Disclaimer: I dont own Gundam
Hey everyone, hope you all enjoyed Christmas. I'm back with the first chapter of the new Zero Arc, featuring the Gundam Wing characters and mecha. This chapter features the debut of a new original character (whose based on another giant robot anime character) as well as revelations as well.
Gundam Rise Purpose
Chapter 9: Mobile suit mania
There was no tapping of boots against the floor, no warning sign of his arrival. That was why every time he appeared before them; the five professors would all be frightened whenever he had chosen to visit them. After Sensou created a ban on all AI controlled machines, the Romefellar foundation had split from OZ and Sensou had assigned five pilots to eliminate them. However these pilots had been broken apart and the engineers that designed their weapons imprisoned. The professors were those engineers, though not all of them went by the title professor. Their real names were known to only a select few, he being one of those few. First was Doctor J, expert in the development of beam weaponry, he was an elderly man whom wore eye glasses and had fallen victim to alliance 'accidents' that had forced him to wear prosthetics. Secondly was Professor G, an expert in stealth systems and an eccentric man whom valued his creation as a work of art, he had mushroom shaped hair and a long nose. Doktor S was an expert on ballistic weaponry and its application to mobile weapons, like J he had been caught in alliance 'accidents' though only one had cost him a limb, his fake nose made him unique amongst most men. Fourth was Instructor H, a man whose ideas had given rise to the creation of heat weapons such as the heat axes and rods, he had a receding hairline and a moustache that pointed straight up at each end. Lastly was Master O, a gifted martial artist whom applied this skill to all his designs, the tallest and most physically imposing of the men.
"I trust Romefellar are keeping you comfortable," Legacy said as he walked into the cell.
Not even Master O dared to attack Legacy. Upon their first meeting Legacy had several Romefellar soldiers attack him. The engineers still remembered the sickening cracks of their necks. Legacy was not one to trifle with, and that was a lesson they only needed to learn once.
"I am developing a crick in my neck, perhaps you could ask the warden to get us proper beds," Doctor J was not one to give in easily, he was one of the few not willing to show his fear.
"I will see what can be done," Legacy lied.
"Why have you come here?" G asked.
"To tell you that everything is going according to plan, that soon the ultimate Gundam will be complete and your services will no longer be required," the masked man explained.
He moved across the room, turning to face all five scientists.
"Your determination is admirable, but in the end, the only reason you will survive is because a worthy opponent has been found. Without him, all my plans would go about unchecked," he explained.
"You are wrong," J said.
Legacy rolled his head back, laughing as the scientists glared.
"Your Gundam pilots, tell me, what good can they do when two are stuck here, two more in OZ and another…another lost to the system you all created for celestial being?" he paused, allowing the message to sink in.
"Duo and Wufei are here, which of the other pilots do you speak of?" H asked.
"He will do things you never thought he would do, and when he is through…. you will wonder whether the person you knew was his real self or a mask he used to hide his true self," Legacy cackled as he left the room.
"No, no not him," H gasped.
Legacy slammed the door behind him, nodding to the guards to carry on as always. He'd be off the station before the fat Romefellar officer realised he had been there.
'Let us see how you stop us this time, Mr Kuzunagi!'
In the deepest reaches of space, a worn out Gundam and its equally worn out pilot carried on a flight towards the destination they had been given. Gekido drank a bit of water, wiping beads of sweat away from his brow. The Purpose had been flying for two Earth days and had to stop twice to recharge on solar energy. Right now they were relying on the power of the arc generator, and considering this version of the arc was a prototype Gekido wanted the Purpose's main batteries filled before the arc reached its limit.
'Although does it even have limits?' Gekido wondered.
Yamato had told him the theory, but he never explained where exactly how he built the arc. He had said that the Arc system was originally supposed to be a network of stations all equipped with massive arc generators that would provide clean renewable energy for the entire world. But Orb wanted more, Uzumi Nara Athha wanted a system that would protect Orb from harm, thus the Arc generator's unique ability to create an energy field would be used as Orb's shield. But of course that never happened as the parliament voted for the creation of mobile suits as Orb's shield. Yamato's dream was left in the dust, but he preserved the idea of the arc generator in two machines, the Redeemer Gundam and the Purpose Gundam.
'Brian, was your Gundam part of Yamato's dream as well?' he still had so many questions left for both his adopted father and friend.
The Purpose's screen beeped, stirring Gekido from his thoughts. He zoomed the camera in on a shabby looking space station, his target the Madorna Workshop. It was a mobile space station that never stayed in one place, so only the highest of the social classes knew about it, not even the military could find him. Mukured Madorna, Gekido had often heard Yamato referring to the man as a mobile suit maniac.
'Give him a unique suit and he'll analyse it in a flash, sometimes free of charge,' the man had said.
"There's no suit more unique than you Purpose," Gekido said.
"Unknown shuttle, identify yourself at once," a authoritative voice demanded over the radio.
"Gekido Kuzunagi, I'm here to seek repairs and have a business opportunity for Madorna," Gekido explained.
"Kuzunagi…are you related to Yamato Kuzunagi?" an older man asked.
"I'm his adopted son," Gekido said.
There was a very long pause as Gekido drew closer to the station. Eventually it opened its landing hatch, allowing the Purpose to slowly land. The landing was perfect because it had been left in the hands of the Purpose, a machine that didn't suffer the flaws of a human pilot. It was still in its jet form, meaning the workers gathered around it couldn't see what Gekido had bought on board. He hid his cyber suit in one of the storage compartments and put on his hooded jacket, keeping the hood draped over his face. The hatch opened and Gekido zipped down the wire. After straightening his clothes, Gekido walked through the workers, raising his head as he saw the man that must have been in charge.
"Yamato never mentioned he had an older adopted son," the man said.
Mukured Madorna was everything Gekido expected. He was at least in his seventies, though obviously because of a healthy lifestyle and genetic enhancements he had the straight back and steadiness of a fifty year old. A pair of black shades covered his eyes, a prosthetic arm and a red jacket he wore over his orange overalls completed the 'mobile suit nut' look Yamato had put in Gekido's head. A young dark skinned man stood next to Madorna, he had short purple hair covered by a reversed cap and like the other engineers orange overalls. But this man in his mid twenties clearly had more authority than the others.
"He'd adopted me last year, before the war really kicked into gear," Gekido said.
"Stop right there, I cant just accept you as Yamato's son on your word, I need a little proof…tell me something no one else but his family would know," Mukured said.
"He has a love for all things cute and furry, he refers to you as a 'mobile suit nut' and when he was away from his wife he admitted to finding your wife very attractive," Gekido smirked as Mukured's face turned red in anger.
The man beside him chuckled, clearly enjoying seeing Mukured angry.
"Perhaps in another life, Yamato was a looker, but alas we both found our true loves," a woman said from the railing.
Gekido looked over and widened his eyes slightly. Yamato wasn't kidding when he said Lalaparly Madorna was attractive. She was clearly much younger than Mukured, her dark skin showed only slight signs of aging, whilst her purple hair didn't have an ounce of grey on it. He then saw the resemblance and realised that the man standing next to Mukured was their son; Rody Madorna. Lalaparly floated off the railing and straight towards Gekido, wrapping her arms around him.
"Yamato was a good man, we are sorry for his death," she said.
Gekido brushed the woman off of him.
"I don't need pity, I just need to talk with Mukured," he said.
"Very well, my men can take your machine to our lab and we'll discuss business if you like in my office…welcome to the office, I'll give you the grand tour," Mukured said dismissively.
Lalaparly joined her husband's side, whilst Gekido followed them. They walked down a long corridor with clear glass windows. On the other side of the windows was an assembly line of mobile suits. Gekido looked at the suits in wonder, identifying them as Shalldolls, Vanderas and other mobile suits that resembled the M1 Astrays.
"We produce several hundred models for both the Alliance and ZAFT, recently colonies have begun requesting my help. I accept, providing them with mobile suits, better me than a 'private security provider' those damn PMCs cause as much wars as they actually fight," Mukured explained.
"So your supposedly a neutral party against war, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that a contradiction?" Gekido asked.
"I got into this life to make mobile suits, your father into this life to make his ideas reality," Mukured said.
"What kind of ideas did he have?"
"Wondrous ideas like the arc system, stupid ideas like voice activated mobile suits and even impossible ideas like equipment stored in an extra dimensional space, he loved that Super Robot Wars crap."
"Mukured has every episode box set, and he plays the games in his spare time," Lalapaly whispered, causing Mukured to blush.
"The point is we just didn't have the technology or even the money to make those ideas reality, I guess that's why he got involved with that Uragiri organisation," he sighed.
Gekido stopped, looking at Mukured in shock.
"You mean that Uragiri person," he tried to correct.
"Uragiri isn't a name, it's a title given to the leader of the organisation, but I guess since that organisation lost most of its forces it'll be slipping back into obscurity again, and eventually be destroyed by Sensou," Rody said.
Gekido ran a hand through his hair, his mouth trembling slightly.
"I need to sit down," he said.
The tour had taken them to the Madorna family room and whilst Mukured and Lalapaly carried on with business, Gekido sat on one of the sofas. Rody filled two cups with coffee, placing one on the table in front of Gekido.
"Thanks," Gekido said gruffly.
"You know, my dad was Mr Kuzunagi's mentor, they disagreed on a mobile suit they were building for the Hunter family. It turned out Mr Hunter was part of the Uragiri organisation, they were using dad's engineering expertise and that of several other scientists including Yamato to create what they described as the ultimate mobile suit," Rody explained.
"The Gundam," Gekido said.
"Yeah, Jack Hunter, the pilot for it died but not before sending it into deep space. Rumour has it that Sensou recovered the Gundam, patched it up and used it in the final battle, though no one has any idea who piloted it."
Gekido looked at his coffee, remembering Uragiri's cruelty and the devotion of her followers. Had she just been a simple girl chosen by the organisation, corrupted by her power. A part of him wanted to believe that Uragiri was indeed Charlotte, that girl he went to school with, whom loved listening to Lacus Clyne songs. Gekido took the coffee and tilted the liquid down his throat. Rody widened his eyes in astonishment as the steam gushed from Gekido's mouth.
"Wow, you were really thirsty weren't you?" he asked nervously.
"Tell your dad I found something very unique for him to look at, to recharge and patch up, nothing more," Gekido said.
"Sure, that shuttle you were flying right?"
"Yeah…that shuttle," Gekido chuckled.
The intercom beside Rody beeped and after a few seconds of the phone on his ear, Rody fell down in shock.
"What's wrong?" Gekido asked.
"That 'shuttle' of yours, it turned into a mobile suit and its started walking around the workshop," Rody said.
Gekido slapped his palm against his forehead. The Purpose walked around the workshop, looking at the completed Shalldolls. Rows of the machines had been lined up, bearing blue colours as opposed to their traditional white and green. The sentient machine tilted its head, a sign of its curiosity. Digitised static gushed from its speakers, the computerised language that could only be translated by other machines, mathematical prodigies and geniuses and of course Gekido himself. Mukured watched the machine, intrigue by its behaviour (as well as the fact it had behaviour). The Purpose walked away from the machines and came to gigantic doorway fit for a mobile suit. After forcing the door open, the Purpose suddenly stumbled backwards, pointing it's finger at the machines in the room.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Rody yelled.
Rody fell down in a similar fashion to the Purpose, his mouth agape with shock. Gekido ran past Rody and stood between Mukured and the Purpose. He cast a frown on the man, as if reading the intrigued expression Mukured hid with his glasses. Slowly, Gekido backed up, intending to get a small look at what had shocked the Purpose. He raised his eyebrows and then looked at the Purpose.
"Are you serious?" he asked the machine.
The Purpose nodded it's head, like a child caught in the act.
"They're just mobile suit frames, the 'skeleton's of mobile suits," Gekido said.
The Purpose growled as it stood up.
"Wait a second…naked…your nervous cause you've never seen a lady naked?" Gekido asked.
The Purpose nodded its head. Gekido coughed before bursting into laughter, causing the Purpose to growl again.
"I know, I know, anyone would get nervous when they're attractive, but these mobile suits aren't like you Purpose, they're not even complete," Gekido explained.
"Funnily enough, the pilots of those mechs are going to be female," Mukured said, casually walking towards Gekido.
"Those frames are quite advanced, far more advanced than the G-Weapon frames," Gekido said.
"A lot of money was paid for those types," Rody said.
The Purpose got off the floor and looked at Mukured and his family.
"So you understand that machine?" Mukured asked.
"Don't you?" Gekido looked at Mukured in confusion.
"You think its speaking English?" Lalapaly asked.
"Oh great, I'm just perceiving it as speaking English, for a moment I thought you could truly understand humans…Purpose," Gekido sighed, looking up at the machine.
"People are different, they are not like you Gekido and you are not like them," in Gekido's mind, the Purpose spoke in a ferocious, echoing voice.
"I know that, I know that, well Mukured, what are you going to do?" Gekido asked.
"I'm not going to turn you into Sensou for a start, you'll find that Yamato told me a few things before his passing. I know his death wasn't because of the Alliance; I know he got involved with Uragiri because they had the money and resources necessary to make his dreams a reality. But during that time he met his wife, had children and found in them the dreams that he truly wanted to come true," Mukured explained.
"What did he say about Cyber Psyches and the secrets beyond the Earth Sphere?"
"Secrets beyond the Earth sphere," Mukured mused.
"What do you know about what was found on Jupiter?" Gekido asked.
"I know that George Glen found Evidence 01 and mineral deposits that put the world back on track when it was on the brink of economic collapse. Rumour has it though that he found something else there, more rumours surface a few years later that a mercenary company finds some kind of artefact and that that artefact somehow leads to the development of the Graviton technology they use. At the same time we've got the supposed natural evolution of people into Newtypes, X-Rounders and Innovators. We then have the rising interests of Gundams, bought on when second Gundams were created, outside of Uragiri. Then we have this masked man!"
"Masked man," Gekido widened his eyes slightly.
"A few months ago, some guy in a mask came to me with multiple plans for mobile suits, he asked me to build them for him. But I refused, something about him rubbed me the wrong way," Rody shivered as Mukured spoke.
"His voice, the way he moved, everything about him screamed danger, so we declined the job," Lalapaly said.
"Then what happened?" Gekido asked.
"He said 'very well' and then just walked out, the next day we were sent four exact models of mobile suits he had asked us to upgrade. I repaired them but I didn't carry out the necessary upgrades he wanted, I knew he'd probably try to get them back," Mukured explained.
"Could you take me to them?"
Mukured nodded his head, guiding Gekido across the room. Lalapaly giggled at the Purpose as it turned away from the mobile suit frames. Rody followed behind his father as they came to another heavy door. The older man lifted up his glasses, allowing the retina scanner to check his eye. Several electronic locks deactivated and the door began to slide open. Gekido widened his eyes in shock as the light illuminated four familiar mobile suits.
"This…do you people know…those mobile suits…" Gekido stumbled with his words as he walked into the chamber.
"Copies of the Aegis, Duel, Blitz and Buster suits created on Heliopolis," Rody said.
"You idiots, those aren't copies, they're the exact same ones," Gekido growled.
"How could you possibly know that?" Mukured asked.
Gekido grit his teeth together, knowing his familiarity and connection to the machines had something to do with his 'abilities' as a Cyber psyche.
"Those four machines were put in a shuttle and sent towards the sun, they couldn't possibly be the mobile suits the Archangel fought," Rody said.
"Those are definitely the originals, what kind of upgrades did this masked guy ask you to do?" Gekido asked.
"You don't seriously think I'm going to show you do you?" Mukured narrowed his eyes at Gekido.
"That man has thought of everything you've thought of, there isn't a security system you have that he probably doesn't already know how to crack. He asked you to upgrade these machines, and even when you refused these Gundams ended up in your care, I'm sure without a shred of doubt that your already reacting in the way he wants you to," Gekido explained.
"You cant seriously know this guy can you?" Mukured asked.
"I know that you don't ask someone to upgrade a mobile suit and then send them the suits anyway unless you're absolutely confident that they'll do it even though they said they wouldn't," Gekido walked towards Mukured, pushing Rody aside.
He grabbed Mukured by the collar, slamming his face against his.
"You were absolutely confident that those things there were copies, that's cause they are, you created copies to throw off suspicion. Where are the originals, the ones you upgraded?" he demanded.
"Gekido, I assure you I didn't upgrade the machines for him," Mukured said.
"You're a mobile suit nut, like you'd deny the chance to tinker with a mobile suit. Even though you rejected the offer, you couldn't resist at least seeing if those suits could be improved, you wanted to do it before the Alliance did. But that's what Uragiri counts on, for you to act the way they expect you to, to be the man of integrity but also the man that cant resist the opportunity to play," Gekido explained.
"I…I put on the parts, but I didn't arm them, or even give them a power source," Mukured said.
Gekido heard a click behind him and turned to see Lalapaly holding a gun. Her hands shook slightly, but the determination in her eyes was clear.
"Let go of my husband, he hasn't done anything wrong," she said.
"Maybe not, but he's at least made Uragiri's job easier. Please tell me where those suits are," he said, looking at Mukured with a pleading expression on his face.
Mukured lowered his head and sighed. But before he could even talk, the unmistakable sounds of explosions echoed throughout the station. Rody ran to one of the intercoms, trying to contact the other workers. Gunshots and screams were his only reply. Lalapaly dropped her pistol, hearing more screams and gunshots in the distance. Gekido let go of Mukured and picked the pistol off of the ground.
"Get me an outside view," Gekido said.
Rody nodded his head, bringing up multiple camera views. They showed what Gekido had expected suits of the Zalam union, loading boxes of mobile suits into shuttles. Even though they didn't show any signs of working for Uragiri, Gekido guessed they were here in the organisation's behalf. He cocked the pistol and broke off into a run, taking cover behind one of the doors. Some of the Zalam marines were still gathering hostages, leaving the mobile suits to clean up.
"Purpose, make your way outside and take out those mobile suits stealing the G-Weapons, we cant let Athrun and the other's machines be taken by those bastards," Gekido explained.
The Purpose nodded its head and began making its way to one of the escape hatches. Gekido and Mukured cleared the deck of workers, putting them in the chamber where the unfinished mobile suits were. Mukured blushed as Lalapaly kissed him on the forehead.
"Come on, we need to take back the station," Rody said to his father as he and Gekido ran for one of the hatches.
Mukured followed Gekido and his son down one of the corridors, just as the Purpose launched out of the station. The Gundam was met by several Zilas, which began firing their rifles. Blocking the bullets with its shield, the Purpose grabbed one of the Zilas and pierced the cockpit with the tip of it's shield. Meanwhile, Gekido made his way down the corridor, keeping an eye out for Zalam marines.
"We need to clear the station of opposing mobile suits, once that's accomplished those Zalam cowards will lose their nerve and surrender," Mukured explained.
"Do you have any suits left?" Gekido asked.
Rody grinned as he typed in a code for one of the locked doors. It slid open, revealing a mobile suit that made Gekido grin in satisfaction.
"So, he did follow my advice on our first suit, I guess now is as good a time as any to test it out," Gekido said as he began walking towards the white and green suit.
"The machine is a little complicated, you might want to read the user's manual before using it, its called…
"I know what its called, the GM!"
Gekido climbed into the prototype GM, running through its activation process. He took one step forward, then another one and flexed the arms to adjust to the new suit. The GM grabbed a beam staff off of the wall, clamping it to its back before grabbing a shield and assault rifle.
"Not bad, smoother than the Strike Dagger," he noted.
The GM opened one of the doors, surprising the Zilas on the other side just enough to shoot them all in the head and chest. Gekido made sure to avoid any of the fuel or battery tanks, an explosion with civilians around was the last thing he needed. He moved forward, firing short bursts of the rifle into the occupying forces. Occasionally he would fire a burst into Zalam troops, creating explosions of blood that shocked the other soldiers enough for their prisoners to break free. The Purpose continued striking at the outside forces, taking assault rifles and using them against their previous owner's. It flew towards the Zalam shuttle, only to stop as several Zilas drew their heat axes. The blue suits flew at the Gundam, each one getting cut down by the machine.
"Some of my security personnel are taking the Shalldolls and assisting with mopping up, you can go outside with the GM if you want," Mukured said over the radio.
"But what about everyone in here?" Gekido asked.
"Don't worry about them, I've confirmation of two of my client's coming in, ones a faction Gekido, an army big enough to scare these idiots away."
"All right then, heading out," Gekido opened one of the hatches, launching the GM into space.
He activated the thrusters, smoothly moving the GM towards the shuttle. Throwing his shield and rifle away, Gekido drew the beam staff, swinging it around to slice two Zilas apart. He then performed a follow up strike, taking off a Zila's head and arm. Six more Zilas flew away from the ship, firing their rifles at the GM. The Purpose flew in the way, blocking several shots with it's shield. Gekido looked to the Purpose as it drew its sniper rifle, aiming it at the shuttle. A single shot would be enough to destroy the shuttle and seriously damaged the stolen units.
"They wont steal them again, the past will not repeat!"
Gekido widened his eyes as the Purpose pulled the trigger, but no shot came out of the rifle.
"NO! OF ALL THE TIMES!" Gekido yelled.
The Purpose slowly began to lose its colour, giving one of the Zilas an opportunity it needed. The Zila raised its axe, slashing the Purpose across its right eye, cutting off part of its V-Fin.
"PURPOSE!" Gekido yelled.
He threw his staff aside, drawing the GM's beam sabre and stabbing the Zila in the back. Gekido threw the Zila aside and pulled the Purpose onto the surface of the station. He raised his sabre, pointing it at the Zilas surrounding him.
"Come on you sons of bitches, come and get it, I'm not gonna let any of you put one more mark on the Purpose," Gekido growled.
"Well said, Knight pilot!"
The GM and Zilas raised their heads, looking towards a mobile suit in the distance. It had a white body, with components of steel looking knight armour on its chest, shoulders and back. The suit's shoulder pads both had the images of horses on them, while the head had a knight's visor where the eyes should have been. It's helmet also seemed to generate a flame effect, mimicking the presence of a helmet's feather. Two swords were strapped to it's hips, while the right hand gripped a huge, European styled bastard sword.
"Unidentified machine, throw your weapon and surrender," one of the Zila pilots said.
Inside the knight mobile suit, the stoic expression of the silver haired pilot twisted into a look of wild anger. The knight gripped its sword with both hands, raising it over its head.
"Draw your weapons and fight, WRAAAAAAAAATH!" the pilot's battle cry echoed through the radio as he cleaved the Zilas with a single slash.
The mobile suit swung its sword for a bit before resting it on its shoulder.
"My sword can cleave through all enemies," he said.
"Who the hell is that?" Gekido wondered.
He turned to his right, seeing a squadron of mobile suit carrier shuttles. Stood on two were the Vayaete and Mercurious he remembered meeting during the moon conflict. At the head of the fleet, stood on top of a shuttle was a single mobile suit. It had white and blue armour and a helmet with a gold blade, designed to look like a feather. The mobile suit raised its hand and a voice spoke through the radio channels:
"This is Treize Khushrenada, all forces surrender!"
Next Chapter 10: Its name is Zero
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, my original character Arthur Stroud, pilot of the Noble-MS is based on Zengar of the Super Robot Wars Series, though he's based more on an ancient knight than a samurai. Next time the title mobile suit of the arc make its appearence while the Treize faction occupies Mukured workshop and Gekido is faced with a problem that may very well threaten the Purpose's sentience.