-Two years later

The whispers and murmurs had circulated all through the celebrations the day before, and Fala finally decided to see for herself if they were true. Quietly she walked through the Castle to the team's corridor, stopping in surprise when she saw all four of their bedroom doors open. "So it's true," she whispered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I wonder if they were going to tell me?"

In his bedroom, Kogane paused at a noise. Looking out into the hall, he heaved a purely internal sigh at one of his least favorite sights; a crying Fala-hime. Setting down the clothing he was carrying, he walked out to her. "Hime. . . I was going to come find you in a bit. We need to talk. . ."

"You're leaving." It was a statement, not a question, and Kogane could only nod. "Why haven't any of you said anything? Why are you going?"

Kogane led her into the rec room and sat her down before answering, noting that Kurogane had seen and followed them. "We've been trying to tell you for weeks. But there was always an interruption. As to why. . ." he took a deep breath. "Your court is returning. Princes are going to be coming to court you. Castle Gradam is no longer a place where four no-name drifters are going to be welcome, regardless of what title you give them."

"But more than that," Kurogane put in quietly, coming and sitting across from her. "We . . . we're on show here. Always expected to be the heroic Lion Knights, devoted to the service of Her Majesty. And that's not who we are. We're just . . . men, Fala-hime. Tired men, who need some time away. Everything, everyone we used to know is gone; one of our brothers and his brother lie buried on the hill, and we haven't even had a chance to mourn any of that. Beyond that. . ." he shook his head. "As Kogane said. There is no real place for us in a peaceful Castle Gradam. I've seen the looks the nobles give us when they think we do not see. If we stay . . . it would only be a matter of time before one of us lost our tempers, and Altea doesn't need that. YOU don't need that. So we're leaving now."

Fala looked from one pilot to the other, tears streaming down her face. "No. . .please don't leave. I. . . I'll make them treat you with more respect, like I did Hys and Raible."

"You can't, Hime," Kogane said gently. "Oh, you can order them, and they will, to our faces and in your presence. Behind the scenes, though, the resentment will only worsen. This is for the best, Fala-hime. Trust me."

"I do trust you, Kogane. I just. . ." she sniffled. "This castle won't be the same without the four of you; I'll miss you!"

"No you won't," Kurogane said softly. "You're going to have a whole different life now, the one you should have had to begin with. There's no time, no room in that for four drifters from a destroyed planet. Better that we go live in the village."

"We need lives of our own as well," Kogane put in. "For three years, we've done nothing but fight and catch our breaths between fights. Suizuishi is only 14; I don't dare put him in class with children his age, but . . . he needs a bit of normalcy. Time to let his guard down and just be a child, if he still can."

"And aside from him. . ." Kurogane wore an uncharacteristically vulnerable look, all his sarcasm gone. "We didn't think we'd survive the Galra arena . . . now that we survived the war, I know I would like to find a girl, settle down . . . and I also know I cannot do that here. Not if I want a girl who loves Kurogane Isamu instead of the Red Lion Knight."

Kogane recaptured Fala's attention. "I cannot speak for Seidou, but . . . I feel as Kurogane does. And agree with him that it is impossible in Castle Gradam. We are not men here; we are plaster idols on pedestals. If we want a normal life, it has to be outside the Castle walls."

The princess finally nodded. "You both make very good arguments, though I dispute that I will not miss the four of you. I know you did not ask for it, but . . . you have the blessing of the Crown, and of a girl named Fala."

The pilots exchanged a glance, then knelt on either side of her. "This does not change our bonds, or our promise to you, Fala-hime," Kurogane said, gently taking her hand. "When Golion is needed again, we will be here."

Kogane nodded in confirmation. "As we did before, so we do again. We pledge our lives to defend you, and Altea. We just need to leave now."

"We make the same pledge." The three in the room looked up to see Chibi and Hothead standing in the doorway; as Kogane and Kurogane stood, Seidou and Suizuishi took their places, kneeling and renewing their vow of just three years earlier. The missing presence in the room ached, and there were more than a few tears falling at the thought of the fallen Shirogane brothers.

A short while later, the four Earth men headed for the front door of the castle, each carrying a bag with their few possessions, happily talking about the house they had rebuilt for themselves in the village and their plans for the future. A dark shadow fell over those plans as they found the strategist blocking the door. "You aren't going anywhere!" the older man scowled.

Seidou flushed angrily, and was prevented from blowing up only by Kogane's hand on his arm. "You have no authority to keep us here, Raible," the young leader said quietly. "The war is finished, we have Fala-hime's blessing to leave. Please stand aside."

Raible didn't budge. "She had no authority to do that. You are servants of Altea, bonded to the lions. You cannot leave."

"Watch us." Suizuishi went to walk past him, only to go flying as the older man caught him off guard with a strong backhand.

The older three pilots growled; Kogane stepped forward. "She has every authority to do so. And you have NO right to strike ANY of us." He looked the strategist over. "It is well for you that my honor will not allow me to strike an elder."

The strategist was livid. "You ungrateful ruffians! Altea took you in, sheltered and cared for you when you had nowhere else to turn! You should be begging to stay here and serve the Crown forever, to repay your debt!"

Kurogane stepped forward, a dangerous light in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was low and full of menace. "That debt has more than been repaid, with our blood and the Shiroganes' lives. How DARE you insult that." He glared at Raible for a minute; the strategist glared right back. "You know, I am by no means as honorable a man as Chief, and you have had this due for a long time." With no more warning than that, Moody slammed his right fist into Raible's jaw, knocking the older man several feet clear of the door. Kurogane then picked his bag up and walked out without a backwards glance, closely followed by Kogane. Seidou gathered his and Chibi's bags in one hand, Chibi himself in the other arm, and strode out behind his teammates, cursing softly when his boot slipped and connected with Raible's ribs on the way out the door.

Fala watched from her window, determined not to cry, as the four Earth men left Castle Gradam. Kurogane's promise echoed in her mind, "When Golion is needed again, we will be here." As they faded from view, she took a deep breath and turned away, ready to use the strength they had shown her to forge a new, peaceful Altea.