She was surrounded in blackness. The turbulence of the turboprop eventually roused her. The first thing she sees is a face, blurry but with ash blonde hair.
-Tessa, thank god she's alright. But I knew that? Or -
She had the overwhelming feeling that she was in a nightmare or another of Sofia's traps.
-Oh god- Where is he? Where's Sousuke?
Tessa's face became more melancholy looking sadder, thinner, and more exhausted than Kaname ever thought her face could look. She looked decades beyond her years.
-Kaname-san I need you to remain calm. -She peeks at her watch- Sousuke is still alive right now, but very soon he will not b-
-But why?
-Please let me finish. We had to get off of the Island, a nuclear warhead is headed straight for there, Sousuke was engaged in combat with Kalinin and had no means of escape. He instructed us to escape without him and that is exactly what we have done.
-You didn't help him? You didn't even look for him?
-We had no time Kaname-san. As it is we're barely going to make it to the outer rim of the Safety Zone. I couldn't risk the lives of everyone else to save his. This was the decision I made as a Commanding Officer. Please Kaname-san try to understand.
Tears began pouring uncontrollably from her eyes. She sunk down to her knees, head down, hair covering her face.
-I understand Tessa, but it also wasn't your decision.
-Kana-
- It was his.
She clamped a hand to her mouth, muffling the wail. This was the world she had chosen, like it or not, she had to accept the world for what it was- good, bad, or otherwise. She looks over to Tessa who is trying her best to control her emotions with machine like precision. She can't take that look on Tessa's face anymore turned and hugged the girl.
-Tessa... I'm so glad you're safe...
At that gesture Teletha Testarossa, the levee of emotions she had been carrying, burst open and she cried like a girl of her age should. Out of the 25 select individuals she had taken with her on this mission less than 15 had survived. And there was Sousuke. Kaname knew how Tessa felt about him and knew that his death must be as hard on her as it is on herself. Her ash-blonde hair was tinted pink in places from all of the blood. She looked wizened, exhausted, and paltry. Kaname then stopped for a period to think about what all she had been through compared to these people.
-This crew. All of them...even ones that have passed like Gail Mcallen...They all risked everything to save me and stop Leonard. How many have died for me? More than just Sousuke...
She still had Tessa wrapped in a hug, letting her cry out all of her frustrations. Her jaw clenched tight, the tears started to subside somewhat she heard it.
BOOM!
The sound of a nuclear warhead decimating a little island. It couldn't be described in words. It was a sound of necrosis. Her eyes began pouring tears anew for the now confirmed obliteration of Sousuke Sagara.
The two girls held onto each other for dear life after that sound. The thoughts of having nothing left of him, not even enough to bury or put in an urn is what hurt Kaname the most at that point.
-There will be nothing left of him...not even ash...
It was then Kaname noticed something was staring at her, something out of place for a turboprop plane.
-Shiro!
She sees Sousuke's pet tiger in a cage at the back of the plane. She leaps up from where Tessa is clinging to her and runs to open the cage. Everyone freezes as Kaname easily pops off the locks and lets the animal out, because no one knew where the tiger even came from. The tiger, after pushing it way out of the cage, immediately rears back on two legs with its paws up in the air- everyone stops breathing. The tiger then happily places its big paws on Kaname's shoulders and begins to lick her head.
-This guy here, was Sousuke's idea of a suitable house pet! In Tokyo of all places!
Kaname almost snorts at the memory and a smile plays across her face. But the smile lasts only for an instant. The rest of the crew let out a sigh of relief and a good humored chuckle because it seemed so befitting for Sousuke to think like that. Kaname wrapped her arms around the big cat and nuzzled the soft fur to her face.
-At least we have something left to remember Sousuke by. Mused Tessa.
-But what are we going to do with him?
-There's the Ueno Zoo. Kaname suggests. I would like to be able to visit him whenever I can.
-That sounds like a good plan Kaname-san.
-What's gonna happen to me now Tessa?
-You will go back to Japan and continue on with you life. I do not believe you are in any immediate danger and will not be so for a long time. This blow to Amalgam was a decisive victory in our favor, but after this I'm afraid there will be nothing left of Mithril. I don't really know what I'll do myself. I've never been just a normal girl so I wonder if I should like to try that.
Kaname didn't believe what she was hearing.
-Go back home and live a normal life? How can I do that now? After these last two years, how can I pretend like they didn't happen?
After that, Kaname didn't say much for the rest of the flight. She and Tessa basically held onto each other for the support they needed and nothing was said. Every one was exhausted from the more than a year of constant fighting and fleeing, this would be their last time together like this.
Subsequently they met with the rest of the team who had been deployed to the missile base in Afghanistan. The first person Kaname sees after she exits the plane is the form of someone she did not expect. Kurz Weber, blonde hair, blue eyes, and really not looking too bad considering everyone thought he was dead. He comes bounding over to her like a puppy.
-Kaname-chan!
Instead of punching him in the face like she normally would have, she embraces the slightly older man in a warm hug.
-I'm glad to see you didn't wimp out and die on us Kurz, I knew you had more guts then that.
She said with a dubious smile. The next people to greet her were Melissa Mao and Belfangan Clouseau, though he was wrapped in bandages head to toe and in a wheelchair.
-Madam Captain, Angel, glad to see you both safe.
-What are you doing out here Lutenist? You should be resting in the hospital!
-I wanted to see with my own eyes that you made it back safely Captain.
Tessa looks around to all of the rag-tag members of her crew that are left. They are all hanging around the ship saluting her as she passes. She returns the salute with an emotional few words for each member. The only thing left to do was to tie up the loose ends.
They were treated very well aboard captain Sailor's vessel, but after docking in Hawaii, they had been
taken into custody by the Navy intelligence. She had thought that severe questioning was about to begin, but admiral Borda came to pick her up just in time. She didn't know what connections he had used, but the entire crew and Kaname was freed. To her surprise, she heard that Seals and Courtney, previously charged with appropriation of military vehicles and AS, were also acquitted. There was one matter in particular that she had wanted to take care of herself before Kaname was sent back to Japan, and that was of reading Sousuke's Will and Testament. She was joined by Mardukas and Broda a short time before the reading of the will.
- A report just came in. The military decided to lower their level to DEFCON four. For the time being at
least, I'm pretty sure the crisis is averted.
- Really...
- But I'll remember those three hours after the explosion forever. It was a ballistic missile launch after all... and those five minutes after we realised it was heading towards some unpopulated island were a goddamn nightmare.
-It wasn't entirely unpopulated. Corrected Tessa.
The West was about to retaliate, and both Hunter and Lemon outdid themselves - they tried to spread the information that the nuclear base was under control as fast as possible between the intelligence agencies across the world. In the end, they had averted World War III. This world couldn't be called peaceful, but it returned to its normal functioning. Both good and bad things would happen in any living society, after all.