AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. Things have been pretty busy for Kyrus and me the last month and it took a little longer than usual.

That being said, I just want to show my most heartfelt appreciation for you all for the overall reception of Chapter 10. Truth be told, I was nervous about that one, because of all the lore bits I needed to connect and come up with, but for the most part, it seems everyone enjoyed it. I can't overstate my happiness and relief enough at that!

Since you've all been so kind and patient, I made sure that the events in this chapter are extra fun. And yes, I know some might gripe about the way it ends, but trust me-next chapter will make it very clear as to why. So sit back and enjoy!

Ruby was blown away by the seemingly endless attractions that lined the Tokyo city streets. The Gunpla practically dominated local culture as the new craze swept through the population. Booths had been set up along parks for building and displaying models, and both kids and parents were participating enthusiastically. Arcades were suddenly booming with activity as people gathered in lines that often exited establishments, just to have a turn at the new consoles.

Ruby and Nora had decided to take the day to explore, and each was carrying a ginormous Zaku head-shaped cookie as they toured the strip mall next to their hotel. The string of shops lining the hallways seemed never-ending, not to mention that almost each and every one of them was holding a sale of some sort. Ruby was beyond excited, her head buzzing with the drone of chatter and shop sounds echoing in her ears. She had never felt more at home.

"So? Give me the details."

Nora's question pulled Ruby out of her mesmerized state. "Huh?"

"You're redesigning Yang's Gundam, ja? What are you gonna do with it?"

The Norwegian's enthusiasm was clearly visible. She was excited to hear the details of the new Gunpla Ruby had been building for her sister. With Gundam Destiny Scythe finished, she had been pouring her energy into the newly redesigned Burning Gundam Echelon to give Yang the best machine possible. This would mean that the sisters could actually have a proper rematch.

Ruby had been thinking about it since the regional contests. Yang should have beaten her. If it wasn't for her Skygrasper mode on Crimson Strike Noir's backpack gimmick, Yang would have easily had her beat. But simply winning against Yang wasn't good enough for Ruby.

She wanted to prove she was a better fighter.

"Oh…" Ruby replied, chuckling nervously as she took another bite of her massive cookie. "I wath juth habing fun wif it, and-"

"What?" Nora gave her a confused look. "You have too much cookie in your mouth."

Ruby mumbled unintelligibly, shrugging as she pretended to explain the details. She didn't want to spoil too much since she wasn't done yet. Not even Yang knew what she had been working on.

Nora scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I get it. Top secret."

Ruby giggled as she swallowed. "Sorry, Nora. I'm still working on it. Things might change, and I really want to make sure it's done for the tournament tomorrow before I blab too many secrets about it."

"Ooooooo so there is a secret!" Nora's eyes lit up with excitement. "Tell me!"

Ruby frowned and paused for a moment as something caught her ear. Ruby looked over her shoulder to notice a Gunpla Battle arcade booth that had been set up, surrounded by a crowd. Standing in the booth next to the podium at its center was Coco, with Velvet next to her. Across from them was a ginger girl in green overalls, and beside her was an Indian girl in a blue skirt and wearing a beret.

"And now for our next exhibition match, we have the United States Champion Coco Adel and her Operator Velvet Scarlatina, versus the Canadian Nationals runner up, Penny Polendina, and her Operator Ciel Soleil!"

Nora heard it, too. "Hey, isn't Penny that really powerful girl Coco was talking about?"

Ruby turned, a spark in her silver eyes. "Come on! Let's check it out!"

The two managed to slip through the crowd and stood next to a young man in a long black trench coat. Nora didn't recognize him, but Ruby took one look at his face and immediately remembered the fact that he was one of the many people Coco pointed out to her and the others.

He flicked his eyes to the side, a small smile crossing his face. "Ruby Rose," he said, his voice low and reserved. It was barely above a whisper and caused a slight chill to rush down Ruby's spine, like when Jaune had tried his ASMR videos on her.

"Uh...yeah." She shifted awkwardly, trying to desperately remember his name.

His smirk grew with amusement. "Hathaway Novah. US Southwest Champion. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

Nora slipped between them. "Hey there, smooth talker. Ruby's taken, so just back off!"

Hathaway blinked. "Oh? I wasn't asking her on a date."

"Nora!" Ruby pulled her red hood up over her head. Her pale skin was flushed with embarrassment. "I am not taken! I don't even have a boyfriend!"

Nora stood up straight and proud, grabbing Ruby's hand suddenly and holding it as she would Ren's. "Of course you don't! You have me!"

Hathaway chuckled. "And what would your boyfriend say to that?" He gave her a knowing glance. "The boy I saw you with while you pilfered the food at the dinner?"

Nora blinked, panicking as she let go of Ruby's hand. Ruby covered her face, which had become almost as red as her hoodie at this point.

"Not to worry. I have no intention of hitting on Ruby." He gave them a reassuring smile. "It's more her building skills and her intelligent method of winning against her sister Yang Xiao Long that made me want to talk to her."

Nora and Ruby exchanged glances. "Why?" Ruby asked, confused with a hint of annoyance behind it. "Why is it everyone here gives me excited looks or wants to talk to me? What did I do that was so special? I just won the Northwest Regionals; that's not that impressive. I couldn't even go on to the Nationals because Crim was so beat up."

"It's not that you won that impressed so many people. It's how." He looked at her for a long second. Confusion set in even deeper on her face. "You really don't know, do you?"

She shook her head. "No. I didn't do anything spectacular. I got desperate and used a hidden gimmick to beat Yang. That's it."

He nodded, his deep blue eyes locking onto her silver gaze. "Look yourself up tonight on MyTube and see if that answers any questions."

Ruby raised her eyebrows in surprise. Her fight with Yang was really that well-received?

"GUNPLA BATTLE COMBAT MODE, STARTUP!"

Their attention was drawn back to the battle system. Velvet glanced over and waved at Ruby as Coco stood across from Penny. The girl across from the fashionista had a small smattering of freckles and a happy, excited grin on her face. As they set their GP base, she glanced over at Ciel, who nodded at her. The shorter, mocha-skinned girl had a serious look about her as she handed Penny a beautiful white, green, and black Gunpla with a plethora of accessories attached to it.

"Woah…" Nora gasped.

"So…" Hath commented, his eyes locked on the Gunpla, "that's the unit she used in the Canadian Nationals. What a beautiful kitbash."

"It's beyond a kitbash," Ruby notes, eyeing the screen above the fighters. "It has two of Gundam 00 Qan[T]'s shoulder shields, but there are so many modifications and additions to them that you'd almost not recognize them. I see a few pieces of the AGE-2 Magnum from Gundam Build Divers attached to it…"

"With two shoulder shields, that means that it has a GN twin drive system," he said to himself. The smile on Hath's face faded, replaced by a more serious expression. "That complicates matters."

"It's not just that, though." Ruby's eyes drifted to the modified backpack. "She has a Hi-Nu Gundam's fin funnels. Plus the X Rounder sword bits of the AGE-FX. It's just like Coco said-her machine operates using three completely different brainwave control units. Even though the functionality is the same, the control programs should be radically different. A Newtype control device, an X Rounder control unit, and an Innovator control unit…"

"The three programs must have been slaved together." Hathaway narrowed his gaze as he flipped to Coco. "And then there's Heavyarms Gianduja, which has a Zero System. I wonder how it will predict so many bits and funnels."

Nora looked over at Ruby, hopelessly confused. "Wait, so the three Gundams Penny took pieces from can't work together?"

Ruby shook her head. "Four, with the AGE-2 Magnum. And no, they all should have a different way of using their funnels. If she switches from one set, the other sets should stop moving. People have tried to mix sets before but could only do it if they used sets from the same show series, like all Cosmic Era or all Universal Century. I've never seen something this complex."

Coco eyed her own Gundam in its simulated launch bay. She grinned excitedly as the field was chosen.

"FIELD 4: MOUNTAIN. BATTLE START!"

"Coco Adel, Gundam Heavyarms Gianduja, launch!"

"Penny Polendina, Gundam Hi-FX Polendina, let's go!"

The two Gunpla units rocketed forward and exited into a beautiful simulated variation of Mt. Fuji, where Coco immediately landed in the tree canopy. The dark sunglasses-like visor over her Gundam's eyes lit up with crosshairs and targeting systems as she activated her HUD and Zero System.

"Alright, Vel, let's put those photography skills to the test. Be alert." Coco glanced to her right, looking over at her display that the Zero System showed. The future prediction program was working on overdrive to calculate the numerous possible outcomes to this situation.

"Right!" Velvet shouted. Coco sidestepped a green energy beam as it flew past her, backpedaling before the Zero System warned her of another attack to her rear. She ducked as one of the green 00 Qan[T] sword bits flew through the tree line, clear-cutting several large trees as it missed her machine.

Velvet looked around, using the various camera sensors on the Gianduja to try and gain a more accurate view of the battlefield.

Coco boosted backward into the trees as a second beam shot forward, before stopping and raising her left arm to deflect an oncoming blade. One of the AGE-FX funnels flew straight at her, and she batted it away. Alarms went off as two more beams of varying sizes shot from two different angles, forcing her to her knee to duck them, before pushing forward to dodge another blade and beam.

"Tsk, this is going as I expected," Coco said through gritted teeth, pulling back on her orbs to jump as a trio of beams slammed into the dirt and glassed the ground.

Ruby stood in awe as she watched the way Penny moved. She looked at the young woman opposite of Coco; rather than rely on the standard controls, she was effortlessly dancing in her control booth using a Mobile Trace system, moving like a conductor to orchestrate a seemingly endless barrage of attacks from so many directions it was dizzying.

How could she command all the funnels at once like that?

"Coco and Velvet are done if they can't figure this out," Hathaway commented. He stared straight at Penny's side of the screen, watching as the Magnum and FX funnels farted around, occasionally diving into the trees before flying back into the air. He noticed two specific things about them as they flew. The first was each one had a small beam cannon mounted to them. The second, and more important piece, as each one had a sensor unit, essentially turning them into flying cameras. The 00 bits didn't seem to have the same beam cannon but did have the sensor.

Her Hi-Nu fin funnels were still mounted to her back, which he found odd.

Ciel centered her camera feed on the lead Magnum unit, before flipping through several bits to get to one in prime position, hidden in the forest. It dodged on Penny's orders as Coco fired at it, but maintained visual on the Heavyarms Gianduja while it circled it from a distance.

"I recommend the attack pattern Beta Tri-Light," she suggested.

"Confirmed," Penny responded, waving her hands lightly to command two of the 00 sword bits and three FX bits into position.

Velvet scanned across the multiple cameras up, looking for any sign of movement. She blinked as the cameras spun. Coco twirled to the left, dodging another beam, and returning fire with her beam rifle in her right hand.

As the shot rang out, Velvet gasped. "Coco, to the left!"

Coco raised the beam Gatling gun in her left hand and fired, riddling the tree line with energy blasts. One of the bits crashed to the ground, unable to avoid the torrent as the air around it was replaced by plasma bolts.

Coco glanced at the Zero System screen, watching as it calculated the next move. She grinned as the display showed her exactly what she wanted to see. "Gotcha."

She moved her beam rifle to the right three degrees and fired. The yellow beam shot through the trees and collided with a pair of FX bits that flipped vertically and formed a shield in front of her target, the Hi-FX Polendina.

Penny made a cute chuckle as she dashed to the left, avoiding a second shot. The bits protecting her followed suit. "I commend your computations," she complimented, "but unfortunately, I have already factored them into my strategy."

"Strategize this!" Coco clicked on the left orb in her hand and twisted it to the second slot, before confirming her selection. The side skirts of the Heavyarms Gianduja opened up to reveal missiles which fired forward, towards Penny.

The Hi-FX Polendina locked onto the projectiles and fired, but before the beams connected, the missiles exploded into a brilliant, blinding flash of light. Penny flinched, and Ciel turned the cameras of the bits away from the flares.

"Lost visual!" Ciel cried out. The flashbangs slowly dissipated, and both girls began to open their eyes. The Heavyarms Gianduja was gone, a massive smokescreen left in its wake that completely surrounded the area it had once stood.

Penny looked around, attempting to find it. The bits twisted around, hovering about her, circling her. The different kinds of blades pointed outward as they circled the machine, prepared to lash out if needed.

"Switching to sonar." Penny's viewpoint changed to a sonar grid, and her blades encircled her, spinning slowly around her. She deployed four of the six Hi-Nu Gundam fin funnels on her backpack and activated the prism field around her, just as a series of missiles pelted her position. She spun around and boosted to the right, deactivating the green beam shield pyramid surrounding her.

Ciel cycled through the feeds, looking for any trace of the machine. "It's highly probable the Heavyarms will attempt to flank you from the west. Her Zero System is beginning to detect patterns in your attack and compensating."

"Affirmative." Penny sent a few blades into the air, above the tree canopy, to scout for Ciel. She reattached the fin funnels to her backpack and kept her blades close for redeployment.

"They're really good," Nora commented, watching in awe. "It's almost like they can read each other's minds!"

"You're not far off," Hathaway quipped, watching the two machines circle each other in the lull in the action. "Coco's mech has the Zero System in it, a future prediction program. It's showing her many of the possible outcomes of the battle every passing moment-not as robust or complicated as the in-universe version, but still. Penny, though, has many cameras she can deploy, meaning that Coco can't hide. So far, the two are balancing each other."

Ruby looked at him. "But the more Penny fights, the more the Zero System learns about her."

"And the more accurate it's predictions." He glanced at the girl. "Still, a Zero System typically can peg an opponent quickly. The fact Coco's hasn't yet means Penny is toying with it. She knows it's analyzing her moves and is throwing it for a loop by pulling the unexpected. But eventually, it'll pick up on that, and I imagine there are only so many things she can do to stall it."

He glanced back to Coco, who seemed to be realizing the same thing.

"Change of plans, Vel. I want a target lock on the entire area." She turned and boosted towards the base of the mountain, quelling the feeling of frustration in her voice.

"You're going scorched earth?" Velvet was typing in the parameters swiftly as they ascended.

Coco nodded. "I can't get a good read on her without seeing her. Plus, Trees are in the way."

They landed on a small ledge on the side of Mount Fuji, and Coco turned around. She opened up every hatch on the Heavyarms Gianduja. Kneecap mounted missiles taken from the Gundam Leopard, the calf mounted missile pods, the missiles in her shoulders and hip, and the chest-mounted quad Gatling guns all popped open.

The bristling array of weapons that was the Gundam Heavyarms Gianduja prepared itself. Velvet scrambled to finish the targeting vectors, then nodded. "Got it!"

"Try dodging this!" With a roar, Coco unleashed an absolute torrent of beam shots, missiles, and bullets into the forest below. The devastation set the area ablaze, clear-cutting spots in the treeline that gave her small pockets of visual lines of sight. The impacts and explosions riddled the forest, razing much of it in front of them.

And that's when she noticed them.

"Coco, the bits!" Velvet popped a screen up and shot it to her side, where it slid to a stop on Coco's HUD. And that's when Coco saw it, too.

"Sneaky. Cameras on all the sword bits. No wonder she could keep track of us." She smirked, impressed. "Too bad we now have the upper ha-"

Her comment was cut off by alarms. She looked, the hatches to her weapons closing up as she moved out of the way of a titanic green beam shot. The blast borrowed directly into the mountain, cutting a glasses hole through the stone. Both Coco and Velvet blinked, following the shot to its source.

As it subsided, Penny's Gunpla stood, all six of its fin funnels deployed. The Hi-Nu Gundam weapons had combined their beams with the beam rifle the Hi-FX Polendina carried to create a Death Star-like super laser that would have certainly decimated the Heavyarms Gianduja, had she not dodged in time

"Shit," Coco cursed, looking around.

The shot had been a distraction.

The Zero System had calculated this, but there hadn't been any way to avoid it. Penny had them surrounded.

Nearly all of her thirty sword bits now swarmed like Giant angry hornets around Coco and Velvet. The fin funnels and a few FX bits stayed with Penny for defense.

"Velvet, options?"

Velvet looked around, her face drooping a bit. "I….I…"

Her mind was running a million miles a second. How could someone control this many large bits? How did they all work together? How did Penny guess what they were going to do? Did she have a Zero System too? Is it even possible for someone to command such a presence on the battlefield? How can they escape, CAN they escape? Why did-

"Velvet!"

Her name being called snapped her out of her stupor. Velvet glanced around, taking in the scenario.

"Coco, how badly do you want to win this?"

Coco gave her a slight look over the brim of her sunglasses, shooting her girlfriend a devilish look. "Hun, it's just an exhibition match." She turned back and happily focused on Penny's machine. "That being said, I don't like to lose."

She clicked on the left orb and scrolled to the fourth slot there. Velvet typed on her own controls, and a holographic lock locked on the screen. "Limiters off."

Coco selected the fourth slot, her excitement growing. "Purge all non-essential armor pieces."

The chest coverings for the body-mounted quad Gatling guns, the waist-mounted skirt armor, the shoulder pauldrons, and their missiles, and the calf-mounted missile pods all ejected, leaving the Heavyarms Gianduja standing with little in the way of proper armor. Its head looked downwards, before twisting sickeningly up and around like a man being possessed by a demon. Its dark visor glowed an angry red, and a single word flashed across its transparent eye covering.

The gathered crowd began to murmur as Coco dropped her heavy minigun in favor of a beam pistol hidden inside her shield. She held it in her right hand, with her beam rifle in her left.

Hathaway and Ruby both stared, wide-eyed. "Holy shit," Hath muttered. "Is that-"

"EXAM?!" Ruby exclaimed. "Paired with the Zero System?!"

Nora cocked her head, confused. "Wait, I don't get it. Why'd she drop her minigun and like, half her armor? And all her missiles?"

Hathaway paused for a moment. "The Zero System is a future prediction program," he began. "Its purpose is to analyze an opponent's patterns and predict all of the possible outcomes, every second the fight goes on. EXAM is a powerful and deadly berserker mode that boosts the speed, agility, reaction time, and strength of a mobile suit, though sometimes at the expense of its control. It could run completely wild and attempt to overwhelm an opponent with enhanced maneuvers, but essentially do so without any input from the pilot. And the Zero System has been learning Penny's tendencies all fight. I've never thought of combining the two."

Ruby nodded. "EXAM mode is like a more extreme version of Jaune's HADES mode. And by dropping all that weight, she sacrificed defense for mobility. And look, it even unlocked additional thrusters on the back of her calves, hidden inside the legs. Between the enhanced speed and reaction time and the predictions from the Zero System, she could possibly outmaneuver Penny." She glanced at the Heavyarms Gianduja. "But that much processing power will take its toll on Coco's Gunpla. If she doesn't end it soon…"

"What could happen?" Nora was intrigued by this net development and was eager to see how it'd play out. She clenched her fists together in a vain attempt to calm herself.

"Total system failure," Hath replied simply. "She's on borrowed time, now."

Ciel began to panic, repositioning the camera feeds. "Penny, you must finish this now!"

"Affirmative!" Penny waved her hands, posing into an offensive stance. Her sword bits reacted, swirling around her and surrounding Coco.

Coco's smirk grew, and she waited for exactly three seconds. And, right on cue, the Heavyarms dodged almost on its own as the Zero System predicted an incoming stab. It ducked just as a trio of short beam shots rang out, and jumped high into the air as a swarm attack commenced on her position.

She flipped upside down in the air, arms extended in each direction. She fired one of her back thrusters for a short burst, turning to the left slightly while upside down, and fired two shots, one from each weapon. Both beam blasts nailed a bit on either side of her as they came around for another pass, destroying them as she tumbled gracefully through the air.

Her arms shifted a bit, repositioning themselves. Her left arm came and covered her head as she righted herself in midair, deflecting a sword bit. It skittered across her small Gundam Local Type personal shield, and she turned her head and fired her head-mounted Vulcans to catch it as it passed her, nailing a thruster and causing it to explode. Her arms crossed and she fired another two beams, which again caught a pair of bits mid-movement. One exploded, while the other barely missed the beam, though it crossed close enough to melt the camera mounted to it.

Coco moved her arms again, firing ahead of her with her pistol to dissuade another beam attack from coming at her, and then unleashed a burst of bullets from her Gunpla's chest to catch and destroy one more bit before landing in a crouched pose.

Penny stood, surprised as the Heavyarms Gianduja rose. She repositioned seven of her bits in front of her.

Upon seeing this, Coco nodded. She pushed her sunglasses up with one finger. "It's playtime."

Coco rushed in a frantic blitz, firing her beam rifle and pistol as she spun, ducked, and dodged the incoming blasts of the Hi-FX Polendina.

Ciel frantically switched between cameras, looking for any kind of possible opening in the barrage of fire being thrown at the slowly advancing Heavyarms. "Penny, switch to Attack Pattern Delta Pi Gamma-"

"Negative," Penny responded, dancing in her booth to control the motions of the various bits. "I have an alternative plan."

She spread her arms, repositioning the bits around her. Hardlight lines representing the remaining mobile weapons appeared in front of her as she withdrew them, bringing all of them closer to her.

Coco noticed the change in the attack patterns and began a full-frontal assault as Penny withdrew. The FX bits that remained kept flying in front of the incoming beams, blocking them like shields as they stood upright and crossed each other to increase their strength.

Velvet kept a close eye on the movements. Penny had switched to a defensive stance but still pressed Coco with a powerful screen of green beams.

Coco jumped above an incoming blast, dodging a sword bit and kicking it into the ground before flipping and firing again. Her advancement persisted, and she had closed much of the gap between them by the time she landed.

And then, Velvet jerked upright. "Coco! Two of the bits are missing! Watch out!"

The Zero System lit up with a host of new predictions at that moment, causing Coco to pause for a second to take it in. And as she did, a 00 blade bit slid across the ground behind her, attempting to take out her heels. Coco jumped in time to dodge and her pistol fired, destroying the offending blade, but a beam from amongst the trees caught her unaware and burrowed a hole into her beam rifle. She tossed it aside as it exploded, being rocked by the explosion and sent closer to Penny.

She right herself as she got into striking distance, controlling her descent and activating the forearm mounted beam saber that she had used to replace the Heavyarms combat knife. She flipped into a right hook, beam blazing as she swiped at Penny.

The Hi-FX Polendina took a back step and raised its shield, connecting with the chin of the Heavyarms and knocking it backward. She pointed the tip of her shield at Coco and fired a pair of missiles. Coco easily shot them down, then ducked an incoming swipe from a sword bit. She twisted and fired at another one, but it narrowly dodged out of the way. She spun to the left and grabbed the back end of one that tried to stab her, muscling it into one of the fin funnels that attempted to fire at her.

Beads of sweat poured from Coco's face as she moved in conjunction with the predictions. Each motion tired her out a little more, and her arms began to feel the strain of the twists and turns. But she gritted her teeth, taking out one bit after another, swinging or firing at Penny's Gunpla at each opportunity.

Penny smiled and dashed forward, igniting a large, high output green blade that collided with Coco's magenta sword. She was forced to withdraw when Coco opened fire with her four chest miniguns, blocking the armor-piercing rounds with her shield. She swung her arms and, with a flick of the wrist, launched another coordinated assault.

Coco kept twisting, turning, and firing, killing bit by bit as they assaulted her. She planted her leg down and fired her pistol, slashing at another sword bit that got to close and cleaving it in half. She spun on the ball of her foot and slashed again.

She turned one last time, but this time was blindsided. One of the AGE-2 Magnum bits sliced into the right knee of her Gundam, severing her leg at the knee joint. She turned and tried to boost away, attempting to get around another pair of beams, before charging Penny.

Her beam saber swung down as she roared forward, pushing the Heavyarms as hard as it would go. The blade came dangerously close to Penny, but she sidestepped it at the last moment and grabbed Coco's extended right arm with her left hand, dropping her shield in the process. She pulled Coco forward and ignited the green saber that she held in her right hand, impaling Coco's Gundam straight through the face.

Three of her remaining sword bits sealed the Heavyarms Gianduja's fate by embedding themselves into its back. Penny deactivated her saber and released Coco's machine, letting it drop to the ground as her remaining bits came back to her. The Heavyarms Gianduja fell, lifeless, slamming into the grassy rocks at the base of Mount Fuji.

"BATTLE ENDED!"

Coco roared in frustration as realization set in. Penny had managed to dupe the Zero System by getting her in close. With one move, she crippled the Heavyarms by distracting Coco and forcing her to focus on too many attacks at once in close quarters. When she was at a distance, Coco could keep up, but once she got within close quarters striking distance, even the EXAM's reaction speed increase couldn't compensate for the tactical maneuvering Penny displayed.

The holographic displays faded, and Coco wiped the sweat from her brow. She huffed, before walking over to Penny and offering her a hand. "Gotta say, I'm very impressed. Now I see why you made it so far. With moves like that, I'm surprised you're not the Canadian champ"

Penny smiled happily and accepted her hand. "Your skills and prowess are both superb! It was a great pleasure."

Ruby looked at the two with awe. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "That was awesome!" She cried out, raising her hands up happily. Hathaway sidestepped the motion, reflexively backing up to avoid her fist hitting his chin. He chuckled at her enthusiasm, and at Nora's barely contained brimming energy.

"I can't believe we just saw that!" Nora exclaimed.

Coco sighed as they parted, before glancing over at the crowd. She heard familiar voices and gave them a lopsided grin. "Well, if it isn't Red and her crew. Sup?"

Penny and Ciel began to walk down the stairs but turned when Coco began talking. She noticed the two girls and the boy Coco and Velvet had approached, and gasped, rushing over to greet them.

"H-hey!" Ciel tried to get Penny's attention but failed miserably. She gave her a cross look and shifted her beret slightly, before walking over to join them.

"Excuse me," Penny said, interjecting herself into the lighthearted conversation they were having. "Are you Ruby Rose?"

"I-um…." Ruby again was caught off guard, not knowing how to handle the query as Penny encroached on her personal bubble, looking as if she were trying to get a clearer look at the girl.

After a moment, Penny's face lit up with joy. "It IS you! Oh, how I have wanted to make your acquaintance since gaining the invitation to the Doubles Tournament!"

"Heh, more fans," Coco teased.

Ruby turned to Hathaway. "This thing on MyTube...is it really that big of a deal?"

Hath shrugged. "Well, I think her reaction speaks for itself."

Penny grabbed her phone out of her pocket and typed on it, before handing it to Ruby. "Your win in the Regional Championship and the unique way it happened is being likened to examples such as Sekai Kamiki versus Wilfrid Kijima, or Sei Iori and Reiji versus the Third Meijin Kawaguchi."

She showed her an article, and Ruby took the phone to read. Her eyes lit up in surprise. The article was published by one of the more prominent Internet personalities regarding Gunpla Battles and was indeed comparing Ruby's win to some of the larger and more popular battles of the past few years.

"But...it wasn't that impressive," Ruby commented, confused. "And I trashed Crim. I don't know why people think it was that good."

"Doesn't matter what you think," Coco remarked. "It matters what the populace thinks. And the populace has made you famous."

Ruby blushed, smiling at the praise as she turned back to Penny. "Um… Well… thanks, I guess."

"Oh, it is no problem!" Penny replied enthusiastically. "I hope that we might be able to compete against each other soon."

Nora cocked her head to the side. "How do you control so many bits? We were watching and the way you were controlling everything was crazy!"

Penny smiled at her, her eyes dancing with the thought of sharing her secret. "Ah, well, that is-"

"Classified," Ciel interjected. "I don't believe Professor Polendina would appreciate us discussing his research without approval." She withdrew the GP Base from its case. "And speaking of this, I think it's time to return to your father. He will be eager to look over the data collected today."

Penny gave her a sad look but nodded. "Very well." She turned back to the group and bowed slightly. "If you will excuse me, I must be going. My father is a bit of a worrywart, as you say, and will want to talk in length about today." She nodded at Velvet and Coco happily. "Thank you both for the enjoyable battle today. I hope we meet again soon."

"Right back at ya," Coco replied with a wink and a smile, "Next time, I won't lose."

Velvet giggled and hugged Coco's arm. "Take care, you two!"

Penny waved goodbye as she and Ciel took their leave. Ruby waved back; she seemed like a wonderfully nice girl. She hoped she'd get a chance to talk with her again soon.

"So, what are you guys gonna do for the rest of the day?" Coco asked once Penny had turned around.

Hath shrugged at the question, "Not sure. I hadn't thought about it."

"Oooo! I want to get some bubble tea!" Nora blurted out. Ruby yelped in surprise as the Hyperactive girl almost knocked her over, thrusting herself into the middle of the group.

"Heh, alright. I wouldn't mind a friendly chat with the enemy," Coco agreed. "Let's go."

Ruby nodded in agreement but stopped as she felt a pair of eyes on the back of her neck. She turned towards the crowd behind her, which had started to focus on the next battle in the arcade. Everyone else had their eyes turned to the screens, except one young woman who was staring at them with her phone raised like she was recording or taking their picture.

Compared to the others, she stuck out rather prominently. Ruby noticed that her hair was split into two colors, as well-the left half was brown, while the other was pink, and her eyes were the opposite, with her right eye brown and left eye was pink. She wore a mischievous smile, and upon realizing she had been noticed, she retreated into the crowd with a wink.

"Hey, Ruby! You coming?"

Ruby turned to Nora, noticing that she and the others had already started moving. She took one last look at the crowd, but the woman was already gone. "Yeah, coming!"

They headed for a nearby shop, managing to get a table in the sun while they waited for their orders. Coco smiled as Velvet leaned on her shoulder. She glanced over at Hathaway, who seems less open compared to Nora and Ruby.

"Hey, Hath." Hathaway turned to Coco with a neutral expression on his face. "We didn't get much time to chat at the Nationals. I wanted to say that I'm pretty impressed with your ability to kitbash random pieces to make a functional Gunpla. But what made you take that method? Most like having their own machines."

"Indecisiveness," he replied. "I have a hard time choosing what gimmicks I want or machine best suits me." A smirk crossed his face as he leaned back. "And, I like the idea of throwing people off and not letting them know what they might be getting into."

Nora grinned. "Sounds fun! I wonder what you'd bring out if you and I fought!"

Hath shot her a glance. "Time will tell. I usually don't even know what I'll use until I decide to build it. I rarely even make suits to counter opponents. I just make them because I want to make them."

Ruby fiddled with her phone for a moment. "Earlier, you looked like you wanted to get a look at Penny's Gunpla. How come?"

"Kitbashing is an art form, as you know," he replied. "You can't just throw parts together unless you adapt them to work together. Most people see it as structural weakness, and instead, use designs from other suits to influence how their primary suit is modified. Like the 00 Sky from Gundam Build Divers. Or most of your Gunpla."

He stared down at the table, thinking. "The fact that Penny has merged three similar but different brainwave systems together and uses them in conjunction means only one thing: she didn't just kitbash the suit together. She kitbashed the systems."

Coco glanced over her sunglasses at him. "Wait, so you're saying she's using a hybrid system? Is that even allowed?"

"I don't think there is anything against the rules about creating new code to merge different brain wavelength control systems together."

Nora tilted her head to the side. "So, is Penny like, unbeatable?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, remember? She's the runner up in the Canadian Nationals. She lost to Evelyn Damerot."

Coco nodded. "Yup. It was an incredible fight. I was actually hoping I could mimic her movements using EXAM and Zero together." She sighed. "Too bad it didn't work."

Velvet put her hand reassuringly on Coco. "You did great, love."

Hathaway crossed his arms. "Coco, you tried to emulate Evelyn, and Penny managed to corner you. But you were using two different systems to achieve the same result. I think that was the problem."

"What do you mean?" She shot him a confused look.

"I've known Evelyn and her partner Jack for a few years now," he explained, "and one thing I can tell you is this: Evelyn is, in the nicest way possible, chaos incarnate. Her fighting style with her G-Self, the G-Hopper, is so sporadic that even Zero System suits can't predict her movements. There's no logical reasoning for the excess dodges, spins, thrusts, and sudden stops she makes in a fight, and that's intentional. Penny, for all the bits and funnels she has, couldn't discern a pattern, and got overwhelmed by a repeated hit and run attacks, until Evelyn dodged and one of her own blades hit her backpack and disabled her flight. Since they were in space, that essentially was as good as a kill shot."

Nora grinned. "She sounds like someone I'd like to meet."

Velvet perked up, seemingly having a bit of a revelation as the bubble teas were delivered to the table. "That explains how Penny managed to outmaneuver us! The Zero system gave Coco the best courses of action to fight the bits, but they were still essentially program-generated movements Coco followed. Which means…"

Hathaway thought for a moment as he slowly sipped on his. "Huh. So she has a Zero System as well?"

"No way." Coco shook her head. "I would have recognized her moving before she moved. My Zero System would have tried to counter hers, and we would have ended up in a standstill. Something else was going on."

Ruby held her bubble tea, silently listening to the others as they brainstormed. All of this was useful because she knew Penny was a dangerous opponent and one she and Weiss might encounter her in the Doubles Tournament.

How can we beat someone who could out-predict a Zero System? She asked herself. I'll need to watch the fight between her and Evelyn. Maybe that-

She was snapped out of her thought process by her phone ringing. She looked down at it; Yang had texted her. Her eyes got wide as she read the words, panic welling up inside her.

"Sorry guys, I gotta go," she said abruptly, standing up and grabbing her tea.

"Hey, what-Wait!" Nora cried out after her. Hathaway, Coco, and Velvet looked at each other, confused.

Ruby ran all the way back to the hotel she was staying at with the others. She opened the door to Yang's room, where she and Blake were sitting. The air in the room was thick with dread, with Blake folded up on the bed, knees pulled up to her chest. Yang was at her desk, holding a Gunpla.

Ruby approached her sister, trying to see what was in her hand. Was she building something new? If so, why did she look so distant? "Yang?"

Her sister glanced up, her lilac eyes puffy from crying. She opened her hand, revealing a badly damaged Burning Gundam Echelon. The shoulder on the left side had been destroyed, a massive slash was made across the chest. Ruby noticed that her sister had a red welt across her chest in the same spot-a residual effect of assimilation.

The most prominent damage, however, was the part that was replaced. The Gunpla's right arm had been swapped out with an Astray Red Frame arm from the upper arm joint down.

"Ruby..." she said weakly, anger and sadness filling her voice.

"What happened?"

She handed her the damaged Gunpla. "I need your help. I'll tell you everything, but that new Gunpla you're going to give me tomorrow? I need you to change something."

Ruby took a seat next to Yang and looked over the Burning Echelon. "How did this happen?"

"Adam," Blake said from the bed. Ruby looked over at her; her cheeks had tear stains on them. She seemed to tremble from just mentioning the name. "It was Adam."

PENNY POLENDINA

Age: 16

Height: 5'5"

Hometown: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Team: Calculators

Penny is an exceptionally atypical fighter among the competitors in the tournaments. The runner up to the Canadian Nationals, she is an ambitious and powerful fighter, a master musician, and aspiring painter. While these things seem very dissimilar to each other, her fighting style perfectly suits the fluid action of both a conductor of an orchestra and an artist. Many say that she is not so much fighting an opponent as she is conducting their defeat.

Penny is an extremely polite and innocent-seeming individual, carefree and happy go lucky to any who meets her. Her love of Gunpla and the free-flowing movement she uses to control her machine, the Gundam Hi-FX Polendina, are openly demonstrated in her natural grace and refined elegance of movement in the battle simulator.

Socially, however, Penny is a bit awkward, coming off as forward and sometimes a bit overzealous with her desire to interact with others. However, she is very well-meaning, and very considerate of others, and is a loyal friend to those who get close to her.

PENNY'S GUNPLA:

Gundam Hi-FX Polendina

A unique hybrid machine taking design concepts of the Gundam 00 Quanta, Gundam AGE-FX, and Gundam AGE-2 Magnum, and merging them together with the backpack of the Gundam Hi-Nu Gundam, the Gundam Hi-FX Polendina is a masterful and artistically beautiful machine. Painted green, black, and white to reflect her own personal colors, the Hi-FX Polendina combined three completely unique psychic control modules in an unknown way to allow Penny expert and fluid control over the massive number of mobile weapons attached to her Gunpla.

The Hi-FX Polendina features a twin drive system due to using two of the shoulder shields of the 00 Quanta and retains all six of the A, B, and C GN blade bits on both. It also has two of the AGE-2 Magnum's F Funnels mounted on the outside of these shields.

Due to it using the two wing-like extensions of the Hi-Nu backpack, it also has all six fin funnels that machine used. The core of the machine, however, is made up of the Gundam AGE-FX, and as such is covered in 12 of the 14 normal C Funnels mounted across the machine, with two of the smaller backpack funnels moved to attach to the Hi-FX Polendina's calves. All of these C Funnels have been modified to fire small beams, resulting in a lethal combination of ranged and bladed weaponry committed for all range attacks. Every remote weapon has also been modified to have a camera attached to it for Penny or Ciel to get better views of the battlefield, allowing any of the bits to act as scouts.

For standard weaponry, the Hi-FX Polendina uses the large bladed beam saber the Nu Gundam and Hi-Nu Gundam are equipped with, complete with the small beam dagger mounted on the end of it, for close-range combat, though in a pinch any of the 00 Quanta sword bits can double as handheld weapons. Penny carries a modified Hi-Nu Gundam rifle meant to interface with some of the AGE-FX C Funnels to amplify her beam rounds, though she has also developed a super laser type special attack using the Hi-Nu Gundam fin funnels. When the C Funnels and fin funnels are both used, the resulting output is said to rival a fully charged shot from Gundam Double X's Twin Satellite Cannons or Wing Gundam Zero's twin buster rifle.

Of important note is that, due to the processing power needed for each individual mental control system, normally no system can support more than one of the psychic wave weapon sets at a time. Penny controls three: the Celestial Being Innovator control system, the Hi-Nu Gundam's Psycommu system, and the X-Rounder mental control system of the Gundam AGE-FX. How she can control three different sets of weapons simultaneously is unknown.

CIEL SOLEIL

Age: 18

Height: 5'1"

Hometown: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Hair: navy blue

Eyes: blue

A studious and self-assured girl with an interest in military tactics, Ciel is, herself, rather indifferent to the prospect of Gunpla Battle, but does enjoy the analysis of opponents in a fight. She is rather rigid in her personality, choosing to act like a soldier before a teenager, though usually only when around strangers. Penny finds her both warm and endearing one on one and has known Ciel for most of her life, building such a close bond with her that she requested Ciel specifically to be her Operator and partner in both the singles and doubles tournaments.

Ciel typically only opens up to Penny and finds herself awkwardly trying to avoid conversations with anyone except Penny or her father. She often simply uses excuses that are mere variations of "I don't think we have time" to get her and Penny out of chats, which has limited Penny's social interactions somewhat. She does feel a deep sadness for being so uncomfortable, but she also isn't sure how best to get over this issue. However, she does respect Penny's wishes often and has been trying to become more accommodating.

It would appear that Ciel also knows of Professor Polendina's research into the nature of the Battle System, and tends to keep Penny on a tight leash when topics shift towards Penny's unique control of the Gundam Hi-FX Polendina. Whatever the secrets are that she keeps Penny from sharing, however, are anyone's guess.