Part 2 of the Taking the Dive arc. You guys seemed to enjoy part one a lot, and that makes me pretty dar happy. Hope you enjoy part 2.
Silence...
Darkness...
Those were the only things could make out. There was no sound, there were no smells, no sights, nothing except total darkness and absolute quiet.
"Why can I see anything? Why can't I hear anything?" Hiro thought to himself
Hiro looked around, but all he could see was black. Hiro raised his arm, he could feel it move, and yet, he could not see it.
"What is this place?" Hiro thought to himself as he looked around
Hiro called out to Iota to see if she was near, but as he moved his mouth, no words came out. No sound could be heard.
"Dammit...what's going on? Why can't I see myself, why can't I talk?" Hiro wondered
Suddenly, a small speck of light could be seen, a small dot in the darkness, growing larger as if it were coming closer and closer.
Hiro suddenly felt what could only be described as wind, pulling him closer and closer to the light until the seemingly endless darkness turned to light...
...and that was when Hiro opened his eyes...
Everything at first was blurry, he was unable to make anything out. But slowly, the fuzziness faded, and Hiro could soon see that he was lying in bed in his own room.
"This is...my room?" Hiro said to himself as he looked around
He could see his desk, his pictures and posters, everything was exactly the same as he remembered. As Hiro was looking around, he heard movement next to him. When he turned to see what had made the noise, he saw Iota sitting up in his bed, looking at him in confusion
A few seconds of staring went by before they realized the situation they were in
"AAAAAHHHH!" They both screamed as they both fell out of Hiro's bed
"Iota?! What the hell are you doing in my bed?!" Hiro asked demandingly
"Hiro?! Wait...what am I doing in your bed?!" Iota asked loudly
"I don't know, you tell me," Hiro said as he began to calm down a bit
As the two stood there in Hiro's room, they both remembered the situation they had been in before.
"Weren't we in those chairs a minute ago? How did we end up in my bedroom?" Hiro said as he paced around his room
"Beats me, last thing I remember was sitting in those chairs as well," Iota said as she sat in Hiro's desk chair
The two thought for a moment until Hiro thought of an answer
"Wait...Kitaroshi said that we would be transported into a world made of our memories...could this be it?" Hiro asked Iota as he turned to face her
Iota looked around the room for a moment before responding.
"I wouldn't know, even if this is a memory, I don't think it's mine," Iota said with a shrug
"Yea, that's true...it sucks that there isn't any clear way to tell. Everything looks the same as it always has, there's nothing here that's out of-"
"Hiro! C'mon buddy, you'll be late if you don't get your butt downstairs!" A voice said from downstairs as it interrupted Hiro
"That voice..."Hiro said a he slowly turned to face the door
Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Slowly, the door opened, and a man who looked much like Hiro was on the other side
"It...it can't be..." Hiro said a he backed away slightly
"Alight alright...I'm getting up," a groggy voice said from Hilo's bed
Hiro and Iota quickly turned to face the bed. Getting out of it was a smaller, younger version of Hiro, dressed in childish pajamas.
"Breakfast is ready, now get down here before I eat it all without you," said the older man with a playful smile as he quickly made his way back downstairs
"Hey, no fair! I just got up!" The younger Hiro said as he quickly ran after the man
The young Hiro closed the door behind him, leaving Iota and Hiro alone once again.
"Hiro...that was your dad," Iota said as she looked sadly at her friend
"I know...he's dead and yet...he was right there in front of me," Hiro said in disbelief
"Okay, so now we know that we are definitely inside of that memory world Kitaroshi told us about. That being the case, this has to be one of your memories," Iota said confidently
Hiro, who had been looking at his phone, turned to face her.
"Yea, it has to be, the date on my phone isn't the same as before," Hiro said as he showed Iota the phone
Iota looked at the date for a moment, and a look of surprise soon showed on her face
"Wait...this date, it's-"
"That's right," Hiro said as he interrupted Iota
"It's the day he died..."
Both Hiro and Iota stood in silence for a moment, letting the realization sink in.
"So Hiro, what do we do? Our goal is to remember our past lives, but I don't have the slightest clue of how to do that," Iota exclaimed
"You're right, there has to be some way to find our old memories, the ones from our past life," Hiro said as he looked around his room again
Hiro stood around for a moment, pondering on what to do, he paced around his room in thought, eventually opening his window and leaning on the windowsill, still lost in thought.
"You know...even if this is a world constructed from our minds...it still feels so real," Hiro said as he looked out at the city of Mistilteinn, sparkling under the morning sky
Iota walked over and leaned next to him
"Yea, I know what you mean. Even if it is all generated by some computer, it still feels like we are back home," Iota said
Hire smiled at her before turning to look back out at the city. It looked so beautiful as the shining buildings glimmered in the sun. Hiro stood up and walked over to his bedroom door, a small smile on his face.
"Hiro? Where are you going?" Iota asked as she got up and turned to face him
Hiro placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it.
"C'mon Iota, we're not going to find anything out by staying in here the whole time. Right now, we should at least explore this place and see what we can find ourselves," Hiro said as he opened the door
Iota simply smiled as she followed Hero out of his bedroom.
Iota had seen Hiro's house before, she had been inside it many times. Everything about it looked the same to her, the pictures in the hallway, all of the doors belonging to the other rooms, even the stairs she would always walk up to go hang out in Hiro's room on some days after school.
Hiro and Iota walked down the stairs, stairs that they knew all to well. They started to hear voices coming from the kitchen, voices of a young child, a joyful woman, and a humorous man.
"So Hiro, Whatcha got going on at school today? Anything worth telling your old man about?" Hiro's dad asked the young Hiro
"Mmmm...nah, just another lame school day," the young Hiro said before eating a spoonful of cereal
"Oh don't be like that, you have your friends to hang out with everyday. That shouldn't make school lame for you," Hiro's mom Mireya said as she washed the dishes
The younger Hiro just let out a small chuckle in response
"What, those guys? Sure, they're funny and all, but I swear, they get into trouble almost every day, and I'd rather not be there when they do," said the younger Hiro
Hiro and Iota just watched the happy family conversation continue on, smiles etched on their faces
"Wow...so this is what you were like before we met," Iota said as she watched the conversation
"What do you mean? I'm like that now aren't I?" Hiro asked with a puzzled look on his face
Iota chuckled and smiled at Hiro.
"When I met you under the tree, you seemed happy, but I could tell you weren't. That showed even more as our friendship grew. Your father's death crushed you on the inside, it took me years to get you back to, well...this," Iota said as she gesture at the happy family in front of them
"Huh...yea, I guess you are right about that," Hiro said with a small smile
It was at that moment that Hiro's dad got up and walked towards the door.
"Alright, I'll see you guys for dinner tonight for sure, no late night tonight," Hiro's dad said happily as he grabbed his coat of of the coat rack by the door
"You promised you be home by seven o'clock sharp, don't be late dear," Mireya yelled from the kitchen
"Don't worry, I'll be here," Hiro's dad said in response
Hiro watched his dad open the door and leave the house for the last time. A look of grief slowly made its way onto Hiro's face.
"That must have been hard to watch..." Iota said as she placed a hand on Hiro's shoulder
"He promised to be home that night, for us...it wasn't even his fault that his promise was broken," Hiro said sadly
The two friends stood in silence for a moment, that was when Hiro walked over to the front door
"C'mon, there's no time to feel sad about things that we can't change. Let's go look around the city for any clues as to what we're looking for," Hiro said as he opened his front door
Iota walked outside, leaving his house behind.
When Hiro and It opened the front door, they expected to be outside, however, something happened that they did not expect.
"Woah...hang on...where the hell are we?" Iota asked in confusion
The two confused teenagers found themselves not outside of Hiro's house, but inside of a massive reception room full of people.
Iota and Hiro could tell something was off, everyone Around them was wearing black clothing, and when they looked at each other, they too were somehow wearing all black attire
"Hiro, what Is this place? What the hell happened?" Iota asked as she looked around
Hiro was also confused, that was until he saw himself and his mother sitting alone at one of the tables.
"I know where we are...this is my dad's funeral," Hiro said in shock
Iota looked around and connected all of the dots
"Holy crap...you're right. The black clothes, the mood, it all adds up. But what doesn't add up is how the hell we got here," Iota said in a frustrated tone
"I don't really get it either, the funeral took place days after my dad died, so somehow, we just skipped all of those days entirely," Hiro explained
The two walked around the room, passing past people unnoticed, listening to the conversations happening around them. Although they could see people's mouths moving, the two noticed that they didn't understand what was being said.
"Why can't we understand what they're saying?" Iotas asked as she looked around at the other people in the room
"That's because what they said isn't part of our memories, so even though we see them talking, all we hear is senseless noise," Hiro explained
As the two talked, they were interrupted by a conversation that they understood
"Mom...are we going to be okay?" A young Hiro asked from a nearby table
Mireya, who's eyes were still filled with tears and sadness, tried to put on her best smile to comfort her son
"Don't worry Hiro, we'll be fine. I won't let anything bad happen to us..." Mireya said happily, although it was clear that her happiness was forced
The young Hiro, sad and grieving as well, smiled as well.
"I believe you, we can get past this, just like the heroes in the story dad always told me," the young Hiro said with a smile
"Story? Ah...you mean the one he tells you before you go to bed," Mireya said with a small smile
"Yeah, the story about the heroes who saved the world! You know, Z**o T*o and H*r*. Just like them, we can get through this," The young Hiro said confidently
Iota and Hiro both noticed that when the young Hiro said the two names, he glitched out, like a bug in a video game, or a glitch in a program.
"Hiro, you saw that right?" Iota asked in shock
"The names...those have to be a clue, a clue to our past!" Hiro exclaimed excitedly
"I could have sworn you said something, I almost heard it. It almost sounded like you were trying to say something about the number ze-"
Before Iota could finish the sentence, the rooms round them began to glitch, images flashing in and out of existence at a rapid pace, each one just as distorted as the last.
A big wooden house...
An indoor city...
A green field under a blue sky streaked with smoke trails...
A planet the color of amethyst sitting alone in space...
A lone cherry tree...
And for a moment of belief moment, Hiro thought he saw something, something from his childhood that was important to him...
He thought he saw a picture book, one that his father gave him...
He remembered something he said...
"Hiro, my dear son. One day, you will understand the meaning of this book and the story it tells. One day..."
"You will understand what that name at the end of the book means to you..."
"A prince..."
"Becoming one with his princess..."
All of these images kept flashing until they finally stopped. Hiro and Iota were now standing in front of an elementary school, kids exiting excitedly as the school day ended.
"What...was that?" Hiro said to himself as he looked at Iota with bewildered eyes
"I don't know...I didn't recognize a single thing though," she said with an equally bewildered look
As the two tried to process what he just happened, they finally noticed where they had ended up next
"Wait, this is my elementary school. What are we doing here of all places?" Iota asked as she looked around
"Beats me. If this is where you went to school when you were my age, this must be one of your memories this time, not mine," Hiro said as he looked Around as well
The two noticed a small, pink haired girl running happily down the steps of the school entrance, a huge smile spread across her face. She ran right past Hiro and Iota over to a car parked along the curb, with a man standing in front of it.
The man in question was smiling as the girl came running, and embraced her in a hug when she got close to him.
"Iota, you're looking especially happy today. How was your day at school?" The man asked
The pink haired girl looked up at him and smiled
"It was great! Today, we started this big group project, and I got paired with all my friends, and then we-"
Hiro and Iota watched happily as the young Iota bragged about how amazing her day was. Eventually, the two got in their car and drove off.
"Wow, I forgot how energetic you were back then," Hiro said with a laugh
"Hey, it was better than being mopey like you," Iota said a she playfully elbowed Hiro
The two watched until the car drove out of sight.
"This is your memory, so maybe we should start by walking back to your house from here," Hiro suggested
"Yea, that sounds like a good idea," Iota said
The two friends began to walk away from the school and towards the city, the towering skyscrapers of Mistilteinn twinkling not too far off.
As they made their way into the city, almost everything was exactly the same as they remember. The same shops were still in business, the same restaurants were still serving customers, and the same places where the two remembered having so much fun together were still there.
"Wow, everything here looks just like I remember back then," Hiro said as he continued to observe his surroundings
"Yea, I can recognize almost everything here, but there are some names of places I can't read, probably because I don't really remember them," Iota said with a smile
Hiro looked up at the sky and noticed that they still had a while before it would start to get dark.
"Hey, we still have a good amount of time before it gets dark, is there anywhere you want to visit before we make it to your place?" Hiro asked
"Yea, there is one place I want to visit," Iota said as she took Hiro's hand
"Woah, hey!" Hiro said as Iota began to pull him as she began to run
The two weaved in and out of crowds of unrecognizable people, past shops and stores, across roads and passed parks, until after what seemed like forever, Iota finally stopped.
When they were done catching their breath, Hiro looked up to see just where Iota had ended up. Hiro noticed that they were in a large park area, with paths and benches all over the place. The one thing that stood out to Hiro though, was the massive machine standing in front of him, slightly covered in vines and rust, giving it an ancient look.
"Iota, you brought us to the memorial park?" Hiro asked her
Iota looked back at Hiro with a smile.
"I thought that if there were any clues in this bit of memory, it would be here!" Iota said as she gestured all around her
Hiro just sighed and smiled back at her.
"I'm not surprised you thought of that," Hiro said as he followed her into the park
The pair walked around in the park as the sky began to turn pink. They noticed other pairs like them enjoying each other's company, other couples holding hands as they walked. Iota and Hiro couldn't help but smile.
Hiro, in the spur of the moment, took Iota's hand in his, catching Iota off guard for a moment. She looked at Hiro in surprise, but only noticed the smile on his face. She turned away blushing slightly, but she too was smiling.
It was at that moment that Iota noticed something and ginned even more, and she once again tugged Hiro along. The two stopped in front of a statue of a machine, a statue built to commemorate one that was lost long ago.
"So this is what you wanted to see?" Hiro asked as he stared at the statue
"Yep, I thought that if any one of these would give us a clue to our past, this would be it," Iota said as she looked up at it as well
"So, which Franxx is this?" Hiro asked
"I don't remember it's name, but what I do know is that this Franxx in particular was lost one thousand years ago at the very end of the VIRM war, the only one of the five Franxx that didn't survive," Iota explained
"Huh...so this one was never recovered?" Hiro asked
"Nope, although this one was said to be the one piloted by the saviors of the world, so that's probably why it doesn't exist anymore," Iota said
As Hiro continued to look at the statue, he got a strange feeling, a feeling like there was something deep inside him that knew what it was, almost like butterflies in his stomach.
"Darling..."
Hiro turned around quickly when he heard that voice, an uneasiness beginning to form inside of him
"Zero Two..."
Upon hearing that voice, Iota quickly did the same as Hiro, turning to look in all directions for the source of the voice. Much like Hiro, Iota felt uneasy, she felt that she knew that name from somewhere.
"Iota, did...?" Asked Hiro as he turned to face Iota
"Yea, I guess you did too," She said
The two just looked around in silence for a moment before Hiro spoke up.
"Well, it's starting to get dark out, so maybe we should finally get to your place," Hiro said as he gestured away from the park
"Yea...that sounds like a good idea, I was kinda hoping you'd say that after we heard those voices," Iota said with a smile
The two walked away from the park and back on to the city sidewalks, illuminated by the lights of the city.
As the two walked along, they enjoyed the night life of the city, even if it was just in their minds. However, as Hiro looked around, he began to realize something...
Something very important...
Hire stopped walking and began to look up into the sky as if he were trying to find something. Iota noticed that he had stopped walking, so she turned around and walked back to him.
"Hiro? What are you doing?" Iota asked with a puzzled expression
"I'm looking for the moon. If I'm right about this, then I know exactly when this day is," Hiro said as he continued to look around
As Hiro said that, he finally saw it, a full moon in the sky. Hiro knew what day this was...
It was the day he first met her...
This time, Hiro took Iota's hand and dragged her along with him.
"Woah, Hiro! Where are we going?" Iota asked as she ran along with Hiro
"You'll see when we get there! I know when this is, this day was more important than we realized!" Hiro said as he continued to run
Iota, still surprised with Hiro's sudden actions, just went along with it and ran with him. They waved in and out of crows, around corners, through crosswalks. They went everywhere
As they got closer to their destination, Iota realized where they were going. Soon enough, the massive cherry tree on top of the hill came into view.
The two ran up the hill, passed people who were already there, until they got to the top where the tree was. As they made it to the top, they both saw a lone boy wearing a White t-shirt with yellow stripes along with a pair of turquoise shorts, sitting alone under the tree...
Reading a picture book...
"Hiro, I didn't know that tonight was that night," Iota said as she looked at the young Hiro
The two just looked at the young Hiro as he quietly read the book to himself under the tree, the night breeze blowing cherry blossom petals around in the air.
"This was about a week after my dad's funeral. Even then, I wasn't even close to getting over his death. We lived close to this place, and somethings, dad would take me here with mom, and we would just read that picture book here, sitting in that exact same spot," Hiro said as he looked at his younger self with a sad smile
Iota looked at Hiro with sympathy in her eyes.
"My parents took me here to play on nights like this. We would run around for a bit, and then just lay down on the hillside and relax under the night sky," Iota said as she looked at the younger Hiro and smiled
"I know you did..." Hiro said as he glanced off to the right of his younger self
"Because on one of these nights...you showed up," Hiro said
Both of them could hear quick footsteps coming up the hill, and soon, the young Iota could be seen running up the hill. Her pink hair was flowing behind her, and she was wearing a casual white gown with an orange trim at the bottom. She looked happy as she ran under the night sky.
Not even a few seconds after, Iota's parents walked into view, and her mother called out to her.
"Stop running, you'll fall!" Iota's mother called out to her
"I'll be fine!" the young Iota yelled back as she continued to run carelessly
It was then that the young Iota tripped over one of the tree's roots, and fell face first and arms out right in front of the young Hiro. Hiro, who was startled by the sudden noise, was surprised to see that a girl had fallen in front of him
"Ow..." the young Iota said as she slowly got up
"Are you alright?" The young Hiro asked as he stretched out his had to help her up
"Who are you?" The young Iota asked as she took Hilo's hand
"Me? My name is..."
...
...
...
"Hiro, Hiro Juuroku," the young Hiro said As he helped the young Iota to her feet
The young girl smiled
"Hiro, that's a nice name! My name is Iota, Iota Nibanme. It's nice to meet you Hiro!" The young Iota said playfully
Hiro smiled back at the girl. As he was smiling, he noticed that Iota had dropped some candies on the ground. Hiro picked them up for her and handed them back.
"These are yours right?" The young Hiro asked as he handed them back
"Yes! Yes they are! These are my favorite candies, I always keep some with me wherever I go!" the young Iota said with a smile
Upon taking the candies, the young Hiro noticed that Iota had scraped her hand, and it was bleeding slightly.
"Hey, you're hand, its bleeding," Hiro said as he took it in his own
"Oh, yea..." Iota said shyly, and for some reason, a bit nervously
the young Hiro noticed that the blood was an unusual magenta color, but it didn't bother him
"May I?" Hiro asked as he raised her hand closer to his face
"Umm...what are you...?" Iota asked as Hiro moved her had again
Much to the young Iota's surprise, Hiro liked her wound, and then dabbed it dry with his shirt. Hiro noticed that Iota was blushing a bit, so he just smiled in return.
"There, you should be okay now," the young Hero said with a smile
"Th...thank you," the young Iota said quietly
The two stood there for a moment in silence, that was until Iota's mother broke the silence.
"Iota sweety, it's time to go!" Her mother yelled
"Coming mom!" The young Iota yelled back
As she turned away, the young Hiro smile wavered a bit, that was until he called out to Iota, who had just begun to run away.
"Hey, you think we can meet again sometime!?" Hiro called out to her
Iota paused for a brief moment to turn back to him and smile back
"Absolutely!" She yelled back before turning and running off.
As she disappeared from view, the young Hiro smiled to himself, as he too began to walk away back to his home...
Iota and Hiro stood and watched as their past selves disappeared completely, and once they did, that sat in the same spot where Hiro was sitting on the night they met. The two sat down next to each other and looked up at the night sky.
"Wow...that really took me back," Hiro said with a smile
"Yea, I remember this night as clear as day. Meeting you was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me," Iota said, equally happy
"I couldn't agree more, you saved me from a dark place Iota, and I will always be grateful for that. I mean, look how far we've come, look where we are now. You can't not say that our friendship has been pretty darn amazing," Hiro said with a slight chuckle
Iota let out a small chuckle of her own before both of them became silent. A few minutes went by before a question crossed Iota's mind, one that she asked before they even began their trip down memory lane.
"Hey Hiro, did you ever find out what you meant when you said that?" Iota asked
"When I said what?" Asked Hiro
"You know, back before we started this, you called me darling. Did you ever find out what you meant by that?" Iota asked
Hire sat silently for a moment before answering.
"No...I actually haven't," Hiro
"Huh...too bad. I'll be honest though, you calling me that made me kinda happy," Iota said with a smile
Hiro looked at Iota with a slight blush on his face.
"Really? How so?" He asked
"Well, it made me feel kinda special ya know...even though I know I already know I am to you in some way. But still, it made me feel special," Iota said happily
"Heh, I wouldn't suppose that I'm just as special to you, am I?" Hiro said with a chuckle
Iota chuckled in response before looking at Hiro with a war smile
"Yea, you are. You know, I guess one could say that just like I am yours..."
"You are my darling..."
As Iota said that phrase, both of them reeled back in pain, both of them grabbing their heads as splitting pain erupted through them.
They could hear words and names, they could see people and places, all of which seemed familiar to them.
They saw kids their age in uniforms...
A massive moving dome...
Themselves piloting giant robots...
Massive blue creatures...
Towering purple humanoids...
A four pointed star with two faces of the same shape...
A blue skinned boy with horns
A red skinned girl with horns...
Soon, the pain became too much, and they both passed out, their vision fading to darkness...
The Real World...
"There's another one, another spike in brain activity!" Kitaroshi said as he pointed at a computer that monitored their health and brain activity
"Yea, that's the third one we've see, and this one was the largest," Minahura said with a frown
"There's no telling what could be going on in there, we could only imagine what it might be," Kitaroshi said excitedly
"Yea, but the big question is whether or not they make it out of this in one piece," Minahura said as she folded her arms
Kitaorhsi leaned back in his chair as he studied the computer screens.
"We just have to believe in them Minahura. Besides...we have a promise to keep."
Minahura just looked at Kitaorshi, a small smile forming on her face.
The two watched the screens, waiting and watching for when the two friends would wake up from their journey...
Well how about that, not only was that my longest chapter, but I think it was my best yet! Y'all probably weren't expecting another update so soon, but ya got one anyways.
Hope y'all enjoyed chapter 5, but there's still more to come, this Matrix-ish story ain't over yet!
Stay tuned for chapter 6 of DITF 1000 Years Later: Taking The Dive Part III!