A/N - And I am back with the second chapter! I know that this series is not going to be as popular as my other series, but I don't care. I love to write, and this story was born through that passion.
Yes, 'Knight' is not her real name. It's a title used for reasons that will be explained later. 'Storm' is a name she uses to hide her identity, which again will be made clear later.
The reason I chose to start with the Lacroan arc is because this is where I believe the series really took off. Everything before was the set-up, but now things start to get personal. And… I just really loved the arc. It was really interesting and gave a lot of depth to Zero's character.
…And Bakunetsumaru's fear of ghosts is absolutely hysterical! I mean, he's a 'big bad samurai'… and he freaks out over ghosts! That was just so hilarious, and my only regret is that I could not find a way to fit that into my current plot. But, that doesn't mean I won't try for the future… heheheh… watch out Baku'!
Not a long chapter, but the first few chapters will be. Later on, when things get more serious will the length increase.
Disclaimer: I don't own SDGF. I only own my OC(s).
-Zako-
The three had been climbing for some time, with the ground now very far below them. As they continued up, the young human boy, who was in the lead, suddenly slipped, and with a cry lost his grip on the pillar.
But he fell no more than a few meters, as a mechanical hand grabbed his organic one. "I've got you!" Storm grunted, and swung the boy up beside her.
"Thanks." Shute gasped, grabbing at the rock face.
"Shute, are you all right?" The knight below asked worriedly.
"I'm okay Zero." The boy assured, though he was shaking violently.
Storm could feel him shaking, as her hand was pressed to his back, holding the boy up. "Are you certain Shute?" She asked. After all, this boy is my ticket out of here.
Shute nodded, taking in a deep breath. "Yeah." He said, and began to climb again.
Storm waited as the boy climbed up that same area, and when he passed it with no problems, she continued her way up. However, not a minute later did she hear Shute cry out in a panic.
"Guys, I'm under attack!" He shouted, forcing himself against the wall of the rocky pillar as much as he could, trying to wave what looked like jellyfish-ghosts away.
She was quick to climb up beside him, and stared at the strange, glowing tentacled creatures. One floated very close to the boy, but instead of stinging him it floated right through him.
"Something just passed right through me…" He gasped in shock.
Zero, chuckling, pulled himself up on the ledge Shute and Storm were on. "Fear not, young Shute. That is a harmless creature called an Mmn."
"An Mmn?" The boy repeated, reaching out to the creature. To his surprise, his hand passed right through it.
"Yes," Zero went on, chuckling as Shute continued to try and touch the creatures not unlike a curious kitten, "An Mmn is a type of spirit. A spirit is an entity made up of energy and is mostly immaterial, so it slips through almost all substances. But don't worry, it's harmless."
Storm stared curiously as another drifted closer, and held out a single hand to one. It too, passed right through her, and she felt nothing but a small tingle of energy as it did. "Fascinating…" She murmured.
"Cool." Shute breathed. "So spirits must be different from magic, because magic's not allowed in the Dark Hole, right?"
"Correct. Magic is different from spirits." The Knight Gundam answered.
Storm nodded absently, recalling something she had learned long ago. "Magic is where one can do something unique. Spirits, on the other hand, are living creatures."
The boy then got a thoughtful look on his face. "How about that Griffin Tallgeese conjured? Was that a spirit too?"
While Storm tensed slightly at the mention of the dusky knight, Zero nodded. "The Griffin is a high-ranked spirit of Lacroa, and is also known as a divine or sacred beast. He is one of the four sacred beasts that protect the castle of Lacroa."
"You mean there are four sacred beasts?" Shute asked, eyes wide.
Zero looked up, a faraway look in his eyes. "Griffin, Phoenix, Unicorn, Jormungand - the sacred beasts. They give their power to a being that they recognize as their lord. That person is able to summon his beast at will. And so, such a beast is called a 'summoned-beast.'"
"A summoned-beast, huh?" Shute murmured, mulling it over.
Storm said nothing, just looking at the knight with her violet eyes.
Zero looked at the them, nodding. "Correct. And a person who controls a summoned-beast… is one of the most dangerous things in the universe."
The three continued their climb, but Storm's eyes narrowed. If only you knew what I knew, Winged Knight.
About an hour passed, though it was hard to tell, when the entrance of the Dark Hole came into full view. Finally! She thought with relief. However, she noticed that the rock structure under her hands changed.
Zero noticed it as well. "Be careful you two!" He called up. "This part of the rock feels different!"
"I'm okay!" Shute assured… only to scream in fright.
"What's wrong?!" Storm yelled.
"A monster!" Was all the boy could say before it happened.
The two mecha stared in bewildered terror as another giant Bagubagu flew off, Shute clutching one of its claws for dear life.
"Shute!" Zero cried, and ignited the beam sabre. "Hang on, I'll think of something!"
The two watched as the Bagubagu buzzed around, trying to throw Shute off.
Storm's mind raced. It attacked Shute because it's attracted to organic matter! Unless something else organic is found, it will be focused solely on him!
Suddenly, Zero lunged to the side, snagging… a banana?! Storm watched perplexed as he waved the fruit in the air, yelling, "Here, boy! Get your fresh, organic matter!"
"Zero!" She gasped in surprise, not expecting this at all. "What are you-?! Whoa!"
What ever the plan was, it worked. The Bagubagu focused its mono-eye on the Winged Knight and did an aerial U-turn, charging at the Gundam, nearly knocking over Storm in the process as it zoomed past.
"That's it, come and get it - wait a minute!" Zero looked up towards the Hole's entrance.
"What?!" Storm asked, scrambling over. She had no desire to fall to her death in this place.
"When I give the word, I need you to hold onto me." The knight instructed, watching as the bug circled back. She nodded, watching as he pulled his arm back.
The Bagubagu was heading towards them. Closer… and closer…
Just when it looked like the bug was going to career into them, Zero shouted "NOW!" and threw the banana up and out of the Hole. The knight then grabbed her, and Storm held on tight as he jumped. Despite herself she shut her eyes, a bit terrified of this situation.
To be honest, Storm was not sure what happened next, but when she opened her eyes she could see that she and Zero were now clutched in the same claw as Shute, and that the Bagubagu was almost to the Hole's entrance.
She took in a shuddering breath despite herself. "…Oh my…"
Zero placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Trust me m'lady. We'll get out of here alright. I promise."
She nodded, not trusting her voice. This… is VERY different from anything father, Sazabi or my uncles prepared me for.
As they neared the edge of the Hole, they could hear someone's enraged shouting. Soon, they burst out of the Hole, and Storm could see what the commotion was about.
The banana had impaled itself on Tallgeese's helmet fin!
She was unable to see any more, as Zero pulled Shute and herself out of the bug's grasp and leapt.
"We're out!" The boy cried.
Storm felt nothing but relief as she felt her magic return to her. Finally!
"We did it! Now to free the others!" Zero declared, his cape having regrown to signify his returned magic. Then, gathering his regained power, he threw the beam sabre at the two trapped mecha on the wall - Captain and Bakunetsumaru. The sabre struck the space between them, and the released power burst the Claws from the wall, freeing them. Zero, Shute and Storm landed before the triplets, who were smiling at their arrival.
"Cool!" They chirped.
"But we lost the Egg…" One of the triplets - Coah - groaned.
Storm was distracted from this as Zero gently grabbed her arm. "Go hide m'lady!" The knight urged. "Before you are spotted!"
She nodded frantically, feigning fear. She scrambled behind some nearby rocks, peeking out from behind them. Looking around, she spotted Shute and one of the triplets standing near a box.
"Ha! So the Spirit Egg was a fake?" She could hear Shute asked, laughing.
"You know it!" The triplet nodded, "I wanted to play a trick on that loser!"
"But now he has the real thing!" The Musha Gundam - Bakunetsumaru - pointed out.
Another triplet then pointed into the air. "Look!"
Storm followed his finger, and saw Tallgeese slice through the Bagubagu, surrounded by red power. Well, looks like he's recovered.
The fight renewed itself from before the magical twister, with Tallgeese summoning his Griffen again. However, the Gundam Force had their own counter attack.
Tallgeese's energy claw zoomed towards the 'Gundam Force Triple Attack'. She mentally made note of the attacks used in the triple attack. The bright flash when the two forces met forced her to shield her eyes, and when it cleared she saw that the two attacks had canceled each other out.
"Tallgeese!" A voice called out.
Zero flew up through the smoke from the blast and rammed the evil knight with his shield. The box with the Spirit Egg went flying out of Tallgeese's grip, and a single tap from Zero's sword sent it down safely to the triplets.
Storm snarled. Unbelievable! That imbecile had ONE task! ONE! And he's messing it up.
As much as she wanted to go out there and get the Egg back, she knew better. I am only here to observe, not attack. I need to stay on mission. If Tallgeese fails, it will be on his head, not mine.
As the fight between the two knights continued, Tallgeese was currently overpowering Zero with his massive power. But what the Winged Knight did next was completely unexpected. He threw his sword up, but it missed the dusky knight and continued passed him.
Zero, Storm thought, knowing that Zero would not do something like that without a reason, what are you up to?
Her eyes followed the sword, and they widened when it collided with a massive island floating above them. There was a brief explosion of contained magic energy, before the island began to fall from its position.
The island slammed into both knights, but Zero had help from his companions to escape… while Tallgeese was trapped by his own semicircle claws!
This… is not good… Storm thought, flinching as the island slammed right down atop the entrance to the Dark Hole. When the dust cleared, she could see that it landed Tallgeese side down. I'd best leave. Before anything else happens.
With that, she used the remaining dust to hide her escape.
-z-
They had done it. Tallgeese was defeated, and they had retrieved the Spirit Egg, which had chosen Zero to be its true lord. But there was one thing missing. Or rather, someone.
Shute looked around, confused. "Hey, where's Storm?"
Bakunetsumaru looked at the boy, surprised. "Who?"
"Zero and I found someone who had been trapped in the Dark Hole," the boy explained, "but now I can't find her."
"I told her to hide." The Winged Knight answered. "Let me go retrieve her."
While the knight went to a pile of nearby rocks, Shute explained who Storm was to Captain, Bakunetsumaru and the triplets.
However, Zero was unable to find the femme, no matter how hard he looked. "Were could she have gone?" He questioned.
"Oh man…" Shute groaned.
"Do you think she left of her own accord?" The Neotopian Gundam asked.
The knight sighed. "That I do not know Captain." He admitted, but he looked towards the entrance to this cavern. "But something tells me that we will see her again."
Shute nodded. "I hope so…"
-z-
"Sazabi's not going to be happy about this…" Storm, now in her 'Knight' form, muttered to herself as she flew away from Lacroa. She couldn't risk being discovered any further. At least I'm not coming back empty handed.
It was sometime later when she returned to the dark form of the Magnamusai. The Zako soldiers were quick to move out of her way as she landed on the side deck. One then bravely stepped up towards her.
"We are glad you are back safe, ma'am." He said bowing his head.
Knight nodded, and a small smile formed on her masked face. "Thank you." She said, before ordering, "Now, alert the Commander that I have returned. I have news for him."
The Zako nodded, and headed off into the ship. Another approached her, looking up at her with a large optic. "Uh… ma'am, there's a problem on the main deck." He shuffled uneasily.
Knight sighed, placing her face in her hand. "They're at it again, aren't they." She deadpanned. This was sadly… nothing new.
He nodded.
She groaned in aggravation, and stomped towards the main deck. The gathered Zako soldiers parted, leaving her a clear path. As she got closer, the femme could hear the sounds of fighting - mainly of the verbal sort.
"Oh, like you can do any better, you piece of scrap!"
"At least I don't need to replace my arm all the time!"
"Oh yeah, says you Mr. Trigger Finger!"
"Dah! Why can't I make Boom Boom?!"
"SHUT UP, DOM!"
Rounding the corner, Knight could see two mecha at each others throats. One was a red coloured robot build similar to the Zakos, but much larger with added armour and spikes. The command fin on the top of his head signified his rank as a squad leader. The other mecha was sleek, blue and had a large sliver set of claws for a hand. He also had a command fin. Both had a single, pink mono-optic.
Her temper snapped. "UNCLE ZAPPER! UNCLE GRAPPLER! WHAT THE FRAG ARE YOU FIGHTING OVER NOW?!"
Both mecha jumped away from each other, startled.
"Uh, well-?!" The red mecha, Zapper spluttered.
"Y-You see-?!" The blue mecha, Grappler panicked.
"ENOUGH!" She growled, placing her hands on her hips. "How old are you?! Newly builts?!
The two spluttered, completely caught off guard.
"Dah… hello niece." A large, bulky red one-optic mecha, tall as he was wide, and easily a head taller than Zapper or Grappler, with a command fin of his own, greeted.
Despite her anger, Knight had to smile at him. "Hello to you too, Uncle Dom."
Turning to the other two mecha, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, just under the round, red coloured stone sitting there. "Now then," she tapped her foot, "what happened this time?"
Zapper Zaku gave the blue mecha the stink eye. "Mr. Impossibility here was telling me that my new strategy for attacking Neotopia is flawed."
Grappler Gouf scoffed. "'Flawed' is an understatement. Your plan is completely bogus!"
A vein popped on the red mecha's head. "I'll give you bogus, you overgrown-!"
"ENOUGH!" Knight snapped, glaring at the two of them with her red eyes. "How about instead of arguing over a plan, send some troops to observe the Force, then use that information to create one," she glared at the two of them, "together."
Turning away, she added, "I need to inform Sazabi of what I observed during my trip to Lacroa. Don't let me catch you arguing over this again."
She didn't stick around to see if they would listen to her, as she was not their babysitter. Making her way inside the dark interior of the ship, the femme headed towards the main elevator. Typing in her passcode, the elevator door opened, and once she was inside it closed. The elevator moved upwards, and when it stopped she stepped out into a dark room.
Several consoles with blinking pink lights lined the walls, and on the far wall was a large circular screen that stretched from floor to ceiling, which showed the outside of the Magnamusai.
"Ah, I see you have returned." A voice said.
In the center of the room was a large desk, with an equally large chair behind it. And for good reason, for sitting in that chair was a massive magenta mecha twice as big as Destroyer Dom, with massive, moth-like wings on its back with odd ports on the edges. He had gigantic shoulder pads, and the top of his head was built to resemble a crush cap, with a golden eagle added on the front. Though he had the signature Dark Axis mono-optic, the bottom half of his face resembled a jagged smile. On his chest was an emblem of a yellow bird.
Knight bowed her head as the elevator door closed behind her, darkening the room. "Yes, Commander Sazabi."
The large mecha stood up, making his way around the desk. Though he towered over her, he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "And I am glad." Sazabi said.
Knight smiled, straightening. "As am I… Uncle."
The massive commander smiled back, and pulled his hand back. "What have you observed?" He asked.
Knight was quick to explain what had happened to her, and of Tallgeese's fate. Sazabi was rightly upset, but he kept his temper cool. She was the one mecha he would never blast with his fannels.
"I wondered when that imbecile would finally screw up." He sighed, irritated. "But despite this setback, the preparations for the Neotopian Invasion will continue as such." He then turned to her. "Is there anything else?"
Knight nodded. "Yes. I found something when I was trapped in that Hole." With that, she reached into her sub-spacial storage pocket, pulling out the gold egg-like object.
Sazabi looked surprised. "What is it?"
She shrugged, cradling the object close to her. "No idea. But my best guess would be some type of Spirit Egg."
The magenta mecha hummed. "How interesting…"
Before anything else could be said, the egg began to glow. The two watched with wide eyes as it did, before they were forced to shut them as the glow grew so bright, that it was impossible to see what was happening. Knight, however, felt its weight shift in her hands.
When the glow faded, a small creature rested in her hands.
"Amazing…" Knight murmured.
Sazabi nodded silently in agreement.
The creature was laying on its back, and its paws were tucked in close. It shifted, and opened two, bright blue eyes with white pupils. The creature yawned, revealing tiny white teeth. The creature stretched out, revealing what it looked like.
The creature was some sort of mix between a cat and a dog, with short, thick fur. It had a dog's muzzle, cat ears, a lean body, and thin legs with large paws. The creature stretched more, revealing a pair of feathery wings resting on its back. Its tail was long and bushy, and seemed to be able to flatten out. The creature was mostly white, with gold colouring on its ears, under belly, and wing tips.
The creature looked Knight straight in the eye, and… "Mew!"
"Well," Knight said, trying to hide the fact that she was smitten by the creature, "we now know that it was a Spirit Egg of some sort."
"So," Sazabi asked, "are you going to name it?"
She stared at him, surprised. "You're letting me keep it?"
He chuckled, saying, "You found it, so you can raise it."
The femme snorted. "Admit it Uncle, it's too cute for even you."
Sazabi rolled his single optic, trying to give her a look. "I admit nothing."
Knight shook her head, before turning to look at the spirit. It's fur seemed to glow even in this dark room, and its eyes shone like twin suns.
She smiled, knowing exactly what to call it. "I'll name her… Sunlight."
The creature, Sunlight, purred loudly, like she was agreeing to the name.
Sazabi, on the other hand, made a strange sound. "'Sunlight'? Really?"
Knight scowled, and if she could she would have made a face at him. "Like you could come up with anything better." She huffed.
The commander just laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender.
Sunlight at that moment seemed to decide that she did not want to stay in Knight's hands, and scrambled up to her shoulders, wrapping herself around the femme's neck. The baby spirit let out a content sounding purr, closing her glowing eyes and dozing.
Knight smiled, and with a gentle hand scratched Sunlight's head. "Thank you, Uncle Sazabi."
The massive commander of the Magnamusai chuckled, and gently guided her back to the elevator. "You're welcome. Now then, I do believe that you have a report to write, and a training session in an hour?"
She groaned, as he laughed. "Aw man…"
-Zako-
A/N - And done!
Yes, as you can see, things are a little different on the Magnamusai. If you see the characters as acting OOC, then just remember that they have a 'special' member with them. Don't worry, you'll learn more about her and her relationship with the crew later on!
Yes, I like suspense. Can't you tell? ;)
And trust me when I say, the reveal(s) will be epic! …Well, I hope.
I am going to try weekly updates, but I can't make any promises. I will do my best though!
'Till next time!
Next Chapter - Training, Training, and More Training