Gundams Curse

by Violet_09

Chapter 3 - The Aerial

The fire was the first thing she woke up to. 'Did I die at last? Am I in hell for all the people I killed? For betraying Suletta?' Ericht has a lot on her mind at this moment in time, and she feels terrible if she could she would turn her life around and apologize to her sister. But no amount of apologizing would stop those people from being killed, it would be best for Suletta if she never saw Ericht again.

She is a Gundam, a cursed mobile suit deprived of its true purpose. But Ericht is not in hell, she's in a large open desert and what's strange is that there's not a single scratch on her.

More importantly, though where on earth is Suletta? Where's Quiet Zero? Where is she? To answer all her questions she must first get out of the crater that she created when she crashed on this planet. The Gundam lifted herself from the crater.

First things first, a systems check: Permet is still at seven, so maintaining control over her body won't be an issue. The Gund-bits aren't damaged, the main camera is normal and the joints of the Gundam are normal. But how? How is that possible after a crash landing? Either the metal on her body has a heatshield to stop the mobile suit from melting on re-entry, or it's a kind of magic. Ericht was too confused to understand what was going on. So many questions were racing in her head that it was impossible to answer them all. So she decided to enter the data storm to converse with the Coven of Children. Or as Ericht would call them, the Council of Eri's.

The Coven was made by Ericht so that she wouldn't be lonely and bored out of her mind. Sure she had Suletta, but whenever she was away Ericht was alone. So she made eleven copies of herself, each of them controlling a Gund-Bit to assist in battles.

Although they are Ericht, they are also capable of independent thought. "Soooo..." Ericht began awkwardly. "Any idea what the fuck just happened?"

"Language." Eri #2 says.

"Shut up I'm twenty five." Ericht responded.

"Well to answer your question, we have no idea." Eri #8 chimed in. "We assume that the power from the orbital laser caused this but I doubt there's a laser strong enough to pierce through dimensions. As far as we know anyway."

"So in other words?"

"Big Laser did something that shouldn't be possible." Eri #8 crossed her arms. "But there could be other factors at play here, the Calibarn might've done something to cause this, we might've done something, quiet zero must've done something. We are running through several thousand theories just to find the one that might be the most plausible."

"And which one is the best so far?" Ericht asked.

"Magic." Eri #3 added. This one wasn't the brightest in the Coven, but she's fun to hang with when Ericht is bored. However Eri #8 finds her annoying, they're like opposites those two.

"What they meant to say was it seemed like magic due to the fact we're not hurt at all. And number eight is correct about us being in another dimension because the positions of the stars in the night sky are completely different than those on Earth." Eri #7 helped explain.

"So we're in another dimension...well then..." Ericht paused for a moment. "Then let's go exploring!" Her mood swiftly changed to a more cheerful one, the others weren't surprised with this sudden change in mood. "It's like one of those Isekai anime where the protagonist is crazy overpowered."

In her excitement, Ericht began listing things that she wanted to do in this world. For example, she wants to kill the demon king, become queen, save the world, and every other isekai trope. However, she gets interrupted by Eri #2 when she places her finger on Ericht's lips. "About that." She began. "There's one problem, you're a Gundam, you have been since you were eight years old, you even still look like an eight-year-old even though you're twenty-five. So how the hell are you supposed to come off as non-threatening?"

"I agree with Ericht." Eri #4 said

"Yeah number two, it isn't the worst thing in the world. besides we've seen way worse when Suletta and her bride went in our cockpit and had se-" Eri #6 was interrupted.

Ericht shouted and covered her ears. "Shut up! Shut up! I'm only eight!"

"I thought you're twenty-five?" Eri #6 gave Ericht a quizzical look

"She's only eight when it's convenient." Eri #4 answered.

"You're goddamn right!" Ericht pouted angrily.

"Yeah, but they had no idea you were sentient at the time! It's not their fault they're dumb."

"Suletta's my little sister, of course, she's dumb." Ericht continued to pout.

"Girls were getting off topic." Eri #11 called for order. "We still have a lot to discuss, such as the location of Sul-"

"I say we start our isekai adventure!" Eri# 10 says with joy.

"But what about Sulet-"

"I agree, isekai! WooooHoooo!!!" Eri #9 added.

"All in favor of an isekai adventure say aye." Ericht asked the coven.

"Aye!!!" All except Eri #11 voted. It seems that she's the only one in the coven who is concerned for her little sister, after all, she piloted the most dangerous Gundam and no one knows if they're even alive at all. Maybe she'll bring the topic up in the future, maybe not, who knows at this point?

And so, Ericht left the data storm and started her adventure. "Where to go first?" She wondered to herself. She's free to go anywhere she wishes with no restraint. She's free. She is free.

---

Present day

There have been sightings of a mysterious machine lately. It stands eighteen feet tall, yet it's faster than even the fastest Wonderbolts. Ocellus has been keeping an eye on this machine ever since the first sighting a couple of months ago, she has lost sleep and has drank several cups of coffee each day since. The Changeling has been trying to figure out what this thing is and why it's in Equestria, and so far she has collected enough testimonies and evidence to present to Starlight so that she can get funding from the school and maybe get Princess Twilight involved. That's if she's lucky.

But she's tried for months to convince her peers that Aerial is real and not something that she made up. She understands though, it's hard to believe that a giant machine that can fly faster than any Pegasus on Equestria would ever exist. However, she still feels frustrated that she's being looked down upon.

With her documents with her and powered coffee along with three hours of sleep, she took a deep breath and knocked on Headmare Starlight's office door. "Come in." Ocellus opened the door and entered Starlight's office. "Oh. Ocellus." Starlight says with a drained tone in her voice. "Take a seat. Let's hear what nonsense you've came up with this time."

Ocellus takes a seat. "Again, I would like to thank you for taking the time to-"

"Before we begin Ocelus, I want to remind you that this is a school, not a society of conspiracy theorists."

"I understand Ms. Starlight, but I have evidence this time, and you will not believe what I'm about to tell you." Ocellus says with a smile. "You have no idea how happy I was when I finally found evidence! Proof that the Aerial is real!"

"Oh, I'm all ears." Starlight sarcastically tells Ocellus as she mentally prepares for whatever the changeling has to tell her.

Ocellus presents her evidence. Photographs litter the desk, news reports from tabloids, written testimonies from eyewitnesses, all that plus a recording from a camera. "Last time I was here you told me that Aerial isn't real." Ocellus began. "And now I have proof. It is eighteen feet tall, faster than a Wonderbolt, and has more firepower than our military. It's not of this world"

Starlight rolls her eyes. "I see...mind reminding me what this so-called Alien is called."

"They call it the Aerial." Occelus repeated the name once again to Starlight Glimmer.

"Uh-huh."

"She has several names, like Ghost of Vanadis, Avenger of Fólkvangr, and most commonly it is known as both Gundam or Aerial. Sometimes it's just Gundam Aerial, but her true name is Ericht, unfortunately, her last name hasn't been revealed yet."

"Gund what?" Starlight learned a new word. "I'm sorry let me rephrase that, what is a Gundam."

"Ummm. I guess it's a cross between the words gun and freedom. But whatever the name means, Aerial is a Gundam."

"Okay, what does this 'Gundam' look like? I assume you have actual pictures this time and not drawings made by little fillies."

Ocellus pointed to the photos of a giant blue and white bipedal machine floating in the air with its arms crossed. The head shows more menacing features that make the machine look more aggressive with just how expressionless it is. Yet you can tell that the look it gives off makes it look like it has bad intentions.

"I have more photos just like this if you want to see for yourself."

"No no no, I get it. But they look fake." Starlight tells Ocellus.

"Fake?"

"Yeah fake," Starlight repeated. "This thing, this Gundam does not exist. And if it did exist then wouldn't you think the princess of Equestria would know about it? Twilight would've told me by now."

"B-B-But I've spent nearly three months working on this, I lost sleep trying to organize my work."

"Well, you should've used that time to do something more productive with your life Ocellus. Just because your girlfriend has a higher-paying job, doesn't mean you get to slack off. You're the school's scientist, act like one."

"I-I-I just did loads of research, I traveled everywhere to get all this evidence, I'm not lying about any of this. At least watch this recording that a kid gave me." Ocellus turns on the camera and plays the last recording.

---

The shaky camera plays footage of a panicking young griffon hiding in a rundown building full of rubble. He looks severely traumatized from the events that transpired and sounds as if he's been crying for hours. "Is this thing on?" He asks himself before a roar comes from outside, the little griffon hyperventilates and runs with the camera.

Next, the camera cuts to a different location where the griffon still looks visibly shaken. This time he's in a building that's been decimated yet it's a good hiding place since most of it now is just rubble. "Okay, okay. Here we go." he takes deep breaths to calm himself down, he now keeps his voice only to a whisper. "M-M-My name is Loft...A-A-And I need the world to know what's happening here." Loft shudders with dread. "Two weeks ago there was a dragon attack in Griffonstone. two, maybe three dragons just...They just decided to take our homes, our land for no reason, I just don't understand why..." Loft takes a long pause to gather his thoughts while on the verge of tears again. "Th-they destroyed everything, they came like they owned the place. They didn't even care who they killed, they killed everyone...everyone...every...one." Loft's voice quivers. "Mom...dad, big sis. I don't know where they are, I don't know If I will ever see them again. I'm not sure if they're alive."

A rumble can be heard, the ground shakes and the young griffon freezes in place until the rumbling stops. Then he continued talking to the camera. "I-I-I don't know if the Princess is blatantly ignoring this, or if no one knows yet...But if I don't make it, if anyone finds this, send it to Princess Twilight immediately. Please, for all that is good in the world please help us."

Suddenly the ceiling of the run-down building shifts and twists until it's removed and thrown out of the way. The camera turns to face the open ceiling, three fire-breathing dragons that are roughly twenty feet tall stand before the small child. Like a monster playing with its prey one of them smiles with ill intent. "Would ya look at that boys, fresh meat."

The camera cuts to the young griffon flying through the ruined streets because his life depends on how fast he flies away. Unfortunately, the dragons are so much bigger than him, they quickly grab Loft and snarl. It opened its gaping maw full of teeth but suddenly something blasted the dragon's head off like it was a balloon. The towering lizard collapsed, letting Loft go in the process. Surprised with this turn of events he pointed the camera toward the direction of the shot and there. That's where Aerial was.

She flew around the area of Griffonstone like a majestic bird soaring like there's no tomorrow. Loft was shocked, he'd never seen a machine fly before. "Grrr, what is that thing?" The dragon asked his comrade

"I don't know, but it must be taken care of!" Said the other dragon.

"I'll stop it!" The dragon fired multiple fireballs but the Aerial dodged them all. "That fast?!" Suddenly a beam fired at the dragon, blasting its left arm right off. "Gah!" He yelped in pain. "Bastard! Die!!" In response, he breathed fire in desperation but it was no help, the Aerial came zooming at the dragon with such precision it was almost god-like, it cut the dragon's left eye and leg right off like they were made of clay. The dragon now feels fear, he breathes in and out rapidly trying to catch a glimpse of this metal beast but its speed can rival that of the Rainbow Dash. Then the Aerial dived right in front of him with her shield piercing into his chest. "AAAAHHH!!! NO NO NO PLEASE OH GOD NO!!!" The beam sabre activates and Aerial gently uses it to stab the dragon while he screams in absolute horror.

The last dragon saw what Aerial did, in its weakness it desperately went in for a surprise attack. The dragon clawed at the metal frame of Gundam Aerial. It was for naught, he barely made a scratch on the paint and the metal shattered the dragon's claws. Aerial did not flinch but reacted in kind, she activated her beam sabre and swiftly turned around and beheaded the dragon. The air shook as the Aerial did that and when she stored the handle on her back the dragon's head slipped off its neck. Her shield disassembles itself and different parts click onto different sections of Aerials body like magnets.

Meanwhile, this was all caught on camera by Loft, he witnessed the whole thing. He doesn't know how to feel, scared, terrified even. Yet he's happy because his homeland is liberated from these dragons. "Hey." Spoke the voice of a little girl. Loft turned the camera to spot a specter of a red-headed girl wearing a space suit floating right in front of him. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" She seemed concerned for the griffons' health

Loft is at a loss for words. "It's okay kiddo. You were in an active warzone, I understand how traumatizing it must be for a boy like you at such a young age." The girl says to Loft. "Do you have a name?" No response. "My name is Ericht, but my friends call me Eri. But my enemies call me Gundam Aerial...sorry that sounded cringe." Ericht chuckled a little to herself. The machine kneeled in front of Loft and opened the palm of its hand. "Come, let's find the others, they must be worried sick for you.

---

Once the video ends Ocellus smiles, believing that her new evidence of the Aerial might prove to her superior that she works hard at the school of friendship. That her research might mean something to Equestrian society and that she made her friends, her superior and her girlfriend proud. "Pack up your things, you're fired." Starlight says with no expression.

"W-What?" Ocellus whimpered. "B-But the evidence, my research. I thought you'd-"

"Thought I'd what? Believe the nonsense that you presented to me? Well too bad, I did not believe a word that came out of your mouth." Starlight said with venom. "I'll admit the CGI is getting better, but this is the third time you've tried to convince me that this thing is real!"

"But the video, Griffonstone is still destroyed how do you explain that?"

"Earthquake," Starlight answered with no hesitation. "It was in the newspaper, there was no dragon attack. Why would dragons attack after we made peace with them?" Starlight raised her brow.

"What? Th-That doesn't make any sense I was there I saw the footprints and dragon fire, the locals even told me that three dragons attacked."

"Maybe they were too traumatized to tell you what happened to Griffonstone, maybe the earthquake reached the dragon lands and they went to Griffonstone to help. Not everything is about conflict."

"But that doesn't make sense. Let me gather some more evidence, g-g-give me another chance!"

"That was your last chance and you blew it. You should've done what I said and just keep your head down." Starlight pushes Ocellus out of her office with all her research causing the changeling to trip. "And don't come back." She slams the door with frustration. Then Starlight opened the door slightly just to say. "And happy birthday." Ocellus doesn't understand Starlight's need to say that. Was it just to humiliate her even more? Or was it out of pity?

Ocellus quickly gathered all the paper scattered on the floor. She feels angry at herself and yet tears drip from her insect-like eyes. 'stupid, stupid, stupid.' Ocelllus scolds herself. She has no job now, plus no one believes her despite the evidence. She hates being labeled as a crackpot, but at least she still has someone to love her for who she is one question remains. 'What am I gonna tell Smolder?'

Author's Note:

Hey guys, gals and non-binary pals. This chapter took a bit longer than expected, I was hoping that each chapter would be released within a week of each other but I failed at that, sorry.

First thing I made Eri have a sense of childlike wonder due to loss childhood. I want to make her funny outside of combat, but also make her violent and scary in battles like she was in the series. Eri is basically gonna be a gremlin.

Anyway lets get a couple of things out of the way, Starlight. I made her quite a bit out of character in this, that was on purpose for this chapter. Same with Ocellus being a conspiracy theorist, but she isn't she's desperately trying to prove that mobile suits exist but no one believes her. Starlight only thinks that her former student has become a nut case because she's hyper fixated on Aerial.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter thoughts and feedback are always appreciated.

Comments

[Status L]

So Suletta is going to reveal herself during the SSC I hope that this results in Ocellus getting her job back.
Also has she shown this to Twilight jet?

[Violet_09]

11775114
The princess is very busy all the time.

[Violet_09]

11775114
Sorry but I forgot to ask

what does SSC mean?

[Status L]

11775902
Summer Sun Celebration it's not a common abbreviation.

[Violet_09]

11775907
Ah, thank you for explaining. Sorry for the late reply.