Part 3: Silent Voices

One week later, Early February...

Paid by Mr. Izumo, the Hana Ban Ban Cafe managed to keep the events a secret. For some reason, what was a massive virus attack on the players became this on the newspaper:

"ARMED MAN SPRAYS GAS INSIDE HOBBY STORE"

All traces of the ELS infestation was deleted from the internet, witnesses paid by Namco Bandai to keep their mouths shut. At the hospital, the victims, who are still unconscious, had been injected with a drug that will prove the "existence" of the chemical. Mr. Park had no choice but to comply, or else he will run out of business. With patch version 2.0 running, everything was back to business in Hana Ban Ban Cafe.

The regional tournament will be this weekend. All players are expected to join teams. Out of Japan's 260 registered teams, only 130 will reach the regionals. And only the top 20 teams will enter the nationals.

Akihabara Imekura Hospital
8:15 am



Rap was confined in room 817. His parents had been watching him for days now. They were fucking depressed about what happened to their son. Of course, they were oblivious to the fact that Rap was molested by a fucking swarm of ELS in-game. All they knew was an armed man came in and sprayed fucking chemicals on the casual arcade-goers. This was nothing but a big, fat shitty fucking lie that bandai wanted the public to believe.

Rap's little sister, who looked nothing like him, was crying at Rap's bedside, holding her comatose brother's hand. She took out a small pink cell phone that Rap gave her last year and placed it in his hand.

Although Rap was fucking unconscious, a tear rolled down his rough cheek. His parents were hoping that some of their son's friends drop by and pay their beloved Rap a visit. When the doctor came in, he delivered the sad news. Rap wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Because he could not eat, a feeding tube had to be inserted through his nose, down to his stomach. His clothes had to be changed regularly, and must be given medications through an intravenous needle every 6 hours or so.

Last week's commotion was old news now to Mr. Uchitemo Izumo, president of the Namco-Bandai games. Because of the extensive damage caused to the around 37 or so players at Hana Ban-Ban Cafe, Izumo paid Park around 5 million yen in order to cover-up for the tragedy. He also paid for the hospitalization of the victims in full. Whether this gesture of generosity is true or merely a facade, remains to be seen.



It is already February. In Akihabara, there are 4 top Gunpla Battle teams formed. These four will fight each other out for supremacy.

They will fight for the chance to represent Akihabara in the All-Japan Gunpla Battle Tournament, or AJGBT, which will be held in November. The competition is fierce. The players, at their top form, as well as their valuable Gunplas.

Or are they?

Namco-Bandai's AJBGT commission has received a fax of these top 4 teams. The employees were ecstatic. By no means is this list final. They have to complete the team before the week ends. Meanwhile, Seilif's desk had been cleared. His card and ID was no longer valid and this meant he can't have access to Bandai's data anymore.

Orange Tanuki Shop:

HAZAMI, Shou(captain)	WING GUNDAM 0
LA CROIX, Lucis	GUNDAM DYNAMES
(empty)	--

Plamodel Unlimited:

ISSEI, Takeshi (captain)	JAGD DOGA GYUNEI
FUKUI, Masataka	ZUDAH
AMANO, Satoshi	GN-X

Little Dragon's Hobbies:

HASHIMOTO, Iizuka(captain)	BLITZ GUNDAM
ISHIKAWA, Kikuchi	DUEL GUNDAM
SUGETSU, Noboro	BUSTER GUNDAM

Hana Ban Ban Cafe

PARK, Hyun Soo(captain)	QUBELEY
HAYASHIBARA, Sam	PERFECT GUNDAM
(empty)	--

Hana Ban Ban Cafe...

Shou alighted from his scooter and stepped inside the rival cafe. He noticed that the shop was back in business. Everything seemed normal again, but he knew that was far from the truth. Last week, he and Lucis discovered that Hana Ban ban's servers were infected by a strange, almost some sort of a living virus that attacked the gamers mentally and physically. Not only that, Gunpla's that were in that particular game suffered damages that mirrored what happened in-game. Shou wanted some answers, and that's why he came to the shop.

He was looking for Hyun Soo, the Qubeley pilot. But before he could see her an arrogant player came in and laughed at Shou's no-grade Wing Gundam. "Some ancient kit you got there, kiddo!" the teenager said with extreme arrogance. Shou paid no attention to that bastard and went straight to the desk. He saw a poster containing the names of the 12 players in for the local tournament this weekend. He sent the committee a text message regarding the change of his selected mobile suit from Wing Gundam 0 to just plain Wing Gundam. When the committee responded, he told them that he wanted to go easy on the other teams.

"Hmmmm... I was just wondering... Oh nothing..." Shou said, changing his mind. He could sense that Hyun Soo seemed to be avoiding the topic. Things like that are bad for the business, after all. Shou will ask her another time, not here where many eyes and ears are around.

He placed the Wing Gundam box on her desk. "I hope you've formed your own team. Because... the local competition's gonna be intense. Just a word of advice, you'd better switch to a new mobile suit. The Qubeley's going to be a sitting duck against other players..." he said, encouraging Hyun Soo to become a better player.

"By the way, I don't see that guy with a Gundam X around here? Did he quit playing Gunpla for good?" he referred to John Evend (Vangran)

Also in Hana Ban Ban Cafe...

The Cafe's high-tech doors opened, and three boys stepped in. They look like they've skipped school today, being in their school uniforms and still carrying their bags with 'em. One of the boys high-fived a friend who was also browsing models in the shop.

HASHIMOTO:
"Swweeeet! This place looks fantastic. Not like our home cafe at all. Look at all those machines! There's gotta be... thirty, naw, forty of them!"

ISHIKAWA:
"Yeah, but the players here look like complete newbies. Just take a look at that guy playing Exia on the screen. Moves like he's in a Guntank lol!"

SUGETSU:
"Wait a minute guys did you hear that? A Gundam X player? Now that should be the opponent we're after..."

Without a doubt, these were the Little Dragon Hobbies' team players. They were looking for a fresh practice game, and Hana Ban Ban was their choice, as they've heard there are a lot of machines in this shop. Their model kits were Blitz, Duel and Buster Gundams from Gundam Seed.

ISHIKAWA:
"Hey Hashimoto, look at that guy. He's got some really neat stuff there."

HASHIMOTO:
"You mean that Wing Gundam? Not as powerful as Gundam X but he will be a handful..."

The boys were referring to Shou Hazami. They went up to him, shook his hand and introduced themselves.

HASHIMOTO:
"Hi, I'm Hashimoto Iizuka, of the Little Dragon Hobbies store. We can't help but notice you have a very good mobile suit there, and we would like to play a friendly game with you, would that be fine?"

Sam was there, listening to these three arrogant outsiders talking trash about the Hana Ban Ban players. One seemed polite, but the other one, who looks like he's second in command, sounded arrogant. Unable to control his shaking anger, Sam bravely stepped forward between Shou and the three.

"I'm Sam Hayashibara, and this guy you're talking to isn't a member of this cafe. But I am, and I am this cafe's player for the tournament. So if you got to talk smack, tell me in the face!" Sam told Kikuchi Ishikawa. He reached for the drawer and took out his repaired Perfect Gundam. Thanks to the heat-resistant paint, it suffered only mimimal damage last time.

"You're on! I'll take any one of you on, and if you insist, I'll go one-on-three. Don't brag your Gundam Seed kits here... I'll go all UC on you!" he challenged. There was something about Sam now. Due to the previous battles he has gotten braver and more confident.

Hana Ban Ban Cafe , Akihabara
Storage Room

A week ago with Kirisagi being fired from Bandai-Namco, he tried to find a job in relation to Gunpla. Mr. Park being generous to him, he was hired at the Hana Ban Ban Cafe and the man did not hesitate because of the incentives.

Inside the Storage Room, he lifts a box filled of 1/144 HG Seed, Seed Destiny, HGUC and HG00. These Gunplas are to be put on the shelves in the shop. As he carries the box outside of the Storage Room, he head downstairs and to the shelves.

"Okay, these things are heavy."

He then stops infront of the Gunpla Section of the shop which he calls, the "Gunpla Library".

"Okay, let's fill in those gaps. Oh, someone bought a Susanowo, i must put one here, Someone bought a Nobell too, i'll put one here..." the man kept talking to himself with joy as he put the stocks in place one by one.

Akihabara Imekura Hospital
10:20 am

After a few weeks Lucis had finally recovered from his trauma from the ELS battle. He was ashamed at himself for yet another weakness, Remembering Rap, Lucis had finally found his way to the hospital after inquiring from about a dozen of hospitals for Rap. He carried some flowers as he wore his casual wear. he went to the front desk and asked for Rap's room.

"Room 817? Thank you." He said politely to the nurse as he walked towards the elevator and stepped inside and pressed the 6th floor button.


Rap...I know we're not exactly friends but...You're still a comrade in arms...

He walked in to the right wing and examined all the room numbers around the hall and finally found the room. He took a deep breath and knocked and opened the door.

No one was around, perhaps whoever was here had gone out to eat for awhile. He walked to the vase on the side table near Rap's bed. He replaced the flowers with the one he bought with him as he looked at Rap.

"Even in sleep, you still have that I'll-kill-you-all aura," He pulled out the repaired and top coated Physallis he put it near the vase. "there...i fixed it, and tried to color it...I tried to imitate your work though. I hope that will do..."

Lucis pulled a wooden chair and pulled it close to Rap's bed and sat on it. He examined Rap as the thoughts of battle reeled in his mind.

If it weren't for you Rap...we would've been...assimilated i guess and in that state but you...sacrificed for us. You redeemed yourself...


"I wonder though...can i get redeemed as well...?" He crossed his legs as he sat on the wooden chair. "I'd want to get rid of my weakness...so this won't happen again...."

Lucis saw a book on the drawer and pulled it out. He started to read it as he stayed there.

Hana Ban Ban Cafe

SUGETSU, being the most peaceful of the three, got in between the players that were heating up. He nonchalantly scratched his head and apologized for ISHIKAWA's rudeness...

SUGETSU: "I'm sorry, but we just want a good game. On behalf of Ishikawa I want to say, I'm sorry for the rudeness we caused.

ISHIKAWA: "Sugetsu?!"

HASHIMOTO: "Ishi... relax. Okay, Mr. Perfect Gundam pilot. We will be back in an hour for the match. We still haven't eaten breakfast, so... see you later then."

The Seed boys left the store. They'll be back in an hour, hoping that Sam and Shou will be ready. But they are also expecting another player, a Gundam X user of some repute.

HASHIMOTO: "The Wing Gundam and Perfect Gundam aren't strong enough to stand up to the three of us. However, if a 00, late UC or another Seed kit joins them it'll be a different story. Or an After War suit... Let's go have some takoyaki boys."

SUGETSU and ISHIKAWA: "Right!"


Namco-Bandai Office: Gunpla Battle Committee.

Inside their game test room, the crew have managed to capture an ELS unit. On its side, a small "TT Hongli" brand was seen. The crew was shocked because TT Hongli is a Chinese company that pirates BanDai models. How on Earth did the Chinese counterfeiters create such a nasty virus, is still unknown.

Programmer I:
"Sir, I think TT-Hongli's got some fake machines out there in the market too. And to think, they released an ELS kit whereas Bandai still has to produce one..."

Programmer A:
"You're right. Let's investigate mainland China. If we see ELS kits on their shelves, then I think we can nail this one."

Programmer S:
"Copy that. We'll send in some staff to China and HongKong to see for ourselves."

Namco-Bandai Office: Gunpla Battle Committee...

Boss Chief has many privegeles of being a Gunpla Meister. He barged inside the room and saw what the programmers found. He looked at the monitor. There says a little label on the ELS, "TT HONGLI" and Boss Chief insantly knew this was a bootleg. The Chief hated these things. Not only are they costing Bandai millions of US Dollars everyday, they are also plaguing the network with their strange effects. This must be stopped.

Thanks to the Turn-X being protected by its nano-skin armor, it got through the battle against the ELS in one piece. Boss Chief had the video of his fight against the ELS taken down from YouTube, because the public might grow aware of the existence of these viruses. Before they claim more victims, Boss Chief vows to destroy TT HONGLI brand once and for all.

Finally Boss Chief learned of the events in Hana Ban Ban cafe. He hopped into this harley-davidson bike and rode off to Akihabara.

Mr. Park saw Seilif arranging some boxes. He approached the boy and observed what he was doing. The poor bloke got fired by Ban Dai, and yet he did not seem to be too bothered with it, nor bitter about it. In fact, Seilif looked like he still loves Gundam from the bottom of his heart.

The customers can speak for Seilif. They rated him a fresh 9/10 for his excellent services, being very approachable, knowledgeable of many model kits including pros and cons, time to build, etc... truly a remarkable employee. Park couldn't see why Ban Dai would fire such a hardworking person.

Before Seilif could notice, Mr. Park left a can of soda for him in case he gets thirsty. Under the can was Seilif's incentive: a free RX-0 Unicorn Gundam Destroy mode.

Shou Hazami kept silent all the time. But he was ready to give the damn thing a go. He figured it would be best to join the mess and team up with the Perfect Gundam against the Gundam Seed trio. However, Shou couldn't help but worry about the mobile suit he's using; this was his decision, this Wing Gundam, but he felt that it was lightly armed despite the buster rifle. Also, John Evend, the guy that he tried to take out weeks ago was somewhat missing. That man with the Gundam X. Seems like a worthy adversary, well, after all he nearly gave the voracious Rap a run for his money.

Akihabara Umerkura Hospital..
"The Arrival of Rap Goblin (II)"

Rap is still unconscuius but there was a tear forming in his eye. If he was only awake then he would appreciate Lucis' kind offer. Just then, an identical man entered the room. He fakking looked identical to Rap.

The man looked similar to Rap except that he has orange hair. He sat beside Rap and laughed. "Hakhakhakhak!" he cackled. "Nii-san wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!" He was about to kick Lucis when he saw the topcoated Physalis on rap's table.

"Heh... fakk it." he said. And he sat down. "My name is Rafael. My brother here, he's my twin, Rafses. He's the best..." said the twin.

"I'm willing to play Gunpla Battle with you as well. As such I would take on my brother's codename. Call me from now on, Rap Goblin. In my brother's name... hakahak."

"Heh... fakk it."

Lucis' eyes had widened when he heard the voice and that exact same phrase. He put down the book to look at rap, but saw that he was still asleep.

"My name is Rafael. My brother here, he's my twin, Rafses. He's the best..."

He turned around saw an exact copy of rap. only this time with orange hair, Lucis went a bit pale as if he saw a ghost, but then heard the twin line, his color went back to his face as he stood up from the chair and faced Rafael.

"It's true...you're brother was good..." He turned his head a bit to look at the comatose Rafses. "He was a comrade in arms...he saved us all...I'm sorry for letting this happen to him, despite being close to him when it happened...." Lucis straightened up as he bowed to Rafael.

"I'm willing to play Gunpla Battle with you as well. As such I would take on my brother's codename. Call me from now on, Rap Goblin. In my brother's name... hakahak."

Lucis' eyes had widened when he heard Rafael say those words.


So it was a codename huh...? Rap Goblin...

He still bowed his head nonetheless and spoke.

"If you still don't know the truth, i suggest you do gunpla battle with us, I'll go take you in our team and ask the team captain about it. after all we still lack one spot...You'll know the truth after..."

"Hakhakhak! Okay, I might take up that offer. Besides, if I win a cash prize in the nationals I will use it to pay for nii-san's hospital bills... hekhek "

Lucis let out a soft smile after what rafael said. He admired him, even though he had the same attitude problem with his brother, he too had the heart to care like his brother.

"And screw some hot nurses in the ass afterwards!"

Lucis' smile disappeared afterwards as he facepalmed. Although he gave out a short laugh.

It's good to have Rap back...atleast even if he's not the real rap...he's still here in some other way... He thought to himself.

He looked at him afterwards marvel at his repaired physallis, he felt shy as he scratched the lower part of his cheeks.

"You play Gundam eh? Whats your mobel suit? Hekhekhek!"

"Well..." he put a hand under his chin as he thought. "My main unit was Destiny, but now I'm practicing with Dynames...Although i'll switch to a Sinanju or Nightingale soon"

He looked at his Gaplant, it was very nicely made.

"I'm sure you can pack a punch with that...And nice choice too. One of my favorite nemesis units..."

He heard, Rafael say he wanted to go to Hana Ban-Ban.

"I'd love to take you there...but how about your brother?" He pointed to Rap I

Hana Ban Ban Cafe...
Storage room...

Sam was kind of disappointed that he had to wait for the other players to come back. So instead of getting sad, he went to the storage room and talked to Seilif...

"Hey, Sir Alfius, how's it going? I'm sorry for what happened, but I guess we can't really speak about the ELS attack to the public. I don't want this shop to be closed down if that happens. I've grown to... love this place. Feels like my second... no, my real home..." Sam said, with manly tears rolling down his face.

After Kirisagi finished stocking up the extra kits in the shelves he was a bit thirsty and decided to get a drink. He notices that the owner of the shop left a can of soda on the side and below it is the HGUC Unicorn Gundam, Destroy Mode with a sticky not in it saying:

"Keep up the Good Work. Here's to give you a boost in motivation."

Kirisagi was surprised and definitely picked up the kit as he drinks the soda.

"Why ain't this one very nice kit! I wish i could thank Mr.Park for this personally but i've got work to do. Were running out of MG Rezel and Unicorn in the shelves. Got to get some stocks at the storage room. I'll do the thanking later" he rushes to his locker just to the side the storage room and notices Sam inside the room. He approaches the boy and he tells what he feels about the shop.

"It's natural to feel this as your own home. You know, every people does that. When they are at a place were they feel satisfied or contented, they call it home. I call this shop my second home too. Hahaha!"

(OOC: 1 hour timeskip once we reach page three. Get your ideas ready... and for MSL... well the stats for the seed gundams are going to be put up soon.)

Play on!

Acruxis wrote:

BGM: X-bone Rap



"I'd love to take you there...but how about your brother?" He pointed to Rap I...

Rap II just smiled at Lucis. He let out a burst of earth-shattering laugher. "AHAHAK HAK HAK HAK!" he smiled. He wasn't sure of what to say, but he blurted out fakkin' words anyway.

"Nii-san is going to be fine. He is as tough as a cockroach. Hakhakhakhakhak!" he giggled with glee. And then Rap placed the Physalis back on his brother's table. "C'mon boy, we have no time to waste. Hop in on my scooter!" he invited Lucis.

Upon reaching the hospital's parking lot, Rap took out his keys. He showed Lucis his ride: a large scooter with a skull design on its front. The skull isn't just an ordinary skull, it's the Crossbone Vanguard insignia. Rap took out a model kit from the side. It's not his Gaplant. It's a scratchbuilt Berga Giros from Gundam F91.



"I'm a member of the Crossbone Vanguard team, in Tokyo. All of us use CV mobile suits in Gunpla battles. Hop on!" Rap jumped into his scooter and revved up the fakkin' engines.

"C'mon boy, we have no time to waste. Hop in on my scooter!"

Lucis had followed Rap down the parking lot, wondering about his attitude, He though that they could just work on good terms, but now he sees that he may even be someone that could have good chemistry with him and Shou. When they had reached the parking lot, Lucis smiled after seeing the insignia of the crossbone vanguard on his scooter, A true fan.


Rap took out a model kit from the side. It's not his Gaplant. It's a scratchbuilt Berga Giros from Gundam F91.

"Wow...that's hard to come by these days...awesome...unit and awesome team you're in, you more than pass the requirements..." Lucis Chuckled.

"Thank you for your criticism sir." Kirisagi then cleaned up the knocked off soda and wiped the floor. He was a little ticked by the behavior of the newcomer but he ignored it.
He put's empty soda can on the trashcan and wonders.

"Noticing something wrong means correcting it for other customers. Dusty boxes? No problem!" After a few minutes of thinking, he picks up a rag of cloth as he wipes slowly but surely through the boxes one by one in the shelves starting from No Grades to High Grades, and into the Master Grades and Perfect Grades. The employee truly has so much time in hands to clean the shelves.