SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ SD Gundam Force ❯ Chapter Six: the Blazing Samurai Comes to Neotopia ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

In Neotopia Park, a crowd was gathering.
“Where are they?!” a voice demanded. “The minions of the Dark Axis- where are they?!”
Bakunetsumaru thrust his sword at the face of a police officer. “Speak, blank-faced simpleton!” he demanded. “Tell me where they are- or taste my blade! They’re near…I can sense them!”
Two more officers nervously approached the samurai. “We’re sorry, sir,” one said, “but you’ll need to hand over your weapons. Here in Neotopia, citizens are not permitted to go about with firearms-”
Baku turned and sent them toppling backwards with another furious swing of his sword. “Hand over my sword?! Are you mad?! A samurai never lets his guard down when an enemy is near!”Shute, sitting on Captain’s shoulder, gave a sigh and shook his head.
“Don’t you think we should do something, Captain?” he asked, looking around. Lampposts and benches had been cleaved in two in Bakunetsumaru’s rage, and he didn’t want the police officers to be next.
“He is…not an easy Gundam to reason with,” Captain sighed.
“Hold there!” another voice called. “Stop your bellowing!”
“Zero?” Shute whispered, looking up.
“You! Do not interfere, knight of Lacroa!” Bakunetsumaru glared up at Zero, who had appeared from nowhere and stood atop a nearby windmill.
“Call yourself a warrior,” Zero scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Bah.”
“That’s not gonna help…” Shute murmured, biting his lip. Captain nodded.
“I am a mightier warrior than you!” Baku argued.
“A true warrior,” Zero explained, lifting his head, “knows when to balance his temper with humility and respect. You are but a guest here, and you must respect their ways. Sheath your sword.”
“What? With the minions of the Dark Axis all around us?”
“I see none of them here in this beautiful park,” the Winged Knight replied. He lifted his arms and gestured at the endless blue sky and the sparkling sea.
“Then perhaps it is their presence in my home I suspect,” the samurai sighed. “I need to return there at once!”
Zero landed beside him and sympathetically put his arm around Baku. “A task easier said then done, as I well know.
The ground shuddered suddenly.
Bakunetsumaru lifted his head. “What-”
A tall, pale figure with long lavender robes was marching towards the park.
“It is one of them! I knew it! Come, Entengo!” He jumped on his horse and rode towards the statue, only to crash into a familiar blue glyph and go flying.
“I am sorry,” Zero apologized to the fretful Entengo, “but your master must learn to watch his temper.”
“Oh, boy,” Shute groaned, knowing full well what would come next.
“PEST!” roared Baku, surging to his feet. He swung his swords at Zero, who simply floated out of the way. “You will taste my blade for that!”
Shute jumped between them before the fight could escalate. “Hey, I don’t think that thing is really what you think it is!” he said frantically, raising his hands.
The statue, which had the face of a smiling woman, opened its mouth and spoke. “Welcome to Neotopia’s new peace park. I represent the power of art, to unite people and bring peace to the world.”
A Ferris wheel, with seats modeled as pink-and-green jewels, spun on her back and sparkled. In one hand, the statue carried a paintbrush. Her crown was in the shape of Neotopia Tower.
“How do we know it’s not a ruse?!” Bakunetsumaru persisted hotly. “Just to get us all off our guard?!”
“Calm down, samurai,” said Zero nonchalantly. He snapped his fingers, and a pale purple rose grew from the tip of Baku’s sword. “Stop and smell the flowers.”
“Huh?” Baku peered at the rose, startled. When two more grew, he gave a roar and leapt after Zero again. “Deface my sacred blade, will you?! Come back here, impertinent puppy!”
Shute jumped around them frantically. “Hey! No! Watch out…Wait, stop! Stop!”
They all froze as a bundle of red silk rolled by them.
“Be careful, it’s a trap!” Baku cried.
“It’s a carpet,” Shute groaned, rolling his eyes.
The statue’s left hand, which bore a platform shaped like an easel, stretched out to meet one of the Ferris seats. Out came a woman with blonde curls and beautiful, blue-green eyes. She held out a paintbrush and sketchpad of her own.
“Hold it right there,” she called sweetly. “Please don’t move. Almost got it.” As she spoke, the hand holding the paintbrush darted around the paper.
“She and that giant,” Baku breathed, looking between the woman and the statue. “They are the same!”
“Yeah,” Shute replied. “She was the model for the statue.”
“You know that woman?”
“Of course. That’s Margaret Gathermoon. She’s our mayor.”
“May-or?” Zero asked, confused. Having come from a land of kings and princesses, he had never head of a mayor.
The platform holding Mayor Margaret lowered to the ground, and the woman held out her drawing. “I hope you don’t mind my interrupting,” she cooed, “but I just had to try sketching you. What do you think?”
It was an amazingly realistic sketch. In fact, Shute believed that, if he had touched the paper, he could’ve felt Zero’s silken cape, the whirling rose petals. He was almost afraid that Baku’s swords would cut his finger if he tried.
“Great!” Shute laughed.
“Lovely, milady,” Zero chimed in.
Bakunetsumaru didn’t have a chance to respond, because, suddenly, Miss Gathermoon saw the roses on his sword and exclaimed, “Oh, are those for me? You really shouldn’t have…”
Her smile was so dazzling and innocent that Baku plucked the roses and handed them to her.
“My pleasure,” he said.
“My pleasure,” Zero corrected him, for it had been he who’d conjured the flowers in the first place.
“Your pleasure?!”
“Oh, stop it you two,” Mayor Margaret giggled, and then she shook Shute’s hand. “Mmm-hmm…And you must be Shute.”
“What?” Shute wondered. “You…know me?”
Margaret leaned down to his face and whispered in his ear. “Chief Haro told me all about our new addition to the Gundam Force. You and your friends have drawn quite a crowd- try and keep a lower profile in the future, okay?” She winked, then turned to the people.
“They’re just shooting a movie, everyone! Please stand back so you don’t get in the way of their cameras!”
The crowd retreated instantly. “A movie,” Shute laughed. “That’s it. Genius!”

Bakunetsumaru stared sadly over the horizon, as if Ark lay across the shimmering blue sea.
“I know you’re homesick,” said Shute from behind him, “but there’s plenty you can do here before you go back. Besides, you’re not the only Gundam in the same boat, right, Zero?”
“Yes,” Zero answered heavily. “I, too, am in exile.”
“Even now, Ark is under attack by the Dark Axis.” Baku swung around to them. “I cannot stand by as it is destroyed. I must return at once, and wield my sword in its defense.”
“You can’t!” Shute cried. “The transport device- are you forgetting you broke it?”
Baku shook his head. “You cannot blame me for that! How was I to know what it was?”
“Nobody blames you,” Captain interrupted. “Still, Doctor Bell Wood says the device will be inoperative for quite some time.”
“No…” Baku hung his head.
“Bakunetsumaru, you can still fight the Dark Axis by fighting alongside us,” Shute told him. “Why not join the Gundam Force?”
“I am no sword for hire! I fight only for Ark!”
“Calm yourself, Bakunetsumaru,” Zero scoffed, snapping his fingers again. A cluster of roses in red, violet, white, and pink popped up on Entengo’s head. Baku stared at his horse in shock. The horse reared in alarm and a third fight started.
“STOP DOING THAT! COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT LKE A GUNDAM!”
“Oh-ho! I thought you fought only for Ark!”
Shute sighed.

“Zako, the coast is clear, sir. Zako.”
Zapper Zaku leaned his head against the glass and sighed. “Phew. That’s a relief.”
“Zako? Come again, Zako?”
Zapper Zaku and a small group of his soldiers had snuck onto the Ferris wheel while the Gundams were occupied below.
“I, uh…Nothing. …Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Yes, sir, Zako. A good idea, Zako, to hide from them in these rotating pleasure pods. I don’t blame you for wanting to avoid them.”
A chorus of agreeing voices soon filled the air.
“I didn’t mean hiding, you animated ashtrays!” Zapper Zaku shouted (which was a lie). “I was- just waiting to spring my trap!”
As his seat swung over the head of the statue, he pushed the door open and jumped out.
“Let’s see how they handle a 50-foot woman with a bad temper!”
His laughter echoed across the park as he dropped a small red cone onto the statue’s head.
The statue’s eyes glowed red, and a loud roar filled the air…

Shute plucked the last rose from Entengo’s forehead, and the horse gave a grateful snort.
A sudden loud roar shook the earth, and they looked up in alarm.
“What is that?” Baku asked, looking around.
The statue was advancing towards them, smashing signs and light posts into the ground.
“Aha! I sensed there was danger in that statue!”
Captain narrowed his eyes. “It’s Zapper Zaku,” he murmured, clenching a fist.
“Perhaps this Zapper Zaku can tell me how to return to my homeland! Forward, Entengo!” Bakunetsumaru mounted his horse and rode off.
“Bakunetsumaru! Wait!” Zero cried, but the samurai either didn’t hear him or wouldn’t heed his cry.
“He’ll need our help,” Captain said.
“Go for it,” Shute replied.

A few seconds later, Captain burst from the Re-Equip Ring, ready for battle, with Zero flying close behind. Shute grabbed on to Zero’s leg, hanging from the knight’s side as he swooped through the air.

“Come out, come out wherever you are!” Zapper Zaku laughed. “Time to meet your doom!”
The statue staggered through the park, searching for the Gundams, unaware of Baku and Entengo, who were riding right in its shadow.
“Whoever he is,” Baku growled, “I will force him to tell me!” He jumped from his mount, grabbed on to one of the Ferris compartments, and began climbing up towards the top.
“Nice view, huh?” Zapper Zaku teased as Captain appeared before him.
“Cease and desist!” Captain ordered. “You are endangering public safety!”
“That’s the whole idea, Einstein!”
“Hey, you big dummy,” Shute yelled. “Get off of that thing!”
The statue glared down at him. “Ooh, she doesn’t like being called a thing!” Zapper teased. “You’ve made her vewy angwy!”
Shute gaped as the Ferris wheel opened her mouth. Out came a beam of orange light.
“Get down!” Captain pushed Shute away.
“Thanks, Captain,” Shute grunted. He lifted his head and saw Zero, rolling and dipping effortlessly between the cannon shots.
Zapper Zaku laughed, but then a voice interrupted him.
“YOU THERE! STOP!” Bakunetsumaru dropped down from above.
“Uh, I didn’t do it! She did!” Frightened, Zapper Zaku dropped down from the statue and hit the ground running.
“Come back here!”
“I don’t think so!”
Baku crouched, preparing to jump, but then Shute called, “No, forget about him! Take the Control Horn out of the statue!”
The samurai ignored him and climbed down.
Zero summoned his shield and sword. As the speaker cannon fired again, he raised a magical barrier around himself and absorbed the blasts. Captain tried aiming his rifle at the Control Horn.
“Can’t get a lock,” he growled.
“All I can do is stand by and watch,” Shute mumbled. “Some special-forces member I am.”
Zapper Zaku had two machine guns and a Gatling gun at his disposal, but Baku simply batted the shots away, providing a soft, raindrop-like sound as the bullets glanced off the steel.
“Surrender!”
“Give me one good reason, horse boy,” Zapper Zaku said.
“I won’t carve you into scrap metal,” Bakunetsumaru replied.
“Hmm, so tempting. But I have a counterproposal: we blast you into atoms!” The Komusai suddenly rose over the sea, with eight or ten Zakos lined up on top. They fired. So did Zapper Zaku, and the transport ship launched its own small bombs.
Bakunetsumaru was forced backwards. “There are too many of them- even for me!”
Something red-hot grazed the side of the Komusai. It swerved, and all of the Zakos went sliding of into the sea. Captain lowered his rifle.
“Captain, you saved me,” said Baku gratefully. “No! WATCH OUT!”
The statue’s hand came down, closed around Captain, and lifted him into the air. The shield and rifle were left on the grass. “Don’t worry about me!” he shouted. “Look out for yourselves!”
“Captain, don’t worry!” Shute cried.
“I’ll save him.” Baku started running towards his ally.
“Oh, really? And who’s going to save you?” Zapper Zaku was on him again, and Baku was so occupied with fending the bullets off that he couldn’t help his friends.

“Shute!”
“Mayor Gathermoon?” It was Miss Margaret again, flanked by a man with blonde hair and a black-armored robot with a mustache (he chose not to wonder how the robot had grown hair).
“It isn’t safe here, milady,” Zero murmured, landing beside them.
“I came as soon as I heard,” Margaret began, shaking her head. “I think I know how you can neutralize the statue!”
Shute grinned. “We’re all ears, ma’am.”
“See the platform on her left hand?” the Mayor said, pointing. “On the control panel is a switch that operates the speaker. If you can reach it somehow, you could shut it off.”
“I get it! Without the speaker cannon, she’s nothing!”
A cannon blast came right at them.
“Stand back!” Zero cried, lifting a shield. The others covered their heads as the blasts became soft ripples, spreading harmlessly against the blue light.
When the statue had turned her attention back to the others, Shute clenched his fists and ran into the fire. Zero’s eyes widened, and he swooped after him.
“Shute?! Shute, come back!”
Mayor Gathermoon just smiled. “That’s just what I’d expect from a member of Gundam Force,” she sighed, nodding.

Shute ran to one of the jewel-shaped seats and hung on as it neared the statue’s head.
Captain, clenched in the statue’s fist, looked down at him. “Careful, Shute,” he whispered.
Shute nodded, then started edging along the rails towards the platform. He was rocked forward slightly when the statue lunged and grabbed at Zero, but managed to make it across.
She saw him. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t dare fire for chance of injuring herself. Instead, the statue began waving her hand back in forth, attempting to flick Shute away like a bug. Shute gagged and held onto the railing.
“I’ve always hated this kind of ride!” he moaned, feeling sick.
Bakunetsumaru heard the young boy’s shouts an swiveled around. He saw Zero dart in to block Mayor Gathermoon whenever a shot went her way. He saw Captain desperately pushing against the statue’s thick fingers. And then he saw Shute, the smallest and most vulnerable of them all, clinging like grim death to their attacker, his face furrowed in concentration.
“So…I see there are brave warriors in this dimension as well,” he noted, his eyes softening.
“Not for long!” Zapper Zaku charged again.
Baku lifted his swords and stiffened his limbs. His eyes glinted dangerously. Then, faster than any eye could comprehend, he had pounced.
All three of Zapper Zaku’s guns were severed in half, and their barrels fell to the ground.
“Hey! Someone’s paying for those, and it isn’t going to be me!”
He turned- and the sharp end of a blade was pushed into his face.
“Now we will talk,” Baku said darkly.

Shute pulled himself up to the control panel. There were four buttons: two blue and two red. His heart sank.
“…Oh, she forgot to tell me which button it was!” he moaned, hanging his head.
The Komusai came down between Baku and Zapper Zaku, firing its cannons. “You can’t escape!” the samurai cried as he jumped between the blasts.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing! You just try and stop me!”
“Forward, Entengo!”
Zapper Zaku froze in fear when he saw Bakunetsumaru jump from his horse’s back, screaming, “Tenyouken!”
“Whoa, now, settle down! Let’s not do anything I’ll regret- YAH!” There was a flash of fire and he went flying into the air. “Open, Zakarello Gate!”
Even after Zapper Zaku had went through, the Gate remained open, waiting for the Komusai to come through.
“Now’s your chance!” Shute called.
“My chance?” the Gundam asked. “What do you mean?”
“That thing can take you back to your home!”
“He’s right, Baku,” Captain chimed in. “It’s a sort of dimensional transport device!”
“That thing?” Bakunetsumaru swung back towards the portal, his eyes widening hopefully.
“You must act quickly,” Zero shouted, swooping in once more to defend Mayor Margaret, “before it closes!”

Shute bit his lip. “Eeny, meeny, miny…Here goes nothing.” He brought his fist down on a blue, square button.
The statue opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, but no sound came out. “All right!” Shute cheered.
But the statue, waving her arms in frustration, not only released Captain- but sent Shute flying as well!
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
“ZERO , CATCH HIM!” Captain screamed, reaching helplessly for his friend as he plummeted towards the ground.
Zero started forth, but as he flew, he saw that he couldn’t reach the boy before he hit the ground.
“NO! I-I can’t! He’s too far away!”
Shute screamed.
At the last possible second, a red blur shot by, and then the dust parted, revealing Bakunetsumaru and Entengo. The Musha had Shute’s vest hanging from the edge of his sword.
“You are much too reckless for one with such a fragile structure,” he muttered, shaking him loose.
“Yes, sir,” Shute mumbled, dropping dejectedly to the ground.
“Now, will you leave this to me?” Shute nodded, and the samurai had leapt away.
“Entengo, up!” he ordered, and the horse, bounding off of the statue’s arms, carried Baku to the Control Horn. He severed it, and the Horn exploded, revealing the once-again smiling face of Mayor Margaret’s statue.
“Yeah!” Shute cheered.
The statue turned her head and found the Komusai, which had been trying to sneak to the Gate behind her. Her foot shot out and she kicked it away. They could hear it crying, “Komusai! Komusai!” all the way through the sky.
“It’s closing! Go!”
“Forward, Entengo!”
Entengo reared, whinnied, and then, running up the statue’s outstretched leg, jumped off.
“He’ll need some help,” Shute whispered.
Zero summoned a magic disk. Captain, his eyes and arms burning with the power of the Soul Drive, gripped it, whisked it in circles, and then threw it. Just as Entengo’s pumping legs were beginning to lose strength, the disk came beneath him, carrying Baku and his steed along safely.
“Farewell, my friends!” Bakunetsumaru looked over his shoulder and saw Captain, Zero, Shute, and Margaret Gathermoon all waving enthusiastically.
“You’re gonna make it! You’re gonna make it! Good-bye!” Shute jumped up and down, his arms flailing excitedly.
The gate started to shimmer like a dying star.
“Not yet…not yet…” Baku pleaded.
It broke into a million fragments and vanished. Shute hung his head as the disk swerved around and came back down.
The samurai hung his head. Then, he squared his shoulders and looked up, his eyes shining with a newfound light.
“So be it,” Bakunetsumaru said. “Here I shall stay.”

“Gonna find another way, I’m gonna last it each dark day…If I go astray, I’m gonna find it…”
Singing faintly to himself, Shute’s father Mark tapped his foot in time to the music, bobbing his head.
Captain and Shute pushed the grill outside, helping get ready for the barbecue.
“Is this what you call…” Captain asked, trying to remember the word, “music?”
Shute chuckled. “Well, some people call it that...”
Just then, he heard a small voice speaking- one that made his muscles seize up in shock.
“Today, a commotion arose in the new Peace Park as civilians witnessed what appeared to be a violent battle between robotic warriors...”
“W-W-What was that?”
Keiko, with Nahna in her lap, was watching a news feed on her laptop. In seconds, Shute and Captain were gaping at the screen. They watched Zero rolling between the speaker cannon shots and Bakunetsumaru locked in battle.
“Uh, do you really think you should let Nahna watch this, Mom?” Shute turned to Captain, his forehead sweating. “Eh-heh…Robotic warriors. Yeah, right, huh, Captain?”
Captain nodded quickly.
But then Mayor Margaret appeared on the screen. “Don’t worry, everyone,” she said. “They were just recording a movie. It’s quite exciting for Neotopia, actually; our city’s going to be featured in a major motion picture!” She moved aside, revealing a detailed movie poster that she had probably drawn herself.
“‘The Blazing Samurai,’” Keiko murmured, gazing at the title. “Wow, he’s kind of cute...”
Mark peeked at the screen and rolled his eyes playfully. “Oh, yeah, he’s handsome if you like ’em short, red, and built like a trashcan,” he joked.
“Mark!” Keiko giggled. “You’re jealous!”
As his parents babbled on behind them, Shute whispered to Captain, “That was a close one. Let’s just hope Baku stays out of sight for a while.”
No such luck. There was the sound of hooves on brick and then Entengo appeared. Bakunetsumaru climbed down from his back.
“Bakunetsumaru, what are you doing here?” Shute asked.
“I prefer solid ground beneath my feet.” The Musha gave a shaky chuckle.
“Oh, wow!” Keiko cried, getting out of her seat. “It’s actually you- the Blazing Samurai! We were just talking about you! Captain, is he a friend of yours?”
Shute bit his lip. “Uh, yeah, yeah,” he answered hastily. “They’re…er…old friends! Right, Captain?”
Captain glanced quickly at Bakunetsumaru and nodded. “That is right. We are…old friends…”
“Any friend of Captain’s is welcome here,” Shute’s mom said, nodding. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“If I wouldn’t be intruding,” Baku replied.
“It’s settled, then.” Keiko gave a satisfied smile. “Better put a few more burgers on the grill, Mark!”
A shimmering little rose popped up on the Gundam’s forehead. He didn’t notice. Shute gasped and looked up.
Zero leaned against the roof, smiling slyly, and conjured his own rose.
“I didn’t quite catch your name,” Keiko was saying as they walked away.
“Bakunetsumaru.”
“My. That’s a mouthful. Do they call you anything for short?”
He didn’t quite understand the question. “No…”
“Okay. How do you like your burger? Well done?”
Bakunetsumaru rubbed his forehead, his fingers just missing the leafy green stem of the magic flower. “I, uh, prefer that to badly done?”
“Come on, everybody, it’s chow time!” Mark called.
“We might as well join them,” Shute said, shrugging.
“You are right,” Captain agreed. They followed the others.
“Put on two for me, Dad! I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” Shute cried.
That got a frightened whinny from Entengo.
“Oops. Sorry, Entengo…”