Caynin Ch. 2

"All systems functioning at normal. No temporal disturbance detected," Raimi chirps as the Gundamusai reaches the other end of the bridge.

Captain nods, "Excellent, whatever has caused the rebounds appears to be affecting us."

No sooner did he finish that statement did the ship begin to toss and turn violently as it attempted to push through the gate.

"What's happening!" Shute shouts clinging to his seat.

"Alert! Alert! There is a dimensional barrier!" Raimi warns as the ship continues to shake, "Captain we will either shake apart or be rebounded! We must retreat!"

"Right then. Engines at full reverse!" he orders. The loud roar of the engines quickly silences but refuses to jump back to life.

Bakunetsumaru was bracing himself against his seat, "What is going on! The engines aren't responding!"

The ship then lurches forward jarring its occupants from their chairs and forcing everything not tied down the bow. Now off balance, the Gundamusai slips through the gate, the shaking intensifying ten fold forcing its crew to cling to whatever they could. A bright light engulfs the ship as warning signals continue to blare their deafening screech.

Suddenly the ship escapes the light and gets tossed through the air like a rag doll. Flipping, spinning, engines refusing to fire, the Gundamusai continues its corkscrew dance towards the stone and crystal landscape below before landing with a loud crash and scrapes across the surface, metal underbelly sparking and squealing until it comes to a stop in a cloud of smoke.

Captain groans picking himself up and shaking his head, "Ugh, is everyone alright? Shute? Bakunetsumaru?"

"I am alright," Baku replies having gotten tossed to the back on the cockpit, "Talk about a rough landing."

Shute was laying on the floor, alive but extremely dizzy waiting for his stomach to settle, "I'm okay, Captain. What the heck caused that?"

"Scanning," Raimi chirps, "Captain, the ground within a one mile radius is littered with objects of Neotopian origin. There is a type of dimensional gate barrier. I believe that is what caused our crash and the rebounds."

Bakunetsumaru stands up and tilts his head, "A what?"

"Someone or something does not want anything coming to this planet by any means. Or leave it which ever the case may be," she calmly answers.

"Are we stuck then?" Shute answers rolling to his back but remains on the floor.

Captain nods, "97.537% chance that if we attempt to leave the barrier will cause a rebound and destroy the ship along with us. We should find the source of this barrier and deactivate it if we hope to ever return to Neotopia. Or even get off of this planet."

The sole human nods and sits back up, his insides having settled back to where they belong, "Alright. We need to rid this world of the Dark Axis. Get rid of that barrier. And un-petrify the natives. Easier said then done, but that is how it's always been."

"Right," both gundams agree nodding to their friend.

"Request," Raimi chirps once more gathering their attention, "I have scanned the hold and seems several things have been dislodged. I am also detecting two life signatures. They are gundams. Locate our stowaways. I will report back after I have scanned the remainder of the ship and logged the damages."

Captain nods, "Understood. Shute, remain here and dictate the important repairs first. Having a mobile base will be most helpful. Bakunetsumaru, you and I will investigate the hold."

"Sure thing," the musha nods and follows after his leader.

Meanwhile down in the belly of the ship, crates had been tossed in every direction, many landing on their sides. The crate Celestin and Daichimaru have hidden in currently sits trapped at the bottom of a pile.

"I don't feel so good...." Daichimaru groans, "Ugh... that trip was horrible!"

"Agreed," Celestin comments staring at the floor hoping his vision would soon stop spinning, "It's never that rough. We must have been attacked."

Daichi looks over at him, "If we got attacked, then we should go help them. Let's get this thing open!"

They crawl over to the lock, feeling rather crowded in their cramp confines. Calling upon his mastery of fire, Celestin crates a small flame at two finger tips and softens the metal enough for Daichimaru to break it with a well place strike of his dagger. Pleased by the small victory, they shove against the lid but it refused to move.

"Stupid thing, open up!" Daichi snarls and rams against it again before turning and kicking at the lid. Together the young musha and knight beat on the lid but get no where.

"It must be stuck," Celestin notes then calls on Mana to give him a view of the outside, "Indeed. There is another crate laying against the lid." He quickly looks around then smiles, "Daichi, over here." he crawls over to one end, "Nothing is blocking this side."

His friend quickly catches one and nods, "Time to make a hole then!" They shuffle around each other once more and begin to kick, punch, and ram at the end placing several dents, and hopefully soon will be able to get out.

Captain and Bakunetsumaru enter the hold observing the mess the crash had caused, "What a wreck. This will take several hours to fix back," Baku notes looking around as Captain leads.

"This way, I picking up two life signals over here," Captain speaks marching ahead with a purpose, "Odd, my scanner is saying it is Celestin and Daichimaru."

"Impossible," Baku replies, "They stayed on Neotopia. At least they better have."

Rounding a corner they pick up the dulled sounds of metal hitting metal from a crate that has only one end sticking out of a pile, "That's easy enough." Captain goes over to the crate and grabs hold, straining then pulling the crate out from under the pile and sliding it into the hall some, causing the pile to shift and other crates to fall.

Daichimaru and Celestin quickly cease their attack on the crate, waiting with baited breathe like trapped animals. Captain flips the crate back upright causing Daichi to fall onto Celestin with a muffled 'oof'. The lid stood ajar showing the broken and partly melted lock. With one swift motion Captain lifts the crate lid.

Both parties lock eyes in stun silence.

Captain broke it, "You two!?"

"Uh..." Celestin fails to make a sentence.

Daichimaru swallows, "H.... hello, Father."

Bakunetsumaru quickly looses it and snaps at both of them, "What in the hell are the two of you doing in there!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back on the bridge Baku holds the stowaways by their collar and keeps them knelt on the floor in a painful hold, "Do either one of you have any idea just how much danger you just put yourself into!"

Shute places one hand over his face, "You're joking, you are joking. Both of them?" He groans, "We don't have enough supplies for two more!"

Captain wore a look of disappointment shaking his head at the duo then turns to the communications screen, "Captain Gundam contacting Neotopia. Neotopia come in."

"Ow! Ow! Father!" Daichimaru tries to plead, "We just want to help you!"

"That's right, Uncle Bakunetsumaru," Celestin adds, "My father is not here. Surely two of us can equal him."

Baku increases the force on both of them forcing them to the floor, "Celestin you are far from being on your father's level! Daichimaru I taught you better then this foolishness! The both of you only equal maybe one quarter of any of us! Neither of you have completed your training and are from from ready to be members of the Gundam Force. After this stunt you will be lucky if your chances are not completely gone!"

The duo whimpers again, wishing they had not done this, now their dream was on the line.

A holographic screen flashes on showing Chief Haro, "Captain. It is good to see that the three of you have made it alright."

"Chief Haro, sir," he salutes, "While we have arrived in once piece, I fear the Gundamusai has taken several damage from our crash."

"Crash?" the chief inquires.

Shute steps forward, "In a nutshell, sir. There is a barrier blocking all entry and exiting to and from the planet. It seems to have gotten weaker with time but still powerful enough to knock some thing back. Within a one mile radius are several test dummies of Bell Wood's they lay in shambles while a small handful are intact. It is pure luck we are still alive and only have minor cuts, scraps, and bruises. The engines have taken the most damage and need repair before we can fly again, it should not take me more then a couple days to do so."

"Understood," the chief replies, nodding, "You must not waste supplies then. Find whatever makes the barrier and get rid of it."

Captain speaks up, "It is one of our top priorities sir." He then pauses seeing a gundam not of Neotopian origin behind Chief Haro, "Lady Fleur? Is that you?"

"Oh, hello Captain," the female gundam walks towards the screen, "Glad to see you three are safe. Again sorry I cannot help this time around."

"What are you doing in Neotopia?" Shute inquires.

Fleur sighs, "Looking for my son. He was suppose to report to Lacroa after giving you the supplies but he has not done so. I had a brief moment to come looking for him. He can't be to far."

Bakunetsumaru huffs, "He's further then you think." He pulls up on Celestin as the young knight pleads with his uncle to spare him his mother's wrath. Ignoring the pleads, Baku pushes him in front of the screen, "We found him in one of our crates."

Celestin keeps his head lowered not daring to look at her, "H... hi, Mother."

Fleur's expression quickly changed from worry to anger, "Celestin! What in the name of Mana are you doing on the Gundamusai! Look at me! Explain yourself!"

Celestin sighs and look up at his mother's enraged features, "Father, could not come. I-I can use Mana. I could help them. It was Daichimaru's idea anyway!"

"Oh no," Chief Haro groans, "Don't tell me...."

"Yep," Bakunetsumaru pulls up on Daichi pushing his son in front of the screen, "Show your manners, Daichimaru."

Daichimaru gulps and looks up, "Hello, Chief Haro."

"What!" Bell Wood calls out overhearing, "You have got to be kidding me! We didn't give you enough supplies for two more! And we can't risk sending any as long as that barrier is up! Or sending them back for that matter."

Shute sighs disappointed, "We will have to spread them thin until then."

Fleur shakes her head in disgrace, "Bakunetsumaru, keep my son in line for me will you?"

"Of course, I would do so without your asking," the musha replies pulling the two teenagers away from the screen and pushing them back into the painful hold making them kneel on the floor for any relief.

Captain turns back to the chief, "We will keep you updated as we can. Captain out." With that the screen blips off.

"I'm dead.... I'm so, so dead," Celestin whimpers thinking of what his punishment will be.

"I believe we already are," Daichimaru notes gesturing to the musha above them.

Baku huffs, "You got that right. For now we have bigger fish to fry. Both of you go earn your keep. You like hiding in the storage hold go and fix it. I want every crate back all nice and neat. Make sure you fix the contents as well! Then after that both of you can get to mopping." He hands them both a mop and pushes them towards the elevator, "Get to it. The harder you work the less your punishment will be when we are done with this mission."

Defeated, the duo slinks off back to the hold sharing a glance, "This was a bad idea," Celestin notes.

"We can still prove ourselves, we just have to wait for our chance!" Daichimaru speaks with a grin.

"What chance?" Celestin questions, "While dealing with the Elmechus? Daichi, I fear this is only the tip of the iceberg of our punishment."

Daichi blinks, "Iceberg? Bah, don't be a worry wort! We'll get a chance to prove ourselves to them just wait and see. They'll be begging for us to become SDGF Members!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

With the matter of the stowaways taken care of, for now, Captain, Shute, and Bakunetsumaru head out to explore the barren stone and crystal landscape. They took refuge on the Gundamusai's hull taking in exactly what they would be up against.

Shute let out a low whistle, "Nothing but wastelands. Why would the Dark Axis want something like this?"

"We will most likely never know, Shute," Captain answers walking towards the bow as Baku slides off one side  to check the ground.

Gripping his twin blades tightly, the musha fearlessly marches into the landscape unsure of what to look for. The sun overhead slowly climbs higher followed by its twin bringing with it the scorching heat of summer to the world once more. Like clockwork, even dead the planet continues its cycling dance with the cosmos. Finding no threats Bakunetsumaru lowers his blades and calls out, "Hello! Anybody out there! Hey!" The only reply was his echo. He turns back to the ship and yells, "Seems to be clear over here! No Dark Axis or anythin- whaa! Oof!" The samurai flails as he trips over a cement statute of a four-legged beast bearing sharp tooth and nail at the wind. Taking a minute, he leaves his legs crooked over its back and observes the beast, "Bizarre. You look like a canine from Shute's home."

"Bakunetsumaru!" Captain calls out running to his friend's side along with Shute, "are you okay?"

The musha nods and shifts off the statue to stand back up, "Found a native, at least."

Captain nods and pushes a button on his belt, reveling a single white baggu baggu in an egg shape capsule. Holding it gently, the white gundam releases the fly, the mechanical bug hovering for a bit before finding its target and lands on the canine's head. Rearing back, it injects the antidote into the organic being, freeing it from its concrete confines.

Once free, the native snarls and finishes its attack swiping and snapping at the air finding nothing to attack, "What by Gaia?" a female voice questions its yellow eyes darting around.

"Hey there!" Shute greats the silver and white canine, "I'm Shute. We saved you. This is Captain and that's Bakunetsumaru. We are friends. Who are you?"

Snarling, she turns around and bristles at them, "More of you! More humans! More mechanical sins against Gaia! Returned have you! I will not tell those who defile Gaia my name! Leave before I take your life!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Shute responds backing up from her, "Hold on now!"

Captain steps in front of his best friend and looks at the beast holding out one hand, "Wait, we mean you no harm. We are not the Dark Axis."

"Lies!" she snarls, "First the cold comes and makes our home near inhabitable. Ace fixed them up real good!" She then howls in a short victory, "Then you come! Call yourself the Dark Axis! Mechanical sins! Look what you have done to Her! Look what you have done to Gaia!" she snaps and lunges at the trio, "I will not be your prisoner! I will rip you into scrap first!" The beast stands on her hind leg, fore paws raised with lethal intent in her claws. Suddenly she pauses, ear perk then head turning, "Blast! The Red Fly Swarm! Yes, enjoy your creation! They must be hungry!" With that the large canine drop back to all fours and sprints off at high speed.

Bakunetsumaru sighs, "That went well..."

"What's a Red Fly Swarm?" Shute inquires then turns hearing an all to familiar buzzing, "Ah... Ah! Red Baggu Baggu! Its the Baggu V2!" Without second thought the human turns and dashes back towards the Gundamusai.

"Oh-no!" Captain calls out opening fire on the approaching swarm, "Bakunetsumaru! Retreat! Zapper Zaku said these things could crystallize us! I rather not take a chance on him being wrong!"

"Right!" Baku agrees and runs after Shute, Captain quickly following in step behind them.

The swarm moves quickly in perfect unison, eager for some new to take a bite out of! The trio clambers back into the Gundamusai, Captain ordering Raimi to fire the cannons at the swarm.

Quick to respond, the trio of cannons on the outer hull turn to the red mass of baggu baggu, each firing one after the other only managing to put barely dents in the swarm. Engines in disrepair, they were a sitting duck as the Red Baggu began their attack on the Gundamusai's hull and cannons. With each bite a spider web of red emerges then quickly spreads and forms into a crystal shell around the metal.

Countless sirens wail again as the crystallization engulfs more and more of the ship, "Captain!" Raimi proclaims, "I am unable to fend off the Baggu V2! We will be encased in red crystals in less then three minutes!"

Back down in the hull, the two youngsters look around confused as to the sirens, "What the heck?" Daichimaru proclaims.

Celestin goes into a hover looking around, the engine catching his eye as his becomes encased in crystals, "Whoa! What by Mana!"

"Huh? Ah!" Daichimaru jumps as they watch the crystals take over the inner portion of the engine, "What is that!"

"It looks like the Baggu Baggu Father spoke of," Celestin remarks, "But that was stone not crystal."

The red crystals began to turn jagged and pierced into the inner hull, spreading itself like a disease to the inner confines of the ship.

Daichimaru quickly backs up, "Its coming for us! This is our chance looks like!" He then charges swinging his broom and brings it down hard on the crystals. The newly form ones quickly shatter and stop their pursuit, "Alright!" He swings again at the crystal covering the engine, this time his broom breaks, "Oh come on!"

"Well done!" Celestin remarks sarcastically, "You broke your weapon. Let me try!" He holds up one hand summoning a fire ball and mana fusing them together and launches it at the crystal breaking off a portion of it, "Got it!"

They then watch in horror as not only what they destroy grow back, but what broke off begins to spread the crystals in a spider web back to the large engine, stopping once it was reconnected.

Daichi nods understanding, "We have to break it all at once so it doesn't grow back."

"Indeed," Celestin remarks, "Let's go tell the others. We will need their help to do so."

Back on the main deck, Captain and the others look out the windows of their crystal tomb, the ship sealed tight, "Great. Now we are trapped with a broken engine and no way to get free."

"What about the white baggu?" Shute suggests.

Captain turns away from them, "I... uh... I forgot to grab it."

Bakunetsumaru gives his leader a 'you must be joking look', "Seriously, Captain.... Now what are we going to do."

At the instant the elevator swung open and the two teenagers stumble inside the cockpit, "We know how to break out of the crystal!" They state in unison

"What are you two doing here?" Shute inquires.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Daichimaru protest, "Did you not hear us!?"

Celestin repeats it, "We know how to break the crystal! A strong attack but it all has to be done at once."

Daichimaru nods, "Yeah! The inner part of the engine is covered in it but we can break it off, all four of us!"

Captain shakes his head, "For that to work we would have to use it on the whole ship. The Red Baggu Swarm is gone but now we are trapped with no way out."

"Are you even listening to us!" Celestin remarks insulted.

"Okay our plan won't free the ship but a strong attack can make a hole for a short period of time for us to get outside," Daichimaru states looking at them hopefully.

Captain, Shute, and Bakunetsumaru exchange a look, but with nothing else to go on, they decided to at least give the idea a chance, "Very well," Captain states, "If this works you are relived from cleaning duties for the time being. However! You must stay with us at all time while we explore this planet."

"Deal!" they reply bowing to their elders.

After gathering their supplies, it was up the elevator and another mana fireball, the Gundam Force escaped their crystal tomb and slide off the side of the ship looking at it sadly. "So much for our roaming base," Shute remarks with a sigh.

"I do hope you do not intend on leaving me like this," Raimi remarks over the communicator.

Captain shakes his head, "Do not worry, once we find our White Baggu, we will return. Hopefully it will be able to undo the crystallization without need for us to cause damage to our ship."

Daichimaru looks around the landscape, "How are we going to find it?"

"Simple!" Shute remarks, "Find a patch of live organic material, and follow the trail. Let's go."

With that, the Gundam Force, plus two junior members, set off into the unknown barren waste of Caynin. Gaia as that wolf like creature called it. They had four missions on their mind; free their ship, find out what they can about the Red Baggu, destroy the barrier blocking impeding dimensional travel, and evict the Dark Axis from this world.