Epilogue
The Shinryu neared the ground, and as the Konig Wolf's paws touched the ground, it released its grip on the wolf-Zoid. As soon as Rit felt Drake release her Zoid, Rit stumbled out of the cockpit, Chemuk closely trailing her. Her eyes started to fill with tears of joy as she saw a figure standing in front of the Last Guard Team base.
"Vega!"
Vega smiled, and welcomed Rit into his arms.
"You're back..." Rit said quietly.
"No, you're back," Vega answered with a smile.
Death and Cloud looked at the two, each with a lifted eyebrow.
"How sappy..." they both mumbled to themselves.
Rit turned to them with an angry glare.
"What was that?" she asked, with gritted teeth.
"Nothing..."
Jamie, Strider, Ariel, and Angel stood by them, laughing. K.O. turned to look at Drake.
"Sorry kid. You'll have to wait a couple weeks before we can pay you. All this damage done to our Zoids and base is going to cost us a lot."
"Don't you have insurance?" Drake asked dryly. "That's okay. It's on the house, but next time, you'd better pay up." Drake grinned.
K.O. raised and eyebrow. "How do you know there is going to be a next time?"
Drake, with his arms crossed, just scoffed and walked off toward his Zoid. Rit turned away from her Death and Cloud bashing and looked toward Drake.
"Drake!" she called.
Drake looked over his shoulder.
"Thanks for everything!"
Drake just grinned and turned around to continue walking. He raised one hand in acknowledgement, and climbed into his Zoid. The two teams watched the lone mercenary fly off into the sky. K.O. looked at Vega.
"You and your team can stay here for a little while if you want, but we're going to be repairing most of the time."
"In other words," Ariel said, walking up to the two captains. "You're welcomed to stay, but we'll force you to help us repair our base."
Vega laughed.
"Yeah, we'll help. All I've done for you guys is sleep anyway."
The two captains grinned. The red sun began its advance into the sky, and Strider could be heard in the background saying, "Now, Rit. There's no need to kill them..."
Ariel and K.O. turned to look at the battleground. The scoured Gigantor lay petrified on the ground, as it would, for years to come.
---------------------------------
Shane and Jason watched as the forest was sucked up into void. Everything that had happened seemed like a dream to them. A faded memory.
"It doesn't seem real...does it?" Shane asked quietly.
Jason turned his gaze away from the forest.
"I wish I could forget. I wish it were a dream. I still can't believe..."
He stopped in mid-sentence and walked back toward his Zabat. Shane watched him go. But Jason paused as he started to climb into the cockpit.
"Thank you."
Shane shook her head.
"There is no thanks to give. Where are you going to go now?"
"I don't know. Where ever the wind decides to take us. I just want to get away from here."
"The memories wills stay with you no matter what. You can't forget things so easily. You're only human."
"It's because I'm human that I will be able to forget."
Shane just grinned at this and walked over to her own Zoid. The Gryphantom greeted its pilot with a shrill cry. Shane smiled as she climbed into the cockpit. Jason watched her.
"Where are you going from here?"
Shane shrugged.
"Where ever the wind decides to take us."
Jason lifted an eyebrow and grinned.
"Race you."
"Where?"
"To where ever we're going."
"You're on."
The two Zoids lifted into the sky, and flew off, two mavericks, out to face whatever the world brought against them.
---------------------------------
Jake stood in his human form on a wide-open meadow. Next to him, Kat was looking solemnly up at the brilliant blue sky. She looked at him, though he would not return her gaze. There was a pile of rocks neatly assembled into a small distinct grave in the center of the meadow.
"You know she would have done it anyway," Kat said quietly.
Jake looked down at the ground.
"I know. I just wish... this thing had come out differently."
"You can't expect a happy ending all the time. You, of all people, should know that," Kat said, with slight disappointment in her voice.
"I just can't help feeling that she thought my life was worth more than hers, when it's not. Just because I'll live forever doesn't make my life more important," Jake said.
The two were silent for a while.
"I think this the only way it could have come out."
"What do you mean?!" Jake asked angrily.
Kat spun and faced Jake.
"Think about it. If you had given your life, Shinigami and I would have been trapped in the demon world forever, and who knows what could have happened. Besides...she said she saw a vision..."
"You always have a choice," Jake retorted. "The future is never certain, and I, of all people, should know that."
"There's no point in beating yourself up now Jake. All we can do is hope she's somewhere else now. In a better place. I wish we knew where her family was... or who her friends were."
Jake looked toward the sky.
"I think she would have liked this better. Small, quiet, confined. She was a pretty solitary person."
There was a great roar in the distance. Jake smiled grimly. The Death Raptor stood in the distance, its fiery wings open, roaring with all its might and fury, trying to find its master. Jake had tried to make the Zoid understand, but 'death' was not a concept most Zoids could comprehend. The Raptor let out another mournful roar.
"We should do something..." Kat said.
"No. The Raptor will stay here forever and guard her grave. Soon the Zoid will understand that its master will never return, and that it is up to him to keep her spirit alive. This land will become a sacred place guarded by a powerful Zoid, and no one shall disturb it, letting Shinigami rest in peace," Jake said.
He turned away and started to walk in the opposite direction. Kat ran up to him and grabbed his arm.
"Aren't you going to say...Good-bye?"
Jake smiled softly at her.
"It is never good-bye."
{A/N: Well that's it. Thanks for sticking this long everyone. I've had a couple requests for a sequel, but I'm pretty dry with ideas at the moment. I have a few ideas, but they're more in the 'use the TV show character' category. In other words, if you want a sequel, give me ideas. ^^; Please EMAIL them to me at blue_tenshi@smapxsmap.net Hope to see you on the battle field of my next story, whatever it may be. Bye all.}
The Shinryu neared the ground, and as the Konig Wolf's paws touched the ground, it released its grip on the wolf-Zoid. As soon as Rit felt Drake release her Zoid, Rit stumbled out of the cockpit, Chemuk closely trailing her. Her eyes started to fill with tears of joy as she saw a figure standing in front of the Last Guard Team base.
"Vega!"
Vega smiled, and welcomed Rit into his arms.
"You're back..." Rit said quietly.
"No, you're back," Vega answered with a smile.
Death and Cloud looked at the two, each with a lifted eyebrow.
"How sappy..." they both mumbled to themselves.
Rit turned to them with an angry glare.
"What was that?" she asked, with gritted teeth.
"Nothing..."
Jamie, Strider, Ariel, and Angel stood by them, laughing. K.O. turned to look at Drake.
"Sorry kid. You'll have to wait a couple weeks before we can pay you. All this damage done to our Zoids and base is going to cost us a lot."
"Don't you have insurance?" Drake asked dryly. "That's okay. It's on the house, but next time, you'd better pay up." Drake grinned.
K.O. raised and eyebrow. "How do you know there is going to be a next time?"
Drake, with his arms crossed, just scoffed and walked off toward his Zoid. Rit turned away from her Death and Cloud bashing and looked toward Drake.
"Drake!" she called.
Drake looked over his shoulder.
"Thanks for everything!"
Drake just grinned and turned around to continue walking. He raised one hand in acknowledgement, and climbed into his Zoid. The two teams watched the lone mercenary fly off into the sky. K.O. looked at Vega.
"You and your team can stay here for a little while if you want, but we're going to be repairing most of the time."
"In other words," Ariel said, walking up to the two captains. "You're welcomed to stay, but we'll force you to help us repair our base."
Vega laughed.
"Yeah, we'll help. All I've done for you guys is sleep anyway."
The two captains grinned. The red sun began its advance into the sky, and Strider could be heard in the background saying, "Now, Rit. There's no need to kill them..."
Ariel and K.O. turned to look at the battleground. The scoured Gigantor lay petrified on the ground, as it would, for years to come.
---------------------------------
Shane and Jason watched as the forest was sucked up into void. Everything that had happened seemed like a dream to them. A faded memory.
"It doesn't seem real...does it?" Shane asked quietly.
Jason turned his gaze away from the forest.
"I wish I could forget. I wish it were a dream. I still can't believe..."
He stopped in mid-sentence and walked back toward his Zabat. Shane watched him go. But Jason paused as he started to climb into the cockpit.
"Thank you."
Shane shook her head.
"There is no thanks to give. Where are you going to go now?"
"I don't know. Where ever the wind decides to take us. I just want to get away from here."
"The memories wills stay with you no matter what. You can't forget things so easily. You're only human."
"It's because I'm human that I will be able to forget."
Shane just grinned at this and walked over to her own Zoid. The Gryphantom greeted its pilot with a shrill cry. Shane smiled as she climbed into the cockpit. Jason watched her.
"Where are you going from here?"
Shane shrugged.
"Where ever the wind decides to take us."
Jason lifted an eyebrow and grinned.
"Race you."
"Where?"
"To where ever we're going."
"You're on."
The two Zoids lifted into the sky, and flew off, two mavericks, out to face whatever the world brought against them.
---------------------------------
Jake stood in his human form on a wide-open meadow. Next to him, Kat was looking solemnly up at the brilliant blue sky. She looked at him, though he would not return her gaze. There was a pile of rocks neatly assembled into a small distinct grave in the center of the meadow.
"You know she would have done it anyway," Kat said quietly.
Jake looked down at the ground.
"I know. I just wish... this thing had come out differently."
"You can't expect a happy ending all the time. You, of all people, should know that," Kat said, with slight disappointment in her voice.
"I just can't help feeling that she thought my life was worth more than hers, when it's not. Just because I'll live forever doesn't make my life more important," Jake said.
The two were silent for a while.
"I think this the only way it could have come out."
"What do you mean?!" Jake asked angrily.
Kat spun and faced Jake.
"Think about it. If you had given your life, Shinigami and I would have been trapped in the demon world forever, and who knows what could have happened. Besides...she said she saw a vision..."
"You always have a choice," Jake retorted. "The future is never certain, and I, of all people, should know that."
"There's no point in beating yourself up now Jake. All we can do is hope she's somewhere else now. In a better place. I wish we knew where her family was... or who her friends were."
Jake looked toward the sky.
"I think she would have liked this better. Small, quiet, confined. She was a pretty solitary person."
There was a great roar in the distance. Jake smiled grimly. The Death Raptor stood in the distance, its fiery wings open, roaring with all its might and fury, trying to find its master. Jake had tried to make the Zoid understand, but 'death' was not a concept most Zoids could comprehend. The Raptor let out another mournful roar.
"We should do something..." Kat said.
"No. The Raptor will stay here forever and guard her grave. Soon the Zoid will understand that its master will never return, and that it is up to him to keep her spirit alive. This land will become a sacred place guarded by a powerful Zoid, and no one shall disturb it, letting Shinigami rest in peace," Jake said.
He turned away and started to walk in the opposite direction. Kat ran up to him and grabbed his arm.
"Aren't you going to say...Good-bye?"
Jake smiled softly at her.
"It is never good-bye."
{A/N: Well that's it. Thanks for sticking this long everyone. I've had a couple requests for a sequel, but I'm pretty dry with ideas at the moment. I have a few ideas, but they're more in the 'use the TV show character' category. In other words, if you want a sequel, give me ideas. ^^; Please EMAIL them to me at blue_tenshi@smapxsmap.net Hope to see you on the battle field of my next story, whatever it may be. Bye all.}
