A/N: Oh God, after so long, I just couldn't take leaving my first and probably most liked story unfinished. This is the final chapter people, and I hope that someone out there still wants this.
10:30 A.M – Fallen Sanctuary
After Lombardia lowered Jet to the ground a ways off from the Sanctuary, she saw him suddenly groan and fall to his knee.
"Are you certain that you are okay?" she asked again.
"I'm telling you, I'm fine," Jet hissed, clutching at his chest with a pained grimace. "Now get outta here."
Lombardia did as she was told, and took off, leaving Jet in the empty field, his left hand clutching onto the Lance of Animation, his ARM and black sword strapped to his back, and his body screaming to stop moving. He felt as though he was carrying a sack of bricks on his back, but he pushed on.
"Gotta keep going… Gotta get Virginia… Dammit…"
As he reached the front door, he heard something and looked upwards to see Three jumping down, carrying a machete in his hands, heading straight for Jet.
"Shit!" Jet managed to throw himself out of the way, but wasn't quite fast enough, Three managing to get a slice at his ankle. Jet groaned through gritted teeth, trying to climb to his feet, but quickly falling as his ankle was unable to handle his weight. "Dammit, this is just what I need."
"I still got a score with you, mate!" Three taunted, licking Jet's blood off his blade. "Don't worry, this is going to hurt. A lot!"
Three smirked evilly as he advanced towards Jet, who could no longer move properly. Jet tried to raise his hand to fire the Lance, but Three had already anticipated it, and reached out and grabbed hold of his arm, restraining him easily. Jet's body was too fatigued to put up much of a fight.
"Ah, ah, ah! I'm ready for anything you have, mate! This is the end for you!" Three raised his blade to Jet's face, caressing his cheek with the top, a thin trail of blood following its movement. "Heh, the legendary Zero can bleed now! Back in the day you were unstoppable! This is what happens when you associate with humans, mate!"
Jet cringed, unable to think of a way out.
'This can't be it! I have to keep going… I have to…'
BANG
Three screamed as his hand suddenly blew away from Jet's face, his machete flying out of his hand. Before Jet could do anything else, a pair of brutish arms had scooped him up and dragged him away through the doors of the Fallen Sanctuary. Before the doors could close completely, Jet glanced back outside, and saw Clive wrapped in bandages, his rifle raised, shooting at Three. Turning around at his captor, he wasn't too surprised to see a similarly beat-up Gallows, who was now dashing up the stairs.
"What the hell are you two doing here? You'll get killed, you stupid oaf."
"Yeah, screw you, kid. We weren't gonna let you have all the fun, you greedy punk." Gallows chuckled, but suddenly went serious. "You alright, buddy? You look like hell."
"… Don't worry about it. Right now, we just have to get that silly Virginia out of trouble. Again."
Gallows didn't look at Jet, instead looking up the staircase. "Listen up, kid. A life lesson for you. Nobody is alone in the world, no matter what."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Just shut up and listen. Everybody has somebody out there that cares, somebody who's going to care if you live or die… What I'm trying to say is…" Gallows sighed solemnly. "You've got us, kid."
Jet looked down for a moment, then started laughing out.
"What's so funny, punk?"
"That serious tone doesn't suit you, pig."
The two of them smiled, understanding each other completely for the first time. However, a sudden force pushing them back disturbed their moment. They managed to land on their feet just barely, and looked up the staircase to see Two, his palm raised at them meticulously.
"I am your next opponent, Zero," he stated, lowering his palm and stepping forward. Jet was about to lift his hand, but was hastily stopped by Gallows.
"Save your energy, kid. I can feel your life force dying already."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Jet asked mockingly. "Ask him to go away?"
Gallows winked back at Jet. "Just take care of our leader."
Before Jet could say anything, Gallows launched forward, taking Two by surprise as he crash tackled into him, the two of them toppling off the staircase entirely. Jet ran to the edge and looked down to see them plummet, still fighting on the way down.
"Dammit, I should help him… But I gotta get to Virginia…" Jet decided he didn't want Gallows' sacrifice to go in vain, and he also didn't care for him much. With a shrug, he continued up the staircase, his hand unconsciously clutching at his chest.
10:40 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary Rooftop
As Jet climbed the final stretch of the staircase, Eroz's back slowly came into view, his cape blowing with the wind. Jet raised his Lance aggressively, his body sluggish from exhaustion.
"Where is she?" Jet demanded, trying not to let his voice shake. Eroz turned his head to see him, but turned back, looking towards one of the Guardian statues. Following his eyes, Jet saw Virginia, tied to the top of the statue, unconscious. He stared back at Eroz in rage. "If you harmed even a hair on her head…"
"She isn't hurt, Zero…" Eroz replied calmly, cutting Jet off. "I just needed her to get you. You see, Zero, now that I have constructed a new Zero, you are obsolete. Worse than obsolete, you are an obstruction. A minor one, mind you, but an obstruction none the less." He finally turned to face Jet, and Jet saw him smirk as he saw Jet's fatigue. "The world can wait – I want to get rid of you first."
"That isn't going to be easy. I have a plan this time." Jet reached around his back and pulled out the black sword that Clive had given him. Jet had realized that when he first held the sword, he felt a strange energy emanate from it. The energy he felt was exactly the same as what he felt in the Lance. He wasn't certain, but a hunch told him that the sword was somehow connected to the Lance. He was about to find out if he was right.
Eroz watched him confidently – it appeared that he wanted see what Jet would do rather than stop him. Jet was glad for this – he knew that if Eroz attacked him now, he would surely have no chance. Jet held the sword in his right hand, and felt the energies of the Lance and sword merging together. As Jet had suspected, they appeared to have been made for one another. Once again, he began manifesting his energy into the Lance, and he felt it transfer onto the black metal of the sword.
"Oh, and what could this be?" Eroz commented coyly, folding his arms calmly. Jet stared up at Eroz with a new spark of hope.
"I won't let you…"
"Won't let me what?" Eroz asked, teasingly leaning forward and placing his hand by his ear.
"I won't let you hurt anyone anymore!"
Normally when using the Lance, Jet had to keep strict concentration to prevent it from sucking him dry. This time, he didn't care. He let go completely, and felt the incredible rush of his life draining into his right hand. The energy intake was so incredible that the sword began to vibrate, the metal turning into a blinding blue.
"Take this!" Jet yelled, as he used what little energy he had left to throw the glowing blue sword over his head, and slam it down. The result was destructive. An intensely bright light shone as a large sphere of energy seemed to shoot out of the sword, moving at mach speeds, hitting a shocked-looking Eroz. The ball exploded like a nuclear bomb, engulfing the entire Sanctuary and the surrounding area.
11:00 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary
Gallows' and Clive's battles were interrupted as the blinding light forced them to shut their eyes. As the light slowly dissipated, they both opened their eyes to find the same thing:
Their opponents were completely gone.
11:01 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary Rooftop
Jet remembered what Halle had told him about the power of the Lance of Animation. A weapon specifically created to destroy the android-like composition of the Fallen. A composition that even Jet had. He knew the consequences of his action, but at the time, he had only one thing in his mind.
'I'm going to save you.'
As the ball of blue energy exploded, Jet felt it surge through his body. It felt as though a long snake was constricting around him, tightening around him and stopping him from breathing. Finally, he could no longer stand, falling backwards to the floor. As his eyes shut, he felt his mechanical heartbeat, felt it beat slower and slower.
But he didn't feel it stop.
11:05 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary
Clive, beaten and bruised, stepped into the Sanctuary, and saw Gallows sitting at the base of the stairs in roughly the same condition. He trod over, using his rifle as a crutch, and sat down next to him.
"You okay, man?" Gallows asked, laughing under his breath. "You look like hell."
Clive looked back at Gallows, and down at his arm, which was turning black. Clive couldn't help but chuckle too. "He broke your arm."
"Shut up!" Gallows said, laughing again. He calmed down for a minute, looking at Clive. "You think the punk's alright?"
The two of them turned their heads, staring at the ground.
"I'm sure…" Clive began, closing his eyes. "I'm sure that Virginia is alright."
Gallows fell backwards, resting on his elbows, his hair covering his eyes. "Yeah… I'm sure she's okay too."
11:10 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary Rooftop
"Nngh…"
Virginia's eyes fluttered open, but her eyes were unfocused. Lying on the ground, she saw the world in a tilt, and in the distance, she could make out something lying on the ground in front of her. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, trying to remember what happened.
"I was… Oh!" Virginia suddenly remembered, and jumped to her feet, looking around cautiously for Eroz. While her vision was still partly hazy, she saw that she must have been the only living thing up there. She remembered seeing something while on the ground, and turned back to it. As her vision returned fully, she stared at the object that was on the floor. She noticed the red and white material wrapped around it, fluttering in the wind.
"Jet!"
Virginia ran to him, falling to his side and grabbing onto him. "Jet, wake up! Wake up! Please, wake up!" she wailed, first shaking his shoulders lightly, then harder. She felt at his chest, looking for the sound of life. She couldn't find it. Virginia saw her vision blur once again, this time from her tearing eyes.
"You can't die, Jet! You still have so much to do! So much for us to do! Jet!" panicking, she tried to perform CPR, but she realized she didn't know it, and was meaninglessly bouncing her hands on his chest. As well as this, Virginia had a bad feeling deep down that she couldn't bring him back.
"Virginia."
While she knew it wasn't Jet, she looked at his face, hoping that it was actually Jet throwing his voice or something, but it wasn't. Looking up warily, she saw Clive and Gallows, who were staring at Jet sullenly.
"… Stupid punk shouldn't have done that." Gallows looked away, frowning angrily.
"… There must have been no other way," Clive said, as he limped over to Jet. Looking at his right hand, he saw that the Lance of Animation had become ripped and tattered, streams of thin, high-tech wiring bursting from it. The Lance had been destroyed. As well as this, Clive saw the black sword, which was embedded into the cement near Jet. It had flown up in the explosion, jerking itself into the cement hard.
"… We shouldn't be sad," Clive began. "Jet's done an amazing thing. We should be glad. The world is safe… The Fallen are defeated… Everything is right…" From the way he spoke, it was obvious that Clive had trouble believing it himself.
The three of them looked at Jet's lifeless face painfully. Jet; the one that cared only for himself; the one that had hated everybody else. That very same Jet had given his life in order to save his team, and Filgaia. But somehow, it didn't feel right to them - especially to Virginia.
"Jet!"
It was another voice this time, and they turned to see someone they didn't expect.
"Karen? What are you doing here?" Clive asked curiously.
"I remember now…" Karen began. "… When I was at the time of the War. I was one of the energy carriers… Zero's carrier. I was assigned to replenish Zero should he need it. Zero refused to use me, even when he was in critical condition. He told me that I had a life of my own, and that I should use it for myself."
Karen knelt by Jet's body, resting her head on his chest. "Zero…" she whispered to him. "Thank you… I'm going to use my life for what I want… So don't be mad…"
Karen's body began to glow brightly, forcing the others to look away. They already had an idea of what she was going to do, but were unable to stop her. As the light faded, they looked back at where Karen used to be. She had disappeared, and small specks of energy were seen drifting about.
"…Hm."
Everyone's heads tipped up, and they looked at each other in disbelief.
"…Hm… Hmm…"
They slowly turned their heads down, looking at Jet's body. Virginia bent down towards him, leaning her face right in front of his.
"… J-Jet?"
"…Hm…" Jet's eyes inched open, and as his vision cleared, he saw a teary-eyed face staring back at him, and at a very close proximity. "ACK! VIRGINIA!"
Jet hurriedly pulled himself away, backing up towards a wall. "W-Why are you coming so close for!"
The three of them stared at him, their faces slowly breaking into smiles.
"W-What? Is there something behind me?"
Before he could even turn around, Virginia had jumped and latched onto him, Gallows had begun maniacally punching him in the back, and Clive just stood there, shaking his head with a big smile.
It was finally over.
12:00 A.M – Baskar Colony
After everything had been explained to Halle, and the missing pieces filled in for Jet, the group sat around Halle's table, feeling slightly depressed at the loss of Karen.
"Hehe, you shouldn't think her dead, kids," Halle told them. She lifted her stick and lightly prodded Jet on the chest. "She's sitting in here. She must be overjoyed to have saved Jet's life, so we shouldn't mope. We should celebrate!"
"You're right!" Virginia said, wiping her eyes. "She wouldn't be happy if we were sad because of this!"
"Good point!" Maya said with a grin, as she stood up and grabbed at Jet's arm, surprising him. "Which is why Jet and I are going to go out and have some fun to celebrate! Right, Jet?"
"Um, ah…" Jet mumbled, until he felt two soft lumps pressing against the back of his head.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Iris teased, caressing Jet's cheek with her finger. "Jet and I are going to come back to my clinic to play a little 'Doctor'… Aren't we, honey?"
"Uh…" Jet began to panic as he saw Virginia heading for him. She was smiling coyly, and as she reached him, she grabbed onto his scarf, pulled him away from the other girls, and locked his lips on hers. Everybody stared at her with dropped jaws.
As she broke off, Jet stared at her wide eyes and a shy expression. "You know what, Jet?"
"W-What, Virginia?"
"I guess Even Androids Can Grow Cuter."
THE ENDA/N: Well, it took me AGES to finally finish Even Androids Can Grow Older… BUT I DID IT! And I only did it thanks to the support I got from reviews. Honestly, I didn't think I'd ever complete this fic after my final chapter got deleted… But I really wanted to finish what's probably my favorite fic, and the reviews and messages I got telling me to finish it really pushed me on!
This was the first fic I ever started writing, and is the reason I got into fanfiction in the first place, so I owe it a lot. Thanks to this, I've become (at least in my mind) a better writer, and it's helped me learn many things. It isn't perfect, and if I wrote it with the knowledge I have now, I think it would've been a lot better. But I'm happy with it as it is, because it lets me look back and say: "I wrote that!"
I'll just skip all the mushy stuff and say: Thank you to the people who reviewed me and helped me improve, no matter how big or small your comment was. I won't name names, as there are way too many, and every reviewer was important to me! Thank you to everyone who read this little, amateur work, and I hoped you enjoyed it. If anything, I hope it'll inspire other people to try writing something, and to push on no matter what!
Even Androids Can Grow Older – Ended at 9th May, 2006. My first fic, and how I love it so.
-Diamond Avatar