Willows and Illusions
I'm the last to know. Someone thought this was for the best. I don't. At last I know why friends began vanishing. A whole four years have passed, and only now am I finding out. My dearest friend, the one who always was there for me… They might as well be dead for now… My greatest fear and greatest ally, the crimson hunter himself, is sealed away. They'll be gone for ninety-eight more years.
It makes sense why Iris disappeared now. I've found out the horrible truth: she committed suicide. Sometimes being so human can be a burden, and here's my proof. The poor thing couldn't stand ninety-eight years alone. They just found her body yesterday at the bottom of an acid lake. I don't know why, but Axl was also found like this. Maybe Zero was kinder to Axl than I ever knew?
A cat has been seeking me out. Only now do I remember who they are. Mel. I welcome him with open arms, and strangely enough I can understand the fluffy cat. Was my friend able to do the same? He tells me to keep on going despite the pain, that this world needs me. Only now is reality setting in… My friend is gone. I might have finally brought peace to the world and all its inhabitants, but at what cost? My ally. Countless times they have taken the blows and slain the enemy for me. Twice they paid the ultimate price to save me. They always shrugged off death with that confident smirk. And I never got to repay them. I hesitated, I was too scared. But now I realize the pain of losing my one true friend is worse than all of the last moments I've witnessed in the wars. Is this selfish? That losing one is worse than losing scores? Even I don't know anymore…
It's really hard to believe that all that's left of the great hunter is their saber and their cat. I always look up to the skies, hoping for this all to be a dream, and when I wake up there's a sapphire-eyed hunter next door still peacefully asleep. But it's not a dream. There are not even any hunters left. With peace being restored for so long, there's no need for such Reploids. Mel is such an optimist. How that black-tailed cyborg cat can be so happy despite what's happened I will never have a clue.
I'm starting to lose it. I can't believe how much that one blonde warrior meant to me, and I never said anything. I cry myself to sleep again. But then, there's a sudden ray of hope. I 'feel' him nearby. Every time I look, it's still the same cluttered room with the same pointless papers scattered around and the same loneliness. Mel tries to help, but even his purring is loosing effect.
It's hard to believe that the seed of the wars I hated so much would fight for me so long, even after he knew the past… I made a public spectacle today because I hallucinated. I had no idea Reploids could hallucinate, but I did all the same. By the ancient willow tree I saw him. My first instinct was to run and topple the powerful warrior with a hug. To everyone else, I just ran up to some air and hugged it. Yes, I'm definitely going insane. But if it means I can be with my closest friend just for a while, even if it is only an illusion, then it's a good kind of insane.