Neotopia | The city | The S.D.G. | Characters Lacroa | The kingdom | Characters Ark | The land | Characters The Dark Axis | The army | Characters Anime | Episodes | Screenshots | Timeline GBA Game | PS2 Game Manga | Anime Adaptation | SDGF Gaiden | Musha Retsuden | Other	Apocalyptic by SilverBellsAbove    The nightmare begins! New villans and old diverge on one goal: conquest. Too bad there's a high school student in their way.    Wow! Fast update! Yay me! Plot bunnies keep hitting me like heck… but that may just be because Destroyer Dom is shooting rabbits out of a rocket launcher to my left. *sweatdrop*    Dom: Bunnies make big boom! ^___^    Me: Uh… okay then… Well, this chapter gets pretty serious, but I've tried to add a little bit of humor lace around the edges. So yeah, read and review. Things might get a little confusing here and there, but just try to bear with me, I promise I'll have a nice long A/N explaining things afterward.    Disclaimer- if I owned SD gundam, I would be a very happy person. Unfortunately I don't, so I can't get Chief Haro to confess his deepest darkest secrets *evil laugh*    Zapper: what the heck do you think you're doing with my evil laugh, organic?! >__<    Me: shaddup. On with the show. Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 Apocalyptic 3. Turnabout “Zako, we seem to have a problem, Deputy General.” The scout saluted. The Deputy General gave a frown and turned around, annoyed at the interruption. “What do you wish to report, soldier?” “The Gundam Force is on Earth, zako zako.” “WHAT??!!” Deputy General screeched, voice dripping with surprise and fury. “Impossible!” Shifting uncomfortably, the robot replied with “M…My organic neutralization party spotted them, but was unable to capture them, zako.” Deputy General gave a yell of rage and pinned the neck of the subordinate. “And why was that, you insignificant worm?!” “T… they…zako… they were retrieved by one of their cohorts; they have an ally in this dimension, zako.” “So those Neotopian insects finally got their transport to work, huh?” Deputy General chuckled. The subdued mecha choked out, “There… is more, my liege…zako…” “Continue.” Deputy General waved casually. “They have taken the shape of humans, zako. But a simple scan proves that they are the same… capacity-wise, zako.” “Where are they stationed, private?” “Zako… they're living with a human girl who looks like she know them.” “Name.” “Graye Kenneth, zako.” Deputy General gave a cold laugh. “What a predicament they've gotten themselves into, the foolish gundams…” Then Deputy General turned to the Zako soldier. “And as for you, you are relieved.” Deputy General tore the head of the soldier clean off, the robot in its final throes. “ZAKOOOOOooooo…” Deputy General shrugged, “Plenty of the things to go around anyway,” and then grinned, “As for The gundams and the foolish humans, they'll perish before this Tuesday. No more of this child's play, it's about time a nightmare began on Earth.” -@- “Another day, they're all the same.” Graye mumbled as she said good-bye to the Gundam Force for first period. First period was English class, and she doubted any of them would find it interesting, least of all Shute. Her footsteps echoed quietly in the hall. Not many were in school today due to the recent attack in town. But Graye had insisted on going, even though she had experienced it firsthand. BRRRIIINNNGGG “Argh, I'm late?!” she frowned and hurried. “Man, how can I get here early and then be late; I don't walk that slow. Do they expect me to teleport or something?!” she continued to mumble as she opened the door to English class. “Ah, how nice of you to join us today, ms. Kenneth,” the teacher nodded. There were only 3 classes worth of English today, due to low attendance. She was looking at about a third of the people in class today as she sat. Graye frowned and gave a small bow to the teacher “I'm really, really sorry for being late, Ms. Sheehy. It won't happen again.” “See that it doesn't.” Ms. Sheehy nodded and opened a book. “For homework, you had to read chapter four of Great Expectations…” -A half hour later- “And that is the symbolism in that scene.” Ms. Sheehy droned as she shut the book. Graye was almost asleep; Ms. Sheehy had such a boring monotone voice. Even worse than Captain. If that's possible. And it was that moment of total mental clarity that saved her life. -Graye's POV- Man, I could barely open my eyes… my mind was drawing a complete and total blank. The words of Ms. Sheehy blurred into a muddle, and time seemed to slow down to a crawl. I didn't think the class would ever end. A sizzling, whistling sound pierced my mind, faint but noticeable. Have you ever shot a toy bow with the arrows that `sing'? Well, if you lit an arrow on fire, that's what it would sound like. This registered faster to me than turning on a light switch as `Danger. Move your butt.' My limbs seemed to react unconsciously, jumping backwards out of my chair. I snapped back to reality in time to catch a pulse of light crash through the window and engulf the spot where I had been about half a second before in red flame. Ms. Sheehy screamed and dove under her desk, children fled in blind panic. I think I screamed too, but I'm not sure. I crawled and hid behind a bookshelf just as the wall exploded violently behind me, sending a rain of debris throughout the class. I coughed from the mixed ash, concrete dust and a smell I recognized in horror as burnt flesh. Staring out from the cloud of smoke and dust were three pools of angry scarlet light, all scanning the area for signs of life. Literally. I saw the enemy clearly for the first time, and I mentally slapped myself at the irony of the moment. I knew that the Gundam Force weren't exactly chibi-things in my world, but I had never guessed that then enemy had shifted to match. The crimson eyes of the Zako soldiers sat in mecha bodies that matched a normal man's frame, and their guns had gone from little toy rifles to weapons that would make the army wet its pants. Right then I was yelling at myself about how dead I was. Actually, what went through my brain then can be summed up in one word. Crap! The lead Zako spoke to his... or its, teammates “Shoot the humans, zako, and target the one with metal-colored eyes, zako! Take the gundam force alive zako zako!” The eye of the one to the left shifted to a question mark “Zako, can't we just use the BaguBagu, zako?” “You know the BaguBagu don't work here, zako!” The last one reminded and saw my hiding spot and pointed, “There one is, zako!” and fired his repeating rifle. There's nothing like being shot at for the first time. Good, old-fashioned gunfire. It's a feeling that chills the heart into stone, trapped in a whirling maelstrom of terror. Ahgh, I'm being way too poetic, but I can safely say that I won't forget that moment until the day I die. Bullets crashed into the bookshelf, penetrating into the wall behind me, missing my head by mere inches. My decision? Run. People always say I should go out for track. To be humble, when I book it, I can go pretty quick. In my case, it was just fast enough. Either I was running way faster than usual, or the Zako's weapons suddenly fired very slowly, I didn't know, I didn't care. But I dodged those shots somehow as I clocked to the door. I forced the exit open with a bang and darted down the hall in shock. How is this happening to me? I thought in confusion and fear Why me? Why here? Why NOW???!! A side door slammed open and a Zako soldier carrying a rocket launcher fired at me as I sped past, missing me but I was blasted to the ground anyway as it exploded along with some of the wall. Somehow, that helped to calm me down, like a slap to the face. Thoughts running through my head became more like `how can I handle the situation' and less like “Ahh! Someone's shooting at me!” the Zako gave a whoop and ran over to claim his prize, an axe drawn to end me. He raised it and let it loose… Something in my head clicked at that moment. I can't really describe it. It was as if I suddenly was in a situation I automatically knew how to handle. I didn't know if it was the adrenaline messing with my head or what, but I gave in to the impulse. I rolled to the side as the Zako cleaved the ground with the axe and my hand groped instinctively for something, anything that could ever be used to help me. After what seemed like an eternity in a single second, my fingers clasped on a long, thin metal object. A long section of sturdy metallic pipe, the equivalent of a staff, that was dislodged by the explosion. Darnit, it may not have been Excalibur or anything, but it was good enough. As I rose from my prone form, I stabbed with it, aiming for the chest, if only to force him off me for a second. To my surprise, the metal pipe pierced right through, the eye flickered and I rolled to the left to avoid getting squashed under its weight. I stood up, at first shocked at what I had done. “I just… got it?!” I whispered. In the entire series I had never seen a human kill even a single Zako. I had just tossed all the conceptions of humans needing protection out the window. Go me. A few stray shots of a rifle piffed on the ground by my feet and I set off at a sprint again. It was plain stupid to just stand there in the hallway. An explosion sounded above me, but my survival-driven mind didn't flinch, even when a Zako jumped out at me. I just slammed the hostile mecha to the side and kept moving. “I have to find Captain and the others!” I exclaimed to myself. “Where the heck are they?!” and got rid of another Zako, spearing it right through the eye. I hadn't been watching where I was going, and I exploded into the cafeteria. It was a wreck, totally devastated. Windows lay on the ground in shards; tables were upturned and huge scarred holes were torn into the walls by gunfire and bombs. I slowed to a stop, gasping. I really wasn't cut out for all this. A pebble dislodged itself from the ceiling and I froze at the somehow piercing sound. Zakos stepped out from behind overturned tables and rubble, ruby eyes glowing at me. I glared a look of hate and rage at them all. “You want some?!” I yelled at all of them, and they drew back. A thud sounded as something-someone landed from above and I heard a smooth, yet completely malicious voice push behind me. “So you're the little human that's been such a pest.” I whirled around and my eyes met a great incarnadine orb framed by pale cerulean. “Crap,” I mouthed recognizing him immediately. “Grappler Gouf.” He drew his sword and gave what I only could guess was a grin, “That's my name,” and lunged at me. I deflected it, but heard a yell from over my shoulder. “Graye!!!” -Shute's POV- Why did it have to be today when everything would turn upside-down for us? And why here? Why a school? Ah, it's not really important now. All I saw now was Graye, facing down Grappler Gouf as if she had a chance of winning. For all I could tell, she really did have one! As for that jerk, Grappler, he was changed the same way as all of the Zakos we had seen in this world, and all he looked like was even more bad news than before. “Graye!” I yelled, and she looked over her shoulder. Her eyes looked almost like steel as she rolled out of the way and gave a relived look. “Shute! Guys!” she called, and I got a better look at her, she was standing still for a second. Her shirt was singed brownish in some places from Zako missile, but she had no visible burns. Her pants were torn by gunfire and she was covered in scratches. Black hair was shining with sweat. To sum it up, she looked really messed up. In two hands she held a pipe like it was a weapon, like a halberd or a staff or something like that. Gouf gave a cold laugh. “The human look is a good one for you guys; now you look as weak as you are!” I saw a grin appear on Graye's face as she slashed with the sharp, broken end of the pipe and commented, “Then how `come they've screwed your copper bottom over a bunch of times, tin man?!” Grappler gave a negative look as he blocked with his shield. “Great,” he mumbled “I get sent to get rid of a human who has a mouth like Zapper and smart-talks like Tallgeese. I get all the bum luck.” “Hold on, Graye! We're coming!” I yelled as we ran to help her. Right then, I all I thought was `How is she still alive?!' I mean, I've done plenty of crazy stuff for Captain and the others, but attacking the Dark Axis by myself?! What was she thinking?! -3rd person POV- Shute skated alongside Captain, who had smuggled his beamsaber into the school, in the wake of the gundam. “How dare you attack a lady, you fiend!” Zero yelled as he flew at Grappler, sword drawn. Bakunetsumaru sprang, flanking his companion, “Have you no honor, you dog?!” Grappler let go of his shield and caught Graye in a headlock. “Can you hit me now?! Attack me and you risk hurting your precious little girl!” At this, Graye gave a look of wrath. “LITTLE GIRL??!!!” she yelled and slipped through Grappler's grip. “Little girl THIS!” she exclaimed and snapped upright, striking like a snake and throwing him backwards a few feet and onto the ground. “What the heck is wrong with you, organic?! You CAN'T hit like that, you're just a human!” “Screw what you think!” Graye bellowed at him. “So I'm human, got a problem with it?!” Grappler Gouf rolled his eye, “Well duh.” “Well I have a problem with stupid goons like you! We're even, so shove it where someone cares!” she yelled, eyed to the left and then lunged. “Die!” he yelled as he prepared to take advantage of her attack, but she rolled out to the side at the last second and was replaced by a musha gundam with red eyes. “HA!” Baku yelled as he slashed Grappler with his swords, unbalancing him, “You let your guard down.” Shute gave a mirthful look. “Well, you may have a problem with Graye, but we have a problem with you! Let's give it to him, Captain!” Graye stared like someone had just slapped her with a fish as Captain's eyes filled with righteous fire and his fist began to glow. “Soul Drive, activate!” he declared, and Gouf gave a look of horror. “No! anything but that!” Captain rushed over and dealt a crushing blow, more potent that anything a normal human or gundam could hope to land. Grappler flew out the empty window, but before he left he launched his clawed hand. “I'll finish this now!” he yelled and his hand tried to extend to grab Graye to take with him, but the chain was severed midair by Zero. “How dare you, villain! How dare you attempt to steal a lady away!” the Winged Knight scolded. The Zakorello gate opened to swallow Gouf and disappeared. Bakunetsumaru felled the last of the Zako soldiers and then sheathed his swords. “Attacking children! Disgraceful!” Shute ran up to Graye, who was kicking a lifeless Zako's head into the wall. “Are you alright?!” “Yeah,” Graye nodded. “I'm fine. Confused and pissed that they got my school, sure, but fine.” Zero floated over “You are sure you are not hurt, milady?” he asked. “Thou did just engage Grappler Gouf in mortal combat.” Captain walked over and with a nod of the head “The chances of you surviving combat with the Dark Axis are around 20 percent if I calculated you as a normal human. How did you survive?” “Hit him back when he hit me, duh,” she replied with a scowl. “Fighting isn't a hard thing. Thank god my mom's a paranoid wreck, or I would never taken those self-defense classes a while ago. Mostly, I kinda wanted to live, and just running won't cut it.” Bakunetsumaru nodded in satisfaction and surprise. “For a human, she does well in battle.” Zero gave a look of agreement. “Milady, you truly have the heart of a gundam.” “Uh…” Graye stuttered and blushed a deep red. “Thanks?” Shute blinked. “Wouldn't it have been easier to run and just find us? Why'd you go off alone?” “Look,” Graye gave “I knows what it feels like to be walked all over, and it sucks. I don't ever want to feel like that ever, so I can't just stand by and do nothing when other people are in danger. It would make me feel like it was my fault it got hurt, so I'd rather just deal with the problem. What kind of person would I be if I kept running away? Someone can only run so far before they run out of space right, and what then?” “Wise words.” Baku nodded “For a soft organic being you have a lot of fight in you.” “A valid point,” Captain agreed and a metal beam fell to the ground off to the right “This building is now structurally unstable. I advise immediate evacuation.” Graye nodded, “Let's move,” and took off at a sprint out off the building, and the others ran to catch up. “You run fast.” Shute noted as he skated along side. Graye smiled “That's what they all say.” She grinned and then turned to Captain “What happened to the rest of the kids?” “We spent a few minutes evacuating them. That was why we were late to help you.” Zero rolled his eyes, “A more accurate description is herding sheep.” “Hehe, you don't say.” Baku gave an approving look at Graye. “I believe my opinion of the human race has changed today.” “Save it for when the roof isn't going to fall on us, Baku.” Shute gave a grin, “You rock so much.” Graye gave a laugh at her own quote. “Thanks. I try really hard.”    Well, that's over with *phew*.    A/N    This chapter details a pretty accurate account of the effects of adrenaline. Everything seems to slow down, and you make decisions a lot faster.    As for Graye deciding to fight, well… that's just her. Her brother is... or was a soldier, and she idolizes him. She's been telling herself to fight internally for a pretty long time. it just comes out here. Different sides appear in instances of moral danger, so hahaha, I have so much fun manipulating the pawns in this chapter. Shute's got a gundam to catch his back and he's the kind who will run away, regroup and figure things out. Graye, well, she attacks threats *sweatdrop*    I tried to make Graye seem inexperienced. She still got hurt (she doesn't know how to dodge explosions and if Zero hadn't cut Grapplers chain, she'd be very dead.) and she couldn't land a hit on Grappler, who by himself isn't the most adept of mechas. So yeah.    Baku seems to like Graye a lot more now… he seems really impressed. Well, no duh, when he first met Shute he was like `WTF all squashy and fragile! Helpless!' and now he's all like `WTF, a human just attacked the Dark Axis! Awesome!' so yeah.    Zakos not being cute chibi-things anymore- the Zakorello gate isn't as experimental as the Neotopian gate. As a general rule, The farther you go away from your original dimension, the more you have to change to fit the continuum, but more advanced gates can keep you from totally succumbing to this rule. To put it, Earth is one of the strangest dimensions; no gundams, no magic or secret arts or superior technology but everything functions here normally and it's heavily influenced by other planes of existence (hence there being a SD gundam TV show). Nothing is what it's supposed to be on earth. O_O Yes, I thought about this. Yes, I have no life XD    Deputy General- actually stands for Assistant Deputy General. The villain's not the supreme big bad guy. Rather, the PERSONAL ASSISTANT to the big bad guy. Heheh, saved my butt there…    I listened to Slipknot while writing this. Can you tell?    Ok, enough a/n. too much. See ya round! 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