Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, G-Gundam, any movies or any songs that are used in this story. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Readers Note: This contains some spoilers for G-Gundam, so if you haven't seen the whole series I wouldn't recommend reading this.

G Gundam & Gundam Wing

G- W Gundam

Chapter 8: The 16th Gundam Fight

*

The week had passed quietly and swiftly like a warm summer breeze. Each member of the Fellowship went to their respective colony in order to be launched from them. The Gundam Bud had been slightly redesigned so that it wouldn't leave such great craters on the Earth. The way that it was designed was that upon entry and after a few hundred miles the Bud would release specially designed parachutes, this would slow the inertia down significantly. Then using the thrusters on the Gundam Bud it would equal out the force of gravity and thus bring the Gundam Bud down to a better landing.

On that particular day of January 27 of Future Colony 72 all of the Colonies had sent their Gundam Buds down to the Earth. All of them looked like shooting stars from the people who lived on the Earth.

It would only be a matter of time before the first Gundam fight would be spurred, then the 16th Gundam fight would begin. The start of the fight would be signaled when the barrier around the Earth would be activated with its bright pink color. On the Earth the barrier looked like a great line across the sky.

Within the country of Neo Spain came the Bud containing the pride and the fighter had already landed. It was like all the others around the world that had come from the colonies. They all had landed in their respective places. All that was required now was for someone to start a Gundam fight and the games would begin.

In the city of Barcelona, Johan Rodriguez walked the streets passing by the venders on the streets in their booths made of wood selling fruits and vegetables of all kinds for a currency that he didn't recognize. Then there were the stores that sold millions of antiques, some of them purely genuine selling for ungodly amounts of dollars, while others weren't so genuine being sold for cheap prices.

It was early morning so Johan wore his white trench coat that he had buttoned up to cover all the weapons he was packing underneath it all. He had his twin revolvers (one was silver and the other was black), the twin .45's in their waist holster, the twin gold .45's in their back holster and the curved beam saber at his right side.

As he walked the streets he made sure that he didn't make complete eye contact with anyone in this place. He knew that the people in this country must know about him as a Gundam Fighter so he had to make sure that no one recognized him.

His eyes passed from left to right as he made his way through the town. As he searched his stomach growled a little bit and he found a small restaurant coming up ahead of him. He walked in and it was like any bar/restaurant in small towns like this, just the bar and a few tables with chairs. Johan took his seat allowing his trench-coat to flow over the barstool. The bartender who was a short woman with her hair pulled back came up and asked in Spanish:

"What can I get for you?"

Johan had seen the menu, "Plate number 13." He responded

"Excellent choice." The bartender said

"By the way." Johan said as he reached into his trench coat and pulled out a picture. It was a picture of Trieze Kushrinada, Lady Une and Mariemea. It was crumpled from being in his pocket for so long. "Have you seen these people?"

The bartender looked at the picture carefully as if thinking that she had seen them before, "No, I haven't."

Johan put the picture back into his pocket, "Thanks for your help."

Plate number 13 was chicken fahitas, it had been quite a long time since he had that dish. Though the green slices that Johan though were green peepers were actually a very spicy pepper. Johan found that out when his mouth was burning from the spice, so much that he had to ask the bartender to bring him extra water just to cool him down. The bartender couldn't help but laugh at Johan as he downed more water in a few minutes than a normal person would in an entire day. After that Johan knew the stay away from those green slices, that was when he left the restaurant leaving the money that he got from the Neo Spain government. Apparently, as Johan found out, Gundam Fighters are paid a salary for fighting for their nation.

Going back to the streets Johan still felt that burning sensation on his tongue from the extremely spicy food he ate. It was one of those experiences in life where a person thinks; "I'll never do that again". The search had already gotten off to a slow start for Trieze and Lady Une. Deep within him, Johan did feel a little disappointed, then again why would the Devil Gundam be in a place like this? On the other hand where would it choose to be in the first place? He walked through the streets of Barcelona; it felt so awkward to be so famous throughout Neo Spain yet no one on Earth could recognize him on the spot. At the same time he wanted it but in the same instant he wanted to be praised by the people as a hero.

The walking brought him to the outskirts of the city where the Gundam Bud had landed. He was walking up a hill like a hiker up a mountain and that was when he saw the people in the distance who were gathered around the Bud as if it was a treasure from the heavens. Johan smiled when he saw the crowd gathered around it. He then remembered what the Shuffle Alliance had told about the new systems.

"With this system in place," Domon has explained, "You can actually call for your Gundam vocally."

Johan reached into his pocket and pulled out a long black rectangular object. It was as smooth as obsidian yet was as light as an empty aluminum can. This was something that Johan had placed into Ryu's design; it was a key to activate the cockpit system of the Gundam. He had this ever since the first model of his Gundam was build back in the year A.C. 195. He wanted to make sure that no one but him would be able to pilot it. He gripped onto "Ryu's Key" but took his hand away from it, cleared his throat, and cupped his hands around his mouth as he made the call.

"RISE GUNDAM RYU!" He shouted from the top of the hill as his white trench coat opened up showing off all the weapons he carried underneath. The people gathered around the bud looked towards the hill where Johan stood but then they felt the vibrations of the Gundam Bud opening and there was Gundam Ryu, kneeling down like a knight before his king. The Gundam then rose to its feet, its eyes blazing the color green and its Gundanium wings spread out like a demon as it walked towards Johan. As it did the people scrambled to get out of the way of the Gundams enormous feet. As the Gundam Ryu came closer it then knelt down to Johan extending out its hand inviting Johan into it. The Gundam pilot jumped into the hand,

"Open the Cockpit, Ryu." Johan commanded

The Gundam rose to its feet as its cockpit door opened, Johan stepped inside and shoved his key into its slot on the dashboard. He watched as the screens warmed up all around him. He then reached under his seat and brought out his CD wallet filled with all the CD's he had. He then took out a disk that was very special to him. Then again, most of the CD's in his collection were special to him, but this one had a different meaning. He stuck it into the player at his left, fast-forwarded the CD to track 21 and listened to the song.

Hey Jude.

Don't make it bad.

Take a sad song and make it better.

He sat in the cockpit of Gundam Ryu, listening to the song and holding his wedding ring in the palm of his hand as it was still connected to that gold chain around his neck. He kept thinking about all the things that he loved about his dear wife. The things he'd miss most about her, her hair, the length of it how she loved to tease him with its trips along his bare skin. It's golden color as it shined in the glare of the sun. Her deep blue eyes, how they looked when she looked at him. Her face, how she smiled when Johan would make her laugh even at the most dire of times. He gripped the ring tighter but he couldn't help it, he opened his hand to look at the golden band and remember what it means.

As Johan sat in his cockpit listening to "Hey Jude" in its full surround sound he brought himself back to the matter at hand. Sure he would miss his wife but there were more important matters that he had to deal with. He thought of the places where the Devil Gundam could be and about where to go next.

"There must be hundreds," He thought, " if not millions of places where Treize, Lady Une or the Devil Gundam could be."

He placed his face in his hands, allowing the ring to fall out of his hand, and he rubbed his face slowly as if he was trying to get rid of a really bad headache. Still, the problem was there of where the Devil Gundam could be. That was when he heard a call come in on the COM channel. He looked through the screens and found that there was another Mobile Fighter with him. It was only a few miles away but the automatic zooming of the Gundams lenses brought the view of the fighter closer. It was an odd looking suit, it had the body of Shinning Gundam, yet it had the legs and head of Dragon Gundam as well as the arms of Gundam Sandrock.

He opened the COM channel, "This is Johan Rodriguez, Gundam Fighter representing Neo Spain and pilot of the Gundam Ryu. Please, identify yourself."

The response was immediate; "This is Leo Travis, Gundam Fighter representing Neo Ireland, and Pilot of Blazing Gundam. I challenge you to a Gundam Fight."

"How lucky can I be?" Johan asked himself, "My first day on Earth and I already have a Gundam fight just waiting for me."

He responded, "I accept your challenge. I'll meet you at the Barcelona Gundam Dome."

Johan extended the wings of his Gundam Ryu and it flew up into the vast blue sky and headed to the Gundam Dome. Behind him his Gundam challenger following him to the Gundam Dome in the distance, which was far away from the city but its white exterior could clearly be contrasted against the brown and green mountains. The two Gundam fighters flew above it and watched as the Gundam Dome began to open. Pieces of it began to open outward like the petals of a rose inviting the Gundams into its arena. They descended down into the Arena. Within the arena people began to pour into the stands like water out of an open floodgate. The scrambled to get seats to see the first Gundam fight begin.

Inside the Gundam Ryu, Johan switched on the Mobile Trace System. As it made the switch he took off his clothes in order to get the suits full effect on his body. It came down over him and completely covered his body as the 360-degree screens warmed up to display the images outside. There was the Blazing Gundam waiting for him.

"Here we go." Johan said, he reached behind him and took out the CD Wallet he had and stuck it into the stereo he had. He played the song "Wake up" by Rage Against the Machine. Its loud adrenaline-rushing guitar licks and the drum beats got Johan's blood going.

"Gundam Fight!" Johan stated

"Ready?" Leo Travis called

"Go!" Johan shouted as the sent the Gundam Ryu right at the Blazing Gundam.

"Dragon mode!" Johan shouted as the Gundam Ryu transformed into a dragon and flew over the head of the Blazing Gundam. It was just like before, like the fight he had with Shakira back on the Neo Spain colony. This time he was going to finish this fight in a different way. He remembered back to the fight with the Flamingo Gundam and how he ripped off the head by using his heat rod. Except this time he decided to use the buster rifle. In Dragon Mode the buster rifle would be split into two pieces and placed into what were called holder arms that would act like cannons on the Dragons back. They aimed right down at the Gundam but that was when he hesitated in using them, because Article 2 of the Gundam Fight International Regulations: A pilot must never attack his opponents' cockpit.

Johan pulled back on the holographic reigns of his Gundam and tried quickly to think of an alternative. It is said that the mind can work quickly, though Johan was having the greatest of difficulty trying to think of a way to win this fight. That was when he thought about the weapon he designed, the beam saber.

"Ryu, transform into Mobile Suit mode." He called out and the Gundam did so as it landed on the far end of the field.

"Why did you hesitate?" Leo asked mockingly

"If this was a true battle of war," Johan responded, "You would have been dead by now. The rules strictly apply here, you should review article 2 of the Gundam Fight."

Leo didn't say a word.

Johan drew out the beam saber; it glowed with its green glare. Both outside of the Gundam and inside the cockpit in its holographic form. He held out the beam saber and stared down at the opponent as the crowd cheered him on. Inside Johan felt a great comfort in knowing that he had such a great support from all around him. It was like cheerleading in its purest form, to cheer on their champion.

"If you won't make the first move." Leo boasted, "then I shall. Blazing Claw!"

Johan watched as the hand of the Blazing Gundam rose. It began to shine like the ends of his buster rifle when it charges. It was such a sight that he hadn't seen a Gundam display that he simply froze in sight of it. He failed to bring himself back to the reality of it all. A beam came out of the hand of the Blazing Gundam. Yet it didn't move like a beam from a flashlight, which would be instant. This beam moved at the same pace as a missile fired across the battlefield. Johan didn't realize the danger until it was within point blank range. At last Johan acted quickly and with the lightning reflexes of both his own body and the Mobile trace system he brought about the Buster Shield with his left arm. The force felt as if he had been hit with a barrage of missiles from Trowa's Gundam Heavyarms. Johan brought down his shield and brought about his beam saber. It was definitely time to take the fight into his own hands.

"Active cloak." Johan commanded and as if by some mysterious fog, the Gundam Ryu was gone from the sights of the Blazing Gundam and the crowd. All were in awe of what had happened even the opponent Leo Travis.

Leo Travis was a young man, even for a Gundam fighter at the age of 19. He had blonde hair that he constantly tried to brush away from his face as he looked around in every direction with his deep green eyes. He searched everywhere for his opponent but he was no where to be found. That was until the last moment when he saw the holographic image of a foreign weapon within the mobile trace system. The sword was at his neck and that was when he looked to his right and saw the Gundam Ryu begin to reappear. Leo Travis looked out at the Gundam Stunned and began to croak.

"How?" He asked

"Active cloak." Johan laughed as he drew back the beam saber and allowed it to do its task. Within a matter of seconds the arms with the legs of the Blazing Gundam to the ground and the crowd went wild as they cheered for Johan. The body of the Blazing Gundam was no unarmed and without its legs, it fell to the ground in a pathetic heap of Gundanium.

"I win." Johan thought to himself, "but the mission is still ahead." He then looked to the ceiling, which began to open up to the hard blue sky, which was streaked by the clouds moving in the afternoon breeze. Looking up to the sky Johan could only utter a name.

"Haruka."

* * *

Elsewhere, in Neo Korea, Heero Yuy had come to Earth in the Gundam pod that was provided to him by the government. Inside was the Wing Zero custom, its Gundanium wings like those of an angel were wrapped around it like a shroud. Yet the Gundam bud was not yet open. Heero only stood and looked out at the lush jungles that were all around him. Like all the others in the Fellowship of the Gundam he had been given the mission, Find the Devil Gundam. Only then can Trieze and Lady Une be recovered. As Heero looked out into the lush jungles he heard the voice call him.

"Heero!" the voice called

Heero looked down and found Relena waiting for him. It's true Relena Peacecraft Dorlin had come along with Heero on this mission. Heero originally had protested in the beginning but an interesting step in logic changed his mind. In order to find either Treize or Lady Une did require Heero to ask around quite a bit and Heero wasn't the talking type. Thus the reason why Relena was here, she does have better people skills. Though Relena had a different agenda, she felt that with her diplomacy tactics she could avoid Heero from having to engage in Gundam Fights. Even though this was only a tournament Relena still held onto the ideas of pure pacifism. This was the reason why she came along, but then again it's only a cover. Relena just couldn't stand being apart from Heero.

"Heero." Relena called, "The Gundam Fight has already begun. Look." She pointed up to the sky and so did Heero and there in the sky was the great barrier that made Earth the ring. It was an energy barrier of pink light in strands of three like a true boxing ring. It ran across the sky like an arch. It was to make sure that no one left he Earth during the Gundam Fight. Then again Heero had no intention until the mission was complete.

"It has begun." Heero said to himself

"Shall we head out and search for Treize and Lady Une?" Relena asked

"Yes." Heero said as he came down from the top of the Gundam Pod and made his way down to the bottom with Relena at his side. All that time he was with her he felt nervous because she was with him. He felt that he couldn't exactly fight if she was around, at least fight the way he wanted to. Again, he was allowing his warrior instincts take too much control like a bad habit to bite fingernails, he had to concentrate on the true objective: the search and rescue of Treize and Lady Une.

The Gundam bud opened, in its center was the Gundam Wing Zero custom its wings wrapped around it. Heero looked at it from the open leaves with Relena at his side. He called up to it.

"Rise, Wing Zero!" He shouted

Inside the Wing Zero's eyes glowed the eerie almost devil like appearance and it spread out its wings of Gundanium. That was when Heero went up to it to get inside. Relena had to ride with him but in a different matter. The way that it was designed to work was that the Core Lander would also act as a secondary seating area, a passenger seat in other words. Since the Core Lander was a small hover-car Heero felt that was the best place for Relena to sit, instead of being crammed in the cockpit with him. Then again, Relena could have liked the idea of being cuddled up with Heero. Then again what other option was there? Have Relena sit in the enormous hand of the Wing Zero while Heero flew it? It wasn't the most practical way to deal with it.

First Relena climbed in and went behind the cockpit chair and climbed into the Core Lander. It was a pretty comfortable place; it still reeked of fresh metal, new carpet and the aroma of plastic. This is where Relena sat while Heero switched on the controls for the Wing Zero.

Heero was about to fire up the Vernier engines of the Wing Zero when a challenge came over the COM system.

"Heero Yuy." A woman's voice called

Heero looked out through the treetops of the Jungle when he noticed a very odd looking Gundam. It seemed to be more organic with its accented curved than the standard straight lines of a mobile suit. Yet the first thing that came to Heero's mind was a demon. It was true for horns this Gundam had the yellow spikes of the Gundam split in half and placed on either side of its head. Wrapped around its body was what looked like wings of tightly pulled skin yet Heero knew that it had to be some kind of synthetic material. The whole body of this Gundam was a grotesque gray like dead skin.

"Yes." Heero responded, "My name is Heero Yuy, I am the Gundam Fighter for Neo Korea and pilot of the Gundam Wing Zero."

"I am Selena Falcon." The voice said, "I am the Gundam Fighter for Neo Greece and pilot of the Demon Gundam. I hereby challenge you to a Gundam Fight Match."

"Mission accepted." Heero said

Then the voice of Relena came out, "Wait!" She protested, "this is truly absurd, no cause or action has been taken by Heero for you, Selena Falcon to fight him."

"Relena," Heero called, "Please stay out of this. This isn't a war this is a tournament. Our objective is to participate in order to find Trieze. No one will die, so stay out this."

Relena felt a little shocked on the inside. She had never heard Heero speak to her like this. Before Heero would only speak to Relena in short phrases or at least a few works. Now he was speaking as if he truly belonged in this place where the Gundam Fight was established. She sat back inside the core lander and waited for this fight to start. She took the seat belts from each corner of the seat and strapped herself in.

"Selena Falcon." Heero called, "I accept your challenge. Let's proceed to the Gundam Dome to start the fight."

"Works for me." Selena said smiling and cracking her knuckles inside the mobile trace system. Selena was a light girl even for the age of 18. She was only five foot one-inch tall and weighing 99 pounds. The only times that it really bothered Selena is whenever she went to a bar or a casino. She would be constantly asked for her ID card to verify her age. She liked to joke about it saying that she looked like she was twelve. Her hair was blonde, at least it used to be until she put dark red dye into it which was starting to fade to a light red. She looked out at the Wing Zero with her hazel eyes that had a light twinkle in them since this would be her first Gundam fight, ever.

Inside Heero's cockpit and within the confines of the Gundam Dome he started up the Mobile Trace system. He felt the suit of the mobile trace come down over his body. It was in the colors of black and white. He yanked himself away from the stretching material. He looked at the Demon Gundam who stood there waiting for the Gundam fight to start.

"Target confirmed." Heero said to himself, "Tactics level clear. Gundam Fight!"

"Ready?" Selena asked

"Go!" Heero called as he shoved the controls of the Wing Zero forward while drawing out the beam saber. As Heero lunged forward to slice at his target he watched as the Demon Gundam spread out its wings and flapped its way up to the high ceiling. To Heero it looked like some kind of mythological harpy that was given a Gundam shell. Heero didn't have time to react to what was going to happen next.

"Fallen Phoenix Crush!" Selena shouted, the wings of the Demon Gundam reached out farther like a hand stretching out its fingers as far as it could. The Gundam began to glow, it was shades of fire as it emanated red, yellow, and orange with a small hint of blue towards its chest. The glowing form of the Demon Gundam came down and down to the Wing Zero.

As it fell it began to take the form of a great bird with long feathers that trailed behind it like exhaust from a tailpipe.

Heero's eyes widened as the flaming bird came down to him. It happened again that Heero felt fear in his heart. It was an irrational fear, like the kind when one feels that they're being watched. His heart raced as his mind struggled with thousands of attack and retreat plans spanning through billions of neurons.

On its own as the falling bird of fire came down to Heero, the Wing Zero acted. It simply floated up a few feet off the ground and glided backwards. The attack of Fallen Phoenix Crush had impacted and its explosion coupled with the shock-wave toppled the Wing Zero off its feet and onto its back.

Both Heero and Relena felt the after effects of the explosion as they were tossed around like riders of a roller coaster. Heero quickly recoiled onto his feet and watched the glare vanish from his screen. This time he quickly sheathed the beam saber and brought out the buster rifle. He aimed it at the heart of the glare; there he waited for the opportunity to come. As the glare began to vanish little by little he saw the outline of the Demon Gundam.

"Article 2 of the Gundam Fight International Regulations," Heero stated, "A pilot must never aim for the cockpit of his opponents Gundam."

He brought the aim of the buster rifle lower to the legs of the Demon Gundam.

Beep! Beep! Beeeeep!

The target went from red to green and Heero pulled the trigger. Another enormous glare erupted inside the Gundam Dome. This time the bright glow was of a yellow hue and it engulfed the Demon Gundam. Heero watched his face as neutral as ever, he didn't show any sign of worry nor glee that he may have won the fight. He only waited patiently as the light cleared and there he saw the Demon Gundam lying on the floor of the Gundam Dome in a heap of parts. Its legs ripped off and out of their sockets with sparks wires and oil leaking out like blood. It's wings crippled like a wounded bird, yet the head, body cavity and parts of its arms were still in tact.

"Mission Complete." Heero said in ambivalence.

* * *

In the deep darkness of the Earth a man called Knight Blazer made his way up a set of stone stairs. The Knight Blazer was ridiculously built, even at his height of 6 foot 2 inches; every inch of him bulged with a muscle. Every muscle whose name had become unpronounceable was super toned like a Mr. Universe body builder.

Even with such super masculinity he only wore a black jumpsuit similar to the Mobile Trace Suits for mobile fighters. Around his waist was a belt that had skulls evenly spaced across it like the belt loopholes in a pair of pants. On his shoulders were spikes in such a fashion that it was like a dark gothic inner glow or perhaps like the connection nodes for the old Mobile Trace suits. He looked up the stairs from behind his black spandex like mask as he reached the top. The top of the Stone Staircase was like an enourmous stalagmite in a great dark cavern that was light by a red almost unholy glow. The Knight Blazer looked up at his master from his stalagmite podium.

"Master." He called his voice deep, raspy and echoing through the cave, "The 16th Gundam Fight has started. Both the Preventers and the Shuffle Alliance are here on Earth. It's all proceeding smoothly. Please be patient, we will crush them once and for all."

The Knight Blazer stared up at the Devil Gundam that towered over him. It looked down at its subject with lifeless green eyes.

"Hmmm…." The Devil Gundam growled as its eyes blazed bright green in the deep dark cavern of the Earth.

To be continued…