Learning to Live
Disclaimer: Okay, assuming you haven't figured it out the 4 previous times I've said this, I don't own Zoids or Gen X. Anyway, if I did, I would be a creator, not a fan. So this wouldn't be fan fiction in the first place. Also, I don't own DDR, nor Savage Garden or their song "Crash and Burn".
Note: sorry I've taken so long, but like I've said before, this one is being more sporadic than "Could it Be Me," which I have somewhat planned out. That and the fact that I haven't been able to write much, and when I start thinking of ways to continue the story, new story ideas tend to pop up (how would you guys like a re-telling of the story of Magik, aka Illyana Rasputin, done with Zoids characters?). Oh, and since it's my story, I can make up what songs are on the mix of DDR at the arcade.
What has gone before:
Jiemi, after getting struck by lightning while piloting Reinosu, has found himself stuck in the Marvel Universe with Generation X. He and Jubilee have become friends, and Jubilee has taken Jiemi to the mall to hang out.
~~~~~
It took them a while to get to the mall, with Everett loaning Jiemi some clothes, since he only had his battle costume with him, but when they got there, Jubilee dragged the boys to every clothing store she liked. Who knew when Jiemi would be able to go home, she reasoned with them, and he couldn't keep borrowing Everett's clothing. Especially since Everett was much taller and more built-up than Jiemi, and his clothes were very baggy on the younger boy. Jubilee assured Jiemi that the clothes she picked out for him were very fashionable, and even though Everett made his doubts known, Jiemi didn't mind the clothes. In fact, he even liked them somewhat, he decided.
Around noon, the three took a break from shopping and got some hamburgers to eat. While Jubilee and Everett argued about what the group would do in the afternoon (Jubilee wanted to go to the Arcade, while Everett favored going back to the school a little early), Jiemi reflected his situation.
This is definitely something the others would enjoy. I mean, Rinon would be right there with Jubilee trying on all of the clothes, trying to catch the latest fashions. Ballade... well, it's the school's money we're spending, so he wouldn't care. Bit would probably enjoy the video arcade that Jubilee is talking about. But me? Who would expect me to come here and enjoy myself? I don't play video games, except for battle simulators, and usually that just so I can plan out strategies. I'm usually criticizing Doc for spending too much shopping, not buying things for myself.
"Jiemi?"
Jiemi looked up, and saw that Jubilee and Everett were watching him. "Sorry, what did you say?"
Jubilee sighed. "Everett said that it's up to you. Do you want to go back to the school early or do you want to go the arcade?"
Jiemi thought for a moment. "I guess we could go to the arcade for a little while. If you don't mind, Everett."
"Ev doesn't mind, do ya Ev?" The older boy shook his head. "Yes! C'mon Jiemi, I wanna go play DDR!" Jubilee ran off toward the arcade at what had to be her top speed, leaving the two boys to carry all of their shopping.
"What's 'DDR'?" Jiemi asked.
"'Dance Dance Revolution'. It's a video game where you have to stomp on these pads when the screen tells you to, to match the music, and you end up dancing. It's actually not that bad, and at least you get exercise, unlike most video games."
Jiemi nodded. That might be fun, he decided.
When they reached the arcade, they found Jubilee standing in the middle of the double pad of the arcade game, holding a sack full of game tokens, glaring at another group of teenagers who looked as if they wanted to use the machine themselves. She waved them over, and pulled Jiemi onto the platform with her.
"You stand on the left side, that's the boy. This side's the girl. You've played before?"
"No. We don't have this at home."
"That's ok, it's easy. Ya just keep with the rhythm of the song, and stomp the ones it tells you to. You can stay on Basic, with an easy song, and I'll turn on Maniac. That's the hard stuff." The girl put the tokens in the machine, and started scrolling through the songs. "This one's good. It's by Savage Garden, and it's called 'Crash and Burn'. Ya heard of it?"
Jiemi shook his head, but was relieved when he noticed that the difficulty rating was at the lowest. He saw Jubilee tapping the back pad, and was startled when her difficulty rating went skyrocketing. "Can you handle that?" he asked.
"No problem. It's a really slow song, so anything but Maniac is way too easy. I mean, even on Maniac, there's hardly any half-steps."
Before Jiemi could ask her what she meant by half-steps, the song had started. Jiemi understood what Jubilee meant by it being an easy song. Jiemi was having no problem matching the instructions on the screen, except for a couple of double steps he wasn't expecting. As he danced, he listened to the lyrics to the song, and had to choke back tears. He had to have Jubilee get him a copy of it, so he could listen to it more closely.
When the song was over and their scores came up, some of the teens watching them started snickering that Jiemi couldn't even get perfect on such an easy song. While Jiemi scrolled through the list for the next song, Jubilee turned around and retorted "Give him a break, it's his first time playing!"
"First time? Where's he been, another planet?" The leader of the group shouted back as they left the arcade.
"Don't let them give you a bad time, Jiemi. There's always some idiots hanging around in here, wanting to show off. I've played some of them before. They are good, but no where near my level," Jubilee told him. They finished the next two songs, and then Everett talked Jubilee into letting them go home, but not before Jiemi got his CD.
~~~~~
That night, Jiemi lay on his bed listening to Affirmation, with "Crash and Burn" on repeat.
//When you feel all alone And the world has turned it's back on you Give me a moment please To tame your wild wild heart
//Let me be the one you call If you jump, I'll break your fall Lift you up and fly away with you into the night If you need to fall apart I can mend a broken heart If you need to crash Then crash and burn you're not alone//
This is me, he thought. This is me for the Blitz Team. When things go bad, or things need to be done, I do them. I'm the one who's there to take care of things for everyone else, when they can't handle it anymore. But who's there for me?
Disclaimer: Okay, assuming you haven't figured it out the 4 previous times I've said this, I don't own Zoids or Gen X. Anyway, if I did, I would be a creator, not a fan. So this wouldn't be fan fiction in the first place. Also, I don't own DDR, nor Savage Garden or their song "Crash and Burn".
Note: sorry I've taken so long, but like I've said before, this one is being more sporadic than "Could it Be Me," which I have somewhat planned out. That and the fact that I haven't been able to write much, and when I start thinking of ways to continue the story, new story ideas tend to pop up (how would you guys like a re-telling of the story of Magik, aka Illyana Rasputin, done with Zoids characters?). Oh, and since it's my story, I can make up what songs are on the mix of DDR at the arcade.
What has gone before:
Jiemi, after getting struck by lightning while piloting Reinosu, has found himself stuck in the Marvel Universe with Generation X. He and Jubilee have become friends, and Jubilee has taken Jiemi to the mall to hang out.
~~~~~
It took them a while to get to the mall, with Everett loaning Jiemi some clothes, since he only had his battle costume with him, but when they got there, Jubilee dragged the boys to every clothing store she liked. Who knew when Jiemi would be able to go home, she reasoned with them, and he couldn't keep borrowing Everett's clothing. Especially since Everett was much taller and more built-up than Jiemi, and his clothes were very baggy on the younger boy. Jubilee assured Jiemi that the clothes she picked out for him were very fashionable, and even though Everett made his doubts known, Jiemi didn't mind the clothes. In fact, he even liked them somewhat, he decided.
Around noon, the three took a break from shopping and got some hamburgers to eat. While Jubilee and Everett argued about what the group would do in the afternoon (Jubilee wanted to go to the Arcade, while Everett favored going back to the school a little early), Jiemi reflected his situation.
This is definitely something the others would enjoy. I mean, Rinon would be right there with Jubilee trying on all of the clothes, trying to catch the latest fashions. Ballade... well, it's the school's money we're spending, so he wouldn't care. Bit would probably enjoy the video arcade that Jubilee is talking about. But me? Who would expect me to come here and enjoy myself? I don't play video games, except for battle simulators, and usually that just so I can plan out strategies. I'm usually criticizing Doc for spending too much shopping, not buying things for myself.
"Jiemi?"
Jiemi looked up, and saw that Jubilee and Everett were watching him. "Sorry, what did you say?"
Jubilee sighed. "Everett said that it's up to you. Do you want to go back to the school early or do you want to go the arcade?"
Jiemi thought for a moment. "I guess we could go to the arcade for a little while. If you don't mind, Everett."
"Ev doesn't mind, do ya Ev?" The older boy shook his head. "Yes! C'mon Jiemi, I wanna go play DDR!" Jubilee ran off toward the arcade at what had to be her top speed, leaving the two boys to carry all of their shopping.
"What's 'DDR'?" Jiemi asked.
"'Dance Dance Revolution'. It's a video game where you have to stomp on these pads when the screen tells you to, to match the music, and you end up dancing. It's actually not that bad, and at least you get exercise, unlike most video games."
Jiemi nodded. That might be fun, he decided.
When they reached the arcade, they found Jubilee standing in the middle of the double pad of the arcade game, holding a sack full of game tokens, glaring at another group of teenagers who looked as if they wanted to use the machine themselves. She waved them over, and pulled Jiemi onto the platform with her.
"You stand on the left side, that's the boy. This side's the girl. You've played before?"
"No. We don't have this at home."
"That's ok, it's easy. Ya just keep with the rhythm of the song, and stomp the ones it tells you to. You can stay on Basic, with an easy song, and I'll turn on Maniac. That's the hard stuff." The girl put the tokens in the machine, and started scrolling through the songs. "This one's good. It's by Savage Garden, and it's called 'Crash and Burn'. Ya heard of it?"
Jiemi shook his head, but was relieved when he noticed that the difficulty rating was at the lowest. He saw Jubilee tapping the back pad, and was startled when her difficulty rating went skyrocketing. "Can you handle that?" he asked.
"No problem. It's a really slow song, so anything but Maniac is way too easy. I mean, even on Maniac, there's hardly any half-steps."
Before Jiemi could ask her what she meant by half-steps, the song had started. Jiemi understood what Jubilee meant by it being an easy song. Jiemi was having no problem matching the instructions on the screen, except for a couple of double steps he wasn't expecting. As he danced, he listened to the lyrics to the song, and had to choke back tears. He had to have Jubilee get him a copy of it, so he could listen to it more closely.
When the song was over and their scores came up, some of the teens watching them started snickering that Jiemi couldn't even get perfect on such an easy song. While Jiemi scrolled through the list for the next song, Jubilee turned around and retorted "Give him a break, it's his first time playing!"
"First time? Where's he been, another planet?" The leader of the group shouted back as they left the arcade.
"Don't let them give you a bad time, Jiemi. There's always some idiots hanging around in here, wanting to show off. I've played some of them before. They are good, but no where near my level," Jubilee told him. They finished the next two songs, and then Everett talked Jubilee into letting them go home, but not before Jiemi got his CD.
~~~~~
That night, Jiemi lay on his bed listening to Affirmation, with "Crash and Burn" on repeat.
//When you feel all alone And the world has turned it's back on you Give me a moment please To tame your wild wild heart
//Let me be the one you call If you jump, I'll break your fall Lift you up and fly away with you into the night If you need to fall apart I can mend a broken heart If you need to crash Then crash and burn you're not alone//
This is me, he thought. This is me for the Blitz Team. When things go bad, or things need to be done, I do them. I'm the one who's there to take care of things for everyone else, when they can't handle it anymore. But who's there for me?