Zone of the Enders: Countdown

by Nilke

It's 2175, and Myona and Cage return to Mars to visit their friends, but just at the same moment, an unknown group attacks a Lab complex. Could it be that these new events are taking them to a new start? Sequel to FoM, OCs included.

26. Countdown's End

Chapter 26: Countdown's end

A group of Earth officers and generals had gathered at the UNSF base's main room, ready to make an analysis of their latest campaign. Philip Nor was among them, even if he didn't look satisfied, but resigned and defeated. The units he had launched had been lost, mostly. His men were either injured or dead. And while they could capture people on one base, the other just flew away, being obviously a moving structure.

"Don't worry, young lad", one of the higher officers told him, patting his back. "I know this is difficult to tolerate, and that it's strange to listen a comment like the one I just gave you, but at least we could gather some people from the BAHRAM facility. They have a couple of OFs and interesting units that will become ours in little time, and if we can't make them work, we'll just use its Metatron for our own units. There's also a scientist there, who used to work under Zephyrs' orders... Oh, you must not know who that Zephyrs guy was, am I wrong?", he asked, waiting expectantly for an answer.

Philip Nor just shook his head in denial. He was still too enraged with himself to talk.

"Alright, I won't get angry because you aren't talking... this time. Keep that in mind, pal", the officer warned him, friendly. "Alright, that Zephyrs guy was a madman... a scientist that used many people, mostly Martians, in some experiments involving Metatron and mind control. Most of his results were a failure, but a couple turned out well... maybe this man will cooperate with us in the future, just to evade the capital sentence"

"I see, sir", Nor finally replied, resigned. He still wanted all the Martian rebel groups down, not just one.

"About the other group, BIS...", the officer went on, satisfied. "I don't think we have to worry much about them. I don't think they'll make another appearance... at least for a good while. Whatever, people is aware of anti-Earth activities, and is quite fed up with battles and such, so I don't think they'll have the people's support... or the monetary one. Their frames were quite damaged and happened to be less in number than the last time we saw them"

Philip Nor sighed, trying to cheer himself up. It wasn't a complete failure, the mission he led. No one was that mad at him but himself.

"As I told you before, don't worry, lad", the officer told him, calmly. "You can't win every time, and you have a promising future ahead... so rest easy. If your career would be finished, they would have already told you so"

Now, that made him relax a little. It was then when he recalled his former direct superior. "What about Colonel Boer?"

"Oh, him...", the officer said, shrugging. "Last thing I know, he asked for a space ambulance, as a last wish. He's a good man, but good intentions don't take you anywhere in the military. Still, he walked a long path... so that's even better for you, lad. If he got that far, you'll get further, that's for sure"

Nor finally smiled. Now that was encouragement. And now he was eager to see what would be coming next...

---

Robin wiped away the tears from her eyes, violently. "It's not fair", she finally said, enraged. "We can't end like this"

Twede sighed. It was the only thing he could do to comfort her... no, it wasn't, and he knew it well. But he didn't know how to deal with that kind of stuff.

Both of them were in Robin's room, trying to understand the whole situation better. There wasn't much to understand, as everything was crystal clear.

The situation was terminal for the members of BIS. They had lost three frames in the last battle, the Durandal II was in a delicate state, and all their other units had several degrees of damage after the last encounter. NUT Ltd had decided to give them their back once more, and so, the echonomical support was gone. And without that one, the chances of reviving BIS were next to non-existant, unless some rival company decided to use them as test subjects and runners for their newly developed units.

Robin was thinking about contacting someone from a rival company. She still had her influences, and wouldn't be hard to convince any rival company to NUT to hire her and her group. She could make them believe that she was what they needed. And in fact, many companies needed NUT's knowledge and ways of working, thing that she knew well. It was her only hope.

She started dialing some phone number that crossed through her head, but Twede stopped her.

"This isn't the way to start again", he said, coldly. "If NUT betrayed us, another company won't do the less... they could behave even worse, and things could be worse for us"

Maybe he was right... but it was so painful to end up like this.

"But Twede... how are we going to make it?", Robin finally asked him, teary-eyed.

Twede bit his lip, trying to think about something. "I don't know, frankly", he finally admitted, defeated. "Maybe..."

"I know that, but I don't want to!", Robin cried, annoyed.

"But it's the only rational thing we can do, think well about it"

Now Robin bit her lip, thoughtfully. He was right. There was no other way out. She would have already found it if there was...

"Alright. It's just as you say", she finally gave in, annoyed. "Gather everyone at the main room, at the bridge, and I'll give them the news... what everyone's waiting for"

When she rose her head to check if Twede was still with her, she found herself alone in the room.

---

Mikenne walked slowly along the Hospital corridor, heading for the Intensive Care area, where Ethan was. She just wanted to hear some good news, after so many depressing things. She didn't expect to find him already awake and completely fine, but she did want to hear that he was improving.

She sighed. It was going to be a tough day for her. She had barely had any sleep after the battle from the day before, when she could talk and bid farewell to her parents. Now, she had to find the way to get out from BAHRAM, alive. She wanted to tell him the good news, but she didn't know how much longer the Physicians would believe that she was his fiance. She had to find a way to know his progress, without coming to the Hospital every single day.

She froze for a second when she noticed a middle-aged woman sitting next to Ethan's room. She had been so immersed in her thoughts, that she hadn't realized that there was someone ahead.

The woman stared at Mikenne, once she noticed that the footsteps had stopped. Clearly, she was Ethan's mother. They weren't too similar, but there was something in her that made Mikenne tell that. She had her already whitening hair dyed blonde, and looked sad and annoyed at the same time. Who could blame her? In a matter of weeks, she had to bury her daughter and see her remaining son going through a comma.

The woman examined Mikenne from head to toe, and remained silent.

"Hi", Mikenne said, softly. "I assume you are Ethan's mother...", she said, shyly.

"You must be Mikenne", the woman asked, bitterly.

The red-haired woman nodded silently.

"Well, I'm Margaret, Ethan's mother", she said, coldly. "So you made them believe that you were my son's fiancee so you could see him?"

"I had no other choice", Mikenne said, embarrassed. "It was that, or leaving him at the Hospital's entrance until someone noticed him. And then, I just had to know how he was doing..."

"It's alright, I wasn't going to accusse you of anything, nor I told them anything that could compromise you", Margaret said, seriously. "However... thanks for doing it. He could have lost much more time if you weren't around... and things could be worse"

Mikenne nodded silently, not knowing what to say. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"You are taking him back to Earth, aren't you?", Mikenne asked. She was trying to look calm, but she knew she was about to burst into tears at any time.

Ethan's mother nodded. "I don't think he would enjoy being here any longer. Besides, if I take him home I'll be able to see him every day. Leaving him here all alone would be the cruelest thing I could have ever done to him, and even if you were to say that you would take all responsibility for him, I can't let you do that. You were just a fellow soldier there"

"I know", the red-haired girl said, in just a string of voice.

"Don't think I hate you", the older woman said, confidently. "You did a good job taking care of him and bringing him to the hospital, but it's not your responsibility. Even if you behaved as if it really was"

"Thanks", Mikenne said, saddened.

Margaret stared at her, concerned. "I never thought I would say this, but I feel pity for you"

Mikenne glared at her briefly. "You can keep your pity, I don't need it", she replied back, annoyed. She looked like an angry, spoiled teenager arguing with her mother. Only that she wasn't a teenager anymore, and the woman in front of her wasn't her mother.

The older woman sat down next to her, sighing. "You are just too proud and stubborn to see things like they really are... or at least, as others see them. You remind me of Ruth with that attitude", she said, recalling her dead daughter sweetly.

Mikenne felt a cold chill running through her spine. She had never wanted to be compared against Ruth, and less now, that she was dead.

"I mean that I felt pity of you because you are all alone, at least you look like that", Margaret started explaining her point of view, thoughtfully. "And you took care of Ethan, and you searched for me to let me know about him, and you are still here, and you are suffering because his wicked mother came and she's taking him home, far from you... isn't it like that?", she asked, looking at her through the corner of her eye.

Mikenne sighed, looking in the opposite direction.

"I thought so", Margaret said, sipping the last remainings of coffee left in her cup.

"I can't ask anything from him...", the red-haired woman said, angry with herself. "It's just that... I'm going to miss him", she admitted, blushing. "I won't see him again in my life... and well... I guess I got used to him being around"

Margaret smiled. "You can come and visit him whenever you want... and you can call me and ask me how is he doing", she said, handind her a piece of paper.

Mikenne picked it, reluctantly. There was a phone number and an e-mail address written on it. She stared at Margaret surprised, with her mouth wide open. "You don't mean..."

"You saved my remaining child... even if you are a Martian rebel I can't give you my back after all what you had done for him...", the blonde woman said, smiling and thankful. "I never thought I was going to like Martian rebels in my life...", she said, sobbing.

Mikenne used all her strength to avoid hugging that complete, yet friendly stranger that was sitting next to her. "Just... don't tell him what I did when he awakes... if he does"

"Why not?"

"He's angry at me... and he's right..."

Margaret sighed. "Proud like his sister... now I think I know why he liked you"

Mikenne rolled her eyes. "I'm not like Ruth, we never had any point of contact"

"That's what you think...", Ethan's mother said, chuckling. "You share with her more things than what you can imagine", she added, now checking her wristwatch.

"Are you leaving today?", Mikenne asked shyly.

"Yes... tonight", Margaret said, calmly. "A friend of my late husband promised me to get me some space ambulance to take him back home... to Earth", she said, nostalgically.

Mikenne didn't reply. She knew the moment had to come, but now she thought it was too soon... She didn't want to let Ethan go. But she had no other way than to accept the fact. Especially when she wasn't related to him, and couldn't decide anything for him.

Margaret stared at her, surprised. "I thought you wouldn't mind much", she admitted, touched.

Mikenne stared at her, puzzled. "I know I'm a bit made of stone, but I had never thought that you could realize it"

Margaret smiled. "No, Ethan didn't tell me anything, well, just bits and pieces. It was my prejudice on Martians... especially rebels", she explained. "I thought that you were so used to use and dispose people, that he wouldn't mean anything to you"

"Sadly, I found out that he meant something to me too late... and I still can't tell what does he mean to me..."

Margaret caressed Mikenne's hair, sympathetically. "No opportunity of a real life, I can see...", she said, smiling lightly. "You must have such a whirlwind in your mind, that you can't even tell where are you standing"

Mikenne sighed. She was damn too right.

"Well... I've already told you that you can visit him, or at least call me to know the latest news about his health, so you shouldn't feel so down. There's nothing you can do for him now... well, if you have faith, you can pray"

Mikenne nodded. "I have to find out what faith is, first... but I'll try to at least attempt some prayers for his sake", she said, standing up. "Thanks for trying to comforting me", she thanked her, gratefully.

"You shouldn't mention it", Margaret said. "You took great care of my child... the doctors said that if he spent more time without medical attendance, he wouldn't have any hope left"

"I couldn't bring him sooner... I could have helped him more"

"You shouldn't blame yourself... at least he's still alive"

Mikenne nodded. "Would you say 'goodbye' to him for me, please?", she asked, softly.

Margaret's eyes widened. "Aren't you staying a little longer? Don't you want to see him one last time?"

Mikenne shook her head in denial. "I prefer to remember him when he was awake... besides, I have to leave", she said, looking at her wristwatch. "I stilll have some business to finish off"

"Alright, you already know how to contact me", the middle-aged woman said, smiling lightly. "We are leaving at about 8:00 PM, if you want to say goodbye once more... and if you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to call me", she said, the latter part really softly, as if she was ashamed.

Mikenne smiled broadly. "It's very kind of you..."

"Maybe we can help each other in a way, even if we are miles away...", the woman said, almost teary-eyed.

"Probably... no, hopefully", Mikenne said before leaving

Margaret stared at the red-haired young woman walking along the corridor, and couldn't think that she had many things in common with her unfortunate kids.

---

Ares opened his eyes slightly, weakly. He was still so sleepy and weak after all the stress he went through the last battle. Luckily, it was just that, stress. But what he saw then made him think that he was already dead.

Hazel was sitting next to him. She was staring at him with her big grey eyes, which, for the first time in months, weren't looking at him menacingly or angrily, but calmly.

Ares blinked several times, confused. "Am I already dead, or some cosmic cataclysm took place while I was sleeping that you are aren't glaring at me?", he asked her, half seriously, half teasing her.

Hazel smiled lightly. "No, you are safe and sound, for what your sister and Cage told me", she replied, calmly.

"Alright... it's good to know it... one clinges to life naturally, I guess", he said, sighing. "Whatever, it's nice seeing you here, without insulting me"

"I wanted to talk about it the last time I approached you, but then you were the one who didn't want to talk"

"You didn't choose a good moment: Myona had gone through all the Self Binder and MindFlow system again... it was quite a shock for us"

"Yes, I got to see the nasty stuff that thing made on her... and must have done on you", Hazel said, coldly.

Ares stared at her. She remained calmly. She didn't stare at him with hatred, nor seemed to have it within. Finally, she seemed quite peaceful. "Is it already over?", he asked, hopefully.

Hazel stared at him, surprised. "What? The "I hate you" phase, you mean?"

Ares nodded.
Hazel sighed. "I don't know... I would say that much of it... yes, I've overcame most of it", she finally admitted, softly. "I can understand your position, but to a point. There was no need to blow up a Spaceship"

"I know", Ares interrupted her. "But I didn't have anyone to tell me the contrary at that time. Everyone around me wanted to sink it. But there's a slight chance that I hadn't killed your parents..."

"Let's cut it here, shall we?", Hazel said, hurt, closing her eyes tightly. "As I said, I can understand you on one hand, but I can't forgive you on the other. I'm cut in half, Ares... or Vale, I don't know how I should call you... I know nothing at this time..."

"Ares is fine", he said, quickly. "And let's leave it there, as you say..."

"It'll be better for the two of us"

"Indeed", he said. "I just wished I could have a better relationship with you in the future", he said, nostalgic.

"We can be mates, there's nothing wrong in that"

"Something like when I first met you, when we knew nothing about each other"

"That's imposible. Too much water has gone through this river"

"I know...", he said, smiling lightly. "I just let go my imagination run wild", he said, smiling, with his eyes closed.

Hazel felt like a small pain in her chest at that time. She also wanted to start anew, but she wouldn't be able to get rid of that "detail" in his past. He would have been a great support for her while Alen was still on Earth... or even...

"Ares... you know I can't love you", she said, bitterly, talking her thoughts out loud.

"I know...", Ares said. "I wasn't expecting so much from you, after screwing up your life"

"Apart from that... I just can't, for whatever reason I can't fully explain to myself", she said, clueless.

Ares thought that it was so gentle of her to not blame him again, or starting reminding himself all the wicked things he had done in the past. At least now that he was still weak and tired from the entire battle and runaway from the exploding frames.

Even if she couldn't love him, he treasured the fact that she was there, sitting next to him, trying to get interested in his poor health. It was a nice thing. He had already seen his sister and the troublemaker of Cage before -in fact, they had been the first ones he had seen when he regained his consciousness, after they had spent a long time by his side in the medical room at the Saoshyant- and Mebius and Semyl, but he hadn't expected her to come. At all.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Ares could tell that Hazel still didn't know what she was doing there, or if it was right or wrong. However, he was grateful that she was there. He treasured his incipient friendship torn into pieces by BAHRAM's manipulations. If he could at least chat with her of trivial things, he would be happy. He didn't want to spend mourning or regretting every thing he had done in the remaining time he had to live.

"I feel a bit envious of Alen", he finally said, trying to break the silent atmosphere.

"Why?"

"Well... since the first and only time I saw him, I realized that he was the image of what I could have been: he also had a younger sister, with whom he had gotten really well together, loving parents, he was even succesful at his hobby..."

"You are a wonderful piano player...", she said, smiling. "And you really understand computers just by glacing at them..."

"If you say so...", Ares said, with a little smile. "And now, he'll have you"

Hazel blinked, confused.
"Don't misunderstand me... I also don't know if I could love you... but your company made me feel better... it also reminded me of a girl at the Labs... it reminded me of so many good things... so I don't know if I would ever love you for what you are, or for what you make me recall... However, seeing Alen, and how much he cares about you, I guess I could have learnt to love you for what you are, but that can't be..."

"No... sadly", she said. She also needed someone like him. Alen was too far away, and didn't seem to move to Mars at all. And she didn't want to return to Earth. Not now, that she had found a place where she could belong. Apart, she was still terrified of inter-space travelling, and swore to not board a spaceship in a long time.

"Not that I would have much time to find out, anyway", he said, darkly.

Hazel stared at him, concerned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm dying, Hazel"

Hazel froze for a second. "You aren't talking seriously, are you?"

"I'm not even suppossed to be alive right now... I don't know why I'm here...", he said, weakly. "I must have died in the Marlblanke Dite explosion, and, somehow, I escaped... I'm not saying that I deserved to die there, even when I meant it, but for some reason, my OF ejected me, and then I survived the explosion. I was rescued by some patrol later, and managed to survive with some new drug cocktels", he explained. He looked at her puzzled expression, and said, "I wasn't lying to you when I said that I tried to mend my mistakes with my death"

Hazel bit her upper lip, trying to organize her thoughts. The guy she hated the most -she hated him the most? Now that one was a good question- was saying that he was dying. Should she feel happy? If so, why was she felling hollow and lost at that claim? Was he really dying, or was it just a manipulative game of his? No, he had gone too far, and he had admitted quitting from those things...

She recalled it, then. He wasn't lying.

"Then... that day when you caught me warning Cage about your coughing...?"

"Yes, I was already going down the slope", he admitted. "I'm worse... it's only a matter of time"

"A matter of time...", she repeated, lost. Then, she stared at him determined. "And there's nothing you'll do about it?"

Ares shrugged. "Why? My friends are all death from a long time ago. My sister doesn't need me anymore. Cage is already a capable person on his own, and he can take better care of Myona than what I'd ever do..."

"It's your time to live, can't you see it?", she insisted. "You can focus on yourself! You can compose music if you want! You can mend computers if that's your wish! But it's your time!", she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"And what about you?", he just said, looking at her lovingly, with a hint of pity.

Hazel grew silent and serious all of a sudden. "We weren't talking about me..."

"But you are in the same situation", he said. "Maybe that was what attracted us to each other: a mirror image..."

"Not so faithful", Hazel objected.

"A similar soul, looking for understanding in this messy world"

"Perhaps...", Hazel said, mysteriously. "Now, you should get some more sleep. I'm glad you are fine... but think about what I've told you... I'll try to do my best on my own"

"If you promise me that, I may be able to sleep well", he said. "I feel responsible for your lack of route"

Hazel sighed. "Then, I'll have to promise it, even if I can't fulfill it"

"Just try"

"You too"

---

Everyone gathered at the Saoshyant's main room under Robin's request, including Ares, even if he was still weak and sleepy.

Robin waited for everyone to sat down, while she remained standing, with a worried and heavy look in her face. What she was going to tell them was too difficult for her, and she was fearful of the other's reaction. If only Deckson would be around... he would surely know what to do.

"Thanks for coming, everyone", she finally said, touched. "I gathered you here because I have to tell you something... something that you must have already realized, after the last battle we had"

Silence filled the room, and that made things more difficult to her. Didn't they really know, or didn't anyone want to realize what was ahead of them?

After a small cough to break the silent atmosphere, she went on. "Guys, yesterday's battle was our last one. BIS... BIS is out of business", she said, using a business-world metaphore to make it sound less shocking.

No one said anything, but looked at each other, as if they were waiting for someone else to speak.

"Alright, it was just a matter of time", Warren said sadenned, finally.

"Yes... only that BAHRAM and the UNSF helped to bring it sooner", Robin stated, trying to repress her rage and her feeling of failure. She kept on thinking that she had failed in fulfilling Deckson's wishes and hopes. Even if it wasn't her fault, she felt responsible for it.

"It will be difficult, but it's not really a big deal", Razma said, calmly.

"How can you say that?", the light-haired leader asked him, escandalized. She couldn't understand how he did to look that calm and collected.

"You said it", Razma said, enthusiastically. "BIS isn't dead... it just stopped its military activities. It's out from that business, but not from searching Martian freedom from Earth! And what's more, we developed bounds with each other... so it will be difficult to lost contact among us"

Robin stared at him, amazed. How couldn't she realize that until then? BIS wasn't just an army group. BIS was something more. They were like family. They had each other, they trusted in each other. They weren't together just to fight an enemy. They had a cause in common, and had started to get along together, and before they all knew it, everyone had a certain place in someone else's life. Even if the fighting was over, their ideals remained, and the strong bounds built among them were that powerful that it would take more than BAHRAM and the UNSF's doing to break them. That was something that Robin had completely forgotten about when she thought that they were over. Now, she could be at ease, as Deckson's legacy wouldn't be forgotten, nor had been forgotten by the youngers.

"I'm an idiot... I can't understand how I could completely ignore that", she admitted, blushing.

"You what?!", Semyl asked her, astonished. "You don't mean that ya' thought we were only for the fightin'?"

"Well... being a businesswoman after all, I just thought about the business, not the people", she explained, embarrassed. "I was sad because I thought I would have disappointed Deckson, if he was alive, but I see that you guys caught his ideals much better than what I did"

"Old habits die hard, don't they?", Yukito asked, winking at her.

"I supposse so", she said, sighing relieved.

"Well, it's obvious that we are done in the fighting scene, but we'll keep in touch, and who knows? Maybe we'll get another way to spread our ideas", Mebius said, hopefully.

"Yes, you are right", Robin said, now back to normal. "Now we have to start thinking about starting a new life, each one of us", she added, now worried. She was completely clueless about what she could do with her future.

Everyone became silent, once more. She was right. Now, they had to think about that, first of all. It would prove troublesome for many... what was a normal life? They had been too used to the fighting and the rebel scene, that leading a city life was something completely new to them.

"Robin... if you say that BIS is out of business, what are you going to do with the LEVs and the remaining frames?", Cage finally asked, thoughtfully.

"That's a good question, Cage...", Robin sighed. "Do you want to keep one in particular?"

"I was thinking if I could borrow the Edge"

Robin blinked, surprised. "Sure, I don't think there will be a problem, but I can't imagine why would you want it"

"Well... I've been thinking... We have been travelling along many places with Myona, but we can't really decide where to stay. When Myona got hurt, I just wanted to take her away from all this, but I also miss you, guys. So, I've been thinking... I've been working in the trade business for my whole life. That's basically what I can do. So... I was thinking that starting my own delivery and errand service could be a good idea. The Edge would come really useful to me, until I can get a better, bigger transport LEV... and we would be staying around with Myona..."

Myona stared at him, pure love and gratitude showing in her eyes. She had been worried that Cage wanted to take her away from Mars as soon as she was well, but now she needed to stay. She couldn't leave Mars and her brother behind, now that she had the chance to live a normal life. She needed to know her brother as a normal brother, before he passed away.

Cage grabbed Myona's hand, without staring at her, but feeling her love.

"Well... I think it's the best option we have for it, rather than leaving it behind, getting covered by dust", Robin said, smiling. "All yours, Cage!", she said, tossing its keys to him.

"Thanks!", Cage said, grabbing them with his spare hand. "I'll take great care of it"

"I'm sure you will", she said, smiling. "I won't hand the Blade over, though. I have my own plans for it"

Ares also stared at his friend, proudly. Slowly, yet firmly, Cage stopped being "a nuisance" to turn into a responsable young man, who could deal with his problems well, as well as trying to be of some help to others. And he also found a way to use his past in a good, "lucrative" way. That was enough reason to feel proud and admiration for someone. It could also lead to envy, those feelings... But who could feel envy of someone who had learnt, the hard way, a path to his or her own liberation from the past? Envy would mean that the person feeling that way wasn't going to move a finger to change his or her situation. Ares was determined to kill off his ghosts of the past, even if he had little time to live.

Now, he stared at Hazel, who was smiling lightly, lost in her thoughts, as usual. Could she also be able to get past her ghosts and bounds to the past? Would he be able to see her well? As much as she was the negative version of Faith, he knew that Hazel could become close to a less negative, more faithful version of his deceased friend. And even if she wasn't like Faith, contradicting the idea that had stuck his mind during the last battle, he wanted to see her well. He would do the best he could to help her, just as he had told himself before the entire past came back to them as an explosion.

"Well, in that case, I think I'll return to the orphanage to be of some help", Razma said, shrugging.

"Me too", Semyl joined him. "I have to take care of the kids, ya' know". Then, she became silent and thoughtful for a while, until she faced Myona. "Then, you aren't leaving this time?", she asked, her eyes wide open with joy.

"No... apparently not", Myona said softly, looking at Cage, smiling broadly.

"Yay!! It'll be much more fun this time!", she said, hugging her tightly, mad with joy. "And you'll be able to help at the orphanage, too!"

"I guess I'll have to pass", Cage said. "Remember that Jojo has some kind of crush on me... and I don't want any kind of problems"
"I don't know why do you say that", Myona stated, acting innocently.

"I assume that you and Razma are staying at the orphanage?", Robin asked the short girl.

"If there's no other way out... I'll have to part with the Idiot", Semyl said, resigned.

"Act as if you don't like it", Razma teased her, chuckling.

"Why, youuuuu!!!", the red-haired girl glared at him, embarrassed.

"Well, those two are fine. Nothing has changed", Robin said, relieved. "Yukito, what about you?"

"I'll have to go and assist my family with the media holding, now that my father is hospitalized. And even if he recovers quickly, it'll take him a while to return to work... if he returns, and doesn't decide to retire", the green haired man said, much to his disappointment.

"I see..."

"I... we... don't know", Mebius said, staring at both Lia and Warren. "I think we'll stay as much as we can here, helping you to wrap all this up... and then, we'll see what we'll do"

Warren nodded in agreement. It was the best thing they could do.

"Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it", Robin thanked them, from the bottom of her heart.

"And what will you and Twede do?", Razma asked, curious.

Robin sighed. "Now, that's a good question, isn't it, Twede?"

"Sadly, it is", her secretary joined her, resigned. It was going to be a difficult time, the future.

"To begin with, I think we'll go for a big, important indemnization from NUT. We deserve it. Not many people decides to return to them when they had already been back-stabbed by them"

"We could just threaten them to sing like a canary in front of the UNSF, so consider the money a fact", Twede teased her.

"Yes, you are right at that... now, what should I do with it? Some good holidays sound fine... are you on it, Twede?"

"If there's no other way out", he said, shrugging.

"God, she's offering you holidays, and you just say 'if there's no way out'?!", Myona asked him, enraged.

"Alright, alright... I'm no good with words", Twede excused himself, shrugging.

"No, not with words, but you excel in other things", Robin said, smiling mysteriously.

Everyone stared at them, surprised. It was not an usual sight, having Robin teasing Twede... and the latter one blushing. Could it really be...?
"Just what do you mean by that?", Razma finally asked, trying to get out from his amazement.

"Oh, he's a great secretary... he always gets the job done before even asking him to do it... he saves the day in unusual ways...", she started describing, and stopped when noticed that everyone seemed dissappointed. "Just what were you thinking I was making reference to?", she asked, entertained with the whole situation.

"Well... something a bit more... spicy", Yukito said, chuckling.

Robin burst into laughter. "Sorry folks, but I won't make a press conference about my private life", she said, funnily.

Twede sighed relieved, as the others seemed okay with Robin's explanation.

"What about you, girls?", Robin finally asked, staring at Hazel, Cynthia and Arantxa. She just had to get out from the sticky situation she drove herself into.

The three friends stared at each other, as if they were expecting the other to have the answer.

Finally, Cynthia spoke. "Well... I wasn't of much use here, lately... Well, maybe I was never much help but trouble. Whatever, thanks for bearing with me", she started, hesitant. "I have to return to my own life. This... this had been fun, in a way, and it also showed me a way I could try to help -this time being a real help, I don't plan to become a kidnapped Diplomat-, so... I'm leaving, but I'll be around in a way", she said, smiling broadly.

"That would be a smart move, to have someone from BIS at the Congress or the United Planets", Yukito stated, smiling.

"Well, I can't guarantee it, but I'll do my best!", the student exclaimed, enthusiastically.

Arantxa came next. "It's just unbelievable... you foresaw it yesterday's morning", she teased Yukito, who stared at her without knowing what she was talking about. "I mean, you said that nothing lasts forever, and that this would be quite silent with us gone... I also hope you'll keep your promise and get me a job at your media holding!"

Yukito rolled his eyes, sighing. "I've already told you I'll do my best to get you a photographer position..."

"Glad you keep that in mind!", she went on with the teasing, happy. But even if she was trying to look happy and relaxed, something was troubling her.

"And what about you, Hazel?", Robin finally asked.

Hazel remained silent for a moment. Now, that was a good question, but she didn't want anyone else to notice that she was clueless about her own future.
She smiled lightly, trying to look confident. "Well, since the girls are also leaving... and since I don't have an OF anymore... I don't have anything else to do here", she said, politely. "I mean... I can't fight for Mars independance when I don't know what I want to do with my own life"

There, she admitted it.

Robin smiled. "It's alright. We'll all keep in contact, and... who knows? Maybe someday we'll get the chance to fight again"

"I'll try my best to stop any stupid bloodshed", Cynthia stated, quickly. "Even if I only got to become some Diplomat's secretary... I can make him miss some important and tricky meeting", she said, winking.

Robin laughed. "You won't be much helpful when you'll get fired, once they find out"

Cynthia shrugged. "Well, I think I was driven by the naive, fresh innocence and idealism of the beginners, wasn't I?", she asked, ashamed of her childish commentary.

"Don't feel bad for that", Mebius told her, sweetly. "Everyone has those outbursts from time to time"

"While you keep them, everything's fine", Yukito added.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better, folks"

Robin sighed. "Well... so that makes all of us. Each one taking a different path, and only the youngsters know what they want! Isn't this ironic?", she asked, worried. "I just hope BAHRAM is doing much worse than what we are doing now..."

"Take it for granted", Yukito said smiling.

---

Harris was waiting in the meeting room at the UNSF prison on Hellespontos. He had been told that his attorney wanted to have a few words with him, but he had no idea of who it could be.

The door opened, and he could see a guard showing the way to a tall, blonde woman. She was wearing a grey suit and carried a black suitcase. He had never seen her before in her life. Once she was inside, the guard closed the door and left the place.

Harris examined the visitor, who stared at him, waiting for some greeting. It took him a while to tell who it was, with that odd outfit and the blonde wig.

"My dear Mikenne, you have come to pay me a visit!", the old Doctor exclaimed cheerfully, happy to see the young woman, instead of Amante. "I knew you couldn't really hate me, being me the only one who still remembers your parents!"

"That has nothing to do with you or me. You never did anything in their name for me, nor you prevented them to become what they turn into later", she just said, coldly.

"Well... they wouldn't have listen to me. They were too absorted in the Martian revolution thing", Harris said, nervously. "They were idealists... I never cared much for that stuff"

"I know... you never cared much about anything that didn't concern you"

Harris looked at her puzzled. "Those are piercing words, little Mikenne"

"Don't call me like that!", Mikenne roared. "I'm not little anymore, and you don't deserve me to call me by any petname, if I had one!"

Harris chuckled. "Bitter and cold, like always... like your mother, too"

"Thanks, if that's a compliment", she said, opening her suitcase and looking for some things inside it.

Harris stared at her, silently, yet entertained by her outburst of rage. Mikenne was so unpredictable that it was funny to him. She was just like a child angry with one of her parents, to him.

However, she didn't feel that way.

"Let's finish with this for once and for all, shall we?", she said, turning back and picking something from her suitcase.

"What do you mean by that?", he asked, terrified. He knew something good wasn't going to come after Mikenne's visit, after all.

She took a cup and some water from her suitcase, and poured some water on it, under the scientist's concerned look. Then, she put some powder on the glass, and handed it over to him.

Harris stared at it, disgusted. "You don't mean... you don't mean that you've come to take me out of the way... this way...?"

Mikenne sighed, bored. "Don't be so melodramatic and drink it. Life's not fair... and the ironic thing is that you used to say that before preparing your subjects before the interventions..."

Harris glared at her. How could she be so cold? How could she be acting so much like Amante? Did that other slut mind-controlled Mikenne before telling her to meet him? Or was something that Mikenne did on her own?

"I'm not as cold and sadistic as you were when you were doing your Metatron research on human bodies. Those kids that went through the surgery before I did deserved respect and sympathy... which you don't know what they mean"

"I have to remind you that you accepted it willingly...", Harris defended himself.

"Because I thought I was going to die there!", Mikenne interrupted him, angrily. "I was left all alone, nobody liked me, I was nothing more than a weapon... in my despair, that was the only way out I could see"

"And you survived...", Harris chuckled. "And you did really well... your already good skills got better with the help of the Self-binder and the MindFlow systems. You reached results close to those of Zephyrs, my superior back when I was in the UNSF", he recalled, fondly and proudly.

Mikenne's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't know that detail. "You mean... you have been working for Earth first?"

Harris sighed. "Yes... I was an spy. I've been working for BAHRAM for a long time, and when things went wrong on the UNSF side, I just vanished. Not that anyone must have missed me much there"

"And so, you used someone else's technique on us, after getting the data directly, watching the entire process... I thought that you had to go through the trouble of desciphering what Zephyrs wanted to do, and not that you had been handed everything on a silver tray", she said, disappointed.

"Alright, I'll admit it in this confession-like state: I was nothing but a looser, a fraud. Someone who was just into things for the money, not even for the prestige. I don't care about revolutions and wars, and I don't believe in Peace. I guess I should have foreseen this ending coming towards me", he said, grabbing the glass.

Right about it, he drank the fluid from one sip, under Mikenne's cautious look. Once he finished it, he slammed it on the table and looked at her defiantly.

"Happy? I'd been a good kid and drank it all"

"Just what we expected from you", the red-haired youth said, picking the glass and putting it back on her suitcase. She took a look at her wristwatch: the visit was about to end, and she wanted to be ready before the guard showed up. "Well, I think it's everything"

"For me, it is", the physician said, bitterly.

"Don't hate me as much as I do for this. You knew that this would have happened. Me, Amante, someone else... someone would have done it, eventually", she said, sort of apologizing. Maybe that wasn't the way she wanted to finish things off with that man, but there was no other way in their world.

"Yes, I know that you are all afraid that I may start shouting about their activities and all..."

"You have just said that you worked for Earth while being a BAHRAM spy, and that you would have done anything for money... then, there's no guarantee that you wouldn't keep your mouth shut about us"

"I would have, who knows?", the physician tried to flourish Mikenne's guilty feelings.

"You would have started singing like a little bird if they offered you some job, or at least, no prision", Mikenne said, calmly. "When one wants to live so badly, there are no loyalties nor obstacles ahead"

Right then, the door opened, and a guard appeared, ready to take Mikenne away.

"Then, I'll keep in contact with you to tell you the outcome of the legal course", she said, impersonating the attorney once more.

"I'll be waiting for your reply", Harris said, coldly. "Farewell, till then"

Quickly, Mikenne left the prison, and started her way back to the base.

In a couple of hours, Harris died.

---

The girls were at the hangar, carrying their wares. They had already bid their goodbyes to the other BIS members, and while everyone else was busy with their own business, they thought they didn't need to spend more time at the Saoshyant. Their cycle there was over, there was no need to stay any longer... that would have only made them more vulnerable to the "goodbye" scene.

"Well... it's over", Hazel said, staring at the hangar, thinking in the first day she had seen it... and it seemed so long ago.

"Yes, the little rebel adventure is over...", Cynthia said, sighing. She wasn't too happy, but she wasn't so sad, either. She was feeling strange. Just that.

"Now it's time to focus in our future...", Arantxa stated, smiling. "What are you going to do, Haz?", she asked, eagerly to know well what the light-blue-haired girl had in mind. She had been really ellusive about her future, and the black-haired girl was hoping that she would finally say something among them.

"Oh, I still don't know", Hazel just replied, uninterested. She kept on looking at the hangar, as if she was bidding it farewell and wanted to imprint every single meter on her mind forever. "I can't believe that it's really over... it feels like a life-time, and still... it was so little time, actually"

Cynthia nodded. Time flew for her, too.

"And what about you, Ara?", Hazel asked, staring at the remaining LEVs and the remnants of the OFs. Robin was right about taking BIS out of the fight. Everything was damaged, important frames were lost... and no monetary backup available.

"Yukito fulfilled his promise, that is, he got me a job as an apprentice to a photographer for the Martian Geographic, which -surprise, surprise!- belongs to his father's media holding. Can you believe it?", the black-haired chick proclaimed proudly and triumphally. "I can't wait to grab a camera, a real one... it's been so long", she said, nostalgic. "What are you going to do?", she asked now, facing Hazel.

"I don't know... what are you going to do now, Cynt?", the light blue haired girl evaded the question quickly, once again.

"Guess I'll condemn myself to death and to my parents' eternal anger and will become a Diplomat, after all", she said, giggling. "I can already see them thinking that letting me studying Fashion Design would have been much better, but I've already made up my mind and I'll try the diplomatic way to add my little grain of sand to save the world. The rebel path is too intense to me... but I've enjoyed it as much as I could!", she exclaimed, not regretting anything in her short life.

"And you are condemning me to capital punishment, as well, as my dear aunt Jane will jump over my throat if she ever gets to see me again, as everything is my fault", Hazel teased her. "So forget my existance, or, at least, don't think I'll ever go around your house, again"

"I'll tell them it was something I picked up from school... and in part it is, as I'm dead sick of hearing that "Oh, so Glorious Earth is right, while Oh, so Filthy Martians aren't!"", she said, annoyed.

"Quite the model student we have here", Ara teased her, laughing. Then, she turned to Hazel, impatiently. "Well... what about you?", Arantxa asked Hazel once more, as she had been evading the subject constantly with her questions.

Hazel looked down, shyly. "I don't know... return home, to start with. Then... do some tidying up, as everything must be a mess... And after that... I'm clueless"

"Well, at least she can admit it", Arantxa said, smiling. "That's a good start"

"Where are you going to live, Ara?", Hazel asked, after some silent moments.

Arantxa blinked. "I guess I'll return to some hotel... It's been nice to have a real room for myself while it lasted. But I'm sure that I'll soon be able to rent an apartment, now that I'll be working for such a big company", she smiled, thinking in her promising future.

"Wouldn't you like to live with me? For a couple of months, at least... We could share the rent...", the light-blue haired girl offered.

Arantxa smiled gratefully, but started shaking her head in denial. "It's a great, wondrous and generous offer, but I'll have to turn it down. But thanks, anyway"

Hazel's eyes widened, as she was sure her friend would accept her offer. "But... why?", she finally asked, still puzzled.

"You need to spend time on your own, Haz...", Arantxa said, naturally. "I'll just be a burden. And remember that I have a special gift for getting into trouble"

"That's no problem. I have that sort of magnetism myself, too"

Arantxa chuckled. "Then, it would just be a catastrophe if we were to live together"

Hazel frowned, disappointed. "I thought you were going to accept it"

"Don't press much further, or I'll give in!", the black-haired girl moaned. "I have to go through my own path by my own, too. Besides, if I'm really going to work as a photographer, I won't be in the city too much. So it's the same if I move to your home or not, because I will barely be here"

"Alright, it was just surprising to me", Hazel said, calmly.

"Then, can I move in with you?", Cynthia asked, excited.

"No", Hazel said, coldly. "Your mother will kill me if you do that"

Cynthia moaned. "That's not fair! Why does my mother have to show up at any moment when she's not present at all?"

"Because you are still under-age... and because I want to keep a good relationship with her, even if I don't treat her at all", her cousin replied, shrugging.

"Alright... You'll end up begging me to move to your home to help you pay the bills, and I'll refuse!", the student teased her, acting annoyed.

"You are such a charming person...", Hazel stated sarcastically, sighing.

"At your service!", Cynthia went on teasing, before hugging her sweetly.

Ara laughed at the scene, entertained. "You are quite a pair... I wished I had a younger cousin, with the nice relationship you two have"

The cousins blushed, not being used to get praised like that.

"Hey, don't stop behaving like that, I was enjoying it!", Ara protested, funnily. "Don't let anyone ruin your relationship... it wouldn't be fair"

The cousins stared at each other through the corner of their eyes, touched.

"Oh... now you two look way too cute like that!", Arantxa went on with the teasing, laughing.

"Just shut up", Hazel glared at her, embarrassed.

"I second that", Cynthia said, sighing.

"Alright, no need to become violent", the black-haired woman said, smiling.

They walked a few steps, getting near their respective civilian LEVs. While Hazel's look quite like an ordinary early 21th century car, Arantxa's LEV was reminiscent of a jeep or van.

"Do you need me to drive you home?", Hazel asked, leaving her things in her civilian LEV.

"No, I'll meet some friends somewhere else. Ara told me she would take me there, it's on her way home", Cynthia said, smiling.

"So you'll leave me alone before I get home?", Hazel said, dissappointed.

"Aha", her cousin nodded, smiling.

"That's not fair...", Hazel mumbled.

"Hey, who said that life was?", Arantxa asked, grinning. "Besides, you had asked several times before that you wanted to be alone... so take that!", she teased her, excited.

"I haven't thought it that way!", Cynthia exclaimed, amazed. "She's right, even if I hate to admit it! Let's go, Ara, before I feel sorry for leaving her all alone!"

Hazel frowned. "You can keep your pity and sorrow for yourself. I don't need those"

"I already know that well!", Cynthia said. "Don't worry, tomorrow I'll go to your place just after school. And I'll help you to decorate that small apartment again... you need some better taste in your decoration"

"That's the only thing that you share with your mother: trying to organize someone else's life, even if it's just in the taste department", Hazel sighed.

"Maybe... but that's quite handy, and I don't regret it"

"Alright, I'll show up later, for dinner... I'll buy some pizzas on the way, so don't cook anything", Arantxa said, decided. "We have to inaugurate that newly built apartment somehow, you know"

Hazel was touched, and she couldn't hid it anymore.

"Silly, don't tell us that you thought that we were going to leave you behind? We won't be 24/7 at your side, but we'll remain close!", Ara said, embracing her.

Hazel nodded, repressing a little sob.

"Oh, my God... she's really moved", Cynthia said, astonished. She was used to her cousin crying because she was sad, desperate or angry... but not because she was happy! She should have expected that, though.

"I'm alright, I'm fine... I'm just touched by everything... don't mind me", Hazel mumbled, embarrassed.

"It's alright. Now, just think in getting home and start cleaning all that mess, that I like my friend's houses to be clean and tidy when I visit them", Arantxa teased her, winking.

"Great... now I have to do the maid work", Hazel stated sarcastically. "Well, I'm ready, what about you?"

"Almost ready", Cynthia said, pushing one of Arantxa's bags into the black-haired girl's LEV. "Who would have said it? She joined last, and she was the one with most things scattered all around the Saoshyant..."

"Well, one never knows what will ready need and when, do we?"

"Alright, but you almost brought your own matress!", the student complained, tired.

"I wish I could have brought that one! It's particullary comfortable!", Ara complained, saddened. "Well, we are ready"

Cynthia smiled, then stared at Hazel, calmly.

"Why are you staring at me like that?", she asked, embarrassed.

"I wondered if you don't want to bid some special goodbye or something like that...", she said, shyly.

Hazel leant her head on the foamy seat. "No", she said, after a while. "We have already talked before. There's no need to make it look as something else..."

"Alright, then… let's go!", Arantxa said, opening the Saoshyant's hatch

Slowly, they left the Saoshyant, and headed for the city, while the Saoshyant's hatch close slowly.

---

Ares was resting in his room, when his sister and his best friend came in, eager to see how he was doing and to entertain him a bit. He felt weak, so he decided to stay in bed after Robin's reunion. After chatting with them, and seeing the couple so happy, he couldn't repress certain thoughts he didn't want to let go. He didn't want to look touched or vulnerable, not even to his sister, not even after all those years. But life was only one, and one never knows when it will be the last time, so he decided to let go his feelings this time.

"Maybe I was given another chance to be able to see that everything was on its right way...", Ares said, weakly. "You have proved yourself to be the right guy for my sister, Cage, while she had proven that she's strong and capable of doing everything for the ones she loves"

The couple stared at each other, lovingly. Having Ares' sort of blessing was like the final step in their already consolidated couple.

"If only you had someone like I do by your side...", Myona thought bitterly, feeling sorry for her brother. He would have made a nice couple with Hazel, maybe. It was just a pity that things turned out the way they did. There was no hope there, obviously. But she had to ask him, she couldn't resist it any longer.

"Would you have liked to have some sort of romantic relationship with Hazel?", she finally asked him, shyly. She had been wanting to ask him that for a long time.

Ares smiled lightly. "I think it would have been nice. Everyone needs someone to love, and everyone needs to feel loved. At first, I thought that both of us were in that situation. I don't know if it would have worked out well or not. Then... well, she realized she couldn't love me for what I've done, and I realized that, well... maybe she wasn't the right one. She would always doubt me, even if she didn't realize it. And I would have always been thinking that she didn't deserve me, or something like that... Hopefully for both of us, Alen appeared"

"But they aren't still dating", Cage observed.

Ares sighed. "It will be only a matter of time... The same would have happened if Faith was still alive and was to appear in my life again"

Myona almost let go a cry. "Have you been thinking about Faith, lately?"

"A lot", he just replied. "She would have want me, want us, to be free and live the most normal way we could", he said. "What we did was just the contrary", he said, smiling taciturnally.

"Who's Faith?", Cage asked, surprised. He had never heard that name before, and this was starting to get interesting. He had never heard Ares talking about some girl from his past.

"She was another girl at Zephyr's labs, who was closed to my brother and I", Myona explained.

"A gorgeous brunnete of purplish eyes who was always happy to be alive and looked at the future hopefuly", Ares expanded the description, proudly. "I've never understood how she did that. She was pure strength. Her name was the best match I've ever heard of... well, apart from the name that Jimmer gave me and that I sticked to"

"And... this girl...?", Cage wanted to ask if she was dead, but didn't know how to ask it without hurting his friend and his girlfriend.

"Yeah... one of Zephyrs' failed attempts of hyperalignement, I guess. She was only thirteen or fourteen at that time... maybe more. I can't really recall well. Time there moved in a different way than outside"

"So she was your first girlfriend", Cage said, smiling.

"Well... I don't think I could address her grilfriend, but she was too important to me there"

"Oh, come on! You were always together, and even had some promises for the future!", Myona teased him, but then, she would have liked to bit her tongue before speaking.

Ares noticed that. "It's ok, don't feel guilty. I'll manage to fulfill those promises, in a way... I can still play the virtual piano, so I don't think it'll be that difficult to play a real one...", he said, sighing. "Alright, it'll be difficult", he admitted, realizing his fragile state. "But since she's not with us anymore, it doesn't matter if I completely fulfill the promise or try to do something close to it"

"It's alright, she'd understand you", Myona said, smiling.

"Not really", Ares said, saddened. "She would have found any way to fulfill any promise, even the smallest one. I've already forgot my promises to her before, so now I have to, at least, fulfill that one"

"Don't worry. You'll be ok, and you'll be able to play some piano, I'm sure", his sister said, smiling broadly.

Ares looked at her, hopefully. "Do you really think so?"

"Surely!"

Cage, who had been listening to the entire conversation puzzled, finally asked, "Excuse me... but what is that kind of promise you keep talking about like? I'm a bit lost in this chat, you know..."

Myona covered her mouth ashamed after listening to her boyfriend. "Sorry, honey, I got completely carried away by the enthusiasm and the memories brought back"
"I understand that"

Ares chuckled. "Alright, to sum it up, that girl was the one who encouraged most of us there. She was a great friend of mine, and she kept on making promises with me to fulfill once we were out of the Labs. We wanted to lead normal lives, but one special promise concerned her dancing ballet, to a piece of music composed by me..."

"Wow, so you've been music-gifted your entire life?", Cage asked amazed, proud of his friend.

Ares blushed. "Sort of", he said, shyly. "Let's just say that I've got a good ear. So, one day, talking about our abilities, we came to that conclusion, and she came with that promise."

Silence filled the room, once more. Ares let go a deep sigh, as she recalled her.

"Faith was a gorgeous girl with special eyes, but her spirit was the most beautiful thing she had. She always used to say "Tomorrow will be a brighter day"... Her faith in everything was really big... and she also made fun of the fact that the Labs were such a dark place with that phrase", he said, remembering her well. "I envied her strength. I still can't believe how she didn't make it"

Myona nodded. She always looked cheerful and strong, with a blind faith in a nice, promising future. At least, that's how she recalled her. She may have had some crisis, but she was hopeful, most of the time.

"However... back to Hazel, we have already discussed it... She can't really forgive me for what I had done. She can understand me, and part of her says that she has forgiven me, but the other... well... she just can't", he explained, slowly. "Not that I can blame her. I've already spent too much time hating myself to expect someone to love me without any complaints and full acceptance after my hideous past"

"It's not your entire past that she hates... just a small, yet big moment", Myona said, looking down.

"I know, sis... but it's the same, all in all", he said, heavily.

The three of them remained silent, not really knowing what to say. Was that all? Was everything really over? Or was it just beginning?

Beginnings... most of them take place after a long, traumatic countdown. Others are so subtle that you only realize that things had happened a while after they are over. For the three of them in that room, things were just beginning, once more.

"It's strange that you decided to stay... If you are doing it for me, I don't want to become a burden, so go away", Ares ordered them, annoyed. He had been thinking about them staying while they were silent. He was really thankful that they decided to stay for him, but he couldn't let them do that. He didn't want them to stay because they felt pity for him.

"Do you think I can go anywhere with you in this state?", Myona asked him calmly, much to her own amazement.

Ares took a look at himself, bed-ridden. He was too thin. He coughed hardly, with a strange sound, and sometimes he spat blood, even. He felt tired most of the time. And he had made a great job covering it all up. Now, looked where that got him.

He sighed. He hated to trouble other people. "I know, sis... but I don't want you to waste your time with me. I know I'm gonna die, and I don't want to hurt you even more than what I've already done"

"I know", she said, teary-eyed. "That's why I can't leave. I want to be with you till the very end. To be able to remember you well in every aspect, and to pay you back in some way for the great care you had with me when we were at Zephyr's Labs... Now, it's my turn to do something for you"

Ares remained silent. He couldn't argue with her, and seeing her with tears in her eyes made his heart ache. If she felt that way, he couldn't do anything against it. Let it be, it could even be fun.

Finally, he smiled lightly. "Alright, I'll let you waste your time with me... as long as Cage is fine with this"

"Actually, we were in complete agreement about this. We were planning to move away after I recovered from the MindFlow System effect. But without asking me, he decided to start the delivery service, just because he knew I wouldn't be able to go anywhere with you in this state"

"That's completely true", Cage said. "You were, and still are, very important to me, Ares, and I'm still in debt, even if you say that I'm already better than you and all that. But I have to pay you back, in some way or the other, too"

Ares was really touched by his friend and his sister's attitude. He never thought he could be that important to someone, in a possitive way. Why couldn't he have had more moments like that one? Maybe he did have them, but he oversaw them, trapped in his own pain and suffering, and lust for revenge. Maybe surviving to the Marlblanke Dite explosion was just to have a small peek at normal life.

He sighed. He just hoped he had enough time to enjoy it.

"What's that noise?", Ares asked weakly, as he heard some footsteps on the corridor.

"The trio left. That must be the hatch closing", Cage said.

"Did you bid her farewell?", Myona asked him, curiously.

Ares denied it with his head, his eyes closed. "We've already talked earlier. There was no need to chase her...", he said, calmly.

Myona rested her head on Cage's chest, tired. She wanted her brother to be okay, to have someone to love, and to be loved by someone else. Faith wasn't there anymore. Now, Hazel wasn't the one... Could there be someone for him, after all?

Cage, on the other hand, could understand him better, or so he thought. Maybe he was lying. Maybe he was trying to look strong and over with the entire Hazel fiasco, and he was hurt within. This wouldn't be the first time he did something like that. In fact, when he previously hanged out with him, he turned up being like that.

Ares was right. There was no need to chase Hazel. If she was the one, things would slowly get in its place. But considering their shared past, the blue haired girl wasn't the one that would heal his wounds.

It would just be a matter of time. Only Time would tell.

---

"You did a tidy and great work, like always", Amante congratulated Mikenne through the phone, as she watched the TV, where some news anchor commented, shocked, the case of some prisioner who was found dead in his cell, apparently poisoned. The authorities were looking for his attorney, the last person who saw him alive, but they found out that a woman by that name was dead for six years.

"Thanks", the red-haired girl said, after a small pause. She was riding her way back to the base, exhausted. Even if she hadn't been under the control of the Self-binder, getting everything ready to kill Harris and not getting caught was something tiring.

"It's amazing that you didn't hesitate, even if I hadn't touched the little device", Amante praised her, caressing the self-binder remote control.

"I had some personal reasons to finish him off, too"

"I understand, I understand... there's no need to tell me", the leader said, comprehensively. "Well, I'm waiting for you at the base... then, we'll see how we re-organize all this. I hope the higher-ups are still around..."

"Alright, I'll be there soon", Mikenne said, coldly, and cut the call.

Mikenne sighed. She didn't want to return. And she had her parents' blessing to abandon BAHRAM. But what could she do? It wouldn't look nice in a CV to write down that she was an assassin and part of BAHRAM... She would have to think of something...

However, everything was strange.

It was odd... Amante didn't seem to care about her killing Marrek. Because she had to know it... there was no way that Amante didn't know of the accident's outcome. Amante never said a word about it... nor seemed mad nor concerned about it.

It was just too odd to believe or to be true...

Mikenne felt something was wrong with her car. Something was wrong... she sort of felt a tick-tack sound, but she felt it was her paranoid state. Bombs these days didn't do any sound.

Bombs...

Mikenne stopped the car, got her few wares from it and run away, as fast as she could. She didn't look back, and rushed to the closest town, which, hopefully, she had just walked by a few minutes ago. Once there, she rented a car, and returned to the city through another route.

Later, on the news, she would hear that an abandoned car had exploded near that town.

---

"Well... thanks for driving me here", Cynthia said, cheerfully.

"Don't mention it", Arantxa said, turning at her right. "I'm glad you now trust me"

Cynthia blushed. "Well… I was just jealous. You also knew Hazel, and you look much cooler than me, with that weird accent, and that "happy at everything" attitude towards life"

Arantxa giggled, then she sighed, turning serious. "Guess I did a great job fooling everyone around, didn't I?"

Cynthia stared at her with a confused expression. "I thought you really ment it... not that you were faking your vision on life"

The black-haired woman smiled. "That's the only thing I could do if I didn't want to die... it's not easy to be so carefree and trusty when you had to run away from your home, if you don't want a bunch of intolerants to burn down your house and kill your family for something they just thought that you had done..."

"You are constantly running away, then?", the student asked, interested.

"Sort of", she said, now teary-eyed. She giggled, nervously. "Look who I ended up telling part of my story! From all the people in BIS, I thought you would be the last one to know... if you got to know"

Cynthia smiled. "I may make a good Diplomat after all. I caught your secret in an indirect way"

Arantxa smiled. "Could be, could be... it could be a secret no more, also", she said, hopefully. "Only time will tell"

"Yes, only time can tell or heal...", the student said, satisfied. "Take a look at Hazel, for example"

"Yes, it's a bit scary, I have to say", the black-haired girl said. "I don't know if she got her brain replaced in that Metatron thing, but if it helps her to heal her psychological wounds... then, I'm with her"

"Me too... but I have to admit that when I found out that Ares had been the one who had ruined her life, I told him to leave her at ease, but I'd never explained him why", Cynthia recalled. "I don't think I'd have changed much if I had told him. They were already close by that time"

"Don't blame yourself. Some situations just have to happen"

"It must be so", the student said, sighing. "Well, I'll go and see if my friends have already arrived", she said, opening the civilian LEV's door.
"Wait for me", Arantxa said, turning the engine off and picking the keys. "I need some fresh air..."

"And to check my friends on Hazel's behalf", she interrupted her, giggling.

"Alright, I'm no good spy", the black haired girl said, shrugging. "But I don't mind talking to you, youngsters, so I'll go with you, nonetheless"

"Do as you want, because that's what you are gonna do, nonetheless", Cynthia said, smiling friendly.

"You are right at that", Arantxa said, closing her civilian LEV's door. "See? We could have become friends earlier!", she said, embracing Cynthia, as they kept on walking.

"Well... I'm a bit difficult to deal with. And I was jealous that you got to know Hazel from before, too", the student admitted, shrugging. "I thought I was the only one"

"Stop being that possesive, it's not good. Neither for you, nor for a potential boyfriend"

Cynthia was about to reply to that, but she had already found her friends -Meredy and Elian- waiting for her, in front of some dusty bar. "There they are", she said, walking to their encounter.

"You are alive!", Elian teased her, shouting at her as she walked to them.

Meredy, on the other hand, hugged her as soon as Cynthia got closed to them. "You worried us!"

"I know", Cynthia said, blushing, surprised for that welcoming. "I've never thought you two cared enough about me to be waiting for me here"

"You idiot! Of course we care about you!", her friend protested. "Or else, we wouldn't have wasted so much time trying to figure out what was wrong with you"

"Well, you didn't waste your time just thinking about me", she teased the recently formed couple.

Meredy looked down, blushing.

"One thing led to the other", Elian said in their defense, shyly. "If this goes much further, you should be thinking in becoming the kid's godmother"

Cynthia stared at him astonished. "Don't tell me that she's already pregnant?!", she inquired with a shout.

"No, idiot!", the boy replied, sighing. "In a far away future, we mean..."

"Oh, so you have already planned out the rest of your life while my life was in danger?", she went on teasing them.

"Hahaha, sort of", Meredy laughed, cheerfully.

"If you can't defeat them, join them... am I wrong?", Arantxa said from afar, entertained with the entire situation.

Meredy and Elian turned back to face the stranger, surprised. And they got even more surprised when they saw the young woman. There was something about her -her cool attitude, her speaking out of the blue, her strange accent- that made them feel intimidated and attracted to her.

"Guess so", Cynthia said, smiling proudly. She wanted to attract people just as Arantxa did. Maybe that was another reason why she had been jealous of her since the first moment. Now, she felt proud of having such an attention-bringer friend, and that was why she couldn't help smiling proudly.

"Sorry for getting into your chat without no one calling me", Arantxa apologized, joining them. "My name's Arantxa, and I'm a friend of Cynthia's. I brought her here"

"Hi. I'm Meredy", the light green-haired girl greeted her, politely..

"Elian here", the boy said, still amazed.

Meredy pinched her boyfriend in the arm, gently, to break the spell. Arantxa saw that and giggled, while the poor boy rubbed his arm.

"I think I've seen you before...", Elian said, rubbing his chin. "Could it be...?"

"At some party at the Latin neighbourhood? Most probably", Arantxa said, smiling. "I'm from Basque heritage"

"Ah... so that's it!", Elian said.

Arantxa giggled. "Yes, I may have seen you... but it's been a while since the last party I attended. But I'll be there for Xmas and New Years, that's for sure!"

"Then, I'll surely see you there. I never miss those. And you could come, Mer", he said to the green haired girl. "And you too, Cynt"

"It's a nice idea... if my parents' hadn't sent me to study to Earth before-hand", the brown haired student said, sighing. "I'm sure they'll punish me in some way or the other"

"I'm sure they'll understand you", Meredy said. "Your mother's quite talkative and impulsive... but she wants the best for you"

"Well, she just acts as if she wants to control my life. And her life-style isn't my idea of "good things happening to me"", Cynthia protested.

Arantxa giggled. "Mothers... They are just one, but may act as twenty. Just treasure her while she's around"

"I know that... but she's more difficult than me to deal with!"

"Then, you are in trouble"

"I know!", Cynthia exclaimed, defeated and agstly.

Arantxa giggled at Cynthia's statement. "And how's everything at the neighbourhood?", she asked Elian, curiously.

"Fine, I guess", Elian said, shrugging. "I don't spend much time there, lately. I have to keep appearances up at school, and so, I try to keep my Latin descent under the "repressed Earthian on filthy Mars" shell that the school adores", he explained, sighing. "Luckily, all that will end soon, with my graduation. But last time everything was ok"

"Great. It's been ages since I last pop up there", she said, thoughtfully.

"Then, you could show us the way someday", Cynthia demanded Elian, quickly. "Every place and every thing that the school may consider bad is great to me"

"Always the same rebel without a cause", Meredy sighed.

"Oh, come on! I do have a cause! I'm a Martian, and I want to feel like one!", Cynthia said, proudly. "The school just wants to hide everything and make us feel miserable because we aren't in the precious blue Earth"

"Well... you are right about that", Meredy gave in, shrugging.

Seeing the three friends after school made her remind too many hidden things, and she was at the verge of breaking down. But she wasn't going to allow that. She checked her wristwatch and whistled.

"Alright, guys, I'm leaving you... It's been a pleasure meeting you. I hope you'll be fine", Arantxa waved at them, before leaving.

The three friends stared at the black-haired woman as she walked away. The three of them were like hypnotized, looking how she moved, how cool she looked with her jogging vest and boots, and her carefree attitude. Cynthia couldn't help comparing her "rebel self" to that woman, and noticed that she was lacking quite a few things to be like her. But now, it didn't trouble her much, as she had already chosen another path for her. Now that she had understood that Arantxa was completely different, and that she was unique on her own, she felt embarrassed for feeling envious of the newcomer.

"Man, she sure has some attitude!", Elian exclaimed, amazed. "Latin girls have that, you know"

"She said she was Basque, not Latin", Meredy glared at him, as she pinched him in the arm again.

"Ouch, there was no need to do that!", he complaint. "I was just admiring a fellow Spanish speaker!"

"Well... where are we going?", Cynthia asked, yawning. "I hope you two have a great idea to entertain me, because I'm too stressed and tired..."

"There's a beautiful Economics group work that we have to finish for... the day after tomorrow", Elian said, seriously.

Cynthia stopped walking and stared at them, enraged. "What do you mean by that? Is that the same work from a couple of months before?"

"The same one", Meredy replied, shyly, as she looked at Elian by the corner of her eyes. "I did most of it, but I wasn't going to do it all by myself!"

"Hey, I did help a bit!", Elian protested.

"I also did a bit... but I had to save the Galaxy first!", Cynthia said, trying to laugh at her own lame joke. "Shesss... things don't work out if I'm not around, do they?"

"That's why we needed you, oh Savior of the Galaxy!", Elian teased her, making an odd reverence at her.

The girls laughed, but Cynthia grew serious quickly. "Maybe it's a stupid, retorical question... but what about Agatha and Matt?"

This time Meredy laughed and became serious, almost as quickly as Cynthia had done. "Agatha must be at school, playing her "Gossip girl" role proudly, and Matt... well, he must be after some skirt"

"Not that we are loosing much help with those two gone", Elian said, despectively.

Cynthia sighed. "He has a point there..."

"Well, let's go home, I have everything there", she said, holding Elian's hand.

"Can't you spare me an evening? I'm serious, I'm dead tired! Saving your folks' butts ain't that easy!", she cried, annoyed.

"Come on, you'll tell us on our way home", Elian said, already walking, holding Meredy's hand.

Cynthia stared at them, walking holding their hands, lovingly. There were way too many things she had lost in her petit adventure. For example, when she started getting involved with BIS, those two couldn't talk to each other, as they didn't had any point of contact. Or so she thought. Now, she had to add to her CV that, apart from saving the Galaxy, she played matchmaker without her knowing it.

It hurt her a little. She had started to like Elian, who she had considered a jerk before, but now he was dating Meredy... another person who tricked her completely. She was sure that she was going to get a boyfriend much earlier than her bookworm and nerdy friend. She could say that saving the world was priceless... but now she was collecting all the things she had left behind for a cause.

She sighed. She was happy for them, but felt pity for herself. She just hoped to be still in time to enjoy of her last weeks of High School as an ordinary student, and spend some time with those two, who supported her -spiritually, but actually supported her- greatly.

Elian turned back, and the sun made his dark brown hair shine in a way that made Cynthia's heart ache. "Are you coming or not?"

She smiled. She would find someone like him, she was sure of that. "Of course I'm going. I'm just staring at the pretty couple I helped to make!", she exclaimed, running to them.

Meredy laughed, and grabbed her from an arm, and the three of them started walking to her house.

"Come on, if we finish this quickly, I can take you to an important sale that you'll love"

"Then, let's get rid of that thing right now! I want to buy dresses, shoes, even stockings! I love sales!!"

"Hey, is it just me, or have you lost your face Scottish accent and vocabulary?", Elian asked her, surprised. "Or is it that I've not seen you in a long while?"

Cynthia chuckled, and stared at the couple with a mysterious expresion. "I don't need that anymore. I don't have to pretend that I'm a rebel, because I've already been a real one"

Her friends laughed at her, and she joined them, happily. It was so nice to be back...

Right down the corner, Arantxa stared at the friends, touched. She had also left things like friendship behind for a cause, but in her case, everything went wrong. She had to run away from her county, and didn't know when she was going to return, or if she would ever be able to return. Shaking the bad feelings from her mind, she started her LEV's engine, and drove her way back to her hotel.

---

Mikenne stopped her rented car's engine and picked the keys quickly. She closed her car as fast as she could and rushed into the spaceport.

It was completely crowded. Dodging people, she rushed as fast as she could until she could see that woman. After a long struggle, she managed to see the middle aged blonde woman, walking side by side to a man.

"Margaret!!", she yelled, desperately.

The adult woman turned back, looking surprised. When she realized that it was Mikenne the one who had called her, she smiled lightly, sort of relieved.

Mikenne run to her, a bit slower than what she had done before. She was exhausted from her running and her current nervousness.

"What's wrong??", Margaret asked Mikenne, as she grabbed the young woman from the shoulders.

"So you are already leaving?", the red-haired youth managed to ask, as she grasped for some fresh air.

"In a few minutes, yes", Margaret nodded, calmly. "Colonel... well, former Colonel Boer got me an Earthian spaceship to carry Ethan back home. This is going to cost him his position, poor guy"

"I was going to quit... or they were going to quit me", a male voice said from Mikenne's back.

Mikenne turned back, eager to see the one who had talked behind her. A middle aged man, who should be around Margaret's age, stood in front of her. Even if he was wearing civilian clothes, it was obvious that that medium-height, not so thin man was part of the military. Or had been, according to both Margaret's and his statement.

The man stared at her sort of confused. Apparently, he wasn't expecting anyone to know Ethan in Mars. "I'm Joerg Boer. And you are...?", he asked, giving Mikenne his hand to greet her.

Mikenne felt a knot in her stomach. "Mikenne Reiha", she said, shaking his hand firmly. "An acquaintance of Ethan's", she said, as if she had to explain something, but didn't know how to do it without reveiling her entire background.

"I won't report you, nor I have the power to arrest you", Boer said, calmly. "I don't have anything personal against you, but your rebel group had been a constant nuisance in Earth's plans..."

"We Martians felt Earth's presence as a nuisance, so we are at a draw", Mikenne replied, coldly.

"You have a point there", Boer said, sighing. "Tell your comrades that they'll have to get stronger before attacking, or the crazy guys at the UNSF will get them and play some sadistic games with them"

"Nice of you to tell me that, but I've also quit from there, if that's possible", the red-haired youth said, her sight astray. "Right now, I think that what I want most is to see them burning in Hell, biblically speaking"

"Hey, we have another point here! I think I'll like you, girl!", he exclaimed, fascinated. "Now, I think I can understand Ethan a bit for liking you. You must have been like a challenge to him"

Mikenne looked down, embarrassed. "Actually... I think I've been his bad-luck bringer, rather than a challenge", she said, sadenned.

"So you aren't coming with us, are you?", he asked her, suddenly.

The red-haired girl looked up at him, sorprised. "I never thought you would want me to come with you"

"You are the only thing I have left of both my children...", Margaret said, sighing. "I know I can't be your mother..."

"... and I can't suply the twins... Ruth would hate that", Mikenne said, smiling lightly.

"I guess so, she never talked well about her female companions... I thought she was just jealous of the rest of the girls, and insecure about herself"

"I think it's the best way to describe her", the red-haired woman said, softly. "If she had ever known more about myself, she would have never felt like that..."

"Well... I'll let you know about Ethan's recovery, you shouldn't worry about that", Margaret said, smiling and touched.

"I have to give you my new number, Margaret", Mikenne said, smiling. "I had a problem with the other phone", she said, grinning.

"I think I can understand what kind of problem you had", Boer said, smirking.

Mikenne smiled lightly at him, knowing that they were thinking in the same thing. "Yes... it was just... too old. I wouldn't keep in touch with anyone anymore"

"And you don't want that, do you?", Boer asked her, winking.

Mikenne just shrugged, trying to look the most innocent she could.

"Alright, I'll let you know about us from time to time", Margaret said, once she took note of the cellphone number. "Don't doubt to call me if you feel down or anything. Maybe I can be of some help"

"I won't be able to become your daughter...", Mikenne insisted, angstilly.

"... nor I will become your mother", Margaret interrupted her, resigned. "But we can try to help each other. I owe you my son's life, if he survives"

"Just don't tell him what I did", Mikenne said, quickly. "He has another idea of me... the right one, in fact"

Boer sighed, feeling sorry for that previous enemy he had in front of his eyes. "You are too tough with yourself. He would understand you"

"And I would just kill him, in some way or another", Mikenne interrupted him. "Just look at him now"

A beeping noise caught Boer's attention. He picked his cellphone, and read his incoming message. "We have to leave. The spaceship's ready"

Margaret stared at Mikenne gratefully. "I never thought I would come to like a former Martian rebel so much", she admitted, touched. "I just hope you'll be ok... Don't mind to ask me for any kind of help if you ever need it"

Mikenne nodded, bitting her lower lip.

"Well... good bye", Margaret said, picking her bag.

"It's been a pleasure to talk to you... we could become friends", Boer told her, shaking her hand once again.

"Maybe...", the red-haired girl said, trying to look strong and calm.

Boer placed his arm over Margaret's shoulder and started walking along the corridor, in their way to the small spaceship that would take them, with Ethan, back home. Mikenne stayed there, until she couldn't see them anymore. She didn't cry, but she kept hoping that Ethan would awake and be alright as soon as possible.

Slowly, she started walking her way back to her rented car. Too many questions arose in her head, all of them concerning her future. Now, she was officially out of BAHRAM. Amante must think that she got killed, but just in case, she should try to think in getting another name, just in case her previous leader decided to do some checkings.

She sighed. Now, what was left for her was to live... something she would have to learn slowly, yet quickly.

---

Hazel closed the door behind her and switched on the lights of her apartment, repaired at last. It was nice to see her apartment with walls and windows, finally! It took the Government so much time... but it was done.

The light blue-haired girl sighed, tired. It would take a while to feel it like home again. She would have to make some trips to her LEV to catch the few wares she had taken with her to the Saoshyant, as the rest was in a deposit. That would have to wait for tomorrow. She had the basic things - a table, a couple of chairs, and most importantly, a bed - already.

It felt so good to be at home... but it was also so lonely. After living with the BIS folks for so long, her home was as silent as a tomb to her.

Not a tomb... She couldn't give any room to that kind of thoughts, because she would start feeling down once again, and that wasn't what she was expected to do.

Her home was just too silent. That was better.

She was surprised that Arantxa hadn't accepted her offer to move into her home, at least until the black-haired girl could find a decent place to live. She would have felt better if someone stayed with her, at least for some time. On the other hand, everyone -even if no one ever mentioned it- was right on the aspect that she had to live her own life, all by herself. And while friends could be there for moral support, she would have to take the decisions and all that.

Now, she was kind of annoyed with Arantxa for that decision. But she knew there was a high chance that she would thank her friend in the future. She couldn't depend on someone else so much again in her life.

She left one of the bags in the ground, and put the other she was carrying over the table. It was time to start unpacking everything...

She placed a photo of her with her parents in one side of the table. Next to it, she placed another photo, this one taken at BIS, shortly before Myona got into the Nerokerubina. She looked far too serious and worried there.

She promised herself, silently, that she wouldn't let herself fall in that emotional pit again. It was going to be tough, but she had to do it.

As she started putting her things back in their place, she started feeling better. It was starting to look like home, little by little. She went on ordering some things, until she got to the telephone table. There, the answering machine was blinking, telling her that there was, at least, one unheard message.

"I wonder who could it be?", she wondered, as she stared at the light, fearful of touching it.

Many people crossed her mind in the few seconds she took to press the play button. Cynthia... Arantxa... her friends could have felt the need to leave her some nice, encouraging words. Athena, her frame's Metatron alter-ego was out of the question, even if she would have wanted her to stay around. Why did good things last so little? Maybe Mebius was feeling motherly, like always, and decided to call her. Or someone else at BIS... Ares, perhaps? He didn't have a reason.

Finally, she pressed the "play" button.

"Hi, Haz!", Alen's voice filled her apartment, cheerfully. "I've just checked the Hellespontos paper, and said that the damaged buildings were about to be handed over to their owners, so I just had to call you. I wanted to be the first one to greet you... There's no need to call back, I just wanted to let you know that, even if I'm not physically there, I'm always with you"

Hazel blushed at his message, and now felt guilty for not having thought about him before. How could she have forgotten completely about him? Well, no one would know that, as she wasn't going to tell that to anyone.

After doing some more tidying up, she sat down on her little sofa, exhausted. Sighing, she analyzed her entire apartment. It was much like before, finally.

"Well... it's time to start again, isn't it? To start anew, from once and for all...", she said, tired.

---

NOTES:

Faith is an original character, who's the main character in "Tomorrow will be a brighter day", my take on a short FoM prequel for Vale and Pharsti -mostly Vale, though. I wanted to give Ares some "love interest" without being 100% romantic, as they were kids when they met (well, maybe it could have been his first love, but at Zephyrs' lab... I don't think it could be really possible)

I have to admit that, at first, I liked the Ares-Hazel couple, but then I understood that it was impossible; not only for Hazel's reasoning, but for Ares' too. They are far too immersed in their own pains, and with their shared past... it's highly unprobable that something good comes out from it.

It's incredible how I ended up loving (that's the word) the Mikenne-Ethan couple. It started like a test, and it ended up well, in my opinion. What's more, I ended up loving the way Mikenne ended up. I already liked her concept when I first introduced her, but I think she developed rather well...

Even if this looks like the ending, it isn't! A small epilogue is under revision, so stay around to read the final words of this fic… I don't think it'll take me too long to write!