The war never ends. It never did. While paralysed by the shock, I saw millions die in split seconds. I forgot for a moment who or what I am.
It was a rainy day, and I was moving through a swamp of mud. The clouds are in purple grey, like all of its colours have been dried out by the storm.. My screen is full of strange numbers and words.
This pilot cockpit is damp. There's almost little to no air because of the moisture. The displays and my body are drenched in sweat.
'One more step.. and I'll escape.. One more step and I'll be at home. with my family.. I'm coming home, everyone..' The pilot is talking to himself.
I didn't say anything. I'm seeing the same things that he is seeing. I'm living through a memory of what he experienced.
I heard heavy gunshots behind my ears. The pilot dropped the mech inside the mud, spreading it all over him and held his breath. The mud was seeping inside the hatch.
There were giant footsteps of mechs and troopers who raced past him. He used the mud as a camouflage to hide from incoming metal souls. Some of them stopped to inspect the mech that fell in the swamp.
'Please go away.. please don't do this..' the pilot was muttering to himself.
He had turned off the mech's system to better sell the idea that it's a broken mech from the war.
But the troopers are not that stupid. They are far more intelligent than humans. They can scan for heat signals with their bare eyes. After all, they are machine life-forms, not organic. 'There's a pilot inside!! Get away from that mech!' A trooper alerted everyone, but alas.. it was too late. The pilot used that opportunity to turn on the system and crush all the nearby mechs and troopers like ants. In one instant, they were all incapacitated.
'I told you to let me go.. You bought this upon yourself..' The pilot talked to the machine soon-to-be corpses.
Pulsating in agony, a slow death awaits them.. I was quickly snapped back to my senses, all i see now is that mech from the hall, now standing before me, surrounded by white light.
'Do you have the courage to pursue your dream?' The machine spoke to me.
It has no mouth, but its voice is heard inside my head, clear and loud. 'Tell me, Pilot.. What makes you think that you are worthy to control me?'
I can breathe and see things normally again.
This feels like a lucid dream. I looked around and found white nothingness. Like I'm in a cloud. All I see is the mecha, standing before me with its pilot hatch closed.
'I don't know if I will ever be worth anything.. but..' I replied to the mech, who waited for my answer. I looked straight into its thin, slanted, glowing eyes. 'But I want to belong somewhere. I want to call some place my home..'
The mech waited for me to say more.
'And if someone threatens my home, then I will not sit idle.. I lost my home before, and I lost the person I loved. I don't want that to happen again.. I'll fight, I'll risk it all. If i fall down, I'll get up again and move forward. If I lost an arm, I would get up and move forward. That's the only thing i know that is real.'
The mech kneeled down, opened it's pilot hatch. Inside, i saw the seat.. waiting for me to step inside it.
I slowly got close and climbed into the pilot seat.
[Pilot accepted. Please enter your name]
I typed 'Wei la' into the hologram screen.
The mech chose a title for me on its own.
[Welcome, Wei La, The First One. I Hope You Can Satisfy My Hunger for Battle.]
'You'll see..'
[Do You Promise That You'll Never Run Away From A Fight Even If You Were To Die?]
'I swear that I'll never run away from my problems ever again.'
[Contract Accepted]
[I'm A Mecha Named WX-8R, Called By Many As The 'Wokan's Strongest Soldier', Designed By The Early Humans Of The Science Age. I'm A Property Of Wokan Corporation. But I Desire To Follow Your Path, Whatever That May Be.]
[I'll Be By Your Side Until You Die. So, Entertain Me.. Cadet Wei La, The First One Of The Shells]
The Mech fully accepted me. I can feel its arms and legs, like it's a part of my own body.
'The subject, WL-591, has passed the examination! How utterly ridiculous is that?' I heard Yiovali's voice. I opened my eyes and saw his face so close to mine that I felt like he was trying to kiss me. 'He has done it! I knew it, he performed a miracle, this has never been thought to be possible!'
'U-Uhhh.. can you move your-'
I was trying to tell him to get away from my face, but another one of the officers grabbed my face. This time it's the guy with bald head and a bulging stomach who came as a guest.
'This is unprecedented! Well done, boy! You have officially been qualified as a cadet under the Immortal Guardian Forces. You are the living proof that children of the shells can fight for the cause. All glory to Wokan!!' He yelled at my face.
A sudden uproar erupted from the halls. Everyone was chanting 'All glory to Wokan' in unison.
'Call the caretakers. Take him to the caring unit! He seemed to be still in paralysis from the shock.' said one of the masked officers who lifted me from the chair. I wasn't actually inside the mech, maybe it was a vision that the mech projected inside my head.
The other masked officer came near me.
'Welcome to the force. I'm Officer Vizaroy, and that person holding you is Officer Patriya. I look forward to your contributions, young man.' He quietly said to my ear.
I tried to nod in response, but i couldn't move my head. Officer Vizaroy tapped on my shoulders twice to stop me from trying to move my body in it's current state.
Vasila came rushing through the crowd. She carried me out of the hall in her arms.
'Vasila.. Do you.. love me..?' I asked.
'Shut up, worm!!' she replied without any hint of hesitation. But I saw her cheeks slightly turn red. 'If you try to talk now, you could seriously damage your nerves!! Hang tight, I'm going to jump now!'
'Why are you telling me that.. It's only a jump..' Before I could say those words, she jumped high above, reaching the top floors in a split second.
I wanted to scream, but I felt my eyes get weak. I fell unconscious, wrapped tight to her chest.. I had a ridiculous thought that this might be the most heavenly time to die.
I passed out for a while, and when i woke up, I had a caretaker, injecting some kind of liquid into my arm. I tried to resist, but i was told that it was my medicine to take away the stress built up while I was in that shock treatment chair.
She left me alone after giving me some stale bread and told me that a few of my friends would be visiting.
I looked at my hands and found the cuffs were gone. The caretaker or some cadet must have taken it off while i was admitted here.
There was a little window to my left where i could see the snow falling softly.
Some cadets and troopers patrolled outside despite the cold weather. Duty-bound. Some of them were chatting, some smiling.. I thought about what conversations they could be having right now.
I heard a knock on the door, and I sat up.
'O-Oh! Come in.' I replied to the knock. Yiovali with the Unit Vasila cadets walked in.
I didn't realise that they were the 'friends' that the caretaker talked about. Not because I don't consider them as my friends, but other than Vasila and Korvet, I thought everyone else saw me as more of a liability.
A poor stranger to share a shelter and food out of pity. Thank god.. I was wrong.
I felt happy that i finally belong somewhere now.
I felt happy that Kyle was right about people. She used to tell me that there would always be people who would care about me.
There will always be a group who will be there to look out for my safety when I close my eyes.
'Good evening, cadet.. how are you feeling?' Yiovali asked and took a seat on my bed.
'I feel good.. uh, should I call you by your first name..?' I was puzzled about how to address him.
'Just call me, Yiovali. No need to be too formal with the titles, I'm not that strict compared to Vizaroy and Patriya.' Yiovali replied and took a piece of bread. 'These things taste nasty.. I told them to restock the supplies many times! crooks.. Anyway, the whole unit is here. So I take it that I could leave the introductions among yourselves? You might've met some of them before.' Yiovali placed the bread back in my plate and addressed the other cadets.
'I'll be out now, be nice to the new kid.'
Everyone had come to visit me. Fahad, Cal, Melvin, Korvet and Vasila. All of them are here.. Waiting for me to say something. For the first time since forever.. I felt happy that I was born.