As Alto and Sonata near the poor
city, they begin to see who is attacking it. Dozens of golden bird assassins
are attacking the people and destroying the fragile homes and buildings with
their claws. The poor citizens defend themselves with homemade guns, but they
aren’t that effective. A golden bird leaps at Alto and Sonata and almost knocks
them off the hoverboard until another leaps into the air that knocks them off
the board and unto a roof. The hoverboard crashes into a building and is destroyed
without its riders.
With them down on the ground, a golden
bird tries to finish off the two until it is shot away by the neighbor and some
other friends supporting him with guns.
“Run to the sewers! We’ll cover
you!” the neighbor says as he shoots the golden birds.
Alto and Sonata run away. A golden
bird catches up to them and starts to chase them. The two try to lose it by snaking
through the destroyed buildings, houses, and alleys, but the bird is always on
their tail. They try going through a tighter alleyway; however, their exit is
blocked by falling debris and the way they entered is blocked by the bird. Alto
tries to fight the bird and hurts his hands by trying to punch the armor. He is
then swiped away into Sonata as the two are backed into the corner.
The golden bird tries reaching for
Alto and Sonata in the tight space they’re in. It can’t reach them and it can’t
destroy the walls to give it more space because battle and constant use of
their claws have made its weapons brittle. In a last ditch effort to get them,
the bird opens its chest to reveal a familiar face to Sonata.
“Hello, Sonata,” the girl says in a
mechanical voice.
“Cantata?”
“You know this girl, Sonata?” Alto
asks.
“I do. What happened to you?”
Cantata’s eyes and skin are
completely white with her face stuck in a smile. She’s restrained by wires and
metal pieces that keep her body in place.
“It all started when I ran away
from home like you. The authorities caught me and gave me a second chance to
make things right. They put me in control of this golden bird to prevent others
from making the same mistake I did.”
“You tried to kill us!”
“Only to stop you from continuing
to make mistakes and because you kept running from me. I’m talking to you now
because you can’t run. So, what’s your decision?”
Cantata is shot from behind with a
barrage of bullets to the golden bird’s head that makes her entire bird fall
over.
“Cantata?!” Sonata says as she
tries to flip over the heavy golden bird.
“Get away from there Sonata and Alto!
Cantata was never alive!” a friend says.
“What? How?”
“I’ll explain later! We have to
hurry! The city is about to be overrun!”
“Sonata…” Alto says with a hand on
Sonata’s shoulder.
“…okay. Let’s go.”
Alto and Sonata escape the poor
city through the sewers. The gates behind them are closed. Fortunately for them, the gates are thick enough
to keep the golden birds out.
While they walk through the sewers,
Sonata walks up to the neighbor and asks him, “Can you explain what’s up with
those golden birds? I saw a long lost friend controlling one.”
“Your friend wasn’t controlling it.
It was controlling them,” he answers.
“What do you mean?”
“The golden birds are machines
controlled manually by the authorities in the city to destroy whoever they
consider a threat to their power. Your friend that you saw did something that
they didn’t like, and they killed her for it and used her body as a puppet to
try to get you to drop your guard. Every golden bird is like that.”
“That’s sick! We should do
something about this! We should attack them and destroy all of the golden
birds.”
“We don’t have the resources for that.
Besides, civil wars typically end in more violence, so that’s not the answer.”
“Then what can we do?”
“We can only do what we’ve been
doing. Convincing people from the city to take our side and working bit by bit
to improve it. The people in the city will think that our homes were destroyed
in a terrorist attack from what I hear from the people I know in there. They’re
the reason most of us are still alive.”
“Get them to do some damage then! How
are we going to change things if the change is so slow?”
“Because it’s the right way to do
things. If there were a faster way, we would take it, but this is just the way
things are. You get knocked down by life and you have to get by on whatever
scraps you have left.”
Sonata is silent with her head full
of thoughts and anger until they exit the sewers. It’s nighttime now with the
moon’s light and the city’s light being the only light source outside of the
city limits. Looking back at the city makes Sonata feel empty and as if she
doesn’t have anything. The citizens of the poor city continue on their way to
another settlement that they’ve built not too far from the city. Once they get
there, Sonata sits down with a heavy heart.
“Sonata?” Alto says as he sits next
to her.
Sonata embraces Alto as she begins
to cry. Not knowing what to say, he sings to her.
“Now that I've lost everything
I'm holding onto you even tighter
than before
We can't be broken if we're together
You are mine and I am forever yours
The worst is over
When all seems lost, I remember my
reason to hope because
You're always with me and me with
you
No matter what we go through
When the hard times arrive,
Our love thrives
Because we're always together
Our bond is what keeps us strong
My strength helps you and yours
helps me
No matter the distance, our bond
can't be broken
Together we can do the impossible,
can't you see?
The worst is over
When all seems lost, I remember my
reason to hope because
You're always with me and me with
you
No matter what we go through
When the Hard Times Arrive,
Our love thrives
Because we're always together
Our hearts are always connected
We bear each other's pain
My life is resurrected
Because through the rain
You're always with me and me with
you
No matter what we go through
When the Hard Times Arrive,
Our love thrives
Because we're always together”
“Th-thank you, Alto.”
“It’s going to be okay, Sonata. We’re
going to make things better together.”
“How?”
“With our music and the example we
set. Can you believe that it hasn’t been that long since you were living in the
rich city? It took me years to get you to change your mind and it was worth it,
wasn’t it?”
“…it was. Thank you. I don’t know
what I would’ve done without you.”
“I don’t know what I would’ve done
without you either. Your music inspired me to sing and dance. Speaking of that,
do you want to help the others do the same? You are still a celebrity to them.”
“Yes. Let’s cheer them up.”
Sonata and Alto sing and dance to
bring up the spirits of their friends and family. Everyone sings and dances
with them as they are reinvigorated with the will to start anew. It may be dark
now, but the light of hope will eventually rise starting with one person at a
time.
The End
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