Hi everybody! The following is a simple one-shot I wrote to make the plot-bunnies shut up and let me write my other stories in peace. Be warned this is supposed to be quite sad, although I've never tried to write something like that before. It is probably placed before the end of X5.

Also: I do not own the universe this story is placed in.

EURASIA

The sky above them was painted a deep purple, resembling a turbulent beast made of fog that slowly withered. Although it was a bit past noon, the sun could hardly reach the ground, causing their surroundings to be bathed in purplish twilight. All around them were the signs of apocalypse. Ruins upon ruins, broken cement, molten metal, clouds of wayward dust. Only few fires remained, since most things burnable had already been consumed.

However, not everything around them was devastated. A part of the great space colony had somehow survived intact, a feat of luck and circumstance. Even a shot from the grand laser cannon Enigma, a collision with a space shuttle filled with explosives and the pass through the earth's purging atmosphere could not entirely erase Eurasia from existence. There they sat, just below the shattered transparent globe than once allowed the colony's inhabitants to gaze at the galaxy while protecting them from the black void of space.

The first one was a girl, no older than nine. Her blond hair and blue dress were unsettled, a bit of dirt here, a stain of blood there, and her cobalt eyes seemed sad, if a bit confused. Her hands on her lap, fingers entwined, she would alternatively look at an object before her and the person beside her.

The second was also a girl, at first glance even younger than the other. She was dressed in black and her hair was just as dark. By stark contrast, her complexion was extremely pale, her doll-like, ideal features seemingly carved on alabaster. But anybody gazing in her eyes could tell that her real age was quite different than what her looks implied. Deep, ageless blue pools, staring compassionately at the first girl sitting next to her.

The silence around them was absolute, oppressive even. No gust of wind could be heard blowing and the fires were too far to be audible. Every rubble that could shift had already done so and no signs of life or movement were noticeable.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it" started the second girl. "I know it must be painful to remember."

The first girl was startled by the voice, but soon settled down. "Not really" she answered sighing. "I want to talk about it to somebody, even if it has to be you."

A knowing smiled graced the other girl's face. "I know. I get that a lot, but I guess it's in the job description."

The first girl turned to fully face her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just..."

"Don't worry. I know it's hard. Start at your own pace..."

- - -

It was afternoon and I was on my way back from school. It had been a pretty normal day, even if Miss Mary had given us a load of homework. Some other kids were saying a stupid reploid should not have become a teacher, but I always thought she was sweet. The next day was a day off, so I had no reason to hurry. Instead, I passed through the central park. I always enjoyed walking through the park and smelling the flowers. I had never walked on Earth before, but it was good to watch it through the main globe. It looked like a big blue ball, floating in space.

Anyway, I can remember seeing something strange in the park. Most reploids I knew would wear normal clothes, but he was different. He was very tall and scary-looking in that black, white and gold armor and his hair was a funny silver-blue. At first I was curious because I had never seen him before. So I stood there staring at him. He quickly noticed me and I almost yelled because he turned too fast. He was wearing weird glasses, but his eyes were a bit sad. He looked at me, then teleported away. I had never seen anybody teleporting from there. My dad had told me they use a special shield to keep bad people out of the colony.

Before long, I decided to return home. I took elevator #35 like every other day and waited it to reach our floor. I never liked elevators much, but fortunately they always put mirrors inside. I would go crazy with boredom otherwise. Just before my floor, the elevator stopped moving. There were twenty or so people inside and they all started talking at the same time. Some of them said some very bad words about the colony's Overseer. Instead of complaining, I decided to wait and soon the elevator started moving again. As the door opened, the lights went out and an explosion was heard. It caused a quake and I had to grab the elevator's bars to keep my balance. The others panicked and rushed out, but I thought they looked silly for adults. I waited until they left, then walked out. I saw many people running around on my way home and many were talking to each other about a team of mavericks that had somehow boarded the colony. I was a bit scared because Mom had always been telling me mavericks are very bad.

As soon as I reached home, mom rushed to me and hugged me. I had never seen her so glad before. She said dad had just left to take care of a problem. My dad was a very important person of the maverick hunters onboard Eurasia, you know. Mom always said it was too dangerous for humans to fight crazed reploids, but dad would say he was as good as any other hunter and he wouldn't let others fight for his sake while staying somewhere safe.

Mom then said that dad told her we had to stay inside no matter what and lock the doors. She tried to sound calm, but I could tell something was wrong. I went to my room and tried to talk with Jenny, but the holophone was dead. Jenny was one of my friends from Earth. Although we had never met for real, we would usually talk for hours.

Just as I was ready to give up, the lights flickered for a moment, then went dark. A good thing we had emergency lights for such a case, because mom had sealed all windows. Not that there would be too much light coming from them. We only had sunlight for an hour or two every day and the windows filtered most of it to protect our eyes.

I was afraid and I went to find mom, but suddenly found myself on the floor. Everything was trembling and a second later I heard more explosions. It felt like what Jenny had told me about traveling by boat. Everything was rocking and I had to crawl to the wall to stand up. I was ready to start crying, but mom came in and hugged me again.

- - -

The blond girl sighed again, absentmindedly passing a hand through her hair. Her eyes were now glued on the object littering the ground. A lifeless human hand, barely visible, protruding from under a large slab of broken masonry.

"I already miss mom and dad" she half stated, half whined, shutting her eyes tightly.

"You will meet them soon" came the soothing answer, the black-clad girl fidgeting with what appeared to be a silver necklace. "You don't have to finish the story if you don't feel like it."

The first girl smiled at her for the first time. "Thank you" she started. "I really want -need- to do that."

- - -

I must have fallen asleep soon after that, because the next thing I can remember is waking up in my bed. My head was hurting a bit, but I stood up anyway. You know how bad it feels to stay in bed when you are fully awake and not tired at all. My room's windows were open and I peeked outside. I was glad to see Earth again, but it seemed to be larger than other times. The color seemed wrong, too. Instead of blue, it was purple.

That was when I heard whispered coming from the living room. I tip-toed to the door and tried to listen. I was glad to hear dad's voice but he sounded sick. He started telling mom about some blown stabilizers and a virus infecting everything. He sounded very worried and talked about a ship called 'Titanic'. I'm sure I have heard that before, perhaps in history class. He said that history is repeating itself.

I decided to walk in, but as soon as I saw dad, I gasped. He moved very fast and put on a robe, but I managed to seen many burn marks and cuts on his hands and body. He tried to smile, too, but I knew he was in pain. He said the explosions were only fireworks and that there was only a slight 'malfunction' in the colony's systems, nothing to worry about.

I chose that moment to look sideways, through another window facing Earth. This time I was sure it looked bigger. I wanted to ask dad about it, but then I saw a speck of light on its now purple surface. Then everything went white and I felt pain.

When I woke up again, I was not in our home anymore. I recognized the place right away, though. Later this year, our class went to visit one of the colony's sheltered areas. We were told that in case of danger everybody was supposed to come there.

I tried to move, but I was hurting all over. I could move my head, though, and I saw many other people were there. Most were sleeping or bandaged and I could smell something that made me scared. I tried to move again and I rose on my knees, though I was too weak to stand up. I tried to find mom or dad, but they were nowhere to be seen. That was when I saw Miss Mary. She insisted I lie down but I stopped listening when I saw that her left arm was gone. She had it bandaged, but I couldn't help crying at the sight. She was surprised at first, but then she hugged me.

"Remember? I'm a reploid" she said. "I can replace a lost arm easily."

I knew that was not all of the truth, though. "But it still hurts a lot, doesn't it?" I responded sobbing.

She said it was alright and then told me how she had found me. She had encountered my parents on the way to the shelter and had offered to help them carry me. But then they were attacked by some bad reploids. My dad fought them off, but the ceiling collapsed and Miss Mary was separated from my parents. She told me they were alive, though, and that they had probably gone to another shelter.

I settled down a bit and she again asked me to lie down and rest. Some time latter, I heard cheers coming from some people. They were saying we were saved and that a shuttle was heading towards the colony to pick us up. One said a mere shuttle would never be enough, but the rest ignored him. Some started laughing, others even started to dance. I also felt relieved that someone would come all the way from Earth to save us. But some minutes later, we heard somebody shouting frantically. He said the shuttle was coming too fast, that it was going to ram us.

The last thing I knew was a cry of pure terror...

- - -

The girl was now fighting back tears, apparently shocked by her own retelling. The other figure hugged her gently and she started crying at her lap, letting out fear and frustration, her tears cleansing the horrid memories.

"That's enough" whispered the raven-haired girl to her ear, soothing her, becalming her. "It's over now"

She soon rose, wiping the last of her tears and smiling again. "Thank you" she repeated, much more lively then before. "Thank you so much."

"Well, then, are you ready to go" asked the pale-faced child.

The other seemed to hesitate, turning again towards the dead body, trapped under Eurasia's innards. "I don't know" she started. "Am I ready?"

"I know it feels... wrong to leave this place. If you want, you may roam around the world, see Earth for yourself. We are in no hurry."

The blond girl shook her head. "No, it's okay" she replied, smiling. She then turned to face the other curiously. "You know, I expected you to be quite different."

The other girl giggled. "Why?" she asked, only half seriously. "I'm dressed in black and I even have one of those" she added, indicating her necklace. The chain featured a miniature silver scythe just below her neck, allowing it to dangle freely. "Let's go" she finished, extending her hand.

The other girl took it...

At long last, a single ray of sunlight managed to pierce the dissipating purple fog. The beam fell on an empty concrete slab but nobody was there to see it. A blond girl, dressed in blue tatters, that rested under the slab was already dead...

And that's the end of this one-shot. I hope I did manage to make it a bit sad. Anybody who reads my other stories, fear not. An update might come soon. Please read and review.