Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Seed Shadow ❯ Episode 24 ( Chapter 25 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Hcps 
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Fanfiction Sequel | Uploaded On: 02.12.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.4K | Visits: 142 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Fanfiction Sequel | Uploaded On: 02.12.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.4K | Visits: 142 | Status: Completed
Episode 24
The episode opens up with a repeat of the referee's dialog.
Referee: Fighting for the Shadow Knights is their Team Leader Shadow Zoomarey piloting Nightwing vs. the Gargoyle's Team Leader John Blitz piloting Fuerte.
The camera cuts into the Gargoyle’s Gundam bay, we see Fuerte on the catapult getting ready to launch. We cut inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John waiting for the ok to launch.
John (I didn't think Ida and Gael would lose to some first timers, those bullies must be jocks, giving only half-ass effort and only relying on their natural talent. Plus they pick on weaker people just to get their kicks; bastards like that really piss me off!)
The camera looks down to see John's Neon Gauntlet start to slightly glow, John's Neon Gauntlet is Cadet (yes it's a color Google it). We see John's support person appear on his helmet screen.
Support person: John the catapults all set you can launch anytime you want.
John nods his head
John: Thank you, John Blitz in Fuerte taking off!
We cut outside to see Fuerte get launch into the battle arena. Fuerte lands squarely on its feet. The ground cracks under its feet due to the weight and force of impact. Fuerte move already knowing where it's going.
With the sunlight we can finally get a good look at Fuerte. It looks identical to Odysseus except the paint color and design look different and instead of carrying one beam Gatling gun it's carrying 2.
The Gatling guns have been attached to Fuerte's arms forcing Fuerte to keep its arms at a constant 90 degree angle. Fuerte stops moving, it's about 40 meters away facing one of the walls of the arena. The camera cuts into Fuerte's cockpit to show John concentrating.
John (I'll hit him with my duel Gatling gun the moment he lands in the arena.)
The camera cuts back outside to look at Rob, Tim and Drake. Rob is brimming with even more confidence than he did with the other matches. He laughs
Rob: Hahahah, it looks like John is going to try to finish this off in one shot!
Drake nods his head in agreement
Drake: It's a risky plan; he has to judge the distance the catapult will launch the Gundam exactly right. If he goes in too close the catapult will launch Nightwing over him and he'll be pin against the wall but if he's too far away Nightwing will have enough time to react to his attack.
Rob nods his head
Rob: You're right of course Drake but if he does judge the distance of the catapult correctly your fighter won't have time to react to the attack and he'll be finish in seconds.
Tim looks nervous
Tim: Shadow won't lose to some cheap trick like that!
The nervousness in his voice contradicts himself. Rob grins
Rob: We'll find out in a few seconds.
The camera looks back down to the battlefield to show the hatch on the wall open. The camera cuts into Fuerte's cockpit to show John bracing himself.
John (This is it, moment of truth time.)
We cut back outside to see Nightwing being launch from the catapult. Time slows down as we see Nightwing traveling in a downward arc. John's judged the distance perfectly, we can tell Nightwing is going to land right in front of Fuerte. The camera quickly cuts to Rob, Tim and Drake. Drake is slightly surprise, Tim looks scare and Rob looks excited.
Drake: He judged the distance correctly!
Tim: Oh crap!
Rob: He's finish!
Nightwing's right leg lands on the ground first and slips out from underneath it causing Nightwing to trip. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show a surprise Shadow.
Shadow: Huh!
The camera cuts outside to show Nightwing fall to the ground and roll towards Fuerte. Nightwing stops right in front of Fuerte. Nightwing is laying on its back.
The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow looking dazed, confused and a little dizzy. The camera cuts back outside to see Fuerte looking down at Nightwing unmoving. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see a confused John.
John: Um?
The camera cuts back outside to the spectator stands to hear dead silence, a penny could fall and everyone would hear it then an eruption of laughter. There's so much laugher that it's deafening to anyone near it. The camera focuses on the referee's screen
Referee: HAHAHHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAH I take it back folks, the Shadow Knights are just another rookie team, HAHAHHAHAHAHA, in all my years of watching Gundam Fights I've never seen a Gundam trip from trying to land from being launch out of a catapult before! HAHAHAHHAHAH I kind of feel bad for the rookie but this is hilarious!
The camera looks over to Rob, Tim and Drake. Rob is laughing his head off, Tim looks relieve and Drake looks a cross between pissed and embarrassed.
Rob: HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA
Drake turning deep red
Drake: I'm going to kill him!
Tim looks at Drake a little sorry
Tim: Look at it this way Drake if Shadow hadn't gone and trip he would be eating bullets right about now.
Drake is pissed
Drake: I think I'd rather have him eating bullets.
Rob is still laughing and is trying to calm himself down
Rob: HAHAHAHAHHAHA and to think I was a little worry.
Tim insulted replies
Tim: You better still be worry, Shadow may still have trouble landing but his fighting skills are great!
Rob doesn't take this threat seriously.
Rob: You mean assuming he can get back up, hahahahahah!
The camera cuts back inside Nightwing's cockpit. Shadow has regain his senses and grumbles.
Shadow: OW, stupid catapult.
We can see Kenny being pushed out of the way by Cagalli.
Cagalli: You moron! What the heck is wrong with you! You can't even land from being launch from a catapult right!
The camera cuts into the planning room to show Nick and Roxas trying to resist laughing.
Nick: Go easy on the mate Cagalli; what's easy to you might not be easy to him.
Roxas: And you got to admit it was pretty funny.
Zuke who was actually watching the match now turns away.
Zuke (Tis he's nothing special, just another idiot natural with a Gundam.)
Cagalli groans
Cagalli: Argh we're the laughing stock of the stadium now.
The camera looks to the monitor Shadow is on to show an extremely irritated Shadow.
Shadow: At least I haven't lost yet now shut up and you two stop laughing!
He directs the second comment at Roxas and Nick. The camera cuts back to inside Shadow's cockpit, Shadow's eyes suddenly open wide in surprise. The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte still looking down at Shadow. There's an awkward pause then the camera does a spilt screen over Nightwing to show Shadow in the lower half of the screen.
Shadow: Oh crap!
The screen goes back to normal, Nightwing still laying on its back on the ground spins in an attempt to sweep out Fuerte's legs. Fuerte jumps' back dodging the attack, the camera does a spilt screen over Fuerte to show John annoyed with himself.
John: Shit I got so distracted by him falling that I forgot to take the shot!
The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing getting up off the ground. Nightwing's beam saber gets launch from its secret compartment and Nightwing catches and activates it in one swift motion. Nightwing then charges Fuerte attempting to perform a downward vertical slash.
Fuerte titles its head back dodging the attack without moving. Fuerte then tries to point its bean Gatling gun at Nightwing but Nightwing's already move to Fuerte's left side and is attempting a left horizontal slash. Fuerte takes a step back dodging the attack by inches. The camera cuts to the planning room, Nick is smiling
Nick: I got to say mate you're pretty lucky, if you haven't trip you would be eating bullets right about now.
Roxas nods her head
Roxas: That was a pretty sweet ambush Fuerte set up.
We can see Shadow on one of the monitors looking annoyed, he snaps at Roxas
Shadow: Whose side are you on! And for your information Nick I did that on purpose.
Cagalli rolls her eyes
Cagalli: Right, if you call stupidly a skill. I mean what kind of moron can't even land from being launch from the catapult!
Shadow smiling says
Shadow: The kind that wins battles!
The camera cuts outside to see Nightwing perform a couple more slash attacks with its beam saber. Fuerte dodges the attacks with minimum moment. Fuerte is trying to point its duel beam Gatling guns at Nightwing but it’s useless.
Nightwing is jumping around Fuerte trying to slash it with its beam saber making it impossible for Fuerte to get a lock on it. The camera looks up to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim is cheering Shadow on.
Tim: Go Shadow kick his ass!
Rob is annoyed
Rob: If you're going to cheer for that loser you call a Gundam Pilot then can you at least wait until he does something worth cheering about.
Tim looks at Rob annoyed
Tim: Oh and is this the part where you tell us the better equip Gundam always wins because you've been wrong about that twice and it's getting kind of old.
Rob looks slightly annoyed but his confidence is still there.
Rob: Normally but even if that wasn't the case there's still another factor that makes John the obvious winner.
Tim asks challengingly
Tim: Oh yea what!
Drake watching the fight with intense focus answers without hesitation.
Drake: Experience.
Tim looks over at Drake confused. Rob smiles still brimming with self-confidence.
Tim: Oh so you can admit it Drake.
Drake is slightly annoyed but he conceals his emotion
Drake: Of course, I'm not some emotion idiot that gets facts confused with feelings.
Tim is insulted and still confused
Tim: You've better not be talking about me and what do you mean by experience? Shadow has experience piloting a Gundam before.
Drake sighs
Drake: Shadow has only piloted a Gundam twice so far not counting this fight. The first time he fought against a rich idiot who only use a Gundam as a way to fatten his own ego. The second time he fought against a ship. Although both battles gave him some level of experience he's never actually fought against another Gundam Fighter with actual experience with fighting against other Gundams before.
Tim still doesn't get it
Tim: But that didn't bother Cagalli, Nick and Roxas during their fights and their opponents also had more experience than them.
Rob snorts
Rob: That's because Walter, Gael and Ida have only fought against rookies and amateurs so even though they have more experience it's such a small difference that it's not even worth considering.
Tim is a little surprise at Rob trashing his own team.
Tim: Um
Rob goes on smiling
Rob: But John is a different story, he's spent countless hours on the NS simulator.
Tim confused turns to Drake
Tim: Drake I thought you said the NS simulator was useless for combat training and was only good for getting newbie's used to the NS system!
Drake is annoyed
Drake: It is but if used in large amounts time it can help train your ability to read your opponents moves, take a look at the battle.
The camera looks back to the battle but we can still hear Drake's voice. Nightwing is still trying to cut Fuerte with its beam saber but Fuerte is still dodging with very little movement while at the same time trying to point its beam Gatling gun at Nightwing.
Drake: Shadow's attacks are awkward and he puts too much unnecessary movement into them, Fuerte is easily able to read them and dodge with minimum movement.
The camera looks back to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim comes to Shadow's defense
Tim: But because of Shadow erratic movements Fuerte can't get a lock on him.
Drake is unimpressed
Drake: That's more due to John's inexperience than Shadow's skill, the NS simulator only taught John how to dodge and read opponents attacks not counterattack, there's some things that can only be learn from actual battle. Shadow is just jumping around randomly attacking; I bet he doesn't even know Fuerte has a Gatling gun.
The camera looks back to the battle to see Nightwing still trying to slash Fuerte and Fuerte still trying to point its beam Gatling gun at Nightwing. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to see Shadow beginning to sweat and grow tired. He's gritting his teeth in frustration.
Shadow (Damn I can't hit this guy!)
The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John also growing frustrated although unlike Shadow he doesn't look the slightest bit tired.
John (I can't get a lock on this guy because he's jumping around like a freaking monkey!)
The camera cuts back outside to see Shadow attempt a stab attack from Fuerte's left side. The camera does quick spilt screen over Fuerte to show John's eyes narrow as he sees his chance to attack.
John: You're moves are obvious!
The screen goes back to normal to show Fuerte take one step back with its left leg and pivots with its right leg. Fuerte turns so it's now facing Nightwing's left side. Nightwing is momentary thrown off balance as its beam saber meets no resistance. The camera does a split screen over Nightwing to show a surprise Shadow.
Shadow: Huh?
The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing stumble. Fuerte takes the beam Gatling gun in its right hand and slams it into Nightwing's face. The camera does a quick split screen over Fuerte.
John: Gatling gun punch!
The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing go flying. Nightwing lands on its back a good distance away well considering it was a punch. Nightwing sits up and rubs its cheek, the camera does a quick split screen to show Shadow also rubbing his cheek in pain.
Shadow: Owwww
Kenny suddenly shouts
Kenny: Shadow watch out!
Shadow surprise looks up. The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte lift up its duel beam Gatling guns and open fire at Nightwing. We have a quick split screen over Fuerte to see John shout.
John: I finally got a lock on you bastard!
The camera does a split screen over Nightwing to show Shadow gritting his teeth. The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing jumping to its feet and running to the left effectively dodging the beam bullets. Fuerte continuing to fire at Nightwing and chases after it.
Nightwing tries to hide behind a rock mound but Fuerte's duel beam Gatling guns almost instantly destroys the rock mound. Nightwing begins running again, the camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow still gritting his teeth.
Shadow: Kenny I can use some intel right about now!
We can see Kenny typing fast on his computer
Kenny: You got it, Fuerte is a Basic Heavy with 2 beam Gatling guns, it's also been known to carry beam ax. If you can get in close again he'll have a hard time firing his beam Gatling guns at you.
Shadow is running, the zero gravity bubble is making Shadow appear to run in place.
Shadow: Yea somehow I don't think he'll let me get in close again!
The camera cuts back outside to show Nightwing running at full speeds while weaving in and out of the rock mounds. Weaving in and out of the rock mounds isn't doing much to protect Nightwing. Fuerte's duel beam Gatling gun is destroying the rock mounds as if they're nothing. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John gloating excitedly.
John: HAHAHAHHA, who's the strong one now you dumb jock!
The camera cuts to the planning room to show a confused Cagalli.
Cagalli: Jock; Shadow?
Nick and Roxas also look confused. Kenny shakes his head and gives a short laugh.
Kenny: Shadow told me he didn't play any sports when he was in school.
Nick nods his head
Nick: That doesn't surprise me mate, Shadow doesn't seem like the sport playing type.
Roxas is confused
Roxas: Then why did he call Shadow a Jock?
No one has an answer. The camera cuts outside, Nightwing has run far ahead of Fuerte and is now hiding behind a rock mound. We can see Fuerte looking around for Nightwing, the camera looks up to the referee's screen.
Referee: It seems Fuerte has Nightwing on the run with its duel beam Gatling guns and Nightwing is forced to hide like a corner rat!
The camera looks down to where Nightwing is hiding. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to see a very irritated Shadow. Shadow grumbles
Shadow: I'm not hiding like a corner rat! This is strategy I'm a stealthy tiger waiting to ambush his pray.
We can see on Shadow's helmet screen Roxas pushing Kenny out of the way
Roxas: You are not a tiger!
She’s taken Shadow's comment personally. Cagalli comes into view as well and says in an unimpressed voice.
Cagalli: And you're not very stealthy.
Shadow is pissed
Shadow: I am very stealthy and whose side are you jerks on anyway!
The camera cuts outside and does a split screen over Fuerte to show John growing frustrated.
John: Come on out you weakling, stop playing hide and seek and come and fight me you coward!
Fuerte begins to shoot rock mounds at random. The camera looks over to Nightwing to see it clench its fist. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow also clenching his fist and he looks really pissed.
Shadow: COWARD, WEAKLING, I'm going to kick that guy’s ass!
Shadow looks like he's about to go charging in there but Kenny stops him.
Kenny: Whoa, Whoa, Shadow calm down, I know that we were making fun of you and all but your ambush strategy is the best idea we have for winning at the moment. Don't let him bait you into revealing yourself!
Shadow is forcefully restraining himself
Shadow: Arrrr I know, but still I want to just throw something at him!
Shadow gets a light bulb moment, then he smiles. Kenny notices this an asks
Kenny: Hey Shadow what's up?
We can see the gears in Shadow's head turning. Shadow's grin is growing.
Shadow: I've got a plan!
Kenny looks surprise. The camera cuts back outside to see Fuerte still randomly destroying rock mounds. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John still making his cat calls.
John: Coward, weakling, if you're too scared to fight me you might as well surrender now!
We hear a noise, and Shadow.
Shadow: Who's a coward!
John turns around to see what the noise is and where Shadow's voice came from. The camera cuts back outside to show a rock mound come flying at Fuerte. The camera does a split screen over Fuerte to show a shock John.
John: What!
The screen goes back to normal to show Fuerte jump to the right to dodge the attack but because of Fuerte's size it can't jump far enough to completely avoid the attack. The rock mound hits the ground and shatters on impact. Rock fragments from the rock mound ricochet off the ground and hit Fuerte.
Fuerte can't lift up its arms to block because it’s holding the Gatling guns so it's force to relied on its armor for protection. Fuerte doesn't have much time to process what happen as more rock mounds begin to fall from the sky. Fuerte looks up to the sky to see the rock mounds coming straight at it.
Fuerte jumps away from the first 2 rock mounds successfully dodging them but the one right after hits it square on the chest. Thanks to Fuerte's thick armor the damage Fuerte receives isn't too bad but Fuerte still has to take a couple of steps back to regain its balance. The camera does a split screen over Fuerte to show a pissed off John.
John: That bastard!
The screen goes back to normal as more rock mounds come flying at Fuerte. Fuerte begins to dodge again as the camera looks up to the referee's screen.
Referee: Impressive, it looks like Nightwing is compensating for its lack of long range weapons by cutting off rock mounds and throwing them at Fuerte. There may be hope for the Shadow Knights yet.
The camera takes a quick look back at Fuerte. Fuerte is still trying to dodge the rock mounds but it's not going so well.
Fuerte keeps getting hit by falling rock mounds and rock mound fragments and it's safe to say that if it wasn't for its armor Fuerte would have long since been destroyed. The camera looks to Rob, Tim and Drake. Rob looks pissed
Rob: DODGE you idiot dodge, what the hell is the matter with you!
Drake grinning turns to talk to Tim
Drake: You see Tim that's another problem with using the NS simulator for combat training, you see it only gives you experience dodging basic attack, like a punch or beam saber slash but if you attack in weird unusual way then the pilot will have no idea what to do.
Drake says this loud enough for Rob to hear and it's obvious that he does this on purpose. Rob still pissed snaps
Rob: So what, Fuerte's armor is strong enough that it doesn't need to dodge all the rock mounds thrown at it, plus John can track the rock mounds to where they came from and find your pilot! Your pilot is just acting like an annoying fly and soon he's going to be swatted!
Drake doesn't comment but continues watching the match. The camera looks back down to Fuerte. Fuerte has stop jumping away from the incoming rock mounds and is instead using its duel beam Gatling guns to destroyed the rock mounds before they come close to it.
Fuerte is beginning to advance to where the rock mounds are being thrown from. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see a grinning John.
John: Throwing rock mounds at me sure caught me by surprise but it was a bad move by you because now I know where you are!
The camera cuts outside to where Nightwing is hiding. We can see Nightwing cut a rock mound off the ground with its beam saber and throw it in the direction towards Fuerte. We can hear the beam bullets destroy the rock mounds in the back ground.
Nightwing doesn't pay attention to this and is already cutting another rock mound off the ground and throwing it in the direction of Fuerte. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to see Shadow with an extremely focus look on. We can see Kenny on Shadow's helmet screen and he sounds nervous.
Kenny: Um Shadow this idea was doing little to damage Fuerte before and now it's doing even less, I think it's time you came up with a better plan.
Shadow gives one of his confident smiles.
Shadow: Don't worry I still have part 2 of my master plan.
Kenny is surprise
Kenny: There's a part 2 to your plan?
Shadow simile grows even wider
Shadow: Just wait and see.
The camera cuts back outside to Fuerte. There are no more rock mounds flying at Fuerte anymore. This has made Fuerte suspicious; Fuerte is moving slower now and is scanning the area being extra cautious, it’s got its Gatling guns at the ready. The camera does a split over Fuerte to show John in the lower half of the screen looking focus.
John: Where are you?
John says this to himself in a low voice. The screen goes back to normal; suddenly another rock mound comes flying out of nowhere heading straight for Fuerte. Fuerte sees it coming and quickly turns to fire its duel Gatling guns at it. We do another quick split screen over Fuerte to show and annoyed John.
John: That kind of lame attack doesn't work on me!
The screen goes back to normal as Fuerte fires its duel Gatling guns at the rock mound. The rock mound breaks and crumbles under the hail of beam bullets. As the rock mound breaks it reveals Nightwing behind it.
Nightwing must have at some point jump behind the rock mound and is flying, or more like falling since Nightwing doesn’t have flight capabilities, straight towards Fuerte. Time slows down; the camera looks up to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim and Rob are shocked/surprise
Rob: What behind the rock mound!
Drake gives a short slightly impressed laugh
Drake: HA, I see, Shadow threw the rock mound at Fuerte and then immediately after he chase after it and right when it reach the peak of its arch he jump onto it so that he could fall toward Fuerte hidden and protected. Not bad Shadow.
The camera looks back to Fuerte. The camera does a split screen over Fuerte to show a panicking John.
John: OH CRAP!
The screen goes back to normal; the camera quickly turns to look at Nightwing. Nightwing is holding its beam saber with both hands over its head preparing to perform a jump attack on Fuerte. Fuerte at the last second lifts its Gatling guns and forms a cross guard with them.
Nightwing's beam saber hits the duel beam Gatling guns and cuts right through them. Nightwing lands behind Fuerte with its back facing Fuerte. There's a moment’s pause as neither Gundam does anything.
The silent moment is broken by Fuerte's beam Gatling guns breaking. The top half of both of Fuerte's Gatling guns falls off and hits the ground with a bang. The camera looks up to the spectator stands to see the crowd go nuts with cheering. We can see the referee standing up excitedly shouting
Referee: Incredible, unbelievable, amazing! Somehow Nightwing was able to catch up to the rock mound he threw at Fuerte and jump behind it using it for cover! I put back what I took back earlier; The Shadow Knights have a great chance winning this thing!
The camera looks back down to Fuerte. Fuerte is examining its broken duel Gatling guns, the camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John shocked. He's looking at his hands which correspond to Fuerte examining its beam Gatling guns.
John: My beam Gatling guns.
The camera cuts to the planning room. Roxas and Kenny are cheering Shadow on
Roxas: Shadow that was awesome!
Nick nods his head in agreement
Nick: That entire event was amazing mate, from the planning to the strategy to the execution, it was all just amazing!
Kenny: I'm surprise you were able to pull it off!
We can see Jack on one of the monitors. Jack has notice that Cagalli hasn't said anything yet.
Jack: Hey Cagalli aren't you going to say anything to Shadow?
Cagalli glares at Jack then reluctantly says
Cagalli: That strategy was kind of impressive.
We can see Shadow grinning in another monitor
Shadow: HA thanks guys.
The camera cuts back to inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John clenching his fist. His hands start to shake in growing rage.
John: That bastard!
The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte ejects its broken beam Gatling guns from its arms. With the beam Gatling guns gone Fuerte can now freely move its arms. A rode ejects from Fuerte's back and flips into the air above Fuerte. Fuerte grabs it and activates it in one swift motion, the rode actives and becomes a beam ax.
The rode part is metal but the blade is beam, Fuerte's ax has 2 ax blades, one on each side. Fuerte grabs its beam ax with both hands and charges Nightwing. Nightwing turns to face Fuerte. Fuerte performs a jump attack on Nightwing. Nightwing lifts up its beam saber and holds it horizontally over its head blocking Fuerte's beam ax.
We can see the ground underneath Nightwing’s feet break apart from the force of impact. The camera does a three way split screen, Shadow in the right, the Gundams in the middle and John in the left. Both Shadow and John are gritting their teeth. The screen goes back to normal as Nightwing is forced back.
Fuerte follows up with a right horizontal ax slash, Nightwing blocks by turning its beam saber vertical with the tip pointed down. Fuerte quickly does three more attacks, a right horizontal ax slash to Nightwing's side, a downward vertical ax slash to Nightwing's head, and a left horizontal ax slash to Nightwing's chest.
Nightwing blocks all three attacks with its beam saber but is force further back with each blow. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John still pissed off.
John: Take that, and this and that, how do you like this you stupid jock!
The camera cuts back outside to show Fuerte do another right horizontal ax slash to Nightwing's side. Nightwing blocks the attack with its beam saber again only this time Nightwing takes its right hand off its beam saber and still holding onto the beam saber with its left hand, punches Fuerte in the face.
At the same time the camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show an extremely irritated Shadow.
Shadow: Will you stop calling me a jock! I've never been on a sports team in my entire life well not counting Gundams!
The camera cuts outside to show that Nightwing's punch had little effect on Fuerte. Fuerte responds with a downward diagonal ax slash to Nightwing's right shoulder. Nightwing jumps back dodging the attack. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John still pissed off.
John: Jock or not it doesn't matter you bullies are all the same!
The camera cuts outside again to show Fuerte charge Nightwing. Nightwing moves back and dodges another ax slash. The camera looks up to the referee's screen
Referee: Fuerte and Nightwing are engage in close quarters combat! Fuerte seems to have the edge since it's a Basic Heavily type Gundam but Nightwing is once again proving it's not going down without a fight!
The camera looks over to Tim, Rob and Drake. Drake has an ipod looking thing attach to his right ear, he’s listing to something. Tim sees this and is confused.
Tim: Drake what is that and where did you get it?
Drake still listing answers Tim
Drake: It's a listening scanner; it picks up the Gundam's communication frequency. I'm able to hear the Gundam Pilot's conversation between each other; it's good for telling what kind of mood the pilots are in.
Tim is annoyed
Tim: Well where did you get it, you didn't have it before!
The camera looks over to Rob who also has a listening scanner. Rob is annoyed
Rob: There was a guy selling them a little while ago but you were too busy watching the fight to notice!
Tim now looks slightly embarrass
Tim: Oh
Drake is thinking about something and he turns to Rob
Drake: I see now.
Rob smiles at Drake
Rob: You see what Drake?
Drake is eyeing Rob angrily
Drake: Ever since you told me about the NS simulator I've been wondering what kind of Gundam Pilot would practice for so long on the NS simulator that it borders on obsession.
Rob smiles back
Rob: And now you know?
Drake still eyeing Rob coldly
Drake: I have a good idea.
The camera looks back down to the fight. Fuerte seems to have lost all control and is just randomly trying to hack at Nightwing. Nightwing is managing to either block or dodge the attacks but it’s still being pushed back. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John still enraged.
John: You bullies acting all high and mightily because you're good looking or because you've got natural athletic talent! Always picking on the weak or people who were different, well I'm not going to take it anymore!
The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte do a downward diagonal attack to Nightwing's left shoulder. Nightwing manages to block the attack with its beam saber but it's still sent back by the force of impact. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow struggling against Fuerte's attack.
Shadow: Let me guess you were bullied when you went to school?
The camera cuts back to Tim, Rob and Drake. Rob is explaining something to Tim and Drake.
Rob: As you probably already figured out John comes from a wealthy family but for whatever reason his parents decided to send him to a public school. Needless to say the kids there were jealous of his wealth and constantly bullied him.
The camera cuts back to inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John also giving the same explanation to Shadow.
John: Everyday was a living hell for me, they call me names, stole my lunch money, threw my stuff around; gave me wedgies. The teachers couldn't do anything about it and whenever I try to fight back they just beat me up!
While John's talking we enter slideshow mode. We see pictures of a younger John getting beat up, having his stuff thrown, and getting wedgies. The slideshow mode ends and the camera cuts back to Tim, Rob, and Drake.
Rob: And that's when he got the idea.
Tim is confused
Tim: Idea?
Rob smiles back at him
Rob: The idea that he needed more power, power to defend himself, power to get revenge against those that tormented him, but how does one get that power?
The camera cuts back inside Fuerte's cockpit
John: So I decided to join a weight lifting class to get stronger but do you want to know what happen? I was laugh at! I was the weakest one in the class I couldn't lift anything, some of the weights I consider way to heavily they were lifting as if they were nothing but the worst part was the laughing! Every day when I showed up to class they laugh at me, they were always laughing at me!
We do a quick flashback, John is in a weight lifting class attempting to lift a weight. He's not very successful. We can see 2 other guys standing a little ways off. They're lifting even heavier weights easily. They're looking at John
Guy1: God John can't even lift that weight yet?
Guy2: Man I could lift twice that size weight my first day here.
Guy1: HAHAHA, yea so could I, HAHHAHAH I wonder why he even bothers.
Guy2: HAHHAHAH, yea the rich boy should of just pay someone to lift the weight for him HAHAHAH.
They walk away laughing. The camera turns to look at John, from the hurt look on his face we can see that he's heard every word. We come back to the present to see John still going on with his explanation.
John: The laughing was the worst, I just couldn't stand the laughing but I guess I should be grateful to them because it was in the weight lifting class that I first heard about the Gundams.
The camera cuts back to Rob, Tim and Drake.
Rob: It makes sense really, people who weight lift obvious want more power and what's more powerful than a Gundam, so it's only logical that some people in the weight lifting class would be following the Gundam Fights, HA and some would even be thinking about joining them.
The camera cuts back to John
John: But the people in my weight lifting class didn't have the money or connections to become a Gundam Pilot but I realize I did.
The camera cuts back to Rob
Rob: So he quit his weight lifting class and came to me. I instantly saw that John had the motivation to become a great Gundam Fighter plus thanks to his family money he can afford the best equipment and that's why John is going to win this fight.
The camera cuts back to John
John: That's why I bought the Basic Heavily for my Gundam, because it's the strongest of the Basic series, and now I won't lose to you bullies ever again!
The camera looks down for a moment to show John’s Neon gauntlet start to slightly glow then cuts outside to show Fuerte charging Nightwing. Nightwing has been back up against a rock mound. Fuerte holding its ax with both hands does a jump attack on Nightwing.
Nightwing blocks the blow with its beam saber but the force of the blow knocks Nightwing straight into the rock mound behind it. The rock mound cracks as Nightwing is forced to its knees. The camera quickly cuts to the planning room to see everyone surprise and scared.
Cagalli, Roxas, Kenny: Shadow!
Nick: Mate!
We can see Jack on one of the monitors
Jack: This isn't good Fuerte is a Basic Heavy Gundam, and Nightwing is a Basic Original. A Basic Heavy is a lot stronger than a Basic Original in a face off Nightwing is going to lose! Shadow get out of there!
The camera cuts back outside, Fuerte isn't lifting up its beam ax but instead is implying more pressure into it. Nightwing is struggling to push Fuerte back with its beam saber. The camera cuts back inside Fuerte's cockpit, John is in the same position as Fuerte.
We can see him putting all his weight and strength into his ax although we don’t actually see an ax. John is grinning thinking he's already won
John: And now thanks to my new strength I'll never lose to you Jocks ever again!
Shadow: Enough!
We hear Shadow over John's helmet screen, John looks surprise. We can hear metal grinding sounds and we can see John's hand being forced up by and unseen force. The camera cuts outside to show Nightwing starting to push Fuerte back with its beam saber.
Nightwing has gotten one leg up and is now only on one knee. Nightwing is still forcing Fuerte back as it slowly rises to its feet. The camera quickly cuts back into Fuerte's cockpit to show an even more shocked John.
John (What's going on! Fuerte's a Basic Heavy it's supposed to be twice as strong as the Basic Original so how the hell am I being pushed back!)
Shadow starts talking to John again
Shadow: You think you've gotten stronger, you think you've proven those bullies wrong about you; well it's time for your wakeup call!
The camera cuts to Nightwing's cockpit to show a determine Shadow. We can see his Neon Gauntlet is slightly glowing again.
Shadow: Wake up, you're not any stronger then when you were in your weight lifting class and you haven't proven anyone wrong! In fact you've proven them right; when weight lifting got too hard you just quit and try to use your money to buy strength! But true strength can only be gain through hard work, blood and sweat but since you can't tell the difference between true strength and your fake strength I'll show you!
The camera cuts outside to show Nightwing now fully standing up and pushing Fuerte back. Nightwing pulls its beam saber back, Fuerte stumbles for a moment from the sudden absence of pressure.
Nightwing charges Fuerte and performs a left horizontal beam saber slash. Fuerte manages to block the attack with its beam ax but the force of impact still knocks Fuerte back. The camera cuts to the planning room to show a confused Cagalli.
Cagalli: What's going on, I thought the Basic Heavy Gundam was supposed to be stronger than a Basic Original Gundam so how is Shadow winning in a contest of strength?
Nick and Roxas also look confused by this but Kenny knows the answer.
Kenny: It's because of the NS system.
Kenny says this as if it's obvious; Cagalli, Roxas and Nick still look confused.
Cagalli: Doesn't the NS system just allow the Gundam to mimic our moves?
Kenny nods his head
Kenny: Exactly but it also proportions the Gundams stats relative to its human fighter.
Cagalli, Roxas and Nick still look confused. Kenny sees this and sighs
Kenny: Ok let's say that Shadow's physical strength is a 6, well Nightwing being a Basic Original x2 that number, so Nightwing's total physical strength would be a 12.
Cagalli starting to get it nods her head
Cagalli: Ok but that still doesn't explain why Shadow's Basic Original is now stronger then the Basic Heavy.
Kenny explains
Kenny: You see that's normally true because the proportions are different. A Basic Original x2 to its pilot's strength while a Basic Heavy x5, and normally the pilot's strengths are about equal but John's physical strength is much weaker then Shadow's. Let's go back to the example I said early, if Shadow's strength is a 6 then you x2 that number because Nightwing is a Basic Original and that gets you a total strength value of 12, but if John's strength is only a 2 then you x5 because Fuerte is a Basic Heavy and you get a total strength of 10, so you see even though Fuerte is stronger than Nightwing Shadow is so strong that it compensates for that and makes the total physical strength higher than that of Fuerte's. That's why Nightwing is winning.
Nick nods his head
Nick: Ok I get it now.
The others seem to understand too, Cagalli realizes something.
Cagalli: So that's why Drake had us do a bunch of physical training, he wanted us to get our physical strength up so that when we piloted the Gundams our overall stats would be a lot higher than if we just piloted our Gundams without any physical training.
Roxas smiling at Cagalli says
Roxas: And you thought all that training was pointless.
Cagalli glares at Roxas but then turns to look back at the monitor. The camera cuts back outside, Fuerte is still stumbling trying to regain its footing from being thrown back by the impact of Nightwing's attack. Nightwing isn't going to give Fuerte the chance to recover.
Nightwing charges again and this time performs a downward diagonal slash to Fuerte's right shoulder. As Nightwing is charging Fuerte the camera does a split screen over Nightwing. In the lower half of the screen we can see Shadow determine.
Shadow: Oh and by the way I'm no Jock, I'm never been naturally gifted with athletic skills so this strength you're fighting against right now is the one achieved through hard work, blood and sweat! This is true strength!
The screen goes back to normal; Fuerte is still off balance and can't block or dodge the attack. Nightwing's attack hits Fuerte square on cutting Fuerte diagonally in half. Fuerte falls backwards, as Fuerte falls backwards it breaks into two parts. Time slows down, the camera cuts inside Fuerte's safety pod. John looks close to passing out
John (So this is true strength. I guess in the end my fake strength couldn't come close to true strength.)
The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte hitting the ground. Fuerte is now in two pieces, there's a moment’s pause then the crowd goes nuts.
Referee: Nightwing wins, Nightwing wins; the Shadow Knights beat the Gargoyles and win the team victory! This underdog team has won!
The camera cuts to the spectator stand to show everyone cheering and going nuts. The camera looks over to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim is also going nuts, Rob looks shocked. Drake gets up and begins to walk away as he passes Rob he says
Drake: Rob you focus too much on the little details like what kind of weapons you or your opponents have, or how much each weapon cost, but at the end of the day nothing beats hard work and training.
Drake leaves Rob to ponder those words. The camera cuts to the Gundam bay, Shadow is getting out of Nightwing; he looks a little tired.
Jack: Shadow!
Shadow looks over to see Jack, Roxas, Nick, Kenny and Cagalli running over to him. Jack and Roxas hug him.
Jack: That was amazing Shadow!
Roxas: That was incredible Shadow; you have to tell me how you did that trick with the rock mound!
Nick and Kenny high-five Shadow
Kenny: Way to go Shadow
Nick: Yea mate, now I don't have to kick your ass.
Shadow laughs
Shadow: HA like you could.
Shadow turns to look at Cagalli. Cagalli doesn't want to say anything and looks away, Jack annoyed elbows Cagalli.
Cagalli: Ow!
Jack: Cagalli get over being mad at Shadow and say something!
Cagalli glares at Jack for a moment then reluctantly says
Cagalli: You didn't do a bad job Shadow.
Shadow smiling puts an arm around Cagalli's shoulder. Cagalli is surprise by this gesture
Cagalli: Hey what!
Shadow: You're still talking like you're our superior but I know you're not doing it on purpose so we'll work on it!
Cagalli now mad again pushes Shadow off her
Cagalli: I am not!
Shadow ignores Cagalli and turns to face the others and says in a grand voice.
Shadow: Anyway I the leader of the Shadow Knights say that in honor of our first team victory we go out and celebrate at a club, who's with me!
Nick, Roxas, Kenny, and Jack cheer yes in response. Shadow begins to run towards the exit
Shadow: Then follow me!
Nick, Roxas, Kenny and Jack follow Shadow. Roxas and Jack grab a hold of Cagalli and begin to drag her with them.
Cagalli: Hey wait a minute!
The camera cuts to the other Gundam bay; we can see John sitting down and drinking a bottle of water. The other members of the Gargoyles are sitting down with him, Rob walks over to them, they all look tired and miserable.
Rob: Is everyone ok?
Rob's face is hard to read
Walter: Yea we're all ok we're just tired.
Rob nods his head he then turns around and begins to walk away.
John: Rob I'm sorry.
Rob stops and turns to face John
Rob: What?
John goes on, he looks tired and sad.
John: I know how much you wanted to win this fight in order to show that other perfect manage up, I'm sorry we lost.
Rob looks at John for a moment then smiles
Rob: Don't worry about it, you know how the saying about you should thank the opponent who defeated you guys goes, I think we all learn something today and got a little bit stronger.
John smiles a little
John: Thanks Rob.
The scene ends. The next scene opens up at a club, we can tell some time has passed, we can see people dancing and we can hear music in the background. The camera looks over to a table where Shadow and the others are sitting. A waitress passes by and puts drinks on the table.
Waitress: Here's the beer you guys order.
All: Thank you.
The waitress walks away, Shadow, Nick, Roxas, Jack and Kenny begin to drink there beer. Cagalli eyes them coldly, she's drinking water.
Cagalli: You guys do realize that the legal drinking age is 23?
Shadow smiling says
Shadow: Of course luckily we're all 23 or at least that's what our IDs say.
Shadow holds up his fake ID. Cagalli grabs the ID from Shadow, she looks surprise.
Cagalli: Where did you get this fake ID?
Kenny smiling proudly says
Kenny: I made them.
Cagalli isn't surprise
Cagalli: Of course you did.
Kenny holds up a fake ID with Cagalli's name and picture on it. We can see the age has been change to 23.
Kenny: I also made one for you too.
Cagalli snaps
Cagalli: I don't want it; unlike you criminals I obey and respect the law!
Roxas sticks her tongue out
Roxas: Party pooper.
Jack says playfully
Jack: Don't mind Cagalli she's just sore because she's the only one that lost her match today.
Cagalli blushes when she hears this. Nick comes to her defense
Nick: Hey cut the mate some slack at least she tried unlike some other spoiled snotty stuck up know it all.
It's clear that Nick's talking about Zuke
Jack: Speaking of Zuke where did he go?
Roxas shrugs
Roxas: I don't know, after the fight he just walked away.
Kenny sighs
Kenny: Some fifth fighter.
Cagalli looks a little annoyed and angry
Cagalli: Speaking of the fight can you believe that guy Shadow fought, there are so many problems in the world, and so many died because of them and all that guy could do was complain how tough his life was because he got bully. Selfish people like that just piss me off.
We can tell that Cagalli is remembering the first and second bloody Valentine wars; everyone is quiet for a moment no one knows what to say after Cagalli's statement. Shadow takes another sip of his beer then says in an unusual sober voice.
Shadow: John complained about it because it matter to him. We as individual humans decide what mattes to us and what is important. Just because it didn't matter to you Cagalli doesn't make it any less important because it matters to John and it's wrong of you to say it isn't important at all because it does matter because John decided it does.
Everyone is stun by Shadow's thoughtful comment. They're all staring at him expecting a second head to come out. Shadow goes on
Shadow: Besides I know what it feels like to be the weakest in a weightlifting class.
Cagalli is surprise
Cagalli: You were in a weightlifting class?
Shadow nods his head
Shadow: Yea, I was the weakest one there. I was luckily though, everyone in my class was nice and always encouraging me but still trust when I say that there's no worst feeling in the world then being the weakest in a room full of strong people.
Everyone is looking at Shadow still surprise but Cagalli is looking at Shadow surprise for a different reason
Cagalli (Being the weakest in a room full of strong people.)
Cagalli has a brief flashback of Kira and Athrun on board the Archangel. Cagalli shakes her head to get rid of those thoughts, as she shakes her head Shadow spots Drake.
Shadow: Drake!
All eyes turn to Drake, Drake nods his head
Drake: Hello guys and loser.
Drake says the loser part at Cagalli. Cagalli's face twitches in annoyance
Cagalli: haha, very funny Drake.
Drake turns back to face them, he sighs
Drake: *big sigh* you guys did a great job out there.
It sounds like the words are being force out him. Shadow looks slightly annoyed
Shadow: Tim forced you to say that to us didn't he?
Now everyone looks annoyed, Drake doesn't seem to care.
Drake: That guy just wouldn't shut up; he kept going on about how I should congratulate you guys for winning your first match.
Cagalli now very irritated
Cagalli: Wait you weren't going to congratulate us after all that hard work we did to beat that team!
Drake still doesn't seem to care
Drake: Ok first off you lost so you don't get to talk and second they weren't that strong of a Gundam team. When you guys beat a real Gundam team then I'll give you a real congratulation.
Drake turns around and begins to walk away
Drake: Anyway I'll stop by the apartment tomorrow to tell you when your next fight is.
Shadow calls out
Shadow: Oh wait Drake what about the money we won?
Drake stops and turns around to look at Shadow.
Drake: Money?
Shadow nods his head
Shadow: Well yea, this place isn't cheap so I could really use the money we won right about now.
The others nod their head in agreement
Nick: It'll be nice to get my first pay check mate.
Jack: I could use the money for some new Gundam parts and tools.
Kenny: I could use the money for equipment for my laptop.
Cagalli taking a look at her punk rock outfit
Cagalli: I could use some money for new clothes.
Drake looks at them for a moment and laughs
Drake: HAHAHHAHHA, you guys actually thought you were going to make money off that fight! Ok for starters you guys still owe me money, remember the Gundam parts I got for your Gundams plus the apartment you're staying at isn't free nor are the meals Tim brings you. So you guys currently owe me a crap load of money and second the money you guys earn from that fight wasn't even enough to scratch the debt you owe.
Drake walks away still laughing to himself. Everyone looks shocked by this news.
Nick: *sigh* I guess we aren't getting paid for a while.
Jack: *sigh* I guess no new tools for me.
Kenny: *sigh* or new computer equipment for me.
Cagalli fighting growing panic
Cagalli: So wait I'm stuck with these stupid outfits!
Roxas smiling at Cagalli
Roxas: With so many problems in the world how can you think just about your clothes?
Roxas says this making fun of Cagalli. Cagalli glares at Roxas, the episode ends with the camera on Shadow also fighting growing panic.
Shadow: Um guys, how am I going to pay for the bill to this club!
The episode opens up with a repeat of the referee's dialog.
Referee: Fighting for the Shadow Knights is their Team Leader Shadow Zoomarey piloting Nightwing vs. the Gargoyle's Team Leader John Blitz piloting Fuerte.
The camera cuts into the Gargoyle’s Gundam bay, we see Fuerte on the catapult getting ready to launch. We cut inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John waiting for the ok to launch.
John (I didn't think Ida and Gael would lose to some first timers, those bullies must be jocks, giving only half-ass effort and only relying on their natural talent. Plus they pick on weaker people just to get their kicks; bastards like that really piss me off!)
The camera looks down to see John's Neon Gauntlet start to slightly glow, John's Neon Gauntlet is Cadet (yes it's a color Google it). We see John's support person appear on his helmet screen.
Support person: John the catapults all set you can launch anytime you want.
John nods his head
John: Thank you, John Blitz in Fuerte taking off!
We cut outside to see Fuerte get launch into the battle arena. Fuerte lands squarely on its feet. The ground cracks under its feet due to the weight and force of impact. Fuerte move already knowing where it's going.
With the sunlight we can finally get a good look at Fuerte. It looks identical to Odysseus except the paint color and design look different and instead of carrying one beam Gatling gun it's carrying 2.
The Gatling guns have been attached to Fuerte's arms forcing Fuerte to keep its arms at a constant 90 degree angle. Fuerte stops moving, it's about 40 meters away facing one of the walls of the arena. The camera cuts into Fuerte's cockpit to show John concentrating.
John (I'll hit him with my duel Gatling gun the moment he lands in the arena.)
The camera cuts back outside to look at Rob, Tim and Drake. Rob is brimming with even more confidence than he did with the other matches. He laughs
Rob: Hahahah, it looks like John is going to try to finish this off in one shot!
Drake nods his head in agreement
Drake: It's a risky plan; he has to judge the distance the catapult will launch the Gundam exactly right. If he goes in too close the catapult will launch Nightwing over him and he'll be pin against the wall but if he's too far away Nightwing will have enough time to react to his attack.
Rob nods his head
Rob: You're right of course Drake but if he does judge the distance of the catapult correctly your fighter won't have time to react to the attack and he'll be finish in seconds.
Tim looks nervous
Tim: Shadow won't lose to some cheap trick like that!
The nervousness in his voice contradicts himself. Rob grins
Rob: We'll find out in a few seconds.
The camera looks back down to the battlefield to show the hatch on the wall open. The camera cuts into Fuerte's cockpit to show John bracing himself.
John (This is it, moment of truth time.)
We cut back outside to see Nightwing being launch from the catapult. Time slows down as we see Nightwing traveling in a downward arc. John's judged the distance perfectly, we can tell Nightwing is going to land right in front of Fuerte. The camera quickly cuts to Rob, Tim and Drake. Drake is slightly surprise, Tim looks scare and Rob looks excited.
Drake: He judged the distance correctly!
Tim: Oh crap!
Rob: He's finish!
Nightwing's right leg lands on the ground first and slips out from underneath it causing Nightwing to trip. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show a surprise Shadow.
Shadow: Huh!
The camera cuts outside to show Nightwing fall to the ground and roll towards Fuerte. Nightwing stops right in front of Fuerte. Nightwing is laying on its back.
The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow looking dazed, confused and a little dizzy. The camera cuts back outside to see Fuerte looking down at Nightwing unmoving. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see a confused John.
John: Um?
The camera cuts back outside to the spectator stands to hear dead silence, a penny could fall and everyone would hear it then an eruption of laughter. There's so much laugher that it's deafening to anyone near it. The camera focuses on the referee's screen
Referee: HAHAHHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAH I take it back folks, the Shadow Knights are just another rookie team, HAHAHHAHAHAHA, in all my years of watching Gundam Fights I've never seen a Gundam trip from trying to land from being launch out of a catapult before! HAHAHAHHAHAH I kind of feel bad for the rookie but this is hilarious!
The camera looks over to Rob, Tim and Drake. Rob is laughing his head off, Tim looks relieve and Drake looks a cross between pissed and embarrassed.
Rob: HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA
Drake turning deep red
Drake: I'm going to kill him!
Tim looks at Drake a little sorry
Tim: Look at it this way Drake if Shadow hadn't gone and trip he would be eating bullets right about now.
Drake is pissed
Drake: I think I'd rather have him eating bullets.
Rob is still laughing and is trying to calm himself down
Rob: HAHAHAHAHHAHA and to think I was a little worry.
Tim insulted replies
Tim: You better still be worry, Shadow may still have trouble landing but his fighting skills are great!
Rob doesn't take this threat seriously.
Rob: You mean assuming he can get back up, hahahahahah!
The camera cuts back inside Nightwing's cockpit. Shadow has regain his senses and grumbles.
Shadow: OW, stupid catapult.
We can see Kenny being pushed out of the way by Cagalli.
Cagalli: You moron! What the heck is wrong with you! You can't even land from being launch from a catapult right!
The camera cuts into the planning room to show Nick and Roxas trying to resist laughing.
Nick: Go easy on the mate Cagalli; what's easy to you might not be easy to him.
Roxas: And you got to admit it was pretty funny.
Zuke who was actually watching the match now turns away.
Zuke (Tis he's nothing special, just another idiot natural with a Gundam.)
Cagalli groans
Cagalli: Argh we're the laughing stock of the stadium now.
The camera looks to the monitor Shadow is on to show an extremely irritated Shadow.
Shadow: At least I haven't lost yet now shut up and you two stop laughing!
He directs the second comment at Roxas and Nick. The camera cuts back to inside Shadow's cockpit, Shadow's eyes suddenly open wide in surprise. The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte still looking down at Shadow. There's an awkward pause then the camera does a spilt screen over Nightwing to show Shadow in the lower half of the screen.
Shadow: Oh crap!
The screen goes back to normal, Nightwing still laying on its back on the ground spins in an attempt to sweep out Fuerte's legs. Fuerte jumps' back dodging the attack, the camera does a spilt screen over Fuerte to show John annoyed with himself.
John: Shit I got so distracted by him falling that I forgot to take the shot!
The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing getting up off the ground. Nightwing's beam saber gets launch from its secret compartment and Nightwing catches and activates it in one swift motion. Nightwing then charges Fuerte attempting to perform a downward vertical slash.
Fuerte titles its head back dodging the attack without moving. Fuerte then tries to point its bean Gatling gun at Nightwing but Nightwing's already move to Fuerte's left side and is attempting a left horizontal slash. Fuerte takes a step back dodging the attack by inches. The camera cuts to the planning room, Nick is smiling
Nick: I got to say mate you're pretty lucky, if you haven't trip you would be eating bullets right about now.
Roxas nods her head
Roxas: That was a pretty sweet ambush Fuerte set up.
We can see Shadow on one of the monitors looking annoyed, he snaps at Roxas
Shadow: Whose side are you on! And for your information Nick I did that on purpose.
Cagalli rolls her eyes
Cagalli: Right, if you call stupidly a skill. I mean what kind of moron can't even land from being launch from the catapult!
Shadow smiling says
Shadow: The kind that wins battles!
The camera cuts outside to see Nightwing perform a couple more slash attacks with its beam saber. Fuerte dodges the attacks with minimum moment. Fuerte is trying to point its duel beam Gatling guns at Nightwing but it’s useless.
Nightwing is jumping around Fuerte trying to slash it with its beam saber making it impossible for Fuerte to get a lock on it. The camera looks up to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim is cheering Shadow on.
Tim: Go Shadow kick his ass!
Rob is annoyed
Rob: If you're going to cheer for that loser you call a Gundam Pilot then can you at least wait until he does something worth cheering about.
Tim looks at Rob annoyed
Tim: Oh and is this the part where you tell us the better equip Gundam always wins because you've been wrong about that twice and it's getting kind of old.
Rob looks slightly annoyed but his confidence is still there.
Rob: Normally but even if that wasn't the case there's still another factor that makes John the obvious winner.
Tim asks challengingly
Tim: Oh yea what!
Drake watching the fight with intense focus answers without hesitation.
Drake: Experience.
Tim looks over at Drake confused. Rob smiles still brimming with self-confidence.
Tim: Oh so you can admit it Drake.
Drake is slightly annoyed but he conceals his emotion
Drake: Of course, I'm not some emotion idiot that gets facts confused with feelings.
Tim is insulted and still confused
Tim: You've better not be talking about me and what do you mean by experience? Shadow has experience piloting a Gundam before.
Drake sighs
Drake: Shadow has only piloted a Gundam twice so far not counting this fight. The first time he fought against a rich idiot who only use a Gundam as a way to fatten his own ego. The second time he fought against a ship. Although both battles gave him some level of experience he's never actually fought against another Gundam Fighter with actual experience with fighting against other Gundams before.
Tim still doesn't get it
Tim: But that didn't bother Cagalli, Nick and Roxas during their fights and their opponents also had more experience than them.
Rob snorts
Rob: That's because Walter, Gael and Ida have only fought against rookies and amateurs so even though they have more experience it's such a small difference that it's not even worth considering.
Tim is a little surprise at Rob trashing his own team.
Tim: Um
Rob goes on smiling
Rob: But John is a different story, he's spent countless hours on the NS simulator.
Tim confused turns to Drake
Tim: Drake I thought you said the NS simulator was useless for combat training and was only good for getting newbie's used to the NS system!
Drake is annoyed
Drake: It is but if used in large amounts time it can help train your ability to read your opponents moves, take a look at the battle.
The camera looks back to the battle but we can still hear Drake's voice. Nightwing is still trying to cut Fuerte with its beam saber but Fuerte is still dodging with very little movement while at the same time trying to point its beam Gatling gun at Nightwing.
Drake: Shadow's attacks are awkward and he puts too much unnecessary movement into them, Fuerte is easily able to read them and dodge with minimum movement.
The camera looks back to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim comes to Shadow's defense
Tim: But because of Shadow erratic movements Fuerte can't get a lock on him.
Drake is unimpressed
Drake: That's more due to John's inexperience than Shadow's skill, the NS simulator only taught John how to dodge and read opponents attacks not counterattack, there's some things that can only be learn from actual battle. Shadow is just jumping around randomly attacking; I bet he doesn't even know Fuerte has a Gatling gun.
The camera looks back to the battle to see Nightwing still trying to slash Fuerte and Fuerte still trying to point its beam Gatling gun at Nightwing. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to see Shadow beginning to sweat and grow tired. He's gritting his teeth in frustration.
Shadow (Damn I can't hit this guy!)
The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John also growing frustrated although unlike Shadow he doesn't look the slightest bit tired.
John (I can't get a lock on this guy because he's jumping around like a freaking monkey!)
The camera cuts back outside to see Shadow attempt a stab attack from Fuerte's left side. The camera does quick spilt screen over Fuerte to show John's eyes narrow as he sees his chance to attack.
John: You're moves are obvious!
The screen goes back to normal to show Fuerte take one step back with its left leg and pivots with its right leg. Fuerte turns so it's now facing Nightwing's left side. Nightwing is momentary thrown off balance as its beam saber meets no resistance. The camera does a split screen over Nightwing to show a surprise Shadow.
Shadow: Huh?
The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing stumble. Fuerte takes the beam Gatling gun in its right hand and slams it into Nightwing's face. The camera does a quick split screen over Fuerte.
John: Gatling gun punch!
The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing go flying. Nightwing lands on its back a good distance away well considering it was a punch. Nightwing sits up and rubs its cheek, the camera does a quick split screen to show Shadow also rubbing his cheek in pain.
Shadow: Owwww
Kenny suddenly shouts
Kenny: Shadow watch out!
Shadow surprise looks up. The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte lift up its duel beam Gatling guns and open fire at Nightwing. We have a quick split screen over Fuerte to see John shout.
John: I finally got a lock on you bastard!
The camera does a split screen over Nightwing to show Shadow gritting his teeth. The screen goes back to normal to show Nightwing jumping to its feet and running to the left effectively dodging the beam bullets. Fuerte continuing to fire at Nightwing and chases after it.
Nightwing tries to hide behind a rock mound but Fuerte's duel beam Gatling guns almost instantly destroys the rock mound. Nightwing begins running again, the camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow still gritting his teeth.
Shadow: Kenny I can use some intel right about now!
We can see Kenny typing fast on his computer
Kenny: You got it, Fuerte is a Basic Heavy with 2 beam Gatling guns, it's also been known to carry beam ax. If you can get in close again he'll have a hard time firing his beam Gatling guns at you.
Shadow is running, the zero gravity bubble is making Shadow appear to run in place.
Shadow: Yea somehow I don't think he'll let me get in close again!
The camera cuts back outside to show Nightwing running at full speeds while weaving in and out of the rock mounds. Weaving in and out of the rock mounds isn't doing much to protect Nightwing. Fuerte's duel beam Gatling gun is destroying the rock mounds as if they're nothing. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John gloating excitedly.
John: HAHAHAHHA, who's the strong one now you dumb jock!
The camera cuts to the planning room to show a confused Cagalli.
Cagalli: Jock; Shadow?
Nick and Roxas also look confused. Kenny shakes his head and gives a short laugh.
Kenny: Shadow told me he didn't play any sports when he was in school.
Nick nods his head
Nick: That doesn't surprise me mate, Shadow doesn't seem like the sport playing type.
Roxas is confused
Roxas: Then why did he call Shadow a Jock?
No one has an answer. The camera cuts outside, Nightwing has run far ahead of Fuerte and is now hiding behind a rock mound. We can see Fuerte looking around for Nightwing, the camera looks up to the referee's screen.
Referee: It seems Fuerte has Nightwing on the run with its duel beam Gatling guns and Nightwing is forced to hide like a corner rat!
The camera looks down to where Nightwing is hiding. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to see a very irritated Shadow. Shadow grumbles
Shadow: I'm not hiding like a corner rat! This is strategy I'm a stealthy tiger waiting to ambush his pray.
We can see on Shadow's helmet screen Roxas pushing Kenny out of the way
Roxas: You are not a tiger!
She’s taken Shadow's comment personally. Cagalli comes into view as well and says in an unimpressed voice.
Cagalli: And you're not very stealthy.
Shadow is pissed
Shadow: I am very stealthy and whose side are you jerks on anyway!
The camera cuts outside and does a split screen over Fuerte to show John growing frustrated.
John: Come on out you weakling, stop playing hide and seek and come and fight me you coward!
Fuerte begins to shoot rock mounds at random. The camera looks over to Nightwing to see it clench its fist. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow also clenching his fist and he looks really pissed.
Shadow: COWARD, WEAKLING, I'm going to kick that guy’s ass!
Shadow looks like he's about to go charging in there but Kenny stops him.
Kenny: Whoa, Whoa, Shadow calm down, I know that we were making fun of you and all but your ambush strategy is the best idea we have for winning at the moment. Don't let him bait you into revealing yourself!
Shadow is forcefully restraining himself
Shadow: Arrrr I know, but still I want to just throw something at him!
Shadow gets a light bulb moment, then he smiles. Kenny notices this an asks
Kenny: Hey Shadow what's up?
We can see the gears in Shadow's head turning. Shadow's grin is growing.
Shadow: I've got a plan!
Kenny looks surprise. The camera cuts back outside to see Fuerte still randomly destroying rock mounds. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John still making his cat calls.
John: Coward, weakling, if you're too scared to fight me you might as well surrender now!
We hear a noise, and Shadow.
Shadow: Who's a coward!
John turns around to see what the noise is and where Shadow's voice came from. The camera cuts back outside to show a rock mound come flying at Fuerte. The camera does a split screen over Fuerte to show a shock John.
John: What!
The screen goes back to normal to show Fuerte jump to the right to dodge the attack but because of Fuerte's size it can't jump far enough to completely avoid the attack. The rock mound hits the ground and shatters on impact. Rock fragments from the rock mound ricochet off the ground and hit Fuerte.
Fuerte can't lift up its arms to block because it’s holding the Gatling guns so it's force to relied on its armor for protection. Fuerte doesn't have much time to process what happen as more rock mounds begin to fall from the sky. Fuerte looks up to the sky to see the rock mounds coming straight at it.
Fuerte jumps away from the first 2 rock mounds successfully dodging them but the one right after hits it square on the chest. Thanks to Fuerte's thick armor the damage Fuerte receives isn't too bad but Fuerte still has to take a couple of steps back to regain its balance. The camera does a split screen over Fuerte to show a pissed off John.
John: That bastard!
The screen goes back to normal as more rock mounds come flying at Fuerte. Fuerte begins to dodge again as the camera looks up to the referee's screen.
Referee: Impressive, it looks like Nightwing is compensating for its lack of long range weapons by cutting off rock mounds and throwing them at Fuerte. There may be hope for the Shadow Knights yet.
The camera takes a quick look back at Fuerte. Fuerte is still trying to dodge the rock mounds but it's not going so well.
Fuerte keeps getting hit by falling rock mounds and rock mound fragments and it's safe to say that if it wasn't for its armor Fuerte would have long since been destroyed. The camera looks to Rob, Tim and Drake. Rob looks pissed
Rob: DODGE you idiot dodge, what the hell is the matter with you!
Drake grinning turns to talk to Tim
Drake: You see Tim that's another problem with using the NS simulator for combat training, you see it only gives you experience dodging basic attack, like a punch or beam saber slash but if you attack in weird unusual way then the pilot will have no idea what to do.
Drake says this loud enough for Rob to hear and it's obvious that he does this on purpose. Rob still pissed snaps
Rob: So what, Fuerte's armor is strong enough that it doesn't need to dodge all the rock mounds thrown at it, plus John can track the rock mounds to where they came from and find your pilot! Your pilot is just acting like an annoying fly and soon he's going to be swatted!
Drake doesn't comment but continues watching the match. The camera looks back down to Fuerte. Fuerte has stop jumping away from the incoming rock mounds and is instead using its duel beam Gatling guns to destroyed the rock mounds before they come close to it.
Fuerte is beginning to advance to where the rock mounds are being thrown from. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see a grinning John.
John: Throwing rock mounds at me sure caught me by surprise but it was a bad move by you because now I know where you are!
The camera cuts outside to where Nightwing is hiding. We can see Nightwing cut a rock mound off the ground with its beam saber and throw it in the direction towards Fuerte. We can hear the beam bullets destroy the rock mounds in the back ground.
Nightwing doesn't pay attention to this and is already cutting another rock mound off the ground and throwing it in the direction of Fuerte. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to see Shadow with an extremely focus look on. We can see Kenny on Shadow's helmet screen and he sounds nervous.
Kenny: Um Shadow this idea was doing little to damage Fuerte before and now it's doing even less, I think it's time you came up with a better plan.
Shadow gives one of his confident smiles.
Shadow: Don't worry I still have part 2 of my master plan.
Kenny is surprise
Kenny: There's a part 2 to your plan?
Shadow simile grows even wider
Shadow: Just wait and see.
The camera cuts back outside to Fuerte. There are no more rock mounds flying at Fuerte anymore. This has made Fuerte suspicious; Fuerte is moving slower now and is scanning the area being extra cautious, it’s got its Gatling guns at the ready. The camera does a split over Fuerte to show John in the lower half of the screen looking focus.
John: Where are you?
John says this to himself in a low voice. The screen goes back to normal; suddenly another rock mound comes flying out of nowhere heading straight for Fuerte. Fuerte sees it coming and quickly turns to fire its duel Gatling guns at it. We do another quick split screen over Fuerte to show and annoyed John.
John: That kind of lame attack doesn't work on me!
The screen goes back to normal as Fuerte fires its duel Gatling guns at the rock mound. The rock mound breaks and crumbles under the hail of beam bullets. As the rock mound breaks it reveals Nightwing behind it.
Nightwing must have at some point jump behind the rock mound and is flying, or more like falling since Nightwing doesn’t have flight capabilities, straight towards Fuerte. Time slows down; the camera looks up to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim and Rob are shocked/surprise
Rob: What behind the rock mound!
Drake gives a short slightly impressed laugh
Drake: HA, I see, Shadow threw the rock mound at Fuerte and then immediately after he chase after it and right when it reach the peak of its arch he jump onto it so that he could fall toward Fuerte hidden and protected. Not bad Shadow.
The camera looks back to Fuerte. The camera does a split screen over Fuerte to show a panicking John.
John: OH CRAP!
The screen goes back to normal; the camera quickly turns to look at Nightwing. Nightwing is holding its beam saber with both hands over its head preparing to perform a jump attack on Fuerte. Fuerte at the last second lifts its Gatling guns and forms a cross guard with them.
Nightwing's beam saber hits the duel beam Gatling guns and cuts right through them. Nightwing lands behind Fuerte with its back facing Fuerte. There's a moment’s pause as neither Gundam does anything.
The silent moment is broken by Fuerte's beam Gatling guns breaking. The top half of both of Fuerte's Gatling guns falls off and hits the ground with a bang. The camera looks up to the spectator stands to see the crowd go nuts with cheering. We can see the referee standing up excitedly shouting
Referee: Incredible, unbelievable, amazing! Somehow Nightwing was able to catch up to the rock mound he threw at Fuerte and jump behind it using it for cover! I put back what I took back earlier; The Shadow Knights have a great chance winning this thing!
The camera looks back down to Fuerte. Fuerte is examining its broken duel Gatling guns, the camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John shocked. He's looking at his hands which correspond to Fuerte examining its beam Gatling guns.
John: My beam Gatling guns.
The camera cuts to the planning room. Roxas and Kenny are cheering Shadow on
Roxas: Shadow that was awesome!
Nick nods his head in agreement
Nick: That entire event was amazing mate, from the planning to the strategy to the execution, it was all just amazing!
Kenny: I'm surprise you were able to pull it off!
We can see Jack on one of the monitors. Jack has notice that Cagalli hasn't said anything yet.
Jack: Hey Cagalli aren't you going to say anything to Shadow?
Cagalli glares at Jack then reluctantly says
Cagalli: That strategy was kind of impressive.
We can see Shadow grinning in another monitor
Shadow: HA thanks guys.
The camera cuts back to inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John clenching his fist. His hands start to shake in growing rage.
John: That bastard!
The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte ejects its broken beam Gatling guns from its arms. With the beam Gatling guns gone Fuerte can now freely move its arms. A rode ejects from Fuerte's back and flips into the air above Fuerte. Fuerte grabs it and activates it in one swift motion, the rode actives and becomes a beam ax.
The rode part is metal but the blade is beam, Fuerte's ax has 2 ax blades, one on each side. Fuerte grabs its beam ax with both hands and charges Nightwing. Nightwing turns to face Fuerte. Fuerte performs a jump attack on Nightwing. Nightwing lifts up its beam saber and holds it horizontally over its head blocking Fuerte's beam ax.
We can see the ground underneath Nightwing’s feet break apart from the force of impact. The camera does a three way split screen, Shadow in the right, the Gundams in the middle and John in the left. Both Shadow and John are gritting their teeth. The screen goes back to normal as Nightwing is forced back.
Fuerte follows up with a right horizontal ax slash, Nightwing blocks by turning its beam saber vertical with the tip pointed down. Fuerte quickly does three more attacks, a right horizontal ax slash to Nightwing's side, a downward vertical ax slash to Nightwing's head, and a left horizontal ax slash to Nightwing's chest.
Nightwing blocks all three attacks with its beam saber but is force further back with each blow. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to see John still pissed off.
John: Take that, and this and that, how do you like this you stupid jock!
The camera cuts back outside to show Fuerte do another right horizontal ax slash to Nightwing's side. Nightwing blocks the attack with its beam saber again only this time Nightwing takes its right hand off its beam saber and still holding onto the beam saber with its left hand, punches Fuerte in the face.
At the same time the camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show an extremely irritated Shadow.
Shadow: Will you stop calling me a jock! I've never been on a sports team in my entire life well not counting Gundams!
The camera cuts outside to show that Nightwing's punch had little effect on Fuerte. Fuerte responds with a downward diagonal ax slash to Nightwing's right shoulder. Nightwing jumps back dodging the attack. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John still pissed off.
John: Jock or not it doesn't matter you bullies are all the same!
The camera cuts outside again to show Fuerte charge Nightwing. Nightwing moves back and dodges another ax slash. The camera looks up to the referee's screen
Referee: Fuerte and Nightwing are engage in close quarters combat! Fuerte seems to have the edge since it's a Basic Heavily type Gundam but Nightwing is once again proving it's not going down without a fight!
The camera looks over to Tim, Rob and Drake. Drake has an ipod looking thing attach to his right ear, he’s listing to something. Tim sees this and is confused.
Tim: Drake what is that and where did you get it?
Drake still listing answers Tim
Drake: It's a listening scanner; it picks up the Gundam's communication frequency. I'm able to hear the Gundam Pilot's conversation between each other; it's good for telling what kind of mood the pilots are in.
Tim is annoyed
Tim: Well where did you get it, you didn't have it before!
The camera looks over to Rob who also has a listening scanner. Rob is annoyed
Rob: There was a guy selling them a little while ago but you were too busy watching the fight to notice!
Tim now looks slightly embarrass
Tim: Oh
Drake is thinking about something and he turns to Rob
Drake: I see now.
Rob smiles at Drake
Rob: You see what Drake?
Drake is eyeing Rob angrily
Drake: Ever since you told me about the NS simulator I've been wondering what kind of Gundam Pilot would practice for so long on the NS simulator that it borders on obsession.
Rob smiles back
Rob: And now you know?
Drake still eyeing Rob coldly
Drake: I have a good idea.
The camera looks back down to the fight. Fuerte seems to have lost all control and is just randomly trying to hack at Nightwing. Nightwing is managing to either block or dodge the attacks but it’s still being pushed back. The camera cuts inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John still enraged.
John: You bullies acting all high and mightily because you're good looking or because you've got natural athletic talent! Always picking on the weak or people who were different, well I'm not going to take it anymore!
The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte do a downward diagonal attack to Nightwing's left shoulder. Nightwing manages to block the attack with its beam saber but it's still sent back by the force of impact. The camera cuts inside Nightwing's cockpit to show Shadow struggling against Fuerte's attack.
Shadow: Let me guess you were bullied when you went to school?
The camera cuts back to Tim, Rob and Drake. Rob is explaining something to Tim and Drake.
Rob: As you probably already figured out John comes from a wealthy family but for whatever reason his parents decided to send him to a public school. Needless to say the kids there were jealous of his wealth and constantly bullied him.
The camera cuts back to inside Fuerte's cockpit to show John also giving the same explanation to Shadow.
John: Everyday was a living hell for me, they call me names, stole my lunch money, threw my stuff around; gave me wedgies. The teachers couldn't do anything about it and whenever I try to fight back they just beat me up!
While John's talking we enter slideshow mode. We see pictures of a younger John getting beat up, having his stuff thrown, and getting wedgies. The slideshow mode ends and the camera cuts back to Tim, Rob, and Drake.
Rob: And that's when he got the idea.
Tim is confused
Tim: Idea?
Rob smiles back at him
Rob: The idea that he needed more power, power to defend himself, power to get revenge against those that tormented him, but how does one get that power?
The camera cuts back inside Fuerte's cockpit
John: So I decided to join a weight lifting class to get stronger but do you want to know what happen? I was laugh at! I was the weakest one in the class I couldn't lift anything, some of the weights I consider way to heavily they were lifting as if they were nothing but the worst part was the laughing! Every day when I showed up to class they laugh at me, they were always laughing at me!
We do a quick flashback, John is in a weight lifting class attempting to lift a weight. He's not very successful. We can see 2 other guys standing a little ways off. They're lifting even heavier weights easily. They're looking at John
Guy1: God John can't even lift that weight yet?
Guy2: Man I could lift twice that size weight my first day here.
Guy1: HAHAHA, yea so could I, HAHHAHAH I wonder why he even bothers.
Guy2: HAHHAHAH, yea the rich boy should of just pay someone to lift the weight for him HAHAHAH.
They walk away laughing. The camera turns to look at John, from the hurt look on his face we can see that he's heard every word. We come back to the present to see John still going on with his explanation.
John: The laughing was the worst, I just couldn't stand the laughing but I guess I should be grateful to them because it was in the weight lifting class that I first heard about the Gundams.
The camera cuts back to Rob, Tim and Drake.
Rob: It makes sense really, people who weight lift obvious want more power and what's more powerful than a Gundam, so it's only logical that some people in the weight lifting class would be following the Gundam Fights, HA and some would even be thinking about joining them.
The camera cuts back to John
John: But the people in my weight lifting class didn't have the money or connections to become a Gundam Pilot but I realize I did.
The camera cuts back to Rob
Rob: So he quit his weight lifting class and came to me. I instantly saw that John had the motivation to become a great Gundam Fighter plus thanks to his family money he can afford the best equipment and that's why John is going to win this fight.
The camera cuts back to John
John: That's why I bought the Basic Heavily for my Gundam, because it's the strongest of the Basic series, and now I won't lose to you bullies ever again!
The camera looks down for a moment to show John’s Neon gauntlet start to slightly glow then cuts outside to show Fuerte charging Nightwing. Nightwing has been back up against a rock mound. Fuerte holding its ax with both hands does a jump attack on Nightwing.
Nightwing blocks the blow with its beam saber but the force of the blow knocks Nightwing straight into the rock mound behind it. The rock mound cracks as Nightwing is forced to its knees. The camera quickly cuts to the planning room to see everyone surprise and scared.
Cagalli, Roxas, Kenny: Shadow!
Nick: Mate!
We can see Jack on one of the monitors
Jack: This isn't good Fuerte is a Basic Heavy Gundam, and Nightwing is a Basic Original. A Basic Heavy is a lot stronger than a Basic Original in a face off Nightwing is going to lose! Shadow get out of there!
The camera cuts back outside, Fuerte isn't lifting up its beam ax but instead is implying more pressure into it. Nightwing is struggling to push Fuerte back with its beam saber. The camera cuts back inside Fuerte's cockpit, John is in the same position as Fuerte.
We can see him putting all his weight and strength into his ax although we don’t actually see an ax. John is grinning thinking he's already won
John: And now thanks to my new strength I'll never lose to you Jocks ever again!
Shadow: Enough!
We hear Shadow over John's helmet screen, John looks surprise. We can hear metal grinding sounds and we can see John's hand being forced up by and unseen force. The camera cuts outside to show Nightwing starting to push Fuerte back with its beam saber.
Nightwing has gotten one leg up and is now only on one knee. Nightwing is still forcing Fuerte back as it slowly rises to its feet. The camera quickly cuts back into Fuerte's cockpit to show an even more shocked John.
John (What's going on! Fuerte's a Basic Heavy it's supposed to be twice as strong as the Basic Original so how the hell am I being pushed back!)
Shadow starts talking to John again
Shadow: You think you've gotten stronger, you think you've proven those bullies wrong about you; well it's time for your wakeup call!
The camera cuts to Nightwing's cockpit to show a determine Shadow. We can see his Neon Gauntlet is slightly glowing again.
Shadow: Wake up, you're not any stronger then when you were in your weight lifting class and you haven't proven anyone wrong! In fact you've proven them right; when weight lifting got too hard you just quit and try to use your money to buy strength! But true strength can only be gain through hard work, blood and sweat but since you can't tell the difference between true strength and your fake strength I'll show you!
The camera cuts outside to show Nightwing now fully standing up and pushing Fuerte back. Nightwing pulls its beam saber back, Fuerte stumbles for a moment from the sudden absence of pressure.
Nightwing charges Fuerte and performs a left horizontal beam saber slash. Fuerte manages to block the attack with its beam ax but the force of impact still knocks Fuerte back. The camera cuts to the planning room to show a confused Cagalli.
Cagalli: What's going on, I thought the Basic Heavy Gundam was supposed to be stronger than a Basic Original Gundam so how is Shadow winning in a contest of strength?
Nick and Roxas also look confused by this but Kenny knows the answer.
Kenny: It's because of the NS system.
Kenny says this as if it's obvious; Cagalli, Roxas and Nick still look confused.
Cagalli: Doesn't the NS system just allow the Gundam to mimic our moves?
Kenny nods his head
Kenny: Exactly but it also proportions the Gundams stats relative to its human fighter.
Cagalli, Roxas and Nick still look confused. Kenny sees this and sighs
Kenny: Ok let's say that Shadow's physical strength is a 6, well Nightwing being a Basic Original x2 that number, so Nightwing's total physical strength would be a 12.
Cagalli starting to get it nods her head
Cagalli: Ok but that still doesn't explain why Shadow's Basic Original is now stronger then the Basic Heavy.
Kenny explains
Kenny: You see that's normally true because the proportions are different. A Basic Original x2 to its pilot's strength while a Basic Heavy x5, and normally the pilot's strengths are about equal but John's physical strength is much weaker then Shadow's. Let's go back to the example I said early, if Shadow's strength is a 6 then you x2 that number because Nightwing is a Basic Original and that gets you a total strength value of 12, but if John's strength is only a 2 then you x5 because Fuerte is a Basic Heavy and you get a total strength of 10, so you see even though Fuerte is stronger than Nightwing Shadow is so strong that it compensates for that and makes the total physical strength higher than that of Fuerte's. That's why Nightwing is winning.
Nick nods his head
Nick: Ok I get it now.
The others seem to understand too, Cagalli realizes something.
Cagalli: So that's why Drake had us do a bunch of physical training, he wanted us to get our physical strength up so that when we piloted the Gundams our overall stats would be a lot higher than if we just piloted our Gundams without any physical training.
Roxas smiling at Cagalli says
Roxas: And you thought all that training was pointless.
Cagalli glares at Roxas but then turns to look back at the monitor. The camera cuts back outside, Fuerte is still stumbling trying to regain its footing from being thrown back by the impact of Nightwing's attack. Nightwing isn't going to give Fuerte the chance to recover.
Nightwing charges again and this time performs a downward diagonal slash to Fuerte's right shoulder. As Nightwing is charging Fuerte the camera does a split screen over Nightwing. In the lower half of the screen we can see Shadow determine.
Shadow: Oh and by the way I'm no Jock, I'm never been naturally gifted with athletic skills so this strength you're fighting against right now is the one achieved through hard work, blood and sweat! This is true strength!
The screen goes back to normal; Fuerte is still off balance and can't block or dodge the attack. Nightwing's attack hits Fuerte square on cutting Fuerte diagonally in half. Fuerte falls backwards, as Fuerte falls backwards it breaks into two parts. Time slows down, the camera cuts inside Fuerte's safety pod. John looks close to passing out
John (So this is true strength. I guess in the end my fake strength couldn't come close to true strength.)
The camera cuts outside to show Fuerte hitting the ground. Fuerte is now in two pieces, there's a moment’s pause then the crowd goes nuts.
Referee: Nightwing wins, Nightwing wins; the Shadow Knights beat the Gargoyles and win the team victory! This underdog team has won!
The camera cuts to the spectator stand to show everyone cheering and going nuts. The camera looks over to Rob, Tim and Drake. Tim is also going nuts, Rob looks shocked. Drake gets up and begins to walk away as he passes Rob he says
Drake: Rob you focus too much on the little details like what kind of weapons you or your opponents have, or how much each weapon cost, but at the end of the day nothing beats hard work and training.
Drake leaves Rob to ponder those words. The camera cuts to the Gundam bay, Shadow is getting out of Nightwing; he looks a little tired.
Jack: Shadow!
Shadow looks over to see Jack, Roxas, Nick, Kenny and Cagalli running over to him. Jack and Roxas hug him.
Jack: That was amazing Shadow!
Roxas: That was incredible Shadow; you have to tell me how you did that trick with the rock mound!
Nick and Kenny high-five Shadow
Kenny: Way to go Shadow
Nick: Yea mate, now I don't have to kick your ass.
Shadow laughs
Shadow: HA like you could.
Shadow turns to look at Cagalli. Cagalli doesn't want to say anything and looks away, Jack annoyed elbows Cagalli.
Cagalli: Ow!
Jack: Cagalli get over being mad at Shadow and say something!
Cagalli glares at Jack for a moment then reluctantly says
Cagalli: You didn't do a bad job Shadow.
Shadow smiling puts an arm around Cagalli's shoulder. Cagalli is surprise by this gesture
Cagalli: Hey what!
Shadow: You're still talking like you're our superior but I know you're not doing it on purpose so we'll work on it!
Cagalli now mad again pushes Shadow off her
Cagalli: I am not!
Shadow ignores Cagalli and turns to face the others and says in a grand voice.
Shadow: Anyway I the leader of the Shadow Knights say that in honor of our first team victory we go out and celebrate at a club, who's with me!
Nick, Roxas, Kenny, and Jack cheer yes in response. Shadow begins to run towards the exit
Shadow: Then follow me!
Nick, Roxas, Kenny and Jack follow Shadow. Roxas and Jack grab a hold of Cagalli and begin to drag her with them.
Cagalli: Hey wait a minute!
The camera cuts to the other Gundam bay; we can see John sitting down and drinking a bottle of water. The other members of the Gargoyles are sitting down with him, Rob walks over to them, they all look tired and miserable.
Rob: Is everyone ok?
Rob's face is hard to read
Walter: Yea we're all ok we're just tired.
Rob nods his head he then turns around and begins to walk away.
John: Rob I'm sorry.
Rob stops and turns to face John
Rob: What?
John goes on, he looks tired and sad.
John: I know how much you wanted to win this fight in order to show that other perfect manage up, I'm sorry we lost.
Rob looks at John for a moment then smiles
Rob: Don't worry about it, you know how the saying about you should thank the opponent who defeated you guys goes, I think we all learn something today and got a little bit stronger.
John smiles a little
John: Thanks Rob.
The scene ends. The next scene opens up at a club, we can tell some time has passed, we can see people dancing and we can hear music in the background. The camera looks over to a table where Shadow and the others are sitting. A waitress passes by and puts drinks on the table.
Waitress: Here's the beer you guys order.
All: Thank you.
The waitress walks away, Shadow, Nick, Roxas, Jack and Kenny begin to drink there beer. Cagalli eyes them coldly, she's drinking water.
Cagalli: You guys do realize that the legal drinking age is 23?
Shadow smiling says
Shadow: Of course luckily we're all 23 or at least that's what our IDs say.
Shadow holds up his fake ID. Cagalli grabs the ID from Shadow, she looks surprise.
Cagalli: Where did you get this fake ID?
Kenny smiling proudly says
Kenny: I made them.
Cagalli isn't surprise
Cagalli: Of course you did.
Kenny holds up a fake ID with Cagalli's name and picture on it. We can see the age has been change to 23.
Kenny: I also made one for you too.
Cagalli snaps
Cagalli: I don't want it; unlike you criminals I obey and respect the law!
Roxas sticks her tongue out
Roxas: Party pooper.
Jack says playfully
Jack: Don't mind Cagalli she's just sore because she's the only one that lost her match today.
Cagalli blushes when she hears this. Nick comes to her defense
Nick: Hey cut the mate some slack at least she tried unlike some other spoiled snotty stuck up know it all.
It's clear that Nick's talking about Zuke
Jack: Speaking of Zuke where did he go?
Roxas shrugs
Roxas: I don't know, after the fight he just walked away.
Kenny sighs
Kenny: Some fifth fighter.
Cagalli looks a little annoyed and angry
Cagalli: Speaking of the fight can you believe that guy Shadow fought, there are so many problems in the world, and so many died because of them and all that guy could do was complain how tough his life was because he got bully. Selfish people like that just piss me off.
We can tell that Cagalli is remembering the first and second bloody Valentine wars; everyone is quiet for a moment no one knows what to say after Cagalli's statement. Shadow takes another sip of his beer then says in an unusual sober voice.
Shadow: John complained about it because it matter to him. We as individual humans decide what mattes to us and what is important. Just because it didn't matter to you Cagalli doesn't make it any less important because it matters to John and it's wrong of you to say it isn't important at all because it does matter because John decided it does.
Everyone is stun by Shadow's thoughtful comment. They're all staring at him expecting a second head to come out. Shadow goes on
Shadow: Besides I know what it feels like to be the weakest in a weightlifting class.
Cagalli is surprise
Cagalli: You were in a weightlifting class?
Shadow nods his head
Shadow: Yea, I was the weakest one there. I was luckily though, everyone in my class was nice and always encouraging me but still trust when I say that there's no worst feeling in the world then being the weakest in a room full of strong people.
Everyone is looking at Shadow still surprise but Cagalli is looking at Shadow surprise for a different reason
Cagalli (Being the weakest in a room full of strong people.)
Cagalli has a brief flashback of Kira and Athrun on board the Archangel. Cagalli shakes her head to get rid of those thoughts, as she shakes her head Shadow spots Drake.
Shadow: Drake!
All eyes turn to Drake, Drake nods his head
Drake: Hello guys and loser.
Drake says the loser part at Cagalli. Cagalli's face twitches in annoyance
Cagalli: haha, very funny Drake.
Drake turns back to face them, he sighs
Drake: *big sigh* you guys did a great job out there.
It sounds like the words are being force out him. Shadow looks slightly annoyed
Shadow: Tim forced you to say that to us didn't he?
Now everyone looks annoyed, Drake doesn't seem to care.
Drake: That guy just wouldn't shut up; he kept going on about how I should congratulate you guys for winning your first match.
Cagalli now very irritated
Cagalli: Wait you weren't going to congratulate us after all that hard work we did to beat that team!
Drake still doesn't seem to care
Drake: Ok first off you lost so you don't get to talk and second they weren't that strong of a Gundam team. When you guys beat a real Gundam team then I'll give you a real congratulation.
Drake turns around and begins to walk away
Drake: Anyway I'll stop by the apartment tomorrow to tell you when your next fight is.
Shadow calls out
Shadow: Oh wait Drake what about the money we won?
Drake stops and turns around to look at Shadow.
Drake: Money?
Shadow nods his head
Shadow: Well yea, this place isn't cheap so I could really use the money we won right about now.
The others nod their head in agreement
Nick: It'll be nice to get my first pay check mate.
Jack: I could use the money for some new Gundam parts and tools.
Kenny: I could use the money for equipment for my laptop.
Cagalli taking a look at her punk rock outfit
Cagalli: I could use some money for new clothes.
Drake looks at them for a moment and laughs
Drake: HAHAHHAHHA, you guys actually thought you were going to make money off that fight! Ok for starters you guys still owe me money, remember the Gundam parts I got for your Gundams plus the apartment you're staying at isn't free nor are the meals Tim brings you. So you guys currently owe me a crap load of money and second the money you guys earn from that fight wasn't even enough to scratch the debt you owe.
Drake walks away still laughing to himself. Everyone looks shocked by this news.
Nick: *sigh* I guess we aren't getting paid for a while.
Jack: *sigh* I guess no new tools for me.
Kenny: *sigh* or new computer equipment for me.
Cagalli fighting growing panic
Cagalli: So wait I'm stuck with these stupid outfits!
Roxas smiling at Cagalli
Roxas: With so many problems in the world how can you think just about your clothes?
Roxas says this making fun of Cagalli. Cagalli glares at Roxas, the episode ends with the camera on Shadow also fighting growing panic.
Shadow: Um guys, how am I going to pay for the bill to this club!