58 Chapter Fifty-Eight: Our Lives (1/2)

A week and a half passes, and the crew is gathered in Seeira. Most of the crew were spread out around the city, taking care of personal business like shopping. Tanya was at home with her daughter, Satomi and Mikoto went back home to Japan and Ying was about to leave in a few days as well. Blake and Finn were healed by Demetri, or at least as much as they could be healed, and kept in the back of Vivi's house. Vivi and Demetri worked together in Vivi's shop, since Demetri was good with cybernetics and prosthetics. Demetri also didn't have a place to go. His previous home was destroyed when Predator attacked in Seeira. When the home was rebuilt, he gave it up for someone else who was homeless. Vivi and Demetri were working on projects in the front of Vivi's house, but Demetri was having problems understanding Vivi's weapon mechanics. Vivi was quieter than usual however, and didn't really snap or get angry at all towards Demetri. She seemed too calm, and it began to bother Demetri.

”Are you okay?” Demetri asks Vivi.

”I'm... fine” Vivi says. ”Don't worry about it”. Suddenly, the door opens and Alex slowly walks in the door. Alex sits on the couch quietly and takes Ruby's calling card out of his pocket.

”I know I wasn't biggest talker in group” Demetri says, ”but even I can tell something is still bothering you two”.

”Is it Ruby?” Vivi asks Alex. Alex doesn't respond, and remains silent on the couch. Vivi walks up to Alex and sits next to him. ”I'm sorry” she says.

”Look” Demetri says, ”I know it's tough time for everybody. I'm sorry I'm not a good replacement for Siran. I know he helped lots in store, and I'm not as good at this kind of thing”.

Vivi holds up her hand to get Demetri to stop talking and says softly ”It's alright, Demetri. You've been a big help, and I already know that Siran probably won't be coming back. No one person can replace someone we've lost, so you don't have to try to replace Siran. You're fine just being you... and Alex, I know the same goes for Ruby. No one can replace her, and she did a lot for us. I'm not going to tell you that moving on is what she would've wanted... but... ah... er-”. Vivi begins to laugh softly then says ”I think Siran was actually better at talking about these things...”.

Alex laughs really quickly, then says ”God... he was so awful at motivational speeches”. Vivi and Alex begin laughing together for a while, with tears beginning to form in their eyes. Demetri begins to smile, and it seemed like everyone was finally cheering up, even if only a little bit. After a while of sharing a laugh, Rose walks in through Vivi's front door silently. She was holding a bright red rose in her hand.

”Is it finished?” Rose asks Demetri.

”Oh... yeah” Demetri says. ”His prosthetic arm is finished and fully functional. But he's a little... bummed out about it”. Demetri points his thumb towards the back room of the house and Rose walks down the hallway. When she enters the room, Blake's bed was empty and Finn was sitting up in his bed, looking at his prosthetic arm.

”Ah, Rose!” Finn says.

”I brought you something” Rose says quietly as she puts the rose down on the nightstand next to him.

The room was silent for a while and eventually, Finn says with a laugh ”Did Rose just bring me a rose?”. The room fell silent until Finn spoke again, saying ”Still... I can't believe we lost Ruby like that. Then they're saying Siran and Zia might not be coming back. It's almost impossible to believe what I've heard about what happened”.

”Yeah...” Rose says, looking down at her feet.

”You're not mad... are you?” Finn asks.

”Why would I be mad?” Rose asks.

”I couldn't do much” Finn says. ”If I could've stayed on my feet, then maybe-”.

”It's not your fault!” Rose interrupts. ”We've already lost enough people in that fight. We can't afford to play the blame game and start losing what we have left”.

”What do we have left, after all that happened?” Finn asks. ”The Six Guns disbanded... someone died... and Siran's missing as well as Zia”.

”We still have our date” Rose says, looking down at her feet again.

”You mean...” Finn says in amazement, ”even after all of this, you'd still give me a chance? Are you sure this... arm won't bother you or put you off?”. Finn waves his mechanical arm around, worrying that Rose might hate him for losing his arm.

”It doesn't bother me” Rose says, ”as long as my goggles don't bother you”.

”I've gotta say” Finn says, ”I'm a little disappointed I won't be able to see your eyes anymore... but I don't think your goggles would be a reason to not like you. I wanted to take you on a date before you lost your eyesight, and I still want to date you now”.

”You sure?” Rose asks, looking up at Finn.

Finn smiles and says ”I was sure when I said I would stick with Siran no matter what, and I'm sure when I say that I'd still like to take you out on a date”.

Suddenly, the toilet from the bathroom next door flushed. Shortly after, Blake walks into the room and sits on his bed. ”Am I... interrupting something?” Blake asks.

”Oh, uh... no” Finn says, ”you're fine. Hey Rose? Can I see you tonight? I just need to make sure everything is set for me to finally be out on my own again with doc”.

”Yeah, sure” Rose says with a smile.

Rose leaves the room and Blake turns to Finn and says ”You sure I wasn't interrupting? That sounded important”.

Finn sighs and says ”I'm sure about most things I say. Anyways, what do you plan to do when you're ready to leave? Are you sticking around?”.

”I haven't thought about it very much” Blake says. ”I haven't really known you guys for long, but you guys have really started to grow on me. I might stick around Seeira and get a job here, maybe hang around you guys for a while”.

”I'm sure no one would mind that” Finn says. Then after a long period of silence, Finn says ”Actually, I'm sure that everyone would need it. We took a big hit in that last fight, and lost people. I'm sure we all will needas much of a comforting presence that we can get”.

Meanwhile, in the front of the house, Robin walks in trough the door. ”I'm back from Cafeteria” he says. ”As much as I think that restaurant needs a name change, the work there isn't so bad”.

”You're already done with work?” Vivi asks.

”Yeah” Robin says, ”there isn't a whole lot of business lately. You know, with everyone focused on rebuilding the town”.

Tanya also comes inside after Robin finishes speaking. ”Hey, how are you guys holding up?”.

”Quiet...” Robin says, ”sulky, depressed... you know, the usual”.

”I'm sorry to hear that” Tanya says. ”Oh yeah! I've got word from Don. He says he's impressed you guys pulled it off. They saw what happened to Omnium Guild. He says he was a little disappointed you guys didn't die, but at the same time, if we didn't pull it off then they wouldn't be here either. So for that, he thanks us. He also says it won't be necessary to thank him, as he looks forward to not having to see your faces again... you guys really pissed him off at some point, didn't you”.

Vivi laughs but covers her mouth. After a short second, she says ”You can tell him the feeling is mutual. We're thankful they helped us hold up the military for us, but we also look forward to not having to see him again”.

Tanya laughs and says ”You guys just can't get along, can you? Oh, by the way, have you guys seen the news?”.

”Not really, no” Alex says.

”Rumors of Naris coming back are spreading throughout the world” Tanya says. ”Everyone says it looked like Naris came back and that we defeated him”.

”Well, that is what happened” Alex says.

”Yeah, but it gets better” Tanya says, ”no one can confirm what happened since there weren't any witnesses. Since we were the only ones there, they want to talk to us about what went down in the battle”.

”They want to interview us?” Vivi asks.

”That about sums it up” Tanya says.

Vivi pauses for a few seconds, then laughs. ”Fat chance of that happening!” She says. ”The Six Guns are over and I'm not getting off of my ass to talk to some TV people. They can bite me!”.

Alex laughs and says ”Agreed. I don't think any of us would want to talk to them about jack shit”.

”I know I wouldn't” Rose says. ”I'd rather bury the past. Put what happened behind me already”.

”Yeah, that sounds like work with no benefit” Demetri says.

”I told you it got better, didn't I?” Tanya says as she laughs. ”I could care less what the media thinks of the situation. Anyways, any updates on anything about... you know, Zia and Siran?”.

”None” Vivi says as the room falls silent.

”Damn...” Tanya says, ”I can't believe... they'll be back eventually. I know they will”.

”That optimism is contagious” Vivi says as she looks up at Tanya with a short smile. ”If you keep doing that, you're going to keep our hopes up”.