Part 2

Power.

From the fire comes my power. With this power, I can do anything. Kill any person, destroy any foe...

Well, that's not doing anything. That's undoing.

Kill or be killed, attack or defend, advance or retreat... why? Using all of our abilities to harm others?

Why?

There, in the distance, the white suit, one of the only things left standing in between us and victory. Foes fall before me in droves as I start to move towards him. When he's gone, then maybe I can rest...

I feel an emptiness inside me, an emptiness that can only be from the want of peace, the want of friendship... but above all, there is another emptiness inside me.

The want of humanity.

--

"You did what?" Jess exclaimed.

"We're legends now," I said. "Some guy even asked for our autographs."

I took a big bite of my burger. It was routine: Allan and I hit the arcade for exactly an hour and a half, and then met back here with our other friends for lunch – a ritual unbroken for almost two years.

"Really? That's pretty good," She said.

"Isn't it? Fame and fortune follows shortly, of course," Allan said, pulling out one of his trademark un-funny jokes.

The whole room seemed to fall silent. I munched on some fries, grinning - Allan has done it again. In all likelihood, no one would talk for another five minutes. I finished my fries up, and still no one said anything. Allan looked down at his food, as did Jess. Kent stared off into space.

"Go?" Allan finally asked.

"Yeah," I said.

We all stood up and left. The sun was still high in the sky, which meant a few more hours to blow off. So, we picked a direction and started walking.

It wasn't long before we came upon a shopping plaza, less busy than usual. There didn't seem to be much there, a few clothing stores, a few furniture stores... an arcade...

"Hey, I didn't know that there was an arcade here," I said, pointing to the sign. Allan followed my finger to one of the plaza's corners. There it was, an arcade, the biggest I've ever seen.

"Holy shit," he said, "I'm going in. Who's with me?"

"You got it," I said, "Maybe we can smash another Ryvian machine, huh?"

"You guys... oh, all right, I'll go and see what these arcades are about," Jess said.

Kent nodded. With that, we were off. Sure enough, there was a brand-new Ryvian machine, but it was already taken. Apparently some sort of impromptu arcade tournament had been set up, and it was just beginning.

"Cash prize... a hundred bucks? Sweet!" Allan exclaimed, "Look at them, Mike. They suck!"

"Hundred bucks, it's all ours. Teams, huh? Hey guys, we're now a team," I said.

"What? I don't know what to do!" Jess said.

"Just push the shoot button, and you'll be alright," Allan said, giving her his reassuring smile. "How bout it?"

She nodded, as did Kent. I handed the arcade owner five bucks, and we were in. A few minutes later, the first round was over. First round matches were always quick and ugly – the boys haven't yet been separated from the men. One match lasted thirty seconds. That was ours. They slammed the machine with disgust, and left promptly.

Soon, the second round rolled around. We took our spots at our machine, and hunkered down for some serious competition.

"Fight!" Bellowed the speakers, and the match started.

Right off the bat, I smacked an opponent with a missile before he could even touch his joystick. He was kneeling over, putting his drink down at the time. 1-0, us. Kent was mashing the fire button and traded hits with an opponent.

Finally, hundreds of missile shots later, we were the victors for the day. The arcade manager reassured us that indeed, we would be recognized and seeded first for tomorrow's finals.

"Well then, let's get going," Allan said.

"Yeah, lets," Jess said. Something about the place seemed to freak her out.

"Hey, where's the exit?" I asked. "Wasn't it just over there?"

Well, we must've been disoriented or something, because I could've sworn that the entrance was... right...

--

It was the worst sleep I've ever had in a long, long time. Long, labored... nothing like sleeping back home. Come to think of it, one of the reasons that I enjoyed sleeping was because half a day was gone just like that.

But no, this was different. It was like I felt every second of it, conscious, but unable to move or see. It seemed to last forever, hours of not seeing or feeling...

Hey, what about Allan? Was he alright? Was he with me? Kent? What about Jess? Was she ok? Where were we?

Finally, feeling started to come back to me. It wasn't a good feeling at all – first numbness, then dull pain. My limbs felt like potato sacks, and my head felt like it was hit by a GINN. It was like waking up in the morning, only to find out you've been run over by a truck, and being run over by another one.

"Wh... ahh..."

Words wouldn't come out of my mouth – apparently it wasn't working either. Even worse, real feeling was starting to return to my arms, so I could finally figure out where I was.

Then, the blackness faded from my vision, and my hearing also returned.

"We've got a live one."

"Then bring him up."

I was hauled upright by two sets of powerful arms, and dragged forward. I tried to move my legs, but they wouldn't respond. My feet dragged against the floor... solid metal, probably...

Finally, my vision returned, just fast enough to see metal rushing straight for my face. I hit the floor face-first, my arms unable to react fast enough to cushion the blow. Something cracked, either my nose or the metal floor... yeah, probably my nose.

"Stand up!"

That voice... not a pleasant one at all - gruff, deep, and commanding. My arms wouldn't move, and my legs still wouldn't work.

"Damn it! Stand!"

I felt a sharp pain near my chest, and I flew off the ground. I hit a wall, and came crashing down. The pain seemed to jolt my limbs back into action, and this time, I managed to break my fall with my hands. I clutched the wall for support, and stood up. Blood from my nose was starting to drip against the ground, but I didn't care. What the hell was going on?

"You, Mike Bauer, have been charged with treason," said the man who'd spoken before. I got my first glimpse of him – big man, broad shoulders and huge muscles. He also held a rifle at his waist, pointed straight at me. "Your trial is over, and your sentence is military service."

"Treason... trial? What trial?"

"You don't even remember," he said, sneering. "It doesn't matter anyways. You're far away from Orb now. We're going to Africa."

Africa? All I knew about Africa was that ZAFT had a base north of it, Gibraltar, wasn't it? Other than that, it was a pretty quiet region.

"Military service?" I asked. So much was going on... why? I'd done nothing wrong... "But... Orb doesn't have-"

"Who said you were going to be fighting for Orb?" he asked, grinning.

"Welcome to the Earth Alliance."

--

War.

What is it, but a waste of lives? No one can win. Try, try as we might...

Still, in the distance... the white suit. My target. The last symbol of peace standing between the two angered giants, ready to tear each other to pieces. But I can't think this way.

They control me, the scientists and politicians, they command me. I'm a machine, and when I fail, they'll stop maintaining me... they won't give me my liquid fire. Without it, I am nothing.

With it, I am still nothing.

(TBC)