Gundam Build Fighters A
Chapter 7
Clash of Champions!
Fighters across the USA were rendered into an almost vegetative state of shock when they found out that Jason Marsh 6 time winner of the USA Gunpla National tournament announced that he would not seek to keep his title. Certainly fighters worldwide had mixed feelings about a strong competitor suddenly dropping out, but shocked most of all was his twin sister Brandon especially since she didn't know about any of this. Her exact reaction is an issue that will be addressed at another time. Right now however, Emika and Alex are starting to work out the kinks in their newly formed partnership by having the latter of the two gather battle data for the former to use for future upgrades.
"Are you ready? These 5 Zaku, while being controlled by the computer are Gunpla I built myself so don't expect it to be an easy fight." Emika explained.
"It wouldn't be fun if it was easy, but I'm just waiting for you." Alex retorts.
This time around Alex and Emika aren't practicing using the Model Building Club facilities at Clancy Academy. Thanks to Emika's significant financial resources, she was able to secure a private room with a battle system at a Gunpla Battle gym for them to practice undisturbed.
"Field 3, Forest. Please set your Gunpla." The battle system said.
"Oh by the way, after our little run it did you make any further upgrades to this unit?" Alex asked as he placed the Arios Zeta on the GP Base.
"No just repairs." Emika answered.
"Alright then." Alex retorts.
"Battle start!" the battle system declared.
Arios Zeta!" Emika yelled.
"We're heading out!" Alex yelled.
As if he were a soldier fighting on the front lines of an actual warzone, the moment the Arios Zeta is out of its simulated catapult Alex has it duck behind tree to tree for cover.'
"How is everything feeling so far?" Emika inquired as her face popped up in Alex's cockpit via video chat.
"From just basic movements the left leg seems a bit more sensitive than the right, but other than that everything seems fine." Alex answered.
"Wait, I thought you couldn't handle being exposed to Plavsky Particles?" Alex asked surprised to see Emika behind the controls as a navigator/operator.
"While still exposed to them yes, the exact level of exposure as a navigator is miniscule compared to the exposure as a fighter. Basically as long as any fight doesn't drag out for too long, I'll be able to support you in this regards." Emika explained.
"Okay….. but if it does start to effect you I want you to get out from behind the controls and let me handle everything." Alex said.
"That was my plan from the start. Anyways don't bother hiding because I set the parameters of this battle to where the Zakus will always know where you are." Emika retorts.
"Really? You're just telling me this…." Alex was saying.
Alex was saying….. at least until machine gun fire from one of the Zakus blew past his or rather the Arios Zeta's face. Determining the origin of the shot almost immediately, Alex fired off a round with the beam rifle but the Zaku in question was able to quickly maneuver out of the way.
"I'm sorry if you spent a lot of time getting these Gunpla ready for this training exercise Emika, but it's been a while since I could really cut loose in a fight and I'm going to take it." Alex tells his partner as a big grin shows on his face.
"Go ahead. I can't make improvements if I don't understand how you fight at your best." Emika said completely accepting of the fact that Alex was about to rip these training Gunpla a new one.
Like a soldier trained to react even the most subtle of sounds, Alex fires off yet another shot from the Arios Zeta's beam rifle in the direction where he heard a broken off tree branch snap in two. After a few moments of silence and charred holes through multiple trees, a loud explosion reverberates across the forest indicating that Alex hit one of the five Zakus.
"That should have stirred the hornet's nest, so we're going to take to the skies now. Pay attention to your monitors Emika, because you're about to get a crash course in what it means to be an operator." Alex said as he had the Arios Zeta take to the skies.
Emika takes Alex's proverbial call to arms seriously as she keeps a close eye on the Arios Zeta's condition and the battlefield's geographical data for any signs of her little training killing machines.
"Alex, there are two of them behind us!" Emika yelled recognizing the sound of the thruster's of the Gunpla she built.
"Understood." Alex said as he changes the weapons in both hands to beam sabers.
If the two Gunpla approaching Alex from behind were being controlled by real people, they'd probably think that they have him completely off guard. Before the AI controlling these two Gunpla could even react, Alex had already drawn his two beam sabers and with a quick thruster enhanced 360 degree spin… he horizontal rendered those two Zakus inoperable.
"Now where are the last tw…." Alex was saying.
"Pincer attack!" Emika yelled.
"No need to scream, and thanks for the warning." Alex retorts.
From their front and their flank, the two remaining Zakus each fire off a single shot from a solid ammo using Bazooka. Alex counters by deflecting the attack with his shared Gunpla's solid shield creating a field of smoke that hides him from these two Zakus view as a result. Speaking of which, these remaining two Zakus keep a careful distance away from the epicenter of the smoke as they reload their bazookas for another volley. Yet out of one end of the smoke comes a few shots from the Arios Zeta's beam rifle, out of the other comes one of its beam sabers tossed like a throwing knife, and both destroy their opponents to which brings this data gathering battle to a close.
"I knew you were skilled, but I didn't think you'd be able to win that quickly. One question though, why did you throw one of the beam sabers?" Emika asked in awe of Alex's control skills as she picked up the Arios Zeta to examine up close in detail.
"Forgive me if this sounds like I'm lazy, but I didn't want to take the time to turn around to fire. I mean I could have finished off the two Zakus from earlier using just one beam saber, but I guess I'm just more comfortable with dual wielding." Alex explained.
"I see, and actually that's good news. To me anyways because I was already planning to upgrade the Arios Zeta on a dual weapons principal, so you telling me this lets me know I'm not wasting any time." Emika happily said.
"Ha ha that's good. I wouldn't want to add more of a work load then necessary." Alex retorts somewhat perturbed by Emika's gleefulness.
"We should be ready for regional qualifiers a few days away, but still… I just don't get it." Emika mumbled to herself.
"Don't get what?" a now curious Alex asked.
"You must know something about him since you've been friends with his sister for years. Do you have any idea why Jason chose not to try to keep his title this year?" Emika answers with another question.
"His sister and I may be close friends, but I actually know very little about Jason. Despite the years I've known Brandon he and I have only met a few times, so I'm afraid I won't be much help there." Alex explained.
"Then I guess….. for now it'll be an issue between siblings." Emika pointed out.
"Unless she calls for help, yeah I think it will be." Alex followed.
The sister of a champion… I wonder what her thoughts are about her brother choosing not to defend his title for another year. The answer to that question… or at least the first steps to that answer start with Brandon sitting at home alone waiting for her brother to arrive.
"I'm home!" Jason yelled checking to see if anyone else was in the house.
"What the hell are you doing by not trying to fight for your title again?! I mean if you wanted to stop being a fighter I'd respect that decision, but I thought you'd at least tell me why!" Brandon yelled after running up to her twin brother.
Contrary to his sister's red hair Jason has short combed back brown hair, brown eyes, is wearing a black leather jacket, a dark blue shirt, tan colored pants, and light blue shoes.
"It's my decision and sister or not it's none of your business why I chose to stop fighting." Jason said rather bluntly and rudely to his sister as he started walking towards his bedroom.
"The hell it doesn't, so you should have told me at least something about this!" Brandon yelled.
"This coming from a sister who dated a friend of mine for a while." Jason retorts.
"Yes well umm…. that was because he wouldn't notice the signs and… don't try and change the subject. At least I'm not seeing my friend's fiancée on the side." Brandon retorts becoming red and nervous for a moment before regaining her composure.
"This isn't Gundam Seed, and I'm not Kira Yamato. Besides the fact the dude has never had a girlfriend, I would know if he actually did have one." Jason points out.
"Stop trying to change the subject!" Brandon yelled.
"You're the one who brought it up not me. Now if you'll excuse me I have a school project to work on, and after that's done I need to catch up on sleep." Jason points out as he slams his bedroom door shut.
Now imagine yourself as a camera sitting on the desk in Jason's room. You can see faded spots on the wall where posters once hung, spots on a shelf free of dust where statues or trophies once stood, and only a few inches away from the camera's lens the leg of what must be Jason's Gunpla can be seen.
"I've chosen to leave the path of a fighter, so why can't I get rid of you one of the last things that link me to that life?" Jason said as he stared at his Gunpla and talked to it like it were a living and breathing person.
"How could you just give up so easily? Don't you remember why we got into Gunpla Battles in the first place?!" Brandon yelled from the other side of Jason's bedroom door.
"Of course I remember." Jason quietly mumbled as he began to reminisce about that past.
It wasn't just Athrun and Emika's lives that were influenced by the first USA national Gunpla Battle tournament, but the twins Jason and Brandon as well. Unlike Emika and Athrun however, they were watching the tournament with the comforts that come with sitting on a big couch in front of the TV at home. They've just witnessed the short yet exciting or at least it was to them battle between Athrun and Alex.
"Battle ended." The battle system declared.
"There you have it… the winner of the first American Gunpla National Tournament is…. Alex Thomas!" the two announcers yelled as the crowd in the background went bonkers.
It would have been almost impossible 9 years ago to tell which twin was which as Brandon and Jason looked exactly alike when they were 6. The only difference between the two kids at the time save for their personality's were the fact one was dressed in a girly pink and the other a manly blue. Anyways, both twins sat in awe next to their parents though Jason's reaction was that of someone who's battle lust began to silently stir for the first time while Brandon's reaction was a typical childlike amazement.
"Mother and father, for my birthday can I please have a Gunpla?" the young Jason asked as he continuously clenched his first out of excitement.
"Oh me too me too I wanna be able to fight like that. Wait…. we have the same birthday, so why say 'my'?" the young Brandon asked as she took notice of her brother's word.
"Because I'm me and you're you. We may have the same birthday, but we aren't the same person." The young Jason pointed out.
"That's a really philosophical thing to say Jason, but sure as long as you're both behave yourselves until then I see no reason why not." Mr. Marsh said with a smile.
"Really? Wow thanks dad." Brandon said still with childlike excitement.
"Good." Jason quietly mumbled.
Even in the past time moves forward, so a few days later after the twin's birthday Jason had already finished his very first Gunpla while Brandon was still working on hers. Speaking of Brandon, she's working on the upper body of her Gunpla at the kitchen table as Jason happens to be walking by.
"Are you still working on your Astray Red Frame?" the young Jason asked as he finally takes notice of his sister's activities.
"Yeah, and I should finally have the thing finished later tonight or early tomorrow morning. Building a Gunpla is a lot harder than I thought, but it'll be worth it to be able to fight like that." the young Brandon said as she was thinking about her dreams for the future.
"Do you need help to finish?" the young Jason though as blunt as it sounded inquired with concern for his sister.
"I'd be like really grateful, but don't you have to finish yours?" the young Brandon retorts.
"I already finished the blue frame yesterday, and with some of the money I got for my birthday I got a few weapon kits for basic customization." The young Jason explained.
"I can't believe you finished yours in a single day, so yeah if you really have nothing else to do I'd really appreciate it." the young Brandon said.
Now with the proverbial sword of both twins having finally been forged, it's time for them to be bloodied for the first time in battle. Translating, I mean that it's time to see how their first Gunpla perform so they know how to upgrade it later and have improved quality of future Gunpla built. Actually the battle system they're using happens to be at the very same arcade where Emika and Alex first met, though back then in had a more brightly colored aesthetic design. This battle was over as quickly as the one between Alex and Athrun for despite this being their first battle for the both of them, Brandon was only able to challenge her brother in this battle before being beheaded by the blue frame's combat knife.
"Battle ended." The battle system declared.
"Wow kid, I have to admit that Gunpla of yours was very impressive. It must have taken you a couple of weeks minimum to build it like that." an arcade employee said congratulating Jason as he walked up to him.
"It only took me a day to make this." the young Jason explained.
"Really? Then if you choose to keep taking part in Gunpla Battles, then with your clear talent maybe you'll be able to fight that Alex kid at the next national tournament. I even heard that he lives in this city, but that however depends on if he recovers by then." the arcade employee pointed out.
"What happened to him?" the young Brandon asked.
"He got in some kind of accident, and supposedly he'll be in physical therapy for at least a year. A shame too as his career in this new worldwide sensation may have been destroyed before it could even begin." The arcade employee explained.
"Wow that sucks, but hey if he really does live in this city maybe we'll be able to meet him." Brandon pointed out to her brother.
Little did the young Brandon know that she would soon meet her idol, and that something they would do together would create a friendship between them that will define them both for years to come, though like many things that's a story for another time. Now that this flashback segment has come to a close, it's time to see what the Brandon of the modern day is doing.
"I appreciate you carrying my backpack, but you don't have to do that." Brandon said not wishing to burden Alex for his kind act, though is actually appreciating it on the inside.
"It's not a big deal, and after what's just happened you could use some kind of relief no matter how small." Alex said as he explained the reasons for his actions.
You see there are occasions where Alex has to walk himself to school due to his father's hectic work schedule, and on those occasions he would walk the latter half of the journey to school with Brandon should they happen to bump into each other. Such is the case today, and given the stress set upon Brandon by her brother choosing to bow out this year Alex decided to make some kind of kind gesture towards her.
"I know and I'm sorry, but I just can't believe my brother would give up on Gunpla Battles like this. I mean I know you've only met him a few times, but it was the only think he really showed any emotion or zeal towards something. I don't want him to become a recluse for stopping." Brandon tells Alex as she makes the concern she has for her brother clear.
"Haha ah yes you have all the makings of someone with a brother comple….. Ouch what was that for?" Alex said as Brandon suddenly stomped on his foot midsentence.
"No reason….. sigh I just know I'm going to be asked all kinds of questions once we get to school." Brandon said as she shook her head clearly not looking forward to what's to come.
"Well, look at the bright side. At least it'll make the run for the championship title a lot easier." Alex pointed out in an attempt to cheer up his friend.
"No there's no point in me winning like that. Even if say I do end up winning, I'd feel empty on the inside for doing so without having defeated my brother…. or god forbid someone strong enough to defeat him." Brandon explained.
"I see… well I guess I can't blame you for feeling that way." Alex mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?" Brandon asked having only partially overhead Alex's quiet statement.
"Nothing. So what are we going to do now? Alex retorts.
"I have no…. wait, you watch way more anime then I do in your spare time. You must have seen something similar to my brother's situation at least once, so you must have some idea to get him out of it right?" Brandon asks after getting a sudden stroke of inspiration.
"To be fair you shouldn't compare anime to real life for a variety of reasons, but yes I've seen the situation before and I know how said similar character(s) were brought out of it. Like I said just a second ago this is real life, so I have no idea if it will actually work." Alex explains to Brandon.
"I don't care. Just pitch to me the first idea that comes to your head." Brandon demands.
"Well usually the MC or another main character gets into a battle of some kind with a friend or family member of the depressed character in question. Regardless of the depressed character's associate's strength, the battle is still exciting enough to get his blood stirring. I could go into further detail on this subject, but I know how you get when I start to ramble so I'll just keep it at that." Alex explained.
"Then we could probably do that, but… no actually we should do that. In conjunction with you and the excitement of fighting a never before seen Gunpla, it should be enough to at least appeal to his spirit as a fighter though we'll have to wait and see if it'll be enough to get him out of this funk." Brandon mumbled revealing more though still barely anything about her stroke of inspiration.
"Yeah um, do you want to include me on this idea? Or should I just stand here and continue to look pretty?" Alex interjects.
"Huh? Oh….. sorry. I have an idea, but I'll need you and your new friend Emika to see if she can rent that private space with a battle system again." Brandon explained.
"Oh okay I see where this is going, and yeah I should be able to ask her to do this. When do you want to do it however?" Alex inquired.
"Today, if you don't mind ditching school." Brandon answered.
"Well there is a math test I really want to miss, but….. how exactly are you going to get your brother to show up? In fact where would he be this time of day?" Alex said asking Brandon another question.
"Don't worry, I know how I'm going to get my brother to show up. As for where he is… I have an idea on his whereabouts, and if I know Athrun well enough he should already be heading to the same place as well. If so, that'll actually make things easier." Brandon said as she was ironically the one who went off mumbling.
"Sigh…. guess I better make a phone call." Alex mumbled as he pulls out his cell phone.
Where is the somewhat elusive champ Jason Marsh? No seriously, where is the guy? Well some time later laying down on the hillside of one of the hills in one of the parks of this city. Jason is staring at the sky with his mind in the clouds as he thinks about many things, and perhaps one of those things are the American public's reaction to his decision to not seek to keep his title.
"I wonder…. was it worth it? What should I do now with my life?" Jason thought as he closed his eyes in attempt to take a nap.
The sun or any bright light really when concentrated enough on a thin patch of skin makes it look pink, and such is the case with Jason's eyelids as through his actual eyes he's experiencing the same phenomenon. Then the phenomenon disappears once the shadow of another person is placed over Jason's eyesight causing it to return to darkness.
"I'd figure you'd be the first one to talk to me asides from my sister." Jason mumbled as if he knew who the owner of the shadow was.
"It's not that surprising. After all, you don't have many friends asides from your sister and I. That, and on this very hillside at this very park was where we first met." Athrun pointed out.
"That's exactly how I knew I'd be right. So what do you want?" Jason asked as he used the momentum caused by thrusting his legs to stand back up.
"To ask you the same thing your sister probably did. Why aren't you going to try for the national tournament this year?" Athrun inquired as if he was trying to hold back his anger, but some of his rage was still able to slip through.
"Hmph, is that all? I wanted to do something else with my life, so I chose to make a clean break of my old one. Is it not my right to choose my fate as a human being? Besides, I didn't get angry at you when you dated my sister." Jason pointed out.
"Personally I think she actually had her eyes on someone else. Quite frankly she probably only said yes so as to not hurt… don't try changing the subject!" Athrun yelled as he manages to catch the wool about to be pulled over his eyes in time.
"Can you blame me for trying? Tell me, why are you still trying so hard even though except for Greco we've been getting creamed at the World Tournament?" Jason asked.
"We both know the top 5 fighters in the USA go to the World Tournament every year, and just because we were unlucky enough to be paired against the heavy hitters right off the bat doesn't mean we should give up trying. As for answering why I'm working so hard, I'm sick and tired of people accusing me of being a cheater simply because of a few coincidental tournament drop outs. I had nothing to do with that, and I'm also tired of the looks my mother gets because of it so I'll win the World Tournament to prove my skill is the real thing! I've told you this before, so why did you even bother to ask?!" Athrun yelled as more of his held in anger started to seep through.
"So I can tell you just how pointless all of it is." Jason said like he doesn't even care if he sets Athrun off.
"You bastard!" Athrun yelled as he lost control of his anger and punched Jason square in the cheek.
"Shouldn't have done that Athrun." Jason said as he recovered from punch, and raised both of his arms in response.
"Stop it you idiots!" a pair of familiar people said.
Just before this fight could start and potentially get out of hand, Jason was unexpectedly grabbed from behind by his sister while Athrun was tackled to the ground by Alex.
"Fighting with your fists isn't the answer." Alex tells both Athrun and Jason.
"Yeah, and since you two are fighters if you're going to fight at all you should settle your problems with a Gunpla Battle." Brandon suggested as if she already knew where Alex was going.
"Sigh….. how many times do I have to say that I've chosen to get out of that kind of life?" Jason mumbled.
"He he I can't believe….. how fast you two can run." Emika said clearly out of breath as she finally arrived on the scene.
"You're just slow." Alex and Brandon simultaneously said.
"Shut up! You realize that I could still get it trouble for ditching class." Emika yelled somewhat embarrassed by the two friend's simultaneous reply.
"Good thing I claimed that I had a family emergency then." Athrun pointed out after he regained his composure.
"Yes well….. mind letting me in on all the details of your plan now that all of the players have gathered?" Alex curiously asked his friend.
"It's something we haven't done together in a while. We're going to fight one on one in a Gunpla battle." Brandon revealed much to the surprise of everybody else.
"Alright, and it'll be interesting to fight you seriously and see how well you've taken what I taught you. Though…. That depends on if Emika maid the necessary arrangements." Alex said as his sudden rush of excitement was shown on his face.
"Don't worry it's been taken care of." Emika interjects.
"I guess I should be leaving then." Jason mumbled as he started to walk away from this collection of people.
"Oh no you don't!" Brandon yelled as she grabbed her brother by the collar of his shirt.
"I take it this subject will require more than just my own request in order to get you all to drop it?" Jason asked his sister still uninterested in what's going on around him.
"You're going to come with us to watch the battle between the two of us, and if you feel the slightest inkling to join the battle for whatever reason you'll do just that. It's the least you owe me after I covered for you sneaking out at night 3 days ago, and I promise if you do this to stop bothering you about battling again." Brandon firmly tells her brother.
"You're not going to let me leave until I do are you? Sigh… fine I'll agree to your term, but I don't have my Gunpla on me." Jason said defeated as he had no choice but to accept the one path before him.
"That won't be a problem because I have yours in the case right next to mine." Brandon revealed as she tapped the two leather pouches clipped to her waist with her left hand.
At this moment if it were an anime this would be the part where everything would blackout for a commercial break, but it isn't though a change in venue is in order. After a short motorized journey later, Emika once again used her significant wealth to secure another private room in the same Gunpla Battle gym that she and Alex were in at the start of the chapter. There's also a small set of bleachers inside this room where Jason is sitting at the highest most seats while Athrun the lowermost ones.
"I think I've already said it, but thanks for doing this Alex." Brandon gratefully said.
"Like how you got your brother here, I agreed because…. thank you. Anyways, I agreed because I owe you for helping me all of those years ago." Alex was saying as Emika passed him the Arios Zeta and its matching GP base.
"This is exciting… it'll be our first real battle as a team." Emika tells Alex.
"About that…. like Brandon I appreciate you getting me out of the depressed state I was in Emika, but could you please just watch this battle from the bleachers?" Alex strongly asks of Emika.
"Why? If it's about that I told you I can handle acting in a support role." A shocked Emika asked in response.
"It isn't about that at all and I promise to tell you some day, but… this battle is something I just have to do alone." Alex explained with a solemn expression.
"If we're going to be a team we have to be willing to give each other some leeway at times, so fine I'll let you do this but I'll keep you to your promise about explaining this to me later." Emika said somewhat pouting at Alex before she took a seat on the bleachers..
"Please set you GP base." The battle system declared before anyone else could say another word.
"Fate has decided to make me watch this battle from start to finish huh? Very well, I'll use the results of this one fight to decide if I go back to that life or not." Jason quietly mumbles to himself as he stares at his dark brown Gunpla case.
"Field 2, Desert." The battle system informed as the actual battle field started to take shape.
Some of you are probably finding it strange to see given the nature of the GBF universe the same battle field twice in a row. Well before any of you decide to say anything let me just say that this desert isn't just some random collection of rocks. The desert in this case only exists in the outlying parts of the battlefield as at the center is an empty yet still pristine military base, and at the literal centermost point of the battlefield is a tall structure that reaches into the sky and beyond.
"If I'm not mistaken… I believe this is the AEU's orbital elevator from Gundam 00." Alex said clearly recognizing the nostalgic location.
"Ha ha… oh this is perfect." Brandon said as she broke out into a laughing fit in response to their assigned battlefield.
"Is something wrong?" Alex asks.
"No… it's just that this battlefield happens to be a perfect choice for me. Don't worry you'll understand soon enough what I mean." Brandon explained.
"Please set your GP base." The battle system ordered.
"I'm still not at where I once was, but if I'm going to defeat Brandon I'll need to use whatever I have left." Alex thought as he set the Arios Zeta on the GP base.
"Oh? That's not your usual Gunpla." Alex pointed out as he has a subtle yet still noticeable surprised expression on his face.
"In order for me to become even stronger than I am now, I decided to put everything I know about building and battles into this new machine. I've actually practiced with it against the computer, but this battle with you will be it's true maiden voyage." Brandon explained.
"Oh… I see what you meant by what you said then." Alex retorts as his posture returns to battle mode.
"Battle start." The battle system declared.
"Alex Thomas, Arios Zeta, I'm heading out!" Alex yelled.
"Brandon Marsh, Zangetsu Exia! Eliminating the target!" Brandon yelled.
To Be Continued
Emika: I know I saw Athrun's battle, but….. so this is the performance of an Elite 4 Gunpla.
Alex: You really have improved over the years.
Brandon: I've taken your lessons to heart.
Alex: Then let's see what you can do!
Athrun: Next time on Gundam Build Fighters A "Clash of Warriors!"
Emika: So that's the champions Gunpla? The GN Astray.
