Epsilon had went away to sit on a hillside overlooking the city. As the sun set, a Nekomi skyline lit up slowly. He sat there thinking about what he was to do now. That was incredibly hard as Gamma's misery became too much to bear, and that was without knowing that he was dead once, and would die again if he continued this way. He curled his legs close to himself and took off his necklace, placing it on the ground beside him. It had been a source of strength and clarity on his journey, but now it provided no answers for him. All he had left to figure out his next move was what Lind told him before.

"Not everybody has what it takes to be a warrior Epsilon, but this is your path now, and you must fight so others will not suffer as you have."

"Why Lind?" He thought aloud, his heart thumping in his chest. "What does it mean? Did you send us home knowing that we would die if we came back? Or did you know we would come back and gave me the ability to deal with what comes next?"

A pressure in his head turned his gaze skywards where he saw a shooting star come down, a little too close to be any stellar object. Fastening the necklace, he went into the air to intercept it, but not only was the light as fast as he was, it ran away from him. He chased it for miles around the city and then it slowed down and spoke to him.

"Back off! I have to do something!"

Epsilon stopped when he heard the talking star, but it paid too much attention to him and slammed into a telephone pole. What fell was a girl as young as Skuld in a suit similar to Lind's. Epsilon scooped her up and landed on the sidewalk. He had to laugh at her clothes, with the black and white garb, she looked like a maid.

That woke her up. "Ughhhhh…haven't gotten the flying thing down yet." She mumbled.

"You're a star in my book." Epsilon complimented.

She jumped out of his hands and fell softly to her feet. "Well at least I found who I'm looking for."

"You were looking for me?" It was then he saw the blue markings on her face and under her blond hair. "You're a goddess!"

"Yes, my name is Chrono; cadet of the Silver Wings!"

"Is that related to the 'Fighting Wings' Lind is a part of?"

"I am here on Lind's behalf." She said as she started to walk down the street, Epsilon close behind. "She was too busy to be here herself."

"Oh," Epsilon was saddened by the news. "No rest for soldiers, huh?"

"Don't I know it; training never seems to stop." Chrono nearly tripped on the curb but gained her footing back and was nearly clipped by a car. "Can't help my clumsiness however." She giggled.

"Where are we going?"

"We're here." 'Here' happened to be a telephone booth on a corner. They walked into the booth and Chrono was scratching her head. "Um, these things take money right?"

"I guess you don't come down here often do you? Regrettably I didn't bring any either." Even without money the phone rang. Surprised, Epsilon looked to Chrono for an answer.

"Phone's for you."

Epsilon held out a shaky hand to pick it up and put it in his ear. "Hello?"

"I knew you'd be here."

Epsilon gasped at the voice. "Lind!"

"Sorry about not being there in person. You understand, right?"

"Yeah, but it's just hard to now." He sighed, resting his back on the glass. "I just found out that I'm going to die soon."

"So, I take it that means you will fight Hild?"

"My friends were cursed by her and she spared me. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't help them. Speaking of that, why did you help me?"

There was some time before she answered. "When you first came here, you were single-minded in defeating Hild, and would fight any demon he'd come across. That meant I got assigned to watch over you. I had already met Keiichi, and I knew not all humans were like him, but you…it was like you didn't care if you were human at all if it meant beating her. But when demons threatened the Earth, you were there to defend it, and it cost your life. I-" Lind's voice hitched for a moment. "Peorth and I were there to see it."

Epsilon's head hung low. "That's why you tried to send me home?"

"Everyone wanted you to have a chance at a normal life, but when you spoke to me that night, I knew that chance was gone. All I could do was give you what help I could, and hope it would turn out for the best."

He jingled the necklace. "Where did you get this?"

"You gave it to me as a gift. I didn't understand it back then, but seeing you now, it makes sense."

"Thanks," Epsilon said, finally having closure. "For everything."

"Just win, okay? I didn't give you all that help for you to lose."

"Sure." He hung up and turned to Chrono, hugging her tight for a while, the Valkyrie in training stunned into silence.

"Could you let me go? A 'thank you' will work for me too."

Epsilon let her go, full of cheer. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. Now while I'm here I should meet some friends." Chrono left in the direction of the temple. He was alone, or so he thought.

"Not easy is it? People thinking your someone else." Omega strode out of an alley next to Epsilon and walked with him.

"None of those things matter anymore, Omega." Epsilon said, shocking Omega by not calling him Athanor. "Lets go get the others and thrash Hild."

Omega face had that expression of cockiness as he held on to his trinket. "If this death mask doesn't go back to it's home I'll never hear the end of it. I'm guessing there's a return policy on that necklace too." He slapped Epsilon on the back We'll going to beat her together, just watch."

"You are excellent hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Morisato." Upsilon finished his tea in the living room with Keiichi and Belldandy. After his practice was done, they invited Helen and him inside and while he was listening to their stories, Helen was playing cards with Urd and Peorth, and judging by the complaining, Helen was losing badly.

"There's no need for the titles; use our names." Keiichi said, finding it funny that even with all of the events he had lived through, that he had just recounted, he would grow up to be his father.

"Very well Keiichi. I must once again apologize, I should have asked for your story this way, but I needed your feelings at the moment of those events."

"You were never that good at feelings were you?"

"I wouldn't say that." Belldandy corrected, taking a more analytical stance behind a honestly caring face and a delighted voice. "Otherwise he wouldn't have Helen along with him."

Upsilon's eyes shifted as far as they could to see Helen but when he couldn't, he sighed. "I guess not."

"Who is she to you?"

"My master, my partner, and my closest friend." He praised. "As important to me as Keiichi is to you. I'm not sure if that is considered 'love', or just loyalty."

"You'll find that the difference between the two is not as large as you think." Belldandy put a hand on his shoulder. "You will figure out the difference, and I'm sure you'll be happy then."

"Happiness…" Upsilon worked the word in his mouth. "I think you underestimate my self-sabotaging nature."

"Johann, could you come over here?" Helen called out. Everyone was wondering who she could be talking to, and it was only the fact that Upsilon got up and walked over to them that they found out that she meant him. Sitting next to Helen, across Urd and Peorth, he was quickly dealt a hand.

"These two are going to take the clothes of my back; I need some help." Upsilon picked up his hand and paid close attention to his opponents, his face expressionless.

The two goddesses took the chance to sate their curiosity. "So, your name is Johann?" Urd asked.

He didn't take his eyes off of the cards. "That is my name."

"Looks like you two get along."

"We've been together for some time." He left out that that it was a century that passed. "I am used to her presence."

"There was a time when I couldn't imagine living without him." Helen added, causing Upsilon's heart to jump. He didn't show anything to them, however.

"And now?" Urd said.

"Peorth knows." Helen glanced at her. "Don't you? I'll remind you; Johann is at the end of my path."

Peorth was having a hard time remembering, but when she did she almost screamed. "If that's true, then why are you still with him!"

"Because I've been alone for a long time, and Johann is the only person able and willing to put up with me. If I'm going to die, there are worse places to do it than right next to him."

Peorth was having a hard time remembering, but when she did she almost screamed. "If that's true, then why are you still with him?"

"Because I've been alone for a long time, and Johann is the only person able and willing to put up with me for all that time. If I'm going to die, there are worse places to do it than right next to him."

They were both quite speechless with how Helen said that, like those thoughts were normal and everyday. "Upsilon, have you finished yet?"

Upsilon merely placed his hand down, and it was a winning hand. He then looked over to the open door. "It is getting dark, perhaps we should leave them in peace."

Before anyone could object, Helen stood up. "We were young once too; the newlyweds need time to themselves. However we won't leave just yet." She directed him to the courtyard, where they both sat next to each other. Looking over the serene forest, Upsilon loosened up and leaned on Helen's shoulder.

Helen sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Maybe not involve me in your games." He mumbled back. "We have little time for them now."

"The end scares you now?"

"Not the end." Upsilon voice was uneven and weary. "What comes after."

"Explain."

"I never thought that children made good soldiers, and yet there are such strong ones here ready to fight. I looked into Keiichi's memories, and strength of arms did not defeat Hild, even though he was touched by a large amount of power. It was his sheer devotion to Belldandy -their love- that did. We have nothing that can match that, that's why I know we can not win."

"Then what can we do?" Helen asked, already knowing the answer.

"Fight anyway."

"That's what I miss about you the most." Helen stroked his hair, a brief moment of intimacy between them. "It's something I see in Belldandy, now that I think about it."

"How am I anything like her?"

"You have that willful spark; that want that you're willing to push aside anything in the way for. She left Epsilon in chains when he threatened Keiichi." Helen caressed Upsilon's face. "Johann, Nero told me that there are alternate forms of us, if that's true…"

"Wishful thinking…" Upsilon said, faint but coldly. "The other team might have been travelers as well, but we are unique." His head turned to face her. "No one like us exists anywhere else. What hope is there for such dreams?"

Helen took a deep breath. "I don't know, but we have all eternity and the infinite multiverse to figure it out when this is over. Now get some sleep."

"Can't sleep…" Upsilon said sounding weaker. "Haven't…killed you yet…"

Helen laughed, leaving those who had eavesdropped: Urd, Peorth, and the black cat Velsper with more questions than when they started.

"Sometimes I forget how scary humans can be, hanging around Keiichi for so long." Velsper said, tail jerking to and fro.

"This is wrong." Urd crossed her arms, trying to make sense of it all. "People shouldn't act that way towards each other."

"And yet they somehow make it work." Belldandy walked up next to them, catching them off guard.

"You can't be serious!" Peorth pulled her aside. "Those two are going to end up killing each other!"

"You really believe that?" Belldandy said that with that overly sweet innocence she had.

"I don't think you quite understand-"

"No, she does," Urd said, knowing how her sister got with this particular subject. "She just doesn't care."

"They are cold, and even cruel," Belldandy saw them walk off, probably to rejoin their group. "But even so, their hearts soften when they are around each other." She glowed with certainty. "Keiichi!"

He came out to the deck. "What do you need?"

"I'm going to go take a bath, care to join me?"

He sputtered at the request, there were a few things he still had to get used to with this whole marriage thing.

"Ablutions," Peorth added as he left. "Even I wouldn't have gone that far."

Faster. That was the only thought in Gamma's head anymore. Even as the air resistance made it hard to keep his eyes open and his whole body burned with fatigue all he could do was go faster until he crashed down onto a empty road overlooking the ocean. He rolled over the blacktop and smashed into a tree. With no more tears to shed, and nowhere else to run, he stayed on the ground and waited for misery to make him dull to everything. Psyche was doing her best to keep him going.

"V-Victor? Come on, you made it through worse, and so has everyone else, so please get up!"

"No…I can't," Gamma moaned. "I wasn't good enough, I never was."

"That's why you have help." Nero touched down in front of him, hands on his hips. "You have quite the bleeding heart, don't you? You aren't willing to see anyone hurt in your stead; that is a good trait to have."

"But I need to lead others as well. You're a better leader than me."

Nero shook his head. "I don't care who gets hurt: allies, enemies, as long as I achieve my goal. I couldn't have made this journey, but you have the blend of courage and compassion that just might succeed, despite the odds."

Gamma got to his feet, feeling somewhat better. "All we wanted to be were heroes, like the ones we read about."

"Yeah, next time we'll read the fine print." Nero walked out into the road. "Do you know where we are? We didn't finish our race."

Gamma wondered what he meant, and as he looked around, he recognized that this was the 'Nekomi Circuit'; a strip of road leading to the Nekomi Institute of Technology. Activating his hover shoes, he swung over to him. "Think you can keep up?"

Nero kicked in his own pair. "Of course." He took off right after saying that, Gamma right on his tail. Halfway into the race they were neck and neck, Gamma's expertise with the device he made a match for Nero's aggression. The final stretch came up fast, with the gate to the college as the finish line. That was when they both heard a large bang behind them, but when they looked back, a golden blur went past them. When it crossed the finish line it skidded to a stop, sparks flying from its feet. Only then did they both figure out that it was Rho that had beaten them.

"Reliant on machines." Rho said in mock disapproval. "I like my feet better."

"Can't you let us have this?" Gamma pleaded, also in jest.

"Not when I'm faster than you. Have you lightened up yet?"

"I'll make do." Gamma said. "This place…reminds me of home."

Rho looked around as well. "I guess it does."

"Psyche, call the guys; tell them to meet us here." She did, and they all met on the tallest rooftop of the campus, gazing at the night sky. Each of them couldn't imagine that they would all be here together; when they were home they were two sides at war with each other. Now, they were almost friends.

Omega was on his back watching the stars. "I was wondering," He said. "How did you all meet?"

Rho started off. "Freshman year of college was when I met Gamma. He and I shared a few classes, and we decided to become a 'fraternity' of sorts. The ones we had heard of used Greek letters so each of us uses one."

"I see." Nero said. "Your religion at one point used two: Chi and Rho."

"It did. It wasn't for a long time that we saw the exoskeleton that gave Gamma his."

"And you, Johann?" Helen asked.

"Rho kept nagging me, hence why I became Upsilon."

"Why?" Helen quipped, everyone else laughing at Upsilon's annoyed look.

"He needed a math tutor." That shut Rho up, and made the laughter louder.

"Well, Upsilon's logic lead him to me." Epsilon said amid laughing. "Epsilon just happens to be my favorite letter."

"Really?" Nero was surprised. "I thought it was because of your weapon; the axhead design is called 'Epsilon'."

Epsilon took another glance at his halberd. "Hm, the more you know."

"Omega is a pretty catchy letter in these parts." Omega deduced. "It must have been what drew Mark to it."

"He fancied himself as the last friend we'd ever need." Epsilon bragged. "You come real close sometimes."

Nero took a half-hearted kick at the ground, acting dejected. "Does that mean we don't get nicknames?"

"Look; if we survive this, you and Helen can get nicknames." Gamma snide challenge brightened the mood as they all stood on the edge of the roof facing the cityscape, where a derelict arcade lay. In that place, was where all their lives might end. But they had nearly died hundreds of times over, what was one more time now?