Aidan was surprised when I told him of the truce between myself and Marissa. "I didn't think she had it in her," he said. "Huh. I guess a leopard can change its spots."
"How's Jenny?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Still in a coma," Aidan said with a sigh. "She suffered a lot of bloodloss when Broad Scouter tore Bright Star open like a tin can and about crushed her to death. She's never going to walk again, and she's likely suffered some brain damage as well. They reckon if she doesn't wake up in a week, they're going to have to shut her life support down. She's barely hanging on as it is, and nearly losing Bright Star didn't help any."
I sighed. "Broad Scouter's likely to be sold for scrap," I warned.
Aidan shrugged. "I can live with that," he said. "He was always a bit bloodthirsty, and you know what he's like every time him and Solid Sentinel meet. He's better off used as scrap."166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sIfc8FxvI
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A week later, Jenny passed away when her family made the difficult decision to shut off her life support. According to her heartbroken mother, Jenny had stopped breathing moments after the machine was shut out, thus proving the thread connecting her to life had been very slender indeed.
Aidan was beside himself with grief, and I distracted him by taking him out to see Broad Scouter get scrapped. It was not normally a thing I would have done, but he was very angry with his mecha for killing Jenny, and I figured seeing Broad Scouter get cut up into pieces before being fed into the incinerator would be a carthartic process.
Afterwards, we went to get beer and pizza, but Aidan only picked at his food, and he didn't drink any of the beer. I left him to it, knowing he'd taken Jenny's loss very hard. He himself had been exonerated over her death, but he still felt as if he were to blame. I told him there was nothing he could have done; Broad Scouter had taken the bit between his teeth after Bright Star had clubbed him clean across the arena, and not even the most strongest-willed pilot would have been able to hold Broad Scouter back as he let his battle-lust take over.
Aidan wasn't listening, though, so I gave it up as a lost cause. I knew how he felt; I'd felt horribly guilty after Sonic Sentinel had nearly killed Carnage and Cilan, but in that instance, Carnage had been the aggressor, and had started it; Sonic Sentinel had finished it by gutting Carnage as he deserved. That hadn't stopped me from wishing I'd been able to hold him back, but at least Cilan hadn't been killed. He'd taken his barring from fighting well, as it turned out, and was now working as a counsellor for pilots whose mechas had gone mad. I decided to put Aidan in touch so he could find some closure over his guilt.
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Two weeks later, Aidan was reported missing, and we tore the city apart looking for him. It was Dawn Runner who found him, floating face down in the river, and I felt sick as it was confirmed he'd taken his own life, as evidenced by the note we found in his flat after the horrific discovery. Even Marissa was stunned when I brought her word. She'd turned her life around, and was working towards establishing a more moderate fan base in the wake of her own shameful behaviour. Fanclubs had been banned, and she was now seeking out ways to establish a dedicated fan group for each fighthing mecha and its pilot.
But as it turned out, her efforts were for naught; after Aidan's funeral, the authorities came forward and told us mecha fighting was finished. It was a blow, but one I'd seen coming for weeks after Jenny's death. The younger mechas, we were told, would be preserved and turned to community service, but the older mechas of Broad Scouter's generation were to be scrapped, and the proceeds donated to charity.
I applauded the move, and my fellow pilots were equally relieved to see an end to a sport which had been little more than tamed fighting on a smaller scale. And since younger mechas were still allowed out in the community, we began nutting out ways they could still partake in sports without the risk of going mad when an opposing mecha punched them in the face.
It was Sally, Dawn Runner's pilot, who came up with a brilliant idea; mecha olympics. The authorities were amazed at the idea, and wholeheartedly agreed. Other sports included racing, with the mechas given shapeshifting abilities so they could turn into horses, greyhounds, sportscars, or motorbikes, and these ideas were also welcomed enthusiastically.
"Hell, I'd have never thought of traditional sports," I said that night, as we sat around our usual table in our favourite pizza shop. "That's a damn brilliant idea."166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKvv86weX0
Sally grinned. "I come up with a few good ones now and then," she said. "And this way, our mechas get to blow off steam without crushing their opponents or slicing them open like tin cans."
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Ideas and plans began flowing swiftly after Sally's proposal, and before long, the younger mechas were being trained in all the olympic disciplines humans undertook, with extensive modifications, of course. Other mechas expressed an interest in racing, and soon they were being fitted with shapeshifting abilites so they could change into whatever form they wished. Sonic Sentinel expressed an interest in racing as well, much to my delight, since I'd always wanted to be a jockey.
Once the new software had been installed, Sonic Sentinel and I began training, and it helped fill the void that still lingered after Aidan's death. I missed my friend immensely, but I knew he'd be smiling from the other side to see that mechas still had an accepted place in society, and that the younger generation would now be revered and not reviled for taking part in sports that guaranteed less bloodshed.
And it was a win win. What was there not to love?
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END.
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