NOTE: I know that Gengo is Kazuya & Kazuha's grandfather in canon, but for the purposes of this story I made him their father instead.
UnLimited
Humanity's Hope
Humanity was under attack.
As unbelievable as it sounds, aliens from another dimension, dubbed 'Nova', were attacking the planet. No one knew why they were doing it, or where the Nova were even coming from. All anyone knew was that it was very much a real threat because conventional weaponry and tactics have proven to be woefully ineffective against the Nova.
Backed up against the wall, humanity's leaders organized the Chevalier, an elite supranational military organization tasked with combating and defeating the Nova by any means necessary.
And that's where Dr. Gengo Aoi came in to the picture. With expertise in genetics that was unparalleled on Earth, and with the powerful motivation to figure out a way to defeat the invading aliens, he was the perfect candidate to head the Chevalier Scientific Research Division.
His work, along with a few other brilliant minds on the team, resulted in the creation of the Pandora and Limiter projects. Through extreme genetics and stigmata manipulation, the means with which humanity could fight back against the alien aggressors was finally discovered. The success of the Pandora and Limiter projects gave humanity a fighting chance, but he knew more than anyone there that this would still not be enough.
To ensure the survival of the human race, Dr. Aoi had to do more.
That is why you have to do it. To save humanity.
He reminded himself that what he was about to do was necessary for the survival of mankind. What was a few lives sacrificed compared to the billions that would perish if he didn't pursue this path? Still, it left him uneasy that he was going to be using his own children in such a manner. His own flesh and blood.
What would his wife say if she were still alive? He swiftly squashed the thought from his mind. He did not want to think about that. Not at such a critical moment.
He opened his eyes, having had them closed for the last few minutes as he battled internally with himself. It must be done. There was no other way.
He eyed the two tiny bodies that were held in identical stasis chambers before him. They were immersed in a green liquid, floating unconsciously with numerous tubes and sensors attached to them, the lights in the tank casting an eerie green glow across the lab.
Today was the culmination of the work he had done for the last three years on his children, unbeknownst to them of course.
Since they first came into the world and the idea formed in his head, he had started the experiment. Much to his pleasure and surprise things had progressed well. Very well. So well in fact that he not only extended the length of time of the project, he upgraded it.
Now, he was in the final stage. The day of reckoning, so to speak, for there were two possible outcomes to this night. One of which was death.
I won't allow it, he thought as his body stiffened at the idea. It'll work. It has to...
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself again. His mind was straying too much. He needed to focus. Success would undoubtedly be guaranteed if he performed the final stage flawlessly, he simply had to keep it together long enough to do so.
Alone in his personal laboratory, he began the final stage of what would be his most important project of all. There were no assistants there to help him so he had to do everything himself. There was no one he could trust to help him in this endeavor.
It took him several intense hours of nonstop work, his body protesting mightily from the strain while he did his best to ignore it, mind prevailing over matter. When he ultimately finished, he fell almost instantly to the ground in complete exhaustion. His breathing was ragged, his body shaking and drenched with sweat, his mind numb from all the thinking, all the concentration.
With tired eyes he glanced up at the two glowing stasis chambers.
Everything had gone smoothly. There were surprisingly no issues that popped up, no unexpected problems he had to deal with. It seemed almost as if it was meant to be.
Dr. Aoi sat on the ground for a long while, his back resting against the base of a computer terminal as he simply watched his children with relief, the two young ones oblivious to what was happening. They looked so peaceful, so innocent.
After a while, he felt some semblance of strength return to his body and he struggled to get up. Using the terminal as a support, he got to his feet and then let go, swaying slightly, unbalanced, but he managed to keep himself upright.
He walked around to the main computer and checked the results one more time. His eyes scanning the multitude of numbers, charts, and data that the computer was displaying on the screen. Everything truly seemed to check out. All vital signs were stable. Stigma tissue had been completely accepted by their bodies - no compatibility issues whatsoever.
The project was a roaring success.
Yet he did not feel as triumphant as he thought he would be when he imagined getting to this moment. All he really felt was a joyous relief that his had survived, and a strong sense of hope that humanity may yet be victorious in the end. Looking over at his children, Dr. Aoi took comfort in knowing that they would live beyond this experimental phase to have a future.
That made him think about the fact that what he had done to them meant they really only had one future, one that they had no part in deciding. He had chosen that future for them, and he hoped that one day they would understand why he did what he did. He hoped that they would only come to understand, but to also believe in it. That they would embrace their future.
Their future as humanity's hope.
Author's notes: I really like this anime and hopefully I can do it justice - I have not read the manga.