Episode 8
The first italics show a flashback. Any after that are internal thoughts.
The mech tumbled and crashed. Takashi dropped out of Keashin and the simulator shut down. No one else was in the building. No one knew he was there. He thought about his team for a moment. He should be with them, and he knew it. But the thought of them stirred the demon inside and the anger swelled. How could they drop him out of the race? He was the winning piece of the team! He punched the armrest hard and the machine purred back to life.
The mechs could be seen by the fans coming over the hill. Everyone in the Satomi control room was holding their breaths as the last moments of the race drug on.
"This race is coming down to the wire, folks!" Benjamin Bright was the only one saying anything. "Five mechs remain and they are coming in hot! Zanak Straus is leading, but Amy Stapleton is right on his tail. Can she overtake him for the win?!"
The mechs blasted through.
"NO! Zanak takes the first place and White Snow wins a victory!"
Miss Satomi let out her held breathe. "Well, I didn't expect us to win anyways. Where's Takashi?"
"He's in the simulator," Mark answered.
Satomi sighed. "He's been getting worse since the Sledgemama race. Get Johnny's mech in for immediate repairs and have him take a full physical. I want to make sure that wreck didn't do too much damage."
Johnny was fine. The team, on the other hand, went from bad to worse. Takashi's attitude toward the team had brought everyone down. But Liz was hurting the most. She wasn't one to cry, but she found herself doing it on a regular basis.
"Please Takashi! You have to stop!"
Takashi pushed her aside. "I know what I'm doing!"
Liz watched him go as a tear fell down her cheek.
Liz looked out into space. A tear fell. She was in the lounge; not doing anything, just sitting. The setting sun sent red light into the room.
The same light filled Satomi's office. Jesse was inside cleaning up. Miss Satomi had already left. She was just getting ready to leave herself when the phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?...No, Miss Satomi isn't here right now. Can I leave a message for you?" Jesse gasped as she listened and the clipboard in her hand fell to the floor.
Jesse burst into the room. "TAKASHI! ARE YOU HERE?"
Mark was at the desk, monitoring the simulator. He had bags under his eyes; between the mech repairs and running the simulator for Takashi, he hadn't been able to get as much sleep as usual. Hearing Jesse scream drew his attention. "He's in the simulator."
Jesse ran over to the massive orb and banged on the side. It made a hollow sound that rung in Takashi's ear. "TAKASHI! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!"
Takashi heard her, but tried to ignore it. "I'm in the middle of something, Jesse." He ducked under a punch and countered.
"TAKASHI! YOUR SISTER'S BEEN IN A CAR ACCIDENT!"
Takashi froze. His blood chilled. His sister? How…?
A punch caught him and he tumbled. The simulator shut down. The chill was replaced with heat as his anger grew. "RUN THAT SIMULATION AGAIN, MARK!"
Mark was caught off guard. "What?"
"YOU HEARD ME!"
Now Mark was starting to get mad. "No, Takashi. I'm starting to get annoyed with your attitude. Everyone is! You need to stop thinking about yourself. From now on, if you want the simulator, you're going to have to run it yourself!"
The orb popped open and the chair slid out. Takashi, his face straight, walked over and hit a single button on the console before turning back to the simulator.
Jesse stepped in front of him. A few tears were starting to form in her eyes. "Didn't you hear me Takashi? Your sister was in an accident. She's in the hospital!"
Takashi looked straight into her eyes. "If she's strong enough, she'll survive. If not, oh well." He shouldered Jesse aside and sat back down.
Jesse was frozen. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Mark was feeling the same thing. He stood up from the chair, half furious, half scared and shocked, and walked out. Jesse remained a few minutes before finally forcing herself to move. She looked back at the simulator for one second with a sad face. How could this have happened?
Liz stepped into the gym. Takashi was kneeling on the matted floor. She was taken back, though she didn't show it. How could he be just sitting there after what had happened. She walked up to him. "Why aren't you at the hospital with your sister?"
His eyes remained closed. "I'm sure she's fine."
She wanted to go and punch him but was able to hold herself back. What she couldn't hold back were the tears that were forming in her eyes. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Your sister's dead, Takashi."
His eyes flashed open.
"She lost too much blood in the accident."
Takashi just kept looking straight ahead. If he was mourning, it wasn't showing at all. No grief crossed his face.
"NOOOOOOO!!" Takashi howled up into the void. He was on his knees, tears streaming from his eyes. He looked ahead, and through his tears, he could see Yuri standing in front of him. At first, she was herself, smiling her weird smile. Then she changed. Cuts crossed her body and her clothes became torn and blood-stained. "NO!" he screamed as he reached for her. "DON'T GO!" The image of her slowly faded.
"You don't need her," a deep voice came from everywhere. "You don't need any of them. YOU are all you need." Something shimmered into being before his eyes. It was his mech. But it was black. And it had eyes that glowed a deep red.
"SHUT UP!" He lunged at the phantom, but it vanished.
"You cannot destroy me. I am part of you."
Tears started to drop from Liz's eye. "Don't you feel anything?"
Takashi stood. "I'll get over it."
Liz took a shocked step back. "You've changed, Takashi. And not for the better." That finally got him to look at her. "Ever since you started using Keashin, you've become more and more alone. Please, let it go."
Takashi smiled an evil grin. "No. I like this power. With it, I can do anything. I can win!"
"What about us? What about the team?" she screamed back in sad fury. "We could always win! As long as we worked together!"
"With this power, I don't need the team!"
Liz froze and all feeling drained from her body. In her mind, everything she had known shattered in an instant.
Everything became silent. Jesse was right. This wasn't Takashi.
Her glance dropped to the floor. "If that's the case," she said in a voice that Takashi almost couldn't hear, "then I guess you don't need me."
Takashi burst up at hearing Liz's words. "No…"
"Give her up. She is holding you back." The mech appeared behind Takashi.
He turned and glared into those evil, glowing eyes. "No!"
Takashi's eyes grew a bit and his mouth parted a tiny bit in shock.
The tears began to stream nonstop. "Amy told me about what happened. If you're not ready for a relationship, then I don't think I am either."
"No! Liz! Stop!"
"Don't! It's better this way!"
"NO, IT'S NO!" Takashi spun and sent a kick toward the black mech. It jumped out of the way, but Takashi charged before it could recover and sent a punch into its head unit. The machine whirled, but regained its footing. "Perhaps I should thank you," Takashi said with a saddened laugh. "You've taught me quite a bit."
The machine lunged, but Takashi spun out and knocked the thing over with an arm backhand. He transitioned into a sweeping kick that knocked the mech onto its back. Takashi was now standing over his oppressor. "But there's one thing I have that makes me better." He drove a fist down and through the mech's chest. It crackled and vanished. He rose slowly. "I have a heart."
The sadness finally took over and Liz completely lost it. That was enough to break the curse. Takashi finally opened his eyes. HIS eyes. He ran over and wrapped Liz in a hug. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."
Liz returned his hug, and for a moment, everything was alright. But Liz eventually pushed herself away. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this."
Takashi looked at her longingly. That caught her eye. Only moments ago he was completely emotionless. Now he seemed sad. His eyes were soft, gentle. More like his old self.
He reached forward and took her hand lightly. "Perhaps you can't, but I think I finally can." He got down onto one knee. Liz was stuck between shock and joy. He locked his brown eyes with her blue as he reached into his pocket. "Liz Ricarro, will you marry me?"
She put a hand to her mouth in shock. He had done it! He had popped the question. Her mind raced. Most of her was overjoyed, but there was this nagging part in the back of her mind telling her no. Her thoughts tumbled. She looked into his eyes once more, to see if it was really him. That simple look seemed to melt Liz from the inside out. There was so much love in that glance that it could only be him.
Takashi pulled a tiny red box out and opened the top. Inside shown a brilliant diamond ring.
Liz gasped. The jewelry was beautiful. She couldn't believe it. With a smile, she forced the nagging doubts down. "Yes."
Takashi jumped up and grabbed her in another tight hug while pushing his lips lightly against her cheek. She was blushing when he pulled away. He took the ring out of its box and slid it onto Liz's finger. It was a perfect fit. He looked back into her eyes that were starting to tear again. "I love you."
Liz was overflowing with happiness by this point and she couldn't help but give out a soft laugh. "I love you too."
The two came together and kissed in one of the happiest moments they could remember.
The next morning, the door opened into the conference room. Andre and Amy were already inside. In the doorway, Takashi was standing with a huge smile. Next to him stood Liz. The two were hand-in-hand as they walked in.
Amy's eye immediately caught a flicker of light. She looked down and saw the ring on Liz's finger. She was instantly taken over by joy. "HE FINALLY ASKED?!"
Liz was a bit surprised by Amy's sudden burst, but smiled. "Yeah!"
Amy ran up and grabbed the bride-to-be. They instantly went into their wedding plans. Takashi let go of Liz's hand and walked halfway across the room. Andre walked the other half to meet him in the middle. Andre's face was set in a glare.
Takashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Look, I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. I wasn't quite myself. Can you forgive me?"
Andre continued to glare at Takashi and it started to make him feel uncomfortable. Until the frown turned into a smile. Andre laughed and swung a massive arm around Takashi's shoulder, almost causing him to collapse under the extra weight. Andre brought his face close to Takashi's. "You know, kid? Almost no one has been able to do what you pulled off. I'm proud of you."
Takashi blushed. "Ah, come on, coach. It wasn't that big."
"ARE YOU KIDDING?!" Amy screamed, still very joyously, from behind him. She ran up to Takashi and grabbed his arm. "We have to start planning." Amy literally pulled Takashi out of the room to leave Andre and Liz laughing.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Yes, I did it. I KILLED OFF YURI! No, I'm not proud of it, but I needed some kind of emotional shock. And yes, it may seem crazy that Liz would swing around so quickly, but hey, love is weird.
Send that review! And for those of you who like the quick review asking for another post, it won't change my schedule; I'm still going to post the next chapter every Wednesday and weekend. So elaborate a bit more. What did you like? What didn't you like? What needs improvement? I need more in a review than just "Update Quick!"
