G Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Rise, Crusade Gundam! ❯ Return of the Shuffle Alliance! ( Chapter 15 )

Whoever was in the War Gundam now knew fear. The God Gundam strode forward, and grabbed the Gundam by the chest-plate, lifting it into the air.

 

“You know who I am, and what I can do, so don't try anything funny.” Domon voice was hard and unyielding. “Why are you attacking this city?”

 

“You think I'll talk?” The War Gundam chuckled, and freed itself from the God Gundams grasp. Dashing backwards, it hurriedly fired a volley of bullets at Domon, praying the sheer number of projectiles would get through.

 

Wrong.

 

The God Gundam didn't even appear to move, such was its blinding speed. When all of the bullets should have hit, Domon chuckled and showed the War Gundam its hand. In-between each finger was a bullet. This brought back fond memories for Domon, that of his first fight in Neo-Italy. But, that was twenty years ago, and now he was on a mission far more serious, one of world peace.

 

“Hey Domon, leave some of this guy for us, huh?” Chibodee called out. The rest of the Shuffle Alliance were inspecting the fallen fighters, whom the War Gundam defeated moments prior.

 

“Whu? Whossis?” Mark shook his head, slowly regaining consciousness. He felt pretty dumb. One hit was all it took to take him out of the fight.

 

“Hey, Neo-England! We meet again!” Chibodee laughed. “What are the odds, huh?”

 

“I'm sorry?” Mark's vision was still blurry, and he didn't recognise any of the funny coloured shapes around him.

 

“Heh, only a few months ago…you really can't remember the `champ'?”

 

“Wha?” Mark shot up suddenly. “You? Chibodee Crockett?” He could scarcely believe his eyes. That drunk back in Neo-America was a member of the Shuffle Alliance?

 

“It's good to see you again, kid! Thanks for beating that Jack McFarlane, by the way.” Chibodee helped him to his feet, and smiled. The others were slowly starting to come around.

 

“King George? What are you doing here?” Jean-Luc asked, as George helped him up.

 

“Shortly after you left, my shuffle crest began to glow, indicating that something was happening. It would appear this was it.” George looked over to the standoff between the God Gundam and the War Gundam. “We do not yet know who or what this Gundam is, but we'll find out.”

 

“Sai Saici! These two are waking up now,” called Argo. He was carrying both the Pope Gundam and the Gundam Eidolon.

 

“Great job, old man! I think this guy's coming around too,” he responded. Argo laughed at this reply.

 

“I'm still an old man, am I? It's good to see your role as the top Shaolin monk hasn't changed you too much.”

 

“You know it! Hey, how's Nastasha? Life in the space defence corps suiting her?”

 

“If you could stop with the small talk for a second, I would like to be put down now.” Vlad's thick, oily voice remarked.

 

“A simple `thank you' would suffice, friend,” replied Argo, as he put the Eidolon Gundam down.

 

“So, the great Shuffle Alliance, hm? What brings you here?”

 

“The War Gundam. Whatever its goal, it's a serious enough threat to make our shuffle crests warn us.”

 

“Alright, how come I've attracted even the great Shuffle Alliance? I'd have thought that I'm small potatoes!” The War Gundam and God Gundam were still clashing, currently duelling with beam sabres.

 

“I don't know, you randomly attack a group of Gundam Fighters, attempt to destroy a city, you tell me why you're not a threat!” Domon roared in response, and leapt back. A glowing circle of power formed on its back, and he raised his fist. “This hand of mine is burning red! Its loud roar tells me to defeat you!”

 

“Oh shit,” thought the War Gundam.

 

“Here I go! Bakanetsu God Finger!” The God Gundam reached forward, and grabbed the War Gundam's head. The immense heat emanating from its hand caused the head to start over-heating wildly. “Heat End!” With this final strike, the War Gundam stumbled back, and the head finally exploded. It fell to the ground, the only noise being a loud moan from its pilot.

 

“Hey, Domon, I told you to leave some of it for us!” Chibodee joked. “Good job anyway.”

 

“Thanks, Chibodee,” Domon replied. “Now, let's get the pilot out and see what's going on.”

 

Simon Peter shook his head as he finally regained his senses. His last memories were of seeing the War Gundam, and then his mind went blank. Now he found himself surrounded by the Shuffle Alliance, being carried on the back of the Bolt Gundam.

 

“What…what is this?” Simon Peter mumbled, to nobody in particular. Argo put the Pope Gundam onto its feet, and glanced at it inquisitively.

 

“Ah, you've woken up,” Argo responded. “You're the Pope Gundam of Neo-Vatican, right?”

 

“Yes, but…are you really the Shuffle Alliance?” Argo grinned. His life as a space pirate meant he rarely received adulation, and this was a nice change from the screams. “I cannot believe this!” Simon Peter laughed in joy. “Providence has led us all here for a certain purpose…”

 

“I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about,” Argo replied. “We should help Domon and the rest. Come on.” Vlad, who was standing nearby, turned to Simon Peter.

 

“Maybe you'll explain to me what you were babbling about.”

 

“Don't you see? I was brought here at this time so I could meet the Shuffle Alliance! They will definitely help liberate Neo-Israel!”

 

“Of course.” Vlad curtly responded, and followed Argo to the crashed War Gundam. Everybody save these three had gathered there.

 

“Domon, any luck on the pilot?” George knelt down, to take a closer look at the fallen Gundam.

 

“Nope. Its cockpit is something different from any other Gundam I've seen…” The God Gundam's fingers gently probed the surface of the Gundam, searching for anything that may yield a clue to its purpose. Suddenly, missiles fired from its various launchers, knocking back most of the fighters by surprise.

 

“Gotta thank the boss for giving me this radar,” the War Gundam laughed. “I can see plain as day!”

 

“Damn it! I'm sick and tired of this,” Mark growled. “You invade my home, attack my friends and you just won't die! I'm going to take you down for this, you monster!” The George's Cross roared into action, and Mark began to charge forward.

 

“Hold back, guys,” Chibodee advised the Shuffle Alliance. “I wanna see how much he's improved…”

 

The Crusade Gundam, stampeding shield first towards the War Gundam managed to absorb most of the missile fire, and finally got within striking range. However, Mark's various attacks were all dodged with relative ease, accompanied by the War Gundam's mocking laughter.

 

“Mark, pull back,” Vlad commanded. “Pope, use the Holy Stigmata on its legs. Jean-Luc, cover my movements with your missile fire. Bahari, use these distractions to pin the Gundam to the ground. I shall use my Heart-Breaker to finish it off.”

 

“This guy's good,” Sai Saici thought to himself. “I'm glad he wasn't in the 14th Gundam Fight…” He recalled his victory in the Final Battle, a much younger version of himself that triumphed over the rest of the Shuffle Alliance, (save an absent Domon Kashuu). Such strategic skill showed Vlad to be an expert Gundam Fighter, and Sai recognised this.

 

“I…do nothing?” Mark wearily thought, as he retreated. “It's my home he's attacking, yet I'm unable to protect it…what does that make me?”

 

“Holy Stigmata!” Simon Peter whispered a prayer as he hurled the glowing nails towards the War Gundam. His aim was deadly accurate, as they pierced its legs, effectively pinning it to the spot. Jean-Luc fired a barrage of missiles towards the ground, throwing up a massive dust cloud. Bahari used this as cover, and ran towards the War Gundam.

 

“Nice try,” the War Gundam smirked. Bahari had run into two projectiles, each with enough force to tear an arm off. Luckily, they merely grazed him, but were still of sufficient strength to knock him back. Cursing, Vlad flew forward, covering himself in his wings, confident they would protect him. Mark quickly dragged the now-unconscious Bahari away from the battle, and tried to revive him.

 

“Forget him, Anderson! I need you when I am finished with this!” Vlad roared. The Gundam Eidolon raised its arm, and the hands formed into claws. “Kashuu System, activate!” The hand now shimmered with a crimson colour, and Vlad laughed, his voice now completely devoid of human emotion, possessed solely by a sanguine rage. “Heartbreaker, strike!” The claws slammed into the War Gundam with terrifying force, enough to tear it from the Holy Stigmata. The War Gundam's energy began to slowly seep into Gundam Eidolon, and the pilot screamed as he felt it happen to him as well. “Mark, tear this cockpit open. He can't escape now.” Mark smiled, slightly relieved at the dissipation of his fears of rejection. He powered up the George's Cross, and ran forwards. He raised it in the air, ready to strike, when a blinding light surrounded the War Gundam.

 

“Heh…looks like my boss doesn't want me to die. See you later, losers.” Once the light had vanished, the Gundam had disappeared. Mark looked up, and saw a massive hole had been burned into the barrier that had surrounded them previously. Clearly the escape route, Mark thought, but he was more concerned with how it had been destroyed in the first place.

 

“Pretty good,” Argo commented. “It's good to see Gundam Fighters are no less skilled these days.”

 

“You can say that again,” Sai Saici remarked. “These guys know their moves.”

 

“Well, one can expect that from Jean-Luc,” said George, “considering that I trained him.”

 

“Yeah, so how come you haven't won a Gundam Fight George?” Chibodee sniggered. George shot him a cold glare.

 

“There are things more important than winning, my dear Chibodee. I wouldn't expect you to understand, though.”

 

“Ouch! I've been told!” Chibodee laughed. “Hey Domon! You're keeping quiet over there! What's up?” Domon didn't respond, and instead walked over to Vlad.

 

“Well, Domon Kashuu. Come to congratulate me on victory?”

 

“That attack you used, the Heartbreaker. You activated the `Kashuu system'?”

 

“Ah yes, Neo-Romanian technology based around your late father's work.” Domon stepped back in shock upon hearing this.

 

“What? That can't be!” Domon grabbed Vlad, clearly shaken by these words. “You can't use that attack anymore!”

 

“And why not?” Vlad brushed Domon's hands from his shoulders.

 

“Because my father's work stopped after F.C 60! You're using DG cells in your attack!” One of the three principles of DG cells, self-regeneration. This was clearly evident in Vlad's attack, in a slightly modified form.

 

“Is that right? Then why am I not a zombie?”

 

“How should I know? But you're in great danger! You have to stop it before you end up dead!”

 

“Listen. As great a man as your father was, the scientists of Neo-Romania have harnessed his works, and improved on them. Don't presume to lecture me on this.”

 

“You arrogant bastard!” Domon grit his teeth, and punched Vlad square in the jaw. “Go ahead and kill yourself then. Don't expect me to pick up the pieces.” He turned and walked away, while Vlad picked himself up, rubbing his jaw.

 

“Wait!” Simon Peter rushed to Domon.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I need your help. Neo-Israel is beset by a dictator, who is planning something terrible should he win…and it's very likely he will.”

 

“I've heard of this. Alzhared, right?” Domon thought carefully. “He's been killing Gundam Fighters too, hasn't he?”

 

“How did you know…?”

 

“It all adds up now. I've been investigating the missing Gundam Fighters for a while now, and what you're saying makes sense. Don't worry; the Shuffle Alliance will stop this guy.”

 

“Thank you. God be with you, King of Hearts.” Simon Peter knelt, and kissed Domon's hand. Domon was somewhat unsure of what to make of this, but accepted it as a gesture of sincerity.

 

“Right, I'll be watching you, your holiness! Good luck in the Final Battle!” Domon dashed to the Shuffle Alliance, while Simon Peter looked on, and smiled.

 

“Don't worry, Talia. You will be freed soon, I'm sure of it.”

 

“God damn him, but he's right…” Vlad spat out blood and Mark and Jean-Luc lifted him to his feet.

 

“What are you talking about, Vlad?” Jean-Luc asked.

 

“The DG cells are being in used in my Gundam…and all the Gundams of my country since F.C 70…when we bought the technology from Neo-Japan. It explains so much.” He thought of General Ivan, and the Impaler Gundam. He was now using the same technology that nearly killed his wife.

 

“Vlad, you should probably listen to him. That Heartbreaker attack's good, but it's not worth risking your life over,” Mark said. “Besides, what I've seen of your fights, you don't need it.”

 

“Ha! Thank you, Mr. Anderson, but I am in no mood for levity.” He shrugged off his helpers, and rubbed his jaw. “I will be leaving now. I need to think things over. I will see you in the Final Battle.” Mark and Jean-Luc watched him leave, looking like a man defeated.

 

“This Gundam Fight's gotten a lot more interesting,” Mark sighed. “What do you think of this War Gundam?”

 

“Honestly, Mark? This is no Gundam Fight, not any more.” Jean-Luc looked at the sky. It still rained heavily.

 

“What is it then?”

 

“A Gundam built not for the Gundam Fight, but slaughter. An attack on five Gundams. This is war, Mark. That's all there is to it.”