Nadesico Fan Fiction ❯ To Die or Not to Die ❯ Chapter 19

A/N: Welp, this is it. The not-so-stunning end to this fanfic. Have you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it? I sure hope so. What do I see here? Ai's story… crud like that… Wow, this Author's Note is rather annoying… Anyway. The only song you HAVE to listen to this time is from this episode, "Itsuka Shinjite". Simply because…. It has the feel of the meaning of the episode in it. What is the meaning? I dunno. Anyway, let's end this and start on a whole new foot. On to the last chapter!

~*~

Gai raised his eyebrows at the retreating gray Aestivalises. "Why are they leaving? We were just fighting!" Erina's faced popped up on all screens. "Well, I doubt you'll be firing on the ruins with both Akito and Inez down there, now will you, Kanchou?"

Yurika bowed her head. "Ruri, call in all Aestivalis units, except Akito's." Ruri nodded.

~*~

Akito sighed as he reached yet another distortion field. "Just how deep is this thing?" Akatsuki pulled out his lance and took a stab at the field. "This cavern is about 10 kilometers deep, with distortion fields placed at every 800 meters. Who do you think the Doctor is going to meet?"

Akito shrugged. "I don't know."

Yurika gasped. "Could it be Ai?" Jun's eyebrows shot up. "That would make sense."

"Of course!" cried all of the pilots. Akito's jaw dropped. "I never thought that it would be Ai… I thought she was dead! But how could Miss Fressange be meeting her?"

Izumi's window grew immediately. "Because the EYES have it!" It disappeared.

On the Kakitsubata, Erina's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait a second, just who is this Ai you are all talking about? Somebody give me an explanation!"

Ruri face popped up, with her holding a Gekiganger doll. "Did you say explanation? Since the Explanation Lady has shut off her communications, I will act as her substitute." The face of Ai traveled as a window in front of Ruri. "Maboroshi Ai is a young girl that Tenkawa-san met at the Utopia colony, and whose apparent death caused Tenkawa-san a great deal of personal anguish. But it would appear as though Ai is not dead."

~*~

"Isn't he coming? I haven't seen him in forever." Inez smiled at the small child next to her as she opened her orange. "Just hold on, he'll be here soon." She picked up a piece of the fruit and started mumbling to herself. "Unfortunately, with all those Distortion Field to break through, it may take him much longer than we expect."

Ai leaned on the woman. "You smell nice, Old Lady." Inez chuckled. "Do I seem that old to you?" Ai nodded. "Just like Okachan and Juveus-sama." She looked up at Inez. "You smell just like Okachan and Juveus-sama! But…" Confusion entered the girl's trouble blue eyes. "Okachan went to sleep then there was this big boom and it was… dark. Then Akito-san started shining really bright, and I knew he was going away, so I yelled for him to wait for me. Then I went to sleep and I awoke up, and I was with Juveus-sama…"

~*~

"Free falling object, approaching, Kanchou!" announced Megumi.

"Object is a Jovian Chulip!" responded one of the Kakitsubata's crew. Erina raised her eyebrows. "They're here already?" A shockwave shook the ship. "We've been hit on our Starboard Engine, Miss Won! Field strength down 20%! We were hit with a Gravity Blast!" Erina quickly opened a window, showing the Chulip. Sure enough, there was a Gravity Blast equipped ship facing them. It fired once again.

~*~

"There are two Phase Transition powered battleships guarding the Ancient City. One of which is the Nadesico!"

Takasugi Saburota smiled. "The Nadesico! Did you hear that, Kanchou?" Akiyama Genpachiro nodded. "It seems that we will be able to fight against that dashing man of action once again!"

~*~

"The Kannazuki has exited the Leap Gate." Genichiro nodded. "Hail the Kannazuki. Tell them to deploy all robots for combat." 'If fighting is the only way to stop the fighting, then let's start the battle.'

~*~

The city around them glowed. A colorless and colorful array of light filled the cavern and dark green lines started to form on Ai's body. She started to cry. Inez patted her back. "It's going to be all right." She switched her Communications back on. "What's going on?"

Megumi's face appeared and she frantically reported, "Miss Fressange, a Jovian Chulip appeared out of nowhere and started sending ships and jiros at us!" Inez nodded. "So the close proximity of their Jumps is what triggered to computer to form another Boson field." Ai looked into the window.

Akito gasped, seeing the little girl. "Ai!" The window gave into static.

Yurika started breathing heavily, her brain running miles. "Ryoko, you and your squad the jiros! Jun, Ruri, charge up the Gravity Blast Cannon!"

~*~

Ai began shining even brighter, the green starting to overcome the room. "Hurry up, Akito…" pleaded Inez.

Akito and Akatsuki hacked away at the last barrier, noting that it seemed stronger than all the others. Akito patched a message to Inez. "We'll be right there, Ai! Just hold on!" Ai sobbed. "Hurry, Akito-san! Hurry!" She glowed even brighter, and then she turned to the woman. "I don't wanna go, Lady. I wanna stay! I wanna see Akito!" Inez's eyes welled up and she took the girl's hands in hers. "You will! Maybe not today, but you will see him again someday! You can't forget him, Ai. His face, his voice. You have to remember these things Ai. Remember what Juveus-sama told you. Memory and knowledge is all we have in the end. You can't forget these things! Promise me you won't forget!"

Ai nodded slowly. "I won't forget, Lady. I promise. I'll never forget Akito-san or Juveus-sama!" She gasped, then reached into her shirt, bringing out a gray, metallic plate. "I almost forgot! She told me to give you this! They asked me to give this to you!" Inez just grasped the plate when, in a flash of dark green light, Ai disappeared, and the bindings holding Inez's hair up let go, her hair flowing freely. Tears tracked down her face as she stood, the blue and pink Aestivalises crashing down to the bottom of the cavern.

Akito hopped out of the cockpit and ran over to Inez. "Miss Fressange, where's Ai?" Inez sighed. "You just missed her. That's why I told you to hurry. But… maybe it's better like this." Akito furrowed his eyebrows. "Just what does that mean?"

Inez smiled. "The first letter of Inez is I, Akito. All that the little girl could remember of her name was 'Ai.' When you Jumped from Mars to Earth, Ai followed. But because she was thinking of you, she got lost, and Jumped to the Martian Empire. At the end of the Martian war, they sent her back to 2198 with a plate. She just Jumped back to the Martian desert, twenty years ago. You knew all of this; you saw it when our minds were connected. When you saw my memories." Akito was speechless. "Didn't you see it, Akatsuki?" Akatsuki nodded. "And all the other pilots, Kanchou, and Ruri saw them too, didn't you?" Itsuki smiled wickedly. "You bet!"

Akito shook his head. "I saw it, but I never ever put the pieces together before!" His eyes welled up. "I'm so sorry, Ai. This is all my fault." Inez chuckled sadly. "It's so nice to finally meet you again, Akito-san." She gave him a hug.

~*~

"All right! All right! I get it! So this is some weird chronological paradox or whatever you call it! Now, if I can tear you away from your soap opera, the Kakitsubata could really use some cover here!" raged Erina.

Omoikane, standing next to Ruri, nodded. "She's right. It's as if the Kakitsubata is being attacked by rabid octopi!"

~*~

Genpachiro smiled as another cloud of smoke left the ND-003. "They say one that hunts two hare loses both. Therefore, we will destroy this vessel before going after the much more formidable Nadesico. Saburota!"

The Executive Officer nodded. "Gekigan-Punch!"

The attack hurt the Kakitsubata even more, to the point where Akatsuki seemed worried for his cousin. "Erina! Abandon ship!" Erina glanced at him, obviously injured. "What?"

"Just go dammit! Get the hell out of here!"

Saburota charged up his Gravity Blast cannon. "Gekigan-Beam!" The Kakitsubata immediately exploded into a ball of fire and smoke. There was silence until Izumi's window popped up. "Here lies Erina Won. Blown to bits along with her ambitions." Erina's face popped up, resulting in many relieved, but annoyed, sighs on the ship. "Hey, I'm not dead!"

Izumi clasped her hands together. "Let's pray!" She started to feign crying. A vein popped out of Erina's forehead. "Hey, I said I'm not dead!" Izumi stopped mourning for a moment to retort, "Yes you are!"

Akatsuki interrupted the argument by giving Erina a distinct order. "Go to Earth, Erina. We'll keep in contact, but we need you there." Erina nodded, not arguing.

~*~

Akito sighed. "I just can't stop thinking it's my fault." Sayuri shook her head. "But it isn't! You mustn't blame yourself." Akito glanced at Inez's sleeping face. "But it's because of me that Ai had to go to Ancient Mars. Because of my Jump, she became a dried-out walking encyclopedia!" Inez's eyebrows snapped together in anger, but she said nothing. Eri patted Akito's shoulder. "You'll be fine, Akito-san." Mikako held up a plate to the Martian cook. "Here, Akito-san, have a rice ball!"

Yurika stood in the doorway, just watching. 'He feels so guilty for Ai. In all this time I kept telling myself he loved me… but now it's certain.' Yurika started to walk away. 'He loves her.'

~*~

"I have to go again, Oniichan." Yukina sat praying in front of a picture of Tsukumo. She glanced up at the face of her brother. "But I swear, I'll make your dream come true!" She stood and left the room.

~*~

"They've gone to silent running inside the ruins, sir." Genichiro blinked. 'That's actually a very effective position. We can't hurt them without taking the ruins out as well.' "Flag the enemy vessel. Order them to surrender the ruins and their ship."

~*~

"If you surrender within thirty minutes, you have my word as the commander of this battle group that your crew with be safely dealt with. Sincerely, the Jovians." Megumi's bright face disappeared.

Prospector pushed his glasses up. "Well, it certainly seems as if we're cornered." Yurika turned to all those in the room. "But we can't surrender the ship, and we can't let Earth or Jupiter get those ruins." She smiled. "So, it's time to drop the big one!"

~*~

Minato glared at the wall, where the last episode of Gekiganger was playing. "How convenient for them to die and resurrect. How he could love something that's so shallow?" She hugged her knees, and Yukina coming into the room interrupted her monologue. The woman turned to her. "Did you want something, Yukina?"

The Jovian girl glared at Minato. "I'd like for you to stop blubbering and act like an adult with responsibilities." Minato looked away. "I can act this way if I want to."

"But you can't! You promised!" Yukina balled her fists. "You'd marry my brother and be my family!"

~*~

"What?" shouted Jun. The princess's eyebrows knit. "Self-destruct?" Yurika smiled at the two of them. "We'll overload the Phase Transition Engines and turn the Nadesico into a bomb! That'll destroy those ruins!"

Akatsuki raised an eyebrow at the captain. "Are you asking us to sacrifice ourselves?" Yurika shook her head. "No! The only one who will still be on the ship, will be me!"

The door leading into the room opened suddenly, and Izumi pushed the How Mei Girls and all the other pilots into the room, so only Izumi and Uribatake stood at the doorway listening now.

Akito stood abruptly and shot a glare at Izumi before pushing towards Yurika. "Wait a second! You can't do that, Yurika! You'll die, nut bar!"

Yurika's eyebrow knit, and she glared back. "Don't be stupid! I won't die!"

"Yes you will!"

"Will not!"

"Will!"

"Will not will not will not!

"Yes you will you DITZ!" The single word made Yurika flinch, and her eyes started to water. She stuck her bottom lip out. Akito pulled back, unsure of what the hell was happening. "W… What's that look mean?"

Prospector and Akatsuki turned to the Martian cook. "You made her cry!" Akito shook his head. "Yeah, well, better crying then dying!"

Yurika looked down. "All I want to do is destroy those ruins and end the war." Jun looked forlornly at her. "But is it worth sacrificing yourself for something weren't not even sure about?"

Akatsuki crossed his arms. "You could just hand the ship over to Nergal, and we'd take care of everything." Erina's face popped up and, looking at Akatsuki, made a disgusted face, then she turned to the other crew, "You can trust us!"

"Never mind the fact that their own space battleship has been destroyed," stated Ruri. All present gasped as they realized how true this was. "Oh, don't pay any attention to what the precocious child is saying."

Akito turned back to Yurika. "In any case, you can't blow the Nadesico up!" Yurika held a hand to her chest. "But it would be worth it! It would systematically end the war!" Akito sighed. "But you'll die, don't you see?"

"Not necessarily." Everyone but Ruri and turned to Uribatake. Ruri glanced at Omoikane, who nodded and blinked. A message posted itself on all screens. "All tactical meetings are confidential, but thanks to Ruri's and Omoikane's generosity, this meeting is being broadcast on the Emergency channel." Then the windows showed Uribatake.

"If what Miss Fressange said is true, then if the computer was destroyed, it would negate all Boson Jumps in the past, present, and future, and our history would change completely." How Mei leaned over the counter in the kitchen to see the window. "Hmm. I wonder how much will be changed."

They suddenly heard a ukulele being played. All eyes fell on Izumi, who looked just as confused. "That… can't be me…" Arming themselves, the crewmembers opened the door, ready to fire. A jiro walked alongside Megumi, who laughed nervously. Jun and Mr. Hory's jaws dropped. "Admiral!"

Admiral Fukube smiled at them. "You can't self-destruct the ship, Kanchou." Prospector was appalled. "We thought you died months ago!"

Fukube held up the victory sign. "Are you upset that I'm still alive? V!" A window showing Inez tidied up and recovered appeared. "I found him in the ruins. Apparently some jiro found him and he was being held as a prisoner of war." He held up the victory sign again. "V!"

Yurika shook her head. "But you were willing to sacrifice yourself for us once!" Fukube got off the jiro and stood, holding the ukulele at his side. "Kanchou, face it. Self-destruction is really, really stupid!"

Yurika sighed in exasperation. "But it will end the war! Why can't any of you see that?" She turned to Ruri, the only person who hadn't opposed her yet. Omoikane stood by her side, electric blue lines shining in his eyes as signs saying one word appeared: No!

"You can't destroy the Nadesico, Kanchou. Not only would the only place I call my home would be destroyed, but we would also lose something as a result."

~*~

"Retrieval of the Calculation Unit nearly complete."

Megumi looked confused. "Are you sure this thing will work on the Nadesico?" Ruri nodded. "It's made from the same material as the Chulips, so it should create a Boson Jump Field on the ship. And, according to Miss Fressange, location has absolutely of effect on the computer." Megumi sighed. "Could you say that in English please?"

Minato sat down at her seat and smiled. "It means that we are never further away than we are in our hearts." The two girls turned to the helmswoman, looking relieved. "Minato!"

"I'm sorry I had you all worried!" Megumi whispered, "Are you… okay?" Minato nodded. "Yes, thanks to Yukina! She told me that if her brother couldn't marry me, that she would!" Minato giggled. "I think it's the thought that counts, and I need to be there for her after this is all over!" Megumi smiled back. "Or vice versa."

Inez's window popped up for Ruri. "We should be able to begin in a minute, Ruri." Ruri nodded. "Of course." She got up and headed in the direction of the Observation Deck, remembering what she had said the their captain. '"We would lose our memories, Kanchou! In the end, that's all we really have. True, the war never would have happened, but we would lose the most precious thing to me. The year of life that I have spent on the Nadesico, despite the fighting and the stupidity of the crew. We would lose the people that have become my friends and family. Memories are very important to me. To all of us. Do you really want to give that away for a peace that may not last as long as we hope? Do you, Kanchou?"' She sat down at the console to the right, Omoikane sat to the left. 'I believe every word I said.'

~*~

Yukina sat praying before her brother's picture again. Only this time, she was smiling. "I'm going to Earth with Minato, Oniichan. That way, you can watch both of us at once!"

~*~

Ariko, in the hangar control room, received the confirmation message from Inez. "Start the sequence, Ariko-chan." Ariko nodded and pushed the appropriate buttons, the colorful and colorless light filling the hangar, where the computer sat.

~*~

"Why did you give them thirty minutes? You're too soft, Tsukuomi!" thundered Kusakabe. Genichiro stood still at the insult. "They took control of the city's interior! They have one of our citizens on board! How can we stop them?" Kusakabe turned purple. "Stop them at once!" Genichiro sighed, and gave into his orders. "Deploy all robots. Target, the Nadesico." He left the bridge to get into his own Daimajin.

~*~

Genpachiro felt very uncomfortable in his Ken costume. "You know, I think this outfit is too tight…" Saburota laughed at his captain. "But you've never looked so dashing, Kanchou!"

~*~

Inez turned to the other two Martians. "All right, let's get this show on the road. Ruri?"

"Boson Particles spreading through the ship."

"Okay, you all know what to do. Think of space. Anywhere in space will do." Within moments green, blue, and silver light flooded the deck. But when the light dissipated, the three Martians still stood there.

"Boson Field was unable to stabilize," reported Omoikane. Inez crossed her arms, thoughtful. "All right, you two are going to have to kiss each other." Akito and Yurika's jaws dropped. "What?"

"You heard me. We'll have to make a Boson Field big enough to accommodate the size of the Nadesico. And without Chulip Crystals to evenly distribute around the ship, we'll need a membrane-to-membrane contact to make the field stronger. And the easiest why to do that is-" Akito blushed. "Is… is kissing?"

Yurika shook her head violently. "No! I won't I won't I won't!" Inez was unfazed. "This is no time to act petulant, Kanchou." Akito nodded. "Yeah, let's just grit our teeth and do it."

"And do it? If that's how you feel about it, you can just kiss Miss Fressange!" Silver lines appeared on herface and she disappeared, Jumping to somewhere on the ship. Inez whipped around to Ruri. "Tracking on Misumaru Yurika!" Ruri nodded. "She in the hangar bay."

~*~

Akatsuki attacked one of the robots. "So only individuals born on Mars and Jupiter can Boson Jump! Tenkawa, the Doctor, and Kanchou! That must mean the Nanomachines in their blood were manipulated by the computer to rewrite their DNA structure!" Erina's face appeared. "That's the gist of it!" Akatsuki groaned. Erina smiled at her cousin from her seat on the Kakitsubata's escape shuttle. "And one of those Martians is Jumping all over the ship while the other chases her!" Akatsuki shook his head. "Typical." Erina chuckled. "They're impossible, but amusing. And what we have is the most precious gift of all. The Jump computer!" She nearly giggled with glee.

~*~

Akito ran into the hangar bay, breathless. "Have you seen Yurika?" he asked Uribatake. "You're damn right I have!" He pointed to Akito's pink Aestivalis. "Why is Kanchou trying to take your Aestivalis?" Akito yelled to the woman. "Please! Yurika! You can't pilot that! You don't have the implant!" The cockpit opened to show Yurika holding up her right hand and sticking her tongue out.

She had an IFS. Akito and Uribatake gasped. "When did Kanchou get the implant!" The pink robot made it's way toward the launch tunnel. Inez's frantic window appeared before Akito. "You can still Jump! Visualize the inside of that cockpit!" Akito closed his eyes and light blue lines began to appear on his body. Of course he could visualize it. It was easy. He'd seen the inside of his Aesti so many times. For the first time, Jumping was as easy as breathing. He disappeared immediately, making the mechanics gasp, seeing him Jump for the very first time.

He reappeared in the seat of the robot, with Yurika suddenly sitting on his lap. She immediately turned around and started attack Akito, the two of them screaming together.

~*~

Genichiro had never heard anything like that in his life. "What… was that?" Genpachiro's face appeared on the communications screen. "It sounds like a couple arguing over an open communications channel." Genichiro's eyebrows shot up.

~*~

"Let go!"

"You let go!"

"Dammit Yurika, start using your brain and stop being so stubborn!"

Yurika was in tears. "Can't you see that I was only trying to help you and Ai? I know that you feel sorry for what happened and that you really love her, which is why I've been trying to turn back time!"

"Baka!" spat Akito. Yurika started to sob.

~*~

"Incidentally, I've been relaying the radio feed from Tenkawa-san's Aestivalis to all of the ships in the area," informed Ruri. Inez smiled. "So this is the lovers' spat that will determine the fate of the universe." Omoikane nodded. "Uh huh."

~*~

"I'm not stupid! Stop calling me that!" Yurika turned away from Akito and buried her face in her hands. Akito instantly felt bad for her.

"Yurika… I watched the last episode of Gekiganger last night. It was the worst one of the series. But still… I felt shivers running through my spine when I saw the two robots fighting side by side for the greater good."

"Fighting side by side… sounds kind of nice." A small smile appeared on Yurika's face. Akito nodded. "Fighting for peace and hot-blooded passion… I guess that's when I realized that… the side of me that loves Gekiganger…"

"Is the part of you that's in love with me!" cried Yurika. Akito glared at her. "I was going to make this very profound speech, dammit! But… since you mentioned it, yes I do, you nut bar." Yurika simply smiled. Akio raised an eyebrow. "You're supposed to say something back, you know." Yurika was confused. "Excuse me? You know how I feel! I love you with all my heart, Akito!"

Akito was dumbfounded. "That's the first time I heard you say it."

"It is not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No way!"

"I'm sure it is!"

"It is not!"

"Yes it is!" Before Yurika could continue their stupid argument, Akito kissed her, taking her by surprise.

~*~

As soon as they were sure Akito and Yurika wouldn't be listening, Itsuki and Hikaru flooded Gai's communications. He looked just slightly peeved, but not as upset as they expected. "Jiro… are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why should I give a fuck what Akito does? That bastard could fuck the whole world and I won't care." Hikaru flinched at his tone, and he softened slightly. "I'm sorry. I should cuss you out… it's not you, it's him."

Itsuki nodded. "After we finish Jumping, we'll all get together and have an Anti-Akito-and-Yurika party. All of us but those assholes. How does that sound?"

"That's sounds good to me!" cried Hikaru. "I'll relay the idea to Ryoko, Izumi, and Jun. God knows he needs it." Her window disappeared, leaving Itsuki and Gai alone on their channel. Gai sighed. "I'm trying to be angry with him… but it's hard." Itsuki nodded, slipping into 'Listen' mode. "He just… how could he do that to me? And this? Does he give a fuck about how anyone else feels?"

Gai shook his head. "No. He made a choice. It comes down to whether you choose for something to die or not to die. I chose for or relationship to not die. He chose for it to die. And for that, fuck him."

~*~

"Ruri's Navigation Logs, March 2, 2198. Because of the Jumping computer being on the ship, we were able to Jump far away. Without the computer anywhere near Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, the war may go on, but the Earth and Jupiter won't be able to do much more than growl at each other for a few months. I asked Miss Fressange whether or not it was truly necessary for Tenkawa-san and Kanchou to kiss to Jump the ship, but she said I would understand when I was older. Even though it seems that this is the end, many things remain a mystery. Such as the strange actions that have been going on around the pilots, how Kanchou got an IFS without an implant, the reason for the Ancient Martians had Ai give the plate to her older self, and who the Ancient Martians and Jupiterians were. But I suppose these will all be explained much later. In the inevitable sequel. Now, all we have to worry about is where we are. Does anyone know?"

~*~

OWARI

~*~

A/N: I told you that was… not-so-stunning! Alright, first of all, How did you like my fanfic? Yes, I understand that it was long. 190 pages in Word to be exact. Whew. Anyway, I hoped you like it. I sure did. Now, to give credit where credit is due. (ahem) I'd like to thank Kia Asamiya ultimately, for creating Nadesico, but how about some normal, everyday people to thank? I'd also like to thank Peter Tartara at Project Schiaparelli, I would have died if not for your episode summaries! I'd like to thank my AIM buddies for listening to my writer's block issues, not to mention the writer's block community on livejournal… And of course, my main readers! Sivi-chan, Shadow, Bearit, Greg (you stalker), and everyone else that I haven't mention that I can't think of! I wouldn't have gone on if not for you people! Now. (ahem) The sequel! ^^ Get ready for Alternate Universe-ing! (watches everyone run away) damn you people! Well, it will certainly explain many things, and I can't wait to write it. But first, I need a rest! >< Review me as always… I'll see you later! ^^January 20, 2002 - September 2, 2002