TRANSFORMERS: CYBERTRON SAGA
THIRTEEN #3: SYMPATHETIC TO A FAULT.
byline: Anubis C. Soundwave
THIRTEEN: The story of Cybertron's liberation.
When one is on the verge of losing life, of everything known, there is an end to sympathy for the devil. Nonetheless, one discovers surprising empathy for his tools.
Scene: C-1
"Only days now, instead of years." Ichigo sighs.
Mokuba shakes his head. "We've spent seventy-five years of our lives preparing future generations for this; yet due to one final act of spite, all of our work's brought to nothing."
"Is this not evolution's cold calculus?"
"I'm not an evolutionist. Then again, I'm not an engineer; just a mere soldier."
"I'd rather it be the evolutionary process than the will of Entei." Ichigo winces.
"...Entei is Entei, and his will is absolute." Mokuba puts a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Having done all we can, we must accept our fate."
"Must we?" Ichigo tenses a fist, his body trembling. "Revenge is fruitless, yet...."
"Yes. How do we make the Zentraedi pay with our final breath?" seethes Mokuba.
"We can't take that path," counters Ichigo. His trembling stops. "It's petty, useless. It isn't our way.
"Tell me, old friend," Ichigo muses, "what are the mitsudaitakaramune?"
"Did you forget that much of children's school?"
"I'm serious. Just humor me," continues Ichigo, "if you must."
"The first of the treasured principles is the preservation of life. Life has meaning and purpose beyond mere utility, and one must exert oneself continually to preserve it.
"The second treasure," continues Mokuba, "is the recognition of free will. The power to choose, to feel, to act--the gift of thought and the means to express it--makes one more than the sum of all parts; one must recognize it, and guard it zealously.
"The third...is the quest. The journey into the unknown carries one into destiny; it defines one in the process."
"Hm." Ichigo turns to enter a small ship. "Then our work is not done.
"Evolution and the will of Entei...are not mutually exclusive."
Mokuba studies Ichigo a moment, grins, then follows his friend into the ship.
