Spectrophobia
Chapter 5

"As Chief of this Super Dimensional Guard, I would like to welcome you, Captain Zephyranthes, to this Neotopia."

It was the morning after the mirror and the Gundam in question had been recovered. Captain and his twin were standing in the courtyard of the Blanc Base. Chief Haro himself stood before them, extending a hand to their esteemed guest.

"Thank you," Zephyranthes replied, shaking Haro's hand. "It is an honor to meet you."

"Now then," the chief continued, "the first item on our agenda is to create a proper gateway to your dimension. We do not know how long the portal you used to come here will remain open. Right now, the mirror has been relocated to Lab C, where our Dimensional Transport Device resides. Our theoretical physics expert is determining the coordinates as we speak.

"Once we are able to create our own portal, we will get in contact with our members from Lacroa and Ark. When everyone is together, we will make our strategy to liberate your Neotopia from the insurgents."

"Understood," Zephyranthes said, lowering his head. "I am very grateful that you are doing this for me. I apologize for being such a burden."

"Please don't say that," Haro said, shaking his head. "You are not a burden. Giving aid to anyone in the multiverse is a major part of the SDG's purpose." He leaned back against his desk. "Now...can you tell us more about these rebels? Any information you have would be helpful."

The other Gundam stared into space for a moment as he retrieved the memory files. "Well, they are mostly comprised of humans. I have counted approximately only fifty mobile citizens among their ranks. They do not seem to have a leader, but the name 'Randolph Connor' comes up a lot in their communications. Their most common method of defense is a jamming signal that blocks access to the Brain World. This is all of the information that I can confirm."

Chief Haro nodded. "That is alright. I think what you told us is good enough." He turned to Captain. "Captain, I will need you to go down to Lab C and meet with Zero and Bakunestumaru when they arrive here. Then you must bring them back here for a formal briefing."

"Roger," Captain replied. "Do you want me to bring Shute as well?"

The chief sighed and paused for a minute in thought. "Yes," he finally said. "Though we may not need him right away, it is for the best that he also receives all the latest information as well."

"Yes sir," the Gundam said as he brought up a list of contacts in his field of vision. "I will get in contact with both him and his mother right now."

"One more thing, Captain," Haro said.

Captain stopped himself just as he selected Shute and Keiko's phone numbers. "Yes?"

"Don't pull him out of class this time," the chief added. "Wait until school is out and pick him up afterward. I wouldn't want to upset his mother."

"Yes, Chief. I am sending a message now."

"Shall I accompany him to your Dimensional Transport Device?" Zephyranthes piped up. "There is something important I need to give to the people there."

Haro rubbed the "chin" area of his helmet. "I'm not sure that would be such a good idea," he answered. "If the portal is still open, there's a chance one of the insurgents may come through it." He paused to think it over. "What is it that you need to give them?"

The other Captain removed something from the compartment and held it out for the chief and Captain to see. It seemed to be a square of purple glass the size of his palm.

"This is a cybernetic patch created in my universe to protect humans from the Bagu Bagu," Zephyranthes explained. "Do you have them in your dimension?"

"No, actually, we don't," Chief Haro said as he took the patch from his guest. He held it up close to the eye-holes in his helmet and found tiny printed circuit boards embedded inside the glass.

"Then it is a good thing that I asked," Zephyranthes said. "There are a few rogue Bagu Bagu units remaining in the outskirts of my Neotopia. No large swarms, but there are just enough of them to be a threat to organic lifeforms. It is imperative that any human SDG members should wear one of these."

"Fascinating," Haro said, turning the object over with his fingers.

"I could take your patches and hand them out," Captain offered. "That way, you wouldn't have to go there yourself."

"I appreciate your concern, but I will still need to show everyone how to attach them," the other Gundam replied. "If it's any consolation, the possibility of a rebel finding the portal is very low due to being small and difficult to pinpoint. I calculate that the probability of them discovering it is 0.1%."

"I'm not sure. Even if it is a very low chance, I still would not want to risk putting you in harm's way," the chief sighed. He paused to think it over. "On the other hand, the portal is only large enough for one person at a time to fit through, and the area is heavily guarded at this time. Perhaps I could tell the guards that you're coming, and to be on high alert while you're there."

"Thank you," Zephyranthes said with a nod.

Haro held up a finger. "However...once you have finished giving these patches to the humans of Lab C, you will be immediately escorted back to base. Understood?"

"Understood."

The chief held out his patch to hand it back to the Gundam. "And when you get a chance, you should give this to Kao Lyn. He might be able to reverse engineer these and create more for us."

Zephyranthes held up his hand. "That one is for you," he said. "Because you are the head officer, your safety is a top priority."

"Well...thank you," the chief said, placing the patch in his pocket. "You'll have to tell me how it works later. For now, you two are dismissed."

"Yes, chief," Captain said, saluting. "Moving out."

"Good luck," Haro said as he returned the salute.

He waited for the two Gundams to leave before taking a quick elevator ride back up to his office. As he sat down at his desk, he took the patch out of his pocket and gave it a closer look. A strange gleam within the glass caught his eye, but it was too hard to see with his helmet on. After closing all of the blinds and locking his door, he removed his mask and brushed his blonde hair out of his face. He then took a magnifying glass out of a drawer and gave the thing a much more thorough inspection. The gleam turned out to be tiny metal needles just within its edges.

What are those? he wondered.

"According to the schedule, the next Gunperry en route to Lab C is Gunperry Eight," Captain explained to his twin as they rode down an escalator to the bottom floor. "It should be ready in another thirty minutes. However, I first need to report to Kao Lyn's lab to pick up my weapons and shield."

"Would it be acceptable if I came with you?" Zephyranthes asked. "The chief suggested that I should give Kao Lyn one of my patches."

"Sure, that would be fine," Captain replied. "I could also show you around the base, if you-" He stopped himself. "Oh wait, you already know, don't you?"

"Actually, according to my observations, our Blanc Bases are not quite the same," Zephyranthes explained. "It seems like the all of the rooms here are on the opposite side of the building when compared to mine."

"Interesting," Captain said. "It sounds like a mirror image."

The two mechs reached the bottom of the escalator, and headed toward a nearby set of automatic doors. They walked inside and followed a narrow, olive-colored hallway to the now-crowded atrium. SDG employees were rushing to and fro, some talking on their phones, some pushing carts full of supplies, some eating their lunches on the go. Others were sitting on the many chairs and couches as they read books, fiddled with phones or laptops, ate their lunches, or just took naps. The Captains carefully dodged the bustling employees as they crossed the room to another narrow hallway.

They followed it down to the engineering labs, which were just as busy as the atrium. Humans and GMs in hard hats and safety glasses were popping in and out of rooms, carrying tools, papers, or pieces of metal. A GM hauling a wooden pallet with a stack of crates on it slowly rolled past them. Captain led Zephyranthes straight down to the end of the hall to a dark, cavernous, warehouse-like room. The place was dimly lit by spotlights that were either on tripod stands or hanging from fixtures in the ceiling. Metal crates were strewn about the lab, some stacked on top of each other. Metal examining tables on wheels were lined up against one wall.

The middle of the room was walled off by portable dividers with the SDG emblem stamped on them. As the Captains approached, they could see the silhouettes of a mech and portly human performing leg stretches.

"Will that be all, sir?" the machine asked. Captain recognized the voice as belonging to Gunchopper Seven.

"Yes, that should be all for now," Kao Lyn's voice chuckled. "Now remember, if you experience any problems, come to me immediately, okay?"

"Yes, sir," the Gunchopper replied, saluting. He then stepped out from behind the dividers. "I will now inform Guneagle that he is-"

He stopped short when he saw the two Captain Gundams in front of him. He quickly saluted and said, "Good afternoon, Captain! And...Captain?"

"Please, call me Zephyranthes," the pale-eyed Gundam said as he held out his hand. "That should be less confusing."

"Right. Pleased to meet you, Zephyranthes," Gunchopper Seven replied, shaking his hand. "I just finished receiving preventative maintenance. I should be ready to join you when we disembark on our latest mission."

"Good to hear," Captain said.

"I was just about to tell Guneagle that Dr. Kao Lyn is ready to see him," the Gunchopper continued. "I will see you both later."

As Seven left, Captain swore he saw Zephyranthes' optics flash white in response to Guneagle's name. He decided it was probably nothing as the two of them walked around the dividers. On the other side was a single metal examining table surrounded by spotlights. Trays full of wrenches and screwdrivers of various sizes were placed next to it. Kao Lyn's custom assistant ball was tapping away at holographic screens with its pincers. The doctor himself was at a workbench against a wall, his back turned to them as he removed the bit from a drill. He perked up when he heard their heavy footsteps.

"Hoo, hoo! Guneagle, you're actually on time for once!" the aging engineer laughed over his shoulder as he wiped down the drill with a cloth. "Just have seat on the table and I'll be riiiight with you."

"Actually sir, it's me - Captain Gundam," Captain replied. "I've brought someone who wants to see you."

"Oh, hi Captain!" Kao Lyn said. "Gotta admit, you really had me going there! For a second, I actually thought-"

He turned around to find two nearly identical Captains, and almost fell over.

"Oh my, my, my!" he cried, adjusting his taijitu-patterned glasses. "Have I been working too hard, or have I finally gone senile? I'm seeing double!"

Captain tilted his head. "No, sir. This is the person that I rescued last night," he explained. "Allow me to introduce you to Captain Zephyranthes."

"Hello," the twin in question said, waving.

"Kidding, Captain! I'm kidding!" Kao Lyn replied. "Yes, the chief told me all about him! It's a shame I didn't stay late last night - I could have looked him over myself!"

He placed his drill and cloth down on the bench before bounding across the room. He stood in front of Zephyranthes and hunched over, looking the Gundam over from top to bottom. He scratched his chin as the lenses of his glasses shifted around in their frames.

"So how are you feeling?" he asked Zephyranthes as he circled around him, looking him over from various angles. "Did the night crew do a decent job of patching you up? You don't have any worn or missing parts, do you?"

"Last night's maintenance was satisfactory," the other Gundam answered. "I am pleased to report that all of my systems are intact. My pain receptors are not picking up any potentially hidden abnormalities."

"The report said you had no major damage," Kao Lyn continued as he stood up straight. "And Chief Haro told me you've been hiding out for over a year! Is that true?"

"Yes," Zephyranthes answered. "I have learned many self-repair techniques during my exile."

"Hoo, that's amazing!" the engineer cried. He hopped into the air and landed on the ball of his right foot. "If I ever get to meet your version of me, I'll have to compliment him on building such a great Gundam!"

He lowered his left foot, and placed it far behind him, shifting himself into a standing squat. He bent his left arm up, his fist at his chest. He extended his right arm and pointed at Captain.

"Speaking of which, how are you feeling, Captain?" he asked. "Everything alright? You've got enough fuel, don'tcha?"

"I am doing just fine, sir," Captain replied. "But you see, we're not here for a tune-up. I am here to retrieve my beam rifle and shield."

Kao Lyn did a spinning leap into the air and landed back in his shallow squat. "Oh! Of course, of course!" He swung his arms in a wide arc over his head and pointed at a long table covered in a white cloth. The assistant ball removed the cloth revealing the rifle and shield underneath.

"All calibrated and ready to go!" the engineer added triumphantly.

"Thank you sir," Captain said, walking over to retrieve his things.

Zephyranthes stepped forward while opening his chest compartment. "And I am here to give you something," he said.

"A present for me?" Kao Lyn asked. "Aw, you shouldn't have!"

The other Gundam fished out another piece of purple glass. "Here you are," he said, holding it out.

"Why, thank you!" the engineer cried as he quickly snatched it up. His lenses spun like pinwheels as he held it up to his face and turned it around in his hands. "What is it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It is a patch that protects humans from the Bagu Bagu," Zephyranthes explained. "I've been told you do not have these in your dimension."

"Really?! Oh my, how fascinating!" Kao Lyn said, pumping his free fist in the air. "I wish we would've met you sooner - these would've been a big help a year ago!"

"Functional Bagu Bagu still remain in my Neotopia," Zephyranthes continued. "The chief suggested that I give you one so that you may reverse engineer it."

"Oh yes, yes, yes!" Kao Lyn nodded and hopped excitedly again. "After I'm done doing maintenance on the rest of the Gundam Force, I'll get right on it." He held the patch up to a nearby spotlight to get a better look at it. "By any chance, do you know how it works?"

"Unfortunately, I do not have the schematics in my memory banks," Zephyranthes said. "I do know that it emits a signal that jams the Bagu Bagu's visual sensors and prevents them from seeing the wearer. I also know that it attaches to the skin."

"Well, it doesn't look that complicated," Kao Lyn chuckled. "I'm sure I'll figure it out easily enough, don't you worry!" The assistant ball rolled up to him, and he handed the patch to it. "Of course, if you'd like to stay and help, I can tell you when I'm ready."

Captain suddenly appeared next to them. His shield was in one hand, and his rifle with its muzzle carefully pointed upward in the other. "Actually, sir, we can't stay," he said. "We will be going to Lab C. Our Gunperry will be departing in 15.5 minutes."

"Hoo, I see," the engineer said. "Well, I won't keep you then. Good luck, you two!"

"Thank you again, sir."

As the two Gundams turned and walked around the dividers, Kao Lyn waved and called after them, "Oh, and if either one of you need a quick tune-up, let me know, okay?"

"Roger!"

The Captains returned to the hallway where they found a forklift with a stack of crates blocking the intersection. As they waited for the slow-moving vehicle to move out of their path, Zephyranthes suddenly asked, "Do we have enough time to go to the control room?"

Captain looked at him. "I'm not sure. Why do you want to go there?" he asked.

"I would like to give one of my patches to one of your operators, preferably the lead," the other Gundam replied. "Since they're in change of communications, I thought that at least one of them should be protected."

"Hmm..." Captain paused perform a few calculations. "If we take the freight elevator, we can to avoid the crowds and save up to 2.5 minutes. As long as we kept the visit short, we should be on-time."

A moment later, the forklift had finally moved forward enough to allow the Gundams to pass through. They turned the corner and hurried down to the end of the hall where they found the freight elevator in question. After a quick ride up to the top floor, the doors opened into more narrow, pale green corridors. These ones, however, were a lot quieter than the ones below; there didn't seem to be a single human or robot around.

After a short walk, they reached a pair of metal doors with "RESTRICTED AREA" printed on them in large black letters and a spherical camera next to them within a recess in the wall. Captain leaned close to the lens, allowing it to scan his face. The doors slid open a second later, revealing an elliptical room with a domed window for a roof. A desk littered with laptops, holographic projectors, and computer accessories ran along the room's circumference. Seated at this desk was Juli, who was busy typing away at a multitude of holographic screens. One of the larger screens had a tree-like image on it.

Captain and his twin entered the room, and he gently leaned his rifle against the nearest wall. "Good afternoon, Juli," he said.

"Hello, Captain," the head operator responded over her shoulder. She immediately did a double take and turned around in her chair when she realized there were two Captain Gundams in the room. "Oh! Is this the Gundam that was brought here last night?"

"Yes. I'd like to introduce to Captain Zephyranthes," Captain replied, gesturing to his companion.

Zephyranthes stepped forward. "Hello," he said, offering his hand.

"Hello there," Juli said, standing up and returning the handshake. "It's nice to meet you."

Once again, the other Captain reached into his chest compartment and pulled out a patch. "I've come to give you something important," he said.

"Why thank you." Juli accepted the patch and quickly glanced at it. "It's very pretty. Did you make this yourself?"

"Oh no, this is no ordinary trinket," Zephyranthes explained. "This patch will prevent the Bagu Bagu from petrifying you."

"Wow, really?" She looked at it with wide eyes before trying to hand it back to the Gundam. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept it. I'm not on the front lines, so this would be wasted on me."

"But you are the head operator in this dimension as well, correct?" he protested. "Though you may not be in the line of fire, your position is still an important one. Your safety is therefore imperative."

"Well, if you insist," Juli said. She turned around and placed in on the desk next to her holoscreen projector. "I'll put it right here for now. Thank you so much!"

"Would you like me to show you how to put it on?"

Juli sighed. "You'll have to show me later - I'm a bit too busy right now. Last night, someone tried to gain unauthorized access to an SDG satellite as well as the Brain World."

"A satellite and the Brain World?" Captain cried. "Who would be capable of doing something like that?"

Juli shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know," she answered. "All of the addresses I've managed to recover were all garbled. I've spent all day trying to decrypt them, but haven't had much success. Whoever did this knew how to cover their tracks very well."

"Hmmm..." The first thing that came to Captain's mind was that one of the rebels from Zephyranthes' world managed to follow him into this one, then attempted to gain access to the Brain World. But no, that wasn't right - didn't Zephyranthes say that they blocked Brain World access? And besides, the mirror had been in SDG custody all night last night; if someone else came through the portal, everyone would have known. Unless...

A pop-screen suddenly appeared in Captain's field of vision, snapping him out of his thoughts. They had five minutes until their Gunperry departed for Lab C.

"I would offer to assist you in finding the intruder, but right now Captain Zephyranthes and I must go to Lab C," he told Juli. "Perhaps I can help when we return?"

"That's alright, Captain," she replied with a smile. "Alicia and Nastasha are helping me during their free time. I'll let you know how far we get when you come back."

"Roger," he said, scooping up his rifle. "Good luck!"

"You too!"

The two Gundams left the control room and hurried back to the freight elevator. They got inside and Captain pressed the button for the first floor.

"Do you have a Captain System?" Zephyranthes asked as the doors closed behind them.

"Huh? Er...yes, I do," Captain replied.

"Perhaps you can use your Captain System to find the intruder," Zephyranthes suggested.

"It's possible, but I can't do that," Captain said. "The Captain System is for emergency use only. Even if I was approved to use it, I would have to be hooked up to the Re-Equip Ring first."

"Interesting. It sounds like your system is more complicated than mine," the other Captain said. "However...if your Dark Axis also used Control Horns, how were you able to remove them?"

"Actually, we did so by mechanical means," Captain explained. "Sometimes we were able to remove them by hand. Other times we destroyed them, or they fell off the victim."

"Understood." Zephyranthes rubbed his chin. "It sounds rather inefficient, but I suppose I should not criticize your methods if the result was the same."

The door opened out into the first floor. Captain secretly felt relieved; he did not want to say it, but his twin's questions about the Captain System were making him uncomfortable. The implications that Zephyranthes used his often did too.

They left the elevator and hurried back down the corridor to the main hallway. Fortunately for them, the engineering wing was not far from the launching strips.

"As long as there have been no major accidents in the hallways, we should reach our Gunperry with time to spare," Captain said. "I'm estimate that we will be about 2.9 min-"

He cut himself off and stopped in his tracks as he nearly collided with another mech who was just rounding a corner. The other robot had distinct wings made from metal strips with small rockets attached underneath as well as two sets of V-fins.

"Heeey, Captain!" Guneagle said. "Fancy seein' you here!"

"Oh, hello Guneagle," Captain replied, waving. "Kao Lyn is looking for you, you know. It's time for your preventative maintenance."

Zephyranthes was strangely quiet. Out of the corner of his optic, Captain could see that his twin was glaring at Guneagle for some reason.

"Yeah, I know," Guneagle said with a shrug. "Gunchopper Seven told me a few minutes ago. But hey, no rush. It's not like we're going anywhere right this second." He looked over at the glowering Zephyranthes. "So...is this the new guy? I heard another Gundam showed up yesterday, but I was already recharging when it happened."

"That is correct," Captain nodded. "Allow me to introduce you to Captain Zephyranthes. He came to our dimension last night, and I brought him back to base. Our next mission will be to help him reclaim his Neotopia from a coup."

"Is that so?" the winged Gundam replied. "Well, welcome to this dimension's Blanc Base, Zephyrus! I mean, Zefron. Uh...Zebedee?"

"Zephyranthes." While the other Captain's voice remained its usual polite monotone, his optics narrowed and became a shade paler than they already were. Captain found his twin's behavior troubling, but before he could say anything, Guneagle was already holding out his hand.

"Right!" the young Gundam said, ignoring the evil eye that Zephyranthes was giving him. "Put 'er there, pal! I'm sure you've got a Guneagle in your dimension too, but I bet he's not quite as handsome as me!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Zephyranthes grabbed Guneagle's hand, and instead of shaking it, slowly began to squeeze it. His irises were blazing bright white and his optics dimmed to a dark green. He instantly let go when the winged Gundam let out a small shout. Guneagle then jerked his hand away, shaking it.

Captain leaned his rifle and shield against a wall before rushing over to his subordinate's side. "Are you okay, Guneagle?" he asked, looking over the injured hand.

The younger Gundam rubbed his metal fingers as he looked up at Captain. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." He turned to Zephyranthes and said, "That is some kung-fu grip ya got there!"

Meanwhile, Zephyranthes' optics had returned to their normal colors. "Oh, I am terribly sorry," he said. "Did I do any major damage?"

"Nah, I'm okay," Guneagle said. "Doesn't matter anyway, I gotta go get maintenanced. Kao Lyn can tell me if anything's wrong."

"Again, I apologize for behaving so irrationally," Zephyranthes continued. "I believe my targeting systems may have misfired."

Guneagle shrugged. "Hey, don't worry about it. Anyway, I better get going before the old man busts my chops again!"

"Do you need assistance?" Captain asked, noticing that the younger Gundam was still cradling the injured hand.

"No thanks, Captain. I'll be fine," Guneagle replied. "See you two later!" He then turned around and walked away.

"Good luck!" Captain waved as he gathered his armaments. He and his twin then turned the corner and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Zephyranthes checked his internal clock and sighed. "My carelessness has cost us 2.5 minutes," he remarked.

"Not to worry," Captain reassured him. "I can always radio the crew if we are running late."

As luck would have it, they were right on time. The atrium had cleared out as the personnel had finished their lunch breaks and returned to work. The Gundams jogged through it without worrying about bumping into someone. As they ran outside to the landing strips, the crew of Gunperry Eight spotted them and waved them over.

They boarded the vessel and the hatch closed behind them. This particular Gunperry had no seats; instead, it had harnesses along one wall. They strapped themselves in, and the aircraft took off a few minutes afterward. Once they were in flight and reached a safe altitude, Zephyranthes unstrapped himself and walked over to the nearest window.

He spied the terraced, circular districts of downtown Neotopia far below. They had just passed by the twin peaks of Neotopia Tower and its platform parks. Off in the distance were the checkered fields of Neotopia's outskirts which came in nearly every shade of green. Beyond that was the Neotopia Bay and the ocean. If he made his optics zoom in at maximum magnification, he could just barely make out a few ships on the horizon.

"Interesting. At a glance, this Neotopia is almost identical to my own," he said. "I do detect one difference, however - your V-Ball building is south of the Neotopia Tower, mine is north of it."

"Um...yes," Captain nodded before falling silent again. Ever since they boarded the Gunperry, he had been ruminating on incident with Guneagle. That death glare, that attempt to break his fingers...Zephyranthes had something against the younger Gundam, but Captain didn't know what. He was hesitant to ask, but ultimately he decided it was better to investigate than remain ignorant.

"May I ask you something?" he said.

Zephyranthes turned away from the window. "Yes?" he replied.

"When you shook hands with Guneagle, you said your 'targeting systems misfired.' What did you mean by that? Why would your weapons systems target him?"

Zephyranthes closed his optics and shook his head. "I am so embarrassed. I cannot apologize enough for that." he sighed. "You see...my systems could not distinguish your Guneagle from mine."

"Huh?"

"I did not want to say it in front of your comrade, as I thought it could upset him...but my version of Guneagle was a traitor. He assisted the rebels in capturing my Blanc Base."

"Really?" Captain's optics went wide.

"Yes. I have not had a chance to reprogram all of my targeting systems yet, which is why I saw him as an enemy."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear about that."

"Do not worry," Zephyranthes said. "He is not very powerful, and therefore not much of a concern. If we encounter him in our mission, I will make sure that he will be neutralized quickly."

That discomfort began to nag Captain again. "We could always capture him for questioning," he suggested. "If he is an important figure among the rebels, he may have valuable information."

There was a tense pause as Zephyranthes just stared at Captain for a moment. Those pale optics felt as if they were boring through his Soul Drive. Eventually the other Gundam said, "Yes. Perhaps we should do that instead."

He went back to looking out the window. Captain decided not to ask his counterpart any more questions for the duration of the trip.

Gunperry Eight touched down on the sandy runway at Lab C. As the two Captains emerged from the vessel, they were greeted by a large group of humans and GMs in SDG uniforms. One of the GMs stepped forward and saluted.

"Good afternoon, Captain," the GM said in a feminine voice. "I'm Lieutenant VT1964, head of Lab C security. We're here to escort you and your guest to the Dimensional Transport Device."

"Right." Captain turned to his twin. "Let's go."

The party left the runway and made their way down a narrow road that led to the main site. As they walked, Zephyranthes handed out his anti-Bagu Bagu patches to the human security guards. Off in the distance, the Dimensional Transport Device towered over the cacti and desert shrubs, its multitude of rotors twirling. Beyond it was the shadowy, jagged peaks of the mountains.

"What's the status on the portal to the other Neotopia?" Captain asked the lieutenant.

"Dr. Bell Wood reports that he has determined the coordinates to the other dimension," she replied. "However, he hasn't been able to successfully create a functioning portal yet."

"Has he said why?"

"The only thing he's told us so far is that he isn't even sure what's wrong."

"I understand. Has anything tried to emerge from the other side?"

"Negative, Captain. Nothing's tried to come out of the mirror since we've had it - not human, insect, or otherwise."

"That's good to hear."

"Yes, that is quite a relief," Zephyranthes added.

After a few minutes of walking along the dusty road, the Gundams and their escorts arrived at the Dimensional Transport Device itself. Human and GM guards, all armed with laser rifles, surrounded the perimeter of the giant machine and blocked off its bridges. At the base of the main tower was some sort of object covered in a lead cloth. Large cables snaked out from underneath the cloth, connecting it to the various pillars and towers. Captain realized the thing was actually the mirror when he saw its uncovered wooden feet.

What he did not see, however, were a certain Knight and Musha Gundam. Had Bell Wood not summoned them yet? He found the young genius at a workbench close to the covered mirror. He was typing away at holographic screens generated by a laptop sitting on the bench. Whatever was on those screens must have been bad news, as Captain noticed that he kept glaring at them, sometimes even sneering.

The entourage stopped at the nearest bridge. VT1964 saluted and said, "Well Captain, we made it. I need to head back to the main security office now. Let us know when you need to depart."

"We will," Captain replied. "Thank you again."

"And uh...good luck!" the GM added, gesturing to the ever more frustrated Bell Wood.

With that, the lieutenant turned and left while the guards stationed at the bridge moved out of the Captains' way. They walked to the central platform and carefully approached the irritated physicist.

"Good afternoon, Bell Wood," Captain said quietly, hoping not to startle the human.

"WHA-?!" Bell Wood jumped back anyway, tearing himself away from his screens in the process. He looked up to see the Gundams and breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, it's just you Captain. Can't sneak up on a guy like that!" He turned back to his laptop for a second before immediately jerking his head away and giving Zephyranthes a confused stare. "Uh, is that the new guy...or did Kao Lyn build another one of you?"

"It's the former," Captain answered. "This is Captain Zephyranthes, a member of the SDG from the other dimension."

"Greetings," Zephyranthes said politely.

"So you're from over there, huh?" Bell Wood pointed at the mirror. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this portal, would ya? It's been drivin' me crazy all day!"

"Well, I can tell you that in my dimension, the portal is not inside another mirror or any other kind of object," the other Gundam replied. "It is simply hanging in midair."

"Eh, that's better than nothin' I guess," Bell Wood said as he brought up a black screen with lines of code. "I'll plug it in and see if it works."

As the teen physicist began to edit his device's programming, Captain made another brief scan around the area to see if he missed anything earlier. When he still did not detect his friends, he asked, "Were you able to get in contact with Zero and Bakunetsumaru?"

"'Fraid not, Captain. I've been too busy workin' on this all day," Bell Wood replied as he continued to type. "Couldn't stop to summon them, either. The portal's slowly closin' on us."

"It is?"

"Yup. See for yourself." He left his bench and walked over to the covered mirror. He lifted the lead sheet from the side, hopefully out of the way of the radiation. The Gundams could see that the portal's light had dimmed to the brightness of an ordinary table lamp. Its edges were no longer glowing.

Bell Wood lowered the sheet. "It's diameter shrunk about 25% since this morning," he said as he returned to his laptop. "So your friends are gonna hafta wait until I can figure out how to get this thing to work!"

"If I may, did you take the time differential into account?" Zephyranthes piped up.

"Time differential?" The human stopped typing and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, there is a twelve-hour difference between my dimension and yours," the other Gundam explained.

Bell Wood slapped his forehead. "Aw, dangit! I wish somebody woulda told me that sooner!" He rapidly tapped the black screen to make the code scroll faster.

"If, for some reason, the added twelve hours is still not sufficient, you may also try adding 27.3 days," Zephyranthes suggested. "There was a full moon in my dimension, but your calendars inform me that there is a new moon here."

"On it."

Bell Wood went back to typing, grumbling to himself about how he should have just stuck his head through the portal. Captain was about to tell him that would have been an unwise thing to do, when another pop-up reminder suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

"Oh dear," he said, realizing what the reminder was for.

"Is something wrong?" Zephyranthes asked as he stepped away from the workbench.

"It's time to pick Shute up from school," Captain replied, "but I cannot leave you by yourself. I will have to let him know to go home instead."

Zephyranthes held up a hand. "I appreciate your concern, but there is no need for that. I am safe here. You may retrieve your human friend."

"But it would go against orders to abandon you," Captain protested.

The other Gundam shook his head. "You would not be 'abandoning' me because, as I recall, you did not receive a direct order to protect me," he clarified. "That order was given to the security guards here. I believe there are a sufficient number of them to defend me in the event of a rebel attack."

"You are...correct, actually," Captain said. "Chief Haro actually did not give me an order to defend you personally. But...it would still seem wrong if I were to simply leave."

He lowered his head as he calculated the best possible solution. After a few seconds, he looked back up and said, "I have an idea!" He then handed Zephyranthes his gun and shield. "I'm assuming that our armaments will be identical," he added.

The other Gundam quickly scanned the rifle and shield. "Yes, it seems are though all of the specifications are the same," he said. "Are you sure you want to lend them to me?"

"Absolutely," Captain replied. "I know you said that the chances of the rebels coming here are negligible, but I would feel much more at ease if you had a means of defending yourself. Besides, it is best that I do not carry my weapons into the city during relative peacetime."

Zephyranthes strapped the shield to his back and positioned the rifle with its muzzle over his shoulder. "If you find it acceptable, then I shall take them for the time being," he said. "Hopefully I will not have to use them."

Captain radioed Lieutenant VT1964 to let her know where he was going, what he was doing, and to be on alert while he was out. Afterward, he walked over to a spot that was clear of the device's towers and spinning rotors.

"I am now going to pick up Shute from school," he said to his twin. "A round trip will take approximately 20.2 minutes. Don't hesitate to message me if there are any new developments."

"Understood." Zephyranthes saluted with his free hand.

With that, Captain activated his rockets. He floated straight up until he had enough clearance over the device, and then flew off in the direction of the city. Zephyranthes waited until he was out of sight before approaching Bell Wood, who was still hard at work altering the code.

"Excuse me, doctor," he said quietly, trying not to startle the young genius.

"Huh?" Bell Wood briefly glanced up from his screens to find the pale-eyed Gundam staring at him. "Oh hey, Other Captain. What's up? You thought of something else I could plug in?"

"Unfortunately, I do not have any new information about my home dimension," he answered. "Instead, I have something to give you."

He pulled another patch from his chest and handed it to Bell Wood. The teen flipped it over in his hands a few times before pulling his goggles down over his eyes.

"Thanks, but...what is it?" he asked as he adjusted an eyepiece. "It looks like the same color as the mirror's edges. You think if I hook this up to the device, we'll finally get a portal goin'?"

"I am afraid it is unrelated to the creation of dimensional portals," Zephyranthes said. "It is technology from my world - an anti-Bagu Bagu patch."

Bell Wood raised his goggles. "Say what?"

"Bagu Bagu are still functional around the outskirts of my Neotopia," the Gundam continued. "If the back end of the portal has not changed locations, there is a 5% chance they may pass through it. Because this is a major safety concern, I came here to-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!" Bell Wood held up his hands. "These things sound cool and all, but I really gotta get my butt movin'!" He placed the patch down on the table next to his laptop. "How about this - you can tell me all about them after I get this thing workin'?"

"Understood," Zephyranthes replied. "In the meantime, I will give the patches to the other human personnel. Let me know when you are ready, and I will show you how to attach them."

"Got it."

The Gundam wandered off, and Bell Wood went back to his screens. He carefully searched through the lines of code, looking for the right places to insert the twelve-hour difference. The patch twitched slightly on the table, but he was too busy typing to notice.

He also didn't notice when it suddenly stood up on tiny needle-like legs.

He still didn't notice when it slowly crawled across the table toward him...