El Diablo of Neo Mexico

by Gravitrax

The 14th Gundam fight tournament is quickly approaching, which gives a nation to rule the universe for 4 years. However, the space colony of Neo Mexico is left without a fighter due to the "death" of their previous fighter, Chico Rodriguez. But they might have an ace in the hole to this problem. A man currently in custody, awaiting his sentence, a man by the name of Octavio Arzana.

1. Chapter 1

Mobile Fighter G Gundam Round 2 prelude

"El Diablo from Neo Mexico; The story of Octavio Arzana

Background

To set the stage for this fan fiction, let me just start by saying that I will always love Mobile Fighter G Gundam as my favorite Gundam series and one of, if not, my favorite anime of all time. With that said, we have our protagonist, Octavio Arzana, who is the fighter for Neo Mexico for the 14th Gundam Fight tournament. I wanted to set the stage where he would face off against the Shuffle Alliance in the finals of the tournament. And his final battle would be against the King of Hearts himself, the previous champion, Domon Kasshu. Now then, to give you an idea of what I picture Octavio to look like. I see him as looking like Trafalgar D. Water Law from "One Piece" post time skip without his tattoos, with black and gold snakeskin boots, faded black pants that have a relaxed fit, a belt with his family crest (think of the Superman shield, but with 3rectangles in the middle in place of the S)as the belt buckle, a jacket and shirt similar to John Marston from "Red Dead Redemption" without the bandolier jacket being black and his shirt being gray with black biker gloves, a zarape with black and dark gold as the colors, and finally a hat similar to Red Harlow's from "Red Dead Revolver" only obsidian black, more straightened, the metal pieces shinier, and no holes. Lastly, his body will be like Law's, but with slightly broader shoulders and bigger more defined arms. He is also the same age as Domon, 24, since this technically takes place 4 after the events of "Mobile Fighter G Gundam".

Prologue: Fierce revolutionary, son of a General

This tale starts with a young boy named Octavio Arzana by his mother, Elizabeth Arzana, in the best hospital in the Neo Mexico space colony. Her husband, General Jose Arzana of the Neo Mexican Army, is holding his healthy first born son with tears of joy in his eyes. That was and still is the happiest moment of his father's life. Two years later, Elizabeth gave birth to another boy, Manuel Arzana, a sickly baby at first, he would later ironically grow to be bigger than his older brother, however nowhere near as strong. Octavio was a kind and respectful young man growing up on the colony, having good grades in school, working at a young age as a laborer harder than most of the other worker's that were all at least twice his age at the behest of his father who got him the job to help build his character, unlike his brother Manuel who was too soft to work like Octavio, but he was much smarter than his older brother being a straight A student his entire life. Despite this, their father loved both of them very much. However, Octavio was not without his flaws, being know to fight whenever he was pushed or even felt that he needed to help or intervene with his fists. Over the years, his father would always lecture him whenever he was called to pick up his boy from school for fighting. His mother tried to channel that aggression to more productive activities, like learning to play guitar. Even after he learned to play guitar, he still had his aggression. Octavio heard from his father "You want to fight do you?! Then fight me if you call yourself a man!" so many times, that he lost his fear of being beaten yet he still respected his father with high regards because he could never beat him.

When General Arzana was a younger man, back before he was even Lieutenant Arzana, he made friends with man who later on in life would be known as the Undefeated of the East, Master Asia. This was before he met the love of his life Elizabeth and enlisted in the Neo Mexican army to support the two of them, as opposed to when he was only a nomad who traveled the remains of Earth. He actually trained alongside him they and pushed each other to be better than the last time they fought. But when they both on the level of masters, he met Elizabeth, and decided to put his fighting spirit to rest for the sake of her, which saddened his fists and his friend Master Asia. He would still train to maintain his skill and conditioning but he never imagined he would have to use his knowledge and wisdom to teach, that is until Octavio was16 years old. He had nearly beaten a group of boys within an inch of his life for beating Manuel into a bloody mess. Manuel was larger than all of the other boys in school, but he was a pacifist with a great mind and a pure heart and everyone knew this. This had enraged Octavio more than he ever had been before. When their father got back to their home and was also enraged after seeing the gentler of his sons beaten to a pulp and his again pregnant wife in tears tending to his wounds until the ambulance got there, which almost shattered his heart as a father. When he looked to find Octavio, he was already long gone off to get revenge for his defenseless baby brother. When he came back that night, he was brought in by the Federales because the children he beat up to get to the one he wanted to pummel all belonged to noble families, but with Jose being a General in the Neo Mexican army, it was easy to call in a few favors to sweep this incident under the rug since no one was killed.

Finally, his father had enough by stating "Do you know what you have done?! You haven't learned anything about being a man. I'm not as furious because as a man, I am proud that you stood up for your baby brother. But I feel like a fool for finally realizing that you need more discipline!". Octavio replied "I know dad, I know. I'll do whatever you me to earn your respect again, but when I saw Manuel, it just made so mad that it felt like my fists were roaring!" With that statement, his father was shocked thinking to himself "His fists were roaring?! But where has this come from? Could he have gotten that from me?". Then Octavio said something that reassured his father that he would a great man someday. "Like I said dad, I'll do whatever it takes to earn your respect back. But can I please make sure Manuel and mom are okay?".His father gave him a gentle yet stern smile as he took him to his brother's room at the hospital. Upon entering, he saw Manuel unconscious with bruises and a respirator on his hospital bed and it just burned his soul to know what happened and that couldn't do anything to prevent it. He then locked eyes with his poor mother, Elizabeth, and they both burst into tears as they ran to hold each other and cry. Later that night, after his mother had cried herself to sleep, Jose walked back in the room after he finished talking to the doctor. He saw Octavio sitting next to his brother's bed, staring at him, with a look of almost guilt. Octavio thought "Oh baby brother, how could this happen?! If only I had been there. If only could have stood up for you then everything would have fine. I just in my heart that this is somehow my fault. Mom and Dad tell me it's, but then why do I feel it my heart and soul? I swear I'll protect you from now on. No one will ever hurt you like this again!" At that exact moment, his father something remarkable on his right hand that Octavio didn't realize: his family crest was shining with gold light. His father shocked, he thought of what his eldest son said earlier "It felt like my fists were roaring!".

After that, Octavio and Manuel's best friend, Chico Rodriguez and his little sister Gina entered the room. They had heard what had happened and came straight to the hospital. Feeling as though it was something good finally, Octavio was glad to see them here for his brother. Chico said "I'm sorry we're here so late, but we just found what happened to Manuel. Is he going to be ok?!" Octavio looked at this brother "Don't worry about it. And yes. The doctor he's going to be fine. He'll just need time heal back up.". Then little Gina said something sweet that made every laugh just a little bit "You should take him to the ocean on Earth. I hear it's really pretty, maybe it'll make him feel better." The kids and Jose laughed, but as a pleasant surprise, so did Manuel; he heard the whole thing. A wave relief left off of Jose as his youngest son was now awake and his brother was so happy to see him awake. "Wow, I didn't think you could get any uglier!" Octavio stifled in a joking manner with tears in his eyes. "Hurt my pride too why don't you?" Manuel managed to say some semblance of a smile and a raspy laugh.

Sometime after Manuel made a full recovery, late one night at their hacienda, Jose spoke to Octavio in the living room. Jose looked out the window at Manuel taking out the trash and said to Octavio "Your brother is doing a lot better. It's almost as if it never happened." Looking down at the floor with a down look on his face, Octavio reminds his father "Except it did happened dad. And I couldn't do anything about it." He said with a look of almost guilt. Jose then looks at his son and reassures him "You can't blame yourself mijo. It took me this long to realize that you always mean well when you use that fighting spirit of yours. You did get from me after all." He said with a smirk. Octavio almost smiles but then thinks back to that night "I just wish I could have done something. He's not a violent person. Hell, he doesn't even know how to fight. You only ever taught me dad" Jose walks over and tells him "Because you wanted to learn mijo. He is to kind a soul for violence. But I do want to teach you something more mijo." Puzzled, Octavio looks up at his father "What is it dad?" "I remember that night in the hospital; your fist was shining..." his father tells him. Confused, Octavio asks "What?" His father continues "Your fist was shining mijo. Golden with our family crest. I just know it was your fighting spirit that I gave you. Did I ever tell you what it symbolizes?" At a loss for words, the young man tells his father "No, not at all" Jose looks out the window up at the moon and informs his son "It is the symbol of our family: a family of guardians. Protectors. Defenders. People who stand up for what they believe in. And it was roaring that night in your fist and you didn't even notice" He said with a proud smile. "It's about time I trained you to fight so you can protect everyone close to you"

He then told his son Octavio about the training he did in his youth with the famous Master Asia and that his plan was to take him to Earth, to the Guiana Highlands, receive the same training that the previous champion, Domon Kasshu, received from Master Asia. He then asked his son if wanted to go through this rigorous training, to which the young Octavio replied "If it means that I can protect those dear to me, I'll do whatever it takes dad." Which filled his father with pride over the young man he has raised.

After this night, Elizabeth, gave birth again; but this time it was a girl, Esmeralda. When the men of the house saw their newest edition to their family, they were overjoyed at this precious little angel that have been blessed with. Beneath the surface, Octavio's resolve to train to grow stronger to protect others burn hotter than a white star. Every summer and winter from that point on, Jose would take a leave of absence to take Octavio down to the Guiana Highlands, to train until he was about to pass out, until his bones broke, until his fists bled, until most other men would want to die. Jose wasn't his father down there in the Highlands, he was his master and Octavio was his student. And all the while, Octavio thought of his family, about his crest on his hand that came every time he burned with emotion, telling himself that he will get stronger, faster, tougher, better. Every time he got back, he would tell his mother, brother, Chico and Gina about his experiences as his father would take him north to what was left of Mexico to see the culture, the people, the places, and Chico and Gina's favorite part, the ocean. However, on thing that he would leave out every time was the state of things and the people who mostly live in poverty, most of the time in whatever ruins remained of Mexico's past. He felt guilty that he got to go to the colony where most people on Earth can only dream of going. He started to almost resent the Gundam fight tournament which was the biggest contributor of the ruins of the old world and the fact that the fighter's would just go back to the colony, not paying any mind of what happens to the people who didn't have "luxury". The last time he came back from Earth, he was about to tell his best friend Chico about his exploits but Chico let him know Gina was sick and they didn't have a cure. Octavio's heart sank as he thought somehow he failed to protect his friend Gina, even though his mind knew that such things just happen, his heart still felt the pain of guilt for a reason he might never know. It was at that moment that Chico told him he Neo Mexico's Gundam fighter just so he could take Gina to see the ocean, to give her as much happiness before it was her time. He pleaded to his best friend "Please don't do it Chico. If you go through with this, you'll be hunted down as a fugitive! Think about Gina, she wouldn't want.." Chico interrupted him. "I know the consequences, but please understand old friend, my sister's only dream is to see the ocean back on Earth. If I must become a Gundam fighter and a fugitive, then so be it if she can be happy however much time she has in this cruel world of ours."

That would be the last time that Octavio would see friend because Chico and Gina left about a week later. Not long after the Gundam fight started, Octavio hear news that almost broke him: Chico Rodriguez was killed to a malfunction with his Spike Gundam. This time, Octavio Arzana knew both in his mind and his heart that he could have protected his long time dear friend if he had just talked him out of being a fighter because he knew the risks, but he failed. He blamed the Neo Mexican government for Chico's "death" more than he did himself though, and from that point on, he decided to revolt against them for not even giving a damn about their nations champion or taking care of his only family, Gina. He started with protests, that got him a few followers, and then he moved onto riots, causing chaos at the street level so that the general public new of his cause. Later on he went on raids of government operations with the help of even more Neo Mexican who were sick of their tyrannical treatment on the colony. This went on for three years, at which point he gained two titles: the Savior of Neo Mexico from the people he was willing to protect; and "El Diablo de Neo Mexico" from the higher echelons of the government. Over that time, he saw his family less and less, but he still kept in touch in secret because now that he was the most wanted man in Neo Mexico, his father's sworn duty was to rein him to receive justice even though his father knew of their talks and messages. After three and a half years, his father couldn't ignore the fact that the rest of his family had stayed in touch with estranged member of their family and didn't turn him in, but he also didn't interrogate them, for that would give into his superior's criticism and scrutiny of having that desperado for a son and would have gone everything that he stood for, which is the same philosophy that Octavio also shared. Normal officers would have been relieved of command and arrested for simply being related to a "criminal" of his caliber. However, he was connected all the way to the top and had done so much for Neo Mexico that most of the higher ups wouldn't touch him, even though the general consensus said that his son's crimes are his crimes in turn.

So the day came when General Jose Arzana just knew exactly where his estranged son would be: the Guiana Highlands. He went there knowing in his heart that he would be there because he remembered his fighting spirit that would shine from his fist during the summer's and winter's on Earth when all they would do is train, master and pupil, father and son. This time however, it was General and "El Diablo"; he came alone with no backup and once he landed on the ground, he instantly knew where Octavio would be: the cave with dipping water. As Jose approached the cave, he remembered all of the good times he had with his pupil, no, his son. The meals they ate, the fights they had, the training they did, the laughs they had, and most of all, the roar of their fighter's spirit that would from their fists. Had it really been three and a half years since they last expressed their souls through their fists? He wondered if Master Asia ever went through this Domon, remembering also that his equal had moved onto the next world. He was in the cave before he knew it, it was almost too quiet, then a single droplet of water fell into the water on the ground, then a fire was lit and his son, now a grown man, was playing a few chords on his guitar. But the first thing he said to the man who not lonely raised him, but trained him to figth."I was starting to think you had forgotten you had another son." Octavio sat there simply staring at his father. His father chuckled.

After all this time, General Arzana rhetorically asks his estranged son "Did you already forget what I taught you ABOUT THE ELEMENT OF SURPISE?!" lunging at his son with lightning speed. Dodging this attack, Octavio refreshes his father's memory"If I remember correctly, I was waiting for YOU here. Seems like you forgot a little about your son." He threw a punch as his father did at the same moment, the power behind their punches created pulsing energy as they made their stances, the same as Domon and Master Asia did in the past. Then they both recited the traditional litany that his father had adapted from his old friend Master Asia. "The School of the Undefeated of the East! The Winds of the King! Zenshin! Keiretsu! Tenpa kyoran! Look, the East is Burning Red!" they did this as Master Asia and Domon had done in the past. After Octavio lands he asks his old man "You know, not that I'm ungrateful or anything for the training. But why did you teach me that style?" With a laugh, Jose tells his son "I did it to keep the memory of one of the greatest men I have ever known alive. He made me promise only teach someone whose fists roared with the help of their soul." His expression changing to surprise, Octavio asks "You mean…that night?" Jose continues "That's when I knew you were ready. I never held anything back during training so you could get everything you could out of it." He grabs his son and tosses his son through the solid rock wall in the cavern, all the way outside to where Octavio is falling down to the river "AND I DON'T MEAN TO START NOW!"

They both continue fighting while falling, crashing into the base of the waterfall in the river. It's calm for a second, but then they explode out of the water and land on opposite sides of river.

Laughing with genuine amusement, Octavio voices to his father across the river "Come on dad, even you gotta admit that was cool" Letting out a chuckle, his father says back across the river "I'm only getting started." He said with a smirk. But at that moment, there is a bright light from the sky that blinds the both of them. An instant later, Octavio is being restrained on the ground by the Neo Mexico Federales. Angered, General Arzana "What's going on here?" he asks, insulted that they followed him here. While on the ground being restrained, Octavio looks up at his father with a cocky look on his face "You know, I was wondering the same exact thing. We were just having father-son bonding time. Is that a crime too now." He said with a cocky smirk. General Arzana demands to know "Who ordered you Federales to follow me?!" One of the Federales answers his query "The higher ups, senor"

A couple of hours later, an outraged General Arzana is berating his higher ups: the President of Neo Mexico and his board of directors. "A man can't even see son without followed anymore! Where do you get off-" he gets cut off by the president "You don't get to play that card General! I know that we go very far back and you done a lot for Neo Mexico, that's why you weren't detained yourself. Now por favor take a deep breath. You know as well as anyone in this country that "El Diablo" Octavio Arzana, your son, is the most wanted man in Neo Mexico. Your meeting with him in the Guiana Highlands can be seen as treason. But that is not why you have been called here today." Jose, as you know, the 14th Gundam fight tournament is coming up..."

"THEY WANT ME TO WHAT?!" Octavio screamed in anger and confusion. "They realize that you have tremendous potential as a fighter and have offered you ultimatum: win the Gundam fight as Neo Mexico's fighter or be executed." his father repeats. With and eyebrow raised, Octavio clarifies "So either I fight FOR them, instead of against them, or die? That about right?" Unable to look at his eldest son in the eye, General Arzan pleads with his son "Mijo, please take the offer. There's much more at stake here." Insulted that he's still being treated like a child, Octavio says "Don't you think I know that?! I'm not afraid to die!" His father's face is almost completely horrified at the sound of that statement. "But I'm worried about mom, Manuel, and Esmeralda. I can't stand the thought of them crying over me and my foolishness!" His father now surprised at the fact that his oldest son does understand the ramifications of his action today, and little proud that he is thinking like a rational man in the face of death. "What happens if I win?" The General looks at the revolutionary "You will be absolved of all your sins." With a redundant eyebrow raise "Absolved? Really dad?" With a sigh, realizing that it was unnecessarily over dramatic "You know what I mean: you will be pardoned for all of your crimes against the Neo Mexican government and be allowed to defect to another country if you so wish." Still with a raised eyebrow "Only if I say yes, right?" he said analyzing his father's face, sensing his deep down sadness of having to put his first born through a life or death decision. His father then tells another curve ball "Your brother will be joining you also." With a hilarious look of shock, Octavio screams "WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" His father informs his eldest son "He asked to be your technician and maintainer of your Gundam. He just wants to be with you, you know. He hasn't seen his brother in three years. And he went to college for this sort thing." Octavio then remembered that he had missed his brothers college graduation due to him being THE most wanted man and Manuel too smart to not graduate.

Octavio Arzana looks down and takes a moment to reflect on his only real choice. He thinks back to when he saw his brother beaten, his sister born, his mother cooking with love, the times he spent with his father in the Guiana Highlands. And lastly, he remembers his late friend Chico and how he met his demise. He sighs a serious sigh, looks up at his father and says "I get to design and name the Gundam and I will choose which country to defect to upon winning the tournament."