When Kiku awoke a grave feeling had invaded the lower region of his gut. Today was the day. The day that he went to Earth and took back what rightfully belonged to the people. His usual sweet demeanor had departed, his mind preparing itself for the hand of war. Heracles could sense this, even asleep, and he woke up. Kiku looked to him and Heracles could see the despair of the possible death swirling around inside his beautiful chocolate eyes. Before Kiku could tell him to go back to sleep or leave, Heracles got up off the bed and shed the bandages on his arm, showing Kiku that they were almost completely healed. Kiku touched his scarred skin gently, just ghosting his fingertips against the cool skin.

"You're still not coming with me. I can't risk your life Heracles." There was a strained laugh from the Greek.

"You say this as if I'm giving you the choice to pick whether I stay or go. I'm going Kiku; I won't let you out of my sight again. Not when you and I still have so much to look forward to." Kiku stared into his green eyes menacingly, as if trying to get him to back down but after he didn't Kiku just smiled and took his hand. Staring out the window, he could see Earth and all it's depressed citizens now. The blood that was to come flashed through his mind like a picture show, he could practically feel it's cold touch on his palms. He took a deep breath and let go of Heracles' hand in favor of walking to a lockbox that had been sitting in their room for about a week now. Upon unlocking it, Kiku tensed. Inside was the armor he had engineered specifically for himself, a stealth suit of bluish-black pleather imbedded with metal plates to protect him like a second skin. Attached the thighs were holsters for his newly-manufactured gun and pockets for his melee weapons. On his right side sat a sheath for his double-bladed katana that was kept in a separate lockbox. He had made everything just for today, everything for the moment he would free humanity from the tight grasp of oppression, but he wasn't ready. Heracles kept himself from coddling him, for fear of taking this summoned strength from him, and fisted his hands.

"We should go see Yao before we leave to make sure he's doing okay."

"Yes. We should do that now just so we have time to do other things before we have to leave." The two left the room and transported to Yao. Inside the room, Yao was awake and looking quite healthy for his position. Lilli and Basch were discussing something on Lilli's clipboard with Ivan sitting neatly in the corner next to Yao's bed. Yao seemed to sense the presence of someone in the room and rolled his head to look at them.

"Kiku?"

"Yes Yao, I'm here."

"You… you saved me didn't you?" Kiku nodded and Yao smiled slightly. "I always knew you were smart Kiku. You really were never cut out for a dismal life on Earth. And thank you for saving my life."

"I couldn't let you die after all you've done for me. Besides, I need you alive if you are to attend my wedding." Yao blinked.

"W-wedding?" Kiku lost his temporary fire in exchange for a soft smile.

"Yes. I had meant to tell you that I am engaged now. Would you like to meet my fiancé?" Yao nodded with a smile.

"Of course. They will be family right? I must ask though… how is it you were able to find love when you are so shy?" Kiku giggled.

"My love was locked away Yao and my fiancé just happened to have a key that fit." Heracles was drawn forward by Kiku's gentle hand. "Yao, this is my fiancé Heracles. Heracles, this is my older brother Yao." Yao looked over him for a moment and laughed softly.

"You know, I always knew Kiku liked muscle men but never would I have thought he would have found someone as large as you."

"Uh…"

"Heh, you don't have to respond to that. I'm very, very happy you proposed to Kiku. He needs someone to keep him going when things get rough and from what I've heard from Ivan, you won't leave Kiku even after death. Thank you for being there for him."

"And thank you for raising him the way you did, if you had not then I would not have found my true love. I believe we will get along perfectly."

"I agree. Now if you boys don't mind, I'd like to speak to Kiku alone for a moment." Kiku nodded and everyone but Kiku left the room. After Kiku shut the door, he replaced the empty blood bag with a small pack of saline solution to keep him hydrated. Yao's face faded from happy to stern. "Kiku, the look on your face when you walked in here troubles me. What's going on?" Kiku's fire was back, returning to him in an instant.

"Yao, I'm going on a mission today. I was informed that this mission was the most critical and may claim my life." Yao's eyes narrowed.

"You can't possibly be actually going on this mission! I won't allow it!"

"I'm going Yao. I want to be remembered, even if I give my life for it."

"This isn't about wanting to be remembered Kiku, you and I both know that. What are you really going after?"

"…for love. I will make it through this and I will be married." Kiku walked to the window and stared hard at the Earth. "I'm doing this for Heracles. I'll show the world what I'm capable of. I'm doing this for all the people of the world who will never meet their love because of the system. This is what I fight for." Yao reached with his free arm, enduring the pain of many healing stitches to grasp his brother's hand.

"What made you think that this was something to fight for? What is your motive?" Kiku smiled.

"You and Heracles. Ivan's story of why he had to leave and my new love for Heracles has told me that love is something to fight for." Kiku looked at him and Yao cast him a very cautious look, the pure fear of losing his brother coming through in silent tears that spilled over onto his cheeks.

"Kiku… be careful. You must live through this to prove your point. If you die, you will leave me alone and Heracles a wreck. Fight. Never give up and make it through this, for all of us." Kiku leant down and hugged Yao as tightly as he could.

"I'll come back Yao." Kiku left the room, his own tears embarrassing him. Heracles followed after him and once back in the safety of their room, Kiku broke down onto the floor, the fear seeping into the tightest crevices of his being and driving him insane. As startled as Heracles was to see Kiku so emotional, he wasted no time in scooping Kiku into his arms and holding him tighter than he had ever remembered holding him before.

"It'll be okay Kiku; you'll make it through this." Kiku said nothing, only sobbing all the harder into Heracles' chest and soaking his shirt in hot tears. After a while, Kiku's breathing had evened out and held him as he slept. It was not only Kiku, Heracles had told himself. The Grecian was having a tough time holding himself together as well.

The thought of losing Kiku… even for a moment…

Tears came to his eyes as well but hit bit them back and laid Kiku on the bed, not letting his hands ever leave the surface of Kiku's clothes. He couldn't lose Kiku. Never. It would drive him to suicide, he was sure of that. He would not be alone again, and knowing that Kiku could never come back would make it all the worse. Kiku stirred a bit and opened his eyes to look directly into Heracles'. They had the same idea and leaned forward to connect their lips. Every time they kissed, it became more hurried and frantic as if they needed more when there was only little to be had. There was no lust in it all, just the pure love that they sought out every time they kissed. The need for something more than what was. Something real.

"Kiku, we need to do this now." Heracles reached down onto the floor and under the bed to pull out a piece of sparkling something. Kiku knew what it was and somehow, he agreed.

"I agree. But just me and you, nobody else. Quickly." The Greek nodded and the two teleported back to the HQ and dragged Im Yong Soo into a room. Heracles spoke to him.

"We want to get married. Now!" Im Yong Soo blinked.

"What? Why so quickly?" Kiku growled softly.

"Don't ask questions, just do it!" With that, Im Yong Soo cautiously proceeded with the words. After the ring exchange and kiss, they went calmly to their room to discuss why in the world they had just done that. Kiku began to slip on his armor one piece at a time while talking to Heracles and securing the holsters for his guns. He felt rushed, but at the same time he felt that he wanted this whole war to be over with.

"Kiku, slow down. Just because you're moving fast, doesn't mean the battle will too. Besides, we have to wait for Im Yong Soo to give the word."

"I don't want to wait. I want to get this over with." Kiku opened the separate lock-box and pulled out the katana, sliding it into its sheath on his side. "I want this to be over."

"I know Kiku but you can't let your fear get the best of you; and don't say you're not scared because I know you are."

"Scared? What in the world would I be scared for?" Heracles got up to kiss him.

"Me, Yao, your friends here, Mei, Yong Soo, everyone. Life. You don't want to die so badly that you think the only way to get through the war is to rush." Kiku bit his lip.

"How is it that you know me better than I know myself?"

"I don't know, but I'm glad I do. Otherwise, you would rush this and get yourself killed. I don't want to lose you Kiku; you're the only thing I have left."

"I don't want to die. I want to stay here with you and have a real wedding; I don't want to die…"

"You won't die Kiku, not if I can help it." They kissed again before a knock on their door caused them to part. Heracles answered it, finding Meimei standing neatly behind it.

"Im Yong Soo sent me to get you. The briefing will begin in a few minutes and then you'll all be off to Earth." Kiku saw her fear too and rushed in to hug her. Mei had always been good at hiding her fear and sadness, but today when she could possibly lose all her friends and her favorite brother, she could barely keep herself in check. The three then warped to the base, many soldiers standing in neat rows behind their leaders and Im Yong Soo at the table awaiting Kiku and Heracles' arrival.

"Let the briefing begin then." All the leaders took their places around the table, Kiku at Heracles' side. Im Yong Soo took a deep breath before starting his explanation. "So, Heracles and Kiku's division will be sent after all of yours. Elizabeta, your division will be sent here to this station 'A'. Gilbert yours will be here, station 'B', Tino 'C'. After those three are destroyed, you will secure the area around the main station and confirm to me it's secure. Once that's done, I'll send Kiku and his team down. They'll infiltrate the area along with all the other squads and plant C-4 along its foundation and support pillars. Kiku will radio all of you from there and get everyone out safely before getting himself out and blowing the C-4. Then he'll return to our base here and confirm its destruction. The system should then be down for several days, causing everyone on Earth to take advantage of the situation and revolt against it." Everyone nodded and walked back to brief their teams. Kiku took a deep breath and walked back to his team, who was only him, Heracles, Gupta and Ludwig. Heracles knew why Veneziano hadn't appeared and Kiku had a good idea why not too.

"Alright guys, this is it. Do you both know how to use this gun?" Kiku held up his plasma rifle. They shook their heads. "Right. It works like a regular sniper rifle for the most part, then if you snap the first part off it works like I shotgun. Then, for the plasma ray your ammo is limited so use it sparingly. Snap off the barrel and press the buttons on both sides to activate it. Be careful where you aim because this could take out three people in one shot easily." The two inspected their guns before nodding. Heracles took Kiku's hand as the other three divisions left to get their jobs done. He looked down and placed a gentle kiss on Kiku's lips.

"Don't be afraid okay? S'agapo." Kiku kissed him back.

"Aishiteru."