For the Benefit

Sorry this one took a while. Had to start over, like, 5 times. Moriko is MayVeggieGirl's, Genko is Cybertoy's, Fleur and company belong to Fenn, Aneko belongs to me, and Crimson belongs to TDAT-CrystalDragon. Onward!


The Gundam Force and their comrades had set up sort of a tent circle on the very edges of the hippie park. All the Neotopians, Zero, Charon, Fleur and her family, Moriko, Cybertoy, Bakunetsumaru and his family, and now Genko and Haomaru each had a tent collected around a barbeque pit Charon had brought from what used to be a rest stop in her home dimension.

Zero and Fleur had a purple pup tent, and Shute claimed it had some kind of spell on it that made it bigger on the inside than the outside. However, this was hard to confirm, as there was a spell on the flap that made it impossible for anyone Zero and Fleur didn't want inside to get inside (and apparently, there were several people they didn't want inside).

All of the Neotopians had fatigue-green military grade tents. As these only fit two to a tent, they made up most of the tent circle. Captain and Shute shared one, while Guneagle camped out with Lucky. The Gundivers bunked with each other (except for 3, who had to share an enormous tent with Gunpanzer).

Moriko had a humble little blue tent with a small birdhouse placed outside. Azural told Fleur that Moriko had told her it was actually a travel shrine that Moriko prayed to every morning. Cybertoy had been nice and put it in a shoebox with some river stones and white sand that had been brushed with a comb; Moriko loved her little Zen garden.

Bakunetsumaru and Aneko finally bullied Crimson into sharing their little-bitty tent with them, but it was worth it. Something about cuddling up to sleep next to her long lost siblings made her dream peacefully for the first time in years. Aneko and Bakunetsumaru loved it as well; having Crimson around was better than an electric blanket.

Cybertoy and Charon each had a rather bulbous tent that came from Wal-Mart. Cybertoy's was hunter green, kind of like the Neotopian tents, while Charon's was horrendously pink. The silhouette of Gygax, Destroyer of the Universe's cage could be seen against the tent flap.

Genko and Haomaru shared a tent, but a wall of Mylar separated the two halves. Haomaru's half was sparse and minimalist. Genko's half was full of pillows and a plush toy shaped like an ear of corn. No one asked why.

But, nobody was in his or her tent right now. Now they were collected around the barbeque pit talking about the, um… experiences they had the last few hours.

"Baku's been teaching me how he survived his third stepfather." Crimson rested her head on her knees. "He lived in an opium den, for crying out loud- didn't the dealers-?!"

Baku smiled proudly. "Druggy step-dad was the head dealer!"

"They did not try to pull anything on us," chortled Aneko in her usual, contraction-less speech.

The abnormally quiet Genko gasped. "Holy crap, man!"

Crimson huffed in disbelief, her hydrogen breath making the fire jump up. "It almost sounds like I got off easy…"

"Gunpanzer's been teaching us survival techniques," Shute reported. "We started the fire without matches."

"And we tried to catch our own dinner…" Guneagle crossed his arms and glared at a shrinking Captain. "But Captain wouldn't let us."

Captain humbly lowered his head. "I felt sorry for the fish…"

"Zero and I have been exploring the campground. It's amazing how different some of the areas can be." Fleur wiggled and resettled her weight on her hip. "The rich part of camp looks like they brought their entire homes with them."

"Like you're surprised."

Fleur's eyes snapped to Crimson. "What was that?"

"You heard me," Crimson retorted with a snicker. "You're one of them, you shouldn't be surprised."

"Hey, yeah!" Gunpanzer laughed out loud. "You are one o' them prissy sissy rich types!"

Zero and Fleur laughed, inciting the rest of the camper circle to laugh with them.

&&&

Fleur was the first to recover. "Oh, god, they're right!"

"Damn right, we're right!" Baku pushed Aneko, making her fall into Captain, Shute, Guneagle, Lucky, all the way down the line to Zero and Fleur. All of the pushed ones laughed, slapping their knees and turning red at the cheeks.

Circle: How does it feel to be

One of the beautiful

People?

Now that you know who you are…

Baku: What do you want to be?

Circle: And have you traveled very far?

Zero tossed his head.

Zero: Far as the eye can see.

Shute giggled especially loud, and clasped his fist in anticipation.

Shute: How does it feel to be

One of the beautiful

Circle: People?

Shute: How often have you been there?

Fleur sat crossed her legs and pushed her chest out, flashing a calf and making herself look haughty.

Fleur: Often enough to know.

Circle: What did you see when you were there?

Zero cast Fleur a knowing look.

Zero: Nothing that doesn't show.

The little innuendo made the group laugh again.

Circle: Baby, you're a rich man!

Baby, you're a rich man!

Aneko pointed to Lucky.

Circle: Baby, you're a rich man, too!

Lucky looked surprised. "Oh yeah!"

Circle: You keep all your money

In a big brown bag

Inside a zoo!

What a thing to do!

Baby, you're a rich man!

Baby, you're a rich man!

Gunpanzer patted Azural on the head.

Circle: Baby, you're a rich man too!

Azural punched the air. "I am! Yeah!"

Circle: How does it feel to be

One of the beautiful people?

Charon shot Azural and Gundiver 6 a signal. They each put their two first fingers on Fleur and Zero's stomachs respectively.

Charon: Tuned to a natural E…

They pressed down on the sensitive part of their stomachs. Zero and Fleur both squeaked (in E, just as planned) and dove into each other to escape the tickling. They both laughed, and Zero picked up his head first.

Zero: Happy to be that way.

Circle: Now that you've found another key…

Captain: What are you going to play?

Fleur guffawed, "Something other than this, I know that!"

The statement sent the giddy bunch up in an uproar.

Circle: Baby, you're a rich man!

Baby, you're a rich man!

Crimson poked Genko in the stomach.

Circle: Baby, you're a rich man too!

Genko jumped in realization and shoved the nearby Haomaru. "So are you, ya know!"

Haomaru sighed. His voice was forced polite, with a slight hint of sarcasm and an undertone of cheer. "Thank you, I don't think I could have figured that out on my own."

Circle: You keep all your money

IN a big brown bag

Inside a zoo!

What a thing to do!

Gundiver 3: Baby!

Circle: Baby, you're a rich man!

Baby, you're a rich man!

Baby, you're a rich man too!

Baby, you're a rich man!

Baby, you're a rich man!

Baby, you're a rich man too!

&&&

As the song faded to an end, Charon waved the Gundams to her attention.

"That's why we're here," Charon stated, intertwining her fingers for emphasis. "To bring all the separate classes and families of Ark together with a common love."

Cybertoy snapped his fingers (which was odd, because he was wearing gloves). "Kinda like rock and roll bringing the black and white communities together in the 1950's."

Charon nodded. "Yeah, except we've gotta work through species, too. Dark Axis, 12 o' clock."

"Yeah, but it's 7:30."

"Didn't miss a beat."

"Please, it's me."

Zapper Zaku, Grappler Gouf, Destroyer Dom, and Genkimaru swaggered up to the group. Genkimaru took his usual place on Zapper's head and sneered. "Well, well, well, look at all the little peaceniks. Can we join your drum cir-"

"DUH, CRIMSON!"

Dom launched himself at the dragon Musha and was immediately attached to her stomach. Crimson could only blush (from embarrassment and oxygen deprivation) and hug him back. "Hugk! Hi… Dom…"

"I was being sarcastic, moron!" Genkimaru growled.

"Hello." Captain attempted to scoot over, but Aneko wouldn't move and he didn't want to hurt Shute. "Would you like to sit with us?"

Grappler and Zapper both opened their mouths for an angry retort…

But nothing came out. They both were stuck on the "uh" syllable until Genkimaru kicked them in the head. "NO, we don't wanna sit with them! They're peaceniks!"

"Aw, come on, Genki-kun!" Cybertoy pleaded. "Gundamstock is all about sharing love and peace!"

Dom picked up his head. "Share love?"

Cybertoy nodded. "Yes, Dom, we're here to share love."

The concept seemed to intrigue Dom, for he let his grip on Crimson loosen and he kept staring at Cybertoy. "Share love…" He then smiled. "OKAY!"

Then, with an overdramatic "MmmmMMM-WAH!", he planted a huge kiss right on Crimson's faceplate. When he pulled away he was smiling even brighter, Crimson was in a daze, and Zapper and Grappler were laughing their heads off.

Grappler finally started to applaud. "Hoo! I'm sticking around if that's gonna happen again! That was funny!"

Genkimaru looked horrified. "That was DISGUSTING! We're going back to Universal Castle! Kibaomaru has satellite TV!"

"But it's like Pavlov!" Zapper agreed, his mouth plastered with a dopey grin. "Share the love, Dom!"

"SHARE LOVE!" Once again, Dom grappled Crimson in a "lip" lock. Crimson's tail flame went blue and shot up at least two feet. "Mmmm-WAH!"

Crimson's eyes had turned into little lavender hearts. Her body began to wobble. "H-he's good at this…"

And she passed out with a flop. Baku and Aneko fell over not so much laughing as loosing the battle to get air back into their lungs.

Zapper and Grappler stole their previous spots. Genkimaru kicked them vainly and started drawing himself a dimensional gate back to Kibaomaru's house. "I'm telling!"


I only had to listen to The Beatles' "Baby, You're a Rich Man" three times to write this fanfic. That's a new record!