Chapter 10: Superweapon

Starbuck, Lisa, Tek, Odessa, Warlic, and Maria sat in the Carrier of Hope discussing the recent events. After half an hour everyone was caught up.

“It is imperative we take action now.” Warlic said seriously. “The Shadowscythe have made attacks on nearby planets also which means they are preparing to finish us off.”

Odessa added “Is it still wise to go after the superweapon on Zargon? If it is as powerful as it sounds...then it could be what we need.

“But what if it isn’t? Or what if the Shadowscythe got to it first?” Maria questioned.

“There is still time.” spoke a voice through the ship’s speakers. “Although we must quickly prepare.”

“That voice...a dragonoid!” Starbuck exclaimed.

“Yes. I see one of my brothers has brought you the Dragonguard Gundams, and now I am here to guide you to victory against the Shadowscythe.”

The group went to the window of the ship, once again docked at GEARS, and stared at the dragonoid floating next to it.

“You have done well with the Dragonguard, but it is not enough. You three are not the true pilots.”

“What?” asked Odessa. “Are you telling us we need to give up the Gundams?”

“Yes, to the three chosen ones. They reside here at GEARS University. One pilot for each house: WolfBlade, MystRaven, and RuneHawk.”

“I do not think putting my students in this kind of danger is wise.” Warlic objected.

“That voice...you survived after all.”

The rest of the group turned to look at Warlic. “Do not bring up the troubles of the past...it was a very long time ago.”

“I see. Trying to hide your identity. Well I will not be the one to reveal anything...but trust me when I say only these three students can pilot the Dragonguard Gundams. WolfBlade to Phoenix, RuneHawk to Swordmagi, and MystRaven to Guardian Spirit.”

“So what do we do once we find these pilots?” Odessa asked.

“Oh there will be no need to find them. They are already gathered, but once they are placed in their Gundams we will take off to fight the weakened Shadowscythe.”

“Weakened?” Lisa said surprised.

“Yes, they are currently fighting a civil war of sorts. EbilCorp was providing them with their fuel, but now that they are no longer needed...they have turned on them. The Shadowscythe vastly underestimated EbilCorp though which led to my release. For now we will side with EbilCorp.”

At this Warlic was saddened. He had killed his son earlier because he was siding with EbilCorp, and now they were doing the same. “I...I...can’t go.”

“And you will not. You are the Kingadent of this planet, yes?”

“The fake copy of me was for a very short period of time.”

The dragonoid laughed. “But the people do not know he was a a fake. You are Kingadent now, and this planet is yours to guard. Now go and govern it....the rest of you meet me outside The Paladin to meet the new pilots.”

As Warlic left, everyone else left GEARS and returned to the Paladin which was at the space port within the city itself. The dragonoid drew a lot of attention as it flew through the city with the SDF members. When they reached The Paladin it floated above for introductions. He introduced them in the order they were standing.

“On the left is Mika Ray of WolfBlade.” he said pointing to a tall young woman with long brown hair and orange-red highlights.

“In the middle is Omicron, of MystRaven.” he said pointing to the man with short light brown hair.

“And finally on the right is Ryukai, of RuneHawk.” he said to the man with dark black hair.

“These are the new pilots of the Dragonguard Gundams. You can all speak inside as we move towards the battle in space. If all goes well the three Shadow Gundams will also be there.”

Everyone moved inside The Paladin and Starbuck took the pilot seat while Lisa took the navigator seat. Together with the dragonoid they left Loreon. On the ship Maria noticed Mika was sitting in a corner watching.

“Is something wrong?” she asked approaching. There was no response. “I can imagine you might be nervous given the-”

“I’m not.”

“Oh, I am just trying to-”

“Help. I know. But I really am fine.”

“Oh, sorry.” Maria said walking away.

“Sorry to sound rude, but I am a bit unhappy. The alliance with EbilCorp...”

“It is only temporary and not even official.” Maria said wondering why she seemingly hated the corporation. “I too have had very bad experiences with them.”

Mika became a bit more attentive upon hearing this. Maria walked away, and Mika watched her. There was something odd about her, but it was comforting she was not happy to be allied with EbilCorp either.

Towards the front of the ship Omicron chatted with Starbuck. “This really does feel unreal....University student once second, savior of the universe the next.” he said laughing.

“I had a similar experience...although mine was more shocking then yours, I bet.”

“I was found by a giant robotic dragon, you?”

“Same...after it appeared from a giant crystal asteroid that destroyed the Shadowscythe attacking LOS-7 and killed a close friend.”

“Oh...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I really shouldn’t have brought that up.” Starbuck smiled.

From outside the ship, the dragonoid spoke. “We are here. This is Zargon...” Everyone looked to the side and saw the small Loreon like planet. It seemed to have more connected landmasses and had a ring surrounding it.

“What lives there?” Ryukai asked.

“Superheroes.” the dragonoid said laughing. “They are what you would imagine a superhero to be. Every person is a superhuman and has some sort of special ability.”

“Seems very chaotic.” Ryukai added.

“Remember, they did not gain these powers, they have always had them. It is the same as humanity, they have progressed and made technology into their enemy. But they overcame pollution much faster...it was more beneficial to them than it is to the humans of Loreon.”

“Interesting...” Ryukai noted.

“Ryukai you really should be conversing with other humans and not just me. These will be your teammates for a very long time whether you like it or not. Now all pilots go to your Gundams.”

Starbuck almost started to move before realizing the Phoenix was not his anymore. The three pilots all made their way to their Gundams. Ryukai went to Swordmagi, Omicron to Guardian Spirit, and Mika to Phoenix. The Paladin followed the Dragonguard Gundams as they went down to the surface of the planet.

As the group travelled they saw a large city was under quarantine and inside there was a Shadowscythe infection. The Dragonoid snorted. “The monsters attempted to stop the superweapon. Paladin, come with me to the weapon...Gundams I want you to use your purification weapons on the infected zone. The combined forces of the purification weapons quickly cured the zone. The superhumans looked amazed and were grateful cheering for the mysterious Gundams that had saved them.

Meanwhile the dragonoid and The Paladin arrived at the hangar of ZPSS-002. There the dragonoid spoke to Selena and Dr. Boltavolt.

“Greetings. We are here in response to your message.”

“Help?” Selena and Boltavolt said together. They were surprised that anyone was left. Especially after what the Shadow Gundam did to Metropolis.

As they were about to speak with the dragonoid an alarm went off. “Billy, is that the Shadow Gundam alarm?”

“Yes...and it says three of them are approaching!”

The dragonoid broadcast a message to the entire planet. “Prepare for battle! Three second generation Shadow Gundams have arrived!”

The three Dragonguard all turned and saw the Shadow Gundams. The first true mission of the new pilots was about to begin. “Protect the superweapon at all costs.”

Selena and Billy looked at each other and then laughed. “We have codenamed the weapon Gundam-Eater. It requires a Gundam to be operational...”

The dragonoid smiled. “Phoenix prepare to control Gundam-Eater and destroy the Shadows.”

Tomorrow in Gundam: Shadow.....Corruption! A battle is about to begin between the full might of the Shadowscythe and the light forces comprised of the Dragonguard, Dragonoid, and The Paladin. Gundam-Eater will debut and show its true power, but what consequences will that have, if any? The struggle for life continues.