Chapter 1: His Name is Captain

In the land of the Dark Axis, the sun did not shine- there was too many dark clouds to allow any rays to break through. It was a gloomy place, a wasteland in every sense of the word, as twisted as the evil that ruled it. Pocketed with rivers of lava, the realm was just a mess of rocks. There was no fertile ground, so nothing could grow or live. In any case, the Dark Axis hated living things with a passion. The only light in this terrible place was the glow of its twin moons at night- and even that only served to illustrate the evil that lurked within the monstrous, horned sphere that floated in the center of it.

The Dark Axis themselves were an army of robots dedicated to one thing- attacking other dimensions and stealing its technology to strengthen their own forces, and crushing anything, man or machine, that stood in their way. No one knew where they had came from, and no one cared.

The main forces of the Dark Axis were the Zako Soldiers- little green robots with doomed heads and singular computer eyes. A squad of them stood on the main deck of the Dark Axis' combat carrier, the Magnamusai, a ship with features that showcased what cruelty the Dark Axis was capable of. They chattered amongst themselves. It was almost time, they knew.

Then, the front doors to the ship's bridge opened up, and out strode Zapper Zaku. This terrifying robot was built similarly to the Zakos, but he was much bigger, with added armor and spikes. A fin on the top of his head signified his rank as a squad leader.

…Of course, he only came up waist-high to an adult human, but he was still bigger than the Zakos.

Zapper held up his hand, silencing the Zakos. Once he had their attention, he followed through with the speech he rehearsed the day before.

"The hour of the invasion has come," Zapper announced, "When we of the Dark Axis take control of all robots in all dimensions! Behold!"

Zapper pointed, and the Zakos looked behind him. Sitting on a floating island held aloft by rocket boosters, a massive gate, looking more like a beasts jaws than a doorway, showed a beautiful city.

"A world full of peaceful industrious robots for us to enslave and destroy! Neotopia!" Zapper declared, "That is our target!"

The Zako Soldiers cheered, waving their weapons in the air.

"Launch the Komusai!" Zapper ordered.

From beneath the Magnamusai, a smaller ship detached itself and circled around the larger vessel. Laughing horribly, Zapper leapt aboard.

-z-

In Neotopia proper, things went on as they should be. It was 3:00, and that meant school was out!

Shute Ray, a 10-year-old boy skated home, glad to be free. He soon realized that he was skating alongside a blue train, and grinned. He went faster and faster, trying to beat the locomotive.

And they're neck-and-neck as they race for the finish line, the crowd's on its feet! Shute thought, as he imagined himself not as a boy from school, but as a race car driver on the final lap of the Grand Prix.

Pulling out his PDA, Shute entered a few commands. Engage rocket-roller power!

The remote-operated boosters Shute had installed into his skates energized, sending the boy flying far ahead of the train.

Yeeeah! Kid beats train! Shute thought excitedly, leaping into the air. And the crowd goes crazy- "Whoa, watch out!"

Two mobile police units, a humanoid GM-class and a spherical Ball-class, were standing right where he was going to land!

"Sorry!" Shute cried, barely missing the officers. He skated off, deciding a strategic retreat would be in order.

"Darn, these kids today are wild…" the GM officer muttered before calling out, "Slow down there, you little hooligan! You're going to take someone's head off, you are!"

Shute waved at them, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, officer! I'll take it slow, honest!

As Shute skated on, he heard a strange noise, like an electrical crackling combined with a gust of wind. Looking up, he saw flashes of purple energy.

What's that all about? Wow, I've heard about these things, Shute thought, amazed. It's the Aurora Borealis!

Then the energy focused into a shape like a yellow mouth, and a red ship flew out, like a bat out of…

"On second though…Who-oa!" Shute cried, diving for cover as the ship flew off. Looking up from the safety of the pavement, Shute saw the ship fly off and behind a hill.

"What the heck…" Shute groaned, rubbing his head. "You don't see that every day!"

Up ahead, the mobile police patrol were running after the ship.

"C'mon, boyo!" The GM was saying, "Let's go check it out!"

Shute got up and considered his options.

If I was smart, I'd stay out of this… Shute thought. Then he broke out into a run. But I'm not!

-z-

Meanwhile, Zapper Zaku stood on the Komusai, laughing as the ship flew around.

His fun was cut off as it hit a hill, sending him flying. The Komusai soon landed, and Zako Soldiers poured out.

Zapper quickly bounced back and landed in front of his squad.

"All right," Zapper yelled, "Now we grab all these robots and turn into scrap!"

The Zakos cheered.

Nothing.

Zapper looked around, feeling his was losing the moment. He lifted his foot and looked under. The Zakos imitated his actions.

Flower petals?

The squad looked around. They were in a grassy field, with wildflowers growing in patches here and there. A breeze carried more petals and the Zako's bewildered chatter through the air.

None of them noticed the young boy as he looked at them from the hill off to the side.

Who are these guys! Shute thought, panting.

"These are the wrong coordinates!" Zapper snapped, whirling at the Zakos. "Who's the bucket-head that put us down here!"

The Zakos shifted uneasily. The ship's course had been plotted out by Zapper, but they couldn't tell him that...

"You miserable bunch of mechanized metal morons!" Zapper snarled, charging at them. "Robots are in the city!" He flung an arm towards Neotopia, standing out like an oasis in the desert. "That's where we should be invading!"

Shute froze. Invading!

"But, nooo, you put us here on a field of filthy, smelly organics!" Zapper ranted, stamping his foot. "What are you waiting for, you idiots! Scatter the BaguBagu and turn this mess into stone!"

BaguBagu! The Dark Axis' most fiendish weapon. A BaguBagu was a green, robotic insect equipped with a stinger that would inject its unlucky victims with a very deadly energy. That energy, once inside the body, would enact a chemical reaction causing total petrifaction. Many a lush, vibrant world had been reduced to nothing thanks to these machines.

Shute watched in terrified amazement as the Zako Soldiers released a swarm of these bionic bugs from canisters, slowly turning the grass they were on into solid rock.

"Nasty stuff'll take over a whole planet if you let it," Zapper muttered, "That's right, pave it over!" He gave the now-stone a good stomp. "Yes, that's much better! I love the smell of fresh concrete in the morning."

"This guy's bad news…" Shute murmured. He was about to run for help, when he heard a siren.

It was the mobile patrol he ran into earlier!

"All right there, me lad," the GM said into a megaphone hooked up to his ball partner, "I'm afraid I'm gonna hafta be askin' you boys to cease and desist!"

"Who's that?" Zapper looked towards the newcomers. They were robots! "Ha!"

"Let's start with your dropping your weapons," the officer continued, "Robot citizens are not allowed to be going about with firearms."

"So I see there are robots here…" Zapper pointed at the mobile police and roared, "Take 'em out, boys! Turn 'em into scrap!"

The Zakos brought out their guns, and as one, opened fire onto the police.

"Jiminy!" the GM cried, as he and his partner were splattered with bullets.

"Hey, wait!" Shute exclaimed, feeling his blood go cold at this senseless violence.

But the Zakos kept firing. It wasn't long before the two officers were reduced to a barely functioning heap.

"Cease fire!" Zapper ordered, and the Zakos stopped.

"All right…this is my last warnin'…" the mobile officer groaned, "Put…down…your…weapons…"

The Zakos were on them in a second, but Shute couldn't dwell on that. A loud buzzing alerted him to the swarm of BaguBagu that was gathering to form one giant BaguBagu.

And coming after him.

Shute took a step back, but was frozen in terror to do more than that. His life flashed before his eyes…

The BaguBagu attacked, but stung only grass. Something had pulled Shute away…but what?

-z-

Shute fell onto the grass, a dozen or so meters away from where he had been before. He wasn't sure how, but he had been saved…but by what? Looking up, he stared at his savior.

It was a robot, but unlike the normal GM-class mobile citizens, this one had two, blue eyes amidst a yellow background. There was a guard over its mouth, a V-like fin on its helmet. It word light-blue armor, and held a rifle and shield in each hand. On its shoulders Shute could see medals of some kind, a V-over-star with wings symbol like the one on the shield. On its back was some kind of backpack with boosters.

Shute had seen this type of design before in old war movies. It was a Gundam…but weren't Gundams just giant fighting vehicles, like tanks? This one was a sentient mechanical man…wasn't it?

"Do not be frightened," The Gundam said, "I am here to protect you. And do not be alarmed if you see me firing a weapon," The sunlight glinted off its V-fin. "I have been issued a special permit to use one. If you'll excuse me…"

The Gundam rocketed off, leaving Shute to stare in awe and wonder.

In the air, the Gundam looked down at the Zako Soldiers, who were carrying the damaged police unit towards their ship. Landing, he took aim with his rifle. Luckily, the BaguBagu swarm was right between them…

"Calcuating range to target…trajectory… We have a lock!"

The Gundam fired a purple beam from his rifle, vaporizing the BaguBagu as it speared through them. The beam went on to explode on the ground beneath the Zakos, sending their captives flying into the air.

"What!" Zapper cried, looking around wildly.

The Gundam grabbed the mobile police as they fell, and deposited them on a hill farther away. Then he rocketed back towards the Dark Axis force.

"You will withdraw at once," the Gundam commanded, "I would prefer to avoid further violence, but I am warning you; I will use this weapon for which I have been issued a special permit to use by the authorities."

Zapper leapt between his Zakos and the Gundam, brandishing two machine guns. "Oh, I don't really care about your stupid permit! Here's my permit!"

Zapper fired, but the Gundam weaved in and out of the bullets.

"Quick, but not quick enough!" Zapper snarled, continuing his onslaught.

But the Gundam kept moving.

"Stand still!" Zapper growled, getting fed up.

"Drop your weapon!" the Gundam ordered.

Zapper did so- and charged at the Gundam, preparing to ram his shoulders-spikes into him. The Gundam quickly threw his own rifle into the air and rushed forward, his shield up front. Zapper was a little distracted by the thrown weapon, but ignored it when his spikes met the Gundam's shield.

"What good's your permit now?" Zapper taunted, pressing against the Gundam.

A spike popped out of the shield's bottom, digging into the ground. Using the shield as a post, the Gundam leapt up and gave Zapper a kick in the back of his head.

"Hey, no kicking!" Zapper groaned, but got another kick- this time to the chest, sending him flying back. The Gundam jumped into the air and grabbed his rifle, firing at Zapper- but the invader simply rocketed away.

"Wow…" Shute gaped at the action. "No one's ever gonna believe this!"

"Komusai, hover mode!" Zapper ordered.

The robot landed on top of the now-moving ship, and looked down at his opponent.

"Very well, if that's the way you want to play it…" Zapper growled, and pulled a strange, yellow phone out. It looked like a miniature version of the gate back in the Dark Axis realm.

"Magnamusai, into position!" Zapper ordered, "Bring your main cannon to bear! Open the Zakurello Gate and prepare to fire!"

There was a crackle of purple energy as another yellow portal appeared in the sky. The Gundam could just see some kind of weapon on the other end of it.

"Ready?" Zapper pointed at the Gundam. "Vaporize him!"

-z-

In the Dark Axis, the Magnamusai's cannon fired, sending two pulsing rivers of energy into the Gate.

-z-

The Gundam was about to rocket away when he remembered something.

Oh no! The boy!

The child was standing right behind him!

The Gundam fired into the portal, but the beams from the other dimension would not be stopped. With nothing else to do, the Gundam brought up his shield, in a futile attempt to defend.

The twin beams struck the shield, pushing the Gundam back. Shute gasped in amazement. Was the Gundam…winning?

No, he wasn't. The impact was just too strong. The Gundam felt his rifle melt into slag, and his shield beginning to do the same. He felt the energy overtake him…

KRAKOOM!

The Dark Axis went flying. The Gundam went flying

And Shute would have done the same if he hadn't been clinging to the grass for dear life.

"No one's ever gonna believe this!" He screamed to the world.

Once the explosion ended, Shute looked up. Everything was gone. There was no sign of anyone ever being there…except for that huge, fresh crater.

"Whoa…" Shute realized he had been holding his breathed and exhaled. "Well, at least they can't say I imagined this…"

-z-

It was sundown by the time Shute arrived at his house. He had spent several hours combing the field for the Gundam, but to no avail.

I hope he's okay, wherever he is, Shute thought as he hiked past the guitar weathervane, He saved my life twice, and I never even thanked him.

"Hey, I'm home!" Shute called out as he entered the house. His father, Mark, looked up from his guitar. Mark was a songwriter who seemed to spend hours a day writing songs in his private studio.

"Hiya, Shute!" Mark greeted.

"Dad, dad, you'll never believe it!" Shute jabbered, "The most amazing thing I'd ever seen! It was…"

"Boy, am I glad you're home," Mark cut in, shrugging at a cradle in the middle of the living room. "Would ya help me out? I could really use a hand here…"

-z-

"Up-up, Nana!" Shute whooped, lifting his baby sister into the air. "Hover mode! Fire stabilizers and lift-off!"

Nana giggled. She liked this game!

Shute cradled his sister. "But, seriously, Nana, it was unbelievable! And just like that, it was all over! Almost like it never even happened. Weird, huh?"

Shute saw a trail of smoke wafting into the air, and followed it to its source. It was coming from a little cabin…through the large hole in the roof he was sure hadn't been there before.

"Hey, what happened to my workshop?" Shute asked.

"Well, what are you two up to?"

Shute froze. His mom was home!

Keiko, a teacher at Shute's school (and his grade!) looked down at her children. Shute quickly put Nana in a carriage and wheeled it up to her.

"Hey, look who's here, Nana? It's mom!" Shute said quickly, "She really missed you, gotta go!"

As Shute ran for his workshop, Keiko called out, "Done your homework?"

"I'll do it in my workshop!"

"Where's your father?"

"He's working on a song in his studio, see ya later!" Shute yelled back as he stopped in front of the workshop's door.

What if it's like radioactive, or something?

"…Nah." Shute decided, and pulled the door open.

Inside, Shute could see that whatever had created that hole in the roof was also halfway through the high platform. Climbing up the ladder, Shute saw just what it was.

"It's him…" Shute breathed.

The Gundam, deactivated.

-z-

"I'm sorry, Shute," his Repairbot said, rolling away. "I'm a repairbot, not a magician."

"Well, that was a pretty big blast…" Shute admitted, examining the Gundam as it laid against the wall. "It's not surprising it messed him up."

Shute, with much effort, tried to lift the Gundam's arm. As he did, he got a better look at its medals and noticed two letters on each side of the emblem.

"G…F," he read, "I Wonder what that is?"

Shute stood up and looked down at the Gundam.

"I'm gonna get you working again if it takes all night."

-z-

Hours later, Shute began to seriously regret saying that. Nothing he tried seemed to have any effect on the Gundam. Nor could he find any external signs of damage. Nonplussed, Shute kept at it.

"Okay, let's see if that did something…" Shute murmured, trying to scan the Gundam with his scanner's transparent mode.

ERROR.

Shute groaned and fell back. "I give up. When I said I'd get you working if it took me all night, I didn't mean all night…"

From his new position, Shute saw the moon in the hole.

Frustrated, Shute shot up and yelled, "Okay, that does it! Rise and shine! C'mon, wake up!"

No response. The Gundam's eyes remained blank.

Shute groaned."C'mon, give me a chance to return the favor…" He whispered, "You saved my life, didn't you?"

Scratching his head, Shute looked around, trying to find any inspiration among the odds and ends he kept in his workshop. At the end of the room he saw a story book, Sleeping Beauty. Uneasily, Shute opened it up.

With a kiss from the prince, the princess awoke.

It's a radical procedure… Shute considered, But nothing else seems to be working.

"Shute, time for bed!" Keiko called from outside.

"Uh," Shute looked at the Gundam before answering. "I'm gonna sleep down here tonight, mom!"

"Well, lights out, it's bed time!"

"Right!" click. "Good night!"

Now in the cover of darkness, Shute inched towards the gundam, feeling more and more awkward.

Okay, so maybe this isn't your standard robot repair manual… He thought, But, who knows? It might work…

Making sure no one was watching, Shute took a deep breath. Pursing his lips, he put his face closer to the Gundam's. And closer. And closer.

(His heart was beating…)

(Something ignited within the Gundam…)

There was a click, and Shute leapt back. The Gundam's chest was opening! Was this some kind of self-defense!

"I wasn't really gonna do it!" Shute yelped fearfully.

To his relief, what popped out wasn't a weapon. It was a glass sphere, the size of his fist, with a tiny flame burning inside. There were two golden rings that had been circling around it, now lying inactive at the base of its stand.

"What is that?" Shute whispered, and leaned in for a closer look.

The flame seemed to be floating…

"That's a good sign. Maybe," Shute muttered, unsure. He reached out and felt something. "Kinda warm."

Grinning, Shute looked at his patient's blank expression. "At least we know your pilot light is still on. We'll have you cooking with gas in no time!"

Shute never saw the Gundam's eyes flicker.

-z-

Later, He awoke.

Looking around, He saw that He was in a domestic shelter of some sort. Judging from the broken wood and hole in the ceiling, this must have been where He had landed after the battle.

"Hey! You're awake!"

He looked, and saw that same boy from before.

"How're you feeling? Okay?" the boy asked excitedly.

"…You repaired me." The Gundam said. It was not a question.

"That's right!" Shute nodded eagerly.

"For what reason?" This was a question.

"Hey, it was the least I could do," Shute answered, stepping forward. "After all, you saved my life back there. Thanks by the way."

"No need for thanks," the Gundam replied, "I was merely fulfilling my directive."

"Well, don't get all mushy on me," Shute rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm Shute. So, what do they call you?"

"I can't tell you that," The Gundam explained, "My very existence is classified."

"Oh wow," Shute said sarcastically, "You're a lot of fun."

The Gundam's V-fin began to flash orange. "Enemy detected! In the factory district!"

"Huh? Who is it?" Shute asked as an idea came to him. "Those guys again!"

The Gundam gave Shute a look. "Erase my existence from your memory." He ordered. "None of this happened."

And with a roar of rockets, the Gundam was gone. Shute stared up through the hole.

"That's gratitude for y- YAAH!" Shute cried as the wood finally gave away and he crashed to the floor.

Groaning, Shute looked at what he had landed on. It was harder than the floor, that was for sure…

It was the Gundam's shield, warped by the heat of the battle.

-z-

It was the graveyard shift at the factory. Most of the workers had gone home, leaving a few maintenance and security mobile workers to mull about the long twilight hours.

"Greetings, robot workers," A harsh voice drifted in, "We have come to liberate you…in a manner of speaking."

Zapper Zaku evil chuckling echoed through the sky as the Komusai flew around. It turned a corner…

BANG!

"Ow!"

One GM-class worker backed away from the invaders, falling off his platform. Out from the shadows came Zapper and Zako horde.

"Right, let's try this again," Zapper gritted as the Zako lined up in front of the mobile workers. "Ready? Turn them to scrap!"

The Zakos fired, and Zapper yelled, "That's right, I want them in itsy-bitsy pieces!"

As the workers were blasted, Zapper grinned venomously. "Today this factory, tomorrow the world!"

"Hold it!"

That voice!

"Hmm? Hmm!" Zapper looked around wildly. It couldn't be! It shouldn't be! He gave a strangled cry of rage. "You again!"

The Gundam pointed at Zapper. "For the last time, you and your followers are to lay down your weapons!"

"What weapons?" Zapper asked, bringing out his machine guns. "You mean these weapons!"

Zapper opened fire, but the Gundam leapt over his shots and in front of the mobile workers. Holding out his arms, the Gundam shielded the workers as best he could. As his body rattled from the bullets, he fired back from the guns mounted into his helmet. The Zakos found themselves running away in shock. But the Gundam wasn't done yet. Taking advantage of their shock, he fired miniature missiles from launchers mounted onto his wrists, blasting the Zakos this way and that.

-z-

Far away, Shute skated as fast as he could, the shield tied onto his back. He saw the explosions from a distance.

I'll bet I'll find him over there. Shute decided, and skated off. Then he fell over.

"Ugh!" Shute groaned, getting up. "Man, this thing is heavy…!"

-z-

Back at the factory, the Gundam's missile-launchers clicked ineffectively.

"Out of ammo, huh?" Zapper asked nastily as the Zakos fired back. "Such a pity."

Leaping up, Zapper landed on the Komusai, and had it fire at the Gundam. The Gundam now had to brace himself.

"Where are your bold words now?" Zapper sneered.

Any answer the Gundam had would have been lost in the gunfire.

"You know, it's kind of shame, really," Zapper admitted, "You put up a good fight. But all good things must come to an end," He whipped out the Zakurello Phone. "Only the Dark Axis survives forever! Open the Zakurello Gate!"

-z-

Outside, Shute had just arrived at the factory. But the gates were locked! He couldn't get in!

"C'mon…" Shute grunted, trying to force them open. When they refused to budge, he looked around for another option. Then he saw a pipe that went over the wall.

"That might work," Shute whipped out his PDA, "Roller rocket power!"

With the added speed, Shute rode the pipe over the wall, crashing on the other side. He was in!

-z-

"Stand by to open fire!" Zapper yelled into the phone.

My shield… The Gundam thought frantically, Where's my shield!

"Hey, you!"

Captain looked. Just through the rain of bullets, he saw Shute skating towards him.

"Mr. Classified-Guy!" Shute yelled, "Here, catch!"

Shute stopped, releasing the rope on the shield. The momentum carried the shield off of his back and into the air.

"You left that at my place!" Shute hollered.

The Gundam leapt up out of the gunfire and caught the shield.

"Now we're even!" Shute yelled.

The Gundam landed and used the shield to block the bullets, but paid them no mind. He was too focused on Shute. Why would anyone go so far? He saved Shute because it was his function…but what function did Shute have to do this?

"…Thank you." The Gundam said softly.

(Inside, the flame erupted into a great fire…)

-z-

At a classified location, computers beeped frantically as new data came in.

"Output levels are climbing!" One technician cried, "They're off the grid!"

"The Soul Drive has activated!" Another techie realized.

From his chair, the Chief stood up so quickly his hat fell off.

"What?"

-z-

At the factory, the Gundam began to spin his shield around…and around…and around!

"That won't save you!" Zapper sneered, and yelled into the phone, "Fry the Gundam!"

-z-

On the other end of the Zakurello Gate, the Magnamusai fired its main cannon.

In Neotopia, the giant beams came out of the Gate, and struck the Gundam.

But he wouldn't budge. He felt an enormous power well up inside of him, energy like never before. He would not lose!

"That-a-way! Yeah!" Shute cheered.

The power grew stronger and stronger, and the Gundam felt as if he was on fire. But the fire did not burn…!

Clenching his fist, the Gundam focused the new power into that part, and increased the speed of his shield's rotation.

"What?" Zapper cried, taken aback at these new developments. Was the Gundam…winning?

With his fist glowing gold from the new power, the Gundam began to rotate it as well.

"Right back at you, space-scum!" The Gundam yelled, and punched the giant beam!

"Uh oh…" Was all Zapper had time to say before the impact of the pushed-back energy struck the Komusai, sending him and the Zakos flying back through the Zakurello Gate.

"Retreat…!"

-z-

"Enemy forces have retreated."

"Bring him back now." The Chief sighed, sitting back down.

"Roger."

The Chief put his hat back on. "And don't lose track of him this time…"

-z-

Shute looked up from where he had dove for cover. That explosion must have been even bigger than the one from the field, but this time it sent the bad guys packing!

"That was wild!" Shute whooped, jumping to his feet. Laughing, he swung his arm around and pumped it. "All right! Yo, way to go, robot-dude!"

The Gundam, his eyes burning with a now-fading fire, turned to Shute. Then he looked at his hand as the glow died down.

There was a hum of engines as a pair of flying vehicles landed in their area. On the sides Shute could see a yellow badge painted on, with the following words inside.

SDG

Super Dimensional Guard

The flying cars opened up, and a squad of blue GM-class mobile soldiers trooped out. Getting in-formation, they saluted the Gundam.

"At ease, men," The Gundam told them, "Secure those victims still functioning and download their memory drives for any data that may be of use."

Shute stared as the mobile soldiers got to work. Whoa…look at these guys…

"Shute."

Shute realized that the Gundam was talking to him. "Yeah?"

"Your assistance was…appreciated." The Gundam said as a way of thanks.

"Aw, that's okay," Shute said, scratching the back of his head. "It's like I did anything-"

"Goodbye." The Gundam turned around and marched away.

Shute stared. "Uh…hey. So, that's it, that's all? It's over? I'm never going to see you again?"

The Gundam stopped.

"Well?" Shute prompted, "Say something. I mean, I know you can't tell me your name, but… "

The Gundam's mouth guard opened up.

"It's not fair to keep me hanging…" Shute continued, and stopped when the Gundam turned around.

"All right, Shute," The Gundam said, his robotic mouth opening and closing in time with his voice. "My name is Captain Gundam. But, keep it to yourself, hmm?"

As the morning sun rose, bathing all with its golden light, Shute managed to overcome his shock enough to say, "Goodbye… Captain Gundam."

-z-

Off to the side, a trio of Zako Soldiers who not forced back through the Zakurello Gate poked their heads out of the alley they had been hiding in.

"Gundam?" They asked, confused. "Zako? Zako?"

--End Chapter 1--

A/N: First chapter in a novelization of the SD Gundam Force tv series I'm writing, complete!

You'll note the title said book 1. I'll be categorizing collection of episodes by book, mainly using the grouping method used by the Japanese website for the series.

Another thing I should mention is the choice for Shute's last name. His family name was never mentioned in the series proper, so I thought I could do some filling in on that regard. The name 'Ray' comes from Amuro Ray, the very first Gundam pilot.

Special thanks to MsDevin92 from for inspiring me.

Anyway, read and review!