A/N Hello all. Been awhile since I wrote, took a break for winter vacation. But, anyways I am going to finish this story and hopefully this will be one of my longest chapters. And just a mild spoiler, the Maxter Gundam won't be making it to Tokyo for the tournament. But don't worry. It'll all work out. And if any thing is in **, that means the scene is theatrical like, no audio and slo-mo.
"See, told ya there was nothin' to worry about." Chibodee said to his crew. The four women and one man stared at him.
"Yeah, you won, but did you really have to knock the Freya's head off?" Benny said to Chibodee. Chibodee lowered his head and was in thought.
"Nah, I guess I didn't have to, but I would've lost mi-What the devil is that?" Chibodee said as he saw a very large man and a small man. The two approached them and the small man sat down at there table.
"Ciao, Signore Crocket. I am Mario Vampa, and the large man over there is my associate, Serpico Galavicci." The man said, his voice had a very thick Italian accent. Chibodee looked at the two of them.
"Ah, I get it. Your Neo-Italy's fighter and you wish to challenge me, right?" Chibodee said with his usual flair. Mario chuckled and shook his head.
"Sadly, mi Amice, I am no fighter. I'm actually the son of Antonio Vampa, the Neo-Italian Prime Minister. Serpico is the fighter in question and he would like to challenge you. He has a belief that if he can beat you he could beat the Giapponese fighter Domon Kasshu. See you tomorrow" Mario said as he got up and Serpico looked sternly at Chibodee. It was a look that sent shivers down his spine.
"I will break you." Serpico whispered to Chibodee and the two Italians walked away. Chibodee leaned back in his chair and let out a whistle.
"Well, that giant of a man is definitely an improvement over Michelo. He may have to work on his manners but, hey who doesn't." Chibodee said, commenting on the two Neo-Italians. Bunny looked at him, and she was slightly worried at what Serpico told him.
"What exactly did he tell you, Chibodee? It seemed threatening to me." Bunny said to Chibodee. He looked at her and just smiled.
"Don't worry, Bunny. Nothin's goin' to happen. Promise." Chibodee said, putting his hand over his heart. With that he got up and said to the five others that he was going to rest up. When he was out of sight, Benny shook his head and took swig from his beer bottle.
"You know what, one of these days that arrogance of his is going to bite him in the ass." He said putting his bottle down.
"Well, I don't think he can be any other way. And even then, he just so likable like that." Shirley said. It was more than obvious that her and Benny both recovered from the binge of alcohol several weeks before and what happened afterward.
"I'm not sure, he could really stop being so cocky." Benny said, bringing his bottle back up to his mouth.
~The next day~
"That has got to be the largest Gundam I ever saw! It's bigger than the Grand!" a shocked Chibodee said, commenting on the size of the Emperor Gundam. It was nearly 35 meters tall and at least ten meters wide. It reminded one of a Roman Centurion, but the armour was such a highly polished violet, that it shone white. It's cape was a dark crimson and the rest of it was a conflicting black. And at the moment it was leaning on a sword, the fabled Eligere Caesararis, the hilt of that ancient-forged sword coming up to the Emperor's chest.
"Are you ready to fight, Americano?" Serpico mockingly asked Chibodee.
"Hey, I was born ready." Chibodee said, grinning. And with the dialogue finished, the fight commenced. And it was one hell of a fight, the punching from the Maxter and sword slashing from the Emperor. Hell, it took a Burning Punch to the chest and just slid back several feet.
"Yo Davey! I believe that he's winning. Try that Hyper-whatever on him. It might help." Benny said over the communicator to Chibodee.
"Well, thanks for the insight, Captain Obvious. I'll try." Chibodee snapped sarcastically at Benny.
"Oh and one more thing, don't be overly melodramatic." Benny added, the tone of his voice was slightly irksome.
"Yo, Serp! This fight ends here and now!" Chibodee shouted at the Italian fighter.
"How so, Americano?" Serpico asked. Chibodee grinned again and just shook his head. The Neo-American and Neo-Italian crews looked on as the Maxter started to glow yellow.
"Gountesu Machinegun Punch!" Chibodee yelled out. The purple and red orbs left the Maxter's fist and headed toward the Emperor, impacting against it with force and explosions. Chibodee then turned his back on the crumpled form of the Neo-Italian Gundam.
"Done and done. I told ya not to worry." Chibodee said to his crew, grinning.
*Chibodee's body seizes for a second, and he gasps. The Eligere Caesararis is shown slowly running threw the Maxter's chest. The Neo-American crew start shouting and screaming. The Eligere Caesararis is then slowly pulled out. In the Emperor's cockpit, Serpico Galavicci smiles sadistically, as he puts his sword by his side.*
"Am I not merciful?" Serpico asked Chibodee, his tone mocking and harsh. Chibodee could barely suck in air, and could not answer. This only infuriated the Neo-Italian.
"I see you presume to anger me? Not today, Americano. FERIRE SEPTEM REGUM!" Serpico said, slashing the Neo-American Gundam, which fell with a crash.
"Remember this day, Americano. The day your hopes and dreams were smashed. AGRUM PERVAGARI!" Serpico said, jamming the Eligere Caesararis in the Maxter's chest and grinned at the small explosion and flash of light. The Neo-American crew ran up to the Gundam and pulled an unconscious and bloody Chibodee from the cockpit.
"Holy Mother of God." Benny said, commenting on the destruction and injury wrecked by the Emperor.
(A/N I just want to say I'm really, really sorry. I needed to have some kind of disaster to befall a Shuffle member and I had an idea about a Neo-American 'secret' that could be used if one of them was 'struck down'. But anyways, Domon Kasshu is going to have a very interesting conversation with Starbuck.)
"Lad, I can't begin to see how ye got the title King of Hearts when ye own is naught. It's a form of irony that I don't get to experience often." Starbuck said, gasping for breath. This fight was going downhill fast. And he figured he might as well say his peace before he lost his head.
"You can shut your mouth!" Domon shouted to him. Starbuck smiled, he had hit a cord.
"Why? Does the truth of me words hurt ye? Ye have been a fighter to long if all ye care to do is destroy the opponents set out before ye." Starbuck said, trying his best to keep the leader of the Shuffle Alliance from taking the Whaler's head.
"I said be quiet!" Domon shouted back. Starbuck then knew what he had to do, the one thing this man wouldn't allow or accept. Thusly he opened the Whaler's cockpit, stepped out, and raised his hands.
"I forfeit. If ye want, ye may use the Bakanetsu God Finger or the Sekiha Tenkyouken. But, I warn ye fairly, I will be right here till the end. I will not make a move to block, nor dodge the attack ye use." Starbuck said, hoping that he read Domon Kasshu correctly.
"That's insane. You'll most likely get killed." Domon said to him, the anger slowly leaving him.
"Ye are right, but that would mean ye will have one less opponent to worry about in Tokyo." Starbuck said to Domon. He closed his eyes when he saw the God Gundam raise it's hand and waited to join his mother and grandfather. But he heard the Neo-Japan fighter stumble over his words. He opened his eyes and saw the God pointing in a westerly direction, he also heard a word mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what ye said." Starbuck said, lowering his hands. He could barely hear a sigh escape from the other fighter.
"Go, I accept your surrender." Domon said, it seemed like he didn't want to though. Starbuck grinned and went back into the Whaler's cockpit.
"I congratulate ye Domon Kasshu, ye keep doing things like this and ye might be able to re-enter Humanity." Starbuck said and walked off. Domon swore and demolished a nearby ruin. He was angry at that man who insulted him and dared him to commit… commit… murder. How dare he! But he couldn't get over the fact that he didn't attack him even though that Starbuck did everything except ask him to. He also remembered what he said, that all he did in a fight was decimate his opponent, he never really thought of it that way. The whole point of the Elimination 11 was to eliminate opponents from the Tournament, even though there were some fighters who believe everyone deserved a shot. Perhaps Starbuck was one of these fighters. But, this train of thought was interrupted.
"Domon, I just got a call from Bunny. Something bad happened to Chibodee and he's in a Neo-Switzerland hospital. She wants all of the Shuffles there and sounded really worried." Rain told him over the communicator. Domon nodded and hurried to the CorLander to see what happened to Chibodee.
(A/N Okay, that may have seemed confusing, but I needed to explain why Domon would have a dislike for the Neo-Finnish fighter. And, in case you were wondering, Agrum Pervagari means To Scour The Land; Ferire Septem Regum means Strike Of The Seven Kings; Eligere Caesararis means Chosen Of Caesar; and the title Somnus, Meta, Deus, Et Promittere means Dreams, Goal's, God, And Promises. It's all Latin. The line the Serpico says to Chibodee, before totaling him is my favorite line from the movie Gladiator, seemed to fit to me. In this part, there's actually going to be the first real description of what Benny Mercer looks like.)
The other Shuffle Alliance members entered the hospital floor that Chibodee was on, they couldn't help but notice the man sitting in front of Chibodee's room. He was peculiar. His hair was brown and was styled in a mullet. The glasses that he wore were aviator-ish and boxy. But, strangely they got the impression that he was part of Chibodee's crew or he was from Neo-America, because he was reading a copy of the Washington Post.
"Ah, you must be the other 4/5th's of the Shuffle Alliance. He's in there. But, he's a tad bit angry at the moment." The man said, getting up. The Shuffle's then headed into the room.
"Oh, and I'm Benjamin Mercer, but please, call me Benny." He added as he followed the others in. It was a sad sight, Chibodee was just in bad shape. The good part was that a lot of it was external, and his bones were only bruised.
"What happened to you, Chibodee? You look like hell." Argo said. And that was an understatement. Chibodee snorted and turned his head to look out of the window.
"Yeah, well being run through with a sword does that, Argo. Now, why are all of you here?" Chibodee said, it was evident that he was unhappy. Bunny let out a sigh.
"I invited them. I thought it would help you to have familiar faces." She said, her head hung. Chibodee seemed to calm down a little. There was just something about her voice that seemed to affect him. There was an awkward silence and the Alliance got the impression that they weren't really welcome right now. And they all left, except Bunny, who Chibodee requested to stay.
At the hotel the Neo-American crew was staying at though, things could've been worse, but they could've been better.
"Do we know what happened to Chibodee?" George asked. Benny nodded as did the other Neo-Americans.
"Yeah, he was basically impaled. The MTS over compensated for the injury. He might as well have had a sword run through him." Benny said.
"And what of the Gundam Maxter? Is there anything wrong with it?" Domon asked. Benny sighed and shook his head.
"You should ask if there's anything right with the Maxter. Now, we're not disqualified, but there isn't enough time to rebuild it before the tournament. All the king's horses and all the king's men ain't gonna fix this one." Benny said, with morbid cheerfulness.
"Bro, then you are disqualified." Sai Sici said. Benny looked at the young Neo-Chinese fighter and chuckled.
"Article 1:: A unit whose head section has been destroyed is disqualified. Article 2:: Gundam Fighters must never aim at the cockpit of an opponent's Gundam. Article 3:: Gundam Fighters may repair damage to their Gundams as often as desired and move on to the championship league, as long as the head section has not been destroyed. Article 4:: Gundam Fighters must take responsibility for protecting their own Gundams. Article 5:: A match shall only be held on a one-on-one basis. Article 6:: Gundam Fighters shall not taint the honor and dignity of the nation they are representing. Article 7:: Earth is the ring!" Benny quoted. The others, sans Neo-Americans, looked at him with blank stares.
"Alright, you can quote the Gundam Fight International Regulations from memory. Is there a point to this?" Natasha asked. Benny looked at her and he smiled.
"There isn't a thing that says we have to use the Gundam we started with." Benny said. There were gasps from all around.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but I don't think you would be able to do that." Rain said. Benny closed his eyes and grinned again.
"Why, I'm sorry, Your Honor. Me and my compatriots had no idea that this was illegal. It never occurred to us, as there is no recorded rule that says otherwise." Benny said.
"And I could turn the fact that it was unwritten around and against them. I'm this century's Johnnie Cochran. If the rule is unwritten, we can't be smitten." Benny said with a laugh.
"Well, Monsieur Mercer. You seem to have some idea as not to get in trouble. But, what puzzles me, is do you have a Gundam that can be used?" George asked. Benny exhaled and paused to think on his words.
"First off, certain people collect things and pass them on to their heirs. Well in the 19th and 20th century, Mercers collected favors. Lots of favors. Some big, some small. Second, sixty years ago, the Neo-American government thought that it would be more economical to develop a handful of Gundams to use and train pilots around there use instead of building a Gundam around the pilot. Now my Grandfather worked on this project. Third, the man who runs the storage of these Gundams, General Alexander Jaeger, is a friend of the family and keeps tabs with us. Well, my so many times remove grandfather, saved his so many times removed uncle in the Great War. Needless to say, when Davy gets out of the hospital, we have one hell of a gift for him." Benny said.
"Wait, you said that your government built these Gundams, then why aren't they used?" Domon asked.
"One of the Gundams, the Soldier Gundam, used an experimental weapon that required an immense amount of power. The reactor reached critical mass during a test and everything with in a two mile radius was vaporized. The other were built, but in final testing stages, but because of the Reactor Incident the President ordered the project shut down." Benny said. And with that he got up to let the Shuffle Alliance discuss these new happenings.
A/N Well, there you go, the fourth chapter. Hopefully, you all stayed on for this long wait for the update. But all in all, this should be good, even though I only am hitting the tip of the iceberg. And this is also my longer chapter yet, almost 7 pages of text. Man that's a lot.