The ficlet takes places after the last episode (or is it?) of War Planets, after Planet Reptizar is gets munched. Zuma is currently residing on her home world of Planet Sand during this story, so she won't be making any appearances. Sorry, Zuma!
Other than that, enjoy…
Graveheart and Jade sat together in the stony dining room of Planet Rock's palace. The dining room, like all the other rooms in the palace, was carved from stone and decorated minimally, with one or two wall tapestries, a large fireplace, and, of course, the large stone table to eat at.
With the Beast Planet temporarily out of their hair, this was the perfect opportunity to spend some time together, relax, and talk about something other than how to escape the Beast Planet's wrath. But, as Graveheart knew all too well, holding a conversation with Jade without drifting to the topic of battle and strategies was as impossible as dining with Femur and not hearing at least one sexually crude joke.
"So," Jade continued, "It would only be logical to choose you. You're th' best for the job, Graveheart, an' doan' tell me otherwise. I know you would be th' perfect man to be Commander of th' Rock Army." Jade had been waiting some time to propose the idea to make Graveheart the Commander of her army, under herself. It was just that Graveheart was so damned righteous and humble, it made it nearly impossible for her to offer the position to him. Jade sat perfectly still, afraid the prospect of any slight movement might spook him out of accepting.
"Commander?" Graveheart repeated. "I don't know Jade…" Jade could see from his expression gazing into the fireplace that his mind was once again trailing down the beaten path of guilt and self-doubt.
She let out a groan of exasperation and let out irritably, "Oh, doan' tell me your still livin' in guilt over what happened on Planet Fire! I though' you got over it before th' Battle of Remoora. Now, pull your head outta your ass, an' say you'll take th' job!"
"But…I'm just a miner," Graveheart said smartly, but after seeing Jade's irritated expression of apprehension, quickly changed the subject. "Good lichen, eh?" Graveheart added , poking at his meal with a fork, "Sooo, anything else new? Heard Pyrus was holding a special ceremony of some sort on the battle moons with his people."
"Yeah" Jade affirmed, lead backward heavily into her chair. She was finding the royal armor most uncomfortable. "Bit of a mournin' ceremony. To honor th' loss of Planet Fire, tha' crotchety old buzzard of a Vizier, an' his father." A flicker of an expression Graveheart couldn't read crossed Jade's face on the word 'father'. "You goin' to attend?"
"Of course," Graveheart replied with conviction, "What comrade, what friend, would I be if I didn't?" The all too familiar expression of remorse flooded Graveheart's face again, and Jade agitatedly banged her fist on the table (to snap Graveheart out of another one of his 'damned guilt trips') so hard, it made Graveheart's plate jump.
Dining with Jade was dangerous.
"What I don't get," Femur said aloud, though no one was paying any particular attention, "Is why they would make such a big event for something that's so…unhappy. On Bone, we see no reason to celebrate sad stuff, ya know?"
Tha's why Pyrus invited you, clown, to lighten th' atmosphere." Jade muttered from behind him.
Femur shrugged Jade off. The babe was usually in a fowl mood anyway. Femur was, however, grateful that his brother Sternum had not appeared, and had chosen to stay secluded on Bone for a while. Which was perfectly fine by Femur. Sternum, the lout, was so damn good looking and so damn charming, that no one ever what saw a pack of poison he was on the inside. The minute that Sternum set foot on Bone, practically half the people in powerful positions under Femur went into hiding, or so he had been told by Pelvis (Hey, the little weasel had to be good for something other than assassination plots, Femur mused). Femur liked power he held because of the babes and high living, Sternum liked power because of the cruel satisfaction it gave him having absolute control over the lives of every citizen. From what he had heard, Jewlia (who was also not attending, courtesy of Jade) was a lot like Sternum, only with boobs and kinkier.
Femur's selfish thought process was interrupted by the arrival of one of his favorite antagonizing subjects: Graveheart. He wore a solemn face, as usual, and carried himself respectfully to joining the others. Unable to resist breaking apart such a serious entrance, Femur called jovially, "Hey, Graveheart! You coming to gawk too?"
Graveheart gave a smile and sat to join the other members of the Alliance. There was a large, open area for the audience (which were mostly the people of Fire), all of whom were standing, surrounded by large bonfires burning abnormally bright. The large, stone podium on which Pyrus would be leading the ceremony was where they were seated, and held a blazing, enormous fire behind them, making Graveheart and the others quite uncomfortable ("Glad I wore anti-perspirant! Ha!" cackled Femur). King Cryos, Zera, and Jade, in her heavy royal armor, seemed to be wilting on the spot. Pyrus entered the stage, looking almost as uncomfortable as Zera, Cryos, and Jade. Femur flashed him a completely unserious thumbs-up, and Pyrus grinned appreciatively. A gong was rung, and the ceremonies started with Pyrus giving a stuffy speech (which had obviously not been written by the fiery young ruler) as duplications of his face played on each of the fires surrounding the audience, so that everyone could see. After which followed several rituals of Fire, a display of arms in honor of soldiers lost, some mournful Fire songs, and finally a wrap-up speech by Pyrus. By the time the ceremony was over, Cryos, Jade, and Zera looked as though they needed to be mopped up, and even Femur was looking a little deflated from the enormous, roaring main stage fire that had been blazing behind them for the past two hours. Tekla, however, seemed totally unaffected by both the heat and the stiffness of the ceremony, and was aiding Jade (as much as Jade's pride would allow) in walking out of the ceremony's area.
"For crying out loud, this was too much," Femur muttered, watching Cryos closely in case he needed to be propped up while walking, "When I die and you guys throw me a mourning ceremony, which I know you will, make sure there are only two things: a canoli in every mouth, and a dancing girl in every lap. That's how I want you guys to remember me."
Cyros and Jade looked like they were about to say something smart, when the group noticed Pyrus ducking quickly into his throne room. Questioning looks went around (although Zera and Tekla seemed to instantly understand what Pyrus was doing and feeling), and Graveheart turned to the group and said, "You guys go ahead, I'm going to have a word with Pyrus."
"Are you sure?" Tekla asked, concerned that Pyrus may want to be left alone.
"Yeah," Graveheart answered, and headed into the room as the rest of his friends and comrades walked on.
Pyrus was standing over his favorite lava fountain, the one where he had planted the last remnant of his planet into, and seemed to be gazing into it, lost in thought. Gravheart's footsteps made himself known, and Pyrus looked up startled at him, as though he had been caught stealing from the piggy bank.
Graveheart smiled and asked, "Are you alright? That was some ceremony."
"I'm fine. The ceremony was pretty good, I guess," Pyrus responded, though it sounded only half-hearted.
"You guess? You don't sound all right. Is something bothering you? Something you want to talk about?"
Pyrus hesitated, but answered, "I never…thought I would have to be doing this. My mother, my father, my Vizier, some of my friends and soldiers, and my planet. All of them are gone. The ceremony that was supposed to honor them felt completely superficial. And when I was up there, I felt as though none of it were real." Pyrus seemed to be fighting tears away desperately. Graveheart pretended to take a quick look at one of the other fire fountains to give Pyrus a quick chance to wipe his eyes. "I lost almost everything, and today, when I went to mourn them, I felt hollow. Hollow. Like none of it was happening…" Pyrus seemed to stumble to find words to express his grief. "What more do I need to lose? None of it feels real…" Pyrus failed to hold in his tears any longer. "My father would have been stronger…he wouldn't have cried. Vizier told me lots of stories about my dad. Vizier wouldn't have cried either. I think him and my dad were even closer than the Vizier is…was…with me. Vizier told me how great a fire-skimmer he was (he always rode the biggest lava swells), all the battles and duels he fought, how he died nobly, some five years ago, when he led the aerial squad against invaders. He was trying to distract fire while his men moved out of range from the invading fleet on the ground, but…but…now him and the Vizier are gone!" Pyrus went into tears again.
Graveheart had felt as though someone had dropped him in ice water as the memories of his past collided with Pyrus' account of his father's death. He had been on Planet Fire five years ago. He had been one of the ground troops. He had been awarded with a medal by "making a heroic and brave act in the face of danger" by taking out a large portion of Fire's Aerial Army just be himself. Everything…matched…it couldn't be just coincidence that Pyrus' father happened to die in the same battle that he himself had killed so many of Fire's Aerial Fleet in, could it?
Graveheart heard Pyrus' sniffles die down, and he choked out as comfortingly as he could, "I think what you said now shows more love in the ones you lost, than all the ceremonies that happened today. I was never one to be able to come up with moving sayings that could help people through times, but for what it is worth, I'm here for you, whenever you need me."
Pyrus looked as though he wanted to give Graveheart a bear-hug, but settled instead to smile and say, "Thank you, Graveheart. For listening. And being here. That means more to me than any ceremony or wise words could. Thank you."
Graveheart patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, and left Pyrus to be alone for a while. He headed down the hall, to who knew where, shakily. Had he killed his friend's father? First Mica, then this. He still remembered getting a metal for his 'heroic act'. Graveheart never felt as though he had done something heroic, he had just lost it, that's all. He promised Mica he would be safe, it was his first time after all, and Graveheart himself had remembered how nervous he had been on his first mission (and how embarrassed he had been when he came out "wearing nothing but a salute"). But…he couldn't protect Mica, and when Mica slipped through his hands, Graveheart could never, ever forget his face. And then he snapped. He grabbed the biggest gun he could find, and while Jade was on the ground, in and out of consciousness, he fired at ever ship he could find. Graveheart still couldn't remember the events, he could only the remember the rage he had felt towards the planet who had taken away the one he promised, promised, to keep safe.
And now…Pyrus' father was dead, and he was responsible. Pyrus had lost so much, had been forced to rule the empire of Fire since he was a child, and he never had his father there to share his burden. Because I snapped, Graveheart thought coldly.
What would he say to Pyrus? What could he say?
"GRAVEHEART! What are you doin' wandrin' roun' here?" Jade called from the other end of the hall, and beckoned him over with her hand. She told him about how the next thing she would do, as queen, was to destroy that damned royal armor (and how Femur had crudely suggested that it was a great idea that she take the liberty of walking around nude), but stopped when she noticed Graveheart wasn't acting like his normal self. She looked at him with raised eyebrows and remarked, "You look like you ought to be livin' on Planet Jelly!"
Graveheart entered a lounge room, which Jade had been residing in, and sank heavily in a chair.
"Oh, this is serious!" Jade joked.
"I just talked to Pyrus and—l"
"Is he gunna be okay?"
"Yeah, but he told me about how his father died," Graveheart continued, paying no attention to Jade's uneasy expression. "Do you remember when we went to Planet Fire?"
Jade's uneasy expression increased. Graveheart never raised the subject of what happened on Planet Fire when he was still in the military. "Yes…" she answered slowly, carefully.
Graveheart explained to her all the coincidences of the death of Pyrus' father matching the time he had went into a rage, and told her that he was convinced that he was responsible for Pyrus' father's death. When he had finished, he simply looked at the floor, silent, his face full of shame and regret.
Jade grabbed Graveheart roughly by the shoulders, looked dead into his eyes, and spoke clearly, "Graveheart, doan' do this to yourself. Not again. I may have been in and out of consciousness while you were shootin' at th' Aerial Fleet, but I know an Imperial Jet from a regular one. There was no Imperial ship." Seeing Graveheart's doubt, she added, "Do you remember seein' one?
"I don't remember much of anything, except Mica's face, and how enraged I was."
"Then that settles it," Jade said briskly, "Graveheart, I can' stand seein' you beat yourself up over and over again. I know, I know, what I saw, and you did not kill Pyrus's father. It was nothin' more than a bad coincidence. You're a strong man, you're a good man. Betta' than anybody else I know. Are you goin' to let what happened on Fire haunt you foreva'? Wonderin' an' doubtin', like some silly ol' woman?" She stared deep into his eyes, as if glaring him into agreeing. "Graveheart…"
Graveheart, though he doubted himself, believed Jade. Breaking eye contact, he nodded in agreement. He felt like an idiot. Jade was right, this was silly. He…he had to move on. Living like this, wallowing in guilt and self-doubt, wasn't really living. Graveheart looked back up into Jade's eyes. Jade, having decided now was a good a moment as any, planted a firm kiss on Graveheart's lips and winked, "You're forgiven."
Jade walked Graveheart out of the room, and pointed him to the Battle Moon's Control Center. "Tekkla is still there…meddlin' with already perfect equipment, I s'pose." She paused until Graveheart was about to turn the corner leading to the Control Center and added swiftly, "By th' way, you'll be takin' my offer to make you Commander, won' you?"
Graveheart gave a half-hearted expression of mock scandalous outrage and called, "I don't think it would work out. You're not supposed to have relationships with your boss, don't you know?" Jade smiled and Graveheart disappeared around the corner.
Jade's smile faded instantly. She shouldn't have lied to Graveheart about what she really saw on Planet Fire…but…Graveheart would have never forgiven himself for having shot down Pyrus' father all those years ago. Besides, it would shake Pyrus too deeply if he ever found out the friend he admired and respected, the man who was the ideal of patience, control, and heroism, had lost control some years ago and unthinkingly ended his father's life in a rage over his lost comrade.
Ah well, it wouldn't have been the first time she had lied or kept a secret for the better of her friends…