Hehe…I'm trying angst today, and what better subject matter than Gale Glory himself?

Disclaimer: I do not own Rave Master- that is the property of the genius of Hiro Mashima.

He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to see it. But, whenever he closed his eyes, his subconscious would spit out his worst memories one by one, allowing him to drown in a sea of suffering. Every night, he would relive that one day- that day that changed him from Gale Glory, father of two and devoted husband- a man who wanted to save the world- to Gale Glory, fugitive and outlaw- a man who had to run from everyone to prevent the Apocalypse from destroying anyone else besides him.

The same process repeated itself every night. He would wake, sweating up a storm, screaming her name as her life faded from her brilliant brown eyes. His hand would be tracing the jagged marring scar that ran diagonally across his face from his right check to the left side of his forehead. The scar that screamed for everyone to see who he was, that mutilated the once handsome features. He felt like a piece of livestock sometimes- branded by his scar and driven from place to place by bounty hunters, always searching for some respite from his trek across the barren wastelands of the world. What had happened to the old Gale Glory? The one admired by all, the man who had the perfect life…gone forever, shattered like a mirror by the stroke of a sword through the body of his beloved.

Sakura…

There was no denying the ache in his heart. He wanted her, wanted to have the fact that if he ever returned home to Garage Island, she would be there to welcome her worn and tired warrior home. But there would be no fact. There was no her. She was dead. She was dead by the hand of his supposed best friend. And he had died with her. How long he had sat there against the broken wall of the old DC headquarters, cradling her icy body, he didn't know. All he knew was that he had nothing left to live for. His wife was dead. His best friend hated him. He was a living time bomb. And then, unconsciously, he would lift his hand to feel that one hard bump in his head- straight smack in the middle of his face. He would feel it, his heart racing, as he imagined what the small throbbing ball inside his face would do if it decided to explode right then and there.

End of Earth…

That was his punishment. He was doomed to be the world's destroyer…how ironic, considering he had wanted to save the world when he had started out. The small hard Dark Bring embedded in his head, placed there by King, Gale Raregroove, his best friend, his partner, his buddy in an act of revenge that he had brought on himself. He should have known better, but he had only been one man…and one man could only make one choice. He had just chosen the wrong choice. He regretted doing it so much. He could still hear the screams…of men, of King, and of King's family…he had destroyed it all. And now, here he was, drowning in a sea of despair and regret that he had forced himself into.

He was ready to die, ready to give up, but something held him back from whenever he felt like ending his pathetic existence. That same something always held him back whenever he on impulse pulled out the Azure Sky Blade and stared into its icy depths, imagining the feeling of his blood running down his chest. Whenever he looked into the blade, he was always met with the same scarred battered features. He was never met with a person that he felt deserved to live. There was nothing left for him…and yet, there was a glimmer of hope still in him that someone, anyone, would still need Gale Glory. He always hoped that one day, he would come across one of his two children. Cattleya would probably run to him, wrap him in her embrace, pull her father tight to her, and never let go. But it was Haru's reaction that always stumped him. He had not seen the boy for 15 long years. He knew nothing about Haru, about his son. But he always hoped that he would one day know everything about him.

Hope…

That was all he could do for now- hope. Hope for redemption, and hope for the future. Gale Glory stood up. It was time to move on…time to find a way to keep his fragile hope alive. He took a step…and then another…until he disappeared over the horizon, the only reminder that he had been there were his footprints in the sand.

Fin

A/N: Okay, a little short, but if I tried to make it any longer, I would have just been dragging it on and on forever. Gale has long for some reason been my favorite character in all of RAVE, so this is sort of like my tribute to him. Please review- I would like some feedback.