Side Story I: More Insignificant (or so we hope!) Characters.
"You lived here? How come you never told me that?"
"It was a long time ago... I didn't wanna remember..."
BTW: Apparently, New Helic and Guyglos are on completely different continents. Zoids Eve probably is, too. I'll just pretend that both cities were destroyed by the original Deathstinger/saurer anyways, so they rebuilt them closer together, so they could protect Zoids Eve and the wrecked Ultrasaurus... Mwahaha...
***
The ruins of Guyglos were empty as always; lonely and deserted. It had only been two years since their destruction, and yet no one had attempted to rebuild the old Empire's capital city. Perhaps it was to commemorate all of the lives that had been lost in such a vain quest for revenge. Revenge... for what? For nothing! It wasn't even a good reason!!!
What had those two fools been thinking? Didn't they care at all? These lives... you couldn't just go and throw them away... So many of them were still quite young. They hadn't learned what life was about yet. They hadn't been given a chance.
There wasn't even enough time to evacuate... Only a select few had gotten out. Survival of the fittest...? No, it was only survival of the luckiest. And those lucky few had sworn on that day that they would find some way to avenge their families and friends... no matter what the cost... even if it meant joining such a horrible group as the Backdraft...
They knew that there was something wrong with this, though. They'd just be repeating what Neos and Eira had done. They'd be taking more innocent lives for their own benefit. Their conscious' wouldn't be able to live with that guilt.
But did they feel the same way? Neos and Eira? Did they understand what they had done, and what was wrong with it? If they did, and were sincerely sorry for it, then perhaps they were decent people after all... but... If they hadn't learned from this, if they still didn't care, then... Then they were horrible.
Murderers. Monsters...
Cowards!!! Only cowards could do such a thing and still live with it! What was wrong with them?!! Didn't they have families?!! Didn't they understand how it felt to lose so many loved ones because of one person's stubborn persistence?!!!
Well, didn't they...?
Maybe they did...
A single blood-red rose blew past in the wind. Someone was chasing it, annoyed. Apparently, this wasn't a good time for a sandstorm to start. It had been such a peaceful day so far, but now all that was ruined.
"Sheesh, and I thought today would be a good day to sit down and think back on the past," mutter Mai Vert, watching her friend retrieve the flower. She should've picked off the thorns before they came here with the others. His hands were bandaged now. Stupid, stupid thorns.
"There can never be a good day to 'think back on the past,' " contradicted another boy. He watched as well, though he didn't look like he was going to laugh. Mai could barely hold her laughter in. They had gotten so far in the past two years and could still barely hold on to such things.
By the time their friend got back, the wind had grown stronger. "I guess we can't do this today..." he mumbled. "And after all the trouble of grabbing this thing before it disappeared forever..."
Mai gently plucked it out of his grip. "Yes, it's a shame. I was really looking forward to this... for Dad."
"So what're you gonna do now that the Guild broke up?" asked the more serious-looking boy. "That was your life... And now that it's gone?"
"I don't know," she muttered. "It doesn't matter. Listen, Hunter, I met this girl the other day..."
"Stop calling me Hunter..." he grunted. "You're doing it on purpose. You know I hate it."
"Isn't that the point?" asked the one who had been chasing after the flower.
"Shut up, Murasaki!" shouted Mai, slapping him in the back.
"Ow," he said.
Keith Hunter looked down at the graves in front of them. "Dang... it's already been two years and we still haven't done anything. What now?"
The repair girl shrugged. "I don't know... Murasaki was really the only one of us who actually lived here for at least a year or so... we just knew most of the people here, that's all. I mean, it's still up to us to make things right, but it's mostly his decision."
"I lived here once..." said a new voice.
"Seki-chan?" asked Mai. "You lived here? How come you never told me that?"
"It was a long time ago... I didn't wanna remember..."
"Anyways," put in Murasaki, stressing the word. "Maybe we should-"
"Seki, have you seen that girl?" interrupted Mai. Murasaki glared. "What a great friend you are," he muttered.
"You mean Eve?"
"Evelyn, yeah," said Mai. "I had something to ask her. We all did."
"I have a bad feeling about her," said Mura, ignoring the fact that probably no one was listening to him. "Like an omen or something... Something's just not right. She's not like us..."
"No one's like us." Keith shrugged. Murasaki looked surprised. He had been... listening...? "Who cares? We want the same thing. Peace on Zi, right? So Evelyn is a little... strange... but she needs us and we need her."
"Why can't we just go home, away from all of this? Why do we have to keep fightin'?!!" cried Seki, her voice suddenly shrill and tearful. They turned and looked at her.
Seki was barely ten. It seemed that the best Zoid pilots were getting younger and younger. She was the youngest of the group, and usually the most vulnerable, but still the most loyal to the cause. She always seemed to solemnly understand, and had never questioned their motivation before. They all cared about her like she was really their little sister, but knew barely anything about her. Heck, none of them knew anything about their friends. Sometimes the pressure must have been too much for the brown- haired, green-eyed girl. She was so sweet, but so fragile...
"What do you mean?" asked Mai quietly. She took it upon herself to look after the others... Obviously Mai looked at herself as the leader. Murasaki and Keith knew that she was self-appointed, but didn't seem to really care. They only knew each other by chance- by luck.
Seki shook her head vigorously.
Mai kneeled down in front of the little girl. "Please, I want to know what's bothering you."
She tried not to look into Mai's green eyes, but it was all too much...
Seki broke down. All of this had kept piling up inside of her, and it hadn't had a chance to come out until now. "I just wanna be normal! I wanna have a home, a family...! I don't want to keep running, keep fighting, keep doing this to myself. It's..."
"Seki..." began Keith. He didn't want to do any of this, either, but they had to. It was even worse to watch her cry like this. "You have to understand, we all want that, too. But we have a responsibility to take care of. And the fact is, we're NOT normal."
"Yeah..." said Murasaki. "We're not normal, one-chan. But we're not the only ones out there who aren't normal... There's probably more people that we never imagined could be anything but human."
"The only thing we can do is remember our cause and our reasons, the people we're fighting for," Mai said quietly. She stood back up and smiled. "We can hope that one day we can finally stop all this and live happy, peaceful lives. But until that day, we're gonna keep fighting, right? We're gonna look out for each other, and help all those other people who're like us. Right?"
They nodded. Right. There was nothing better to do, after all. They still had a chance.
For where there's a chance, there's hope. Where there's hope, there's love! And where there's love, there's life with victory in sight!!!
Mai poked the rose into the grave's dirt and smiled slightly. These people would be gone forever, but as long as someone remembered them, they wouldn't really be dead... they'd just... have faded away. It wasn't until you were forgotten that you were dead in everyone else's eyes. Until that moment, there was still a chance that you could live on in someone's memories. That your stories could be passed down from generation to generation. Forever.
The name on this particular tombstone was a familiar one.
"Yoko Minobe
May his legacy live on forever, though he did not."
Dive.
"You lived here? How come you never told me that?"
"It was a long time ago... I didn't wanna remember..."
BTW: Apparently, New Helic and Guyglos are on completely different continents. Zoids Eve probably is, too. I'll just pretend that both cities were destroyed by the original Deathstinger/saurer anyways, so they rebuilt them closer together, so they could protect Zoids Eve and the wrecked Ultrasaurus... Mwahaha...
***
The ruins of Guyglos were empty as always; lonely and deserted. It had only been two years since their destruction, and yet no one had attempted to rebuild the old Empire's capital city. Perhaps it was to commemorate all of the lives that had been lost in such a vain quest for revenge. Revenge... for what? For nothing! It wasn't even a good reason!!!
What had those two fools been thinking? Didn't they care at all? These lives... you couldn't just go and throw them away... So many of them were still quite young. They hadn't learned what life was about yet. They hadn't been given a chance.
There wasn't even enough time to evacuate... Only a select few had gotten out. Survival of the fittest...? No, it was only survival of the luckiest. And those lucky few had sworn on that day that they would find some way to avenge their families and friends... no matter what the cost... even if it meant joining such a horrible group as the Backdraft...
They knew that there was something wrong with this, though. They'd just be repeating what Neos and Eira had done. They'd be taking more innocent lives for their own benefit. Their conscious' wouldn't be able to live with that guilt.
But did they feel the same way? Neos and Eira? Did they understand what they had done, and what was wrong with it? If they did, and were sincerely sorry for it, then perhaps they were decent people after all... but... If they hadn't learned from this, if they still didn't care, then... Then they were horrible.
Murderers. Monsters...
Cowards!!! Only cowards could do such a thing and still live with it! What was wrong with them?!! Didn't they have families?!! Didn't they understand how it felt to lose so many loved ones because of one person's stubborn persistence?!!!
Well, didn't they...?
Maybe they did...
A single blood-red rose blew past in the wind. Someone was chasing it, annoyed. Apparently, this wasn't a good time for a sandstorm to start. It had been such a peaceful day so far, but now all that was ruined.
"Sheesh, and I thought today would be a good day to sit down and think back on the past," mutter Mai Vert, watching her friend retrieve the flower. She should've picked off the thorns before they came here with the others. His hands were bandaged now. Stupid, stupid thorns.
"There can never be a good day to 'think back on the past,' " contradicted another boy. He watched as well, though he didn't look like he was going to laugh. Mai could barely hold her laughter in. They had gotten so far in the past two years and could still barely hold on to such things.
By the time their friend got back, the wind had grown stronger. "I guess we can't do this today..." he mumbled. "And after all the trouble of grabbing this thing before it disappeared forever..."
Mai gently plucked it out of his grip. "Yes, it's a shame. I was really looking forward to this... for Dad."
"So what're you gonna do now that the Guild broke up?" asked the more serious-looking boy. "That was your life... And now that it's gone?"
"I don't know," she muttered. "It doesn't matter. Listen, Hunter, I met this girl the other day..."
"Stop calling me Hunter..." he grunted. "You're doing it on purpose. You know I hate it."
"Isn't that the point?" asked the one who had been chasing after the flower.
"Shut up, Murasaki!" shouted Mai, slapping him in the back.
"Ow," he said.
Keith Hunter looked down at the graves in front of them. "Dang... it's already been two years and we still haven't done anything. What now?"
The repair girl shrugged. "I don't know... Murasaki was really the only one of us who actually lived here for at least a year or so... we just knew most of the people here, that's all. I mean, it's still up to us to make things right, but it's mostly his decision."
"I lived here once..." said a new voice.
"Seki-chan?" asked Mai. "You lived here? How come you never told me that?"
"It was a long time ago... I didn't wanna remember..."
"Anyways," put in Murasaki, stressing the word. "Maybe we should-"
"Seki, have you seen that girl?" interrupted Mai. Murasaki glared. "What a great friend you are," he muttered.
"You mean Eve?"
"Evelyn, yeah," said Mai. "I had something to ask her. We all did."
"I have a bad feeling about her," said Mura, ignoring the fact that probably no one was listening to him. "Like an omen or something... Something's just not right. She's not like us..."
"No one's like us." Keith shrugged. Murasaki looked surprised. He had been... listening...? "Who cares? We want the same thing. Peace on Zi, right? So Evelyn is a little... strange... but she needs us and we need her."
"Why can't we just go home, away from all of this? Why do we have to keep fightin'?!!" cried Seki, her voice suddenly shrill and tearful. They turned and looked at her.
Seki was barely ten. It seemed that the best Zoid pilots were getting younger and younger. She was the youngest of the group, and usually the most vulnerable, but still the most loyal to the cause. She always seemed to solemnly understand, and had never questioned their motivation before. They all cared about her like she was really their little sister, but knew barely anything about her. Heck, none of them knew anything about their friends. Sometimes the pressure must have been too much for the brown- haired, green-eyed girl. She was so sweet, but so fragile...
"What do you mean?" asked Mai quietly. She took it upon herself to look after the others... Obviously Mai looked at herself as the leader. Murasaki and Keith knew that she was self-appointed, but didn't seem to really care. They only knew each other by chance- by luck.
Seki shook her head vigorously.
Mai kneeled down in front of the little girl. "Please, I want to know what's bothering you."
She tried not to look into Mai's green eyes, but it was all too much...
Seki broke down. All of this had kept piling up inside of her, and it hadn't had a chance to come out until now. "I just wanna be normal! I wanna have a home, a family...! I don't want to keep running, keep fighting, keep doing this to myself. It's..."
"Seki..." began Keith. He didn't want to do any of this, either, but they had to. It was even worse to watch her cry like this. "You have to understand, we all want that, too. But we have a responsibility to take care of. And the fact is, we're NOT normal."
"Yeah..." said Murasaki. "We're not normal, one-chan. But we're not the only ones out there who aren't normal... There's probably more people that we never imagined could be anything but human."
"The only thing we can do is remember our cause and our reasons, the people we're fighting for," Mai said quietly. She stood back up and smiled. "We can hope that one day we can finally stop all this and live happy, peaceful lives. But until that day, we're gonna keep fighting, right? We're gonna look out for each other, and help all those other people who're like us. Right?"
They nodded. Right. There was nothing better to do, after all. They still had a chance.
For where there's a chance, there's hope. Where there's hope, there's love! And where there's love, there's life with victory in sight!!!
Mai poked the rose into the grave's dirt and smiled slightly. These people would be gone forever, but as long as someone remembered them, they wouldn't really be dead... they'd just... have faded away. It wasn't until you were forgotten that you were dead in everyone else's eyes. Until that moment, there was still a chance that you could live on in someone's memories. That your stories could be passed down from generation to generation. Forever.
The name on this particular tombstone was a familiar one.
"Yoko Minobe
May his legacy live on forever, though he did not."
Dive.
