AN: Hello everyone, ARC Alpha 12 here. Thank you once again for your patience! I know it's been another month, and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and New Years.

This chapter will be a bit of a change of pace from the last three. With things getting set up for the tournament talked about in the last three chapters, and with Ruby without a Gunpla, I think this is the perfect time for some world building and interjecting some canon elements of the Gundam Build Fighters universe into the story, to actually begin integrating the two on a more personal level. Expect to see some of the canon GBF characters pop up soon, along with some OCs Kyrus and I have come up with.

I look forward to your reactions and reviews, as always. Hope you enjoy!


Ruby balanced a pencil under her nose, lost in thought. The design premise of Destiny Scythe was coming along nicely, and she knew she'd be keeping the overall motif of both Deathscythe Hell Custom and Destiny by just combining the two; the kits, while needing some modifications, overall looked fairly similar when painted the same. Ruby's computer had rendered a perfect 3D image of the prototype design; the trick was modifying it to accept the mismatched parts.

She already decided to ditch the heavy anti-ship sword Destiny carried. Between her new transforming beam rifle/scythe Crescent Rose, the beam sabers Destiny came with, the twin beam spear she salvaged from a spare GM Striker as a backup, though in retrospect, that seemed redundant since she had Crescent Rose for that. She, at least for now, kept the powerful heavy beam cannon. She was ditching the shoulder beam boomerangs of Destiny in favor of the extra boosters on Deathscythe's shoulders, for added speed and mobility, and with Destiny's backpack, she'd have access to the Wings of Light, which would make her even faster. Plus, as a last resort, she did have the two point-blank beam cannons in the palms of her hands, the Palma Fiocina cannons, though they needed to be far too close to be relied upon. Still, and option, plus Vulcans and-

"-and now we have an update on the National Championships from around the world!" The announcer, Lisa Lavender, cut in, shocking Ruby out of her thoughts. She looked over, taking an interest in what was going on. While she had qualified for the Nationals, sadly with Crim destroyed and Destiny Scythe still only a quarter of the way done, she was unable to fly to New York to participate.

"With the Canadian Championship happening tomorrow afternoon between Evelyn Damerot and Penny Polendina, Gunpla Fighters wait with bated breath to see one amazing and highly energetic battle," Lisa reported. "However, today, we crowned the new United States Champion, Coco Adel, who pulled out an impressive victory against six-time former United States Champ, Greco Logan."

On-screen, she watched as the Northeastern Champ, Coco, faced off against the former US Champion and current Midwestern Champ. Greco was using his always-trusty Tallgeese Valkyrie III, a heavily remodeled version of the same suit he won the Nationals with nearly eight years prior. Coco, on the other hand, had him completely outclassed.

Ruby sat up and took note of Coco's machine. A grand majority of the unit was based on Gundam Heavyarms Custom; its shoulders, chest, and leg missile pods were clearly identifiable, but the arms, legs, and waist actually came from a Blue Destiny unit. Same with the backpack. The machine's colors were similar to the classic Gundam Heavyarms, redder and macaroni and cheese yellow than the standard blue and teal from Endless Waltz, with the white parts painted a gunmetal grey. It used a standard 100mm machine gun used by machines like the Ground Type Gundams in it's right and had a shield from them too, painted red to match the classic Heavyarms look, and had a beam saber on its forearm instead of the combat knife. A massive custom black and gold Gatling Gun in its left hand completed its loadout. The amount of firepower this machine had was almost overwhelming.

The head caught Ruby's attention most of all, though-much like Coco was known for wearing her shades almost constantly in fashion shows and interviews, the Gundam spotted a dark piece of clear plastic over the eyes. Upon closer inspection, Ruby noticed the dark visor actually had an advanced HUD and targeting display on it, likely helping Coco conserve ammo and making her shots more accurate. Or that was her thought, initially, until she watched how quickly and easily she mopped the battle table with the Tallgeese Valkyrie.

"Holy cow! Is she using a Zero System with that?" She asked out loud. She watched the slow-motion replay of the final few seconds, as Coco's leg missiles impacted the ground and forced Greco up into the air, and right into the torrent of beam Gatling blasts that ultimately crippled his backpack and dropped him like a swatted fly. A torrent of bullets and beams finished him off as the chest of the Gundam opened up to unload its four additional Gatlings, the giant Gatling, and the machine gun on the hapless mech.

"Miss Adel, would you like to make a statement to the people who watched your spectacular victory today?" Lisa asked in the previously recorded interview.

Coco toyed with the single lock of hair, dyed slightly lighter at the tip, that hung down below her chin. "You know, there were a lot of really skilled opponents today. A lot of young up and comers, and a lot of powerful vets. And I give Greco props. The man-made it to the Finals using tried and true tactics, and he is as deserving as anyone to take home this title. But, in the end, I walked away with it. Gundam Heavyarms Gianduja and I have been working our way up, and we are happy to have gotten this far.

"There were a few people who couldn't make it for this, like the girl who won the Northwest Championship, and to those who missed out, here's what I have to say: bring your A-Game to the World Cup, cause Coco Adel is looking to sip that sweet taste of victory from it."

Ruby nearly toppled, almost as if Coco's words almost floored her, before screaming. "AAAAAAAHHHH!" She shrieked. Was this really happening?

Tai came bursting through the door. "Ruby! Are you okay? Is it a spider?!"

Ruby was dancing up and down, incoherent in her excitement. She pointed at the TV. "Coco Adel mentioned to me!"

Yang appeared behind her father. "That fashionista? Why?"

"She just won the US Championship and she called me out specifically!" Ruby grabbed her remote and rewound the clip. Once Coco said her challenge, Ruby pointed at the screen. "See?!"

Tai facepalmed. "Oh Ruby…" he chuckled.

"Wow, my little sis is famous," Yang said with mock jealousy. "Maybe her senpai will notice her at the world tournament."

"Hey! You leave Ricardo Fellini out of this!" Ruby blushed, glancing at the poster she had of Ricardo and his Gundam Fenice Rinascita on her wall. And then of her computer wallpaper, which had his old machine, the Wing Gundam Fenice, posing with both sets of wings extended. It was a stylized retelling of Wing Fenice's fight against Star Build Strike and the Seventh Gunpla Battle Tournament champions Sei Iori and Reiji's Star Build Strike Gundam, Ruby's all-time favorite fight in all of Gunpla Battle's history.

The realization that she might have a slight obsession with the Italian Dandy made her blush as red as her hoodie. Yang just grinned.

"How goes the new kit?" she asked, seeing the small render spinning in the corner of her desktop screen.

"Huh?" Ruby looked at her desk. "Fine. Now that I have the colors and the idea for it I just need to do some quick changes to make parts compatible. The polycaps for Destiny and Deathscythe aren't completely interchangeable. I'll need to fix that before I can assemble the Gundam."

"You know I have no idea what you just said," Yang admitted, shrugging.

"The polycaps. The rubber pieces!" Ruby replied. "How can you not know?"

"Why didn't you just say 'rubber pieces?'"

Ruby glared at her older sister. Yang's carefree nature sometimes drove her nuts. How can she be this strong and not care about how a Gunpla is built or the proper terminology for the pieces?

"Now, girls, you both have a lot of time to get ready," Tai said, hoping to soothe the hostility. "I'm sure Ruby can figure out the solution to her polycap problem by the end of the month."

"Poly. Caps!" Ruby was getting agitated. "I'm going back to work!" She plopped herself back into her office chair and rolled back to her desk, picking up her nippers and clipping pieces out of the runners she had before her.

Tai chuckled. "Good luck, Little Rosebud. Come on, Yang, I want to see how much you've been practicing your katas."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Alright, coming…"

Ruby glanced over at the doorway as it closed, a smile forming on her face. Tai had opened up greatly to the concept of them being world champion material, and though he couldn't help Ruby beyond being a cheerleader, he had no intention of doing nothing. Helping Yang practice her martial arts was the best thing he could do, and Yang would only get stronger as a Gunpla Battler because of it. "Thanks, Dad," she whispered, before getting back to work.


"So...Yang's competing in the tag team tournament."

Tai had decided to call Raven up in Japan to inform her of Yang and Ruby's accomplishments. Raven, as per usual, was less than impressed on the outside; in her red eyes, however, Tai saw a spark of pride.

Due to differences between the two, Raven and Tai had separated shortly after Yang was born, agreeing that a broken home was no place to raise a baby. Raven had never been a truly caring person and had agreed that Tai should take full custody of their daughter. Only within the last few years had Raven started being introduced to Yang's life, and though it had initially been awkward and rocky, the two were (slowly) beginning to come around, though the distance kept things on purely short calls and pleasantries.

"Yeah, she's really looking forward to it," Tai responded with a grin. "We'll he leaving with some of their friends, one of their teachers, Blake's parents, and Mister Ozpin, their principal, who is also all of the teams' sponsor for the Tag Tourney."

"Hmmm…"

"I think this would be a good opportunity. Both of you have expressed interest in talking, and showing your support would go a long way to improve your guys' relationship."

Raven looked away, impassive. "Does she even want me back in her life? I was gone for nearly fifteen years before she even knew I existed."

"Ray, just because she didn't grow up with you doesn't change the fact that you're her mother." Tai smiled at her. "She's a teenager. I don't know how teens are in Japan-"

"Fairly modest and quiet," she interrupted. Tai laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Well, Yang is anything BUT that," he replied, "but the point is this: she wants to know you. We'll be practically on your doorstep. If you don't at least come see her once, she's going to think you don't want to see her at all."

"Hmmmm…."

Tai frowned. "Raven…"

She chuckled and smiled slightly. "Sorry. I was just thinking. Alright. When will you land in Kyoto?"

"June twenty-sixth. Finals are in a couple of days, then the girls have about two solid weeks to pack and prepare, followed by ten days to explore Japan before the actual tournament."

"I see." She paused, thinking. "If Yang is okay with spending five of those alone with me at my dojo, perhaps I can give her some last-minute training."

"Oh, that's a great idea! I'll talk to her about it. If there is one thing you two both like doing, it's fighting."

"Heh, yes, she strikes me as a rather forward individual." Raven nodded. "If you could make the offer, that would be appreciated."

"Alright, I'll talk to her about it." He smiled at her. Despite the differences that drove them to divorce, Raven always had a soft spot in his heart, and it warmed him to see that she was at least attempting to make a connection with their daughter. I have to get dinner started. I promise I'll call you again soon, okay?"

"Keep me posted."

"And Ray? That smile looks good on you. You really have changed."

Raven gave him a shocked look, her cheeks flushing. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!" She abruptly ended the call, making Tai laugh.

"That's more like it," he said to himself, before closing his laptop and standing up.

He was nervous to see what Yang would say, but also excited. This was her mother, after all. And even if, for a short time, they could sit and be a family… that's all he really wanted.


Yang threw a right hook. "So, Raven wants to meet me?"

Tai caught her fist and went for a palm strike to her chin. "Yeah. We'll be staying close to her dojo-I think there's no better time to actually get to know each other."

Yang ducked and spun on her heel, moving in for an elbow to the face, which Tai caught. "So? What's she like?"

Tai tossed her arm away, allowing her to spin on her toes and regain a defensive stance, before moving in for another palm strike. She caught his wrist but didn't see the punch he leveled into her gut, which winded her and dropped her to the floor. "I told you not to drop your guard."

She held her ribs as she huddled on the ground. Rubbing her abs, she groaned before smiling at her father. "Damn. Lucky shot, old man."

Tai laughed and sat down next to her. "Your mother...she's difficult. Complicated. Brash and impulsive in her actions, always willing to jump into something headfirst. Remind you of someone?"

Yang chuckled and punched his arm. There was a moment of silence between them, before she asked, "Think we'll get along?"

He looked at the ceiling for a second. "Yeah. I do. Provided you don't antagonize her like you do me or your sister."

Yang gave him a hurt look. "Father, you wound me!"

"Uh-huh..." He smirked while giving his daughter a sideways glance. "Yeah. You guys should get along just fine."