SD Gundam 1. Prologue

**Superior Defender Gundam Force**

Book 5

_The Knight's Darkness_

Based on _SD Gundam Force _episodes 33-37

Property of Bandai and Sunrise

_This is Shute!_

_When Zero was in a tight spot, he was saved by an old friend!_

_Fenn! I'm sure glad he's safe!_

_However the _true_ aim of Epyon was to capture the Feather Dragon!_

_We somehow managed to defeat Epyon, and found ourselves in Zero's homeland, Lacroa!_


	2. Rescue Operation

Chapter 1: Rescue Operation: The Cursed Princess of Lacroa

_**The Dark Axis was invading Lacroa. The Bagubagu were turning the people to stone, and most of the kingdom's Knight Gundams had already been captured, never to be seen again. What was worse, the invaders were being aided by that traitor Tallgeese and his band of evil knights. There seemed to be no hope.**_

_**As the Dark Axis hovered in the sky, like black sun radiating evil, four Knight Gundams stood outside the entrance of a cave. They faced a single Knight Gundam, accompanied by a young girl in an elegant gown and jewels.**_

"_**The four of us can handle this," A Knight Gundam with a four-barreled crossbow said, "There are only forty thousand enemies, that's just ten thousand opponents per knight. It's not a problem."**_

_**Zero, the Winged Knight however, wasn't so confident. "No, Battol!"**_

"_**Don't argue with us, there's no time!" A Knight Gundam with a curved blade said sternly, "The important thing is to get the princess to the altar, Zero. We all know our duty and we're prepared to carry it out!"**_

"_**But, Rock…!"**_

"_**The success of a battle is not always determined by numbers!" A Knight Gundam with a large glaive said, "Now go, Zero!"**_

"_**Nataku!" Zero cried, when a Knight Gundam with a scythe stepped up.**_

"_**Do not worry about a thing," He said, "We'll catch up with you shortly," He took some experimental swings with his weapon, did a small leap forward and said, "You're not the only one who would take care of our princess!"**_

"_**I understand, Deed!" Zero replied**_

_**Behind him, Princess Relehimana Miya De Lacroa nodded. "Thank you, Knights of Lacroa. I count on you."**_

_**As the Knight Gundam and Princess walked into the cave, Zero called over his shoulder, "I shall return to assist you as soon as I get the princess safely to the altar!"**_

_**-z-**_

_**Once Zero and Princess Rele entered the sacred cave, The Five Great Sorcerers began to chant.**_

"**Mana…O Mana…**_**"**_

_**Beneath them and above, magic circles appeared and Zero began to rise, pulled by a power that was not his own.**_

"_**Why me?" Zero asked, "Why is it me?"**_

"_**Because, Zero," Princess Rele said, "You are the savior, foretold in the prophecy!"**_

"_**That can't be!" Zero cried, looking down at her majesty. He gave a start when he saw Bagubagu had entered the room. "Please, escape princess! Princess Relehimana, I beg you!"**_

_**By now, the Five Sorcerers had become mostly stone. Their voices echoed off the cavern's walls.**_

"_**It's too late! It has already begun!" Rele cried, holding her hand out to Zero. Her body was slowly becoming petrified.**_

"**No!**_**" Zero yelled.**_

"_**Zero!" Rele cried, "Zero the Winged Knight, of the Royal Knights of Lacroa, I am giving you an order now! You must go! Find new allies in another world! You must figure out a way to reverse the petrification! You must save Lacroa!"**_

_**As he went flying into the magic circle above him, Zero cried out, "**_**Princess!**_**"**_

_**Just as her face became petrified, her majesty was able to speak her last words.**_

"_**I leave the future in your hands…"**_

"_**Princess Relehimana!" Zero screamed before vanishing into the portal.**_

"_**You are Lacroa's only hope…"**_

_It has been two and a half years since that faithful day… _Zero thought, looking up from the _Gundamusai_'s lookout. "Princess! Knights of Lacroa! _I have come back!_"

-z-

Across the skies of Lacroa flew Fenn the Feather Dragon. Even though he knew this world to be his home, Fenn had never seen it before, having been hatched from the Spirit Egg in Neotopia. Now that he was in his native Lacroa, he wanted to look around. He knew that it was his destiny to save the kingdom from the evil that had infected it, but he wanted to know what _kind _of evil he was supposed to fight.

He soon got his answer when a net of purple energy fell over him from above. Fenn began to scratch and head butt the walls the cage was in. Above him, seated on a platform formed from that twisted magic circle creating the net, was another dragon. This one looked remarkably like Fenn, except…

Its skin was black, and its wings were like bat's. Its tail resembled a purple double-headed scythe. Over its eyes was an elaborate golden mask, shaped like a trident, except for the part that covered the eyes. They were like window shutters, painted yellow and red stripes.

"What strength!" Deathscythe, Knight of Darkness cried as his ghostly form appeared over the black dragon. "Even though he is exhausted from the battle with Epyon, he almost broke through the most powerful barrier I could create!" When continued to resist, he chanted, "_Darkness Mana, who dwells in the evil abyss, seal this creature with your power of frozen night!_"

The magic cage flashed with a dark blue light, and the Feather Dragon suddenly stopped, becoming very still. He seemed to slump, hanging in the air from an invisible rope.

_Now I'm ready to acquire the strongest power in Lacroa,_ Deathscythe thought, _All that's left is to find a way to reverse the petrification…and that will be brought from the other world._

The cage containing Fenn vanished, and the black dragon flew off, carrying the Knight of Darkness as his evil laughter carried throughout the skies.

-z-

At the crash site of the _Gundamusai_, the remaining members of the Gundam Force held a conference on the bare soil.

"The first thing we should do-" Shute said, pumping his fist. "-Is save the princess!"

"No, Shute!" Zero said, turning to the boy.

Shute cocked his head, confused. From the way Zero spoke of her, he always though the Knight Gundam worshipped the princess of Lacroa. Why wouldn't he want to save her?

Anticipating Shute's question, Zero went on to say, "She would not have it so, because she cares more for her homeland than she does for herself. So we must save her beloved Lacroa, _then _the princess!" He wanted her majesty to be brought back into the world when it was cleaned of the Dark Axis' evil work. "This is the right and true order of our mission."

Shute nodded, smiling. "Yup, you're right."

"All we need to do now is activate the White Bagubagu," Captain said, his faceplate open, and his voice took on a playful tone. "Now where would you hide if _you _were a White Bagubagu?"

Shute turned to Captain and said, "You brought one with us, didn't you?"

"Don't hold back," Zero said, "Time is critical!"

"Yeah," Shute agreed as he fidgeted, "C'mon, Captain, hurry!"

"Okay, here." Captain pressed a button under his chest and the container for the White Bagubagu popped out.

Unlike the normal green Bagubagu, the White breed had feathery wings and a purple Japanese character on its forehead. Captain opened the capsule up and the robotic insect fly out. Everyone watched as it flew around before resting on a nearby petrified banana tree. It jammed its stinger into the wood, and the tree slowly turned back into its natural green hue, its branches swaying slightly in the wind. It was alive!

Zero's eyes watered at the sight. For the first time in over two years, _life _was returning to the land. _Princess… Finally…_

"Now everyone will return to normal." Shute said. Captain nodded.

Once it was done with that tree, the White Bagubagu moved on to another one. That soon became green as well.

"It's working!" Zero cried, "Thank goodness… My homeland is saved!"

"Good work!" Shute cheered the White Bagubagu on, "Keep going!"

"I have to say, though," Zero commented as a third tree resumed its natural form. "Its pace is a little slower than I'd expected."

Shute's smile slowly fell. "Yeah…"

"I thought the entire land would return to normal in a matter of moments!" Zero cried, anxiously. When he saw the speed the White Bagubagu had unpetrified parts of Neotopia during the Dark Axis invasion, he assumed the same thing would happen here. He had pictured color flowing into the entire country in seconds, not the snail's pace that was being used here!

Captain stared at the White Bagubagu for a moment before turning to the pair beside him. "Not quite. My calculations show that Lacroa will be back to normal in exactly 141,421,356.23 seconds. Which is more than 1,600 days."

Shute's jaw dropped. Sixteen hundred days? He did some fast math work. That was about…

"_Four and a half years!_" Zero cried, having reached that conclusion himself. His face fell and he slumped.

"That's ridiculous, Captain!" Shute exclaimed, "Can't we find some way to speed it up?"

"A White Bagubagu could modify other Bagubagu," Captain replied, "So if we had 10,000 of them, the job would be done in 3.14 hours, but…"

"But we haven't seen any Bagubagu here!" Shute groaned, fidgeting anxiously. He looked around, remembering that when the Gundam Force had been briefly summoned to Lacroa a month or so ago, there had been swarms combing the skies. "There were so _many_ before!"

Captain nodded. "Yes, I estimated there would be more than 10,000 Bagubagu here. That's why we transported only the single white one."

Transported…That was it! "Hey!" Shute cried, clapping his hands together. "I've got an idea! What about Bell Wood's transport device! We're in Lacroa now, so we should be able t use it, right?"

"They could send _thousands _of Bagubagu!" Zero realized, catching on to Shute's plan.

Shute nodded. "Right!"

"That sounds like an excellent plan!" Captain agreed.

-z-

However, the Gundam Force found that executing the plan proved would be difficult when they entered the bridge where their Dimensional Transport Device was kept.

"_The Device doesn't work?_" Shute cried, clapping his hands to his face in dismay.

RAIMI, the _Gundamusai_'s AI, said, "I'm afraid both the communicator and the Transport Device were broken during the crash."

"How long do you estimate it will take to repair it?" Captain asked.

"According to my calculations, one week."

"It'll take a _week?_" Zero asked desperately. They didn't have a week!

Shute, however, tried to remain hopeful. "We can still use the Zakurello Gate, right?"

"No way! Uh-uh! Nada! Forget about it! No!"

That encouraging response came from the Zakurello Phone, bouncing up and down in its holder on the bridge's console.

"Wait a minute!" Captain cried, turning to the Phone. "Can't we summon the Zakurello Gate inside normal space?"

The Phone winced. "That's impossible, Rello! Family ties between me and Paparello were cut off while we were in the Minov Boundary Sea, Rello!"

"What are you talking about, 'family ties'?" Shute asked, "Are you trying to tell us that the Zakurello Gate is your…_father?_" It sounded so absurd.

"_Right!_" The Phone replied, its beady green eyes upturn happily. "Rello! Paparello is Chobirello's papa, Rello!"

Chobirello? Was that how the Zakurello Phone referred to himself? As Shute pondered that for a moment, another question came to mind. "If he's your papa, who's your mama?"

"Paparello! Paparello!"

-z-

Without any alternative, the Gundam Force decided that they would have to rescue Princess Rele sooner than they expected. The launch bay of the _Gundamusai_ opened, and out rolled the Re-equip Ring, the device Captain normally used to change weapons while on the field. Today it's aerial abilities would be used as transportation.

Beside it floated Zero. "Since the princess is very intelligent, she may know a secret method to utilize the White Bagubagu! Now _her _rescue must be our top priority!"

Standing on the green, capped ball-like head of the Ring, Shute cast Zero a knowing smirk. "You just can't wait to see the princess. C'mon, admit it!"

Standing inside the Ring, Captain's faceplate closed. "Let's head to Lacroa Castle."

"Follow me!" Zero cried, and flew off.

The Ring took off after him, and the Gundam Force began their flight across the canyon they landed in. As they traveled, Shute couldn't help but look down. During their entrance to Lacroa, the _Gundamusai _had crashed, and certain members of their crew had fallen off in the process, namely, Bakunetsumaru, a Musha Gundam samurai from Ark, and Genkimaru, a hyperactive child Musha Gundam.

"I wonder how Genkimaru and Baku' are?" Shute asked.

"I'm sure Bakunetsumaru will have things under control." Captain replied.

Shute couldn't help but grin. "He'll have his hands full with Genkimaru!"

"You're right about that!" Zero added, chuckling.

-z-

On the branches of the Spirit Tree what Lacroa Castle was built on was the Fountain of Spirits. Here, the petrified form of the princess of Lacroa was kept at the top of the fountain. Guarding her, stationed by her side and on the lower portion of the fountain were Pawn Leo. Pawn Leo were the foot soldiers of the Lacroix Dark Axis faction. Unlike the Zako Soldiers used by the main invasion force, who resembled little green mono-eyed robots with domed heads, the Pawn Leo looked like toy soldiers with yellow visors for faces. But while normal Pawn Leo were brown, the ones guarding the princess were black with red visors.

In the spring where the water of the Fountain flowed from the Spirit Tree, Deathscythe held a conference with Professor Gerbera of the Dark Axis via magic circle.

"What a failure! You're telling me you _lost _the enemy ship in the Minov Boundary Sea?" Gerbera demanded.

Deathscythe nodded. "Yes, Professor, but with my magic I'll again find the Gundams in very short order.

"Because of your ineptitude, it appears I shall have to retrieve them myself!" Gerbera snapped.

"I can assure you, Professor, that will be entirely unnecessary," Deathscythe said soothingly, "I have things under control. My strategy involves a decoy to draw in our enemies. I have created a facsimile of their precious princess of Lacroa, and it should be the means to their destruction. I shall go into the Minov Boundary Sea immediately. Once I have defeated the Gundams, I will bring them back to be melted down and processed. The General will soon have supply of gundanium, I give you my word."

"…Do not fail me this time, Deathscythe." Gerbera warned.

"Even at the cost of my own existence…" Deathscythe purred. Once the magic circle vanished , his thoughts grew dark. _How difficult it is pretending to be loyal to that fool! I can hardly wait until the day I can humiliate him in front of the General, and take his place in the hierarchy of the Dark Axis. He doesn't know about the prediction of the Five Great Sorcerers…but _I _do. And I plan to use that knowledge to my advantage! 'When the curse of stone befalls Lacroa and begins the nation's ruin, a small power brought from the end of the Minov Boundary Sea will come forth, and save the entombed princess.' I wonder what that small power could be, to undo the Bagubagu? We'll know very soon, won't we, my dear…_

-z-

Fair away from the castle, the rescue team station themselves behind a large petrified tree. Captain slid his green targeting scope over his eyes and magnified the view onto the fountain where Zero claimed the princess' petrified form was being held. From what he could see, the only security force were a trio of dark Pawn Leo on a lower platform, and one at the princess' side.

"There are only four guards." He reported.

"And there's the princess!" Zero muttered, "It seems odd that they would assign so few of their forces to guard her."

"Yeah," Shute mumbled. A thought occurred. "Or maybe…maybe it's some kind of trap!"

An idea that Zero agreed with, but… "Trap or not, we have to go in and save her. It is vital if we hope to restore this world! Are you ready?"

Shute pumped his arm. "Yeah! Let's go!"

-z-

The Dark Pawn Leos were just mulling about when they heard the sound of jets and rockets. When they saw Zero and Captain fly overhead, the Dark Pawn Leo jumped to attention, running around in the fountain.

"Red alert! We're under attack, Pawn! It's the Gundams!" The lead Pawn Leo shouted, waving his sword.

The Gundam Force appearedThe other three Pawn Leo began to fire their cross bows at them. While Captain and Zero easily rocketed and flew around in the air to dodge the bolts, Shute was not so fortunate, dancing a precarious dance on the Re-equip Ring, trying to avoid being hit while at the same time keep his balance.

"What's the matter with you Pawns, shoot him down!" The Pawn Leo leader yelled.

"_Zero Dispel Sword!_" Zero shot a beam of pure light from his sword at the three Pawn Leo. They gave a cry and resumed their normal form- dice.

Captain, meanwhile, had assembled his V-Rod and began to face off against the remaining Pawn Leo.

"I'm warning you now," Captain said, "I have been granted special dispensation to use whatever force is necessary!

With swift movements, he struck the Pawn Leo in the back and front, knocking him off of the fountain. The Pawn Leo turned back into a die as he fell.

"Awesome, Captain!" Shute commented, hopping off of the ring.

Captain looked up at Shute and nodded. "Thanks."

Once they were clear of enemies, Zero landed before the princess and kneeled. "My princess," He said, looking up to her. "I have returned, just I promised you."

"I understand your devotion, Zero," Captain said, "And I must say, in the presence of royalty, I am humbled."

Shute stared at the stone features of her majesty, entranced. "Wow… She's...really beautiful!" He blurted out.

Zero glanced at Shute. "Her beauty eclipses any rose you might find here in Lacroa. Wait until you gaze upon her true form again once the petrification has been reversed. Then you see how impressive she really is, and how easily she inspires all those around here to an unshakable loyalty!"

It was then that a psychotic laughter cut through the calm air. The Gundams and Shute looked around, trying to place the source.

"Well, hello, Gundams!"

In the air above the Gundam Force, Deathscythe appeared on his platform.

"Welcome to the altar, where the princess shall be sacrificed to the Spirit Tree!" He greeted.

"Deathscythe!" Zero yelled, "I know _you're _the one who used Tallgeese! I will _not _allow you to harm the princess!"

"Tallgeese?" Deathscythe asked, insulted. "That lowly buffoon? I'm disappointed to hear you associate me with that clown! He was not even worthy to be one of the Royal Knights of Lacroa, although you're little knights have proven to be nothing more than a crowd of _incompetence!_"

Zero shook with rage at the Knight of Darkness' words. "Deathscythe, _stop!_ How _dare _you dishonor the Royal Knights of Lacroa!"

"There _are _no knights of Lacroa left, royal or otherwise!" Deathscythe retorted, "Everyone except you has been melted down into scrap- to serve my exalted General. But it seems today I will be adding the fifth and final knight to the scrap heap."

"I don't believe you defeated my comrades!" Zero shouted.

"Oh, yes- and quite easily, I might add." Deathscythe's eyes shimmered with twisted delight.

"A Knight Gundam is _never _defeated easily!" Zero yelled.

"Is that right?" Deathscythe asked, and said, "Let's put that theory to the test, shall we!"

Like a demonic mitosis, Deathscythe seemed to divide, as clones of him split off and separated from him. The Knights of Darkness encircled the Gundams and Shute cackling.

"We've got a problem!" Shute cried, trying to keep an eye on the Deathscythes. "Captain, which one of them is real?"

Captain stared at the multiple Deathscythes before looking at Shute. "I can't tell!"

"What?"

"_My _magic has been refined to the mists of time!" The Deathscythes said at once. "Mechanical puppets such as you are unable to overcome its power!"

Each Deathscythe summoned his own purple double-headed scythe. Captain responded to the threat by firing beams from his Option V, but the energy simply passed through the clones.

"Nice try!" Deathscythe taunted.

"_Super Magic Zero Dispel Sword!_" Zero called out, holding his glowing Vatras sword up.

Captain fired at another Deathscythe, but the beam went through it- another illusion.

"That won't work, you metallic, misfit!" Deathscythe sneered.

Zero, meanwhile, was busy fighting magic with magic. He sliced his sword through the Deathscythes, causing them to pop like balloons, proving them to be clones. But as he did that, more clones would appear and summon scythes.

"It's no use, your fate is sealed!" Deathscythe cackled, "Why not surrender to the inevitable?"

As the Deathscythe clones surrounded Zero, the Winged Knigth remained defiant. "No matter how many enemies stand before me," He held up his sword. "_None _shall remain at the flash of my sword! _That _is inevitable!"

Shute, meanwhile, was busy trying to get the princess onto the Re-equip Ring. He knew that if she was damaged during the fight, it wouldn't matter _if _she was unpetrified- her body would be too wrecked to last long. Unfortunately, the fact that she was currently made of stone meant that she had too much for Shute to pick up.

"It's too heavy…" he huffed, "I can't lift it…"

"_Shute, look out!_"

Shute turned at Captain's voice, and gave a yell. Deathscythe's clones were throwing their scythes at him! Luckily, Captain leapt in front of the boy and deflected the projectile, firing back with his helmet guns. In the air, Zero spun around, disrupting the clones surrounding him. But more clones remained, their scythes held ready to be thrown.

"My sword is powered by the faith instilled in me by the four Royal Knights of Lacroa!" Zero declared, flying around and defeating clones. Once he was done, there seemed to be no more Deathscythe's left.

But then a Deathscythe on a magicl circle platform appeared. "Foolish knight! You're hope is merely an illusion!" He cried as more clones separated from him.

_Huh? _Zero focused onto the platform-Deathscythe his eyes sharpened. _If that's his real body, then he's made a tactical and fatal error!_

Meanwhile, Captain had picked the statue of the princess up and was carrying it towards the Re-equip Ring. On the Ring's top stood Shute, trying to keep his balance as the Ring slowly rose. The Deathscythe clones launched more scythes at them. But instead of hitting the pair, they struck the Re-equip Ring! The Ring shook, causing Shute to fall off. Luckily, the boy fell forward, grabbing onto the princess for dear life.

"_Shute!_" Captain cried.

But then more scythes were thrown, this time at the Gundam's feet. His footing disrupted, Captain let of princess! She and Shute went plummeting down.

"_Oh no!_" Captain exclaimed, and without thinking, dived after them. He had to save them!

Their cries caught Zero's attention, and he turned his head, just in time to see the three figures –Shute, the princess, and Captain- fall down until they fell past the energy dome surrounding the castle.

_This cannot be!_ The Winged Knight thought frantically, _If the princess is destroyed, there'll be no hope for Lacroa!_

But no sooner had the terrible thought came to him did a triumphant cheer rang out through the air.

"We got her!" Shute cried, rising up. He was standing on the Re-equip Ring again, and in t the center, held firmly by the Ring's robotic arms was the princess, undamaged! Captain stood next to her and gave Zero a reassuring nod. Luckily, they were able to fall directly through the Ring's center, and were able to use the Ring's magnetic field to catch them.

"Princess Rele!" Zero gasped happily. It was a miracle! _Thank goodness my princess is all right… _More seriously, he called out, "Comrades! I leave the princess in your care!"

Shute clenched his fist. "She's safe with us!"

"We'll protect her!" Captain added.

Now assured if the princess' safety, Zero turned back to the battle, deflecting thrown scythes with his sword. The Re-equip Ring flew off, with Shute taking one last glance over his shoulder. Zero continued to destroy Deathscythes until there was only one nearby- the real Deathscythe.

Glaring daggers at the Knight of Darkness, Zero said, "You shall not harm the princess on _my _watch!"

"You think you can stop me?" Deathscythe asked sneeringly.

In answer, Zero shot up and jabbed the point of the Vatras Sword into Deathscythe's mid-section. He was sure he hit something, as not only did his sword shake at the collision, but he had it strengthened with his Dispel magic to boot. Deathscythe groaned, obviously in pain, though he had no face to express it. Zero then flew away from Deathscythe and up into the air, the sunlight gleaming off of his sword.

"This is not the end, Winged Knight," Deathscythe threatened, "We shall meet again!"

Deathscythe vanished, as did his platform and scythe. Behind Zero, other clones dissipated.

-z-

As the Re-equip Ring flew down the canyon toward the _Gundamusai_, Shute heard a voice call out from behind.

"Shute!"

Shute smiled and looked. As he thought, it was Zero, flying after them.

"Captain!" Zero called out, "Tell me, is the princess safe?"

"She's fine!" Shute laughed.

"Thank you, my friends! You have done well!" Zero congratulated, and thought, _I only wish the other knights of Lacroa could be here to share in this glory! _He remembered the last thing Deed had said before they separated.

"_**Do not worry about a thing. We'll catch up with you shortly! Remember, you're not the only one who would take care of our princess!"**_

_I still don't think they're gone, _Zero thought bitterly, _the Royal Knights of Lacroa would not fail!_

But those thoughts would have to wait. They had arrived at the _Gundamusai_.

-z-

Once the Re-equip Ring had landed, the three members of the Gundam Force moved the princess into the bridge. Once there, they placed her onto the platform where the Dimensional Transport Device deposited transported objects. Captain, his faceplate open, held out the open capsule for the White Bagubagu. The robotic insect slowly began to flap its wings, and then flew up off its cushion. Everyone watched with anticipation as the White Bagubagu fluttered up to the princess' outstretched hand. It tapped her finger with its stinger, and from that point, color flowed into her body. Her skin went from stony grey to Caucasian, her dress became light blue. Her hair, tied in twin braided buns, became a very light grey.

"…Where am I?" The princess asked.

"Princess!" Zero gasped, his eyes rippling. "You're…among friends!"

Shute gave a triumphant laugh, ecstatic. Confused, the princess turned to look at him and Captain.

"I don't know you, do I?" She asked, concerned.

"You know me!" Zero cried, "Don't you? You're highness?"

The princess turned to Zero and nodded. "Why, yes! I do know you! You're Zero, the Winged Knight!"

"O-oh, yes, milady!" Zero said, his eyes watering. "And I apologize for taking so long to fulfill my promise to you!" With that, Zero buried his face in his arm, sobbing happly.

"But the important thing is we did it!" Shute cheered, and turned to Captain. "Right, Captai? _This world is being restored!_"

"Yes, and with the princess' help, we can utilize the White Bagubagu to accelerate restoration." Captain replied.

Shute gave another cheer. "Woo-hoo! The Gundam Force rules! I knew we could do it!"

Because the three members of the Force were busy celebrating, none of them were looking at the princess. If they had, they would seen her holding up the palm of her hand. And if they looked at the palm, they would have seen a tiny magic circle in the center.

Deathscythe's magic circle.

-z-

From his lair, Deathscythe watched the action in the bridge within a larger magic circle on the wall.

He giggled malevolently. _Everything is falling into place just as I planned! _He turned to look at _another _statue of Princess Rele. _The _real _princess remains hidden away here, petrified and in my possession, _He sighed almost lustfully. "You're more beautiful than the fabled violet rose. Soon you're sweet eyes shall see the brilliance of my strategy! When you're restored, you're destined to be my beloved _soul mate!_"

Deathscythe's ghostly formed vanished in an instant. Standing in its place was a knight, whose body was hidden by a black material wrapped around- it seemed almost alive. The face was also hidden, by a mask like that of the black dragon's.

Deathscythe, Knight of Darkness laughed wickedly. Soon…very soon…


	3. Zako Zako Hour 19

Chapter 1.5: Zako Zako Hour

In the caves of Lacroa, a group of Zako Soldiers looked at the end of the tunnel they were in, standing up. The 'wall' (which was actually a boulder) rolled away, revealing three Zako Soldiers, holding microphones. The one on the left was triangular and yellow. The one in the center was spherical and red, and the one on the right was a blue cube.

"Ladies and gentlebots," Red Mic said as he and the other two bowed, "Welcome to the Zako Zako Hour! Today's meeting is all about! All together…"

All three hosts cried, "_What's Happening Right Now On The _Gundamusai _Without Zakos!_"

"Zako," Red Mic began, "Due to circumstances beyond our control, we're reporting the Zako Zako Hour from a cave somewhere deep in Lacroa!"

"Zako-zako!" Blue Mic and Yellow Mic said.

"Let's get a report from our correspondent _aboard _the _Gundamusai!_" Red Mic said, "Just a moment…!"

Red Mic gave Yellow Mic a bonk on the head, and Yellow Mic's eye projected a holographic screen onto the space behind them. It showed the normal Zako Zako Hour stage on the ship's engine room. The iron curtain rose, showing a single Zako Soldier wearing a chef's hat and carrying a ladle.

"Hello!" Ladle Zako said, bowing.

"Hey there!" Red Mic waved, "What's happening on the ship?"

"Greetings!" Ladle Zako said, "I'm coming to you direct from the ship's interior! Do you remember when you all fell out and couldn't get back in?" The screen behind Ladle Zako showed the Zako Soldiers falling from the _Gundamusai _during the crash. A tear fell from Ladle's eye."Well, I've been pretty lonely since then. I've haven't had anybody to talk in what seems like forever!"

Ladle Zako, Red Mic, Blue Mic, and Yellow Mic burst into tears for a brief moment before calming down.

"Moving right along," Ladle Zako said, "I am now going to report on the current situation as I see it!"

Ladle hopped off of his stage and marched into the center of the engine room.

"This is the engine room," He said, "And as you can see, there's nobody here."

"You're right!" The hosts cried.

Next Ladle Zako was in one of the ship's halls. "This is the passageway, also deserted." He marched off, but stopped when he came to a door fenced off by the SDG.

"Um, this is what is commonly known as a dead-end."

Next he was in the food locker.

"This is the food storage area, as I'm sure you remember," Ladle Zako said, "No one's here! Even Cobramaru is gone, Zako!"

"It's so empty!" The three hosts cried.

"Next!" And Ladle Zako was in the Re-equip Ring hanger. "This is the launch bay for the Re-equip Ring!"

"Interesting!" The hosts nodded.

"Actually," Yellow Mic said, "Captain Gundam uses that device to change his weapons. _Mm-hm!_" He clapped his hands in excitement. "It's a very cool process!"

"Hey, don't say that, Zako!" Red Mic and Blue Mic cried, punching Yellow Mic.

"Sorry, Zako!" He wailed.

Now Ladle Zako was in the elevator. "Here's another nifty feature!" He pressed the button inside the elevator, causing the doors to close and it to rise. "This is one of the main elevators! And if you go up all the way…" He was now at the lookout. "You come out here at the very top of the ship!"

"You skipped over an important location!" Blue Mic cried as the image changed back to Ladle Zako on the ship's stage.

"Yeah, you forgot the bridge, Zako!" Red Mic accused.

Yellow Mic nodded. "He's right."

"Uh, I didn't forget!" Ladle Zako insisted, "All the members of the Gundam Force are up there, and I didn't want to get caught and thrown into the ship's jail!"

The image changed to show Captain, Shute, Zero, and the princess in the bridge. The hosts fell over.

"The other two Gundams, Genkimaru and Bakunetsumaru fell off the ship with us Zakos!" Ladle Zako went on. He slumped. "All of my friends are long gone...and I can tell you that being alone on this ship is very painful!" He wailed.

The hosts wailed as well, sharing his pain.

"However," Ladle Mic said, "I've made friends with a family of Elmice, and it turns out they're a lot of fun! They're helping me get my mind of the situation."

At those words, some Elmice crawled onto the ship's stage. One hopped into Ladle Zako's hand.

"That's my report," Ladle Zako finished, bowing. "Bye! Zako."

The hosts were flummoxed.

"…He's having more fun than we are." Yellow Mic remarked.

Another boulder fell down between the hosts and the audience.

"So why don't we try to have more fun?" Red Mic asked.

"_Zakos rule!_" The audience cheered.


	4. Princess In A Black Dress

Chapter 2: Princess In A Black Dress

All over the _Gundamusai_, large, robotic hands poked out of various hatches, enacting repairs to ship, mending cracks in the hull and other restorations.

In the bridge, the fake princess said to the Gundam Force and said, "I am the royal princess Relehimana Miya De Lacroa. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Your highness," Zero said, "These are my companions I have brought from the other dimension as you commanded me."

Zero gestured to the two others beside him, who introduced themselves.

"Princess, I'm Shute!"

"My name is Captain Gundam, your highness."

The fake princess bowed her head. "Thank you very much, everyone," Lifting her head, she said, "I appreciate the danger you endured to rescue me."

"Princess, there _is _one other called Bakunetsumaru, a Musha Gundam from Ark. But I…left him behind, because he is very uncouth." Zero added, thinking about all the times Bakunetsumaru let his emotions get the better of him. As embarrassing as it was, Baku's hot temper and lack of restraint allowed for some pretty outrageous moments. _Very _inelegant.

"You 'left him behind'?"Shute asked, unbelievingly.

Zero, his eyes closed and nose in the air, nodded. "Mm-hm!"

"What are you talking about, we didn't leave him behind!" Shute cried.

Zero regarded Shute. "I could never introduce him to my princess! An elegant knight is one thing, but a brute like Bakunetsumaru would be disgraceful!" Besides, he couldn't tell her highness "Sorry, he's not here because we lost him in our crash landing." It would be even more inelegant.

While the two bickered and debated, the fake princess stared at the White Bagubagu, watching as it fluttered around the room. Was _that _how the unpetrification worked…?

"But we've all worked as a team for a very long time!" Shute insisted, the argument still going. "Sure, he's a little hot-headed sometimes…"

"That is certainly an understatement!"

Fake Rele's fingers subtly flexed, prepared to grab the White Bagubagu…

"It's just not right to talk about our friends like he was… garbage!" Shute continued.

…which landed back in the capsule in Captain's hand.

"Safe and sound." He said.

"Oh! Please don't!" the fake princess cried.

"Huh?" Zero looked at the fake princess.

"She agrees!" Shute said, "So you think we shouldn't talk trash about our friends behind their friends too, right, princss?"

"Well…" The fake princess' eyes drifted towards Captain, who loaded the capsule back into the compartment under his chest. Sweating, she said, "You're right. We shouldn't do it!"

Feeling uneasy about having everyone's eyes focused on her like that, the fake princess put her hand to her head as if in pain. She began to slowly walk towards the bridge's door.

"I…I'm not feeling very well," She said, "I'd like to go change my clothes."

"Princess, I shall escort you!" Zero offered quickly.

"It's all right," Fake Rele said, "I'll be fine!"

Once she was in the passageway, the door closed behind her. She sighed. This was going to be a bit trickier than she thought…

"She's exhausted because the petrification was just reversed." Zero explained.

Shute nodded slowly, unable to take his eyes away from the door.

-z-

In the lower halls of the ship, the fake princess communicated her findings to her master, Deathscythe, through the magic circle in her palm.

"This is truly the white bug that reverses the petrification," Deathscythe said of the White Bagubagu, "You must capture it no matter what! Be very careful my dear, not to be recognized by Zero and Captain."

The fake princess bowed her head. "Yes, Lord Deathscythe. I won't let you down."

-z-

After the magic circle with the fake princess' image vanished, Deathscythe, back in full ghost form, turned to the genuine article.

"Princess… Oh, Rele! My future wife, whose beauty is greater than the fabled violet rose," He sighed, "The legendary power was brought back from the end of the Minov Boundary Sea…And it shall be mine, very soon." His ghostly formed faded away as his corporal appearance appeared. "Please wait, just a little bit longer…"

-z-

On the lookout, Captain watched as the ship's hands continued their work.

"Emergency repairs to the engine will be completed in 5 hours." RAIMI reported.

"Roger that, Ms. RAIMI!" Captain replied, his faceplate closing. "Captain Gundam, tooking off on the scheduled reconnaissance mission _now!_"

The boosters in his Option V backpack activated, and Captain took great leaps away.

-z-

In the bridge, the door opened up to reveal Princess Rele. However, instead of the light blue dress she wore before, her clothes had changed magically. The colors were darker, almost black, and the fabric was a bit thicker than before. Her new dress had shoulders, and instead of jewels she wore long gloves on her hands.

"I feel better now." She said.

Shute and Zero gasped at her new appearance, awed.

"So, what do you think?" Rele asked, doing a slight spin, showing off her look. "Don't I look better in black?"

"It's…not my place to say, your highness," Zero said, finding his voice. "You look beautiful in any color!"

"Take my hand."

"Of course!" Zero said, bowing his head and holding out his hand. When he didn't feel the princess put her hand into his, he opened his eyes and blanched. The princess was holding her hand out to _Shute!_ The boy, clueless as ever, slowly pointed at himself.

"Er, are you talking to _me?_" Shute asked, bewildered. Off to the side, Zero stared, his bugged-out eyes shifting from Shute to Rele.

Rele smiled. "My hand."

"Yeah…?" Shute asked, looking at the hand as if it were about to grew fangs and bite him.

"Shute!" Zero hissed, "Take her hand!"

"Oh, yeah…" Shute murmured, dazed. "…Hand…"

Shute softly put his hand in the princess', barely touching. Was it _right _for him to be doing this?

Zero, trying not to look _too _upset, glided over to one of the bridge's seats. "Here, princess," he said, gesturing, "This way."

Zero eyes bugged out when he realized that no one was listening to him. Shute awkwardly led Princess Rele into the center of the bridge, where the platform for the Dimensional Transport Device normally was, now sunk into the floor.

"Can I stand right here?" She asked.

Shute, coming out his daze, nodded. "Uh, sure."

The platform rose ("Careful, princess!" Zero cried) and Rele looked around.

"It looks like Captain's not here." She observed.

"Actually, princess, he's not," Shute said, (Rele looked out him) "Captain Gundam is out on a reconnaissance mission, because Deathscythe may return for you!"

"Return for me?" Rele asked, nervous.

"That's right, princess!" Zero said, "There's something you should know!"

"Oh?" Princess Rele looked at Zero.

"Tallgeese was _not _the mastermind of Lacroa's destruction," He explained, "It was Deathscythe, the evil Knight of Darkness!"

Zero snapped his fingers and a magic circle appeared in the air. It showed Zero being sent into another dimension by the princess and the Five Sorcerers.

"Princess, after you transported me to another world called Neotopia," Zero went on, "I explained to the people there about the threat of the Dark Axis. Thus, I successfully established an organization called the SDG."

The magic circle then showed various scenes from Blanc Base, the SDG's headquarters. Most of these scenes included Zero, for some reason…

"Two years later, everything was put into motion and ready for a possible attack!" Zero finished.

Shute stared at him, suspicious. "What? _You _established the SDG?" Before the Dark Axis began to attack, Zero didn't even know about Blanc Base!

"Correct," Zero replied evenly, "And, just as I expected, the Dark Axis invaded Neotopia, just as it did to Lacroa!"

The magic circle then showed scenes from the invasion of Neotopia, such as Zero fighting the Doga Bombers, Zero fighting Doga Purple, and Zeri defeating Doga Purple. It finished with Zero taking a swing at Commander Sazabi, followed with the sight of the Horn of War collapsing.

"Thus, after single-handedly saving Netopia, I've come back to save you, your highness, our princess." Zero finished.

Shute couldn't believe it!" You're trying to make it sound like you did everything by yourself, Zero!"

"Well, I suppose I might have gotten _minimal _help from you, Captain, and Bakunetsumaru." Zero replied unashamedly.

Shute groaned and gave Rele a sheepish smile.

Zero continued. "After leaving Neotopia, we went into the legendary Minov Boundary Sea. There, I battled my arch-nemesis Tallgeese for the third time…"

The magic circle showed the _Gundamusai _entering the Zakurello Gate, then in the Minov Boundary Sea. It then showed Tallgeese attacking, becoming Epyon, and the crew's rescue operation at Lacroa Castle. It finished with the de-petrification of the princess.

"And now," Zero said, "I've finally saved you, your highness."

"Thank you for your efforts," the princess said, "By the way…"

"Yes, your highness?"

"I'm curious as to how you created the White Bagubagu to reverse the petrification." She finished.

Shute spoke up. "Captain Gundam used the Captain system, and-"

"Let _me _explain, your highness!" Zero cried desperately. Once he had calmed down, he said, "You see, the noble triplets of Lacroa and the power of the Feather Dragon transformed the Bagubagu."

The magic circle showed the triplets the Gundam Force met on their first trip to Lacroa, giving the the Spirit Egg. The Egg hatched into the fluffy spirit, Fenn, who later became the Feather Dragon. It then showed one of Fenn's feathers entering the Bagubagu's core, transforming them into White Bagubagu.

"And because it was for _you,_ my princess," Zero finished, "I too made tremendous efforts!"

"Oh, Zero…" Shute sighed, sweating. He should've realized he would do this. The knight's ego wouldn't allow anyone else but him to seem like the hero in front of his princess, especially since it was _Captain _who defeated Sazabi and transformed the Bagubagu.

It was at that moment that Captain entered the bridge.

"I'm back from the reconnaissance mission," Captain reported, "Confirming no enemy within a 10 kilometer radius," He turned to Zero, said, "Zero, it's your turned to patrol." and marched over to his seat at the console.

"Huh? _My _turn?" Zero asked.

"Yes," Captain answered, Option V hooking up his seat's back with a click. His head turned around and opened his face plate. "I must recharge my energy pack right away."

"But the princess needs me here!" Zero

"Don't worry about me." Princess Rele said.

Shute and Zero looked at her.

-z-

"Why do I have to go too?" Shute asked as he and Zero stepped into the elevator.

"Because," Zero said stiffly, "We would not want to endanger the princess."

"_What's that supposed-?_" the rest of Shute's shout were cut off by the elevator door's closing.

"Thank you!" the fake princess said cheerfully. She glanced at Captain.

"Miss RAIMI," Captain said, "Commence Re-charge procedure!"

"Roger."

Captain's eyes then went blank. The fake princess' eyes narrowed. _Now…_

-z-

Once they were on the ship's lookout, Zero took to the air.

"Keep a sharp eye out!" Zero yelled down, "You hear me?"

"Of course I do!" Shute yelled back, waving his arms. He was still a bit angry.

Once Zero was gone, Shute relaxed. He tried to keep his mind focused on watch duty, but it kept going back to thoughts about the princess.

_Relehimana Miya De Lacroa… Her highness…Princess Rele…Rele… _He leaned against the end of the rail, sighing. _She sure is cute…_

-z-

In the bridge, the fake princess cautiously crept up to Captain.

…_He's sound asleep. _She thought. But, not wanting to take chances, she slowly waved her hand in front of Captain's face. When the Gundam's eyes did not react to her presence, she smiled. Giggling, she waved her hands playfully and made funny faces at him. Once she was satisfied with Captain inactive state, she focused onto where the White Bagubagu's capsule compartment was. She poked and prodded the hatch, trying to force it open.

_How do you open this? _She thought, aggravated.

"Are you trying to tickle me?"

Fake Rele froze. Slowly, she looked up…

…into the eyes of Captain Gundam.

"If so," Captain continued, "The correct reaction to being tickled is laughter, isn't it?"

Fake Rele began to sweat. "Uh, yeah…"

"Then…" Captain began to laugh. But it was not laughter. It had all the words you would normally find in laughter, but it was so rigid and mechanical. It was just the word 'Ha' repeated again and again. It was laughter without humor.

The fake princess stood, frozen, letting the mechanical chortles wash over her until she couldn't take it anymore. Her scream was so loud that it echoed throughout the skies of Lacroa.

"_Princess Rele!_" Shute cried, bursting in through the door.

Zero came in through the opposite door. "_Princess, are you all right?_"

"I'm sorry," Captain's head turned around to face the boys, his eyes becoming sad. "It appears there is something wrong with the way of laughing."

Shute and Zero stared. Then they remembered how difficult it was for Captain to deal with understanding and expressing emotions in the beginning. Jokes flew over his head, and when face was upgraded to emote, he had trouble figuring out which one was…_proper_…for the situation. He got better at it…but it was like watching someone try to dance, especially when compared to Fred Astaire. It wasn't natural.

The Gundam Force showed the princess footage of Captain's 'emotional trials'.

Once they were finished, Shute said, "See, now Captain Gundam is able to express all kinds of emotions!"

"I see," the fake princess said, blushing a bit (Behind her, Zero kept staring daggers at Captain) "So in Neotopia, mecha warriors are different than Knight Gundams."

Captain looked at Shute, his eyes switched to 'sheepish', and said, "I believe I'll have to do more research on my emotional expressions."

Shute nodded good naturedly. Turning to the fake princess, he asked, "But, di-did you really try to tickle _Captain, _Princess Rele?"

Fake Rele began to sweat. "Oh! I…uh…well, you see… I don't feel so well!"

The fake princess put her hand to her head and went for the door.

"Princess!" Zero cried.

"Are you okay?" Shute asked.

"Uh-huh! I'm fine!" Fake Rele said as the door closed behind her. Once there was a wall between her and the boys, she exhaled. This was getting tricky…

-z-

In the ship's lower halls, the fake princess thought her predicament.

_I'm in trouble… It'll be quite difficult to obtain the White Bagubagu. How can I possible get it? _She thought. If she didn't get it, Lord Deathscythe would be furious…

"Princess?"

Fake Rele gasped and whirled around. There she saw Shute coming out from around a corner.

"Oh! Shute!" She said.

"Princess Rele, you sure you're really okay?" Shute asked, concerned.

"Yes! I'm all right!" the fake princess began to pump her arms in the air. "See? I'm fine! Woo-hoo!" She gave a nervous giggle. "Never better!"

Shute chuckled. "Boy, am I glad! I was sort of worried about you."

Fake Rele sweated a bit. An idea came to her and she said, "However, Shute, I'm actually very sad."

"Huh? Why?" Shute asked.

"It istrue that I am free of the petrification," She went on, "However, it pains me that everyone else in Lacroa is still petrified."

"Princess Rele…" Shute said.

"I want to turn everyone back to normal, and restore my peaceful and beautiful Lacroa," Fake Rele said. Then she looked into Shute's eyes. "Oh, my Shute…" She took his hands. "Wonderful Shute…"

Shute looked down at her hands on his. He tried to speak, but no words came out.

"I hesitate to ask you this…" Fake Rele said.

Shute slowly looked back at the fake princess. Her eyes seemed to be shining.

"You're my only hope," She said, "I know that you feel for me, what I feel for you, that you'll try to help me!"

As he became lost in the fake princess' eyes, Shute finally found his voice. Sort of. "Puh-puh-puh…"

"_What's going on here?_" Zero roared, a look of absolute fury on his face.

Both Shute and the fake princess let go of each other and screamed.

"_What are you doing, Shute? Huh?_" Zero snarled, putting himself between the two. If looks were lasers, Zero would have vaporized Shute on the spot.

"I didn't do a thing!" Shute cried, his cheeks reddening.

Then Captain came around. "Shute, are you all right?"

"Sort of, not really!" Shute said quickly, embarrassed about what had happened.

Captain's faceplate closed and his targeting scope lowered. "You're facial expression is curious," He said, scanning Shute. "Pulse rising…body temperature above average…I'm also detecting increased blood-flow to your face. Hmmm… You're current facial expression seems to be the same as another time."

Captain began to project a video onto the wall from the spot light on his helmet. It showed an unconscious Captain, while Shute, nearby, kept leaning in closer, his lips puckering.

"Oh my!" the fake princess gasped.

"Wha… What _is _this?" Zero asked, bewildered.

Shute then remembered. This was when captain had landed in his workshop back in Neotopia, knocked out from his fight with the Dark Axis. When none of the usual methods could revive him, Shute became desperate. After reading an excerpt from Sleeping Beauty, Shute decided that trying Prince Charmings method of wake-up call would work.

"Whoa…Captain, you were sleeping!" He cried, "You could_ see_ that?"

"It was left in my memory." Captain explained. Even in stand-by mode, he still unconsciously retained some awareness of his surroundings, even if he had to reactivate his normal functions in order to interact with it.

"Okay, that's enough, okay!" Shute yelled desperately, "You can stop showing that now!"

Captain shut off the projector. He turned his head around and two 'blush stickers' appeared on his cheeks. "My hard drive shows that this emotion is called-" His eyes became hearts. "_-Love._"

"_Love?_" Zero hissed angrily. _I know more about love and romance then he'll ever know!_

"Love? Uh, Captain…" Shute murmured. His and the fake princess' eyes met once again, and then looked away. Shute's entire face turned red as steam poured out of his ears. Humiliated beyond measure, he angrily began to pound his fists onto Captain, yelling, "That's not it, that's not it!" while Captain's head spun and he chanted, "Love" over and over again.

"Shute is right! That's not it!"

Everyone looked at the fake princess, who looked a trifle embarrassed herself.

"I was just going to ask Shute to do me a favor," She said, looking down. "That's all it was."

"But," Said Zero, "_I _can accommodate a _any _request you may have, your highness!"

"In order to bring Lacroa back to life…" She continued, ignoring Zero. "…I want you to give me the White Bagubagu!"

"You want the White Bagubagu?" Zero asked.

"Oh, was that all it was?" Shute asked, a bit disappointed for some reason. He turned to Captain. The Gundam popped the White Bagubagu capsule out.

Fake Rele's lips twitched. There it was!

Captain held the capsule out and said, "Here, take it, princess."

The capsule was snatched out of Captain's hand in a blur, almost knocking him over.

"Hey!" Shute cried.

Zero kneeled down and held the capsule out to the fake princess, who looked quite startled by this.

"I'm proud of you, your highness!" He said, "You are going to increase the number of White Bagubagu and save Lacroa, aren't you?"

"Hey, Zero!" Shute yelled, annoyed with the way the knight continued to force the princess' attention onto himself.

"Increase the number of White Bagubagu…" the fake princess repeated, a bit shocked at Zero's abruptness.

"You see? I was right!" Zero said, "Your highness would most certainly know how to do that!"

Fake Rele decided to play along. "Uh, yeah! Here, give it to me. I'll start right away."

"As you wish." Zero said, and placed the capsule into her hand.

The fake princess smiled, almost deliriously so. Success!

"Princess!"

Zero's voice pulled her out of her mental victory dance.

"Please, you're highness!" Zero said, his eyes shimmering. "Increase the number of White Bagubagu and save all of Lacroa!" He bowed.

"Your highness!" Shute and Captain said, bowing as well.

"Um, not here." Fake Rele said awkwardly.

"Huh?" The Gundam Force asked, looking at her.

"Well…" She said, somewhat flustered, trying to think. "All right, if we go to the Garden of Wisdom."

"The Garden of Wisdom!" Zero gasped, clutching his fist. "The forbidden sanctuary where knowledge from all over the world was sealed by the royal family!"

"That's right," Fake Rele said, "That's where I will perform the procedure," She smiled, glad that everything was working out. "Your princess commands it!"

-z-

"Attention," RAIMI announced, "Repairs to the _Gundamusai_ are 42.61% complete. I'm now able to navigate the ship."

Shute, Captain, Zero and the fake princess were in the bridge. Shute, Zero, and Captain were in their seats, while the fake princess stood behind Bakunetsumaru's.

"Now, to the Garden of Wisdom!" Zero declared.

"_Gundamusai_, commence lift-off!" Captain ordered.

Shute shot his fist into the air. "Let's _go!_"

The fake princess allowed herself a smug smile. _Very good…_ everything was working out just perfectly…

-z-

In his secret lair, Deathscythe, uncloaked, watched as the _Gundamusai_ took off, flying out of the canyon it was in through a magic circle of his.

He chuckled darkly. "Come to me… Bring me the secret technique of reversing the petrification…" _Bring it to me…_


	5. Zako Zako Hour 20

Chapter 2.5: Zako Zako Hour

A boulder rolled out of the way, revealing the hosts.

"Ladies and gentlebots," Red Mic said, "Welcome to the Zako Zako Hour! Today's meeting is all about, all together!"

"_We Thought Lacroa Would Be A Much Better Place!_" The hosts called out.

"Zako," Red Mic said, "By the way, Zako, we are reporting from a cave in Lacroa today!"

"Zako," Blue Mic said, "When can we go back to the _Gundamusai, _Zako?"

"I wanna go back to the Dark Axis, Zako!" Yellow Mic wailed, flipping out. "I'm already tired of the cave, Zako!"

Red Mic bonked Yellow Mic on the head, and his eye projected a screen behind the hosts. The screen showed the _Gundamusai _entering Deathscythe's giant magic circle in the Minov Boundary Sea. It then showed the ship flying around Lacroa, ending with a clip of the Zako gang falling off.

"We were in the Minov Boundary Sea," Red Mic explained, "And we came out from a magic circle. We saw a bizarre castle, and fell down into this hole, Zako!"

Yellow Mic said, "I kinda thought Lacroa would be a rather spectacular place, Zako."

"But it's not, Zako! It's not wonderful at all!" Blue Mic cried. Calming down, he then said, "Although it _is _nice to see that all the grass and trees that we Zakos don't like are petrified, Zako."

"I never expected it to be so boring with this many holes and caves!" Red Mic commented, "I'm so disappointed.

"Zako." Yellow Mic and Blue Mic nodded, and all three hosts sighed.

There was a puff of smoke, scaring the hosts. When it cleared, it showed a Pawn Leo.

"I shall answer for you!" The Pawn Leo said.

"You again!" The hosts cried, pointing at Pawn Leo.

Ignoring that, the Pawn Leo said, "Lacroa used to be a world filled with lots of trees and other organic material, Pawn."

"Yuck!" The hosts gagged.

"Gross!" Yellow Mic added.

"However," Pawn Leo continued, "Lord Tallgeese captured this land from the Knight Gundams and the humans, and used the Bagubagu to turn it into a petrified world of stone, Pawn!"

A Zako without any armor, wearing a chef's hat and carrying a whisk jogged by. "I'm so proud of Lord T! He's so cool, Zako!"

"Zako," Red Mic said after Whisk Zako had left. "He's head over heels for Lord T!"

"Unfortunately," Pawn Leo said, "Lord Tallgeese was actually being used by someone else, Pawn!"

"_What's that?_" Whisk Zako rushed up to the Pawn Leo. "Lord T was being used, Zako? Who would dare do such a thing, Zako? _That's unforgivable! _Who, Zako, who, Zako, who, Zako…!"

With a chaotic cackle, Deathscythe appeared onto the stage, scaring the Zakos.

"The legendary power that returned from the Minov Boundary Sea is finally mine!" Deathscythe crowed.

"That's right!" The Pawn Leo said, "The one who was using Lord Tallgeese was Lord Deathscythe, Pawn!"

"Oh!" The hosts said, impressed. Who knew such a goofy-looking guy could be a mastermind?

"That…that…that can't be, Zako!" Whisk cried, falling into a pit of despair. "Use Lord T, how could you…?"

Deathscythe ignored him. "My precious violet rose… Please be patient and wait a little longer…" He became his masked form and chuckled darkly.

"_Oh!_" The hosts cried, even more impressed. Now _that _was a mastermind!

Deathscythe took off. They watched him go.

"Lord Deathscythe…" Whisk murmured. His eye became a heart. "…_He's the coolest!_"

"You _imbecile!_" The hosts cried, punching Whisk away from the stage.

"I guess it's about time for me to go too, Pawn!" The Pawn Leo said, bowed, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Another boulder fell down between the hosts and the audience.

"Tomorrow, we're gonna look for the exit, Zako!" Red Mic declared.

"_Zakos rule!_" The audience cheered.

In a petrified tree, Whisk cried, "Lord D! Lord D is so cool!"


	6. Genkimaru, Samurai Number One!

Chapter 3: Genkimaru, Samurai Number One!

As mentioned earlier, when the _Gundamusai _appeared in Lacroa, its engines began to give out, forcing it to make an emergency landing. And as mentioned, during that landing, several persons had fallen overboard, namely, bratty tag along Musha Gundam Genkimaru, the Zako Soldiers, and their leaders, Zapper Zaku, Grappler Gouf, and Destroyer Dom. Gundam Force member Bakunetsumaru and Cobramaru, the Musha Gundam ninja, who had snuck aboard the ship in order to capture Genkimaru for his master Kibaomaru, had jumped off in pursuit of Genkimaru.

As they fell, most of them fell into a thicket of petrified trees. While Zapper's Gang bounced and banged around the stone branches, Genkimaru slid on them, laughing and cheering at his unexpected ride. Sure, the fall was initially pretty scary, but now it wasn't so bad. None of Zapper's gang could say the same as their heads rattled. Cobramaru, calling upon his ninja agility, skillfully leapt from point to point in order to keep up with the brat. Bakunetsumaru, unfortunately, fell right _next _to the thicket, plummeting straight down.

"_Genkimaru!_" He screamed as he fell.

Meanwhile, Genkimaru's little ride sent him flying into the mouth of a natural tunnel, while Zapper's gang went tumbling behind him. Cobramaru quickly leapt down the hole, following him.

The fall, meanwhile, was beginning to upset Bakunetsumaru's stomach. "I don't like this…!" He moaned, before he became friends with the ground.

WHAM!

At the speed Bakunetsumaru was falling when he hit, anyone observing would not have been surprised to see him make an imprint in the ground three-feet deep.

"Gen…" He groaned before dreamland claimed him.

-z-

The hole the rest went in eventually deposited them into a cavern with other tunnels and holes. While Genkimaru bounced away after falling in, Zapper, Grappler, and Destroyer landed in a dizzy heap, before the Zakos rained on them, forming an unhappy pile.

"How's it going? Are you alright?" Genkimaru asked, walking up to the robots.

"Actually…" Zapper, Grappler and Destroyer burst out from beneath the Zakos, yelling, "_No!_" and glared at the Musha Gundam child.

Genkimaru simply placed his fists on his hips and nodded. "Hey, you're all in one piece!"

"That's more than you'll be!" The three larger robots shouted, and swung at Genkimaru. But because the kid Musha Gundam was so small, they missed him completely, spinning around and falling over.

Cobramaru stared at this from the shadows. He had crawled the ceiling when he came through the entrance before anyone saw him.

_Lord Kibaomaru wants you taken alive… _He thought, _I wonder why this is, little Musha._

When the Zakos regained consciousness, they gathered together, huddling in the middle of a circle formed by Zapper, Grappler, Destroyer, and Genkimaru.

"Now, if you're all done messing around, we should figure out our next move." Genkimaru said.

The Zakos looked around cautiously. Each of their leaders were on different points of their circle, and it was heard to tell where they should look for guidance.

Grappler jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I don't know what _you're _gonna do, but we're gonna recapture the _Magna…Gunda…_" He punched the air. "Whatever-_musai!_"

"Yeah!" The Zakos cheered, "Back to the ship!"

Grappler turned around and marched off, with the Zako Soldiers scuttling behind.

"Wait!" Destroyer shouted, and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Find weapons, this way!"

"Yeah!" The Zakos cried, "This way weapons!"

The Zakos did an about-face and began to scurry back towards Destroyer. Grappler stopped and looked over his shoulder in shock as his troops deserted him.

"_You idiots!_" Zapper snarled, "There's something we need to do first! Before we fight, we need to find our flowers and make sure they're watered!"

"The flowers!" The Zakos shouted, "Yeehaw!"

"You got that right!" Zapper chuckled, humming as he marched away, Zakos close behind.

"Hold it!" Grappler yelled, "I say we go get the ship!"

The Zakos paused, unsure.

"Aw, never mind him!" Zapper snapped his shoulder. "C'mon!"

"Weapons!" Destroyer insisted.

"Flowers!" Zapper yelled back.

Grappler glared at the Zakos. "You have a decision to make!"

"Specifically…!" Zapper growled.

All three large robots then yelled, "_Who's you boss?_"

The Zakos looked around from one leader to the other, trying to figure out what to do.

"Follow me!" Destroyer yelled.

"_Me!_" Grappler shouted.

Zapper began to do an impromptu beckoning dance. Hopping on one foot, he punctured his words with every stomp. "I! Say! Follow! Me!"

The Zakos groaned. Whenever there was a squad-leadership dispute back at the Dark Axis, it was always solved by a higher ranking officer, like the Commander, who kept his squabbling officers in line by sheer force of personality (But mostly force). How could they figure out what to do now?

Genkimaru, meanwhile, had his own ideas. Licking the tip of his finger, he held the moistened digit in the air. After a minute, he smiled.

"A breeze… This way!" He said, and walked off.

"A breeze?" Zapper asked, "So what?"

Genkimaru looked at him and pointed. "So the exit's over here, dummy!"

The three officers glared at Genkimaru. "We'll show _you_ a dummy!"

Once again, they swung- and once again, they missed, spinning around and falling over.

Genkimaru laughed. "I can get us out of here! Are ya with me?"

Behind the fuming officers, the Zakos were very impressed.

"You da man!" One cried.

"You got that right!" Genkimaru grinned, striking a pose. An image of a snowcapped mountain appeared behind him. "I'm Genkimaru, the greatest warrior in the universe! Samurai Number One! Got it?"

The Zakos were awed at the cool manner in which Genkimaru composed himself.

"Now! Scramble!" Genkimaru ordered and marched off. The Zakos ran after him, leaving the three officers in the dust, still sitting from where they fell.

"…We should go with him…" They murmured awkwardly.

From the shadows, Cobramaru watched in amazement as Genkimaru somehow got those idiots, clearly the most disorganized soldiers any army had ever seen, to march in formation.

_He's either reckless, or a genius!_ The ninja thought.

Genkimaru looked at the Zakos behind and smiled. "Smart choice, guys! I think I'll call you the Genki Energy Force!"

"Yeah!" the Zakos cheered, "Genki! Energy Force! Genki! Energy Force!"

"Let's hear it, soldiers!"

"Follow to-day and tomorrow! You're our leader Genkimaru!"

-z-

Somewhere else, Bakunetsumaru cautiously and fearfully crept through another tunnel. Just before he hit the ground, he saw Genkimaru fall into a hole. Unfortunately, he was so dizzy from the fall that he didn't know _which _tunnel, and wandered into the first hole he came across. Now he was lost in dark, feeling his way around the cave walls. This did nothing for the Musha Gundam's state of mind, as he preferred to see where he was going. It wasn't that he was afraid of the dark…it was just the things in the dark that scared him.

"Gen…Genkimaru…?" he called out, trying to keep the trembling out of his voice. "Where are you?"

"…Are you…are you…are you…"

"W-who's there?" Bakunetsumaru asked, not realizing it was an echo.

Shivering in fear of the unknown, Bakunetsumaru slowly crepy along, his back to the cave wall. His foot knocked over a pebble. The sound of it rocking echoe all over the tunnel.

"_Ahhhhh!_" Bakunetsumaru screamed, and whipped out his swords. Waving them all over, he yelled, "C'mon! C'mon! I'm gonna get ya!" He paused and looked around frantically. "Is someone there…?" After a minute, he began to calm down. _No…just my imagination. This reminds of the last time I was in Lacroa…_

The last time Bakunetsumaru was in Lacroa, the Blazing Samurai found himself being going from mesmerized to mortified at the strange sights the ruined kingdom held. From the very beginning, he was forced to deal with invisible bridges, invisible soldiers under Tallgeese's command, along with finding warriors sealed away in Lacroa's Dark Hole, Bakunetsumaru's panic button had been hit so many times his nerves almost shattered.

_That was not my best moment, _Bakunetsumaru thought, _The only thing that really scares me is ghosts…_

Bakunetsumaru glanced forward and his eyes bugged out with a shout. At the end of the tunnel, in the darkness, was a _giant smiling face!_

"_I knew it!_ _I knew this place was haunted!_" Bakunetsumaru screamed and ran off, running away from the face as fast as his legs could take him.

Meanwhile, the 'face' disassembled. It was actually a collection of Mmns, Lacroa's lowest ranked spirits, who just happened to be floating in that arrangement.

Bakunetsumaru continued to run, never looking back. He charged deeper and deeper into Lacroa's underground, going through passages. Finally, he slowed to a stop, but only because he ran out of breath. As he stood there panting, he felt something touch his leg. He froze. Looking down, he saw a _hand resting on his foot!_

_Just my imagination… _he thought before falling away, waving his swords at whatever it was. "_Ahhh! Another ghost! Get away! Get away! _I don't know where you came from, but if you wanna keep going, that's fine with me!"

The figure lurched up, getting closer to Baku'.

"I don't want any trouble…" Bakunetsumaru whimpered, before stopping.

The figure before him was clad in dusty grey armor, now covered in soot and dents. His face was like a mask, and he had a golden bird on his helmet's forehead.

"Wait a minute, I know you…" Bakunetsumaru said, standing up. "You're _Tallgeese!_"

-z-

Meanwhile, the 'Genki Energy Force' continued their trek deep in the caverns of Lacroa. They had been walking for several hours, and so far saw no sign that they were anywhere near the exit. However, they must have been very far from the kingdom proper, as they came upon some trees and cave moss that had grown unpetrified by the Bagubagu out of the walls.

Genkimaru stopped. Closing his eyes, he smiled. "Mmm… What is that great smell?" Opening his eyes, he made a jump and leapt into the closest tree growing out of the cave wall, disappearing into its branches. Everyone else stared at this.

"Lord Genkimaru," One Zako asked, "What are you doing up there?"

Genkimaru popped his head out of the tree and waved his prize in the air. "Look! I found a bunch of bananas!"

Genkimaru hopped down from the tree, humming happily at his find. But when he landed back on the ground, Grappler, Destroyer, and the Zakos quickly backed away. Even Zapper leaned back uneasily. Genkimaru cocked his head, confused.

Grappler shakily pointed and grunted out, "Organic…material!"

A Zako Soldier by Grappler's side shivered. "You're not gonna eat that, are you?"

"Banana…" Destroyer Dom shook his head, "Ugh!"

Genkimaru held out a banana he had picked off the bunch and unpeeled. "These things are good!"

"You can't be serious." Zapper said. He might have grown to love flowers, but he didn't think it was healthy to just stuff organic stuff down your mouthpiece.

Genkimaru shrugged, and brought the banana to his open mouth- The zakos wailed and cringed at the sight- and bite off a piece of it. He chewed happily for a few minutes before swallowing.

"Delicious!" He said, "Tastes like honey!" He finished the banana and began to walk off, leaving the peel behind.

"_Hey!_" Zapper shouted, "I won't stand for littering, you hear me!"

But Genkimaru ignored him, eating another banana. He quickly threw it aside, half-chewed. "Yuck! That one tastes like mustard!" He began to throw other peels away as he tried the bananas. "Tangerine! _Natto_! Chocolate! Cabbage! Cotton candy! Mm, this one's really good, tastes like melons!" Soon enough there was a trail of banana peels behind where Genkimaru had stepped.

Zapper Zaku growled at this. What little light that made its way into the caves seemed to shine off of his SDG badge for a minute. He grabbed his mop off of his back and began to twirl it around like a battle axe.

"I'm a member of the SDG Cleaning Service, and this kid is pushing me too far!" He roared, "I'm gonna _clean now!_" Growling, he hunched over, ready to pounce, and…

…began to sweep up the peels, singing merrily.

"Cleaning up bananas is a very appealing job…!" He sang.

The rest of the pack stared at this, sweating. They missed the days when Zapper would lose his temper and start shooting his guns all over the place.

-z-

"Hey, kid," Grappler asked Genkimaru, "What's your plan of action once we get out of here?"

Genkimaru looked up at the taller robot and said, "When we get to Ark, you guys will help me create a huge army!"

Grappler chuckled derisively at the runt's enthusiasm. "Okay, Samurai Number One."

It was unclear whether or not Genkimaru picked up the sarcasm in Grappler's voice, but he laughed to.

"Dah, how to get to Ark, Genkimaru?" Destroyer asked.

Genkimaru halted the group and gestured around with his banana bunch. "There's some caves just like this in Ark, too. They probably connect, so if we go far enough, we should come out in the right place!"

Grappler doubted that. He had seen maps of the planet back during his time on the _Magnamusai_, and he remembered seeing the distance between Lacroa and Ark. Not to mention that Ark was its own island, separate from the main continent Lacroa was on. If there were a tunnel that connected Lacroa and Ark, it be submerged in water by now.

Nonetheless, he humored Genkimaru by asking, "Once we get there, are we gonna fight someone?"

Genkimaru nodded. "I'm gonna conquer Ark with you guys!"

Grappler stared. "What? Are you _serious?_" Did this kid actually expect to conquer anything with _this _bunch? They couldn't even conquer the normally pacifistic city of Neotopia, what chance did they have of taking over the war-torn Ark? It was nuts!

"Conquer!" Destroyer echoed.

Genkimaru whirled around at the group stomped his foot. "That's my plan!"

Grappler wasn't sure how to burst Genkimaru's bubble. "Uh, well…"

"Excuse me, Lord Genkimaru," A Zako Soldier interrupted, "I'm sorry to interrupt…"

Another Zako pointed. "What's _that?_"

"That's a…tulip." A third Zako said.

Upon hearing this, Zapper looked up excitedly from the mopping he was doing. "Is it true?" Putting away his mop, he began to bounce on his heels. "My precious flowers survived! I'm so happy happy happy!"

Zapper charged forward, plowing through the Zakos horde in front of him and sending them flying. He came a stop at a space in the caves where a full ray of sunlight shone through, and a small patch of flowers were growing. He began to dance around them while the rest of the group walk up.

"Yes! My babies! You're alive!" he cheered, "So pretty! I love you!" He paused, looking thoughtful. "I wonder put some fertilizer down. Maybe some mulch…"

Suddenly, there came a loud buzzing noise. The group looked towards it to a see a Bagubagu, untransformed into a White one.

But this one was the size of a car. Its eye glowed.

The 'Genki Energy Force' gulped at the sight.

The Bagubagu shot forward, swooping at the gang and sending them flying as it buzzed them. While Genkimaru managed to land on his feet, everyone else wasn't so lucky.

"My flower…!" Zapper groaned, and forced himself up. "Don't worry, my babies…" He made a fantastic leap. "_daddy'll save you!_"

Zapper latched on to the Bagubagu's face. Grappler and Destroyer leapt after him and soon clung to the Bagubagu's claw and ear.

"Hey!" Grappler shouted, "We're on the same team, bug-breath!"

The Bagubagu flew around before going into a spin, throwing the three robots off. Once they were on the ground, it glared at them and flew back. The Genki Energy Force found themselves running all over the place as the giant Bagubagu swooped and dived at them, sending Zakos flying with each assault.

After the third dive, the Bagubagu swooped around before facing them.

"Now!" Genkimaru yelled, "Time to bag this Bagu!"

The Bagubagu opened its mouth, and some sort of mist poured out. However, it wasn't mist, but actually normal-sized Bagubagu. They began to swarm around the group. As they tried to bat and wave the robotic insects away, their giant sire lunged at Genkimaru.

But before it could hit, a black blur zipped by and grabbed Genkimaru. The kid's banana bunch fell to the ground, and was turned to stone by the Bagubagu swarm.

Behind a nearby rock, Genkimaru struggled to get out of Cobramaru's arms.

"Let me go, you big bully!" He shouted, "Put me down!"

"_Quiet!_" Cobramaru hissed.

"I'll give you quiet!" Genkimaru yelled, "I'll knock your block off!"

"Listen, brat," Cobramaru growled, "I can't afford to lose you, so be silent!"

"Just try and make me!" Genkimaru retorted. Extending his hand, he drew blue lines of energy into the air, forming a crude box. The box expanded into a hole in space big enough for someone to fit through, and Genkimaru leapt into it from Cobramaru, whose grip had loosened at the sight of this phenomenon.

"What… Come back here!" Cobramaru shouted as the hole vanished. "No!"

Another hole opened up above the giant Bagubagu, whose swarms were still terrorizing Zapper's gang. Genkimaru fell from it, landing on top of the Bagubagu.

"I've had enough! That's it!" he shouted, "A leader has to protect his soldiers! That's his first rule of command!" He took hold of the small axe he normally kept on his back. "Your trust in me is the strongest weapon we have!"

Upon hearing this, Zapper's gang stopped their running and looked up at Genkimaru in shock and awe. They had never heard this sort of talk from their _real _leaders. It was stunning.

Genkimaru jumped into the air. "_Ark style!_" Three characters appeared at both sides of him. "_Ultimate Axe of Fury! Electric Double-Shock!_"

Genkimaru shot down and slammed the blade of his axe into the Bagubagu, sending up a huge spark.

"This oughta put a stop to you!" Genkimaru declared. But the Bagubagu simply shook itself, trying to throw Genkimaru off. "Whoa! Guess not!"

The Bagubagu flew off, with Genkimaru clinging to the handle of his axe. Soon they were out of sight, with the normal-sized swarm following them. Zapper's gang stared at their exit.

"…We're saved!" A Zako remarked.

"That brat says he'll never abandon his followers, huh?" Grappler asked, and shook his head. "Right…it makes me laugh."

"_You're all right!_"

Grappler looked over to Zapper. He was once again jumping around the flower patch.

"My precious flowers!" He cried happily, "You survived! I'm so happy! I thought you were almost petrified!"

Grappler groaned.

-z-

Meanwhile, the Bagubagu eventually gave up on throwing Genkimaru off and just flew along. Genkimaru laughed and whooped, enjoying his new ride. Down below, Cobramaru ran after them.

_Why is he saving those useless fools? _He thought, _They're not even good guys!_

-z-

As two Mmns floated around, Bakunetsumaru stared at the ruined knight before him.

"Tallgeese…" He breathed, "But you were absorbed by the Evil Sword Epyon!"

Tallgeese knew that. He remembered it so well. When he attacked the Gundam Force in the Minov Boundary Sea, he had used the Evil Sword given to him by Deathscythe. He thought that its ability to steal the strength of those it wounds would give him more power…but instead, he was consumed by the sword's curse, becoming the Berserker Epyon.

"Listen…" Tallgeese began when Bakunetsumaru's eyes widened in realization.

"_You're a ghost!_" The samurai screamed, backing away, swords up.

Tallgees fell to one knee. "Epyon was defeated by Zero-Feather Dragon…then I was released! And I fell…here."

Tallgeese began to pant, showing signs of stress and strain. Seeing this, Bakunetsumaru, still a little cautious, lowered his swords.

"Deathscythe," Tallgeese said in both a groan and a growl, "_He_ is responsible for everything that has happened to me…! And I will pay him back for this defeat…if it takes every last ounce of my strength, I _swear…_I will have my revenge!"

Bakunetsumaru sheathed his swords. He had heard enough. While Tallgeese had done terrible things, hearing his words had suggested to the Musha Gundam that he was not completely responsible for his actions. He reminded the Blazing Samurai of another warrior whose anger led him to being manipulated- Kujakumaru, an old rival of Bakunetsumaru's, who had been tricked into joining Kibaomaru and the Dark Axis and became Ashuramaru, a warrior driven to avenge a defeat Bakunetsumaru had handed him. Tallgeese now appeared no different.

Tallgeese growled inquisitively as Bakunetsumaru approached him. The samurai bent down and took hold of Tallgeese.

"Here…" The Musha Gundam said, "Let's get you on your feet."

As Tallgeese was brought up, he asked, "Why…are you helping me…?"

"It is the way of the samurai." Bakunetsumaru said simply.

"I see… Thank you."

Then the cave they were in began to shake. A rumbling sound could be heard, getting louder. Tallgeese looked past Bakunetsumaru, and the Musha Gundam turned around to see what the noise was about. What looked like a giant, sparkling liquid rainbow came crashing at them, and before either of them could react, they were carried off by it.

"We're caught in a flood!" Tallgeese cried, "It's a River of Mmns!"

"_I can't swim!_" Bakunetsumaru shrieked, flailing helplessly.

-z-

Genkimaru, still riding the Bagubagu, was starting to get drowsy. He felt his eyelids get heavy.

"I'm getting sleepy," He muttered, "I wore myself out…"

Beneath the Bagubagu, Cobramaru thought, _Where is he going?_

Cobramaru jumped up on top of the BAgubagu, and saw that Genkimaru had fallen asleep, still clutching his axe's handle.

"Zzzz…follow me, guys, zzzz…" He murmured.

_Talking in his sleep, huh? _Cobramaru thought, _Why is this kid so important? _He wondered if that strange power had anything to do with it.

-z-

"Watering little flowers…" Zapper hummed, sprinkling the flowers with water from his watering can. "Watch them grow, doom-dee-doom…."

All around him, the rest of his group stared. After a few minutes, one Zako asked, "I wonder if Lord Genkimaru is all right."

Another Zako looked at him and asked, "Where did he go, Zako?"

"It doesn't matter," Grappler said firmly, "We can't stay here like this, we've gotta keep moving!"

"He's got a point, Zako." The Zakos decided, and the group marched off- except for Zapper, who wasn't done watering the flowers. The gang didn't go very far before someone appeared before them.

"Cobramaru?" Grappler cried.

It was indeed the ninja. Held in the Musha Gundam's arms was Genkimaru, still fast asleep. He was then placed on the ground at Grappler's feet.

"Here is your leader," Cobramaru said bitterly, "Take him with you!"

"What?" Grappler was taken aback. What was this guy going on about? Before he could ask, the Zakos zipped up behind, dancing and shouting happily. Genkimaru was back!

"_Quiet!_" Grappler snarled, and his arm opened up to reveal a missile-launcher. He aimed at Cobramaru. "Finders-keepers, he's yours!" He didn't care if Kibaomaru's forces and the Dark Axis were working together- he _hated _Gundams.

"Is that right?" Cobramaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't want him?"

_If it were up to me, I'd leave him right where he is, _Grappler thought, _But I've got a problem…_

The Zakos, joyous that their 'leader' had been returned to them, began to dance around, cheering wildly. Destroyer Dom began to happily run around, at one point doing cartwheels.

Eventually, Grappler deactivated his missile-launcher. "We seem to have a use for this brat." _For now, anyway._

Cobramaru chuckled darkly. If staying around these idiots would keep the brat under control, he would put stand it. And maybe that weird power could be used as well…

"Hey!" Grappler said, leaning down. He picked up Genkimaru and was about to shake him out of dreamland when a noise stopped them. It sounded like a crash of some sort…

Zapper, meanwhile, kept watering his flowers…until his can ran out. He looked inside it to no avail.

"Hey, I'm out of water!" He shouted, "One of you Zakos, go find me some aqua for these flowers, will ya?"

Zapper then realized that no one was paying attention to him. Cobramaru, Grappler, Destroyer, and the Zakos, were staring past him, unmoving. Not to mention that soft rumbling noise behind him, something that seemed to be getting louder with each passing second.

Knowing he was going to regret it, Zapper looked. When he saw the colorful flood come crashing at him from behind the cave wall, he tried to run, but was soon swept up in it.

"_I didn't mean this much water, you clowns!_" Zapper screamed as the Mmn-dotted torrent carried him.

Before the rest of the group could react, the River of Mmns soon swept them up, adding them to Zapper, Tallgeese and Bakunetsumaru. They began to yell, trying to figure out what was going on.

"_Genkimaru!_" Bakunetsumaru cried, seeing the young Musha Gundam.

-z-

Shute looked up. The _Gundamusai _had not reached its destination, and he had been resting up on the lookout when…

"Shute?"

Shute turned and saw Princess Rele walk up to him.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"I felt like they were calling me." Shute replied.

"Who was calling you?" the princess asked.

"Bakunetsumaru and Genkimaru."

"You must be very worried about them."

Shute nodded. "Yeah, I am. Big time."

"You're a generous soul." Princess Rele said, smiling slightly.

Shute gulped as their eyes met. "Uh, yeah, generous, I, uh…"

"Shute, they'll be fine."

Shute looked over to where Captain and Zero were.

"Bakunetsumaru can take care of himself," Captain continued, "Everything's fine."

"He better," Zero said, "After all, he _is _a Musha Gundam."

Shute nodded, smiling. "You're right. I shouldn't worry. He's a pretty tough guy!"

-z-

Back underground, as everyone else was being carried by the wild waters of the River of Mmns, Cobramaru ran along with the current.

_What kind of water is this?_ He wondered, _I can breath!_

And through it all, Genkimaru continued to nap. Further behind him, Bakunetsumaru held out his hand, trying to get a hold of the boy.

"Genkimaru!" He shouted.

But the Musha Gundam boy merely smiled, still dreaming. "Samurai Number One…don't you forget it…"

-z-

A/n: In this episode, we find out what the guys who fell from the ship have been doing all this time. I changed Genkimaru's comments about what the bananas taste like to the original Japanese a little, because some of what he said in the English version didn't match up with Ark's oriental lifestyle.

English/Japanese

Cauliflower/mustard

Peppermint/tangerine

Beef jerky/natto (soybeans fermented with grass bacillus, a traditional Japanese food)

Please read and review!


	7. Zako Zako Hour 21

Chapter 3.5: Zako Zako Hour

A boulder rolled away, revealing not the normal hosts of the Zako Zako Hour, but a trio of Pawn Leo, each one bearing the microphones used by the hosts.

"Surprise! The Pawn Leo with the red microphone said.

The Pawn Leo with a blue microphone said, "Today we bring you…"

"Something different!" the Pawn Leo with the yellow microphone said.

They struck poses. "The Pawn Pawn Hour! _Tada!_"

There came no response to this. The Pawn Leos began to sweat.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Red Mic asked.

"I told you this wouldn't work without an act, Pawn!" Yellow Mic cried.

"We don't need an act!" Blue Mic cried, "Those Zakos just stand around and do nothing, Pawn!"

"No, no!" Red Mic cried, "We've gotta try _something!_ How about…acrobatics?"

With cries of "Hup-hup!" The Pawn Leos attempted to jump up and do flips in the air. They could barely jump off the ground. They began to sweat again.

"Maybe we could try to sing," Red Mic suggested, "Mi-mi-mi-mi!"

The Pawn Leos sang, "Zako Soldiers aren't so bright, we can beat them them we fight!"

"If you're wondering why we're doing all this," Red Mic said, "My comrade here will be happy to fill you in!"

"The truth is," Blue Mic said, "Pawns are much braver, and much smarter than Zakos!"

"We're head and shoulders above those clowns!" The Pawns declared, picturing themselves standing atop the normal hosts.

"Absolutely right!" Yellow Mic agreed.

"We're much braver than Zakos!" Blue Mic went on, "And we can take much more punishment! In fact, we only have one small vulnerability!"

"If our card is removed and our true identity is revealed," Yellow Mic cried, "Then we're defeated, and we turn back into dice, you see? We've been looking for a way to overcome this weakness, but we haven't had any breakthroughs yet," He paused, looking thoughtful. "Uh, maybe I shouldn't have admitted that last part…"

Red Mic and Blue glared at him. "No kidding, Sherlock! Ya think?"

Red Mic and Blue Mic gave Yellow Mic a punch in the face, causing him to turn back into a die with a puff of smoke and a cry of "Pawn!"

"…Oops!" The two hosts gulped, sweating.

Red Mic clear his throat. "Moving right along, we have an update on the Zako situation."

"That's right!" Blue Mic said, "Those fools are being washed away by the River of Mmns!"

"Let explain about the River of Mmns!" Red Mic began.

"Hey, _I'm _the narrator, _I'll _do the explanation!" Blue Mic interrupted. He pointed at a few Mmns floating nearby. "Now _these,_ as you can plainly see, are Mmns!" He snapped his fingers and an image of the torrent Zapper's gang ended up in appeared. "And_ this _is the River of Mmns! End of explanation."

"That's _it?_" Red Mic asked incredulously, "For _that,_ I let you steal the spotlight? Any half-baked Zako could have given a better explanation than that!"

Red Mic punched Blue Mic, causing him to revert to a die with a pained cry of "Pawn!"

Red Mic looked at what he had done. Now he was the only one left. Chuckling sheepishly, he decided to move on.

"Anyway, the least powerful creature is the Mmn," He said, "But sometimes, the Mmns gather to form a flow like a river! So, we call it the River of Mmns! And those Zakos were swept away by it!" He then noticed that an Mmn was hovering around him. "Hey, get outta here!" He tried to wave it away, but his hands went right through the Mmn, as it was mostly immaterial. "I'm trying to do a show!" He accidentally tripped over the die that was Blue Mic and fell over. With a "Pawn!" He became a die.

There was a pause.

"And that completes our show!" Red Mic cried helplessly. "Anybody still out there?"

"Well, would you be?" Blue Mic asked.

There was another pause.

"No!" All three dice cried as another boulder fell down in front of them.


	8. Rice Balls and the Garden of Wisdom

Chapter 4: Rice Balls and the Garden of Wisdom

The _Gundamusai _flew across the land, so high that the forests and fields beneath it were blurred together.

"Princess?" Shute called, walking down one of the ships many halls. "Princess!" He scratched the back of his head. _This is weird. I wonder where she could be? _The Princess of Lacroa had disappeared some time ago, and he had no idea where she went.He resumed his search. "Princess? Princess, where are you?"

-z-

In another hall, the fake princess was having another conference with Deathscythe.

"Yes, sir, Lord Deathscythe," She said, Deathscythe's magic circle in one palm, the White Bagubagu capsule in another. "The plan is going exactly as expected. I have the White Bagubagu that reverses petrification."

"Well done," Deathscythe's image in the magic circle said, "They're not suspicious of you, are they?"

"No, sir," She replied, "This ship is heading towards the Garden of Wisdom."

"Oh, there you are, princess!" Shute said, coming around a corner behind her.

Fake Rele blanched and whirled around, hiding her hands behind her back. The magic circle vanished.

"Oh! Hello there, Shute." She said with false cheer. Judging from his face, he didn't _look_ like he had heard her speak to Deathscythe…

Shute, (who really hadn't heard anything) asked, "What happened?" He grinned teasingly. "Didja get lost?"

The fake princess grinned sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, that's right! You see, I got hungry, and I came down here…for…something to eat…" She began to improvise a false near-fate, staggering around, hand to her forehead.

"Hey, are you all right?" Shute asked, concerned.

"Yeah…" She murmured, steadying. Looks like he wouldn't be asking who she was talking to any time soon…

Then Shute said, "Oh! I have an idea!"

She looked at him.

-z-

Up on the _Gundamusai_'s lookout, Captain and Zero kept watch. They had to be on the lookout for any assaults Deathscythe might send their way. However, Captain was the only one of the two to actually stay focused on this task. Zero was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.

"It appears that we are not being followed." Captain noted, watching the rear.

Zero stopped pacing and asked, "What's the status of the repairs?"

"65.25% complete." RAIMI reported, "I estimate repairs will be complete in 24 hours."

Zeros shook his head. "I don't think Deathscythe can keep quiet till then!"

"Well, let's stay alert then." Captain said, looking at Zero, who nodded back. He then asked, "By the way, what about Princess Relehimana?"

_That _was the wrong thing to ask. Zero snorted and disdainfully said, "Shute is taking care of her, if you can believe _that,"_ His tone became more frantic as he went on. "If you and I were not on combat alert right now, _I'd _be the one taking care of the princess!" He began to pace again, this time more hurriedly. "I'm so worried! What if he says something impolite to her?" Shute doesn't know anything about royalty! _Ugh! _I can't _stand _this!"

Captain stared at Zero as he made exaggerated gestures as he grieved, bemoaned, and whined about this circumstance.

-z-

In the ship's food storage, Shute dug through a crate full of supplies. The fake princess stood behind him, watching as he tossed a variety of foodstuffs and utensils away as he foraged.

"Ah, and I had all this organized!" Shute yelled as he powered through the cardboard boxes, "This is ridiculous! These guys can't keep anything-! It's in here somewhere!"

"Um, really," the fake princess said, "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Listen," Shute said, turning to her. "I'm a really good cook, it's no problem! I'm going to make you a royal feast!"

Before Shute could go back to his hunt, a robotic hand came up and whacked him with a paper fan. Shute fell back, doing an reverse somersault before coming to a stop on his face. Looking up, he saw that the fan had the character for GEN painted on it.

"Genkimaru must have set some kind of trap!" Shute growled angrily. That brat had been constantly raiding the storage, and he wouldn't put it past him to not try something like this. He could just imagine Genkimaru pulling down under his eye, blowing a raspberry.

Shute's eyes enflamed. "_I won't give up!_" He yelled, and dove back into the crate. As he tossed more stuff away, he said, "I said I was going to make a feast and I'm gonna- Ow!" A spring-loaded hammer hit him, the beginning of a new set of booby traps. "That hurt! I hate him- Ow!"

As she watched Shute stubbornly go head-to-head with booby-trapped crate, which tossed among other things, an Mmn out at him, she couldn't help but giggle. He was determined, she could give him that.

And to go to such lengths for someone else…

-z-

"I'm going to check the engine room." Captain stated, and walked off.

"Just a minute, Captain! Wait!" Zero cried, flustered. "I'm going with you!"

"Going with me?" Captain asked as the elevator descended, perplexed.

"Yes!" Zero affirmed, "After all, I am worried about the princess!" He began to pace. "I'm _sure _she must be having a hard time being so inconvenienced! Such a noble lady cannot be cared for by just _anyone!_" He held up a fist. "_I'm _the only one qualified to look after her properly!"

"Is that true?" Captain asked as the elevator stopped.

Zero looked at him. "Yes, it is!"

The doors of the elevator opened, and the Gundams walked into the hall.

"The princess needs to be accompanied by someone like me; a chivalrous warrior!" Zero proclaimed grandly.

"You should've seen it, princess! I've never seen Zero so embarrassed before in all my life!"

Zero's eyes bugged out. Shute and her majesty had just walked past him, without saying a word. Shute had a tray with a bucketful of rice and other things in his arms, while the princess had spoon and a scoop in her hands.

"There you are!" Zero cried, watching as they went into the elevator. "I- Shute," His tone became suspicious. "What are you doing?"

The two turned to face him.

Shute winked, chuckling. "It's a little secret."

"Zero," Princess Rele said, nodding in his direction. "I didn't see you there."

The elevator doors closed, leaving Zero- bug-eyed, pale from shock, and frozen stiff, where he was. Captain walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"It looks like she's fine without you." He said reassuringly.

-z-

On the lookout, the fake princess watched as Shute, his back turned from her, worked with the things they collected from the food locker. He seemed to be packing something together…

"All done!" Shute said, and presented his creation to her. "_Tada!_"

She stared at the white object in his hand. "Uh…what is it?"

"It's something called a rice ball!" Shute replied, "Here! Try it!"

The fake princess awkwardly took the snack from Shute and examined it. "It's a rice ball?"

"Yup! It's good!" Shute said, and began to eat his own rice ball. In between bites he said, "You really need to try these! Don't be afraid! Just dig right in!" He set himself on the edge of the lookout. Looking up, he said, "I don't like to brag, but these are great," Looking back at the fake princess, he then said, "Actually, the ones that my mom make are even better!"

Fake Rele, who still had not taken a bite out of her rice ball, asked, "By 'mom', you mean 'mother'?"

Shute nodded. "Uh-huh," he looked off. "We haven't been able to communicate with Neotopia, so…mom must be worried." He remembered his life in Neotopia, before and in between his adventures and battles with the Gundam Force. Taking care of his baby sister, Nana, listening to his dad play his latest song on his guitar, talking with mom, all of them, together… "I wonder how my family's doing…"

Fake Rele saw the sadness in Shute's eyes and said, "I'm sure they're all fine."

Shute looked at her, pulled out of his thoughts.

"Don't worry," Fake Rele said, "I'm sure you'll get home to them soon."

Shute stared her for moment, touched, before nodding. "You bet!" He smiled, "I totally agree!"

She smiled back, giggling.

"In fact, I have some friends in Lacroa, too!" Shute went on, thinking about the triplets. Though he hadn't spent much time with them during the Gundam Force's brief trip to the ruined kingdom, a bond had developed between them. Leaving them to be petrified had been one of the hardest moments of his life. "I promised I would treat them to Neotopia food someday," He hopped off his seat. "That's why we must return Lacroa to its original, peaceful state! I know that we can do it all together! And princess, I'm sure you'll be happy too! Don't worry! Captain, Zero and I are all your friends!"

Fake Rele looked away, unable to meet Shute's eyes. She felt an unpleasant sensation run through her body. A feeling of wrongness that would not go away…

A klaxon went off.

"Princess Relehimana! Please come to the bridge!"

-z-

On elevator ride later and the pair were in the bridge, where Captain and Zero were looking out by the console.

"What happened?" Shute asked as the Gundams turned to face them.

"Your highness," RAIMI said, "We are approaching the designated coordinates."

Zero said, "We need you to navigate from here."

The fake princess nodded. It was time.

The _Gundamusai _ flew over the land, coming up to a strange spot. From where they were, the crew could see a pattern of deep indentations in the ground- like rectangular holes- zig-zagging the landscape. They were so large that they easily fit a small town.

"What are those?" Zero asked.

"They look like footprints." Captain commented.

"Footprints?" Zero lambasted, "That's ridiculous! _I _think they are-!"

"They are footprints." Fake Rele said simply, cutting Zero off.

Zero looked at her, shocked and embarrassed. "They…they certainly are footprints, my lady…" He said weakly.

The Fake princess wasn't paying attention to him. She was staring intently at the 'footprints' counting each one.

"…ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen… Please," She pointed at one footprint on the right. "Have us land in that footprint!"

Shute and Captain exchanged looks.

"Let's go!" Shute said determinedly.

Captain nodded. "Roger."

-z-

The _Gundamusai _flew into the footprint, landing at the edge of a small forest near the back-right wall. From there, the fake princess led the group through the bushes and trees. As they walked, Shute, Captain, and Zero couldn't help but look around in wonder.

"Wow…" Shute murmured, "Kinda…creepy in here…are we almost there?"

Ahead of him, Fake Rele nodded. "There!"

Shute looked past her and saw some stone formations. They soon came upon a clearing, in the middle of which was some kind of altar-like setting, made of brown stone. There was an archway with strange writing carved on, as well as several pillars, one of which was broken. There was a brick square In the middle of the archway and pillars, with a marking in the center showing that something was supposed to be there.

"Wow..." Shute gasped, staring all around him. "This is the place? All I see are columns."

Zero turned to the princess and said, "Excuse me, princess, but may I kindly ask you…"

"_Wait!_" Captain cried, turning around. His targeting scope slid down and he scanned the surrounding bushes…

There! A Dark Pawn Leo was skulking about…watching them!

"Pawn!" Captain yelled. A dozen arrows flew from the bushes. "_Watch out!_"

Captain leapt in front of Shute protectively as the arrows pierced the ground before him. More arrows shot out, this time at the fake princess, Zero backed away, watching anxiously as they hit the ground. All around them, with cries of "Pawn!" Dark Pawn Leo popped their heads out of the bushes, surrounding the group and began to shuffle around them.

"_Come to me!_" Zero chanted, creating a magic circle above him. His shield fell from it into his hand. "_Legendary sacred Vatras Sword!_" He unsheathed his sword and took a fighting stance.

"Shute, look after the princess!" Captain ordered.

"Right away!" Shute yelled back, and grabbed the fake princess' hand. "Princess, please, take my hand!" He began to lead her away, taking her towards an empty spot in the area. Once they were gone, Captain and Zero stood back-to-back.

"Let's go!" Zero yelled.

"Why not!" Captain replied as the Pawn Leos stepped in closer.

The leader of the Pawn Leo gestured with his sword. "_Pawn!_"

The Pawns fired their crossbows again. Captain skillfully leaned out of the way of the arrows, and returned fire with the guns on his helmet. The shot Pawns turned back into dice, but more popped out of the bushes.

Captain assembled his V-Rod. "I've been granted special dispensation to use firearms!"

The Pawn Leos in the bushes responded to this by firing another slew of arrows. Captain twirled the V-Rod in front of him, deflecting the arrows away.

"_Super Magical Violet Tornado!_" Zero called, and sent a great wave of rose petal-laced winds at the Pawns in the bush. They cried "Pawn!" before becoming dice. "How _dare _such unsightly little creatures appear before _my_ princess!" _However, I wonder why these villains happen to be here! _Only the royal family of Lacroa knew about the Garden of Wisdom's location, and only those close to them knew of its very existence. How did Deathscythe find out?

Meanwhile, Captain kept busy in the brick square with three Pawn Leos. Jumping between a pair, he knocked them out with two strikes of his V-Rod before glaring at the third. He knocked that one out before opening fire at another group.

As the Pawn Leos were returned to dice, Shute and the fake princess watched from behind a stray bush.

Shute punched the air, cheering. "Go, Captain! Go, Zero! Yeah!" Turning to the princess, he said, "Don't worry, those small fries are no match for Captain and Zero!"

Fake Rele nodded, a bit unnerved about all of this. Deathscythe never told her about an ambush…

"_Pawn!_"

Fake Rele whirled around saw the Pawn Leo leader standing on a rock behind him, holding his sword above them. She panicked, and without thinking, shoved Shute away.

"_Look out!_" She shrieked.

Shute fell forward a pace, and when he looked up, he saw the Pawn Leo about to strike the princess!

"Pawn!" The Pawn Leo growled.

The Gundams noticed this.

"You're highness!" Zero cried.

The Pawn Leo swung his sword down-

"_Princess!_" Zero screamed.

-And before he could complete the swing, Shute rammed into him, blasting forward with the boosters on his backpack. Shute drove the Pawn Leo into the rocky way behind him, and before the little soldier could recover, fired several globs of his super-glue from the shooter at him. The Pawn Leo found himself struggling against his gooey binds, pinned against rock. Shute turned back to the princess.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

The fake princess nodded. "What about you?"

Shute smiled. "Fine! This is nothing!"

Captain and Zero, in mid-step towards them, sighed and exchanged nods. Looked like everything was under control.

Fake Rele smiled, and then looked away sadly. Shute had just saved her, and she was taking them…

No, she had orders. She couldn't stop now.

-z-

The group returned to the stone square, and the fake princess walked up to the center. She held out her hand, and a ball of yellow light appeared under it. The floor underneath it opened up, and a black pedestal rose up. The Gundam Force watched in amazement as small yellow obelisks rose up on different corners of the square around them.

"_Omnipotent power_ _of the Garden of Wisdom,_" The fake princess called out, "_Open the sealed door of knowledge that lies before me! Open the door of knowledge!_"

The light sphere flashed and vanished, and the obelisks glowed. Then the floor began to shake and sink.

"Wh-what is it, an earthquake?" Shute asked.

"No," Captain realized, "We're descending to a lower level! Hold on, Shute!"

Like an ancient elevator, the square sank, carrying the group down. As they descended, they saw the walls of the hole they were going down lined with red writings, the same kind seen outside. They watched in amazement at this.

Then, they came upon a massive void. A pit of endless black, with giant monoliths and blocks of different colors, with that same writing carved on their sides. The light from their platform illuminated the giant room, dimly showing the walls.

Zero gazed at it all. "Is this…could this be…?"

"The Garden of Wisdom!" Captain gasped.

"Wow!" Shute cried. It was huge! "Now that we're here, Captain, how do we get started?"

As their platform stopped sinking, Captain said, "For now, let's split up and take a look around! Be careful!"

"Okay!" Shute replied, and made a rocket-powered jump to the closest block, a blue one. Captain rocketed towards a red one, while Zero flew towards a green one.

"I'm going to take a look over here!" He announced.

And so the search started as they looked for anything that might be of use in their plans. Shute and Captain wandered around while Zero examined the carvings on one blocks side.

"This is interesting…" He murmured.

Captain slid his targeting scope down and began to scan the room, hoping he could find anything unusual to help narrow the search down.

Shute, meanwhile, he made it to the purple block. As he walked around it, awed at everything, there came a rumbling. He looked toward the center of the platform and saw a pedestal like the one from the lift come. Intrigued, he walked over to it. He was just about to put his hand over it like Princess Rele did with the lift's pedestal, four rods popped out of it from each side.

"Ahh!" he cried, jumping back.

The rods began to light up, and each one small blocks of energy began to rise and fall in sequence, each in a different color. The center of the pedestal glowed, and began to emit light.

"Wow…" Shute murmured.

The light condensed and arranged itself into a cone. Shute watched as strange writings danced around it. The rest of the group came by to investigate.

"These…appear to be hieroglyphs." Captain noted.

"You're right," Zero said, "They're the ancient magic runes."

"Are you able to read them?" Captain asked.

"Not perfectly," Zero admitted, "But, yes, I can."

The fake princess stepped up between the two, her eyes on the light.

"What about you, Princess Relehimana?" Captain asked.

Fake Rele looked at him and shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid I can't read it completely either."

The watched the light show before them when dozens of pictures suddenly appeared. Each one seemed like an outline of some kind of creature, with a number of white dots underneath, a certain amount out of twelve. The higher up the pictures were, the more dots they had.

"What?" Shute asked.

"It looks like something that shows the ranks of this world's spirits." Zero said, staring up.

"Their sure are a lot of them…" Shute mumbled, trying to count them all. He recognized the one at the bottom as an Mmn, which had no dots at all.

"It seems the higher you look," Zero said, "The higher ranks the spirits are."

"The Griffin is here." Shute said, recognizing one of the spirits near the top. He then saw a white spirit at the second-highest row with seven dots. Pointing, he asked, "Hey, Zero! Is Fenn up there?"

Zero read the runes above the picture. "'Fey…zera…' You're right, Shute. It _is _the Feather Dragon."

"Oh, wow…" Shute said in awe, "He's got such a high rank. That's cause Fenn's so powerful- Huh?" Across from the picture of the Feather Dragon on the left was an identical picture, this one black. "That spirit…the one right next to Fenn…it looks just _like _Fenn!"

Zero stared at it. "I'll try to read it. It's spelled 'steerah'…Steal Dragon!"

"Looks like it is paired with Fenn." Captain remarked.

Zero glanced at him. "Yes, I suppose they have equal powers," He looked back up at the picture. "But I've never heard of…the Steel Dragon."

Shute pointed. "There is one more above them!"

Directly above the Feather and Steel Dragons was one larger picture. It was some kind of star-like cross with wings against rays of light coming forth. On the left and right of it were two pictures- a Gundam on the left, and a human on the right.

"Does that mean it's the strongest one?" Shute asked.

"Hmm…" Zero stared at the runes beneath the pictures. "Suh..Spire… I can't quite read it, but…"

"Superior Dragon."

The boys looked back at the princess, who had spoken.

"Did you say 'Superior Dragon'?" Zero asked, shocked.

"That's right." The fake princess said.

Captain and Zero exchanged looks before staring back up at the picture.

"So it really exists!" Zero commented. _The Superior Dragon…the king of all spirits…_

Captain was distracted from the pictures by an energy fluctuation his sensors picked up. Targeting scope down, he scanned the area, before noting a passageway on the wall.

"_Energy surge detected!_"

A quick trip across the room brought them to the entryway. The door was huge, the size of a house. Parts of the walls were broken off, lying in it, but they were so big that there was plenty of room underneath.

"Whoa!" Shute said, staring up at it. "Now that is one huge door!"

"It is presumably designed to emit something with a body height up to 17 meters." Captain estimated.

Shute pointed to the edge of the doorway and noted, "More runes!"

Zero turned and asked, "Princess, are you able to translate it?"

The fake princess shook her head. She had no idea what they meant.

Shute stared at the giant rock shards and asked, "Why do you suppose only this door is broken?"

Zero grunted. "Someone must have broken in. And I suspect it was-"

"Deathscythe!" Shute finished, realizing. So _that _was why all those Pawn Leos showed up outside!

"Yes," Captain said, "With a probability of 96.2%!"

Shute nodded. "It's him, yeah!"

"Looks like we have no choice but to go in!" Zero decided. The final battle with the villain was at hand. Whatever information the Knight of Darkness had found in this sacred place, they could not allow him to put to use.

Captain and Zero marched ahead. Shute walked after them, but stopped when he realized that the princess wasn't following them.

"Hey," He said, turning to her. "What's the matter?"

Fake Rele looked away, her eyes sad. She couldn't go through with it. she didn't _want to!_

Shute said, "Like I told you before: It's all right! We're all friends! And we're gonna protect you from danger! Like I told you-" he held out his hand. "You're okay!"

The fake princess did not appear reassured, but she followed him into the passage. As they walked down the hall, Shute stared, not just at the runes on the walls, but the images of the spirits as well.

"Strange place." Zero commented.

Behind, the fake Princess Rele dragged her feet, her head down, walking with the energy of a prisoner being taken to the gallows. They were her friends, and she…

They came to the end of the hall, and what lay ahead took Shute's breath away. The opening led them outside, with the twin moons of the world floating out in the night sky! But it was day when they entered the Garden! Leading from the doorway was a bridge that connected to a round platform, with form columns floating around it.

"What's this?" Zero asked as they walked outside.

"This is merely an hologram." Captain noted.

Shute pointed ahead. "Hey! Guys! Look!"

The Gundams looked. In the center of the platform was a statue of a petrified girl, reaching up and out.

"Huh?" Zero cried, "_Princess?_"

Zero looked up and saw a net of dark purple energy floating above the statue. In it was a comatose white dragon in light purple armor.

"_Fenn!_" he cried.

The group rushed forward, just stopping short of the actual platform.

"What's that?" Shute asked, "What's happening?"

The fake princess looked down, unable to say anything. This was it. There would be no more pretending now.

Suddenly, one of Deathscythe's platforms appeared, and from under it a black dragon flew out. It wore a sinister and spooky mask over its eyes, and its tail resembled a double-headed scythe. It gave a roar as it flew around, swooping over the Gundam Force.

"That- That can't be!" Zero cried, staring at the beast. "The _Steel Dragon!_"

As the Steel Dragon flew around, a malevolent cackle filled the air.

"Deathscythe!" Zero growled, watching as another one of the Knight of Darkness' platforms appeared in the air.

Deathscythe appeared on it. "Thank you for your efforts, Zero the Winged Knight!" He said, his tone shifting between its usual high pitch and deeper tone as his ghostly form began to fade away into a more solid…and _familiar _shape. "And those of you from other worlds!"

The ghostly form exploded away, revealing that of a Knight Gundam! Not more than a second later, the Steel Dragon hovered over him, and in a flash of green light he became a warrior wearing the spirit's mask, draped in a black cloak.

"That cannot be!" Zero gasped. He knew that form!

The eyes of his mask glowed red, the 'cloak' opened up to reveal they were bat-like wings, and Deathscythe, the Knight of Darkness declared, "The time to realize my deepest desire has finally arrived!"


	9. Zako Zako Hour 22

Chapter 4.5: Zako Zako Hour

In the _Gundamusai_'s engine room, the iron curtain rose, showing Ladle Zako standing alone in the middle of the stage.

"Ladies and gentlebots!" He said, bowing. "It's the Zako Zako Hour! Today's meeting is all about- all together- _So, What Is This Garden Of Wisdom Place?_"

There came no applause from the audience, so Ladle hissed, "Yey, you rule, Zako!" under his breath.

"Zako!" Ladle Zako said, "Today, Zako, I'll report by myself!" He began to imitate Red Mic. "Well, well, well! Let me see! Come to think of it, I've traveled very far on the _Gundamusai _from somewhere near Lacroa Castle!"

Ladle zipped over to the right side of the stage and began to imitate Blue Mic. "That's not it, that's not it, that's not it! You got it wrong, Zako! We flew over something that resembles giant footprints!"

The screen showed an image of the _Gundamusai _flying over the footprints . Ladle Zipped over to the left part of the stage and began to imitate Yellow Mic.

"Yes-yes-yes! This can only be the footprints of one unbelievably Gundam, don't you agree, Zako?" He asked.

He zipped to the middle, imitating Red Mic. "Are you trying to say that this huge Gundam is bigger than the_ Big-Zam?_ Zakooo!"

He zipped to the right, imitating Blue Mic. "That's not it, that's not it, that's not it! Its stride is extremely wide, Zako!"

The screen showed a simulation of a _Big-Zam_, a type of super-tank used by the Dark Axis, walking on its robotic legs next to one of the footprints. An aerial shot showed that it was a dot compared to the footprint.

Ladle-as-Blue Mic took a step forward. "I wish we Zakos had a wide stride, Zako."

Ladle zipped over to the left, imitating Yellow Mic. "But-but-but, I heard of an incident a long time ago…"

"Did this incident happen a very long time ago?" Ladle asked in his normal voice.

He then zipped to the middle, imitating Red Mic. "Well, well, well…"

Then to right, as Blue Mic. "That's not it, that's not it, that's not it!"

Left, Yellow Mic. He was starting to lose steam. "But-but-but…"

Now thoroughly exhausted, he stumbled into the middle. "Well…well…well…"

He slumped to the right. "That's not it…that's not…ugh…" He fainted.

"Argh!" Ladle groaned, "It's hard for me to do this by myself, Zako!" Getting up, he said, "But I'm not alone! I have my friend the Elmouse! Zako!"

One Elmouse crawled onto the stage. He grabbed it and tossed it onto his chef's hat.

Ladle jumped up and cried, "We're going to try and explain it together this time, Zako!" He pointed to an image of petrified trees on the screen. "What we have here is the Garden of Wisdom!"

The Elmouse made a confused squeak. "Mouse?"

"Oh, I forgot!" Ladle cried, "You can't speak, Zako!" he fell to his knees. "This…isn't gonna work. You can't help me! All you can say is mouse-mouse-mouse-mouse-_mouse!_ Even though I liked to consider all the little Elmice here my friends…" He stood up. "I'm a Zako Soldier! I shouldn't be goofing around while all the other Zako Soldiers are fighting battles somewhere, Zako!"

The screen began to fuzz. Red Mic's voice could be heard over the speakers.

"…Llo? _Gundamusai! _Are you there? Come in, _Gundamusai!_ Are you there, _Gundamusai? _Come in, please! This is us! The Zakos! Zako-Zako! _Gundamusai!_"

Ladle Zako looked at the screen. "Oh, is that you? I've been so lonely!"

The screen cleared to show the Zako horde, Zapper, and others, caught up in the River of Mmns.

"Ahh!" Ladle pointed accusingly, "I see it! You guys are the ones goofing around, Zako!" He began to throw a tantrum. "I'm working so hard here, it's no fair, Zako!" He calmed down. "And I'll keep working hard, even by myself!"

The iron curtain fell. As some Elmice scurried around the audience floor, squeaking, Ladle's voice drifted out.

"Don't worry about me! I've got all my friends! Oh, look! A standing ovation!"


	10. Fierce Fight! Deathscythe

Chapter 5: Fierce Fight! Deathscythe The Knight of Darkness

"Deathscythe?" Shute asked, transfixed.

The Gundam Force stared up at the demonic figure floating above them. Deathscythe was truly a fearful sight to behold, with his sharp spikes, bat-wings, and, more importantly, his insidious mask, whose eyes seemed to glow red.

"So that is his true form!" Captain cried

Zero glared up at the floating knight. "No, it's not."

Captain looked at Zero. "It's not?"

Deathscythe gestured, and a wave of black and purple magical energy shot out of his hand, covering Captain and Zero. The two Gundams were flung against the wall, pinned back by the Knight of Darkness' magical circles.

"_Captain!_" Shute cried, "_Zero!_"

Captain tried to move, but couldn't. "Who is it, Zero? Tell me!"

Zero ignored Captain and glared at the evil knight below them. "Deathscythe! I know who you really are! You are-!"

Deathscythe chuckled evilly as the illusion washed away, revealing a plain room with runes on the walls. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Zero? About two and a half years since the last time. I thought you'd have forgotten the appearance of your old friend."

Zero struggled to get free. "Deed! So it _was _you! What happened to my compatriots?"

"Oh, them," The tone in Deathscythe/Deed's voice was unconcerned, as if he were talking about household pests. "Well, of course, I had to the other Royal Knights of Lacroa _eliminated._"

Zero's eyes widened and he went very still. "You mean… Battol…Rock…and Nataku…?"

"_All _of them."

"Why did you do it, Deed?" Zero asked, "You betrayed the code of the Royal Knights! How could you _do _such a thing? You were once a mighty and proud knight, too! _Why? _Why did you do such a thing?"

Deed looked up at Zero and said, "I did it because I'm in love with Rele."

Zero stopped. "Huh?"

"Ever since those in Lacroa…" Deed went on, "No… Even since the day I joined the Royal Knights… I would just _stare _at Rele…" His mind went back to those days, watching the princess walk through the royal grounds towards the lake from behind a tree. "…and I was always thinking of her. However…I knew my love for her could never be realized. Because _I _was a Knight Gundam…and she was a _human._ That was about the time _it happened._ The Dark Axis invasion had started!" He could never forget that day, looking out onto the lake, alone, and seeing the monstrous, horned sphere the Dark Axis called home. "I thought that there would be no other chance if I had missed it…I was determined to destroy everything…and everyone…and all the rules that were obstacles to my love!"

"No!" Gasped Zero.

But Deathscythe was not finished. His tone grew more hungry, more depraved. "Everything in this world…that created such _rules…_ And so...I decided to take Rele by destroying _everything!_ For that, I used the Dark Axis _and _Tallgeese…everything went as I planned, guiding you all into this world, regained the key to reverse the petrification!" He pointed past Shute, towards the girl behind him. "_That _Rele is a fake one that I created as a decoy!"

Shute gasped, and turned around. The fake princess, her head bowed, her eyes listless, said nothing. She just cradled the White Bagubagu capsule in her hands.

Deathscythe floated towards the statue, his hands almost touching. "The _real _one would always be at my side…_eternally!_" He laughed nefariously.

"So for _that _you decided to sacrifice all your friends and Lacroa, your beloved homeland?" Zero asked bitterly.

"Yes!" Deathscythe snapped, whirling at Zero. "I'm not like your or the others, Zero! You knights are nothing more than guard dogs, serving the royal family! But I am not! My place is beside Rele, on the king's throne!" He circled around the statue, raving. "Everyone else is _nothing! _They're even inferior to _Mmns!_"

As the Knight of Darkness' words echoed off the room's acoustics, Shute stared at the fake princess sadly, who was holding the capsule up to her eyes.

"That's a lie, right?" Shute asked hopelessly, "I mean, there's just no way… You can't be a phony princess… It just can't be true…"

"How foolish of you!" Zero admonished Deed, "You may unpetrify the princess, but you know it is impossible for a Knight Gundam and a human to be married. _We are not human!_"

"…I will _become _human." Deathscythe said.

"What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about the Superior Dragon. You must have seen the lineage tree. It is the spirit deity of light. The most powerful of all spirits! _That _is the Superior Dragon. With its power, it is a simple matter to turn _me _into a human being! And a Superior Dragon will be generated when Feather Dragon and Steel Dragon merge with each other!" Deathscythe glanced up at the captive dragon above. "I've already captured the Feather and Steel Dragons, I'm almost there…I'll have the princess, and the Superior Dragon, and everything will be _mine!_"

Deathscythe threw his head back and laughed maniacally, while Zero stared wordlessly at his twisted ex-friend.

Calming down, Deathscythe looked at the two young ones at the entrance. "But in order to generate the Superior Dragon, we need to have a person from the royal family. I must de-petrify the princess first," He pointed at the capsule in the fake princess' hands. "Is that it?"

Fake Rele nodded sadly. "Yes, sir." She held the capsule up, so Deathscythe could see the robotic insect within.

"A White Bagubagu…" He mused thoughtfully, "I exterminated them because I didn't think they would be useful anymore. I never expected to reverse the petrification with it. Bring it to me!"

Shute stared at the fake princess, unable to speak. Was she _really _going to give it to him? The fake princess did nothing, staring at the ground.

Deathscythe held out his hand, and said more forcefully, "Bring that treasure to me _now_, my dear."

At the sound of Deathscythe's voice, the fake princess looked at him. Her eyes had a hollow look to them. Without another word, she slowly began to walk forward, holding the capsule out like the ring bearer at a wedding.

At this, shute regained his power of speech. "Don't go, Rele!"

Fake Rele halted. Her body seemed to shake softly, and her eyes appeared to regain a little of the life they once held.

"That guy is nothing but a villain!" Shute went on, "You can't give the White Bagubagu to _him!_"

Fake Rele's hands tightened over the capsule. A fierce battle waged within her, between the orders she was made to follow and new feelings she never knew she had.

Shute said, "I can tell, deep down, you aren't really an evil person!"

Deathscythe snorted, smirking. "It's no use. That _thing _is nothing more than I created. It _cannot _disobey me."

Fake Rele's insides went cold at these words. She knew what she was, but…

…What if she didn't want to be that way anymore?

But Shute would not give up. "Remember what we told you before, Rele! We'll take care of you no matter what happens!" It didn't matter if she was a fake. The promise made was real, and that's what mattered the most. "We promise to protect you, even against him!"

Everyone watched breathlessly as she mulled over Shute's speech. But despite these words, the fake princess began to walk again, though a bit slower than before.

"Rele…" Shute gasped, and then cried, "_Rele!_"

Fake Rele stopped.

"I'm _waiting…_" Deathscythe growled impatiently.

Fake Rele wasn't listening to Deathscythe, or anyone else. Her mind was filled with images, of her time on the _Gundamusai_…

Giving her hand to Shute…

Sharing rice balls with Shute…

Being protected from the Pawn Leo by Shute…

_Shute…_

Fake Rele looked up, more energetic than she had been when she had arrived at the Garden of Wisdom. She turned around and began to run back…

…towards Shute.

"_Shute!_" She cried.

"_Rele!_" Shute shouted back.

"_What!_" Deathscythe exploded, "How dare you disobey me!"

"Rele…!" Shute muttered, running forward. He knew that Deathscythe would do something horrible to Fake Rele, and so he had to get to her before he could.

But just as were a mere meter away from each other, a blast of purple light exploded underneath Fake Rele. She cried out in pain, accidentally tossing the capsule.

"_Rele!_" Shute gasped, horrified. It looked like she was being _burned alive…!_

Fake Rele continued to scream, writhing in pain as the beams of light speared through her, shooting up from the floor.

Shute couldn't take it anymore. "_Rele!_" He screamed, in a voice that echoed off the chamber's walls.

As her body began to fade, Fake Rele said, "It's…_ugh…_okay…"

"Rele…" Shute whispered, staring into her eyes.

Fake Rele smiled sorrowfully. Though she knew her time as a person was over, she was glad that it was ending this way…

…as Shute's friend.

There was a quick burst of light, and in Fake Rele's place was a purple rose. As he watched it fall to the floor, Shute dimly recalled Zero mentioning that such a flower was called a Princess Rose. In a sad, perverse way, in the sick humor the universe often applied, it was fitting.

Shute stared at the rose, lying on the floor. His eyes rippled. "It can't…can't be…"

But it was. She was gone, leaving nothing but a rose. On the walls, Zero growled, feeling nothing but hatred for Deathscythe, for creating this heartbreaking scene. Next to him, Captain struggled, trying to push himself free. As he moved, his eyes would not leave the violet rose.

Shute slowly, jerkily, moved towards the Princess Rose.

Deathscythe chuckled cruelly, floating up to Shute. "Throwing away her precious human form… How foolish of her."

At these words, Shute glared up at Deathcythe and yelled, "_What did you say?_" He pointed and threatened, "Turn her back the way she was, or else! _Right now!_"

"The 'way she was?'" Deathscythe asked mockingly, "The Rele you were seeing was merely an illusion that I forged with magic. The rose is her true shape."

"That's a lie!" Shute shouted.

"Looks like you became really fond of her," Deathscythe remarked, as Shute balled his fists. "What a shame. Now give me the White Bagubagu, or you will suffer a fate worse than that of your precious, fake princess!"

Shute had been moving to punch Deathscythe, but the evil knight's words made him stop. Amazed, he looked into his hand at the White Bagubagu capsule, recalling how Fake Rele had tossed it to him.

"Give it to me now, boy!" Deathscythe snarled.

Shute glared at Deathscythe and held the capsule away. "Forget it, Deathscyth!"

"_What?_"

"This White Bagubagu is what Rele risked her life to give to me! I'll never let _you _have it! _Never!_"

Deathscythe snorted. "'Risked her life' you say? That puppet didn't _have _a life!"

"She was _not _a puppet!" Shute insisted, "She was real, and could make up her own mind! She encouraged me, when I thought I'd never be able to see my mom and dad again! She is a _real princess!_ There is no fake Rele! That girl was Rele- I mean, she _is _Rele! And you can't tell me otherwise, and I'm telling you, you will regret this day!" He glanced at the statue behind Deathscythe and added, "And the princess you love so much? Well, she would_ never love you!_"

"Stop, enough of this foolishness!" Deathscythe snarled, and held up his hand. His double-headed scythe appeared in it. "Hand over the White Bagubagu, _now!_"

Shute reeled back as Deathscythe pointed the tip of the blade at his throat. Now that it was held by visible hands, that scythe looked a whole lot more dangerous.

At this, Captain's Soul Drive almost leapt out of his chest. "Give it to him!" The Gundam cried, fearing for his friend's life.

"Yes…" Deathscythe hissed, "Give it to me, or you will pay the price, little human!"

Shute said nothing, trying to look away. The temptation to run was awful, but he knew if he did, it would all be over.

Up on the wall, Captain pushed desperately against the magical barrier holding him.

"Shute! _Shute!_" He cried, trying to force his body through. "I…can do it!"

"Captain, it's no use!" Zero lamented, "Even with _your _strength!"

"I…won't give up!" Captain said, and, against all expectations, began to push his _head _through the magic circle.

"C'mon!" Zero urged, rethinking his opinion. Maybe Captain _could _do it!

Deathscythe looked up and mentally applied more strength to the barrier. Captain was instantly pushed back under it.

"What kind of magic is this!" Captain cried.

Deathscythe chuckled and looked down at Shute. "Give me the White Bagubagu, or I'll have to take it by force."

But Shute, his brow wet with sweat, his teeth clenched, refused to respond.

"I was thinking of inviting you to my wedding," Deathscythe went on maliciously, "But it looks like there's no need to save you a seat. Farewell, you foolish human!"

Deathscythe pulled back, ready to lop Shute's head off. The boy cringed, unable to run away.

"_Hold on, Shute!_" Captain yelled, and against all odds, pushed himself out of the barrier! When he landed on the floor…

…things _happened._

The wall opposite of the barriers cracked, leaking light in, and then exploded outwards as hundreds of Mmns swarmed into the room. One chunk of the wall hit Deathscythe, knocking him away from Shute, who fell over from shock. Captain was bowled over, and the barrier holding Zero faded away.

As the Rivier of Mmns flooded into the room, filling it with light, there came other sounds. Sounds like several dozen bodies hitting the floor, accompanied by cries of pain. No one could see what they were, as the glow of the Mmns blinded everyone.

Once the flood ended, the light dimmed back to normal, with the Mmns floating away and the misty water evaporating. Shute, sitting on the floor, cautiously opened his eyes. All around were Zako Soldiers, lying on the floor, some twitching their legs, some looking around, and some comatose.

Genkimaru, sitting near three Zakos, muttered, "Now I'm hungry again…"

Grappler tried to get up, but couldn't because Destroyer had landed on him. "Idiot! You're heavy! Get off! _Get off!_"

"Giddy up…" Destroyer said in a dazed tone as he rocked on top of Grappler's struggling body.

They both stopped and stared at Zapper, who was running around the room with a look of panic on his face.

"Oh no! My mop! My mop, where are you?" Zapper wailed, "How can I function as an SDG clean-up volunteer without you?"

Bakunetsumaru, meanwhile, was writhing where he lay. "I'm drowning! I don't know how to swim!"

Genkimaru stared the older Musha Gundam through half-closed lids before walking up to him and kicking him in the knee. "You're fine, you samurai scaredy-cat!"

"Huh?" Bakunetsumaru immediately stopped 'drowning' and got up. He looked around the room, trying to figure out what had happened. "But, I…swept up…Mmns! And…ghosts, and… _Shute!_"

Shute got up and looked back at the Musha Gundams, surprised at their presence. "Huh? _Bakunetsumaru?_"

Deathscythe shook his head as he regained his senses. He had captured Zero and Captain, and was about to kill Shute…then everything went wrong. He looked around and saw that his inner sanctum had become infested with those annoying Zako Soldiers the Dark Axis used to use.

"This is nicer than that dumb cave." One Zako commented as they shuffled about.

"This is a rather nice place, but I find it a little chilly, Zako." Another commented.

A third Zako hummed a little tune as he walked about. He heard the sound of footprints behind him. He turned around, went "Zako!" and then sweated when he realized that Deathscythe was not the welcome wagon.

"What," Deathscythe hissed as the Zako ran away, "Are _you _doing here?"

"At last I have found you…_Deathscythe!_"

Deathscythe turned and looked at the person who had spoken. "Tallgeese! So, you're still alive! What are you doing here, trying to get in my way?"

Meanwhile, the Gundam Force gathered together.

"Take the princess to the_ Gundamusai!_" Captain told Shute.

"Got it!"

Zero nodded at Bakunetsumaru and said, "Well, Baku', I guess I'll give you _some _credit, this time."

"Bakunetsumaru, please protect Shute!" Captain ordered.

"You got it! Leave him to me!" The Blazing Samurai said, punching the air. Then, rather awkwardly, he asked, "By the way…uh…what's going on, anyway?"

"Worry about that, later!" Shute yelled, "Right now get the statue to the _Gundamusai!_"

From his place in the shadows, Cobramaru's eyes widened. _What? The _Gundamusai?

Genkimaru looked at the Zakos. "Hey, you guys!" He jerked a thumb at the doorway. "Move it, and that's an order!"

The Zakos may have made a sub-par attack force, but they could be effective when organized properly. The trick was to not think of them as warriors but as ants, ants that could carry off a picnic. Working in three groups, the Zakos picked up the statue, Zapper, and Grappler(who still had Destroyer sitting on him) and ran for the door with Shute and the Musha Gundams.

"I won't let you go!" Deathscythe snarled, and gave chase.

"You will no harm them!" Zero shouted, and he and Captain blocked the evil knight's way.

As the mob reached the door, Shute then stopped. He then ran back.

"Shute, where are you going?" Bakunetsumaru asked.

Shute didn't reply. Instead, he picked up the Princess Rose off the ground. He made a promise, after all. Giving it a nod, he ran towards the door.  
"Rele! _No!_" Deathscythe roared, and lunged.

Zero got in front of him, blocked a strike from the scythe, but was slapped away by the Knight of Darkness. Captain was next, but as the V-Rod was sent flying, the mobile defender grabbed hold of the scythe's handle. Both Deathscythe and Captain became locked into an impromptu game of tug-o-war over the scythe.

"How dare you," Deathscythe growled, "You piece of junk!"

Captain struggled against Deathscythe for a moment, before Deathscythe swung upwards, sending Captain flying into the air.

"Captain!" Zero cried.

-z-

Meanwhile, Shute, Bakunetsumaru, and the Genki Energy Force rode the main platform up towards the entrance to the Garden. Cobramaru clung to the sides of it, until he hopped on top to avoid being shut out.

-z-

As Captain fell to the ground, Tallgeese lurched forward. "Deathscythe…" He panted, "With the little power that I have left, I intend to thwart your foolish plan! I will stop you, even if it destroys me!" He began to chant, his body glowing. "_Dark Mana, created in the utter darkness, now give me your final strength!_"

On 'strength' Tallgeese shot up, flying towards the cage where Fenn was being held.

Deathscythe watched this, snickering. "There's no way you can break my strongest barrier!"

As Tallgeese impacted the cage, the room once again lit up, this time shaking from the force of the subsequent explosion.

"How foolish!" Deathscythe cackled, "He blew himself up! What a pity!"

"What's that?" Captain asked, looking up.

"I'm afraid it was Tallgeese…" Zero gasped, unable to believe his eyes. Did Tallgeese, proud, foolish, egomaniacal Tallgeese…sacrifice himself?

Then, out of the light came a flap of wings.

Deathscythe reeled back. "That can't be!"

A fearsome roar was heard.

"Fenn?" Zero cried, "It's the Feather Dragon!"

-z-

On the surface, Shute led the group of escapees towards the _Gundamusai_.

-z-

As Fenn, as the Feather Dragon flew around the room, now free of his binds, the runes in the main chamber of the Garden of Wisdom glowed with a golden light. Zero flew towards Fenn, who breathed light into the Winged Knight before entering his body. The body became a ball of light, and when it had faded, it showed a Zero wearing light-purple armor over his normal blue armor, with two white feathery wings protruding from his back.

The runes of the Garden glowed brighter.

-z-

Topside, the gang had just boarded the _Gundamusai_'s deck. Shute felt his neck hairs tingle, and turned around. He saw a giant blue beam erupt from where the entrance to the Garden of Wisdom was.

_I know that light! _He thought, and smiled. _Zero!_

High in the sky, Zero Custom, the Knight of Silver Wings, spread out his wings, shining with an ethereal light.

Everyone, minus Genkimaru and some Zakos as they put the princess' petrified form down, stared up at the elegant sight.

-z-

Zero glared down at the Garden of Wisdom, down at the evil being that dwelled within it. "Deathscythe! It ends right here!"

Deathscythe flew up at Zero, his eyes of his mask blood red. "_En Guard_, _Zero!_" He screamed.

_Time to avenge the fallen knights! _ Zero thought, and his hands glowed. In each one appeared two long swords, shaped like halves of Fenn's tail. "_Twin Buster Swords!_"

Deathscythe flew up, Zero flew down. They passed each other in the air, barely brushing, but that single touch became the spark of a magnificent explosion.

-z-

On the deck of the ship, Shute covered his eyes from the light as they watched the battle.

"What energy!" Bakunetsumaru gasped.

-z-

Zero clashed with Deathscythe, bringing his Twin Buster Swords down onto the Knight of Darkness' scythe. With each touch came a crackle of power, a reaction born of two opposing forces being forced to meet.

-z-

Down below, Captain arrived, rather harried, jumping onto deck of the ship. He had been able to leave the Garden of Wisdom through the exit Zero and Deathscythe created when they took to the skies.

"Shute!" He called, looking for his friend within the crowd.

"Captain! Hey!" Shute cried, running up to the Gundam. "Are you all right?"

Captain nodded. "I'm fine," Looking up at the ship's head, he said, "Miss RAIMI! Emergency takeoff! Leave the rest to Zero, we must evacuate immediately!"

"Roger, Captain."

-z-

In the air, Zero and Deathscythe rammed into each other at top speed, creating a giant shockwave from their collision.

The runes in the Garden became even brighter.

As their weapons locked, Deathscythe sneered, "You are unable to fully utilize the power of the feather! You are no match for me!"

Both knights backed away from each other. Zero shot forward, but veered right to avoid being slashed by Deathscythe. The Knight of Darkness made several jabs at the Knight of Silver Wings, but Zero easily dodged them, shifting his body enough to evade the blows. Deathscythe made a sweep at Zero, who easily flipped over and brought his swords down onto the evil Knight. The Knight of Darkness was barely able to block the blow in time, and as sparks flew, found himself being forced back. Clutching his scythe, his body began to become a dull black.

"What's going on here?" He panted, "Why am I struggling against a weakling like you?"

Zero shook his head. "You still don't get it, do you, Deed. The feather is the earth, the feather is Lacroa itself, the land of Lacroa, the sky. All of the spirits are angry with you because _you_ have _ruined _Lacroa!"

As Zero spoke, his body seemed to give off a subtle glow, as if he was standing in front of a spot light.

"Zero…" Gasped Deathscythe, "He's synchronizing with the feather! This can't be happening!"

"Prepare yourself…" Zero placed the two flat sides of his swords together, merging them into one fully sword. "…_Deathscythe!_"

Deathscythe trembled, from both fear and anger. "You won't…defeate me…!"

Zero held up his sword, and it began to glow.

"I won't lose my princess!" Deathscythe screamed, and lunged at Zero.

Zero flew up in the air, his entire being a-glow. As Deathscythe came at him, the Knight Silver Wings chanted, "_Super Spirit Magic...Infinity Winds!_"

Zero brought down his sword, releasing a beam of glowing blades from it. The light blades struck Deathscythe, cutting all the way through to Deed…

_My…Rele… _He thought, his world becoming dark.

"The benevolent king of spirits will not allow an evil villain such as you to wield his power, Deathscythe!" Zero declared, and gave off a bright blue light.

As Deathscythe fell, his limp body gave off a bright purple light and the Steel Dragon flew off. Fenn flew away from Zero, and Deed plummeted, falling far out of sight as he dropped towards the ground.

On the _Gundamusai_, Shute pumped his arms. "Way to go!"

-z-

All the way out in the main kingdom, the black magic dome covering Lacroa Castle faded away. Without the caster, the spell could not be sustained.

-z-

Over the Garden of Wisdom, Zero floated in the air as he returned to normal. Behind him, the _Gundamusai_ hovered up, but the Winged Knight wasn't paying attention to it.

"What?" he cried, staring at the entrance to the Garden.

In the main chamber of the Garden of Wisdom, the runes on the walls became even brighter, until their light filled the entire room. A giant beam of yellow light burst out from the entrance to the Garden, shooting up into the air. It was so bright that Zero, the closest to it, was forced to shield his eyes. The group on the _Gundamusai_ deck stared at the light, unable to make sense of it.

"What's that?" Shute asked.

"I don't know!" Captain replied.

Before any more talk could be made, the beam expanded, enveloping Zero and the _Gundamusai _within its light. As the wind blew around them, Zapper's voice could be heard over their screams.

"_Where are my sunglasses!_"


	11. Zako Zako Hour 23

Chapter 5.5: Zako Zako Hour

The iron curtain rose, showing the three hosts of the show, Red Mic, Blue Mic, and Yellow Mic.

"Ladies and gentlebots," Red Mic said as they bowed, "Welcome to the Zako Zako Hour! Today's meeting is all about, all together…"

All three hosts said, "_What's Love?_"

From the audience came an ecstatic shout. "Love? Aw, yeah! Zako! I love love! Woo!"

"Zako," Red Mic said, "We're back on the stage after quite a long time with a very difficult subject!"

"That's not it, that's not it!" Blue Mic cried, "It's actually quite easy, Zako!"

"What is?" Asked Red Mic and Yellow Mic.

"Love is!" Blue Mic cried.

"Love is…?" Red Mic and Yellow Mic prompted.

"Love is something like this." Blue Mic answered, and pointed to a screen. It showed an video of Princess Rele walking through her garden, while Deed watched from behind a tree. It then showed Deathscythe floating around the princess' petrified form.

"What is love!" Yellow Mic burst out, "Explain it to me so I can play too!"

"Listen, I'm gonna tell ya flat out," Blue Mic said, "To love is to take control of something completely and to hold to it forever, Zako!"

"Then we Zakos, who take control of a variety of things…" Red Mic remarked, "…Must be _filled _with love, Zako!"

"Ah!" Yellow Mic murmured.

After a moment, Red Mic then said, "Wait! If taking and loving are equal, then what is the action of _giving, _Zako?"

Blue Mic gulped, taken aback.

"Answer that one." Red Mic challenged.

There was a moments pause.

"Huh?" Yellow Mic and Blue Mic asked.

"_Somebody answer me, Zako!_" Red Mic shouted angrily, hopping up and down.

"I was surprised by the true identity of Lord Deathscythe, Zako!" Blue Mic commented.

"No fair, you changed the subject!" Red Mic snapped, and then more thoughtfully said, "But it _was _surprising that Lord Deathscythe turned out to be that guy, Zako."

"Who was that guy anyway, do you suppose?" Yellow Mic asked.

They thought about it. "Ah, well…"

"I'll explain for you, Pawn!"

There was a puff of smoke in the middle of the stage, causing the hosts to jump. When the smoke cleared, there was a Pawn Leo standing there.

"Not you again!" the hosts yelled.

"You guys aren't qualified to explain about _that guy,_" Pawn Leo explained, "That's why _I'm _here, Pawn!"

Yellow Mic shook a fist at Pawn Leo. "The way you say that really gets on my nerves!"

"Uh-huh!" Red Mic and Blue Mic nodded.

Undaunted, Pawn Leo explained, "that guy was Deed, one of the Royal Knights of Lacroa, which Zero was also a member of!"

"You say the Royal Knights of Lacroa?" The hosts asked, their eyes becoming question marks.

"There's a group of knights who protect Lacroa, called the Knights of Lacroa, Pawn!" Pawn Leo went on, as an image of the five Knight Gundams appeared on the screen behind him. "The Royal Knights are the five strongest knights in all their land; Rock the Desert Knight, Battol the Blazing Knight, Nataku the Bronze Knight, Deed the Icy Knight, and Zero the Winged Knight!"

"So we know about Zero and Deed," Red Mic said, "But happened to the other three, Zako?"

Pawn Leo gave Red Mic a stern look. "You want to know? Are you sure you won't regret knowing what actually happened to the other three?"

"Just hurry up and tell us, Zako!" The hosts snapped.

"Then I'll explain, Pawn!" Pawn Leo declared. The screen showed a petrified tree. "Now, this is a banana tree."

"_That has nothing to do with it, Zako!_" The hosts snarled, and gave Pawn Leo a boot in the rear. "_Zako Kick!_"

"Pawn!" Pawn Leo cried, flying off the stage.

"Now we'll have to start all over from the beginning!" Red Mic said, "We were having a philosophical discussion on _love._"

Blue Mic and Yellow mic nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Love is…" Red Mic began.

"Love is?" Blue Mic and Yellow Mic asked.

Then the iron curtain fell.

"Ah! Time's up, Zako!" Red Mic cried.

"No time for love, Zako!"

In the audience, Ladle Zako looked at the pack of Elmice scurrying around his feet and said, "Know what, Elmice? I liked it better when they were gone!"


	12. Preview

A preview of the next _SD Gundam Force _book;

"Everyone," Princess Rele said, "I'd like to present you with a gift to express my appreciation for your brave efforts today."

Genkimaru watched from his space on the wall as Shute, Captain, and Bakunetsumaru lined up in front of the princess. _Huh? Gift?_

"_O Mana!_" Princess Rele spread her arms out, creating a cloud of sparkles and rose petals that floated down on the three.

Shute felt something on his back, and looked. To his surprise, a small red cape had appeared, hanging stiffly down from the top of his shirt! The two Gundams next to him had similar capes sticking onto their backs as well.

"Capes?" Bakunetsumaru asked, craning his head over to look at his. Next to him, Captain turned his head completely around to observe the cape stuck to his backpack.

"More than a cape!" Zero proclaimed, "It's a badge of honor!"

Shute grimaced. "Yeah, but…" He patted it a few times, making a hollow knocking noise. "For a cape, it's pretty stiff, and it sticks out kind of funny in the back…"

Shute heard a gasp and looked. Princess Rele now had an expression of outraged shock on her face.

Zero leaned forward and whispered, "Shute, these are special capes that won't wave in the air unless you have magical powers!"

Shute blanched. "Huh? But why?"

Before Zero could say anything, Rele cut in. "I see!" She said, a vein appearing on her forehead. "So my gift isn't good enough!"

Shute and Bakunetsumaru began to sweat at these words. Captain looked between them, unsure of what was about to happen.

"I have promised to do my best to honor your allegiance and that is what I shall do," Princess Rele said firmly, and spread out her arms again. "_O Mana!_"

There came another thin cloud of sparkles and petals, and then the boys had _three _capes on their backs.

"Uh, excuse me, your highness," Shute began hesitantly, "But having more little capes still doesn't really solve the-!"

"Not satisfied?" Rele interrupted angrily, "We'll see about that! _O Mana!_"

Another flash of sparkles and petals, and when the light subsided, Shute, Captain, and Bakunetsumaru were _covered _in capes. They looked like red bushes.

"Well, we won't need raincoats anymore, that's for sure…" Bakunetsumaru muttered.

Genkimaru burst into hysterics, pointing and laughing at the silly sight. Some reward! Even falling off didn't stifle his giggles.

"I'm sorry, princess, if I sound rude, but…" Shute trailed off. Rele seemed to have a fire in her eyes now.  
"I get it," She said angrily, "You _never _have enough!"

Zero began to sweat. "Princess, I-I don't think that's what he meant!"

"No! I know what he meant!" Princess Rele said, glaring at the three cape piles. "I think you want _more!_"

Rele held her arms into the air, and a great magic circle of Lacroa appeared, blue with elegant runes. However, it now resembled that anvil you see falling on you just before it hit.

"_O…Mana!_"

Coming Soon

**SD Gundam Force**

Book 6

_Return to the Sea_


End file.

SD Gundam, Fantasy