Chapter 10

As Eureka made her way back to Holland, dozens of thoughts raced through her mind. Many were about the horrible things she'd done up until this point. The many lives she had ended. Faces swarmed through her thoughts, all dead and horrified. But the ones that plagued her most of all were of the boy she had just left behind. 'Dylan.' She couldn't understand why, but, seeing him lie there, bleeding out, caused her pain. She knew she hadn't been injured, and yet, the sight sent a violent stab to her chest.

She knew he was correct in what he had said, that he would not survive his injury, but for some reason she wanted desperately to believe otherwise. She had requested he come with her anyway, but he denied it, stating he would not make it that far. Why was she so adamant that he live? She had seen many others die before, so why was it different this time? This pain hadn't even shown up when Adroc died, and she had known him much longer.

She was broken from her thoughts by the sound of crying. That's right. She had almost forgotten them. The three children Dylan had insisted she take with her. She really shouldn't have, in hindsight. She didn't know anything about children. What was it that Dylan had said? "They're your responsibility now. You're their mama now." She didn't really know what that meant, to be honest. But, if this was how she was to make up for all the people she had killed, then she would be the best mama she could be.

She finally found Holland. She opened the Nirvash's cockpit and stepped onto its shoulder, looking towards him. He was speaking to an older bald man in Vodarac robes. The man said something to Holland, who turned to look at her with wide eyes, before steeling his face with determination. He climbs into his 505 and takes off, ordering her to follow him, which she does. There was a series of small tremors which shook them for a moment, but they were mostly ignored as they pushed onward. "Where's the newb-I mean Dylan? Where is Dylan, Eureka? We all need to get out of here quickly.", Holland asked. Eureka remained silent, that overwhelming chest pain hitting her once more. "Hello? Eureka, I asked you where he was?",he asked again.

Eureka took a deep breath, then finally spoke. "He's….dead." Holland's 505 stopped dead in its tracks, and he opened up the video comm, eyes wide and mouth open in shock. "Wh-what?" Her face fell. "He's dead. He was shot and...died helping me save these children.", she said, gesturing to the three children, who had cried themselves to sleep. Holland sat back in his seat, absorbing what she said, before suddenly punching the controls of his LFO. "Dammit!" He sighed, looking at the screen. "Show me...where he is." She nodded, heading back towards Dylan's body, with Holland following closely behind.

They arrived back at the spot, only to be met with a shock. Where Dylan's body and the Cardinal were merely half an hour before was a massive scub burst. It was roughly the size of a small building. "That must have been the cause of that tremor earlier. Eureka, where did you say it was?", Holland asked. Eureka blinked at the sight. "Holland...it was right there. Right where that scub burst is now. Do you think he and the Cardinal are on top?"

Holland shook his head. "No. From the way it looks, this was actually a bunch of small bursts that came together to form a big one. They're likely in the center. Shame. I was hoping to bring his body back so we could at least bury him. He deserved that much. Poor kid." He paused for a moment, then sighed. "There's nothing else we can do. Let's head back." Eureka said nothing, and nodded with sad eyes, following Holland.

Holland was silently cursing himself the whole way back to HQ. He had wondered if Dylan had any connection to Diane since the day he met the boy at Digder. Now he would never get to ask him. Holland felt guilty. It was originally supposed to be just him and Eureka on this mission, but he insisted that Dylan be allowed to come along.

Holland couldn't help but feel responsible for the boy's death. Dylan was a good soldier, pilot, and overall person. A better person than Holland had been at that age, though he would never say it aloud. If Dylan was from the same family as Diane, Holland didn't think he could ever face Axel Thurston again.

They arrived back at HQ, and Holland was greeted with a series of questions from Talho. He couldn't help but wince when she asked where Dylan was. Holland couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. "He's dead, Talho. He was shot by a terrorist, and he bled out. We weren't able to recover his body or his LFO due to a scub burst."

Holland doubted he would ever forget the look Talho had on her face when she heard that. It was one of shock and horror. She slumped in her chair and brought her hands to her mouth. "Oh my god.", she stated before looking at him, tears in her eyes. "He was just a kid, Holland! He had his whole life ahead of him! And they shot him?! How could they just do that to such a sweet boy?!" Holland said nothing, though he shared a similar sentiment. Dylan...the kid hadn't deserved to go out like that. He walked away, leaving Talho to her thoughts.

Eureka stood at the door to Dylan's room, that stabbing, unexplainable chest pain taking hold of her once more. She had left the children with the others, and came here alone, hoping it would help her understand why she felt this way. She saw his guitar in the corner, and clutched her chest as she ran her hand across the wood. She thought back to all the songs he sang for the Nirvash at her request, and felt tears form in her eyes. "I don't understand. Why? Why do I feel this way? What was so different about him?", she asked herself, sitting on his bed. She lifted one of his pillows, pulling it close before a small noise caught her attention.

She looked to the floor and found a small folded piece of paper. It said For Eureka. She picked it up and opened it, and her eyes went wide.

Hey, Eureka. If you're reading this note, then that means that, some way or another, I died in Ciudades del Cielo. I want you to know that no matter how it happened, I don't blame you or Holland. I knew the risks going in. That being said, I'm still really sorry for leaving you behind like this. Anyway, depending on what happened, I might have left you another note. It's probably in the Nirvash.

Eureka rushed towards the hangar, climbing into the cockpit, searching frantically until she found another paper.

Hey again, Eureka. I hope I hid this note well enough so you didn't find it before the first one. That would be a little embarrassing. Now this note is just in case I don't make it back. If I do, you'll never read this note or the other one, cause I'll have thrown them both away. Anyway, where to start? Oh, yeah. There's a flash drive in my top drawer with a video on it. Show it to everyone, please.

Eureka gathered everyone in the briefing room, giving the drive to Talho, who pulled up the video. Dylan's smiling face appeared on screen, and he waved at everyone. "Umm, hey guys. How ya doing? I just wanna say that I really enjoyed being with all of you in the SOF. Holland, you were strict but cool, always challenging us to be better. I really admired that about you. That and you're a fantastic lifter. My little brother, Renton, would probably love to meet you." Holland smirked and wiped his eye.

"Talho, you're probably one of the funniest people I've met, (especially when your drunk) and you've got mad Mama Bear tendencies. You worked me hard in training but you were always doting on me like a mom, making sure I was eating and sleeping enough. It was a bit annoying, to be honest. It's a good thing too, though. If you ever have kids, and i hope you do someday, I know you'll be a great mom." Talho started crying again, and Holland put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ken-goh, you're a damn slave driver, but I still think of you as a friend. Don't give up on that shipping business. I know you'll be able to do it one day." Ken-goh sniffed and struggled not to show any emotion.

"And finally, Eureka. Hmmm. What to say about you? When I first met you at Digder, I didn't really know what to think of you. You were pretty strange and emotionless. When I got assigned to the SOF, though, I met you again, and I realized it wasn't your fault. You really just didn't know how to have fun. So I decided to show you. It was nice playing cards with you. Kinda sucks I won't get to end your Slap Jack win streak." He stuck his tongue out at her, making everyone smile.

"And I always enjoyed the small smiles you gave me when I played guitar for the Nirvash." Holland's eyes widened at that. "Yeah, I can definitely say that, while I value all of you as important, you, Eureka, are probably the person most precious to me out of everyone here. Maybe that feeling could have turned into something else, given time. I don't know. Anyway, I gotta get to bed. We head out to Ciudades Del Cielo tomorrow, and I need to be ready for whatever happens. Bye, everyone. Oh, and Eureka. Make sure to check the note. I may have written some more. Later!" He waved goodbye with a big smile, and the video cut off.

Everyone was silent. Talho's face was full of tears, Holland was clenching his fists, and Ken-goh was staring at the floor. Eureka stood up and ran back to Dylan's room, leaving the kids with the others once more. She opened up the note and continued reading where she had left off.

Done with the video? Good. Anyway, sorry if this is rushed. I wrote it as we were getting the kids on board. Speaking of, I thought of some names for them. You don't have to use them, but it'd really mean a lot to me. For the oldest boy I was thinking Maurice. Maeter for the girl. And Linck for the youngest boy. I was planning to ask you about this myself, but...you know. Oh and take care of my guitar for me please. I'd really appreciate it. Later.

Eureka stared at the note in silence for a while. Eventually she noticed wet spots on the paper. "I'm...crying again.", she said. "Why? Why do I cry for him? I just don't understand. Is it because I'm not human?", she asked herself. "No. What you're experiencing right now is a feeling we humans call grief." She looked to the doorway, to find Talho standing there, eyes red and puffy, with a smile on her face. "It wasn't just him who felt that way. He was precious to you too, wasn't he?", she asked. Eureka shook her head. "I...I don't know. Every time I think of him, I get this pain in my chest, and I don't understand why. Is something wrong with me?", she asked, panicked.

Talho walked up and brought her into a hug. "No, Eureka. Nothing's wrong with you. You're just sad, like the rest of us. Sad that he's gone. It'll be okay, though. The pain will fade with time. Now cmon, Holland says we're leaving the SOF. We're gonna be going on our own for a while. Grab whatever you need, and let's go." Eureka only grabbed one thing from the room. Dylan's guitar. She slung it over her shoulder, and followed after Talho.

And that's a wrap!

It was kinda hard to write this one. Had to think of a good message for everyone. And we also see Eureka struggle with emotions she doesn't understand. Luckily she has Mama Bear Talho to help her out. Anyway, later ya'll!

This is D3vilB4sket, signing off!