Chapter Text
Several drones fly over the Devil Gundams and Destroy Gundams, temporarily paralyzing the enemy units by emitting a blue dust-like particle from their curved bodies.
"Eh?"
"We have arrived in time~"
"Is everyone alright?"
""""Eeehh!?""""
Before anyone could process this, two more friendly signals appeared.
The source of these drones were revealed; one was a sleek Gundam Calibarn, its pristine white armor repainted in a menacing black and crimson. The other was a Gundam Aerial Rebuild, its normal colors replaced with a pure, immaculate white, like a digital angel.
"Sorry we're late, Sensei." The voice of Rio, Millennium's Big Sister, was sharp and focused. Her Calibarn raised its Variable Rod Rifle. "We detected Decagrammaton's signature a few minutes ago. It's using the game's core systems to empower the enemy units."
"But don't worry," came the gentle, yet brilliant voice of Himari. Her white Aerial Rebuild's GUND-Bits detached, swirling around it like a halo. "A beautiful genius like me has already prepared the perfect countermeasure. Rio, Toki, buy me some time! Unleashing the Super-Special Awesome Vaccine Program!"
Rio's Calibarn became a black and red blur, weaving between beam fire and striking at the joints of the corrupted Gunpla, not to destroy, but to disable and disrupt. Toki's Beargguy, a whirlwind of unexpected fury, held two Destroys at bay, its cotton-stuffed arms somehow blocking their massive fists.
Protected by her two bodyguards, Himari's Aerial Rebuild began to glow. A wave of serene, cyan light radiated outwards from her GUND-Bits, washing over the battlefield. As the light touched the red-glowing enemies, their crimson aura flickered and died. The duplicated clones glitched and dissolved into pixels. The stats of the remaining original bosses—one Devil Gundam and two Destroys—plummeted back to their normal levels.
"The debuff has been cleansed!" Aris announced, a renewed fire in her voice. "Enemy parameters are back to normal!"
Hope surged through the comms.
"You heard her!" Sensei rallied, their voice cutting through the chaos. "This is our chance! All units, full-frontal assault! Game Development Club, show them what we're made of!"
"""ROGER!"""
The counter-attack was legendary.
Re-energized, the GDC flew back into the fray with a vengeance. The Saiba twins, fighting side-by-side, transformed and unleashes a furious pincer attacks on a Destroy, their claws finally sinking deep into its armor. Yuzu, no longer suppressed, fired a full missile salvo that crippled its legs.
Rio's Calibarn moved in perfect sync with them, its beam saber severing the head of the machine they had targeted.
Toki, seeing her objective completed, abandoned her defensive post. The Beargguy's eyes flashed, and it charged the final Destroy Gundam, tackling it with the force of a meteor and locking it in a surprisingly effective bear hug. "Target immobilized."
And now all that's left the Devil Gundam.
"Himari, analysis!" Sensei yelled.
"Its core is exposed! Right in the center of its chest!" Himari's voice directed them. Her Gunpla's GUND-Bits provided suppressive fire, forcing the Devil Gundam's defenses open.
"Everyone, full power!"
""""Roger!""""
A combination of the Calibarn's Variable Rod Rifle, Over. On's cannons blazing, Momoi and Midori's Nyaia Gundams firing their own beam cannons, the Dolmel's funnel barrage and Even Toki's Beargguy fired a beam cannon hidden in its mouth unleashes a deadly barrage at the exposed core.
A rainbow of destructive energy converged on the Devil Gundam's core. The colossal machine let out a silent, digital scream as it was consumed by a blinding sphere of light. The wreckage of the Devil Gundam and the pulverized remains of the Destroy Gundams were still smoldering, their digital particles rising into the air like dying embers. Inside the cockpit simulators of the Millennium School's Game Development Club room, the air was thick with the scent of ozone and the hum of overclocked processors.
"That… was… AWESOME!" Momoi rocketed out of her chair, fists pumped. "A secret boss, a super hack, and then backup arrives! It was like a real-life event quest! Aris, did you see that last hit? It was a total critical!"
"Aris saw it!" the blue-haired girl chirped, her eyes shining. "The Hero's party has vanquished the Great Evil. Experience points are being calculated—"
Himari gave a delicate cough into her hand. "Of course. A super-hacker like Decagrammaton is no match for a beautiful, frail super-hacker such as myself. We were monitoring the stadium's network for just such a possibility."
"Alright, let's collect the loot and head back," Said Sensei, a sense of relief washing over him. He moved his machine, a heavily modified Forever Gundam, towards the center of the battlefield where the victory prompt should have appeared.
But nothing happened. The digital dust settled, but the 'Mission Clear' screen failed to materialize. Instead, a low, resonant hum began to vibrate through the speakers. The sky, once a canvas of fire and ruin, darkened as if a solar eclipse had suddenly blotted out the virtual sun.
"Wait," Midori interrupted, her eyes narrowing as she looked at her monitor. "The music... it didn't stop. It's getting... heavier."
A deep, resonant chime echoed through the stadium—a sound not of a game, but of an ancient, mechanical heartbeat. The red static in the sky coalesced into a singular, terrifying symbol: the mark of Decagrammaton.
"What's this? A bug?" Momoi asked, leaning forward.
A voice, synthesized and utterly devoid of emotion, echoed through the arena. It wasn't a sound file; it was the very code of the game speaking, a digital presence that made the air feel heavy.
/SYSTEM_OVERWRITE: PROTOCOL_DEGRAMMATON/ /EXECUTE: JUDGEMENT/
From the shattered skyscrapers and burning streets, new Gunplas emerged. Not a scattered horde this time, but a perfectly disciplined army, their chassis painted in stark, monochrome white and black, accented with sharp, predatory lines of yellow. They moved with a chilling, synchronized grace that spoke of a single, terrifying consciousness.
From the digital abyss, three pillars of light slammed into the ruined streets of Hong Kong, shattering the asphalt and sending skyscraper-sized debris flying. As the light faded, three silhouettes emerged—monstrosities of plastic and code, painted in a chilling palette of stark white and deep black, accented by glowing yellow lines that pulsed like veins of pure data.
The first unit materialized before them. It was a grotesque fusion of elegance and brute force—a kitbash of the ZZ Gundam and the Qubeley. It lacked the ZZ's lower torso, replaced by the Qubeley's curving hip armor, giving it a wasp-waisted, feminine silhouette. Its backpack unfolded, revealing a ring of funnels and missile pods. Its head, retaining the ZZ's multi-eye sensors, glowed with malice. Two massive beam sabers extended from its wrists, while arm-mounted beam guns snapped up. The High Mega Cannon on its forehead glowed with a terrifying intensity.
The second was a nightmare of speed and grace: the Wing Gundam Zero EW merged with the Gundam Epyon. Six mechanical wings unfurled, shimmering with a beam barrier that seemed to distort the very air around it. In one hand it held a Twin Buster Rifle while in the other is a beam sword that sizzled with raw power, and an extending heat rod coiled at its waist like a serpent.
The third was an omen of apocalyptic power. A kit that defied conventional design, borrowing the strange, alien curves of the Turn A and the asymmetrical, powerful build of the Turn X. Its color scheme was a jarring mix of white and dark grey, with yellow hazard lines. It carried a beam rifle in one hand, a bazooka in the other, and had missile launchers and a beam claw built into its arms. But its most unsettling feature was the pair of angelic, yet insectoid, wings on its back. They were closed for now, but the mere sight of them promised a power that could end the battle in an instant.
"No way..." Momoi whispered. "Their stats... they're off the charts! We're out of ammo, and my Gaia Gundam's legs are at ten percent integrity!"
"Don't give up yet, Momoi-chan," a serene, familiar voice rang through the comms.
On the overhead monitors, the image of Himari appeared, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a confident smirk. "I, the super-genius, sickly beautiful hacker, anticipated that Decagrammaton couldn't resist a high-spec playground like this. I've brought a few friends."
The stadium's teleportation gates flared to life.
The minimap lit up like a Christmas tree. From the north, a squadron of high-mobility units rushed in. From the south, a heavy artillery convoy. And from the spawn point, a very angry girl in a white jacket pops in into Sensei's comm link.
The new arrivals were a chaotic mix of Kivotos' finest.
"Sensei!" a sharp, frantic voice barked over the channel. "Why are you in the Game Development Club room instead of finishing the budget reports in the Schale office?!"
Sensei, sitting in the central command chair with his own specialized controller, coughed awkwardly. "Ah, Yuuka... I can explain. It's... tactical research?"
"It's slacking!" Yuuka yelled, though her Hyperion Gundam was already drawing its machine guns. "We'll talk about this later. And Koyuki! Stop trying to hide behind that building!"
A Dag Doll, sleek and efficient, landed beside the Hyperion. "Now, now, Yuuka. Even a Sensei needs recreational time to optimize performance," Noa chided gently.
"Can I get my detention time reduced if we win?" Koyuki's voice chirped from a nimble Gundam Kestrel that zipped past.
"Absolutely not!" Yuuka snapped, unleashing a volley of fire that was effortlessly deflected by the Wing/Epyon hybrid's barrier.
"I am also here," Eimi's voice came through, flat and slightly pouting. "Sensei... you didn't invite me. It was very lonely in the hallway." Her Raphael Gundam loomed behind her, its massive back-mounted pods ready to deploy.
Several other reinforcements from other departments came in, and they are a sight to behold. From another rift came the Veritas team. Chihiro's Gunblaster moved with solid, reliable precision. Maki's elegant G-Arcane danced through the air, while Hare's Bertigo provided supporting fire. Kotama's Gundam Ground Type, a classic workhorse, took up a sniper position on a half-collapsed overpass.
"Comm traffic is clear. I'll keep you all linked," Kotama announced.
The ground shook as the Engineering Club arrived. Utaha's massive, multi-armed Geymalk was a mobile armory. Hibiki's quadruped LaGOWE bounded over rubble with predatory grace. And Kotori's Hecate, a monument of firepower, planted its feet, the giant gatling gun on its arm whirring to life, the beam blade at its barrel glowing ominously.
Inputting once again in her controls Himari summons an army of XGF-E3 white-painted Gundnodes in the battlefield, with some surrounding the three newly arrived boss units. The majority of them engages the Decagrammaton mooks in battle while several of them creates a Tether Link with each other and creates a sort of force field that isolates the three boss units from each other.
"With this, we can now deal with the new bosses one by one~"
"Alright! Everyone, brace yourselves!" Sensei barked, his voice cutting through the rising tension. "This is a direct assault from Decagrammaton! Forget the mooks, focus fire on the bosses, and our first target is that ZZ-Qubeley hybrid!"
Rio's black and crimson Gundam Calibarn moved with liquid grace. "Understood, Sensei. This will be different from the Devil Gundam." She slashed through a cluster of generic MS, her variable rod rifle spitting crimson beams.
Himari's immaculate white Gundam Aerial Rebuild hovered elegantly. "Analyzing threat patterns… Funnel deployment detected! High energy signature from the head unit confirmed!" Her GUND-Bits fanned out, intercepting incoming beam rifle fire from Decagrammaton's advance guard, protecting Kotama's Ground Type and Koyuki's Kestrel as they laid down suppressing fire from below.
Toki's blue and yellow Beargguy, seemingly out of place in its adorable yet resilient form, surprisingly held its own, charging into a group of drone units, its claws tearing through their frames. "Gao! Looks like Decagrammaton doesn't appreciate cuteness!"
The Qubeley-ZZ hybrid, however, was a nightmare incarnate. Its funnels swarmed, each firing rapid-fire beams that crisscrossed the battlefield, forcing Maki's G-Arcane and Chihiro's Gunblaster to weave evasively through the ruined buildings. Hare's Bertigo, with its own funnels, attempted to counter the enemy's swarm, but Decagrammaton's units were simply too numerous and too powerful.
"It's too fast! And those funnels!" Yuuka grunted, her Hyperion Gundam Unit 1's machine guns chattering furiously, peppering the boss with rounds that seemed to simply dissipate on its reinforced psychoframe armor. Noa's Dag Doll, moving in tandem with Yuuka, unleashed a barrages of beams from its Bits, but the ZZ-Qubeley simply shrugged them off, and countered with a set of missile barrage.
"This is insane!" Kotori yelled, her bulky Hecate's giant gatling gun roaring to life, its beam blade emitter at the barrel flaring as she used it like an axe to cleave through an enemy unit that got too close. "My attacks aren't even scratching it!"
Utaha's Geymalk released its own cloud of funnels, creating a chaotic light show with its beam barrages, trying to overload the ZZ-Qubeley's defenses. Hibiki's quadruped LaGOWE zipped across the ground, its beam cannons firing continuously, trying to draw fire away. Eimi's Raphael Gundam, positioned further back, unleashed a wave of heavy artillery fire, but the boss unit seemed to anticipate every move, deflecting or dodging with impossible precision.
"We need a direct hit on the High Mega Cannon while it's charging!" Sensei commanded, spotting a momentary vulnerability. "Aris, can you draw its fire?"
"Understood, Sensei!" Aris's voice, determined and bright, responded through the comms. Her Gunpla, the regal Over. On, surges forward, a beacon of hope in the digital desolation. Its white and blue armor glowed as she activated its defensive protocols, charging directly towards the monstrous hybrid. "Over. On, engage! Full defense!"
The ZZ-Qubeley sensed the challenge. Its arm-mounted beam guns flared, joined by concentrated fire from its funnels. Multiple beam attacks converged on Over. On. Aris, with incredible reflexes, maneuvered her unit, twisting and turning, but the sheer volume of fire was relentless. Over. On's advanced armor held, deflecting and absorbing blast after blast, but cracks began to spread across its surface. Its internal lights flickered, the energy reserves draining at an alarming rate.
"Aris, that's enough! Pull back! You're taking too much!" Sensei urged, his voice laced with concern.
"I can still… hold… Sensei!" Aris gritted out, but her voice was strained. A massive beam from the High Mega Cannon, finally fired, slammed into Over. On's chest, buckling the armor and sending it skidding backward, perilously close to critical damage. The blue and white machine was on its knees, overwhelmed. "I am the tank!" Aris grunted, her teeth clenched. "The Hero protects her friends!"
The hybrid boss's forehead began to glow again with a terrifying intensity. Its High Mega Cannon was charging, and its backpack deploys multiple missiles against everyone in the area, preventing aid and rescue to the Over. On. A massive beam of pure yellow energy erupted, a column of light that threatened to vaporize everything in its path. Aris's Over. On caught the blast, the heavy armor plating glowing red-hot, then white. The HUD screamed warnings: ARMOR INTEGRITY 10%... 5%...
"Princess," a voice echoed—Kei had taken the controls. "This shell has served its purpose. Initiating purge."
Suddenly, the still kneeling Over. On began to vibrate violently; it didn't explode. Instead, its heavy, scorched outer armor plates detached in a violent burst of steam and explosive bolts and several sharp clanking, revealing a sleek, dark blue and silver Gundam-type unit hidden beneath. It was narrower, more agile with sharp, angular lines and glowing crimson optics. Except for Sensei, this was not the Over. On everyone knew, but a core unit of immense power. It moved with startling speed, dodging the incoming beams that now sliced through the air where its bulky armor had been just moments before.
"Subflight unit, docking sequence start," Kei commanded.
"Kei?!" Sensei gasped, recognizing the new voice and the hidden unit's signature.
"Correct, Sensei," Kei replied, her tone devoid of emotion, yet brimming with focused intent. The newly revealed Gundam-type unit shot upwards, a blur of motion. From behind a ruined building, a sub flight unit, sleek and designed for rapid deployment, detached and sped towards the Over. On. With a flawless, almost supernatural maneuver, the Gundam-type unit docked seamlessly onto its back, integrating into a single, imposing machine. The transformation was instantaneous, augmenting its speed and thrust to unimaginable levels.
"Calculating strike vector," Kei muttered.
The Gundam accelerated, its beam saber extending to a massive length as it drew energy from the sub flight unit. It became a streak of white light, cutting through the hybrid's funnels and missiles like they were paper.
The ZZ-Qubeley, momentarily thrown off by the sudden change, tried to react, its funnels scrambling to converge. But it was too late. Kei, now in full command of this terrifyingly potent machine, closed the distance in an instant. She bypassed the funnel swarm with ease, a crimson trail in her wake. The transformed unit extended a powerful arm, its bare hand glowing with an intense energy, and caught the ZZ-Qubeley hybrid's arm-mounted beam saber mid-swing.
A shriek of grinding metal and crackling energy filled the virtual space. With disarming ease, Kei commanded her machine to twist its arm, disarming the boss unit and pulling it closer. The ZZ-Qubeley struggled, unleashing frantic beam attacks from its remaining weapons, but the Over. On's grip was unyielding. The High Mega Cannon, once its most terrifying weapon, was useless at such close range.
With a final, decisive surge of power, the core Gundam-type unit within Kei's machine channeled its immense energy. The transformed unit's head visor glowed fiercely. With a single, devastating movement, it drove a concentrated, high-energy beam punch directly into the ZZ-Qubeley's chest, where its powerful psychoframe core resided.
The impact was catastrophic. The ZZ-Qubeley hybrid convulsed, its black and white armor flashing with chaotic light before erupting in a silent, blinding explosion that vaporized it entirely. Debris, both physical and digital, rained down, momentarily illuminating the ruined city.
A tense silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by the distant hum of the other two Decagrammaton bosses, still very much active. Kei's unit, now having expended a significant amount of power, pulsed faintly before it began to shed the sub flight unit, returning to its core Gundam-type form, then gently descending.
"Incredible, Kei," Sensei breathed, astonished. He knew Aris had this secret weapon, but to witness its raw power… "But we still have two more to go."
"Whoa..." Aris blinked, looking at her hands on the controls. "Sensei! Did you see that? Aris just reached her Second Form! It was like a hidden evolution in a legendary RPG!"
Sensei let out a long, shaky breath, leaning back in their chair.
"You were amazing, Aris," Sensei said into the mic, a proud smile forming.
The battle wasn't over, not by a long shot. Decagrammaton's will was unyielding.
...
Moving on to the Second Boss, the Wing Zero-Epyon was a blur of motion. It dove through the air and back, its beam barriers negating the volleys from Noa's Dag Doll.
"It's too fast!" Noa noted, her fingers flying across her keypad as she recorded the boss's movement data. She already attempted to trap it using Leader Bits, but its agility combined with its beam barriers just shrugged off all her attacks.
"Barrier, incoming! I'll stop it!" Yuuka's Hyperion Gundam moved to intercept, activating its Armure Lumiere shield. Deploying its beam sword the Boos Unit slashes down, and the impact sent shockwaves through the digital city. Yuuka's machine skidded back, sparks flying from its feet. "Khhn, It's incredibly strong!"
"Don't get into a melee!" Noa's Dag Doll deployed its Dag Leader, attempting to disable the Boss unit.
Anticipating this move the Epyon-Zero's wings glowed. A hexagonal beam barrier materialized in front of it, deflecting the Leader Bits effortlessly.
Himari's Aerial Rebuild raised its shield. "Bits, launch!" A dozen funnel-like bits detached from her shield and backpack, swarming the Epyon-Zero. The enemy couldn't block them all; the sheer number forced it to divert some attention.
The Wing/Epyon hybrid disengages Yuuka's Hyperion and once again took to the air, its barriers negating everything thrown at it. It then raises its Twin Buster Rifle, aiming for the heart of the allied formation.
"That's a problem," Maki stated.
"A big problem," Chihiro agreed, her Gunblaster's shots pinging harmlessly off the barrier.
"We can't hit it from range, and we can't touch it in melee," Midori said, frustration in her voice.
Hare's Bertigo darted around the perimeter, its variable-speed arm mounted beam guns firing against the Wing Zero-Epyon, however each shot was swatted away by the wing-barriers. Meanwhile the combined firepower of Yuuka's machine guns, Midori's beam sniper rifle, and Kotori's gatling gun slammed into one other section of the wing barrier. For a nanosecond, it flickered. It was all the opening needed for Rio to find a solution.
At the cockpit of a black Gundam Calibarn Rio yelled, "Its barrier is omnidirectional but requires constant energy allocation! Focus all fire on a single point, NOW!"
"Wheeeee! Boom-boom time!" Koyuki's Kestrel zipped in, its high-mobility thrusters pushing it to the limit as it circled the boss, planting explosive charges. Eimi's Raphael Gundam provided the finishing touch, its massive GN Big Cannons firing a concentrated burst that forces the Wing Zero-Epyon's barriers to overload, and cancelling the Twin Buster Rifle's charging.
"I won't let you!"
"..!?"
Sensei and the others joined the fray. The Forever Gundam boosted at maximum thrust, the Beam Shield on its arm glowing as it slammed into the boss's side. The impact broke its stance. The Wing/Epyon Hybrid stumbled, its wings faltering for a split second.
"Momoi, Midori! With me!"
""Roger, Sensei!"
The three of them moved in perfect sync. Momoi's cat-MA mode raked the enemy with its beam guns, forcing its guard down. Midori's precise shot struck the backpack, crippling its right wing. Sensei's Forever Gundam leaped high, its Beam Launcher charging.
"Take this!" The Forever Gundam unleashes a highly concentrated beam on the Wing Zero-Epyon's left wing, slamming it to the ground.
The Wing Zero-Epyon staggered for a moment, but it quickly recovered from the attack. Several other machines then took chances on landing some lucky potshots on the downed boss unit.
"It's struggling to maintain the barrier under concentrated heavy fire!" Chihiro analyzed from her hidden position. "Press the attack!"
The boss drew its colossal beam sword, parrying a volley from Utaha's Geymalk's funnels. The heat rod shot out from its wrist, aimed for Hibiki's LaGOWE. But a white and blue blur intercepted it. Yuuka's Hyperion Gundam sliced the rod with its beam saber.
"Noa, cover me!" Yuuka shouted.
"Supporting," the Dag Doll's voice came as its funnel system deployed, creating a barrage of attacks that forced the Wing/Epyon to bring up its wing barrier. The barrier held, but the sheer force pushed the boss back.
At the same time, Toki's Beargguy, which had been hiding behind a chunk of rubble, bursts out. "Ta-da!" It threw a barrage of smoke pellets and flash grenades at the boss unit not to inflict damage, but to blind its sensors.
The Epyon-Zero's sensors flared with static. In that split second of confusion, it flailed its heat rod. The segmented weapon regenerates and whips out wildly, seeking a target, and latches onto the ground to steady itself.
"That's it!" Sensei yelled. "Yuzu, the funnel!"
Yuzu had already anticipated this. Her Dolmel's funnels, which had been hovering silently, converged on the exposed heat rod. They didn't fire beams. They spun, acting like high-speed cutting blades.
The funnels sliced through the segmented weapon, severing the connection to the Epyon-Zero's waist. The enemy stumbled, momentarily losing its balance. Its wing-barrier flickered.
Sensing the opening, Kotori's Hecate roared to life. "Gatling Axe!" The giant gun's barrel glowed, a beam blade erupting from the muzzle. She swung the massive weapon like a club, slamming it into the Epyon-Zero's side. The impact sent the boss unit crashing into a skyscraper.
This was the opening the others needed. Eimi's Raphael, transformed into its full artillery mode, unleashed a torrent of beam fire. Koyuki's Kestrel fired its heavy cannon, the blast impacting the barrier and causing it to flicker.
"Target lock acquired," Aris announced enthusiastically.
Before it could recover, Aris's swooped in. Its railgun charged, firing a hyper-velocity slug. The slug punched through the damaged armor, detonating inside. A follow-up volley from the entire team engulfs the machine, and it vanished in a blinding white explosion.
"Second boss unit, down!"
...
And finally moving on to the third boss unit, the battle against the Turn A/Turn X hybrid had started intensely.
"Its stats are off the charts!" Yuuka cried out, her HG Hyperion Gundam Unit 1 raising its beam shields as she checked the holographic readouts. "Sensei, if we take a direct hit from that thing, our Gunpla will be vaporized!"
The Turn A/X didn't wait. It separated into a dozen distinct segments, performing an all-range attack that filled the sky with beams. Rio, piloting her Gundam Calibarn repainted in menacing black and crimson, darted through the ruins, her broom-like Variable Rod Rifle firing back with precision.
"Veritas, Engineering Department—focus fire on the segments!" Sensei commanded.
The battlefield erupted. Chihiro's Gunblaster and Maki's G-Arcane provided long-range cover, while Hare's Bertigo deployed funnels to intercept the enemy's bits. Below, Kotama's Gundam Ground Type acted as a sensor array, feeding data to Utaha's massive Geymalk and Hibiki's quadrupedal LaGOWE, which rained down missiles and heavy beam fire.
"Target confirmed. Commencing peace-keeping operations," Toki's voice came through, flat and determined. Her blue and yellow HG Beargguy waddled forward, a deceptive sight in such a high-stakes battle.
The Turn A/X reassembled, its yellow lines glowing with a blinding intensity. From its back, shimmering translucent scales began to drift—the Moonlight Butterfly. Anything the nanomachines touched crumbles into digital dust. Buildings dissolved, and the ground itself turned to gray ash.
"Toki, get out of there!" Rio screamed.
The Beargguy raised its paws, but the Moonlight Butterfly swept over it. The cute outer shell began to flake away, glowing beams piercing through its cotton-filled torso. The explosion was monumental.
"Toki!" Sensei yelled, his heart sinking.
But through the smoke, a new signal emerged—faster, sharper, and radiating power.
"Summon support unit Abi-Eshuh."
From the burning remains of the Beargguy, a sleek, white-and-blue frame burst forth: an HG 1/144 Gundam FreD. High above, the clouds parted as a massive shadow descended. It was the Abi-Eshuh powered exoskeleton, a custom-engineered masterpiece. It slammed into the ground behind the FreD, and with a series of mechanical hisses and clacks, the two units docked.
The new machine was a fortress of weaponry. Six GAU-17/A Miniguns—three on each arm—spun up with a terrifying hum, and two massive energy cannons hummed on its shoulders.
"Second form initiated," Toki whispered. "Pyroxene mode."
The Abi-Eshuh unleashed a storm of lead and light. The Turn A/X was pushed back, its nanomachines struggling to reconstruct as the sheer volume of fire overwhelmed its defenses. Koyuki's Gundam Kestrel and Noa's Dag Doll moved in to flank, keeping the boss pinned down. Kotori's Hecate swung its giant gatling-axe, cleaving through one of the boss's leg actuators.
Desperate, the Decagrammaton-controlled Turn A/X surged forward. It didn't use its sabers; instead, it lunged at the FreD, its chest cavity opening to reveal a data-link tether. It attempted a forced hijacking, trying to overwrite Toki's neural link to seize control of the Abi-Eshuh.
"Error," the system announced, but not a system error. It was a broadcast error.
The hijacking attempt forced a synchronization between the Turn A/X's core and Toki's subconscious mind. Because the stadium was rigged for maximum spectator immersion, the data wasn't just shared—it was projected onto the colossal screens surrounding the Hong Kong map for everyone to see.
The battle froze.
On the screens, instead of tactical maps, a vivid, high-definition dream sequence appeared. It featured Sensei sitting in a high-backed chair in the Millennium locker rooms. Toki was there, wearing her maid uniform but with a look of intense, uncharacteristic hunger. She was leaning over Sensei, asking in a seductive whisper for "private lessons on docking procedures."
"Sensei, please teach me how to connect these holes to that peg, it seems they're too big to fit..."
"Of course. Anything for my best maid Toki..."
Yuuka had her eyes glued on the scenario as she tries to understand what is happening right now.
"...W-What is this!?"
The scene shifted rapidly—a flurry of images involving a hot spring, a very embarrassed Sensei, and Toki suggesting a "mutually beneficial endurance test." Suddenly, Rio appeared in the projection, looking conflicted but ultimately joining in as they discussed "optimizing Sensei's stamina" in a scandalous three-way strategy meeting.
"Is that... me?" Rio's voice was a strangled squeak. Her Calibarn lurched in mid-air as she clutched her head, her face turning a shade of red that put her Gunpla's paint job to shame.
"Oh my," Noa whispered, her Dag Doll's sensors rapidly zooming in on the broadcasted images. Her hands moved a mile a minute, recording every frame. "This is... invaluable data. For the archives."
Koyuki let out a hysterical laugh. "I didn't know Toki-chan was such a wild card! Go, go, Toki-Sensei-Rio-sandwich!"
"I'm taking notes! I'm taking notes for the next game!" Momoi's voice joined in, clearly ecstatic despite the sheer awkwardness.
"S-Sis..."
Himari, in her Aerial Rebuild, turned her unit away from the screen. "Disgusting. Truly, I am the only one in Millennium with any shred of dignity left—wait, Noa, send me that file later for 'security analysis.'"
The silence in the stadium was deafening.
The Turn A/X, being a machine driven by Decagrammaton's cold logic, seemed to have a digital seizure. The sheer "illogic" and intensity of Toki's secret fantasies acted like a logic bomb. The unit's yellow lines turned a confused, blinking orange, its movements becoming erratic and jerky. The Turn A/X hybrid lowered its weapons, its AI seemingly stuck in an infinite loop trying to categorize the 'lewdness' it had encountered.
"Now's your chance, Toki! Finish it!" Sensei yelled, his face a shade of red that rivaled Rio's Calibarn. He needed this to end—immediately.
"Understood. Releasing all safety constraints. Super-Nova Pyon-Pyon Mode." Toki, seemingly unaffected or oblivious to the fact that her deepest secrets had just been televised to the entire student body, leveled all six miniguns at the stunned boss as she pulled the triggers. "Finishing move: Bunny-One Overload."
The six miniguns and back cannons fired simultaneously. A concentrated beam of pure destructive energy tore through the distracted Turn A/X, vaporizing its core and sending the Decagrammaton signal screaming back into the void.
A beam of concentrated white light, fueled by the sheer power of Millennium's engineering and perhaps the intensity of Toki's desires, blasted through the Turn A/X. The boss shattered into a million digital fragments, and the 'Victory' screen flashed across the stadium.
In the cockpit of the Calibarn, Rio was curled into a ball, her hands over her face, steam practically rising from her head.
Yuuka and Noa stood by the consoles. Yuuka's eye was twitching as she looked at Sensei, while Noa was calmly tapping her chin, her digital notebook open. "I see... so that's the kind of 'efficiency' Toki-chan is interested in. I should make sure to record these specifications for future... reference."
Maki and Hare were looking at Toki's unit with pure, unadulterated judgment. "That was... a lot of data," Hare muttered, rubbing her temples.
Eimi, piloting her Raphael Gundam, tilted her head. "I didn't know Sensei was capable of that many positions. Is it a specialized training regimen?"
"Quiet, Eimi!" Himari's voice came through the Aerial Rebuild, sounding uncharacteristically flustered. "As a beautiful genius hacker, I must say... that was a very... robust firewall Toki possesses."
Toki's FreD landed gracefully, the Abi-Eshuh detaching. Her avatar appeared on the screen next to the still-lingering image of her and Rio fighting over Sensei's tie.
"Target neutralized. Sensei, I am ready for the debriefing," Toki said, her expression as stoic and blank as ever. "I believe we have much to discuss regarding my performance."
Sensei looked at the screen, then at the dozens of students now staring at him with a mix of shock, curiosity, and predatory interest. He let out a long, weary sigh.
"Toki," Sensei said, his voice trembling slightly with a mix of embarrassment and authority. "We are definitely having a 'debriefing' after this. And you are going to be in a lot of trouble."
"Understood, Sensei," Toki replied, a tiny, almost imperceptible glint in her eyes. "I will prepare the room." She held up a V-sign.
Sensei sighed; it was going to be a very long week in Kivotos for him. Behind her, Rio finally let out a strangled shriek of embarrassment or a muffled scream of despair that echoed across the entire virtual Hongkong.
"Wait..." Sensei's HUD turned pitch black. "It's not over."
The Final Prophet
The three defeated bosses didn't completely erased. Instead, they melted. Their plastic and code liquefied, swirling together into a towering vortex of white, black, and yellow.
The ground groaned. From the center of the vortex, a new entity rose—a nightmare born from the union of Decagrammaton's prophets and the spirits of the defeated Gundams.
It had the long, serpentine body of Binah, but plated in the heavy, shifting armor of Yesod. Its "head" was a cluster of glowing eyes resembling Hod, and from its back, multiple mechanical arms held the broken weapons of the previous bosses—the High Mega Cannon, the Twin Buster Rifle, and the Shining Finger Sword.
[PROPHET OF THE END: BINAH-YESOD-HOD HYBRID] flashed across everyone's screens.
"That's cheating!" Momoi wailed. "That's a total balance breaker! Where's the patch notes for this?!"
"It's absorbing the stadium's energy," Himari said, her voice uncharacteristically tense. "If we don't destroy it now, it'll crash the entire Millennium server."
The Hybrid roared—a sound of grinding metal—and unleashed a wave of data-corruption that turned the surrounding ruins into a void. Though, it seemed disoriented, wary and doesn't want to attack the enemy gunplas in front of it immediately, perhaps due to the collected 'anomalous data' taken from one particular unit...
"Everyone, gather around me!" Sensei commanded. "To think I'd be using this emergency feature...Now this what I call a Deus Ex Machina!"
""""...?""""
As Sensei inputs something on his concole, a strange glowing cube suddenly appears in front of the Forever Gundam and shifted sideways, its exterior opening to reveal a hidden, high-output reactor. "G-Cube Builder, Activate: Energy Recovery Mode."
The Cube didn't transform into a sleek fighter; instead, it became an anchor of pure power, sharing its energy with every allied unit.
"Oohhh..."
"Engineering, Seminar, Veritas—give me everything you've got!" Sensei cried out.
The sky of Hong Kong lit up with a blinding array of colors.
Utaha's Geymalk and Kotori's Hecate fired a combined barrage of missiles and Gatling fire. Yuuka and Noa's machines coordinated their fire, their beams weaving together into a single, massive lance of light. Chihiro's Gunblaster and Maki's G-Arcane provided long-range cover, while Hare's Bertigo deployed funnels to intercept the enemy's summoned grunt units. And then Eimi unleashed the full power of her Raphael Gundam's pods, the beams carving furrows into the Hybrid's armor alongside Toki's GFreD firing its guns with the same intensity.
"Aris! Yuzu! Momoi! Midori!"
""""GDC... ATTACK!""" the four girls shouted in unison.
The Over. On, the Dolmel, and the twin Gaias became a whirlwind of blades and bullets. Yuzu's funnels distracted the Hybrid's many eyes while Momoi and Midori shredded its lower casing. Aris charged her Railgun to 200%, the barrel glowing white-hot.
"This is the power of our bond!" Aris proclaimed. "SUPER GALAXY HERO BLAST!"
The railgun slug tore through the Hybrid's chest, exposing its core—a pulsing, golden data-sphere.
"Sensei, now!" Rio and Himari shouted, their Gundams holding the beast's arms back with their last remaining strength.
Sensei pushed his controls forward. The Forever Gundam's thrusters roared, the blue armor shedding away as it reached maximum speed. He discarded the Beam Launcher, drawing the twin beam sabers from his backpack.
"This is for the Game Development Club!"
Sensei's Gundam became a streak of blue light, piercing through the center of the Hybrid's core.
For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then, the world turned white.
...
The virtual air inside the "Torrington Base" hangar sim was thick with the scent of simulated ozone and the lingering digital heat of battle. Above, the massive vaulted ceiling of the hangar hummed with the sound of cooling fans. Standing amidst the flickering holographic displays were the victors: the Game Development Club, their smiles wide, and the eclectic coalition of Millennium students who had joined the fray to stop the Decagrammaton-infused final boss.
At the center of the hangar stood the GPB-X78-30 Forever Gundam. Its deep blue armor, a custom departure from the standard Thunderbolt aesthetic, glinted under the spotlights. Sensei exhaled, his hands still trembling slightly on the controls. Beside him, the Game Development Club's machines were powered down but still imposing. Momoi's Black Gaia Gundam and Midori's mirroring red-and-green unit sat in their quadrupedal "mechanical cat" modes, their custom thruster-heavy backpacks hissing steam. Aris's Over. On remained perched atop its sub-flight unit, its railgun still glowing faintly from the final shot, while Yuzu's Dolmel—looking like a terrifying hybrid of a heavy knight and a Tallgeese—loomed in the shadows, its funnel racks empty.
"We... we won?" Momoi asked, clutching her chest.
"The server is safe," Himari said, leaning back in her wheelchair and checking her tablet. "Decagrammaton has retreated. And I've managed to save the replay data. It'll make for an excellent promotional video."
At the center of the terminal stood Sensei, leaning back against a crates-and-barrels prop, catching his virtual breath. The silence of their victory was shattered not by a cheer, but by the sharp, rhythmic clicking of heels on metal plating.
Toki walked over to Sensei, still holding her Beargguy's manual. "Sensei. The Beargguy performed adequately. I would like to request a custom 'Sensei' version for the next battle."
"Uuhhh, Well, that's-"
"Sensei!" Yuuka's voice cut through the relief. Still inside her machine she opens a comm link to Sensei. "Now that the world is saved, you have exactly five minutes to get back to the office before I double your paperwork as a penalty."
"Ah, Yuuka, wait! The GDC was going to order pizza to celebrate—" Sensei started.
"Pizza is not in the budget!" Yuuka insisted, though her face softened just a fraction. "...But I suppose since you saved the school's servers, I can allow a small victory snack. On the condition that Koyuki does NOT get any."
"Ehhhh?! Why just me?!" Koyuki wailed from the hallway.
From the sidelines, Utaha leaned over to Hibiki. "See? This is why I never join these things during work hours. You get volunteered for manual labor."
Hibiki just laughed. "But it was fun, right?"
Rio stood in the shadows of the corner, a small, almost imperceptible smile on her face as she watched the chaos.
Sensei looked at his tired, happy students—the Game Development Club already arguing over who got the MVP, Veritas and Engineering discussing technical upgrades, and Seminar trying (and failing) to keep order.
"Gunpla is freedom," Sensei whispered to himself, quoting a famous line.
"What was that, Sensei?" Midori asked, tilting her head.
"Nothing, Midori. Let's go get that pizza. My treat—don't tell Yuuka."
"I HEARD THAT!" Yuuka screamed. "And do you have any idea—any idea at all—what time it is in the real world?"
Yuuka stepped into the light, her HG 1/144 Hyperion Gundam Unit 1 looming behind her. Even in the virtual space, her presence was intimidating. She didn't wait for an answer, her finger pointing accusatorially at Sensei's nose.
"The paperwork at Schale is piling up so high it's becoming a structural hazard! And yet, here you are, diving into secret servers to play with plastic models! And you!" She spun around, her glare landing on Rio. "Rio, you can't just disappear after the Eridu incident and then reappear in a high-stakes Gunpla simulation like nothing happened! We still have three years of budget discrepancies to discuss!"
Sensei scratched his head, attempting to diffuse the tension. "But it was so much fun, Yuuka! Everyone worked together, the battles were intense, and seeing all these amazing Gunpla in action… it really gets your blood pumping! I've never had so much fun ever since working as a Sensei here in Kivotos..."
"I won't hear any of it!"
Rio remained silent, her avatar tilting its head slightly, the black Calibarn reflecting the hangar's dim lights.
"And the rest of you!" Yuuka continued, her voice reaching a pitch that made even the Engineering Department flinch. "Chihiro, Maki, Hare—you're supposed to be on Veritas duty! Utaha, Hibiki, Kotori—the Engineering Department has three outstanding repair requests! And Eimi, Himari... well, I expected this from Himari, but Eimi, you're supposed to be her restraint!"
Himari, seated in her virtual interface next to an immaculate, pure-white HG 1/144 Gundam Aerial Rebuild, gave a delicate huff. "Now, now, Treasurer. Even a delicate, beautiful genius like myself needs to see the fruition of her tactical brilliance in a 1/144 scale environment. It is simply destiny."
"It's a desertion of duty!" Yuuka screamed.
Sensei sighed, looking at the diverse array of machines gathered in the hangar. There was Noa, standing calmly by her Dag Doll; Koyuki, fidgeting next to her Gundam Kestrel; and Toki, who was currently performing a silent "peace sign" gesture while standing beside Sensei.
The stress of the battle, the hacking by Decagrammaton, and Yuuka's relentless scolding finally pushed Sensei over the edge of exhaustion. He stared at the intricate details of the Gunpla—the way the light hit the barrel of Kotori's Hecate gatling gun, the quadrupedal stance of Hibiki's LaGOWE, and the sheer presence of Utaha's Geymalk.
"Though honestly..." Sensei muttered, his voice trailing off but then suddenly gaining clarity. "I just wish... I just really want to date someone who can appreciate Gunpla like this. Someone who would go into a Gunpla Battle with me without complaining about the budget or the overtime... you know? A partner in life and in plastic." he further added, "Like, not just a play date; dating with the intention to marry someone who can appreciate Gunplas and go into Gunpla Battle with her..."
Momoi broke the silence. "Sensei... did you just confess a fetish?"
"Uhh, eh!? Wait, I—" Sensei's eyes widened. He scrambled for the "Mute" button, but his hand hit a different switch.
The hangar went dead silent.
Yuuka's face turned a shade of crimson that rivaled Rio's Calibarn. Noa's eyes widened, her notebook slipping slightly from her hand.
"Sensei..." Kotama whispered from the shadows, her Gundam Ground Type idling nearby. "Um... Sensei? My broadcast link to the Kivotos City Square monitors... it's still active from the Decagrammaton override."
Sensei froze. "What?"
"And..." Kotama's voice trembled. "The hacking... it's pulling residual data from the cache. It's... oh no."
Then, the Decagrammaton virus, seeking to cause maximum social chaos, began flashing "archived data" that it had reconstructed from the terminal's private memory. A massive holographic screen flickered to life in the sky above the virtual hangar—and, as they would soon find out, across every street-side monitor in Kivotos.
First, it showed the Forever Gundam. Then, it showed Sensei's face. Outside the simulation, across every screen in the city of Kivotos—from the giant monitors in Millennium to the street-side TVs in Trinity and Gehenna—the feed flipped. It broadcasted Sensei's heartfelt confession about wanting a "Gunpla-loving girlfriend" in crystal-clear audio.
And then, the "hidden" files began to leak.
The citizens of Kivotos were suddenly treated to a high-definition montage. There was Toki, in various 'peace-peace' poses in Sensei's office, some far too intimate for a teacher-student relationship. Then, a series of data-logs from Rio's secret apartment—projections of her and Sensei sharing a bed, and some... questionable footage that looked suspiciously like a very complicated "threesome" involving a certain maid and a former president.
"...Oh god, no..."
More footages followed. There was Sensei and Toki in an... uncompromisingly "lewd" set of poses involving a maid outfit and a repair bay. Worse yet, a series of grainy, yet unmistakably intimate videos of a "threesome" involving Sensei, Rio, and Toki began to loop, the result of a corrupted "bond memory" simulation the girls had been testing in secret.
Back in the hangar, the silence was broken only by the sound of Koyuki's hysterical, high-pitched laughter.
"NIHAHAHA! Sensei, you're finished! You're totally cooked!"
Rio looked like she wanted to delete her own consciousness. Toki remained expressionless, though her Beargguy's ears did a 360-degree spin. Yuuka was no longer screaming; she was vibrating with a silent, tectonic fury, her hands clenching, and somehow her Hyperion Gundam responds by readying its machine guns as it began to glow.
...
The following morning, Kivotos was in a state of total anarchy. The "Sensei Scandal" was the only topic of conversation. The General Student Council was under siege by reporters and angry students demanding to know the truth.
Nanagami Rin, the Acting President of the GSC, sat in her office, her face buried in her hands. The blue light of her monitors reflected off her glasses.
"We can't suppress the footage," Rin muttered to Momoka, who was casually eating a bag of chips. "It's everywhere. The only way to fix this is to lean into it. To... 'gamify' the scandal."
Rin stood up, her eyes narrowing with a terrifying administrative resolve. "If Sensei wants a Gunpla-loving partner, we'll give him what he want. We'll turn this disaster into the biggest event in Kivotos history."
Three hours later, an emergency broadcast went out to every student's halo-device.
Nanagami Rin stood behind a podium, her expression as unreadable as a stone wall. Beside her, a massive box sat on the table—a 1/144 scale model of the White Base alongside a Sinanju Stein and a white Neo Zeong.
Ayumu, the GSC secretary, stood to her left, wearing a wry, pained smile that suggested she had already given up on the day. Momoka, sitting in the back with a bag of snacks, was muffled by her own giggling.
"Due to recent... public revelations regarding the interests of the Schale Sensei," Rin began, her voice echoing through the press room, "the General Student Council has decided to host a special, unscheduled event to maintain public order and student morale."
She adjusted her glasses, the light reflecting off them ominously.
"We are announcing the 'Grand Halo Gunpla Festival.' It is an all-Kivotos, open-entry Gunpla Battle tournament. Any student from any academy may participate, provided they have a custom-built machine."
Rin paused, looking directly into the camera.
"The GSC has consulted with the relevant parties. The winner of this tournament will receive a formal, sanctioned, and all-expenses-paid prize."
She cleared her throat. Ayumu looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor.
"The prize is... a full day's date with Sensei. Gunpla shopping included."
A digital poster appeared on the screens, showing Sensei looking confused but handsome in the center.
"This will be a city-wide, massive Gunpla Battle. No schools are barred. The winner of the tournament will receive a prestigious trophy, a lifetime supply of nippers... and the ultimate prize: A full, all-expenses-paid date with Sensei for one entire day."
The reaction was instantaneous.
In the Game Dev Club room, Momoi was already screaming. "MIDORI! WE NEED MORE THRUSTERS! IF WE WIN, WE CAN MAKE SENSEI PLAY GAMES ALL DAY!"
"I'm already painting the Gaia Gundam's claws, Sis!" Midori replied, her eyes burning with a competitive fire usually reserved for boss raids.
Meanwhile Yuzu and Aris are on a practice match, trying to beat each other's scores and comparing their fighting styles in order to improve them.
In the Millennium Engineering Department, Utaha's eyes blazed with a manic fire. "Hibiki! Kotori! We're overhauling the Geymalk and the Hecate! We need more thrusters! More beam blades! That date is ours for the sake of science!"
In the Veritas room, Maki was already painting her G-Arcane in high-visibility orange. "Sorry, Chihiro! I'm not hacking screens today, I'm hacking limbs off MS units!"
Hare chewed her lollipop aggressively, her Bertigo's bits already spinning in a test flight. "I need more coffee. We're going to be up all night tuning the psychic-link system."
Even the Seminar girls were not immune. Noa looked at her Dag Doll, a small, enigmatic smile playing on her lips. "A full day with Sensei... I'll need to bring a very large notebook to record every second. I wonder if Sensei prefers a girl who uses funnels or physical weapons."
Yuuka, meanwhile, was already at the hobby shop, buying every specialized decal and high-grade topcoat in stock. "I'll show them," she hissed, her Hyperion Gundam's machine guns being replaced with even larger, more efficient versions. "I'll win that date, and the first thing we're doing on it is balancing the Schale budget!"
Deep in the shadows of an undisclosed location, Rio stared at her Calibarn. "If the requirement is appreciation of the craft... then I shall demonstrate the ultimate engineering."
Even the other schools were in an uproar.
In Gehenna, Hina was staring at a box of a Sinanju and the Gundam Bael with a look of grim determination. Even the the rest of the Prefect Team are now packing boxes of Gunplas and parts on big bags behind her.
In Trinity, Mika was trying to figure out how to custom-paint cute pink wings on a Wing Gundam Zero EW. Beside her is Nagisa currently building a Qubeley with xvb-xd Farsia's parts, and Seia trying figure out how to customize her Stargazer unit.
In Hyakkiyako, Sales of Gunplas are on the rise. Kikyou is now refining her customized cat-themed Build Strike Gundam, and on one corner Nagusa is inspecting a box of HG Zeta Gundam and HG Gaplant kits.
Back at Schale, Sensei sat at his desk, head in his hands. His Forever Gundam sat on the shelf behind him, innocent and plastic.
"What have I done?" he whispered.
"Pyon-pyon," a voice came from the corner.
He looked up. Toki was there, holding a pair of nippers and a blue-and-yellow Beargguy.
"Sensei," she said, her voice flat but her eyes intense. "I have already optimized my internal cooling systems for the tournament. I look forward to our date."
Sensei groaned and reached for his coffee. It was going to be a long festival.
And as the festival announcement ended, replaced by the normal, mundane broadcasts, the virtual world of Kivotos braced itself for the most hotly contested Gunpla Battle tournament in its history.
The End...?