Macross 7 and all characters are property of Bandai, Big West, FiX, and Manga Entertainment.
Please do not repost this fanfiction without permission. Spoilers for the entire series.
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My Soul For You

 

          There was always debris floating in space after a battle, but this time the debris was different, glittering with the light of a thousand suns, reflecting an end and a new beginning.
          The war was over.
          He stretched, swinging his legs over the roof of the apartment complex, trying to find that inner sense of balance that told him that he'd done the right thing. He could see them, in his mind, still. Gigil, singing his heart out. Sivil, her eyes as she had defied the Protodeviln and saved him, against all odds.
          I'll never forget your song, Basara.
          Sivil…this is everything…I have.
          "What's up?"
          He didn't turn around. "Gamlin."
          The footsteps stopped next to him and the Diamond Force commander folded his legs comfortably next to his perch, head leaning back against the brick wall. "You were amazing today, Basara."
          "Thanks," he said without much emotion, looking over at the setting sun.
          "Seriously. I…that was a work of art. All because of you…"
          "He really loved her," Basara said. "Didn't he?"
          "Eh?" Gamlin scratched his head. "Who?"
          "Gigil. He really loved Sivil. He must have…if he could defy the bounds of time and space to save her."
          "I…I suppose," Gamlin said uncertainly. "Why are you asking me?"
          He shrugged. "I don't know. Something I was thinking about, when you walked up here."
          "Oh!" The other pilot sounded chagrined. "Am I disturbing you? I'll go away…gomen nasai!"
          "Nah." He waved a hand. "Stay if you want. I don't mind."
          Gamlin shifted positions. "Gigil and Sivil…it shows that the Protodeviln do have hearts. The military didn't believe you, though. I wonder why."
          Basara laughed. "Do you really?"
          "Well…no." Gamlin laughed too, a small, self-deprecating laugh. "I think that's one of the things that made me want to quit. They didn't believe…they couldn't break out of their box."
          His guitar was on the ground and he picked it up, strumming softly. "I went wandering around the planet to find what I was singing for…and I think Gigil and Sivil showed it to me."
          "Really?" Gamlin sounded curious. "What's that?"
          Basara scratched his head. "I…hmm." A few more chords on the guitar. "I don't really…"
          "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," Gamlin interrupted hastily. "I don't want to pry into your private business."
          He laughed. "Gamlin, you're always so polite."
          The pilot sighed. "That's what Mylene said."
          Fingers stilled on the strings. "Mylene."
          "Yeah." Curious eyes. "Say…Basara…what do you think of her?"
          He snorted. "What kinda question is that? You see how we act when we're around each other. That should be enough answer for you."
          He could sense Gamlin trying to find the words, and waited. Strummed the first few chords of My Soul for You. A beautiful song…Gigil. Sivil.
          That she could have had someone who loved her that much…it was amazing.
          Tragically beautiful.
          "Before we engaged the enemy…at that last battle…before you woke up. Mylene was singing for you."
          "I know," Basara said. "I knew she would. Mylene's a good girl."
          "You don't understand," Gamlin said, intently. "She sang for you, and I…I left the room."
          He blinked. Set the guitar down. "What? Why?"
          "I was jealous," Gamlin said. The lavender head was bowed. "I couldn't…you and she have something that she and I could never have. And that was when I realized that, and I…I was jealous."
          That uncomfortable feeling he always got when talking about personal things was creeping up his back and into his shoulder blades, and he stretched, trying to make it go away. "Ah. Yeah, I guess."
          Gamlin was on his feet before he could say anything else, and he squawked as he was grabbed by both shoulders. "I'm being serious, you jerk! Listen to me for once!"
          "Err…" One of the strings of the guitar twanged as it clattered to the ground.
          "That ring around her neck was an engagement ring. I gave it to her before we left for the Varauta system. I asked her to marry me."
          What?
          He knew his mouth was open and he was blinking in astonishment, but he couldn't help it. "But she's only a kid!"
          Gamlin's hands left his shoulders and he staggered backwards, trying to find a balance. Sat down heavily.
          "Mylene's older than you think, Basara. She didn't give me an answer…until today. I told her how I felt…when she sang for you…and she told me…"
          "What?" The uncomfortable feeling was still there, and he couldn't shake it off.
          "She liked me, she said. But she liked you just as much…and she couldn't promise me anything when she was unable to choose."
          "O-oh," he said, not knowing what else to say. Mylene?
          "She gave me back the ring, after we got back to the city…but I think she lied."
          "Oh," Basara said again. So Mylene was in love with Gamlin after all. It should be all right, except for the weirdly empty feeling that was now growing inside of him.
          "I think she likes you better."
          For once in his life, he had nothing to say.
          Gamlin turned away. "You two…I don't know how you feel, but take care of her for me, ne?"
          He felt something drop into his hand as Gamlin smiled at him and disappeared down the stairs. He stood blinking after him until the roof trapdoor slammed shut, and then he unfolded his hand, looking down at the diamond ring and chain within.
          Why'd you give this to me, Gamlin?
          Mylene was a little sister, a bratty kid who could be a pest and good company at the same time. She liked to sing, was a good bass player…was a good partner. A girl who had potential, but who just didn't quite get it yet…
          No, that wasn't true. He closed his hand around the ring and glanced at the sunset again. She did get it. When she'd sung for him in the prison, when she'd sung for him when his voice had gone, when she'd sung because he couldn't…the times she had willingly put herself in danger for him.
          How had she grown up so quickly?
          "You're screwing up my life," he said to the empty air, and pocketed the ring, picking up his guitar.
          Gigil had sung because he had loved Sivil enough to.
          "I understand now," he said, to the Protodeviln who had no ears to hear anymore, to a Protodeviln girl who had been loved more than she could ever know, to an Army pilot who had given him both answers and questions all at once, and to a girl who was really no longer a child and had somehow become like a second soul.
          "Love is music," he whispered, the notes of the guitar floating out into the setting sun like crystals. "And music is love. They are inseparable…"
          This is everything I have…
          My music. My soul for you.
          "Gigil…I understand. You taught me that. The reason I sing…"
          He seated himself on the broken wall once again. The sun was a flaming ball of fire sinking below the starry horizon, and he sent his thoughts flying far away to all those in the galaxy who had ever or would ever touch him like he had touched them. He couldn't find the words anymore, so he simply strummed the guitar and hoped that they…that she…could hear him from where he sat.

          omae ga kaze ni naru nara
          hateshinai sora ni naritai

          The ring was an uncomfortable lump in his pocket and he drew it out gently by its chain, looking at it glittering in the evening light, and then reached up to fasten it around his neck.
          It felt right there, for some reason.
          He smiled.

          My soul for you 



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Story Notes

Watched episode 49 of Macross 7 today, and I think that the ending raises more questions than answers, especially with the way the characters are drawn at the end. It's too complicated to explain here, but the ambiguous love triangle between Mylene, Gamlin, and Basara begs for resolution, as well as what Basara found when he went away, and the relationship between Gigil and Sivil.

So I've combined these three themes into this short piece, linking the experiences of Gigil and Sivil to the relationship between Mylene, Gamlin, and Basara. It's my opinion that while Gamlin really loves Mylene romantically, Basara loves her as he would love a kid sister. However, there are times in the anime when that platonic relationship between them wavers, and the expression on Basara's face is something more than familial love. It's very possible that in a few years, when Mylene is older, she and Basara could have "something."

Gigil and Sivil are the only "couple" in Macross 7 to actually have a relationship defined. Mylene and Gamlin really didn't work out in the end. Mylene and Basara, Max and Milia, and Ray and Akiko are couples that are "there" but not "quite there." Gigil's sacrifice is one of the most moving scenes of the series, and this is a tribute to him. I'd like to think that it was his death that taught Basara something about why he sings.

Hopefully this short fic will expand the small collection of Macross 7 fanfic out there just a bit. Happy reading!