right!" Cozy Glow shouted triumphantly, bringing G-Corona to a full standing position, albeit a little more awkwardly than Sunset would have. Her control over the mech seemed fundamental at best, although it was still spectacular for only a week's training. "Uhh, I mean..."

 

Cozy's eyes had been glowing with a competitive glint up until now, where her face suddenly jerked back to its usual look of wide-eyed innocence. She looked like a jack going back in her box. "I was alweady doing some twaining exercises in G-Cowona nearby... So I'm all ready to fight! Please let me hold off the monster until Rakuraizer arrives!"

 

Sunset slapped her forehead, trailing her fingers down her face. "Auuugh... How can I say no when you put it like that... This is humiliating..."

 

Kenta, of course, didn't see anything at all wrong with the situation. In fact he took the whole thing at face value. Sure it was worrying that the newest member of their team was piloting the G-Corona in a real actual battle after no time at all in the simulator, but hey, his first battle was with zero training, so he didn't want to throw stones in his glass house. He was just glad Sunset was out of danger for the time being.

 

"Yeah, way to go!" Kenta exclaimed. "Good job, Cozy!"

 

He looked back to Sunset with a smile. "Hey come on, this isn't the time to be worried about all that. C'mon, let's get these people to safety while the Rakuraizer's on its way."

 

Kenta slipped off the remaining scraps of his suit, shirt and tie, a bit sad that the ensemble lasted only half an evening. He quickly put it out of mind however, grabbing a tablecloth from a surviving table and yanking it off, wrapping it around Sunset's chest to help protect the girl's modesty.

 

After verifying that it was going to stay relatively connected, he got to work. While the two combatants squared off outside, Kenta and Sunset preoccupied themselves attempting to find others under the rubble and escorting them out of the suddenly-imperiled restaurant. With the elevator having been damaged in the blast, the stairs were now their only option.

 

As he scanned the room for anyone who needed help, Kenta's eyes abruptly settled on a pair of wealthy blonde dilettante girls both in evening gowns... evening gowns struggling to hold in either of their transcendent busts. But more importantly the pair were trapped under rubble, looking resolute as they held each other's hands as they waited anxiously for the worst.

 

"Hold on, be right there!" Kenta searched for a sturdy enough rod of rebar to help the two girls. Rushing off to the side, he kicked away some rubble and yanked out a large enough piece that he figured would work as well as could be expected. He made haste back to the trapped ladies.

 

"Alright, hold still! Gonna get you out of there!"

 

Kenta wedged the metal into place, lifting up on it with a bit of effort, his chest and arm muscles straining at the weight. He was fit, of course, but still human. No matter how much he wanted to, there was just no way he could lift that sort of rubble away bare-handed.

 

His straining wasn't for naught, though, and eventually, the rubble moved a few inches... maybe even enough for the trapped girls to crawl out?

 

"Okay I - nrgh! Think you can get out?"

 

"Yes! Thankyou!" called the younger one, before helping her partner get free. It was a tense few seconds struggle, but finally the two girls were moving to freedom. With their dresses shredded, at least their legs were free to use her leverage. They each planted a soft, sweet kiss on one of Kenta's cheeks before putting their arms on each other's shoulders and supporting each other to the stairs.

 

Now the restaurant was empty aside from Kenta and Sunset. He just needed to wait for Rakuraizer to arrive and he'd be free to join the fight.

 

He turned his eyes back to the window.

 

Outside, Cozy and the monster snack were going toe-to-toe. G-Corona moved as she commanded it, leaping at the huge creature again and again, pounding its fists into the monster’s flanks. Another anti-gravity rifle was prepared and she raised it, firing off a few shots.

 

Unfortunately for her, she was falling under fire too. A jet of custard hit G-Corona's shoulder and she went down hard, landing on an overpass with enough force to send it crashing down onto the road below.

 

---

 

"Hey! What gives? You're supposed to make it look convincing, not kill me!"

 

"Oh my... How foolish of me, ahaha..."

 

---

 

Their fight continued with neither side able to get a clear advantage over the other. But just as G-Corona was backed into a corner and looking about to take some serious damage, Kenta's ears perked up: like a bolt from the blue, Rakuraizer shot around the corner, sailing forwards to pick up its pilot.

 

It moved like a true hero, angular body low to the ground as it charged, pumping arms and legs with concentrated movements, scarfs trailing behind it. He’d never been happier to see it.

 

"Finally!" Kenta cheered out with a bit of relief. Time to get to work. He scooped up Sunset into his arms and dived over the restaurant's balcony, landing on the shoulder of the Rakuraizer as the cockpit opened and its bright green lights shone from within as if to beckon to its pilot. While bridal-carrying the busty teen, the shirtless teacher hopped inside.

 

Wasting no time, Kenta shed the rest of his dress clothes even as the cockpit hatch closed behind them. In a flash the Material Synthesizer started to work, bathing his naked form in green light as the synthesizer’s ring descended, wrapping his body in the blue and black latex of his pilot suit.

 

And he did it all with a resolute frown of pure concentration on his face. There was no time for babbling about decency... they had a monster to fight. The city needed him.

 

It was go-time for the heroes. Time to step in and save Cozy!

 

Kenta lept from the synthesizer into his seat, gripping the controls. The cockpit switched from green lines and OS visualizations to a display of the city around him, signaling that Rakuraizer was fully operational. The blue robot shot off like a horizontal bolt of lightning in order to save his new struggling teammate.

 

... Of course, the cockpit felt a little cramped with two of them in there, but thankfully Sunset seemed perfectly fine with pressing her squishy, soft body up against Kenta's hard, rigid one. And with her also changed into form-fitting, sexy latex, he wouldn't be raising any complaints about it either.

 

Rakuraizer turned to face its new foe, when SciTwi's voice came over the comms. "It looks like regular attacks aren't working! When you fought the last two Geomorphs, their control crystal was close to the surface so just hitting it was enough to cause substantial damage and eventually crack it."

 

"But this one's magnitudes larger! I'm guessing the filling inside the shell is providing an impact-absorbing barrier... Kenta, Cozy, you're going to have to find a way to get inside that thing and attack the core directly!"

 

"This is gonna sound stupid but... Maybe if we get it into water?" Kenta postulated as he ran towards the giant living treat. "I mean it LOOKS like a giant taiyaki, so maybe if we just get it soggy it'll fall apart...?"

 

"How close is Tokyo Bay?"

 

Kenta stopped in his tracks as he noticed the giant pastry fish about to fire another beam of filling. The Rakuraizer's arms lit up, lightning arcing over its surface as a barrier of electricity formed between it and the Geomorph.

 

"MAGNET WALL!"

 

But even as the flickering barrier rose up in the space between them, it could only do so much to ablate the attack. The high-velocity jet of corrosive bean paste sludge struck Rakuraizer's Magnet Wall directly: first a few drops of liquid oozed through, then as it collapsed it became a torrent that struck Rakuraizer in the chest.

 

And they just got done working out all the dents! Kenta and Sunset were hurled sideways as they were wiped out completely.

 

Kenta grunted as he got Rakuraizer up off of the street. Well... He’s fine taking more hits if it keeps that thing’s attention away from Cozy. Shouldn't be too bad, right? Not like this hurts or anything.

 

Roll's voice came over the comms, shouting at him: "Are you crazy? What good will taking it to Tokyo Bay do? Even if you get it over the water, it's levitating and - "

 

She continued to shout in his ear, but Kenta wasn’t hearing it anymore. As Rakuraizer landed on its back, his view was lowered and shot skywards at the same time, giving him a view of the beast's almighty underbelly. It was barely there, only perceptible to someone who had spent a lifetime honing their culinary skills... a man whose hands could just as easily form delicious sweets as brick-breaking fists.

 

So he saw it: amidst the trails of expelled fluids, there was a barely noticeable one at the back, where the great Taiyaki propelled itself along with timed bursts of goo at a downwards angle from its tail.

 

An idea started to take shape in Kenta’s mind, one that would require a lot of moxie to pull off: if he could just get it over Tokyo Bay and then deliver a crushing blow to the propulsion unit at the rear... it should be enough to send it plunging into the ocean.

 

Sure, HQ was down there, but the monster should dissolve long before it reached the seabed?

 

Rakuraizer pointed at the fish. "Hey, you culinary disaster! How dare you corrupt the image of an innocent treat shared by millions of people in this country!"

 

Then the giant robot glowed blue, electricity flowing down its arms as it reared back a fist. "VOLT COLLIDER!"

 

A shock of lightning flew through the air in an instant, traveling towards the giant floating Geomorph. Honestly, it didn't matter to Kenta if the attack did any damage as long as the thing was focused on him... he just needed to get its attention.

 

So he was as shocked as anyone when the Collider struck the Taiyaki a demolishing blow, making the entire ugly monster tilt to the side, striking a skyscraper hard enough to tear away chunk after chunk of delicious outer batter.

 

He was stunned at first, reeling backwards, unable to comprehend how his blow had been so potent... until he felt the warmth of that woman behind him.

 

Yes! It wasn’t only his strength at work here. He suddenly realized all this time Sunset’s hands had been placed on top of his, her warmth flowing into him, her concentration adding to his. He could have laughed at himself for not noticing it sooner: the set of her lips, the piercing stare in her eyes. She was putting everything she had into the assault.

 

Sunset pushed him ahead, and the Taiyaki reeled as yet more explosions consumed its tender flesh. When it finally turned its dead-eyed gaze back towards Rakuraizer, that face was now riddled with cracks and fissures from which more delicious goo leaked.

 

"Let's do this, Kenta!"

 

Kenta looked wide-eyed at the hand grasping onto his, and then up at the girl it was connected to. Setting into a determined look, he gave Sunset a brief nod. "Right!"

 

Kenta lowered his eyes to the intercom. “Cozy, I’ve got a plan! Meet me at the water!”

 

“Roger!” squeaked back the new recruit.

 

Kenta pushed his controls forward, Rakuraizer breaking into a dash as it led the giant pastry monster towards the bay. It was following them! This plan would actually work!

 

The trip to Tokyo Bay was easy enough, the peril of a direct hit diminished by using the city's numerous skyscrapers for cover. He kept a low profile as they lured the gigantic Geomorph to the water's edge, where they began to lay the groundwork for their plan.

 

The scarved robot jumped up onto Rainbow Bridge, its pilot waiting patiently for the taiyaki beast to get into just the right position...

 

And soon enough, the Geomorph’s long shadow passed over the water, sending ripples and currents passing through the once-still waters below. Rakuraizer and G-Corona stood in wait, watching in silence as the huge crumbly beast grew closer and closer, casting a shadow that seemed to go on forever.

 

"Now!" cried Sunset.

 

Their opportunity to get around and behind the Taiyaki presented itself finally, to deliver the attack that would drop the Geomorph into the bay.

 

But just as Cozy was about to spur G-Corona into action, something went wrong: she suddenly stumbled, losing her footing, and began to tumble. She hit the bridge, collapsing in a pile, while inside Cozy hammered on the controls again and again, desperately trying to stand. "H - Help! I can't mwove!"

 

The Taiyaki leapt on the opportunity instantly. It whipped around in response to the crash, sighting Cozy up immediately, preparing another blast of superheated filling to let loose.

 

And everything Kenta had been thinking about up until that point faded into the background.

Beside him, Sunset's eyes shot wide open. She'd been so distracted by the oncoming attack she hadn't even noticed Cozy falling. At least that's how it seemed when she yelled, "Kenta, what are you - "

 

Then it all clicked into place. Without a second thought, Rakuraizer leapt like a blue streak, a trail of red left in its afterimage as it moved faster than the eye could follow. Sunset just started screaming, holding his hand in a white-knuckle grip.

 

Valiantly, Rakuraizer tried to haul the fallen G-Corona to its feet and out of the way of the blast. But somehow, it wasn't working. There just wasn't enough time! So, with no recourse, Kenta turned to face the oncoming assault, arms unfurled, legs spread apart, projecting another electric barrier moments before the collision.

 

"MAGNET WALL!"

 

From her fallen position, it looked to Cozy as if Rakuraizer had become encircled in a halo of light as the superheated energies slammed into Rakuraizer. Inside, Kenta and Sunset were bounced around like crazy, their cries rising as they struggled together against the attack.

 

"It's different...!"

 

As a bit of filling dripped down from the ceiling, Sunset caught it on her tongue. "Hot sauce! That's cheating!"

 

"<Oh no!>" cried Swan, taking the situation completely at face value even as the rest of the MG crew complained that no Taiyaki would ever have hot sauce in it.

 

The melting and corrosion coming in the face of such a low blow spread all across Rakuraizer's chest, before the robot thudded down to earth, dropping to one knee.

 

With the attack finally over, Sunset's eyes sparked with delight... and something like malevolence. "We're intact! Kenta, goooo!"

 

Kenta gripped onto the controls tightly, his teeth clenched as he withstood the corrosive onslaught. When the attack finally abated, he raised his head, eyes full of justice.

 

"You attacked me while on a date..."

 

The green lines shone through Kenta's arms, slowly crawling up to his shoulders.

 

"You destroyed buildings and hurt people..."

 

Rakuraizer began to glow, the air around the robot ionizing, causing its scarf to slowly raise as if to defy gravity. Cracks began to form in the pavement below him.

 

"YOU PUT HOT SAUCE IN A TAIYAKI!!!"

 

And as he roared, the boosters lining Rakuraizer’s back flared to life and the blue robot shot into the air as if fired from a cannon. A thunderclap sounded as the massive metal hulk twisted and turned in mid-air, extending one giant metal foot extending downward as its trajectory changed. Lighting surged and trailed behind it, framing its descent towards the Geomorph.

 

"LIGHTNING CRASH!"

 

The impact was meteoric, an explosion of pure force reverberating outwards from Rakuraizer's foot, carried by its own inertia, driving downwards and twisting hard. Fissures traveled up and down the length of the taiyaki, which were immediately followed by explosions of filling cascading down to the bay, right before the entire back-end was ripped away, a glacier-like chunk of batter pulled off in its entirety. Rakuraizer and the Taiyaki plummeted back down to the bay, where the entire mess of goo and cake struck the water's surface all at once, creating a volcanic spray of water that rained down all across the bay.

 

Moments later, Rakuraizer was seen crawling onto one of the small artificial islands, water draining in its wake.

 

---

 

"Ack! I'm wide open...! Cozy, do it! Now!"

 

"Awww, what's da matter...? I thought you liked showing your big fat butt off?"

 

"Cozy!"

 

"Awright, awright, keep your shirt on... Here I go!"

 

---

 

On the other side of the island, G-Corona hunkered down, lifting its anti-material rifle and sighting Rakuraizer down the barrel. "Mm... Just a widdle squeeze should do it... And then we can say bye-bye to our two biggest nuisances in one shot. Oooooh, golly, how do I come up with such diabolical schwewmes...?"

 

She zoomed in a little further, finding the cockpit in amongst all the filling dripping off Rakuraizer. She wasn't aiming for the robot, but the two humans inside. A railgun shot at this distance would turn them both into vapour pretty handily, and then she could just blame it on a misfire later. Or maybe she'd just give up her cover entirely and laugh all the way home. Choices, choices!

 

"Sorry I got to fill you up before you did me, Mr. Tadashii...! I bet that would've been fun!" She squeezed the trigger.

 

(Dun dun dun...!)

 

But then Kenta's console suddenly beeped. For the first time since he'd taken on Rakuraizer, ATHENA spoke:

 

"Firing lock detected. Beginning evasive maneuvers."

 

Without any warning, he felt the controls wrenched from his hands as Rakuraizer dove forwards, moments before a railgun-accelerated blast volleyed over its head.

 

"A - ATHENA...?" Kenta was so dumbfounded that the AI was actually speaking for once that he missed exactly why evasive maneuvers were happening.

 

Sunset screamed again as they smashed into the dirt, even as the volley of fire struck the Taiyaki in the distance. It had been sinking into the water already, but the strike to its nose tilted it down-forwards and it plunged even deeper.

 

---

 

"What are you doing? Nincompoop? Ignoramus!"

 

"I only missed because you're so distwacting! Pipe down! Taking another..."

 

"WHAT THE!"

 

---

 

"Remote shutdown initiated," continued ATHENA in its menacingly mechanical voice. Kenta saw G-Corona sagging out of the corner of his eye, before the rifle fell from its hands and it hit the deck. Cozy was plunged into darkness and unresponsiveness again, but this time for real.

 

And she wasn’t happy.

 

"I can't move! That stoopid A.I. disabled my robot just because my shot went near Kenta! AUUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!"

 

Despite herself, the enemy inside the Taiyaki laughed.

 

"We'll... We'll have to figure that out later!" cried a flustered Swan. "Kenta, destroy the control crystal!"

 

Kenta looked around, brain trying to catch up to what had just happened... and maybe he’d have put it together if he’d had more time to think about it. But Director Swan's orders came first.

 

"R - right!" Kenta jerked the controls to the side. Rakuraizer pulled back a fist before shoving it forwards again, firing a giant energy bolt around the location of the Taiyaki Geomorph’s Control Crystal.

 

"VOLT COLLIDER!"

 

The Volt Collider flew into the depths of the giant monstrosity, dissolving filling in its wake as it ripped deep into its artificial innards.

 

It emerged on the other side in a fantastic, multi-coloured spray. The two halves of the bisected monster began to drift to either side, right up until a delayed second-burst of filling gushed in every direction. And then a real explosion on top of that as the control crystal went absolutely haywire.

 

The taiyaki exploded into a thousand pieces that were hurled in every direction. Only its proximity over the bay prevented further unnecessary damage to Tokyo's people, another fine outcome of Kenta's impromptu plan.

 

But it didn't look like our heroes could breathe easy just yet. When the destruction cleared, something remained, floating in the air before them: a tall, white-haired woman striking an evocative pose with her hands folded behind her head. Her style of dress was outlandish, rather like a belly-dancer... but the real standout was her candy-pink skin.

 

... And the glossiness, bubblegumliness of her giant rack, but that was neither here nor there.

 

She clutched a sea bream in one hand, looking at it with despondent black eyes before tossing it back into the bay. She sighed through her nose, and looked directly at Rakuraizer. "Oh phooey..." she said, shrugging. "Looks like the fun's over...?"

 

Kenta took one look at her, then looked to Sunset, baffled. But she looked just as confused as he did.

 

“That’s not Dominator... Just how many of these girls are there?”

 

“I don’t know,” shot back Sunset, “But I don’t like the look of her.”

 

“Well... It doesn’t matter,” he finally said. “If it’s an enemy...”

 

Sunset paled. Rakuraizer had already taken plenty of damage in their battle, and was covered in more kinds of fillings than either of them could count. “Kenta, wait - ”

 

“No matter who it is in front of us, if it's an enemy, then we need to take them down!”

 

Rakuraizer pointed a finger in the direction of the bubblegum-skinned alien. "The fun’s just getting started from where I’m standing! Who are you?!" Kenta shouted, his voice blasted out through the robot's mouth.

 

Kenta wondered if he should be shooting first and asking questions later, but actually seeing one of the villains who were destroying Tokyo in front of him made him at least want some answers. He remained primed to fire off a Volt Collider at a moment's notice, however.

 

"Oho... How disappointing..."

 

"Well, I suppose not every puny planet in the universe can have heard of the might of the Geomorph Empire..."

 

She swept her hair back with one hand, before placing her hands on her hips. "We're the invasion force that's going to core out this worthless little world.. and then spit out seeds like you when we're done."

 

She wiggled her waist provocatively, then balled one hand into a fist. "Looks like you're on your last legs there, human... So why don't I help you get into an early grave!"

 

And then, next thing he knew, that small, human-sized alien was jetting towards Rakuraizer at full speed, her hand drawn back to deliver... a punch? Was she serious?

 

She didn't seem deluded. Rather, she seemed extremely set on this course of action. And whether or not it was a bluff, Kenta knew better than to not try to call it.

 

"MAGNET WA - "

 

Kenta didn't even have time to get the barrier up before 21’s bare fist connected with the Rakuraizer's metal jaw, not just denting it but lifting it off the ground.

 

"About time you learned your place, human! Feel the power of 21, Geomorph General!"

 

The head of the mighty machine swung backwards, pulling the rest of the body with it. It hung in the air just long enough to make Kenta’s stomach lurch, before slamming back into the ground with another earth-shattering explosion that sent him and Sunset bouncing around inside the cockpit. The impact tore the small island beneath him to shreds and sent water rivulets rushing inwards.

 

This lady was serious fucking business.

 

Sparks flying, the Rakuraizer staggered back up, water rushing in around its feet as the robot leaped forward, slamming a metal fist into the side of the flying pink alien. Her response was to raise an elbow and a knee, blocking the strike. A tremendous shockwave exploded outward from the force of his fist being so abruptly stopped, rippling waves forming along the bay.

 

"How cute!" 21 said, almost a giddy tone in her voice as she grabbed his fist, yanking backwards and throwing the hulking metal giant into the air.

 

As soon as he was airborne, she flickered out of existence. One moment she was there, the next there was a flash of light and she was gone.

 

As quick as he could, Kenta tossed out another Magnet Wall, this time catching Rakuraizer in mid air. The glowing green lines reached his cheeks as he scanned the sky for any sign of her.

 

But when 21 reappeared with a phasing sound, the alien was instead floating right beside Rakuraizer’s head.

 

“Shi - ” Kenta began to say, right before the horrifically strong alien thrust both arms forwards, grasping Rakuraizer's neck from behind. Holding on to her much larger opponent was no easy feat for the General but she was able to keep her grip by pounding her fists through Rakuraizer’s neck and grasping the robot's spinal structure directly. She lifted upwards and towards herself - Rakuraizer’s hands scrambling to keep hold off the Magnet Wall before being ineffectually dragged right off of it - until the robot hung directly over her head in mid-air. Slowly and deliberately, she shifted her grip to the robot’s lower back.

 

She was preparing to hurl him straight down into the bay, handling herself like a wrestler against an equal-sized opponent. The strength of this fighter was like nothing on Earth.

 

Clutching the controls in white-knuckled grips, Kenta fought with every iota of strength he had to resist the fate staring him in the face. Not just for himself, but for the girl sitting beside him as well. 21 was laughing, bouncing the robot from one hand to the other, enjoying the moment as she sized up various civilian targets below...

 

He ignored the blaring alarms coming from ATHENA and fought - fought with everything he had. The metal giant’s hands moved, its legs swung in the air, but there just wasn’t enough time. He reached back around behind himself again and again, trying to grab the insect hauling him across the sweaty bulk of her broad back and maybe he’d have grasped her eventually, but... he felt those muscles tightening, those arms winding up to let fly.

 

“Kenta!” shouted Sunset in his ear.

 

“Kenta! Thrusters!” she cried again.

 

His mind clouded, his arms aching as he wrestled with the controls, he struggled to understand what Sunset was saying... right before she reached past him and slammed her fist onto the control for Rakuraizer’s skirt thrusters.

 

There was a terrible scream from right behind them, undercut by the roaring of a dozen flames all at once, the same thrusters that had propelled Rakuraizer through its previous battles time and time again. 21 was hit point blank by the blast, cooking to a crispy finish.

 

She lost her grip. Just for a split second, but it was enough.

 

The look of relief on their faces was nothing short of immense. Sunset’s face shone and she wrapped her arms around Kenta’s neck as he fired Rakuraizer up once more, all restrictions on movement suddenly, gloriously lifted.

 

Rakuraizer flipped over in space, axe-kicking down at 21. And Kenta knew, by all rights, that should have been the end of it. The blow should have connected and she should have been finished.

 

But instead... her arms rose, forming an X that blocked the blow at the last moment. But it was enough, and the force of the kick sent both her and the giant robot straight down.

 

The alien hit the shore first, an explosion of dust and debris lifting into the air as the ground cratered around her. Rakuraizer slammed its foot down, hard.

 

“Did... Did we do it?” asked Sunset in disbelief.

 

“There’s no way, right...?” Kenta shot back.

 

And in any other circumstances, he’d have been right.

 

But when the smoke cleared around that crater, 21 was still standing, hands over her head, legs wobbling as she held Rakuraizer’s foot over her head, supporting its entire weight with just her arms.

 

The ground cratered beneath her feet once, then twice.

 

“No fucking way.”

 

“Nice try, humans!” the singed, blackened beauty teased, right before swinging her body in an orbit, whirling Rakuraizer around her head... and letting go, sending the robot flying in a brilliant arc across the bay. Rakuraizer hit the ground, those alarms grew even more insistent and even more offensive to the senses, and the cockpit went dim.

 

When Kenta pulled on the controls, there was no response from the mighty metal machine.

 

“Rebooting...” offered ATHENA helpfully, and the offended chorus from the two pilots would have had to have been heard to be believed. Kenta didn’t even know Sunset knew so many dirty words

 

---

 

And with Rakuraizer momentarily taken care of, 21 turned to G-Corona, flying down to the pilot's seat and tapping on the glass, looking inside. If any conversation occurred between the two of them, it was unheard of, but it looked like she was preoccupied long enough for Rakuraizer to get back into a seated position.

 

She flew forwards, ready to continue fighting... but suddenly looking down at herself. The fire hadn’t just burned her tasty taffy flesh, it seemed.

 

21 was stark naked. And had been for some time. And despite herself, despite the situation, and that any professional scrutinizer of screenwriting should have had an aneurysm from her next action... the alien space babe wrapped her hands around herself with a cry.

 

It wasn’t like she had anything to be ashamed of. To the contrary, 21 was built like none other, with powerful abs and broad shoulders... but her figure was also the stuff of dreams, a brilliant, squishy mom-bod with big, wide, maternal hips to rival the thiccest of earth women. The few tatters of harem pants remaining around her waist only added to the visual.

 

And with the removal of said pants, her skintight black latex thighboots came into view... rather wonderfully complimenting a few other similarly tight black latex things... like the bra currently gripping her tits like a second skin, fat nipples stiff points in the material.

 

And despite all that muscle tone and fitness? Her tits were still many times the size of her head over, each wobbling mammarial mountain far too large for something as simple as a bangle-jangling handwrap to be enough to cover up.

 

She was meaty. She was squishy and soft to an inhuman degree, and would probably be as pliable to the touch as a big ball of juicy pink mochi. The hundred-bristled mane of white hair spilling down her back, and that fat pink tail swishing beneath it, only added to the unreality of her inspirational figure.

 

Long-held human adages like 'If there's a hole, it's a man duty to thrust into it' flitted idly through Kenta's mind as the alien squirmed in mid-air before Rakuraizer, two fingers on either rosy-pink nipple, thighs clamped together in an attempt at modesty her own deliciousness utterly usurped.

 

She might be a world-destroyer, but it seemed 21 still saw herself as a woman first and foremost. Duly noted.

 

Shit. He was getting a boner.

 

And Sunset, sweet Sunset, a girl who probably would never have bat an eyelid no matter who Kenta said he wanted to fuck... even she must have had her limits, because she saw that thick shaft making a tent in his pilot's suit and she just deadpan glared at him with a 'Are you fucking serious?' look on her face.

 

"There's a time and a place, Kenta," she finally said. "Even if she is hot."

 

“Right. Fuck. Right. Okay.”

 

Kenta raised Rakuraizer’s fists. She might be hot, but the risk of dying here still hung over all their heads.

 

“We’ll finish this later!” she finally barked. Then she turned back to G-Corona.

 

"Cozy," she whispered. "Find out what disabled your robot and destroy it. No matter what it takes."

 

Then she turned to Kenta. "I won't say this hasn't been fun, flyboy, but I'm about out of playtime... Bon voyage... until we meet again~!"

 

Kenta lowered the Rakuraizer's arms as 21 made her escape. The green lines receded back towards the controls as he let his head flop against the headrest behind him with a sigh. There wasn't any way for him to deny it: he just got thoroughly rocked. Man, what a way to end a date.

 

Behind Kenta, Sunset slumped, exhaling a breath she'd been holding for altogether too long. Ego firmly in check, Kenta checked on her to make sure she was okay. She’d been his responsibility for so long... he wouldn’t have been able to handle it if she got hurt. Not to mention saving his bacon when he needed it most.

 

He was about to thank her for that, when she cut him off with a characteristic disparaging sigh.

 

"Euuuurgh... So much for our date... I guess this sort of thing is going to happen no matter how much we plan, huh?"

 

Unexpectedly, she grinned. "Well... Whatever lets me spend time with my man, right?" Then she slipped her arms up under his armpits, suddenly catching him in a ferocious hug. "You did great out there, hon... We'd be scrap if not for you."

 

Downplaying her role? Hopefully she'd get over that bad habit one day.

 

Hugging her back, Kenta looked through the monitor at the still-downed G-Corona. Kenta figured that it was impressive that she was able to do what she did in a fight like this, but the ending could have went a lot worse. What was it that ATHENA said? 'Firing lock'? Did Cozy line up her shot wrong? Was there another party out there that they didn't see?

 

Kenta decided to give the AI a chance to speak. Maybe she'd at least humor him. "...Hey, ATHENA, are you there?"

 

But ATHENA was back to being as silent as a tomb. On their end, the science team duo weren't turning up squat. "It looks like ATHENA fired up momentarily in response to some external stimuli... but unless we can analyze the piloting data, we can't be sure."

 

Cozy spoke up: "Which one of dese is the piloting data?"

 

Athena paused. "The blue box on the left."

 

"Oopsy. It got unpwugged."

 

"... Well, I guess it's going to remain a mystery for the time being, then... Cozy, can you move?"

 

"... Uhuh. G-Cowona's back online... We're coming back home!"

 

Cozy breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like her cover hadn't been blown yet... But what was that thing they were talking about? ATHENA? What was that?

 

Cozy narrowed her eyes. That's right... Earlier they'd said Kenta was the only one who could pilot Rakuraizer, and they'd mentioned an ATHENA back then, too. A dark idea began to circle in her head.

 

She had to destroy ATHENA. Find a way to smash it up, then make it look like an accident.

 

Or... maybe let someone else take the fall for her.

 

She chuckled darkly, wringing her hands together... until she realized comms was still open. "Oopsy." She closed it down and then resumed chuckling evilly to herself...