TWENTY NINE

LAST NAIL IN THE COFFIN

Author's Note: This part was meant to be the final scene on the last chapter but I decided to upload it as a separate chapter for dramatic ending.

Review Corner:

jdoug4118: I greatly appreciate you keeping up with me. Hopefully this ending does not let you down.

Central Continent, Planet Zi,
March 14, 2128

Saskia watched the carnage with her throat clenched. The destruction of the Kenny and the Backdraft gang within just 10 minutes of savagery was beyond anything she had witnessed before. Her heart sunk watching the immobilized Arosaurer a few dozen meters away from the center of the mayhem. She started blaming herself for pushing Kenny into a situation he had no experience in.

"Kenny?" she called frantically. "Kenny, are you of form?"

"Backdraft units, fall to formation," Laeta started orchestrating the remaining Backdraft zoids for the final assault. "Retrieve the Arosaurer back to base. Sapper team, make haste to positions. When Gilvader falls, seize spoils of value."

Saskia turned her attention to the Neo Zenebas Gilvader, still alive, but finally stopped moving. It disheartened her to see the big zoid on the verge of destruction. She took notice of the Gilvader's enchanced determination and fighting prowess, which reflected that of Royce's. He was right in that regard; the union of man and zoid heightened each other to the point they formed a new species, with the Gilvader's raw power and Royce's combat finesse. It took more than half the entire army of the Helic Republic to stop the beast.

However, the Gilvader was poised to wage war against Helic Republic, and Royce – as stubborn as he was – was unable to control the beast. His mind power could not overcome the zoid's single-minded objective to wipe out Helic civilization. Alas, his combat prowess only enhanced the Gilvader's unstoppable rampage. Sad, all that awesomeness born out of the man-zoid union would eventually come to a waste.

The question was: was there hope for Royce? Could Saskia rescue him from the clutch of the Neo Zenebas beast, or was he destined to die with the zoid, like Hiltz before him? Saskia didn't know the answer, but as long as the Gilvader was still alive, Royce was still alive in it. And as long as she knew he was alive, she wouldn't stop trying to help him. She owed him. She owed him her life, she owed him hope, and she owed him happiness, the kind of happiness only a man of certain quality could give her. She owed him her heart.

"Please, one moment," Saskia interjected. "Royce is still alive. You can't rip him off Gilvader's chest absent ceasing heart."

"Royce is a mere criminal," Laeta replied matter of factly. "What good do you crave from a dog like him?"

"Eyes see what heart desires, yet truth remains," Saskia threw an earnest stare at her Backdraft counterpart. "Royce was a good man, a government agent with proper standing."

"He gave you but lies."

"He saved my life…"

"With the improper reasoning."

"I still owe him." Saskia puffed a long, heavy breath. "Let fate decide what it wants to do with him. Yet presently I wish to pay due. A life for a life. All I need is but a moment. Let me have it with him. You shall have your prize, so let me have mine."

Laeta looked deep into Saskia's eyes, shaking her heard. "You are a fool. Fine, have your moment. Take cautions, the beast is not yet dead."

Saskia gave Laeta a quick nod then ran to the hangar. Her Gilvader had started to twist and turn, and upon seeing her it emitted a low growl. Saskia knew that despite the extensive damage and critically low energy her zoid was suffering, it was ready to fight again. And as a matter of fact, she would feel safer going out with her zoid. However the Neo Zenebas Gilvader would only see her zoid as a threat. It would be hard to help Royce if the zoid was in a defense mode.

"Not on this one, Gilvy," Saskia said somberly. "I would not ask more of you. Put mind to ease. I shall return presently."

Ignoring her Gilvader's complaint, Saskia turned around and walked toward the bay door. As soon as the Whale King landed, the ramp rumbled open until it touched the sandy ground. Saskia walked through the dust cloud toward the Neo Zenebas Gilvader, writhing on the sand in its final minutes. A few Killerdomes closed in on her, but Saskia waved them off, asking them to move away from her.

With the Killerdomes standing on guard but staying at some distance, Saskia marched until she was a few meters away from the Neo Zenebas Gilvader. The beast was dying; its groan was weak, and thick oily smoke bled from the right side of its body. Its legs trembled to support is failing body. It strill tried to move, However it hurled a spiteful roar when Saskia came closer.

"Royce!" she called for him. "Royce, I know you heed voice. Please, if there is some part left of you, give me a sign."

The Gilvader let out a long defiant roar, then aimed its Plasma Cannons at Saskia. But suddenly its head trashed, whipping left and right, flailing from side to side like being possessed. Saskia took a few steps back and the Killerdomes started moving up to protect her, but the Gilvader slowed down. Its neck drooped down, as if its supports had turned to smelter, until its head touched the sand. After a while, it slowly moved back up. The Gilvader's eyes twinkled, and the reflection of light in its eyes was strikingly resembled Royce's human eyes. Saskia remembered that gentle stare, caressing every inch of her skin. It made her heart stopped beating.

"We are not fated to live like this," Saskia said with trembling voice. Her lids were heavy with tears. "We have our own destiny. We are not zoids. We are humans, born feeble and grown weak. We are to partner with zoids, a bond slated to last until Zi ceases to exist, but we are not to make union with them. Split from wicked ambition and embrace fate as a human."

The Gilvader purred as if it was listening to Saskia.

"My hands are extended," Saskia lift both hands in a clear invitation to embrace. "Let us chase new beginings and share lives. I shall turn thoughts from this darkness, if you just come out and take my hands." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she made her final push to flush Royce out, "I love you, Royce. I need you. Please, come out."

The Gilvader emitted a soft purr as its chest started to glow. The soft light caressed Saskia's face, and for one second she thought she would fall into Royce's warm embrace soon. But suddenly the light disappeared, and the Gilvader's eyes burnt red. Gone was the soft twinkle that resembled Royce's eyes, replaced by a beam of hatred. The Gilvader hurled a long, shrilling battlecry, then aimed all weapons at Saskia.

When Saskia thought all hopes were lost, her Gilvader busted out of the Whale King and fired all jets, bringing it to skid on the sand. It ate the gap with the Neo Zenebas Gilvader in less than a second, then shielded Saskia with its broken wing. The Neo Zenebas Gilvader launched a plasma fusillade, shredding the wing apart like a piece of paper. But Saskia's Gilvader armed its tailblades and - like a giant spear – drove the gleaming blades right into the Neo Zenebas Gilvader's lower chest, puncturing the core with Royce still buried in it. The Neo Zenebas Gilvader doubled in a spasm. Its eyes burst in glorious red, then slowly dimmed away.

Saskia could only look in complete hopelessness.

"Nooo…", she lamented. She fell behind, sitting on the sand, and buried her face on her arms. Her Gilvader retracted its tail, then lied down its head next to her. Saskia rested her head on the snout of her Gilvader and sank into inconsolable sobbings, as the Neo Zenebas Gilvader slowly crumbled, turning into stone.

The Backdraft Killerdomes closed in on the Neo Zenebas carcass, but seeing there was nothing to salvage, they turned away, back to the Whale King. Two Killerdomes dragged the limp body of the Arosaurer. The body was severely mauled but the cockpit was still intact.

Saskia cried her heart out until she couldn't cry anymore. Her eyes were heavy and her heart felt numb, as if a big chunk had been torn off her chest. But this was the only way everything had to end. Her denial only exacerbated the pain of losing somebody that touched her deeper than any other man, but if only she accepted the fact that she lost him when he merged with the zoid, the agony would've been much more bearable.

But in all this madness, she knew one thing with absolute certainty.

"I should say 'Thank you for saving my life'," she climbed into her Gilvader's cockpit, "yet you would belittle my being remiss. I had been a fool these passing days. I am not worthy of your companion, yet you stick with me, and the stupidity of it. You are but a great partner, Gilvy. Gratitude, for always being with me."

The Gilvader let out a series of growl, almost like a mocking chuckle, but stood up nevertheless and dragged its body back to the Whale King.