Super Robot Taisen S Zero
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Chapter 10 - Battle In The Junkyard
"Huh? What's this? You are asking me to become a pilot? Me, of all people?" an incredulous Judau Ashta asked as he stood on the Argama's main bridge, answering to the question that Bright, Emma and Fa were asking him. The group of young street urchins had reunited on the damaged battleship's main bridge, while the repairs were still underway, and the captain had asked this question unexpectedly, catching all of them off guard.
"Why don't you give it a shot, Judau? We could really use someone as talented as you are. And, of course, you will be handsomely rewarded as soon as we have the means to do so." Bright answered. He knew that Judau was going to be reluctant, but all in all, he was fairly confident that he'd manage to win him over.
Not surprisingly, at least for Bright, the black-haired teen shrugged it off. "Forget it, pal! I don't like being ordered around." he stated, quickly turning his back at bright, and beginning to walk away. What Bright, Emma and Fa were a little surprised to see was the fact that Judau's friends, mainly Beecher and Mondo, were actually trying to get him to reconsider, and just as Judau had taken a few steps away, Beecher came up to him and held him by the shoulder.
"Hey, hey, hold on a second here!" Beecher said jovially. "Now, is this any way to answer to such a generous offer?"
"He's right, you know?" Mondo insisted. "It would be a shame to give up on it!"
Judau sighed and shrugged off Beecher's hand. "Sorry, guys, but I'm afraid you're mistaken here." he stated. Without waiting for anyone to say anything more, the young boy took off in the opposite direction and walked out of the bridge, with all of his friends in hot pursuit.
"Hey, hold on a second there! Where do you think you're going?" Mondo exclaimed, in a new attempt to win Judau over to their side. Their friend, however, didn't even slow down, and just turned his head briefly in their direction to give them his answer.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to school." he answered, with disarming simplicity.
It took a few seconds for the answer to register in the minds of the rest of the Shangri-La gang. "Huh? What?" Iino murmured in shock. "Judau... is actually going to school now?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if Mt. Fuji erupted, at this rate..." Elle commented. For their part, the crew of the Argama looked a little more subdued about it...
Fa Yuiri, the designated pilot of the Methuss, a pretty black-haired Chinese girl with shoulder-long hair, dressed in a yellow worksuit and white gloves and boots, sighed in resignation. "Well, Captain Bright... I do not mean to sound cheeky or anything, but we knew Judau was not going to be that easily convinced." she stated. "And personally, I don't see how he could possibly be a substitute for Kamille."
"I understand your misgivings, pilot Yuiri." Bright answered, well aware that Fa harbored a not-so-secret crush on Kamille Bidan, the former pilot of the Zeta Gundam. It was understandable that she wasn't going to just accept Judau taking Kamille's place so easily. "However, I am convinced that Judau has some huge potential as a pilot, and might even be a Newtype. If that's the case, he might be a great help in the coming battles with Neo Zeon."
Fa was not about to question the much more experienced captain, but she privately doubted that street urchin could actually be a worthy pilot for the Zeta Gundam that Kamille himself had created...
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Onboard the Endora...
Alone in his quarters, dressed in his elegant Neo Zeon uniform, Mashmyre Cello looked around to check whether he was alone... then, after he was positive no one was seeing him, he took off the red rose he was keeping pinned on his uniform's jacket and carefully placed it on a table right in front of him. Then, he slowly crouched down on one knee, closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of himself.
"O my beloved Lady Haman..." he said emphatically. "Please, I beseech you, protect your humble servant Mashmyre Cello, with your strength... Before you, I am but a simple lost lamb, seeking for guidance... I pray to you, Lady Haman, that you bestow courage and wisdom upon your humble servant..."
A startled sound from his side caused him to snap out of his prayer, and the young officer turned his glance in that direction... just in time to see his second-in-command Gottn Gou staring at him in wide-eyed surprise, as if he could not believe what he was seeing! Mashmyre himself took on a weirded-out expression and stared at his direct underling in disbelief... before dashing at the hapless Gottn and grabbing him by the front of his uniform, literally lifting the larger man off the ground!
"AAAAARGH!" Mashmyre yelled. "How long have you been there, you? Have you seen anything? HEARD ANYTHING?"
"I... I have seen nothing, sir!" Flustered out of his wits, Gottn tried to escape from that awkward situation. "I haven't even heard you talking about lost lambs or humble servants..."
"SO YOU HEARD EVERYTHING!" Mashmyre exclaimed, comically shaking Gottn into dizziness!
"Aaaargh! I'm sorry, sir, I'm sorry! This won't happen again, I swear!" the larger man exclaimed. After a few seconds, Mashmyre finally relinquished his hold on Gottn and let him get some air back in his lungs, calming down all of a second.
"Hmph... okay, good enough." he answered. With a nonchalant wave of his hand, the young Neo Zeon officer straightened his uniform and returned to the matters at hands. "So... what have you come to tell me? I reckon it's a pretty important issue."
Gottn cleared his throat. "Well... some guy by the name of Gemon Bajack has come to tell us that he's willing to hire out his services to weed out and capture both the Zeta Gundam and the Argama. He's asking to speak with the commander of this ship."
Mashmyre blinked in surprise. Now this was something he had not expected. "What? You mean that some random civilian has come here... and wants to help us capture the Argama?" he asked. As Gottn nodded in confirmation, Mashmyre rubbed his forehead as if in thought, and finally answered. "Alright, I guess it won't hurt to try. I'll speak with this guy, and hopefully he won't make too much of a mess. Take me to him."
"Right away, sir." Gottn answered. "Please, if you would follow my lead..."
Mashmyre followed his direct underling to the hangars of the Endora, where his own Mobile Suit had just finished being repaired, and was now standing along with a group of Zssa and Dreissen Mobile Suits, mass-produced models commonly used by the remnants of Zeon. Mashmyre's keen eyes quickly saw that there was an extra Mobile suit onboard - a rather unrefined, olive-colored model that looked like a modified working robot, with a sturdy body with a protruding chest, and a neckless cone-shaped head that seemed to sprout out of the body itself. Its shoulder were wide and awkward-looking, and it sported a pair of extra arms ending in a pair of claw-like vicegrips, obviously used to handle raw materials. The head had a monoeye camera that reminded one of a Zaku head, while the legs were bulky and robust, jutting out of a skirt-like formation in the lower part of the body. By taking a better look, Mashmyre was able to see that the cockpit was placed right between the chest and the abdomen, and was placed on a belt-like conveyor placed circling the whole body. It was a peculiar thing to see on a Mobile Suit, and Mashmyre immediately questioned the practicality of such a thing...
"Hey, you with the purple hair!" an arrogant, boisterous voice greeted him, making Mashmyre wince in disgust. "You're the captain of this thing, right?"
Mashmyre thought the man's appearence was every match with the tone of his voice. He was a large, fat man with dirty blond hair and an unkempt appearence, wearing a bright pink pilot suit with a large G drawn on the chest, and sporting an arrogant smirk on his face. He was standing right in front of the modified working robot, and it was rather clear that he was the owner.
With a shrug, Mashmyre decided that he might as well try to see what this guy was all about. "Yes, I am. Mashmyre Cello, officer of the Neo Zeon Army. And you are?"
"Gemon Bajack, the proud inventor of this Mobile suit, the Geze! I just happen to be a junk dealer with a penchant for inventions!" the fat man answered haughtily. "With this little jewel, I will crush the Zeta Gundam... and after that, the Argama will be pretty much a sitting duck! All I ask in return is a sizeable reward. Give and take, right?"
"I guess so. But frankly speaking, I doubt someone like you has wht it takes to defeat the Argama." Mashmyre answered, looking disdainfully at the Geze. "This Mobile Suit... hardly looks well-built or well-armed enough."
Gemon remained undaunted, and in fact even went as far as to laugh off Mashmyre's opinions. "Oh, is that so? Well, lemme tell you one thing." he answered. "I saw one of your men fighting the Zeta Gundam yesterday, near one of the junkyards... and even if you had a dozen pilots like that good-for-nothing, you wouldn't be able to do jack squat!"
Mashmyre froze for a moment, understanding that Gemon was talking about the unfortunate battle he had sustained against the Zeta Gundam piloted by Judau... and after a second, he began chuckling nervously, with a telltale vein popping up on his forehead! "Huhuhuhuuu... really, huh? Well... that's pretty interesting! I'm... really curious to see what you can do!" he chuckled, trying to hide his annoyance.
"Excellent! You have discerning taste, if nothing else!" Gemon laughed, slapping Mashmyre on the back with such ooomph that the unfortunate Neo Zeon officer almost ended up sprawled facedown on the hangar's floor! "Trust me, and you won't be disappointed!"
Gottn came to the aid of his superior officer, and grabbed one of Gemon's arms, trying to twist it behind the fat man's back. "Hey, give it a rest, and don't get uppity!" Gottn threatened. Mashmyre, who had barely managed to avoid falling to the ground by holding to a nearby railing, recovered his breath and raised a hand to tell Gottn to let go.
"Enough, Gottn. Just let him go." Mashmyre said. "We need to be friendly with the inhabitants of this colony, after all."
"Er... yes, sir..." Gottn answered, and reluctantly relinquished his hold on Gemon's arm. The fat man rotated his shoulder and glared arrogantly at the two Neo Zeon officers, before getting back to his Mobile Suit and climbing a small ladder that gave access to the Geze's cockpit.
"Alright, then." Gemon concluded. "Just wait for me, I will hand the Zeta Gundam and the Argama to you on a silver platter! Hahahahahaaaaa!" With a loud, boisterous laugh, Gemon entered the cockpit and began starting up his customized Mobile Suit, while technicians and operators immediately began clearing the area.
Gottn rubbed the back of his head, and turned his glance at Mashmyre, his eyes darting to the Geze, whose engines were already starting to emit a loud, whirring noise. "Lord Mashmyre, sir... are you sure it is wise to leave the capture of the Argama to such a person?"
"Of course not." Mashmyre answered nonchalantly. "Petty Officer Gottn Gou, you are to take a Dreissen and keep a close eye on him. Immediately report to me if he steps out of the line, or if he does something like attacking civilians."
Gottn did a crispy military salute. "Yes sir! I will not disappoint you!"
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Shangri-La was not exactly the wealthiest colony in the Earth Sphere... and the only available school was a rather old-fashioned building that included both elementary and high school, which was attended only by those who had enough money to pay for the tuition. At that moment, a lesson was underway in one of the elementary classes, and a familiar tall, curly-haired preteen was answering a question from the teacher, standing up right beside her desk.
"So... in order to solve this equation, all we have to do is have the constants all on one side of the equal sign, and all the variables on the other, by changing the signs accordingly." Leina said, pointing to the operation drawn in white chalk on the blackboard. "After which, we can add up all the terms on both sides, and divide the constant by the factor of the variable. This way, we get the solution."
The teacher nodded. "Exactly. That's the right answer, Leina." he said, allowing Leina to sit down at her desk. However, before she could do so, one of her classmates pointed out of the window while calling out to her.
"Hey, Leina! Check this out!" the boy said. "Your brother Judau and his friends are here!"
"My brother? What is he doing here?" she asked in disbelief. She and several other pupils stood up and walked to the window of the classroom... just in time to see Judau and his small gang standing just inside of the school, chatting with another teacher. Or better say, Judau was the only one chatting, and he seemed to be arguing with the older man.
"What? What's this all about? You can't tell me off like that!" Judau was yelling indignantly, with Beecher, Mondo and Iino trying to appease him, and Elle standing right behind them, with her hands on the back of her head, and a bored expression on her face. "I just want to attend the lessons like everybody else!"
"You're being an annoyance, kid." the teacher said. "If you really want to study, you have to come to school regularly, ever since the morning classes. This is not a place where you can come and go as you please."
"Hmph... well, excuse me if I have more pressing matters to attend to, like, putting food on the table!" Judau fired back, before storming out of the school in indignation. Elle sighed and followed her friend outside, with the rest of the confused teens following shortly.
"Well, Judau, you already knew it would have gone that way." the blonde girl stated. "Why did you even take the trouble?"
Judau sighed and looked in the distance, to the junkyard in which the Argama was hidden. That battleship had been nothing but trouble until now...
And at the window of Leina's classroom, the curly-haired preteen sighed in sympathy as her eyes followed Judau and his friends out of the school...
"Big brother..."
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Not too far away, though, a couple of Mobile Suits was approaching the residential area, as stealthily as possible. Gemon's custom-made Geze was in front, with Gottn's Dreissen keeping close, a large heat axe tightly gripped in its hands. The Geze, for its part, did not seem to armed, instead relying on its two pairs of arms and its heavy armor.
"Hey, Gemon! Let me make one thing clear!" Gottn spoke in his comm device. "You are not to destroy the colony's civilian buildings, alright?"
Gemon laughed rudely. "That's Sir Gemon to you, fool! Remember, I have been given command by your big boss, and I have the right to do whatever I like!"
Mashmyre's second in command grit his teeth. What kind of idea was it to leave such an imbecile in command? If he started attacking civilians, that would have greatly damaged Neo Zeon's reputation among the colonies... However, there was nothing he could do right now, so he simply swallowed his protests and followed the Geze towards the residential area, wondering what Gemon was going to do. It certainly didn't look like the Zeta Gundam or the Argama could be hidden among the buildings...
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One hour later, recess had started for the pupils, and Leina had taken advantage of that moment to reach her brother and his friends in the schoolyard, in order to ask him about what he was doing in the school corridor earlier. Surprisingly enough, the little girl had been quite pleased to know that her brother had been given the chance to become a pilot for the Argama.
"That's awesome, big bro! So, are you going to accept or not?" Leina asked.
Judau, his back to the external wall of the school, sighed in annoyance. "Really, Leina, why are you so excited about that?" he asked, only to receive a beaming smile from his kid sister.
"Well, it's just that I approve of this!" she answered. "Hey, at least it's a honest job, and you won't have to do anything illegal anymore, right?"
"That's not exactly what we had in mind... but hey, whatever works." Beecher answered. Judau was starting to think of a witty comeback, but he stopped cold when he heard the unmistakeable noise of a pair of Mobile Suit engines approaching! One of them sounded off, for some reason... but the earth-shaking steps that followed, which threw most of the children into a panic, confirmed to him that danger was quickly approaching!
Mondo quickly turned in the direction of the steps... just in time to see the Geze and Gottn's Dreissen popping out from behind a nearby building, their sheer bulk towering over the school! If they were to attack now, there was no way he and his friends could possibly fight back... "Oh, crap! It's two Neo Zeon Mobile Suits!" he exclaimed in alarm. "And they're coming here!"
"What? What do they want with us?" Elle exclaimed as the Shangri-La urchins backed up against a wall, the screams of the terrified children echoing all around them. Judau stepped in front of Leina, trying to shield her with his body as he glared at the approaching Mobile Suits.
Inside his Dreissen's cockpit, Gottn was getting incensed at Gemon's actions. "What are you doing, Sir Gemon? I told you not to attack civilian buildings!" he exclaimed. "And besides which... do you actually think the Zeta Gundam might be hidden in a school?"
"Of course not, you imbecile!" Gemon fired back. "But I'm not going to go on a wild goose chase for the Zeta Gundam! I'll just pretend to threaten this school, so the Zeta Gundam will come out of hiding!" That said, the junkyard worker turned pilot activated his Mobile Suit's external speakers, in order to relay a threat to the pilot of the Zeta Gundam, wherever he was. "TO THE PILOT OF THE ZETA GUNDAM AND THE CREW OF THE ARGAMA. I DEMAND THAT YOU SHOW YOURSELVES. I AM CURRENTLY HOLDING THIS SCHOOL HOSTAGE. I WILL ONLY RELEASE THEM IF THE PILOT OF THE ZETA GUNDAM COMES OUT TO FACE ME IN SINGLE COMBAT."
"Oh, wonderful..." Judau muttered to himself. "We just had to deal with some blowhard who thinks he's hot shit..."
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On the main bridge of the Argama, Gemon's threat had already been intercepted, and now the crew was trying to get in contact with Judau, without much success.
"Still nothing, Captain Bright Noah." Emma Sheen stated, shaking her head before standing up in front of the captain and doing a military salute. "In the meanwhile, I ask for permission to go out in the Gundam Mark-II and engage the enemy. I will try to draw them away from the residential area."
"Permission granted. To the rest of the crew, we'll remain hidden and try to confuse the enemy radars." Bright answered. As the ex-Titans officer stood at attention before walking to the hangars, the rest of the crew continued working at their consoles, some of them still trying to get in contact with Judau.
Fa raised her glance from the instruments. "Captain Bright Noah, if you don't mind me asking... why do you think that Judau kid will be so important to us?" she asked doubtfully. "I mean... he might be a Newtype, okay, but he's completely green."
"As I said, pilot Yuiri, I think he has a lot of potential." Bright answered calmly.
This time, however, Fa was determined to show Bright that Judau was not going to be a substitute for Kamille. "Look, captain Bright... I understand that, but Judau is completely different from Kamille... he won't be able to handle the Zeta Gundam like Kamille is." With that, the Chinese girl rose from her place and began following Emma towards the hangars. "Captain, with your permission... I'll take the Zeta Gundam in battle myself. I will show you that Judau isn't really all that remarkable."
"Hold on a second, pilot Yuiri... you can't do this by yourself!" Bright tried to recall her, as Fa hastily paced towards the hangars, determined to prove herself...
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Judau and his friends had managed to sneak behind the school building, undetected by the Geze's external cameras... and now that they were out of Gemon's sight, they could safely work up a plan to get rid of that annoyance. Judau's mind, in particular, was frantically working to think up a good plan... and now, he thought he had one ready!
"Not that I really care if this school gets demolished, but if it did, Leina would not be able to study anymore... Okay, guys, Iino and I will try to distract that guy. Beecher, Mondo, Elle... you go and find the most robust rope you can get your hands on!" Judau stated. "There must be some pretty heavy ones in our junkyard. Use one of those."
"What are you planning, Judau?" Beecher asked, still somewhat unconvinced.
"Don't worry, I know what we can do." Judau answered, casting a suspicious glance at the Dreissen standing just outside the school's premises. "Just trust me... we'll draw that Mobile Suit towards the forest area right outside the residential area."
"Hmm... I think I got it." Elle said with a cunning smirk. "Alright, then... just be careful, okay?"
"That's what I want to say as well." Leina answered. "Be careful, big brother... you're doing a really dangerous thing, you know that?"
"Of course I know... but I guess this is something I just can't walk out of." Judau told his sister. "Alright, then... Leina, go back inside and stay safe. We're going to get that guy in a few minutes."
"Okay..." the younger Ashta sibling answered with a nod, quickly heading back inside the building. Elle, Beecher and Mondo nodded in Judau and Iino's direction and quickly rushed away, leaving the other two to wait in that position.
"Okay, Judau... so how do we deal with this guy?" Iino asked, casting a nervous glance at the Geze and the Dreissen. Both Mobile Suits were sitting idly, with the Geze standing only a few metres away from the school, and the Dreissen seemingly keeping an eye on it from a safe distance away from the building.
"First off, Iino... we need to get to the school roof, without that guy noticing us." Judau answered, casting a quick glance in the direction Elle and the others had ran to. The forest area was close enough, so if they ran for all they were worth, they would be able to reach the place before the Geze could catch up to them. It was risky, but it was worth the effort. "And while we're at it, we'll also need a couple of things to make as much noise as we possibly can. Maybe a couple buckets and brooms will do."
"You want to use them to draw that guy's attention, right?" Iino asked rhetorically, as the two teens ran back into the school building, the Neo Zeon pilots none the wiser about it. Both of them went into a tool room and gathered a pair of buckets and brooms, before waiting for a few minutes... just enough time for Judau's cellphone to ring. The boy quickly answered, convinced tht it was his other friends giving him the clear signal... and indeed it was, as Mondo's voice confirmed to him only a few moments later.
"Hey, Judau... we did it! We managed to find exactly what we needed!" the other boy stated. "We found a nice rope for heavy labor... it will surely be able to hold the weight of a Mobile Suit!"
"Excellent! Nicely done, guys!" Judau answered, sporting a boyish grin. "Okay, Iino, that's our cue to spring into action! Are you ready?"
The timid, rather non-descript boy nodded, tightly holding his bucket and broom. "Of course I am! Well... as ready as I'll ever be..." he stated. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Judau..."
Judau winked and gave him a thumbs-up. "I always know what I'm doing! Don't worry, it will all be alright!"
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"Dammit..." Gemon grunted, nervously tapping his finger on his console. "What the Hell is taking so long for the Zeta Gundam to show up? And to think those Neo Zeon guys are so worried about it..."
A loud drumming, coming from the roof of the school building, startled him... and the junkyard worker turned impromptu mercenary quickly turned his Mobile Suit in that direction, only to be greeted by the sight of Judau and Iino loudly smacking a couple of buckets with the handles of a broom, and making fun of him!
"Hey, you nincompoop! You think you're so cool, huh?" Judau taunted him, before pulling an eyelid down and sticking his tongue out at Gemon.
"You think that piece of junk is an Hizack or something?" Iino echoed, pointing his finger in the Geze's direction. That was all it took for Gemon to get his proverbial goat going, and two clouds of steam emerged from his head with a loud hiss, as he turned an infuriated glance at the two Shangri-La street urchins!
"WHAT?" he bellowed angrily. "How dare you disrespect the Geze I built with my own hands? I'm gonna teach you a lesson in respect, you damn kids!"
"Hey, hold on a second there..." Gottn tried to recall the indisciplined Gemon and force him to stay put, but Gemon quickly turned off hs Mobile Suit's speakers and began walking towards the Shangri-La boys with all the speed his Geze was capable of. That is to say, not very fast at all... slow enough for Judau and Iino to drop everything they were doing and run to the evacuation stairs, quickly dashing down with a few agile leaps before running at top speed towards the nearby forest area. The Geze began giving chase, its ponderous steps causing the eart to shake and several windows to shatter, but it was too slow to really gain any ground on the two Shangri-La teens. Much to Gemon's frustration...
"Aaaaargh! Stay put and let me put you in your place!" the large man raged.
In the Dreisssen's cockpit, Gottn was shaking his head in absolute disbelief. "No way this is happening... no way this is happpening!" the exasperated second-in-command of the Endora sighed sadly. "How is it that we allowed this moron to search for the Zeta Gundam? Ugh, Commander Mashmyre will never let me hear the end of it, when I go report to him!"
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Frntically looking behind them to keep an eye on the Geze, Judau and Iino ran along an unpaved road taking to the forest area, at the entrance of which Beecher, Mondo and Elle were already waiting, having tied a huge rope between the trunks of two large trees. The two boys were standing on one side, with Elle on the other, and they were ready to pull the rope tight at the right moment...
"Here we are, Judau, Iino!" Beecher exclaimed, with the Geze right on the two boys' heels. "Just give us the word, and we'll trip that fool up!"
"Proceed!" the young boy answered as soon as both he and Iino were on the other side of the rope. The Geze was only a few metres away... and that was when Beecher, Mondo and Elle pulled the large rope as taut as possible! The handmade Mobile Suit was too close to do anything to avoid it... and with a surprised yelp, Gemon tripped on the rope, causing his Geze to topple forward and collapse to the ground with an earth-shaking noise!
"Yay! We got him!" Iino cheered. But their joy was short-lived: with a disquieting sound of metal scraping on metal, the Geze's cockpit rotated and got on the clunky Mobile Suit's back, and the Geze started to climb to its feet already!
"Aaaargh! You damn kids!" Gemon exclaimed. "Not only you made fun of my marvelous Geze, you even dare to pull my leg! You're going to pay for this!"
The Geze stood up again as the Shangri-La gang scattered, and Gottn's Dreissen finally caught up with the indisciplined improvised pilot... but before the Neo Zeon pilots could give chase, or do anything for that matter, a beam of blue light blasted apart a nearby tree, cutting them off before they could do anything. Both Mobile Suit turned just in time to see Emma's Gundam Mark-II rushing towards them, her beam rifle raised and ready to fire again.
"I'm afraid your plans will have to be modified." Emma said bluntly. "I am going to be your opponent now."
"What?" Gemon roared. "Since when did the inhabitants of this backwater colony have Mobile Suits?"
Gottn almost smacked his hand on his face in frustration. "Ugh... If you had paid attention, you would know!" he stated. "The Zeta Gundam isn't the only Mobile Suit the Argama has! The one you see here is none other than the Gundam Mark-II."
Gemon frowned, but then decided that it made no difference. "Feh, like I should care. This toy is no match for my Geze anyway." he sneered. In the cockpit of the Mark-II, Emma shook her head at the suicidal overconfidence of this man. What really worried her was the fact that she would probably have to deal with both him and the Dreissen at the same time, but she was fairly sure she could take them on, if she kept her distance...
However, both Emma and the Neo Zeon pilots were surprised to see another blip appearing on their radars... and the Shangri-La gang, from their hideout, managed to see the sleek, elegant figure of the Zeta Gundam approaching! Emma quickly activated her rear cameras in alarm, and widened her eyes when she realized that the only way the Zeta Gundam could be there was, if Fa had actually climbed into the cockpit!
"What? Fa, what do you think you're doing?" Emma exclaimed.
Gemon smirked. "Feh... about time you showed up, Zeta Gundam!"
"Hey, guys, isn't that the Zeta Gundam?" Elle exclaimed. "And why does it move so... awkwardly? Who's at the controls?"
"I dunno... but surely nobody who knows what he's doing!" Judau answered. It just took a single look at its flight pattern to realize that something was very wrong with it... it was moving in a strange zigzagging pattern, stumbling at almost every step, and it seemed to have trouble even holding its shield and beam saber. In the cockpit, Fa was realizing, much to her chagrin, that she had probably bitten off more than she could chew... the controls were a lot more complicated than she thought, and she was barely managing to keep the Zeta Gundam upright... her only chance was to lure that four-armed Mobile Suit away from its companions, and hope Emma was going to be able to handle the Dreissen on her own...
"I... I'm sorry, Emma... I just had to do something to help out in this situation!" Fa answered her friend, who just sighed and shook her head. Fa knew what that meant - she was due to a lecture, as soon as they were back on the Argama. "Look, I'm sorry... I'll try to make it up somehow! But now... please, can you get that guy in the Dreissen away from me? I'll take care of the guy in the four-armed Mobile Suit!"
"I hope you know what you're doing, Fa..." Emma stated, before quickly turning to Gottn's Dreissen and firing a shot from her beam rifle! Gottn yelped in surprise and dove sideways to avoid the attack, but Emma was still able to strike the Dreissen's arm, greatly damaging it and almost causing it to drop its heat axe. Fa nodded in relief and began moving the Zeta Gundam away from the site of the battle, hoping that Gemon would take the bait...
"Hold on a second, Zeta Gundam!" Gemon raged. "You gonna leave me here, when you've kept me waiting for so long?"
The Zeta Gundam changed form into Waverider Mode and flew away, trying to force the Geze farther away from the residential area. Luckily, Gemon took the bait and began following the agile flier, allowing Judau and the rest of the Shangri-La gang to come out of hiding. The Gundam Mark-II, for its part, had managed to get in close quarters with Gottn's Dreissen, and its beam saber was fending off the razor-sharp blade of the heat axe rather handily, at least for the moment... at the very least, the former Titans officer was making good on her reputation, but Fa was a whole other matter...
"I'm afraid that the Zeta Gundam might be in trouble this time..." Judau stated. "Let's follow it and that other guy! They seem to be going towards the old gasoline plant..."
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After what seemed to her like an eternity of being chased, Fa managed to turn the Zeta Gundam to an upright position again and landed right in the middle of an abandoned gasoline plant. The mighty Mobile Suit managed to keep an unsteady footing, as the Geze, who had been on its tail for a few minutes now, brought down the fencing around the station and got ready to face the Zeta Gundam.
"Hahahahaaa! What's the matter, Zeta Gundam?" Gemon laughed. "We haven't even begun to fight, and you're already flinching?"
"Don't say such nonsense, you!" Fa fired back, as she unlimbered the Zeta Gundam's Mega Beam Launcher and aimed it at the Geze, whose pilot remained unperturbed and even went as far at to laugh in her face.
"Hey, girlie! Are you stupid or what? You can't shoot with such a powerful weapon inside of a freaking colony!" he said, pointing to the huge gun the Zeta Gundam was wielding. Fa looked down at the massive beam launcher and grit her teeth, embarassed at her own forgetfulness - had she tried to fire the Mega Beam Launcher inside the colony, she would have ended up blowing a hole in the wall, with catastrophic consequences for everyone...
Unfortunately, this momentary distraction was all Gemon needed to attack. With surprising speed for such a bulky Mobile Suit, the Geze rushed at the Zeta Gundam and struck it in the chest with one of its fists, hard enough to drop the sleek Gundam on its back. Fa screamed in surprise and tried to get up... only to find the Geze already standing over her, even as she tried to inch towards her beam saber. With a single kick, the Geze punted the beam saber away from the Zeta Gundam, while Gemon smirked, confident he had won already.
"Tch... the Zeta Gundam isn't as strong as everyone would have you believe!" he sneered. Fa tried to get up again, but her opponent was once again faster than she expected and knocked her down with a single punch, sending the Zeta Gundam skidding towards a small hill. "Stay down and stop struggling! You'll make things easier on yourself!"
"Ugh... I can't be defeated like this..." Fa panted, feeling a small rivulet of blood running down a cut just above her right eye...
"Hmph..." Gemon grunted, holding down the Zeta Gundam. The Geze had a phenomenal strength, and she was struggling to even oppose its hold. "Look, girlie, I don't wanna kill ya, so just get out of that Gundam and run away. I'll be content with just taking your suit!"
oooooooooo
Judau and his friends were on the place in a snap, and were watching the battle from a safe distance... and it was plain to them that the Zeta Gundam was not going to last much longer. Sooner or later, that hideous-looking four-armed Mobile Suit would overpower the inexperienced Fa, and that would be it.
"Dammit... the Zeta Gundam is losing!" Judau exclaimed.
"But... just how can the Zeta possibly lose to such a crappy Mobile Suit?" Mondo asked, while Judau looked around to see if there was something they could use to distract Gemon long enough to turn things around. Much as he didn't like the idea, he was going to have to pilot it again, in order to defend his colony and, most of all, his sister...
By some stroke of luck, he saw a nearby fuel tank, teetering precariously on the edge of a tall cliff, close to the place where the two Mobile Suits were squaring off... it was only held up by a few damaged, rusted iron poles that seemed about to break at the smallest nudge. It was a risky idea... but if they played their cards right, they could actually buy enough time for Fa to get out of that predicament...
"There, everybody! Let's get to that fuel tank!" Judau exclaimed, pointing at the large spherical container. The rest of the Shangri-La gang looked confused, but followed after their unofficial leader and quickly reached the tank. Beecher did a quick check, picking up a metal bar from the ground and using it to strike the bottom part of the tank. When it ringed hollow, the red-headed boy nodded and turned to the rest of the gang, giving them a thumbs-up.
"There's no risk, guys! This tank is completely empty!" he said. With that, the gang placed themselves on one side of the empty tank... and after a few seconds, they began pushing with all of their strength, in a fierce attempt to cause the holdings to break. It went exactly like Judau had planned, and the iron poles bent over and caused the huge tank to roll over the edge, and tumble towards the Geze! The rolling sund alerted Gemon, who quickly turned in that direction... and yelped in surprise and fear as he saw the massive tank rolling towards him! In a moment of panic, he pushed his thrusters away from the Zeta Gundam and barely managed to get away in time, but the rolling tank still managed to nick the Geze in the side and push it to the ground with a loud noise! Nodding to himself, Judau quicly climbed down the cliff and ran for the still-downed Zeta Gundam, managing to reach it and climb to the cockpit, just as Fa sighed in relief and opened up the hatch.
"Hey, are you alright?" Judau asked the Chinese girl, who was keeping a white handkerchief pressed to the wound in her forehead, and was holding her helmet with her free arm. Fa nodded, thanking Judau for the timely rescue.
"I am... thank you! I don't know what got into me... I tried to pilot the Zeta Gundam and I got more than I bargained for." she admitted. "Guess I'll have a lot of explaining to do to Emma and Captain Bright, huh?"
"Never mind about it... I'll take over for you now!" Judau said, smiling in reassurance. Fa smiled back, and gave a thumbs-up to Judau before running away looking for a safe place... and as Judau sat back in the Zeta Gundam's cockpit and pulled the mighty Mobile Suit upright again, Gemon had recovered from his earlier surprise and was now looking for revenge!
"Aaaaargh!" he raged. "Who did that? Who interrupted me when I was just about to win?"
A screen popped up on the Geze's console, showing Judau's cheekily smiling face. "Hello, old man! Long time no see, huh?" he greeted, making sure to be as annoying as possible!
Gemon fell for the bait. "Ugh, you're that kid from before!" he exclaimed angrily. "Alright then... I'll give you the what for now!"
With unexpected speed, the Geze charged the Zeta Gundam, bringing all of its four arms to bear, but Judau managed to react in time and parried the mighty blow... only to see the pincered arms dart towards him and grab the Zeta Gundam's arm.
"Ugh..." Judau grunted, trying to pull the arm away from the Geze's grip. The armor on the limb was showing some damage already... "Dammit, that piece of junk is stronger than I thought!"
"Heh, what did you think? My Geze doesn't have four arms just because it looks cool!" Gemon taunted, his confidence returning full force. "And now... prepare to be defeated, Zeta Gundam!"
Judau grit his teeth and began pushing the Geze back. "Don't make me laugh! There is no way the Zeta Gundam will lose to such a Mobile Suit!" he stated, trying to give all the available power to the engines. As the two Mobile Suits seemed to be stuck in a stalemate, Judau frowned... and a strange voice, belonging to a boy only a few years older than him, reverberated in his mind like a distant echo, causing him to jump up in surprise.
"You are the only one who can draw out the Zeta Gundam's true power, Judau..."
"Huh? What? Who's there?" Judau exclaimed, but saw nobody aside from himself in the cockpit. Still, for some reason, he felt like he could trust that voice... as if he was listening to a trusted friend who was worried about his well-being. And he didn't exactly have time to ponder about what he had just heard. So, he decided to just go with the flow... and trust himself! "Okay then... if I am the one who can take this baby to the limit, so be it! Take that, old geezer!"
Judau felt like a surge of energy was coursing through his body... and a second later, he broke the Geze's hold and grabbed the opponent's shoulders, before delivering a crushing kick to the Geze's midsection, leaving Gemon stunned and disbelieving. A moment later, without giving Gemon time to recover, Judau had the Zeta Gundam pull inward... and the Geze's shoulders gave with an horrific sound of ripped metal! The metal joints had proven too frail, and the four-armed Mobile Suit ended up armless in the span of a split second!
"AAAAARGH!" Gemon screamed in rage and disbelief as his crippled Geze staggered backwards, sparks and oil leaking from the working robot's arm stumps. "I... I can't believe this! How is it possible that my Geze was defeated?"
In a flash, Judau picked the Zeta's beam saber and activated it, pointing it at the Geze's head, smirking in victory. "Well, it just so happens that I'm that good!" he boasted playfully. "And now... you may want to give up, what do you say to that?"
Gemon sighed, knowing when it was time to fold. "Sigh... okay, you won this, kid... how humiliating..."
Judau nodded, and glanced at the place where his friends were. He was pleased to see that Beecher, Mondo, Iino, Elle and even Fa were lined up on that cliff and were cheering him on, and he opened the Zeta Gundam's hatch to flash a thumbs-up sign to them.
"I did it, guys!"
oooooooooo
The battle between Emma's Gundam Mark-II and Gottn's Dreissen had been quite one-sided... aside from a gash on the right leg and a melted scar on its shield, the Gundam Mark-II was pretty much undamaged, and was easily dodging and countering the Neo Zeon Mobile Suit as it was trying to somehow keep up. An overhead slash from the Dreissen's heat axe came dangerously close to the Mark-II's head, but Emma managed to sway the attack and counter with a powerful shield bash, followed by an horizontal slash from her beam saber, leaving a large gash in the Dreissen's chest, and almost sending Gottn in a panic attack!
"Aaaargh!" Gottn screamed, dropping his axe as the Gundam Mark-II held its beam saber to the Dreissen's head. "Ugh... I knew this was going to end badly... I just knew it! But next time, you won't get so lucky!"
With the last of the Dreissen's power, Gottn pushed the engines to the limit and broke away from the Gundam Mark-II, retreating to the Endora to report the failure of the mission... Emma thought to follow him, but decided it wasn't worth the risk to expose herself to a massive attack from the Endora's Mobile Suits, and it was better to be content with what they had managed to do today.
"Well, at any rate, the colony is safe..." Emma stated, taking a good look at her radar. "And it seems like the Zeta Gundam is, as well... And I'm willing to bet that Judau kid has something to do with it! Heh... I kinda have the feeling this is just the start of the surprises he will be showing us..."
With a shrug, Emma began to contact the Argama to report. Even though she wasn't a Newtype, she was fairly sure that her instinct was right, and things were going to get really interesting in the next few days...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...