The Pawn Leos ended their invisibility magic and took careful aim at the Gundam Force with their crossbows as they encircled them. Tallgeese landed within the circle, stomping two Pawns back into dice.
"If you thought I was frightening before, just look at me now!" He chuckled, flexing his new wings and claws. "I have absorbed the power of the sacred Griffin within me, and does it feel good!"
Tallgeese threw his head back and laughed horribly, his new Griffen-armor glowing.
The figure rolled her eyes at his proclamation. Egocentric idiot!
"Villain!" Zero flew at the Knight of the Tempest, sword raised. "One of the four sacred beasts of Lacroa would never willingly join forces with you!"
Tallgeese raised his hand, catching the Zero's sword with his claw. Sparks flew as Zero tried to force the blade down.
"You must have deceived the Griffin with some sort of foul trick!" Zero spat, straining.
"I'd be insulted," Tallgeese grinned nastily, "If it weren't true!"
Tallgeese threw Zero back and flew at the Winged Knight, his claws glowing.
"What does it matter?" Tallgeese gloated, "The end justifies the means!"
One of Tallgeese's claws created an energy that formed a much larger claw, one the size of a tree. With a roar, Tallgeese brought the energy-claw onto Zero, who just barely blocked the blow with his shield.
"Zero!" Shute cried as he watched the Knight Gundam fall to his knees.
"Such incredible power…!" Bakunetsumaru gasped. He had never seen anything like it.
Bullets then splattered against Tallgeese, but to no effect. The Griffin offered more than enough protection against such things.
"Oho!" Tallgeese said, "What have we here?"
Captain, his helmet-guns firing, zoomed towards the evil knight, his beam saber ignited.
"When you attack one of us, you attack us all!" the mobile defender shouted, and rocketed up towards the Knight of the Tempest.
"The more the merrier!" Tallgeese snickered, and swung his claw against Captain. To his shock, he found that this Gundam was able to hold out longer than Zero. This one was stronger than the Winged Knight!
With a snarl, Tallgeese increased the power of the blow, finally forcing the Gundam back down. As Captain fell, his beam saber was knocked out of his hand.
"Oh no, his beam saber!" Shute gasped, watching as it deactivated and fell into the pit in the center of the cave.
Tallgeese landed and shoved his claw in front of Zero's face.
"How would you like to follow it," the evil knight sneered, "Into the Dark Hole, Zero?"
"Ooh, you don't wanna go there, pawn!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Zero could just see two Pawn Leos dancing foolishly and precariously close to the edge of the Hole.
"Magic doesn't work there, pawn!" Another chortled.
"It's bottomless, pawn!" the first Pawn sang.
"And dark, pawn!"
And scary, pawn!"
"And bottomless!"
"I already said that, pawn!"
"Oops, sorry, pawn!"
"And even if you survive the fall…"
"You'll never escape!" The two Pawns chorused, before the inevitable happened. They were just able to scream for a few seconds before the 'no magic' rule of the Dark Hole kicked in and they reverted to dice.
The figure rolled her eyes at the display. This is his 'army'?! It's a wonder that he hasn't screwed up yet!
"Admit it. You're frightened, aren't you?" Tallgeese snickered, poking Zero. "Just a little? Hmm?"
Zero refused to answer. Even with the claws of the Griffin so close to throat, he would not give Tallgeese a bully's satisfaction.
"Stop it, you big bully!"
Tallgeese looked from Zero to Coah, who had spoken.
"Oh, you cut me to the quick!" Tallgeese chortled sarcastically.
"We've got what you want," Coah continued, and looked at his brothers. "Right?"
Noah and Doah nodded.
Looking back at Tallgeese, Coah held up a jewelry box the size of a softball. "We have the Spirit Egg."
Now he had Tallgeese's attention. The figure's attention was drawn as well. What?!
"What?!" Tallgeese cried, unknowingly speaking the figure's thoughts. The dark knight shot Coah a sharp look.
He wasn't the only one.
"You?" Zero gasped, "You have the Spirit Egg?"
"What's the Spirit Egg?" Shute asked wildly.
Bakunetsumaru didn't have any idea. "Something of great importance, it seems…"
"It's the key to Lacroa's salvation!" Zero cried.
"Let us go and it's yours," Coah said in a threatening voice, "Or I'll drop it in the Hole. Good luck finding it then!"
Tallgeese frowned. This was too good to be true. "Open the lid and show me!"
Coah did so, and bright, light-blue light radiated from the box. Resting snugly inside was a crystal, the size of a whiffle ball and the shape of an egg. On its front was the emblem of Lacroa, and inside a swirling energy could be seen.
"Looks like the genuine article to me!" Tallgeese noted, "My, my. How resourceful you are. I'm impressed." Nodding, he said, "Well, all right. It's a deal."
"No, Coah! Don't do it!" Zero cried, "You can't let him get his hands on it! Don't do it!"
Coah shot Zero a dirty look. Closing the lid, he said to Tallgeese, "Oh, and one more thing. You gotta separate yourself from that Griffin."
"Oh? You drive a hard bargain, little one," Tallgeese smiled, "You know what you've got? You've got spunk." The smile turned into a frown. "And it just so happens that I loathe spunk!"
Whirling around, Tallgeese backhanded Zero, knocking him into the Hole's entrance. The Winged Knight fell, his cheek stinging from the blow. His body was covered in smoke briefly, as his magic cape, sword, and shield vanished. Zero plummeted out of sight.
"How clumsy of me!" Tallgeese chortled cruelly.
"Zero!" Shute cried in alarm as he and everyone stared down the Hole.
"Oh no!" Coah gasped.
"I'll take that, pawn!" A pair of invisible hands ripped the box out of Coah's hand and zipped over to Tallgeese's side.
"Hehehehe! Got it, master! Pawn!" The Pawn Leo snickered, uncloaking.
"Excellent!" Tallgeese nodded, and turned to the good guys. "Well, I'm sorry to say playtime is over, children!"
Tallgeese's claws glowed and expanded into two giant energy-claws. Rising into the air and spreading his arms out, Tallgeese began to spin, rotating so quickly that he became the source of an evil tornado. Shute and the triplets, being the lightest, were the first ones caught up in the winds.
"Ugh!" Bakunetsumaru groaned, trying not to lose his footing. "It will…take…more…than…a little…breeze…to stop me!"
"Oh, why don't you go join your friends?" Tallgeese snorted, and punched the samurai in the face. The Musha Gundam was knocked into the Hole, right at the same time the kids were thrown in by the winds.
"Bakunetsumaru!" Captain cried out, just before losing his grip on the ledge and fell in. The last thing he saw before darkness consumed his vision was Tallgeese, holding the Spirit Egg's box in vile victory, laughing fiendishly.
-z-
The mysterious figure clung desperately to the wall, even as the wind continued to whip around her. All of a sudden, the rock she was holding disappeared from her grip.
-z-
Tallgeese laughed as he watched the so called 'Gundam Force' fall down the hole.
"You moron!"
Tallgeese looked down in time to see the figure fall down the hole.
He sweat dropped. "…Oh no…!"
-z-
Shute landed in a musty cavern with rock pillars that were so tall he couldn't see their tops. Not that he could. He was too busy tumbling down a giant mound of dirt, gathering up soil until he resembled a giant ball of mud. He would have kept rolling, if his path hadn't included one of those immense pillars directly in front.
CRASH!
While the dirt ball provided enough protection to prevent Shute from receiving any serious injuries, the collision knocked him senseless. With little birdies fluttering around his noggin, Shute slid off of the pillar.
"…I wonder where the others are…" Shute groaned, dusting himself off as he stood up.
He then heard a rumbling and saw three more giant dirtballs rolling towards him. With the skills gained in dodge ball, Shute skillfully jumped around the incoming spheres as they rolled past him and into the wall.
Aw, great! Shute thought, Company!
CRASHASHASH!
It was the triplets, the helmets on their Pawn Leo costumes having fallen off.
"Hey, are you three all right?" Shute asked, concerned.
The triplets, dizzily, got to their feet.
"A-okay…" Coah replied, tilting slightly.
"I bruised my knee…" Noah groaned.
"And I got dust up my nose…" Doah muttered.
"Oh, babies!" Coah snapped, "Are you okay or not!"
"Well, I guess so…are we?" Noah replied.
"Yeah, we guess so." Doah nodded.
"Good, so we're all agreed?" Coah asked, and his brothers nodded.
Turning to Shute, the triplets flipped their helmets on. "We're fine!"
Shute stared. "…Okay."
With that settled, Shute took another look around. He couldn't see the rest of the Gundam Force anywhere. Taking out his PDA, he quickly hit the quick-dial function.
"Captain," Shute said into the phone, "Can you hear me? This is Shute, come it! Come in, Captain!"
The screen showed nothing but static and the words OUT OF AREA.
"It's no use," Shute sighed, "We're in the wrong dimension at the bottom of a pit! I guess that qualifies as out of range."
"What does that do?" Noah asked curiously, staring at the PDA.
"Oh, this lets us talk to each other even when we're far apart." Shute explained, showing off the PDA.
"What a wonderful thing!" Noah cried.
"It's magic…" Doah breathed.
"Right now it's a piece of junk!" Coah grumbled, unimpressed.
"Forget about it," Shute said, putting the PDA away. "We don't need it anyway! Let's go find the others, and then get that Spirit Egg back. Then we'll leave the rest of it to your savior, the Winged Knight!"
He gave the triplets a confident smile, but Coah just turned away.
"You mean Zero?" the child snorted.
"…Yeah…"
"Please!" Coah said as Noah and Doah zipped behind him. "Did you see how easily Tallgeese defeated him? Even after I created a diversion! I don't know who your friend really is, but he's no savior! He's a fake!"
Shute grew angry. Who did this twerp think he is?
"Hey, c'mon!" Shute shouted, "You just watch! He's gonna save Lacroa!"
"Right," Coah rolled his eyes and marched away with his brothers. "Let's go!"
"Hey, what the… Where are you going!" Shute yelled, "Come back here!"
-z-
"O Mana, come to me!"
Nothing happened. At most, all Zero's incantation did was send sparks out of his fingers.
So it's true! The Knight Gundam thought, lowering his hand. My magic won't work in this place…I'm trapped!
Zero looked around, but the rocks and mounds could not distract him from thinking about his fight with Tallgeese, though only a generous soul would call it that. The way Tallgeese toyed with them…
How could I have let him beat me so easily? Zero thought.
There was more to being a knight than just strength. You needed to have wisdom, skill, grace…and Tallgeese had none of these things, and he still won.
Zero remembered how unimpressed the triplets were. Perhaps…perhaps, they are right.
Zero looked at his feet, feeling blue when he heard a distant tremor. He also heard a distant yell.
What was that?
-z-
The figure groaned as she pushed herself to her feet. "Ow…"
Looking around, the figure saw brown, barren cavern walls. Where…?
The figure raised her hand, going to use her magic, only for nothing to happen. Growling, she tried again. Nothing. Then she remembered.
"That moron!"
Swinging around, the figure punched the nearest column. Not a smart move.
"OW!"
The figure pulled her now throbbing hand close to her chest, cursing out a certain tall, idiotic, egocentric knight. At least my disguise is intact, for whatever reason…
"Who's ther- what?!"
-z-
It was really dark where Captain and Bakunetsumaru were. Captain had his helmet-mounted spotlight on, and was looking around.
"No sign of Shute or the others here." Captain reported, turning left and right in his search. Behind him, Bakunetsumaru kept shuffling around so that he would be directly behind the defender.
"We all must have landed in different areas of this cavern." Captain decided.
Bakunetsumaru didn't reply. He kept looking around, shaking in his armor.
"Your behavioral pattern is strange," Captain noted, turning off his light and facing Baku'. "Is something wrong?"
"N-no!" Bakunetsumaru said quickly, and began to back away, smiling a bit too much. "That is…to say…I certainly hope not-!"
Bakunetsumaru froze. He had bumped into something. Slowly turning around, he saw the most hideous visage in universe!
"AAAAAAHH!" the Musha Gundam screamed, and jumped high in the air. When he landed, he saw that it was just a wall of crystal reflecting his image. "Oh, it is only me…"
Captain was just mildly curious before. Now he was worried.
"Bakunetsumaru, what is it that is troubling you?" Captain asked.
"Troubling me?" Bakunetsumaru repeated, and then cleared his throat and said in a sterner tone, "Troubling me? Oh, uh, nothing, Captain. What makes you think that something is trouble- Huh? What was that!" Baku' began to look around wildly again. After a few minutes, he met Captan's eye and couldn't take it anymore.
"All right!" the samurai burst, "I am afraid of ghosts if you must know!"
Captian cocked his head. "But that is illogical. You have said that there are no living beings in Ark. Therefore nothing could come back as a ghost, since nothing dies in the first place."
"Well, of course ghosts are illogical!" Bakunetsumaru yelled, "Perhaps that is the reason I am afraid of them! Now can we please stop talking about them, Captain!"
Captain shrugged. "As you wish."
"Thank you-" Bakunetsumaru's eyes bugged out as Captain turned and walked away. "Wait! Where are you going? Wait for me!"
Bakunetsumaru hurried up behind Captain and halted when Captain shined his light on some kind of red body encased in rock.
"What's that!" The Musha Gundam asked worriedly. He then saw a blue body. "Another one!"
This was too much for Bakunetsumaru. With a dizzy moan, he fainted.
-z-
Meanwhile, Shute continued to follow the triplets, much to their annoyance.
"Go away!" Doah shouted.
"No!" Shute shot back.
"Go look for your friends!"
"Get lost!"
"Like they are!"
Shute frowned. "Look, I can't leave you all alone!"
"That's okay, don't worry about us," Noah replied, "The Dark Hole is the safest place to be!"
"It is?" Shute asked.
"Of course it is!" Coah said, "Where d'ya think we've been hiding all this time?"
As it turned out, the 'No Magic' rule of the Dark Hole provided the perfect shield against any divining magic used by Tallgeese and his minions.
Shute was still worried. "In a dark, gloomy place like this?" He asked, "Isn't it…scary?"
Coah snickered. "Hey, guess what?" He asked his brothers, "This kid's afraid of the dark!"
"I am not scared!" Shute shouted, "And who're you calling a kid, kid!"
Coah frowned, but not at Shute. Holding out his arm, he shushed Shute.
"What?" Shute whispered, "What is it?" Just barely, he could hear something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded familiar…and not in a good way.
Coah seemed to think so too. "They found us…"
"No…" Doah groaned.
"Uh, who are we talking about?" Shute asked.
The triplets, however, were not paying attention to Shute. They seemed to be looking past him.
"What?" Shute asked again, now really confused.
The triplets didn't answer. They charged up the hill.
"Run!"
"Hey, what are we running from?" Shute shouted after them.
Then he heard it. The sound of mechanical wings flapping, accompanied by a buzz. Only in this particular instance, they sounded…bigger.
Turning around, he saw the largest Bagubagu ever! It was the size of a car, and its stinger more resembled a fearsome harpoon than a vaccination needle.
And it was coming right at him!
Letting loose a scream, Shute ran up the hill, just avoiding getting caught by its claws. The Bagubagu gave chase, trying to snatch the little human up.
"They could've given me a warning, at least!" Shute wailed as he ran.
From their hiding places behind some smaller mounds, the triplets watched on.
Shute, meanwhile, was beginning to feel his legs go out. Any minute now, the Bagubagu would catch him…
"Shute!"
That voice! "Zero!"
Zero slid down a mound on his heels, leaping up and giving the Bagubagu a hard shove with his shoulder, knocking him away. Behind him, another robot followed close behind.
"Way to go!" Shute cheered, "Let's go!"
"Shute, run!" Zero ordered, "Run for cover! I'll handle this!"
As the three took off, the Bagubagu recovered quickly, stunned from shock than actual pain. It quickly resumed the chase, following Shute, Zero and the other robot, who Shute had yet to notice, over figurative hill and dale.
"If only I could summon my sword!" Zero grunted.
The other robot had the same idea.
As they reached a flat area, the Bagubagu charged. Zero dropped to the ground, dragging the other robot down with him, both just barely avoided being steamrolled over by the immense insect.
"Shute!" Zero yelled, "Look out!"
Shute glanced behind and saw the Bagubagu closing in. With a wild yell, he leapt, avoiding the bionic bug's dive bomb. His jump put him on a pillar, but that wasn't safety, not for long. Shute saw the Bagubagu right behind him and climbed higher. Undaunted, the Bagubagu smashed out a piece of the pillar underneath, making a cut so clean and quick that instead of falling over, the pillar simply went down a yard. Then it did it again.
And again.
After five minutes of this, Shute had run out of pillar.
"Have at thee, insect!" Zero called out, and jumped at the Bagubagu.
The Bagubagu simply swatted him away in an act of supreme irony. Zero went flying and landed on another mound.
"Zero!" The other robot cried out.
As he slid down the mound, Zero felt something fall into his hand.
What could this be? Zero thought.
Meanwhile, Shute was just at the top of the pillar when the Bagubagu closed in for the kill. Shute stared wide-eyed as certain doom came closer and closer…
"Get away!"
There was a flash of light, and the Bagubagu's left claw had been sliced off. Amazed, Shute looked around and saw the source of the Bagubagu's pain. Zero, the Winged Knight of Lacroa, stood bravely on another pillar, holding up a sword of light in hand.
"So you found a sword after all, huh Zero?" Shute grinned. Captain's beam saber!
Zero did not reply. Instead, he leapt at the Bagubagu, and in two clean strokes, cleaved the other claw off before stabbing its eye. The Bagubagu fell to the ground, inactive.
"Nice work!" Shute laughed, hopping down to Zero.
"It is all thanks to this," Zero said, holding up the saber. "Fate guided my hand to it in my darkest hour of need." He looked at Shute and smiled. "Perhaps there is hope yet. Thank you, Mana…"
That was when Shute noticed the other robot. "Who are you?!"
The robot flinched back in surprise as Shute pointed at her.
"Easy Shute!" Zero cried out, grabbing Shute's hand, "Lady Override is an ally!"
That was when Shute finally took in Override's appearance.
Her armour was snow white, with red and blue stripes. She had what looked like a ponytail of blue wires on the back of her head. Her eyes where bright, arctic blue irises on a white background. Her head was shaped similar to a wolfs, with a familiar winged v-fin on her forehead, and a mouth guard with two slits similar to Zero's, but without the red chin that all male Gundams had.
That was when it clicked.
"You're a Gundam!"
Override nodded. "I am. And as I have told your friend Zero, I have been trapped here for quite some time."
She then took a closer look at the Bagubagu.
Zero noticed what she was doing. "Lady Override, what is it that you see?"
Override said nothing, and slowly walked closer to the large insect before crouching down to look underneath. "What in the world…?"
"M'lady?" Zero and Shute watched as the female Gundam pulled something out from under the deactivated bug.
"I don't believe it!" Zero gasped.
Cradled in Override's hands, was a white and gold Spirit Egg.
"I thought that the egg was blue, not gold." Shute thought out loud.
"As did I." Zero murmured.
Override looked like she was about to say something, when the egg began to shake. All three of their eyes snapped to the egg and watched as it began to glow. The glow grew so bright, that it was impossible to see what was happening. Override, however, felt its weight shift in her hands.
When the glow faded, a small creature rested in the female Gundam's hands.
"Amazing…" Override murmured.
The creature was laying on its back, and its paws were tucked in close. It shifted, and opened two, bright blue and white eyes. The creature yawned, revealing tiny white teeth. The creature stretched out, revealing what it looked like.
The creature was a mix between a cat and a dog, with short, thick fur. It had a dogs muzzle, cat ears, a lean body, and thin legs with large paws. The creature stretched more, revealing a pair of feathery wings. Its tail was shaped like a golden retrievers, but was as flexible as a cats. The creature was mostly white, with gold colouring on its ears, under belly, and wing tips.
The creature looked Override straight in the eye, and… "Mew!"
The small group was smitten.
"Aww…"
Override tickled the creature under its chin, electing a purr.
"What are you going to name him?" Shute asked.
Override hmmed, looking at the creature. The light in the cave seemed to reflect off of its fur, and its eyes shone like twin suns.
"I'll name her… Sunlight."
The creature, Sunlight, purred louder, like she was agreeing to the name.
"'Sunlight'?" Shute echoed. "That's a strange name."
Override growled, sounding insulted.
"Shute!" Zero admonished. "That is no way to speak about a lady's choice! Apologize immediately!"
But Override waved him off. "It's alright Zero. He can state his opinion."
Zero looked like he wanted to object, only to realize that he would be going against what he had just said to Shute. "Very well m'lady."
Sunlight, as if sensing the tension, suddenly slipped out of Override's hands, and wrapped herself around the Gundam's neck, letting out a content purr. It was an extremely cute scene!
Though something was nagging Zero at the back of his mind. I've seen that creature before, but where?!
-z-
"Those triplets are around here, somewhere, I know it." Shute told Zero and Override as they walked back to where the Bagubagu first appeared.
At the top of another pillar, a very tall pillar, the triplets looked down at the group.
"Coah...Doah…Noah…" Shute called out, before grinning. "Hello-ah? Hey…you guys!" He groaned. Did they just run away? Cupping his hand over his, he called, "Hey! I've got Zero here! That's right! We're ready to get your Spirit Egg back! So c'mon! C'mon out!"
"Uh-uh!"
Shute, Zero and Override stopped. That sounded like Noah…or was it Doah?
"No thanks!"
"No way!"
Shute and Zero looked around, trying to find the source of the triples' voices. They seemed to echo from everywhere. Override stood back, one hand gently scratching Sunlight's head, unsure of what was going on.
Shute got angry. "Okay, that does it! You three show yourselves right now!"
"We don't want anything to do with him!"
Shute blinked. "Huh?"
"We've been waiting all this time for a savior to arrive."
"And when he finally does…
"He lets Tallgeese beat the stuffing out of him!"
"Some savior! He's an imposter! We don't wanna waste our time on him!"
With each statement, Zero lowered his eyes, until he was looking directly at his feet. Such cruel words, but not unjustly said. Thanks to his weakness, Tallgeese had the blue Spirit Egg. If there had been any hope, it was now in the fiend's greedy hands. Were she around, would the princess think so, too?
Override reached over, and gently placed a hand on Zero's shoulder. She gave a small squeeze of comfort.
But Shute had heard enough.
"Okay, I've heard enough!" He shouted fiercely, "He's no imposter! You call him that when you don't know the first thing about him or what he's done! I've fought a lot of battles with Zero, and I can tell you, as far as saviors go, he's the real deal!"
Zero raised his head, touched.
"At least he's trying!" Shute continued, "He's not hiding in the dark! He's out here fighting to take back his homeland, and he's gonna do it, too!"
There was no reply.
"…Aw, who needs you, anyway!" Shute shouted angrily. "…Aw, phooey."
Zero looked at Shute and said, "Shute… Thank you."
"It's just the truth, that's all," Shute muttered, and clapped his hands together. "Well, okay! That's enough standing around here! Zero, you, Override and I have got work to do! If we're gonna get the blue Spirit Egg back, and get you out of here safely Override, we've gotta find the others! And if I know Captain," He looked up, "He'll be leading the others up and outta here! So that's what we'll do. We'll just head up towards the top!"
Zero, his resolved renewed, nodded. "Yes, there is sense in your plan!"
Shute grinned. "You bet there is!"
"Unfortunately," Zero went on to say, "I can neither fly nor use my magic in this place."
"Nor can I. How will we get up?" Override added.
Shute pointed towards one of the tall pillars. "We'll go the old-fashioned way! By climbing out, one hand over the other!"
Zero and Override looked up at Shute's intended starting point. They couldn't see the top…
"Well, let's get started!" Shute laughed, and ran for the pillar.
Not for the first time, Zero was impressed. Shute was always jumping right into things like that. Whether it was sneaking aboard the Dark Axi's combat carrier, Magnamusai, or risking his own life for a friend, Shute would go at it, and not out of recklessness, he found. He did it because it needed to be done. He made doing what was necessary seem so simple and obvious.
…Shute, my friend, you are extraordinary, Zero thought, Do you know that?
Override meanwhile blinked upwards. It was a looong way up…
She yelped as a hand appeared on her shoulder, unintentionally startling Sunlight. "Oh… it's you Zero."
"My apologies, m'lady, but you have no need to worry, Shute's plan cannot fail." Zero reassured.
"I hope that you are right…"
-z-
The triplets watched as the three began their climb.
"I like that!" Doah commented.
"Do you think we should go with them?" Noah asked.
"…No, I don't." Coah grumbled, and went in the opposite direction. "Besides, they have a stranger with them!"
He tried not to think about what Shute had said.
…At least he's trying…He's not hiding in the dark…
What does he know? Coah thought bitterly.
-z-
Back in the darkest part of the Hole, Bakunetsumaru had regained consciousness, and was now looking at the two figures with trepidation, swords drawn.
"Are…you friend or foe?" the Musha Gundam asked nervously, "Speak, whoever you are…!"
"Calm down," Captain said, stepping up. "This is no ghost."
"Huh? Ah, no, of course not," Bakunetsumaru gulped, and tried to still his beating heart. "I never said it was ghost. What is it? …is it a dead ghost…?"
The two figures, halfway encased in the rock, resembled mobile knights of some kind, a red one and a blue one. The red one had lightning symbols on his shoulders, while the blue one had wind signs on his. Around and in them were swords and spears jammed into the stone.
"Hmm… Whatever it was," Captain noted, "Its functions have ceased."
"It has a most grim and forbidding look about it," Bakunetsumaru muttered, peering at the red one. "…Foul thing. Still, as we say in Ark: 'No ghost will harm you without provocation.'"
"I'm sure you're right…" Captain replied absentmindedly. His targeting scope slid down and he began to scan the area. "Now, to find a way out of here."
Captain looked around, and his sensors soon picked up on a strange wavelength.
"What?" Captain, confused, began to fire his helmet guns. Bakunetsumaru jumped in alarm at the gunfire.
Captain fired in all directions, making note of what he saw. There were small wormholes around, and by firing his bullets into them, he could check where they led. At one point, a wormhole sent the bullets right back at them, just barely hitting Bakunetsumaru's rear.
"Aaah! Who's there!" Baku' screamed, whirling around. "Defend yourself! Where are you!"
"…Strange place."
"What?" Bakunetsumaru asked, confused. Were they under attack or not?
"Some paths lead nowhere," Captain explained, "Others turn back on themselves…"
Captain fired some more, and his last barrage were deposited higher.
"There!" Captain noted, "That's the way up."
"Up?" Bakunetsumaru repeated.
Captain looked at him and said, "I believe Shute will be making his way up towards the Hole's entrance."
"Are you sure?"
Captain nodded. "100 percent sure. My Soul Drive senses it."
Bakunetsumaru thought about it. As far as he knew, Shute's feelings were connected with the central unit in Captain's body. That meant, at best, it felt what Shute felt.
"Hmm. Your Soul Drive…" The Musha Gundam mused, "It must be what we call a warrior's soul."
Captain took his hand. "Time to go, Bakunetsumaru."
Spinning around, Captain swung Bakunetsumaru around faster and faster.
"What…is…this…!" The samurai cried in alarm.
"Going up!" Captain yelled, and heaved the Musha Gundam through the wormhole. Then, activating his heel-wheels, the mobile defender zoomed and rocketed up towards into the wormhole after him.
-z-
"Oh, I see!" Bakunetsumaru exclaimed once he and Captain landed on a more elevated point. "We're considerably higher, Captain!"
"Oh, we must go much higher." Captain took Bakunetsumaru's hand again, and began to spin, heedless of the samurai's frenzied wails. One toss later, they were on another, much more elevated, point.
"Higher!" Captain urged, and grabbed Bakunetsumaru.
"Not agaaaaaiiin!"
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"Oh, what a beautiful day!"
Deep within his chamber in what was left of Lacroa Castle, Tallgeese, now separate from the Griffin, stood proudly in front of his mirror.
"I feel a song coming on!" Tallgeese giggled, and whipped out his sword. Dancing about, he sang, "Lah-dee-dah, lah-dee-di, I'm such a terrible guy! Oh, lah-dee-doo, lah-dee-dee, there's no one so awful as me!"
I just hope that the Commander doesn't call to ask about his… niece.
"Master?"
Tallgeese jumped. Whirling about, he saw his servant float into the room the Spirit Egg's box hovering next to him.
"I have brought the Egg as you have commanded." The servant explained.
"You're late," Tallgeese said gruffly, "And where is the statue of the princess?"
"It is on its way."
"Good. Finally," Tallgeese chuckled, "With this, I can unlock the seal on the Spirit Tree."
The servant looked around, "Where is our guest?"
"She is… preoccupied. Now then…"
Vanishing his sword, Tallgeese opened the box. The blue Spirit Egg shone its radiant blue light, illuminating the room.
"Ahh, the Spirit Egg…" Tallgeese sighed, "Magnificent, isn't it?"
"Oh, it certainly is, master!" The servant gushed, hovering in for a closer look.
Tallgeese glared. "All right, stop breathing on it!"
"Breathing, master?" The servant asked, shocked. "Me?"
"Well, whatever…just give me some room, will you?" Tallgeese muttered, and reached into the box. Chuckling darkly, he pulled out the Egg…only for it to hop back into the box!
"What's this? What's happening?" Tallgeese cried.
Three little holograms of the triplets, in plain brown clothes, appeared in the box.
"Surprise! Fooled ya! Nahnahnah!" Holo-Doah laughed.
"You'd think we'd give you the real Egg?" Holo-Noah asked mockingly, "It's a phony!"
Holo-Coah rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's scrambled like your head!"
The holo-triplets turned around and shook their booties at Tallgeese, going, "Nahnahnahnahnah-nah!" Over and over again.
Tallgeese for his part, said nothing. But deep within his gut there came a noise like a volcano before it erupted.
Sensing a mighty explosion, the servant backpedaled as fast as he could.
"I'll just tell them to leave the princess' statue where it is for now," the servant said quickly, trying to stifle a laugh. "Will there be anything else, sir?"
With a furious roar, Tallgeese grabbed the box and smashed it against his mirror, shattering the glass. The castle shook from the force of his bellow.
"By all that is dark and evil, they will pay for this!"
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"Coah, are you sure that Zero's an imposter?" Doah asked as the triplets walked. "What if he's for real?"
Coah huffed.
"His friends seem to have faith in him…" Noah began cautiously.
"Fine!" Coah snapped, "You guys go with them if you want to! I say we're better off on our own!"
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"I lost track…" Bakunetsumaru groaned as he and Captain departed another wormhole. "Was that 24 times…are we there yet…?"
"No, not yet!" Captain replied.
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"This isn't so bad…" Shute remarked as he, Override and Zero climbed, "We'll be out of here in no time!"
Beneath him, Zero commented, "I hope it is that easy… I hope Tallgeese and his minions are not at the entrance waiting for us…"
"There's only one way to find out!" Shute gritted, "Up we go!"
"I hope you're both right!" Override called out as she climbed up behind them.
Just barely, they could see the Hole's entrance.
Just barely.
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A/N- And done. Well, this chapter at least.
What do you think of Override? Hehe… she's not what you expected, isn't she?
