"What?!" Lewis shouted. Pausing for a moment, he felt the need to reiterate his thoughts. "What the fuck?!"

"You heard me." Ryuko said.

"Yeah, but… how?!"

"I dunno! We'll just do it!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Come on, we're fighting a war against the CEO of a clothing corporation bent on turning the world into food for sentient fabric! If what we're fighting doesn't make any sense who's to say we have to?!" Ryuko shouted back. "Besides, Mako did it before when she and Senketsu got me to snap out of that frickin' mind control!"

"That's… actually a very good point." Lewis said. "But still-"

"No buts. We have to do this. Don't you trust me?"

"It's not really a matter of trust, more a matter of 'is this even remotely possible'."

Ryuko held out her hand. "We won't know until we try."

Lewis looked at Ryuko for a moment, then to Kamu's eyes.

"Are you alright with this?" he asked.

Kamu was oddly silent.

"Kamu?"

'We are on the brink. Everyone's lives are at stake here. And I am close to fulfilling my destiny, the very reason for my creation and continued existence.' Kamu said, voice shaking. 'And truth be told, I am afraid.'

Lewis gave a small smile. "Yeah. We all are."

'But!' Kamu continued. 'While I am afraid, I will shy away from our goal!'

"Well said." Lewis grinned as he took Ryuko's hand. "Alright, we're in!"

Ryuko and Lewis shook hands before Ryuko stood alone, surrounded by all the forces of Honnouji Academy. Lewis stood in the circle surrounding Ryuko as she let out a deep breath as she began to glow with an aura of scarlet flame.

"I'm going to put on all of your Goku Uniforms!" she shouted before a flash of light overtook all of Lewis's senses. The last thing Lewis did while he still had a physical form was throw out his arms wide, a great star as big as he was passing through him.

He wasn't scared any more.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

His new body felt strange. No more was he a creature of flesh and blood. Well, he still had blood, but now it flowed through more than his veins. Whatever Ryuko had done, it had turned him completely into Life Fibres before they were entwined into Senketsu's fabric. He supposed it made sense, seeing as he was already slowly being taken over by Kamu in a way. The very nature of Life Fibres was parasitic, not symbiotic. He understood this now. But there was still one thing he feared, one concern that lurked at the back of his mind.

The end of things.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Ragyo stood before the satellite, admiring her work. Her commitment. Her purpose. The entire surface of the globe beneath her was shrouded in great weaves of Life Fibres, raw energy radiating from the gargantuan threads.

"Truly beautiful." She whispered to herself. "This truly is the Cocoon World Nativity…"

Then something caught her eye. A small pinpoint of light one moment, a vengeful arrow of force and flame the next as it smashed into her.

"What?!" she exclaimed, careening out of control in the depths of space before she regained her balance.

Ryuko stopped, her twin blades at the ready. Her appearance had altered significantly from absorbing so many life fibres. Her hair had been set ablaze, the entirety of Senketsu was glowing red and yellow with power. Twin ribbons flowed from her back, billowing in the solar radiation and an additional two arms had sprouted from her torso.

"Ah, I see. You made a patchwork garment out of all available Life Fibres to come up here." She said with a mocking smile. "And I see some of your friends as well. But you are too late."

She gestured down to the world below, only a small circle of it not yet covered by Life Fibres.

"Look at the surface. The signal has reached the Life Fibres all across the world! Humanity's conversion into fabric cannot be stopped!" she proclaimed.

'Jeez, if she were any hammier she would be a pig in human clothing!' Lewis mocked. 'I can see why Satsuki hates her so much!'

'And yet it is still a mystery as to why you hate her so much.' Kamu responded.

Ignoring the peanut gallery now in her head, Ryuko lifted up her scissor blades as her other two arms cracked their knuckles. "I can't give up that easily!" she shouted before crossing over the two blades, a screw going through them and locking them in place. "I have a date to go on!"

"You and your nonsense…" Ragyo said spitefully.

And thusly, the battle had begun.

Ryuko was the first to move, the combined scissors in her hand growing to ridiculous proportions as she charged forwards.

"Chew on this!" she cried, her blades simply bouncing off the surface of Shinra-Koketsu.

Ragyo laughed maniacally. "What's the matter? That scissor blade is also made of hardened Life Fibres. It is powerless before Absolute Submission, which is master of all Life Fibres!" she crowed. "Still, you must be punished for the sin of turning your blade against this grand cloth which is the equal of any god!"

Shinra-Koketsu's many eyes soon started staring literal daggers at Ryuko, forming into sharp spikes that rushed towards her. Ryuko deflected as many strikes as she could, but was soon pierced through. One of Ryuko's new extra hands reached to grab one of the spikes with loose Life Fibres trailing from its fingertips, but before it could touch Ryuko was blasted backwards with a sunburst of rainbow light.

'Ryuko! Hang in there!' Senketsu said.

"Yeah, I'm okay! I'm still good to go!" Ryuko groaned, feeling her wounds healing near-instantaneously before rocketing back towards Ragyo.

"My poor daughter who was entangled in Soichiro's dying wish…" Ragyo reflected as she too raced to meet Ryuko in combat. To an outside observer, they would appear as twin streaks of light bouncing off one another in the vacuum of space. "With all your power, why do you not understand the fundamental principle of the universe?! Look, Ryuko, at that blue world. At the shining sun! The twinkling stars! This is the cosmos. But even this beautiful vista will one day be destroyed. Creation and destruction. They have been preordained since this galaxy was born. The Life Fibres work in the same way! They are part of the law of the universe!"

'Will you shut up already?!' Lewis screamed. 'You're a raving lunatic trying to feed all of humanity to a gargantuan spool of felt! Stop trying to justify your actions with meaningless and outright wrong philosophy!'

'You know she can't hear you.' Senketsu said.

'So what?! I'll just keep shouting until she can!'

"When are you gonna quit monologuing?!" Ryuko screamed.

"How can my own daughter be so dense?!" Ragyo seethed once more as Ryuko slashed at her.

"It ain't like I was raised by you!" Ryuko shouted in response.

"Oh yes! That was a mistake!"

As blade and clothing clashed, both of Ryuko's new hands found their grasp on Shinra-Koketsu as three of its spines stabbed into Ryuko's midsection. The loose threads turned to needles as they jabbed into the surface of Shinra-Koketsu. Within the moment the colour of the garment began to change. Ragyo's eyes widened before she knocked Ryuko away again, the colour still seeping towards her. Ragyo sliced them off with the flick of another spine, but enough of the Life Fibres had been converted. The three spines combined and began to take shape. A vaguely humanoid form without eyes or basic features, save for a rudimentary mouth with strings of red Life Fibres still connected as it spoke.

"Hey Ragyo, remember me?" asked Lewis, his voice warped and distorted.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she seethed.

"Glad you asked." He smirked. "Thanks to the efforts of all of those you despised and mocked, I've become something even you could never hope to accomplish. To destroy you I've shed my humanity and become one hundred percent composed of Life Fibres. This is my final form. Life Fibre Overdrive."

The words had the desired effect. Ragyo looked like she was about to shit so many bricks out of fury one could build a gothic cathedral. Not only did he have the audacity to proclaim himself a higher being, but he'd also soiled and deformed the majesty of Shinra-Koketsu. Ragyo's face turned to a scowl of unfettered and bestial rage as she assaulted Lewis with everything she had. Lewis dodged with movements both unnatural and disconcerting, like a puppet on rubber strings. Which wasn't completely inaccurate. Almost unnoticeable lines of red thread connected Lewis back to Ryuko, her extra hands manipulating the strings of the Life Fibre puppet Lewis had created.

'Ryuko, we're running out of time!' Senketsu said.

"I know. This will end it!"

While Ragyo's back was turned, Ryuko surged forwards with her combined scissor blades at the ready. With neither word nor warning, Ragyo whirled around and stabbed Ryuko with a giant spike.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice such an obvious diversion, you stupid girl!" she roared. "Now you're finished!"

Despite the intense pain, Ryuko gave a grin of victory. "You're the one who's finished!"

The blood that Ragyo had spilt began to surge back into Ryuko's body.

"What?"

"Did you forget? The closer I come to dying, the stronger I bounce back!" she smirked. "And now that I've absorbed part of that stupid wedding gown, I can bust through your Absolute Submission crap!"

"You… deliberately took the brunt of my attack?"

"Yep. I gritted my teeth and took it as a dose of tough love from Mom." She snorted. "And I'll keep going until Senketsu and I max out our growth!"

"Perhaps, but Life Fibres cannot injure me!" Ragyo scowled.

Lewis's puppet streaked in from Ragyo's side, delivering a kick straight into her cheekbone.

"You deaf, Disco-Milf? She said that your Absolute Submission is useless since we have the same power now!" Lewis shouted. "Meaning we finally get to kick your sparkly ass!"

"And it'll get even more powerful if I absorb the rest of that Absolute Submission field!"

Shinra-Koketsu rapidly began dissolving, becoming absorbed into Ryuko.

"Impossible…" Ragyo gasped, her expression becoming horrified.

"Dad's ultimate weapon wasn't some stupid scissor blade! It was me and Senketsu!" Ryuko shouted.

"What?!"

"You keep saying that like you don't understand!" Lewis chipped in, delivering another strike to Ragyo's face and getting knocked away by another tendril before it dissolved and was absorbed into Ryuko.

"It's the infinite absorption ability he gave us!"

'I realised it during our battle with Shinra-Koketsu.' Senketsu said. 'The way I absorbed Life Fibres was meant to nourish my power. The same could be said of Kamu, who was a prototype for this ability! I am evolving. I have free will, and can make myself understood by other humans!'

"We're neither human nor clothing!"

'But at the same time, we are both human and clothing! We are everything!'

"People can't become clothing! People are people! Clothing is clothing!"

"What is this nonsensical garbage you are spouting?!" Ragyo screamed.

"Nonsensical is our thing!" Ryuko roared back.

Free from Ragyo's grip, Ryuko soared to the satellite and gripped the transmitter like a microphone before screaming her message into it.

"Listen up, all you Life Fibres! People are people, and clothes are clothes! Turn all humans back into humans!"

There was a flash, like a sunburst of iridescent light. The great weave of Life Fibres that coated the world began to recede as the humans that had been trapped within it fell from the sky, the Life Fibres burning up in the atmosphere. Within seconds, it was gone.

Senketsu's form changed to as he normally would be when activated. Kamu rested on her neck, its ends floating in space. Lewis's humanoid puppet stayed around, its strings now thick and connected to Senketsu. Ragyo stood alone, her body bare as she, Ryuko, Lewis, Kamu and Senketsu stood above the world.

"Impossible… This can't be happening… Everything is returning to nothing?"

"That's right mother." Ryuko said. "The Earth will never be a Cocoon Sphere now. Come peacefully back to Earth."

"You're forgiving her? After everything she did? To you, to Satsuki, to the world?" Lewis asked.

Ryuko turned her head to Lewis. "What else would I do?"

Lewis gave a small chuckle and a smile. "Guess it's plain to see who's got the stronger morality here."

The void of space between them was empty. Nought but silence. Then Ragyo spoke once more.

"Pathetic."

Ramming her hand into her chest, she tore out her own heart. Glowing with grotesque energy, she held it in her hand.

"I will decide how I die! I will carry out your words first!"

"No!" Ryuko cried.

"Ryuko, this is not the end. Life Fibres are continuing their advance across the cosmos. More will come to this world! Of that you can be sure."

Ryuko showed no reaction, her face impassive as Satsuki's. It was eerie to Lewis and he suppressed a shudder.

"Even if they do, people will go on being people." She said. "Of that you can be sure."

With that, Ragyo destroyed her heart, popping it like a balloon. A mere second later she vanished, as if she was never there. Then there was only silence. Lewis could only guess as to what was going through Ryuko's head right now. No point in really saying anything. What was there to be said? He could've said something like 'good riddance' or 't'was beauty that killed the beast', but Lewis felt that it was just inappropriate. Really the most likely think that Ryuko would be thinking about was her future.

'Let's go home, Ryuko.' Senketsu said.

Ryuko spotted crimson threads of Life Fibres unravelling from the kamui. "What's wrong Senketsu?"

'Shinra-Koketsu's power appears to be greater than I thought.'

It was at this moment that Lewis looked down at his hands, gasping in horror as his arms were beginning to unravel.

"Wh-wh-wha… Wha-wh..." Lewis stammered, so horrified that he wasn't able to get out a single word.

Ryuko looked confused. "Wait, are you-"

Senketsu hauled Ryuko towards the earth, taking Lewis with them as he was dragged by the threads of Life Fibres.

'Hurry! There's not much time!' Senketsu said as they began to hurtle towards the earth, arcing upwards before they plunged towards the planet.

But it was at the top of this arc that the strings connecting Lewis and Ryuko began to fray. As Ryuko plunged towards the planet and Lewis thrown upwards, the decaying threads shrieked from the strain. Lewis reached out, his forearms beginning to decay. Ryuko saw this and reached for him too.

The thread snapped.

Free from his tether, Lewis began to drift upwards out of reach. There was no time for words, nor actions. The last Lewis saw of Ryuko was the look on her face. Surprise and devastation. The next moment she was gone, plunging back towards the surface of the world below. Mere seconds later she was nothing but a speck in the distance.

Silence returned.

"Ryuko! Ryuko!" Lewis screamed. "Kamu? Kamu are you still with me?"

No answer. Now that he was processing his thoughts, he saw Kamu's widened eyes merged with Senketsu as the three of them fell.

Lewis cursed, but that soon passed as he saw that his body was still unravelling. This was a parting gift from Shinra-Koketsu. His annihilation.

"No, no!"

Panic surged in his mind as he tried to think of a way to undo what was happening to himself. He watched as Shinra-Koketsu's raw power tore him apart. But it didn't hurt. Then it hit him. He'd integrated Kamu into his nervous system, and the last Lewis saw of Kamu was when he was on Ryuko.

Lewis was upset, but he was able to understand. Kamu was part human after all, a creature of instinct. But he was Lewis's friend wasn't he? He was supposed to stay with him until the end! He'd said so himself! So why did he end up on Ryuko's neck?

A grim realisation appeared into Lewis's mind. The same mind that Nui had rifled through like a filing cabinet not too long ago. Kamu's other half had been out of their sight for a long time. Not only that, but the first time they'd seen it was after Nui had turned it into an armband for Junketsu. It was entirely possible that Nui, seeing her eventual death, put a part of herself into Kamu's other half waiting to strike Ryuko at her weakest and destroy her. And that time was now, as Ryuko hurtled towards the earth as Senketsu burned up in the atmosphere. And there was nothing Lewis could do. Nothing but float about in orbit, watching himself dissolve.

Lewis let out a single wordless cry, screaming with self-directed fury. He had no idea what his ignorance would cost. Nui could be trying to kill Ryuko at this very moment. Worse, she could be succeeding.

'Hold it together Lewis!' he thought to himself. 'You have to get out of this!'

At this point, Lewis's limbs had all but disappeared, nothing but stumps if there was even anything left of them at all. He looked up and saw the sun cresting over the world, light shining down on the earth below. He'd said he was probably going to die so many times and really he probably should have, yet now he felt like he shouldn't die. He was holding at least a fraction of the power of Shrinra-Koketsu within him. It was too convenient.

Lewis concentrated. He tried to slow the dissolution, maybe even try to stop it. Really trying to stop it felt like he was suffering from constipation, except spread all over what little body he had left. But really it wasn't helping.

"If I'm going to die, it's going to be on earth damnit!" Lewis cursed as he changed to a new plan. This was probably suicidal, but it was worth at least trying.

Pulling in every bit of Life Fibre he could muster, he formed a rocket at his back. It fired, propelling him towards the earth. As he hit the atmosphere he began to burn, and as he did he tried to change his shape to try and become more aerodynamic. He only needed one part of him to survive. If he could do that, there was the chance he could return.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

It had been roughly forty three years since the events at Honnouji Academy.

The Life Fibres had returned.

Humanity had not been idle. Nudist Beach, Kiriuin Industries and the Takarada Conglomerate all had been producing Anti-Life Fibre weaponry and equipment in the event of the Life Fibre's return. It was an invasion, the scale of which had never been seen in human history. Despite the vast waves of the Life Fibres and their forces, they were able to be beaten back or even captured. Thus production of Goku Uniforms could begin anew.

The sounds of footsteps padded through the underground facilities of the United Nations. It had shaken world politics when Takarada had bought the UN, but nobody had anticipated he'd turn ownership over to Nudist Beach. But Ryuko didn't really care about that. She received several salutes from guards as she passed them by, on her way to the war room. She'd grown up quite a lot, although not as much as one might expect. The Life Fibres in her body were probably to blame for that. She shared a slight resemblance to her mother; however that resemblance was thankfully minimal. She'd also gained a slightly more muscular frame, a result from her career as a spectacle fighter. Her entire career revolved around fighting giant robots built for combat, which was something she was undoubtedly good at, even though lately she really wished she could do anything else.

Another set of footsteps joined her, this time with the familiar click of high heels on the tiled floor.

"Hello Ryuko." Satsuki said as she matched her sister's stride.

Satsuki hadn't aged as well as Ryuko, but she had still done so gracefully. Her face was defiantly free of wrinkles and her hair still as black as it ever was. Her sense of dress hadn't changed all that much, however she had turned in the militaristic look for a more businesslike set of attire. She'd also kept her hair much shorter, now in a closely trimmed and well-maintained fashion.

"Hey sis. Been a while." Ryuko nodded. "So why's the old man calling us in?"

"Mikisugi said something big was approaching. It appears the Life Fibres have brought in what can only be described as a titan. Most of our Anti-Life Fibre weapons have proven useless against it." Satsuki explained.

Ryuko gave a small nod. "So where's the entourage?"

"The others are being briefed of the situation at the moment." Satsuki said. "But there was something else I wished to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Ryuko asked with a quizzical look.

Satsuki snapped her fingers as a servant of hers appeared from an adjoining corridor and handed her a medical box, the kind that was often used for transferring organs. However this one had been locked shut with a digital thumbprint lock. Satsuki handed it to Ryuko as they walked.

"This was recovered from the bottom of the Sea of Japan after a diving group from the R&D Team headed by Inumuta attempted to locate the Scissor Blades. Your thumbprint has already been encoded into the lock, so you may open it any time you wish." Satsuki explained.

"You're not going to just tell me what's in the box?" Ryuko asked.

Satsuki pushed open the door to the war room. "I believe that it would be better if you were to discover that for yourself."

Ryuko gave a snort. Satsuki never really had grown out of that bad habit of vagueness. Inside the war room, the Elite Four, Takarada, Tsumugu, Mikisugi and Mako were discussing the titan, an image of it projected on a giant screen on one side of the room.

As they entered Mikisugi looked up and gave a nod, stroking his now lengthy beard. "Ah, good. You've arrived."

"Yaay, Ryuko's here!" Mako cheered, leaping from her perch on Gamagoori's towering shoulder to hug Ryuko, inadvertently tackling her to the ground.

"Ow, not so rough Mako!" Ryuko chuckled. "Hey, how was the anniversary?"

"It was so amazing! Gamagoori took me on a trip to Germany!" she exclaimed, rattling off all the exciting places she'd been.

"What's the situation?" Satsuki asked, the Elite Four bowing as she entered.

"The titan has recently made its way to Egypt. We've lost the SS Naked Nile." Tsumugu explained, a cigar between his fingers. "We've called for an evacuation before we send in the Anti-Life Fibre mechas."

Satsuki gave a small frown. "Weren't they disabled after the battle at Bavaria?"

"They were, but I was able to assist the Mechanical Division to get them running again." Inumuta explained. "Their Anti-Life Fibre Coagulant Missiles aren't able to be restocked, so they will have to rely on their Scissor Swords."

Satsuki gave a nod. "So why were we called in?"

This time, Takarada spoke. "Old man Miki says y'all are the ones who should be attackin' the Titan. The mechs are just there to give ya backup."

"While not as powerful as a Kamui, the 90% Goku Uniform should be enough to get you close enough to use what Satsuki had found at the bottom of the Sea of Japan." Mikisugi said.

Ryuko looked at the box in her hands before setting it down on the table. "What is it then?"

Mikisugi gave a small smile. "Why don't you open it to find out?"

Ryuko jabbed her thumb onto the digital lock, unlocking it with a beep and a click. Lifting the lid up, cold air billowed forth from it as a red glow emerged from the box. Ryuko's eyes widened as she heard the sound of a heartbeat.

"Is… is this…"

"We believe it is." Tsumugu said.

Ryuko slammed the lid shut. "You bastards! You're going to use him as some kind of weapon?!"

"Ryuko. Let him explain himself." Satsuki said.

Ryuko glowered both at Satsuki and Mikisugi. "Keep it short."

"It is our full intention to bring him back. However to do that we will require Life Fibres. The Titan has Life Fibres in abundance. We believe the Titan is a living being wrapped in a thin shell of Life Fibres which are controlling it. Once the Life Fibres are absorbed, the Titan will be far easier to deal with." Mikisugi explained.

Ryuko gave a grumble before stepping back a bit, keeping her hand on the box. "Fine, but I'm going to be the one to bring him back."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He replied. "Now you'd best gear up. The Titan is still rampaging out there as we speak."

The meeting was adjourned and Ryuko, Satsuki and the Elite Four made their way to the armoury. When they arrived, Goku Uniforms were already waiting for them. The 90% Goku Uniforms were a new invention. Ryuko refused to wear a Kamui ever again and Satsuki had decided to abstain from wearing one for the sake of her sister. They weren't intelligent like Kamuis, nor were they even sentient. But they were still almost as strong, allowing for exceptional humans to combat the Life Fibres with ease. It was styled off Satsuki's old military clothing from High School with Senketsu's colours. black and red with yellow and orange epaulettes. Ryuko felt a bit weird wearing something so fancy, but she could feel definite power running through her as she put it on. The Elite Four were also dressing in their own remade Goku Uniforms, despite Satsuki's requests.

"You should all stay here. If we were to fall in combat our resistance would require your leadership."

"Lady Satsuki, you know we cannot. We are bound to serve you, even if it would mean our deaths." Gamagoori said.

Ryuko wasn't really listening to what the others were saying. Her eyes were locked on the box. All that was left of one of her friends could've been buried in a quarter of a shoebox, perhaps even less. Ryuko narrowed her eyes. It wouldn't be that way for long.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis pondered again how long it had been. It was a pointless exercise. He was without any way to tell the time, any way to even perceive. He was amazed he even had the capacity for thought. But time was wearing him thin. He was sure he was quite mad. He was functionally dead, but still alive and aware in the thinnest margin. And he was alone. He tried to think of anything that might've hinted that Nui had taken over Kamu. Nui was a master of disguise and manipulation, not to mention all the things she could do with Life Fibres. Her clones were a prime example. Lewis suspected that Nui had hidden a clone of herself into Kamu. But then again, could he even blame himself? He felt like he needed to blame someone for this.

But most of his thoughts revolved around how hungry he was. A strange thing to feel without a stomach, but it wasn't that kind of hunger. It was a desire, a need. He needed Life Fibres. It had been so long. He needed to feed. To absorb. To Devour. To dominate.

Something gripped his heart. What was happening? What was that thing that grabbed him? What was going on?! Fear raced through his thoughts as he panicked. But then he felt something. The warm strands of red string. Living string. Life Fibres.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

The battle had been hard, but Ryuko had managed to get close enough to the Titan to put Lewis's heart up to the skin of Life Fibres. The Titan itself was massive, its shin at least three times taller than Ryuko. The Life Fibres covering said shin tore themselves off the Titan as Ryuko jerked her hand away. The Life Fibres began to take shape into a vaguely humanoid body devoid of any exceptional features. That was before its head began to change. The formerly featureless, doll-like head split open, revealing Lewis's confused face.

"Wh… what the?" he coughed, taking in all of his new faculties. "I'm back? I'm back! Fuck yeah I'm back! Hahahaha!"

"Lewis!" Ryuko said happily.

Lewis's attention snapped back to Ryuko and he stared at her in absolute disbelief. "Ryuko? You look… old."

"Hey! I'm only fifty two you asshole!" she shouted.

Lewis was about to respond, but he noticed something else first. His arm was beginning to dissolve at an extremely rapid rate, just as it did after Ragyo's defeat.

"No! Not again! I need more! More!" Lewis screamed as he latched onto the other Life Fibres on the Titan.

He began absorbing them, drawing them in as the Titan roared in confusion, the Life Fibres clinging to its skin as it was dragged towards Lewis. By the time Lewis had finished a giant sphere of Life Fibres lay behind him that was slowly but surely decaying.

"Ryuko, I don't have much time." Lewis began, but Ryuko cut him off by embracing him. Lewis noticed how much taller than him she'd gotten.

"I thought I'd lost you." She said.

Lewis slowly returned the embrace. "I thought I'd killed you."

"What?" she asked, letting go of him.

"I thought Nui had taken control of Kamu. I thought she'd try to kill you while you were falling to earth." Lewis explained. "I'd only thought of it while I was decaying in space. Holy shit that was actually a really metal thing to say."

Ryuko did frown a bit. "Yeah, I wondered where she came from. After Senketsu passed, some clone of Nui appeared and tried to swipe at me. I kicked her away and she must've broken apart in the fall. There wasn't anything left of her after the Graduation Ceremony."

Lewis gave a sigh and nodded gratefully. "Look, Ryuko. I don't have much time. Thanks for bringing me back, but I think I still possess some kind of power from Shinra-Kotetsu, at least some kind of corrupted part of it. Any Life Fibres I absorb are destroyed!"

At this point, the giant reserve of Life Fibres connected to him was gone, leaving absolutely no trace. It was as his arms started disappearing that Ryuko grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Hey, look at me! I'll find a way to help you! We'll fix this!" she said. "I'm not gonna let you get used as a weapon or some secret project!"

Lewis looked at Ryuko, stunned for a moment. Then he smiled and gave a nod. "Alright. Thanks Sis."

The destruction overtook him, once again leaving nothing but his heart. Ryuko caught it in her hands as it fell to the ground, looking at it as it beat in her hands.

"No problem bro."