Author's Note: part three of the Becoming the Shuffle Alliance series of one shots. Takes place after the 'Goodbye Shuffle Alliance' episode (but before the Dark Gundam rises from under Shinjuku) and at the same time as part one & of the series featuring Argo & part two featuring Chibodee.

Becoming the Shuffle Alliance: George de Sand – A Diamond to Dispel Darkness?

George wondered what had just happened. The last thing he remembered was answering a challenge for a Gundam Fight match from The Undefeated of the East, Master Asia. What he saw in front of him now was not the scenery he remembered being in only a moment ago. At least it had felt like it was only a moment ago. Clearly more than a moment had passed.

Cliché as it was, all he could think to say was "Where am I" and "What happened?"

Then everything came rushing back at once all jumbled and hurried in scattered images. The dark Gundam claiming his body and mind with the infusion of DG cells that robbed him of his will drifted into focus first. Next came the images of attacking the city and Domon. Finally came memories of a group of fighters in strange Gundams he had never before encountered. He struggled at first to recall who they were. He knew they identified themselves before charging into battle.

….. 'The Shuffle Alliance. That's who they were. Master Asia's former compatriots. And he was, …. that man … the Jack of Diamonds was it? Yes that's right. I remember now.'

George involuntarily flinched at the memory of the flames that bathed his Gundam Rose in intense heat. His skin suddenly felt warmer as if he was back inside the inferno. But the flames had done nothing more than warm his flesh uncomfortably. The former Jack of Diamonds could not harm his successor.

Suspicions aside, the warrior had attacked anyway even though he sensed the younger man and his Gundam would be unaffected. While his mind was not his own, George had delighted in that look as well as the one of resignation to his fate when he decided to sacrifice his life for the next generation of the Shuffle Alliance.

Strong and caring arms had braced George as he had fainted from the impact of the blow that left the part of him corrupted by DG cells vulnerable to the Jack's power. For a moment he had imagined the older man clung to him just a little tighter as he departed from this world. A silent wish was transmitted to George's soul as the fighter selflessly gave his last to save him.

"Carry on."

The words were full of encouragement and sorrow and hope and George would never forget them as long as he existed. What not only George alone had just experienced was like something out of a fairy tale and it all seemed too unreal to be true. A gallant Knight rushing in to save the day from the corruption and terror of the darkness; then in an instant the Knight was gone as a result of making the ultimate sacrifice. He wished there could have been another way for things to end. In his mind, the former Jack, and it pained him to think of him as 'former', was a shining example of what a Knight should aspire to be. Honor, elegance, mercy, selflessness, wisdom, refinement, dedication, all these words and so many more described this man he barely knew.

Perhaps a strong connection had been made between them when the warrior's power erased all evidence of the Dark Gundam's taint. Among all the things he had yet to fully grasp, one thing George knew for sure was that he felt different. There was a weight that comes from the agony of losing a family member or close friend, an emptiness in his heart coupled with a confusion of why he could feel this way for a stranger.

What also troubled George deeply was his behavior while infected with the DG cells. Conduct wise, he had acted like something far removed from how he was accustomed. Anything but knightly seemed an accurate way of labelling his actions. Duty and honor were forgotten and George was ashamed. Luckily his dear Marie Louise was not around to witness his abhorrent deeds. Only power mattered, not the Gundam fight, not the people of Neo France who depended on him. Betrayal, to the Neo French people, to Marie Louise, to his loyal butler Raymond, and to himself, this was the one word George thought summed up the last few days. He was completely disgusted with his behavior. Inwardly he chastised himself on how he should have seen sooner it was all a trap, how he could have put up a more forceful resistance to the control of the DG cells engulfing him, and how he should have listened to Domon when the current King of Hearts tried to persuade him to abandon the dark path he was following. The power of the Dark Gundam had overwhelmed him and George had let it happen and now an honorable man was dead because of his weakness.

Stories of the Shuffle Alliance had started floating around the Neo French colony shortly after Master Asia, as the King of Hearts, had represented Neo Hong Kong in the last Gundam Tournament and achieved total victory. Never before had George paid much attention to the accounts. As a Knight he was more of a swordsman then martial artist. He wasn't involved in the philosophies and ways of a martial artist so why should he concern himself with their lives? Now George wished he had listened. Then maybe he would have known just a little bit about the one who gave his life so George could be standing here now a free man.

Had he been able to do so without dying, George fervently believed the man he knew only as the Jack of Diamonds would have acted as a mentor, guiding him toward what it meant to hold the title Jack of Diamonds. Perhaps from beyond this world the connection they shared for an instance would allow for his rescuer to continue to aid him in the struggles which lay ahead. As a Knight he must redeem his honor and George could think of no better way to do so then honor the sacrifice and finish what was started. Defeating Master Asia and the Dark Gundam had become as important as winning the Gundam Tournament. Only George was unsure of how he would fare in either task. A fear was welling within him tracing back to the Dark Gundam and his brief time as a captive to its power. George had fallen victim once and who could say with certainty it would not happen again. He fervently wished to be strong enough to resist.

From where he stood, George clasped the hand bearing the image of the Jack of Diamonds and watched as the emblem began to glow reassuringly. George knew he would need all reassurance he could obtain. The terror of the Dark Gundam would haunt his nightmares as long as it remained undefeated. With the crest on his hand to link him to the former Shuffle member who saved him and the current newly formed Shuffle Alliance, George hoped this would be enough for him to conquer his fears.

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