SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu ❯ Chapter 13 Untitled ( Chapter 13 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: May-VeggieGirl1 
Anime/Manga: SD Gundam Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.15.2007 | Updated On: 07.16.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 599 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: SD Gundam Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.15.2007 | Updated On: 07.16.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 599 | Status: Completed
Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu
By: May-VeggieGirl1
Uwa, I've done my best. T^T A lot of my notes have been lost in my laptop as well as the rest of Chapter 12... So, here we go.
I won't say how the rest of Chapter 12 ends...
(thankfully the events aren't necessarily important until later in the fic- because it's mostly foreshadowing and bonding- and that buys me more time)
Just know it's the next morning. Okay? Okay.
~*~*~*~*
It wasn't the bright and beautiful morning Shute had grown accustomed to for most of his life, but the Gundam Force member just felt thankful that the rain had let up. Shute scurried out of the hole like a poofy haired gopher, fingers digging into the rain-eroded dirt and surveying the area again. Nothing had changed much from the dark and stormy night before; it was a little chillier, puddles littered the area, and the clouds were more white and fluffy- the way they ought to be. Shute took a deep breath, enthused despite empty stomach, and clambered out to call back.
"Alright! Cost is clear guys, let's keep going!"
"If we must," Zero floated up from the hole a little sluggishly, holding onto Moriko. She stepped down as soon as her clogged feet touched the earth, bowing to him in gratitude.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, mi'lady," He murmured while stretching. Captain and Bakunetsumaru followed, the musha sighing halfway up to receive a stern look from his friend.
"You two wouldn't be so tired if you had just followed the plan," He reminded. Baku shrugged with a grunt, niether defending or withdrawing his decision. With the Gundam Force above ground, speculation of direction began again. "When scouting earlier, Zero went east and I had flown west. Niether of us had found any place hospitable. It would be reasonable to go either north or south of this location so we would not be wasting time or energy following our old tracks."
"So either way?" Shute raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, but I believe it may be more beneficial to head straight south from here on since that is how you found this cavern." Moriko shifted a little, keeping her eyes on the ground.
"We were simply following which way the water led."
"An excellent policy, Miss Moriko," Zero complimented.
"There's nearly an equal chance we'll find somewhere hospitable due south but, if we do not find anything, going in that one direction will inevitably bring us north of where we started."
"Wait," Baku frowned, not believing the things Captain was actually saying. "That doesn't make any sense at all! Going south won't get us north, we'll just fall off the horizon of the world!!" Shute and Zero fell over, astonished at just how uniformed their friend was as he trailed off, looking up at the sky with slight fascination. "Though... it would be really interesting to see where heaven meets earth..."
"Gundam-san," Moriko whispered quietly, peering around his shoulder. "Even I know all worlds are round and you can't just fall off of them..."
"EH?!?!"
"Come on, let's just go," Zero muttered to Captain and started off, Baku nagging with disbelief all the way.
"...But I still wanna see it." Zero felt the last of his nerves bend. Baku just wouldn't drop it, and after dealing with such a long night, the Lacroan gundam had enough.
"For the last time, Bakunetsumaru! You can't see where heaven meets earth because it's doesn't exist as a literal place you can visit!"
"Then what does it exist as, Zero," He growled in return.
"It's a place of mind and spirit that can only be reached after life," Zero retorted in a matter-of-fact-like fashion.
"But musha gundams reincarnate..."
"Well then that's your problem!"
"Actually," Captain butted in. "If by heaven you mean the ultimately infinite space with the earth of the planetary body confinded in it, then you could reach it in the mesospheric layer of that world. That would, by technical means, be the place between 'heaven' and 'earth'." Both gundams paused to stare at him in bewilderment.
"Come on now, guys," Shute reassured while chuckling. "Let's not argue over apples and oranges."
"But, Shute, this has nothing to do with fruit!" And that was enough for the knight as he snapped his fingers and dozens of princess roses lined the musha's red helmet.
"Why must you be so dense?"
"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THAT!?" Moriko giggled as Baku drew his swords and slashed away at Zero, dodging them with ease. Shute shook his head and smiled at her.
"Well at least you're getting used to us now..."
"Yes," She replied softly when Captain turned to Shute abruptly.
"There is structure up ahead." He blinked and, on cue of the news, Zero and Baku paused in their minor fight.
"A structure!" The boy grinned, clutching his fist. "Hurry up! Let's go!"
They reached to the sight what looked like an old western town from movies, except in shambles. Rusted hinges of where swinging doors once occupied crusted over, the majority of the buildings partially or completely collapsed in from decay, and broken glass was thrown into the street of which they stood on. The buildings remaining faired little better. A fountain in the center of the town, cracked and smashed into large pieces, drizzled the little water lingering through. Everything was silent, everything was still. Zero was first to turn his head away, the thought already clear in his mind.
"Right as the other," He murmured quietly under his breath, needing to see no more of it. Just another destroyed town, just another victim of the Dark Axis. More lives lost, more scars left, and what remained to be saved from the ruin? The shattered faces staring back lifeless. A single notion pervaded- this is what it could be, this could be your home. Despite how ill it made him feel inside, the knight clenched his fist and hardened himself to the scene as his friends stood in morbid awe. He would not allow such fate to befall another land as long as he had life in him. Especially Lacroa.
"This is awful." Shute gazed across it all slowly, not able to take it in. He hadn't seen such wasteland since Lacroa before being restored, but it was strangely more eerie. Roots and snags and dark mist encompassed Lacroa, but this place had no infestations at all. It was as if time had stood still but the world continued to wear it down, no rats or bugs. Had the buildings not have been buildings obviously erected by some form of life, Shute would've questioned if anything had ever lived in such a place. "It's like a ghost town." At the word ghost, Baku immediately flinched out of his similar remorse for the place. Scooting back behind the group and looking around warily, he repeated Shute's words timidly.
"G...Ghost town?" Moriko caught the tone and glanced back at him.
"Gundam-san? Is something wrong?"
"It's all wrong," Zero answered sharply, teal eyes determined. "But we're going to fix it."
"Yes," Shute grinned bitterly and said in a loud voice. "Because that is what the Gundam Force does best! Stopping the Dark Axis and bringing peace to the worlds!" His voice echoed slightly off of the standing walls, only feeding Baku's inebriated fear as his eyes widdened. Captain scanned the area and then nodded at Shute.
"We should check if there is anything reasonable growing around here to eat. But be careful, this area is hazardous."
"Noted," Zero replied dryly. Shute hopped around the glass pieces, peering over and around the fountain and humming.
"This place would be real neat all fixed up!"
"R-Right," Baku stammered, shifting his eyes and inching along after his friends proceeding down the road. They peeked in windows and caved in walls.
"I estimate nothing has been here for hundreds of years," Captain reasoned. A few meters to their left, rotten wood creaked under the weight of gravity and sent a shiver through the musha as he stood rigid and trembling. Her eyes frowning, Moriko finally turned around.
"What is the matter, Gundam-san? You're all jumpy..."
"Eh... Uh... " He took a deep breath to calm down but shrieked as some stone near Shute gave way and crashed into road, the boy jumping back alert. Baku huddled behind her, swords raised protectively as she stared at him in concern.
"What are you afraid of?"
"Oh," Zero's mood lightened and he chuckled, glancing back at the mushas out of the corner of his eye. "It's nothing really, Miss Moriko, Bakunetsumaru is just terrified--"
"Shut up," Bakunetsumaru hollared back but didn't stop the knight.
"--of ghosts."
"...Ghosts," She repeated to him in question. "You're afraid of ghosts?" Baku feebly nodded his head, suddenly feeling ashamed.
"Y-Yeah..."
"All of them?" He shifted, thinking about it. That's... an odd question...
"Yeah..."
"Even Baku?" She smiled at him as he gripped his swords tighter, making a sour face and shivering at the thought.
"I especially dislike Baku..."
"What about Abura-akago and Goryu?"
"Of course..." Moriko turned her head to the sky with a smile, seemingly overlooking the frightened, sweating Baku hiding behind her.
"And there's Hitotsume-kozo, Ikiryo, Jikininki, Amanozako, Amemasu, Kappa, Isonade, Jinmenju, Tsurube-otoshi..." Zero laughed as, with each name, Baku seemed to shrink until he simply curled into a little, shiverring ball staring frightfully at anything that moved.
"P...Please stop it, M-Moriko-san... All g-ghosts scare me..." Suddenly she frowned and looked down at him while holding one hand over the over, indicating some small height.
"But surely you're not afraid of Kodama! They're very nice spirits to those who are kind in return!" His reaction unchanging, she sighed and sweatdropped. "Wow. I never imagined a samurai could be so afraid of such harmless things."
"But aren't those all myths?" Captain stepped into the road, finished investigating for the moment. "If all musha in Ark reincarnate, then they would not be able to manifest into spiritual entities such as ghosts."
"Yeah, Bakunetsumaru is just too supersticious..." Zero nudged Baku with his foot, causing the samurai to flinch instictively then glare.
"Well," Moriko drawled as Shute sat down on the road with them. "Yes and no. All musha gundam do reincarnate, but there are circumstances in life that can prevent one from reincarnating in the afterlife."
"Circumstances?" Shute blinked. "Like what?"
"Those who preform forbidden techniques create a disturbance in the natural order of the land, and thus can never reincarnate, becoming entities like ghosts. Those who fell victim to such arts also cannot reincarnate, but most of the time become peaceful spirits such as the Kodama." Her eyes moved over to Baku. "Which are trustworthy and safe."
"Ghosts are g-ghosts," He squeezed his eyes shut. "You can't e-expect anything from them..."
"I see," Captain mulled it over. "That is logical. But Moriko, could disturbances in the natural order result in instability in the land?" Baku looked up, wide-eyed at Captain.
"Ehh?? D-Do you mean Ark could be run over w-with ghosts?!"
"I do not know, I am simply speculating it would have a greater impact on Ark in general if those using forbidden arts cause disturbances."
"You're right," Moriko smiled. "But it's the Daishogun's primary role to ensure that these instabilities do not amount to anything disruptive."
"You sure know a lot about Ark," Shute grinned, leaning back. She bowed gratefully in return.
"Thank you, but I'm only repeating what I have been taught from my ancestor's records. Which is why I especially find it inproper," Moriko turned back to Baku, looking miffed. "That you would be so petrified of ghosts." Baku's head sunk low with shame.
"But... there's no real way to s-stop a ghost..."
"Are you afraid of your shadow too?"
"I'm not afraid of my shadow," He sputtered, reeling. "What do you take me for, a coward?!!"
"Could have fooled me," Zero shrugged and sidestepped an angry swing of Baku's katana.
"Cannit!" Under Moriko's stern look, he quieted himself and sat on his knees, clearing his head for his dignity's sake. A moment of silence passed until finally she turned away, brushing herself off.
"If there is nothing to find here, we keep going, right Captain-san?"
"Yes," Captain said as Shute took his hand to pull himself up. Baku sighed as his friends started off again and slowly got back up on his feet.
"Gundam-san." He blinked and looked up as Moriko turned back to him, green eyes friendly but serious. "I will intruct you on manipulating the nano-skin, but only providing that you overcome this silly little phobia you have." Baku stared at her with eyes the size of dinner-plates, ready to just turn to dust and blow away. She only smiled back at him and began to follow the rest of the force again.
"...Wait! Wait!!" Scrambling up next to her, he whined, "Moriko-san, you promised you would teach me!"
"And I will, but you just have to proove to me that you are not afraid of ghosts first. It is for your own good- a strong samurai such as yourself shouldn't get caught up in paranoia."
"But that's not fair!"
"Well I'm the sensei, so you don't have much choice in that." He pouted and stepped behind her again, sulking. Ghosts have nothing to do with this! After thinking about it over again, he smiled. There's more than one way to skin a cat... Composing himself the most he could and puffing up his chest, he nodded.
"Alright Moriko! From now on, ghosts, spirits and spooks won't scare me!" She glanced back at him and shook her head.
"We'll see." It didn't take long before Baku was already trying not to eat his words. They had passed completely through the town when his sixth sense sent a cold, aching feeling in his gut. It wasn't just the normal kind of fearful butterflies either, it was the real foreboding feeling that was unmistakable at predicting something bad coming their way. Baku clenched his teeth and tried to brush the thought aside, focused his sights on all of his friends, the three of them in front of him. It's just you. Really. Nothing is going to happen. Nothing has happened. Nothing will happen. He took a deep, shuddering breath and held it for as long as he could. Most ghosts wouldn't attack in the bright open day. What was there even to hide in? Nurikabe is most likely but they can only come out at night from the walls... There are no trees or water around anywhere, so really the only things that could even strike us are the Goryu, Amanojaku, and... Gashadokuro... The image of the giant skeleton creature snatching up Shute with boney hands gave him goosebumps but he squeezed his eyes shut. There's nothing to be afraid of, there's nothing to be-
Did I count three friends!? Baku snapped his eyes open as a sharp wind rushed around them, the unnerving sensation jumping into his throat, and he began to panic. Where was Zero? When did he disappear?
When a crushing hand clamped down on his shoulder armor, Baku reacted immediately. With a roar, he unsheathed his katana, whipped around- all in one motion, and went to strike before he registered the assailant's face in his mind. Then all at once the samurai froze, staring at Zero, looking equally smug and somewhat uncomfortable with the weapon managing to get so close to his face.
"...Ah?"
"Bakunetsumaru," Shute frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Could you please get that away from me," Zero growled. "Have you completely lost your mind?"
"But," Baku blinked, horribly confused. "You were-- when did you--?" Keeping his embarassed, red face on the ground, he quickly put his sword away and mumbled an apology to Zero as the knight folded his arms.
"Caught up in paranoia, indeed!" Baku frowned at him as Zero quickly tried to hide his smirk.
"...Waitaminute! You were trying to scare me!" Zero floated off ahead after Captain and Shute.
"I don't know what you're talking about," He replied coyly as Baku jumped up and down in frustration and rushed after him.
"Don't play innocent, you...!!" Moriko shook her head and sighed as another chase began. Getting Baku to pull out of this fear was going to be harder than she initially thought.
Luck was on their side all around. Raidon's unease with Chimimouryu's presence had temporarily postponed their strike for the evening, just long enough for the storm to pass through and fade away at the mountain side to the west. They were both ready and strong now as the wind whipped by them, Fenn's large wings pushing the silver knight forward.
What a surprise was he going to give Zero; hopefully it would be one giving Daja just enough time for a quick kill. Sure he could play around with the Winged Knight, tap into his head and peel away those strips of confidence and pride, leave his poor consciousness open and naked, raw, ready to be shattered. Daja was known for such doings, even before he had left the Kingdom to take up the Dark Arts, even then he was known for savagry. It was not above or beneath him but this time- this time- with Tallgeese and Lacroa waiting on the other end of the sword, Daja only focused on sealing the deal.
With the Gundam Force's life.
Raidon stared ahead at his close friend and shared the similar smile. "Don't forget," He yelled up at him. "We have to take care of the musha first." Daja put his glee on hold for a moment, thinking about it. Chimi had told them that, didn't he?
"But... why?"
"I wonder," Raidon replied. "Your guess is as good as mine." He sped up in the enchanted tub as a great, shining body of water came into view. "That must be the Lake Era they were talking about."
"And that must be the Gundam Force," Daja's eyes slipped down to the group nearing the lake and gripped his war hammer, moving in quickly. There would be no hesitation this time.
Captain had detected the large body of water but, as soon as they neared it, it became more strange that not even plants grew around it.
"Why is there no vegetation?" Moriko frowned as Shute ran ahead to drink, Zero floating up high to survey more. Baku huddled to himself as that feeling continued to nag at him.
"Zero had found petrified beings earlier so there is a 99% chance that BagguBaggu still reside here. Anything that tries to grow may be bitten before it has a chance to develop fully."
"BagguBaggu?" Moriko looked at Captain in question.
"They are-" He cut off suddenly, turning sharply and nearly smacking into Bakunetsumaru. The startled samurai stumbled backwards as Captain ignored him only focused on his green scanner.
"Captain, what the heck-"
"Something's coming!!" The preemptive strike was so fast, none of them had time to put up a defense. Daja swooped down past them all with a blast of wind, Fenn's great white wings littering feathers while speeding past the Gundam Force. The resonating gust sent Zero tumbling out of the air and slamming on his back to the ground, gasping in surprise. He leaned up and looked around bewildered when he realized the ground wasn't as solid as it was a moment ago. Without a moment to spare, he rolled over on his knees and took off into the air with a push, just as the earth beneath him sunk and crushed with Dark Mana. Only in the sky again was he able to finally grasp the situation. Captain spun his v-rod, deflecting red-glowing arrows raining down from Raidon, Moriko hiding behind him and Shute hurrying back to his best friend. A few meters away, Baku clashed katanas with a steel mallet as Daja continued his assult, pushing the samurai back with massive swings of his fiery red mallet and pumps of the wings...
Frustrated, outraged, and bitter, the winged knight quickly summoned shield and sword and launched at Daja from the side, slashing at him.
"You fiend," He cried out while Daja only blocked his Buster Sword with his free arm. "What have you done to Fenn?!"
"Don't you think it's about time the Feathered Dragon received a more competant master?" Daja smirked and shot upwards, hammer drawn back. "Like someone who knows what power is for!" Zero darted alongside to strike again but fell short in time, moving his shield against Daja's swift downward blow. The resounding crack of metal forced the knight's back to the ground again.
"You know nothing," Zero hissed while his mind raced against the hammer, pinning him between a rock and a hard place.
"Get off of him, villain! Tenkyo-ken!" From the side, Baku launched the blazing slashes, getting Daja away from the other knight as planned but not catching him off guard. Daja countered with his war hammer, the deep crimson fire wrapping around the head and combining with the Tenkyo-ken's flames. The blaze flared then combusted at the metal's sparks, exploding and sending the two careening away. Baku skid back in the dirt on his feet, swords ready but not yet adjusted as the dark knight sliced through the black billowing smoke and rammed into him. He dug his heels into the ground and gritted his teeth against the pain, refusing to give any more ground to Daja. Even as he glared back with determination, Daja chuckled a little, the red orb at the end of his hammer glowing as white light gathered around the it, crusting over with ice. Baku narrowed his eyes and rolled off to the side away from Daja, his own swords glowing red and slashing in retaliation.
Somewhere still lost in the ashen billowing debris, Zero brushed embers out of his face, raising his sword. "Violet Tornado," He cried out as wind rushed all around, funneling the miasma up into the sky and clearing the area. But Daja and Baku were gone, to his surprise, as he looked around seething. "Daja," Zero yelled. "Leave my friends out of this and face me like a warrior, you traitor!" Laughter reached his sensors and he swiveled around, Daja swinging his hammer upward into Baku's crossed katana, following with flapping his wings up into the air and breaking the samurai's stance with the added force. Baku growled and withdrew swords to cross him just in time to take the next smashing blow from the hammer, throwing him back to the lake's edge.
"Why can't I melt that damn ice," He asked while picking himself back up, swallowing back the taste of adrenaline in his mouth. Zero darted at them, drawing back his sword in poise and cutting through the air with the magical energy.
"Lacroan Cresent!" The blue slice sped towards Daja, the knight seemingly unaware of it until a great seal appeared- the Dark Mana ring of Estros'hantir overlapping the larger Light Mana ring of Claichantir. The blast didn't even faze the shield, fizzling out as Zero stared at it in disbelief. It wasn't a lie or illusion- Daja really did have Fenn all to himself. How could he fight such combined power without equal footing himself? Daja turned to Baku again, holding up his hammer perpendicular to the ground.
"Come on, samurai! Let's finish this!" Baku gripped his swords and spun them in circles.
"I'll be glad to! Yaahhhhh," Baku rushed forward, swords tucked back at his sides as he ran headlong at Daja, the knight lifting up higher into the air and drawing his hammer back as the seal appeared again behind him. "Tenkyo-ken," The musha shouted again as he leapt up, slashing through the air the flaming x as it spun up to Daja, waiting. Just before reaching him though, Daja swung his war hammer down, a gale of wind burst from the force and the surge quickly knocking Baku off his course, sending him tumbling through the air. A cry and loud plunge snapped Zero out of his gripping denile, the winged knight scrambled through the whipping windstorm still looping and gaining speed to watch Baku's underwater form disappear.
"Bakunetsumaru!" Clutching his sword, he raised it into the air. "Violet-"
"I don't think so, Winged Knight!" Daja twirled his hammer as the winds picked up speed with another round, grazing the lake's water and splashing mist into the air. As the Light Mana ring of the Claichantir seal appeared above Zero's sword, the silver knight dashed at him, the war hammer raised and great seal at his back. For a moment, the two magic bearer's power clashed but the match was already clear. Daja pushed through as the light broke away, striking Zero in the side before the knight could recover. The air moved in all directions from the clash, the storm scraping the earth and thrashing the water and, in the middle of the blast of tornado, the winged knight submerged into the darkness of the lake.
Captain hardly had a battle plan. His equipment, Option V, wasn't designed for distance combat- notably since it primarily lacked the majority of arsenal of even his original armor type. To make matters worse, his Option F jetpack he was able to bring barely had any fuel left, making flying Shute and Moriko to safety near impossible.
Shute was aware of this as well, clenching his fists.
"Captain, you have to get closer!"
"I am unable to do that," He said, still batting away arrows. "Not only would that leave you two unguarded, but diverting these arrows would become difficult. I also cannot approach him for long in the air with my jets low on fuel." Moriko whimpered, clinging to Shute's hand.
"What can we do?" Untangling his hand, he held up a fist.
"I'll distract him! Captain, you have to hit him with everything you've got!" Captain looked over his shoulder startled as the boy took off running.
"Shute!! Don't!!"
Suddenly an explosion rocked the ground from the battle a few meters away, Raidon pausing his fire to look over at it, pinching his bow.
"Daja..." Captain tensed, realizing the moment was right and firing up his jets as Moriko stepped away from its blue blaze.
"Moriko, go with Shute! Quickly!" She nodded and scrambled over to the boy as he punched the air.
"That's right! Do it Captain!" The Neotopian gundam's eyes lit ablaze, Captain bolted up in the air with his fist glowing a golden aura, careening next to Raidon before the musha knew it. The blow hit hard against the Estros'hantir shield that appeared encompassing the musha gundam in dark red energy, crackling as Captain pushed forward. Raidon's eyes widdened as the defense shield buckled slightly under the force, his enchanted tub splitting the metal rim around it's edge. Growling, he quickly ducked lower in the tub and spun it off, Captain slipping past through the air and making a screeching halt. His blue eyes slipped over to Raidon quickly, just in time to dodge a slash to the back with a wakizashi pulled out from within the tub. Now off to Raidon's backside, Captain swung his v-rod, the white metal reflecting off of a round spin and slash.
"You're stronger than I had took you for," the musha gundam admitted in the standoff, floating backwards to create more distance as Captain advanced on him.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking us," He demanded, keeping an eye on Shute all the way below. He was yelling something, but he couldn't quite hear over his jets. But Raidon only seemingly smiled, fingering his bow hidden in the tub again.
"My name will matter little to one who is dead, but that is only fair. I am Raidon, the General of Magic, and now it is time to say goodbye!" Suddenly he spun away rapidly, firing five arrows at Captain. He thrusted his v-rod, batting them aside but the redden arrow tips sparked midair. A volt of electricity shot from one tip to the other, the five forming a ring and converging on Captain in the middle as he cried out in pain- voltage surging through his body. The current struck hard at his systems, shorting out the jets on his back, and circuits buzzing from the overload- he didn't recall anything after that aside from Shute's voice screaming his name.
On the ground, Shute and Moriko were swift to take cover by a nearby rock, hardly hiding them but protecting in the least.
"I can't see Zero and Baku anymore around the smoke... I hope they're doing alright..." Squinting, the musha pointed toward the lake's edge.
"No, there's Gundam-san there!" Shute stared intensely as well, realizing immediately how right she was as the figure ignited into flames and charged at the silver figure. But he never reached the figure, as he seemed to be thrown back by some invisible force, the flame snuffing out and tumbling in the water's nearby. Shute gasped, gripping the rock.
"This is bad! We have to save them!"
"What," Moriko turned to Shute, bewildered and shocked. "Why?"
"Zero and Bakunetsumaru can't swim! They'll drown!" Taken aback, she anxiously exchanged looks between Daja striking Zero down and Captain advancing on Raidon above them.
"What can we do?" Shute hopped up on top of the rock, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting as loud as his little lungs could.
"Take him down, Captain! Come on!!" And just as he finished, the two moved again, Raidon launching arrows. "That's it, do--" His voice suddenly caught as the arrows Captain deflected as usual suddenly became a ring of lightning, zapping Captain. Shute's heart dropped as he watched his best friend begin to fall, Raidon aiming one more arrow from above at his chest. "CAPTAIN," He screamed and grabbed his Shute Bond, firing away in frenzy at Raidon. The musha glanced down at the oncoming goo with a pause before dodging by rolling his tub to the side, looking down at the boy. The gundam's body landed on the earth roughly, remaining still as the two sprinted over to him. Shute tried to shake him, trembling. "Captain! Captain! Get up! We've got to do something! You've got to get up! Please!"
"Is... Is he..." Moriko swallowed, on the verge of tears staring at his still body.
"Moriko," Shute snapped at her. "Quick, you have to heal him!"
"I... I cannot heal internal damage..." Still surrounded by the maelstorm of wind, Daja zipped over to Raidon, kicking up dust on the remaining Gundam Force members on land.
"It's cracked," He frowned, immediately noticing the split metal and splintered wood on the rim of the enchanted tub. "You said you were feeling fine."
"I am. The leader of the Gundam Force has more raw force than any gundam I've ever encountered." Daja's orange eyes lingered on the form Shute hovered over for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement, gripping his hammer.
"I'll finish this." Whipping back the hammer head, he swung downward again, the windstorm doubling in speed. It whisked past the three, tearing Shute's fingers away and lifting him off into the air, Moriko looking up panic.
"Shute-kun!" She leapt after him, grabbing his arms and trying to pull them both back down to the ground again when, to her fright, the speed picked up as it rounded faster and faster- the tornado throwing them further up into the air, and even Captain went flying past. Shute felt his heart pounding in his chest as the seering wind scathed his ears, sand flying in his eyes, he felt the two of them only continue to rise until he began to wonder if his skin might pull off from the inertia of their spiral into the sky. "Cap," He swallowed, pulling as close to Moriko as he could and taking a deep breath of the dust. "-TAAAAIIIINNNNN!!"
Then everything stopped and, like a slingshot, they went sailing through air, falling and falling, farther than the dark hole it felt. Shute didn't know if it was good or bad as the descent didn't slow in the least, until he peeked his eyes open at the passing cliff sides of the gorge. He tensed up and yelped, looking down at the quickly approaching ground. Moriko hugged him, equally terrified but forcing her backside to the ground.
"Hang on, child," She whispered to him before the both of them slammed into the earth with shaking force, Shute cushioned by Moriko's body. After a moment of laying there panting he shakily rolled off of her, waiting for the world to stop spinning in his head.
"M... Moriko," He whispered while reaching an unsteady hand to her. "Moriko?" Shute curled his hand into a fist, forcing himself back up on his knees as he stared at her unconscious body.
"CAAAPTAAAIIIIN!"
~*~*~*~*
Shute gets eaten by wolves, The End. ^_^
...AHHHH I'MJOKING I'MJOKING STOPTHROWINGTHINGS AHHHH!!!! >___o;;;;
But I'm probably still gonna leave you hang here in suspense for a while as I combat the deadly writer's block. ^o^~
Author's Notes:
Some of you might be wondering about Estros'hantir and Claichantir. Yeah... those are now technical names I've given Light Mana and Dark Mana. What they mean and where does that come from will be discussed in the... distant-near future.
Almost everything in this story has some significance ultimately. You know how it is, like the bananas during the Lacroa Labyrinth saga. This is the first chapter where I've included information just to mostly fill time... what part of this has no significance is something you'll have to figure out yourself. :p
This chapter is sorta Untitled because all of my chapter titles are stuck on my dead laptop... T_T;;;; Along with a part of the already typed-up chapter 15. RAWR x_x;
Is this the most climactic chapter ending yet? If so yay~ :3 Don't worry, you'll all be on prozac before I'm done.
By: May-VeggieGirl1
Uwa, I've done my best. T^T A lot of my notes have been lost in my laptop as well as the rest of Chapter 12... So, here we go.
I won't say how the rest of Chapter 12 ends...
(thankfully the events aren't necessarily important until later in the fic- because it's mostly foreshadowing and bonding- and that buys me more time)
Just know it's the next morning. Okay? Okay.
~*~*~*~*
It wasn't the bright and beautiful morning Shute had grown accustomed to for most of his life, but the Gundam Force member just felt thankful that the rain had let up. Shute scurried out of the hole like a poofy haired gopher, fingers digging into the rain-eroded dirt and surveying the area again. Nothing had changed much from the dark and stormy night before; it was a little chillier, puddles littered the area, and the clouds were more white and fluffy- the way they ought to be. Shute took a deep breath, enthused despite empty stomach, and clambered out to call back.
"Alright! Cost is clear guys, let's keep going!"
"If we must," Zero floated up from the hole a little sluggishly, holding onto Moriko. She stepped down as soon as her clogged feet touched the earth, bowing to him in gratitude.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, mi'lady," He murmured while stretching. Captain and Bakunetsumaru followed, the musha sighing halfway up to receive a stern look from his friend.
"You two wouldn't be so tired if you had just followed the plan," He reminded. Baku shrugged with a grunt, niether defending or withdrawing his decision. With the Gundam Force above ground, speculation of direction began again. "When scouting earlier, Zero went east and I had flown west. Niether of us had found any place hospitable. It would be reasonable to go either north or south of this location so we would not be wasting time or energy following our old tracks."
"So either way?" Shute raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, but I believe it may be more beneficial to head straight south from here on since that is how you found this cavern." Moriko shifted a little, keeping her eyes on the ground.
"We were simply following which way the water led."
"An excellent policy, Miss Moriko," Zero complimented.
"There's nearly an equal chance we'll find somewhere hospitable due south but, if we do not find anything, going in that one direction will inevitably bring us north of where we started."
"Wait," Baku frowned, not believing the things Captain was actually saying. "That doesn't make any sense at all! Going south won't get us north, we'll just fall off the horizon of the world!!" Shute and Zero fell over, astonished at just how uniformed their friend was as he trailed off, looking up at the sky with slight fascination. "Though... it would be really interesting to see where heaven meets earth..."
"Gundam-san," Moriko whispered quietly, peering around his shoulder. "Even I know all worlds are round and you can't just fall off of them..."
"EH?!?!"
"Come on, let's just go," Zero muttered to Captain and started off, Baku nagging with disbelief all the way.
"...But I still wanna see it." Zero felt the last of his nerves bend. Baku just wouldn't drop it, and after dealing with such a long night, the Lacroan gundam had enough.
"For the last time, Bakunetsumaru! You can't see where heaven meets earth because it's doesn't exist as a literal place you can visit!"
"Then what does it exist as, Zero," He growled in return.
"It's a place of mind and spirit that can only be reached after life," Zero retorted in a matter-of-fact-like fashion.
"But musha gundams reincarnate..."
"Well then that's your problem!"
"Actually," Captain butted in. "If by heaven you mean the ultimately infinite space with the earth of the planetary body confinded in it, then you could reach it in the mesospheric layer of that world. That would, by technical means, be the place between 'heaven' and 'earth'." Both gundams paused to stare at him in bewilderment.
"Come on now, guys," Shute reassured while chuckling. "Let's not argue over apples and oranges."
"But, Shute, this has nothing to do with fruit!" And that was enough for the knight as he snapped his fingers and dozens of princess roses lined the musha's red helmet.
"Why must you be so dense?"
"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THAT!?" Moriko giggled as Baku drew his swords and slashed away at Zero, dodging them with ease. Shute shook his head and smiled at her.
"Well at least you're getting used to us now..."
"Yes," She replied softly when Captain turned to Shute abruptly.
"There is structure up ahead." He blinked and, on cue of the news, Zero and Baku paused in their minor fight.
"A structure!" The boy grinned, clutching his fist. "Hurry up! Let's go!"
They reached to the sight what looked like an old western town from movies, except in shambles. Rusted hinges of where swinging doors once occupied crusted over, the majority of the buildings partially or completely collapsed in from decay, and broken glass was thrown into the street of which they stood on. The buildings remaining faired little better. A fountain in the center of the town, cracked and smashed into large pieces, drizzled the little water lingering through. Everything was silent, everything was still. Zero was first to turn his head away, the thought already clear in his mind.
"Right as the other," He murmured quietly under his breath, needing to see no more of it. Just another destroyed town, just another victim of the Dark Axis. More lives lost, more scars left, and what remained to be saved from the ruin? The shattered faces staring back lifeless. A single notion pervaded- this is what it could be, this could be your home. Despite how ill it made him feel inside, the knight clenched his fist and hardened himself to the scene as his friends stood in morbid awe. He would not allow such fate to befall another land as long as he had life in him. Especially Lacroa.
"This is awful." Shute gazed across it all slowly, not able to take it in. He hadn't seen such wasteland since Lacroa before being restored, but it was strangely more eerie. Roots and snags and dark mist encompassed Lacroa, but this place had no infestations at all. It was as if time had stood still but the world continued to wear it down, no rats or bugs. Had the buildings not have been buildings obviously erected by some form of life, Shute would've questioned if anything had ever lived in such a place. "It's like a ghost town." At the word ghost, Baku immediately flinched out of his similar remorse for the place. Scooting back behind the group and looking around warily, he repeated Shute's words timidly.
"G...Ghost town?" Moriko caught the tone and glanced back at him.
"Gundam-san? Is something wrong?"
"It's all wrong," Zero answered sharply, teal eyes determined. "But we're going to fix it."
"Yes," Shute grinned bitterly and said in a loud voice. "Because that is what the Gundam Force does best! Stopping the Dark Axis and bringing peace to the worlds!" His voice echoed slightly off of the standing walls, only feeding Baku's inebriated fear as his eyes widdened. Captain scanned the area and then nodded at Shute.
"We should check if there is anything reasonable growing around here to eat. But be careful, this area is hazardous."
"Noted," Zero replied dryly. Shute hopped around the glass pieces, peering over and around the fountain and humming.
"This place would be real neat all fixed up!"
"R-Right," Baku stammered, shifting his eyes and inching along after his friends proceeding down the road. They peeked in windows and caved in walls.
"I estimate nothing has been here for hundreds of years," Captain reasoned. A few meters to their left, rotten wood creaked under the weight of gravity and sent a shiver through the musha as he stood rigid and trembling. Her eyes frowning, Moriko finally turned around.
"What is the matter, Gundam-san? You're all jumpy..."
"Eh... Uh... " He took a deep breath to calm down but shrieked as some stone near Shute gave way and crashed into road, the boy jumping back alert. Baku huddled behind her, swords raised protectively as she stared at him in concern.
"What are you afraid of?"
"Oh," Zero's mood lightened and he chuckled, glancing back at the mushas out of the corner of his eye. "It's nothing really, Miss Moriko, Bakunetsumaru is just terrified--"
"Shut up," Bakunetsumaru hollared back but didn't stop the knight.
"--of ghosts."
"...Ghosts," She repeated to him in question. "You're afraid of ghosts?" Baku feebly nodded his head, suddenly feeling ashamed.
"Y-Yeah..."
"All of them?" He shifted, thinking about it. That's... an odd question...
"Yeah..."
"Even Baku?" She smiled at him as he gripped his swords tighter, making a sour face and shivering at the thought.
"I especially dislike Baku..."
"What about Abura-akago and Goryu?"
"Of course..." Moriko turned her head to the sky with a smile, seemingly overlooking the frightened, sweating Baku hiding behind her.
"And there's Hitotsume-kozo, Ikiryo, Jikininki, Amanozako, Amemasu, Kappa, Isonade, Jinmenju, Tsurube-otoshi..." Zero laughed as, with each name, Baku seemed to shrink until he simply curled into a little, shiverring ball staring frightfully at anything that moved.
"P...Please stop it, M-Moriko-san... All g-ghosts scare me..." Suddenly she frowned and looked down at him while holding one hand over the over, indicating some small height.
"But surely you're not afraid of Kodama! They're very nice spirits to those who are kind in return!" His reaction unchanging, she sighed and sweatdropped. "Wow. I never imagined a samurai could be so afraid of such harmless things."
"But aren't those all myths?" Captain stepped into the road, finished investigating for the moment. "If all musha in Ark reincarnate, then they would not be able to manifest into spiritual entities such as ghosts."
"Yeah, Bakunetsumaru is just too supersticious..." Zero nudged Baku with his foot, causing the samurai to flinch instictively then glare.
"Well," Moriko drawled as Shute sat down on the road with them. "Yes and no. All musha gundam do reincarnate, but there are circumstances in life that can prevent one from reincarnating in the afterlife."
"Circumstances?" Shute blinked. "Like what?"
"Those who preform forbidden techniques create a disturbance in the natural order of the land, and thus can never reincarnate, becoming entities like ghosts. Those who fell victim to such arts also cannot reincarnate, but most of the time become peaceful spirits such as the Kodama." Her eyes moved over to Baku. "Which are trustworthy and safe."
"Ghosts are g-ghosts," He squeezed his eyes shut. "You can't e-expect anything from them..."
"I see," Captain mulled it over. "That is logical. But Moriko, could disturbances in the natural order result in instability in the land?" Baku looked up, wide-eyed at Captain.
"Ehh?? D-Do you mean Ark could be run over w-with ghosts?!"
"I do not know, I am simply speculating it would have a greater impact on Ark in general if those using forbidden arts cause disturbances."
"You're right," Moriko smiled. "But it's the Daishogun's primary role to ensure that these instabilities do not amount to anything disruptive."
"You sure know a lot about Ark," Shute grinned, leaning back. She bowed gratefully in return.
"Thank you, but I'm only repeating what I have been taught from my ancestor's records. Which is why I especially find it inproper," Moriko turned back to Baku, looking miffed. "That you would be so petrified of ghosts." Baku's head sunk low with shame.
"But... there's no real way to s-stop a ghost..."
"Are you afraid of your shadow too?"
"I'm not afraid of my shadow," He sputtered, reeling. "What do you take me for, a coward?!!"
"Could have fooled me," Zero shrugged and sidestepped an angry swing of Baku's katana.
"Cannit!" Under Moriko's stern look, he quieted himself and sat on his knees, clearing his head for his dignity's sake. A moment of silence passed until finally she turned away, brushing herself off.
"If there is nothing to find here, we keep going, right Captain-san?"
"Yes," Captain said as Shute took his hand to pull himself up. Baku sighed as his friends started off again and slowly got back up on his feet.
"Gundam-san." He blinked and looked up as Moriko turned back to him, green eyes friendly but serious. "I will intruct you on manipulating the nano-skin, but only providing that you overcome this silly little phobia you have." Baku stared at her with eyes the size of dinner-plates, ready to just turn to dust and blow away. She only smiled back at him and began to follow the rest of the force again.
"...Wait! Wait!!" Scrambling up next to her, he whined, "Moriko-san, you promised you would teach me!"
"And I will, but you just have to proove to me that you are not afraid of ghosts first. It is for your own good- a strong samurai such as yourself shouldn't get caught up in paranoia."
"But that's not fair!"
"Well I'm the sensei, so you don't have much choice in that." He pouted and stepped behind her again, sulking. Ghosts have nothing to do with this! After thinking about it over again, he smiled. There's more than one way to skin a cat... Composing himself the most he could and puffing up his chest, he nodded.
"Alright Moriko! From now on, ghosts, spirits and spooks won't scare me!" She glanced back at him and shook her head.
"We'll see." It didn't take long before Baku was already trying not to eat his words. They had passed completely through the town when his sixth sense sent a cold, aching feeling in his gut. It wasn't just the normal kind of fearful butterflies either, it was the real foreboding feeling that was unmistakable at predicting something bad coming their way. Baku clenched his teeth and tried to brush the thought aside, focused his sights on all of his friends, the three of them in front of him. It's just you. Really. Nothing is going to happen. Nothing has happened. Nothing will happen. He took a deep, shuddering breath and held it for as long as he could. Most ghosts wouldn't attack in the bright open day. What was there even to hide in? Nurikabe is most likely but they can only come out at night from the walls... There are no trees or water around anywhere, so really the only things that could even strike us are the Goryu, Amanojaku, and... Gashadokuro... The image of the giant skeleton creature snatching up Shute with boney hands gave him goosebumps but he squeezed his eyes shut. There's nothing to be afraid of, there's nothing to be-
Did I count three friends!? Baku snapped his eyes open as a sharp wind rushed around them, the unnerving sensation jumping into his throat, and he began to panic. Where was Zero? When did he disappear?
When a crushing hand clamped down on his shoulder armor, Baku reacted immediately. With a roar, he unsheathed his katana, whipped around- all in one motion, and went to strike before he registered the assailant's face in his mind. Then all at once the samurai froze, staring at Zero, looking equally smug and somewhat uncomfortable with the weapon managing to get so close to his face.
"...Ah?"
"Bakunetsumaru," Shute frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Could you please get that away from me," Zero growled. "Have you completely lost your mind?"
"But," Baku blinked, horribly confused. "You were-- when did you--?" Keeping his embarassed, red face on the ground, he quickly put his sword away and mumbled an apology to Zero as the knight folded his arms.
"Caught up in paranoia, indeed!" Baku frowned at him as Zero quickly tried to hide his smirk.
"...Waitaminute! You were trying to scare me!" Zero floated off ahead after Captain and Shute.
"I don't know what you're talking about," He replied coyly as Baku jumped up and down in frustration and rushed after him.
"Don't play innocent, you...!!" Moriko shook her head and sighed as another chase began. Getting Baku to pull out of this fear was going to be harder than she initially thought.
Luck was on their side all around. Raidon's unease with Chimimouryu's presence had temporarily postponed their strike for the evening, just long enough for the storm to pass through and fade away at the mountain side to the west. They were both ready and strong now as the wind whipped by them, Fenn's large wings pushing the silver knight forward.
What a surprise was he going to give Zero; hopefully it would be one giving Daja just enough time for a quick kill. Sure he could play around with the Winged Knight, tap into his head and peel away those strips of confidence and pride, leave his poor consciousness open and naked, raw, ready to be shattered. Daja was known for such doings, even before he had left the Kingdom to take up the Dark Arts, even then he was known for savagry. It was not above or beneath him but this time- this time- with Tallgeese and Lacroa waiting on the other end of the sword, Daja only focused on sealing the deal.
With the Gundam Force's life.
Raidon stared ahead at his close friend and shared the similar smile. "Don't forget," He yelled up at him. "We have to take care of the musha first." Daja put his glee on hold for a moment, thinking about it. Chimi had told them that, didn't he?
"But... why?"
"I wonder," Raidon replied. "Your guess is as good as mine." He sped up in the enchanted tub as a great, shining body of water came into view. "That must be the Lake Era they were talking about."
"And that must be the Gundam Force," Daja's eyes slipped down to the group nearing the lake and gripped his war hammer, moving in quickly. There would be no hesitation this time.
Captain had detected the large body of water but, as soon as they neared it, it became more strange that not even plants grew around it.
"Why is there no vegetation?" Moriko frowned as Shute ran ahead to drink, Zero floating up high to survey more. Baku huddled to himself as that feeling continued to nag at him.
"Zero had found petrified beings earlier so there is a 99% chance that BagguBaggu still reside here. Anything that tries to grow may be bitten before it has a chance to develop fully."
"BagguBaggu?" Moriko looked at Captain in question.
"They are-" He cut off suddenly, turning sharply and nearly smacking into Bakunetsumaru. The startled samurai stumbled backwards as Captain ignored him only focused on his green scanner.
"Captain, what the heck-"
"Something's coming!!" The preemptive strike was so fast, none of them had time to put up a defense. Daja swooped down past them all with a blast of wind, Fenn's great white wings littering feathers while speeding past the Gundam Force. The resonating gust sent Zero tumbling out of the air and slamming on his back to the ground, gasping in surprise. He leaned up and looked around bewildered when he realized the ground wasn't as solid as it was a moment ago. Without a moment to spare, he rolled over on his knees and took off into the air with a push, just as the earth beneath him sunk and crushed with Dark Mana. Only in the sky again was he able to finally grasp the situation. Captain spun his v-rod, deflecting red-glowing arrows raining down from Raidon, Moriko hiding behind him and Shute hurrying back to his best friend. A few meters away, Baku clashed katanas with a steel mallet as Daja continued his assult, pushing the samurai back with massive swings of his fiery red mallet and pumps of the wings...
Frustrated, outraged, and bitter, the winged knight quickly summoned shield and sword and launched at Daja from the side, slashing at him.
"You fiend," He cried out while Daja only blocked his Buster Sword with his free arm. "What have you done to Fenn?!"
"Don't you think it's about time the Feathered Dragon received a more competant master?" Daja smirked and shot upwards, hammer drawn back. "Like someone who knows what power is for!" Zero darted alongside to strike again but fell short in time, moving his shield against Daja's swift downward blow. The resounding crack of metal forced the knight's back to the ground again.
"You know nothing," Zero hissed while his mind raced against the hammer, pinning him between a rock and a hard place.
"Get off of him, villain! Tenkyo-ken!" From the side, Baku launched the blazing slashes, getting Daja away from the other knight as planned but not catching him off guard. Daja countered with his war hammer, the deep crimson fire wrapping around the head and combining with the Tenkyo-ken's flames. The blaze flared then combusted at the metal's sparks, exploding and sending the two careening away. Baku skid back in the dirt on his feet, swords ready but not yet adjusted as the dark knight sliced through the black billowing smoke and rammed into him. He dug his heels into the ground and gritted his teeth against the pain, refusing to give any more ground to Daja. Even as he glared back with determination, Daja chuckled a little, the red orb at the end of his hammer glowing as white light gathered around the it, crusting over with ice. Baku narrowed his eyes and rolled off to the side away from Daja, his own swords glowing red and slashing in retaliation.
Somewhere still lost in the ashen billowing debris, Zero brushed embers out of his face, raising his sword. "Violet Tornado," He cried out as wind rushed all around, funneling the miasma up into the sky and clearing the area. But Daja and Baku were gone, to his surprise, as he looked around seething. "Daja," Zero yelled. "Leave my friends out of this and face me like a warrior, you traitor!" Laughter reached his sensors and he swiveled around, Daja swinging his hammer upward into Baku's crossed katana, following with flapping his wings up into the air and breaking the samurai's stance with the added force. Baku growled and withdrew swords to cross him just in time to take the next smashing blow from the hammer, throwing him back to the lake's edge.
"Why can't I melt that damn ice," He asked while picking himself back up, swallowing back the taste of adrenaline in his mouth. Zero darted at them, drawing back his sword in poise and cutting through the air with the magical energy.
"Lacroan Cresent!" The blue slice sped towards Daja, the knight seemingly unaware of it until a great seal appeared- the Dark Mana ring of Estros'hantir overlapping the larger Light Mana ring of Claichantir. The blast didn't even faze the shield, fizzling out as Zero stared at it in disbelief. It wasn't a lie or illusion- Daja really did have Fenn all to himself. How could he fight such combined power without equal footing himself? Daja turned to Baku again, holding up his hammer perpendicular to the ground.
"Come on, samurai! Let's finish this!" Baku gripped his swords and spun them in circles.
"I'll be glad to! Yaahhhhh," Baku rushed forward, swords tucked back at his sides as he ran headlong at Daja, the knight lifting up higher into the air and drawing his hammer back as the seal appeared again behind him. "Tenkyo-ken," The musha shouted again as he leapt up, slashing through the air the flaming x as it spun up to Daja, waiting. Just before reaching him though, Daja swung his war hammer down, a gale of wind burst from the force and the surge quickly knocking Baku off his course, sending him tumbling through the air. A cry and loud plunge snapped Zero out of his gripping denile, the winged knight scrambled through the whipping windstorm still looping and gaining speed to watch Baku's underwater form disappear.
"Bakunetsumaru!" Clutching his sword, he raised it into the air. "Violet-"
"I don't think so, Winged Knight!" Daja twirled his hammer as the winds picked up speed with another round, grazing the lake's water and splashing mist into the air. As the Light Mana ring of the Claichantir seal appeared above Zero's sword, the silver knight dashed at him, the war hammer raised and great seal at his back. For a moment, the two magic bearer's power clashed but the match was already clear. Daja pushed through as the light broke away, striking Zero in the side before the knight could recover. The air moved in all directions from the clash, the storm scraping the earth and thrashing the water and, in the middle of the blast of tornado, the winged knight submerged into the darkness of the lake.
Captain hardly had a battle plan. His equipment, Option V, wasn't designed for distance combat- notably since it primarily lacked the majority of arsenal of even his original armor type. To make matters worse, his Option F jetpack he was able to bring barely had any fuel left, making flying Shute and Moriko to safety near impossible.
Shute was aware of this as well, clenching his fists.
"Captain, you have to get closer!"
"I am unable to do that," He said, still batting away arrows. "Not only would that leave you two unguarded, but diverting these arrows would become difficult. I also cannot approach him for long in the air with my jets low on fuel." Moriko whimpered, clinging to Shute's hand.
"What can we do?" Untangling his hand, he held up a fist.
"I'll distract him! Captain, you have to hit him with everything you've got!" Captain looked over his shoulder startled as the boy took off running.
"Shute!! Don't!!"
Suddenly an explosion rocked the ground from the battle a few meters away, Raidon pausing his fire to look over at it, pinching his bow.
"Daja..." Captain tensed, realizing the moment was right and firing up his jets as Moriko stepped away from its blue blaze.
"Moriko, go with Shute! Quickly!" She nodded and scrambled over to the boy as he punched the air.
"That's right! Do it Captain!" The Neotopian gundam's eyes lit ablaze, Captain bolted up in the air with his fist glowing a golden aura, careening next to Raidon before the musha knew it. The blow hit hard against the Estros'hantir shield that appeared encompassing the musha gundam in dark red energy, crackling as Captain pushed forward. Raidon's eyes widdened as the defense shield buckled slightly under the force, his enchanted tub splitting the metal rim around it's edge. Growling, he quickly ducked lower in the tub and spun it off, Captain slipping past through the air and making a screeching halt. His blue eyes slipped over to Raidon quickly, just in time to dodge a slash to the back with a wakizashi pulled out from within the tub. Now off to Raidon's backside, Captain swung his v-rod, the white metal reflecting off of a round spin and slash.
"You're stronger than I had took you for," the musha gundam admitted in the standoff, floating backwards to create more distance as Captain advanced on him.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking us," He demanded, keeping an eye on Shute all the way below. He was yelling something, but he couldn't quite hear over his jets. But Raidon only seemingly smiled, fingering his bow hidden in the tub again.
"My name will matter little to one who is dead, but that is only fair. I am Raidon, the General of Magic, and now it is time to say goodbye!" Suddenly he spun away rapidly, firing five arrows at Captain. He thrusted his v-rod, batting them aside but the redden arrow tips sparked midair. A volt of electricity shot from one tip to the other, the five forming a ring and converging on Captain in the middle as he cried out in pain- voltage surging through his body. The current struck hard at his systems, shorting out the jets on his back, and circuits buzzing from the overload- he didn't recall anything after that aside from Shute's voice screaming his name.
On the ground, Shute and Moriko were swift to take cover by a nearby rock, hardly hiding them but protecting in the least.
"I can't see Zero and Baku anymore around the smoke... I hope they're doing alright..." Squinting, the musha pointed toward the lake's edge.
"No, there's Gundam-san there!" Shute stared intensely as well, realizing immediately how right she was as the figure ignited into flames and charged at the silver figure. But he never reached the figure, as he seemed to be thrown back by some invisible force, the flame snuffing out and tumbling in the water's nearby. Shute gasped, gripping the rock.
"This is bad! We have to save them!"
"What," Moriko turned to Shute, bewildered and shocked. "Why?"
"Zero and Bakunetsumaru can't swim! They'll drown!" Taken aback, she anxiously exchanged looks between Daja striking Zero down and Captain advancing on Raidon above them.
"What can we do?" Shute hopped up on top of the rock, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting as loud as his little lungs could.
"Take him down, Captain! Come on!!" And just as he finished, the two moved again, Raidon launching arrows. "That's it, do--" His voice suddenly caught as the arrows Captain deflected as usual suddenly became a ring of lightning, zapping Captain. Shute's heart dropped as he watched his best friend begin to fall, Raidon aiming one more arrow from above at his chest. "CAPTAIN," He screamed and grabbed his Shute Bond, firing away in frenzy at Raidon. The musha glanced down at the oncoming goo with a pause before dodging by rolling his tub to the side, looking down at the boy. The gundam's body landed on the earth roughly, remaining still as the two sprinted over to him. Shute tried to shake him, trembling. "Captain! Captain! Get up! We've got to do something! You've got to get up! Please!"
"Is... Is he..." Moriko swallowed, on the verge of tears staring at his still body.
"Moriko," Shute snapped at her. "Quick, you have to heal him!"
"I... I cannot heal internal damage..." Still surrounded by the maelstorm of wind, Daja zipped over to Raidon, kicking up dust on the remaining Gundam Force members on land.
"It's cracked," He frowned, immediately noticing the split metal and splintered wood on the rim of the enchanted tub. "You said you were feeling fine."
"I am. The leader of the Gundam Force has more raw force than any gundam I've ever encountered." Daja's orange eyes lingered on the form Shute hovered over for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement, gripping his hammer.
"I'll finish this." Whipping back the hammer head, he swung downward again, the windstorm doubling in speed. It whisked past the three, tearing Shute's fingers away and lifting him off into the air, Moriko looking up panic.
"Shute-kun!" She leapt after him, grabbing his arms and trying to pull them both back down to the ground again when, to her fright, the speed picked up as it rounded faster and faster- the tornado throwing them further up into the air, and even Captain went flying past. Shute felt his heart pounding in his chest as the seering wind scathed his ears, sand flying in his eyes, he felt the two of them only continue to rise until he began to wonder if his skin might pull off from the inertia of their spiral into the sky. "Cap," He swallowed, pulling as close to Moriko as he could and taking a deep breath of the dust. "-TAAAAIIIINNNNN!!"
Then everything stopped and, like a slingshot, they went sailing through air, falling and falling, farther than the dark hole it felt. Shute didn't know if it was good or bad as the descent didn't slow in the least, until he peeked his eyes open at the passing cliff sides of the gorge. He tensed up and yelped, looking down at the quickly approaching ground. Moriko hugged him, equally terrified but forcing her backside to the ground.
"Hang on, child," She whispered to him before the both of them slammed into the earth with shaking force, Shute cushioned by Moriko's body. After a moment of laying there panting he shakily rolled off of her, waiting for the world to stop spinning in his head.
"M... Moriko," He whispered while reaching an unsteady hand to her. "Moriko?" Shute curled his hand into a fist, forcing himself back up on his knees as he stared at her unconscious body.
"CAAAPTAAAIIIIN!"
~*~*~*~*
Shute gets eaten by wolves, The End. ^_^
...AHHHH I'MJOKING I'MJOKING STOPTHROWINGTHINGS AHHHH!!!! >___o;;;;
But I'm probably still gonna leave you hang here in suspense for a while as I combat the deadly writer's block. ^o^~
Author's Notes:
Some of you might be wondering about Estros'hantir and Claichantir. Yeah... those are now technical names I've given Light Mana and Dark Mana. What they mean and where does that come from will be discussed in the... distant-near future.
Almost everything in this story has some significance ultimately. You know how it is, like the bananas during the Lacroa Labyrinth saga. This is the first chapter where I've included information just to mostly fill time... what part of this has no significance is something you'll have to figure out yourself. :p
This chapter is sorta Untitled because all of my chapter titles are stuck on my dead laptop... T_T;;;; Along with a part of the already typed-up chapter 15. RAWR x_x;
Is this the most climactic chapter ending yet? If so yay~ :3 Don't worry, you'll all be on prozac before I'm done.