11Title: SD Gundam Force – Zero's Curse
Author: LJ
Summery: Deathscythe puts a curse on his old companion, Zero, removing him of his magic, as well as lessening his physical threat.
Pairings: Bakunetsumaru/Zero, Captain/Guneagle
Rating: PG-13 for swearing and romance
Author's note: HA! Finally figured out what else I wanted to do to Zero to be evil. cough wanted to torment Zero/Baku for a while, finally came up with a semi-conscious plotline. Enjoy! .
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Please don't sue! I'm a poor college Student!
Chapter Three: Johnny Jump-up
Zero stared at Kao Lyn as he performed many different acrobatics in the lab. He looked scared, as did Baku.
"Okay…he's weirder than you, Baku…" Zero said leaning back into Baku as he sat on the table patiently.
"At least he hasn't had his daily pot of coffee yet…then…well he scares all of us after a pot or two of coffee…" Guneagle said sighing. Zero looked at Guneagle staring.
"He gets WORSE?!" Zero pushed himself farther into Baku's middle, causing the Musha to grunt and wrap an arm around him.
"It's okay, Zero. He's not going to hurt you…it's scary, I know, but you won't be harmed." Zero looked at Baku and smiled feeling comforted.
"Thanks…"
"All right then! Let's see what's going on here!" Kao Lyn went over and began to run scans over the small Gundam's body so quickly, it made everyone dizzy.
"Any results?" Guneagle asked trying to keep his eyes off of the dizzying Kao Lyn, as he leaned up against the wall.
"None what so ever! He's completely healthy, oh me oh my! It's just as if he took a dip in the fountain of youth!"
"Huh…?" Zero asked shocked at the words. He looked back at Baku, stern questioning in his young eyes. Baku swallowed and shifted.
"You…didn't tell him?" Captain asked.
"Tell me what?" Zero asked his eyes narrow and full of betrayal. Baku shifted his feet and sighed.
"I don't know how to tell you, Zero…" Baku said swallowing hard. Zero glared and stood up on the table looking Baku in the eyes.
"Then just tell me. I don't like being lied too!" Zero's eyes were watering and Baku's gunsoul stung. He hated that look.
"You…you're actually older than me," he blurted. Zero blinked and raised an eyebrow.
"Huh…?"
"What Bakunetsumaru means to say, Zero," Kao Lyn started putting away his tools. "Is that you actually are not a child. When you arrived in Neotopia, you looked just like this!" Kao Lyn handed the small child an image of a tall, noble and strong looking Knight, crests of Lacroa on each shoulder armor pad. Zero stared at it for a long moment, his hands shaking. He began to winch, as shocks of pain ran through his head.
"No…no I don't remember any of this!" Zero began to cry from frustration. "This isn't me! I'm just a street urchin…" Zero put the picture down and cleared his eyes. Baku frowned and gently tried to pull him into a hug. Zero frowned and pulled away from him.
"Zero…" Baku looked shocked at the little Gundam. Zero glared, tears streaming down his face.
"Stay away from me! How do I know that you haven't lied to me again? How do I know you aren't the ones who took me from Lacroa? I don't even know the princess! How do I know you didn't destroy Lacroa…?" The small Gundam's words stung everyone's heart, but Bakunetsumaru's was wounded the worst.
"I wouldn't lie to you…" he tried to say, only to be rebuked by the small Gundam.
"But you have! You aren't telling me a lot of things. Just take me home! I want to go home!" Zero jumped off the table and ran out of the medical bay shoving past anyone that was in his way.
"Zero!" Captain cried going after the little Gundam. Bakunetsumaru stood there, swallowing hard and hanging his head. Guneagle frowned and watched as streams of tears fell down his face and to the floor.
"Baku…" Guneagle went over and put a hand on his shoulder swallowing. Bakunetsumaru pushed his hand away and leaned up against the table his frame shuddering.
"Damn it…" he whispered. Guneagle frowned but put his hand back on his shoulder giving it a squeeze.
"Hey, he's a kid okay? If I were in his position I'd be suspicious of things too. It's not your fault. Come on let's go find him. I doubt Zero forgot everything okay?" Baku blinked and looked up at Guneagle who smiled.
"What do you mean?" he asked frowning.
"The memories are still there, he just can't reach them. Sort of like when a computer screen dies, but the hard drive still works," Kao Lyn said smiling. "He just can't see them, but they're still there."
"Besides, you're the only one he went to, right?" Baku nodded at Guneagle's words clearing his eyes.
"Yeah…"
"He remembers how you protected him during battles, even though he doesn't know it. Now come on, Captain needs help finding the little brat." Baku watched as Guneagle left turning down the same hallway that Captain Gundam did. Kao Lyn smiled and patted Bakunetsumaru on the head.
"Remember how you were when you first came here? If you love him, don't let him wonder around alone." Baku stared at the strange engineer who simply smiled and turned back to one of his many projects.
"Thanks…" he said before rushing out.
Zero ran through the immense base trying to find a way out. He dodged the other Gundams and humans, not pausing for a moment when they gasped and called after him. Shoving past everyone, Zero started to cry, becoming more and more confused and scared as he tried to find a way out of the maze of hallways. Slowing down as he entered a massive storage room and repair bay for the Gunperries, Zero began to cry even more. Making his way into a Gunperry, Zero curled up behind the boxes of supplies and tried to remember what had happened.
"I just…don't know what to believe." Zero sniffled and looked at his feet, seeing a splotch of soy sauce on the white armor staining it a weird brown. "I want my mom…" he whispered pulling his knees up to his chest. It was the first time in a very long time that he had wished that he knew where his mother and father were, and could be comforted by them.
"Zero…?" Zero stiffened hearing a voice from the door. He tried to match the face to the voice, and figured it was that Captain guy who Baku had spoken with. He stayed quiet, he heard someone else speak with Captain.
"Zero? It's Baku…do you want to talk?" Zero frowned and cleared his eyes slowly standing up and peeking out the door of the Gunperry.
"Why?" he asked looking at Baku who stood in the doorway. Baku moved closer and sat down on a box.
"To apologize for lying, and to try and make you trust me again." Zero blinked and watched as Captain left them alone. Baku cleared his eyes and looked up at the small Gundam sitting on the edge of the Gunperry.
"Why did you lie?" Zero asked watching Baku who looked at his hands.
"I didn't want to, but I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me. I really care about you, Zero. You've been my best friend since the moment I came to Neotopia. I really want to get you back to normal. And have you yell at me for speaking with my mouth full, and make those princess roses appear on my head whenever I do something stupid…" Zero watched carefully, seeing Baku's hand fiddle with nothing. He looked up and saw again the wisps of mana along the red and white musha's form.
"So that's why you have mana surrounding you…? Because we were friends?" Bakunetsumaru looked up and smiled nodding.
"Yeah, I can't see it, or use it, but…you always would try to teach me. Said something about me being compatible or something," Baku muttered shrugging. Zero slipped down out of the Gunperry and went over looking at Baku.
"I forgive you," he said simply. Baku looked down at him and smiled, relief flooding his features. "I don't think you would lie about that…m'sorry I hurt your feelings." Zero carefully hugged Baku, standing on his tiptoes to reach his waist. Baku smiled and lifted him up, hugging the small frame.
"It's okay. I did the same thing when I first came here. I was scared, and I didn't want to believe anyone. You were the one who helped comfort me. Guess I'm just returning the favor." Zero smiled and nuzzled into Baku's neck, something so comforting and familiar about it. Zero vaguely wondered that if he wasn't changed back, if Baku would keep taking care of him, and be like his big brother.
"M'sorry I ran away," Zero whispered relaxing in Bakunetsumaru's grip. Baku smiled and rubbed his head gently.
"Don't worry about it. Hey, you know what you would like?" Zero looked up and blinked smiling.
"What?" he said, an eager tone to his voice. Baku smiled and chuckled.
"How about after we get you into a bath, we go and visit Sayla? She made that cake you had for breakfast, maybe she's making another one today," Baku said with a bright smile. Zero returned it, his blue eyes shining in eagerness.
"Sure!" Baku smiled and laughed warmly, glad to see the youthful vigor and innocence return to the small child's eyes.
"All right, first a bath, then we'll go and see Sayla." Zero jumped up and wrapped his small arms around Baku's neck and hugged him close.
"Okay…"
"It's not cold is it…?" Zero asked looking suspicious at the bathtub. Baku sighed and shook his head.
"No, it's nice and warm. See?" Baku carefully splashed the blue and white Gundam's face with the warm water, seeing his reaction.
"Hey! No fair!" Zero splashed the Musha back grinning. Baku laughed and chuckled.
"Okay that's enough, time to get in." Baku took off Zero's light child armor and helped him into the tub. Zero sulked but relaxed in the warm water, sighing.
"Mmm…warm…" Baku smiled and took off his forearm armor and got a washcloth. Dipping it into the warm water Baku plopped it on top of Zero's head, smiling widely. Zero squeaked and looked up and Baku pouting playfully.
"Stay still, kid," Baku said quietly, gently rubbing his head. Zero chuckled and tilted his head, letting the older Gundam clean out the mess he had made of himself from running around the base and from breakfast.
"Baku…?" Zero asked as he began to clean his back and shoulders. Baku smiled and looked at him.
"Yeah, Zero?" Zero looked back at him and fidgeted slightly in the water.
"If…if I don't go back to the way I was…are…are you still going to look after me? You've been so nice to me, and…well I don't have any parents anyway. I guess what I'm trying to ask is…" Zero looked down at his feet and chewed his lip. Baku blinked and wondered if he could do it, if he could be Zero's guardian if he couldn't be returned to normal.
"I'll look after you. I always will." Zero looked up at Baku and smiled. Baku smiled back and patted his head.
"Thanks, Baku," Zero said feeling much better that he knew the answer. Baku smiled and soaked his head playfully.
"No more worrying about it, okay?" Zero laughed and splashed him nodding.
"Okay." Baku smiled and cleaned the water off of his face before going back to washing the young Gundam. The samurai knew that even though Zero was a child, his love had only changed slightly for him. He would protect him, and care for him. Even if their relationship were different, Baku would never stop loving him.
"Ack! That tickles!" Zero cried as Bakunetsumaru began to clean under his arm. Baku laughed and continued his attack trying to keep from being soaked as Zero splashed him back.
"Okay! Uncle, uncle!" Baku cried holding up his hands. Zero laughed and stopped splashing him smiling.
"I win!" Zero said crossing his arms over his chest. Baku laughed at him and emptied the tub before reaching for a towel.
"Okay, enough of that, we're gonna dry you off and then get this armor nice and clean okay? Then we'll be off to Sayla's." Zero got out of the tub and took the towel offered to him and dried off.
"Deal! I can't wait to meet her. I really liked the cake she made." Zero rubbed his head dry and watched as Baku began to clean his light child armor. Baku smiled and finished polishing his helmet.
"Yeah, me too, even though she's just a kid, she makes great cakes. Huh…" Baku frowned and looked over Zero's helmet.
"What is it?" Zero asked walking over. Baku chuckled and adjusted the straps on the inside.
"Here, now it should fit better." Baku placed the helmet on Zero's try head, and it sat more comfortably on his head.
"Wow, thanks…I didn't realize how uncomfortable it was." Baku smiled and patted his helmet chuckling.
"No problem, I had to learn the hard way how to adjust my helmet. My brothers wouldn't show me, said that I had to learn on my own." Baku chuckled and went to cleaning Zero's forearm armor, carefully getting the rice grains out of the grooves.
"That wasn't nice of them. How many brothers do you have?"
"Seven. I'm the youngest." Zero gaped in amazement.
"Wow…that's a big family!" Baku nodded and chuckled putting Zero's forearm armor on him before moving to the next piece.
"Yeah," Baku said trying to keep the sadness out of his voice as he thought about his family. Zero didn't notice as he helped try to clean his armor. Baku turned away from the thoughts of his family and watched Zero. Laughing slightly, Baku handed him his chest armor.
"Thanks!" Zero said smiling brightly as he put it on carefully. Baku finished cleaning up his charge's armor and helped him put on the ankle cuffs when he was finished.
"There…all set. Now let's go and meet Sayla. Maybe we can get to taste some home made frosting." Zero grinned brightly and jumped down from his seat.
"I'm ready! Let's go let's go let's go!" Zero grabbed Baku's hand and pulled him along grinning widely. Baku laughed and walked with him.
"Relax, okay? We're going." Baku walked along holding Zero's hand so he wouldn't run off again and get lost. Zero was pulling him along eagerly, looking each way for a door to lead outside.
"Uh…where do we go to leave?" he asked after a moment smiling nervously. Baku laughed and patted his head.
"Just follow me, Zero." Baku headed out to the deck of the base, keeping a firm hold on Zero's hand so he wouldn't run around and fall off.
"Wooow…I didn't know we were in the SKY!" Zero said looking around, and easily wiggling out of Bakunetsumaru's firm grip. Zero ran off to the side railing, causing Baku to have heart failure.
"Zero! Be careful!" The Musha rushed after him just as he reached the railing and peeked over the edge. Quickly grabbing a hold of Zero before he started to lean over farther, Baku sighed in relief.
"Awh, I wasn't gonna fall, Baku…" Zero said pouting. Baku laughed uneasily and kept a hold on him.
"Well, I didn't want a gust of wind to come along and blow you over." Zero gave Baku a flat look but backed away from the edge and smiled.
"Okay, so, where do we find Miss Sayla?" Baku smiled and headed to a Gunperry.
"We have to go down to Neotopia."
"Should we tell the others?" Zero asked as he climbed into the Gunperry. Baku shook his head and joined him sitting on the fold down seats and strapping them both in.
"It's okay, I let Captain know already I was going to take you to see Sayla. We're ready for take off," Baku said giving the pilot thumbs up. The pilot returned the thumbs up and started up the engines. Zero smiled and looked around the transport, practically bouncing in his seat.
"So what's she like, Baku?" he asked looking up at his guardian. Baku chuckled and patted his head.
"She's really nice. Well I'll let you see for yourself when we get there." Zero smiled and waited eagerly.
"Hello Bakunetsumaru!" Sayla cried waving from her workstation where she was designing yet another cake. Baku waved back and watched as other mobile citizens went around preparing yet more cake batter for their prodigy baker.
"Hello, Sayla. I hope we're not interrupting anything." Sayla smiled and walked over, smoothing her sundress out.
"Of course not, I love it when you and Shute's other friends come to visit. Oh! Who's your little friend?" Sayla smiled and knelt down to Zero's eyelevel and smiled, offering her hand. "My name is Sayla. I'm pleased to meet you!"
"This is Zero, Sayla. We don't know what happened, but he doesn't remember anything that's happened. I was hoping that if I reminded him of everything that he knew he might remember." Baku shrugged a bit as Zero blushed at Sayla and fidgeted.
"H-hi miss Sayla…" Zero said taking her hand and kissing it gently, having seen that that was what knights did to beautiful ladies. Sayla blushed and patted his head, laughing softly.
"He's still such a proper knight, though. So then," Sayla said standing up. "Would you two like to help me make a cake? I would love to have your help, especially yours Zero." The small Gundam brightened and grinned widely.
"I'd love to! As long as it's okay with Baku." Zero looked up hopefully at the Musha who grinned.
"Sure, although I'm not quite sure what we could do to help," he said rubbing the back of his helmet nervously. Sayla giggled and smiled.
"You can do plenty! Come on!" Sayla quickly grabbed their hands and ushered them to the back room. "Just wash your hands and then you can put on these!" Sayla smiled and produced two aprons and hats for the Gundams. Baku stared at the aprons and mentally groaned. They were flowery, and girly, and entirely NOT becoming of a samurai; but he would wear it if it made Sayla and Zero happy. After washing their hands, Baku and Zero put on their aprons and hats, the former much less enthusiastically than the latter.
"So what do we do first, Sayla?" Zero asked. The young girl smiled and walked over to one of the mixers and smiled.
"How about we start on a chocolate cake? Zero, you can be in charge of mixing, and Baku can help me work on the ingredients." Both Zero and Bakunetsumaru smiled thinking about a fresh chocolate cake, Zero thinking more about the batter.
"All right, so what do we do?" A mobile citizen came over and offered Zero a stool to sit on to watch, which he eagerly thanked him for. Sayla smiled and pulled up a recipe that her mother had give her.
"Well, how about you help me shave the baker's chocolate? And Zero, how about if you sift the flower and sugar."
"Okay!" Zero smiled as Sayla pulled out all the ingredients and bowls. Baku smiled at Zero as Sayla give him a bowl and sifter. The young girl measured out the flower, sugar, salt and baking powder and put it in the sifter.
"Now you just sift that okay? Make sure that you get it all mixed up." Zero smiled and nodded to Sayla, carefully turning the crank while holding the metal sifter. Sayla smiled and handed Bakunetsumaru a chief's knife and unwrapped the dark bar of chocolate.
"So just cut it up then?" Bakunetsumaru asked. Sayla nodded and smiled turning to get some eggs.
"Really fine, like powder if you can do it." Bakunetsumaru nodded and began to cut chunks off the chocolate, catching the eye of Zero.
"That looks really good…" Zero said sifting the ingredients together; tapping the sides of the sifter to make sure he got everything. Baku nodded and cut a small piece off for both of them.
"Yeah, I'm sure Sayla won't mind if we try some. I love chocolate. Here," Baku handed the small Gundam boy his piece and popped his into his mouth. Zero followed suit and chewed. Suddenly, both Gundams' eyes went wide and they made a gagging noise looking for a trashcan. The two scrambled over to a nearby can and spit out their chocolate pieces grabbing paper towels to wipe away the taste.
"Gah! That's bad chocolate! It's bitter!" Zero cried making a face. Baku nodded and spit into the trashcan again and tossed the paper towel in as well.
"Really bad chocolate," Baku said making a face. Sayla giggled coming back up with several eggs and milk.
"Of course it tastes bad, its BAKER'S chocolate. It doesn't have any sugar in it," she said with a smile. The two Gundams smiled nervously and returned to their posts. Sayla chuckled and went over to the mixer and cracked open the eggs.
"So, that's why there's so much sugar in it?" Zero asked finishing his sifting. Sayla nodded and threw out the eggshells.
"Yep. Let's see, now we add in some milk." Zero watched as the girl poured the milk in and gave it back to a helper GM who put in back in the refrigerator. Zero turned back and watched as Baku expertly chopped up the chocolate nearly into powder.
"Wow, yer good at that, Baku." Baku smiled and shrugged.
"I'm a Samurai, I have to be good with swords." Zero continued to watch and smiled. Baku was expertly cutting up the chocolate and filling up a measuring cup.
"That's perfect, Baku!" Sayla said with a bright smile. "I'm thinking we might put walnuts in this cake too. Zero I'll need your help to put in the sugar and flower okay?" Zero turned to her and bobbed his head smiling.
"Okay!" Sayla smiled and turned on the mixer, helping Zero put spoonfuls of the mix into the mixer. Baku went over and smiled wiping his hands on his apron.
"So, Sayla, any chance we'll be able to try some today?" he asked smiling hopefully. The young girl looked up and giggled.
"Of course! We'll have to wait for this cake to cool before we frost it, but my mother baked some cookies earlier that we can have while it cooks."
"Really?! Thanks Miss Sayla!" Zero said smiling brightly, pouring a large amount of flower and sugar into the mix by accident, and covering the trio's faces with the mixture.
"Oh my!" Sayla giggled looking at the two Gundams. "We're covered with flower now!" Zero saw her and blinked, something in his mind flicking to the front.
"You look like a statue, Sayla," Baku said with a smile brushing himself and Zero off. Sayla giggled and nodded blinking slowly as Zero continued to stare at her.
"Zero? Are you all right?" She brushed herself off frowning worriedly at the young Gundam. Zero blinked and nodded slowly, smiling a bit.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. I just remember seeing something like that before." Baku blinked and looked down at him trying not to be as hopeful as before.
"R-really?" Zero nodded and looked up at him, slowly smiling.
"Yeah! That's…that's all I remember is just seeing a statue looking like that before, and that's it, but it's not going away!" Zero beamed excitedly and jumped into Baku's arms. Bakunetsumaru smiled brightly and hugged him close.
"That's wonderful!" he cried. Sayla smiled and nodded in agreement.
"It is! Come on, let's finish up this cake and make the frosting and then have some cookies!" Zero nodded looking back at Sayla smiling brightly. Baku smiled brightly as well, setting Zero back down on the stool, hope restored that Zero could return to normal.
"These are really good, Sayla," Baku said munching on a chocolate chip cookie. Zero agreed happily kicking his feet on the bench outside of Sayla's home and bakery, his face splotched with chocolate. Sayla giggled and drank her milk, a cookie in her other hand.
"Thanks, my mother makes the best chocolate cookies in the world." Sayla smiled and handed Zero a napkin to wipe his face clean.
"Thanks Sayla," Zero said as he cleaned his face.
"You're welcome. So, what should we decorate the cake as?" Sayla asked munching on another cookie. The two Gundams shrugged and continued to munch oblivious to the world outside that time.
"Maybe…we should decorate it with pretty flowers!" Zero said with a smile. "In Lacroa there's always been really pretty flowers all around." Sayla smiled and nodded in agreement.
"How about we make it of Lacroa then? But I'll need your help, okay?" Zero beamed excitedly and nodded.
"I think that's a great idea. Maybe we could make one of Ark too…wait…I have a better idea! How about we make it of all three worlds?! Ark, Lacroa and Neotopia." Sayla beamed at them, her eyes shinning.
"That's wonderful! Then we could give it to the Gundam Force!" The duo smiled and nodded at the young girl.
"YEAH! That's a great idea! It'll be the best cake in the world!" Zero said jumping up on the bench. "And Baku and me and that Captain guy and those guys at the base will love it! It'll be like a big party!" Baku and Sayla laughed, loving the plans that they had spontaneously come up with.
"Yes! And we can invite Mayor Margate too! Shute will love it! We should make it a surprise party too! Only the three of us will know." Baku nodded in agreement smiling.
"Yes! We'll have everyone there! It'll be like there's no war at all!" The two smiled brightly and nodded in agreement putting their hands out, one over the other. Baku smiled and added his hand in as well joy glowing from his eyes.
"M'sleepy, Baku…" Zero said cuddling up against Baku's warm armor. It was nearing sunset, and they were headed towards the base to meet up with a Gunperry to take them up into the aerial base. Baku smiled and held Zero close to his soul stone, cradling him.
"I know. We're almost home. So where do you want to sleep tonight? You can sleep in your room where you were this morning, or if you want I can roll out a sleeping bag and you can sleep in my room." Zero blinked and looked up at Baku cuddling closer, wrapping his arms around his neck.
"Wanna sleep with you. I don't wanna be alone." Baku smiled and held him close.
"Okay. You can sleep in my room." Zero smiled and sighed happily.
"Good. I like you, Baku," Zero said softly, his eyes already slipping closed. Baku blushed and smiled carefully entering the Gunperry.
"I like you too, Zero." Baku smiled and sighed looking out as the sun began to set.
Carefully setting Zero on his bed, Baku rolled out a spare mattress and blankets out on the floor. Getting up, Baku smiled at Zero, who had claimed a tatami pillow as his nighttime cuddle item. Going over and picking up the small child, Bakunetsumaru placed him on the mattress and covered him up with several blankets, knowing that Zero hated being cold while he was an adult.
"Goodnight, Zero. I love you, and I promise that we will find a way to get you back to normal. When you do get back to normal, I don't care what anyone will think, we'll tell them. Sweet dreams, Zero…" Baku gave him a kiss upon the forehead and got up lying down in his bed, turning out his light.
OOooOO
Author's Note: ACK! i forgot to upload this chapter! I need to start focusing on certain stories, thanks for all your support and patience! :D