Five Years: a Macross 7 fanfic
By yutamiyu


DISCLAIMER: They'reeee not miiiiine.



Five years pass in the Macross 7 world...



Fire Bomber broke up when I was sixteen.

It wasn't anything hostile--the band got along quite 
well, actually, by the end. People just stopped 
listening. Stopped caring. They no longer felt any 
sort of message from Basara's music, even though he 
tried his hardest. He just lost some sort of spark at 
the end of the war, and that spark was essential to 
people being moved by his song.


Of course, knowing Basara, he took the news quite 
harshly. He quit Fire Bomber on the spot. And without 
Basara, there was no Fire Bomber. It truly was his 
band. He was the heart; he was the soul. 

He was my soul.

My heart knew no other man than Basara Nekki.

Soon after the band's break up, Basara simply left the 
city. No one--not even Ray--knew where he went. All 
three former band members had gone to cheer him up, 
and found him gone. His Valkyrie no longer stood guard 
outside his window, and his guitar was gone. Some 
clothing had been hastily plucked from the drawers, 
and some had fallen onto the floor, marking his path 
to a closet, where he had taken a bag to stuff 
everything in.

Gone. Without a word. With barely a trace.

After that, I slowly lost touch of Ray and Veffidas. I 
grew up. It happens to young girls; we grow, we 
change, we go our separate ways. Many childhood 
friends are lost that way. I left the city and headed 
off on my own in my pink Valkyrie, compliments of 
Sound Force officials. When the battle was over, they 
let me keep it in exchange for all my hard work. Ray 
and Veffidas still have the one that they shared, as 
well.

Mom was against it completely. She thought that I was 
still a young child of fourteen. More than that, she 
thought that she was losing control, and I knew better 
than anyone how much she hated being out of control. I 
had held her hand tightly and informed her that I was 
no longer a child, that I had to strike out on my own 
and live my life the way I needed to be. Dad helped me 
to convince her.

When I was seventeen, Mom and Dad got back together. 
Perhaps they finally realized what they really meant 
to each other. Or perhaps they were just scared of 
living out their aging years alone and forgotten. 
Either way, I had always known that they had both 
really loved each other deep down, but were scared to 
finally come out and admit that they had made a 
mistake by splitting up. They were always so stubborn.


I was stubborn, once, but I grew. I still am stubborn--
I got it from both my parents, after all--but no 
longer in the childish way I once was. When I look 
back on my years, Fire Bomber was both the best and 
the worst thing that ever happened to me. I wasn't 
allowed to live my life as a "normal" teenaged girl, 
but I also got to meet some of the greatest influences 
in my life. Fire Bomber helped me to grow. Ray always 
offered me words of advice, Veffidas offered me silent 
support, and Basara...Basara was just there. He kicked 
me when I needed to be kicked, and made me smile when 
I needed to smile.


He was heaven and hell wrapped into one tight package.

And he simply packed up and left without a word.

Sometime that year I decided that pining over him was 
not the best route to take. From then on, I decided, I 
was going to forget that there was ever a Basara 
Nekki, or that I had ever known him. I rid myself of 
my former life--the Fire Bomber idol--and packed every 
poster and CD depicting the band that I had ever 
purchased, or received, and shoved them into a large 
box. I strapped my guitar onto my back and headed 
outside.


Mom was standing there at the door, telling me that we 
needed to have a mother-daughter talk; that it had 
been too long since our last one. She instantly looked 
down at the box and asked me what I had been planning 
on doing with it, and I told her. Ridding myself of 
all memories of Basara Nekki, and of my association 
with Fire Bomber.



Mom instantly shoved them into the arms of the 
assistant who is always following her around and told 
him to take them to her place; that she would keep 
them for me. I reluctantly agreed, and handed him my 
guitar.



Farewell, Mylene the child star.



Mom sat down and I served her a cup of coffee. Black, 
with just a little bit of cream. That's the way she 
liked it. For nearly eighteen years it hadn't changed 
a bit.



Mom smiled lightly at me with a twinkle in her 
eye. "You're the reason I started drinking coffee this 
way, Mylene," she informed me. "After your birth, it 
was all I wanted to drink."



I sat down in the chair opposite her. "Mom, why are 
you here?"



My mother put down her coffee cup. "Mylene," she 
said, "you're leaving soon, and I wanted you to know 
that I am going to miss you. But I do believe that 
this is the right thing for you to do; that you're 
much too old to waste time in this overly congested 
city. Make your way to another ship or planet...and be 
happy." She took a sip of the coffee in front of 
her. "But...don't forget your old life entirely. 
Remember the joys you had as a member of Fire Bomber. 
Remember the friends you made over the years. Don't 
take with you memories of war and sorrow; take ones of 
joy and laughter. Your father and I made that same 
mistake. We were both too preoccupied with how we had 
done each other wrong that we forgot our love for each 
other." She smiled. "Just don't forget your family."



"I won't, Mom. I promise." I rose to my feet and she 
rose to hers, and I embraced her. After seventeen 
years, she had finally given me permission to make my 
own decisions, and to truly live on my own without 
constant surveillance.



We sat and reminisced on old times. I was extremely 
careful not to mention the band or Basara. I no longer 
wanted to associate myself with them, and that 
included to friends and family members. We talked 
about my engagement to Gamlin, and my mother talked 
about how she hoped that she would live to see a 
wedding between us. I assured her that she wouldn't 
die before she got to see my wedding.



I just didn't tell her whom it was that I was going to 
marry.



I left several months later, just after I turned 
eighteen. I took my pink Valkyrie and blasted off into 
space, headed east of the Macross 7 fleet. I could 
have simply moved to another ship in the fleet, but I 
knew that I would have felt tied down in a way that I 
could have probably never completely understood.



Is that how Basara felt?



I shook my head. I refused to think of him. Basara 
Nekki was no longer a figure in my life as much as I 
was no longer a figure in his. All that remained for 
me now was to find a proper planet to live the rest of 
my life out on, away from the congested city and 
bittersweet memories.



I flew into the stars and let the darkness of space 
absorb me. My course was set for an unidentified 
planet that contained life forms; hopefully I would 
find what I was searching for on it.


If only I knew what it was I was searching for.

After hours upon hours of flight I landed on what I 
soon called the "Second Earth". This was the planet 
that the Macross 7 fleet had been searching for. It 
was directly under their noses and they had overlooked 
it. After all, what good would a planet whose life 
forms had died out entirely long ago be to a ship that 
populated in excess of one million people?



The planet had revived itself, as somehow I knew it 
always would. The extinction of one species will cause 
another to thrive. That is how it always works.



I jumped out of my Valkyrie and ran over to a nearby 
brook. I tested the water with my hand, then ventured 
to drink some. When I was sure that it was safe, I 
removed my shoes and stuck my feet in them, delighting 
in the feel of fresh, serene water running over and in 
between my toes.



I reached into my bag next to me, searching for my 
stash of food. What fell out was not my meal, but my 
photo album. I picked it up, forgetting about the food 
for the time being, and began to flip through it 
tenderly.



Several pictures of my family and me. The most recent 
one was of my mother and father, together, with me in 
front of them. Never again would I come in between my 
parents; I no longer wished to be the conveyer of 
messages to two lonely souls who wouldn't admit that 
what they had once had was something magical.



I turned another page.



Fire Bomber.



Even at such a distance away from City 7 I could not 
rid myself completely of the memories.



Fire Bomber at my fifteenth birthday party. I looked 
so happy back then. My eyes were those of a small 
child who had found someone to rely on completely; 
someone on whom I could throw my entire faith at a 
moment's notice and not worry about what the outcome 
would be.



Fire Bomber at a concert. Someone had taken a picture from the crowd and had later given me a copy. I looked 
at the roaring crowd the photographer had captured, 
and noticed a small girl carrying a bouquet of 
flowers, wearing a sun dress and hat. I think that 
girl had been at every one of our concerts. I wondered 
if she ever gave those flowers to whomever they were 
intended for.



Basara and his Valkyrie. That big, shiny, red eyesore 
that always stood right outside his apartment. I 
didn't remember why I shot this picture, but Basara 
sure didn't like it. His face was drawn in an 
expression of annoyed surprise, as he held a wrench in 
his hand. I guessed he was fixing it.



Basara.



The next page contained a picture of Fire Bomber, just 
casually. No bright lights, no screaming fans, just 
us. Veffidas clutched her drumsticks, as ever, while 
beside her Ray gave a casual grin. I, the young child 
with the bright pink hair in front of the two, blew a kiss at the camera and winked. And beside me was 
Basara, his arms crossed in front of him and just 
staring at the camera. No emotion, no passion. Just 
being.



I used to have this picture framed on my bedside 
table, next to the picture of my family and me. It was 
the last thing I threw into the box that my mother was 
storing in her house.



My throat began to become tight as I thought back on 
my days as a band idol.



The big important memories were easy to block out. It 
was getting less and less difficult, day by day, to 
forget the concerts, the fans, the music. But I 
couldn't rid myself of all the memories. Not of the 
small, bittersweet ones that went straight to my heart 
and make a home. 



//I stood next to Basara, dressed in a kimono that 
Gamlin had informed me was supposed to ease a person's 
heart. My hair was drawn up in an elegant bun. I only 
wore my hair up for special occasions. I argued with 
him about the recording session, and he told me that 
he would give it one more try. We stared at the stars 
together, before I finally heard a quiet, "It suits 
you. The kimono."//



//I dropped into the red Valkyrie, and grabbed the 
controls. "You can't fly home with that arm, can you?" 
I asked him rhetorically. I fiddled around with the 
guitar set-up he had installed in the machine and took 
to the air, heading home. I sang my song. 



"What are you doing?" he asked.



"Don't YOU sing when you feel like it?" I replied.



I continued to sing, and was soon joined by his soft, 
soothing voice. I had never heard him sing my song 
before--we sounded nice together.//



//I woke up in his arms to his relieved smile. "You're 
all right now," he said to me, softly, tenderly. I 
snuggled into him and fell back asleep to the rhythm 
of his relaxed heartbeat.//



My reserve began to crumble and I felt beads of tears 
slowly drip down my face.



I was completely independent...and had never been so 
lonely.



I soon heard whistling in the distance and realized 
that I was not alone on this planet. That there was 
someone else inhabiting this green, cool paradise 
besides me. I jerked my head up in alarm, and saw a 
man run over the hill. He looked several years older 
than me, with jet black hair. He stopped, looked at 
me, and slowly made his way to my direction.



"Hello," he called from a distance.



I stood up. "Hello," I called back, welcoming a new 
face and new company.



He walked towards me again. "Where are you from?"



"City 7," I replied, closing the distance between us.



"You came from City 7? That's pretty far away from 
here."



"Where am I?"



"You're on the planet Daiyaku."



"Daiyaku?"



He nodded. "My name is Uragiri."



I smiled, and extended my hand to meet his. "I'm 
Mylene. It's nice to meet you."



Maybe life on another planet and forgetting City 7 
wouldn't be as hard as I had originally thought. With 
this man, I rationed, with Uragiri...it would be easy 
to forget. I could fall in love with some other guy 
and forget Basara.



No more heartache. No more worry. No strife, no tears, 
no pain. Just happiness, and love.



I picked up my belongings and followed him in the 
direction of his nearby farm house, confident that my 
Valkyrie would be all right sitting by the brook alone.



"How many people live on this planet?" I asked him, as 
we made our way up a long hill.



"Not very many," Uragiri replied. "I was surprised 
that I found you. People are just beginning to settle 
here again. The word is slowly getting out that there 
are habitable planets once again." He sighed. "I'll be 
sad to see all the greenery go. We don't need towering 
buildings and smog-filled skies."



We reached the top of the hill and turned to look at 
the breathtaking scenery that lay before us. The brook 
I had been sitting at seemed to stretch for miles and 
miles in both directions, and I saw an animal drinking 
from one of its sides down a ways.



I could learn to live here, I convinced myself.



Uragiri could help me.



I took his hand in mine, and turned to smile at him 
reassuringly. "I'm sure that people have learned from 
their mistakes. There will be no skyscrapers on this 
planet."



His eyes met mine and I became uncomfortable with what 
I saw in them. I couldn't figure out what it was that 
shone in his dark black eyes, but I was certain that 
it wasn't entirely good.



Soon after we arrived at his house, he began to ask me 
questions about my former life in City 7, and I told 
him. I left out Fire Bomber, and Gamlin. I made up a 
story on the spot, about being just an ordinary 
teenaged girl who felt like striking out on her own. 
He believed every word of it.

After he had fed me, he inquired about my Valkyrie. I 
explained to him that it was a gift from my mother--
not the mayor, but the ace pilot--and never revealed 
to him the secret speakers it contained in the 
breastplate. There are some aspects of my life that I 
swore I would no longer tell anyone who inquired; my 
association with Fire Bomber being the most prominent.


It was when he felt my breasts that I began to feel 
that I had made a mistake in trusting him. I had been 
tidying dishes up in his kitchen--the least I could 
do, I figured, since he fed me and gave me shelter--
when he walked up behind me and groped at my chest. I 
cried out in shock, in denial. I did not want what he 
was giving me.

"Shut up," he snarled, and forced his lips onto mine. 
When he finally raised his head back up, gasping for 
breath, he gave me a grin that made me sick to my 
stomach. "We're going to have a little fun now," he 
rasped, and I realized what it was in his eyes that I 
had seen earlier as well as now--desire.

He shoved me to the ground and began groping me once 
again, while I struggled under him in an attempt to 
escape. He easily held my wrists together tightly with 
one hand and raised them above my head, not breaking 
contact with my chest.

"You can make this easy or difficult for yourself," he 
told me. "It's your choice. If you struggle, I will 
kill you. If you scream, I will kill you. If you are 
passive, I will let you go." He chuckled, and roughly 
kneaded my breast again, and it hurt. And I resisted 
the urge to cry out to whoever would listen to me, and 
simply let the tears build in my eyes. "Have you made 
your decision?"

I was silent. I turned my head in a vain attempt to 
block out what he was doing to me. I squeezed my eyes 
shut. I could at least block it from my vision.

Uragiri let go of my hands and I left them above my 
head, afraid that if I brought them to my sides, I 
would react out of instinct and cause my unwilling 
death. I closed my eyes and tried not to tremble as I 
felt him remove the barriers guarding his sex and mine.


When he was spent, he got up and dressed as though 
nothing had happened. I painfully sat up and drew my 
clothes to my battered form, uselessly trying to hide 
my naked body from his sight. He looked at me and 
chuckled again. That laugh would forever plague my nightmares.

"Get dressed, you whore," he spat at me. "Get out of 
my house and out of my sight." His scowl turned into a 
lecherous grin. "Unless you want me to take you for 
another ride." He walked towards the door. "You had 
better not be here when I get back." With that, he 
left.

I had become impure. Tainted. My heart and soul had 
shattered and I had become depression's willing slave. 
I slowly pulled my clothes on, motivation and spirit 
having since abandoned me. I could smell sex all 
around me, and I saw a small pool of blood staining 
the ground where he shattered me. I made my way to my 
feet, my legs unwilling to obey simple commands, and 
the area between my thighs aching from unused muscles 
being exerted.

I picked up my belongings and headed for the brook, to 
my Valkyrie. I stumbled over rocks and branches cut at 
my skin and I did not care. I was a soulless husk who 
had lost her will to survive. When I finally reached 
the brook, something inside me snapped and I tore off 
my clothes and threw myself into the water. I scrubbed 
myself so harshly with my nails that my skin began to 
turn red and I desired the pain. I wanted to feel 
something besides defeat, besides desperation.


When I finally emerged from the water I still felt 
incredibly dirty, but I ceased my bath in fear that 
Uragiri would find me and ravage me again. I got out 
of the water, and quickly dressed myself, not wanting 
to show off my nudity more than absolutely necessary.


Daiyaku still held much beauty for me, but I knew in 
my heart that I couldn't stay. Not with the horrid 
memories of what that odious man had done to me. I 
opened up my Valkyrie and threw my bag in, then 
climbed into the pilot seat and took off, taking one 
last look at the serene brook under me, before 
shooting off into space.



I could not go home. I knew that much. I didn't know 
how to face my parents after what had happened to me. 
But where could I go? I set my navigational radar to 
find a nearby planet, only this planet needed to be a 
confirmed settlement. I soon found one, and set course.



It was en route to that planet, in the dark, lonely 
solitude of space that I found myself unable to cry 
over my situation. I had just undergone severe 
emotional damage, and yet my tears refused to form and 
fall and get out of my system, taking my troubles with 
them.



When I finally landed on the planet Kanashimi, I 
cruised around inside my Valkyrie until I came across 
civilization. Not just one solitary house with nothing 
but land surrounding as far as the eye could see, but 
several houses and business places--a medium-sized 
settlement. I touched down just outside of it and 
walked into the town.



"Hey, wow!" I heard a voice call. I turned around and 
there was a woman--about my age--admiring my Valkyrie. 
She turned towards me, her kind eyes glistening with 
excitement. "Is that your Valkyrie?"



I nodded. "You know what it is?"



"Oh, you bet I do!" she cried. "I haven't ever seen 
one in person before, but...wow!" She smiled at me, 
and I instantly felt more at ease. I had finally found 
a friendly face; someone whom I felt I could trust.



I was still wary, of course, considering that I had 
been fooled by appearances before.



"What's your name?" I asked her.



"Shizumeru. I own that bar over there," she said, 
pointing to the building with an old-fashioned wooden 
sign reading Hagemasu Tavern. "Would you like a 
drink?" she asked.



I smiled at her and nodded. "That would be nice," I 
said softly.



"Come on!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards 
the bar. Her level of energy and passion of spirit 
reminded me of myself during my days in Fire Bomber.



Stop it, Mylene. Don't think about Fire Bomber.



I allowed myself to be dragged into the tavern, where 
Shizumeru instantly took her place behind the bar and 
smiled. "Welcome to our tavern!" she exclaimed, 
bowing, going through the standard customer ritual. 
She wiped a place at the bar and indicated the stool 
in front of it. "Please sit."



I smiled, giggling a bit at the mock severity she has 
shown me. And for that brief moment, I had once again 
become the young child I once was, all thoughts of my 
deflowering gone from my head, as though it had never 
happened.



I sat at the bar, and she presented the wall of 
various liquors and alcoholic beverages with great 
flourish. "Here's your choice; pick your poison."



I had never been a heavy drinker. I didn't even recall 
ever having had a drink, except for a small glass of 
champagne at my mother and father's remarriage. And 
that was merely Mom, Dad, and me. A small family 
party. I pointed to one of the bottles I had seen in 
my mother's house and hoped that I wouldn't lose what 
little I had eaten recently.


"It shall be so," Shizumeru said in mock seriousness, 
and made a large show in pouring the drink, twisting the bottle several times and pouring above the rim of 
the glass, cutting off the flow so quickly as to not 
spill a drop.



When she finished she pushed the glass in front of 
me. "Drink up," she said eagerly.



I sniffed at the concoction in front of me and it was 
foul. I could not believe any sane person would 
actually drink this voluntarily. I took a small sip 
and felt my stomach begin to churn.


I put the glass down and focused my attentions on 
Shizumeru. "Why is the bar empty?" I asked.



"It doesn't open for a couple more hours."


"I'm afraid I don't have any money for this drink," I 
said sheepishly. I had planned on receiving money from 
my mother once I settled on another planet. "I can 
most certainly work it off. I can wash dishes, or wait 
on tables, or..."



What, Mylene? Sing? Weren't you going to forget that 
phase in your life?



"Would you like for me to work it off?" I asked.


"Nah." Shizumeru winked at me. "Consider it an even 
trade for getting to see your Valkyrie."



I paused in consideration. "Why didn't you ask me my 
name in return for yours?" I finally asked.



Shizumeru started drying glasses with a cloth 
towel. "I don't press anyone for information they don't want to give me. Especially people who are new 
in town, and look as lost and lonesome as you do."



I nodded. "You're right-I am new in this town. Just 
today, in fact."


Shizumeru gave me a large grin. "I know. I saw you 
land."

I idly swirled the liquid in the glass in front of me, 
and Shizumeru fiddled around behind the counter; I 
didn't pay attention. "...My name's Mylene," I finally 
said.


Shizumeru smiled. "I know."

I put down the glass. "How did you know?"

"You're Mylene Jenius. You're a member of Fire Bomber. 
Or, at least, you were. I know who you are."


"You're a fan, then," I said in dismay. Even way out 
past City 7 I can't escape my old life.

"Not really," Shizumeru replied. "I've never heard 
your music, or seen you in concert. But there was a 
guy here along with another girl, and he had pictures 
of the band. He told me who each of the members were, 
and about your Valkyries. I saw a picture of a 
Valkyrie that was identical to yours."



My eyes widened. Had Basara been here previously? And 
with another woman?



"What did this man look like?" I asked. "Did he have 
spiky brown hair and peripherals?"



She shook her head. "He was an older man--I'd say 
around thirty or so. He had a black mustache and short 
black hair that he wore in a headband with an 
attachment dangling off of it. He was heavily set, and 
strong." She squinted her eyes in remembrance. "I 
think his name was Ray."



Ray had been on Kanashimi?



"And the woman?" I inquired. "Was she tall with green 
hair and...well...a large chest?" My hands pantomimed 
the anatomy of which I spoke.



Shizumeru smiled at me and laughed. "That's the one."



Ray and Veffidas were traveling together, despite the 
break up of Fire Bomber. It somehow didn't altogether 
surprise me: they stuck together when our band was 
struggling, they stuck together when our band 
succeeded, they stuck together when our band had 
suffered losses, and now they stuck together when the 
band had broken up.



I force another drink of the retched concoction in 
front of me down my throat in an attempt to clear the 
knot that was rapidly forming there. Shizumeru simply 
watched me, grinning, as if she knew something that I 
didn't.



She turned her back to fiddle with some of the bottles 
on the back wall. "It must be hard to lose such dear 
friends," she said. "People you love...it's never 
easy."



"Excuse me?"



She turned back around and narrowed her eyes at me in 
disbelief, as if the answer was so obvious that it was 
impossible to overlook. "What I'm saying," she 
said, "is don't give up on your friends. Go back and 
see those two. I'm sure that you won't regret it. 
You'll feel much better about yourself, and you'll 
forget whatever troubles haunt you now." She winked at 
me. "Trust me; I'm a bartender. It's my job to know 
these things."



I smiled at Shizumeru despite myself. She was right--I 
couldn't run from my past, no matter how much I wanted 
to. I shouldn't forget those things that have no 
business in being forgotten. I have made the same 
mistake my parents did: I took the painful memories 
and ran from the pleasant ones.



"Do you know where they are, Shizumeru?"



She laughed. "I just knew you would listen to me," she 
said, and bent down to shuffle through several piles 
of paper and mess under the counter. "Where did I put 
it..." she mumbled, before finally hitting 
jackpot. "Aha!" she cried triumphantly, and held up a 
scrap of paper. 



She stood up and held the paper before me. "This, 
Mylene, will not take you where you will eventually 
need to be," she said, her voice conveying her utmost 
seriousness. "However, it will take you to your friends."

I looked at Shizumeru, confused. How could a girl my 
age, tending a bar on a planet extremely far away from 
the Macross 7 fleet have much more of an understanding 
of my situation than I myself? How can she say such 
wise and proverbial thoughts while not knowing what 
was going to happen in the next twenty minutes?



I just don't understand...



I took the piece of paper from her hand and stood to 
leave.



"Mylene," she called after me. "Grant me one favor."



How could I deny a favor to the one who had begun to 
pick up the fractured pieces of my shattered 
life? "Anything."



"Let me watch you take off."



I laughed, and nodded. "Sure."



She grabbed something else from behind the counter 
before scampering out from behind the bar and joined 
me. We both walked outside of the building and headed 
back towards my Valkyrie. She handed me the bundle 
that she had prepared--enough food to get me through 
the journey ahead. She had been making it while I had 
been reminiscing about my life as a rock idol. I 
hadn't even noticed.



I hugged her. "Thank you for lending me such support 
in my time of confusion," I said. Someone else's words 
coming out of my mouth. I didn't even know where I had 
gotten them. They just felt right.

I made my way to the cockpit of my Valkyrie and turned 
back to Shizumeru. She cheered for me as I turned 
around and gave her a thumbs-up. She still cheered 
when I entered my Valkyrie and jetted off into space.


When I had blasted through the orbit of Kanashimi, I 
looked at the scrap of paper that Shizumeru had given 
me. The paper was a map to the planet Deai--a small 
planet not too far off from the Macross 7 fleet. I set 
my course and allowed the obscurity of space to 
swallow me once again as I voyaged throughout the 
galaxy.

Deai was extremely small, I soon realized, as I 
approached it at rapid alacrity. When I touched down, 
I had no trouble finding a small settlement. I hopped 
out of my Valkyrie and ran into the nearest building. 
The people inside simply stared, as though I was some 
sort of alien. And I guessed that, in a bizarre way, I 
was.

"Do you know of a man named Ray Lovelock?" I asked, my 
heart racing with excitement and impatience.

One of the men inside looked me over and raised a 
thoughtful finger to his 
lips. "Lovelock...Lovelock...oh, right. The musician." 
The man winked at me. "He lives about a mile or two 
out of town, to the east."



I looked at the man before me dubiously before finally 
deducting that it was the closest lead to Ray's 
whereabouts, and that I would have to take it. I ran 
out of the building and jumped into my Valkyrie, 
heading in the direction I was informed.



I soon saw a small house with a large Valkyrie parked 
outside of it. There was no doubt-this was Ray's 
house. And Veffidas lived there as well, surely.



I parked my Valkyrie and quickly stumbled out of 
it. "Ray!" I called, and banged on the door. "Ray! 
Ray!" I continued to knock violently on the door until 
it finally opened, and I at last saw Ray Lovelock, 
former member of Fire Bomber, beloved friend and 
mentor.



His eyes widened in shock. "...Mylene?" he asked out 
of confusion. He looked behind me to the large, pink 
monstrosity behind me before his eyes met mine 
again. "Mylene? Is it really you?"



I nodded happily, and threw my arms around him. The 
warmth of his body was welcomed as an old friend 
during my time of such crisis.



His strong arms wrapped around my body and he embraced 
me back. "...can't believe it..." was all I really 
heard, before he let me go and I released him. "Come 
in," he said, backing up and allowing me inside.



His house wasn't spotless, but I noted with joy that 
he made attempts to clean it as often as he could. Ray 
disappeared into what I assumed was the kitchen before 
coming out with two lemonades. The same brand I once 
drank with Basara, I thought, before shaking such 
memories out of my head and accepting the cool drink.



"Why are you here?" he asked.



"I struck out on my own," I replied.



"When was that?"



I hadn't slept in days. I couldn't remember the last 
time I had closed my eyes. I suddenly felt a large 
rush of fatigue sweep over my body, and I faltered, 
falling to the ground. Ray was there to pick me 
up. "Are you all right?" he asked.



"Yes...I'm sorry about the lemonade," I replied, 
indicating the spilled bottle.



"Let's get you into bed," he said, leaving the 
lemonade and helping me into what I presumed was his 
bedroom. He drew back the sheets--clean, I noticed 
with surprise--and helped me in.



"Just rest," he said, heading towards the door. "I'll 
be right outside."



It came to my mind to thank him, but by that time I 
had already fallen asleep.



My nightmares were plagued with images of Uragiri. 
Inside and out he had stolen a part of me that I had 
not been willing to give, making himself a piece of me 
for the rest of my existence. Over and over the scenes 
replayed, my mind's eye filling in the pictures that I 
had forced myself not to see. Lights flashed and 
sounds haunted my ears and that laugh pierced my soul 
with fear.



And when it was over, I was in a field with Basara. He 
looked at me with such hurt in his eyes, as though I 
had betrayed him. I reached for him and he turned his 
head to the side and faded into the scenery. The 
ground cracked beneath me before crumbling entirely 
and I fell into it, completely out of control of my 
fate, screaming the entire way down.



When I awoke, I was in Ray's strong arms and gentle 
embrace, being rocked slowly. "Shh..." he 
coaxed. "Mylene...you were having a nightmare."


I attempted to talk to him, to tell him that I was all 
right, but my voice had become a tight knot. 



His arms unfolded and his hands made contact with my 
shoulders, forcing me to look into his 
eyes. "Mylene...what happened to you?"



"I..." I rasped, before breaking apart completely. I 
flew into his arms, sobbing in heavingg breaths into 
his chest, the noise muffled by the pressure. His arms 
went back around me, lightly stroking my back. I 
quivered and shook from both my whimpering and fear. I 
felt as though Uragiri was on my heels, tracking me, 
stalking me, waiting for the time when I would make a 
mistake and he would destroy me again.



Could I ever feel safe again?



When my lamentation subsided, Ray stood up and offered 
me his hand. "Thirsty?" he asked, smiling. I swiped at 
my eye with the back of my hand and nodded, returning 
the smile as best as I could. Ray was maintaining a 
sense of normalcy, and I was going to struggle to 
maintain one as best as I could. I took his hand, and 
he led me into the kitchen.



Ray rooted through the small refrigerator of his and 
produced another container of lemonade, the kind I 
hadn't had a chance to drink before. "It's all I have, 
I'm afraid," he said apologetically.



Ray took a can of beer out from the refrigerator, and 
answered my tacit questioning gaze. "Well, all I have 
that YOU can drink," he finished, laughing and opening 
the can. Foam ran out of the top and onto his hand and 
he licked it up quickly.



"You forget that I'm eighteen, Ray," I chided 
mockingly.



"That's right," he murmured, his eyes becoming 
distant. He chuckled softly. "I guess I still think of 
you as the rambunctious, zealous child of fifteen." He 
indicated the lemonade in his other hand and cocked 
his head back to the refrigerator. "There's more beer, 
if you want that instead."



I took the bottle from him and popped it open, taking 
a drink before shaking my head. "It's fine," I said 
quietly.



"Are you hungry?" he asked. Ray had always been so 
kind to me.



I nodded, starting to feel better. Ray winked at 
me. "All right. Go wait in the living room. Watch some 
television or something. I'll be out in a little bit." 
He laughed at my hesitancy. "Go on!" he exclaimed, 
pushing me into the room and sitting me on the sofa. 
He tossed me the controller and the television channel 
guide. "Go on and watch. I'll make us some dinner." He 
rubbed his stomach. "I'm starving." He laughed, and 
disappeared into the kitchen again.



I sat in silence for a moment longer before gently 
pressing a button on the controller. Instantly flashes 
of bands playing in concerts with screaming fans 
flickered onto the screen, and I changed the channel 
quickly, still not wanting to deal with such images. I 
changed the channel and found a movie. I watched as 
the two lovers were separated by families and other 
social situations, but finally were reunited in the 
end.



I didn't realize when Ray had walked in, holding my 
dinner plate in one hand and his in the other. I was 
much too engrossed in the movie. "That good?" he had 
said, to break me out of my repertoire. 



I looked up at him in shock and reached for the 
plate. "Yes," I replied. "Very good."



Ray sat next to me on the couch and began to quietly 
eat his dinner, his eyes fixed on the images flashing 
in front of him. He never pushed me, he never brought 
up the incident in his bedroom earlier. Ray was such a 
good friend to me.



When we finished eating, Ray cleared the plates from 
the table and brought me another lemonade and a beer 
for himself. He popped it open and I did the same, and 
we both took two large gulps from the cans before 
either of us ventured to talk.


"I'm...sorry," I finally said, "about earlier."


"It was no trouble, Mylene." A pause, followed by his 
hesitant query. "Are you feeling better?"



I nodded. "A bit."



"...What happened, Mylene?"



I closed my eyes and took a large breath. And I told 
him everything. I told him about my decision to forget 
my association with Fire Bomber, and my talk with my 
mother. I told him about my flight in space to the 
first planet--how you could see billions of stars and 
it was breathtakingly beautiful. And then I told him 
about Uragiri, my eyes taking a sudden fascination 
with my clasped hands. I heard a sharp intake of 
breath from Ray, and when I looked up, I saw him 
squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth in 
pain. I lowered my head back down and gave him time. 
It isn't an easy thing.



"And that's why you woke up crying," I finally heard.



I nodded. "I dreamed...I saw it in my nightmare. Over 
and over. Time and time again. And it scared me."



"But that wasn't all of your dream, Mylene, was it? 
There was something else. Someone else?"



I considered telling Ray about Basara. That I was 
feeling something in my heart and soul that I hadn't 
felt during my days in Fire Bomber, and all I knew was 
that it had something to do with Basara. I finally 
shook my head. "No one, Ray."



Ray nodded acceptingly. He would not push me if I did 
not want to talk. I felt somewhat guilty.




"Ray," I said, lightening the tone of my voice, 
desperate to change the subject. "Where is Veffidas? I 
haven't seen her around today."



Ray looked at me, startled, before taking another 
drink from his beer can and sighing. "Mylene," he 
finally said, "...Veffidas is dead. She died about two 
months ago."



My eyes widened in shock and I felt weak. We had lost 
a fourth of Fire Bomber; I had lost a fourth of my 
essence. Veffidas had always been my silent supporter, 
letting me talk to her while she listened intently, 
even if she was banging her drumsticks to some silent 
rhythm that played out in her head. We sometimes hung 
out together during the band's off-days. We had gone 
shopping, once, and she picked out an outfit that she 
had indicated would look good on me. It was still my 
favorite outfit, years later.



The silent drummer...why had she been so quiet? It 
wasn't due to lack of words; she was the kind of 
person who would rather listen to someone than to 
talk. And when she did talk, her words were so full of 
wisdom and experience that you could not help but take 
heed of them.



...Veffidas...



I clutched tightly to my empty lemonade 
bottle. "...How?" I finally asked, my head dropping to 
the floor and my long pink hair hiding my eyes; my 
emotions.



"Something went wrong with the micronization process, 
Mylene." Ray cleared his throat, and I realized that I 
was in for a lecture, and had better pay 
attention. "Back in 2009, we encountered an alien race 
known as the Zentredi. Your mother was one, as I'm 
sure you know, and Veffidas was one. When they decided 
to live peacefully with us the next year, they 
undertook the micronization process to get down to our 
size." 



He took another sip of beer. "What you probably don't 
know is that back in 2010, the Micron Process was 
still very experimental. Many Zentredi formed a 
voluntary test group to analyze the effects of the 
micron ray, and to see if it worked. Your mother was 
included in that first group, and the baby Veffidas 
was included in the second. But...something happened, 
Mylene. The rays...they didn't work for Veffidas. I 
mean, they worked; they shrunk her down...but she was 
sick." Ray shook his head in disbelief. "Veffidas was 
dying throughout her career in Fire Bomber...and she 
didn't tell us. She protected her secret until the 
very end."



"...You're lying...right?" I finally asked 
softly. "Veffidas...is hiding somewhere...right?" Even 
at the age of eighteen I still found myself asking 
childish questions that I knew held no merit. I know 
the truth, but I don't accept it.



Ray shook his head rapidly. "She's...I...I buried her 
behind the house. Under a tree that she said was the 
most beautiful." A somber smile made its way to his 
lips. "She would always bang her drumsticks on that 
tree for hours, and I would accompany her. We played 
Fire Bomber songs...it was like old times again."



I stood up and walked over to my old friend, and 
embraced him. He needed me as much as I needed him. We 
were each other's support; we were rocks, we were 
someone to lean on.



Ray stroked my arm lightly before standing up and 
taking the lemonade bottle from me. "You can stay here 
as long as you'd like, Mylene. I'm getting lonely." 
With those words, he stood up and headed for the 
kitchen.



"Ray?" I asked as an afterthought. He turned around in 
acknowledgment. "Do you think my mother could have the 
same disease that Veffidas had?"



Ray hesitates before answering me. "...I don't know, 
Mylene. It seems to me that Veffidas' condition was a 
fluke. I would...I would be surprised if your mother 
had the same symptoms." He walked into the kitchen and 
left me in the television room.



And I stayed. I stayed for an entire year.



Life with Ray wasn't bad at all. We made it fun. We 
both tried as hard as we could to knock out any 
thoughts of Veffidas, or Uragiri, or Fire Bomber. I 
tried even harder to forget Basara.

Basara.

No. Stop. Mylene. Don't think. Just act.

Uragiri acted without thinking...

Stop it, Mylene.

Time passed, and seasons changed. I slowly began to 
forget about Uragiri, and my experiences on that 
planet. I never forgot its beauty, though, and I never 
forgot about Shizumeru. They both represented 
something glorious in my heart: 

The beauty of Daiyaku gave me new hope for humanity, 
and the company of Shizumeru kept my life's stability 
when everything seemed to have fallen apart.



I will never forget either.



I still had the dreams, though. Of my defiling. Only 
they slowly became less and less graphic, and more of 
an emotional toil than anything else. It always ended 
the same, though-with Basara disappearing in the field 
and I falling through the crumbled, shaking ground.



It never got any easier. I woke in the middle of every 
night and wept silently, and every morning Ray would 
not know a thing.



Ray brought me a telegram at the end of the year I was 
living with him. I was surprised--I had never gotten 
mail at Ray's house, or nearly any other time. Ray 
rarely got mail himself; all I ever recalled him 
getting was a single letter from a planet I had never 
heard of called Jiyuu. We were both eager to see what 
it contained.



"It's from City 7," I noted, and he nodded solemnly.



I pressed the button that activated the screen to show 
me the letter, and I read it. When I had finished, I 
dropped the telegram chip, breaking it completely.



I felt Ray's supportive hand at my back. "What 
happened, Mylene?" he asked me. He already knew. He 
knew what was going to happen even last year, when he 
told me of Veffidas. He just wanted to hear it from my 
lips. All of the first- and some of the second-string 
Zentredi were dying off due to long term complications 
from the Micron Process.

Miria Jenius was currently one of them.

She wasn't dead yet, but very much on the verge.

Had my mother known about it as Veffidas had? Had she 
been hiding it from me since the very beginning?

...Did I have it?

Was it possible for such an illness to be transferred 
from mother to daughter?

...But I'm not Zendreti...I'm human...

...I'm not human. Half-human. Halfling.

Freak.

Ray began to rub small circles on my back with his 
hand. "You should go see her, Mylene," he said softly. 

I nodded, still in a state of shock and worry. I 
turned and looked into Ray's eyes, and saw sadness, 
but stability. "Ray," I whisper, my voice cracking, "I 
have to go."

He nodded understandingly, and removed his hand from 
my back. "I'll help you pack," he said, and we went 
into my room together. He left momentarily and soon 
brought in an armload of things to add to my 
collection. He placed the load of items onto an open 
part of my bed. "These are for you," he said. "I don't 
want them anymore, so I figured that you might make 
better use of them than I. They're old clothes that no 
longer fit me."

I nodded, and began to root through the pile. Ray 
began to fold my clothes neatly and pack them in the 
bag. I noticed his actions, and stopped looking 
through the clothes. "I'll be fine, Ray," I 
said. "Really. I'll be okay."



Ray nodded. "I'll go and fix dinner, then." And with 
that, he left for the kitchen.



I packed not only my clothes, but also several of the 
ones that Ray gave me. The clothes that I didn't want 
I folded up neatly and placed on the ground below me. 
The last item of his that I picked up was a sleeveless 
green shirt-much too small to be Ray's. 



I fingered the shirt's material and remembered where I 
had seen it before.

Basara.

This was Basara's shirt. 

I dropped it quickly and it fell to the floor, 
slightly wrinkled. I simply stared at it for several 
minutes; refusing to acknowledge its existence. 
Eventually, I slowly reached down and picked it up: I, 
for the first time in four years, was in contact with 
a part of Basara.



And it hurt. It HURT.



I brought the clothing to my nose and slowly inhaled. 
Although the scent was faint, it was still there: 
essence of Basara. Blood and sweat and tears. Joy and 
sorrow. Pain and rejuvenation. All were conveyed to me 
in that one sleeveless green shirt.



I packed it with the rest of my belongings, and stood 
to join Ray for dinner.



At dinner the two of us discussed how I was going to 
get back home, and how long I would stay there before 
coming back.



"I won't expect you," Ray said, taking another bite of 
his meal.



"What do you mean?"



"Your mother will most likely want you to marry 
Gamlin. You're not going to move out of City 7 to come 
back to me, especially with a husband and probable 
kids." He wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I would be 
surprised if you came back at all...I won't expect 
you."



I could feel rage build up inside and yet I said 
nothing. I finished my dinner quickly and excused 
myself, heading for my bedroom and falling asleep on 
the spot. I always slept best when I was angry--it 
came from years of knowing Basara Nekki.



I dreamt once again of Uragiri's treachery; only when 
Basara appeared, the ground didn't break immediately. 
For the first time in a year, he opened his mouth and 
I could hear his voice.



"You're not going to move out of City 7 to come back 
to me." Ray's words coming out of his mouth.



Please, Basara...you don't mean it...



"I won't expect you."


My world shattered and I reached for him. The ground 
crumbled and collapsed below me and I woke up, 
trembling violently. 



I hugged my knees to my chest and resisted the urge 
not to cry out for Ray, who I knew would always 
support me in my troubles. If I had told him about my 
dreams when they happened, they might have been gone 
by now. Why did I continue to torment myself?



I looked around my darkened room and fumbled for the 
light switch. I set the beam on low, so Ray would not 
awaken and suspect that something was wrong with me. 
My gaze fell from the light switch to the opened 
suitcase on the ground, and to the green shirt. I 
slowly moved to pick it up, and hugged it to my body.



Basara would comfort me. Those damning words...he 
would never say them.



He held my heart and my soul in his palm, and he was 
tossing it from hand to hand, deciding on how to play 
the game.

I inhaled the scent from the shirt one last time 
before placing it back in my bag and switching off the 
light, hoping that I could get more sleep before my 
trip back to City 7.



I left early the next morning, before Ray had woken 
up. I didn't want to see him; not after what he had 
said to me the night before.



I quickly embraced the dark void of space like an old 
friend, the stars representing every fulfilled 
promise. It was quiet, I noticed for the first time. 
No exploding missiles, no attacking Protodevilns, no 
Diamond Force pilots screaming orders over semi-secure 
communication lines.



...No Basara singing his heart out in a big, shiny, 
red Valkyrie.



I soon caught sight of the familiar Macross 7 fleet, 
and touched down in City 7. I showed them my proof of 
residency and ran to the nearest public transportation 
terminal. I didn't know where my car was. Probably at 
my mother's house. When I got onto the bus, I sat down 
and waited until the area where my mother lived. 
Luckily for the driver and the civilians seated around 
me, the bus made stops at City Hall, or I would have 
gotten extremely pissed.



I hopped off of the bus and sprinted like mad for the 
door to the City Hall. The guards didn't even bother 
to check my ID; they knew screaming pink hair like 
mine when they saw it. There was only one girl in City 
7 with hair like mine, and that was me. I hurried to 
my mother's office.



"Mom!" I called, bursting in through the doors.



The room was completely empty. Was she truly gone, and 
I had arrived too late?



Couldn't be...



"She's already left," a voice informed me from behind. 
When I turned, I saw my father. "I thought you might 
come here, Mylene," he said. He smiled a bit. "It's 
been a while. I've missed you." He hugged me, and I 
hugged him back.



I soon pulled back and looked into his 
eyes. "Dad...where's mom?"



"She's at home."



"I want to see her."



My father nodded solemnly.



"She's not doing very well, is she?"



He shook his head. "She's beyond treatment. They 
expect it...any day now. There was nothing more that 
they could have done...so I took her home to die."



I held onto my father; lending support while taking 
it. We both walked out to his car and he drove me on 
the long, familiar route back home.



City 7 hadn't changed in a year, I noted. There were 
still falling-apart buildings and people loitering in 
the streets. I somehow felt strangely at ease; I was 
finally home, after a year...after everything that had 
happened during my travels.



When we arrived home, I tentatively opened the door 
and stepped inside. "I'm...home," I called softly, and 
headed for my parents' room. "Mom?" I inquired to the 
quiet house. "Mom?" I reached my parents' room, and 
looked inside.


In the large bed laid my mother, formerly Mayor Miria 
of City 7. I walked in and held her hand, and she 
opened her eyes to acknowledge me.


"...Max?" she asked, her voice extremely hoarse.

I shook my head. "It's me, Mom."

"...Mylene?" My mother was in an incredibly weak 
state. My father was right--she really didn't have 
much longer.

"Hi, mom," I said, trying desperately not to let my 
voice falter. If it did, I knew that I would have lost 
control completely and crumble into a quivering mass 
on the floor.



I lost Veffidas. I was about to lose my mother.

I lost Basara.

I hadn't lost him completely...had I?

"Mom, why didn't you tell me about your sickness?"

My mother talked slowly; it was evident that she was 
in pain. "I didn't want to worry you."

"Why, mom?"

"You were in that band..." She smiled, and looked at 
the picture on the bedside table. It's of Fire Bomber; 
the same one I have in my photo album. I guess I gave 
her a copy. "I didn't want it to hinder your 
experience. I've always...I've always loved you, 
Mylene. Even if I didn't show it sometimes. And you 
know that I'll always love you...no matter which one 
you choose."



I realized that she was referring to my choice: 
Affiliation with Fire Bomber, or complete independence.



I squeezed her hand tightly, and looked up at my 
father, who was standing careful watch at the doorway. 
His military commander hat was absent--I hadn't seen 
him like that in some time. I let go of my mother's 
hand, and rose to meet him. I left the room, leaving 
them alone to spend some time together. We didn't know 
how much time she had left.


I wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a can of 
lemonade. I had been drinking the sweet, tangy 
beverage like nothing else for the past year, and had 
almost developed a craving for it. I popped it open 
and took a sip, walking into the living room and 
plopping down on the couch.

My parents' house hadn't changed much in the year that 
I was gone, I noted as I looked around. There was 
still the same furniture, same books on the tables on 
either side of the couch, same pictures on the wall...



And new pictures on the mantle.



Curious, I rose to my feet and walked over to it, 

sipping from my drink again. I put the lemonade on the 
mantle, picking up one of the pictures.



Me and Gamlin.



I looked at the other.



Me and Basara.



Both framed in exactly the same picture frame. Put up 
on separate sides of the mantle.



I was wrong. My mother wasn't talking about my choice 
between independence or rock idol.



She was talking about the confusion in my heart.



Gamlin was sweet to me. He took me out on dates, and 
seemed to honestly care about me. He was strapping, 
handsome. Polite. Always made sure that I was happy. I 
could definitely go for a guy like him.



Basara was cruel to me. He took me to practices, and 
couldn't give a damn about my well fare. He was tall, 
annoying. Teasing. Always made sure that he could put 
me down. How could I ever go for a guy like him?



No. Wait.



Basara was kind to me. He saved me from the vampires, 
and helped me when I was lagging during practice. He 
was tall, handsome. Considerate. Always made sure that 
I felt better when I was down.



I could definitely...go for a guy like him...



I put down the picture of me and Gamlin and ran a 
finger over the picture of me and Basara.



I want to see him.



I shook my head rapidly, and put the picture back on 
the mantle, picking up the one of me and Gamlin.



Gamlin. I want to see Gamlin.



...Right?



I made sure that both pictures were in their proper 
places before picking up my lemonade and walking back 
to the couch. I flipped on the television, not really 
watching, but needing something to take my mind off of 
the situation at hand.



My mother died about a month later. I had had several 
talks with her before her death. Neither of us talked 
of her illness or about my first conversation with 
her. We kept it normal; we kept it happy. We talked 
about the new mayor of City 7, and she agreed that the 
woman in office was one who could follow in her 
footsteps. I assured my mother that no one could truly replace her as the mayor of City 7, and she agreed, 
laughing.

It was good to hear her laugh. It really was.

My father was in the room when it happened; I was 
sleeping in my bedroom. I awoke to my father's face 
hovering above my bed, reddened from the traces of 
tears he had wiped away.

I turned up the intensity of the light. "Dad?"

My father said nothing, but I already knew what had 
happened. I ran into my mother's room and gently held 
her hand. And I wept. I wept for everything I had 
lost. I wept for the irreparable part of me that had 
been cruelly stolen. I wept for my mother. I wept for 
Veffidas. I wept for Ray. I wept for Basara.



Most of all, I wept for my father.



Having such a relationship with my mother, and then 
losing her to politics and military interests...and 
finally gaining her back, only to lose her within two 
years. It didn't seem fair to him. He had given up 
enough to be the military commander; why did he have 
to lose his wife as well?



When the tears subsided, I left the room to give my 
father time to mourn; time to heal. I walked to the 
phone and picked up the remote that would display the 
phone monitor, and pushed the button to turn it on. I 
entered Ray's phone number, and soon his voice echoed.



"Hello?" he asked.



"Ray, it's me." I paused. "Please turn on the monitor."



The monitor on the other end flickered on. "Mylene?" 
he asked in wonder. "Are you all right?"



I nodded. "...She's gone, Ray."



He closed his eyes in remorse. "...I see. I'm so 
sorry, Mylene."



"Ray," I said, desperate to change the 
subject, "...I'm sorry for leaving without telling 
you."



Ray shook his head. "It's all right." A pause. "...Are 
you coming back, Mylene?"



I opened my mouth before closing it again. I didn't 
know. I told him as much, and he nodded in 
understanding. "Just keep in touch, all right?" I 
promised him I would.



I cut the call and proceeded to dial Gamlin's number. 
I didn't use the monitor; I didn't want him to see me, 
my face blushing with shed tears.



He picked up. "This is Gamlin," his voice said, 
gruffly. I couldn't help but smile; he was always 
strictly business.



"...Gamlin?" I ask.



"...Mylene?"



I smiled. After a year, he still recognized my 
voice. "How are you?"



"...I'm doing well, Mylene. And how are you?"



"I'm fine," I lied, and paused in 
consideration. "Listen, Gamlin..." I call him for my 
mother. She wanted me to marry Gamlin, and that was 
what I would do. "...would you like to go out to lunch 
later today?"


There was hesitation, then agreement. We set up a 
meeting spot-the café we had always gone to when I was 
still dating him.



I hung up the phone and prepared myself for my date. 
The door to my mother's room was still closed; my 
father inside. He wasn't taking it well, I noticed, 
and vowed to help him heal.



I walked to the bathroom and splashed water in my 
face, washing away the last remnants of tears. I 
looked up from the basin and into the mirror. I stared 
into my own eyes for several minutes, allowing my mind 
to wander.



Was this what I really wanted?



What about Basara...?



I shook my head rapidly, dissipating the thoughts. If 
my mind was going to wander, it was not to wander in 
that direction.



When the time came, I dressed in one the kimono that 
Gamlin gave me when I was fifteen. I was amazed that 
it still fit my figure--when I was younger, it was a 
little large on me, but I grew. And it was a little 
tight, but it still fit well enough that I could wear 
it with only minor discomfort. I left the house and 
headed for the café.



Gamlin was just as handsome as ever, his hair still 
neatly trimmed and short, combed back in the fashion 
of a true pilot. He seemed nervous; I walked to the 
table and greeted him. He stood up in shock, looking 
me over in amazement.



"Mylene...you look wonderful," he finally said.



"Thank you, Gamlin. You're looking good as well."



"Aah, well, no," he stammered, "I guess..." He held up 
his hand and sighed. "Shall we sit?"



I nodded, and took my place opposite of where he had 
been sitting. He sat back down, taking a sip from his 
coffee.



"Gamlin, I'm sure that you've probably heard about my 
mother by now..."



He nodded. "I was very sorry to hear about your 
mother," he said solemnly. "It is a great loss...an 
ace pilot and the best mayor that this city ever had."



I resisted the urge to mention that my mother was, 
until recently, the only mayor that the city had ever 
had. "And you remember that she had wanted us to 
marry?" I was strictly business now. No more playing 
around. I couldn't remain a child forever.



"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," 
he interjected.



I dropped my head, unaware of his hesitation, 
resigning to my fate. "I'll marry you, Gamlin," I said 
softly. "It's what my mother wanted. I'll marry you."



There was nothing but silence.


"Mylene," Gamlin finally said, "I don't know what to 
say. I mean...I don't quite know how to tell you this. 
The truth is..." He scrubbed a hand across his face 
and sighed. "The truth is...I married while you were 
gone."

My head shot up and I looked at him in amazement.

"Mylene...I wasn't getting any younger. I just...I 
couldn't wait any longer. I couldn't wait for you 
forever. And your mother...when she was sick, she 
approached me and asked me to date one of the ship's 
pilots. And she was a nice girl. And we saw each other 
from time to time. And when Fire Bomber broke up, and 
you became distant, we started seeing each other more 
and more." He sighed. "Miho's a lovely woman..."


Another chunk of my world fell completely apart.

"You married the ship pilot?" I asked, bemused. "My 
mother set you up with a ship pilot?"

Gamlin nodded. "I'm so sorry, Mylene. I just...I 
couldn't wait around for you forever."


I nodded, understanding. I stood up and extended my 
arm to him, and he stood and took it. "Good luck with 
your wife," I said. "I wish you healthy children."

Gamlin blushed; he had one on the way, he informed me. 
I laughed at his self-consciousness.

"Make sure you play 'Planet Dance' around it all the 
time so it grows big and healthy, okay?" I called 
while walking away from him, waving and smiling.

When I was out of site of the café, I began to show 
worry on my face. My mother was dead, my father was 
mourning. Gamlin was married, our engagement broken. 
Veffidas was dead as well, leaving a suffering and 
alone Ray. Basara...Basara was dead to me. I deducted 
that the only thing left for me to do was to go and 
live with Ray again; at least we had each other's 
company so we wouldn't be entirely alone.



I walked through City 7 for the rest of the day and 
into the early evening. I didn't want to go home and 
face my father with my failure. Not when he was as 
distressed as he was currently.



Dusk had fallen when I finally made my way back into 
my father's house. I opened the door and called out my 
salutations, and quietly walked to my parents' room, 
opening the door to find my father sitting there in 
the dark, staring at their bed.



"Dad?" I asked, and entered the room, my back against 
the wall by the door. "Dad...you shouldn't just sit in 
the dark like this. I know you're sad, but you really 
should come out and eat something."



My father remained unmoving, his eyes glued to the 
empty bed. Before I had gone out with Gamlin, I had 
called my mother's old official, Michael, to come and 
take her body to prepare her for burial. I didn't want 
to do it, and I knew it would break my father's heart 
if he did. 



"Dad..." I tried again. "Dad, I know you loved mom. A 
lot. Even when you were separated from her, your heart 
still called for her. And I know that hers called for 
you at the same time. Your pride was your weak point. 
But please..." I said, taking a step towards 
him. "...Please don't be like this. I couldn't stand 
to lose both of my parents, as well as my band. I've 
lost Mom and Veffidas, and Basara is out of reach. 
Gamlin has married and will soon have a family. Ray 
has become separated from himself, and I don't want 
you to end up the same way."



My father's head turned and acknowledged me for 
seemingly the first time. "Mylene?" he asked softly, 
and smiled. He braced himself on the armrests of the 
chair and pushed himself to his feet, walking to 
me. "I'm sorry, Mylene," he said, and I embraced my 
father. I wanted to help him with his grief, as Ray 
had helped me with mine.



The burial was a few days later, in part of the park 
my mother had often frequented when she had not been 
doing official duties. The invited party was small--a 
few governmental officials, my father, Gamlin, a few 
more pilots who had been her students, and me. Her red 
fighter Valkyrie stood watch over her burial plot, and 
it somehow put me more at ease. I somehow knew that my 
mother would have wanted this, and would have laughed 
at her own situation.



I stayed with my father for three months, helping him 
to cope with his sorrow. Day by day, he began to 
improve. He never forgot my mother, though, and I 
never wanted him to. I wanted to show him, however, 
that there was still beauty in the world and in City 
7. 



He took over his bridgework soon after, and I began to 
visit him on the bridge. On one such day, I noticed 
Miho, one of the two frontal pilots, had a bulging 
belly. I smiled, and continued to talk to my father.



The bridge door soon opened, and I saw Gamlin walk in 
and cross to his wife, unaware of my presence. She 
stood to greet him, and he put a protective hand on 
her belly, giving her a sweet kiss.



I excused myself from my father and walked over to the 
two. "Is it a boy or a girl?" I asked. The two turned 
and looked at me, surprised, and a bit embarrassed.



Miho blushed at me. "It's a boy," she replied softly.



My father had always described Miho as a strong 
individual; it took me by surprise when she was so 
quiet and shy towards me. I put on my most reassuring 
smile. "When is he due?"



"In about four months," she informed me, her voice 
gaining a little more confidence.

"What's his name?"

"Aah, well," Gamlin stumbled, "we're not sure."

I put a finger to my lips and thought 
considerably. "What about Harusame?" I finally 
inquired.



Gamlin and Miho looked at each other for confirmation 
before finally smiling. They both turned back to me 
and nodded.



"I like the sound of that," Miho spoke up, and 
caressed her swollen womb. "Harusame..." she said 
again, softly, and Gamlin put his arm around her, 
watching as her hands moved up and down her belly.



My feelings for Gamlin became completely extinguished 
as I saw the sight of how happy he and his wife 
looked. I turned heel and walked off of the bridge and 
back into City 7.



On the night of what was to be my final day in City 7, 
my father poked his head out of the kitchen 
door. "Mylene! Dinner!" he called, and soon emerged 
with two plates of steaming hot food. He gave one to 
me and took the other for himself, and we sat at 
opposite ends of the small table near the kitchen.



We ate in silence for quite some time, before I 
finally spoke. "Dad...I think I'm going to stay here 
with you from now on."



He looked at me as though I were speaking in a foreign 
tongue. "Why?"



I was astonished. "There's nowhere else for me to go, 
dad."



"What about Ray?"



I put down my fork. "Dad...what about you? You'd be 
all alone!"



My father smiled at me, and I realized that I had not 
seen him smile like that since my mother had died. It 
was a nice feeling, knowing that my father was able to 
find joy again. "Mylene, look at me," he said, and I 
found my eyes fixed on his. His face became 
serious. "Mylene, I'm growing old. You don't want to 
hang around me forever. I'm also perfectly capable of 
faring for myself; besides," he added, winking, "I've 
got all those pilot girls on the bridge who would do 
anything to take care of me."



"But Dad," I started, before biting my tongue. What 
was there to say?



My father took a bite of his dinner, and pointed his 
fork in my direction. "You need to find someone, 
Mylene. I don't want you to end up old and alone. 
Don't make the same mistake your mother and I made."



My mind wandered and I remembered my mother's words 
before I had left City 7 for the first time: "We were 
both too preoccupied with how we had done each other 
wrong that we forgot our love for each other." 



I looked down at the remainder of my meal, my appetite 
suddenly abandoning me. "What should I do, Dad?" I 
asked.



My father took another bite of his dinner before 
finally responding. "I think that you should go back 
with Ray. He seems to need you more than I do. He's 
living alone."



I nodded. Part of me was sad to leave, but most of me 
was happy that my father agreed with what my heart had 
been telling me to do since my parting with Gamlin. I 
rose to my feet and took my plate into the kitchen, 
washing it off and leaving it to soak in the sink. I 
walked back out to my father.



"I'm going to leave tomorrow," I announced, and went 
to my room to pack.



I could feel my father's smile as I walked away from 
him.



I blasted off the next day, headed for the now-
familiar course for Deai. I smiled as I remembered my 
father's face as I handed him my furry pet, 
Guvava. "You've been taking such good care of him this past year," I had said. "Why don't you keep him?" 
Guvava had jumped eagerly on my father's shoulder, and 
he wore his new pet onto the bridge the day I blasted 
off, frightening one or two of the pilot girls in the 
process.


When I landed, Ray was outside, welcoming me with open 
arms and a smile on his face. I handed him my bag, and 
jumped out of my Valkyrie, and we walked into his 
house, living together once again as though the three 
months I had been away had never happened. However, 
every once in a while, Ray became distant from me, as 
though he were hiding something. Whenever I inquired 
about it, he would shrug it off and say that it was 
nothing; that he was thinking about Veffidas or about 
my mother. I knew he was lying, but didn't push him. 
He didn't push me when I was in turmoil; I certainly 
wasn't going to push him during his.



In the fifth month, Ray finally revealed his reason.



He called me into the television room, where he turned 
it off and pushed an envelope across the table where I 
was sitting.



I picked up the letter. "What's this?" I asked, and 
looked at the return address: the planet Jiyuu. This 
was the letter that Ray had received the year 
before. "Why are you giving this to me, Ray?"



"Read it," he said.



I looked at him suspiciously before shrugging and 
pulling the letter out of the envelope. The scrawl 
looked familiar; I scrolled down to the bottom of the 
letter, which was signed "Basara". I gasped audibly 
and my eyes shot up to Ray, who kept a fixed 
expression of concern or guilt, and did not return my 
gaze. My eyes returned to the letter.



"Ray," I read the letter aloud, quietly, my mouth 
shaping every word. "I'm happy to know that Mylene is 
well. You don't know how much it hurt me to hear that 
such a terrible thing had happened to her."



Ray had told Basara about Uragiri?

...Why?

"However," I kept reading, "I think that with your 
help, she can soon forget him. Mylene is..." There was 
more that I could not decipher; it was scratched out 
too harshly.


"I'm doing better despite the loss of Veffidas," the 
scrawl continued. "It was good to see you again, Ray."



And then there was nothing but his name. That was it. 



I looked up at Ray. "You saw Basara?" I asked.



Ray nodded. "I called Basara when Veffidas told me of 
her sickness, and we both realized that she didn't 
have too much time left. When he finally got here, we 
talked...and we both decided that it was better if we 
didn't tell you. We didn't know how you would take it; 
to us, you were still as you were when Fire Bomber 
still thrived. So we hid her away from you." 



Ray rose to his feet and walked to the kitchen, 
pulling out a beer and opening it, making his way back 
to me. He took a sip before continuing. "Basara stayed 
until Veffidas died about a week later."



"Did he leave anything with you?" I asked.



Ray looked at me, puzzled, before finally 
shrugging. "I suppose it's possible. Why?"



I shook my head. "No reason." I paused. "Ray...I'm 
going to go to bed. I'm tired."



Ray nodded. "I understand," he replied quietly, and 
watched me rise to my feet and cross to my room, 
closing the door behind me.



I opened my suitcase and pulled out the green shirt 
that I had salvaged months before. I laid down on my 
bed, staring at the ceiling for several minutes before 
bringing the shirt up and smelling it, savoring the 
faint scent of Basara. Basara had worn this shirt to 
Ray's house almost two years ago; that was why I still 
smelled him on it, despite the time we had been apart.



Basara had worn this shirt. Had breathed in it, had 
cried in it. Had lived in it. Part of him was 
currently in my arms.



...Why not the whole thing?...



I sat up in shock, staring at the shirt I clutched 
between both hands. Why was I feeling like this? My 
arms trembled as my entire body shivered and I gasped 
for breath.


A revelation: I wanted to see him.

I finally admitted to myself that I needed to see 
Basara Nekki, the man I had not seen for nearly four 
years. Somewhere deep in my gut or heart burned a need 
unlike any I had ever felt. Was that longing the 
explanation for my strange thoughts about him? I 
wasn't sure, but I hoped that I would soon find out.


I stood up and walked out of my room, clutching the 
shirt, and met Ray's questioning gaze in the 
television room.

"Basara..." I said softly. I caught my reserve and 
strengthened my decision and my voice. "I'm going 
after him," I said.

Ray nodded in understanding, and rose to draw a crude 
map on a piece of paper. "This is where Jiyuu is in 
relation to us," he said. I noticed that the planet 
was close to Kanashimi. Perhaps I would drop in and 
visit Shizumeru. After almost two years, I was sure 
that she would be eager to see me.

I blasted off the next morning, after giving Ray a 
large hug and gratuitous thanks for everything that he 
had given me. Not just the hospitality and care, but 
for the rare insight into my own heart.

When I reached Jiyuu, I found it to be nearly 
desolate, and covered in snow. I taxied my way to a 
small village, where I hopped out and ran into the 
nearest public building--an inn.



"Excuse me!" I called, ringing the bell at the desk. 
An old woman slowly made her way to the desk. "Excuse 
me," I continued hastily, "have you seen a man named 
Basara?" I pull out my photo of Fire Bomber and show 
it to her.



The old woman squints at the picture, holding it close 
to her and then far away and then smiling. "Aah, that 
one," she said amusedly. "I remember him. He left here 
about two or three months ago." She chuckled at me, 
and handed back the picture. "Said something about 
finding his song. No one really understood him."



I sighed. If Ray had told me sooner...I would have 
seen him.



...But would it have been the same? It took that much 
time for me to sort out the confusion in my heart. 
Even now, it is still unclear to me why my heart 
behaves the way it does whenever I think of Basara.



"Do you have any idea where I can find him?" I asked.



The old woman shook her head. She paused, before her 
eyes lit up. "He said he was heading towards 
Kanashimi," she finally said, remembering. "Surely 
you'll find him there."



"Thank you!" I exclaimed, and rushed out of the inn 
and jetted into space towards Kanashimi. I landed on 
several of the settled planets in between Jiyuu and 
Kanashimi, checking to see if he had landed there, but 
with no avail. Planet after planet I felt as though I 
was chasing nothing more than a shadow.



And to make things worse: my Valkyrie had been damaged 
on one of the planets. I don't remember how. I can 
only guess that in my haste I hit something as I 
blasted off. I would have to get it repaired-and soon. 
But I had no money.



I landed on Kanashimi and taxied to Shizumeru's 
tavern. I hopped out of my Valkyrie and ran inside.



Shizumeru looked up from the glasses she was 
cleaning. "Welcom--" Her eyes lit up. "Mylene!" she 
exclaimed, rushing out from behind the bar and 
embracing me. "Mylene! Did you find your friend?"



I nodded, hugging her back. "It's good to see you, 
Shizumeru. How have you been?"



"Business has been outstanding, thanks to rumors that 
a famous rock band used to drink here." She winked at 
me.



"Shizumeru...do you know where I can find a repair 
shop for my Valkyrie?"



She nodded. "My uncle used to work for the military 
repair unit on Macross 6. I'm sure he'll fix it for 
you."



"Shizumeru, can you hire me to work here?" I asked, a 
plan formulating as the words came out of my mouth. "I 
need to pay for it."



Shizumeru opened her mouth to protest, but decided 
against it. "I understand," she said, and nodded. "You 
can wait tables for me and help me when the crowds get 
large."



And so I found myself working for nearly two months in 
Shizumeru's bar, tending to the customers and mixing 
the drinks. By the end, I found myself rather good at 
mixing alcoholic beverages, but I still never touched 
the stuff. My first failed encounter with Shizumeru 
nearly two years earlier made sure that I stayed away 
from them.



The repairs were slow and arduous; by the end of the 
two months, I finally had my Valkyrie back. 
Shizumeru's uncle looked upon my Valkyrie, half out of 
pride and half out of awe. "This is the second 
civilian-owned VF-19 I've seen," he mused.


My eyes widened. Basara was here?

"Where did that Valkyrie go?" I asked.

Shizumeru's uncle tried to remember. "...I believe he 
said he was going to Jounetsu," he finally replied, 
before chuckling. "He said he had to find a song. He 
played while I worked. It was quite pleasant to hear 
music again."

I looked at Shizumeru, who gave me a thumbs-up and a 
wink. I nodded my goodbye to her, and thanked her 
uncle once again before jumping into my Valkyrie and 
heading towards Jounetsu.


Jounetsu, I noted with pleasure, was similar to 
Daiyaku. There was a beautiful ocean and a large hill 
that overlooked it. I taxied around, attempting to 
find a town and finding none. There was one small 
house; I was hesitant, given my previous experience 
with remote houses, but finally made the decision to 
touch down. I would simply have to be more careful.


I knocked lightly on the door; when there was no 
answer, I put more force into my fist. I waited for 
several minutes before opening the door to find the 
house completely empty. No one was there, and there 
were no traces that someone still lived there. I 
sighed, and closed the door.

I was at a loss of what to do. I had not yet found a 
town on Jounetsu; I would have to keep searching 
further upon the planet. I first wanted to rest, 
though, since I had been flying non-stop for hours 
upon hours. I looked at the gloriously blue sky above 
me, watching as the clouds played with the wind. My 
eyes soon caught sight of the large hill about a mile 
or two past the house, and I decided that I would 
climb it. Perhaps with that vantage I could see what 
direction civilization was in.

Leaving my Valkyrie, I took flight towards the hill, 
stumbling here and there and my jeans becoming dusty. 
When I finally reached the hill, I turned and looked 
back at my Valkyrie, gleaming pink in the sun. I 
turned to the hill in front of me and simply stared 
for a few minutes, looking in wonder as I realized 
that I would be scaling such a large monument.



The first half of the trip took me about an hour, and 
I could see past the house and my Valkyrie off into 
the distance. It still wasn't enough to get a good 
view, and so I pressed on. 



I hiked further and further up the steep hill, my 
jeans becoming more and more dirty and me not caring. 
I still wore Basara's shirt; I hadn't worn another 
since I left Ray's house months ago. I washed it 
whenever it needed to be washed, but I never put on 
another shirt. Somehow it felt comforting knowing that 
even though he was not with me, a part of Basara was 
mine.



I stopped to wipe some sweat from my brow and sigh 
contentedly. Even though Basara was nowhere to be 
found, Jounetsu was still an absolutely beautiful 
planet. I looked further up the hill, and noted in joy 
that I had almost scaled the entire thing, and found 
myself unable not to wonder what beauty lied beyond it.



I heard light strumming on the wind, and strained to 
hear it again. When it did not come, I assumed that it 
was merely a figment of my imagination. However, the 
further I kept walking up the hill, the louder it 
became. Soon I heard a sweet male voice accompanying 
it.



...Couldn't be...



I ran up the small remainder of the hill and looked 
down. The hill became a small valley, overlooking the 
beach. It would have normally been a rather beautiful 
sight for me, but I was too busy staring at the figure 
strumming the acoustic guitar.



Spiky hair. Sleeveless shirt.



Can't be.



I scrambled down the hill in order to get a closer 
look.



My breath caught in my throat and my heart pounded 
wildly. Finally...after five years and months of 
searching...I had found Basara at last.

I cried out softly, and saw Basara's head slowly turn 
in acknowledgment. I saw his eyes widen in shock as he 
dropped his guitar to the ground, where it landed 
softly on a patch of grass.



Basara and I simply stared at each other in disbelief. 
I wanted to reach out and touch him; to make sure he 
was really there. But I was afraid that if I did he 
would dissipate like every other time in my dreams. My 
world would crumble once again and I would wake up, 
sweating and crying.



I couldn't handle that again. Not when the dream had 
changed, and he stood before me as he did, looking 
just as irresistible as the day I met him.



He was still just the same, I noted with joy. His 
spiky brown hair had not grown an inch since the last 
time I had seen him, and his jeans were the same as 
they were five years ago. The left leg still had the 
rip across the kneecap, and he still wore his orange 
bandanna high up on his right thigh. I can remember 
when he had once used that bandanna to tie my ankle 
when I had twisted it while running from vampires.



I took an anxious, hesitant stop towards him, and he 
ensued. I concentrated on putting one foot in front of 
the other, suddenly forgetting how to walk. Basara 
made his way towards me as I made my way towards him. 
We met in the middle.



"Mylene," he breathed, finally cutting the silence. I 
released a breath that I had not been aware that I had 
been holding.



"Basara..." I replied softly.



He paused, struggling for the words. "You...look 
well," he finally said. "Healthy." An eyebrow raised, 
and he looked over me with his 
peripherals. "That's...my shirt," he added.



He drew me out of my thoughts, and I looked down at my 
stomach, pulling out the fabric. I looked back at 
him. "I'm so sorry," I replied hastily, looking back 
down at the stretched material. "I'll give it back to 
you, and--"



I suddenly lost myself.



My eyebrows furrowed and my jaw trembled as my throat 
became a tight knot and I could no longer speak. My 
legs felt incredibly weak and my knees simply let go, 
sending me plummeting to the earth below my feet. My 
reserve crumbled and I began to cry.



Basara kneeled down in front of me silently, holding 
his arms out, and I flew into his embrace eagerly, 
allowing the tears to flow freely. I clung to him 
tightly, unwilling to let him go out of fear that he 
would stand up and walk away from me, leaving me alone 
with my pain.



I suddenly felt Basara's arms tighten around me, with 
one of his hands moving up to gently stroke my hair. 
It felt nice. "It's all right..." he whispered into my 
ear. "It's all right..." Over and over, that was 
simply all he said. And it was enough. The 
encouragement that he provided me in his own way was 
not lost on me, and I let my sorrows out quickly.



When my trembling had subsided, he pulled away from 
me, his hands coming to rest on my shoulders. He 
stared down into my reddened, tear-covered face. "Why 
are you here, Mylene?" he asked gently.



My throat scratched a little when I spoke, and it 
hurt. "...I came to see you," I replied quietly.



"Why?"



"...Because..." My eyes narrowed again as I felt an 
onslaught of tears begin to form, and I used every bit 
of self-control that I had to force them back 
down. "...Because it took me five years to realize...I 
want to be with you, Basara."



I stared into his eyes, seeking an answer, and saw 
that his were troubled.



I had seen all I needed to see.



I slowly stood up, shrugging his hands off of my 
shoulders, and he followed. I could feel his gaze on 
me, and I chose to ignore it. I stared at the ground 
below me. "I can see...that I was just living in a 
world of fantasy." I backed up and turned around and 
began to walk away from him.



I did not hear the footsteps that approached me 
several seconds later; instead, I felt Basara's arms 
as they slipped around my body-one across my breasts, 
the other across my waist-and his head burying in the 
back of my hair.



"...You stupid girl..." he muttered. "...I told Ray 
not to let you come to me."



"I know," I quietly replied, my voice 
trembling. "But...I needed you too much. Basara...it 
got to the point where you were the only one who could 
save me from my hellish nightmares...even if you did 
disappear soon after. I needed to see you...to make 
sure that you were doing all right." I took a large 
breath and marveled at the sight of Basara's arms 
moving with my body. "...That's what it was in the 
beginning," I continued. "But then...I realized that..."


Basara pulled out of my hair and removed his arms and 
I was saddened by the loss of contact, but could not 
turn to face him. We stood in silence for some time 
before he finally spoke. 



"I didn't want to hurt you, Mylene," he said. "That's 
why I left." He paused in thought. "No...why I didn't 
contact you. Why I let you drift on your own."



I raised my head from the ground below me to look at 
the scenery in front of me. "You hurt me now," I 
countered strongly. "You could have told me...and 
saved me all this..." I shook my head in an attempt to 
banish the memories built up over half a decade. He 
turned me around in his arms, and I still refused to 
meet his gaze. He simply held me.



I soon felt the last wall splinter and crumble to the 
ground as I felt Basara's lips softly touched mine. 
Hesitantly, at first, before gaining confidence and 
crushing against mine, his arms finding my body and 
embracing it into his and mine snaking up his back to 
find his neck, my fingers twining together to hold him 
there. When he broke the kiss to catch his breath, I 
moaned in displeasure; when they descended once again 
I moaned in passion.



We soon broke our kiss and I removed my arms from his 
neck and he from my body and we stood, gasping 
quietly, catching our breaths. My cheeks felt 
completely flushed, and I idly wondered if his were as 
well. We stood for several moments before I felt the 
urge to break the awkward silence.



"...Basara..." I panted, cursing my lagging mind for 
not being able to come up with something more 
intelligent.



I heard his defeated sigh and simply stood as he 
embraced me gently. "I know," he replied. "I'm sorry."



What was he apologizing for? For kissing me? For 
loving me? What crime in this galaxy did he commit 
that was so heinous that he would have to apologize 
for anything?



I shook my head. "It's not that. I just..." I looked 
up into his expectant eyes. "...Basara," I started 
again, "...make me forget. I want you to make me 
forget...about Uragiri...about our wasted years..." I 
clutched to him tightly. 

"...Will you stay with me?"



I was answered only by his sweet lips on mine. We sunk 
to our knees and embraced each other once again, 
holding and being held for several minutes. I marveled 
at the feel of his body against mine, and the heat 
that he provided me. 

Warm shelter in safe, comfortable arms. I was his and 
his forever, and nothing would change that for me.



He would be my first. Not out of action, but out of 
love.



And that was all that really mattered.



Five years can break a heart--or give it new hope.



Basara's heart thrived for five years, and mine slowly 
learned its place. In the end, it was me who needed to 
make the final move. He was more than ready; I needed 
time to admit to myself and to others how I really 
felt. And he was patient, never saying a word, never 
pushing me to make my decision.



Five years...wasted...



It no longer mattered to me, I soon realized. What 
mattered was that we were here, together, ready to 
finally combine as one.



My mind focused on the events that were occurring as 
Basara gently pushed me to the soft grass beneath me. 
I fell willingly, bringing my arms up to take him down 
with me, my lips meeting his once again. His deft 
fingers made their way under my shirt and traced up my 
side, and I shivered-in remembrance of Uragiri, but 
mostly of pleasure.



Basara sensed this. His hand quickly left my shirt to 
smooth down my hair, and it was all I could do not to 
stop breathing as his golden eyes stared into mine.



"I don't want to hurt you, Mylene," he said softly, 
and his hand moved down to cup my cheek. "Only if you 
want this. Only if you're absolutely certain."



I craned my neck up to reach his lips, and they met 
mine again, but with no force, no passion behind them. 
He refused to let not only his body make his 
decisions, but mine as well. He pulled away from my 
kiss and sat back up.



I sat up as well and looked at him, willing all the 
determination that I could muster to make its way to 
my eyes and voice. I needed to convince him that I 
wanted this just as much as he. "Basara," I started, 
hoping that my eyes gazing into his would say more 
than I ever could. I struggled to find my 
words. "Basara...it's true that I want you to help me 
forget...but I wanted you anyway. Even if my assault 
had never happened...I still would have come to look 
for you. 

Probably sooner." I cupped his face in my gentle 
hands. "I love you," I said quietly. "Nothing has 
changed that. Not time, not distance, not loss. You 
are the one I want to be with."



Five years can break a heart--or make it stronger.



His hands slowly reached up to cover mine, and brought 
them off of his face to clasp them between our bodies. 
We kissed once again, and this time he hid no passion, 
no desire from my lips, and I was glad. He removed my 
shirt and I aided him; he leaned down to place a kiss 
upon my stomach and I trembled in ecstasy. He began 
the slow worship of my body and I shivered in 
anticipation. Uragiri had been forceful and quick; 
Basara was gentle and took his time. He drew out and 
fulfilled my desires while ignoring his own. He 
somehow knew what I wanted, what I needed, and was 
quick to act on it.



For the first time in two years, the thought of sex 
did not send me into paroxysms of fear. Basara had 
banished such thoughts from my head.



It will take time for my scars to heal; I realize 
this. But somehow, I know that Basara will ease my 
pain and suffering, and for that, I am content.



When we joined together, I felt an odd sense of 
completion. After five years of pain and suffering, 
five years of sadness and solitude, five years of 
heartache and desperation, two lonely souls had found 
each other at last, and were truly combined and 
complete.



Basara loved me completely, inside and out. He brought 
out another person in me; transformed me from a 
frightened child to an affectionate woman. I put my 
trust in him so completely that I emerged a cleansed 
soul: the man in my arms made me feel worthy of being 
loved. For the first time in two years I no longer 
felt tainted or impure; rather, I felt whole and 
needed. He knew about my deflowering, and loved me 
just the same.



Just as I love him.



I idly played with a strand of his spiky hair, 
twirling it in my fingers. He lazily brought his head 
up from the pillow of my breasts and gazed into my 
eyes. Such beautiful golden eyes he has, I noted. Such 
intensity...I could lose myself in them forever.



I smiled at him. "You're heavy," I quipped.



He grinned back at me. "You didn't seem to be 
complaining about that too long ago."



I slapped at him playfully, and he grasped my hand and 
pulled me into a kiss.



I could never tire of his kisses...



When we separated, he looked at me for several minutes 
with careful eyes, before finally venturing to speak.



"I'm glad...I'm glad you came back to me, Mylene."



Five years can break a heart--or join two together.



~End~





Translation notes:

Daiyaku = substitute

Uragiri = treachery

Kanashimi = sorrow

Shizumeru = tranquility

Hagemasu = encouragement

Deai = encounter; meeting

Jiyuu = freedom

Harusame = spring rain

Jounetsu = passion





AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aaah! That brought me out of a long 
chain of writer's block. I think that, for now, I'm 
going back to Miyu fics. I wouldn't want to disappoint 
my fans there! And it's not as though I'm going to 
stop writing Macross fics; I'm just taking a little 
break so I don't burn myself out. That was my mistake 
with Miyu; now that I've had a break I'm going back to 
finish what I started.