Well, here be numbah 13. ABOUT TIME, i mean it took me all day to write this one. Plus re-reading it was a pain, which is why for today only you will find each segment marked. Thats right, I got confused reading my own stuff. Well, I'm pretty sure I won't have any more flash back junkages for a while, so the next chapter sho0uld be straight up MIKE in the present.

I hope you enjoy this part, cuz I'm done with the commentary. Later.

Mike>

"Can you excuse me for a moment?" said Samus as she stood up. "I need to use the rest room."

"Alright," I said, not stopping her. She went away in search of a rest room, and my emotions suddenly came back into my head. I leaned back into my chair, and then rested my milk shake onto the table before me.

'Why did this have to be the closest planet?' I thought.

I looked over to the horizon, imagining the sunset from that night. My eyes envisioned the orange sun, the care free clouds, and a dull pain came to my chest. This pain was followed by a swelling of tears in my eye, though I forced them not to show themselves to the world.

Mike: Past>

"Michael, have you ever had ice cream before!" said Emilia, somewhat annoyed.

"I have."

"Well…"

"…"

I kept silent, as I did not care for the stuff. Wishing for a fight to break out, I began to look around, waiting for one to happen.

"Michael!"

"Fine, alright… I'll have chocolate milk shake, if that'll make you happy."

The Pandeenian (Panda People) behind the counter quickly began to make the milk shake and ice cream we had requested for, and soon handed them to us. I paid for them, and then was led by Emilia to a table.

Emilia quickly dove into her ice cream, the multiple flavors apparently intriguing her sense of taste to no end. I simply sucked on my straw, seeing as I had nothing better to do at the time.

"This is soooo good!"

"…"

Noticing that I didn't say anything to her words, Emilia raised her eyes at me. We looked at each other, and then she simply went back to her ice cream.

"I really don't see why you wanted to bring me along, Emilia," I said. "I would have been fine on the ship."

"I brought you with me," said Emilia, just after a quick gulp of ice cream, "because you need to loosen up a little."

"I do not," I said apprehensively.

"Yes you do!" said Emilia, now very annoyed. "You're always in those fighter ships, or doing those crazy missions of yours! And if you aren't doing those, then you're working out in your room alone!"

"So what? Why's it important to you?"

"Because you don't do anything else! And plus, you're always being a dick to all the crew!"

"Well that's just tough."

"You know, you really piss me o-"

Mike: Present>

"Michael?"

"Huh?" I said, startled by the voice. Finding it to be Samus, I relaxed a little. "Oh, sorry. I see you're back"

"Yeah. You ready?"

"Ready? For what?" I asked, somewhat confused by Samus' statement.

"The Ferris Wheel, silly. Come on!"

Samus pulled me out of my chair and began tugging me to the Ferris. It was as if she was trying to run as fast as she could, and she was dragging me along with her. Her blonde hair waved in the air like dozens of silk ribbons, somehow reminding me of…

Mike: Past>

"Emilia, stop trying to pull my arm off!"

"What, are you afraid of heights, Michael?" She said playfully.

"Of course not, you idiot! I just don't want to go on this stupid Ferris Wheel!"

"Well that's too bad. You're going on this ride whether you like it o-"

Mike: Present>

"Michael!"

"Huh?"

"Come on, step inside."

"Okay."

Carefully, I stepped inside the cabin, and then shut the door behind me. There weren't too many people waiting to get on, so there wasn't a problem with seats. Carefully, I sat down next to Samus, who was busy looking out over the horizon.

"Nice few," I said, trying to get my mind off of Emilia.

"I know. Too bad the suns down already."

Suddenly feeling a strange need to yawn, I stretched my legs and arms out, opening my mouth for the nuisance roar. I took a long deep breath, and then shook my head to try and stop yawning.

"What was that?" Samus said jokingly.

"Sorry, just felt weird," I said apologetically.

"Tired, huh?"

"No, not really."

"Well, if you are, we can always go back to the ship."

"No, no, I'm fine. Really."

"Well, alright," said Samus, a tone of melancholy in her voice.

Carefully, and apparently out of the blue, Samus rested her head onto my shoulder. A little startled by this, I cautiously rested my right hand onto her shoulder, holding her to my chest.

"You don't mind, do you?"

"No, not at all. You just caught me off guard."

Just then, the Ferris wheel began to move, jerking the two of us forward. The wheel soon stopped, allowing the next group of people to board.

"It's really peaceful here," Samus said, squirming a little to get comfortable.

"I suppose."

"You suppose?" Samus said, raising her head to look me in the eye.

"Well, yeah."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how I was in the Federation during the war twenty years ago, right?"

"Yeah, I remember," said Samus. "What about it?"

"Well, about a year before the war ended, we were given a week's time for leave. And it was right here on this planet."

"Wow, so you've been here before?"

"Yep. Well, I didn't want to go because I wanted to fight the Belkan's rather then waste my time relaxing. Well, Emilia, the girl in the photo you found, she dragged me out of the ship and we ended up coming onto this Ferris wheel too."

"What?" said Samus, pushing off my chest to get a better view into my eyes. My hand moved a little, and now rested on her back.

"Yeah. Well, we had ice cream first, and then she dragged a reluctant me onto the Ferris Wheel, where we talked and…"

Samus>

"And… what?" I said, trying to get Michael to continue.

"Well, this was where I got my first kiss."

"What! No!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Michael, a younger version of the stud he was today, got his first kiss with Emilia here. Remembering what she looked like from the photo on his night stand, I really found that hard to believe.

"Yes. That's what happened," He said, leaning back in his seat. "Well, I was kinda stunned, but soon I got sucked in, and we were making out for like a good minuet or two."

"Really! You must have enjoyed yourself."

I could feel the red coming to my face. I was certainly a bit embarrassed to talk about this, but I was curious. I wanted to know.

"Well, yeah. Afterwards, we rushed back to the ship, and then into my quarters, and… well."

"Wait… you two didn't…"

"Well, almost. We got naked, did the whole fondle each other thing… But sex didn't happen. The commander knocked on my door, and we had to change REAL quick."

"So did you two ever… you know."

"No, we didn't do it. We almost did about three times… Almost mind you."

"I bet you were horny."

"Not usually. Just sometime we got a little wrapped up in the whole affection thing that we got a little carried away."

"So if you two were so lovy dovy, why didn't you two hook up after the war?"

Just then, Michael began to scratch his head, taking in several deep breaths. From the look on his faced, it looked like this subject was very touchy.

"Well… About three months after leave, we were in the Terra Omega quadrant, looking for enemy vessels. Nearby was the planet Plebes, where a secret Belkan base was built. We were attacked by the base, and soon a number of enemy Warships came and began to fight the ship. The commander had me go on a solo mission to take out the base, all the while the ship had to fight three Warships by itself. I must say, out Mech soldiers knew what they were doin' back then."

"So what happened? I know you lived because you're right here. But what about everyone else?"

"Well, Emila oversaw the Mech launch rooms, and made sure that all the orders given by Major Anderson and the Commander. Well, the other Warships managed to get a number of hits on our ship, one of which was aimed at the Mech Launch room Emilia was in at the time. She got a lot of major injuries, and only lived because I managed to rig the anti-space-craft guns to fire on the other warships."

"Oh my! How was she?"

I was starting to think this was a bad idea to ask, Michael had stopped looking me in the eye by now, and his hair covered all of his face. I could only imagine how he felt.

"Well, when I got aboard the ship, I learned of what happened to Emilia but one of the crew members, Sergeant McCoy. Well, I ran to sick bay as fast as I could, and I made it to Emilia just in time. But she soon passed away… leaving me all alone."

"That… That's horrible."

"There was a space funeral held for every member that died. After the funeral, I almost went AWOL and left on a fighter ship, but Major Anderson convinced me otherwise."

Mike>

'What am I doing? Stop it. Stop crying!'

After all of these years, I still couldn't help it. I tried to stop the tears, but I refused to wipe my face. My hands had become fists and we clenched just above my legs. It was a good thing my hair was fairly long, as it helped cover my face from Samus. I didn't want her of all people to see me like this.

"Yet, all I wanted to do was go somewhere with a lot of Belkan's and kill 'em all. They killed her, out of all the people in the ship! Why! Just because it was war! Just because of some stupid war, they had to kill my family on Gerood, and then kill the only person I had left!"

I could hear my fist digging into the leather like material of the seat, my anger manifesting itself once again. Tear had not only formed, but had quickly left trails down my cheeks. I felt horrible like this, a memory of a torment long past still haunting me today. I loved Emilia, but I had to let go. I need to let go.

"Michael," said a disheartened Samus'. "You're crying."

"She meant everything to me. She was the last shining hope I had, and they took her from me! I certainly swore vengeance those days, and waited for the day I could tear a Belkan limb from limb again."

"Michael, stop."

I fell silent, feeling no need to continue. I spilled my guts, and now I was tired of talking. My throat was sore, yet my tear burned like acid.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Samus asked, leaning towards me just a little. I nodded in response, but I would not dare talk.

"Do you still love her?" she asked.

I nodded. For some odd reason, I had a feeling Samus was going to touch me, so I quickly began to wipe my tears away. The acid had stopped hurting, and only the salt air remained. I was sure my eyes were still red from crying, but that would pass.

"And what about me?" she asked. While she spoke, Samus raised her hand, and pulled my hair out of the way, like a shower curtain. Turning to face her once more, I could see the mixture of sadness, curiosity, and fear in her eye.

"I..."

'No, there's no turning back. It's now or never."

I shook my head, and the answer was clear. Like a moment I had been afraid of, time seemed to move slowly. Yet I took time away, leaving only Samus and myself. I leaned, she held her ground, and we moved our lips together.