SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu ❯ Chapter 14 Untitled ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu
By: May-VeggieGirl1

I don't know how long chapter 15 will take. It all depends on whether I decide to retype from memory what I lost on my laptop or if I decide to wait for my laptop to be fixed.
If you haven't heard why my updates have been stunted, please RW's review.

(Because I am RW xp)
Either case, here's the (still climactic), chapter 14!
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The rush of cold engulfed him in such a shock, he gasped for breath but caught none. Spluttering from the gritty-tasting liquid in his mouth, he thrashed his body upright to only fuel his downward momentum.

It was real, he was going to drown. Bakunetsumaru fought off the increasing urge to panic as he looked up at what little light continued to gleam down on him from the surface. The grainy blackened water stung his eyes as he looked down into a smog of darkness brewing from the bottom of the lake. He was descending into it fast as he rubbed his eyes, squinting and flailing to grasp something.

First thing was first, he had to stop the momentum he was going down at; conquering his own weight was going to be difficult enough. He could barely see through the cloudiness to reach for anything, a sandbank, a rusted anchor line, anything to stop him. Still, Baku groped desperately and bit his teeth as his chest tightened, reaching another pressure depth. There had to be a way out of this watery grave, even if he couldn't swim.
Bakunetsumaru the Blazing Samurai of Ark could not die here.

His body feeling hot, he began to thrash and thrash with all his might, but still nothing changed. Gravity did not succumb, and Baku fell helplessly, inches to feet to yards all passing, staring up at his world above fading away into the dark water. I'm going too far, he swallowed as the air in his lungs hardened. I'm going too far, I can't stop...
Come back to me!

"Be careful with that, Bakunetsumaru."
His racing mind paused at the strong but kind words. The deep voice of a mentor from long ago filled his thoughts as the tension slipped away to a memory.

Baku was just a child still, not much older than Genkimaru... His wide eyes peered into his mentor's jade teapot as the steam tickled his nose.
"The bubbles form when water is very hot." The little musha stared intently at the fast bubbles, rising and popping just as quickly as they were formed.

"The bubbles are all coming up to the top," He frowned. "Why do they not sink?"

"Well, bubbles are just pockets of air." Baku looked up at him, puzzled. "They form in the water and rise up because of the heat."

Baku snapped his head up as the last of the surface light faded from sight. That's it! Quickly, he unsheathed his katana and crossed them, focusing his energies.
Tenkyo-ken!
The gleaming metal flashed and blazed an angry crimson as he slashed through the water, bubbles released from the energy as they hissed and gurgled with the heat. The barrage of air pockets pushed up against his body and moved around, as a wave of warmth, flying up to the surface in a bolt of speed. Baku paused with his katana outstretched, waiting as the cold water chilled his nerve sensors once again. He waited, suspended in the water, slowly looking around. He had stopped sinking. He really stopped sinking!
Clutching his swords with renewed vigor and hope, he cut through the water under him with more seething heat, pushing him upward, slowly, but surely.
Even if it takes thirty Tenkyo-ken, I have to make it to the surface!

It became very clear to her that, whatever had happened, it was not kind to her body in the least. The second her mind had come around from the events, acute pain shot through her, horrible pain she had never felt before, making her feel ill and terrified all at once. Trembling and without really thinking about it, Moriko rolled over on her side, curling up and keeping her eyes shut. Was it something that happened, was she hurt? Or was it just that dreadful sensation again, turned up to tune her out? She tried not to cry, she DIDN'T want to wither under the burden-

But she heard a voice and opened her eyes.
"Moriko!"

It was Shute's voice, and everything was certain to her- why she felt this way- what she was in the middle of. She could not break yet, if they were still standing. Moriko pushed herself upright, looking up at the human boy's worried face, hands around her shoulders.

"Moriko! Are you okay?" She looked down at the solid rock ground, the dark pain curling away as she swallowed and nodded.

"Yes, I am fine, Shute-kun. Are you well?" Relief washed over his dusty face as he pulled back, grinning.

"I'm okay! We've got to get down there and help Captain!" Scrambling, he peered over the edge of the cliffside down into the gorge. Moriko, slowly pulled herself behind, staring down as well. It was an impressive distance, like standing atop a high building, but without the smooth cement. Various cuts of different sediments were exposed, even some fossils that looked vaguely animal like; the gorge's steep earth walls trailed down to the bottom where a winding river, once much larger in the past, cut through. Up on the bank lay Captain Gundam, unresponsive. Moriko frowned, edging back away from the cliff as Shute looked at her in confusion. "Moriko?"

"That climb is far too dangerous, especially for one as frail as you."

"We've got no choice!" Shute clenched his fist, glancing back down. She was right, but he couldn't sit here with his best friend hurt down there. She sighed quietly at the determination in his eyes, standing up and brushing herself off.

"I understand."

"Come on, I think it's safest down this side," He motioned to the right and lowered his foot down gradually, aiming for a slight ledge- but was stopped by a hand pulling him up. "Hey!"

"We have to about this right, or we'll both get hurt," Moriko pulled him up gently. "If you look further ahead of where you were going, you would end up stuck on that ledge there with nowhere to go." Shute followed the path to the dead end with his eyes, looking back at her silently. "If we climb up along that ledge over here, we can manage to get down those rocks."

"Wow... You're really good at getting around, Moriko." He grabbed onto the wall, looking up at the path she described. "I'll go ahead first!" She watched him scramble up slowly, her eyes wandering to gaze up at the sky.

"...Please be careful..."

Although it was tiring, he was progressing- until they came.
After three more consecutive Tenkyo-ken, he paused in rest for a moment- and, just in that moment, something incredibly swift darted past Baku, bringing a rush of cold water slamming into his side. Startled and concentration broken, he braced himself as the current tossed him through the water, tumbling him around and around. Finally he slammed up against something hard, stopping his uncontrollable spiral. Dizzy, he opened his eyes slowly and squinted, making out what he hit-- to his surprise, it was some sort of huge pillar-- of rock? He couldn't tell. The solid dark structure stretched endlessly as far as he can see, and was incredibly cold, sending a shiver up his back. As intriguing as it was, the burning sensation in his lungs quickly reminded him how badly he could use some fresh air, and he pressed his feet up against the wall, katana crossed.
Tenkyo-ken!

With a push off, the side of the earth lit into flames, glowing red and giving off his reflection for a split second before the water swallowed the flames and turned into a hailstorm of bubbles. But they didn't touch the samurai, to Baku's confusion and dismay-- they went zooming the other way down.

The confusion quickly replaced with horror.
I'm going the wrong way!
Baku swore mentally as he stabbed the wall with his katana, catching himself a few feet into his fall. He didn't have the energy or the time to be wasting on mistakes!
The water is so dark, I can't tell which way is up without the bubbles, he thought bitterly and dug his heels into the rock again, crossing his katana.
Tenkyo...
But before he could initiate the attack, the red hot coals from his last attack cracked and a sound like shattered glass reverberated through the water, followed by a soft blue light, flashing for a second and fading just as quickly. Baku stayed frozen in place, eyes wide and trying to peer through the darkness to the source- but was hit once again by something in the water speeding past him, this time, solid metal catching him in the side from behind. He was thrown upward, scrapping against the rock again before it came in a third round from above, the small object no bigger than a foot slamming into his back. Baku began to nose dive, throwing up a defense and looking around wildly for the attacker.

A single red eye lit up not far away and dread filled Baku again.
Even underwater--!
He was completely at disadvantage, and the predators made it clear to him that they hadn't lost any maneuverability or speed in this new terrain. He watched, the only thing he could see, the red eye dart swiftly from side to side, swooping around him even in his fall. Another eye lit up, and another, several of them, swimming downward and surrounding him. Baku's head swam with them as the pressure increased, he could hardly hold his breath in anymore. The first Dark Axis creation launched itself at him, and quickly he swatted it away to only have three more by his side. A fang dug into his shoulder blade, energy immediately fleeing him even as he held back a gasp and pried it off. The water became thicker with the particles of sand and sediment, but the predators still glided through it, rounding him and dodging his slashes. This way and that, they came in every direction, as Baku struggled against them. The pounding of his gunsoul matched in perfect rhythm with the pounding heat and pain in his head, and he knew he couldn't keep this up, he couldn't muster the strength the ward them off.
In the pitch darkness, he hit hit the bottom, a plume of sediment and mud erupting, blinding forcing the predators away. He lay there for a long moment, staring at the cloud of black all around him and clutching his swords.
I can't...

Suddenly, with a roar, he threw himself up on his feet and slashed madly at the Dark Axis mechs approaching again, throwing them on the defensive. Baku kicked one out from under his feet, slammed the hilt of his sword into another, spun with a slash to those approaching behind. They drifted back a little from the relentless attack as he glared at their monoeyes.

I can't die here!
Baku pushed off of the soft ground beneath him, charging straight at them when their red eyes vanished, completely disappearing in the water. Baku skid to a halt, holding still and ready.

Teal eye pannels far above looked down at the dark swelling pit the musha struggled in, hesitating for a moment. Then swooped, in a fast blur, disappearing into the lake.

Baku choked, forcing his mouth closed, and crossed his blades as one red mono eye opened to greet him.
The attack that followed was unprecedented. The Dark Axis eye moved with the speed of a cannonball and slammed into Baku with the strength of one to boot. The wind clearly knocked out of him, Baku tumbled across the lake bed, gasping and coughing the mixture of earth and liquid. He slowed to a stop and stared up with blurry vision at the attacker, multiple red eyes appearing to outline it's shape... one he could not decipher...
They can... combine...?
Light-headed and drained, the darkness overcame Baku, and suddenly he couldn't feel the pain.

"Attention: an unknown source coming up is emitting a strong gravitational pull. It is beginning to affect our flight pattern. Do you wish to redirect our course?"

"Is there anything else you can find about this source?"

"I'm sendin' a spy shooter ahead... It looks like the Sea is turning into a tunnel-- I'm sending ya the video now, Chief."

"Incoming visual."
Chief Haro's 'ears' flopped up at the visual that appeared on Raimi's screen. The blue and turquoise dimensional lining, what made the Minov Sea, began to bend and stretch, just as described, into a tunnel of sorts, into a white light coming ahead.

"Woah..." The number one rookie gundam, Guneagle, came up next to Chief Haro, interested by the new alert. It had taken them a while to scan all through the Minov Sea, so, needless to say, he was very bored of it. "You think we reached the end?"

"...Whatever this is, I have a feeling the Gundam Force is involved."

"We proceed then?"

"Yes. RAIMI, stabilize the jets and let the gravity take us. Gunshow, keep the defense system on high alert."

"Adjusting output now."

"Roger, Chief."

Chief Haro turned to Cobramaru, hiding in the shadows of the bridge. "Please relay to Genkimaru that he should keep his force on standby inside the ship." Cobram narrowed his eyes at the visual of the ever-widdening tunnel before turning and disappearing inside the elevator shaft.

Outside, things were a little chaotic.
Spy shooters, small round mechanical cameras with blue jets and a long beam rifle, darted around. Grappler Gouf sat on top of the Gundamusai's head, sneering at one whipping past him.
"Did they have to copy off of EVERYTHING we made? The Magnamusai's makeover was bad enough, and now they copied Sazabi's cannons," He grumbled to himself while kicking the v-fin.

Below on the deck, Zapper Zaku was busy -trying- to clean Haganemaru's shell... which wasn't working out so well.
"Hold still, dammit! You're tracking dirt all over the place!" The shell rolled forward, Zapper running to catch up but, without warning, Haganemaru tilted forward and began rolling back at the Dark Axis mech, slamming into him. Across the way, Destroyer Dom was swinging Kijumaru like a rag doll while firmly attached to his arm, Zako's ran screaming out of his way.

"Dahaha! Make boom, make boom!"

"I'm not a missle launcher you fool!" Mokinmaru watched the scenario and sweatdropped, shaking his head.

"Waiting like this is not good."

"We won't be waiting much longer." He blinked and turned to Bakuhamaru, arms folded and staring off into the walls closing in on the warship. "We're coming upon it now." Mokin eyes trailed to the same spot, furrowing when seeing nothing.

"You feel that?"

"Mmm." Bakuha nodded once as Cobram came up behind him, picking up the napping Genki off of the hull.

"There's a strong gravitational pull coming up ahead, we should move inside." Bakuha didn't move or react, but his eyes moved over to Genki. Mokin slammed his katana hilt against Dom's temple, immediately detaching him from Kiju.

"Come on! It's not safe out here anymore."

Bakuha waited as they rounded up inside, waiting for what, no one could tell. Slowly, keeping his eyes on the white light of the tunnel, he followed behind the last straggling Zako off of the deck.

Cobram gently set the sleeping musha in RAIMI's right hand and turned back to the spy shooter, still displaying the visual on screen. Chief Haro, Guneagle, and Gundivers 1 and 2 stood by watching, waiting for the camera to find the end of the tunnel. Silence was in the room, only RAIMI's processors and the low rumble of the massive engine could be heard. Finally, Guneagle shifted.

"I could do this faster."

"We're not splitting up our forces, especially while the status of the Gundam Force is in the air," Chief Haro said sternly, still focused on the screen. Time seemed to stretch forever, until Gunshow's gruffy voice came over the intercom.

"This is-!" The light on the screen brightened, illuminating the room then dispersed, revealing a dark clouded sky. The camera tilted in angle, a vast empty space met the land and climbed upwards, a huge rock cliff that jutted out as a monument, and sitting atop of everything on that monument was a grey, jaded castle. Pillars of stone rose from the ground, foundations, no longer maintained, lingered around... and bones could be found. There was no sign of life, everything was dark and rusted over. The crew aboard the Gundamusai stared in awe.

"A destroyed land," Chief Haro said quietly in a grave voice.

"We will be entering the new dimension in approximately sixty seconds."

"I want an immediate scan of any recognized energy signals present and our location charted."

"Yes sir."

"I'm detecting high energy sources inside that castle, Chief, the air even around it is saturated! We ain't got any data like this."

"Now leaving the Minov Sea. Flight boosters are going online." From the light emerged the upgraded Gundamusai, entering into the new world. Guneagle and the Gundivers peered out of the eye shaped windows below at the castle, staring hard.

"Are we going to land, or do you want us to investigate in a group, Chief," Gundiver 2 turned to the masked man. Before he could answer, very suddenly, a streak of lightning came down from the sky and struck a couple of the spy shooters, exploding on the spot. The screen vanished and Gunshow's voice growled over the intercom.

"Chief! The saturated energy in the surrounding area has just doubled upon our arrival! The Gundamusai is in danger of being fried!" Chief Haro clenched his fist.

"Gunshow?"

"Four of my twenty Spy Shooters have been destroyed, sir, if any more get toast, I won't be able to protect the Gundamusai efficiently!"

"But we can't turn back!" Guneagle exclaimed, whirling around. "This is the last place they can be!"

"Guneagle is right, but we'll have to escape for now." Chief Haro pointed straight ahead. "RAIMI, direct us ahead at full speed! Gunshow, try to direct any strikes away from the Gundamusai using the Spy Shooters, and keep scanning for the Gundam Force!" Guneagle turned back to the window, watching as the ship lurched forward and sighed with frustration.

"Don't worry," Gundiver 1 placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find them." Gundiver 2 nodded in agreement.

"In an unknown land, we should tread carefully, Guneagle. You understand."

"Yeah I know, but-!" He paused. But nothing. Looking away, he repeated in a murmur," Yeah... I know."

Far down below, the female ninja stepped out from the shadows of the walls stealthily, bowing slightly to the dark cloaked figure standing under the sunroof.
"Hmmm, they're leaving. Should we follow and strike, Chimi-sama?"

White puipils stared up at the dark sky, before turning down to the follower.
#We will strike the Gundam Force in time, but first the preparations must be complete.#

She blinked in confusion at the cold words in her mind, frowning. "Then what of Daja and Raidon? Weren't they sent to destroy the Gundam Force?"
The dark gundam only walked away.

A spotlight appeared and a steel metal door slid up, revealing three Zakos taking center stage within the Gundamusai stage deep within the engineroom. The crowd of zakos cheered on the three Zakos with a red, yellow, and blue microphone.

"Greetings ladies and gentlebots," the Zako with a red microphone bowed first, followed shortly by the one with a blue mic and the one with a yellow mic. "Today's Zako Zako hour is all about- !" The other two Zakos spoke with him, all striking a pose.
"Chimi's plans, Zako!!," The crowd all cheered as the thre on stage waited for them to settle down. Blue Zako cleared his throat first.

"So, Chimi of Ark, full name Chimimouryu, is an ah-koo-jin, an evil god. What does he wish to accomplish and if these plans extend into other dimensions is the question for today!" An awkward silence followed as the three processed wot glance at each other expectantly. Finally, yellow Zako frowned and sweatdropped.

"Okayyyyy, so give us the details, zako!"

"I don't have the faintest clue, zako," Red Zako shrugged.

"Nope, neither do I," Blue Zako added, also sweatdropping. There was another pause, then-

"Ahhh! I thought you two did research," Yellow Zako shouted while jumping around. The two zakos sighed and hung their heads.

"None of our sources gave anything..." Red Zako folded his arms.

"All that we have heard is Chimi wants the Gundam Force dead, zako."

"But-but-but-but," Blue Zako stuttered. "I heard he thinks they're just pests and doesn't care what happens to them!"

A question mark appeared in Yellow Zako's eye. "He says one thing but does another? Is the Gundam Force really in the way of his mysterious goal, or is he just trying to deceive us?"

"I can answer that, hmm!" The zakos suddenly looked up in shock as the kunoichi leapt off of the roof, preforming a simple flip in air and landing gracefully on her feet. The zako crowed hooted as she waved in feint innocence, leaning forward a little so they could get a nice eyeful of her bare-covered twins. One zako fainted as she blew a kiss, red Zako shook his head seriously.

"You're that kunoichi who attacked us at the shrine, yes?"

"Yes. My name is Hikyuu, hmmm, and I've got the speed and the looks," she rolled a shuriken down off of her arm and with a flick of the wrist sent it flying right into red Zako's mic foam! "To get all the goods~" A violet spotlight opened up on her as she ran her hands up to stretch her arms above her head. The Zako crowd nearly went into a riot. Red Zako stared at his microphone, very unnerved by the attack.

"You're worse than Guneagle..."

"Who," She chirped, and just as he took a breath to reply, wagged her finger in his face. "Ah-Ah! I don't care." Red Zako narrowed his mono-eye.

"ANY-way, you were going to tell us of Chimi's goal?" The special lights went off as she blinked and looked back over at the three microphone Zakos, standing upright with hands on her hips.

"Oh. I don't know that, hmmm." Everyone proceeded to fall over as she scratched her head. "But he knows, and that's what's important."

"You obey someone without knowing their plans," Blue Zako asked, exasperated. Hikyuu's eyes lit up.

"Well, yes, but I'm a sucker for the big, bag, strong guys." Again, everyone fell over. "Besides, he's my god anyway. Sometimes I wonder if he manipulates that choice... Not that I mind, hmm..." She paused. "I think. But-" Her tone grew dark as she narrowed her burgundy eyes. "I know that the Gundam Force is a threat."

"Why is that?"

"Chimi-sama does have future plans of invading the other dimensions. Hmm, and you know, the nail that sticks up gets hammered down."

"For power? Land?" Yellow Zako pressed as Hikyuu shrugged.

"Part of his goal, whatever that is. But I'm sure it's not for power or land or prestige; he doesn't seem to care about those things actually."

"If he is a god, then... what's he look like? Is he like Daishinsho?" Hikyuu giggled a little and shook her head.

"Of course not, he's in his musha gundam body through a sacrificial summon! I think that's the only way he comes, hmmm."

"Sacrificial summon," The three zakos repeated like mechanical dolls in awe. "What's that?" A screen appeared behind Hikyuu as she pointed at a diagram of a musha gundam.

"The sacrificial summon is a dark, forbidden art that goes against the natural laws of dimensional stability that the Daishogun must enforce and preside over. Basically, a musha gundam that is alive sacrifices their existence of every plane, and potential future reincarnations, to summon a previous dead gundam. The living summoner gundam's energy is used for restoring the body to the way the dead's body once was when living, hmm, and the very fabric of their soul is disintegrated for the new life of the dead!" Yellow Zako's head began to spin around in confusion.

"Huh, zako?"

"Basically, one person dies forever so someone who is dead now can be alive." Blue Zako sweatdropped, unsettled at the thought.

"So does that mean the living summoner's body becomes the new one for the dead?"

"Mmm!"

"Anything else you'd like to share, zako?" Hikyuu thought it over for a minute, then grinned.

"Well, you know, the Gundam Force is pretty stunning, hmm... I'd love to see any of them without their armor on, reowr." The zako three smacked their foreheads as she winked to the wild crowd, whispering, "Call me." Without any warning, she threw a smoke bomb down and disappeared, leaving the zakos stunned and coughing on stage, just as another shadow moved in.

"What is going on here," Cobram hissed as the smoke disappeared, looking around suspiciously. The zakos sweatdropped.

"Uhhh- that's all for today!" Red Zako waved nervously at the crowd, hiding his microphone with a shuriken in it.

"For the future of the Genki Energy Squad, Zako soldiers fight, yeah~!"
~*~*~*~*
My Dad says I type in spasms, and it sounds like someone trying desperately to open a present, but just can't get to it.
.............What.