Chapter 2: Weird Middles Pt. 1, Putting the Past Behind
Sazabi re-entered the room to find that the Gundam was sleeping on the floor, curled up in a ball, obviously looking cold. He shook his head and picked up the Gundam, who was surprisingly light to him, and hooked him up to the recharge bed. 'Fool, obviously thought that the bed was a trap or something. Don't blame him though,' the commander thought as he watched the Gundam recharged, seemingly at peace. He then took notice of the Gundam's face mask not in front of him anymore, only exposing soft features of the Gundam. 'How could a warrior have such soft features? No wonder he has the mask on, he doesn't even look intimidating with his mask on, not like he was in the first place,' he thought and shook his head. Sazabi then walked to the other side of the room to wait for the Gundam to awaken so he could have another go at him. After thinking about it, he thought that the Gundam would be good for the Dark Axis cause. With a fighting spirit like his, Sazabi knew that a soldier like Captain would fit right in the forces of the Dark Axis. 'Unlike Gerbera, that Gundam is in over his head,' Sazabi thought. It wasn't that he hated Gerbera; it was just that the black Gundam would get on his nerves from time to time. Sazabi saw that the Gundam was waking and suppressed his action to walk over. Captain woke to find that he was not on the floor he was sleeping on, but on the recharge bed. He gasped upwards as he tried to take the wires off, but a voice stopped him, "You shouldn't do that, especially since you are low on fuel." Captain turned and glared, his defiant feeling returning,
"You don't need to tell me what to do."
"That doesn't include killing yourself. Really Gundam, lying on the ground and not recharging would kill you," said Sazabi as he slowly made his way up to the Gundam.
Captain only snorted and said, "Didn't know you Dark Axis actually care about someone else."
Sazabi glared at him and said, "There will be times where we must tend to those we trust. We are not that cold hearted as you think." Captain only rolled his eyes when he turned away. "Look, I am not here to argue or anything like that," Sazabi sighed as he tried to get the Gundam (seesh, I've been using that for too long now.) to listen, "I'm actually here to converse."
"And what, use that information against me and my comrades," snarled Captain, but faltered a little when he noticed that this wasn't him that was speaking. 'What the heck is wrong with me? Wait, since when did I say heck,' he thought and tried to stop thinking before he would make his head hurt. Unlike in Neotopia, where he would be as obedient as ever, here he was speaking as if he was a being like Baku or Zero, not created or something. And it was scaring him.
Sazabi took notice to his worry and asked, "What's wrong with you? Having your wires crossed."
"It's not that, I'm not supposed to act like this. I've never acted like I did just now," admitted Captain, and then quickly shut his mouth before saying anything more. He placed his mask in front of him, hiding the gentle features that Sazabi had seen.
"Why do you hide behind that mask? It's not like anyone will harm you here while I'm around. No one else could enter this room except for me," said Sazabi, "I've seen your face already; you look better without the mask." Startled blue eyes met his own pink one and took noticed of the Captain's chest. It was glowing faintly, like something inside was burning. 'Could…could it be,' he thought and then finally asked, "Can you reveal what you have in your chest? As in the device within it." Captain was surprised, but nonetheless, showed him his Soul Drive like if he could trust the commander.
Sazabi began to walk backwards upon seeing the orb before walking closer. He had never seen such a Soul Drive so pure like Captain's. The total opposite of his own.
"Is there something the matter," asked Captain, eying the commander suspiciously as he hid his Soul Drive once more.
"The fact that you have Soul Drive explains why you are acting like this," said Sazabi, "It's reacting to another Soul Drive."
"As in…you have a…" asked Captain as Sazabi revealed his own, war-hardened Soul Drive. Captain felt an uneasy, but safe feeling when he saw the device, like even though it was dark, he could trust it somehow, just like he could feel that he could trust Sazabi.
"There is a connection between Soul Drives that it goes back way before our creation. It's a never ending bond that can't be broken and sometimes if the bond is broken, then everything tends to fall apart, unless it's someone possessing a Soul Drive while destroying another's Soul Drive," explained Sazabi, "We are connected, and it is rare to find someone else to possess a Soul Drive, especially since the person is on the enemy side."
"So because I am close to another person's Soul Drive, yours in particular, I act like how a normal Gundam would," said Captain, "As in the ones who have feelings."
"Why do you say that, don't you have feelings," asked Sazabi jokingly, but upon seeing the look on Captain's face, he knew his mistake.
"I wasn't created to have feelings, until just now when I entered this atmosphere," sighed Captain, twiddling with the wires that connected him to the recharging bed.
"Why is that, do they want another mindless drone working for them," asked Sazabi, confused at this.
"I guess they believed that emotions would get in my way, but then when I entered here, everything feels so different and so normal. Now here I am acting as if I had emotions from the very beginning," said Captain.
"I see, yes it is true that emotions get in the way, but not having them doesn't give you the experience," said Sazabi, "It's not bad to have feelings, because that's what truly makes you alive." Captain looked at with shocked eyes, surprised that someone from the Dark Axis would actually say that.
"Why is it that you seem so calm? From what I've heard from your subordinates, you continually punish them for their mistakes," asked Captain and Sazabi actually laughed.
"Haven't you heard of an emotion mask. You mask your true emotion with a fake one. Just like how you mask yourself, but it's more direct than my own method."
"I see," said Captain as he touched his now exposed face. "How about this, we start over. In this room, we don't speak as enemies. We speak as if we are bonded, Soul Drive brothers, how does that sound," suggested Sazabi.
Captain considered it before nodding and smiled, "Sure, why not."
"All right, my name is Stalemate Sazabi, I'm glad to meet you," Sazabi said, "just call me Sazabi."
"I am Captain Gundam, but please call me…Chronos," said Chronos, "It was my original name before I gained the name Captain." They both shook hands and after that, Sazabi had to leave. Chronos watched him and thought, 'What did I just do?' When Sazabi entered his office and sat down, he thought the exact same thing.
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