SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ SD Gundam Force ❯ Chapter Four: Attack the Enemy Musai! ( Chapter 5 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

“What were you thinking?!” Zapper Zaku bellowed. “When you tried to wipe out that Gundam, your stupid stunt almost blasted me as well! I’d like to get rid of you!”
Grappler Gouf made a noise of disdain and turned away.
“Too bad I didn’t get rid of the Gundam,” he muttered, “but even worse, I failed to destroy an even bigger nuisance.”
“QUIET! You irk me to no end! This invasion operation was assigned to ME first! Then you moon-walked in here and-”
He fell silent as a pair of laser guns drifted overhead.
“Oh, boys…” a familiar voice hissed.
“Commander!” Both robots immediately straightened themselves.
“Sorry, sir,” Grappler Gouf explained nervously, “we were just having a simple little-”
“Quiet!” the Commander barked. “Why has the Knight Gundam appeared in Neotopia? You two are aware that there are two Gundams patrolling that dimension now, yes? And just what do you plan to do about that?”
“Those are, uh, excellent questions, sir.” Zapper Zaku looked uneasily at the ground. “Many years ago, in a kingdom called Lacroa…”“TWO GUNDAMS!” the Commander exploded. “It would be disastrous to our cause if they were to unite their strengths!”
“Speaking of uniting, could Zapper be reassigned to, let’s say, the Siberian solar system?” Grappler Gouf mumbled under his breath.
“The reason those Gundams are so troublesome,” Zapper continued, ignoring his partner, “is that they don’t have Control Horns. I think that-”
“STOP THINKING!”
The Musai floated by a dark, spherical object with many tentacle-like towers protruding from its sides. “Just bring them here to our main base!”
“Yes, Commander,” Grappler Gouf said confidently. “As usual, I’ve come up with a brilliant plan.”
“Really?! You didn’t seem to be doing that much planning when you were blasting away with your stupid missile!” Zapper Zaku roared.
“You seem to forget that the root of the problem was that you managed to get yourself planted right into the ground!” Grappler shot back.
They were at each other’s throats in an instant.
“Say it to my face!”
“All because of your stupidity-”
The lasers floated by again.
Both robots gave desperate cries and fell back against each other.
“Commander, sir,” Zapper Zaku pledged, “this time we’ll work together, and make a plan as a team!”
They walked away, arms around each other’s shoulders, still muttering angrily.
“Just follow my lead, Zipper.”
“Shut up.”

“How do you do it, Captain? That forest fire you fought, those boaters you rescued; you’re amazing!”
“No need for thanks, ma’am. I am merely doing what is right.”
“I just have one little favor…Would you mind rescuing Shute from his math homework today?”
Captain stood in the center of the workshop as Keiko’s voice rang from wall to wall. “Well, I, uh…” he muttered awkwardly, shrugging.
Shute poked his head out from behind a chair and laughed. He was holding a square microphone with a rubber handle.
“Come on, Captain, you didn’t really think that was my mom, did you? I was using this voice-changer I invented.”
He lifted the microphone to his mouth, and out came Keiko’s voice. “How do you do it, Captain?”“Naturally, I was aware of that,” Captain replied, “but the voice pattern was a match, so I felt obligated to respond.” He smiled. “Shute, your inventions are quite impressive.”
Shute grinned. “Just wait- I’ve got lots more where that came from.”
He pulled on his roller skates, crouched down…and sprang from the loft!
“Oh, no!” Captain cried.
But Shute nonchalantly pulled a control from his pocket, and soon he was gliding down the rails of a silver ladder, right down the wall!
“Sweet, huh?” he laughed. “I made my skates electro-magnetic so I can skate down walls!”
Captain opened his mouth to reply, but then his headpiece began glowing. “Attention, Captain,” said a small voice, “the Dark Axis has been detected. Mobilize!”
“Roger!” Captain lifted off of the ground and through the skylight.
Shute ran outside and lifted his head, watching Captain’s body be reconfigured for battle. Then, initiating his rocket blades, he shot off after him.

Zapper Zaku shot his machine guns at the empty sky.
“Ah, come on!” he groaned. “What in evil’s name is taking him so long?!” He turned his head to Grappler Gouf. “What makes you so sure he’ll come, anyway?”
Grappler stood with his back to the others, fingering a long, yellow bazooka. “Well, it is more practical than wandering around and looking for them,” he mused.
“I just think you like to shoot at stuff, you freak!”
Grappler Gouf smiled darkly. “It’s what I do.”
“You said this plan for catching Captain was foolproof,” Zapper continued, oblivious to a rapidly growing star in the distance. “But I have a hard time believing-”
Captain slammed into him, sending Zapper flying against a wall. The Zakos nearly jumped out of their armor, but nonetheless grabbed their guns and turned towards the Gundam.
Grappler Gouf aimed the bazooka at Captain. “Gundam,” he whispered smugly, “how nice of you to join us.”
Zapper Zaku, shaking with anger, dug himself out from the rubble, and began firing in all directions.
“You’re gonna pay for that! I wasn’t through yet!” he bellowed.
The Zakos danced out of the way of the bullets. Captain and Grappler Gouf held up their shields.
“Hey, gearhead! Would you stop shooting?!” Grappler snapped.
“Make m-” Zapper’s words were cut short again as another figure swooped down, tackling him again.
Zero stood in the sunlight, which glinted off of his gilded armor, his sword in one hand.
“Take that, villain!” cried the Winged Knight.
Grappler Gouf hefted the gun to his other shoulder. “So the Gundam gang’s all here. Excellent. ATTACK!”
A horde of Zakos jumped from the shadows and ran at Captain and Zero.
“Flatten those two into a petroleum pancake!” Grappler ordered.
Shute, hiding himself behind a stack of boxes, saw the two Gundams batting away at the sea of green.
“Poor simpletons,” Zero called out gallantly. “Did they truly think that their ‘strategy’ could hinder the strength of my magnificent swordsmanship?”
Captain jumped in front of the knight and raised his shield.
“Allow me to help!” he cried.
“Interfere not!” Zero protested.
Captain blocked a group of Zakos effortlessly with his shield, then pushed them away. “I prefer to avoid physical violence, but I have no choice; their actions conflict with maintaining the peace!”
The wave of Zakos just kept coming and coming.
“Zero, we need to combine our strengths if we’re going to win!” Captain called.
“Combine?” Zero scoffed as he relieved a Zako of its gun. “That would prove ineffective! Your mission is insignificant compared to mine!”
“But, Zero-”
Grappler Gouf watched the Gundams, a smirk playing across his metallic lips. “So,” he chuckled, “the two Gundams don’t see eye-to-eye. What delightful news.”
Zero kicked out at a Zako. It landed with a cry at Grappler’s feet as he aimed the gun.
“Rubber bazooka beam…FIRE!”
Captain, Zero, and a cluster of unfortunate Zako soldiers were pulled into a beam of light.
Shute stifled a gasp behind his hand.
When the flash cleared, Captain, Zero, and the Zakos were encased inside some sort of yellow sphere.
“This…does not compute,” Captain murmured faintly.
“I- I can’t move a muscle!” Zero cried, frustrated.
“Hah,” Grappler taunted. “The mastermind strikes again.”
He was just started towards the rubber ball- and then someone snatched the gun from his hand.
“What is this?” Zapper Zaku sneer. “Where have you been hiding this?! You’ve been holding out on me, haven’t you?”
He gave a low, raspy chuckle and thrust the gun in Grappler’s face.
The cannon barrel began to light up.
“Come on, be nice-” Grappler Gouf began, but then he and Zapper Zaku were pulled into another rubber prison, so close that their faces were mashed against each other.
“Stooge! Didn’t I try to warn you?” Grappler snapped.
“Bleah,” Zapper whined, twisting his head away. “This feels gross. Get me out of here!”
“Oh, and I’m thrilled to be stuck with you. Zako minions, take us back to the ship and we’ll return to base with the Gundams.”
The Zakos saluted. “Yes, sir, Zako!”

Soon, supported by many little Zako soldiers, the two rubber containers made their way to the Komusai.
“You’re now our prisoners, Gundams!” Zapper Zaku laughed. “Your fate is in our hands!”
“Brilliant, Zapper, considering the way we look,” Grappler scoffed.
“Who asked you?”
Shute watched in horror as his friends were lifted onto the ship.
No…They’ve captured Captain and Zero! I have to do something!
He sighted a large pipe off to the side.
“It’s a long shot…Come on, jet-blades, do you stuff!”
Shute bladed up the smooth surface of the pipe and launched himself at the Komusai.
“Magna-rollers on!” His feet stuck themselves firmly to the ship, and Shute ducked behind a tail fin as the Komusai lifted off of the ground and took off.
“Hang in there, Captain and Zero,” he whispered. “I’m with you all the way.”
“What skullduggery!” Zero hissed. “They are waylaying us to the land of the Dark Axis!”
“What? The Dark Axis?!” Captain gasped. They were jostled forward as the ship melted into the Zakarello Gate and faded out of Neotopia.

Back at SDG Base, all screens of the battlefield grew blank.
“Chief Haro,” a recruit called, “Captain’s locator beacons have ceased transmission. Time-space distortion was detected at his last coordinates.”
“A dimensional transport gate,” Chief Haro whispered, stricken.
“May luck fly with you, Captain…”

Rushing through a tunnel of gold-and-black lights, Shute gasped and gazed at his hands in fascination. They were becoming paler and paler as his body turned transparent, and suddenly he felt like he had been scattered across the stars, no body, just a heart and mind…

The beauty left him as the lights vanished.
Something sharp grazed his shoulder; Shute lifted his head and saw a beast-like portal, complete with horns and snapping teeth, opening its mouth and letting the Komusai through.
This new dimension was both gorgeous and horrifying at the same time. The sky was velvety black, and two pale, glimmering moons floated in the sky, yet desolate patches of dry earth floated on wisps of purple smoke, in an endless, bottomless abyss.
A bulky red ship, with horns and cannons and bright lights, emerged from the shadows. Shute recognized it as the Dark Axis mothership- the cruel vessel that had fired on Captain the first time they met.
“That’s…the enemy’s ship…” Captain breathed.
“Yes,” Zero confirmed. “That is the Dark Axis Combat Carrier: Magna Musai.”

From the Komusai, they were grabbed by a large metal claw and pulled onto the carrier.
“Attention, evil ones!” Captain demanded. “I demand that you let us go at once!”
“Your abruptness offends me,” Zero sighed disgustedly. “What ill fortune that I find myself saddled with a crass Gundam such as you!”
“I’m…crass?” Captain murmured self-consciously.
Above them, Zapper Zaku laughed. “Now, now. You two be good little Gundams and wait for us to come back for you!”
“Let’s get this rubber dissolved already,” Grappler Gouf hissed, “so I can get myself unstuck from you. Being this close together is really making me sick.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, being this close to you is giving me some kind of rash!”
Still arguing, they bounced away.

Captain fired at the claws holding them, but nothing happened.
“It’s useless. The armor is too thick…”
Zero gave a heavy sigh. “Once again will I be unable to complete my mission.”
“Zero, I-”
“Wait,” the other Gundam interrupted, motioning with his eyes. Staring off into the mist, Captain saw a twisted, deformed, glowing shape pass over the Magna Musai.
“Is that the-”
“The main base of the Dark Axis.” Now Zero’s voice had a softer, sadder, more pained ring to it. “Countless comrades have been taken there, but none have returned. Perhaps they mean for us to suffer the same fate. But…I shall remain ever-valiant to the end.”
“Zero,” Captain started, “your speech is different from mine. Where are you from?”
He knew from Grappler Gouf that Zero was from a place called Lacroa, but he had never seen it, or heard of it.
“In your way of speaking,” Zero replied quietly, “I am from an alternate dimension. The Dark Axis has taken more worlds than this, and one of them was my homeland: the beautiful kingdom of Lacroa.”
“It was?”
“It was destroyed by the Dark Axis.” The Winged Knight’s voice was heavy with anger as he recounted the memory.

“Once, I had a homeland, and friends who fought by my side. Lacroa was a peaceful, happy place; it was a place to be proud of, and my comrades and I would’ve done anything to protect it. But in the end, evil triumphed. I was unable to protect anything at all.”
As he spoke, Captain saw the horrors flickering in Zero’s eyes- a billowing black cloud rise over lush fields. He saw sweeping flowerbeds turn to stone, and the ground cracking beneath the hammering might of many explosions…
“Zero…”
The Knight made a strange noise between a sob and a shout.
“NO!” he bellowed at the sky. “I will not let my emotions stiffen my resolve! By Mana’s name, I will not fail!”

Shute darted down the cables keeping the Zakarello Gate tethered to the Musai. He had to find where those villains had taken his friends-
Grappler Gouf’s voice startled him, and he ducked for cover.
“What in evil’s name is taking that blasted Zako minion so long?”
Zapper’s voice joined in. “That salved gas should’ve been here eons ago, for crying out loud!”
A Zako scurried over, holding a yellow container in his hands.
“Salved,” Shute murmured, his eyes lighting up. With salved, he could dissolve the rubber! “I need to get some so I can free Zero and Captain...”
As the rubber around them thinned and broke, Zapper Zaku and Grappler Gouf pushed away from each other with disgusted shouts.
“Don’t you ever use that gun again!” Zapper Zaku began, but his words faded and his eye grew wide as Shute rolled by.
He grabbed the salved container from the Zako, who was too stunned to stop him. “Gotta borrow this! Thanks!”
Grappler Gouf was more enraged than stunned. “WHAT?! A filthy little human aboard the Musai?! SCATTER THE BAGU-BAGU!”
“Zako minions,” Zapper Zaku added, “don’t let that pathetic organic life-form get away!”
Behind him, Shute could hear the buzzing of the Bagu-Bagu swarm and the hurried cries of the Zakos. But when they closed in around him, he just jumped and wove between their arms. “Sorry! Coming through!”
One Zako jumped at him and missed. As it writhed on the ground, Shute began rolling up the walls of the ship.
“Magna-rollers on!”
A machine gun bullet grazed his forearm; he winced, but kept going, swerving to avoid the shots.
Waiting on the next platform were more Zakos.
“Sheesh,” Shute groaned. “Just how many of you guys are there?”
He turned and headed for the edge of the platform, the Zakos right at his heels, ducking under machine gun fire.
A Zako fired on him. He jerked to the side, barely avoiding it, stumbling- and fell right off the edge of the Musai.
Most of the Zakos skidded to a stop, but one unlucky little guy ran right off the edge of the ship.
He sighed, relieved, thinking himself safe, but then saw the empty air beneath this feet. The others shook their heads sadly as he fell.
There was a long, frightened shout of, “Zako!” and then a thud.
“That kid’s a goner!” one finally cheered.
“Oh, well!” Suddenly jeers and laughs were filling the air.
“Have a nice fall!”“Hope you wore your antigravity-wear!”
Hanging, motionless, on the side of the ship, Shute looked around and his shoulders shook with relief.
“Glad I invented these electro-skates, or they’d be right- Hmm?”
A little yellow speck glittered off in the distance.
“Hey!” Shute whispered, his hands tightening around the salved handle. “That rubber ball is Captain and Zero!”
“There he is!”
Zapper Zaku had found him. The Bagu-Bagu, buzzing and whirring, closed in.
Shute recoiled at the sight of the petrifying insects.
“Man, those things are bad,” he murmured. “If I get stung by one of them, I’ll get turned into a cement birdbath. What do I do?”
Ding! On went the light bulb!
“Magna-rollers off!” Shute dropped from the Musai’s side as a stinger drove itself into the metal.
Zapper Zaku was on him in an instant as Shute made a beeline for his friends. “Stop trying to escape, human boy!” he ordered, but the smaller, skinnier child was faster, and soon Shute was gliding across the top of the metal claw, out of reach.

Captain heard wheels on the metal and looked up.
“Shute!” he cried as his friend began dusting the rubber bonds with a powdery pink substance. “How did you get here? Why did you come?”
“Hmm,” Shute sighed. “Well, getting here was easy, and when I saw you guys, you looked so funny that I nabbed this salved to free you!” He laughed and smiled.
Zero’s eyes shimmered, and then he smiled, too.
But everyone’s smiles faded as a blotchy gray cloud of Bagu-Bagu came flitting down the railing. They grabbed at Shute with their claws…
Shute wasn’t stung, but he lost his balance and went tumbling, screaming, towards the blackness below.
“SHUTE!” Captain shouted. He pushed the remaining rubber away and dove after the boy.
“HANG ON, SHUTE!”

Darn, thought Shute as he through clouds of thick, acrid smoke. I thought I could be a hero just like Captain, but I really screwed up…
A pair of firm hands grabbed him, and Shute opened one eye.
“C-Captain? You were safe- why did you jump?!”
“I will do anything to save my friend,” Captain replied softly.
He turned on his jets and they tried to make it to a nearby ledge. They missed, Captain’s jets burnt out, and Shute gave a cry of defeat as they hurtled down, down…
Someone else grabbed Captain.
“I must say,” Zero laughed warmly, “you two lunatics are cut from the same cloth!”
He set them down on a different ledge.
“Shute, Captain, I daresay that your courage and true selflessness have moved the heart of the Winged Knight. You two have proven yourselves to be men of character, and it would be an honor if you assisted me, an elegant knight, in my quest. Come, let us begin our counterattack!”
“Yeah!” Shute and Captain cheered.
They grabbed on to each other and bounded up the rocky cliffs.
“Up, up, and away!” they cried.

Zapper and Grappler knelt on the edge of the Magna Musai, grumbling.
“Darn those good guys,” he groaned. He couldn’t see anything past the mist. “Of all the places they had to land, they had to choose here!”
Grappler Gouf held up the rubber bazooka gun. “Those Gundams could’ve survived,” he pointed out harshly.
“Next thing you know, you’ll be saying we should go retrieve them!”
“What would the Commander do?”
“Grrr…Bring the ship about and hurry!”The Magna Musai swung itself around.
“I’ve HAD it!” Zapper Zaku continued in a heated rage. “If those Gundams try anything sneaky, I’ll blast them with our main cannon!”

“What do you have in mind, Zero?” Captain asked softly. Now that the Magna Musai was visible and facing in their direction, the trio was being careful not to get themselves caught.
“First, we will need to commandeer the Musai,” Zero replied. “Then, open the gate, and return to your world.”
“Cool,” Shute laughed.
“Ready? Let’s go!” Captain and Zero dropped Shute on the back of the ship, then leapt at the minions of the Dark Axis.
“Surprise!”
“Oh, look, the Gundams!” Grappler Gouf cried, raising the gun once more. “Allow me to welcome you back!”
“Now we shan’t allow that again, shall we?” Zero knocked the bazooka from Grappler’s hands, and it became a small dot in the distance.
“Drat,” the villain grunted. “That blows my oil…”
Captain hammered Zapper Zaku with furious punches, then kicked him against the wall. Zero, with a grand shout of, “En garde!” swung his sword at Grappler Gouf. He dodged and jumped beside his winded partner.
“Looks like you two…” Grappler started.
“Became best friends pretty darn quick,” Zapper finished, clenching his fists.
“Evildoers like you will never understand what goodness can bring!” Captain replied.
“Like the bonds of friendship, forged in battle,” Zero added.

Shute had the gate in his sights.
“While the Gundams keep those creeps busy,” he told himself, “I need to open that Gate…Here we go!”

Zero swung his sword. Captain cocked back his fist.
BAM!
Grappler Gouf and Zapper Zaku were flattened against the wall like pancakes, groaning softly as they slid to the floor.
“That should do it,” Captain said.
“Well, ‘tis been jolly good fun,” Zero said mockingly, waving to the goons, “but now it is time for us to move on!”
He grabbed Captain’s hand, and they began jumping to the top of the Musai.
“Zako minions, stop those Gundams!” Grappler Gouf bellowed. “They’re getting dirty footprints all over the Musai!”
Captain pushed the Zakos off to the side with his shield.
“You disgust me!” Zero barked at one, sending it flying.

Meanwhile, the gate proved to be as unreasonable as the other Dark Axis forces. “Oh, please?” Shute begged for the millionth time. “Come on. Open the dimensional gate! Please!”“Zakarello Gate not take order of humans, Zakarello,” the gate replied. “Big trouble could Zakarello get in, Zakarello.”
“No trouble could-” Shute stamped his foot in frustration and waved his arms. “WOULD YOU JUST OPEN THE GATE?!”

“Shute just waved his arms,” Zero whispered to Captain. “Do you think it was a signal for us?”
“I believe so,” Captain answered.
“Then it is time we take our leave! And away!”
The Gundams flew across the blackness to meet their friend.
“There they are!” Zapper Zaku cried. “Hard turn to the left! Main cannon, aim and fire!”
“WAIT!” Grappler Gouf interrupted. “If you fire in that direction, you’ll hit the Zakarello Gate, too, idiot!”
But it was too late to stop the cannon blast. Two bolts of bright green light went coursing at the Gate and the Gundams.

“Shute,” Captain said as they landed, approaching his friend.
“Will the gate not open?” Zero wondered.
“I’ve tried asking it really nicely, b-”
Shute turned around, and his words became a startled cry.
“What is it?” The Gundams turned around, too, and saw the cannons fire.
“I’ll handle this,” Captain said, covering Zero and Shute with his arms.
“No, Captain!” Shute gasped, remembering what had happened last time his friend took a hit from the cannon.
Zero raised his sword as the sky above him turned a mystical, deep blue.
“O Mana,” he intoned, “in the name of your pact with the Winged Knight, be my shield and my sword! Super-Magical Trifield!”
The trio was covered by a bright blue orb, but then the bolt struck, and the resulting blast made the rock crumble beneath them.
“What?!” Zero cried. Without a ground to support them, the shield faded away and they fell. “Oh, no!”
The gate, its eyes spinning in terror, fell alongside them.
“This looks bad,” Shute said through gritted teeth. Then he felt something move in his pocket. It was the voice changer!
“I’ve got it!” Shute lifted the voice changer to his mouth, and out came Zapper Zaku’s voice.
“Hey, you blockhead of a Gate! Open the portal to Neotopia or I’ll pull out all your teeth!”
“Yes, sir, Zakarello,” the gate replied obediently.
Shute, Captain, and Zero fell through the gateway, back on track to their homes.
The last the Dark Axis heard of them was Shute’s triumphant cry.

Zapper Zaku roared in fury. “CURSE YOU, GUNDAMS!” he yelled.
“Next time,” Grappler Gouf cried beside him, “we’re sending you on a one-way trip to the Dark Axis! You’ll see!”

The gate opened in the vast blueness of the sky.
For a second, they hung there- and then, with gasps and screams, plummeted towards the ground below.
Shute screamed and clung to Captain. “AAAAAAH!”
“Th-This may sound odd coming from a swashbuckler like myself,” Zero said from beside them, “but haven’t we been in this situation before?”
“Good idea!” Captain and Zero hung on to him.
“Unfortunately, we’ve fallen from too high for my Flight Spell to work,” the Gundam whispered, screwing his eyes shut. “I’m sorry, my friends-”
A hand-shaped cloud floated beneath them.
“Fear not,” Captain breathed. “It will be all right!”
“I hope you know what you’re talking about, Cap- OOF!”
The Gundams and Shute hit the cloud and crumpled on its surface. Shute, pale as a ghost, jumped up and looked around.
“Uh, g-guys? How are we st-standing on a cloud instead of being flattened out on the ground like a pizza?”
To answer his question, a lift appeared beside them, and a voice said, “Welcome to SDG Base, the headquarters of the Gundam Force.”
Zero tapped his foot on the cloud, intrigued. “I see,” he mused. “This cloud has been fashioned by the hand of man rather than that of nature...”
“Chief Haro,” Captain said to the voice, “I’ve returned from the enemy dimension with my two comrades.”
“Captain, we’re so glad you are back,” the voice replied. “We must admit that, bursting out of the blue so suddenly, you took us by surprise. Shute, I’ve heard all about you from Captain. I’d like to welcome you aboard the base!”
“All right!” Shute turned to Zero, beaming with anxiety. “Come with us, Zero.”
“My apologies,” the Winged Knight murmured, “but I am not too fond of crowds. Perhaps some other time.”
And with that, he jumped from the side of the cloud and vanished.
“Zero?!” Shute gasped, running to the side of the cloud. He and Captain searched over the sides of the base, but then they saw Zero’s figure floating away.
He was waving, laughing…
“Fare thee well, my friends! Let us meet again!”
And then he was gone.
“Someday,” Captain said, “I hope we can free those worlds the Dark Axis have conquered, and bring Zero back to his beloved Lacroa. Come, Shute. The chief is waiting for us.”
So saying, he took Shute’s hand, and they climbed to the lift together.