…….Zero 2…..
World War 2 was absolute hell, millions died. Friends were lost, and families mourned. The human conflict brought along many deaths of the machine kind. No machine was spared, from boats to ship, aircraft to cars. After the end of the war, the amount was astounding, while the humans celebrated, the machines continued to work.
Jump to about the 2000s, a single boat is traveling along the Leyte Gulf, it was a rather calm day as the large boat rests upon the ocean’s surface. On the boat, the crew of ten, plus one, were on the look out for wrecks at the bottom of the sea. One specifically was desired by a single crew member, the plus one. His name, Akio Muramoto, his grandfather, Eiji Muramoto. Akio was in his twenties, medium build, and thanks to his father being a wealthy business man in Japan, he had alot of time on his hands.
The crew were American, he was Japanese American thanks to his Mother being American, and his desires to find his Grandfather’s plane was heated by the fact of a promise kept secret to the aircraft, given to his Grandmother for safe keep. The promise was, “No matter what, please…bring Z back, she does not deserve such a horrendous fate.” Of course, his Father hated anything military, if it weren’t for his Grandmother, the promise would have been lost.
As Akio looked over the edge where a drone was sent down, one of the men came out of the cabin and shouted towards Akio. “Sir! I think we found something! Better come take a look!” Akio quickly ran over and into the Cabin, rushing over to the Drone’s control, along with the camera’s vision on the screen. What was on it, a A6M5 Zero, a wreck of one that is. “Is that the one?” Asked another crew member.
“I don’t know…get an all around view.” Akio told them. He had to make sure this was the one his Grandfather flew…the one he called Z. He held up a picture of him and his plane, there was a specific heart on the side of the fuselage where one would count as the plane’s cheek. It was painted by his Grandfather, so said his Grandmother.
As the drone moved about, the wreck was badly damaged, crashing into a ship will do that to you unfortunately. Suddenly, Akio saw it, he saw the heart. It was badly faded, but it was still visible even through all the terrible rust. “Thats it! Thats what I am looking for!” Akio shouted in excitement. The rest of the crew also gave some form of celebration as they found the ship. They have, afterall, been out to sea several times for over three years.
Within minutes, divers wearing deep diving equipment jumped into the waters, and also tools to help hoist the wrecked aircraft out of the water. So many years of rust, you’d expect the ship to be nearly impossible to get out of it’s position, luckily it sank, and it was mostly there, in terms of the fuselage. After the straps were hooked, the crane began to slowly lift the plane up and out. It had to be careful, otherwise it would snap the fuselage in half.
Thankfully, the fuselage appeared to be intact when it was pulled out of the water. The condition it was in however made Akio’s heart sink. Her tail was completely torn off, her fuselage had severe damage and rust upon it. Her wings and propeller were gone, she looked a bit like a torpedo. He knew, once he gazed upon the damage, it would take months, if not years to get her back in functioning order, and thats if the soul of Z hasn’t left already. For all he knew this could just be a ‘dead’ machine.
As the boat began it’s journey back towards Japan, Akio began to research up on the Zero, learning everything he needed to get the parts required. He also started research on living machines, looking upon how living machines exactly ‘die’. One theory stated that a living machine really never dies, it goes into a standby state when it is badly wounded, or inoperable, though it may die completely if the scrap is melted down.
Looking upon many other theories, he began to shiver, and wondered if this whole thing was worth it. He respected his Grandfather, and he was keeping his promise. He would walk over towards the area in which Z’s wreck was stashed, he would examine every single bit of her rusted fuselage. He then took a long gaze at that heart, how was it not rusted like everything else? He would place his hand carefully along the heart, and almost jumped back when he felt heat coming from the otherwise cold metal surrounding it.
“Your still alive…aren’t you?” He asked the rusted plane, which did not reply back. He would hold his hopes that this was at least something he could go upon to say she was still there.
After a few days of travel, they reached the Port of Tokyo, in which they had a place reserved for their return. A crew was waiting with a large truck bed to strap down Z in. After the boat docked, Akio got off the boat to address the situation, telling the Truck crew to be extra careful, the state of the plane was very bad, and needed extra care in transporting to his estate.
Once all was done and taken care of, and the Truck had driven to Akio’s home, the hard part was just beginning. Akio had a hanger that he had constructed himself, it was big enough to work on a plane like the Zero, perfect for being both roomy and comfy. He had to make sure he could work all over the Fuselage, so he had the plane hoisted gently with strong leather straps.
Standing before the wreck, the dim light of the day turning to dusk, he would sigh and begin working on getting the parts. He knew this was just the beginning, and yet he did not care. he was going to get this plane up and running even if it was going to kill him. So was the start of the intense work to begin.
Hours turned into days, days into months, and months into years. Almost four years into the project, and many cuts, scraps, gashes, and even broken bones later. Akio stood before an unpainted Zero with everything restored. The electronics, the engine, landing gear, everything was restored to its original condition. “Alright…now to paint you.” He would say under his breath, getting ready to follow the pictures on the Internet, along with the photo for any specific details.
Days went by, and now the plane was completely painted, along with a large smile on Akio’s face. “Wow…no wonder my Grandfather loved you, your absolutely beautiful!” He would say, as if talking to the plain. He had complimented and comforted the plane in hopes it could hear him while it ‘slept’. Saying things like “Your going to look just as good when you were flying with my Grandfather.” To even “Ill make you feel two hundred percent better!” Now here he stood, before a beautiful plane restored in all it’s glory. Only one problem, it wasn’t talking back.
Akio began to walk around it, wait, and even begin working along its body trying to see if anything would stimulate it awake. “God…don’t tell me your dead!” He started to worry deeply, there was only one thing left, he wasn’t going to give up that easily. He would climb up into the cockpit, and once he sat down, he started pressing buttons. “God…awaken!” He yelled in frustration. Then he looked down at the throttle, he was no pilot, but he knew a few things about planes during his restoring of her.
“Alright then…I guess Ill fly you then…maybe that might wake you up. He would say, swallowing hard as he strapped himself in, then slowly pushed the throttle up. The engine would rumble to life, the propellers started spinning up, and the plane started to move forward. Akio grasped the control stick tightly, the nervousness building up rapidly as he taxied out onto the road outside of the hangar.
As he turned, then positioned the Aircraft, he would attempt to push the throttle up slowly, but it wouldn’t budge. “What? Whats going on?” He asked himself, pushing harder and harder. “Why wont this thing move!?” He yelled in frustration, then was suddenly cut off by a voice. “Your touching me too tightly…do you even know how to fly?”
Akio froze, that voice…it was…feminine…it spoke in clear Japanese, and it was coming from within the cockpit. He waited, he wondered if that voice was just a part of his imagination. “Hello? Quit grabbing my controls so tightly! It really does hurt!” The voice spoke again, talking about the controls. He quickly let go of the control stick, and then the propeller came to a stop as the engine turned off.
“Is this…Z?” Akio asked cautiously.
There was a pause, then the voice came back, in a saddened, depressed tone. “No one has called me that in forever.”
Akio quickly removed himself from the cockpit, and jumped out of the Aircraft. He spun around and noticed a mouth, and then those beautiful Sapphire eyes staring directly at him. “Oh my god! Your alive! HAHA! I did it!” He cheered, jumping about in excitement as his years of hard work finally paid off.
“How do you know my name?” Asked Z, that tone yet to have left her voice.
Akio, still giddy with excitement, quickly turned to give the Aircraft any questions. “Oh, um, I am Akio Muramoto, my Grandfather was Eiji Muramoto, your pilot.” He replied. His happy face suddenly churning into one of confusion, Z’s face began to tremble, almost out of fear and pure dread. It was as if the memories began to flood back into her mind.
“Eiji…how could you…” Z spoke out in a voice strained with intense feelings of sadness. Akio heard this, and was confused with this. She was speaking as if Eiji did something horrible.
“Z?” He would ask, seeing if he could grab her attention. However, she was ignoring him at this point.
“Why?!Why?!Why?!Why?!Why?!Why?!” She shouted, almost screaming as her eyes were shut tightly, her sharp teeth gritted, and nearly a waterfall of oily tears streaming down her fuselage ‘cheeks’.
Akio has never seen a machine sob, this was pain, so much so that such a prideful machine was outright wailing. He took a step back, fearing that she may lash out, this was new territory for him, especially since this machine was acting so shockingly.
“Eiji! How could you do that to me!? Why did you not tell me!? Why did you kill me!? WHY!?” She shouted as if Eiji’s ghost was standing right in front of her. Her landing gear gave out, they folded inwards and she fell to the ground, sobbing as all those years of isolation, pain tearing at her heart at the betrayal she was given.
Akio just stood there, no words could even be given at this point. This machine, the one his Grandfather had flown and cared for, she was in such distress her landing gear gave out. He wanted to say something, but what could be said when you have several decades of depression to burn off.
It was about a near hour of sobbing, all the while Akio sat there, waiting for her to calm down. She became silent, staring blankly at the ground. Akio thought this would be a perfect time to try and talk to her. “So, how you feeling.”
Z didn’t even respond, she just seemed lost in all of what had happened catching up to her. Akio only stood there, moving ever so closely, not wanting to startle her, or have her lash out at him.
Akio finally moved in, and gave the oily cheek a soft rub. “Hey…your okay now…your here and alive.” He said with a soft voice, trying to get her attention and perhaps get her to a mental state where she would be able to continue to live.
“I don’t understand…” Z spoke softly, not yet acknowledging Akio’s presence.
“You don’t understand what?” Akio asked.
“You wouldn’t understand…” Z replied, her tone still filled to the brim with sadness.
“Oh come on now, I am here to help, I mean, I didn’t just drag you out of the ocean to scrap ya!” He said, hoping that would cheer her up.
Z, hearing she was dragged out of the ocean instantly triggered her sobbing again. She just laid there on the ground, slightly tilted to the right, her wing keeping her from rolling over. “I don’t…I don’t…I don’t understand…why he would do this to me. Why Eiji…my partner…my friend.” She would sob it out, not as bad as before.
“Z…your here because of him. He made a promise that no matter what, you would be brought back and kept alive! You are alive right now because of him.”
Suddenly, Z would spring up, that landing gear shooting her up so she was now standing. “Your lying! Eiji flew me into a ship! Even as I screamed, he killed me! Why would he want me to live?!” She argued, her tone a mixture of anger and depression. Her eyes still dripping with tears as she glared towards Akio.
“Because he loved you like family.” He responded, quickly bringing out the note in which the promise was written upon. Then showing it to Z, who quickly snatched it with her mechanical tendril claws. This made Akio jump back, shocked to see those. “Woah…I didn’t install those…where did they come from?” He said under his breath. Meanwhile, Z’s expression softened as she read the note. It was Eiji’s hand writing, she would know.
“Eiji…” She said softly, sniffling before relaxing her once tense frame. “So…maybe you could explain more than Eiji could…” She looked directly at Akio, a sad, but relieved expression upon her face.
Akio smiled, sitting down in front of the Aircraft as he began to explain. He knew exactly what she wanted to hear, after all that sobbing and shouting, it was clear she had no idea. Within forty minutes, he had explained everything.
“So…I was a Kamikaze? I had no idea.” She looked a little bit shocked, but was almost as if she figured it was all true. “Still…I don’t know why Eiji didn’t tell me.”
“Possibly because he didn’t want you to be afraid during the mission. He really did care for you.” Akio added.
“I…suppose your right.” She sniffled, bringing that one note right up again, taking a good look at it before placing it directly within her cockpit.
“Here, follow me.” He motioned her to follow, smiling as he had something for her to see. She hesitantly followed the human, still shaky from everything. They traveled at walking pace for around ten minutes, and they arrived at a pond with a plaque at the center. A bronze statue was in the center. “My Grandmother had this built, a memorial towards Eiji, and you.”
Z took a look at the Statue, eyes wide in surprise as it was her…cast in Bronze with Eiji standing proudly next to her. She began to tear up again, but this time with a smile. “Oh Eiji…thank you…” She said softly, thanking him for this second chance, making sure she would at least have one. After she had her moment, she looked towards Akio with a soft smile. “So…what is left for one like myself?”
“Well, I wont choose your life for you, there are Museums which will take very good care of you, but I doubt you will fly if you go there. Then you have the Historical Events, in which you fly about once a year, showing off your flying skills, but then are put into storage. Or…you can stay here. There wont be much for you since Japan Airspace is tightly controlled, but you will at least be able to fly over the less populated areas of the country.” He explained, of course Z instantly spoke out as the options ending. “Ill stay with you, I never want to stop flying!” She smiled big, it appears that she was finally to her old self.
“Thats good..” Akio laughed.
“With that said…would you like to?” She asked, a curious look in her eye.
“Like to do what?” Akio replied.
“Go flying, with me! Don’t worry, I’ll pilot!” She smiled sheepishly.
Akio chuckled. “Sure…I’d love to.”
————————————————————–End—————————————————
Authors Note: This is yet another quick story to show what happened to Z. Its another short story, but I hope you all enjoy either way~!