Notes: Obviously, I can't please everyone. Not that I'm trying. I'm just typing up stuff I've dreamed night after night. If my fantasy doesn't match yours or make you happy, sorry. But if you've stuck around this long and you're reading this, it must have some redeeming qualities…right?
Anyway, it's time to remind everyone that there's more than one godboy in this story.
This chapter will be short and unsweetened.
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Chapter 3
"Sometimes I think you TRY to be this annoying. Then I remember you've got a monster in your head." Zero whirled on his Repairer. "But that's STILL no excuse to not talk to me! And now, of all times!"
Kizna continued to stare at her feet as she hugged her knees to her chest.
"Fine, I'll go alone. But this is NOT gonna make Ernn Laties like you any more than she does now!"
There was no reply.
With an angry sigh, Zero finished suiting up and walked out, slamming the door shut behind him. He nearly ran right into Erts.
"Something wrong, Zero?" Erts asked.
"Of course," Zero muttered, walking past him.
It took Erts a second to recover; he wasn't used to Zero being truly upset about something. "Where's Kizna?" he asked, moving to catch up.
"Indisposed," Zero grunted.
Erts let out a nervous laugh. "But…this is the fate of humanity. What could be more important?"
"She's a girl," Zero snapped. "Girls need…private time. Personal space. Stuff like that."
"…NOW?" Erts asked in complete disbelief.
"Bad timing. Because she's KIZNA."
"…how…unfortunate," Erts murmured.
"Yeah, but for WHO?"
"Ah…well…" Erts cleared his throat. "Do you think you can…fly alone?"
"Guess we'll find out."
"…you're kidding. Yes?" Erts pleaded.
"It's a bad day any way you look at it. Try not to get killed, okay? I might need to vent later."
Erts smirked. "Of course. I had plans of my own."
"Do they involve a certain Repairer we both know?"
"I thought you were angry?"
Zero shrugged. "I can be angry and amused. So, do they?"
"They might. Shouldn't you be focused on what lies ahead? Mainly, battle?"
"There's no point. I know how it turns out. It's like a book I've already read."
"And how does the story end?" Erts asked.
"We're home in time for breakfast, naturally. Nobody dies and nothing changes."
Erts shook his head. "Something always changes. Even if we don't notice it right away. That's why they call it experience."
"Do you always get philosophical before battles?"
"It's a hard habit to break, I'm afraid."
"Let's just hope you don't still get that way during fights. I don't think the Victim came for a speech."
* * * * *
"I don't see why you insist on helping him. It won't do any good in the end."
Kizna sighed. "I told you, Zero can get us out of here. But to do that, he needs us to want to get out."
Kizzie (or Past, as she insisted on calling herself) smirked. "Oh. I hadn't thought that just believing we'd get out would actually help. Let me try that now." She closed her eyes for a second. "Hmm. Didn't work. Oh well. At least I'm not surprised."
"Can't you be positive for just five minutes?"
"No."
"…I think you need a hug."
Kizzie snorted. "That's your answer to every thing I say."
"Well, if you'd quit sounding like you needed one…"
"Well, maybe you should quit forcing your stupid hugs onto me. Since you're the one with the weird need to hug somebody every ten minutes."
"It's not weird. It's perfectly normal to want to hug someone you like."
"Yeah, but I don't like YOU. So it doesn't really work out too well, does it?"
"Why are you always like this? You know I care about you, Kizzie."
"It's PAST, and I won't say it again, PRESENT."
Kizna frowned. "You shouldn't call yourself that. That's what…It wants."
"In case you hadn't noticed, It has already won."
"No, It hasn't. We can still get out of here."
"No, we can't. We're trapped. By definition, that means we can't escape."
"How would YOU know? Have you ever even tried?"
Kizzie scowled at her again. "Either go away or just shut up."
"You know I can't leave."
"Then SHUT UP!"
Kizna turned away. "You know, maybe It doesn't even have to catch the last one of us. I think you're turning into It more and more with every passing second, and you don't even know it. Or maybe you do; I can't decide which would be worse to watch. But I do know you're only making It happy by always yelling at me like you are."
In the long silence that followed, Kizna's thoughts turned again to Zero. She was worried that he wouldn't be able to do his best without her watching his back. Maybe she was more concerned that he'd do something that they would all regret later. Either, she had a terrible feeling that after this mission, nothing would ever be the same.
Suddenly, Kizzie was beside her. "So. What do you believe in?"
"Huh?"
"What keeps you going? Why haven't you given up? What do you put your faith in?"
Kizna thought for a few seconds, and then replied with a shrug, "Zero."
"Why? What's so great about him?"
"I'll let you know when I can put it into words. For now, let's just say I have NO idea. But that doesn't stop me from trusting in him. If Zero says he's going to do something, then he will. He told me that we're partners, and partners don't leave each other. I know he'll come back for us. He has to."
"Does he?"
"Yes. He does," Kizna said softly. "Because that's who he is…"
* * * * *
Zero knew it was crazy. He'd known that for some time now. But in all that time, no alternate solution had made itself known, and Kizna's condition had not changed at all. If he didn't do it, there was a good chance he would have to watch her die. If he did do it, there was a good chance he would have to watch humanity die instead. The other Pilots probably had the best chance of survival, and when it came right down to it, at least one of the couples would be willing to repopulate Zion. If there even was a Zion after all this, anyway.
Zero was the hero. Would he save the day or get the girl?
If he saved the day and lost the girl, he would probably destroy himself, if the guilt didn't first.
If he saved the girl and lost the war, she would be pissed at him for getting everyone killed. Anyway, how could anyone live with the death of an entire civilization on their conscience?
If there was ever a time when he needed Teela's guidance, it was now. But since he'd set foot on GIS roughly a month ago, there had been no sign of Teela, not even in his dreams and visions. The only thing he ever saw anymore was the question and its consequences.
The girl, or the day. Which would he choose? Which could he choose?
Zero had never answered, because part of him knew, and had always known his choice. It was dangerous for all involved, and even if it worked out right, he would most likely die as a result, if not in the process.
But the worst part was that Zero couldn't tell anyone. He couldn't warn the other Pilots, the Repairers, or the Observer of what he was about to do. Had anyone learned of his plan, they would've called him crazy and booted him out. For all he knew, he was knowingly leading them to their deaths, and still he had to look them in their eyes with no trace of fear, guilt, or doubt.
Now he understood why Teela had been so detached. To get too close was a mistake. Because you stopped thinking of them as Pilots and Repairers, and started thinking of them as friends. Family. Brothers and sisters that needed to be taken care of. Knowing you had the power to issue a life-altering command, and that most of them would obey it, without question—it was a horrible realization. Their blind trust in him, the one thing he'd fought so hard to gain, would be the very thing to tear them all apart.
* * * * *
From the moment the idea entered her head, Saki had suspected it was not a very good one.
All the same, Ikhny was barely eating at all anymore, and just lying to her, even if it did make her feel better temporarily, didn't seem right.
In some strange way, poor Ikhny had become attached to her Candidate. Strange because although the Pilot-Repairer relationship was purposely designed that way, Hiead had made every attempt to prove that Ikhny was nothing more than tool that occasionally required use. Now, he had even done away that, becoming totally reliant on his advanced training to prepare him for promotion.
The sad thing was that no one had just come out and told Ikhny to occupy her time by doing something else. There were always plenty of odd jobs around GOA that needed doing, and despite her shyness, Ikhny was fairly suited for several of them. Despite that, everyone continued to operate under the assumption that Ikhny was Hiead's Repairer, even though she clearly was nothing of the sort any longer, if she ever really had been.
Saki had tried talking her into taking the mysterious job offer that arrived in a letter one day, but Ikhny refused to budge until something new happened with Hiead. It was almost as if she were concerned about him.
So Saki took it upon herself to give Ikhny regular reports on Hiead. It was harder than she'd initially imagined; Hiead almost never emerged from the gravity chamber. When he did, he always moved too quickly to get more than a glance. But the reports did seem to lift Ikhny's spirits, even if they painted a picture of a larger, stronger, much more threatening Hiead than anyone had previously known.
After a while, it became part of her daily routine, and Saki forgot something very important about dealing with Hiead. Even though she was the one watching him, it had never occurred to her that HE might be watching HER, and making plans of his own to deal with her.
So when she came across a wide-open gravity chamber late one night, Saki's first thought was not one of caution, but of panic. If there was no report on Hiead…or if he had gone missing…what would happen to Ikhny? More importantly, what might she do to herself without him?
After confirming that he was really gone by peering inside, Saki ran to find…someone. At least, she would have, if not for the heavy hand that struck the side of her neck, knocking her out instantly.
He caught her more by accident than anything else, as she fell backwards, for some reason. But now that he had her, he would make good use of her…