Disclaimer: Toei's, not mine

Notes: Spoilers for the entire series

--

"Come with me."

"You know that I can't. Domon-san, they're your family--"

"And I want you to meet them!" Domon took his hands eagerly. The grip tightened as his features darkened. "I'm not leaving you with these bastards, not after what they tried to do--"

"Domon-san." He had expected Domon to barge out the doors and back to his family the second the Bureau had given them leave, but the opposite was proving to be true. Ayase had been the first, assisted by a doctor. After a lot of persuasion from both of them, Yuuri had left as well. Whether or not she was going back to her family Sion didn't know, he just hoped that whatever decision she made, it would make her happy. "The Bureau is a mess. Everyone's too busy cleaning up after Ryuuta to even notice that I'm here-- and if they do try something, I'll find you." Gently, he broke away. "But Domon-san, they're your family. They've been missing you for a year. I'm pretty sure the only person they want to see right now is you."

Domon kept sneaking glances at him even as he haltingly made his way to the main entrance. As the doors hissed open, he turned around. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'm coming to take you away from here. That's a promise!"

Sion managed a smile. "I believe you!" He waved until Domon was out of sight.

"... It doesn't make watching you leave hurt any less, though."

--

He wasn't sure how long he had sat there, watching members of the Bureau rush from one scandal to the other, trying to save their skins before the public learned too much. Long enough to lose even the mild interest he'd had, at least. Who would have thought watching one of the most powerful organizations in the Quadrant fall apart would be so boring?

When they'd returned to the year 3000, he'd been ready for another confrontation, but as the middle-aged Commander had explained awkwardly, they didn't have the authority for that anymore. After Tekku had conveniently leaked a video of Ryuuta's final moments to the higher ups in the Bureau (and the media), they were too busy dealing with the sudden resignations and demands for answers from the public to deal with them. Yes, they'd been reprimanded, but that had been it. They hadn't even been discharged. The Bureau had more pressing matters to tend to right now.

So we're still unimportant.

Sion hugged his knees, trying to force himself to think about something else. Tatsuya and Honami were safe. His friends were finally home. Tekku was being interviewed by every major news feed, there was no way the Bureau could even consider disposing of him now without inviting another investigation. They had saved two centuries, and they would never forget each other. But still... he felt so...

No. He had promised Tatsuya he wouldn't be alone anymore. But right now, surrounded by strangers absorbed in their own problems, he wasn't sure if it was a promise he could keep.

"I need you."

Before he knew what was happening, she had grabbed him, tossing him in the direction of the console on the other side of the room. "You were the smart one on the team, right? Maybe you can fix this."

He was in no mood to help anyone associated with the Bureau, but it had to be better than feeling sorry for himself. Besides, she looked like she could use some help. The problem had infected the entire system, but once he had identified it, he was able to correct it. "There you go. It'll work fine now."

Her face lit up. "Thanks, you have no idea how much grief that's been giving me." Her smiled softened as she pushed a strand of tangled blonde hair from her face. "My name's En-- I mean Lieutenant Kara." She gave him a look as she started typing in some data. "They promoted me this morning; can you believe it? I might actually be excited about it if they weren't promoting every warm body that wasn't involved in the Ryuuta scandal. I've been here for almost two years now, and I have never seen things this bad..." Kara smiled again (she seemed to do that a lot), but this time it had a hint of guilt behind it. "I'm sorry, I ramble when I get nervous. So you're Cadet Sion, right? I'll bet that you'll be promoted to Captain by the end of today, what with you probably having the most time travel experience out of all of us right now."

"... I thought we were being discharged."

She laughed, slapping him rather ungently on the back. "Are you kidding?! One of the reasons I needed this console was that I could write letters begging you guys to stay!" Her smile finally faded away. "Ryuuta wasn't alone in his scheming. He had help from every branch of the Bureau. Some wanted power, some thought they were doing what was needed to protect the timeline... but they still betrayed us. Sion, we're facing our biggest crisis since our inception. I... I know your team has had problems with the Bureau, and I won't blame you if you'd rather just leave--"

"Good, because I plan to tomorrow morning."

"But at least consider it!" When Sion took a step away from her, she took one towards him. "If you were willing to risk everything to save 2001, why not stay and make sure the job's done?"

"I can't. Not the way the Bureau would have me, at least." Kara did have a point somewhere in her desperation, but he wouldn't be like Ryuuta, helping only when it suited his purpose, treating the people in that time like numbers in his equations... like he had with Naoto.

"You can change it!" He could tell from her face that she was sincere. "You'll be in a position to make the Bureau what it was supposed to be! You'll be helping people, not playing games with them like Ryuuta did!"

"I'm sorry, but my answer is still no." He started to head back to his place on the steps. Domon would be back in about twelve hours. If he could just keep to himself until then--

"You might see him again."

"... What do you mean?"

Kara gave a huff of frustration as the hair fell back in her face. "I'm not promising anything, but this is still the one place where you can legally time travel. It's still the only place where you have a chance of seeing your friend again."

He had to place a hand against the wall to keep his balance. What she was offering... he might... it wasn't definite, but there was a chance...

He could keep his promise to Tatsuya.

"...Okay. But there will be changes. No more acting like the Bureau's above it all; we're actually going to help people now."

She grinned at him one more time, giving his hand a through shake. "Lieutenant Sion, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."